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, preceded by Archives that are available for the region or the country:
Multistate Archives
- Digital Commons Collections
- Digital Public Library of America
- Library of Congress Digital Collections
- National Archives Online Exhibits
- PastPerfectOnline Collections
- Smithsonian Digital Library
Pennsylvania Archives
- Albright College Digital Collections
- Allegheny College Digital Collections
- Arcadia University Digital Collections
- Archives Records Information Access System (Pennsylvania State Archives)
- Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania Digital Collections
- Bryn Athyn College of the New Church Digital Collections
- Bryn Mawr College Digital Collections
- Bucknell University Digital Collections
- Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
- Carnegie Mellon University Digital Collections
- Cheyney University Digital Collections
- Clarion University of Pennsylvania Digital Collections
- College of Physicians of Philadelphia Digital Collections
- Dickinson College Digital Collections
- Digital Collections at the State Library of Pennsylvania
- Drexel University Digital Collections
- Duquesne University Digital Collections
- East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania Digital Collections
- Elizabethtown College Digital Collections
- Erie County Public Library
- Evangelical and Reformed Historical Society
- Franklin & Marshall College Digital Collections
- Free Library of Philadelphia
- Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania
- German Society of Pennsylvania
- Gettysburg College Digital Collections
- Haverford College in Pennsylvania Digital Collections
- Historic Pittsburgh
- Historical Society of Pennsylvania Digital Library
- Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania
- Indiana University of Pennsylvania Digital Collections
- Jewish Genealogical and Archival Society of Greater Philadelphia
- Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Digital Collections
- Lafayette College Digital Collections
- Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society
- LaSalle University Digital Collections
- Lehigh University Digital Collections
- Library Company of Philadelphia
- Lincoln University Digital Collections
- Lutheran Archives Center at Philadelphia
- Luzerne County Historical Society
- Messiah University Digital Collections
- Millersville University of Pennsylvania Digital Collections
- Moravian University Digital Collections
- Muhlenberg College Digital Collections
- National Archives at Philadelphia
- Neumann University Digital Collections
- Pennnsylvania 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 – California
- Pennsylvania Western Archives and Collections – Edinboro
- Philadelphia City Archives
- PhillyHistory.org
- POWER Library: Pennsylvania’s Electronic Library
- Presbyterian Historical Society
- Rosemont College Digital Collections
- Saint Joseph’s University Digital Collections
- Saint Vincent College Digital Collections
- Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania Digital Collections
- Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania Digital Collections
- State Library of Pennsylvania
- Swarthmore College Digital Collections
- Swarthmore College Friends Historical Library
- Temple University Digital Collections
- Temple University Urban Archives
- Thomas Jefferson University Digital Collections
- 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
- Villanova University Digital Collections
- Washington and Jefferson College Digital Collections
- Washington County – Citizens Library
- West Chester University of Pennsylvania Digital Collections
- Widener University Digital Collections
- Wilkes University Digital Collections
- York College of Pennsylvania Digital Collections
For all Free Pennsylvania Links, click on the category of interest:
Newspapers
Yearbooks
Births
Marriages
Deaths
BMD Records
Alumni Records
Cemetery Records
Church Records
Coroner Records
Criminal Records
Digital Archives
Directories
Divorce Records
Immigration Records
Institutional Records
Military Records
Mortuary Records
Naturalizations
Obituaries
Photos
Probate and Wills
School Records
Tax Records
Voter Records
