We are excited to announce the release of some of the volumes in Series 2 through 7 in the Pennsylvania Archives. With these new records we now have about 78% of the Pennsylvania Archives online. These additional records include topics such as marriage records, muster rolls, tax lists and various records relating to the Revolutionary War. Here’s a list of the different series and what they contain.
Colonial Records – (All volumes completed)
Volumes I to X, “Minutes of the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania, from the Organization to the Termination of the Proprietary Government,” contain material dating from the beginning of English rule in 1682 to its end in 1775. Volumes XI to XVI, “Minutes of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, from its Organization to the Termination of the Revolution” include records from the early statehood period.Series 1– (All volumes completed)
Series one contains twelve volumes that reproduce papers selected chiefly from the files at the office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth. They were printed in chronological order to parallel and supplement Colonial Records. The earliest materials are dated 1664-and the latest 1790Series 2 – (Still working on volumes 2, 18, 19)
The nineteen volumes of the second series contain a broad selection of materials taken from numerous civilian sources in addition to repositories within the government of the Commonwealth. The series contains marriage and baptism records extracted from numerous parishes and denominations throughout the colony, muster rolls and papers relating to militia units from various counties, along with early records of immigration.Series 3 – (Still working on volumes 4, 6, 15–17, 26)
Series Three contains land records and accounts of the Treasury of the State of Pennsylvania. Among the series are twelve volumes of tax records ranging from 1765 to 1788, along with details on land grants, including those to soldiers of the Pennsylvania line in the Revolutionary War, and records of land purchases from the State of Pennsylvania dated 1733 through 1896. The final four volumes are an index for the series.Series 4 – (Still working on volumes 11 & 12)
The fourth series is a chronological collection of official papers of the governors of Pennsylvania from William Penn (1681) through William Alexis Stone (1903). Contained within the collection are addresses, proclamations, letters, and formal correspondence.Series 5 – (Still working on volumes 2, 4-8)
The fifth series collects all available muster and militia rolls from Pennsylvania’s early statehood period, including the Revolutionary War and the French and Indian Wars. This series contains records included in the second and third series, presented here with greater accuracy and detail.Series 6 – (Still working on volumes 1-4, 6, 9, 12, 14-15)
The sixth series continues the collection of early military records begun in the fifth series and includes muster rolls for the post-Revolution period, including the War of 1812 and the Mexican War of 1846-1848. This series also contains additional miscellaneous material such as records of marriages and baptisms, details regarding forfeited estates, and eighteenth-century election returns from the counties. Volume 15 of the sixth series contains an index for the fifth series.Series 7 – (Still working on volumes 2, 3, 5)
A comprehensive surname index to the more than one million names listed in the sixth series.Series 8 – (All volumes completed)
The Eighth Series reprints the Votes and Proceedings of the House of Representatives of the Province of Pennsylvania and comprises the journals of the Provincial Assembly during English rule of the colony from December 4, 1682, to September 26, 1776. The collection of this material was originally begun by Benjamin Franklin in 1754.Series 9 – (All volumes completed)
The ninth series contains the Executive Minutes of Pennsylvania’s Governors 1790-1838, and differs from Series 4 in that it records the official minutes and acts of successive governors, whereas the earlier series contains the private papers of the governors such as addresses and correspondence.
I would like to know how to research the Pennsylvania Archives Colonial Records, and Series 2. My family came on the ship “Pennsylvania Merchant” in 1733. My grandparents were married that year in Philidelphia, and settled in Lancaster county, Litiz, in the Wood colony. I’m interested in the marriage license, and birth records of the Guich/Gish family. Many of the children were in the Revolutionary War. Thank You
I believe that Morris Turner was an ancestor on my mother’s side. I have found references that said he was called before the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania as a Traitor during or after the Revolutionary War. Where could locate that information?
Goggle Mormon History Salt Lake city Utah and explore.
You will find it.
Chester County Tax Rates – 1785 pages 790 – 792+/-. I notices that the right side of the image has cut short the amount of tax. Will these be redone? or is that the way they were on the images you filmed
The Pennsylvania Archives are a bit unique in that we received the images in a digital form, just as they appear on the site now. We didn’t film or crop them, we just indexed and host them. For the most part the scans are excellent, but there are a few problem areas. Thanks for pointing this one out.
I am looking for early Carson tax, birth, marriage, etc. records as early as 1767 in Southwark, Philadelphia, PA. Are these available on-line for viewing if I subscribe?
For all practical purposes, the Pennsylvania Archives are the only place you might find that information on Footnote and they are available free, so you can look through those without subscribing.
There’s an outside chance that you may find reference to tax, birth, marriage or death information for someone from Southwark in a Revolutionary War Pension file, but every file is so different, it’s hard to know just what you’ll find.
One of the things we’ve tried to do on the site is provide enough information for you to evaluate images before you decide if you would like to subscribe or not. So, you can always search or browse the site, see all the index information and a reasonably sized preview of the image without subscribing.