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John Rayman Jennings Jr.
(1873- ? )

John Rayman Jennings Jr. was born on Feb. 22, 1873 at Ohiopyle, Fayette County, PA, the son of John R. and Martha (Knight) Jennings Sr. He was a longtime railroader in Fayette and Beaver Counties, PA, and was married three times. He was of medium weight and build, and had blue eyes.

Legal papers involving John's first marriage provide fascinating insights into his life as a railroader. On Oct. 5, 1894, he and Helen W. Hager eloped to Cumberland, MD to get married. He was age 21, and she was 16. At the time of marriage, he had saved about $350.

They lived in a rented house in Dawson, Fayette County, containing three rooms and a basement, which was used as a kitchen and dining room. Two rooms were used as furnished bedrooms and one as a sitting room. John's supervisor on the railroad, E.C. Carr, later said the home "was as good as could be expected and rather better than I expected, that is everything looked nice and neat and comfortable, above the average of the home of the ordinary working man in his circumstances."

A bird's eye view of Dawson of the era is seen here.

As a railroader, John worked "every day," leaving home about 6:30 a.m., and often returned home about 5:30 p.m. He earned $1.20 a day. In the words of his boss, "While he was working for me he made full time and over time, ... and when I needed a man I frequently called on him, and he would always respond. Don't remember of his ever disappointing."

In September 1895, he and Helen separated. She went back to her parents' home in Dawson, and he went to Ohiopyle near his parents' home. At the time he sued to divorce Helen, in 1904, he worked for the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad at Buena Vista near Pittsburgh, PA. His sister Jennie Griffiths testified in the divorce hearing.

In June 1900, John was residing at the Ohiopyle home of his sister and her husband, Mary and Walter Shipley. The census records that at age 27, he claimed to be a widower.

John remarried again, at over the new year's holiday of 1905-1906, to Ethel Maud Foster (1880- ? ). In reporting on the wedding, the Connellsville Daily Courier, in its "Vanderbilt" gossip column, said the marriage took place:

... at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Calvin Martin. Rev. R.L. Price, of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, said the words that caused the two hearts to beat as one. After the ceremony a big supper was spread out before the invited guests. Their many friends wish them a long and happy life.

Their four children were Rayman E. Jennings, Velma Bleasdale, Jennie Schaubut and Ruby McMaster.

In 1912, when one of their sons was born, they were residing in West Newton, Westmoreland County, PA. Seen at right is the old Baltimore & Ohio Railroad passenger depot in West Newton. Note the snow piled on each side of the railroad tracks.

Later during the decade of the 1910s, John and Ethel relocated to Beaver Falls, Beaver County, PA, apparently having been transferred to the booming P&LE Railroad operations there. In Beaver Falls, his title with the P&LE was "supervisor." A rare old postcard bird's-eye view of Beaver Falls and its railroad bridge is seen at left.

John registered for the military draft among millions of American men during World War I. At the time, he was "supervisor of tracks" with the P&LE in Beaver Falls and marked on his card that he suffered from "index finger stiff on right hand."

When the federal census was taken in 1920, John and Ethel made their home in College Hill Borough in Beaver Falls, near Geneva College.

The census of 1930 shows John making his home with daughters Velma, Jennie and Ruby, and son Rayman, on Second Avenue in Beaver Falls. It is not clear on the census record whether John is marked as "married" or "widowed" but no spouse was in the household that year. The census-taker marked John's age as "unknown."

Son Rayman E. Jennings (1913- ? ) married Wilma Erath ( ? - ? ). They had five children -- Ronald Jennings, douglas E. Jennings, Janet Dory, Carol Yoho and Linda Angeli. Rayman spent 39 years working for Babcock & Wilcox. Rayman often visited his first cousin, Otto Shipley, who also resided in Beaver Falls, and who was the first mayor of the town of West Mayfield.

Son Ronald Jennings married Ann (?). Ronald died sometime prior to 2009.
Son Douglas E. Jennings (1956-2009) was married and had a daughter. He "was a United States Navy veteran and an avid hunter and fisherman," said the Beaver County Times. "He excelled in baseball during his high school years. He was a member of the Chippewa United Methodist Church, LMBA of New Galilee, Beaver Falls Owls Club and the West Mayfield Vets. He passed away at the age of 53 on June 5, 2009.

Daughter Velma J. Jennings (1910- ? ) married (?) Bleasdale.

Daughter Jennie Jennings (1918- ? ) married (?) Schaubut.

Daughter Ruby Jennings (1923- ? ) married (?) McMaster.