Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

United States Pennsylvania Montgomery County

Historical Facts

 * Parent Counties: Formed from Philadelphia County 10 September 1784.
 * County Seat: Norristown
 * Neighboring Counties: residents may also have records in Lehigh (north) • Berks (west) • Philadelphia (southeast)  •  Delaware (south)  •  Chester(southwest)  •  Bucks (east)

Montgomery County was named for either Richard Montgomery, the American Revolutionary War general who was killed at Battle of Quebec in 1775 or for Montgomeryshire, Wales, from where much of early Welsh Quakers came from. The Quakers settled in the Welsh Tract. Early histories yielded nothing as to how the name came to be.

Boundary Changes
No counties were formed from Montgomery County.

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


 * Riverside Cemetery is a cemetery located in West Norriton Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania,
 * First Presbyterian Cemetery is located at 113 Airy St., Norristown, PA 19401
 * Reformed Church at Providence, St. Luke's Cemetery, Trappe BillionGraves

The Mennonite Heritage Center 565 Yoder Road Harleysville PA 19438-1020 215-256-3020 [mailto:library@mhep.org library@mhep.org] Hours: Tuesday thru Friday, 10am–5pm, Saturday, 10am–2pm 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.

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.

Episcopalian
St. James's Church, Perkiomen

Early registers, which began in 1730, are lost. Surviving registers date from 1800.

For a history, read:


 * Barrow, A.J. "St. James's, Perkiomen," The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 19 (1895):87-95. For free online access, see WeRelate.

St. Thomas's Church, Whitemarsh

Early registers "were destroyed in the Revolution."

Lutheran

 * 1745-1809 - Marriage Record of the Lutheran Church, New Hanover, Montgomery County, PA., 1748-1800 (Pennsylvania Archives, Series 2, Vol. 8, Part 7) at Ancestry ($); Google Books - free.


 * 1787-1856 - Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, 1787-1856: St. Peter's Yellow Church, North Wales Township at Ancestry ($). Births, marriages, deaths.

Methodist

 * 1920 - Directory, First Cheltenham Methodist Episcopal Church, Cheltenham, Pa. ... February, 1920 at Ancestry ($).

Reformed

 * 1748-1800 - Marriage Record of the Reformed Church, Falkner Swamp, Montgomery County, PA., 1748-1800 (Pennsylvania Archives, Series 2, Vol. 8, Part 6) at Ancestry ($); Google Books - free.


 * 1748-1854 - Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, 1748-1854: Falckner Swamp Reformed Congregation at Ancestry ($). Births, marriages, deaths.


 * 1753-1851 - Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, 1753-1851: Indian Creek Reformed Church at Ancestry ($). Baptisms, marriages.


 * 1770-1865 - Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, 1770-1865: Trinity Reformed Church of Pottstown at Ancestry ($). Births, marriages, deaths.


 * Directory, Boehm's Reformed Church ... Blue Bell Montgomery County, Pa., founded 1740 ... at Ancestry ($).


 * Directory, St. Paul's Memorial Church ... Oaks, Pa. ... Lent, 1926 at Ancestry ($).

Gazetteers

 * United States Geographic Survey Place Names - GNIS for Montgomery County (over 2000) (may not always be present in alphabetic order on first try.)

Land and Property
Land records in Montgomery County began in 1850. These records are filed with the Register and Recorder office in Norristown, 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

The Register and Recorder offers online access to land records (available years are unknown). The online indexes are free but fees apply for copies.

Land Records on Microfilm


 * 1784-1877 Deeds, 1784-1866; Index, 1784-1877.
 * 1784–1946 Mortgages, 1785-1822; Index, 1784-1946.

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 Montgomery 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
Click the image to view an enlarged version

Ancestor Tracks has posted free downloadable images from the 1868 Barnes' Driving Map of Philadelphia and Surroundings. This wall map located in the Library of Congress shows major landowner and geographic sites at the date of publishing. While the physcial maps are in the public 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.

Revolutionary War
Local newspapers published obituaries on many Montgomery County Revolutionary War veterans. Summers abstracted these records and his article is available for free online:


 * Summers, William. "Obituary Notices of Pennsylvania Soldiers of the Revolution," The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 38 (1914):443-460. For free online access, see WeRelate.

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes


 * 1784-1850 - Williams, Richard T. Index of Wills & Estate Settlements, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, 1784-1850. Danboro, Pa.: R.T. and M.C. Williams, 1972. Digital version at Ancestry ($).

Online Probate Records

Many original Montgomery County probate records are available free online as digital images at:


 * 1784-1973 – at FamilySearch.org - free. Includes  Will Index (1784-1942), Will Books 1-34 (1784-1907); Administration Record Index (1784-1941); Estate Index A-Z (1784-1973); Orphan's Court Dockets Volumes 1-15 (1784-1866); Proceedings Index Volumes 1-45 (1784-1973).

Archives
Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center, Library and Archive 105 Seminary Street Pennsburg, PA 18073 Phone: 215–679–3103 info@schwenkfelder.com This organization has over "200 unpublished records from churches in Montgomery, Berks, Lehigh and Bucks County, from the Schwenkfelder, Reformed, Lutheran, Mennonite, Brethren, and Roman Catholic congregations." It also has many years of five local newspapers, family genealogies and files, local and county histories, diaries, printed fraktur, cemetery records, photographs, and other types of records.

Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel 8339 Old York Road Elkins Park, PA 19027 Phone: (215) 887-8700 Fax: (215) 887-1070 The Archives has the records of this Jewish synagogue from 1847 when it started to the present.

Courthouse
Montgomery County Courthouse 493 Swede Streeet Norristown, PA 19401 PO Box 311 Norristown, PA 19404-0311 Telephone: (610) 278-3000 Hours: Mon. - Fri., 8:30am - 4:15pm Some of their offices include:


 * Register of Wills/Orphans’ Court One Montgomery Plaza 4th flr. Swede and Airy Streets Norristown, PA This office probates wills,processes intestate estates, and is an agent for the Commonwealth in collecting inheritance taxes.The Clerk of the Orphans’ Court issues marriage licenses and has charge of the Orphans’ Court dockets. Petitions for adoptions are filed here. The Register of Wills also keeps the records of all persons born in Montgomery County between 1893 and 1915. Records after that time are filed with the Department of Health.
 * Recorder of Deeds One Montgomery Plaza Swede and Airy Streets ~ Suite 303 P.O. Box 311 Norristown, PA 19404 Records and collects deeds. mortgages, and other land records for the county.
 * Prothonotary Office PO Box 311 Norristown, PA 19404-0311 This office is responsible for recording and filing a wide variety of legal papers such as: personal injury, medical malpractice, divorce, custody, protection from abuse, judgments, change of name, District Justice appeals, Federal income tax liens, and administers oaths and affirmations. They also processes passport applications.

Libraries
The Mennonite Heritage Center 565 Yoder Road Harleysville PA 19438-1020 215-256-3020 [mailto:library@mhep.org library@mhep.org] Hours: Tuesday thru Friday, 10am–5pm, Saturday, 10am–2pm

The Mennonite Historians of Eastern Pennsylvania support 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.

Museums
Valley Forge National Historical Park At this time the library and archives are only available by appointment: Dona M. McDermott, Archivist Valley Forge National Historical Park 1400 North Outer Line Drive King of Prussia, PA 19406 Office: 610-783-1034 Fax: 610-783-1060 Library: 610-296-2593 (only during scheduled appointments) Email: dona_mcdermott@nps.gov

Temple Judea Museum Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel 8339 Old York Road, (SE corner Township Line Road) Elkins Park, PA 19027 Phone: 215-887-2027 Email: TJMuseum@aol.com The museum has collections of art works, political items, military information, music, history, and more.

Societies
The Lower Merion Historical Society Located in the Lower Merion Academy 506 Bryn Mawr Ave. Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania 19004

The Society preserves historic resources of the Township of Lower Merion and the Borough of Narberth. They have a collection of online biographical sketches, burial records, early maps, and other historical items. In their library are countless records that can be identified by online searches.

Historical Society of Montgomery County 1654 DeKalb Street Norristown, PA 19401 Telephone: (601) 272-0297

The Society was established in 1881. They have a Library containing over thirty thousand titles including books, pamphlets, newspapers and archival materials, family files, censuses, city directories, maps, photographs, county and church records, and scrapbooks. A guide to the library will prepare you to visit their facility.

Schools
Pottstown, PA High School: 1941 Football Team Photo with names of individuals.

Taxation

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

Vital Records
The following records are available at the Montgomery County Records Department:


 * 1852-1855 Birth, Marriage and Death Records
 * 1893-1915 Birth and Death Records
 * 1841-1966 Delayed Birth Certificates
 * 1885 to present Marriage Records, with bride and groom index

Montgomery County Records Department 2000 Old Arch Rd Norristown PA 19404 Phone: 610-278-3441 Fax: 610-292-4966 [mailto:archives@montcopa.org archives@montcopa.org]

County-wide Database

 * 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. It includes 35,000 marriage records from volume VIII of the second series of the Pennsylvania Archives.

Birth
The following records are available at the Montgomery County Records Department:


 * 1852-1855 Birth Records
 * 1893-1915 Birth Records
 * 1841-1966 Delayed Birth Certificates


 * 1735-1898 - - free index. Not complete for all years
 * 1852-1854 – Pennsylvania Births Ancestry.com – ($) Index with images.

Marriage
The following records are available at the Montgomery County Records Department:


 * 1852-1855 Marriage Records
 * 1885 - present Marriage Records, with bride and groom index

Van Booskirk was a Justice of the Peace. He kept a marriage register in the early 1800s:


 * 1812-1839 - Van Booskirk, Mahlon. "Marriages from Squire Van Booskirk's Docket," The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 30 (1906):437-444. For free online access, see WeRelate.


 * Republished as:


 * 1812-1839 - "Marriage Record of Mahlon Van Booskirk," Publications of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, Vol. 4, No. 3 (Mar. 1911):305-311. For online access, see WeRelate; the Family History Library also has this series in its collection:.


 * 1755-1913 - - free index. Not complete for all years.


 * Index to Marriage Records at USGenWeb - Includes two indexes: the first is an alphabetical listing of brides and grooms in local newspapers, the second is a county marriage license search from the early 1990s to the presennt.

Divorce
Divorce records are handled by the office of the Prothonotary. Records may be obtained by visiting or writing.


 * 1784 - present Divorce Records

Office of the Prothonotary Montgomery County Courthouse 2 East Airy Street P.O. Box 311 Norristown PA 19404-0311 610-278-3360

Death
The following records are available at the Montgomery County Records Department:


 * 1852-1855 Death Records
 * 1893-1915 Death Records


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

Web Sites

 * The Montgomery County PAGenWeb Project, an member of The PAGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.

Populated Places
Home Rule Muncipalities

Boroughs

Townships

Communities