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Genealogists know that from time to time terrible diseases have swept America. The current COVID-19 pandemic is just the latest in a long series.
The task of the genealogist here in Northeastern Pennsylvania is to find out how his or her ancestors were impacted by everything from localized disease outbreaks to pandemics.
Take the yellow fever outbreak that ravaged Philadelphia in 1793. It was limited geographically, but many families now in our area had ancestors there. An estimated 10 percent of the city’s then-population of 50,000 died in the epidemic.
Libraries everywhere remain closed, but there are websites telling the story of that disaster. Start there. But how to find out if your ancestors were impacted?
The U.S. Censuses for 1790 and 1800 will be available anywhere. Find your ancestors and compare the names. A missing name in 1800 could indicate a fatality. Philadelphia newspapers from the time could help as well. See if online sources like newspapers.com work for you.
Some diseases swept the country – and the world. The 1918-1919 Spanish flu pandemic hit everywhere. Locally, you have Wilkes-Barre Record Almanacs for guidance, digitized copies of local newspapers and U.S. Census records, as well as the resources of Luzerne County and all the cemeteries and churches, though you’ll have to wait for some of them.
For communities elsewhere, go online to find their libraries and historical and genealogical societies with vital data bases. Once back in operation, they will direct you to the churches and cemeteries you need. Don’t neglect www.familysearch.com, the immense free international resource of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Resources: Here’s another reason to join the Northeast Pennsylvania Genealogical Society. Members get a copy of the quarterly newsletter, which is filled with information on the society’s resources. The most recent issue – Spring – explains all about how men qualified to become miners through experience and testing. It also lists the society’s large resources in mining materials for the area.
Anthracite coal mining, of course, was for generations Northeastern Pennsylvania’s dominant industry by far. Many current (and former) residents number miners and other mine workers among their ancestors.
Even though the research library at 57 North Franklin St. in Wilkes-Barre is not open at the moment, you can send in queries via the website www.nepgs.com.
U.S. Census: Nearly every household in America has received a packet of forms, the Bureau of the Census announced Thursday. However, the Census added, about four in 10 households nationally have yet to respond. Many of the responses made have been online. Others were by mail.
How are we doing locally? Pennsylvania ranks 17th among the states with a response rate of 64.7%. Luzerne County ranks 43rd of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties with a 60.9 percent response. Within the county, Laflin has the top response rate of 79.8%, while Harveys Lake is the lowest at 24.5%. The county’s largest community, Wilkes-Barre, has a response rate of 51.0%.
The Census is continuing to drop off packets at remaining home addresses and to try to reach people who have not yet responded. Says the Census in a release, “Census statistics help determine the number of seats each state holds in the U.S. House of Representatives and how billions of dollars in federal funds will be allocated by state, local, and federal lawmakers every year for the next 10 years.”
Personal information in this Census will not be released to the public until April, 2092. But two years from now, the Census of 1950 will be fully released to the public.
Tom Mooney is a Times Leader genealogy columnist. Reach him at tommooney42@gmail.com.