"Frank" Pratt received his education in the public schools of Quincy, Mass. On September 21, 1862, he married Mary Ann Brown in Boston. During the Civil War Francis Lowell Pratt served in the 43rd Massachusetts regiment and was stationed in North Carolina.
In 1864 he came to Cambridge, Mass., where he was engaged in the hardware business on Harvard Square. In 1875 he was elected city messenger by the City Council and the Board of Aldermen. The winning margin in the first election was only two votes; for 25 successive years Pratt was elected unanimously.
According to a newspaper article written at the time of his retirement, "He has been continually in the whirl of public life. Almost every public celebration finds Frank in its midst, and his experience and natural wit and ingenuity have assisted many a down-hearted committee of the City Council or of the citizens." He arranged most civic celebrations and on such times as inauguration day he was "generally the busiest man in the city."
Frank Pratt had a rich baritone voice and appeared frequently as a public singer, specializing in quartets. He sang in the choir of the Prospect Street Congregational Church. He also sang at "fully 2000 funerals."
He was a very popular and outgoing man, according to a newspaper article, "Whether in the committee meetings, sessions of the city council, or the daily round of his duties, he carries the buoyant, happy spirit with him and makes everyone happy wherever he goes."
He retired in January 1901. In May 1902, he and his wife moved to Pomona, California, to be with their son, Harry S. Pratt. He had first visited California in 1891. He died in Pomona on March 14, 1907, while taking part in a Longfellow celebration at the Academy of Holy Names.
According to his obituary in the Los Angeles Examiner, "It was about 4 o'clock when he began singing a familiar composition by Longfellow. In the middle of the solo he stopped to explain for the benefit of the children something in regard to the song. As he parted his lips to sing again, he gasped and fell over backwards and expired a few minutes later."
At a memorial service in Cambridge, the mayor and two ex-mayors spoke. Major General William A. Bancroft said: "Frank Pratt is dead. Patriotic soldier, useful citizen, faithful public servant, 'that gallant spirit hath aspired the clouds which too untimely here did scorn the earth,' that tuneful voice which thrilled alike the Orient and the Occident of our country, has joined the melody of the Celestial Choir."
In 1864 he came to Cambridge, Mass., where he was engaged in the hardware business on Harvard Square. In 1875 he was elected city messenger by the City Council and the Board of Aldermen. The winning margin in the first election was only two votes; for 25 successive years Pratt was elected unanimously.
According to a newspaper article written at the time of his retirement, "He has been continually in the whirl of public life. Almost every public celebration finds Frank in its midst, and his experience and natural wit and ingenuity have assisted many a down-hearted committee of the City Council or of the citizens." He arranged most civic celebrations and on such times as inauguration day he was "generally the busiest man in the city."
Frank Pratt had a rich baritone voice and appeared frequently as a public singer, specializing in quartets. He sang in the choir of the Prospect Street Congregational Church. He also sang at "fully 2000 funerals."
He was a very popular and outgoing man, according to a newspaper article, "Whether in the committee meetings, sessions of the city council, or the daily round of his duties, he carries the buoyant, happy spirit with him and makes everyone happy wherever he goes."
He retired in January 1901. In May 1902, he and his wife moved to Pomona, California, to be with their son, Harry S. Pratt. He had first visited California in 1891. He died in Pomona on March 14, 1907, while taking part in a Longfellow celebration at the Academy of Holy Names.
According to his obituary in the Los Angeles Examiner, "It was about 4 o'clock when he began singing a familiar composition by Longfellow. In the middle of the solo he stopped to explain for the benefit of the children something in regard to the song. As he parted his lips to sing again, he gasped and fell over backwards and expired a few minutes later."
At a memorial service in Cambridge, the mayor and two ex-mayors spoke. Major General William A. Bancroft said: "Frank Pratt is dead. Patriotic soldier, useful citizen, faithful public servant, 'that gallant spirit hath aspired the clouds which too untimely here did scorn the earth,' that tuneful voice which thrilled alike the Orient and the Occident of our country, has joined the melody of the Celestial Choir."
"Frank" Pratt received his education in the public schools of Quincy, Mass. On September 21, 1862, he married Mary Ann Brown in Boston. During the Civil War Francis Lowell Pratt served in the 43rd Massachusetts regiment and was stationed in North Carolina.
In 1864 he came to Cambridge, Mass., where he was engaged in the hardware business on Harvard Square. In 1875 he was elected city messenger by the City Council and the Board of Aldermen. The winning margin in the first election was only two votes; for 25 successive years Pratt was elected unanimously.
According to a newspaper article written at the time of his retirement, "He has been continually in the whirl of public life. Almost every public celebration finds Frank in its midst, and his experience and natural wit and ingenuity have assisted many a down-hearted committee of the City Council or of the citizens." He arranged most civic celebrations and on such times as inauguration day he was "generally the busiest man in the city."
Frank Pratt had a rich baritone voice and appeared frequently as a public singer, specializing in quartets. He sang in the choir of the Prospect Street Congregational Church. He also sang at "fully 2000 funerals."
He was a very popular and outgoing man, according to a newspaper article, "Whether in the committee meetings, sessions of the city council, or the daily round of his duties, he carries the buoyant, happy spirit with him and makes everyone happy wherever he goes."
He retired in January 1901. In May 1902, he and his wife moved to Pomona, California, to be with their son, Harry S. Pratt. He had first visited California in 1891. He died in Pomona on March 14, 1907, while taking part in a Longfellow celebration at the Academy of Holy Names.
According to his obituary in the Los Angeles Examiner, "It was about 4 o'clock when he began singing a familiar composition by Longfellow. In the middle of the solo he stopped to explain for the benefit of the children something in regard to the song. As he parted his lips to sing again, he gasped and fell over backwards and expired a few minutes later."
At a memorial service in Cambridge, the mayor and two ex-mayors spoke. Major General William A. Bancroft said: "Frank Pratt is dead. Patriotic soldier, useful citizen, faithful public servant, 'that gallant spirit hath aspired the clouds which too untimely here did scorn the earth,' that tuneful voice which thrilled alike the Orient and the Occident of our country, has joined the melody of the Celestial Choir."
In 1864 he came to Cambridge, Mass., where he was engaged in the hardware business on Harvard Square. In 1875 he was elected city messenger by the City Council and the Board of Aldermen. The winning margin in the first election was only two votes; for 25 successive years Pratt was elected unanimously.
According to a newspaper article written at the time of his retirement, "He has been continually in the whirl of public life. Almost every public celebration finds Frank in its midst, and his experience and natural wit and ingenuity have assisted many a down-hearted committee of the City Council or of the citizens." He arranged most civic celebrations and on such times as inauguration day he was "generally the busiest man in the city."
Frank Pratt had a rich baritone voice and appeared frequently as a public singer, specializing in quartets. He sang in the choir of the Prospect Street Congregational Church. He also sang at "fully 2000 funerals."
He was a very popular and outgoing man, according to a newspaper article, "Whether in the committee meetings, sessions of the city council, or the daily round of his duties, he carries the buoyant, happy spirit with him and makes everyone happy wherever he goes."
He retired in January 1901. In May 1902, he and his wife moved to Pomona, California, to be with their son, Harry S. Pratt. He had first visited California in 1891. He died in Pomona on March 14, 1907, while taking part in a Longfellow celebration at the Academy of Holy Names.
According to his obituary in the Los Angeles Examiner, "It was about 4 o'clock when he began singing a familiar composition by Longfellow. In the middle of the solo he stopped to explain for the benefit of the children something in regard to the song. As he parted his lips to sing again, he gasped and fell over backwards and expired a few minutes later."
At a memorial service in Cambridge, the mayor and two ex-mayors spoke. Major General William A. Bancroft said: "Frank Pratt is dead. Patriotic soldier, useful citizen, faithful public servant, 'that gallant spirit hath aspired the clouds which too untimely here did scorn the earth,' that tuneful voice which thrilled alike the Orient and the Occident of our country, has joined the melody of the Celestial Choir."
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