Memorial Record of Western Kentucky, Lewis Publishing Company, 1904,
pp 550-552 (portrait in document) [McCracken]

     JOSEPH L. FRIEDMAN.  Among the representative and enterprising
citizens and men of business affairs in Paducah, there is none more
conspicuous than he whose name introduces this personal memoir.  Mr.
Friedman was born in the city of Louisville, Kentucky, on the 14th
day of April, 1857, a son of the late Leopold Friedman and Louise
(Weil) Friedman.  Having received an excellent education in the
schools of Louisville and in Cecilian College, Mr. Friedman, at the
age of eighteen years, came to Paducah, Kentucky, where he accepted
a clerical position in a clothing store.  In 1878 he induced his
father to come to Paducah and establish a vinegar factory, under the
style of Joseph L. Friedman & Company, and thereafter, till the
death of his father in 1886, he was associated with the latter in
the manufacture and sale of vinegar, and from then he continued to
manage the business till 1890, when, to an advantage he sold, and
the manufactory has since been conducted by the O. L. Gregory
Vinegar Company.
     In 1890, Mr. Friedman entered into a partnership with his
brother-in-law, Mr. Keiler, for the distilling and wholesaling of
liquor, under the firm name of Friedman, Keiler & Company.  They
operate a distillery in Nelson county, Kentucky, and are the second
largest distillers and wholesalers of liquor in the state.  Their
famous brand is known as "Brook Hill," and their volume of business
has steadily increased from the beginning.  Taking into
consideration that the firm began business only thirteen years ago,
and to-day [sic] stand second among the many like concerns of the
state, the firm has met with remarkable success.  This success has
been well merited by reason of the splendid business management
together with fair dealing.
     Besides active connection with this firm Mr. Friedman is also
prominently identified with many other business enterprises of
Paducah, among which there might be mentioned the Paducah City
Railway Company, of which he is a director; the City National Bank,
of which he is vice president; the Palmer House Company, which owns
the Palmer House and the Kentucky Theater, and in which company Mr.
Friedman is the president; the Smith & Scott Tobacco Company, of
which he is a director; and in addition to these he holds interest
in other minor forms of business.  The business interests are
mentioned to show our subject's prominence in business affairs.  He
has a spirit of enterprise and progression well worthy of emulation. 
His remarkable success places him among the most active and sapient
business men of western Kentucky.
     In 1886 Mr. Friedman was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth
Keiler, a lady of rare accomplishments.  Their home is celebrated
for its generous hospitality, and both Mr. and Mrs. Friedman belong
to the highest circles of Paducah society.  Fraternally he is a
thirty-second degree Mason, and also a member of the Benevolent and
Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of
Honor.  In these orders he is popular, but no more so than he is
with all who know him.  While politically Mr. Friedman is a stanch
Democrat, he has never sought political preferment.  Instead, he
prefers the life of a purely business man, and his has been a
successful career in that field of activity.
     But in the affairs of life, where man meets man in everyday
relations, he has shown his noble character.  Among his hosts of
friends he is esteemed for his genial spirit and also for his
brotherly helpfulness in crises.  He never fails to respond to
requests for charity, and this makes one of the spheres of his
activity.  Such a personage as Mr. Friedman is a distinct ornament to the
community, one of the pillars which uphold the structure of
society and give it stability.  Honesty and integrity in business
and personal life, loyalty to friends, free handed generosity and
kind heartedness in his dealings with all, are characteristics which
increase his esteem among men and widen his beneficent influence
with each succeeding year of life.

Friedman Weil Gregory Keiler Smith Scott
=
Nelson-KY

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