CHARLES G. FRISBIE, proprietor of a fine farm of 240 acres, on section 31, Silver Creek Township, where he has been actively engaged in agricultural pursuits for the last eighteen years, is numbered among its representative citizens. He is a New Englander by birth, and first opened his eyes to the light in Hartford County, Conn., Aug. 31, 1847. His father, James Frisbie, was a native of the same State, and prided himself upon being of pure, unadulterated Yankee blood. The grandfather of our subject, by name Gad Frisbie, was of English ancestry, who came to the United States prior to the Revolutionary War, a number of whom assisted the Colonists in their struggle for freedom. He married Miss Eliza Pettibone, and in connection with the labor involved in keeping up a large farm, also operated a public house, serving successfully as “mine host” for a long period. The grandparents both lived to an advanced age, each being nearly eighty-seven years old at the time of death.

James Frisbie, the father of our subject, after reaching years of manhood married Miss Henrietta Pettibone, a native of his own State, and of similar ancestry. They emigrated to Illinois in 1857, and the father of our subject opened up a good farm in Silver Creek Township, where the parents lived for the following ten years, then, with all their children except Charles G., they crossed the Mississippi into Montgomery County, Mo., and took up a homestead, where they have since resided. James Frisbie is now sixty-five years of age, and his wife, Henrietta, sixty-one. He is a member of the Republican party, and the mother belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Charles G. Frisbie was the second of ten children, consisting of seven sons and three daughters, born to his parents, all living, and eight of them married. They held a family reunion on the 26th of September, 1886, which was made the occasion of general rejoicing, and was really an interesting and remarkable spectacle to look upon, the parents hale and hearty, with their ten children, in the very midst of their strength and usefulness. Charles G., in common with his brothers and sisters, was educated in the district school, and remained a member of the household until the breaking out of the late war. Although then but a youth of seventeen years, he was accepted as a Union soldier, in Co. C, 46th Ill. Vol. Inf., with which he served until the close of the war, and returned home in safety. Soon after leaving the army he returned to Silver Creek Township, and prepared to resume farming. After laying the foundations of a future home, by purchasing a tract of land, he was united in marriage, Dec. 16, 1869, with Miss Mary E. Vought, the wedding taking place at the home of the bride in Silver Creek Township. Mrs. Frisbie was born on her father’s homestead in the above named township, Aug. 24, 1849, and is the daughter of Godfrey and Lucy (Wilson) Vought, who are now residents of Freeport. They came to this county in 1844, and are numbered among its most highly respected citizens. The parental family included nine children, two of whom are deceased. Five of the seven survivors are married. Mrs. F. was educated in the district schools, and remained with her parents until her marriage. Her three children were named respectively, Verna M., James V. and Daniel William. The latter child was christened in honor of an uncle who died in the army, and now fills a soldier’s grave in Scott’s Cemetery. Mrs. Frisbie is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and Mr. Frisbie is Republican in politics. He has been a useful man in his community. He has served as Road Commissioner three terms.

The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Frisbie was an Englishman by birth, and a skilled mechanic, who served as foreman in the shops of Robert Fulton, during the building of the first vessel that was operated by steam, and to which the discovery by this great man, of utilizing steam as a propelling power, was then applied. This boat was ironed throughout by Adam Wilson.

Transcribed by Carol Parrish
History of Stephenson County 1888 Portrait & Biographical Pg 355