Susanna "Annie" (Rose) Durst
(1853-1935)
Susanna "Annie" Elizabeth (Rose) Durst was born on Sept. 6, 1853 in Kingwood, Somerset County, PA, the daughter of Charles and Catherine (Minerd) Rose.
She married Levi Durst (1852- ? ), a native of Maryland. They had four children: Edith Durst, Sarah "Sadie" Hellenbrook, Louise "Lulu" Durst and Hattie Blackburn.
The Dursts made their home for many years near Ursina, Somerset County. The federal census of 1880 shows the young family residing in Ursina, with Levi employed as a laborer.
In 1900, the census lists the Dursts near Ursina, with Levi working as a day laborer. They lived just a few houses away from Annie's parents, unmarried brother John Wesley Rose, and married brother William Rose and his wife Maggie.
Levi was listed in a 1903 directory of Ursina, which was reprinted in the book, Reflections: Ursina 1787-1994.
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A common wintry sight -- men clearing a heavy snowfall on the road from Confluence to Somerset, circa 1936. |
By 1920, when the census again was enumerated, Susanna was widowed. She headed a household including her 34-year-old unmarried daughter Lulu, her 69-year-old unmarried brother John Wesley Rose and her 90-year-old widowed mother Catherine.
When the census was taken in 1930, the 75-year-old Susanna made her home with her unmarried, 44-year-old daughter Lulu Durst in Ursina. Also in their household that year were Susanna's married daughter Sadie Hellenbrook and husband Fred, both of whom were unemployed.
Susanna
died at the age of 72 on April 30, 1935. She is buried at the Ursina Cemetery. No
stone is known to mark her final resting place.
The fate of daughter Edith Durst (1875- ? ) is lost to history, but will be reported here when learned.
On Jan. 30, 1912, daughter Hattie E. Durst (1890-1978) married 25-year-old George A. Blackburn (1885-1957). He was the son of Charles and Edna Blackburn of Ursina. The wedding ceremony was performed by Rev. H.E. Lewis of the Methodist Church. News of the marriage was published in the Feb. 29, 1912 edition of the Pittsburgh Christian Advocate, the official newspaper of the Methodist Church of western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio and northern West Virginia. George was a military veteran, and was employed over the years as a local contractor. They apparently had no children. George died on Feb. 6, 1957, at the age of 72. Hattie outlived her husband by 21 years. She died on March 31, 1978 in Beaver Falls, Beaver County, PA.
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Daughter
Sadie Durst (1881-1978) married Fred L. Hellenbrook (1878-1969), a native of Olean,
Cattaraugas County, NY. He was a veteran of
the Spanish-American War, having served as a private in a New York Infantry
regiment. They had no children. Fred died at the age of 91, on Oct. 23, 1969, in the
Altoona (PA) Veterans Hospital. Sadie outlived Fred by nine years. She passed
away at the age of 97 in Confluence on July 5,
1978. They are buried together at the Ursina Cemetery.
Daughter
Louise "Lulu" Durst (1885-1970) apparent never married. Over the years
she made a living as a laborer on "odd jobs" in the Ursina region of
southern Somerset County. She died at the age of
85 on April 12, 1970 and is buried at the Ursina Cemetery.
Only a small temporary metal marker, seen here as photographed in the
winter of 1999, identifies the location of her
grave.
Copyright © 2000, 2008 Mark A. Miner