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| Pennsylvania Vital Records |
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Pennsylvania State Vital Records Office,
P.O. Box 1528, 101 South Mercer Street, New Castle, PA 16103;
(724) 656-3100, Fax: (724) 652-8951
Make check or money order payable to Division of Vital Records or Order Online
Event: Birth since Jan 1906; Cost of copy: $10 by mail, $11 by fax (add'l extra $7.00 service fee)
Event: Death since Jan 1906; Cost of copy: $10 by mail, $10 by fax (add'l extra $7.00 service fee)
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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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