Francis James Connelly (also spelled Conley) was born in Lisbon Falls, Maine, 22 August 1894.

The youngest of three sons of James Edward Conley and Anna May [Dickinson] Conley. Frank's father, a Paper Maker, died in February 1894 before Frank was born. His mother died in 1909, and the three brothers were separated to live with various relatives of their mother, although they lived in the same general area around Lisbon Falls, Maine.

In July 1915 Frank's brother, Charles, enlisted with the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force, listing Frank as his next-of-kin.

Frank was working in St Louis, MO for the U.S. Department of the Interior, General Land Office when he entered the Army Officer Reserve Corps. There are photos of Frank apparently training with the U.S. 17th Aero Squadron at Hicks Field, San Antonio, TX in 1917. In September-November 1917 we believe he trained in Canada, and we speculate he received initial flight training at Taliaferro Field in Texas. On 8 January 1918 he was transferred to the United States Air Service (USAS) which was the precursor of the Army Air Corps. Inferences from a letter written to his mother and reported in the Kennebec Daily Journal newspaper (12 Jul 1918) tell us that Frank attended Gunnery training ("aerial fighting instruction") while in Scotland with the Canadian Air Squadrons (the U.S. did not have enough air warfare training opportunities for pilots at that point.)

He was a member of the Toronto Group, and his service record showed that he began his overseas assignment on 8 January 1918, and was killed in action on 18 July 1918. Frank was only on the front lines for three weeks when he flew his first and only combat mission. His plane failed to return. The circumstances of his death are not known.

Frank left a widow, Hazel Mary [Tucker] Connelly Dubose of St. Louis, Missouri. They were married 17 Feb 1917 in Texas (Source: Maryland Catholics on the Frontier: The Missouri and Texas Settlements, by Timothy O'Rourke, Brefney Press ([Parsons? Kan.]), 1973, p. 355 and The San Antonio Light newspaper, Feb 16, 1917 Marriage License Francis J. Connelly and Hazel M. Tucker.)