S1E6: Frank Toal - The Irish Wife-Beater

This case is triggering for those who have experienced domestic violence. It involves Frank Toal and his repeated abuse of his wife, Mary Ann Roach.

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Transcript

Today’s case was one I came across when looking through the San Quentin Inmate photo book and this guy caught my attention. He had one eye a little off-kilter and his crime was listed as “Assist to Murder” - well I had to know more. 

But before I start I wanted to spend a few minutes to let everyone listening know that this case may be triggering for domestic violence survivors or families of victims. I don’t into super graphic detail of what happened, but it does involve the abuse of a spouse. 

Since October is Domestic Violence Awareness month, I wanted to make sure that I let anyone who has ever been abused or is currently in an abusive situation know that you are not alone. There is help for you in your community. There are resources to help you leave your situation safely. It is scary, I know. It is risky, but you do not have to be stuck in an abusive relationship. And abuse has many forms - it isn’t just physical. It can be emotional, mental, financial, or sexual abuse. It can be a controlling situation. None of it is ok. If you or someone you know is in danger, please reach out to your local resources (in a safe environment) or call the Domestic Violence National Hotline at 1.800.799.SAFE, that is 1.800.799.7233. 

Now onto the case of Mr. Frank Toal, the Irish blacksmith turned wife beater. 

Frank was born in Ireland in June of 1840 to parents James Toole and Mary, unknown maiden name. The Toal surname is spelled in various ways throughout records. Most of the records regarding his crimes it is spelled T O A L. Other times it is spelled T O L L. Some of the older records, such as his marriage certificate, are spelled T O O L E or TOLE. It's not unusual to see name variants, especially when moving from one country to another. 

Through the testimony Frank gave during his trial, which we will discuss later, he indicated that he came to the United States in 1860. He stated that when he first came to the US he was in Massachusetts and served as an apprentice horseshoer for 3 years. From there he was all over the country, in St. Louis, Missouri, Mexico, California, and Canada. His time in Canada was as a part of the Fenian Raids which were carried out by the Fenian Brotherhood, an Irish Republican organization in the United States whose goal was to bring pressure to Great Britain to withdraw from Ireland. They didn’t achieve their goal btw. From there he went to NY, back to St. Louis, California, Arizona, and then finally landing back in California in Los Angeles. At this point, Frank decided it was time for him to settle down and get married. 

So he called up an old friend (well maybe not called). Frank’s testimony indicated that he and Mary Ann Roach grew up together and were childhood friends. He also indicated that Mary came to the United States prior to him and she was in New York when he reached out to her to come to California. She headed to California and on January 29, 1874, Frank married Mary who was also born in Ireland, in August of 1843 to Michael Roach and Catharine McDonald. She was baptized on August 13, 1843, in Monaghan, Tyholland, Ireland. Frank and Mary Ann married in Los Angeles, California and both sets of parents were witnesses at their wedding. 

Prior to Mary coming to the US, we find that in 1851, her family was living in Staffordshire, England. Mary was 8 years old and she had an older brother Martin and a younger brother Patrick living with the family too.  In the 1861 census, Mary is not found with her family and they are still located in Staffordshire, England. 

Researching Mary Ann was tougher than I thought it would be because there are a lot of Mary Ann Roaches! I thought with that surname it would be a little easier. I was wrong. I had to dig through a lot of information to determine which Mary Ann Roach was mine. I found one that was being treated for pneumonia at a facility in London in 1861. Not my Mary. I found one that married in London in 1865 but not my Mary. 

Based on the testimony from Frank, he stated Mary had come to the US prior to him and he came to the US in 1860, so through the process of elimination those other Mary Ann Roach’s couldn’t be mine. Oddly enough, the one who married in 1865 has her father listed as Michael Roach and a witness as Patrick Roach so that made it even more confusing. Welcome to genealogy research. 

Moving forward in time, Frank and Mary have 2 children, Francis Jr born in 1877, and Clara, born in 1879, ages 3 and 1 in 1880. Frank’s brother Andrew is living with them in 1880 in Los Angeles and he is also a horseshoer. There is no 1890 census available but luckily Frank was an active voter and registered every year to vote, so we know he is still in Los Angeles. 

The first account of assault found in newspaper articles was in July of 1879 with the People v. Frank Toal case. The trial was held before the Mayor but no follow-up on the outcome of this case. The assumption is he was discharged or he served a short sentence as he is in trouble again a few months later. In November, Frank is charged with assault with intent to murder and given a $1,000 bail. His trial was held on November 26th and the next day the verdict was read: Not Guilty. It seems this case was an assault on another man, where Frank bit a piece of the man’s chin and assaulted him with a horseshoe. 

Frank was arrested in June of 1882 for drunkenness and disturbing the peace, starting a trend of his drunken behavior shown for years in the papers. 

The first known confirmed case of assault on Mary Toal, per what I found in newspapers, was in August of 1882. One of the articles was titled “At it Again” implying this was not the first time, but I couldn’t find anything prior in the papers except that case from July 1879 which we don’t know who was involved. In this case, on the night of August 14th, the neighbors called the police after Frank assaulted Mary. She was able to get away and Frank barricaded himself when the police arrived, assaulted the police officer, and got away and then was arrested later that night at his shop. He plead guilty. His sentence? $50 and 100 days in county jail. On August 26, Mary filed for divorce and a few weeks later in September, though she was still seriously ill from the assault, withdrew the suit because Frank promised to stop drinking. 

Seems the cycle of abuse is not a modern-day concept - it clearly existed in the 1880s. Abuse, apologize, promise to change, get back together, and then the cycle happens again. 

And again it happened. There is a case of People v Toal in November 1883 but was discharged. No details on this case are given.  It didn’t take long for Frank to get into trouble again, when we find him arrested in December 1884 after a warrant was issued for the attempted murder of his wife. He was drunk when he was arrested. The details of what happened, in this case, are not clear because he was arrested again in the spring of 1885 for the same thing. 

The details of the case are graphic so I won’t go into super detail, but you can read the newspaper articles if you want to know more. An article from August 1885, when the trial was occurring, states that Frank was known for the last 3 years for being the “most fiendish wife-beater and assaulter in the city”.  Such abuse includes chopping her with a hatchet, stabbing her, kicking her, hitting her with clubs, trying to shoot her, and pouring boiling water over her head. 

Mary had finally had enough and left in the spring of 1885, taking her children to a safe place in the home of John Cabos and his family. Frank came there after her and the kids so she had her attorney file for a restraining order, which she was granted. Frank ignored the order and came around again on May 29th, pestering Mary and he was apparently drunk. He finally left around dinnertime but came back that night around 11 pm. He crawled through the window of the room she was in with her children and he dragged her out of bed by the hair into the yard. He took out a pocket knife with a large blade and started to hack away at his wife. He inflicted 16 ghastly wounds to Mary on her head, neck, and face before John Cabos struck Frank in the head. He told police on the way to jail that he had meant to kill his wife. 

One of the cuts to Mary was 4 inches wide and 2 inches deep on the back of her neck. The reporter described her wounds as if her head would fall off if lifted. The images that pop into my head make me shudder with angst for her and disgust for him. 

Frank pleaded not guilty and was given an $8,000 bail which he could not pay. The next day he changed his plea to Guilty and his attorney argued that his client didn’t intend to kill his wife and that he was drunk and didn’t know what he was doing. Witnesses were called and Mary Toal testified and stated that she and Frank had been married for 12 years and have 4 children, ages 8, 6, 4, and 23 months. While the judge didn’t allow his drunk behavior as an excuse, he did give him a lower sentence since he pled guilty, the judge gave him 5 years in San Quentin. 

For reference, a few hours before in the same court, another man was sentenced to 8 years for burglary and stealing some stamps. Had this gone to trial, the maximum Frank could have been given would have been 14 years. Seems the imbalance of punishment vs the crime was a problem back then too. 

Frank was received into San Quentin on September 5, 1885 at the age of 45. He is listed as 5 foot 6 ⅞ inches tall with blue eyes and gray hair. Not only was his sentence extremely light, but 2 years and 2 months later he was pardoned by Governor Waterman and discharged on November 24, 1887! I couldn’t find anything in the source materials as to why the governor decided that Frank Toal was a good candidate for pardon, which makes zero sense to me. 

At the time of his release, it is unclear where Mary was but they were still married. She had filed for divorce again sometime prior to 1888 because in January, it was reported that the divorce case was dismissed by the parties. We know they are together again, because in April of 1888, he once again assaults Mary with a knife but is not charged until October of that year for the crime of assault to murder, 2nd offense. In November, he failed to appear in court and a bench warrant was issued. The trial is set for January 1889. 

This time, their 12 year old son, Frank Jr. witnessed the brutality of his father upon his mother though I am sure this wasn’t the first time. He was a witness for the prosecution against his father. Mary didn’t want the charges to go forward against her husband or her son to have to testify so she sent him away. The authorities however found him and brought him back to Los Angeles. This poor kid witnessed something devastating and what do they do to make sure he doesn’t run off again? They incarcerate him in the common jail with all sorts of criminals for 2 to 3 weeks until he is compelled to give testimony!  His testimony was heartbreaking, saying that after his father ran after his mother, he followed as well because he was afraid he would hurt his mom. Frank was stabbing Mary in the neck and breast, pulling her by the hair as young Frank begged his father to stop. At last, his father stopped. 

Mary testified and gave all the blame to herself, as victims often do, even in 1889. Frank took the stand and said the same things that Mary did, essentially blaming her for what happened. In July of 1889, the jury came back with a verdict and found Frank guilty; he was sentenced to 10 years. 

Shortly after, a motion was filed and it appears Frank appealed his conviction. The premise was that the Police Courts were illegal per the state code and in February of 1890, the California State Supreme Court found that the court in which Frank Toal was tried was in fact illegal. In August of 1890, the state supreme court reaffirmed that the police courts in Los Angeles were unconstitutional. 

Frank, I believe, had been in county jail after his conviction and on March 1, 1890, he was sent to Folsom State Prison. In the prison record book, it is noted that on March 20, 1890, Frank was taken out on certificate of probable cause. In basic terms, this indicates that an attempt to bring an appeal is not frivolous. He was granted a rehearing and was placed back in county jail while waiting. In August, when the supreme court reaffirmed the decision, the previous judgment was reversed.  

He is found in the papers in 1891 for a building permit so clearly, he was free again. It is unclear why he was not retried in the proper court for his crimes, but once again Frank Toal has gotten away with light punishment for his horrible crimes. 

On June 5, 1892 tragedy strikes as Frank Jr is killed after being kicked by a horse in the stomach. 

Unfortunately for Mary Ann and her kids, the violence doesn’t end. In 1894 Frank is once again arrested and charged with assault with intent to murder Mary. She is listed as ex-Mrs. Toal in several newspaper articles but no sources showing they ever divorced. This time, he tried to kill her with a gun but his shots missed her. The DA withdrew the assault to murder charge and gave Frank a lesser charge of assault with a deadly weapon, which Frank pleaded guilty to. When the judge asked him why the court shouldn’t pass judgment on him, he actually had the gall to narrate a sad story about how his life has been nothing but trials because of his habitually drunk wife who took him from affluence to poverty.  

To give you a visual, I am doing a severe eye roll right now. 

While the judge gives him crap and says, if she is so bad then why don’t you stay away from her and then says to Frank that if he thought Frank had the strength to stay away from her, he would make his sentence lighter. Frank of course says he will. (insert another eye roll). After decades of abuse by this man, what does the judge do? Gives him 60 days in county jail. 

To say this case has emotionally and mentally exhausted me would be an understatement. This tall tale is not quite over. In 1902, we find that Governor Gage had appointed Frank to a state position as a member of the board of trustees over the Highland’s Asylum. Yep, you heard that right. He was placed in this position because of his ability to “do politics”. 

To wrap up this episode, let me tell you what ultimately happened to Mary Ann and Frank Toal. After 1902, Frank is only found in the newspapers for real estate deals. No more mention of abuse or getting into trouble. Could have happened and just not made the papers or perhaps Frank reformed himself? I highly doubt he did but…

Mary Ann is found at the Home for the Aged in Los Angeles, which she entered when she was 62. She died there on August 9, 1912, of a cerebral hemorrhage. She is listed as married. She was buried at Calvary Cemetery. 

Frank died 10 years later on March 28, 1922, also of a cerebral hemorrhage and he is listed as widowed. He had been sick for almost 4 years at the LA County Hospital. He is also buried at Calvary Cemetery. 

Their lives were anything but a fairy tale, but I hope that Mary found some peace towards the end of her life and I pray she is resting in peace. Without Frank. 

Until next time my criminal genies, remember, the records don’t lie but your ancestors might...