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Cordelia "Della" |
Cordelia "Della" E. (Menefee) Frazier was born in July 1852 in Preston County, WV, the daughter of John and Sarah (Evans) Menefee. When she was just a few years old, her mother died, and the following year, in 1855, her father married Ruhama Hanshaw. Thus, for all intents and purposes, Ruhama became Della mother, and apparently raised her.
Della married Charles F. Frazier (1847- ? ), the son of William Frazier Sr., in about 1871. She was age 19, and he 24, at the time. They had four sons -- William Frazier, Thomas Caywood Frazier, Truman Y. Frazier and Frank C. Frazier. They also helped raise grandsons Charles "Albert" Frazier (born in 1896) and Paul B. Frazier (born 1898).
They made their home in Tunnelton and Newburg, Preston County, where Charles was a railroad fireman and locomotive engineer. The census of 1880 shows them living in Newburg with their three eldest sons and also Charles' aged parents.
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Bird's eye view of Tunnelton |
When tragedy struck, and William H. Menear, husband of Della's step-cousin Helen (Purinton) Menear died of lead poisoning at the age of 23 in September 1889, Della and Charles, and her sister Sarah and husband John Gibson, traveled from Tunnelton to attend the funeral, and were mentioned in a related story in the Preston County Journal.
The federal census of 1910 shows the family in Newburg, with Charles and son William both employed as railroad engineers. In their household that year were grandsons Charles "Albert" Frazier (age 15) and Paul B. Frazier (age 12). Living just two doors away were Della's widowed step-mother, Ruhama Hanshaw, and Della's unmarried half-sister Belle Menefee, age 47.
By 1920, when the census again was taken, the Fraziers resided on or near the county road, and lived alone in retirement. He was age 72, and she 67, that year. During the decade of the 1920s, Charles and Della moved into the home of their married son Truman "Ty" Frazier in Clarksburg, Harrison County, WV.
Little is known about their fates, but will be reported here when learned.
Son William A. Frazier (1873- ? ) lived with his parents at age 27 in 1900 and at age 37 in 1910. Like his father, he worked as a locomotive engineer in Tunnelton. He may have married Grace (?) (1878- ? ), a New Hampshire native, and lived in Fort Wayne, Allen County, IN circa 1920, but this needs to be proven. He is known to have resided in New Castle, Lawrence County, PA in 1937.
Son Thomas
Caywood Frazier (1876-1937) made his home with his
parents at age 23 in early 1900. Later that year, he married Cecelia
Helenna Fisher (-1936), the daughter of George W. and Mary (Dickson) Fisher.
They had five children -- Charles Frazier, Mrs. Earl Billiter, June Ross,
Raymond Frazier and Robert Frazier. Thomas worked for many years as a rural postal mail
carrier and lived in Newburg, Preston County. Said the Preston County Journal,
he "was a member of the Knights of Pythias Lodge and other
organizations." Sadly, his wife died on May 18, 1936, but her details are
not known. A widower, Thomas moved into the home of a nephew, Albert Frazier, in
Newburg. Thomas died of pneumonia at
the age of 60 on April 20, 1937, in Newburg, and was laid to rest in the Knights
of Pythias Cemetery. The informant on his death certificate was daughter June Ross
of Masillon, OH.
- Son Charles Frazier lived in Massillon, Stark County, OH in 1937.
- A daughter married Earl Billiter and in 1937 made their home in Massillon.
- Daughter June Frazier married Glenn Ross and resided in Massillon in 1937.
- Son Raymond Frazier lived in 1937 in Romney, Hampshire County, WV.
- Son Robert Frazier made his home in Newburg.
Son Truman Y. "Ty" Frazier (1879- ? ) was a store clerk in Tunnelton in 1900 and lived with his parents. He married Ella B. Harrington (1878-1947), the daughter of Thomas and Missouri (Zinn) Harrington, in about 1904 and they lived in Kingwood, Preston County during the 1900s through the 1910s and early '20s. Ty was employed in Kingwood as a commercial trader in groceries. Later, they moved to Clarksburg, where Ty was a salesman for a grocer circa 1930. They had one daughter, Louise B. Frazier (1909- ? ). In 1930, Ty's aged parents lived under their roof in Clarksburg. Ella passed away two days after Christmas in 1947, of congestive heart failure and hypertension, in Clarksburg. Her remains were sent to Newburg for burial. Truman is believed to have moved to Maryland in his later years, and to have died there in March 1965.
Son Frank C. Frazier (1882- ? ) worked as a day laborer circa 1900 in the Tunnelton area, but apparently went on to a career in the military. He is thought to have married Marie Jean (?) (1878- ? ), an Illinois native. They had one son, Harold Victor Frazier (born 1913). (Note -- the son also has been recorded as being named "Charles.") Trained at For Leavenworth, KS, Frank soonafter was transferred to Hawaii. Circa 1913, when their son was born, the Fraziers lived in Honolulu, HI. In 1920, they resided in a home on North Euclid in Pasadena, Los Angeles County, CA, with Frank employed as a military engineer. By 1930, they made their home in Brooklyn, Kings County, NY, where Frank was stationed as a warrant officer for the U.S. Army. Circa 1937, when he was named in the Preston County Journal obituary of his brother Thomas, Frank lived in San Francisco, CA.
Copyright © 2008-2009 Mark A. Miner