McKEAN COUNTY RECORDS

The County Seat of McKean County is Smethport, Pa. The Courthouse is located on Main Street (Route 6) and contains the following records
  • REGISTERS OFFICE
    • Birth & Death Certificates 1892 - 1905 (After 1905 kept at New Castle, Pa.)
    • Wills 1827 to present
    • Marriages 1885 to present
  • PROTHONOTARY OFFICE
    • Divorce Records
    • Court Records
    • Support Agreements
    • Judgements & Liens
    • UCC Filings
    • Road Dockets
    • Immigration & Naturalization Papers
    • Other miscellaneous information

Register Of Wills
McKean County Courthouse
P.O. Box 202
Smethport, Pa. 16749
814-887-3260

Prothonotary Office
McKean County Courthouse
P.O. Box 273
Smethport, PA 16749
814-887-3271

Pennsylvania Department Of Health
Division Of Vital Records
P.O. Box 1528
New Castle, PA 16103-1528

or

VitalChek


Bradford City Hall has the Dept. of Health birth and death records for the city
(Not the Township Of Bradford) 1881-1905...not indexed...you have to know the date.

Bradford City Hall
City Clerk's Office
24 Kennedy St.
Bradford, PA 16701
814-362-3884

CENSUS INFORMATION

  • 1790 Pa. "Head of Household" - Bradford Area Library
  • 1810-1880 McKean Co. on micro-film - UPB Library
  • 1890 Union Vets and Widows Census on micro-film - UPB Library
  • 1900-1910 McKean Co. on micro-film - UPB Library

    There are no "State" Census in PA, only the Federal ones. The UPB Library has Pa. and NY Census index books 1800-1850, plus a few for other states in various years.

    MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION

  • McKean Co. Newspapers
  • Bradford City Directories commence 1879-1880. Most complete set at Bradford Area Library, but some volumes also at Bradford Landmark Society and at UPB Library.

    AREA HISTORIES

  • Beers 1890 History of McKean, Elk, Cameron and Potter Cos., Pa. = new index
  • Jordan's (1912) 3 Vol.Genealogy and Personal History of Northern Pa.= poor index
  • Reiserman's (1943) History of Northwestern Pennsylvania
  • Biographical Volume of Pa.by Donohoo = some oil people, bankers, lawyers.
  • Godcharles Biographical volume = mainly lawyers, news people, etc.
  • Illustrated History of Bradford(1910) = businessmen, some pioneers.
  • H.H. Hardesty, Vol. 2,Presidents, Soldiers, Statesmen = Civil War Soldiers

    The aforementioned are "standard" histories of the area and copies for most of them are found in
    McKean County Historical Society, Bradford Area Library, UPB Library.
    Hardesty's book is in the McKean Historical Society and Bradford Landmark Society collections. Bradford Landmark Society has copies of them all.