John
Walter Miner
(1874-1948)
John
Walter Miner was born on Feb. 19, 1874 at Normalville, Fayette County, PA,
the son of Martin
and Amanda (Williams) Miner.
He was an entrepreneur who ran his own general store for many years in
Normalville and was active in the region’s politics and economic development.
In May 1903, John married Mary May Miller (1885-1979), the daughter of Samuel P. and Sarah M. (Miller) Miller. In reporting on the event, the Connellsville Weekly Courier said: “Their many friends extend congratulations for a long and happy wedded life over life’s stormy seas.”
The Miners resided at Normalville for the rest of their married lives. They had four children – Russell W. "Billy" Miner, Eleanor Miner, Helen Luckey and Mildred Roberts.
In February 1902, John was elected clerk of Springfield Township, and his second cousin William Henry Miner was elected justice of the peace of the same municipality. The same year, John purchased a 25-acre farm from his great-uncle, James M. Gallentine.
John
accepted employment as a clerk in the well-known general store of George W. Campbell for more
than two decades. The
June 29, 1906 Connellsville Courier reported that he had formed a
partnership with Campbell's son Clyde and that the "new firm, known as
Campbell & Miner, have opened up a general store in the Creamery building.
They have a full line of dry goods, groceries, shoes, etc." A month later, the
Courier said "The new firm of Campbell & Miner are doing a good
business."
Within a year or so, John purchased the business outright. The store remained in his operation until his death in 1948, with his name prominently displayed on the front. He was always interested in enhancing business opportunity and community development. In his spare time, he also was active in farming and the lumber industry.
An
advertisement for John's business is seen here, printed in a booklet, Early
History of Salt Lick and Springfield Townships, published by the First
National Bank of Indian Head. The booklet was reprinted in the early 2000s to
benefit the Mt. Zion Cemetery Trust Fund.
One of the keys to the economic development of Normalville was the paving of the "Mountain Road" between Connellsville and Normalville, and thence to Farmington. Planning for the "largest and most successful road opening celebration ever held in this section of the State," said the Connellsville Daily Courier in 1927, involved "the live, energetic and public-spirited organization of mountain township folks who conceived and have carried thus far toward completion the project of a modern highway…." John served on the finance committee, and Mary served on the reception committee, of what was called the "Connellsville-to-Farmington Good Road Association."
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| Connellsville Daily Courier, Aug. 2, 1927 |
The
road, framed against the picturesque backdrop of the "Little Alps of
America," is seen at left.
John loved weekend getaways in the outdoors. In August 1899, said the Courier, he and friends Lloyd and John Sparks, O.J. Hepler and August Stickel "visited the camp of Campbell and Sipe at Victoria [and] report a good time and large crowds…." In the dead of winter 1902, reported the Courier, John and a "sled load of young folks from Normalville … attended the entertainment at Ohiopyle Saturday night."
John
and Mary are seen at right with their grandchildren, left to right: Carol
Luckey, Patricia Miner and Richard Roberts.
John died on March 23, 1948 at the age of 74. He was laid to rest in the Normalville Cemetery. He was eulogized in poem published in a local newspaper. Authored by Homer Fullem, the "village poet" of Normalville, the work was entitled He Served Us Well. It reads:
The little town's in
sadness,
For one has crossed the tide
To heavenly fields, abundant life
Beyond the Great Divide.
For 50 years he served us well,
His toils were like a rhyme,
Departing he left behind him
Footprints on the sands of time.
Mary
outlived John by more than three decades. She passed away 10 days into the new
year, on Jan. 10, 1979. At the time of her death, at age 93, she was the oldest member of the
Indian Head Church of God.
John and Mary are rest together at the Normalville Cemetery.
Daughter Helen Miner (1905-2003) married James H. Luckey (1905-1996) on June 17, 1936. Helen was an early schoolteacher, after graduating in 1927 from Indiana Normal School (now Indiana University of Pennsylvania). Said the Daily Courier:
She began her teaching career in a one-room schoolhouse at Poplar Run. She taught in the Connellsville School System's Third Ward, Bullskin Township, Saltlick Township and Normalville Elementary Schools. She was a member of the Presbyterian Church USA of Connellsville, where he taught Sunday School classes for many years.
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| James Luckey's campaign card circa 1945 |
Helen is listed in the State Teachers College of Indiana Alumni Directory
of August 1940, which gave their address as Rear 333 North Pittsburgh Street in
Connellsville, with Helen named as a substitute teacher. Helen's husband, James was
employed at the time of their marriage by the Fayette Baking Company. Later, he
was "treasurer of the
Connellsville Little League from its inception until 1970" and served for
two terms
of four years each "on Connellsville City Council, one as director of the
street department and the other as director of buildings and parks," said the Daily
Courier. He also was a trustee of the board and session of the Connellsville
Presbyterian Church. Jim died in March 1996. Helen passed away at age 98 on Dec.
11, 2003. She and her sister Eleanor Miner are seen at right.
Son
Russell W. "Billy" Miner (1903-1987) married Mildred Hall (1905-1985)
on Oct. 22, 1930. He
began working as a lineman for the West Penn Power Company in 1936, was promoted
to foreman in 1949, and served with the company for 32 years. The West Penn
power plant is seen at left. The Miners resided at 1221 Isabella Road in
Connellsville and were members of the Normalville United Methodist Church.
Mildred died at the age of 79 on May 28, 1985. Billy outlived her by two years,
and passed away at age 84 on Oct. 9, 1987. They had one daughter, Patricia A.
Miner (1931-1971), who married Donald Bruening, who was a registered nurse with
Camp Easter Seal at Trent, a former employee of Connellsville State General
Hospital and of Dr. Eleanor Morris of Jones Mills, Fayette County.
Daughter Mildred Miner (1907-1999) married Arthur L. Roberts (1912-1991), a native of Ashington, England. They resided in Normalville. Arthur was a longtime inspector for Westinghouse Electric Corporation’s East Pittsburgh plant and a member of the Clerks and Foremen Association. Said the Daily Courier, "He was also a member of Normalville Fire Department and Normalville United Methodist Church. He taught the Men's Bible Class at Otterbein United Methodist Church, Connellsville." Midge, a graduate of the West Penn Hospital School of Nursing, was employed by West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh and by Connellsville State General Hospital. They had one son, Richard Roberts. Arthur passed away on Oct. 6, 1991. Midge outlived him by eight years. She died at the age of 91 on March 5, 1999, at Hoffer's Personal Care Home in Acme. Son Richard was honored at our 2004 national family reunion for his work, among many other cousins, at Fallingwater. Click here to see our published report, Fallingwater: A Long Family Affair.
Daughter Eleanor Miner (1913-1994) never married. She served as secretary of the Springfield Township Elementary School for many years. She also was a member of the Normalville United Methodist Church. She passed away at the age of 81, on Nov. 21, 1994, at the Hoffer Personal Care Home in Acme, PA.
Retail entrepreneurship apparently runs in this branch of the family. The original of the photographic image of the John W. Miner store today is displayed in S.M.R.H.S., Normalville's Hardware, Heating and Farm Store, founded in June 2006 by great-grandson Shawn Roberts. The store is located just a short distance away from the old Miner store site along the Springfield Pike in Normalville.
| Copyright © 2000, 2005, 2007 Mark A. Miner. |
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Many thanks to Donna Murray, founder of RootsDetective.com, for sharing the campaign card image. |