Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, 1777-1854: Stone Valley Lutheran and Reformed Congregations

This database contains the records of Stone Valley Lutheran and Reformed Congregations, located in Lower Mahanoy Township in the southwestern corner of Northumberland County in Pennsylvania. Included are records of baptisms, marriages, and burials for individuals who lived in the area between 1777 and 1854.

Church records rank among the very best genealogical records available worldwide, but they are one of the most under-used sources in American genealogy. Until the advent of vital statistics in the United States—a very late development in most states—church records were the primary source of birth, marriage, and death information. The sheer number of denominations and affiliate churches has made identifying and locating each one's records a time-consuming ordeal for most genealogists. Church records vary a great deal in content and emphasis according to the basic theology of the religious group that created them.

Early immigrants from England, Scotland, and other European countries brought their religious beliefs, institutions, and customs with them, including the keeping of church books in which to record births, baptisms, confirmations, marriages, communion lists, deaths, and burials. Lutheran and Reformed Church records in Pennsylvania rank among the very best church records available.