Robert
Marshall White Sr.
(1851-1909)
Robert Marshall White Sr. was born in 1851 in Fayette County, PA, the son of Perry G. and Charlotte (McClatchey) White. When he was 7, in about 1858, his mother died. His father then married Mariah Minerd.
At age 18, he labored in a local coke works near Uniontown.
Robert married Mary Rebecca Pope (1855-1937). Their children were Mary E. White, Harriet White, Charles H. White, Thomas White, Elizabeth Dawson, Raymond G. White, Daniel D. White, Robert M. White Jr. and Jenny (White) Miner. Two daughters married Charles K. Dawson and James G. Mitchell. Sadly, daughters Mary (age 4) and Harriet (age 2) died 15 days apart in the summer of 1886.
They lived at Hopwood, Fayette County, on the south side of the National Turnpike (Route 40). Robert was employed under superintendent Jacob M. Beeson on the National Turnpike. Following in his footsteps, sons Thomas, Raymond and Charles also were road laborers in Hopwood. In a memoir authored by a niece, she wrote that Robert "was a worker with the 5 (white) men breaking stones which were used before the pike was paved."
On May 14, 1909, Robert died at home. He had been in poor health for some time and had not been able to work. His pallbearers were members of the Junior Order of United American Mechanics.
Mary died in 1937 and is buried beside him at Hopwood Cemetery.
Son Raymond G. White, seen at left, was killed in action at the horrific battle of Chateau Thierry, France, in World War I. Tragically,
he lost his life just nine months after his enlistment. His body was returned home, and he is buried near his parents at Hopwood.
Son Charles White (1876-1942) married Elizabeth Ann Johnson. They resided at Hopwood. Said the Uniontown Morning Herald, Charles was "employed for a number of years by the Pennsylvania State Highway Department... He also was a devoted member of the Hopwood Central Christian Church and superintendent of the Church Sunday School." He died at age 66 on May 5, 1942. Their children were Viola West of Hopwood, Irene Provance of Hopwood, Ralph White and Gerald C. White of Hopwood.
Daughter Jenny
White (seen at right) married
Charles Marion Miner. It's
not known if Charles is related to our family since his father, William A.
Miner, came from Ohio. (For more, see the entry on William A. Miner on our "Do
They Fit?" page.)
Daughter Elizabeth White married Charles K. Dawson. Their children were Sara Dawson, Kenneth Dawson, Mary Dawson, Rosamond Dawson and one unidentified child who died in infancy.
Son Daniel White married Pearl Miller. Their children were Arden White, Joseph White, Ruth White, Anna Jane White and Martha White. Circa 1964, Daniel resided in St. Petersburg, FL.
Son Robert M. White Jr. (1896-1964) married Lenora
"Nora" Turner (1899-1973), a cousin and the daughter of Homer
W. Turner.
They are seen here. The Whites lived in Hopwood and were members of the Central Christian Church. The
Whites had four children: Robert W. White, Madeline Walters, Frances Meyer and Sally
Cluelow. Tragically, son Robert was killed in a truck accident on West Main
Street in Uniontown at the age of 30, on Aug. 25, 1950. Robert passed away on
April 6, 1964, with burial at Chalk Hill Cemetery following funeral arrangements
handled by the Minerd Funeral Home.
Later in life, Lenora made her home with or near her daughters in Coraopolis, Allegheny County, PA,
where she belonged to the St. Andrew Lutheran Church. She passed away at the
age of 74 on Dec. 6, 1973, at the Sewickley Valley Hospital. She was laid to
rest in the Chalk Hill Cemetery.
For more on this family, contact Ray and Barb Miner.
Copyright © 2000-2002, 2005, 2007 Mark A. Miner