Clearfield County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

Guide to Clearfield County, Pennsylvania ancestry, family history and genealogy in 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.

Clearfield County Pennsylvania Historical Facts


Parent Counties: Formed from Lycoming and Huntingdon Counties 26 March 1804.

County Seat: Clearfield

Neighboring Counties: Clearfield County residents may also have records in


 * Elk
 * Cameron
 * Clinton
 * Jefferson
 * Cambria
 * Blair
 * Centre
 * Indiana

Description
It's county seat is Clearfield. It was organized January 29, 1822. It is located in the Central section of the state.

Boundary Changes

 * 9 March 1771: The southern part of today's Clearfield County was part of Bedford County when it was formed.
 * 1785: The northern part of future Clearfield County was tansferred to Northumberland County; the southern part remained in Bedford County.
 * 20 September 1787: The southern part of future Clearfield County went with Huntingdon County when it was created; the northern part remained with Northumberland County.
 * 13 April 1795: The northern part of future Clearfield County became part of Lycoming County when it was created in 1795; the southern part remained in Huntingdon County.
 * 18 April 1843: A northern swath of Clearfield County became part of Elk County when it was created.

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.

Clearfield County PA USGenWeb Cemetery Project

Clearfield County PA USGenWeb Archives Tombstone Photo Project

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.


 * Contains church records of:
 * Clearfield: United Methodist Church; West Side United Methodist Church
 * DuBois: Lebanon Lutheran Church
 * Houtzdale: Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church; St. John's Lutheran Church
 * Kylertown: Kylertown Presbyterian Church
 * Morrisdale: United Methodist Church
 * Osceola Mills: Osceola Mills Presbyterian Church
 * Wallaceton: United Methodist Church
 * Winburne: Winburne Presbyterian Church
 * Woodward: Beulah Presbyterian Church


 * Clearfield County Church History at Clearfield County, Pennsylvania USGenWeb Archives Includes histories and photos.

Catholic

 * "100 years of the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese 1843–1943". Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society Quarterly, 17:1. FamilySearch Library book 974.8 B2wg. Contains chronology, map, county-by-county information.

Quaker

 * 1800s-1900s - Pennsylvania Quaker Records at Ancestry.com - ($); book transcription.

Reformed

 * St. Lukes Reformed Church

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. Clearfield 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.

Published Histories
The following historical books about Clearfield County can be viewed and searched on the Clearfield County PAGenWeb Area History Page:


 * 1) The HISTORY OF CLEARFIELD COUNTY by Lewis Cass Aldrich published 1887
 * 2) The TWENTIETH CENTURY HISTORY OF CLEARFIELD COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS by Roland D. Swoope, Jr. published in 1911
 * 3) The CLEARFIELD COUNTY PENNSYLAVANIA PRESENT AND PAST by Thomas Lincoln Wall, published in 1925

Land and Property
Land records in Clearfield County began in 1805. These records are filed with the Recorder of Deeds office in Clearfield, 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


 * 1986–present Clearfield County offers free online access to indexes. Fees apply to view images.

Land Records on Microfilm


 * 1804–1935 Deeds, 1805-1901; Index, 1804-1935.

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 Clearfield 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 Clearfield Co. Township Warrantee Maps by Ed Heary. These map images belong to us and are not be used commercially. We hereby give permission to use them strictly for personal use; please attrbiute to Ancestor Tracks.
 * Clearfield County Maps at Clearfield County, Pennsylvania USGenWeb Archives including Clearfield County Clickable USGS Township Map.

World War II

 * Clearfield County Military Records at Clearfield County, Pennsylvania USGenWeb Archives. WWII Soldiers killed in action, missing in action, prisoners of war and wounded.

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

Online Naturalization Indexes and Records


 * 1820-1906 – Index to Declarations and Petitions in the Western District of Pennsylvania, US Circuit and District Courts located in US Naturalization Records Indexes, 1794-1995 database on Ancestry.com - ($), National Archives publication M1208
 * 1820-1930 – Naturalization Petitions of the U.S. District Court, 1820-1930, and Circuit Court, 1820-1911, for the Western District of Pennsylvania on Fold3.com - ($), indexed, National Archives publication M1537, incomplete for all counties
 * 1820-1930 - Naturalization Petitions of the U.S. District Court, 1820-1930, and Circuit Court, 1820-1911, for the Western District of Pennsylvania located in Selected US Naturalization Records - Original Documents, 1790-1974 database on Ancestry.com - ($), indexed, National Archives publication M1537

Original Naturalization Records on Microfilm


 * 1805-1906 Naturalization Petitions and Alien Dockets

Newspapers
Newspapers of Clearfield County


 * 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.


 * Pennsylvania Civil War Era Newspaper Collection available through the Penn State University Library.
 * Democratic Banner 9 October 1845-14 February 1849
 * Country Dollas 20 June 1849 - 26 July 1850
 * Clearfield Republican 14 Nov 1851 - 30 Dec 1854; 7 April 1858 - 5 July 1865.

Online Newspaper Abstracts


 * PA-Roots Newspaper Articles for Clearfield County.

Newspaper Excerpts and Abstracts


 * County Review, DuBois Area Historical Society (DuBois, PA), compiled by Shirley Clark, The County Review, December 1881 to September 1883 (DuBois, PA:DuBois Area Historical Society, c1990) ;

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 Obituary Abstracts


 * PA-Roots Obituaries of Clearfield County.
 * Clearfield County Obituaries at Clearfield County, Pennsylvania USGenWeb Archives

Obituary Excerpts and Abstracts


 * Mignot, Margaret Billotte, History of the French Settlers in Covington and Girard Townships, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania (1981?] ; . Includes some obituaries.
 * Wion, John H. and Democratic Watchman (Bellefonte, PA), Deaths in Central Pennsylvania; an Index to the Obituaries Appearing in the Democratic Watchman, Bellefonte, Pa. (S.I.:s.n., 1969) ; An alphabetical listing with name and death date.
 * County Review (Clearfield County, PA), DuBois Area Historical Society (DuBois, PA), compiiled by Shirley Clark, The County Review, December 1881 to September 1883 (DuBois, Pennsylvania:DuBois Area Historical Society, c1990) ;

Photos
Clearfield County PA USGenWeb Archives Photo Page

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:


 * 1683-1994- at FamilySearch.org

Clearfield County Only:


 * 1823-1919-Clearfield County Probate Records

Online Probate Indexes


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


 * 1683 - 1994 at FamilySearch — images

Original Probate Records on Microfilm


 * 1823-1919 Probate Records - Indexes included

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

 * Clearfield County Courthouse 230 East Market Street P.O. Box 549 Clearfield, PA 16830 Phone: 814-765-2641 The Courthouse Annex is located at 230 East Market Street and the Administrative Offices are located at 212 East Locust Street.
 * Register and Recorder's Office 1 North 2nd Street P.O. Box 361 Clearfield, PA 16830 Phone: 814-765-2641, ext. 5012 The Register and Recorder's Office is responsible for recording deeds, wills, estates, marriages, adoptions, and guardianships. The office can be found on the first floor of the County Courthouse.
 * Register of Wills/Clerk of the Orphans' Court 1 North 2nd Street P.O. Box 361 Clearfield, PA 16830 Phone: 814-765-2641, ext. 5012 This office holds marriage licenses (1885-present), Estates (1832-present), and births and deaths (1893-1905).
 * Office of the Prothonotary P.O. Box 549 230 E. Market Street Clearfield, PA 16830 Phone: 814-765-2641

Societies

 * Clearfield County Historical Society 104 East Pine St Clearfield, PA 16830

Vital Records
See also How to order Pennsylvania Vital Records

Birth

 * 1852 - Clearfield County Marriage Index 1852 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.
 * 1852-1854 – Pennsylvania, Births, 1852-1854 Index with images. Ancestry ($).
 * 1941-1963 - Clearfield County Birth Index 1941-1963 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.
 * 1726-1930 - - free index. Not complete for all years. This index is an electronic index for the years 1726 to 1930. It 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.
 * Clearfield County Birth Records by last name at Clearfield County, Pennsylvania USGenWeb Archives

Marriage

 * 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.
 * 1885-1950 - Extracted marriage records – free. This database is incomplete for all counties. May also contain marriage records earlier than 1885.

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

Death

 * 1852-1854 – Pennsylvania Deaths Ancestry.com – ($) Index with images.
 * 1891-1906 - Clearfield County Marriage Index 1891-1906 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.
 * Clearfield County PA USGenWeb Archives Death Register Page

Genealogy Societies and Libraries

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

Clearfield County Pennsylvania Genealogy Websites

 * Clearfield County, PA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Clearfield County PA USGenWeb Project
 * Linkpendium - Clearfield County
 * Clearfield County PA Genealogy
 * Clearfield County PA-Roots Genealogy Project

Populated Places
A listing of the Towns, Boroughs, and Villages of Clearfield County can be found at Clearfield County PAGenWeb Project - Towns Boroughs Villages