Bucks County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

United States Pennsylvania Bucks County

Historical Facts

 * Parent Counties: Original county formed from colonial lands 10 March 1682.
 * County Seat: Doylestown
 * Neighboring Counties: residents may also have records in Northampton (north) • Hunterdon County, New Jersey (east) • Montgomery (west) •  Mercer County, New Jersey (southeast)  •  Philadelphia (southwest)  •  Burlington County, New Jersey (south)  •  Warren County, New Jersey (northeast) • Lehigh (northwest)

Scotch-Irish immigrants made a settlement in upper Bucks County in 1728. The settlement grew rapidly and became known as "Craig Settlement" or "Irish Settlement." The settlement fell within the bounds of Northampton County once it split off.

Cemeteries
Cemetery records often reveal birth, death, relationship, military, and religious information.

The Mennonite Heritage Center 565 Yoder Road Harleysville PA 19438-1020 215-256-3020 [mailto:library@mhep.org library@mhep.org] Hours: Tuesday thru Friday, 10am–5pm, Saturday, 10am–2pm The Cemetery Database at the Mennonite Heritage Center includes 86,000 burial records from 125 local cemeteries. Records cover cemeteries in the counties of Berks, Bucks, Butler, Chester, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton, and Westmoreland. The database provides transcriptions from Mennonite, Brethren, Lutheran, Reformed, Union, Baptist, Methodist, Episcopal, community, and private cemeteries. Search the list of cemeteries and the alphabetical surname lists in Adobe PDF format. Visit the Mennonite Heritage Center to search the cemetery database by various criteria. The transcriptions are available for further research at the MHC library.

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.com – $; 7,542,774 entries. This database is incomplete for all counties.

Nancy Janyszeski has compiled a detailed list of Bucks County churches at PAGenWeb.

Catholic

 * 1803-1913 - St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church, Haycock Township, Christenings (1803-1811), Christenings (1866-1869), Christenings (1869-1870), Marriages (1803-1859), Marriages (1803-1910), Marriages (1885-1913) at PAGenWeb - free.

Episcopalian
St. James's Church, Bristol

Early registers "were stolen to prevent their evidence in a lawsuit."

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Blue Ridge District of the Eastern States Mission comprised church members living in southeastern Pennsylvania. District headquarters were in Lancaster, with branches located in Bucks, Fulton, Lancaster, and York counties.


 * Record of Members, [1929]-1944,

Dutch Reformed

 * 1710-1800 - Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 1710-1800: Southampton Dutch Reformed Church at Ancestry ($). Baptisms, marriages.

Lutheran

 * 1751-1798 - Keller's Lutheran Church (Bucks County, Pennsylvania: Keller's Church, Bedminster Township) at Ancestry ($).


 * 1760-1800 - Hinke, William J. Trinity Union Church, Record of the Reformed Congregation, Springfield Township, Bucks Co., Pennsylvania, 1760-1800 at Ancestry ($).


 * 1770-1820 - Bucks County, Pennsylvania Church Records, 1770-1820: Nockamixon Township at Ancestry ($). Includes baptisms, marriages, and deaths from Nockamixon Evangelical Lutheran Congregation, Nockamixon Lutheran Congregation, and Nockamixon Reformed Congregation.


 * 1883-1928 - Upper Tinicum Lutheran Church Burials 1883-1928 at PAGenWeb - free.

Presbyterian
Several Presbyterian churches were built in Bucks County to accommodate Scotch-Irish settlers. Neshaminy Presbyterian Church in Warwick Township was organized in 1726. A Presbyterian Church was organized at "Craig's Settlement" by 1737. Mount Bethel Prebyterian Church was organized in 1738 in "Hunter's Settlement" in Lower and Upper Mount Bethel Townships. The latter two churches fell within the bounds of Northampton County after it split off in 1751.


 * 1788-1885 - Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 1788-1885: Neshaminy Presbyterian Church at Ancestry ($). Baptisms, marriages, burials.


 * 1812-1867 - Solebury Presbyterian Church, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 1812-67 at Ancestry ($).

Reformed

 * 1744-1801 - Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 1744-1801: Tohickon Union Reformed Church at Ancestry ($).


 * 1750-1800 - Hinke, William J. A History of the Tohickon Union Church, Bedminster Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania: With Copy of Church Records, Reformed Congregation, Lutheran Congregation. Meadville, Pa.: Tribune Pub. Co., 1925. Digital version at Ancestry ($). Baptisms, marriages, burials.


 * 1751-1795 - Hinke, William J. Trinity Union Church, Record of the Lutheran Congregation, Springfield Township, Bucks Co., Pennsylvania, 1751-95 at Ancestry ($).


 * 1760-1829 - Hinke, William J. Trinity Union Church, Springfield Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania Records of the Reformed Church, 1760-1829 at Ancestry ($). Baptisms, marriages, deaths.


 * 1770-1820 - Bucks County, Pennsylvania Church Records, 1770-1820: Nockamixon Township at Ancestry ($). Includes baptisms, marriages, and deaths from Nockamixon Evangelical Lutheran Congregation, Nockamixon Lutheran Congregation, and Nockamixon Reformed Congregation.


 * 1801-1829 - Trinity Union Reformed Church, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 1801-29 at Ancestry ($). Baptisms, marriages, burials.


 * 1919 - Snyder, Elam J. Historical Sketch of First Reformed Church and Auxiliary Organizations, Quakertown, Pa.: Including a List of Present Members of Congregation and Societies. 1919. Digital version at Ancestry ($).

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1677-1687 - "A Partial List of the Families Who Resided in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Prior to 1687, With the Date of Their Arrival," The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 9 (1885):223-233. For free online access, see WeRelate.

Gazetteers

 * United States Geographic Survey Place Names - GNIS for Bucks County (more than 2000 entries) (may not always be present in alphabetic order on first try.)

Land and Property
Land records in Bucks County began in 1684. These records are filed with the Recorder of Deeds office in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts, indexes, mortgages, leases, grants, sheriff sales, land patents, and maps. Property records include liens as well as livestock brands and estray records.

The following are examples of available resources:

Online Land Records


 * 1980–present Bucks County offers online access to land records. Fees apply.

Land Records on Microfilm


 * 1684–1919 Deeds, 1684-1866; Index, 1684-1919
 * 1684–1919 Mortgages, 1782-1821; Index, 1684-1919.

Additional Resources

Note that the "Maps" section below includes maps related to land ownership.

See Pennsylvania Land and Property for more information about using land records, especially about original land warrants, surveys, and patents filed at the state land office.

Additional resources can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Bucks County Pennsylvania Land in online catalogs such as:


 * Historical Society of Pennsylvania
 * WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog.)
 * (For instructions see FHL Catalog Place-name Search.)

Maps

 * Ancestor Tracks has posted free, downloadable images of two 19th century wall maps: (1) "Maps of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, from Surveys" published in 1850 by W. E. Morris; (2) "Map of Bucks and Montgomery Counties and the Consolidated City of Philadelphia" published by Kuhn &amp; Shrope in 1857; and (3) "Barnes' Driving Map of Philadelphia and Surroundings" published in 1868 by R. L. Barnes. These images show many landowners, towns and villages and roads as of the date of publication.  These are invaluable sources to be used with the 1850 and 1860 censuses.  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 strictly for personal use; please attribute to Ancestor Tracks.

Revolutionary War
Bucks County men also served in the 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment and the 5th Pennsylvania Regiment.

During the Revolutionary period, committees of safety governed local communities. Minutes of the Bucks County Committee have been published:


 * "Minutes of the Committee of Safety of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 1774-1776," The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 15 (1891):257-290. For free online access, see WeRelate.

Newspapers
Newspapers of Bucks 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.

Online Newspaper Abstracts


 * PA-Roots Newspaper Articles for Bucks County.

Newspaper Index


 * McNealy Terry A. (compiler), Index to Bucks County references in the Pennsylvania Gazette 1728-1789 (Doylestown, Pennsylvania:Bucks County Genealogical Society) Alphabetically arranged by surnames and subjects.  "Bucks County had no newspaper of its own in the 18th century.--Intro."

Obituaries
Obituaries are generally found in local newspapers where the person died. However, sometimes an obituary is found in the location from which he or she originated. To find an obituary, see the information under the Newspaper heading

Online Obituary Abstracts


 * PA-Roots Obituaries for Bucks County.

Obituary Excerpts and Abstracts


 * A Record of deaths in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and territory immediately contiguous, 1934-1956 : compiled mainly from the newspapers of the county; also burials in Richlandtown, Doylestown, Deep Run Mennonite, Kellers Church, and New Britain Beulah cemeteries (SLC, Utah, 1958)

Probate Records

 * 1684-1693 - "Bucks County Wills, 1684-1693," Publications of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, Vol. 1 (Jul. 1897):198-224. For free online access, see WeRelate.

Archives
See Courthouse section below.

Courthouse
Bucks County Courthouse 55 East Court Street Doylestown, PA 18901

Offices of the Bucks County Court include:


 * Clerk of Courts
 * Coroner
 * Prothonotary Naturalization Papers for the years 1802 to 1906 and Term Papers from 1733 to 1920 have been microfilmed and are available for public review in the Prothonotary's office.
 * Recorder of Deeds All papers recorded in the office of Recorder of Deeds are public information, with the exception of Military Discharge Papers. Anyone can come in and look at any Deeds or Mortgages. Earliest records are for 1684. There are indexes
 * Register of Wills Research Center is open to the public. No appointment is required to visit. Records date back to 1684.
 * Genealogical and Archival Search Requests is available for the public. The site lists what records can be searched by staff and the cost.

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Also see below:


 * Doylestown Pennsylvania Family History Center
 * Morrisville Pennsylvania Family History Center

Libraries
The Mennonite Heritage Center 565 Yoder Road Harleysville PA 19438-1020 215-256-3020 [mailto:library@mhep.org library@mhep.org] Hours: Tuesday thru Friday, 10am–5pm, Saturday, 10am–2pm

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 treasure also cover the counties of Bucks, Chester, Berks, Lehigh, Northampton, and Philadelphia. The website provides a comprehensive overview of library resources, online cemetery database, manuscript collections, photo collections, archival collections, and more.

Societies
Rich in history, contains a number of societies dealing with the history of the area.


 * Bucks County Historical Society 84 South Pine Street Doylestown, PA 18901 Telephone: (215) 345-0210 Online catalog: RolloPAC Research Library Hours: Tuesday-Thursday 1-5 pm, Friday &amp; Saturday 10 am-5 pm The Bucks County Historical Society operates the Mercer Museum and the Fonthill Castle. The research library of the museum is the major research center for local and family history related to Bucks County and the surrounding region. The Library houses over 20,000 books, periodicals and pamphlets, 2500 feet of county archives, over 800 manuscript collections, over 12,000 images, and maps and other records that document local history, and more. The online catalog searches collections of the Archives, the Museum, and the Library as well as an obituary collection from 2000 to the present.  The Library is the depository for many Bucks County government records dating from 1683. These records come from the offices of the Court of Quarter Sessions, Register of Wills and Clerk of the Orphans Court, Prothonotary and the County Commissioners. Special indexes to county collections include the following: naturalization records (1802-1906), criminal papers (1697-1786), quarter sessions (1684-1700), coroners papers (1700-1900), divorces (1806-1948), marriage licenses (1852-1854, 1885-1946), vendues (1784-1884), tavern licenses (1742-1923), deed books and grantor/grantee index (1684-1919), wills and administrations (1684-1900), and mechanics liens (1836-1949). At this time, none of these indexes are available online.


 * Bucks County Genealogical Society PO Box 862 Washington Crossing, PA 18977 Telephone: (215) 345-1394 The BCGS is a newly forming group of genealogists.They sre involved in a cemetery project to create a database of all burials in Bucks County, which will be available free online. The project was launched in 2012 and vulunteers are welcome.

Taxation

 * 1779, 1781-1786 - Proprietary and Other Tax Lists of the County of Bucks: For the Years 1779, 1781, 1782, 1783, 1784, 1785, 1786. (Pennsylvania Archives, Series 3, Vol. 13). Digital versions at Ancestry ($); Google Books - free.


 * 1798 - Pennsylvania, U.S. Direct Tax Lists, 1798 at Ancestry ($).

Vital Records
The Archive Research Center, located on the third floor of the Bucks County Courthouse, is open to the public for genealogical research. The Bucks County Register of Wills and Clerk of the Orphan's Court has microfilm records dating back to 1684. Some original records are stored off-site and are available by advance request. Copy services (by fee) include the following:


 * 1684-1950 Genealogical Search Request, index search by name
 * 1684-1987 Index printout with name, death year, index number
 * 1987-present Index printout also includes date of death
 * 1885-present Marriage Application Record, Certified Application, Marriage Certificate
 * 1893-1906 Certified Birth/Death Record

Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court 55 East Court Street 3rd Floor, Administration Building Doylestown PA 18901 Register of Wills: 215-348-6265, registerofwills@co.bucks.pa.us Orphans' Court: 215-348-6271, orphanscourt@co.bucks.pa.us

County-wide Databases

 * 1700-1821 - Pennsylvania Marriage Records Ancestry.com – ($) This database is incomplete for all counties.

Birth

 * 1768-1894 - - free index. Not complete for all years.


 * 1852-1854 – Pennsylvania Births Ancestry.com – ($) Index with images.

Marriage

 * 1836-1904 - - free index. Not complete for all years; some images available.
 * 1773-1824 - "Marriages Copies from the Docket of Isaac Hicks: Justice of the Peace of Bucks County from 1773 to 1824," Publications of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, Vol. 3, No. 3 (Jun. 1908):201-225. For free online access, see WeRelate; the Family History Library also has this series in its collection:.


 * 1711-1797 – Bucks Co residents listed in Early NJ Marriage Bond Abstracts 1711-1797 at USGenWeb - Not all years represented.

Divorce
Divorce records are handled by the office of the Prothonotary and Domestic Relations (Family Court). No Family Court documents are available on-line. Records may be obtained on site or by correspondence.

The Office of the Prothonotary Bucks County Courthouse 55 East Court Street Doylestown PA 18901 Phone: 215-348-6191 Fax: 215-348-6184

Death

 * 1852-1854 – Pennsylvania Deaths Ancestry.com – ($) Index with images.

Death Substitutes


 * Bucks County (Pennsylvania). Coroner. Coroner's Views and Inquisitions, 1710-1906; Index, 1722-1946. Coroner's reports supply information on accidental or suspicious deaths.

Web Sites

 * The BucksCounty PAGenWeb Project, an member of The PAGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * Bucks County PA Genealogy
 * Linkpendium - Bucks County
 * Linkpendium - Bucks County

Populated Places

 * Boroughs: Bristol . Chalfont . Doylestown . Dublin . Hulmeville . Ivyland . Langhorne . Langhorne Manor . Morrisville . New Britain . New Hope . Newtown . Penndel . Perkasie . Quakertown . Richlandtown . Riegelsville . Sellersville . Silverdale . Telford . Trumbauersville . Tullytown . Yardley
 * Townships: Bedminster . Bensalem . Bridgeton . Bristol . Buckingham . Doylestown . Durham . East Rockhill . Falls . Haycock . Hilltown . Lower Makefield . Lower Southampton . Middletown . Milford . New Britain . Newtown . Nockamixon . Northampton . Plumstead . Richland . Solebury . Springfield . Tinicum . Upper Makefield . Upper Southampton . Warminster . Warrington . Warwick . West Rockhill . Wrightstown
 * Unincorporated communities: Brittany Farms-Highlands . Churchville . Cornwells Heights-Eddington . Croydon . Erwinna . Fairless Hills . Fallsington . Feasterville-Trevose . Holland . Lahaska . Levittown . Lumberville . Newtown Grant . Point Pleasant . Plumsteadville . Richboro . Southampton . The Devil's Half-Acre . Uhlerstown . Upper Black Eddy . Village Shires . Warminster Heights . Washington Crossing . Woodbourne . Woodside