The Ancestor Hunt regularly adds and updates new collection links, as well as searches for and fixes broken links.
(This page's most recent update is October 2024)
______________________________________
The Ancestor Hunt has been cataloging and listing links to free online genealogy collections in over 24 different record categories since 2014. These are available for you to view and use via the Resources tab above.
There is a massive amount of genealogy and historical material that can help us researchers as we discover who belongs in our family tree, and more importantly, what is their life story. But much of this genealogical and historical material doesn’t fit nicely into a specific genealogy record category.
As researchers, we should avail ourselves of the types of materials listed below. They definitely will help us in our genealogy and family history research These online resources are available generally at state libraries and archives, larger public libraries, and college and university digital collections. Hence the creation of these lists of links to free online digital archives for the state. I hope they prove useful to you in your pursuit.
Types of Information Available in Digital Archives
- Scrapbooks
- Diaries
- Family Papers, Biographies, and Other Collections
- Letters
- Oral Histories
- Maps
- Bulletins and Newsletters
- Corporate Collections
- Local Community and County Histories
- Photographs and Postcards
- Rare Books and Manuscripts
- Government Publications and Documents
- And yes, Genealogy Record Collections and Indexes
The Free Online Digital Archives for the state are listed below:
Pennsylvania Archives
- Access Genealogy – Pennsylvania
- Albright College Digital Collections
- Allegheny College Digital Collections
- Allegheny Valley Community Library
- Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center
- American History & Genealogy Project – Pennsylvania
- Ancestry Free Index Collections
- Arcadia University Digital Collections
- Berks County Public Library
- Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania Digital Collections
- Bryn Athyn College of the New Church Digital Collections
- Bryn Mawr College Digital Collections
- Bucknell University Digital Collections
- Butler Area Public Library
- California University of Pennsylvania Digital Collections
- Cambria County Library System
- Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
- Carnegie Mellon University Digital Collections
- Centre County Genealogical Society
- Chester County Archives
- Cheyney University Digital Collections
- Chronicles: The Annals of Dickinson College
- Chronicling America – Pennsylvania
- Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Database
- Clarion University of Pennsylvania Digital Collections
- College of Physicians of Philadelphia Digital Collections
- Cumberland County Library System
- Cyndi’s List – Pennsylvania
- David Rumsey’s Historical Maps
- Dead Fred
- Death Indexes – Pennsylvania
- Dickinson College Digital Collections
- Digital Collections at the State Library of Pennsylvania
- Digital Commons Collections
- Digital Library of Appalachia
- Digital Public Library of America – Pennsylvania
- Drexel University Digital Collections
- Duquesne University Digital Collections
- East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania Digital Collections
- Edinboro University of Pennsylvania Digital Collections
- Elizabethtown College Digital Collections
- Erie County Public Library
- Evangelical and Reformed Historical Society
- FamilyHart Online Genealogy Database
- FamilySearch
- FamilySearch – Pennsylvania Online Genealogy Records
- FamilySearch Catalog
- FamilySearch Wiki – Pennsylvania
- FindAGrave
- Franklin & Marshall College Digital Collections
- Fredericksburg, Matthews Public Library
- Free Library of Philadelphia
- Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania
- Genealogy Trails – Pennsylvania
- German Society of Pennsylvania
- Gettysburg College Digital Collections
- Google Books – Pennsylvania
- HathiTrust – Pennsylvania
- Haverford College in Pennsylvania Digital Collections
- Historic Pittsburgh
- Historical Society of Pennsylvania Digital Library
- Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania
- I Dream of Genealogy
- Indiana University of Pennsylvania Digital Collections
- Interment.net – Pennsylvania
- Internet Archive – Pennsylvania
- Jewish Genealogical and Archival Society of Greater Philadelphia
- Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Digital Collections
- Lackawanna Valley Digital Archives
- Lafayette College Digital Collections
- Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society
- LaSalle University Digital Collections
- LDS Genealogy – Pennsylvania
- Lebanon County Libraries
- Lehigh University Digital Collections
- Library Company of Philadelphia
- Library of Congress Digital Collections
- Lincoln University Digital Collections
- Linkpendium – Pennsylvania
- Lititz Public Library
- Lutheran Archives Center at Philadelphia
- Luzerne County Historical Society
- Messiah University Digital Collections
- Meyersdale Public Library
- Millersville University of Pennsylvania Digital Collections
- Montgomery County – Norristown Public Library
- Moravian University Digital Collections
- Muhlenberg College Digital Collections
- National Archives and Records Administration
- National Archives at Philadelphia
- National Archives Online Exhibits
- National Archives Resources for Genealogists
- Nationwide Gravesite Locator
- Neumann University Digital Collections
- New Castle Public Library
- New Horizons Genealogy – Pennsylvania
- PastPerfectOnline Collections
- Patriot and Grave Registry
- Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
- Pennsylvania State Archives
- Pennsylvania State University – Harrisburg Digital Collections
- Pennsylvania State University – Pennsylvania College of Technology Digital Collections
- Pennsylvania State University – University Park Digital Collections
- Pennsylvania Western Archives and Collections – Edinboro
- Philadelphia City Archives
- PhillyHistory.org
- Pottsville Free Public Library
- POWER Library: Pennsylvania’s Electronic Library
- Presbyterian Historical Society
- Rosemont College Digital Collections
- Saint Joseph’s University Digital Collections
- Saint Vincent College Digital Collections
- Sanborn Maps – Pennsylvania
- Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania Digital Collections
- Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania Digital Collections
- Smithsonian Digital Library
- State Library of Pennsylvania
- Swarthmore College Digital Collections
- Swarthmore College Friends Historical Library
- Temple University Digital Collections
- Temple University Urban Archives
- The Official Land Records Site
- Thomas Jefferson University Digital Collections
- United States Social Security Death Index
- University of Pennsylvania Digital Collections
- University of Pittsburgh Digital Collections
- University of Scranton Digital Collections
- University of the Arts Digital Collections
- Ursinus College Digital Collections
- US GenWeb – Pennsylvania
- US GenWeb Archives – Pennsylvania
- Villanova University Digital Collections
- Washington and Jefferson College Digital Collections
- Washington County – Citizens Library
- West Chester University of Pennsylvania Digital Collections
- Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society
- Widener University Digital Collections
- Wilkes University Digital Collections
- York College of Pennsylvania Digital Collections
Good Luck and Happy Hunting!