John
H. Inks
(1873-1926)
John
H. Inks was born near Farmington, Fayette County, PA, on April 21, 1873, the
son of Andrew J. and Minerva (Minerd)
Inks.
As a boy, John is thought to have been injured in a freak and unexplained farm accident. The Aug. 31, 1883 Connellsville Keystone Courier reported that:
... a son of A.J. Inks, aged about 10 years, was sent to put a horse in pasture. A short time afterwards he was found lying in the road in an insensible condition and had a gash two inches long cut in his leg. The bone was laid bare along the whole length of the wound. Dr. Newman was sent for, who sewed up the wound. After the boy was restored to consciousness he could give no account of the manner in which he received his injuries.
As a young adult, John moved to Pittsburgh, settling in the city’s Knoxville and Carrick neighborhoods. He was an electrician, and worked for the city’s major electric utility, Duquesne Light Company.
On Oct. 23, 1901, in Knoxville, John married Alice Powell (1874-1954), the daughter of William and Margaret (Phillis) Powell. They had one daughter, Mildred Smyers.
In 1910, the Inkses lived at 324 Sheridan Avenue
in Pittsburgh. A decade later, they resided at 405 Sierra Street, also in
Pittsburgh.
John died at his home on Phillips Avenue in Carrick on July 13, 1926. He is buried at South Side Cemetery in Pittsburgh. His obituary was published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
By
1929, widow Alice was living at 300 Walnut in the Pittsburgh suburb of Mt.
Oliver. She outlived her husband by more than a quarter-century.
She passed away on Aug. 2, 1954, and was buried beside him at South Side.
Daughter Mildred was a clerk for Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. She married Herbert A. Smyers Sr., and lived on Mt. Washington in Pittsburgh. He was an engineering draftsmen for United Engineering & Foundry.
Copyright © 2001-2002 Mark A. Miner