Pennsylvania, Church Marriages - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Pennsylvania



What is in the Collection?
The collection consists of an index and images to selected marriage records for the years1682 to 1976 from various churches in Pennsylvania. The records may also contain other types of records as well as marriages.

Coverage Map
To see a coverage map of FamilySearch's holdings of Pennsylvania county marriages, click here.

Collection Contents
The content of the records varies by denomination and time period. You may find any of the following:


 * Marriage place and date
 * Name of bride and groom
 * Birth places and dates of the bride and groom
 * Residences of the bride and groom
 * Previous spouse, if any
 * Ages
 * Race
 * Parents’ names
 * Name of the officiator
 * Names of witnesses

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know the following:


 * The name of the person at the time of marriage
 * The approximate marriage date
 * The marriage place

Search the Collection
To browse by image: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the appropriate "_____________" ⇒Select the appropriate "_____________" ⇒Select the appropriate "_____________" which takes you to the images.

Look at each image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s marriage record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family. For example:


 * Use the marriage date and place as the basis for compiling a new family group or for verifying existing information.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth of each partner to find a couple's birth records and parents' names.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in census records.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * Compile the marriage entries for every person who has the same surname as the bride or groom; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.
 * Continue to search the marriage records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives of the bride and groom who may have married in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.

What if I Can't Find Who I'm Looking For?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for alias names, nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Look for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume. Local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby localities.

For Help Reading These Record
Some of the records are in German. For help reading them, see the following wiki articles:


 * German Word List
 * German Language and Languages

Related Websites
Access Genealogy

Related Wiki Articles

 * Pennsylvania Genealogy
 * Pennsylvania Church Records

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):

Image Citation: