Blair County Genealogical Society, Inc.

04/11/2026

Just another negative scan from one of the BCGS preservation projects !

04/09/2026

A cemetery program will be presented on April 29th at 7:00 Pm in Williamsburg at the Williamsburg-Pa-Historical Society by Jim Snyder Jr.. A photo scanner will be on hand if you have any Williamsburg are pics you would like to share with the group.

04/09/2026

In celebration of America’s 250th birthday, the Blair County Genealogical Society will be highlighting a founding family every month. These families were witness to the struggle of our country’s independence in what is now known as Blair County, Pennsylvania.
April’s Founding Family is the Bell family.
Edward Bell was born 17 March 1767 in Hart’s Log Settlement, now Alexandria, Huntingdon County PA. He was the son of John & Elizabeth (Hunter) Bell, who emigrated from Scotland. According to Edward Bell’s memoirs, his father John Bell, moved the family into Canoe Valley around 1776. John Bell obtained warrants in 1794 for land in Sinking Valley and they relocated again.
In Edward Bell’s memoirs, he boasted that the first pair of shoes he ever wore, he made for himself while living at Fort Lowry (Canoe Valley) during the Indian trouble of the late 1770’s. He soon became shoemaker for the fort. He discovered he did not like making shoes so he served a regular apprenticeship to mill-wrighting.
Edward married Mary Ann Martin on Feb. 7, 1799. To this union were born 9 children: James, John, Samuel Hunter, David, Martin, Mary Ann, Elizabeth, Adie Kyle, and Benjamin Franklin. In 1810, he received a land warrant for 300 acres in Allegheny Township, Huntingdon County (now Antis township, Blair County). On the 1810 resident list Edward Bell is listed as owning a distillery, gristmill, and sawmills. In 1830 he was listed owning 3,674 acres and that year he built Mary Ann Forge. In 1832 he built Elizabeth Furnace. His son Martin soon took over the furnace and his system of banking the fire to keep the furnace hot allowed the workers to take Sunday off thus the furnace became known as Sabbath Rest furnace.
The Blair County Genealogical Society has received a box of Edward Bell’s correspondence dated from 1804 -1852. All have been scanned and we are in the process of creating an index for this collection.
Related surnames: Bell, Hunter, Martin, Ward, Boyles, Morrison, Lewis, McKnight, Isett, Dysart, Allen, Stewart
Additional information available at the BCGS Roller-Hojeth Memorial Library at 431 Scotch Valley Road Hollidaysburg PA.
1883 History of Huntingdon & Blair Cos. Pennsylvania by J. Simpson Africa
Memoirs of Edward Bell 1840
History of the Early Settlement of the Juniata Valley by U.J. Jones

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04/07/2026

Sadly we lost another longtime volunteer, Cora Helsel. Altoona Mirror 7/Apr/2026

04/04/2026

Thank you to James Beidler for the compliments! Also a nice article in the Morrisons Cove Herald

04/03/2026

Welcome Jim Lowe at our meeting room om April 16th.

04/02/2026

In case you could not have attended the ribbon cutting . A quick look at the finished project!

03/31/2026

Unseen to some are all the BCGS volunteers. Thanks to every one of you!

03/28/2026

Ribbon Cutting- It was not mentioned that a large portion was paid with the remainder of the Roller donation from 1998. = 28/Mar/2026 Altoona Mirror

03/26/2026

We are more than ready to help you get started!

03/21/2026

Another piece of the BCGS negative scanning project!

03/20/2026