I’ve been working on the railroad. . .

Tags

railroad, records, retirement

Many of us have found a relative or two that earned their crust working on the railroad, after all, the railroad was in its prime.  Finding records for railroad pensioners isn’t as easy.

I would suggest beginning with the United States Railroad Retirement Board when searching for pension information.  They have a special section for requesting railroad retirement records and charge a nominal fee ($27).  They only have records for individuals who worked for the railroad after 1936.

I requested my great-grandfather’s records and was very happy to receive a large packet of information, well worth the money I spent.  I got photo copies of his marriage license, a list of his children, the names of his parents and his employment records that began in 1905 and showed his progression in positions from brakeman to engineer.

Don’t delay, Dinah, get your request mailed today!

Disasters in Pennsylvania

Tags

GenDisaster, Luke Fidler mine, Shamokin

It is a fact of life that disasters were part of our forefather’s lives as much as they are ours.  Often times our ancestors did nothing to warrant a mention in the newspapers unless they were tied to a disaster of some sort.

So was the case of my own relative, Jesse Koppenhafer, who had the misfortune of carrying a defective lamp into the Luke Fidler mine 29, November, 1902.  The resulting explosion claimed the lives of seven men, Jesse included.  It was later concluded the light Jesse carried was defective.  Other articles I read indicated that much of the equipment used by the miners was not safe.

If you have a relative that was involved in an accident in Pennsylvania or another state, you might want to look over the many disasters listed at GenDisaster.  The site is broken down by state and type of accident.

 

Having trouble understanding codes in the 1940 census?

Tags

1940 United States Census, Steve Morse

Help is available if you, like myself, are having trouble understanding some of the codes in the 1940 census.  Thanks to Steve Morse, the codes have been demystified.  Head over to Steve’s website, find the column with the tricky code that has you stumped and select the code from the drop-down menu.  The explanation will appear under the code.

Thanks, Steve for all the help you have given genealogists and census diggers in particular!

 

TinEye reverse photo search

Tags

photographs, relatives, TinEye

I stumbled upon this neat tip online today and must share it.  Do you have a digital photo of someone and you are not sure who the person is?  Upload it to TinEye and you can find out if someone else has the same photo.

Now I can see major benefits to this – you could find someone researching your family and close up some gaps while making a new friend.  I think this search engine should be in every genealogists arsenal of “must have programs.”

Lastly, I want to apologize for my long absence in posting.  I have been going through many personal issues and I’m happy to say, I’m back!

I’ve been busy

I just want to let my readers know that I’ve been busy packing and moving but will be back to posting genealogical finds in another week or two.  Moving can be so stressful, can’t it?!

Westmoreland County Marriage License, Estates & Property Searches

Tags

estates, marriages, Westmoreland County

Westmoreland County has several databases that can be searched online.  They include marriage licenses, estates, real property (land and anything permanently attached to it) and civil court proceedings.  And we’ve been having perfect weather here in PA to curl up with your laptop and do some genealogy!

US Civil War Union Soldier Headstone Project is completed

Tags

Civil War, union soldiers

Genealogy Trails has completed its two-year long Civil War union soldier headstone project.  Over 167,000 soldier and burial records are now in the database.  Many records provide the name, rank, company, regiment, place of burial, grave number and date of death (if known) of the soldier.  The best part – access is free!

6-months of Ancestry for only $49!

Tags

Ancestry.com, memberships

Right now you can take advantage of a six-month membership at Ancestry for only $49, or if you prefer world access, $99 for six-months.  This is a deal too good to pass up, but hurry, the offer expires January 6th at midnight!

Ancestry.com is free until Dec 29 at midnight, EST

Tags

Ancestry.com, genealogy

Hurry on over to Ancestry.com and take advantage of free access to certain popular databases until December 29th, midnight, EST.  Don’t miss out, Cinderella, you might find that prince you’ve been looking for!

Genealogy Trails – where can it lead you?

Tags

Genealogy Trails

Genealogy Trails began in 2000 for the state of Illinois, expanding in 2006 to cover additional states.  Access to records is free and they are busy working on adding databases to their growing collection of records, daily.

One of the nice things about Genealogy Trails is the hosts of the site are required to add data to their sites.  For the unhosted sites, Genealogy Trails has a team of volunteers that work on adding data.  What does this mean for researchers?  Well, it means there will always be new information available instead of links to sites that sit for years with no new content added.

They also have a transcription team, which you can join, to transcribe records.  As of this post, they are working on transcribing Civil War headstones.