Death in Homestead Cemetery in Allegheny County, PA

It's a sad day.  I just saw a news report from Pittsburgh, PA, that the Homestead Cemetery in Munhall is dead.  No owner. No burials. Just a very sad forgotten 34 acre burial site of long ago Allegheny County.

My heartfelt thanks to the volunteers who have taken the time out to try and take care of the grounds. If I was in the area, I would be there as well.

Before the cemetery is forced to completely die and its fate decided by the powers that be, I call upon the genealogy groups in the Western PA area to document as much as you can.  Currently, the records that still exist can be found at the West Mifflin Historical Society.  Unless it has changed, the records are not available to the public.  Can this be changed?

According to FindaGrave, about 44% of the gravestones have been photographed and over 7000 graves are identified.

I am sure there are more.  Wish I could dig them up before the information is lost forever.

Ahh, genealogy. Such a sad day for a death.

Read more here:  http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/tag/homestead-cemetery/

©2017  AS Eldredge

Tuesday's Tip: Digging for Gold in Coal Mine Country

Lineage societies are a great place to look for family fun facts of the past.  While a member of several societies, I am most fond of the Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society.  I reckon it's because my kin removed to the area from Ireland and Eastern Pennsylvania back before the colonies declared independence from across the pond.

I've been a member of WPGS for over ten years now.  This is not something I can say for all the societies I've joined from time to time.  What brings me back?  I really enjoy reading their magazine which is published on a quarterly basis.  I diligently search each issue for familiar names and have been rewarded several times.

In fact, I joined in with a couple of cousins and, in 2006, published a diary from the 1861 timeframe.  How has so much time passed?

Back to the present.

The WPGS covers the 26 counties in western PA.  They also have some free databases on their website.  For members, there are more databases dating back to 1974 to lose yourself while reading.

It's a great tip.  If you've got old family from those hills that were chock full of coal, spend some time there digging for your family gold nuggets.

Ahhh, genealogy.  Love finding those nuggets.  Love it more when it leads to more fabulous finds and not the proverbial "fool's gold."

©2015 ASEldredge