Wayne County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

United States Pennsylvania  Wayne County

Historical Facts


The county is named after Revolutionary War General "Mad" Anthony Wayne (1745-1796).

Parent County
21 March 1798: Wayne County was created 1798 from Northampton County.

Boundary Changes
26 March 1814: Pike County set off.

Neighboring Counties
Lackawanna | Monroe | Pike | Susquehanna | New York counties: Broome | Delaware | Sullivan

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

Hollisterville Cemetery, Salem BillionGraves

Church Records


Additional church records can be located at Linkpendium and by searching the Family History Library Catalog. The FHLC has a plethora offor Wayne County, many are limited in the time frame they cover. When searching the FHL catalog, be sure to also search at the town and township level.

USGenWeb. Wayne County PA, Churches gives name, contact information, Website and other information.

"In 1870 it was reported that there were sixty-two houses of worship in Wyane County."***** and in 1966 there were sixty nine.

Assembly of God Church organized in 1920's in Honesdale

Baptist arrived in the area in 1795 - two groups organized 1796, Free Communion Baptist Church at Mount Pleasant and 1833,Honesdale baptist church

Presbyterian and Congregational 1796-1800 ministers came from Connecticut. There were congreational church in Salem and Palmyra townships.


 * Presbyterian Church in Hensdale (Dyberry Forks) was organized in 1829,
 * Waymart Presbyterian Church was organized in 1835,
 * Prompton Presbyterian Church in 1842,
 * Lebonon Presbyterian Church in 1848,
 * Hawley Presbyterian Church in 1849.

Catholic and Irish Catholic:  lived in Mount Pleasant, Preston, Buckingham, Carbondale, Honsdale, Ledgedale, and White Mills townships. many were Delaware and Hudson Canal Co. employes

German Catholic Church organized 1853

Episcopalians Honesdale Grace Episcopal Church  and Dyberry Parish in Bethany were both established in1832. St. John's Protestant Episcopal Church in Hamlin was established in 1844.

Lutheran in Honesdale German Evangelical Luthern Congregation established in 1845

Jehovah's Witnesses
A group of Jehovah's Witnesses began worshiping in Honesdal in 1943

Methodist Episcopal Church some members formed Free Methodist Church and met at Beach Lake and Lake Como.


 * Free Methodist Church separated from Methodist Episcopal Free Methodist churches in Beach Lake, Lake Como, and South Canaan. The first group organized in 1825; by 1900 the Methodist outnumbered the other denominations. Members could attend in Salem Corners, Pleasant Mount, and Honesdale,.

Protestant

 * South Canaan Bible Protestant Church estabalished in 1783, Bible Protestant Church,
 * Potestant Episcopal Lutheran - German Evangelical Luthern 1845

Russian Orthodox Russian setteled in South Canaan and had a monastery and school.

Seventh Day Adventists first met in the Odd Fellows Buildin in Honedale.

Temple Beth Israel- synagogue 1849. land donated by Delaware and Hudson Canal Co.Sherith-Israel Synagogue. Russian and Polish Jews 1880's established the Sherith-Isreal synagogue Wlater B. Barbe and Kurk A. Reed."History of Wayne County Pennsylfania 1798-1998. (Wayne County Historical Society, 1998).

Emigration and Immigration
Many early residence came from New England, New York, and New Jersey. (Ref. History of Wayne County Pennsylvania 1798-1998 by Walter B. Barbe and Kurk A. Reed. Wayne County Historical Society C 1998.)

Land and Property
Land records in Wayne County began in 1798. These records are filed with the Recorder of Deeds in Honesdale, 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:

Land Records on Microfilm


 * 1795-1941 Deeds, 1796 to 1866; Indexes, 1795 to 1941
 * 1798–1941 Mortgages, 1798-1834; Index, 1798-1941

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 Wayne 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 a CD of the First Landowners of PA: Warrantees of Wayne &amp; Pike Counties, Map &amp; Index by Jason Torrey, 1814 ($). The CD contains first landowner names and tracts, the warrant register index for Northampton County (the source for both Pike and Wayne Counties), and the warrant registers for both counties.

Courthouse
Wayne County Courthouse 925 Court Street Honesdale PA 18431 Phone: 570-253-5970 Office hours are 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Taxation

 * 1798 - Pennsylvania, U.S. Direct Tax Lists, 1798 at Ancestry ($).

Vital Records
In Wayne county, the Prothonotary's office has vital records for genealogical researchers. Visit the webpage for further information:

Prothonotary Wayne County Court House Second Floor Annex 925 Court Street Honesdale, PA 18431 Phone: 570-253-5970 Ext. 4030 Hours: 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM

Birth

 * 1824–1930 – – free index. Not complete for all years.

In Wayne county, the Prothonotary's office has:


 * 1893–1906 Birth records (see above for address)

Marriage

 * 1841–1976 – – free index. Not complete for all years.

In Wayne county, the Prothonotary's office has:


 * 1885–present - Marriage records (see above for address)

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:

Wayne County Court House Second Floor Annex 925 Court Street Honesdale, PA 18431 Phone: 570-253-5970 Ext. 4030 Hours: 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM

Death

 * 1852-1854 – Pennsylvania Deaths Ancestry.com – $ Index with images.

In Wayne county, the Prothonotary's office has:


 * 1893–1906 Death records (see above for address)

Web Sites

 * USGenWeb project. Wayne County. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.