Montour County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

United States

Pennsylvania

Montour County

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

Pennsylvania Online Genealogy Records

County Facts County seat: Danville Organized: May 3, 1850 Parent County(s): Columbia Neighboring Counties Lycoming  • Northumberland  • Columbia See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption Adopt-a-wiki page This page adopted by: PA Roots and its members who welcome you to contribute. Adopt a page today

County Information

Description

The county was named for Andrew Montour. The county is located in the mid-central area of the state.

County Courthouse

Montour County Courthouse
29 Mill Street
Danville, PA 17821
Phone: 570-271-3010
Register of Wills/Recorder or Deeds/Orphan’s Court Phone: 570-271-3012
County Recorder Phone: 570-271-3012 or 570-271-3014
Prothonotary/Clerk of Courts Phone: Phone: 570-271-3010
Montour County Website

Prothonotary and Clerk Courts has birth and death records from 1893-1905, delayed birth registration from 1883-1905, marriage licenses from 1885, divorce and court records from 1850, and naturalization records from 1850-1904.

Montour County, Pennsylvania Record Dates

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1893	1885	1893	1850	1850	1850	1790
*Statewide registration for births and deaths began in 1906. General compliance by 1915.

Record Loss

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

Boundary Changes

Formed from Columbia County 3 May 1850. County seat: Danville 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.

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:

Boroughs
Danville	Washingtonville
Unincorporated communities
Exchange Kaseville Limestoneville	Mausdale Mexico Mooresburg	Ottawa Ridgeville
Census-designated places
Mechanicsville
Townships
Anthony Cooper Derry	Liberty Limestone Mahoning	Mayberry Valley West Hemlock

History Timeline

• History of Montour County from "The History of Colubmia and Montour Counties" Battle, 1887 courtesy USGenWeb Archives

Resources

Biographies

• History of Montour County from "The History of Colubmia and Montour Counties" Battle, 1887 Includes "Some of the Early Families" and "Montour County Bios" Courtesy USGenWeb Archives

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Montour County, Pennsylvania online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Findagrave.com HomeTownLocator PAGenWeb Archives Tombstone Photos PAGenWeb Pennsylvania Genealogy BillionGraves (name)
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)	Family History Library WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the County	Findagrave.com BillionGraves Linkpendium Interment Access Genealogy FamilySearch Places
See Pennsylvania Cemeteries for more information

 

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

Additional Cemetery Resources

• ca.1700-ca.1950 - Pennsylvania Cemetery Records, ca. 1700-ca. 1950 at FamilySearch — index and images
• PA-Roots
• Names in Stone
• Ancestry($)

Census Records

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1850	13,239	—
1860	13,053	−1.4%
1870	15,344	17.6%
1880	15,468	0.8%
1890	15,645	1.1%
1900	15,526	−0.8%
1910	14,868	−4.2%
1920	14,080	−5.3%
1930	14,517	3.1%
1940	15,466	6.5%
1950	16,001	3.5%
1960	16,730	4.6%
1970	16,508	−1.3%
1980	16,675	1.0%
1990	17,735	6.4%
2000	18,239	2.8%
2010	18,267	0.2%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

Church Records

Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. For members, they may contain: age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage date and maiden name; death/burial date. For general information about Pennsylvania denominations, see Pennsylvania Church Records.

The Montour County Genealogical Society has various records for churches throughout the Montour County area. However, the society has not put the records on-line and to view the records one must go to the society. The society will do limited lookups in the records. See their website for details.

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:

• Bloomsburg: Trinity Reformed Church (United Church of Christ)
• Danville: Beaver Library; Lutheran Church; Presbyterian Church; Reformed Church; Shiloh United Church of Christ
• Hemlock: Hemlock Township Union Church
• Mooresburg: Presbyterian Church

Baptist

Montour County Pennsylvania Churches

In 1842, the First Baptist Church of Danville was organized. The Immanuel Baptist Church was created from members of the First Baptist Church in 1892, but the church was dissolved by the members in 1908.

Evangelical
The first pastor was appointed for the Evangelical Church in 1867, although previous pastors did perform services before that time. This congregation was eventually called the Emanuel Evangelical Church and their first church building was dedicated in 1871.

Lutheran
The first sign of the Lutheran denomination in Montour County was in 1820 with the creation of what is now known as the Pine Street Lutheran Church. Before then, they would go to the Lutheran Church in Mahoning Township, Northumberland County. In 1845, a church was built and the congregation was known as Evangelical Lutheran Church of Danville (now called St. John's Lutheran Church). But the congregation eventually outgrew the building and the Pine Street Lutheran Church was built in 1859.

The Trinity Lutheran Church was created in 1859 from members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (eventually called the Pine Street Lutheran Church) that did not agree with the location of the new church building agreed upon by the majority of the congregation.

Methodist Episcopal
The St. Paul Methodist Episcopal Church was the second religious organization established in Danville in about 1791, although a permanent church building was not erected until 1839.

The Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1868 from members of the St. Paul Methodist Episcopal Church who lived in the north side of town.

Presbyterian
The Mahoning Presbyterian Church, later changed to the Grove Presbyterian Church, was the first religious organization in Danville in about 1778.

Protestant Episcopal
The Protestant Episcopal congregation (now known as Christ's Church) was officially established in 1829, sharing a church building with the Lutheran congregation. Difficulties with the Lutheran Congregation eventually lead to them leaving the church building in 1836 and was left exclusively to the Protestant Episcopal Church.

Reformed
The Shiloh Reformed Church in Danville was formally created in 1893, when it split from a larger congregation of the Reformed Church that began in 1856 and covered Danville, Catawissa, St. James (Mahoning) and Mausdale.

Roman Catholic
St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church began as a mission in 1847. It's first building was on the corner of Center and Ferry streets and later moved to its current lot in 1869.

Because of the large influx of German Catholics by 1859, a congregation was created and called the St. Hubert's German Catholic Church. Previously, German Catholics attended St. Joseph's Catholic Church.

Synagogue
The B'nai Zion Synagogue was built in 1871. Previously, the congregation met in their schoolhouse built in 1853.

List of Churches and Church Parishes

• FamilySearch Places
  

Court Records

For information about records kept in the Orphan's court, Prothonotary Court, Court of Common Pleas, and other courts in counties of Pennsylvania, visit the Pennsylvania Court Records Wiki page.

Prothonotary

• 1850 -1907 Common Pleas Docket, vol. 1–2 FHL film 953899 (first of 5 films)

Emigration and Immigration

For online resources, passenger lists, and specific groups coming to Pennsylvania, see Pennsylvania Emigration and Immigration.

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups

For groups that came, see People section of the Pennsylvania Emigration page.

Guardianship

The Orphan's Court ensures the best interests of those not capable of handling their own affairs: minors, incapacitated persons, decedents' estates, and more.

• 1851 -1865 Orphans Court Docket, vol. 1–2 FHL film 954020

Land and Property Records

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a specific location and reveal family relationships. Records include: deeds, abstracts, indexes, mortgages, leases, grants, sheriff sales, land patents, maps and more. For more information, see Pennsylvania Land and Property.

Land records in Montour County began in 1850. These records are filed with the Register and Recorder office in Danville, Pennsylvania.

Land Indexes and Records

• 1850-1958 Deeds, 1850-1866; Deed Index, 1850-1958. FHL films 953720-953728 - images only; click on the camera icon to view images

Local Histories

• Historical and Biographical Annals of Columbia and Montour Counties, Pennsylvania. 2 volumes. 1915. Chicago, Illinois : J.H. Beers & Co. Online at: Vol. 1 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Vol. 2 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust, Vol. 1 - Internet Archive, Vol. 2 -Internet Archive, Ancestry ($); At various libraries (WorldCat).
• History of Columbia and Montour Counties, Pennsylvania. 1887. Edited by J. H. Battle. Chicago, Illinois : A. Warner. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust, Internet Archive; At various libraries (WorldCat).

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Maps of Pennsylvania (1673-1878)
• Ancestor Tracks has posted free downloadable images fromthe atlas of Columbia and Montour Counties of Pennsylvania from Recent Actual Surveys; Records Under the Superintendence of G.H. Walker C.F. Jewett published by F.W. Beers Co in 1876. 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 and 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 - Pennsylvania, Register of Military Volunteers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index

Naturalization and Citizenship

Naturalization records can contain information about immigration and nativity. Prior to 1906, it is rare to find the town of origin in naturalization records. For more information, see Pennsylvania Naturalization

Online Naturalization Indexes and Records

• 1850-1907 Common Pleas Docket FHL film 953899 (first of 5 films) - images only; click on the camera icon to view images
• 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 may contain obituaries, births, marriages, deaths, anniversaries, family gatherings, family travel, achievements, business notices, engagement information, and probate court proceedings. Newspapers are often found in local or university libraries, historical or genealogical societies, or state archives in the area where the newspaper was published. See Pennsylvania Newspapers for more information.

Newspapers of Montour 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 Montour County, Pennsylvania.

Obituaries

Obituaries are generally found in local newspapers where the person died or where family members lived. Local libraries or societies may have indexes or other sources.

Online Obituary Abstracts

• 1947-2010 Pennsylvania Obituary and Marriage Collection, 1947-2010 at FamilySearch
• PA-Roots Obituaries for Montour County, Pennsylvania.

Probate Records

Probate matters in Montour County are handled by the Orphans' Court and start when the county was created.

In addition to wills and administrations, the Orphans' Court also handles: audits of accounts of executors, administrators, trustees, and guardians; distribution of estates; appointments of guardians; adoptions; appeals from the Register of Wills; inheritance tax appeals, and various petitions and motions.

Online Probate Indexes and Records

• 1683 -1993 Pennsylvania Wills and Probate Records 1683-1993 at Ancestry $
• 1850 -1912 Montour County Probate Records at FamilySearch
• 1850-Present Montour County Index of Wills 1850 to the Present. Free index found on the Mountor County, Pennsylvania website. Index includes name, book, and page number.
• 1850 -1912 Wills FHL film 953717 (first of 3 films) - images only; click on the camera icon to view images

Social Security Records

• 1935-2014 United States Social Security Death Index 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.

Vital Records

Vital records are handled by the County Orphans' Court. Between the years 1852-1855 Pennsylvania made a failed attempt to record birth, marriage and death events at the county level. County marriage records were kept in earnest in 1885. Births and deaths, at the county level, were begun in 1893 and kept through 1905. For the most complete set of records, contact the County Orphans' Court.

Birth

Early births 1893–1905 are located at the County Orphans' Court. For more information, see Pennsylvania Vital Records.

• 1852-1854 Pennsylvania Births Ancestry $

Marriage

Pennsylvania marriages were created by county officials. Contact Montour County Courthouse

• 1626-2016 Pennsylvania, United States Marriages at FindMyPast ($)
• 1677-1950 Pennsylvania Civil Marriages, 1677-1950 at FamilySearch
• 1700-1821 Pennsylvania Marriage Records Ancestry $
• Pre-1810 Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry $
• 1852-1854 Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry $
• 1885-1950 Pennsylvania County Marriage, 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 records of Columbia and Montour Counties at Ancestry $
• 1947-2010 Pennsylvania Obituary and Marriage Collection, 1947-2010 at FamilySearch

Death

Early deaths 1893–1905 are located at the County Orphans' Court. For indexes and records, 1906 and later, see Pennsylvania Vital Records.

• 1720-1999 Pennsylvania Deaths and Burials, 1720-1999 at FamilySearch — index, some images
• 1850-1880 Pennsylvania Mortality Schedules, 1850-1880 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1852-1854 Pennsylvania Deaths Ancestry $
• 1893-1905 Montour County Death Index 1893-1905 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch

Divorce

Divorce records are available through the office of the Prothonotary Montour County Courthouse.

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Montour County. For state-wide archival repositories, see Pennsylvania Archives and Libraries.

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

Family History Centers

Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a family history center.

• Family History Center and Affiliate Library Locator

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

• Sunbury Pennsylvania Family History Center
• Berwick Pennsylvania Family History Center

Libraries

Listed below are libraries in Montour County. For state-wide library facilities, see Pennsylvania Archives and Libraries.

• Thomas Beaver Free Library
  205 Ferry Street
  Danville, PA 17821
  Phone: 570-275-4180.
  Website

Museums

• Montgomery House Museum
  1 Bloom Street
  Box 8
  Danville, PA 17821
  Phone: 570-275-8528
  Website
  A small library contains local and county histories, industrial record books, business and law ledgers, military references, photographs, tax records, and maps.
  Currently open by appointment.

Societies

Listed below are societies in Montour County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Pennsylvania Societies.

• Montour County Genealogical Society
  205 Ferry Street
  Danville PA 17821
  Phone: 570-275-6177
  Website
  

The Montour County Genealogical Society collection is located at the Thomas Beaver Free Library and includes: Obituary files, family histories, church records, county histories, newsletters form various Pennsylvania genealogical societies surname files. The collection includes records for Columbia, Montour and Northumberland Counties. Research requests may be submitted in writing using a printable form which includes the fee schedule.

• Montour County Historical Society
  P.O. Box 8
  1 Mill Street
  Danville, PA 17821
  Phone: 570-271-0830
  Website

Websites

• Montour County PA Genealogy
• Montour County PAGenWeb
• USGenWeb
• FamilySearch Catalog – 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.

This website requires a paid subscription for full access.