Fayette County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

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

County Facts
County seat: Uniontown
Organized: September 26, 1783
Parent County(s): Westmoreland[1]
Neighboring Counties
Westmoreland  • Somerset  • Greene  • Washington  • Preston (WV)  • Monongalia (WV)  • Garrett (MD)
See County Maps
Courthouse
Fayette County Pennsylvania Courthouse.jpg
Location Map
Fayette County PA Map.png
Adoption
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County Information[edit | edit source]

Description[edit | edit source]

The county was named after the Marquis de Lafayette. The county is located in the southwest corner of the state.[2]

County Courthouse[edit | edit source]

Fayette County Courthouse
61 E. Main Street
Uniontown, PA 15401
Phone: 724-430-1479
Prothonotary: 724-430-1272 Fax: 724-430-4555
Recorder of Deeds: 724-430-1238 Fax: 724-430-1458
Register of Wills/Clerk of the Orphan's Court: 724-430-1206
Fayette County Website

Clerk of Orphan Court has birth and death records 1893-1905, marriage records from 1885, and probate records from 1784
Prothonotary Office has divorce records and court records from 1784
Recorder of Deeds has land records from 1784[3]

Fayette County, Pennsylvania Record Dates[edit | edit source]

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records[4]
Birth* Marriage Death* Court Land Probate Census
1893 1885 1893 1784 1784 1784 1790
*Statewide registration for births and deaths began in 1906. General compliance by 1915.

Record Loss[edit | edit source]

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]

  • Formed from Westmoreland County 26 September 1783.[5]
  • County seat: Uniontown[6]
  • 27 January 1750: Cumberland County was created from Lancaster County, including the area of future Fayette County.
  • 9 March 1771: Bedford County was created from Cumberland County, covering much of the southwest portion of the state including future Fayette County.
  • 26 February 1773: Westmoreland County was formed from Bedford County, taking the area of future Fayette County.

For animated maps illustrating Pennsylvania county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Pennsylvania County Boundary Maps" (1673-1878) may be viewed at the MapofUS.org website.

Populated Places[edit | edit source]

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:[7]

Cities
Boroughs
Unincorporated communities
Census-designated places
Townships


History Timeline[edit | edit source]

Resources[edit | edit source]

Bible Records[edit | edit source]

Biographies[edit | edit source]

Business, Commerce, and Occupations[edit | edit source]

Cemeteries[edit | edit source]

Cemeteries of Fayette County, Pennsylvania online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)
List of Cemeteries in the County
See Pennsylvania Cemeteries for more information

 

Additional Cemetery Resources

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Census Records[edit | edit source]

Historical populations
Census Pop. %±
1790 13,318 —
1800 20,159 51.4%
1810 24,714 22.6%
1820 27,285 10.4%
1830 29,172 6.9%
1840 33,574 15.1%
1850 39,112 16.5%
1860 39,909 2.0%
1870 43,284 8.5%
1880 58,842 35.9%
1890 80,006 36.0%
1900 110,412 38.0%
1910 167,449 51.7%
1920 188,104 12.3%
1930 198,542 5.5%
1940 200,999 1.2%
1950 189,899 −5.5%
1960 169,340 −10.8%
1970 154,667 −8.7%
1980 159,417 3.1%
1990 145,351 −8.8%
2000 148,645 2.3%
2010 136,606 −8.1%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

Church Records[edit | edit source]

Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. For members, they may contain: age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage date and maiden name; death/burial date. For general information about Pennsylvania denominations, see Pennsylvania Church Records.

Fayette county pennsylvania churches.png

County-wide Database - Multi-denominational

Contains church records of:
  • Belle Vernon: First United Methodist Church
  • Brownsville: Christ Episcopal Church
  • Fayette: Little Redstone United Methodist Church
  • Uniontown: St. Peter's Episcopal Church

Baptist
A copy of the Minutes of the Redstone Association of Pennsylvania, 1804-1836 is available at the Primitive Baptist Library in Carthage, Illinois.

Great Bethel Baptist Church, Uniontown

Catholic

  • "100 years of the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese 1843 -1943," Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 17, No. 1. FHL Book 974.8 B2wg. Chronology, map, county-by-county information.

Presbyterian
First Presbyterian Church, Brownsville

Quakers
Information about early Fayette County settlers who were Quakers is contained in Hinshaw's Volumes I-IV covering Providence Monthly Meeting, Redstone Monthly Meeting, Westland Quarterly Meeting. Available at U.S., Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy, Vol I–VI, 1607-1943 Ancestry.com $
List of Churches and Church Parishes

Court Records[edit | edit source]

For information about records kept in the Orphan's court, Prothonotary Court, Court of Common Pleas, and other courts in counties of Pennsylvania, visit the Pennsylvania Court Records Wiki page.

Prothonotary

Directories[edit | edit source]

Emigration and Immigration[edit | edit source]

For online resources, passenger lists, and specific groups coming to Pennsylvania, see Pennsylvania Emigration and Immigration.

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups[edit | edit source]

For groups that came, see People section of the Pennsylvania Emigration page.

African Americans[edit | edit source]

Fayette County has a record entitled: Birth Returns and Other Records for Negores and Mulattos, 1785, 1788 -1826, 1830 This record registers births of "negro" or "mulatto" children filed with the county. According to the Pennsylvania State Archives website "information provided is the date of the child's birth, name of the child, names of the parents, and place of residence. Most of these records were filed with the Clerk of the Peace for Fayette County who also maintained certificates of slave registry. All records were prepared after the passage of the Act of the Gradual Abolition of Slavery in Pennsylvania. The certificates of slave registry, which encompass several counties, contain the registration date, place of residence of the slave owner, gender and age of the slave, and occasionally the slave's date of birth and mother's name. Additional miscellaneous documentation in this series include other materials dealing with slavery or particular slaves in the county."

A portion of this series has been transcribed by G.D. Dixon an is available on the Afrigeneas.com website. The link is:

This record is also available on microfilm through FamilySearch:

  • 1788-1826 Birth Returns for Negroes and Mulattoes, 1788-1826: Includes Certificates of Registry Received from Other Counties 1785, 1803, 1805, 1807-1808 and Miscellaneous Papers 1823, 1830 – FHL film 1449141.

Funeral Homes[edit | edit source]

Genealogies[edit | edit source]

Guardianship[edit | edit source]

The Orphan's Court ensures the best interests of those not capable of handling their own affairs: minors, incapacitated persons, decedents' estates, and more.[11]

Land and Property Records[edit | edit source]

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a specific location and reveal family relationships. Records include: deeds, abstracts, indexes, mortgages, leases, grants, sheriff sales, land patents, maps and more. For more information, see Pennsylvania Land and Property.

Land records in Fayette County began in 1784. These records are filed with the Recorder of Deeds office in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. If your ancestor lived in the area which became Fayette County, they may have filed land claims with Virginia when the area was know as the District of West Augusta.

Online Land Records

  • 1773 -1950 Deeds, Mortgages, 1784-1867; Index, 1773-1950 FHL film 862189 (first of 59 films) - images only; click on the camera icon to view images' Early indexes are for the part of Westmoreland County that would later become Fayette County.
  • 1787 -1875 Sheriffs' Deed Books FHL film 1449106 - images only; click on the camera icon to view images
  • 1769 -1900 Surveys and Warrants FHL films 861079–856088 - images only; click on the camera icon to view images
  • 1975–present Fayette County offers online access to indexes since 1975. Fees apply to view images since 1988.

Landowner Maps

  • MacInnes, Sharon Cook and Angus MacInnes. Early Landowners of Pennsylvania Atlas of Township Warrantee Maps of Fayette County, PA Apollo, Pennsylvania Closson Press, 2005. FHL book 974.884 R2m

Local Histories[edit | edit source]

Maps and Gazetteers[edit | edit source]

Greene CountyWashington CountyWestmoreland CountySomerset CountyPreston CountyMonongalia CountyGarrett CountyPA FAYETTE.PNG
Click a neighboring county
for more resources


Maps

Migration[edit | edit source]

Military Records[edit | edit source]

Revolutionary War
Men living in what is now Fayette County (then Westmoreland County) served in the 8th Pennsylvania Regiment.[12]

Civil War

Naturalization and Citizenship[edit | edit source]

Naturalization records can contain information about immigration and nativity. Prior to 1906, it is rare to find the town of origin in naturalization records. For more information, see Pennsylvania Naturalization

'Online Naturalization Indexes and Records

Newspapers[edit | edit source]

Newspapers may contain obituaries, births, marriages, deaths, anniversaries, family gatherings, family travel, achievements, business notices, engagement information, and probate court proceedings. Newspapers are often found in local or university libraries, historical or genealogical societies, or state archives in the area where the newspaper was published. See Pennsylvania Newspapers for more information.

Newspapers of Fayette County

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

Obituaries[edit | edit source]

Obituaries are generally found in local newspapers where the person died or where family members lived. Local libraries or societies may have indexes or other sources.

Online Obituary Abstracts

Obituary Indexes, Excerpts and Abstracts

  • Morgan, Yvonne L. Blair, Index of Census, Newspaper Obituary Files and Microfilm: Fayette, Green, Washington and Westmoreland Counties (Apollo, Pennsylvania:Closson Press, c2003) FHL book 974.88 V42m
  • Rentmeister, Jean R. Marriage and Death Notices Extracted From the Genius of Liberty and Fayette Advertiser of Uniontown, Pennsylvania, 1805-1854 (Apollo, Pennsylvania:Closson Press, c1981) At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL book 974,884 V2r Includes index.
  • Miller, Kathryn Cooley, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, Gleanings (Apollo, Pennsylvania:Closson Press, c1990) At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL book 974,884 V3m

Other Records[edit | edit source]

Periodicals[edit | edit source]

Probate Records[edit | edit source]

Probate matters in Fayette County are handled by the Orphans' Court and start when the county was created.

In addition to wills and administrations, the Orphans' Court also handles: audits of accounts of executors, administrators, trustees, and guardians; distribution of estates; appointments of guardians; adoptions; appeals from the Register of Wills; inheritance tax appeals, and various petitions and motions.

Online Probate Indexes and Records

School Records[edit | edit source]

Social Security Records[edit | edit source]

Tax Records[edit | edit source]

  • 1785-1786 Returns of Taxables for the Counties of Bedford (1773 to 1784), Huntingdon (1788), Westmoreland (1783, 1786), Fayette (1785, 1786), Allegheny (1791), Washington (1786) and Census of Bedford (1784) and Westmoreland (1783) (Pennsylvania Archives, Series 3, Vol. 22). Digital versions at Ancestry ($); Google Books
  • 1798 Pennsylvania, U.S. Direct Tax Lists, 1798 at Ancestry ($).

Vital Records[edit | edit source]

Vital records are handled by the County Orphans' Court. Between the years 1852-1855 Pennsylvania made a failed attempt to record birth, marriage and death events at the county level. County marriage records were kept in earnest in 1885. Births and deaths, at the county level, were begun in 1893 and kept through 1905. For the most complete set of records, contact the County Orphans' Court.

Birth[edit | edit source]

Early births 1893–1905 are located at the County Orphans' Court. For more information, see Pennsylvania Vital Records.

Marriage[edit | edit source]

Pennsylvania marriages were created by county officials. Contact Fayette County Courthouse

Death[edit | edit source]

Early deaths 1893–1905 are located at the County Orphans' Court. For indexes and records, 1906 and later, see Pennsylvania Vital Records.

Divorce[edit | edit source]

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

Research Facilities[edit | edit source]

Archives[edit | edit source]

Listed below are archives in Greene County. For state-wide archival repositories, see Pennsylvania Archives and Libraries.

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

Family History Centers[edit | edit source]

Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a family history center.

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

Libraries[edit | edit source]

Listed below are libraries in Fayette County. For state-wide library facilities, see Pennsylvania Archives and Libraries.

  • University of Pittsburgh Library System
    Historic Pittsburgh Digital Library
    Website
    Searchable and published works covering much of Pennsylvania.

Museums[edit | edit source]

Societies[edit | edit source]

Listed below are societies in Fayette County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Pennsylvania Societies.

  • Brownsville Historical Society
    P. O. Box 24
    Brownsville, PA 15417
    Phone: 724-785-6882
    Website
  • Bullskin Township Historical Society
    P. O. Box 724
    Mt. Pleasant, PA 15666
    Phone: 724-887-7729
    Website
  • Chestnut Ridge Historical Society
    P. O. Box 62
    Jones Mills, PA 15646
    Phone: 724-593-3102
    Website
  • Connellsville Area Historical Society
    299 S. Pittsburgh Street
    Connellsville, PA 15425
    Phone: 724-628-5640
    Email: chs@cvzoom.net
    Website
  • Dunbar Historical Society
    P. O. Box 366
    Dunbar, PA 15431
    Phone: 724-277-8448
    Email: myers@zoominternet.net
    Website
  • Fayette County Genealogical Society
    24 Jefferson St.
    Uniontown, PA 15401-3602
    Email: fcgs_mail@yahoo.com
    Website
  • Fayette County Historical Society
    P. O. Box 193
    Uniontown, PA 15401
    Phone: 724-439-4422
    Website
  • Fort Mason Historical Society
    P. O. Box 246
    Masontown, PA 15461
    Phone: 724-583-9944
    Website
  • Greater Tri Town Area Historical Society
    Box 189
    Dawson, PA 15428
    Phone: 724-529-2427
    Email: jmpyda@lcsys.net
    Facebook
  • Masontown Historical Society
    P. O. Box 769
    Masontown, PA 15461
  • Smock Historical Society
    203 Main Street
    Smock, PA 15480
    Phone: 724-677-2415
    Website

Websites[edit | edit source]

Research Guides[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Pennsylvania.At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
  2. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fayette_County,_Pennsylvania accessed 2/12/2017
  3. ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists : United States of America, 10th ed., (Draper, UT: Everton Publishers, 2002) Fayette County, Pennsylvania, p.590
  4. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Fayette County, Pennsylvania. Page 588-593 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 579-581.At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
  5. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Pennsylvania.At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
  6. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Pennsylvania.At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
  7. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Fayette County, Pennsylvania," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, URL, accessed 21 January 2020.
  8. ↑ Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/images/9/92/Igipennsylvaniaf.pdf.
  9. ↑ Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/images/9/92/Igipennsylvaniaf.pdf.
  10. ↑ Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/images/9/92/Igipennsylvaniaf.pdf.
  11. ↑ The Philadelphia Courts at Common Pleas accessed 10 July 2012
  12. ↑ Harold Frederic, William C. Frederick III with William J. McMaster Sr., Path of Blood: The Untold Story of the Kittanning PA. Regiment in the American Revolution (Kittanning, Pa.: W.C. Frederick, 1998). FHL Book 974.8 M2ff
  13. ↑ Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/images/9/92/Igipennsylvaniaf.pdf.
  14. ↑ Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/images/9/92/Igipennsylvaniaf.pdf.
  15. ↑ Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/images/9/92/Igipennsylvaniaf.pdf.
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