Juniata County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

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

Description
The county was named for the Juniata River. The county is located in the central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Juniata County Courthouse Bridge and Main Streets P.O. Box 68 Mifflintown, PA 17059 Prothonotary/Clerk of Courts Phone: 717-436-7715 Email:  lferry@juniataco.org Orphans' Court/Register of Wills Phone: 717-436-7709 Email:  aseigler@juniataco.org Juniata County Website County Clerk has birth and death records 1893-1907, marriage records from 1885, divorce records from 1900, probate, court and land records from 1831 and naturalizations from early 1800s to 1930

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:

Cemeteries
Additional Cemetery Resources
 * ca.1700-ca.1950 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * PA-Roots
 * Names in Stone
 * Ancestry($)

Church Records
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 $


 * Contains the church records of Port Royal United Methodist Church.

Baptist The Baptist church in Spruce Hill Township was established in 1794 in Milford Township.

Lutheran The German Lutheran congregation of Tuscarora Valley built their first church in 1803, with an attending grave yard, called the Church Hill Cemetery. A new cemetery, opened in 1906 stands across the street.

Methodist
 * 1863-1870 Port Royal Methodist Episcopal 1863-1870 Marriages at The USGenWeb Project, courtesy of USGenWeb.
 * 1893-1901 Thompsontown Methodist Episcopal 1893-1901 Marriages at The USGenWeb Project, courtesy of USGenWeb.

Presbyterian The earliest church in Juniata county was the Cedar Spring Presbyterian, built in 1763 in Walker Township. Other early Presbyterian churches included one in Lack Township (pre-1766) where the graveyard and stones were still standing in 1936.

The congregation at Academia, called the Lower Tuscarora, was established in 1766, with several different buildings housing the congregation. They joined with the Middle Tuscarora congregation in 1801. Port Royal was also part of this congregation. In 1850 they joined with the Lost Creek congregation from McAlisterville. Lost Creek was established in about 1799. The graveyard for this church holds many of the area's earlier settlers. In 1934 this congregation was still active.

Mifflintown and Lost Creek Presbyterian Church


 * 1806-1844 Presbyterian Church of Mifflintown and Lost Creek 1806-1844 Marriages at The USGenWeb Project, courtesy of USGenWeb.
 * 1845-1871 Presbyterian Church of Mifflintown and Lost Creek 1845-1871 Marriages at The USGenWeb Project, courtesy of USGenWeb.
 * 1872-1875 Mifflintown Presbyterian Church Baptism Index 1872-1875 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch
 * 1872-1891 Mifflintown Presbyterian Church Marriage Index 1872-1891 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch

United Presbyterian Church, Mexico

List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * 1863-1870 United Presbyterian Church, Mexico, Baptism Index 1863-1870 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch
 * FamilySearch Places

Land and Property Records
Land records in Juniata County began in 1831. These records are filed with the Recorder of Deeds office in Mifflintown, Pennsylvania.

Online Land Records
 * 1831 -1973 Deeds, 1831-1866; Index, 1833-1973; Miscellaneous Dockets, 1851-1867; Index, 1831-1967. - images only; click on the camera icon to view images
 * Juniata land records at Infocon system. $ - Images are available online

Local Histories

 * History and Topography of Northumberland, Huntingdon, Mifflin, Centre, Union, Columbia, Juniata and Clinton Counties, Pa. 1847. By I. Daniel Rupp. Lancaster, Pennsylvania : G. Hills. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust, Internet Archive, Google Books;.
 * History of [...] the counties of Mifflin, Juniata, Perry, Union and Snyder in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 2 volumes. 1886. By Franklin Ellis, Alfred Matthews. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania : Everts, Peck & Richards. Online at: Vol. 1 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust,Internet Archive; . Volume 1 contains a general history of all counties and specific histories for Mifflin and Juniata counties.
 * A History of the Juniata Valley. 3 volumes. 1936. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania : National Historical Association, Inc. Online at: Vol. 1 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Vol. 2 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Vol. 3 - FamilySearch Digital Library.

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps
 * Maps of Pennsylvania (1673-1878)
 * Ancestor Tracks has posted free downloadable images from the Atlas of Perry, Juniata &amp; Mifflin Counties, Pennsylvania, from Actual Surveys by and under the Direction of Beach Nichols, published by A. Pomeroy &amp; Co., 1877. 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 are not to be used commercially.  We hereby give permission to use them strictly for personal use; please attribute to Ancestor Tracks.
 * FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places

Military Records

 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index

Naturalization and Citizenship
Naturalization records for Juniata County, Pennsylvania include the following:

Online Naturalization Indexes and Records


 * 1820s-1840s Juniata County, Pennsylvania Naturalization Records Book 1 and Book 2 at The USGenWeb Project
 * 1901-1930  Naturalization Petitions of the U.S. Circuit and District Courts for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, 1906-1930; and 1901-1906 on Fold3.com - ($), indexed, National Archives publication M1622, Middle District court was created in 1901, for earlier dates try the Eastern and Western District court records
 * 1901-1930 Middle District, US Circuit and District Courts: Naturalization petitions, 1906-1930 located in U.S. Naturalization Records - Original Documents, 1795-1972 (World Archives Project) database on Ancestry $

Newspapers
Newspapers of Juniata County


 * Pennsylvania Newspapers
 * Chronicling America US Newspaper Directory

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 Juniata Sentinel 1846-1873 Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pennsylvania.
 * Chroncling America Juniata Sentinel and Republican 1873-1955 Mifflintown, Juniata County, PA.

Online Newspaper Abstracts

Newspaper Abstracts
 * PA-Roots Newspaper Articles from Juniata County, Pennsylvania.
 * 1947-2010Pennsylvania Obituary and Marriage Collection, 1947-2010 at FamilySearch


 * Death Records (SLC, Utah, 1973) Alphabetical card index to death records, mainly from the newspapers: Mifflin Eagle, The Weekly Democratic Press, Juniata Herald, Juniata Gazette, etc.

Obituaries
Online Obituary Abstracts


 * PA-Roots Obituaries for Juniata County, Pennsylvania.
 * Some Juniata County Obituaries at Juniata County, Pennsylvania USGenWeb Archives

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records


 * 1683-1993 Pennsylvania Wills and Probate Records 1683-1993 at Ancestry $
 * 1831-1973 Juniata County Probate Records - at FamilySearch
 * 1852-1937 Decedents Estate Index - images only; click on the camera icon to view images
 * 1831-1917 Register of Wills - Index included 1831-1973; images only; click on the camera icon to view images

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.

Tax Records

 * 1763-1776 Lack Township Taxes 1763-1776 at The USGenWeb Project
 * 1763-1776 Milford Township Taxes 1763-1776 at The USGenWeb Project
 * 1763-1767 Fermanagh Township Taxes 1763-1767 at The USGenWeb Project

Birth

 * 1852 Juniata County Birth Index 1852 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch
 * 1852-1854 Pennsylvania Births Ancestry $

Marriage

 * 1626-2016 Pennsylvania, United States Marriages at FindMyPast- index $
 * 1677-1950  at FamilySearch
 * 1700-1821  Pennsylvania Marriage Records Ancestry $
 * 1726-1930  index. Not complete for all years. This collection is an 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.
 * Pre-1810  Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry $
 * 1852-1863 Juniata County Marriage Index 1852-1863 and 1885-1887 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch at
 * 1852-1854 Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry $
 * 1885-1887 Juniata County Marriage Index 1852-1863 and 1885-1887 in International Genealogical Index at
 * 1885-1950  Extracted marriage records. 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.

Death

 * 1720-1999  at FamilySearch — index, some images
 * 1820-1839 Juniata County PA Death Notices 1820-1839 at The USGenWeb Project
 * 1850-1880  at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1852-1905 Juniata County Death Index 1852-1905 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch
 * 1852-1854 Pennsylvania Deaths Ancestry $

Divorce
Divorce records are available through the office of the Prothonotary.

Archives

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

Family History Centers

 * State College Pennsylvania Family History Center

Societies

 * Juniata County Historical Society 498 Jefferson St. Suite B Mifflintown, PA 17059 Phone: 717-436-5152 Email: [mailto:jchs1931@juniatacountyhistoricalsociety.org jchs1931@juniatacountyhistoricalsociety.org] Website

Websites

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