WILLIAM NEVIN ICKES FAMILY
William Nevin Ickes, son of George Ickes and Sarah Delancy, was born on July 6, 1852 at Pine Grove in Madison Township. The modern-day location of Pine Grove is the intersection of Route 17 and what is known locally as the "Airport Road". In 1871 he married Francis Rusilla Kepner, youngest child of Henry Kepner and Catherine Rice. Francis was born on November 30, 1853, near Center Presbyterian Church and was just a year younger than William.

William and Francis began housekeeping on a ? acre farm on present day Route 274 just west of Loysville. Over the next twenty-five years, ten children were born to them. Then in the fall and winter of 1898, tragedy struck the family. There was a community outbreak of typhoid fever, and almost every member of the family came down with the illness. On November 25, 1898, Sarah Grace died at the age of 14 years. She was followed two weeks later on December 16 by her nineteen-year-old sister Elsie Catherine. Then on January 7, 1899, William Nevin succumbed to the illness. The Newport News listed his death as "due to consumption, he having just survived a prolonged attack of typhoid fever". Nora, twelve years old at the time, told this story many times to her children and grandchildren. Nora said she was so sick that her brother George had to carry her upstairs and down. All her hair fell out, and when it grew back in, it was curly. Four-year-old Kepner later told his daughters that he was so sick that he was not expected to live. His only memory of the time was his father's casket being carried around the house, probably on the way to the cemetery.
For several years afterward, Francis and her children stayed on the farm. Francis was able to keep the family together until they all married. On April 4, 1918, Kepner married Annie Cooper and brought his bride to the home farm. Along with her came her younger sister Olive who lived with them for some time. Olive has provided her recollections of this time period. Olive went along with her sister so that she wouldn't get homesick. Annie was moving from New Bloomfield to Loysville which was a far distance at that time, and not much visiting took place between the two towns. With a wagon, the trip would have taken between two and three hours although a buggy would have been somewhat faster.
That first summer that Kepner and Annie were married, the house was full of people! In addition to Olive, Mrs. Francis Ickes made her home there, and George Hollenbaugh, a grandson, came for the summer. The farm was nearly self-sufficient, typical of the time period. It had several cows, sheep, and chickens. Olive recalls that she and Annie milked the cows (by hand, of course!). The milk was sold to the creamery, and the eggs were sold at the local stores. The farm was nearly self-sufficient. Wheat was taken to the mill to be ground into flour, and all bread was baked on the farm. Corn was taken to the mill for grinding, also, and the family enjoyed mush made from the cornmeal. Cars seldom passed on the road. If they did. the family took note of it. In fact, when Kepner and Annie" s daughter Edith first put words together, she said, "Car somewhere!”
Olive recalls that Mrs. Francis Ickes would sit in her rocking chair and talk to her. She often talked about the typhoid fever and the loss of her two daughters and husband whom she called “Nevin". She told Olive that families stayed together more when she was younger than they did now. Mrs. Ickes apparently did not like nicknames. Everyone called her son "Kep", but she always called him Kepner. Kepner's daughter Edith thinks that Mrs. Ickes was a very stylish lady. This is apparent from a family portrait taken about 1896. The entire family is dressed very nicely, and Mrs. Ickes is wearing earrings.
After some time, Francis Ickes moved to the house across from the Loysville Lutheran Church. Later she lived with her children, moving from one home to the next. The newspaper account of her death on March 1, 1933 also gives a glimpse of her character. "She was a member of the Loysville Lutheran Church, of the Sunday School, and a charter member of the Ladies' Aid Society. One of the most faithful workers and regular attendant when health permitted, always helping at church suppers and wherever assistance was needed. She was a wonderful mother whose faith in God never wavered during her sad bereavement and her struggle to maintain her home and to keep her family together following the death of her loved ones."

Three years later, her youngest son, William Scott Ickes had the following poem printed in the paper in memory of his mother, Mrs. Francis Ickes. Whether William wrote this or not is unknown although It seems to be from his heart.

The moon and stars are shining,
Upon a lonely grave
Where sleeps my dear old mother, Whom I loved. but could not save.
In my heart your memory lingers,

Sweetly, tender, kind and true There is not a day, dear mother That I do not think of you.
Mother I did not know the pain you bore,
For I did not see you die,
I only know you passed away

Without bidding me good-bye.
In the lonely grave you're sleeping
Far away from care and pain, May you rest in heaven
Till in heaven we meet again.

Friends may think I have forgotten
When at times they see me smile
But they little know the heartache
That my smile hides all the while.

God will call us, one by one
Till we reach, the heavenly throne,
There to sing praises in heaven
When our work on earth is done.

Sadly missed by a
Son – W.S.I.