Bio-Hall, MinnieHyatt

Minnie (Hall) Hyatt
(1869-1949)

Minnie (Hall) Hyatt was born on about April 28, 1870 in or near Ohio Pyle, Fayette County, PA. The identify of her parents is unknown, though they both were natives of West Virginia. As a very young girl, she was taken into the home of John K. and Lucinda (Minerd) Hall and raised there to adulthood as their adopted daughter.

When she was age 19, in about 1888, Minnie married David "Ross" Hyatt (1864-1932), the son of Hiram and Abi Hyatt. They had grown up together as neighbors near Ohio Pyle.

The Hyatts had seven known children -- Hiram "Glenn" Hyatt, Richard Clyde Hyatt, Robert L. Hyatt, Alonzo "Reid" Hyatt, Christy Hyatt, Levina "Grace" Scarlett and Gladys Catherine Hall.

Minnie "was a licensed midwife for 45 years," said the Connellsville Daily Courier. They resided in Ohio Pyle, Fayette County, and were members of the Sugar Loaf Union Church. Ross was a member and officer of the Ohio Pyle lodge of the Odd Fellows.

When the federal census was taken in 1900, Minnie and Ross and their four eldest children lived in Stewart Township, Fayette County. Under their roof that year were Ross's brothers in law, Franklin J. Hyatt (age 13) and William H. Hyatt (age 24). Residing next door were Minnie's parents and adopted brother John C. Hyatt and adopted sister Annabelle Miller.

The 1910 census shows the Hyatts making their home in Stewart Township, with Ross employed as a farmer, and son Hiram "Glenn" working as a laborer. Minnie's widowed mother, Lucinda Hall, age 59, also lived under their roof that year.

Ohio Pyle House -- a prominent local landmark Minnie would have known well.

In 1920, the census shows Ross and Minnie residing as farmers near Ohio Pyle. Daughters Grace and Gladys were in the home that year. At about that time, Ross visited Dickerson Run, Fayette County, seeking to buy a farm. He returned home without success in March 1920, telling the Connellsville Daily Courier that several sellers offered him land, but that he turned them down, saying he "thought they were all in the profiteering business."

Minnie and daughter Gladys are known to have attended the Minerd-Miner family reunion, held in August 1924 at Confluence, Somerset County, PA. Said the Meyersdale Republican, "A very successful and pleasant reunion of the Minard family was held in what is known locally as Lincoln's grove, near the Western Maryland Railroad Station, August 9th. Eighty-two persons were present, most of them being members of the Minar [sic] family and their connections. The family is a numerous one in Western Pennsylvania, especially in Fayette, Somerset, Westmoreland and Huntingdon Counties."

Ross and Minnie moved into Ohio Pyle Borough during the 1920s, and are shown making their home there in the census of 1930. In 1930, Ross was a laborer on the state road, and Minnie listed as a midwife in the nursing field.

Ross died at home at the age of 59 on Dec. 15, 1932, "following a lingering illness of more than five months duration, four of which he was bedfast," said the Courier. He was laid to rest in Sugar Loaf Cemetery. At his death, he was survived by only three of his seven children -- Reid, Grace and Gladys -- as well as six grandchildren. His sisters Mrs. I.F. Woodmancy and Angelina Hyatt, and brothers Harrison Hyatt and Arthur Hyatt, all of Ohiopyle, also were living at the time.

Minnie made a life as a widow for 17 years. When she celebrated her 67th birthday in April 1937, said the Courier, she "was given a chicken dinner... at the home of her son-in-law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Dewey Scarlett. She was also presented with a birthday cake." Her grandsons Robert Lee Hall and Arthur Hall of Ohiopyle also attended.

Minnie enjoyed traveling and often was mentioned in local newspapers for her voyages, "never too late to have a good time even if you are a grandmother," noted the Uniontown Morning Herald. She ventured to Detroit and Windsor, Canada in August 1935 to see her grandchildren and friends. While there, the Herald said, she saw "the notes Mt. Clemens sanitarium, the Shrine of the Little Flower at Royal Oaks,... made famous by the noted Father Coughlin, and many other places of interest. She also attended a gospel tabernacle and was with a group of singers whose singing was broadcast, so she can say she was 'on the air'." In September 1937, the Courier reported that she and the Scarletts "motored" to Perryopolis, Fayette County, to see Minnie's uncle, B.F. Hall. She is known to have spent a week at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Dean in Flatwoods, Fayette County, in October 1948. When grandson Robert Lee Hall obtained employment in Rockwood, Somerset County, PA, in the telegraph office of the Western Maryland Railroad, she spent a weekend at his home in February 1945. In April 1949, she went to Canton, Stark County, OH to visit her daughter and son, Grace Scarlett and A. Reid Hyatt, who had moved there some time before.

Scenes Minnie would have seen on her travels -- the Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago in 1934 (left) and the New York World's Fair in 1939.

Perhaps the most ambitious of her travels was a November 1934 trip to Chicago for the Century of Progress Exposition, in company with Mr. and Mrs. Robert Sprowl and Helen Leonard; and in September 1939, when Minnie and her friend Annie Daniels went to New York City to take in the World's Fair.

In January 1939, Minnie and Grace Scarlett traveled to Greensburg for the funeral of "John Hyatt." Also attending were Mr. and Mrs. I.F. Woodmency and Mr. and Mrs. Lee Woodmency. We are researching just who John Hyatt was, and how he fit into the clan.

Talented with needle and thread, Minnie entered her quilts in the annual Mill Run Community Fair, sponsored by the Mill Run Grange. Her creations were on exhibit with other quilts, along with displays of live stock and live entertainment throughout the two-day event. In September 1940, her appliquéd quilt took second place in the "Fancywork" category. At that same year's fair, distant cousins Ada (Whipkey) Minerd won top honors for her bread and dahlia flowers, Gertrude (Bowers) Miner received second prize for her beans and Ida (Burkholder) Younkin took home awards for her flowers in the categories of Larkspur, large Marigolds and Verbenia.

Minnie died at the age of 80, at the home of her nephew Marion Hyatt in Uniontown, on Sept. 19, 1949. Following a brief funeral at the Ohiopyle Baptist Church, and a longer one at the Sugar Loaf Union Church, she was buried in the Sugar Loaf Cemetery. At the time, she was survived by 11 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Son Robert L. Hyatt (1897-1917) was born in July 1897. He apparently died unmarried, at the age of 20.

The Courier of Aug. 24, 1917 reported that "Robert Hyatt who has been ill at his home for some time, died on Wednesday evening. Interment will be made in the Sugar Loaf cemetery."

Son Alonzo "Reid" Hyatt (1900-1970) was born on March 10, 1900 at Ohiopyle. He married Lulu Morrison. They had two daughters -- Bertha Hyatt and Gertrude Marshall.

In September 1918, Reid registered for the military draft during World War I. On his card, the registrar noted that Reid had blue eyes and brown hair, and that he was employed as a farmer by his father. His mother was named as his "nearest relative."

Circa 1932, the Hyatts resided in Jefferson, Greene County, PA. Later, Reid "managed Kroger and A. & P. Supermarkets in Uniontown and Connellsville," said the Daily Courier. In about 1945, he accepted an offer to join Hoover in Canton, Stark County, OH, and moved his family there.

Reid died in Canton at the age of 70 in late April or early May 1970. The funeral was held in Canton.

They had five children -- Betty Mae Scarlett, David Scarlett, James Scarlett, Alonzo Scarlett and Della Jackson.

Dewey was a coal miner, and circa 1928-1935 was employed at the Crucible mine in the Monongahela River valley of Greene County, PA. In July 1935, he suffered an injury at work, to his abdomen, and returned home to Mill Run to recuperate. Circa 1942, he worked across the river in East Millsboro, Fayette County.

Grace was active in the Hickman Chapel near Mill Run, and helped direct a Christmas program there in 1937 along with Mrs. Albert Stull.

The Scarletts lived in Bear Run near Ohio Pyle, on the Mill Run road. When their daughter Della reached her 16th birthday, in August 1940, a party was held at their residence, with about 75 guests. "The evening was spent in games," said the Courier, "after which lunch was served by Mrs. Scarlett, assisted by Miss. Margaret Scarlett and Mrs. Wendell Burnsworth. the honored guest was the recipient of many lovely gifts." Guests came from Dunbar, Maple Summit, Mill Run, Normalville and Ohiopyle.

Tragedy struck in September 1940 when 11-year-old daughter Betty Mae was killed by a "runaway" automobile while trying to save her five-year-old brother Alonzo from being crushed under its wheels. Reported the Courier:

The two children were playing in the road in front of their house when a car, which had been parked a short distance above, bore down on them. Seeing the impending accident, Betty reached for her brother, Lorenzo, and pushed him out of its patch. She, however, was unable to escape and was crushed under the right front wheel. The car went on down the road and stopped when it struck an embankment. The girl suffered internal injuries and shock, in addition to innumerable brush burns and bruises. She was taken to the home of her grandmother, Mrs. Minnie Hyatt of Ohiopyle, and a physician summoned. Because of the intensity of the shock and severity of her injuries, she was unable to be moved to a hospital. She lay in a coma all night and died at 7 o'clock this morning, never regaining consciousness.

In about 1945, the Scarletts migrated to North Canton, Stark County, OH, where they spent the remaining years of their lives. The city is seen here of that era.

Said the Courier, Grace "was a member of the Canton Baptist Temple, and was a Sunday school teacher for a number of years." Their home was at 9105 Cleveland Avenue Northwest in North Canton.

While visiting in St. Petersburg, FL in the winter of 1971, Grace became deathly ill and was admitted to the St. Petersburg Memorial Hospital. Sadly, she did not recover, and died there at the age of 67 on Feb. 27, 1971.

Circa 1971, son David lived in Canton; son James in Canal Fulton; son Alonzo in Navarre, OH; and daughter Della Jackson in Lorain, OH.

Daughter Gladys Catherine Hyatt (1907-1936) was born on Feb. 17, 1907 at Sugar Loaf near Ohiopyle.

In 1926, when she was age 19, Gladys married Elmer Hall. They lived in Ohiopyle and had four children -- Robert L. Hall, Ruth Ravenscroft, Clarence Arthur Hall and an unnamed son who died in infancy.

Gladys suffered from an incurable disease, and was admitted to the Mont Alto Sanitarium in 1936, some distance from their home. After three months of treatment, she died there on Nov. 16, 1936, at the age of 29. Her body was returned home for the funeral, which included a brief service at their home and a full service at the Indian Creek Baptist Church, led by Rev. F.S. Wortman. She was buried at the Hickman Chapel Cemetery.

Mont Alto Sanitarium campus, where Gladys Hall passed away in 1936

Elmer outlived his wife by 33 years. He died in 1969. They rest together for eternity.

Son Clarence Arthur Hall (1932-1976) was born on May 9, 1932 in Ohiopyle. He married Mildred, and they resided in Cumberland, Allegany County, MD. Clarence was employed as a warrant officer for the U.S. Coast Guard, and was manager of Microdyne Electronics of Cumberland. He died in Cumberland at the age of 43 on March 16, 1976, with his obituary published in the Courier. Following funeral services at the Humbert Funeral Home in Confluence, he was buried at Johnson Chapel Cemetery.

Daughter Ruth Hall married Samuel Ravenscroft. They made their home in Ohiopyle circa 1976.

Hickman Chapel grave photos courtesy of Caine Luckey