HARRY EARL SKINNER - LILLIAN CHARLOTTE SHOWALTER

Local Pages:
Richard Skinner Jr. - Elizabeth Corson
William Harrison Skinner - Lizzie Sparks
George Skinner - May Leap

 

HARRY EARL SKINNER ("Earl"; "H. Earl" in written form)
b. May 17, 1901
born Parish Street, Phila, PA [Lillian]
living 1966, Haney's Mobile Homes, Box 424, Thorofare, NJ
living 1975, Tahiti Dr., Sanibel, FL
d. April 19, 1990, age 88, Wiley Retirement Community, Marlton, NJ [Annette]
died at Wiley Health Care Center, Marlton, NJ; services at Wiley Church; handled by Davis Funeral Home; buried Eglington Memorial Cem., Clarksboro, NJ, lot 39D - south half, sermon on the mount; died of respiratory arrest; suffered from apnes, organic brain syndrome (senile dementia Alzheimer's type 1, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. [Annette]
m. June 10, 1927 [Annette]
Norwood Methodist Church, Norwood, PA

w. LILLIAN CHARLOTTE SHOWALTER
dau. of Joseph Blair Showalter and Bertha Jane Dodd [Lillian]
b. Dec 7, 1903 Fairmont, W. VA [Lillian]
d. living 1995 Wiley Retirement Community, Marlton, NJ

CHILD:

Lt. DAVID EARL SKINNER
b. Nov 8, 1929 Taylor Hospital, Ridley Park, PA
d. living 1995 73 N. Childs St. Woodbury, NJ 08096
m. May 17, 1952 Presbyterian Church, Woodbury Heights, NJ by Rev. Ernest C. Enslin (pub. May 20, 1952 Woodbury Daily Times)

Ref.: Mrs. Gladys Hughlett, 611 Orchard Way Lansdown, PA

All above per 1/24/1966/VEM and 1/17/1975/VEM

ARTIFACTS:

paintings and shell craft by Lillian
Earl's drafting tools
Lillian - video
1962 Christmas tape recording

 

IMAGES:

photographs - Earl Skinner, child

photographs - Earl Skinner, 1920, Norwood, PA

O. W. Ketham, Crum Lynne, PA

photograph - Lillian, age 40 (1944); not sure why photo taken with no husband

photographs - Grandparents, 1962; Walker Ave, Deptford; my Kodak Brownie camera

photographs - Four Generations; Aug, 1967; Rear Driveway of Tahiti Drive, Sanibel, my Kodak Instamatic camera

photographs - Lillian, mid-1980's; Earl, Aug 1967; Sanibel

photograph - Fiftieth Anniversary, studio photo, 1977

photographs - Christmas, 1983

 

 

 

SERVICE RECORD:

Joseph Blair Showalter served in the Spanish American War - the flag from his coffin and metals remain.
The father of Elizabeth Marie Ackerman also served - the flag from his coffin also remains.

 

KDS COMMENTARY - THE SKINNERS

Earl can recall living at 2145 Carlisle St.,Phila, as a child. The house was about a block off of the old Reading Main line - right side of street going north; 1/2 block off Broadway on way to 15th street. Earl's father was employed by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Phila. at the time. Earl and his parents then relocated south of Philadelphia to the Prospect Park, Ridley Park, Norwood area, either when Baldwin relocated to that general vicinity or later, when his father took a job with the Westinghouse Works in Lester, Pa. By grade school, Earl was in school at Morton, PA.

Earl dropped out of school, I believe around the 8th grade.

He worked at Wanamaker's Dept. Store in Phila as a young clerk, and met Mr. Wanamaker. He also worked as an 'errand boy' in the Treasurer's Office of The Pennsylvania Railroad. He enjoyed the free travel that came with the job.

Earl worked as a draftsman "drawing what's necessary" for the O. W. Ketchum Terra Cotta Works from the middle of 1918 to the beginning of the Depression in 1931. The company was located in Crum Lynne, Pa, below Norwood where Earl lived.

In addition to doing drafting, he took photographs of the clay models that the company worked with. The building trim went out of style - one of the last jobs was a building across from Wanamaker's in Phila. Earl recalls living in homes in both Norwood and Morton (68 Mitchell St.), PA at the time. My Dad recalls living at both Norwood and Morton as a child.

During the depression, Earl did odd jobs. I recall him telling me he measured people for men's suits out on the sidewalk.

Following World War II, Earl became an insurance salesman with the Keystone Insurance Co. in NJ This job brought him relative prosperity. Earl and Lillian lived on Maryland Ave in Westville, later Walnut Ave., Westville. They then lived on Salem Ave in Woodbury for one year before moving to Walker Ave, Debtford. My Dad recalls living at Walnut Ave Westville. He was probably away at college or had begun working when Earl and Lillian relocated to Salem Ave.

I grew up a few blocks from my gandparents Walker Ave address. Walker Ave. was a marvelous property for a kid. Probably an acre of land with the key-start riding mower to explore. A favorite tree to climb. A detached garage and rear shed with Lillian's shell collections. Their living room was filled with American Indian and horse-related paintings and art work that Lillian enjoyed. A sign out front, illuminated with a railroad lamp said 'Wind 'n Trees'.

In the mid-40's to early 50's, Earl and Lillian owned a summer home at Grassy Sounds (inland from North Wildwood). Their home was removed in the mid-90's to construct the new channel bridge, as a part of the revamping of the North Wildwood highway access. If you stand at the peak of the north side of the bridge and look straight down to the mainland side of the channel, you would be looking as the pipes that sat under their house. The home sat on the channel about three homes south of the old channel bridge.

Lillian loved animals. My father grew up with the dog 'Fletcher'. I grew up with the dog 'Shine' who died 1970 at age 16. At Walker Ave., Lillian would put meat fat out in a metal grating for the birds. In Florida, lots of cats. Never forget having to bury a cat in the hot Florida sun with Mimi quietly watching me from beneath her big straw hat. In the 1980's, a huge gull got caught in a fishing line Earl had kept unguarded in the canal behind their Lindgren Blvd. house. MiMi had me lower their boat into the water and proceeded to paddle over to the bird and remove the tangled line from its feathers. The bird was nearly as big as her, and she had quite a fight.

Earl and Lillian visited Samibel Island, Fl in the late 1950's, where she began collecting shells. At about the same time she took up painting. Art work became a prominent part of her life, including shell displays and painting thru the 1980's. Several of her paintings are phenomenal and her shell art work won local awards.

Lillian had a bad back and back surgery in the 1970's. Even decades earlier, she preferred living in one story homes to avoid stairs.

Earl retired in 1965, and while awaiting construction of their Florida home, spent a year living in a trailer at Haney's mobile home park in Therofare, NJ. Earl's father, Warren, was living with them at the time. They retired to Tahiti Drive, Sanibel Island in 1966. Sometime in the early 1970's, in order to be closer to the doctor and other mainland services, they moved to 863 Lindgren Blvd., the main road from the island to the mainland.

Earl loved nice cars, though he never made mention of them. He was proud of the 1928 Dodge that he photographed himself next to, using a cable attached to the camera. I recall the beautiful pale, lime green early 60's Cadilac with the tail fins. Then the dark green Mercedes of the mid-60's with the thick smell of leather, a car he let me drive. When we saw them at St. Augustine, FL in 1967, he had switched to a rather boring silver Chevrolet. But he out-did himself with a beautiful gold 450-series Mercedes that he owned in the mid-70's to early 80's. He then switched back to a silver Cadilac that they drove back to New Jersey in the early 80's, to spend the rest of their lives at the Wiley Retirement Community in Marlton, NJ, under my father's watchful eyes. My sister ended up with the car when my father put an end to Earl's driving days.

KDS COMMENTARY - THE SHOWALTERS & DODDS:

Lillian wrote the Showalter and Dodd family histories in 1961, with the help of her sister Ethyl. Her 'report' is included in the exhibits that follow. Her writings reveal her strong personality, identifying whom she liked and disliked. I have expanded upon her writings in this commentary.

JOSEPH SHOWALTER

Joseph Blair Showalter was born in 1872 in Huntingdon Co., PA. He was the 9th of 14 children.

Joseph's father was recorded in both the 1860 and 1870 census as being a resident of Penn Township, Huntingdon Co., PA. In the 1880 census, the father was a resident of the Shirley Election District, Huntingdon Co.

Son, Joseph, first appears in the June, 1880 census as being Joseph B. Showalter, age 8, though Showalter birth dates indicate he would have just turned ten.

As a young man, Joseph worked as a fireman on a shifting engine. There was an accident in which the engine ran into a bumper at the end of the tracks, and overturned. The engineer was killed and Joseph suffered a crushed foot and other broken bones. His foot remained short and crooked for the remainder of his life. He walked OK, though with a limp.

I was often told of a story involving Joseph in a mine. Per the clearer recollections of the story by my father, Joseph and others were either working in a mine or sought shelter there during a storm. A lightning bolt hit a nearby tree and and a charge of ball lightning entered the mine. Supposedly, some of the men were able to be revived, while one or more died. My recollection is that Joseph was not injured in the event. Like many of the family stories recounted here, the stories were told enough times to confuse the facts, but not enough times that any of us really recall them. This story was not included in Lillian and Ethyl's written Showalter history of 1961. Lillian's writing indicates that her father worked in the mines in some general sense, as one of his many temporary jobs.

Joseph's Spanish American War record shows:

Lillian believes he had been sent to Cuba but that his ship never landed. At any rate, his war service provided him with a much-needed pension later in life.

BERTHA JANE DODD

Bertha Jane Dodd was born Sep, 1879 at Simpson Creek, Harrison Co., WV. Simpson Creek is not an existing town today. I believe it is the site of present-day Bridgeport - just west of Clarksburg and about 15 miles south of Fairmont. Bridgeport sits along the banks of Simpson Creek and sits at the foot of Simpson Mtn. Bridgeport is also the home of the historic Simpson Creek Baptist Church. Bridgeport is situated on the B&O rail lines that would have provided easy access to the cities of Clarksburg and Fairmont. This area is in the heart of WV coal country.

Bertha was the first child of William Dodd and Alice Harlow.

William Dodd was 6' or taller, slender, with dark brown eyes and a long nose. He was a quiet man. Lillian believes he or his family came from Wales and were coal miners. The 1880 census indicates William Dodd was actually born in VA, and that his unnamed parents were born in VA as well. In addition, the census indicates William was a farmer, not a coal miner. This is in line with Lillian's fond memories of the Dodd farm homestead. William was probably related to another Dodd family that appears in the area.

William Dodd married Alice Harlow, age 15, a small girl with sandy (light, brown) hair and grey eyes from a well-to-do plantation family in Kentucky. The 1880 census actually indicates that Alice, like her husband, was born in VA, and that her unnamed parents were born in VA as well.

At age 16, Alice bore her first child - Bertha Jane Dodd. It was said Alice had twelve children - raised nine of them and also two grandchildren from infancy.

Bertha, at 6 months of age, appears with her parents in the 1880 census. Her father was age 34, her mother age 18. The census location was the town of Coal, Harrison Co. This town does not exist on any current or historical maps, but is likely the same locale along Simpson Creek where Bertha was born.

Lillian recalls the Dodds living in Watson, WV. Watson was a suburb of Fairmont - a small cluster of homes with no town center.

THE DEED

 In 1899, 'Miss Bertha Dodd of Fairmont, WV' purchased a plot of land in a subdivision called Lawndale, Cape May County, New Jersey from William Mattix. The deed is in my possession. I am guessing Mattix was a land developer who ran ads in the Fairmont, WV paper. Nothing seems to have come of the land - perhaps she lost it back to Mattix by virtue of not building on it within a specified time.

In 1962, the Clerk of Cape May County replied to a letter from my granddad, Earl Skinner, indicating that they had no deed record on file from Mattix to Bertha. Their reply indicated that the tract of land known as Lawndale was located in Upper Township, and that one might find tax information from the Collector, Tuckahoe.

Bertha's deed identifies her as being of Farimont, WV. The record was signed by Mattix and the Notary Public. Bertha's signature was not required and is not on the document.

MARRIAGE TO BERTHA JANE DODD

Joseph Showalter married Bertha Jane Dodd, date unknown. Bertha was still single in 1899 (per the NJ Deed record), so the marriage would have occured after Joseph's 1898-1899 war service. Assuming a 1900 marriage, Joseph would have been 29 (had straight nose in wedding pictures despite broken nose in Army service) and Bertha 21.

Family lore says that Bertha met Joseph by responding to a newspaper ad 'as many people did in the day'. Bertha's sister, Cora, was known to have answered an ad from a man in Minnesota and married him. Elsewhere, Lillian simply indicates that he may have met her while returning home from the service.

Lillian believes they Joseph and Bertha were married at Watson, WV, a suburb of Fairmont.

DODD MOVEMENT TO WATSON (SUBURB OF FAIRMONT)?

The New Jersey deed obtained by 'Miss Bertha Dodd" identifies her home as being Farimont, Marion Co., WV. This is the same location where Lillian believes Bertha later married, and is the same locale where Lillian was raised.

Bertha was born in Harrison Co., to the south of Fairmont (Marion Co.) The 1880 cenus also shows the Dodd family, with 6 month old Bertha, to be residents of Harrison Co.

Lillian identifies Watson as the place where she spent her earliest childhood years. However, it is not clear which members of the Dodd family, other than Bertha, actually were living in the Watson/Fairmont area. Lillian recalls visits to the grandparent Dodd homestead and described the farm as being down the road south in the country. It could either have been in Watson, or back south in Harrison Co. The 1900 census would answer the question (the 1890 census was destroyed). I know that there are no deed records involving the Dodd family in Marion Co. (Fairmont), but I never checked Harrison Co. Note that Bertha had two siblings - Lawrence and Vicie, who lived their lives in Fairmont.

CHILDREN OF JOSEPH AND BERTHA SHOWALTER

The first child of Joseph and Bertha Showalter was Pauline, who died 5 days after birth of colic. Their second child, Llewellyn died of diphtheria at age 5 in 1907 - probably born June, 1902, as he was 18 months older than third child Lillian Charlotte, who was born December 7, 1903. Fourth child, Ethel May, was born April 25, 1908.

A FAMILY ON THE MOVE AND FREQUENTLY SEPARATED

After their marriage, Joseph took Betha 'home' to Huntingdon Co., PA to live with his sister Hetty. Hetty had married John Kyle. Bertha did not like the Kyles and so returned to WV to her family. Joseph would not work in the WV coal mines for long and so, leaving Llewellyn and Lillian with Bertha, returned often to PA to find work. West Virginia offered little besides coal mines and glass factories. This vague reference to Joseph working in the coal mines is the only indication that he may have worked temporarily as a miner.

LOGAN CO., WV

For a short time, Joseph took a job from friend Noab Hoffman in a slaughterhouse in Logan Co., W. Va., close to the Kentucky border. While living there, Llewellyn died of diphtheria contracted during a visit of Bertha and children home to Watson where other children had had the disease. Lillian recalls her brother's death.

Per Lillian, Bertha got pregnant 'right away' to have another boy. Ethyl May was born 1908, possibly one year after Llewellyn's death, and was a sickly baby so Bertha bundled up all the family and went home to Watson.

GRANDMA ALICE (HARLOW) DODD

Joseph left Watson again to find work in PA. Bertha would often leave home as well, spending a week at a time with her sisters to assist with the many pregancies and children. She would take young Ethel with her, but leave Lillian with GrandMa Dodd. Lillian was about 5 yrs of age to 6 yrs when she went to school from Grand Ma Dodds with other children.

Lillian has many fond memories of the grandmother Dodd. The Dodd's farm home, built by William Dodd, likely two stories, was out in the country, down the main road to the left (away from Watson and Fairmont), followed by a right turn down a small, possibly dirt road, on a rise on the right side. Lillian recalls stirring the pot of apples in the Dodd's back yard to make butter. Whether this farm was in Fairmont (Marion Co.), or in Harrison Co., where they were located during the 1880 census, is not clear.

WATSON

When Lillian was about age 7 or so, her father bought into a store in Watson with brother-in-law John Schaffer. John was husband to Bertha's sister - Inez. As a result, the family was together again in Watson for a short time.

The Showalter house was a small bungalow, likely one story, on the main road from Fairmont. The bridge to Fairmont was within walking distance if you walked out of the house and to the right. A cemetery was adjacent to the house, separated by a fence. Ethyl and Lillian could see it from their rear bedroom at night. The front living room was carpeted - out of bounds for dirty children [This may be a mistaken recollection of the more elaborate grandparent Dodd's home.] Cooking was done over a coal stove - Lillian recalls picking up pieces of coal from the roadside with her mother. Lillian would spend nights by the fireplace with her father, who she felt close to and who would teach her. Her teachers thought she had had much schooling as a result.

School books had to be bought by parents. Education was hard to come by in W. Va. for small children in the Mt. region. There was lots of deep snow and schools far apart and no buses. No goulashes, but high-top leather shoes, greased well.

The following description could be either the Dodds or the Watson Showalters, but it sounds like the Dodd farm homestead:

WILLIAMSBURG, BLAIR CO., PA

Joseph was offered a job with his brother George to cut wood in the mountains of PA at the town of Williamsburg (Blair Co.), a few miles west of the town of Huntingdon (Huntingdon Co.). Bertha and daughter Ethel were to stay behind with Bertha's sister, Inez, and her husband John Schaffer. Joseph was to take daughter Lillian with him to stay with George's wife Sally. Before leaving, Joseph took Lillian to Fairmont and outfitted her out with new clothes. Next am early she would not leave Mother!!! and so Joseph went to PA without any of the family.

At about 7 to age 8? Bertha, with daughters Lillian and Ethel, took a train from Fairmont to Williamsburg where Joseph had rented an end-of-the-row house he called the 'Miele Stahles.' - but were quite nice as they were new. While there and while Joseph was working for his brother George, Bertha was taken to a hospital with a miscarriage and was there 28 days. Ethyl and Lillian stayed with George's wife Sally [KDS note - whom Lillian disliked] and then Aunt Hannah (sister to Joseph and George), who lived close by in Williamsburg. Hannah had a boy and girl near age of Lillian. Aunt Hannah insisted that Lillian take 3 1/2 or 4 year old Ethel to school with her and tend her. Ethel would not walk so Lillian would carry her on her back.

MT. UNION, HUNTINGDON CO., PA

When Bertha returned from the hospital, the family moved to Mount Union, Huntingdon Co. (view map) Here, Joseph had gotten a steady job with Harbison-Walker stone quarries. Joseph did the blasting. Today, the vacated Harbison Walker site is on the list of US Historical Places.

DOWNINGTOWN, BEARTOWN AND NARVON, PA

Harbison Walker relocated Joseph across Pennsylvania to Downingtown, an outlying suburb of Phila, where Joseph opened a new quarry. The family lived at a place called Rock Raymond, above Downingtown. The school was 3 miles distant - one had to walk. In 1918, there were many flu epidemics. Bertha, Lillian, and Ethel were sick. Lillian was very sick.

The family then moved west of Downingtown to Beartown, where Joseph opened another quarry. Lillian was left with a family on a farm outside of Downingtown (the Geo. Goods) to go to high school. Went 2 years and then left home to go in Nurses Training at Taylor Hospital, Ridley Park, at age 17.

Lillian recalls that Joseph was then moved from Beartown to a stone quarry at Narnon. Beartown and Narnon are so close in terms of location, that I am not sure Narnon was actually a separate location.

At Narnon, a cable snapped killing a young man and splattering blood on Joseph's clothes. Joseph went home, burned his clothes, and never returned. The quarry was closed as Joseph had run the operation. Bertha, Joseph and Ethel moved back to Downingtown in a new house. (Lillian was in Ridley Park, Taylor Hospital Training school at the time].

Daughter Ethel married LeRoy Algier in 1928. The couple resided with Ethel's parents at the Showalter's Downingtown home after the marriage. LeRoy, Ethel, and father Joseph worked. Bertha kept house.

Joseph did carpenter work on the houses they were building on Highland Ave. Downingtown. The work ran out and Joseph signed his house over to his daughter Ethel and her husband LeRoy. They were to finish paying off the house mortgage but did not. The house was lost to the bank, despite the fact that LeRoy had had a good-paying job as a cabinet-maker at Lukens Steel Mill in Coatesville.

BACK TO HUNTINGDON CO., WESTERN PA

Joseph went 'home' to Huntingdon Co., back in western PA. He collected a $30/month Spanish-American War pension and ran a second-hand furniture store "batched" in a small house outside Huntingdon. According to my father's recollections, Bertha stayed behind with daughter Ethel and LeRoy Algier. This is in line with Lillian's writings that indicates that Bertha worked at housekeeping jobs and also worked for a time in a hotel kitchen in Elizabethtown, Pa., just outside Lancaster.

Ethel and LeRoy Algier moved from Downingtown to Coatesville where they had a boy Donald K., born Nov. 22, 1929. They also had a daughter Joan.

Ethel left LeRoy Algier when their children were young. She went to work taking baby Joan with her. She eventually 'gave up' and took both of her two children to live with her father, Joseph, in Huntingdon Co. Not sure where Bertha was at the time.

DEATH OF JOSEPH SHOWALTER

Ethel was living in Huntingdon Co. on May 9, 1939, when her father, Joseph Showalter, fell dead of a heart attack in a doctor's waiting room at age 67.

Joseph was buried in a cemetery on a mountain above the Juniata River. The actual name of the cemetery is not in our family notes. In 1965, Lillian was informed that her father's remains were going to be moved in preparation for the creation of the Raystown Lake. On Nov 13, 1965, the Corps of Engineers relocated Joseph's body to the 'Old Stone Church' located on nearby Rt. 26, one mile north of Marklesburg and just north of the historic Frank Cemetery.

Today, we know that there were thirteen cemeteries that were going to be flooded by the creation of Raystown Lake. All of the burials at the various sites were moved to the same 'Old Stone Church'. The relocations included Joseph's parents, John and Susannah Showalter (buried as Susan Showalter), who were interred at a cemetery called Upper Corners. Joseph and his parents are now united at the 'Old Stone Church' outside Marklesburg, Huntingdon Co.

UPPER CORNERS CEMETERY

The Upper Corners Cemetery has an interesting history. The Dunkards had established the German Baptist Brethen Church at the town of James Creek, near Marklesburg. Later, in 1873, Dunkards to the north built a church at the Upper Corners location. The Church, known as the "Bethel House" or "Comer", was on a high terrace overlooking the Raystown branch of the Juniata River. The Church property was used as a burial site with graves dating from 1878 to 1914. The Church did not survive long. By the 1930's, church membership had dwindled and in 1948, the church structure was removed.

In 1968, the site was surveyed in preparation for the damning? of the Raystown branch of the Juniata River and the creation of Raystown Lake. The site, along with twelve other cemeteries, was expected to end up under water. Between 1965 and 1971, burial remains at the Upper Corners and the twelve other cemeteries were relocated to the 'Old Stone Church' located on nearby Rt. 26, one mile north of Marklesburg and just north of the historic Frank Cemetery.

At the time, Lillian Skinner was informed of the relocation of her father's remains to the Old Stone Church. Family records do not indicate which of the original cemeteries he had been buried at. He was not bured at the Upper Corners location discussed here.

The thirty-five or so graves at the Upper Corners cemetery included:

This list of Showalters at the Upper Corners site is based upon the site review of the actual tombstones. Many internet sources are showing burial locations at Upper Corners that are not in line with this list. And some internet sources are showing that the above persons were buried elsewhere, also not in line with this list.

By 1973, the creation of Raystown Lake was complete, but court-ordered water levels fell short of levels that would have flooded the Upper Corners cemetery. The cemetery and surrounding high ground became one of numerous large peninsulas around which the winding lake runs.

In the 1990's, the site was reviewed again in preparation for the development of a recreational area bordering the lake. Guided by modern law, the archeological review of the site and cemetery was much more thorough than what had been done in the 1960's. This review, published in 2000, found that some of the burials located in 1968 had not been completely removed. Human and casket remains had been left behind. In addition, unmarked burials were found that had not been identified in 1968. The remaining artifacts were catalogued and removed to the Old Stone Church. My father was identified as being the closest known relative of the Showalters buried there and was informed by phone and letter of these relocations.

During this more detailed review of the site, the complete remains of John Showalter, Liliian's grandfather, were found intact and photographed. A glass viewing window that was originally a part of his coffin was found resting on his skeleton. Other remains, inlcuding those of John Jr., and the porcelain dentures of Sophia Showalter (wife of Isaac Showalter, brother of Lillian's grandfather), were also recovered.

The total number of burials at the site was about thirty-six. Many could not be identified. There are other burials, particularly of children, that may be at the fringe edges of the site and not excavated.

The final 2000 report by the consultants to the US Army Corps of Engineers is located at (copy this to your browser):

Today, the site of the former Upper Corners Cemetery is situated on the southwest corner of the intersection of T404 and T416. The site is officially part of Penn Township, Hesston, Huntingdon Co., PA. Some internet sources refer to the site as being in Grafton. Grafton was the former name of Hesstown. Grafton sat along the rail tracks - Hesstown is centered on the highway (rt. 26).

RETURN EAST TO COATESVILLE

After Joseph's death, Bertha, daughter Ethel and granddaughter Joan (grandson Donald was with his father) left the Huntingdon area and moved back east to Coatesville. Ethel working - later moved to Lancaster after her divorce was finalized. Bertha did housekeeping work and once worked in a hotel kitchen at Elizabethtown, outside Lancaster.

Joan [daughter of Ethel and LeRoy Algier] had married George Anis and had two girls and one boy - Michael, Wendy and Laurie.

Donald [son of Ethel and LeRoy Algier] is a Dr. of Education and lives in Cockeysville, Maryland with wife Jean. They have no children.

Ten years after leaving first husband LeRoy Algier, Ethel married L. Donald Hart, ten years her junior. They lived in Mountville, Pa, 210 S. Manor Street, with her mother Bertha.

DEATH OF BERTHA JANE DODD

Mother Bertha Showalter lived with Ethel until her death in Oct 9, 1961, aged 82. [Died of cancer and a failing heart. Had a breast removed in 1958] After marriage, Ethel worked, and Mother had kept house for her.

Both Ethel and second-husband Donald were in wheel chairs in 1990; Ethel died 12 noon, October 22, 1991; funeral October 25.

LILLIAN SHOWALTER - NURSE'S TRAINING

Lillian went into Nurse's Training at Taylor Hospital, Ridley Park, PA, September, 1921 at age 17, being age 18 in Dec. that year - youngest girl in training. She entered training about six months after the death of Mr. Taylor. Enjoyed it so much and felt it was the best time of life. She finished January, 1925, staying a longer time, until March, to take the State Board exams. Lilliam took and passed State Board, March, 1925, and became a Registered Nurse (R.N.). Nurses were typically sent to Philadelphia hospitals - Penna Hospital for Medical or Children's Hospital for experience there - as Taylor Hospital, Ridley Park, was mostly Surgical and accident cases.

Per Lillian, 1995, she returned home to Downingtown after graduation and went to work for a hospital on a hill above Coatesville; sister Ethel, who also lived in Coatsville prior to her divorce, occasionally visited. Also worked briefly for doctors in the vicinity of Taylor Hospital, taking care of sick patients in their homes, or working at Taylor Hospital, a few weeks at a time, to fill in her schedule. She recalls disliking hospital work - sore feet from standing and walking all shift long.

H. EARL SKINNER

In March, 1924, Harry Earl Skinner was admitted to Taylor Hospital for emergency appendectomy, the appendix having ruptured. He recovered [meetng nurse-in-training Lillian] and was sent home. He returned to court Lillian Showalter and they were married 1927June 10th, in Norwood, Penna, the Skinner home town, Lillian's family attending.

DAVE SKINNER'S RECOLLECTIONS

My father has many fond memories of visiting the Showalters of Huntingdon Co., PA as a child. Lillian, his mother, would take him there for three or four weeks each summer.

Joseph Showalter, Lillian's father, lived in a tar shack. On a visit there we made in the late 1960's, the wood frame structrue was still there and occupied, though I do not recall it. My father recalls Joseph was a pot-bellied man who spoke few words. But he made a big impact with this twin-barrel shotgun that he used to protect his grandson and chickens from snakes and birds.

My father was especially fond of his Aunt Het (Hetty Kyle), sister to Joseph Showalter. The Kyles lived farther down the road from Joseph. The road crosses the top of the mountain, the same mountain that the Juniata River cuts through. On our visit there in the late 60's, you could see the earthen Raystown Dam being piled up as you come down the back side of the mountain. The Kyle homestead was on pitched land on the back side of the mountain. Aunt Het had a large wood-fired stove, made her own jams, and was an accomplished 'frontier' cook. The home was built on a spring outflow that was damned up, creating a pool in the basement. Milk and cheeses were refrigerated down there. In the back yard there was a large shed in which the chickens were killed and wood cut on a large saw and stored. The sloping yard no doubt produced some food for the table.

SHOWALTER GENEALOGY

Lillian Skinner and sister Ethyl believed their father, Joseph Showalter, to be a child of Jacob and Susanna Showalter. Internet information indicates that Joseph's father was actually John A. Showalter. Lillian's notes referring to her grandfather, Jacob, are probably a mistaken reference to the progenitor of the family, Jacob Showalter, who actually lived many generations earlier than her grandfather.

Joseph and father John Showalter are descendents of the German (or Swiss) emigrant, Jacob Showalter, who came to this country in 1755, via a boat from Rotterdam to Philadelphia. He was likely from the Palatine region of Germany. Note that there is a town of Palatine located in Huntingdon Co., Pa. Note also that the section of Fairmont, WV located across the river from the city center, and also across the river from Watson, was known as Palatine in the early 1900's.

The Showalter family soon had a strong presence in Huntingdon Co. (western PA) as well as Lancaster Co. (central PA) and Northampton Co. (eastern PA). German Protesants represented an early and large population influx to the United States. The early family were either Dunkards or Mennonites - two similar German Protesant sects. Later Showalter generations in Huntingdon Co. were Dunkards.

The lineage is as follows:

 

EXHIBITS:

Exhibit - Showalter-Dodd Family History written by Lillian in 1981, quoted here with some grammatical corrections to make it readable:

Exhibit - Letter from Preston and Roy Showalter

Exhibit - Dodd Family History, written by Lillian in 1979 and repeated almost verbatum again in 1990:
[KDS note - I utilized the 1979 version in the ordering of the Dodd children which differs from the 1990 version.]

Exhibit - Comments written by Lillian in 1990 to Richard and Marie Lyzhoft about Cora, Richard's mother:

Exhibit - Western Union Telegram:

Exhibit - Notes from Lillian Skinner:

Funeral Notice, Lancaster Paper, Oct 9, 1961:

Exhibit - Note from Henry Showalter to which he had attached Bertha Showalter's funeral notice (newspaper cutting):

Exhibit - Marriage Licenses on Increase at Media (newspaper clipping):

Exhibit - Written notes from HES:

Funeral Notice HES:

Exhibit - 1899 Deed:

Exhibit - Comments of Lillian in 1995:

Exhibit - KDS conversation with Lillian, 1/8/95:

Exhibit - Undated 90's conversation with Lillian:

Exhibit - per http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~annieron/Dunkards Mennonites and Quakers.html :

Exhibit - per http://genforum.genealogy.com/showalter/messages/554.html:
[Complete Showalter Genealoby also available at www.pastuzyn.com/showalter.pdf]

Exhibit - Descendents of John Showalter per www.familysearch.org, 2003; Submitted By Jay Sweet, Submission # AF97-119357, Information within brackets [ ] taken from an alternative source - www.pastuzyn.com/showalter.pdf:

Exhibit - Samuel F. Showalter per www.familysearch.org:

Exhibit - Upper Corners Cemetery tombstones per www.rootsweb.com, 2003 :

Exhibit - 1880 census per www.familysearch.org:

Exhibit - John Kyle Marriage as submitted to www.familysearch.org:

Exhibit

June 15

Dear May

My thoughts are in Norwood _____ and I would be the one to if I could. So sorry you are _____ and I cannot do everything for you _____ little bed in the house.

 

page2

You spoke of _____. I haven't seen any. What few there was on one tree the birds took before they was ripe. Bought? seventy pounds and Mrs. _____ smiles? Will put up? our beds? this week.

page 3

She got some medicine of Dr _____ _____ has bin at home. _____didn't bark at all.

There is so much I would say to you but I can not see to write. Did you get _____ _____ _____?

Abbie has gone to church. Emma is at Marys.

page 4

Do not go on every _____ until you are stronger. Write to Mrs. _____. Ask her to take you for a week. Just rest. _____ glad to wait on you. She would not charge you _____ ____ _____ and when you are stronger go to Battens.

Mary Leap

The bronchitis _____ ______ all the time. The Dr. did her no good. _____ This makes you sick. Get Harry to read it. Good by with love.

MSL