Franklin Bryce Linn

Franklin Bryce Linn
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Born	July 16, 1873(1873-07-16) Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, USA
Died	1946
Resting place	Shelby Township Cemetery, Shelby, Iowa, USA
Residence	Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania (1873–1874) «Did not recognize date. Try slightly modifying the date in the first parameter.–Did not recognize date. Try slightly modifying the date in the first parameter.»"Marriage: Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania to Franklin Bryce Linn" Location: (linkback:http://jimlindstrom.com/mediawiki/index.php/Franklin_Bryce_Linn) Shelby, Iowa (1874–1946) «Did not recognize date. Try slightly modifying the date in the first parameter.–Did not recognize date. Try slightly modifying the date in the first parameter.»"Marriage: Shelby, Iowa to Franklin Bryce Linn" Location: (linkback:http://jimlindstrom.com/mediawiki/index.php/Franklin_Bryce_Linn)
Spouse	Hannah Elizabeth Walker (m. 1898–1946) «Did not recognize date. Try slightly modifying the date in the first parameter.–Did not recognize date. Try slightly modifying the date in the first parameter.»"Marriage: Hannah Elizabeth Walker to Franklin Bryce Linn" Location: (linkback:http://jimlindstrom.com/mediawiki/index.php/Franklin_Bryce_Linn)
Children	Harry Deforest Linn Dwight Russel Linn Lily Gladys Linn Laura Lavina Linn Hugh Alva Linn Jacob Bryce Linn Mary Fern Linn Franklin John Linn Leslie Leonard Linn Samuel Dale Linn Everette Edward Linn
Parents	Jacob Booher Linn Hester Ann Chilcoat
Relatives	Ambrose Burnside Linn (brother) McKendree Linn (brother) Monroe Linn (brother) Anna Laura Linn (sister) Walter McKnight Linn (brother) Willie Linn (brother) Hugh Harrison Linn (brother)

Jill Marie Linn's Memory of Frank and Libby

Grandma Linn I only knew briefly. The memories I have are visiting her in a home (kind of like a nursing home) in Avoca. I was maybe 4 or 5 at the time. I remember she had very thin skin and really big veins.........I would sit on her lap and run my fingers up and down her soft hands. She was a small woman at that time in her life.

Grandpa Linn died before my mom and dad even got married. I'm not sure if my mom met him or maybe it was shortly after they met that he passed away. You know lots of stories about him....I remember lots of stories too, but didn't meet him. He sounded very tall, big, physically strong and character-strong. A man of high morals and principals.

Reference in The Clan Linn in the Twentieth Century

Franklin Bryce Linn (h776), son of Jacob B. Linn and Hester Chilcoat, was born in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania on 16 July 1873. When Frank was less than one year of age his father, Jacob Linn, moved his family to a one hundred twenty acre farm northwest of Shelby, Iowa. This farm, purchased for fifteen dollars per acre, remained in the Linn family for nearly one hundred twenty years, selling in 1991, then a full quarter section, for fifteen hundred dollars per acre!

In 1881, Jacob Linn and several of his sons homesteaded land in Hand County, South Dakota. Much shuttling back and forth between Iowa and South Dakota took place during the 1880's and early 90's. Frank eventually became operator of the Shelby farm, while his brothers: Ambrose, Kenny, and Roy became permanent residents of South Dakota. Frank had also taken a homestead in South Dakota, which he held until April 1906, selling the quarter section for a profit of eleven hundred fifty dollars! Frank married Hannah Elizabeth (Libbie) Walker on 7 December 1898. Libbie Walker was born on 10 January 1875. She was the granddaughter of Samuel Walker and Elizabeth Stover Walker, early settlers of Johnson County, Iowa.

In the early days Frank took several trips across the prairie from Shelby to western South Dakota in a covered wagon. These trips made an indelible impression upon him. He clearly remembered the wagon trails; late in his life when he returned by automobile over modern, improved roads he could still point out places of interest and identify old wagon trails as he crossed them.

One of his special interests in life was the collection of rocks and fossils which he accumulated over the years. The rocks, along with his collection of Indian relics and artifacts, made a display which filled three large glass display cases in the living room! He was a firm believer in education, encouraging everyone to become as educated as possible. Each year Frank invited a Shelby High School class to his home to discuss the origin of his relics and led discussions on rock formations, Indian history, and the winning of the west. As a young man he was a public school teacher, and he later served many years as a director of the local country school. After consolidation of the Shelby School District, Frank was a member of the school board; he was board president when the present school building was erected. Frank was also instrumental in the construction of the Methodist church which still stands in Shelby. He was a lifelong member of the Methodist Church and the Republican Party.

One day Frank drove his horses to Shelby and left them standing on Main Street while he attended to his business. When Frank returned to the street a few moments later, the team was no place to be seen! Immediately Frank and several friends began to search frantically for the lost team and wagon. They were soon found placidly standing in front of the Methodist Church several blocks away; the horses were so accustomed to being driven to the church that they automatically went there without being so ordered. And no wonder; he was active in church events. At various times he was superintendent of the Shelby Sunday School, Sunday School teacher, steward, and a long-time member of the official board.

Frank especially enjoyed growing things. Many plants and tress still thriving in the Shelby cemetery and Methodist Church grounds were planted by Frank Linn. He was a director of the Shelby Cemetery for many years. He built a small pond at the cemetery, using many rocks and minerals from his own collection. The colorful display still draws interest after seventy-five years in existence. Frank died at age seventy-two, while still very active in family and community affairs. Frank and Elizabeth had eleven children.

1915 Biography of Frank

A worthy citizen of Shelby county, Iowa, is Franklin B. Linn, who has met with definite success in his agricultural career. He came to this county forty years ago, when he was a babe in arms, and consequently has been identified with the history of the county for a long time. He is a man of splendid education and is a wide reader of everything which pertains to his own chosen profession, and thus keeps in close touch with the latest advances in agriculture. He is a man who is deeply interested in the welfare of his community, and by his upright conduct and correct principles of life he has endeared himself to a wide circle of friends and acquaintances.

Franklin B. Linn, the son of Jacob B. and Hester Ann (Chilcoat) Linn, was born, in Huntington county, Pennsylvania, July i6, 1873. His father was born in the same county on March 16, 1839, and his mother was born on December 15, 1835, and was a native also of Huntington county. They were married on October 7, 1864, immediately after his father's return from the Civil War. Jacob B. Linn was attending school in his home county when the war broke out in 1861. Jacob B. Linn enlisted on April 23, 1861, in response to President Lincoln's call for fifty thousand volunteers, in Company F, Eighth Pennsylvania Reserve. He served for three years. He fought at Gainesville and in the Seven Days' Peninsular Cam paign battles, was taken prisoner June 27, 1861, and was sent to Libby prison. He spent sixty days here and at Belle Isle, experiencing all the horrors of these terrible prisons. After his exchange he was unfit for duty and. was sent to the United States Hospital in New jersey, but escaped from the hospital and joined his regiment at Sharpsburg, Maryland. Other battles participated in by Mr. Linn were Sharpsburg, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Battle of the Wilderness, and Seven Days' Battle before Richmond.

He returned to his father's farm in Huntington County, Pennsylvania, married and lived in his native county until 1874, in which year he came to Shelby county, Iowa, and bought one hundred and twenty acres of unimproved land in Shelby township. His first home was a rude cabin, fourteen by sixteen feet, and a barn of still smaller dimensions. That he succeeded is shown by the fact that when he died, in 1893, he was the owner of seven hundred and sixty acres of well-improved land in Shelby county and South Dakota. There were eight children born to Jacob B. Linn and wife, Ambrose B., Kenny, Anna Laura (Best), Roy S., Walter, Franklin B. and Dr. Hugh H. Of these children two are deceased, Anna Laura (Best) and Walter. Dr. Hugh H. Linn is a physician and minister in the southern part of India, where he is serving as a physician and missionary for the Methodist Episcopal church. The mother of these children is now living with her son, Franklin B.

The education of Franklin B. Linn was received in the district schools and in the high school at Shelby. He has always remained on the farm and managed a part of his father's estate from the time of his marriage, in 1899, until 1908. In that year he bought one hundred arid sixty acres of his father's farm and at once erected a beautiful country home and a large and commodious barn. He has placed other improvements upon the farm and has brought it to a high state of cultivation and productivity. He keeps only the best grades of horses, cattle and hogs, and is known throughout the county as one of its most progressive farmers.

Mr. Linn was married on December 7, 1899 to Elizabeth Walker, who was born in Johnson county, Iowa, on January 10, 1875. She was the daughter of John Walker, who was born in Johnson county, Iowa, in 1851, and Sarah Woodruff, who was born in Ohio in 1855. To this union have been born nine children, Harry, Dwight, Gladys, Laura, Hugh, Jacob, Fern, Frank and Leslie. All of these children are still living and at home with the exception of Laura, who is deceased. Mrs. Linn's parents came to Shelby county in 1890 and located on a farm in Shelby township. John Walker removed to Oklahoma in 1894, where Mrs. Walker died in 1905. They were the parents of four children, Sherman (in Oklahoma), Mrs. Elizabeth Linn; Samuel (Oklahoma), and Mrs. Hattie Egnew (Oklahoma).

Politically, Mr. Linn is allied with the Republican party and has been one of his party's leaders for many years. He is now the able incumbent of the office of trustee in his township and has held this position for the past four years. He and his family are loyal and consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church and give it their hearty support at all times. Mr. Linn is a man of genial personality and is highly respected by everyone with whom he is associated.

Marketing for Frank's Unsuccessful bid for Iowa Representative

(Iowa has only ever had between 5 and 11 Congressional Districts at the federal level; Frank's card says he was running for the 33rd district, which suggests he was running for the Iowa House, as opposed to the US House.)

Frank's card says he is 54 years old, which would have been true between June 1927 and June 1928. This coincides with the election for the 43rd session of the Iowa General Assembly (1928-1930). The incumbent who represented Pottawatamie County in the 42nd and beat Frank to remain representative in the 43rd session was H.M. Greene (p. 238):

Representative from Pottawattamie county, was born on a farm nar Avoca, Iowa, September 6, 1882. He attended rural school and Avoca high school; graduated from the law department of the State University of Iowa in 1906. He was admitted to the bar the same year but returned to farming, at which he is engaged at the present time. He enlisted as a private in L company 168th infantry, Rainbow division, and was later made a sergeant. He was twice wounded. He is a charter member and first commander of Fred Funston Post, American Legion at Avoca, Iowa. He is a Mason, a Shriner, and in politics a republican.

Given that Greene is also a Republican, we can assume that Frank challenged Green in the Republican primary and lost.

His Words

The following speech was prepared by Frank around 1920 as a commencement speech for a graduating Shelby high school class.

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This is the first page of the original speech, in Frank's own fountain pen handwriting.

Members if the Graduating class; You have come to an important period in your own lives and of deep interest to us. As the Rep. of the Board of Directors, I have a few words to say- Our lives having been thrown near you, you have become dear to us, and we have learned to love you. I don't suppose it will be possible for you to go so far from us, that the lines of love and affection molded here will be forgotten. Your education has not yet been completed- it has only begun. Your school days here have been only a start to increase your development. It has been only a stepping-stone, and as you step out into the awareness of life you must look for new food, as there is ample to be sought. The late lamented Roosevelt was a remarkable example of this growth. All his life was a study, and when he laid down the cares of this life he stepped into a life of unlimited development. Don't shut your eyes to Truth and do not [beshroud ?] your lives in a cloud that will keep out the lights. The future is beautiful, broad and entrancing to you, and we trust you will make the most of it. We trust that you will get to the very summit of usefulness and honor, and we sincerely hope that summit will be only the commencement for reaching another summit where life is all grandeur and happiness. May God bless you.

(Again,) It is our privilege to compliment the faculty of our school and the members of this class for the proficiency you have attained. I hope you will continue to advance. You stand this evening in the dawn of mankind and the great day of life stands before you. We may make a forecast of what the day shall be but it is you yourselves that determine the days. Long periods of life are lost and gracious periods of influence are lost because we do not grasp the opportunity at the right time. Aim high. Try to see the target before you shoot, have a lofty aim and try to reach it. Let not one year of your life pass away or be lost. Improve the hour. By so doing you will acquire that distinction which you have aspired to in the dawn of life. I cannot attempt to mark out your future. But you must not expect that in the life before you, you should have all victory and ease. You will have to carve your future sometimes in rough places. The great Law of compensation holds good, that as a man soweth so shall he reap. Put into life lofty principle, a lofty adherence to principle and you will extract from life a pleasurable and profitable experience. Remember the influence of our life upon the lives of those about. Seek by your example to stimulate others to carve their names on a high plane. The life that gives to those that come after us legacies that shall be appreciated and beneficial will be successful existence. "Character is not something added to your life but is life itself."

Character building is not the work of a moment or a day - you cannot jump into a character as you would a suit- into a suit of clothes- unless it be an assumed character. The man with an assumed character is a hypocrite whom we all despise.

Phillips Brooks well said, "Bad will be the day for every man when he becomes absolutely contented with the life he is living, with the thoughts he is thinking, and the deeds that he is doing; when there is not forever beating at the doors of his soul some great desire to do something larger, which he knows that he was meant for and made to do because he is a child of God." I believe that each one of us is placed here for a definite and distinct purpose in life. To fulfill this purpose should be our highest and best aim. Remember and think in building your character. You cannot make friends by attempting to destroy the character of others. Remember no moral coward can ever become a really great man.

It is my most agreeable duty to welcome you to the exercises of the hour. It is not only a duty which I cheerfully perform but I consider it a rare honor and high privilege to stand here before you in the cause of education. Every thinking man and woman of our town and community rejoices today in the completion of this beautiful building dedicated to the great cause of the training of the young. Not only do they rejoice in the architectural beauty of the structure here erected which will have potent though silent influence upon every student gathered in its walls but they rejoice because we have another splendid monument in our community, setting forth to all eyes the great fact that our citizens are alive to the importance of educating the young for the service of their generation. And the generosity which has marked the action of our people in their devotion to this great cause gives the best evidence to all that we possess an enlightened civic responsibility.

As you pass through this splendid [building?] and look at all the appliances for the comfort, convenience and health of teachers and pupils you will have the right to be proud of your work. And you will note also how great is the advance made since some of you [as?] scholars in the little old white school house in the country where neither the cold of winter nor the heat summer could be kept out - and where you sat - often times between four bare walls sleepy and tired from bad ventilation. Here on the contrary has been expended the best thought upon the science of heating and ventilating, and you have the assurance that the health of the young is protected in every way. I rejoice with you all-

(Note: Eric Jacob Lindstrom has an original copy of this speech, in Frank's handwriting. It was given to him by Hugh Roy Linn as a law school graduation gift.)

Photos

Frank's and Libbie's wedding photo	Frank teaching at Keg Creek School	Frank and his family on the Shelby farm house porch

Frank's Land

Frank lived on the land passed down to him by father Jacob Booher Linn. Frank, in turn, passed it on to son Leslie Leonard Linn.

Historical Records

• 1900 Federal Census lists Frank B (age 26) and Anna E (age 24) with son Harry D (age 8 months) in Shelby, Shelby, Iowa
• 1910 Federal Census lists Frank and Libbie in Shelby, Shelby, Iowa, along with: Harry D, Dwight, Gladys, Laura, Hugh, Jacob, Dora, Hester Linn (age 74), and Hallie Moore (age 16)
• 1920 Federal Census lists Frank and Libbie in Shelby, Shelby, Iowa, along with: Dwight B, Gladys L, Fredy A, Jacob B, Fern M, Frankey L, Leslie L, Werner D (Samuel), Everette, Hester A Linn (age 84)
• 1925 Iowa Census lists Frank (age 51) and Elizabeth (age 50) in Shelby, Shelby, Iowa, along with: Dwight R (age 22), Hugh A (age 18), Jacob B (age 16), Mary V (age 14), Frank J (age 13), Leslie L (age 11), Samuel B (age 9), Everette E (age 7)
• 1930 Federal Census lists Frank and Libbie in Shelby, Shelby, Iowa, along with: Hugh A, Jacob B, Fern M, John F, Leslie L, Samuel D, Everette E

See Also

• Index of politicians and public officials