Resources

Are you looking for ancestors who may have lived in the Derry Area?

Let us help you.

While we are a relatively new organization, we do have quite a lot of information on the people, places, industry, cemeteries, etc. of the Derry Area.

You may call for hours of operation or to schedule an appointment by dialing 724-694-8808 (Fulton House) or 724-668-7747 (library).

CEMETERY INFORMATION Derry Township has approximately 20 known cemeteries, all of which have been indexed. The Fulton House library maintains the lists of these burials and also has many photographs of gravestones.

CHURCH HISTORIES Some information about ancestors can be found in church records. The Fulton House has a limited amount of information about local churches in addition to the cemetery listings.

COMMUNITY AND COUNTY The Library has various written histories of a number of the smaller communities in the Derry Area and several published histories of Westmoreland County. Some books also document the histories of surrounding counties. “Derry Schools 1835-1999” describes in words and photos 46 schools that existed in the area; these and more are mapped; an extensive collection of school class photos exists along with Derry area high school yearbooks from 1918 to the present. (See list of yearbooks. Note blanks for missing years and contribute to this collection if possible. )

ELECTRONIC AND ON-LINE Only a limited amount of information is currently available on-line, including the 1783 Census of Derry Township and some historic photos of the area. Cemetery listings for the county will soon be available to allow for staff look-up of any surname to locate burial locations within the area.

FAMILY SURNAME FILES Nearly every surname that existed in the Derry Area has its own folder containing newspaper clippings, obituaries and correspondence relating to that surname, allowing quick access by staff. Over 20 local family histories are on our library shelves and an extensive card catalog exists indexing every surname found in the library.

MAPS AND ATLASES The Fulton House Library has copies of early atlases showing owners of property in the county for the year 1876.

PHOTOGRAPHS Our collection of old photos of the people and places of this area continues to grow.

RESEARCH SERVICES For those who cannot come to the Fulton House to conduct their personal research, look-ups can be done by staff without charge, or for more extensive research, for a reasonable fee.

Contributions of family and local histories and identified photos are welcomed.

Email: research@derryhistory.hypermart.net