From villages and cities in Lithuania, immigrants came to America to find what they were denied in Eastern Europe, which was freedom from tyranny and want as well as freedom to worship and live as they chose. Through centuries of bloody invasions and cruel oppression, their Lithuania was denied to them, yet here, in the anthracite coalfields of Pennsylvania, these immigrants worked to build communities of proud American citizens who continued to celebrate Kucios as well as Kaledos, eat blynai and saltibarscia, decorate marguciai, and pray the rosary in their native language. In Schuylkill County, they built the first churches, first schools, and first communities established by Lithuanians in the United States. Lithuanian American bands, newspapers, and festivals prospered for decades. No matter the hardships--grueling work in coalmines, contempt and violence against recent immigrants, religious prejudice, or condescension toward foreign names and accents--they believed in their country, the United States. Their stories are essential America.

Genealogy-Family History-Biography. Containing Historical Sketches of Old Families and of Representative and Prominent Citizens, Past and Present. In two volumes. Illustrated.

Once the beehive coke oven was perfected in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, the coal and coke industry began to flourish and supply other fledgling industries with the fuel they needed to succeed. The thrust of this growth came from Henry Clay Frick, who opened his first coal mines in the Morgan Valley of Fayette County in 1871. There, he helped lead the industry, making it the major developmental force in industrial America. This book traces the birth and growth of the early coal and coke industry from 1870 to 1920, primarily in Fayette and Westmoreland Counties. Beyond Frick's importance to the industry, other major topics covered in this history include the lives and struggles of the miners and immigrants who worked in the industry, the growth of unions and the many strikes in the region, and the attempts to clean the surrounding waterways from the horrific pollution that resulted from industrial development. Perhaps the most significant fact is that this book uses primary sources contemporary with the golden age of the coal and coke industry. That effort offers an alternative view and helps repair the common portrayal of Frick as corrupt by showing his work as that of an industrial genius.

A chronology of Lithuanians in America from the 17th century to the present accompanied by pertinent documents.