A graduate of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), Frederick went on to become an officer during the American Revolutionary War.

[1] He was born at the Old Dutch Parsonage near Somerville in the Province of New Jersey to John Frelinghuysen (1727–1754) and Dinah Van Berg (1725–1807) of Amsterdam.

In the War of Independence he served in the New Jersey militia as an artillery captain, seeing action at Trenton and Monmouth.

[1] President George Washington appointed him as brigadier general in the United States Army for the 1790 campaign against the western Indians.

Frelinghuysen was elected to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1793, to November 12, 1796, when he resigned.

[1] His tombstone reads as follows: Entombed beneath this stone lies the remains of Frederick Frelinghuysen, Esq.

He gave his hand to the young, his counsel to the middle aged, his support to him that was feeble in years.