Frank William FRIES, Congress, IL (1893-1980)

FRIES, Frank William, a Representative from Illinois; born in Hornsby, Macoupin County, Ill., May 1, 1893; moved with his parents to Gillespie, Ill., in 1904; attended the public schools; coal miner 1915-1917; during the First World War served as a sergeant in the Thirty-seventh Company, One Hundred and Fifty-third Depot Brigade, United States Army, from April 1918 to December 1918; coal mine operator in 1920 and 1921; engaged in the insurance business 1922-1927; moved to Carlinville, Ill., in 1930 and engaged in the wholesale produce business; sheriff of Macoupin County 1930-1934; member of the State house of representatives 1934-1936; elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-fifth and Seventy-sixth Congresses (January 3, 1937-January 3, 1941); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1940 to the Seventy-seventh Congress; was an arbitrator in the coal industry, 1941-1969; was a resident of Gillespie, Ill., until his death on July 17, 1980; interment in Holy Cross Cemetery.

Bibliography

Fries, Frank. Frank Fries Memoir: Coal Mining and Union Activities Project. Springfield, IL: Sangamon State University, 1975.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present