Greene Connections
Greene County, Pennsylvania Archives Project
Category: Family History
She Watches from the Grave
Behind every good ghost story is the real story. Local and family history reveal the truths hidden in a haunting tale. Whether or not the separation of fact from folklore make the Martin family mausoleum less spooky, however, is up to each visitor to decide.
Case Study: Local Celebrity
Jesse Lazear may not be in your family tree, but he may be in your family album! Local celebrities have a way of stumping genealogists who are trying to make sense of their ancestor’s archives. Often unidentified, or worse misidentified, these folks who your great-greats enjoyed and admired were proudly added to the family photo collection. Learn from the example of Jesse Lazear to spot these popular locals hiding among the relatives in your family photos.
Road Rage Car Crash, 1912
The caption on the photograph read, “Car in which Simon Wesley Rinehart was killed.” It was clearly going to be a research path that would lead to tragedy. Moved by this haunting image, what follows is a glimpse into the events of late 1912, remembering the lives that are memorialized by this simple picture of an automobile with a foreboding inscription.
Treasure Hunting in the Census
Henry Clay Snyder and his wife, Hannah (McVay) Snyder, appear in the 1880 Census of Aleppo Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania. Their preserved entry reveals some of the few known details surrounding the lives and deaths of Hannah and her child just days after his visit.
Joseph Throckmorton Sr. Letter (1862)
On August 2, 1862, Joseph Throckmorton Sr., age 77, sat down to write a letter to his second wife, Laura (Peck) (Gilbert) Throckmorton, age 63. Laura was at home on their farm in Morrow County, Ohio, to which the envelope is addressed, while Joseph was visiting his family in Waynesburg, Greene County, Pennsylvania, from where the letter was written.
What’s in a Name?
When we add ancestors to our tree the first blank we fill is their NAME. But do we make the most of this essential fact? Do we extract from it every clue and revelation about our family’s history? This is the tale of two Lucys and what the name reveals about one family’s story.
That’s Our Henry!
With a face a descendant is ready to love, Henry Bowler’s photograph prompted a search that added “peculiar” and remarkable personality to his preserved pose.
A Rolling Stone
A discarded tombstone was rescued by a passerby, journeyed many states away, then reunited through volunteer efforts with its Greene County, Pennsylvania family.
Zach Taylor, Hanged for Murder, 9 April 1890
Zacharias Taylor was hanged 9 April 1890 at the Greene County Courthouse in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, for the murder of William McCausland. Zach was the second man hanged for murder in the county’s history. The first was his brother-in-law and accomplice, George W. Clark, who was hanged for the same murder, earlier in the year, on 26 February 1890.
A Few Women’s Day Women
Women’s Day reminds us to focus, honor, respect, and remember the obstacles women have overcome and still endeavor to achieve. In family and local history we look at the women of our ancestry and communities who labored to birth, raise, and improve the lives of generations past, present, and future.
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