From the Altoona Tribune’s archive of October 3, 1922, pg. 12. Lonnie Bunch, museum director, historian, lecturer, and author, is proud to present A Page from Our American Story, a regular on-line series for Museum supporters. It will showcase individuals… Continue Reading
If you would like to learn more about African American History and other genres of African American literature, please check out the information on this page. I give credit to the African American Read-In classes and committee at Penn State… Continue Reading
November is known as Aviation month. This post is about Blair County African American aviation military veterans who were involved in US military conflicts starting with World War 1. Fort Wayne military camp was located in Detroit, Michigan and the… Continue Reading
From Ancestry.com Mr. John and Sarah Shelor moved to the Warriors Mark valley sometime in the 1880s from the Christianburg, VA area. This valley in Huntingdon County was also called Dungarvin or Dry Hollow. John was born about 1848 and Sarah… Continue Reading
Charles, Florence, William C., and Oscar Nesbit called Altoona home. Charles (1847 to 1912) was the son of William Nesbit, who is recognized as Blair County’s leading underground railroad conductor. Charles was a barber like his father. His business was… Continue Reading
There were at least three Brown families living in Hollidaysburg during the 19th and early 20th century. I have written a blog post on Moses Brown’s and his family. This post is a brief overview of the John “Jack” Brown,… Continue Reading
From the Altoona Mirror’s archives of December 9, 1938 pg. 6. The J. Rosamond Johnson Singers were officially formed in 1934. The idea of this quartet began as a chorus associated with the local community welfare organizations for Blair County… Continue Reading
In Honor of Martin Luther King Jr.’s Holiday: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., (1929 to 1968) spoke at the Rec Hall of PSU University Park campus on Thursday, January 21, 1965. From the Altoona Mirror Newspaper archives of January 22,… Continue Reading
https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/46514/union-african-methodist-episcopal-cemetery https://www.google.com/maps/place/Union+Cemetery/@40.4396047,-78.4012923,15z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x62e2dd4972896064!8m2!3d40.4396047!4d-78.4012923 (map of Union Cemetery on North Montgomery Street, Hollidaysburg, PA) In the late 1860s, the AMEZ (African Methodist Episcopal Zion) and the AME (African Methodist Episcopal) churches’ cemetery known as the African Zion Union or Union Cemetery was… Continue Reading
From Bondage to Freedom “The passage of the fugitive slave law by congress in September, 1850, provoked a deluge of denunciation in Western Pennsylvania as elsewhere throughout the north.” From the archives of Pittsburgh Gazette, September 30, 1850. “East of… Continue Reading