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 change in decades.

Right now, these records require an in-person visit to the City Archives on Spring Garden Street. Researchers who live outside Philadelphia — or outside Pennsylvania — have had to plan trips or hire local researchers to pull records for them. Within two years, Ancestry expects to have these collections digitized, indexed, and searchable online.

What's included: The city's vital records and property records spanning roughly 300 years of Philadelphia history. The city retains ownership of all originals and receives permanent copies of every digitized image. Free access continues at the City Archives, City Hall Records offices, and more than 50 Free Library branches. Philadelphia public middle and high schools also get free access through Ancestry Classroom.

What to watch: This follows the same model Pennsylvania used with the State Archives partnership I wrote about in Archives in Pennsylvania for Genealogy Research. Similar deals exist in Vermont, Indiana, and Tennessee. The structure works — but a separate court case between Reclaim the Records and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission is still testing who controls the digital indexes created from public records. That case has not been decided yet.

What to do now: If you already have an Ancestry subscription, watch for new Philadelphia collections over the next two years. If you don't, your local library likely offers free Ancestry access. And if you haven't yet visited the City Archives in person — go before the crowds arrive.

​I wrote a full breakdown on the blog​

Happy researching!

Denyse Allen Founder, PA Ancestors

P.S. A note for the Chronicle Makers–curious among you: VIP lifetime pricing closed April 30. If you've been thinking about the community, it's now $29/month or $199/year, with the chronicle writing courses available individually if you want them. See the details here: https://www.skool.com/chronicle-makers/about​