Fayette County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

Guide to Fayette County, Pennsylvania ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Description
The county was named after the Marquis de Lafayette. The county is located in the southwest corner of the state.

County Courthouse
Fayette County Courthouse 61 E. Main Street Uniontown, PA 15401 Phone: 724-430-1479 Prothonotary: 724-430-1272 Fax: 724-430-4555 Recorder of Deeds: 724-430-1238 Fax: 724-430-1458 Register of Wills/Clerk of the Orphan's Court: 724-430-1206 Fayette County Website Clerk of Orphan Court has birth and death records 1893-1905, marriage records from 1885, and probate records from 1784 Prothonotary Office has divorce records and court records from 1784 Recorder of Deeds has land records from 1784

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Bible Records

 * Fayette County Bible Records at Fayette County, Pennsylvania USGenWeb Archives

Biographies

 * Gresham and Wiley Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of Fayette County, Pennsylvania at Fayette County, Pennsylvania USGenWeb Archives

Cemeteries
Additional Cemetery Resources
 * ca.1700-ca.1950 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * Pennsylvania Genealogy LDS Genealogy

Church Records
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 $


 * Contains church records of:
 * Belle Vernon: First United Methodist Church
 * Brownsville: Christ Episcopal Church
 * Fayette: Little Redstone United Methodist Church
 * Uniontown: St. Peter's Episcopal Church

Baptist A copy of the Minutes of the Redstone Association of Pennsylvania, 1804-1836 is available at the Primitive Baptist Library in Carthage, Illinois.

Great Bethel Baptist Church, Uniontown


 * 1770-1825 Great Bethel Baptist Church, Uniontown, Baptism Index 1770-1825 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch

Catholic
 * "100 years of the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese 1843 -1943," Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 17, No. 1. . Chronology, map, county-by-county information.

Presbyterian First Presbyterian Church, Brownsville


 * 1853-1875 First Presbyterian Church, Brownsville, Baptism Index 1853-1875 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch
 * 1864-1867 First Presbyterian Church, Brownsville, Marriage Index 1864-1867 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch

Quakers Information about early Fayette County settlers who were Quakers is contained in Hinshaw's Volumes I-IV covering Providence Monthly Meeting, Redstone Monthly Meeting, Westland Quarterly Meeting. Available at U.S., Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy, Vol I–VI, 1607-1943 Ancestry.com $ List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records
Prothonotary
 * 1784 -1818 Execution Dockets Includes indexes.
 * 1787 -1875 Sheriff's Deed Books Includes unknown court docket, 1784–1804.

African Americans
Fayette County has a record entitled: Birth Returns and Other Records for Negores and Mulattos, 1785, 1788 -1826, 1830 This record registers births of "negro" or "mulatto" children filed with the county. According to the Pennsylvania State Archives website "information provided is the date of the child's birth, name of the child, names of the parents, and place of residence. Most of these records were filed with the Clerk of the Peace for Fayette County who also maintained certificates of slave registry. All records were prepared after the passage of the Act of the Gradual Abolition of Slavery in Pennsylvania. The certificates of slave registry, which encompass several counties, contain the registration date, place of residence of the slave owner, gender and age of the slave, and occasionally the slave's date of birth and mother's name. Additional miscellaneous documentation in this series include other materials dealing with slavery or particular slaves in the county."
 * 1780-1846

A portion of this series has been transcribed by G.D. Dixon an is available on the Afrigeneas.com website. The link is:
 * 1788-1820 Negro and Mulatto Register: Birth Records for Negroes and Mulattoes, 1788-1820

This record is also available on microfilm through FamilySearch:
 * 1788-1826 Birth Returns for Negroes and Mulattoes, 1788-1826: Includes Certificates of Registry Received from Other Counties 1785, 1803, 1805, 1807-1808 and Miscellaneous Papers 1823, 1830 –.

Guardianship

 * 1783 -1802 Orphans' Court Docket
 * 1783 -1808 Minutes of the Court of General Quarter Sessions of the Peace

Land and Property Records
Land records in Fayette County began in 1784. These records are filed with the Recorder of Deeds office in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. If your ancestor lived in the area which became Fayette County, they may have filed land claims with Virginia when the area was know as the District of West Augusta.

Online Land Records Landowner Maps
 * 1773 -1950 Deeds, Mortgages, 1784-1867; Index, 1773-1950 - images only; click on the camera icon to view images' Early indexes are for the part of Westmoreland County that would later become Fayette County.
 * 1787 -1875 Sheriffs' Deed Books - images only; click on the camera icon to view images
 * 1769 -1900 Surveys and Warrants - images only; click on the camera icon to view images
 * 1975–present Fayette County offers online access to indexes since 1975. Fees apply to view images since 1988.
 * MacInnes, Sharon Cook and Angus MacInnes. Early Landowners of Pennsylvania Atlas of Township Warrantee Maps of Fayette County, PA Apollo, Pennsylvania Closson Press, 2005.

Local Histories

 * History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania. 1882. By Franklin Ellis. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania : L.H. Everts & Co. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($);.
 * Nelson's Biographical Dictionary and Historical Reference Book of Fayette County, Pennsylvania. 3 volumes. 1900. By Henry Elliot Shepherd. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust, Vol. 1 - Internet Archive, Vol. 2 - Internet Archive, Vol. 3 - Internet Archive;.

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps
 * Maps of Pennsylvania (1673-1878)
 * Ancestor Tracks offers an Atlas of Township Warrantee Maps of Fayette County and a Companion Scan of Township Warrantee Maps CD ($). They show precise outlines in metes and bounds of each original tract and all surrounding tracts in the township, giving the names of the warrantees and patentees; dates of the warrant, survey, and patent; and the patent and survey book and page of the recorded patent.
 * FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places

Military Records

 * Military Records including War of 1812, Mexican War, Revolutionary War, Civil War rosters and regiments. At Fayette County, Pennsylvania USGenWeb Archives

Revolutionary War Men living in what is now Fayette County (then Westmoreland County) served in the 8th Pennsylvania Regiment.

Civil War
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index

Naturalization and Citizenship
'Online Naturalization Indexes and Records


 * 1802 -1906 Aliens' Records - includes index; images only; click on the camera icon to view images
 * 1906 Index to Declaration of Intentions and Petitions for Naturalization from 1906 - images only; click on the camera icon to view images

Newspapers
Newspapers of Fayette County


 * Pennsylvania Newspapers
 * Chronicling America US Newspaper Directory

Online Newspapers

To learn if there are newspapers online for a specific town or city in Pennsylvania, see news.google.com/newspapers and search for the town or the name of a newspaper.

Online Newspaper Abstracts


 * 1947-2010  at FamilySearch
 * PA-Roots Newspaper Articles for Fayette County.
 * Newspaper Records at Fayette County, Pennsylvania USGenWeb Archives

Obituaries
Online Obituary Abstracts


 * USGenWeb Fayette County Obituaries
 * PA-Roots Obituaries

Obituary Indexes, Excerpts and Abstracts


 * Morgan, Yvonne L. Blair, Index of Census, Newspaper Obituary Files and Microfilm: Fayette, Green, Washington and Westmoreland Counties (Apollo, Pennsylvania:Closson Press, c2003)
 * Rentmeister, Jean R. Marriage and Death Notices Extracted From the Genius of Liberty and Fayette Advertiser of Uniontown, Pennsylvania, 1805-1854 (Apollo, Pennsylvania:Closson Press, c1981) ; Includes index.
 * Miller, Kathryn Cooley, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, Gleanings (Apollo, Pennsylvania:Closson Press, c1990) ;

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1683-1993 Pennsylvania Wills and Probate Records 1683-1993 at Ancestry $
 * 1783-1869 Orphans' Court Records - includes index 1783–1950, bonds 1834–1866, executor and administrator accounts 1850–1871, auditors reports 1864–1870, court minutes 1851–1860; images only; click on the camera icon to view images
 * 1783-1950 Fayette County Probate Records at FamilySearch
 * 1784-1812 Continuance Dockets ; images only; click on the camera icon to view images
 * 1784-1917 Wills - includes bonds 1784–1834 and index to wills 1784–1949; images only; click on the camera icon to view images
 * Some Fayette County Wills at Fayette County, Pennsylvania USGenWeb Archives
 * Fayette County Genealogy Project, Wills at PAGenWeb
 * Fayette County Will Records at Pennsylvania USGenWeb Archives

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch - How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Tax Records

 * 1785-1786 Returns of Taxables for the Counties of Bedford (1773 to 1784), Huntingdon (1788), Westmoreland (1783, 1786), Fayette (1785, 1786), Allegheny (1791), Washington (1786) and Census of Bedford (1784) and Westmoreland (1783) (Pennsylvania Archives, Series 3, Vol. 22). Digital versions at Ancestry ($); Google Books
 * 1798 Pennsylvania, U.S. Direct Tax Lists, 1798 at Ancestry ($).

Birth

 * 1893-1905 Birth Registers  - images only; click on the camera icon to view images

Marriage

 * 1626-2016 Pennsylvania, United States Marriages at FindMyPast ($)
 * 1677-1950  at FamilySearch
 * 1700-1821 Pennsylvania Marriage Records Ancestry $
 * 1725-1976  index. Not complete for all years. This index is not necessarily intended to index any specific set of records. This index is not complete for any particular place or region. This collection may include information previously published in the International Genealogical Index or Vital Records Index collections.
 * Pre-1810 Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry $
 * 1852-1854 Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry $
 * 1852-1855 Fayette County Marriage Index 1852-1855 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch
 * 1852-1855 Marriages and Deaths - images only; click on the camera icon to view images
 * 1885-1889 Marriages (Index of Brides A–R), Fayette County Genealogy Project
 * 1885-1916 Marriage License Dockets (Fayette County, Pennsylvania),  - images only; click on the camera icon to view images
 * 1885-1950  Extracted marriage records – This database is incomplete for all counties. May also contain marriage records earlier than 1885.

Death

 * 1720-1999  at FamilySearch — index, some images
 * 1850-1880  at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1852-1854 Pennsylvania Deaths Ancestry $
 * 1852-1855 Marriages and Deaths  - images only; click on the camera icon to view images
 * 1853-1855 Fayette County Death Index 1853-1855 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch
 * 1893-1904 Fayette County Death Index 1893-1904 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch
 * 1893-1905 Record of Death  - images only; click on the camera icon to view images
 * Some Deaths Extracted from Fayette County Death Register, Fayette County Genealogy Project

Divorce
Divorce records are available through the office of the Prothonotary, Fayette County Courthouse

Archives

 * National Archives at Philadelphia 14700 Townsend Road Philadelphia, PA 19154-1096 Phone: 215-305-2044 Fax: 215-305-2052 website

Family History Centers

 * Monongahela Pennsylvania Family History Center

Libraries

 * University of Pittsburgh Library System Historic Pittsburgh Digital Library Website Searchable and published works covering much of Pennsylvania.

Societies

 * Brownsville Historical Society P. O. Box 24 Brownsville, PA 15417 Phone: 724-785-6882 Website
 * Bullskin Township Historical Society P. O. Box 724 Mt. Pleasant, PA 15666 Phone: 724-887-7729 Website
 * Chestnut Ridge Historical Society P. O. Box 62 Jones Mills, PA 15646 Phone: 724-593-3102 Website
 * Connellsville Area Historical Society 299 S. Pittsburgh Street Connellsville, PA 15425 Phone: 724-628-5640 Email: [mailto:chs@cvzoom.net chs@cvzoom.net] Website
 * Dunbar Historical Society P. O. Box 366 Dunbar, PA 15431 Phone: 724-277-8448 Email: [mailto:myers@zoominternet.net myers@zoominternet.net] Website
 * Fayette County Genealogical Society 24 Jefferson St. Uniontown, PA 15401-3602 Email: [mailto:fcgs_mail@yahoo.com fcgs_mail@yahoo.com] Website
 * Fayette County Historical Society P. O. Box 193 Uniontown, PA 15401 Phone: 724-439-4422 Website
 * Fort Mason Historical Society P. O. Box 246 Masontown, PA 15461 Phone: 724-583-9944 Website
 * Greater Tri Town Area Historical Society Box 189 Dawson, PA 15428 Phone: 724-529-2427 Email: [mailto:jmpyda@lcsys.net jmpyda@lcsys.net] Facebook
 * Masontown Historical Society P. O. Box 769 Masontown, PA 15461
 * Smock Historical Society 203 Main Street Smock, PA 15480 Phone: 724-677-2415 Website

Websites

 * Linkpendium - Fayette County
 * USGenWeb project
 * USGenWeb Archives - Fayette County
 * Fayette County Genealogical Society
 * Fayette County PA Genealogy
 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.