Frank Francl

Narrative:

     Frank Francl was born in Aug 1864 in Bohemia.^6,7,8 He was born as Franz Franzl, but used the name Frank Francl after immigrating.¹
     Frank arrived 9 Nov 1874 in Baltimore, Maryland, with his parents, Anton Francl and Barbara [surname unknown], five brothers, and two sisters, aboard the S.S. Ohio, having departed from Bremen. He was later naturalized.^13,14
     He appeared on the 1880 Federal Census of Cotesfield, Howard Co., Nebraska, in the household of his parents, Anton Francl and Barbara [surname unknown].⁴
     While his father maintained the family home in Howard Co., he seems to have spent much of his time in Omaha, working as a tailor. He appears there in the city directories of 1876, 1879, 1881, and 1884 through 1886. Some intervening years are missing, and he does not appear in others, so it is unclear whether he was there continuously or intermittently.^15,16
     Frank married Mary Rysavy about 1885 in Omaha, Nebraska.^9,10
     The first record of Frank in Omaha is in 1887, when he was working as a laborer in a smelting works. He was living with his father at 1216 S 14th.¹⁷
     Frank's father opened a saloon at 1502 William St., operating it until about 1889. In 1888 and 1889 Frank worked there as a bartender, apparently living at several different places, including 1511 William St. and 1319 S. 15th St.¹⁸
     Frank was not listed in Omaha in 1890 through 1892, so he may have returned to rural Nebraska. But by 1893 he was in Omaha and was operating a saloon at his father's previous location, and living at the same address. He operated the saloon there until about 1898, when he relocated it two blocks away to 1268-70 South 13th St. but continued to live on William St. His saloon was listed at the new address the next year but he is not listed in Omaha after that.^{19,20,21,22,23}
     State law at the time prohibited saloons from being open on Sunday, but the rule was widely ignored. The police chief decided to enforce the Sunday closing provision on 29 Jan 1899, and Frank was among six saloonkeepers in the neighborhood charged with being open on Sunday.²⁴
     There is no indication of whether the family was living in the city during the time Frank worked there, or remained in rural Nebraska. In mid-1899 he went to Ord, Valley Co. and opened a saloon there.^25,26
     Frank and Mary moved to Valley Co., Nebraska, before 1900.²⁷
     Frank and Mary appeared on the 1900 Federal Census of Ord, Valley Co., Nebraska, enumerated 15 Jun 1900, reporting that they rented their home. Their children Mary, Joseph, Lillian and Bessie were listed as living with them.²⁸
     He returned to Omaha in Mar 1901, where he was a bartender at John Hroch's saloon at 1245 South 13th St.. He lived in a room above the saloon.²⁹
     On 4 Jul 1901 he complained of not feeling well, and after visiting with a nephew he stopped at a pharmacy for something to help. Returning home he took a drink of whisky and went to bed. He was found dead shortly afterwards. His family in Ord was notified by telegram.²⁹
     Frank died on 4 Jul 1901 in 1245 South 13th St., Omaha, Douglas Co., Nebraska, at age 36, in his room above the saloon where he worked. There was no burial because the body was lost or destroyed after an autopsy.^11,12
     A coroner's jury was convened on 6 Jul 1901, and found that Frank's death was due to sunstroke, hastened by not securing proper medical attention. Joseph Tuchek, the pharmacist that provided a "tonic" at Frank's request, was censured for providing it without a prescription. He testified that it was composed of essence of pepsin, iron, quinine, and strychnine. The doctors who performed the post mortem disagree on whether there was enough strychnine to cause his death, but said that the iron and quinine were both very harmful in his condition and hastened his death.³⁰