Luzerne County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

United States Pennsylvania  Luzerne County 

Historical Facts
Named for Anne-Cesar, Chevalier de la Luzerne, a most popular minister from the French court during the American Revolutionary War.

Note of Interest
Luzerne County is the only county in the United States where a plurality of residents state their ancestry as Polish per Census 2000 report.

Parent County
25 September 1786: Luzerne County was created 25 September 1786 from Northumberland County.

Boundary Changes

 * 21 Feb 1810: Ontario and Susquehanna Counties were set off.
 * 4 April 1842: Wyoming County set off.

Neighboring Counties
Carbon | Columbia | Lackawanna | Monroe | Schuylkill | Sullivan | Wyoming

Church Records

 * 1813-1876 - Wapwallopen Union Reformed & Lutheran Church (Old River Church) Baptismal Records 1813 to 1876 Luzerne County, Pennsylvania at The USGenWeb Project - free.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Nanticoke
 * Plymouth

Land and Property
Recorder of Deeds Luzerne County Courthouse 200 North River Street Wilkes Barre, PA 18711 Phone: (570) 825-1641

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 Luzerne County are available from the recorder's office for 1786 to the present.


 * Images are available on-line from 1968 to the present using the Landex system. There is a fee to view the images.
 * Deeds, 1787-1901; Indexes to Deeds, 1780-1907

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

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.