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Albert
Franklin Harbaugh |
Albert Franklin Harbaugh was born on Sept. 26, 1853, on a farm at what is now Clairton Lake near Scullton, Somerset County, PA, the eldest son of David and Mary Magdalene (Whipkey) Harbaugh.
Albert's life story is largely a mystery. A grand-nephew once stated that Albert left home as a teenager after a heated dispute with his father over a horse. There were rumors that he may have changed his name in the West.
The standard reference work on the family, the 1947 Harbaugh History book by Cora Bell and J.L. Cooprider, states that Albert:
Never married... Albert spent part of his life in Arizona, then Walla Walla, Wash., and was last heard of in Republic, Wash.
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| Walla Walla as it looked in the early 1900s |
Thanks to research done by cousin Robert Kellner, Albert has been located in the federal census of 1900. He was listed under his Christian name and resided in South Milton Precinct, Umatilla County, OR. At the time, he was working as a farm laborer. Unfortunately, he has not yet been found in the federal censuses of 1880 or 1910.
In 1909, he applied for a homestead in Spokane, under the terms of the Dominions Land Act. His tract was in the southwest quarter section 10, township 30, range 18 of the 4th Meridian. This research was shared by cousin Sylvester Everhart Jr.
Albert's final home was in Spangle, Spokane County, WA, at the address of 1133 West Main Street. During that time he endured chronic heart disease and hardening of the arteries. As his health failed, he was admitted to Spokane County Hospital. There, at the age of 80, he passed away on Jan. 19, 1934. Burial was in Medical Lake, a small nearby city. No stone is known to mark the grave.
Copyright © 2002-2003, 2006, 2008, 2023 Mark A. Miner