The Pottsville Library has been digitizing and adding local history titles to the Internet Archive. The collection can be viewed at https://archive.org/details/pottsvillefreepubliclibrary. Some titles are linked to directly below.

Business and Subject Index (spreadsheet at https://tinyurl.com/3c9uw52a) Use this index to find businesses, communities, and some events in local history publications. Many of the titles in this index are available free online. Check the list of titles here and under the “Genealogy Resources” tab (above) for the links.

Ella Zerbey Elliott’s Blue Book of Schuylkill County  (http://www.archive.org/details/bluebookofschuylk1916elli) — published in 1916.  

Centennial Anniversary, Orwigsburg, Penna. (http://hdl.handle.net/2027/loc.ark:/13960/t4qj8701b) — published 1913. Heavily illustrated with photos, this publication includes approx. 20 pages of some of Orwigsburg’s history, as well as businesses in existence at the time of the centennial celebration.

County Atlas of Schuylkill, Pennsylvania (http://collection1.libraries.psu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/digitalbks2/id/54290) F. W. Beers & Co., 1875. Includes maps of county, townships, boroughs, and villages; as well as illustrations of prominent people and buildings. Another version of the 1875 atlas can be found on the Ancestor Tracks (http://ancestortracks.com/Schuylkill_resources.htm) site.

First Defenders (http://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433081800330) — published in 1910, this publication gives the muster rolls and historical sketches of the militia units that first responded to President Lincoln’s call for assistance in 1861: National Light Infantry of Pottsville; Washington Artillerists of Pottsville; Ringgold Light Artillery of Reading; Logan Guards of Lewistown; and Allen Infantry of Allentown. 

Folklore of the Schuylkill Canal — by John Butz Bowman. Volume 1 (https://archive.org/details/folkloreofschuyl0001john)  and Volume 2 (https://archive.org/details/folkloreofschuyl0002john)  of collected essays based on the memories of the author. Digitized by the Pottsville Library with equipment loaned by the State Library of Pennsylvania. 

Historical Society of Schuylkill County Publications Historical Society of Schuylkill County, 1907-1965. Only volumes in the public domain are currently available online.

Volume 1 (http://www.archive.org/details/publicationshis00coungoog) – available from the Internet Archive

Volume 2 (http://www.archive.org/details/publicationshis01coungoog) – available from the Internet Archive

Volume 3 (http://hdl.handle.net/2027/njp.32101060825088) – available from the Hathi Trust.

Volume 4 (http://hdl.handle.net/2027/wu.89062017686) – available from the Hathi Trust.

History of Berks County Pennsylvania in the Revolution (http://hdl.handle.net/2027/yale.39002004840311) — published 1894. Much of Schuylkill County was originally part of Berks County; Schuylkill did not become a county until 1811. Rolls of each company start in Chapter 6, page 75. 

History of Frackville (http://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433081813929) by Rev. Jonathan Miller, 1904 — a short history of the borough. 

History of Northampton, Lehigh, Monroe, Carbon, and Schuylkill Counties (http://hdl.handle.net/2027/loc.ark:/13960/t2s46z11n) Israel D. Rupp, 1845. “Containing a brief history of the first settlers, topography of townships, notices of leading events, incidents, and interesting facts in the early history of these counties; with an appendix, containing matters of deep interest.” 

History of Pennsylvania Volunteers by Samuel P. Bates — Published in 1869, this multi-volume set attempted to list every volunteer and member of a militia who took part in the Civil War in the Pennsylvania regiments. Organized by regiment with a brief history of each and a list of each company within that regiment. Some details about individuals such as muster out dates are given. Each volume has its own link:

Volume 1 (https://archive.org/details/historyofpennsyl01bate)

Volume 2 (https://archive.org/details/histpennavol02baterich)

Volume 3 (https://archive.org/details/historyofpennsyl03bate)

Volume 4 (https://archive.org/details/historyofpennsyl04bate)

Volume 5 (https://archive.org/details/historyofpennsyl00bate). 

History of Pottsville and Schuylkill County — 1934-1935. Sometimes referred to as the “Zerbey History”, this 6-volume set has been digitized by the Pottsville Library with the permission of the Pottsville Republican Herald office, using equipment loaned by the State Library of Pennsylvania. Each volume has its own link:

Volume 1 (https://archive.org/details/jhzerbeyhistoryo0000jose)

Volume 2 (https://archive.org/details/jhzerbeyhistoryo0002jose)

Volume 3 (https://archive.org/details/jhzerbeyhistoryo0003jose)

Volume 4 (https://archive.org/details/jhzerbeyhistoryo0004jose)

Volume 5 (https://archive.org/details/jhzerbeyhistoryo0005jose ) (includes the biographical section and the 1884-1934 chronology from the newspaper)

Volume 6 (https://archive.org/details/jhzerbeyhistoryo0006jose ) (index).

History of Schuylkill County (https://archive.org/details/historyofschuylk0000herr) — by Herrwood E. Hobbs, published 1950 by the Pottsville School District. Digitized by the Pottsville Library at the request of the Pottsville Area High School Library, using equipment loaned by the State Library of Pennsylvania.

W. Munsell’s History of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania (http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924081310660) — published in 1881; this scanned version from Hathi Trust includes the biographical pages (which start with R-__). 

History of Schuylkill County Pennsylvania — Published in 1907, edited by Adolf W. Schalck and Hon. D. C. Henning, this two-volume set focuses on the history of the county in Volume 1 (https://archive.org/details/historyofschuylk0001adol) and biographies of leading residents in Volume 2 (https://archive.org/details/historyofschuylk0002adol). Digitized by the Pottsville Library with equipment loaned by the State Library of Pennsylvania.

History of the County of Schuylkill (http://hdl.handle.net/2027/loc.ark:/13960/t3vt1xd2j), In honor of the County’s Centenary, 1911. Published by Dives, Pomeroy & Stewart (a local department store), this short book provides very brief information about the county and the boroughs at that time.

History of the Good Intent Fire Co. No. 1, Pottsville (http://hdl.handle.net/2027/pst.000018438031) — 1899. A short history of one of the first fire companies in Pottsville; note that there are many advertisements throughout the book. 

History of the Pottsville School District 1834-1966 (https://archive.org/details/historyofpottsvi0000herr) — Written by Herrwood E. Hobbs, published 1966. Digitized by the Pottsville Library at the request of the Pottsville Area High School Library, with equipment loaned by the State Library of Pennsylvania.

Memorial of the Patriotism of Schuylkill County (http://hdl.handle.net/2027/hvd.32044055079073) in the American Slaveholder’s Rebellion — published in 1865; one of the more detailed sources listing volunteers from Schuylkill County in the Civil War. 

Old Schuylkill Tales (http://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433081820064) — published in 1906; part story, part history, this book attempts to collect some of the oral history of Schuylkill County. 

Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive (https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/titles/places/pennsylvania/schuylkill/) — A large collection of “Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers”, this collection contains newspapers from all over the state. Of interest to Schuylkill County researchers are the Shenandoah Evening Herald (May 1891 to December 1899) and the Pottsville Miners Journal (1836, and 1838-1870). Note that you can contact the Schuylkill County Historical Society (http://schuylkillhistory.org/) for the Miners Journal issues outside of those dates.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps (http://www.loc.gov/rr/geogmap/sanborn/index.php) — Identify the print maps by year for communities in Schuylkill County and the rest of Pennsylvania, available in the Library of Congress Geography and Map Reading Room; some are also available online.  Maps for some parts of Schuylkill County can be found online in the Penn State University Libraries collection (http://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/digital/sanborn.html).   

Schuylkill County Ethnic Traditions (https://berea.access.preservica.com/?s=Kline+%22series+12%22) — In 2004, folklorists Michael and Carrie Nobel Kline visited Schuylkill County and gathered oral histories about ethnic traditions in Schuylkill County. Transcripts and recordings of those oral histories were deposited at the Pottsville Library and are now available online from Berea College. Traditions represented include those of Germany, England, Wales, Ireland, Italy, Poland, The Ukraine, Lithuania, the Carpatho-Rusyn region, Pakistan, India, other parts of Asia, and Latin America. The summary of the project can be downloaded from Schuylkill River Greenways, “Come to the Old Country” (https://schuylkillriver.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/ethnic_heritage_study.pdf)  (PDF file).

Schuylkill County Historic Gleanings Sarah Ann McCool; Shenandoah Weekly Herald, 1874-1875. Newspaper column giving an extensive history of the county, but not much genealogical/family information. Indexed (Historic Gleanings Index). A transcription was made in 2011 by Pottsville Library staff and copies of transcribed pages will be sent on request. While the index gives a page number, this corresponds to the chapter number (example: Abbott, James – p37 would be found in Chapter 37). 

Souvenir History of the Pottsville High School Centennial (https://archive.org/details/souvenirhistoryo0000dani) — by Daniel H. H. Lengel, published in 1953. Digitized by the Pottsville Library using equipment loaned by the State Library of Pennsylvania.

Argument of Franklin B. Gowen, Esq (http://digital.hagley.org/islandora/object/islandora:2403267). Before the Joint Committee of the Legislature of Pennsylvania, appointed to inquire into the affairs of the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company and the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company, at Atlantic City, New Jersey, July 29th and 30th, 1875. 

Argument of Franklin B. Gowen, Esq., of counsel for the Commonwealth (https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015068646689) in the case of the Commonwealth vs. Thomas Munley, indicted in the Court of Oyer and Terminer of Schuylkill County, Pa., for the murder of Thomas Sanger, a mining boss, at Raven Run, on September 1, 1875. (1876)  

Coal Region of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania : An Historical and Statistical Review of the Coal Trade (https://archive.org/details/coalregionofschu0000jayo) — by Jay Oliver Roads, publication 1943? A manuscript that was given to the Library for use by the public, now digitized to provide better access to it. Digitized by the Pottsville Library with equipment loaned by the State Library of Pennsylvania.

The great Mollie Maguire trials (https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/100341262): in Carbon and Schuylkill counties, Pa., brief reference to such trials, and arguments of Gen. Charles Albright and Hon. F. W. Hughes, in the case of the Commonwealth vs. James Carroll, James Roarity, Hugh McGehan and James Boyle, indicted for the murder of Benjamin F. Yost, chief of police of and at Tamaqua, July 6, 1876, in the Oyer and Terminer of Schuylkill County, July 22, 1876. Verdict as to all the prisoners, of Guilty of Murder in the First Degree. (Click on “Full view” to read the document.)

Pennsylvania Anthracite Region Employment (https://archive.org/details/pennsylvaniaanth0000jame) — Works Progress Administration publication (1935/1945), written by James C. Rettie and others. Digitized by the Pottsville Library with equipment loaned by the State Library of Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania Mining Resources (https://genpa.org/public-collections/pennsylvania-resources/mining-resources/) from the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania — links to online coal mining resources, mining glossary, and a list of major coal mine accidents are just some of what this page has to offer those with coal mining ancestors.

Report of the case of the Commonwealth vs. John Kehoe et al. (https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Record/vudl:253208), members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, commonly known as “Molly Maguires.” Indicted in the Court of Quarter Sessions of the Peace, for Schuylkill County, Penna., for an aggravated assault and battery with intent to kill Wm. M. Thomas. With the testimony and arguments of counsel in full, stenographically reported by R. A. West. (1876) Part of the digitalLibrary at Villanova University; click on “Online access” link at the bottom of the record. Another copy is available from the Hagley Digital Archives (http://digital.hagley.org/islandora/object/islandora:2360241).  

Report on the Anthracite Coal Strike of 1902 (https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001432256) — Interesting more for historical than genealogical reasons. There are several copies are available at this link from the HathiTrust Digital Library.

Reports of the Inspectors of Mines (https://archive.org/search.php?query=mediatype%3Atexts%20AND%20collection%3Auniversity_scranton%20AND%20subject%3A%22Coal%20Mines%20And%20Mining%22) — The University of Scranton Weinberg Memorial Library has put most of the reports in the Internet Archive. The Pottsville Library has digitized the rest of the genealogically-relevant years, including the 1869 Report for Schuylkill County, available at https://archive.org/details/pottsvillefreepubliclibrary.  Note that only reports up through 1920 include names of miners injured in accidents.  

Online Church and Cemetery Records 

The following are links to cemetery and church records we have found on other sites for this county.  

Schuylkill County’s Cemeteries (http://usgwarchives.net/pa/schuylkill/cemet.htm) – large collection of cemetery records for the county.  

Friedens Church at the Little Schuylkill (http://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433081787909), New Ringgold — published 1898, this gives a history of the congregation. 

Kehillath Israel Hebrew Cemetery (http://www.freewebs.com/kehillathisrael), Shenandoah Heights; includes photos of stones.  Compiled by Ian Singer.

Port Carbon Cemeteries (http://usgwarchives.net/pa/schuylkill/portcarbcemet.htm) – tombstone inscriptions from six cemeteries in the borough, including an index. Compiled by Mark Major.

Schuylkill County’s Churches (http://usgwarchives.net/pa/schuylkill/church.htm) – registers and records from some of the churches in the county

Schuylkill Memorial Park (http://schuylkillmemorialpark.com/) – Schuylkill Haven; select “Search Burials” from menu on left side of screen.  

Cressona Cemetery (Cressona Cemetery List)– This cemetery list has been compiled and donated by Francis Otterbein, and is in alphabetical order by last name. See the map (Cressona Cemetery Map)for a layout of the sections.  NOTE: This listing is in Word 2003 to preserve Mr. Otterbein’s formatting. It is possible online document viewers may not be able to display the tables.

Shenandoah Cemeteries — These cemetery listings have been compiled and donated by Andy Ulicny of Shenandoah.  All cemeteries are located in Shenandoah Heights.  NOTE: These listings are in Word 2003 to preserve Mr. Ulicny’s formatting.  It is possible online document viewers may not be able to display the tables.

All Shenandoah Catholic Cemeteries

Annunciation BVM (Irish/early Roman Catholic)

Holy Ghost Polish National Cemetery

Holy Ghost Russian Orthodox Cemetery

Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Italian)

New St. Casimir’s Polish Cemetery

Old St. Casimir’s Polish Cemetery

St. Michael’s Ukrainian Greek Catholic Cemetery

St. Stanislaus Polish Cemetery

St. Stephen’s Slovak Roman Catholic Cemetery

The Pottsville Free Public Library has Pottsville-area city directories from the 1860s to the present year, with a few small gaps in holdings. Print volumes in the public domain in our collection have been digitized and added to Internet Archive (https://archive.org/search.php?query=pottsville%20free%20public%20library%20directory). Until 1928 the directories cover most of the businesses in Schuylkill County. From 1928 to 1960 the directories cover only Pottsville and the immediate surrounding communities, both businesses and residents. From 1961 to the present, the directories cover Pottsville, the immediate surrounding communities, and a few other nearby boroughs.

The directories that list people by address (criss-cross directories) were published from 1939 to the present. Telephone number criss-cross listings were published from 1938 to the present.

The Pottsville Free Public Library has city directories on microfilm from 1860-1963 including some that are not in our print collection.

We recommend using the online version of the Pottsville Republican/Republican Herald newspaper if you are able to do so. You can find it at republicanherald.newspapers.com, part of Ancestry’s Newspapers service (may require “Publisher Extra” subscription level). Most issues should be available. 

If you are not able to access that database, requests for copies of obituaries may be sent to the Reference Dept. via email (potref@pottsvillelibrary.org) or mail.  Any obituary or article requests MUST include an exact date; months or years will not be searched. Please be aware our response time is now likely to be more than a month (or six) rather than a couple of weeks.

The Pottsville Republican Newspaper Deaths file contains names from the comprehensive indexing project (Oct. 1884-1895), an obituaries-only project (1948-1994), names found as we answered genealogy requests, and dates of death provided by local genealogy researchers to share with others. Note that the project dates given do not guarantee that we have every name that was published during those years; in fact, we’re pretty certain we’ve missed a lot despite our best efforts. These are names that appeared in news articles, obituaries, funeral notices, or inquest reports. Entries marked “hard to read” mean the article may not copy clearly.

The Pottsville Free Public Library has the Pottsville Republican newspaper on microfilm, from October 1884 to September 2020. The newspaper is still in print but issues after September 2020 will not be microfilmed (decision by the newspaper publisher).  

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The Pottsville Free Public Library has the Shenandoah Evening Herald newspaper on microfilm, May 23, 1891 – Dec. 1980.  Two segments did not get microfilmed:  July – December 1906 and October – December 1961.  (These volumes were missing when the filming project took place.) Some issues of this newspaper are available for free from the Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive. Much of this newspaper is also part of the Newspapers.com Republican Herald collection.

So far we have identified over 3000 names and their dates and pages in the newspaper. The Shenandoah Evening Herald Deaths file contains names found as we answered genealogy requests and some names provided by genealogy researchers. Any other obituary or article requests MUST include an exact date; months or years will not be searched.

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The Ashland Daily News is on microfilm at the Pottsville Free Public Library.  We have issues from Jan. 2, 1926 – Dec. 30, 1950.