J.
Gertrude (Conn) Firestone
(1894-1987)
J.
Gertrude (Conn) Firestone was
born on July 1, 1894 in Jersey Hollow near Confluence, Somerset County, PA, the
daughter of Alexander Wilson and Susannah
(Harbaugh) Conn.
Gertrude married Samuel Melchior Firestone (1888-1948).
They had four children -- Reba Garnet Peters Rush, Iva "Leora" Firestone, M. Ray Firestone and Virginia "Ruth" Anderson.
Gertrude and Samuel were members of the Turkeyfoot Valley Baptist Church. She also belonged to the Church Missionary Ladies, the WBA Lodge and the Confluence Firemen's Ladies organization.
Sadly, daughter Leora died in 1913, not quite three years of age. She was buried at the Jersey Church cemetery.
Two of the Firestones' children served in World War II -- son Ray and son in law Earl Jackson Peters (who married their daughter Reba).
Heartache rocked the family
just as the war was ending -- when Earl was
killed in action in the sinking of the USS
Indianapolis. His ship was torpedoed and went down in the South Pacific. The
disaster was made famous in the movie "Jaws" -- the vessel was on a top-secret
mission to deliver the A-bomb; having completed its mission, it was torpedoed
during its return; because of the high level
of secrecy, help did not arrive for days. Of the 900 crewmembers who
survived the sinking and went into the water, close to two-thirds were
devoured by sharks. A granite memorial honoring the crew stands today in
Indianapolis, IN. Earl also is named on the "Tablets of the Missing" at
Manila
American Cemetery in the Philippines and on a monument (seen here) in
his hometown of Confluence, PA. He also is featured on a special page on
the website of the American Battle Monuments
Commission. Also click to see Earl's name on the final
crew list, and an enlargement of his portrait as our June 2006 "Photo
of the Month."
|
| Earl Jackson Peters' ill-fated ship, the USS Indianapolis, and the 2001 book about the tragedy authored by Doug Stanton |
Samuel died at the age of 60 on July 22, 1948. He is buried at the Jersey Church near Confluence.
One July in the late '40s or early '50s, in a letter to a relative, Gertrude's mother wrote: "Gertrude and Iva has not bin here for some time. They don't get home often as they both work." In an October 1955 letter from Gertrude's mother to a relative, she wrote this update on family visits:
... yesterday Clint and his wife and family was here for dinner. Iva still lives at Kingwood and Gertrude still lives at Confluence and Lester still at bible school and Jess still at McKeesport... One of Nora's boys and his little girls was here the other Sunday to see us. Well we was glad to see them come.
At some point, Gertrude moved in to take care of
her aging mother. She took Susie to the Harbaugh
Reunion in 1956 at the Kingwood Picnic Grove, and the two women are seen together at
right. Note how
fragile Susie looks.
In August 1957, Gertrude was busy tending to her bedfast, dying mother. They received a visit from cousin Harry and Amanda (Burkett) Miner, and afterward Amanda wrote a letter about the visit to a relative:
We was to see Aunt Susan Saturday afternoon. I was in the room where she lays
but she is about the same. You ask if she knows things by times (no) but when
people go in and talk she gets so worked up. She just has Gertrude help her up
and down all night. They all should consider Gertrude's side of it and walk in
and not be talking till they go out of the room... Aunt Susan could last a year
yet or could go at anytime. She don't eat enough to keep a bird alive.
Gertrude said she hasn't had much time to write to no one.
She does canning fruit and vegetables besides caring for her mother. She canned
50 some qts. last week, 2 [bushels] peaches, pickles and beans. If she keeps
that up she will be gone before her mother yet.
Gertrude lived a long life despite her hard work. She periodically attended the Harbaugh Reunions, and in 1970 received the "Oldest Woman Present" award.
She passed away on Oct. 9, 1987, at the age of 93. She is buried beside her husband at Jersey Church.
Widowed daughter Reba Peters cared for their children Berniece and Garnet. Later, she married Thomas C. Rush (1919-1975), also a veteran of World War II.
Son
M. Ray Firestone ( ? -1981) served in World War II, and
his name also adorns the war memorial in Confluence (seen here). Ray was
employed by the Pennsylvania Railroad. He died in 1981.
Copyright © 2001-2002, 2005, 2007 Mark A. Miner