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Home > FAQ
FAQQ: How can I find out about the Society's collections? Q: How can I access the Society's collections from off-site? Q: What has happened to The Balch Institute? Q: Is the Society able to accommodate Research Groups? Q: Where can I find Pennsylvania vital records? Q: Do you have Pennsylvania/Philadelphia passenger lists and naturalization records? Q: Is the Society's catalog available online? Q: Do you have Philadelphia City Directories? Q: Are your newspapers indexed? Q: Can the Society offer appraisals? (or) How much is this book/letter/quilt worth? Q: How do I know if the Historical Society is open during inclement weather? Q: How can I find out about the Society's collections?A: If you are unsure whether the Society's collections will be relevant to your research, we encourage you to utilize published and online guides to our holdings. Information about books, pamphlets, articles, genealogical notes, newspapers, periodicals, microfilm, family histories, and general descriptions of our manuscript collections can be found in the Online Catalog. Our Guide to the Manuscript Collections of The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is now available online as MANX: Manuscript and Archive Information Exchange. Copies of the printed volume are available through your public library or can be purchased from The Historical Society of Pennsylvania. A Genealogist's Guide to Pennsylvania Records, by Helen Woodruffe, includes extensive information on our genealogical holdings and is available through your public library or for purchase from the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania. Also, the RLIN and OCLC on-line catalogs, available through academic and public libraries, contain more detailed listings of our manuscript and published collections, respectively. Finally, the "research guides" section of our Web site includes general information on our holdings as well as topic-specific guides for areas such as the Civil War and Architectural history. Q: How can I access the Society's collections from off-site?A: While we always encourage in-person research in our Library, the Society offers several services for off-site researchers unable to visit The Historical Society of Pennsylvania:
Q: Is the Society able to accommodate Research Groups?A: The Society is happy to accommodate research groups of 10-20 in the Library during our public hours. To ensure that all of our patrons receive quality service, advance notice and group reservations, which include an orientation and reserved seating, are required. For more information, applicable fees and scheduling questions, please contact the Society at 215-732-6200 ext. 261. Q: Where can I find Pennsylvania vital records?A: The Historical Society of Pennsylvania maintains an outstanding collection of resources necessary to identify and validate Pennsylvania vital records of the 18th to mid-19th centuries. Such sources include cemetery, church, baptismal and bible records, family histories and newspaper announcements. However, as you conduct your research it is important to keep in mind that the initiation of civil registration throughout Pennsylvania transferred the official maintenance of many records to various city and county agencies. In Philadelphia, for example, civil registration commenced on July 1, 1860; this date varies by city and/or county. As a result, the Society's resources of vital records after 1860 include only microfilm indexes and registers for deaths (up to 1902) and marriages (up to 1885). Further, the HSP does not hold certified copies of vital records. For a more comprehensive list of the Society's holdings, please refer to the Vital Statistics guide on this Web site. Please refer below to the list of agencies throughout Philadelphia and Pennsylvania that maintain "official" vital records.
Q: Do you have Pennsylvania/Philadelphia passenger lists and naturalization records?A: Unfortunately, no single government or public agency was responsible for recording "oaths of allegiance" or naturalizations in Philadelphia until the latter part of the 1800s. Much like vital records, Philadelphia passenger lists appear only sporadically and are often compiled and organized by time period, destination, geographical point of origin or ethnicity. For example, the Society's collection of the series, Germans to America, covers German immigration from the mid to late-19th century while another source, The Famine Immigrants: 1846-1851, documents Irish immigration during the famine years. Many researchers find William Filby's edition of Philadelphia Naturalization Records to be a useful resource for locating the Court in which an ancestor applied for naturalization between the years 1789-1880 (Note: Filby's guide is a 1982 re-issue of the original, 11-volume WPA compilation, Index to Records of Aliens' Declarations of Intention and/or Oaths of Allegiance, 1940). The Society's microfilm collection also includes abstracts of Philadelphia passenger arrivals from 1883-1948; the National Archives maintains the full records. All of these sources are available for research in the Library or for review through the Society's Research by Mail service. Q: Is the Society's catalog available online?A: Yes! You can search the Online Catalog for books, pamphlets, articles, genealogical notes, newspapers, periodicals, microfilm, family histories, and general descriptions of our manuscript collections. Search from home or use the public access terminals found in the Reference and Reading rooms at HSP. Our card catalogs, or "Public Catalogs" (PCs), will still be available to researchers, and will remain a necessary tool for many of our manuscript and graphics collections. Further descriptions of Manuscript collections can be found in the Manx: Manuscript and Archive Information Exchange. The Society is working on individual finding aids for manuscript collections that will be made available through Manx in the future. Q: Do you have Philadelphia City Directories?A: The Society maintains a complete collection of Philadelphia City Directories and holds assorted Philadelphia Business Directories from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries (1785-1935). After 1935, telephone books replaced directories, which are also available on microfilm at the Society. For further details on our specific holdings, please refer to the City Directories guide. Q: Are your newspapers indexed?A: While the Society maintains a large collection of newspapers, dating from the colonial and early republic periods, as well as the 20th century, very few have been indexed for historical or genealogical research purposes. Quite often an approximate or exact date is necessary to locate marriage and death announcements, ship arrivals, etc. For a list of indexed newspapers, please refer to the Vital Statistics guide on this Web site. Q: Can the Society offer appraisals? (or) How much is this book/letter/quilt worth?A: The Society is unable to offer appraisals of manuscripts, books and artifacts. A list of appraisers is available through the Appraisers Association of America, or refer to your local Yellow Pages. The Society's collections are, however, often useful for researching the history of a specific Pennsylvania manufacturer, artist, or business. Q: How do I know if the Historical Society is open during inclement weather?A: The Society maintains a weather hotline at 215-732-6200 x505 where information about closings and event cancellations are posted.
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