Julius Freiberg
It would be difficult to designate the field of activity in which the efforts of Julius Freiberg have been of most importance, for his labors and business judgement were features of advancement in all the different commercial and manufacturing enterprises with which he was associated, and at the same time he figured as one of he most patriotic citizens and as a philanthropist. Few men in all the history of the city have done as much for public progress or for the benefit of their fellows, for a kindly, charitable spirit prompted him at all times to reach out a helping hand to those in need. He was born May 1, 1823, in New Leiningen, Rhenish Bavaria, Germany, and his life record spanned the intervening years to the 7th of December, 1905. He was a young man of twenty-four years when he came to America, thinking to have better business opportunities than seemed possible to obtain in the older world. He located first in Williamstown, Kentucky, where he was engaged in general merchandising for several years. While there he became acquainted with many distillers and also learned the fact that Kentucky whisky was scarcely known outside of the state at that time. In 1852 he brought to Cincinnati the first Bourbon whisky sold here for trade purposes. His first business enterprise in Cincinnati was the manufacture of vinegar but in 1853 he formed a partnership with his brother-in-law, Levi J. Workum, under the firm style of Freiberg & Workum, and began the sale of whisky, selling only to the jobbing trade, in which line the firm was continued to this day. This firm built the Lynchburg distillery in 1857 and throughout the years since its establishment the business has continuously grown. Their first location was a small store at 20 Sycamore street but in 1858 the demands of their trade were such that larger quarters were secured at Nos. 13 and 15 Sycamore street. They sold only to the jobbing and wholesale trade and not a distillery in the country has been so long operated by one firm without change or interruption as the Lynchburg distillery which was purchased by the firm in 1857. In 1867 the Boone County Distillery was acquired and was steadily operated and enlarged until 1899, when it was sold. In 1866 the building surround by Baum, Produce and Kirby alleys in Cincinnati, was purchased and used as a bonded Class B warehouse until bonded warehouses of that kind were abolished by the government. It was then transformed into a redistilling and rectifying house and is so used today. In 1869, the firm removed its office to Nos. 28 and 30 Main street and in 1895 to Nos. 216 to 220 East Front street where it remains. No change occurred in the personnel of the firm until 1883, when upon the death of Levi J. Workum his two sons, Ezekiel L. and Jephta L. were admitted to a partnership, together with J. Walter and Maurice J. Freiberg, sons of Julius Freiberg. The death of the former two occurred in 1896, since which time the business has been conducted by the surviving partners.
It was on the 13th of February, 1856, that Mr. Freiberg was united in marriage to Miss Duffie Workum, a daughter of Jacob and Sarah Workum. The death of Mrs. Freiberg occurred in 1903, about two years before her husband passed away. They are survived by two sons, J. Walter and Maurice J., who are their father’s successors in business, and four daughters: Minnie, the wife of Dr. Joseph Ransohoff; Sallie, now Mrs. Edward S. Heinsheimer; Clara, now Mrs. Jonas B. Frenkel; and Jeannette, the wife of Dr. Albert H. Freiberg. The home relations were very ideal. Mr. Freiberg was most devoted to the welfare of his family and found his greatest happiness in promoting their comfort and pleasure. He ever loved to entertain his friends, who were many, and the hospitality of his home became proverbial.
In addition to his other business Mr. Freiberg was a director of several of the prominent insurance companies of the city and was connected with several financial and manufacturing concerns. His sagacity was keen, his judgement sound and his energy enabled him to carry forward to successful completion whatever he undertook. While he was equally widely known. His record is one of which Cincinnati has every reason to be proud because of his works of charity and his patriotic devotion to the community. His aid and cooperation could always be counted upon to further any movement or measure for the public good and his fellow townsmen, appreciative of his worth and his loyalty to the general welfare, elected him as their representative to the Ohio constitutional convention of 1873. His high standing in the public regard and the confidence reposed in him are indicated by the fact that he was chosen by both parties. He was very prominent in the deliberations of that body and his clear insight into present and possible situations made his opinions of worth in framing the organic law of the state. He was never an office seeker in the usually accepted sense of the term but when the public sought his cooperation he was always ready. His charitable work made continuous demands upon his time and energies. He was elected vice president of the Home for Jewish Aged and Infirm; was a director of the Jewish Hospital; vice president of the board of governors of the Hebrew Union College; and president of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. Nor was his liberality confined to the people of his own race, he extended a helping hand wherever aid was needed, for his life was in no way narrow. He was a man of fine physique and most pleasing personal appearance. He died at the age of eighty-two years and the record which was thus closed was ever a most honorable one. The chamber of Commerce of which he had long been a worthy and helpful member drafted the following memorial: “Julius Freiberg, an honorary member of this association, who was called from earth to his eternal rest on Thursday, December 7, 1905 at the ripe age of eighty-two years, has paid nature’s debt, leaving a glorious heritage of an upright life, exemplary not alone in his conduct as a merchant and leading manufacturer of our city but also did he leave the impress of his honorable and useful career as a citizen upon the city of his adoption through the many channels of his busy life. We feel confident there is no exaggeration in asserting that no merchant, manufacturer or citizen of our beloved Cincinnati has contributed more to its good name, its development, growth and prosperity than did he. The thousands of denizens whom he helped by employment and thus ennobled honest labor will with us bear testimony that his pleasant smile, cheery words, his manly handshake, will ever remain a sweet and pleasant reminder of his good and noble life. In all that appertains to the qualities of a peerless merchant he was indeed a true ideal. His word was equal to his bond and all who had the good fortune to have had business connections with him will bear uniform testimony to his high integrity of character, his unflinching honesty and loyalty to each and all obligations. In his demise we have indeed lost a strong pillar of our association. He became a member of our Chamber, January 7, 1861, and so impressed himself upon the membership by a career of rectitude and usefulness that the chamber in September 1894, conferred upon him the highest honor within its gift, that of honorary member for life. It is not alone his career and conduct as a member of our Chamber that we can proudly point to, but likewise in the capacity of his cosmopolitan citizenship he was ever ready to serve the best interests of the municipality, supporting liberally every measure for the advancement and improvement of the city of his residence. Already in the year 1872 the good people of Cincinnati recognized his unimpeachable uprightness and sound judgement and elected him a member of the Ohio constitutional convention of 1873 and during the whole time of its prolonged session he faithfully and conscientiously attended the duties of that distinguished assemblage; and our honored fellow citizen, Hon. Rufus King, it’s presiding officer, frequently extolled in high terms the able assistance and wise counsel which Mr. Freiberg gave and contributed to the deliberations of that convention. He served as a member of the board of sinking fund trustees from 1896 to 1901 by appointment of the superior court of Cincinnati, giving freely of his time and talents to the best interests of our city and constantly studying hard and advising frequently with our leading public men and financiers as to the best and most useful policies and methods to pursue in order to promote and further elevate the already high credit of our city, resigning only when his failing health prevented him from any longer performing what he conceived to be his loyal duty. He was naturally a leader and a strong one, and thousands of us who where fortunate enough to frequently serve with him in the consideration of public enterprises or charitable projects or to succor the distressed in any section of our own or other countries, can testify that his strong and concisely expressed convictions frequently carried the day and made men’s minds yield to the lucid views which he so pathetically urged in behalf of the suffering and needy. If there was one virtue more than another possessed by our dear friend it was his broad toleration. He loved all men irrespective of creed or nationality, and an appeal from suffering humanity, from whatever source it came, brought forth from Julius Freiberg at all times a hearty and generous response. Though we deeply mourn his loss his life work is well completed and we are justified in thanking the Giver of all good tings that such a man as Julius Freiberg lived.”
Mr. Freiberg never sought to figure prominently in public life or to keep himself in the public eye, and yet he left an indelible impress upon the community by reason of the fact that in the performance of his daily duties and in his recognition of his obligations to his fellowmen his life reached out in helpful spirit toward the individual and the city. His name is inscribed high on the roll of those whom Cincinnati honors.
From Cincinnati, The Queen City, Volume III, by Rev. Charles Frederic Goss, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1912