TABLE OF CONTENTS


Introduction
 

Biographical Sketch
 

Scope and Content Note
 

Restrictions
 

Related Material 
 

Administrative Info 

 
Box and Folder Listing

 

Series A: General Files. 1912-1915.
 

An Inventory to the 

Leo M. Frank Collection

Manuscript Collection No. 237

1913-1965

 

 

Introduction 
Name: Leo M. Frank Collection
Dates:  1913-1965
Abstract:  The Leo M. Frank Collection consists of newsclippings, magazine articles, pamphlets, and testimonial reports dealing with the murder conviction, repercussions, and subsequent lynching of Leo Frank in Atlanta, Georgia.
Quantity:  2.5 linear feet

Biographical Sketch 

Leo Frank was born in Cuero, Texas in 1884 but was raised in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Brooklyn Public Schools, the Pratt Institute, and in 1906, graduated from Cornell University with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. His first job was in Massachusetts, but soon thereafter he moved back to Brooklyn and was trained as a mechanical engineer.

In 1907, Frank moved to Atlanta, Georgia to take a position as a supervisor at the National Pencil Company, owned by his uncle. In 1910 he married Lucille Selig, daughter of a prominent Jewish family. He was an active and respected member of the Jewish community and in 1912 became president of his local B'nai B'rith chapter. 

Mary Phagen, a fourteen year old employee was found dead in the basement of the National Pencil factory on 27 April 1913. Frank was arrested the next day and subsequently found guilty. The trial lasted for nearly two months. There were numerous protests throughout the trial that this was a case of prejudice. The trial was eventually appealed to the Supreme Court who rejected Frank's final appeal. Afterwards, the Georgia Governor John Slaton, who believed Frank to be innocent, commuted the sentence to a life term on 21 June 1915. An angry mob later removed Frank from the jail and lynched him on 16 August 1915.

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Scope and Content Note 

The Leo M. Frank Collection consists of newsclippings, magazine articles, pamphlets, and testimonial reports dealing with the murder-conviction, repercussions, and subsequent lynching of Leo Frank in Atlanta, Georgia. The records are organized into a single series, with correspondence and legal reports followed by press clippings..


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Restrictions 

Restrictions on Access 

The records are open to all users and are available in the reading room of the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives.

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Related Material 

Frank, Leo M. "Antisemitism and the Leo M. Frank Murder Case." Undated memorandum of the Anti-Defamation League of the B'nai B'rith Organization prepared by Dewitt Roberts. Small Collections.
Frank, Leo M. Correspondence of Rabbi David Marx with Louis Marshall and Anna Carroll Moore re: Frank case and his death. Small Collections 
Frank, Leo M. Correspondence with Herbert G. Schiff. 1913-1915. Small Collections. 

Frank, Leo M. Final Galleys of  A Little Girl is Dead by Harry Golden. 1965. Small Collections. 

Frank, Leo M. Interview with McLellan Smith, newspaper reporter who covered Frank's trial. Conducted by Leonard Dinnerstein. C-1308 to C-1309. 

Frank, Leo M. Letter to Benjamen Wildauer written on the day of the lynching. August 1915. Small Collections. 

Frank, Leo M. Letter to William Baur, detailing his arrival at Georgia State Prison. June 1915. Small Collections. 

Frank, Leo M. Louis Marshall's brief in the Supreme Court concerning the Leo M. Frank Case. Small Collections. 

Frank, Leo M. "Murder of Mary Phagan." 1988. Videotape No. 63. 

Frank, Leo M. Nearprint Biographies. 

Frank, Leo M. Picture Collection.

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Administrative Information 

Citations 

Footnotes and bibliographic references should refer to the Leo M. Frank Collection and the American Jewish Archives.

Provenance 

The papers were donated by the Hebrew Benevolent Congregation, Atlanta, Georgia in April 1960 and Leonard Dinnerstein, New York, New York, in 1967. All papers donated prior to October 2001 have been arranged and described in this inventory.
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Box and Folder Listing 


Series A: General Files. 1913-1965, Undated.
Box Folder
1 2 Testimony Recorded at the National Pencil Company. June 30, 1913.
1 3 Testimony in the Leo Frank Case. 1913, undated.
1 4 Trial Papers. 1913, 1915, undated.
1 5 Grounds for Motion for a New Trial; Fulton County Superior Court. July Term, 1913.
1 6 Correspondence to or by Various Lawyers. 1914-1915.
1 7 Correspondence Regarding the Leo Frank Case. 1913-1915.
1 8 Handbill - Protest Meeting. October 26, 1913.
1 9 Letters to Governor Slaton. 1915.
1 10 Flyer - In Defense of Trial by Jury. June 5, 1915.
1 11 Documents Concerning Mary Phagan's Mother's Lawsuit Against the National Pencil Company. 1914-1916.
1 12 Wise, Stephen S. The Case of Leo Frank: A Last Appeal. May 1915.
1 13 Liquidation of the National Pencil Company. 1916.
1 14 Anti-semitic "Reminder" Card. Undated.
1 15 Background Information - The Leo Frank Case. Undated.
1 16 Partial Document Concerning Newspaper Coverage of the Leo Frank Case. Undated.
1 17 Various Papers about the Leo Frank Case. 1961; 1963-1965.
1 18 Miscellaneous Items. Undated.
2 1 Newsclippings. May, August-December 1913.
2 2 Newsclippings. February 1914.
2 3 Newsclippings. March 1914.
2 4 Newsclippings. April 1914.
2 5 Newsclippings. May 1914.
2 6 Newsclippings. May-June 1914.
2 7-11 Newsclippings. December 1914.
3 1 Newsclippings. December 1914.
3 2 Newsclippings. January 1915.
3 3 Newsclippings. January-February 1915.
3 4 Newsclippings. March 1915.
3 5 Newsclippings. April 1915.
3 6-10 Newsclippings. June 1915.
4 1-8 Newsclippings. June 1915.
5 1-2 Newsclippings. July 1915.
5 3-9 Newsclippings. August 1915.
6 1 Newsclippings. Various Dates.
6 2-3 Newsclippings. Miscellaneous/Undated Articles.
6 4 Pictures/Photos. Undated.
6 5 Periodical Articles. 1915, Undated.
6 6 Leonard Dinnerstein Dissertation Correspondence. 1963-1965.

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