Westminster College Library Assistant Publishes Research

Dwight Copper, a technical assistant at the Westminster College McGill Library, recently had his historical researched published in the Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society Quarterly.

Copper's work, "Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church, Fayette, Wilmington Township, Lawrence County, Pa.," researches the history of the congregation, which was organized in 1850 and closed in 1922. The historical paper also includes the history of the village of Fayette, abstracts from the Church records, including the charter members, listing of communicants, death register, marriage register, and the census of the cemetery, which still remains at the site of the original church building.

Copper has been doing genealogical and local history research for about 13 years, with a focus on collecting, researching, printing cemetery records and church histories. He has research over 90 cemeteries in Lawrence and Beaver Counties, and has published over 35 volumes of such tombstone inscriptions, with brief histories of the accompanying church.

"After completing the tombstone inscriptions, I research newspaper obituaries, wills, deeds, family histories, and my personal scrapbooks and files for additional information," said Copper. "My material is used to assist genealogists in their quest for data about their families."

Copper received his undergraduate degree in library science and history from Slippery Rock University.

For more information, contact Copper at (724) 946-7328 or e-mail copperde@westminster.edu.

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