Frank Bartlett
I know for sure Frank was born March 13th, 1859. After this Frank's story has questions a lot like his mother's.
First off, in the New York City Federal Census the year after his birth only Frank's sister is listed with his mother in their apartment. I would not think baby Frank was with Caleb on Staten Island shortly after he had had a stroke? Even in his mother's court testimony she stated that in 1863 she went to Brooklyn "with her daughter". And by then Caleb was even in worse shape physically.
In the 1870 census ten year old Frank was now listed with his mother and older sister in an apartment on Sixth Avenue.
Then in 1880 the family was together living on East 31st and Frank was listed as an "Umbrella Maker". The next few city directories listed him as working with furniture and then as an auctioneer. By 1885 he disappeared from the city directory.
Frank avoided public records until 1905. He was then listed as a patient in the Riverside Hospital on North Brother Island in the East River. (It appears in the page banner above) In the 1880s North Brother Island was chosen as the new home for Riverside Hospital, a quarantine hospital for New Yorkers with smallpox, tuberculosis and many more hideous illnesses. The primary tenant on the island was the City-owned and operated Riverside Hospital, including the Tuberculosis Sanatorium and pavilions for designated illnesses, laboratories, as well as homes and dormitory facilities for doctors, nurses, and other staff members .
First off, in the New York City Federal Census the year after his birth only Frank's sister is listed with his mother in their apartment. I would not think baby Frank was with Caleb on Staten Island shortly after he had had a stroke? Even in his mother's court testimony she stated that in 1863 she went to Brooklyn "with her daughter". And by then Caleb was even in worse shape physically.
In the 1870 census ten year old Frank was now listed with his mother and older sister in an apartment on Sixth Avenue.
Then in 1880 the family was together living on East 31st and Frank was listed as an "Umbrella Maker". The next few city directories listed him as working with furniture and then as an auctioneer. By 1885 he disappeared from the city directory.
Frank avoided public records until 1905. He was then listed as a patient in the Riverside Hospital on North Brother Island in the East River. (It appears in the page banner above) In the 1880s North Brother Island was chosen as the new home for Riverside Hospital, a quarantine hospital for New Yorkers with smallpox, tuberculosis and many more hideous illnesses. The primary tenant on the island was the City-owned and operated Riverside Hospital, including the Tuberculosis Sanatorium and pavilions for designated illnesses, laboratories, as well as homes and dormitory facilities for doctors, nurses, and other staff members .
In 1904 Frank would have witnessed from the hospital a tragic historical event; The General Slocum Fire. On June 15, 1904, the steamboat General Slocum caught fire and sank in the East River of New York City near North Brother Island. At the time of the accident, she was on a chartered run carrying members of St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church (German Americans from Little Germany, Manhattan) to a church picnic. An estimated 1,021 out of the 1,342 people on board died.
The General Slocum disaster was the worst maritime disaster of the 20th century until the Titanic surpassed it eight years later in 1912. It remains the worst maritime disaster in New York City history, and the second-worst on United States waterways, after the explosion and sinking of the steamboat Sultana, and until the September 11 attacks in 2001 was the deadliest manmade disaster of any sort in the New York area.
The General Slocum disaster was the worst maritime disaster of the 20th century until the Titanic surpassed it eight years later in 1912. It remains the worst maritime disaster in New York City history, and the second-worst on United States waterways, after the explosion and sinking of the steamboat Sultana, and until the September 11 attacks in 2001 was the deadliest manmade disaster of any sort in the New York area.
The life preservers were old and rotted and the lifeboats were chained to the ship. Many bodies washed up on North Brother Island.
After 1905 Frank has not been found in a public record again.
The facility closed in the 1960s amid allegations of corruption. The island in now permanently closed off to the public and has become a bird sanctuary.
The facility closed in the 1960s amid allegations of corruption. The island in now permanently closed off to the public and has become a bird sanctuary.