Find Snyder County Death Records

Snyder County obituary and death records are held at the local Register of Wills office in Middleburg and through the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The county was formed in 1855 from Union County and is named after Simon Snyder, the third Governor of Pennsylvania. Whether you are searching for a recent Snyder County death certificate or an older obituary from the county's agricultural past, this guide explains which offices hold those records and how to request copies.

Snyder County Register of Wills

The Snyder County Register of Wills is located at Snyder County Courthouse, 9 West Market Street, Middleburg, PA 17842. The phone number is 570-837-4221. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The Register of Wills also serves as Clerk of Orphans' Court for Snyder County, handling adoptions and guardianship cases as well as estate matters.

When a Snyder County resident dies and leaves behind property, debts, or dependents, the estate may go through probate at this office. Probate files include wills, letters of administration, inventories of assets, and final accounts. These records are tied directly to a death event. For researchers and family members, Snyder County probate records going back to 1855 can provide details about an ancestor that no death certificate alone would capture. The county has a strong agricultural heritage and many family farms appear in estate records over the generations.

Historical birth and death records from 1893 to 1906 are also held at the Register of Wills. These records predate the statewide PA vital records system and can help when searching for a Snyder County death in the years before 1906.

The Snyder County government website provides contact information for all county offices including the Register of Wills.

Snyder County Death Certificates

For deaths in Snyder County from 1906 to the present, the Pennsylvania Department of Health issues certified death certificates. You can order through VitalChek online, by mail to the Division of Vital Records, or in person at a PA vital records walk-in office. Each copy costs $20. Mail requests take about three weeks. Check the processing times page to see current wait estimates before you submit.

A certified Snyder County death certificate is needed for settling estates, collecting life insurance, handling pension benefits, and transferring property. The PA vital records death certificate page describes what information you need to provide when ordering and which forms of identification are accepted. Walk-in service is available in Harrisburg, Scranton, and several other Pennsylvania cities if you need a copy quickly.

Historical Snyder County Obituary and Death Records

Snyder County was carved out of Union County on March 2, 1855. Its early population was largely German-speaking farmers who settled the Penns Creek valley and surrounding areas. Church burial records from German Lutheran and Reformed congregations are the main source for Snyder County deaths before 1893. Many of these registers have been microfilmed and are available through local libraries and genealogical societies.

Middleburg, the county seat, has held county records since 1855. The courthouse holds probate files and deed records that often document deaths indirectly through estate transfers. Local newspapers such as the Middleburg Post have published Snyder County obituaries for well over a century. Back issues are held on microfilm at the county library and at the PHMC Archives in Harrisburg.

The PA State Archives holds death certificates for Snyder County from 1906 to 1968. These are indexed online and searchable at no cost through PA State Archives vital statistics. Many records from this period are also available through Ancestry.com under a partnership with the Archives. Cemetery transcription projects in Snyder County have also produced published records that cover many of the older rural cemeteries in the area.

Genealogy Resources for Snyder County Deaths

Researching Snyder County family deaths for genealogy works best when you combine multiple sources. Use the PA State Archives free online index first to find death certificates from 1906 to 1968. Then request certified copies from the PA Department of Health for the records you need. For deaths before 1906, the Register of Wills holds local records from 1893 to 1906, and church and cemetery records go back further.

The Pennsylvania genealogy records program allows death certificates older than 50 years to be requested by any researcher, not just close relatives. This covers most Snyder County records from the twentieth century. The Orphans' Court clerks directory lists the Snyder County contact for probate and estate records that are closely tied to local death events.

Snyder County borders Union, Northumberland, Mifflin, and Juniata counties. Families living near county borders may have had deaths recorded in a neighboring county. If a Snyder County death record cannot be located, check neighboring county offices before concluding the record is missing. The Register of Wills in Union County is a particularly likely alternate source given that Snyder County was split from Union County in 1855.

Nearby Counties

Snyder County borders four other Pennsylvania counties. Each neighboring county maintains its own death records through its Register of Wills and through the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

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