Washington County, PA Genealogy

Birth and death records from 1893-1905 are available from the County Clerk at the Washington County courthouse. Copies of these records are also available through your local Family History center. Birth records from January 1, 1906 to the present are in the possession of the Pennsylvania Vital Records office. Be aware that these records are not always complete. Information contained in these records will vary widely by time period, but will usually contain name of person, date of event, location of event, age (for death records), and parents names (often including mother's maiden name).

Marriage records in Washington County are available from October 1, 1885 at the Washington County courthouse. Marriage license applications contain the names of the bride and groom, their ages and the names of their parents. They may contain additional information, depending upon the time period. Be sure to check for a returned license as well, to make sure that they followed through with the marriage. Copies of these records are also available through your local Family History Center.

Census records are a great source of information for Washington County genealogy research. The census was taken every ten years beginning in 1790 and is presently available for research through 1920. The 1890 census records are not available for Washington county, however. Soundex indexes are available for 1880, 1900, 1910 and 1920. Tax lists covering the period 1785-1859 are another good source of census information. These are available for research at the Citizens library, the Pennsylvania Room of the Carnegie Library, and at local Family History Centers.

Land records in Pennsylvania date back to 1682 with the arrival of William Penn, though very few records exist for Western Pa prior to 1781.  The Land Office of the Pennsylvania State Archives has early material for Washington county such as warrantee maps, surveys, land grants and patents. Private deeds transferring titles to land are maintained at the office of the Recorder of Deeds at the Washington County courthouse and cover the period 1781-present. The courthouse also holds mortgage records for the same time period.

Wills and Estate (probate) records are available through the Register of Wills at the Washington County courthouse from 1781. Estate records are a wonderful source of genealogy information including date of death, family members (including spouses for children), and complete descriptions of property (including land). If a will cannot be found for an individual, be sure to check for other estate records, as they were generated even when people died intestate (without a will). These records are also available at the  Citizens library and through Family History Centers. The Southwestern Pennslyvania Genealogical Society has also published three volumes of indexes to early wills.

Naturalization records are a tough one because they can be located at the federal, state or local level. Naturalizations taken in Washington county courts are available through the office of the Prothonotory from 1802. These records are also available on microfilm through Family History Centers. The Pennsylvania State Archives holds naturalization records for the PA Supreme Court from 1793 to 1868. In October 1906, the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization was founded, and began keeping the naturalization records. If your ancestor was naturalized after that time, you should write to the Immigration and Naturalization Service for their naturalization records. 

The Special Reference Room contains an extensive collection of local history and genealogy books, a large microfilm collection including the newspaper from 1808 to date, and area census records.

The Reference Staff of Citizens Library will search its genealogical records and answer simple inquiries by mail. Please check the Web site for current policies before writing.

Call before your visit to double check hours (they change fairly often), reserve a computer or get advice about best time to visit

A non-profit, educational organization primarily concerned with the genealogical records of Southwestern Pennsylvania. They maintain the genealogical collection at Citizens Library (above).