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                   Hardy County [West Virginia] Family History to 1990:   "Mary S. VanMeter. Mrs. Mary Safronia Cleaver Parsons Vanmeter was born on South Fork at the Stump Place on July 12, 1879.  She was known by the name of Aunt Phronia by her relatives and friends.

"Aunt Phronia was the oldest daughter of a family of nine children whose parents were John Cleaver and Josephine Halterman Cleaver.  She lived on the South Fork most of her early life.

"In 1900, she married D. Walter Parsons and lived with the David Thompson Parsons family.  In 1901, a son was born named David Thompson and in 1909 her husband Walter died.

"Their son, D. T. attended Potomac State College and after graduation was employed by Kelly Springfield Tire Company.  The company sent him to St. Louis, Missouri and while there he roomed with Charles A. Lindberg who was carrying mail by air to Chicago.

"In 1914, Aunt Phronia went to Illinois to live with Solomon and Jemima Parsons VanMeter and later married Solomon's son, W. T. VanMeter.  After his death in 1940, she moved back to South Fork in 1943 and made her home with her sister, Mrs. Minnie Parsons.

"She was active in church work, being a teacher and held other offices.  Aunt Phronia loved to cook, bake and sew.  She made many quilts and could do all types of fancy work.  She had a clear mind until a year before her death.  On her 100th birthday, President Jimmy Carter sent her an American flag and special greeting.  Someone asked her at a small party, 'How does it feel to be 100 years old?'  'Well,' she replied, 'the first one hundred years were the hardest.'

"She resided a few years at the Heartland Nursing Home in Keyser where she died at age 105 on November 16, 1894.  her body was sent to Mansfield, IL where she was buried by her last husband."