Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

This article is about a county in Pennsylvania. For the city, see Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

United States Pennsylvania Philadelphia County

Historical Facts

 * Parent Counties: Formed as an original county 10 March 1682.
 * County Seat: Philadelphia
 * Neighboring Counties: residents may also have records in Bucks (north) • Camden County, New Jersey (south) •  Montgomery (northwest)  • [Gloucester County, New Jersey|Gloucester County, New Jersey]] (southwest)  •  Burlington County, New Jersey (east)  •  Delaware (west)

Boundary Changes

 * 14 October 1751: Berks County set off.
 * 10 September 1784: Montgomery County set off.

Cemeteries
Cemetery records often reveal birth, marriage, death, relationship, military, and religious information.


 * The USGenWeb Tombstone Project 
 * Magnolia Cemetery
 * The Philadelphia Story
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project
 * 2nd Presbyterian Cemetery
 * 3rd Presbyterian Cemetery
 * Adath Jeshurun (Jewish) Cemetery
 * African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas Churchyard
 * All Saints Protestant Episcopal Cemetery
 * All Saints Protestant Episcopal Church Ground
 * Alms House Cemetery
 * American Mechanics Cemetery
 * Bellevue Cemetery
 * Bensalem Cemetery
 * Bethel Church Burial Ground
 * Cathedral (New) Cemetery
 * Chelten Hills Cemetery
 * Christ Church Burial Ground
 * Christ Church Garden
 * Ebenezer Methodist Episcopal Cemetery
 * Emmanuel Episcopal Churchyard
 * Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Trinity Cemetery
 * First Reformed Dutch Church
 * Franklin Cemetery
 * Friends' Burial Ground
 * German Lutheran Cemetery
 * Gladwyne United Methodist Cemetery
 * Glenwood Cemetery
 * Gloria Dei Old Swedes Cemetery
 * Greenmount Cemetery
 * Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart Cemetery
 * Har Nebo Cemetery
 * Holy Sepulchre Cemetery
 * Ivy Hill Cemetery
 * Lafayette Cemetery
 * Laurel Hill Cemetery
 * Lawnview Cemetery
 * Machpelah Cemetery
 * Magnolia Cemetery
 * Medical Mission Sisters Community Cemetery
 * Montefiore (Jewish) Cemetery
 * Monument Cemetery
 * Most Holy Redeemer Cemetery
 * Mount Moriah Cemetery http://www.interment.net/data/us/pa/philadelphia/mtmoriah/index.htm
 * Mount Peace Cemetery
 * Mount Vernon Cemetery
 * Mutual Family Cemetery
 * New Jerusalem Burial Ground
 * New Philadelphia Cemetery
 * Newtown Cemetery
 * North Cedar Hill Cemetery
 * Northwood Cemetery
 * Odd Fellows Cemetery
 * Old Pennypack Baptist Church Cemetery
 * Old St. Paul's Church Cemetery
 * Our Lady of Grace
 * Oxford Trinity Cemetery
 * Philadelphia Memorial Park
 * Philadelphia National Cemetery
 * Philanthropic Cemeteyr
 * Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill Cemetery
 * Price Family Burial Ground
 * Ronaldson's Cemetery
 * Salem Reformed Church
 * Shalom Memorial Park (Jewish)
 * Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth Community Cemetery
 * Sisters of the Order of St. Basil the Great Community Cemetery
 * Sisters of St. Joseph Community Cemetery
 * St. Augustine's Church Grounds
 * St. Dominic's Cemetery
 * St. George Methodist Episcopal Cemetery
 * St. John the Baptist Cemetery
 * St. John Evangelical Church Cemetery
 * St. John Neumann Cemetery (Roman Catholic)
 * St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Cemetery
 * St. Mary's Cemetery
 * St. Mary's of the Assumption Cemetery
 * St. Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Cemeteyr
 * St. Michael's Cemetery
 * St. Peter's German Burial Ground
 * St. Peter's Episcopal Churchyard
 * St. Peter's Roman Catholic Cemeteyr
 * St. Timothy's Episcopal Cemetery
 * Sunset Memorial Park
 * Trinity Lutheran Church Cemetery
 * West Laurel Cemetery
 * Westminster Cemetery
 * Wharton Street Methodist Episcopal Burial Grounds
 * William Penn Cemetery
 * Woodlands Cemetery
 * Unknown Location Burials

Census

 * 1671 Transcription and Index

County-wide Database - Multi-denominational



 * 1708-1985 - Pennsylvania, Church and Town Records, 1708-1985 at Historical Society of Pennsylvania – $, free to members of the society; Also available at Ancestry.com – $; 7,542,774 entries. This database is incomplete for all counties.


 * Contains records of:
 * Court of Quarter Sessions and Common Pleas
 * Chester: Trinity Protestant Episcopal Church
 * Frankford: St. Mark's Episcopal Church
 * Franklinville: Christ Episcopal Church
 * Germantown: St. John the Baptist Church
 * Hestonville: St. James Church
 * Lower Dublin: All Saints Church; All Saints Episcopal Church; Lower Dublin Baptist Church
 * Manoa: Epworth United Methodist Church
 * Perkasie: Heidelberg Reformed Church
 * Philadelphia: See Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Church Records for hundreds of additional church records
 * Roxborough: Roxborough Baptist Church; St. Alban Church
 * Torresdale: All Saints Episcopal Church
 * West Whiteland: Church of the Atonement


 * 1644-1780 - Humphrey, John T. Pennsylvania Births, Philadelphia County, 1644-1780. 2 vols. Washington, D.C.: Humphrey Publications, 1994-1995..


 * Contains records of Gloria Dei, Old Swedes, or Wicaco Church (established 1642); Philadelphia Friends Monthly Meeting (est. 1682); Christ Church (est. 1695); First Presbyterian Church (est. 1698); Second Presbyterian Church (est. 1743); Pennypack Baptist Church in Lower Dublin Township (est. 1688); First Moravian Church (est. 1742); St. Michael's (est. 1728) and Zion (est. 1766) Lutheran Church, Philadelphia; First Reformed Church, Philadelphia (est. 1727); St. Michael's Lutheran Church in Germantown (est. 1738); German Reformed Church in Germantown (est. 1727); St. Joseph's Catholic Church (est. 1733); Trinity Episcopal Church in Oxford Township (est. 1698); First Baptist Church in Philadelphia (est. 1762); Friends Monthly Meeting, Pine and Orange Streets (records from 1730s); Scots Presbyterian Church (est. 1767); Personal register of Rev. Blackwell (records from 1750s); Northern District Monthly Meeting at 6th and Noble Sts. (records from 1750s); Southern District Monthly Meeting (records from 1730s); St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal Church (est. 1760); St. George's Methodist Episcopal Church (est. 1769).

LDS Ward and Branch Records

 * Philadelphia

Court Records
Salmon compiled an inventory of "The Court Records of Philadelphia County 1683-1800," as an appendix to:


 * Salmon, Marylynn. "The Court Records of Philadelphia, Bucks, and Berks Counties in Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries," The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 107, No. 2 (Apr. 1983):249-292. Digital version at The Historical Society of Pennsylvania website - free.

Prothonotary
Office of the Prothonotary First Judicial District of Pennsylvania Room 284 City Hall Philadelphia, PA 19107 Tel: 215 686-6652 Office hours: 9:00am to 5:00 pm Monday thru Friday

Directories
Fold3 ($) has Philadelphia City Directories 1785, 1791, 1793-1922 (7 yrs. missing) available online.

Funeral Homes
Funeral records issued by a funeral home include financial records (cost of casket, dressings, etc.), funeral cards given out at the time of the funeral, etc. These records usually give the name of the deceased, when and where buried, if shipped out to another funeral home, purchaser of cemetery plot, etc. Funeral home records from Philadelphia include:


 * 1) David H. Bowen and Son, Undertakers (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). Funeral Records, 1845-1899

History
1633-1643: (-1647?) Dutch build a blockhouse (single log cabin fort) "at the Schuylkill" River (now Philadelphia). It was abandoned about 1643. See the New Sweden and the New Netherland Wiki article for details.

1641: Swedes and Finns spreading north from Fort Christina (present-day Wilmington, Delaware) first settle in Finland (Chamassungh), now Trainer, Pennsylvania  and Upland (Meckopenacka), now Chester, Pennsylvania. The New Sweden Colony continues to expand northward with new settlements as far as Philadelphia in the following years.

1642: The English build a blockhouse on Province Island (now Philadelphia airport) but are soon removed by the Dutch, probably with help from the Swedish.

1648-1651: The Dutch built Fort Beaversrede (now Philadelphia) inland from the Delaware River to be the first contact for Indian fur traders coming down the Schuylkill River. The Swedes respond by building a blockhouse between the Schuylkill and the Dutch fort in order to obscure the view of the fort from the river.

1651-1655: The New Netherland Colony builds Fort Casimir  (now New Castle, Delaware), settle Sandhook,   and abandon Fort Beversrede in 1651. In 1654 New Sweden captures Fort Casimir from the Dutch without a fight and rename it Fort Trinty (Trefaldighets). In 1655 New Netherland returns with a large army and all of New Sweden in presend-day Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey submits to Dutch rule.

1664: As part of the Second Anglo-Dutch War New Netherland including southeast Pennsylvania is surrendered to the English.

1673-1674: A new war breaks out and the Dutch send a large armada to retake New Netherland for a few months. But as the war ends the colony is ceded to England for the last time.

1680s: William Penn founded the English colony of Pennsylvania after receiving a grant in 1681 from the king of England. His colony offered religious freedom, liberal government, and inexpensive land. Quakers established the city of Philadelphia.

November 1682: William Penn selected the name Philadelphia which means Brotherly Love.

1700-1754: Welsh, German, and Scotch-Irish groups arrived.

Much of Philadelphia County's functions to exist with Act of Consolidation, 1854. Further consolidations took place in 1867, 1895, 1937, 1951, 1963 and finally 1965.

Land and Property
Land records in Philadelphia County began in 1682. These records are filed with the Philadelphia City Archives office in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts, indexes, mortgages, leases, grants, sheriff sales, land patents, and maps. Property records include liens as well as livestock brands and estray records.

The following are examples of available resources:

Online Land Records


 * Online indexes are available through the City Archives for a fee.
 * 1734 - "Landholders of Philadelphia County, 1734," Publications of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, Vol. 1 (Jul. 1897):166-184. For free online access, see WeRelate.

Land Records on Microfilm


 * 1683-1916 Deeds, 1683-1886; Index to Deeds, 1683-1916.
 * 1736-1851 Sheriff's Deeds.
 * 1740–1912 Partition Records.

Additional Resources

Note that the "Maps" section below also includes maps related to land ownership.

See Pennsylvania Land and Property for more information about using land records, especially about original land warrants, surveys, and patents filed at the state land office.

Additional resources can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Philadelphia County Pennsylvania Land in online catalogs such as:


 * Historical Society of Pennsylvania
 * WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog.)
 * (For instructions see FHL Catalog Place-name Search.)

Maps
Click the image to view an enlarged version

Migration
Early migration routes to and from Philadelphia County for settlers included:


 * the Atlantic Ocean, and Delaware Bay connected Philadelphia with Europe, Africa, the Caribbean, and South America
 * Delaware River a pre-historic patthway serving as the border between New Jersey and Pennsylvania rises in Schoharie County, New York and flows by the Lehigh Canal in Pennsylvania, Frenchtown, Trenton where river meets tidewater, and past Bordentown in New Jersey, Philadelphia in Pennsylvania to empty into the North Atlantic Ocean.
 * Minsi Path a pre-historic American Indian trail from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Kingston, New York.
 * King's Highway 1673 connected Boston, Massachusetts to Charleston, South Carolina and many coastal cities between including Philadelphia and New York City.
 * Great Valley Road an ancient American Indian trail that served as the border to Indian land until 1744 and then became one of the most important westward migration routes from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Knoxville, Tennessee including a south fork from Roanoke, Virginia to Augusta, Georgia.
 * Forbes Road built during the French and Indian War in 1758 to help the British army attack French forces by reaching from Philadelphia to Fort Duquesne (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania).
 * Delaware and Raritan Canal 1834 connected New Brunswick, New Jersey on the Raritan River (and NY City) to Bordontown, New Jersey on the Delaware River and parts of Pennsylvania

Revolutionary War
Philadelphia County men also served in the 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment, and the 9th Pennsylvania Regiment.

Newspapers
Newspapers of Philadelphia County


 * Pennsylvania Newspapers
 * Chronicling America US Newspaper Directory

Online Newspapers


 * The Philadelphia Record 17 June 1881 - 31 August 1910
 * Aurora General Advertiser - 1300+ full-text digital issues in Google News Archive; covers 1795-1901
 * Philadelphia Inquirer Civil War Archive 1860-1865

Online Newspaper Abstracts


 * PA-Roots Newspaper Articles for Phildelphia County.

Newspaper Excerpts and Abstracts


 * Edward W. Hocker and I. Pearson Willits, Genealogical Notes from the Incomplete Files of "The Germantown Telegraph" (SLC, Utah, 1973)
 * Accessible Archives, The Pennsylvania Gazette, 1728-1800 [electronic resource] (Malvern, Pennsylvania:Accessible Archives, 1999?)

Obituaries
Obituaries are generally found in local newspapers where the person died. However, sometimes an obituary is found in the location from which he or she originated. To find an obituary, see the information under the Newspaper heading

Online Obituary Abstracts


 * PA-Roots Obituaries for Philadelphia County.
 * USGenWeb Philadelphia County Obituaries

Obituary Extracts and Abstracts


 * Deaths from Berks, Dauphin and Philadelphia Counties Newspapers, 1791-1864 (SLC, Utah 1964)
 * Compiled by Sandralee Summers Jensen, Death Notices from the Philadelphia Enquire, January 1933 (1995?)

Probate Records

 * 1682-1839 - "Philadelphia Wills," Publications of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, 1682-1692: Vol. 1 (Jul. 1986):45-89; 1692-1697: Vol. 2 (Jun. 1900):7-33; 1697-1700: Vol. 3, No. 1 (Jan. 1906):12-37; 1700-1701: Vol. 3, No. 2 (Jan. 1907):144-152; 1688-1745: Vol. 3, No. 3 (Jun. 1908):161-189, 1701-1702: Vol. 3, No. 3 (Jun. 1908):245-254; 1746-1812: Vol. 5, No. 2 (Mar. 1913):174-240; 1812-1839: Vol. 5, No. 3 (Mar. 1914):271-322. For free online access to Vols. 1, 3, and 5, see WeRelate; see also . Includes abstracts of Will Books A and B and Administration Book A.


 * 1682-1819 - Philadelphia County Wills, 1682-1819. Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1900. Digital version at Ancestry ($).


 * 1682-1924 - Philadelphia County (Pennsylvania). Register of Wills. Wills, 1682-1916; Indexes to Wills, 1682-1924.


 * 1719-1880 - Pennsylvania. Orphans' Court (Philadelphia County). Orphans' Court Records, 1719-1880: Orphans' Court Index, 1719-1938..

Courthouse
Philadelphia County Courthouse Philadelphia City Hall Broad &amp; Market Streets Philadelphia, PA 19107 Phone: 215-683-6950 The offices include"


 * U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
 * Court-Common Pleas
 * Marriage Bureau
 * Prothonotary Office

Philadelphia City Archives 3101 Market Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104 Telephone: 215-685-9401 Fax: 215-685-9409 Email: archives@phila.gov Genealogical resources at the City Archives of Philadelphia listed below are available for searching by the patrons. The Archives has self-service coin-operated microfilm readers and a reader-printer.


 * BIRTHS: 1 July 1860 - 30 June 1915
 * DEATHS: 1803 - 30 June 1915
 * MARRIAGES: 1 July 1860 - 30 December 1885
 * NATURALIZATIONS: 1793 - 1930
 * CITY DIRECTORIES: 1785-1930, 1935
 * DEEDS: 1683 - 1952

Other records include:


 * Common Pleas Court: Divorce dockets 1851-1875 (docket entries only - papers not in custody of Archives)
 * Guardians of the Poor: Support Bonds (indexed): Apprenticeship indentures (partially indexed)
 * City and County Commissioners: Tax Assessment Registers ca. 1769 - ca. 1820 (varies by ward or district); Street Lists of Voters, 1928-1929, 1934, 1948-ca. 1980.


 * Recorder of Deeds

Family History Centers
See also:


 * Philadelphia Pennsylvania Family History Center
 * Philadelphia Pennsylvania Metro Family History Center

Libraries
Free Library of Philadelphia has 54 branches within the city. Searching their catalog one finds a number of genealogy, local history, and biographical offerings.

The Mennonite Heritage Center 565 Yoder Road Harleysville PA 19438-1020 215-256-3020 [mailto:library@mhep.org library@mhep.org] Hours: Tuesday thru Friday, 10am–5pm, Saturday, 10am–2pm

The Mennonite Historians of Eastern Pennsylvania support the John L. Ruth Historical Library and Museum at the Mennonite Heritage Center. Located in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania the records and resources of this treasure also cover the counties of Bucks, Chester, Berks, Lehigh, Northampton, and Philadelphia. The website provides a comprehensive overview of library resources, online cemetery database, manuscript collections, photo collections, archival collections, and more.

Societies
African American Genealogy Group (AAGG) PO Box 1798, Philadelphia, PA 19106 (215) 574-6063 Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107 (215) 732-6200. Collections of the society include information from all Mid-Atlantic States. The Society's digital history project offers several online records and multi-media items.

Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Philadelphia - The Society which was founded in 1979 is devoted to researching, preserving, and sharing Jewish heritage and genealogy. They publish aquarterly newsletter, Chronicles. They have an excellent library in the Tuttleman Jewish Public Library on the second floor of the Newman Building at Gratz College, 7605 Old York Road, Melrose Park, PA 19027. The catalog to the Library is free online; though registration is required.

Taxation

 * 1693 - Rawle, William Brooke. "The First Tax List for Philadelphia County. A.D. 1693," The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 8 (1884):82-105. For free online access, see WeRelate.


 * 1769, 1774, 1779 - Proprietary, Supply, and State Tax Lists of the City and County of Philadelphia: For the Years 1769, 1774 and 1779. (Pennsylvania Archives, Series 3, Vol. 14). Digital versions at Ancestry ($); Google Books - free.


 * 1779-1781 - Proprietary, Supply, and State Tax Lists of the City and County of Philadelphia: For the Years 1779, 1780 and 1781. (Pennsylvania Archives, Series 3, Vol. 15). Digital version at Ancestry ($).


 * 1781-1783 - Supply, and State Tax Lists of the City and County of Philadelphia: For the Years 1781, 1782 and 1783. (Pennsylvania Archives, Series 3, Vol. 16). Digital version at Ancestry ($).


 * 1798 - Pennsylvania, U.S. Direct Tax Lists, 1798 at Ancestry ($).

Vital Records
Philadelphia County City Archives 3101 Market Street Philadelphia PA 19104 (215) 685-9402 archives@phila.gov

County-wide Database

 * 1700-1821 – Pennsylvania Marriage Records Ancestry.com – ($) This database is incomplete for all counties.


 * Pre-1810 – Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry.com – ($) This database is incomplete for all counties. It includes 35,000 marriage records from volume VIII of the second series of the Pennsylvania Archives.

Birth
The following records are available at the Philadelphia City and County Archives:


 * 1860-1915 Birth Registrations


 * 1852-1854 –Pennsylvania, Births 1852-1854 Index with images. Ancestry ($)
 * 1860-1906 – - free index and images.
 * 1860–1903 – Philadelphia (Pennsylvania). Board of Health. Birth Registers, 1860-1903, For the City of Philadelphia.
 * 1904–1915 – Philadelphia (Pennsylvania). Board of Health. Birth Returns, 1904-1915, Filed by Physician, Midwife, or Hospital and Birth Index Cards, 1904-1915, for Philadelphia.

Marriages
The following records are available at the Philadelphia City and County Archives:


 * 1860-1885 Marriages Records

Additional resources:


 * 1752–1804 – Early Marriage Papers of Philadelphia County,1752–1804. Family History Library film 20438 item 8.
 * 1808–1895 – Marriages in Philadelphia, 1808-1895. 381275-8.
 * 1814–1839 – Marriage Register of Philadelphia County, 1814 to 1839. Family History Library film 20438 item 5.
 * 1846–1852 – Philadelphia (Pennsylvania). Board of Health. Certificates of Marriages Before John Dennis, Alderman of Philadelphia, 1846-1852. 20447 item 3.
 * 1857–1938 – Philadelphia (Pennsylvania). Mayor. Marriage Records, 1857-1938. 974.811 V28k
 * 1860–1885 – Philadelphia (Pennsylvania). Board of Health. Marriage Returns, 1860-1885, Filed by Person Performing the Ceremony. film 1764889. These records are returns of marriages arranged quarterly under the name of the person performing the marriage. They include the date of ceremony, the name, age, place of birth, and residence of parties involved; and the groom's occupation and race. The records are the source for:
 * 1860–1885 – Philadelphia (Pennsylvania). Board of Health. Marriage Register, 1860-1885. . These films are difficult to read in many places.
 * 1880–1908 – Pennsylvania. Magistrate's Court (Philadelphia). Record of Marriages, 1880-1908, in Magistrate's Court No. 9..
 * 1885–1916 – Philadelphia County (Pennsylvania). Clerk of the Orphans' Court. Affidavit of Applicant for Marriage License 1885-1915; Index 1885-1916..
 * 1885-1951 – - free index with images.
 * 1885–1951 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Marriage Index, 1885-1951 at Ancestry.com – ($).

Divorce
Divorce records are handled by the office of the Prothonotary. Records may be obtained by visiting or writing.


 * 1874 - present Divorce Records

Office of the Prothonotary First Judicial District of Pennsylvania Room 284 City Hall Philadelphia PA 19107 Phone: 215-686-6652

Death
The following records are available at the Philadelphia City and County Archives:


 * 1803–1915 Death Records


 * 1803-1915..
 * 1803–1915 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Death Certificates Index, 1803–1915 at Ancestry.com – ($).
 * 1803–1860 – Pennsylvania Historical Survey. Work Projects Administration. Index to Registration of Deaths, City of Philadelphia, 1803-1860. item 2.
 * 1807–1840 – Philadelphia (Pennsylvania). Department of Public Health. Burial Records, 1807-1840.
 * 1832–1860 – Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) Department of Public Health. Death Records, 1832-1860.
 * 1852–1854 – Pennsylvania, Deaths, 1852–1854 Index with images. Ancestry ($)
 * 1860–1903 – Philadelphia (Pennsylvania). Board of Health. Death Registers, 1860-1903. . Images online
 * 1904–1915 – Philadelphia (Pennsylvania). Bureau of Health. Death Certificates, 1904-1915: Death Indexes, 1904-1915. Images online

Places
Prior to 1854 consolidation:


 * City: Philadelphia
 * Boroughs: Aramingo . Bridesburg . Byberry . Frankford . Germantown . Kingsessing . Manayunk . Oxford . Roxborough . West Philadelphia . Whitehall
 * Districts: Belmont . Kensington . Northern Liberties . Penn . Richmond . Southwark . Spring Garden
 * Townships: Blockley . Bristol . Delaware . Germantown . Lower Dublin . Moreland . Moyamensing . Northern Liberties . Passyunk . Penn.

Websites

 * The Philadelphia County PAGenWeb Project, a member of The PAGenWeb Project
 * USGenWeb Archives
 * USGenWeb Archives backup site
 * Philadelphia County Genealogy, links to online records