Lehigh County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

Guide to Lehigh County, Pennsylvania ancestry, family history and genealogy in 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.

Lehigh County Pennsylvania Historical Facts


Parent Counties: Formed from Northampton County 6 March 1812.

County Seat: Allentown

Neighboring Counties: Lehigh County residents may also have records in:


 * Carbon
 * Northampton
 * Schuylkill
 * Montgomery
 * Berks
 * Bucks

Description
The county was named for after the Lehigh River, whose name is derived from the Delaware Indian term Lechauweki or Lechauwekink, meaning "where there are forks". It's county seat is Allentown and was founded March 6, 1812. It is located in the East Central area of the state.

Boundary Changes
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.

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

The records of the Fountain Hill Cemetery, Fountain Hill, Bethlehem, PA have been digitally imaged. Records from 1872 to the present were recorded. The persons interred in the cemetery are mostly from the Bethlehem, PA area, especially those from the South side of Bethlehem and ethnic Slovenes who lived there.

The Genealogical Society of Utah created the images as part of project PENN0061D. They are not available to the public as of October 2009.


 * The Mennonite Heritage Center 565 Yoder Road Harleysville, PA 19438-1020 Phone: 215-256-3020 Email: [mailto:library@mhep.org library@mhep.org]
 * The Cemetery Database at the Mennonite Heritage Center includes 86,000 burial records from 125 local cemeteries. Records cover cemeteries in the counties of Berks, Bucks, Butler, Chester, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton, and Westmoreland. The database provides transcriptions from Mennonite, Brethren, Lutheran, Reformed, Union, Baptist, Methodist, Episcopal, community, and private cemeteries. Search the list of cemeteries and the alphabetical surname lists in Adobe PDF format.
 * Visit the Mennonite Heritage Center to search the cemetery database by various criteria. The transcriptions are available for further research at the MHC library.

Church Records
The Lehigh County Pennsylvania Historical Society has a list of church records available in their collection. You can access these records by completing a search request form.

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 the church records of:
 * Jonathan Worrall, J.P./Misc. Marriage Licenses, 1890-1915
 * Alburtis: Zion Lehigh Evangelical Lutheran Church
 * Allentown: Asbury United Methodist Church; Christ Lutheran Church; Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church Allentown; Jordan United Church of Christ; Salem United Church of Christ; Salem United Methodist Church; St. John's United Church of Christ; St. Joseph's Evangelical Lutheran Church; St. Paul's Lutheran Church; The Church of the Mediator; Trinity United Church of Christ; United Methodist Church
 * Catasauqua: Presbyterian Church of Catasaqua
 * Coplay: St. John's Lutheran Church
 * Emmaus: Emmaus Moravian Church; Old Moravian Cemetery; St. John's Lutheran Church; St. Margaret's Episcopal Church
 * Old Zionsville: United Church of Christ
 * Schoenersville: Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church; Christ Reformed Church
 * Slatington: Christ Episcopal Church; Methodist Episcopal Church; St. John's United Church of Christ
 * Spinnerstown: Trinity Great Swamp Church
 * Wescosville: Bethany United Methodist Church


 * 1730–1779 Pennsylvania, Lutheran Baptisms and Marriages at Ancestry.com – ($); records of southeastern counties kept by Rev. John Casper Stoever.


 * 1784–1882 Trexlertown Union Church, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1784-1882 at Ancestry.com – ($); now known as St. Paul's; denomination not specified.


 * Lehigh County, Pennsylvania: Hilffrich Pastoral Records at Ancestry.com – ($), denomination not specified.


 * 1734-1800 Humphrey, John T. Pennsylvania Births, Lehigh County, 1734-1800. Washington, D.C.: Humphrey Publications, 1992.


 * Contains the baptism records of Egypt Reformed Church in Whitehall Township; Great Swamp Reformed Congregation, Lower Milford Township; St. Paul's Lutheran and Reformed Congregations in Upper Saucon Township, also known as St. Paul's Blue Church; Jordan Lutheran Congregation in South Whitehall Township; Daniel Schumacher's baptismal register; First Evangelical Lutheran Congregation in Upper Milford Township; Moravian Congregation at Emmaus in Salisbury Township; Zion's Lutheran Church in Lower Macungie Township; Ziegel Church in Weissenberg Township; Reformed Congregation in Upper Milford Township, also known as Zion's Reformed Church in Zionsville; Weissenberg Lutheran and Reformed Congregations in Weissenberg Township; Reformed Congregation in Lower Milford Township; Zion Lutheran Congregation, Zionsville, Upper Milford Township; Jerusalem Lutheran and Reformed Congregations in Western Salisbury Township; Frieden's Union Church, Friedensville, Upper Saucon Township; Schlosser's Reformed Church in North Whitehall Township, also known as Union Church in Unionville; Jordan Reformed Congregation in South Whitehall Township; Zion Reformed Church, Allentown; Jerusalem Lutheran and Reformed Congregations in Eastern Salisbury Township; Lowhill Lutheran and Reformed Congregations in Lowhill Township; Heidelberg Lutheran and Reformed Congregations in Heidelberg Township; Reformed Congregation at Schoenersville in Hanover Township; Lutheran Congregation at Schoenersville in Hanover Township; Trexlertown Union Church in Upper Macungie Township; Union Church at Neffs in North Whitehall Township; Chestnuthill Reformed Congregation in Lower Milford Township; St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Allentown; Allemangel Moravian Congregation in Lynn Township.

Lutheran
Lutheran churches in Lehigh County were German in respect to the language used in the services and to the origin of the clergy. Congregations were established as early as 1734 in Upper Milford. Reformed and Lutheran congregations often shared a building. Union organizations were two congregations who purchased property and erected a church shared by both organizations. Fifteen Lutheran congregations existed in 1784.

Early records of the "Blue Church" have been published:


 * 1750-1764 Beckel, Clarence E. "Records of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Congregation, Lehigh Co., Penna., 1750-1764," The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 35 (1911):188-198. Includes marriages, deaths, and communicants. For free online access, see WeRelate.
 * Churches of Coopersburg Lutheran Charge, St John's, St. Paul's, the Blue, Upper Saucona, New Jerusalem or Apples, Leithsville – at Ancestry.com – ($).

Christ Church, Evangelical Lutheran and Reformed Congregation, Shoenersville


 * 1780-1880 Centennial of Christ Church at Shoenersville, Pa. 1880. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * 1781-1875 Christ Reformed Lutheran Congregation, Shoenersville, Baptism Index 1781-1875 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.
 * 1782-1889 Christ Evangelical Lutheran Congregation, Shoenersville, Baptism Index 1782-1889 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.
 * 1782–1856 Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1782-1856: Christ Lutheran Congregation at Ancestry.com – ($).
 * 1853-1880 Christ Reformed Lutheran Congregation, Shoenersville, Marriage Index 1853-1880 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

Ebenezer Union Church

Ebenezer Union Church 1740-1990 -- Stones of Help. Appendixes B and D have lists of baptisms with names of children with their dates of birth and baptism and names of their parents. Also lists of confirmations, marriages, and funerals. - free.

Jerusalem Lutheran and Reformed Congregation


 * 1802-1885 Jerusalem Lutheran and Reformed Congregation, Western Salisbury, Marriage Index 1802-1885 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.
 * Membership and burial record of Jerusalem Lutheran and Reformed congregations and cemeteries at Ancestry.com – ($).

St. John's Reformed and Evangelical Lutheran Church, Laury's Station


 * 1868-1908 St. John's Reformed and Evangelical Lutheran Church, Laury's Station, Baptism Index 1868-1908 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.
 * 1861-1874 St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church Records - birth, death, burial 1786-1874 at The USGenWeb Project - free.
 * 1874-1903 St. John's Reformed and Evangelical Lutheran Church, Laury's Station, Marriage Index 1874-1903 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

Ziegel's Lutheran and Reformed Church, Weisenberg Township


 * 1752-1866 Ziegel's Lutheran and Reformed Church, Weisenberg Township, Baptism Index 1752-1866 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

Mennonite
The first Mennonite congregation was established in 1738 in Upper Saucon. Two congregations existed after 1784.

Moravian
Moravians established a settlement at Bethlehem in 1741. The Bethlehem Digital History Project (winner of a National Endowments for the Humanities prize) includes community records, Bethlehem diary, bills of sale and manumissions, business activity, meeting minutes, Moravian Indian diaries 1763-1765, registers of baptisms, marriages, and deaths, and church regulations.


 * 1740s-1790s Moravian Church, Bethlehem Marriages at The USGenWeb Project - free.

There was also a Moravian congregation at Emmaus:


 * 1758-1800 Moravian Church Marriage Records, Emmaus, Pa. 1758-1800 at The USGenWeb Project - free.

Reformed
As early as 1747 there were at least ten Reformed congregations in Lehigh County. By 1784 there were seventeen congregations.

Ebenezer Union Church


 * 1790-1990 Ebenezer Union Church 1740-1990 -- Stones of Help. Appendix C has lists of baptisms with names of children with their dates of birth and baptism and names of their parents. Also lists of marriages and funerals by date. - free.

Egypt Reformed Church


 * 1734-1834 Roberts, Charles R., translator. Records of Egypt Reformed Church, Lehigh County, 1734-1834, in Pennsylvania Archives, Sixth Series, Volume VI. (Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Co., 1907). Includes baptisms.
 * 1736-1834 Egypt Reformed Church, Whitehall Township, Baptism Index 1736-1834 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.
 * 1752 Egypt Reformed Church, Whitehall Township, Marriage Index 1752 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

Jerusalem Lutheran and Reformed Congregation


 * Membership and burial record of Jerusalem Lutheran and Reformed congregations and cemeteries at Ancestry.com – ($).

Jordan Reformed Congregation, South Whitehall Township


 * 1765-1858 Jordan Reformed Congregation, South Whitehall Township, Burial Index 1765-1858 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.
 * 1765–1858 Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1765-1858: Jordan Reformed Congregation at Ancestry.com – ($).
 * 1771-1772 Jordan Reformed Congregation, South Whitehall Township, Burial Index 1771-1772 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

Reformed Church, Lowhill


 * 1758-1862 Reformed Church, Lowhill, Baptism Index 1758-1862 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.
 * 1758-1865 Reformed Church, Lowhill, Marriage Index 1758-1865 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

Schlosser's or Union Reformed Church, Unionville, North Whitehall Township


 * 1765-1846 Records of Schlosser's or Union Reformed Church, Unionville, North Whitehall Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1765-1846 at The USGenWeb Project – free.
 * 1765-1846 Neff's Schlosser's Reformed Church, Burial Index 1766-1771 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.
 * 1766-1773 Schosser's or Union Reformed Church, Unionville, Marriage Index 1766-1773 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.
 * 1766-1771 Neff's Schlosser's Reformed Church, Burial Index 1766-1771 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

Upper Milford Reformed Congregation


 * 1757–1885 Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1757-1885: Upper Milford Reformed Congregation at Ancestry.com – ($).

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. Lehigh County 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.

Clerk of the Court
In Lehigh County, the Clerk of Courts is known as the Clerk of Judicial Records.

Prothonotary
In Lehigh County the Prothonotary is known as the Civil Division

Orphans, Court
Lehigh Orphans' Court 455 Hamilton Street Allentown, PA 18101-1614 Phone: 610-782-3220

Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas Website


 * 1752-1882 Orphans Court Records and Index

Land and Property
Land records in Lehigh County began in 1812. These records are filed with the Recorder of Deeds office in Allentown, 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


 * 1984–present Images are available online using the Landex system. There is a fee to view the images.

Land Records on Microfilm


 * 1812–1911 Deed Records 1812-1901; Index 1812-1911
 * 1812–1911 Mortgage Records, 1812-1886; Mortgage Index 1812-1911.

Additional Resources

Note that the "Maps" section below also 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 Lehigh 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
Click the image to view an enlarged version


 * Maps of Pennsylvania (1673-1878)
 * Ancestor Tracks has posted free downloadable images from the 1876 Illustrated Atlas of Lehigh County, 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.

Migration
Early migration routes to and from Lehigh County, Pennsylvania for settlers included:


 * Delaware River a pre-historic pathway serving as the border between New Jersey and Pennsylvania rises in Schoharie County, New York and flows by the Lehigh Canal in Pennsylvania, Frenchtown, New Jersey, Trenton, New Jersey where river meets tidewater, and past Bordentown, New Jersey, Philadelphia in Pennsylvania to empty into the North Atlantic Ocean.
 * Delaware and Raritan Canal 1834 connected New Brunswick, New Jersey on the Raritan River (and NY City) to Bordontown, New Jersey on the Delaware River. Lehigh County, Pennsylvania connected via the feeder canal at Frenchtown, New Jersey.

Civil War

 * "The Civil War Draft -- Wednesday, 12 August 1863 - Lehigh County, PA," Allentown Democrat, 19 August 1863. Digitized by PAGenWeb - free.

Naturalization and Citizenship
Naturalization records for Lehigh County, Pennsylvania include the following:

Online Naturalization Indexes and Records


 * 1795-1952  on FamilySearch.org - free, National Archives publication M1248, browsesable images of card index


 * 1795-1931  on FamilySearch.org - free, National Archives publication M1522, browsesable images of petitions, no index, use index listed above


 * 1795-1930 Naturalization Petitions for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 1795-1930 on Fold3.com - ($), indexed, National Archives publication M1522, incomplete for all counties


 * 1795-1930 Naturalization Petitions for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania located in Selected US Naturalization Records - Original Documents, 1790-1974 database on Ancestry.com - ($), indexed, National Archives publication M1522

Original Naturalization Records on Microfilm


 * 1812-1906 Naturalization records, 1812-1906.  Index 1812-1908.

Newspapers
Newspapers of Lehigh 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.

Online Newspaper Abstracts


 * PA-Roots Newspaper Articles for Lehigh County, Pennsylvania.

Obituaries
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 Lehigh County, Pennsylvania.

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:


 * 1683-1993 Pennsylvania Wills and Probate Records 1683-1993 at Ancestry.com — index and images $


 * 1683-1994  at FamilySearch.org

Lehigh County Only:


 * 1812-1965 Lehigh County Probate Records

Original Probate Records on Microfilm


 * 1812-1920 Probate Records - Index included: 1812-1965

Repositories

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

Archives

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

Courthouse

 * Lehigh County Courthouse 455 West Hamilton Street Allentown, PA 18101-1614


 * Clerk of Courts is also called Clerk of Judicial Records Divisions of this court include Civil Division, Criminal Division, Recorder of Deeds, and Register of Wills Phone: 610-782-3148


 * Prothonotary also known as the Civil Division under the Clerk of Judicial Records. Phone: 610-782-3148 Fax: 610-871-2895

Libraries

 * The Mennonite Heritage Center 565 Yoder Road Harleysville, PA 19438-1020 Phone: 215-256-3020


 * The Mennonite Historians of Eastern Pennsylvania support the the John L. Ruth Historical Library and Museum at the Mennonite Heritage Center. Located in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania the records and resources of this treasure also cover the counties of Bucks, Chester, Berks, Lehigh, Northampton, and Philadelphia. The website provides a comprehensive overview of library resources, online cemetery database, manuscript collections, photo collections, archival collections, and more.


 * Allentown Public Library 1210 W. Hamilton St. Allentown, PA 18102 Phone: 610-820-2400 Ask a question online


 * The library collection includes a number of family histories.


 * Bethlehem Area Public Library 11 West Church Street Bethlehem, PA 18018 Phone: 610-867-3761


 * Online Bethlehem Obituary/Biographic Article Index

Museums

 * Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum 432 W. Walnut Street Allentown, PA 18102 Phone: 610-435-1074


 * Museum of Indian Culture 2825 Fish Hatchery Road Allentown, PA 18103 (610) 797-2121 Email: [mailto:info@museumofindianculture.org info@museumofindianculture.org]


 * Facilities include an onsite research library about the Lenape Indians.

Societies

 * Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum 432 W. Walnut St. Allentown, PA 18102 Phone: 610–435-1074


 * The Historical Society's collection includes:


 * Church and Cemetery records – includes records of neighboring counties. See the archived list.
 * Repository for early county records including Orphans' Court, tax and prison records
 * Compiled family histories
 * Newspapers – Local German and English-language newspapers
 * Marriage records on film and card index for newspaper obituary and marriage announcements
 * City directories for Allentown
 * Wills on film, with translated German text
 * Land, census and original survey maps


 * The Historical Society conducts research for a fee.

Taxation

 * 1762 Lynn Twp (part of Northampton Co as Lehigh not yet formed)

Vital Records
See also How to order Pennsylvania Vital Records

Birth

 * 1726-1930  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.

Marriage

 * 1677–1950  at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1700-1821 Pennsylvania Marriage Records Ancestry.com – ($) This database is incomplete for all counties.
 * 1725-1976  - free index. Not complete for all years. This index is an electronic database of information. The entries are primarily from the International Genealogical Index (IGI) along with some entries derived from compiled and original records such as: Family Records, Church Records, Civil Registration. It may also include indexes generated by the internet indexing project sponsored by the LDS Church.
 * Pre-1810 Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry.com – ($) 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. 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.

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.

Lehigh County Pennsylvania Genealogy Websites

 * Lehigh County, PA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * USGenWeb
 * Lehigh County PA Genealogy