Pennsylvania, United States Genealogy

United States   Pennsylvania

Guide to Pennsylvania ancestry, family history and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Most unique genealogical features:


 * PA's earliest 1638 European settlers of New Sweden were Swedes, Finns, and Germans.
 * William Penn's proprietor records are online.
 * Some early land records of S.W. PA are in VA.
 * Most county land records have weird indexes.
 * Use church records for missing vital records.
 * Surveyors Mason and Dixon settled a boundary dispute by a 1763-1767 survey of the PA/MD border, which became known as the Mason-Dixon Line.

Pennsylvania Counties
Click on the map below to go to a county page. Hover over a county to see its name. To see a larger version of the map, click here.

Extinct or Renamed Jurisdictions:  New Netherland· New Sweden· Ontario

Major repositories
· · · · · German Society of Pennsylvania · Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh · · Erie County Library · Free Library of Philadelphia·Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania· Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Philadelphia·Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society· Library Company of Philadelphia·Luzerne County Historical Society Bishop Library· Philadelphia City Archives· Temple University Urban Archives· University of Pennsylvania Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center·American Swedish Historical Museum· Evangelical and Reformed Historical Society (ERHS)·· · Lutheran Archives Center at Philadelphia· Presbyterian Historical Society · · · · · · ·

Migration routes
Beaver and Erie Canal· Bethlehem Pike· Braddock's Road· Burd's Road· Canada Road· Centre Turnpike· Culbertson's Path·Cumberland Road· Delaware River· Fall Line Road · Forbes Road· Gist's Trace· Great Indian Warpath· Great Island Path· Great Shamokin Path· Great Trail· Great Valley Road · King's Highway· Kittanning Path· Lake Erie· Lake Shore Path·Lehigh and Lackawanna Paths·Memacolinis Path· Minsi Path· National Road · Ohio River· Pennsylvania Road· Philadelphia Lancaster Turnpike· Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road·Philadelphia Wagon Road· Pennsylvania Railroad· Schuylkill Canal·Southern Road·Tuscarora Path· Union Canal· Venango Path

Resources

 * Pennsylvania Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * How to order Pennsylvania Vital Records
 * USGenWeb Archives for Pennsylvania county-by-county.
 * PAGenWeb This non-profit orginization is the oldest free Pennsylvania genealogy federation of sites on the Internet. Their transcribed records are available to the public for free in every area of Pennsylvania genealogy and history.
 * Pennsylvania Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * List of Pennsylvania Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical &amp; Genealogical Societies
 * Online Pennsylvania Death Records Indexes, Obituaries and Cemeteries A list of online death records indexes for Pennsylvania, full state and by county.
 * FamilyHart Pennsylvania Dutch Online Database This online family database has the largest collection of Pennsylvania Dutch names on the Internet with free access. It currently has over 719,000 names online. It grows by 1,000 names per week, and is updated online quarterly.
 * Rotating Formation Pennsylvania County Boundary Maps and Atlases
 * History &amp; Facts of Pennsylvania Counties
 * Pennsylvania Archives Volumes from the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth, First though Seventh Series.
 * Harry Senft York and Adams County Cemetery Pictures This site has 100s of 1000s of headstone pictures from over 200 cemeteries in York, Adams, and Cumberland Counties. Indexing of these headstone pictures is currently taking place. Map links are also included for easy finding of these cemeteries.
 * PA-Roots, a non-profit organization, offers free access to its transcribed records projects, including vital records, military records, newspaper articles, obituaries, and county histories of Pennsylvania.
 * FamilySearch Record Search offers over 25,846 unindexed digital images of Philadelphia marriage records.
 * Pennsylvania is the only Union state in the Civil War to have an existing file showing names of men who were conscientious objectors for religious reasons. The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania lists them in a free database.
 * The Israel Daniel Rupp Collection of 30,000 early Pennsylvania immigrants from 1727-1776 is digitized in PDF form. Get it at the - free.
 * Pennsylvania Old Photos contains over 10,000 old photographs of people and places in Pennsylvania, sorted by county, town, surname. Searchable.
 * Researching Pennsylvania Census Records
 * State of Pennsylvania County &amp; City Government Court records
 * Research in Pennsylvania Military Records

Research tools

 * Come join our Pennsylvania Genealogy Group on Facebook
 * Come see our Pennsylvania Roots Network at PA Roots Network
 * Join our group of Pennsylvania researchers on Facebook &amp; Research Communities on Skype
 * Ask a question about how to find Pennsylvania ancestors at the North America Research forum!
 * View historic Pennsylvania maps in the David Rumsey Map Collection.
 * Find other Pennsylvania genealogy websites at Cyndi's List - Pennsylvania.
 * Ancestor Tracks has posted free, downloadable 19-century landowner maps for approximately 85% of the counties of PA (scroll down to Pennsylvania map and hover over counties for contents)
 * County Creation Dates and Divisions showing dates they were created or renamed and counties created from older counties and the newer counties. Details will assist you in determining which county would have the records you are seeking. Pennsylvania currently has 67 counties.


 * FamilyHart Online Database - Currently contains over 843,000 linked names online...The largest Pennsylvania Dutch Genealogy Database ONLINE

A wiki article describing this collection is found at:


 * Pennsylvania Births and Christenings (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Pennsylvania County Marriage Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Pennsylvania Eastern District Petitions for Naturalization (FamilySearch Historicl Records)
 * Pennsylvania Marriages (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Case Files of Chinese Immigrants (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Pennsylvania, Philadelphia City Death Certificates (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Pennsylvania Philadelphia Marriage Index (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Passenger Lists (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Passenger Lists Index Cards (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Pennsylvania, Pittsburg City Deaths (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Pennsylvania Probate Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Obtain additional help

 * Call or chat with an experienced researcher
 * Join a Facebook Group
 * Consult a Professional Genealogist

To add your knowledge and help expand the wiki click here: