Frank W. Fanslow, born on October 6, 1862, in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, is a notable figure in Yankton, South Dakota. Son of German immigrants Michael and Bridget (Kuich) Fanslow, he moved to South Dakota in 1877. In 1882, he and his brother John established a blacksmith and wagon-making business in Milltown, later relocating to Yankton. They expanded into agricultural implements and hardware under the firm Fanslow Brothers. Frank served as Yankton’s mayor from 1902 to 1903, advocating for municipal ownership of utilities. He married Eunice E. Gray in 1886, and they had six children, five of whom survived infancy.
Frank W. Fanslow is a native of the state of Wisconsin, having been born in the town of Beaver Dam, Dodge County, on the 6th of October, 1862, the son of Michael and Bridget (Kuich) Fanslow, of whose thirteen children six are living, namely: John, who is associated with the subject in business; Frank W.; August, a mechanic employed at the state hospital for the insane at Yankton; Adam, a resident of Des Moines, Iowa; Anna, who resides in Chicago, Illinois, and is the widow of Henry Gottschalk; and Martha, who is the wife of Clarence Fisher, of Yankton.
Michael Fanslow was born near Bromberg, Germany, in 1819, being a son of Francis Fanslow, who was of French lineage and birth, having been an active participant in the war between France and Germany in 1812. He was captured by the German forces and later was released, upon swearing allegiance to Germany, in which country he passed the remainder of his life. His son Michael was thus reared and educated in the German empire, and there he learned the trade of blacksmith, while he was in service in three different wars in which Germany was engaged. In 1856 he emigrated to America, landing in New York City, where he remained six months, at the expiration of which he went to Buffalo, that state, then to Detroit, Michigan, later to Chicago, and thence to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from which point he made his way to Beaver Dam, where he took up his abode in 1858, becoming one of the pioneers of the place. He there continued to reside until 1877, having become one of the representative businessmen and honored citizens of the town, and he then came to what was then the territory of Dakota, locating in Milltown, Armstrong County, in what is now the state of South Dakota. He was there engaged in the flouring mill business for a number of years, and in 1882 he came to Yankton and purchased property, and here he has since maintained his home, being eighty-three years of age at the time of this writing. It may be further stated that his father held a permanent government position in Germany and accumulated a considerable fortune. Bridget (Kuich) Fanslow, the subject’s mother, was born in Lissa, province of Posen, Germany, where she was reared and educated, and her marriage to Michael Fanslow was solemnized in her native country. She is still living and both she and her husband are communicants and worthy members of the Catholic church, while in politics the latter gives his allegiance to the Democratic party. He is one of the venerable pioneers of the state and is well known and highly honored in Yankton.
Frank W. Fanslow passed his boyhood days in his native town in Wisconsin, receiving his early education in the parochial schools of Beaver Dam and later continuing his studies under the private instruction of old Professor DeGrote, an able educator of that place. While still a boy he began to assist in the work of his father’s blacksmith shop, and attained proficiency in the trade, as well as in that of wheelwright. He thus learned to appreciate the dignity of honest toil and recalls the fact that in his boyhood days he arose at four o’clock in the morning and put in good time at work before going to school, while his services were also in requisition after the close of the school day. He was about fifteen years of age at the time of the family’s removal to what is now South Dakota and thus he has been a witness of the inception and rise of this great and prosperous state and has contributed in no small degree to its civic and industrial development. In 1882, when his father removed to Yankton, the subject became associated with his brother John in establishing a blacksmith and wagon-making establishment at Milltown, where they continued operations until 1886, when they also came to Yankton and here effected the organization of the firm of Michael Fanslow & Sons, engaging in the operation of the grist-mill which their father had previously acquired, and also conducting a blacksmithing business. In 1888 the partnership dissolved and the subject and his brother John thereafter continued the blacksmithing business, to which they have since added a complete line of agricultural implements and heavy hardware, doing a wholesale business in the latter line, while they also handle heavy and light vehicles, their stock in the various departments comprising one of the largest in this section of the state, while the trade of the concern is widely disseminated and of representative character. The enterprise is conducted under the firm name of Fanslow Brothers, and the interested principals are numbered among the wide-awake and public-spirited business men of the city, while their course has ever been such as to retain to them the fullest measure of popular confidence and regard. In politics the subject of this sketch gives an unqualified support to the Democratic party, in whose cause he takes a lively interest, as does he also in all that concerns the welfare of his home city. In 1898 he was elected a member of the board of aldermen of the city, and served two terms in this capacity, or four consecutive years. That his services in this office did not lack proper appreciation is evident when we take cognizance of the fact that in 1902 he was further honored by the voters of this city by being chosen as the chief executive of the municipal government, while his administration was so acceptable that he was re-elected mayor in 1903, and is incumbent of this office at this time. His policy has been a progressive one, and yet marked by discrimination and wise economy. He is a man of distinct individuality and has ever shown the courage of his convictions, and he has made his administration of municipal affairs a thoroughly businesslike one, sparing no pains to secure the most effective service in all departments of the local government. He is an earnest and ardent advocate of municipal ownership and has made a strenuous fight against the iniquitous practice of indiscriminately granting private franchises. In October 1903, the Yankton Electric Lighting Company passed into the hands of private parties, who, seeing the advantage of operating a water system with the power wasted at the lighting plant, applied to the city council for a franchise. Mayor Fanslow, however, firmly opposed the grant and was supported in his stand by a part of the city council. Finally the owners of the plant made an offer to sell it to the city at a fraction of its original cost, and of this move the Mayor at that time said: “This is the opportunity of a lifetime for Yankton. At present our city water system is in a deplorable condition. We have let the contract for a new artesian well, but that does not promise permanent pressure. If we buy the electric lighting plant we will have power enough to pump Missouri river water into the city and maintain a pressure sufficient to safeguard the city against fire. We will increase the number of arc lights on the streets to fifty and will be able to double that number later on. We will be able to cut the cost of private lights squarely in two and we will improve the service a hundred-fold. In place of Yankton paying thousands yearly for street lights, the city will be receiving a substantial revenue from private lights. We have tried artesian wells and they have failed. We have private ownership of the lighting plant and it has been unsatisfactory. By the proposed combination we can do away with the former bad conditions and in their place will be ideal conditions. If the people of the city will stand behind me and the city council, and I am sure they will, we will give to the city pure water, ample fire protection and the best of lights. I have gone into this fight for the benefit of the city of Yankton and I expect to win.”
On the 14th of November, 1886, Mr. Fanslow was united in marriage with Miss Eunice E. Gray, of Milltown, this state, and of their six children all but one are living, Lilly having died at the age of seven weeks. The five surviving all remain at the parental home and are named, in order of birth, Geneva, Clarence, Ruth, Frank E., and Sylvia.
Source: Robinson, Doane, History of South Dakota: together with mention of Citizens of South Dakota, [Logansport? IN] : B. F. Bowen, 1904.