Crawford County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

Guide to Crawford County, Pennsylvania ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Description
The county was named for Colonel William Crawford. The county is located in the Northwest section of the state.

County Courthouse
Crawford County Courthouse Judicial Center, 2nd Floor 359 E. Center St. Meadville, PA 16335 Phone:814-333-7442 Fax:  814-333-7349 Register of Wills and Recorder of Deeds Phone: 814-333-7324 Prothonotary Phone: 814–333-7324 Email:  [mailto:earnett@co.crawford.pa.us earnett@co.crawford.pa.us] Orphans' Court Phone:  814-333-7442  Fax:   814-333-7349 Crawford County Website

The Register/Recorder maintains probate records and land records back to 1800.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Biographies

 * Columbia County Biographies at Columbia County, Pennsylvania USGenWeb Archives

Cemeteries
Additional Cemetery Resources
 * LDS Genealogy

Church Records


County-wide Database - Multi-denominational
 * 1708-1985 Pennsylvania, Church and Town Records, 1708-1985 at Historical Society of Pennsylvania – $, to members of the society; Also available at Ancestry $

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.

Guardianship

 * 1814-1869 Orphans' Court dockets . Indexes are found at the beginning of each volume.

Land and Property Records
Land records in Crawford County began in 1800. These records are filed with the Register and Recorder office in Meadville, Pennsylvania.

Online Land Records
 * 1800 -1925 Deeds, 1800-1825; Index, 1800-1925. - images only; click on the camera icon to view images
 * 1800 -1925 Mortgages, 1800-1828; Indexes, 1800-1925. - images only; click on the camera icon to view images

Local Histories

 * Bates, Samuel P. et al. History of Crawford County, Pennsylvania: Containing a History of the County; Its Townships, Towns, Villages, Schools, Churches, Industries, etc.; Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men; Biographies; History of Pennsylvania; Statistical and Miscellaneous Matter, etc., etc Chicago: Warner, Beers and Co., 1885. Digital version at Internet Archive
 * Crawford County, Pennsylvania Publications

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps
 * Maps of Pennsylvania (1673-1878)
 * Ancestor Tracks has posted downloadable images from the 1876 Historical Atlas of Crawford County, Pennsylvania published by J.C. McDowell. This atlas located in the files of the Pennsylvania State Archives in Harrisburg, PA, shows major landowners and geographic sites at the date of publishing. While the physical documents 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.

Military Records

 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * 1802-1906 Naturalization Dockets, v. 1-3 - images only; click on the camera icon to view images
 * 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 $
 * 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 $
 * Naturalization Index - images only; click on the camera icon to view images

Newspapers
Newspapers of Crawford County


 * Pennsylvania Newspapers
 * Chronicling America, US Newspaper Directory
 * Meadville Tribute

Online Newspaper Abstracts


 * PA-Roots Newspaper Articles for Crawford County.
 * 1947-2010  at FamilySearch

Obituaries
Online Obituary Abstracts


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

Probate Records
Online Probate Index and Records
 * 1683-1993 Pennsylvania Wills and Probate Records 1683-1993 at Ancestry $
 * 1800-1970 Crawford County Probate Records at FamilySearch
 * 1800-1889 Register's Dockets - Index included: 1800-1970; images only; click on the camera icon to view images
 * 1813-1906 Will Books - images only; click on the camera icon to view images

Birth

 * 1726-1930  index. Not complete for all years. This collection is an 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 $

Marriage

 * 1626-2016 Pennsylvania, United States Marriages at FindMyPast$
 * 1677-1950  at FamilySearch
 * 1700-1821 Pennsylvania Marriage Records Ancestry $
 * 1725-1976 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 $
 * 1825-1865 Methodist circuit rider marriages including Crawford County in USGenWeb.
 * 1852-1854 Crawford County Marriage Index 1852-1854 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch
 * 1852-1854 Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry $
 * 1885-1950  Extracted marriage records – This database is incomplete for all counties. May also contain marriage records earlier than 1885.

Death

 * 1720-1999  at FamilySearch — index, some images
 * 1850-1880  at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1852-1854 Pennsylvania Deaths Ancestry $
 * 1893-1905 Meadville, Crawford County, Death Index 1893-1905 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch

Divorce
Divorce records are available through the office of the Prothonotary.

Archives

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

Family History Centers

 * Meadville Pennsylvania Family History Center

Museums

 * Cambridge Springs Historical Museum 26 Federal Street Cambridge Springs, PA 16403 Phone: 814-398-1827

Societies

 * Crawford County Historical Society P.O. Box 411 Meadville, PA 16335 Phone: 814-724-6080 Website
 * Crawford County Genealogical Society P.O. Box 514 Meadville, PA 16335-0514
 * Conneaut Valley Area Historical Society 1625 Main St. P.O. Box 266 Conneautville, PA 16406 Phone: 814-587-3782 Website
 * Linesville Historical Society 120 Erie St Linesville, PA 16424 Phone: 814-683-4299

Websites

 * Crawford County PAGenWeb
 * Crawford County PA Genealogy
 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.