Jacob Frolich (November 15, 1837 – April 25, 1890) was a Bavarian-born, American politician who served as

Arkansas Secretary of State The Arkansas Secretary of State is one of the elected constitutional officers of the U.S. State of Arkansas. The current Secretary of State is Republican Cole Jester who was appointed by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders after John Thurston b ...

from 1879 to 1885. He served as a colonel in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. He was the founder and publisher of the ''White County Record'', a Democratic Party–affiliated newspaper that took a strong stance against

Radical Republicans The Radical Republicans were a political faction within the Republican Party originating from the party's founding in 1854—some six years before the Civil War—until the Compromise of 1877, which effectively ended Reconstruction. They ca ...

and

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

efforts in Arkansas after the Civil War. He was a leader in the

White County, Arkansas White County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 76,822. The county seat is Searcy. White County is Arkansas's 31st county, formed on October 23, 1835, from portions of Independence, ...

, branch of the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

and was indicted for the murder of an agent of the Arkansas Governor

Powell Clayton Powell Foulk Clayton (August 7, 1833August 25, 1914) was an American politician, diplomat, and businessman who served as the 9th List of Governors of Arkansas, governor of Arkansas from 1868 to 1871, as a Republican Party (United States), Repub ...

who was investigating Klan activity in White County. He fled to Canada to avoid arrest but returned a year later to face trial and was acquitted of the crime. He served as assistant secretary of the

Arkansas Senate The Arkansas State Senate is the upper branch of the Arkansas General Assembly. The Senate consists of 35 members, each representing a district with about 83,000 people. Service in the state legislature is part-time, and many state senators have ...

in 1874 and chief secretary in 1878. He served as Adjutant general in the Arkansas militia from 1877 to 1879. He worked in the

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Hist ...

administration as chief clerk of the Mineral Division of the Interior Department and as chief financial clerk of the

Patent Office A patent office is a governmental or intergovernmental organization which controls the issue of patents. In other words, "patent offices are government bodies that may grant a patent or reject the patent application based on whether the applicati ...

Early life and military service

Jacob Frolich was born on November 15, 1837, in

Oberndorf am Lech Oberndorf is a municipality in the district of Donau-Ries in Bavaria in Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Al ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

, to John Frolich and Marie Elizabeth Herrman. He emigrated to the United States with his family and they lived in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

and other locations before they settled in

Searcy, Arkansas Searcy ( ) is the largest city in and the county seat of White County, Arkansas, United States. According to 2019 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 23,767. It is the principal city of the Searcy, AR Micropolitan Statisti ...

. At the age of 14, he worked as a printer for several years in

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is Indiana's List of cities in Indiana, third-most populous city after India ...

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and New Orleans. He worked as a clerk in a

mercantile Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cred ...

business in New Orleans for several years. He returned to the printing business and worked in Baton Rouge and other locations in Louisiana. He served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War in special service with the

Army of Tennessee The Army of Tennessee was a Field army, field army of the Confederate States Army in the Western theater of the American Civil War, Western Theater of the American Civil War. Named for the Confederate States of America, Confederate state of Tenn ...

and with the Washington Artillery of New Orleans. He was wounded several times and was promoted to Colonel. His unit surrendered on May 1, 1865, at Augusta, Georgia.

Career

After the war Frolich worked at '' The Memphis Appeal'' newspaper in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

. He saved up money to purchase printing equipment and moved back to Searcy. In 1866, he founded the ''White County Record'' newspaper. It was a Democratic Party–affiliated paper and had a strong stance against

and

efforts in Arkansas after the Civil War. After an argument with the editor of the ''Little Rock Republican'' he printed that he was "ready, willing and waiting to go hanging, shooting or roasting, provided the occasion offers the editor of the Republican as a victim." He purchased Curran Hall in Little Rock. He was under scrutiny from the Radical Republican government and Frolich set up trap doors and hiding places in the building in case it was raided. He sold the house in 1881. Frolich and several other men, including Dandridge McRae, were indicted for the 1868 murder of Albert Parker, an agent of Arkansas Governor

sent to investigate Klan activity in White County. Frolich was the Grand Giant of the

for White County. Parker had been sent as an undercover agent to White County to investigate the Klan's role in the death of a black leader and the attempted assassination of a state senator. Parker was killed in October 1868 by the order of Dandridge and Frolich. Parker's body was dumped in a well and was not discovered until March 1870. A warrant with no bail was issued for the arrest of Frolich, Dandridge and several other men involved in the murder. Frolich fled to Canada and worked as a printer in

Windsor, Ontario Windsor ( ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is situated on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from the U.S city of Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Esse ...

, for a year. Governor Clayton offered a $1,000 bounty for his arrest. He returned to Arkansas in June 1871, when bail was offered. He demanded a trial and was acquitted when the prosecutor was unable to produce evidence. In 1874, he was elected as assistant secretary of the state Senate and as chief secretary of the state Senate in 1878. He served in the Arkansas Militia and as adjutant general from April 8, 1877, to 1879. He served as Secretary of State of Arkansas for three terms, from 1879 to 1885. He implemented improvements to the Arkansas State House including updating the gate, removing barracks, and acquiring portraits of famous Arkansans. Frolich moved to Washington, D.C., and worked in the Grover Cleveland administration as chief clerk of the Mineral Division of the Interior Department and as chief financial clerk of the Patent Office. He returned to Arkansas in 1889 and worked as business manager for the ''

Arkansas Gazette The ''Arkansas Gazette'' was a newspaper in Little Rock, Arkansas, that was published from 1819 to 1991. It was known as the oldest newspaper west of the Mississippi River. It was located from 1908 until its closing at the now historic Gazette ...

'' newspaper. He left the ''Gazette'' in 1890 and worked for the J.H. Sannoner & Co. mercantile business. He declared himself a candidate for state treasurer but died prior to the election. He died in Little Rock on April 25, 1890, and was interred at Oakland Cemetery in Little Rock.

Personal life

Frolich married Mollie Gaines Finley on September 2, 1869, and they had three children.

References

Citations Sources *

External links

University of Arkansas Archives of Correspondence of Jacob Frolich to Fontaine Richard Earle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frolich, Jacob 1837 births 1890 deaths American Ku Klux Klan members American newspaper publishers (people) American people acquitted of murder Arkansas Democrats Arkansas National Guard personnel Bavarian emigrants to the United States Confederate States Army officers People from Donau-Ries People from Searcy, Arkansas People of Arkansas in the American Civil War Secretaries of state of Arkansas