Lycoming County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

United States Pennsylvania Lycoming County

Historical Facts

 * Parent Counties: Formed from Northumberland County 13 April 1795.
 * County Seat: Williamsport
 * Neighboring Counties: residents may also have records in Tioga (north) • Clinton (west) • Columbia (southeast)  • Union, Montour, and Northumberland (south)  •  Sullivan and Bradford (northeast)  •  Potter (northwest)

Lycoming County was originally named Jefferson County (not the current Jefferson County) in honor of Thomas Jefferson. This name proved to be unsatisfactory. The name change went through several steps. First a change to Lycoming County was rejected, next the name Susquehanna County (not the current Susquehanna County) was struck down as was Muncy County, before the legislature revisited and settled on Lycoming County for Lycoming Creek the stream that was the center of the pre-Revolutionary border dispute.

Boundary Changes
The county was divided several times into a large number of counties.


 * 12 March 1800: Armstrong, Centre, Venango, Warren
 * 30 March 1803: Indiana
 * 26 March 1804: Clearfield, Jefferson, McKean, Potter, Tioga
 * 21 February 1810: Ontario
 * 21 January 1839: Clinton
 * 15 March 1847: Sullivan

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

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:
 * Jersey Shore: Epworth United Methodist Church; First United Methodist Church; Lutheran Church; Trinity United Methodist Church
 * Lock Haven: United Methodist Church
 * Montgomery: First United Methodist Church
 * Montoursville: Bethany Lutheran Church; United Methodist Church
 * Muncy: St. Andrew's Evangelical Lutheran Church of Muncy
 * Newberry: United Methodist Church
 * Oriole: Oriole United Methodist Church
 * Picture Rocks: United Methodist Church, Picture Rocks Charge
 * Quiggleville: Central PA Conference of the United Methodist Church
 * Williamsport: Christ Episcopal Church; Christ United Methodist Church; Covenant Central Presbyterian Church; First Baptist Church; First United Methodist Church; Immanuel German Reformed Church; Pine Street United Methodist Church; Presbyterian Church; St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church; St. John's Methodist Episcopal Church; St. Luke's Lutheran Church; St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church; St. Paul Methodist Church; St. Paul's Lutheran Church; United Methodist Church; Wesley United Methodist Church

Union churches were formed in many townships. These churches met with their respective congregations, but shared the church property with those of other faiths. They were called Union churches

Baptist
Of the main religious sects, the Baptists were one of the last to come to Lycoming County. Hughesville settlers were largely Baptist. They founded their church in 1849. Baptists organized in Muncy (1841), Jersey Shore (1842), Montgomery (1832), and other locations in the county.

Episcopalian
Episcopalian circuit riders were in Lycoming County as early as 1797. Congregations were established in Muncy (1819), Mountoursville, Williamsport, and other locations in the county.

Lutheran
Lutherans were prominent from very early in the history of Lycoming County. Churches were organized in Muncy Creek (pre-1800), Muncy (1852), Jersey Shore (1869), Mountoursville, Williamsport, Montgomery, Huntersville (Trinity Church), and other locations in the county.

Methodist
Methodism was popular early in Lycoming County history. Preaching began as early as 1821. Congregations were formed in Muncy (1821), Jersey Shore (1829), Mountoursville, Hughesville, Mill Creek (Centennial, 1800), and other locations in the county.

Methodist Episcopal
Williamsport was the site of one of the early Methodist Epsicopal churches in Lycoming County.

Presbyterian
Presbyterians established congregations throughout Lycoming County. Towns with churches included Muncy (1834), Jersey Shore (1793), Mountoursville, Montgomery, and other locations in the county.


 * 1850s-1870s - Jersey Shore Presbyterian Church Baptisms at The USGenWeb Project - free.

United Brethren
United Brethren met in Williamsport as early as 1886.

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. 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.

Prothonotary
The Prothonotary/Clerk of Courts office is located under Elected Officials at the Lycoming County Government page.

Land and Property
Land records in Lycoming County began in 1804. These records are filed with the Register and Recorders office in Williamsport, 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:

Land Records on Microfilm


 * 1825–1873 Mortgages.

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 Lycoming 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 1873 Atlas of Lycoming County Pennsylvania from Actual Surveys by and under the Direction of Beach Nichols, published by A. Poweroy &amp; Co. 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 be used commercially. We hereby give permission to use them strictly for personal use; please attribute to Ancestor Tracks.

Newspapers
Newspapers of Lycoming County


 * Pennsylvania Newspapers
 * Chronicling America US Newspaper Directory
 * 1807-1904 - Lycoming Newspaper Index 1807-1904 at James V. Brown Library - free. Includes marriages, obituaries, funerals, political activities, court cases, land sale notices, and news items.

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.

Online Newspaper Abstracts


 * PA-Roots Newspaper Articles for Lycoming County, Pennsylvania.
 * Lycoming Gazette published by William Brindle and hosted by USGenNet.org

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 Lycoming County, Pennsylvania.
 * Lycoming County Obituaries hosted by USGenNet.org.

Probate Records
Original Probate Records on Microfilm


 * 1795-1850 Probate Records of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania

Courthouse
Lycoming County Courthouse 48 West Third Street Williamsport, PA 17701

Prothonotary/Clerk of Courts Regular hours, Mon-Fri 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Phone: 570–327-2251

Register and Recorder's Office Courthouse, 1st floor Mon-Fri, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Phone: 570–327-2263

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Williamsport Pennsylvania Family History Center (Cogan Station)

Societies
Lycoming County Genealogical Society 858 West Fourth Street Williamsport, PA 17701-5824 Phone: 570–326-3326 ask for the library extension The genealogical collection is housed in the Taber Museum. Hours: Tuesday – Saturday from 12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m., or by appointment The collection includes over 2,000 rare documents and books, including deeds, maps, manuscript collections, local and county histories, township tax records and city directories. The society has photographed nearly all headstones in the county. Copies are available from the society. Holdings also include indexed county naturalization records.

If you would like someone to conduct family research for you, you may contact the Genealogical Society, either at the museum’s phone number (570-326-3326) or at the Genealogical Society’s email address:[mailto:lycominglineage@gmail.com lycominglineage@gmail.com]

Taxation

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

Birth

 * 1726-1930 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

 * 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. 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.

Web Sites

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