Frank Meyers was born in Bremerhaven, Germany, on September 19, 1873. His parents, George and Helena, were from Schwerburg, Germany. The father died at an early age.
In about 1881, he and his mother emigrated to New York City. The mother soon fell ill and he was placed in an orphanage.
In 1885, Frank was sent west on the Orphan Train. At the stop in Carthage, he was fostered by an orchard farmer, Eli Munsun. At the same time, fellow orphans Charlie Riser and Joe Carrol were taken in by nearby farmers. Frank remained friends with them through his lifetime. (Charlie Riser lived in Colchester, IL at some point and Joe Carrol lived in Quincy, IL.) Four years later, at age 14, Frank went to live with a neighbor, Rome Jones, until he came of age. The reasons for the move are not specified, but the pressures of a growing family (another 3 Munsun children were born while Frank lived with them) may have necessitated it.
In his letter to the New York Juvenile Asylum in 1892, Mr. Jones wrote, “Frank did not seem satisfied when I wrote to you before, but he has been better satisfied of late. He, with three other neighbor boys, united with the Christian church recently. Frank seems to be sincere and I will do my best to bring him up right. My daughter, a year older than Frank, plays the organ, the violin, and the harp, and she is teaching Frank, and he can play on the harp very well, and has also learned to sing. Frank has a boil on his right hand at present and can not write. I would be glad to have you visit him and I am sure it would do him a great deal of good. Frank’s worst failing is that he would rather spend his evenings and his leisure time in social enjoyment rather than in reading and study.”
Soon after Frank came of age and was working his own (rented) 20 acre farm in Hancock township, he was re-united with his mother. Mrs. Meyers lived with him for two years, went to the state of Washington for a while, and then returned to live in Keokuk, Iowa.
On September 22, 1898, Frank married Edith Ebert. After living in Frank’s first home for a couple of years, they then moved to the old Philip Ebert farm, where they lived ever after. Mrs. Meyers also lived with them until her death. According to the 1910 census, the Meyers owned their land free of mortgage.
Frank and Edith were active members of the Majorville church. They had four children: Russell, Harold, Leota, and Helen. The first three remained as adults in the Fountain Green, Illinois area; Helen later moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Frank suffered from ill health in his last years, but had felt well enough in the week before he died to help his son with threshing. After the sudden onset of severe abdominal pains, he passed away on July 13, 1938. In testament to the influence and regard he enjoyed among his neighbors, an extensive article about his life was published shortly thereafter in the Carthage Republican newspaper (from which much of the detail in this biography is extracted).
Edith lived until January 11, 1950. The couple are buried at Majorville Cemetery, in Hancock County.
Frank’s foster parents were Eli and Mary Munsun, and then J. M. Jones. We are currently unable to identify any further information about Mr. Jones.
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