Huntingdon County Genealogy Lookup
Huntingdon County genealogy records in south-central Pennsylvania reach back to the county's formation from Bedford County on September 20, 1787. The county seat is Huntingdon, and the courthouse there holds wills from 1787, deeds from 1787, and marriage licenses from 1885. The Register and Recorder Office is a combined office that handles probate, land, and Orphans' Court records all in one location. Online access is available through the Infocon system. This guide covers the main sources for Huntingdon County family history and how to access them efficiently.
Huntingdon County Quick Facts
Huntingdon County Genealogy Records
The Huntingdon County Register and Recorder Office is a combined office that handles probate, land, and Orphans' Court records. The current official is Kelsey Dunn, Register and Recorder. The office is located at the Courthouse, 223 Penn Street, Huntingdon, PA 16652. Phone: 814-643-2740. Fax: 814-643-6849. Email: regrec@huntingdoncounty.net.
Huntingdon County probate records include wills and fiduciary accounts, inventories of estates, inheritance tax records, and estate administration records. All of these date from 1787 to the present. Land records include deeds from 1787 to the present, mortgages, satisfaction of mortgage documents, releases, subdivision plans, agreements, easements, and highway maps. Orphans' Court records include guardianship papers for minors and incapacitated persons, adoption records (sealed), and marriage licenses.
Online access to public records in Huntingdon County is available through Infocon at infoconcountyaccess.com. This system allows name-based searching and is useful for researchers who cannot visit the courthouse in person. Not all record types may be available online, so contact the office directly to confirm what is accessible through the system.
The Register and Recorder Office provides access to a long span of Huntingdon County records covering more than two centuries of family history. Researchers working on early Pennsylvania families will find this office one of the most complete in the region for records going back to the late 1700s.
Huntingdon County Probate and Land Records
Wills in Huntingdon County go back to 1787 and are fully indexed through 1908, with records continuing to the present. These documents name heirs, executors, and witnesses, and often include detailed inventories of personal property. For early Huntingdon County families, the will may be the only surviving record that confirms how children were related to the deceased. Fiduciary accounts document how estate assets were distributed and can reveal additional family members not named in the will itself.
Deed books in Huntingdon County begin in 1787. Deeds from this period often name all parties involved in a transaction and include metes and bounds descriptions that can help place a family on the landscape. The grantor and grantee indexes make it possible to trace all land transactions for a specific individual. Mortgage indexes go back to 1786 and provide another way to follow a family's financial and property history across generations in Huntingdon County.
Orphans' Court dockets from 1788 to 1866 are available and indexed, covering guardianship proceedings, estate settlements, and court-supervised family matters. Quarter Session Papers from 1787 to 1839 contain additional court records that can document early Huntingdon County residents. These materials may be held at the courthouse or on microfilm at the Pennsylvania State Archives.
Note: Older records from before Huntingdon County's formation in 1787 are held in Bedford County, from which Huntingdon was formed.
Vital Records in Huntingdon County
Huntingdon County birth and death records at the county level cover two distinct periods: 1852 to 1853 and 1893 to 1905. An additional set of birth records from 1941 is also available through the Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court. Death records cover 1852 to 1853 and 1893 to 1905 at the county level. Marriage records run from 1852 to 1855 and from 1885 to the present. Under 35 P.S. §450.801, births and deaths from 1906 onward are held by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
For genealogical vital records requests, contact the Division of Vital Records at P.O. Box 1528, New Castle, PA 16103, or order online through VitalChek. The fee is $20 per certified copy. The gap in vital records from 1854 to 1892 in Huntingdon County must be filled through church records, cemetery records, and census data. Act 127 of 2016 improved access to older vital records for genealogical research. The Library of Congress guide to Pennsylvania vital records provides additional context.
Huntingdon County Historical Society
The Huntingdon County Historical Society is located at 106 4th Street, Huntingdon, PA 16652. The research library contains family histories, cemetery records, church records, and local newspapers on microfilm. County histories covering Huntingdon County are available for in-person review. Research assistance is available from society staff and volunteers. Membership provides additional benefits and supports the society's preservation work.
The historical society's collection complements the official courthouse records by holding materials that document community life in Huntingdon County. Church records from local congregations, for example, may provide baptism, marriage, and burial dates that predate official civil registration. Cemetery records help confirm death dates and family relationships for individuals buried across Huntingdon County's many small cemeteries and churchyards.
Pennsylvania Archives for Huntingdon County Research
The Pennsylvania State Archives holds an extensive set of Huntingdon County records on microfilm. These include Deed Books from 1786 to 1972 with indexes, Mortgage Index from 1786 to 1969, Orphans' Court Dockets from 1788 to 1866 with indexes, and Wills from 1787 to 1908 with indexes. Birth records from 1852 to 1853 and 1893 to 1905, death records from 1852 to 1853 and 1893 to 1905, and marriage records from 1852 to 1855 and 1885 forward are also available. Naturalization records are held here as well.
Through the Commonwealth's digitization partnership with Ancestry.com, many state-level records have been made available online. Pennsylvania residents can access them at no charge. The State Library of Pennsylvania holds census records for Huntingdon County on microfilm from 1790 to 1930. County histories and family files in the state library collection can help flesh out Huntingdon County family lines before and after the courthouse record dates.
Under 65 P.S. §§ 67.101, most government records are public. Huntingdon County records at the courthouse and at the state archives can be requested under the Right-to-Know Law. Under 37 Pa.C.S. § 305.3, records of permanent value must be preserved and remain accessible to the public, which ensures Huntingdon County genealogy records will continue to be available for future researchers.
Nearby Counties
Huntingdon County was formed from Bedford County and borders several central Pennsylvania counties. Families often moved between these counties, and records may be split across multiple courthouses.