Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

United States Pennsylvania Lackawanna County

Historical Facts

 * Parent Counties: Formed from Luzerne County 21 August 1878.
 * County Seat: Scranton
 * Neighboring Counties: residents may also have records in Susquehanna (north) • Wayne (east) • Luzerne (southwest) • Wyoming (west)  •  Monroe (south)

Named for the Lackawanna River.

Wikipedia

Cemeteries
Cemetery records often reveal birth, marriage, death, relationship, military, and religious information.

County-wide Database – Multi-denominational



 * 1708-1985 - Pennsylvania, Church and Town Records, 1708-1985 at Historical Society of Pennsylvania – $, free to members of the society; Also available at Ancestry.com–$; 7,542,774 entries. This database is incomplete for all counties.

Catholic

 * Diocese of Scranton web site has a History of the Diocese, a parish directory, and a directory of diocesan cemeteries.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Scranton
 * Scranton Dist

Episcopalian

 * 1894-1910 - Baptisms, marriages, and burials of St. David's Episcopal Church, West Scranton, Pa. at The USGenWeb Project - free.

Lutheran

 * 1897-1933 - Baptisms and deaths of Immanuel Lutheran Church, North Scranton, Pa. at The USGenWeb Project - free.

Methodist

 * 1851-1913 - Baptisms and marriages of Providence Methodist Church at The USGenWeb Project - free.
 * Primitive Methodist Church, Taylor, Pennsylvania, most records before 1936 were destroyed. See History for more information about this church.

Court Records

 * 1995–present Clerk of Judicial Records' dockets for both Civil and Family Courts are available online.

Directories

 * Scranton Directory (1859) - via the Internet Archive

Published Histories

 * Early History of Scranton and The First Presbyterian Church (1948) - via the Internet Archive
 * Founders of Scranton(1916) - via the Internet Archive
 * History and directory of Newton and Ransom townships, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania (1912)
 * History of Scranton Post Office (1901) - via the Internet Archive.
 * History and Geography of Scranton and its Vicinity (1957) - via the Internet Archive
 * Reminiscences of The Early History of Dark Hollow, Slocum Hollow, Harrison Lackawanna Iron Works, Scrantonia and Scranton, Pa. (1889) - via the Internet Archive

Land and Property
Land records in Lackawanna County began in 1878. These records are filed with the Recorder of Deeds office in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts, indexes, mortgages, leases, grants, sheriff sales, land patents, and maps. Property records include liens as well as livestock brands and estray records.

The following are examples of available resources:

Online Land Records


 * The Recorder of Deeds offers online access to land records. Log in is required. (IQS Lackawanna County web access technical support 800-320-2617.)
 * Merrifield, Edward. "The Territory of Scranton Immediately Prior to the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Co. Purchase." Lackawanna Institute of History and Science. Historical series, no. 4. Scranton, 1896. Digital version at Internet Archive.

Additional Resources

See Pennsylvania Land and Property for more information about using land records, especially about original land warrants, surveys, and patents filed at the state land office.

Additional resources can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Lackawanna County Pennsylvania Land in online catalogs such as:


 * Historical Society of Pennsylvania
 * WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog.)
 * Family History Library Catalog (For instructions see FHL Catalog Place-name Search.)

Maps
A historical map of displaying township boundaries and names of early settlers is available online in County Historical Maps of Pennsylvania at  - free. Counties arranged alphabetically.

Newspapers
Scranton Tribune (1897-1902) on Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026355/

Probate Records

 * 1878–presentSearchable digital images of will and probate records are available online through the office of the Register of Wills.

Courthouse
Lackawanna County Courthouse The Scranton Electric Building Suite 400 507 Linden Street Ave Scranton, PA 18503

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Scranton Pennsylvania Family History Center (Clarks Summit)

Birth

 * 1852-1854 – Pennsylvania Births Ancestry.com – ($) Index with images.
 * 1709-1950

Marriage

 * 1885–present - Searchable digital images of marriage applications are available online through the office of the Clerk of the Orphans Court.
 * 1885-1914 - Lackawanna County Marriage Licenses Index at The USGenWeb Project - free.

Death

 * 1852-1854 – Pennsylvania Deaths Ancestry.com – ($) Index with images.

Web Sites

 * Lackawanna County, PAGenWeb - free genealogical resources; part of the national USGenWeb Project
 * Lackawanna Valley Digital Archives