Dear Jim: I remember Sam Douglass very faintly. His father was pastor of Coursin St. Methodist Church. Rev. Douglass' wife was an invalid and required constant care. It was a very tragic day in the life of our church when he committed suicide in despair over not being able to care for his wife and serve the church. My father felt horrible for years about Rev. Douglas. Rev. Douglas knowing that my dad hunted stopped by our home and tried to give my dad all of his rifles. Dad felt he couldn't accept the gift since it involved very expensive, handmade rifles. It was less than a week later that Rev. Douglas used one of those rifles to take his life. How hard on his family, church, and friends. Rev. Douglas was a dignified scholar and excellent preacher and pastor. May he rest in peace. Marc M. G. Stauffer

Dear Jim: The B-25 in question came down over the Homestead High Level Bridge and landed in the Mon. As far as I know it has never been found despite intensive searches for it. Some think the government found and recovered it in secret, others have said that it is buried so deep in the mud at the bottom that has made a recovery impossible. Marc M. G. Stauffer

Dear Teresa: I remember an "old" Mrs. Metzler when Aunt Luella Taylor belonged to the "Helping Hand Class" at Coursin Street ME Church. This would have been in the 1950's and most of these women were 80 - 100. Della Logue, Mrs. John Helmsteder (sp) Sr., Daisy Mobley, Mable Mains or Means; Mrs. Chew, Miss McClure. I can't remember the others. Those records from 1881 to present should be at Wesley United Methodist Church in White Oak. The church now stands just up the hill from the Penn State McKeesport Campus. Coursin St. ME Church decided to sell its building during the 5th ward renovation. The Congregation met for awhile at First ME; decided against a merger with them and then met at the Ballantine Methodist Church on Bailey Ave for several years. In the mid 1960's the congregation decided to move to White Oak and chose the name Wesley United Methodist Church. If the records aren't there then the pastor or church secretary should be able to tell you where they are stored. Marc M. G. Stauffer

>From the Boulevard up to 6th st Coursin is 4 lanes ,from 6th to Versailles it is still cobblestones -- and narrow . Donna

Our Home Page http://pages.prodigy.net/vantinebjde/ Green Ribbon Campaign for Open Records http://levgen.www.50megs.com/grcampaign.html Oklahoma Adoption Rights Group Oklahoma_adoptee_rights@yahoogroups.com ----- Original Message ----- From: <PAMCKEESPORT-D-request@rootsweb.com> To: <PAMCKEESPORT-D@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2001 12:00 PM Subject: PAMCKEESPORT-D Digest V01 #65

Hey Y'all Last time I ran up Coursin from the Boulevard to Versailles it seemed like I was on cobblestones. Then again that was a couple years ago. <g> Regards, Dave Boyd aka Pharmasaurus Rx Greenville,SC Treasurer, House of Boyd Society, Inc. A Scottish Clan Society Lead, VP-Program, Palmetto Statesmen Barbershop Chorus Lead, The Upstate Four, Barbershop quartet daveboydjr@mindspring.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "Marc Stauffer" <staufferm@washpost.com> To: <PAMCKEESPORT-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2001 2:45 PM Subject: Re: [PAMCKEESPORT] Old St. Joseph's Cemetery > > Jim: > > Going to church every Sunday at Coursin St. M. E. Church I remember Coursin > St. when it was brick and Belgian Block from 5th Avenue to O'Neil Blvd. I > don't know of any widening of it prior to the old 5th ward revitalization > program. > > marc > M. G. Stauffer > >

As a kid, I always heard about an airforce plane that made an emergency landing in the Mon River at McKeesport (40s or 50s) and that it was never found. A few years ago, there was an art exhibit at the Carnegie Library in Pgh that had a western PA theme -- they had as a painting or drawing of a plane that disappeared in the Mon but it was labeled as occuring at Homestead. Can anyone verify where and when this happend and if there were two similar occurances. Jim Owston

The person taking care of the cemetery on one side( not Fairview) was Mr. Monchel( maybe Mr. Montchel) This was in the 50's and he and his wife lived in Martin Alley. That was off the 900 block of Lawndale Ave. They were a very nice couple. Shirley

I always thought the cemetray at the top of Coursin St was Fairview and that it was divided by the road ,untill I spoke with a woman who used to be in charge of the Cath cemetaries for McK -- They are actually two separate cemetaries--Old St Joseph and Fairview . Donna

The phone number for New St Joseph Cemetray on Rt 30 ( Lincoln Highway ) not far from East McKeesport--actually it is in North Versailles. is 823-9111 ( area code is either 412 or 724-) Donna

Marc: You would certainly know this better than I would as I grew up in North Versailles. It may have not even been this cemetery -- or it may have been something my step father said happened when his parents were children. I just don't remember the specifics of story to date it in any way. I heard it when I was about 12 or 13 and I'm 45 now -- so a lot of water has flowed down the Mon since then. Jim Marc Stauffer wrote: > Jim: > > Going to church every Sunday at Coursin St. M. E. Church I remember Coursin > St. when it was brick and Belgian Block from 5th Avenue to O'Neil Blvd. I > don't know of any widening of it prior to the old 5th ward revitalization > program. > > marc > M. G. Stauffer > > ==== PAMCKEESPORT Mailing List ==== > Did you know you can send money online with PayPal? > PayPal lets users send and receive money online. > Use PayPal to split restaurant tabs, collect club dues, pay > friends for movie tickets, or buy an item at an online auction. > PayPal charges the money to your credit card or bank account. > It's faster, safer and easier than mailing a check. > As soon as you sign up and complete the bonus requirements, > PayPal will automatically add $5 to your balance! > We're confident you'll want to use PayPal, but if not, you can > transfer the money to your bank account at any time. No strings > attached. > Click on this link to sign up and see for yourself: > https://secure.paypal.com/refer/pal=GeoJenk%40aol.com > After signing up, you'll get an email like this to send to > your friends and family. PayPal will give you $5 for each > friend you refer who completes the bonus requirements. > It's that easy! > > ============================== > Visit Ancestry.com for a FREE 14-Day Trial and enjoy access to the #1 > Source for Family History Online. Go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/subscribe/subscribetrial1y.asp?sourcecode=F11HB

Jim: Going to church every Sunday at Coursin St. M. E. Church I remember Coursin St. when it was brick and Belgian Block from 5th Avenue to O'Neil Blvd. I don't know of any widening of it prior to the old 5th ward revitalization program. marc M. G. Stauffer

Marc: I may be wrong about the putting in the street at this moment in time as my step-father was born in 1904. Perhaps they widened the street -- I'm not sure and he has been dead 10 years, so I can't ask him. Not sure when the cemetery went in but my relative was buried there in 1895. So it at least is from that era. My Fairview family members are a little later than that. Jim Owston Marc Stauffer wrote: > Ok - that gives us an even earlier date. Coursin Street was put in prior > to 1881. Coursin Street Methodist Episcopal Church North built a large > stone structure on Coursin St starting 1879 and finishing in 1881. My Aunt > Luella Taylor was the organist there for years, and was followed by Ruth > Richards whom many of you would also know as the librarian at Carnegie > Library of McKeesport. If memory serves me correctly. Carnegie built the > Braddock Library as his first and McKeesport was given the second library. > > Marc > M. G. Stauffer > > ==== PAMCKEESPORT Mailing List ==== > Try the "All Things McKeesport Web Ring" > If your Web Site is about McKeesport or owned by a McKeesporter....Join!! http://www.geocities.com/geojenk/ > If your Web Site is Owned by a McKeesporter...Join!! > > ============================== > Visit Ancestry.com for a FREE 14-Day Trial and enjoy access to the #1 > Source for Family History Online. Go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/subscribe/subscribetrial1y.asp?sourcecode=F11HB

Yes, I saw Fairview. There is an entrance for Fairview and it is labeled. There was no sign that specified Old St. Joseph's. We spoke to a man whose property shares the driveway with Fairview. He said that Old St. Joseph's backs up to Fairview and it is also across the street. There are many areas on both sides without stones. This may have a lot to do with what you said about the flood. I had also heard that they had relocated graves. I did find people at the New St. Joseph's, but didn't have a chance to make it through the entire cemetery. -----Original Message----- From: James Martin Owston [mailto:jowston@cwv.edu] Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2001 12:34 PM To: PAMCKEESPORT-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [PAMCKEESPORT] Old St. Joseph's Cemetery The protestant half is Fairview Cemetery. My step father told me that when they put in Coursin St. they bisected the two cemeteries and graves needed to be re-located. During this time, because of heavy rains, caskets were floating down the hill to 5th Avenue. I would like to know further of the Old St. Joe's too as I have an Uncle who died as a child buried there. Jim Owston Marc Stauffer wrote: > I'm ROFL. How strange - a cemetery that is over 80 years old is the New > St. Joseph's. I didn't know that the one at the top of Coursin St. and > O'Neil Blvd. was also St. Joseph's. Isn't it divided by Coursin St. with > one half Protestant and the other half Catholic? > > Marc > M. G. Stauffer > > ==== PAMCKEESPORT Mailing List ==== > Did you know you can send money online with PayPal? > PayPal lets users send and receive money online. > Use PayPal to split restaurant tabs, collect club dues, pay > friends for movie tickets, or buy an item at an online auction. > PayPal charges the money to your credit card or bank account. > It's faster, safer and easier than mailing a check. > As soon as you sign up and complete the bonus requirements, > PayPal will automatically add $5 to your balance! > We're confident you'll want to use PayPal, but if not, you can > transfer the money to your bank account at any time. No strings > attached. > Click on this link to sign up and see for yourself: > https://secure.paypal.com/refer/pal=GeoJenk%40aol.com > After signing up, you'll get an email like this to send to > your friends and family. PayPal will give you $5 for each > friend you refer who completes the bonus requirements. > It's that easy! > > ============================== > Ancestry.com Genealogical Databases > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/rwlist2.asp > Search over 2500 databases with one easy query! ==== PAMCKEESPORT Mailing List ==== Be sure to visit Jenkins-Jeffries-Lee Family Page http:/www.geocities.com/geojenk/ Please take time to look at the latest McKeesport, Pa pics in the "All Things McKeesport" section. ============================== Shop Ancestry - Everything you need to Discover, Preserve & Celebrate your heritage! http://shop.myfamily.com/ancestrycatalog

Ok - that gives us an even earlier date. Coursin Street was put in prior to 1881. Coursin Street Methodist Episcopal Church North built a large stone structure on Coursin St starting 1879 and finishing in 1881. My Aunt Luella Taylor was the organist there for years, and was followed by Ruth Richards whom many of you would also know as the librarian at Carnegie Library of McKeesport. If memory serves me correctly. Carnegie built the Braddock Library as his first and McKeesport was given the second library. Marc M. G. Stauffer

The protestant half is Fairview Cemetery. My step father told me that when they put in Coursin St. they bisected the two cemeteries and graves needed to be re-located. During this time, because of heavy rains, caskets were floating down the hill to 5th Avenue. I would like to know further of the Old St. Joe's too as I have an Uncle who died as a child buried there. Jim Owston Marc Stauffer wrote: > I'm ROFL. How strange - a cemetery that is over 80 years old is the New > St. Joseph's. I didn't know that the one at the top of Coursin St. and > O'Neil Blvd. was also St. Joseph's. Isn't it divided by Coursin St. with > one half Protestant and the other half Catholic? > > Marc > M. G. Stauffer > > ==== PAMCKEESPORT Mailing List ==== > Did you know you can send money online with PayPal? > PayPal lets users send and receive money online. > Use PayPal to split restaurant tabs, collect club dues, pay > friends for movie tickets, or buy an item at an online auction. > PayPal charges the money to your credit card or bank account. > It's faster, safer and easier than mailing a check. > As soon as you sign up and complete the bonus requirements, > PayPal will automatically add $5 to your balance! > We're confident you'll want to use PayPal, but if not, you can > transfer the money to your bank account at any time. No strings > attached. > Click on this link to sign up and see for yourself: > https://secure.paypal.com/refer/pal=GeoJenk%40aol.com > After signing up, you'll get an email like this to send to > your friends and family. PayPal will give you $5 for each > friend you refer who completes the bonus requirements. > It's that easy! > > ============================== > Ancestry.com Genealogical Databases > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/rwlist2.asp > Search over 2500 databases with one easy query!

Dear Erin: Perhaps there was some agreement about burials between Catholics and Protestants on this. I know I have Protestant relatives buried on the left side as you come up Coursin St. to O'Neil Blvd. I wonder if perhaps it was because of the flu epidemic of 1918 or another epidemic of some kind - and necessity dictated that mixture. Marc M. G. Stauffer

That's what some relatives had told us--that one half was protestant and the other side of the road was Catholic. Well, we have McCloskeys and Ryans on the one side (both of whom were Catholic) and Skelleys on the other side (who were also Catholic), so I can't say I believe that anymore. -----Original Message----- From: Marc Stauffer [mailto:staufferm@washpost.com] Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2001 10:35 AM To: Rodriguez, Erin Cc: PAMCKEESPORT-L@rootsweb.com Subject: RE: [PAMCKEESPORT] Old St. Joseph's Cemetery I'm ROFL. How strange - a cemetery that is over 80 years old is the New St. Joseph's. I didn't know that the one at the top of Coursin St. and O'Neil Blvd. was also St. Joseph's. Isn't it divided by Coursin St. with one half Protestant and the other half Catholic? Marc M. G. Stauffer

I'm ROFL. How strange - a cemetery that is over 80 years old is the New St. Joseph's. I didn't know that the one at the top of Coursin St. and O'Neil Blvd. was also St. Joseph's. Isn't it divided by Coursin St. with one half Protestant and the other half Catholic? Marc M. G. Stauffer

Dear Friends: Yes, there is a St. Joseph's Cemetery near East McKeesport. The entrance is at the top of Foster Road at its junction with Route 30. As you face the entrance the Catholic (St. Joseph's section) is to your right the Protestant Cemetery is to your left. The oldest graves there date from the late teens or twenties. I have relatives buried there as well. (Actually I think I have relatives in virtually all the cemeteries around the 'Port. This St. Joseph's Cemetery wasn't run by one parish if I remember correctly. It may have been run by one of the dioceses. I know neighbors who were Russian Orthodox were buried these, as well as Byzantine Catholics and Roman Catholics. Who actually administers it - I just don't know. There is a large office in the Protestant section but I forget the exact name of it. It may also be outside the boundaries of East McKeesport and in North Versailles Township. Marc M. G. Stauffer