Mercer County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

United States Pennsylvania Mercer County

Historical Facts

 * Parent Counties: Formed from Allegheny County 12 March 1800.
 * County Seat: Mercer
 * Neighboring Counties: residents may also have records in Crawford (north) • Trumbull County, Ohio (west) • Butler (southeast)  •  Lawrence (south) Venango (east)

Boundary Changes
20 March 1849: Lawrence County set off. Mahoning, Neshannock and Slippery Rock Townships, along with a small portion of Shenango and Lackawannock Townships became part of Lawrence County. This area included the town of New Castle.

Record Loss
1866--The First Mercer County Courthouse, built in 1807, was destroyed by fire in February 25, 1866. All records were saved from the fire.

1907--The Second Mercer County Courthouse, built in 1866, was destroyed by fire in December 15, 1907. All records, except for some early tax records, were saved from the fire.

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


 * Morefield Cemetery, Hermitage BillionGraves
 * Slovak/Morefield Cemetery, Hermitage 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.

Catholic

 * 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 chronolgy, map, county-by-county information.

Lutheran

 * 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.

Directories

 * 1919 - Sharpsville and Wheatland Directory 1919 at - free.

Land and Property
Land records in Mercer County began in 1800. These records are filed with the Recorder of Deeds office in Mercer, 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


 * 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).

Land Records on Microfilm


 * 1803-1919 Deed Books, 1803-1886; Index to Deeds, 1803-1919.
 * 1787–1828 Deeds and Index. The earlier land records for what would become Mercer County are for the most part in Allegheny County.
 * 1804–1971 Mortgage Index.

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 Mercer 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
1873--Landowner Maps from the Combination Atlas of Mercer County and the State of Pennsylvania, 1873, Mercer County PAGenWeb site.

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

Mercer County Only:


 * 1804–1971 – Mercer County Probate Records

Courthouse
Mercer County has had three courthouses. The first courthouse, built in 1807 was a two story, square brick structure with wings on the east and west sides. The building was remodeled in 1840, then burned in 1866. The second courthouse, built in 1866 and made of red brick, and included a belfry and town clock, burned in 1907. The third and present courthouse was built in 1909.

Courthouse address: 138 S. Diamond St. Mercer, PA 16137-1284 (724)662-3800

Records available: Births, 1893-1905 Marriages, 1885-present Wills and probate, 1800- present Land, 1800-present

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Libraries

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

Societies

 * Mercer County Genealogical Society P.O. Box 812 Sharon, PA 16146-0812 (724)346-5117
 * Mercer County Historical Society 119 South Pitt St. Mercer, PA 16137-1211 (724)662-3490
 * Grove City Area Historical Society P.O. Box 764 Grove City, PA 16127
 * The Hermitage Historical Society 5465 E. State Street Hermitage, PA 16148 (724)347-0419
 * Greenville Historical Society 94 College Ave. Greenville, PA 16125 (724)588-7150
 * Jamestown Area Historical Society 405 Summit St. Jamestown, PA 16134-9153 (724)932-5997
 * Stoneboro Community &amp; Historical Society Lake St. Stoneboro, PA 16153 (724)376-4190

Schools

 * 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

Birth

 * 1852-1854 – Pennsylvania Births Ancestry.com – ($) Index with images.
 * 1709-1950

Marriage

 * 1709-1940

Death

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

Web Sites

 * 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

Populated Places
Farrell | Fredonia | Greenville | Grove City | Hermitage (Hickory Township) | Jamestown | Mercer | Milledgeville | Orangeville | Sandy Lake | Sharpsville | Sharon | Sheakleyville | Stoneboro | Transfer | West Middlesex | Wheatland