Bio-Rose-Sarah Firestone

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Sarah Ann (Rose) Firestone
(1844-1929)

Sarah Ann (Rose) Firestone was born on Sept. 19, 1844 (or 1846) in Kingwood, Somerset County, PA, the eldest daughter of Charles and Catherine (Minerd) Rose.

In about 1864, when she was age 20, Sarah wed 30-year-old Lewis R. Firestone Sr. (1834-1930), 10 years her senior, the son of Michael and Elizabeth Mae Firestone. The marriage lasted for a remarkable 62 years.

The Firestones lived at Normalville (1870), Bullskin Township (circa 1880), Murphy Siding (1883), Rich Hill and Breakneck, all near Connellsville in Fayette County, PA.

They had 11 children -- Austin J. Firestone Sr., Grant L. Firestone Sr., Susan "Anna" Firestone, Ida C. Langenheim, Emma Nicholson, Lewis R. Firestone Jr., Mary Jane Sidebottom, Cora Firestone, Sarah "Sadie" P. Calhoun, Myrtle Firestone and John Firestone.

Sadly, their children Cora (1882, age two), John (1889), Anna (1896) and Lewis Jr. (1906) died young. In fact, Anna was age 27 at death, and Lewis Jr. was 31, and the causes of their deaths are unknown.

The four children are buried together at the Rich Hill Cemetery, and their gravestone inscriptions, on opposite sides of a single shaft, are seen here.

The Connellsville Daily Courier said that Lewis "for more than 50 years had been a resident of Bullskin township, where he followed the occupation of a farmer and lumberman."

In early December 1879, after the death of Sarah's aged uncle John Minerd, Lewis attended an estate sale held at the Minerd farm near Normalville, Fayette County. Lewis purchased a "scythe and snath" (for $1.50) and a "set of cup and saucers" (18 cents).

In 1910, when Lewis and Sarah were in their 60s, granddaughter Flora Firestone lived in their home in Bullskin.

Sarah died on March 14, 1929 at home at Breakneck. She was laid to rest in the Firestone family plot at Rich Hill Cemetery. Her obituary was printed in the Courier, and it noted that her mother's maiden name was "Miner."

Lewis outlived Sarah by about 10 months. In September 1929, he fell from his chair at home and broke his hip. Four months later, on Jan. 18, 1930, at age 96, he passed away in Connellsville State Hospital.

The old Breakneck Reservoir, a landmark near where the Firestones lived

He was buried beside his wife at Rich Hill Cemetery. Among the pallbearers were his grandsons David, Norman, John and Leroy Firestone.

Their grave marker reads: "Gone but not forgotten."

Great-grandson David Laurence Firestone Jr. later was a trustee of this cemetery, where at least four generations of the Firestone family rest for eternity.