Mercer County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

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

Description
The county is located in the northwestern area of the state.

County Courthouse
Mercer Courthouse 112 Mercer County Courthouse Mercer, PA 16137-1284 Phone: 724-662-3800 ext. 2248 Clerk of Courts Phone:724-662-7548 Prothonotary Phone: 724–662-7561 Email: [mailto:rbice@mcc.co.mercer.pa.us rbice@mcc.co.mercer.pa.us] Register of Wills & Orphans' Court Phone:724-662-3800 ext. 2248 Email: [mailto:kkloos@mcc.co.mercer.pa.us kkloos@mcc.co.mercer.pa.us] Mercer County Recorder's Office Phone: 724-662-3800 Mercer County Website County Clerk has birth and death records 1893-1905, marriage records from 1885 and probate records from 1800 Prothonotar Office has divorce and court records Recorder of Deeds has land records

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:

Cemeteries
Additional Cemetery Resources
 * ca.1700-ca.1950 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * PA-Roots
 * Names in Stone
 * Ancestry($)

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 the church records of:
 * Greenville: Zion Reformed Church of Christ

Baptist The first Baptist congregation in Mercer County was established in Sharon in 1804. in Sheakleyville another congregation formed, known as Georgetown Baptist Church, in 1831. The Greenville Baptist church was organized in 1857. Other congregations formed in Stoneboro, Sharpsville, and Jamestown.

Catholic The Catholics first organized in Mercer in 1838 and called their congregation All Saints. Other early churches were St. Michael's (Greenville, 1838), Sacred Heart (Sharon, 1859), with congregations in other communities also.


 * 1843-1948. "100 years of the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese 1843 -1943". Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society Quarterly, 17:1. FamilySearch Library book 974.8 B2wg. Contains chronology, map, county-by-county information.

Episcopal Also known as the Reformed Church, this sect was officially organized in Greenville in 1861, and known as St. Clements. Another congregation formed in Sharpsville in 1887.

A Protestant Episcopalian congregation formed in Sharon in 1866 and was called St. John's.

Lutheran Many early settler of German descent worshiped in the Lutheran church. Congregations formed as early as 1826 in Greenville, and 1844 in New Lebanon.


 * 1730-1779. Records of Rev. John Casper Stoever, Baptismal and Marriage, 1730-1779. Baptisms and marriages took place in Mercer County, Pennsylvania and in Spotsylvania, Virginia. Digital version: Internet Archive and PAGenWeb.

Methodist Episcopal Circuit riders for the Methodist Episcopal faith established a congregation in Sharon as early as 1797. The group passed through several different conferences through the years and built its first log chapel, then a frame chapel built in 1842. For a list of early preachers and congregants see White's history. Other congregations were in Salem (pre-1823), Clarksville (1820), Greenville (1828), Grove City (1840), and Sheakleyville (1841), among others.

Presbyterian Several sects of Presbyterais existed in Mercer County including the Presbyterains, the United Presbyterians and the Reformed Presbyterians. Early circuit riders established Prebyterian congregations in Ten-Milers (1799), Neshannock (1800), and Hopewell (1899). The first building was constructed in Cool Springs in 1800 and served Cool Springs, Fairview, Jackson and Lake townships. Other early congregations were in Sheakleyville (1799, also known as Upper Sandy or Georgetown Presbyterian church), Salem (1800), Morefield (1802, Sharon), Mercer (1804), Greenville (1824) and other congregations in later years. See White's history for some lists of members and other congregation information.

United Presbyterian Church, Springfield Township


 * 1862-1890 United Presbyterian Church, Springfield Township, Birth Index 1862-1890 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch Batches  and.

United Brethren United Brethren congregations formed in New Lebanon (1862) and Sharpsville (1866). List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records
Prothonotary The Prothonotary Office is located with the Government Offices of the county.

Directories

 * 1919 Sharpsville and Wheatland Directory 1919

Guardianship
Orphans
 *  Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court 112 Mercer County Courthouse Mercer, PA 16137 Phone: 724-662-3800, ext. 2248 Website

Land and Property Records
Land records in Mercer County began in 1800. These records are filed with the Recorder of Deeds office in Mercer, Pennsylvania. The Recorder of Deeds offers an online search of land records. Guest users can view the index (unspecified date range) for free but fees apply for viewing images (1986–present).

Online Land Indexes and Records
 * 1787 -1828 Deeds and Index. - images only; click on the camera icon to view images; The earlier land records for what would become Mercer County are for the most part in Allegheny County.
 * 1803-1919 Deed Books, 1803-1886; Index to Deeds, 1803-1919. - images only; click on the camera icon to view images
 * 1804 -1971 Mortgage Index. - images only; click on the camera icon to view images

Local Histories

 * A Twentieth Century History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania. 2 volumes. 1909. Ed. by J. G. White. Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co. Online at: Vol. 1 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Vol. 2 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust, Vol. 1 - Google Books, Vol. 2 - Google Books;.
 * History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania. 1877. By Samuel W. Durant. Philadelphia, L.H. Everts & Co. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library;.
 * History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania : its Past and Present. 1888. By Jacob F. Richard. Chicago, IL: Brown, Runk, & Co. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, Google Books;.

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps
 * 1873 Landowner Maps from the Combination Atlas of Mercer County and the State of Pennsylvania, 1873, Mercer County PAGenWeb site.
 * Maps of Pennsylvania (1673-1878)
 * FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places

Military Records

 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index

Naturalization and Citizenship
Naturalization records for Mercer County, Pennsylvania include the following:

Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * 1808-1906 Naturalization dockets, 1808-1906. - images only; click on the camera icon to view images; Index 1808-1884.
 * 1813-1825 Register of persons naturalized, 1813-1825. - images only; click on the camera icon to view images
 * 1820-1906 Index to Declarations and Petitions in the Western District of Pennsylvania, US Circuit and District Courts located in US Naturalization Records Indexes, 1794-1995 database on Ancestry $
 * 1820-1930 Naturalization Petitions of the U.S. District Court, 1820-1930, and Circuit Court, 1820-1911, for the Western District of Pennsylvania on Fold3.com - ($), indexed, National Archives publication M1537, incomplete for all counties
 * 1820-1930 Naturalization Petitions of the U.S. District Court, 1820-1930, and Circuit Court, 1820-1911, for the Western District of Pennsylvania located in Selected US Naturalization Records - Original Documents, 1790-1974 database on Ancestry $
 * 1906-1962 Naturalization records, 1812-1906. - images only; click on the camera icon to view images; Indexes at beginning of each volume.
 * 1907-1966 Petition and record, 1907-1966. - images only; click on the camera icon to view images; Index 1908-1987.
 * 1929-1963 Court orders, 1929-1963. - images only; click on the camera icon to view images

Newspapers
Newspapers of Mercer County

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.


 * Chronicling America US Newspaper Directory.
 * Newspaper archives of Greenville, 1869-2007
 * Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive
 * Pennsylvania Newspapers

Online Newspaper Abstracts


 * PA-Roots Newspaper Articles Mercer County, Pennsylvania.
 * at FamilySearch

Obituaries
The Mercer County Genealogical Society has an online obituary index. You may order copies of obituaries from the Mercer.

Online Obituary Abstracts


 * PA-Roots Obituaries for Mercer County, Pennsylvania.
 * Obituaries of Mercer County
 * Mercer County Obituaries, courtesy USGenWeb Archives

Probate Records
Online Probate and Indexes Records


 * 1683-1993 Pennsylvania Wills and Probate Records 1683-1993 at Ancestry $
 * 1804-1971 Mercer County Probate Records at FamilySearch
 * 1804-1908 Register's Docket, v. 1-2  - images only; click on the camera icon to view images
 * 1804-1917 Will Books  - images only; click on the camera icon to view images

School Records

 * Mercer Soldiers Orphans School has several lists of those who were students, teachers, or administrators of the school.The school started January 1, 1868 and closed in 1890.
 * Farrell, PA High School 1929 Basketball team

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.

Birth

 * 1726-1950  This collection is an index for the years 1726 to 1930. It 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.
 * 1852-1854 Pennsylvania Births Ancestry $

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 an electronic database of information. The entries are primarily from the International Genealogical Index (IGI) along with some entries derived from compiled and original records such as: Family Records, Church Records, Civil Registration. It may also include indexes generated by the internet indexing project sponsored by FamilySearch.
 * Pre-1810 Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry $
 * 1852-1854 Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry $
 * 1885-1950  Extracted marriage records – free. Most of the records consist of marriage licenses, certificates, applications, docket books, and affidavits. This database is incomplete for all counties. May also contain marriage records earlier than 1885.
 * 1885 Mercer County Marriage Index 1885 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch

Death

 * 1720-1999  at FamilySearch — index, some images
 * 1850-1880  at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1852-1854 Pennsylvania Deaths Ancestry $
 * 1893-1905 Mercer County Death Index 1893-1905 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch

Divorce
Divorce records are available through the office of the Prothonotary.

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 Area Library The Monongahela Area Library is an affiliate of the Family History Library, located in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Libraries

 * Greenville Area Public Library 330 Main St. Greenville, PA 16125-2615 Phone: 724-588-5490
 * Grove City Community Library 125 West Main Street Grove City, PA 16127 Phone: 724-458-7320
 * Mercer Area Library 145 N. Pitt St. Mercer, PA 16137-1206 Phone: 724-662-4233
 * Shenango Valley Community Library 11 N. Sharpsville Ave. Sharon, PA 16146 Phone: 724-981-4360

Societies

 * Mercer County Genealogical Society P.O. Box 812 Sharon, PA 16146-0812 Phone: 724–346-5117 E–mail: [mailto:mcgenealogy@live.com mcgenealogy@live.com] Collection includes cemetery books, histories, city directories, birth and death records 1893 -1905, marriage records 1885–1946, newspapers, newspaper abstracts of birth, marriage and deaths (indexed). Online obituary index Website
 * Mercer County Historical Society 119 South Pitt St. Mercer, PA 16137-1211 Phone: 724–662-3490 E–mail: [mailto:info@mchspa.org info@mchspa.org] Collection includes family histories and research files, published histories of Mercer County, Civil War Regimental histories, city and county directories, newspapers. The society will do research for a fee. Requests must be sent by mail, not email. Website
 * Grove City Area Historical Society  P.O. Box 764 Grove City, PA 16127 Website
 * The Hermitage Historical Society 5465 E. State Street Hermitage, PA 16148 Phone: 724-347-0419
 * Greenville Historical Society 94 College Ave. Greenville, PA 16125 Phone: 724–588-7150
 * Jamestown Area Historical Society 405 Summit St. Jamestown, PA 16134-9153 Phone: 724–932-5997
 * Stoneboro Community and Historical Society Lake St. Stoneboro, PA 16153 Phone: 724–376-4190

Websites

 * Mercer County Genealogical Society
 * Mercer County Genealogy - PAGenWeb site. Obituaries, Cemetery information, Biographies, Maps, County History and Information, Surname List, Family Histories, Military information.
 * Mercer County Links - linkpendium.com
 * Mercer 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.