Carbon County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

United States Pennsylvania  Carbon County

Guide to  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.

Carbon County Pennsylvania Historical Facts



 * Parent Counties: Formed from Monroe and Northampton Counties 13 March 1843.


 * County Seat: Jim Thorpe


 * Neighboring Counties: residents may also have records in:


 * Luzerne (north)
 * Monroe (east)
 * Schyulkill (southwest)
 * Northampton (southeast)

Named for extensive deposits of coal in the region.

Boundary Changes

 * Before 1836: Today's Carbon County was included in Northampton County.
 * 1 April 1836: When Monroe County was created from Northampton County, future Carbon County was split between Monroe County and Northampton 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
For a list of record loss in Pennsylvania counties see: Pennsylvania Counties with Burned Courthouses

Cemeteries
Cemetery records often reveal birth, marriage, 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.


 * Contains church records of:
 * Lansford: St. John Evangelical Slovak Lutheran Church
 * Lehighton: All Saints Episcopal Church; Wesley United Methodist Church; Zion United Church of Christ
 * Parryville: United Methodist Church
 * Summit Hill: First Presbyterian Church of Panther Valley; St. Paul's United Church of Christ


 * 1795-1825 - Humphrey, John T. Pennsylvania Births, Carbon County, 1795-1825; Monroe County, 1741-1825; Schuylkill County, 1755-1825. Washington, D.C.: PA Genealogy Books, 2006..


 * Contains church records of Towamensing Lutheran and Reformed Church, Towamensing Township; Ben Salem Lutheran and Reformed Church, East Penn Township; St. John's Lutheran and Reformed Church, Lausanne Township; and St. Matthew's Lutheran and Reformed Church, Packer Township.

Evangelical
Mauch Chunk Mission of the Evangelical Association


 * 1870-1875 - Mauch Chunk Mission of the Evangelical Association Baptism Index 1870-1875 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.
 * 1870-1885 - Mauch Chunk Mission of the Evangelical Association Marriage Index 1870-1885 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

Presbyterian
First Presbyterian Church, Mauch Chunk


 * 1835-1873 - First Presbyterian Church, Mauch Chunk, Baptism Index 1835-1873 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.
 * 1836-1873 - First Presbyterian Church, Mauch Chunk, Marriage Index 1836-1873 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. 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.

Land and Property
Land records in Carbon County began in 1843. These records are filed with the Recorder of Deeds office in Jim Thorpe, 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


 * 1843–1934 Deeds 1843-1902, 1922-1923; Index 1843-1934.

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 Carbon 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.)

Maps

 * Maps of Pennsylvania (1673-1878)
 * Ancestor Tracks has posted free and downloadable images from the Map of the Counties of Munroe and Carbon, Pennsylvania from Surveys under the Direction of H. F. Walling (New York, 1860). 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 puiblic 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
 * 1875 County Atlas of Carbon, Pennsylvania by F. W. Beers has been posted on Rootsweb.com site.

Naturalization and Citizenship
Naturalization records available for Carbon 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

Newspapers
Newspapers of Carbon County


 * Pennsylvania Newspapers
 * Chronicling America US Newspaper Directory

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 Carbon Advocate of Lehighton, Pennsylvania 1872-1924.

Online Newspaper Abstracts


 * PA-Roots Newspaper Articles of Carbon County.

Newspaper Excerpts and Abstracts


 * USGenWeb Carbon County Newspaper Tidbits From the Evening Star Saturday, January 27, 1945.

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


 * PA-Roots Obituaries for Carbon County.

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

Carbon County Only:


 * 1843-1948-Carbon County Probate Records

Original Probate Records on Microfilm


 * 1843-1948 Probate Records Index included

Archives

 * Carbon County Archives 44 Susquehanna St Jim Thorpe, PA Phone: (570) 325-5713 Email: [mailto:ccarchiv@ptd.net ccarchiv@ptd.net]]

The County Archives holds birth/death records (1894-1905), naturalization records (1843-1958), estate files (1843-present), marriages (Oct 1885-present), and more.



Courthouse
Carbon County Courthouse 4 Broadway Jim Thorpe, PA 18229 Hours: M-F 8:30 am - 4:30 pm

The office of the Prothonotary is located in the main courthouse building. Contact the office at: Office of the Prothonotary P.O. Box 130 Jim Thorpe, PA Phone: (570) 325-2481

Register of Wills/Orphan's Court 1 Hazard Square P.O. Box 286 Jim Thorpe, PA 18229 Phone: (570) 325-2261

The Register of Wills/Orphans Court is responsible for probating wills, appointing administrators, issuing marriage licenses, and more.

Recorder of Deeds P.O. Box 89 Jim Thorpe, PA 18229 Phone: (570) 325-2651 E-mail: anitadietrich@carboncounty.net Hours: M-F 8:30 - 4:30 pm Preserves all Land Records including Deeds, Mortgages, Easements, Right-of-Ways, etc.

The County Archives (see above) holds birth/death records (1894-1905), naturalization records (1843-1958), estate files (1843-present), marriages (Oct 1885-present), and more.

Libraries
Dimmick Memorial Library 54 Broadway Jim Thorpe, PA 18229 Phone (570) 325-2131 Fax (570) 325-9339 E-mail [mailto:thorpepl@ptd.net thorpepl@ptd.net] Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 9:00am - 5:00pm Thursday 11:00am - 7:00pm Saturday 9:00am - 4:00pm Closed Sunday Summer Hours are the same EXCEPT Saturday 9:00am - 1:00pm


 * This library has federal censuses (1790 to 1930), plus a nearly complete set of Mauch Chunk newspapers on microfilm from 1829 to the present and The Valley Gazette (a local monthly paper devoted to the area’s history). Also have many books pertaining to Carbon Co. History, plus a cheerful and helpful staff of experts!

Societies
Rich in history, contains a number of societies dealing with the history of the area.

Mauch Chunk Historical Society P.O. Box 273 Jim Thorpe, PA 18229 Phone: (570) 325-4439

The Mauch Chunk Historical Society was founded in 1973 and primarily works to preserve two historic buildings in Jim Thorpe including the Mauch Chunk Museum. Membership costs $25 and comes with a subscription to the local newsletter.

Vital Records
See also How to order Pennsylvania Vital Records

Birth

 * 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.
 * 1852-1854 – Pennsylvania Births Ancestry.com – ($) Index with images.
 * 1894-1905 - Carbon County Birth Index 1894-1905 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

Marriage

 * 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–present Original records located at the Carbon County Archives.

Carbon County Archives 44 Susquehanna St. P.O. Box 129 Courthouse Jim Thorpe, PA 18229

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.
 * 1893-1905 - Carbon County Death Index 1893-1905 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.

Genealogy Societies and Libraries

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

Carbon County Pennsylvania Genealogy Websites

 * Carbon County, PA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy