Tombstone Tuesday: Not Just any Grass, but a Snodgrass

Found in the Mt. Pisgah Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Allegheny Co, PA, is this little group of family tombstones.

While time and the elements have all but erased the names, the following names have survived-- in our hearts, our memories and the stones of the final resting place.

From left to right, we see Robert Snodgrass, the younger, (1794-1863) and his wife, Hannah Glenn (abt 1797- abt 1862). Their unmarried daughter, Sarah (1829-1853) and a son, John, are also found here.

The sister of Robert, Achsah (1792-1875), is also found here. Illegible headstones in the group most likely include Robert's son, James (1833-1841).

Several years ago, I had the pleasure of publishing the early Civil War era diary of Robert and Hannah's daughter. What a great genealogy trip that was for my Snodgrass cousins and me as we worked on it together for several months.

Cold Outside Means Warm Memories of Cemeteries Past

The cold weather ushered in requests from the Pittsburgh area for some assistance with the Mt. Pisgah Presbyterian Church Cemetery.

I have a couple of tidbits which I passed on the gent who is working on the cemetery listing and sent him the few pictures I have. Amazingly enough, I have more information on people buried there than I realized. I also have more names than headstones that can be read easily.

The last time I was at the cemetery was in August 2005 when the family had gathered to dedicate two new headstones at our "family" cemetery, which most folks just call the St Clair Cemetery. We took some time to stop in at Mt Pisgah to check on the family headstones and see if we could find more family.

The SNODGRASS family had long ties with the Mt Pisgah church, even serving as Ruling Elders way back during its early days. I suspect if I looked long enough, I would most likely find evidence of some of the FOSTER and CRANE families there as well.

Some of the information I located on the church I found in the article I (along with two cousins) published in 2006 on Hannah's 1862 Diary in the WPGS Quarterly. I hope it helps.

Just in case you are interested, the family information I passed on today was on the Robert SNODGRASS and Hannah GLENN family. Some of the information was on several of Robert's siblings. The SNODGRASS family is interesting in that Robert Sr bought his land directly from the PENN family. I even have a copy of the deed somewhere around here.

If you've been to Pittsburgh, no doubt you've traveled on some of our land. Unfortunately, the land is now part of the interstate which goes from the airport to downtown.

Forgive my ramblings, but tis too cold to think clearly today. Guess our ancestors really knew the meaning of cold in their day. They survived it-- so will I. In the meantime, I have my memories of hanging out in the cemetery in the warm sun with my cousins.