Margaret (Hoye) McClain
(1878-1959)
Margaret (Hoye) McClain was born on June 27, 1878 in
Oakland, Garrett County, MD, the daughter of John
J.P. and Louisa (Minerd) Hoye Sr.
When Margaret was about two years old, she moved with her parents to the booming industrial town of Dunbar, Fayette County, PA, where she grew up.
On June 11, 1898, Margaret married Charles D. McClain ( ? -1967). Their wedding photograph portrait is seen below right.
The
McClains had six children -- Perry Harlan McClain, Louise Schrenckengost, Mabel
Lloyd, Ruth McClain, James Paul McClain and Beatrice Smith Kollar.
Sadly, daughter Ruth died at the tender age of 10 months on Nov. 16, 1907.
Charles was a stable boss for the Oliver Coal Company. The family resided circa 1906 in Mt. Braddock and in 1911 in Oliver, both of which were coke works towns near Uniontown, Fayette County. Later, they moved to R.D. 3, Smithfield, also near Uniontown.
According to the 1942
book, The Hoyes of Maryland, by Capt. Charles E. Hoye, Charles also was a
farmer.
Margaret passed away at age 81 on May 16, 1959. She was laid to rest at Mount Moriah Cemetery in Smithfield.
Charles outlived his wife by eight years. He died on March 30, 1967, and also rests for eternity at Mount Moriah Cemetery.
Daughter Louise McClain (1901-1995) married Frederick Schrenckengost in November 1924. They resided in Fairchance, near Smithfield, and circa 1959 in Haddenville. Frederick was a glazier (glassmaker). They had one son, Frederick Homer Schreckengost. Louise died at the age of 94 on Aug. 22, 1995. Son Fred (1925-1953) passed away at the age of 28, of causes unknown.
Early view of unpaved Morgantown Street in Fairchance
Son Perry McClain (1899-1987) married Thelma Weir (1903-1989) on Dec. 11, 1922 in
Uniontown. Perry was employed as a mechanic in
Uniontown. They had four children -- Betty Ruth Stewart, Charles "William"
McClain, Robert Daniel McClain (1926-1988) and Carol Glover. During World War
II, both of the McClain sons served in the U.S. military -- Robert in the Navy
in the submarine service, and William as a paratrooper. One of them -- William
-- paid the supreme sacrifice by giving his life for the cause, one of more than
25 Minerd family cousins who were wartime
casualties in our history. William took part in the June 1944 D-Day invasion in
France, "and was wounded shortly after the first outfit of paratroopers
landed in Normandy," said a newspaper. "Returning to England, young
McClain recovered in a base hospital and returned to duty. Several weeks later
he was fatally wounded in the leg." William died Oct. 6, 1944, in Holland.
His remains were not returned home for five years. His funeral was held on Feb.
5, 1949, with burial at Sylvan Heights Cemetery in Uniontown. Father Perry died on Oct. 17, 1987, at the age of 88. Thelma passed away on
July 5, 1989.
Daughter Mabel McClain (1906-2007) married Raymond Lloyd (1904-1980) on Dec. 17, 1926. They also lived in Fairchance, where Raymond worked as a clerk. Raymond also labored as a coal miner. They were members of the First Baptist Church of Fairchance, and Mabel also attended the Wharton Furnace Union Chapel. The Lloyds had two daughters, Marguerite Edwards and Donna Smithburger. Raymond died in 1980. Mabel outlived him by more than a quarter of a century, and she celebrated her 100th birthday on Jan. 4, 2006. She passed away the following year, on the Fourth of July 2007, at the age of 101. She was laid to rest in the Mount Moriah Baptist Cemetery in Smithfield, Fayette County.
Son James McClain (1911-2004) married Mildred Pugh on Feb. 2, 1934. They had two sons -- Frederick Lee McClain and Charles Andrew McClain. He later married Rose Gerard. Said the Uniontown Herald-Standard, Jim "was a heavy equipment operator with Operating Engineers Local 66 and Labor Union Local 1058 until his retirement and a local farmer in the Smithfield area where he and his family lived all of their life."
Daughter Beatrice McClain (1916-2005) married Thomas Smith ( ? - ? ). They had two children, Thomas Smith and Lou Ann Smith. The Smiths resided in St. Petersburg, FL in 1959. Later, Beatrice married George Kollal ( ? - ? ). Beatrice passed away in 2005.
Copyright © 2005, 2007 Mark A. Miner