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| Frank, but maybe not 'Buffalo' Frank (?) |
We've mentioned the Otremba buffalo herd here before. Ok, yes, often. But you know us by now--we practically never drop something ☺. What's confused us mostly is that every Otremba family had multiple kids, and in the best German tradition, they all used the same names over and over, so each Frank had a son named Frank, seems like. (Don't believe me? Of the (incomplete) Otrembas on my tree there are 3 kids named Agnes, 7 named Anna, 3 Anton or Anthony, 5 named August, 6 Karl or Charles, 7 named Frank, 10 Johann or John, 7 Josephs and 10 Marys, among other names ☺).
However, THIS Frank Otremba was born in Groditz, Tillowitz, Schleisen, Prussia on the 11th of October, 1844. He was the son of Johann Georg Otremba who died when Frank was 3. How does he connect to our Mary Otremba, the wife of Paul Hesch? Well, Frank's brother Anton was Mary's father, so
Buffalo Frank was Mary's uncle.
Buffalo Frank was Mary's uncle.
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| Thank you, Paint.net! |
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| (Was there really a guy name EZMark?? ☺) |
Frank's return on the dollar wasn't great, but the fun of
owning buffalo evidently was.
Now. We know (or are pretty sure) exactly who Buffalo Frank was, right? When we started seeing references to Buffalo Joe, tho, I figured this Joe was probably Frank's son and bison heir. If a reader knows different, let me know, ok?
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Y'know... the "wild west show" Frank bought the buffalo cow and calf from was an actual Buffalo Bill Cody show. Checking the Minn papers from the summer of '02 and it's Buffalo Bill all right. So Frank would be able to claim that he owned stock from Buffalo Bill's herd. I dunno, could this have been the origin of Frank's nickname?
ReplyDeleteStay tuned...after all, we have a motto around here we try hard to live up to,, "No sleeping dog is left to lie. No dead horse left unbeaten. Blood from rocks a particular specialty." LOL
Larry
LOL I suspect there were a dozen reasons for the moniker "Buffalo Frank"☺. Owning buffalo was a really odd thing (when a lot of his neighbors were just getting by). It distinguished which Frank they were talking about, too, since by my tree there were FOUR other Frank Otremba's in the area! Besides, those guys loved teasing each other. I think most of the town thought he was nuts, but admired his "gumption" at the same time...and since he was wealthy, they didn't cross him. He kinda put Pierz/Buckman on the map--if crossing bison and cattle had worked, he and Morrison would be famous. I bet he realized all that, too, and played it like a hand of cards.
ReplyDeleteYou're right--the subjects of Otrembas, Franks, buffalos and combinations of them will be explorable as long as we breathe! LOL