Marybeth, First off, I urge you to go to our Centre Co. GenWeb site (www.rootsweb.com/~pacentre/centre.htm) and go to Naturalizations. Follow the links to the naturalization imaging project. There you may find Martin Dolan's naturalization paperwork which may state when and where he came to America. As far as churches go, try St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, 134 E. Bishop St., Bellefonte, PA 16823. They are very helpful and have records going back to the 1830s. The early records have all been published in the volumes Catholic Vital Records of Central Pennsylvania (a 5 volume set) which is probably available through Interlibrary loan. There is a copy in the Centre County Library if you wish to contact them. The email is: Paroom@naccess.net I know of no oil drilling in our county. The first oil well was in 1859 in the northwestern part of Pennsylvania and it is today a historic site. There are many Dolans buried in St. John's Catholic Church Cemetery. Justin Justin Kirk Houser Genealogist/Researcher of Central PA and Beyond Main Lines: Houser, Breon, Shawley, Ranio (and others) President, BAHS Class of 2003 Listowner, PACENTRE-L@Rootsweb.com Historian, Schürch Association of North America (specialty Central PA lines) Member, Valley View United Methodist Church "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature"