Snyder County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

Guide to Snyder 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 in honor of the famous citizen and political figure Simon Snyder, who was governor of Pennsylvania. It is located in the mid-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Snyder County Courthouse P.O. Box 217 9 West Market Street Middleburg, PA 17842 Phone: 570-837-4208 Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts Phone: 570–837-4202 Office of Register and Recorder/Orphan's Court Phone: 570-837-4224 Snyder County Website

Clerk Courts has birth, death, and burial records 1893-1905, marriage records from 1885, divorce, and court records from 1855 County Register and Recorder has probate and land records Susquehanna University Library in Selinsgrove has local census records
 * Copies of documents including birth, marriages, deaths, divorces, land, and probate records can be obtained by using: Pennsylvania Public Record. Click on the link for the record you wish to request.


 * The Prothonotary is the Clerk for the Orphan's Court and can be reached at [Snyder Office of Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts]. E-mail: [mailto:prothonotary@snydercounty.org prothonotary@snydercounty.org]

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Cemeteries

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

Additional Cemetery Resources
 * ca.1700-ca.1950 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * PA-Roots
 * Names in Stone
 * Ancestry($)

Church Records


The Snyder County Historical Society has various records for churches throughout the Snyder County area. However, the society has not put the records on-line and to view the records one must go to the society. The society will do research for a fee. For more details see their website.

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 $


 * Contains the church records of:
 * Penns Creek United Methodist Church
 * Selinsgrove Wesley United Methodist Church

Lutheran The first church building in Selin's Grove was the Union Church (later known as the First Lutheran Church). The Evangelical Lutheran Church was created from members of the First Lutheran Church in 1843.

Botschaft Lutheran and Reformed Church, Chapman Township


 * 1792-1876 Botschaft Lutheran and Reformed Church, Chapman Township, Baptism Index 1792-1876 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch

Rows or Salem Lutheran Church, Penn Township


 * 1774-1832 Rows or Salem Lutheran Church, Penn Township, Baptism Index 1774-1832 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch.

Trinity Lutheran Church, Selinsgrove


 * 1849-1875 Trinity Lutheran Church, Selinsgrove, Baptism Index 1849-1875 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch.
 * 1849-1875 Trinity Lutheran Church, Selinsgrove, Marriage Index 1849-1875 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch.

Zion Lutheran Church


 * 1889-1943 Zion Lutheran Church, Snyder County, Pennsylvania at Ancestry $

Zion's or Moor's Lutheran Church, Freeburg


 * 1781-1809 Zion's or Moor's Lutheran Church, Freeburg, Baptism Index 1781-1809 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch.

Methodist It is unknown when the Methodist Episcopal Church was first organized, but they errected their own church in 1848.

Reformed The Reformed congregation met as early as 1780. In 1802 they met in a union church with the Lutherans until 1855 when they built their own church.

Botschaft Lutheran and Reformed Church, Chapman Township

List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * 1792-1876 Botschaft Lutheran and Reformed Church, Chapman Township, Baptism Index 1792-1876 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch.
 * FamilySearch Places

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. Snyder County shares its judicial district with Union.

Land and Property Records
Land records in Snyder County began in 1855. These records are filed with the Register and Recorder office in Middleburg, Pennsylvania.

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

Local Histories

 * Snyder County Annals. 2 volumes. 1919. Compiled by George W. Wagenseller. Middleburg, Pennsylvania : Middleburgh Post. Online at: Vol. 1 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Vol. 2 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Vol. 1 - Hathitrust, Vol. 1 - Internet Archive, Vol. 2 - Internet Archive;.
 * History of [...] the counties of Mifflin, Juniata, Perry, Union and Snyder in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 2 volumes. 1886. By Franklin Ellis, Alfred Matthews. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania : Everts, Peck & Richards. Online at: Vol. 2 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust, Internet Archive; . Volume 2 contains histories for Perry, Union, and Snyder counties.

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps
 * Maps of Pennsylvania (1673-1878)
 * Ancestor Tracks has posted free downloadable images from the Pomeroy &amp; Beers 1868 Atlas of Union &amp; Snyder 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 be used commercially.  We hereby give permission to use them strictly for personal use; please attribute to Ancestor Tracks.
 * FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places

Military Records

 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index

Naturalization and Citizenship
Naturalization records available for Snyder 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 $

Newspapers
Newspapers of Snyder County


 * 1947-2010  at FamilySearch
 * Snyder County Newspaper Resources at USGenWeb.org

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.


 * Chronicling America US Newspaper Directory.
 * Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive
 * Pennsylvania Newspapers
 * The Middleburgh Post (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., PA) 1883-1916, Chronicling America.
 * The Post (Middleburg, Snyder County, PA) 1864-1883, Chronicling America.

Online Newspaper Abstracts


 * PA-Roots Newspaper Articles for Snyder 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 Snyder

Online Obituary Abstracts


 * PA-Roots Obituaries for Snyder County, Pennsylvania]

Probate Records
Original probate records for some Pennsylvania counties are available free online as digital images at FamilySearch. The dates vary significantly for each county and not all counties are listed. Some counties may only have probate indexes. Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1683-1993 Pennsylvania Wills and Probate Records 1683-1993 at Ancestry $
 * 1816-1980 Snyder County Probate Records at FamilySearch
 * 1855-1883 Orphans court dockets - images only; click on the camera icon to view images
 * 1855-1882 Will Books - images only; click on the camera icon to view images
 * 1855-1871 Index to Snyder County Will Book 1 (1855-1871) at PAGenWeb

School Records

 * Susquehanna University Yearbooks - 1898-2010 (almost all inclusive) via the Internet Archive

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch - How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Birth

 * 1852-1854  Pennsylvania Births Ancestry $
 * 1942-1962  Snyder County Birth Index 1942-1962 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch

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 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
 * Pre-1810  Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry $
 * 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.

Death

 * 1720-1999  at FamilySearch — index, some images
 * 1850-1880  at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1852-1854 Pennsylvania Deaths Ancestry $
 * 1893-1905 Snyder County Death Index 1893-1905 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch

Divorce
Divorce records are available through the office of the Prothonotary which is located in the Snyder County Courthouse.

Archives

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

Family History Centers

 * Sunbury Pennsylvania Family History Center

Libraries

 * Snyder County Library Jackson Penn Elementary School (this is a temporary location for the main library) 297 Route 204 Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, 17870 Phone: (570) 374-7163 Website


 * The Snyder County Library system has four branches Call to verify locations and hours Ancestry.com is available to patrons

Societies

 * Synder County Historical Society 30 East Market St P.O. Box 276 Middleburg, PA 17842 Phone: 570-837-6191 Website Email: [mailto:schs@snydercounty.org schs@snydercounty.org] Library collection includes family genealogies, local histories, church records, pastoral records, funeral records, microfilm of historical newspapers and U.S. census records. Hours are posted on the website. Visitors will be charged a $2.00 user fee, with no charge for members of the society. The fee for research requests by mail, phone or e-mail is $20.00 plus copy costs.

Websites

 * Susquehanna PAGenWeb genealogy resources; part of the national USGenWeb Project
 * Snyder 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.

Research Guides
Woodroofe's guide to Snyder County "hidden sources" at The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania is available online:


 * Woodroofe, Helen Hutchison. "A Genealogist's Guide to Pennsylvania Records," The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine, Vol. 34, No. 3 (1986):250-251. For free online access, see WeRelate.