Posted by Cathy Gowdy on Sunday, January 27, 2013 at 06:07:18 :
The Marin Journal
Thursday, January 23, 1902
page 1
Tomales Pioneer Answers Final Call
Funeral Sunday - Resolutions by the Lodge
After an illness of ten days, Mr. F.A. Plank, Sr., died at his home, the Plank house, in Tomales, January 17. Mr. Plank had been ailing for a year, one leg being slightly paralized. He contracted a cold during the holidays, which developed into "grippe", and his end was hastened by paralysis. All that loving hands and medical skill could do was done, but in vain. The funeral services were held in the Presbyterian Church, the Rev. White officiating.
A large concourse of people followed the remains to its last resting place.
But few men in this world have so many friends and so few enemies as the deceased. If he had any enemies, no one in this country ever heard of them. To know Mr. Plank was to be his friend. The same genial smile was given to all. He was one of the few who do not have moods; was not at times sad, disheartened, and made those around him feel so; but not so Mr. Plank.
Even in his last illness, when he realized that death was near, the same smile lit up his face, and the same "thank you" for services rendered as though years of life were yet before him, instead of the grim monster. He will be missed by all who knew him.
Mr. Plank was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and a large number of the members of the order followed the remains to their last resting place Sunday afternoon.
Fred A. Plank was born in Durham, Green County, New York, on May 15th, 1834, and was 67 years, 8 months, and 2 days old at the time of his death. In 1839 his parents removed to Fulton County, New York, and thence, in 1845, to Victor, Ontario County, in the same state. They migrated to Wisconsin and settled in Wheatland, Kenosha County in 1848. Here the subject of this memoir received his education in the common schools of that place. After the death of his father, which occurred during his residence there, Mr. Plank learned the daguerreotype business, which he conducted on his own account and by this means supported himself and his widowed mother.
The deceased was married to Betsy Ann Foster on December 29, 1859. They came to this state, crossing the plains in 1861, and first settled at Knights Ferry, Stanislaus County, where they remained one year. They then went to Petaluma, Sonoma County, to reside, and lived there 5 years.
The last year Mr. and Mrs. Plank resided at Petaluma he was the proprietor of the City Hotel. They moved to a ranch in Sonoma County and resided upon it for a year. In 1869 they moved to a ranch at Nicasio, Marin County, where they lived for 2 years. Their next move was to Tomales township, and in November 1877, they took up their residence in Tomales. He opened the Plank house in November 1879, and was still running the hotel at the time of his death.
A sad feature of Mr. Plank's illness and death was that his wife was stricken with pneumonia soon after he became sick, so that he missed the ministrations of the loving hands that had waited on him on other occasions. She was dangerously sick for many days and to be separated from each other was far worse than to be sick. Mrs. Plank is now convalescing and her many friends hope that she will soon be restored to health. It would seem that this was enough affliction for one family, but not so. Uncle John Plank, as he is familiarly called, brother of Mr. Plank, who has lived at the Plank house for some years, was also stricken at the same time and now lies in critical condition. Truly, misfortunes so not come singly.
A wife and son, Mr. F.A. Plank, Jr. are left to mourn a loving husband and father. Besides Uncle John, spoken of above, another brother, Mr. German Plank, and a sister, Mrs. A.N. Napp, live in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
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