Frank and Greenhall Family Papers

Manuscript Collection No. 292

1853-1987. .4 Linear ft.

ACCESS AND PROVENANCE
The Frank and Greenhall Family Papers were donated by Charles Greenhall through HUC-JIR, Los Angeles, California in 1992. Charles Greenhall, by the act of donating the Frank and Greenhall Family Papers to the American Jewish Archives, assigned the property rights to the American Jewish Archives. All literary rights to material authored by the Greenhall or Frank families are held by the families and their heirs. Questions concerning rights should be addressed to the Executive Director of the American Jewish Archives. The papers are available to researchers in the reading room of the Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH top

The Frank and Greenhall Family Papers contain information about the Frank and Greenhall and Silverstein families of St. Louis, Missouri.

By far the most famous of those included in this collection is Nathan Frank (1852-1931). Frank was an attorney, Congressman, owner of the St. Louis Star and was one of St. Louis’s most distinguished civic leaders. He was a philanthropist, author, legislator and political leader. He was a foe of prohibition and was looked upon by the Jewish community as one of their foremost leaders.

Frank was born in Peoria, Illinois, February 23, 1852, the son of Abraham and Branette Frank, who came from Germany in 1849. He received his early schooling in the public schools of Peoria. In 1867, upon graduation, his parents moved to St. Louis. Frank later attended Harvard University Law School where he received a bachelor of laws degree in 1871. After an additional year of work at Harvard after graduation, Frank returned to St. Louis where he was admitted to the bar in 1874. For several years he devoted himself to commercial and bankruptcy law, on which he became a renowned authority. He compiled and edited Frank’s Bankruptcy Law, which was published in four editions, and later formed the basis of the bankruptcy act of 1898.

Frank joined the Republican party as a young man, and after receiving the Republican nomination and unsuccessfully contesting the election of his opponent, John M. Gloyer, to the Fiftieth Congress, he was elected to the Fifty-First Congress from the central district of St. Louis. As a legislator Frank served on several important committees and was active in securing the passage of some notable legislation. He framed the bill for reapportionment of members to Congress based on the eleventh decennial census, the first reapportionment bill ever enacted by a unanimous vote of Congress. Chairman of the Republican State Committee in 1896, Frank joined the coterie of Republican leaders headed by Mike Hanna. Frank ran for United States Senate in 1910, 1916, and 1928, but failed to win the Republican primaries.

Frank never married and was a life member of his father’s Reform synagogue, Temple Shaare Emeth in St. Louis. He was a supporter of both local and national charities. In 1920 he served as general chairman of the Jewish War Relief Committee. His last public appearance was just before his death when he, along with several thousand Jews from St. Louis, met to protest British policies forbidding further immigration or land purchases in Palestine. Although not a Zionist he was tireless in his efforts to aid and support the homeless and displaced of Europe.

Nathan Frank died on April 5, 1931 after bequeathing money for the construction of the Nathan Frank Chapel at Temple Shaare Emeth. He was buried in Mount Sinai Cemetery in St. Louis.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE top
The Frank and Greenhall Family Papers contain information on the Greenhall and Frank families of St. Louis, Missouri. Prominent in this collection is information about and memorabilia on Nathan Frank, A. Frank Greenhall and Charles Greenhall. Quite notably, there is a signed letter to Nathan Frank from then-president Benjamin Harrison and several from John W. Noble, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior (1889-1893). The bulk of the collection is correspondence to and from family members, along with genealogical information for the Blumenthal, Rozand, Hausman, Grossman, Neuman, Silverstein, Weinberger and Weil families.
The collection is not divided into series, and is arranged alphabetically.
BOX AND FOLDER LISTING top
Box Folder	Contents
1	1	Annotated Bankrupt Law: The Bankrupt Act of 1898 as amended by the Act of 1903. by Nathan Frank. 1903.
	2	Blumenthal, Rozand family trees.
	3	Columbian Exposition World’s Fair. 1893.
	4	Frank, Abraham. Naturalization certificate and will. 1853, 1892.
	5	Frank, August. Money.
	6	Frank, August to A. Frank Greenhall. 1905.
	7	Frank family correspondence. 1887-1929.
	8	Frank, Nathan. Cemetery plot deed.
	9	Frank, Nathan. Bandstand. St. Louis, Mo. Photographs and postcards.
	10	Frank, Nathan. Law licence, diploma.1869, 1871.
	11	Frank, Nathan. Correspondence with Benjamin Harrison, John W. Noble and other government officials.
	12	Frank, Nathan. Lunch with William Howard Taft. St. Louis, Mo. 1910.
	13	Frank, Nathan. Speeches. 1892, n.d.
	14	Greenhall, Abraham. Death certificate. 1898.
	15	Greenhall, Arthur M. Articles. 1935.
	16	Greenhall, A. Frank. Confirmation service Temple Emanu El [New York, N.Y.] 1918-1919.
	17	Greenhall, A. Frank. Military records, diploma, obituary. 1930, 1943-1947, 1987.
	18	Greenhall, A. Frank. Notes on the Wasch family. n.d.
	19	Greenhall, Charles L. Eulogies and obituary. 1919.
	20	Greenhall, Charles L. Military discharge. 1898.
	21	Greenhall, Grace Frank. Oil stock. 1901.
	22	Greenhut and Stern family trees.
	23	Hausman and Grossman family trees.
	24	Jewish Hospital of St. Louis. 1902, 1956, 1974.
	25	Neuman and Weinberger family trees.
	26	Scrapbook.
	27	Silverstein, Bernard. Obituaries, death certificate and photograph. n.d.
	28	Silverstein, Grace Frank Greenhall. Wedding announcement, Red Cross I.D. and chauffeur’s 				
		licence. 1902, 1917.
	29	Weil family tree.
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