Bio-Ream, CyrilEdgar

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Cyril "Edgar" Ream
(1896-1978) and
Nora Pearl Harbaugh
(1897-1945)

Cyril "Edgar" Ream was born on June 29, 1896 in Lower Turkeyfoot Twp., Confluence, Somerset County, PA. Edgar, as he was known, was the first of the 16 children born to Joseph and Sarah Ellen (Harbaugh) Ream.

Edgar had worked in the timber industry with his father while a young man. On Jan. 13, 1917, he married a cousin, Nora Pearl Harbaugh (1897-1945) daughter of Marshall and Annie M. (Shroyer) Harbaugh, and granddaughter of Joseph and Jane (Williams) Harbaugh. He was age 21, and she 20, at the time of their wedding.

Later, Edgar worked as a coal miner and also owned a farm several miles down the road from where he was raised on the Jersey Hollow Road. He served as a School Director of Lower Turkeyfoot Township, Somerset County (1938-50), including in the office of Treasurer.

The Reams had eight children -- Raymond E. Ream, Eugene Arthur Ream, Alvin Glen Ream, Verna E. Clouse, Esther Fern Clarkson, Robert Gene Ream, Donald Clifford Ream and Dane Elmer Ream.

Edgar was active in the International Order of Odd Fellows lodge in Confluence. In April 1938, he was installed as secretary of the lodge. His brother in law Donald Conn and brother Charles Ream also were officers in the lodge.

The Reams gather at a picnic in Trent, PA, circa 1940, on the eve of World War II.

Son Alvin Glen Ream, seen here, enlisted in World War II in November 1942. Note the words "Paris - 1945" in the lower left hand corner of the portrait. Tragically, he was killed in action in Germany on April 18, 1945. It was not until January 1949 that his remains were shipped home for burial at Somerset Memorial Park.

Heartbroken, Nora died Dec. 18, 1945, at the young age of 48. The cause of her untimely death is unknown.

After some years as a widower, Edgar married Florence Mitchell ( ? - ? ). He sold the farm and he and Florence bought a home at Harnedsville, Somerset County. They were members of the Trinity Lutheran Church.

Edgar enjoyed the annual Harbaugh Reunions. He is pictured in the group photographs taken at the 1926, 1929 and 1936 affairs. As well, he is recorded to have attended in 1952 (when he was elected Vice President) and 1971 (when he was named to a "one-person committee" to erect a new grave marker for his great-great grandfather, and the family's ancient ancestor, Casper Harbaugh, at New Centerville, Somerset County). A photograph of the new stone is seen at right, standing in front of the original stone which had been laid in the ground.

He also is known to have traveled to Delaware in the 1960s or early '70s to attend the reunion of his Laughery cousins, held on the homestead near Farmington, Kent County, where Edgar's uncle and aunt, David L. and Martha (Harbaugh) Laughery, settled circa 1920. He brought a gift -- a framed photograph of his grandmother Mary Magdalene (Whipkey) Harbaugh, on her 94th birthday, surrounded by her adult son and daughters. That photograph continues to be displayed today at Laughery reunions in Delaware.

Edgar once helped author Benjamin F.G. Kline Jr., gather information and photographs for a booklet called "Stemwinders" in the Laurel Highlands, seen at left. The book documents "all of those enterprising men associated with the Railroad Era of the Lumbering Industry in Pennsylvania." In the foreword of the book, published in 1973, Kline acknowledged this contribution, saying "Since a chance meeting in 1965, Edgar Ream has constantly sought the material that helped to unravel the tangled skein of affairs surrounding Confluence."

Edgar died of a heart attack at the age of 82 on March 3, 1978. He is buried at Somerset Memorial Park Cemetery, near Somerset.

~ Son Robert Ream ~

Son Robert Ream ( ? - ? ) served in the US Army during the Korean War. He later worked for the DHIA as a "tester."

~ Son Donald Ream ~

Son Donald Ream ( ? - ? ) was employed by Agway in Somerset and Mack Truck in Allentown, Lehigh County, PA.

Edgar (standing, left) and his brothers and sisters, date unknown

~ Son Eugene A. Ream ~

Son Eugene A. Ream (1919-2006) married Wilma L. Burnworth in 1949 and they resided in Pleasant Gap, near State College, Centre County, PA. Their children were Glenn Ream, Christa Ream, Mark Ream, Susan Ream and Charles Ream. In the late 1960s, the family made its home in Lancaster, PA. Eugene received the "Furthest Traveled Award" at the Harbaugh Reunions in 1986, 1987 and 1995 (130 miles) and the "Oldest Man Present Award" each year from 1991 to 1995, and in 1996 and 1999. He also is known to have brought his family to Delaware for the annual reunion of his father's cousins, the Laugherys, in the late 1960s. Said the Centre Daily Times, he "served in the Army Air Corps during World War II as an aircraft mechanic. He was a salesman for Agway for 35 years, retiring in 1984. He previously worked for the Farm Bureau in Greensburg. He was a member of the Pleasant Gap United Methodist Church, Friendly Citizens of Pleasant Gap, and the Pleasant Gap VFW." Eugene passed away at age 86 on April 6, 2006.