Frank B. Riss: from Horse Thief to Justice of the Peace?

Like a dog with a bone, I couldn't give up the search for Leota Gerner's first husband, Frank B. Riss, especially when I realized I already had some information about him in RootsMagic.

I was surprised to find this snippet, below, in The Virden (Illinois) Recorder at Old Fulton New York Postcards.  It was published sometime between February, 1909, and September, 1910.  (I've been unsuccessful in maneuvering the Old Fulton website to get more details about the exact date of this article and its specific location in the newspaper.) 

          Girl Betrays Fugitive.
    Betrayed by his sweetheart, who
gave his photograph to the police,
Frank B. Riss, was arrested near
Streator and taken back to Calgary,
Canada, to answer to the charge of
horse stealing.

To be accurate, I have no way of knowing that this is Leota's husband.  The name, Frank B. Riss, is the same as Leota's Frank, who was born in Streator, Illinois.  They could the be same person, or not.  The distance between Streator and Calgary, Canada, is about 1,616 miles by today's highways, but no doubt further in 1909-1910.  This article leaves me with the questions of how many horses were stolen and whether it was worth the expense to transport Frank that long distance.  And, of course, the question of whether this is Leota's Frank or not. 

Ancestry.com shows Frank B. Riss in the 1917, 1918, 1920, and 1921 Youngstown City Directories as an engineer and in 1926 he appears as a Justice of the Peace with the following description.

RISS Frank B.  [Leota]  Justice of The Peace Berlin township, 13 Central Square, 3d floor Diamond Block, Phone 4-1504 h Berlin Center O

 
Next I find him on his 1930 Ohio Death Certificate from FamilySearch with excerpted information below.  (Click on the death certificate to see it full size in a new tab.)

Name.  Frank B. Riss
Place of Death.  South Side Youngstown Hospital,
      Youngstown, Mahoning County
Residence.  1635 South heights, Youngstown
Husband of Mrs. Leota Riss
Date of Birth.  June 6, 1882
Name of employer.   John Gerner
Birthplace.   Streator, Ill.
Date of Death.   Jan 3, 1930
The Cause of Death was Ac. Gangrenous Pancreatitis
Contributory.   Cholelithiasis (a form of gallstones)
Place of Burial.    Lake Park Cemetery
Date of Burial.   6 Jan 1930

And finally, Frank's death certificate led me to his obituary published in The Youngstown Daily Vindicator on Saturday, Jan. 4, 1930, p. 3, col. 5.  (Image from microfilm at Archives Library of the State of Ohio, no online link available.)

      FRANK B. RISS
             TAKEN BY DEATH
               ---------------
  Former Justice of Peace, One-
     Time Sheriff Candidate,
           Dies in Hospital
               ---------------
   Frank B. Riss, aged 47, of 1635
South Heights Ave., prominently
known in Youngstown in the days
of the “raiding” justices of peace,
died of complications at four p.m.
Friday at Youngstown Hospital after
an illness of three weeks.
   Riss was justice of the peace of
Berlin Township for a number of
years and maintained an office in
Youngstown at Boardman and Mar-
ket Sts.  His constables were active
for several years in liquor raids.
   He was born June 6, 1882, at
Streator, Ill., and had lived in
Youngstown for about 15 years.
   He leaves his widow, Mrs. Leota
Riss, and a daughter, Evelyn Riss.
   He also leaves his mother and
father, Mrs. and Mrs. Fred Riss of
Streator; two sisters, Mrs. Henry
Bollmer, Streator, and Mrs. Lester
Kernan, Chicago, and five brothers,
Edward, Albert, Lafe, Jess and Otto
Riss, all of Streator.
   He was married 14 years ago to
Miss Leota Gerner of Youngstown.
He was a member of the M. E.
Church.
   Mr. Riss has lately been in the
trucking business.
   Funeral services will be held at
2:30 p.m. Monday at the home.  The
Rev. N. B. Mathes will be in charge.
Burial will be in Lake Park Cemetery.

Notes and Comments

Based on the information in the obituary

• Frank moved to Youngstown in about 1915.
• He married Leota in about 1916. 
  
• His daughter became Evelyn Riss instead of Beulah E. Riss from previous records.
• He was "prominently known" when he served as Justice of the Peace and was involved in liquor raids.
  

I have lots of questions about the liquor raids, the danger involved for Frank and his deputies, and how Leota felt about that.  This obituary conjures images of smoky speak easies filled with people on the alert for raids.  If Frank was as well-known as the obituary suggests he is probably in new articles in The Vindicator during the 1920s.  What a lot of searching it would require to find him!

I don't know, and my never know, whether the Frank B. Riss, horse thief, is the same person that Leota Gerner married and who became a Justice of the Peace in Mahoning County, Ohio.  What evidence shows me is that Leota Gerner was married to Frank B. Riss, engineer, Justice of the Peace, and truck driver who died on January 3, 1930.  How I wish I could connect the dots--if there are any--through the years between horse thief and Justice of the Peace.

-–Nancy.

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