Samuel Leon Frank, MD

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/146833256/samuel-leon-frank Of all the distinguished men who have shed lustre upon the State of Maryland, whether born within her boundaries or on other soil, none had a better record, a brighter fame, or a stronger hold upon the affections of the people, than the late Dr. Samuel Leon Frank, whose life had been so varied in its activity, so honorable in its purpose, so far-reaching and beneficial in its effects, that it became an integral part of the history of Baltimore, and also left its impression upon the annals of the State and Nation.

Dr. Samuel Leon Frank was born in Baltimore, Maryland, October 17, 1841, son of Leon and Regine (Fleischman) Frank, natives of Bavaria, Germany. Leon Frank came to this country in 1837, and was one of the pioneers of the wholesale clothing trade in Baltimore, and his wife took up her residence in Baltimore, Maryland, 1840, becoming the wife of Mr. Frank the following year. Dr. Frank acquired his literary education in private schools, being a student for two years in Rev. Dr. Dalrymple's famous school on Mulberry street, Baltimore. He was educated for the profession of medicine under the preceptorship of Professor Nathan R. Smith, M. D., and at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, graduating from that institution with the degree of M. D. in 1862. After graduation he went abroad and spent a year in the University of Würzburg, Bavaria, where he gave special attention to study of diseases of the ear under Von Troltsch, the leading aurist of his time, then spent a winter in Vienna, Austria, and later was a university student at Prague, Bohemia, where he made special researches in obstetrics and gynecology under Seifert, and he also spent some time in Berlin, London and Paris.

Returning to Baltimore in the fall of 1864, he began practice, devoting particular attention to treatment of diseases of the ear, and for a number of years thereafter was one of the most successful practitioners in the city. On the organization of the Baltimore Special Dispensary, the first institution in the city to do special work, the department of diseases of the ear was filled by Dr. Frank until his second visit to Europe in August, 1872, when he relinquished general practice to devote his entire attention to eye and ear work. During the fall and winter of 1872-73 he attended eye clinics at Vienna under Professors von Arlt and von Traeger, and the ear clinics of Gruber and Politzer, then went to Berlin and Utrecht and studied with Professor Donders Snellen at the clinic and in the laboratory. He then returned to London and spent the winter of 1874-75 in Moorefeild's Eye Hospital. While there he was appointed assistant to Professor J. Soelberg Wells, and continued in that capacity until his return to Baltimore, bearing with him letters from trustees commending his faithfulness and proficiency in the branches of his special research. He also was elected a member of the Heidelberg Ophthalmological Society, founded by Albrecht von Graefe.

On his return to Baltimore in March, 1875, Dr. Frank resumed practice and devoted his attention exclusively to cases in ophthalmology and otology. On the organization of the Baltimore Eye, Ear and Throat Charity Hospital on Franklin street, he became oculist and aurist to that institution, which relation was maintained until his retirement from medical practice. He was also at one time eye and ear physician to Baltimore General Dispensary. He retired from practice in 1884, and became assosociated in business with his father-in-law, the late William Solomon Rayner, father of Senator Rayner, and continued with him until Mr. Rayner's death. Dr. Frank took full charge of the Rayner estate, and had an office in the Rayner building on Lexington street. He was a man of marked capacity and decided character, of the most undoubted integrity, and no amount of gain could allure him from the undeviating line of rectitude, justice and equity, which he regarded as the cornerstone of the temple of trade, without which it could not stand. He was possessed of a rare if not distinctive business character that impressed one as soon as they met him.

In 1899 Dr. Frank became president of the South Baltimore Harbor and Improvement Company, the Curtis Bay Company of Anne Arundel County, the Brooklyn and Curtis Bay Light and Water Company, and also of the Ringwood Gas, Coal and Iron Company of West Virginia, and a director of the South Baltimore Steel Car and Foundry Company. For several years he was a director and in 1903 was elected president of the Hebrew Hospital and Asylum of Baltimore, Maryland. Shortly after his election as president he set about to effect the separation of the hospital from the asylum for the infirm. He promulgated the idea of making a home for incurables in connection with the institution. It was his idea to erect a new building to conform in style of architecture with the present structure, upon the lot owned by the association, and use it as a hospital exclusively. The idea bore fruit, was carried out, and stands as a monument to Dr. Frank's earnest work. His life was one of unselfish devotion to the best interests of his fellowmen. In his life were the elements of greatness, because of the use he made of his talents, and of his opportunities, his fulfillment of his duty as a man in his relations to his state and his country. Formerly Dr. Frank was an active member of the American Medical Association, and was a delegate to the meeting of that body in 1872; and was a member of the Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of Maryland, and of various other medical and clinical organizations of Baltimore and Maryland.

Dr. Frank was a true citizen, interested in all enterprises which meditated the moral improvement and social culture of the community, and actively aided a number of associations by his influence and means. He was a gentleman of culture and refinement, which, coupled with his genial manners and the warmth of his attachment toward friends, secured for him a high place in the affections and esteem of his circle of acquaintances. His heart was ever in sympathy with the sorrows of the unfortunate, and his hand ever ready to contribute to the alleviation of distress. But perhaps the richest and most beautiful trait of his character was his strong domestic sentiments and habits, which impelled him to seek his highest happiness in the family circle, and rendered him its joy and light.

Dr. Frank married, December 16. 1869, Bertha, daughter of the late William Solomon and Amalie Rayner, of Baltimore. She is one of the most beloved women in Baltimore, one of those characters God has not permitted to live in vain and for nought. From her life may be deduced a moral of great value, and from it may be formed a model by which mothers may well strive to form the characters of their daughters. She is a member of a family which has always had the instinct for philanthropy. Her father, William Solomon Rayner, was the first president of the Hebrew Benevolent Society of Baltimore, and he and his wife gave the first orphan asylum for Hebrew children, that at Calverton, to the community. Shortly after her marriage her health became impaired, and she and her husband spent several years abroad, consulting the best medical specialists in every country, but without great benefit.

Since the death of Dr. Frank, which occurred August 3, 1906, of heart disease, Mrs. Frank's chief work in life has been the distribution of his estate in a way to relieve the most suffering and do the most good. The list of her benefactions is long: The new Hebrew Hospital is her foundation, given in memory of Dr. Frank. She gave $10,000 to the Hebrew Benevolent Society as the Rayner-Frank Loan Fund, the income in sums ranging from $10 to $50 to be loaned without interest to needy persons, and it is an exception when any repayment is asked for or expected. She gave the handsome home of her parents, with all its furniture, to the Instructive Visiting Nurses' Association, when it was discovered that the work of this devoted little band could be better accomplished if its members were gathered under one roof. In memory of Dr. Frank she endowed a bed in the Hebrew Hospital for Incapacited Nurses, and a bed in the Hebrew Home for the Aged in memory of her father and mother. She supports a playground on High street; gave $10,000 for the founding of a manual training school in connection with the Hebrew Orphan Asylum; built a synagogue in Lakewood, and made the following endowments: a scholarship in the University of Maryland, Dr. Frank's alma mater; two scholarships in the Cincinnati Hebrew Union College; one scholarship in the Theological Seminary of America (orthodox) ; two scholarships in the National Farm School in Pennsylvania; a bed at the Nursery and Child's Hospital, and an endowment at Eudowood of $5,000. She founded the Daughters in Israel in 1883, and is its honorary president, its motto being "Love thy neighbor as thyself", the spirit of its founder.

The first Jewish working girls' home in this country was established by this organization, and it was also the pioneer in Jewish local settlement work. Mrs. Frank's latest kindness to the organization is a gift of $10,000, with which an addition to the Working Girls' Home has been erected at 1200 East Baltimore street. She has also established the Baltimore Section of the Council of Jewish Women. She is one who has built hope in the hearts of the despairing, courage in the souls of the conquered, revived beauty and joy and love in the lives of those whom misery and sin have crushed. Would that the city of Baltimore had more citizens like unto this noble man and woman.

[from "Baltimore Its History and its people", Vol. III, by Clayton Colman Hall, p. 876-878]