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Rebecca
(Leonard) Farmer |
Rebecca (Leonard) Farmer was born on Dec.
4, 1843 in Fayette County, PA, the daughter of Benjamin
and Sarah (Harbaugh) Leonard.
Belle Grove Cemetery
She did not wed until later in years.
The federal census of 1900 shows Rebecca, age 56, single and living in the Uniontown household of G.H. and Louisa Seaton, working there as a servant. Her employer was superintendent of a water company.
On Nov. 6, 1901, at the age of 58, Rebecca finally was married to widower Hugh C. Farmer (1830-1907). He was living at Morgan Station, Fayette County at the time, and was the son of Michael and Martha Farmer of Fayette County. The nuptials were led by Rev. Edward G. Loughry.
In announcing the marriage, the Connellsville Weekly Courier said that Hugh was "a prosperous farmer" and that the couple had been "married at Uniontown last week. They stopped off here Friday between trains. Leonard [sic] is 73 years old and his bride has just turned 60. On Saturday evening they were given a surprise party by their neighbors at Morgan."
Hugh brought at least four adult children to the marriage -- Albert Farmer, Clark Farmer, Emma Farmer and Martha M. Moormyer.
Hugh had been alone for six years, as his former wife Eliza died on Oct. 9, 1895. A Connellsville newspaper once called him "a pioneer of the Morgan Valley" in Tyrone Township who "was highly respected by those who knew him."
The marriage between Rebecca and Hugh only lasted a few years. Circa 1907, Rebecca made her home in Smithfield, German Township, Fayette County.
As with her sister Annie Young, Rebecca was stricken with diabetes. She died on May 10, 1907, at the age of 64. W.E. Leonard of Smithfield was the informant on her Pennsylvania death certificate.
Her remains were laid to rest
near her parents and siblings at the old Thorpe Cemetery (later renamed
Belle Grove Cemetery, now Irwin
Memorial Cemetery) near Ohiopyle. Her grave marker was still very
legible when photographed in May 2001. A strange twist is that Rebecca was buried under her maiden
name.
Rebecca's resting place
Hugh outlived his wife by only seven months and was admitted to the Fayette County Home. Due to the effects of what a physician wrote as "general debility," he passed away five days before Christmas 1907, at the age of 78. The Connellsville Daily Courier reported that he was laid to rest in the Bethel Cemetery near Dawson. At the time of his death, son Clark lived in Owensdale, Fayette County; son Albert in Connellsville; daughter Emma in McKeesport near Pittsburgh; and daughter Martha in Irwin, Westmoreland County.
Forty years after her death, Rebecca was mentioned in the Cooperriders' 1947 book, Harbaugh History.
Copyright © 2001, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2022 Mark A. Miner