Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

United States Pennsylvania  Montgomery County 

Historical Facts

 * Named for either Richard Montgomery, the American Revolutionary War general who was killed at Battle of Quebec in 1775 or for Montgomeryshire, Wales, from where much of early Welsh Quakers came from. The Quakers settled in the Welsh Tract. Early histories yielded nothing as to how the name came to be.

Parent County
10 September 1784: Montgomery County was created 10 September 1784 from Philadelphia County.

Boundary Changes
No counties were formed from Montgomery County.

Neighboring Counties
Berks | Bucks | Chester | Delaware | Lehigh | Philadelphia

Cemeteries

 * Riverside Cemetery is a cemetery located in West Norriton Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania,
 * First Presbyterian Cemetery is located at 113 Airy St., Norristown, PA 19401
 * Reformed Church at Providence, St. Luke's Cemetery, Trappe BillionGraves

Episcopalian
St. James's Church, Perkiomen

Early registers, which began in 1730, are lost. Surviving registers date from 1800.

For a history, read:


 * Barrow, A.J. "St. James's, Perkiomen," The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 19 (1895):87-95. For free online access, see WeRelate.

St. Thomas's Church, Whitemarsh

Early registers "were destroyed in the Revolution."

Lutheran

 * 1745-1809 - Marriage Record of the Lutheran Church, New Hanover, Montgomery County, PA., 1748-1800 (Pennsylvania Archives, Series 2, Vol. 8, Part 7) at Ancestry ($); Google Books - free.

Reformed

 * 1748-1800 - Marriage Record of the Reformed Church, Falkner Swamp, Montgomery County, PA., 1748-1800 (Pennsylvania Archives, Series 2, Vol. 8, Part 6) at Ancestry ($); Google Books - free.

Gazetteers

 * United States Geographic Survey Place Names - GNIS for Montgomery County (over 2000) (may not always be present in alphabetic order on first try.)

Land and Property
Montgomery County Recorder of Deeds P.O. Box 311 Norristown, PA 19404-0311 Phone: (610) 278-3289

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 Montgomery County are available from the recorder's office for 1784 to the present.


 * While there is an on-line index, there is no indication as to what time period the index covers. Searching and viewing the records is free, but you do need to register.
 * Deeds, 1784-1866; Index, 1784-1877

Maps
Ancestor Tracks has posted free downloadable images from the 1868 Barnes' Driving Map of Philadelphia and Surroundings. This wall map located in the Library of Congress shows major landowner and geographic sites at the date of publishing. While the physcial 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
Local newspapers published obituaries on many Montgomery County Revolutionary War veterans. Summers abstracted these records and his article is available for free online:


 * Summers, William. "Obituary Notices of Pennsylvania Soldiers of the Revolution," The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 38 (1914):443-460. For free online access, see WeRelate.

Courthouse
Montgomery County Courthouse PO Box 311 Norristown, PA 19404-0311

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Pottstown Pennsylvania Family History Center

Societies
The Lower Merion Historical Society Located in the Lower Merion Academy 506 Bryn Mawr Ave. Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania 19004

Schools
Pottstown, PA High School: 1941 Football Team Photo with names of individuals.

Taxation

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

Birth

 * 1735-1898 - - free index. Not complete for all years
 * 1852-1854 – Pennsylvania Births Ancestry.com – ($) Index with images.

Marriage
Van Booskirk was a Justice of the Peace. He kept a marriage register in the early 1800s:


 * 1812-1839 - Van Booskirk, Mahlon. "Marriages from Squire Van Booskirk's Docket," The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 30 (1906):437-444. For free online access, see WeRelate.


 * Republished as:


 * 1812-1839 - "Marriage Record of Mahlon Van Booskirk," Publications of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, Vol. 4, No. 3 (Mar. 1911):305-311. For online access, see WeRelate; the Family History Library also has this series in its collection:.


 * 1755-1913 - - free index. Not complete for all years.


 * Index to Marriage Records at USGenWeb - Includes two indexes: the first is an alphabetical listing of brides and grooms in local newspapers, the second is a county marriage license search from the early 1990s to the presennt.

Death

 * 1852-1854 – Pennsylvania Deaths Ancestry.com – ($) Index with images.

Web Sites

 * The Montgomery County PAGenWeb Project, an member of The PAGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.

Populated Places

 * Home Rule Muncipalities


 * Boroughs


 * Townships


 * Communities