From a biographical sketch written by Gertrude Gilleland Harlow:

"Frederick Pease Harlow was born Dec. 12 1856, the youngest of six children of a Methodist minister William Thompson Harlow and his wife Frances Ann Winsor. He was also an educator, being the Principal of the Rock River Seminary in Mt. Morris Illinois, where Fred was born. His brothers and sisters had been born in New England. His father's family was from Plymouth, Massachusetts and his mother's from Duxbury, Massachusetts. When Fred was ten years old the family returned to Duxbury. Fred watched the landing of the French Atlantic cable - which was the first cable to operate successfully. His father accepted a church in Bristol, Rhode Island where Fred went to school. Later they moved to Newport, Rhode Island where Fred graduated from high school.

Then he went to sea. Later he shipped on the AKBAR and was gone two years on a trip to Australia. His father's people were ministers and his mother's people were seafaring. All of the boys went to sea for some time. Fred left the sea and went to Chicago where his oldest sister lived. Her husband was a Methodist minister. Fred worked for a Methodist bookstore.

Then he went to Kansas City where his sister Juliet lived. Her husband, Hal H. Browning was with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe [Railroad]. Fred was express messenger for some time on the railroad. While running on the train near Coolidge, New Mexico the train was in a wreck. They were stranded there four weeks and Apache indians were on the war path near there on account of washouts on the railroad. There were indian war hoops as they raided the round house expecting to surprise the people, but the engineers and firemen drew their revolvers and killed three indians on their horses as they approached, so the other indians rode away in the darkness. There was trouble all along the line.

Fred was then made express agent in La Junta, Colorado for some time, as he had injured his leg by a package being thrown into his car. In the meantime some of the family had gone to Portland, Oregon. His brother was agent of the Wells Fargo Express Co. Fred got a position there, then he was sent to Seattle as agent for the Northern Pacific Express Co.

February 14, 1898 he was married to Gertrude Gilleland. They bought a home where they lived until his death September 10, 1952. They had one daughter, Frances Winsor Harlow. When he left the Express Co. he studied expert book keeping and did that kind of work for the rest of his life.

During the first world war he was accountant for the Washington Shipping Corporation. They built six four-masted auxiliary-powered wooden schooners for the French government. He enjoyed watching the building of these schooners more than anything he had done since he left the sea. Our daughter christened one of the ships.

In the 1920's he wrote "The Making of a Sailor" which was published by the Marine Research Society of Salem, Massachusetts. Many say it is the best sea narrative ever written... During the latter part of his life [ca. 1928-1931] he made four very fine ship models [AKBAR, CONQUEST, GLORY OF THE SEAS, and GREAT ADMIRAL].

When F.P. Harlow retired in the early thirties he took a three year trip around the world, [and] motored all over the U.S.A. and Canada. Then we took a steamer from Los Angeles and spent two years traveling all over the world. [We] spent one year in the Orient. When we returned he wrote a book about our trip but the only publisher he sent it to returned it as being too long. He was interested in rewriting it but did not finish it..."