Wayne County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

United States Pennsylvania Wayne County

Historical Facts

 * Parent Counties: Formed from Northampton County 21 May 1798.
 * County Seat: Honesdale
 * Neighboring Counties: residents may also have records in Delaware County, New York (north)  •  Monroe (south)  •  Susquehanna (west)  •  Sullivan County, New York (east)  •  Lackawanna (southwest)  •  Pike (southeast)  •  Broome County, New York (northwest)



The county is named after Revolutionary War General "Mad" Anthony Wayne (1745-1796).

Boundary Changes
26 March 1814: Pike County set off.

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

Hollisterville Cemetery, Salem BillionGraves

Church Records


In 1870 it was reported that there were sixty-two houses of worship in Wayne County and in 1966 there were sixty nine.

Additional church records can be located at Linkpendium and by searching the Family History Library Catalog. The FHLC has a plethora offor Wayne County, many are limited in the time frame they cover. When searching the FHL catalog, be sure to also search at the town and township level.

USGenWeb. Wayne County PA, Churches gives name, contact information, Website and other information.

Baptist
They arrived in the area in 1795. Eventually there were two groups, the Free Communion Baptist Church at Mount Pleasant and the Honesdale Baptist Church.

Catholic

 * Irish Catholic lived in Mount Pleasant, Preston, Buckingham, Carbondale, Honsdale, Ledgedale, and White Mills townships. Many people were Delaware and Hudson Canal Co. employees.
 * The German Catholic Church was organized 1853.

Episcopal
Honesdale Grace Episcopal Church and Dyberry Parish in Bethany were both established in1832. St. John's Protestant Episcopal Church in Hamlin was established in 1844.

Lutheran
Honesdale German Evangelical Luthern Congregation established in 1845

Presbyterian

 * Presbyterian Church in Hensdale (Dyberry Forks)was organized in 1829,
 * Waymart Presbyterian Church was organized in 1835,
 * Prompton Presbyterian Church in 1842,
 * Lebonon Presbyterian Church in 1848,
 * Hawley Presbyterian Church in 1849.

Jehovah's Witnesses
A group of Jehovah's Witnesses began worshiping in Honesdal in 1943

Methodist Episcopal Church some members formed Free Methodist Church and met at Beach Lake and Lake Como.


 * Free Methodist Church separated from Methodist Episcopal Free Methodist churches in Beach Lake, Lake Como, and South Canaan. The first group organized in 1825; by 1900 the Methodist outnumbered the other denominations. Members could attend in Salem Corners, Pleasant Mount, and Honesdale,.

Protestant

 * South Canaan Bible Protestant Church estabalished in 1783, Bible Protestant Church,
 * Protestant Episcopal Lutheran - German Evangelical Luthern 1845

Russian Orthodox Russian settled in South Canaan and had a monastery and school.

Seventh Day Adventists first met in the Odd Fellows Buildin in Honedale.

Temple Beth Israel- synagogue 1849. land donated by Delaware and Hudson Canal Co.Sherith-Israel Synagogue. Russian and Polish Jews 1880's established the Sherith-Isreal synagogue

Emigration and Immigration
Many early residence came from New England, New York, and New Jersey. (Ref. History of Wayne County Pennsylvania 1798-1998 by Walter B. Barbe and Kurk A. Reed. Wayne County Historical Society C 1998.)

Land and Property
Land records in Wayne County began in 1798. These records are filed with the Recorder of Deeds in Honesdale, 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:

Land Records on Microfilm 1795-1941 Deeds, 1796 to 1866; Indexes, 1795 to 1941

1798–1941 Mortgages, 1798-1834; Index, 1798-1941

Additional Resources

Note that the "Maps" section below includes maps related to land ownership. fckLRfckLRPennsylvania 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 fckLRWayne County Pennsylvania Land in online catalogs such as: *Historical Society of Pennsylvania*WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog.)* (For instructions see FHL Catalog Place-name Search.)

Maps
Ancestor Tracks has a CD of the First Landowners of PA: Warrantees of Wayne &amp;amp;amp; Pike Counties, Map Index by Jason Torrey, 1814 ($). &amp;amp;nbsp;The CD contains first landowner names and tracts, the warrant register index for Northampton County (the source for both Pike and Wayne Counties), and the warrant registers for both counties. fckLR

Courthouse
Wayne County Courthouse 925 Court Street Honesdale PA 18431 Phone: 570-253-5970 Office hours are 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History CentersfckLR

Taxation

 * 1798 - Pennsylvania, U.S. Direct Tax Lists, 1798 at Ancestry ($).

Vital Records
In Wayne county, the Prothonotary's office has vital records for genealogical researchers. Visit the webpage for further information: fckLRfckLRProthonotary&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Wayne County Court House&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Second Floor Annex&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;925 Court Street&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Honesdale, PA 18431&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Phone: 570-253-5970 Ext. 4030&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Hours: 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM

Birth

 * 1824–1930 – – free index. Not complete for all years.fckLRIn Wayne county, the Prothonotary's office has: fckLR*1893–1906 Birth records (see above for address)

Marriage

 * 1841–1976 – – free index. Not complete for all years.In Wayne county, the Prothonotary's office has: fckLR*1885–present - Marriage records (see above for address)

Divorce
Divorce records are handled by the office of the Prothonotary. While no on-line indexes or records are available, records may be obtained by visiting or writing to the Prothonotary at: Wayne County Court House&amp; Second Floor Annex Court Street Honesdale, PA 18431fckLRPhone: 570-253-5970 Ext. 4030 Hours: 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM

Death

 * 1852-1854 – Pennsylvania Deaths Ancestry.com – $ Index with images.fckLR Wayne county, the Prothonotary's office has:
 * 1893–1906 Death records (see above for address)

Web Sites

 * USGenWeb project. Wayne County.May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.