From the Membership Brochure published by the Clarion County Historical Society.

The Clarion County Historical Society does not maintain a collection of public records copied from the original records stored in the Courthouse.  Research in public records must, therefore, be conducted at the Clarion County Courthouse (Main Street at Fifth Avenue, Clarion).

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania did not establish Clarion County until 1839.  Prior to that date, the area north of the Clarion River was included in Venango County, and the area south of the Clarion River was included in Armstrong County.

Deeds for Clarion County are available at the Courthouse from 1840 to the present.  Deeds for Armstrong County and Venango County from 1806 to 1840, including the area that is now Clarion County, are also available at the Clarion County Courthouse.

Wills and other estate records for Clarion County from 1840 to the present are available at the Clarion County Courthouse.  For the time period prior to 1840, these records are available at the Venango County Courthouse in Franklin or at the Armstrong County Courthouse in Kittanning.

Note from Billie McNamara:  Original wills are stored in antique file drawers that were unreachable last time I tried to obtain a copy.  The clerk acknowledged they were public records, but her staff was not allowed to climb to those heights, and neither could visitors.

Marriage records from September 30, 1885, to December 31, 1940, are available at the Clarion County Courthouse.  For the years since January 1, 1941, marriage records must be obtained from the Division of Vital Statistics, State Department of Health, Central Building, 101 South Mercer Street, P. O. Box 1528, New Castle, PA 16103.

Birth and death records for Clarion County from 1897 to 1906 are available at the Courthouse.  For the period following 1906, the records must be obtained from the Division of Vital Statistics, New Castle, PA (address above).

The Clarion County Courthouse has a limited number of marriage records and death records from 1852 to 1854.  These records are incomplete.  For example, Catholic marriages are not included.  The Clarion County Historical Society has copies of these records.

• You can view a list of microfilmed public records available at LDS Family History Centres worldwide in the LDS Family History Library Catalogue.  A list of several pertinent records with their LDS film numbers is available on this Web site.  Use the Search feature to locate the list.

Newspapers and Census Records

Clarion County newspapers from 1868 to the present are available on microfilm at the Clarion Free Library, Main Street, Clarion.  A list of their holdings is available on the Clarion County PAGenWeb site.  Use the Search feature to locate the list.  Federal censuses of Clarion County are also included in the Library's collection.

Observation by Billie McNamara:  All the Clarion County records offices and libraries have always been outstanding when responding to both my on-site and mail-in research requests.

This information was typed almost verbatim from the Clarion County Historical Society's membership brochure and is presented as a service to readers of this page.  It is the copyrighted property of the Clarion County Historical Society.  All rights reserved.  No copyright violation is intended.