Annie’s mother Ellen Bradley was a direct descendant of Capt. Michael McGuire (1717-1793), who established the first permanent settlement in today's Cambria County at Loretto, Pa. Annie died of stomach cancer and heart disease.

1860 census Pa Cambria Co Alleghany Twp pg 30/154 house # 1084 Conrad
1870 census Pa Cambria Co Alleghany Twp pg 26A/29 house # 189 Conrad
1880 census Pa Cambria Susquehenna Twp ED206 pg 447A/17 house 120 Farabaugh
1900 census Pa Cambria Carroll Twp pg 188A ED106 sh. 21 house 350 Farabaugh

Joseph Farabaugh was widely known and respected in Northern Cambria County as a teacher, newspaper editor and publisher, photographer and, most of all, a farmer. Born in 1854 on his father's hilltop farm a mile east of what later became Bradley Junction in Allegheny Township, he was four years old when Carrolltown Borough was incorporated and six when the Civil War was declared. In 1860, the Census recorded that Joseph was a six year old with schooling, living with his parents in Allegheny Township. In 1870, he was a 16 year old with schooling, still living with his parents in Allegheny Township. According to his grandson Cecil, the family used to visit John Schwab's store in Loretto. Joe and Charlie Schwab (who would later head U.S. Steel) would go out in the backyard to "wrassle" and sometimes fight. At the time, Charlie was younger than Joe, but they were the same size.

As a young man, Joseph walked to Johnstown to attend Normal School as preparation for teaching; and when he was eighteen, he was taking a summer course in Johnstown when the flood hit. He was certified and spent several years teaching at various locations, including Eckenrode Mills, Chest Springs, and as the first lay teacher in the Carrolltown Public Schools. He also taught near Hastings, Pa. In 1880, he and his family were living in Susquehanna Township.

His interest in education through the media led him to the newspaper field. He bought the Carrolltown News from a Joseph Gray, published it for some years, then sold it to Gray's sons. In the 1890's he purchased the Cherry Tree Record, which had lost its usefulness with the passing of the lumber industry. He moved the equipment to Cresson, and renamed it the Cresson Record. Joseph brought charges for assault and battery against a former employee there, Edward Stoltz, in 1896. A few months later, he sold the paper to the Swope Brothers.

Joseph studied photography at the Statler Studio in Johnstown, an interest he pursued from about 1885 to 1910. His pictures were used to illustrate F. Dudley Tonkin's book, My Partner the River. He bought the building for his Carrolltown photo gallery from a Julius Stich, who had one of Carrolltown's three breweries on the property. The gallery was located opposite the cemetery across the Patton Road, where Westrick Motors used to operate. That parcel was the first one sold by Carrolltown's founder, Fr. Lemke. In 1889, it was reported that Joseph’s Carrolltown photo studio was closed and then reopened in Loretto, Pa. Joseph's son Charles once wrote:

Joseph Farabaugh operated his picture gallery in a small studio at the site of the old brick school, opposite the cemetery on the Patton Road. Later, and for many years he lived in the frame house at the site of the present (1967) Switzler garage, and operated the studio on the second floor (with outside stairs). This building and studio were later (1910) occupied and the upstairs studio operated by M.J. Farabaugh [his son] until it was destroyed by fire about 1920. The studio was then moved to and operated in the rooms at the east end of the old Eckenrode Store building, now occupied by the American Legion.

The fire destroyed more than 22,000 negatives, which was a great loss considering that Joseph had photographed nearly every area resident at one time or another. The second studio was taken over by his son Michael in about 1944. When he first opened his own studio, Joseph used the old tin-type process, but then became one of the first to adopt collodion wet plates as his light-sensitive material. Later, he changed to factory made film.

Joseph occupied the brick Flick homestead, located half a mile south of Carrolltown, and widely accepted as the area's oldest home, built in 1853. It was later owned by his son Leo. Having accumulated a large family, Joe bought the old Huber farm in 1888, located three miles south of Carrolltown. He managed the farm while commuting to the studio, while his older sons (with the occasional assistance of a hired hand) did the work of the farm. The family home was a log house to which Joseph added a large frame kitchen. He then resurfaced the entire structure with pine siding. It was destroyed when U.S. Route 219 was constructed between Ebensburg and Carrolltown. It stood in what is now the middle of the road, about 30-40 feet northeast of a spring, under a large beech tree.

In 1875, Joseph was a teacher who attended a meeting of the “Teacher’s District Institute of Susquehanna Township,” at the Bearer Schol House. On the subject of geography he urged “the importance of thoroughness and the drawing out of original thought by judicious questions and simple illustration.” During the afternoon session, Joseph made opening remarks on the subject of spelling, saying that “teachers should adhere less to the spelling books than is usualyy done, and pay more attention to spelling the words that occured in the reading exercises and the word in common use.” In 1886, he attended a similar meeting and expressed his views on teaching grammar, and in 1809 was scheduled to speak on drills for students.

The 1900 Census indicates that Joseph Farabaugh owned a farm in Carroll Township where he lived with his wife and nine children. As a farmer, Joseph Farabaugh introduced the use of the silo to the region, pioneered in crop rotation, the use of dairy cattle, and of commercial fertilizer. While he never attained wealth (aside from his family) or held public office, Joe was one of the most ardent advocates of economic reform and was remembered for his persistent discussion of the "Singletas," a system by which public revenue would be derived from "ground rent", i.e. the natural resources rather than the product of human labor, a means by which socialism and communism might have been avoided in other countries.

Soon after the early death of his wife Annie, Joseph married the widow Sarah Beatty. She relocated with her children to Carroll Township, Cambria County, Pa. The household set forth in the 1910 census included the couple’s 7 month old son Cecil, Sarah’s 5 daughters and Joseph’s 3 youngest sons. Joseph sold the family farm to his son Englebert in 1918. The 1920 Census finds the family in Highland Township, Clarion County.

In 1930, Joseph and Sarah were living in separate homes but remain married. Joseph lived alone in East Carroll Township, paying $4 a month in rent, and Sarah relocated with the children to Corsica, Pa. In 1940, Joseph was still living alone in East Carroll Township, and Sarah was back in Highland Township, Clarion County. Both were listed as widowed.

In his advanced years, Joseph is remembered for taking long cross-country excursions. In his trips to the West, he travelled approximately 20,000 miles. He visited his children in trips in 1925, 1932 and in 1935, when he visited the World's Fair in Chicago en route. In his last trip in 1944, he took bus rides alone for visits to his son Gilbert in Pueblo, Colo., Charles in Missoula, Mont., and Richard in Cincinnati. On this trip, he spent his 90th birthday in St. Louis.

Joseph's last winter was spent with his son Orval in Collins, N.Y. He was living in Spangler, Pa., when he died at the age of 93.

His great-grandson Edwin Farabaugh, Jr., recalled him vividly:

"When I was about 7 years old (in 1939), I was told that my family was moving into my great-grandfather's house. I didn't understand at the time that my father was still affected by the Great Depression. He was looking for work.

Granddad Joe's house was very large - at least 15 rooms. To a 7-year-old, every adult is "old." Granddad Joe was "very old," but not like the others, who were much younger than he. He was always doing something. He was a busy man. I don't recall ever seeing him sitting down. I was fascinated by his appearance. He wore a beard which moved when he talked, and it moved frequently. He always spoke softly, and his large mustache muffled his words. I liked Granddad Joe because he didn't treat me like the child I was. He always explained what he was doing.

I was learning to spell, and he sometimes asked me to spell simple words. He complained that some words didn't sound like they were spelled. I recall his observation that the number "one" should be spelled "w-u-n", and that "o-n-e" spelled "oh-nee." Nevertheless, he convinced me that I should learn to spell "the right way" - even when it was "wrong." Granddad Joe was a teacher.

Granddad Joe's car was also very old. I believe it was a Dodge. He used it a lot. He was always going somewhere. Years later, my mother told me that one day he packed a suitcase, and announced that he would be gone for a couple of weeks. When asked where he was going, he said he wanted to visit a relative in Texas. I believe he was about 83 years old at the time. I also heard that when the Dionne Quintuplets were born in Canada, he expressed the belief that the news was a hoax. He decided to find out for himself, so he got into his car and drove to Quebec. On his return, he announced that they wouldn't let him see the babies, but that he did get to talk with the doctor, who assured him there were five of them. Granddad Joe was about 80 years old at the time.

Granddad Joe had a good memory. He also collected reference material. One of the large rooms in his house was filled to the ceiling with copies of the Pittsburgh Press. There were several rows of shelves, and the newspapers were arranged by date, so he could locate them easily. He sometimes told me about events that had occurred several years earlier. I was always interested in his stories. He often went to his "library," quickly retrieved the correct newspaper and proceeded to read the article to me. He looked over his glasses frequently to be sure that I understood what he was reading. When he could see that I didn't understand, he stopped reading to explain. Granddad Joe said the Pittsburgh Press was a good newspaper. In retrospect, I believe he was aware that many of his friends and relatives thought it was "a little strange" for him to save all those old newspapers, so he successfully sought my approval of his collection. I have no idea what happened to the newspapers after his death. Granddad Joe told me about Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. He also told me about Benjamin Franklin's kite. Granddad Joe was an historian.

When Granddad Joe was about 85 years old, he purchased a typewriter, which he justified with the statement, "I'm getting older, but I still have a lot of writing to do." He had the arthritic fingers of an old man, but that didn't prevent him from learning to type. Granddad Joe kept me from getting to sleep at night. I can still hear the click, click, click, click, (pause), click, click, followed by the "ding" at the end of each line, and the very loud crash when he returned the carriage to the left margin. Granddad Joe was a writer.

With the exception of a few Farabaugh Family Reunions, I seldom saw him after 1942, when we moved to Baltimore. I was a freshman in high school when I learned of his death. My memory of Granddad Joe is still alive."


1860 census Pa Cambria Co Alleghany Twp pg 28/152 house 1069 Farabaugh/Moser
1870 census Pa Cambria Co Alleghany Twp pg 24b/26 house #170 Farabaugh
1880 census Pa Cambria Susquehenna Twp ED206 pg 447A/17 house 120 Farabaugh
1900 census Pa Cambria Carroll Twp pg 188A ED106 sh. 21 house 350 Farabaugh