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Postcard from St. Catharines Library: Coffin Register

  The third in a series about discoveries made during my trip to western New York and Ontario, where I researched my Becker/Baker, Cassidy, Sheridan, Cailteux, and Schiltz families.    July 14, 2025 Dear Family,  Have you ever heard of a coffin register? I haven't. And just like you, I'm asking, "What's that?" I discovered a coffin register at the St. Catharines Public Library in Ontario on my trip. I was quite surprised to find an ancestor's name in it. This coffin register was a book used by the Thomas McIntyre company in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, to record coffin orders between 1863-1865. McIntyre had a cabinet and furniture making business and eventually branched out to build wooden coffins for his clients.  Early funerals in America were usually conducted by family and friends of the deceased, including preparing the body, providing a homemade shroud or coffin, and even carrying the coffin to the grave site. By the mid-late 18th cen...
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CCC PHOTO DISCOVERY

 

Thomas Kozlina (3rd from left, bottom row), with members of his CCC 329 Co., Pine Grove Furnace, winter 1934-35.1

by Nancy Gilbride Casey


Genealogical serendipity is real! 

Just a few weeks ago, I wrote about my discovery that my grandfather Thomas Kozlina was in the Civilian Conservation Corp in 1934-35, when he was 23. He was stationed at the Pine Grove Furnace CCC Camp No. 51 in Cumberland County, from Fall 1934-March 1935. He was a member of 329 Company, which worked on state forest projects.

Today, I received a stack of photos from my Mom's cousin Marlene in Pennsylvania, which included several never-before-seen photos of Grandpa's time in the CCC. She had discovered them in an old photo album full of family photos.

Over the next few weeks, I'll be scanning and sharing more photos, but for today, here are photos of Thomas Kozlina from the Civilian Conservation Corps.

Wielding tools of the trade in the state forest CCC camp.

Posing in the snow and sun.

Horseplay during down time.

Thomas Kozlina  (2nd from right), with other members of 329 Co.
  

Two formal photos in front of camp headquarters perhaps?


Until next time...

Special thanks to Cousins Marlene who provided the photos and Cousin Joe who supplied notes on the photos. Thank you for helping preserve our family history.

 

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NOTES

Various photos of Thomas J. Kozlina, age 23, Civilian Conservation Corps, 329 Co., unknown photographer, Cumberland County, 1934-35; private collection of N. Casey [address for private use], 2022.


 



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