Elk County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

Guide to Elk County, Pennsylvania ancestry, family history and genealogy 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.

Elk County Pennsylvania Historical Facts
Parent Counties: Formed from Jefferson, McKean and Clearfield Counties 18 April 1843.

County Seat: Ridgway

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


 * McKean
 * Forest
 * Clearfield
 * Cameron
 * Warren
 * Jefferson

Named for the elk that historically inhabited the area.

Description
The county was named for the Eastern elk that historically inhabited the region. It's county seat is Ridgway. It was organized April 18, 1843. It is located in the Northcentral section of the state.

Boundary Changes
29 March 1860: Part taken along with parts from neighboring counties to create Cameron County.

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.

Catholic

 * "100 years of the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese 1843–1943," Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 17, No. 1. . Chronology, map, county-by-county information.

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. Elk County shares its judicial district with Cameron 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.

Orphans' Court

 * 1857–1886 Court Docket

Land and Property
Land records in Elk County began in 1844. These records are filed with the Register and Recorder office in Ridgway, 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


 * 1972–present Elk County offers online access to records. Fees apply.

Land Records on Microfilm


 * 1844–1910 Deed books, 1844-1887; Deed Index, 1844-1910

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 Elk 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 1855 Map of Elk County. 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.

Naturalization and Citizenship
Original Naturalization Records on Microfilm


 * 1844–1906 Naturalization Records

Newspapers
Newspapers of Elk County, Pennsylvania


 * 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 - The Elk Advocate

Online Newspaper Abstracts


 * PA-Roots Newspaper Articles for Elk County.

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 Obituaries Abstracts


 * PA-Roots Obituaries for Elk County.
 * Elk County Obituaries at Elk County, Pennsylvania USGenWeb Archives

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes


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


 * 1843–1880's – Elk County Wills at PAGenWeb. Index of the first 100 wills recorded in Elk County, Will Book A. Lists name of deceased, residence, date written, date proved, executors, and witnesses. [Project did not continue on to add all wills recorded in Book A.]


 * More Elk County Wills at PAGenWeb links to the North Central Pennsylvania page hosted by Rootsweb with an index and twenty-six transcriptions from Elk County Will Books A and B.


 * Elk County Wills and Estate Records at Pennsylvania USGenWeb Archives

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

Elk County only:


 * Elk County Probate Records

Original Probate Records on Microfilm


 * 1844–1868 Miscellaneous Docket – Index included: 1844–1971
 * 1844–1971 Index to Estates
 * 1845–1916 Will Books
 * 1851–1896 Accounts - Index included
 * 1857–1886 Court Docket

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

 * Elk County Courthouse 250 Main Street P.O. Box 448 Ridgway, PA 15853
 * Clerk of Orphans' Court/Register of Wills/Recorder of Deeds Pete W. Weidenboerner P.O. Box 314 Ridgway, PA 15853 Phone: 814-776-5349 Fax: 814-776-5382 E-mail: [mailto:pete@countyofelkpa.com pete@countyofelkpa.com]
 * Prothonotary and Clerk of the Court Susanne Straub Schneider P.O. Box 237 Ridgway, PA 15853 Phone: 814-776-5344 Fax: 814-776-5303 Email: [mailto:sschneider@countyofelkpa.com sschneider@countyofelkpa.com]

Societies

 * Elk County Historical Society P.O. Box 361 Ridgway, PA 15853 Phone: 814-776-1032


 * Elk County Genealogical Society P.O. Box 142 Johnsonburg, PA 15845

Vital Records
See also How to order Pennsylvania Vital Records

Birth
Some birth records exist for the 1852–1853 time period for Elk County. Only a small percentage of births were recorded in this time period. These records are available at:


 * 1852-1853 - Elk County Birth Index 1852-1853 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batches and.
 * 1852-1854- Pennsylvania Births Ancestry.com – $ Index with images
 * 1852-1853– Birth Records

Birth records for Elk County began in 1893. The Elk County Clerk of the Orphans Court maintains the birth records from 1893–1906. To obtain a copy of birth record in the 1893–1906 time period you may contact:

Clerk of Orphan's Court Elk County Courthouse 240 Main Street P.O. Box 314 Ridgway, PA 15853

The birth records for Elk County were microfilmed by FamilySearch. These microfilms may be ordered into a local FamilySearch Center or authorized public library for a small fee.


 * 1893-1906 Births - Elk County, Pennsylvania An alphabetical listing of 1893–1906 births from Elk County was published by Charles Howard Starr. The book is available at the Family History Library.
 * 1893-1907 – Birth Records

Beginning in 1906 Pennsylvania birth records are available through the Department of Health. Birth records become public after 105 years. A statewide index is available. Once an individual is located in the index a certificate can be obtained by writing to:

Division of Vital Records Attn: Public Records P.O. Box 1528 New Castle, PA 16103

Marriage
Elk County marriages are maintained by the Clerk of the Orphans' Court. The county began recording marriages in October 1885. A few marriage records were created by the county in the 1853–1854 time period. To obtain a marriage record you may go to or contact the Clerk of the Orphans' Court at:  Courthouse building.


 * 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.
 * 1853-1854 - Elk County Marriage Index 1853-1854 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batches and.
 * 1853-1854 – Marriage records
 * 1885-1916 – Marriage License Docket
 * 1885-1950 - Extracted marriage records – free. This database is incomplete for all counties. May also contain marriage records earlier than 1885.
 * 1914-1915 - Elk County Marriage Index 1914-1915 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

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

Death
Elk County began recording deaths in 1893 although some were recorded from 1853–1854. These records as well as records from 1893–1906 are available at the County Courthouse in Ridgway. You may request a death record from the Clerk of the Orphans' Court. courthouse building.

These county death records were microfilmed by FamilySearch.


 * 1893–1907 – Death Records

Pennsylvania death certificates become public records after 50 years. An annual index is released by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Records less than 50 years old are kept by the Division of Vital Records and are not public certificates. Only certain people can request a non-public death certificate. To order a non-public representative you must be:


 * Legal representative of decedent's estate
 * Immediate family member
 * Extended family member who indicates a direct relationship to the decedent
 * Power of Attorney (Please note that a Power of Attorney document is no longer valid upon the death of the individual)

See the Pennsylvania Department of Health website to obtain a copy of a non-public death certificate.

Indexes for Pennsylvania public death records are available online through the Department of Health for 1906 through 1961. Once an individual is located in the index a certificate can be obtained by writing to:

Division of Vital Records Attn: Public Records P.O. Box 1528 New Castle, PA 16103

Genealogy Societies and Libraries

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

Elk County Pennsylvania Genealogy Websites

 * Elk 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.
 * Elk County PA Genealogy
 * Encyclopedia listing for Elk County, Pennsylvaniafrom Wikipedia
 * Encyclopedia listing for Elk County, Pennsylvaniafrom Wikipedia

Populated Places

 * Benezette Township
 * Benzinger Township
 * Fox Township
 * Highland Township
 * Horton Township
 * Jay Township
 * Jones Township
 * Millstone Township
 * Ridgway Township
 * Spring Creek Township