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Buried in Niles: Last Surviving Veteran of the Indian Wars
Few Niles residents are aware, but the last surviving veteran of the Indian Wars, Frederick Fraske, is buried in St. Adalbert Cemetery.
Fraske was born in 1872 in Posen (Poznań), Poland, which was then part of Germany.
He joined the Army in 1894, serving as a medic and a mail carrier at Fort D.A Russell near Cheyenne, Wyoming, preparing for an Indian attack that never came. But if it had, Fraske later said, "We were all prepared for it. The Indians weren't bad eggs, not more than anyone else, but they've been abused. We had no serious trouble with them." He was discharged from the military in 1897.
Fraske lived most of his long life in Chicago. He worked as a painter and as a security guard. Fraske retired when he was 88 and he passed away in 1973.
Clark Kent
8:55 am on Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Imagine what other side stories he could have or might have told. His is a case where an oral history would have preserved such timely observations.
As expected, perhaps, Mr. Fraske is listed in the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) as having been born March 8, 1874 (not like the 1872 headstone date) and passed into Eternity June 1973.
It is the bane of geneological researchers to always find stumbling blocks like this when trying to piece together familial trees.
John Ruberry
3:35 pm on Tuesday, November 8, 2011
His wife, Lillian, 1879-1961, is buried next to him. I hope that helps!