Columbia County Historical and Genealogical Society, Bloomsburg, PA

This is a very valuable website for conducting your genealogical research. There is a wealth of information to be gleaned here. They have various free databases available for use as well as church records, pictures, books for sale, etc. This is definitely not a site to be overlooked in your quest for information on your ancestors. Click here to access their website, and don't forget to add it to your favorite bookmarks.

They have been very generous in allowing me to post a list of early Columbia County, PA, marriages of our Fetterman ancestors. The file is in Adobe Acrobat© format. Click here to download the file.

If you don't have Adobe Acrobat©, click here

Roaring Creek and Catawissa Valley History Study Group

Are you seeking information on your ancestors from the southern section of Columbia County, PA? Write to the Roaring Creek and Catawissa Valley History Study Group, and they will do the research and get back to you with any information they may find. Address your requests with a self-addressed envelope to:

Mr. James Riegel
Roaring Creek and Catawissa Valley History Study Group
324 Pine Street
Catawissa, PA 17820

Their form can be accessed here in MS Word ©or Adobe Acrobat© format. The Adobe form can be typed directly into.

If you don't have Adobe Acrobat©, click here

Burial Records of St. Paul Lutheran Church

The St. Paul Lutheran Church in Numidia, PA, is offering their burial records in MS Excel on a diskette for a donation of $10. This money is being used for the care of the cemetery. Send your donation along with your request to:

Mr. Jerry Wanzie
Cemetery Committee
Box 44
Numidia, PA 17858

Military Markers

The U. S. Government will provide a military marker or headstone at no expense for any veteran who served in the military and received a discharge under conditions other than dishonorable. If you are aware of an ancestor's grave that is not marked with their military distinction and wish to have this done, go to the Burial and Memorial Benefits webpage for Veterans Benefits and Services. The necessary application form can be downloaded and printed directly from there. It is necessary to have Adobe Acrobat© to view and download this form.

Map and Census

From here, you can download a map (size 739 kb) of the state of Pennsylvania which shows the migration of the Fetterman family or derivations of the name as found in the U. S. Census images from 1790 through 1850. I have also included the actual census data that I documented in doing this research for download (size 100 kb).

Planning to Visit a Cemetery?

If you are planning to visit a cemetery, along with a pen/pencil and paper, you may also want to take the following items:

• A spray bottle with water only—any other cleaning chemicals may damage an already delicate stone.
• A soft-bristled brush—to gently clean the stone after you have sprayed it.
• Grass shears—to clip any grass that has been left uncut or simply to trim around a plaque in the ground.

Unfortunately, the headstones become covered with dirt and debris from the weather elements, and where a very old headstone is involved, this dirt can make it very difficult to read the stones. On my first trip, I was ignorant of these things and did some researching on what to do for my next trip. Having these items and putting them to use where needed greatly helped the reading and documentation for my last trip.