Catherine (Minerd) Zinn -- also spelled "Kathryn" -- was born on Aug. 15, 1894 in Fayette County, PA, the daughter of James C. and Suvina (Yauger) Minerd Sr. The murder of her teenage stepdaughter in 1935 unfortunately not only was horrific but thrust the family onto the pages of local newspapers for weeks. Many of the illustrations and quotes used in this biography come from the old Uniontown Morning Herald.

Unmarried at the age of 25, in 1920, and then again at age 35, in 1930, having no occupation, she dwelled with her parents.

Circa June 1933, Catherine was joined in wedlock with Thomas B. "Birchie" Zinn (1874-1958), a hack driver and farmer and the son of America S. and Catharine Zinn of Nicholson Township, Fayette County. News of their marriage license was published in the Connellsville Daily Courier.  

Birchie was a widower with 10 known children from his first marriage-- Clarence Zinn, Gay Filden Zinn, Hazel Burner, Ida Mae Kelly Thorpe, James Zinn, Norman L. Zinn Sr., Clinton Zinn, Leona Diamond, Janie Grimm and Anna Zinn. 

Birchie lost his first wife (Mary Frances "Mollie" Campbell) sometime around 1930, and then married Catherine. There was an age difference of two decades between husband and wife.

Catherine is believed to have borne two daughters prior to marriage, both circa 1928 -- Dora (Brown) Harmon Colpetri and Betty Mae (Brown) Beals Beals. But this needs to be confirmed.

The Zinns then produced five known children of their own, twins Thomas Zinn and Mary Jane Zinn, Margaret Ellen Sumey, Sadie Louise Metro and Francis Zinn.

Tragically, the twins did not survive their first two weeks of life. Thomas died the day he was born -- Dec. 12, 1934. His sister Mary Jane lived for 14 days, but was fatally ill with an umbilical hemorrhage, dying the day after Christmas 1934. Funeral arrangements were handled by Vance Funeral Home in Smithfield, with burial at the Cedar Grove Cemetery in New Geneva, Fayette County. 

~ Shocking Murder of Teenage Step-daughter Anna ~

The family resided in an old farmhouse in Old Frame, a village near the mining town of Bowood, near Smithfield, Fayette County. Young Anna, age 15, was "an industrious girl," and helped her stepmother "do the housework at home [and] she also cleaned up the one-room school at Bowood and was listed as an eighth grade pupil..."

Further tragedy and heartache rocked the family on the night of Feb. 7, 1935. Anna had attended a dance at school. As she arrived home, with her parents asleep inside their house, the car in which she and her companion were sitting was approached by Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Walters, described as "long and lanky, a typical mountaineer." 

Walters shot her while she was still sitting in the vehicle, and she died instantly. The grisly killing made the top headline of the next day's Morning Herald -- Young Bowood School Girl Is Killed."

Reporter Joe L. Dickson opened his news story with this vivid description:

Opening the door of a small coupe in which Anna Zinn ... was seated along a dark country road at the entrance to the lane leading to the home of her father ... late last night, a man held a revolver against the right side of her head and fired. She died instantly. Pointing the revolver at her escort, ... the slayer asked "Do you want some of it too?"

Said the Morning Herald, "News of the tragedy so shocked the community that school sessions at both Bowood and Twin Oaks were closed for the day." The newspaper also reported that:

Simple but solemnly impressive funeral services were conducted for the slain girl Sunday afternoon in Old Frame Presbyterian church which was filled to capacity by mourning and sympathetic neighbors while from 200 to 250 others, unable to gain admittance, stood outside in the cold winter weather... At the close of the service, ... the casket was opened to permit those who desired to view the bullet-torn body. There was not a semblance of this apparent, however. The blond, 15-year-old child whom so many in that district knew and loved, lay there peacefully in her last long rest, as though she were asleep.

Anna was buried at Cedar Grove Cemetery, near her half-brother Thomas.

As the details of the murder publicly unfolded, Birchie was quoted extensively in news stories, and he and the Zinn family were pictured prominently in the Morning Herald.

The alleged killer, 45-year-old neighbor Jefferson Walters, was married and had children, but had taken a liking to the girl. He was suspected of having been jealous of Anna's male friends. Police officers found a German luger automatic pistol nearby, and "had succeeded in 'tracking' the fugitive by his footprints in the snow, across several fields to the Main highway at a point just South of the crossroads at Woodside..." Though authorities launched a massive manhunt, involving more than 100 men, Walters remained at large for many years, and his fate is unknown. An article in an August 1960 edition of the Morning Herald quoted local Smithfield residents who felt that he was still alive, possibly in the mountains as part of a logging camp.

~ Moving On ~

Birchie was employed in 1936 by the Pennsylvania Statement Department of Highways, and in late April that year was based in its office in Uniontown. A short notice in the Uniontown Morning Herald reported that he was treated in the Uniontown Hospital for an infected hand.

Catherine was diagnosed with a malignant growth on her uterus in about 1938, and surgery was performed to remove the tissue. Sadly, the cancer spread into all of her abdominal organs. On Christmas Eve 1939, at the age of 46, only four years after the family tragedy, Catherine died at home. Interment was in New Geneva, Fayette County.

Birchie outlived Catherine by almost two decades. He remarried and maintained his residence in Smithfield. 

As he aged, he traveled to Flint, MI, where his sons Clarence and Clinton and married daughter Leona Diamond lived. 

He died in the Diamond home in Flint on March 21, 1958, at the age of 84. His remains were returned to Smithfield, with burial at Cedar Grove Cemetery in New Geneva. The Morning Herald reported that he was survived by 38 grandchildren and 33 great-grandchildren.

~ Daughter Dora (Brown) Harmon Colpetri ~

Daughter Dora (1928- ? ) -- possibly born as "Dora Frances Brown -- was born in about 1928.

Her early years were spent in the residence of her mother and stepfather in the Smithfield area. Dora was only age 10 when her mother died. Evidence suggests that she was taken in by her aunt and uncle, Caroline and Elmer Lambert, where in 1940 they made a home in Bobtown, Dunkard Township, Greene County, PA.

If this is all true, then Dora attended school on Bobtown and then as a young woman was employed in Uniontown.

On Jan. 31, 1950, she was united in holy matrimony at the age of 21 with Jerry Harmon ( ? - ? ), son of Esther Harmon of Uniontown. Their wedding was held at the U.S. Navy air and submarine base in Jackson, TN, where Jerry was serving as a machinist mate third class. Rev. Raymond Johnson officiated, and the happy news was reported in the Uniontown Morning Herald, which acknowledged Elmer Lambert as her father. Jerry attended Latrobe High School and, at the time, had completed 11 years of naval service.

Dora married (?) Colpetri ( ? - ? )

She resided in Akron, OH circa 1958. 

~ Daughter Betty Mae (Brown) Beals ~

Daughter Betty Mae ( ? - ? ) --  possibly born as Betty Brown -- was born on (?)

She entered into marriage with (?) Beals ( ? - ? ). 

She made her home in Uniontown in 1958.

~ Daughter Sadie Louise (Zinn) Metro ~

Daughter Sadie Louise Zinn ( ? -living) graduated from Point Marion High School.

She married Andrew J. Metro Jr. (1930-2002), the son of Andrew and Mary (Frisky) Metro Sr. Their nuptials took place at the St. John the Baptist Greek Catholic Church in Uniontown on June 9, 1962. 

At the time of marriage, Andrew was employed at the dairy farm of the coal mining patch town of Continental No. 2 near Uniontown. During the Korean War, he served in the U.S. Army, attaining the rank of corporal.. 

They had at least three offspring, Mary Skala, Regina Ann Metro and David Metro.

In 1967, their home was in the coal mining patch town of Continental, and in 1972, they lived in Uniontown. 

Andrew passed away at Continental No. 2 on June 29, 2002, at the age of 71. His remains were lowered into eternal repose in St. John Byzantine Cemetery in Hopwood.

Daughter Mary Metro taught adult computer classes at Uniontown High School in the 1990s. She married Michael Skala, and they make their home in Continental No. 2 near Uniontown.

Daughter Regina Ann Metro (1964-2014) was born on Feb. 8, 1964 in Uniontown. She resided in Continental No. 2 near Uniontown and produced a daughter, Christa Angelo. For 14 years, she worked as a call service representative for Vertex. She was a longtime member of St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in Uniontown. Tragically, she was stricken with cancer and died at the age of 50 on Sept. 16, 2014. Rev. Fr. Ronald L. Simboli celebrated the funeral mass in the family church, with burial in St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cemetery in Hopwood. An obituary was published in the Greensburg Tribune Review.

• Granddaughter Christa Angelo

Son David Metro ( ? -living)

~ Daughter Margaret Ellen (Zinn) Sumey ~

Daughter Margaret Ellen Zinn (1938-2002) was born on May 28, 1938.

She wed Elmer L. Sumey (Oct. 17, 1934-1994), son of Thomas Sumey and a native of Markleysburg, Fayette County. 

At least one son born to the pair was Jerry E. Sumey. 

They made their home in Markleysburg, Fayette County in 1962 and in Flint, MI in 1967-1993. 

Heartache enveloped the family on June 14, 1974 when their son Jerry E. Sumey was badly injured in an automobile accident in Flint and died soonafter. The Escanaba (MI) Daily Press said that he was killed "when a car he was riding in ran off Rablee Road in Genesee County's Flint Township." His remains were returned to Fayette County for burial in Old Frame's Oak Hill Baptist Cemetery.

Elmer passed away in Flint on Nov. 28, 1994, at the age of 60. Interment of the remains was in Eastwood Colonial Memorial Gardens in Davison, MI.

Margaret outlived her husband by eight years. She died in Oak Park, Oakland County, MI on May 24, 2002.

~ Stepson Clarence Zinn ~

Son Clarence Zinn (1902-1972) was born on Aug. 24, 1902. 

He married Addie (?). 

They produced a family of nine children -- Mary Louise Hudson, Clara Hunter, Richard Diamond, Clarence Zinn Jr., Larry Zinn, Fred Rogers, Georgie Zinn, Louis Zinn and Sammy Zinn. 

Clarence and Addie lived in Flint, MI. 

He died there on July 20, 1972, at the age of 69. At his death, reported the Uniontown Morning Herald, he was survived by 28 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren. He was laid to rest in Flint Memorial Cemetery.

Daughter Mary Louise Zinn wed Robert Hudson ( ? - ? ). They were in Flint in 1972.

Daughter Clara Zinn married Thomas Hunter ( ? - ? ). The pair put down roots in Flint.

Son Richard Diamond ( ? - ? ) made his home in 1972 in New Port Richey, FL.

Son Clarence Zinn Jr. ( ? - ? ) dwelled in the early 1970s in Flint, MI.

Son Larry Zinn ( ? - ? ) migrated to Davison, MI.

Son Fred Rogers ( ? - ? ) lived in Mt. Morris, PA.

Daughter Georgie Zinn ( ? - ? ) grew up in Mt. Morris, PA.

Son Louis Zinn ( ? - ? ) grew up in Mt. Morris, PA. 

Son Sammy Zinn ( ? - ? ) spent his growing-up years in Mt. Morris,PA.

~ Stepson Gay Filden Zinn ~

Stepson Gay Filden Zinn (1904-1971) was born on April Fool's Day 1904. 

He married Ethel Burner. ( ? - ? ) 

The Zinns were the parents of at least two children -- William Ray Baer and Mary Louise Zinn. Sadly, their daughter died at the age of three years, four months and four days on Aug. 1, 1944.

They resided at Smithfield in 1944 and in Masontown in 1958-1971. 

Gay is believed to have been a coal miner. In February 1964, at work at the Ceylon Mine, he fractured a pelvis when "pinned between a truck and timber," reported the Connellsville Daily Courier  He belonged to the Pals Athletic Club of Masontown.

Sadness blanketed the family when Gay died in Uniontown Hospital at the age of 66 in January 1971. An obituary appeared in the Daily Courier.

Son William Ray Baer ( ? - ? ) was born in (?). He was a member of the 1955 graduating class of Masontown High School and went on to earn a degree from the Robert Morris School of Accounting. He served in the U.S. Armed Forces in 1960, training at Fort Harrison, IN  prior to deployment to France. On March 19, 1960, in nuptials held at the First Congregational Chapel of Saginaw, MI, he was joined in marriage with Carole Ann Black, daughter of William E. Black of Detroit. Rev. Harry G. Sutter officiated.

~ Stepdaughter Hazel Blanche (Zinn) Burner ~

Stepdaughter Hazel Blanche Zinn (1906-1979) was born on May 26, 1906. 

She wed Robert J. Burner (1903-1980). 

One known daughter of the couple was Florence Margaret Moody. They also helped to raise two nieces, Sadie Zinn and Margaret Zinn.

They resided in 1940 in Nicholson Township and Robert provided labor for the Works Progress Administration. The WPA was one of the ways President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the federal government tried to overcome unemployment during the Great Depression. It is widely considered one of the Roosevelt's largest and most ambitious undertakings of his "New Deal" to get the nation back on sound economic footing. Over the years, the WPA hired millions of out-of-work individuals to build public works projects, such as roads, bridges, retaining walls and buildings. In 1950, Robert's occupation was as a driver in a coal mine. That year, they provided a home for Hazel's widowed father and nieces Sadie and Margaret.

Later, by 1972, they settled in Smithfield. 

Hazel died in 1979. Burial was in Cedar Grove Cemetery in New Geneva, Fayette County.

Robert only outlived his wife by a year. Death swept him away in 1980.

Daughter Florence Margaret Burner (1925-2002) was born on Sept. 13, 1925 in New Geneva, Fayette County. She entered into marriage with Joseph B. Moody (1918-1993). Together, they produced a brood of two daughters -- Nancy Walters and Jolene Durst. For years, they belonged to the Free Methodist Church in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Jospeh died in 1993. As a widow, Margaret attended the Oak Hill Baptist Church and made her residence in Smithfield. She died on Jan. 4, 2002 at the age of 76. An obituary was printed in the Uniontown Herald-Standard. She was survived by six grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren. Funeral rites were provided by Rev. Donald Walls, and burial was in Mount Moriah Baptist Cemetery in Smithfield.

• Granddaughter Nancy L. Moody (1943- ? ) was born on Jan. 23, 1943 in Morgantown, WV. She married Harry Walters ( ? - ? ). Their union held firm over the thick and thin of a remarkable half-century. They bore several children, among them Joseph Walters and others. They were in Smithfield in 2002-2014. Sadly, Nancy died at the age of 71 on May 25, 2014. 

• Granddaughter Jolene Moody wed Raymond Durst. They planted themselves in Cleveland, OH. 

~ Stepdaughter Ida Mae "Dolly" (Zinn) Kelly Thorpe ~

Stepdaughter Ida Mae "Dolly" Zinn (1908-1995) was born on April 20, 1908. She was married twice, first to a distant double step-cousin, Charles E. Kelly Sr. (1907-1959), son of Lucy (Nicklow) Kelly Minerd and stepson of Albert Lloyd Minerd. She later was joined in wedlock with Lewis Curtin Thorpe (1905-1972). See the Kelly/Minerd biography for more.

~ Stepdaughter Jane "Janie" (Zinn) Grimm ~

Stepdaughter Jane "Janie" Zinn (1910-1967) was born on May 29, 1910. 

When she was age 18, circa 1928, Janie wed 21-year-old Earl Grimm (Jan. 10, 1907-1970), a native of Smithfield, PA.

Four offspring born to this couple were Legartha "Marie" Barber, Emma Jane Kennedy, Earl D. Grimm Jr. and Carl Edward Grimm.

The United States Census of 1930 lists the Grimms along Geneva Road in Smithfield, Fayette County, with Earl earning a living as a road construction laborer. They housed a boarder at that time, 22-year-old Mary Domer, marked as divorced.

After the birth of their youngest son, the couple separated, with Earl relocating to Ohio. At some point he fathered a daughter, Linda.  

When the federal census enumeration again was made in 1940, Janie was shown as a 29-year-old, unemployed single mother in their residence on Washington Way in Smithfield. The children at that time ranged in age from 11 to 1.

During the mid-1940s, Janie was a companion of Clyde Lispon ( ? - ? ). Together, around 1946, they bore a daughter, who was given the name "Laura Lee Grimm." 

Janie made her home in 1958 in Uniontown and in 1967 in Collier near Uniontown. She is known to have served as secretary of the annual Zinn-Campbell family reunion, held in 1964 in Rainbow Park. 

In later years, Janie suffered from diabetes, bronchial asthma and hardening of the arteries. She suffered a heart attack and died at the age of 57 on Sept. 6, 1967 as a patient in Uniontown Hospital. Her obituary was published in the Uniontown Evening Standard. Rev. Paul Walker preached the funeral service, with interment in Smithfield's Old Frame Cemetery.

Former husband Earl married again to Helen Keen ( ? - ? ). He made his home for 35 years in Mansfield, OH. There, he was employed by Hartman Electric Company and held a membership in the Main Street United Methodist Church. Their final address together was as 325 Vennum Avenue. At the age of 63, after a long illness, Earl passed away on Aug. 6, 1970. An obituary was published in the Mansfield News-Journal, stating that his funeral was conducted by Rev. Coburn C. Vandersall and that interment was in Mansfield Memorial Park.

Daughter Legartha "Marie" Grimm (1928-1971) was born in about 1928. She wed Fred Barber ( ? - ? ). They dwelled in McClellandtown and Smithfield, Fayette County. Four children in this family were Janet Locke, Robert Barber, Joyce Barber and Donald Barber. The family was plunged into grief when Marie passed away at home at the age of 42 on Aug. 12, 1971. At the time, her son Robert was in Vietnam serving with the U.S. Army. Funeral services were held in the Point Marion Apostolic Church, led by Rev. Charles K. Krause. Burial was in Old Frame Cemetery, with an obituary appearing in the Uniontown Evening Standard.

• Granddaughter Janet Barber wed (?) Locke. In 1971, she lived in Smithfield.

• Grandson Robert Barber joined the U.S. Army and in 1971 was deployed to Vietnam.

• Granddaughter Joyce Barber grew up in Smithfield.

• Grandson Donald Barber spent his childhood in Smithfield.

Daughter Emma Jane Grimm (1930-1990) was born in 1930. On Dec. 17, 1946, when she was 16 years of age, she was joined in marriage with World War II veteran Marvin Eugene  Kennedy (1924-1999). News of their marriage license was printed in the Uniontown Morning Herald. During the war, Marvin had served int he U.S. Navy. They lived in Smithfield as of 1970, McClellandtown in 1971 and later in Masontown. Sadly, Emma Jane surrendered to the spirit of death in 1990. Burial of the remains was in Jacob's Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery in McClellandtown. Marvin outlived his bride by nine years. Death swept him away in 1999.

Son Earl Grimm Jr. (1933-2004) was born in about 1933 in Uniontown. He migrated to New Jersey and lived in Woodbridge, NJ in 1967. In all, he spent half a century in Woodbridge, with a home in the Fords community. Earl was united in wedlock with Geraldine Arway ( ? -1992), a native of Perth Amboy, NJ. Their two children were David P. Grimm and Catherine M. Chesley. They were longtime members of St. James Roman Catholic Church in Woodbridge. Geraldine was a 25-year troop leader of Cadet 207 and Senior Troop 1240 of the Delaware Raritan Girl Scout Council in East Brunswick. For 22 years, she earned a living in her own right as a personnel clerk with Woodbridge. Sadly, Geraldine died at age 62, in Raritan Bay Medical Center, on May 31, 1992. Earl for a decade was a game warden for Middlesex County. As his health failed, he was admitted to Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center Hospice in South Plainfield. Death carried him away at the age of 71 on Dec. 16, 2004. An obituary was published in the Central New Jersey Home News. Following a funeral mass at the family church, burial was in St. James Cemetery. In the obituary, the family asked that any memorial donations be made to the Parkinson's Disease Foundation.

• Grandson David P. Grimm wed Antoinette. Circa 2004, they dwelled in Tinton Falls, NJ.

• Granddaughter Catherine M. Grimm married Raymond Chesley. They have resided in Fords in Woodbridge, NJ.  

• Grandson Greg Alan Grimm (1972-2009) was born on Aug. 28, 1972. He was joined in wedlock with Crystal Palmer ( ? - ? ). His three children were Shawnee Grimm, Ashley Grimm and Dutch Dills. On the fateful day of July 29, 2009, the 36-year-old lost his life in an automobile accident. The Greensburg Tribune-Review reported that while navigating a left curve along Route 857 in Georges Township, his Chevrolet Blazer left the road and collided with a brick wall at the entry to the Fayette County Area Vocational-Educational Technical School. His remains were lowered into eternal sleep in Mount Moriah Baptist Cemetery in Smithfield, with Rev. Galen Winebrenner conducting the funeral rites.

• Granddaughter Carla Grimm (1968-2023) was born on May 4, 1968 in Uniontown. She resided in Uniontown and was a companion of Tim Rugg. Sadly, she passed away at the age of 55, in J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital in nearby Morgantown, WV, on Dec. 26, 2023.

• Grandson Carl Edward Grimm Jr. entered into marriage with Sherry. They make a home in Uniontown.

• Grandson Patrick Grimm lives in Normalville, Fayette County. 

• Granddaughter Patricia Ann "Patty" Grimm tied the knot with (?) Ramey. She is the mother of Julie Ramey and Joshua Ramey. Patricia and her significant other Jimmy Dooley dwell in Virginia. She graciously has shared valuable content for this biography.

Daughter Laura Lee Grimm (1946- ? ) was born in about 1946. She suffered from diabetes. The family reports that she was stricken by a heart attack and passed away on Dec. 1, 2023 at Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, WV.

~ Stepson Norman Leslie Zinn Sr. ~

Stepson Norman Leslie Zinn Sr. (1912-1993) was born on Feb. 20, 1912 at Old Frame, Fayette County. 

At the age of 21, he married 16-year-old Eva Mae Adams (1917-2002), the daughter of Samuel M. and Minnie Mae (Butt) Adams, on Oct. 8, 1933. 

They had 10 children -- Glenn Allen Zinn Sr., Norman Leslie Zinn Jr., Ronald D. "Shorty" Zinn, Donald H. "Donny" Zinn, Shirley M. Rubsteck, Marlene H. Nastasi, Audrey L. Gray, Lillian Rose Conn, Connie L. Myers Summers and Cathy D. Hughes.