Clinton County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

Guide to Clinton 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.

Clinton County Pennsylvania Historical Facts
Parent Counties: Formed from Lycoming and Centre Counties 21 June 1839. County Seat: Lock Haven Neighboring Counties: Clinton County residents may also have records in: Elk and Cameron •  Clinton  •  Jefferson  •  Cambria  •  Blair  •  Centre  •  Indiana

Named for DeWitt Clinton, seventh Governor of New York.

Description
The county was named for the seventh Governor of New York State, DeWitt Clinton. It's county seat is Lock Haven. It was organized June 21, 1839. It is located in the Central section of the state.

Boundary Changes



 * 27 January 1750: When Cumberland County was formed, it included part of the southern portion of today's Clinton County. The rest of today's Clinton County were not included in any county until 1785
 * 14 October 1751: When Berks County was created, a portion of southwestern Clinton County was included in it.
 * 9 March 1771: Bedford County was created taking the portion of today's Clinton County that was in Cumberland County.
 * 21 March 1772: When Northumberland County was created, the southern portion of today's Clinton County which was formerly in Bedford and Berks Counties was included in Northumberland County.
 * 1785: The northern portion of today's Clinton County was annexed to Northumberland County; thus, all of the county was part of Northumberland County.
 * 19 September 1789: When Mifflin County was formed, southern part of today's Clinton County became part of it.; the remainder (approx. 80%) stayed in Northumberland County.
 * 13 April 1795: When Lycoming County was created, the portion that was in Northumberland County was absorbed into Lycoming County; the remainder stayed in Mifflin County.
 * 13 February 1800: Centre County was created, the northern portion remained in Lycoming County while the southern half became part of Centre County.
 * 29 March 1860: When Cameron County was formed, the boundaries of Clinton County became final.

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.

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

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 church records of:
 * Lock Haven: First Church of Christ; First United Methodist Church; Presbyterian Church; St. Luke's Church
 * Salona: United Methodist 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. Clinton County has its own judicial district. Judges of the Common Pleas courts are elected to 10-year terms. A president judge and a court administrator serve in each judicial district.

Land and Property
Land records in Clinton County began in 1839. These records are filed with the Register and Recorder office in Lock Haven, 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:

Land Records on Microfilm


 * 1839–1916 Deeds, 1839-1865; Index, 1839-1916.

Additional Resources

Note that the "Maps" section below 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 Clinton 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

 * Maps of Pennsylvania (1673-1878)

Ancestor Tracks has posted free downloadable images from the 1862 Map of Clinton County, Pennsylvania from Actual Surveys under the Direction of H.F. Walling drawn by F.W. Beers. 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 to 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 Clinton County, Pennsylvania:

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

Newspapers
Newspapers of Clinton County


 * USGenWeb Newspapers of the Region, Clinton County, Pennsylvania.
 * 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.


 * The Clinton County Times January 9, 1903 - December 28, 1967
 * Clinton County Weekly January 28, 1933 - December 30, 1937

Online Newspaper Abstracts


 * PA-Roots Newspaper Articles for Clinton County.

Newspaper Excerpts and Abstracts


 * The Lock Haven Express, Clinton County Centennial Edition of the Lock Haven Express, 1839-1939 (SLC, Utah, 1974)

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 Clinton County.

Obituary Excerpts and Abstracts


 * Hoffer, Mary E. and many others, Church records, Sugar Valley, Clinton Co., Pa. [and] Logan and Green Twps., Pa., 1852-1956 : members, marriages, baptisms, births (S.I.:Pennsylvania State Society D.A.R., 1977) ;
 * Wion, John H., Deaths in Central Pennsylvania; an Index to the Obituaries Appearing in the Democratic Watchman, Bellefonte, PA(S.I.:s.n., 1969) An alphabetical listing with name and death date.

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:

Clinton County Only:


 * 1839-1974-Clinton County Probate Records

Online Probate Indexes


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


 * 1683 - 1994 at FamilySearch — images

Original Probate Records on Microfilm


 * 1839-1869 Orphans' Court Records - Index included: 1839-1974
 * 1839-1908 Will Books

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

 * Clinton County Government 232 East Main Street Lock Haven, PA 17745 Phone: 570-893-4000


 * Register and Recorder's Office is located on the first floor of the Courthouse. The Register and Recorder's Office holds all records relating to land transfers and estate files from 1839-present as well as marriage records from October 1885-present. The office also holds birth and death records for 1893-1905. The office also handles genealogy requests.


 * Clinton County Prothonotary Office 230 East Water Street Lock Haven, PA 17745 Phone: 570-893-4007 Email: [mailto:mvilello@clintoncountypa.com mvilello@clintoncountypa.com]

Societies

 * Clinton County Genealogical Society P.O. Box 393 Lock Haven, PA 17745-0393


 * Clinton County Historical Society 362 East Water Street Lock Haven, PA 17745 Phone: 570-748-7254

Vital Records
See also How to order Pennsylvania Vital Records

Birth

 * 1852-1854 – Pennsylvania Births Ancestry.com – ($) Index with images.
 * 1853 - Clinton County Birth Index 1853 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

Marriage

 * 1677–1950 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1700-1821 - Pennsylvania Marriage Records Ancestry.com – ($) This database is incomplete for all counties.
 * 1725-1976 - - free index. Not complete for all years. This index is not necessarily intended to index any specific set of records. This index is not complete for any particular place or region. This collection may include information previously published in the International Genealogical Index or Vital Records Index collections.
 * Pre-1810 – Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry.com – ($) This database is incomplete for all counties. Includes 35,000 marriage records from vol. VIII of of the second series of the Pennsylvania Archives.
 * 1852-1855 - Clinton County Marriage Index 1852-1855 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.
 * 1852-1854 - Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry.com – ($) Index with images.
 * 1885-1888 - Clinton County Marriage Index 1885-1888 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.
 * 1885-1950 - Extracted marriage records – free. This database is incomplete for all counties. May also contain marriage records earlier than 1885.

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

Death

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

Genealogy Societies and Libraries

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

Clinton County Pennsylvania Genealogy Websites

 * Clinton County, PA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Linkpendium - Clinton County
 * Clinton County PA Genealogy
 * USGenWeb project for Clinton Co.
 * USGenWeb project for Clinton Co.