Centre County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

United States Pennsylvania  Centre County

Guide to Centre 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.

Centre County Pennsylvania Historical Facts



 * Parent Counties: Formed from Lycoming, Mifflin, Northumberland and Huntingdon Counties 13 February 1840.


 * County Seat: Bellefonte


 * Neighboring Counties: residents may also have records in Clinton (north) • Union (east) • Blair (southwest) • Mifflin (southeast) • Clearfield (west) •  Huntingdon (south)

Named for being in the middle of the state. There is a story that the legislature could not determine whether to put the State College in Pittsburgh or Philadelphia, so they drew an X through the state and put the school where the X crossed.

Boundary Changes

 * 27 January 1750: Centre County was originally part of Cumberland County when the county was created.
 * 9 March 1771: When Bedford County was carved out of Cumberland County, the western 2/3 of what is today's Centre County was part of Bedford County and the eastern 1/3 remained part of Cumberland County. A very small portion of the eastern-most point was in Berks County.
 * 21 March 1772: When Northumberland County was created, the western 1/3 of today's Centre County remained in Bedford County, while the eastern 2/3 of today's Centre County was included in Northumberland County.
 * 19 September 1789: When Mifflin County was formed, much of today's Centre County became part of Mifflin County; the eastern-most point (about 20% of the county) remained in Northumberland County.
 * 13 April 1795: When Lycoming County was created, a small portion of today's eastern Centre County. was absorbed into Lycoming County, the rest of eastern Centre County remained in Northumberland County, a small southeastern portion of future Centre County was part of Huntingdon County,  and the bulk of the county remained in Mifflin County.
 * 21 January 1839: Clinton County set off.

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
For a list of record loss in Pennsylvania counties see: Pennsylvania Counties with Burned Courthouses

Centre County Pennsylvania Genealogy 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

Cemeteries
The Centre County Genealogical Society has taken on the monumental task of identifying all burial places in Centre County. Their ongoing efforts can be found at:

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~pacentre/graves.htm

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

Church Records


The Centre County Historical Society has some published local area church records in their collection. For collection details, see the "CCHS Collections and Research" page.

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:
 * Bellefonte: Faith United Methodist Church; St. John's Lutheran Church; Trinity United Methodist Church
 * Boalsburg: St. John's United Church of Christ
 * Houserville: United Methodist Church
 * Madisonburg: Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church
 * Milesburg: United Methodist Church
 * Philipsburg: Trinity United Methodist Church
 * Pleasant Gap: United Methodist Church
 * Rebersburg: Sinking Creek Presbyterian Church; United Methodist Church
 * Runville: United Brethren Church Runville Charge
 * State College: St. Paul Methodist Church
 * Zion: Zion Lutheran Church

Centre County PAGenWeb is finding and making available church records of Centre County. They are beginning with four topics to try to understand the religious inclinations of Centre countians:


 * 1877 History of Religious Affiliation
 * 1906 Census of Religious Adherence
 * 1990 Census of Religious Adherence
 * Current Listing of Religious Organizations

Presbyterian

 * 1810-1866 - Presbyterian Church, Bellefonte, Marriage Index 1810-1866 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

Quaker

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

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. 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.

History

 * The Centre County Historical Society Online
 * Daniel Rupp's 1847 History of Centre County at Centre County, Pennsylvania USGenWeb Archives

Land and Property
Land records in Centre County began in 1843. These records are filed with the Centre County Recorder of Deeds office in Bellefonte, 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:

Maps


 * Warrant Map of Centre County. State College, Pennsylvania: Centre County Genealogical Society, 2011.

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

Additional Resources

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 Centre 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.)
 * Land Warrants, Pennsylvania Archives, Series 3, Volume 25, pp. 785-809 at Centre County, Pennsylvania USGenWeb Archives

Maps

 * Maps of Pennsylvania (1673-1878)
 * Ancestor Tracks has posted free downloadable images from the 1861 Topographical Map of Centre Co. Pennsylvania from Actual Surveys under the Direction of H. F. Walling, published by S.D. Tilden. 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.

Revolutionary War

 * Revolutionary War Declarations 1820-1835 at Centre County Government website - Free. Index and scanned images.


 * Pensioners for Revolutionary ofr Military Service, 1840

Civil War

 * Centre County Civil War Soldiers

Naturalization and Citizenship
Naturalization records available for Centre 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 - ($), indexed, National Archives publication M1622, Middle District court was created in 1901, for earlier dates try the Eastern and Western District court records
 * 1901-1930 - Middle District, US Circuit and District Courts: Naturalization petitions, 1906-1930 located in U.S. Naturalization Records - Original Documents, 1795-1972 (World Archives Project) database on Ancestry.com - ($), indexed, National Archives publication M1622, Middle District court was created in 1901, for earlier dates try the Eastern and Western District court records
 * 1802-1929 – Centre County Naturalization Records 1802-1929 on Centre County Government website - free, includes digitized images of originals

Newspapers
Newspapers of Centre County


 * Pennsylvania Newspapers
 * Chronicling America US Newspaper Directory
 * The Centre Daily Times began in 1898 as the Weekly Times and later as the State College Times . In 1934 it became a daily newspaper and is called The Centre County Daily.
 * The Daily Collegian The Daily Collegian is the newspaper for PennState University. It originally started ast The Freelance in 1887.
 * Free Lance (monthly) - April 1887-April 1904
 * State Collegian (weekly) September 28, 1904-June 10, 1911
 * Penn State Collegian (weekly) September 28, 1911 to August 2, 1940
 * The Daily Collegian (daily) September 5, 1940 to present.
 * The Centre County Gazette
 * Gantdaily.com

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.


 * The Daily Collegian Historical Digital Collegian Archive.
 * Pennsylvania Civil War Era Newspaper Collection available through the Penn State University Library, dating from February 23, 1831 to February 1877.

Online Newspaper Abstracts


 * PA-Roots Newspaper Articles for Centre County.
 * The Centre County Daily Newspaper has an Archive Search for the years 1995 - current.

Archived Historical Newspapers


 * Centre Daily Times is available at the Centre County Library and at Penn State's News and Microforms Library.

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


 * Centre Daily Times Past Obituaries
 * PA-Roots Obituaries for Centre County.
 * USGenWeb Obituaries for Centre County.

Obituaries and Indexes


 * The Centre County Library and Historical Museum in Bellefonte has obituary indexes from 1821 located in The Pennsylvania Room The email address for the Pennsylvania room is paroom@centrecountylibrary.org for more information on how to obtain an obituary.
 * The Centre Daily Times Obituary Index at Penn State University Library, 1937-1995 and 2010-2011.

Obituary Excerpts and Abstracts


 * Compiled by John H. Wion, Deaths in Central Pennsylvania; an Index to the Obituaries Appearing in the Democratic Watchman, Bellefonte, Pa. (S.I.:s.n., 1969)
 * A scrapbook kept by martha M. (Hoy) Vonada; index prepared by R. Fred Houts, Martha Vonada Scrapbook (Minneapolis, Minnesota:R.F. Houts, 1995) Martha Vonada saved funeral cards and obituaries from Centre County, Pennsylvania.
 * Compiled by Nancy Lee Stover, Centre County, Pennsylvania Newspaper Death Notices, 1821-1869 (S.I.:N.L. Stover, 1999)

Probate Records
Online Probate Index


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


 * 1683 - 1994 at FamilySearch — images


 * 1800-1853 - Wills of Centre County, Pa., 1800-1853 on Ancestry ($). Taken from Fravel, Ira,. Wills of Centre County, Pa., 1800-1853. Milton, Pa.: unknown, 1967.

Courthouse
Centre County Government:

Centre County Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts Centre County Courthouse Bellefonte PA 16823-1488 Phone: 814-355-6796 Hours: 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Monday - Friday The Office the Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts keeps civil and criminal records, divorces, etc. Copies cost $.50.

Recorder of Deeds Willowbank County Office Building 414 Holmes St Bellefonte PA 16823-1488 Phone: 814-355-6801 Hours: 8:30 am - 5 pm M-F All records relating to real estate in Centre County recorded since 1800.

Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphan's Court Willowbank County Office Building 414 Homes St. Suite #2 Bellefonte PA 16823 Phone: 814-355-6724 E-mail:[mailto:row@co.centre.pa.us row@co.centre.pa.us] Hours: 8:30 am - 5 pm M-F The register of wills maintains records of wills and probate, marriage licenses, and adoptions.

Libraries

 * The Pennsylvania State University - Pennsylvania's State University


 * The Centre County Library and Historical Museum: Pennsylvania Room

203 North Allegheny St. Bellefonte, PA 16823 Phone:814-355-1516, ext. 214 E-mail [mailto:paroom@centrecountylibrary.org paroom@centrecountylibrary.org] Hours:

Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 10am - 5pm

Tuesday, Thursday: Noon - 5pm

Third Saturday of the month: 10am - 2pm


 * Specialized genealogy collections, obituary and marriage indexes, Pennsylvania county histories, church and cemetery records, original Centre County records, newspapers (1821 - present), and abundant historical and genealogical periodicals. The Spangler Collection is an unique indexed collection of 18th- and 19th-century records about many central Pennsylvania families.

Societies
Centre County Historical Society 1001 East College Ave State College, PA 16801 801.234.4779

The Centre County Historical Society was founded in 1904 and works to preserve local landmarks including the Furnace Mansion and the Boogerburg School as well as other artifacts, books, manuscripts, maps, and photographs related to the area. Membership costs $35 (individual) and comes with a subscription to the quarterly journal and historical journal

Centre County Genealogical Society Box 1135 State College, PA 16804-1135

Meetings are held the first Thursday of the month from Sept - June and are open to the Public. Membership costs $18 annually and comes with welcome booklet as well as the quarterly newsletter.

Slavery and Bondage

 * 1803-1820 - Slave Records 1803-1820 at the Centre County Government website - Free. Index and scanned images.

Vital Records
See also How to order Pennsylvania Vital Records


 * Centre County Vital Statistics

Birth

 * 1726-1930 - Pennsylvania, Births and Christenings, 1709-1950 - 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.
 * 1852-1854 – Pennsylvania Births Ancestry.com – ($) Index with images.
 * 1893-1906 - Bellefonte, Centre County, Birth Index 1893-1906 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.

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.

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.
 * 1893-1906 - Bellefonte, Centre County, Death Index 1893-1906 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.

Genealogy Societies and Libraries

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

Centre County Pennsylvania Genealogy Websites

 * Centre County, PA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Centre County PA Genealogy
 * Centre County Historical Society

Populated Places

 * Boroughs: Bellefonte, Millheim, Philipsburg, State College


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