The online catalog contains descriptions of records held by the Pennsylvania State Archives. You can use the catalog to find records, order them in advance of a visit, and create lists of records that interest you.
Archival records created by the General Assembly, State Judicial System, Executive Branch departments, boards and commissions, county and municipal governments, and school districts are maintained and described as government records.
The collection series are listed under the agency of origin or under the governmental unit which may have inherited the records and functions of a predecessor agency. Collections are often further classified by subgroups that correspond to administrative units of the agency or defunct departments or commissions whose records and functions were transferred to that agency. Sometimes the records of a subgroup have been further divided according to division or section. In a few instances, series within a collection have been arranged according to subject matter. Collection series are listed in alphabetical order within the groups or subject headings.
It should be noted that many of the administrative units within the individual departments have undergone frequent reorganization and changes in name. Consequently, some series are listed under a bureau or division that may have merely transferred the records to the custody of the State Archives. Preceding the series listing for each collection is a brief administrative history.
For purposes of administrative control, local public records transferred to the State Archives are accessioned into three record groups: Collection RG-47: Records of County Governments, Collection RG-48: Records of Municipal Governments, and Collection RG-55: Records of School Districts.
Personal papers, manuscripts, and non-governmental records are maintained and described as non-government records.
Collections include, to mention several general areas of concentration, papers concerning the Provincial period; papers of governors of the Commonwealth; papers of or collections relating to prominent Pennsylvania families; records of social, fraternal, civic, cultural, educational, religious, political, and military activities and organizations; and records which pertain to agricultural pursuits and to commercial and industrial enterprises.
Search the catalog
Keyword search
You can use the keyword field to search or browse records contained in the Pennsylvania State Archives. You can enter words found almost anywhere in the descriptive record, including subjects, names, and places.
View a simulation demonstrating how to use the keyword search.
Advanced search
The advanced search provides you with a more robust search tool that will help you receive more precise results. Using multiple fields in combination with each other allows you to find records quickly.
You can use the keyword field to search or browse records contained in the Pennsylvania State Archives.
You can enter words found almost anywhere in the descriptive record, including subjects, names, and places. You can enter more than one word in the keyword field and the blank space between the words will treat the space as an “and” statement.
View a simulation demonstrating how to use the keyword search.
Using the container/box field allows you to restrict the search to materials in a specific container/box.
View a simulation demonstrating how to search using the container/box field.
Using the forms part of field list allows you to restrict the search to materials that are part of a specific group of records.
View a simulation demonstrating how to search using the forms part of field.
Using the level of description drop-down list allows you to restrict the search to records of a specific level of description.
View a simulation demonstrating how to search using the level of description drop-down list.
Using the subject-topical field allows you to restrict the search to a specific topic.
Using the subject-name field allows you to restrict the search to a specific name.
View a simulation demonstrating how to search using the subject-name field.
Using the name of creator field allows you to restrict the search to a specific name of creator.
View a simulation demonstrating how to search using the name of creator field.
Using the material type drop-down list allows you to restrict the search to a specific type of material.
Only two materials types in the Pennsylvania State Archives, government or non-government material type, are available in the dropdown list.
View simulation demonstrating how to search using the material type drop-down list.
Using the year(s) of creation field allows you to enter a four-digit year such as 1945 or a range of years such as 1939…1945, 1939… or …1945.
View simulation demonstrating how to search using the year(s) of creation field.
Using the shortcut number field allows you to search by shortcut number from the legacy application. You can search records in the Pennsylvania State Archives using the custodial history number from the legacy application.
Using this field is helpful to those who have become accustomed to searching certain records and looking for those records using the shortcut number field.
View simulation demonstrating how to search using the shortcut number field.
| Type | Operator | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Logical OR | / | Use a forward slash to find one or all search terms. Example: warrant/deed/patent will find records containing at least one of these search terms. |
| Wildcard | * | Use an asterisk to truncate search terms. Example: counc* will find council, councilor, councilman, etc. |
| Exact phrase | " | Use quotation marks to search for exact words or phrases. Example: "William Penn" will only find records where this name appears exactly as entered. |
Browse by collection, creator, or topic
Collection
All collections includes every collection in the catalog, arranged alphabetically. You can view a simulation that demonstrates how to browse all collections.
Government records includes records created by Pennsylvania government agencies, arranged alphabetically.
Non-government records includes records from individuals, families, businesses, and organizations, arranged alphabetically.
Creator
You can use the creators search to view all individuals or entities named as the creator of a record stored in the Pennsylvania State Archives.
Topic
You can use the topics search to browse records grouped by topic that are stored in the Pennsylvania State Archives.
Explore items in the catalog
Requesting to view items
If you would like to submit a request to view an item in person at the Pennsylvania State Archives building, you will need to drill all the way down to the item and use the request button.
Requests to view an item may only be made at the item level.
When you request to view an item, you'll need to provide:
- Name
- Agency (If applicable)
- Phone
- Date of visit to the State Archives
The item being requested to view at the Pennsylvania State Archives will be pre-populated in the requested item(s) field and cannot be edited.
Language and social features
You can translate the detail display page to any written language using the Google Translate link on the page.
You can also take advantage of the various social networking links at the bottom of the detail display page. Experiment with them to send interesting findings to your friends.
