Edwardsville, Pennsylvania

[Diblet]

I wondered if there's anybody out there with a bit of local historical knowledge of Edwardsville, Lucerne County, Pennsylvania?

My great grandparents emigrated from South Wales and lived there from 1905 to 1908 and in that time had my grandmother in 1907.

I've had a fruitless search for a birth certificate but wondered if perhaps there'd be a baptism entry for her in church records.

Were there many churches that Welsh people favoured more than others and if so where would all church records be now?

My grandmothers name was Gertrude Walby and she was born on the 2nd of August 1907.

Many thanks.

[Erato]

Possibly the Dr. Edwards Memorial Congregational Church - see the linked article.
https://www.timesleader.com/news/650106/luzerne-county-hometowns-in-edwardsville-dragons-pierogies-and-commitment

Here's the church website:
https://www.dredwardschurch.com/

And for general Edwardsville records, see:
https://ldsgenealogy.com/PA/Edwardsville.htm

[oldohiohome]

1908 Edwardsville City Directory
George H Walby, miner, home at 23 Murray

I didn't find him in 1905. And the 1907 Directory of Wilkes-Barre did not include Edwardsville.
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There is a Sanborn insurance map of Edwardsville here, from about 1903:
1903 Map part 1
https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3824em.g3824em_g076451903/?sp=1&r=0.183,0.118,0.54,0.276,0

1903 Map part 2
https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3824em.g3824em_g076451903/?sp=2&r=0.011,-0.036,0.934,0.477,0

I didn't find Murray Street on the map.
There is a Welsh Congregational Church on the corner of Church and Main, which could be the church Erato posted. It is on part one of the map.

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familysearch says that they have an index of Pennsylvania births from 1906 to 1913 here:
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1681005?collectionNameFilter=false

I did not find Gertrude Walby, 1905 to 1910

The state claims to have birth records from 1906 here
https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/certificates/Pages/Birth-Certificates.aspx
They charge $20 and $10 for handling

I doubt they will refund your money if they don't find the birth.
Personally, I wouldn't risk the money. You already know her name, date of birth, and parents. There isn't much else it would tell you, except maybe George's street address and occupation. - which the City Directory tells you. And it isn't in the index, so maybe it wasn't registered, or the index doesn't include Edwardsville so maybe the state's index doesn't either, or Edwardsville didn't register the births, or didn't report them to the state, etc., etc.

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basic resources for the area, from the local library:
https://osterhout.info/using-the-library/genealogy-services/

There is a chance there was a birth announcement in the paper. The library might have it. You could risk the $10 on it if you like. Be sure they know the family was Welsh. There might have been a Welsh language paper at the time, you never know.

And they might be willing to help you find the most likely church, if Dr Edwards' church is not the one. But I would bet first on the church being helpful, especially if it is still predominantly Welsh.

[Diblet]

Erato and oldohiohome.

Thank you so much for so much useful information. You are both very kind.

George Henry Walby is/was my great great grandfather and I now know from the 1908 City Directory that his family lived at 23 Murray Street for the whole 3 years living with my great great grandmother's brother Evan Gibbon.

Thank you both again. Much appreciated.