Skip to Main Content

Pennsylvania: Local History & Genealogy Resource Guide

Courthouse Records

County level research is essential in the pursuit of family and local history. The list below highlights the most common county courthouse records used by genealogists, but there are many more record sets available. Use the guides below and explore the specific resources for the counties of interest to assure that you locate all pertinent documents.

When requesting courthouse records, inquire about both docket books and paper files. Often both types of material exist for each record. While the two formats may merely repeat the data, one may be easier to read than the other. And, in many cases, there are further details, unique notations, over-sized pages such as maps, and so on, that are filed in only the docket book or in only the paper file. Seeing both will provide a more complete review of the record.

Timeline for County Courthouse Records

Adoption Records

See Vital Records section of this guide.

Birth Records

See Vital Records section of this guide.

Civil Lawsuits
  • Generally maintained by: Prothonotary
Coroner's Inquests
  • Generally maintained by: Coroner or Clerk of Courts of Common Pleas

Note: If the cause of death is suspicious or unknown, the Coroner's office is responsible for conducting an inquest.

Court of Quarter Sessions
  • Generally maintained by: Clerk of Courts of Common Pleas

Note: The Court of Quarter Sessions dates back to the colonial days of Pennsylvania. It met four times a year, which is how it earned its name. In 1968, it was abolished by a new state constitution and absorbed into the Court of Common Pleas, which still exists.

Also Note: Cases include a wide variety of matters such as "bastardy and fornication" (which may sometimes be the only written record to identify a child's parents), criminal charges, borough and township boundaries, bridge and road administration, construction of public buildings, tavern licenses, and other assorted local items that required court authority.

Court of Oyer and Terminer
  • Generally maintained by: Clerk of Courts of Common Pleas

Note: The Oyer and Terminer Court was formed in 1790 to try capital criminal offenses. In 1968, it was abolished by a new state constitution and absorbed into the Court of Common Pleas, which still exists.

Death Records

See Vital Records section of this guide.

Deeds
  • Generally maintained by: Recorder of Deeds
Divorce Records

See Vital Records section of this guide.

Marriage Records

See Vital Records section of this guide.

Naturalizations
  • Generally maintained by: Prothonotary
Orphans' Court
  • Generally maintained by: Clerk of Orphans' Court, often combined with Register of Wills

Note: Don't be misled by the name. One of the duties of the Orphans' Court is to administer the estates of minors and incapacitated persons, but even those persons are not necessarily "orphans" as we think of them today. If one parent passed away, the court would often appoint a guardian to manage the minor child's estate even if the other parent was still living. Besides this, the Orphans' Court is responsible for the distribution of a decedent's estate among all eligible heirs, regardless of age or relationship. Partition or Sale of Property, for example, are often extraordinary documents for genealogy because they identify all eligible heirs. If an ancestor did not leave a Will, this distribution of estate based on testate laws will enumerate living descendants. Even if an ancestor did leave a Will, heirs named in the Will may be expounded upon in the Orphans' Court distribution. For example, a Will may have been written many years prior to the benefactor's death. Unmarried daughters in the Will may be married by the time of distribution. Some of the heirs may have predeceased the benefactor and accordingly their children may be identified in the distribution to receive their share.

Taxes
  • Generally maintained by: Tax Assessment Office
Will and Probate
  • Generally maintained by: Register of Wills

Online Resources for Courthouse Records

The subscription resources marked with a padlock are available to researchers on-site at the Library of Congress. If you are unable to visit the Library, you may be able to access these resources through your local public or academic library.

Using Ancestry Library Edition for Pennsylvania

Begin your search through Ancestry's vast collections, by viewing the list designated as Pennsylvania records External.

Note: If you are a Pennsylvania resident, take advantage of the partnership between the Pennsylvania State Archives and Ancestry.com to digitize family history records in the State Archives and make them available online. This partnership entitles Pennsylvanians free access to these collections. This access requires a free Ancestry.com Pennsylvania account. To begin, go to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission External web site, enter your zip code in the form at the bottom of the page External, and follow the link to the Ancestry.com Pennsylvania search page.

  • Pennsylvania, County Slave Records 1780-1834 External - This collection consists of records pertaining to slaves and free persons from Adams, Bedford, Bucks, Centre, Cumberland, Fayette, Lancaster, and Washington counties, as well as Lancaster City. The types of records that can be found include: petitions to keep slaves past the age of twenty-eight, records of "negro" and "mulatto" children, as well as birth and residence registers. Various other records, such as apprenticeship records, bills of sale, and manumissions also occasionally appear.
  • Pennsylvania, Oyer and Terminer Court Papers, 1757-1787 External - Records come from courts in Pennsylvania's first nine counties: Bedford, Berks, Bucks, Chester, Cumberland, Lancaster, Northampton, Philadelphia, and York. Documents include jury lists, witness lists, lists of constables and justices of the peace, depositions, indictments, coroner's inquisitions, and returns of criminals, as well as case files, minutes, court proceedings, and hearing notices from the Esquires of Justice. Since some of the documents precede the Revolutionary War, many of the court cases were individuals against the King of England.
  • Pennsylvania, Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993 External - Note that each county may have provided records for a particular range of years within the 1683-1993 time period. Not all counties are included in this database for that entire period. Check with the county courthouses that maintain the original records of interest to ensure a complete search.

Using FamilySearch for Pennsylvania

FamilySearch provides useful state and county wikis that make excellent starting points for research. The Pennsylvania Wiki External includes links to each of its 67 counties.

FamilySearch has digitized many of its microfilms containing county courthouse records. Not all records have been indexed yet, so search engine results will NOT show you the full range of FamilySearch data. You must browse the FamilySearch catalog External listings for each county to view the full set of records available. The vast amount of accessible original records is well worth your time to explore.

Courthouse documents that have been indexed and centralized into a database include:

  • Pennsylvania, County Marriages, 1885-1950 External - This collection includes civil marriage records created in Pennsylvania counties. The records include registers, affidavits and marriage licenses. In some instances, divorce records are recorded with marriages. Note that each county may have provided records for a particular range of years within the 1885-1950 time period. Not all counties are included in this database for that entire period. Check with the county courthouses that maintain the original records of interest to ensure a complete search.

Courthouse documents that have been digitized, but not indexed include:

  • Pennsylvania Probate Records, 1683-1994 External - These records include documents from both the Register of Wills and the Clerk of Orphans' Court. The county office index books have been scanned and included in this collection along with docket books, and in some cases paper files. Begin by flipping through the index books just as you would a physical book, obtain the references and then go to the docket books or files to look them up, again by turning pages digitally just as you would with the books at the courthouse. Note that Orphans' Court indexes are separate from Will indexes. Check both, as well as any other categories provided for the county of interest.

Published Courthouse Records

Below are selected print publications for statewide courthouse records. The following titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content are included when available.

To locate additional published materials, go to the Print Resources section of this guide for search tips on locating published county courthouse records, abstracts, and indexes that may aide you in locating original records at the county level.