Washington County "Little Washington" Pennsylvania
Genealogy and Family History 

Research in "Little Washington," Washington County, Pennsylvania is enhanced by having genealogy (often misspelled geneology) and family history information available on the internet. 

This site has genealogy information on many Washington County families, including data from newspapers (birth, death, marriage notices, obituaries, missing persons, adoption and guardianship, probate and deed notices, and surname-only items.)  Links are provided for biographies, family trees and histories.  Use the site- search to find surnames or individuals.  

History of newspaper publications in Washington County PA

History of Brethren (German Baptist) publications.

The City of Washington is the County Seat of Washington County and is located at  40°10'30" North, 80°15'2" West (40.174959, -80.250634).  It lies to the south of Allegheny County, and is north of Greene County.   At one time, parts of both of these counties were included in Washington County.  

Those born and raised in the county will recognized the often-used reference to "Little Washington."  Others grew up calling Washington, Pennsylvania "Washpa" (said just the same as 'ma' or 'pa').   Washington and Washpa of course was pronounced by some locals as "Worsh-ington" and "Worsh-pa" (where a washcloth was a "worsh-cloth." and even George Washington, whose statue is atop the Courthouse, was not immune to having his name altered in like manner.)  

I was born and raised in Washington and learned how to do genealogy using the County Courthouse.  I still had my Worshington "accent" when I moved to Ohio in 1985 and I caused quite a few snickers when others asked where I was from.  I was repeatedly told I definitely had a SW PA "accent" based on other ways I spoke.  Of course, asking for "pop" instead of a "soda" was also a dead-giveaway that I wasn't born in Ohio!   

Tucked in rolling hills, Washington County PA began as heavy forests turned to  farmlands that were toiled over by Germans, Scots, Irish and other immigrants.  The discovery of oil brought great wealth to some families, with oil derricks dotting private lands across the county.  One very interesting old postcard shows the hillside above Prospect Avenue with numerous derricks spread across that area, just blocks from the southern end of town.   And with the County sitting atop the rich bituminous coal field of the Pittsburgh Coal Seam, coal companies grew wealthy by exploiting cheap labor of miners who often traveled from overseas for jobs.  The plentiful oil wells dried mostly, but mining is still in operation in the county, although more jobs today are in the service industry and farming (or dual occupations).   But, throughout harsh conditions of every kind, farmers have always persevered.  Washington farms were widely known for the excellent wool sheared from Merino sheep which were raised in quantity on many, many farms.   In olden days, the National Road or "The Pike" was a noisy scene of men on horseback and wagon taking their herds and flocks (sheep, cattle, hogs and other livestock) for river shipments at Brownsville.  Farmers also grew a variety of crops, and many farms included orchards.  Farmers lived by the farm, and the weather which often controlled whether they, their families, their animals, and ultimately, whether their farms would survive.

Washington  is often overlooked by genealogy researchers.  But, the county served as a gateway point in travel from eastern locations to the west from the 1700s through the early 1900s. Family groups migrated into and out of the county in waves during almost each decade for many families (bt. 1790 to 1880). There was no set pattern to migration.  Sometimes whole families and relatives moved together, or sometimes it was individual families or parts of families.  Age was not a criteria either in the pattern: Some families included everyone, while in other families, the "older generation" stayed behind while the young adults moved on.  

Although not easy, families traveled much more frequently than many researchers realize and often owned land in two states at one time.  If your family is found in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky or Tennessee, you may find braches of your family had either passed through or  stayed in Washington County.  Consult county histories in various states for biographies; these may give clues pointing you back to southwestern Pennsylvania.  Of course, theses folks had often migrated from eastern Pennsylvania, Virginia, or Maryland into the lower corner of PA.  But even if they were only in SW PA for a short time, they may have left records of their time in Washington county or nearby areas.   

My own research has extended from SW PA (Washington, Fayette and Greene Cos.) eastward to Bedford, Lancaster and York Cos., PA., on to Frederick Co., MD (earliest records so far)...to WVA, OH, IN, IL, KS, CA... and recently over to NJ.  In researching my family, I became interested in the church originally known as German Baptists (Dunkard)  - now called Church of the Brethren.  I have gathered quite a bit of information on many families who lived in the area of the County called Ten Mile.  I have collected copies of original documents since 1983 and inherited documents which my grandmother collected from 1970-2000.  My co-researchers were my sister, Catherine L. Caldwell and grandmother, Ruth Elizabeth Lane McGary, who were both fantastic genealogists.  Our grandmother taught me and my sisters the hobby (passion) of genealogy.

I welcome submissions from researchers whose families lived in Washington County and stayed - or from researchers whose families moved - part or in whole - away from Washington County.  Only by seeing which families moved where can a more complete migration pattern be documented.

Coming....

    Surprise Site 1 - (USA) - [by Judith Florian] - projected date 2008

    Surprise Site 2 - (non-USA) - [by Judith Florian] - projected date 2008