Potter County, Pennsylvania

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Revision as of 19:19, 4 September 2012

United States Pennsylvania Potter County

Potter County, Pennsylvania
Map
Location in the state of Pennsylvania
Location of Pennsylvania in the U.S.
Facts
Founded	March 26, 1804
County Seat	Coudersport
Courthouse
Address	Potter County Courthouse 1 East 2nd St. Coudersport, PA 16915 Potter County Website
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Historical Facts

• Parent Counties: Formed from Lycoming County 26 March 1804. ^[1]
• County Seat: Coudersport
  
• Neighboring Counties: Potter County, Pennsylvania residents may also have records in ^[2]Allegany County, New York (north) • Clinton (south) • Steuben County, New York (northeast)  • [Cameron County, Pennsylvania|Cameron]] (southwest)  • Lycoming (southeast)  • McKean (west)  • Tioga (east)

Named for General James Potter, from Pennsylvania in the Continental Army during the American Revolution.

Boundary Changes

29 March 1860: Cameron County set off. ^[1]

Resources

Bible Records

Cemeteries

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

Census

For tips on accessing Potter County, Pennsylvania Federal (or United States) census records online, see: Pennsylvania Census.

There are no county or state census records available for Pennsylvania. County and city tax records can be used as a substitute when census records are not available.

Church Records

Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. In Pennsylvania, church records are often used as a substitute for birth, marriage, and death information. For general information about Pennsylvania denominations, view the Pennsylvania Church Records wiki page.

Finding Church Records at Other Repositories

Additional church records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Potter County, Pennsylvania Church Records  in online catalogs like:

• Historical Society of Pennsylvania
• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• Family History Library Catalog (For instructions see FHL Catalog Place-name Search).

County-wide Database - Multi-denominational

Potter county pennsylvania churches.png

• 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.

Baptist

In 1850, the Baptist Church was built.^[3]

Lutheran

In 1886, St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church was organized with 71 members.^[4]

Protestant Episcopal

Christ Church, English Protestant Episcopal was reorganized in 1881 and their church was built in 1884.^[5]

Presbyterian

The Presbyterian society was said to have built the first church building in the county in 1850.^[6]

Roman Catholic

The Roman Catholic Church in this county was organized in about 1840.^[7]

Court Records

Court of Common Pleas

Clerk of the Court

Prothonotary

Orphan's Court (see Vital Records)

Emigration and Immigration

Ethnic Groups

Germans

Gazetteers

Genealogy

History

Published Histories

Land and Property

Land records in Potter County began in 1804. These records are filed with the Register of Wills/Recorder of Deeds office in Coudersport, 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

• 2003–present Images are available online using the Landex system. There is a fee to view the images.

Land Records on Microfilm

• 1806-1973 Deeds, 1806-1866; Indexes to Deeds, 1806-1972 FHL film 901109 (first of 38 films)
• 1796–1931 General Index to Mortgages. FHL films 903536–903538

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 Potter County Pennsylvania Land in online catalogs such as:

• Historical Society of Pennsylvania
  
• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog.)
  
• Family History Library Catalog (For instructions see FHL Catalog Place-name Search.)

Maps

Migration

Early migration routes for European settlers to and from Potter County, Pennsylvania included:^[8]

• Catskill Turnpike, trail 1760s; turnpike 1804, from Catskill to Bath, New York with extensions to Buffalo, New York, or Erie, Pennsylvania
• Forbidden Path, 1767 from Athens, Pennsylvania to Salamanca, New York^[9]

Military

Naturalization and Citizenship

Newspapers

Potter County, Pennsylvania newspapers may contain genealogical value including obituaries, births, marriages, deaths, anniversaries, family gatherings, family travel, achievements, business notices, engagement information, and probate court proceedings.

To access newspapers, contact public libraries, historical/genealogical societies, college or university libraries, or state archives in the area where the newspaper was published.

For information on state-wide newspapers see Pennsylvania Newspapers

Newspapers of Potter 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 Potter 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

Sometimes the fastest way of finding obituaries is to call or email the local public library in the area where the person died. If the library does not have newspapers, a librarian often will know where they are kept. If a death date is known, and the newspapers are at the library, someone on staff will usually make a search for a small fee, or will indicate someone who will do the search.

Online Obituary Abstracts

• PA-Roots Obituaries for Potter County, Pennsylvania.

Occupations

Periodicals

Poorhouse, Almshouse

Probate Records

Probate matters in Potter County, Pennsylvania are handled by the Orphans' Court and start when the county was created. To obtain original probate records, contact the Orphan's Court in the County Courthouse.

In addition to wills and administrations, the Orphans' Court also handles: audits of accounts of executors, administrators, trustees, and guardians; distribution of estates of decedents, incompetents, and minors; appointment and control of guardians; adoptions; appeals from the Register of Wills involving probate matters; inheritance tax appeals and various petitions and motions.

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:

• 1683-1994 – Pennsylvania, Probate Records, 1683-1994 at FamilySearch.org
  

Potter County Only:

• 1836–1908 – Potter County Probate Records
  

Additional Probate Indexes and Abstracts

Additional probate indexes or abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Potter County, Pennsylvania probate wills in online catalogs like:

• Historical Society of Pennsylvania
• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• Family History Library Catalog (For instructions see FHL Catalog Place-name Search).
  

Repositories

Archives

Courthouse

Potter County Courthouse
1 East 2nd St.
Coudersport, PA 16915
Phone: 814-274-9740
E–mail: kschroeder@pottercountypa.net
Copies of documents including birth, marriages, deaths, divorces, land, and probate records can be obtained by using: Pennsylvania Public Record. Click on the link for the record you wish to request.

Family History Centers

Libraries

Museums

Societies

Potter County Historical Society
P.O. Box 605
308 N. Main St
Coudersport PA 16915
841-274-4410
Hours: Mon and Fri 10:30 am – 4:00 pm, Thurs 6:30 – 8:30 pm, or by appointment 814-848-3942
e-mail: potercohist@zitomedia.net

The PCHS library has over 3000 items in the collection. Browse online listing, access on site, no circulation.

Research Guides

Woodroofe's guide to Potter County "hidden sources" at The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania is available online:

• Woodroofe, Helen Hutchison. "A Genealogist's Guide to Pennsylvania Records," The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine, Vol. 34, No. 3 (1986):240. For free online access, see WeRelate.

Taxation

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. While the records for that time period are available, there were few events recorded. County marriage records were kept in earnest in 1885. Births and deaths, at the county level, were begun in 1893 and kept through 1905. Abstracts and copies of vital records are available for some counties, but most are incomplete. For the most complete set of records, always contact the County Orphans' Court.

Use substitute records for birth, marriage and death information. These substitute records include Bible Records, Cemeteries, Church Records, Newspapers, and Probate Records.

Birth

• 1726-1930 - Pennsylvania, Births and Christenings, 1709-1950 - free index. Not complete for all years. This index is an electronic 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.
• 1852-1854 – Pennsylvania Births Ancestry.com – $ Index with images.

Early births 1893–1905 are located at the County Orphans' Court. See the heading Court Records on this page for contact information.

Indexes for Pennsylvania birth records are available through the Department of of Health for 1906 and 1907. Once an individual is located in the index a non certified Birth certificate can be obtained by writing and sending $3.00 to:

Division of Vital Records
ATTN: Public Records
P.O. Box 1528
New Castle, PA 16103

Marriage

Pennsylvania marriages are located at the county level. Contact the Potter County, Pennsylvania clerk's office for these records.

• 1700-1821 - Pennsylvania Marriage Records Ancestry.com – ($) This database is incomplete for all counties.
• 1725-1976 - Pennsylvania, Marriages, 1709-1940 - free index. Not complete for all years. This index is an electronic database of information. The entries are primarily from the International Genealogical Index (IGI) along with some entries derived from compiled and original records such as: Family Records, Church Records, Civil Registration. It may also include indexes generated by the internet indexing project sponsored by the LDS Church.
• Pre-1810 – Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry.com – ($) 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 - 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.

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.

Early deaths 1893–1905 are located at the County Orphans' Court. See the heading Court Records on this page for contact information.

Indexes for Pennsylvania death records are available through the Department of Health for 1906 through 1962. Once an individual is located in the index a non certified death certificate can be obtained obtained by writing and sending $3.00 to:

Division of Vital Records
ATTN: Public Records
P.O. Box 1528
New Castle, PA 16103

Finding Vital Records at Other Repositories

Additional vital records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Potter County, Pennsylvania Vital Records in online catalogs like:

• Historical Society of Pennsylvania
• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• Family History Library Catalog (For instructions see FHL Catalog Place-name Search).

Web Sites

• USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
• Family History Library Catalog

Places

Populated Places

References

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), [FHL book 973 D27e 2002].
2. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Adams County, Pennsylvania" in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adams_County,_Pennsylvania (accessed 17 July 2012).
3. ↑ History of the Counties of McKean, Elk, Cameron and Potter, Pennsylvania (Chicago, IL: J.H. Beers & Co., 1890), 1062; Digital Version at Internet Archive; FamilySearch Books Online; At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL book 974.8 H2h.
4. ↑ History of the Counties of McKean, Elk, Cameron and Potter, Pennsylvania (Chicago, IL: J.H. Beers & Co., 1890), 1062; Digital Version at Internet Archive; FamilySearch Books Online; At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL book 974.8 H2h.
5. ↑ History of the Counties of McKean, Elk, Cameron and Potter, Pennsylvania (Chicago, IL: J.H. Beers & Co., 1890), 1061-1062; Digital Version at Internet Archive; FamilySearch Books Online; At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL book 974.8 H2h.
6. ↑ History of the Counties of McKean, Elk, Cameron and Potter, Pennsylvania (Chicago, IL: J.H. Beers & Co., 1890), 1061; Digital Version at Internet Archive; FamilySearch Books Online; At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL book 974.8 H2h.
7. ↑ History of the Counties of McKean, Elk, Cameron and Potter, Pennsylvania (Chicago, IL: J.H. Beers & Co., 1890), 1062; Digital Version at Internet Archive; FamilySearch Books Online; At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL book 974.8 H2h.
8. ↑ Handybook, 847-61.
9. ↑ Paul A. W. Wallace, Indian Paths of Pennsylvania (Harrisburg, Pa.: PA Historical and Museum Commission, 1971), 46-48. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 974.8 H2wp.

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