Steubenville: A Short Family History

 

Market Street, Steubenville, Ohio, ca. 1905. Credit below.

Sometime between 1887 and 1891, Sarah Flowers and her husband Harvey walked, or rode, into Steubenville, Ohio. So, too, did Sarah’s three children, John, Elizabeth (known often as Lizzie), and Flora, products of her earlier marriage to a man named Henry John (or possibly John Henry) Woods. Lizzie was the oldest, around 22 years old. John was close behind, perhaps 21 or a bit younger. Flora was the baby, maybe 15. They may have arrived together, or perhaps one forged a path and the others followed, trailing one another from Bellaire, in the neighboring county of Belmont, Ohio. This was a shorter journey than the one before, which had brought Sarah, Lizzie, and John all the way from Hampshire County, West Virginia (or just Virginia, when Sarah was born there in the 1840s) to Bellaire sometime between 1870 and 1880. These are my earliest Steubenville ancestors; Sarah was my 3x-great-grandmother, her daughter Flora my grandfather’s grandmother.

What I Did On My Summer Vacation: Pittsburgh and Steubenville, Part 2

 

The Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh, seen from the Carnegie Library's Main Branch

 

After one last trip down The Strip – and a stop in the candy shop – my parents and sister headed back to Philadelphia and left me behind.Why? I’d planned an additional few days in the area to conduct some family history research, knowing that despite how close Pittsburgh and Philly are on a map, the logistics of getting and staying there meant research trips weren’t easy to just make happen. Getting to Steubenville, 45 minutes west of downtown Pittsburgh, nearer to Wheeling and Weirton, WV, would mean even more effort from Philly, but would be easy to do since I was already in the area. In fact, that was the purpose of my extended stay.

What I Did On My Summer Vacation: Pittsburgh and Steubenville, Part 1

 

View from the Monongahela Incline

It’s been quiet around here, I know, but I’ve actually managed to do a fair amount of research behind the scenes these past few months – what else are weekends for? Throw in a vacation or two and a girl can learn a lot! In fact, I just returned yesterday from a trip to western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio to learn more about my Whaley roots. And in the spirit of back-to-school season, here’s a “What I Did on My Summer Vacation” trip report.