Letter and Envelope, Arkansas Secretary of State
Object number2015.029.06.1-2
Date15 June 1880
Associated LocationArkansas
Associated LocationLittle Rock, Arkansas
MediumPaper, Ink
Dimensions8 3/8 × 5 5/16 in. (21.2 × 13.5 cm)
Credit LineOld State House Museum Collection
Terms
H.I. Falconer served as sheriff of Sebastian County from 1874-1884; this letter addresses the requisition of suspected murderer William Henley (or Henly). The secretary of state's office was at the Old State House from 1836 - 1911.
Jacob Frolich was a German immigrant and a Confederate soldier who became an active and high-profile figure in post–Civil War Arkansas politics. An alleged leader of the Ku Klux Klan in Arkansas, he was accused of murder in a case that highlighted the political divisions in the state at that time. In the end, Frolich was acquitted of the charges. In 1874, he was elected assistant secretary of the Arkansas Senate, and he became chief secretary of the Senate in 1877. The following year, he was elected Arkansas’s secretary of state and went on to be elected to three two-year terms, he held the post from 1879 to 1885. As secretary of state, Frolich paid particular attention to the care of the State House, urging the legislature to provide adequate funding for needed repairs and annual upkeep. After completing his terms as secretary of state, Frolich went to Washington DC, where he became chief clerk of the Mineral Division of the Department of the Interior under President Grover Cleveland. After President Cleveland left the office, he returned to Little Rock and soon after announced his candidacy for the office of state treasurer. However, on April 25, 1890, Frolich died at his home following a surgical procedure.
Status
Not on view
June 14, 1880
15 October 1880
May 1, 1865
November 13, 1878
6 September 1892