PACENTRE Reunion Plans
UPDATED: June 11, 2007; April 16, 2007
NEW INFORMATION JUNE 11, 2007
We have confirmed the schedule of the seminars in the Miller Room of the Centre County Library, across the hall from the Pennsylvania Room, for Monday afternoon, June 18th, 2007.
The list of speakers for the brief seminars will be as follows:
Elwood Way 1:30-2:00 - Halfmoon Township/Quaker settlers
Vonnie Henninger 2:00-2:30 - Penns and Brush Valleys
Margy Marshall 2:30-3:00 - Philipsburg area
Cordy Chambers 3:00-3:30 - Mountaintop (Snow Shoe) area
Joyce Adgate & Justin Houser 3:30-4:00 - Nittany Valley/Benner Township area
Nancy Stover 4:00-4:30 - Bald Eagle Valley
Bob Hazelton & Connie Randolph 4:45-5:15 - Erbtown area (located in Ferguson Twp., Southwestern Centre Co.)
Ted Hull will also give a brief overview in the evening in the PA Room of some of the resources available through the National Archives. Ted, a listmember from Washington, D.C., will speak on NARAs Access to Archival Databases (AAD) system for the genealogical soc.
The local history tours on Tuesday, June 19th, 2007, will depart the Waffle Shop at 9:30 a.m. We will operate on a car-pooling basis, with a local leader in each car. Cars will travel one of two general circuits. Each car will be fairly autonomous on that circuit, and will stop at places along the circuit that are of interest to people in the car. If there is no one in the car interested in a particular place, it will not stop there.
If some of the people from one circuit want to try the other one later in the day, if there is time, if there is interest, and if there are leaders, this will be attempted. It is not a guarantee, however.
The two general circuits are as follows:
Circuit I - Southern Centre County
Tour Starts at Waffle Shop
Bellefonte
To Pleasant Gap
(Up to Benner Cemetery -- not yet confirmed permission)
Over to Houserville
To Lemont
To Pine Grove Mills
Back 322 to Penns Valley
To Brush Valley, over to Sugar Valley,
Over the mountain and down Nittany Valley To Zion
Back to Bellefonte
Circuit II - Northern Centre County
Start at Waffle Shop
Bellefonte
I-80 to Philipsburg
Back I-80 to Clarence/Snow Shoe
On I-80 down to Bald Eagle Valley
Milesburg/Howard/Bald Eagle Valley
Back to Bellefonte
Thank you for your interest in attending the PACENTRE Reunion in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania! The events will be held the week of June 18th. This is the day after Father’s Day and we are coming off our big Bellefonte Cruise Weekend Fri & Sat, 16-17, with a massive antique and classic car show that takes up the whole downtown. While we are including some structured activities, based upon the interests you have expressed and our common desire to have fellowship among our listers, we realize that many of you are coming a long way and want to have the opportunity to do some hands on family history research while you are here. Thus, while we have provided activities and opportunities to hopefully supplement that experience, we have built in considerable “research time” for you to pursue your families in the direction that they may take you.
I gratefully acknowledge the support of the Centre County Genealogical Society, the Centre County Library and Historical Museum, and the State College Family History Center in providing needed support and logistics for this reunion.
We all need to thank my cousins Pat Hammond and Diane Rice, who came up with this idea in the first place.
Based upon the responses we have received, and the work of our local planning committee, I am pleased to present the following information.
WHAT YOU MUST DO FIRST, IF YOU ARE COMING
1. E-mail me to let me know how many are in your party, so we can ensure enough space at lunch on Monday.
2. E-mail me to let me know where you’d like to go on tours and what family names you’re interested in.
3. If you want to use microfilms at the Family History Center (see below for info), look up catalog data and mail them your order ASAP.
4. Make your arrangements for the flight (if necessary) and a place to stay.
5. Plan to research and visit!
If you have any questions, please contact me: jkhouser84@comcast.net
Tentative Itinerary:
[Locations for sites will be given with a link to MapQuest, condensed via tinyurl, to show the location of the site. Depending on where you are staying, you may want to obtain MapQuest data <www.mapquest.com> for point-to-point directions as well.]
MONDAY, JUNE 18
9:00 a.m. – Centre County Library opens for the day in Bellefonte (see below)
9:00 a.m. – Family History Center opens for the day in State College (see below)
11:30 a.m. – Lunch gathering at Bonfatto’s Restaurant, 205 Park Place (off Bishop Street), Bellefonte, PA. Map: http://tinyurl.com/222kf3
1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. – Speakers on topics of genealogy and local history will be appearing in the Miller Room of the Centre County Library and Historical Museum in Bellefonte. There will be numerous speakers, with about 20 minutes + 10 minutes for questions each. We are trying to line up speakers to address various parts of Centre County, such as Penns Valley, Snow Shoe, Philipsburg, Bald Eagle Valley, Nittany Valley, etc. This is a work in progress. The Centre County Library is the major research facility for Centre County, so if you are interested in only certain speakers, you can literally go across the hall to the Pennsylvania Room to do hands-on research on your ancestors! Centre County Library and Historical Museum is at 203 North Allegheny Street, Bellefonte, PA. It is the old stone house on the corner. Map: http://tinyurl.com/2h7fdm
5:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. – Those who are interested may gather for an informal dinner somewhere in downtown Bellefonte that is convenient to the library.
5:00 p.m.- 8:00 p.m. – The Centre County Library and Historical Museum will be holding extended hours on this Monday so that people can conduct research in the evening. This is a very unique offer and is because of the PACENTRE reunion, so I encourage you to take advantage of it.
TUESDAY, JUNE 19
8:00 a.m. – Those who are interested may meet at the Waffle Shop in downtown Bellefonte for a breakfast gathering. The Waffle Shop is located at 127 West Bishop Street, Bellefonte, PA 16823. Map: http://tinyurl.com/yqh46m
9:30 a.m. – Individual and small-group tours (car pooling) will depart from the Waffle Shop to various places of interest to participants. If you want to go on the tour, and can tell us where your ancestors lived, such as the township or village, etc., and their names, we will do the best we can to get you to the churches, cemeteries and some of the scenic sites associated with your family. Logistics will be worked out on an ongoing basis, but we’ll do the best we can, depending on how many people we have, where they want to go, etc. The tours should last through lunch time or early afternoon, and sandwich lunches will be provided enroute, courtesy of the Centre County Genealogical Society.
5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. – The library will again be hosting extended research hours in the Pennsylvania Room Tuesday evening. Depending on our speakers’ schedules, we may have some additional local history speakers, if they were unable to make it Monday afternoon.
Those constitute our “planned activities.” You may participate to the extent that you are interested in any of the above; other than that, we invite you to take advantage of the rich research opportunities available in our county.
Here are the resource sites that will be of particular interest to our listers:
Centre County Library and Historical Museum (mentioned above)
203 North Allegheny Street, Bellefonte, PA 16823
814-355-1516; e-mail: paroom@centrecountylibrary.org
Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday; 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Saturdays
(note special extended hours above for PACENTRE reunion)
Website: http://www.centrecountylibrary.org/pa_room.htm
The premier site for Centre County genealogical research. The collection of Mrs. Adella Spangler, genealogist in the 1920s and 1930s, is housed here, including her inventories of almost all county cemeteries, many books of family Bible transcriptions, tax record transcriptions, church record transcriptions, etc., etc. Mrs. Spangler was active in DAR and attempted to obtain all Centre County genealogical data that she could to assist people in tracing lineages. The index to her collection consists of over 250,000 index cards, and is comprehensive. The library also has over 700 published family histories that were purchased and/or donated over the years; county history and genealogical publications from every county in the state, some quite extensive; all of the Centre County Genealogical Society publications; correspondence files covering over 70 years of genealogical correspondence, filed in two large filing cabinets and over 50 notebooks; a large collection of church records from Centre County’s early churches; funeral home records from the Howard and Port Matilda areas, etc.
The library also has a nearly complete collection of Centre County newspapers, including the Centre Democrat, Democratic Watchman, Keystone Gazette, Bellefonte Republican, Democratic Whig, Bellefonte Patriot, Central Press, Howard Hustler, Philipsburg Journal, Millheim Journal, Centre Hall Reporter, Centre Daily Times, etc., in microfilms and otherwise in bound volumes. There is an obituary index to all extant newspapers from 1821 through 1930; an index to the obituaries in the Spangler scrapbooks of Bellefonte newspaper clippings 1930-1942; an index to the obituaries in the Centre Daily Times from 1943-present; and an index to obituaries in the Centre Democrat from 1943-1977, so that each year has at least one paper indexed, and for most years, all papers have been indexed for obituaries.
In the basement archives of the library researchers can utilize the county records that are stored there. Wills, estates, and guardianship files from 1800-1990 are stored in their original packets; all marriage licenses from 1885-1990 are on file; tax assessment records from 1800-1956 are on file; the papers of the Civil Court 1800-1850, and the Criminal Court, 1800-1875 (indexing in progress), all can be found in the basement. Many illegitimate births have already been extracted from these court records and are upstairs in the filing cabinet.
There are also many “odds and ends” on file, such as Hugh Manchester’s local history column that ran for years in the local paper, the memorial book of the old Bellefonte GAR post, Mechanics Lien dockets in the basement, miscellaneous court records, etc. If you are open about what you are hoping to find, we may be able to suggest unique resources on file that you would not otherwise know existed.
The library also has web access to the Centre County Government system, and through the computer in the PA Room researchers can use the Centre County Deeds (digital images) from 1934 to present, and the deed and mortgage indices from 1800 to present; the Centre County Marriage Licenses from 1990 to present, and the Estates from 1990 to present.
Photocopies can be made of most items, depending on their physical condition and copyright, for 15 cents/page, and microfilm copies can be made for 25 cents/page.
Centre County Courthouse
High & Allegheny Streets, Bellefonte, PA – on “the Diamond” in the heart of town
Map: http://tinyurl.com/36qswd
Prothonotary’s website: http://www.co.centre.pa.us/223.asp
The Naturalization, Revolutionary War pension, and Slave Registration records are
online here: http://www.co.centre.pa.us/hrip/default.asp
Hours: 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday-Friday
NOTE: Officer on duty at door and metal detector search at all times
The only genealogically relevant office in the courthouse building itself is the Office of the Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts. In this office, the records of the Civil (Appearance Dockets) and Criminal (Quarter Sessions Dockets) are maintained, with an index in front of each docket. This office also has microfiche cards of all the original papers of both courts (Microfiche copies of the original papers, which are at the library, above, through 1850 and 1875, respectively.)
The Prothonotary’s office also has an index to divorces, 1884-1994. Divorces from 1800 to present are filed in the Appearance Dockets and indexed with the civil cases from 1800-1884, and the original papers are all in the Civil Court microfiche files.
Centre County court records (including divorces, custody, etc.) from 1992 to present are on the computer system and can only be accessed directly from the Prothonotary’s office computers.
Photocopies are 50 cents/page.
Willowbank Building
414 Holmes Street, Bellefonte, PA 16823
Map: http://tinyurl.com/2w8yan
Deeds website: http://www.co.centre.pa.us/133.asp
Wills website: http://www.co.centre.pa.us/224.asp
Hours: 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday-Friday
The Willowbank Office building contains several county offices of relevance to researchers. These include the Register of Wills and Clerk of the Orphans Court, on the second floor. Although all the early estates are at the library, the Register’s Office holds the Birth and Death Registers from 1893-1905 (deaths have been published by CCGS and are at the library also), as well as “Delayed Birth Certificates” filed for individuals born before 1906 and who later needed a birth certificate, filling several volumes and files of loose papers.
Adoption records are on file but are sealed and can only be accessed with a court order.
Photocopies are 50 cents/page.
The Willowbank Building also contains the Recorder of Deeds office. This office contains the deed and mortgage records, and the miscellaneous documents which record Articles of Agreement, some business transactions, and other arrangements which may provide genealogy data. There is also a box of old warrant surveys. Records start in 1800 and continue to the present. There is an index to all records on the computer system; early deeds are on microfilm and other records are in hard bound volumes. Deeds from 1934 to present are on the computer system.
The integrated Centre County computer system allows one to link between deeds from 1934-present and the county assessment maps, also on the system, together with aerial photographs and pictures of each property, to exactly locate the boundaries, address, present owner, and location of each property as they are cited in the deed chain.
Military discharge papers (as recorded) are also on file but are not publicly accessible.
Photocopies are 50 cents/page.
Family History Center
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
842 West Whitehall Road, State College, PA 16801
Map: http://tinyurl.com/2tl3ba
SPECIAL HOURS during PACENTRE week:
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday: 9:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
The Family History Center has a collection of Centre County resources in book form, but their real strength is the microfilm collection and their ability to obtain microfilms from Salt Lake City’s vast collection on localities all over the world. If you do not live near a Family History Center, this would be a perfect opportunity to access these records.
Many Centre County-related films are already on “permanent loan” in the Center’s microfilm collection. Others can be ordered upon request so that they are on hand for your arrival.
The LDS film catalogue is located at:
http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/FHLC/frameset_fhlc.asp
Search on various surnames and localities where your ancestors lived, and you will be pleasantly surprised at the records you find.
You can search by locality, surname, etc. To order a film, write down (or print out the sheet) with the title of the film and the film number (this is crucial) and mail it to the Family History Center, 842 West Whitehall Road, State College, PA 16801. Enclose $5.50 for each roll of film that you would like to rent (some records span multiple rolls of film).
Nancy Taylor must be able to make the orders from the Center NO LATER than May 21, so the sooner you send in the data, the better.
The Family History Center has photocopy and microfilm printing capabilities, as well as many non-printing microfilm readers. In addition, they have a machine that takes microfilm images and digitally copies them to a CD for you to take home if you prefer. You can provide your own CD or purchase them on site.
Other regional societies and resources (not an exhaustive list):
Most of these are more “local history” and “tour” centered than “research” centered, with some exceptions. If you are interested in a particular area or facet of county history, these would be great supplemental stops.
Centre County Historical Society
Centre Furnace Mansion
1001 East College Avenue
State College, PA 16801
Hours: Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 1-4 p.m.
Website: http://www.centrecountyhistory.org/
While not offering genealogical resources, the Society has many local history publications for sale. They also give tours of the mansion, which is at the center of an old iron works establishment. Those with ancestors in the iron industry may enjoy visiting here.
Penns Valley Area Historical Museum
Rudy-Corman Building
244 West Aaron Square
Aaronsburg, PA 16820
Website: http://pennsvalleymuseum.org/
Call ahead: (814) 349-4811 to arrange a visit
This museum has a large artifact collection of Penns Valley life, as well as a growing genealogical library specific to Penns Valley, including a complete run of the Millheim Journal newspapers on microfilm from the mid 1870s through 1984. Some of this information is also at the library in Bellefonte, but there may be additional resources here not found elsewhere, particularly compiled genealogical information.
Philipsburg Historical Foundation
203 North Front Street
Philipsburg, PA 16866
Call ahead: (814) 342-7115 to arrange a visit
They have a good collection of resources and artifacts on the Philipsburg area, also a set of Philipsburg Journal newspapers on microfilm (also at the library in Bellefonte), and have folks who are quite knowledgeable on the families and history of the Philipsburg region. They have limited hours.
Lions David House
206 N 4th St
Snow Shoe, PA
Call ahead: (814) 387-4200
They have a large collection of artifacts from the Snow Shoe/Moshannon/Mountaintop portion of Centre County.
Milesburg Historical Society
P.O. Box 826
Milesburg, PA 16853
Call ahead: (814) 355-7697
They are a new society but are acquiring artifacts and ephemera from the Milesburg area.
Curtin Village
Boggs Township
Website: http://www.boggstownship.org/cv.html
Call ahead: (814) 355-1982
For those whose ancestors lived in this area, or whose ancestors worked in the iron industry, Curtin village offers authentic reproductions of this iron-making village in Boggs Township. It is open for tours after Memorial Day. Call ahead to confirm details.
Pattee/Paterno Libraries
Penn State University
Website: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/
Summer hours: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/hours/up.html#summer2007
Call ahead: (814) 865-6368 to confirm parking information, etc.
The libraries boast a collection of millions of books, periodicals, and rare resources. The microforms collection is of interest to genealogists, holding many newspapers, including local ones. While many of the Centre County papers are also at the library in Bellefonte, some are not. The library also hosts the Special Collections and Rare Books Room, with voluminous archives of Penn State history for those whose ancestors may have been connected with it. They also hold many collections, such as the William G. Waring papers and the papers of Lola Wallace, Clinton County genealogist, with several boxes of data. Search the online catalogue through the above website. Call ahead to confirm parking and hours details if you plan to use this resource. Penn State is a large and busy campus and parking facilities are tightly regulated.
LOGISTICS:
Airports:
The University Park Airport is located between Bellefonte and State College.
http://www.statecollegeairport.org/
Major airports are located as follows:
Pittsburgh – about 3 hours west of here
Philadelphia – about 4 hours southeast of here
Harrisburg – about 2 hours south of here
Baltimore – about 5 hours southeast of here
Washington – about 5-6 hours southeast of here
Accommodations:
Bellefonte bed-and-breakfasts: http://bellefonte.com/bedandbreakfast.html
Even more B & Bs in Bellefonte and further out in the county:
http://www.happyvalley.com/VisitorsGuide/bedandbreakfasts.cfm
Apart from the B & B scene, there are not many hotels/motels in Bellefonte proper.
However, State College has many to choose from: http://www.happyvalley.com/VisitorsGuide/statecollegehotels.cfm
If you plan to camp, here is a listing of campgrounds in Centre and Clinton Counties:
http://www.campingpa.com/campground/northcentral/centre_clinton.htm
[Some of these, such as Pottersdale, Mansfield, Slate Run, are over 40 miles away. Others are within 5-30 miles. Again, Mapquest should help in your decision.]
Places to Eat:
See here: http://bellefonte.com/diningout.html [you may have to use Firefox Browser to access this page; if you have trouble seeing the full list (more than 4 restaurants) contact me]
A great listing of State College, Bellefonte, and other local eateries:
http://www.happyvalley.com/VisitorsGuide/restaurants.cfm
Another good listing of Centre County eateries:
http://www.statecollegecentral.com/scc2/dining/dining.html
“Things to Do”
A walking tour map of Bellefonte will be handed out at lunchtime to each person.
For all, especially the “non-genealogically-minded” spouse/family/guests, etc.:
There are always many activities going on in Centre County.
Here is a link to the Centre County Convention Center and Visitors Bureau Things to Do:
http://www.visitpennstate.org/listings/?catID=5
Bellefonte Community Index: http://bellefonte.com/communityindex.html
Bellefonte Arts & Culture: http://bellefonte.com/artsandculture.html
Bellefonte Historical Railroad: http://www.bellefontetrain.com/
State College tourism: http://www.statecollege.com/tourism/