Sullivan County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

Guide to Sullivan County, Pennsylvania ancestry, family history and genealogy in courthouse sources including birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, wills, deeds and land records, Civil War records, Revolutionary War records, family histories, cemeteries, churches, tax records, newspapers, and obituaries.

Sullivan County Pennsylvania Historical Facts



 * Parent Counties: Formed from Lycoming County 15 March 1847.


 * County Seat: Laporte


 * Neighboring Counties: residents may also have records in:


 * Bradford (north)
 * Columbia (south)
 * Luzerne (southeast)
 * Lycoming (west)
 * Wyoming (east)

Named for Senator Charles Sullivan, leader of the Pennsylvania Senate.

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating Pennsylvania county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Pennsylvania County Boundary Maps" (1673-1878) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Records Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Biographies

 * Biographies from Ingham's History of Sullivan County, Pennsylvania, 1899 courtesy USGenWeb Archives

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

Church Records


The Sullivan County Historical Society and Museum has listed in their resources, Compilings, Churches - individually. They may have the church records for your ancestors. You may visit them or use their volunteers for a fee. There email address is [mailto:museum@scpahistory.com museum@scpahistory.com].

Additional church records can be located atLinkpendium and by searching the FamilySearch Catalog. The FamilySearch Catalog has a plethora offor Sullivan County, many are limited in the time frame they cover. When searching the FamilySearch Catalog, be sure to also search at the town and township level.

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 records of:
 * Dushore: Peace Lutheran Church; Zion Lutheran Church
 * Mildred: Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church

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. shares its judicial district with Wyoming County. Judges of the Common Pleas courts are elected to 10-year terms. A president judge and a court administrator serve in each judicial district.

Orphan's Court
In Sullivan County, the Prothonotary is the clerk of the Orphan's Court. In fact five different offices are combined into one office.


 * 1848–1879 - Orphans Court Dockets (index 1848–1931)

District Court
District Court Magisterial District Judge 245 Muncy Street, Suite 150 P.O. Box 259 Laporte, PA 18626 Phone: 570-946-4413 Fax: 570-946-4436

The District Court is presided over by a Magisterial District Judge. The judge has responsible for non-jury trials and civil cases involving amounts under $12,000. Also, they perform marriages.

History

 * Ingham's History of Sullivan County, Pennsylvania, 1899 courtesy USGenWeb Archives

Published Histories
History of Sullivan County, Pennsylvania: compendium of biography. by Thomas J. Ingham. Salem, MS: Higgison, [1998]

Land and Property
Land records in Sullivan County began in 1847. These records are filed with the Register of Deeds office in Laporte, 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:

Online Land Records


 * 1847 - present Images are available on-line from 1847 to the present using the Landex system. There is a fee to view the images.

Land Records on Microfilm


 * 1847-1876 Deeds, 1847-1866; Index, 1847-1876.
 * 1848–1931 Orphans Court Dockets, 1848-1879; Index, 1848-1931.

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 Sullivan County Pennsylvania Land in online catalogs such as:


 * Historical Society of Pennsylvania
 * WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog.)
 * (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search.)

Maps
Click the image to view an enlarged version


 * Maps of Pennsylvania (1673-1878)
 * Ancestor Tracks has posted free downloadable images from the Topographical Map of Sullivan Co. Pennsylvania from Recent and Actual Surveys and Records under the Superintendence of F.W. Beers (A. Pomeroy &amp; Co., New York, 1872). This wall map 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.

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

Online Naturalization Indexes and Records


 * 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.com - ($), indexed, National Archives publication M1622, Middle District court was created in 1901, for earlier dates try the Eastern and Western District court records.

Original Naturalization Records on Microfilm


 * 1848-1906 - Naturalization records, 1848-1906,

Newspapers
Newspapers of Sullivan 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.

Online Newspaper Abstracts


 * PA-Roots Newspaper Articles for Sullivan County, Pennsylvania.

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 Sullivan County, Pennsylvania.
 * Obituaries from The Sullivan Review in Dunshore, PA 1899-2010. (USGenWeb)
 * Registry of Obituaries from The Sullivan Review of Dushore, PA 1889 - 1934. (USGenWeb)
 * Wilston Funeral Home Obituaries (USGenWeb)
 * P. Dean Homer Funeral Home (USGenWeb)

Probate Records
Online Probate Records Original probate records for some Pennsylvania counties are available free online as digital images at FamilySearch.org. The dates vary significantly for each county and not all counties are listed. Some counties may only have probate indexes. This Pennsylvania collection of images may be browsed through the links listed below: Complete Collection:


 * 1683-1993 Pennsylvania Wills and Probate Records 1683-1993 at Ancestry.com — index and images $


 * 1683-1994 – at FamilySearch.org

Sullivan County Only:


 * 1847–1913 – Sullivan County Probate Records

Original Probate Records on Microfilm


 * 1847–1913 – Wills index included 1847–1931.

Repositories

 * List of Pennsylvania Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical &amp; Genealogical Societies

Archives

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

Courthouse
Sullivan County Courthouse 245 Muncy Street PO Box 157 Laporte, PA 18626 Phone: 570-946-7351 Fax: 570-946-7105 Hours: 8:30 a. m. to 4:00 p. m.

In Sullivan County, the prothonotary is responsible for five different offices. They are Prothonotary, Recorder, Register of Wills, Clerk of Courts, and Clerk of Orphan's Court.

Museums
Sullivan County Historical Society and Museum 458 Meylert St&lt;Laporte, PA 18626 Phone: 570-946-5020 E-mail: museum@scpahistory.com


 * Hours: May 31–September 1 — Thursday–Saturdays 1:00 p.m to 5:00 p.m.
 * Rest of Year: By Appointment (please call)
 * The Museum has an extensive collection of genealogies as well as historical records and documents. There is a large listing of maps online that are available at the museum.
 * The obituary listing is from 1800 to 1999 and online. Then you can order the obituaries for $5.00 each.

Endless Mountains War Memorial Museum Main Street Box 7166 Sonestown, PA 17758 Phone: 570-482-2610 E-mail: craftj@epix.net


 * The website has a few lists of casualties and genealogical information. The museum has memorabilia and is non-profit.

Societies
Rich in history, Sullivan County contains a few societies dealing with the history of the area.

Sullivan County Historical Society and Museum 458 Meylert St Laporte, PA 18626 Phone: 570-946-5020 museum@scpahistory.com


 * Hours: May 31–September 1 — Thursday–Saturdays 1:00 p.m to 5:00 p.m.
 * Rest of Year: By Appointment (please call)
 * The Society holdings are housed at the museum.

Taxation

 * 1808 - 1808 Sullivan County Taxables at PAGenWeb - free.


 * 1824 - 1824 Sullivan County Taxables at PAGenWeb - free.

Vital Records
See also How to order Pennsylvania Vital Records

Marriage

 * 1677–1950 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1700-1821 - Pennsylvania Marriage Records Ancestry.com – ($) This database is incomplete for all counties.
 * 1725-1976 - - free index. Not complete for all years. This index is an electronic database of information. The entries are primarily from the International Genealogical Index (IGI) along with some entries derived from compiled and original records such as: Family Records, Church Records, Civil Registration. It may also include indexes generated by the internet indexing project sponsored by the LDS Church.
 * Pre-1810 – Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry.com – ($) 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.
 * Marriage Docket of Edward Eldred, J.P. 1809-1835

Divorce
Divorce records are available through the office of the Prothonotary. The office of the Prothonotary is located in the courthouse building.

Death

 * 1867-1905 - Sullivan County Death Index 1867-1905 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batches and.

Sullivan County Pennsylvania Genealogy Websites

 * Sullivan County, PA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * USGenWeb project. Sullivan County May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Sullivan County PA Genealogy