Genealogy Gold in Google Books

Saint Aloysius Church - 1893 - Littlestown, Adams County, Pennsylvania

Photograph and obituary courtesy Google Books, "History of Saint Aloysius Church of Littlestown, Penna." by William McSherry, Jr., published 1893

Louisa McSherry Long, my husband's 3rd great-aunt. She was born February 1816 and died May 06, 1891. Louisa was sister to husband's 2nd great grandmother, Sarah Matilda McSherry Starr. 

In the above obituary we learn many important facts about Louisa:

• gentleness of manner
• married young plasterer, Andrew Long
• was a seamstress
• lost many young children during her lifetime
• faithful in her religion
• came from old and respected stock
• father, Andrew McSherry
• mother, Eve Norbeck
• married in 1844
• was Catholic
• died May 6, 1871 at the age of 75

Searching Google Books has become a weekly research task. Creating Google Alerts for each surname. These can answer questions, give clues and flesh out the lives of our ancestors. Important fact from this obituary, first confirmation for Louisa and Sarah's parents. I can now go back another generation.

Information about and using Google Books:

Google Books from Wikipedia: "is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines Google has scanned, converted to text using optical character recognition (OCR), and in its digital database".

Google Books for Family History (YouTube) by Genealogy TV

How To Find & Use Google Books For Genealogy Research  ~ post from Are You My Cousin? blog

Cheat Sheet: Google Alerts for Google by Thomas MacEntee, Abundant Genealogy

One of the Happiest Mortals

David L. Potter and Emma Myers

daughter-in-law's 4th great-uncle & his wife

(permission given to use photograph by Ancestry cousin)

While researching my daughter-in-law's Potter family line, discovered this wonderful photograph. Here we have David L. Potter and his bride Emma Myers. David was born March 30, 1852 in Bedford, Pennsylvania and died October 22, 1928 in Blair, Pennsylvania.

• The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.), 24 Sept. 1880. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83032041/1880-09-24/ed-1/seq-3/>

How fun to research a newspaperman in the newspapers! Above we find a mention of David's marriage to Emma. The first thing we notice is the play on David's last name with "pottered through a whole week ...". Wonder how David felt when reading this bit of cleverness? 

Even with such a small article, we learn important facts. David was a young business manager for the Altoona Tribune. Also, verifies the date of marriage. And most importantly, he is "no doubt one of the happiest mortals this side of kingdom come."

David A. Gilland, Mayor via HathiTrust

Altoona, Pa. Board of trade. [from old catalog]. Illustrated Altoona: A Complete Pen-picture of the City of Altoona ... [Altoona?, 1896. 

Public Domain in the United States

David A. Gilland  (back, standing right) ~ daughter-in-law's 4th great-uncle 

brother of Emma Jane Gilland Potter ~ daughter-in-law's 3rd great-grandmother

b. September 16, 1841, Pennsylvania

d. March 21, 1906, Pennsylvania

I am a wee bit addicted to genealogy research. Spend every spare moment searching databases, newspapers and Google. Find a new ancestor? Off to the races! Who needs sleep? 

Doing research, sites that I use regularly are Google Books, HathiTrust Digital Library and Internet Archive. We don't always locate our ancestors, but you may find local histories and maps for the regions they resided.

This morning (3:00 a.m.), was looking at my daughter-in-law's family tree. From previous research, knew her 4th great-uncle had been mayor of Altoona. Since he was a prominent figure in the community, hoped to discover more of his story.

First up, HathiTrust Digital Library. Searched for "Altoona"+"David Gilland". Found several articles and the above photograph for David A. Gilland. 

Also, this wonderful biography. So much information! Some facts we didn't know, until locating the online book.

• born in Huntingdon County
• moved to Hollidaysburg
• carpenter
• contracting and building all his life
• served in Civil War - Company I, 137th Pennsylvania Volunteers
• served in Tennessee -Government Construction Corps - built bridges
• moved to Altoona in 1865 
• business man
• served as Mayor March, 1874 to April, 1878
• State Legislature for two years

Check out Google Books, HathiTrust Digital Library and Internet Archives. Never know what you will discover.

Here are a two resources about using HathiTrust Digital Library for family history.

The Massive Free Genealogy Resource You've Probably Never Heard Of - Family History Daily

Researching Family History in Hathi Trust by Gena Philibert-Ortega

Frick's Meetinghouse & Burial Ground

Frick's Meetinghouse & Burial Ground

Hatfield, Montgomery Country, Pennsylvania

Plaque below - History of Frick's Meetinghouse from side of building

Abraham Allebach

born circa 1746

died Oct. 1794

(4th great-grandfather of husband)

In
Memory of
Susannah
wife of David Ruth
who departed this life
April 10th 1866
Aged 83 years
10 months and 28 days
(3rd great-grandmother of husband,
daughter of Abraham Allebach)

"Although no deed is on record for this tract of land on which this Meetinghouse stands, the following facts are known:

Jacob Shooter was the first recorded owner (1740) of the farm on which this tract was located. When he sold the farm in 1776, the deed of sale contained the following conditions: "(that) a small plot, between a small gut (gulley) and Beaver Creek, is set aside as a burying ground for the society of Mennonites with the privileges of a road along the line from the west corner of the farm to the burying ground."

The exact date of the burial ground's establishment is uncertain. However it is believed to have been the first Mennonite cemetery in the area, proceeding the opening of burial grounds at Line Lexington Mennonite Meetinghouse (1752) and Plains Meetinghouse, near Lansdale (1760-69).

A group of Mennonites known as "Funkites" who broke off from the larger church as a result of Revolutionary War tensions erected the original house of worship on this tract in 1812 or 1813. The brick Meetinghouse was located on the hill at the lower end of the burial ground. Peter Frick donated the ground on the southwest side of the cemetery for the establishment of the present-day Meetinghouse. The original building was razed in 1882 and the new one was constructed in that same year. Additional land to the south of the drive was purchased by Raymond and Sallie Rosenberger in 1958 and conveyed to the Trustees. An additional 12 acres to the north of the drive was added in 1977.

A Board of Trustees to oversee the Frick Meetinghouse property has been maintained throughout the years. Trustees Bishop Henry H. Rosenberger of the Brethern in Christ Church, and Daniel Rosenberger of Hatfield, a Mennonite, were trustees instrumental in the construction of the present-day Meetinghouse.

William F. Rosenberger, a Mennonite farmer and founder of Rosenberger's Dairies in Hatfield Township, deserves special mention for his untiring efforts to maintain the Meetinghouse during years when there was little interest or financial support.

Members of the Rosenberger Family continue to oversee the upkeep of this historic property. The Trustees hold an annual meeting on the third Sunday of each September.

Your assistance in caring for this property as you enjoy the peace of this quiet environment is both solicited and appreciated."