Tag: Centralia

This Week in my Genealogy – Levens-McElhenny Marriage

One hundred fifty-seven years ago this week, my great-great grandparents James Levens and Margaret McElhenny were married.

My great grandmother Sophia Levens was raised in Centralia, Pennsylvania, a mining town, but came to Philadelphia sometime before 1900. I learned that her mother was also from Philadelphia when I found the book Schulkill County, Pennsylvania: Genealogy – Family History – Biography, volume II:

James Levens, father of Mrs. Ebert, was a native of Ireland and emigrated to America, landing at Philadelphia, where he made his home for a time. Going to Port Richmond, near Philadelphia, he there married Margaret McElheny…

James Levens and Margaret McElhenny were married on October 8, 1855 at the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Messiah in Port Richmond, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by Rev. J Rudderow. This is yet another record I found in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania’s Pennsylvania Church and Town Records database available on Ancestry.

Levens McElhenny marriage
James Levens & Margaret McElhenny marriage, 8 Oct 1855. Click to see full image.

Centralia, PA on Life After People

One of my weekend shows that I sometimes watch is “Life After People” on the History Channel. The premise is basically if humans disappeared today, how long would it take for human-made things to break down.

Today I saw an episode that used my great grandmother’s hometown as an example. In the 1960’s a fire started underground and made its way into the abandoned coal mines in Centralia. In the 1980’s most of the residents left in the town were relocated, and the fire still burns. According to Wikipedia, there were still 9 people living in Centralia in 2007. Here’s a Google search if you’d like to read more.

Life After People used Centralia as an example of how a town would look twenty-five years after people. I don’t think it was the best example, since most of the building were torn down after the people relocated. But, it was interesting none the less.

My great grandmother Sophia Levens left Centralia for Philadelphia before the turn of the century, long before the fire broke out. (That would be the turn from the 19th to the 20th) Some of her siblings remained in the area of Centralia, where her father had been a coal miner.

Here is a link to the Centralia section of the episode: Centralia on Life After People (no longer available)