Sullivan County, Pennsylvania GenWeb Project

Updated Site after December 31, 2023 located HERE

We won an award!Welcome to The Sullivan County PA Genealogy Page !!

Welcome to the award-winning Sullivan County Pennsylvania Genealogy Page! Here you'll find a plethora of information concerning the settlers of Sullivan County, its rich history, the Endless Mountains, and a lot of useful resources to research your family surnames. This is a FREE genealogy resource sponsored through USGenWeb and PAGenWeb and can always be reached directly at no charge.

Historical Map, Sullivan County
Historical Map, Sullivan County
Published by L. E. Wilt, Towanda, PA, 1944
Map Notes
Pennsylvania Between 1790-1794
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Local Airport Locations
Vintage Aerial Mpas of Sullivan County

Last updated: 07/06/23 XXXX What's News

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The Colley Township House
Turrell Street, Lopez, Colley Township, PA
1990

Courtesy of David R. Maher
Note: In 2009, the Colley Township House was formally recorded as a Historic Resource of Pennsylvania by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. The building takes us back to the era of James McFarlane and the vast tanning industry in Sullivan County at the end of the 19th century. You can see a more recent photo at the head of the Streby History of Colley.
Click on the Photo for a Full Size View


The Sonestown Covered Bridge
Sonestown, PA
Built Over Muncy Creek
1850

Courtesy of Sullivan Review, March 2, 2006
Click on the Photo for a Full Size View


Dale and Carol (Hoose) Brotzman
Beaver Meadows, PA
December 2010
Note: Carol is a Family Historian and Major Contributor to our Web Site.
Click on the Photo for a Full Size View


A Mystery Gathering
Likely Held at Eagles Mere, PA
About 1895
Note: You can read all about this mysterious photograph and the collective efforts of our contributors to solve it at Gathering.
Click on the Photo for a Full Size View


Dushore in Winter
View Southeast from the Snyder Homestead
Winter of 1942-43
Note: You can learn more about the Snyder family at Snyder and Harrington.
Click on the Photo for a Full Size View
Source: Frank Snyder Collection


Phillip Peter Sweeney
Songwriter and Poet
December 2013 with Alexis Cacyuk
You can listen to the music and poetry of Phil Sweeney at his Home Page. The Sweeney Family History can be accessed
at The Sweeneys of Ringer Hill
Click on the Photo for a Full Size View
Photo Source: Phil Sweeney


Sonestown Grade Shool 1928
Third Row, Fifth from Right is Walter Richard King
Others Unidentifed at this Time
Note: You can find attendance lists and more photos on the
Davidson Attendees Page
Click on the Photo for a Full Size View
Source: Connie (King) McMichael, daughter of Walter Richard King


Dutch Mountain 2015
Near Border of Wyoming and Sullivan Couunties
Original Junk Family Property
Now Owned by the Hoffman Family
Note: You can learn more about the families that settled here at Kronmiller's History of Bellasylva. The Junk family is interred at the Junk Cemetery.
Click on the Photo for a Full Size View
Source: Mary Ellen Hoffman


Eagles Mere Lake Park 1913
Entrance Way
Card Issued by The Forest Inn and Postmarked October 1916
Note: You can learn more about The Forest Inn at Endless Mountains. This history discusses several of the hotels built around the lake.
Click on the Photo for a Full Size View
Photo by Scott W. Tilden
Original Auctioned on eBay in January 2017

A Mystery Graduation
Army Corps of Engineers
Fort Humphreys VA
1932
Found in Attic of Genevieve Marshall
Note: You can learn more about this mystery at Engineers
Photo Courtesy of Roger Hatch
NEW!!


Cole's Hardware Store
Proprietor Samuel Cole
Water Street, Dushore, PA
About 1905

Courtesy of John C. Lieberman
Source: Kaier Collection, Mahanoy City, PA
Editor's Note: The building to the right was the fire station, which is now the offices of the Sullivan Review. In this old photo, the name "J. E. Collins" is posted on the lintel of the fire station. Collins was a prominent businessman and perhaps the fire station was named for him, or the sign is some sort of advertisement. Cole's Hardware is now called the Tubach Building. We thank the Sullivan County Historical Society and Museum for this information. February 2010. Click on the Photo for a Full Size View


The Griffiths
Elizabeth (Kinsley) and Joseph Griffiths
With Daughter Catherine ("Katie")
Lopez, PA
1914

Courtesy of Sue (McGuire) Schultz
Source: Betty McGuire Collection
Editor's Note: Sue is the great granddaughter of John Kinsley and Margaret McGraw, and grand daughter of Elizabeth ("Lizzie") Kinsley. Lizzie married Joseph Griffiths, a mine foreman from Scranton. Their children were Catherine ("Katie"), John Joseph, Mary Marguerite and Elizabeth ("Betty"), Sue's mother. The child in the photo is Sue's aunt. The Griffiths lived in Lopez during the coal mining era of the early twentieth century. You can learn more about the Irish Kinsley line at Settlers XXVI: The Irish Settlement History.
Click on the Photo for a Full Size View

Reaumur Thermometer
The thermometer was not invented until a mere 250 years ago. The first usable thermometers were developed by a German,Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit, in 1714; a Frenchman, Ren� Antoine Ferchault de R�aumur, in 1731; and a Swede, Anders Celsius, in 1742. This device allowed beer brewers to control mash temperatures without having to mix fixed volumes of grain and water at either well water temperature or at a boil. As a consequence of their European origins, the Kaier family made the Reaumur thermometer a critical technology in the brewing business they established in northeastern Pennsylvania, including Sullivan County, beginning late in the nineteenth century. You can learn more at the Kaier's Brewery page.
Note: Image courtesy of John C. Lieberman.


Dushore "Trolleys" 1907
East Main Street
Railroad Trestle in Background

Courtesy of Scott Tilden
Source: Portion of an Old C. W. Williams Postcard
Original auctioned on eBay in July 2011
Editor's Note: The Back Side of the postcard indicates the recipient was Madeline Miller in Scranton. The sender penned a note on the front asking her to "see our trolleys hitched to a post"--referring to the horses in the photo.
Click on the Photo for a Full Size View


National Air Mail Day
May 15, 1938
Sullivan County, PA

Courtesy of Scott Tilden
Source: An Envelope Auctioned on eBay in May 2013
Editor's Note: National air mail service commenced on this date in 1918 and by 1921 had come to Pennsylvania. The route from Long Island to Bellefonte and then points west crossed into Pennsylvania at Lehighton, then ran over Mauch Chunk and Sunbury. The original of this letter was addressed from Bernetta Deegan to Leonard Heverly in New York State, postmarked from Dushore.
Click on the Photo for a Full Size View


Susan Jane (Keeler) Masteller
1831-1926
Wife of Thomas Masteller (1827-1887)
Daughter of John Keeler, Jr. and Sarah Bartleson

Courtesy of Milly Gowdy Who Owns the Original Charcoal Pencil Drawing
Editor's Note: The marriage of these two individuals linked one of the foremost families in southeastern Sullivan County, the Keelers, to a prominent family with origins in Columbia County, the Mastellers. Thomas and Susan are buried at Cherry Grove Cemetery in Nordmont. Many of the Masteller family are buried at St. Gabriel's Cemetery in Sugarloaf Township, PA. You can read about the Keeler and Mosteller connections at Helen Smith Gammon and the Peterman Heritage.
Click on the Photo for a Full Size View


Red Cross Kitchen Stove
Two Sided-AdvertisementPage
Early Twentieth Century
Double Heater Stove
Sold by D. E. Carroll Hardware
Dushore, PA
Stove photos Courtesy of Gail James
Undated photo of Hotel Carroll linked below is courtesy of the Sullivan County Historical Society.
Editor's Note: Dennis E. Carroll (1845-1921) operated the Hotel Carroll at the corner of Main and Center Streets in Dushore in the 1890s and into the 20th century. In the winter offseason, he ran this hardware store out of the hotel. Dennis is shown in the 1900 Federal Census for Dushore (pages 8-9) with his wife Elizabeth and several children. The stove shown here was manufactured, as shown by the image on the reverse side, by the Cooperative Foundry Company of Rochester, NY. This firm sold a line of stoves and other hardware from 1857 until 1930. The stove brand name comes from the red Gothic cross that appeared on advertising for this line of stoves.
Click on the Photo for a Full Size View

Bob Sweeney
Meet Bob Sweeney
Sullivan County Historian
Photo by Lynn Franklin

FatherKaierMahanoyCity
Reverend Xavier Kaier
As A Young Priest About 1870
While Visiting Family
Mahanoy City, PA
Eventually, Father Kaier Became the Most Prominent Catholic Cleric in the History of Sullivan County, serving 58 years from 1863-1921 as Pastor of St. Basil's Church in Dushore. You can learn more at The Kaiers Come to Pennsylvania.
Photo Courtesy of John Curtin Lieberman
Click on photo for full size view.

MaryRMulnixRosbach
Mary R. Mulnix (1879-1944)
Daughter of John and Hester Mulnix of Elkland
Wife of John Louis Rosbach
Both interred at Estella Cemetery. Learn more at Vickie Rosbach's Tribute. Photo Courtesy of Vickie Rosbach, Granddaughter
Click on photo for full size view.

EmilyMatildaYunkin
Emily Matilda Yonkin (1857-1943)
Daughter of Peter and Catherine (Suber) Yonkin
Birth and Baptism Certificate
Learn more about this family at
The Suber Family.
Photo Courtesy of Craig Stevens
Original Donated to the Sullivan County Historical Society
Click on image for expanded photo.

JacobMyers
Jacob Myers (1804-1875)
Father of Ellen (Myers) Crawford
Grandfather of Preston Lafayette Crawford
Learn more about this family at
The Crawford Descendants.
Photo Courtesy of Carol Brotzman
Source: The Ellen Lorena (Crawford) Shefler Collection
Note: Ellen was a daughter of Preston L. Crawford.

LeviCrawford
Levi Andrew Crawford (1887-1971)
Son of Preston and Mary (Thrasher) Crawford
In Patriotic Order of the Sons of America Uniform
Washington Chapter, Dushore PA 1903
Learn more about this family at
The Crawford Descendants.
Photo Courtesy of Carol Brotzman
Source: The Ellen Lorena (Crawford) Shefler Collection. There is a Group Photo of the Order shown on
The Descendants of Johannes Jakob Messershmidt.
Click on image above for expanded photo.

Sadlergown
Baby Gown Made by Jane Sadler Rogers
For Her Daughter Zilpha Ann in 1829
Zilpha later married John R. Fleming
The dress was passed down in the Fleming family to Zilpha's great granddaughter, Cheryl Franklin
Who Contributed the Dress in 2014 to the Sullivan County Historical Society.
See more photos and learn more about this family at
The Warren and Rogers Family Photo Collection and The Scrapbook of Aunt Eliza Rogers.
Photo Courtesy of Cheryl Franklin
Click on image above for expanded photo.


The Phillips Family
North Mountain Area
1909

Courtesy of Rick Swartz
Note: You can learn more about the Phillips Family and the identifications of the participants in this old photo at
Descendants of Robert Pierce Phillips.
Click on the Photo for a Full Size View


Satirical Postcard 1918
Mailed to Lloyd W. Fahler by a Nephew
Courtesy of John C. Lieberman
Note: You can learn more about the Kaier, Lieberman and Fahler Family at
The Kaiers Come to Pennsylvania.
Click on the Photo for a Full Size View


Hiram and Martha Jane (Mase) White
Eldredsville Before 1895
Courtesy of Sullivan County Historical Society
Note: Their children married into the Shadduck and Frawley families of Sullivan County. Read more about the Whites at
The Frawley Collection.
Click on the Photo for a Full Size View.




Christian Baumunk (1843-1924)
Son of Michael and Maragret (Storms) Baumunk
Born in Sullivan County, PA
Moved to Indiana as a Young Man
Courtesy of Beth Jenkins Roberts
His Great Great Granddaughter
Note: Read more about the Baumunks and see photos in the Baumunk Day History and Descendants of Christian Baumunk Sidebar at
Faces and Families, Group Seven.
Click on the Photo for a Full Size View.


The Hillsgrove Band
About 1900
Hillsgrove, PA
Courtesy of Paul Galough
Whose Relatives Played in the Band
Note: Read more about the band at the Hillsgrove Souvenir
Click on the Photo for a Full Size View.


The Old Stone House
Nordmont PA
Built for John Boston
Structure Stood from 1850-2000
Courtesy of Nancy Spencer
Note: Read more about the Boston family at The History of Cherry Grove Chapel
Click on the Photo for a Full Size View.


Sarah "Sadie" and Patrick John Boland
Brother and Sister
Mildred PA 1952
At Patrick's Home in the Year He Died
He is barely visible in shadows to right of porch.
Courtesy of Denise Weber
The photo was fouund in the Hampson family collection passed down to Denise. Neither Boland was ever married. Patrick can be found in the 1900 Federal Census for Cherry Township with his widowed mother Mary and other family members. Sadie was a servant by then in the home of Benjamin Hall in Towanda, PA. Children of John and Mary Boland, Patrick lived from 1873-1952, while Sadie lived from 1877-1958.
Click on the Photo for a Full Size View.


Richard Leroy "Dick" Holcombe
1915-2014
Author of Dick's Legends

Obituary Photo Courtesy of P. Dean Homer FUneral Home

Quick Clicks

Settler's Index Menu
Sweeneys of Ringer Hill
--Sidebar: The Sweeneys Go West

Ghosts of Sullivan County
Patrick Devanney
John Sims Green
James & Catherine Farrell
Postcards from Lopez
Edward Eldred & the Genessee Road
George McDonald & Ethel Travis
Andrew McDonald & Mary Hayden
Cecilia McDonald & the Laughlins
First Settlers of Dushore
The Suber Family in Local History
Cavanaughs of Irish Ridge
Lewis and Huckell Families of Hillsgrove
Patrick McDonald & Martha Daly
George Whitefield Potter
Frank Farrell
Sones, Simmons & Stevenson
Joseph & Ursula Baumgartner

The Sick Families of Cherry Mills

William Sick & Catherine Kelly

Joseph Fulmer and Descendants

Julius & Mary Barth Long
Joseph Hoagland: Dutch Pioneer
.....Addendum: Three Hoagland Families

The Little Family: An American Odyssey
John Kinsley's Irish Settlement: 1830-1986
The Thrasher Heritage
Henry Myers and the Myers Legacy
Henry Yonkin and Barbara Hartzig
The Pealer-Wenner-Lawrence-Ladd-Dieffenbacher Families
The Descendants of Jacob Hoffa
Descendants of Jacob Kester and Katherine Knubaharin
Family of Johannes Jakob Messerschmidt
The Frawley Collection
The Italian Heritage of Bernice and Mildred
The Dohm Tradition
The Heritage of John Bahr
The Descendants of William Wilson Potter
The Sherman Family
The Kohensparger Clan
Descendants of John T. Wilcox
Descendants of Obed Gansel
Ancestors of Pauline Holcombe
Doctor Fremont McCarty: An Appreciation
The McCarty Heritage
Weavers of a Legacy: Samuel Rogers and Ann Gaunt
The Fairchild Family Origins
The Descendants of John Vough and Hannah Winder
Descendants of Wilhelm Reinbold
The Fuller Family Now and Then
Descendants of Philip Haberle
The Wilbers: A Farm Family from Wheelerville
Descendants of John Warburton and Mary Sadler
Descendants of John Warburton and Ann Clarke
Yorkshire to Hillsgrove: John and Mary Bagshaw Jackson
Charles Mullan and Selected Descendants
McCarty, Samuel and Cora (Smith): Ancestors and Descendants
Jonathan Webster: Early Settler of Elkland Township
The Pond Families of Sullivan and Bradford Counties
Peter Dennis Emig: The Observant Farmer


Wentzell Family Bible
Bought in Towanda, PA in 1850 by Jacob Wentzell, this dogeared and fragile Bible surfaced in mid-summer 2002 on eBay, the online auction company. Sullivan County historian Bob Sweeney purchased the book for the Sullivan County Historical Society, to which it was contributed in November 2002. The Bible had been acquired by its previous owner at a garage sale in Plains, PA sometime in recent years. The Wentzel family was one of the original German settler families to arrive in what was later Sullivan County. They came from Berks County to the south in the 1830s and the Bible provides a glimpse into both the social and religious life of this family and its relatives. You can learn more at The Family Bible of Jacob and Percival Wentzell.

John and Elizabeth Hoffa Dieffenbacher Bible

Other Local Bible Records
Sketch Book of John Warburton

Bible Records Online

The Dushore Weekly Review
The Dushore Weekly Review
February 22, 1878

Bettyann's Registry of Obituaries and
Related Photos:
1800-2017


Partial Registry of Obituaries: 1889-1934

Online Pennsylvania Death Records and Obituaries
Wilston Funeral Home Obituaries

P. Dean Homer Funeral Home Obituaries
Old Disease Names Found on Death Certificates

-Registry of Marriages
-Selected Marriages and Licenses
-Peace Church and Old Zion Marriages
-----1839-1878

-Edward Eldred's Marriage Docket:
-----1809-1835

-Eldred's Docket: A Complete Transcription
-Perpetual Calendar: Find any Date
-----for Any Day in History


The Sullivan Review & Other Historical Papers
The Sullivan Review
History of Sullivan County 1888

The Sullivan Review
History of Sullivan County 1959 and 1984

Now and Then (July 1951)

The Basilian Beacon (1945)

-Wyalusing Rocket-Courier
---Archives and Obits


-Chronicling America: Newspaper Archives


-Green Free Newspaper Library Archive
-Pennsylvania Newspapers Online

Mary Jane Light West
Mary Jane Light West

Carol Byassee saved a set of old pictures from her grandmother. One picture, shown here, is of her great-great- grandmother Mary taken on December 18, 1899 when she was 63 years old. She was the wife of John D. West and the mother of Eva West. Eva married her cousin Levi P. Light and was the mother of Ernest Light of Rush, PA, whom Carol's grandmother Jennie Krause married. Jennie was born the year before this picture was taken.

Agnes Elizabeth Kelly
Agnes Elizabeth Kelly

Agnes Kelly (1885-1960) was the youngest of eighteeen children of Daniel Kelly and Mary Leahy of Forks, PA. On January 7, 1904, she married Peter Francis Sweeney, son of Martin Sweeney and Julia Wright of Ringdale, PA. Agnes and Peter were the paternal grandparents of Robert E. Sweeney who contributed this picture in June 2000 in memory of his beloved grandmother.

Kelly House Ruins
Kelly House Ruins
Kelly Hill Road
Forks, PA

The large family of Daniel Kelly (1828-1902) and Mary Leahy (1840-1898) was born and raised in this old frame house. The children included Agnes (Kelly) Sweeney, May (Kelly) Marshall, Katie (Kelly) Sick, Josephine (Kelly) Sammons---a total of 18 children. This picture was taken by Lynn Franklin in 1997. In July 2006, Edward Kelly, great grandson of Daniel and Mary, visited the house ruins once again. There was very little left standing of the house. It is sad to see the result of years of neglect. Unfortunately, the house was essentially unoccupied after Ed's Uncle Joe Kelly's widow, Aunt Kate, left the farm soon after his death in 1939. Ed's mother purchased the farm from Aunt Kate's nephew in 1954 and did keep the roof repaired through the 1960s, but there was not very much done after those years. The reason why the "white house" in which Ed grew up on the original James and Johanna Flynn Kelly farm is in such good condition is that Ed has been fortunate to have had tenants living there since 1987. Were that not the case, it would probably go very much the way of the Daniel and Mary Leahy Kelly house. You can learn more about this family at the Kelly Family Reunion page.


Burning Theater
Mildred, PA
February 1953
The theater was originally designed by Gordon Exley, the grandfather of Ernest Hatton, another of our contributors. Click here for another view of the Mildred Theater Fire, seen from a slightly different angle. This second photo is from an old postcard auctioned on eBay, courtesy of Deb Wilson.


Baptismal Certificate
Eugene Edward Long
Born May 18, 1899
Baptized August 2, 1899
Reformed Church, Dushore, PA
Reverend Elias S. Noll
Eugene was the son of Julius Long and Mary Barth Long. Julius owned a laundry and the family lived on West Carpenter Street in Dushore at the turn of the 19th century. You can see his picture in the Picture Bin of the Image Gallery for this Web site. Picture contributed by his daughter, Phyllis Long Rockwell


Bernice Hospital
Bernice, PA
The hospital was built for the coal miners who worked in Bernice, and was the first facility in the area to have electricity. Picture contributed by Tina Pastusic of Plains, PA, who obtained it elsewhere from family members. The hospital was built between 1912 and Sept 11,1913 when it was dedicated, then burned down Sunday, February 25, 1934. According to Linda Crawford, our source, her dad always said it was from "a moonshine still on the premises". The hospital was constructed after the Connell Anthracite Mining Company acquired the rights to the local mining industry in 1902, built a new collier and breaker, and invested in making Bernice a company town. Mrs. Bernice Jackson was the wife of one of the three speculators who invested in developing the town and its nascent coal industry, and therefore the town bears her name.


Elizabeth "Betty" O'Brien
As a Child
Betty grew up and married John Zerby IIIrd on July 27, 1940. This picture is one of over 200 old pictures and several pages of unique documents found in the papers of the late Alvin Frawley and his wife Valeria Bahl Frawley. Both natives of the Overton/Forks area, Alvin and Val preserved the records of their family and related families for over sixty years. In mid-2000, their daughter-in-law Violet Thomas Frawley of Elmira, New York loaned these materials to Bob Sweeney to review and copy for the Sullivan County Genealogical Society. In time, these irreplaceable records of the Frawley, Bahl, O'Brien, Sweeney, Scanlin, Rouse, Conmey and other related families will be deployed on this site for the benefit of all. An initial display of the pictures, in raw form, without captions or analysis can be found at The Frawley Collection


Preston Lafayette Crawford and
Mary Caroline Thrasher
Wedding Photo
October 18, 1882

Many of the older families of Sullivan County are interrelated by marriage. In perhaps no case is the linkage more complex than that among the Hunsinger, Thrasher, Sayman and Crawford families. This picture introduces the parties to the marriage that brings together the Crawford and Hunsinger lines. Once they married, the family lived on a farm in Colley, although Mary Caroline came from Forks. Our contributor is Carol Hoose Brotzman, great-granddaughter of this couple. Additional pictures and information can be found in the section on the Crawfords and Hunsingers in Faces and Families.


Fentie Virginia Salisbury
(1878-1946)
Wife of Charles Henry Dryer
(1872-1937)
Married January 2, 1895
Residents of Shunk, PA

Fentie was the daughter of Elon Galusha Salisbury II (1842-1908) and Vicilla Chloe Shadduck (1846-1927). Both her parents are buried in the West Hills Cemetery in Shunk, PA, which is transcribed in the Churches and Cemeteries section of this page. Fentie and Charles were the parents of Ray Wilder Dryer (1914-1982) and the grandparents of our contributors Rod and Dick Dryer of Endwell, NY. Additional pictures and information on the Wilcox, Fanning, Salisbury, Shadduck and Dryer families and their history, from Massachusetts to Bradford and then Sullivan Counties, can be found at The Dryer Family Page.


Thomas Patrick Cadden
Born March 17th 1864, son of Thomas and Margaret Welsh Cadden, of Cherry Township. He was the brother of Anna Cadden Bergan, Mary Cadden Murphy, Katie Cadden Miller, Jennie Cadden Farrell, John J. Cadden, Nellie Cadden, Margaret Cadden Hope, Agnes Cadden (who died one month before him and whom he is buried with.), Josephine Cadden, and Alice Clare Cadden McDonald (wife of John C. McDonald). Thomas was a volunteer fireman in Kane, PA, and the only one in the history of that fire department to die in the line of duty. He was kiled by smoke inhalation on September 28th 1906, at the age of 41, and is buried in St. Basil's Cemetery, Dushore, PA.
Contributed by Sharon Dore of Canada, his great-grandaughter


The Frawleys and Bahls
The date is June 14, 1926 and the occasion is the marriage of Alvin Frawley to Valeria Bahl in Overton. This picture shows the resepctive parents of the groom and bride. On the left are Elizabeth ("Lizzie") (Sweeney} Frawley and her husband Thomas Frawley. On the right are Ella Mary (O'Brien) Bahl and her husband Edward John Bahl. As was often the case in local history, this marriage brings together four prominent lineages, three Irish and one Alsatian. Each family's story can be found in the associated pages of this web site
Photo thanks to Tom and Sandy Crossett.


Dushore in 1912
Main Street Looking East

The train trestle is in the distance at the end of Main Street. The downtown is packed with strolling couples and sidewalk crowds.
Photo thanks to Carol Brotzman from a December 2002 posting on eBay. Original published by Charles W. Hoffa with a Dushore postmark of October 2, 1912.


Farmstead of John Conmey (1807-1889)
Near Campbellville, PA

Born the son of Bartholomew Conmey in Castleconnor, County Sligo, Ireland, John Conmey was related by marriage or blood to the Sweeney, O'Brien, Frawley and McCollum Families. Probably Taken About 1920. Photo from the Alvin and Catherine Bahl Frawley Collection with the Permission of Violet Thomas Frawley of Elmira, NY

 
Farm of Thomas Frawley Pre-1921
Near Overton, PA

This picture was obtained from Violet Thomas Frawley of Elmira, NY. It was one of several hundred pictures and old notebooks and genalogical charts preserved over the course of sixty years by Violet's father-in-law Alvin Frawley and his wife Valeria Bahl Frawley of Elmira. Alvin was a son of Thomas Joseph Frawley and Elizabeth Sweeney Frawley. Thomas owned and ran a farm near Overton until 1921 when Owen Sweeney, father of his wife "Lizzie", died. They then moved to Elmira. Thomas was a blacksmith by profession and there are other pictures from this collection that show him at his trade. Tom and Lizzie were married in 1897. He died in 1940 and Lizzie, by then known as "Mother Frawley" to her numerous children and grandchildren, died in 1960.

Haringtons
Harrington Ice Cream Plant
Dushore, PA August 1930
Photo contributed by Paula Lundstrom
Source: A Postcard Sent from Helen (Hughes) Thrasher to her Brother, Oscar Thrasher


1896-1897 Lincoln Falls School
Class Souvenir

Purchased by Bob Sweeney from Kathy Harris of Alexandria, VA on eBay in August 2004 and donated to the Sullivan County Historical Society in Laporte, PA
Note: Click on the Photo for a Full Size View


Minier Family Homestead
Unityville, PA

We received this picture from Aaron Houseknecht, who lives in Seattle, in January 2005. Here is what he says about his family history: "Most of my family comes from the Unityville/Lairdsville area and I have a few excellent photos. Shown here is the Minier Homestead located in Unityville and the Minier family. This photo was one that first got me interested in genealogy and history. The smallest child in the photo is my great-grandmother, Sarah Matilda (Tillie) Minier . She was the daughter of Thomas Benton Minier and Margaret Campbell, my great-great grandparents. Thomas was the blacksmith and Justice of the Peace in Unityville. You can see him at work in this old photo of his Blackship Shop."
From left to right in the family photo are: Wilson W. Minier (born in 1876), Margaret Campbell Minier (born 5/4/1853; died 9/4/1942), Sara Matilda "Tillie" Minier Whitmoyer (born 11/26/1885; died 6/12/1939), Thomas Benton Minier Jr. (born 10/84; died 10/13/48), Tura Minier Hess (or perhaps "Crist"), Anna Margaret Minier Lore (born 6/27/78; died 2/23/58) and Thomas Benton Minier (born2/17/49; died 1927). The photo was taken in the spring of 1886 or 1887 based on the age of Sara Matilda. Aaron was told that the homestead was located in Unityville near where the fire station was then located in 2005.

Source: Aaron Houseknecht
Note: Click on the Photo for a Full Size View

Historians
Bob Sweeney and Ernie Hatton
Sullivan County Historians
Orlando, FL July 2003
Photo by Noreen Hatton


From Gettysburgh to the Twin Towers
September 11, 2001
In The Name of God
And Jesus Wept...

Genealogists
Joyce Tice and Bob Sweeney
Bradford and Sullivan County Historians
Mainesburg, PA September 2005
Photo by Joyce Tice

ConradD
Descendants of Conrad Dieffenbacher
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
by Shirley Yarber

Note: If you do not have broadband or cable access to the Internet, there is a version of this history where the pictures have to be clicked on to bring them up. You can find it at
Dieffenbacher History for Slow Internet Connections

Historians 2
Bob and Carol Robb with Bob Sweeney and Lynn Franklin
Sullivan County Historians
Washington, DC, July 6, 2007
Bob Robb is a historian of the Stevenson and Robb families. Bob Sweeney is the administrator of this web site. His wife, Lynn Franklin, is a photographer and creator of Selected Southern Jewish Databases.
Photo by Bob Robb

Tapella
Bob Tapella Appointed Public Printer
The U.S. Government Printing Office's Harding Hall ws the venue for the swearing in of the nation's 25th Public Printer, Robert C. Tapella. The event took place on November 6, 2007 in Washington D.C. Nancy Erickson, Secretary of the U.S. Senate, administered the oath of office. Tapella's mother, Bernadette (Kelly) Tapella, is holding the Bible. Bob is the gr-gr-gr grandson of Timothy and Mary (Touhey) Kelly, the parents of the original Kelly family to settle in the Overton/Campbellville area in the mid-1800s. You can learn more about this family at the Kelly Reunion 2006 page.
Photo Courtesy of the Government Printing Office


FrankSnyder
Frank and Annie Snyder
Father's Day 2013
Clambake Club, Newport, RI
Frank (1926-2017) and Annie were natives of Dushore and frequent contributors to our site.
Here is an Obituary and Photo for Frank. You can learn more about this family at
Snyder and Harrington: A Pictorial Family History.
Photo Courtesy of Annie Snyder
Click on the photo caption to see an enlarged version.

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-Free Genealogy Look Up Forum ,
-Genealogy In Time ,
-Access Genealogy: Free Resource ,
-Eastman's Online Genealogy Page ,
-The Meta-Archive: Index of Archives,
-MyTrees.com Newsletter,
-Family Search Worldwide,
-Sullivan County in Historical Context ,
-Atlas of the German Empire ,
-Routes Your Ancestors Took ,
-Sheila Barr Helser's Maps of Pennsylvania ,
-Ernie Hatton's Sullivan County DNA Project ,
-Colonial Occupations ,
-Linkpendium Genealogy ,
-History of Spanish Hill

IMMIGRATION LINKS:
-Castle Garden Immigrant Site,
-Ellis Island

-Sullivan County Officials in 1941

-Postmasters of Sullivan County 1830-1900's

-Dating Old Photos from Hairstyles: 1840-1900
-Dating Old Postcards
-How to ID and Date Vintage Postcards

-The Political Graveyard: Politicians Born or Lived in Sullivan County

Image Gallery
Documents, People, Places, Scenery, Old Photos....Who is this Man?

The Cherry Mills Photo Album
The Kelly Diaspora in Photos
The Warburton Family Photo Album
The Cooks and Johnstons: A Photo Legacy
The Photo Collection of Alice Kelly Norton
Editor's Note:This link was created with the assistance of Nate Anderson and then edited by Edward Kelly. His comments can be found by clicking on each album and then clicking on Activity to the right below the list of album photos. Additional comments can be added by the viewer. NEW!!
The Masteller Funeral Card
The Olga Beinlich Cott Gallery
Helen Hottenstein's Picture Collection
The Rogers and Warren Family Photos
The Warren Photo History
The Lost World of the Loggers
The Destruction of the Splash Dam on the Loyalsock
The Kettle Creek Fish and Game Club
The Streby Photo Album NEW!!
The Pictorial Legacy of
.......... Edna Mae Kinsley Conner

The Yonkin Photo Catalogue
..........

The German Letter Collection
The Leo Bolles Collection
Mike Dempsey's Scenes and People of Mildred
Mike Dempsey's Weddings of Sullivan County
Snyder and Harrington: A Pictorial Family History
The Baumunk and Heess Legacy in Photos

Unknown McDonalds of Northern Pennsylvania
Pictures....Can You Solve the Mystery of Who They Are?

Faces and Families of Old Sullivan County...old pictures with stories to go along...
Group One
Haus, Wilson, Sweeney, Deegan, Burns, Hunsinger, Thrasher, Crawford, Schmeckenbecker, Ortlieb, Beaumont, Brown, Huffmaster, Hoffman, Sayman, Kisner, Lewis
Group Two
Harrison, Jordan, Philbin, Bradley, Cosgrove, Thomas, Cain, O'Neill, Thayer, Walsh, Warren, Converse, Molyneux, Harrington, Litzelswope, Gahan, Fitzgerald, Rohe, Faust, Kahni, Baumgartner
Group Three
Kozemko, King, Benjamin, Sullivan, Johnson, McCarty, Cummiskey, Collins, McDonald, Toner, O'Donnell, Burns, Kester, Rinebold, May
Group Four
Sones, Porter, Sayman, Karge, Jacoby, Vogle, Richlin, Yanney, Potter, Milhein, Rumsey, Waxman, VanSice, Hartzig, Lamberson, Bird, Jaynes, Karge, Silverstrim, Meyer, Schaeffer, Dieffenbach, Lader, Vogel, Lilley, Heverly, Conner, Kshinka, Hieber, Steiner, Houser
Group Five
Mosier, Hottenstein, Farrell, Jennings, Brown, Rogers, McCarty, Kisner, Rouse, Sullivan, Kelly, Thall, Lefevre, Cummings, Waples
Group Six
Reeser, Betts, Potter, Zaner, Hunsinger, Martin, Hartmann, Armstrong, Woodruff, Oliver, Dieffenbach, Dunn, Shoemaker, Honnetter, McHenry, Kohler, Huffmaster, Harney, Kast, Everett, Morter, Helsman, Beaver, Sherman, Buck, Wentzell, Bahr, Weed, Epler, Smyser, Silberger, Reis, Leeds, Stallsmith, Dickson, Guiles, Lumley, Kinter, Heckert, Haines, Meschke, Erle, Hatton, Yonkin, Bushofsky, Hoag, Pond, Taylor, Gailey, Mayhew, Corson, Bennett, Edkin, Roach, Farr, Craft, Gray, Philips, Richart, Secules, Burkholder, Stroup, Montague, Sellers, Anderson, Harding, Jarrett, Strum, Solinger, Marshall, Richley, Obert, McMahon, McKernan, Lane, Ryan, Bowdren, Thall
Group Seven
Silvara, Sylvara, Marsh, Stone, Hughes, Newman, Taylor, Bixby, Keeler, Beeman, Martin, Bunnell, Holtom, Fessenden, Corson, Wilcox, Anderson, Watt, Houseman, Stumbo, Hillard, Birkes, Jester, Varner, Cockrell, Allen, Wilhoit, Burkett, Albertson, Tubbs, Johnston, Wallace, Smith, Robb, Cook, Driscoll, Ross, Brown, Collins, Schaad, Hoffman, Sweet, Brennan, Gillan, Baumunk, Day, Gloeckler, Beutel, Fulcrod, Hugo, Beinlich, Battin, Hess, Biddle....
Group Eight
Richlin, Marshall, Hostler, Leljedal, Kelly, Shilkoskie, Place, Litzelman, Hanck, Glynn, Bentley, Rohe, Krouse, Yanney, Yaw, Weaver, Hatton, Orlowski, Exley, Erhardt, Keeler, Ballard, Shoemaker, Fleischut, Molyneux, McCarty, Dieffenbach, Bird, Bennett, Warren, Kratcoski, Novinski, McMahon, Norton, Dunn, McDonald, Sweeney, Tolar, Papka....
Group Nine
McMahon, Murphy, Farrell, Sick, Karge, Cummiskey, Fox, Cullen, Hunsinger, Brobst, Reich, Bedford, Brackman, Rogers, Neuber, Dickinson, Arey, Fulmer, Saxe, Norconk, Ingersoll, Green, Schock, Lemons, Vose, Wandell, Messersmith, Landback, Honnetter, McKinstry, Anderson, Bowman, Lamberson, Fenton, Brieger, Pflaum, Gallagher, North, McDermott, Farrell, Coyle, Ryan, Middendorf, Keefe, Burns, Cain, Saxe, Leonard, Igoe, Minor, Carroll, Frawley, Hagen, O'Neill, Cooke, McDonald, Drummond, Fetherbay, Flynn...
Group Ten
Kaier, Lieberman, Jordan, Wittmer, Curry, Fahler, Kirby, McGinty, Schreyer, Haughney, Murphy, Gantert, Allgeier, Rhodes, Gerhard, Keating, McGinnis, Ryan, Lucke, Consor, Molyneux, Warren, Chambers, Barnas, Brackman, Swingle, Andrew, Tilley, Vance, Paasch, Furst, Burk, Burke, Gearhart, Dietrick, Weed, Rollison, Painton, Bennett, Sones, Reed, Dent, Glidewell, Darling ....

The Great McDonald-Sweeney Reunions 2000 and 2003

The Shadduck Family Reunion 2009

Old Reunions from Yesteryear: Overview, pictures, reports on old reunions......

The Kelly Reunion of 2006

Surname Helper , RootsWeb

Joseph BroschartPetronillasmall
Joseph Broschart and Petronilla Broschart Russell

Brother and Sister
Click on his photo for a biographical sketch. Click on her portrait, painted by Edward Kuhlman, for a larger version. Here also is her Obituary.



Jacob Broschart (1851-1935) and Mary (Kerle) Broschart 1849-1946
Taken In Cuba 1932. Click on names for full scale picture. The couple moved from Sullivan County to Cuba in 1900 due to Jacob's poor health. There, he resumed his work as a blacksmith and worked on the national railroad.
Photos contributed by Sylvia M. Coast, their great-granddaughter. Sylvia is the daughter of Petronilla (Broschart) Russell and the granddaughter of Fridolin Broschart, Jacob and Mary's son.

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CIVIL WAR SEMINAR

ElgeroyHillsmall   PeterReinbold1small      DukeWilliamRogers
Three soldiers: Elgeroy Hill, Peter Reinbold, Duke William Rogers.
These citizens of Sullivan County served in the Civil War. Elgeroy enlisted in the 50th PA Infantry. Here are somer more photos and a brief Historical Note. You can learn more about Peter Reinbold at Descendants of William Reinbold. Here is biogranphical information on Duke William Rogers

Pennsylvania's Civil War Flags
Civil War Soldiers Inquiry Database
GAR Membership Records (1866-1956): Pennsylvania
Andersonville Civil War Prison
-----A Sidebar on Local Irish in the Civil War
Pennsylvanians in the Civil War
Veterans History Project
History PA Volunteers: 1861-1865
Sullivan County Draftees 1863
Sullivan County Volunteers 1862

Patriotic Sons of America, Shunk 1891
Note: You can find a list of the veterans shown in this picture in Burke Campbell's Shunk History

-Conscientious Objectors: Bradford and Sullivan County
-Sullivan County Pensioners List 1883


Alienage

If you were not a native born or naturalized American, you could avoid the war by declaring your allegiance to another country. That is what Andrew Philbin of Forks Township did according to this document submitted by Tom Crossett. There is a lot of confusion about the Philbin heritage in Sullivan county, and which if any of the Philbins and their relatives were Civil War veterans. You can read more about the Philbins, Harrisons and Jordans at Faces and Families, Group Two on this site. You can also click on the picture above to get a full scale impression.



GAR Memorial

William Knaeble moved from Sullivan County in about 1857, then joined the Minnesota Regulars, Company B, 4th Regiment, during the Civil War. He claimed to have fought in 23 battles. Here we see the Memorial issued on his behalf by the local Grand Army of the Republic post at the time of his death in 1916. You can learn more about the Knaeble family and their journey from Pennsylvania to Minnesota at Faces and Families, Group Two; just scroll down to the section on the Rohe and Knaeble families.

Simpson Simmons: Letters From a Soldier

The Cullen Civil War Letters

Ferdinand Heess: A Letter From The Front in South Carolina

A Letter from Private Dorson Speary 1862

Dreadful Accident: Death of Andrew Shaddick

A Letter from Joel Molyneux to Elvira McCarty 1862

Letters to Isaac Rogers from Civil War Soldiers

The Green-Huckell Letters

Civil War Letters of Lew Shadduck

Memorial to 93rd PA Regiment
Josiah Kohensparger Gettysburg Memorial Card
Source: .The Cogansparger Family Bible
Josiah Kohensparger's Letters to His Father
-1a, 1b, 2a, 2b



Colonel Jones

Colonel John Richter Jones:
A Short Biography


Potter Letter
Gilbert Potter in Battle
October 29, 1864, Virginia Front


Old Soldiers: 1903 Reunion of 203rd PA Volunteers
4th Annual Reunion, 1903, West Auburn Township Vicinity, Susquehanna County, PA
Source: Leo Bolles Collection

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Sons of Spanish-American War Veterans
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Complete Sullivan County Draft Registrations: 1917-18
Note: To access the records, click on the link above and then scroll down through the entries. They appear in roughly alphabetical order as they are found in the original records depository at the National Archives in Morrow, GA. The records were copied by Bob Sweeney personally over the course of several visits in 2008-2011. You can rotate the records using your computer so as to see a horizontal layout of each document. We have donated a paper copy of these records to the Sullivan County Historical Society in Laporte, PA.

Soldiers of the Great War:
Fallen Pennsylvanians of WWI

Sheila Helser's World War I Photos

The Death of Ernest Von Bennett: 1918

Lloyd Crawford's Last Letter: 1918

Memorial Day 1919: Dushore and Mildred

World War Two Deaths and Obituaries

The 1940 Draft in Sullivan County

The Pennsylvania WW II
Roll of Honor

US Army Enlistments WW II

Military History Online

Nordmont Veterans Memorial 1955

Military History Online

Endless Mountains War Memorial Museum

Paul W. Yonkin: Sullivan County War Hero NEW!

A War Bride Comes to Pennsylvania

Civilian Conservation Corps in PA

 

Ruddick

The Genealogies of
Father James J. Ruddick, S. J.

Father Ruddick died on March 18, 2007. Here is an Obituary. The Winter 2008 edition of the Canisius College Magazine reported on a permanent Memorial to Father Ruddick.
--The Descendants of Joseph Sick
--The Descendants of Jacob Litzelman
--The Descendants of Henry Weisbrod
--The Descendants of Anton Baumgartner

Physician Record Book
of Lucinda Battin Frey

Dr. Christian
J. L. Christian, MD of Hillsgrove ran for office about 1900. Here is a campaign photo.
Photo contributed by Carol Brotzman from the scrapbook collection of Ellen Lorena (Crawford) Shefler.

Allen E. Tilley's
Cherry Grove Chapel: 1892-1992

LeahyJoanna
Joanna Leahy.(1846-1913)
Photo contributed by Chuck Cummiskey
Great-grandson

Joanna was the daughter of Patrick and Ellen (Flynn) Leahy of Knocklong Parish, County Limerick, Ireland. Patrick's brother Thomas Leahy married Ellen's sister, Mary Flynn. So brothers married sisters. The couples moved to the Sugar Ridge area near Overton, PA, and had many offspring. Joanna and her sister Anna in turn married Francis and Joseph Cummiskey, respectively. Once more, brothers married sisters. Francis and Joanna moved to Kansas and Joseph and Anna moved to Washington State. Joanna's first cousin, Mary Ann Leahy, daughter of Thomas and Mary, married Daniel Kelly, whose daughter Agnes Elixabeth (Kelly) Sweeney is pictured on the left side of this page. The Leahy children intermarried with Kelly, Jordan, Burke, Keefe, Cummiskey, Cullen, Dorsey and other major Irish families in the Bradford and Sullivan counties border area.

HelenSmithGammon

Helen Smith Gammon and the Peterman Heritage

John T. Kielty, MD (1901-1984)
John T. Kielty was a family physician practicing in Towanda, PA in the 1950s. He was the family physician for the Kellys, Sweeneys, Frawleys, Sammons and other local families with roots and branches throughout Sullivan and Bradford Counties. Click on the name above to see a vaccination record for Robert E. Sweeney, the administrator for this page, at age 6 when he and his family lived in LeRaysville, PA. Dr. Kielty was a Captain in the US Army in World War Two.
According to Edward Kelly: "Dr. Kielty was my mother's doctor for her first child, Joseph Kelly, who died in infancy in October 1941 during the epidemic at Mills Community Hospital in Towanda, PA that took the lives of a dozen babies".
Ken Beirne relates that Dr. Kielty was the only physician in the area who was known to have worked with midwives in the delivery of children and was the doctor of record for his grandparents, Charles and Josephine (Kelly) Sammons and all of their children.
You can find several references to Dr. Kielty on Joyce Tice's Tri-Counties Genealogy Site.

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SCHOOL RECORDS AND HISTORY

--Fox Township: 1922-1950
--The Fox Gazette 1932
......Fox Township High School

--Dushore High School Attendees: 1898-1937
--Dushore High School 1938-1968--Class Reunion Presentation
--Dushore High School Class of 1944
--Colley Schools
--Sonestown/Davidson HS: 1906-1939

St. Basil Graduates: 1901-1969

Sullivan Highland High School Web Page

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Thomas Burk Versus Henry Williams
Business Litigation in 1877
The Court of Common Pleas in Laporte was the venue for every day commercial legal activity in Sullivan County. Presented here is a typical situation where one party, Thomas Burk of Canton, PA, is filing suit against Henry Williams for collection of a debt. The original legal docket for this case is now in the possession of the Sullivan County Historical Society and Museum. It was "packaged" in a cardboard-thick light brown legal wrapper and secured externally by a pink tie string. The artifact itself is a standard legal docket, in this case manufactured by F. S. Hasbrouck and Company, 26 John Street, NY. The internal contents of the case were handwritten on lined white paper. As you can see, the final page bears the signature of the local prothonotary, Henry Van Etten, and the actual seal of this Court. You can examine scans of the entire docket at Burk Versus Williams 1877.

THE CENSUS RECORDS

PA GenWeb Archives
Sullivan County Search Form, 1850 Census, 1860 Census, 1870 Census

-Four PA Counties 1850

-David Bailey's Census Records:
Index
1808 Taxables
1810 Communities
1820 Communities
1824 Taxables
1830 Communities
1840 Communities

-Paula Lundstrom's 1880 Census:
(1)Colley, Dushore and Davidson
(2)Elkland and Fox Townships

-Carol Brotzman's 1880 Census: Forks/Forksville>, Laporte>, Hillsgrove>, Shrewsbury>, Fox Township>, Cherry Township>, Elk Township>...

-Shirley Yarber's 1900 Census: Cherry, Bernice, Colley, Lopez, Ricketts, Davidson, Dushore, Elkland, Hillsgrove, Forks/Forksville, Fox, Eaglesmere, Laporte, Shrewsbury

--Jack Leo's 1940 Federal Census:
Eaglesmere and Shrewsbury

Overton, PA 1880 Census

The History of Overton (1910)

Overton House
Overton House
Erected by Peter Sherman in 1868 as the first hotel in Overton. The first structure later burned. In 1877, James J. Hannon built the second structure, shown here. According to Ed Kelly, the Hannon Hotel was owned by James and Mary (Sullivan) Hannon. Mary was a daughter of Hanora Kelly Sullivan. The Hannons remained the hotel's owners until the death of Margaret (Maggie) Hannon in 1966. Maggie would entertain Ed's family in the parlor when he was growing up and always noted that they were cousins. Hanora Kelly was the sister of the four Kelly brothers who came to Kelly Hill near Overton in the 1800s.

Photo courtesy of Carol (Abrams) Wells. Click on cpation for full size photo.

Thomas Ingham's History of Sullivan County (1899)

Streby History of Sullivan County (1903)

Dushore Centennial Program (1959)
>Editor's Note: Compare to the Sullivan Review history published in 1959 and reprinted in 1984. Here is a Link.

Letters to Charles Mullan in Ilinois (1842)

Sullivan County Granges: A Historical Overview

100 Years of Pride: A History of Lopez (1976)

Egle's Notes and Queries: Naming the Towns of Sullivan County
Egle's Notes and Queries: Full Transcribed Text for Sullivan County
Egle's History of Pennsylvania: Sullivan County
Pennsylvania County Histories and Biographies
-----Note: Just change the number before ".pdf" in the web address to advance the text in this source.
Sullivan County Biographies

Churches & Cemeteries
Images of tombstones, cemeteries and churches in Sullivan County and related communities...Sullivan County Cemeteries
-- St. Gabriel's Episcopal Cemetery
--Franklin Bethel (Stone Heap) Cemetery: A Pictorial Record
--Lungerville Cemetery: A Pictorial Record
--The St. Basil's Cemetery Photo Gallery
--Pennsylvania Cemetery Postings

--Chaffee's History of the Wyoming Conference (1904)

--Forkston Cemetery Association Records

--Catholic Death Records

--Beaver Meadows Church: 1850-2005
---Records and History
Here is a searchable text version of the Beaver Meadows Church history without photos.

--Beaver Meadows Cemetery: The Legacy

--The DG ("Anonymous") and Thrasher Translations of the Records of
Old Zion and Peace Church
--Vincent R. Soden's
Bernice Presyterian Church Records

Locating Unmarked Cemetery Burials

The Priestley Susquehanna Settlement
Huckell Family History Page

Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish:
St. Basil and Other Local Catholic Churches

Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Tioga Point Museum of Athens, PA
Home Textile Tool Museum of Orwell Hill, PA

Sullivan County Historical Society and Museum

Selected Sullivan County Histories
Images of America

Court House

When My Grandmother Was a Child.....Wayman, Sweeney, O'Hara, Brink, Sayman, Mayo....

John Speaker Osler
John Speaker Osler

The Osler Connection

The Litzelman House
The Litzelman House
Burke Campbell provided this picture of the oldest house in the Campbellville area. The house is reputed to be over 200 years old and was originally a log cabin. Read about the house and the history of this old community in
John Campbell and the Story of Campbellville

and
Burke Campbell's Campbellville

The Fanning General Store
The Fanning General Store

The picture shows, on the right, the Warren H. Fanning General Store & Post Office in 1906. On the left is the old Tripp Bldg, where the first high school was held on the second floor. The building was owned by E. M. Letts. The land lying above the buildings was the A. E. Campbell farm. Read more in The Old Community of Shunk


Diary of Perry Watts King
Life in 1874


Sudden Death in 1881

William R. Ricketts History

Douglas Photos of Ricketts

Shefler Valentine
Ellen Shefler's Valentine
Carol Brotzman provided this sample of Valentine artistry from the end of the 19the century in Sullivan County. Ellen Lorena (Crawford) Shefler (1896-1990) received this popup card from Hattie Hunsinger about 1900. The front inscription reads:
I greet thee Valentine!
What can I say to thee, my friend?
My loving greetings,here I send.
My wish is that your future life
Be free from sorrow and from strife.

Valentine Cards a la 1900!!

Octagon House--Love's Labor Restored!!!

Covered Bridges

A Pictorial Legacy of Sonestown

Beau
Mary Lou's Beau


Bellasylva: The Later Years

Forksville Tales and the McGuire Family

Alexander Kellock: A Coal Miner in Bernice

isaaccivilwar
Isaac T. Sones (1821-1871)
In Civil War Uniform

Lehigh Valley Railroad
History and Pictures...

Lehigh Valley Schedules

EMRR
Eagles Mere Railroad Pass 1898

Train Wrecks

LukeLura
Luke and Lura Chapman McKernan

NelTer2
Nelson Pritchard and Teresa Murphy Corcoran
Wedding Picture--August 3, 1891

The Cyclone of 1922
The Blizzard of 1888

Bralich
Sewing Basket of a Pioneer
Sewing or "cat" basket that belonged to Anna Hunsinger Thrasher. The basket was made by Anna's grandfather Bralich at least two hundred years ago. The basket was given to Ellen Sayman Reed, Anna's granddaughter in 1928. In her scrapbook was found the reference to its origin. The basket came to Carol Brotzman, who owns it today, from Ellen Crawfrod Shefler. Ellen purchased it when the old house originally lived in by her sister Maud Crawford Sayman was cleaned out and sold.

ElamMarg
Elam and Margaret Hogaboom
This is an old photo of the ancestors of our contributor, Darla Hogaboom. We do not know where it was taken or what year. The photographer was M.W. Nix. This couple lived in Sullivan County in the late 1850's. We would love to learn more about this family and the location of the Nix photo gallery in time and place.

GuildStreby
Guild at John Streby Home
This is an old photo of a guild meeting at the home of John Streby in 1898. We do not know which guild was meeting or picnicking there. The picture was found in the estate of Helen Jeannette Hottenstein and was recovered and scanned by Dave Kester, a prominent contributor to this page. You can learn more about this topic at Guilds.


Barn Raising 1907
Swenson Farm

Barn raisings were a common event in Sullivan County in the nineteenth century. According to Paul Neis, who contributed this photo: "When you see a photo of a barn raising, and the guys are pushing up a section of wall, that section is called a bent. It is not always a wall section; there are interior bents, too. The bents run lengthwise in the building, parallel to one another. The first two bents are raised and braced temporarily, then connecting beams and permanent braces are installed. Then the next bent, and its connectors, and so on. The photo of the raising shown here is about half-way up, and there are about 20 men pushing it with poles that must be 10-12 feet long."
Source: Holton Area Centennial 1871-1971, Holton Area Committee, Holton, Michigan
Note: Click on the Photo for a Full Size View


Horse-Drawn Railroad
About 1880
Cascade Township, Lycoming County

Cascade is the largest township by area in Lycoming County and lies directly across the Sullivan County line from Hillsgrove. Note that the rails for this "railroad" are made of tree trunks. The wheels have no tires. The picture shows lumbermen hauling cut logs out of the woods using this unique method. Lumbermen were incredibly imaginative. Many of them or their parents had originally worked on construction of the canals before the rail era came about. The canal boats were occasionally actually drawn by horses thorugh the locks and other slow-moving areas. A large pulley or rope running from the boat to a team would permit the horses to pull the boat or barge along the course of the canal. So, the concept of using horses to pull a vehicle was familiar to these woodsmen. According to Bill Brenchley, one oldtimer from the area recalls the remains of the device from his childhood and refers to it as a "Tram".
Source: The Dryer Family Page
Page 59
By Permission of Dick Dryer
Note: Click on the Photo for a Full Size View


Scrapbook of Aunt Eliza Green Rogers
From some time in the 1870s, when she lost three children, until some time before her death in 1939, Eliza Green Rogers kept a scrapbook. As the second wife of Sadler Rogers, she had a large extended family of blood, marriage and step relationships. This collection represents an encyclopedic microscosm of Sullivan County society and personalities. The scrapbook was rescued from inadvertent destruction in 2004 by Carol Brotzman.


Old Advertising Cards

Penny Postcards from Pennsylvania

Rousefrontsmall
Rouse Point Restaurant 1920s
Route 220 Two Miles South of Dushore
Original postcard photo sold on eBay in October 2019. The restsursnt snd Mobil gas station were owned and operated by Thomas Charles. Rouse (1881-1952). He was descended from an old Irish family from the Kilglass region of County Sligo who settled in the area in the mid-19th century. Rouse named his roadside business after the famous Rouse's Point vacation spot on Long Island. This building is now a private residence, after being completely remodeled. It was located across from a Day Care facility in 2019 Here is a link to the Back of the card. Click on both photos to see an expanded version

Other Fine Links
--Sullivan's March Against the Iroquois (1779)
--Northeastern Pennsylvania Biographies
--The Benton Township News
--The Canton Independent Sentinel
--JoAnn McGuire's Lopez News
--Muncy Historical Society and Museum
--Joan Blank's Lycomimg County History
--Historic Williamsport, Lycoming County


Click on picture to read the history.
--Forkston Sesquicentennial: 1842-1992

--The Belsnickel
--McHenry Funeral Homes--A History
--Morton Montgomery Biographical and Historical Annals of Berks County (1909)
--The Coming of the Turnpike
--Early Trails

Family Pages
--The James McNeal Family

-The Bensinger Family Page
-Persun and Keeler Family History
-The Speary Family of Sullivan County
-Historic Pittsburgh Census Project: 1850-1880
-Loyalsock: A Pilgrim Journey
-Letters to Mary Burns Gorham: 1857-1869
-The Brotzman Site: Family History and Genealogy
-Scholderer Surname Study
-The Johannes Schwalm Page
for Descendants of Hessians

-The Menges Family Genealogy Forum
-Ancestors and Family of Andrew McDowell
-Molyneux Family Page
-Descendants of Johann George Huntzinger
-History of Beaver Meadows Church
-Lambert Family History: Album One
-Lambert Family History: Album Two
-The Higleys and Their Ancestry (1896)
-Stabryla Family Research Project
-The Baumunk Family History
-Sweeneys-McDonalds from County Sligo to Pennsylvania *

* This record is current through 2021 when Ancestry.com decided to no longer support file upgrades. For a more current file on Geneanet, contact Bob Sweeney.

-Descendants of Johann Melchior Hafa
-The New England Ball Project
-The Black Family Web Site
-The Kobbe Family Emigration
-The Pennsylvania Steele Family
-Laughlin-McDonald and Related Families of Northern Pennsylvania
-Lavelle Family Forum
-Descendants of James T. Kelly of Kelly Hill, Forks PA
-Hatton-Exley Site
-The Hoppes Generations
-The Fassett Family Tree
-Koppenhafer Family Page
-BLM Records
-Weaver/Diltz/Martin Family Genealogies
-Bumgardner & Litzelswope Family Page
-Brobst/Probst Family History
-Henrietta Kester: History of Bellasylva
-Family Hart Pennsylvania Dutch Genealogy
-Speary Family of Sullivan County
-Alex Stavisky's Lopez Page
Related County and Town Web Pages
-Cattaraugus County NY,
-Lycoming County Digital Archives,
-Lackawanna County PA ,
-History of Wyoming
-Pat Krivak's Luzerne County History Page
-Bradford County PA
-History of Eages Mere
-PA Location Finder
-County Sligo Ireland
-The Kilglass Parish Records
-Louth County Library
-Wyoming County Historical Society

Other Links & Sources
The Endless Mountains
Eaglesmere Village
PA Visitor's Network
Closed Colleges in Pennsylvania
Northeast PA Biographies
Pennsylvania Vital Records
Uncovering PA: Sullivan County
Eastern PA Obituaries

Irish Memorial Sites
Grosse Ile
The Irish Memorial 2003
Ireland's Historical Mapping Archive
Virtual Irish Community

Other Sources for Local History:
--Asylum at Azilum
--Aristide-Aubert Dupetit-Thouars ("Dushore")

Dushore Fire 1898 Small
Dushore Fire 1898
You can read more at Selected Dushore Fires or
the Dushore Fire Department Page.
Source: An Old Photo Contributed by Bettyann Sick Goodyear
Click on the photo for an enlarged version.

Other Fine Genealogy Links
Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission
Jo Mitchell's Irish Churches Page


St. Molaisse Church
Kilglass, County Sligo, Ireland
Aerial View Taken Before 1972
Courtesy of Charles Devanney

PA Historical & Museum Commission

USGENWEB Resources
Various tidbits to help researchers in their quest to find their ancestors, brought to you by the US GenWeb Project

Tips from Robert Bickham
tips to finding what you're looking for!

PA GenWeb
The PA GenWeb is a great resource. Check out some of the other County pages! You won't be disappointed.

World GenWeb
The WorldGenWeb is a non-profit volunteer organization that is dedicated to the free use and access of public domain genealogical information.

White Pond Joke Small
Small Town Humor in 1924
Caption reads: "This is not the picture of a Meshoppen girl at 'Pot Falls but represents an Auburn Center damsel at Whites Pond." According to Carol Brotzman, Whites Pond is located in Retta near Auburn Four Corners, Auburn Township, Susquehanna County, PA. Sandy Miner tell us that Pot Falls is near Meshoppen, off Route 6 near the Slumber Valley Road/ Kaiserville Road. Meshoppen and Retta are small towns in Wyoming County, PA.
Source: Unidentified local newspaper dated March 19, 1924
From the Leo Bolles Collection

Sammons Girls Small
The Sammons Girls 1913

Josephine Sammons was the older sister of Agnes Elizabeth (Kelly) Sweeney, and each was one of 18 children of Daniel and Mary (Leahy/Lahey) Kelly. The two sisters remained quite close throughout their lives. Agnes is pictured on the left-hand column of this page. The Kelly, Sammons, Beirne and Sweeney families were interrelated by marriage and friendships for over seventy years in the communities of Towanda and Sayre, PA, and Elmira, NY. Click on caption for full size photo
Photo courtesy of Ken Beirne

FAMILY COATS OF ARMS:

Coats of Arms from Ireland and Around the World

Murray Family Crest

Roger Murray was born in Ireland and entered the mining industry in the Bernice area. Eventually, the Murray family owned and operated mines in what came to be called Murraytown. See the picture below. His daughter, Anna, grew up on Cherry Hill in Murraytown and married James H. Lavelle of Cherry Mills. Their large family is pictured on the entry page of the Message Boards on this site. You can read more about Murraytown and the Murrays in Sullivan County Industries--Now and Then.

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Murraytown 1918
Jerry Cahill contributed this photo from an old postcard. The coal mine tipple
is visible on the right side of the picture. The town
was named for Roger Murray whose family crest is shown above.


Dushore Public School
Ellen Koppenhafer found this picture of the Dushore Public School in the belongings
of her grandmother, Mary Magdalen Seltzer, born April 1899 in Dushore, daughter of George Seltzer and Lizzie Saxe.


Levi Hunsinger and Descendants
Wanda Orlopp provided this picture of her great-great grandfather and family as taken on Christmas Day 1947 at the homestead of Charles and Sarah (Hunsinger) Karge, Levi's daughter and son-in-law. The picture shows: Back Row: Levi, Geraldine (Crawford) Karge, Ralph Karge (Levi's grandson and Geraldine's husband); Middle Row: Cleon and Rita Karge (children of Ralph and Geraldine); Front Row: Ronald, Melvin, Vera and Alvin Karge (more children of Geraldine and Ralph). Geraldine is holding another infant child, Ivan Karge. The man near the woodpile in back is Everett Reeser, husband of Fluetta Karge (sister to Ralph). The original picture was taken by Fluetta Karge and obtained by Wanda from Mildred Karge, a sister of Fluetta and Ralph. Additional pictures and information can be found in the section on the Crawfords and Hunsingers in
Faces and Families.


Andreas Knaeble and Marguerite (Margaretha) Lefevre

These pictures were contributed by Tom W. Gerber. Much of the historical information was provided by Kay Ostertag, Lynn Blazek, and most recently by Dee Froemming.. The Knaeble's (Knable with an umlat over the "a" in German) are from the town of Oberndorf am Neckar near the Neckar river in Germany, which is located between Stuttgart and Konstanz. Oberndorf means "upper village". Andrew was born July 10, 1801 and subsequently emigrated from Bremen to New York on or about June 20, 1828. Andrew married Margaretha Lefevre in Boston, MA on July 30, 1831. Their first child, Henry, was born in New York City in 1832, but they subsequently moved to Sullivan County, Pennsylvania where the other children were born. There appears to be an old land record from 1840 for the purchase of 40 acres and 109 perches for $119.91. Some of their sons served in the Civil War. After the war, the family moved to Minnesota. There they got into the furniture business. While they were running the store, a friend asked if he could display children's caskets in their store window. Before they knew it, the Knaebles were undertakers and the business grew from there. Andrew was also apparently an accomplished violinist. Margaretha was born about 1809 near Strasbourg, France, an area of constant conflict between the French and Germans over the last several centuries. We do not know how or when she came to the United States. Margaretha died August 24, 1865 and is buried at St. Basil's Church in Dushore, PA. She was supposedly the niece of Marschal Joseph Francois Lefebvre, the Duke of Danzig, who served with Napoleon and she may have been a lady-in-waiting. She is sometimes also identified as "Marguerite", which is the French version of Margaretha and may have been her birth name. Margaretha Lefevre's Earrings from the French court are still in the family. You can review more information on these families at:
(1) Lynn Blazek-- The Knaeble Lefevre Family
(2) Dee Frykman Froemming-- Descendants of Andreas Knaeble, and
(3) Descendants of --Valentine Rohe
.

 

Copyright � 1999-2023 Robert E. Sweeney and individual contributors. All Rights Reserved. This is a FREE genealogy site sponsored through PAGenWeb and can be reached directly at Sullivan County Genealogy Project. Links to external web sites are provided as a convenience aid for informational purposes only; they do not constitute an endorsement or approval of any of the products, services or opinions contained in any external web site.

Sullivan County Coordinator & Message Board Admin: Robert Sweeney
Associate Sullivan County Coordinator: Vacant
Sullivan County Photographers: Mike Krause and June Howard
All images and text are under copyright (c) held jointly by Robert E. Sweeney and
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