Lizzie
(Minerd) Kelly
(1872-1927?)
Elizabeth
'Lizzie' Dora (Minerd) Kelly was likely born in Dunbar, Fayette County, PA
in November 1872, the daughter of John
V.S. and Elizabeth (Livingston) Minerd. Her husband was a prominent jeweler
of Dunbar.
In late August or early September 1891, Lizzie married James E. Kelly (1872-1934?), the son of Dunbar justice of the peace Snyder S. and Chelsie (Frantz) Kelly. The Uniontown Genius of Liberty reported that the marriage took place in Cumberland, MD.
The Kellys had 2 daughters -- Leona Henderson and Irene Adel Kunkle, born in Dunbar.
They began married life at Stonerville, Westmoreland County, where James opened a jewelry store. Two years later, after the death of James' father, they moved to Dunbar, Fayette County, where he relocated his jewelry business.
In
March 1895, the Kellys' 1st baby was born, causing the Dunbar correspondent for the Uniontown
Genius of Liberty to state: "James E. Kelly, our enterprising
jeweler, is the happiest young Democrat in the borough. The cause of his
happiness is a bouncing girl baby." Yet the Kellys' happiness was crushed
several months later, when the baby died of whooping cough. The Genius
said it was hoped that "they realize that 'Twas an angel visited the green
earth and took their flower away,' and that they will 'find it again in the
fields of light above." The baby was buried in Franklin Cemetery in
Dunbar.
Later that year, on Aug. 8, 1895, the Dunbar correspondent for the Genius reported that James had moved his store into a new facility:
...[James] now occupies with his jewelry store his new quarters in McKean Block, opposite the B&O Station. This is one of the best localities in the town, and James showed wisdom in securing it. He will receive time by telegraph every day over B&O lines, and thus relieve the borough people who desire accuracy from running your correspondent down in the township to get correct time.
The store sign read: "Watch Repairing a Specialty."
In 1900, Lizzie's sister Bertha Minerd resided in their home, helping with housework.
A terrible fire broke out in Dunbar on June 5, 1910. The Kellys were among the tenants in a next-door, two-story building, and the fire consumed their dwelling, according to the 1983 book, Dunbar: The Furnace Town.
James was active in the community, and served on the Dunbar School Board in 1911 and 1912 with his wife's cousin, Rev. David E. Minerd.
A
devastating flood destroyed the Kellys' store, forcing them to leave the area.
The Dunbar book reports that "On the afternoon of July 24, 1912, on
account of the heavy rains and a cloud burst in the mountains, causing two dams
on the creek below Tucker Run to give way, Dunbar experienced its worst flood.
Kelley's jewelry store standing where Harvey's pool room was, was washed
away..." A photo of the Kelly store sign, lying damaged among the rubble,
is seen here.
The Kellys chose not to re-establish their store. Rather, they moved to New Kensington, Westmoreland County, PA.
Lizzie is said to have died in New Kensington around August 1927.
James is said to have outlived Lizzie by about five years, and passed away in New Kensington as well. More will be reported here on their final fate when learned.
On
June 19, 2002, Lizzie and James were featured in an article about the 1912 flood
in the Connellsville Daily Courier. The story later was republished in
the book, There's No Place
Like Dunbar! 2002-2004 - Historical Vignettes and Personal Reflections from The
Daily Courier's Dunbar Column, authored by Donna R. Myers and Bonnie L.
Zurick of the Dunbar (PA) Historical Society. A thumbnail image of the book is seen
at right.
James is mentioned in Samuel T. Wiley's 1889 book, Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of Fayette County, Pennsylvania.
In 1921, daughter Irene married World War I veteran Bernard Kunkle, whose family was from the Irwin/Strawpump area of Westmoreland County. Bernard was in the steel business in Glassmere, PA, and he and Irene resided in New Kensington. Sadly, however, due to a serious wartime injury, Bernard never fully recovered, and died in 1932. Having lost her husband, and also her father in the same year, Irene and her only son James moved to Beverly Hills, CA later in 1932. She spent the next 66 years in California, and died there in April 1998 a few weeks short of her 102nd birthday. She was brought back to the New Kensington area for burial at the Plum Creek Cemetery.
Daughter Leone Henderson died in 1973 in Granada Hills, CA.
Grandson
James K. Kunkle (seen here) served as an Army fighter pilot (P-38s and
P-51s) in Europe during War War II. He received the Distinguished Service Cross
for "extraordinary heroism in action against the enemy near Aachen,
Germany, 16 September 1944." For a detailed summary of his honor, click
to visit the "Legion of Valor" website. In the postwar era, James
remained on active duty and was a pioneering pilot of jet fighter airplanes. He
married Marian Louise Voltz, and with his son James W. Kunkle are in business
today building and leasing aviation facilities in the Santa Ynez Valley. Their
daughter Kimberly Kunkle of the Santa Ynez Valley breeds and shows horses and
mules.
Copyright © 2000-2003 Mark A. Miner.
Photo
of the Kelly sign courtesy of the Dunbar Historical Society,
provided after a
story on Minerd.com appeared in the Dunbar column
of the Connellsville Daily
Courier.