I’ll pick up Grandpa’s story again in my next post.
Today I’m doing a little detour away from Kalamazoo, heading toward Japan, Chicago, and Elmhurst, Illinois.
My parents gave me a pair of matching and beautiful Japanese vases which are family heirlooms. I used to see them in my paternal grandmother’s home when I was little. In later years, my parents displayed them in their home. I had assumed (you know about that word, right?) that my father or my uncle had brought them back from Korea or Japan when they were in the military.
In my birthday card was a note which explained that these vases had belonged to my grandmother’s mother. Her son, my father’s Uncle Frank, had brought them back from Japan in 1920 and given them to his mother.
Frank Klein was a merchant mariner who travelled the world, including to Japan, during the years right after WWI. Maybe this is where my Uncle Frank, Great Uncle Frank’s namesake, got his idea of sailing when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy.
I believe Great Uncle Frank may have been on a ship called the Eastern Queen as we have several family photos of that ship. This ship does show up in online lists of ships.
I also have information that he travelled on a ship called the Altamahan in 1922. I tried to find this ship, but all I could find was the Altamaha, which was built in 1941.
Until I saw his picture a few years ago, I didn’t realize Great Uncle Frank existed. After I learned about him, I wanted to know more, so I wrote to both the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Archives and Records Administration, searching for his Merchant Marines record. The Coast Guard couldn’t help, but the NARA found a record for Frank. They gave me some preliminary information and then suggested I do more research on the premises in Washington D.C. Here are a few things I learned from the records they sent me:
- He was issued a license for “steam. 2d Ass’t.Eng.,3000 G.T., 3d Ass’t.Eng., any tons, condg.” at Cleveland, Ohio, on September 5, 1918, for “Ocean” waters.
- He was issued another on September 5, 1919.
- He was 22 on June 14, 1918.
- I have a headshot and thumbprint of Uncle Frank.
- He was a citizen and born in the U.S.
- A vessel he was on was the “Altamahan” with a U.S. Flag, which arrived on 3/5/19. His next vessel wasn’t yet known.
- He was 5’9 with a dark complexion, brown hair, and gray eyes.
- He had a physical mark: “Sc palm rt hd”–I take this to be that he had a scar on the palm of his right hand. On another page it is noted as 1/2 inch.
- He was a 2d Engr.
- On his application he marked his mother “Mrs. F. Klein” as his nearest kin. He gave 3 references, and one was his brother-in-law, Peter Van Gessel.
- Best of all, he gave a work history for himself, which I will post here. Several jobs were as an “oiler.” According to Wikpedia, an oiler is a worker whose job is to oil machinery.
Here is a picture of Great Uncle Frank when he was home on leave:
Frank Anthony Klein on born in Chicago on June 14, 1896. He grew up in Elmhurst and was the only boy. He had four sisters, including my grandmother. Frank never married, but he was living with my grandmother and her family in Chicago when he was killed in a car accident in 1931.
According to his death certificate, this is how he died: “Fractured left mandible, compound fracture of left tibia and fibula, hemorrhage and shock Deceased was driving his auto and suffered an attack of epilepsy seizure and struck a tree.” I suspect his parents were devastated by his death as he was the only boy and the second youngest. He was 34 years old. Fifteen months later, his mother passed away from cancer.
His death date is noted in official records as February 24, 1931, but his gravestone is marked with the date February 23, 1931. Because he was buried in Elmhurst on February 25, I would deduce that February 23 was the correct date of death.
So interesting and so sad to think he had a seizure while behind the wheel and died. These posts inspire me to want to delve into my own family’s history.
Oh, I hope you do, Lisa. I would be so interested in hearing about it! Yes, I wonder if he had had seizures before that. If he knew he had epilepsy, if that’s what he had.
Outstanding post!
Thank you so much for that kind compliment!
Great story and wonderful vase!!
Sheila, thanks so much. The vases are very beautiful and knowing where they came from makes them even more special.
This is great detective work that uncovers the story of a life too brief. Poor Uncle Frank.He looks handsome and cheerful in his photo. He was born on Flag Day.
It’s interesting that exact dates were engraved on the grave marker. A lot of markers have only the years of birth and death.
Thanks for noticing that Frank was born on Flag Day! My parents were married on Flag Day, too. We’re a patriotic family :).
I was on FindAGrave yesterday looking at some Noffke and Mulder relative grave photos, and many of those had the full dates as well. I wonder if there is a certain time period or region that is more prevalent.
My mom was born in Flag Day! She was in DAR and a genealogist, so those graves with exact dates delighted her. I made sure that my sis had full dates. This can look crowded if those little flat markers are used.
The vase is lovely–and I really enjoyed reading about the man who brought the vase home from Japan.
Ah, thanks, Sheryl. I loved finding out I even had this ancestor! and that he travelled so much.
[…] this blog, I learned of an astonishing connection or coincidence in my family. Adri first read my post, “Another Sailor in the Family,” about my father’s uncle, Frank […]