- FRED E. HARRIMAN, one of the well known and highly esteemed citizens of Appleton, Wisconsin, was born in that city October 23, 1862, and by profession is an attorney at law, having been admitted to the bar March 3, 1885. He is quite extensively engaged in the real estate business, and together with his sons, Fred E. Harriman, Jr., and R. M. Harriman, are among the most extensive "Pure Bred" live stock breeders in the state. He is a member of one of Outagamie county's most popular and honored families which has furnished men who have become prominent in various professions. He is a son of the late Judge Joseph E. Harriman, and Celia Pratt Harriman. Judge Harriman was born at Louisville, St. Lawrence county, New York, August 14, 1834. On coming to Wisconsin in 1852, he located at Eagle, Walworth county, and four years later moved to Appleton. In 1860, Judge Harriman was married to Celia P. Pratt, daughter of Miles and Deborah (Cooley) Pratt, and sister of the late Judge Thomas H. Cooley, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, one of the justices of the Supreme Court of that state, and a noted law writer, being the author of Cooley on Torts, Cooley on Taxation, Cooley on Constitutional Law, etc., and was the first president of the Interstate Commerce Comsion, appointed by Grover Cleveland. The family is descended from the Col. Putnam family of Revolutionary War fame. To this union these survived: Frank W., a prominent member of the bar and who has been probate judge, and city mayor, and has held numerous offices of trust and honor including that of postmaster of Appleton under the McKinley administration; Fred E.; Florian J.; and Flora L., now the wife of F. E. Perry, of Pomona, California. In 1860 Judge Harriman was elected treasurer of Appleton. Later he engaged in the mercantile business, and in 1864, and 1869, he was elected alderman. He served as justice of the peace from 1869, until 1873, and in the latter year, he was elected probate judge by an overwhelming vote. In 1877 he was re-elected, and again in 1881 and in 1885, with pronounced majorities, which position he occupied at the time of his death. In 1876, he was elected mayor after the hottest contest for that office Appleton had ever known. He was school treasurer of the second district from 1884, to 1887, when he removed from the district. In 1887 he was park commissioner. In 1886 Judge Harriman with others organized the Appleton Electric Street Railway Company, and put in operation the first public electric street railway in the United States, and was president and manager of the company at the time of his demise. To him, more than any other score of men, was due the erection of the magnificent Odd Fellows' building, which was dedicated January 1, 1889, in which he took part and which was his last public act as an Odd Fellow. He was elected secretary and treasurer of the Appleton Cemetery Association in 1872, which he held at the time of his death, and it was due to his foresight, more than that of any other citizen, that Appleton is provided with a cemetery that has become famous for its attraction, natural and artificial. Endowed with a sturdy mind, fostered by an indomitable will, clothed with a conviction of right and justice, he became the leader of his time; so pronounced was his popularity that although the county and city was strongly democratic, he was the only republican at that date who ever carried the county and city, which testified to the citizens' abiding faith in him. Twenty years has passed since the flags were displayed at half mast on all the public and principal buildings of the city, and more than three thousand people followed his remains to their resting place. Reverently and tenderly his remains were returned to Mother Earth at Riverside where green grass now covers his grave, blue skies span it, sweet birds sing near it, and the music of passing waters impart a quiet bliss to his final sleep. The memory and fame of Joseph E. Harriman is seen on every side, and long after the memory of man of the present day shall have passed away, there will still remain in the archives of human events of beautiful Appleton the record of his fidelity for progress, integrity and justice.
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1862 - Yes, date unknown
1870 Census
