On the Church Record Hunt

I have some restored hope.....maybe I will find Harry Sr some day.

When I got Harry Jr's 201 file it said that the religion of choice was Baptist. This was the first solid reference to religion that I've seen in my husband's family.

A couple days ago, I searched for Baptist churches in Charleston, WV and contacted a couple of the 'older' sounding ones.

Got one response, not very encouraging.

But tonight, I got hit with a brainstorm.

I know that Harry Sr. lived at 2820 Cochran Ave in 1932, according to the 1932 Charleston City Directory.

Unsurprisingly, that address doesn't exist anymore. So, I searched on the map for any street named Cochran.

I found one in Nitro, WV which seems like a suburb of Charleston. Did a 'search nearby' for churches and looked at the closest Baptist church.

The church's name is First Baptist Church of Nitro, and they, very nicely, have a partial church history on their website.

They were absolutely around in 1935 and......their preachers go by names like Rev T. C. Roberts and Rev. G.C. Hoff. This name format matches with Rev M. R. Smith from Harry Sr's obituary.

I sent off an email to the church tonight, we'll see what they say, but I am cautiously optimistic.

Until next time,
Robin