Statewide County HI Archives Biographies.....Frear, Walter Francis October 29, 1863 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/hi/hifiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: J. Orr jessicanorr@gmail.com July 5, 2011, 9:14 pm Source: The Story of Hawaii and Its Builders, Honolulu Star Bulletin, Ltd. Territory of Hawaii, 1925 Author: Edited by George F. Nellist WALTER FRANCIS FREAR, Lawyer and Jurist. A resident of Honolulu since early childhood, Walter F. Frear has not only attained distinction in the legal profession, but has also served Hawaii in its highest executive and judicial offices, as governor and as chief justice of the Supreme Court, the only man in the history of the Territory to have occupied both of these responsible positions. Beginning his career as an instructor at Oahu College in 1886, where he taught Greek, mathematics and political economy before taking up the study of law, Mr. Frear, in addition to his political and judicial honors, has also served Hawaii in the framing of many territorial laws and has been active in philanthropic and church work both at home and abroad. For some years senior member of the law firm of Frear, Prosser, Anderson & Marx, Mr. Frear plans to retire from this association late in 1925 to assume the active presidency of the Bishop Trust Co., Ltd., to which he was elected in February, 1924. Born in Grass Valley, Calif., October 29, 1863, Mr. Frear is the son of Walter and Fannie E. (Foster) Frear. He is descended on his father’s side from Hughes Frere, a French Huguenot who emigrated to New York from Flanders in 1676 and was one of the twelve founders of New Paltz, New York. On his mother’s side, he is a descendant of George Soule, who came to America with the Mayflower Pilgrims. Arriving here with his parents at the age of seven, Mr. Frear first saw Hawaii on Christmas morning, 1870. He was graduated from Oahu College in 1881 and received his A.B. degree at Yale University in 1885. After serving as an instructor at Oahu College, Mr. Frear entered Yale Law School, receiving an LL.B. degree in 1890 and was awarded the Jewell prize for the best examination at graduation. In 1910 the honorary degree of LL.D. was conferred on him by Yale University. Returning to Hawaii, he was appointed second judge, First Circuit Court, by Queen Liliuokalani on January 1, 1893, just before the revolution which ended the monarchy, and was appointed second associate justice of the Supreme Court by the Provisional Government, March 7, 1893. During the Republic of Hawaii, Mr. Frear was made first associate justice of the Supreme Court, January 6, 1896. In 1898, following annexation by the United States, he was appointed by President McKinley a member of the commission to recommend to Congress legislation concerning Hawaii. This commission recommended that Hawaii be made a territory and drafted the Organic Act which was enacted by Congress. Mr. Frear was appointed chief justice of the Supreme Court, Territory of Hawaii, June 14, 1900, serving until August 15, 1907. From 1903 to 1905 he was chairman of the Code Commission, which compiled, revised and annotated all the laws of Hawaii, and from 1923 to 1925 served as a member of the Compilation Commission which brought the earlier revision up to date. Appointed Governor of Hawaii in 1907 by President Roosevelt, Mr. Frear remained in office until 1913, at the head of an administration noted for its efficiency and progressive measures. He was chairman of the Hawaiian delegation to the Republican National Convention in 1912. President of the trustees and a deacon of Central Union Church and a vice- president of the Hawaiian Evangelical Association, Mr. Frear has been a factor in the development of the Y.M.C.A., Social Service Bureau, Palama Settlement and the United Welfare Campaign. He is a member of the general council of the International Institute for Girls, an educational institute in Madrid, Spain, and was for some years a trustee of Oahu College. He is first vice-president of the Pan-Pacific Union. Mr. Frear married Mary Emma Dillingham, daughter of the late Benjamin F. Dillingham, Hawaii’s railroad builder, in Honolulu August 1, 1893. Mrs. Frear (A.B., Wellesley College), active in social and welfare work, has won distinction as a writer of verse and music, her work dealing largely with Hawaiian subjects. Mr. Frear has also done much writing, particularly on legal topics. He is the author of “The Evolution of the Hawaiian Judiciary” and “The Development of Hawaiian Statute Law.” Mr. Frear is a director of the Bank of Bishop & Co., Ltd., the Mutual Telephone Co., Ltd., the San Carlos Milling Co., Ltd., the B. F. Dillingham Co., Ltd., and the Hawaiian Contracting Co., Ltd., and is a resident vice- president of the Aetna Casualty and Liability Co., and a trustee for the bond- holders of the Oahu Railway and Land Co. He has served also as a director of other banking, railroad, sugar and pineapple companies and of the Honolulu Chamber of Commerce. He is an honorary member of the Royal Geographical Society of Australia, a member of the Daughters and Sons of Hawaiian Warriors, the Hawaiian Bar Association, the Hawaiian Historical Society, the Honolulu Social Science Association and the University, Pacific, Commercial and Oahu Country clubs. 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