Donald Paul Pebley

1947 - 1957  (10 years)

• Name	Donald Paul Pebley
  Born	1947	Johnstown, Cambria County, Pennsylvania, USA
  Gender	Male
  Died	23 Aug 1957	Cambria County, Pennsylvania, USA
  Buried	Grandview Cemetery, Southmont, Cambria County, Pennsylvania, USA   [1]
  Person ID	I307834	Suedpfalz
  Last Modified	26 Aug 2015

  
  

  Father	John Dalton Pebley,   b. 30 Jun 1912, Hooversville, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, USA ,   d. 18 Mar 1990, Johnstown, Cambria County, Pennsylvania, USA  (Age 77 years)
  Mother	Florence Gertrude Nitch,   b. 7 Apr 1917, Conemaugh Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, USA ,   d. 20 Mar 1983, Johnstown, Cambria County, Pennsylvania, USA  (Age 65 years)
  Family ID	F104690	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Sources

  [S926] Find-A-Grave, (www.findagrave.com). Donald Paul Pebley Memorial Photos Flowers Edit Share Learn about upgrading this memorial... Birth: 1947 Johnstown Cambria County Pennsylvania, USA Death: Aug. 23, 1957 Cambria County Pennsylvania, USA Synopsis of several articles published throughout the US and Johnstown, PA. Three boys--two of them brothers—perished August 23, 1957, in a fire that destroyed a barn near Johnstown. The boys were trapped in a den made of baled hay inside the barn. The victims were Peter Nitch, Jr., 14, and his cousins John Dalton Pebley, Jr., 14 and Donald Paul Pebley, 10. They lived on adjoining farms in Menoher Heights on the border of Cambria and Somerset Counties about seven miles south of Johnstown. The bodies were not discovered until after the fire leveled the barn and milk shed. Firemen first realized the boys might have been trapped after they found wreckage of their bicycles. Coroner Robert H. Halverson of Somerset County said the boys were playing in a den made of baled hay inside the lower level of the two-story Nitch barn. The den had a tunnel also made of baled hay. The coroner said the boys apparently set fire to the den with cigarettes. A neighbor, Mrs. Margaret Seifert said the Nitch boy's Sisters, Rebecca 8 and Christina 5, ran from the barn screaming. She saw fire and smoke and sounded the alarm. The Nitch Boy's grandmother, Mrs. Mabel Geisel, was in the house when she heard two other Nitch children scream that the barn was on fire. She ran to the barn and managed to save several head of cattle not realizing the three boys were inside. Thirteen fire companies fought the fire and were able to keep it from spreading to the house. The Nitch boy's mother and father were delivering eggs in Johnstown when the fire broke out. When she learned of her son's death, Mrs. Nitch was placed under a doctor's care at home. Fire Chief Norman Lane of Upper Yoder Township estimated the damages at $40,000 to $50,000 in addition to the barn and stored crops. The fire also destroyed a milk shed and equipment. Family links: Parents: John Dalton Pebley (1912 - 1990) Florence Gertrude Nitch Pebley (1917 - 1983) Siblings: John Dalton Pebley (1943 - 1957)* Donald Paul Pebley (1947 - 1957) Infant Daughter Pebley (1949 - 1949)* *Calculated relationship Burial: Grandview Cemetery Johnstown Cambria County Pennsylvania, USA Plot: Cambria 12, Lot 315 Created by: Brian J. Ensley Record added: Nov 24, 2012 Find A Grave Memorial# 101203442