Frank Williams shows us an exercise in transgender self-creation. He spun elaborate stories about his own life that are as delightful as they are fabricated. We cannot know how much of his history he made up for himself. There were certainly some kernels of truth in his tales that reporters confirmed. Some of his contradictions are small, like his exact age. Others are large, like the actual jobs he worked.
One of the beautifully (and perhaps offensively) illustrated articles about Frank (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Apr 23, 1905). This is also one of the many instances of “girl-boy” I found being used to describe trans boys. Sometimes this was used as a self-description and other times it was a pejorative term.
I hope we can bring back newspaper illustrations someday. These are delightful! From Valley Spirit, Mar 29, 1905, page 7.
One of the hotels Frank claimed to have worked in, c. 1905.
Inside the Grand Hotel’s lobby, c. 1920s.
A photo of Frank before he transitioned. I always debate including pre-transition photos in any type of publication, online or in print. I will only release this one for researchers who might want to glean information from it (The Boston Globe, Mar 15, 1905, page 6).
Was William Francis Bushnell our Frank Williams? I searched through hundreds of yearbook pages from the schools and colleges Frank claimed to have attended. William, here, appears to be the closest match to Frank, and does visually match Frank’s appearance and dress (not to mention that they share a name). However, I cannot confirm that this is the same person and excluded William him from the book.
Another 1903 yearbook photo of William, second from right, top row.
After reading this yearbook poem, I truly hope it was him.
