Edna (Gorsuch) Hyatt
(1884-1971)
Edna Lilly (Gorsuch) Hyatt was born at Mt.
Pleasant, Westmoreland County, PA on Oct. 9, 1884, the daughter of Richard
M. and Martha (Minerd) Gorsuch.
Edna's parents moved often during her childhood. She primarily grew up in the mountains at the now-defunct town of Nicolay, where her mother was a US Postmistress. Nicolay was a crossroads near Mill Run, close to the border of Fayette-Somerset Counties, PA.
On June 5, 1901, when Edna was age 17, she married Lloyd M. Hyatt (1877-1947), the son of David and Mary (Wills) Hyatt. They were seven years apart in age.
Lloyd
is seen
at right.
The Hyatts lived in Draketown and Confluence, Somerset County, PA. Their children were James "Willis" Hyatt, Francis Melvin Hyatt, Edward Ray Hyatt, Mary Custer, Martha Hatton Lillustrung and Mildred Kreger.
A 1900 issue of the Connellsville Courier reported that Lloyd and friend Albert Younkin left Draketown "for Layton where they expect to swing axes in a timber tract there."
Edna is said to have lived near the corner of Sterner Street in Confluence in the downstairs portion of a two family home. Friends recalled her as "a tiny cute woman" who could be seen on her front porch or walking with armloads of groceries.
In August 1924, the Hyatts were among a crowd of 82 who attended the annual Minerd-Miner Reunion held at Lincoln's grove, near the Western Maryland Railroad Station in Confluence, Somerset County. Among other attendees were Edna's mother, brothers Richard, Charles and Carl, and nephew Wilbur S. Buzzard (Zearfoss). In an article about the reunion, the Meyersdale Republican reported: "A very successful and pleasant reunion of the Minard family was held ... A fine picnic dinner was partaken of at 12:30 p.m., after L.L. Mountain invoked a blessing." In the article the family name was misspelled as "Gorsage."
A newspaper once said that Lloyd "joined the I.O.O.F. 814 Lodge [in Confluence] in Jan. of 1921 and attended every meeting, 1300 of them until his first sick spell a year ago kept him from his Lodge."
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A common wintry sight -- men clearing a heavy snowfall on the road from Confluence to Somerset, circa 1936. |
Sadly, Lloyd died in
1947, at the age of 70. The cause of death is unknown.
Edna outlived him by 24 years. The photo seen at left shows Edna holding her little baby great-granddaughter, Kimberly (Neave) Shaffer, circa 1959.
The remarkable photo
at right is from the summer of
1954, comprising five generations of the family. Edna is seated at right, beside
her mother Martha. In the back row, left to right, are Mona Ruth (Kreger) Jarvis
and baby daughter Jerri, and Mildred (Hyatt) Kreger. The image was taken by
family friend Dr. E.M. Price.
Edna passed away at the age of 87 in 1971.She and Lloyd are buried together in the Ursina (PA) Cemetery.
Son Edward Ray Hyatt (1902-1985) married Freda Shipley ( ? - ? ). They resided in Confluence and later moved to Wickliffe, Mahoning County, OH. They had two children -- Donna Rae Hyatt and Wiletta Hyatt. Edward died in Wickliffe in 1985. He was laid to rest in the Indian Creek Baptist Church Cemetery in Mill Run, Fayette County, PA. (Edward's great-great-great grandparents, Jacob and Maria [Nein] Minerd Sr., also rest for eternity in the Indian Creek cemetery.)
Son Francis Hyatt (1906-1967) never married, and also lived at Confluence. He died on Oct. 31, 1967, in Confluence, at the age of 61, with burial at the Jersey Church Cemetery.
Daughter Mildred
Hyatt ( ? - ? ) married George Kreger. They
had five children -- Georgetta Kay Conway, Larry L. Kreger, Mona Ruth Jarvas,
Sandra Lynn Tressler and Rena Denise Kreger. It's said that George died in an automobile accident when he was in his 40s.
Son Willis Hyatt ( ? - ? ) lived in Painesville, Lake County, OH.
Daughter Mary Hyatt ( ? - ? ) resided in Buffalo, Erie County, NY in 1947.
Daughter Martha Hyatt ( ? - ? ) married Alfred Hatton and lived in Confluence. She is pictured below in a montage of women in this branch of the family.
Grandson Larry L. Kreger (1946-2005) resided in Mentor, OH. "He was a U.S. Army veteran who enjoyed hunting, fishing and archery," said the Somerset Daily American. He passed away in Willoughby, OH, on Nov. 29, 2005.
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Left to right: Ruth (Hatton) Neave Parsons Clark; Martha (Hyatt) Hatton Lillstrung; Edna (Gorsuch) Hyatt; Martha (Minerd) Gorsuch |
Great-granddaughter
Laura (Kreger) Pflueger creates colorful wooden keepsake boxes and canvases,
decorated with family trees, that are perfect as gifts. The samples seen here
were made for her mother for Mother's Day 2003. Laura prepares each
box and canvas differently, featuring the names of an individual's own family
tree.
The late Olive Duff researched the Hyatts and published their family listings in the Moon Genealogy booklet, which is preserved today in the Minerd- Minard- Miner- Minor Archives.
Copyright © 2000-2003, 2006-2008 Mark A. Miner