FREE LIBRARY OF PHILADELPHIA (FLP)
Ask for Researching your Family History at the Central Library, a handout available at the Social Science and History Department reference desk.
The books listed below are only SOME of the useful ones available at FLP.
Local histories contain much information about early land holders. Good lists of local histories can be found in United States Local Histories in the Library of Congress, 016.973 Un31u (Room Ref), A Bibliography of American County Histories, 016.973 F472b (Room Ref), and Consolidated Bibliography of County Histories in Fifty States in 1961, 016.973 P442c (Stacks). Pennsylvania County and Regional Histories. Microfilm 974.8 P3823c. Many Pennsylvania county histories have been microfilmed. Ask for a list at the MAP Department. Bibliography of Pennsylvania History with suppls. 016.9748 P3843b (Room Ref). Good for lists of Pennsylvania local histories. For material after 1970, see America: History and Life. For histories of SOME Philadelphia neighborhoods, inquire at the Social Science and History reference desk.
Pennsylvania Archives. 974.8 P3823a (Room Ref). A Guide to the Published Archives of Pennsylvania is shelved with Pennsylvania Archives. See the following headings in the guide: Name of county, Tax Lists, Donation Lands, Depreciation Lands, Forfeited Estates, Indian Deeds, Land Warrantees, Last Purchase Land Warrantees, Maps, Proprietary Manors, Rights, Warrants, and Welsh Purchasers.
Warrants and Surveys of the Province of Pennsylvania Including the Three Lower Counties, 1683-1759. 929.3 P53w (Room Ref). Includes Philadelphia City and County, Berks, Bucks, Chester, Cumberland, Kent, Lancaster, York, New Castle, and Sussex Counties, and the town of Reading.
Guide to the Mortgages of the General Loan Office of the Province of Pennsylvania, 1724-1756. 929.3748 G941t (Room Ref)
Guide to Records of the Sale of Commonwealth Property in Philadelphia County, 1780-1798. 929.3748 G941tr (Room Ref).
Philadelphia Land Titles. 347.2 P53l. Map Department. A very small collection of published land titles.
The Database and Newspaper Center has an online real estate directory that can help determine the current owners of real estate in Philadelphia.
Index of Wills and Administration Records, 1682-1782, 1783-1810, 1811-1831, 1832-1850. 929.3 W6751(Room Ref). Philadelphia wills.
Philadelphia Preserved: Catalog of the Historic American Buildings Survey. 720.9748 H629a. There are archival photographs and drawings on microfilm in the Art Department for some of the buildings listed in this reference.
Inventory of Buildings Within the Chestnut Hill Historical District. 917.4811 M71i (Maps).
Historic Germantown Avenue in Mt. Airy. 720.9748 M711h. Shelved as 914.4811 M71h (Maps).
Historic America: Buildings, Structures, and Sites Recorded by the Historic American Buildings Survey. 724.973 H629a (Stacks).
Guide to the State Historical Markers of Pennsylvania. 917.4804 B468g (Ready Ref D)
African-American State Historical Markers. 974.811 P53g (Ready Ref D).
Local Businesses: Exploring Their History. 338.7407 K463l. Shelved with 929.1 (Room Ref).
The Map Department has one of the best collections of Philadelphia maps in the world. Included in the collection are ward atlases, Hexamer and Sanborn Fire Insurance Atlases, Hexamer General Industrial Surveys, aerial photographs, genealogies of political subdivision boundaries, and street name changes. The collection also includes early atlases of other Pennsylvania counties, a worldwide collection of gazetteers (place names), and much other material of interest to genealogists. Many early maps show land owners. Ask the map librarian for assistance. Philadelphia Street Name Changes. 917.4811 P53mo. Descriptive List of the Map Collection in the Pennsylvania State Archives. 016.912748 P384d. U. S. Atlases: a List of National, State, County, City, and Regional Atlases in the Library of Congress. 016.912 Un33u. Land Ownership Maps in the Library of Congress. 016.912 Un33la.
PACSCL Photography Directory: Eastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey, and Delaware. 779.074 P1a. Print and Picture Department. A subject index to the holdings of hundreds of photographic archives. It is difficult to overemphasize the importance of this ESSENTIAL directory.
Philadelphia Photograph Subject Headings. 025.4997 P53p. Print and Picture Department. Lists photograph subject headings used at the Urban Archives, Samuel Paley Library, Temple University. List of Subject Headings for Photographs in the Suburbs Photograph Collection: Eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. 025.4977 L696o. Print and Picture Department. Lists photograph subject headings used at the Urban Archives, Samuel Paley Library, Temple University. The Print and Picture Department (PIX) has many photographs, prints, and other graphic material related to Philadelphia. Make inquiries at the PIX reference desk, and ask for their handout titled House Histories.
A History of the Region of Pennsylvania North of the Ohio and West of the Allegheny River.... A974.8 Ag6 (Stacks). A brief account of the division of this area for public purposes, including donation and depreciation lands.
Genealogist's Guide to Pennsylvania Records. 929.1072 G286g (Room Ref). Lists Historical Society of Pennsylvania holdings for PA counties as of the 1980s. A good source for lists of deeds, land records, and probate records by Pennsylvania county.
Many branch libraries of the Free Library have neighborhood related holdings.
To make full use of the HSP collection, you must be able to use ALL of their catalogs.
Generally, HSP has deed indexes for the period 1683-1880s, deeds for the period 1683-1830, will indexes and wills for the period 1682-1900, and administration indexes for the period 1682-1900.
There are numerous indexes to the photographic collection of HSP. These should be examined in detail. There are indexes to collections of prints and photographs, a map and atlas catalog, a graphics catalog, an index to the records of the Philadelphia Contributorship and indexes to the records of the Franklin and Pennsylvania Fire Insurance Collections.
"Archives of the City and County of Philadelphia, Part 2" in Penn In Hand (the newsletter of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania), Vol. XVI, No. 1, Mar 1995. A useful description of the deed, exemplification, tax, and photographic holdings of the Philadelphia City Archives. "Probate and Related Records in Pennsylvania," Penn in Hand, Vol. IX, No. 1, 1987. Essential reading for an understanding of the relationship between property and probate records in Pennsylvania.
Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives. 016.9291 Un3g. Has interesting chapters on land records and cartographic records at the National Archives.
The Archives: a Guide to the National Archives Field Branches. 016.973 Sz71a.
United States Direct Tax of 1798: Tax Lists for the State of Pennsylvania. An extremely useful resource. Internal Revenue Assessment Lists for Pennsylvania, 1862-1866.
Guide to Genealogical Sources at the Pennsylvania State Archives. 016.9293 P384g. Describes the holdings of PAA.
Guide to the Photographs at the Pennsylvania State Archives. 016.9748 P384g.
Descriptive Inventory of the Archives of the City and County of Philadelphia. 016.9748 P53d. An updated version of this inventory is on the reference shelf at PAR. The only way to get a precise idea of the vast PAR holdings that relate to deeds, land records, maps, and photographs is to examine this updated inventory.
Some of the useful resources found on the reference table at PAR are listed below.
Subject Index to the Photograph Collection of the Philadelphia City Archives. 016.9748 P53de.
Architectural Research Sources at the Philadelphia City Archives & the Department of Records. An outstanding handout that is essential for every kind of research concerning Philadelphia property. Essential reading.
Guide to the Philadelphia Exemplification Record Series..., 1669-1838.
Deeds for Philadelphia County, 1683-1951, and indexes. For deeds after 1951, contact the Philadelphia Department of Records (CHR) at City Hall.
Sheriff's Deeds for Philadelphia County, 1736-1905.
Fairmount Park Commission Index to Deeds and Land Titles.
Atlas Holdings of the City Archives of Philadelphia. Board of Education School Construction Photographs.
A list of PAR records that have been filmed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is available on the PAR reference shelf. Most of these microfilm reels are available for loan via LDS Family History Centers.
Deed transfer sheets. These documents help trace the chain of title for Philadelphia property from the 1950s back to the 1870s.
Wills and Administrations for Philadelphia, 1682 to the present with indexes. The best place to do research on probate records. Many of the will and administration folders that contain the original documents are at the Register of Wills Archive at 3101 Market St.
ALWAYS check the index to Orphan's Court records for disputes among heirs, for final disposition of property, and for guardians appointed for minors.
Tracing Title to Real Estate in Philadelphia. A handout updated in 1973 and available at PHC. Much of this handout is dated; however, it is still a useful guide to the subject. PHC has a vast Philadelphia photograph collection. Ask to see the files by house number (there are not many of these) AND by street block; e. g., ask for the file 400 Richmond St. AND the file for the 400 block of Richmond St. Tell the archivist what you are trying to do and then take advantage of his or her knowledge of the collection. The collection is especially useful for getting pictures of buildings that no longer exist; e. g., the areas demolished to make way for I-95.
The LDS collection is the largest collection of genealogical material in the world and is worldwide in scope. Numerous microfilm reels of deeds, land records, and probate records are available for loan for a nominal fee.
LOCAL HISTORICAL AND CIVIC ASSOCIATIONS
