Dr. John B. Tower’s birth records are important, largely because the maiden names of the mothers are otherwise very difficult to discover. There are 888 children listed with their father’s and mother’s ages at the time of their birth, along with the places of birth of the parents in many cases. These records are not a complete list of births in the Homestead area from 1910 – 1929, but they will be helpful to researchers interested in early Homestead history. There may possibly be some African-American births listed (the Rolle surname is very likely African-American) but the births assisted by other doctors in the area (Dr. Tower was not the only doctor in early Homestead!) are likely lost to history. Births assisted by mid-wives are also lost. So these records are not complete but they are still useful.
The Excel workbook has two worksheets: “Original Transcription” and “Revised and Corrected Records”. This Excel file was created from a printed transcript created by Ann Josberger McFadden, who consulted the original book. However, the current location of the book is unknown. Transcribers make errors so the “Revised and Corrected Records” worksheet will be a work in progress as more information is discovered. Please be careful when you consult these records as there is no guarantee as to the accuracy of them.