J. Fremont Hickman

John Fremont Hickman, son of Nicholas Biddle Hickman and Nancy (Hickman) Hickman was born on the family farm in Columbiana County, Ohio, 3 July 1856. Raised on the farm, he received a B.S. in agriculture in 1881 and a Masters in Agricultural Science in 1883, both from the State College of Pennsylvania. He served for a short time as superintendent at that College's Eastern Experimental Farm in West Grove, Penn. In 1883 he returned to the family farm to care for it and his ailing father. In 1887, somewhat reluctantly, he accepted the position of Agriculturist at the Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station. It was there, presumably, that he met his future wife, Bertha E. Wildman, bookkeeper at the Station. They were married in Selma, Ohio, on 6 March 1895, and had two children, Hilda Lucille and Roger Wayne.
Well-known in his profession, J. Fremont served as President of the Continental Dorset Club in 1900 and as Vice-President of the National Dairy Congress; he was a member of the Ohio Dairy Union. He also served as a director of the Wayne County Building and Loan Association. According to his sister, Bell Hickman, he wore himself out working and traveling to various parts of the country to speak before agricultural conventions. He died of complications from Typhoid fever on 22/23 Oct 1902. Notice of his death appeared in the *New York Times*.
----From the writings of his sister, Bell Hickman, and of his son, Roger Wayne Hickman and from his obituaries.