PAancestors.com Philadelphia Just Signed a Deal to Digitize 20 Million Records Hello Reader! In March, Philadelphia Mayor Parker signed Bill 251066 into law, authorizing the City of Philadelphia to partner with Ancestry.com to digitize approximately 20 million historical records held by the City Archives. Birth records, death records, marriage records, and property records — dating from the late 1600s through approximately 1950. If you have Philadelphia ancestors, this is the biggest access...
14 days ago • 2 min read
PAancestors.com How to Find Revolutionary War Pension Records for PA Ancestors Hello Reader! If you could read only one Revolutionary War record for a Pennsylvania ancestor, make it the pension file. No other document from this era gives you this much family detail in one place. Congress passed pension acts in 1818, 1832, and 1838 with each one expanding eligibility. By 1832, any veteran who had served at least six months could apply, regardless of financial need. Widows could apply under the...
21 days ago • 1 min read
PAancestors.com What the closing of the DAR Library means for you Hello Reader! I just returned from a research trip to Washington D.C. and need to let you know something urgent - The Daughters of the American Revolution Library in Washington, D.C. is closing in July for a multi-year renovation. The entire collection of over 225,000 books is being moved offsite. The historic reading room is getting a full restoration of its plasterwork, skylights, floors, and shelving. When it reopens, it...
28 days ago • 2 min read
PAancestors.com New Book: The Revolutionary War Writing Workbook Hello Reader! If you've been doing Revolutionary War research in Pennsylvania — or anywhere in the original thirteen colonies — I just published something I've been working on for months. The Revolutionary War Writing Workbook: Turn Your Research into Your First Family History is now available on Amazon. This is not another research guide. If you're reading this newsletter, you already know how to find pension files and muster...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
PAancestors.com Pennsylvania Militia and Associator Records: What Survives Hello Reader! Most Pennsylvanians who served in the Revolution did not enlist in the Continental Army. They served in the militia or as Associators which were voluntary companies formed before formal military organization existed. If your ancestor served, there's a strong chance it was local, short-term militia duty, not a Continental Line enlistment. Associators came first (1775-1777). These voluntary companies were...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
PAancestors.com Revolutionary War Service Records Hello Reader! Pennsylvania Revolutionary War service records are scattered across the Pennsylvania State Archives, the National Archives, and published volumes of the Pennsylvania Archives. No single source has everything. Here's where to look and what most researchers miss. Start with the pension index. It's free on FamilySearch. Search for both the veteran's name and his widow's name — widow's files often contain more genealogical detail...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
PAancestors.com The Revolutionary Era: Where to Start Hello Reader! If your ancestor lived in Pennsylvania between 1765 and 1790, the Revolution shaped their life, whether they fought, stayed home, or left the state entirely. The records are scattered across county courthouses, the Pennsylvania State Archives, the National Archives, and even British archives. Here's what you need to know before you start. Pennsylvania was the most ethnically diverse of the 13 colonies. By 1776, the population...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
PAancestors.com #1 in Amazon New Releases! Hello Reader! I can't believe what just happened. Colonial Pennsylvania Genealogy Research hit #1 in New Releases on Amazon. That’s because of you. Every purchase, every share with a research buddy, every message telling me this was the book you’d been waiting for — that’s what put it there. Thank you!!! One reader wrote back after my first email: “I’ve learned so much from your podcasts and was finally able to blast through a brick wall I’ve been...
3 months ago • 1 min read
PAancestors.com New Book for the 250th of America Hello Reader! I hope you make it to a historic site today for Pennsylvania's Charter Day. If you get to the Charter, that's a special moment. 345 years of PA history🎉 I told you in my first email that something was coming. Here it is. I’ve spent the last several months deep in Pennsylvania’s archives organizing everything I know about Colonial and Revolutionary Era records into one resource. The result is Colonial Pennsylvania Genealogy...
3 months ago • 2 min read