Genealogical Research at the State Library of Pennsylvania

Genealogical Research at the State Library of Pennsylvania Janice B. Newman LTHOUGH THIS IS AN OVERVIEW OF RESOURCES at the State Library of Pennsylvania that are important for genealogical research, it is appropriate to briefly review the history of the library and the development of its collections. The State Library traces its beginnings to 1745, when Benjamin Franklin, Clerk of the Colonial Assembly, was directed to order from England copies of statutes and other works for reference use by members of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly. Franklin maintained the collection in the State House in Philadelphia, the building later known as Independence Hall. In 1799, when the seat of the state government moved to Lancaster, the library was located there. When Harrisburg became the capital in 1812, the library moved there. Evidence indicates that the State Library served the three branches of government, but not the general public, through the mid-1850s. The library's primary mission today is twofold; to serve the informational and research needs of the government of the Commonwealth, and to act as one of four Regional Library Resource Centers in the statewide system of public libraries. It also serves as a backup resource for Pennsylvania public, college and special libraries; and is open to any resident of the Commonwealth who has need of its collections. More than a century ago changing patterns in collection development eventually affected changing patterns of service as well. Charles N. Ehrenfeld was appointed State Librarian in 1878. He proceeded to emphasize the collecting of books about Pennsylvania history, and began the preservation of the state's newspapers. Although he served only four years, the foundation of the State Library's Genealogy/Local History Collection was laid by his precedence for collecting material relating to local history, biography and genealogy. His successors in the late 1800s not only followed, but emphasized that course. This was the era of the nation's Centennial 199 200 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine celebration, and as a result of that impetus much effort and productivity were directed toward writing, compiling, publishing and marketing county and local histories. These almost always contained biographical data contributed by the individual subscribers. Similar efforts produced county and city atlases which usually included illustrated property ownership plot maps. The State Library acquired these for most of Pennsylvania's counties, as well as a remarkable number for many other states, especially for counties where there were patterns of emigration from Pennsylvania. However, emigration patterns do not always explain the State Library's extensive collection of town, county and institutional histories for some regions, such as those for the New England states. A more likely explanation for the existence of the broad collection is the acumen and vision of those appointed as Pennsylvania State Librarians. When William Henry Engle was State Librarian, 18871898, unique source materials that were particularly important for future genealogical research were added to the collection. Publication series issued by private heritage societies, such as the newly organized statewide historical and folklife associations, were acquired as were publications generated within Pennsylvania counties. Civil War regimental histories for Pennsylvania, as well as other states, were collected. The State Librarian's annual reports indicate that a substantial proportion of these were received in exchange for Pennsylvania material. Comprehensive acquisition of local history material from the North and Northeast, as well as from the ancestral counties of Pennsylvanians, continued during the first two decades of the twentieth century when Thomas Lynch Montgomery was State Librarian. During his tenure there were significant changes in the organization, preservation and servicing of the collections. In addition to the establishment of a Division of Public Records, the nucleus of the State Archives, Dr. Montgomery recognized that materials of genealogical importance require special treatment for citizen access. Genealogical material was separated from the general collections and special staff members were assigned to develop indexes and other services appropriate for genealogical research. By the time Montgomery left Harrisburg in 1921 to direct The Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the concept of the State Library existing primarily to serve government was altered. The comprehensive collection of local histories and genealogies documenting the heritage of Pennsylvania and much of the Eastern United States contrib- Genealogical Research at the State Library of Pennsylvania 20 1 sited to the Library's new role as a public, as well as research library. The Pennsylvania State Archives was established in 1903 as an administrative unit of the State Library and was combined in 1945 with the State Museum and the Pennsylvania Historical Commission to form the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Because each contains resources that are genealogically useful and significant, some clarification of the roles of the State Library and the State Archives may be helpful. The State Library, as a library, is responsible for collecting material in published format, such as books, pamphlets, journals, atlases, government publications, newspapers and microforms. The State Archives, which also contains the State Land Records, is primarily responsible for collecting unpublished records of the Commonwealth and its citizens. These include the inactive public records of the state, county and municipal governments and land records such as warrants, surveys and patents relating to Commonwealth-owned lands and boundaries. A Guide to the Genealogy/Local History Section of the State Library of Pennsylvania provides a brief description of genealogically useful public records at the State Archives and Land Records Office. Genealogy/Local History Section The place to begin genealogical research among the state agencies in Harrisburg is the Genealogy/Local History Section of the State Library. From there one will be directed to the appropriate resources elsewhere. These may be to the State Library's published material in the Law, Government Publications or Newspaper Sections, or to the records in the State Archives and Land Records Office. Special Indexes In the Genealogy/Local History Section are the familiar indexes and genealogical materials arranged within the 929 classification of the Dewey Decimal System. Approximately 16,000 genealogy titles, including 6,000 on microfilm, are in this section. It includes most of the major national indexes and handbooks [929.1s] directories, compendiums and key periodicals [929.04 important for Pennsylvania research. In addition, several thousand family genealogies [929.2s] over a thousand compilations of cemetery, church, court- 202 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine house and lineage records [929 3 7484 are shelved alphabetically by county. The card catalog in the center of the Section is not a traditional library catalog, but a Genealogical Surname Index. The Place Name Index is also a part of this unit. These card indexes have been developed to access specialized segments of the genealogy collection. Thousands upon thousands of surname entries are in the Surname Index. Histories and sets of Pennsylvania material, as well as those of other states, are among the indexed sources cited. Genealogical journals of wide geographic scope have been surnameindexed for Pennsylvania connections. These include T. M. Green's Historic Families of Kentucky (1889); Stephen F. Miller's The Bench and Bar of Georgia, 1790-1857; John Littell's Family Records or Genealogies of the First Settlers of Passaic Valley (1852); G. Elmore Reaman's The Trail of the Black Walnut (1957) and J. W. Wayland's Virginia Valley Records (1930). Most of the names in Egle's Notes and Queries, as well as names in all of Egle's other histories and genealogies are indexed. Also, the single and multi-volume biographical sets about Pennsylvanians edited by John W. and Winifred Jordan, as well as Pennsylvania county historical society publications are indexed. All Pennsylvania county histories and biographical volumes to 1950 have been surname indexed. It is likely that at one time efforts were made to index Pennsylvania surnames in every book in the regional/ national history collection here. Genealogical Families File Near the Surname Index is the Genealogical Families File which contains typescripts or manuscripts of Pennsylvania family histories given to the State Library. Although the State Library does not actively collect unpublished material these are among the exceptions. For many families included in the Genealogical Families File, Surname and Place Name cards have been filed in the appropriate index. Through the years there have been unique efforts to index information, difficult to obtain otherwise, in the Surname Index. Sally A. Weikel of the Genealogy/Local History Section prepared the following example: persons with a Pennsylvania connection who applied for federal microfilm records in the National Archives in Washington, D. C. During Governor John Fisher's term of office, 1927-1931, school Genealogical Research at the State Library of Pennsylvania 203 children copied inscriptions from tombstones that were in poor condition in order to preserve the information. Cards indexing these inscriptions are filed in the Surname Index. Typescript indexes include an index compiled in 1958 to the three volume set of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg's journals, and an index done in 1978 by Harry N. Stalky to the Lists of Germans from the Palatinate Who Came to England in 1709 (Tribekka and Ruperti). Some unique card indexes, maintained separately from the main Surname and Place Name Indexes are those of Dauphin County tax records, 1785-1813, for selected townships; also an index to Harrisburg newspapers, 1792-1827. John C. Fralish, Jr. was the compiler of these indexes. Because the State Library is a library and not an archives, the collections emphasize material in published format. There are, however, among the special genealogical materials several manuscript collections and other unpublished material including transcripts of church, cemetery, family and local tax records. The intent is to collect unpublished records only when they have been collated, indexed and bound so that they will withstand sustained use. The Seilheimer Collection of eight typescript volumes of Franklin County family records is an example. The Seiffert and Zeamer Collections which focus on York and Cumberland Counties respectively do contain unbound manuscripts, mostly of church and cemetery records. Access to these collections is through self-guides, indexes and/or the Surname Index. Census Schedules The decennial United States Census records for Pennsylvania from 1790 to 1910, except for 1890 which were destroyed by fire, are available on microfilm. These records are referred to as census population schedules. Selected population schedules for the neighboring states of Maryland, Delaware, New York and Virginia, 1800 to 1830, and those for Ohio from 1820 to 1860 are also available at the State Library. The library owns hardbound indexes of the federal population schedules for all states from 1790 through 1850. In addition, for Pennsylvania we have the hardbound index for 1860; Soundex index for 1880 and 1900 and the Miracode index for 1910. The coding system for the Soundex and Miracode indexes is the same. 204 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine Mortality Schedules Mortality schedules for Pennsylvania for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880 are also available. For each person who died during the year ending June first in 1850, 1860, 1870 or 1880, information such as name, age, sex, race, marital status, place of birth, occupation, month of death, cause of death and number of days of terminal illness are listed. Union Veterans and Widows A copy of the schedules for the special census of Union veterans, and veterans in 1890, is owned by the State Library. This census became necessary when, after a lapse of twenty-five years, veterans who had by then reached an average age of sixty-two, and their parents and widows experienced great difficulty in locating the addresses of comrades whose testimony was needed to establish their petitions for benefits. Each entry for this census shows the name of a Union veteran of the Civil War; name of his widow if appropriate; veteran's rank, company, regiment or vessel; dates of enlistment and discharge; length of service in years, months and days; post office address; nature of any disability and remarks. Although the special veterans' schedules were never published, they served the purpose of the Act of 1 March 1889. Union survivors of the Civil War were often able to ascertain the whereabouts of their comrades by making application to the Census Bureau. Passenger Lists and Indexes Another sizeable microfilm resource consists of extensive maritime records of the Port of Philadelphia from 1783 to 1937. Included among the eight types of maritime records are the Philadelphia naturalization records, 1794-1880. These have been published by the Gale Research Company. P. William Filby &Mary K. Meyer: Passenger and Immigration Lists Index [PHA, 6 volumes (Detroit, 1981-84). These publications resulted in an avalanche of requests for naturalization records. Close to 75% of the published passenger lists in PILI can be found in the State Library's collections. The Library also owns microfilm copies of Ship Passenger Lists at the Port of Philadelphia, 1800-1882, with an index covering 1800-1896; the Soundex to Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Philadelphia, 1882-28 June 1948; and an index of Ship Passenger Lists at the Port of New York, 1820-1846. Genealogical Research at the State Library of Pennsylvania 205 Miscellaneous Microfilms The Genealogy/Local History Section has microfilm of the United States Direct Tax of 1798 for Pennsylvania [incomplete]; the Bucks County Tax Records, 1782-1846; and three reels of microfilm of newspapers held by the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania. City Directories Pennsylvania city directories owned by the State Library, on microfiche or microfilm: Chester, 1859-60; Erie, 1853-1902; Harrisburg, 1839-1845 and 1861-1901; Lancaster, 1843-1860; Philadelphia, 1785-1901; Pittsburgh, 1760-1860 and 1882-1901; Reading, 1806-1901 and Scranton, 1882-1901. Also, directories for Baltimore, Maryland, 1752-1860 and Wilmington, Delaware, 1814-1857. Pennsylvania County & Regional Histories and Atlases This is a collection of 139 reels microfilmed by Research Publications, Inc. on location at the State Library of Pennsylvania in 1973. Two hundred and eighty-three titles in 366 volumes are included. These volumes cover the most important county and city histories and atlases published during the last quarter of the nineteenth century, and the early years of the twentieth century. All known indexes are included. The Library will lend the index to this collection, as well as the microfilm itself, through interlibrary loan. Genealogy/Local History Microfiche Collection An extremely important national resource owned in Pennsylvania only by the State Library is this extensive microfiche collection, Genealogy and Local History. This collection has been published in annual parts since 1979. It is the result of a long-range program to assemble and preserve on microfiche the basic and most heavily used American genealogies; local histories; printed primary sources and genealogical serials. At its best this collection illustrates the direction the library is taking by allocating purchase monies for material, while preserving deteriorating originals in the collections. Once on microfiche they can be readily shared via interlibrary loan. The collection also contains many titles not previously owned, so it continues the development of a national collection begun a century ago. The first ten parts include source material from the thirteen original states. 206 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine Access to Genealogy and Local History is by a combination of traditional and developing technological means. First, the traditional. There are hardbound guides to the first ten parts, 1979-1986, containing indexes to authors, titles, personal and family names, and geographic locations. In addition, the State Library has purchased the computer-produced archival tapes and integrated them with their own computerized database, LUIS. These tapes are also used to produce the microfiche catalog referred to as COM [Computer Output Microfiche]. A copy of the COM Catalog is located in every Pennsylvania District Library Center. Pennsylvania Archives Colonial Records and Pennsylvania Archives, Ser. I through IX, are available at the State Library in both hardbound and microfiche formats. Copies can be made from the microfiche only. A twentyfour page section of the publication of the State Library: A Guide to the Genealogy/Local History Section of the State Library of Pennsylvania is devoted to these records. Area Keys Florence Clint's Pennsylvania Area Key: A Study of Genealogical Record Sources of Pennsylvania, is a guide to genealogical records of the state of Pennsylvania. Area keys for each of the sixty-seven counties in Pennsylvania are also available. Maps, histories, charts and other helpful material are included in each area key. Records Included in the collection are church records, cemetery records, tax records, court records and similar material for Pennsylvania. These compilations are arranged alphabetically on labeled shelves under 929. 374 + call numbers. County Histories In addition to the previously mentioned Pennsylvania County and Regional Histories and Atlases on microfilm, hardbound copies of most of these titles are available at the State Library. Many other titles, as well as proceedings and publications of various historical associations are also available. Genealogical Research at the State Library of Pennsylvania 207 Genealogies Several thousand family genealogies, call number 929.2 are included in the collection. Most of these titles were received as gifts from persons who wished to share their research with others, and in many cases are from persons who have used the State Library's collections. Heraldry The collection includes the Heraldry Index of the St. Louis,Public Library, a three-volume work which includes 102,000 entries which index approximately 860 titles in the St. Louis [Missouri] Public Library. Begun in 1927, this index originally contained only illustrations of arms found in English language sources. Most of the coats of arms indexed were from the British Isles. Since 1961, works in French, German, Dutch, Russian and Danish have been indexed with arms or similar devices from every continent. An in house index at the State Library is the Coat-of Arms card file. Prior to 1960, titles in the collection were indexed by the Library staff. The index to Family Coats of Arms in Printed Books in the New Jersey State LibraTy is also available on three reels of microfilm. Maps and Atlases A large collection of maps and atlases is located in the main reading room. Copies of the warrantee tract maps for the twentyfour Pennsylvania counties that have been completed can be found there. The counties are: Allegheny, Beaver, Bradford, Cameron, Dauphin, Elk, Erie, Fayette, Greene, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lawrence, Luzerne, McKean, Mercer, Pike, Potter, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Venango, Warren, Washington and Wayne. A five•ivolume Historical Atlases and Chronology of County Boundaries, 1788-1980 for Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota is also in the collection. Genealogical and Historical Periodicals The Library subscribes to over two hundred and fifty genealogical and historical periodicals. Major indexes to genealogical material in the periodicals are listed in the publication: A Guide to the Genealogy/ Local History Section of the State Library of Pennsylvania, 41 42. 208 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine Recently a particularly useful guide to research in Pennsylvania genealogy has been a series of articles published in The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine. From 1979 to 1987, "A Genealogist's Guide to Pennsylvania Records" has been prepared by Helen Hutchison Woodroofe of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania. Arranged alphabetically by counties, the guide lists specific genealogical holdings in the Society's library at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. In addition, the guide cites material of genealogical import in the published Colonial Records and Pennsylvania Archives, as well as in several key genealogical journals. The State Library benefits from the improved access to their copies of the same material. How-To Sources Handbooks and how-to-do-it guides to genealogical research can be found in class 929.1. In addition to the general handbooks, there are some that focus on research in specific geographical areas. Surname Notebook A Surname Notebook was begun in the Genealogy/Local History Section in May, 1984. Patrons register the surnames they are researching. They may also check to see if anyone else is engaged in similar research. The Surname Notebook is intended for persons desirous of coordinating their research with others. Family Registry On a wider scale, the State Library participates in Family Registry Cooperation in Research, as published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Registration forms are available at the Library, and can be mailed to Salt Lake City by the staff of the State Library or the researcher. Microfiche copies of the completed forms are retained by the Library. Additions to the Family Registry are received on a regular basis, with a completely revised alphabetical surname index. The potential for coordination of research is vast since so many libraries participate in Family Registry. Online Catalog—LUIS LUIS is the acronym for Library User Information Service, and searches the collections the old-fashioned way: by title, author and Genealogical Research at the State Library of Pennsylvania 209 subject. Computer terminals and printers are available in various reading rooms. The Online Catalog should be consulted to verify call numbers found in the Surname Index [many call numbers have been changed over the years], and to retrieve material located in the closed stacks. Law Section Material located in other sections of the State Library has also been indexed in the Surname Index. Pre-1873 state laws are indexed. Law materials are located in the Law Section, and include the 19 volumes of Pennsylvania Statutes at Large, 1701-1800, and early Pamphlet or Session Laws, as well as early privately published sets of Pennsylvania law as the 7 volumes of Smith's Laws, 18101820 and the 3 volume Smith-Reed Laws, 1820-1829. Giles D. Price's Index to Local Legislation in Pennsylvania from 1700 to 1892 (Phila., 1894) is one link to the 1 aws regarding landed property, legitimadons, adoptions, and state legal matters affecting individuals. These matters were frequently resolved at the state level prior to the 1873 Pennsylvania Constitution. Price's Index is therefore a key link used to determine laws and cases for inclusion in the Genealogical Surname Card Index. Newspaper Section The State Library has approximately 1,560 titles held in 3,600 bound volumes, as well as 63,000 reels of microfilm of Pennsylvania's retrospective newspapers. This is the largest known collection. A sizeable proportion of it is used by genealogy patrons. This is to be expected since newspapers are a primary source for the verification of births and deaths. Newspapers are especially important in Pennsylvania genealogical research due to the lack of nineteenth century vital records. Pennsylvania has been a leader in compiling published union lists of newspapers held by libraries. The first was compiled in the 1960's by Ruth Salisbury Reid. The second edition of Pennsylvania Newspapers: A Bibliography and Union List was edited by Glenora Rossell of the University of Pittsburgh, published by the Pennsylvania Library Association in 1978, and distributed by the State Library to most of the state's public, academic and special libraries. A finding-aid for the newspapers in the State Library's collection is Pennsylvania Newspapers and Selected Out-of-State Newspapers, (Harrisburg, 1984), which was distributed to libraries in the state. This 210 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine publication reflects considerable staff time, over the past two decades, devoted to bibliographical control and microform preservation. Reels of newspapers on microfilm are available through interlibrary loan for use at any library in North America. Up to nine reels may be borrowed for a three-week loan period. Although the task of searching through old newspapers is usually difficult since so few are indexed, they can provide a wealth of unexpected information about one's ancestors. To tap that information one must first identify the location of one's ancestors in Pennsylvania. It is well to remember that local libraries may own some newspaper finding-aids to the holdings of the State Library, and other depositories in the state. The State Library has been a successful recipient of monies for the recently authorized United States Newspaper Program of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Twenty-four states have been awarded grants to plan an inventory of all extant newspapers in their states and to catalog each for a national computerized online database known by its acronym OGLE [Online Computerized Library Center]. Locations, format and holdings will be quickly available to patrons at any library anywhere online with the OCLC database. There are now over 3,200 OCLC libraries, 300 of them in Pennsylvania. Genealogists and other users of newspapers in Pennsylvania will no longer suffer the restrictions of geography if the long range objectives of the United States Newspaper Program comes to full fruition. Over the next three years researchers from Pennsylvania State University, the State Library, University of Pittsburgh and The Historical Society of Pennsylvania will "identify and catalog the bulk of existing newspapers in Pennsylvania, and target fragile items for microfilming." The aim is not to collect the old papers into a central depository, but to identify their location, catalog and preserve them on microfilm. Government Publications Section Another public service section of the State Library containing resources important for genealogical research is the Government Publications Section. This collection is the official state depositor), for both state and federal government publications. Pennsylvania publications include the various departmental annual reports. One particularly important publication for genealogical research---the Genealogical Research at the State Libraty of Pennsylvania 211 Annual Report of the Adjutant General of Pennsylvania, 1861 to the present—contains lists of people who served in the militia and the Commonwealth National Guard. There are special volumes for Pennsylvania volunteers during the Spanish American War in 1898. Indexes are included in most volumes, basically one must approach this set by year of service, rather than by regiment, there are no comprehensive indexes. Samuel P. Bates, History of the Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-1865 , 5 volumes (Harrisburg, Pa., 1870-71) is the most useful list of Pennsylvanians who served in the Civil War. There is one copy of this set in the Government Publications Section and another in the Genealogy/Local History Section, where it is joined to its indispensable finding-aid: the 136 reel microfilm index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers in Pennsylvania Organization s. This MARS index mentions regimental associations for volunteers so one can find the right volume of Bates which is organized by regiments. Bates is unindexed except for commissioned officers. The Winter 1984 issue of RQ, the reference quarterly published by the American Library Association, carried a checklist of governmental genealogical sources compiled by a Documents Librarian at Rutgers University. The list includes overlooked federal material and forgotten finding aids that should be in any respectable library providing research, reference and referral service to genealogy clients. The following special and supplementary United States Censuses are available on microfilm: Census of manufactures-1820 all states complete (27 reels); 1850 through 1880 for Pennsylvania (14 reels). Census of Agriculture-1850 through 1880 for Pennsylvania (62 reels). Census of Social Statistics-1850, 1860 for Pennsylvania (9 reels). Census of Dependent, Defective and Delinquent 1880 for Pennsylvania (14 reels). Agriculture Schedules For the years ending 1 June 1850 or 1860, every farm with an annual produce worth $100 or more was enumerated; the enumerations included the name of the owner, agent or tenant and the kind and value of acreage, machinery, livestock and produce. Similar enumerations were made in 1870 and 1880 for farms with an annual produce worth $500. 212 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine Census of Manufactures Although an index is included on each roll of the Manufactures Census for 1820, a book index is available in the Genealogy/Local History Section. The 1820 enumerations include fourteen items of information relating to the nature and names of articles manufactured. For the years 1850, 1860 and 1870 enumerators recorded information about manufacturing, mining, fisheries and every mercantile, commercial and trading business with an annual gross product of $500 or more. These records are for Pennsylvania. Prologue Prologue: The Journal of the National Archives, features a column, "Sources at the National Archives for Genealogical and Local History Research." Each issue features a specific group of microfilmed records of particular value to genealogists and local historians. Issues of Prologue are available in the main reading room. The State Library of Pennsylvania, along-established, and still developing national collection of local history and important resources for research in genealogy, recognizes a special responsibility to serve Pennsylvanians in pursuit of their heritage. Several other libraries, particularly in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, have strong collections and continued concern for collecting the resources important to southeastern and western Pennsylvania. The State Library selects and purchases specialized genealogical source material with the greatest focus upon the regions of central Pennsylvania. However, central Pennsylvania's heritage is very complex, diverse, and key to any serious study of American national development because of the complex patterns of migration and settlement through this region of the Commonwealth. The State Library develops its genealogically useful collections accordingly and meaningfully as it re-examines its role as a twentieth century institution with statewide responsibilities to develop historic collections upon a framework providing improved access and sharing.