Howard Minard
(1858-1912)
Howard
Minard was born on Jan. 15 or June 15, 1858 in Selbysport, Garrett County, MD or in
nearby Somerset County, PA, the son of Joseph L.
and Nancy (Stuck) Minard. In turn, Howard's grandfather is thought, but not
proven, to have been our Solomon and
Rachel (Little) Minard Sr. of Ohio.
Howard was the high-energy, flamboyant and community-active proprietor of a hotel in Dunbar, Fayette County, PA, but died soonafter going through a bankruptcy. More needs to be researched and discovered before his connection to our family is proven with more precision.
When Howard was age seven, in 1865, his father met with an
untimely death, and was buried in Addison, Somerset County. Within a few years,
his mother remarried to Jasper Umble (also spelled "Humble"). In 1870, when the federal census was
taken, the 12-year-old Howard lived with his mother and step-father near Fayette
Springs, Henry Clay Township, Fayette County. Sadly, his mother lived only
another few years, and passed away in 1872. As she was dying, she asked her son
Howard to promise that she would be buried in the Stuck family farm near Markleysburg, Fayette
County.
Howard may have gotten a taste of hotel management as a teenager from a neighbor and distant cousin Samuel Minerd, who operated the Fayette Springs mountain resort from 1871 to 1873. He "was in business in Connellsville [PA] for a time," said a local newspaper, "and [in 1884] went to Pittsburgh as sales agent for a preserving company, with whom he remained many years, and was later with a firm of wholesale grocers several years."
When Howard was age 23, in 1881, he purchased a 50-acre tract of land in Garrett County, MD, from his kinsman, Howard and Jennie Stuck. The price of the land was $400. It was part of the Military Lot #2910, "lying West of Fort Cumberland," and had been conveyed to the Stucks in 1879 by Thomas Maust and wife. The rocky land contained white oak and locust trees, among other natural growth. After owning the property for six years, Howard sold it for a 38 percent profit to Elijah T. Fike of Preston County, WV. At the time, Howard resided in Allegheny City, Allegheny County (today Pittsburgh's North Side).
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| Turn of the century Allegheny City (Pittsburgh), with Exposition Park -- home of the Pirates baseball team -- at lower right |
Circa 1889, when he was 31, Howard was a traveling salesman and resided in Allegheny City's First Ward. On April 30, 1889, Howard married Katherine Ebner (1869-1954), the daughter of John Ebner. She was a native of Allegheny County, PA but at the time of marriage a resident of Beaver Falls, Beaver County, PA. The ceremony took place at St. Thomas's Church, led by the Very Rev. John Hickey. There was an 11-year difference in age between Howard (31) and Katie (20).
The Minards went on to have three children -- Joseph J. Minard, Marie M. Ryan and Gertrude Louise Gallivan-Kreuer.
From
1902 to 1906, Howard was the owner/proprietor of the Dunbar
Hotel in Dunbar, Fayette County, PA. The handsome structure is seen at left.
The Connellsville (PA) Courier said it "is known to be one of the best small town
hotels in Fayette county."
He purchased the property from William Dull and James I. and Saloma Feather of Uniontown, Fayette County, on Aug. 13, 1902. He obtained the 11,936 sq. ft. tract for the whopping sum of $20,000.
Howard apparently did not receive a liquor license until April 1905, which would have made it difficult to attract customers.
During his four-plus years in Dunbar, Howard must have been aware of the distant cousins of his father's who had resided there for decades. Among these were the adult children of William Minerd, James Minerd Sr., John Vernon Smith Minerd and Andrew Minerd.
Howard kept a very high profile in the Dunbar community and was often mentioned in Connellsville newspaper stories, undoubtedly to promote his hotel. Newspapers spelled his name "Minerd" in keeping with the high population of Minerds in the region.
In late June 1906, the Weekly Courier said that Howard was in charge of construction of a new post office building in Dunbar. He had architect Cooper of Uniontown design the building, which "will present quite an attractive appearance when complete," said the Courier. "It will be a two-story building and will probably be constructed of cement blocks. On the first floor there will be a commodious and well-lighted room for the postoffice. To the rear of the postoffice there will be a sample room. The second floor will be arranged for dwelling purposes." The Minards also made news when attending birthday and garden parties and calling on friends.
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German Beneficial Union advertising card |
He was a member of the St. Thomas Roman Catholic Church of Braddock, the Connellsville Branch of the German Beneficial Union, and the Connellsville Lodge of the Elks.
Katherine became ill in late 1905, and went to the Markleton Sanitarium in Somerset County, PA, for treatment. Howard and the children visited her off and on, shuttling from and to Dunbar. The sanitarium advertised itself as having:
Finest bath equipment in the Middle West. Trained Nurses, expert masseurs, skilled attendants, three physicians. $2.50 per day up, including all services and treatment. 2000 feet above sea level. In the Heart of the Alleghenies. Pure air and mountain water -- no malaria, no mosquitoes.
By mid January 1906, Katherine had regained her health, and returned home. The Weekly Courier said she "went to Braddock ... where she will visit for a few days with friends."
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Markleton Sanitarium, where Katherine was treated in late 1905 |
Son Joseph was injured in April 1906 while playing with a friend, who "accidentally hit him with a piece of glass, which cut quite a gash," reported the Weekly Courier. "[He] is now going about with a patch over his right eye." In July 1906, while suffering from "rheumatism," Howard traveled to Mt. Clemens, Michigan, "to obtain some relief from his suffering," reported the Daily Courier.
From 1906 to 1912, Howard also owned a hotel in Ridgway, Elk County, PA, and thus was managing two properties simultaneously.
Some 33 years after his mother's death, in
October 1905, Howard had her
remains moved from the Stuck Farm to Addison
Cemetery so the family would be together for eternity and for convenience in
maintaining the site. He had the combined
grave marked with a large, haunting statue as a memorial to his deceased father,
mother and baby brother. In an article in the Daily Courier, Howard let it be known that
the cost of transporting the remains was $160 and of the impressive monument was $2,000.
The
front of the base of the monument features his name in all capital letters --
"HOWARD MINARD" and includes a large, carved monogram of his
intertwined initials, "H" and "M."
In the 1930s, laborers with the Works Progress Administration recorded all the burials at Addison Cemetery, and prepared a long typed list of the names and dates. Today, this list is available online on the Somerset County GenWeb Archives, on page 21.
For all of his high flying visibility, Howard may simply have been desiring for his hotel property to be perceived as viable and lucrative, so that he could sell it at a high markup. The Courier in May 1905 reported that Howard was considering disposing of it to M.J. Tulley, but the deal apparently fell through.
A year and a half later, Howard's fortunes changed for the worse. In the fall of 1906, he alleged that two women robbed him of a diamond ring in Pittsburgh. Judge Umbel of the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas issued a ruling that the hotel bar remain closed, and that Howard must show cause why his liquor license should not be revoked.
On Oct. 23, 1906, Howard purchased a vacant lot in Dunbar from
George H. and Sarah M. Swearingen for one dollar. Standing adjacent to
Connellsville Street, the Methodist Episcopal Church, Main Street and a brick
warehouse. The lot was intended to be an alleyway between the church and the
warehouse, connecting Main Street with Connellsville Street. The transaction
must have been designed to consolidate Howard's real estate holdings prior to
eventual sale.
On Oct. 26, 1906, the Weekly Courier reported that Howard had finally sold the property, lease and fixtures to Harry Van Gorder of Scottdale for "a consideration that will reach over $40,000," the article said. "There were a large number of prospective bidders for the property at Dunbar on Friday and Saturday."
After selling the hotel, Howard and Katherine moved to Pittsburgh, where he was a traveling salesman in and around the booming steel town of Braddock. Their home was located at 5421 Gertrude Street in Hazelwood.
During their years in Hazelwood, Howard apparently rented and/or purchased a hotel and bar in Wheeling, Ohio County, WV. The saloon deal was a fiasco, as only one-third of the $6,000 price was paid, and the liquor license was refused. Faced with a crushing debt of $9,600, and with no way to generate cash flow to repay it, Howard voluntarily filed for bankruptcy in mid-September 1911 in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. He owed creditors for liquor, ice, dry goods, jewelry, milk, cigars, beer, meat and furniture. He also owed contractors for carpentry, steam pump castings, machinery and electricity. Worse yet, he owed his wife $3,500 which he had borrowed in March 1910, likely depleting some of their life savings.
Howard apparently did not let the Wheeling letdown deter his entrepreneurial aspirations, but it was a fateful and tragic decision. In 1912, he apparently was contacted by "Mr. Lennox," a Pittsburgh as a real estate broker, about a new investment property. They went together, along with Fred Stickel of Indian Creek, Fayette County, to the railroad town of Sand Patch, Somerset County, to negotiate the acquisition of the Sand Patch Hotel.
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B&O station at Meyersdale, where Howard suffered his fatal stroke |
"[The]
details of the sale of the hotel, owned by Keifer and Stickel, to Minard, were
practically agreed upon," reported the Meyersdale (PA) Republican.
"Minard, Stickel and Lennox were returning to their homes Tuesday evening
and were waiting for the 6:25 train at the Meyersdale station when Minard was
stricken with apoplexy." The newspaper went on to report the following:
He was sitting in the passenger shed when he collapsed and his condition was not noticed by his companions until the train pulled in. When the others got up to board the train they called to Minard to come on, but as he did not move, they went back and found him in an unconscious condition. The conductor was told there was a sick man to be helped aboard the train, but not knowing who the man was, the conductor took one glance at him and signaled the train to go ahead, remarking that it was his opinion that the man was drunk and he did not have time to bother with intoxicated passengers. Minard's companions remained with him and carried him to the Boswer hotel and called Dr. W.T. McMillan. The latter pronounced it a case of apoplexy and recommended getting him home or to a hospital as quickly as possible. Accordingly, Dr. McMillan and Minard's friends took him to Braddock on the next train, where he was placed in the Braddock general hospital...
Sadly, Howard died the next morning, on Oct. 24, 1912, without having regained consciousness. His obituary was published in the Pittsburgh Sun, Uniontown Morning Herald and Meyersdale Republican. His tired remains were laid to rest in Calvary Cemetery in Pittsburgh.
The fatherless children petitioned the Allegheny County Orphans Court for a legal guardian. At the December Term of court in 1912, the children's grandfather, Joseph L. Ebner was given the appointment.
Katherine and the children lived in Hazelwood, considered the East End of Pittsburgh, in August 1913. They occasionally returned to Dunbar to visit friends, including Mrs. George W. Wagner.
Katherine
apparently never remarried. She spent her last years living at 1411 Browning Road
in Pittsburgh. outlived her husband by more than four decades. She died in
Pittsburgh at the age of 86 on July 29, 1954. In her will, she left $500
each to her granddaughters Marie Ryan Undercoffer and Anna Marie Ryan.
Son Joseph J. Minard (1896- ? ) registered for the World War I military draft in 1918, and stated his employer as Westinghouse Electric Company of East Pittsburgh. He was vice president of Genuine Motor Parts Company in Pittsburgh circa 1954.
Joseph's
granddaughter, Anne Minard, is a science writer and journalist whose work
has been published in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Arizona
Daily Sun, Arizona Daily Star, Arizona Highways, Science Magazine and
many smaller publications. She is the author of Pluto and Beyond,
published in 2007 by Northland Publishing. She also is a contributing editor
to Renewing America's Food Traditions: Saving and Savoring the
Continent's Most Endangered Foods, edited by Gary Paul Nabhan. Visit her
website.
Daughter Marie Minard (1893- ? ) married John M. Ryan (1887- ? ) on Sept. 9, 1914, at Sacred Heart Church in Pittsburgh. John was a native of Washington, Washington County, PA, and the son of James and Anna (Cain) Ryan. At the time of marriage, John was a clerk.
Daughter Gertrude Louise Minard (1900- ? ) married Joseph Howard Kreuer (1898- ? ) on June 10, 1920, by Rev. Joseph Suln of 130 Larimer Avenue in Pittsburgh. Joseph was a native of Pittsburgh, and the son of Joseph and Magdalene (Brown) Kreuer. At the time of marriage, Joseph was vice president of "Petroleum Corporation" and resided at 505 Larimer Avenue.
Copyright © 2000-2008 Mark A. Miner.
Dunbar House photograph courtesy of the Dunbar
Historical Society.