The Ezra A. Frantz Online Exhibit
Exhibit Summary:
The youngest of six children, Ezra A. Frantz was born to Michael Frantz (1834-1877) and Barbara Frantz (1841-1931) on August 6, 1875. The other children were Jonathan (1860), Martha (1862), Susan (1864), Jacob (1866), and Peter (1868). The Frantz family lived in a farming community outside of Girard in Macoupin County, Illinois. The Frantz family were members of the Brethren Church, an organization with German roots that functioned similarly to the Mennonites or the Quakers. The family lived in a small community that emphasized their religious tenets, such as living a simple life that demonstrated their separation from “the world.”
In 1877 Michael Frantz died, leaving Barbara with their six children. She remarried an elder in the church, Joseph Harshbarger, who became the only father that Ezra Frantz would remember. He spoke once about going to St. Louis with his father (Harshbarger) and one of his brothers (most likely Peter). While in St. Louis, Ezra and Peter participated in ice skating.
Ezra Frantz married Mary Lavanna Buckley on August 12, 1896 in Weatherford, Texas. Mary Buckley’s family, both her maternal line (the Piggs) and her paternal line (the Buckleys) were founding families in this area of Texas. The newly married couple returned to Illinois for a short time, but eventually returned to Parker County, Texas.
Ezra and Mary Frantz had four children: Ray (1898), Ruby (1903), Nellie (1908), and Josephine (1911). Josephine, the youngest Frantz daughter recalled the parties that her older siblings would have in the family home. All of their friends were actors or musicians, and the two youngest Frantz children often sat upon the stairs, staring longingly at the goings-on. Nellie and Josephine, like their older siblings, were often inseparable. Ezra and Mary dressed their youngest daughters alike, causing them to be mistaken for twins. It was a pattern that the girls continued all of their lives. Several years after the birth of their last child, Mary Frantz, according to family lore, declared that there was a baby that needed her. Ezra and his wife went to Dallas, Texas. In an orphanage they found their youngest child, Joseph, who had been born in 1917. Now the Frantz family was complete.
Ezra and Mary Frantz had four children: Ray (1898), Ruby (1903), Nellie (1908), and Josephine (1911). Josephine, the youngest Frantz daughter recalled the parties that her older siblings would have in the family home. All of their friends were actors or musicians, and the two youngest Frantz children often sat upon the stairs, staring longingly at the goings-on. Nellie and Josephine, like their older siblings, were often inseparable. Ezra and Mary dressed their youngest daughters alike, causing them to be mistaken for twins. It was a pattern that the girls continued all of their lives. Several years after the birth of their last child, Mary Frantz, according to family lore, declared that there was a baby that needed her. Ezra and his wife went to Dallas, Texas. In an orphanage they found their youngest child, Joseph, who had been born in 1917. Now the Frantz family was complete.
Ezra Frantz was an inventor, working with his brothers Jacob and Peter in Illinois before he eventually moved to Texas. He is, perhaps, most well known for his invention of a cotton buckle and a manufacturing machine for the cotton buckle. Peter and Ezra participated in the Florida Land Boom from 1920-1925, and Ezra moved his family to Florida for a short time. After a few months, the family returned to Texas. Although his business operations took him across the United States, the family often remained in Weatherford, Texas. Ezra had several factories and investments across the United States; some in Alabama and Tennessee, as well as Texas. Ezra Frantz retired from most of these investments after World War II.
He and his wife became the grandparents of five grandchildren. The legacy of Ezra Frantz continues to live on today, through the history of his inventions and his descendants.
He and his wife became the grandparents of five grandchildren. The legacy of Ezra Frantz continues to live on today, through the history of his inventions and his descendants.