Speaking Frankly

Since I learned that the house on the northeast corner of Linda and Eighth Streets was the Frank house, I have gotten interested in the Franks. Here is F.F. Frank getting his birthday in the news in 1923.


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Hobart Gazette, April 27, 1923.

Since the item doesn't give his age, we have to do some research ... it turns out that per his Indiana Death Certificate, Franz Fredrick Frank (no wonder he went by his initials!) was born April 22, 1859 to William and Salinda Frank — who likely built the house at Linda and Eighth, in 1874 per the county records. So F.F. was celebrating his 64th birthday.

F.F. had married Lydia Bach in 1890 (Indiana Marriage Certificates), hence the Bach connection. Lydia's sister, Henrietta, married Henry Kuehl. As for a Mulfinger connection, I haven't looked into it and don't intend to, not with my slow internet!

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The story directly below the Frank birthday got me wondering where the Charles Berndt house was, and whether Charles was related to the Ainsworth-area Berndts. I believe the answer to the second question is yes, since it appears that Charles and John (Jr.) were children of John (Sr.) and Hannah (e.g., 1900 Census). (And their sister, Bertha, married a Rossow.)

To find Charles' house, we need to find a Berndt farm west of Hobart, beside the Nickel Plate tracks … like this:


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From the 1926 Plat Book.


The home that sits on the east side of Liverpool Road, north of the railroad tracks, was built in 1923 according to the county records, so perhaps it was built by Charles to replace the one that burned down.