New Pennsylvania Biographies

At historicpa.net/bios

New Biographies online:

Armstrong, W. J.
Brayton, F. W.
Brooder, J. D.
Campbell, George W.
Campbell, James
Colcord, J. B.
Colcord, Mahlon Joseph
Coleman, O. D.
Corson, H. H.
Davis, Joshua
Davis, Lemuel
DeYoung, Calvin
Donovan, Rick
Fleming, Fred Francis
Fleming, John
Gillis, C. V.
Griffith, J. T.
Griffith, Webb
Hoskins, T. R.
Howells, David
Jones, Thomas J.
Kane, Thomas L. - Maj. Gen.
Keelor, Thomas
Kelly, J. F.
Kelts, O. G.
Kemp, C. H.
Lay, O. B.
Leonard, John Braden
Leonard, John D.
Lillibridge, Alva N.
Lytle, Joseph
Maxwell, J. R. - M. D.
McConnell, B. F.
McCrystle, Jerome
McNutt, George D.
Paul, Philo V.
Sartwell, S. C.
Sheldon, Adelbert
Thompson, Albert E. - Dr.
Ward, Lee Kersey
Williams, G. A.
Zahniser, Montgomery John

A Little Wine and History...

Liquor Store Displays Old Historic Photographs of Narberth, PA

The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board announced that the Narberth Premium Collection Wine & Spirits Store in Narberth, Montgomery County has completed a remodelling project.

The renovated interior pays homage to the history of Narberth with 23 historic photographs, reproduced from those in the Lower Merion Historical Society archives, including the city's 1930s semi-pro baseball team, "The Rocket" steam engine from the Philadelphia & Columbia Rail Road (c. 1940), the Narberth Fire Station (1895-1896), the old Narberth Rail Station (c. 1950) and the World War I parade (1917).

Read the full article on the Yahoo Finance site

York High School, York, PA Class of 1901 photo

At Pennsylvania Old Photos

View the photo

No roster or student listing was given with the photo, but these students listed below were listed in the York High School 1901 Vidette as being seniors in 1901, so probably they are in the photo, as well as other unnamed students.

Alice Crowell, Nellie Dempwolf, Ralph Gardner, Edith B. Gibson, Maurice Gilbert, Mamie Gilbert, Mabel Gise, Oscar Heckert, Mabel Heilman, J. Clifford Hoffman, Edith Johnston, Eliza Kell, Harry Koch, Wilbur L. Lafean, Edward Lentz, Henrietta F. Lenz, Mable McClune, Blanche Mitzel, Mercedes Murphy , Flora Pearse, Jac. C. Reichley, Harriet T. Root, Lena Root, Laura Schwenk, Horace J. Sitler, Charles H. Smith, Mabel Spayd, Ella B. Stewart, Samuel Strickler, Meta Van Baman

View the 1901 York High School Vidette Magazine at old-yearbooks.com

446 Bridges to Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh Author Counts Bridges

The dozen or so bridges that cross the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, joining downtown and its southern and northern neighborhoods, represent only a small fraction of the spans that crisscross this city.

Just how many are there? Depending on who has been doing the counting, that number has varied over the years.

Now, a local author who is a visiting professor at the University of Pittsburgh believes he has come up with a definitive number: 446.

Read the rest of the article from NEPA news

Federal Street Bridge, Pittsburgh, early 1900s photo from Pennsylvania Old Photos

Red Lion High School, Red Lion, PA Baseball Team 1928

View the photo

Roster: Levere Smith - Manager, Fred Uffleman, Preston Raub, Charles Olp, Preston Waughtel, Kenneth Waughtel, James Thompson, Oliver Kinard, Kermit Taylor, Foster Laucks, Allen Frey, Horace Uffleman, Wilson Gladfelter and Arthur Kinard.

Pennsylvania Old Photos, over 9000 vintage photographs on line

Jenkintown High School, Jenkintown, Pa Football Team 1925 photo

View the photo

Football Team Roster: Charles Howard Taylor, Anthony Panaccion, William Moore Jr., Andrew Graham Boutcher, Joseph George Stein, Henry Clark Land, Andrew Cassel Bowdle, Bernard Edward DiJoseph, Carl Raiser, Alfred Anglada, Filbert Oakford, Robert Weyrich, Henry Ulrich, Hatty Harris, Walter Flack; Martin S. Baldwin - coach, Daniel Creamer - manager.

There are also 12 unidentified players in the photograph. You might recognize them.

Other Jenkintown High School photos on line:

Jenkintown High School Girls Hockey Team 1926

Jenkintown High School 1925

View over 9000 Pennsylvania photos on line at familyoldphotos.com/pa

Downtown Brookville Much Like it Was 100 Years Ago

At a time when the downtown areas in many small communities resemble a ghost town, one borough has created a bustling business district.

At first glance, the main street area of Brookville may appear as it did more than 100 years ago when lumber was king and prospects for industrial and commercial development were abundant.

"We have a lot of historic buildings. We have a Historic Brookville Inc. board that tries to get people to have their building historically correct. We don't have a Wal-Mart or a Kmart, but I think we are better for it," Bullers said.

Read full article from TheDerrick.com
Downtown Brookville early 1900s photo from Pennsylvania Old Photos
View more Old Photographs and Postcards of Brookville, PA

New Pennsylvania Biographies

At historicpa.net/bios

New biographies online -

Bateman, W. Grafton
Britting, F. C.
Chambers, Fred N.
Chambers, Wesley
Criswell, David S.
Dale, Henry L.
Donnelly, Thomas
Gates, George
Hallet, John F.
Hunt, Warren G.
Johnston, D. K.
Kramer, William J.
Lowentritt, Myer
McGuigan, James
Nicholson, Thomas H.
Parsons, John T.
Roess, Louis
Shepard, Charles H.
Shively, J. S.
Smithman, John B.
Stubler, John
Thomas, James M.
Trax, David L.
Turner, A. M.
Waits, John W.
Welch, Theodore Jackson
Wick, W. S.
Wood, Wilbur Fisk - Rev.

Fort Augusta 250 Year Celebration July 13

SUNBURY — Northumberland County Historical Society will celebrate the 250th anniversary of Fort Augusta during 2006 with a variety of special programs including a three-day celebration beginning July 13.
Among the commemorative activities planned is the grounbreaking for a new model of Fort Augusta to replicate the large model of the fort which once sat on the lawn in front of the Hunter House, the historical society announced.

Read full article from the Daily Item

Venango County Gas Station Series Continues

Part 3: As population shrunk, so did number of gas stations

By the mid-1960s, small towns like Oil City and Franklin were feeling the effects of a shrinking local economy and a declining population.
As the two cities began to contract, so did many of the businesses that had thrived in small neighborhood settings. Hit the hardest were two of the more visible enterprises - neighborhood grocery stores and small gasoline stations.
From 1955 to 1965, Oil City lost about 10 of its filling stations, leaving the number at 21 in the city limits. Franklin, too, had fewer stations, dropping to 24 from 30 just a decade earlier.

Read the full article from thederrick.com

Part 4: The Redfield Family

The Redfield family has been in the gasoline filling station business for more than 50 years and shows no signs of easing back.
"My dad, Ansel, but everybody called him 'Red', started in the business in 1952 at Hank Malene's Quaker State station on Main Street in Oil City. And our family still owns and operates gas stations here," said his daughter, Rita Rodgers.
Redfield ran the Main Street station until a major city redevelopment effort resulted in razing most of the neighborhood in 1964.
Eyeing an up-and-coming part of the county, he moved to Cranberry Township and bought a gas station at the intersection of routes 257 and 322, site of the Kwik Fill station now. At the same time, he opened a filling station at the top of Seneca Hill, now quarters for McMahon's Insurance.

Read the full article from thederrick.com

A Look at Pennsylvania's Bridges

From Penn State: Inventory of the Pennsylvania Bridges Collection, 1884-1915

The collection contains photographs of railroad bridges in Pennsylvania, mostly in the Pittsburgh area, 1891-1915; photographs of technical drawings produced by the Pennsylvania State College, Civil Engineering Dept. depicting structural details and complete designs of modern railroad bridges, 1903-1904; and lantern slides of railroad bridges, 1884-ca. 1904.

The railroad bridges, built in the 19th century, were photographed between 1891-1915, and depict different types of bridges, structural details, transmission towers, and bridge construction. The bridges were used by at least seventeen different railroads including the Pennsylvania Railroad, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, Susquehanna and Buffalo Railroad, West Penn Railway, and the West Virginia and Ohio Railroad.

View the collection

Gas Stations in Venango County's Past

TheDerrick.com Chronicling Gas Stations and Automobiles in Franklin & Oil City

Parts one and two online of a five-part series tracing the history of gasoline stations in Oil City and Franklin.

• Gas stations once were everywhere in town Part one, the early days, 1910s.

  In the first decade of 1900, the very few automobile owners in Oil City and Franklin went to a general or hardware store - maybe Seep Brothers at 35 Seneca St. or Chambers Hardware on the South Side - for gasoline. Lugging a container, usually a bucket, the driver would stop and buy a few gallons from the shop owner who kept a small tank under a lean-to in the back. While there, the purchase of a Saltzmann brew or a confectionery or perhaps a cigar might also be made. Read full article

• Oil patch natural setting for autos Part two, gas stations and auto dealerships in the 1910s-1920s

  Oil City had 20 new car and truck dealerships in 1927 in the city limits, including Chrysler at M&C Motors, Dodge at McMahon & McLane, Chevrolet at Oil City Motor, Hupmobile at Boyle Motor Co., Olds and Stutz at F.D. Walters, Studebaker at Warren Motor, Buick at Weaver's, Pontiac at Moore Motor, Willys-Knight Overland at Penn Overland, Chandler at G.L. Pressley, Hudson and Essex at Liberty Sales, Nash at Oil City Nash, Ford trucks at W.W. Jeffrey. Read full article

Villa Maria Academy, Erie, PA Junior Class 1927

At familyoldphotos.com

Class of 1928 When They Were Juniors

Surnames: Bach, Barber, Bonnell, Cronin, Dadeo, Dillon, Franklin, Gahagan, Gray, Hickey, Jaeger, Jerge, Kelley, King, Lee, McQuillion, O'Connor, Peterson, Pfadt, Pletz, Richardson, Roehl, Rooney, Ruth, Seyboldt, Spiesman, Spiesman, Sullivan, Thompson, Wax, Weindorf.

Armstrong County - One Stop, Seven Historical Societies

Armstrong County Historical Societies Unite on the Internet

The Armstrong History Alliance went on-line about a year ago and local historians are hoping the endeavor will help advertise the diverse offerings of small historical societies scattered throughout the county.

The alliance was formed by the county’s seven historical societies: Apollo Area, the Kittanning-based Armstrong County Historical Museum and Genealogical Society, Brady’s Bend, Dayton Area, Freeport Area, Leechburg Area and Lower Crooked Creek.

Connie Mateer, the Kittanning society’s genealogy librarian, said the alliance offered a central gateway to the events, programs and information each historical society oversees.

“It’s sort of a huge events calendar,” Mateer said. In addition to listing events, the Web site details the different historical buildings each society operates and provides contact information for each, including independent Web sites for those that have them.

Mateer said the Armstrong County society also has a database that lists details of most of the tombstones in the county’s 300-plus cemeteries. Those details also could be made available on the Web for people searching their genealogy.

Visit armstronghistory.org

Read full story in the Leader Times

Photo of the Armstrong County Court House from Armstrong County Old Photos

New Pennsylvania Biographies

At historicpa.net/bios

New Biographies added:

Beaty, David
Benedict, Willis B.
Currie, Joshua Turner
Curwen, John - M. D.
Davis, Alpheus J.
Foley, John
Fullerton, J. D.
Gainor, Peter
Gardner, J. K.
Gillis, James L.
Grant, E. T.
Guth, L. S.
Hagerty, J. H.
Hamblen, W. S.
Hamilton, D. B.
Healy, W. C.
Horton, W. S.
Houk, Jacob V.
Kellogg, C. L.
Kime, John R.
Kime, R. V.
Kline, M. S.
Larson, John
Lesser, L. J. A.
Little, Horace
Lowry, Samuel
McCauley, Calvin Hudson
McEwen, J. H.
McGeehin, Hugh
McGinnis, J. S.
McKinney, Peter
Meagher, Michael - Rev.
Merritt, Charles C. - Hon.
Scofield, Glenni William
Shaner, F. P.
Stone, Charles W.
Struthers, Thomas
Tanner, Archibald
Templeton, William J.
Watson, Lewis Findlay
Wetmore, L. D. - Hon.

Chadds Ford, PA 100 Years Ago

Photographs Show What Life was Like in Chadds Ford 100 years ago

A new exhibit at the Chadds Ford Historical Society caters to those who want to know what the village area of Chadds Ford was like almost 100 years ago. Conceived and designed by CFHS volunteer Sallie Corbishley, the exhibit is an enlarged village map of Chadds Ford with old photographs strategically placed to show where in the village certain buildings used to be.

Drawn on the wall of the large exhibit room at the Barn Visitors’ Center, it is based on a 1913 road map of the village showing the area around Station Way Road, the Brandywine Creek, Route 1 and Creek Road.

It’s also a good way for the society to show off some of its archived photographs. Most of the society’s historical collections are on display at the John Chad House and at the Barns-Brinton House, Westerman said, but there is also a large collection of archived material and a reference library. Without the photos on display, visitors don’t know they exist.

Chadds Ford Historical Society website

Read full article at Delcotimes.com, June 5, 2006

Clarion State Normal School, Clarion, PA Junior Class 1914 photo on line

At familyoldphotos.com

Group photo of the Class of 1915 when they were Juniors

View the photo

Surnames: Allio, Amo, Amsler, Arner, Arnold, Bowman, Brown, Calvert, Calvert, Cochran, Croasman, Darling, Elliott, Erwin, Frampton, Goodrow, Hanst, Hill, Hochinson, Humphreys, Jordan, Kerr, Kirby, Klugh, Kribbs, Leach, Levine, Linhoof, Lowry, Mayes, McClune, McQueen, Mooney, Moore, Morrison, Mullin, Myers, O'Neill, Pollard, Radaker, Rhodes, Robinson, Rogers, Rylander, Schmader, Schrecongost, Schwartz, Shadle, Shirley, Skinner, Stover, Nelson, Terwilliger, Thomson, Weaver, Weeter, Williams