Abstract

Genealogical files of Oren Ernest Frazee which are divided into family records, state records, and Frazee records. An index to over 90 family surnames is included in the register. Besides the Frazee surname lines, the Devol family lines are also represented.

Note: Personal information and papers on Oren Ernest Frazee and his wife Alice DeVol Frazee are available at the Area Research Center at the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse.
Acc. No. X-27 (pre-1970)
Donated by Alice Frazee Ginn
Processed by Bill Petersen, August 1984 and Nancy Steinhoff, October 1989

Biography

Oren Ernest Frazee, professor of biology and avid genealogist, was born March 10, 1880 in Wabash County, Indiana. He attended the Indiana State Normal School in Terre Haute, Indiana and later received his bachelor of arts degree from the University of Indiana in 1909. In 1912, Frazee earned his master of arts degree, also at the University of Indiana. Other formal education included graduate work at Harvard in 1928. Frazee taught at elementary and secondary schools in Indiana and Illinois from 1906 to 1915. In 1915 he became head of the biology department at the Minnesota State Teacher’s College in St. Cloud, Minnesota. In 1920 Frazze came to La Crosse to accept a position as head of the biological sciences department at what was then called the La Crosse Normal School. He remained at that position until his retirement in 1950.

Frazee was a member of the American Association of University Professors, the Association of Wisconsin State College Faculties and the Presbyterian Church. In 1950 he was named professor emeritus by the Board of Regents of the State Colleges. In 1956 the La Crosse State College established an award named after Frazee that was given to students that excelled in sciences.

With his keen interest in genealogy, Frazee collected information and wrote manuscripts on several related Families. Fifteen of these manuscripts are on file with the institute of American Genealogy in Chicago. Frazee was a member of the Institution of American Genealogy and had received that organization’s Award of Merit. Frazee collaborated in the publication of the Genealogy of Doniphan-Frazee-Hamilton Lines published in 1929.

Frazee married the former Alice B. Devol in 1912. They had one daughter, Mrs. Alice Ginn. Frazee died March 22, 1960.

Scope and Content

The materials in the Frazee genealogical collection are a compilation of information representing the histories of over 90 different families collected by Frazee during his years of genealogical research. The collection has been divided into three categories: family records, state records, and Frazee records. Materials in these categories are arranged by family name, state name, or Frazee first name.

Materials in the state records include information taken from census records of the particular state, excerpts from state and local histories, cemetery records and state and county records. There are also some state records in the Frazee files.

The information found in the family and Frazee records consist mainly of correspondence dealing with genealogical inquiries, hand-drawn family charts, newspaper clippings pertaining to the family genealogy, and some photographs of family members. Only a few of the files contain photographs, but most of these photographs include the names of the people in them and the dates that they were taken. There are also some greeting cards, church announcements and announcements of family events (births, reunions, weddings, etc.) in the collection.

The Frazee records consist of three notebooks titled Record Books, which are a compilation of research and correspondence of the Frazee family. Most of the files support the notebooks and may include descendant charts or lists of persons who married into the Frazee family.