Chester County Death Records
Chester County is one of Pennsylvania's three original counties, created on March 10, 1682 from colonial lands. Its archives go back to 1714, making it one of the oldest continuous courthouse collections in the state. Death records were kept locally for two periods: 1852 through 1855 and 1893 through 1906. In 1906, the State of Pennsylvania began keeping records statewide. Chester County Archives and Records Services maintains indexes and guides to birth, death, and marriage records from both county registration periods. Wills and administrations dating to 1714 are also on file.
Chester County Quick Facts
Chester County Archives and Death Records
Chester County Archives and Records Services maintains the county's death records from both the 1852 through 1855 and 1893 through 1906 registration periods. Guides to Birth, Death, and Marriage Records are available from the Archives. The Chester County Courthouse is at 201 W. Market Street, Suite 1400, West Chester, PA 19380. The general phone is 610-344-6135. The Register of Wills and Orphans' Court phone is 610-344-6335.
Chester County Archives holds birth and death records from 1852 through 1855 and 1893 through 1906. Marriage records from 1852 through 1855 and from 1885 through 1930 are also in the collection. Wills and administrations from 1714 through 1923 are on file. These probate records are among the oldest surviving courthouse documents in all of Pennsylvania. They predate formal death registration by well over a century and contain death-related information in the form of estate filings, inventory appraisals, and distribution accounts.
The Chester County death records page on the official county website explains what records are available and how to request them. The Register of Wills and Orphans' Court page provides contact details and office information. The Archives and Records Services page describes the full scope of the county's historical holdings and how researchers can access them.
Pennsylvania Death Index for Chester County
The PA State Archives provides free online access to the Death Index for 1906 through 1975. Chester County deaths during that period are fully indexed. Search at the PA State Archives vital statistics page. The index result gives the certificate number needed to request the full document from the Division of Vital Records.
Death certificates from 1906 through 1974 are at the State Archives. Digital copies for 1906 through 1972 are on Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania residents can access Ancestry at no cost at most public libraries. Chester County's public library system has multiple branches where this free access is available. Soundex phonetic indexing applies to the 1920 through 1924 and 1930 through 1951 periods. Death certificates become public record 50 years after death. Certified copies cost $20 each. Order online at mycertificates.health.pa.gov through VitalChek, by phone at 724-656-3100 or 844-228-3516, or by mail to PO Box 1528, New Castle, PA 16103. Walk-in service at the Philadelphia state office is the nearest option for Chester County residents. The PA Department of Health vital records page outlines all ordering options.
Chester County Colonial and Early Death Records
Chester County's archives date to 1714, which means wills and administration records survive from the early 18th century. For researchers tracing Chester County families from the colonial era, these probate files are essential. The county's Quaker community was especially careful about record keeping. Monthly meeting registers from Chester County Quaker meetings capture births, marriages, and deaths from the 1680s onward. These religious records often provide death dates, ages, and family relationships that no civil record existed to document at the time.
Chester County was one of the three original Pennsylvania counties. Before Chester County was subdivided into Lancaster County in 1729 and Delaware County in 1789, the territory covered a much larger area. Researchers with ancestors from what is now Lancaster or Delaware County should search Chester County's early records as well. Estates filed in Chester County before the subdivisions may capture deaths of ancestors whose families later appear in Lancaster or Delaware county records.
The Chester County Archives holds the 1852 through 1855 death records, which survived from Pennsylvania's first vital registration effort. These records are particularly valuable because they capture deaths during a period between the colonial probate era and the modern registration system. Not every county's 1852 through 1855 records survived, but Chester County's records are intact and accessible through the Archives.
Note: Chester County's 1852 through 1855 death records survived intact and are available through the county Archives and Records Services office in West Chester.
What Chester County Death Records Include
A Chester County death certificate from the state registration era provides the full name, date and place of death, age, birthplace, occupation, cause of death, the physician's name, and the names of surviving family members. The informant field often names a spouse or adult child. County-level records from the 1852 through 1855 and 1893 through 1906 periods contain similar information in varying formats. Early Quaker meeting burial registers include age, exact date, and the meeting where the person worshipped.
Death certificates become public record 50 years after the death date. All Chester County deaths from 1975 and earlier are open to the public. Certified copies of post-1906 certificates cost $20 each. Order online at mycertificates.health.pa.gov through VitalChek, by phone at 724-656-3100 or 844-228-3516, or by mail to PO Box 1528, New Castle, PA 16103. The PA State Archives provides free access to the Death Index for 1906 through 1975 at the PA State Archives vital statistics page. Soundex phonetic indexing for the 1920 through 1924 and 1930 through 1951 periods helps with variant spellings. Digital copies of death certificates from 1906 through 1972 are on Ancestry.com at no cost to Pennsylvania residents at most public libraries. The PA Department of Health vital records page has ordering instructions and eligibility requirements for restricted records. Chester County's wills and administration records from 1714 through 1923 are the deepest probate archive among the southeastern Pennsylvania counties, and researchers who exhaust death certificate sources should work through this probate collection for any ancestor who lived in Chester County before 1923.
Nearby Counties
Chester County is in southeastern Pennsylvania and borders several counties including two counties it originally gave rise to. Ancestors from Lancaster and Delaware Counties before those counties were formed may be in Chester County records.