Today we share the second in the three part series on a Galion resident who had a significant role at an important time in American history. In this first installment, we look at that moment in time.
The first part can be found here.
As we shared yesterday, on February 11, 1861, Abraham Lincoln was set to make the several hundred mile trip from Springfield, Illinois to Washington, D.C. to be sworn in as America’s 16th president.
Five weeks earlier, a New Year’s event was held in Springfield, and Lincoln’s most ardent friends gathered in their house for refreshments provided by his supporters. Among the guests were a husband and wife, family friends, who lived just two blocks to the south.
The Lincolns lived on the northeast corner of Eighth and Jackson Streets (the house is today a National Historic Landmark), while Elias and Harriet Fralick lived near the southwest corner of Eighth and Cook Streets. The street names have not changed in 160 years. Below is a snippet of an 1867 map of Springfield with the location of both houses marked — Lincolns on the right and Fralicks on the left.
Elias was an engineer then serving on the Wabash Railroad. He was born in New York in 1832, and had signed on with the Erie Railroad in 1853 and then moved west to Illinois. A natural talent, he had his own railroad engine within eighteen months. In 1860, he set a speed record for the Wabash line.
The Fralicks and Lincolns knew each other well. Elias remembered in later years being given a big piece of the cake sent to the Lincolns for the New Year’s event.
By February 11, Fralick saw the President-Elect again. Accounts differ if it was the railroad which called upon his services or his friend Abraham Lincoln, but whichever was the case he was entrusted by the President-Elect to assume a very important role.
As Lincoln finished the remarks we shared yesterday, the train’s engineer was manning the throttle and brakes. The train then slowly pulled out of the station and headed toward Washington, D.C.. The train, a Hinckley locomotive called the “L.M. Wiley,” had just two coach cars.
Being the engineer of that particular train was a high honor but also a serious responsibility. The conditions were such that the President of the railroad was part of the entourage, making certain that everything went according to plan. Train travel presented many more challenges in that era, and they needed someone they could trust at the helm.
So when Lincoln was making his long-remembered remarks and leaving Springfield forever, Elias H. Fralick, Lincoln’s engineer, was the man in charge of the train itself.
Fralick took the entourage as far as the Indiana state line, where the rail lines changed.
At some point between 1860 and 1863, Springfield City Directories show that the Fralicks had moved — to the corner of Jackson and Eighth. In other words, they lived directly across the street, or catty-cornered, from the Lincoln House during the time the Lincolns lived in the White House.
After the war and Lincoln’s death, the Fralicks moved east to another railroad town – Galion! We’ll look where they settled next week.
Each Saturday, we share a post about local history. We call this series “Galion History Corner,” and we will be sharing not only stories about our shared heritage but also updates on history news here in southeast Crawford County.
This series is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Bernard M. Mansfield, whose “Your Historical Galion” was a fixture in weekend editions of the Galion Inquirer. Dr. Mansfield was a friend and family physician, and he inspired the current generation of Galion historians to continue his work.
