The man and woman seated in the above photograph are Benjamin Franklin Fraker (1870-1955) and his wife, Sarah Rebecca Mowery (1870-1934). They lived in the vicinity of Carlisle, PA and had two children. Both Benjamin and Sarah are buried in Letort Cemetery, formerly Kutz’s Church Cemetery, located at the site of the Letort United Methodist Church in Carlisle [See findagrave.com memorials 38796055 and 38796064.]
Benjamin, also known as B. Frank and B. F., was the son of Andrew Fraker and Martha Warren. (I had no luck finding out more about them.) His obituary states, “A retired farmer, he lived for many years in the Middlesex township and was also a former employee of the Carlisle Frog, Switch and Manufacturing company.” Benjamin probably had a brother named William Arthur Fraker (1870-1944), but the record is unclear and genealogists differ.
An attentive reader of these pages will recognize Sarah’s headgear and identify her as a Dunker or Dunkard. Her obituary identified her as “a member of the Carlisle Church of the Brethren, president of the Women’s Missionary Society of the Letort Evangelical Church, and a teacher in the Sunday School.” Her parents were Benjamin Mowery (1838-1901) and Mary Magdalene Plough (1839-1913) and they are buried with the Plough family in the Huntsdale Church of the Brethren Cemetery.
Their daughter Mary Ellen Fraker (1899-1969) is standing behind her father. Her first husband, Arthur Raymond Troup (1896-1946), is to her left (and conspicuously in the center of the photograph). Mary Ellen and Art were married on 6 June 1918 in New Kingston, PA. They had four sons, the youngest of which was Reverend Kenneth L. Troup, a prominent United Methodist Church pastor whose obituary you can read here. Art died early of complications associated with a duodenal ulcer. Mary later married a man named West but I could find nothing more about that union that I could confirm.
Seated on the arm of his mother’s chair is Andy, Andrew William Fraker (1903-1980). He is frequently identified as William Andrew Fraker, or W. Andrew Fraker, adding to the confusion of the Fraker family genealogy. The inscription on the back of the photograph was written by one of Andy’s children. Andy married Mary Ellen Clouser (1909-1992) in 1925 and they had six sons and five daughters.
Here is another photograph of Art Troup:
Found this by accident. Don’t know anything about this page. But my husband is the grandson of a Frank Fraker. Can you tell us more>
Thank you for your comment! If you send me an email at ctw@stuffctwfound.com I can help you fill in some blanks.
Did you see my reply sent on 15 January?
So fun to find these wonderful pictures and family information. I had gone to the Letort Cemetery website to coincidentally look for info on my ancestor – Frances Mains Troup. Her husband is Arthur, pictured above. I couldn’t figure out why these two would share a headstone with a Mary E. West. Your explanation gave me the info I needed – it was Arthur’s mother who had the newer last name due to a re-marriage after her first husband’s death. Thank you! Have you thought of putting these great pictures on FamilySearch?
Hi, Jill. I always create a family tree on ancestry.com and post copies of the photographs on there. A lot of family members have found their relatives’ photographs that way. The photographs I post online have my watermark, but I will send the originals or clean copies to family members who want them. (I usually ask for a contribution to cover expenses; if some money comes in it tricks my wife into thinking my retirement hobby isn’t a giant financial drag on the family income since she still works for a living.)
Sometimes I hear from more than one family member and I have connected family members to each other that way. For instance, in January I heard from a grandchild of Frank Fraker. I replied to them but they never replied to me after I answered their first inquiry.
Hi, do you know the ancestors of Benjamin Franklin Fraker?
Hello! My husband, Thomas Fraker, is the Great Grandson of William Andrew Fraker. Thank you for sharing this photo! I am working on our family tree. Now if only I could find more info on Martha Warren… 🙂