my mother was born in ferris pennsylvania in 1915 and i think ferris
was located in butler county pennsylvania.  i am unable to determine
exactly where ferris is/or was located and i think the town possibly
disappeared.  my mother's father was a coal miner and maybe ferris was
a mining town.  i did some searching on the internet, but have not had
any success in locating ferris pennsylvania.  i attempted to get a
birth certificate from the state of pennsylvania, but they were unable
to provide me with one.  i received a death certificate, from the
state of pennsylvania, and it showed my mother's place of birth as
being in argentine butler county pennsylvania.  my mother died in a
tuberculosis sanatorium in cresson cambria county pennsylvania in july
1945.  i would like to know where ferris pennsylvania was/or is
located.  thank you!

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Request for Question Clarification by leapinglizard-ga on 30 Nov 2004 07:02 PST

Why do you assume that the birth certificate is incorrect? If it
states that your mother was born in Argentine, Butler County,
Pennsylvania, I would be inclined to believe it.

There is at present no Ferris in Butler County, but there is an
Argentine. It is located in the northeast quadrant of the county, near
Boyers, Annandale, and Hilliards.

MapQuest: Detail of Butler County, Pennsylvania
http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?pan=n&ovi=1&mapdata=lkA%2fomiQSEY8TmlQOtiyXqE51siPsulrRIoaDC%2bSYZd5Io2dYdWXMcD6P%2bLY5qL3DwtwKSiaNhYRG3lbWxbMhdWoIgdHVsLzoK7Agsfj7YodolI0K25ZFLOU0FuTKtyXakFZ7C2%2flgi8G9gndfVwHtqA%2fpnkntJxeCDJNWVHZ2vB4abhx2uUYdTtB7%2b5OBbCHl3u3g%2bi%2br8ZMD0dGBMPiSk5Ov3mi7lv0GvQQl32gXBavp5fV2VaKt%2fxqcWEQwGDRGy1TzDAZYFkRtUhKqiWf8Y0cWBjnhD%2fSMTMq9Th1N68X0aJHZoKGOXjKKQDlkYQqUu
LvE99HvT4O%2f4idjXPbqymqT3ps52RNQcixs5njtrwYwKpe5186J%2fkFtaBTBEI

So there is definitely an Argentine, Butler County, Pennsylvania. Your
mother's birth certificate attests that Argentine is her place of
birth. If she knew her childhood home as Ferris, then perhaps Ferris
was the name of a neighborhood, a street, or an estate within the town
of Argentine. Does this answer your question?

leapinglizard

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Request for Question Clarification by leapinglizard-ga on 30 Nov 2004 07:06 PST

Oops, the map URL got cut in half. Let me try that again.

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?pan=n&ovi=1&mapdata=lkA%2fomiQSEY8TmlQOtiyXqE51siPsulrRIoaDC%2bSYZd5Io2dYdWXMcD6P%2bLY5qL3DwtwKSiaNhYRG3lbWxbMhdWoIgdHVsLzoK7Agsfj7YodolI0K25ZFLOU0FuTKtyXakFZ7C2%2flgi8G9gndfVwHtqA%2fpnkntJxeCDJNWVHZ2vB4abhx2uUYdTtB7%2b5OBbCHl3u3g%2bi%2br8ZMD0dGBMPiSk5Ov3mi7lv0GvQQl32gXBavp5fV2VaKt%2fxqcWEQwGDRGy1TzDAZYFkRtUhKqiWf8Y0cWBjnhD%2fSMTMq9Th1N68X0aJHZoKGOXjKKQDlkYQqUu
LvE99HvT4O%2f4idjXPbqymqT3ps52RNQcixs5njtrwYwKpe5186J%2fkFtaBTBEI

leapinglizard

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Request for Question Clarification by leapinglizard-ga on 30 Nov 2004 07:08 PST

That didn't work either, but this will.

http://tinyurl.com/4zx6q

leapinglizard

Hello Patsy,

Thanks for your interesting question...I love searching for historical
people and places.

You can see the exact location of Ferris, PA on this old (circa 1910)
USGS map of the Hilliards Quadrangle, in Pennsylvania:


http://historical.maptech.com/getImage.cfm?fname=hllr12ne.jpg&state=PA


Ferris is a small community in Butler County.  You can find it about
2/3 of the way down the map, and a bit left of center.  It is in
between, and just to the north of, the communities of Argentine and
Anandale, both of which can be found on a modern-day map, such as that
in the Mapquest link provided by leapinglizard-ga.


You'll also note that Ferris lies right on the railroad line (which
seems to be named the B & LE Railroad) and the town is also marked by
two crossed pick-axes, to signify it is the site of a mine.


If you're interested in printing out a copy of this map, special
instructions for getting a good print can be found here:


http://historical.maptech.com/print.cfm



I trust this information fully meets your needs.  But before rating
this answer, please let me know if you need any additional
information.  Just post a Request for Clarification, and I'll be happy
to assist you further.

All the best,

pafalafa-ga

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Clarification of Answer by pafalafa-ga on 30 Nov 2004 08:14 PST

P.S.  Near the very bottom of the map, the word WASHINGTON appears in
large letters.  If you travel north from the "S" in Washington, you'll
come to Whiskerville first, then the next town up is Ferris.

i was able to purchase a map from Map Express in Boulder Colorado -
circa 1910.  i would point out that my mother's death certificate
showed her as being born in Argentine, but the guest book at the
funeral home showed her place of birth to be Ferris.  it appears that
Ferris disappeared some time after my mother was born there in 1915. 
you did a good job with my question and i think the compensation was
fair and additional compensation, in the form of a tip, would be
superflous.