Somerset County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

Guide to Somerset County, Pennsylvania ancestry, family history and genealogy in courthouse 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.

Somerset County Pennsylvania Historical Facts
Parent Counties: Formed from Bedford County 17 April 1795.

County Seat: Somerset

Neighboring Counties: Somerset County residents may also have records in:


 * Cambria
 * Garrett County, Maryland
 * Allegany County, Maryland
 * Westmoreland
 * Fayette
 * Bedford

Named for the County of Somerset in England.

Description
The county was named after Somerset, United Kingdom. It's county seat is Somerset and was founded April 17, 1795. It is located in the Southcentral tip of the state.

Boundary Changes
26 March 1804: Cambria County was set off.

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.

Biographies

 * Somerset County Biographies courtesy USGenWeb Archives

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

Additional Cemetery Resources


 * PA-Roots
 * Names in Stone
 * Ancestry($)

Church Records


The Somerset County Historical Center has various records for churches throughout the Somerset County area. However, the society has not put the records on-line and to view the records one must go to the society. The society will do research for a fee. For more details see their website.

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.
 * Somerset County Church History and Records courtesy USGenWeb Archives

Catholic

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

Episcopal
Services for the St. James Episcopal Church in Bedford began as early as 1755 but was not an organized parish until 1861.

Lutheran
Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church was organized by 1785 although the exact date is unknown. The Lutheran and German Reformed congregations met at the same union church until 1848.


 * 1812-1875 Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church Baptism Index 1812-1875 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.
 * 1818-1871 Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church Marriage Index 1818-1871 (gap 1849-1860) in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

Evangelical Lutheran Church, Stoyestown


 * 1798-1881 Evangelical Lutheran Church, Stoyestown, Baptism Index 1798-1881 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

Glade Reformed and Lutheran Congregation, Stony Creek Township


 * 1798, 1811-1866 Glade Reformed and Lutheran Congregation, Stony Creek Township, Baptism Index 1798, 1811-1866 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

Grace White Oak Lutheran and Reformed Church, Formerly Reichards


 * 1830-1875 Grace White Oak Lutheran and Reformed Church, Formerly Reichards, Baptism Index 1830-1875 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

Methodist
In 1809, the Methodist Episcopal church was formed.

Presbyterian
The Presbyterians were in the county early although no exact date is known, although, the first known paster came in 1786. The First Presbyterian Church building in the county was erected in Bedford in 1800.

Reformed
The Reformed Church of Bedford was in the county early although no known date is known although it is believed it was before 1769. They met in a union church with the Lutherans until they separated in 1848.

German Reformed Church, Centreville


 * 1850-1883 German Reformed Church, Centreville, Baptism Index 1850-1883 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.
 * 1873-1883 German Reformed Church, Centreville, Marriage Index 1873-1883 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

German Reformed Church, New Centerville


 * 1850-1883 German Reformed Church, New Centerville, Baptism Index 1850-1883 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.
 * 1873-1883 German Reformed Church, New Centerville, Marriage Index 1873-1883 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

German Reformed Church, Stoyestown


 * 1799-1875 German Reformed Church, Stoyestown, Baptism Index 1799-1875 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

Glade Reformed and Lutheran Congregation, Stony Creek Township


 * 1798, 1811-1866 Glade Reformed and Lutheran Congregation, Stony Creek Township, Baptism Index 1798, 1811-1866 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

Grace White Oak Lutheran and Reformed Church, Formerly Reichards


 * 1830-1875 Grace White Oak Lutheran and Reformed Church, Formerly Reichards, Baptism Index 1830-1875 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

Mt. Tabor Reformed Church formerly Union Church or Zimmermans, Quemahoning Township


 * 1839-1875 Mt. Tabor Reformed Church formerly Union Church or Zimmermans, Quemahoning Township, Baptism Index 1839-1875 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

Reformed Church, Friedens


 * 1852-1875 Reformed Church, Friedens, Baptism Index 1852-1875 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. Somerset County has its own judicial district. Judges of the Common Pleas courts are elected to 10-year terms. A president judge and a court administrator serve in each judicial district.


 * 1753-1922 Coroner's Inquisitions

Orphans' Court

 * 1800-1902 Orphans court Docket (index 1795–1920)

History

 * Blackburn, E. Howard, History of Bedford and Somerset Counties, Pennsylvania, 1906 courtesy USGenWeb Archives

Land and Property
Land records in Somerset County began in 1795. These records are filed with the Recorder of Deeds office in Somerset, 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


 * 1985-present Images are available online using the Landex system. There is a fee to view the images.

Land Records on Microfilm


 * 1795–1949 Record of Deeds, 1795-1902; Index to Deeds, 1795-1949.
 * 1795–1964 Index to Mortgagor and Mortgagee, 1795-1964; Mortgage Records, v. 1-2 1846-1871.
 * 1803–1922 Sheriff's Deeds.

Additional Resources

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

Click the image to view an enlarged version

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 Somerset 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 free downloadable images from the Somerset County Atlas of Surveys and Warrants Collected and Plotted as a WPA Project, 1939. This atlas located in the Office of Recorder of Deeds in Somerset includes maps showing the first landowners, warrants, surveys, and patents, but they are not indexed.  While the physical maps may be in the public domain, the images we have taken of them 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.

Civil

 * Service of Somerset County Men and Women involved in the Civil War Work in Progress. Courtesy USGenWeb Archives

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

Naturalization and Citizenship
Naturalization records available for Somerset 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


 * 1800-1906 Naturalization Records

Newspapers
Newspapers of Somerset County


 * Pennsylvania Newspapers
 * Chronicling America US Newspaper Directory
 * USGenWeb - Newspapers in the 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.


 * The Somerset Herald and Farmers' and Mechanics Register (Somerset, PA) 183?-1852 Chronicling America.
 * Somerset Herald (Somerset, PA) 18?? - ???? Chronicling America.
 * The Somerset Herald (Somerset, PA) 1870-1936 Chronicling America.

Online Newspaper Abstracts


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

Newspaper Extracts and Abstracts


 * Somerset Whip (Somerset County, Pennsylvania) and Somerset Democrat (Somerset County, Pennsylvania), Newspapers, The Somerset Whig, 1818,1819; The Somerset Democrat, 1864 (SLC, Utah, 1968)

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 Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
 * USGenWeb - Obituary Records
 * Obituaries provided online from 1930 to the present hosted on USGenWeb Archives

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:


 * 1683-1993 Pennsylvania Wills and Probate Records 1683-1993 at Ancestry.com — index and images $


 * 1683-1994  at FamilySearch.org

Somerset County Only:


 * 1795–1916 Somerset County Probate Records

Original Probate Records on Microfilm


 * 1795–1916 Orphans court records (index 1795–1922)
 * 1795–1907 Index of estate records, docket, record of executors and administration accounts, auditor's reports (index 1795–1921)
 * 1889–1937 Partition Docket, vol. 1

Repositories

 * List of Pennsylvania Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical &amp; Genealogical Societies

Courthouse

 * Somerset County Courthouse 111 East Union Street Somerset, PA 15501 Phone: 814-445-1473 Hours: Monday-Friday 8:30AM-4:00PM


 * Copies of documents including birth, marriages, deaths, divorces, land, and probate records can be obtained by using: Pennsylvania Public Record. Click on the link for the record you wish to request.


 * Clerk of Courts Somerset County Courthouse 111 East Union Street, Suite 180 Phone: 814-445-1435


 * Prothonotary's Office Somerset County Courthouse 111 East Union Street, Suite 165 Phone: 814-445-1428 Fax: 814-444-9270 Email: [mailto:prothonotary@co.somerset.pa.us prothonotary@co.somerset.pa.us]


 * Clerk of Orphans' Court Somerset County Courthouse 111 East Union Street, Suite 145 Phone: 814-445-1548 Fax: 814-444-1542 Email: [mailto:ackermans@co.somerset.pa.us ackermans@co.somerset.pa.us]

Libraries
Meyersdale Public Library Pennsylvania Room 210 Center St PO Box 98 Meyersdale, PA15552 Phone: 814-634-0512 Website
 * Genealogical resources for the county and state. Visit website for services and fees.

Roller-Hojeth Memorial Library Blair County Genealogical Society 431 Scotch Valley Rd. Hollidaysburg, PA 16648 Phone: (814) 696-3492 Website
 * Collection covers Blair and surrounding counties, particularly Huntingdon, Cambria, and Bedford Counties.

Museums

 * Somerset Historical Center Western Pennsylvania's Rural Heritage Museum 10649 Somerset Pike Somerset, PA 15501 Phone: 814-445-6077 Email: [mailto:c-sseese@pa.gov c-sseese@pa.gov]

The Museum also holds the Genealogical Library maintained by the Historical and Genealogical Society of Somerset County Pennsylvania. See the society listed below.

Societies

 * Somerset Historical Center 10649 Somerset Pike Somerset, PA 15501 Phone: 814-445-6077 Email: [mailto:c-sseese@pa.gov c-sseese@pa.gov] Facebook
 * The Historical and Genealogical Society of Somerset County Pennsylvania maintains a library at the Somerset Historical Center. The collection includes records of birth, marriage, death, maps, military, newspapers, obituaries, tax, estate, family files, county histories, church records, and an online WPA Cemetery Index. Visit website for services and fees.

Research Guides
Woodroofe's guide to Somerset County "hidden sources" at The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania is available online:


 * Woodroofe, Helen Hutchison. "A Genealogist's Guide to Pennsylvania Records," The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine, Vol. 34, No. 3 (1986):252-263. For free online access, see WeRelate.

Taxation

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

Vital Records
See also How to order Pennsylvania Vital Records

Birth

 * 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.

Marriage

 * 1677-1950  at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 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.
 * 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.

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.
 * 1853-1908 Somerset County Death Index 1853-1908 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.

Somerset County Pennsylvania Genealogy Websites

 * Somerset County, PA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Somerset County PA Genealogy