Union County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

United States Pennsylvania Union County

Historical Facts

 * Parent Counties: Formed from Northumberland County 22 March 1813.
 * County Seat: Lewisburg
 * Neighboring Counties: residents may also have records in Lycoming (north)  •  Snyder (south)  •  Clinton (northwest)  •  Centre (west)  •  Northumberland (east)  •  Mifflin (southwest)

The name is an allusion to the federal union.

Boundary Changes
2 March 1855: Snyder County was set off.

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

Church Records


Additional church records can be located at Linkpendium and by searching the Family History Library Catalog. The FHLC has a plethora offor Union County, many are limited in the time frame they cover. When searching the FHL catalog, be sure to also search at the town and township level.

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:
 * Lewisburg: Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church; St. John's United Church of Christ; United Methodist Church
 * Mifflinburg: St. John's United Church of Christ; United Methodist Church
 * New Berlin: Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church; United Brethren in Christ

Addresses for Union County Churches by USGenWeb

Land and Property
Land records in Union County began in 1813. These records are filed with the Recorder of Deeds office in Lewisburg, 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


 * 1962 - present The Recorder of Deeds offers records since 1962 online. The index is free to view, but there is a charge to view the actual image.

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 Union 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
Ancestor Tracks has posted free downloadable images from the Pomeroy &amp; Beers 1868 Atlas of Union &amp; Snyder Counties, 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 to be used commercially. We hereby give permission to use them strictly for personal use; please attribute to Ancestor Tracks.

Revolutionary War
Men from what is now Union County (then Northumberland County) served in the 1st Pennsylvania Regiment.

Newspapers
Newspapers of Union County


 * Pennsylvania Newspapers
 * Chronicling America US Newspaper Directory
 * Newspapers of Union County A PAGenWeb Project

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.


 * Lewisburg Chronicle and West Branch Farmer (Lewisburg, PA) 1850
 * Union County Star and Lewisburg Chronicle (Lewisburg, PA) 1859-1864

Online Newspaper Abstracts


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

Newspaper and Obituary Excerpts and Abstracts


 * Lontz, Mary Belle, Central Pennsylvania Deaths and Marriages, 1771-1882 : Abstracts from Various Newspapers, Publications and Court Records Throughout the Area (Hollidaysburg, PA:Hoenstine Rental Library, 1987?)

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 Union County, Pennsylvania.

Probate Records

 * Fisher, Charles A. Wills and Administrations of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. Including Wills and Administrations of Union, Mifflin and Indiana Counties. 1950. Digital version at - free. Abstracts and index.

Courthouse
Union County Courthouse 103 South Second Street Lewisburg, PA 17837 Phone: 570-524-8751 (Prothonotary) Phone: 570-524-8761 (Register of Wills) Hours 8:30–4:30


 * Prothonotary office is on the first floor and archives all marriage and death certificates. Prothonotary Office
 * Register of Wills have all estate from 1813 on microfilm.

103 South Second Street First Floor Lewisburg, PA 17837 Phone: 570-524-8751 Fax: 570-524-8628

Birth

 * 1771-1930 - - 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.

Marriage

 * 1700-1821 - Pennsylvania Marriage Records Ancestry.com – ($) This database is incomplete for all counties.
 * 1725-1976 - - free index. Not complete for all years. This index is an electronic database of information. The entries are primarily from the International Genealogical Index (IGI) along with some entries derived from compiled and original records such as: Family Records, Church Records, Civil Registration. It may also include indexes generated by the internet indexing project sponsored by the LDS Church.
 * Pre-1810 – Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry.com – ($) 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.
 * 1852–1976 - - free index. Not complete for all years.
 * 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.

Clerk of Courts Union County Courthouse 103 South Second Street First Floor Lewisburg, PA 17837 Phone: 570-524-8751 Fax: 570-524-8628

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.

Web Sites

 * USGenWeb project. Union County, May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.