Amos William Harbaugh
(1867-1928)
Amos
William Harbaugh was born on June 5, 1867 on a farm at
what is now Clairton Lake near Scullton, Somerset County,
PA, the son of David and Mary Magdalene (Whipkey)
Harbaugh.
On June 22, 1893, Amos married Nora M. Cramer. They lived in Middlecreek Twp., Somerset County, and had one daughter, Ruby Miller-Peck.
In August 1924, Amos and Nora, along with his mother and Ruby and her son Loren Peck, were among a crowd of 82 who attended the annual Minerd-Miner Reunion at Lincoln's grove, near the Western Maryland Railroad Station in Confluence. In an article about the reunion, the Meyersdale Republican newspaper reported: "A very successful and pleasant reunion of the Minard family was held ... The family is a numerous one in Western Pennsylvania, especially in Fayette, Somerset, Westmoreland and Huntingdon Counties. The gathering on Saturday was their twelfth annual reunion. Among those present were Mrs. F.P. Peck and son, Loren, Mr. and Mrs. A.W. Harbaugh and Mrs. Martha Gorsuch, Rockwood... "
Tragedy rocked the family on June 13, 1925, when Nora died at home of heart failure. A newspaper reported that she had been in her usual health, and after spending a pleasant evening with her family and then reading her Bible, went to bed:
...About 2 o'clock the family were awakened by her, stating that her
breathing was affected, but assuring them it was nothing to be alarmed
about. Dr. G.F. Speicher was summoned on the Harbaugh home, only to
pronounce that she had gone to her reward about thirty minutes before his
arrival. [She] was conscious to the last, with her last breath
saying: 'I am going,' and pressing a parting kiss on her daughter's lips,
who was holding her in the open air when the end came, she departed this life
with a smile of peace on her countenance.
Widower Amos is known to have attended his mother's 94th birthday party in August 1926, at the old family homestead. The event drew a crowd of 225 people, and was so successful that it became an annual event, what is now the Harbaugh Reunion.
Less than two years later, in March 1928, Amos died at home, at age 61. He was buried beside Nora at the Rockwood IOOF Cemetery.
Daughter Ruby, seen at right, married John Peck and Earl D. Miller. The photograph is thought to have been taken in April 1944. According to the Cooprider's 1947 Harbaugh History, "Mr. Peck was a farmer, and Mr. Miller drowned." Her fate is unknown, but will be reported here when learned.
Copyright © 2000-2003, 2007 Mark A. Miner