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George Osborne 'Os' Younkin |
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Os Younkin |
George Osborne "Os" Younkin was born on July 1, 1882 at Clay Run, Fayette County, PA, the son of William "Dayton" and Lucinda (Harbaugh) Younkin.
He once co-owned a wholesale produce company known as “Younkin Brothers,” and is profiled in the 1912 volume, Genealogical and Personal History of Fayette and Greene Counties.
Os was raised as a farmer, and lived on the family farm with his parents until age 21. When he was 17, Os and his brother Charles became embroiled in a controversy with neighbors that was covered by the local newspaper. Said the November 17, 1899 issue of the Connellsville Courier:
A few days ago some people were quarrying limestone on the Hyatt farm in Springfield township. Two blasts were to be put off at once and all hands were notified. Osborne and Charles Younkin went down along the pike and when about 150 yards away they met Arabella, the daughter of J.D. Mountain, driving in the direction of the quarry. No warning was given the girl and when opposite the quarry both blasts were discharged. The horse was badly scared and a stone fell so near the animal that it was almost frantic. Miss Mountain had a narrow escape and her father thinks it was small business on the part of the Younkins not to give her warning.
In 1903, Os moved to Connellsville. According to the Genealogical and Personal History, he “entered mercantile life as clerk in the grocery store of F.L. Brendel, remaining two years; then for one year with J.R. Davidson & Co.; grocers; then until September, 1909, with F.T. Adams, wholesale produce; then with his brother, Ira D. Younkin, formed the firm of Younkin Brothers, and established a wholesale produce business at No. 136 West Peach street, Connellsville, where they are now in successful operation.” In about 1928, Os purchased his brother’s share of the business outright.
When he was 29 years of age, Os entered into marriage with his first wife, 22-year-old Veronica A. "Verona" Matiba (June 15, 1889-1957), on Aug. 7, 1911. She was the daughter of Augustus "August" and Mary (Kraska) Matiba (also spelled "Matiben"), and a native of Moyer, Fayette County.
The marriage did not last, and the couple divorced. By 1926 Os was single again and residing with his sister Lena in Connellsville. That year, in November, they escaped harm when their boarding house rooms, above an old opera house owned by Alex Chinn, “was totally destroyed by fire.”
In her own right, Veronica appears not to have married again. She stayed in Connellsville and made a home for years at 135 West Peach Street. Veronica held a membership in the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church. In about 1955, she was diagnosed with cancer of the stomach, and a year later with heart artery disease. She suffered a heart attack and died within the hour at age 68 on Nov. 16, 1957. The funeral mass was held in her church, led by Rev. Raymond C. McLean, with an obituary appearing in the Daily Courier. Her remains were lowered into rest in St. Joseph Cemetery in Connellsville.
On Nov. 28, 1928, at the age of 46, Os married his second wife, 48-year-old Catherine (Miller) Williams (Sept. 27, 1880-1961). A native of Dunbar, and the daughter of James and Mary (Mason) Miller, she was said by the Courier to be “one of the best known women of Dunbar and community.” The ceremony took place at the Methodist Protestant Church of Dunbar. Os’s sister Lena served as maid of honor.
Catherine had been married previously and brought nine offspring to the second union, including two stepchildren -- Eugene Williams, Mrs. James Wilmouth, Thomas "Nesbitt" Williams, Kathryn Meixner, Mildred Lancaster, Harold Williams, Lloyd Williams, James Williams and Esther Williams.
Imel Cemetery
After marriage, the couple resided in Dunbar and on East Fairview Avenue in Connellsville. Catherine held a membership in the Franklin Memorial Methodist Church. Osborne was pictured in the Sept. 5, 1959 edition of the Daily Courier when attending the annual Mill Run Fair along with friends Jacob Cole, Charles Dull and Lee Sipe.
Catherine's health declined in later years due to heart disease. She passed away in Pittsburgh's Shady Side Hospital at the age of 81 on Nov. 6, 1961. Her remains were interred in Dunbar's Mt. Auburn Cemetery. Her son James Williams of Dunbar, was the informant for her death certificate. A death notice in the Daily Courier noted that she was survived by 32 grandchildren and 40 great-grandchildren.
Os toward the end of his life suffered with heart failure and hardening of the arteries. He was admitted to the Fayette County Home in Uniontown. There, he died on July 19, 1964, at the age of 82. He was buried near his brothers, sisters, parents and Younkin and Harbaugh ancestors, in the Imel Cemetery near Clay Run.
Stepson Eugene Williams was in Pontiac, MI in 1961.
Stepdaughter (?) Williams was united in matrimony with James Wilmouth. They migrated to West Virginia.
Stepson Thomas "Nesbitt" Williams lived in Connellsville in1961.
Stepdaughter Kathryn Williams was joined in wedlock with Melvin Meixner. Their home in 1961 was in Pittsburgh.
Stepdaughter Mildred Williams wed Robert Lancaster. The pair relocated to Tampa.
Stepson Harold Williams was in Philadelphia in the early 1960s.
Stepson Lloyd Williams dwelled in Murrysville, PA.
Stepson James Williams remained in Dunbar as of 1961.
Daughter Esther Williams was deceased by 1961.
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