|
|
|
Photo
of the Month |
The oldest family grave in Western Pennsylvania was re-discovered this summer -- in a small private cemetery near Farmington, just a few hundred yards from the entrance to Wharton Township Park along Route 381 South. The well-preserved stone, dated April 2, 1852, marks the grave of Jonathan Smalley Minerd, who died two days after his third birthday, the son of Samuel and Rebecca (Smalley) Minerd. The father later gained fame in the early 1870s when he ran the renowned Fayette Springs resort near Chalk Hill, Fayette County. In the 1880s, Jonathan's parents and siblings left the region and moved to Kansas, where they were pioneer coal miners of the Pittsburg, KS area.
Copyright © 2000 Mark A. Miner