California Historical Society’s tombstone photo collection growing
The stone of a Revolutionary War soldier in Monongahela Cemetery. It took three years to find family members to fill out the paperwork to have the stone placed.
This tombstone at Monongahela Cemetery is said to be a stone of the witch because the decoration appears to be a broom but is actually an inverted torch that signifies a person’s light has gone out.
The tombstone of Arnold Galiffa, who played quarterback for the New York Giants in the 1950s
One of the many unusual and ornate tombstones in Monongahela Cemetery.
The markings are still very legible on this stone from the early 1800s in Monongahela Cemetery.
California Area Historical Society members Kathi Swan, right, and Franny Petras have been cataloging photographs of tombstones, including those in Monongahela Cemetery.
Since 1992, several volunteers with the California Historical Society have been photographing the tombstones in the Highland Cemetery in California and the Howe and Mt. Calvary cemeteries in Coal Center.
Kathi Swan, society secretary and cemetery committee coordinator from Webster, estimates the volunteers amassed about 5,000 photos before she and Franny Petras of Greensburg steeped up to the plate and increased the collection of tombstone photos to an amazing total of around 400,000. The two society members took most of these additional photos in 132 cemeteries in Washington, Fayette, Westmoreland and Allegheny counties.
“We’re not certain, but we might have the largest tombstone photograph collection in the Mon Valley area,” said Mary Beth Graf, society president. “These two society members have devoted hours and hours to make certain that tombstone photographs in the Mon Valley area are well documented.”
As of April 30, the bulk of the latest photographs had come from Monongahela Cemetery, the final resting place of 35,953. All grave sites have been documented during the last two years, chiefly by digital photographs of their tombstones, but also with copies of death certificates, newspaper obituaries or veterans’ burial cards. Copies of all these records are kept at the historical society as well as at the homes of both Swan and Petras.
“Franny and I like to be thorough, and the documents accompanying the photographs are ‘homework’ when we’re not gathering photographs from other cemeteries,” Swan said.
In addition to their work in Monongahela, the two volunteers are focusing at the present time on the Penn Lincoln Cemetery on Route 30 and the St. Paul Seanor Cemetery in New Stanton, both in Westmoreland County. They expect to have their work there finished by the end of July. The remaining part of the year will be devoted to updating the tombstone photos at Highland Cemetery in California and the Howe Cemetery in Coal Center.
“Although I’m the current secretary of the society, it’s evident that my enthusiasm is in cemetery work,” Swan said.
Because of blood clots in her left leg, Swan’s doctor recommends she avoid flying. She said it saddens her she’s never seen her father’s grave in Seattle, Wash., and has little chance of ever going there. Fortunately, after she requested a photo of the grave, a groundskeeper at the cemetery sent her one.
“Later, I found another photo of the grave on a wonderful website, www.findagrave.com, which has 145 million grave records from around the world.”
The California Historical Society collection is a significant asset for those who want to find the burial site of a friend or relative. Photos in their database are indexed alphabetically by cemetery, last name first. There is no charge to use the photo database.
“If someone doesn’t know the cemetery where the person they’re looking for is buried, we can help them find it by looking at newspaper obituaries and death certificates,” Swan said.
The society, at 429 Wood St., California, is open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Inquiries may also be made by emailing the society at calpahistoricalsociety@gmail.com or by phoning 724-938-3250.
Swan first got interested in photographing tombstones via a story passed down through the Kuhns family, her antecedents on her mother’s side. It concerned a son, Harrison, who died in his third year. The boy was born at a time when birth certificates weren’t mandatory in Pennsylvania, but had been baptized. Unfortunately, his baptismal records were destroyed when the church caught fire.
“My mother and aunt always told me that Harrison’s tombstone was located in Miller United Methodist Church off Route 30 near North Versailles,” Swan said. “When I found it, I took a photo of it to prove he existed. The experience led me to believe there must be other people out there who don’t know where their ancestors or friends are buried.”
Petras began taking photos soon after she got a digital camera and thought tombstones would be a good subject to start with because of the light and shadow contrasts they exhibit.
The two women met after Swan sent her a requested photo of Petra’s relative’s tombstone.
“We made arrangements to meet sometime in 2011 and have been taking tombstone photos ever since,” Swan said.