William
Rose
(1866-1916)
William
Rose was born on Dec. 15, 1866 in Kingwood, Somerset County, PA,
the son of Charles and Catherine (Minerd)
Rose. He was one of many of our cousins killed in a work-related accident in
the coal, coke and steel industries.
In March 1892, William married Margaret Leichliter of Connellsville, Fayette County, PA. Their marriage license, obtained at the Fayette County courthouse, was reported in the Uniontown Genius of Liberty newspaper.
Their five children were Ray Rose, Clarence Logan Rose, James Verner Rose, Earl Rose and Margaret "Bessie" Wilson.
In 1897, William purchased a 49-acre farm tract from his parents,
located near Ursina, Somerset County. The farm was adjacent to those of his
brother Grant and sister Jennie
Burgess. William also worked for the Laurel Mining Company at Shipley Station near
Confluence, Somerset County.
Tragedy struck in 1916, when William was struck and killed by a railroad train while on his way to work at the Laurel Mining Company. The Dec. 7, 1916 Meyersdale Republican reported that he was:
...on the Western Maryland Railway about a mile West of Confluence on Monday morning. He was employed by the Laurel Mining Co. at Shipley station, near where his body was found. He had been at his home at Ursina Saturday night and Sunday, and was likely on his way to his work. While the family resided at Ursina, he had a shanty near the mines, where he stayed during the week and usually spent Sunday at home. When the body was found, the back part of the skull was crushed in, his hip broken and his chest all bruised and broken... William Rose was an industrious man and his sudden death is much lamented.
William was buried at the Younkin Cemetery at Paddytown, near Kingwood, Somerset County. Several members of the family of his cousin, Ephraim Minerd, also are interred at the cemetery.
Picturesque Younkin Cemetery in the gentle hills of Turkeyfoot
Maggie's fate is unknown, but will be reported here when learned.
Son Clarence (1903-1984) was a coal miner and lived at Stoystown, Somerset County. He married Edith Mae Tressler (1907-2005), and they had four children -- Markel E. Rose Sr., Bernard Weyand, Opal Hagans and D. Jean Shaffer. They were members of the Somerset Christian Fellowship. Clarence was a member of Liberty Temple in Cresaptown, MD, and Tire Hill Local of the United Mine Workers of America. He died at age 81 on Dec. 15, 1984, and was buried at the Odd Fellows Cemetery in Stoystown.
Son James lived at Williamsburg, Whitley County, KY.
Daughter Bessie lived at Mine 40 near Windber, Somerset County as of 1974. Windber was a coal mining town, named using a combination of the name of the owner of the local Berwind-White Coal Company, Edward J. Berwind. The Associated Press once reported that "Berwind leaders wanted Windber to the model of innovation and set a standard for other company towns, so architects laid extra-wide streets and built homes that had access to a central heating system. [It also had] electricity before many neighboring towns."
Bird's-eye view of Windber
Copyright © 2000, 2003, 2005 Mark A. Miner