Bertha May (Ingles) Stone
(1876-1945)
Bertha
May (Ingles) Stone was born in 1876 in Fayette County, PA, the daughter of Andrew
"Stewart" and
Charlotte J. (White) Ingles. Her husband overcame serious
physical and educational obstacles to become a leading entrepreneur,
banker, and coal and coke industrialist of Uniontown, Fayette County. He also
was active in community service and helped raise funds to erect the well-known "Braddock's Grave"
national
monument along the National Road (U.S. Route 40), among many other worthy
initiatives.
On Aug. 17, 1893, Bertha eloped to Buffalo, NY to marry William Arthur Stone (1870-1936), the son of Sylvian (or "Solon") and June M. "Zana" (Dean) Stone. They were six years apart in age. William was born July 17, 1870 in Carroll County, MO, and moved to West Virginia and thence to Westmoreland County, PA, as a boy.
Bertha's marriage, which was troubled, caused problems with her father, who later said: "She married Mr. Stone against my wishes and protests." The Stones shortly moved to Kansas City, where they were joined by her mother, Charlotte, who was estranged from her husband. The couple returned from Kansas City in February 1895, and resided in Hopwood. Bertha's parents never reconciled, and her mother moved into the Stones' home.
The Stones had five children -- Wendell Allen Stone, Bertha "Yolande" Barton, Nina Ethelyn Whyel, Arthur "Elwood" Stone and Albert Thomas Stone.
~ Rags to Riches ~
William's "rags to riches" story is
especially fascinating. At age 10, he moved with his family to Fayette
County, and began working in the coal fields of McClure's Station at Leith. (Leith
is seen here in a rare old postcard. Note how close the worker houses at
left are to the railroad tracks at center and coke ovens to the right.) He
labored as a coke burner and coal miner until age 17, and then went to work at a
saw mill.
William suffered a serious accident at the mill when his left leg was severely cut, and had to be amputated. Said the Uniontown Morning Herald, "This was a most serious handicap for the young man, as his education at that time was exceedingly limited. But the loss of the leg, or the lack of education did not mean that there was no future for one so ambitious and stout-hearted."
In his rehabilitation, William began intensive
study at a school in Hopwood, and then began selling books as a source of
income. One book in particular -- the Golden Censor -- had a
profound influence, and "was most beneficial and strengthened his mental
equipment as nothing else within his means could."
William sold books for a Chicago company, and used his earnings to buy a grocery, but the venture failed. He then became a door to door salesman "spending five years in street selling in the different cities of the United States." For a second time, he invested his earnings in a store at Hopwood.
An 1891 edition of the Uniontown Genius of Liberty said that "W.A. Stone's new store-room [at Hopwood] is being pushed as fast as the weather will permit. Mr. Stone is an enterprising, pushing young man, and deserves the patronage of the people."
In about 1898, William was named treasurer of the building committee for the new Hopwood United Methodist Church. He found an available town lot on which to erect the structure, and he also helped raise funds. On June 9, 1901, the church was dedicated with morning and evening services -- the morning's sermon was based on John 12:32, and the evening sermon drawn from Gal. 6:4. He and Bertha and other members of the White family are mentioned in an online history of the congregation.
William and Bertha both were assistant editors and managers of a small monthly newspaper, The Hopwood Chronicle, in circulation between 1907 and 1909. Also joining in this effort was her uncle, Simeon T. Goff. In 1913, he launched another newspaper, The Daily Record, to support the Progressive Independent political party.
~ A Separation ~
The Stones' marriage was not going well during 1908, and on Dec. 2 of that year, Bertha left. Distraught, William offered a sizeable $2,500 reward and hired Pittsburgh's Perkins Union Detective Agency to distribute notices nationwide.
In
the notice was the following information about Bertha:
The supposition is she was accompanied by or now is in the company of Emery Martin also of Uniontown, Pa., whose cut and description is herewith printed. It is thought that Mrs. Stone is mentally unbalanced and her grief stricken husband ... earnestly desires that his wife be located and tenderly cared for until he be notified. There is no criminal charge pending against either of the missing parties. The motive of the husband in offering and pledging himself to pay this reward is to quickly locate the missing wife whom he still loves and cherishes and whose little children need their mothers care. It is thought Emery Martin if located can enlighten any person as to the whereabouts of Mrs. Stone. Do not incur expense of telegraphing unless identification is positive... Mrs. Stone was well supplied with money and may be found in any part of the United States or Foreign countries.
The notice provided a detailed description of tiny Bertha. At age 32, she stood 5 feet, 5 1/2 inches tall, weighed 126 lbs., and wore a size 3 1/2 shoe. Her eyes were clear blue, and her hair chestnut brown. She had a small mole on her left cheek bone and two other small moles on her left cheek. She had "good even teeth" with the lower teeth "set sideways on account of crowding." The notice said she was "very fond of amusements and likes to attend theatres; reads the bible and is religiously inclined." Among her "considerable jewelry" were a star shaped diamond brooch, a watch set with diamonds, two bracelets, one plain gold and the other opal links, a diamond and ruby ring, a large turquoise ring and a small amethyst ring on the little finger of her right hand.
Martin, on the other hand, was a veteran of the Spanish American War, having served in the Philippine Islands with the 41st Regiment. Two years younger than Bertha, he stood 5 feet, 7 1/2 inches tall, weighed 145 lbs., and had a slender build and "large hands." His eyes were brown and his hair "very black" and parted on the right hand side.
The outcome of the search is unknown, but it is believed that Bertha returned to their Hopwood home, and they remained married for the rest of their lives.
~ Business Expansion ~
Obsessed with expanding his business, using his sawmill experience, William formed the W.A. Stone Lumber and Cross Tie Company. In 1899, the Uniontown Daily News Standard called him "the Hopwood hustler" and reported that he was "shipping a large amount of lumber and other material from his mountain farm. He has 50 or 60 hands in his employ, also two portable saw mills running full time."
With capital accumulated from the store and
lumber ventures, William then made investments in the banking, coal and coke
industries. He purchased shares in the Peoples Bank of Fayette County,
located in a new "fine three-story brick and stone building," said
James Hadden's 1913 book, History of Uniontown, Pennsylvania. When in 1911
Peoples Bank merged into the Citizens Title & Trust Company, he became a
large stockholder, board member and first vice president. He remained
active with the bank until 1916, when he resigned. He also helped establish the
Union Trust Company of Uniontown, serving as president and director.
The Citizens Title and Trust Company building in
Uniontown is seen at right in a rare old photographic postcard of the era.
In 1912, William was pictured and profiled in the book, Genealogical and Personal History of Fayette and Greene Counties, authored by John W. Jordan and James Hadden. In the flowery writing style of the day, the editors wrote of him:
Western Pennsylvania has furnished the world with startling instances of the rapid development of men from depths of comparative obscurity to heights of dazzling altitude, but conditions of exceptional opportunity and special privilege added largely to their undoubted ability. In the career herein traced conditions exceptionally unfavorable had to be overcome and success literally forced from unwilling fortune. How well a crippled boy has fought the battle of life, gained the victory and reached an honorable position at little over forty years of age is a story worth the telling.
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William's name on a Citizens Title & Trust advertisement in the Big Redstone Home Mutual Telephone Co. Directory, ca. 1910 |
William used his coalfield experience to form the Prospect Coal and Coke Company in 1902. When this enterprise exhausted its mines, he formed other coal and coke companies, serving as president and director -- the W.A. Stone Company (1904), Waltersburg Coke Company (1906 to 1921), Hiorra Coke Company (1909), Laurel Coal Company, W.A. Stone Fuel Company, the W.A. Stone Coal Company, and the Bertha Coal and Coke Company, named after his wife. He not only owned mines but also was a coal and coke broker.
During
World War I, son Wendell (seen at right) served in the US Army. He enlisted
May 12, 1917 and trained at Fort Niagara and Camp Meade. He was commissioned a
first lieutenant and shipped overseas on July 1, 1918 as a member of Battery F,
312th Field Artillery, of the 79th Division. A photograph of Wendell later was
published in the book, Uniontown's Part in the World War.
In the first week of 1923, William's 81-year-old father Solon Stone, who was residing with the Stones in Hopwood, passed away.
Tragedy struck in March 1930 when son Albert was living in El Paso, TX. Albert and his uncle James Francis Stone were killed in an auto accident in New Mexico, while on a business trip visiting a family-owned mine in Silver City, NM. One of William's mines was located near Silver City, NM, where James had been overseeing plant operations in the late 1920s. In March 1930, Albert was dispatched to the plant "with some instructions." While driving together on location, said the Daily News Standard, "both [James and Albert] were instantly killed when the car in which they were driving ... was wrecked over an arroyo [dry gully]."
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Headlines about the tragic death of the Stones' son |
~ Braddock's Grave Project ~
William
understood the importance of history and tourism to the economic well-being of
the Uniontown and greater Fayette County region. In
1913, he served as Vice President of the Braddock Memorial Park
Association to erect a large, prominent memorial along Route 40 at Chalk Hill,
PA. The site is seen here before and after installation of the
monument.
The monument honors the memory of British General Edward Braddock, who was mortally wounded in battle during the French and Indian War, near present-day Pittsburgh. Braddock was brought back to Chalk Hill, where he died. His aide-de-camp, George Washington, presided over the burial, and ordered the grave dug in the middle of the road to keep Indians from exhuming and scalping the corpse. Years later, when Braddock's bones were found during road repair, they were reburied among a stand of nearby pine trees, surrounded by a fence. (Bertha Ingles' step-cousin, William 'Alexander' Gaither, was caretaker of the site for many years.)
In 1913, a 25-ton granite monument installed on the site, purchased by the Braddock Memorial Association. The landmark is a popular tourist stop today, and is administered by the National Park Service as part of the Fort Necessity National Battlefield. William's name is on a plaque on the monument.
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Yellow arrow marks William's name on the Braddock grave monument |
Active in the community, William served as
president of the Fayette County Chapter of the American Red Cross during World
War I and helped raise badly needed funds. He also was a member of the
Uniontown Country Club and the Uniontown lodge of the Elks.
~ Final Years ~
The Stones resided in what a local newspaper once called "the palatial homestead at Hopwood, called 'Wilastone Place'."
William died in his sleep, on March 19, 1936, at the age of 66. He had taken a nap before lunchtime, with instructions that he not be disturbed. When their married daughter Yolande arrived to join them for lunch, but he did not respond to the lunch call, Yolande went to his bedroom and found him gone. The cause was a heart attack or stroke, newspapers said. The news generated large headlines in the local Uniontown newspapers. The funeral was held at the home of their son Wendell in Uniontown, presided over by Rev. Dr. William Blake Hindman of the First Presbyterian Church.
Bertha outlived her husband by almost a decade. She moved into Uniontown to spend her final years. She died on July 3, 1945, at the age of 69. The Uniontown newspaper reported that she "passed away quietly while visiting at the home of Mrs. Theodore Pearsall of Farmington. A member of a prominent local family, Mrs. Stone was beloved by a wide circle of friends. Her death provided a distinct shock to the entire family."
They're buried side by side at Hopwood Cemetery, but under separate stones.
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The Stones' graves at Hopwood |
~ Legacy ~
Son
Arthur Stone (seen at left) went by his middle name, "Elwood." He was
a standout football player and business manager of his 1919 senior class
yearbook at Uniontown High School, The Maroon and White. (A copy of the
yearbook is in the Minerd-Minard-Miner-Minor Archives.) Circa 1930, he made his
home in Decatur, LA, and in 1945, he resided in Detroit, MI.
Daughter Nina Stone (1898-1974) married Thomas Whyel. They lived on Hillcrest Lane in Uniontown. Their two sons were Harry W. Whyel and William S. Whyel. Nina died at the age of 75 on Oct. 16, 1974, with burial at Oak Grove Cemetery in Uniontown.
Son Albert Stone married Mabel Rosalind Connelly. Their daughter Nina Jean Stone (1922-1979) married a man named Hugus. They had eight children. Nina Jean was "employed by the Uniontown Public Library for many years," said the Uniontown Morning Herald.
Son Wendell Stone settled in Uniontown, and made his residence at South Beeson Avenue and Berkeley Street in Uniontown. His fate is unknown, but it is known that he was alive as recently as 1974. More will be reported here when learned.
Daughter Yolande Stone (1897-1993) married Roberts Richard Barton (1897-1967). They had two children, and resided in Mt. Lebanon and McKeesport, both suburbs of Pittsburgh. Yolande was "proprietor of Barton's Distributing Company," said the Uniontown Herald-Standard. Yolande outlived her husband by more than a quarter of a century. She passed away on Dec. 19, 1993
Copyright
© 2000-2004, 2006-2007 Mark A. Miner.
Photographs of Bertha Ingles Stone and flyer of the Perkins Detective Agency circular,
courtesy of Jonathan
Lingel and the Astoria (OR) Public Library.