…bringing our past into the future
Hi and welcome to the Somerset County Pennsylvania Genealogy Project — a proud member of the PA-Roots family of websites.
Your County Team Associate is Nathan Zipfel and I’m really glad you stopped by and I hope that you find this website useful for your genealogical research. Â A Â huge thanks to Nan who originally develped the resources for Somerset County.
I’ll be adding to and updating this website as new material is made available, so please be sure to stop by often. If you’ve got data that you’d be willing to contribute, please contact me. I’m always in the need of help in getting data on-line. If you’d be interested in helping, please contact me.
The links below will take you to the various PA-Roots DataBoards and other resources for Somerset County. At last check there are over 19,900 individual data records posted.
Thanks!
Nathan
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PAINT TOWNSHIP The first school in Paint township was taught by M. Seese, in a private house on the Jonas Weaver farm. The first schoolhouse was erected on the A. D. Weaver farm, and here a teacher named Schultz taught both English and German. The present school system was accepted in 1861 through the earnest … Read more
ADDISON TOWNSHIP The first school in Addison Township was taught in a private house near Petersburg, in 1792. The first schoolhouse was built in 1800, near the Casselman river, on land now owned by William Hanna. Adam Bowlin, a better hunter than teacher, was the instructor. The township promptly accepted the free-school law in 1834 … Read more
<center>MENNONITE CHURCHES</center>There are three Mennonite churches in the township. Many years ago the people of this denomination worshiped in a log building in the southern part of the township, not far from the spot where the present church stands. Jacob and Samuel Blough were the first Mennonite ministers in the township. The present house, a … Read more
LUTHERANThe Lutheran Church at Davidsville was organized in 1852, and a house of worship erected the same year. The church is a frame building, 35 x 45 feet, and cost eleven hundred dollars. The present membership is about 40. The first pastor was Rev. J. K. Bricker. The first officers of the congregation were:Joseph Hoffman … Read more
OTHER SOMERSET COUNTY FIRST SETTLEMENTS. With the dawn of every new year representatives from two Berlin churches call on every land owner in the center of town to collect “one Spanish milled dollar”, or a fraction thereof. For more than a century-and-a-half the Berlin Lutheran and Reformed Churches have followed this custom, following provisions of … Read more
The Mount Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church, of Lavansville, was organized as Samuel\’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, in Bedford county, at a very early date, but the earliest records in existence do not show when the organization was effected. It was prior to the year 1784, however. The early records were written in German, and from a … Read more
Wills Evangelical Lutheran Church, situated five miles east of Somerset borough, was organized in 1839, by Rev. Charles Rees. Of its original members were:Daniel Will, elderMichael Weyand, elderWilliam Will, deaconD. A. Rhodes, deacon The pastors have been:Rev. Charles ReesRev. Samuel B. LawsonRev. J. F. WilliamsRev. J. K. MillerRev. P. SahmRev. John TomlinsonRev. J. J. … Read more
The Salem congregation of the Reformed Church at Lavansville was organized in 1856, by Rev. Charles Hoffmire. Among the original members were:Levi KnepperDavid Lavan and wifeJonas Hemminger and wifeIsrael Herring and wifeGeorge Kimmel and wifeJohn Thompson and wifeLevi Boucher and wifeSolomon BoucherSimon Chorpenning and wifeHenry Hay and wifeMary SternIsrael Hemminger The successors of Mr. Hoffmire … Read more
St. Peter\’s Reformed Church, of Somerset township, was organized from Beam\’s church, Jenner township, by Rev. William H. Bates, in 1880. Its original members were:Jonathan Rhoads and wifeIsrael Hemminger and familyGeorge Geisel and familyLevi Berkey and familyJohn Freidline and familyJonathan Miller and familySamuel Berkey and familyJoseph F. Rhoads and familyNoah Brendel and familyDavid B. Ash … Read more
Dulls At Somerset for Reunion; Will be Here Next Year One of the most successful reunions of the Dull family was held at Edgewood Park, Somerset, on Sunday, August 9. About 250 relatives and friends of the Dull clan gathered at the park. After a sumptuous dinner, served in the large dining hall, where the … Read more