Frank, John A. (1845-1915)

FRANK

Posted By: Joyce Hickman (email)
Date: 3/14/2008 at 14:22:08

John A. Frank
Dec 18, 1845 - May 15, 1915

(From the 1883 History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, by J. H. Keatley, p.150, Lincoln Twp.)
John A. Frank, farmer, P. O. Walnut, born in Switzerland December 18, 1845, son of Joseph and Ursula (Plaz) Frank, both born in Switzerland; he, a farmer, died October 6, 1873; she is still living, and is the mother of five children, viz., Marin, Joseph, John A., Ursula and Margaret. Subject received a common school education; commenced life as a farmer, and was married in La Fayette County, Wis., in September, 1870 to Elizabeth Hart, born in Allegheny County, Penn., February 6, 1842, daughter of Augustus and Kate Hart. Mr. and Mrs. Frank have two children, viz., Joseph, born April 20, 1872; Jessie, born August 1, 1876. Subject is a Catholic, a Republican; is School Director; has been Township Trustee and Road Supervisor, and emigrated from Switzerland in 1866, landing in Washington, D. C., where he lived for two years, being engaged in the brewing and confectionery business; went to Wisconsin; worked on the farm as a hired hand for two years, when he, with another party, leased 160 acres of land, and worked it for two years with join tenant, when he leased 250 acres, and worked in alone for three years; then moved to this township (Lincoln), where he purchased 240 acres, and has since added 230 acres.

(From the 1891 Biographical History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, p.361)
JOHN A. FRANK, a prominent farmer of Lincoln Township, was born on a farm in the mountains of Switzerland, December 18, 1845, the son of Jacob Joseph FRANK, who was a farmer of Tyrol, Switzerland. He was married to Ursula PLATZ and to them were born five children: Marion, Frank, Joseph, John A., and Ursula. The grandfather was in the war with Napoleon. The ancestors of the family were natives of Switzerland, where they have resided for generations, and they possess the sterling characteristics of the liberty-loving Swiss people in a marked degree. Mr. FRANK was a member of the Catholic Church and lived to the age of sixty-five years.
John A. FRANK, a son of the above and the subject of this sketch, was reared to farm life, and in 1866, at the age of twenty-one years, came to America. He landed in New York, and then went to Washington city where he worked in a brewery for two years. In 1868 he went to LaFayette County, Wisconsin, where he worked on a farm, and where he remained until 1873. He then came to Pottawattamie County and bought 240 acres of wild land, which he has since improved and to which he has wisely added until he now owns a magnificent farm of 915 acres. He was married in Wisconsin, July 5, 1870, to Elizabeth HART, who was born in Clarion County, Pennsylvania, February 6, 1840, the daughter of August and Kate HART, who were natives of France. The father was a Clarion County farmer in comfortable circumstances, and was the father of six children: Martha, Mary, Elizabeth, Kate, Harry and Louise. Mr. And Mrs. FRANK are the parents of two children: Joseph, born April 20, 1872, in Grant County, Wisconsin; and Jessie E., born August 1, 1876 on the homestead in Pottawattamie County, Lincoln Township. Joseph is attending the Drake University at Des Moines, Iowa, and is obtaining a liberal education. Mr. FRANK believes in giving his children a liberal education. He has the respect and the confidence of the people; has held the office of Township Trustee for nine years; has also been School Director for a number of years, and has also held the office of Road Supervisor. In politics he was a Republican for years, but now votes for the party who believes in the greatest good for the greatest number - the Democratic.
Mr. FRANK can truly be said to be a self-made man, as he began life with nothing, and by hard work, economy, and wisdom has made his handsome farm. He has set out fine trees, and his grounds and house present a tasteful and attractive appearance. He is yet a young man, of strong constitution, inherited from an ancestry of good stock, and the children inherit from both mother and father their sterling traits of character. Mrs. FRANK is a worthy lady, and has faithfully assisted her husband in every way to make a successful life. Mr. FRANK is the founder of a new family in America, and the coming generation should take an honest pride in handing down his name to other generations.