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Beers, D. G., ed. Atlas of Union and Snyder Counties, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: Pomeroy & Beers, 1868. This atlas was published during the heyday of historic atlas publishing. The maps of each township and municipality indicate locations of churches, stores, schools, and each landowner. Landowners are indicated only by first initial and surname.
Bickhart, Robert L. Snyder County, Pennsylvania land surveys, name index. Middleburg, PA: Snyder County Historical Society, 1980.
Glatfelter, Charles H. Pastors and People: German Lutheran and Reformed Churches in the Pennsylvania Field, 1717-1793. Vol. 1: Pastors and Congregations. Breinigsville, PA: The Pennsylvania German Society, 1980. This is the best introduction to Lutheran and Reformed congregations in Pennsylvania using primary documentary evidence. Congregations in Snyder County are part of the larger chapter on the Upper Susquehanna Valley on pages 445-456. This volume, part of a 2-volume work for the Pennsylvania German Society, is regretably out of print.
Hostetter, C. Nelson. Anabaptist-Mennonites nationwide USA: includes Amish and Brethren In Christ. Morgantown, PA: Masthof Press, 1997. This is the best brief introduction to the Anabaptist and Mennonite sects I've found, including the various sects in Snyder County such as Old Order Amish, Beachy Mennonite, Hoover Mennonite, and Stauffer Mennonite. Understanding these different sects can lead you to their church record repositories.
Maser, Frederick E. Methodism in Central Pennsylvania. N.p.: Central Pennsylvania Annual Conference, The United Methodist Church, 1971. Although there were few Methodist Churches established in Snyder County prior to the Civil War, Maser gives an informed overview of the post-war establishment of Methodism in Central Pennsylvania.
Stapleton, A[mmon]. Annals of the Evangelical Association of North America and History of the United Evangelical Church. Harrisburg, PA: Publishing House of the United Evangelical Church, 1900. This is the best volume on the most numerous churches in Snyder County. The "German Methodists" called the Evangelical Association and the United Evangelical Church is now part of the United Methodist Church. Stapleton preserves much oral tradition, family histories and local lore, all of which must be substantiated with primary documentary material by the researcher. Although it is a denominational history, the Evangelicals were headquartered in New Berlin, Union County, just north of the Snyder County line. Because of that, Stapleton pays close attention to the establishment of house churches and congregations in Union and Snyder Counties. Check out pages 56-84 which talk about how the work of the German Evangelicals spread to Union and Snyder Counties on the New or Northumberland Circuit in 1806.
A Commemorative Biographical Record of Central Pennsylvania. Chicago: J.H. Beers & Co.
Dunkelberger, George F[ranklin]. The Story of Snyder County. Selinsgrove, PA, 1948. Probably one of the best one-volume histories of the county, it preserves a great deal of local oral history.
Ellis, F[ranklin] and Hungerford, A[ustin] N., eds. History of that part of the Susquehanna and Juniata Valleys, embraced in the counties of Mifflin, Juniata, Perry, Union and Snyder, in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 2 vols. Philadelphia: Everts, Peck & Richards, 1886. Volume 2, pages 1421-1590, focuses on Snyder County. A history of the legal and medical professions, along with historical, biographical and organizational sketches of each township and community offers much helpful background for the researcher.
Fisher, Charles Adam. The Snyder County Pioneers. Selinsgrove, 1938. There's some interesting material on the earliest settlers of Snyder County, although as with all of his published works, Snyder doesn't tell us specifically where we got most of his information. Nevertheless, he provides some good leads for pursuing family research.
Godcharles, Frederic A[ntes]. Chronicles of Central Pennsylvania. 4 vols. n.p.: Lewis Publishing Co., 1944.
Gutelius, Calvin Warren. The division of a county, 1853-1855, and the part played in the contest by a Whig Party editor. Northumberland, PA, Susquehanna Press, 1942. Compiled from a series of articles the author wrote for the Lewisburg Journal newspaper, the brief book illustrates how the division of Union County into Union and Snyder Counties in 1855 reflects the political turmoil in Central Pennsylvania leading up to the Civil War. Good social history.
Housley, Donald D., ed. Snyder County, Pennsylvania: From Pioneer Days to the Present. Snyder County Communities National Bicentennial, Inc., 1976. Compiled on the occasion of the United States Bicentennial in 1976, the profusely illustrated volume restates some of the earlier histories but adds 20th century history as well.
Linn, John Blair. Annals of Buffalo Valley, Pennsylvania, 1755-1855. Harrisburg: Lane S. Hart, 1877. Although Buffalo Valley is in Union County to the north, Linn includes much information about the area of Penn Township, Northumberland County, comprising much of present-day Snyder County, until the creation of Union County from Northumberland in 1813. The entire text of this book, along with a downloadable PDF index file, is available on the Bucknell University Sheary Project website.
Snyder County Historical Society Bulletin. 3 vols. Selinsgrove & Middleburg: Snyder County Historical Society, 1913-1996. Some good, helpful articles of serious research, most articles are interesting, but of uneven quality.
Wagenseller, George W[washington] and Winey, Clara, R. Snyder county annals : a collection of all kinds of historical items affecting Snyder County from the settlement of the first pioneers in this section, to the names of the soldiers in the World War, 1917-19. Middleburg: Middleburg Post, 1919.
The McClure Story 1867-1967 Centennial, One Hundred Years of History-McClure.
Schnure, William M. Selinsgrove Chronology, 1700-1920. 2 vols. Selinsgrove, 1918.
Fisher, Charles Adam. Central Pennsylvania Marriages 1700-1896. Selinsgrove, 1946. A large collection of marriage records which, though primarily from Union & Snyder Cos, also includes records from other central Pa. counties. About 15,000 brides & grooms are identified; alphabetical by grooms.
Fisher, Charles Adam. Early Pennsylvania Birth Records 1675-1775. Selinsgrove, 1947. This extensive listing of birth data is based on baptismal records from four churches, tombstone inscriptions from four cemeteries & much from private sources never before published. For each child the birth date, and the names of the parents and sponsors are given. Over 4,000 births are recorded.
Fisher, Charles Adam. Probate and Orphans Court Records of Snyder County, Pennsylvania, 1772-1855. Selinsgrove, 1940. The title is something of an anachronism as Snyder County wasn't created until 1855. Nevertheless, Fisher lists helpful material from Snyder County's antecedent counties of Northumberland (1772) and Union (1813).
Wagenseller, George W[ashington]. Tombstone Inscriptions of Snyder County: All Epitaphs taken from the Markers in Every Burying Ground of Snyder County, Complete Record from the Time of Settlement of this Territory by the Pioneers before the Revolutionary War Down to the Year 1904. Middleburg: Middleburg Post, 1904. This entire book has been transcribed and posted in plain text format on the Snyder County Archives section of the PAGenWeb project.
Created: 10-Dec-1998