Henry J. Young Award - Kathryn Brown Jordan, July 2016
It is our great pleasure to present the Henry James Young Award to Kathryn Brown Jordan. Kathryn is a native of Southeastern York County where was raised and lived almost her entire life. She taught school for three years in three different one-room schools. She then became the first elementary librarian for the South Eastern School District, where she organized the first libraries in the three elementary schools.
Kathryn has been involved with local history work for many years. She has always been a local history preservationist. Through many years Kathryn has collected, and accumulated many valuable records and artifacts. Over the many years she has been one of the most active members of the Stewartstown Historical Society. She served as secretary and was involved with the writing and publication of three local history books, she also coordinated programs with the Mason-Dixon Public Library with the Historical Society, and in 2007 received the Dorothy Davis Award for outstanding service to the community.
Genealogy has also been a great interest for Kathryn. The family of her father and her late husband, Fred Jordan all had deep roots in Southeastern York County. Her mother’s family is unique as being of Finnish ancestry. Kathryn and her sister Betty did major work on the Brown and Anderson families, and the Olsen family. She also helped with a major project at her church, Centre Presbyterian in New Park with Mary Helen Emery to collect information on all members of the congregation and persons buried in the church cemetery.
Kathryn served many years as Secretary of the South Central Pennsylvania Genealogical Society and one term as President. She got us started on our long term publication of the 1798 Federal Direct Tax or Glass Tax when in 2002 she transcribed the tax returns for Hopewell Township. Hopewell was originally published by the Stewartstown Historical Society, and Kathryn’s work on Hopewell was combined with Fawn and Chanceford Townships to cover the entire southeastern section of York County in the South Central Pennsylvania Genealogical Society’s first Glass Tax volume. Cindy Hartman has since worked diligently to complete this important work.
Kathryn also served as a volunteer here at the York County Heritage Trust. She has been very involved in her church and community, being the first woman elder at Centre Presbyterian Church, and a member of the Zoning and Planning Boards for Hopewell Township, and also served as enumerator for the Township. In light of a lifetime of good works, Kathryn Brown Jordan is a worthy recipient of the Henry James Young Award.