What's New

Photo of the Month

Biographies

Reunions

Interconnectedness

Honor Roll

In Lasting Memory

In the News

Our Mission and Values

Annual Review 2011

Favorite Links

Contact Us

Francis "Frank" Mayle was born in March 1879 in Barbour County, WV, the son of Hiram "Poke" and Margaret (Minerd) Mayle. The paper trail of his life story is filled with uncertainty and confusion -- so this biography will spell out the facts as they are known.

The 1900 census shows Frank making his home with his parents in rural Philippi. 

Circa 1900, Frank apparently had a relationship with his next door neighbor Sarah Mayle (1882-1926), the 18-year-old daughter of the late Boston Mayle and widowed Susan (Baker) Mayle. Frank and Sarah produced a daughter, Laura "Fez" Mayle the following year, in April 1901. 

Later in 1900, on Oct. 18, 1900, the 21-year-old Frank married 16-year-old Huldah J. Male (1883-1914) in Barbour County. She was the daughter of (?) Norris and "Lady" Lacey A. (or "Susan") Male. Frank and Hulda went on to have at least two children, Harold "Harley" Mayle (born 1902) and Chester C. Mayle (born 1905).

The marriage between Frank and Hulda ended sometime between 1905 and 1908. 

Frank's fate after that is unknown. He has not yet been located in the federal census of 1910 and may have died sometime during that decade.

Hulda married again, at age 22, to William Andrew Collins (1877-1947), on Sept. 10, 1908. He was the son of Charley and Sally (Collins) Bishop. (William's birth year has been given also as 1872 and 1883.) Hulda and William went on to have at least one daughter, Octavus Collins (born 1910). 

Sarah Mayle -- mother of Frank's daughter Laura -- went on to wed Samuel Kennedy (1872-1954), the son of Jacob and Margaret (Mayle) Kennedy of Barbour County. The Kennedys were farmers and lived near Grafton, Taylor County and had two children of their own -- Hayward Kennedy (born 1909) and Dorcas "Doris" (Kennedy) Thorpe (born 1907). Sarah passed away on March 31, 1926, at Cecil, Taylor County. She was laid to rest in West Hill Cemetery near Grafton. Said the Grafton Sentinel, she died "of complications following an illness of one year. She had been a resident of that section for a great many years." In Sarah's newspaper obituary, her daughter Laura "Fez" Croston was not mentioned, but children Hayward and Doris were cited by name. Samuel outlived his wife by almost three decades. He died less than a week before his 82nd birthday, on March 9, 1954, in Weston, Lewis County, WV.

• Hayward Kennedy (1909- ? ) lived in Grafton in 1970 and was named in the Barbour Democrat obituary of his half-sister, Laura (Mayle) Croston. 
• Dorcas Kennedy (1907- ? ) married (?) Thorpe and in 1970 lived in Grafton, and also was mentioned in Laura Croston's obituary as a half-sister.

When the 1910 federal census was taken, Frank's family of children was divided. Daughter Laura (age eight) resided in the home of her widowed grandmother, 60-year-old Susan Male in Philippi. Son Harold (age eight) and Chester (age five) lived with their mother Hulda and step-father William A. Collins in Philippi, as next door neighbors to Frank's parents Hiram "Poke" and Margaret (Minerd) Mayle and just a few houses away from Frank's brother Elsworth "Elzie" Mayle. Hulda's second husband William Collins was a laborer performing "odd jobs" as shown on the 1910 census.

Sadly, son Harold Harley Mayle (1902-1914) died at the age of 12 in 1914, of causes unknown. 

Hulda's fate after 1910 is lost to history. Records of Welch Cemetery in Philippi show that a Hulda J. Collins (1885-1914) died in 1914, but this grave is not necessarily proven to be our Hulda.

William A. Collins died on Jan. 3, 1947, at the age of 70. He was buried at Welch Cemetery in Philippi. 

~ Daughter Laura "Fez" Croston ~

Daughter Laura "Fez" Mayle (1901-1970) married World War I veteran Earl Croston (1892-1934), the son of Lewis and Darcella "Druzilla" (Newman) Croston. She was age 17, and he 23, at the time of their marriage in about 1918. They were longtime farmers in the Philippi area, residing on Chestnut Ridge.

The Crostons had 11 known children, Saragourney ("Sygurnine" or "Sigerno") Newman, Isabelle Newman, Orlenis Dalton, Miranda Mayle, Nichodemus Croston, Edgar Croston, Jethroe Croston, Amond Croston, Evelyn "Evelene" Kennedy, Loretta "Rettie" Newman and Violene Kennedy. Eight of these children were alive as of 1934.

The federal census of 1930 shows the family making its home in the Philippi District of Barbour County, with their six eldest children living under their roof. Coming into the household within a year or two was Earl's aged mother.

During the heart of the Great Depression, in early 1934, Earl faced despair over mounting financial pressures and his ill health. Said the Philippi Republican, his "family and his neighbors said that he had been acting strangely for about three months" in the spring and early summer of that year. On the morning of July 2, 1934, he got up early and left home with his shotgun. In a front-page story, the Republican reported what happened next:

Shortly afterwards their daughter, who was near the house milking, heard a shot as did Joe Mayle, a nearby-neighbor, and different other ones heard the shot. Mayle and members of the family went in the direction of the shot and found Crosten in the woods near the path leading to a spring propped up against a tree. He had stuck the gun through the fence to hold it up against him and then had pulled the trigger with a small stick. The shot killed him instantly.

Local police were called, and the county sheriff, coroner and health physician came to the scene. No inquest was held, as the cause of death was plainly visible. After a funeral at their home on Chestnut Ridge, his remains were buried in Welch Cemetery. 

Laura outlived her husband by 36 years. "She was a Protestant by faith," reported the Barbour Democrat. Laura passed away at the age of 69, at Broaddus Hospital in Philippi, on Oct. 17, 1970. The funeral was held at Olive Hill Church, led by Rev. Winfield Mayle, followed by burial at at Welch Cemetery. At the time of Laura's death, she had produced two grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.

Son Edgar Croston (1926-2005) was born in Philippi but spent his adult years in Zanesville, Muskingum County, OH. Said the Zanesville Times Recorder, "He worked in construction for several companies most of his life and enjoyed fishing and hunting." Edgar married Pauline M. Hill on Aug. 29, 1951, when he was age 25. They went on to have four children -- Brenda Croston, Robert W. Croston, Laura Croston and Ella Rose Croston. At the age of 79, Edgar died at home in Zanesville "after a long illness," said the Times Recorder. He was laid to eternal rest in Woodlawn Cemetery.

Son Amond "Amon" Croston lived in Canton, Stark County, OH. A bird's-eye view of Canton is seen at right.

Daughter Evelene Croston (1922-2010) was born on March 17, 1922, in Philippi. She married Robert Kennedy (1916-1982), and they made her home in 1970 in East Canton. They had at one child, Josephine Kennedy. Robert passed away in March 1982 in Waynesburg, Stark County, OH. Evelene outlived him by more than a quarter of a century. She passed away at Aultman Hospital in Canton on May 31, 2010, at the age of 88.

Daughter Loretta "Rettie" Croston married (?) Newman and resided in Canton. 

Daughter Violene Croston (1928- ? ) married (?) and lived in Canton in 1970. 

Son Amond Croston made his home in 1970 in Canton, OH.

Son Nichodemus Croston died sometime prior to 1970. 

Daughter Sygurnine Croston (1920- ? ) wed (?) Newman. She passed away before 1970. 

Daughter Miranda Croston (1918- ? ) married (?) Mayle. She lived in Philippi in 1970. 

Daughter Isabella Croston married (?) Newman and in 1970 resided in Canton. 

Daughter Orlenis "Orleans" Croston wed (?) Dalton and circa 1970 made her home in Grafton. 

~ Son Chester C. Mayle ~

Son Chester C. Mayle (1906- ? ) may have served time in the Philippi jail in 1930, as shown on the federal census. He married Elsie Parsons (1911-  ? ), the daughter of Jonah Parsons of Barbour County. Chester was 22, and Elsie 17, at the time of their wedding. They had at least two children -- John Mayle (born 1929) and May Mayle (1931-1945), born in Philippi. 

When the census was enumerated in 1930, Chester, Elsie and John made their home with Elsie's widowed father, farmer Jonah Parsons. In 1945, they lived in a trailer camp beside Meyers Lake near Canton, Stark County, OH. 

Tragically, on July 20, 1945, 14-year-old daughter May died of uremia at Canton's Mercy Hospital. Her remains were transported back to Philippi for burial. Chester was still living in 1970, in Canton, but nothing more is known of their lives. 

Copyright © 2005-2010 Mark A. Miner