Lehigh County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

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

Description
The county was named for after the Lehigh River, whose name is derived from the Delaware Indian term Lechauweki or Lechauwekink, meaning "where there are forks". It is located in the east-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Lehigh County Courthouse 455 West Hamilton Street Allentown, PA 18101-1614 Court of Common Pleas Phone: 610-782-3000 Clerk of Courts 610-782-3148 Prothonotary 610-782-3148 Orphans' Court 610-782-3220 Recorder of Deeds 610-782-3162 Register of Wills 610-782-3170 Lehigh County Website Clerk of the Orphan Court has birth records 1895-1905, death records 1893-1904, and marriage records from 1885 Prothonotary Court has divorce and court records from 1812 Register of Wills has probate records from 1812 Recorder of Deeds has land records from 1812

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

 * Lehigh County Bible Records at PA USGenWeb Archives

Cemeteries

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

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)
 * Names in Stone
 * Ancestry ($)
 * Mennonite Cemetery Database

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

Church Records

 * Visit Lehigh County, Pennsylvania Church Records for information about church denominations and records in Lehigh County.

Court Records

 * 1850-1881 (*); Justice of the Peace at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1885-1911 (*); Court of Common Pleas and Prothonotary of the Court of Common Pleas at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * History of the Bar Association of Lehigh County; Proceedings and Papers Read Before the Lehigh County Historical Society - V. 7 (1923). By Henninger, Milton C. Allentown, Pennsylvania : Lehigh County Historical Society, 1923. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library

In Lehigh County the Prothonotary is known as the Civil Division.

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

Guardianship

 * 1752-1882 Orphans Court Records and Index

Land and Property Records
Land records in Lehigh County began in 1812. These records are filed with the Recorder of Deeds office in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Online Land Records
 * 1812 -1911 Deed Records 1812-1901; Index 1812-1911 - images only; click on the camera icon to view images
 * 1812 -1911 Mortgage Records, 1812-1886; Mortgage Index 1812-1911. - images only; click on the camera icon to view images
 * 1984–present Images are available online using the Landex system. There is a fee to view the images.

Local Histories

 * History of Northampton, Lehigh, Monroe, Carbon, and Schuylkill Counties. 1885. By I. Daniel Rupp. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania : Hickok and Cantine. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust, Internet Archive;.
 * History of the Counties of Lehigh and Carbon in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 1884. By Alfred Mathews and Austin N. Hungerford. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania : Everts & Richards. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($);.

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps
 * Maps of Pennsylvania (1673-1878)
 * Ancestor Tracks has posted free downloadable images from the 1876 Illustrated Atlas of Lehigh County, 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 be used commercially. We hereby give permission to use them strictly for personal use; please attribute to Ancestor Tracks.
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Migration
Early migration routes to and from Lehigh County, Pennsylvania for settlers included:


 * Delaware River a pre-historic pathway serving as the border between New Jersey and Pennsylvania rises in Schoharie (NY) and flows by the Lehigh Canal in Pennsylvania, Frenchtown, New Jersey, Trenton, New Jersey where river meets tidewater, and past Bordentown, New Jersey, Philadelphia in Pennsylvania to empty into the North Atlantic Ocean.
 * Delaware and Raritan Canal 1834 connected New Brunswick, New Jersey on the Raritan River (and NY City) to Bordontown, New Jersey on the Delaware River. Lehigh County, Pennsylvania connected via the feeder canal at Frenchtown, New Jersey.

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
 * "The Civil War Draft -- Wednesday, 12 August 1863 - Lehigh County, PA," Allentown Democrat, 19 August 1863. Digitized by PAGenWeb

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

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

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
 * 1795-1930 Naturalization Petitions for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 1795-1930 on Fold3.com - ($), indexed, National Archives publication M1522, incomplete for all counties
 * 1795-1930 Naturalization Petitions for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania located in Selected US Naturalization Records - Original Documents, 1790-1974 database on Ancestry $
 * 1812-1906 Naturalization records, 1812-1906.  - Index 1812-1908; images only; click on the camera icon to view images

Newspapers
Newspapers of Lehigh County

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
 * Chronicling America US Newspaper Directory.
 * Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive
 * Pennsylvania Newspapers


 * PA-Roots Newspaper Articles for Lehigh County, Pennsylvania.

Obituaries

 * 1947-2021  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1977-2010  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Online Obituary Abstracts
 * PA-Roots Obituaries for Lehigh County, Pennsylvania.

Probate Records
Online Probate Index and Records
 * 1683-1993 Pennsylvania Wills and Probate Records 1683-1993 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1683-1994  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images
 * 1752-1802 (*); at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1752-1850 Index to Wills and Administration Records, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, 1752-1850; Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1812-1850. By Williams, Richard T. and Mildred Corson Williams. Danboro, Pennsylvania : R. T. and M. C. Williams, 1971. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
 * 1812-1915 (*); Orphans' Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1812-1965 Lehigh County Probate Records at FamilySearch
 * 1812-1965 (*); Register of Wills at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1819-1849 (*); Orphans' Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images

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

 * 1762 Lynn Twp (part of Northampton Co as Lehigh not yet formed)

Birth

 * 1520-1999  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1709-1950  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1852-1854 Pennsylvania Births Ancestry $
 * 1941-1976  at FamilySerch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

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 Ancestry $
 * 1709-1940  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * Pre-1810  Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry $
 * 1852-1854 Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry $
 * 1885-1950  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1947-2010  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Death

 * 1720-1999  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index, some images
 * 1852-1854 Pennsylvania Deaths Ancestry $
 * 1856-1971  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Divorce
Divorce records are available through the office of the Prothonotary.

Archives
National Archives at Philadelphia 14700 Townsend Rd Philadelphia, PA 19154-1096 Phone: 215-305-2044 Fax: 215-305-2052 Email: [mailto:philadelphia.archives@nara.gov philadelphia.archives@nara.gov] Website Facebook

FamilySearch Centers

 * Allentown Pennsylvania FamilySearch Center
 * Nazareth Pennsylvania FamilySearch Center
 * Reading Pennsylvania FamilySearch Center
 * Eastern Monroe Public Library - an affiliate library.
 * Free Library of Northampton Township - an affiliate library.

Libraries
Allentown Public Library 1210 W Hamilton St Allentown, PA 18102 Phone: 610-820-2400 Email: [mailto:aplref@allentownpl.org aplref@allentownpl.org] Website Facebook
 * Collection includes a number of family histories.

Bethlehem Area Public Library 11 W Church St Bethlehem, PA 18018 Phone: 610-867-3761 Website Facebook Mennonite Heritage Center 565 Yoder Rd Harleysville, PA 19438-1020 Phone: 215-256-3020 Email: [mailto:library@mhep.org library@mhep.org] Website Facebook
 * The Mennonite Historians of Eastern Pennsylvania support the John L. Ruth Historical Library and Museum at the Mennonite Heritage Center. Located in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania the records and resources also cover the counties of Bucks, Chester, Berks, Lehigh, Northampton, and Philadelphia.  Access website for comprehensive overview of library resources, online cemetery database, manuscript collections, photo collections, archival collections, and more.

Scott Andrew Trexler II Research Library and Archives Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum 432 W Walnut St Allentown, PA 18102 Phone: 610-435-1074 Website
 * Collections include Church and cemetery records – includes records of neighboring counties; early county records including Orphans' Court, tax and prison records; compiled family histories; newspapers – local German and English-language newspapers; marriage records on film and card index for newspaper obituary and marriage announcements; city directories for Allentown; wills on film, with translated German text; land, census and original survey maps.

Museums
Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum 432 W Walnut St Allentown, PA 18102 Phone: 610–435-1074 Email: [mailto:info@lehighvalleyheritagemuseum.org info@lehighvalleyheritagemuseum.org] Website Facebook
 * The museum is managed by the Lehigh County Historical Society.

Mennonite Heritage Center 565 Yoder Rd Harleysville, PA 19438-1020 Phone: 215-256-3020 Email: [mailto:library@mhep.org library@mhep.org] Website Facebook
 * The Mennonite Historians of Eastern Pennsylvania support the John L. Ruth Historical Library and Museum at the Mennonite Heritage Center. Located in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania the records and resources also cover the counties of Bucks, Chester, Berks, Lehigh, Northampton, and Philadelphia.  Access website for comprehensive overview of library resources, online cemetery database, manuscript collections, photo collections, archival collections, and more.

Museum of Indian Culture 2825 Fish Hatchery Road Allentown, PA 18103 Phone: 610-797-2121 Email: [mailto:info@museumofindianculture.org info@museumofindianculture.org] Website Facebook
 * Facilities include an onsite research library about the Lenape Indians.

Societies
Mennonite Heritage Center 565 Yoder Rd Harleysville, PA 19438-1020 Phone: 215-256-3020 Email: [mailto:library@mhep.org library@mhep.org] Website Facebook
 * The Mennonite Historians of Eastern Pennsylvania support the John L. Ruth Historical Library and Museum at the Mennonite Heritage Center. Located in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania the records and resources also cover the counties of Bucks, Chester, Berks, Lehigh, Northampton, and Philadelphia.  Access website for comprehensive overview of library resources, online cemetery database, manuscript collections, photo collections, archival collections, and more.

Websites

 * USGenWeb
 * Lehigh 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.