Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

United States Pennsylvania Schuylkill County

Historical Facts

 * Parent Counties: Formed from Berks and Northampton Counties 1 March 1811.
 * County Seat: Pottsville
 * Neighboring Counties: residents may also have records in Luzerne (north) • Berks (south) •  Carbon (northeast)  • [Dauphin County, Pennsylvania|Dauphin]] and Lebanon (southwest)  •  Columbia (northwest)  •  Northumberland (west)  •  Lehigh (east)

Named for the Schuylkill River. Benjamin Franklin left money in his will (dated 1789) for the restoring of the river long time before the conception of "conservation."

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

Saint Nicholas Cemetery, Mahanoy City BillionGraves

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.
 * Marriages and Marriage Evidence in Pennsylvania German Churches at PAGenWeb – Free, covers Lutheran and Reformed churches


 * 1755-1825 - Humphrey, John T. Pennsylvania Births, Carbon County, 1795-1825; Monroe County, 1741-1825; Schuylkill County, 1755-1825. Washington, D.C.: PA Genealogy Books, 2006..


 * Contains church records of Zion Lutheran Church aka "Old Red Church," Orwigsburg, West Brunswick Township; "Hetzel's" Lutheran Church, Pine Grove Township; St. Paul's Lutheran and Reformed Church aka "Summer Hill" Church, Mannheim Township; St. John's Lutheran and Reformed Church, Friedensburg, Wayne Township; St. Jacob's Lutheran Church, Pine Grove Township; St. Paul's Lutheran and Reformed Church aka "White Church," Ringtown, Union Township; St. Peter's Lutheran and Reformed Church, Pine Grove, Pine Grove Township; St. John's Lutheran and Reformed Church, Tamaqua, Rahn Township; Frieden's Lutheran and Reformed Church, Norwegian, Branch Township; Frieden's Lutheran and Reformed Church, near New Ringgold, West Brunswick Township; and Zion Reformed Church, West Brunswick Township.

Baptist
In 1840, the "First English Baptist Church of Minersville" was organized.

Catholic

 * 1845-1860 - Marriage, Baptism and Death Records from St. John the Baptist Catholic Church at PAGenWeb – Free, baptisms, marriages, and burials

Congregational
The First Congregational Church was established by the Welsh in the area in 1836.

Episcopal
St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal church was organized in 1845 and their building erected in 1849.

Lutheran
The German Lutherans were the first in the county although the exact date of their organization is unknown. The German Evangelical Lutheran Zion's Congregation had their first church built in 1849. Before it was built, they had met in the schoolhouse. The first English Lutheran Church was organized in 1851.


 * 1755-1800 - Zion Red Church at PAGenWeb – Free, baptisms, Brunswick Township, then Berks, now Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania
 * 1894-1994 - St. Michael's Lutheran &amp; Reformed Church at PAGenWeb – Free, marriages, located in Klingerstown
 * 1894-1994 - St. Michael's Lutheran &amp; Reformed Church at PAGenWeb – Free, burials and funerals, located in Klingerstown
 * Christ Lutheran Church at PAGenWeb – Free, burials, located in Rush Township
 * Saint Jacob's Evangelical Lutheran Church at PAGenWeb – Free, baptisms, located in Pine Grove
 * St. Michael's Lutheran &amp; Reformed Church at PAGenWeb – Free, baptisms, located in Klingerstown
 * Some Confirmations and Baptisms of Christ Lutheran Church at PAGenWeb – Free, baptisms, located in Rush Township, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania

Methodist
The Methodist Episcopal church began meeting in Minersville starting in 1834.

Reformed
In 1840, Emmanuel's Church was organized and met in the union church with the Lutherans.


 * 1755-1800 - Zion Red Church at PAGenWeb – Free, baptisms, Brunswick Township, then Berks, now Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania
 * 1894-1994 - St. Michael's Lutheran &amp; Reformed Church at PAGenWeb – Free, marriages, located in Klingerstown
 * 1894-1994 - St. Michael's Lutheran &amp; Reformed Church at PAGenWeb – Free, burials and funerals, located in Klingerstown
 * St. Michael's Lutheran &amp; Reformed Church at PAGenWeb – Free, baptisms, located in Klingerstown
 * Some Church Records of Emmanuel Reformed Church at PAGenWeb – Free, baptisms, located in Nuremberg, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania

United Church of Christ

 * 1831-1920 - Index to St. John's United Church of Christ at PAGenWeb – Free, baptisms, located in Orwigsburg, index
 * 1831-1920 - St. John's United Church of Christ at PAGenWeb – Free, baptisms, located in Orwigsburg
 * St. John's United Church of Christ at PAGenWeb – Free, burials, located in Orwigsburg

Land and Property
Land records in Schuylkill County began in 1811. These records are filed with the Recorder of Deeds office in Pottstown, 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:

Land Records on Microfilm


 * 1811-1915 Deed Books 1811-1902; Indexes to Deeds 1811-1915.

Additional Resources

Note that the "Maps" section below also 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 Schuylkill 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 County Atlas of Schuylkill, Pennsylvania, from Recent and Actual Surveys and Records by F.W. Beers and A.B. Cochran (New York, 1875). This atlas located in the Library of Congress shows major landowners and geographic sites at the date of publishing. 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 Tracks.

Newspapers
Evening Herald (Shenandoah, PA: 1891-1899) on Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87078000/

Probate Records
Online Probate Records Original probate records for some Pennsylvania counties are available free online as digital images at FamilySearch.org. The dates vary significantly for each county and not all counties are listed. Some counties may only have probate indexes. This Pennsylvania collection of images may be browsed through the links listed below: Complete Collection:


 * 1683-1994 – at FamilySearch.org

Schuylkill County Only:


 * 1811–1917 – Shuylkill County Probate Records

Archives
Archives Schuylkill County Courthouse 401 N 2nd Street Pottsville PA 17801-2528 570-628-1145 archives@co.schuylkill.pa.us Hours: 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. daily excluding holidays The Schuylkill County Archives is a central depository for all county government records. These include records from the Clerk of the Courts, Prothonotary, Recorder of Deeds, and Register of Wills. Most records are open to the public. The oldest records predate the creation of the county in 1811. Early records have been microfilmed with the originals in storage at the archives. Records of interest to genealogists and family historians include:


 * Birth and death records
 * Marriage dockets 1885–May 1969
 * Naturalization indexes and records 1828–1988
 * Wills books 1811–1986
 * Estate files 1811–1959
 * County land records
 * Deed books
 * Mortgage books

Built as an annex to the courthouse, the archives covers two floors with access from the public entrance to the courthouse. Services are free with a nominal cost for copies. Online Marriage License Search

Courthouse

 * Schuylkill County Courthouse 401 North Second Street Pottsville, PA 17901 Phone: (570) 628-1332


 * Copies of documents including birth, marriages, deaths, divorces, land, and probate records can be obtained by using: Pennsylvania Public Record. Click on the link for the record you wish to request.

Societies

 * Schuykill County Historical Society 305 North Centre St Pottsville PA 17801 570-622-7540 e-mail: sch.hist@comcast.net
 * Hours: Wed 1:30 – 6:00 pm, Thurs and Fri 10:00 am – 4:00 pm, Sat 9:00 am – 1:00 pm Newsletter: Schuylkill Heritage available online. facebook twitter

County-wide Database

 * 1700-1821 - Pennsylvania Marriage Records Ancestry.com – ($) This database is incomplete for all counties.
 * Pre-1810 – Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry.com – ($) This database is incomplete for all counties. Includes 35,000 marriage records from vol. VIII of of the second series of the Pennsylvania Archives.

Birth

 * 1726-1930 - - free index. Not complete for all years.
 * 1852-1854 – Pennsylvania Births Ancestry.com – $ Index with images.

Marriage

 * 1725-1976 - - free index. Not complete for all years.

A marriage record index, covering 1885 to the present, is available at the Schuylkill County Courthousewebsite.

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:

Schuylkill County Prothonotary Schuylkill County Courthouse 401 N 2nd Street 1st Floor Pottsville, PA 17901 Phone: 570–628-1270

Death

 * 1852-1854 – Pennsylvania Deaths Ancestry.com – $ Index with images.

Web Sites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.