CENSUS RECORDS

From the first federal census of 1790, the records are nearly complete for Pennsylvania, and microfilms of the federal copies are widely available at the National Archives-Mid-Atlantic Region, the Pennsylvania State Archives, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania State Library, and other libraries. Two enumerations were taken in Philadelphia in 1870. Gaps in the records are the following:

• 1800 (parts of Bedford and Westmoreland counties)

• 1810 (parts of Bedford, Cumberland, and Philadelphia counties)

• 1820 (parts of Lancaster, Lehigh, Luzerne, and Monroe counties).

After it was filmed by the National Archives, the 1880 census was sent to the University of Pittsburgh. The state copies of the 1840–70 censuses are no longer extant, but a few county copies are known to exist. Microfilm of the non-population and mortality schedules for 1850–80 are at the state library and at the National Archives-Mid-Atlantic Region. Pennsylvania took no state censuses, but an enumeration of taxpayers compiled every seven years from 1779 through 1863 is commonly called the Septennial Census. These records have only survived in small numbers and are available at the state archives.

Eddy, Henry Howard, and Martha L. Simonetti, eds. Guide to the Published Archives of Pennsylvania. Harrisburg: Historical and Museum Commission, 1949. Reprint. 1976.

Schweitzer, George K. Pennsylvania Genealogical Research. Knoxville, Tenn.: the author, 1986.

Rubincam, Milton. Genealogical Research: Methods and Sources. Vol. 1. Rev. ed. Washington, D.C.: American Society of Genealogists, 1980. (Chapter on Pennsylvania.)

Archives, Libraries, Societies, and Other Resources

Pennsylvania State Archives
Third and Forster Streets
P.O. Box 1026
Harrisburg, PA 17108-1026
Tel: 717-783-3281
http://www.state.pa.us/PA_Exec/Historical_Museum/DAM/psa.htm

State Library of Pennsylvania
Main Reading Room
Forum Building, Room 102
Walnut Street and Commonwealth Avenue
P.O. Box 1601
Harrisburg, PA 17105
Tel: 717-787-4440
  717-783-5950 (Reference)
Fax: 717-783-2070
TTY: 717-772-2863
http://www.cas.psu.edu/docs/pde/LIBINFO.HTML

Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania,
1305 Locust Street, 3rd Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19107-5405
Tel: 215-545-0391
Fax: 215-545-0936
Email: gspa@libertynet.org

Genealogical Computing Association of Pennsylvania (GENCAP)
c/o M.A. Miller, Treas.
51 Hillcrest Road
Barto, PA 19504
BBS: 215-438-2858
Email: gencap@libertynet.org

Historical Society of Pennsylvania,
Library & Museum (Closed 11/27/97-4/13/98)
1300 Locust Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Tel: 215-732-6201
Fax: 215-732-2680
Email: hsppr@aol.com

Free Library of Philadelphia
Central Library
Social Science and History Department
1901 Vine Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Tel: 215-686-5322