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Welcome to Family Stories

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Family Stories are taken from:
THE BLACK HILLS AND QUILTED VALLEY'S OF PENNSYLVANIA
Written by: Catherine Silliman Fontaine
Based on the Memoirs and, stories of my mother Agnes Beninsky Silliman . She loved her family and was proud of them and the ordeals undertaken by her older brothers and her sister Mary in keeping them together as a family when they were orphaned. Memories may not always be totally accurate--but this is the story of her family and the struggles endured after the death of their parents and beloved grandmother in 1917.

A special Thank you to Chrissy Z. for sending this collection.
This page is currently under construction.
ChapterTitle Click to ReadManuscript
Image
1 The Great Anthracite Strike Of 1902 And The Aftermath 1
2
3
4
2 The Anthracite Coal Region - My Home And Playground5
6
3 Antoinette Jacoboska -Malinowski Marries Michael Swartz (1893) 7
8
9
10
4 The Company Store And The Advent Of Hucksters 13
14
5 Born To Be A Miner11
12
6 Scavenging The Coal Banks For Our Daily Coal15
7 Marty's Early Career In The Colliery The Breaker Boys35
35a
36
37
38
8 The Morea Patch Water Supply25
9 History Of Our House In Morea16
10 Our House In Morea17
18
11 Our House In Morea - The Shanties And Barn 1905-1917 20
12 The Basement Of Our House Was For Storing Food19
13 Our Mini Farm In Morea39
40
14 It Was Time For The Cow To See "The Bull''22
15 Pa's Smoke House21
16 My Grandmother - Anna Jacoboska Malinowski 1853-191727
28
17 Grandmother's Trunk 31
32
18 Sliding Down The Coal Banks Was Fun33
34
19 We Washed Clothes On Mondays41
42
43
20 Making Clothes And Underwear Made From Mother Hubbard Flour Bags 44
45
21 Treasures In The Attic29
30
22 Aunt Anna1005
23 The Blessing of the Flowers1010
24 Know Your Mushrooms 24
25 Edible Treats Like Salted Lima Beans23
25 A Tribute To Coal Oil Lamps 1905-1917 26
26 Walking The Distance To Church 1905-1917 1006
1007
27 Easter Preparations1008
1009
28 The Bandstand 46
47
29 Beer And Games.49
50
30 The Right And The Wrong Way To Pick Huckleberries 191551
52
31 Mike's Story (BORN In 1895)53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
32 Mike Recovers With A Lot Of Help61
62
63
64
65
66
33 Mike Buys A Wild Horse 67
68
69
34 Jimmie Allen - The Magnificent Horse 1001
1002
35 N0 Money But Determined To Do The Right Thing1003
1004
36 Before Christmas The Last Week Of Advent70
37 The Night Before Christmas-- The Special Wilia Supper71
72
38 Christmas Day73
39 Mary Is Growing Up 1905-1917 1013
40 Mary's Duties As The Eldest Daughter In The Family 1905 1917 1011
1012
41 Mary Tries To Keep The House Orderly 1905 - 1917 1014
42 Mary's First Romantic Interest: Gus Mostick1015
1016
43 Mary's Last Date With Gus Mostick 1017
1018
1019
1020
44 Morea's First Doctor - His Beautiful House 1021
1022
45 How Mary Met Her Husband - John Grazel 1023
1024
46 Mary Elizabeth Beninsky Marries John Grazel -1915 1025
47 Working To Attain A Skilled Miners Certificate (Jacob, 1915) 74
75
76
48 Mary (My Oldest Sister) Live In Mahanoy City - The Pool Room 191677
49 The Pool Room--The Early Months-- 1916 77
78
50 My Father Jacob Beninsky Is Injured 191679
80
51 Grandmother's Illness 1916 81
82
52 It Was A Sad Christmas: 1916 83
84
53 Jacobs Wake / The Ice Box 191785
86
54 Jacob's Wake - Dorothy's Vision87
88