Meyersdale Public Library - African American Burials in Somerset County

About This Collection

As part of a larger statewide effort, in 2018 the Meyersdale Public Library undertook a project to document and compile a list of known African American burials in Somerset County. Staff and volunteers in the library's Pennsylvania Room combed state death certificates, online gravestone memorials, newspaper obituaries/articles, and additional local publications to determine as many African Americans laid to rest within this rural county as possible. The number ultimately reached nearly 350, though library researchers theorize it is substantially higher. In subsequent years the Pennsylvania Room has gained access to over 900 county death records kept from 1893 through 1905. Staff and volunteers plan to also review these records for documentation of additional African American burials. Thus this collection remains a work in progress, with updated information to be made available over time.