Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

Pennsylvania

Berks

Reading

Founded in 1748 by the Penn proprietors, Reading is the county seat of Berks County. Early tracts of land were sold to Richard Hockley, Thomas Lawrenceand Samuel Finney. The town of Reading was laid out mostly on land of Thomas Lawrence. On 16 March 1847 Reading was incorporated into a city.

Cemeteries

Prior to 1846 burials in Reading took place in church cemeteries located within the town. In 1846 Charles Evans Cemetery, located north of Reading, was established as a city cemetery. 1849 saw the layout of two additional cemeteries located on the north slope of Neversink Mountain. These cemeteries were Trinity Lutheran and Roman Catholic. In 1851 a third city cemetery was laid out, Aulenbach. Families were encouraged to use the city cemeteries and many bodies from the city church cemeteries were reinterred in the city cemeteries. The below links do not have complete lists of the burials in the cemeteries but are still useful.

Find A Grave

Aulenbach Cemetery Charles Evans Cemetery Trinity Lutheran Cemetery St. Johns German Lutheran Cemetery

After you click on the links for the USGenWeb links select Cemetery Index from the left side of the screen.

USGenWeb

Aulenbach Cemetery Charles Evans Cemetery Trinity Lutheran

• The Berks County Historical Society has an online cemetery index. It is not a complete listing.

Church Records

Pennsylvania vital records were kept very late in the history of Pennsylvania. Because of this church records are very important in Pennsylvania research. Church baptism and burial records replace birth and death certificates.

The Historical Society of Berks County has a great collection of church records. The records themselves are not online but the society has placed a church record index on their website which is free to use.

Below are a few of the churches within the city limits of Reading.

• 1708-1985 Pennsylvania, Church and Town Records, Ancestry.com$
• 1755-1949 First Reformed Church, Reading FHL film 22041 items 1-3 (first of 6)
• 1860-1933 St. John's German Lutheran Church FHL film 1671343 item 8
• 1751-1930 Trinity Lutheran Church, Reading FHL film 22035 items 1-2 (first of 3)

City Directories

Directories list not only individuals who lived in the city but also businesses, and various organizations and where they were located. In some cases city maps may be included in the directories. The Historical Society of Berks County and the Reading Public Library have a collection of the directories.

Try:
	1864-1959, Reading City Directories at Ancestry.com			$, To obtain a subscription to Ancestry; Ancestry is often available through your local public library for free

Newspapers

Currently the Reading Eagle serves the city of Reading. It has been in existence since 1868. Older issues of the paper can be found at Google News.

Probate Records

• 1752-Current, Berks County Estate Index
  
• 1752-1915, Pennsylvania Probate Records, 1683-1994

Repositories

Library

• Reading Public Library
  100 S. Fifth St.
  Reading, PA 19602
  Phone: (610) 655-6350

Museums

• Central Pennsylvania African American Museum
  Old Bethel
  African Methodist Episcopal Church
  119 North 10th Street
  Reading, Pennsylvania 19601
  Phone: (610) 371-8713

• Reading Public Museum
  500 Museum Road
  Reading, Pennsylvania 19611-1425
  Phone: (610) 371-5850

Societies

• Historical Society of Berks County
  940 Centre Avenue
  Reading, Pennsylvania 19601
  Phone: (610) 375-4375

• Berks County Genealogical Society
  201 Washington St, Room 413
  Reading, Pennsylvania 19601-4040
  Phone: (610) 921-4970

Vital Records

Unlike the county, Reading began to record vital records at an earlier time period. Birth and death records began in 1873 and marriages in 1876. For records prior to his years, search church records.

Birth

• 1876-1905, Reading Birth Records Index

Marriage

• 1876-1909, Reading Marriage Records Index

Death

• 1873-1906, Reading Death Records Index