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 Meyersdale Pennsylvania Genealogy Sources 

If you have family roots in the Meyersdale, Pennsylvania area, you are in luck! Thanks to many volunteers, Meyersdale boasts one of the best small library genealogy sources in the area. The Meyersdale Public Library is located at 210 Center Street, Meyersdale, Pennsylvania and houses a special collection of local family history sources in its "Pennsylvania Room". The Pennsylvania Room is home to the Marguerite Cockley Collection and the Harvey Shumaker Collection, among many other remarkable sources for local family history research.

The collection is mainly a physical collection of family histories, family queries, and answers to family queries. The collection includes surname files on local family surnames, with any correspondence about the surname included in the file. Many families have donated familiy bibles, or family genealogies to this collection that can only be found here. Many rare books are available on site.

Among the many resources in the Pennsylvania Room at Meyersdale Public Library, you will find the following (taken from the Meyersdale Public LIbrary website):

Local History Microfilm Holdings

 * Various Pennsylvania and Maryland Census Records
 * National Archives Agriculture, Industry and Manufacturing, and Social Statistics and Supplemental Schedules for Somerset and Other Pennsylvania Counties – 1850-1880
 * Reich Funeral Home Records, Meyersdale – 1885-1960
 * Tressler/Konhaus Funeral Home Records, Meyersdale – 1930-1974
 * Somerset County Native William H. Welfley’s Marriage – 1904-1910 – and Obituary – 10 Volumes, 1894-1918 – Scrapbooks
 * Somerset County Survey Warrants – 1700s-1800s
 * Somerset County Tax Assessments – 1795-1854
 * Somerset County Wills/Estates – 1797-1895; 1922-1960
 * Somerset County Orphans’ Court Dockets – 1793-1846
 * Tombstone Inscriptions (Somerset, Bedford, Fayette and Westmoreland Counties, Pennsylvania; Ashtabula County, Ohio) – Miscellaneous Years
 * Civil War Veterans and Widows (Somerset and Washington Counties) – 1890
 * Revolutionary War Soldiers (Somerset County and Beyond in Pennsylvania)
 * Berlin Muster Roll – 1813
 * Various Local Church Records – Including Reformed, Lutheran and Brethren
 * Local Marriage and Death/Funeral Records – Including Those of Bishop Conrad Lint and Rev. Benjamin Knepper
 * Somerset County Family Bible Records (Over 300 Names) Gathered by County Native E.C. Saylor – Late 1700s-Mid 1800s

Somerset County Newspapers

 * Meyersdale Commercial Newspaper – 1881-1912 (microfilm); 1913-1918 & 1929 (scattered issues; limited access to hard copies due to age, rarity, and fragility) NOW NEWLY AVAILABLE ON MICROFILM!
 * Meyersdale Republican Newspaper – 1900-1990 (microfilm)
 * The New Republic (Meyersdale) Newspaper – 1991-2010 (microfilm); 2011-present (hard copies)
 * Somerset County Star (Salisbury) Newspaper – 1899, May 1909-1929 (microfilm); 1891-1893, 1900-1904 & 1907-April 1909 (hard copies; scattered issues; limited access to hard copies due to age, rarity, and fragility) NOW NEWLY AVAILABLE ON MICROFILM!
 * The Turkeyfoot News – 1905-1912 (microfilm)
 * Somerset Herald Newspaper – 1828-1845 (microfilm; incomplete collection)

Local History Digital Collections: online

 * The Cemeteries of Somerset County Project – http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/somerset/cemeteries/index.htm – Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Award-Winning Cemetery Location Project completed by Cynthia Mason, Carolyn McKinney and dedicated volunteer, the late Barry Christy, who contributed ten years of volunteer service to our library
 * Somerset County Obituaries Special Project Collection – http://usgwarchives.net/pa/somerset/obits/
 * Somerset County Civil War Veterans Project (additional records available in the Pennsylvania Room) – http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/somerset/military/cwr/cwr.html
 * Pennsylvania Power Library Progressive Era Photograph Collection – http://digitalcollections.powerlibrary.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/pmeye-photo
 * Progressive Era Photograph Collection May Also be Viewed on flickr – https://www.flickr.com/photos/meyersdalepubliclibrary/albums/72157633150013242

Local History Digital Collection: onsite use

 * Early Vital Records of Somerset County Families, Compiled by Genealogist Ora L. Flaningam – 1700s-1900s
 * Somerset County Naturalization Records – 1802-1854
 * Springs Area Oral Histories Recorded by Beth Holler Page of the Springs Historical Society
 * B&O Railroad Employee Oral Histories Recorded by Carolyn McKinney
 * Pennsylvania Maple Festival Photograph Collection
 * Reich Family (Meyersdale) Collection of Photographs, Store Ledgers and Other Memorabilia
 * Digitized Videos of Local Events, Historical Milestones, Speeches/Presentations, and Interviews


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=PA Room Collection Information= This is a listing of the highlights of our collection:

Marguerite Cockley Collection –  contains an extensive number of family files representing decades of research and correspondence.

Harvey Shumaker Collection – a collection totaling over 700 volumes of information on countless families.

Local History Microfilm Holdings

 * Various Pennsylvania and Maryland Census Records
 * National Archives Agriculture, Industry and Manufacturing, and Social Statistics and Supplemental Schedules for Somerset and Other Pennsylvania Counties – 1850-1880
 * Reich Funeral Home Records, Meyersdale – 1885-1960
 * Tressler/Konhaus Funeral Home Records, Meyersdale – 1930-1974
 * Somerset County Native William H. Welfley’s Marriage – 1904-1910 – and Obituary – 10 Volumes, 1894-1918 – Scrapbooks
 * Somerset County Survey Warrants – 1700s-1800s
 * Somerset County Tax Assessments – 1795-1854
 * Somerset County Wills/Estates – 1797-1895; 1922-1960
 * Somerset County Orphans’ Court Dockets – 1793-1846
 * Tombstone Inscriptions (Somerset, Bedford, Fayette and Westmoreland Counties, Pennsylvania; Ashtabula County, Ohio) – Miscellaneous Years
 * Civil War Veterans and Widows (Somerset and Washington Counties) – 1890
 * Revolutionary War Soldiers (Somerset County and Beyond in Pennsylvania)
 * Berlin Muster Roll – 1813
 * Various Local Church Records – Including Reformed, Lutheran and Brethren
 * Local Marriage and Death/Funeral Records – Including Those of Bishop Conrad Lint and Rev. Benjamin Knepper


 * Somerset County Family Bible Records (Over 300 Names) Gathered by County Native E.C. Saylor – Late 1700s-Mid 1800s

Somerset County Newspapers

 * Meyersdale Commercial Newspaper – 1881-1912 (microfilm); 1913-1918 & 1929 (scattered issues; limited access to hard copies due to age, rarity, and fragility) NOW NEWLY AVAILABLE ON MICROFILM!
 * Meyersdale Republican Newspaper – 1900-1990 (microfilm)
 * The New Republic (Meyersdale) Newspaper – 1991-2010 (microfilm); 2011-present (hard copies)
 * Somerset County Star (Salisbury) Newspaper – 1899, May 1909-1929 (microfilm); 1891-1893, 1900-1904 & 1907-April 1909 (hard copies; scattered issues; limited access to hard copies due to age, rarity, and fragility) NOW NEWLY AVAILABLE ON MICROFILM!
 * The Turkeyfoot News – 1905-1912 (microfilm)
 * Somerset Herald Newspaper – 1828-1845 (microfilm; incomplete collection)

Local History Digital Collections: online

 * The Cemeteries of Somerset County Project – http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/somerset/cemeteries/index.htm – Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Award-Winning Cemetery Location Project completed by Cynthia Mason, Carolyn McKinney and dedicated volunteer, the late Barry Christy, who contributed ten years of volunteer service to our library
 * Somerset County Obituaries Special Project Collection – http://usgwarchives.net/pa/somerset/obits/
 * Somerset County Civil War Veterans Project (additional records available in the Pennsylvania Room) –http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/somerset/military/cwr/cwr.html
 * Pennsylvania Power Library Progressive Era Photograph Collection – http://digitalcollections.powerlibrary.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/pmeye-photo
 * Progressive Era Photograph Collection May Also be Viewed on flickr –https://www.flickr.com/photos/meyersdalepubliclibrary/albums/72157633150013242

Local History Digital Collection: onsite use

 * Early Vital Records of Somerset County Families, Compiled by Genealogist Ora L. Flaningam – 1700s-1900s
 * Somerset County Naturalization Records – 1802-1854
 * Springs Area Oral Histories Recorded by Beth Holler Page of the Springs Historical Society
 * B&O Railroad Employee Oral Histories Recorded by Carolyn McKinney
 * Pennsylvania Maple Festival Photograph Collection
 * Reich Family (Meyersdale) Collection of Photographs, Store Ledgers and Other Memorabilia
 * Digitized Videos of Local Events, Historical Milestones, Speeches/Presentations, and Interviews

Books and Other Resources

 * Ross Rush Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Post #361, Ursina, Record Books – On Permanent Loan to Our Library by the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, Mt. Union Church Camp #502, and its Ladies Auxiliary. View digital images of this collection, created by auxiliary member and library volunteer Linda Marker, here – http://www.mtunion.org/Ross_Rush.html
 * Over 1,200 Family Surname Files and Approximately 225 Family Genealogy Publications
 * Three Filing Cabinets of Subject Files Related to Meyersdale, Somerset County, and Pennsylvania
 * Somerset Past: The History and Genealogy of Somerset County, Pennsylvania – 13-Volume Set
 * Sanborn Maps of Meyersdale (late 1800s-early 1900s) and Salisbury (1924)
 * 1876 Beers Atlas and Index
 * Early 1900s T.M. Fowler Maps of Meyersdale, Salisbury, Confluence, Rockwood, Berlin, Somerset, Boswell and Windber
 * Union Cemetery Plot Map
 * Somerset County Railroad Maps
 * Somerset County Plat Books Representing Years 1964, 1976, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2001
 * 1903 Somerset County Directory
 * History Books About Somerset County and Its Various Communities/Towns
 * Books About Other Pennsylvania Counties, Along With Maryland, West Virginia and Ohio
 * The Casselman Chronicles (Springs Historical Society, 1961-Present), Laurel Messenger (Historical and Genealogical Society of Somerset County, 1960-Present), and Other Pennsylvania/Maryland Historical Society Newsletters
 * Church Records (Primarily Lutheran and Reformed) and Histories – Including Amish, Brethren, Lutheran, Methodist, Reformed Mennonite, and United Brethren in Christ
 * Catholic Vital Records of Central Pennsylvania – Five Volumes, 1793-1869
 * Extensive Obituary Collection from Somerset and Meyersdale Newspapers – 28,000 Index Cards, 1970-2003
 * WPA Somerset County Cemetery Inventories – circa 1934
 * Somerset County Poor House Records – Early 1900s
 * Somerset County Historic Resource Survey of Selected Significant Structures – Published in 1986
 * Local Event/Organization Programs and Records – Including Those Pertaining to the Pennsylvania Maple Festival, Somerset County Fair, Meyersdale Service Clubs, and Meyersdale Borough Council
 * Somerset County School Publications and Record Books
 * Pennsylvania Archives – Seven-Series Book Collection
 * Substantial Photo (Nearly 1,000) and Accessioned Paper Items/Object (Over 800) Archives Collections, including the extensive collections of Frances Livengood Imler and Marguerite Cockley

We have the Library edition of Ancestry.com available on our public computers for on-site use at the library.

The Meyersdale Public Library is a FamilySearch affiliate (https://www.familysearch.org/). If, in doing genealogical research on the FamilySearch website, you encounter an item that is only available through a Family Search affiliate, we can help you!

Please visit this page for information about our hours, staffing, and procedures:

Local History and Genealogy at Meyersdale Public Library

Notes on the background of our collection
Thanks to the efforts and generosity of Mrs. Marguerite Cockley, the Pennsylvania Room is home to the Cockley Collection mentioned above. Charter members of the Historical and Genealogical Society of Somerset County, the late Mrs. Cockley and her husband Eber served as the organization’s genealogists for many years. Also remembered as a beloved librarian at the Meyersdale Public Library, Mrs. Cockley was responsible for the creation of our Pennsylvania Room. We will always pay tribute to this respected Meyersdale historian and genealogist, her talent, and her commitment to our community.

''We at the Meyersdale Public Library also fondly remember archivist and avid genealogist Cynthia Mason, who served as director of the Pennsylvania Room for over 17 years. A member of the Meyersdale Area Historical Society’s Board of Directors, Cynthia’s invaluable contributions to the preservation of information about this area and its people will forever benefit those seeking more knowledge about our past and those who shaped it.''

A native of Meyersdale who moved on to reside in Ohio, the late Harvey Shumaker was a United States Marine Corps veteran and high school teacher of both history and English. Mr. Shumaker had a genuine fondness for libraries, history, and genealogical research. We are most fortunate to now provide a home for his life’s work related to genealogical research.

Our eternal thanks to devoted volunteer, the late Keith Petenbrink, for his compilation of over 3,000 records pertaining to county veterans of this war.

None of this would be here without the foresight of Frances Livengood Imler, who pioneered the idea of founding a public library in Meyersdale.

Updated 6/3/2019

Meyersdale Public Library

210 Center St

PO Box 98

Meyersdale, PA 15552

Phone (814) 634-0512

Fax (814) 634-8103

Mon-Fri 10am-7pm

Saturday 10am-5pm

The following link provides access to Somerset County information on the FamilySearch Wiki:

Somerset County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

The following link provides access to online sources of information for Meyersdale in particular:

https://ldsgenealogy.com/PA/Meyersdale.htm

This link gives access to the Meyersdale Public Library with a description of it's holdings and a history of those volunteers who have amassed this impressive collection of local information.

http://meyersdalelibrary.org/index.php/1954-2/