Herbert Samuel Kuhn(05 November 1898 – 10 December 1972)

Herbert Samuel Kuhn

When his father, Adam E. Kuhn, died on 20 October 1912, my grandfather was a young boy in school, only 13 years old. However, the family suddenly had no means of support so Herbert became the man of the house, working full time at Fostoria Glass Company in Moundsville, WV. Of course this meant that he had to quit school, receiving only an 8th grade diploma. The family included Herbert's mother, Hattie May (Clark) Kuhn, and three younger sisters: Margaret, and twins Alma and Agnes.

Approximately 4½ years later, the United States declared war on Germany and officially entered World War I on 06 April 1917. At age 19, Herbert was required to register for the draft on 12 September 1918 in Moundsville, Marshall County, West Virginia. Per his draft registration card, he was still a glassworker at Fostoria, and was described as follows: medium height, slender build, gray eyes, light hair, and with no defects. Apparently he was never called to serve as he was not a veteran.

Herbert married Nellie Church on 19 February 1921 at Wellsburg, Brooke County, West Virginia. They eloped and then kept the marriage secret … but that will be the subject of another blog post, so remember to check back for the full story!

Fast forward to 02 October 1929, and Herbert and Nellie moved their family to a farm on Fork Ridge, about 8 miles from Moundsville. They now had three sons: Philip Lee, Dale Milton and Donald Glenn.  The photo below was taken on the road in front of their house - and the notes were written on the back by Nellie.

Herbert & Nellie Kuhn family ~ Fork Ridge

In the 1930 federal census, Herbert was recorded as a retail merchant in the milk industry – he delivered milk to his customers in glass milk bottles.

At some point, Herbert returned to glassmaking and was employed by Imperial Glass Corporation in Bellaire, Ohio. It was hard work in tough conditions, and it was taking a toll on his health. Eventually his doctor, Harold Ashworth, MD, informed him that if he did not leave Imperial it was going to kill him.

He did put glassworking behind him and turned to carpentry to supplement their dairy farm – that's the time period I remember. I lost the only Grandpa I had ever known when he died while I was a junior in high school. His life ended on 10 December 1972 at Reynolds Memorial Hospital in Glen Dale, West Virginia.  He was buried in the Fork Ridge Christian Church cemetery.