Histories

Grandpa had a large team of horses and a wagon and was a transporter when younger. He knew of Grandfather Nathan Goldfoot in this way in Portland, as they were both doing the same thing. He was secretary of his labor union, and was known to have a nice handwriting. He said his people were blue-bellied Yankees, and came over not on the Mayflower, but the next ship. He said they came over originally from Wales. and settled in Vermont. He was born in Wenona, Illinois.

He ran away from home when he was about sixteen because he had fed the horses on Sabbath and it was a religious family who were not to work then. His father was angry with him. Another story is that there was a bull in the field with his special horse. He wanted to get it out, and his father said he couldn't because it was Sunday. The horse was killed. He was so upset that he ran away from home. It is ironic that his ancestors probably came to the United States because of religious persecution, yet his parents' religion caused him to leave home and never return.

Then his family lived in Illinois. His brother had married an Indian princess; she was the daughter of a chief. Frank played the harmonica in a group and did a lot of carousing. His daughter Mildred remembers he played 'Roamin in the Glomin' on the Harmonica and was a pretty good singer, too. He played with a group of four guys. They may be the ones who kept him informed about his mother after he had left.

He was also an ice man, and met Grandma that way. He was delivering ice to where she was a cook in Chicago. They both had been married before. His first wife had died very young. He had had Ruth, born in 1890 and Lillian, born in 1901. I think he was a Methodist.

He and Grandma met at the Sioux City Public Museum (what happened to Chicago?) before it was a museum. It was called the Pierce Mansion. That was sold to T.S. Martin. It's where she was a cook. This would be after his first wife died, sometime between 1902 and 1912.

He also drove horses for a beer transport wagon. He transported loads from the dock. He took oil drums to newspapers, and transported furniture. He knew his horses. Not everyone could deal with four horses at once. He had experience with horses at home on the farm. He became the secretary of the Teamster's Union. He had beautiful handwriting. His daughter Mildred remembers him working on his books. The children were not to bother him then. He also worked in or owned a tavern. They sold buckets of beer. Mildred remembers going in to buy ice cream They only carried vanilla, strawberry and chocolate.

Lillian came to live with Grandpa and Grandma before Mildred was born in 1913. She was a little wild and Mildred liked her very much. Lillian was 12 years older than Mildred. She would have been a great baby-sitter. Ruth would have been 23 years old when Mildred was born. I don't believe she was there that that time. Grandfather Frank must have been about 43 years old when Mildred was born. Grandma Augusta was also about 43 years old.

Frank was a storyteller. On Sundays he told about the circus and the boa constrictor, about one that could roll by putting its tail in its mouth.

He told about animals that got out of the train. A snake was dead, and here came its mate . He was bit in Illinois by a copperhead or moccasin while fishing. They poured one quart of whiskey down him.

As a young man, he worked with the country doctor. He apprenticed for two or three years and knew what to do. The doctor wanted him to go to med school. He drank on weekends. Every Friday night he was paid and came home drunk with half the paycheck gone. He quarreled with Grandma.

When Mom graduated grade school, he hunted for pale pink roses all over for her. He found them and brought them home.

He had an older brother named William who married an Indian Princess who was the daughter of a chief. They may have been Sioux Indians. I believe this William went to Kentucky to raise horses. Frank may have had an uncle who raised blooded horses in Kentucky.

Frank may have been in Oregon from 1912 on. Quincy, Illinois was mentioned by him. He may have lived there. It's fairly close to Chicago, SE of it and about 50 miles away.

Wenona, Illinois was where he was born. It is Marshall County, and is closer to St. Louis. Quincy is in Adams County. The census was found in Montgomery County, and the city is Hillsburo, Illinois.

Frank was tall and slender. I remember him with silver-white hair. He always let me brush and comb his hair. It was a ritual when we visited every Sunday. He had blue eyes. He had a special book about the first world war that I used to look at when I visited. He was very kind.

Frank was found on the 1900 NE census with his first wife Alice and daughter Ruth. He lived next door to his sister Nellie and Alexander. It says he was born in 1871 instead of 1870. He said his father was from Mass. and mother from N.Y. It lists him as a teamster, so he was doing this type of work before he went to Portland, Oregon.

Frank was 3 years too old to be registered for the draft for WW I. You had to be born in 1873 or later.

Frank helped Ruth and her husband in the 1918 flu epidemic. He went to their house and took care of them, which was risky as he could have caught the flu. If it weren't for his help, they might have died.