Jan 27, 2024 2 min read

When searching your family tree, it’s not difficult to find dates your ancestors were born, married or died, but how do you find the stories that encompass the remainder of their lives?

A genealogy program that will do just that will be held at Citizens Library at 6 p.m. Feb. 13. Donna Edwards-Jordan, a North Huntingdon genealogist, will present a Valentine’s Day Eve program on “Love and Marriage.”

“Our ancestors left a fascinating paper trail as they fell in and out of love. There’s so much more to discover than a simple date of marriage,” Edwards-Jordan said.

“You got here because someone fell in love,” she added. “We’re all here on this planet because our grandparents and great-grandparents fell in love. We’re the product of love, a whole lotta loves.”

Social information around a wedding date is often available in newspapers of the time. Edwards-Jordan plans to bring examples of newspapers that contain such information.

And not just society columns either.

“I’ve got a great story about a brawl at a Slovak wedding that made the newspaper, she said, adding that someone assaulted a constable.

Newspapers at the time regularly reported on rejected lovers who died by suicide, irate fathers who chased down an eloping couple, or runaway brides.

“It’s all about people leaving footprints in the public record,” she said, adding that local newspapers in the late 1880-1890s provide a plethora of information.

They were gold mines because they printed everything about people, she said.

Edwards-Jordan has presented other genealogy programs at the library, including “Women of Ireland” and “Coming to America.”

Call the circulation desk at 724-222-2400 to register.