Mary
Belle
(Minerd) Riley
(1886-1947)
Mary
Belle
(Minerd) Riley was born in 1886 in Dunbar, Fayette County, PA, the daughter of Rev.
David E. and Catherine (Williams) Minerd.
On Dec. 27, 1905, at her parents' home, Mary Belle married 33-year-old John Scott Riley (1872-1948). He was the son of Cyrus P.M. and Catherine Riley of Menden, Westmoreland County, PA. J.W. Perkins performed the ceremony.
The Rileys had six children -- Ewing Halfred "Markle" (or "'Mike") Riley, Catherine "Casey" Driscoll, Virginia Rae "Ginsy" Snyder, Arminta Imogene "Minnie" Keough, Mary Louise "Lou" Lloyd and Joann "Jo" Long.
They lived in "a large roomy frame house" in
Youngwood, Westmoreland County, PA, said to an article in the Greensburg (PA)
Tribune-Review.
Seen at right are Mary Belle and John circa 1912 with their eldest two children, Markle (right) and Mary Louise.
Mary Belle and John were members of the Youngwood Evangelical United Brethren Church. He belonged to the Men's Bible Class.
John was a longtime conductor for the Pennsylvania Railroad and a member of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen. He is mentioned in the book, Way Back When: Youngwood, The Railroad Town.
Mary Belle and her brothers and sisters annually organized a reunion at the old Minerd family homestead in Dunbar. It was always held on their father's birthday each July.
Seen
at left is a four-generation photo, from left to right: Mary Belle, Mary Carol Driscoll, Catherine Driscoll and Rev. Minerd.
John
and Mary Belle are seen at right in an undated family photograph, holding
granddaughter Judy Snyder Campbell circa 1942.
Mary Belle died on July 28, 1947, and John died less than six months later, on Jan. 20, 1948. They are buried at Youngwood Cemetery.
The Riley children and grandchildren held a family reunion in 1980 at Youngwood Area Park and Pool. It was the last reunion where all the Riley children were living, as Virginia sadly passed away later that year. The reunion generated newspaper coverage in the "Love Lines" column by Ruth Love. The column said that "Back in an era before electric washers and driers, multiple clotheslines in the Riley backyard on Mondays attested to the painstaking needlework that produced the homemade blouses for the one son and the colorful percale and gingham dresses and pinafores that kept five daughters 'neat as a pin'."
The Riley children as adults, 1980, at the Youngwood Park
and Pool. L-R: Jo, Min, Gince, Casey, Lou and Mike
Daughter
Virginia was an early nursing school graduate, and a pioneering flight attendant
for TWA Airlines. She is seen here, at far right, with her fellow trainees,
circa 1939. A rare image of Virginia with national celebrity and airline
passenger Jack Benny was our "Photo of the Month" for December
2000.
Daughter Mary Louise married David James Lloyd Sr. in 1932. They resided in Huntingdon, PA and had eight children. Said the Huntingdon Daily News, he "was an assistant manager of Sears Roebuck in Altoona until he acquired Lloyd's Hardware in Huntingdon. He sold the hardware business and went into sales with C.H. Miller Hardware and later with D.W. Miller, which took him on the road statewide. At age 72, he and his wife retired to North Fort Myers, Fla."
In 1955, grandson Army Cpl. John Riley Lloyd (1934-2008) and comrades appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show as guest artists under the name of "The Rifle Airs." A story in the Huntingdon Daily News said they presented "their now-famous rifle demonstration and drill, with twirlings, twistings and tossings just about as fast as the eye can follow." John also served on the guard of honor at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. John resided in Yellow Springs, PA. He passed away at the age of 74, in Lancaster, PA, on Feb. 6, 2008.
Grandson
in law Michael Pacelli Jr. has been a longtime member of Youngwood
Borough Council. He also has served on a Youngwood Diamond Jubilee
Committee and as an officer of the Youngwood Fire Department. He is
pictured in Our Town in Picture and Story: Youngwood,
Pennsylvania 1899-1974.
Grandson in law Jack Campbell has served as Pennsylvania Commissioner for the Clan Campbell Society, North America and as Deputy Commissioner of the Clan's Region 2, covering Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey.
Anyone with information about the lineage of John Scott Riley, or of Cyrus and Drucilla Riley, is urged to contact Jayne Campbell as, she writes, "We are at a standstill trying to find out anything about him."
Copyright © 2000-2005, 2007 Mark A. Miner