Public Records

Public records contain useful material for a genealogical search. Here are some suggestions about information available from our office and links to assist you in finding source material in the Southwestern Pennsylvania region.

You may also want to review:

• Local Libraries and Online Historical Societies
• Naturalization Records

Adoptions

Adoption records are closed in Pennsylvania and are not obtainable.

Birth Records

Birth records from 1906 to date can be obtained by direct relatives from the State of Pennsylvania.

Other Sources for birth records Include:

• Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Department
• Finding Vital Records - Use this reference to find other sources of birth records for Allegheny County
• For Other Pennsylvania Counties - Contact the courthouse in the county where the birth occurred
• Births on Aircraft or Vessels on the High-Seas
• Births of U.S. citizens outside the United States

Census Records

The PA Room of The Carnegie Main Library has census records from 1790 - 1920 available for public inspection on microfilm. Complete the Application for Search of Census Records (Form BC-600) and return it to the U.S. Census Bureau, P.O. Box 1545, Jeffersonville, IN 47131, together with a money order or check payable to "Commerce–Census."

Court Records

Civil Court
Records of Civil Court cases in Allegheny County can be obtained from the Civil/Family Division.

Criminal Court
Records for Criminal Trials in Allegheny County can be obtained from the Criminal Division.

Federal Court
An index to Federal Criminal Court cases from 1933 to 1994 and Civil Court Cases from 1949 to 1992 is located on the 8th floor of the Old Post Office Building, Pittsburgh, PA 15219.

Death Records

Births and deaths prior to 1906 were not required reporting and therefore records may be incomplete.

• Birth and death records dated 1870 to 1905 are available at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Department
• Finding Vital Records - Use this reference to find other sources of death records for Allegheny County
• For Other Pennsylvania Counties - Contact the courthouse in the county where the death occurred
• Deaths on Aircraft or Vessels on the High-Seas
• Deaths outside the United States

Deeds

Property Deeds are available dating from 1789 when Allegheny County was formed. Deed Index books are located in the Division of Real Estate.

Divorce Records

An index to divorces is located in the Ejectment & Miscellaneous Index located in the Allegheny County Department of Court Records - Civil/Family Division.

For Other Pennsylvania Counties, contact the courthouse in the county where the divorce decree was issued.

Estates

Estate records are available at the Allegheny County Wills/Orphans' Court Division and run from 1789 to date. The Allegheny County Estates Index for 1788 - 1971 is in the PA Room of The Carnegie Main Library.

Guardianships

Guardianship petitions are listed in the Estates Index located in the Wills/Orphans' Court Division and are indicated in the index by an "M" for minor.

Maps

The Carnegie Main Library and Allegheny County's Division of Real Estate.

Marriages

The index for Marriage Applications is available in the Marriage Office. Some early marriage records for the City of Pittsburgh only (1870-1879) are also available on the Mezzanine level above the Wills/Orphans' Court Division.

• Obtaining Allegheny County Marriage Records
• For Other Pennsylvania Counties - Contact the courthouse in the county where the marriage license was issued.
• The Carnegie Main Library

Military Records

Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall has many resources for military information, specializing in extensive Civil War records.

Unit histories & other military research material are available in the PA Room of The Carnegie Main Library and in the Archives of Industrial Science of the Hillman Library.

For reports of death of members of the armed services while serving in a foreign country see Foreign Births and Deaths.