Jefferson County Chapter

Available From the Author

Ohio Historian Martha V. Mallett Sisler
154 Montgomery Lane
Mingo Junction, Ohio 43938

Finley United Methodist Church, 125 Years 1869 to 1994 was published in 1994 and is currently out of print, but is available from the author. Finley is located in Steubenville, Ohio. The book contains the history of the Church, the baptisms, membership rolls, marriages, deaths, and interesting information taken directly from the Administrative Board minutes and original Church records. Several photos, personal members’ memories and testimonies, biographies and photos of the pastors, and other lists add to the book’s interest. Hardcover, 760 pages plus full-name index. Price is $55 plus $4.50 shipping and handling. Ohio residents, please add $3.85 tax.

Ohio historian, Martha V. Mallett Sisler, has been working in the field of genealogy since the 1960’s and has published eighteen reference books of various lengths. When well into the project of her father’s family genealogy, it was evident that the old records in the court houses were brittle and deteriorating. Having concern that these records may not always be available for future researchers – FEARFUL is actually the word – she made a commitment to herself to copy what others have not copied as soon as possible. Several of the eighteen manuscripts are taken from records that are not common sources for research. Other books are from more obvious sources.

As a member of Finley Methodist Church in Steubenville, Ohio, actively involved in work of the Church, Martha had access to the old records in the office. They were fading, dusty, torn, and, frankly, in jeopardy of being destroyed. They had to be copied before they were no longer available and while they could be read! The publication, Finley United Methodist Church, 125 Years, 1869 to 1994 was the result.

Another one of Martha’s books is about the schools in the Mingo Junction, Ohio, vicinity and is entitled Mingo High School, 100 Years, 1893 to 1993. This book was published as a result of Martha’s long tenure of service as secretary, teacher, treasurer and chief financial officer of the Mingo and now Indian Creek School District. At one point, the individual graduation programs, graduation lists, and similar records from the past were to be discarded, with the thought that students’ individual records were retained and that was all that was necessary. Martha, however, requested permission to use that information for the purpose of preserving it. With additional research, the book was published with many more facts gleaned from Board of Education minute books, document files, and other sources.

Some of Martha’s other publications include a history of Oak Grove School in Mingo Junction, a driving tour of Noble County, Ohio, family genealogies, Monroe and Washington County, Ohio notes, and a large collection of information which came from working as a professional researcher with families who were searching for their family members.