Genealogical Research at the Kutztown Area Historical Society
Among the many components of its overall mission, the Kutztown Area Historical Society supports genealogical research throughout Berks and adjacent counties. While our long-range plans include a searchable on-line database to provide substantial information for local surnames of interest, for now, we provide a fairly comprehensive list of websites at which individual researchers stand the greatest chance of success for locating Berks-area information. We hope that the recommendations provided below will encourage further investigation throughout the area. If you have a site to add to our list, please contact us. To see the resources available in our library at the 1892 Public School Building in Kutztown, go to our Library page.
Sites Specific to the Greater Kutztown Area:
1876 Centennial Census of Kutztown Borough
At this site, scroll down the left-hand column to "The Census": click on this link, and then look for the several entries for the 1876 Kutztown census at the bottom of the page. Originally recorded by James F. Wagenhorst, transcribed by Brendan D. Strasser from the original document, this census is the most complete known record of the Borough of Kutztown in the mid to late 19th century.
St. John's Cemetery, Kutztown
Hope Cemetery, Kutztown
Sites Pertaining to Berks County Genealogy:
Berks County Birth, Death, Marriage Records
Berks County Genealogical Society
Far and away the best genealogical collection for the greater Berks County area. Contact this society, located in the Goggle Works at 201 Washington St., Reading, PA, for hours and directions.
Historical Society of Berks County
Maintains a non-circulating library & archive to aid Berks-related genealogical research. Not as complete as the collection of the Berks County Genealogical Society, but more readily available due to greater hours of operation.
Berks County Register of Wills
General information on the resources of the Register of Wills office. Searchable indexes of birth, death, and marriage registers for the City of Reading and County of Berks. (Extremely helpful office at which to conduct research in person, as well.)
Berks County Association for Graveyard Preservation
The BCAGP's mission is to preserve and maintain historic graveyards in Berks County and throughout eastern Pennsylvania, many of which suffer from neglect and vandalism, eroded headstones, etc. Research supports the existence of more than 300 historic graveyards in Berks County, with approximately 120 showing some sort of visible surface evidence. This updated and expanded site includes membership information, photographs, and contact information.
Berks County, PAGenWeb
A superlative resource for census information, church & cemetery records, tax records, wills, deeds, obituaries, immigration & naturalization, military, pensions, history, townships & boroughs, etc. A bit random because all information is submitted by volunteers and individual researchers, but filled with surprises as well.
Berks County, PA USGenWeb Archives
Berks County Censuses of 1790, 1850 & 1890
Index site with links to the three censuses indicated, with plans for more to be added in the future.
Specific Surname Sites:
BIEBER History & Genealogy
Genealogical site maintained by John William Bieber of Claymont, Delaware.
BROBST/PROBST Family History & Genealogy
Much information on Albany Twp., but also including Greenwich, Maxatawny Twps. and other local names.
GEHRIS Homepage
Genealogical site for the Gehris/Gehres/Geres name, including many other surnames, maintained by Roy Gehris.
HENRY Family (Pottstown, Montgomery Co.)
YODER Family Information
Maintained by Chris Yoder.
ZETTLEMOYER Family
Website on Zettlemoyer and variant spellings maintained by Harry Wilson of North Carolina.
Sites for Pennsylvania Genealogy:
Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania
Founded in 1892, among the oldest and best established genealogical societies in the United States.
Kindred Trails Worldwide Genealogy Resources: Pennsylvania Genealogy
PAfamily.net: The Pennsylvania Genealogy Web Page
PAGenWeb
One of the most thorough websites on Pennsylvania genealogy, with links to all 67 counties.
PA Roots
Pennsylvania Genealogy Guide
Pennsylvania Roots Network
Pennsylvania Resources at RootsWeb
State and county searches available from the main page.
ROOTS-L Pennsylvania
The main Roots-List website for Pennsylvania, with major topics including Daily Life, Geography, History, Military, and so forth.
Stones of Faith: Pennsylvania Germans and Their Gravestones
This site examines a collection of PA German gravestones erected from the 1740s to the late 1800s which provide a unique view of the culture, including a chronology of how choices in gravestone imagery evolved from the early German settlement of Pennsylvania, through the Civil War time period and into the 1900s. It is an introduction to these stones, and some of the people who erected them, with an emphasis on the 1700s, when the iconography and folk art of the Pennsylvania Germans were unique to their communities and independent of their English neighbors
The Association for Gravestone Studies
Founded in 1977, the AGS is an international organization that exists to further the study and preservation of gravestones. While not specific to Pennsylvania or Berks County history, this site includes very helpful information for genealogists and researchers on such topics as "Gravestone Rubbing Do's and Don'ts," "Tools and Materials for Gravestone Cleaning Projects," and "Symbolism on Gravemarkers."
Other Recommended Genealogy Sites:
Census Finder
Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet
Not specific to Berks County, but containing more than 168,000 links in more than 150 categories, making it one of the most thorough meta-sites for genealogy on the World Wide Web. Highly recommended for beginning genealogists, and very user-friendly.
RootsWeb.com
The oldest and largest free genealogy site, supported by Ancestry.com.
The USGenWeb Project
The main site for USGenWeb, the most comprehensive genealogical volunteer project ever attempted. Go here for links to sites throughout the United States.
The USGenWeb Census Project
An ongoing project to transcribe federal censuses from throughout the country.
Sites Specific to the Greater Kutztown Area:
1876 Centennial Census of Kutztown Borough
At this site, scroll down the left-hand column to "The Census": click on this link, and then look for the several entries for the 1876 Kutztown census at the bottom of the page. Originally recorded by James F. Wagenhorst, transcribed by Brendan D. Strasser from the original document, this census is the most complete known record of the Borough of Kutztown in the mid to late 19th century.
St. John's Cemetery, Kutztown
Hope Cemetery, Kutztown
Sites Pertaining to Berks County Genealogy:
Berks County Birth, Death, Marriage Records
Berks County Genealogical Society
Far and away the best genealogical collection for the greater Berks County area. Contact this society, located in the Goggle Works at 201 Washington St., Reading, PA, for hours and directions.
Historical Society of Berks County
Maintains a non-circulating library & archive to aid Berks-related genealogical research. Not as complete as the collection of the Berks County Genealogical Society, but more readily available due to greater hours of operation.
Berks County Register of Wills
General information on the resources of the Register of Wills office. Searchable indexes of birth, death, and marriage registers for the City of Reading and County of Berks. (Extremely helpful office at which to conduct research in person, as well.)
Berks County Association for Graveyard Preservation
The BCAGP's mission is to preserve and maintain historic graveyards in Berks County and throughout eastern Pennsylvania, many of which suffer from neglect and vandalism, eroded headstones, etc. Research supports the existence of more than 300 historic graveyards in Berks County, with approximately 120 showing some sort of visible surface evidence. This updated and expanded site includes membership information, photographs, and contact information.
Berks County, PAGenWeb
A superlative resource for census information, church & cemetery records, tax records, wills, deeds, obituaries, immigration & naturalization, military, pensions, history, townships & boroughs, etc. A bit random because all information is submitted by volunteers and individual researchers, but filled with surprises as well.
Berks County, PA USGenWeb Archives
Berks County Censuses of 1790, 1850 & 1890
Index site with links to the three censuses indicated, with plans for more to be added in the future.
Specific Surname Sites:
BIEBER History & Genealogy
Genealogical site maintained by John William Bieber of Claymont, Delaware.
BROBST/PROBST Family History & Genealogy
Much information on Albany Twp., but also including Greenwich, Maxatawny Twps. and other local names.
GEHRIS Homepage
Genealogical site for the Gehris/Gehres/Geres name, including many other surnames, maintained by Roy Gehris.
HENRY Family (Pottstown, Montgomery Co.)
YODER Family Information
Maintained by Chris Yoder.
ZETTLEMOYER Family
Website on Zettlemoyer and variant spellings maintained by Harry Wilson of North Carolina.
Sites for Pennsylvania Genealogy:
Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania
Founded in 1892, among the oldest and best established genealogical societies in the United States.
Kindred Trails Worldwide Genealogy Resources: Pennsylvania Genealogy
PAfamily.net: The Pennsylvania Genealogy Web Page
PAGenWeb
One of the most thorough websites on Pennsylvania genealogy, with links to all 67 counties.
PA Roots
Pennsylvania Genealogy Guide
Pennsylvania Roots Network
Pennsylvania Resources at RootsWeb
State and county searches available from the main page.
ROOTS-L Pennsylvania
The main Roots-List website for Pennsylvania, with major topics including Daily Life, Geography, History, Military, and so forth.
Stones of Faith: Pennsylvania Germans and Their Gravestones
This site examines a collection of PA German gravestones erected from the 1740s to the late 1800s which provide a unique view of the culture, including a chronology of how choices in gravestone imagery evolved from the early German settlement of Pennsylvania, through the Civil War time period and into the 1900s. It is an introduction to these stones, and some of the people who erected them, with an emphasis on the 1700s, when the iconography and folk art of the Pennsylvania Germans were unique to their communities and independent of their English neighbors
The Association for Gravestone Studies
Founded in 1977, the AGS is an international organization that exists to further the study and preservation of gravestones. While not specific to Pennsylvania or Berks County history, this site includes very helpful information for genealogists and researchers on such topics as "Gravestone Rubbing Do's and Don'ts," "Tools and Materials for Gravestone Cleaning Projects," and "Symbolism on Gravemarkers."
Other Recommended Genealogy Sites:
Census Finder
Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet
Not specific to Berks County, but containing more than 168,000 links in more than 150 categories, making it one of the most thorough meta-sites for genealogy on the World Wide Web. Highly recommended for beginning genealogists, and very user-friendly.
RootsWeb.com
The oldest and largest free genealogy site, supported by Ancestry.com.
The USGenWeb Project
The main site for USGenWeb, the most comprehensive genealogical volunteer project ever attempted. Go here for links to sites throughout the United States.
The USGenWeb Census Project
An ongoing project to transcribe federal censuses from throughout the country.