Mifflin County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

Guide to Mifflin County, Pennsylvania ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Description
The county was named for Thomas Mifflin, the first Governor of the state of Pennsylvania. It is located in the central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Mifflin County Courthouse 20 North Wayne St. Lewistown, PA 17044 Phone: 717-242-1449 Fax: 717-248-2503 Clerk of Courts/Prothonotary Phone: 717-248-8146 Register, Recorder and Clerk of the Orphan's Court  Phone: 717 -242-1449 Email: [mailto:prothonotary@co.mifflin.pa.us prothonotary@co.mifflin.pa.us] Mifflin County Website County Clerk has birth records 1893-1905, marriage records from 1885, probate and land records from 1789 Prothonotary Office has divorce and court records

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Cemeteries
Additional Cemetery Resources
 * ca.1700-ca.1950 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * PA-Roots
 * Names in Stone
 * Ancestry($)
 * The Cemeteries of Mifflin County. 2 vols. Mifflin County Historical Society, 1977. Surname index and list of cemeteries at PAGenWeb;.

Church Records
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 $


 * Contains the church records of:
 * Burnham: United Methodist Burnham Charge; United Methodist Church
 * Lewistown: First United Methodist Church; Grace United Methodist Church; United Methodist Church
 * Reedsville: United Methodist Church
 * Yeagertown: United Methodist Church

Baptist Baptists organized in Mifflin County in 1840. It wasn’t until 1879 that the congregation was able to hold consistent services. A church was completed in Lewistown in 1883.

Catholic Many of the workmen on the Juniata Canal in the 1820’s were Catholic. Lewistown was chosen as the best place to build a church for their worship. They broke ground for the Church of the Sacred Heart in 1828. It was attached to the Pittsburgh Diocese until 1868 when it became part of the Harrisburg Diocese.

Episcopal St. Mark’s Episcopal was established in 1824, but preachers were visiting Mifflin County as early as 1820. The African American Episcopal church was organized in 1816, with two congregations in Lewistown as early as 1872.

Methodist The first Methodist Society in Lewiston was formed in 1815. Some lists of early congregants are found in Ellis’ history of Mifflin County.

Lutheran The Lutheran and Reformed congregations formed a Unity church in 1814. Both were German-speaking churches and called their church Zion’s Church. A later church in Lewistown was called St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (1850).

Presbyterian The first church congregation established in Mifflin County was Presbyterian in 1785 in Bratton Township. Other congregations were established in Lost Creek and Mifflinburg (1805) and Lewistown and Kishacoquillas (1810).

Little Valley Presbyterian Church, Vira

List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * 1837-1903 Little Valley Presbyterian Church, Vira, Baptism Index 1837-1903 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch
 * FamilySearch Places

Genealogies

 * Bell, Raymond Martin. Families and Records Before 1800. 1987, 1991. Includes supplement. Surname and place index at PAGenWeb

Guardianship

 * 1793-1840, 1843-1914 Court Records Quarter Sessions
 * 1792-1809, 1826-1834 Circuit Court Docket
 * 1851-1905 Selected Appearance Papers
 * 1865-1875 Chancery Docket

Land and Property Records
Land records in Mifflin County began in 1789. These records are filed with the Recorder of Deeds office in Lewistown, Pennsylvania.

Online Land Indexes and Records
 * 1789-1953 Deed Indexes. - images only; click on the camera icon to view images

Local Histories

 * History of [...] the counties of Mifflin, Juniata, Perry, Union and Snyder in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 2 volumes. 1886. By Franklin Ellis, Alfred Matthews. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania : Everts, Peck & Richards. Online at: Vol. 1 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust,Internet Archive; . Volume 1 contains a general history of all counties and specific histories for Mifflin and Juniata counties.
 * History and Topography of Northumberland, Huntingdon, Mifflin, Centre, Union, Columbia, Juniata and Clinton Counties, Pa. 1847. By I. Daniel Rupp. Lancaster, Pennsylvania : G. Hills. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust, Internet Archive, Google Books;.
 * A History of the Juniata Valley. 3 volumes. 1936. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania : National Historical Association, Inc. Online at: Vol. 1 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Vol. 2 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Vol. 3 - FamilySearch Digital Library.


 * Sherman Day's "Mifflin County, Historical Collections of the State of Pennsylvania, 1843, courtesy USGenWeb Archives

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps
 * Maps of Pennsylvania (1673-1878)
 * Ancestor Tracks has posted free downloadable images from the Atlas of Perry, Juniata, and Mifflin Counties by and under the Direction of Beach Nichols, published by Pomery, Whitman &amp; Co., 1877. This atlas located in the Library of Congress shows major landowners and geographic sites at the date of publishing. While the physical maps are in the public domain, the images we have taken of the maps belong to us and are not to be used commercially. We hereby give permission to use them strictly for personal use; please attribute to Ancestor Tracks.
 * FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places

Migration
For residents who moved away, see:


 * McClenahen, Dan. Former Residents of Mifflin County 1832-1883, 1894-1896, 2 vols. Reedsville, Pa.: D. McClenahen, 1986-1993. Surname index at PAGenWeb;.

Military Records
Civil War
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * Frysinger, George R. and Eleanor M. Aurand. Mifflin Countians Who Served in the Civil War: Published in the Lewistown Gazette 1905. Lewistown, Pa.: Mifflin County Historical Society, 1996. Surname index at PAGenWeb;.

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * 1802-1912 Naturalization records, 1802-1912.  - images only; click on the camera icon to view images; Index at beginning of each volume.
 * 1803-1906 McClenahen, Dan. Naturalization Papers of Mifflin County, 1803-1906. Lewistown, Pa.: Mifflin County Historical Society, 1984. Surname index at PAGenWeb;.
 * 1901-1930 Naturalization Petitions of the U.S. Circuit and District Courts for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, 1906-1930; and 1901-1906 on Fold3.com - ($), indexed, National Archives publication M1622, Middle District court was created in 1901, for earlier dates try the Eastern and Western District court records
 * 1901-1930 Middle District, US Circuit and District Courts: Naturalization petitions, 1906-1930 located in U.S. Naturalization Records - Original Documents, 1795-1972 (World Archives Project) database on Ancestry $

Newspapers
Newspapers of Mifflin County

Online Newspapers

To learn if there are newspapers online for a specific town or city in Pennsylvania, see news.google.com/newspapers and search for the town or the name of a newspaper.


 * Chronicling America US Newspaper Directory.
 * Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive
 * Pennsylvania Newspapers

Online Newspaper Abstracts


 * at FamilySearch
 * PA-Roots Newspaper Articles for Mifflin County, Pennsylvania.
 * Newspaper Abstracts alphabetical. Also Church Newsletter Abstracts.

Newspaper Excerpts and Abstracts


 * McClenahen, Dan, People in the News in Mifflin County (S.I.:D. McDlenahen, 1986-1995) ;

Obituaries
Online Obituary Abstracts


 * PA-Roots Obituaries for Mifflin County, Pennsylvania.
 * Mifflin County Obituaries at USGenWeb Archives

Obituary Excerpts and Abstracts


 * 1822-1896 McClenahen, Dan, Obituaries of Mifflin County 1822-1896, 2 vols. Lewistown, Pa.: Mifflin County Historical Society, 1982-1995. Surname index at PAGenWeb; ;

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1683-1993 Pennsylvania Wills and Probate Records 1683-1993 at Ancestry $
 * 1789 -1899 Mifflin County Probate Records at FamilySearch
 * Fisher, Charles A. Wills and Administrations of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. Including Wills and Administrations of Union, Mifflin and Indiana Counties. 1950. Digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library. Abstracts and index.
 * 1789-1899 Register's Docket - images only; click on the camera icon to view images
 * 1789-1900 McClenahen, Dan. Wills of Mifflin County, 1789-1900, 2 vols. 1983-1985. Surname index at PAGenWeb;.

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch - How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Tax Records

 * 1767-1789, 1798 The People of Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, 1755-1798: Tax Lists 1767-1789; Federal Census 1790; Federal Direct Tax 1798 at FamilySearch Digital Library; surname index at PAGenWeb - free.
 * 1798 Pennsylvania, U.S. Direct Tax Lists, 1798 at Ancestry ($).

Birth

 * 1726-1950 . This collection is an index for the years 1726 to 1930. It is not necessarily intended to index any specific set of records. This index is not complete for any particular place or region. This collection may include information previously published in the International Genealogical Index or Vital Records Index collections.
 * 1852-1854 Pennsylvania Births Ancestry $

Marriage

 * 1626-2016 Pennsylvania, United States Marriages at FindMyPast ($)
 * 1677-1950  at FamilySearch
 * 1700-1821 Pennsylvania Marriage Records Ancestry $
 * 1725-1976  index. Not complete for all years. This index is an electronic database of information. The entries are primarily from the International Genealogical Index (IGI) along with some entries derived from compiled and original records such as: Family Records, Church Records, Civil Registration. It may also include indexes generated by the internet indexing project sponsored by FamilySearch.
 * Pre-1810  Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry $
 * 1822-1885 McClenahen, Dan. Marriages of Mifflin County, 1822-1885. Lewistown, Pa.: Mifflin County Historical Society, 1981. Surname index at PAGenWeb;.
 * 1852-1854 Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry $

Death

 * 1720-1999  at FamilySearch — index, some images
 * 1850-1880  at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1852-1854 Pennsylvania Deaths Ancestry $

Divorce
Divorce records are available through the office of the Prothonotary Mifflin County Courthouse.

Archives

 * National Archives at Philadelphia 14700 Townsend Road Philadelphia, PA 19154-1096 Phone: 215-305-2044 Fax: 215-305-2052 website

Family History Centers

 * State College Pennsylvania family History Center

Societies

 * The Mifflin County Historical Society 1 West Market Street, Suite 1 Lewistown, PA 17044 Phone: 717-242-1022 Website
 * Mifflin County Mennonite Historical Society 3922 W. Main Street Belleville, PA 17004 Phone: 717-935-5574 Facebook

Websites

 * USGenWeb
 * Mifflin County PA Genealogy
 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.