Joseph L. Minard
(1833-1865)
Joseph L. Minard was born
on June 20, 1833, most likely in Knox County, Ohio. He is strongly thought, but not
absolutely proven, to have been the son of Solomon
and Rachel (Little) Minard Sr. This biography is comprised of fragments of
information about Joseph, but as so little of his life is known, more needs to
be researched and discovered before his connection to our family is proven with
more precision.
When a young boy, in the early 1840s, Joseph's mother died at a tragically young age, leaving behind a large family of children. It's believed that Joseph and his sister Mary went to live with maternal aunts and uncles. Joseph was sent to near Selbysport, Maryland to reside with an uncle and aunt, Joseph and Ann (Coddington) Little. He was in the Littles' household in 1850 when the federal census of Maryland was taken, and when he was age 16.
Joseph married Nancy Stuck (1834-1872), whose family may have lived just over the state border in Somerset County, PA. They had three sons -- William Minard, Howard Minard and Charles Minard.
The Minards made their home near Somerfield in Henry Clay Twp., Fayette County, PA in 1860, with their sons. Joseph worked as a day laborer. Sadly, their son Charles died on Christmas Eve 1862, just a few weeks after his first birthday.
In 1857,
when Joseph's father died near Jelloway, Knox County, OH, Joseph was named in a legal
advertisement in a newspaper, naming all of Solomon's
living heirs, as published
in the Mt. Vernon Republican. The original today is found in Solomon's
estate papers in the Knox County courthouse in Mt. Vernon. The clipping is seen
here.
In another legal document in connection with the father's estate, Joseph's whereabouts were listed as "unknown," while the locales of all of his other siblings were spelled out in detail.
It's
believed that the Minards' home in Selbysport was close to the town of Addison,
Somerset County, PA, then known as "Petersburg." Addison sat along the
National Turnpike, also known as the National Road and the National Highway, our
nation's first super highway. At one end of town was a toll gate and eight-sided
toll-keeper's building that are preserved today. The unique building is seen
at left, and is located within one-quarter mile of the cemetery where Joseph
and Nancy later were buried. It is the home of the Great Crossings Chapter of
the Daughters of the American Revolution.
When the federal census was taken in August 1860, the family (spelled "Miner") lived near Somerfield, Henry Clay Township, Fayette County. Joseph, age 27, is marked working as a day laborer.
Sadly, Joseph died on Sept. 4, 1865, at the age of 32, just a few months after the end of the Civil War. It's not known if he saw military service during the war, but this is being researched. He was laid to rest in Addison Cemetery.
By 1870, Nancy remarried to Jasper Umble (also spelled "Humble") and had at least two more children, Benjamin F. Umble and Laura Umble. They all lived under one roof at Fayette Springs in Henry Clay Township, Fayette County, when the federal census was taken in 1870. Fayette Springs, also near the National Turnpike, was about 23 miles from Selbysport.
West Main Street in Addison
Nancy only lived a few years after her second marriage. Sadly, she passed away on May 2, 1872, at the age of 38. 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, just a few miles from Selbysport. The dutiful son complied with his mother's wishes.
Some 33 years later, in 1905, Howard had his mother's remains moved to Addison
Cemetery so the family would be together for eternity. He installed a marker for
the combined
grave that features a beautiful, mysterious and haunting statue of a woman in
thought, seated at the very top of the massive monument. Seen at right, no doubt this statue was intended to represent the
memory of his long-dead mother and the sorrow of Howard's loss at such a young
age.
One
of the reasons for the relocation was the convenience so it "could be
looked after better," said an article about the event in the Connellsville
(PA) Daily Courier. In an article in the Daily Courier
(seen at left), Howard let it be known that the cost of transporting the
sacred remains was $160 and of the monument was $2,000. During the work, the
casket apparently was opened, revealing a bow of ribbon and a decorative pin
which Nancy wore when buried, and which "were in a good state of
preservation."
During 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. Other members of the Stuck, Coddington and Umble clans also rest in the Addison Cemetery.
The fates of son William Minard (born 1855) and Nancy's second husband Jasper Umble are unknown, and possibly lost to history. They are being researched, and will be reported here when learned.
We are grateful to Little family researcher Sue Sohn for sharing her research findings on Joseph Minard.
Minard graves at Addison, L-R: Charles, Nancy, Joseph
Copyright © 2000, 2007 Mark A. Miner