Pennsylvania Census Records -   Federal Population Schedules that exist for Pennsylvania are 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1890 (fragment, see below), 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. From the first federal census of 1790, the records are nearly complete for Pennsylvania. Two enumerations were taken in Philadelphia in 1870. Gaps in the records are the following: 1800 (parts of Bedford and Westmoreland counties); 1810 (parts of Bedford, Cumberland, and Philadelphia counties); and 1820 (parts of Lancaster, Lehigh, Luzerne, and Monroe counties).

See Also Researching in Census Records - What is the name, age, sex, color, occupation, and birthplace of each person residing in this house? Which of these individuals attended school or was married within the year? Who among them is deaf and dumb, blind, insane, “idiotic,” a pauper, or a convict? Is there anyone in the household over twenty years of age who cannot read and write? What is the name of the slave owner? How many slaves belong to the owner? What is the tribe of this Indian? What were the places of birth of the person’s parents? In what year did this person immigrate to the United States and, if naturalized, what was the year of naturalization? For answers to these and other questions, researchers look to census records......

There are three indexes for the 1800 census and two for 1810. The 1850 census also has two indexes, one arranged by county. For the 1910 Miracode, Philadelphia County is indexed apart from the rest of the commonwealth. After it was filmed by the National Archives, the 1880 census was sent to the University of Pittsburgh. The state copies of the 1840–70 censuses are no longer extant, but a few county copies are known to exist.

  There areIndustry and Agriculture Schedules availible for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. Slave Schedules exist for 1850 & 1860. The Mortality Schedules for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. Union Veterans Schedules were conducted in 1890.

  State Schedules: Pennsylvania took no state censuses, but an enumeration of taxpayers compiled every seven years from 1779 through 1863 is commonly called the Septennial Census. These records have only survived in small numbers and are available at the state archives.

• Pennsylvania Census, 1772-1890: This collection contains the following indexes: 1772 Tax List (Northampton County); 1790 Federal Census Index; 1800 Federal Census Index; 1810 Federal Census Index; 1820 Federal Census Index; 1830 Federal Census Index; 1840 Federal Census Index; 1840 Pensioners List; 1842 Chester County Census Index; 1850 Federal Census Index; 1857 Chester County Census Index; 1860 Federal Census Index; 1870 Federal Census Index; 1890 Naval Veterans Schedule; Early Census Records.

Excerpts From the Book "Family History Made Easy"

   There are numerous ways to determine the location in which to concentrate research for an ancestor. One of the most popular and productive is the census.
Alice Eichholz, Ph.D., In Ancestry’s Red Book: American State,County and Town Sources

    Since 1790, the U.S. government has taken a nationwide population count every ten years. Unique in scope and often surprisingly detailed, the census population schedules created from 1790 to 1920 are among the most used of records created by the federal government. Over the course of two centuries the United States has changed significantly, and so has the census. From the six basic questions asked in the 1790 census, the scope and categories of information have changed and expanded dramatically.

   Early censuses were essentially basic counts of inhabitants; but as the nation grew, so did the need for statistics that would reflect the characteristics of the people. In 1850, the focus of the census was radically broadened. Going far beyond the vague questions previously asked of heads of households, the 1850 census enumerators were instructed to ask the age, sex, color, occupation, birthplace, and other questions regarding every individual in every household. Succeeding enumerations solicited more information; by 1920, census enumerators asked twenty-nine questions of every head of household and almost as many questions of everyone else in the residence. (Only a very small segment of the 1890 census remains; a fire in the Commerce Department destroyed the vast majority of the original records for that year. Because of privacy considerations, census records less than seventy-two years old are not available to the general public; thus, the 1920 census is the most recent available to the public.)

   Few, if any, records reveal as many details about individuals and families as do the U.S. federal censuses. The population schedules are successive “snapshots” of Americans that depict where and how they were living at particular periods in the past. Once home sources and library sources have been exhausted, the census is often the best starting point for further genealogical research. Statewide indexes are available for almost every census; they are logical tools for locating individuals whose precise place of residence is unknown. While some inaccuracies are to be expected in census records, they still provide some of the most fascinating and useful pieces of personal history to be found in any source. If nothing else, census records are important sources for placing individuals in specific places at specific times. Additionally, information found in the census will often point to other sources critical to complete research, such as court, land, military, immigration, naturalization, and vital records.

   The importance of census records does not diminish over time in any research project. It is always wise to return to these records as discoveries are made in other sources because, as you discover new evidence about individuals, some information that seemed unrelated or unimportant in a first look at the census may take on new importance.

   When you can’t find family, vital, or religious records, census records may be the only means of documenting the events of a person’s life. Vital registration—the official recording of births, deaths, and marriages—did not begin until around 1920 in many areas of the United States, and fires, floods and other disasters since have destroyed some official government records. When other documentation is missing, census records are frequently used by individuals who must prove their age or citizenship status (or that of their parents) for Social Security benefits, insurance, passports, and other important reasons.

How to Find Census Records
   All available federal census schedules (those made from 1790 to 1920) have been microfilmed and are available at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.; at the National Archives’ regional archives; at the Family History Library of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS church) in Salt Lake City and LDS family history centers throughout North America, “The Family History Library and Its Centers”); at many large libraries; in genealogical society libraries; and through companies that lend microfilmed records. Some state and local agencies have census schedules for the state or area they serve. Generally, microfilm copies may be borrowed through interlibrary loan.

Starting With the Census
   It is usually best to begin a census search in the most recently available census records (1920) and to work from what is already known about a family. With any luck, birthplaces and other clues found in these more recent records will point to locations of earlier residence.

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Pennsylvania Church Records - - The Historical Records Survey produced an inventory of the church archives in Pennsylvania, but it was never published. Arranged by county, the inventory is located in the state archives. A good number of church records have been published individually and in periodicals such as The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine. Many copies exist in manuscript at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania State Library (DAR collection), and in other libraries. A good portion of the published material concerns German churches and Quaker meetings.

See Also Research In State Church & Cemetery Records - Church records rank among the most promising of genealogical records available. Indeed, for periods before the advent of civil registration of vital statistics (a very late development in many American states), church records rank as the best available sources for information on specific vital events: birth, marriage, and death. They are also among the most under-used major records in American genealogy. Part of the reason lies in the number of denominations-there are hundreds of them. Identifying and locating the records of these various churches makes even professional genealogists hesitate......

Some major religious bodies have libraries in the commonwealth with collections that include not only Pennsylvania church records, but those for other states as well. These include the following:

• The collection at the Friends Historical Library Swarthmore College Swarthmore, PA 19081
  The library has original and microfilmed Quaker records, mostly for Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and some for Virginia, including those for fourteen Pennsylvania meetings copied by Hinshaw but never published. While the basic meeting records are located at Swarthmore, other material can be found at Haverford College Library Quaker Collection Haverford, PA 19041-1392
• The Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society 2215 Millstream Road Lancaster, PA 16702-1499
  has a handout entitled Genealogical Resources at the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society. A research fee is charged for mail inquiries. The society also publishes a quarterly, Pennsylvania Mennonite Heritage.
• The Evangelical and Reformed Historical Society of the United Church of Christ 555 West James Street Lancaster, PA 17603
  loans microfilm of church records, covering German churches in Adams, Berks, Bucks, Chester, Columbia, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton, Northumberland, Perry, Philadelphia, Schuylkill, and York counties, as well as a few for Maryland and Virginia. Many German church records, particularly for the German Reformed and Evangelical church, have been published in books and periodicals.
• The Presbyterian Historical Society 425 Lombard Street Philadelphia, PA 19147
  has records of over 20,000 churches and has published the Journal of Presbyterian History since 1901.
• The Historical Society of Pennsylvania Philadelphia Jewish Archives Center at the Balch Institute 18 South 7th Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106.
  has a microfilm collection of Jewish synagogue and cemetery records; other related material. Other important archives are kept by: The Moravians 66 West Church Street Bethlehem, PA 18018
• The Schwenkfelders Pennsburg, PA 18073
• The Lutherans Abdel Ross Wentz Library Gettysburg, PA 17325
• Luthean Theological Seminary 7301 Germantown Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19119
• Pennsylvania, Lutheran Baptisms and Marriages: This database is a collection of Lutheran Church baptism and marriage records from southeastern Pennsylvania between 1730 and 1779.
  

Pennsylvania Cemetery Records - Large collections of cemetery records are located at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, and at many local libraries and historical societies. The Pennsylvania State Library maintains the state's DAR cemetery collection. Several funeral director records for Philadelphia are in the Collections of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania.

The Pennsylvania State Department of Military Affairs has records of veterans' graves and burials. The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania is currently in the process of microfilming cemetery records throughout the commonwealth.

• Pennsylvania USGenWeb Tombstone Transcription Project
• Interment.net
• Find A Grave

   Cemetery records and gravestone inscriptions are a rich source of information for family historians. Cemetery and other sources of information associated with death include:

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Pennsylvania Land Records - The Land Records Office, formerly the Bureau of Land Records, came into operation in 1682, keeping records about state boundaries, land granted by William Penn and the Commonwealth, and land still owned by Pennsylvania. Of greatest value are the warrants, surveys, and patents, including warrantee maps, all available by mail for a modest fee from their current repository in the state archives.

See Also Researching in Land Records - Land records provide two types of important evidence for the genealogist. Prior to the Civil War, more than eighty-five percent of all Americans owned or leased land. Therefore, almost every researcher, whether a seasoned professional or weekend hobbyist, has required land records to document the existence, association, or movement of an individual or ancestral family. Most beginning genealogists underestimate the importance of using land records to pin persons to specific locales. In the South, which has far fewer vital records than New England, the land records are even more crucial to genealogical success. For answers to these and other questions, researchers look to Land records......

The southwest corner of Pennsylvania was contested with Virginia, and many records for this area are to be found at the Virginia State Archives (Richmond) and at the University of West Virginia (Morgantown).
Settlers from Pennsylvania came to the Upper Delaware and Wyoming valleys claimed by that colony from about 1753 to 1782. The records of the Delaware Company have not survived.

Tax-free land in the western part of the state, called the “Donation Lands,” was offered to Revolutionary War soldiers of the Pennsylvania Line of the Continental Army. Also in this section of Pennsylvania were “Depreciation Lands,” sold at reduced prices to Revolutionary War veterans or available to them instead of payment if they redeemed their Depreciation Certificates. The claims to these lands were published with maps in volumes 3 and 7 of Pennsylvania Archives, 3d series.

Most research in Pennsylvania land records will begin in the deeds and mortgages found with the recorder of deeds (who in smaller counties is also the register of wills). Here will also be found the seller and buyer (grantor and grantee) indexes, most often arranged by the somewhat cumbersome Russell system. In Pennsylvania, deeds and mortgages are more often than not indexed separately. Chattel mortgages are also found with the recorder of deeds. Most county deeds recorded to about 1850 and corresponding indexes are available on microfilm at the Pennsylvania State Archives and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Some unrecorded deeds may be found in courthouses, and many have found their way from private hands into archives, historical societies, and libraries. Keep in mind that in Pennsylvania, as elsewhere, a deed may have been recorded long after its execution and acknowledgement. In the southwestern part of the state, for example, some original deeds surfaced for recording when titles were being cleared for petroleum rights around the beginning of the twentieth century-some deeds dated over 100 years earlier. In earlier times many clerks were careful to copy German signatures into the deed books. This practice is of particular value as in the text of the deed the name was usually anglicized.

• Early Pennsylvania Land Records: The contents of this database, comes from the minutes of the Board of Property, for the then Province of Pennsylvania.
• Land Records from All States
• Search County Property Records
• Search County Land Patents

Excerpts From the Book "Family History Made Easy"

   Prior to the Civil War, more than eighty-five percent of all Americans owned or leased land. Therefore, almost every researcher, whether a seasoned professional or weekend hobbyist, has required land records to document the existence, association, or movement of an individual or ancestral family. While many researchers may feel a sense of historical excitement when finding an ancestor in a land deed, many also fail to understand the importance of such a document and how land can be used to make vital links between generations; they are not aware that it can bridge distant origins and help solve even the most difficult problems. E. Wade Hone, In Land and Property Research in the United States

U.S. House of Representative Private Claims, Vol. 1, Vol. 2 or Vol. 3

   The right to own land has always been one of the great incentives for living in the United States. Yet researchers often overlook the importance of land records as a source of family history information. Written evidence of people’s entitlement goes back in time further than virtually any other type of record family historians might use.

   Land records meet the needs of researchers in different ways and contain a variety of genealogical and historical data. They are a major source of information for many family histories and provide primary source material for local history as well. They are closely related to probate and other official court records and should be investigated in connection with them. Land and property are leading issues in the settlement of estates, and the majority of civil cases in the courts deal with real and personal property. Although land records rarely yield vital statistics, in many instances they provide the only proof of family relationships. Often they include the names of heirs of an estate (including daughters’ married names and a widow’s subsequent married name) and refer to related probates and other court cases by number and court name. In some places where other records are scarce, the land records take on extra importance. Occasionally these documents disclose former residences and more often provide the new address of the grantors or heirs at the time of the sale of the property.

   Land records provide two types of important evidence for the family historian. First, they often document family relationships. Second, they place individuals in a specific time and place, allowing the researcher to sort people and families into neighborhoods and closely related groups. One of land records’ most important qualities is that they are sometimes the only records that allow us to distinguish one person of a common name from another.

   The National Archives has bounty-land warrant files, donation land entry files, homestead application files, and private land claim files relating to the entry of individual settlers on land in the public land states. There are no land records for the original thirteen states or for Maine, Vermont, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, and Hawaii. Records for these states are maintained by state officials, usually in the state capital. Searching for the record of a particular land grant from the federal government requires contacting both the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the National Archives (NARA).

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Pennsylvania Military Records - Because of the Quaker influence, Pennsylvania had no formal militia until the French and Indian War when it became necessary to defend its citizens on the western frontier. Most original military records up through World War II are in the Pennsylvania State Archives. Later records are with the Adjutant General's Office, Department of Military Affairs, Fort Indiantown Gap, Annville, PA 17003. Information from the time of World War II is restricted.

See Also Researching in Military Records - The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest.......

Many names of soldiers and sailors, from the time of the French and Indian War through the Mexican War, are found in the volumes of Pennsylvania Archives, particularly in the 2d and 5th series, although research in these should be supplemented by records at the state archives and the National Archives.

Books on Pennsylvania Military History

• List of Soldiers and Widows of Soldiers Granted Revolutionary War Pensions by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
  Edited by Mrs. Daniel L. Whitehead. Greensburg, Pa.: Phoebe Bayard Chapter DAR, 1976. Indexes acts of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. By Harry E Cope
• Colonial Muster Rolls at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
  Philadephia: Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1983. Reproduces copies of original with name index. By Bruce Laverty
  Muster Rolls of the Pennsylvania Volunteers in the War of 1812–1814.
  Reprinted from Pennsylvania Archives. 2d series, Vol. 12. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1967. Only officers are indexed.
• The Papers of Henry Bouquet. 5 vols.
  Harrisburg, Pa.: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 1951–78. By S.K. Stevens
• The Pennsylvania Navy, 1775–1781
  [New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1974. , by John W. Jackson]
• The French Invasion of Western Pennsylvania
  [Harrisburg, Pa.: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 1981. By Donald H. Kent]
• The Pennsylvania Militia in 1777
  [The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine 23 (1964): 161–229. Reprinted as pamphlets with name index. 1975. By Hannah Benner Roach.]
• The Indian Wars of Pennsylvania. 2d ed., with A Supplement.
  Harrisburg, Pa.: Telegraph Press, 1931. By C. Hale Sipe
• The Pennsylvania Line: Regimental Organization and Operations, 1775–1783
  Harrisburg, Pa.: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 1977. By John B. B., Trussell Jr.

Much interesting material is located at the David Library of the American Revolution, River Road, Box 48, Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania 18977-0048, which has a guide to its microform holdings.

The site U.S. Wars list conflicts dating from earliest to 1865. Wars covered that are availibele are:

Revolutionary War -  Like the other Mid-Atlantic colonies, there were Loyalists in Pennsylvania, mostly in the southeastern part of the colony, many of whom left for England or Canada. Some are identified in Anne M. Ousterhouk, “Opponents of the Revolution Whose Pennsylvania Estates were Confiscated,” Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine 30 (1978): 237–53. See also “Forfeited Estates Accounts” in Pennsylvania Archives, 6th series, vols. 12–13. For a detailed study see Wilbur H. Siebert, “The Loyalists of Pennsylvania,” Ohio State University Bulletin 24 (1920; reprint, Boston, Mass.: Gregg, 1972). Copies of muster rolls of the Pennsylvania Loyalist Regiment are at the Public Archives of Canada and the Library of Congress.

Search Revolutionary War 1775-83 Service Records, Rejected Pensions, Loyalists Records, 1775-1783 Pay Rolls, Courts-Martial, Officers, Pension Index, 1841 Pensioner Census

Below is a list of online resources for Pennsylvania in the Revolutionary War. Email us with websites containing information on Pennsylvania in the Revolutionary War by clicking the link below:

• Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 from the State of Pennsylvania (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents in NARA publication M246 include muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other miscellaneous personnel, pay, and supply records of American Army units, 1775-83.
• Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War from the State of Pennsylvania (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents in NARA publication M881. Compiled service records of soldiers who served in the American Army during the Revolutionary War, 1775-1783 from the State of Pennsylvania.
• Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files from the State of Pennsylvania (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, from NARA publication M804.
• Pennsylvania Pensioners, 1835: This database identifies thousands of Pennsylvania soldiers who were covered under various pension acts in the early 1800s.
• Pennsylvania Volunteers in the War of 1812: Compiled from the Pennsylvania Archives collection, this database is a listing of soldiers who volunteered to fight the British during the War of 1812.

Civil War - Samuel P. Bates, History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861–65, 5 vols. (Harrisburg, Pa.: B. Singerly, 1869–71) is arranged by regiment but only indexes officers. For all names, consult the National Archives microfilm, Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers in Pennsylvania Organizations, available at the National Archives-Mid-Atlantic Region and the Pennsylvania State Library. There is also a separate, every-name index in the state archives. Record of Pennsylvania Volunteers in the Spanish-American War, 1898, 2d ed. (Philadelphia, Pa.: Wm. Stanley Ray, 1901) was compiled by the Pennsylvania Adjutant General's Office.

Soldier discharges since the Civil War are usually in the office of the county recorder of deeds. Veterans' grave and burial records are kept in the county commissioners' office and at the Department of Military Affairs.

Below is a list of online resources for Pennsylvania in the Civil War. Email us with websites containing information on Pennsylvania in the Civil War by clicking the link below:

• Southern Claims Commission from the State of Pennsylvania (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents In the 1870s, southerners claimed compensation from the U.S. government for items used by the Union Army, ranging from corn and horses, to trees and church buildings.
• Organization Index to Pension Files of Veterans Who Served Between 1861 and 1900 from the State of Pennsylvania (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Pension applications for service in the U.S. Army between 1861 and 1917, grouped according to the units in which the veterans served.
• Case Files of Applications from Former Confederates for Presidential Pardons ("Amnesty Papers"), 1865-67 from the State of Pennsylvania (The National Archives): NARA M1003. View, Print Copy & Save Original Applications for pardon submitted to President Andrew Johnson, 1865-67, by former Confederates excluded from earlier amnesty proclamations.

Excerpts From the Book "Family History Made Easy"

   Military and pension records are among the most useful sources available to genealogists because of the detail they offer. These records are important because they may provide an ancestor’s date of birth, place of residence, the names and addresses of family members, and other details that can round out a picture of his or her life. Judith Prowse Reid, Head, Local History and Genealogy, Library of Congress

   Military records have originated at the federal, state, and local levels. Whether created in time of war or in time of peace, these records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served in the military forces of the United States. Almost every American family, in one generation or another, has seen one or more of its members serve in America’s armed forces. From regimental histories, which provide blow-by-blow accounts of a unit’s participation in military actions, to the personal details contained in the service and pension files of individual men and women, military records provide valuable information concerning a large and significant portion of the American population. And because military records have been preserved and made available at and through a number of research institutions, much information awaits the well-prepared researcher.

How to Find Military Records
   To locate military records for any individual, it is essential to know when and where in the armed forces he or she served and whether that person served in the enlisted ranks or was an officer. (If you don’t have that identifying information, some potential solutions are discussed below.)
As in any research project, it is important to study carefully whatever is already known about the subject of interest. Families and communities frequently pass down stories of military heroes from generation to generation. In most cases, these stories retain some fact, but, with the passage of years and in the process of retelling, accuracy fades. At any rate, family stories should not be overlooked for clues at the start of a military search.

   When and where did the individual live? Did the family keep evidence of military service? Certificates, letters, journals, diaries, scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, photographs, medals, swords, and other memorabilia kept in private collections may provide the basic facts needed to begin searching in military record collections.

Military Time Lines
   Creating a historical time line can be especially useful for determining if and when the subject might have served in the military. By compiling a chronological list of the known dates and places of residence of an individual from birth through adulthood, it is frequently easy to discover the possibility of military service. Was the individual the right age to be eligible for the draft or to serve voluntarily in the Civil War? Is it likely that the person served on the Northern rather than the Southern side, or vice versa? For records from the colonial period to more recent military engagements, the place of residence is key to finding an individual’s records.

Evidence of Military Service in Hometown Records
   There are a number of public records that are potentially valuable in discovering the military history of a veteran. It has been a long-standing American tradition to foster patriotism by honoring local sons and daughters who have defended the ideals of their country. Hometown military heroes are frequently noted on public monuments, and local newspaper files may yield surprisingly detailed accounts of a community’s well-known and less-famous military personnel.

Military History
   Commercial enterprises and historically oriented groups and institutions have regularly published local histories. As a rule, these histories will include glowing accounts of the area’s involvement in military activities. Some volumes provide biographical sketches of military leaders, while others attempt to list all of the community’s participants in various military conflicts. Locally focused histories have been published at various times for virtually every state and county in the United States. Do not overlook them as an important research aid. P. William Filby’s A Bibliography of American County Histories is a list of five thousand such sources.

   In addition to the standard histories, local public libraries and historical societies usually preserve and make available other types of publications that document the military history of the geographical areas they serve. Historical agencies collect biographies, letters, diaries, journals, and all sorts of memorabilia from military units and servicemen and -women. The personal accounts found in some collections are a fascinating means of stepping back in time. Firsthand accounts afford a better understanding of the day-to-day drudgery, loneliness, fears, and satisfactions of military life.

Evidence of Military Service in Cemeteries
   Cemeteries provide yet another local source of information regarding individuals who served in the armed forces. Almost every cemetery in the United States contains some evidence of military events and veterans. Cemetery records and grave markers frequently identify military dead by name, rank, and unit designation. If a man or woman died elsewhere while in the service, the body was frequently brought home for burial; cemetery records often note the place and date of death.

Evidence of Military Service in Court Records
   Court records are yet another potential source for identifying those who served in the military. Most counties formally recorded and indexed the names of their citizens who were discharged from the military. In some local courts, “military discharges” will be found indexed separately, and in others the military records may be oddly interspersed with deeds, naturalizations, or other categories of documents. The contents of military records may vary greatly from one courthouse to another. Some will provide biographical information, while others may simply list names and the event or names and date of certificate issue.

Military Records in the National Archives
   Federal military documents that have been classified as archival material are in the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration. Not all records created by military agencies are judged to be permanently valuable. Generally, only records of historical or administrative importance are kept.

   A wonderful array of federal military records are available in major libraries and archives and through microfilm rental programs. (Heritage Quest, a division of AGLL, Inc., PO Box 329, Bountiful, UT 84011-0329, is a source of rental microfilms.) With sufficient identifying information, you may request a search of the registers of enlistments or the compiled military service records. The minimum information required for a search is (1) the soldier’s full name, (2) the war in which he or she served or period of service, and (3) the state from which he or she served. For the Civil War, you must also indicate whether the person served in Union or Confederate forces. A separate copy of the form must be used for military service, pension, and bounty-land warrant applications. Submit requests for information about individuals who served in the military before World War I on NATF form 80 (Order for Copies of Veterans Records). Write to the National Archives and Records Administration, General Reference Branch, Washington, DC 20408 to obtain copies of NATF form 80. Always ask for “all records” for an individual.

   Make requests for information about U.S. Army officers separated from the service after 1912 on standard form 180 (Request Pertaining to Military Records) and send it to the Military Personnel Records Center, 9700 Page Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63132.

U.S. Military Records
   By far the most comprehensive study of military records and how to use them is found in James C. Neagles’s U.S. Military Records: A Guide to Federal and State Sources, Colonial America to the Present. Neagles’s guide addresses primary and secondary military sources and accessibility, including the following information-rich sources:

Records of state militias and the National Guard
Records of the army, navy, and other branches of the U.S. military
Records of the military academies
Post-service records
Pensions
Bounty-land grants
Bonuses and family assistance
Soldier’s homes
Military burials
Military installations
Censuses of veterans
Conscription
Civilian affairs

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Pennsylvania Vital Records - Although a colonial law of 1682 provided for the recording of births, marriages, and burials in Pennsylvania, few if any of these events were ever entered in civil records. A new law in the mid-nineteenth century required these events be recorded by the county register of wills, with copies sent to Harrisburg. Some of these records are still in the courthouses, and others are at the Pennsylvania State Archives, where microfilms of many are available. Indexes to these records are arranged first by county, then by event, then by year. Films of some of these records are also available at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. From 1860 through 1893, and in some cases to a later date, births and deaths were recorded in Philadelphia and other cities-Allegheny, Easton, Harrisburg, Pottsville, Pittsburgh, and Williamsport-although there are gaps. 

See Also Researching in Vital Records - Vital records, as their name suggests, are connected with central life events: birth, marriage, and death. Maintained by civil authorities, they are prime sources of genealogical information; but, unfortunately, official vital records are available only for relatively recent periods. These records, despite their recent creation in the United States, are critically important in genealogical research, often supplying details on family members well back into the nineteenth century.......

Except for the exceptions noted above and for marriages recorded from 1885 in the county orphans' courts, nineteenth-century civil vital records in Pennsylvania are practically non-existent. It is important, therefore, to make use of substitutes such as church and justice of the peace records, grave marker inscriptions and burial records, newspaper marriage and death notices, and censuses.

For Birth and Death before 1906 Write to: Register of Wills, Orphans Court, in county seat of county where event occurred.

For Birth 1870 to 1905 for Persons born in Pittsburgh or in Allegheny City, now part of Pittsburgh, from 1882 to 1905 Write to Registrar of Wills, City-County Building, Pittsburgh, PA 15219

For Birth and Death 1860 to 1915 For events occurring in City of Philadelphia write to: Vital Statistics
Philadelphia Department of Public Health, 401 North Broad Street, Room 942, Philadelphia, PA 19108. the Cost of copy is $9. Births and deaths in Pennsylvania were also recorded in the county orphans' courts for the period 1893 through 1905, and here also may be found delayed birth records for events occurring as far back as the 1860s. The state archives has films of some of these records; the Historical Society of Pennsylvania has those for Philadelphia.

For Marriages, Make application to the Marriage License Clerks, County Court House in county where license was issued. Marriage licenses were not required in colonial Pennsylvania. Since 1885 the clerk of the orphans' court in each county has had the responsibility of recording marriages. Films of some of these records are at the state archives and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

For Divorces Make application to the Prothonotary Court House in county seat of county where divorce was granted. Most Pennsylvania divorce records from 1804 are found in the county court of common pleas, where the prothonotary is usually the clerk with custody of the records. Only two divorces found in the Pennsylvania Statutes at Large for the colonial period-one granted in 1769 and a second voided in 1772. Divorces were granted, mostly for adultery, by the General Assembly during and following the Revolutionary War. The assembly had jurisdiction from 1776 to 1847 . The supreme court had concurrent jurisdiction of granting divorces from 1785 to 1804, and its records to 1801. The state archives has divorce papers for 1786-1815 from the records of the supreme court.

• Ordering Vital Records Online - Getting documents by mail can take a long as six weeks or more. Through VitalChek Express Certificate Service you can get Birth, Marriage, Divorce & Death Certificates Signed, Sealed, & Delivered in as few as three business days!
  

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  Marriage Certificates

  Divorce Records

• Ordering Vital Records by Mail - Include $10.00 fee per copy, $17.00 (by fax) for Birth records and Include $9.00 fee per copy, $16.00 (by fax) for Death Records.  Please do not send cash.  Make check or money order payable to “Vital Records." Please do not send cash in the mail.
  Pennsylvania State Vital Records Office,
  P.O. Box 1528
  101 South Mercer Street
  New Castle, PA 16103
  Please include return address on envelope and application form.

Facts on Birth Records - Most early birth records contain very little biographical information. Typical early New England town and church records, for example, give little information beyond the name of the child, date and place of birth, and parents’ names. Some localities listed only the name of the father.

While early birth records can be discouragingly lacking in information, by the mid-nineteenth century birth records in the United States began to include more information. Even though births were not widely recorded during the early years of America’s existence, the records that do exist may be the only source of a birth date for an individual and should always be consulted.

Delayed births are also important vital registrations that you should consider for obtaining biographical information. When Social Security benefits were instituted in 1937, individuals claiming benefits had to document their birth even if the state of their birth did not require registration when they were born. Individuals who were not registered with state or county agencies at the time of their birth often applied for a delayed birth registration. Obtaining passports, insurance, and other benefits also required proof of age.

Applications were accompanied with full name, address, and date and place of birth; father’s name, race, and place of birth; and evidence to support the facts presented. The evidence could be in the form of a baptismal certificate, Bible record, school record, affidavit from the attending physician or midwife, application for an insurance policy, birth certificate of a child, or an affidavit from a person having definite knowledge of the facts. Delayed birth records are usually filed and indexed separately from regular birth registrations, and it may be necessary to request a separate search for them.

• Search All U.S and Foriegn Birth, Marriage and Death Records
• Search County Birth Records
• Order Birth Certificates Online

Facts on Marriage Records - Because of the importance of the legal distribution and control of property, most states and counties began to record marriages before births and deaths. The recording of a marriage is a two-step process. Traditionally, couples apply for a license to marry, and the applications are usually filed loose among other applications or in bound volumes. Marriage returns are filed once the marriage has taken place. The latter document is the proof of a marriage (not the license application).

Marriage applications are often filled out by both the bride and groom and typically contain a significant amount of genealogical information. They may list full names of the bride and groom, their residences, races, ages, dates and places of birth, previous marriages, occupations, and their parents’ names, places of birth, and occupations.

Marriage certificates are issued by counties after the marriage ceremony is completed, and these are usually found among family items. While the certificates tend to have less biographical data than the application, the name of the individual officiating at the wedding may lead you to religious records by revealing the denomination. The religious records, in turn, may reveal the names of witnesses and other useful information.

Early American records sometimes include marriage bonds, which served as a protection for the future children of the marriage. A bond obligated a prospective groom to pay the bond if he were discovered to be a bigamist or imposter or otherwise ineligible to contract a valid marriage. As long as the marriage was legal, the bond was void. Bonds generally include the groom’s name, name of the surety, the sum, and the date of the agreement.

• Order Marriage Certificates or Divorce Records Online
• Pennsylvania, Lutheran Baptisms and Marriages: This database is a collection of Lutheran Church baptism and marriage records from southeastern Pennsylvania between 1730 and 1779.
• Pennsylvania Marriages to 1790: This database contains the names of over 31,000 individuals for whom marriage licenses were issued in the Province of Pennsylvania, previous to 1790.
• Pennsylvania Marriages to 1810: Originally published in volume VIII of the second series of the Pennsylvania Archives, this wonderful collection contains almost 35,000 marriage records
• Search U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900
• Search County Marriage Records
• Search County Divorce Records

Facts on Death Records - Early death records in the United States provide little more than the name of the deceased, the date of death, and the place of death. Obituaries and cemetery, court, and other records often provide more information about the deceased than do most official death records created before the last quarter of the 1800s.

By 1900 death records included more details. They often include the name of the deceased; date, place, and cause of death; age at the time of death; place of birth; parents’ names; occupation; name of spouse; name of the person giving the information; the informant’s relationship to the deceased; the name and address of the funeral director; and the place of burial. Race is listed in some records, and modern death certificates generally include a Social Security number.

• Order Death Certificates Online
• Social Security Death Index
• Obituary Collection
• Search County Death Records
• Find Obituaries in The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of Pennsylvania obituaries to help you research your family history. Search for a Pennsylvania newspaper obituary about your ancestor or a celebrity. Begin your search today and find death notices and funeral announcements printed in newspapers from Alabama.
• America's Obituaries (1977 to current) at Genealogybank.com - Obituaries contain helpful information such as names, dates, places of birth, death, marriage and family information. Over 28 million obituaries make this the most complete collection from the 20th and 21st centuries - includes over 1,100 U.S. newspapers. New content added daily!

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