Lawrence County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

Guide to Lawrence County, Pennsylvania ancestry, family history and genealogy 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.

Lawrence County Pennsylvania Historical Facts
Parent Counties: Formed from Beaver and Mercer Counties 20 March 1849.

County Seat: New Castle

Neighboring Counties: Lawrence County residents may also have records in


 * Mercer
 * Butler
 * Columbiana County, Ohio
 * Mahoning County, Ohio
 * Pennsylvania

Named for the USS Lawrence, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry's flagship in the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812.

Description
The county was named for USS Lawrence. It's county seat is New Castle and was founded March 20, 1849. It is located in the Mid-West area of the state.

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

 * Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens Lawrence County, Pennsylvania 1897, courtesy USGenWeb Archives
 * 20th Century History of New Castle and Lawrence County, Pennsylvania and Representative Citizens, courtesy USGenWeb Archives
 * History of Lawrence County, PA 1887 Every-name Index, courtesy USGenWeb Archives

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

Church Records
LDS Ward and Branch Records

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.


 * Men of the Cloth, and a few women: Pastors, Preachers and Priests in Western PA (Free) has biographies and photos of many clergymen as well as several churches.


 * Hazen, Aaron Lyle. 20th Century History of New Castle and Lawrence County. Evansville, Indiana: Unigraphics, 1977. Reprint of original published: Chicago, Ill.: Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co., 1908. 1202 pages. includes histories of the churches in the county. Digital version: FamilySearch..

Lists of founding members of the early church congregations in Lawrence County are listed in History of Lawrence County. Church histories are located under the township histories.


 * Free online transcription courtesy of USGenWeb

Baptist

Baptist congregations in New Castle were first established in 1843. By 1877 there were 5 congregations in New Castle.

Catholic
Catholic priests visited Lawrence County until St. Mary's was erected in New Castle in 1852.

Episcopal
The first Episcopalian services were held in New Castle in 1843.

Lutheran
The first Lutheran church was established in New Castle in 1848. Other congregations organized in New Castle, including a Swedish Lutheran Zion church.

Methodist
Congregations were established in New Castle (1836) Mahoningtown (1850).

Methodist Episcopal
The first Methodist Episcopal church was built in 1816 in New Castle. This congregation had been meeting since 1804. Other congregations were established in Wilmington, Wampum, Pulaski, Mahoning, Eon, Hickory, Mount Jackson, Clinton, and other communities.

Moravian
The Moravians established a mission in Lawrence County in 1755, but moved to Tuscarawas Valley, Ohio, by 1773.

Presbyterian
Earliest congregations were formed in Hopewell and Nashannock (1800), followed by New Castle (also called Lower Neshannock) and Westfield (1803). Other congregations included Pulaski, Mahoningtown, Darlington, Little Beaver, Enon, Newport Village, and Westfield, among others in the county.


 * A History of the Neshannock Presbyterian Church, New Wilmington, Pennsylvania: together with some account of the settlement at Ancestry.com – $

United Presbyterian (Seceder or Associate Reformed)
An early congregation was formed in Deer Creek (1800), Mahoning (1800) and New Castle (1808). Other congregations were established in Wampum, Beacon Valley, New Wilmington, and Hickory.

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. Lawrence 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.

Prothonotary
The public can access these records in person, but all genealogical searches (i.e. Naturalization, Family Tree, Etc.) are processed only via regular mail. Search fee is $12.00. Please send all pertinent information along with self-addressed, stamped envelope to:

Prothonotary 430 Court Street New Castle, PA. 16101

Orphans' Court
Lawrence County Government Center 430 Court Street New Castle, PA 16101 Phone: 724-658-2541 Website

History

 * History of Lawrence County Pennsylvania S.W. and P.A. Durant, 1877, courtesy USGenWeb Archives
 * History of Lawrence County Pennsylania, 1887, courtesy USGenWeb Archives

Published Histories

 * 20th century history of New Castle and Lawrence County, Pennsylvania and Representative Citizens, 1908. Book on line at archives.org, Text version from the USGenWeb Archives.
 * Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens Lawrence County Pennsylvania, 1897. Text Version from the USGenWeb Archives.
 * History of Lawrence County Pennsylvania by S.W. and P.A. Durant, 1877. Text Version from the USGenWeb Archives.
 * History of Lawrence County Pennsylvania, 1887. Text Version from the USGenWeb Archives.

Land and Property
Land records in Lawrence County began in 1849. These records are filed with the Register of Wills and Recorder of Deeds office in New Castle, 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


 * 1979–present The Register of Wills and Recorder of Deeds office offers online access to land records through Record Fusion. The online indexes are free but fees apply for copies.

Land Records on Microfilm


 * 1849–1923 Deeds, 1849-1902; Index, 1849-1923.
 * 1850–1986 Sheriff's and Treasurer's Deeds, 1850-1933; Index, 1850-1986.

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 Lawrence 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 1908 Warrantee Atlas of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania. 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.

Atlas of Lawrence County, 1872 shows landowners. From the USGenWeb archives. Warrantee Atlas, 1909 Depreciation, Donation, Settlers lands. From the USGenWeb archives.

Lawrence County Township Maps, 1986. From the USGenWeb archives.

New Castle, PA 1896

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

Online Naturalization Indexes and Records


 * 1820-1906 Index to Declarations and Petitions in the Western District of Pennsylvania, US Circuit and District Courts located in US Naturalization Records Indexes, 1794-1995 database on Ancestry.com - ($), National Archives publication M1208


 * 1820-1930 Naturalization Petitions of the U.S. District Court, 1820-1930, and Circuit Court, 1820-1911, for the Western District of Pennsylvania on Fold3.com - ($), indexed, National Archives publication M1537, incomplete for all counties


 * 1820-1930 Naturalization Petitions of the U.S. District Court, 1820-1930, and Circuit Court, 1820-1911, for the Western District of Pennsylvania located in Selected US Naturalization Records - Original Documents, 1790-1974 database on Ancestry.com - ($), indexed, National Archives publication M1537

Original Naturalization Records on Microfilm


 * 1843-1939 Naturalization records, 1843-1939. Each film has it's own index.

Newspapers
Newspapers of Lawrence County


 * Pennsylvania Newspapers
 * Chronicling America US Newspaper Directory

Obituaries

 * 1850-2010 Lawrence County, Pennsylvania Obituary Index, 1850-2010 at Ancestry ($); free version at New Castle Public Library website.

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

Lawrence County Only:


 * 1845-1987 Lawrence County Probate Records

Original Probate Records on Microfilm


 * 1849-1920 Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, Wills and Probate Files - Index included: 1849-1987

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
Lawrence County Government Center 430 Court Street New Castle, PA 16101 Phone: 724–656-2144

Clerk of Courts/Prothonotary Phone: 724-658-2541 Ex. 2143

Family History Centers
The Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County may also order microfilm from FamilySearch.

Libraries

 * New Castle Public Library Genealogy/History Room 207 East North Street New Castle, PA 16101 Phone: 724-658-6659, ext. 112 E-mail: [mailto:nchistory@ncdlc.org nchistory@ncdlc.org]


 * The library's collection includes local family histories, Pennsylvania county history books, census, newspapers and a local marriage and obituary database taken from the New Castle News. The library will do limited research for a fee.

Museums

 * Colonel Norman J. Maxwell On-line Museum "Family Heirlooms, Artifacts, Ephemera and Historic Places"

Societies

 * Lawrence County Historical Society 408 North Jefferson Street New Castle, PA 16101 Phone: 724-658-4022 Email: [mailto:info@lawrencechs.com info@lawrencechs.com]

The research room collection includes Lawrence County Will Books, Immigration Records, Marriage Records, Deeds, County History, Maps, City Directories, Yearbooks. Onsite research help is available.

Vital Records
See also How to order Pennsylvania Vital Records

Birth

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

Marriage

 * 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.
 * 1850-2010 Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, Marriage Index, 1850-2010 at Ancestry ($); free version at New Castle Public Library website.
 * 1852-1854 Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry.com – ($) 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.

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.
 * 1893, 1901 New Castle, Lawrence County, Death Index 1893 and 1901 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.

Lawrence County Pennsylvania Genealogy Websites

 * Lawrence County, PA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Lawrence County Genealogy - PAGenWeb site. Histories, biographies, cemeteries, obituaries and other information.
 * Lawrence County Links - linkpendium.com
 * Lawrence County PA Genealogy