Benjamin Freye Papers

Collection

Identifier: MSS-155

Scope and Content Note

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The Benjamin Freye Papers house diaries, correspondence, certificates, diplomas, news clippings, photographic prints, and films documenting the career of a Civilian Conservation Corps chaplain. The materials in the collection date from 1910 to 1969.

Series I: Photographs consists primarily of black and white snapshots dating from 1910 to 1954. These images are mostly family group portraits, army officers' group portraits, and Civilian Conservation Corps activities. Also included are images are of British aviation cadets training at Falcon U.S. Army Air Field, Arizona (near the city of Mesa) during the Second World War.

Series II: Papers includes diaries, correspondence, certificates, diplomas, news clippings, and printed matter dating from 1911 to 1947. Sub-Series A: Subject Files contains diaries, correspondence, certificates, and diplomas (1911-1969). Sub-Series B: Scrap Books is composed of news clippings and ephemera (1927-1947).

Series III: Films, circa 1935, documents Civilian Conservation Corps activities.

Dates

Creation: 1910-1969

Creator

Freye, Benjamin, 1887-1945 (Person)

Language of Materials

Material in English

Access Restrictions

To view this collection, make an appointment at least five business days prior to your visit by contacting Ask an Archivist. Appointments in the Wurzburger Reading Room at Hayden Library (rm. 138) on the Tempe campus are available Tuesday through Thursday, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Check the ASU Library Hours page for current availability.

Copyright

Arizona State University does not own the copyright to this collection. We recognize that it is incumbent upon the researcher to procure permission to publish information from this collection from the owner of the copyright.

Biographical Note

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Rev. Benjamin Henry Freye, Civilian Conservation Corps chaplain, was born to Henry B. and Matilda (Kern) Freye in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on September 9, 1887. He was one of seven children, including Samuel Philip (1882-), Walter Martin (1885-), David William (1888-1962), Oscar Alex (1890-), George Harris (1896-), and Julia (Freye) Wilker (1900-1969). The family moved to Phoenix, Arizona in 1897. Benjamin Freye returned to Wisconsin in order to attend Carroll College in Waukesha, where he studied theology and was eventually ordained a Presbyterian minister. In 1908, he married Lillie Mary Busse (1887-1979) and the couple had one daughter, Harriet Lillian (1918-1996).

The Freye family later moved to Denver, Colorado where Benjamin Freye was influential in creating a local cathedral. In 1935, the family returned to Phoenix, where Benjamin Freye served as pastor of the Aurora Community Church. He also served as the State Supervising Chaplain of the Civilian Conservation Corps at the rank of Captain and as the servicemen's secretary of the Young Men's Christian Association. Benjamin Freye died of heart disease in Phoenix on March 2, 1945.