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{{Infobox person

{{Infobox person

|name=Franklin Marian "Frank" Kell

|name=Franklin M. "Frank" Kell

(One of two principal entrepreneurs in Wichita Falls, Texas)​

(One of two principal founding entrepreneurs in Wichita Falls, Texas)​

|birth_date=December 2, 1859​

|birth_date=December 2, 1859​

|death_date=September 17, 1941 (aged 81)​

|death_date=September 17, 1941 (aged 81)​

|death_place=[[Wichita Falls]], [[Texas]], United States​

|death_place=[[Wichita Falls]], [[Texas]], United States​

|birth_place=Clifton, Bosque County, Texas​

|birth_place=Clifton, Bosque County, Texas​

|religion=[[Presbyterian]]​

|religion=[[Presbyterian]]​

|party=[[Republican Party|Republican]]

|party=[[Republican Party|Republican]]

|spouse=Lula Kemp Kell (married 1885 to 1941, his death)​<br>

|spouse=Lula Kemp Kell (married 1885 to 1941, his death)​<br>

'''Seven children'':<br>

'''Seven children''':<br>

Willie May Kell<br>

Willie May Kell<br>

Sadie Bullington<br>

Sadie Bullington<br>

Mary Joe Kell Putty<br>

Mary Joe Kell Putty<br>

Joseph Archibald Kell<br>

Joseph Archibald Kell<br>

'''Relations''': <br>

'''Relations''': <br>

[[Joseph A. Kemp]] (brother-in-law)<br>

[[Joseph A. Kemp]] (brother-in-law)<br>

[[Orville Bullington]] (son-in-law)}}

[[Orville Bullington]] (son-in-law)}}

​'''Franklin Marian Kell''', known as '''Frank Kell''' (December 2, 1859 &ndash;  September 17, 1941), along with his brother-in-law [[Joseph A. Kemp]], was one of the two principal entrepreneurs in the early development of [[Wichita Falls]], [[Texas]].

​'''Franklin M. Kell''', known as '''Frank Kell''' (December 2, 1859 &ndash;  September 17, 1941), along with his brother-in-law [[Joseph A. Kemp]], was one of the two principal entrepreneurs in the early development of [[Wichita Falls]], [[Texas]].

==Background==

==Background==

A son of Francis Marian Kell and the former Sarah Lucinda Potter, Kell was born of [[Ireland|Irish]] descent in Clifton, Texas, a community founded by [[Norway|Norwegian]] settlers in the 1850s. His irregular formal education ended when, at the age of 18, he was hired to clerk in a store in Clifton. He soon relocated to [[Galveston, Texas|Galveston]], Texas, where he was employed in the export of grain, but he returned to Clifton to engage for a number of years there in the milling business.<ref name=tshao>{{cite web|url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fke07|author=J. W. Williams|title=Kell, Frank|publisher='The Handbook of Texas''|accessdate=July 10, 2020}}</ref><ref>The Texas State Historical Association Handbook, bases its article on Frank Kell from these sources:  Jonnie R. Morgan, ''The History of Wichita ​Falls'' (Wichita Falls, 1931; reprinted, Wichita Falls: Nortex, 1971); S. G. Reed, ''A History of the Texas Railroads'' ([[Houston, Texas|Houston]], Texas: St. Clair, 1941; reprinted, [[New York City]]: Arno, 1981); J. N. Williams, "Frank Kell", ''Year Book'' 17 (1941) of the West Texas Historical Association.</ref> In 1885, Kell married Lula Kemp (1866–1957), the younger sister of Joseph Kemp.​

A son of Francis Marion Kell (1832-1918) and the former Sarah Lucinda Potter (1832-1871), who died when Frank was twelve years of age. Kell was born of [[Ireland|Irish]] descent in Clifton, Texas, a community founded by [[Norway|Norwegian]] settlers in the 1850s. His irregular formal education ended when, at the age of 18, he was hired to clerk in a store in Clifton. He soon relocated to [[Galveston, Texas|Galveston]], Texas, where he was employed in the export of grain, but he returned to Clifton to engage for a number of years there in the milling business.<ref name=tshao>{{cite web|url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fke07|author=J. W. Williams|title=Kell, Frank|publisher=''The Handbook of Texas''|accessdate=July 10, 2020}}</ref><ref>The Texas State Historical Association Handbook, bases its article on Frank Kell from these sources:  Jonnie R. Morgan, ''The History of Wichita ​Falls'' (Wichita Falls, 1931; reprinted, Wichita Falls: Nortex, 1971); S. G. Reed, ''A History of the Texas Railroads'' ([[Houston, Texas|Houston]], Texas: St. Clair, 1941; reprinted, [[New York City]]: Arno, 1981); J. N. Williams, "Frank Kell", ''Year Book'' 17 (1941) of the West Texas Historical Association.</ref> In 1885, Kell married Lula Kemp (1866–1957), the younger sister of Joseph Kemp.​

==Entrepreneur==​

==Entrepreneur==

​

In 1896, the brothers-in-law Kell and Kemp purchased control of the Wichita Valley Milling Company, and Frank and Lula Kell relocated from Clifton to Wichita Falls, where they spent the remainder of their lives. Joseph Kemp had already moved to Wichita Falls in 1883. Kell became the manager of the milling firm, renamed the Wichita Mill and Elevator Company. Despite a fire in 1900, Wichita Mill and Elevator Company managed to augment its daily capacity to a thousand barrels of grain. In 1905, Kell and W. O. Anderson purchased a mill in Vernon to the west of Wichita Falls in Wilbarger County.<ref name=tshao/>​

In 1896, the brothers-in-law Kell and Kemp purchased control of the Wichita Valley Milling Company, and Frank and Lula Kell relocated from Clifton to Wichita Falls, where they spent the remainder of their lives. Joseph Kemp had already moved to Wichita Falls in 1883. Kell became the manager of the milling firm, renamed the Wichita Mill and Elevator Company. Despite a fire in 1900, Wichita Mill and Elevator Company managed to augment its daily capacity to a thousand barrels of grain. In 1905, Kell and W. O. Anderson purchased a mill in Vernon to the west of Wichita Falls in Wilbarger County.<ref name=tshao/>​

 

Kell's Wichita Mill and Elevator Company increased its daily capacity to 3,500 barrels; by 1917, he had 2 million barrels of storage space. In 1918, Kell became the sole owner of the company. Thereafter, a hundred small-town grain elevators were constructed in the general region, and plants were added at [[Waco, Texas|Waco]], [[Amarillo]], [[Oklahoma City]], and Perry, Oklahoma. In 1928, Kell sold the company to General Mills for cash and stock holdings in that corporation.<ref name=tshao/>​

Kell's Wichita Mill and Elevator Company increased its daily capacity to 3,500 barrels; by 1917, he had 2 million barrels of storage space. In 1918, Kell became the sole owner of the company. Thereafter, a hundred small-town grain elevators were constructed in the general region, and plants were added at [[Waco, Texas|Waco]], [[Amarillo]], [[Oklahoma City]], and Perry, Oklahoma. In 1928, Kell sold the company to General Mills for cash and stock holdings in that corporation.<ref name=tshao/>​

​

​

*Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad​

*Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad​

​

​

Collectively, the companies had more than 1,300 miles of track. The Wichita Falls and Northwestern and the Wichita Falls and Southern railroads reached into [[wheat]] and [[coal]]-producing areas. In 1911, the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, also known as "the Katy," purchased from Kemp and Kell the Wichita Falls Railway, which linked Wichita Falls with Henrietta in Clay County.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/eqw14|title=Wichita Falls Railway|publisher=tshaonline.org|accessdate=April 20, 2013}}</ref> Until his death in 1941 at the age of 81, Kell still owned and managed 565 miles of railroad track.<ref name=tshao/> The Wichita Falls and Northwestern operated from 1906 to 1923 from Wichita Falls to Forgan in the Oklahoma Panhandle; it, too, was absorbed by the Katy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/eqw10|title=Donovan L. Hofsommer, "The Wichita Falls and Northwestern Railway"|publisher=tshaonline.org|accessdate=April 21, 2013}}</ref>​

Collectively, the companies had more than 1,300 miles of track. The Wichita Falls and Northwestern and the Wichita Falls and Southern railroads reached into [[wheat]] and [[coal]]-producing areas. In 1911, the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, also known as "the Katy," purchased from Kemp and Kell the Wichita Falls Railway, which linked Wichita Falls with Henrietta in Clay County.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/eqw14|title=Wichita Falls Railway|publisher=tshaonline.org|accessdate=July 10, 2020}}</ref> Until his death in 1941 at the age of 81, Kell still owned and managed 565 miles of railroad track.<ref name=tshao/> The Wichita Falls and Northwestern operated from 1906 to 1923 from Wichita Falls to Forgan in the Oklahoma Panhandle; it, too, was absorbed by the Katy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/eqw10|author=Donovan L. Hofsommer|title=The Wichita Falls and Northwestern Railwaypublisher=tshaonline.org|accessdate=July 10, 2020}}</ref>​

One of Kell's sons-in-law, [[Orville Bullington]], a [[Missouri]] native and lawyer and businessman in Wichita Falls, was the 1932 [[Republican Party|Republican]]  [[Governor|gubernatorial]]nominee. He polled some 38 percent of the [[general election]] vote against the [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] former Governor Miriam Amanda Wallace "Ma" Ferguson (1875-1961), even as President Hoover was crushed in his re-election bid in Texas and nationally.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.texasalmanac.com/politics/gubernatorial.pdf|title=Elections of Texas Governors, 1845–2006|publisher=texasalmananc.com|accessdate=June 11, 2010}}</ref> After Kell's death, Bullington became president of the Wichita Falls and Southern Railroad and was its executive at the time the company was liquidated.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fbu18|title=''The Handbook of Texas'' on-line: Orville Bullington|publisher=tshaonline.org|accessdate=April 16, 2013}}</ref>​

Kell himself was involved with the Republican Party after his son-in-law, Orville Bullington in 1918 left the Democratic Party. In 1922, Kell was among the fundraisers for [[George Peddy]] of Shelby County in East Texas, a former short-term state representative and an assistant district attorney in [[Houston, Texas|Houston]], who became a combination Republican/[[Independent voter|Independent]] candidate for the [[U.S. Senate]].<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=1LV8z4R_6_wC&pg=PA122&lpg=PA122&dq=Frank+Kell+and+the+1920+Republican+presidential+campaign&source=bl&ots=GiAZcdmonF&sig=KqxZ8K2EjajQ6TDAbh6q_2UJn4I&hl=en&sa=X&ei=pXNsUYOnG4LrqQGMwIGwBA&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=Frank%20Kell%20and%20the%201920%20Republican%20presidential%20campaign&f=false|author=Norman D. Brown|title=Hood, Bonnet, and Little Brown Jug: Texas Politics, 1921-1928|page=122|publisher=[[Texas A&M University]] ''Southwestern Studies,'' 1984; ISBN 0-89096-157-3|accessdate=April 16, 2013}}</ref> Peddy, however, was handily defeated by the Democratic nominee, Earle Bradford Mayfield (1881-1964) of Overton, also in East Texas, in the [[general election]] held on November 7. An outgoing member of the Texas Railroad Commission, Mayfield carried the backing of the [[Ku Klux Klan]] and the [[prohibition]] forces. For months thereafter, the election was disputed because of questions over filing deadlines which had forced Peddy to run as a write-in candidate. After a nine-month delay, the Senate awarded the seat to Mayfield, who beat Peddy by a two-to-one margin, an outcome attributed to party loyalty among the state's then large mass of Democratic voters. Mayfield, in turn, was unseated in the 1928 Democratic runoff election by [[U.S. Representative]] [[Tom Connally]], a native of McLennan County.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/contested_elections/103Peddy_Mayfield.htm|title=The Election Case of George E. B. Peddy v. Earle B. Mayfield of Texas (1925)|publisher=senate.gov|accessdate=April 16, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fma91|title=Mayfield, Earle Bradford|publisher=tshaonline.org|accessdate=June 19, 2013}}</ref>​

Prior to 1909, the Kells lived in a residence downtown on Scott Street. They then moved into the Kell House, a two-story Victorian home constructed between 1908 and 1910 at 900 Bluff Street and located just east of the Central Freeway and across from the First [[Southern Baptist|Baptist]] Church in Wichita Falls. Lula Kemp Kell remained in the home until her death in 1957; their only unmarried daughter, Willie May Kell (1888–1980), thereafter lived in the residence until her death, after which time the Wichita County Heritage Society purchased the property and converted it into a museum. The Kell House has unique features, including an elegant spiral staircase to the second floor. A formal parlor on the left side of the lower floor was in use only for a few special days of the year and otherwise closed off; it was opened with full decorations at [[Christmas]] and for weddings and even funerals. Frank Kell himself lay in state in the parlor. The idea of closing off the parlor for most of the year was intended to reinforce its special features. One room contained both a small library and a pool table. The kitchen was modern by the standards of that time. One of the five bedrooms, with a red quilt over the bed, was occupied by the daughter who had become engaged to marry; she would remain there until the day of her wedding. Her sisters, except for Willie May, would follow in line. Three daughters were married in the house; two others were wed in Wichita Falls churches. A fire occurred in one bedroom in the 1970s, but the house was quickly restored.<ref>Stacie Flood, Kell House Museum, "A Tale of Two Houses (The Kell House in Wichita Falls)," West Texas Historical Association, Wichita Falls, Texas, April 5, 2013.</ref>​

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​

In addition to Willie May, the other five daughters were Sadie Kell Bullington (1886–1960), who in 1911 became the first of the daughters to marry in the Kell House formal parlor, Carrie Kell O'Donohoe (1890–1974), Bess Kell Blair (1893–1989), Sibyl Kell Cahoon (1899–1991), and Mary Joe Kell Putty (1906–1981). Twenty years separated the oldest and the youngest Kell children. The one son was Joseph Archibald Kell (1895-1939),<ref name=findgrave>{{cite web|url=http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=19378680|title=Frank Kell (1859–1941)|publisher=findagrave.com|accessdate=July 10, 2020}}</ref> a veteran of World War I who worked with his father in the railroad industry. Joseph Kell was killed in an automobile accident at the age of forty-four. He was married to the former Corinne Jo Sharp (1897–1949), who died at the age of fifty-one. Except for the two youngest daughters, Sibyl and Mary Joe, the other Kell children were born in Clifton, prior to the parents' relocation to Wichita Falls.<ref name=findgrave/>​

In addition to Willie May, the other five daughters were Sadie Kell Bullington (1886–1960), who in 1911 became the first of the daughters to marry in the Kell House formal parlor, Carrie Kell O'Donohoe (1890–1974), Bess Kell Blair (1893–1989), Sibyl Kell Cahoon (1899–1991), and Mary Joe Kell Putty (1906–1981). Twenty years separated the oldest and the youngest Kell children. The one son was Joseph Archibald Kell (1895-1939),<ref name=findgrave>{{cite web|url=http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=19378680|title=Frank Kell (1859–1941)|publisher=findagrave.com|accessdate=July 10, 2020}}</ref> a veteran of World War I who worked with his father in the railroad industry. Joseph Kell was killed in an automobile accident at the age of forty-four. He was married to the former Corinne Jo Sharp (1897–1949), who died at the age of fifty-one. Except for the two youngest daughters, Sibyl and Mary Joe, the other Kell children were born in Clifton, prior to the parents' relocation to Wichita Falls.<ref name=findgrave/>​

 

The Kells and Kemps were [[Presbyterian]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://myfirstpres.org/about-|title=Tenth and Travis 1904-1914|publisher=First Presbyterian Church|location=Wichita Falls, Texas|accessdate=December 7, 2015}}</ref> Frank and Lula Kell and most other family members, except for among others Orville and Sadie Bullington and Frank Kell Cahoon, are interred at Riverside Cemetery in Wichita Falls.<ref name=findgrave/>​

The Kells and Kemps were [[Presbyterian]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://myfirstpres.org/about-|title=Tenth and Travis 1904-1914|publisher=First Presbyterian Church|location=Wichita Falls, Texas|accessdate=December 7, 2015; material no longer accessible on-line}}</ref> Frank and Lula Kell and most other family members, except for among others Orville and Sadie Bullington and Frank Kell Cahoon, are interred at Riverside Cemetery in Wichita Falls.<ref name=findgrave/>​

 

The Kells donated rare books, many on the history and literature of Texas and the Southwest, to the [[University of Texas]] library in [[Austin]]. In 1930, the Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce honored Kell as the "Outstanding Philanthropist" of the community. He is considered a "founding father" of Wichita Falls because of his pioneering work in the oil, railroads, and flour-milling industries.<ref name=tshao/>​

The Kells donated rare books, many on the history and literature of Texas and the Southwest, to the [[University of Texas]] library in [[Austin]]. In 1930, the Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce honored Kell as the "Outstanding Philanthropist" of the community. He is considered a "founding father" of Wichita Falls because of his pioneering work in the oil, railroads, and flour-milling industries.<ref name=tshao/>​