Frank McCarroll: Cowboy, Actor, Stuntman

1. Introduction: From the Farm to the Silver Screen

Behind the flickering lights of the local cinema and the polished glamour of Hollywood’s Golden Age lies

a foundation built by men who came from the soil. Frank Leo McCarroll was one such man—a titan of the sawdust and the stadium whose life story reads like the ultimate Americana epic. Born on a family farm, McCarroll’s journey from the quiet labor of rural life to the adrenaline-soaked world of the rodeo circuit, and eventually to the high-stakes brawls of the celluloid West, represents a quintessentially American trajectory.

While history books often obsess over the leading men whose names topped the marquee, the Western genre was truly forged by “utility players.” These were the rugged individuals who performed the bone-breaking falls, played the nameless outlaws, and brought an authentic grit to the screen that no acting school could ever hope to replicate. Frank McCarroll was the gold standard for these unsung professionals, a man who conquered two brutal arenas of physical sport before he ever stepped in front of a motion picture camera. 

The Murder of Captain Longmuir

 Captain James Riach Longmuir was the husband of Helen Ord and master of the clipper Rifleman sometime before 1867 until his death in 1872.  On the 28th of December 1872 the Rifleman left London for Australia.  Captain Longmuir had expected the steward of the previous voyage to return with him, but was disappointed, and almost at the last moment reluctantly, we believe, engaged a German, of whose antecedents he had no means of obtaining information.  The new Steward of the vessel signed his name as William Krauss, he was also known as William Cross.

The sworn detailed account, as set forth in the ship's log, is substantially as follows: - On March 16, in lat.31.35 south, long. 34 west., the chief officer, Mr Morgan, had the middle watch, and about 4:30 am the steward brought him a cup of coffee, which he drank, and then walking aft to the compass was told by the helmsman that the crew thought something had been wrong with their grog, as all hands had been vomitting the day before.

Mr Morgan had been thinking over the matter, when the steward came on deck and said that Captain Longmuir wanted him.  He, of course, went below, the steward following.

The Rape and Murder of Ann Milroy

Anna Milroy was born on Valentine's Day in 1927 to Helen and Lester Milroy. A little analysis and speculation suggests that Ann was named for her fathers younger sister Ann who died in 1911 at the age

of 15 when Lester was 12. Three other daughters in that family died young, at ages 2, 20 and 23.

Anna Milroy was working on the farm of Dan Cronin, Jr. in the summer of 1943 anticipating her junior year at Sutton High. She came to town that Saturday evening and was with her sister Wilma and friend Barbara Carl. The girls stopped at the Yost Service Station for gasoline when Anna excused herself to go to the restroom. When she did not return, Wilma and Barbara searched the station but did not find her. They guessed that Anna had found another way home but when they discovered she was not at home on Sunday, they sounded the alarm.
It was not until noon on Monday that Ray Carlson discovered Anna’s nude, battered body in a ditch south of Sutton. A chisel had been driven into her skull. Contemporary accounts placed the location of the body as eighteen miles south of Sutton, but reliable memories put the site as much closer, just a couple of miles south of town.

Goodale Family Murder, Suicide

 After many years of researching family history you're bound to find a few tragedies in the family. Some of the stories are disturbing and I won't go into great detail for those. The first story takes place in England in 1899.

In Twickenham, Middlesex, England on a Saturday morning the 11th of March 1899 Herbert (or Henry) Goodale, who carried on the business of a monumental stonemason, let his workmen in as usual at 6 am and according to some of his men there was nothing unusual in his appearance and he did not appear to be suffering from any excitement.

After many years of researching family history you're bound to find a few skeletons in the family closet.  Some of the stories were very disturbing and I won't go into great detail for those.  The first story takes place in England in 1899.

Herleve of Falaise (1003-1050)

My 26th great aunt.  Her brother Walter de Falaise was my 26th great grandfather.  Herleve 1st married Robert Duke of Normandy.  They had a son named William Duke of Normandy or better known as William the Conqueror.  William would be my 1st cousin 27 times removed.

Converting old 8mm films

I inherited some old 8mm family movies from my mothers side of the family and want to save them for future generations.  In the past I had converted a two minute film from my dad's side of the family from 1958 using some software and a scanner.  This film had my great grandfather, grandparents, parents and aunt and uncle.  It turned out so well I decided to tackle it again.  This time I had six rolls of film.

Since there were more rolls this time I decided to build some additional components to help me out.  I first built a pair of reel holders out of wood with bolts for spindles.  Next I needed a way to advance the film a precise number of frames for each scan.  The one I built moves the film ahead 16 frames for each scan (1 second).  I also needed a gate to keep the film straight and in the same place for each scan.  The gate was built using a plastic ruler and an old plastic CD case which I cut to form a path for the film with a separate piece to hold the film against the glass of the scanner but not block the light or interfere with the image.

More Rogers family located

I was searching through some old Oil City newspapers online when I came across an obituary.  The obituary was for my great uncle Bert Harry Rogers.  To my surprise I discovered that even though he passed away at 24 years of age of TB he had been married and had two sons!  All these years I had thought he was single when he passed away.
The search was on, if he had two sons I wondered if any information about them could be found.  My first search turned up that Bert's first son Bert Jr had passed way in California.  Then I managed to locate his second son, Don.  After some additional digging I was able to locate Don's son.  I managed to find an email address for Don's son and sent an email with some family details.

Next thing I know I had a response and he knew of my great grandfather Frank Rogers!  I was told that his father Don wanted to talk to me so I phoned and we spent more than an hour and a half on the phone.  It was great!  I've since spoken with Bert Jr's son, and Don's children.  The family is alive and well and we have new 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th cousins!