Vital records,
as their name suggests, are connected with central life
events: birth, marriage, and death. Maintained by civil
authorities, they are prime sources of genealogical
information; but, unfortunately, official vital records are
available only for relatively recent periods. These records,
despite their recent creation in the United States, are
critically important in genealogical research, often
supplying details on family members well back into the
nineteenth century.
The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy,
by Loretto Szucs and Sandra Luebking.
Pennsylvania
Marriages to 1790 This database contains the names
of over 31,000 individuals for whom marriage licenses were issued in the
Province of Pennsylvania, previous to 1790. Each entry includes the names
of the individuals and the date. Among the laws agreed upon in England by
the Proprietary for the government of the Province of Pennsylvania, was
one providing for a registry of marriages, births and deaths. By virtue of
this law licenses were issued by the authorities, whose names are also
listed, and the county or town they served in. (Requires Ancestry.com
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Pennsylvania Marriages to 1810 Originally published in volume
VIII of the second series of the Pennsylvania Archives, this wonderful
collection contains almost 35,000 marriage records from the following:
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Marriages Recorded by
the Registrar General of the Province, 1658-1689;
Lutheran Church, New
Hannover (Montgomery Co.), 1745-1809;
German Reformed
Church, Philadelphia, 1748-1802;
First Baptist Church,
Philadelphia, 1761-1803;
Paxtang and Derry
Churches, 1741-1810.
Pennsylvania, Lutheran Baptisms and Marriages Settled in large part by German
immigrants, Pennsylvania has been home to hundreds of Lutheran
congregations since its formation in the seventeenth century. This
database is a collection of Lutheran Church baptism and marriage records
from southeastern Pennsylvania between 1730 and 1779. The records were
kept largely by Rev. John Casper Stoever. Baptism records, in addition to
providing the location and date, include the child's name, parents' names,
birth date, and names of sponsors. Marriage records include the names of
both spouses, and marriage location. It contains the names of over 6,000
people. (Requires Ancestry.com Membership)
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Reading,
Pennsylvania Marriage Records, 1876-84 This database indexes 9,700 marriages recorded in
the City of Reading only. After 1884, all Berks County marriage licenses
were recorded by the County of Berks. When requesting a copy of a record
from the Berks County Register of Wills, indicate the name, year, and file
number found in the index.
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Check or money order should be made
payable to Division of Vital Records. Personal checks are accepted. To
verify current fees, the telephone number is (412)656-3100.
Persons born in Pittsburgh or in Allegheny City, now part
of Pittsburgh, from 1882 to 1905 Registrar of Wills
City-County Building
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
For events occurring in City of Philadelphia write to: Vital Statistics
Philadelphia Department of Public Health
401 North Broad Street, Room 942
Philadelphia, PA 19108
State office has records beginning January 1906.
For earlier records, write to Register of Wills, Orphans Court, in county
seat of county where event occurred.
State office has records beginning January 1906.
For earlier records, write to Register of Wills, Orphans Court, in county
seat of county where event occurred.
