Juniata County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

United States Pennsylvania  Juniata County

Guide to Juniata 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.

Juniata County Pennsylvania Historical Facts


Parent Counties: Formed from Mifflin County 2 March 1831.

County Seat: Mifflintown

Neighboring Counties: residents may also have records in:


 * Mifflin
 * Perry
 * Huntingdon
 * Snyder
 * Franklin

Named for Juniata River.

Description
The county was named for the Juniata River. It's county seat is Mifflintown and was founded March 2, 1831. It is located in the Mid-central area of the state.

Boundary Changes
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.

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

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 the church records of Port Royal United Methodist Church.

Baptist
The Baptist church in Spruce Hill Township was established in 1794 in Milford Township.

Lutheran
The German Lutheran congregation of Tuscarora Valley built their first church in 1803, with an attending grave yard, called the Church Hill Cemetery. A new cemetery, opened in 1906 stands across the street.

Methodist

 * 1863-1870 Port Royal Methodist Episcopal 1863-1870 Marriages at The USGenWeb Project - free, courtesy of USGenWeb.


 * 1893-1901 Thompsontown Methodist Episcopal 1893-1901 Marriages at The USGenWeb Project - free, courtesy of USGenWeb.

Presbyterian
The earliest church in Juniata county was the Cedar Spring Presbyterian, built in 1763 in Walker Township. Other early Presbyterian churches included one in Lack Township (pre-1766) where the graveyard and stones were still standing in 1936.

The congregation at Academia, called the Lower Tuscarora, was established in 1766, with several different buildings housing the congregation. They joined with the Middle Tuscarora congregation in 1801. Port Royal was also part of this congregation. In 1850 they joined with the Lost Creek congregation from McAlisterville. Lost Creek was established in about 1799. The graveyard for this church holds many of the area's earlier settlers. In 1934 this congregation was still active.

Mifflintown and Lost Creek Presbyterian Church


 * 1806-1844 Presbyterian Church of Mifflintown and Lost Creek 1806-1844 Marriages at The USGenWeb Project - free, courtesy of USGenWeb.
 * 1845-1871 Presbyterian Church of Mifflintown and Lost Creek 1845-1871 Marriages at The USGenWeb Project - free, courtesy of USGenWeb.
 * 1872-1875 Mifflintown Presbyterian Church Baptism Index 1872-1875 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.
 * 1872-1891 Mifflintown Presbyterian Church Marriage Index 1872-1891 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

United Presbyterian Church, Mexico


 * 1863-1870 United Presbyterian Church, Mexico, Baptism Index 1863-1870 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. Juniata County shares its judicial district with Perry 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.

Clerk of the Court
The Clerk of Courts in Juniata County is also the clerk of the Prothonotary Court.

Orphans' Court
Orphans' Court 1 North Main Street P.O Box 68 Mifflintown,PA 17059 Phone: 717-436-7709 Email: [mailto:aseigler@co.juniata.pa.us aseigler@co.juniata.pa.us]

Land and Property
Land records in Juniata County began in 1831. These records are filed with the Recorder of Deeds office in Mifflintown, 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


 * Images are available online using the Infocon system. Fees apply.

Land Records on Microfilm


 * 1831–1973 Deeds, 1831-1866; Index, 1833-1973; Miscellaneous Dockets, 1851-1867; Index, 1831-1967.

Additional Resources

Note that the "Maps" section below also 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 Juniata 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

 * Maps of Pennsylvania (1673-1878)
 * Ancestor Tracks has posted free downloadable images from the Atlas of Perry, Juniata &amp; Mifflin Counties, Pennsylvania, from Actual Surveys by and under the Direction of Beach Nichols, published by A. Pomeroy &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 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 for Juniata County, Pennsylvania include the following:

Online Naturalization Indexes and Records


 * 1820s-1840s Juniata County, Pennsylvania Naturalization Records Book 1 and Book 2 at The USGenWeb Project - free.


 * 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

Newspapers
Newspapers of Juniata 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.


 * Chronicling America Juniata Sentinel 1846-1873 Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pennsylvania.
 * Chroncling America Juniata Sentinel and Republican 1873-1955 Mifflintown, Juniata County, PA.

Online Newspaper Abstracts


 * PA-Roots Newspaper Articles from Juniata County, Pennsylvania.

Newspaper Abstracts


 * Death Records (SLC, Utah, 1973) Alphabetical card index to death records, mainly from the newspapers: Mifflin Eagle, The Weekly Democratic Press, Juniata Herald, Juniata Gazette, etc.

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 Juniata County, Pennsylvania.
 * Some Juniata County Obituaries at Juniata County, Pennsylvania USGenWeb Archives

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


 * 1683-1994  at FamilySearch.org

Juniata County Only:


 * 1831-1973 Juniata County Probate Records

Original Probate Records on Microfilm


 * 1852-1937 Decedents Estate Index
 * 1831-1917 Register of Wills - Index included 1831-1973

Repositories

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

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

 * Juniata County Courthouse Bridge and Main Streets P. O. Box 68 Mifflintown, PA 17059


 * Prothonotary/Clerk of Courts Phone: 717-436-7715


 * Orphans' Court/Register of Wills Phone: 717-436-7709

Societies

 * Juniata County Historical Society 498 Jefferson St. Suite B Mifflintown, PA 17059 Phone: 717-436-5152 Email: [mailto:jchs1931@juniatacountyhistoricalsociety.org jchs1931@juniatacountyhistoricalsociety.org]

Taxation

 * 1763-1776 Lack Township Taxes 1763-1776 at The USGenWeb Project - free.


 * 1763-1776 Milford Township Taxes 1763-1776 at The USGenWeb Project - free.


 * 1763-1767 Fermanagh Township Taxes 1763-1767 at The USGenWeb Project - free.

Vital Records
See also How to order Pennsylvania Vital Records

Birth

 * 1852 Juniata County Birth Index 1852 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.
 * 1852-1854 Pennsylvania Births Ancestry.com – ($) Index with images.

Marriage

 * 1677–1950  at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1700-1821  Pennsylvania Marriage Records Ancestry.com – ($) This database is incomplete for all counties.
 * 1726-1930   - free index. Not complete for all years. This index is an electronic index for the years 1726 to 1930. It is not necessarily intended to index any specific set of records. This index is not complete for any particular place or region. This collection may include information previously published in the International Genealogical Index or Vital Records Index collections.
 * Pre-1810  Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry.com – ($) This database is incomplete for all counties. Includes 35,000 marriage records from vol. VIII of of the second series of the Pennsylvania Archives.
 * 1852-1863, 1885-1887 - Juniata County Marriage Index 1852-1863 and 1885-1887 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batches and.
 * 1852-1854 Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry.com – ($) Index with images.
 * 1885-1950  Extracted marriage records – free. Most of the records consist of marriage licenses, certificates, applications, docket books, and affidavits. This database is incomplete for all counties. May also contain marriage records earlier than 1885.

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

Death

 * 1820-1839 Juniata County PA Death Notices 1820-1839 at The USGenWeb Project - free.
 * 1852-1905 Juniata County Death Index 1852-1905 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1852-1854 Pennsylvania Deaths Ancestry.com – ($) Index with images.

Juniata County Pennsylvania Genealogy Websites

 * Juniata County, PA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Juniata County PA Genealogy