Freke was born in Dublin on 12 July 1844. At age 21, he enlisted in the 44th Essex Regiment. Two years later, in 1867, he exchanged to the 18th Royal Irish Regiment and after serving two years in New Zealand he retired from the army and returned to Ireland. For seven years, from 1872 to 1879, Freke operated a tobacco plantation in Amelia County, Virginia, about 30 miles southwest of Richmond. He once more returned to Ireland where he worked at the Irish land Commission. In 1899, he took up residence at Folkestone in Kent. He was, from 1883, a Corresponding Fellow of the American Ornithologists' Union.[1]
Robert Lloyd Praeger stated that while Freke lived in Dublin, he was "belonging to Co. Carlow".[2] His wife was Kathleen Maria Freke (1860-1944).[3] They had at least one son, Raymond F. Freke. He died in Folkestone on 20 March 20 1931.[1]