Researched and compiled by the Kartchner Brothers

Frank Carter Welsh [AKA Welch] was a wiry man standing about 5' 7" tall with blue eyes and brown hair - born on 27 November 1898 in Coalville, Summit Country to Thomas A. Welsh & Sarah Ann Williams.

Birth : No formal record was filed at the time of Frank's birth. But the "Record of Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints / Record of Member's Children" [LDS FHL Microfilm 25864 - entry 1068] noted Frank [no middle initial] was baptized and blessed 9 September 1909, but these membership/baptism records confirm that he was born 27 November 1898 in Coalville.

It appears he may have been married at least three times; based on a 1916 article - her name is not known. Second wife was our grandmother, Alice L Smith. His apparent last marriage was to a Hazel Jones.

He had 10 siblings, 4 brothers, 6 sisters:
John Thomas 27 Sep 1879-1931
Mary Jane 16 Apr 1882-27 Sep 1882
Ruth May 2 Oct 1883-25 Dec 1885
James Edward 15 Dec 1886-4 Aug 1953
Lillian 13 Oct 1888-6 May 1974 (married Harry L Young)
Ethel 31 Mar 1891-14 Mar 1982 (married William Sawley)
Sarah Sadie 23 Sep 1893-6 Oct 1985 (married William Swainston)
Henry Earl 15 Nov 1895-14 Feb 1974
Maude Agnes 19 Feb 1901-24 Apr 1994. ( married Lawrence Stillman)
Clara Jean 17 Aug 1903–11 Sep 1942 (married Dewey Miller. | Ernest S Moore, 1927)

An article from the "Park Record" newspaper dated 24 March 1916 described a party given for the just married Sarah (Sadie) Welsh to William Swainston prior to her joining her husband at Ruth, Nevada. At the very end of the article, it also reported that "Mrs. Frank Welsh" was also there. This could not have been Alice L. Smith, she would have been 9. Checking the "Record of Marriage Licenses for Summit County" 1914-1916, did not provide any information about this possible first marriage of Frank Welsh. Such a marriage may have been conducted in another county of Utah or even in Wyoming.

According to his sister Ethel, Frank left home after their mother died in 1921, however there is a conflict in this oral history.

Frank was found in San Francisco California during 1917, single and working for a Naval ship builder, Union Iron as a driller per his WWI draft registration card # 9769 at which time it listed his address at 306 Minna St, San Francisco California. It described him as "medium height, medium build, with blue eyes and slightly blond hair".

U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
Frank Welsh
Race: White
Birth Date: 27 Nov 1898
Street address: 306 Minna St. | Residence Place: San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
Relative: Thomas A. Welsh | Relative's Relationship: Father
["LYNN Hotel, 306 Minna St., off 4th, below Mission - Outside sunny rooms, $2.50 week up, transient". San Francisco Chronicle - various advertisements, it appeared to be a home converted into a short term hotel]

A photograph found in the files of Alice, revealed that Frank was either in the Army or with the Utah National Guard at the time he and Alice met - holding the rank of Corporal.

He was definitely in Salt Lake City during the 1920's when married our grandmother Alice Loretta Smith [B: 24 Dec 1907 in Salt Lake City, Utah] on 6 Jul 1925, [FLH film record # 429121, Reference ID: 47538] : fathering three children between 1928 and 1931. (Based on the birth date of his son Donald, Nov 1, 1931, Frank must have still been in Salt Lake as of late January or early February 1931.)

Searches of the Salt Lake City Cole Directories of the 1920's did show a Frank C. Welsh living at Fort Douglas, but these entries were not clear as to his duties or assignment.

Reviewing the city directories for SLC from the year of their marriage until Frank split for good, both found in only 4 directories, often with different places of residence. They were found listed in the SLC city directory for 1929 (accounting for residents of 1928) working as a clk for the OSL (Oregon Short Line RR company) and living at 156 W 2nd St. No (near Quincy). But it was in only 1928 were they listed living at the same address, suggesting that it may have been a "rocky" marriage.

However the 1930 census recorded that Alice was married (she would have been pregnant with their second daughter) and was living with her brother Walter and their first daughter, Viola, was listed as the daughter of a unrelated Rachel Foster, next door(???).

In the 1931 SLC City directory, he was listed as a CLK for OSL and living at 1068 4th East, sharing a house with the family of Frank Thornburg, but he was not found there in the 1930 census.

The items listed below that refer to him - from the late 1920's until 1942 - seems to contradict clues for his movements and whereabouts, making it extremely difficult to find verifiable proof on him:

1. His marriage to Alice was officially dissolved 27 February 1936 (under state law, he had to be a resident of Wyoming at least one year prior to the divorce, he appeared to be living near his brother, Henry, in Park County, Wyoming.

2. His father's 1936 obituary noted he was in Cody, WY.

3. United States Census, 1940
T627-4574 - Cody, Election District 2, Park, Wyoming, ED: 15-2B Page: 9A
Marital Status: Married | Race (Original): White
Birthplace: Utah | Birth Year (Estimated): 1898
Last Place of Residence: Seattle, Rainier, Washington
Head Frank Welsh M 42 Utah
Wife Hazel Welsh F 26 Missouri

4. U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men
Name: Frank Welsh
Gender: Male | Race: White | Age: 43
Birth Place: Grasscreek, Utah | Birth Date: 27 Nov 1898
Residence Place: Butte, Silver Bow, Montana, USA
Registration Date: 16 Feb 1942
Employer: Acm Co (Anaconda Copper Mine Co @ the Stewart Mine)
Weight: 140 | Height 5' 7"
Complexion: Light | Eye Color: Blue | Hair Color: Brown
Next of Kin: H L Young
(H.L.Young listed as next of kin was the family of his sister, Harry L and Lillian "Welsh" Young)

The National Archives provided the following information about his WWII draft activity:
He was assigned the service number T-1426, Draft Sequence number, 10075. Based on the information he provided, he was first classified as 1A(H) [depending on the internet resource, he was either classified as "Acceptable for military service and had previous military service" or was "Acceptable for military service, age 38 to 44 inclusive"].

Unlike most of the others on this spreadsheet, he did not return his draft questionnaire until June. He was ordered to appear for physical on July 12, 1942, he showed up for a physical on July 17. He was ordered to report for induction August 15, 1942 (this was also published in the Butte newspaper), he was to be transported to Induction center on August 25, 1942 at 7:15 am. The Induction center "Rejected" him for service, August 26, 1942, his final classification was 4A(H) - men deferred by reason of age (not for any physical or health reason) on November 24, 1942. The document noted that several notifications mailed to him had not be deliverable and it appears that he may have left Butte late July or early August 1942 (after hearing that his baby sister was seriously ill??).

5. His baby sister, Clara Moore, September 1942 obituary noted that he was in Butte, MT (In a letter written by one of his sisters to the superintendent of Northern State Hospital, Frank had attended her funeral.)

According to his sister Ethel, his family lost contact with him shortly after the United States entered the WW2 - approximately 1942.

His sister, Ethel, noted that he may have gotten a $10,000 (approximately $175,000, today) settlement from an accident, (which may have been stolen by his wife according to his sister; although his WWII Draft Registration fails to list her as his next of kin). However, this mine related accident has yet to be discovered, there was only one in Butte during the early 1940's but Frank's name could not be found on the short list of survivors. (This is a family story, still needs to researched and confirmed!)

The only Census record found for Frank after he left his father's home was in 1940, in Wyoming, and confirms that there was one other marriage.

Noted in a letters from his sister Ethel to Alice, [discovered late in 2004, another in 2019], he married a woman 16 years younger, who already had two daughters, during the late 1930's (however, no children was listed with them in the 1940 census).

In addition, one of the letters noted that his sister had received a post card from Frank in Hawaii, sometime during WWII. This discovery tends to support a document discovered on ancestry.com that had a "Frank C Welch" listed on a USAAF air transport from Hawaii to an army base in Fairfield California (Fairfield-Suisun Airfield - now Travis AFB) in November 1947, this item also noted that he had last been on the mainland in January 1946. [01/04/2020 GLK]

The letter recounted that his last wife, Hazel Jones [who his sister said was "man hungry"], deserted him for another man - left him while he was at work. Her departure broke his heart and, reportedly, at the point, he started drinking heavily and supposedly stopped caring about anything (10 years prior to his death).

He ended up in Seattle during the late 1940's, where he was eventually picked up off the streets of Seattle by the police drunk, malnourished, and unable to care for himself early 1953.

They took him to King County Hospital, and then later to McNeil Rest Home, surprisingly one of his cousin [Mrs. Henry] worked there and she said they would systematically beat the patients, and because of his combative behavior the nursing home said they could no longer keep him, at which time he was committed by court order to Northern State Mental hospital located at 24909 Hub Drive, Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284

Per the Washington State Archives, of the Northwest Regional branch of the Western Washington University. Admission register offered these biographical details:

His commitment papers confirm that he was in Washington state for 4 years and was known to the DPA (depart of public assistance) since 1949.

The various medical issues noted, besides that hernia operation, were all reportedly treated in 1947:

"Corneal ulcer is a corneal outer layer defect with underlying inflammation due to invasion by bacteria; Acute conjunctivitis can be caused by numerous bacteria. : Iridocyclitis is an inflammation of the iris and of the ciliary body (muscles and tissue involved in focusing the eye)" - which may have resulted from a work related eye injury and/or due to Frank being a chronic alcoholic and continually malnourished before his commitment.

Researching these (combined) conditions online, it could have been a chronic case of "pink eye", rather than a physical injury to his right eye.

Date Admitted: December 22, 1953, Patient Number: 17549
County of Residence: King, Age: 55
Occupation: Miner, Laborer
Civil Condition: Divorced
Nativity: Utah
Died: May 30, 1963
Condition When Received: psychosis with cerebral arteriosclerosis (aggravated by alcohol)
Condition When Discharged: Cause of Death: Adrenal cortisol failure, Broncho-pneumonia, silicosis
Remarks: Removed to Seattle by Bonney-Watson Funeral Home

Most of his time at Northern State Hospital, he was confused, disoriented and had a severe memory handicap. At his admission, the attending doctor reported that he looks much older that his age of 55 years old. He was very combative and had fought with other patients and staff, and he was sometime also hit and beaten by other patients.

In 1959 he had a stroke and recovered surprising recovered beyond the hospital's did not expectations.

It appears that he may have escaped twice, but he never got very far before they found him. In 1962, they moved him to their 24 hour nursing home, it was also reported that he had severe heart disease.

On May 30, 1963 @8:05AM they discovered that he had died.

Under the care of Joy R. Jaffe M.D. Sedro Woolley, WA.. Spend approximately the last ten years of his life at the Northern State Mental Hospital, near Sedro Woolley, Skagit Co., WA.

Death certificate also indicates that he was in other care facilities in Washington State during the early 1950's - the King County Hospital - possibly Harborview. Except for Harborview, the others are no longer operating.

Death Certificate: #11096, Washington State Dept. of Health [filed 5 Jun 1963] revealed the causes of death noted above and indicated that his remains were removed and cremated by Bonney-Watson Funeral Home, Seattle on 31 May 1963. [NSH Hospital -listed as informant].

As noted above, his cremated remains were interned, unmarked in the Rock Springs Cemetery - specifically within the Mountain View portion of the cemetery. His plot [Block 401 Lot 5 Grave 1] is located in the northwest part of Mayor J. B. Young section of Mountain View. This plot was owned by the family of his sister, Ethel Sawley.

WELCH, Frank Ashes, Buried: 06-11-1963, Age: 65, Section: YOUNG_401_6_1, Plot Owner: SAWLEY SR, WILLIAM

Source: http://www.interment.net/data/us/wy/sweetwater/rock-springs-municipal-cemetery/records-u-z.htm

Last known addresses : Northern State Hospital, Sedro Woolley, WA [closed 1973] / McNeils Nursing Home, 12015 15th NE, Seattle, WA [closed N/A] / Harborview Hospital, Seattle.

[Researched and compiled by the Kartchner Brothers]