Step-by-Step Pennsylvania Research, 1850-1910

Pennsylvania Step-by-Step Research, 1850--1910 Step-by-Step Research, 1880-present Step-by-Step Research, 1850--1910

Step 1: Find out everything possible from living relatives and their family records.
Every good genealogy project starts with finding all the clues that can be gathered from living relatives — both from their memories and from documents or memorabilia in their homes.

What are the best questions to ask?
In order to extend research, ask for names, dates, and places. Everything about who a relative was and when and where they lived is a clue to a new record search. For ideas, see :
 * 50 Questions to Ask Relatives About Family History


 * Creating Oral Histories

What documents should be collected or copied?
Because these records cover names, dates, places, and relationships, they are a valuable source of clues. Look for them in your home, your parents' home, and ask living grandparents to check for them.

Step 2: Find ancestors in every possible census record, 1850-1950, online.
Example of a census record.
 * A census is a count and description of the population for a given date. A census took a "snapshot" of a family on a certain day.
 * For each person living in a household (depending on the year), their name, age, birthplace, relationship to head of household, place of birth for father and mother, citizenship status, year of immigration, mother of how many children and number of children living, native language, and whether they were a veteran of the military can be listed.
 * Searching for a family in census records every ten years can identify all the children in a family.
 * Searching in earlier census records to find someone as a child can identify parents.





Look for ancestors in as many censuses as possible. Use the clues from each census for hints where to find families in both earlier and later census records.
- For more information, see Pennsylvania Census and United States Census.

Step 3: Try to find additional details in death certificates, Social Security, obituary and cemetery records online.
When a person dies, several records will be created: death certificates, Social Security records, obituaries, and cemetery records.
 * Death certificates can give birth information for people born before actual birth registration began. Death certificates frequently give the birth date and place, parents' names, and birth places of parents.


 * The Social Security Death Index includes those who had a Social Security number and/or applied for benefits. The index entries give the person's full birth date, last known residence, and residence at the time they first enrolled.


 * The Social Security Applications and Claims Index provides information filed in the application or claims process, including valuable details such as birth date, birth place, and parents’ names.


 * Cemetery records can be as simple as the information on the headstone or, in some FindAGrave records, they can report more thorough information about birth, parents, spouses, children, and siblings.

Example of a death index entry. Example of a full original death certificate. Example of a Social Security Death Index entry: Example of a Social Security Application and Claims Index Entry: Example of a FindAGrave cemetery record. Example of an obituary.



Death Indexes

 * Online Pennsylvania Death Records, Indexes &amp; Obituaries, by county
 * , index.
 * , index and images
 * Pennsylvania, Deaths, 1852-1854 ($)
 * Pennsylvania State Archives Death Index, 1906-1964 Index is arranged by Soundex. Requires registration.
 * Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1963 ($)
 * Pennsylvania, Oliver H. Bair Funeral Records Indexes, 1920-1980, ($), index/images

Writing for Full Death Certificates
The full original certificate will contain information not contained in the index. Although it costs money, consider sending for the full original certificates, particularly for direct line ancestors (grandparents, great-grandparents, etc).
 * Where to Write for Pennsylvania Birth, Marriage, Death and Divorce Records

U.S. Social Security Records

 * The U.S. Social Security program began in 1935 but most deaths recorded in the index happened after 1962.
 * The Social Security Death index includes those who had a Social Security number and/or applied for benefits.
 * You can search these records online at
 * Also at Ancestry.com, ($), index.
 * The Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 picks up where the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) leaves off, by providing information filed in the application or claims process.
 * The Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 picks up where the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) leaves off, by providing information filed in the application or claims process.


 * If you find an ancestor in the SSDI index, you can order a copy of their original Social Security application (SS-5). If you can prove the individual has died (by sending an obituary or copy of their cemetery headstone), the application will also give the deceased's parents' names, if listed.

Obituaries

 * Archives.com Obituaries ($)
 * Ancestry.com United States Obituary Collection ($)
 * , images/no index
 * GenealogyBuff Obituaries
 * Pennsylvania Obituaries
 * ObitsArchive.com - Pennsylvania, ($)
 * ObituariesHelp.org - Pennsylvania Newspaper Obituaries Listings
 * The Obituary Link Page - Pennsylvania Obituary Links
 * — index and images
 * Pennsylvania. U.S., Obituary and Marriage Records, 1947-2010 at Ancestry - index and images ($)
 * ProQuest Newspapers.com Library ($)
 * ProQuest Newspapers.com Library ($)

Cemeteries

 * Online Pennsylvania Death Records, Indexes &amp; Obituaries, by county
 * Pennsylvania Cemetery Records at Interment.net
 * Findagrave.com Pennsylvania Cemetery Records
 * Billiongraves.com Pennsylvania Cemeteries
 * Pennsylvania Cemetery Records
 * PennsylvaniaGravestones.org, index
 * The Tombstone Transcription Project: Pennsylvania
 * I Dream of Genealogy Pennsylvania Cemeteries
 * I Dream of Genealogy Pennsylvania Cemeteries

For more information, see Pennsylvania Obituaries and Pennsylvania Cemeteries.

Step 4: Search for county birth and marriage records online.
'''Vital records registration of births and marriages at the state level started in 1905. Prior to that the individual counties kept some records. The starting dates of those records vary from county to county, depending on when the county was formed.'''

Online Records
Births Marriages
 * index and images
 * Index.
 * Pennsylvania, Births, 1852-1854 ($)
 * Pennsylvania, Birth Records, 1906-1908, ($), index/images
 * , index.
 * American Marriages Before 1699 ($)
 * index and images
 * — index and images
 * , index and images.
 * Pennsylvania, Marriage Records, 1700-1821 ($)
 * Index.
 * Record of Pennsylvania Marriages Prior to 1810, e-book.
 * Pennsylvania, Marriages, 1852-1854 ($)
 * U.S., Hochheimer Marriage Records, 1850-1900 (Jewish) ($)
 * Index and Images.
 * Pennsylvania, Records of Marriages, 1885-1889 ($)
 * Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, Marriage Indexes and Licenses, index/images
 * Pennsylvania. U.S., Obituary and Marriage Records, 1947-2010 at Ancestry - index and images ($)

Records at the County Courthouse.
These records were originally created by county clerks, and then copies were sent to the state. County clerks can be willing to help find all the birth records for one family or perform other searches that the state would not do. To contact county clerks by e-mail or telephone, go to the Wiki article for each county. Links to the county Wiki articles are found at the end of this page or by clicking here: Pennsylvania Counties.

For more information on birth, marriage, and death records in Pennsylvania, see How to Find Pennsylvania Birth Records, How to Find Pennsylvania Marriage Records, and How to Find Pennsylvania Death Records.