Archive Record
Metadata
Catalog Number |
MSNC01094 |
Filing Title |
Frey family papers |
Collection |
Frey family papers |
Dates of Creation |
1871-1995 |
Extent |
7 boxes (7.2 linear ft.) |
Scope & Content |
This collection consists of a broad and diverse array of records and photographs retained by various members of the Frey family over a period of many years. Much of the collection consists of a medley of keepsakes, greeting cards, news clippings, magazine illustrations, souvenir postcards, and photographs, among other ephemera. Includes letters received by Lizzie Dolley Frey that date from the 1890s; legal documents regarding property acquisitions, wills, deeds, etc.; and letters to Anna Frey Hill from her son. There are several folders of material related to Sally Frey, Anna Frey Hill, and Charles Leland Hill pertaining to their activities and graduation from the University of Nevada. The collection also includes a large number of photographs, family portraits, and photo albums, some of which date to the late 1800s. Most of the subjects are not identified. |
Admin/Biographical History |
Pioneer Nevada family who arrived in Nevada in 1860. Joseph Frey was born in Alsace, France in 1834, and immigrated to the United States at the age of 15. He went to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he found work as a gardener for a short period, and then to New Orleans, Louisiana where he got into the butcher's trade. Frey then traveled West by wagon train in 1854. He spent six months in California, then moved to Genoa, in Utah Territory, in 1855. He spent a year in Genoa and went to Placerville, California until 1859. In 1860 he purchased a farm in Franktown, Nevada. Frey was a farmer and butcher in Franktown and served on the Washoe County Board of Commissioners, the Washoe County Grand Jury, and was school trustee for the Franktown School District during the 1860s and 1870s. In November 1862, Frey married Louisa Schaffer, from Germany. They had twelve children, although two died in childhood. They lived on their ranch until 1879 when the family moved to a farm on Hunter Lake Drive in Reno. In 1894, Joseph and Louisa purchased a 240-acre ranch from Enoch Morrill. Morrill had much of his land under cultivation, but the Freys expanded the operation. They raised cattle and hogs for meat and grew alfalfa and supplied dairy products to markets, including Reno and Virginia City. Louisa established orchards on the ranch and became famous for her apples and apple cider. She managed a portion of the ranch, producing 1,000 boxes of apples per year, and grew vegetables, put up ham and bacon, and sold milk to surrounding towns. It was reported that her earnings enabled her to send her children to college. Joseph died in 1915 at the age of 81, and Louisa died on August 1, 1917, at age 76. The ranch was passed on to their children and was managed by the youngest son, Jack, for many years. Around 1927, Jack decided to take advantage of the divorce trade and remodeled much of the upstairs of the main house into separate bedrooms, added its first indoor bathroom, and began operating the property as a dude ranch. It is not known how long the ranch operated in this fashion, but Jack's name last appeared at the Frey Ranch in the 1944 city directory. Several of Joseph's other sons and grandsons continued ranching, settling in the Reno and Fallon areas. Today, the main house and outbuildings sit on 0.972 acres of land at 1140 West Peckham Lane in Reno, Nevada. The ranch is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Joseph and Louisa Frey's son, Frank J., married Lizzie (Mary) Dolley on January 1, 1902. The marriage produced four daughters: Amelia, Anna, Elizabeth (Sally), and Josephine. Amelia married Edward Hand. They had six children: Virginia, Elma Dee, Melva, Arlene and Arland (twins), and James, who was adopted. The Hand family lived in the Reno area and in Northern California over a period of many years. Edward Hand was a railroad employee for part of his working life. There are numerous mostly unidentified photographs from the Hand family, as well as some correspondence that are part of this collection. Amelia died in 1962 and Edward in 1967. Anna Frey married Charles L. Hill, both graduates of the University of Nevada. Charles died about two years later. Anna subsequently adopted two children, Frank and Ellen Hill. She and her sister Sally Elizabeth Frey lived together for many years. |
Finding Aids |
Frey family papers finding aid |
Language of Material |
English |
Copyrights |
For copyright information, please contact the Nevada Historical Society. |