In 1866, Freer moved to
Charleston, West Virginia and began to study law. Admitted to the bar, Freer was elected the prosecuting attorney for
Kanawha County in 1870. In 1872, he was a
presidential elector for
Ulysses S. Grant. President Grant appointed him U.S. Consul to
Nicaragua until he resigned his duties in 1877 and accepted an appointment as Register of the Land Office for
New Mexico. Freer resigned in 1879 after refusing orders that would lead to military conflict with
Mexico. Freer settled in
Harrisville,
Ritchie County, West Virginia in 1881 and married Mary Iams in 1884. That same year, he was a presidential elector for
James G. Blaine. His isolationist policies proved to be divisive among voters, leading to his resignation from politics after the election. Freer returned to politics by 1890 when he was elected to the
West Virginia House of Delegates and later appointed prosecuting attorney for Ritchie County. In 1896, he was elected to the Fourth Judicial Circuit of West Virginia. He served in the
56th United States Congress having been elected in 1898. In 1900, Freer was elected as Attorney General of West Virginia, and he served from 1901–1905. In 1902, he was briefly nominated for the Supreme Court by President McKinley. From 1907 until his death he was postmaster of Harrisville. ==Personal life==