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Michael Younkin and Hannah Mariah ("Anna Maria") McClintock were cousins who married each other. Michael was born on Christmas Eve 1826, near Kingwood, Somerset County, PA, the son of Frederick F. and Mary (Sanner) Younkin. Despite his many adventures 'round the byways and roadways of midwest America, Michael never lost his command of the German language, even though he spoke English later in life. Maria was born on Dec. 15, 1834, on her grandfather's farm between Kingwood and Ursina, Somerset County, to an unmarried mother, Susan Younkin. Maria's father is reputed to have been Robert McClintock, and Maria took his surname as a child.
~ Michael's Story~ Michael's story is told in part in the book Genealogical and Personal History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania, authored by James Hadden: Michael Younkin when fourteen years of age was taken to Terre Haute, Indiana, by his father, but when the latter returned Michael did not accompany him. He lived in Kankakee, Chicago, Iowa, Indian Territory and in Arkansas. He was a stage driver for many years in Iowa and Indian Territory, and passed an adventuresome life in the west and southwest for thirty-five years. A yearning for family and home then overtook him, and he returned to Somerset county. He found his father alive, and was persuaded by the latter to again settle down in his native county and become a farmer.
This other account of Michael, written by son Frederick, appeared in the Aug. 5, 1938 edition of the Younkin Family News Bulletin: When my father was, say eight or ten years old, grandfather, Frederick F. Younkin,... took him to Terre Haute, Indiana, and upon the death of my grandmother, grandfather moved back to Pennsylvania, and my father, Michael Younkin, started wandering, left Terre Haute, and went to Kankakee Illinois, and then wandered over into Iowa, Dubuque, Pela, Oskaloosa, Ottumwa, etc., and began to work for the Western Stage Company, my father driving a Concord Stage for this company for more than eighteen years. At one time father was married at Chillicothe, Missouri, and his first wife died, and after he left Iowa, after working for the Stage Company, he wandered into Kansas, Nebraska, Indian Territory, now Oklahoma, Texas, and went up to Arkansas. Then had the notion to go to Washington Territory on the Pacific Coast, now the State of Washington, and thought that he would come back and see his father near Kingwood, Pennsylvania, before he finally went to the West Coast, he being a man of forty-nine years of age, having wandered and been away from home thirty-five years, being about fourteen years old when he separated from his father at Terre Haute, having refused to go back with grandfather, and hid in a cornfield of a nearby farm until he saw his father turning eastward.
Michael's first wife, whom he apparently wedded in Missouri, appears to have died young, not long after the marriage. None of her details is known.
One of Michael's sons recalled that "at one time that my father could not speak a word of English, as he had been brought up to speak Pennsylvania Dutch, but after he wandered through the West for thirty-five years, and I first learned to know him, I never heard him speak Dutch, but my mother, whose mother was a Younkin too, could talk Pennsylvania Dutch up to the time of her death, although her father was a native son of Ireland, McClintock..." Upon his return to Somerset County as a widower, he married his cousin, widow Hannah (or "Anna") Maria (McClintock) Crossen (1834-1904), daughter of Susan Younkin and granddaughter of John J. and Mary "Polly" Hartzell) Younkin. They were nine years apart in age.
~ Maria's Story ~ Family records indicate Maria's mother died shortly after childbirth, on Feb. 18, 1835. The infant Maria was raised by her widowed grandmother Mary "Polly" (Hartzell) Younkin and uncle Jonas H. Younkin, on the old farm. She is shown in their home in the 1850 federal census. Maria was first married at the age of 18 to 24-year-old farmer Elijah Crosson (1829-1869), son of David and Susanna (Lohr) Crossan. Their nuptials were solemnized on Nov. 27, 1853 in Somerset, with justice of the peace Samuel K. King officiating. The name also has been spelled over the years as "Crossen" - "Clawson" - and "Crossland." They produced a family of three children -- Emma Frantz Davis, George Crossen and Josephine Crossen. Sadly, their daughter Josephine died in infancy. Elijah purchased a 165-acre farm near Scullton in 1856, where the family is believed to have lived.
Sadly, Elijah died on March 19, 1869, at the age of about 39, leaving his wife alone to raise their two children. Interment of the remains was in Dumbauld Cemetery near Kingwood, on a farm once owned by John Dumbauld.
Maria petitioned the Somerset County Orphans Court to name a guardian for her children, and Hiram Cramer received the appointment. Some 14 years later, with Elijah's estate still unsettled, Maria's brother Rev. Herman Younkin served as a trustee for the sale of the family real estate.
In 1870, when the federal census enumeration was made, Maria was a single mother, age 36, raising her son and daughter in Upper Turkeyfoot. That year, 15-year-old Anna Phillippi resided in their dwelling as a domestic servant, helping raise the children as Maria toiled on their farm to earn a living.
By the early 1870s, at an age in the late 30s, Mariah wed her second spouse, a cousin, Michael Younkin (1825-1899), son of Frederick F. and Maria "Mary" (Sanner) Younkin. They were nine years apart in age.
~ Mariah and Michael's Life Together ~ Mariah and Michael Younkin bore two children of their own -- Frederick Elijah "F.E." Younkin and Mary Susan Henry.
When the federal census was enumerated in 1880, Michael and Mariah and all four of their mixed family of children lived together under one roof in Upper Turkeyfoot. Stepson George Crossen (written "Crofsen") was recorded as "works on farm."
In 1888, the Younkins sold the 168-acre tract of farmland to Mariah's daughter Emma E. Crossen, on the eastern side of Sandy Run, as a type of inheritance from her birth father. At the time, she was 21 or 22 years of age. In January 1896, Michael and Mariah and their nephew John G. Gass were paid $650 by Michael's half brother-in-law Simon Liston to relinquish their inheritance claim to the old home farm of Michael's late father. The quit-claim deed was filed in Somerset County court. Michael died on the next to last day of 1898. He was laid to rest in the burying ground of the Wesley Chapel Methodist church in Scullton, Somerset County. No obituary has been found in the Meyersdale (PA) Commercial. Mariah outlived her husband by six years. She wrote a will, stating first that she wished to "commit my Soul into the hands of my Creator who gave it; and my body to the earth to be interred at Westley Chapel Cemetery ... according to the rites and ceremonies of the Methodist Episcopal Church." Under the terms of the document, she bequeathed her 160-acre farm to her children Frederick and Mary Susan, as well as her household and kitchen goods, horses, cattle, sheep, swine, money notes and other assets.
She passed away near Scullton at the age of 69 on April 10, 1904. In an obituary, the Meyersdale Commercial reported that she "was a regular and consistent member of the Methodist church for more than 50 years, and leaves a large circle of friends and relatives to mourn her loss.... Blessed are they that die in the Lord, for they rest from their labors and their works do follow them." Maria's remains were buried beside her husband, with funeral services officiated by Rev. S.W. Bryan of Ursina.
~ Daughter Emma (Crossen) Frantz Davis ~ Daughter Emma Crossen (1866-1907) was born on Feb. 7, 1866 (or 1862 or 1867) in Upper Turkeyfoot Township, Somerset County. She was only about three years of age when her father died. She made her home with her mother and stepfather in Turkeyfoot Township in 1880.
Not married in September 1886, when she was 20 years of age, Emma gave birth to a daughter, whom she named Bessie.
On Feb. 22, 1888, at the age of 26, with another baby due, Emma was united in matrimony with 25-year-old Thomas J. Frantz (1863- ? ), son of Thomas and Lucinda Frantz. The ceremony was performed in Upper Turkeyfoot by justice of the peace E.P. King. On her marriage license application, she fibbed that her age was only 22.
At the time of marriage, Thomas made a living as a teamster.
The couple went on to bear two daughters of their own -- Bertha Proud and Harriett Blanche "Hattie" Emrich.
In a tragic turn of events, Thomas died an untimely and young death on Feb. 6, 1896. Details of his passing are not known.
The federal census of 1900 shows the widowed Emma heading a household with her three daughters, living next door to her mother, and on the other side her cousin Harriet Johnson. When her mother died in 1904, Emma was named in the obituary. After 10 years as a widow, Emma married again at the age of 40 to 53-year-old widower Irvin B. Davis (June 21, 1851-1919). Irvin was the son of Solomon and Barbara (Brooks) Davis and a resident of Saltlick Township, Fayette County. The wedding was held on Oct. 18, 1906 in Dunbar Borough, Fayette County, by the hand of Rev. W.H. Cottom. On their marriage license application, Emma gave her parents' names as "Elijah Crossland & Maria Crossland." Irvin was a farmer and had been previously married, with his first wife Sarah Ann (Ulery) Davis dying at age 45 on Jan. 15, 1896. He thus brought seven adult children into the second union -- Jacob Davis, James Davis, Norman B. Davis, Mrs. Norman L. Brooks, Cartha Cramer, Mrs. Irvin Burkholder and Mrs. Ray Sturtz. The Davises established a home in White, Fayette County, but their marriage was doomed to last only less than seven months. In May 1907, Emma was stricken with heart failure, and lived another three days until death swept her away on May 6, 1907. Burial was in Hopewell Cemetery in White. When the 1910 federal census enumeration was made, Irvin and his 18-year-old daughter Lyda shared a home in Saltlick Township. He spent his final, widowed years in the home of his son Norman in the Snydertown section of Connellsville. Sadly, at the age of 68, he died on New Year's Eve 1919 from the effects of heart valve disease and bronchial pneumonia. Son James was the informant for the Pennsylvania certificate of death. Funeral services were held in the Davistown Church of God, led by Rev. W.S. Shimp. Interment was in Hopewell Cemetery next to both of his spouses. An obituary in the Connellsville Daily Courier did not mention Emma but reported that the first "Mrs. Davis died 24 years ago."
Daughter Bessie Frantz (1886- ? ) was born in September 1886. When the United States Census was taken in 1900, Bessie was age 13 and lived with her widowed mother in Upper Turkeyfoot. Her fate is not yet known. Daughter Bertha Frantz (1888-1950) was born on March 18, 1888 in Scullton, Somerset County. Unmarried at the age of about 24, in 1912, she gave birth to a daughter, whom she named Dorothy Frantz. The federal census enumeration of 1930 shows Bertha residing on Pittsburgh's Sheffield Street and providing housekeeping services for a rooming house. Her newlywed daughter and son-in-law lived next door. Circa 1940, at the age of 52, she was a housekeeper living in the home of English-born John Proud (1905-1994) in Sewickley, Allegheny County, PA. He had been married before, to Hazel Young, and was the father of John Thomas Proud, Margaret "Peggy" Reed and Sarah Jane Proud. (Daughter Sarah had died in infancy.) The couple eventually tied the knot, with Bertha 18 years older than her spouse. John's occupation was working as a craneman in a steel mill. The Prouds' address in 1950 was 710 Hill Street. Burdened with hardening of the arteries, hypertension and heart disease, Bertha died in Sewickley Valley Hospital at the age of 62 on Nov. 30, 1950. Interment of the remains was in Sewickley Cemetery, and a death notice appeared in the Pittsburgh Press. John survived his wife by nearly a quarter of a century. He married again to Lorma ( ? - ? ). The Prouds remained in Sewickley and endured the tragic death of nine-year-old granddaugther Gail Ann Proud in 1961. John succumbed to death in 1994.
Daughter Harriett Blanche "Hattie" Frantz (1891-1965) was born on March 22, 1891. She wedded civil engineer Otto Edward Emrich (Sept. 9, 1876-1957), a native of Chicago and the son of Julius and Catherine "Kittie" (Thoman) Emrich. They produced two children, Edward William Emrich Sr. and Harriet Catherine Sallade. As with her sister Bertha Proud, Harriett and Otto put down roots in Sewickley, Allegheny County, PA. Otto is believed to have been a graduate of Case Western Reserve University and was employed with the American Bridge Company in Ambridge, Beaver County, where he belonged to its Engineering Employes' Association. The well-known company specialized in constructing and renovating bridges and other large structures, among them the Empire State Building, Chrystler Building, San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and Bayonne Bridge as well as rocket launch pads and tank landing ships during wartime, among many others. He retired in 1941 after a career which had spanned 40 years. He and several others were honored at a retirement dinner at the Elmhurst Inn, Sewickley, at which Charles F. Goodrich, John E. Elliott and Joseph W. Small were principal speakers. A related article was published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Emrichs had an address of 1003 Centennial Avenue in 1941. Sadly, Otto was stricken at home with a heart attack and passed away 10 hours later at the age of 80 on June 3, 1957. His remains were transported to Cleveland to repose in Lakeview Cemetery. Harriet survived as a widow for another eight years and dwelled at 536 Centennial Avenue in 1965. At the age of 74, Harriett suffered a heart attack but survived. A baker's dozen days later, however, she underwent cardiac failure and died on July 8, 1965. Funeral services were held in Sewickley, with burial in Cleveland's Lakeview Cemetery.
Great-grandson Edward William Emrich Jr. (1941-2005) was born three days before Christmas 1941 in Sewickley. He passed into eternity in Fort Lauderdale on May 30, 2005. Great-grandson Keith Alan "Corky" Emrich (1950-2003) was born on March 29, 1950 in Sewickley. In boyhood, circa 1959, he relocated with his mother to Gadsden, Etowah County, AL. He attended Jacksonville State University and Jefferson State University and went on to a working career with Attalla Health Care. He married Mary Lyda Walker ( ? - ? ), daughter of Hill M. and Mary Walker. The couple is believed to have been the parents of Katie Emrich and William Walker "Will" Emrich. They eventually divorced, with Keith remaining in Gadsden and she moving to Birmingham, AL. Sadly, Keith died at the age of 53, in Gadsden, on Nov. 9, 2003. The cause is believed to have been cancer, and an obituary in the Birmingham News asked that any memorial donations be made to the American Cancer Society. Step-great-grandson Paul D. Jerome married Judith S. (?). They lived in Birmingham, AL in 2003. Step-great-granddaughter Patricia Louise Jerome wedded Ted Cook. They have dwelled in Gadsden.
Great-grandson Rev. Jacques Lamont Sallade married Charlotte L. Siler, daughter of Charles and Elaine Siler of Flat Rock, IL. He studied at Marshall University and Christian Academy in Japan. They have dwelled in Kokomo, IN and are the parents of Phillipe Sallade, Etienne Sallade, Chantal Sallade, Charisse Angelique Sallade, Jean-Luc Richard Sallade, Giselle Joie-Trinique Sallade and André Jean-Marc Sallade. News several of the children's births was published in the Tipton County (IN) Tribune. Grief blanketed the family when newborn son Jean-Luc died at the tender age of 18 days, in Riley Childrens Hospital Indianapolis in Marion, IN, on Oct. 15, 1993. Great-grandson William Edward "Ted" Sallade Great-grandson Markham David Sallade
~ Son George W. Crossen ~ Son George W. Crossen (1863-1897) was born in 1863. He was age six at the death of his father.
Circa 1880, unmarried at the age of 17, he lived with his mother and stepfather in Upper Turkeyfoot Township, where he worked on the family farm. Evidence suggests that he was joined in holy matrimony with Amanda Cramer (Feb. 26, 1862-1896), the daughter of Messimer and Nancy (Lanning) Cramer. Amanda's father was an original trustee in 1863 of the Wesley Chapel Methodist Church, founded on land donated by George's cousin-by-marriage Rev. Levi Lichliter. The marriage was not fated to be long. Grief blanketed the family when Amanda died at age 34 on Nov. 18, 1896. Sadly, George followed her to the grave nine months later, at the age of 34 years, 9 months on Aug. 27, 1897. George's remains were laid to rest in the Wesley Chapel Cemetery near Scullton, Somerset County. On the flip side of George's grave marker is an inscription for Lucinda Crossen who died in 1867 -- at age 84 -- connection unknown. His half-brother Frederick E. Younkin was named administrator of George's estate, and held the deceased's funds pending the closing of the account. Legal advertisements were published in the Somerset Herald throughout the year 1898.
~ Son Frederick Elijah Younkin ~ Son Frederick Elijah "F.E." Younkin (1874-1953) was born in 1874 near Kingwood. He was a prominent attorney in Connellsville for decades, and at his death the Connellsville Daily Courier noted that he was "one of the city's best-known residents." He attended school at Valparaiso, IN from 1896 to 1900, and received a bachelor's degree. He then taught elementary school in Illinois before returning to teach at Ursina, Somerset County and thence to Connellsville, Fayette County.
He became principal of the Third Ward School and, after leaving public education, served as a law clerk for the firm of Sterling, Higbee, Dumbauld and Brown in Connellsville. He was admitted to practice law in the commonwealth in 1909, and set up his office in the Title and Trust Building, later known as the National Bank & Trust Building. His business grew steadily and put him into contact with myriad Younkin cousins near and far. On July 26, 1911, at the age of 37, he married one of his former pupils, Maud Elizabeth Scott (1879-1957), daughter of Noah and Margaret (Ferguson) Scott of Ursina. They had no children, and resided at 109 Robbins Street in Connellsville. He was a member of and lent time to many professional, community and social organizations, among them the Fayette County, Pennsylvania and American Bar Associations; the Commercial Law League of America; the Masons, Syria Temple and Odd Fellows. He also served on the Connellsville school board from 1912 to 1916, including three years as president. As an active member of the First Methodist Church, he was a member of the church's board of trustees and taught its Men's Bible Class. As a double Younkin by heritage, Frederick was a great supporter of the Younkin National Home-Coming Reunion when it was established n 1934. In fact, he served as vice president of the association for many years, and contributed articles to the Younkin Family News Bulletin newspaper. His article, "Grandfather F.F. Younkin Of The Year 1825," was the top headline in the edition of Aug. 5, 1938. He died in 1953, at the age of 68, and following a funeral in the family church, officiated by Dr. W. Rufus Hofelt, was laid to rest in Hill Grove Cemetery. Maud outlived her husband by four years. She passed away in 1957.
~ Daughter Mary Susan (Younkin) Henry ~ Daughter Mary Susan Younkin (1876-1961) was born on Oct. 16, 1876 in Somerset County. She wed Jacob C. Henry (1871-1941), a native of Scullton, Somerset County and the son of Marion and Mary (Forespring) Henry. Their wedding took place on Sept. 23, 1900, when she was age 23 and he 29.
They resided in Somerset County before moving in about 1903 to Connellsville, Fayette County. Their home was at 359 East Crawford Avenue, and they bore three children -- Ray Younkin Henry, Glenn Henry and Leona Schofield. At a young age, Jacob had learned the craft of carpentry, and earned a living constructing schoolhouses throughout Lower and Upper Turkeyfoot Townships. After arriving in Connellsville, he became a self-employed contractor and was in charge of the erection of the First Methodist Church, located on South Pittsburgh Street. Perceiving that the booming coal and coke business would be more lucrative, he entered into an entrepreneurial partnership with J.L. Stader, who owned a coal mine near Indian Head, Fayette County. When this opportunity failed to pan out, he then joined Eicher Lumber Mill of Scottdale, Fayette County, as manager. He continued in this leadership role until about 1936, when the firm dissolved while in the grip of the Great Depression. Active in the community, he served on the governing board of trustees of the First Methodist Church, along with his brother-in-law Frederick Elijah "F.E." Younkin.
Falling into poor health in July 1940, he was treated in Pittsburgh at Shady Side Hospital, and later at the Somerset County Home and Hospital. He died in the Somerset facility on Jan. 18, 1941. His passing was front-page news in the Connellsville Daily Courier. Mary survived her spouse by more than two decades. She maintained a home with her son Ray in Duquesne at 411 Catherine Street. She was burdened with diabetes and hardening of the arteries and then in about 1939 was diagnosed with cancer of the rectum. The cancer spread through her body over the next 14 months, and she succumbed to its effects at the age of 84 on July 23, 1961. The remains were transported to Connellsville to rest for all time next to her husband's in Hill Grove Cemetery. Daughter Leona Henry (1902- ? ) was born in 1902. She married Floyd Schofield ( ? - ? ). They made their home in Mount Lebanon, a prominent Pittsburgh suburb, in 1941. By 1986, they had moved to Cumberland, Allegany County, MD.
Son Ray Younkin Henry (1904-1985) was born on Feb. 9, 1904 in Somerset County. He spent his 40-year working career as an educator. As a high school senior, he achieved the highest grades in mathematics and science at Connellsville High School and was awarded a medal from the Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute of New York. On April 15, 1927, at the age of 23, he married 26-year-old Alice Letitia Weaver (Oct. 9, 1901-1978), a native of Windber, Somerset County and the daughter of Jacob J. and Emma Elizabeth (Hayes) Weaver. They had four known children -- Larry Fred Henry, Ray Rex Henry, Gail Suzanne Werner and Linda Lou Ebertshauser. They dwelled in McKeesport, near Pittsburgh. He joined the faculty of Duquesne High School, presumably to teach mathematics, and from 1927 to 1937 coached its Dukes basketball team, achieving Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) championships in 1928 and 1933. Circa 1938, he was elected principal of Duquesne High School and then in 1957 retired at the age of only 53. But he resumed working as a principal at West Homestead that year, remaining until 1963. In 1961, at the death of his mother, their address was 411 Catherine Street in Duquesne. He taught college mathematics at Point Park College from 1963 to 1968. He served for two terms as a director of the Gettysburg College Seminary and at one time was president of the Duquesne Businessmen's Association. For 17 years, he was treasurer of the Christ Lutheran Church of Duquesne and served as a lay pastor for two decades within the Lutheran Synod of America. At some point the Henrys divorced, and Ray married a second time to Grace Atkinson ( ? - ? ). At the age of 81, while in Myrtle Beach, SC, he died in Grand Strang General Hospital on the next-to-last day of 1985. His remains were transported to Johnstown, Cambria County, PA to be lowered into eternal rest in Grandview Cemetery. A feature obituary in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette gave the count of his survivors as 16 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. The Charlotte (NC) Observer also printed an obituary. Former wife Alice died in Duquesne at the age of 76 on July 18, 1978, with burial in Grandview Cemetery in Cambria County, PA.
Son Glenn Henry (1908- ? ) was born in 1908. He was head of the manual training department of Parsons High School in West Virginia. Nothing further is known.
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