Lawrence
Earl Minerd
(1887-1972)
Lawrence
Earl Minerd was born on March 15, 1887 in Bullskin
Twp., near Connellsville, Fayette County, PA, the son of Calvin
and Mary (Means) Minerd Sr.
Lawrence married Isabelle Coughenour. They had seven children -- Anna May, Ruth, Bertha, Viola Gertrude, Earl, Verna and Lawrence.
Lawrence and Isabelle were lifelong farmers in the Cross Roads section of Bullskin Township. The Feb. 27, 1942 Connellsville Daily Courier reported that Isabelle fell "while on her way to the barn to do milking, suffering a dislocated elbow."
Lawrence is said to have furnished flagstone for the patios of the famed house Fallingwater in the 1930s, and later provided flagstone for the terrace of the Dunbar (PA) War Memorial. Lawrence is mentioned in Tilden H. Kern's 1960 Kern Family History and in the 1983 book, Dunbar: The Furnace Town.
When the federal census was taken in 1930, the Minerds and their six children were enumerated in their home in Bullskin Township. Lawrence's occupation was listed as a general farmer.
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| Lawrence and Isabelle, 1950s |
Lawrence and Isabelle are seen below,
with a granddaughter, on the porch of their home.
Tragically, daughter Bertha suffered head injuries as a teenager in 1929 when attacked by two men in the family barn. She lived another two decades, and passed away at age 37 on Jan. 13, 1949.
Isabelle passed away in 1956. She was buried
at Mt. Olive Cemetery in Bullskin.
Lawrence outlived Isabelle by 16 years. He is seen here in a photograph taken shortly before his death. He passed away on March 23, 1972, and was buried beside his wife.
Grandson William Nelson spent 35 years as an educator and administrator in the Southmoreland School District in Westmoreland County, PA.
Copyright © 2001-2002, 2008 Mark A. Miner