GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH IN PENNSYLVANIA Gary A Zimmerman Fiske Genealogy Library 04 February 2009 Historical Review 1633-1670 s Swedish, Dutch and English settlements on land of future Pennsylvania 1681 William Penn receives royal charter for Pennsylvania 1682 Welcome arrives 1682 Annexed Territories 1683 German immigration begins 7 11 12 Historical Review Historical Review 1692-1694 Penn loses control of colony 1776-1781 Revolutionary War 1700-1730 Rapid increase in immigrants 1787 PA ratifies US Constitution 1732 Catholics from England 1790-1800 Philadelphia is US Capital 1754-1763 French & Indian War 1792 Erie Triangle purchased 1767 Mason-Dixon line completed 1794 Whiskey Rebellion 1769 First CT settlers in ne PA 1799 State capital @ Lancaster 1776 Proprietary government ends 1812 State capital @ Harrisburg 25 26 Gary A Zimmerman / Fiske Library 1
Home page url is very long do a Google search 350 North St, Harrisburg, PA 17120 (717) 691-1242 On-Line Finding Aids Images of digitized registers Descriptions of microfilmed records Special focus of the website on Genealogy 27 30 Census Records Septennial census returns 1779-1863 US Direct Tax of 1798 the Glass Tax Particular Lists for Dwelling Houses Particular Lists of Lands County and Municipal Records Over 11,000 reels of microfilmed county records at the State Archives Must eventually go to each county for the balance of their records Pennsylvania Line: A research guide to PA genealogy and local history, 4th Edition Fiske: F148.P442 1990 32 33 Vital Statistics 1852-54 B,d,m kept by county Registrar of Wills Copies from 49 of the 64 counties then at Archives 1893-1906 B, D kept by Clerk of Orphan Court 1885-present Marriages kept by Clerk of Orphan Court or Marriage License Clerk in each county 1885-1889 State register of marriages on-line 1906-present B,D at State Vital Records office in New Castle PA Census Records County and Municipal Records Vital Statistics Coal Mining resources Prison resources Indentured Servants (bibliography only) Naturalization and Immigration 34 35 Gary A Zimmerman / Fiske Library 2
Naturalization and Immigration Ships Passenger Lists at Philadelphia 1727-1744, 1746-1756, 1761, 1763-1775, 1785-1808 Oaths of allegiance to the King Oaths of abjuration from the Pope See Pennsylvania German Pioneers for lists Fiske F160.G3 S8 1980 2 vols (we don't have Vol III - with name indexes!) Land Records Penn to first purchasers of any parcel Commonwealth to first purchasers Useful in fixing a specific person at a place and time Application, warrant, survey, return, patent 36 37 Land Records scanned and viewable on line Warrant Registers Copied Survey Books Patent Indexes Patent Tract Name Index East Side Applications (register) West Side Applications (register) Philadelphia Old Rights Old Rights Index: Bucks and Chester Counties New Purchase Register Original purchases Register Last Purchase Register Luzerne County Certified Townships Donation lands Depreciation Land Register Land Purchase in PA Colonial period Purchaser, renter, or servant First Purchaser Original Purchaser Under Purchaser After Purchaser (or simply Purchaser) 38 41 Land Purchase in PA Categories of Land Common Land Country Land Philadelphia City Lots Liberty Land Proprietary Land PA Land Record Resources Donna Bingham Munger, Pennsylvania Land Records / A History and Guide for Research. 1991 Fiske Z1329.M85 Joseph P Wolfe, Acquiring Land in Penn s Woods / Pennsylvania Land Records on Microfilm 1999 www.houstonlibrary.org/clayton/clf/pa003.html 42 43 Gary A Zimmerman / Fiske Library 3
State Library of PA http://www.statelibrary.state.pa.us 333 Market Street, Harrisburg, PA 17126 Tel (reference) 717-783-5950 No original or official records Genealogy and Local History self-serve Extensive microfilm collection for ILL Good PA newspaper collection On-line catalog: PILOT State Library of PA Genealogy and Local History Collection PA cemeteries and obituaries Ethnic and religious ancestry Immigration and Naturalization Immigrant servants database Published Pennsylvania Archives PA Public Libraries Genealogical/Historical Societies Surname files City Directories Collection (55 pg.pdf file) 45 46 Historical Society of PA www.hsp.org 1300 Locust St, Philadelphia PA 19107 Phone: 215-732-6200 Founded in 1824 600,000 printed items Over 19 million manuscript items Balch Institute of Ethnic Studies [2002] Genealogical Society of PA [2006] Philadelphia City Archives www.phila.gov/phils/carchive.htm 3101 Market Street, Philadelphia PA 19104 Telephone: 215-685-9400 Births & Deaths 1 Jul 1860 30 Jun 1915 Marriages 1 Jul 1860 31 Dec 1915 City Directories 1785 1935 Naturalizations 1793 1930 Deeds 1683 1955 Cemetery Returns 1803 30 Jun 1860 48 49 PACSCL Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collection Libraries http://www.pacscl.org/ Chester County Historical Society Free Library of Philadelphia Library Company of Philadelphia National Archives Mid-Atlantic Region http://www.archives.gov/midatlantic/ The Archives (Center City Philadelphia) 900 Market St, Philadelphia PA 19107 Telephone: 215-606-0100 Records Center (northeast Philadelphia) 14700 Townsend Rd, Philadelphia PA 19154 Telephone: 215-305-2000 52 53 Gary A Zimmerman / Fiske Library 4
National Archives Mid-Atlantic Region Census records Ship s Passenger Lists Naturalization Records Military Service Records Selected Finding Aids for this branch Guide to archival holdings in mid-atlantic region Penn State Libraries www.libraries.psu.edu/welcome/index.html Digitized Collections at Penn State PA s Past a digital bookshelp PA Biographies PA Magazine of History and Biography 1907-2003 Western Pennsylvania History v.1-85 (1918-2002) PA Civil War Newspapers (1831-1877) PA County Historic Newspapers 54 55 Allegheny County Wills/Orphans Court http://www.alleghenycounty.us/wo/ 414 Grant St, Pittsburgh PA 15219 Tel: 412-350-4180 Wills and Probate files Marriage Licenses and Records Naturalization Records Genealogical Library Resources Genealogical Research Resources Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh http://www.clpgh.org/ 4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh PA 15213 Tel: 412-622-3114 Pennsylvania Department Research Requests Pittsburgh & Pennsylvania Genealogy 56 57 Other Western PA Resources Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society http://www.wpgs.org/ http://wpgs.library.net/ 4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213 Heinz History Center archives & library http://www.heinzhistorycenter.org/libraryarchives.aspx http://digital.library.pitt.edu/hswp/ Finding Regional Societies Directory of PA Historical Societies www.pennsylvaniaresearch.com/directory.html Rootsweb listing of websites http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~websites/ 58 59 Gary A Zimmerman / Fiske Library 5
Delaware County resources www.delawarecountyhistory.org Municipalities Genealogical Resources Maps Links Pictures (photos and postcards) Digitized Texts Internet Archive www.archive.org On-Line Books Page http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/ Family History Archive http://www.lib.byu.edu/fhc/index.php 60 61 For Future Reference Send queries or research questions to: Gary A Zimmerman gzim@antiochsea.edu or gzim@fiskelibrary.org 425-803-0938 at home 206-328-2716 at library Mail query to Fiske Library, 1644 43 rd Ave E Seattle WA 98112-3222 www.fiskelibrary.org 62 Gary A Zimmerman / Fiske Library 6