Charles
Marion Minerd
(1862-1947)
Charles
Marion Minerd was born on Sept. 16, 1862 at Bridgeport near Mt. Pleasant,
Westmoreland County, PA, the son of Eli and Mary
Ann (Baer) Minerd.
Charles married Sabina Matilda Pierce (1858-1920), and they lived in a large brick duplex along the railroad tracks at Bridgeport.
They had seven children -- Maud Minerd, Alice Jane Holdsworth, Eva Hillwig, Rev. William Mullen Minerd, Bertha O. Reese, Harry Oliver Minerd Sr. and Ralph Charles Minerd.
Little is known of Charles' life. In 1903, he gave his permission for 18-year-old son Will to marry 20-year-old Pearl Johnson. Charles' rare signature appears on a consent form, which today is on microfilm at the Westmoreland County Courthouse in Greensburg.
In
1913, when the Minerd family held its first annual reunion at Ohiopyle, Fayette
County, PA, Charles' brother Rev. Isaac
H. Minerd was elected president. Charles is believed to have attended that
day, among many of their cousins and friends, totaling 125 people.
Tragically, Charles outlived his wife and three of their adult children.
Sabina passed away at Bridgeport at age 59 on Feb. 15, 1920. She was laid to rest at Greenlick Cemetery near Bridgeport. Her upright grave marker is still legible today.
Daughter Eva died near Greensburg, PA, in 1905. Daughter Alice died in Punxsutawney, PA in 1932 at age 52. Son Harry of Bridgeport died in 1938.
Charles worked as a coal miner near Bridgeport and as a laborer at the coke ovens at Standard, near Mt. Pleasant.
The Standard Works circa
1924
In
his later years, Charles lived with his son, Will, in Rockwood and Somerset,
PA.
While in Rockwood, Charles enjoyed visiting with his
first cousin, railroader
Daniel Martin Younkin.
Charles suffered badly from asthma in his later years, and was often confined to his bedroom where he was forced to inhale awful-smelling smoke to help clear his lungs. His grandchildren living with him at the home of his son Will on Race Street in Somerset remembered the smell of the fumes.
At age 86, Charles died of the lingering illness at Will's home in November 1947. His obituary was published in his old hometown newspaper, the Mount Pleasant Journal. He was buried beside his wife at Greenlick Cemetery.
Copyright © 2000-2005 Mark A. Miner