Blair County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

Guide to Blair County, Pennsylvania ancestry, family history and genealogy 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.

Blair County Pennsylvania Historical Facts
Parent Counties: Formed from Huntingdon and Bedford Counties 26 February 1846.

County Seat: Holidaysburg

Neighboring Counties:
 * Centre
 * Huntingdon
 * Cambria
 * Bedford
 * Clearfield

Blair County Place Names
Courtesy of Blair County Genealogical Society: by Harry A. McGraw (1947)

Description
It's county seat is Hollidaysburg. It was organized February 26, 1846. It is located in the Central section of the state.

Boundary Changes

 * 27 January 1750: Blair County was part of Cumberland County when it was created.
 * 9 March 1771: Bedford County was created out of Cumberland County.
 * 20 September 1787: Huntingdon County was created out of Bedford County; all but a part of Greenfield Township split into Huntingdon County while the small part of Greenfield remained in Bedford County.

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.

Biography

 * Blair County Biographies at Blair County, Pennsylvania USGenWeb Archives Includes:
 * Samuel T. Wiley's Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of Blair County, 1892 including index.
 * Jesse C. Sell's Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County, Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, 1911 including index.
 * Tarring S. Davis' History of Blair County, 1931 Includes index of biographies.

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

Blair County Cemetery Survey

Woodbury Township

Biddle Farm Cemetery: on Clover Creek across the street from Snively Cemetery. Not to be confused with the Biddle Farm Cemetery on Plum Creek. Biddle Farm Cemetery on Clover Creek: Latitude 402553 N. Longitute 0781205 W. Transcription available (ca 1930/1970) in the George Liebegott Collection housed in the Martinsburg Public Library and also available on microfilm at the Family History Library. Cemetery restored in 2001 by Ramona Householder who published her findings in The Biddle Family Cemetery. Copies of the book The Biddle Family Cemetery are housed in the Blair County Genealogical Society and the Family History Library in Salt Lake.

Dell/Smith Farm Cemetery: on Clover Creek three miles east of Williamsburg. In very poor shape. Transcription available on Family History Library US/CAN Film 833,492. Not to be confused with another Smith Cemetery, also located in Blair County that no longer exists.

Saint John's Cemetery: at Shellytown near Clover Creek. Transcription (ca 1950/1970) available in the George Liebegott Collection housed at the Martinsburg Public Library, Martinsburg, PA and also on microfilm through the Family History Library.

Snively Cemetery: on Clover Creek. Cemetery in great shape (2001). Transcription available at the Martinsburg Public Library in Martinsburg, PA in a brownish folder/book titled Snively Cemetery and published 1983 in Williamsburg, PA.

Huston Township

Ditch Cemetery: Transcription available in Ditch Cemetery File at the Blair County Genealogical Society.

Taylor Township

Biddle/Hoover/Smith Farm Cemetery: located near East Sharpsburg, Taylor Twp, on left side of road (back behind house) down Plum Creek. Further down Plum Creek Road than Snowberger Cemetery. In poor shape (2001). Won't be able to see it from the road unless you have been there before. 1936 transcription done by George Liebegott and deposited in the George Liebegott Collection at the Martinsburg Public Library, Martinsburg, PA and also on microfilm through the Family History Library.

'''East Sharpsburg/St. John's Reformed Church/Umbower Cemetery:''' located by St. John's Reformed Church in East Sharpsburg, PA. Transcription available in the Martinsburg Public Library Genealogical Room. Transcription for oldest section done in 1979, the remainder in 1992.

Snowberger Cemetery: located near East Sharpsburg, Taylor Twp, on left side of road down Plum Creek. 1936 transcription done by George Liebegott and reposited in the George Liebegott Collection at the Martinsburg Public Library, Martinsburg, PA and also on microfilm through the Family History Library. Cemetery in good shape (2001). 

County-wide Database
(Multi-denominational)

Denominations in Blair County include Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist Episcopal, Presbyterian, and others.


 * 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:
 * Altoona: First United Methodist Church; First United Presbyterian Church; St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church
 * Barnesboro: Duncansville Presbyterian Church
 * Hollidaysburg: First Presbyterian Church; First United Methodist Church; Martinsburg Methodist Episcopal Church
 * Tyrone: First Presbyterian Church
 * Williamsburg: St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church; Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church


 * The Blair County Genealogical Society has over 160 publications for sale, many of which are Church records. By clicking on the titles, one can see a sample page from the book.

Presbyterian

 * 1860 - 1879 First Presbyterian Church, Duncansville, Baptism Index 1860-1879 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

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. Blair County has its own judicial district.

History

 * Altoona Library has posted online the 1896 A History of Blair County, Pennsylvania, From its Earliest Settlement, and more particularly from its Organization, in 1846 to June 1896
 * J. Simpson Africa's History of Huntingdon and Blair Counties, Pennsylvania, 1883
 * James H. Ewing's History of the city of Altoona and Blair County: including sketches of the shops of the Pennsylvania Railroad Co., 1880 (free download)
 * Charles B. Clark's A history of Blair county, Pennsylvania. From its earliest settlement, and more particularly from its organization, in 1846 to June 1896, 1896 (free download)
 * Floyd G. Hoenstine's Guide to Historical and Genealogical Research in Pennsylvania
 * Know Your Blair County 
 * Wiley, Samuel Thomas, and Garner, Winfield Scott. Biographical and portrait cyclopedia of Blair County, Pennsylvania. Gresham Publishing Co., 1892.

Land and Property
Land records in Blair County began in 1846. These records are filed with the Register of Wills and Recorder of Deeds office in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. Blair County Genealogical Society holds the original deed books from 1846-?. (The most recent deed books are at the courthouse.)

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


 * 1973 – present Blair County offers online access to land records. Fees apply.

Land Warrants


 * Warrantees of land in the County of Blair, 1846-1890 at Blair County, Pennsylvania USGenWeb Archives

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 Blair County Pennsylvania Land in online catalogs such as:


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

Maps

 * Maps of Pennsylvania (1673-1878)
 * The 1873 Atlas of Blair and Huntingdon Counties From actual Surveys by and under the direction of Beach Nicholas, Published by A. Pomeroy Co. has been placed online at the usgenwebarchives. The atlas shows many landowners, populated places, and landmarks, and is invaluable when used with the 1860, 1870 and 1880 censuses.

Military

 * Floyd G. Hoenstine's Military services and genealogical records of soldiers of Blair County, Pennsylvania, 1940 PA's Past, Digital Bookshelf at Penn State

Naturalization and Citizenship
Naturalization records available for Blair 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

Newspapers
Newspapers of Blair County


 * Pennsylvania Newspapers
 * Christian Family Companion (1866)- a newspaper from the Church of the Brethren. Available at the Internet Archive.
 * Chronicling America US Newspaper Directory

Online Newspapers

To learn if there are newspapers on line for a specific town or city in Pennsylvania, see Google Newspaper listings and search for the town or the name of a newspaper.

Online Newspaper Abstracts and Indexes


 * PA-Roots Newspaper Articles for Blair County.
 * Birth Index: This is a work in progress and is in the beginning stages. The birth notices from the Altoona Mirror that have been added may be searched by the child's last name, Mother's maiden or married name, Father's last name or the date of birth. Unlike the Obituary index which is only an index, complete information is contained in a Birth Index entry.
 * Blair County Newspaper Articles at Blair County, Pennsylvania USGenWeb Archives

Newspaper Excerpts and Abstracts


 * Claar, Archie C., WWII Newspaper Clippings, Blair County, Pennsylvania (SLC, Utah, 2004)

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 and Index


 * Obituary Index: The Obituary Index lists the dates that local obituaries appeared in the Altoona Mirror. It is searchable by last name or maiden name. It currently covers the period from 1936 to the present. Once an obituary date is located a patron can visit the library and print it from the library's microfilm or patrons who cannot visit the library may order prints from the library to be mailed to the patron for a nominal fee.
 * Blair County Obituaries at Blair County, Pennsylvania USGenWeb Archives Includes:
 * Archie Claar Obituary Collection 1934-1942
 * Altoona Mirror Obituaries 1998-2003
 * Morrisons Cove Herald Obituary Abstracts 2006-2007
 * Miscellaneous Obituaries

Obituary Excerpts and Abstracts


 * Claar, Archie, edited and indexed by Jan Oberle and James D. Boor, Obituary Clippings [in Blair and Bedford Counties, Pennsylvania] (Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania:Hoenstine's, 1990-1996) Photocopy of newspaper clippings. Each volume contains an index.
 * Altoona Mirror, Altoona Mirror Obituary Collection; Also Known as Old Greenfield Township Obituary Collection (SLC, Utah, 2001)
 * Weston, June L. Hoffman (editor), Civil War Veterans' Obituaries, Articles, Letters and Photographs (Hollidaysburg, PA:Blair County Genealogical Society [Pennsylvania], 2005-2010)

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

Blair County Only:


 * 1846 - 1980 Blair 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


 * 1846 - 1882 Will Books -Index included, 1846-1980
 * 1846 - 1980 Estate and Proceedings Indexes

Will Abstracts


 * Complete Transcribed Wills for Blair County Not complete, but does contain many wills for residents of Blair County.

Archives

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

Courthouse
Blair County Courthouse 423 Allegheny St. Hollidaysburg, PA 16648-2022 Phone: (814) 693-3000

Clerk of Court/Orphans' Court Phone: (814) 693-3000

Prothonotary 1st floor of the OLD part of the Courthouse Phone: (814) 693-3080

Libraries

 * Blair County Library System 1600 Fifth Avenue Altoona, PA 16601 Phone: (814) 946-0417 ext. 132

Museums

 * Railroaders Memorial Museum 1300 Ninth Ave. Altoona, PA 16602 Phone: (814) 946-0834

Societies

 * Blair County Genealogical Society 431 Scotch Valley Rd. Hollidaysburg, PA 16648 Phone: (814) 696-3492


 * Blair County Historical Society 3419 Oak Lane Altoona, PA 16602 Phone: (814) 942-3916 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1083 Altoona, PA 16603 E-mail: [mailto:bchs@hotmail.com bchs@hotmail.com]


 * Tyrone Area Historical Society P.O. Box 1850 Tyrone, PA 16686-0102 Phone: (814) 684-5141 The Office/Research Library of the Tyrone Area Historical Society is located in the northeastern end of the Tyrone Shopping Center. The library contains a sizable collection of books, newspapers, genealogies, historical maps, and other reference materials pertinent to all areas of Tyrone History. Several Tyrone-related artifacts also are on display.

Vital Records
See also How to order Pennsylvania Vital Records

Births

 * 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.
 * Delayed Birth Index: Individuals who were born before 1906 at Blair County Genealogical Society website.

Marriages

 * Individual Marriage Notices at Blair County, Pennsylvania USGenWeb Archvives
 * 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.
 * 1885 - 1890 Marriage Application Records, Vol. 1: Oct. 1885 - 1890 at Blair County Genealogical Society website.

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

Deaths

 * Large collection of death Indexes at Blair County Genealogical Society website.
 * Death Reports and Lists at Blair County, Pennsylvania USGenWeb Archives for select years and towns from 1875 - 1935


 * Blair County Death Indexes

Genealogy Societies and Libraries
Blair County Genealogical Society The Roller-Hojeth Memorial Library 431 S. Scotch Valley Road Hollidaysburg, PA 16648-9697 Phone: 814-696-3492 Website For more information, see Roller-Hojeth Memorial Library
 * Collection covers Blair and surrounding counties, particularly Huntingdon, Cambria, and Bedford Counties.

Martinsburg Community Library 201 South Walnut Street Martinsburg, PA 16662-1129 Phone: 814-793-3335 Fax: 814-793-9755 Email: [mailto:mclibrary@atlanticbbn.net mclibrary@atlanticbbn.net]

Blair County Pennsylvania Genealogy Websites

 * Blair County, PA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Linkpendium - Blair County
 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Blair County PA USGenWeb Archives
 * Blair County PAGenWeb
 * Blair County PA Genealogy