Here is the Pennsylvania Archives website that Phil was referring to - it is a great
website:
http://www.iarchives.com/anc_04/search.jsp
It's important to search for every Carnahan variation you can think of.
Part of the problem with researching the Carnahans is not the documentation - it is the
use of the same names over and over again. If there are 5 James Carnahans in the same
county at the same time who are about the same age - how are you going to determine who is
who? (Clue: Don't read the biographies - those people were confused, too!) You have
to do things like map all the deeds to see who lives where. I cross-referenced every name
that appears in a Carnahan deed in Westmoreland County to try to determine some
consistency in relationships - and that helped a lot. That is why I mentioned earlier the
importance of researching allied lines - very often that is the only way to tell these
Carnahans apart. For example - in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania you have multiple
John Carnahans - but Benjamin Lodge is a very good clue. He was the son-in-law of John
Carnahan who married Eleanor -so when you see his name in relationship with a Carnahan
(and that happens frequentl!
y) it is likely that you are dealing with John and Eleanor's line. If you don't
use these allied lines as clues - it is so confusing that you can't get through it.
If you do use the allied lines - the picture becomes much clearer. (If you put the allied
lines on a map - often you see they are neighbors to the Carnahans.)
I live in Salt Lake - I wish all of you could come and research with me for just a week a
year. I love being here - and I would love to help everyone else but the holdings here
are so vast that I have to stick to my own lines . . .I do have a lot on the Pennsylvania
Carnahans, though - so if you have a brickwall in early (early 1800's back)
Pennsylvania - I would love to hear from you to see if I can help. Linda