Pennsylvania Archives and Libraries: Difference between revisions

The following archives, libraries, and societies have major collections or services helpful to genealogical researchers.  

=== Pennsylvania State Archives ===

P.O. Box 1026<br>Harrisburg, PA 17108-1026<br>Telephone: 717-783-3281<br>Internet: http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/overview.htm  

The Family History Library has these important guides to collections at the State Archives:  

Suran, Frank M. ''Guide to the Record Groups in the Pennsylvania State Archives'', Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 1980.  

Baumann, Roland M., and Diane S. Wallace. ''Guide to the Microfilm Collections in the Pennsylvania State Archives''. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 1980.  

Dructor, Robert M. ''A Guide to Genealogical Sources at the Pennsylvania State Archives''. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 1980.  

Fortna, Nancy L. P., and Frank M. Suran. ''Guide to County and Municipal Records on Microfilm in the Pennsylvania State Archives''. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 1982.  

Whipkey, Harry E. ''Guide to the Manuscript Groups in the Pennsylvania State Archives''. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 1976. (Family History Library film 1036704 item 13.)  

''Guide to the Microfilm of the Records of Pennsylvania's Revolutionary Governments, 1775-1790''<nowiki>: (record group 27) in the Pennsylvania State Archives. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 1979. (FHL book 974.8 N23g.)</nowiki>  

For an index to this guide, see:  

Baumann, Roland M. and Diane Smith Wallace. ''Index to the Guide to the Microfilm of the Records of Pennsylvania's Revolutionary Governments, 1775-1790'', in the Pennsylvania State Archives. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 1980.

=== National Archives—Philadelphia Branch ===

9th and Market Streets<br>Philadelphia, PA 19107<br>Telephone: 215-597-3000<br>Fax: 215-597-2303<br>Internet: http://www.archives.gov/midatlantic/  

=== Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania ===

1305 Locust Street<br>Philadelphia, PA 19107-5699<br>Telephone: 215-545-0391<br>Fax: 215-545-0936<br>Internet: http://www.genpa.org/  

See the [http://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Pennsylvania_Genealogy Genealogy] section of this outline for a discussion of the resources of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania.  

=== Historical Society of Pennsylvania ===

1300 Locust Street<br>Philadelphia, PA 19107-5699<br>Telephone: 215-732-6201<br>Fax: 215-732-2680<br>Internet: http://www.hsp.org/  

An important resource for this society is ''Guide to the Manuscript Collections of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 3rd ed.'' (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Society, 1991;  

=== Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania ===

Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society  

1212 Smallman Street<br>Pittsburgh, PA 15222<br>Telephone: 412-454-6000<br>Fax: 412-454-6028<br>Internet: http://digital.library.pitt.edu/hswp/  

=== State Library of Pennsylvania ===

Department of Education  

Commonwealth Libraries  

333 Market Street<br>Harrisburg, PA 17126-1745<br>Telephone: 717-787-4440<br>Fax: 717-783-8445<br>Internet: http://www.statelibrary.state.pa.us/libraries/site/default.asp  

A helpful source is ''A Guide to the Genealogy/Local History Section of the State Library of Pennsylvania, 3rd rev. ed.'' (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: The Division, 1987; Family History Library film [1985 rev. ed.] 1320564 item 6). See also Janice B. Newman, ''Genealogical Research at the State Library of Pennsylvania'', Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine 35 (1988): 199-212. See the "[[Pennsylvania Periodicals|Periodicals]]" section of this outline. <!--{12087950034750} -->

=== City Archives of Philadelphia ===

Dept. of Records<br>401 N. Broad Street, Suite 942<br>Philadelphia, PA 19108-1099<br>Telephone: 215-686-1580<br>Fax: 215-686-2283<br>Internet: http://www.phila.gov/phils/Docs/Inventor/genealgy.htm  

A helpful guide is John C. Daly, ''Descriptive Inventory of the Archives of the City and County of Philadelphia'' (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: City of Philadelphia, Department of Records, 1970; Supplement, 1980; Family History Library film 1036003 item 4).  

=== Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh ===

4400 Forbes Avenue<br>Pittsburgh, PA 15213-4080<br>Telephone: 412-622-3100<br>Fax: 412-621-1267<br>Internet: http://www.clpgh.org/  

=== Pennsylvania Counties ===

To learn more about the history and record-keeping systems of Pennsylvania counties, use the county archive inventories produced around 1940 by the Historical Records Survey. The Family History Library has copies of 17 published inventories and 40 unpublished inventories. See:  

''Inventory of the County Archives of Pennsylvania: Records of the Works Project Administration, Pennsylvania Historical Writer's Project''. Historical Records Survey. (On 5 Family History Library films beginning with 1014724.) These records contain material on many counties that did not publish an inventory.  

A more current list is:  

''County Records Survey, 1985-1986 [of Pennsylvania].'' [Harrisburg, Pennsylvania]: Pennsylvania Historical &amp; Museum Commission. Division of Archives and Manuscripts, 1986. (On 7 Family History Library fiche 6333952.) Philadelphia County is not included, but Pittsburgh city is.  

A very helpful guide is Sylvester K. Stevens and Donald H. Kent, eds., ''County Government and Archives in Pennsylvania'' (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 1947; Family History Library&nbsp;film 1320887 item 10). This guide describes the records kept by the county, the information they contain, when most began, and important history of their development.  

Also helpful though dated is Irwin Richman, ''Historical Manuscript Depositories in Pennsylvania'' (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 1965;&nbsp; It provides a detailed description of the manuscripts in most libraries and archives in Pennsylvania in 1965.  

A useful directory of eastern Pennsylvania libraries is ''Directory of Libraries and Information Sources in the Philadelphia Area''(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Special Libraries Association, Philadelphia Chapter, 1977; Family History Library&nbsp;film 1036557 item 9).  

=== Computer Networks and Bulletin Boards ===

Computers with modems are important tools for obtaining information from selected archives and libraries. In a way, computer networks themselves serve as a library. The Internet, certain computer bulletin boards, and commercial online services help family history researchers:  

*Locate other researchers  

*Post queries  

*Send and receive E-mail  

*Search large databases  

*Search computer libraries  

*Join in computer chat and lecture sessions

You can find computerized research tips and information about ancestors from Pennsylvania in a variety of local, state, national, and international sources. The list of sources is growing rapidly. Most of the information is available at no cost. Addresses on the Internet are subject to frequent changes. The following sites are important gateways linking you to many more network and bulletin board sites:  

=== USGenWeb ===

http://www.usgenweb.com/  

A cooperative effort by many volunteers to list genealogical databases, libraries, bulletin boards, and other resources available on the Internet for each county, state, and country.  

=== Roots-L ===

http://www.rootsweb.com/roots-l/usa/  

A useful list of sites and resources. Includes a large, regularly updated research coordination list.  

To get started with computer network research regarding Pennsylvania, contact the following:  

=== Ohio River Valley Families ===

http://orvf.com/  

Contains 13,035 related family members dating back to the 15th century.  

=== Sullivan-Rutland Genealogy Project ===

http://www.rootsweb.com/~srgp/srgpmain.htm  

Contains 60,000 ancestors and descendants of the early 19th century pioneers of Sullivan and Rutland townships in Tioga County, PA. Includes all cemetery and census information and some diaries and letters from 1850 to the present.  

=== FamilySearch™ ===

[http://www.familysearch.org www.familysearch.org]