Friend of Friends Friday: Pittsburgh Folks Just Keep Dying to Get In

The good people in the Allegheny County, PA, area keep dying and well, we keep finding them.

For over two years, our little band of volunteers has been digging in the old Pittsburgh area newspapers for death notices.  The volunteers come and go, but there are usually at least five of us working at any given time.

Our last update brought us to over 88,000 death entries.  We have over 3500 entries waiting in the hopper.  I suspect these names will be available for family history buffs by Easter weekend. 

Check us out.  In addition to our death index, we have:

over 24,000 marriages
Divorce notices
WWI Military Personnel with over 73000 names
World War I articles
The record of Company E from the Civil War
House of Refuge information
Morganza information
Poor House Census 1850-1910
Poor House articles
1931 Fire of Little Sisters Poor House
1890 Veterans Schedule/Poor homes
Allegheny Co Home Census 1860-1940

There are also wonderful snippets of interest that will lead you to outside links with history information and resources from the area.

Whatcha waiting for?  http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~paallent/
The index of names:  http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/allegheny/death-index.htm

Ahhh, genealogy.  Such generous, kind friends--  any day of the week, not just Friday!

©2013 AS Eldredge

Wordless Wednesday: 1931 Holocaust in Pittsburgh

History teaches us many lessons as we seek to learn of the past.  Some lessons are terrifying while other lessons demonstrate the heroic deeds of mankind.  We all remember the details of the Holocaust that so many suffered under the dictator hands of Hitler.  What about events that were given the description of Holocaust by those who lived through them?

One such example is the 1931 six alarm fire at the Little Sisters of the Poor Home in Pittsburgh.  Many newspaper articles referred to the event as a holocaust.  It must have been terrifying to witness the fire and the helpless infirm patients and inmates of the home.  The rescue efforts mounted by the firemen, policemen, and general public should be remembered.

Sample excerpts:

"... Carried down by ladders by firemen, after she became weak and overcome by smoke, Mrs. Margaret Kline, 80, told her rescuers after resuscitation, that she was hemmed in by smoke and flame and "prayed that God would take her away."

Miss Veronia Stein, 64, also one of the rescued, said that when she was taken down the ladders she told firemen that Mary Henley, 75 and Mary Jacobs, 75, both crippled, and paralyzed, were lying behind a door, unable to help themselves.  When firemen returned and tried to enter the same window from which Miss Stein had been saved, they found their ladders burned, and fire pouring from the window...."

"... Mrs. Sarah Carlson, 65, first spread the alarm to the aged group, three of whom were crippled or paralyzed.  Then she started for the men's quarters in another part of the building to make sure that her husband, Dan, was saved.  Her friends last night did not know whether or not she reached safety.

As the five aged who were able to walk began helping Bridget Dooley, Margaret Henry and Bridget Reardon to safety, the three invalids cried in unison:  "No! No! Help Mama."  "Mama" is an aged and paralyzed woman in the next room, beloved by all the inmates...."

"... Men seemed to try to outdo each other in their efforts to save the aged and infirm from the smoke and flames.  Trapped inmates were carried down ladders by firemen, and volunteers and one aged woman, unconscious, was lowered to the ground from the third floor by a rope tied around her waist.

Firemen and policemen, live Lavery, off duty, rushed to the fire, working in civilian clothes in which they had been enjoying an evening's rest to battle the flames.  Brawny bluecoats worked with the doctors to aid the stricken victims of smoke as they waited for the arrival of the clanging ambulances in the shadow of the flames that had turned a quiet haven for the aged into a roaring inferno.

Men and boys living in the vicinity of the home, were the real heroes of the catastrophe, veteran policemen and firemen, who had attended most the city's big fires in recent years, said last night.

"This is certainly the worst fire I've ever seen," Lavery said..."

Take time to read some of the stories on our Old Pittsburgh Newspaper Project.  Along with details of the fire and rescue efforts are the names of the wounded and dead.

Ahh, genealogy.  Tis a great day to thank those first responders for their heroic efforts to protect others in times of need.  Thanks.

©2013 AS Eldredge

Thankful Thursday: Finding the Poor, Ill and Insane in Early Allegheny County

Finding documentation or information on some ancestors can be quite a task if the ancestor happened to have been admitted as an inmate to an early institution for the poor, ill, insane or neglected.  The Commonwealth of PA does not readily allow for any information on the inmates to be released easily.  For some researchers, this may be just the lead for which they are searching.

My genealogy buddy, Lynn B, and I have been fascinated by the early poor houses and institutions used in early Allegheny and Washington Counties, PA, after some recent comments on the Allegheny Co Rootsweb Mail List.  So, we set out to find the census for these places which frequently changed names and locations over the years.  Additionally, we are locating old newspaper articles and placing them online as well for researchers to peruse.

The tidbits I have gleaned from this research include identifying which institutions just changed names and which ones changed locations.  Common to them all is the appalling circumstances these poor and ill of our past lived in.  It can be heartbreaking to read the articles.

Comments from readers have included that Marshalsea, which was later renamed the Pittsburgh City Home Hospital at Mayview, was for the people from the city of Pittsburgh while Woodville was for the county poor and ill.

Other comments have included the correction of spelling of some names found in their census, while another researcher sent the death notice for one of their own who had spent time at an Allegheny Co. institution.

Woodville Hospital had alternate names as well in its history.  Included are:

Allegheny County Almshouse
Allegheny Hospital for the Insane
Allegheny County Home for the Poor
Woodville State Hospital

The House of Refuge which was incorporated by the Commonwealth of PA in 1850 was originally in Pittsburgh.  It moved to the new site in Washington Co, Morganza, in 1876.  Whether your research takes you to the early House of Refuge or the later Morganza, it should be remembered this institution was for the confinement and reformation of delinquent youth.

As we find more articles, we are placing them online for other researchers.  Another 20 articles were uploaded today, bringing our total to 53 for the Poor House and 33 for Morganza.

If interested in reading these articles or looking for your beloved, go to the Pittsburgh Old Newspaper Project.

Ahh, genealogy.  We appreciate the comments and knowing others may find some tidbit to assist them in their quest for the family history.

©2013 AS Eldredge

Friends of Friends Friday: Flocking to Feed the Poor in 1897 at Marshalsea in Pittsburgh

Reading old newspapers can be quite entertaining.  Today, I ran across a great article from December 24, 1897.  The article tells us of the spirit of giving to the poor in Pittsburgh.

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The Pittsburgh Press, Dec. 24, 1897, page 2

AT MARSHALSEA

An Enjoyable Time that is Promised the Unfortunates.

The 710 inmates of the city farm at Marshalsea will not be forgotten by Director George Booth and Supt. George Linderman.  Everything will be done to give them a good time.  Confined in the building are about 43 children.  These little ones on Christmas eve will hang up their stockings to see what Santa Claus will bring them.  The usual Christmas exercises will be held at the home on Christmas eve and the several hundred inmates with two or three hundred others will be ushered into the large chapel in the evening. 

An excellent program has been arranged for with Supt. Linderman as director and Dr. Charles Owens as manager, Miss Agnes M. Wenzel will be pianist of the occasion.  The performance will consist of vocal and instrumental music, with a few recitations.  Following is the program:  Anthem, "O, Little Town of Bethlehem:, chorus: recitation, "Orthodox Team,: Miss Lillian Shade, vocal solo, selected, Miss Louise Loomis; tableau, "Angels' Watch,: Misses Whan, Phillips and Symers; vocal solo, "Queen of the Earth,: Alex. Chas. Owens, M.D.; tableau, "Ten Virgins," Misses McNulty, Sowers, Whan, McDermott, Flanagan, Campbell, Harvey, Trimble, Horner Phillips, vocal duet, "Lover's Quarrel," Miss Emma Fox and Mr. Frank Bell; dialogue, "Mr. and Mrs. Thompson," Misses Lillian and Florence Shade, duet, violin and piano, selected, Howard Arbogast and Miss Wenzel; tableau, "Peak Sisters," Misses Whan, Phillips, Sowers, Symers, Harvey, Horner, McNulty, Flanagan, McDermott, Campbell, Trimble, Patterson and Mrs. S. E. Shade; vocal solo, selected, Miss Louise Loomis; tableau, "A Young Man's Dread," Miss Minnie Sowers, piano solo, selected, Miss Agnes M. Wenzel, duet, "La Chatelain," Misses Lillian and Florence Shade; Christmas carol, chorus.

A real Christmas dinner will be served to the inmates on Christmas day.  It will consist of 1,000 pounds or roast turkey with cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, celery and pickles, bread, butter, tea, coffee, apples, oranges and candy.  Of the 710 inmates of the home and hospitals 380 are insane.  These will be entertained just as well as the more fortunate inmates during the day.  The insane inmates will not be allowed to leave their wards, but they will receive their candy and presents as well as their share of turkey.  The director said that the people living around Marshalsea enjoyed the feast as well as the inmates.  The young women and men flock to the home of Christmas day and act as waiters.

 Seven more articles on the Poor House from old Pittsburgh newspapers have been uploaded for your researching pleasure.  Check it out.

Ahh, genealogy.  Kind of gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling as we Americans continue to assist those in need.  Merry Christmas.

Update: Marshalsea was built in 1893 in Southern Allegheny Co on the old George Neal Farm in/near S. Fayette Twp. It was renamed Pittsburgh City Home and Hospital at Mayview in 1916.

©2012 AS Eldredge

Wordless Wednesday: The Pauper's Secret

Secrets are a part of our lives.  With our ancestors, some secrets certainly include what happened to them.  If our searches of today are successful, evidence can sometimes be found to reveal some of those secrets.

Enjoy the newest addition to our Pittsburgh Past--  the Poor House Articles.  Perhaps a clue to one of your beloved will leave you speechless.

Seven new articles have been uploaded to our Pittsburgh Past, One Page a a Time site.  We have many more waiting in the wings. 

Here is one excerpt from March 1, 1872-
.....The deaths were Hugh McHard, age 60; Mary Dougherty, 68, Cathering Mulholland, 75; Laura Beggs, 5 months; Rachel Johnson, 5 months; Charles Armstrong, 27; Phoebe Franks, 45; Conrad Miller, 40, The causes of death were: apoplexy, 1; old age, 1; whooping cough, 1; consumption, 2; pneumonia, 1; inflammation of the lungs, 1; asthma, 1.....

And another from May 8, 1882-
...Years ago Thomas Mulaney had a happy home, and managed to support his family in a comfortable way. Many pictures in memory of the domestic happiness of those days now cheer the old man in his declining years. Death finally broke up the family circle, taking his wife first and all but two of his children afterward. Then darker days came upon him. Losing his corporal vigor, and the increasing infirmities of old age settling down upon him, he was no longer able to work. One daughter and a son had drifted away to distant points, and he had no knowledge of their whereabouts. At last, when he was on the verge of starvation he was taken charge of by the authorities and sent to the Allegheny Home.
This was about three years since, and he was then about eighty years of age. About a year ago he learned in some manner that his son ....


Check it out.  You'll love finding the secrets of the paupers.

Ahh, genealogy.  The desire to uncover the past keeps on going even as I prepare my heart and home for the holidays. 

©2012 AS Eldredge

Tombstone Tuesday: A Grave Decision

Ever wondered where some of your beloved ancestors could be?  Ever know someone was in a graveyard, but since they had no stone or it has weathered, you have no rock solid proof?

Just like all cities across the land, there are forgotten and destroyed cemeteries in Allegheny Co, PA.  Take, for instance, the Allegheny City Home which was established in 1844.  Its first site was in Shaler Twp.  The home moved to O'Hara Twp in 1871 according to the Carnegie Library.  The cemetery which was mainly used for the home was destroyed during the construction of Rte 28. 

So, what's a family genealogy buff to do?  One suggestion is to look at the census records for the poor house, workhouse and insane asylums of the area to see if any familiar names were there.  There is always the chance the graves, which were most likely unmarked, no longer exist. 

One of my genealogy buddies (or buddette?) was gracious enough to transcribe the names from the Allegheny Co Poor House and Workhouse censusus from 1850-1910.  These names are now on our old Pittsburgh Newspaper Project and can easily be found.

Go here to see the list.  http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~paallent/index.html

Ahh, genealogy.  While we can't always find absolute evidence for all of our blood, the past can be just a grave decision based on circumstantial evidence.

©2012 AS Eldredge