Lucinda "Jennie" (Miner)
Turner Stevenson Paolone
(1856-1936)
Lucinda
Jane "Jennie" (Miner) Stevenson-Paolone was born on July 24, 1856 born near Humbert, Somerset
County, PA, the daughter of Henry A. and Matilda
(Rose) Miner.
She never learned to read or write, and signed her name with an "X" in official documents. In 1871, she and her parents and siblings moved to Connellsville, Fayette County, a booming coal and coke town where jobs were plentiful.
In 1879, at age 22, Jennie was either married to, or a significant other of, Abraham G. Turner ( ? - ? ). He was 15 to 20 years older than she was. That year, on May 13, 1879, their daughter Hannah was born. The Turners separated at some point in time.
At age 37, Jennie eloped to Cumberland, Allegany County, MD in 1893 to marry John Stevenson. The Stevensons settled in Connellsville. In October 1902, John deserted her and spent several years away. Jennie later told a judge that she was compelled to take on "washing and scrubbing" work to support herself and saved enough to buy a "small three-room house and lot" in Connellsville. She later sued for divorce but it was never finalized. John apparently came back home, and died on Sept. 15, 1910.
In 1906, the City of Connellsville celebrated its centennial
anniversary. Jennie and her extended family of Miner siblings no doubt would have gone to see the
Centennial Arch, seen at right, located at the corner
of Crawford Avenue and Pittsburgh Street. The famed arch was constructed
completely of coal and coke, and was donated by her brothers' employer, the H.C. Frick Coke
Co., part of the United States Steel Corporation.
The initials of the company -- "H.C.F.C.Co." -- were lighted at
the very top, and outlined in red.
On Oct. 7, 1911, at age 45, Jennie married Italian laborer Frank Paolone (1871- ? ), of Connellsville, who was 15 years younger than she. The marriage was rocky, and in 1915 she sued for divorce. His fate is unknown.
Seen at
left is a rare old postcard
photograph of Connellsville's Main Street, looking eastward.
During the early 1910s, Jennie took care of her aged, widowed father. He died of gangrene at her home on July 26, 1912. The following year, she filed a claim with the federal government for reimbursement of her personal expenses in her father's final illness and burial. The Department of the Interior rejected the claim on the basis that he had left assets which, together with a Pennsylvania burial allotment, were sufficient to meet the expenses.
Jennie
countered by writing a letter, a portion of which is seen here. The
letter stated that outstanding debts and IOUs had wiped out the financial
resources of the estate, and that she had paid these down "by working in
the wash tub." She claimed to be "a broken down old woman" who
had "nursed him for over six months before death came to his relief. I had
to work washing to buy medicine for him and when he did I paid all the debts
against him as fast as I could earn a dollar to pay upon them." Because she
could not pen a letter herself, F.B. DeRoche performed the handwriting, and she
signed with an "X."
Jennie's surname on her father's medical bills and IOUs from 1912-1913 was spelled in various ways, such as Palona, Palogne and Bolone, and also as Stephenson.
When the federal census was taken in 1920, in an interesting arrangement, Hannah and her former husband Abraham Turner were living under the same roof in the home of their daughter Hannah, on 301 Connell Avenue in Connellsville. Also in the residence were Hannah's children Albert Giles, Sadie Giles, William Giles, Samuel Giles and Mabel Giles.
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| Jennie in a four-generation photo, circa 1920, left to right: Baby Straitiff, Sadie Straitiff, Hannah Giles and Jennie |
In 1929-1930, Jennie and her siblings attended the large McDowell-Miner Reunions held at Hillcrest Park in Connellsville.
Jennie resided in her final years in the home of her grandson Samuel Giles at 301 Connell Avenue in Connellsville. She is enumerated there in the federal census of 1930, along with her sister Mary Ann Richter. Her grandchildren lovingly called her "Granny."
She
suffered a fatal stroke in the Giles residence in late January 1936, and was
unconscious for about two weeks. Her sufferings ended on Feb. 10, 1936, when she
passed away, at the age of 79 years. The funeral was held in the chapel of John
J.D. Sibel, and she was laid to rest at Hill Grove Cemetery. Jennie's obituary
in the Connellsville Daily Courier noted that she was "survived by six
grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren. The grandchildren are Mrs. Hazel
Evans, Albert and William Giles, all of this city, Samuel Giles of Whitsett,
Mrs. Mabel Rosenbloom of Ambridge and Mrs. Sadie Straitiff of Scottdale."
The obituary also noted that her maiden name was spelled "Minerd" and
that she had come to Connellsville in 1871 "and had since resided
here."
Daughter Hannah (1879-1954) married William Ethelbert Giles Sr. (1873-1952), the son of John and Elizabeth "Lydia" (Caddy) Giles of East Bethlehem, Washington County, PA. The wedding took place on Sept. 10, 1895. Circa 1900, the Gileses resided in Swaugertown near Connellsville. William, whose father was a mine boss, is known to have worked at the Coalbrook Mine and H. C. Frick Coke Co. works at Davidson (Moyer) in Connellsville. He also as a steel mill laborer and a laborer at the Soisson Fire Brick Company. His name today is honored on the Coal Miners Memorial Website.
Hannah was a member of the Salvation Army in Connellsville. During World War I, when William was age 45, he had to register for the federal military draft, but was never called to duty. Their home was at 301 Connell Avenue.
The Gileses celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Sept. 10, 1945. The Daily Courier said they "enjoy good health." In all, they were married for 56 years before being separated by death.
William died after a lingering illness at the age of 78 on March 29, 1952. She outlived him by two years and passed away at age 74 on April 26, 1954, and was laid to rest at Mount Olive Cemetery in nearby Bullskin Township. At the time of Hannah's death, she had 31 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.
Grandson Albert Franklin Giles Sr. (1901-1970) worked for the Salvation Army Corps in Connellsville. He married Minnie Bell Trump (1908-1976). Circa 1954, they resided in Vanderbilt, Fayette County. Their 12 children were Gladys McCormick, Hazel Chaney, Mabel Sanner, Mary Means, Minnie Gagean, Dorothy Hall, Albert F. Giles Jr., William Giles, Samuel Giles, Joseph Giles, James Giles and Paul Giles.
Grandson William Ethelbert Giles Jr. (1907-1983) married Mildred Swink (or "Swank"). He was a retired coal miner for Republic Steel Corp., and worked as a custodian for the Connellsville Area School District. He also was a deacon and trustee at Faith Bible Church. Circa 1928, they resided in Fitz Henry, having moved from Connellsville. Sadly, just after the New Year's holiday in 1929, their five month old daughter Mary Elizabeth Giles passed away. The child's burial was in Hill Grove Cemetery.
Grandson Samuel A. Giles (1908-1974) resided in Connellsville and McKees Rocks near Pittsburgh, PA. He married Elma Holt (1909-1990). Said the Daily Courier, Samuel "was a retired engineer in the Pennsylvania Central Railroad, a member of the Free Methodist Church of Aliquippa and a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen."
Granddaughter Mabel
was first married to William
Rosenbloom
(sometimes referred to as Roseblossom, Robinson and Rose Blossom) and later to George
Robinson. She lived in Ambridge, Beaver County, PA, circa 1936 and in South
Heights at Aliquippa in 1952. She was last known to be in Beaver County in November 1974. She worked for many years in the dietician's office
of Sewickley
Valley Hospital near Pittsburgh. The hospital is seen at left,
nestled in the hills along Blackburn Road. They adopted a son, Donnie.
Granddaughter Sadie resided in Fairchance, Fayette County, and circa 1954 was married to Lafayette Straitiff. They had four children, William Straitiff (1920- ? ), Patty Straitiff, Dale Straitiff and Pearl Straitiff.
Granddaughter Hazel (1900-1982) married Chauncey Lorenzo Dow "Russell" Evans Sr. (1890- ? ) and resided in McKees Rocks in 1954. He also used the names "James" and "Chance" and worked for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. They had eight children -- Russell Woodrow Evans, Rev. Melvin Chance Evans, Geraldine Booth, Eugene Evans, Elmer Evans, Annie Evans, Dolores Evans and Chauncey Lorenzo'dow Evans Jr. Chauncey Sr. passed away on Feb. 7, 1959. Hazel outlived him by 23 years, and died in January 1982. They are buried together at Mt. Calvary Cemetery in McKees Rocks.
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| Banjo-playing brothers Melvin (left) and Russell Evans, circa 1937 |
Great granddaughter Gladys (1925-1973) married Francis O. McCormack Jr. (1925-1994). He was a retired steel worker for U.S. Steel, and "was a sergeant with the U.S. Army, having served in World War II," said the Daily Courier.
Great grandson Albert F. Giles Jr. (1930-1994) served in the Korean War, and was a mechanic for Dunbar Township near Connellsville.
Great granddaughter Mabel married Arthur Sanner
Sr. (1930-1997), a loader for 36 years at Anchor Hocking's plant in
Connellsville. The plant is seen at right in an old photographic postcard.
Great-grandson Robert L. Giles (1934-1993) "was employed by the Connellsville Area School District for 24 years as an air conditioner and heat maintenance person," said the Daily Courier. He also was a trustee of the Connellsville Township Volunteer Fire Company and the Fraternal Order of Eagles 493.
Great-granddaughter Geraldine Evans (1923-2004) married (?) Booth. She resided in Stowe Twp., near McKees Rocks in Pittsburgh. She passed away at age 81 on July 2, 2004.
Great grandson Chauncey
L. Evans Jr. (1924-2008) was born in Columbus, Franklin County, OH. He is seen at
left on his 82nd birthday. He married Ida Laverne (?) and had four children
-- Betty Jane Harris, Chauncey Evans III, David Evans and Ida Grimsley. Said the
Dover (DE) State News, he "enjoyed a 30-year career with the
Pittsburgh and Ohio Valley Railroad, retiring in 1978 as train master. he served
with the U.S. Navy during World War II." He was a 32nd Degree Mason and a
member of Franklin Masonic Lodge 12 in Georgetown, DE, and was a past sachem of
Nanticoke Tribe 21, Fraternal Order of the Redmen. Ida Laverne died in 1995.
Chauncey outlived her by 12-plus years. He passed away in Georgetown, Sussex
County, DE at the age of 83 on Jan. 13, 2008. He was laid to rest at the
Henlopen Memorial Park in Milton, DE.
Great-granddaughter Anna Evans married Darrell
"Tex" Chestnutt. They are seen at right in the oval
photograph portrait.
Anna Evans' sister Dolores married Tex Chestnutt's brother Edgar Chestnutt.
Great-grandson Russell Woodrow Evans (1919-2000) was a truck driver and a veteran of World War II, serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps. In 1931, when he was 12, Russell and his brother 11-year-old Melvin, who both were excellent swimmers, rescued cousins Bruce and Anna (Christian) Miner from drowning in the Youghiogheny River at Stony Point. The news was reported in the Monessen Daily Independent. He passed away on Aug. 24, 2000, at the age of 81.
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| Left: Hazel with son Melvin and his wife Theresa (Calabrese) Evans. Right: Hazel's son Russell and his wife Betty with a grand niece |
Great-grandson Rev. Melvin Chance Evans
(1920-1992) married Theresa Calabrese and had a large
family of 14 children. When he was a boy, while swimming in the Youghiogheny
River in Connellsville, Melvin found an axe that was thought to have been used
in a 1932 triple murder considered the "bloodiest crime in Connellsville's
history." The discovery generated top headlines in the Connellsville
Daily Courier. At the time of World War II, he lived in Alaska, but
returned to Pittsburgh to enlist in the U.S. Army. Melvin was a pipe checker, and
Theresa a welder, supporting the war effort at home. He a lso served as a pastor of a Presbyterian church in
Wilkinsburg, a suburb of Pittsburgh. He
passed away in Burgettstown, Washington County, PA on Sept. 29, 1992, and she
died just three days later, on Oct. 2, 1992. The obituaries were printed in the Valley
Independent of Monessen. They are buried in Economy Cemetery in Ambridge,
Beaver County, PA.
Great-great grandson Jackie D. Giles (1964-1989)
tragically was killed in 1989 "when a piece of machinery fell on him ... while
dismantling machinery at the site of the former USX Homestead Works" in
Munhall, near Pittsburgh, said the Daily Courier. He is one of a
disturbingly large number of cousins to lose their lives in connection with the
coal,coke and steel industries in our nation. The sprawling
Homestead Works and town are seen in their heyday in the postcard at right.
For more information on this line, contact Marri (Evans) Shanks. She is seen at left with her Aunt Anna Chestnutt.
Copyright © 2000-2007 Mark A. Miner