Born in Ohio, Romeo H. Freer served in the Union army during the Civil War. He moved to WV in 1866, served as prosecuting attorney for Kanawha, Fayette, and Boone counties, and helped get the state capital moved to Charleston. He later moved to Ritchie County, where he served as state delegate and circuit judge. He was elected to U.S. Congress and as WV attorney general, and he died on May 9, 1913.