Thomas A.Fryman
Thomas A. Fryman, one of Thompson Township's representative citizens, owning a valuable farm of seventy-three and one-half acres, has resided here ever since 1850, with the exception of three years which he dedicated to the service of his country. Mr. Fryman was bom in Monroe County, Ohio. January 21, 1844. and is a son of George and Margaret (Porterfield) Fryman, and a grandson of George and Mary Fryman, who lived and died in Pennsylvania.
George Fryman moved from Monroe to Belmont County. Ohio, and from there to Delaware County, which he reached March 1, 1850. Je was welcomed by his brother, John Fryman, who had come to Delaware County in 1833, from Pennsylvania, subsequently being followed by his brothers and two sisters, Mary A. and Margaret. Mary A. was the wife of Louis H. Vincent, and Margaret was the wife of Robert Craig. All are now deceased. One brother. Samuel. moved from Delaware County to Oregon, Holt County, Missouri, prior to the Civil War, and two of his sons served in the Confederate army, and one son and a son-in-law were soldiers in the Union army.
In 1857. George Fryman, father of Thomas A., purchased twenty acres of land in the woods, in Thompson Township, which he later cleared and improved, and he resided on the place until the close of his life, September 30, 1899, when aged eighty-eight years, five months and nineteen days. He married Margaret Porterfield, who was born June 9, 1813, who died in August, 1902, aged eighty-eight years, two months and ten days. She was born in America but was of Irish parentage. Three Porterfield brothers came from Ireland and settled in Belmont Countv, Ohio, one of these, Alexander Porterfield, being her father. There were nine children born to George Fryman and wife, three of whom died in infancy and four of whom survive. The record is as follows : Mary Jane married Salathail Rose and died in June, 1873. Susanna is the widow of Dexter Durfey and resides at Marion, Ohio. Christiana, who was born December 27, 1841, died November 25, 1843. Thomas A. was the fourth born in this family. John, who was born December 15. 1846. died November 24. 1847. Margaret Elizabeth, who was born September 13, 1848, married John Agin after the close of the Civil War. and died September 27, 1868. Sarah C. married David Williams and they live in Thompson Township. Martha E. is the widow of John Williams and resides in Thompson Township, just west of her brother. Thomas A. Hannah, the youngest, was born October 26. 1857, died January 7, 1863.
Thomas A. Fryman attended the district schools near his home. He was but seventeen years of age when he enlisted for service in the Civil War, entering Company F, Ninety-sixth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, at Camp Delaware, on August 4, 1862. On the first of the next month the regiment was sent to Louisville, Kentucky, and from there to Memphis, Tennessee, and then on to Vicksburg, where it was stationed until the surrender of that city. From Vicksburg the regiment was sent in pursuit of General Johnson, first to Jackson and from there to New Orleans, and then to Matagorda Bay, then back to Vicksburg. Mr. Fryman participated in the Red River campaign and assisted in the capture of Fort Morgan, Spanish Fort, Fort Gaines and Mobile. After the battle of Mobile the young soldier was mustered out and returned to Camp Chase, Ohio, July 29, 1865, going from there to his home. Although he was prostrated by a sun stroke, at Jackson, Mississippi, he returned comparatively unharmed notwithstanding his post of duty had frequently been one of the greatest danger, and his record shows that he never evaded any service.
Mr. Fryman then resumed the peaceful pursuits of agriculture and has given much attention to raising hogs, each year having a large number to put on the market. He has added to the original farm and has improved the land by thorough cultivation and has erected new buildings and remodeled the old ones. A part of his residence was the old home of his uncle John and, although constructed of logs, was considered a very fine house when it was built, the best one in the whole township. In 1903 he erected his present substantial barn.
Mr. Fryman married Evaline Durfey, who is a daughter of James and Jane ( Nafus ) Durfey, and a granddaughter of Ebenezer and Malinda Durfey. James Durfey was a tailor by trade, residing in Union County, where Mrs. Fryman was born. Mr. and Mrs. Fryman have had six children, namely : Ettie Elnora, Sarah C, George J., Cora, William, Oscar and Thomas Ray. Ettie Elnora was born in 1867 and married Archibald Black. They reside one-half mile distant from Magnetic Springs, in Union County. They have had seven children : Clyde, Claude, Clifford, Clinton, Mary Evaline, Thomas Call, Clayton and Zola, the latter being deceased. Sarah C. was born in September, 1870, married John Gabriel and they lived in Radnor Township near Prospect. They have three daughters and two sons: Florence, Carl. Grace, Frances and Lester. George J. was born September 6, 1873, married Bertha Williams of Wyandot County and they live in Union County. They have one child, Dorance. Cora was born September 30, 1876, married Nelson C. Fryman and they reside in Thompson Township and have two sons and one daughter: Ernest, Max and Mildred. William Oscar was born September 30, 1879, married Lydia Smart of Union County and they have one child. Leah Evaline. Thomas Ray was born in June, 1881. He married Clara Rider ami they have one daughter, Clara Louise.
In politics, Mr. Fryman is a Democrat. For fifteen years he has served as a justice of the peace and for thirty years has been a useful member of the township Board of Education. He has always taken an active interest in advancing his community and is identified with the various movements which have made this one of the most intelligent and progressive sections of Delaware County.
From 20th Century History of Delaware County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens by James R. Lytle