Perry County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

United States Pennsylvania  Perry County  

Historical Facts

 * Named for Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, hero of Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812.
 * One of reasons the county was created because residents did not want to travel over the mountains to get to Carlisle which was the seat of Cumberland County.

Parent County
22 March 1820: Perry County was created 22 March 1820 from Cumberland County.

Neighboring Counties
Cumberland | Dauphin | Franklin | Juniata | Northumberland

Cemeteries
Family History Library Catalog:

"Registration of graves and cemeteries in the eastern area of the county of Juniata : consisting of the townships of Delaware, Fayette, Fermanagh, Greenwood, Monroe, Susquehanna and Walker and the borough of Thompsontown with some cemeteries of Snyder and Perry counties..." It is on one microfilm and has only pieces of Perry, but it could be useful.

30 Perry County, Pennsylvania cemetery records : complete tombstone inscriptions is a 348 page book that includes an index.

"no. 3 (Aug 1978) - Bloomfield burials in 1890" is an article written by Isaac Simmers.

"no. 2 (April 1977) - Burial grounds" is another article but contains information on the Van Camp burial ground; Burial gound report; Limestone Presbyterian Churchyard; German tombstones in Zion (Toboyne) Chuchyard at Blain.

"no. 4 (1979) - Perry Valley burial grounds" another article but is an from the "Newport News" on May 27, 1897 listing names of persons buried in the area without tombstones or whose tombstones have been destroyed.

Ancestry's Red Book:

"Large collections of cemetery records are located at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, and at many local libraries and historical societies. The Pennsylvania State Library maintains the state’s Daughters of the American Revolution cemetery collection (see page 7). Records for several Philadelphia funeral directors are in the Collections of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania (housed at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania). The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania microfilmed cemetery records throughout the commonwealth and is currently indexing cemetery records in their collections. Various compilations of cemetery inscriptions have been published, such as those for the western counties by Closson Press and Mechling Books."

On Cyndi's List there are some websites dealing with cemeteries.

http://www.daddezio.com/cemetery/junction/CJ-PA-NDX.html is useful as it gives the locations of the cemeteries in Pennsylvania that one can then go and search if needed.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=csr&amp;CScnty=2290 has the name of the cemetery, how many intered and some photos. You can search the site by names and will reveal multiple states.

Church Records
Family History Library Catalog

Classified index to Churches between the mountains : a history of the Lutheran congregations in Perry County, Pennsylvania by Rev. D. H. Focht is a book that is more about history, but it may lead to where one needs to look.

Church records, 1893-1930 [Newport Methodist] which covers 1895-1907 in Newport, Millerstown, and Donnally Mills. In 1906 Newport was its own charge. Probationers 1895-1907 -- Members -- Baptisms 1895-1907 -- Marriages 1893-1907, Newspaper clipping on 25th anniversary -- Pastors, church officials -- Members -- Probationers 1907-1930 -- Centenary social 1919 -- Marriages 1907-1929 -- Baptisms 1907-1930.

Church records, 1901-1947 [Newport Evangelical Charge] Newport Charge included the following churches: Calvary at Newport, Ebenezer at Milford now Wila, Mt. Zion at Elliottsburg, Stony Point in Southwest Madison Township, St. Mary's in Liverpool and Messiah or Hunter's Valley in Spring Township. Also includes residents of Donnelleys Mills, Pine Grove, and Duncannon and other towns in Perry County. Pastors, church officials -- Members -- Marriages 1901-1947 -- Baptisms 1902-1947.

Marriages performed by John William Heim, Perry County, Pennsylvania, 1846-1847 Microfilm of typescript (2 leaves, made in 1967) at the Wentz Library of the Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Church records, 1856-1917 [Perry Circuit of the United Brethren in Christ] covers Classes attached to Perry Circuit with the years in which membership rolls were taken: Petersburg (1859, 1862, 1865, 1867; 1869 as Duncannon); Snider or Snyder (1861?, 1862, 1867, 1869, 1873-1875, 1878-1879, 1881-1886, 1892, 1897, 1903, 1911); Bethel (1861?, 1862-1863, 1865, 1877-1878; as Young's Church [in 1873 transferred from Fairview], 1878-1879, 1881-1885, 1897, 1906, 1910); Pisgah (1862?-1863, 1865, 1875; as Rivers or Reiber's 1878-1879, 1881, 1883-1886, 1897, 1903, 1906); Shermans Dale (in 1863 taken from Bethel, 1867, 1873, 1877-1879, 1881-1885, 1897, 1904, 1906, 1910); Jericho (organized in 1872, 1875, 1878-1879, 1881-1886; as Bloomsfield later New Bloomfield 1897, 1906, 1908, 1910); Pleasant Grove (1875, 1878-1879, 1881-1886, 1897, 1903-1904, 1906; 1910 as Dellville); Wirts (organized in 1872, in 1875 attached to Carlisle Spring); Cove School House (organized in 1873, in 1874 transferred to Carlisle Circuit); Fairview (organized 1883, 1885-1886). Several classes were attached to the Ickesburg Mission in 1862: Small's, Ridge, Rackoon, Red School House appointment, and Mudhollow School House. Mount Pleasant was transferred to Petersburg about 1862.

Pastor's register of baptisms, communicants, burials. Transcribed from a register in possession of Mrs. F. A. Blair, Blairs Mills, Pa.

Contains baptisms, 1870-1917; communicants, 1870-1915; burials, 1870-1915; and marriages, 1870-1915. Rev. Diener was pastor at Catawissa, 1879-1882, Dickinson, 1884-1890, and in the Juaniata Valley area: Shade Gap, Peru Church, Waterloo, Blairs Mill, 1890-1915. The area he was in 1870-1878 is not listed, perhaps in Perry County?

Indexed with other records in the volume.

In Lycoming and Clinton Counties and miscellaeous Bible records / Edna E. Liddle. leaves 169-197.

no. 4 (1979) - The Duncannon Methodist Church. A history of the Methodist church in Perry County, including early records of the church.

Ancestry's Red Book

http://wiki.ancestry.com/wiki/index.php?title=Pennsylvania_Church_Records is the digitized version that has links to multiple societies and churches for more information on what is contained or how to contact them to get information.

Land and Property
Due to the lack of vital records for Pennsylvania, land records are an important tool in early Pennsylvania research. Land records will list the seller and purchaser of the property and may hide clues to family connections. Land records for Perry County are available from the recorder's office for 1820 to the present.


 * Images are available on-line from 1820 to the present using the Landex system. There is a fee to view the images.
 * Deed Book, 1820-1866; Indexes, 1820-1950

Maps
Ancestor Tracks has posted free downloadable images from the 1877 Atlas of Perry, Juniata &amp; Mifflin Counties under the Direction of Beach Nichols, published by Pomeroy, Whitman &amp; Co. This wall map 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.

Birth

 * 1852-1854 – Pennsylvania Births Ancestry.com – $ Index with images.

Marriage

 * 1725-1976 - - free index. Not complete for all years.

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:

Prothonotary and Clerk of Court Office P.O. Box# 325 New Bloomfield, PA 17068 Phone: 717-582-2131

Death

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

Web Sites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * http://www.tcrpc-pa.org/assets/adeptiv/upload/attach/2011%20PC%20CDB.pdf, is a free pamphlete with information about the boroughs and townships in there current times, but does give office locations and contact information.
 * http://www.tcrpc-pa.org/assets/adeptiv/upload/attach/2011%20PC%20CDB.pdf, is a free pamphlete with information about the boroughs and townships in there current times, but does give office locations and contact information.

Populated Places
Perry county has two types of municipalities, boroughs and twonships. It has 9 boroughs: Blain, Duncannon, Landisburg, Liverpool, Marysville, Millerstown, Bloomfield, New Buffalo, and Newport; and 21 townships: Buffalo Township, Carroll Township, Centre Township, Greenwood Township, Howe Township, Jackson Township, Juniata Township, Liverpool Township, Miller Township, Northeast Madison Township, Oliver Township, Penn Township, Rye Township, Saville Township, Southwest Madison Township, Spring Township, Toboyne Township, Tuscarora Township, Tyrone Township, Watts Township, and Wheatfield Township. Bloomfield, though sometimes named New Bloomfield, is the county seat.