WCHS Holdings

The following lists some of the holdings of the genealogical library at the Wyoming County Historical Society in Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania.

Card Files

(All card files arranged alphabetically by surname)card_drawers

Cemeteries

Wyoming County – Complete listing of 129 cemeteries (see our map, too)
Surrounding Counties – Bradford, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Sullivan, Susquehanna and Wayne (incomplete)

Dietrick Tombstone Records – local business records from Tunkhannock Borough, Wyoming County and the surrounding areas; Jan 1896-Apr 1945card drawers

Undertaker Records – these date from the mid-1880’s to the 1960’s and are not complete; some from Laceyville, Tunkhannock, Factoryville

Surname Search

Wyoming County Census 1850-1930 (entirely abstracted and cross-indexed)

Vital Records

Wyoming County: (1842+) Birth, Delayed Birth, Death, Marriage, Naturalization, Orphans Court, Poor Children Lists and Continuance;
Westmoreland County, CT Wills (1777-1783);
Luzerne County Orphans Court (1786-1830+)

Delayed Births – recorded for those usually born between 1893 and Dec. 1905 (sometimes earlier) whose births were not initially recorded; mostly done for Social Security collection.

Orphans Court – estate settlements (normally for those without a will or if a will was contested); accounts of administrators of estates; guardianships for children

Obituary Files (1975-present)

Scrap Book Abstracts

Newspaper AbstractsView some online!

Family Vertical Files – folders with surname-related data: correspondence, charts, photocopies, etc.

Settlers Before 1790 – index in card files taken from the History of Wilkes-Barre by Harvey and Pennsylvania Archives

Census Indexes

CT: Early American Series 1790-1840
MA: 1740-1749; 1790-1810
NJ: Early American Series 1830-1850
NY: 1800-1820
PA: Early American Series 1790-1870

Microfilm Collection

Censusmicrofilm_drawers

NJ: Morris, Sussex and Warren Counties 1830-1920
NY: Broome, Delaware, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Sullivan, Tioga (check for years) Counties; Orange County State Census: 1825, 1835, 1845, 1855
PA: Entire State 1790-1830;

1840–1930 (many complete): Adams, Armstrong, Berks, Bradford, Bucks, Centre, Chester, Columbia, Crawford, Dauphin, Delaware, Franklin, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Lycoming, Monroe, Montgomery, Montour, Northampton, Northumberland, Pike, Potter, Schuylkill, Snyder, Somerset, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Union, Wayne, Westmoreland, Wyoming, and York County [various other PA counties available]

1890 Union and Veterans and Widows Census: (Most NE PA Counties)

OH: Delaware (1820 – 1870); other counties (check list)

Newspapers

Luzerne County (1798 – 1842) See Abstracts
Wyoming County (1841 – 2005 / some missing)
Sussex County, NJ Register (July 1814 – Oct. 1828)

Tax Records

Columbia County 1814-1817; 1820-1821
Northumberland County 1802-1811 (townships that later became Columbia County only)
Luzerne County 1802+ (townships that later became Wyoming County only)

Luzerne County

Grantee/Grantor Index (1787-1907); Deeds Vol. 1-222 (1787-1881)
Direct Tax 1798
Orphans Court Vol. 1-7 (1787-1866)
Register’s Docket Vol. 1 (1787-ca 1885)
Road Dockets Vol. 6-16
Will Index (1786-1919); Wills Vol. A-H (1786-1882)

Registers Docket – list of estates naming executors, administrators, sureties, dates of bonds and inventories which might be the only record available.

Road Dockets – petitions for constructing and changing roads; contains lists of local landowners and residents.

Wyoming County

Birth & Death Records (1893-Dec. 1905)
Delayed Births Vol. 1-5 (1872-1906)
Grantee/Grantor Index; Deeds Vol. 1-200; Sheriff and Treasurer’s Deeds
Naturalizations (1843-1916)
Marriage Records Vols. 1-10 (1885-1906)
Orphans Court (1843-1866)
Wills Index (1842-1938);
Wills Microfilm Index Vol. 1-16 — Now Online!

CT Barbour Records

Complete set – vital records by town for entire state

Library Room

Family Group Sheet Filesbookshelf
Genealogies
How-to Booksbooks
Pennsylvania General Books
Pennsylvania County Histories
State Histories: include CT, MA, New England, NJ, NY, other various states
New York Genealogical & Biographical Society Record
Genealogical Society of NJ Magazine
Foreign Countries: Canada, England, Germany and Scotland
Emmigrant and Passenger List Books
Civil War Books – includes History of PA Volunteers by Bates (indexed)
Revoluntionary and Early War Books includes DAR Patriot Indexes and DAR Lineage Books Vol. 1-166

Collection includes the following:

Domes Day Books (40 vols)
Mayflower Books
Pennsylvania Archives (complete set)
Passenger & Immigration Lists Index (22 volumes)
Colonial Families in US
The Compendium of American Genealogy
The American Genealogist (Vol. 1-40)
Quarterlies and Newsletters from many Pennsylvania counties and various states

Donations of books, manuscripts, microfilm and other records to our collection are welcome, of course, and are acknowledged in our newsletter. A donation form is available at the society, or contact us.