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Walter Francis Conrad (1877 - 1957)
Della Elizabeth (Brandt) Conrad (1876 - 1928)
Walter Francis Conrad was born on January 27, 1877 in Clearfield Township, Cambria County, Pennsylvania, the son of John William and Ellen Katherine (McMullen) Conrad. Walter grew up on his parent's farm in Clearfield Township.
Della Elizabeth Brandt was born on October 24, 1876 near Patton in Chest Township, the daughter of Daniel Demetrius and Sarah Ellen (Krise) Brand. She was baptized at St. Augustine Catholic Church in St. Augustine, Clearfield Township. Della grew up on her parents' farm in Chest Township the fifth of nine children. Her father fought in the Civil war and received a bullet wound to his arm that left him unable to much manual labor. Their children helped out at home, and when they were of age, Della's brothers worked as coalminers to support the family.
Both Walter and Della's grandparents were among the first families to settle in Northern Cambria County. Della's great uncle Henry Krise donated the land for a new Catholic Church named St. Augustine. The Krise, Brand, McDermitt, Conrad, and McMullen families were among the first families of the new parish. Walter's parternal grandparents were parishioners of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in nearby Ashville.
Both sets of Walters grandparents and many cousins lived nearby. When he was ten, his mother's parents, James and Susan McMullen, died within two weeks of each other.
On October 12, 1897 Walter and Della were married at St. Thomas Catholic Church in Ashville. hey were both 20 years old at the time of their marriage.
Della was pregnant when they married, but their child was stillborn two months later. It was not long before Della was expecting again. She eventually gave birth to thirteen children over the next 26 years, three boys and a whopping ten girls.
Walter and Della's thirteen children were: Eleanor Mary (Conrad) Adams, Edgard William "Cooney" Conrad, Alma Catherine Conrad, Marie Agnes "Catherine" (Conrad) Lenz, Frances Ellen "Cricket" (Conrad) Shook, Lillian Elizabeth "Bill" (Conrad) McClure, Geraldine Matilda "Gerrie" (Conrad) Cappouellez, Adelaide Catharine "Jock" (Conrad) Maloney, Rose Mary "Toot" (Conrad) McCloskey-Louchart, William John Conrad, Margaret "Peg" (Conrad) Holliday, Walter Francis "Shorty" Conrad Jr., and Elizabeth Mae "Betty" (Conrad) Auker.
As a young man Walter worked on his father's farm. He later worked as a carpenter for the coal mines at Cresson Shaft, just a few hundred yards from their eventual home.
In 1900 Walter and Della resided in Dean Township near her parents. They lived with their infant daughter Eleanor and gave room and board to five young men who were between the ages of 14 and 21. One of the young men was Walter's brother Arthur.
On July 15, 1903 their daughter Alma died at the age of ten months.
About 1906 they moved to a 21-acre farm at Cresson Shaft in Gallitzin Township where they raised their children and lived out the rest of their lives. Their children and grandchildren later referred to their home as “The Farm" down at "The Shaft." Walter and Della sold some some of their land to the town for the erection of two schoolhouses. Walter and Della's children did not have far to travel to school at all. With the coal mine so close, they sometimes had a problem with unemployed workers (or "bums" as they put it), sleeping on their property.
In 1901 Walter's sister Susie married Della's brother Albert. In 1906 Walter's brother Raymond married Della's sister Jennie. All of their children became first cousins on both sides of the family. Della's sister Kate also married a Conrad, but her beau, Charles, was not related to Walter, at least not through their shared surname.
On April 23, 1916 their son William John, named after his grandfather, died at the age of at eleven months. A mass card of remembrance appears below.
On December 16, 1916 Eleanor married Richard Dewey Adams in Cresson, Cambria County. Eleanor was 18, and Dewey was 19. They settled in Sankertown, where Dewey worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad in Cresson.
In 1917 just a few months after William's death, Della gave birth to their ninth daughter, Peg. A boy followed a year later, and they named him Walter Francis Jr. Their family was still not complete, for four and a half years later Della gave birth to daughter number ten, Elizabeth Mae, at the age of 47.
 Above: Four generations--Della poses with her mother, Ellen Brand, and her daughter Eleanor and grandson Howard "Dewey" in 1920.
Walter and Della were grandparents when Betty was born, for in 1923 their eldest daugher Eleanor was already the mother of five children.
The years 1925-6 saw three of their daughters wed: Lillian to James McClure, Frances to Jim Shook, and Marie to Elmer Lenz. Elmer worked as a driver for the estate of the millionaire Charles Schwab in Loretto, Cambria County.
On March 28, 1928 Della died at their home from valvular heart disease. She was 51. Their three youngest children were under the ages of ten. However, Walter's daughters were close to their father and helpd him raise their young siblings.
In May 1928, just a few weeks after Della's death, Gerrie gave birth to a daughter out of wedlock named Ethel. In March 1930, Ethel married John Capouellez, who may have been Ethel's natural father. However, John did not wish to raise Ethel, so she went to live with Walter and Gerrie's sisters. Just three years later, John was dead. Gerrie was a widow at age 24 with four young children to raise.
Around 1933 Adelaide married Jim Maloney, and Rose married Early McCloskey.
In 1937 Walter became a great-grandfather when Alberta Gill, Eleanor's oldest child, gave birth to a baby boy named William, but he died died just fourt months later. Alberta gave birth again in 1939, but her daughter died in infancy. Sadly, Alberta died in childbirth in 1942 at the age of 24.
In 1941 Rose became very ill soon after giving birth. She was bedridden for that summer, and her baby sister Betty, recently graduated from Cresson High School, moved in their home and cared for her children and got Earl's lunch pail ready every day. Peg, who was working near Scranton, returned home to the Farm to keep house for her father and brother Cooney. Rose eventually regained her health.
Walter was retired by now, but Cooney and Walter Jr. both worked for the coalmine at Cresson Shaft--Cooney as an engineer, and Walter Jr. as a carpenter. What this meant was that none of the Conrads, thankfully, had to go down in the mine very often.
Walter Jr. entered the service and fought during WWII as did Walter's grandsons Alfred "Crow" Adams and Donald "Son" McClure. His daughter Peg aided the war effort by working in a steel factory near Ohio as a welder; yes, she was a regular "Peg the Riveter" and she performed her job well.
Above: Walter Conrad Sr. and Jr.
By the early 1940s all but one of Walter's children had married.
Walter and his children had a number of picnics at The Farm. Most notable were the 4th of July picnics where Walter hung an enormous U.S. Flag. Walter and his children enjoyed playing cards (poker was their game), and the grandchildren played many games including croquet.
Above and Below: July 4th at The Farm.
The pictures were taken between 1945 and 1950. 
With such a large family, the Conrads saw their share of tragedies as well as triumphs. On March 20, 1950 Rose's husband Earl McCloseky died from injuries sustained in a coalmining accident in Gallitzin Township.
On October 22, 1954 Peg married. She was the last of the children to marry and the only one not to have any children of her own.
Walter was a quiet and reserved man and a homebody. His daughter Betty and her husband Fred stopped by at least once a week to take Walter to the local American Legion just to get him out of the house.
Walter and many of his children enjoyed gambling. They played cards whenever they got together. Poker was their game, and the games sometimes got very competitive. Many of his daughters played bingo up to 7 nights a week, especially as they got older.
Above: Walter sits down to a beer and a smoke on the pipe with his daughter and son-in-law Eleanor and Dewey Adams and their children. Below: Four generations of the Walter and Della Conrad family. Pictured with Walter and Eleanor are Eleanor's son and granddaughter (1950).
On March 20, 1957 Walter died at his home from heart disease at the age of 80. Unfortunately, his children sold "The Farm" shortly afer his death.
He and Della are buried at St. Augustine Cemetery, St. Augustine, Clearfield Township, the final resting place of their parents as well, and both sets of maternal grandparents.
Walter and Della were the grandparents of about 50, and their descendants are numerous.
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Conrad 
