Edward
Miner
(1904-1961)
Edward
Miner was born on March 12, 1904, in Mill Run, Fayette County, PA, the son
of William Henry ‘Squire’ and Sara
Jane (Basinger) Minerd.
On June 29, 1928, Edward married Gertrude Emma Bowers (1910-1990), the daughter of William and Susan (Klink) Bowers Sr.
The Miners had five children – Ellen Gertrude Porterfield, Charles Lawrence Miner, Kenneth Edward Miner, Evelyn Marie Johnson-Balsley and Bessie ‘Marcine’ Karpowich.
Edward was a coal miner. He was employed by “Catty” Evans of Connellsville, Fayette County. Circa 1953, he lived at worked in the nearby Fairchance area.
Tragedy
struck on Dec. 3, 1961, when Edward lost his life in a housefire in
Connellsville, Fayette County. The Connellsville Daily Courier said that
the blaze “originated from a cast iron space heater within the building.
Borough firemen were called to the scene after neighbors discovered the flames
and attempted to save Miner.”
He was laid to rest in the Normalville Cemetery.
Gertrude
outlived her husband by nearly 30 years. During
this time, she also lost her son Charles (died Jan. 1, 1987), daughter Bessie
(died Sept. 5, 1984) and son in law Louis W. Balsley (died Jan. 25, 1987).
In her later years, Gertrude resided in Scottdale, where she was a member of the First Assembly of God Church.
Gertrude passed away on March 31, 1990. She also is buried in the Normalville Cemetery.
Daughter Evelyn married Louis W. Balsley (1920-1987). Said the Daily Courier, Louis was “a retired material handler for Swan’s G.E. Appliance Store. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army during W.W. II.”
Son Kenneth was pictured in a 1992 article in the Greensburg (PA) Tribune-Review for his efforts to obtain a high quantity and quality of potable water in his neighborhood in Connellsville.
Copyright © 2004-2005 Mark A. Miner