Bio-Leonard, Christmas

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Christmas Leonard
(1846-1905)

Christmas Leonard was born on -- what else -- Dec. 25, 1846, in Fayette County, PA, the son of Benjamin and Sarah (Harbaugh) Leonard. His name sometimes was misspelled as "Christian."

"Chris" married Fannie Elizabeth "Ann" Rankin (1851-1935), the daughter of Joseph and Susanna (Hensel) Rankin. They had five children – Chauncey A. Leonard, Homer R. Leonard, Sadie Rush, Ellen F. "Ella" Manley and Mabel E. Leonard. They resided in Stewart Twp., Fayette County.

The Uniontown newspaper said he "always was a strong robust man and always a hard worker…." He was a member of the Meadow Run Methodist Episcopal Church.

Chris's father and brother in law George Perry Potter were "the first to manufacture splint chairs on Meadow Run," says the 2000 book, The Explorer's Guide to the Youghiogheny River Gorge, Ohiopyle, & S.W. Pennsylvania's Villages, by Marci McGuinness and Bill Sohonage. Later, Chris and his brother Reuben "kept his business going long after [the father's] death."

Fannie was considered "one of the most widely and highly esteemed residents of the mountain district…." A Uniontown newspaper once said she was "a devout Christian and beloved by everyone whom she met. She had been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church since early girlhood."

When the federal census of 1870 was taken, Chris and wife "Ann" were living in Stewart Township, Fayette County, but had not yet had any children. Chris lived as next-door neighbors to his brother Reuben and also to Isaiah Collins, all three of whom were listed as chair makers.

Chris was afflicted with kidney disease, a malady which seems to have been common in the Harbaugh family. In 1903, his kidneys began to fail, and a newspaper reported that:

...after consulting a physician it was found he was suffering from Bright’s disease or diabetes and the disease had taken such a hold on his system that all the doctors could it, it seemed they could only give him relief. He spent awhile at the Uniontown hospital but the doctors give him no hope, and it was only on account of his iron constitution that he lived as long as he did.

(Uniontown Hospital is seen here in a rare old postcard view.) Chris died on Jan. 16, 1905, after about two years of suffering with the illness. He was buried in the Belle Grove Cemetery (today known as Irwin Memorial Cemetery) near Ohiopyle.

Fannie died at home at age 84 on Feb. 7, 1935, from the effects of a stroke. She also was buried at Belle Grove, and a lengthy obituary was published in the Uniontown newspaper.

~ Daughter Mabel E. Leonard ~

Daughter Mabel E. Leonard (1889-1979) was born on Dec. 9, 1889. She apparently never married.

She was a 1923 graduate of what is now California University of Pennsylvania. According to the Uniontown Evening Standard, Mabel "taught school for 42 years in the Mountain School, beginning at the age of 16 in a one room school house. She had also taught in Redstone Twp."

Mabel was close with her sister Sadie Rush. At Mabel's death on March 20, 1979, at the age of 90, she was buried beside her sister. A beautiful red granite marker stands on their grave today.

Final resting place of sisters Sadie Rush and Mabel Leonard at Belle Grove Cemetery near Ohiopyle

~ Daughter Ella (Leonard) Manley ~

Daughter Ellen F. "Ella" Leonard ( ? - ? ) is believed to have been a "school marm" in Room No. 2 in Ohiopyle in December 1905, making her home at Belle Grove.

She married Ray G. Manley on June 26, 1913, at the Christian parsonage in New Salem, Fayette County. The groom's father. Rev. Ernest E. Manley of New Salem, performed the ceremony.

She resided at Cardale, Fayette County, in 1958. Nothing else about the couple is known.

~ Daughter Sadie (Leonard) Rush ~

Daughter Sarah "Sadie" Leonard (1880-1959) was born on Nov. 21, 1880. She married (?) Rush. Sadie passed away at the age of 78 on Sept. 18, 1959. She rests for eternity beside her unmarried sister Mabel E. Leonard in the Belle Grove Cemetery near Ohiopyle.

In 1994, a photograph of Sadie, standing at the Meadow Run Methodist Episcopal Church, was published in the book, Yesteryear in Ohiopyle and Surrounding Communities, Vol. II, compiled by author Marci Lynn McGuinness.

~ Son Homer R. Leonard ~

Son Homer R. Leonard (1878-1958) married Anna Sproul ( ? - ? ). They had nine children -- Robert Leonard, Olbert "Ollie" Leonard, Helen Leonard, Russell Leonard, Frederick Leonard, Elwood Leonard, Warner "Beanie" Leonard, Ray S. "Deacon" Leonard and Lawrence Dale Leonard.

Sadly, son Frederick S. Leonard died at the age of one in 1917, with burial at the Thorpe Cemetery (Belle Grove). A small, red granite marker stands at the grave, and was photographed in 2001. Daughter Helen also died young.

Homer and Anna were lifelong residents of Ohiopyle and longtime farmers. They were members of the Oak Grove Methodist Church.

Running on the Republican ticket, Homer won election in February 1908 for Inspector of Stewart Township, beating Jehu Rowan 81 votes to 35.

Homer passed away at home at the age of 80 on Sept. 15, 1958. Following a funeral at the family home, he was buried at Johnson's Chapel Cemetery near Confluence, Somerset County, PA.

Grandson Ray S. "Deacon" Leonard (1914-2007) married Dorothea V. Bowers ( ? -1997). They are not thought to have had children. Ray served as mayor of Ohiopyle for a dozen years, and was a charter member of the Ohiopyle Volunteer Fire Department. He also received a Purple Heart for wounds received in France during World War II. Said the Uniontown (PA) Herald Standard, "As a businessman Ray operated his own saw mill, Ray Leonard Lumber, for many years, and was also skilled in wood working, leaving behind many beautiful pieces for others to enjoy for years to come. Ray had many accomplishments in his life to be proud of and he told stories about them to all who would listen. He was very proud of the time he gave to serve our country in the United States Army." Dorothea passed away in 1997. Ray outlived her by a decade. He died on New Year's Eve 2007, at age 93. He was laid to rest in the Normalville Cemetery.
Grandson Odbert "Ollie" Leonard (1912-1999) married Alberta G. Lowery (1919-2005) on March 1, 1937, when he was age 25 and she 18. Ollie was a coal miner and member of the UMWA for six decades. According to the Uniontown Herald-Standard, Ollie "served as Stewart Township Supervisor for 18 years, was a Board member of the Ohiopyle-Stewart Community Center, a member of the Advisory Board of the Penn Highlands Teens for Christ and had served as President of the Irwin Memorial Cemetery." Ollie passed away on Jan. 4, 1999, at the age of 87. He was laid to rest in Belle Grove Cemetery near Ohiopyle. Alberta "served as Stewart Township Secretary for many years and was a member of the Ohiopyle Grange No. 1933," said the Herald-Standard. She died in 2005.

Ollie and Alberta Leonard's grave at Belle Grove

Grandson Lawrence Dale Leonard (1924-2009) married Doris Morrison in about 1952. They had no children. He owned the Lawrence Leonard Dairy Farm and was a member of the United Dairyman's Association. He also was the executor of his father's estate in the late 1950s and early '60s. Said the Herald-Standard, he "was a lifelong member of the Meadow Run Community Church, Ohiopyle," ... and a "Charter Member of the Ohiopyle-Stewart Volunteer Fire Department." In mid-August 1956, when Connellsville, Fayette County celebrated its sesquicentennial (150th) anniversary, Lawrence served on the Agricultural Day Committee along with distant cousins Graydon Work and Emmett Newell. Lawrence was named in the official program booklet, today preserved in the Minerd- Minard- Miner- Minor Archives. A number of other cousins were active volunteers with the celebration, including former Connellsville Mayors Dr. H. Daniel Minerd and Ira David Younkin who were members of the Executive Committee. Lawrence passed away at the age of 85 on Oct. 10, 2009, the last of his brothers and sisters. Following a funeral led by Rev. Martin Stewart and Rev. Donald Bowser, he was laid to rest in Irwin Memorial Cemetery.