Hi Sandra,

Have you had a chance to visit Pittsburgh and go to the Carneigie Library and the Heinz History Center? They have wonderful information including City Directories for the Pittsburgh area from the early 1800's. I found my family listed as John Gilkerson, col., teamster and then his address. When he died they listed Sarah Gilkerson, widow of John and then the address. They also have newspaper resources on African Americans. The Pittsburgh Press, which only covered the white community in the 1800's started printing "Afro-American Notes" to compete with the Pittsburgh Courier and other Black newspapers. The Libraries have these and tons of other resources. I get back to Pittsburgh a few times a year, and if you ever need an on site lookup, let me know.

Take Good Care,

Lee