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CARBON COUNTY 

PENNSYLVANIA

HISTORY AND GENEALOGY

INDEX PAGE

A website for free online access 

to the history and genealogy of 

Carbon County, Pennsylvania

Carbon Co. Pa. is located in the eastern part of the state, about half way between the cities of Allentown and Wilkes Barre.  It was one of the birthplaces of the industrial revolution in America; its rich deposits of anthracite coal sparked that revolution and are still fueling American industry today.

 

Updated December 23, 2007

 

 

Recent additions

1.      Major addition of the marrages and baptisms at St. Paul’s M. E. Church of Mauch Chunk.  Marriages now cover 1860 to 1925, the baptisms cover from 1860 to 1872, with more to come!  The list of ministers who served at the church now runs up to the 1920s.  (Online Dec. 23, 2007)

2.      A list of the 58 Charter Members of the First Presbyterian Church of Lansford (online Dec. 9, 2007)

3.      An important new site has been opened which should be of special interest to all those doing genealogical research in Pennsylvania.  Check the link below for People for Better Pennsylvania Historical Records Access! (Online Dec. 6, 2007)

4.      An updated link to St. John’s Towamensing Church baptisms has been added (online Dec. 6, 2007).

5.      Over a dozen names have been added (Nov. 27, 2006) to the Parryville Cemetery site thanks to Donna George

 

And check the links below to other Carbon Co. related sites

 

New stuff being added as time allows, so stay tuned for new developments!

 

 

Formed in 1843 from Northampton and Monroe Co., Carbon at that time consisted of the townships of 

Ø   Towamensing

Ø   Mahoning

Ø   East Penn 

Ø   Penn Forest

Ø   Mauch Chunk

Ø   Lausanne

Ø   Banks

 

There were no incorporated boroughs in the county at that time.  The townships of Kidder, Packer, Lower Towamensing and Lehigh were formed after the creation of the county.

 

                                                    

 

 

 

A good place to start in understanding Carbon County

Boroughs and Townships of Carbon County

A brief guide to when they were created

 

 

Beers’ 1875 Atlas of Carbon County

Here are the property owners and their addresses taken from the atlas along with most of the maps.  Most of the county is now online!

 

Camp Correspondence

        Letters home from local soldiers

 

Carbon County Courthouse Records

Immigration & Naturalization Records

          Some Irish, German, English, Welsh & Scottish immigrants

 

          Marriage Records

          From the research of Charlotte Ronemus

 

The Cemeteries of Carbon County

Many cemeteries in Carbon County are fully recorded and online.  Also, several partial listings of burials from other cemeteries are included.   

 

The Churches of Carbon County

Ø   The First Presbyterian Church of Mauch Chunk

 

Ø   The First Presbyterian Church of Summit Hill

 

Ø   The First Presbyterian Church of Lansford – Original Trustees & Charter Members

 

Ø   St. Paul’s Methodist Episcopal Church of Mauch Chunk

Marriage records from 1860 to 1925 now online with more records to come

Baptisms from 1860 to 1872

Ministers from 1830 to 1920

Church history

 

ØSt. John’s Union Church of Towamensing Twp. Baptismal Records

This site has been around for a while at different URLs.  I don’t know who did all the work of transcribing this, but it is a wonderful resource for the early families of lower Carbon County.

The Free Bridge Meetings of 1841

Following the flood, a fight to keep the new bridges free of tolls.  Meetings held in Mauch Chunk and Towamensing Twps., a list of over 100 leading citizens.

 

Newspaper News  

Greatly expanded in January 2004, marriage and obit extracts taken from the first 23 years of Mauch Chunk newspapers, starting with mid 1829 up to and including 1850.

 

Mathews & Hungerford’s 1884 "History of the Counties of Lehigh and Carbon"

The histories of the boroughs and townships, plus biographies of prominent people and other chapters on Carbon County history are now completed and online.  Some chapters and biographies on Lehigh County have also been added.  Many thanks to those who have helped with the transcription!

 

Rupp’s 1845 Subscriber List

This 1845 “History of Northampton, Lehigh, Monroe, Carbon & Schuylkill Counties” has a long list of subscribers from the various counties.  This is a list of those subscribers from Carbon County.

 

1836 Voter List for Mauch Chunk Twp.

          A list of those who voted in the 1836 Presidential Election

 

 

 

a   ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜  b

 

Below are links to other web sites concerned with Carbon County.

 

The Society’s web page has been remodeled and improved.  Besides having some additional information pertaining to area history, you can find out what is happening at the Mauch Chunk Opera House, the society’s main venue

The Mauch Chunk Historical Society of Carbon County

 

America’s first significant railroad and later our first roller coaster ride, the Switchback Gravity Railroad ran in a figure-8 over 18 miles and was a major tourist attraction for over a century.  Many early Chunkers were employed on the Switchback, used it for transportation, and rode it just for the sheer thrill of the ride.  Visit our site for information on preserving and protecting this important part of American Heritage.  Members needed!

The Switchback Gravity Railroad Foundation

 

Planning genealogical or historical research in Carbon County?  The Dimmick Library is the place to visit!  Resources include a complete collection of Carbon Federal censuses (1790 to 1930), plus a nearly complete set of Mauch Chunk newspapers on microfilm from 1829 to the present and The Valley Gazette (a local monthly paper devoted to the area’s history). In addition to this microfilm collection, there are many books pertaining to Carbon Co. History, plus a cheerful and helpful staff of experts!

Dimmick Memorial Library in Jim Thorpe

 

For visitors to learn more on the history and culture of early Mauch Chunk and the industrial improvements of the area, the best place to visit is

Mauch Chunk Museum & Cultural Center

 

One of the prime sources for doing genealogical research involves the complicated and time-consuming job of sending for Pa. State Death Certificates.  Imagine if there was a way to access this information online and for free!  Please visit this site and join in the effort today!

 

People for

Better Pennsylvania Historical Records

Access

(PaHR-Access)

 

From the 1820s until after the Civil War there was a flood of immigrants from Bann Valley of Co. Derry, Ireland to Carbon County, settling mainly in Mauch Chunk and Summit Hill.  Many of these Scotch-Irish names can be found in the Immigration and Naturalization records shown elsewhere in this site.  The majority of these immigrants came from the Parish of Dunboe near the city of Coleraine.    Check this transcription of the 1831 Dunboe census for your Scotch-Irish ancestors

 1831 Census of the Parish of Dunboe, Co. Derry, Ireland

 

Will Brown’s treasure trove of photos includes other families connected to this old Mauch Chunk family.  Other families pictured include Esser, MacFarlane, Moore, Hutchinson, Swank, Bennett, Barber and others.  An absolute gem of early and pre-1900 photography.  Be sure to visit the

Hyndman Family Photo Album (with index)

 

Two great sites for census research, these are transcribed from the actual census pages.  That means they are in text files, and download very fast (no waiting for images of the census page).  They are also completely indexed!

The 1850 Carbon County Census FTP site

 

The 1860 Carbon County Census FTP site

 

Panther Valley Coal miners among your family ancestry? 

Take a look at this site devoted to the mines at Lansford

The No. 9 Mine & Museum Lansford, Pa.

 

Here are three sites where you can post queries about Carbon County.

GenForum’s Carbon County Query site

 

Cousin Connection.com Query Site

 

RootsWeb’s Carbon Co. Query site

 

A site full of local information and plenty of links.

The Carbon County GenWeb Page

 

 

Definitely one of the “Crown Jewels” of

Carbon County,

visit the

Asa Packer Mansion Museum

 

 

Dalice Fadden’s site, one of the busiest places on the Internet.  New info posted daily, includes biographies, obits, marriages and cemetery info.

Eastern Pa. Information Board

 

 

The society promotes Summit Hill’s important place as one of the cradles of the Industrial Revolution in America.  Join now!

Summit Hill Historical Society

 

 

There are several interesting files on Carbon County history and genealogy.

The Carbon County Archives

 

 

Information on this old time “suburb” of Mauch Chunk, this village was founded shortly afterwards and inhabited for close to 80 years.

The Northern Liberties site

 

 

Here is a site with photos and a history of this historic borough.

Nesquehoning Home Page

 

 

There are many historic images of old-time Summit Hill.

WWW.Summit-Hill.com

 

 

These four sites provide up to date information on the town formerly known as Mauch Chunk.  Check these sites for information on events, lodging, restaurants, local news and people, street maps and more!

 

The Jim Thorpe Network

 

Jim Thorpe Today

 

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Visit Jim Thorpe, Pa.

 

 

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This web site was constructed using Microsoft software and checked with Internet Explorer.

 

 

 

Web page, text and research by

JACK STERLING

2001
 

 
 

 
 

 



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