New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-10-16
faint Of INSANITY IN
!, SCHRANKIS RELATIVES
Father Died from Nervous
Breakdown and Aunt Was
- Likewise Afflicted.
LIGHT ON EARLY LIFE
Woman Tells About the Odd
Actions of Schrank at Death
Jay Of Uncle, with Whom
He Lived.

Both the father and the aunt Of John
schrank were afflicted with intense
nervousness and had been considered by
those who knew them as on the verge OF
insanity, according to information OBJ
tanned yesterday by The Tribune. AL
: though John schrank has long been con-
sidered sn extremely morbid and nervous
young man all who knew him spoke Of
their great surprise on hearing that Ire
: had gone so far as TO attempt murder
N About thirty-slx years ago, John Schrank
@was brought to this country by his uncle
tn-law Domlnick Flammang, and his
= aunt, Anna. John was then nine years
Sold. He was an orphan, his father, after
"whom the boy was named, having been
e6rewer In the little town Of Edding
EBavaria, near Munich. The uncle brought
with him sufficient money with which to
buy a saloon al No $50 East 10th street.
Ns For twelve years they lived there. The
.s'aunt spent her time keeping tidy the
apartments upstairs, while the uncle ana
The boy took care of the saloon below
Effrom information II was gathered that
the boy did little but attend TO few
enght and inconsequential Jobs In the
saloon proper He had always been
ssiekTy, weak and morbid and had never
~eaosen to form friendships with other
ebuys. When the days work came to an
+end John Schrank joined his aunt and
Puncie IN their sitting room over the sa-
loon and listened to their conversation
q or now and then read stray chapters
OF novels that lay about the table He
seldom mustered, it was said, sufficient
n than
-a.-chapter or 90 at a time. BY 10 o'clock
he could always be found in his bed I
Aunt Beaan to Act Queeriy.
E.'In the summer Of the year 1907, the
Sannt, nearing her siXty-second year. De-
ycante sickly, nervous and fSgety. She
1soon declared that she wished to have
nothing TO do with even the few acquaint-
ances that formerly had called upon her.
and so locked herself in her rooms during
the daytime 1t was whispered that she
-auarrelled with her husband According
10 those who lived near them, however
she showed more and more affection for
her sickly nephew, John. Together they
spent hours reading or whispering TO each
other and at night would retire early
Soon her nerves seemed to give way COM
pletely. and her husband and nephew
we're forced to have her sent to the Pres
byterian Hospital, where she died on
November Is, 1907. She was the sister
II John Schrank. the Bavarian brewer
and father OF the sickly John, who at
empted to take the life Of Colonel Roose-
'elt ~ g..
-<On the death of his wife the uncle
lold his saloon TO a German friend and
.etired from business. He and his nephew
hen moved into apartments In small
house in East 18th street near First ave-
nue.. The old uncles health began TO
fail, and he took his nephew into more
spacious apartments at No. 433 East Sst
street, where they lived until the old man
died. II was at this time, 1t was said !
,that the uncle explained to John that his
father had died as the result Of nervous
breakdown much as had his Aunt Anna.
Woman Tells Of sehrank.
John schranks uncle died on February
3. 1911, when nearly seventy-four years
old. He had explained to his nephew that !
ne wished 70 be cremated and TO have
~ his ashes buried in the grave Of his wife, |
I'm Evergreen Cemetery, In Brooklyn. |
schrank then ordered that Mrs. Margaret
Daseking, who ran her husbands under
taking establishment at No. S6S 10Th
Street next door to the house at No. $40. !
where John and his uncle and aunt had
hfrst lived in this country, take charge
1of; the cremation. Mrs. Daseking carried
,out his orders. At this point Mrs. Dase-
king may well tell a part OF the story.
The young man was terribly nervous"
she said. at the funeral of HIS uncle |
he walked UP and down the floor 50 fast
and SO many times my men could barely
attend TO the funeral He talked and
..pUttered away, to himself and then
walked and walked and walked, just IS
2Af he were going TO fly, until when the
embalmer came he had TO order the
nephew from the house. He got him 20
nervous the embalmer couldn't work, you
see.
We'll, and then the old man was ere
mated, and I brought mis- ashes down 10
my place, and here they are now And
about two weeks later John Schrank
came down to me in my oflce, and he
says he will pay the bill, and straightway |
he does pay it, But he never says any
thing about them ashes, and here they are
right here now.
When I was gettin him his change he }
lust walked up and down and up and
down and kept a-mumblin TO himself, !
like ne was holding conversation, And
then he walks out
Schrank Sued His Employers.
Schrank lived IN Brooklyn for more than !
a month. In the early part Of this year.
He was employed as a porter and lunch |
man in the cafe owned by Edward Haher-
stroh and Theodore Thumann, at No 2i6
Flatbush avenue. Schrank was first en-
ployed as porter, holding that place for
three weeks during January. He then.
became the lunchman OF the place. He
quit after a week and day OF service |
at THE place. demanding a fun weeks /
pay for the one day he worked In the sec |
ond week.
When the salary was refused him he !
brought suit In the Second Municipal |
Court The summons was Issued against ]
the co-partners on March I, was returned .
March l4f..aBd the case was tried on :
March Is. The pay Schrank demanded |
was ST. The case was tried before Judge 4
Jacob H. Strahl, who decided in favor OF I
The clerk OF the Second Municipal /
Couri said that Schrank had obtained a
free summons by declaring under oath |
that he was worth less than 500. The ad-
addreHsshc gave or the summons was No.
1855 Canal street. Manhattan, the address
az hotel and oafE
Theodore Thumann said last night: |