5/3/24 update: The unknown child was William Alexander Horne, born November 23, 1871, and likely died an infant. Also, Ollie Bertha Horne is incorrect. I believe her correct name to be Olean (or Olena) “Ollie” R. Horne. And Lydia's middle name is likely Etta.
I wrote the following text when I researched and blogged about George’s sister Josephine on November 27, 2015:
I wrote the following text when I researched and blogged about George’s sister Josephine on November 27, 2015:
I haven’t been able to find the Horne family in 1870 census records. Since George was born in Apollo in 1869 I expected to find them there. I ran an ancestry.com search but found nothing. Since that didn’t work I manually checked the 20 pages of Apollo census records and still found nothing. Disappointing to say the least since I need to identify the eighth child. In 1876, county land ownership maps for Apollo recorded the Horne family as living on Indiana Street in Apollo. The D. H. Williams and R. S. Cochran families were neighbors. I feel certain they were in Apollo in 1870. I just have to find them.Nothing has changed. I again searched for the Horne family in 1870 census records and again, came up empty. I’ll keep searching.
5/3/24 update: I finally found the Horne family in 1870, living in Washington Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. The family was incorrectly transcribed as 'Worn' instead of 'Horne.' Moses Horne worked as a carpenter; his real estate was valued at $1200 and personal estate at $500. Elizabeth Horne was keeping house.
On June 26, 1880, George and his family lived in Apollo. His father was a “dealer in groceries” and his mother a dressmaker. At the age of 10, George was enumerated as “clerk in store” so I assume he was helping his father in the grocery store.
George married Emma I. Schmidt (parents unknown) in 1892, I assume in Apollo. Emma’s death certificate indicates that she was born in Switzerland. Together George and Emma had four children—Herbert Moses Horne, Ollie B. Horne, George Richard Horne, Jr., and Phyllis E. Horne. George and Emma didn’t waste time starting their family. Son Herbert was born in Apollo on January 17, 1893. Daughter Ollie was born in March 1895. Their son George Jr. was a Christmas Day baby, born in Apollo in 1896. And daughter Phyllis was born on August 3, 1898. By the time 1900 rolled around, their family was complete.
On June 7, 1900, George and his family lived on Farragut Street in the Allegheny Township of Vandergrift Borough, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. The family lived next door to Effie (Jack) and her husband Addision Beale. Effie Jack was the daughter of Eunice Alvira Smith and Daniel Jack. Eunice was the sister of John Milton Smith who married George’s sister, Amanda Larimer Horne (and my husband's great-grandmother). George’s sister Lydia and her family lived two doors away. George’s sister-in-law, Ida Schmidt, age 22 and born in Switzerland, lived with them.
On May 3, 1910, George and his family lived on Farragut Avenue in Vandergrift Ward 1, Westmoreland County. George was enumerated as a roller in a sheet mill. The census enumerator recorded George and Emma as having been married once each, for 18 years. Emma was the mother of four children, all of which were living. George’s sister-in-law, Edith Schmidt, age 30 and born in Sweden, lived with them.
George’s father, Moses, died of heart disease on April 11, 1910. George was the informant on the death certificate which was filed on April 12. Moses was buried at Apollo Cemetery in Apollo on April 13. His mother, Elizabeth, died in Apollo on May 1, 1913. She had suffered from senile dementia for three years. Elizabeth was buried beside her husband at Apollo Cemetery on May 3.
Tragedy struck the Horne family in 1915 when George was killed in a train accident. He died on December 19, 1915 from a fractured skull and other injuries caused after being struck by a locomotive on the Conemaugh Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad at the West Apollo Crossing. The account of the accident was the lead story in The Indiana Gazette in Indiana, Indiana County, Pennsylvania on December 20, 1915.
In the Morning Herald story, Herbert Horne was listed as a “friend of George Horne, aged 23, …” however, George had a son named Herbert who would have been about the same age so I believe this was probably him. If that’s the case, Herbert didn’t die from his injuries but instead survived and lived until December 19, 1933 when he died of cardiac failure.
The story was picked up a third time by the Altoona Tribune in Altoona, Pennsylvania on December 20.
On June 26, 1880, George and his family lived in Apollo. His father was a “dealer in groceries” and his mother a dressmaker. At the age of 10, George was enumerated as “clerk in store” so I assume he was helping his father in the grocery store.
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| 1880 Apollo, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania Census |
George married Emma I. Schmidt (parents unknown) in 1892, I assume in Apollo. Emma’s death certificate indicates that she was born in Switzerland. Together George and Emma had four children—Herbert Moses Horne, Ollie B. Horne, George Richard Horne, Jr., and Phyllis E. Horne. George and Emma didn’t waste time starting their family. Son Herbert was born in Apollo on January 17, 1893. Daughter Ollie was born in March 1895. Their son George Jr. was a Christmas Day baby, born in Apollo in 1896. And daughter Phyllis was born on August 3, 1898. By the time 1900 rolled around, their family was complete.
On June 7, 1900, George and his family lived on Farragut Street in the Allegheny Township of Vandergrift Borough, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. The family lived next door to Effie (Jack) and her husband Addision Beale. Effie Jack was the daughter of Eunice Alvira Smith and Daniel Jack. Eunice was the sister of John Milton Smith who married George’s sister, Amanda Larimer Horne (and my husband's great-grandmother). George’s sister Lydia and her family lived two doors away. George’s sister-in-law, Ida Schmidt, age 22 and born in Switzerland, lived with them.
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| 1900 Vandergrift, Allegheny Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Census |
On May 3, 1910, George and his family lived on Farragut Avenue in Vandergrift Ward 1, Westmoreland County. George was enumerated as a roller in a sheet mill. The census enumerator recorded George and Emma as having been married once each, for 18 years. Emma was the mother of four children, all of which were living. George’s sister-in-law, Edith Schmidt, age 30 and born in Sweden, lived with them.
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| 1910 Vandergrift, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Census |
George’s father, Moses, died of heart disease on April 11, 1910. George was the informant on the death certificate which was filed on April 12. Moses was buried at Apollo Cemetery in Apollo on April 13. His mother, Elizabeth, died in Apollo on May 1, 1913. She had suffered from senile dementia for three years. Elizabeth was buried beside her husband at Apollo Cemetery on May 3.
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| The Indiana Gazette headlines, December 20, 1915 |
Three Relatives of Indiana Families Are Killed In a Collision
Brother-in-law of Ray Craig; An Uncle of Mrs. John McGregor and A Nephew of John McConnell Met Horrible Deaths Near Apollo Early Sunday Morning
Two More Died in the Hospital
Robert Milliron, aged 37 years, a mill worker of Vandergrift, and a brother-in-law of Ray Craig, local Adams Express agent and George Horne, aged 50, a mill worker of Vandergrift, and an uncle of Mrs. John McGregor, of Indiana, were instantly killed, together with Clifford McConnell, aged 27 years, of Vandergrift, a nephew of John McConnell, of Indiana, when the jitney bus in which they were riding with W. H. George, of Vandergrift, Robert R. Trautman, Herbert Horne and Henry Graden, also of Vandergrift was struck by a fast freight on the Conemaugh division of the Pennsylvania Railroad at a grade crossing in West Apollo, early yesterday morning.
Herbert Horne, who is a cousin of Mrs. John McGregor, is in a critical condition from internal injuries in the Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh, with but slight hopes entertained for his recovery.
The occupants of the jitney bus were returning to their home in Vandergrift, when the accident occurred. It is believed George was unable to stop the bus because of a steep grade crossing in West Apollo. The bus had almost crossed the tracks when the fast freight train rounded a curve and crashed into the rear of the machine. Milliron and George were crushed between the freight engine and the wrecked jitney bus while the three others were hurled clear of the track. The bus was entirely demolished.
Physicians at the hospital said that Trautman and Horne cannot live. Graden was reported improving at his home but physicians said that while he is expected to recover his condition is still serious.
(A telegram just received announced the deaths of Trautman and Horne.)
After the accident the injured were carried into the Elks club but Milliron died before medical attention could be given. Horne and McConnell were dead when found. Trautman and Herbert Horne after being attended by physicians were placed on a special train and taken to Pittsburgh. They were taken from the Pittsburgh station to the hospital in the Allegheny police patrol.The story was also picked up by the Associated Press and ran in The Morning Herald in Uniontown, Fayette County, Pennsylvania on December 20, 1915.
4 Killed, 3 Hurt When Fast Train Hits Jitney Bus
(By Associated Press to The Herald)
Pittsburgh, December 19.—Four persons were killed and three injured, two probably fatally, early today when a fast freight train on the Conemaugh division of the Pennsylvania railroad struck a jitney bus at a grade crossing in West Apollo. Geo. Horne, aged 50, and Clifford McConnell, aged 27, were instantly killed, while Hobert Milliron, aged 37, died shortly after the accident. W. H. George, aged 42, was brought here and died in a local hospital several hours later.
Robert R. Troutman, aged 27, and Herbert Horne, aged 23, a friend of George Horne, aged 23, a friend of their condition is critical [sic]. Henry Graden, aged 37, is in a serious condition but may recover. All the dead and injured were from Vandergrift. The bus was owned and operated by George. It is believed that George was unable to stop the automobile because of the steep grade at the crossing.
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| Altoona Tribune, December 20, 1915 |
The story was picked up a third time by the Altoona Tribune in Altoona, Pennsylvania on December 20.
A Railroad Train Struck a Jitney
Vandergrift, December 19.—Three persons were killed, three were probably fatally hurt and one escaped injury last night when a jitney bus containing seven passengers was struck by a Pennsylvania railroad train at a grade crossing in West Apollo, near here.
The killed are George Hoine [sic], aged 54; Robert Milliron, 37, and Clifford McConnell, 23, all of Vandergrift. W. H. George, aged 42, owner of the machine died tonight. Robert R. Trautman, aged 27, and Herbert Horne, 23, are probably fatally injured.George was buried at Vandergrift Cemetery in Vandergrift, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. His will was probated in Westmoreland County in 1916.
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