Centre County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

United States &gt; Pennsylvania &gt; Centre County

County Courthouse
Centre County Government

Parent County
1800--Centre County was created 13 February 1800 from Lycoming, Mifflin, and Northumberland Counties. County seat: Bellefonte

Boundary Changes

 * 1750: Centre Co. was originally part of Cumberland Co. when Cumberland was created in 1750
 * 1771: When Bedford Co.was carved out of Cumberland in 1771, the western 2/3 of what is today's Centre Co. fell within Bedford Co. and the eastern 1/3 remained part of Cumberland Co. A very small portion of the eastern-most point was in Berks Co.
 * 1772: When Northumberland Co. was created in 1772, the western 1/3 of today's Centre Co. remained in Bedford Co., while the eastern 2/3 of today's Centre Co. was included in Northumberland Co.
 * 1789: When Mifflin Co. was formed in 1789, much of today's Centre Co. became part of Mifflin Co.; the eastern-most point (about 20% of the county) remainted in Northumberland Co.
 * 1795: When Lycoming Co. was created in 1795, a small portion of today's eastern Centre Co. was absorbed into Lycoming, the rest of eastern Centre Co. remained in Northumberland Co., a small portion of southeastern Centre Co. was part of Huntingdon, and the bulk of the county remained in Mifflin Co.
 * 1800: Centre Co. was created in 1800, but it then included nearly half of today's Clinton Co.
 * 1839: Clinton Co. was established, giving Centre Co. its current boundaries

Populated Places

 * Boroughs: Bellefonte, Millheim, Philipsburg, State College


 * Townships: Benner, Boggs, College, Ferguson, Gregg, Haines, Harris, Halfmoon, Patton, Potter

Neighboring Counties
Blair | Clearfield | Clinton | Huntingdon | Mifflin | Union

Resources
The county's probate and court records begin with the founding of the county, the land records in 1801. Except for a brief period of time when birth, marriage and death records were kept in the 1850's (approximately 1852-1855), there were no civil vital records kept by the county until marriages began again in 1885 and births and deaths in 1893. The keeping of birth and death records was discontinued after 1905 when the state of Pennsylvania began keeping those records.

Biographies
Centre County Biographies

Maps

 * Ancestor Tracks has posted some early maps of Centre Co., as well as a link to the 1861 Tilden map posted by Penn State.

Military
Centre County Civil War Soldiers

Vital Records
Centre County Vital Statistics

Web Sites

 * Centre County Historical Society
 * Cyndi's List
 * Linkpendium - Centre County
 * USGenWeb project
 * Family History Library Catalog