Lycoming County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

United States Pennsylvania  Lycoming County 

Historical Facts
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.

Parent County
13 April 1795: Lycoming County was created from Northumberland County.

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

Neighboring Counties
Bradford | Clinton | Columbia | Montour | Northumberland | Potter | Sullivan | Tioga | Union

Presbyterian

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

Land and Property
Register and Recorders Office Lycoming County Courthouse 48 West Third Street, 1st Floor Williamsport, PA 17701 Phone; (570) 327-2263

Due to the lack of vital records for Pennsylvania, land records are an important tool in early Pennsylvania research. Land records will list the seller and purchaser of the property and may hide clues to family connections. Land records for Lycoming County are available from the recorder's office for 1795 to the present.

Currently there are no on-line records.

Maps
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

 * 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.

Family History Centers

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

Taxation

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

Web Sites

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