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
1751--Berks County was created from Lancaster, Philadelphia, and Chester Counties. County seat: Reading

Boundary Changes

 * Originally part of the counties of Philadelphia and Chester
 * 1729: Southwestern half becomes part of Lancaster Co. when Lancaster is created in 1729; the other half remains in Philadelphia Co.
 * 1752: Berks County is created, encompassing all of Berks plus most of today's Schuylkill, Northumberland, Montour, etc.
 * 1811: Schuylkill is created from Berks, giving Berks its final boundaries

Land

 * 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

 * Ancestor Tracks has posted free, downloadable images from the 1860 Map of Berks County from Actual Surveys published by H.S. Bridgens which can be used in conjunction with the 1860 census to help pinpoint your ancestors.  These images show major landowners on the date of publication.
 * Township maps of Berks County Pennsylvania from the 1876 Historical Atlas of Berks County have been posted online at the genwebarchives.

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