~ Enoch's Third Wife, Fannie B. Dublin ~

Continental No. 1 coal mine

On March 30, 1902, Enoch married his third wife, Fannie B. Dublin (1887-1923), daughter of Charles W. and Rachel (Pritchard) Dublin, and the step-daughter of his brother Silas.  At age 21, Fannie was more than three decades younger than her husband. 

They went on to have five children -- Samuel Miner, Harry C. Minor, Henry Raymond "Curnel" Minor, Grace Viola Miner and Enoch "Peen" Minor Jr. 

The Miners moved frequently, to Swaugertown Road, Continental No. 1 and Dunlap in Fayette County. Seen here is a rare old postcard photograph showing the buildings and coal tipple at Continental No. 1 near Uniontown, owned by the H.C. Frick Coke Co.

Heartache rocked the family on June 15, 1908 when nine-month-old daughter Grace died of marasmus, otherwise known as malnutrition. She was laid to rest in Hill Grove Cemetery.

In April 1912, after a rocky decade of marriage, Enoch and Fannie separated.  On the day she left, Enoch said that "I went out to draw coke in the morning and when I came home in the evening she had locked up the house and given the key to one of the boys to give to me."  Enoch later moved to Broadford, a small community built to house coke oven laborers, where he resided in a Frick company house and filed for divorce.

Hill Grove Cemetery

Fannie moved to Pittsburgh, where she married her husband's nephew, Elmer Ellsworth Miner, son of John Ross Miner. They resided at 510 Sandusky Street in the city's North Side, and changed the family name from "Miner" to "Moody."

Tragically, Fannie was stricken with chronic pulmonary tuberculosis. After suffering for two years, she was admitted to the Tuberculosis Hospital in the 12th Ward. There, she died at age 42 on Feb. 17, 1923, about 11 years after she left Enoch. Her remains were buried at Hill Grove Cemetery in Connellsville.  Her grave marker is inscribed "Moody," and not "Miner."

Connellsville Daily Courier, 1926

Enoch was a member of the Church of God. During World War I, and to the end of his life, he lived at Coalbrook in Bullskin Township, Fayette County. He began suffering from cancer of the maxillary bone in the right cheek area forming the boundary of the nasal and mouth cavity.

The Grim Reaper again visited Enoch's world on May 12, 1926, when his married daughter Matilda Lancaster died at the age of 46, leaving behind a husband and family.

Just a week later, on May 19, 1926, having "been ill for some time," Enoch succumbed at age 76 in the early morning hours. His death made front-page news in the Connellsville Daily Courier. Rev. A.J. Mead of the South Connellsville Evangelical Church preached the funeral service at Enoch's home, with burial at Hill Grove Cemetery in Connellsville. Son Noah signed the official Pennsylvania certificate of death.

~ Daughter Matilda Elizabeth (Miner) Grim Lancaster ~

Daughter Matilda Elizabeth Miner (1879-1926) was born on Nov. 24, 1879, in Moyer near Connellsville. 

She first married Frank Grim (1876- ? ), the son of William and Bell Grim. They were wed on Oct. 17, 1899, by Rev. J.W. Stevenson in a ceremony at the Connellsville home of her grandparents, Henry A. and Matilda (Rose) Miner. Frank was a 23-year-old laborer at the time, and Matilda a 19-year-old housekeeper.

The marriage lasted for nine years, and the couple divorced on Sept. 26, 1908. 

After seven years alone, Matilda married her second husband, railroad brakeman Samuel B. Lancaster Jr. (1885-1953), on Dec. 28, 1914. She was age 35, and he 29, at the time. Samuel was the son of Samuel B. and Margaret (Craig) Lancaster Sr., and was born in Smithton, Westmoreland County, PA, but at the time of marriage lived in Jacobs Creek, PA.

The couple resided at 219 East South Street in Connellsville, and announced their marriage some nine months after it occurred. The story appeared in the Sept. 24, 1915 edition of the Courier. 

The Lancasters had one daughter, Margaret Rose. They made their home circa 1926 at 212 North Prospect Street. Matilda was a member of the United Brethren Church and of the Protected Home Circle, a type of fraternal insurance benefits organization.

Sadly, afflicted with septicemia (widespread infection), added to pneumonia and erysipelas (bacterial infection in the skin), Matilda died at home at the age of 46, after a three months' illness, on May 12, 1926. The Courier reported that her demise was due to a "complication of diseases." She was laid to rest in Hill Grove Cemetery.

Later that same year, heartache again rocked the family when Samuel was involved in an automobile accident in December 1926, claiming the lives of two citizens of Connellsville. He was charged with murder, but was found not guilty by a grand jury in June 1927. 

150th anniversary souvenir

In September 1928, young daughter Margaret came down with the first case of infantile paralysis that year in Connellsville, and the family home was quarantined. Margaret fortunately recovered.

After some time as a widower, Samuel married again, to Ossie Forsythe ( ? - ? ) and moved to West Newton, Westmoreland County, PA. 

He died of a heart attack at the age of 67 on on May 26, 1953. Burial was in West Newton Cemetery.

Daughter Margaret Lancaster (1917-1954) was born in 1917. She married a cousin, Charles J. Rose (1909-1989), the son of Charles H. and Alcestia (Ritenour) Rose of Normalville, Fayette County. See the Rose biography for more.

~ Daughter Ella (Miner) Moon ~

Grisly obituary, 1902

Daughter Ella Miner (1882-1947) was born in 1882 near Humbert, Somerset County, with her birthplace also given as Dawson, Fayette County. She moved to Connellsville, Fayette County as a girl, with her parents and siblings, but later returned to Humbert.

On Sept. 20, 1900, in Somerset County, PA, at the age of 19, she married her first husband, 21-year-old Elmer E. Moon (1882-1902), the son of William and Lydia Ann (Berkey) Moon of Confluence, Somerset County. Because she was underage, her father signed his consent to the union. News of their marriage license application was published in the Meyersdale Republic.

At the age of 20, Elmer worked as a railroad laborer in Somerset County. Tragedy rocked the young family when, in a grisly accident on Aug. 19, 1902, he was "ground to death"  in a railroad collision at Rockwood, Somerset County. 

Elmer's grave at Jersey Church Cemetery

Elmer's mangled remains were laid to rest at the Jersey Church Cemetery near Ursina, Somerset County, under a tall pylon bearing his name and dates of birth and death (seen here). 

After four years as a widow, Ella married again, to her first husband's cousin, John Bruce Moon (1882-1980), the son of Franklin P. and Margaret (Hyatt) Moon and a native of Humbert. The ceremony was held in Ursina, Somerset County, on July 17, 1906. 

They bore a family of seven children -- Arnetta "Mae" Campbell, Charles R. Moon, Clarence E. Moon, Iva "Pearl" Boyd, John Henry Moon, Mary Devan and James Enoch Moon. 

The Moons resided in 1910 at the Lemont Furnace mining town near Uniontown, Fayette County at the time when the federal census was taken.

The family was plunged into grief on June 5, 1911 when son Charles, age nine months, died of diphtheria. The child's tender remains were interred at Hill Grove Cemetery.

Later, John obtained work at the Meadowbrook Mine, Fayette County, where they moved. They dwelled at Vanderbilt circa 1918, where one of their sons is known to have been born. The federal census enumeration of 1920 shows the family in German Township, Fayette County, with John laboring in the local Lambert coal mine.

Ella suffered with hardening of the arteries and was felled by a stroke in mid-August 1946. She lingered for five months, and passed away at age 65 on Jan. 27, 1947. Burial was at Hill Grove Cemetery. 

John outlived her by 33 years. At his 92nd birthday, on Jan. 29, 1974, his children held a family dinner at the Shady Side Inn, and he was profiled in a feature story in the Uniontown Morning Herald. The article reported that he "worked in the mines for 52 years before retiring at the age of 68. He has a 50-year gold pin for mining service. He likes to travel -- especially by plane. He makes several trips to Tampa, Fla., each winter to spend two months with grandchildren, Mr. and Mrs. William E. Curtis."

His final years were spent in the home of his married daughter Iva Pearl Boyd in Little Brownfield. He died on May 29, 1980, at Little Brownfield. 

Daughter Arnetta "Mae" Moon (1903-1972) was born on April 12, 1903 in Somerset County. She wedded Albert Finley Campbell (Dec. 2, 1899-1983), son of David and Phoebe May (Brown) Campbell. The couple did not reproduce. In 1939- 1947, they lived in Orient and by 1953, they were in Little Brownfield, Fayette County. The Campbells belonged to the Pentecostal Church of Little Brownfield. Arnetta died in Uniontown Hospital at the age of 69 on Nov. 25, 1972. Rev. Anna Dillow and Elder Major Turpin led the funeral service, with burial following in Sylvan Heights Cemetery. On the first and second anniversary of her passing, the grieving family published a "Memoriam" message in the classified advertising section of the Uniontown Evening Standard. Albert outlived his bride by 11 years. Death carried him away on Dec. 19, 1983.

Hill Grove Cemetery

Son Clarence E. Moon (1905-1939) was born in 1905. In about 1927, when he was age 22, he married 20-year-old Esther Morgan (1907- ? ). The couple did not reproduce. In 1930, the federal census shows the newlywed couple making a home with Clarence's parents in North Union Townshiop. Circa 1939, their home was along East National Pike near Uniontown. After suffering from "a lingering illness," reported the Uniontown Morning Herald, Clarence died at home at the age of 34 on Nov. 7, 1939. Funeral services were conducted in his parents' home, with arrangements handled by the Edward E. Minerd Funeral Home. He is buried in the Moon family plot at Hill Grove Cemetery.

Daughter Iva "Pearl" Moon (1908- ? ) was born in about 1908. She was united in matrimony with John W. Boyd ( ? - ? ), son of John S. and Mary Boyd. They produced these known children -- Nelda Mauthe, June Boyd, Betty Boyd, Linda Boyd and John Boyd. They resided in Uniontown circa 1947 and in Little Brownfield in 1953-1974. The Boyds are known to have spent the Christmas holidays in 1955 with Pearl's married sister and brother-in-law Mary and Edward Devan in Baltimore. Their address in 1974 was House No. 30, Little Brownfield, and Pearl's elderly father lived under their roof at that time.

• Granddaughter (?) Boyd married William E. Curtis ( ? - ? ), son of Ray Curtis of Shoaf near Uniontown. They were the parents of Terri Lee Curtis, Penny Sue Childs, William Curtis, Robert Keith Curtis and Robin Gayle Curtis. They initially made a home in Uniontown and then by the mid-1960s relocated to Temple Terrace near Tampa, FL. When the chldren celebrated mutual birthdays in October 1966, they were pictured in the Uniontown Morning Herald.

• Granddaughter Nelda Boyd ( ? - ? ) was born in (?). Circa 1960, she and her sisters June and Betty lived in Bridgeton, NJ, where they were employed by Owens-Illinois Glass Company. Nelda married Gerald Mauthe. They established a residence in Wilmington, DE.

John Henry Moon's profile in Heroes All, a World War II history Courtesy Diane LM, Find-a-Grave

Son John Henry Moon (1917-1953) was born on Nov. 12, 1917 in Vanderbilt, Fayette County. He is not known to have been married. John served in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II and trained with the armored division at Camp Chaffee, AR and at Camp Meade, attached to Company A of the 279th Engineers Battalion. In October 1944, he sailed to France and took part in campaigns in the Rhineland and Central Germany. As an adult, he lived in Meadowbrook circa 1947 and at Little Brownfield in 1953. Tragedy struck in the earning morning hours of Aug. 29, 1953, when, after a night of drinking and bar hopping, John was killed when an automobile accident, his skull badly crushed. The vehicle in which he was riding collided with a truck on Route 119 near Gaddis Crossroads. Two others lost their lives in the accident as well -- Gerald W. Raymond and George "Dewey" Rankin. John's funeral was held at the home of his brother James E. Moon in Uniontown, with arrangements managed by the Edward E. Minerd Funeral Home of Uniontown. Officiating was Rev. H.L. Davis of the Peoples United Church, with additional rites provided by the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Burial followed at Sylvan Heights Cemetery, with James Conaway, Michael Schnatterly, Wendell Witterman, John Yauger, William Yauger and John Hobson serving as pallbearers.

Daughter Mary A. Moon (1920-1985) was born in about 1920 in Fayette County and grew up in local coal mining patch towns. She was united in holy wedlock with Edward Clark Devan ( ? -1999). The known children born to this marriage were Loretta Ducote, Mary Jane Ricketts Cherry, John Devan and Edward B. Devan. Circa 1939, at the age of 19, Mary and Edward lived in Tampa, FL. The Devans initially lived in Uniontown. Then in 1947-1953, the Devans made their home in Baltimore, MD. Edward was employed for 22 years by Bethlehem Steel Corporation in Sparrows Point and was a member of the United Steel Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Often, Mary's widowed father came to Baltimore to spend the Christmas holidays with the Devans. Mary died in Baltimore on June 27, 1985. The funeral was held in Patapsco United Methodist Church. Edward succumbed to death on Jan. 28, 1999. Interment of his remains was held in Holly Hill Memorial Gardens in Middle River, Baltimore County. The Baltimore Sun published an obituary.

• Granddaughter Loretta Devan ( ? - ? ) was born in (?) and grew up in Baltimore. As a young woman, she was employed as a secretary by James Posey Associates in Baltimore. On Sept. 20, 1958, at St. Ambrose Church in Baltimore, MD, she married Kern James Ducote ( ? -2000), son of Allen Ducote of Cottonport, LA. Rev. R. Thomas Kincaid officiated. In reporting on the wedding, the Uniontown Morning Herald said that the bride "appeared in a ballerina-length gown of ice blue taffeta designed along princess lines. It was designed with V-neckline, fitted bodice and full skirt. Her veil of illusion was held by a bandeau of ice blue velvet and feathers and she carried a spray of white roses and carnations." The couple established their new home in New Orleans. At the time, Kern had completed two years of U.S. Army service and was assisting his uncle who was a contractor. The Ducotes bore four offspring -- Ronald James Ducote, Edward Allen Ducote, Kern James Ducote Jr. and Joy Lynn Akehurst. The family is believed to have relocated back to Baltimore. Loretta often wrote letters to the editor of the Baltimore Sun, which were published. Sadly, Kern passed away on Aug. 21, 2000. Burial was in Holly Hill Memorial Gardens, and a death notice was printed in the Sun.

• Granddaughter Mary Jane Devan was married twice. She first was united in matrimony with (?) Ricketts. Later, by 1999, she wedded (?) Cherry.

• Grandson John J. Devan ( ? - ? ) was born in (?). Circa 1965, he earned a living as an apprentice lithographer for Barton and Cotton Inc. He is believed to have wedded Janis Siegal ( ? - ? ) of Baltimore and the daughter of Jack Siegal. News of the engagement was printed in the Uniontown Morning Herald.

• Grandson Edward B. Devan (1942-2011) was born in about 1942. He lived in Sykesville, Carroll County, MD. He passed away on Feb. 7, 2011.

James Enoch Moon's profile in Heroes All, a World War II history

Son James Enoch Moon (1922-1991) was born in about 1922 and named in part for his grandfather Enoch Miner Sr. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II, attached to the Air Corps. he trained in Indiantown Gap and was shipped to England in October 1943, serving in Central Europe activity. James married Sarah Jane Fadeley (Sept. 30, 1927-1965), daughter of George and Effie Fadeley of Pulaski, VA. They were the parents of an only son, John Franklin "Johnny" Moon. In 1952, at the birth of their son, they were in Tiffin, OH. By 1953, the Moons made a home at Lemon Wood Acres in Uniontown, and in 1957 were in House No. 55, Little Brownfield. Heartbreak rocked the Moons in the summer of 1959 when seven-year-old son contracted food poisoning from food at a carnival. It developed into metabolic acidosis, where the body produces an excess of acid not removed by the kidneys, and a bacteria infection resembling E. coli. The boy was admitted to Uniontown Hospital, where he died after nine days of suffering on July 30, 1959. He was buried at Sylvan Heights Cemetery. Just six years later, James again grieved when Sarah Jane -- who may not have gotten over the death of her son -- decided to end her life at the age of only 37. While in the basement of their home on the fateful day of Aug. 29, 1965, she wrapped a clothesline around her neck and hung herself. Her lifeless body was found dead mid-afternoon. A story in the Uniontown Evening Standard said she "was reported despondent," and a death notice named her six surviving adult siblings. Her funeral arrangements were handled by the Minerd Funeral Home of Uniontown, with Rev. Belle Tiger, of the Garden of Prayer Church, preaching the funeral sermon. Sarah Jane's remains were interred in Sylvan Heights Cemetery. The widowed James dwelled in Uniontown in the 1970s, and in 1973 his elderly father is known to have resided in the household. Evidence hints that James spent his final years in Florida. He died on Oct. 8, 1991, with burial in Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, Sumter County.

The late Olive (Rowan) Duff deeply researched the Moon family history, and published a booklet, Moon Genealogy, a copy of which is preserved in the Minerd.com Archives.

~ Son John L. Miner ~

Son John L. Miner (1883-1968) was born on Oct. 26, 1883 in Fayette County. 

On Oct. 7, 1908, when he was age 26, he wed 20-year-old Pearl Pawnee Herrington (1889- ? ), daughter of Alpheus and Alice Josephine (Blackburn) Herrington of Everson, Fayette County. The ceremony was held in Uniontown. At the time, he was a coal miner living in Connellsville, while she resided at Valley Mines near Everson, Fayette County.

They had no children.

Dirty, dangerous ovens of H.C. Frick Coke Co. near Uniontown

John was a longtime coal mine laborer, and a member of the United Mine Workers of America Local 5758. When the federal census was taken in 1910, they lived at the Mt. Sterling Coke Works in German Township, Fayette County, where John was employed as a track layer in the mines. By 1920, they had moved to near Balsinger's Crossing in Menallen Township, Fayette County, with his work continuing as a coal mine laborer. Residing just a few doors away was John's distant cousin, Alice (Minerd) Rockwell and her husband John, an old Civil War veteran.

In 1927, at the time Pearl's mother died, the Miners made their residence in Balsinger, west of Uledi in Fayette County. By 1930, the census again shows the couple making their residence in Menallen Township.

In late August 1929, John and Pearl are known to have attended a large reunion of the Herrington clan. They were mentioned in lengthy articles about the event in the Connellsville and Uniontown newspapers, and at the time their address was Uniontown.

At some point the Miners retired and moved to Pleasant Unity, Westmoreland County, PA. They were members of the United Methodist Church of Pleasant Unity. In 1947, John and his brother Noah are known to have lived in Pleasant Unity and were named in the Courier obituary of their sister, Ella Moon.

John died at the age of 84, at the Latrobe Area Hospital, on Aug. 26, 1968. Following funeral services at the James P. Gant Funeral Home, led by Rev. Alvin K. Smith, he was laid to rest in the Scottdale Cemetery. A short obituary was published in the Connellsville Daily Courier. A day later, the Courier ran another short notice, "Miner Survivors," which named John's sister Martha and half brothers Harry and Colonel of Pittsburgh. 

Pearl's fate is unknown.

Colonel and Fanny

~ Son Henry "Colonel" Minor ~

Son Henry Raymond "Colonel" Minor (1902-1978) was born on Jan. 2, 1902, in Connellsville. He carried the nicknames of "Colonel" and "Sy" -- said his daughter in law, "He went by whatever you wanted to call him."

He was age 10 when his parents separated, and when his mother eloped with his first cousin, Elmer Ellsworth Miner. About that time, he went to work in local coal mines and coke ovens to earn a wage.

In 1920, when Henry was age 18, he lived in Pittsburgh with his mother and cousin/stepfather Elmer Miner.

Henry married Fanny Care (1903-1956). She was a native of England. 

They had two known children -- John Henry Minor and Carolyn Beal.

Pittsburgh Press, 1956

Henry was a  house painter, but after suffering a major injury in a fall, changed jobs and later worked as a crane operator in a steel mill. They resided on Lilac Street in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh. 

While on vacation in Birmingham, AL in mid-April 1956, the Minors were caught in a freak tornado at their motel. Tragically, Fanny was among many people who were killed.  The Pittsburgh Press printed a United Press report, saying that "Rescue squads combed the tangled wreckage of more than 150 homes today for more victims of a tornado-like windstorm that killed at least 22 persons and injured more than 100, four of them critically." Henry was listed in critical condition in a hospital in Hamilton, AL, but recovered. 

Henry outlived Fanny by more than two decades. 

He passed away on July 23, 1978, in Pittsburgh, at the age of 76. They are buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Pittsburgh.

Henry and Fanny's grave, Greenwood Cemetery

 

Son John Henry Minor (1925-1972) was born on Oct. 16, 1925. At the age of 22, he married 20-year-old Doris Milligan (1928- ? ), daughter of Milton E. and Ida (Elk) Milligan. The ceremony was held on Oct. 1, 1948. At the time of marriage, he lived at 409 North Craig Street in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh. They resided in Pittsburgh and had one daughter, Marie Elizabeth Minor. John served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and later was a police officer. At one point, he endured a motor vehicle accident in which both of his legs were broken. He and his father both learned how to fly, and would fly their own airplane to Florida. Later, John worked in the real estate business. At his death, in September 1972, he was buried in the Minor family plot in Greenwood Cemetery.

Daughter Carolyn Minor (1926-1994) was born on Sept. 9, 1926. She wed (?) Beal. They had three sons -- Frank"Buzz" Beal, David Beal and Gregory Beal. Carolyn resided in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, OH and died on April 9, 1994.

 

Noah Miner

~ Son Noah Miner ~

Son Noah Miner (1890-1963) was born on July 7, 1890 at Moyer, Fayette County. He was age two when his mother died, and then grew up with two step-mothers who later left and divorced the father. His name was pronounced "Noy" by the family. 

Noah apparently was married twice, first to Laura (?).

Noah and Laura had two known children -- Margaret E. Miner (born 1925) and Noah Emery Minor (1926). Sadly, daughter Margaret died at the age of two months on April 28, 1925, with burial at Hill Grove Cemetery.

 

Fairbank post office

Noah had a violent temper which landed him in many fights over the years, some leading to news headlines and even jail time. In November 1913, when he was age 23 and living in Elm Grove, Noah and several black companions were removed from a streetcar at Leisenring, Fayette County after one of the youths was beaten unconscious during the ride. As Noah and his friends fumed, venting their frustrations using strong profanity, a white passerby remarked: "Don't talk like that. You wouldn't want your mother or sister to hear you say such things." Noah turned and punched the speaker, knocking him to the ground, and then kicked him "viciously in the shins," reported the Daily Courier. Noah then fled and was arrested by police at gunpoint only after he was "located crawling across the trolley trestle." Following a hearing before Squire Frank McLaughlin, Noah was found guilty of aggravated assault and battery and sentenced on Dec. 3, 1913 to a term in the Pennsylvania Industrial Reformatory in Huntingdon, PA. 

By February 1918, Noah was residing in Uledi, west of Uniontown, Fayette County. That month, he passed a physical examination and was inducted into the U.S. Army during World War I. Enlisting on Feb. 12, 1918, he underwent basic training at Camp Lee, VA, and then was attached to Company F of the 319th Regiment. He was wounded in action, but specifics are not known. He remained in the Army at least until June 1919. He is pictured in the book, Uniontown's Part in the World War.

Noah's second bride was Olive (Harrison) Farris (1906-1974), the daughter of William and Cora (Richter) Harrison of Donora, Washington County, PA. Olive brought a daughter to the marriage, Joy Ann "Joyanne" Farris Costabile.

 

Grave of young Noah  Jr. and Margaret

Noah was an "employee of the Auburn Rubber Co. at Connellsville," said the Daily Courier. They were members of Central Methodist church. In 1926, at the death of his father, he resided in Fairbank, near Uniontown. He was employed with a rubber plant.

Noah is known to have been was a pall bearer at the funeral of his uncle John Ross Miner in 1935. 

Tragically, in 1940, while walking with his aunt Martha Miner, 14-year-old son Noah Jr. was killed at Coalbrook when "struck by a car as he stepped from behind a truck into the road near his home... the force of the collision knocking him about 10 feet." The driver rushed Noah to the hospital, but the lad died just 15 minutes after being admitted. Noah's distant cousin, Rev. David Ewing Minerd, preached at the funeral. With burial at Hill Grove Cemetery, pallbearers included some of Noah's Poplar Grove School playmates -- Ernest DeWitt, Thomas Showman, Lewis Showman, William Showman, Jack Showman and John Cirilli. In the obituary, published in the Daily Courier, the family name was spelled "Minerd" rather than "Miner" or "Minor." 

Noah and his brother John are known to have lived in Pleasant Unity, Westmoreland County, PA in 1947. They are named in the Courier obituary of their sister, Ella Moon.

 

Normalville Cemetery

In February 1948, Noah again was named in a news story when he was living in Coalbrook, Fayette County. One morning, as he sat with his back to an open stove in his home, his clothes ignited, causing first and second degree burns on both hands and left elbow. He was treated at a hospital and released. 

Around Christmas 1956, when residing in North Manor in Connellsville, Noah was hospitalized with a split lip after a fight with his son in law, John Francis. 

Afflicted with a gastric ulcer, Noah died at the age of 73 on July 9, 1963, in Connellsville State General Hospital. Following a funeral led by Rev. H. Morris shields, military rites were observed at the graveside by the Milton L. Bishop Post of the American Legion and the Walter E. Brown Post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He was laid to rest in the Normalville Cemetery, where his great-grandparents John and Sarah (Ansell) Minerd, and scores of uncles, aunts and cousins, also repose for eternity. His grave marker is seen here circa 1987. 

Olive remained in Connellsville for many years, where she was a member of the Christian Missionary and Alliance Church, the Auxiliary Post 21 to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Fraternal Order of Eagles Auxiliary 493 City of Hope, and Dames of Malta. 

In 1973, a decade after Noah's death, his wife and daughter published a photo of Noah in the Courier, accompanied by this poem:

 

It is willed that one we cherished,  Should be taken from our home.  But the joys that do not perish  Live in memory alone.  All the hours we spent together,  All the happy golden days,  Shall be treasured in remembrance,  Fragrant scenes from memories' flowers.

 

Olive passed away at age 68 on Oct. 15, 1974, at the Connellsville State General Hospital. She was survived by four grandchildren.

Stepdaughter Joyanne L. Farris ( ? -living) was born in (?). In the late 1950s or 1960, she was joined in marriage with Dominec Joseph Costabile (1936-2017). He was a native of Mount Pleasant, Westmoreland County, PA and the son of Joseph and Angeline (Caletri) Costabile. He had been married before and brought one known daughter to the marriage, Bambi Lyn Mathews. Joyanne and Dominec went on to produced these known children -- John Costabile, Delores Ferrer, Donna Martin, Taffie Palmiter and William Mark Costabile Sr. Dominec was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. The family resided in Connellsville, where Dominec was an independent concessionaire for Costabile Concessions. He also belonged to the Pennsylvania State Showmen's Association, and the family were members of St. Rita Roman Catholic Church. Sadly, they suffered the untimely deaths of their daughter Bambi Matthew, son William and grandsons Anthony Matthew and Patrick Matthew. Dominec entered eternity at home at the age of 80 on Feb. 7, 2017. An obituary noted that his survivors included 16 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. A funeral mass was held at the family church, with Rev. Fr. Robert Lubic officiating. Interment was in the church cemetery, with the local posts of the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars providig military rites.

• Step-granddaughter Bambi Lynn Costabile (1957-2012) was born on Feb. 21, 1957 in Cumberland, MD. She had a son, Joseph L. Cunningham. Later, she married Robert Anthony "Tony" Mathews Sr. ( ? - ? ), son of Robert and Rosemary Mathews. They resided in Cumberland, Allegany County, MD and produced at least two sons, Robert "Anthony" Mathews II and Keily "Patrick" Mathews. Barbi was a homemaker, a member of the Church of St. Patrick and "enjoyed playing bingo and spending time with her grandchildren," reported the Cumberland Times-News. The couple eventually divorced but remained as special friends. Sadly, Bambi endured the deaths of son Patrick on Dec. 9, 2006 and son Robert, a cable installer with Atlantic Broadband, and a member of the Church of St. Patrick, at the age of 25 in Cumberland on Nov. 5, 2007, with a mass of Christian burial held at their church with Monsignor Thomas Bevan officiating. At the age of 55, on June 22, 2012, Bambi passed away in the Western Maryland Regional Medical Center in Cumberland. Her remains were placed into eternal repose in the church cemetery.

• Step-grandson Jon V. Costabile was wedded to Karla and lived in Connellsville.

• Step-granddaughter Delores "Dee-Dee" Costabile married (?) Ferrer. In 2012, her home was in Florida.

• Step-granddaughter Donna Costabile married (?) Martin and dwelled in Connellsville.

• Step-granddaughter Taffie Costabile married Jacob Palmiter. Their residence in 2012 was Oswego, NY.

• Step-grandson William Mark Costabile Sr. (1960-2012) was born on Jan. 28, 1960 in Connellsville. In about 1981, when he was age 21, William was united in matrimony with Cindy Herman ( ? - ? ), daughter of Albert "Buddy" and Sandy Herman of Connellsville. They established a home in Connellsville and had these children -- William Mark Costabile Jr., Chad Costabile and Malory Costabile. The family were members of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church of Connellsville. William owned and operated King Appliance business in Connellsville and also worked for the Connellsville Area School District. Sadly, after enduring cancer, William died at age 52 at home on Aug. 18, 2012, bringing to an end their marriage of 31 years. An obituary in the Greensburg Tribune-Review noted that burial was in Green Ridge Memorial Park in Pennsville, north of Connellsville, following a funeral mass at the family church, celebrated byRev. Dennis Bogusz.

 

~ Daughter Martha Miner ~

Daughter Martha Miner (1891-1975) was born in 1891. Her mother died when Martha was a year old.

She never married. 

When the federal census of 1930 was taken, she lived in Connellsville, and employed as a maid in a private home. Living just two doors away was her cousin, Bruce Miner Sr. (son of Silas Miner). 

She resided in Brownfield, Fayette County circa 1968-1984, where she was a member of the Free Methodist Church and the Garden of Prayer Church. Toward the end of her life she became blind with cataracts. 

As her health declined, she became a resident of the Fazio Nursing Home. She succumbed there at the age of 84 on in March 1975. Funeral services were led by Rev. William Fieldson. An obituary was printed in the Uniontown Evening Standard.

 

~ Son Samuel Miner ~

Son Samuel Miner (1898- ? ) was born in 1898. When the federal census was taken in 1910, the 12-year-old boy resided with his parents. 

Circa 1923, he lived in Poplar Grove, PA. 

In May 1926, the month his sister Matilda and father died within a week of each other, Samuel  was in Pittsburgh.

He was deceased by 1947. Nothing more about him is known.

 

~ Son Harry Minor ~

Son Harry Minor (1903 -1969) was born in 1903 in Connellsville. 

He was age nine when his parents separated, and when his mother scandalously eloped with her husband's nephew Elmer Ellsworth Miner. The federal census of 1920 shows Harry, age 16, living with his mother, cousin/stepfather and brothers Henry and Enoch in Pittsburgh. He worked as a barber circa 1922.

Harry married Hazel Houser (1912-1930), daughter of James and Mary (Everett) Houser of Williamsport, Lycoming County, PA. The groom was nine years older than the teenage bride.

In the short time of their lives together, the couple produced one son, James Minor.

The Minors resided on Pittsburgh's North Side at the address of 605 Union Avenue. Heartache rocked the young family when Hazel contracted pulmonary tuberculosis. She was admitted to the Tuberculosis Hospital in the city, where her sputum showed clear evidence of her deadly illness. Unable to recover, she succumbed on July 11, 1930. She was only 18 years of age. Her remains were placed into eternal rest in Greenwood Cemetery.

Harry outlived his wife by 39 years. By 1935, he and his son had moved into the home of their widowed cousin by marriage Carrie (Eicher) Rose Christopher and her second husband Newton along Route 442 in Dunbar Township, Fayette County. When the federal census enumeration was made in 1940, Harry and James remained in the Christopher residence. At that time, Harry earned a living digging coal. To the Roses, young James was a "foster son."

Harry passed away on Sept. 15, 1969, and his obituary was printed in the Pittsburgh Press. 

Son James Minor married Phyllis Kalo ( ? - ? ), daughter of Lewis T. and Lucetta Mae (Trostle) Kalo. They resided in Lorain, OH circa 2012, and spoke by telephone with the founder of this website in May 1995.

 

Pittsburgh's Highwood Cemetery

~ Son Enoch Franklin "Peen" Minor Jr. ~

Son Enoch Franklin "Peen" Minor Jr. (1905-1963) was born on Oct. 23, 1905 in Connellsville. He was age seven when his parents separated. 

By 1920, he dropped out of school and moved into the home of his mother and cousin/stepfather in Pittsburgh, along with his older brothers Henry and Enoch.

As a 21-year-old, in May 1926, at the death of his father, Enoch resided in Cedartown, GA and at St. Louis, MO. By the following year, he had returned to Pittsburgh, and was working as a brakeman on the railroad. He was slender, stood 5 feet, 6 inches tall, weighed 138 lbs. and had light blue eyes. He bore several tattoos, with one depicting a cross and reading "In memory of my mother & father." Another on his left arm showed a horse's head with another depicting a rose-butterfly-heart design and inscribed with the name of his first wife, "Bessie."

On Oct. 24, 1927, at age 23, Enoch married 17-year-old Bessie Dewese (1910- ? ), a native of Roanoke, VA.

A year into the marriage, residing in the Blawnox neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Enoch was found guilty of automobile larceny and served three months in jail before being released.

Enoch and Bessie were listed in the 1930 Pittsburgh City Directory as residing at 35 Lacock, at which time he was laboring as a painter, possibly working for his brother Henry. Yet he and Henry did not always get along, and, said a niece, "they didn't loaf together." His address at that time was 227 East Robinson Street.

Living at 13 Isabella Street on Pittsburgh's North Side, Enoch was in trouble with the law twice in 1929. That April, he, William Angelo and Charles Martin were found guilty of misdemeanor charges when they stole an automobile and were discovered parked on Beaver Avenue. They also confessed to having stolen two other vehicles. Later that year, along with Peter Novrades and Nick Surmnas were arrested in 1930 by North Side police "in connection with the theft of a truckload of sugar," reported the Pittsbugh Post-Gazette. He was found guilty of illegally entering a building and sentenced to a term of five to 10 years in the Western State Penitentiary in Pittsburgh. He was incarcerated until about Sept. 29, 1937, when he was recommended for parole.

Enoch and Bessie divorced in or before 1940. When the U.S. Census was taken in 1940, he lived with his married brother Henry "Colonel" Minor and family in Pittsburgh, working as a steel mill laborer.

When his name was added to the U.S. Armed Forces draft list in May 1942, he lived at 5615 Duncan Street.

Circa 1943, Enoch made his home at 411 North Craig Street in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh, and was employed in a local steel works.

Later, in June 1943, at the age of 28, he married Alberta (Oberdacker) Smith (1910- ? ), of Pittsburgh, the daughter of Rudolph and Christine (Mistelbauer) Oberdacker. Alberta's father was an immigrant from Austria, while her mother was a native of Fayette County. Alberta had been married once before, to Frank Smith (1895- ? ), and brought several children to the marriage. Their home was on Butler Street in the East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh, where Enoch was employed as a roughter in a steel mill. Later, in the 1960s, their residence was at 1514 East Street in Pittsburgh.

He eventually served in World War II, as a private in Company L of the 338th Infantry. 

In all, Enoch's children were Joann Frances (Smith) Czolba, Mary Christine (Smith) Leacock, James Minor and Corinne Nelson Boozer.

The Minors' address in the early 1960s was 1514 East Street in Pittsburgh, with Enoch employed as a "roughter" in a local steel mill.

Having endured hardening of the arteries for two years, Enoch passed away of an acute heart attack on March 28, 1963, at the age of 59, dead on arrival at Allegheny General Hospital. His obituary was published in the Pittsburgh Press. He was laid to rest in the veterans' section of Highwood Cemetery near Pittsburgh's North Side.

Daughter Joann Frances Smith (1936-1981) was born in about 1936. She married World War II veteran Thomas C. Czolba (Dec. 19, 1923-1967), son of Stanley Czolba and a Pittsburgh native. The couple were a baker's dozen years apart in age. They were the parents of Lorraine Czolba and Stanley Czolba. In about January 1963, the family occupied an apartment at 3428 Denny Street in Lawrenceville. Due to an unvented heater, mother and baby daughter were overcome by fumes and rendered unconscious. They were discovered when Jo Ann's mother came to the apartment, and were rushed to St. Francis Hospital where they recovered. The pair were photographed in a related story in the Pittsburgh Press. Joann and Thomas continued to reside in the Denny Street apartment. Thomas was diagnosed with cancer of the larynx and suffered for two years until death swept him away on Jan. 4, 1967. His remains were placed into repose in Allegheny Cemetery following a funeral mass held at St. John the Baptist Church. Joann outlived him by 14 years. Sadly, she passed away on Nov. 29, 1981. Her funeral mass was sung at the Holy Family Church, and a death notice was published in the Press. Interment was in Allegheny Cemetery.

• Granddaughter Lorraine Czolba (1962- ? ) was born in about 1962. She was only five years old when her father died. Circa 1990, she served on a jury in a first-degree murder case and was quoted in the Pittsburgh Press about her views of the death penalty in the matter.

• Grandson Stanley Czolba ( ? - ? )

Daughter Mary Christine Smith (1938- ? ) was born in about 1938. By 1963, she was united in matrimony with (?) Leacock ( ? - ? ).

Son James Minor ( ? - ? )

Daughter Corinne Minor (1945?-2014) was born in about 1945. She appears to have been married twice. Her first spouse was (?) Nelson, circa 1962. By 1981, she had wedded again to (?) Boozer. She was the mother of three sons and a daughter. Corinne made her home in Munhall near Pittsburgh. At the age of 69, she passed into eternity on June 15, 2014. A brief death notice appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

 

Copyright © 2000-2006, 2008, 2010, 2012-2018, 2020 Mark A. Miner

Minerd.com extends its gratitude to Harry J. Ansell for generously sharing his research findings and to the late Olive (Rowan) Duff for the rich material from her booklet, Moon Genealogy.