REMACKEL--Frank, age 74, of 1102 S. 7th St. Survived by wife, Elsie. Private services & interment. Arrangements by Billman's House of Flowers, 2121 Nicollet.
Star Tribune
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Sunday, May 10, 1959 - Page 98 (2C)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From History of Nobles County by Arthur Rose - 1907
Jacob Remackel married at Lyons, Clinton County, January 8, 1884 to Annie Halfmann, who was born in Prussia September 5, 1861, and who came to America and to Illinois on August 1, 1881. They are the parents of one child, Walter Francis, born in Wall Lake, Iowa July 5, 1892.
Reprinted in Wilmont Shopper May 21 2020
Contributor: Judy Christians (50181675)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frank Walter Remackel
1892-1959
Obituary and biography of Frank Walter Remackel: June 30, 1892 – May 7, 1959, by Robert Phillip Arens 1937- …..written on March 23, 2023.
DEATH NOTICE
REMACKEL--Frank, age 74, of 1102 S. 7th St. Survived by wife, Elsie. Private services & interment. Arrangements by Billman's House of Flowers, 2121 Nicollet.
Published in Star Tribune Minneapolis,Minnesota on Sunday, May 10, 1959 - Page 98 (2C)
OBITUARY
Frank Walter Remackel age 66 died May 7, 1959, at Mount Sinai Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota with sclerosis of the liver and pulmonary silicosis. He was cremated as a pauper on May 9, 1959. His ashes were spread on Jo Pond in Lakewood Cemetery, Minneapolis, MN with no grave marker. Survived by wife; Elsie (Thomas) Remackel of Minneapolis, MN, biological mother; Sophia (Johnson) Redden of Sioux City, IA, 12 Koker half-siblings, 3 Redden half-siblings, two daughters; Henrietta (Remackel) Arens of North Mankato, MN and Violet (Remackel) Gibson of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, step-daughter; Dolly (Remackel) [MacDonald] Brown of Vancouver, BC, Canada and 12 grandchildren and one great-grandson. Preceded in death by biological father; John Albert Koker, 3 Koker half-siblings, 3 Redden half-siblings, adoptive parents; Jacob and Anna (Halfman) Remackel, and two previous wives; Catherine (Weber) Remackel-Veron and Tensy (Nystrom) Remackel.
INTRODUCTION
My name is Robert Philip Arens. I am a grandson of Frank Remackel. I was born Dec 29, 1937, on section 25, Larkin township, Nobles County, MN to Francis Arens 1909-1991 and Henrietta (Remackel) Arens 1913-2006.
In January of 2023, I asked Lakewood cemetery if I could install a headstone for my grandfather, Frank Remackel, in the place where he rested. They said no, but I could put this obituary/biography in their public records display.
Some of the information contained herein is taken from the 20 hours of recorded memories of my father, Francis Arens 1909-1991. Some information comes from my research. Starting in about 1970 I spent over 40 years searching for Frank's birth name, birth place, birth date, and birth parents using: church records, old newspapers, interviews, courthouse records, newspaper want ads, cemeteries, a spirit medium, facial recognition, para-genealogy, and started using DNA in 2003. Finally, in February 2019 I had all of the answers: birth name, birth place, birth date, and birth parents. A spirit medium once told me that Frank spent his entire life looking for a place where he felt loved and wanted .... and finally found it …. long after his death …. in my heart.
BIOGRAPHY
Frank was adopted at the age of 7 months and died at age 66 never knowing his: birth name, birth date, birthplace, or birth parents.
The 1907 History of Nobles County, Minnesota states that Walter Francis Remackel is the son of Jacob and Anna Remackel, born July 5, 1892, at Wall Lake, IA. On Frank's 1937 Minneapolis, Minnesota application for Social Security, he stated that he was born July 5, 1892, at Davenport, Iowa and his parents both died when he was an infant. In his 1942 Butte, Montana WWII registration he stated his birth as Jan 1, 1885, in Taylor, Iowa. Frank's 1959 death certificate gives his birth date as Jan 7, 1885 in Iowa.
Frank was actually born in Sioux City, Iowa on June 30, 1892, as Walter Redden. He was recorded as the son of Sophia (Johnson) Redden 1874-1964 and her husband, George Redden 1870-1965. George had married Sophia on November 2, 1891, in Sioux City, Iowa without realizing that she was already 2 months pregnant with Frank, the son of John Albert Koker 1870-1938, a Sioux City, Iowa street car driver. Sophia had used the street car to travel back and forth from her home to her work in 1890 and 1891. When Walter Redden was 7 months old he was baptized/adopted as "Franciscum Smith" on January 27, 1893, at St John Catholic Church in Arcadia, Iowa, and adopted by a married couple, Jacob Remackel 1857-1953 and Anna (Halfman) Remackel 1861-1949. Jacob and Anna were farming on rented land near Wall Lake, Iowa, about 10 miles north of Arcadia. They had been married in 1884 and were childless. I assume that after George Redden learned that Frank was not his son, he and Sophia 'gave' Frank to a local Catholic church, as was the custom in those days for an unwanted child. However, the 1893 baptism/adoption record states that Franciscum had been born to a "Smith marriage". So, it is possible that infant Walter Redden was first given to John Albert Koker's first cousin, Minnie (Koker) Smith 1869-1925, who, at the time was married to Frank Smith 1854-1902 and living in Bismarck, ND. At any rate, the word likely spread to the Breda Iowa Catholic church that Jacob and Anna attended and, the nearby Arcadia Iowa Catholic church where Anna's brother attended. Anna's brother, Peter Halfman, was Frank's baptismal Godfather.
In 1893 Jacob and Anna purchased the west half of the southwest quarter of section 25 in township 103 of range 42 (Larkin), Nobles County, Minnesota. The July 2, 1895, Minnesota State census shows them living here. In 1905 Frank was living in the Saint Joseph, Kossuth County, Iowa boarding school receiving his first communion. In 1908 Frank was Confirmed in St Adrian Catholic Church in Adrian, MN. In the 1910 US census, Jacob and Anna are listed without Frank. However, a "Frank Smith" age 17 is listed in the 1910 US census as the adopted son of Theodore Faber, a farmer in Kossuth County, Iowa. It is quite possible that Frank and this Faber family became acquainted during Frank's stay in the nearby boarding school. This "Frank Smith" never appears again in any public records. The Faber family immigrated to Iowa from an area of Luxembourg about 12 miles from Itzig, Luxembourg where Jacob Remackel had been born and raised. In about 1908 Jacob sent a letter to his niece, Catherine Berchem 1890-1970, back in Luxembourg saying that he would send her the travel money to come to Minnesota and marry his son, Frank. In about 1910 Jacob sent another letter to Catherine Berchem saying that Frank had died at age 17 and he therefore would not be sending her the money to come to Minnesota. Frank had not died. In the fall of 1911, Frank was reported in the local newspaper as returning from the Twin Cities [Minneapolis and St Paul, Minnesota] to visit his parents, Jake and Anna Remackel in Wilmont, Minnesota. On November 11, 1912, Frank married his first of three wives, Catherine Weber 1894-1945 in her home town of Lismore, MN about 7 miles from Wilmont, MN. At the time of their marriage Catherine was already 2 months pregnant with their first and only child together, Henrietta, born May 25, 1913, on the farm that Jacob had purchased back in 1893. This farm is one mile south of the farm where Henrietta's husband-to-be, Francis Arens, was born on June 4, 1909. In his tape-recorded 20-hour lifetime memories, Francis remembers a phone call to his parents' house during harvest time of 1912. The caller asked to speak with Frank Remackel who was helping the Mathias Arens (1877-1966) family with the fall harvest that day. Francis remembered that Frank became nervous and scared acting during his phone conversation. [Francis and Henrietta (my parents) were married on February 21, 1933, at Wilmont, MN.]
After Frank Remackel and Catherine Weber got married, they rented the 1893 purchased farm from Frank's 'father', Jacob Remackel. Sometime in 1913 Frank went to Jacob's house in Wilmont and asked if he could use part of the 1913 harvest proceeds to buy a car. Jacob gave an emphatic "No". Nonetheless, Frank secretly bought a used car. Thinking that he could change Jacob's mind; Frank drove his car to Jacob's house on October 5, 1913 to take Jacob for a ride to "see the crops". When Jacob stepped out on his porch and saw Frank with his car in the driveway, Jacob dashed back into the house and came out with his shotgun blazing. Frank jumped back into his car and took off to Canada. When Catherine was not able to support herself and daughter, she moved back to her parent's home in Lismore and gave up Henrietta to Jacob and Anna. Jacob and Anna legally adopted Henrietta on Oct 8, 1916. Frank's 1921 Calgary, Ontario, Canada census record states that he is married to Tensey with two daughters and had entered Canada in 1914. He reentered the USA at Seattle, Washington on March 25, 1924.
Frank's second daughter was Violet Remackel, born Sept 23, 1919, at Calgary, Alberta, Canada with his second of three wives, Tensy Nystrom 1895-1929. They married Apr 25, 1917, at Calgary, Canada when Tensy was five months pregnant with another man's daughter, Dolly, born Aug 6, 1917 at Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Frank deserted his second wife and children in 1924. His third of three wives was Elsie Thomas 1888-1966. They married on July 11, 1927, at Anaconda, MT where Frank worked in the copper mines. On this marriage record, Frank wrongly lists his previous wife as "dead". In the April 3, 1930 US census Frank is a farm laborer in Northville, SD with his wife Elsie. In 1932 through 1940 they lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Frank and Elsie were part of the September 1932 workers and veterans "red hickers" march on Washington, DC.
Due to a quirk of fate in November of 1938, Frank got to meet his daughter, Henrietta, whom he had deserted as a 5-month old infant back in 1913. It happened this way: In the fall of 1938 Henrietta's adoptive father, Jacob Remackel, asked Henrietta if she could contact Jacob's cousin, John Remackel, living in St Paul, MN. So, for Thanksgiving Henrietta and Francis decided to drive their new 1939 Plymouth to St Paul with a turkey for their Remackel relatives. While visiting at John Remackel's house, John asked if they ever heard of a "Frank" Remackel. Henrietta gasped and Francis said, yes, that is Henrietta's real father. John showed them a 1931 newspaper article about Frank Remackel's dog, Buster, saving tenants for an apartment house fire in Minneapolis. Francis suggested to Henrietta that they drive over to Minneapolis and meet her father. Henrietta said, "No, he might kill me." [Back in 1926 while working as a 13 year-old unpaid teller in Jacob's bank in Wilmont, Henrietta had accidentally came across her 1916 adoption papers in the bank safe. When she confronted Jacob he told her many 'stories' about her 'bad' real father.] Francis finally convinced Henrietta to go anyway and stay in the car while he first went to the door and talked to Frank. Francis 'sized' Frank up and brought him out to the car and introduced him to his daughter. All was well. They spent hours in Frank and Elsie's apartment getting acquainted. During this meeting Frank never mentioned anything about his previous life, marriage, child, or time in Canada. Frank was invited by Henrietta to come down and visit them on the farm sometime. Frank came in 1939 with his friend Gunner Smith. During this visit Frank revealed much of his childhood on this farm. Frank said that in about 1903 shortly before Jacob and Anna and Frank moved from this farm into the town of Wilmont, a stranger had come to the farm. Jacob and Anna became very upset. Jacob took his loaded revolver outside to meet the man. After a short time a shot was fired. Jacob came back into the house and said, "He won't bother us anymore." The next morning Jacob asked Anna and Frank to plant a cottonwood tree on the pile of fresh dirt in the grove. During his 1939 visit Frank tried to find the exact cottonwood in the grove but said he couldn't remember because it was so long ago. [Anna Remackel unintentionally revealed the cottonwood's exact location on her deathbed in 1949 when she asked Henrietta to promise that no one would ever dig under the big cottonwood tree north of the barn.] Frank also told about a conversation at their church after Mass one Sunday. He said that one of the ladies asked Anna how she got those sores on the back of her hand. Anna explained they were from the hens that pecked her while she gathered their eggs. Frank related to Francis and Henrietta that the sores were actually from Jacob. When he got angry at Anna for any reason, he would hold her hand on the kitchen table and stab the back of it repeatedly with a table fork. After this 1939 visit Frank and his daughter, Henrietta, remained in contact by letter writing until ..... Frank stopped writing in 1945 after Henrietta wrote that this first wife, Catherine was dying of breast cancer. Frank then wanted to know where she lived so he could go talk with her before she died. Henrietta felt that it might resurrect too many old problems and so she wrote back,"No."
On Apr 27, 1942 Frank and Elsie were living back in Butte, MT where Frank worked at the Anaconda Copper Mine. He took a First-Aid course for mine safety. By April 4, 1950 they were back in Minneapolis, MN again with Frank as a pipe fitter and foreman for the Minneapolis City gas department.
When Frank's adoptive father, Jacob, died in 1953, Jacob's Will did not mention Frank. Jacob willed two of his three farms to his adopted daughter, Henrietta, and one of his farms to Henrietta's children.
Elsie and Frank were broke when Frank died on May 9, 1959 after one month in Mount Sinai Hospital, so, Elsie tried to sell his body to the University of Minnesota, but they would not buy him.
EPILOGUE
In 2017 I tracked down the death certificate of Frank's biological father.
On November 12, 1938 "John Doe #81" was found dead on the streets of Los Angeles at the corner of Pasadena Avenue and 20th Avenue. His autopsy revealed that he was a Caucasian male about 60 years old with cause of death being chronic myocardial degeneration and chronic hepatic cirrhosis. His body was unclaimed. He was cremated at the Los Angeles County Crematory on Dec 2, 1938. On Jan 4, 1939 his widow, Wilhelmena (Wilcut) Koker 1891-1978, officially changed the name on John Doe # 81's death certificate to John Albert Koker 1870-1938.
Contributor: Robert Arens (47192195)
Star Tribune
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Sunday, May 10, 1959 - Page 98 (2C)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From History of Nobles County by Arthur Rose - 1907
Jacob Remackel married at Lyons, Clinton County, January 8, 1884 to Annie Halfmann, who was born in Prussia September 5, 1861, and who came to America and to Illinois on August 1, 1881. They are the parents of one child, Walter Francis, born in Wall Lake, Iowa July 5, 1892.
Reprinted in Wilmont Shopper May 21 2020
Contributor: Judy Christians (50181675)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frank Walter Remackel
1892-1959
Obituary and biography of Frank Walter Remackel: June 30, 1892 – May 7, 1959, by Robert Phillip Arens 1937- …..written on March 23, 2023.
DEATH NOTICE
REMACKEL--Frank, age 74, of 1102 S. 7th St. Survived by wife, Elsie. Private services & interment. Arrangements by Billman's House of Flowers, 2121 Nicollet.
Published in Star Tribune Minneapolis,Minnesota on Sunday, May 10, 1959 - Page 98 (2C)
OBITUARY
Frank Walter Remackel age 66 died May 7, 1959, at Mount Sinai Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota with sclerosis of the liver and pulmonary silicosis. He was cremated as a pauper on May 9, 1959. His ashes were spread on Jo Pond in Lakewood Cemetery, Minneapolis, MN with no grave marker. Survived by wife; Elsie (Thomas) Remackel of Minneapolis, MN, biological mother; Sophia (Johnson) Redden of Sioux City, IA, 12 Koker half-siblings, 3 Redden half-siblings, two daughters; Henrietta (Remackel) Arens of North Mankato, MN and Violet (Remackel) Gibson of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, step-daughter; Dolly (Remackel) [MacDonald] Brown of Vancouver, BC, Canada and 12 grandchildren and one great-grandson. Preceded in death by biological father; John Albert Koker, 3 Koker half-siblings, 3 Redden half-siblings, adoptive parents; Jacob and Anna (Halfman) Remackel, and two previous wives; Catherine (Weber) Remackel-Veron and Tensy (Nystrom) Remackel.
INTRODUCTION
My name is Robert Philip Arens. I am a grandson of Frank Remackel. I was born Dec 29, 1937, on section 25, Larkin township, Nobles County, MN to Francis Arens 1909-1991 and Henrietta (Remackel) Arens 1913-2006.
In January of 2023, I asked Lakewood cemetery if I could install a headstone for my grandfather, Frank Remackel, in the place where he rested. They said no, but I could put this obituary/biography in their public records display.
Some of the information contained herein is taken from the 20 hours of recorded memories of my father, Francis Arens 1909-1991. Some information comes from my research. Starting in about 1970 I spent over 40 years searching for Frank's birth name, birth place, birth date, and birth parents using: church records, old newspapers, interviews, courthouse records, newspaper want ads, cemeteries, a spirit medium, facial recognition, para-genealogy, and started using DNA in 2003. Finally, in February 2019 I had all of the answers: birth name, birth place, birth date, and birth parents. A spirit medium once told me that Frank spent his entire life looking for a place where he felt loved and wanted .... and finally found it …. long after his death …. in my heart.
BIOGRAPHY
Frank was adopted at the age of 7 months and died at age 66 never knowing his: birth name, birth date, birthplace, or birth parents.
The 1907 History of Nobles County, Minnesota states that Walter Francis Remackel is the son of Jacob and Anna Remackel, born July 5, 1892, at Wall Lake, IA. On Frank's 1937 Minneapolis, Minnesota application for Social Security, he stated that he was born July 5, 1892, at Davenport, Iowa and his parents both died when he was an infant. In his 1942 Butte, Montana WWII registration he stated his birth as Jan 1, 1885, in Taylor, Iowa. Frank's 1959 death certificate gives his birth date as Jan 7, 1885 in Iowa.
Frank was actually born in Sioux City, Iowa on June 30, 1892, as Walter Redden. He was recorded as the son of Sophia (Johnson) Redden 1874-1964 and her husband, George Redden 1870-1965. George had married Sophia on November 2, 1891, in Sioux City, Iowa without realizing that she was already 2 months pregnant with Frank, the son of John Albert Koker 1870-1938, a Sioux City, Iowa street car driver. Sophia had used the street car to travel back and forth from her home to her work in 1890 and 1891. When Walter Redden was 7 months old he was baptized/adopted as "Franciscum Smith" on January 27, 1893, at St John Catholic Church in Arcadia, Iowa, and adopted by a married couple, Jacob Remackel 1857-1953 and Anna (Halfman) Remackel 1861-1949. Jacob and Anna were farming on rented land near Wall Lake, Iowa, about 10 miles north of Arcadia. They had been married in 1884 and were childless. I assume that after George Redden learned that Frank was not his son, he and Sophia 'gave' Frank to a local Catholic church, as was the custom in those days for an unwanted child. However, the 1893 baptism/adoption record states that Franciscum had been born to a "Smith marriage". So, it is possible that infant Walter Redden was first given to John Albert Koker's first cousin, Minnie (Koker) Smith 1869-1925, who, at the time was married to Frank Smith 1854-1902 and living in Bismarck, ND. At any rate, the word likely spread to the Breda Iowa Catholic church that Jacob and Anna attended and, the nearby Arcadia Iowa Catholic church where Anna's brother attended. Anna's brother, Peter Halfman, was Frank's baptismal Godfather.
In 1893 Jacob and Anna purchased the west half of the southwest quarter of section 25 in township 103 of range 42 (Larkin), Nobles County, Minnesota. The July 2, 1895, Minnesota State census shows them living here. In 1905 Frank was living in the Saint Joseph, Kossuth County, Iowa boarding school receiving his first communion. In 1908 Frank was Confirmed in St Adrian Catholic Church in Adrian, MN. In the 1910 US census, Jacob and Anna are listed without Frank. However, a "Frank Smith" age 17 is listed in the 1910 US census as the adopted son of Theodore Faber, a farmer in Kossuth County, Iowa. It is quite possible that Frank and this Faber family became acquainted during Frank's stay in the nearby boarding school. This "Frank Smith" never appears again in any public records. The Faber family immigrated to Iowa from an area of Luxembourg about 12 miles from Itzig, Luxembourg where Jacob Remackel had been born and raised. In about 1908 Jacob sent a letter to his niece, Catherine Berchem 1890-1970, back in Luxembourg saying that he would send her the travel money to come to Minnesota and marry his son, Frank. In about 1910 Jacob sent another letter to Catherine Berchem saying that Frank had died at age 17 and he therefore would not be sending her the money to come to Minnesota. Frank had not died. In the fall of 1911, Frank was reported in the local newspaper as returning from the Twin Cities [Minneapolis and St Paul, Minnesota] to visit his parents, Jake and Anna Remackel in Wilmont, Minnesota. On November 11, 1912, Frank married his first of three wives, Catherine Weber 1894-1945 in her home town of Lismore, MN about 7 miles from Wilmont, MN. At the time of their marriage Catherine was already 2 months pregnant with their first and only child together, Henrietta, born May 25, 1913, on the farm that Jacob had purchased back in 1893. This farm is one mile south of the farm where Henrietta's husband-to-be, Francis Arens, was born on June 4, 1909. In his tape-recorded 20-hour lifetime memories, Francis remembers a phone call to his parents' house during harvest time of 1912. The caller asked to speak with Frank Remackel who was helping the Mathias Arens (1877-1966) family with the fall harvest that day. Francis remembered that Frank became nervous and scared acting during his phone conversation. [Francis and Henrietta (my parents) were married on February 21, 1933, at Wilmont, MN.]
After Frank Remackel and Catherine Weber got married, they rented the 1893 purchased farm from Frank's 'father', Jacob Remackel. Sometime in 1913 Frank went to Jacob's house in Wilmont and asked if he could use part of the 1913 harvest proceeds to buy a car. Jacob gave an emphatic "No". Nonetheless, Frank secretly bought a used car. Thinking that he could change Jacob's mind; Frank drove his car to Jacob's house on October 5, 1913 to take Jacob for a ride to "see the crops". When Jacob stepped out on his porch and saw Frank with his car in the driveway, Jacob dashed back into the house and came out with his shotgun blazing. Frank jumped back into his car and took off to Canada. When Catherine was not able to support herself and daughter, she moved back to her parent's home in Lismore and gave up Henrietta to Jacob and Anna. Jacob and Anna legally adopted Henrietta on Oct 8, 1916. Frank's 1921 Calgary, Ontario, Canada census record states that he is married to Tensey with two daughters and had entered Canada in 1914. He reentered the USA at Seattle, Washington on March 25, 1924.
Frank's second daughter was Violet Remackel, born Sept 23, 1919, at Calgary, Alberta, Canada with his second of three wives, Tensy Nystrom 1895-1929. They married Apr 25, 1917, at Calgary, Canada when Tensy was five months pregnant with another man's daughter, Dolly, born Aug 6, 1917 at Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Frank deserted his second wife and children in 1924. His third of three wives was Elsie Thomas 1888-1966. They married on July 11, 1927, at Anaconda, MT where Frank worked in the copper mines. On this marriage record, Frank wrongly lists his previous wife as "dead". In the April 3, 1930 US census Frank is a farm laborer in Northville, SD with his wife Elsie. In 1932 through 1940 they lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Frank and Elsie were part of the September 1932 workers and veterans "red hickers" march on Washington, DC.
Due to a quirk of fate in November of 1938, Frank got to meet his daughter, Henrietta, whom he had deserted as a 5-month old infant back in 1913. It happened this way: In the fall of 1938 Henrietta's adoptive father, Jacob Remackel, asked Henrietta if she could contact Jacob's cousin, John Remackel, living in St Paul, MN. So, for Thanksgiving Henrietta and Francis decided to drive their new 1939 Plymouth to St Paul with a turkey for their Remackel relatives. While visiting at John Remackel's house, John asked if they ever heard of a "Frank" Remackel. Henrietta gasped and Francis said, yes, that is Henrietta's real father. John showed them a 1931 newspaper article about Frank Remackel's dog, Buster, saving tenants for an apartment house fire in Minneapolis. Francis suggested to Henrietta that they drive over to Minneapolis and meet her father. Henrietta said, "No, he might kill me." [Back in 1926 while working as a 13 year-old unpaid teller in Jacob's bank in Wilmont, Henrietta had accidentally came across her 1916 adoption papers in the bank safe. When she confronted Jacob he told her many 'stories' about her 'bad' real father.] Francis finally convinced Henrietta to go anyway and stay in the car while he first went to the door and talked to Frank. Francis 'sized' Frank up and brought him out to the car and introduced him to his daughter. All was well. They spent hours in Frank and Elsie's apartment getting acquainted. During this meeting Frank never mentioned anything about his previous life, marriage, child, or time in Canada. Frank was invited by Henrietta to come down and visit them on the farm sometime. Frank came in 1939 with his friend Gunner Smith. During this visit Frank revealed much of his childhood on this farm. Frank said that in about 1903 shortly before Jacob and Anna and Frank moved from this farm into the town of Wilmont, a stranger had come to the farm. Jacob and Anna became very upset. Jacob took his loaded revolver outside to meet the man. After a short time a shot was fired. Jacob came back into the house and said, "He won't bother us anymore." The next morning Jacob asked Anna and Frank to plant a cottonwood tree on the pile of fresh dirt in the grove. During his 1939 visit Frank tried to find the exact cottonwood in the grove but said he couldn't remember because it was so long ago. [Anna Remackel unintentionally revealed the cottonwood's exact location on her deathbed in 1949 when she asked Henrietta to promise that no one would ever dig under the big cottonwood tree north of the barn.] Frank also told about a conversation at their church after Mass one Sunday. He said that one of the ladies asked Anna how she got those sores on the back of her hand. Anna explained they were from the hens that pecked her while she gathered their eggs. Frank related to Francis and Henrietta that the sores were actually from Jacob. When he got angry at Anna for any reason, he would hold her hand on the kitchen table and stab the back of it repeatedly with a table fork. After this 1939 visit Frank and his daughter, Henrietta, remained in contact by letter writing until ..... Frank stopped writing in 1945 after Henrietta wrote that this first wife, Catherine was dying of breast cancer. Frank then wanted to know where she lived so he could go talk with her before she died. Henrietta felt that it might resurrect too many old problems and so she wrote back,"No."
On Apr 27, 1942 Frank and Elsie were living back in Butte, MT where Frank worked at the Anaconda Copper Mine. He took a First-Aid course for mine safety. By April 4, 1950 they were back in Minneapolis, MN again with Frank as a pipe fitter and foreman for the Minneapolis City gas department.
When Frank's adoptive father, Jacob, died in 1953, Jacob's Will did not mention Frank. Jacob willed two of his three farms to his adopted daughter, Henrietta, and one of his farms to Henrietta's children.
Elsie and Frank were broke when Frank died on May 9, 1959 after one month in Mount Sinai Hospital, so, Elsie tried to sell his body to the University of Minnesota, but they would not buy him.
EPILOGUE
In 2017 I tracked down the death certificate of Frank's biological father.
On November 12, 1938 "John Doe #81" was found dead on the streets of Los Angeles at the corner of Pasadena Avenue and 20th Avenue. His autopsy revealed that he was a Caucasian male about 60 years old with cause of death being chronic myocardial degeneration and chronic hepatic cirrhosis. His body was unclaimed. He was cremated at the Los Angeles County Crematory on Dec 2, 1938. On Jan 4, 1939 his widow, Wilhelmena (Wilcut) Koker 1891-1978, officially changed the name on John Doe # 81's death certificate to John Albert Koker 1870-1938.
Contributor: Robert Arens (47192195)
REMACKEL--Frank, age 74, of 1102 S. 7th St. Survived by wife, Elsie. Private services & interment. Arrangements by Billman's House of Flowers, 2121 Nicollet.
Star Tribune
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Sunday, May 10, 1959 - Page 98 (2C)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From History of Nobles County by Arthur Rose - 1907
Jacob Remackel married at Lyons, Clinton County, January 8, 1884 to Annie Halfmann, who was born in Prussia September 5, 1861, and who came to America and to Illinois on August 1, 1881. They are the parents of one child, Walter Francis, born in Wall Lake, Iowa July 5, 1892.
Reprinted in Wilmont Shopper May 21 2020
Contributor: Judy Christians (50181675)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frank Walter Remackel
1892-1959
Obituary and biography of Frank Walter Remackel: June 30, 1892 – May 7, 1959, by Robert Phillip Arens 1937- …..written on March 23, 2023.
DEATH NOTICE
REMACKEL--Frank, age 74, of 1102 S. 7th St. Survived by wife, Elsie. Private services & interment. Arrangements by Billman's House of Flowers, 2121 Nicollet.
Published in Star Tribune Minneapolis,Minnesota on Sunday, May 10, 1959 - Page 98 (2C)
OBITUARY
Frank Walter Remackel age 66 died May 7, 1959, at Mount Sinai Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota with sclerosis of the liver and pulmonary silicosis. He was cremated as a pauper on May 9, 1959. His ashes were spread on Jo Pond in Lakewood Cemetery, Minneapolis, MN with no grave marker. Survived by wife; Elsie (Thomas) Remackel of Minneapolis, MN, biological mother; Sophia (Johnson) Redden of Sioux City, IA, 12 Koker half-siblings, 3 Redden half-siblings, two daughters; Henrietta (Remackel) Arens of North Mankato, MN and Violet (Remackel) Gibson of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, step-daughter; Dolly (Remackel) [MacDonald] Brown of Vancouver, BC, Canada and 12 grandchildren and one great-grandson. Preceded in death by biological father; John Albert Koker, 3 Koker half-siblings, 3 Redden half-siblings, adoptive parents; Jacob and Anna (Halfman) Remackel, and two previous wives; Catherine (Weber) Remackel-Veron and Tensy (Nystrom) Remackel.
INTRODUCTION
My name is Robert Philip Arens. I am a grandson of Frank Remackel. I was born Dec 29, 1937, on section 25, Larkin township, Nobles County, MN to Francis Arens 1909-1991 and Henrietta (Remackel) Arens 1913-2006.
In January of 2023, I asked Lakewood cemetery if I could install a headstone for my grandfather, Frank Remackel, in the place where he rested. They said no, but I could put this obituary/biography in their public records display.
Some of the information contained herein is taken from the 20 hours of recorded memories of my father, Francis Arens 1909-1991. Some information comes from my research. Starting in about 1970 I spent over 40 years searching for Frank's birth name, birth place, birth date, and birth parents using: church records, old newspapers, interviews, courthouse records, newspaper want ads, cemeteries, a spirit medium, facial recognition, para-genealogy, and started using DNA in 2003. Finally, in February 2019 I had all of the answers: birth name, birth place, birth date, and birth parents. A spirit medium once told me that Frank spent his entire life looking for a place where he felt loved and wanted .... and finally found it …. long after his death …. in my heart.
BIOGRAPHY
Frank was adopted at the age of 7 months and died at age 66 never knowing his: birth name, birth date, birthplace, or birth parents.
The 1907 History of Nobles County, Minnesota states that Walter Francis Remackel is the son of Jacob and Anna Remackel, born July 5, 1892, at Wall Lake, IA. On Frank's 1937 Minneapolis, Minnesota application for Social Security, he stated that he was born July 5, 1892, at Davenport, Iowa and his parents both died when he was an infant. In his 1942 Butte, Montana WWII registration he stated his birth as Jan 1, 1885, in Taylor, Iowa. Frank's 1959 death certificate gives his birth date as Jan 7, 1885 in Iowa.
Frank was actually born in Sioux City, Iowa on June 30, 1892, as Walter Redden. He was recorded as the son of Sophia (Johnson) Redden 1874-1964 and her husband, George Redden 1870-1965. George had married Sophia on November 2, 1891, in Sioux City, Iowa without realizing that she was already 2 months pregnant with Frank, the son of John Albert Koker 1870-1938, a Sioux City, Iowa street car driver. Sophia had used the street car to travel back and forth from her home to her work in 1890 and 1891. When Walter Redden was 7 months old he was baptized/adopted as "Franciscum Smith" on January 27, 1893, at St John Catholic Church in Arcadia, Iowa, and adopted by a married couple, Jacob Remackel 1857-1953 and Anna (Halfman) Remackel 1861-1949. Jacob and Anna were farming on rented land near Wall Lake, Iowa, about 10 miles north of Arcadia. They had been married in 1884 and were childless. I assume that after George Redden learned that Frank was not his son, he and Sophia 'gave' Frank to a local Catholic church, as was the custom in those days for an unwanted child. However, the 1893 baptism/adoption record states that Franciscum had been born to a "Smith marriage". So, it is possible that infant Walter Redden was first given to John Albert Koker's first cousin, Minnie (Koker) Smith 1869-1925, who, at the time was married to Frank Smith 1854-1902 and living in Bismarck, ND. At any rate, the word likely spread to the Breda Iowa Catholic church that Jacob and Anna attended and, the nearby Arcadia Iowa Catholic church where Anna's brother attended. Anna's brother, Peter Halfman, was Frank's baptismal Godfather.
In 1893 Jacob and Anna purchased the west half of the southwest quarter of section 25 in township 103 of range 42 (Larkin), Nobles County, Minnesota. The July 2, 1895, Minnesota State census shows them living here. In 1905 Frank was living in the Saint Joseph, Kossuth County, Iowa boarding school receiving his first communion. In 1908 Frank was Confirmed in St Adrian Catholic Church in Adrian, MN. In the 1910 US census, Jacob and Anna are listed without Frank. However, a "Frank Smith" age 17 is listed in the 1910 US census as the adopted son of Theodore Faber, a farmer in Kossuth County, Iowa. It is quite possible that Frank and this Faber family became acquainted during Frank's stay in the nearby boarding school. This "Frank Smith" never appears again in any public records. The Faber family immigrated to Iowa from an area of Luxembourg about 12 miles from Itzig, Luxembourg where Jacob Remackel had been born and raised. In about 1908 Jacob sent a letter to his niece, Catherine Berchem 1890-1970, back in Luxembourg saying that he would send her the travel money to come to Minnesota and marry his son, Frank. In about 1910 Jacob sent another letter to Catherine Berchem saying that Frank had died at age 17 and he therefore would not be sending her the money to come to Minnesota. Frank had not died. In the fall of 1911, Frank was reported in the local newspaper as returning from the Twin Cities [Minneapolis and St Paul, Minnesota] to visit his parents, Jake and Anna Remackel in Wilmont, Minnesota. On November 11, 1912, Frank married his first of three wives, Catherine Weber 1894-1945 in her home town of Lismore, MN about 7 miles from Wilmont, MN. At the time of their marriage Catherine was already 2 months pregnant with their first and only child together, Henrietta, born May 25, 1913, on the farm that Jacob had purchased back in 1893. This farm is one mile south of the farm where Henrietta's husband-to-be, Francis Arens, was born on June 4, 1909. In his tape-recorded 20-hour lifetime memories, Francis remembers a phone call to his parents' house during harvest time of 1912. The caller asked to speak with Frank Remackel who was helping the Mathias Arens (1877-1966) family with the fall harvest that day. Francis remembered that Frank became nervous and scared acting during his phone conversation. [Francis and Henrietta (my parents) were married on February 21, 1933, at Wilmont, MN.]
After Frank Remackel and Catherine Weber got married, they rented the 1893 purchased farm from Frank's 'father', Jacob Remackel. Sometime in 1913 Frank went to Jacob's house in Wilmont and asked if he could use part of the 1913 harvest proceeds to buy a car. Jacob gave an emphatic "No". Nonetheless, Frank secretly bought a used car. Thinking that he could change Jacob's mind; Frank drove his car to Jacob's house on October 5, 1913 to take Jacob for a ride to "see the crops". When Jacob stepped out on his porch and saw Frank with his car in the driveway, Jacob dashed back into the house and came out with his shotgun blazing. Frank jumped back into his car and took off to Canada. When Catherine was not able to support herself and daughter, she moved back to her parent's home in Lismore and gave up Henrietta to Jacob and Anna. Jacob and Anna legally adopted Henrietta on Oct 8, 1916. Frank's 1921 Calgary, Ontario, Canada census record states that he is married to Tensey with two daughters and had entered Canada in 1914. He reentered the USA at Seattle, Washington on March 25, 1924.
Frank's second daughter was Violet Remackel, born Sept 23, 1919, at Calgary, Alberta, Canada with his second of three wives, Tensy Nystrom 1895-1929. They married Apr 25, 1917, at Calgary, Canada when Tensy was five months pregnant with another man's daughter, Dolly, born Aug 6, 1917 at Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Frank deserted his second wife and children in 1924. His third of three wives was Elsie Thomas 1888-1966. They married on July 11, 1927, at Anaconda, MT where Frank worked in the copper mines. On this marriage record, Frank wrongly lists his previous wife as "dead". In the April 3, 1930 US census Frank is a farm laborer in Northville, SD with his wife Elsie. In 1932 through 1940 they lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Frank and Elsie were part of the September 1932 workers and veterans "red hickers" march on Washington, DC.
Due to a quirk of fate in November of 1938, Frank got to meet his daughter, Henrietta, whom he had deserted as a 5-month old infant back in 1913. It happened this way: In the fall of 1938 Henrietta's adoptive father, Jacob Remackel, asked Henrietta if she could contact Jacob's cousin, John Remackel, living in St Paul, MN. So, for Thanksgiving Henrietta and Francis decided to drive their new 1939 Plymouth to St Paul with a turkey for their Remackel relatives. While visiting at John Remackel's house, John asked if they ever heard of a "Frank" Remackel. Henrietta gasped and Francis said, yes, that is Henrietta's real father. John showed them a 1931 newspaper article about Frank Remackel's dog, Buster, saving tenants for an apartment house fire in Minneapolis. Francis suggested to Henrietta that they drive over to Minneapolis and meet her father. Henrietta said, "No, he might kill me." [Back in 1926 while working as a 13 year-old unpaid teller in Jacob's bank in Wilmont, Henrietta had accidentally came across her 1916 adoption papers in the bank safe. When she confronted Jacob he told her many 'stories' about her 'bad' real father.] Francis finally convinced Henrietta to go anyway and stay in the car while he first went to the door and talked to Frank. Francis 'sized' Frank up and brought him out to the car and introduced him to his daughter. All was well. They spent hours in Frank and Elsie's apartment getting acquainted. During this meeting Frank never mentioned anything about his previous life, marriage, child, or time in Canada. Frank was invited by Henrietta to come down and visit them on the farm sometime. Frank came in 1939 with his friend Gunner Smith. During this visit Frank revealed much of his childhood on this farm. Frank said that in about 1903 shortly before Jacob and Anna and Frank moved from this farm into the town of Wilmont, a stranger had come to the farm. Jacob and Anna became very upset. Jacob took his loaded revolver outside to meet the man. After a short time a shot was fired. Jacob came back into the house and said, "He won't bother us anymore." The next morning Jacob asked Anna and Frank to plant a cottonwood tree on the pile of fresh dirt in the grove. During his 1939 visit Frank tried to find the exact cottonwood in the grove but said he couldn't remember because it was so long ago. [Anna Remackel unintentionally revealed the cottonwood's exact location on her deathbed in 1949 when she asked Henrietta to promise that no one would ever dig under the big cottonwood tree north of the barn.] Frank also told about a conversation at their church after Mass one Sunday. He said that one of the ladies asked Anna how she got those sores on the back of her hand. Anna explained they were from the hens that pecked her while she gathered their eggs. Frank related to Francis and Henrietta that the sores were actually from Jacob. When he got angry at Anna for any reason, he would hold her hand on the kitchen table and stab the back of it repeatedly with a table fork. After this 1939 visit Frank and his daughter, Henrietta, remained in contact by letter writing until ..... Frank stopped writing in 1945 after Henrietta wrote that this first wife, Catherine was dying of breast cancer. Frank then wanted to know where she lived so he could go talk with her before she died. Henrietta felt that it might resurrect too many old problems and so she wrote back,"No."
On Apr 27, 1942 Frank and Elsie were living back in Butte, MT where Frank worked at the Anaconda Copper Mine. He took a First-Aid course for mine safety. By April 4, 1950 they were back in Minneapolis, MN again with Frank as a pipe fitter and foreman for the Minneapolis City gas department.
When Frank's adoptive father, Jacob, died in 1953, Jacob's Will did not mention Frank. Jacob willed two of his three farms to his adopted daughter, Henrietta, and one of his farms to Henrietta's children.
Elsie and Frank were broke when Frank died on May 9, 1959 after one month in Mount Sinai Hospital, so, Elsie tried to sell his body to the University of Minnesota, but they would not buy him.
EPILOGUE
In 2017 I tracked down the death certificate of Frank's biological father.
On November 12, 1938 "John Doe #81" was found dead on the streets of Los Angeles at the corner of Pasadena Avenue and 20th Avenue. His autopsy revealed that he was a Caucasian male about 60 years old with cause of death being chronic myocardial degeneration and chronic hepatic cirrhosis. His body was unclaimed. He was cremated at the Los Angeles County Crematory on Dec 2, 1938. On Jan 4, 1939 his widow, Wilhelmena (Wilcut) Koker 1891-1978, officially changed the name on John Doe # 81's death certificate to John Albert Koker 1870-1938.
Contributor: Robert Arens (47192195)
Star Tribune
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Sunday, May 10, 1959 - Page 98 (2C)
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From History of Nobles County by Arthur Rose - 1907
Jacob Remackel married at Lyons, Clinton County, January 8, 1884 to Annie Halfmann, who was born in Prussia September 5, 1861, and who came to America and to Illinois on August 1, 1881. They are the parents of one child, Walter Francis, born in Wall Lake, Iowa July 5, 1892.
Reprinted in Wilmont Shopper May 21 2020
Contributor: Judy Christians (50181675)
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Frank Walter Remackel
1892-1959
Obituary and biography of Frank Walter Remackel: June 30, 1892 – May 7, 1959, by Robert Phillip Arens 1937- …..written on March 23, 2023.
DEATH NOTICE
REMACKEL--Frank, age 74, of 1102 S. 7th St. Survived by wife, Elsie. Private services & interment. Arrangements by Billman's House of Flowers, 2121 Nicollet.
Published in Star Tribune Minneapolis,Minnesota on Sunday, May 10, 1959 - Page 98 (2C)
OBITUARY
Frank Walter Remackel age 66 died May 7, 1959, at Mount Sinai Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota with sclerosis of the liver and pulmonary silicosis. He was cremated as a pauper on May 9, 1959. His ashes were spread on Jo Pond in Lakewood Cemetery, Minneapolis, MN with no grave marker. Survived by wife; Elsie (Thomas) Remackel of Minneapolis, MN, biological mother; Sophia (Johnson) Redden of Sioux City, IA, 12 Koker half-siblings, 3 Redden half-siblings, two daughters; Henrietta (Remackel) Arens of North Mankato, MN and Violet (Remackel) Gibson of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, step-daughter; Dolly (Remackel) [MacDonald] Brown of Vancouver, BC, Canada and 12 grandchildren and one great-grandson. Preceded in death by biological father; John Albert Koker, 3 Koker half-siblings, 3 Redden half-siblings, adoptive parents; Jacob and Anna (Halfman) Remackel, and two previous wives; Catherine (Weber) Remackel-Veron and Tensy (Nystrom) Remackel.
INTRODUCTION
My name is Robert Philip Arens. I am a grandson of Frank Remackel. I was born Dec 29, 1937, on section 25, Larkin township, Nobles County, MN to Francis Arens 1909-1991 and Henrietta (Remackel) Arens 1913-2006.
In January of 2023, I asked Lakewood cemetery if I could install a headstone for my grandfather, Frank Remackel, in the place where he rested. They said no, but I could put this obituary/biography in their public records display.
Some of the information contained herein is taken from the 20 hours of recorded memories of my father, Francis Arens 1909-1991. Some information comes from my research. Starting in about 1970 I spent over 40 years searching for Frank's birth name, birth place, birth date, and birth parents using: church records, old newspapers, interviews, courthouse records, newspaper want ads, cemeteries, a spirit medium, facial recognition, para-genealogy, and started using DNA in 2003. Finally, in February 2019 I had all of the answers: birth name, birth place, birth date, and birth parents. A spirit medium once told me that Frank spent his entire life looking for a place where he felt loved and wanted .... and finally found it …. long after his death …. in my heart.
BIOGRAPHY
Frank was adopted at the age of 7 months and died at age 66 never knowing his: birth name, birth date, birthplace, or birth parents.
The 1907 History of Nobles County, Minnesota states that Walter Francis Remackel is the son of Jacob and Anna Remackel, born July 5, 1892, at Wall Lake, IA. On Frank's 1937 Minneapolis, Minnesota application for Social Security, he stated that he was born July 5, 1892, at Davenport, Iowa and his parents both died when he was an infant. In his 1942 Butte, Montana WWII registration he stated his birth as Jan 1, 1885, in Taylor, Iowa. Frank's 1959 death certificate gives his birth date as Jan 7, 1885 in Iowa.
Frank was actually born in Sioux City, Iowa on June 30, 1892, as Walter Redden. He was recorded as the son of Sophia (Johnson) Redden 1874-1964 and her husband, George Redden 1870-1965. George had married Sophia on November 2, 1891, in Sioux City, Iowa without realizing that she was already 2 months pregnant with Frank, the son of John Albert Koker 1870-1938, a Sioux City, Iowa street car driver. Sophia had used the street car to travel back and forth from her home to her work in 1890 and 1891. When Walter Redden was 7 months old he was baptized/adopted as "Franciscum Smith" on January 27, 1893, at St John Catholic Church in Arcadia, Iowa, and adopted by a married couple, Jacob Remackel 1857-1953 and Anna (Halfman) Remackel 1861-1949. Jacob and Anna were farming on rented land near Wall Lake, Iowa, about 10 miles north of Arcadia. They had been married in 1884 and were childless. I assume that after George Redden learned that Frank was not his son, he and Sophia 'gave' Frank to a local Catholic church, as was the custom in those days for an unwanted child. However, the 1893 baptism/adoption record states that Franciscum had been born to a "Smith marriage". So, it is possible that infant Walter Redden was first given to John Albert Koker's first cousin, Minnie (Koker) Smith 1869-1925, who, at the time was married to Frank Smith 1854-1902 and living in Bismarck, ND. At any rate, the word likely spread to the Breda Iowa Catholic church that Jacob and Anna attended and, the nearby Arcadia Iowa Catholic church where Anna's brother attended. Anna's brother, Peter Halfman, was Frank's baptismal Godfather.
In 1893 Jacob and Anna purchased the west half of the southwest quarter of section 25 in township 103 of range 42 (Larkin), Nobles County, Minnesota. The July 2, 1895, Minnesota State census shows them living here. In 1905 Frank was living in the Saint Joseph, Kossuth County, Iowa boarding school receiving his first communion. In 1908 Frank was Confirmed in St Adrian Catholic Church in Adrian, MN. In the 1910 US census, Jacob and Anna are listed without Frank. However, a "Frank Smith" age 17 is listed in the 1910 US census as the adopted son of Theodore Faber, a farmer in Kossuth County, Iowa. It is quite possible that Frank and this Faber family became acquainted during Frank's stay in the nearby boarding school. This "Frank Smith" never appears again in any public records. The Faber family immigrated to Iowa from an area of Luxembourg about 12 miles from Itzig, Luxembourg where Jacob Remackel had been born and raised. In about 1908 Jacob sent a letter to his niece, Catherine Berchem 1890-1970, back in Luxembourg saying that he would send her the travel money to come to Minnesota and marry his son, Frank. In about 1910 Jacob sent another letter to Catherine Berchem saying that Frank had died at age 17 and he therefore would not be sending her the money to come to Minnesota. Frank had not died. In the fall of 1911, Frank was reported in the local newspaper as returning from the Twin Cities [Minneapolis and St Paul, Minnesota] to visit his parents, Jake and Anna Remackel in Wilmont, Minnesota. On November 11, 1912, Frank married his first of three wives, Catherine Weber 1894-1945 in her home town of Lismore, MN about 7 miles from Wilmont, MN. At the time of their marriage Catherine was already 2 months pregnant with their first and only child together, Henrietta, born May 25, 1913, on the farm that Jacob had purchased back in 1893. This farm is one mile south of the farm where Henrietta's husband-to-be, Francis Arens, was born on June 4, 1909. In his tape-recorded 20-hour lifetime memories, Francis remembers a phone call to his parents' house during harvest time of 1912. The caller asked to speak with Frank Remackel who was helping the Mathias Arens (1877-1966) family with the fall harvest that day. Francis remembered that Frank became nervous and scared acting during his phone conversation. [Francis and Henrietta (my parents) were married on February 21, 1933, at Wilmont, MN.]
After Frank Remackel and Catherine Weber got married, they rented the 1893 purchased farm from Frank's 'father', Jacob Remackel. Sometime in 1913 Frank went to Jacob's house in Wilmont and asked if he could use part of the 1913 harvest proceeds to buy a car. Jacob gave an emphatic "No". Nonetheless, Frank secretly bought a used car. Thinking that he could change Jacob's mind; Frank drove his car to Jacob's house on October 5, 1913 to take Jacob for a ride to "see the crops". When Jacob stepped out on his porch and saw Frank with his car in the driveway, Jacob dashed back into the house and came out with his shotgun blazing. Frank jumped back into his car and took off to Canada. When Catherine was not able to support herself and daughter, she moved back to her parent's home in Lismore and gave up Henrietta to Jacob and Anna. Jacob and Anna legally adopted Henrietta on Oct 8, 1916. Frank's 1921 Calgary, Ontario, Canada census record states that he is married to Tensey with two daughters and had entered Canada in 1914. He reentered the USA at Seattle, Washington on March 25, 1924.
Frank's second daughter was Violet Remackel, born Sept 23, 1919, at Calgary, Alberta, Canada with his second of three wives, Tensy Nystrom 1895-1929. They married Apr 25, 1917, at Calgary, Canada when Tensy was five months pregnant with another man's daughter, Dolly, born Aug 6, 1917 at Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Frank deserted his second wife and children in 1924. His third of three wives was Elsie Thomas 1888-1966. They married on July 11, 1927, at Anaconda, MT where Frank worked in the copper mines. On this marriage record, Frank wrongly lists his previous wife as "dead". In the April 3, 1930 US census Frank is a farm laborer in Northville, SD with his wife Elsie. In 1932 through 1940 they lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Frank and Elsie were part of the September 1932 workers and veterans "red hickers" march on Washington, DC.
Due to a quirk of fate in November of 1938, Frank got to meet his daughter, Henrietta, whom he had deserted as a 5-month old infant back in 1913. It happened this way: In the fall of 1938 Henrietta's adoptive father, Jacob Remackel, asked Henrietta if she could contact Jacob's cousin, John Remackel, living in St Paul, MN. So, for Thanksgiving Henrietta and Francis decided to drive their new 1939 Plymouth to St Paul with a turkey for their Remackel relatives. While visiting at John Remackel's house, John asked if they ever heard of a "Frank" Remackel. Henrietta gasped and Francis said, yes, that is Henrietta's real father. John showed them a 1931 newspaper article about Frank Remackel's dog, Buster, saving tenants for an apartment house fire in Minneapolis. Francis suggested to Henrietta that they drive over to Minneapolis and meet her father. Henrietta said, "No, he might kill me." [Back in 1926 while working as a 13 year-old unpaid teller in Jacob's bank in Wilmont, Henrietta had accidentally came across her 1916 adoption papers in the bank safe. When she confronted Jacob he told her many 'stories' about her 'bad' real father.] Francis finally convinced Henrietta to go anyway and stay in the car while he first went to the door and talked to Frank. Francis 'sized' Frank up and brought him out to the car and introduced him to his daughter. All was well. They spent hours in Frank and Elsie's apartment getting acquainted. During this meeting Frank never mentioned anything about his previous life, marriage, child, or time in Canada. Frank was invited by Henrietta to come down and visit them on the farm sometime. Frank came in 1939 with his friend Gunner Smith. During this visit Frank revealed much of his childhood on this farm. Frank said that in about 1903 shortly before Jacob and Anna and Frank moved from this farm into the town of Wilmont, a stranger had come to the farm. Jacob and Anna became very upset. Jacob took his loaded revolver outside to meet the man. After a short time a shot was fired. Jacob came back into the house and said, "He won't bother us anymore." The next morning Jacob asked Anna and Frank to plant a cottonwood tree on the pile of fresh dirt in the grove. During his 1939 visit Frank tried to find the exact cottonwood in the grove but said he couldn't remember because it was so long ago. [Anna Remackel unintentionally revealed the cottonwood's exact location on her deathbed in 1949 when she asked Henrietta to promise that no one would ever dig under the big cottonwood tree north of the barn.] Frank also told about a conversation at their church after Mass one Sunday. He said that one of the ladies asked Anna how she got those sores on the back of her hand. Anna explained they were from the hens that pecked her while she gathered their eggs. Frank related to Francis and Henrietta that the sores were actually from Jacob. When he got angry at Anna for any reason, he would hold her hand on the kitchen table and stab the back of it repeatedly with a table fork. After this 1939 visit Frank and his daughter, Henrietta, remained in contact by letter writing until ..... Frank stopped writing in 1945 after Henrietta wrote that this first wife, Catherine was dying of breast cancer. Frank then wanted to know where she lived so he could go talk with her before she died. Henrietta felt that it might resurrect too many old problems and so she wrote back,"No."
On Apr 27, 1942 Frank and Elsie were living back in Butte, MT where Frank worked at the Anaconda Copper Mine. He took a First-Aid course for mine safety. By April 4, 1950 they were back in Minneapolis, MN again with Frank as a pipe fitter and foreman for the Minneapolis City gas department.
When Frank's adoptive father, Jacob, died in 1953, Jacob's Will did not mention Frank. Jacob willed two of his three farms to his adopted daughter, Henrietta, and one of his farms to Henrietta's children.
Elsie and Frank were broke when Frank died on May 9, 1959 after one month in Mount Sinai Hospital, so, Elsie tried to sell his body to the University of Minnesota, but they would not buy him.
EPILOGUE
In 2017 I tracked down the death certificate of Frank's biological father.
On November 12, 1938 "John Doe #81" was found dead on the streets of Los Angeles at the corner of Pasadena Avenue and 20th Avenue. His autopsy revealed that he was a Caucasian male about 60 years old with cause of death being chronic myocardial degeneration and chronic hepatic cirrhosis. His body was unclaimed. He was cremated at the Los Angeles County Crematory on Dec 2, 1938. On Jan 4, 1939 his widow, Wilhelmena (Wilcut) Koker 1891-1978, officially changed the name on John Doe # 81's death certificate to John Albert Koker 1870-1938.
Contributor: Robert Arens (47192195)
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