Marvin Le Grande Fritchman, a prominent business man and influential citizen of Freemansburg, Pennsylvania, a native of the town of South Bethlehem, in this State, where his birth occurred December 29, 1891. He is a member of a family which has resided in this State for a number of generations, his great-great-grandfather having been a native of Germany, and a pioneer settler of Pennsylvania.
This immigrant ancestor came to America before the Revolution, and his son, William Fritchman, was instrumental in the construction of the Lehigh canal, and became its first superintendent. His son, Peter Fritchman, the grandfather of the Mr. Fritchman of this sketch, lived in this region, and after completing a course in the high school was himself a teacher in the public educational institutions for a number of years. He afterwards became a clerk in a mercantile line of business, and eventually went into business for himself as a contractor. He erected several large bridges for the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company and put up the Northampton county prison at Easton.
William Bion Fritchman, son of Peter Fritchman, and father of Marvin Le Grande Fritchman, is a prominent citizen of this community, and at present serving his second term as postmaster of Freemansburg, under the Wilson administration. He also served during the two administrations of Grover Cleveland, and has been very prominent in local affairs. He is a member of the Town Council and has served on the School Board and in several other capacities at various times. He is a staunch Democrat in politics, and is one of the leaders of his party hereabouts. William Bion Fritchman has been twice married, the first time to Belle F. Snyder, a daughter of Mrs. Anna M. Snyder, of this place, by whom he had the following children: Calanthe L., Paul A., and W. Bion, Jr. He married (second) Millie N. A. Ochs, a daughter of Tighlman Ochs of Allentown, Pennsylvania, by whom he had the following children: Marvin Le Grande, with whose career we are here especially concerned, Emily Margaret, Leon A., and Harold D.
Marvin Le Grande Fritchman passed but the first few years of his life at South Bethlehem, where he was born, his family then removing to Freemansburg, which place has since remained his home. It was here that he attended the public schools, graduating from the Freemansburg High School with the class of 1906. He completed his schooling at the Allentown Preparatory School in 1908, and in the fall of that year entered Lehigh University, where he took up the courses in chemistry. In 1910 Mr. Fritchman accepted a position in the office of the Bethlehem Steel Company, but left this place a little later to take up the duties of assistant chemist with the Pennsylvania Cement Company, of Bath, Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, however, his health failed at about this time and he was compelled to resign. With the intention of finding some work which would keep him more in the open air, Mr. Fritchman, shortly after his resignation, entered the office of the Globe Publishing Company of Bethlehem, as a reporter, and served that concern in this capacity for about seven years. His health having been practically restored in that time, he became associated with the Bethlehem Steel Company and is at present serving that concern in charge of the drop forging order department. For a young man of his age, Mr. Fritchman has already made a very considerable position for himself, not only with the company that he is directly connected with, but in the business circles of Bethlehem and Freemansburg, and is regarded in both places as a very progressive and capable business man. Mr. Fritchman has always taken a lively interest in politics, and has played no small part in public affairs, having served in several local offices here. For two years he served as borough auditor, and is now holding his third term on the county committee of the Democratic party. In 1915 he was elected justice of the peace by the citizens of Freemansburg. Like his father he is a staunch Democrat, and ardently devoted to the principles and policies of his party. He is also a well known member of several orders and similar organizations here, and is affiliated especially with the Masonic order and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mr. Fritchman is a Lutheran in his religious belief, and has for many years been a member of Christ Church of this denomination at Freemansburg.
Marvin Le Grande Fritchman was united in marriage, January 27, 1916, at Philadelphia, with Maude E. Getter, a daughter of Irvin and Elizabeth (Herger) Getter, old and highly respected residents of this place. Mr. and Mrs. Fritchman are the parents of one child, Marvin Le Grande, Jr., born January 29, 1917.
Source: History of Northampton County [Pennsylvania] and The Grand Valley of the Lehigh; Under Supervision and Revisions of William J. Heller; Assisted by An Advisory Board of Editors, Volume I; The American Historical Society; 1920, Boston, New York, Chicago. (Pages 341 & 342)