Frank F. Bumps

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Frank F. Bumps
BornJune 21, 1861
Bangor, Maine
DiedJuly 8, 1914(1914-07-08) (aged 53)
Detroit
CitizenshipUnited States
Alma materUniversity of Michigan
OccupationAttorney
Years active1892-1914
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Edith L. Knapp

Frank F. Bumps (June 21, 1861 – July 18, 1914) was an American attorney. He was one of the most prominent attorneys in Detroit from 1898 until his death in 1914. He also played American football as a forward on the undefeated 1885 and 1886 Michigan Wolverines football teams.

Early years[]

Bumps was born in 1861 in Bangor, Maine. As a boy of approximately 12 years, he moved with his family to Muskegon, Michigan. He enrolled at the University of Michigan in 1881 and, after missing two years due to illness, graduated from the Literary Department in 1887 with a Ph.B. degree.[1] While attending the university, he played at the forward position on the undefeated 1885 and 1886 Michigan Wolverines football teams.[2][3] While at Michigan, he was also a champion wrestler, a sprinter on the track team, and a member of the baseball team.[1]

After receiving his degree, he taught school in Bancroft and Corunna, Michigan.[4]

Legal career[]

Bumps later studied law in the office of Judge S.S. Miner. He was admitted to practice as an attorney in 1892 and served as a circuit court commissioner in Shiawassee County and city attorney for Owosso, Michigan.[4] In 1898, he moved to Detroit.[1] He served as the First Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in Wayne County for five years commencing in 1901. He later practiced in partnership with Matthew H. Bishop, became one of Detroit's most prominent criminal attorneys, and tried some of the city's most famous cases.[4][5] Bumps' prominent cases included:

  • In 1904, after a five-week trial, he won the conviction of Emil Waltz for the murder of a young boy, Alphonse Welmes.[1][5][6]
  • In 1905, he prosecuted Rose Barron, an elderly woman accused of serving biscuits poisoned with arsenic to multiple occupants at the Alhambra Apartments, resulting in the death of a baby.[4] The Barron trial received detailed daily coverage for more than two weeks in the Detroit press.[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] It ended with a hung jury.[19]
  • He conducted the grand jury investigation into the Department of Public Works.[5]
  • In 1909, he defended Dr. Garabed K. Boyajian in two trials on charges of murdering his nephew. Boyajian admitted the killing but claimed he had been rendered temporarily insane on hearing from his wife that the deceased was a fiend who had victimized her.[4][20][21][22][23] The first trial resulted in a hung jury,[24] and the second in an acquittal after seven weeks.[1] The Detroit Free Press described the trial as "thrilling and dramatic" and credited Bumps for the outcome: "The defendant's case seemed hopeless as far as acquittal was concerned, yet Mr. Bumps by his clever questioning of witnesses and by a stirring closing address acquitted his client."[25]

In 1912, he ran unsuccessfully for Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney.[5] Bumps was a member of the Detroit Board of Commerce and a sergeant in the Michigan National Guard.[4]

Family and death[]

In 1893, Bumps married Edith L. Knapp. They had three daughters, Dorothy, Francis, and Marjorie.[4] They were divorced in 1904.[26] He died in 1914 at age 53 at Harper Hospital in Detroit. The cause of death was peritonitis.[4]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e Paul Leake (1912). History of Detroit, Volume II. Lewis Publishing. p. 604-605.
  2. ^ "1885 Football Team". Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  3. ^ "1886 Football Team". Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h "Frank F. Bumps, Noted In State As Attorney, Is Dead". Detroit Free Press. July 9, 1914. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b c d "Frank F. Bumps Republican Candidate for Prosecuting Attorney". Detroit Free Press. August 25, 1912. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "To Prison For Life: Emil Waltz Was Convicted and Sentenced". Detroit Free Press. March 18, 1904. pp. 1, 4.
  7. ^ "Mrs. Barron's Trial Begun". Detroit Free Press. April 27, 1905. p. 5.
  8. ^ "Testified as to Illness". Detroit Free Press. April 28, 1905. p. 5.
  9. ^ "Defense Hit Hard: Prosecution Scored in Barron Case". Detroit Free Press. May 2, 1905. p. 1.
  10. ^ "Collapsed on Stand: Mrs. Clayton Broke Down at Barron Trial". Detroit Free Press. May 3, 1905. pp. 1, 9.
  11. ^ "Doctors, Lawyers: They Held Stage in Barron Trial Yesterday". Detroit Free Press. May 4, 1905. pp. 1, 3.
  12. ^ "Bought Arsenic: Rose Barron Wanted It To Kill Rats". Detroit Free Press. May 5, 1905. pp. 1, 3.
  13. ^ "Mrs. Barron on Stand". Detroit Free Press. May 7, 1904. pp. 1, 6.
  14. ^ "Blow for Defense: Prosecutor Administered It in Barron Case". Detroit Free Press. May 9, 1905. pp. 1, 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Bad Day for the Defense: Theories of Mrs. Barron's Attorneys Upset". Detroit Free Press. May 10, 1905. pp. 1, 3.
  16. ^ "Now Faces the Crisis: Rose Barron's Trial Is Nearing Its End". Detroit Free Press. May 11, 1905. pp. 1, 3.
  17. ^ "Host of Women in Gay Attire". Detroit Free Press. May 12, 1905. p. 12.
  18. ^ "Woman Wept Bitterly". Detroit Free Press. May 13, 1905. p. 12.
  19. ^ "Failed To Agree: Jury in Rose Barron Case Discharged". Detroit Free Press. May 14, 1905. pp. 1, 6.
  20. ^ "Boyajian's Sister Accuses Her Nephew". Detroit Free Press. May 27, 1909. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "Frenzied By Story, Boyajian Goes Wild". Detroit Free Press. July 4, 1909. p. 1.
  22. ^ "Sure Doctor Was Crazed". Detroit Free Press. July 3, 1909. p. 1.
  23. ^ ""Gostanian Annoyed By Mrs. Boyajian"". Detroit Free Press. July 14, 1909. p. 1.
  24. ^ "Boyajian Jurors Ask To Be Discharged; Hopeless". Detroit Free Press. July 17, 1909. p. 1.
  25. ^ "Frank F. Bumps". Detroit Free Press. May 3, 1911. p. 35 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ "Wants Bump's Coin: Wife of Assistant Prosecutor After $400 Alimony". Detroit Free Press. January 26, 1906. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
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