James
William Minerd
(1898-1911)
James
William Minerd was born in 1898 in Fayette County, PA,
the son of Thomas Watt and Sarah Theresa
(Dowling) Minerd.
Crippled since infancy, he lived with his parents and brothers in the coal mine patch town of Helen, Fayette County.
Tragically, however, he drowned at age 13.
On
Aug. 9, 1911, while rafting in the reservoir at the Helen Works, he fell in, and
was unable to rescue himself. The Uniontown Morning Herald reported that:
In plain view of Mrs. Harry Hassen and her two
sons, who made a frantic effort to save him, James Minerd, aged 15, was drowned
in the reservoir at the Atlas coke works, Helen, yesterday afternoon at 4
o'clock. The
woman, attracted by the screams of the boys who were bathing with Mined, ran to
the reservoir.
It took but a glance to see the plight of Minerd.
She quickly secured a rope, fastened one end around her waist and the
other on the bank and jumped into the reservoir.
Before she could reach the spot where she had last seen the boy he had
disappeared for the third time....
The boy, who was the son of Thomas Minerd, a driver
in the mines at Atlas, was a cripple and while he and the two sons of Harry
Hassen were swimming in the reservoir, Minerd got beyond his depth.
The two boys became so excited that they could not save the drowning boy
but their cries brought the Mrs. Hassen to the scene....
Minerd was well known in the vicinity in which he lived and was one of
the most popular boys at Helen.
He was buried at Pleasant View Cemetery in Smock, Fayette County.
Copyright © 2000 Mark A. Miner