Butler County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

Guide to Butler County, Pennsylvania ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Description
It is named after General Richard Butler, a hero of the American Revolution. The county is located in the West central section of the state.

County Courthouse
Butler County Courthouse 124 W. Diamond Street P.O. Box 1208 Butler, PA 16003 Phone: 724-284-5200 Recorder of Deeds: 724-284-5340 Fax: 724-285-9099 Office of the Prothonotary: 724-284-5214 Register of Wills: 724-284-1409 Fax: 724-284-5278 Butler County Website Couty Clerk has birth and death records 1893-1906, marriage records from 1885, divorce records from 1805, and naturalization records from 1804 Orphan Court has probate records from 1804 Prothonotary Office has court and land records from 1804

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Cemeteries
Additional Cemetery Resources
 * ca.1700-ca.1950 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * Pennsylvania Genealogy

Church Records


County-wide Database - Multi-denominational
 * 1708-1985 Pennsylvania, Church and Town Records, 1708-1985 at Historical Society of Pennsylvania – $, free to members of the society; Also available at Ancestry $
 * Contains church records of:
 * Butler: Covenant United Presbyterian Church; First United Methodist Church; Grace Lutheran Church; St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church; St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church
 * Cranberry: Dutilh United Methodist Church
 * Evans: Evans City Methodist Church
 * Harmony: Grace Reformed Church
 * Harrisville: Harmony United Presbyterian Church
 * Portersville: First Presbyterian Church
 * Slippery Rock: Center United Presbyterian Church; Highland United Presbyterian Church
 * Summit: Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church
 * The Butler County Historical Society has various church records available for use in their research library. Some records include: Fisk Chapel, Knox Chapel, Emory Chapel, Covenant United Presbyterian, Calvary United Presbyterian, Middlesex Presbyterian, and others! Call ahead to be sure the genealogist is available.

Catholic
 * "100 years of the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese 1843–1943". Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society Quarterly, 17:1. FamilySearch Library book 974.8 B2wg. Contains chronolgy, map, county-by-county information.

Presbyterian Fairview Presbyterian Church


 * 1876-1889 Fairview Presbyterian Church Baptism Index 1876-1889 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch
 * 1877-1887 Fairview Presbyterian Church Marriage Index 1877-1887 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch

Middlesex Presbyterian Church


 * 1838-1903 Middlesex Presbyterian Church at USGenWeb, There are records of Baptisms 1848-1870, 1894-1905; Membership records 1838, 1848-1900; and selected session minutes 1838-1903.

List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Land and Property Records
Land records in Butler County began in 1800. These records are filed with the Recorder of Deeds office in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Online Land Indexes and Records
 * 1800–1925 Deeds, 1804-1902; Index to Deeds, 1800-1925. - images only; click on the camera icon to view images
 * 1800–1928 Mortgages, 1804-1898; Index, 1800-1928. - Some images only; click on the camera icon to view images
 * 1973–present Butler County offers online access to land records. Check the website for current information on availability and fees.

Local Histories

 * 20th Century History of Butler and Butler County, Pa., and Representative Citizens. 1909. Ed. and comp. by James A. McKee. Chicago, Illinois : Richmond-Arnold. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust, Internet Archive, Google Books;.
 * History of Butler County Pennsylvania. 1895. Chicago : R. C. Brown. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, Google Books, Ancestry ($);.
 * History of Butler County, Pennsylvania. 1883. By Waterman, Watkins & Co. Chicago : Waterman, Watkins & Co. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive;.

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps
 * Maps of Pennsylvania (1673-1878)
 * The Butler County PAGenWeb page has linked to the complete 1858 Map of Butler County, PA from surveys by Jas. Dunlap, Hugh McKee, David Scott, E. Maurhoff, J W Kirker. The map shows the property owned by each landowner as well as waterways, major roads, towns, and villages. The map is offered online through the Library of Congress.
 * The Butler County PAGenWeb page has scanned the original township and borough maps of Butler County Pennsylvania from the 1874 Atlas of the County of Butler, and the State of Pennsylvania, by G.M. Hopkins &amp; Co., Philadelphia. While it does not show the property boundaries it shows the location of the homes, waterways, roads, towns, and villages throughout the county.
 * The Butler County Historical Society has a large collection of old maps throughout the history of the county. Their collection includes 5 original 1858 Maps of Butler County, PA, as well as the 1874 Atlas of Butler County and various maps pertaining to railways, oil wells, waterways, and even the location of all the fire hydrants in the city of Butler in 1902!
 * Ancestor Tracks has posted the 1858 Map of Butler Co., Pennsylvania from surveys by Jas. Dunlap, Hugh McKee, David Scott, E. Maurhoff J.W. Kirker. This map shows the tracts of landowners at that time, as well as towns, villages and roads. This source is a perfect companion while consulting the 1850 and 1860 census records. While the physical maps are in the public domain, the images we have taken of the maps belong to us and are not to be used commercially. We hereby give permission to use them for personal use; please attribute to Ancestor Tracks.
 * FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places

Military Records
Butler County Historical Society contains original Revolutionary War Pension Files, Militia records, various Civil War records including muster rolls and company record books. All 5 volumes of Samuel Bates History of the Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1851-1865. (see Societies below)The Society also has several dozen photographs of Civil War Soldiers and newspapers from the era.

Civil War
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records


 * 1800-2000 Butler County Naturalizations 1800-2000 at PAGenWeb
 * 1800-1903 Naturalization Dockets - images only; click on the camera icon to view images
 * 1800-1931 Petitions for Citizenship - Index included: 1804-1982 - images only; click on the camera icon to view images
 * 1820-1906 Index to Declarations and Petitions in the Western District of Pennsylvania, US Circuit and District Courts located in US Naturalization Records Indexes, 1794-1995 database on Ancestry $
 * 1820-1930 Naturalization Petitions of the U.S. District Court, 1820-1930, and Circuit Court, 1820-1911, for the Western District of Pennsylvania on Fold3.com - ($), indexed, National Archives publication M1537, incomplete for all counties
 * 1820-1930 - Naturalization Petitions of the U.S. District Court, 1820-1930, and Circuit Court, 1820-1911, for the Western District of Pennsylvania located in Selected US Naturalization Records - Original Documents, 1790-1974 database on Ancestry.com - ($), indexed, National Archives publication M1537
 * 1874-1929 Declarations of Intention - images only; click on the camera icon to view images

Newspapers
Newspapers of Butler County


 * Pennsylvania Newspapers
 * Chronicling America US Newspaper Directory

Online Newspapers

To learn if there are newspapers online for a specific town or city in Pennsylvania, see news.google.com/newspapers and search for the town or the name of a newspaper.


 * The Butler Times January 1, 1907-December 27, 1912

Online Newspaper Abstracts


 * 1947-2010 - at FamilySearch
 * PA-Roots Newspaper Articles for Butler County.

Newspaper Excerpts and Abstracts


 * News of the Day Newspaper Collection on CD available only at the Butler County Historical Society.(c2000Butler County Historical Society and Butler Public Library)

Obituaries
Online Obituary Abstracts


 * PA-Roots Obituaries for Butler County.
 * Online Obituaries available at legacy.com
 * Obituary Index available on-line through the Butler Area Public Library. It covers the years 1818 through 2010.

Obituary Excerpts and Abstracts


 * Collected by Sarah E. Milford, Carol H. Jamison and Marilyn Q. Gerhold, Obituaries from Venango and Butler Counties (S.I.:s.n., 2006?) . Available online through FamilySearch Catalog entry.
 * Compiled and written by Vickie Lynn Young, A Detailed Perspective of Butler County Cemeteries (Denmark, Wisconsin:V.L. Young, c2000) Includes obituaries for some of the persons buried in the cemetery.

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1683 - 1994 at FamilySearch
 * 1683 - 1993 Pennsylvania Wills and Probate Records 1683-1993 at Ancestry $
 * 1800-1910+ Estate Index for Butler County.
 * 1800-1916 Will Books -Index included, 1800-1971 - images only; click on the camera icon to view images
 * 1800-1918 Probate Files - images only; click on the camera icon to view images

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch - How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Tax Records
The Butler County Historical Society is in the process of digitizing the County's Tax Records from 1803 to 1915. Contact for availability.

Birth

 * 1853 Butler County Births
 * 1893-1905 Butler County Births

Marriage

 * 1626-2016 Pennsylvania, United States Marriages at FindMyPast ($)
 * 1677-1950 at FamilySearch
 * 1700-1821 Pennsylvania Marriage Records Ancestry $
 * 1725-1976 index. Not complete for all years. This index is not necessarily intended to index any specific set of records. This index is not complete for any particular place or region. This collection may include information previously published in the International Genealogical Index or Vital Records Index collections.
 * Pre-1810 Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry $
 * 1801-1922 Butler County Marriages
 * 1852-1854 Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry $
 * 1885-1950 Extracted marriage records – This database is incomplete for all counties. May also contain marriage records earlier than 1885.

Death

 * 1720-1999 at FamilySearch — index, some images
 * 1850-1880 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1852-1854 Deaths.htm Butler County Deaths. Courtesy of USGENWeb
 * 1893-1905 Butler County Deaths. Courtesy of USGENWeb
 * 1894-1905 Butler County Death Index 1894-1905 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch

Divorce
Divorce records are available through the office of the Prothonotary, Butler County Courthouse.

Archives

 * National Archives at Philadelphia 14700 Townsend Road Philadelphia, PA 19154-1096 Phone: 215-305-2044 Fax: 215-305-2052 website

Family History Centers

 * Butler Pennsylvania Family History Center
 * Cranberry Twp Pennsylvania Family History Center
 * Slippery Rock Pennsylvania Family History Center

Libraries

 * Butler Area Public Library 218 N. McKean Street Butler, PA 16001 Phone: 724-287-1715 Fax: 724-285-5090 Email: [mailto:baplgenealogy@bcfls.org baplgenealogy@bcfls.org] Website


 * Butler County Federated Library System 218 N. McKean Street Butler, PA 16001 Phone: 724-283-1880 Website

Searchable books and published works covering much of western Pennsylvania.
 * University of Pittsburgh Library System Historic Pittsburgh Website

Museums

 * Depreciation Land Museum P.O. Box 174 Allison Park, PA 15101 Phone: 412-486-0563 Website
 * Harmony Museum 218 Mercer St. P.O. Box 524 Harmony, PA 16037 Phone: 724-452-7341 Website

Societies

 * Butler County Genealogical Society P.O. Box 662 Butler, PA 16003-0662 Email: [mailto:bcgsociety@yahoo.com bcgsociety@yahoo.com] Website


 * Butler County Historical Society Research Library 123 West Diamond Street Butler, PA 16001 724-283-8116 Website The Society includes: Hundreds of books pertaining to Butler County's history, businesses, churches, schools, and families as well as Butler High School Yearbooks from 1914 and various yearbooks from other county high schools. The society also houses original Revolutionary War Pension Files, Militia records, various Civil War records including muster rolls and company record books plus several dozen photographs of Civil War Soldiers and newspapers from the era. Records from the Keeper of the Poor in each township are available at the society and include the name of the person and what type of support was rendered, such as a pair of shoes or a dentist's bill. Poorhouse records from our county home, now known as Sunnyview, are also at the society as well as the Butler Public Library. The Society holds 5 volumes of Samuel Bates History of the Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1851-1865.


 * Cranberry Genealogy Club Cranberry Municipal Building 2525 Rochester Road Cranberry Township, PA 16066 Website


 * Directory of Pennsylvania Genealogical & Historical Societies Website


 * Evans City Area Historical Society 204C S. Jackson Street Evans City, PA 16033-1138 Phone: 724-538-3629 Facebook


 * The Mennonite Heritage Center 565 Yoder Road Harleysville PA 19438-1020 Phone: 215-256-3020 [mailto:library@mhep.org library@mhep.org] Website
 * The Mennonite Historians of Eastern Pennsylvania support the John L. Ruth Historical Library and Museum at the Mennonite Heritage Center. Located in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania the records and resources of this center cover the counties of Bucks, Chester, Berks, Lehigh, Northampton, Philadelphia and provide a comprehensive overview of library resources, online cemetery database, manuscript collections, photo collections, archival collections, and more.


 * Zelienople Historical Society 243 S. Main Street Zelienople, PA 16063 Phone: 724-452-9457 Website

Websites

 * Linkpendium - Butler County
 * USGenWeb project
 * Butler County PA Genealogy
 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.