Welcome to our Public Collections page with free resources for Pennsylvania research
Catalogs and Guides
Search our online catalog of published books available in the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania library.
Our Pennsylvania Resources page includes repository guides for all 67 counties in Pennsylvania.
Philadelphia and Pennsylvania Resource Guide
National Archives handout of resources available for Philadelphia and Pennsylvania research and where to locate them.
Surname Index to GSP Collections
The surname index to manuscript collections includes all of the family collections, member files, and Bible records in the collections of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania when the index was created. The Surname Index is a valuable resource for locating in which individual collection the Surname file can be found.
Collections referred to in the Surname Index may be viewed free on microfilm or on computers at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City and at Family History Centers. Originals may be viewed at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107 and copies may be ordered from them for a fee.
Manuscript Card Catalog of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania
Family History Library in Salt Lake City
Also known as the “Manuscript Material Index” or the “Genealogical Material Index” (FHL films 377629-37), this is a very helpful index to many collections originally held by GSP, including the Buckman, Clement, Cope, and Justice collections and manuscripts. It references persons, places, families, localities, and events. It includes all manuscript collections listed below, except the Ely and Gerberich collections.
A guide to the card catalog is J. Carlyle Parker, Pennsylvania and Middle Atlantic States Genealogical Manuscripts: A User’s Guide to the Manuscript Collections of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania (Turlock, Calif.: Marietta Publishing, 1986.
Images at links below may be accessed at the GSP FamilySearch Affiliate Library, at Family History Centers, and at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.
Family Records Arranged Alphabetically. FHL film 345738 (first of 360 films)
Family Records No. 2 “F.C. Collection.” FHL films 525531-82
Genealogical Notes. 33 volumes and indexes. FHL film 522153 (first of 20 films)
Gilbert Cope Collection of Family Data. This collection is especially important for Quaker research. FHL films 517003-77
Warren S. Ely Collection of Genealogical Data, Letters (Eastern Pennsylvania Families). FHL film 511938 (first of 46 films)
Albert H. Gerberich Collection of Pennsylvania German Families. This collection is alphabetically arranged in 6 sets. FHL films 522107-118 and FHL films 522119-122
William H. Mervine Collection of Genealogical Notes. FHL film 503279 (first of 119 films)
Sophie Seldon Rogers Collection (Genealogical Material). Indexed and in alphabetical order. (On 45 Family History Library films beginning with FHL film 511759 (first of 45 films)
Others include the collections by Buckman, Dotterer, Enders, Gearhart, Harlan, Hocker, Hough, Justice, Mendenhall, Seldon, Stow, Welch, and Wood. Many genealogical materials are found in the Author-Title Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under Collections of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania.
Additional Public Collections
Alien Applications to Depart the United States – Index of Emigrants 1918 – 1919
Joseph W Hambleton remembrance book dated 1896
Joseph W Hambleton remembrance book dated 1897
Pennsylvania Civil War Conscientious Objectors
William Travis Will – August 10, 1869
The Member Collections section of our website has collections with a full-text search option for names, locations, and keywords. Searches are free, but GSP membership is required to view the results.