Columbia County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

United States   Pennsylvania    Columbia County

Historical Facts
Named for Columbia, a poetic name for the United States that alludes to Christopher Columbus.

Parent County
22 March 1813: Columbia County was created from Northumberland County.

==== Boundary Changes ====


 * Before 1813: Columbia was part of Northumberland County.
 * 3 May 1850: Montour County formed, giving Columbia County its current boundaries.

Neighboring Counties
Luzerne | Lycoming | Montour | Northumberland | Schuylkill | Sullivan

Cemeteries
Cemetery records often reveal birth, 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.

Land and Property
Land records in Columbia County began in 1800. These records are filed with the Register and Recorder's office in Bloomsburg, 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


 * 1974–present Columbia County offers free online access to indexes. Fees apply to view images.

Land Records on Microfilm


 * 1813–1973 Deeds, 1813-1866; Index, 1813-1973.
 * 1813–1973 Mortgages, 1813-1830; Index, 1813-1973.

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 Columbia County Pennsylvania Land in online catalogs such as:


 * Historical Society of Pennsylvania
 * WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog.)
 * (For instructions see FHL Catalog Place-name Search.)

Maps

 * Ancestor Tracks has posted free downloadable images from the 1876 Atlas of Columbia &amp; Montour Counties, Pennsylvania. This atlas 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.

Courthouse
Columbia County Courthouse 35 West Main Street Bloomsburg, PA 17815 570-389-5600

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Berwick Pennsylvania Family History Center

Societies
Columbia County Historical and Genealogical Society. 225 Market Street P.O.Box 360 Bloomsburg, PA 17815-0360 Phone: 570–784–1600

Vital Records

 * 1893-1905 All genealogical requests to the county clerk for birth or death information are forwarded to the Columbia County Historical and Genealogical Society.

County-wide Databases

 * Marriage Records of Columbia &amp; Montour Counties at Ancestry.com - ($); book transcription; Marriages taken from newspapers Columbian Democrat and The Intelligencer.

Birth

 * 1852-1854 – Pennsylvania Births Ancestry.com – ($) Index with images.
 * 1893-1905 USGenWeb indexes several birth lists for Columbia County.

Marriage

 * 1725-1976 - - free index. Not complete for all years.
 * 1700-1821 - Pennsylvania Marriage Records Ancestry.com – ($) This database is incomplete for all counties.
 * Pre-1810 – Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry.com – ($) This database is incomplete for all counties. Includes 35,000 marriage records from vol. VIII of of the second series of the Pennsylvania Archives.
 * 1895-1907 USGenWeb indexes several marriage lists for Columbia County.

Divorce
Divorce records are handled by the office of the Prothonotary. While no on-line indexes or records are available, records may be obtained by visiting or writing to the Prothonotary at: Office of the Prothonotary Columbia County Courthouse 35 West Main Street Bloomsburg, PA 17815 570-389-5600

Death

 * 1852-1854 – Pennsylvania Deaths Ancestry.com – ($) Index with images.
 * 1893-1905 USGenWeb indexes several death lists for Columbia County.