The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.) is a charitable, fraternal organization that started in Baltimore, Maryland, on April 26, 1819 when members of the Order from England instituted Washington Lodge No. 1.
Illinois became a state in 1818. A large influx of American settlers came in the 1810s by the Ohio River.
Elizabeth (Jane) Smith Frank was the oldest daughter of Josiah Smith and Sarah Pitts. She was born on August 3, 1849 in Meigs County, Tennessee. She was probably named for her father's sister, Elizabeth Smith Deck.
About 1865, she and her family went by flatboat down the Tennessee River from Tennessee to Tazewell County, Illinois. About three years later they moved on to Chariton, Iowa.
She married Andrew (Andy) M. Frank on December 9, 1869 in Lucas County, Iowa when they were both twenty years old. Andrew was born May 8, 1849 in Pennsylvania. His parents were George Frank and Mary Snyder. Andrew's sister Matilda Frank was Elizabeth's brother David's wife Oraline Keller's mother.
Elizabeth and Andy's children included:
Alison Edward Frank (1870-1960, married Zetella Belle Sandy),
Ida Lauretta Frank Hall (June 21, 1872, married Charles Wyman Hall),
Mary Eva Frank Kelly (1876, married Martin Kelly), and
Jesse E. Frank (1878, married Nettie M. Hicks).
Allison and Ida were born in Illinois.
The family was in the 1879 Directory of Liberty Township. "Frank, A.M., farmer, Sec. 15; P.O. Liberty Center."
The family appeared in the 1880 census of Liberty Township. The household consisted of Andrew Frank, a farmer, age 31, his wife Elizabeth age 30, a son Alison E. age ten, Ida age eight, Mary E. age four, and Jesse age two. They lived next to George and Mary Frank who were age 72 and 71.
Elizabeth died November 16, 1903 and Andrew died on March 4, 1933. They are buried together at the I.O.O.F. Cemetery, (Odd Fellows Cemetery) in Indianola,
Warren County,
Iowa.
Meigs County is located in East Tennessee and was formed from Rhea County in 1836. In 1819 the legislature took over part of the Cherokee Nation which was on the south east bank of the Tennessee River and this is the land that became Meigs County.
The Public Land Survey System is used to survey and spatially identify land parcels in the United States.
Range is the distance east or west from a referenced principal meridian in units of six miles.
A Section is approximately a one-square-mile block of land. There are 36 sections in a township.
A Township is a parcel of land of 36 square miles or a measure of the distance north or south from a referenced baseline in units of six miles.
During the Civil War many citizens of East Tennessee opposed secession, but the area was under Confederate control from 1861 to 1863. Some citizens engaged in guerrilla warfare against state authorities and joined the Union army, while others were loyal to the confederacy. It was a heartbreaking case of neighbor against neighbor and brother against brother.
In the 1830s settlers began arriving in Iowafrom Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Indiana, Kentucky, and Virginia. Iowa became a state in 1846.
