Cambria County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

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

Description
The county was named for the nation of Wales, which in Latin is known as "Cambria". The county is located near the center of the state.

County Courthouse
Cambria County Courthouse 200 South Center Street Ebensburg, PA 15931 Phone: 814-472-5440 Clerk of Courts: 814-472-1540 Prothonotary: 814-472-1638 Fax: 814-472-5632 Register of Wills/Orphan's Court: 814-472-1440 Cambria County Website County Clerk has birth and death records 1893-1906, marriage records from 1885, divorce records from 1866, probate from 1819, court records from 1849, and land records 1846

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:

Bible Records

 * Bible Records at PA USGenWeb Archives

Biographies

 * Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of Cambria County by Samuel Wiley, 1896 at Cambria County, Pennsylvania USGenWeb Archives

Cemeteries
Additional Cemetery Resources


 * ca.1700-ca.1950 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images (incomplete)
 * Pennsylvania Genealogy

Census Records
Federal Census


 * 1850-1880  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Church Records

 * 1620-1991 (*) at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images



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 $
 * Benedictine Fathers in Cambria County, Pennsylvania at Cambria County, Pennsylvania USGenWeb Archives
 * Pennsylvania Highlands Community College - Cambria City Church Project contains information, print materials, and images on historic churches for many ethnic churches some of which have been closed.
 * History of St. Augustine's Parish at Cambria County, Pennsylvania USGenWeb Archives
 * Contains church records of:


 * Barnesboro: St. Thomas Episcopal Church
 * Blandburg: Blandburg Evangelical Lutheran Church
 * Ebensburg: First United Presbyterian Church
 * Elton: Dunmyer Evangelical Lutheran Church
 * Glasgow: Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church
 * Johnstown: Bethany Presbyterian Church
 * Lilly: St. Luke's Lutheran Church
 * Patton: Trinity Episcopal Church
 * Portage: First Lutheran Church

Catholic


 * "100 years of the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese 1843 -1943". Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society Quarterly, 17:1. FamilySearch Library book 974.8 B2wg. Contains chronolgy, map, county-by-county information.

List of Churches and Church Parishes


 * FamilySearch Places

Directories

 * 1896-1897 (*); at FamilySearch Catalog — images

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1798-1828  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; Alphabet index then by numbered entry
 * 1900-1923  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only (by county)
 * 1952-1957   at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * Cambria Memory Project An index to immigration records held by Cambria County.

Land and Property Records
Land records in Cambria County began in 1804. These records are filed with the Recorder of Deeds office in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania.

Click the image to view an enlarged version

Land Records Online


 * 1869 -1886 Deeds. - images only; click on the camera icon to view images

Local Histories

 * History of Cambria County, Pennsylvania. 2 volumes. 1926. By John E. Gable. Topeka, Kansas : Historical Publishing Co. Online at: Vol. 1 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Vol. 2 - FamilySearch Digital Library; Vols. 1 & 2 - Ancestry ($);.
 * History of Cambria County, Pennsylvania : with Genealogical Memoirs. 3 volumes. 1907. By Henry Wilson Storey. New York; Chicago : Lewis Publishing Co. Online at: Vol. 1 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Vol. 2 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Vol. 3 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust; . Items may be microreproduction published [Tucson, Arizona : W.C. Cox & Co., 1974].

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps


 * Maps of Pennsylvania (1673-1878)
 * Cambria County maps, including the 1890 atlas showing land owners, have been posted at the PAGenWeb site
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records
Civil War


 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1865-1936  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

World War II


 * 1933-1947  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records


 * 1795-1931  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1795-1952  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1820-1906 Index to Declarations and Petitions in the Western District of Pennsylvania, US Circuit and District Courts located in US Naturalization Records Indexes, 1794-1995 database on Ancestry $
 * 1820-1930 Naturalization Petitions of the U.S. District Court, 1820-1930, and Circuit Court, 1820-1911, for the Western District of Pennsylvania on Fold3.com - ($), indexed, National Archives publication M1537, incomplete for all counties
 * 1820-1930 Naturalization Petitions of the U.S. District Court, 1820-1930, and Circuit Court, 1820-1911, for the Western District of Pennsylvania located in Selected US Naturalization Records - Original Documents, 1790-1974 database on Ancestry.com - ($), indexed, National Archives publication M1537
 * 1835 Cambria County Naturalization Records 1835 at PAGenWeb
 * 1835-1991 Index to Immigration Records for Cambria County at the Cambria Memory Project. Originals Originals are at the Cambria County Public Records Center, 1150 Wilmore Road, Ebensburg, PA 15931. Call the Prothonotary’s office for copies 814-472-1638.
 * Cambria County Naturalization Records Index can be found at Cambria County Library. Originals are at the Cambria County Public Records Center, 1150 Wilmore Road, Ebensburg, PA 15931. Call the Prothonotary’s office for copies 814-472-1638.
 * 1835-1906 Naturalization Dockets - images only; click on the camera icon to view images

Newspapers
Newspapers of Cambria County


 * Pennsylvania Newspapers
 * Chronicling America US Newspaper Directory
 * Johnstown - Tribune Democrat
 * Ebensburg - Mountaineer Herald

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.

Online Newspaper Abstracts


 * 1947-2010 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1977-2010  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * PA-Roots Newspaper Articles for Cambria County.

Newspaper Excerpts and Abstracts


 * Democrat and Sentinel (Ebensburg, Pennsylvania) (SLC, Utah, 1954)

Obituaries
Online Obituary Abstracts


 * USGenWeb Cambria County Obituary Abstracts
 * PA-Roots Obituaries for Cambria County.

Obituary Excerpts and Abstracts


 * Teeter, Grace A., The Nathaniel Teeter Family and Other Related Families (Rialto, California:G.A. Teeter, 1997) Digitized version available through Family Search catalog entry.

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records


 * 1683-1993 Pennsylvania Wills and Probate Records 1683-1993 at Ancestry $
 * 1683-1994  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only (by county)
 * 1806-1980 Cambria County Probate Records
 * 1808-1919 Records of the Orphan's Court and Register of Wills  - Estate and Proceedings Indexes included, 1806-1980 - images only; click on the camera icon to view images
 * 1808-1854, 1899-1907 Cambria County Will Indexes, Vol. 1 and Vol. 5 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

 * 1820 1820 Summerhill Township Tax List at PAGenWeb
 * 1861 1861 Chest Township Tax List at PAGenWeb
 * 1867 1867 Gallitzin Township Tax List at PAGenWeb
 * 1894 1894 Reade Township Tax List at PAGenWeb

Birth

 * 1520-1999  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1709-1950  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1941-1976  at FamilySerch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * Cambria Freeman Births 1905 -1912 at Cambria County, Pennsylvania USGenWeb Archives

Marriage

 * 1512-1989  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1626-2016 Pennsylvania, United States Marriages at Findmypast ($)
 * 1677-1950 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1682-1976  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1700-1821 Pennsylvania Marriage Records at Ancestry ($)
 * 1709-1940  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * Pre-1810 Pennsylvania Marriages at Ancestry ($)
 * 1852-1854 Pennsylvania Marriages at Ancestry ($)
 * 1885-1920 Cambria County Marriages 1885-1920 at PAGenWeb
 * 1885-1950  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1902-1912 Cambria Freeman Newspaper Collection at Cambria County, Pennsylvania USGenWeb Archives
 * 1947-2021  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Death

 * 1720-1999 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index, some images
 * 1856-1971  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1893-1905 Cambria County Death Index 1893-1905 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch

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

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

FamilySearch Centers

 * Altoona Pennsylvania Family History Center
 * Indiana Pennsylvania Family History Center
 * Johnstown Pennsylvania Family History Center
 * Apollo Memorial Library - an affiliate library.
 * Meyersdale Public Library - an affiliate library.

Libraries
Cambria County Library System 248 Main Street Johnstown, PA 15901-1677 Phone: 814-536-5131 Email: [mailto:campub@cclsys.org campub@cclsys.org] Website Multiple locations Roller-Hojeth Memorial Library 431 Scotch Valley Rd. Hollidaysburg, PA 16648 Phone: 814-696-3492 Website Collection covers Blair and surrounding counties, particularly Huntingdon, Cambria, and Bedford Counties.

Museums
Johnstown Flood Museum 304 Washington Street Johnstown, PA 15901 Phone: 814-539-1889 Website

Societies
Blair County Genealogical Society Roller-Hojeth Memorial Library 431 Scotch Valley Rd. Hollidaysburg, PA 16648 Phone: 814-696-3492 Website Collection covers Blair and surrounding counties, particularly Huntingdon, Cambria, and Bedford Counties. Cambria County Historical Society 615 North Center Street P.O. Box 278 Ebensburg, PA 15931 Phone: 814-472-6674 Website Nant-Y-Glo Tri Area Museum and Historical Society 929 Roberts Street Nanty Glo, PA 15943 Phone: 814-749-7352 Email: [mailto:ngtamhs@itxbb.net ngtamhs@itxbb.net] Facebook Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society 4400 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15213-4080 Phone: 412-687-6811 Email: [mailto:info@wpgs.org info@wpgs.org] Website

Websites

 * Linkpendium - Cambria County
 * USGenWeb project
 * Cambria 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.