Frank Somers Papers
Scope and Content
This collection contains a variety of materials. There are photos of Mr. and Mrs. Somers at various events or world sites. Newspaper clippings follow Mr. Somers during his time as mayor of Dayton. Even after his death in 1978, Mrs. Somers stayed involved with the Dayton community and there is some material about her activities. The other half of this collection talks about the Somers' world travels and their activities.
Series I, General Information, is separated into two major sections: Family and Political Career. The Family section contains information about some of Mr. Somers's family, Mrs. Somers, and himself. There are some items that relate to his pre-political career as well. In the Political Career section, there is a biographical sketch of Mr. Somers as well as information regarding his political career as mayor and his interest in the Sister Cities Program.
Series II, Travels, consists of photo albums and souvenir books from his Middle Eastern and European travels in 1964 and 1965, respectfully. It also covers his activities while abroad.
Dates
- Creation: 1860-1981
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1958-1965
Creator
- Somers, Frank, 1897-1978 (Person)
Language of Materials
The records are in English, German, Hebrew, and Russian.
Restrictions on Access
There are no restrictions on accessing materials in this collection.
Restrictions on Use
Copyright restrictions may apply. Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.
Biography of Frank Somers
Frank R. Somers was born in Brookville, Ohio, in 1897. He attended Otterbein College, Miami University, and graduated from Ohio State University. His wife, the former Katherine Graff Hankee, worked with him and was also active in Dayton civic affairs. Mr. Somers founded the Certified Public Accounting firm of Somers and Vallo. He served for two years as president of the Dayton Chapter of the Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants.
Mr. Somers was elected to the Dayton City Commission during the city elections on November 5, 1957. He was an early advocate of expanding the city commission powers. He served as mayor of Dayton from 1962 until 1965, after which he declined to run again.
While serving as major, Mr. Somers fostered the Sister City Program between Dayton and Augsburg, West Germany. He also visited Berlin, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Cairo, Beirut, Madrid, Warsaw, Belgrade, and Moscow. He felt that such visits were important to expand people-to-people contacts. In 1965 Mr. Somers received a plaque from the late President Eisenhower in honor of his fostering the Sister City Program.
Frank Somers died in Dayton, Ohio, in 1978.
Extent
2 linear feet
Abstract
Frank Somers served as the mayor of Dayton, Ohio from 1962-1965. Before and after his political career, he and his wife were involved in Dayton civic affairs. The papers of Frank Somers cover the political life of Frank Somers approximately from the years 1958 to 1966 as well as family information and world travels.
Statement of Arrangement
This collection consists of two series:
- Series I: General Information
- Series II: Travels
Acquisition Information
This collection was donated to the Wright State University Special Collections and Archives on April 6, 1979 by Frank Somers widow, Mrs. Katherine Somers.
Subject
- Somers, Frank, 1897-1978 (Person)
Geographic
Topical
- Title
- Guide to the Frank Somers Papers (MS-86)
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Judith McCune, May 26, 1981
- Date
- 2015
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- October 2012: The finding aid was reformatted and additions to the collection were incorporated by Victoria Penno.
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections Repository
Wright State University Libraries
Special Collections and Archives
3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy
Dayton OH 45435-0001 USA
937-775-2092
library-archives@wright.edu
