Above my desk I have two large images of my second great-grandparents:

These images were in possession of my grandfather, then my father, before being passed down to me in 2014. My guess is that James and Barbara sat for these in the 1890s in Butler County, Pennsylvania.

James Cubbage was born in 1829 in Allegheny County to John Cubbage and Mary Jane Stoup.[1] He moved to Butler County around 1850 and married Barbara in 1852.[2] Barbara Black was born in 1837 in Butler County to John Black and Margaret Sarver.[3]

James and Barbara had nine children between 1853 and 1873 (20 years of childbearing!).[4] They did not own any property until 1873, just before their last child was born (my great-grandfather Charles).[5] James died in 1906 in Penn Township, Butler County.[6] Barbara died just under a year later.[7]

I love having these images over my desk … they inspire me as I research, write and learn more about my ancestors. I see some other Cubbage men in the face of James – especially in the eyes. Barbara looks pretty serious … maybe even stern a bit stern, but it might have been the 20 years of childbearing. Or it reflects what life was like with a large family in rural western Pennsylvania. Or maybe it was because that around this time, five of her sons began to move away from Butler County and scatter around the country.

These treasured family heirlooms bring me joy every day. Do you have any family photos or images that are important to you?

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SOURCES:

[1] Pennsylvania Department of Health, certificate of death no. 13513 (1906), James Cubbage; Bureau of Vital Statistics, New Castle.

 [2] 1850 U.S. census, Butler County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Buffalo Township, p. 22 (stamped), dwelling 308, family 310, John Black household; digital image, Ancestry.com (https://ancestry.com : accessed 28 February 2018), citing National Archives microfilm publication M432, roll 760. Also, James Cubbage, drinking glass, ca. 1852, privately held by William Arthur Cubbage, Jr. [address for private use,] Long Valley, New Jersey. The glass is etched with “James Cubbage married 1852.”

[3] Butler County, Pennsylvania, Probate file B-120, will of John Black (1851). Also, “In Memoriam – Barbara Cubbage,” obituary from unidentified newspaper; photocopy privately held by William Arthur Cubbage, Jr. [address for private use,] Long Valley, New Jersey, ca. 1975.

[4] James and Barbara Cubbage Family Bible Records, 1853-1902, The Holy Bible (New York: American Bible Society, 1870), “Births”; privately held by the author, Metuchen, New Jersey.

[5] Butler County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book 36: 150-151, James Bartley and wife to Barbara Cubbage, 28 April 1873; Recorder of Deeds, Butler.

[6] Pennsylvania Department of Health, certificate of death no. 13513 (1906), James Cubbage.

[7] Pennsylvania Department of Health, certificate of death no. 11927 (1907), Barbara Cubbage.

© 2018 LAURA CUBBAGE-DRAPER. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.