PLANNING A RESEARCH VISIT?
You must call two weeks or more ahead of your visit to check on our current hours for research and availability of our staff. Due to the limited space in our office, some items may be in a different building and we will not be able to access them the day of your visit.
What records are available in Butler County, PA?
Birth and Death Records were mandated by the Commonwealth of PA from 1852 to 1854, but due to lack of participation, the practice was stopped. In 1893 the Commonwealth again mandated that all residents report births and deaths at their County Courthouse. This practice lasted through December 31, 1905 and those records are maintained in each county. Beginning January 1, 1906, birth and death records are recorded at the State level. More of these records are available online for state residents as each year passes. To request a certificate for records created in 1906 or after, visit www.vitalrec.com to print out the appropriate order form for all states in the United States. Birth records and Death index for Butler County are available at www.rootsweb.com/~pabutler
Click here to access the Pennsylvania Birth and Death indexes now available online.
To find Current Obituaries from around the United States
When the Social Security Administration was formed and registrations were started in 1935, each applicant had to have either a birth or baptismal certificate. When neither was available, the applicant had to return to the county of their birth and file a Delayed Birth Record. The index of Butler’s Delayed Birth Records is available online.
Marriage Records were mandated by the Commonwealth of PA from 1852 to 1854, but due to lack of participation, the practice was stopped. In 1885 the Commonwealth again mandated that all residents wishing to marry within the state apply for a Marriage License Application. These records are still maintained to the present day in each County Courthouse in PA. From the beginning an application could be obtained in any PA County and the marriage could take place in any other county in the State. Marriage records are available in the Butler County Courthouse at 124 W Diamond St, Butler, PA 16001. Mailing address is Marriage License Bureau, P O Box 1208, Butler, PA 16003
STANDARD STEEL CAR CO EMPLOYEE RECORD CARDS
Employee record cards beginning in 1902. This is not a complete collection but there are over 26,000 cards included. When an employee quit or was laid off and came back to work they got a new card. Click here for more details and to access the index.
BUTLER COUNTY POOR FARM
The sick, homeless, and people who were unable to care for themselves were accepted at the Poor Farm. The doors opened on 25 Oct 1900, reorganized in 1963 and still serves today as the Sunnyview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. It was owned by the County until recently, when it was sold to a private, NJ corporation. The superintendents of the home recorded admissions and kept a quarterly census of residents. Some of the information recorded includes: name, age, sex, admission date, discharge or death date, immigration information, marital status, drinking habits, physical condition, and more! To obtain copies of these records, please visit or email our office!
ESTATES/WILLS
The index for Butler County Estate records is available online.
This estate index of Butler County, covering the years of 1800-1910, has been compiled from the estate index at the Butler County Courthouse. No claim is made to this index being a complete compilation of all estates in Butler County during those years, but it should have most of them that are available. This work has not been proofread. It is being posted here merely as an aid to give one direction in the search for their ancestors. Because some letters of the alphabet do not have as many entries as others, you will find this estate index goes beyond 1910 in some cases.
If there is a will it will be included in the estate papers. But there can still be estate papers for people who left no will. Estate papers include appraisals of goods, personal property, and real estate owned by the deceased. A disbursement page is normally included in the estate and may name the heirs.
The complete records are now online at www.familysearch.org. Choose United States under the Browse by Location section. Then scroll down and choose Pennsylvania. When that page opens, click on Browse through 3,197,552 images. That will open a page that allows you to choose Butler County. You will see the Butler County Orphans Court and Probate records files. The index posted here should help guide you in finding the estate file you are looking for.
YEARBOOKS
The Magnet was first published for Commencement in 1892 and our collections includes a few of the early years. It included writings and poetry of members of the senior class. Beginning about 1914 and for over 30 years of the publication of the Magnet, there was a monthly magazine as well as one for each graduating class. This listing contains only those designated as the graduating class’s yearbook. Our research library’s collection also includes many of the monthly magazines. All these publications are available in our research library in the Senator Walter Lowrie House.