Program

NYS Historic

Subject

House, People

Location

140 N Main St, Warsaw, NY 14569, USA

Lat/Long

42.742989, -78.131935

Grant Recipient

Warsaw Historical Society and The Gates House Museum

Augustus Frank was born in Warsaw, New York in 1826, the son of Dr. Augustus Frank and Jane Patterson Frank. According to his obituary in the Wyoming County Times (May 2, 1895), as a businessman, Frank was director and vice president of the Buffalo & New York City Railroad and helped establish the Wyoming County National Bank. He also served as a trustee for various local state educational institutions. In 1856, Frank was a delegate to the Republican National Convention and later served three terms in the United State Congress from 1859-1865.

Frank served in Congress during the entire period of the Civil War. He was a strong supporter of the Lincoln administration’s policies and, according to the History of the Centennial Celebration (Warsaw, Wyoming County, NY, 1903), was “…an assiduous laborer for every measure for the suppression of slavery.”

When the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed in February 1865, newspapers throughout the country gave credit for its success to two Congressmen. The New York Tribune stated in its Feb. 1, 1865 issues:

“To two Republicans in particular does the nation owe a debt of gratitude – to James M. Ashley of Toledo, Ohio, and Augustus Frank of Warsaw, New York. They held the laboring oars.”

The Rochester Democrat stated that the passage of the amendment was largely due to one man: Augustus Frank. The New York Herald agreed, claiming:

“There has not been a day since the amendment was under consideration but that [Frank] knew the precise vote they had. His work was necessarily quiet…but it has been effective.”

Augustus Frank passed away on Aug. 29, 1895 and was interred in the Warsaw Cemetery. He was survived by his wife, Agnes McNair Frank, whom he married in 1867, and their children, William Augustus and Mary Louise Frank.