State Resources — Pennsylvania

Updated: August 2002 • Data on CD-ROM • County Offices • Vital Records • State Archives and Libraries • Local Genealogical Societies • Helpful Web Sites • GenForum Message Boards • Maryland • New Jersey • New York • Ohio • Washington, D.C. • West Virginia

 Vital Records

State office has birth and death records since January 1906. For earlier records, write to Register of Wills, Orphans Court, in county seat of county where event occurred. Persons born in Pittsburgh from 1870 to 1905 or in Allegheny City, now part of Pittsburgh, from 1882 to 1905 should write to Office of Biostatistics, Pittsburgh Health Department, City--County Building, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. For events occurring in City of Philadelphia from 1860 to 1915, write to Vital Statistics, Philadelphia Department of Public Health, 401 North Broad Street, Room 942, Philadelphia, PA 19108.

Marriage and divorce records are not available from the state office and must be obtained from the county (see notes below).

Birth, Marriage, Divorce, and Death Records

	Call (724) 656-3100 for information on record lookup fees.
	Write to: Division of Vital Records State Department of Health Central Building 101 South Mercer Street P.O. Box 1528 New Castle, PA 16103
	Notes: • For county marriage records, contact the Marriage License Clerks, County Court House in the county where the license was issued. Cost will vary. • For county divorce records, contact the Prothonotary, Court House, in county seat of the county where the divorce was granted. Cost will vary.

 State Archives and Libraries

They currently have federal census records, court cases, wills, deeds, state land records, military records, Supreme Court records from 1794-1868, photo collections, federal census records from 1790-1910, maps, church records, and newspapers.

Write to: Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission Pennsylvania State Archives 350 North Street Harrisburg, PA 17120-0090 Telephone: (717) 783-3281 Web site: http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/overview.htm Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 9:00-4:00, closed Sunday and Monday.

 Local Genealogical Societies

	Write to: Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania 215 S. Broad St., 7th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19107-5325 Telephone: (215) 545-0391 Web site: http://www.libertynet.org/gspa/ Library and galleries: Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday 9:00-5:00, Wednesday 1:00-9:00, closed Saturday-Monday.
	Publications: Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine, Penn in Hand