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Bertha
(Freed) Means |
Bertha
Alice (Freed) Means was born on Aug. 14, 1878 in Vanderbilt, Fayette County,
PA, the daughter of Christian Stoner
and Esther (Barnhouse) Freed.
On Aug. 14, 1903, at age 25, Bertha eloped with widower Joseph T. Means (1874-1950), a coal miner, and son of William K. and Rebecca (Crossland) Means. His first wife had died in 1900.
They had three children -- Mary Harshman, Ruth Case and Esther Merryman.
The
Meanses first resided in Vanderbilt, until 1910, when they moved to Herbert, a coal mine
patch town near Uniontown, Fayette County.
The Uniontown Morning-Herald said that Joseph "was employed with the Connellsville Central Coal and Coke company ... until a few years ago when he became associated with the Fayette county commissioners. A staunch Republican, he was prominent in Redstone township politics for many years."
They were members of the Third Presbyterian Church and active
in the John Knox Bible Class. She also was a member of the Uniontown Order of
Eastern Star.
As Bertha's father aged, he came to reside in the Means home in Herbert. He passed away there in 1934.
Bertha died at home on July 20, 1946, at the age of 68.
Joseph outlived his wife by almost four years. At the age of 76, he passed away on March 11, 1950 in Uniontown. They are buried together in the Dickerson Run Cemetery near Vanderbilt.
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Uniontown skyline, circa 1920s |
Daughter
Esther Means ( ? - ? ) was a teacher for 35 years in Redstone Twp., near Uniontown. Her husband
Paul I. Merryman ( ? - ? ) worked for Motor Sales and Service, and later as an accountant
for U.S. Steel Corporation's Filbert Plant. She was a member of the Uniontown
Business & Professional Women's Club and the Uniontown College Club, and a
past matron of Chapter 263, Order of Easter Star, and district deputy.
Daughter
Mary Means ( ? -1934) married Harry P. Harshman ( ? - ? ) , a coal miner. Tragedy struck the family on Aug.
15, 1934 when Harry was killed when his skull was fractured in a coal mine
accident at the Colonial No. 4 Mine. He was buried at Mt. Olive Cemetery in
Connellsville, Fayette County. Mary provided for herself afterward by working at Montgomery
Ward Co. for 28 years.
Copyright © 2001, 2009 Mark A. Miner