| Life Story |
Frank Christian worked as a weaver for TKWM in 1910-1911.
Charles Frank Christian was born on 5 May 1871 in Iowa to A. L. and Gertrude Christian. Known throughout his life simply as Frank, he had two siblings but one died early in life. Frank grew up in Bonaparte, Iowa, where he began what would become a lifelong career in the woolen mill industry. His father died in 1891 when Frank was just 20 years old.
Frank married Minnie Sprankle in Bonaparte on 27 April 1900. He was 30, she was 31, and it was the first marriage for both. Their daughter Marie, was born the following year in Iowa. In the early 1900s, Frank moved his family, including his mother, to California. There in 1906, their son George was born. Sadly, Frank’s mother died in Hanford, California, in January of 1907.
By the summer of 1909, the Christian family had relocated to Salem, Oregon. Frank is listed in both the 1910 Salem city directory and the U.S. Federal Census as working for the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill. However, records suggest his tenure there was brief, likely lasting no more than a year. The family lived at 360 SE 16th St., a modest home that still stands as of September 2025.
After leaving Salem, Frank’s public record becomes less consistent. He worked in mills in Ellensburg and Vancouver, Washington, before settling in Oregon City by 1920. That year’s census places the family at 1511 13th St. Frank, then 48, was still employed as a weaver. Minnie was 50, daughter Marie – now 18 – was also working as a weaver, and son George was 13.
By 1930, Frank still worked as a weaver, and the family continued to live at 1511 13th St. He was listed in the census of that year as Charley F. Christian. With both children grown and out of the house, Frank and Minnie began taking in boarders to help make ends meet.
Minnie died on 11 May 1939 in Oregon City. Frank followed on 18 December 1941, at the age of 69. Both are buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Oregon City. Their daughter Marie Christian Burleigh, lived to be 90 and was laid to rest alongside her parents in 1991. Their son, George Christian, died on 25 Oct 1975, and is buried at Fairview Cemetery in Scappoose, Oregon. |
| Census Records |
1880 Frank Christian. Age 9. Born about 1871 in Iowa. Residence 114 Main St, Bonaparte, Iowa. Single, son of HOH. Father born in Tennessee. Mother Gertrude Christian, born in Pennsylvania. Attending school. Household members: Gertrude Christian, age 38, HOH, keeping house; Minnie Christian, age 14, daughter, assistant mother; Frank Christian, age 9, son. (no record of father)
1885 Iowa State Census Charles F. Christian. Age 13. Born about 1872. Residence Bonaparte, Iowa. Single, son of HOH. Household members: Asbury L. Christian, age 68, HOH; Adline G. Christian, age 62 wife; Minnie Christian, age 18, daughter; Charles F. Christian, age 13, son; Claud Stafford, age 4, unknown relationship.
1895 Iowa State Census Frank Christian. Age 23. Born about 1872 in Iowa. Residence Bonaparte, Iowa.
1900 Charles F. Christian. Age 29. Born May 1871 in Iowa. Rents home in Bonaparte, Iowa. Married, HOH. Spouse Minnie Christian. Married in 1900. Father born in Tennessee. Mother born in Pennsylvania. Weaver, woolen mill. 4 months not employed. Household members: Charles F. Christian, age 29, HOH; Minnie Christian, age 31, wife.
1910 Frank C. Christian. Age 37. Born 1873 in Iowa. Rents home at 360 S 16th, Salem, Oregon. Married, HOH. Father and mother born in Pennsylvania. Weaver, woolen mill. 9 weeks out of work. Household members: Frank C. Christian, age 37, HOH; Mary Christian, age 39, wife; Marie Christian, age 8, daughter; George Christian, age 3, son.
1920 Frank Christian. Age 48. Born about 1872 in Iowa. Owns home at 1511 13th St, Oregon City, Oregon. Married, HOH. Father born in Tennessee. Mother born in Pennsylvania. Weaver, woolen mill. Household members: Frank Christian, age 48, HOH; Minnie Christian, age 50, wife, weaver; Marie Christian, age 18, daughter, weaver; George Christian, age 13, son.
1930 Charley F. Christian. Age 58. Born about 1872 in Iowa. Married, HOH. Owns home at 511 Jefferson St, Oregon City, Oregon. Father born in Tennessee. Mother born in Pennsylvania. Weaver, woolen mill. Household members: Charley F. Christian, age 58, HOH; Minnie A. Christian, age 61, wife; William Schleuter, age 29, lodger; Nells B. Pederson, age 25, lodger.
1940 Charles F. Christian. Age 68. Born about 1872 in Iowa. Widowed, HOH. Residence 1511 Washington St, Oregon City, Oregon. |
| Public Records (All found in Ancestry.com) |
Iowa Marriage Record. Frank Christian, 30, of Bonaparte, Iowa, Weaver, married Minnie Sprankle, 31, of Bonaparte, Iowa, not a widow, on 27 Apr 1900. First marriage for both.
1941 Oregon Death Record. Frank Christian born 5 May 1871 and died 18 Dec 1941 at age 70 of a cerebral hemorrhage in Clackamas County, OR. Wife Minnie. Widowed. No record of parents. Retired Loom Repairer, Woolen mills. Residence RR2, Oregon City, OR. Death reported by neighbor, Miles F. Burleigh. |
