Nicolas Franelich and Laura Franelich, center couple, at their Terminal Grocery in "Old Mobile" around 1909.
This picture was taken in 1909 or earlier. My great-grandparents Papa Nick and Mama Laura are the couple in the center on the sidewalk and my grandmother is the little girl upstairs. The building is their "Terminal Grocery" store, "Terminal Saloon" (lower right corner), and a boarding house they operated upstairs .
According to my grandmother, some of the other people in the picture were employees and customers. The man with the umbrella was a regular customer who my grandmother identified as Mr. ... (I forgot his name) who never went anywhere without his umbrella. My grandmother, the little girl on the balcony, was born October 6, 1900.
Papa Nick expanded his business by opening a billiards and pool establishment across the street at 151 Beauregard St. The Grocery store was at 150 Beauregard St., directly west of the M&O RR Terminal at 110 Beauregard St. These locations are now in the intersection of Water St., Beauregard St. and I 165.
The near beer sign replaced the original Gerst Beer Terminal Saloon sign, indicating this picture was taken after the Alabama 1909 Dry laws. Here is a picture of papa Nick, center, in front of the saloon advertising "Gerst Beer" before 1909. I think the boy on the left is his son Edward.
My grandmother gave me an advertising calendar plate for 1909 which could have represented Papa Nick's last year at that location. Maybe the 1909 Alabama Dry Laws, prohibiting alcohol sales and consumption in the state, caused him to scale back. He continued elsewhere in the neighborhood with the grocery sales only.
This area in northeast Mobile was the first ward. It included the waterfront, railroad yards, shops, a sizable slice of the commercial district, and the "Orange Grove Tract." The "orange grove" was referenced here in an 1815 map before there were buildings north of St. Louis St. My grandmother and others from her era always referred to this area just as "The Grove." I can still hear an expression from her, "Yes, they were a nice family, they came from the grove."
One story passed down by my grandmother, which had to have been told to her by her father, was Geronimo came into Papa Nick's store to shop when he and other Chiricahua Indians were being held at Mt. Vernon Barracks. Geronimo was in Mt. Vernon from 1887 to 1894 and later relocated to Ft. Sill, Oklahoma.
The first record I have of Papa Nick being a grocer and owning his business is in 1897 at 100 Beauregard St. (this was where the new M&O, Mobile & Ohio, railroad terminal is now). The previous M&O railroad terminal was across the street at Beauregard and Royal streets. The last record I have of Papa Nick being employed is as a Clerk at Mobile Stationary Company in 1892. It's possible Geronimo was a customer if Papa Nick opened his store immediately after leaving Mobile Stationary Company.
This site contains historical information and pictures, mostly from the Franelich side of my family.
I attempted to interpret the Franelich side of our family's history and illustrate it as much as I could In this site. I hope you enjoy visiting "Old Mobile" and my family through this site and that you will find the information interesting and helpful. Also see the Franelich chronology.
Through the years I've maintained our family records and the many pictures that were passed down to me from my great-aunt and grandmother. With this site, I would like to share them with everyone; they are also available to view at the Franelich Collection on the Alabama Department of Archives and History Site.
Most of the information contained in these pages came from obituaries, original documents, censuses, city directories and just old fashion story telling, which provided valuable information unavailable in any other context. Inexplicable luck provided information I wasn't searching for while looking for something else. Misspellings are confusing and found everywhere in obits, census reports, directories, and documents.
The information coloring the life around the different periods came from many sources: books, museum publications, old maps, and historical periodicals. And my family, especially my Aunt Beatrice Calametti (Aunt Bea) who clarified many seemingly contradictions and provided so much additional information beyond the questions I asked.
In 2016, several years after I started this site, I gave my collection a permanent home where it will be preserved and displayed at the History Museum of Mobile. Hopefully, my small contribution will provide someone, sometime, information that will answer a question in their search through history.
Although this site is about the Franelich lineage, other names inevitably intertwine. I've placed that information with the relevant person and expanded on it when possible.
This background picture seems appropriate since most of the people mentioned in this site rest here in peace and honor, secure from worldly chances and mishaps. Here lurks no treason, no envy swells, no damned grudges grow, here are no storms, no noise, but silence and eternal sleep, in peace and honor rest you here.
Now, I am old and understand how history merges with life. I think my Great-Aunt Dee Dee would have enjoyed this site and been proud of her contribution.
If you have anything to add or would like to contact me about this site I'm available at resjupiter@gmail.com
I am honored to be the first individual accepted by "Alabama Department of Archives and History" to present their collection.
Alabama Department of Archives and History hosted only institutional collections in the past, but after reviewing my collection, the department agreed to grant me permission to access their server to post the "Franelich Collection," which now can be seen through the ADAH digital collection site.The Alabama Department of Archives and History tells the story of the people of Alabama by digitaly preserving and posting pictures and records of historical value for the purpose of promoting a better understanding of Alabama History.
I would like to thank all the people I've worked with for their technical help and assistance in getting my collection posted as a permanent part of Alabama history.