Search Free Pennsylvania Genealogy Records Online
Before statehood: Province of Pennsylvania
Admitted to the Union: December 12, 1787 (2nd)
State Capital: Harrisburg
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Search Free Pennsylvania Genealogy and Family History Records Online including census, cemetery, vital, military and other genealogical and historical records that can be used for your family history research.
Our Pennsylvania genealogy and family history page is a place where you can come in and research your genealogy and family history. We also do our best to provide a history of the area, to provide you with an overview of the time in which your ancestors lived.
We regret that we are unable to do personal research for you. All genealogical and family history records we come across are being added to this website. Please keep checking back.
History
Pennsylvania was founded in 1681 through a royal land grant to William Penn, son of the state's namesake; a southeast portion of the state was once part of the colony of New Sweden. Established as a haven for religious and political tolerance, the Province of Pennsylvania was known for its relatively peaceful relations with native tribes, innovative government system, and religious pluralism. Pennsylvania was one of thirteen British colonies from which the nation was formed.
Pennsylvania played a vital and historic role in the American Revolution and the ultimately successful quest for independence from the British Empire. Its largest city, Philadelphia, was the gathering place of the nation's Founding Fathers and home to much of the thinking, activism, and writing that inspired the American Revolution. Philadelphia hosted the First Continental Congress in Carpenters' Hall in 1774, and, beginning the following year, the Second Continental Congress in Independence Hall, which in 1776 unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence, a document that historian Joseph Ellis has described as "the most potent and consequential words in American history" and which formally launched the American Revolutionary War.
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Free Pennsylvania Genealogy Records Online by County
Click on the name of the county, and see the genealogical and historical information it holds.
| County | Formed | Parent County | County Seat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adams County | 1800 | Parts of York County. | Gettysburg |
| Allegheny County | 1788 | Parts of Washington and Westmoreland Counties. | Pittsburgh |
| Armstrong County | 1800 | Parts of Allegheny, Lycoming, and Westmoreland Counties. | Kittanning |
| Beaver County | 1800 | Parts of Allegheny and Washington Counties. | Beaver |
| Bedford County | 1771 | Parts of Cumberland County. | Bedford |
| Berks County | 1752 | Parts of Chester, Lancaster and Philadelphia Counties. | Reading |
| Blair County | 1846 | Parts of Huntingdon and Bedford Counties. | Hollidaysburg |
| Bradford County | 1810 | Parts of Luzerne and Lycoming Counties; originally called Ontario County, renamed as Bradford County in 1812. | Towanda |
| Bucks County | 1682 | One of the original counties at the formation of Pennsylvania | Doylestown |
| Butler County | 1800 | Parts of Allegheny County. | Butler |
| Cambria County | 1804 | Parts of Somerset and Huntingdon Counties. | Ebensburg |
| Cameron County | 1860 | Parts of Clinton, Elk, McKean, and Potter Counties. | Emporium |
| Carbon County | 1843 | Parts of Monroe and Northampton Counties. | Jim Thorpe |
| Centre County | 1800 | Parts of Lycoming, Mifflin, Northumberland, and Huntingdon Counties. | Bellefonte |
| Chester County | 1682 | One of the original counties at the formation of Pennsylvania. | West Chester |
| Clarion County | 1839 | Parts of Venango and Armstrong Counties. | Clarion |
| Clearfield County | 1804 | Parts of Lycoming and Huntingdon Counties; Clearfield functioned as a part of Centre County for judiciary purposes until 1822. | Clearfield |
| Clinton County | 1839 | Parts of Lycoming and Centre Counties. | Lock Haven |
| Columbia County | 1813 | Parts of Northumberland and Luzerne Counties. | Bloomsburg |
| Crawford County | 1800 | Parts of Allegheny County. | Meadville |
| Cumberland County | 1750 | Parts of Lancaster County. | Carlisle |
| Dauphin County | 1785 | Parts of Lancaster County. | Harrisburg |
| Delaware County | 1789 | Parts of Chester County. | Media |
| Elk County | 1843 | Parts of Jefferson, McKean, and Clearfield Counties. | Ridgway |
| Erie County | 1800 | Parts of Allegheny County; attached to Crawford County until 1803. | Erie |
| Fayette County | 1783 | Parts of Westmoreland County. | Uniontown |
| Forest County | 1848 | Parts of Jefferson County; attached to Jefferson County until 1857. | Tionesta |
| Franklin County | 1784 | Parts of Cumberland County. | Chambersburg |
| Fulton County | 1850 | Parts of Bedford County. | McConnellsburg |
| Greene County | 1796 | Parts of Washington County. | Waynesburg |
| Huntingdon County | 1787 | Parts of Bedford County. | Huntingdon |
| Indiana County | 1803 | Parts of Lycoming and Westmoreland Counties; it was attached to Westmoreland County until 1806. | Indiana |
| Jefferson County | 1804 | Parts of Lycoming County. Attached to Westmoreland County until 1806 and to Indiana County until 1830. | Brookville |
| Juniata County | 1831 | Parts of Mifflin County. | Mifflintown |
| Lackawanna County | 1878 | Parts of Luzerne County. | Scranton |
| Lancaster County | 1729 | Parts of Chester County. | Lancaster |
| Lawrence County | 1849 | Parts of Beaver and Mercer Counties. | New Castle |
| Lebanon County | 1813 | Parts of Dauphin and Lancaster Counties. | Lebanon |
| Lehigh County | 1812 | Parts of Northampton County. | Allentown |
| Luzerne County | 1786 | Parts of Northumberland County. | Wilkes-Barre |
| Lycoming County | 1795 | Parts of Northumberland County. | Williamsport |
| McKean County | 1804 | Parts of Lycoming County; Attached to Centre County until 1814 and to Lycoming County until 1826 for judicial and elective purposes. McKean was fully organized only in 1826. | Smethport |
| Mercer County | 1800 | Parts of Allegheny County. | Mercer |
| Mifflin County | 1789 | Parts of Cumberland and Northumberland Counties. | Lewistown |
| Monroe County | 1836 | Parts of Pike and Northampton Counties. | Stroudsburg |
| Montgomery County | 1784 | Parts of Philadelphia County. | Norristown |
| Montour County | 1850 | Parts of Columbia County. | Danville |
| Northampton County | 1752 | Parts of Bucks County. | Easton |
| Northumberland County | 1772 | Parts of Lancaster, Berks, Bedford, Cumberland, and Northampton Counties. | Sunbury |
| Perry County | 1820 | Parts of Cumberland County. | New Bloomfield |
| Philadelphia County | 1682 | One of the original counties at the formation of Pennsylvania. | Philadelphia |
| Pike County | 1814 | Parts of Wayne County. | Milford |
| Potter County | 1804 | From Lycoming county. Attached to Lycoming County until 1826 and to McKean County until 1835 for judicial purposes, Potter was not fully organized until 1835. | Coudersport |
| Schuylkill County | 1811 | Parts of Berks and Northampton Counties. | Pottsville |
| Snyder County | 1855 | Parts of Union County. | Middleburg |
| Somerset County | 1795 | Parts of Bedford County. | Somerset |
| Sullivan County | 1847 | Parts of Lycoming County; attached to Lycoming until 1848. | Laporte |
| Susquehanna County | 1810 | Parts of Luzerne County ; attached to Luzerne County until 1812. | Montrose |
| Tioga County | 1804 | Parts of Lycoming County; attached to Lycoming until 1812. | Wellsboro |
| Union County | 1813 | Parts of Northumberland County. | Lewisburg |
| Venango County | 1800 | Parts of Allegheny and Lycoming Counties; attached to until 1805. | Franklin |
| Warren County | 1800 | Parts of Allegheny and Lycoming counties; attached to Crawford County until 1805 and then to Venango until Warren was formally organized in 1819. | Warren |
| Washington County | 1781 | Parts of Westmoreland County. | Washington |
| Wayne County | 1798 | Parts of Northampton County. | Honesdale |
| Westmoreland County | 1773 | Parts of Bedford County. | Greensburg |
| Wyoming County | 1842 | Parts of Luzerne County. | Tunkhannock |
| York County | 1749 | Parts of Lancaster County. | York |
Genealogical Research in Pennsylvania
State Library of Pennsylvania
Genealogy/Local History Section
Forum Building
Walnut & Commonwealth
P.O. Box 1601
Harrisburg, PA 17105
Phone: (717) 787-4440
Pennsylvania State Archives
Third & Forster Streets
P.O. Box 1026
Harrisburg, PA 17108-1026
Phone: (717) 783-3281
Adjacent States and Province
- Ontario (Province of Canada) (Northwest)
- New York (North and Northeast)
- New Jersey (East and Southeast)
- Delaware (Extreme Southeast)
- Maryland (South)
- West Virginia (Southwest)
- Ohio (West)
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