Genealogy and local history materials & services.

Last Updated August 21, 2010.

*NEW* Port Carbon Cemeteries lists online.  See "Online Church and Cemetery Records" section below.

*NEW* Schuylkill County Coroners Inquest Records added to collection. See "Schuylkill Roots" section below.

Updated fee structure (very important changes since February).  Please see "Fees" below.

The only requests we will answer are those for specific pages from specific genealogy books in our collection, as identified using indexes on our web site (below) or on other genealogy web sites, and requests for obituaries for exact dates of death.  We will not be able to search our collection for family information or hunt for obituaries when a specific date is not known.  Please try contacting the Historical Society of Schuylkill County (contact information at the bottom of this web page, under "Local Historical Societies") for a referral to a local researcher if you need more in-depth genealogy research.

The Pottsville Free Public Library owns many important resources about the history of Pottsville and Schuylkill county.  Please read the ENTIRE page before contacting us for assistance -- many of your questions will probably be answered!  Contact information can be found in the Services section below.

Online Resources

The Anthracite Coal Field Archives -- The Old Forge Coal Mine website seeks to preserve as much of the anthracite region's history as possible.  They have made many of the state mine inspector's reports available on their site in PDF format.  Some reports are only available for the northern anthracite fields (think Luzerne and Lackawanna counties; Schuylkill County is in the southern fields), but many reports are available for the entire anthracite region.  Note that only reports up through 1920 include names of miners injured in accidents.  For those interested more in mining history than genealogy, this page also includes copies of U.S. Bureau of Mines Bulletins which contain information about a wide variety of coal and coal mining techniques.

Ella Zerbey Elliott's Blue Book of Schuylkill County -- published in 1916, not all parts of this book are presently available online.

FamilySearch Census Records -- The LDS family research website now provides a searchable index of the US 1880 census! Just select "1880 United States Census" and enter the first and/or last name of the person you're seeking.  The index provides links to the census records for each name.  Residents of a house have links to the head of their household.  The index also provides the source information, giving the reel and page number for each record, so you can find the records on the census reels.

W. W. Munsell's History of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania -- published in 1881; one of the first local history titles to be available online, it is now available as a PDF file (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader). An everyname index is also available starting on page 392.

Lithuanian Global Genealogical Society Online Databases -- check out this site for a large number of Lithuanian cemeteries, surnames, vital records, and other databases crucial to genealogical research.  Includes several Schuylkill County resources.

Migration Patterns of Schuylkill County -- "The purpose of this project is to catalog migrations into and out of Schuylkill County."

Pennsylvania Annual Reports on Mining Activities -- Want to use the mine inspectors' reports but can't get to Schuylkill County?  Check out this site which lists all the libraries that have these reports, and which years are in the collection.  At this time only the more recent reports are readable online here, plus some from the 1930s.  Note that only reports up through 1920 include names of miners injured in accidents.  Pottsville Free Public Library has a large collection of inspector of mines reports in print that can be used here at the library, starting with the 1869 report that only covers Schuylkill County.  Please email us to find out if we have the year you seek.  Some of these are too fragile to be photocopied, others have just been filmed by the State Library in Harrisburg (1896-1899, 1901-1910) and copies of those microfilms are now in our collection.

Pennsylvania Report of the Bureau of Mines -- Some mine inspector reports have been digitized by the State Library of Pennsylvania and added to their digital collection.  The available reports on this site include 1896-1899 and 1901-1905, with additional reports from 1906-1930 to be added in the future.  This link takes you to the advance search page.  Search for a specific person, or you can search by title and year (ex:  1905 and the exact phrase "coal mines").  Note that only reports up through 1920 include names of miners injured in accidents. 

Pennsylvania Scrapbook Necrology, Oct. 1891-Mar. 1904 -- "Microfilmed scrapbooks of obituaries clipped from Pennsylvania newspapers from 16 October 1891 to 3 March 1904. Many Civil War veterans included."  Part of the Pennsylvania State Library's digitized collection.  The link takes you to the search page.  In the "All of the words" space, type in "necrology" and the name you are seeking, then click the Search button.

Pennsylvania Vital Records Information -- home page for the office which holds Pennsylvania birth and death certificates from 1906 on; order form and fees are both available

Pennsylvania Volunteers of the Civil War -- regimental rosters, divided by company; primarily Schuylkill County regiments and companies, but other Pennsylvania counties are listed and more are being added.

**Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps -- These maps have often been sought by genealogy researchers to trace the history of houses.  Several years ago the Reference Department tried long and hard to track these down for Schuylkill County and came to the conclusion that they simply didn't exist.  Well, we're happy to say we were wrong!  These maps are not available online, but by visiting the website of the Library of Congress Geography and Map Reading Room, you can identify the print maps available by year for cities in Schuylkill County and the rest of Pennsylvania.  (If you have found another source for Sanborn maps for Schuylkill County, please let us know!)

Schuylkill County Courthouse Archives -- The  Marriage Record Index, 1885-1969, is a searchable database and will give you the book number and approximate time period for each marriage.  Search by male or female last name. 

Schuylkill County Genealogy Ties -- also has a large collection of resources and links, including a chat room and message board.

Schuylkill County PAGenWeb -- part of the USGenWeb project, this is a HUGE collection of genealogy resources and links; a great place to start! Includes online books (many of which are listed below), cemetery listings, etc. Some of our name indexes are on this web site; check under Area History for the Library's indexes.  These indexes include many of the titles listed below.

Schuylkill County Volunteer Census Project -- federal Census data transcribed from the original microfilms and put onto the internet by volunteers in a text format. Note that not all years are available, nor are all townships and boroughs.  Links to Pennsylvania, US, and international census records, both free and for-fee, are also available at the Census Online website.

Social Security Death Index -- a good place to check for a date of death for anyone who had a Social Security card

War Years Index -- everyname index of the publication, listed on this page under "Pottsville Republican"; index entries also correspond with newspaper dates, page numbers and column numbers.  Copies of articles from The War Years publication or the newspaper may be requested from the Reference Dept.

Online Church and Cemetery Records -- The following are links to cemetery and church records we have found on other sites for this county.  If you know of additional resources for free church or cemetery records online, please let us know! 

Schuylkill County's Cemeteries - large collection of cemetery records for the county.	Kehillath Israel Hebrew Cemetery, Shenandoah Heights; includes photos of stones.  Compiled by Ian Singer.	Port Carbon Cemeteries - tombstone inscriptions from six cemeteries in the borough, including an index. Compiled by Mark Major.
Schuylkill County's Churches - registers and records from some of the churches in the county	Tifereth Israel  Mount Carmel; includes pictures of the synagogue and a cemetery list.  (Not technically in the county, but close enough for our purposes.)

Shenandoah Cemeteries -- These cemetery listings have been compiled and donated by Andy Ulicny of Shenandoah.  All cemeteries are located in Shenandoah Heights.  NOTE: These listings are in Word 2003 to preserve Mr. Ulicny's formatting.  If you do not have Word 2003 or newer on your computer, you can download a viewer from Microsoft.  The viewer will permit you to view the files, but you may not be able to make changes to them.

All Shenandoah Catholic Cemeteries	Annunciation BVM (Irish/early Roman Catholic)	Holy Ghost Polish National Cemetery
Holy Ghost Russian Orthodox Cemetery	Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Italian)	New St. Casimir's Polish Cemetery
Old St. Casimir's Polish Cemetery	St. Michael's Ukrainian Greek Catholic	St. Stanislaus Polish Cemetery
St. Stephen's Slovak Roman Catholic

Books

Click on a hyperlinked title to view the index for that title.  Copy request guidelines can be found at the top of each index page and in our Services section, below.  We will add more indexes as they become available.  Note that some indexes may be very large! Use the "Find" feature on your internet browser to jump to the name you seek.

Our book collection includes the following:

Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania 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) Indexed.  Warning: the index for this title is VERY large -- be prepared for a long download time.

Biographical Notes of Pine Grove, Pa., 1841-1916 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!).  Indexed (people only).

Blue Book of Schuylkill County Pottsville Republican, 1916. History of early settlers of eastern Pennsylvania, particularly prominent regional families and Schuylkill County-area soldiers in various wars; and the Zerbey family line; indexed.  Some of this book is available online.

County Atlas of Schuylkill, Pennsylvania F. W. Beers & Co., 1875. Includes maps of county, townships, boroughs, and villages; as well as illustrations of prominent people and buildings.

Historical Society of Schuylkill County Publications Historical Society of Schuylkill County, 1907-1965. Various papers presented to the Society; Volumes 1-9 indexed.  (updated to include most of volumes 7-9; people only, no businesses or communities in the online index)  Note that these papers do not always provide much biographical information about individuals.  Sometimes it will only give those who were present at a meeting, or who was on a particular board.  We will send only the pages we think are genealogically significant unless you instruct us otherwise.

History of Northampton, Lehigh, Monroe, Carbon, and Schuylkill Counties Israel D. Rupp, 1845. "Containing a brief history of the first settlers, topography of townships, notices of leading events, incidents, and interesting facts in the early history of these counties; with an appendix, containing matters of deep interest." (From title page) Indexed.

History of Pottsville and Schuylkill County Joseph H. Zerbey; J. H. Zerbey Newspapers, 1934-1935; indexed.

History of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania W. W. Munsell, 1881. "With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers." (From title page) Indexed.  (See link above for access to online version.)

History of Schuylkill County Pennsylvania Adolph W. Schalck; State Historical Society (Madison, WI), 1907. "Including a genealogical and biographical record of many families and persons in the county." (From title page) Indexed.  Note that copies must be made from microfilm, so responses may take longer than from other books.

Our Local Veterans, Our Heroes Pine Grove/Tremont Area Veterans Committee, 2004-2010.  (Books One - Eight.) This series compiles newspaper articles and obituaries, discharge notices, and other official resources that give information about people from that geographical area who served in the military.  Records go back to include some Revolutionary War soldiers but most are from the 1900s. Index includes every name from the region (officials not from Schuylkill County were not included in this index).  

Pennsylvania Births: Carbon, Monroe, Schuylkill Counties John T. Humphrey, 2006.  This book has birth records for Schuylkill County from 1755-1825.  Records list the date of birth or baptism, names of father and mother (when recorded), and the name of the church.  For Schuylkill County, records are included from the following churches:  Zion Lutheran ("Old Red", Orwigsburg); "Hetzel's" Lutheran, Pine Grove Twp.; St. Paul's Lutheran and Reformed ("Summer Hill"), Mannheim Twp.; St. John's Lutheran and Reformed, Friedensburg; St. Jacob's Lutheran, Pine Grove Twp.; St. Paul's Lutheran and Reformed ("White"), Ringtown; St. Peter's Lutheran and Reformed, Pine Grove; St. John's Lutheran and Reformed, Tamaqua; Frieden's Lutheran and Reformed, Branch Twp.; Frieden's Lutheran and Reformed, New Ringgold; and Zion Reformed, West Brunswick Twp.  This book is not indexed, but within each county entries are alphabetical by last name and look-ups may be requested.

Reports of the Inspectors of Mines The Pottsville Free Public Library has a large collection of mine inspectors’ reports, going back to 1869, primarily for the anthracite region.  Reports for 1869-1920 contain names of those killed or injured in mining accidents.  Most of these reports cannot be photocopied due to their age.  (Note:  We have just purchased reports on microfilm, covering the years 1896-1899 and 1901-1910, and these reports can be copied.)  We are working on an index for districts that included Schuylkill County.  Feel free to contact us by telephone (570-622-8880) or by email to find out if we've done a particular year.  The index will be posted when finished.  

Schuylkill County Historic Gleanings Sarah Ann McCool; Shenandoah Weekly Herald, 1874-1875. Newspaper column giving an extensive history of the county, but not much genealogical/family information. Indexed. Note that copies must be transcribed due to poor quality text, so responses may take longer than from other books.

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." (From title page) Indexed.

SCHUYLKILL ROOTS PUBLICATIONS
Alphabetical list by church or cemetery name. Church or cemetery names by themselves indicate a single book. Church or cemetery names followed by square brackets indicate the church or cemetery records are in one of the larger compilation volumes.  All books/volumes have last name indexes. New titles have an asterisk (*) at the beginning of the line.

Annunciation BVM Cemetery, Butler Twp. [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 2]
Aristes Cemetery, Columbia Cty. [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 2]
Barry Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church, Barry Twp. [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 1]
Bethany Evangelical Congregational Church [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 1]
Bethany Evangelical Congregational Church, Ashland
Bethel AME Church Cemetery, Pottsville [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 1]
Boyer Farm Cemetery, Washington Twp., Dauphin Cty. [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 2]
Brock St. Cemetery, Ashland [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 1]
Death and Burial Records of the Buffington-Reed Funeral Home, Valley View
Cemeteries of Centralia, Columbia County
Charles Baber Cemetery, Pottsville
Christ Church Cemetery, Fountain Springs [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 1]
Christ Evangelical Lutheran/Reformed Cemetery [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 2]
Christ Evangelical Union Cemetery, Hegins Twp. [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 2]
Christ Protestant Episcopal Church, Frackville
Christ Union Church, Hegins Twp. [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 2]
Christ Union Church, McKeansburg, East Brunswick Twp. [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 2]
Church of God Cemetery, Hegins Twp. [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 2]
Church of the Holy Apostles (Episcopal) , St. Clair
Citizen's Cemetery, Gordon [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 1]
Citizen's Cemetery, Lavelle [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 1]
Donaldson Community Cemetery, Frailey Twp. [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 1]
Fahl Private Cemetery, West Brunswick Twp. [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 2]
Fairview (Schwalm's/Tallman's) Cemetery, Porter Twp. [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 3]
First Methodist Episcopal Church (now First United Methodist Church), Pottsville
First Reformed Church and Trinity Reformed Church, Pottsville
Flowery Field Cemetery, New Castle Twp. [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 2]
Frieden's (Clauser's) Zion Cemetery, Branch Twp. [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 3]
Frieden's Evangelical Lutheran Church and Frieden¹s Reformed Church, Hegins
Frieden's Lutheran and Reformed Church, Norwegian (now Branch) Twp.; and St. John¹s Evangelical Lutheran and Reformed Church,
Friedensburg, Wayne Twp.
Friedens "Pineswamp" Church, Norwegian Twp. [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 1]
Frieden's Union and Evangelical Association Cemetery, Hegins Twp. [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 1]
German Protestant Cemetery, Mahanoy City
Germantown Cemetery, Blythe Twp. [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 2]
Grace Methodist Cemetery, Porter Twp. [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 3]
Greenwood Cemetery, Tower City
Greenwood Cemetery (tombstone inscriptions) , Frackville [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 1]
Gunkel's Cemetery, Pine Grove Twp. [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 2]
Hebrew Cemetery, Shenandoah, West Mahanoy Twp. [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 1]
Holy Emmanuel Slovak Lutheran Cemetery, Mahanoy Twp. [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 3]
Holy Rosary/St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Cemetery, Frackville [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 3]
Hunterville (Christ Independent Church) Cemetery, Lavelle [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 3]
Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Cemetery, McAdoo, Kline Twp. [Collected Cemeteries of the Tri-County Region, Vol. 1]
Independent Cemetery, Minersville [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 1]
Jacob's Church, Pine Grove Twp. [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 3]
Jerusalem Congregation, Schuylkill Haven, North Manheim Twp.
Klase Family Plot, Barry Twp. [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 2]
Funeral and Burial Records of Kull-Heizenroth Funeral Home, Ashland
Lewistown Evangelical Cemetery, Walker Twp. [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 2]
Lewistown Union Cemetery (Lutheran and Reformed) , Schuylkill Twp. [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 1]
Lindenmuth Cemetery, Union Twp. [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 2]
Llewellyn Cemetery, Llewellyn [Collected Cemeteries of the Tri-County Region, Vol. 1]
McAllister Methodist Cemetery, Rush Twp., Dauphin Cty. [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 2]
Memorial Church of St. John, Ashland (Episcopal)
Methodist Cemetery, Minersville [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 3]
Methodist Episcopal Cemetery, Wayne Twp. [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 2]
Methodist Episcopal Church, Ashland; and Methodist Episcopal Church, Girardville
Methodist Episcopal Church, Gilberton
Methodist Episcopal Church, William Penn
Death and Burial Records of the Miller Funeral Home, Valley View
Minersville Cemetery, Minersville [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 1]
Minersville Evangelical Lutheran Congregation, Branch Twp.
Mt. Laurel Cemetery, Norwegian Twp. [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 2]
Odd Fellows Cemetery, Butler Twp. [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 2]
Odd Fellows Cemetery, Centralia, Columbia Cty. [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 1]
Odd Fellows Cemetery, Frackville [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 2]
Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.) Cemetery, Pottsville
Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.) Cemetery, St. Clair
Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.) Cemetery, Shenandoah Heights
Oheb Zedeck Cemetery, Pottsville [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 3]
Old Lutheran Cemetery, Orwigsburg [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 2]
Old Red (Zion) Church, West Brunswick Twp. [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 3]
"Old" St. Clair Cemetery, St. Clair [Collected Cemeteries of the Tri-County Region, Vol. 1]
Old Welsh Cemetery, Minersville [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 2]
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cemetery, Minersville [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 1]
Queen of the Universe Cemetery (for St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, St. Clair), Norwegian Twp. [Collected Cemeteries of the Tri-County Region, Vol. 1]
Rausch Gap Cemetery, Cold Spring Twp., Lebanon Cty. [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 2]
Records of Rev. Isaac F. Stiely Reformed Pastor, Upper Mahantongo Twp. [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 2]
Records of the Orwigsburg Evangelical Circuit, West Brunswick Twp. [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 3]
Reed's/Bickel's Cemetery, Taylorsville [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 2]
Reedsville Evangelical Congregational Cemetery, North Manheim Twp. [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 3]
Rest Haven Cemetery, Manheim Twp. [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 1]
Sacred Heart Cemetery, Mahanoy Twp. [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 3]
St. Andrew's United Methodist Church, Valley View; Parts 1-2
St. Fidelis Roman Catholic Cemetery, Mahanoy Twp. [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 3]
St. Jacob's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Pine Grove; and Salem's "Hetzel's" Church Evangelical Lutheran Congregation, Pine Grove Twp.
St. Jacob's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Pine Grove Twp. [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 1]
St. James Episcopal Cemetery, Schuylkill Haven [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 3]
St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church, Ashland [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 1]
St. John the Baptist (Polish National) Cemetery, Frackville [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 3]
St. John's Church Cemetery, Port Clinton [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 3]
St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Tremont
St. John's German Reformed & Lutheran Church Cemetery, East Union Twp. [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 3]
St. John's (Kimmel's) Evangelical Lutheran Church, Barry Twp. [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 2]
St. John's (Kimmel's) German Reformed Congregation, Barry Twp. [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 2]
St. John's (Kimmel's) Union Church Cemetery, Barry Twp. [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 2]
St. John's Lutheran Cemetery, Brandonville [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 3]
St. John's Lutheran Church, Auburn [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 1]
St. John's Lutheran/Reformed Church, Tamaqua [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 2]
St. John's Methodist Church, Hegins
St. John's Union Cemetery, Friedensburg, Wayne Twp. [Collected Cemeteries of the Tri-County Region, Vol. 1]
St. John's United Church of Christ Cemetery, Friedensburg [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 3]
St. Joseph/St. Mauritius Cemetery, Ashland
St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Cemetery, Fountain Springs [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 3]
St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Cemetery, Locust Gap (Northumberland County) [Collected Cemeteries of the Tri-County Region, Vol. 1]
St. Kieran's Roman Catholic Cemetery, Heckscherville [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 3]
St. Kieran's Roman Catholic Cemetery No. 2, Branch Twp. [Collected Cemeteries of the Tri-County Region, Vol. 1]
St. Michael's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Klingerstown [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 3]
St. Michael's Reformed Church, Klingerstown [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 2] (baptisms 1898-1941, marriages 1925-1941, deaths 1897-1941)
St. Michael's Reformed Church, Klingerstown [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 3] (baptisms 1921-1941, marriages 1925-1935, deaths1897-1941,
confirmations 1899-1906)
St. Paul's (Aziz's) Lutheran and Reformed Church, Sacramento [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 3]
St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Minersville
St. Paul's Evangelical Congregational Church Cemetery, Pitman [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 3]
St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Eldred Twp.; and Jacob's or Howerter¹s Lutheran Church, Upper Mahanoy Twp, Northumberland
County (now St. James Lutheran Church, Pitman, Eldred Twp.)
St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Gordon [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 1]
St. Paul's Lutheran Cemetery, Middleport [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 3]
St. Paul's (Summer Hill) Lutheran and Reformed Church, South Manheim Twp. (burials 1803-1863, tombstone inscriptions)
St. Paul's (Summer Hill) Lutheran and Reformed Church, South Manheim Twp. [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 1] (baptisms 1788-1812)
St. Paul's (Summer Hill) Lutheran and Reformed Church, South Manheim Twp. (baptisms 1813-1868, deaths 1803-1863)
St. Paul's (White Church) Cemetery and Reformed Congregation Records with collected cemeteries of Union and North Union Twp.
St. Paul's (White Church) Lutheran and Reformed Church, Ringtown
Sts. Peter & Paul Cemetery, Port Carbon [Collected Cemeteries of the Tri-County Region, Vol. 1]
St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Barry Twp. [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 3]
St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Johnstown, Porter Twp. [in volume with Zion's Union Church, Tower City]
St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Congregation, Pine Grove [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 1] (baptisms only, 1842-1865)
St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Congregation, Pine Grove [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 3] (baptisms 1866-1899 plus other records)
St. Peter's Lutheran Cemetery, Pine Grove [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 3]
St. Peter's Lutheran Cemetery No. 3 & 4, Pine Grove [Collected Cemeteries of the Tri-County Region, Vol. 1]
St. Peter's Lutheran Church Cemetery, Pine Grove [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 3]
St. Peter's Lutheran/Reformed Church, Pine Grove [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 2]
St. Peter's Reformed Cemetery, Wayne Twp. [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 2]
St. Peter's UCC Cemetery, Ryan Twp. [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 1]
St. Vincent de Paul (No. 1) Cemetery, Minersville [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 3]
Salem E.U.B., United Methodist Cemetery, Barry Twp. [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 1]
Salem's (Herb's) Lutheran and Reformed Church, Upper Mahantongo Twp. [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 2]
Salem's Lutheran Church, Rough and Ready [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 1]
Schuylkill Church of the Brethren Cemetery, Pine Grove Twp. [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 1]
*Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania Coroners Inquest Records (Vol. 1, 1811-1909)
Simpsons United Methodist Church, Gordon [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 1]
Strubhar's German Baptist Cemetery, Washington Twp. [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 1]
Swopes Valley German Baptist Church Cemetery, Pine Grove Twp. [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 1]
Tifereth Israel Cemetery, Mt. Carmel Twp. (Northumberland County) [Collected Cemeteries of the Tri-County Region, Vol. 1]
Trinity Episcopal Church, Pottsville; Vol. 1-2
Trinity Lutheran Cemetery, Hegins Twp. [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 2]
United Brethren Cemetery, Tower City [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 2]
United Methodist Cemetery, Tremont [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 2]
Weisample Church of God Cemetery, Barry Twp. [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 1]
Welsh Cemetery, Pottsville [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 2]
Welsh (Presbyterian) Cemetery, Five Points [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 2]
Yarnell Cemetery, Barry Twp. [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 1]
Young Family Cemetery, Pottsville [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 2]
Zion Cemetery at Kahlers, Eldred Twp. [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 3]
Zion Union Church, Lewistown, Walker Twp. [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 2]
Zion's Church (Red Church) , West Brunswick Twp. [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 1]
Zion's Evangelical/Congregational Cemetery, Eldred Twp. [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 2]
Zion's Evangelical German Lutheran Church, Girardville
Zion's German Evangelical Lutheran Church, Ashland [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 2]
Zion's Lutheran and Reformed Church (Union), Snyders, West Penn Twp.
Zion's Lutheran Cemetery, Frackville [Sch. Cty. Vital Records, Vol. 3]
Zion's "Old Red" Union Church, West Brunswick Twp.
Zion's Union Church, Tower City, Porter Twp.
Zions Union Congregation, Eldred Twp. [Sch. Cty. Archives, Vol. 1]

Additional Church and Cemetery Records at the Library:

Charles Baber Cemetery, Pottsville: A Genealogical and Historical View - by Andrew J. Matta, this is an alphabetical list of names compiled from cemetery records and tombstones, published in 2008.

Locust Dale Evangelical Church

Odd Fellows Cemetery (I.O.O.F.), St. Clair -- compiled by Gayle Clews

Odd Fellows Cemetery (I.O.O.F.), Tamaqua

Old St. Clair Cemetery -- compiled by Gayle Clews

Primitive Methodist Church, Girardville

St. Joseph's Cemetery, Girardville -- compiled by Evelyn A. Marquardt

St. Vincent de Paul (Minersville) Cemetery No. 2, Branch Twp. -- compiled by John Cullather, from Schuylkill County PAGenWeb site

Welsh Cemetery, St. Clair -- compiled by Gayle Clews

FAMILY HISTORIES AT THE LIBRARY

Alphabetical by first family name in title, NOT by first word of title. 

Antes (1736-1995), Kaufman (1680-1960) and Kopp (1806-1995) Lineage and Genealogy.   

 The Armstrong’s of Pennsylvania in 1850.  (A listing of nearly all people with the last name of Armstrong residing in Pennsylvania during the time of the 1850 census.)

 My Family Connections, by Marjorie Beddall Bollschweiler.  (1991) 

 Briner Family History:  A Genealogy of George Michael Breiner and Anna Catharina Loy, married 1756/7 in Pennsylvania.  

 The Descendants of James Brown, 1716-1922. 

Deeter/Dietrich:  Family Tales and Trails; Ten Generations 1753-1988.  

The DeGraws: 400 Years of Family.  (2002)  

 History of the Grim Family.  (1934) 

 Hostetter Family:  Descendants of Jacob and Anna Hostetter of Engleside, Lancaster Cty, PA and Descendants of Oswald and Maria Hostetter of Warwick Twp, Lancaster Cty, PA.  

 Memorials of Peter A. Jay, Compiled for His Descendants.  (1929)  

 Thirty Ancestors of Richard Henry Koch.  (1939)  

 Kull Family History

 Family History of the Laudig Family of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.  (2000) 

 Leiby Genealogy and History, 1565-1996.  (also 1956 ed.)

 The Leininger Family.  (1947)  

 History of the Long Family of Pennsylvania, 1680-1930.  

Miller and Pursel Families.  (1939)  

 The Muhlenbergs of Pennsylvania. (1950)  

 Biographical Sketch of Joel Munsell.  (1880)  

 A Munsey-Hopkins Genealogy.  (1920)  

 James Patterson of Conestoga Manor and His Descendants. (1925)  

 The Pershing Family in America, 1749-1924.  

 The Ancestry and Family of David D. Phillips (1846-1897) and His Wife Who Was Eliza Ann Faust (1853-1912).  (1962)  

 Genealogy of the Rarig Family, showing descendants of John Rarig and his wife Mary Ann Kisner, together with a short biography of these pioneers, their children and grandchildren.  (1935)  

 Family of Danial Rhoades Sr..  (1985)  (binder)  

 Schoharie and Tulphehocken Rieths (Reeds, etc.).  pamphlet + 2 charts (envelope)

 Johannes Schwalm the Hessian.  (1976)  

 Genealogical Record of the Schwenkfelder Families.  (1923)  

 The Silliman Family – Pennsylvania and South Carolina Lines.  (1966) 

 Simmendinger Register, 1710-1717.  (manuscript)

 James Irwin Steel, 1841-1906.  

 The Ancestry and Family of Jacob Wallauer, Jr (1846-1924) and His Wife Who Was Matilda Corth (1848-1896).  (1962)  

 History of the Wierman Family.  (1952)  

 Ziegler Family Record.  (1906)  

The Pottsville Free Public Library owns many other books on the history of this area, most of which cannot be photocopied or sent out through interlibrary loan due to their fragile condition. These materials are listed in our library catalog and may be used in the Reference Department. You can check the Pottsville Free Public Library's catalog by going to our Catalog page and following the directions there.

Other Resources

Census

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 (looks like a city directory, with some information taken from the original census records).

Confused about where a village is?  Check out this list that has almost every borough and village in Schuylkill County with their township.  Did we miss something?  Email us and tell us what needs to be added or changed.

City Directories

The directories that list people by address (criss-cross directories) were published from 1939 to the present. Telephone number criss-cross listings were published from 1938 to the present.

Directories from 1860 to 1963 are on microfilm; directories from 1964 to the present are in bound volumes.  

Newspapers

We have updated and GREATLY increased the index to deaths in the Pottsville Republican newspaper.  The Republican Deaths file contains names from the comprehensive indexing project (Oct. 1884-1894, so far), an obituaries-only project (1950-1966, so far), names found as we answered genealogy requests, and dates of death from genealogy researchers.  (Thank you Karen, Joanne and Diane!)  Note that the project dates given do not guarantee that we have every name that was published during those years; in fact, we're pretty certain we've missed a lot despite our best efforts.  But believing that a partial index is better than no index, we've made available what's been collected so far.  These are names that appeared in obituaries, funeral notices, or inquest reports.  Entries marked "hard to read" mean the article may be very difficult to copy clearly.

Requests for copies of obituaries from this index may be sent to the Reference Dept. via email or mail.  Any other obituary or article requests MUST include an exact date; months or years will not be searched.

The page is in text format, so use the "Find" feature of your internet browser to jump to the name you want.  Printing out the entire list is NOT recommended:  it was over 1800 pages long when we were working with it in Microsoft Word!!!  

*NEWLY ADDED*  One of our local researchers has pointed out some lists of death dates that are elsewhere on the web.  Bernie Bernatonis compiled several lists of deaths from the Pottsville Republican newspaper covering various years.  Deaths in 1918 divides the list into three parts, with October 1918 (the month of the flu epidemic) separate from the rest of the year.  The other lists he has compiled (1914, 1915, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1925, 1926) are on the Schuylkill County USGenWeb page (under "Pottsville Republican").

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The Pottsville Free Public Library has the Shenandoah Evening Herald newspaper on microfilm.  We have issues from May 23, 1891-1980.  Two segments did not get microfilmed:  July - December 1906 and October - December 1961.  (These volumes were missing when the filming project took place.)

So far we have identified over 1900 names and their dates and pages in the newspaper.  The Shenandoah Evening Herald Deaths file contains names found as we answered genealogy requests and some names provided by genealogy researchers.  (Thank you Joanne and Diane).  Thanks to Mary who spent several days indexing the early issues!  Any other obituary or article requests MUST include an exact date; months or years will not be searched.

The page is in text format, so use the "Find" feature of your internet browser to jump to the name you want.  

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The Ashland Daily News has arrived on microfilm at the Pottsville Free Public Library.  We have Jan. 2, 1926 - Dec. 30, 1950.  There is no index for this newspaper that we are aware of, so any obituary or article requests MUST include an exact date; months or years will not be searched.

Services

We can:

• search the local newspapers for obituaries or other events if given the exact date, and make copies of the articles;
• make copies from local history books if given the names and page numbers from the online indexes (above)
• make copies of Census records if given exact reel and page numbers or if the names are in the indexes for 1790-1850;
• and make referrals to other libraries and genealogical collections if we know or believe that they have relevant information or resources.

Please note that the Pottsville Free Public Library does not own any birth, death, cemetery, church, immigration, or naturalization records other than those listed above.

FEES:

These changes go into effect April 1, 2010.

• *NEW* 1 - 5 pages photocopied, $5.00 (includes postage) PLUS $20 per hour research fee, billed in 15 minute increments.

• *NEW* 6 or more pages photocopied, $1.00 per page plus $2.00 postage PLUS $20 per hour research fee, billed in 15 minute increments.

• *NEW* Any request for 10 or more pages must be prepaid.  (See below.)

• *NEW* If we have to send you a reminder to pay for the copies you received, we must add a $2.00 postage/handling fee in addition to the original billed amount.

Due to an increasing number of unpaid requests, we have had to slightly change our billing procedures.  

• If you request up to 9 pages copied, you will receive the invoice with the copies and payment will be due on their receipt. 
• If your request is for 10 or more pages, we will contact you with the amount due.  Once payment has been received by us we will send you the copies.  In some cases the invoice may only be an estimate and additional fees may apply.
• 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 assistance 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.

If you send us a request by letter, please note that you should not include a self-addressed, stamped envelope.  SASEs are not used by us as there are often too many pages to fit into the small envelope.  So, rather than waste a stamp we ask that you only send your request and your mailing address.

Brief requests for specific information (such as obituaries or exact page numbers from local history books) may be given to us by telephone.  The Library's telephone number is 570-622-8880.  If your request is lengthy, we may ask you to send us the information by mail or email.

Our turn-around time for sending you a reply may vary, from one week to 4 months; please be patient with us. All requests will be answered in the order in which they were received.

Unfortunately, we simply do not have the staff time to do any in-depth or lengthy searching. Individuals are encouraged to visit the Pottsville Free Public Library to do their own research. Reference staff are available to assist people with the genealogy and local history materials in the library.

The Pottsville Free Public Library is open Monday - Thursday, 8:30 a.m. - 8:30 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) to ask if we will be open when you are planning to visit.

Local Historical Societies

If you are unable to visit Pottsville yourself for in-depth research, you can contact the Historical Society of Schuylkill County for referral to a local researcher specializing in various areas who will do searches for a fee. The Society is located at 305 North Centre Street, Pottsville, PA 17901; telephone number (570) 622-7540. Among the various materials at the Society are old newspapers, church and cemetery records, photographs, and other local resources. Please enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope when writing to the Historical Society.

Other historical societies and regional genealogy groups:

    Ashland Area Historic Preservation Society -- coverage includes Ashland, Girardville, Gordon, and Lavelle.  Address:  515 Centre Street, Ashland, PA  17921; telephone 570-875-2632.

    Cressona Historical Society -- Address:  76 Pottsville St., Cressona, PA  17929; telephone 570-385-0715.

    Frackville Area Historical Society -- Address:  104 Broad Mountain Avenue, Frackville, PA  17931; telephone 570-874-2814.

    Mahanoy Area Historical Society -- this society covers the area for the Mahanoy Area School District, which includes Mahanoy City and Mahanoy Township, Gilberton, Maizeville, St. Nicholas, Wiggans, Delano, Barnesville, Park Place, and so forth.  Address:  1-7 W. Centre Street, Mahanoy City, PA  17948; telephone 570-773-1295.

    Minersville Area Historical Society -- coverage includes Minersville, Branch Twp, Cass Twp, Foster Twp, and Reilly Twp.  Address:  PO Box 577, Minersville, PA  17954.

    Northern Berks and Southern Schuylkill Historical Society -- Port Clinton, PA; telephone 610-562-3749 or 610-562-9383.

    Orwigsburg Historical Society -- coverage includes Orwigsburg, Deer Lake, Pinedale, McKeansburg, New Ringgold, and Auburn.  Address:  109 E. Market Street, Orwigsburg, PA  17961; telephone 570-366-8769.

    Pinegrove Historical Society -- check out the newsletter, or post your family search on their query board.  Mailing address:  P.O. Box 65, Pine Grove, PA  17963; telephone 570-345-0157.

    Saint Clair Community and Historical Society -- a fairly new group, organized after the borough's 150th anniversary celebration in 2000.

   Schuylkill Haven Historical Society -- address:  The Lessig House, 13 St. John Street, Schuylkill Haven, PA  17972; telephone 570-385-7323.

    Schuylkill Historical Fire Museum -- the society is located in Shenandoah, and offers free tours of its museum.  Address:  105 South Jardin Street, Shenandoah, PA  17976; telephone 570-622-4302.

    Greater Shenandoah Area Historical Society -- Covers Shenandoah and its surrounding patches including Brownsville, Lost Creek, Lost Creek #2, Raven Run, Shenandoah Heights, Turkey Run, and Upper and Lower William Penn.  Address:  P.O. Box 9, Shenandoah, PA  17976; telephone 570-462-4643.  

    Tamaqua Historical Society -- 204 E. Broad St., Tamaqua, PA  18252; telephone 570-668-5722.

    Tri-Valley Historical Society -- Valley View, PA; telephone 570-682-8130.