Genealogy - Pottsville Free Public Library

Genealogy

We have identified a large number of sites that have genealogical and historical information for Schuylkill County, most of them for free. Most of the genealogical materials in our collection can be found by searching the Library’s catalog.

Genealogy and Local History Materials & Services

The Pottsville Free Public Library has had to reduce the range of genealogy services we offer. So we’ve provided links below to as many free Schuylkill County genealogy and history sources as we could find. If you need more assistance with research than we can provide or you are unable to visit the Pottsville Library to use the materials here, we suggest you contact the Schuylkill County Historical Society and ask if they can assist you. If you are looking for county civil records, we suggest you contact the Schuylkill County Courthouse Archives office.

 

Genealogy Services at the Pottsville Library

We can:

Search the local newspapers for obituaries or other events if given the exact date and make copies of the articles.
Make referrals to other libraries and genealogical collections if we know or believe that they have relevant information or resources.

If you do not have the exact date of an event, and there are no indexes for that time period, we cannot search the newspaper for the obituary, birth notice, etc.  Requests for services beyond what we can provide will be returned with referrals to places that might be able to help you.

FEES: There is a $10 minimum fee on all requests from outside of Schuylkill County. This covers up to 5 pages printed and up to 15 minutes of staff time. This minimum fee applies regardless of how we send you the copy or copies. 

1 – 5 pages printed, $5.00 (includes postage) plus $20 per hour staff time fee, billed in 15-minute increments.
6 or more pages printed, $1.00 per page plus $2.00 postage plus $20 per hour staff time fee, billed in 15-minute increments.
Any request for 10 or more pages must be prepaid.  (See below.)
If we have to send you a reminder to pay for the copies you received, we add a $2.00 overdue fee in addition to the original billed amount.

The fees are the same for requests from outside of the United States.  However, all checks must be drawn from U.S. banks (sorry, checks from Canadian banks and international money orders cannot be accepted due to the policies of our local banks), and all payments must be in U.S. dollars.

If your request is for 10 or more pages, or if the research time goes beyond an hour, we will contact you with the amount due.  Once payment has been received by us we will send you the copies.  
Payment for one request must be received before any additional requests will be accepted from the same person.

You can contact us for local history or genealogy copies via the following ways:

Email: potref@pottsvillelibrary.org

U.S. Mail: Pottsville Free Public Library, Attn: Reference Department, 215 West Market Street, Pottsville, PA 17901-4304. (Please do not include a self-addressed, stamped envelope; only send your request with your mailing address.)

Our turn-around time for sending you a reply may be fairly lengthy; please be patient with us. All requests will be answered in the order in which they were received.

Reference staff are available to assist people with the genealogy and local history materials when visiting the Library. The Pottsville Library is open Monday- Thursday, 8:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.; and Friday and Saturday, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. 

We are closed during the major holidays (Christmas, Memorial Day, etc.); please feel free to email or call us (570-622-8880 ext 11) to ask if we will be open when you are planning to visit. Library closings for weather or holidays are announced on our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/PottsvilleFreeLibrary). 

Genealogy And Local History
Genealogy Resources
Schuylkill County History
Molly Maguires/Coal Mining
Church/Cemetery Records

People Index (spreadsheet at https://tinyurl.com/y6vscwd2) Use this index to find names in local history publications. Many of the titles in this index are available free online. Check the list of titles here and under the “Schuylkill County History” tab (above) for the links. Also check the newspaper indexes  (next section) for obituaries and funeral notices.

Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania (http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028854598 ) Samuel T. Wiley and Henry W. Ruoff, eds., 1893. “Comprising a historical sketch of the county… together with about five hundred and fifty biographical sketches of the prominent men and leading citizens of the county.” (From title page)  

Biographical Notes of Pine Grove, Pa., 1841-1916 (https://familysearch.org/search/catalog/1856426) Capt. J. W. Barr, compiler, 1916.  This book discusses some of the people living in the Pine Grove area, sometimes giving a fair amount of genealogical information (and sometimes not!). 

Directory of the Eleventh Census of the Population of Schuylkill County, Penna. (https://archive.org/details/directoryofeleve0000eesh )– Digitized by the Pottsville Library with equipment loaned by the State Library of Pennsylvania. This publication is a cross between a census listing and a business directory, and is the only resource available for Schuylkill County in 1890 other than a limited “Union Veterans and Their Widows” volume.

Pennsylvania Vital Records at the Pennsylvania State Archives (https://www.pa.gov/agencies/phmc/pa-state-archives/research-online/vital-statistics-records.html) —  This site has information on accessing the indices for the records on their site, or accessing the digital copies of certificates via Ancestry. Access to these records in Ancestry is free for Pennsylvania residents if you use the link on this page. Note that the records are limited to 105 years after the date of birth (starting in 1906, the first year state-wide records were kept) and 50 years after the date of death (starting in 1906). 

Pennsylvania Volunteers of the Civil War (http://www.pacivilwar.com/ )– regimental rosters, divided by company; primarily Schuylkill County regiments and companies, but other Pennsylvania counties are listed.

Record of Pennsylvania Volunteers in the Spanish-American War 1898 (https://archive.org/details/recordofpennsylv00penn/page/n6 )– indexed genealogy source with a list of Pennsylvania volunteer infantry, cavalry, and artillery.

Schuylkill County Courthouse Archives (http://www.co.schuylkill.pa.us/Offices/Archives/archives.asp ) — The  Marriage Record Index is a searchable database and will give you the book number and approximate time period for each marriage (some will have an exact date).  Search by male or female last name. The Archives office can also direct you to other Schuylkill County records.

Schuylkill County Pennsylvania: Genealogy — Family History — Biography J. H. Beers, 1916. “Containing historical sketches of old families and of representative and prominent citizens past and present.”

Volume 1 (http://hdl.handle.net/2027/wu.89062011291)

Volume 2 (http://hdl.handle.net/2027/wu.89062011309) 

Schuylkill Haven Funeral Home Obituary Cards (https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/3021637) — From the LDS genealogy site “FamilySearch” gives you access to digital copies of obituary card records from the Ebling & Stabingas Funeral Home in Schuylkill Haven, covering 1914-2007.

Other Resources At The Pottsville Library
United States Census
City Directories
Newspapers

United States Census

The Pottsville Free Public Library has United States Census records from 1800 through 1940 for the Schuylkill County area. These records have been indexed by place name (boroughs, townships, etc.).  We also have surname indexes for census records from 1790-1850.

While we do not have the original 1890 census records on microfilm, we do own two other resources which may be of interest:

The Special Schedules of the Eleventh Census Enumerating Union Veterans and Widows of Union Veterans of the Civil War, Schuylkill County (indexed by place name);
Schuylkill County Census Directory (https://archive.org/details/directoryofeleve0000eesh) (looks like a city directory, with some information taken from the original census records). 

Confused about where a village is?  Check out this list (community_and_twp_names) that has almost every borough and village in Schuylkill County with their township.  

We have never found any records from a Pennsylvania Census for any years, nor for more local census efforts. To the best of our knowledge only the federal census was done in this area.

Did you know that FamilySearch.org now has most of the United States Census records available for free? Search for a family name, or browse through the records. Site registration is free but may be required to use some records.

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