Armstrong County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

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

Description
It is named for John Armstrong, who represented Pennsylvania in the Continental Congress and served as a major general during the Revolutionary War. It is located in the west-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Armstrong County Courthouse450 Market St. Kittanning, PA 16201 Phone: 724-543-2500 Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts, Phone: 724-548-3252 Armstrong County Courthouse Orphan's Court, Phone: 724-548-3220

Armstrong County, Pennsylvania Record Dates
County Register and Recorder has birth, death and burial records 1893-1905, marriage records from 1895, and probate and land records from 1805

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:

Bible Records

 * Armstrong County Bible Records at USGenWeb Archives
 * Family Bibles at Rural Valley History

Cemeteries
Additional Cemetery Resources


 * ca.1700-ca.1950 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images (incomplete)
 * Pennsylvania Genealogy LDS Genealogy
 * Names in Stone
 * Ancestry ($)

Census Records
Federal Census
 * 1850-1880  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Church Records

 * 1620-1991 (*) at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

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 $


 * 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 Baptismal 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. Batch

First Presbyterian Church, Apollo


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

First Presbyterian Church, Kittanning


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

Presbyterian Church, Brady's Bend


 * 1851-1859 Presbyterian Church, Brady's Bend, Baptism Index 1851-1859 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch
 * 1856-1866 Presbyterian Church, Brady's Bend, Baptism Index 1856-1866 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch

List of Churches and Church Parishes


 * FamilySearch Places

Directories

 * 1896-1897 (*); at FamilySearch Catalog — images

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1798-1828  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; Alphabet index then by numbered entry
 * 1900-1923  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only (by county)
 * 1952-1957   at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

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

Online Land Records


 * 1805–present Armstrong County offers online access to indexes and images. Fees apply.
 * 1805–1941 Deeds, 1805-1891; Index, 1805-1941.  - images only; click on the camera icon to view images

Maps


 * 1793–1906 Land Surveys.

Local Histories

 * Armstrong County, Pennsylvania; her People, Past and Present. 2 volumes. 1914. Chicago, Illinois : J.H. Beers & Co. Online at: Vol. 1 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive; Vol. 2 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust, Internet Archive;.
 * Biographical and Historical Cyclopedia of Indiana and Armstrong Counties, Pennsylvania. 1891. Ed. by Samuel T. Wiley. Philadelphia [J.M. Gresham & co.]  Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($);.
 * History of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. 1883. By Robert Walter Smith. Waterman, Watkins & Co. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($).

Maps and Gazetteers
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.
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

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

Civil War
 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

World War II
 * 1933-1947  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Naturalization and Citizenship
Naturalization Records available for Armstrong County, Pennsylvania include the following:

Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * 1795-1931  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1795-1952  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1807-1906 Naturalization Docket  - 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

Newspapers
Newspapers of Armstrong County

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.


 * Chronicling America US Newspaper Directory
 * Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive
 * Pennsylvania Newspapers

Online Newspaper Abstracts


 * PA-Roots Newspaper Articles for Armstrong County.
 * USGenWeb Armstrong County Newspaper Extracts
 * 1947-2010  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

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
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 Indexes and Records


 * 1683-1994  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only (by county)
 * 1683-1993 Pennsylvania Wills and Probate Records 1683-1993 at Ancestry $ - images only; click on the camera icon to view images
 * 1805-1918 Will Books -Index included: 1797-1961 - images only; click on the camera icon to view images
 * 1805-1881 Probate Records -index included: 1805-1935 - images only; click on the camera icon to view images
 * 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.

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Birth

 * 1520-1999  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1726-1930   at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1852-1854 Pennsylvania Births Ancestry $
 * 1897-1971 Armstrong County Birth Index, Volumes 5-23, 1897-1971 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch.
 * 1941-1976 - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Marriage

 * 1512-1989  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1626-2016 Pennsylvania, United States Marriages at Findmypast $
 * 1677–1950 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1682-1976 FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1700-1821  Pennsylvania Marriage Records Ancestry $
 * 1709-1940  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * Pre-1810  Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry $
 * 1852-1854 Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry $
 * 1885-1950 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * Armstrong Marriages - PAGenWeb.
 * 1947-2021  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Death

 * 1720-1999  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index, some images
 * 1852-1854 Pennsylvania Deaths Ancestry $
 * 1856-1971  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Divorce
Divorce records are available through the office of the Prothonotary located at the county courthouse.

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

FamilySearch Centers

 * Butler Pennsylvania Family History Center
 * Indiana Pennsylvania Family History Center
 * Pittsburgh Pennsylvania 3rd Family History Center
 * Apollo Memorial Library - an affiliate library.
 * Butler Area Public Library - an affiliate library.

Libraries
Armstrong County Library System Website There are currently six libraries in the system:
 * Apollo
 * Ford City
 * Freeport
 * Kittanning
 * Leechburg
 * Worthington

Societies
Armstrong County Historical Museum and Genealogical Society 300 N Mckean St Kittaning, PA 16201-1373 Phone: 724-548-5707 Website The Society has collected historical and genealogical records including family and church histories.

Websites

 * Armstrong County Genealogy Project
 * Armstrong County PAGenWeb
 * Armstrong County USGenWeb Archives
 * Linkpendium - Armstrong County
 * Armstrong County Old Photos
 * Armstrong 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.