Another new project is coming up soon and will be available for all you genealogy buffs to view. It will take some time, but I suspect that my handy dandy volunteer-friend and I will be hot on the trail to get the info up as soon as possible.
While waiting for this new index which was transcribed a number of years ago by another volunteer, who would like to see his work online for all, take the time to check out what has been accomplished to date on the Pittsburgh Old Newspaper Project.
In addition to the marriage, death, and divorce indexes, there are also some World War I articles, a newspaper account of Co. E from the Pittsburgh area during the Civil War aka the Recent Unpleasantness, and any names located from the House of Refuge aka Morganza.
In the snippets corner, links to published Washington County 1895 property owners, early marriages, Morganza history, death dates from the PA Dept of Health, military personnel links, and more can be searched for those elusive kin.
Our area on old World War I articles is also slated to be updated before Memorial Day.
So, grab a cup of your favorite cruising beverage, grab your pen and paper, and drop on in to see if your genealogy past can be brought up for the future.
Oh, and a hint about the project--- it's on the Civil War and searching for PA units.
©2012 AS Eldredge
Ahhh, genealogy. A glimpse of the past shows of what I am made.....
Showing posts with label marriage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marriage. Show all posts
Monday, May 07, 2012
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Wordless Wednesday: On Living and Dying in Old Pittsburgh Area
Two years and folks are still dying to get in the index!
My favorite brainchild genealogy project recently celebrated its 2nd anniversary as the volunteers from our Allegheny County Rootsweb mail list are still feverishly working to index the deaths, marriages and divorces from old Pittsburgh area newspapers. I've wondered just how many bottles of Visine we have purchased since then?
The wonderful volunteers deserve a huge pat on the back as over 85,000 death entries and over 24,000 marriages have been indexed and placed online for all to dig through.
During the last two years, our adventures have expanded to include a World War I military personnel index which has over 73,000 entries. Also added was a great 1893 article on the boys of Co. E from the "Recent Unpleasantness" that some of my readers might call the Civil War.
In addition, we've added a number of articles on World War I which provide an everyday look in to the lives of wartime Pittsburgh men and women as they served overseas during the 1918-1919 timeframe.
And just to really make you fall on your knees and pray for those children who were sent to the House of Refuge which later became Morganza, we've been searching for articles on the institution and for as many names as we can locate and placing it online. Some of the tales are just so heart wrenching.
Check out all we've done here: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~paallent/index.html
You can also find the indexes here: http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/allegheny/death-index.htm
Note while the date of last update reflected on the main index page is November 2011, the individual updates were last completed in mid February 2012.
Ahh, genealogy. What great volunteers there are to make old news "new" for us and to render genealogy buffs "wordless" in appreciation.
©2012 AS Eldredge
My favorite brainchild genealogy project recently celebrated its 2nd anniversary as the volunteers from our Allegheny County Rootsweb mail list are still feverishly working to index the deaths, marriages and divorces from old Pittsburgh area newspapers. I've wondered just how many bottles of Visine we have purchased since then?
The wonderful volunteers deserve a huge pat on the back as over 85,000 death entries and over 24,000 marriages have been indexed and placed online for all to dig through.
During the last two years, our adventures have expanded to include a World War I military personnel index which has over 73,000 entries. Also added was a great 1893 article on the boys of Co. E from the "Recent Unpleasantness" that some of my readers might call the Civil War.
In addition, we've added a number of articles on World War I which provide an everyday look in to the lives of wartime Pittsburgh men and women as they served overseas during the 1918-1919 timeframe.
And just to really make you fall on your knees and pray for those children who were sent to the House of Refuge which later became Morganza, we've been searching for articles on the institution and for as many names as we can locate and placing it online. Some of the tales are just so heart wrenching.
Check out all we've done here: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~paallent/index.html
You can also find the indexes here: http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/allegheny/death-index.htm
Note while the date of last update reflected on the main index page is November 2011, the individual updates were last completed in mid February 2012.
Ahh, genealogy. What great volunteers there are to make old news "new" for us and to render genealogy buffs "wordless" in appreciation.
©2012 AS Eldredge
Tuesday, February 08, 2011
Old Pittsburgh Newspaper Marriage and Divorce Indices
The awesome all volunteer group from the Rootsweb Mailing Group that I am associated with has done it again. We've recently celebrated our one year anniversary for the death index we've been compiling from old newspapers in the Pittsburgh area. Yep, we've been combing the old newspapers from the last 200 years and the entries just keep on coming.
What would we do without the wonderful volunteers? (Did I mention these 46 super folks are fantastic in their commitment to the project?)
Just in case you missed it, our little project now has marriage and divorce sections, as well as our new military index with names from World War I.
Latest index numbers for marriages online (and available to all for free- well, maybe an occasional shout out from other researchers): 16,520
Latest index numbers for the divorce: 1083
Latest index numbers for the World War I military personnel index: 37, 324
Click here to go to the pages to see if you will shout for joy in your Pittsburgh area research:
http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/allegheny/death-index.htm
Ahh, genealogy. The old marriages and happy times come alive just in time for Valentine's Day. After all, we needed them for our generation.
©2011 AS Eldredge
What would we do without the wonderful volunteers? (Did I mention these 46 super folks are fantastic in their commitment to the project?)
Just in case you missed it, our little project now has marriage and divorce sections, as well as our new military index with names from World War I.
Latest index numbers for marriages online (and available to all for free- well, maybe an occasional shout out from other researchers): 16,520
Latest index numbers for the divorce: 1083
Latest index numbers for the World War I military personnel index: 37, 324
Click here to go to the pages to see if you will shout for joy in your Pittsburgh area research:
http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/allegheny/death-index.htm
Ahh, genealogy. The old marriages and happy times come alive just in time for Valentine's Day. After all, we needed them for our generation.
©2011 AS Eldredge
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Filling in the Blanks of WWI Heroes on Treasure Chest Thursday
The not-so-little-anymore project that I am involved with from the old Pittsburgh newspapers has expanded yet again.
Last month, just in time for the holidays, we unveiled a new section for Military Service listed in the 1918 newspapers of Pittsburgh. In little over a month's time, super volunteer Lynn B. has SINGLEHANDEDLY transcribed over 27,000 entries for this one of a kind index. (Super kudos, Lynn!)
The list has been sent to the webmaster for uploading and I suspect it will be available to everyone shortly for their viewing pleasure. I was looking at the list today and wondering about all these brave men who fought for America back in World War I. Did my family members know any of them? While I will most likely never answer that question, the pondering sparked yet another wild thought.
What if we could identify more of the units these great veterans served in? The index has a column for the branch and a separate one for the units. So many of the unit spaces are empty.
Do you know any of these men? If you do, and can identify the unit in which they served, please let me know. I will be happy to add the units to their names.
In the meantime, keep on checking out the awesome all volunteer death, marriage, divorce and military indices from old Pittsburgh newspapers. We update them all on a fairly regular basis. Here is the link: http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/allegheny/death-index.htm
It may just warm you up on these cold winter days.
Ahh, genealogy. More than just names.
©2011 AS Eldredge
Last month, just in time for the holidays, we unveiled a new section for Military Service listed in the 1918 newspapers of Pittsburgh. In little over a month's time, super volunteer Lynn B. has SINGLEHANDEDLY transcribed over 27,000 entries for this one of a kind index. (Super kudos, Lynn!)
The list has been sent to the webmaster for uploading and I suspect it will be available to everyone shortly for their viewing pleasure. I was looking at the list today and wondering about all these brave men who fought for America back in World War I. Did my family members know any of them? While I will most likely never answer that question, the pondering sparked yet another wild thought.
What if we could identify more of the units these great veterans served in? The index has a column for the branch and a separate one for the units. So many of the unit spaces are empty.
Do you know any of these men? If you do, and can identify the unit in which they served, please let me know. I will be happy to add the units to their names.
In the meantime, keep on checking out the awesome all volunteer death, marriage, divorce and military indices from old Pittsburgh newspapers. We update them all on a fairly regular basis. Here is the link: http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/allegheny/death-index.htm
It may just warm you up on these cold winter days.
Ahh, genealogy. More than just names.
©2011 AS Eldredge
Monday, November 08, 2010
Tis the Season: Making the List and Dabbing Our Eyes
How many times have you cried when reading of a death or while attending a marriage? Early newspapers can be a great source for us genealogy buffs. Just think. Our ancestors used the printed press as a great way to communicate items of importance.
It's just so rewarding in today's world to find those old notices. Of course, sometimes those old notices leave a lot to be desired. As a friend reminded me recently, our loved ones didn't move around that much in the old days and so detailed obituaries weren't necessary. If one could read and knew the family, then the reader would most likely have known the details that today's genealogy buffs are digging for.
The all volunteer group that is diligently working on indexing Pittsburgh and Allegheny Co, Pennsylvania deaths, marriages, divorces and photos from early Pittsburgh area newspapers is still digging in the newspapers to find them.
I just can't believe this little project I suggested and spearhead is now close to being one year old. Our actual anniversary is in January, but now is the perfect season for me to give thanks to the wonderful volunteers who are involved with me on this list.
The last update for deaths now includes 56, 599 names while the marriage index now has 14, 440 happy couples.
Be sure to check it out at http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/allegheny/death-index.htm
The project was noted in recent editions of Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter,Georgia Front Page, and the Western PA Genealogy Society. Here is the press on our little index project:
Early Pittsburgh Marriages and Deaths Indices are Online and Growing
In January 2010, a small band of genealogy seekers embarked on a project to make anyone who has roots in the Pittsburgh area jump for joy. 43 volunteers have been indexing marriages, deaths, and divorces from early Allegheny County newspapers and putting it all online at no cost. Over 52,000 death entries and over 11,000 marriages have been indexed and put online through August. The dates of the newspapers range from 1806-1987.
Project coordinator Ann S Eldredge says the idea of an index came to her as she regularly keeps in touch with other Pittsburgh researchers on the popular mailing list of Allegheny County sponsored by RootsWeb.com. An avid genealogy researcher, Eldredge remarked, "I saw on the list that Google had put images of several old newspapers online and Pittsburgh was on it. After spending many hours of looking for my family and investing in Visine for the eye strain, I realized I couldn't be the only one who had uncovered a few golden nuggets of information. It seemed so simple. If anyone was looking at any of the dates, they could write down all the names of that day. After all, how many of your ancestors do you not know when they married or died?"
With that simple question posed to the group, an index was born. Eldredge volunteered to capture the names the volunteers put on the list. List member Norm Minert quickly set up a page for the newspapers submitted so there would be no duplication of efforts. USGenWeb Allegheny County Archives File Manager Ellis Michaels volunteered to get the the submitted indices online.
The daily newspaper lists began to pore in. "It didn't take long for the sheer volume of names being submitted to become overwhelming," said Eldredge. "I quickly realized I needed help. I put a call out for volunteers to assist on my end, and they came. The enthusiasm and dedication of the volunteers are inspiring. The work they are doing for family researchers and genealogy buffs is just fantastic. What a gift to give."
"It's been an amazing journey over the last eight months as the volunteers have graciously given their time to read the old newspapers. We have so many death and marriage entries from 1889 and 1890. Since the census was lost for 1890, this almost serves as a substitute. I've found my relatives through this project. Some of the death entries have even led to connections with living cousins. It's been worth it."
"Stop on by and see what our volunteers have done," Eldredge said as a smile came across her face. "After all, the good folks of Pittsburgh are just dying to get in."
To view the death, marriage and divorce indices, go to http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/allegheny/death-index.htm .
Permission was sought from other groups to reprint the press release while kudos poured in.
Here are some of the comments sent. While the comments came in my mailbox, the words are for all of the fantastic volunteers on this project.
"Thank you again and you have done a wonderful job. A tip of the hat to you."
JR Jamieson, Project Volunteer
"Thank you for taking the time to index these newspaper articles. They are wonderful for any Allegheny Co., PA researcher."
Melinda Pennington, Editor, Pennington Pedigrees
"Congrats on taking on the Pittsburgh newspaper indexing project. It is well-appreciated. Although some of the newspapers were indexed on microfilm, there was a huge gap."
Elissa Scalise Powell, CG
"I saw the article in Eastman's newsletter about your indexing project. It's a great project. Would you grant me permission to use the article or excerpts from the article in the North Hills Genealogists newsletter?"
Amy Arner, Co Editor, North Hills Genealogists Newsletter
Ahhh, genealogy. Sometimes you just got to have a box of tissue nearby.
Update 11/16/2010: Another great comment on our work:
"In 1905 there were 5 Buckley children placed in St Joseph's orphanage. No one in today's generation knew about them. Because of your efforts and the additional scraps of information made available we were able to find descendants of each of the 4 who had children. We are building the bridge back. Thank you for your fine work.'
John S
©2010 AS Eldredge
It's just so rewarding in today's world to find those old notices. Of course, sometimes those old notices leave a lot to be desired. As a friend reminded me recently, our loved ones didn't move around that much in the old days and so detailed obituaries weren't necessary. If one could read and knew the family, then the reader would most likely have known the details that today's genealogy buffs are digging for.
The all volunteer group that is diligently working on indexing Pittsburgh and Allegheny Co, Pennsylvania deaths, marriages, divorces and photos from early Pittsburgh area newspapers is still digging in the newspapers to find them.
I just can't believe this little project I suggested and spearhead is now close to being one year old. Our actual anniversary is in January, but now is the perfect season for me to give thanks to the wonderful volunteers who are involved with me on this list.
The last update for deaths now includes 56, 599 names while the marriage index now has 14, 440 happy couples.
Be sure to check it out at http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/allegheny/death-index.htm
The project was noted in recent editions of Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter,Georgia Front Page, and the Western PA Genealogy Society. Here is the press on our little index project:
Early Pittsburgh Marriages and Deaths Indices are Online and Growing
In January 2010, a small band of genealogy seekers embarked on a project to make anyone who has roots in the Pittsburgh area jump for joy. 43 volunteers have been indexing marriages, deaths, and divorces from early Allegheny County newspapers and putting it all online at no cost. Over 52,000 death entries and over 11,000 marriages have been indexed and put online through August. The dates of the newspapers range from 1806-1987.
Project coordinator Ann S Eldredge says the idea of an index came to her as she regularly keeps in touch with other Pittsburgh researchers on the popular mailing list of Allegheny County sponsored by RootsWeb.com. An avid genealogy researcher, Eldredge remarked, "I saw on the list that Google had put images of several old newspapers online and Pittsburgh was on it. After spending many hours of looking for my family and investing in Visine for the eye strain, I realized I couldn't be the only one who had uncovered a few golden nuggets of information. It seemed so simple. If anyone was looking at any of the dates, they could write down all the names of that day. After all, how many of your ancestors do you not know when they married or died?"
With that simple question posed to the group, an index was born. Eldredge volunteered to capture the names the volunteers put on the list. List member Norm Minert quickly set up a page for the newspapers submitted so there would be no duplication of efforts. USGenWeb Allegheny County Archives File Manager Ellis Michaels volunteered to get the the submitted indices online.
The daily newspaper lists began to pore in. "It didn't take long for the sheer volume of names being submitted to become overwhelming," said Eldredge. "I quickly realized I needed help. I put a call out for volunteers to assist on my end, and they came. The enthusiasm and dedication of the volunteers are inspiring. The work they are doing for family researchers and genealogy buffs is just fantastic. What a gift to give."
"It's been an amazing journey over the last eight months as the volunteers have graciously given their time to read the old newspapers. We have so many death and marriage entries from 1889 and 1890. Since the census was lost for 1890, this almost serves as a substitute. I've found my relatives through this project. Some of the death entries have even led to connections with living cousins. It's been worth it."
"Stop on by and see what our volunteers have done," Eldredge said as a smile came across her face. "After all, the good folks of Pittsburgh are just dying to get in."
To view the death, marriage and divorce indices, go to http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/allegheny/death-index.htm .
Permission was sought from other groups to reprint the press release while kudos poured in.
Here are some of the comments sent. While the comments came in my mailbox, the words are for all of the fantastic volunteers on this project.
"Thank you again and you have done a wonderful job. A tip of the hat to you."
JR Jamieson, Project Volunteer
"Thank you for taking the time to index these newspaper articles. They are wonderful for any Allegheny Co., PA researcher."
Melinda Pennington, Editor, Pennington Pedigrees
"Congrats on taking on the Pittsburgh newspaper indexing project. It is well-appreciated. Although some of the newspapers were indexed on microfilm, there was a huge gap."
Elissa Scalise Powell, CG
"I saw the article in Eastman's newsletter about your indexing project. It's a great project. Would you grant me permission to use the article or excerpts from the article in the North Hills Genealogists newsletter?"
Amy Arner, Co Editor, North Hills Genealogists Newsletter
Ahhh, genealogy. Sometimes you just got to have a box of tissue nearby.
Update 11/16/2010: Another great comment on our work:
"In 1905 there were 5 Buckley children placed in St Joseph's orphanage. No one in today's generation knew about them. Because of your efforts and the additional scraps of information made available we were able to find descendants of each of the 4 who had children. We are building the bridge back. Thank you for your fine work.'
John S
©2010 AS Eldredge
Friday, July 23, 2010
What Heat Wave? Nah, It's the Deaths That are Heating Up!
The heat is on!
My little death indexing project based on the old Pittsburgh and Allegheny Co, PA, newspapers is growing. We now have several hundred deaths from 1980 in it as well as some mining incidents. I guess you could say that folks are just dying to get in!!
All said, today's new upload has over 5000 new entries ----
bringing our death index entries up to 46,684!
The marriage index now has 11,400 happy couples with the "not so very happy" couples at 678.
And we still aren't even breaking a glisten! Of course, I'm sure the medicinal use of our ancestors' backyard industry helps!
I would be remiss if I didn't give a big "thanks" to the volunteers who are transcribing and assisting in getting the names into a spreadsheet.
Just in case you have missed the way to get to the death index project:
http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/allegheny/death-index.htm
Ahh, genealogy. Ain't it grand!!
©2010 AS Eldredge
My little death indexing project based on the old Pittsburgh and Allegheny Co, PA, newspapers is growing. We now have several hundred deaths from 1980 in it as well as some mining incidents. I guess you could say that folks are just dying to get in!!
All said, today's new upload has over 5000 new entries ----
bringing our death index entries up to 46,684!
The marriage index now has 11,400 happy couples with the "not so very happy" couples at 678.
And we still aren't even breaking a glisten! Of course, I'm sure the medicinal use of our ancestors' backyard industry helps!
I would be remiss if I didn't give a big "thanks" to the volunteers who are transcribing and assisting in getting the names into a spreadsheet.
Just in case you have missed the way to get to the death index project:
http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/allegheny/death-index.htm
Ahh, genealogy. Ain't it grand!!
©2010 AS Eldredge
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