Wyoming County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

United States Pennsylvania Wyoming County


 * This article is about the county in northeastern Pennsylvania. For other uses, see Wyoming (disambiguation).

Historical Facts

 * Parent Counties: Formed from Luzerne County 4 April 1842.
 * County Seat: Tunkhannock
 * Neighboring Counties: residents may also have records in Susquehanna (north)  •  Luzerne (south)  •  Sullivan (west)  •  Lackawanna (east)  •  Bradford (northwest)

Boundary Changes

 * 1752-1772: Northampton County - The future Wyoming County was included in Northampton County until Northumberland County was created in 1772.


 * 1772-1786: Northumberland County - The future Wyoming County was included in Northumberland County until Luzerne County was created in 1786


 * 1786-1842: Luzerne County

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

Church Records


Additional church records can be located at Linkpendium and by searching the Family History Library Catalog. The FHLC has a plethora offor Wyoming County, many are limited in the time framethey cover. When searching the FHL 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.

Land and Property
Land records in Wyoming County began in 1842. These records are filed with the Register of Wills and Recorder of Deeds office in Tunkhannock, 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


 * 1842–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


 * 1842–1916 Deeds, 1842-1866; Indexes, 1842-1916.

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 Wyoming County Pennsylvania Land in online catalogs such as:


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

Maps

 * Ancestor Tracks has posted free, downloadable images of the 1869 Topographical Map of Wyoming Co. Pennsylvania from Recent and Actual Surveys and Records, under the Superintendence of F.W. Beers (New York). 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 given permission to use them strictly for personal use; please attribute to Ancestor Tracks.

Courthouse
Wyoming County Courthouse One Courthouse Square Tunkhannock, PA 18657 Phone: (570) 996-2232

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Societies
Rich in history, Wyoming County contains a number of societies dealing with the history of the area.

The Wyoming County Historical Societyis located at: Harrison St. and Bridge St. Mailing Address: P.O. Box 309 Tunkhannock, PA 18657 Phone: (570) 836-5303 Email: society@epix.net


 * The library holdings include, vital records, cemetery records with surrounding counties, genealogies, surname index cards. The museum and genealogical library are open to visitors on Wednesdays, 1st and 3rd Saturdays, and from April 15 to October 15 Tuesdays.
 * They publish a newsletter semi-annually called Lest We Forget.

Birth

 * 1819–1930 – – free index. Not complete for all years.

The county records for births are available from the Clerk of Orphans Court. The dates they cover are from 1893 to 1906.

Marriage

 * 1854–1976 – – free index. Not complete for all years.

The marriage records at the county are from 1885 to the present. You may request a copy from:

Wyoming County Clerk 1 Court House Square Tunkhannock, PA 18657 Phone: 570-996-2232 Hours: Monday to Friday 8:30 AM–4:00 PM

Divorce
Divorce records are handled by the office of the Prothonotary. While no on-line indexes or records are available, records may be obtained by visiting or writing to the Prothonotary at:

Wyoming County Prothonotary 1 Court House Square Tunkhannock, PA 18657 Phone: 570-996-2232 Hours: Monday to Friday 8:30 AM–4:00 PM

Death
The county records for deaths are available from the Clerk of Orphans Court. The dates they cover are from 1893 to 1906.

Web Sites

 * USGenWeb project.Wyoming County. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.