Chester County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

United States Pennsylvania Chester County

Historical Facts

 * Parent Counties: Created from Colonial Lands 10 March 1682.
 * County Seat: West Chester
 * Neighboring Counties: residents may also have records in Berks (north) • Montgomery (northeast) • Lancaster (west) • Delaware (southeast) • Cecil County, Maryland and New Castle County, Delaware (south)

Many Scotch-Irish immigrants settled in Chester County in the early eighteenth century.

Boundary Changes
14 October 1728: West part set off to form Lancaster County. 26 September 1789: Southeast part set off to form Delaware County.


 * Chester County Archives: Township and Borough Boundary Changes

Cemeteries
Cemetery records often reveal birth, marriage, death, relationship, military, and religious information.


 * Oxford Cemetery, Oxford BillionGraves
 * Revolutionary Soldiers Cemetery, Spring City BillionGraves. May contain burials from late 1700s/early 1800s.
 * Lloyd, Howard Williams. "Inscriptions on Gravestones in St. Peter's Episcopal Church-yard, Great Valley, East Whiteland, Chester County, Pa.," The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 15 (1891):440-448. For free online access, see WeRelate.

Census

 * 1842 Originals
 * 1857 Originals and Index

Chester County Archives:


 * Septennial Census Returns, 1793-1856

County-wide Database - Multi-denominational

 * 1708-1985 - Pennsylvania, Church and Town Records, 1708-1985 at Historical Society of Pennsylvania – $, free to members of the society; Also available at Ancestry.com – $; 7,542,774 entries. This database is incomplete for all counties.

Brethren

 * History of the Coventry Brethren church in Chester county, Pennsylvania, the second oldest Brethren church in America (1898)

Episcopalian
St. John's Church, New London

Early registers are lost. Surviving records begin in 1824.

Trinity Church, Oxford

Early registers are lost. For a history, see:


 * Fisher, George Harrison. "Trinity Church, Oxford, Philadelphia," The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 27 (1903):279-295. For free online access, see WeRelate.

Quaker
Early Quaker monthly meetings (with years established):


 * Concord Monthly Meeting (1684) also known as Chichester Monthly Meeting. Hinshaw published the early records:.

Chester County Archives

 * Orphan's Court
 * Affidavits, Depositions, Interrogatories, 1781-1834
 * Assigned Estates, 1821-1942
 * Equity Cases, 1844-1940
 * Inquisitions and Executions, 1700-1800
 * Insolvent Debtor's Petitions &amp; Bonds, 1724-1850
 * Letter of Attorney, 1774-1845
 * Gaol (Jail) Keepers' Docket, 1804-1816
 * Languishing Prisoner Petitions, 1718-1790
 * Oyer &amp; Terminer, 1802-1910
 * Prison Discharges, 1843-1872
 * Quarter Sessions Indictments, 1681-1870

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1680s-early 1700s - "Some Early Arrivals: Settlers in Chester County, Pa.," Publications of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, Vol. 4, No. 3 (Mar. 1911):281-304. For online access, see WeRelate; the Family History Library also has this series in its collection:.

History
Hunting prepared a map and a list of those who settled in Darby Township up through 1760:


 * Hunting, Morgan. "The Names of the Early Settlers of Darby Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania," The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 25 (1900):182-186. Digital version at Internet Archive - free.

Land and Property
Land records in Chester County began in 1688. These records are filed with the Recorder of Deeds office in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts, indexes, mortgages, leases, grants, sheriff sales, land patents, and maps. Property records include liens as well as livestock brands and estray records.

The following are examples of available resources:

Online Land Records


 * 1960–present Chester County offers online access to records since 1960. Fees may apply. View the website for current records availability and fees.
 * 1688–1875 The Chester County Archives offers the following free online indexes:


 * British Depredations, 1777-1782
 * Deed Books, 1688-1830
 * Inquisitions and Land Executions, 1700-1800
 * Letters of Attorney, 1774-1845
 * Mechanics' Liens, 1828-1868
 * Petitions for Sheriff's Deeds, 1728-1835
 * Sheriffs' Deeds, 1773-1875

Land Records on Microfilm


 * 1688–1922 Deeds 1688-1903; Index, 1688-1922.
 * 1628–1920 Mortgage Records, 1774-1852; Mortgage Index, 1628-1920.
 * 1775–1905 Sheriff's Deeds.

Additional Resources

Note that the "Maps" section below includes maps related to land ownership.

See Pennsylvania Land and Property for more information about using land records, especially about original land warrants, surveys, and patents filed at the state land office.

Additional resources can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Chester County Pennsylvania Land in online catalogs such as:


 * Historical Society of Pennsylvania
 * WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog.)
 * (For instructions see FHL Catalog Place-name Search.)

Maps

 * Ancestor Tracks has posted free, downloadable images from the Breou's Official Series of Farm Maps, Chester County published by W.H. Kirk, 1883 courtesy of the Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society. While the physical maps are in the public domain, the images we have taken of the maps belong to us and are not to be used commercially.  We hereby give permission to use them strictly for personal use; please attribute to Ancestor Tacks.
 * Chester County Archives - Atlases and Maps

Revolutionary War
Chester County men also served in the 5th Pennsylvania Regiment, the 6th Pennsylvania Regiment, and the 9th Pennsylvania Regiment.

Chester County Archives:

 * Board of Relief Records (Civil War), 1861-1865
 * Civil War Bounty Records, 1862-1865
 * Civil War Equalization Bounty &amp; Pension Records, 1863-1868
 * Veterans' Burials, 1885-1979
 * World War 1 Servicemen Records (County War Aid Association), 1917-1921

Naturalization and Citizenship
Chester County Archives - Naturalizations

Newspapers

 * Chester County Historical Society - largest extant collection of newspapers


 * Daily Local News

Indentured Servants

 * Fugitive Slave Records, 1820-1839
 * Indentured Servants &amp; Apprentice Records, 1700-1855
 * Negro Servant Returns, 1788-1821
 * Slave Manumissions

Poorhouse, Almshouse

 * Board of Relief Records (Civil War), 1861-1865
 * Poor School Children Records, 1810-1841
 * Poorhouse Records, 1800-1910
 * Poorhouse Bound Apprentices, 1801-1825

Chester County Archives:

 * Feme Covert Records, 1832-1848
 * Orphans' Court Bonds, 1746-1893
 * Orphans' Court Estates, 1714-1923
 * Register's Court, 1795-1917
 * Probate Records (Wills and Administrations) 1714-1923

Courthouse
"Scenic, Historic, World Class" Chester County 2 N. High Street PO Box 2748 West Chester, PA 19380-0991

Chester County Archives &amp; Records Services - main home page 601 Westtown Road, Suite #080 PO Box 2747 West Chester, PA 19380-0990

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Libraries
The Mennonite Heritage Center 565 Yoder Road Harleysville PA 19438-1020 215-256-3020 [mailto:library@mhep.org library@mhep.org] Hours: Tuesday thru Friday, 10am–5pm, Saturday, 10am–2pm

The Mennonite Historians of Eastern Pennsylvania support the John L. Ruth Historical Library and Museum at the Mennonite Heritage Center. Located in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania the records and resources of this treasure also cover the counties of Bucks, Chester, Berks, Lehigh, Northampton, and Philadelphia. The website provides a comprehensive overview of library resources, online cemetery database, manuscript collections, photo collections, archival collections, and more.

Societies

 * Chester County Historical Society
 * Chester County Library System's Database Access
 * Historical Society of Pennsylvania
 * Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania
 * Historical Society of the Phoenixville Area
 * Friends Historical Library, Swarthmore College (Quaker)
 * Archdiocese of Philadelphia - unable to locate link to the archives.
 * Presbyterian Historical Society
 * Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society - also for Amish genealogy.
 * Lutheran Historical Society of the Mid-Atlantic
 * United Methodist Church Archives

Taxation
Chester County Archives - 18th and 19th century tax lists


 * 1765-1769, 1771 - Proprietary Tax Lists of the County of Chester: For the Years 1765, 1766, 1767, 1768, 1769, 1771. (Pennsylvania Archives, Series 3, Vol. 11). Digital versions at Ancestry ($); Google Books - free.


 * 1774, 1779-1781, 1785 - Proprietary and Other Tax Lists of the County of Chester: For the Years 1774, 1779, 1780, 1781, 1785. (Pennsylvania Archives, Series 3, Vol. 12). Digital version at Ancestry ($).


 * 1798 - Pennsylvania, U.S. Direct Tax Lists, 1798 at Ancestry ($).


 * Provincial Tax Minutes, 1756-1778
 * Tax Discounts, 1785-1823
 * Tax Indexes, 1715-1799
 * Tax Index, 1805
 * Tax Index, 1890

Birth

 * 1726-1930 - - free index. Not complete for all years.
 * 1852-1855, 1893-1907 Births Delayed Birth Records (Chester County Archives)
 * 1852-1854 – Pennsylvania Births Ancestry.com – ($) Index with images.

Marriage

 * 1690-1890 Marriage Contracts, Separations and Certificates, (Chester County Archives)
 * 1700-1821 - Pennsylvania Marriage Records Ancestry.com – ($) This database is incomplete for all counties.
 * 1725-1976 - - free index. Not complete for all years.
 * Pre-1810 – Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry.com – ($) This database is incomplete for all counties. Includes 35,000 marriage records from vol. VIII of of the second series of the Pennsylvania Archives.
 * 1852-1855, 1885-1930 Marriages, (Chester County Archives)
 * 1885-1930 Marriages License Applications, (Chester County Archives)
 * 1793-1813 - Harlan, Geo. Passmore. "Marriages by Moses Marshall, Esq., Marshalton, Pa.," Publications of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, Vol. 3, No. 3 (Jun. 1908):190-196. For free online access, see WeRelate; the Family History Library also has this series in its collection:.
 * 1795-1832 - "Marriages by John Graves, Esquire, West Chester, Pa.," Publications of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, Vol. 4, No. 1 (Mar. 1909):101-113. For free online access, see WeRelate; the Family History Library also has this series in its collection:.

Divorce
Divorce records are handled by the office of the Prothonotary. While no on-line indexes or records are available, records may be obtained by visiting or writing to the Prothonotary at:

Chester County's Prothonotary's Office 201 W. Market Street Suite 1425 P.O. Box 2746 West Chester, PA 19380-0989 Phone: 610-344-6300

Death

 * 1852-1854 – Pennsylvania Deaths Ancestry.com – ($) Index with images.
 * 1852-1855, 1893-1906 Deaths, (Chester County Archives)
 * 1720-1957 Coroners' Records, (Chester County Archives)
 * 1875-1893 Proof of Death Registers, (Chester County Archives)
 * 1885-1979 Veterans' Burials, (Chester County Archives)
 * 1893-1907 Chester County (Pennsylvania) Register of Deaths, Alphabetized listing of thousands of names including last name, first name, race, gender, age, marital status, place of birth, date and place of death, cause, volume and page number.

Populated Places
City


 * Coatesville

Boroughs

Townships

Communities