NameJames Jones Harley
2730
Birth27 September 1910, Royersford, PA2729
Memo(find-a-grave)
Death4 December 1990, Wilmington, DE2729
Memo(find-a-grave)
BurialLower Brandywine Presbyterian Cemetery, New Castle, DE
Spouses
Birth17 November 1910, Somerset Co, PA
Memo(find-a-grave)
Death27 February 2002, New Castle, DE
Memo(find-a-grave)
BurialLower Brandywine Presbyterian Cemetery, New Castle, DE
Notes for James Jones Harley
James Jones Harley, son of Alvin P and Elizabeth Jones is listed in the Schwenkenfelder Geneaology book. His marriage is not noted as this book was published in 1923. His great-grandmother was Salome A Schultz and the Schultz family is the subject of a very extensive set of family trees documented in this book. It may well be this book also documents some other of Salome's ancestors in as much detail. I did not take the time to even look for those people. My hunch is there is a lot more information in this book about different ancestors of JJ than I bothered to find and copy.
Census History notes for Grace (Spouse 1)
1920. John Rephorn, county treasurer age 42, lives in Somerset Co, PA with Mary age 37, Verona 11, Grace 9 and Betty 7. John was born in MD as were his parents, everyone else born in PA.
My Comments notes for Grace (Spouse 1)
James Jones Harley married Grace Rephorn. Her people were from Maryland and Bedford County, PA and it would be interesting to know how they came to meet. For persons born after 1900, as they were, it was not atypical to marry someone born and raised in a different place -- before then it was less common, men married the “girl next door.” Grace’s father John W was the County Treasurer of Somerset County.
Grace’s mother was Mary Edith Powell and the Rephorn family and their ancestors including the Palmer, McVicker and Benna families all seem to have lived in either Bedford and Somerset Counties, PA (western part of the state) or Allegany County, MD in the 1800’s. Those counties adjoin one another and it is probably like my experience with my relatives in Baltimore County, MD and York County, PA -- the state line didn’t mean very much back then and people moved back and forth.
Mary Edith’s father was John C Powell, a minister -- I’m not sure the denomination.
Addendum. Andrew Harley, their grandson, wrote me to add some information to the sketch I had written.
“As to how Jim and Grace Harley met. he from Royersford in Eastern PA and she from Somerset in Western PA. ANSWER: They met at Juniata College where they were both students, he was class of 1932 (found him in an online yearbook), but I couldn't find her. For some reason I think she graduated a year ahead of him, but I don't know. I am certain, however, that Juniata is where they met. It was founded by the Church of the Brethren, to which the Harleys belonged all the way back to Hans Rudolf Harley. He came to America, specifically Pennsylvania, with a group of Brethren for William Penn's promise of religious freedom.
Grace's family, the Rephorns, were Methodists as I recall. She told me stories of when they were first married they would have friends over for bridge parties. Grace's mother, Mary (known as "Mamie"), still a strict Methodist, would show up unannounced. She would find four couples seated at two card tables enjoying snacks, all the playing cards having been hidden away in pockets and under seat cushions. John Rephorn, Grace's father, died at a relatively young age, leaving Mary with three daughters, Verona, Grace, and Betty (known as "Bett"). Mary rented a house in Huntingdon, just off the grounds of Juniata College, and the three daughters all gained admission to the school. She wanted a place where they could all live (and she could supervise), while they were in college. I know Verona and Grace graduated, but I don't think Bette did.”