Pennsylvania Genealogy and History Guide

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: United States

Contents 1 Pennsylvania History and Genealogy Guide 1.1 Background 1.2 WikiTree Resources 1.3 Resource Links 1.4 USGenWeb 1.5 Other Online Resources

Pennsylvania History and Genealogy Guide

This is a locality guide to help you with your research in Pennsylvania.

Background

• Biography
• Gazetteers
• History
• Maps
• Migration
• For Further Reading
• Quick Facts:

Official State Name: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Statehood: 12 December 1787
State Motto: Virtue, Liberty, and Independence
State Capital: Harrisburg
State Nickname: Keystone State; Quaker State
Demonym: Pennsylvanian
State Animal: White-Tailed Deer
State Beverage: Milk
State Bird: Ruffed Grouse
State Colors: Blue & Gold
State Dog: Great Dane
State Fish: Brook Trout
State Flower: Mountain Laurel
State Insect: Firefly
State Plant: Penngift Crownvetch
State Song: Pennsylvania
State Toy (proposed): Slinky
State Tree: Eastern Hemlock

• Timeline:

1608 - English explorer Captain John Smith sails up the Susquehanna River.
1609 - Henry Hudson claims much of the region for the Dutch.
1643 - Swedish settlers found the first permanent settlement.
1664 - The land comes under the control of the British.
1681 - William Penn is given a large tract of land by King Charles II. He names it Pennsylvania.
1701 - The Charter of Privileges is signed by William Penn establishing a government.
1731 - The first U.S. library is opened by Benjamin Franklin.
1767 - The Mason-Dixon Line is agreed upon as the southern border with Maryland.
1774 - The First Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia.
1775 - The Second Continental Congress meets, creating the Continental Army with George Washington as the leader.
1777 - The city of Philadelphia is occupied by the British.
1780 - Slavery is abolished.
1787 - Pennsylvania ratifies the Constitution and becomes the 2nd state.
1812 - The state capital moves to Harrisburg.
1835 - The Liberty Bell cracks.
1863 - The Battle of Gettysburg occurs. It is the turning point of the Civil War.
1953 - Dr. Jonas Salk discovers the vaccine for polio while working at the University of Pittsburgh.

WikiTree Resources

• Space: Early Pennsylvania Settlers - Sources
• Space: Sources-Pennsylvania
• Pennsylvania Research Assistance
• Space:Pennsylvania Resource Page US Civil War: War Between the States

Resource Links

These are FamilySearch Wiki links with information to aid in your research. If you go to their page, you will also find Guided Research, Research Strategies, and Record Finder.

• Bible Records
• Cemeteries
• Census Records
• Church Records
• Court Records
• Directories
• Emigration and Immigration
• Genealogies (Arkansas Compiled Genealogies)
• Land and Property
• Law
• Military Records
• Naturalization and Citizenship
• Newspapers
• Online Records
• Periodicals
• Probate Records
• Slavery
• Taxation
• Vital Records

Ethnicity

• African Americans
• American Indians
• Ethnic Groups
• Swedish Americans

Local Research Resources

• Archives and Libraries
• Societies
• Family History Centers

USGenWeb

• Archives
• Pennsylvania GenWeb

Other Online Resources

• American Ancestors *free and $
• State Library of Pennsylvania (mostly inhouse resources)
• Historical Society of Pennsylvania
• Access Genealogy
• Ancestry $
• Pennsylvania Genealogy Online
• Rootsweb Pennsylvania Geneology Collection