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from Past and Present of Mahaska County, Iowa by Manoah Hedge The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. 1906
Professor Frank W. Else, superintendent of the city schools of Oskaloosa since July, 1905, and well known in educational circles in Iowa, was born in Mahaska county, November 5, 1871, a son of J. J. and Susanna (Gearhart) Else, natives of Ohio and Kentucky respectively. The Else family come of Scotch Irish origin but later generations of the family were residents of England, whence the first American ancestor came to the new world. The name of Whittaker originated in England and in the maternal line Professor Else is descended from that ancestry. Prior to their marriage the parents of our subject became residents of Mahaska county and following their marriage they took up their abode in Madison township, where Mr. Elsie has resided for more than a half century. His life has been devoted to general agricultural pursuits but he is now living retired. In 1873 he was called upon to mourn the loss of his first wife, who died at the age of thirty three years. He afterward married Mrs. Jennie Green. By the first marriage there were born six children, of whom five are living: William, a resident of Kansas; Lewis, at home; Cora, the wife of B. F. Shoemake, of Oskaloosa; Fred, of Madison township: and Frank W. In the public schools of Oskaloosa Professor Else began his higher education, passing through successive grades of the high school until he had completed the course with the class of 1891. After teaching school one year he attended Penn College, from which he was graduated in 1896 and then spent one year at Haverford. Later he pursued a professional course in the State Normal School. During his course in Penn College he was editor and manager of the college paper. In the meantime he had taken up the profession of teaching which he first followed in the district schools, while from 1897 until 1899 he was principal of the Webster School in Oskaloosa. In the latter year he accepted the superintendency of the schools of Mount Pleasant, where he remained for six years, and in July, 1905, he was called to the superintendency of the city schools of Oskaloosa. In 1899 Professor Else was married to Miss Mary Himes, a daughter of D. A. and Anna (Dixon) Himes, of this county. They have one child, Dorothy Anna. The parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and are prominent socially. Professor Else belongs to the Masonic fraternity. He has great zeal and interest in his work and believes in maintaining a high standard of scholarship. He is constantly seeking out new methods for the improvement of the schools that the work of public instruction shall be effective as a preparation for life's practical and responsible duties. He has become recognized as one of the strong and able educators of Iowa and under his guidance the schools of Oskaloosa are making substantial progress.
Past and Present of Mahaska County, Iowa
Mahaska County, Iowa Genealogy