Do you have ancestors from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania? You can now search the LNP Always Lancaster along with 18 other related Lancaster titles! The daily paper just celebrated its 225th anniversary and is one of the oldest newspapers still publishing in the United States! We have issues that date back to 1796 when the paper was known as the Lancaster Journal.

The Lancaster Journal – June 24, 1796

Lancaster is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. It was originally called ‘Hickory Town’ but later renamed ‘Lancaster’ after a prominent citizen suggested naming the town after his former home in England. Though first inhabited by Native American tribes, white immigrants including Germans, Swiss, English, and Ulster-Scots moved into the area beginning in 1709.

At that time, Western Pennsylvania was wilderness inhabited by Native American tribes that often skirmished with the encroaching white settlers. Panther, bear and wolf attacks were common threats. As more settlers arrived, a road was needed to transport people and products to and from Philadelphia. The Great Conestoga Road opened linking the two cities but fell into disrepair during the decades around the Revolution. In the 1790s, the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike Company sold shares to raise money to construct a new road. When the turnpike opened, it was the first long-distance paved road in the country. The first issue in our Lancaster collection is dated June 17, 1796, and includes a notice from the Philadelphia & Lancaster Turnpike Company announcing shares were available to purchase.  

The paper covered hostilities between the United States and Great Britain during the War of 1812 where some 800 men from Lancaster County served. You can find some of their personal accounts of battles in this collection. Lancaster also served as an important munitions center during the war.

The fifteenth President of the United States, James Buchanan was a descendant of Ulster-Scots and a Lancaster resident. He started his law career in 1813 in Lancaster and when he was elected president in 1857 became the only person from Pennsylvania to hold that office. His estate known as Wheatland still draws tourists today.  

The railroad arrived in Lancaster in 1834, bringing commerce to the city and in 1879, the first F.W. Woolworth Company, a five-cent store, opened in Lancaster.

This collection of Lancaster newspapers is rich with history, covering more than two centuries of news including the settlement of Lancaster County and the growth of the nation. You can peruse obituaries, birth notices, wedding announcements, and information on the families that settled in this area. Explore the Lancaster collection today on Newspapers.com!

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47 thoughts on “225 Years of History from Pennsylvania!”

    1. Believe I have some WYCKOFF’s in my data base on Ancestry which family line are you researching? I was born in PA.

      1. If memory serves me correctly, there was a Longenecker who went to school in Newark, Ohio in the 1965-1970 range.

    1. I have a extensive Cline family that lived in Pennsylvania prior to the Revolution. Many branches that moved westward.

  12. Looking for Davidson who was born in Philadelphia in 1760 and may have lived in Lancaster, PA before ending up in Venango County, PA. He was married to Sarah (last name unknown) and had 6 or 7 children.

  14. Looking for relatives of the Lang family of Pittsburgh who may have come from the eastern part of the state.

      1. I have brother and sister Long marrying brother and sister Mennonites in Howard, Centre County, PA.
        John Neff m. Fanny Long Abt 1808, probably in Centre Co, PA or Livingston, Co, NY
        Christopher Christian Long m. Elizabeth Neff (Naf) Abt 1805, probably in Centre Co, PA.
        Long father is reputed to be Christian Long (possibly a Hessian soldier deserter). There is no evidence to support this Family Tradition concerning the deserter.

    1. I have a Deborah Hood who married John Johnston, he died in PA in 1756. The Elizabeth Mahan lines in a different line came from Ireland to VA to IN…..

      1. My Grandfathers name was John Johnston, his fathers name was Samuel Grant who was born in Pennsylvania. I have more information on the family etc. but have to find it in my records.

  23. I am looking for information regarding ANDREW MORELAND or Mooreland dating back prior to 1775. He served with the Lancaster militia during the Rev War, but I can’t find information prior to that date. Help, anyone?

  26. Looking for Shanafelt (Sheinefeild, Schornefieldt. many different spellings) or Korber (Cover) families.

  27. Need John Risinger and wife Eve from Huntingdon County, Pa. up to 1830. Eve NOT Eve Almerode.

  28. Searching for parents of John Friedly, b. 1851, Bern, Switzerland who married Susan Kline Otstott, and had childrren John, Harry, Ira, Emma, and Paul

    1. Harry Freidly married into my family and I have many of the descendants. But I have not been able to go further back than John.

  29. These Lancaster papers have really helped me solve so many family mysteries and figure out puzzles in my family tree. Nowadays it is hard to find births, marriages and even deaths anywhere. With people being cremated there are no longer tombstones to find. Genealogy will be different in the future.

  30. If anyone runs across a Bridget and Peter Cosgrove that were around this area (Scranton address in 1870 census) prior to this date. I have been digging through newspapers trying to find anything that pre-dates it showing where they lived, immigrated through, or were from exactly in Ireland.

  31. Looking for information on Margaret Mace (1852, maybe Adams Co.,Pa., died 1915, Hillsdale, Illinois). Married Frank Bealer abt. 1883. Parents,. maybe George and Elizabeth Mace.

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