The Sad Graves - Tombstone Tuesday

Winona Elva (or Elva W.) Mendenhall Covert Gerner was wife to two different husbands.  She remarried after the death of her first husband, Everett R. Covert, and died before her second husband, Alfonzo Gerner.  I suppose it would be a hard choice to know with which husband to be buried.  Maybe she and Alfonzo discussed it and they both agreed about her burial location.

Still, I think it's sad to see Alfonzo's grave marker, standing alone, identifying him as the husband of Elva W. Covert with her buried beside her first husband.

Both photographs are from Find A Grave and are used with the permission of the photographer, Zachary Pyle.

--Nancy.

Copyright © 2009-2015 Nancy Messier. All Rights Reserved.
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Alfonzo Gerner - Tombstone Tuesday

Alfonzo / Alphonzo Gerner

Alphonzo Gerner
Husband of
Elva W. Covert
1874  ---  1952

Alfonzo is buried in Bear Creek Cemetery, Butler County, Pennsylvania.

Alfonzo has, perhaps, more given name variations than most people have surname variations.  They include Alfonzo, Alphonzo, Alphonso, Fon, Fawn, and possibly more I haven't remembered.

Thanks to Zachary Pyle for the photograph.

--Nancy.
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Jacob Froman & Family - Tombstone Tuesday

MARIA FROMAN          JACOB FROMAN

1875 - 1899                 1865 - 1935

JACOB FROMAN

1899

AGE 7 MO

Jacob is the son of John and Catherine (Saylor) Froman and brother of my paternal great-grandmother, Tressa (Froman) Doyle. 

Jacob, Maria, and Jacob are buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, Sandy Lake, Mercer County, Pennsylvania.

The Puzzle of Jacob Froman's Marriage is a previous post about Jacob and his family.

--Nancy.
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William Meinzen - Wednesday's Child

I found William, age 8, in the 1880 U. S. census living with his parents, Henry and Elizabeth Minzen, a spelling variation of Meinzen.  After that he disappeared.  I thought perhaps he would be lost forever. 
And then this brief sentence came to light in the Friday, November 30, 1888, issue of The Steubenville Weekly Gazette.  "William, son of Henry Minser, died at his home on North Eighth Street Saturday evening, of typhoid fever, aged sixteen years."

Could this be Henry and Elizabeth's son, William?  The spelling of the surname for this William is wrong, but then I've found so many spelling variations, misspellings, and typographical errors in the newspapers that I'm ready to claim him.  Other indications that this is my William:

• On the 1880 U.S. Census, William was recorded as age 8, therefore born in 1872.  The ages coordinate.
• The location aligns with where Henry and his family lived at the time of William's death.  Henry bought property on North Eighth Street, Steubenville, in April, 1873, which he later sold in February, 1892.  Additionally, the 1880 U.S. Census records Henry and Elizabeth living on North 8th Street.
• Union Cemetery records indicate that William Meinzen, 1872-1888, is buried with other family members in Section Q, Lot 203.

Not long ago my cousin, Joyce Humprey, took photographs of Meinzen grave markers at Union Cemetery and gave me permission to post them.  (Thank you, Joyce.)  At left is young William's marker.

Based on all this information, I would say that the William in the news article above is my William Meinzen and that he died of typhoid fever on November 24, 1888.

Typhoid fever is caused by a salmonella bacteria and is spread through contaminated food or water or contact with people who have the fever.  Symptoms include high fever, headache, abdominal pain, and constipation or diarrhea.  Did William's mother realize that he had typhoid fever?  What would have been the method of dealing with a fever in those days?  Wrap the sufferer in blankets?  I'm sure she cared for him based on the knowledge she had and with a mother's love.  There were no antibiotics in those days and probably little recourse other than to pray and hope that he would recover.

This William Meinzen is not to be confused with my grandfather, William Carl Robert Meinzen.  My grandfather, born in 1892, was one of those people who was named after a deceased sibling, a tradition common in the past in some cultures.  Grampa was usually called Bob or Robert so there would have been no confusion.  I remember Grampa saying that he had a brother named William.  The adults around him couldn't understand why his parents would give two children the same name.  I can't remember Grampa's response.

This post is in memory of William Meinzen, my great-uncle.

--Nancy.

Copyright © 2013, NDM & My Ancestors and Me
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Tombstones for Gust and Beulah (Gerner) Doyle

These are the tombstones of my grandparents, Gust and Beulah (Gerner) Doyle. They are buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, Sandy Lake, Mercer County, Pennsylvania.

Gust's tombstone reads:
"Father
"Gust Doyle
"1888 - 1933"

Beulah's reads:
"Beulah
"Wife of G. Doyle
"1888 - 1913"

Because Beulah died after giving birth to twins Lee and Leila, she is buried near Leila. Gust remarried and his grave stone is beside his second wife's stone. It always makes me sad to think of Beulah's marker in a different row instead of beside her husband.

These photographs are courtesy of Bob and Eva, my brother and sister-in-law. Thank you!

Catherine Saylor Froman, Certificate of Death (transcription)

Gravestone of Catherine (Saylor) Froman
at Oak Hill Cemetery, Stoneboro, Mercer County, Pennsylvania


Catherine is a direct-line ancestor. My line to her: me -> my father, Lee Doyle -> Gust Doyle -> Tressa Froman Doyle -> Catherine Saylor Froman


Catherine's death certificate was a generous gift from Linda Bellerose, another Froman researcher.  We are still working to clarify the connection between her ancestor and my great-grandfather, John Froman, Catherine's husband.  This death certificate has extended my line one more generation with the naming of Catherine's father.  Thank you, Linda.

Certificate of Death, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, File No. 125048

Place of Death: County of Mercer
Borough of: Stoneboro

Full Name: Catherine Froman

Personal and Statistical Particulars
Sex: Female
Color or Race:  White
Single, Married, Widowed or Divorced:  Widowed
Wife of:  John Froman
Date of Birth:  June 5, 1844
Age:  84 years, 6 months, 15 days
Occupation of Deceased:  Housewife
Birthplace:  Germany
Name of Father:  Jacob Saylor
Birthplace of Father:  Germany
Maiden Name of Mother:  Not known
Birthplace of Mother:  [blank]
Informant:  J. F. Froman
Address:  Stoneboro, Pa.
Filed:  Dec. 23, 1928, J. E. Ferringer, Registrar

Medical Certificate of Death
Date of Death:  Dec. 20, 1929
I hereby certify that I attended deceased from:  Nov. 1, 1928 to Dec. 20, 1928...
death occurred at:  3:30 a.m.
Cause of Death:  Organic Heart Disease
What test confirmed diagnosis:  clinical
Signed:  J. E. Ferringer, Dec. 20, 1928, Stoneboro, Pa.
Place of Burial:  Oak Hill
Date of Burial:  Dec. 22, 1928
Undertaker:  A. M. Yeager, Stoneboro

I am trying to puzzle together the situation in this family.  It seems that Catherine and her daughter, Tressa Froman Doyle, had little contact with each other as adults even though they lived in the same community.  Tressa's granddaughter, Tressa, did not remember ever having met Catherine.  Tressa (the younger) was 7 when Catherine died. I'll probably never know the story.

—Nancy.

Copyright © 2010-2023 Nancy Messier.  All Rights Reserved. 
Do not copy or use any content from this blog without written permission from the owner. 
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Leila, Infant Daughter of G. & B.

A weathered grave marker.
A barely legible death certificate.

They are the only tangible evidence I have of my father's twin sister who died three days after she was born.

I have heard that she was the first-born twin, the stronger twin, the one they expected would live. And yet 3 days later she was gone.

What unutterable grief for her little family, Gust and Beulah (Gerner) Doyle, and her twin brother, Lee.

So that her life won't be forgotten, I'm commemorating her birthday today, February 27. She was born 97 years ago.

Happy Birthday, little Leila.