Use the Courthouse Records chart on the Library of Congress Pennsylvania: Local History & Genealogy Resource Guide to learn more about the state's specific county courthouse offices and the records that they hold.
Orphans’ Court / Clerk of Courts
10 East High Street, Room 103
Greene County Courthouse
Waynesburg, Pennsylvania 15370
Phone: 724-852-5282
Website: https://www.co.greene.pa.us/department-clerk-of-courts
1893-1915: Pennsylvania did not require counties to maintain birth records until 1893. Before that time, Greene County has no birth records. The county stopped keeping birth records in 1915.
1906-Present: Pennsylvania began to file births at a state level in 1906. Between 1906 and 1915, you may find records at both county and state levels. These records may compliment or contradict one another depending on the person providing the data. For the most thorough results, checking both of these certificates is recommended.
Delayed Birth Certificates: Delayed birth certificates are a fascinating exception to the 1893-1915 county record keeping window. These records must be evaluated carefully because they often were recorded many years after the actual birth. However, they may offer very valuable details that other birth records do not. Delayed birth certificates were generally issued to people born BEFORE 1893 who lived long enough to be eligible for Social Security or other benefits that required proof of birth. Since county-level record keeping between 1893-1906 was so haphazard, delayed birth certificates may have also been issued to people born during these years whose birth was not recorded.
RESEARCH TIP: Other records at the courthouse may indicate birth dates but must be explored separately. For example, Orphans' Court distributions to minors, or appointment of guardian for minors, will usually include age, and sometimes note exact date of birth.
Prothonotary
10 East High Street
Greene County Courthouse
Waynesburg, Pennsylvania 15370
Website: https://www.co.greene.pa.us/department-prothonotarys-office
The Prothonotary’s office maintains records classified as civil court. These include, but are not limited to:
For more about the history and responsibilities of the Prothonotary, visit PennsylvaniaResearch.com.
Clerk of Courts
10 East High Street, Room 103
Greene County Courthouse
Waynesburg, Pennsylvania 15370
Phone: 724-852-5282
Website: https://www.co.greene.pa.us/department-clerk-of-courts
Prior to 1968:
Since 1968:
Orphans’ Court / Clerk of Courts
10 East High Street, Room 103
Greene County Courthouse
Waynesburg, Pennsylvania 15370
Phone: 724-852-5282
Website: https://www.co.greene.pa.us/department-clerk-of-courts
1893-1915: Pennsylvania did not require counties to maintain death records until 1893. Before that time, Greene County has no death records. The county stopped keeping death records in 1915.
1906-Present: Pennsylvania began to file deaths at a state level in 1906. Between 1906 and 1915, you may find records at both county and state levels. These records may compliment or contradict one another depending on the person providing the data. For the most thorough results, checking both of these certificates is recommended.
RESEARCH TIP: Other records at the courthouse may indicate death dates but must be explored separately. For example, Wills or Orphans’ Court Estates may note date of death. Also, if a widow/widower remarried, the Marriage License should include date of death of former spouse.
Recorder of Deeds
10 East High Street
Greene County Courthouse
Waynesburg, Pennsylvania 15370
Website: https://www.co.greene.pa.us/department-register-recorder
Orphans’ Court / Clerk of Courts
10 East High Street, Room 103
Greene County Courthouse
Waynesburg, Pennsylvania 15370
Phone: 724-852-5282
Website: https://www.co.greene.pa.us/department-clerk-of-courts
Orphans’ Court / Clerk of Courts
10 East High Street, Room 103
Greene County Courthouse
Waynesburg, Pennsylvania 15370
Phone: 724-852-5282
Website: https://www.co.greene.pa.us/department-clerk-of-courts
Physical records exist in two formats: Docket Books and original Paper Files. Not all paper files have survived to present day. Some were checked out by attorneys in the past and never returned, others have been lost or destroyed over the last 200 years. However, paper files that are still intact may provide valuable additional details, handwritten signatures, maps, exhibits, and so on.
Don't be misled by the name. One of the duties of the Orphans' Court is to administer the estates of minors and incapacitated persons, but even those persons are not necessarily "orphans" as we think of them today. If one parent passed away, the court would often appoint a guardian to manage the minor child's estate even if the other parent was still living. Besides this, the Orphans' Court is responsible for the distribution of a decedent's estate among all eligible heirs, regardless of age or relationship. Partition or Sale of Property, for example, are often extraordinary documents for genealogy because they identify all eligible heirs. If an ancestor did not leave a Will, this distribution of estate based on testate laws will enumerate living descendants. Even if an ancestor did leave a Will, heirs named in the Will may be expounded upon in the Orphans' Court distribution. For example, a Will may have been written many years prior to the benefactor's death. Unmarried daughters in the Will may be married by the time of distribution. Some of the heirs may have predeceased the benefactor and accordingly their children may be identified in the distribution to receive their share. (Excerpt from Courthouse Records - Pennsylvania: Local History & Genealogy Resource Guide - Research Guides at Library of Congress.)
Clerk of Courts
10 East High Street, Room 103
Greene County Courthouse
Waynesburg, Pennsylvania 15370
Phone: 724-852-5282
Website: https://www.co.greene.pa.us/department-clerk-of-courts
1790 to 1968: The Oyer & Terminer Court was originally formed in 1790 for the purpose of trying capital criminal offenses. In 1968, it was abolished by a new state constitution and absorbed into the Court of Common Pleas, which still exists.
For more about the history and responsibilities of the Oyer & Terminer Court, visit PennsylvaniaResearch.com.
Clerk of Courts
10 East High Street, Room 103
Greene County Courthouse
Waynesburg, Pennsylvania 15370
Phone: 724-852-5282
Website: https://www.co.greene.pa.us/department-clerk-of-courts
Colonial era to 1968: The Court of Quarter Sessions was originally formed in Pennsylvania’s colonial era and met four times a year, hence the quarterly name, until 1968 when it was abolished by a new state constitution and absorbed into the Court of Common Pleas, which still exists.
Court of Quarter Sessions items include, but are not limited to:
For more about the history and responsibilities of the Court of Quarter Sessions visit PennsylvaniaResearch.com.
Index to Greene County, Pennsylvania Quarter Sessions Docket No. 1 (1797-1803) by Register of Wills
10 East High Street
Greene County Courthouse
Waynesburg, Pennsylvania 15370
Website: https://www.co.greene.pa.us/department-register-recorder
Physical records exist in two formats: Docket Books and original Paper Files.