He served on several powerful boards in the city and contributed to the original Parliament of the World's Religions, which was an attempt to create a global dialogue of faiths.

Bartlett was a director of the First National Bank, Liverpool and London and Globe Insurance Company, a member of the Chicago Board of Education, trustee of Beloit College, University of Chicago, president of the Home for the Friendless, vice-president of the Old People's Home, and a director of the Art Institute.

In 1863, at the age of nineteen, Bartlett moved to Chicago and took the position of office boy for Tuttle, Hibbard & Company, a wholesale hardware business.

He also developed an organized sales force and handled every order that the company received, keeping a meticulous record in a ledger complete with all correspondence with buyers.

[6] It was Bartlett's persuasive letter writing style which convinced suppliers to maintain their relationship with the company during the reconstruction.

After fully recovering, the company continued to grow and in 1877 began to offer profit sharing to all members of the firm, increasing its overall value.

By taking on this role within the company, Bartlett achieved the ultimate "rags to riches" scenario, from sweeping floors to managing a worldwide corporation.

[8] The son of a sawmill operator turned school teacher, Bartlett was an only child and learned to appreciate his prosperity as he grew older.

[11] During his marriage to Abbey, Bartlett had Howard Van Doren Shaw secretly construct a summer home in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

Frank Dickinson Bartlett died of appendicitis while traveling in Munich, Bavaria, July 15, 1900, at the age of twenty.

Bartlett was appointed to the board of trustees during the inaugural meeting for the incorporation of The Orchestral Association which was held at the Chicago Club on December 17, 1890.