User:Pipkincm/Sandbox2

[Berks Co.]
(See updates in Sandbox.)

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 and livestock.

See Pennsylvania Land and Property for more information about using land records, especially about original land warrants, surveys, and patents filed by the state land office.

Original land records in Berks County began in 1734. These records are filed with the Recorder of Deeds office in Reading, Pennsylvania. The following are examples of available resources:

Online Land Records


 * Deeds are indexed and available online for free viewing at the Recorder of Deeds. Copies of deeds can be made from the website or in person for a small fee.
 * Ancestor Tracks publishes county atlases of the Pennsylvania Township Warrantee Maps on file at the Pennsylvania Archives in Harrisburg and offers links to other early landowner map sources.
 * PAGenWeb has several land abstracts for Berks County.

Original Records on Microfilm


 * 1734 -1926 Deeds, 1734-1866; Indexes, 1752-1926
 * 1752 -1926 Mortgage Records 1752-1822; Mortgager Index 1752-1926
 * 1752-1936 Miscellaneous Records, 1752-1869; Grantor and Grantee indexes, 1752-1936

Maps


 * MacInnes, Sharon Cook. Early Landowners of Pennsylvania: Atlas of Township Warrantee Maps of Berks County. Apollo, Pennsylvania : Closson Press, 2006.
 * Henry, Mathew Schropp and M.K. Boyer. Township Map of Berks County, Pennsylvania. 1985 edition published by Berks County Genealogical Society. Original edition published 1854. Berks County Genealogical Society added an index of land owners.

Additional Resources

Additional resources can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Berks County Pennsylvania Land in online catalogs like:


 * Historical Society of Pennsylvania
 * WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog.)
 * (For instructions see FS Catalog Place-name Search.)