Frank West

Frank West was husband of Rose Elliott and father of Leslie and Kenneth.

Early life
Frank was born in late 1830s or early 1840s in Four Winds, Prince Edward Island.

"He was clever and shiftless - just like a man. Oh, he had heaps of brains - and much good they did him!"

- Cornelia Bryant about Frank.

He studied for a teacher and then went to college for two years. Then his heath broke down. He came home, started farming and married Rose Elliot from over harbor in 1861.

Marriage with Rose
"Frank was no hand to work, so they were poor as Job's turkey. Poor! They lived on potatoes and point, believe me."

- Miss Cornelia about Frank and Rose's marriage.

Frank's first child, Leslie, was born in 1862. She was his favorite and she was awful fond of him. They were 'chums', as she used to say. She couldn't see any of his faults.

Kenneth, his only son, was born in 1866, four years after Leslie. In 1874 he died. He fell off a big load of hay just as it was going into the barn, and the wheel went right over his little body and crushed the life out of it.

Life after Kenneth's death
"Frank West began to go down after Kenneth's death. He wasn't strong and it was a shock to him, because he was real fond of the child, though, as I've said, Leslie was his favorite. He got mopy and melancholy, and couldn't or wouldn't work."

- Miss Cornelia about Frank's life after Kenneth's death.

Death
In 1876 two years after Kenneth's death, Frank hanged himself in the middle of the parlor from the lamp hook in the ceiling. It was the anniversary of his wedding day. Poor Leslie had to be the one to find him. She went into the parlor that morning, singing, with some fresh flowers for the vases, and there she saw her father hanging from the ceiling, his face as black as a coal.

At his funeral Rose whooped and howled for two, however, and Leslie had all she could do trying to calm and comfort her mother. They buried Frank beside Kenneth, and Rose put up a great big monument to him.

"It was bigger than his character, believe me! Anyhow, it was bigger than Rose could afford, for the farm was mortgaged for more than its value."

- Miss Cornelia about Frank's monument.

Appearance

 * Anne's House of Dreams (first appearance, mentioned only)