Coal mine at Republic, PA, a center for union organizing activity in  the 1930s, one of hundreds of images added to Minerd.com in 2006

~ Zeal for Publishing New Research ~

One of the differentiating qualities of Minerd.com is its zeal and commitment to ongoing research and publishing the latest findings for all to enjoy and use in their own voyage of discovery. We added hundreds upon hundreds of documents to our archives and research library, the backbone of primary source content for our website. 

During 2006, Minerd.com's founder personally made two trips to the National Archives in Washington, DC; three trips to West Virginia (White Sulphur Springs, Morgantown, Grafton, Philippi, Arthurdale, Reedsville and Newburg); one trip to Virginia (Civil War battlefields where our ancestors fought at Deep Bottom, Winchester, Malvern Hill, Seven Pines/Fair Oaks, and Richmond); and libraries and cemeteries in Uniontown, Connellsville and Fairchance, PA. A cannon overlooking what once were the bloody Civil War battlefields of Malvern Hill near Richmond, where James Eyster Murdock fought, is seen at left. 

Many other cousins freely shared information from their own personal family archives, and talked with older relatives to secure their precious memories of the past, before it is too late.

Our site continues to serve as a resource for students doing research projects; authors and journalists seeking information for publication; and potential members of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and Sons of the American Revolution (SAR), based on the numerous inquiries received during 2006.

~ Exciting New Findings ~

Three new Civil War soldiers in the family were discovered during the year – Jacob Ingles (101st PA Infantry), William D. Ogle (76th OH Infantry) and Rev. William H. Wydman (11th OH Infantry). Other potential soldiers being explored are Ignatius Martin (5th and 6th WV Cavalry) and brothers Samuel Dawson Miner (88th OH Infantry and 9th OH Cavalry) and Robert S. Miner (10th IN Infantry). The primary source of information about their lives and wartime experiences have been their Civil War pension files, available through the National Archives and the Veterans Administration. 

Personally, one of the most fascinating stories emerging from the misty past, and told on our website, is of the mixed race family of Jacob and Ruth (Adams) Minerd -- a Pennsylvania German husband and Native American wife -- who began married life in the 1830s in Fayette County, PA. They later migrated to Philippi, WV, and thence to Athens, OH, with their children facing lifetimes of racial discrimination due to the darker color of their skin, during an era when Jim Crow laws ruled our nation's attitudes. 

Other fascinating learnings during the year included:

Pearl Harbor wreckage, from the Japanese military attack of Dec. 7, 1941, as photographed by cousin Harold S. Fawcett of Grafton, WV, an image published in Life Magazine and many history books of World War II. The photograph and Life cover are seen here.

"Whatever became of" four daughters of William and Elizabeth (Rankin) Minerd – Caroline Halfpenny of Bloomsburg, PA; Hester Wortman of Cumberland, MD; and Mary Belle Deane and Harriet Lowe of near Uniontown, PA. A grisly discovery found in this branch was of the unrelated coal mining deaths of father and son Isaac and Charles William Dean, two decades apart, near Uniontown.

James Wesley White, husband of Helen (Purinton) Manear Liady White, considered the "dean of West Virginia newspaper publishers."

Archives of the "Great Younkin Re-awakening" of the 1930s, which included a national home-coming reunion and a national newspaper, co-founded by Charles Arthur Younkin of Charleroi, PA and Otto Roosevelt Younkin of Masontown, PA.

Prominent newspaper editor William T. Davidson, husband of Lucinda (Miner) Davidson of Lewistown, IL who may have known Abraham Lincoln in Illinois and contributed significantly to his region's political and economic development.

Role of Dr. Oliver L. Iden, husband of Bessie Holmes, who helped found what is now the Adena Health System, an important medical center in south-central Ohio.

Virginia (Fawcett) Mason, co-chair of the original effort to have Andrews Grafton (WV) Methodist Church (seen here) recognized as the Mother’s Day Church, an international shrine to our national holiday honoring mothers; 

Significant personal archives of descendants of Norton Miner Bedillion of Washington, PA; Cleveland Farabee of Waynesburg, PA; Albert Everett Minard of Clarinda, IA; Jennie (Miner) Paolone of Connellsville, PA; and Sarah (Minerd) Ingles Ogle of Pennsville, PA.

John Fridley, grandson of Claude Overholt of Youngwood and Kane, PA, who remains second in University of Pittsburgh varsity basketball history for rebounds in a game (24), fourth in career rebounds per game average (12.5) and ninth overall in career rebounds (800).

~ Features ~

During the year, a number of new feature pages were created on Minerd.com to show the context of the lives of our cousins set against the backdrop of the history, growth and development of regions of our nation where they lived and worked. This included:

Museum of Creativity, as a result of artifacts brought to our 2006 national reunion.

Images from the old photo album of William Jacob Long, rescued from near-oblivion of sale on eBay.

Rare old images of the National Road (today's U.S. Route 40), along which many of our cousins made their livings or their homes in the 19th and early 20th century in Pennsylvania and Indiana.

Addition of very rare postcard images showing the spectacular waterfalls at Bear Run, PA, in the years years before Fallingwater was built there.

Civil War battle sketches produced in the late 19th century showing many bloody engagements where our cousins fought. A drawing of the assault on Fort Wagner, SC, where cousin John Irving White was killed, is seen here.

Pittsburgh flood of 1936, thanks to Merchandise Brokers of Cape Cod.

Old newspaper clippings of the McDowell-Miner Reunion held at Connellsville, PA in the late 1920s and early '30s.

Photographs, postcard and newspaper clippings of the Minerd-Miner reunions of Western Pennsylvania of the 1910s-1930s; and

Cleanup of the neglected Lynn Point Cemetery near Dunbar, PA, including the graves of Civil War veteran James Minerd Jr., his wife and children, led by our cemetery cleanup chair Sid Miller.

Sid Miller clears a fallen tree at Lynn Point Cemetery

~ Public Outreach ~

 

Little Big Horn Associates award

To be relevant in today's fast paced society that places little value on the past, Minerd.com takes proactive steps to remain relevant and interesting to young and old alike as we seek to preserve a fragmented family history on a local and national platform. 

In July 2006, Minerd.com's founder received a national award from the Little Big Horn Associates for an article he authored in the group's magazine, LBHA Research Review. The article -- focusing on the life and times of Thomas C. Custer, the previously unknown, illegitimate nephew of General George Armstrong Custer -- was based on research and content originally prepared for Minerd.com. This award has helped attract great interest from a national following of military historians, authorities and buffs. Minerd.com's founder has been invited to speak on the topic at the March 2007 meeting of the Greater Pittsburgh Civil War Round Table, and at the July 2007 national conference of the Little Big Horn Associates in North Platte, NE. In July 2007, Minerd.com's founder will speak at the Younkin Reunion at Kingwood, PA, on the "Great Younkin Re-Awakening of the 1930s."

In Western Pennsylvania, for the sixth straight year, Minerd.com continues to freely share its photographic archive with the public in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Sunday "Focus" magazine. Every six weeks or so, a Minerd.com postcard is published in its "Look Back" feature, showing a historic scene in the nine-county Pittsburgh region, and with a postcard archive on our site as an ongoing record.

 

New reunion home

~ Reunion Attendance on the Rise ~

Our major decision to move the 2006 reunion to a new facility paid off in an attendance of 90 cousins and friends, an increase of 12.5% over 2005. The group came from 21 Pennsylvania communities and eight states, including as far south as Florida, and as far west as Indiana. The new home of our reunion is the Indian Creek Valley Community Center, a 15 minute drive from the Pennsylvania Turnpike exit at Donegal, a fully enclosed modern building that features air conditioning, modern men’s and women’s restrooms, a modern kitchen with refrigeration, plenty of electrical outlets, and a meeting room larger than a basketball court. 

The theme of our 2006 reunion, "The Art of Creativity," celebrated a rich tapestry of artistic creations from 20-plus cousins which were displayed and enjoyed by all. These ranged from oil paintings to historic photographs to afghans, cross-stitching and music. Images of these priceless items were included to the family’s new, Online Museum of Creativity, as we did in 2005 with our Online Quilt Museum.

 

~ Thank You! ~

Thank you again to everyone who plays a key role in our website's continued development and expansion. This site is for you, and would not be possible without you.

Sincerely,
Mark A. Miner
Founder, Minerd.com 
President, Mark Miner Communications, LLC
February 2007

 

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