History of Bedford, Somerset, and Fulton Counties, Pennsylvania

By: Waterman, Watkins and Company, Pub. 1884, reprinted 2020, 924 pages, New Index, ISBN #0-89308-734-3.  Bedford County was created in 1771 from Cumberland County and is the parent county to: Huntington, Somerset, Blair, Cambria and Fulton.  Somserset County as created in 1795 and Fulton was created in 1850.  It sits in the southern portion of the state boarding Maryland.  This area is where the French and Indian War occurred.  It was a vital area for development of the country.  Upon the defeat of the French and Treaties with the native Indians, westward expansion was allowed to progress.  This book is not too different from other county history books of this era.  With such topics as trade & transportation, labor, farming, towns rows, Boundary Lines, politics, Military Service, the Whiskey Insurrection, French Occupation, Land and religion - all important in the development of the county - are carefully discussed.  This type of county history book can help one develop ideas or paths to those missing ancestors by showing the customs and traditions of the local residents.  A particular useful feature of this book is the extensive biographical information included.  This volume contains more than 276 biographical sketches, included in which are some 10,000 additional family members.  The New Index for this edition has approximately 32,000 entries.