Frank Calvin (Foreman) Mann (1908 - 1992)

Born 22 Nov 1908 in Texas, United States [uncertain]

Died 22 Nov 1992 at age 84 in Houston, Harris, Texas, United States

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Biography

Frank (Foreman) Mann is Notable.

Frank was born about 1908. He passed away in 1992.

Engineer, inventor, aviator and associate of Howard Hughes. "Mann built two large 1.5 inch scale steam locomotives, one of which resides in the Smithsonian Museum."^[1]

Briefly performed both parts in the ″Amos ‘N’ Andy″ radio show while also working in movie production and building unique cars for Hollywood stars.

In the '30s, Frank is said to have flown reconnaissance missions for Ethiopia and later performed as a stunt pilot, wing walker and parachutist for a flying circus in Europe.

During or immediately before WWII, he played a role in the training and development of the Tuskegee Airmen and was also employed by Hughes Aircraft Co.

Profiled in Ebony Magazine, Dec 1968 issue, in an article titled "Mini-Railroader"^[2] which covered Frank's build of the largest working steam train model, valued at roughly $500,000 and built completely from scratch, as well as his philanthropy in the community by allowing children to ride his train at no cost. At the time, he lived in Pacoima, California.

Helped NASA by creating a way to attach the Space Shuttle to an airplane.

Possibly born near Dayton, Texas, Frank graduated from Phyllis Wheatley HS in Houston^[3] and briefly attended Prairie View A&M for a teaching degree, before going on to study at the University of Minnesota and Ohio State University. He earned a mechanical engineering degree.

Research Notes

Last Name At Birth

Most online bios, including Frank's Wikipedia profile, Frank Mann (engineer), mention his parents without naming them. His biographer^[4], Harry Bryer, states that Frank was "born to an unwed mother in 1908 Texas"^[5].

Using the names provided on pg 13 of Bryer's book, this researcher first found a marriage record for Inie Hill and Louis Mann^[6]. Then in looking for census records, discovered that in both the 1920^[7] and 1930^[8] Census records, Frank is recorded as Frank Foreman, in the household of a Lewis/L. J Mann, but in the 1940^[9] Census his name is Frank C Mann.

Finally, in doing another search, it was discovered that there is a marriage record dated 7 Nov, 1906 for Inie Hill and Samuel Foreman^[10] in Bell County, Texas.

Once all of this was discovered, the LNAB of this profile was changed to Foreman despite lacking a birth record.

Other Notes

Additionally, some online bios provide a date of death as 30 Nov, 1992, but Frank's AP Obituary states that he died on Sunday and was dated two days later on Tues, 24th Nov., 1992. The Texas Death Index also confirms 22 Nov, 1992 as the official date of death^[11].

Son - James Irving Mann. Found a birth certificate in Galveston^[12] that could be for son James, but the details don't all match up. It says that Frank is a mechanic but also that he was 21 years old, instead of 23-24 yrs old, and from Oklahoma, instead of Texas.

Sources

1. ↑ http://www.ibls.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=Frank_Mann
2. ↑ "Mini-Railroader" Ebony Magazine. Vol. XXIV, No. 2, Dec 1968. Pgs. 92-98
3. ↑ https://blogs.houstonisd.org/news/2017/04/17/i-am-hisd-hidden-genius-frank-mann/
4. ↑ "Hidden Genius The Black Engineer Behind Howard Hughes", Bryer, H.T., Greyforest Press 2011 [1]
5. ↑ Bryer, H.T. Hidden Genius Paperback – Illustrated, April 15, 2011. [2]
6. ↑ "Texas Marriages, 1837-1973", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FX33-2ZP : 22 January 2020), Inie Hill in entry for Louis Mann, 1915.
7. ↑ "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCS6-M83 : accessed 27 November 2020), Frank Foreman in household of L J Mann, Justice Precinct 5, Liberty, Texas, United States; citing ED 129, sheet 13A, line 30, family 209, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll 1829; FHL microfilm 1,821,829.
8. ↑ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:HBLF-W2M : accessed 27 November 2020), Frank Foreman in household of Lewis J Mann, Houston, Harris, Texas, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 50, sheet 85A, line 22, family 625, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 2345; FHL microfilm 2,342,079.
9. ↑ "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K47L-QWK : 20 May 2020), Frank C Mann in household of Lewis J Mann, Tract 9, Houston, Justice Precinct 1, Harris, Texas, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 258-45, sheet 62A, line 26, family 21, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 4191.
10. ↑ "Texas, County Marriage Records, 1837-1965," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV14-CJ4J : 10 December 2017), Samuel Foreman and Inie Hill, 07 Nov 1906; citing Marriage, citing Bell, Texas, United States, Texas State Library, Archives Division, and various Texas county clerks; FHL microfilm 981,040.
11. ↑ "Texas Death Index, 1964-1998," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JV2Z-1PP : 5 December 2014), Frank Calvin Mann, Harris, Texas, United States; citing Department of State Health Services, Austin.
12. ↑ "Texas Birth Certificates, 1903-1935," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K6GF-VFD : 4 April 2020), Frank C Mann in entry for James Irwin Mann, 03 Oct 1932; citing , Galveston, Texas, United States, certificate 78437, Texas Department of Health, Austin; FHL microfilm 2,281,898.

See also:

• "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKW3-MWNG : accessed 27 November 2020), Frank Mann, Texas, United States, 24 Nov 1992; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing Houston Chronicle, born-digital text.
• RUSSELL, ROSE. Book chronicles Frank Mann’s role in automobile, aeronautic engineering. Toledo Blade, The. July 5th, 2011. [3]
• https://variety.com/1992/scene/people-news/frank-mann-101692/
• https://texoso66.com/2019/08/15/frank-mann/
• Wikipedia contributors. "Frank Mann (engineer)." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 17 Nov. 2023. Web. 3 Dec. 2023.