From the early years of the Republic, residents of Alleghenytown, then Allegheny City and then the Northside, have taken part in the nation’s armed services. The 11th day of the 11th month was set aside after the first World War to honor and remember the veterans within communities across the country. Throughout our neighborhoods various monuments, memorials, plaques and booklets were prepared to honor these brave men and women.

Time and community changes have tended to blur and even destroy some of these remembrances. The Allegheny City Society has embarked on a program to record the names of every veteran we can locate from our Northside neighborhoods. We continue to seek out as many names as we can find. Perhaps you can help in this program of research and remembrance. Names of veterans that are inscribed on community “Honor Rolls” have been copied and will soon be available on the Allegheny City website. We have found plaques in such locations as the walls of Allegheny High School and Heinz House. Our growing collection of church anniversary booklets has added more names to the search.

In the records we have of the St. Paul’s German Evangelical Protestant Congregation of Allegheny — the “Weitershausen Church” — we found the names of congregants there who served in the Civil War. Along with those Civil War vets are the names of many Allegheny City residents who are buried in the Civil War veterans section at Uniondale Cemetery.

Of course the larger wards of the city such as the 23rd (East Allegheny), and the 27th (Brightwood and Brighton Heights) have massive monuments listing the names of all who served from those communities in World War II. We thought we lost the memorial to the Troy Hill Vets when it was damaged by an out of control vehicle this past winter. Thanks to the efforts of Councilwoman Harris and the concerned residents of Troy Hill the monument has been restored to its rightful location on Lowrie Street. At present we are seeking the list of names that were on Fineview’s monument. Along with that search we continue to seek leads to other sources. Fellow Northsiders, if you know of any records of veterans of any era that might be found in Legion and VFW halls or in congregational and community records or histories or in family archives we hope you will to add them to the Veterans Collection before they are lost forever.

This is a call for helping all of us to remember the names of our families, our neighbors and our friends. If you can help please contact the Allegheny City Society at history@alleghenycity.org; by snail mail at The Allegheny City Society, P.O. Box 100255 Pittsburgh, PA 15233; or the chair of this program, Ruth McCartan, at 412-364-6132.