A native of Buffalo, New York, Betty received her A.B. from Bryn Mawr in 1936 and her M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1941. She located to Frostburg in 1949 with her husband, Dr. William C. Van Newkirk, who came here to accept a teaching position at Frostburg State College.
Catherine Tross
Died December 26, 1892. Aged 22 years, 6 months, and 9 days. She was a native of Washington, D.C., black, and the wife of Frostburg resident, Isaac Tross.
Marsha Thomas, 1951-2016
The following article appeared in the February 17, 2017 edition of the Cumberland Times-News.
Dapper Dan Club to honor the late Marsha Thomas
CUMBERLAND — The Dapper Dan Club will honor the late Marsha Thomas with the 2016 Henrietta Schwarzenbach Memorial Award for Civic Service at its banquet to be held Feb. 19 at 4 p.m. in the Ali Ghan Shrine Club ballroom.
Dorothy "Dottie" Thomas, 1924-2015
The following obituary is from the June 23, 2015 edition of the Cumberland Times-News. It should be noted that "Dottie" Thomas was a mentor of Albert L. Feldstein who is a collaborator in the development of this website. Her husband, the late Danny Thomas, also helped initiate Feldstein's interest in the writing and self-publication of local and regional history.
CUMBERLAND — Dorothy “Dottie” May Thomas, 90, of Cumberland, passed away Saturday, June 20, 2015, at her home.
Sara Van Lear Shriver, (1845 - 1920) and Henrietta Jane Shriver, (1814 - 1863)
They are both buried in Cumberland’s Rose Hill Cemetery and are, respectively, the grand-mother and great grandmother of Sargent Shriver (1915-2011), who helped create and run the Peace Corps, Special Olympics, and Head Start Programs.
In 1926 a clinic for crippled children was established in Lonaconing at the request of Mrs. Ann B. Sloan with nearly 90 children attending the first clinic. A clinic was organized shortly afterwards in Cumberland.
In 1934 the Allegany County League for Crippled Children was formally founded and incorporated by Henrietta Schwarzenbach, R.N. and Miss Elizabeth McLaughlin. Since that time over 30,000 children have been examined in the free orthopedic, cerebral palsy, brace, and orofacial monthly clinics.
Ricka N. Rosenbaum, 1853-1948 and Fannie Rosenbaum, 1853-1918
In 1888, Ricka and her sister-in-law, Fannie, served with a group of ladies to establish the “Home and Infirmary of Western Maryland.” This later became Western Maryland Hospital(1892), forerunner of Memorial Hospital (1929), and the Western Maryland Health System in 1996.
The well-known architect, Bruce Price (1845-1903) was born and raised in Cumberland. He later became the father of Emily Post (1873-1960), the famous authority and writer on manners and etiquette.
One of Bruce Price’s local works is the old Second National Bank, located at the corner of Baltimore and South Liberty Streets in Cumberland, built in 1890. It is now the Susquehanna Bank Building.
Mary Miltenberger is a local businesswoman and community activist. An early advocate for historic preservation, Mary has for over three decades been a leader in the debate over such other public policy issues as education, highway locations, fluoridation, prisons, flood mitigation, Pro-Life, father's rights and the placement of the Ten Commandments.
She also served as Allegany County’s first Head Start Program Director and, along with Hazel Groves Hansrote, co-edited the Heritage Press, a publication of the Preservation Society of Allegany County.
Odessa Meister
The unsolved murder of Odessa Meister has remained a topic of local discussion for over fifty years.