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Northeastern Pennsylvania Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pocono area
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Old 07-19-2012, 05:26 AM
 
28,164 posts, read 25,298,921 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cma401 View Post
My father was from the Wilkes-Barre area. My grand father, great grand father and great-great grandfather were coal miners. How can I find more information about my ancestors?
Two places to start:

Welcome to the Luzerne County Historical Society website | NEPA luzerne county Pensylvania history

Genealogy

Good luck!
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Old 01-13-2013, 05:55 PM
 
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My grandfather came to US from Turka Ukraine. Name was Michael Tyriw, they lived in Olyphant and then Scranton. My name somehow became Tiddick. No idea how that happened as Michaels wedding certificate lists his name as Michael Tyriw with prior locations listed as Turka and Jablonka. Both towns are near the Polish border in the old Western Ukraine and are 55 miles apart. He worked in the coal mines. Would love to find Tyriw relatives and also how to pronounce that.
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Old 01-14-2013, 01:08 PM
 
Location: Lehighton/Jim Thorpe area
2,095 posts, read 3,101,998 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyriw View Post
My grandfather came to US from Turka Ukraine. Name was Michael Tyriw, they lived in Olyphant and then Scranton. My name somehow became Tiddick. No idea how that happened as Michaels wedding certificate lists his name as Michael Tyriw with prior locations listed as Turka and Jablonka. Both towns are near the Polish border in the old Western Ukraine and are 55 miles apart. He worked in the coal mines. Would love to find Tyriw relatives and also how to pronounce that.
Any chance you are from the Fleetville/East Benton area? I knew some Tyriws back in high school.
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Old 01-26-2013, 02:58 PM
 
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Not that I'm aware of. Found out my grandfather was from Turka in the Ukraibe just south of Poland.
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Old 01-26-2013, 05:29 PM
 
Location: University City, Philadelphia
22,632 posts, read 14,939,765 times
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This past summer I did my annual "Anthracite Heritage" roadtrip and stayed in Pittston. On this trip I concentrated on the Wyoming Valley and re-visited (for the umpteenth time McDade Park, the coal mine tour (very very good, but I think I still prefer the "Number 5 Mine Tour" in Lansford, PA), and the Anthracite Museum. This time I had the pleasure of meeting the curator of the museum, and we had a delightful conversation on how the mining heritage of labor organizing and unions still has some influence in Wyoming Valley politics ... even 110 years after the 1902 Strike.

On this trip I drove up to Forest City in Susquehanna County which is the northeastern-most tip of the Pennsylvania coal region.

I also checked out the new casino in Wilkes Barre, but gambling is not my thing.
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Old 04-05-2013, 02:20 PM
 
4 posts, read 13,205 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Clark Park View Post
Although I live in Philly, a part of American History that has always fascinated me was the story of anthracite coal mining, the miners, and their families in Pennsylvania. The story includes the interesting aspects of the Molly Maguires, the Lattimer Massacre, the Phoebe Snow advertisements, the Strike of 1902, the Centralia Fire, etc.

I have toured the region over the years and have visited several times places like Eckley Miner's Village, the Anthracite Museum in Scranton, the Ashland Coal Mine Tour, and others.

Why is it so interesting? I believe it was Pennsylvania coal that fueled the American Industrial Revolution from the decade before the Civil War right up until World War 2. The fact is, the life of the miners and their families were so hard! It was almost a kind of slavery: low wages, long hours, crummy houses in "patch towns" provided by the mining company, having to buy goods from the overpriced company store, exposure to danger and unhealthy conditions.

For example, consider the "breaker boys": these kids - they were supposed to be 12 and up, but the company never checked birth certificates or other documents and there were boys as young as 8 working long hours, sitting on hard wooden benches picking slate and other impurities out of the coal coming down in chutes for 10, 11 or 12 hours a day. They would come home covered in coal dust with bleeding hands. If they were slow or not showing "enthusiasm" at their bench, there was a manager with a big wooden stick who would beat the boy! Yikes!

Did any of you come from coal mining families? Can you share with us any stories you might of heard how people made ends meet? I would love to learn more about the lifestyles of the miners, their families, and people in the region.
Has anyone found out information about mines and the workers in north Scranton, Pa.? I would be interested in speaking with you to see what you have from the late 1800's through 1900's. My relatives worked these mines but no one seems to have info. The mines in the marvine and on north main ave. Thanks.
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Old 05-28-2013, 03:18 PM
 
Location: University City, Philadelphia
22,632 posts, read 14,939,765 times
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I found a really great site:

The Underground Miners Website

This is the official website of the Abandoned Mine Research, Inc. These guys seems to photographing the remains of mines and collieries in eastern PA.

Check it out!
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Old 05-28-2013, 06:48 PM
 
41,813 posts, read 51,039,086 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Clark Park View Post
I found a really great site:

The Underground Miners Website

This is the official website of the Abandoned Mine Research, Inc. These guys seems to photographing the remains of mines and collieries in eastern PA.

Check it out!
They aren't supposed to be in there, that said they are qualified.

They use to give tours of above ground sites you could legally access. This was all day event because they cover both the norther fields here in the Scranton/W-B area and the southern field near Pottsville. Shoot them an emal if you're interested, I don't know if they still give them.
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Old 05-29-2013, 01:09 PM
 
539 posts, read 1,068,686 times
Reputation: 439
Being that this thread is almost 9 pages long, I'm not sure if I've posted this before, but there's a site called Northernfield info where it lists each coal company and operation in the area, from way back until the last years of operation.

Pennsylvania Northern Coal Field

Trains Magazine put out a great map of the rail lines in pdf form in 2009, and if you look closely,
you can also see where many of the collieries were located in the W-B/Scranton area, very interesting.
This map was supposed to represent the area circa 1939:

http://trn.trains.com/~/media/import...ilroad-map.pdf
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Old 07-07-2013, 08:09 PM
 
Location: University City, Philadelphia
22,632 posts, read 14,939,765 times
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A bit of news ...

The US Post Office is going to issue postage stamps featuring photos of ordinary coal miners next month.

A few weeks ago I really enjoyed one of my "Anthracite Heritage Road Trips" ... one of the highlights was having lunch in Shamokin at a place called Coney Island. Had hot dogs with "the works"!!!! YUM!!!!
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