TOURING SULLIVAN COUNTY’S MUSEUM
     . . . while dusting

     After last week’s article on the coal extracted in and around Bernice/Mildred area, another interesting piece was within the compilings.  It was that of the obituary on Feb. 12, 1948 issue of the Sully for “Pioneer Mildred Resident Is Dead: John Daly, prominent Mildred resident and pioneer business man of the community, died early Tuesday morning, Feb. 10, at his home after a long illness of complication, at the age of 84.
     “A native of Crossroads, Scotland, he was born there June 16, 1868, the son of Peter and Bridget Condren Daly and emigrated to this country in 1882.  He first settled in Long Valley, but in 1884 came to Bernice where he has since made his home.
     “After coming here Mr. Daly engaged in coal mining for several years and was responsible for the opening of a number of the earlier coal drifts at Bernice.  Frequently, he and his brother Patrick Daly of this place, worked together on these projects.  The last such which Mr. Daly engaged in was the opening of the Gunton breaker drift through which in later years coal was removed by the shaker chute system.
     “In 1892, several years after his marriage, he established the Daly Hotel at Mildred and continued this business until a few years ago when his health and that of Mrs. Daly began to fail them.  It was the same year that the town of Mildred received its official name*, in honor of Mildred McDonald, a sister of Mrs. Daly, now of Punxautawney.
     “Mr. Daly was one of the few remaining people who witnessed the development of Mildred into a town and was associated in the establishment of several of its lamdmarks, notable St. Francis Church and the Mildred bank of which he was a director until it merged with the Dushore institution in 1933.
     “He was married at St. Basil’s Church of this place to Prudence McDonald of Bernice, October 9, 1888.  Attending them were Patrick Daly of this place and Mrs. J.B. Phelan of Punsautawney. 
     “Mrs. Daly, who before marriage taught school in Bernice and Cherry Township, is at present confined to the Packer hospital with a fractured hip sustained in a fall at her home two weeks ago.  She has been an invalid for the past several years.”
     The article goes on to state surviving children as; four sons, John of Detroit, James of this place, Paul of Lopez and Joseph of Waveryly; six daughters, Mary Lavelle of Binghamton, Kathryn Evanchesky of Mildred, Elizabeth Petrosky of Sydney, N.Y., Miss Clara Daly and Anna Redmond of Binghamton and Florence Gray of Danville, N.Y. and a number of grandchildren.  His funeral was held from his home with high mass at St. Francis Church and interment in adjoining cemetery.
     The history incorporated in many an obituary tells not only about the life legacy of that individual in the form of family genealogy but also about the legacy of one person who affected the lives of those around them. 
     With this type of information now available at our fingertips, thanks to Dick and Sally Kahler’s gifting of the microfilm reader for Sullivan County newspapers, we are now able to assist many of you in your search for your own family histories.  For this and more information, contact the museum at (570)946-5020 or email museum@scpahistory.com and/or visit our web site at www.scpahistory.com
*While looking thru the compiling, you’ll find that there are discrepancies in just how Mildred got its name and this is just one speculation.