Gustave R. Fries
For forty-six years Gustave R. Fries has been a factor in the conduct of the business carried on under the name of Alex. Fries & Brother at Nos. 312-316 East Second street. The product of the factory is flavors and the continuous and substantial growth of the business is an indication of the reliability and progressive methods which have been followed by its founder and its owner. Gustave R. Fries was born in Bavaria, Germany, in 1841, a son of Professor Morris Fries, who was an instructor of mathematics in the fatherland. In 1855 Gustave Fries, who up to that time had been pursuing his education in his native country, came to the new world and joined his two brothers. Alex. and Charles, who earlier in the year had begun the manufacture of flavors. He became an employe in their small factory, then located on Avery Alley between Mill and Stone streets. This was the first enterprise of this character in Cincinnati. Trade grew steadily with them and in 1863 they secured more commodious quarters by erecting the present brick building into which they removed as soon as it was completed. The two original partners, Alex. and Charles Fries, were both natives of Bavaria, Germany, and were men of extensive education and marked intellectual power. The elder studied chemistry in Paris, France, and later in Madrid, Spain, where he was knighted by the Queen for proficiency in arts and sciences. He came to this city from Spain, as did his brother Charles, who also pursued his education in that country. The present owners of the business are Gustave R. Fries and his nephew, Dr. Alfred Spring, Ph.D. It was in 1863 that the former was admitted to a partnership in the business. About 1858, three years after coming to Cincinnati, he desired to see more of his adopted country and went west, working for several years in the mines at Pike’s Peak. He then returned and has since been continuously identified with the manufacture of flavors. The business is a large and growing one and with every phase of it Mr. Fries is familiar, so that he is able to direct the labors of those who serve him.
Mr. Fries was married twice. He first wedded Theresa Kuhn, and they had one child, Marie, who is now the wife of Jesse Lowman, formerly city solicitor of Cincinnati. Mrs. Fries passed away in 1882 and he later married Eugenia Sinshaw, of New York city. The three children of this marriages are: Harriet, the wife of Sol Magnus; George, who was graduated from Cornell University in 1909 with the degree of A. B. and is now identified with the house of Alex. Fries & Brother; and Robert, who is a student at Cornell.
Gustave Fries is a member of the Masonic fraternity and a worthy exemplar of the craft which is the most ancient and honorable among the fraternal organizations. No regret has ever come to him concerning the fact that when a youth in his teens he severed the connections which bound him to his native land and sought the opportunities of the new world. Republican government, and liberty accorded American citizens and the chances for advancement in business all proved attractive to him and no native son of the United States has been more loyal to the country than Gustave R. Fries.
From Cincinnati, The Queen City, Volume III, by Rev. Charles Frederic Goss, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1912