Lacy Ann (Abe) Whitacre 11-015

Alpheus Jerome and Lacy Ann (Abe) Whitacre

     Lacy Ann Abe was born the second child of John Adam and Margaret G. (Fulk) Abe. A birth record for her has not been found but we can find clues in a number of records to narrow it down. The (69)1870 Census lists her as one year old and living in Cumberland, Allegany County, Maryland. Her birth place was listed there as Maryland. All other (17)(167)(168)(169)(170)census records list her birth place as West Virginia. In (17)1880 she is eleven and living in the Frankfort District of Mineral County, West Virginia. The (167)1900 Census says she was born in April of 1869 and all others place the year at about 1869. The date of enumeration for the (170)1930 Census is April 24 and she has already passed her birthday so she was born somewhere in the first 23 days of April. The (6)"Abe Family Heritage" book puts her birthday as April 11, 1869. No other record has been found to give the exact day.
     Lacy's mother, Margaret (Fulk) Abe,  passed away on July 10, 1874 when Lacy was five years of age. Two years later her father remarried to Martha Jane Moreland. From this point on the family lived in Mineral County and Hampshire County, West Virginia.
     While in Hampshire County, Lacy Ann met and (172)married Alpheus Jerome "Bud" Whitacre on March 25, 1897. A. J. was (62)born near Okanoko, West Virginia on September 30, 1869. For several years they set up housekeeping in that area with farming as their living. (62)(172)Benjamin W. Smith (the minister who married them) had been holding church services at the Abe Schoolhouse on the Old Furnace Road since 1897. It was through this association that A. J. and Lacy Ann later moved to Mineral County where they set up a Sunday School Class in the schoolhouse. The book (62)"A History of the Church of the Brethren in the First District of West Virginia" says that they moved to Mineral County in November 1897 but the (167)1900 Census shows them still in Hampshire County. They are not shown in Mineral County until (168)1910 where the family is still farming for a living. (62)They would live and serve in this county for the rest of their lives.
     An official (62)church congregation was organized at the schoolhouse on August 10, 1912 and A. J. Whitacre was elected to the ministry. One year later the first church building was erected and became known as the Old Furnace Church, named after the iron furnace that sits across the road. Land for the church was donated by Jacob Abe, Lacy Ann's uncle. In 1916, A.J. was elected as an elder of the church.
     (62)The United Brethren Church near Wiley Ford, West Virginia was having problems since a fire destroyed the schoolhouse where services were being held. In 1924 A. J. sold his farm and moved there to begin a Sunday School. In April of 1927, A.J. was asked to take over the church congregation and served as pastor for a while. The congregation later became known as the Wiley Ford Church of the Brethren. Both A. J. and Lacy Ann served in the church until about 1936 when they moved in with their son, Jesse, in Short Gap, West Virginia. Three of their sons, Joseph, Jesse and Howard also served as ministers in Brethren churches during their lifetime.
     (173)About three years later Lacy Ann suffered a stroke. Five years after that, on December 8, 1944, she passed away of heart failure, after about 10 days with pneumonia. Alpheus Jerome (6)died on November 8, 1955. Both are buried at the Abe Cemetery.

Children of Alpheus Jerome and Lacy Ann (Abe) Whitacre:
     1. Elder Joseph E. (1898-1975)
     2. Daniel Earl (1899-1975)
     3. Anna B. (1900-1900)
     4. Rev. Jesse W. (1901-1995)
     5. Harry Wilber (1903-1981)
     6. Sussie (1905-1905)
     7. Rev. Howard Alphaeus (1906-1993)
     8. Bessie E. (1908-1908)
     9. Ezra E. (1912-1912)

Martha Ellen Abe 11-014

     Martha Ellen Abe was the (166)first child born to John Adam Abe and Margaret (Fulk) Abe. Mineral County West Virginia records list her birth as September 16, 1867.
     Her life was very short as she (166)died on May 25, 1868. The death record says nine months but a quick calculation shows her to be 8 months at the time of death. The cause of death is listed as "Fits" (now commonly known as seizures).
     Her burial place cannot be confirmed but a grave with a small unmarked stone is found beside her father in the Abe Cemetery.

Clayton Abe 11-011

Clayton and Bernice Abe

     Clayton Abe was the eleventh child born to Philip and Annie Elizabeth (Largent) Abe. He was born on (157)(159)June 24, 1894 in Mineral County, West Virginia and spent his younger years working on the family farm along the Old Furnace Road. His (157)WWI Draft Registration card says he was still working on his father's farm.
     He was inducted into the (158)Army on September 4, 1918. At the age of 23 (10/1918-3/1919),  he served with the Army in Europe at the tail end of the war. Actual fighting ended on November 11, 1918 with the signing of the armistice and he was discharged on March 28, 1919.
     After the war, Clayton apparently decided not to go back to the farm and struck out on his own. By (153)January 15, 1920 he has moved to Cumberland, Allegany County, Maryland (possibly 157 Maryland Avenue). At age 25, he is listed in the (153)1920 Census as a boiler man for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The (154)1930 Census also confirms this employment.
     A little over a year and a half later, on (6)September 15, 1921, he married Bernice Katherine Buckley. She was the (155)(156)daughter of John and Jane Buckley who were living on 23 Chestnut Street and 120 Potomac Street in Cumberland, Maryland in 1910 and 1920. The (154)1930 Census lists Clayton and Bernice residing at 252 Elder Street in Cumberland, Maryland. This is just three blocks from where she was living on Potomac Street in 1920. By this time they have four living children; Lawrence Wilber, John Philip, Robert Llewellyn, and Aden Ambrose. A fifth child, Norman Loy, was born and died in 1929 according to his headstone in the (13)Abe Cemetery. The (6)"Abe Family Heritage" lists the date as 1928. I have no death records to support either.
     In (157)1941 Clayton is still working for the B and O Railroad and living at 252 Elder Street. His employer is listed as the "Roundhouse" for the B and O Railroad on his WWII Draft Registration Card.
     Clayton (160)retired from the B and O Railroad and was a member of the Brotherhood of Railroad Boilermakers Local 332.
     Bernice's (161)obituary says she died on May 17, 1962 at Memorial Hospital in Cumberland, MD after a five week stay. She was buried at St. Luke's Cemetery in Romney, Hampshire County, West Virginia.
     Five years later, on June 4, 1967, Clayton (6)married Clara L. Lashley. She was the (162))163)daughter of Lorenzo Dowe and Amy Catherine (Shriver) Lashley. She grew up in the area of (162))163)First Street and Arch Street in Cumberland, Maryland.
     (160)Clayton's obituary says he died on September 29, 1976 at Sacred Heart Hospital in Cumberland, Maryland. He was buried at the (13)Abe Cemetery and not with his first wife, Bernice, in Romney, West Virginia even though his name is inscribed on the headstone there.
     The (164)Social Security Death Index says that Clara died on November 8, 1996 in Cumberland, Maryland. It is unknown, at this time, where she is buried.

Children of Clayton and Bernice Katherine (Buckley) Abe:
     1. Lawrence Wilber "Ike" (1922-2009)
     2. John Philip (1923-1953)
     3. Robert Llewellyn (1925-2008)
     4. Norman Loy (Born and died in 1928 or 1929?)
     5. Aden Ambrose (1929-1968)
     6. Ivan Lee (1932-1999)
     7. Edith Elizabeth (1934-2008)
     8. Richard Daniel (1936-2003)
     9. Roger Clayton (1940- )