Add this to the list of things I never thought I’d possess: a photograph of my great-grandmother Bessie’s brother, Frank, captured during his adult years.

This photo recently found its way to me, and I recognized Frank Beauchamp instantly, largely due to his visible disability. Grandma Reilly had spoken of her Uncle Frank, recalling the time she lived with him at 7157 S. Carpenter Street in Chicago. She mentioned he had only one leg, but at the time, I didn’t think to ask how he had lost it.

The records, however, provide the context I missed. Frank lost his leg prior to 1917; his World War I draft registration explicitly notes his exemption from service due to “one leg off.”

Frank listed his address as 822 E. 57th Street, the same address his brother-in-law, Harry Firmiss, used on his own registration. It’s a small, reminder of how Bessie and Frank lives were intertwined.

Following Frank through the census records traces a life of transitions. In 1920, he was living at 4459 Calumet Avenue with his sister, Bessie and family. A decade later, the 1930 census finds him as a “lodger” in the home of Thomas and Louise Wright at 3808 Fullerton Avenue [relationship to the Wright family unknown].

Frank’s story ended prematurely at Cook County Hospital on June 30, 1935, at the age of 42. His death certificate cites “Papillary Carcinoma of the Urinary Bladder” and acute urinary retention. His obituary was published in the Chicago Tribune on July 2, 1936.

Frank is buried at St. Mary’s cemetery alongside his mother Stella Beauchamp, and his great-grandniece Colleen Reilly. Having this photograph feels like closing a loop—turning a name on a census form into a person I can finally recognize.