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John William Conrad (1850 - 1920)
Ellen Katherine (McMullen) Conrad (1848 - 1912)
John William Conrad was born on October 24, 1850 near Wilmore in Summerhill Township, Cambria County, Pennsylvania, the son of Henry and Mary “Polly” (Settlemyer) Conrad. He was the oldest of eleven children. He was baptized on December 29, 1850 at St. Bartholomews’s Catholic Church in Wilmore; his godparents were John Skelly and Agnes Conrad. Agnes was his aunt.
Ellen Katherine McMullen was born on April 3, 1848 in Clearfield Township, Cambria County, the daughter of James and Susan (McDermitt) McMullen. She was the sixth of eleven children. On April 15th she was baptized at St. Joseph's Catholic Mission Church, Hart's Sleeping Place, Carroll Township. Her baptism sponsors were her aunt and uncle Bridget McMullen and James McDermitt.
William or J.W. as he was also known, grew up on his father's farm near Wilmore in Summerhill Township. His sister Martha died when she was just a child sometime during the 1860s, but his other brothers and sisters all lived to adulthood.
William grew up surrounded by an extended family. Both his grandmothers died when he was a little boy, but his grandfathers, John Conrad and Jacob Settlemyer, lived nearby, as did many aunts and uncles and cousins.
When William’s father enlisted in the Pennsylvania infantry in December 1864--towards the end of the Civil War--and was sent to North Carolina, William temporarily became the head of the household the winter and spring months of 1865. His father returned home in June 1865, but, sadly, his uncle Joseph Conrad had died in a hospital in Virginia leaving behind a large family.
Soon after Henry returned from the War, the Conrad family relocated near Ashville in Clearfield Township. For a time Henry owned and operated a sawmill at Conrad's Dam, which was washed away during flooding in 1889. His father was active in public service for northern Cambria County, serving as a constable, a road master, and school director.
Ellen also grew up on a farm. When she was young her family relocated near St. Augustine as well. She too grew up surrounded by a large extended family.
On January 25, 1870 William and Ellen were married at St. Augustine Catholic Church in St. Augustine, Cambria County. William’s first cousin, Simon Conrad, later married Ellen’s sister, Ann.
William and Ellen had ten children: Laura Mary (Conrad) Wharton, Eugene Ernest Conrad, Orlando P. "Landy" Conrad, Walter Francis Conrad, Arthur Augustine Conrad, Raymond James Conrad, Susan M. (Conrad) Brandt-Hammill, Leo Charles Conrad, Ann Stella (Conrad) Dodson, and Lawrence Clarence Conrad.
Like his father, William was a farmer. He and Ellen lived on his father’s land in Clearfield Township.
Ellen’s parents, James and Susan (McDermitt) McMullen died just fourteen days apart, in the summer of 1887.
On April 9, 1892, William’s brother James died suddenly. He was only 32, and sadly, his wife had died at the age of 31 the year before. Their three orphaned children were raised by brothers, Lewis and Harry, who’s wives, the Sutton girls, were all first cousins.
On November 13, 1896 William’s mother died at the age of 66. On December 10, 1902, William’s father died. He was 75.
Ellen died at their home in Clearfield Township on November 28, 1912 of cirrhosis of the liver. She was 64.
Sometime after Ellen's death, William moved to Dean Township. He passed away on May 7, 1920 at his home at the age of 69. The cause of death was arteriosclerosis. He and Ellen are buried at St. Augustine Cemetery in St. Augustine.
All of William and Ellen’s children married and together produced at least 72 grandchildren and numerous great-, great-great-, and great-great-great-grandchildren.
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Conrad 
