FRAKES, JOHN P.

FRAKES, ENGLAND, DEMINT, CARMONY, CARPENTER, MCFEREN, CALKINS, SMITH, MALONEY, PROCTOR, WOODEN, LAWSON, LAKIN, SEAMONS, ECKHOLM

Posted By: Jean Kramer (email)
Date: 4/8/2004 at 13:17:45

Biography reproduced from page 720 of Volume II of the History of Kossuth County written by Benjamin F. Reed and published in 1913:

John P. Frakes, who for more than ten years was identified with the business interests of Swea City, is now living retired. He was born in Logan county, Illinois, on the 4th of June, 1846, a son of William and Sarah (England) Frakes, who were natives of Illinois, the latter also born in Logan county and of American descent. The father, however, was of Irish extraction. Mrs. Frakes passed away when our subject was a lad of three years. He was the only child born of this marriage but two years after the death of his wife, Mr. Frakes married Miss Hannah DeMint, also of Logan county, and to them were born four children, as follows: Phoebe, the wife of James Carmony, a veteran of the Civil war, who is engaged in farming in Oklahoma; Mary, the widow of Fred Carpenter, also a veteran of the Civil war, who is a carpenter of Oklahoma; Martha, the widow of William McFeren, who is residing in Kansas City, Missouri; and William, a retired farmer and merchant of Oklahoma. Mr. Frakes, who was a wagon-maker by trade, removed with his family to Iowa in the spring of 1852. They passed the summer in the vicinity of Marshalltown, but in the fall they continued their journey to Hamilton county. There the father purchased a farm, located on the present site of Webster City, for which he paid one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre. He erected a blacksmith shop on his place, which he conducted while engaged in preparing his land for cultivation. He prospered in his agricultural pursuits and extended his holdings until he became the owner of several hundred acres of excellent land. This portion of Iowa was but sparsely settled at that period, and the woods still abounded with wild game of all kinds, while an abundance of fish were to be found in the streams. In the fall of 1852, Mr. Frakes, accompanied by Robert Downing and another friend, came to Kossuth county from Hamilton county on a hunting expedition. During a heavy snow storm they started to go from one grove to another, but Mr. Downing evidently lost the path, as he became separated from the other two. They subsequently missed him and although they called repeatedly and fired off guns, they failed to elicit any response. As they were alone and the storm was increasing in intensity, it was futile to institute a search, so they returned to camp. Soon after Mr. Downing’s dog came in and the men started back with him, hoping to find their friend, but they were never able to find the slightest trace of him. It is supposed that he died from exposure and that his body was eaten by wolves. This occurred a few miles from the present site of Swea City. William Frakes only lived about seven years after his removal to Iowa, having died on his farm in Hamilton county, in 1859. He was long survived by his wife, the step-mother of our subject, who was living with her daughter in Kansas City, when she passed away in 1907.

As he was only a child of six years when he accompanied his father on his removal to Iowa, John P. Frakes has passed practically his entire life in this state. His boyhood and early youth were passed on the family homestead in the vicinity of Webster City, and there he began his education in the first school established in Hamilton county, which was located three miles north of Webster City. He was only a lad of thirteen years when his father died, but he was already assisting with the work of the fields and the care of the stock. He remained at home with his step-mother until he was sixteen, when he started to make his own way in the world. During the succeeding two years he worked as a farm hand, but at the expiration of that time he responded to his country’s call for troops, and on the 7th of May, 1864, enlisted as a private in Company A, Forty-eighth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, at Webster City, under Colonel Scott. His regiment was sent to Camp McClelland, near Davenport, and was later assigned to guard duty at the Rock Island barracks, where large numbers of Confederate prisoners were detained. At the opening of the convention in Chicago in the fall of 1864, they were sent there to protect the citizens in case of possible riot. Their services were not required, however, and they subsequently returned to Rock Island, where Mr. Frakes did guard duty until the expiration of his period of enlistment. He was mustered out on the 20th of October, 1864, and returning to Hamilton county he resumed the duties of civil life. He continued to work as a farm hand until he was married, after which he settled on the land he inherited from his father. The cultivation and improvement of this engaged his attention until 1879, when he disposed of it and removed to Rooks county, Kansas. There he homesteaded a quarter section of land in the vicinity of Stockton, upon which he resided for thirteen years. At the end of that time he sold it and returned to Hamilton county. He located in Kamrar and worked at the carpenter’s trade until 1901, and on the 13th of September, that year, he came to Swea City and purchased the livery stable of William Ferguson. He conducted this with success for more than ten years, but having acquired sufficient means to enable him to live in comfort, on the 10th of January, 1912, he sold his business and retired.

On the 4th of March, 1866, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Frakes and Miss Fannie G. Calkins, a daughter of John K. and Maria (Smith) Calkins. Her father, who was a native of New York state, was of German extraction, while the mother was of Yankee descent. John K. Calkins was for many years engaged in mercantile pursuits in Brewerton, New York, but he subsequently withdrew from this in order to try his fortune in the west. Later he joined an excursion party, composed of about five hundred people, who were making a journey from Syracuse, New York, to the railway terminal, then located at Marshalltown, Iowa. There he purchased a wagon and ox team and went overland to Sioux City. He only remained there a year, then settled on a farm east of Webster City, where he resided until his death in 1884. The mother passed away in 1899, at Hawarden, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Frakes have had ten children, eight of whom are living, while they have twenty grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Their two eldest children, Minnie and Sadie, died in infancy. R. V, the next in order of birth, is a farmer at Bird Island, Minnesota. He first married Della Maloney of Stockton, Kansas, who is deceased, and to them were born five children: Ethel, James, Royden, Gertrude and Mae. In 1902, he married Bertha Proctor of New Hampton, Iowa, and to them have likewise been born five children: Harold, Mariam, Walter, Pearl and Clare. Jennie, the wife of Eben Wooden, of Stockton, Kansas, has had six children: Fleda, the wife of John Lawson, by whom she has had one child, Thelma, the only great-grandchild in the Frakes family; Roy; Earl; Russell; Everett; and Arvid. Aurelia married Fred Lakin, a stock buyer and shipper of Ellsworth, Kansas, and they have one child, Jessie. William, who is a farmer at Elmore, Minnesota, married Martha Seamons of Kamrar, Iowa, and they have one child, Earl. Edward E., who is the next in order of birth, is a carpenter at Ellensburg, Washington. Grace married Peter Eckholm, an implement dealer at Swea City, and they have two children, Wendel and Madelyn Alice. John, is an electrician at Emmetsburg, Iowa. Stram A., who is the youngest member of the family, is living at home with his parents.

The family attend the Baptist church, in which Mrs. Frakes holds membership and she also belongs to the Ladies Guild of the Baptist church of Swea City. Mr. Frakes is an honored member of the Grand Army of the Republic and his wife belongs to the Women’s Relief Corps, of Stockton, Kansas, while his support is given to the republican party, but he has never held an official position. He is held in favorable regard by his fellow townsmen to whose respect he has demonstrated his claim by his integrity and honorable methods in business transactions.