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| ''[[United States]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] [[Pennsylvania Genealogy|Pennsylvania]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] [[Pennsylvania_Law_and_Legislation|Law and Legislation]]'' | | ''[[United States|United States]] > [[Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania]]'' {{Adoption PARoots}} <br> |
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| For examples of the kind of helpful information available see: | | For examples of the kind of helpful information available see: |
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| [Colonial records] Pennsylvania. ''Provincial Council. Minutes of the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania from the Organization to the Termination of the Proprietary Government [1683-1790]''. 16 vols. Philadelphia, PA: Published by the state, 1851-1853 (Harrisburg: T. Fenn & co.). {{FSC|280327|item|disp=book 974.8 N2p}} and {{FSC|280327|item|disp=FS Library film 844501}} This includes the minutes of the Council of Safety, 1775-1777, and the Supreme Executive Council, 1777-1790. Additional papers relating to these minutes are in Pennsylvania Archives, series 1. The journals for the Provincial General Assembly, 1682-1776 are in Pennsylvania Archives, series 8. These records contain information on [[Pennsylvania Naturalization and Citizenship|naturalizations]], Native Americans, petitions, appeals, legislation, passenger lists, boundary disputes, Loyalists, etc. | | [Colonial records] Pennsylvania. ''Provincial Council. Minutes of the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania from the Organization to the Termination of the Proprietary Government [1683-1790]''. 16 vols. Philadelphia, PA: Published by the state, 1851-1853 (Harrisburg: T. Fenn & co.). (Family History Library book [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titlehitlist&columns=*%2C0%2C0&callno=974.8+N2p 974.8 N2p]; on 12 Family History Library films beginning with [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=filmhitlist&columns=*%2C0%2C0&filmno=844501 844501].) This includes the minutes of the Council of Safety, 1775-1777, and the Supreme Executive Council, 1777-1790. Additional papers relating to these minutes are in Pennsylvania Archives, series 1. The journals for the Provincial General Assembly, 1682-1776 are in Pennsylvania Archives, series 8. These records contain information on [[Pennsylvania Naturalization and Citizenship|naturalizations]], Native Americans, petitions, appeals, legislation, passenger lists, boundary disputes, Loyalists, etc. |
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| An index to subjects and prominent individuals in these records is Samuel Hazard, ''General Index to the Colonial Records'' in 16 Volumes (Philadelphia, PA: Joseph Sevens and Co., 1860; FS Library book {{FSC|280422|item|disp=FS Catalog book 974.8 N2p index}} and {{FSC|280422|item|disp=film 844501}}
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| For an index to every name, see Mary Dunn, ''Index to Pennsylvania's Colonial Records Series'' (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1992. {{FSC|503589|item|disp=FS Catalog book 974.8 N2p index no. 2}}
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| Livengood, Candy Crocker. ''Genealogical Abstracts of the Laws of Pennsylvania and the Statutes at Large.'' Westminister, Maryland.: Family Line Pub., 1990. {{FSC|408852|item|disp=FS Library book 974.8 P38L}} It includes information about name changes, divorces, land disputes, pensions, etc. as found in the Laws of Pennsylvania and the Statutes at Large.
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| === Divorce Records Laws ===
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| ''State Library of Pennsylvania:''<br>
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| *'''1682-1773''' Divorce could be granted by the Legislature or the Governor subject to royal veto by Royal Council.
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| *'''1773-1784''' British Parliament forbade royal governors in America to grant divorces and the Legislature was the governing body to which pleas for divorce were submitted.
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| *'''1785-1804''' Either the Supreme Court or the Legislature could act on divorce matters.
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| *'''1804-present''' Divorce records have been kept in the Prothonotary's Office in the county where the divorce was granted.
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| *'''1804-1874''' The Legislature, the Supreme Court, Circuit Courts and Courts of Common Pleas handled divorces.
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| *'''1874-''' Courts of Common Pleas alone began to govern divorce action.
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| Divorces were rare in colonial Pennsylvania during the Revolutionary War and early statehood. Some Pennsylvania divorces granted by the Legislative Assembly and the Supreme Court are in the Statutes At Large of Pennsylvania; Publications of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, Vol. 1, No. 4, December 1898; and Record Group 33 at the Pennsylvania State Archives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. This Record Group contains Supreme Court Divorce Papers, Eastern District, 1786-1815, arranged alphabetically; Supreme Court General Motions, 1750-1837, and Divorce Docket, 1800-1805, arranged by date.
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| ''Google AI Overview:''<br> in esponse to query "evolution of pennsylvana divorce laws"<ref>[https://www.google.com/search?q=evolution+of+pennsylvana+divorce+laws&oq=evolution+of+pennsylvana+divorce+laws&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIJCAEQIRgKGKABMgkIAhAhGAoYoAEyCQgDECEYChigATIJCAQQIRgKGKABMgkIBRAhGAoYoAEyCQgGECEYChirAjIJCAcQIRgKGKsCMgkICBAhGAoYqwIyBwgJECEYnwXSAQkzODgyajBqMTWoAgiwAgHxBYJGZnlbp72W8QWCRmZ5W6e9lg&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 Google AI Overview] in response to query "evolution of pennsylvana divorce laws" accessed 24 April 2025</ref><br>
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| Pennsylvania's divorce laws have evolved significantly, moving from a fault-based system to a primarily no-fault system. The 1980 Divorce Code introduced no-fault divorce, allowing couples to divorce without proving fault. This was followed by amendments in 1988 that further streamlined the process. Currently, Pennsylvania primarily relies on the "no-fault" concept, requiring couples to state that their marriage has reached an "irretrievable breakdown". <b4>
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| Key Milestones in Pennsylvania Divorce Law:<br>
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| *'''Pre-1980''' Divorce in Pennsylvania required fault-based grounds, such as abandonment, adultery, cruelty, or bigamy.
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| *'''1980-present''' The Divorce Code of 1980 introduced no-fault divorce, allowing couples to divorce without proving marital misconduct.
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| *'''1988''' Amendments to the Divorce Code reduced the waiting period for a unilateral divorce from three years to two.
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| ''Changes and Impact:''<br>
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| *The introduction of no-fault divorce aimed to eliminate the blame game associated with divorce and make the process more amicable.
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| *The reduction in waiting periods for unilateral divorces has streamlined the process and made it more accessible.
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| *The Family Law Arbitration Act offers an alternative to court proceedings, allowing parties to resolve disputes through arbitration.
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| === Vital Records Laws ===
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| ''Marriage Records'' <ref>[https://www.chesco.org/DocumentCenter/View/5828/Marriage-Records ''Guide to Pennsylvania Marriages''] by Chester County Archives, accessed 25 March 2025 </ref><br>
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| *'''1851''' "An Act To provide for a registration of marriages, births and deaths," Laws of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, (1852).
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| *'''1855''' "An Act To repeal the Registration Act," Laws of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, (1855).
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| *'''1885''' "An Act Relating to marriage licenses, providing for officers herein indicated to issue licenses for parties to marry," Laws of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, (1885).
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| :*The new law made it illegal for any "minister of the gospel, justice of the peace, or other officers, or persons authorized by law to solemnize marriages" to marry any couple who did not first obtain a marriage license. The law went into effect on October 1, 1885
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| :*Anyone under the age of 21 was considered a minor
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| *'''1893''' "An Act to Amend an act, entitled ˜An Act relating to marriage licenses," Laws of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, (1893).
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| :*The law specified that the ceremony could be performed in any county within the Commonwealth, however the duplicate certificate must be returned to the county where the license was filed
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| *'''1909''' "An Act to amend the first section of an act entitled ‘An Act relating to marriage licenses," Laws of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, (1909).
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| :* A category for color was added
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| *'''1913''' "An Act Regulating the issuance of licenses to marry," Laws of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, (1913).
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| :*Made considerable changes to the application process
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| ''Birth, Marriages, Deaths''<br> | | An index to subjects and prominent individuals in these records is Samuel Hazard, ''General Index to the Colonial Records'' in 16 Volumes (Philadelphia, PA: Joseph Sevens and Co., 1860; Family History Library book [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titledetails&titleno=280422&disp=General+index+to+the+colonial+records+in%20%20&columns=*,0,0 974.8 N2p] index; film [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=filmhitlist&columns=*%2C0%2C0&filmno=844501 844501] |
| Google AI Overview, in esponse to query "years of pennsylvana vital records laws"<ref>[https://www.google.com/search?q=years+of+pennsylvana+vital+records+laws&oq=years+of+pennsylvana+vital+records+laws&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIJCAEQIRgKGKABMgkIAhAhGAoYoAEyCQgDECEYChigATIJCAQQIRgKGKABMgcIBRAhGJ8FMgcIBhAhGI8CMgcIBxAhGI8C0gEKMzI4MzJqMGoxNagCCLACAfEF_IHf34mSu0fxBfyB39-JkrtH&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 Google AI Overview] in response to query "years of pennsylvana vital records laws" accessed 18 March 2025</ref><br>
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| Pennsylvania's first statewide law requiring vital records per Google AI overview
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| *1853 registration was enacted in 1852 | |
| *1885 Statewide registration of marriages
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| *1906 statewide maintenance of births and deaths
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| Here's a more detailed breakdown of Pennsylvania's vital records laws and their history:<br>
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| *1852: Pennsylvania Legislature enacted its first statewide law requiring the registration of vital records.
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| *1852-1854: Early attempts to record births, deaths, and marriages at the county level.
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| *1885: Counties resumed recording marriage licenses, and this continues to the present day.
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| *1893-1906: Counties again took up the task of recording births and deaths.
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| *1906: The state took over and maintains birth and death records to date.
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| *1953: The "Vital Statistics Law of 1953" was enacted, which provides for the administration of a statewide system of vital statistics. | |
| :*Ensure the proper safekeeping of original birth records after one hundred five (105) years and death records after fifty (50) years
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| == References == | | For an index to every name, see Mary Dunn, ''Index to Pennsylvania's Colonial Records Series'' (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1992; Family History Library book [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titledetails&titleno=503589&disp=Index+to+Pennsylvania%27s+colonial+recor%20%20&columns=*,0,0 974.8 N2p] index no. 2). |
| {{reflist}}
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| | Livengood, Candy Crocker. ''Genealogical Abstracts of the Laws of Pennsylvania and the Statutes at Large''. Westminister, Maryland.: Family Line Pub., 1990. (Family History Library book [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titlehitlist&columns=*%2C0%2C0&callno=974.8+P38L 974.8 P38L].) It includes information about name changes, divorces, land disputes, pensions, etc. as found in the Laws of Pennsylvania and the Statutes at Large. {{Place|Pennsylvania}} |
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| [[Category:Pennsylvania,_United_States|Law and Legislation]] | | [[Category:Pennsylvania|Law and Legislation]] |