Armstrong County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

United States Pennsylvania  Armstrong County

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

Armstrong County Pennsylvania Historical Facts


Parent Counties: Formed from Allegheny, Lycoming and Westmoreland Counties 12 March 1800.

County Seat: Kittanning

Neighboring Counties: Clarion •  Indiana  •  Butler  •  Westmoreland  •  Jefferson

Boundary Changes

 * 1771 - 1772: The future southern 1/3 of today's Armstrong County became part of Bedford County; the rest remained unsettled.
 * 1773: The future southern 1/3 of Armstrong was incorporated into Westmoreland County when Westmoreland was formed 26 February 1773.
 * 1785: For the first time, the future northern 2/3 of Armstrong became part Northumberland County; the future southern 1/3 remains in Westmoreland County.
 * 1796: The future northern 2/3 was subdivided, with most becoming part of Lycoming County and the rest part of Allegheny County; lower 1/3 remains in Westmoreland County.
 * 11 March 1839: Clarion County was set off, resulting in Armstrong County's current boundaries.

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.

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 – $. This database is incomplete for all counties.


 * Contains church records of:
 * Apollo: Apollo United Methodist Church
 * Chicora: St. Paul's United Church of Christ
 * Elderton: Elderton United Presbyterian Church
 * Gilpin: Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church
 * Kiskiminetas: Boiling Springs Presbyterian Church
 * Kittanning: St. Paul's Episcopal Church
 * Leechburg: Greystone United Presbyterian Church
 * Manorville: Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church
 * Redbank: St. Mary's Episcopal Church


 * Armstrong County Church Records is sponsored by the Armstrong County Genealogical Project. There are records of a few churches represented in this website, and the information varies greatly from a history of the church to lists of members or baptisms.

Catholic

 * "100 years of the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese 1843–1943". Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society Quarterly, 17:1. FamilySearch Library book 974.8 B2wg. Contains chronolgy, map, county-by-county information.

Lutheran

 * 1838 - 1883 Bapismal records for Forks-Zion Lutheran Church with additional information on individuals listed.
 * 1840 - 1889 - Church Book of the Reformed and Lutheran Churches: Plum Creek Township, Armstrong Co., PA at USGenWeb. The books from which these records were taken were in the old Church at Gastown, Pennsylvania. The records are not consistent from minister to minister.

Presbyterian
In 1802 two Presbyterian churches were organizes about eight miles apart on the west side of the Allegheny River in Buffalo Township. From those two churches sprang all the Presbyterian churches in the county.

Calvin United Presbyterian Church, Apollo


 * 1863 - 1880 Calvin United Presbyterian Church, Apollo, Baptism Index 1863-1880 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

First Presbyterian Church, Apollo


 * 1848 - 1885 First Presbyterian Church, Apollo, Baptism Index 1848-1885 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.
 * 1858 - 1904 First Presbyterian Church, Apollo, Marriage Index 1858-1904 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

First Presbyterian Church, Kittanning


 * 1830 - 1875 First Presbyterian Church, Kittanning, Baptism Index 1830-1875 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.
 * 1842 - 1880 First Presbyterian Church, Kittanning, Marriage Index 1842-1880 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

Presbyterian Church, Brady's Bend


 * 1851 - 1859 Presbyterian Church, Brady's Bend, Baptism Index 1851-1859 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.
 * 1856 - 1866 Presbyterian Church, Brady's Bend, Baptism Index 1856-1866 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. Armstrong County has its own judicial district. Judges of the Common Pleas courts are elected to 10-year terms. A president judge and a court administrators serve in each judicial district.

History

 * History of Armstrong County Pennsylvania, published in 1883 by Robert Walter Smith, has been transcribed and posted online at the Armstrong County Genealogy Project. The description on the site says, "This history is considered to be the best Armstrong County resource for researchers. It contains very detailed information about each of the townships to include the descriptions of the property and who owned it."
 * The two volumes of History of Armstrong County, Pa, Her People, Past and Present have been transcribed and posted online as part of the Armstrong County Genealogy Project. Volume 1 contains the historical record of the county and volume 2 contains hundreds of biographical articles of Armstrong County people.

Land and Property
Land records in Armstrong County began in 1805. These records are filed with the Register and Recorder office in Kittanning, 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


 * 1805–present Armstrong County offers online access to indexes and images. Fees apply.

Land Records on Microfilm


 * 1805 – 1941 Deeds, 1805-1891; Index, 1805-1941.

Maps


 * 1793 – 1906 Land Surveys.

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

Additional Resources

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 Armstrong 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 Map of Armstrong Co., Pennsylvania which was published in 1861 and is referred to in histories of the county as "Pomeroy's Map." While the physical maps are in the public domain, the images we have taken of the maps belong to us and are not to be used to commercially. We hereby give permission to use them strictly for personal use; please attribute to Ancestor Tracks.

Revolutionary War
Men living in what is now Armstrong County (then Westmoreland County) served in the 8th Pennsylvania Regiment.

Naturalization and Citizenship
Naturalization Records available for Armstrong 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

Original Naturalization Records on Microfilm


 * 1807 - 1906 Naturalization Docket

Newspapers
Newspapers of Armstrong 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 Armstrong County.
 * USGenWeb Armstrong County Newspaper Extracts

Newspaper Excerpts and Abstracts


 * Shirley, Carmella Corcetti (collected and arranged), Marriages and anniversaries: taken from the Leader Times newspapers, 1922-1962-1997-1998-1999-200 the Vandergrift News, 1997-1998-1999-2001 (Chicora, Pennsylvania:Mechling Bookbindery, c2002)

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


 * PAGenWeb Armstrong County Obituaries
 * PA-Roots Obituaries for Armstrong County.
 * Armstrong County Obituaries at Armstrong County, Pennsylvania USGenWeb Archives

Obituary Excerpts and Abstracts


 * Shirley, Carmella Corcetti, Obituary Abstracts from Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, Newspapers (Butler, Pennsylvania, Mechling Bookbindery, c1997,c2002)

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

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


 * 1805 - 1918 Will Books -Index included: 1797-1961
 * 1805 - 1881 Probate Records -index included: 1805-1935

Probate Abstracts


 * Armstrong County Wills and Estate Records at Armstrong County, Pennsylvania USGenWeb Archives Includes Will Book Index, Books 1- 3 and many abstracts of wills and estate records.

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

Courthouse
Armstrong County Courthouse 450 Market St. Kittanning, PA 16201 Phone: (724) 543-2500

Orphan's Court Suite 102 Phone: (724) 548-3220

Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts Armstrong County Courthouse 500 E. Market Street Suite 103 Kittanning, PA 16201 Phone: (724) 548-3252

Libraries
The Armstrong County Library system do not appear to have a central library. There are currently four libraries in the system:Apollo, Ford City, Kittanning and Worthington Libraries.

Societies
Armstrong County Historical Museum and Genealogical Society 300 N Mckean St Kittaning, PA 16201-1373 Phone: (724) 548-5707 The Society has collected historical and genealogical records including family and church histories. It offers a look-up service; check site for rates.

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.
 * 1852 - 1854 Pennsylvania Births Ancestry.com – ($) Index with images.
 * 1897 - 1971 Armstrong County Birth Index, Volumes 5-23, 1897-1971 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.

Marriage

 * 1677 - 1950 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1700 - 1821 Pennsylvania Marriage Records Ancestry.com – ($) This database is incomplete for all counties.
 * Pre-1810 Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry.com – ($) This database is incomplete for all counties. Includes 35,000 marriage records from vol. VIII of of the second series of the Pennsylvania Archives.
 * 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.
 * 1852 - 1854 Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry.com – ($) Index with images.
 * 1885 - 1887 Armstrong County Marriage Index 1885-1887 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch.
 * 1885 - 1950  Extracted marriage records – free. This database is incomplete for all counties. May also contain marriage records earlier than 1885.
 * Armstrong Marriages - USGenWeb.
 * Armstrong Marriages - PAGenWeb.

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

Deaths

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

Genealogy Societies and Libraries

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

Armstrong County Pennsylvania Genealogy Websites

 * Armstrong County, PA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Armstrong County Genealogy Project
 * Armstrong County PAGenWeb
 * Armstrong County USGenWeb Archives
 * Linkpendium - Armstrong County
 * Armstrong County Old Photos
 * , for Armstrong County
 * Armstrong County PA Genealogy