Juniata County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

United States  Pennsylvania  Juniata County

Historical Facts
Named for Juniata River.

Wikipedia

Parent County
2 March 1831: Juniata County was created from Mifflin County.

Neighboring Counties
Dauphin | Franklin | Huntingdon | Mifflin | Northumberland | Perry | Snyder

Note: Dauphin County is separated by a few miles of navigable river, the Susquehanna River.

Cemeteries
Cemetery records often reveal birth, 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.

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.


 * 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.

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 FHL Catalog Place-name Search.)

Maps
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

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

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

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

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.

Birth

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

Marriage

 * 1709-1940

Death

 * 1820-1839 - Juniata County PA Death Notices 1820-1839 at The USGenWeb Project - free.
 * 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.