James
Calvin Minerd Sr.
(1862-1932)
James
Calvin Minerd Sr. was born on the Fourth of July, 1862
in Wharton Twp., Fayette County, PA, the son of
James and Candace (Rush) Minerd Jr. James was a longtime coal and coke
laborer, and he and his wife, seen here, produced 15 children, one of the
largest such clusters in our family. Despite his long life, no good quality
photographs of James are known to exist.
James was born while his father was away serving in the Civil War. In fact, father and son may not have spent any significant time together until the soldier's discharge in 1864, when the boy was age 2.
Heartache rocked the family when James was 10 years old. His mother died of tuberculosis in March 1872. James later wrote, "I was at the burial ... and saw her in the coffin and went to the semerty and saw her buried."Motherless, he was sent to live with his maternal uncle and aunt, Marcellus and Mary F. (Rush) Brougher.
On
April 8, 1882, at the age of 20, James married Suvina
Yauger (1865-1933), the daughter of Uriah and Amelia (Chew) Yauger of Brownsville,
Fayette County, PA.
The Minerds had 15 children, all who were born over a span of a quarter-century, between 1882 and 1907. Their names are seen here in a "Family Record" -- Emma Green, Jennie Marie Darby, Frank J. Minerd, Etta McDowell, Mary Ellen Rodeheaver, Blanche McCabe, James Calvin Minerd Jr., William Minerd, Caroline Lambert, Catherine Zinn, Stella Hager, Henry Daniel Minerd, Harriet Dettling, Evelyn A. Walters and Harry C. Minerd.
James was coal mine laborer for the H.C. Frick Coke Co., working at the company's facilities at Lemont Furnace and Broadford.
Seen here is a rare old postcard image of the
Lemont No. 1 mine and coke works, as well as the "Pennsylvania Lines"
railroad cars.
James later was a stable boss at the Searights Mine, taking care of the horses used underground to haul coal in and out of the mines.
Suvina was a member of the Percy Methodist Protestant Church near Uniontown, Fayette County.
While at Searights, the Minerds resided in a log cabin. In 1923, Suvina was given a surprise birthday party at her home in Searights. Said the Uniontown Morning Herald, "The impromptu hostess was the recipient of many gifts. The evening was spent in playing games and music after which a delightful luncheon was served."
After retirement, James and Suvina moved to a farmhouse at Bowood near Smithfield, Fayette County. They had an orchard, cornfield, strawberry patch, horses, cows and pigs. A granddaughter recalled that the Minerds never celebrated Thanksgiving because it was threshing time and they were too busy. James often was absent from the family, and spent his final years in bed, away from the grandchildren.
The family endured further tragedy over the years
at the deaths of their adult children -- son William, 27, died of typhoid fever
in 1918, and daughter Emma, 45, suffered fatal burns during a kitchen fire in
1927. They also endured great anxiety when son James C. Jr. served with the US
Army in France during World War I.
James died at home on April 10, 1932, at the age of 69.
Suvina
survived him by a little more than one year. She passed away on May 7, 1933. They are buried
together at the Pleasant View Cemetery at Smock, PA. At the time they died,
James and Suvina had
45 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren. Today their number of descendants
is enormous.
A photo of son Frank appeared on the cover of Coal, Coke & Steel, the 1999 Minerd-Miner-Minor Reunion booklet, and in an accompanying guest column in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Grandson Albert Philip McCabe was a top navigation systems engineer in the Apollo rocket program of the 1960s and received a letter of commendation signed by all the astronauts.
Grandson Harold 'Frank' Rodeheaver was killed in the Battle of the Bulge in World War II.
Great-granddaughter Aimee McCabe-Walker has many photos of this branch on her website, and graciously hosted our 1998 and 1999 reunion webpages. Aimee also provided valuable advice in the development of the Minerd.com website.
Copyright © 2000-2001 Mark A. Miner