I am in need for information PLEASE ASAP!!!! (Pittsburgh, York: appointed, credit)

[workfromhome]

Hi everyone! I have been on the internet for approx. 4 hours searching for some info that I need to finish up a huge surprise gift that my self and my 4 children are giving there grandma for her 72nd birthday which is today. PLEASE -PLEASE tons of replies would be great and just keep in mind I am in about tears because I have NO resources etc.... SO I would be as grateful for as much info as you can post please!!!!!!! What I will do to make this easy I will explain what we are doing and then what I need help on!

I have the best mother in law in the world and my children feel the same about there grandma! But she has had 3 love ones pass away in the past 2 years. (Her husband, her daughter in law, and her twin brother) She has become so sad; living by herself she is so lonely. The love that she shared daily with her husband was a love honestly that most folks would say doesn’t exist. They never fought, disagreed, made all decisions together, and liked the same things. When her husband finally retired they spent 24 hours a day together. They live in a very rural area, and didn't feel the need to have or do what most folks do at 2007. (They had a local phone line, one TV with NO cable, no VHS or DVD machines etc... Took only 1 to 2 trips a year and that was to visit their son & his wife and 3 grandchildren about 5 hours away and stayed for only 2 days and straight back home. No vacations. Still loved to hang her clothes on a line out side. They loved to maintain a large vegetable & fruit garden etc...) Never let anything inside or outside of there home stress them etc....

So what we decided to do is gather up as much info, photo's etc.... we can from when she was a child to leaving home and marrying her husband, being proud parents to 5 child total. They had a son, son, son, and a set of twins (son & daughter)!! Then they became very proud grandparents too!!!!! Then I am putting it all together and making her several DVD Movies. Her children gave her a DVD machine recently but it has just sat so we thought if we put allot of great memories together! I have tons of pictures of my children like on field trips etc... that I am going to put together in a movie that she has never seen etc... OK here is what I am hitting the wall on and need some help with..........

We wanted to start the gift off with her family and when she was young but we have not much info so I called her and asked her some questions thinking if I get the answers then I can use them to do some searching on the internet to get maybe photo's, text info, etc.................. What I will do is list the questions & answers so if anyone knows any websites that would have any info or pictures of the certain areas in PA I am looking for & also if any actually knows any of her family living or deceased please- please send me your contact info. If anyone knows any newspapers or places that I may be able to contact to find any info about the family at all would be a true blessing. Her parents had 15 children, and there was I think a fire at one time and her parents are deceased so there was no information, photo's etc.... only what there living memories can remember.

My Mother in law's maiden name was: May Bendel
Married name is: May Ottey

May's fathers name was: Henry Bendel
She grew up in: Floress area in PA

May's Mothers maiden name was: Julia Ballas
Married name was: Julia Bendel
Julia was from Austria Hungry. When she was 8 years old she traveled by ship to Ellis Island. As time goes on she ended living in Elizabeth, PA.

How did your father & mother meet? She replied my mom told me that they only lived 4 or 5 miles apart and that her mom said that when it snowed there was a place in that 4 or 5 miles where kids would all get together and sled. And that is how they met!

Where were your parents laid to rest? She replied Jefferson Hills Commentary, PA. Side by side and I think a couple of her brothers are there too, she said they were veterans.

Where were you raised as a child? May's reply my parents & 15 children lived in Gill Hall, PA. We lived in a farm. We all worked the farm. No school bus we walked.

How many children are still living? May's reply counting me 2 brothers, and 4 sisters.

May also told me that several of her brothers volunteered at a Volunteer Fire Department in Floress area (PA).

I hope to hear from anyone soon!!!! Thank You
Wanda

[mystree]

I know alot of libraries have old newspapers on micro film,that may be of some help.

Maybe Genealogy.com or Ancestry.com
Sorry i couldn't be of more help,Hope you find what you are looking for.

[workfromhome]

Thank You!

[Summering]

I went to my Ancestry as I am a member while I look up our family things.
I was not lucky for you. But, it is very timeconsuming ........somedays you find a lot. Others nothing.....
I found one of my husband uncles who went back and forth on the ships from Norway. All the ships he was on, and even when he was sick and missed getting on as he was in the hospital.
I was working with what you said.....using May, Henry, and Julia
What year did she come over on a ship at 8.......
I did look at quite a few passanger lists from the locations you stated
Was she born in what year........?
It seems you are in a hurry for this information........if you had a bit of time I could look some more tomorrow in the AM.
Any deeper information if you have it ...correct age...family names who came over with them. They are listed on passenger lists with the father as head.
Etc...........PM me if you have the time or the information. Thanks...

[fopt65]

go to Ellis Island - FREE Port of New York Passenger Records Search
it lists ship's manifests and pictures of ship the person came in on. Hnady to have an idea of person's arrival date and /or age upon arrival.
Good Luck

[Katiana]

My DH found his grandfather on the Ellis Island webiste and was thrilled; he couldn't find his grandmother b/c she had a very common name and there were a lot of people with that name.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by workfromhome

My Mother in law's maiden name was: May Bendel
Married name is: May Ottey

May's fathers name was: Henry Bendel
She grew up in: Floress area in PA

May's Mothers maiden name was: Julia Ballas
Married name was: Julia Bendel
Julia was from Austria Hungry. When she was 8 years old she traveled by ship to Ellis Island. As time goes on she ended living in Elizabeth, PA.

How did your father & mother meet? She replied my mom told me that they only lived 4 or 5 miles apart and that her mom said that when it snowed there was a place in that 4 or 5 miles where kids would all get together and sled. And that is how they met!

Where were your parents laid to rest? She replied Jefferson Hills Commentary, PA. Side by side and I think a couple of her brothers are there too, she said they were veterans.

Where were you raised as a child? May's reply my parents & 15 children lived in Gill Hall, PA. We lived in a farm. We all worked the farm. No school bus we walked.

How many children are still living? May's reply counting me 2 brothers, and 4 sisters.

May also told me that several of her brothers volunteered at a Volunteer Fire Department in Floress area (PA).

You must be spelling Floress wrong. Everything else you are mentioning is in the greater Pittsburgh area. But I can't find anything related to Floress. Please check your spelling. There's a Floreffe slightly down river from Elizabeth. There's a Beedle Park near Floreffe---maybe they rode sleds there. You might get a better response if you posted in the Pittsburgh forum instead of the Pennsylvania forum.

Gill Hill is in Jefferson Hills. So any old pictures you find of Jefferson Hills will probably do just fine.

Here's a picture of the Jefferson Hills old library: Jefferson Borough Public Library

Are you sure her maiden name is Bendel and not Bedell? There's some rich history for a Bedell family. Read this:

BEDELL, ABNER: He was born 14 Aug 1761 and died 15 Sept 1842. Bedell enlisted in the New Jersey troops on 1 Apr 1780 at Morris, New Jersey, and marched to Springfield under the command of Colonel Spencer. The troops then marched back to Morris where Bedell remained in service until 1 Oct 1780, when he was discharged. he was appointed Captain of a volunteer company in February 1781 at Morris, NJ, and again served under Colonel Spencer. The troops marched to the Hudson River above New York City where it joined the main army under General Washington. Bedell's troops served with the Continental Army until discharged on 1 Feb 1781, having participated in the Battle of Springfield and the taking of Cornwallis at Yorktown. Bedell is credited with assisting a wounded Lafayette from the field in one battle. In 1809 Bedell purchased a farm (of which John Wright was patentee) in Jefferson Township, where he resided until 1824, when the Bedell family removed to Elizabeth township. Abner Bedell applied for pension on 20 Jul 1835, while a resident of Elizabeth Township, Allegheny County, PA, but the pension was disallowed due to insufficient proof.

The above came from the Revolutionary War Ventran's of West Jefferson Hill's website: West Jefferson Hills Historical Society

I wish I could be more help. I think you should post in the Pittsburgh forum for a better response.

[johnhamman]

Hi, I found this post doing a search for "Henry Bendel", which was my great great grandfather.
Henry Bendel
Born Nov. 3 1898 (parents John and Margaret)
He was 1 of ten children
Joseph, George, Mary, Margaret, Jane, Henry, Robert, Edna, Ernest and Florence.
He was my grandmother's father, her name was Betty (Elisabeth). I do not know if the was anyone named Julie or May.

He worked on the Penn RR and lived in the Elrama and Shire Oaks Pa area.
Hope this helps.

[aubri]

Yes, you are spelling it wrong. I live in what used to be called Floreffe. It used to be Floreffe which is right in the middle of Elrama, and West Elizabeth. It is now officially Jefferson Hills as they changed the mailing addy from Floreffe to Jefferson Hills years ago. Gill hall Road is a 6 minute drive from this area. I had my wedding reception at the Floreffe fire hall you speak of, and yes Beetle park is in this area off of 3rd street.

[aubri]

Hopes, speaking of Bedell, there is a road called Bedell around here.