Joanna "Anna"
(Harbaugh) Weyant
(1863-1917)
Joanna
Laura "Anna" (Harbaugh) Weyant was born on March 12, 1863 on a farm at
what is now Clairton Lake near Scullton, Somerset
County, PA, the daughter of David and Mary Magdalene (Whipkey)
Harbaugh.
On March 4, 1888, at the age of 25, Anna married Curtis Freemont Weyant (1865- ? ). This fact is recorded in fancy but fading handwritten script in the old Harbaugh family Bible. Sometimes Curtis' middle name also has been listed as 'Freeman.'
The Weyants
had two children -- Lucy
Etta Riley and James Edgar Weyant, seen above in an unusually informal
portrait for that era of photography.
In the image seen at right are, seated left to right: Curtis and Joanna with an unknown child; Joanna's aunt Rebecca (Whipkey) Miller, and Joanna's mother Mary Harbaugh. Standing, left to right: daughter Lucy, son James, uncle Isaiah Miller and father David Harbaugh.
Shortly after marriage, Anna wrote a short poem in the autograph book of her sister Letitia Stoner. The handwritten page is seen at the end of this biography.
Circa 1900, the Weyants lived in Upper Turkeyfoot Township, Somerset County, where they were farmers. Later, they made their home at Humbert, Somerset County, a town that was built to house employees of lumbering and coal operations. For all intents, the town no longer exists, and its foundations are covered by grassy fields.
By 1910, their home was in Somerfield near Addison, Somerset County, in the vicinity of the National Road (today's Route 40). That year, according to the federal census, Curtis had no employment.
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Curtis Weyant and his niece Iva (Conn) Henry feed his livestock. Photo by Davis Studio. |
It's believed that Curtis may have suffered from some sort of debilitating injury or illness that affected his hips or legs. In the photo on this page, he walks holding a cane in each hand, standing beside his wife's niece Iva (Conn) Henry. In the card, Iva writes to a cousin: "Here is me and Uncle Curt feeding the turkeys and pigs."
The
Weyant home is seen at right.
Both Curtis and Joanna died relatively young. Curtis passed away in 1915. The details are not known.
Joanna outlived her husband by two short years. At age 54, she died on Oct. 28, 1917. A search of the local newspaper, the Meyersdale Republican, failed to find Joanna's obituary.
Their final resting places also are unknown.
Daughter Lucy Etta Weyant (1888- ? ) married (?) Riley. They resided at Addison, Somerset County, PA. Lucy is known to have attended her grandmother Harbaugh's 94th birthday party in August 1926. The gathering was so well attended that it became the first Harbaugh Reunion, an event which is still held today. In 1936, Lucy is known to have attended the Harbaugh Reunion at the Kingwood Picnic Grove in Somerset County, and is pictured in a large group photograph taken that day.
Son James Edgar Weyant (1891- ? ) is believed to have married Mary Ringer (1889- ? ), the daughter of Uriah Ringer. The wedding took place in about 1912. They had at least three children, Frank E. Weyant, Lena E. Weyant and Clara Weyant. In 1920, they lived in North Versailles, Allegheny County, PA, on Oakdale Road. That year, James' employment was as a motorman on a street railway (streetcar). Circa 1930, they resided on Punta Gorda Street in East McKeesport, Allegheny County, PA, an industrial suburb of Pittsburgh, where he continued to be a streetcar motorman. The Weyants moved to Warren, Trumbull County, OH in about 1942, during World War II, where he obtained work at the Ravenna Arsenal of the Lordstown Ordinance Depot. Sadly, James passed away in Warren on Nov. 13, 1949, at the age of 58. A brief obituary was published in the Connellsville (PA) Daily Courier on Nov. 16, 1949. His remains were returned to Somerset County for burial in the Addison Cemetery.
Copyright © 2000-2003, 2007-2008 Mark A. Miner