8 The Francis A. Drexel Family 
To the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, Francis An­ 
thony Drexel from now on is the focus of attention; 
before Francis Martin Drexel however fades out of the 
picture completely let us state briefly that after establish­ 
ing a banking house in San Francisco, he returned in 1856 
to Philadelphia to his banking house there. In June 1863 
Francis Martin Drexel went to Pottstown on some busi­ 
ness matter. On his return, just before alighting from the 
train he handed a package of valuable papers to a boy to 
hold for him. Stepping down and attempting to take the 
papers at the same time, he slipped, was thrown under 
the wheels of the moving train, and so seriously injured 
he died the following night, June 6, 1863. 
The two sons, Francis and Anthony, continued to build 
up the security of their banks. It has been stated that 
while Anthony was virtually the head of the Drexel firms, 
it was the conservative instinct and keenness of mind 
inherited by Francis from his father, which held in check 
the more venturesome instinct of Anthony. The biog­ 
raphy of Francis Anthony Drexel during his youth and 
early manhood is epitomized in the development of the 
work his father had established. Under him the firm grew 
and flourished and became a household word in the busi­ 
ness and financial circles of Philadelphia.