Who is Jacques Charles Franklin?

Jacques is my grandfather and Josh's great grandfather. He died in 1934 many years before I was born. He has always been a mystery to me. I've heard stories about him from various family members, some of them conflicting. I decided to find out more about him but by the time I began all those who knew him personally were gone. I had to rely on public records and whatever documents I could find. My task was to see whether or not the anecdotes matched the information on the documents, and even if the documents were correct!

The stories my mother told me proved to be accurate. One thing I learned was that Jacques was a soldier. First he served in the National Guard and later he served with the Coast Artillery during WWI.

Our cousin Norman Franklin generously provided some of his digitized family photographs to me, including this great one showing Jacques in his National Guard uniform. The photo was taken in Savannah Ga. in 1913-14, only a few years after Jacques immigrated to the U.S. in 1910.

He arrived in April of 1910 aboard the "Carminina" and just a few months later he was living in Oak Grove Illinois, married to my grandmother, Jessie Laurian Crouse.

We know that Jacques was in the Coast Artillery from U.S. government documents that I obtained. I also found a copy of his draft registration card which you can see above. Although this image is hard to read on the blog, you can download it and enlarge it. It sometimes helps to use a magnifying glass to confirm the details.

Jacques was born in Slatina Romania in 1886 to a Jewish family. His parents were named Isaac and Rosa Frankel. He had an older brother named Roland, born in 1881, also in Slatina. There may also have been other siblings, maybe two sisters, but I have not yet found documents confirming this. My sister Mary mentioned them to me in her recollection of a conversation with Jean, Jacques oldest daughter, now deceased. In a short time I hope to gain access to the vital records of Judetul Olt (Olt County) Romania, where Slatina is located. There may be more information there about other family members.

In later postings I'll include pictures of Jessie Crouse also. Her story is fascinating--the meeting and courtship of Jacques and Jessie is a real testament to true love. It was no small feat for them to meet and marry. It required a lot of coordination and trust during a period of history without email, text messages, international telephone calls, etc. They each made their way separately from Shanghai China where they had met, via England, to America. They found each other and settled into married life in just a few months after their arrival. More about this in future postings.

In the meantime I want to emphasize that the Franklin family has an extensive pattern of military service. This includes not only grandfather Jacques, but all of his sons, Roland, Russell, James and Theodore, as well as several of his grandsons. Their stories are well worth telling.

Theodore (Teddy) was the first American prisoner of war executed by the Japanese during WWII in what was essentially a terrorist act. He was chosen at random along with five other sailors aboard a captured ship, and beheaded before all of the captured crew. The full story was not known until several years after the war ended. Teddy was only nineteen years old.

Josh is the only one of Jacques great-grandchildren to serve in the military as far as I know. If there are others I would love to know who they are.

I will do my best to post the documents that have opened up some of the mystery of Jacque's life in the days to come.

Later I will add the current information I have regarding the family on my mother's side (Josh's grandmother Olive Hancock.) There is much more research and documentation available on her side. There are several cousins who served in the Civil War on the Union side in her paternal line. There are some who served in the Conferate Army on her maternal line.

My mother's lineage goes back to New England and passes through all the historical wars including the Revolutionary War. It will take more digging to find out who may have served in any of the American armies of those wars.

Although it isn't part of our military heritage, we do have an interesting ancestor whose second wife was tried and found guilty of witchcraft. So far we don't know if the sentence of hanging was carried out, although it seems likely. There is testimony from members of the jury and good documentation of the issues. It was clearly a frame-up. Her name was Lydia Gilbert.

Although I have not yet verified all the sources, I have made contact with distant relations who have researched our ancestors extensively, and it appears that we can trace their generations through the Gilberts back to thirteenth century in England.

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Scroll down for pictures of Josh, Iraqi people he has met, and excerpts from his latest email. Thanks to everyone who has been so supportive of Josh and of us. Please leave your commments. It is okay to share this blog with someone who is genuinely concerned about Josh and what he is doing in Iraq. It is okay if you do not agree with American foreign policy but still care about Josh. We want to keep this blog somewhat "hidden" for now, to avoid negative comments and internet attacks.

Thanks for your patience with a new blog. I have been getting most of my news and information about what is happening in the world from blogs for over a year. But it is a totally different thing to launch a blog and learn how to use it. You'll find a few glitches no doubt. Keep checking back though, because we'll improve! And we'll keep adding new photos and information about Josh, his family history, soldiers, the situation in Iraq, and his family and friends. Maybe Josh will even drop in to guest-blog for us from time to time!

We especially thank those members of the Body of Christ whose prayer has sustained us and continues to keep us supplied. You know who you are. Your presence is more precious than silver and gold. We are grateful to have a share this divine and mystical realm with you.

Here is an excerpt from one of Josh's emails we received on October 5th, at the end of a week that was rough for American forces in Baghdad. Thirteen Americans died in the fighting in that city and the near environs and we did not know for sure that Josh was not one of them for a couple of days. We were really happy to get this email!


"Yeah, it's been a pretty hectic week. Fortunately, no one in my platoon has been killed or injured yet, although we're the only platoon in the company that hasn't had any casualties. Obviously, I haven't been killed, either.:) Sadr city is getting hotter and hotter, and we're seeing a lot of JAM (Je'esh al Madhi, or something like that) activity in our sector, which is just north of Sadr city, with one side actually bordering it. We're making quite a bit of progress, though. We've started meeting people in the neighborhoods, and they are almost universally very happy to see us. Of course, that's to our face, so there's no telling what their attitude is after we leave. Some, like the Iraqi general we met yesterday, I am sure turn around and call JAM the minute we leave to tell them what we talked about. Actually, I'd be willing to bet that about half the guards at the general's house were actually JAM, not Iraqi Army. "

Above is a picture of kids Josh saw on the street. They are happy to see the American soldiers as you can see by their expressions. The small group of girls seem like they are in their school uniforms, pulling their books and school supplies behind them.

The pictures below are of an Iraqi family that offered Josh their hospitality. Considering them carefully they seem warm and friendly, and their family life seems heartwarming. I wonder if they felt it was dangerous for them to host American soldiers. The suffering of the Iraqi people is very great right now. It is almost as dangerous for them to live in Baghdad as it is for Josh and his platoon. I was particularly touched by this photo of a little girl standing in front of the gate to her home. Her childhood is moving on in the midst of terrible sectarian violence. She is as sweet and winsome as any little girl her age. What will her future be?

For any of those who have a question in their mind on this point, Josh is one of the good guys. He is not fighting "freedom fighters." He is involved in policing a city where over thirty private, competing militias are struggling for power. Some of these militias have regard for a portion of the population, and absolutely none for other portions. If you are an Iraqi family, you cannot help which tribe or sect you were born into. Extremists from other tribes and sects will regard you as an enemy. Ordinary men, women and children die every day because they were the "enemy" of one militia or another. No one knows when they will be targeted or when someone they know or love will "disappear" only to be found lifeless days or even hours later.

How can Iraqis have a normal life while lawless militias fight among themselves like warlords and use ordinary people as their pawns? It is important that some will pray for Iraq so that relative safety and security will reign. God loves all the men He created and they all belong to Him. The people of Iraq have a place in His purpose and His plan. He depends upon those who know this to pray His will into being.

Josh was invited to dinner at the home of an Iraqi family. He said it was quite an experience, and he loved the food.

This is a picture of Josh taken in early October. He looks pretty fierce, doesn't he? It is hard to look convincingly fierce if you really aren't. We would say Josh is dangerous to those who are his enemy. Of course, he doesn't do this by himself. He is part of a team. We are very proud of him. It isn't easy to face the dangers that he faces, or to train to meet the challenges that he faces.

We are grateful for the training he has received. We feel confident that as far as training will protect a soldier, and cause him to accomplish his mission, Josh has received the best that is offered in the world today. At the same time, we believe that he is in God's hands. It is in God that we ultimately trust for the outcome of everything.

This blog is by invitation only, for now. It is about Josh and his family, his family history, soldiers, and Josh's experiences in Iraq. It is a way to keep in touch with our family, including our spiritual family, and all our friends who are interested in Josh and his experiences as a soldier. We hope it will help those who pray to sense the burden for Josh and the other members of his platoon.

Our family has an interesting history and it is unfolding all the time. Our family members have played a role in the military for generations, and some of Josh's ancestors are documented participants in the War of 1812 and the American Civil War. Our ancestors were here since before the Revolutionary War, but we don't yet know if any of them fought in that war, or the circumstances. We hope to learn more as time goes on. Meantime, here are some pictures taken in Iraq.