James
'Franklin' Younkin
(1888-1967)
James
'Franklin’ Younkin was born on Christmas Eve 1888 at Clay Run, Fayette
County, PA, the son of William
‘Dayton’ and Lucinda (Harbaugh) Younkin.
On Oct. 21, 1914, at Cumberland, MD, Frank married 16-year-old Ida Alphretta Burkholder (1898-1966), the daughter of James Wesley Burkholder. They had five children – Elmer Eugene Younkin, James "Fae" Younkin, Hubert Dayton Younkin, Mildred "Esther" Humes and Lois Jean Hensel. Sadly, firstborn son Elmer died at age 7 in 1922.
(There were many connections between our family and the Burkholders. Ida’s brother, Daniel McKinley Burkholder, married Kathryn Miner, daughter of William Henry and Sara Jane [Basinger] Minerd. Ida’s sister, Rebecca Burkholder, was the first wife of Otis ‘Freed’ Minerd, son of Lawson and Lutitia [Steyer] Minerd. Cousin Josephine Gorsuch married William Burkholder.)
Frank was a farmer, and a onetime member of the Springfield Township School Board. With the involvement of his brother David, who was Mayor of Connellsville, PA, Frank served for several years as a central committeeman of the Fayette County Republican Party. Active in the community, he also belonged to the Wesley Chapel Methodist Church and the Indian Creek Valley Lions Club.
In
1926, Frank helped his widowed grandmother, Mary
Magdalene (Whipkey) Harbaugh, who was trying to obtain her late husband's
Civil War pension benefits from the federal government. In a letter to the US
Pension Commissioner, dated Aug. 4, 1926, Frank attempted to document the date of her marriage
to her husband. He wrote: "My grandmother has no learning and can neither
read nor write. As near as we can get at it [the wedding occurred] about Dec.
25, 1851." A copy of the letter is seen here, with the original in
the National Archives in Washington, DC.
Ida also was involved with the community, and in 1938 is known to have “entertained the Anagram Club … at her home. Prizes were awarded to three highest players.”
Frank and
Ida and his brother Warren
supported the early Harbaugh Reunions. Frank and Ida are seen here at the
1926 event. They are recorded to have attended the reunions almost every year in
the 1950s and early 1960s, including in 1959 and 1961-62 when they received the
"Longest Married Couple" award; and in 1963 and 1966 when Frank won
the "Oldest Man in Attendance" award. In 1952, Ida herself helped
entertain with a skit and in 1952, 1956-57 and 1960 was elected Vice
President
Frank and Warren also encouraged their brother Charles,
who co-founded the Younkin National Home Coming Reunions of the 1930s, and was
editor of the Younkin Family News Bulletin. They
helped load Warren’s piano onto a truck and drive it over the mountainous Springfield Pike
to the Kingwood IOOF Picnic Grove for the special events. The
"Pike" is seen
here in an old postcard photograph.
During World War II, with his daughter Esther serving in the military, Frank supported the war effort by financially supporting publication of The Messenger, a hometown newsletter for local servicemen and women and their families, edited by a distant cousin, Ferne (Minerd) Work.
A large landowner, Frank is said to have sold considerable real estate to the owners of what is now the renowned Seven Springs Ski Resort. He also is said to have sold land at Bear Run to Edgar J. Kaufmann, owner of Pittsburgh’s Kaufmanns Department Store.
In October 1964, the couple celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. The event generated an article in the Connellsville Daily Courier.
Two years later, Ida died on Jan. 25, 1966.
Frank passed away the following year, on June 7, 1967. They are buried together in the Imel Cemetery in Clay Run.
Son Fae was a farmer and “Owned and operated a school bus for Springfield Township schools,” said the Somerset Daily American.
Son
Hubert was a farmer, carpenter and school bus owner/operator. He was profiled in
the Daily Courier for his 40 years as a bus driver, seen here,
headlined “Hubie Younkin Has a Lot of Miles,” which reported that “In his
daily route, he hauls nearly 100 students on his 66-mile-per-day route.” He
also is pictured in the July 1992 issue of the “new” Younkin Family News
Bulletin.
Daughter
Esther, a World War II veteran, served for two years in Europe before being
transferred after the war to Japan to serve on the staff of Gen. Douglas
MacArthur. Her military updates were noted in the Messenger. One article
in March 1946 reported that she had "reinlisted and [we] understand she is
on her way overseas." In 1947, she made headlines in the Daily Courier
when she climbed to the top of Japan’s
famous Mt. Fuji, later saying: “I wouldn’t do it again for anything but
I’m sure glad I made the top.” She is mentioned in the 1939 and 1940
editions of the original Younkin Family News Bulletin, the national
newspaper published by her uncle Charles.
She also is referenced in the 1970 book, A History of Mill Run.
Daughter Lois Jean Hensel, of Scottdale, PA, died at age 44 in 1973.
Copyright Ó 2001-2002, 2006 Mark A. Miner