Pennsylvania Colonial Records

Online Records
''Many records from the colonial era in New England were kept at the town or county level. Search the catalog at the town or county level to locate those records.''
 * 1781-1801 - Perpetuation of testimony docket - images only
 * 1682-1950 - Warrant register - images only

History
The first European settlement in Pennsylvania was a Dutch settlement built in 1623 along the Delaware Bay. Virginians built a fort near the Schuylkill River in 1634, and the Swedes built a colony in 1643 on Tincum Island (it was taken over by the Dutch in 1655 and the British in 1664). In 1681 William Penn was granted proprietary rights, and English Quakers arrived the following year. As settlements grew, France claimed land in western Pennsylvania, and many British and French forts and settlements were besieged or destroyed during the French and Indian War prior to its end in 1763. Pennsylvania was one of the original thirteen colonies of the United States.

Court Records

 * General index to the colonial records in 16 volumes prepared and arranged under an act of the General Assembly of Pennsylvania by Samuel Hazard. (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania : Joseph Sevens and Co., 1860).
 * The Registrar's Book of Governor Keith's Court of Chancery of the Province of Pennsylvania, 1720-1735. (Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Bar Association, 1941).
 * Minutes of the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania from the organization to the termination of the proprietary government by Pennsylvania. Provincial Council, 1682-1776. (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania : State of Pennsylvania, 1851-1852). Vols. 1-10, 11-16.
 * Genealogical Research in the Published Pennsylvania Archives by Sally A. Weikel. (Harrisburg: State Library of Pennsylvania, 1974).
 * Guide to the Published Archives of Pennsylvania Covering the 138 Volumes of Colonial Records and Pennsylvania Archives, Series I-IX by Henry Howard Eddy. (Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 1949, 1976).

Land Records

 * Pennsylvania Land Records, A History and Guide for Research by Donna B. Munger. (Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources, 1991).
 * A Guide to Genealogical Sources at the Pennsylvania State Archives by Robert Dructor. (Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 1980).
 * Guide to the Mortgages of the General Loan Office of the Province of Pennsylvania, 1724-1756 by James M. Duffin. (Philadelphia: Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, 1995).
 * Virginia Court Records in Southwestern Pennsylvania by Boyd Crumrine. (1902-1905. Reprint. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1981).
 * View of the Land Laws of Pennsylvania by Thomas Sergeant. (Laughlin: Southwest Pennsylvania Genealogical Services, 1992).

Manuscript Collections

 * Guide to the Manuscript Collections of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania by The Historical Society of Pennsylvania. (Philadelphia: The Society, 1991)
 * Guide to Depositories of Manuscript Collections in Pennsylvania by Historical Records Survey. (Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Historical Commission, 1939).