Chester County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

United States &gt; Pennsylvania &gt; Chester County

County Courthouse
"Scenic, Historic, World Class" Chester County 2 N. High Street PO Box 2748 Chester, PA 19380-0991

History
Created 10 March 1682, from the Colonial Lands, one of three original counties (Bucks and Philadelphia are two others) by William Penn.

Parent County
An original county.

Boundary Changes
Chester County Archives: Township and Borough Boundary Changes

West part set off to form Lancaster County 14 October 1728.

Southeast part set off to form Delaware County 26 September 1789.

Populated Places

 * City: Coatesville
 * Boroughs: Atglen . Avondale . Downingtown . Elverson . Honey Brook . Kennett Square . Malvern . Modena . Oxford . Parkesburg . Phoenixville . South Coatesville . Spring City . West Chester . West Grove
 * Townships: Birmingham . Caln . Charlestown . East Bradford . East Brandywine . East Caln . East Coventry . East Fallowfield . East Goshen . East Marlborough . East Nantmeal . East Nottingham . East Pikeland . East Vincent . East Whiteland . Easttown . Elk . Franklin . Highland . Honey Brook . Kennett . London Britain . London Grove . Londonderry . Lower Oxford . New Garden . New London . Newlin . North Coventry . Penn . Pennsbury . Pocopson . Sadsbury . Schuylkill . South Coventry . Thornbury . Tredyffrin . Upper Oxford . Upper Uwchlan . Uwchlan . Valley . Wallace . Warwick . West Bradford . West Brandywine . West Caln . West Fallowfield . West Goshen . West Marlborough . West Nantmeal . West Nottingham . West Pikeland . West Sadsbury . West Vincent . West Whiteland . Westtown . Willistown
 * Communities: Birchrunville . Chester Springs . Chesterbrook . Cheyney . Daylesford . Devon-Berwyn . Embreeville . Exton . Kemblesville . Kimberton . Kenilworth . Knauertown .Lionville-Marchwood . Marshallton . Nottingham . Paoli . South Pottstown . Southeastern . Strafford . Sugartown . Thorndale . Toughkenamon . Unionville . Valley Forge . Wayne . West Goshen . Willowdale

Neighboring Counties
Delaware | Berks | Lancaster | Montgomery | New Castle County, Delaware | Cecil County, Maryland

Court
Chester County Archives - Orphan's Court

Gazetteers of Places/Localities

 * United States Geographic Survey Place Names - GNIS for Chester County (may not always be present in alphabetic order on first try.)

Maps
Chester County Archives - Atlases and Maps

Naturalizations
Chester County Archives - Naturalizations

Newspapers
Chester County Historical Society - largest extant collection of newspapers

Probate
Chester County Archives - Probate Records (Wills and Administrations)

Taxation
Chester County Archives - 18th and 19th century tax lists

Vital Records

 * Chester County Archives
 * Births, 1852-1855, 1893-1907, Delayed Birth Records
 * Marriages, 1852-1855, 1885-1930
 * Deaths, 1852-1855, 1893-1906

Societies and Libraries

 * Chester County Historical Society
 * Historical Society of Pennsylvania
 * Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania
 * Friends Historical Library, Swarthmore College (Quaker)
 * Archdiocese of Philadelphia - unable to locate link to the archives.
 * Presbyterian Historical Society
 * Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society - also for Amish genealogy.
 * Lutheran Historical Society of the Mid-Atlantic
 * United Methodist Church Archives

Web Sites

 * FamilySearch.org Family History Library catalog for Chester County
 * The Chester County PAGenWeb Project, an member of The PAGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.