Columbia County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

Guide to Columbia County, Pennsylvania ancestry, family history and genealogy in courthouse sources including birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, wills, deeds and land records, Civil War records, Revolutionary War records, family histories, cemeteries, churches, tax records, newspapers, and obituaries.

Columbia County Pennsylvania Historical Facts
Parent Counties: Formed from Northumberland and Luzerne Counties 22 March 1813.

County Seat: Bloomsburg

Neighboring Counties: Columbia County residents may also have records in:


 * Sullivan
 * Montour
 * Schuylkill
 * Northumberland
 * Luzerne
 * Lycoming

Description
The county was named for Columbia, a poetic name for the United States that alludes to Christopher Columbus. It's county seat is Bloomsburg. It was organized March 22, 1813. It is located in the Central section of the state.

Boundary Changes

 * Before 1813: Columbia was part of Northumberland County.
 * 3 May 1850: Montour County formed, giving Columbia County its current boundaries.

For animated maps illustrating Pennsylvania county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Pennsylvania County Boundary Maps" (1673-1878) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Records Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Biographies

 * Columbia County Biographies at Columbia County, Pennsylvania USGenWeb Archives]

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

Church Records


The Columbia County Historical and Genealogical Society maintains files on over 300 area churches. The files are comprised of church histories, membership rolls, marriage records, and more. An index to the files can be accessed by going to the "Resources" tab on the home page and then clicking on the "Churches and Cemeteries (Files)" link. Society volunteers will search the files for others. Those interested are encouraged to contact the society by telephone (570-784-1600).

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.


 * Contains church records of:
 * Berwick: First United Methodist Church; St. Paul Methodist Church; United Methodist Church
 * Bloomsburg: First Presbyterian Church; Lutheran Church; Trinity Reformed Church (United Church of Christ); Wesley United Methodist Church
 * Catawissa: First United Methodist Church
 * Espy: St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church
 * Fowlerville: Lutheran Church
 * Millville: United Methodist Church
 * Philadelphia: Columbia Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church; Covenant United Presbyterian Church

Lutheran
St. John's Lutheran Church, Catawissa


 * 1789-1864 - St. John's Lutheran Church, Catawissa, Baptism Index 1789-1864 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.
 * 1840-1873 - St. John's Lutheran Church, Catawissa, Marriage Index 1840-1873 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

Court of Common Pleas
The Courts of Common Pleas are the trial courts of Pennsylvania. Major civil and criminal cases are heard in these courts. Judges also decide cases involving adoption, divorce, child custody, abuse, juvenile delinquency, estates, guardianships, charitable organizations and many other matters. The Common Pleas courts are organized into 60 judicial districts. Columbia County shares its judicial district with Montour County. Judges of the Common Pleas courts are elected to 10-year terms. A president judge and a court administrator serve in each judicial district.

1814-1861 Common Pleas dockets. Includes naturalizations, divorce petitions, deeds, insolvency, contracts, and lunacy.

Orphans' Court

 * 1814-1869 Orphans' Court dockets . Indexes are found at the beginning of each volume.

Published Histories

 * Freeze, John G. A History of Columbia County, Pennsylvania. Bloomsburg, Pa.: Elwell and Bittenbender, 1883. Digital version at Internet Archive - free.

Land and Property
Land records in Columbia County began in 1800. These records are filed with the Register and Recorder's office in Bloomsburg, 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


 * 1974–present Columbia County offers free online access to indexes. Fees apply to view images.

Land Records on Microfilm


 * 1813–1973 Deeds, 1813-1866; Index, 1813-1973.
 * 1813–1973 Mortgages, 1813-1830; Index, 1813-1973.

Additional Resources

Note that the "Maps" section below includes maps related to land ownership.

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 Columbia County Pennsylvania Land in online catalogs such as:


 * Historical Society of Pennsylvania
 * WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog.)
 * (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search.)

Maps
Click the image to view an enlarged version


 * Maps of Pennsylvania (1673-1878)
 * Ancestor Tracks has posted free downloadable images from the 1876 Atlas of Columbia &amp; Montour Counties, Pennsylvania. 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.

Naturalization and Citizenship
Naturalization records available for Columbia County, Pennsylvania include the following:

Online Naturalization Indexes and Records


 * 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 - ($), indexed, National Archives publication M1622, Middle District court was created in 1901, for earlier dates try the Eastern and Western District court records
 * 1901-1930 - Middle District, US Circuit and District Courts: Naturalization petitions, 1906-1930 located in U.S. Naturalization Records - Original Documents, 1795-1972 (World Archives Project) database on Ancestry.com - ($), indexed, National Archives publication M1622, Middle District court was created in 1901, for earlier dates try the Eastern and Western District court records.

Original Naturalization Records on Microfilm


 * 1814-1861 Common Pleas Dockets
 * 1814-1847 Naturalization Papers

Newspapers
Newspapers of Columbia County


 * Pennsylvania Newspapers
 * Chronicling America US Newspaper Directory

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


 * PA-Roots Newspaper Articles for Columbia County.
 * The Columbia Democrat Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, 1837-1850.
 * The Columbian Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, 1866-1910.
 * The Campaign Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, 1866-1866.
 * Columbia Democrat and Bloomsburg General Advertiser Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, 1850-1866.
 * Local Newspaper Collection, Bloomsburg University, Harvey A. Andruss Library.
 * USGenWeb WPA Project 5175 Columbia County Marriages

Obituaries
Obituaries are generally found in local newspapers where the person died. However, sometimes an obituary is found in the location from which he or she originated. To find an obituary, see the information under the Newspaper heading

Online Obituary Abstracts

PA-Roots Obituaries for Columbia County.

Probate Records
Online Probate Records

Original probate records for some Pennsylvania counties are available free online as digital images at FamilySearch.org. The dates vary significantly for each county and not all counties are listed. Some counties may only have probate indexes. This Pennsylvania collection of images may be browsed through the links listed below:

Complete Collection:


 * 1683-1994- at FamilySearch.org

Columbia County Only:


 * 1773-1974-Columbia County Probate Records

Online Probate Indexes


 * 1683 - 1993 Pennsylvania Wills and Probate Records 1683-1993 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Original Probate Records on Microfilm


 * 1773-1833 Indexes to Mortgages, Wills and Administrations, and Miscellaneous Records
 * 1814-1869 Orphans' Court Dockets
 * 1813-1912 Wills and Administrations - Includes Index 1813-1974

Archives

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

Courthouse

 * Columbia County Courthouse 35 West Main Street Bloomsburg, PA 17815 Phone: 570-389-5600


 * Register and Recorder's Office Columbia County Courthouse 35 West Main Street Bloomsburg, PA 17815 Phone: 570-389-5632


 * Office of the Prothonotary Columbia County Courthouse 35 West Main Street Bloomsburg, PA 17815 Phone: 570-389-5614

Societies

 * Columbia County Historical and Genealogical Society. 225 Market Street P.O. Box 360 Bloomsburg, PA 17815-0360 Phone: 570–784–1600


 * Montour County Genealogical Society, MCGS 205 Ferry Street Danville PA 17821 Phone: 570-275-6177 Genealogy Room: Thomas Beaver Free Library, 2nd Floor The collection includes records for Columbia, Montour and Northumberland Counties. Research requests may be submitted in writing using a printable form which includes the fee schedule.

Taxation

 * 1778-1787 - Columbia County, Pennsylvania Tax Lists 1778-1780, 1781, 1783 &amp; 1784, 1785, 1787 at PAGenWeb - free.

Vital Records
See also How to order Pennsylvania Vital Records


 * 1893-1905 All genealogical requests to the county clerk for birth or death information are forwarded to the Columbia County Historical and Genealogical Society.

Birth

 * 1852-1856 - Columbia County Birth Index 1852-1928 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1852-1854 – Pennsylvania Births Ancestry.com – ($) Index with images.
 * 1893-1905 USGenWeb indexes several birth lists for Columbia County.

Marriage

 * 1677–1950 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1700-1821 - Pennsylvania Marriage Records Ancestry.com – ($) This database is incomplete for all counties.
 * 1725-1976 - - free index. Not complete for all years. This index is not necessarily intended to index any specific set of records. This index is not complete for any particular place or region. This collection may include information previously published in the International Genealogical Index or Vital Records Index collections.
 * Pre-1810 – Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry.com – ($) This database is incomplete for all counties. Includes 35,000 marriage records from vol. VIII of of the second series of the Pennsylvania Archives.
 * 1852-1854 - Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry.com – ($) Index with images.
 * 1885-1950 - Extracted marriage records – free. This database is incomplete for all counties. May also contain marriage records earlier than 1885.
 * 1895-1907 USGenWeb indexes several marriage lists for Columbia County.
 * Marriage Records of Columbia and Montour Counties at Ancestry.com - ($); book transcription; Marriages taken from newspapers Columbian Democrat and The Intelligencer.

Divorce
Divorce records are available through the office of the Prothonotary. The office of the Prothonotary is located in the courthouse building.

Death

 * 1852-1873, 1893-1905 - Columbia County Death Index 1852-1873 and 1893-1905 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1852-1854 – Pennsylvania Deaths Ancestry.com – ($) Index with images.
 * 1893-1905 - USGenWeb indexes several death lists for Columbia County.

Genealogy Societies and Libraries

 * List of Pennsylvania Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical &amp; Genealogical Societies

Columbia County Pennsylvania Genealogy Websites

 * Columbia County, PA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Columbia County PA Genealogy