Pennsylvania State Archives Collection

Images of three types of certification recordings for mine foremen and assistant foremen: certificate books, certificate receipt books, and registers. The certificate books contain copies of the certificates issued to eligible applicants, spanning the years 1886-1923 for foremen and 1891-1940 for assistant foremen. Information provided includes the certificate number and date issued; the name, residence, age, and place of birth of the applicant; length and nature of the applicant's service; mine district; and the report's number and date. The certificate receipt books, which cover the years from 1938-1963, contain only the receipt portion, not the actual certificate, and show the applicant's name, age, place of birth and length of service; the examining board's name; certificate number and date issued; and the applicant's test score. Finally, the registers list the name, residence, place of birth, and age of the applicant; the report's number and date; the certificate number and date issued; and length and nature of the applicant's service. The registers for foremen cover the period 1923-1955, and for assistant foremen from 1923-1968. Disclaimer: Not all records in this collection are digitized. Visit the PA State Archives to see the rest of the collection.

Images of certification registers for the Assistant First and Second Grade Foremen. Information provided about each foreman includes name, place of birth, place of residence, age, inspection district, date and number of certificate, name of mine and mine operator, length and nature of service, the mine district number, and the report number and date. Second Grade Foreman registers begin in 1923, and First Grade Foreman registers begin in 1938. First and Second Grade registers are found within the same volumes for 1938-1951 and 1962-1963. Disclaimer: Not all records in this series are digitized. Please visit the PA State Archives to see the rest of the collection.

Images of certification records created to comply with registration, training, and examination standards for foremen specified in the act of June 9, 1911. Information is presented in register format and includes the mine district number; the name, residence, place of birth, and age of the electrician; the length and nature of service; the date and number of the certificate; and the report number and date. The last volume also contains RG/045/B/6- Bituminous Mine Certification Records for Fire Boss Examiners, for the years 1962 and 1963. Disclaimer: Not all records in this series are digitized. Please visit the PA State Archives to see the rest of the collection.

Images of certification books required to be kept of foremen under statutes designed to protect the health and safety of persons employed in and about bituminous coal mines. From 1903 to 1923 data is presented in certificate form and includes the name, mine district, place of birth, and age of the foreman; a description of the length and nature of his service (experience); the date and number of the certificate; and the name of the Chief of the Department of Mines. After 1923, the information is recorded in register format with internal indexes, and includes the mine district number; the name, residence, place of birth, and age of the applicant; the length and nature of the person's service; the date and number of the certificate; and the report number and date. The last volume also contains Bituminous Mine Certification Records for Second Grade Forman, 1903-1963 {series #45.8} for the years 1962-1963. Disclaimer: Not all records in this collection are digitized. Visit the PA State Archives to see the rest of the collection.

This group of certificate stubs and cards is grouped into four separate batches as follows: Miners' Certificate Cards and Stubs, which date from 1937 and 1938; Machine Runner and Cutting, Loading, and Drilling Machine Operators Certificate Stubs, dating from 1938 through the late 1950s, possibly the early 1960s; Miners' Certificate Stubs which date from the late 1930s; and Miners' Certificate Stubs dating from 1939 through roughly 1965. The bulk of the stubs and cards date from 1937 through 1955, and all provide excellent genealogical data on rank-and-file miners and other mine workers who labored in the bituminous fields of western Pennsylvania. Specific information found in each batch of material includes the following: Miner's Certificate Cards and Stubs, 1937, 1938 (81 boxes): name of miner, age of miner (not found on all cards), address of miner, certification number, application number, date of issue, employer, and mine number. Index cards constitute the bulk of this series, however, for some reason the run of index cards becomes a run of certificate stubs after Box 68, beginning with the stub for John Sagan. These stubs are stylistically different from the ones described below, but convey the same type of information; Machine Runner and Cutting, Loading, and Drilling Machine Operators Certificate Stubs, 1930s-1960s (12 boxes): stub number, name of miner, address of miner, place of birth, date of birth, mine where employed at the time of exam, company name, mine experience (some stubs provide a specific number of years of machine experience), place of examination, date of examination, date of certificate issuance, and bituminous inspection district number. Miner's Certificate Stubs, late 1930s (6 boxes): stub number, name of miner, address of miner, place of birth, date of birth, mine where employed at the time of exam, company name, mine experience, place of examination, date of examination, and date of certificate issuance; Miner's Certificate Stubs, 1939-1965 (25 boxes): stub number, name of miner, address of miner, place of birth, date of birth, mine where employed at the time of exam, company name, mine experience (in years), place of examination, date of examination, date of certificate issuance, and bituminous inspection district number. Also present are twenty-six microfilm rolls. All refer to the bituminous coal region of western Pennsylvania, with the first sixteen rolls apparently duplicating the Miners' Certificate Cards (1937, 1938) and the last ten containing original data, specifically: four rolls of Mine Foreman certification stubs and certificates, dating from roughly 1939-1966 (bulk 1940s), organized numerically by mining district then alphabetically by surname; four rolls of Mine Foreman certification stubs and certificates, dating from roughly 1966-1987 (bulk 1970s), organized numerically by mining district then alphabetically by surname; and two rolls of Shot Firer Certifications, 1938-1983, arranged alphabetically by surname. The cards and stubs on these rolls are NOT in precise alphabetical order; it is recommended to check throughout the run of a specific surname letter if an individual cannot be found in the normal alphabetical sequence.

A record of Oaths of Allegiance to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, renouncing allegiance to the British Crown or her armies. Included within this record are lists of men who took the Oath of Allegiance, listed in order by date. Also included are individual oaths, personally written or in a pre-printed form, signed, witnessed and sealed. The record also contains large charts of people who had taken the Oath of Allegiance. These charts provide information on the name of allegiance takers, their age, occupation, place of nativity, place of residence, and the names of their parents.

Information provided is name of pilot, place of residence, date bonded, and the name, occupation and place of residence of the person who stood as security on behalf of the pilot. Not all records in this collection are digitized. Visit the PA State Archives to see the rest of the collection.

Images of record books of surveys of damaged cargoes. Information provided in the earliest volume is date of survey, name and type of vessel, name of captain, and an inventory of damaged cargo giving the package or container number, mark stamped on the container, and type of container. Commencing with the second volume in 1786, a standardized form is employed giving date of survey, name of commander, name of vessel, port from whence last sailed, and the result of the examination of the cargo giving a description of the nature of any damage found.