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

Description
The county was named for Susquehanna River. It's county seat is Montrose and was founded October 13, 1812. It is located in the Northeastern tip of the state.

County Courthouse
Susquehanna County Courthouse 11 Maple Street Montrose, PA 18801 Susquehanna County Website
 * Susquehanna County Courthouse PO Box 218 11 Maple Street Montrose, PA 18801 Phone: 570-278-4600 Fax: 570-278-2963 Office hours: 8:30–4:30 Monday through Friday.
 * Orphan's Court Toll Free Phone: 800-386-4981 Email: [mailto:susqded@susqco.com susqded@susqco.com]
 * Susquehanna County Prothonotary Susquehanna County Courthouse 105 Maple Street PO Box 218 Montrose, PA 18801 Phone: 570-278-4600 Hours: Mon–Fri 8:30am to 4:30pm

History Timeline
This area of Pennsylvania was once a part of Connecticut. Connecticut's Susquehanna Settlers at Connecticut State Library will lead you to some historical/genealogical records of Wyoming Valley.

There are several good histories of Susquehanna County, but the one by Emily Blackman is superior:


 * History of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania : from a period preceding its settlement to recent times, including the annals of geography of each township..., by Emily C. Blackman.
 * Centennial history of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, by Rhamanthus Menville Stocker

Cemeteries

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

Additional Cemetery Resources
 * PA-Roots
 * Names in Stone
 * Ancestry($)
 * Susquehanna Headstones Shutterfly

Church Records



 * Susquehanna County Historical Society has a great listing of all the township and borough churches, giving current and past information.
 * Linkpendium
 * for Susquehanna County. When searching the FamilySearch Catalog, be sure to also search at the town and township level.

Presbyterian
 * 1835-1877 Presbyterian Church, Montrose, Baptism Index 1835-1877 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch
 * 1835-1869 Presbyterian Church, Montrose, Marriage Index 1835-1869 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch.

Court Records
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. Susquehanna County has its own judicial district. Judges of the Common Pleas courts are elected to 10-year terms. A president judge and a court administrator serve in each judicial district.

Land and Property Records
Land records in Susquehanna County began in 1810. These records are filed with the Register and Recorder office in Montrose, Pennsylvania.

Online Land Records


 * 1974 - present Images are available on-line from 1974 to the present using the Landex system. There is a fee to view the images.

Land Records on Microfilm


 * 1812-1923 Deeds, 1812-1922; Index, 1812-1923.
 * 1812-1973 Mortgage Records, 1812-1855; Index, 1812-1973.

Note that the "Maps" section below also includes maps related to land ownership.

Maps and Gazetteers


Maps
 * Maps of Pennsylvania (1673-1878)
 * Ancestor Tracks has posted free downloadable images from theMap of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania from Actual Survey by G.M. Hopkins, C.E. (Philadelphia: Lee &amp; Marsh Publishers, 1858). This 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 to attribute to Ancestor Tracks.

Migration
The migration routes used by early European settlers to and from Susquehanna County included:


 * Lehigh and Lackawanna Paths 1766 from Unadilla, New York to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that is, from the Catskill Turnpike  to the Great Valley Road.
 * Minsi Path from Kingston, New York to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that is, from the Ulster and Delaware Turnpike  to the Great Valley Road.
 * Susquehanna River.

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

Online Naturalization Indexes and Records


 * 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 $
 * 1844-1906 Naturalization records, 1844-1906,
 * 1844-1929 Naturalization documents, 1844-1929,

Newspapers
Newspapers of Susquehanna County


 * Pennsylvania Newspapers
 * Chronicling America US Newspaper Directory
 * The Susquehanna County Independent/Weekender 24 S. Main St. Montrose PA 18801 Phone: (570) 278-6397 Email: [mailto:indyweek@epix.net indyweek@epix.net] Website
 * This newspaper was preceded by the following weekly newspapers:
 * The Montrose Independent (1927-1985)
 * Independent Republican (1855-1926)
 * The Montrose Democrat (1879-1926)

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


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

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 Susquehanna

Online Obituary Abstracts


 * PA-Roots Obituaries for Susquehanna County.

Other Records
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 $
 * Looking Back, Souvenir Book of the Susquehanna County Sesquicentennial Celebration 1810-1960, by Sesquicentennial Committee. Contains a section on churches, including a brief history and pictures of many of the early structures. FHL book 974.834 H2L or film 1320543 item 7
 * Church records, Rootsweb

Orphan

Published Histories

Poorhouse, Almshouse %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

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 $
 * 1683-1994 at FamilySearch.org

Susquehanna County Only:


 * 1812-1907 Susquehanna County Probate Records

Original Probate Records on Microfilm


 * 1812 -1912 Wills and Administrations, with index (1810–1949)
 * 1814 -1917 Orphans' Court Dockets, with index (1814–1949)
 * 1885 -1918 Inventory Appraisement Dockets, with index (1885–1949)
 * 1870 -1916 Minutes  These records include guardianship information.

Tax Records

 * , at the Family History Library
 * Note: The Tax Assessment Records from 1813-1865 give the record of each township, and each is on a separate roll of film. Some of the townships may also include Military Lists for the years ca 1855-1863.

Birth

 * 1852-1854 Pennsylvania Births Ancestry $

Marriage

 * 1626-2016 - Pennsylvania, United States Marriages at FindMyPast
 * 1677-1950  at FamilySearch
 * 1700-1821 Pennsylvania Marriage Records Ancestry $
 * 1725-1976  index. Not complete for all years. This index is an electronic database of information. The entries are primarily from the International Genealogical Index (IGI) along with some entries derived from compiled and original records such as: Family Records, Church Records, Civil Registration. It may also include indexes generated by the internet indexing project sponsored by the LDS Church.
 * Pre-1810 Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry $
 * 1835-1976  index. Not complete for all years.
 * 1852-1854 Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry $
 * 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.
 * 1947-2010  at FamilySearch
 * 1885–present – Marriage licenses issued by the county are only available from 1885 to the present at:
 * Clerk of the Orphans Court Susquehanna County Courthouse 105 Maple Street PO Box 218 Montrose, PA 18801 Phone: 570-278-4600 Hours: Mon–Fri 8:30am to 4:30pm

Death

 * 1852-1854 Pennsylvania Deaths Ancestry $
 * 1947-2010  at FamilySearch

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

Archives

 * National Archives at Philadelphia 14700 Townsend Road Philadelphia, PA 19154-1096 Phone: (215) 305-2044 Fax: (215) 305-2052

Family History Centers

 * The main FHC for Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania is the Vestal New York Family History Center. For additional nearby Family History Centers, search online in the FHC directory.

Museums

 * Soldier's Orphan School Museum Orphan School Road Harford, PA 18823 Phone: 570-434-2496
 * The Soldier's Orphan School Museum features historical exhibits and a library concerned with the Franklin Academy and Soldier's Orphan School.
 * This historical society collects and preserves the rich heritage of the region.

Societies

 * Susquehanna County Free Library Association consists of four public libraries and Outreach Services in Susquehanna County. Each library has access to Heritage Quest, accessible with your library card from home and Ancestry.com from the library system. A list of the libraries in this system and their website and contact information is found here.
 * Susquehanna County Historical Society 18 Monument Square Montrose, PA 18801 Phone: 570-278-1881 Email: [mailto:info@susqcohistsoc.org info@susqcohistsoc.org]
 * Genealogical Research Society of Northeastern Pennsylvania, Inc. (GRSNP) 1100 Main Street Peckville, PA 18452 Phone: 570-383-7661 FAX: 570-383-7466 Email: [mailto:info@grsnp.org info@grsnp.org] The GRSNP serves northeastern counties: *Lackawanna *Luzerne *Monroe *Pike *Susquehanna *Wayne *Wyoming
 * Brooklyn Historical Society PO Box 112 Brooklyn, PA 18813 Phone: 570-289-4378 or 570-498-6637
 * Harford Historical Society PO Box 1023 Harford, PA 18823 Phone: 570-289-4405 Facebook
 * The Harford Historical Society preserves the heritage of Harford through a variety of special events throughout the year.

Websites

 * USGenWeb project.Susqehanna County. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Susquehanna 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.