Pennsylvania

The photograph, above, was taken March 2010 in Philadelphia when my daughters & I visited the Philadelphia Flower Show & took a carriage ride around the city.

Pennsylvania, USA, the Keystone State
2nd State; Statehood 1787; Capital City, Harrisburg

Some family names associated with Pennsylvania:

History & Overview. According to the History Channel website:

One of the original 13 colonies, Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn as a haven for his fellow Quakers. Pennsylvania’s capital, Philadelphia, was the site of the first and second Continental Congresses in 1774 and 1775, the latter of which produced the Declaration of Independence, sparking the American Revolution. After the war, Pennsylvania became the second state, after Delaware, to ratify the U.S. Constitution. In the American Civil War (1861-1865), Pennsylvania was the site of the Battle of Gettysburg, in which Union General George Meade defeated Confederate General Robert E. Lee, bringing an end to the Confederacy’s Northern invasion, as well as Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg Address. Tourists are drawn to Pennsylvania by its monuments to America’s revolutionary history, including Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. Famous Pennsylvanians include patriot and inventor Benjamin Franklin, frontiersman Daniel Boone, painter Mary Cassatt, inventor Robert Fulton and comedian Bill Cosby.

Websites for Pennsylvania research:

A few of my Blog Posts about Pennsylvania Research:

Books for Pennsylvania research:
  • Bittinger, Lucy F. The Germans in Colonial Times. 1986 Reprint. Bowie, Maryland: Heritage Books, Inc., 1901.
  • Bowman, Diana L. The Pennsylvania Herald & York General Advertiser 1789 – 1793. Book 1. Apollo, Pennsylvania: Closson Press, 1996.
  • Bowman, Diana L. The Pennsylvania Herald & York General Advertiser 1794 – 1798. Book 2. Apollo, Pennsylvania: Closson Press, 2009.
  • Brewer, M. M. (2005). Land Records of York County, Pennsylvania; 1746 – 1764. Lewes, Delaware: Colonial Roots. (Original work published 2004).
  • Brewer, M. M. (2007). Land records of York County, Pennsylvania, 1771-1775. Lewes, Del. : Colonial Roots. (Original work published 2004).
  • Closson, Bob and Mary. Will Abstracts of Northampton County, PA 1752 – 1802. Apollo, Pennsylvania: Closson Press, 1982.
  • Dull, K. A. (2007). Early German settlers of York County, Pennsylvania (Revised Edition). Westminster, MD: Heritage Books.
  • Fisher, Charles A. Central Pennsylvania Marriages 1700 – 1896. Reprint. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc., 2005.
  • Hively, Neal Otto. Original Pennsylvania Land Record Series: Germany, Conewago, Union, Mount Joy, Mount Pleasant & Straban Townships. Volume 1. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania: 2008.
  • Hively, Neal Otto. Original Pennsylvania Land Record Series: Berwick, Oxford, Hamilton, Reading, Tyrone, Huntington and Latimore Townships. Volume 2. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania: 2009.
  • Hively, Neal Otto. Original Pennsylvania Land Record Series: Menallen, Butler, Franklin, Hamiltonban, Liberty, Highland and Freedom Townships. Volume 3. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania: 2009.
  • Humphrey, John T. Pennsylvania Briths, York County, 1730 – 1800. Washington, D. C.: Larjon & Company, Inc., 1998.
  • Humphrey, John T. Pennsylvania Births, Lehigh County 1734 – 1800. Washington, D. C.: Humphrey Publications, 1992.
  • Humphrey, John T. Pennsylvania Births, Bucks County, 1682 – 1800. Washington, D. C.: Humphrey Publications, 1993.
  • Humphrey, John T. Pennsylvania Research: County and Township Records. Washington, D. C.: PA Genealogy Books, 2006.
  • Humphrey, John T. Pennsylvania Births, Northampton County, 1733 – 1800. Washington, D. C.: 1991.
  • Humphrey, John T. Pennsylvania Gravestones, Northampton County. Washington, D. C.: Larjon & Company, Inc., 2000.
  • McFarland, K. T. H. Births, Marriages, and Deaths of Adams County, Pennsylvania 1853 – 1854. Apollo, Pennsylvania: Closson Press, 1999.
  • Wright, F. E. (2009). Abstracts of York County, Pennsylvania Wills, 1749-1819. Westminster, MD: Heritage Books.
  • Wright, F. Edward. Adams County Church Records of the 18th Century. Lewes, Delaware: Colonial Roots, 2003.
  • Yoder, Don. Pennsylvania German Immigrants 1709 – 1786. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc., 1980.

Resources for PA research as suggested by  Kay Haviland Freilich at the 2014 NGS Conference:

  • Bell, Raymond Martin. Searching in Western Pennsylvania. Detroit: Detroit Society for Genealogical Research, 1968.
  • Crawford-Oppenheimer, Christine. Lost in Pennsylvania? Try the Published Pennsylvania Archives. Philadelphia: Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, 1995; originally published, The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine 40(Fall/Winter 1997)
  • Crist, Robert Grant, editor. Penn’s Example to the Nation: 300 Years of the Holy Experiment.Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Council of Churches,1987. [Guide to the history of Pennsylvania’s denominations.]
  • Dructor, Robert M. Guide to Genealogical Sources at the Pennsylvania State Archives, second edition. Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 1998.
  • Freilich, Kay Haviland. Research in Pennsylvania, second edition. National GenealogicalSociety Research in the States Series. Arlington, Virginia: NGS, 2007. Originally published as “Genealogical Research in Pennsylvania.” National Genealogical Society Quarterly 90 (March 2002).
  • Humphrey, John T. Pennsylvania Births. Washington, DC: Larjon & Company, various years.[Indexes to birth records to 1800 in 15 counties. Family Archives CD #196, Birth Index: Southeastern PA 1680–1800, includes many of thesame records.]
  • Horle, Craig W. et al. Lawmaking and Legislators in Pennsylvania: A Biographical Dictionary. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press,1991—. [Excellent source of documented biographical material on early lawmakers. The three volumes published to date cover 1682–1775.]
  • Iscrupe, William L., and Shirley G. M. Iscrupe, compilers. Pennsylvania Line, 4th ed. Laughlintown, Pennsylvania: Southwest Pennsylvania Genealogica lServices, 1990. [Includes maps of county boundary changes, names of municipalities in 1900, locations of townships and waterways, etc.]
  • Koelble, Susan S., and Kristin K. Bryson. Formation of the Pennsylvania Counties.Southampton, Pennsylvania: Bare Roots Publishing,2001
  • Livengood, Candy Crocker. Genealogical Abstracts of the Laws of Pennsylvania and Statutes at Large. 1990. Reprint, Westminster, Maryland: Willow Bend Books, 2001.
  • McCracken, George E. The Welcome Claimants: Proved, Disproved and Doubtful With an Account of Some of Their Descendants, Publications of the Welcome Society of Pennsylvania Number 2. 1970.Reprint, Bowie, Maryland: Heritage Books, 1985.[Discussion of many early Quaker families.]
  • Munger, Donna Bingham. Pennsylvania Land Records: A History and Guide for Research. Wilmington, Delaware: Scholarly Resources, 1991.[In-depth information on land records.]
  • Philadelphia Maps, 1682–1982: Townships — Districts — Wards. Philadelphia: The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, 1996. [Useful collection of maps illustrating the changing ward and township boundaries within Philadelphia county.]
  • Russ, William A., Jr. Pennsylvania’s Boundaries. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania: PennsylvaniaHistorical Association, 1966.
  • Strassburger, Ralph Beaver and William JohnHinke. Pennsylvania German Pioneers. Norristown,Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania German Society, 1934.[Reprints published by Genealogical Publishing Company, Genealogical Books in Print, and Picton Press. The original lists without signatures appear in Pennsylvania Archives, Series Two.]

Read more about my Pennsylvania discoveries in ‘The Mark Family Story‘.

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