INTRODUCTION

Pennsylvania’s size and central location on the Atlantic seaboard means it has played a significant role in America’s history. The first European settlers of Pennsylvania hailed from Sweden (“New Sweden” 1638-1655), the Netherlands (“New Netherlands” 1614-1664), and England (1664-1682). In 1681, King Charles II of England granted the Quaker, William Penn, a charter for a large parcel of land in what is now Delaware and eastern Pennsylvania.

Upon arrival in the colony in 1682, William Penn established a firm policy of religious tolerance and a Frame of Government for Pennsylvania that led to many of the records genealogists find so useful today.

HOW-TO AND OTHER GUIDES

The following resources at American Ancestors can help orient the family historian to the vast genealogy resources of Pennsylvania.

A Genealogist's Guide to Pennsylvania Records by Helen Hutchison Woodroofe
American Ancestors, 5th Floor F148 .W66 1994

Guide to Genealogical Sources at the Pennsylvania State Archives by Robert Dructor
American Ancestors, 5th Floor F148 .D78 1998

Pennsylvania Genealogical Research by George Keene Schweitzer
American Ancestors, 5th Floor F148 .S32 1986

Research in Pennsylvania by Kay Haviland Freilich
American Ancestors, 5th floor F148 .F74 2007

COUNTIES

The current outline of Pennsylvania did not solidify until 1792 when the “Erie Triangle” in northwestern Pennsylvania was purchased. The website MapofUS shows the formation of counties as they split off from parental units. This map is especially helpful for individuals researching 17th and 18th century ancestors as it displays the names of the governmental unit that might have their ancestor’s records. For additional information, Wikipedia presents a helpful table of facts about Pennsylvania counties with embedded maps showing county locations.

CIVIL VITAL RECORDS

Pennsylvania civil record keeping did not begin until the mid-19th century.

BirthMarriageDeath

Earliest (County Level)1852-54, 18931885, some in 1700s1852-54, 1893

Statewide RegistrationJanuary 1906January 1906

General Compliance19151915

Ancestry has recently published death certificates for Pennsylvania from 1906-1963.

OTHER VITAL RECORDS

Online vital records for Pennsylvania include a mix of church and civil data and are available at both the Family History Library ( births from 1709-1950, marriages from 1709-1950, county marriages from 1855) and Ancestry (births, marriages, deaths—check the card catalog for statewide and individual county holdings). The preceding links are only examples of the holdings of both FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com. Online records for the city of Philadelphia are particularly robust.

The American Ancestors Library has several unique sources that may fill in the gaps in the online databases.

Pennsylvania Vital Records: From the Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine and the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography
American Ancestors, 7th floor F148 .P48 1983 volume 1-3. This collection spans the mid-seventeenth to the mid-nineteenth century and covers all counties in the state.

Names of Persons for Whom Marriage Licenses Were Issued in the Province of Pennsylvania Previous to 1790
American Ancestors, 5th floor F146 .P41 2d ser.v.2

Central Pennsylvania Marriages, 1700-1896
American Ancestors, 5th floor F148 .F47 1946

Record of Pennsylvania Marriages Prior to 1810
American Ancestors, 5th floor F148 .R4 1987 volumes 1 and 2

CHURCH RECORDS

Colonial immigrants to Pennsylvania represented a wide variety of religious traditions including Quaker, Baptist (these groups often from the British Isles), Lutheran, Reformed, Mennonite, Dunkard, Moravian, Schwenkfelder, Calvinist (typically German speaking), Huguenot (French), and Presbyterian (Scots-Irish). Later records include Congregational and Roman Catholic. A sampling of the American Ancestors offerings for selected denominations may be found by following the links above. Additionally, American Ancestors holds church records by county, e.g., Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware. Another useful source is the three-volume set of Pennsylvania German Church Records, edited by Don Yoder.

LAND RECORDS

Thanks to William Penn, land records in Pennsylvania are generally excellent. However, they are complex and sometimes challenging to navigate. Donna Munger’s book Pennsylvania Land Records: A History and Guide for Research provides the family historian with strategies for making the most of the records.

As described on the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission website, the process of conveying land involves five types of records:

1. Application - a request for a warrant to have a survey made; usually a slip of paper that does NOT bear applicant's signature.
2. Warrant - certificate authorizing a survey of a tract of land; initiates title of a property and provides the basis for legal settlement, but does not convey all rights to the property.
3. Survey - sketch of boundaries of tract of land with exact determination of total acreage.
4. Return - description of property boundaries; function is similar to that of a patent; internal document sent from Surveyor General to Secretary of the Land Office
5. Patent - final, official deed from the Penns or the Commonwealth, which conveys clear title and all rights to the private owner.

The American Ancestors library includes some deed books or abstracts of deed books for several counties including Bucks, Chester, Cumberland, Lancaster, Washington, and Westmoreland.

PROBATE RECORDS

Probate records -- wills, letters of administration, and inventories—are among the most valuable sources for the family historian.

FamilySearch.org has a robust collection of probate records that, while not indexed, are organized by county and may be browsed online: Pennsylvania Probate Records, 1683-1994.

Unique resources at the American Ancestors library include will abstracts for many counties as well as will indices for additional counties across the state.

Pennsylvania Will Abstracts at American Ancestors

Counties CoveredTime PeriodLocation at American Ancestors

Adams1800-18265th Floor Stacks, F157.A2 G74 1988

Alleghany1789-18445th Floor Stacks, F157.A4 H293 1986

Berksv. 1. 1752-1785 –
v. 2. 1785-1800 –
v. 3. 1800-18255th Floor Stacks, F157.B3 M37 1993

v.1 1752-1798
v.2. 1798-18255th Floor Stacks, F157.B3 A27

Bucks1685-1785
1825-1870
1870-19005th Floor Stacks, F157.B8 W754 1995
F157.B8 M952 2002
F157.B8 M95 2000

v.1. 1685-1795
v.2. 1796-1825F157.B8 A27

Chesterv. 1. 1714-1758
v. 2. 1758-1777
v. 3. 1777-1800
v. 4. 1801-18255th Floor Stacks, F157.C4 A27

Cumberland1785-18255th Floor Stacks, F157.C8 A28 1998

1750-18255th Floor Stacks, F157.C8 A27

Delaware1789-18355th Floor Stacks, F157.N8 F57 1950

Lancasterv. 1. 1732-1785
v. 2. 1786-18205th Floor Stacks, F157.L2 W75 1995

1821-18305F157.L2 W49 2000

1721-1820F157.L2 L36

Montgomeryv.1 1784-1823
v.2 1824-18505th Floor Stacks, F157.M7 A27

Philadelphia1893-1896 to 1901-19045th Floor Stacks, F157.P56 A27

Synder1772-18555th Floor Stacks, F157.S5 F4 1940

York1749-18195th Floor Stacks, F157.Y6 W75 1995

CENSUS AND TAX LISTS

Census and tax lists help establish a person’s presence in a particular place at a particular time. Prior to the first federal census, many counties kept lists of property owners for purposes of taxation. Property included real estate as well as livestock. American Ancestors has pre-1790 tax lists for Bedford, Berks, Bucks, Chester, Lancaster, Philadelphia, Westmorland, Washington, and York counties (multiple years). Another useful source of information is the Pennsylvania septennial census conducted every seven years beginning in 1779 for tax and representation purposes. These censuses help the family historian fill in the gaps between the decennial federal censuses and are available at Ancestry.

PASSENGER LISTS AND NATURALIZATION RECORDS

The City of Philadelphia, on the Delaware River, has been a major port of entry into the country since the 1600s. Several excellent online and published lists for the port exist:

Collection of 30,000 Pennsylvania Immigrants from 1727-1776 by I. Daniel Rupp
American Ancestors, 5th floor Stacks, F152.R9614 1985; also available at FamilySearch.org

Pennsylvania German Pioneers: A Publication of the Original Lists of Arrivals in the Port of Philadelphia from 1727 to 1808 by Ralph Beaver Strassburger
American Ancestors, 7th Floor Reference, F160.G3 S8 1934; also available at Archive.org

Passenger Arrivals at the Port of Philadelphia, 1800-1819: The Philadelphia Baggage Lists by Michael Tepper
American Ancestors, 7th Floor Reference, CS68 .T48 1986; also available at Ancestry.com

Emigrants to Pennsylvania, 1641-1819: A Consolidation of Ship Passenger Lists from the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography by Michael Tepper
American Ancestors, 5th Floor Stacks, F148 .E5 1975

Philadelphia Naturalization Records: An Index to Records of Aliens' Declarations of Intention and/or Oaths of Allegiance, 1789-1880 by P. William Filby
American Ancestors, 7th Floor Reference, CS68 .P47 1982; also available at Ancestry.com

MIGRATION TO AND WITHIN PENNSYLVANIA

In addition to the Swedish, Dutch, and English settlers mentioned in the introduction, other important groups emigrated to and settled in Pennsylvania: Germans (many from the Palatinate), Scots-Irish, and of course, Quaker. While some individuals stayed in the Philadelphia region, others used old Indian trails and new roads, such as the Great Valley or Wagon Road from Philadelphia, through Lancaster, Gettysburg, to Western Maryland and into Virginia. William Dollarhide’s Map Guide to American Migration Routes, 1735-1815 provides historical context for the development of the major migration routes through Pennsylvania. For a more in-depth view of migration routes within Pennsylvania, consult the wonderfully detailed and heavily illustrated with maps, Indian Paths of Pennsylvania by Paul Wallace.

The following American Ancestors sources provide information about each of the major immigrant groups.

Swedish: New Sweden on the Delaware : 1638-1655 by C.A. Weslager (general history); The 1693 Census of the Swedes on the Delaware by Peter Stebbins Craig (family names and genealogical abstracts)

Dutch: New Netherland : a Dutch colony in seventeenth-century America, by Jaap Jacobs (general history); Genealogical and Biographical Directory to Persons in New Netherland, from 1613 to 1674, by David Riker; and Ancestral Lines: 232 Families in England, Wales, the Netherlands, Germany, New England, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, by Carl Boyer (family names and genealogical abstracts)

German: For an overview of the German migration to Pennsylvania, consult, William Parsons’ Pennsylvania Germans. Henry Jones’ Even more Palatine families: 18th Century Immigrants to the American Colonies and Their German, Swiss, and Austrian Origins provides a comprehensive overview of families emigrating from the Palatinate. Another good source is Annette Burgert’s extensive series of helpful books on the German origins of Pennsylvania settlers. In the online Library Catalog, click the “Author” tab and enter “Burgert” in the search box.

Scots-Irish: The Scotch-Irish of Colonial Pennsylvania, by Wayland Dunaway (general history)

Quaker: The Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy, by William Hinshaw. Volume II focuses on Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

PERIODICALS

Periodicals represent the scholarly work of hundreds of local, state, national, and international societies and organizations. In a periodical, the family historian might find newly transcribed manuscript materials, indexes and abstracts of source materials, local genealogies, as well as newly uncovered information about residents of the area. The following American Ancestors holdings may be of use to the Pennsylvania researcher.

Mennonite Family History Holdings: 1982 to present
American Ancestors, 5th Floor E184.M45 M46

The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine Holdings: 1948 to present
American Ancestors, 5th Floor F146 .G32; also available on AmericanAncestors.org

The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography Holdings: 1877 to present
American Ancestors, 5th Floor F146 .P65 – online at the University of Pennsylvania (1907-2010) with searchable index. Additional issues available at JSTOR (requires subscription).

Publications of the Pennsylvania German Society Various holdings: 1891 to present
American Ancestors, 5th Floor F146.P23 and F146 .P24

Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Quarterly Holdings: 1974 to present
American Ancestors, 5th Floor F148 .W48 1974

Chronicling America offers full-text digital access to six 19th century German-language newspapers from Pennsylvania. Also see the Library of Congress catalog for additional, onsite holdings.

Nineteenth century city directories for Philadelphia and Pittsburgh may be accessed online.

MANUSCRIPTS

American Ancestors’s rich manuscript collection includes over 300 documents related to Pennsylvania. About two thirds of the manuscripts pertain to specific family surnames. You may search for yours by clicking the “Advanced” tab from the main Library Catalog Search page. Type your family name into the first search box and then click “Collection” to select manuscripts.

The remaining manuscripts cover unpublished church and cemetery records as well as a few deeds and other land records. For church and cemetery records, the early settlement counties are especially well represented (York, Lancaster, Bucks, Chester, Montgomery, and Philadelphia).

MAPS AND ATLASES

Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. Pennsylvania
American Ancestors, 5th floor G1201.F7 A8 1993 Pa.

Combination Atlas of the County of Mercer and the State of Pennsylvania: From Actual Surveys & Official Records
American Ancestors, 5th floor Atlas Oversize G1263.M4 G5 1978

ORGANIZATIONS

The Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP) in Philadelphia maintains the most extensive historical and genealogical collection in the state of Pennsylvania. Multiple online subject guides, including one about researching Pennsylvania family history, assist the family historian. If your ancestor was a miner or a railroad worker, your first stop should be the HSP to explore their far-reaching manuscript collection.

Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania

Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society

Pennsylvania Genealogical and Historical Societies – A listing of county genealogical and historical societies

Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh – a Pennsylvania-based genealogical research focused organization

WEBSITES

The Pennsylvania State Archives and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania hold documents which are valuable to family history researchers.

Family Search, Cyndi’s List, and Access Genealogy all include multiple links to helpful information and documents.