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SEARCH MY WASHINGTON COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA WEBSITES
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ANNOUNCEMENT:
ALMOST 3,000 MARRIAGE LICENSES AND WEDDING NOTICES ADDED!
One of the fastest growing genealogy and history websites for Washington
County, Pennsylvania added almost 3,000 marriage notices!
Sandy Miklavic collected these during 5-years of her spare time, with help
from friends such as Victoria Hospodar Valentine who sent Sandy notices.
Spanning from the late 1800s to the 1950s, the collection does not include all
weddings in the county; instead, the notices represent a portion of the spoken
"I Do's”, mostly from the northwest end of the County. All couples were
connected to McDonald PA or nearby towns such as Burgettstown, Hickory,
Imperial, etc.
Names of parents, grandparents, and other relatives show inter-twined families
from local areas to western States. As well, notices from 1880 to 1900 give
leads in place of the missing 1890 Census and for the “invisible years” of
1881 to 1899.
Brides, grooms, families, or guests came from the northern counties of
Allegheny, Mercer, and Erie; eastern counties of Fayette, Indiana, Cambria,
Philadelphia (county); the southern county of Greene; and from West Virginia,
New York, New Jersey, Ohio, and other western States. Some clippings include
one or more parents’ overseas birth places. Many write-ups tell where
couples planned to reside locally, or if they moved out of state.
Mostly 1st marriages and some 2nd marriages, notices show "parties"
from young to old, including one 20-year old bride described as a former
"wonder child" with a list of her achievements before age 20.
Articles tell where brides and grooms received education at high school,
colleges-universities, or specialized schools (examples: nurses, physicians,
reverends). Grooms' occupations include farmers, coal mining employees,
laborers, grocers, railroad employees, reverends/preachers, physicians,
students or new grads from colleges/universities, and "technical" or
specialized workers. Brides’ occupations included clerks, bookkeepers,
secretaries, teachers, and homemakers.
IN RECORD TIME, ASSISTED BY A DOZEN VOLUNTEERS
The webmaster received almost all images in the early months of 2009 for over
six-hundred web pages which had been made beginning April 3rd, 2007 (almost
two-years prior to receiving all images). Typists worked from February through
September, 2009, to make the collection available. Every article and web page
shows “credit” with the typists’ initials and their full names. In
alphabetical order, volunteers included:
CB = Cindy Burchell,
KC = Kay Chestnut,
CC = Carole Clarke,
AD = Amy Denecke,
WD = Wilberta DiVincenzo,
LD = Liz DuBois,
SF = Susan Freer,
DG = Doris Greaves,
AM = Alice Walton Mason,
LN = Leslie Nelson,
TR = Trudi Ratican,
CR-K = Carma Rey-Klaja,
CT-L = Carol Taylor-Lanza,
PV = Pamela Villafuerte.
The webmaster, Judith Florian (F), and Sandy Miklavic (S) are also included.
TEAM EFFORTS TO PLACE ARTICLES ONLINE
The Webmaster and typists worked independently but as a team. "Typists
went far beyond volunteerism,” the webmaster said. "Volunteers can
attest that typing "…were united in marriage by..." hundreds of
times over becomes quite tedious!” she laughed. “Each volunteer had to
exercise great commitment, dedication, and endurance to honor our joint belief
that more free genealogy must be accessible online. Some typists persevered
despite illness, accident, surgery, summer or new jobs, summer projects, and
the sheer volume of articles!"
Leslie Nelson, Cindy Burchell, Wilberta DiVincenzo, and Amy Denecke typed and
proof-read large numbers of the notices. Carol Taylor-Lanza typed 45 to 60
different notices within days, repeating this through many months. Mrs. Lanza
fixed hundreds of 'reversed-name' files and helped with other parts of the
project. Ms. Florian and Mrs. Lanza worked almost daily on the project all
year.
“All of the volunteers deserve extra thanks from the genealogy community for
their contributions to this huge project. Without them, I would *still* be
typing for several more years! I greatly appreciate their help."
As well, several of the typists have worked on other large and ongoing
projects such as fashion articles (Wilberta DiVincenzo and Amy Denecke);
cemeteries (Cindy Burchell and Leslie Nelson), census (Liz DuBois), and other
volunteers worked on other single articles. Most of these projects are
on-going (volunteers will be named separately).
The webmaster described her role. "After being typed, each image and text
required about 21-steps to place each on the web page. This project is why
I've been mostly silent since February 2009," she added. “I apologize
to anyone who has emailed me, but never got a reply.”
A FEW FUN THINGS
Historical documents and newspaper articles often include humorous notes,
helping to keep typists motivated in their work.
*One FRIDAY couple married on a Monday!
*Rev. Alexander KALASSY of Ligonier Pa married a woman and her daughter.
(Parents: 1915 Daughter: 1938)
*One bride only needed an extra "f" when she married her husband
(Bride: BOF ; Groom : BOFF)
At least 3 brides never changed names! (SCOTT – SCOTT... KRESS - KRESS...
THOMPSON - THOMPSON)
Reverend LOVE of Sheridan wed some couples.
East McKeesport's Rev. SAY spoke the ceremony for some couples' marriages.
The couple with the longest names: Charles H. SCHAUGHENCY to Allice A.
Hendrickson, married 11 Sep 1926.
Most original marriage write-up: FLETCHER - BENNETT
The webmaster commented, “It’s interesting to see what people were doing
decades before your own birth, or to compare dates for what your own ancestors
were doing!"
On a serious note, the saddest wedding was BARKER - PIERSON because the
Groom's father had a fatal accident—so sad.
WHAT'S COMING?
"I'll continue to work through the winter on several big projects. My
next commitment is to document a local business’s history, through pictures
and stories from the former owner.
“I’ve received many cemetery submissions which will take many months to
type. Pictures of locations and old houses await placement. Plus, individuals
have sent text files or photos I must finish." The webmaster usually
uploads submissions in the order received. If you want to help build this free
repository for our county's genealogy, contact <washington.co.pa.webmaster
AT gmail.com>
The webmaster reminds everyone that she cannot type submissions. "I
foresee a growing need for volunteer typists to help with projects. If you are
available, please contact me.
“And please, publicly thank the typists for the commitment they gave to this
project!"
FAQ
for MARRIAGES from McDonald PA newspapers
MAIN
PAGE for MARRIAGES from McDonald PA newspapers
Please pass this announcement to others.
Thank-you,
Judy
A to B Index (No Index by Bride)
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This page was added Nov. 13, 2009
This page was last edited Tuesday, September 05, 2023
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