From the History of Somerville, New Jersey, 1909-84.
A standout figure in the history of Somerset County, New Jersey, World War I veteran Freas Leslie Hess served a decade as mayor of Somerville and midway through his terms won a seat in the state assembly. He later was elected by his fellow representatives as speaker of the house for the 1945 session and also served as majority leader. Hess continued his political ascent in 1948, when he was elected to the state senate, and continued in that office until 1951. The son of James Gearhart (1865-1939) and Eleanor Amelia (Stevens) Hess (1866-1937), Freas Leslie Hess was born in Thorndale, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania on March 11, 1896.
During his youth, Hess was a student in the Sonestown, Pennsylvania school district and graduated from the local high school in 1913. He entered the workforce in the early 1910s when he joined the Garlock Packing Company of Palmyra, New York, and in 1916 took employment with the Johns-Manville Corporation, then located in Manville in Somerset County, New Jersey. He continued affiliation with that company until his death, being superintendent of packings at the time of his passing.
Shortly after joining Johns-Manville Freas Hess was called to military duty, enlisting in the U.S. Army. He took rank among the 311th Infantry Reg., 78th Division, with which he would serve in France. Hess later attended Officer's Candidate School while in Europe and was commissioned a second lieutenant. He served until the close of WWI and was discharged in May 1919. Freas L. Hess married Wilhelmina Taylor (1890-1977) in April 1920, to who he was wed until his death. The couple had three children, Freas Leslie Jr. (1921-2001), and twins John Edwin (1929-2018) and Jean Elizabeth (1929-1997).
Returning to his position at Johns-Manville, Freas Hess was active in the Methodist Episcopal Church and the Y.M.C.A. In the 1920s, and in 1924 chaired the church's Pioneer Club banquet, which saw famed clergyman Samuel Parkes Cadman as a featured speaker. Hess took an active role in the Somerville Male Chorus, serving as its vice-president, and was active in several civic and fraternal groups, including the Somerville Exchange Club, the Harold Halstead VFW Post, the Boy Scouts, the Solomon's Lodge No. 46 of Free and Accepted Masons, and the Keystone Chapter No. 25 of Royal Arch Masons. A devoted baseball fan, Hess is remarked as having played semi-pro baseball during his early life.
Following his removal to Somerville Freas Hess took an active role in local Republican circles, and made his first foray into politics in 1928 when he was a candidate for the Somerville borough council. He won the election that November and served a three-year term. Towards the end of his term, Hess agreed to serve another year on the council to fill a vacancy, due to the resignation of Robert L. Adams, then mayor-elect of Somerville. Hess was reappointed to the council in January 1932 but refused to be a candidate for renomination that fall.
In April 1933 Hess announced his candidacy for mayor of Somerville. Hoping to garner the Republican nomination, Hess proved successful, and in the May primary was virtually assured the election, handily defeating his only serious challenger, councilman Fremont Masker. No Democratic candidates entered the mayoral primary, and that November Freas Hess was elected unopposed.
From the Bridgewater Courier-News, April 14, 1933.
"As to the future we feel, that good times are slowly and surely returning, and the time is not that far distant when everyone will have a chance to earn a fair and honest wage. We have learned during the past year or two that in these days of reconstruction, in order to be successful we must first get our house in order, pay our bills, and set up our business on a sound and economical basis. This we can certainly apply to the management of our borough and to this end we as your governing body pledge our best efforts."
All told Hess served five consecutive terms as mayor (1934-1944), and during his terms was a member of the administrative board of the New Jersey League of Municipalities, and in 1938 was president of the Somerset County Association of Mayors and Township Committee Chairmen. Midway through his mayoralty Hess was bolstered by his fellow Republicans as a potential candidate for the state assembly. After several months of consideration, Hess threw his hat in the ring in August 1938, remarking:
"To represent Somerset County in the state assembly would be an honor and an opportunity for broader public service. Because such an opportunity appeals to me and with a feeling that it is my duty to accept the call of the many voters who have expressed their confidence in me, I have consented to become a candidate for the Republican nomination."
From the Bridgewater Courier-News, August 9, 1938.
In September 1938 Hess defeated Frederick R. Wyckoff in the Republican primary, and that November bested Democrat Harvey S. Smalley Sr. by a "majority of 4,900." He took his seat in January 1939 and during the 1939-41 session was named to the committees on Corporations and Labor Industry, and the joint Sinking Fund Committee. Additionally, he would chair the joint committee on Buildings and Grounds. Hess continued to pull political double duty, serving as mayor of Somerville while an incumbent assemblyman. He was re-elected to the state assembly in 1940, and concluded his decade-long tenure as mayor in January 1944, being succeeded by Howard S. Lyon.
Hess's second assembly term saw him continue service on the committees on Corporations, and Labor and Industries. He also sat on the committee on Municipalities and was chairman of the committee on the Revision of the State Constitution. He would win a third term in 1942, and after his fourth assembly win in 1944 was elected by his fellow assemblymen as speaker of the house for the 1945 session. Described by the Bridgewater Courier News as "the quiet gentleman from Somerset County", Hess announced his main goal as speaker was to "put across the program of efficiency and governmental reform initiated last year by Gov. Walter E. Edge." During this term, Hess served as president of the Somerville Republican Municipal League from 1945-46.
Freas Hess was elected to one further term in the assembly in 1946, and served on the committee on Unemployment Compensation, and chaired the Committee on Military Affairs. In February 1947 he announced his bid for the state senate, hoping to succeed incumbent H. Rivington Pyne, and in June won the Republican nomination. In the days following his win, the Bridgewater Courier noted Hess's familiarity "with the problems of labor and industry in his position of superintendent of packing in the Manville factory of Johnson-Manville."
From the Bridgewater Courier, October 30, 1947.
The general election in November saw Hess defeat Democratic nominee Anthony Kearns, polling 14,673 votes to 7,305. Sworn in January 1948, early in his tenure Hess introduced Senate Bill 205, which aimed to create the Borough of Raritan in Somerset County. In his last year of service, he chaired the New Jersey Air Pollution Commission, which sought an appropriation of $35,000 for the state health department to combat air pollution. He continued to represent Somerset County in the senate until his defeat for renomination in April 1951, losing the Republican primary to Malcolm Forbes.
After leaving state government Freas Hess remained a leading citizen in his region, serving as a trustee of the Somerset Hospital, chairman of the Somerset County Officials Association (1938-1955), and until 1954 was director of Somerville Civilian Defense. He would serve as chairman of the Somerville-Raritan Sewage Authority until his death and was a member of the municipality committee of the New Jersey Taxpayer's Association. In May 1955, after three decades of public service to Somerville, Hess was named Man of the Year by the borough Chamber of Commerce and was feted with a reception at the Far Hills Inn in Somerville.
The last weeks of Hess's life were marred by ill health, and after a brief illness died at the Somerset Hospital on November 7, 1959, aged 63. Days following his death he was memorialized in the Bridgewater Courier News as having:
"Contributed much time and effort to various civic organizations, municipal and statewide governmental groups. Freas Hess had the ability of assuming responsibility and producing. He long will be remembered for his service to his home town, his state, and his fellow citizens."
Hess was survived by his wife of nearly forty years, Wilhelmina, and their three children. Following her death in 1977 Wilhelmina Taylor Hess was interred alongside her husband at the New Somerville Cemetery.
From the Central New Jersey Home News, November 8, 1959.
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