York County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

United States &gt; Pennsylvania &gt; York County

County Courthouse
York County Judicial Center Second Floor 45 North George Street York, PA 17401 Phone (717) 771-9288 Fax (717) 771-4678

The York County Archives is a department of the York County Government.

The Archives was established in 1987 and moved to its current location in 1995. To accommodate the growing number of records, the Archives building was expanded in 2001.

York County's records begin in August of 1749 when York County was formed from Lancaster County. The Archives stores records for over 40 different county offices during various time periods throughout the past 250 years.

The Archives is located at: 150 Pleasant Acres Road York, PA 17420 Phone (717) 840-7222 Open - Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm

Parent County
14 October 1748: York County was created from Lancaster County.

Boundary Changes
22 January 1800: Adams County set off.

Neighboring Counties
Adams | Cumberland | Dauphin | Lancaster | Maryland counties: Baltimore | Carroll | Harford

Cemeteries
This USGenWeb site is the most comprehensive site for finding transcriptions and pictures of Tombstones in York County.

There are over 345 different cemeteries in the county. Finding the right cemetery is compounded by the fact that many cemeteries have changed names over the years and are now known by different names. A comprehensive list of cemeteries can be found at:

Probate
The York County Archives houses the following Probate related records:

Bond Books (1794 - 1968) There is no local microfilm available. They are indexed and can be searched online at the Archives web site. These records originated in the Recorder of Deeds office. Bonds from 1749 - 1793 are found in Estate Files. After 1968 Bonds are at the Register of Deeds.

Estate Files (1749 - 1958) There is no local microfilm or index. They originated in the office of the Register of Wills/Orphan's Court.

Estate Files (1959 - 1967) There is no local microfilm but they are indexed and can be searched online at the Archives web site. These records also originated in the office of the Register of Wills/Orphan's Court.

Will Books (1749 - 1973) There are local microfilms of Dockets A - AA. These records are indexed but not searchable online. They originated in the Register of Wills office.

Taxation
The York County Archives house tax records for the county from 1767 (with gaps) to 1988. Prior to the 1950's these tax records were listed under the tax payer's name and township and borough. Records since then are listed by name, address, location of property, account number, etc. These records originated in the Assessment Office of the Court House. They are available locally on microfilm for 1767 - 1850 and 1950 - 1988. These records are not indexed nor are they available at the Archives web site.

Vital Records
All of the vital records of York County are now housed at the York County Archives.

The Archives have a web site at were researchers can search the following data base indexes: Birth Records (1852 - 1853) Birth Records (1893 - 1906) Delayed Births (recorded after 1941 - applies to births prior to 1906) Marriage Records (1852 - 1853) Marriage Records (1885 - 1929) Death Records (1852 - 1855) Death Records (1893 - 1906) Affidavits of Death (1877 - 1958)

These indexes reference the original records which can be ordered from the Archives.

Web Sites

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