A Genealogy Workshop Leads to a Find!

A few weeks ago I attended a genealogy workshop sponsored by the Monmouth County Genealogy Society titled, "Energize Your Research". My research needed some energizing and this workshop was great! The session included vital records, internet research, tools to handle brick walls, and the Genealogical Proof Standard.

So I came home energized, educated and motivated! The Pennsylvania State Archives was mentioned at the workshop and I though that I had checked it out before, but I wasn't sure for which relatives (and yes, one of the things I did learn was that I need to keep better track of which sources I have checked for each person!), so I went back for another look.

The archives has a wealth of resources, including indices for births (1906 only) and deaths (1906-1961). Since most years are listed alphabetically and a few years are listed using the Russell Index, I was able to look for a few long lost ancestors and easily find the State File Number and request a non-certified copy of the record. My big find was the death date on my great grand aunt, Margaret Swank Speedy!

I knew that "Aunt Mag" (as my Dad remembers her) was alive in the late 1940's because my father remembers visiting her when she lived with her niece Marian Cubbage in Bell Vernon, PA. So after a quick search of a couple of years, I found that she had died on July 3, 1953. I then went to Google News Archives and checked the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and found her death notice.

I have sent away for a copy of the death record and now know that she is buried at Braddock (Russell) Cemetery in Braddock, PA. There is no tombstone for her, but her husband has a stone. William Arthur Speedy died at sea, so maybe she was buried in his plot. Answers seem to lead to more questions! More to come on the Speedys!