William Frayn
A man who has been actively identified with the progress and growth of his township and county is William Frayn, the present trustee of Jasper township and a man who has been identified with the business life of the township for many years. He had previously served on the school board of this township for eight years, has been the proprietor and general manager of a grain elevator and ticket agent at Glendon for the Baltimore & Ohio Railway Company, and a farmer. In these various positions he has acquitted himself with credit and is justly deserving of being classed among the representative men of his township and county. He is a man of excellent business ability and by honest methods and scrupulous attention to details he has won the respect of his fellow citizens to a marked degree.
William Frayn, the son of Thomas and Catherine (Borden) Frayn, was born March 7, 1857, in Ross county, Ohio, near Slate Mills. His father was a native of Ireland, his birth having occurred near Dublin, and he lived in his native land until he was twenty-six years of age. He then came to this country alone and located at once in Chillicothe, Ohio, where he subsequently married. Later the parents of Thomas Frayn, William and Catherine (Mahoney) Frayn, came to America and both of them died in Chillicothe, Ohio. Thomas Frayn and wife reared a family of four children, Mrs. Mary Sheridan, William, Thomas and Catherine. All of these children are still living with the exception of Mary.
William Frayn attended school in Fayette and Clinton counties, Ohio, finishing at Shiloh in the latter county. He then began farming and teaming and for a few years worked in Cleveland, Ohio, after which he located in Clinton county, where he followed agricultural pursuits for a short time. He came to Fayette county more than thirty years ago and located in Jasper township, where he has since resided. He is the owner of an excellent farm of sixty acres on the Ford pike, about six miles from the county seat. Since coming to this county he has been very actively engaged in the various phases of the township development. As a merchant he operated a general store at Glendon for some years, managing the elevator at the same place during that time. He was also the freight and ticket agent for the Baltimore & Ohio Railway Company for four years. He has shown marked ability as an official and has served as postmaster at Glendon, Ohio, formerly known as Rattle Snake. In local affairs he has been a member of the school board of Jasper towmship, filling this office for eight years to the entire satisfaction of all concerned. At the present time he is serving the citizens of his township as trustee and giving the office his careful and conscientious attention.
Mr. Frayn was married in 1893 to Mary Ann McDonald, the daughter of John and Bridget (Templeton) McDonald, and to this union have been born four children. William, Anna Alice, Marie D. and Mary. William is a graduate of the Washington C. H. high school and Anna and Marie are still in attendance at the high school; Mary, the oldest daughter, is deceased. The family are devout members of the Catholic church, in whose welfare they are deeply interested and to whose support they are generous contributors at all times. Mr. Frayn is a member of the Catholic Order of Foresters. He is a man of genial and jovial disposition and is one of the best known men in the township and county. He is ever ready to assist those in distress and is known as a man of kindly impulses, deeplv interested in everything which pertains to the welfare of his community.
From History of Fayette County Ohio - Her People, Industries and Institutions by Frank M. Allen (1914, R. F. Bowen & Company, Inc.)