Bio-Minerd, EmilyJaneMale

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Emily Jane "Minnie"
(Minerd) Mayle
(1871- ? )

Emily Jane "Minnie" (Minerd) Mayle was born on Dec. 26, 1870 in Barbour County, WV, the daughter of William and Margaret (Male) Minerd.

Emily also was known as "Emma" or "Emeline" and had the additional nickname of "Minnie."

When Emily was a young girl, her parents separated and then divorced. She and her siblings were divided among relatives, and she and her sister Cyrene went to live with their maternal grandparents, Reese and Delilah Mayle, near Grafton, Taylor County, WV. The girls are shown in the Mayle household in the 1880 census, when Emily was age nine, and Cyrene age four.

At the tender age of 14, she married 22-year-old Charles Luther Male (1864-1929?) on July 1, 1886. It's possible that Charles' parents were George "Washington" and Margarette (Pritchard) Mayle, but this is not yet proven with precision. Emma and Charles were both residing in Barbour County at the time of marriage, but the wedding took place at the home of "Washington" Male in Tygart Valley in nearby Taylor County. "William Miner" was one of the informants providing information for the marriage license. Rev. Thomas Wells officiated.

The Mayles made their home circa 1889 in Oakland, Garrett County, MD, when son Alva was born.

The census of 1900 shows them living in Barbour County, where Charles was a farmer. They resided over the years in Moatsville, Barbour County, and are known to have had at least seven children -- Susan "Blanche" Kennedy, Ulysses "Scott" Mayle, Alva Dallas Mayle, Elzie "Burley" Mayle, Dicy S. Mayle, Cora Belle Kennedy and Leona Gale (Mayle) Mayle.

Moatsville, with a covered bridge over the Tygart Valley River

Emily died sometime before 1910.

When the federal census was taken in 1910, Charles was shown to be a widower, and working as a farmer in the Pleasant District of Barbour County.

It's possible that Charles died of a stroke at the age of 67 at Clemtown, Barbour County, on April 13, 1929. His death certificate marks him as "widowed."

~ Daughter Susan "Blanche" (Mayle) Kennedy ~

Daughter Susan "Blanche" Mayle (1887-1949) worked as a servant for a private family prior to her marriage, as shown on the 1910 census. She married Henry Floyd Kennedy (1890- ? ) on July 29, 1912. Rev. W.B. Pimm performed the ceremony, held in Philippi. Blanche was three years older than her husband.

Henry was a coal miner and carpenter, and she a housewife. They lived in Moatsville, Route 3, in rural Barbour County.

They had at least three children -- Gillespie Kennedy, Wilmoth Kennedy and Wannetta (Juanita?) Kennedy.

The census of 1920 shows the family in Barbour County, living with Blanche's widowed father. In the 1940s, the Kennedys made their residence on Route 1, Moatsville.

Blanche died at home of a heart attack at the age of 62 on Nov. 14, 1949, with burial at Mt. View Cemetery. In her obituary in the Grafton Sentinel, the headline erroneously read "Bertha" Kennedy rather than "Blanche" Kennedy.

Henry outlived her by a dozen years. He died in 1961, at the age of 70. They rest together for eternity at Mt. View.

Blanche and Henry Kennedy's grave at Mt. View Cemetery

Son Gillespie Kennedy made his home on Route 3, Moatsville, in 1949.

Daughter Regina Kennedy married (?) Mayle and lived in the late 1940s in Waynesburg, Greene County, PA.

~ Son Alva Dallas Mayle ~

Son Alva Dallas Mayle (1889-1964) was born on March 15, 1889 in Oakland, Garrett County, MD. He was short and slender, with black eyes and black hair. He was a veteran of World War I.

At the age of 32, Alva married 19-year-old Lillie Mayle, thought to have been the daughter of Scott Mayle. The marriage took place on Aug. 23, 1919, at Philippi, officiated by William Coleman. On their Barbour County marriage license, the information provider was named as "Mr. Charles R. Male, Order of Scott Mayle & A.D. Mayle."

They produced 10 children -- Laco Mayle, David Mayle, Douglas Mayle, Maxine Mayle, Emmajean Mayle, Zeldine Mayle, Ernestine Sheme, Carline Faulkner, Erma Lee Mayle and Sheila June Mayle.

They lived at Moatsville in 1930 and at Grafton Route 1 (considered the Prichard community of Moatsville) in 1956. Alva was a longtime coal mine laborer, and circa 1918 worked for the Sterling Coal Company in Cecil, Barbour County.

Alva died on Feb. 22, 1964, in Philippi, at the age of 74. His funeral was led by Rev. Murray Mayle. At the time, said the Grafton Sentinel, he was survived by 26 grandchildren and three stepchildren.

Son Laco Mayle lived in Canton, OH.

Son David Mayle lived in Newton Falls, OH.

Son Douglas Mayle made his home in Newton Falls, OH.

Daughter Maxine Mayle married Donald Mayle and lived in Waynesburg, Greene County, PA in 1964.

Daughter Emmajean Mayle married Michael Mayle and lived on Route 1 in Grafton.

Daughter Zeldine Mayle moved to Zanesville, Muskingum County, where she lived in 1964.

Daughter Ernestine Mayle married William Sheme and in 1964 resided in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, OH.

Daughter Arline Mayle wed Carvell Faulkner and called Moatsville home.

Old landmark covered bridge spanning the Cheat River, and built in 1835, east of Grafton

~ Son Ulysses "Scott" Mayle ~

Son Ulysses "Scott" Mayle (1892-1956) was of medium height and slender build, and had black hair and eyes. In 1917, he worked for the Humphrey Coal Company of Philippi. That year, at age 25, he registered for the military draft, and the draft officer listed his race as "colored."

Scott wed Bertha Croston (1887-1973) on July 15, 1918. He was age 27, and she 29, at the time. Rev. G.H. Snyder officiated. Both groom and bride were labeled as "colored" in the official county record of their marriage.

They resided at Berryburg, Barbour County in 1930 and later in North Philippi. Scott suffered from emphysema and bronchitis, perhaps brought on by his years of work in the coal mines.

He died at the age of 63 on March 2, 1956, at the Philippi Hospital. Following the funeral at Olive Hill Methodist Church, burial was in the Welch Cemetery near Philippi. Bertha outlived her husband by 17 years, and passed away in 1973.

~ Daughter Leona Gayle (Mayle) Mayle ~

Daughter Leona Gale Mayle (1896-1942) was married to cousin Clifford Lee Mayle (1897-1936), the son of Sarepta "Thrippy" (Kennedy) Mayle. They were farmers who resided in Cecil near Grafton, Route 5 and were members of the Wesley Methodist Church.

They had 10 children -- Hazel Mayle and Louvenia Mayle of Canton, OH; Mabel Mayle of Moatsville; and Rosaline Dalton, Maxwell "Mack" Mayle, Glenn Mayle, Vonda Bud, Fredda Newman, Thomas Edward Mayle and Clifford Esperin Mayle.

Tragically, while in his 30s, Cliff suffered for two years from nephritis, and died at the age of 39 two days after Christmas 1936. Funeral services were led by Rev. Fred DeCost of the Mt. View Church, with burial at the Mt. View Cemetery.

Adding to the heartbreak, Leona was expecting when her husband died, and the little child, named Clifford Espirin Mayle, only lived less than a year, and died of pneumonia in on Dec. 7, 1937. Leona only outlived her husband by six years. She contracted tuberculosis, an illness she battled for six years, and succumbed at the age of 45 on April 9, 1942. As with her husband, the funeral was held at Mt. View Church, with services led by Rev. Gerald Rogers, with interment at the church cemetery. The Grafton Sentinel published obituaries for both Leona and Clifford.

Daughter Hazel J. Mayle (1918-1991) was born on May 26, 1918 in Cecil, Barbour County. She married Herbert W. Mayle ( ? - ? ). They had eight children -- Lometa Mayle, Janice Newman, Dallas Mayle, Terry Mayle, Freddy Mayle, Willard Mayle, Stanley Mayle and Dale Mayle. They made their home in Flemington, near Philippi. Said the Barbour Democrat, Hazel "was a housewife and a member of Wesleyan Holiness Church of Grafton." Sadly, Hazel outlived four of her sons: Freddy, Willard, Stanley and Dale. She died at Grafton City Hospital at the age of 73 on Dec. 23, 1991. The Democrat reported that she was survived by 23 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.

Son Thomas Edward Mayle lived in Aiken, SC in 1991.

Daughter Emma L. Mayle made her home in Canton, Stark County, OH.

Daughter Vonda Mayle married (?) Bud and resided in Canton.

Daughter Fredda Mayle married (?) Newman and lived in Canton in the early 1990s.

Daughter Mabel Mayle made her residence in Shinnston, WV.

~ Son Elzie Burley Mayle ~

Son Elzie "Burley" Mayle (1903-1930) was a coal miner who lived in Moatsville, R.F.D. 3, near Grafton, Taylor County.

Unmarried at age 27, he was struck and killed by a train on Sept. 21, 1930, dying of a fractured skull. His mangled remains were laid to eternal rest at Mt. View Cemetery. In reporting the accident, the Grafton Sentinel said that he was "sleeping across the track on the opposite side from the locomotive engineers" and that "physicians believed him to be under the influence of intoxicants at the time he fell asleep on the railroad track." He was rushed to the Grafton City Hospital, where he died a few hours later.

Said the Sentinel: "The Rev. Fred Decoste will officiate at the funeral services at 9 o'clock Tuesday morning in the home of Ray Kennedy at Cecil, and burial will be made in Mt. View Cemetery, near there."

~ Daughter Cora Belle (Mayle) Kennedy ~

Daughter Cora Belle Mayle (1898-1976) was married to a cousin, Ressie "Ray" Kennedy (1894-1990), the son of Ruth Ann (Minerd) Kennedy.

They had 10 children -- Julius M. Kennedy Sr. of East Canton, OH; Ressie Ray Kennedy Jr. of Grafton, WV; Virginia Belle Weaver of Grafton; Melba R. Mayle of Grafton; Christina R. Mayle of Grafton; Sheila Sheme of Grafton; Evelyn Lee Kennedy; and two sons and one daughter who died prior to 1990.

See Ray Kennedy's bio for more details.