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Silas Younkin was born on Dec. 28, 1844 at Paddytown, Upper Turkeyfoot Township, Somerset County, PA, the son of Henry F. and Mary (King) Younkin. His second wife, Zobeida Jane "Betty" (or "Beadie") (Ream) Colborn, was born on June 26, 1863 in Draketown, Somerset County, the daughter of justice of the peace Thomas and Sarah (McMillan) Ream Jr. and stepdaughter of Adaline (Shaulis) Ream. As an adult, Silas stood 5 feet, 8 inches tall, with blue eyes, light hair and light complexion. In those early years, he was a farmer and resided in Addison Township, and was a member of the Lutheran Church.
During the Civil War, he served in two different regiments. First, Silas enlisted in the 133rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry on Aug. 6, 1862 and was assigned to Company E. Said a newspaper, "This company was a Somerset company, a good number of the members being from the Turkeyfoot region. Among the latter were R.E. Ross, of Addison, [and] the late Isaac Van Sickel, Ursina." On May 5, 1863, in battle action at Chancellorsville, he was wounded in the face by an enemy minié ball. He was sent to Philadelphia for medical treatment, staying at Lincoln Hospital for three weeks and at Chestnut Hill Hospital for four weeks. He received a discharge in Harrisburg, PA on May 26, 1863. Early the following year, 1864, he re-enlisted in the Army, and joined the 116th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company E. He arrived at the Philadelphia draft office in late February 1864 and was sent to his regiment the following month. Two distant cousins in the same regiment, Company K, were Henry Hall and William Hall, of the family of Joseph and Elizabeth (Rowan) Hall of Maple Summit, Fayette County. Showing ability, Silas was promoted to corporal, and to sergeant, and then again to second lieutenant.
The 116th was one of six regiments comprising the famed "Irish Brigade." The men were issued obsolete smoothbore muskets, which fired buck-and-ball shot producing a shotgun effect in close-range combat. After some months, they were given Springfield rifles. Early in Silas' term of service with the 116th, at Todd’s Tavern, VA on May 8, 1864, he got to see General Ulysses S. Grant, who rode up during a halt in the dusty, oppressively hot march. "It was the first time that the men of the regiment had seen the great commander and they had not yet learned to know him," said an observer. "The general rode slowly by, pausing a moment to look at the command while the men gazed with curiosity but without the slightest show of enthusiasm or feeling at the serious, sphynx-like face. He wore the slouch hat and unbuttoned coat and general tour ensemble with which the whole nation has since become so familiar, but on this occasion the ever present cigar was missing." The soldiers of the 116th took part in these battles during the excessively bloody Wilderness campaign from early May to early June 1864 -- Todd’s Tavern, Spottsylvania, Totopotomy, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, William’s Farm, Strawberry Plains, Deep Bottom and Reams Station. The regiment was in battle or under fire for 19 of the 31 days of the Wilderness fighting. Experts call the Wilderness fighting a tactical draw, but Grant never retreated from Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Confederate Army and instead continuously advanced, which was a victory in its own right.
The fight at Spottsylvania was considered the regiment’s most lethal, and in the book The Story of the 116th Regiment, Pennsylvania Infantry, author St. Clair A. Mulholland writes:
The 116th spent the winter of 1864 in camp during the siege of Petersburg, occasionally performing reconnaissance and skirmishing. Fighting resumed at Gravelly Run (March 30, 1865), Five Forks (April 1) and Farmville (April 7, just two days before the enemy’s surrender). On April 9, 1865, the men halted their skirmishing, cooked coffee and then "received the glorious news of the surrender," writes Mulholland. After a time, Union Gen. George C. Meade rode through their lines and into the enemy's. Then that afternoon, he rode back, stopped in front of the 116th and removed his cap, saying "General Lee has surrendered to General Grant." Writes Sgt. Maj. Samuel D. Hunter, "It now seemed as if by the hand of God life had been suspended for several minutes. Not a word was spoken, not a movement was made. Officers and men stood like regiments of statue-soldiers in the perfect silence. Then like an electric shock broke forth one grand shout and cheer after cheer rent the air." After the war's end, Silas was discharged from the 116th Pennsylvania near Washington, DC on July 16, 1865. ~ Silas' First Marriage to Lucinda Hershberger ~ Silas was twice married. His first bride was Lucinda Hershberger ( ? -1890) of Addison, Somerset County. They were wed on Jan. 11, 1866, when he was age 22. The couple bore these six children -- Sallie Younkin, Ella Younkin, Walter C. Younkin, Jasper Younkin, Mary A. Younkin and Frank "Frankie" Younkin. Immediately after their marriage, Silas and Lucinda left Pennsylvania and moved to Kansas, settling near his older siblings in Wakefield, Clay County. There, he remained for 21 or 24 years. Because there was no Lutheran Church in Wakefield, the Younkins became members of the local Methodist Episcopal Church. Silas was named in an August 1881 edition of the Clay Center Times as an upcoming juror in the District Court for Clay County. Silas was a reader of the Times, and in March 1885 was named in the gossip columns of the newspaper: "Silas Younkin of Grant township, an old subscriber of the TIMES, came up and heard the Bishop Sabbath morning. He made us a call Monday morning."
The Younkins' world was filled with grief in April 1888 when their seven-year-old son Frankie died. As reported by "Victoria" in the Times, "Another sad reminder has just occurred in our midst, Frankie Younkin, son of Mr. Silas Younkin, ... will to-morrow, 10th inst add one more mound to the Timber Creek cemetery." Then smile at death, dear parents, 'Tis life's last struggling prayer; Prepare yourselves for heaven, To meet your angel Frankie there. Smile even in our sorrow, Our father holds the rod. And while you mourn your treasure, Remember he is safe with God. Silas was a stock raiser and apparently always sought to expand his output. In June 1888, he and his nephew by marriage, Henry Alison Elias, traveled to Arkansas "on a tour of inspection," said the Times. "They want more room for their rapidly increasing stock. John Younkin will follow in the fall." They apparently returned safely.
Tragically, Lucinda died in Wakefield on April 9, 1890. Her remains were lowered into repose in Timbercreek Cemetery. Those known to have attended her funeral were her son Walter along with Edward G. Hanna and W.H. Myers, among others. Later in the year of his wife's death, and suffering from kidney problems and his injured bladder, Silas applied for a military pension. His application, made in Wakefield, was signed by cousin and grand-nephew by marriage Howard Hartzell (of the families of Stephen Decatur Hartzell and Hila [Younkin] Faidley) and nephew Curtin Faidley (son of Hila [Younkin] Faidley). He was a member of Post 88 of the Kansas Department of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), a veterans' organization. Remaining busy as a widower, Silas and his nephew by marriage Henry Alison Elias (of the family of Moses Younkin) were appointed "viewers" in July 1891 to advise county planners whether to build a new road in Grant Township. After spending nearly a quarter of a century in Wakefield, Silas made the decision to leave and return to his home region in Pennsylvania.The Dec. 3, 1891 issue of the Times reported that he had "bought a farm in Pennsylvania, where he and his family expect to move in the spring." Five of his children chose to remain in Kansas and eventually moved into Kansas City. ~ Enter Zobeida Jane (Ream) Colborn ~ On Nov. 6, 1892, at the age of 47, and after more than two years as a widower, Silas married again to 29-year-old widow and dressmaker Zobeida Jane "Betty" (Ream) Colborn (1854-1925). The ceremony was performed at Ursina, Somerset County by Rev. George H. Flinn. Zobeida and her first husband, John Colborn (1850-1885), resided in Ursina, but he died in mid-December 1885 at the age of 35. Zobeida brought three children to the marriage, Wade Hampton Colborn, Alice Maud Boor and John Harold "Harry" "George" Colborn. The Younkins resided on a farm near Confluence and produced at least two more children of their own, Warren H. Younkin and Beatrice Rush. Zobeida when young joined the Fairview Methodist Episcopal Church, later renamed Johnson's Chapel near Confluence. She eventually switched her membership to the Baptist church in Confluence. Said a newspaper, "She was a woman loved by her neighbors and friends." Silas was a member of a Bible Class in the church, with L.S. Show and W.F. Critchfield among the other participants.
Circa 1904, Silas served in the elected position as commissioner of streets in Confluence. Among his projects with a "gang" of men and horses was widening the roadway that crossed the bridge spanning Laurel Creek into West Confluence. The Connellsville Courier observed that "He knows what to do and is doing it to a perfection." Another spring task was to grade local streets using a special plow drawn by six horses.
The Younkins were among 70 relatives and friends who attended a dinner in September 1906 at Mountain's Grove, as named by the Weekly Courier: Mr. Popey, Mr. Smith, Mr. Pedon of Pittsburgh, Mr. Skinner, Mr. Lowery of Whig Corner, Fred Ream and mother of Casselman, Nelson Gerhard and wife of Somerset, John Ream, F.S. Gerhard, William Grantz, William Ream of Confluence, J.S. Ream of Draketown. Then in September 1909, they traveled to Delaware to see friends, and the following month went to Michigan. Silas remained involved with fellow Civil War veterans over the years and was a member of the Ross Rush Post of the Grand Army of the Republic. At the 1912 death of old veteran Alfred Newlon Tissue, of the 11th Pennsylvania Reserves, Silas served as a pallbearer. When J.M. Glodfelty dropped dead in July 1913, Silas was an honorary escort at the funeral. He was a pallbearer for the funeral of fellow Sunday School member Joseph Rupert Coder in November 1914. On Memorial Day 1913, he attended a parade of GAR members to the Casselman Bridge, "and after strewing flowers on the river again formed in line and marched to the park where the exercises took place," reported the Meyersdale Republic. "In the evening there was a campfire at which the following veterans told stories of camp life: Dr. W.S. Mountain, J.B. Jennings, Hiram Frantz, Silas Younkin and others." Silas traveled to Gettysburg in July 1913 to mark the 50th anniversary of the famed battle, going with, among others, Leroy Forquer and his father-in-law Jacob J. Rush, Jerome B. Jennings, Balaam Younkin and Ephraim Miner.
On Sept. 10, 1913, tragedy visited this family when 19-year-old son Warren, trying to board a moving freight train at Salisbury Junction, Somerset County, fell between the cars and was killed. A story in the Connellsville Daily Courier said that he "was on his way to Meyersdale to attend the fair, and it is supposed that he attempted to get off the train while it was moving and fell under the wheels. The body was identified by John Frankfort, one of the trainmen who formerly resided here." The Meyersdale Republican reported the incident in more detail:
Younkin and four companions came up from Confluence early Wednesday morning and were taking in the sights of the town during the forenoon. The five boys got separated from one another several times during the day. The others had not seen Younkin for several hours before they were informed of his terrible fate. He had not spoken to his companions about going home, and they were stunned when they heard of his death. The unfortunate youth was about 20 years of age, of good habits and highly esteemed. The remains were brought to Reich's undertaking rooms after the accident where they were kept Wednesday night while the family was communicated with. A representative of the Republican who was well acquainted with the young man met him several times during the late forenoon and can vouch for the fact that he was sober and to the best of his knowledge he had not been drinking up to that time. His companions also confirmed this, and whatever caused him to decide to start on his trip home on a freight car, is something that cannot ever be found out. In a story about Warren's funeral, the Republican said that Rev. C.W. Hoover officiated, with burial in the Sterner Cemetery, later known as the Confluence Baptist Church Cemetery. "Mr. and Mrs. Younkin, who are very estimable people," noted the newspaper, "have the sympathy of the whole community in their sad bereavement." They arranged in May 1915 to place what the Republican called "a beautiful monument" at their son's grave. Two years later, in about 1915, Silas and Betty moved into the town of Confluence. Their home was located at at 347 Fairview Street. In his final years, Silas' mental and physical condition deteriorated to the point where he needed constant oversight. His physician, H.P. Meyers, said that Silas was "wholly incapacitated and it is unsafe to allow him to go out without some one to attend him. He is not confined to the house at all times but his mind is such that he is so forgetful that if allowed alone he wanders from place to place. He is nervous and debilitated."
Silas died on Feb. 2, 1924 at Confluence at the age of 79. His son Walter traveled from Kansas City to attend the funeral. Burial was in the West Side Cemetery in Confluence, today's Confluence Baptist Church Cemetery. [Find-a-Grave] A lengthy obituary in the Connellsville Weekly Courier lamented that "One more Civil War veteran answered the last roll call ... [which] called a beloved citizen and friend, ... the last member of a family of 13.... His death has removed from the activities of life a man of sterling character, a man beloved by a host of friends and neighbors for his uprightness, his fairness and honesty in all his dealings with mankind." Later in the month Silas died, Betty Jane applied to receive her husband's pension. It was awarded, and she began receiving $30 per month. Silas' former Men's Bible Class of the Confluence Methodist Episcopal Church held a memorial service in June 1926 to honor Silas and others. Reported the Republican: The church was appropriately decorated to harmonize with the solemnity of the occasion. There was a five pointed star, each point of which had a light to represent one of the deceased members." Betty Jane died at the home of her married daughter Beatrice Rush on Oct. 25, 1925 at the age of 72, due to heart and kidney disease as well as hardening of the arteries. Burial was in the Baptist cemetery in Confluence following a service preached by Rev. L.H. Powell. Detailed obituaries were printed in the Republic and Daily Courier. Daughter Beatrice was the informant for her death certificate.
~ Silas' Daughter Sarah "Sallie" (Younkin) Morton ~ Daughter Sarah "Sallie" Younkin (1867-1960) was born on Oct. 16, 1867. She grew to womanhood in Wakefield. On Oct. 15, 1894 -- a Monday evening -- she was united in matrimony with Isaiah L. Morton (1870- ? ), a resident of Broughton, KS and originally from Missouri. The wedding was led by Rev. R.W. Steppe of the Methodist Episcopal church and announced on the pages of the Clay Center Timesand Clay Center Dispatch. They bore one son, Francis Morton. The Mortons initially dwelled in Clay County, KS. In July 1897, the Clay Center Times reported that Sallie was contemplating a trip to Pennsylvania within the week. then in January 1899, she and her brother Walter and couisin Charles Faidley (of the family of Hila [Younkin] Faidley) "took advantage of the excursion rates last week to visit relatives near Kansas City, incidentally to take in the sights of the city" said the Times. For many years, Isaiah owned and operated a furniture story in Kansas City, Wyandotte County, KS at the northeast corner of 18th and Central Avenue, named I.L. Morton Furniture Company. Later, when their son joined the business, the name was adjusted to I.L. Morton & Son, "Everything to Furnish a Home." In 1920, the U.S. Census-taker recorded the Mortons living in Kansas City, Wyandotte County, KS, in a home on South Valley Street. That year, Sallie's unmarried siblings Mary and Jasper lived in their residence. Sister Mary worked as a bookkeeper in the family furniture store. The Mortons remained in their South Valley Street home during the decade of the 1920s and are shown there on the 1920 census, with Isaiah continuing to operate the store. In 1920, in addition to Salli and Isaiah, six others lived under their roof, among them their son, his wife and son, sister in law, brother in law and roomer. Census records for 1950 show them in Kansas City with several lodgers in the household. Sallie apparently pulled up stakes in later years and relocated to Colorado, where her married son was living in Denver. Isaiah's fate is not yet known. Sallie died in 1960. Burial was in Fairmount Cemetery in Denver. Son Francis A. "Frank" Morton (1901-1969) was born in 1900. He joined his father's furniture business as a young man. At the age of 21, in 1922, he was united in marriage with 18-year-old Ruth (1903-1988). They lived in Michigan, where their son Eugene was born in about 1928, but moved back to Kansas City, Wyandotte County. The federal census of 1930 shows them living in his parents' home, with the stated occupation of "aviator." He eventually joined United Air Lines as a pilot. On Aug. 12, 1943, the Kansas City Kansan reported that:
Francis retired from United and the couple spent their final years in Denver, where they belonged to Central Avenue United Methodist Church. He died in 1969. Burial was in Denver's Fairmount Cemetery. The widowed Ruth outlived him by nearly two decades. She passed away in 1988.
~ Silas' Daughter Ella Younkin ~ Daughter Ella Younkin (1870- ? ) was born on Jan. 19, 1870. She died prior to 1924. ~ Silas' Son Walter C. Younkin ~ Son Walter C. Younkin (1873-1947) was born on Jan. 28, 1873 in Clay County, KS. He opted to remain in Kansas when his widowed father returned to Western Pennsylvania. Walter resided at Wakefield, Clay County, KS in 1917 and in Riley, KS in 1924. He was a longtime farmer, and belonged to the Wakefield lodge of the Masons and the Salina Consistory of the Scottish Rite, as well as the Methodist Church at Wakefield. In 1935, he dwelled in Wakefield but within a few years relocated to Kansas City, Wyandotte County, KS, where he moved into the home of his married sister Sally and her husband Isaiah L. Morton. Also sharing rooms in the Morton home were Walter's unmarried sister Mary and brother Jasper. The 1940 census shows Walter in the Mortons' residence. With his health in decline, Walter was admitted to Bethany Hospital. There, the 75-year-old was spirited away in death on April 25, 1947. His remains rest under the sod of Memorial Park Cemetery in Kansas City. ~ Silas' Daughter Mary A. Younkin ~ Daughter Mary A. Younkin (1876-1953) was born on Oct. 1, 1876 in Clay County, KS. She apparently never married. Circa 1920, federal census records show her living in the home of her sister and brother-in-law, Sallie and I.L Morton, on South Valley Street in Kansas City, Wyandotte County, KS. That arrangement continued for many years. She appears to have been a member of the Annesley Girls' class of the Central Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church in Kansas City. In 1930, continuing to make her residence with her married sister, she was a sales lady in her brother-in-law's furniture store. By 1940, she had retired but was still living with the Mortons and her brothers Jasper and Walter, who had moved a few years earlier from his home in Wakefield. The grim reaper of death harvested her away on June 10, 1953. She sleeps for all time in Memorial Park Cemetery in Kansas City. ~ Silas' Son Jasper Younkin ~ Son Jasper Younkin (1879-1944) was born on Dec. 8, 1879 and grew up in Wakefield. In boyhood, he attended the Timber Creek Schoolhouse and the Gatesville School and was an 1898 graduate of Wakefield High School. When he was 20 years of age, as a student in Wakefield, Jasper contracted scarlet fever and was forced to drop out of school. A story in the Clay Center Times reported that "He will go to work on a farm as soon as he can secure a position." He in fact became a farm laborer and in September 1902 was hired out by his cousin by marriage, Henry Elias (of the family of Moses Younkin). By 1905, Jasper moved to a new home in Kansas City. He returned to Wakefield from time to time to visit his brother Walter and other friends and kinsmen. He was a lifelong bachelor. When the United States Census was made in 1920, the 41-year-old unmarried Walter resided with his married sister and brother-in-law, Sallie and I.L. Morton at 36 South Valley Street in Kansas City. Their 43-year-old single sister Mary also lived under the Morton's roof. That arrangement lasted for decades and the address was his home to the end. Circa 1919, Jasper was hired as a postal letter carrier, and he continued that work into the 1940s. His final assignment was carrying mail from the Packer station. He died at the age of 65, as a patient in St. Margaret's Hospital in Kansas City, on March 1, 1944. An obituary was published in the Kansas City Star, which said he "had lived in Kansas City, Kansas, forty years and had been a mail carrier there for twenty-five years. He was a member of the Central Avenue Methodist church and the Odd Fellows lodge in Kansas City, Kansas. He leaves two sisters, Mrs. I.L. Morton and Miss Mary Younkin, and a brother, Walter C. Younkin, all of the home." Funeral obsequies were held at the Central Avenue Methodist Church, with interment in the local memorial park. ~ Zobeida's Son Wade Hampton Colborn ~ Stepson Wade Hampton Colborn (1877-1953) was born on Aug. 23, 1877 in Ursina. During the Spanish-American War, he served as a private in the 1st Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company M, enlisting May 28, 1898 and receiving his honorable discharge five months later, on Oct. 25, 1898. Circa 1906, Wade resided in the Duquesne section of Pittsburgh. At the age of 33, in about 1910, Wade married 20-year-old Michigan native Kathryn (1889-1961). They did not reproduce. The Colborns made their home in 1913-1946 in Chicago. The federal census of 1930 shows the couple living on Drexel Boulevard, with Wade employed as an auditor with a business club, and Kathryn engaged as a welfare worker for a convalescent home.. In August 1946, they traveled back to Confluence for a visit with Wade's sister Beatrice Rush. The couple retired to Miami, Dade County, FL. There, Wade succumbed on May 31, 1953, at the age of 76. Burial was in Miami City Cemetery. [Find-a-Grave] News of his death was sent to his sister Beatrice Rush in Confluence and published in the Connellsville Daily Courier. Kathryn survived her husband by eight years. She died in 1961. ~ Zobeida's Daughter Alice "Maud" (Colborn) Boor ~ Stepdaughter Alice "Maud" Colborn (1880-1943) was born on the Fourth of July 1880. She spent all but two years of her life in Confluence and was a school teacher in Confluence as a young adult. At age 27, on Sept. 23, 1907, she married 29-year-old railroad engineer William Boor (Oct. 9, 1877-1942), also spelled "Boord," son of Henry "Martin" and Amanda (Ware) Boor of West End, Bedford County, PA. Rev. Thomas Charlesworth of the Methodist Episcopal Church officiated. At the time of marriage, he lived in Johnstown, Cambria County, PA and was employed by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
The Boors produced two children -- Myra Fuller and John "Roger" Boor.
The Boors dwelled in Confluence for years. William was employed for four decades as an engineer with the B&O Railroad and was a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and the Somerset lodge of the Masons. Alice was a girls' Sunday School teacher at the Confluence Methodist Church. William suffered from heart disease and low blood pressure and died of a heart attack at the age of 64 on New Year's Day 1942. Rev. Sherman H. Burson of the family church officiated at the funeral service followed by burial in Somerset County Memorial Park. The Meyersdale Republican printed an obituary. As a widow, Alice continued to reside in their home at 430 Latrobe Avenue in Confluence. Within a few months of her husband's passing their son Roger was inducted in the U.S. Army in 1943 and was sent to Texas for basic training. Sadly, Alice was stricken with cancer of the bowel, with a growth located between her sigmoid and rectum. With her son away in the military, Alice died at home at the age of 62 on Jan. 25, 1943. An obituary appeared in the Meyersdale Republican, and burial with her husband. Daughter Myra Boor (1908-1987) was born on June 26, 1908 in Confluence, Somerset County. Dr. Frank H. Weidemann assisted in the birth. When both were 25 years of age, on Sept. 5, 1933, Myra wed Denton Albert Fuller (Nov. 7, 1907-1990), son of Denton Alphonse and Emma (Flood/Trichler) Fuller of Harrisburg, PA. They exchanged their vows at the bride's home in Confluence by the hand of Rev. Howard W. Jamison. Their two known daughters were Jacqueline Fuller and Martha E. Fuller. At the time of marriage, Denton was employed by Manufacturers & Traders Trust Company and made his home at Niagara Falls, NY. For years, the family lived in Wellsville, Allegany County, NY. Denton's career at Manufacturers spanned 1929 to 1941. He then was named president and chief executive officer of Citizens National Bank of Wellsville, serving for 20 years, from 1941 to 1961. In 1959, he was elected county chairman of the Easter Seal Campaign to benefit the New York State Association for Crippled Children. He was tapped in 1961 to be president/CEO of Liberty Trust Company of Maryland, with a move to Cumberland, MD. Denton finally retired in 1977. Myra passed away on Feb. 27, 1987. Burial was in the local Woodlawn Cemetery. Denton outlived her by three years. Death spirited him into the hereafter on May 24, 1990. An obituary appeared in the Buffalo News.
Son John "Roger" Boor (1913-1984) was born on Jan. 9, 1913 in Confluence, Somerset County. Dr. H.P. Meyers assisted with the birth. Roger was a graduate of Washington and Jefferson College and received a master of education degree in 1941 from the University of Pittsburgh. Roger was employed in 1937 with Goodrich Tire Company and by 1942 was a teacher in Confluence High School. On Oct. 16, 1942, he entered into marriage with fellow teacher Pauline Frantz (1912-2005), daughter of George Albert and Ada (Kimmel) Frantz. Their wedding occurred in the parsonage of the Methodist church in Cumberland, MD and announced on the pages of the Somerset Daily American, Connellsville Daily Courier, Pittsburgh Press and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The couple did not reproduce. Pauline had received her bachelor's degree from Hood College and undertaken graduate studies at Pennsylvania State University, and was teaching at Confluence High at the time of marriage. Roger was soonafter drafted into the U.S. Army during World War II, serving from Jan. 7, 1943 to Aug. 20, 1943. In the postwar years, Roger was hired by Trans World Airlines (TWA) as a traffic representative, later moving into a sales position with the company. His name often was printed in local newspapers when showing travel films to community groups. By 1948, they relocated to Carnegie, PA, with an address of 836 Washington Avenue. Pauline was an English teacher in 1950 at a local high school. Roger passed away on July 15, 1984. The remains were lowered into the sacred sod of Somerset County Memorial Park. Pauline survived him by more than two decades. She married a second time to John Joseph Gelm Jr. (1909-2000), son of John J. and Rose Mary (McCaffrey) Gelm. He also had worked in management for TWA. They lived in McMurray and at Friendship Village. Sadly, John passed away on April 26, 2000. She survived for another five-plus years and made her dwelling-place in Upper St. Clair. She died in Friendship Vollage of South Hills at the age of 93 on Sept. 16, 2005. A short obituary appeared in the Post-Gazette. ~ Zobeida's Son John Harold "Harry" "George" Colborn ~ Stepson John Harold "Harry" Colborn (1883-1939) was born on May 20, 1883 in Confluence. He carried the nickname "George." He was a young boy at the death of his father. Harry tied the marital cord with Anna Kane ( ? -1965). The couple did not reproduce. The Colborns lived in Chicago in 1913-1919 and in New York City in 1919-1927, and in some years dwelled in both. He is known to have returned to Confluence in May 1920, August 1921 and June 1922 to visit his mother, and in 1927 to see his sisters Alice Boor and Beatrice Rush. Harry's final dwelling-place was in Chicago. There, he died in their home in March 1939. The Meyersdale Republican reported that his sisters Alice and Beatrice traveled from Confluence to attend the funeral. Short obituaries also appeared in the Connellsville Daily Courier and Somerset Daily American, the latter saying he "was known as Harry to his family and as George to his friends. He frequently visited his sister, Mrs. William Boor in Confluence." His funeral mass was sung in the Immaculate Conception Church, followed by interment of the remains in Calvary Cemetery. Anna survived her spouse by more than a quarter of a century. She did not remarry and remained in Chicago. Death spirited her away on Oct. 17, 1965. The funeral was conducted in St. Clement Church, and then burial in Calvary. A notice of her death was printed in the Chicago Tribune in which her niece Julia Reed and nephew James Wilkens were named. ~ Silas' and Zobeida's Daughter Beatrice (Younkin) Rush ~
Daughter Beatrice Younkin (1899-1974) was born on July 6, 1899 in Confluence. As a teenager, she attended Irving College. When she was the age of 24, on Aug. 15, 1923, she eloped to be wedded to a distant Younkin cousin, 31-year-old Homer C. Rush (Sept. 24, 1891-1958), son of Grant and Margaret (Critchfield) Rush of the family of Jacob J. and Sarah (Dull) Rush of Ursina. The nuptials were held in Cumberland, Allegany County, MD, officiated by Dr. Price of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The couple honeymooned in Atlantic City, Niagara Falls and New York City, with news of their marriage published in the Pittsburgh Daily Post and the Meyersdale Republican. Beatrice and Homer shared an unusual connection in having lost male relatives in railroad accidents. Homer was but a boy of seven when his father had been killed in a gruesome railroad accident in Baltimore, MD, with an obituary published in German in Baltimore's Der Deutsche Correspondent newspaper. The Rushes had one son, Dr. Philip B. Rush. Circa 1925, their home was in Confluence and their address was Oden Street in the 1950s. Homer was a longtime postal delivery man. Beatrice taught in the Turkeyfoot Valley Area Schools and for half a century was the organist for the Confluence United Methodist Church. Suffering for years from hardening of the arteries, heart disease and hypertension, Homer was felled by a heart attack and passed away on Oct. 14, 1958 at the age of 67 while in Addison Township. Beatrice survived alone in Confluence for another 16 years. She died in her son's home on March 25, 1974 at the age of 84. Her remains were lowered into eternal repose in the burying ground of the Confluence Baptist Church, with Rev. Arthur Gotjen preaching the funeral service, and an obituary appearing in the Somerset Daily American. Son Dr. Philip B. Rush (1929-1980) was born in about 1929. During the Korean War, he served with the U.S. Army in Korea. He was a graduate of Washington and Jefferson College followed by the University of Pittsburgh School of Dentistry, and spent a year studying in London. He was united in wedlock with Susie Book ( ? - ? ). The couple produced five children -- Bradley Rush, Kisel Rush, Gretchen Rush, Erika Rush and Molly Rush. In 1959, they resided in Rochester, NY -- in 1960 in Allison Park near Pittsburgh -- and in 1968-1974 in the Pittsburgh suburb of Mount Lebanon. They often returned to Ursina and Confluence to visit family. Philip's specialty was in children's dentistry, and he spent 22 years in practice in Mount Lebanon. He also served a term as president of the South Hills Dental Association. The family belonged to the Southminster Presbyterian Church, and Philip was an active volunteer with youth tennis and hockey. Their address in the 1970s was 170 Main Entrance Drive. Evidence suggests that Philip was burdened with heart problems. At the age of 51, he was stricken and rushed to St. Clair Memorial Hospital, where he died on Dec. 28, 1980. An obituary in the Pittsburgh Press said that a memorial service would be held in the family church, after which time interment would be in Mount Lebanon Cemetery. The family asked that any memorial donations be made to the American Heart Association. Susie married again to Col. Anthony L. Giuliano Jr. (April 14, 1933-1993), retired from the U.S. Air Force. The couple dwelled in Harmony, PA. Anthony died on May 9, 1993, with an obituary appearing in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. His remains were lowered into repose in Allegheny County Memorial Park.
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