Berks County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

United States &gt; Pennsylvania &gt; Berks County

County Courthouse
County of Berks 633 Court Street Reading, PA 19601 Phone: (610) 478-6136 Hours: 8 AM to 5 PM Closed on holidays

Parent County
14 October 1751: Berks County was created from Lancaster, Philadelphia, and Chester Counties.

Boundary Changes

 * 14 October 1728: Future southwestern half of Berks County became part of Lancaster County when it was created; the other half remained in Philadelphia County.
 * 1 March 1811: Schuylkill County was created, giving Berks its final boundaries.

Neighboring Counties
Chester | Lancaster | Lebanon | Lehigh | Montgomery | Schuykill

Census

 * 1964, State Census Transcription - only Rehrersburg
 * 1965, State Census Transcription - only Rehrersburg

Land

 * The county land records begin in 1752 and land transactions are filed with the Recorder of Deeds. Berks County has placed all of their deeds, with an index, online for free viewing. Copies of deeds can be made from the website for fifty cents. It is the same cost if you visited the recorder of deeds in person.
 * Ancestor Tracks has published Early Landowners of Pennsylvania: Atlas of Township Warrantee Maps of Berks County which contains the Township Warrantee Maps on file at the Pennsylvania Archives in Harrisburg covering about 75% of today's county, thus pinpointing the location of the earliest landowners. Each Township Warrantee Map was painstakingly platted by draftsmen from the original warrants, surveys, and patents.

Maps

 * Township maps of Berks County Pennsylvania from the 1876 Historical Atlas of Berks County have been posted online at the genwebarchives.

Probate
| Berks County has placed a searchable Index to their Estate Records on-line.

Vital Records

 * Berks County has placed a searchable index on-line for birth, marriage and death records. County births began being recorded in 1893 while the city of Reading began to record births, within the city limits, in 1876. Marriages began to be recorded at the county level 1885. In 1876 marriages that occured within the city limits of Reading began to be recorded. In 1893 the county of began to record deaths that occured within the county limits. Reading began the recording of deaths, within the city limits, in 1873. All of the above records are maintained by the Register of Wills.

Societies and Libraries
Rich in history Berks County contains a number of societies dealing with the history of the area.

The Historical Society of the Berks Countyis located on Centre Street in Reading.

The Berks County Genealogical Societyis located in the Goggle Works building at 201 Washington Street in Reading.

Albany Township Historical Society

Boyertown Area Historical Society

Fleetwood Area Historical Society

Kutztown Area Historical Society

Mohnton History

The Reading Public Libraryis located at 100 South Fifth Street in Reading. Free parking is available in the rear of the library for library patrons. Microfilm copiers are avaiable and full runs of the Reading Eagle and the Reading Times are open to the public. Located on the second floor of the library is the Pennsylvania Room. It contains local histories and genealogies associated with Berks County. City directories and high school yearbooks are also located in the Pennsylvania Room.

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