Genealogical Resources
This library/archives is a research center
for Pennsylvania Mennonite and Amish history, genealogy, and theology.
It also holds a significant collection of historical/genealogical materials
pertaining to southeastern Pennsylvania with a special focus on Lancaster
County. The Society is a nonprofit, educational organization and is dedicated
to the collection, preservation, and interpretation of books, papers, and
artifacts related to the Anabaptist/Mennonite heritage. A person who is
not a member of the Society pays a $5.00 per day fee to use the temperature-
and humidity-controlled library, but students may use the facilities free
of charge. Most genealogies and local histories are shelved in the reading
room, where researchers have access to open shelves. Additional books,
maps, and archival items are housed in adjacent, limited-access areas,
which require staff assistance for retrieval. Books are catalogued according
to the Library of Congress classification system. Three microfilm readers
and one microfiche reader are available for use. The Society publishes
Pennsylvania
Mennonite Heritage (quarterly magazine) and The Mirror (bimonthly
newsletter). It also offers a genealogical research service by mail.
To Begin a Genealogical Search:
1. Search the genealogical card file, which consists of
individuals' names, dates, and other vital statistics on over 230,000 cards
arranged in alphabetical order. Both the paternal (father) and maternal
(mother) lines can be traced if the vital information is complete. A form,
"Nurturing Our Roots," which serves as a tool to submit genealogical information
for the card file, is available. Sample card format:
| NAME IN FULL, Birth date--Death date, Location
s[on of]: Father [first, middle]--Mother [first, middle, maiden] [Marriage date], Wife, Birth date--Death date dau. [of] Father [first, middle]--Mother [first, middle, maiden]
|
2. Check the library card catalog for materials located in the reading room under call numbers B through BR and BV through Z. A, BS, and BT are on closed stacks.
Genealogies: Over 2,400 published genealogies are available for researchers' use.
Local History-Secular, Church-Related: County, township, town/city, and congregational histories as well as Mennonite and non-Mennonite church records (see CHURCH RECORDS AND REGISTERS) for Lancaster and other Pennsylvania counties serve as good resources.
Biographical Works: Biographical encyclopedias and directories for various counties aid the genealogist.
Directories: City and county directories provide names, addresses, occupations, and other helpful data.
Gazetteers: These identify and give short descriptions of towns, mountains, lakes, valleys, and streams. The basic reference tool is the Columbia-Lippincott Gazetteer of the World, shelved in the reference area. The Rand McNally Commercial Atlas & Marketing Guide lists cities, villages, and townships in the U.S.
Ship Passenger Lists: Lists of immigrants who landed at Philadelphia between 1727 and 1808 appear in the three-volume Pennsylvania German Pioneers. The multi-volume Passenger and Immigration Lists Index gives thousands of names and dates of immigrants to North American ports during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.
Encyclopedias: The five-volume Mennonite Encyclopedia and the three-volume Brethren Encyclopedia, shelved in the reference area, are comprehensive works containing entries on surnames, most Mennonite and Brethren congregations, conferences, European Anabaptist history, doctrines, church practices, and many other subjects.
3. Additional Library and Archival Sources
Atlases and Maps: Lancaster County atlases--published in 1864, 1875, and 1899--show landowners, acreage owned, churches, graveyards, schools, and mills and are shelved along with contemporary atlases in the reference area. Approximately 50 atlases from other Pennsylvania counties as well as patentee maps, which locate land sold to the first individual landowners, are available upon request.
Census Records: Published indexes for the Pennsylvania censuses from 1790 to 1860 and to 1870 for eastern Pennsylvania are in the reference area. The library has all Lancaster County census records from 1790 through 1920 (except 1890) on microfilm as well as records for other Pennsylvania counties for selected years.
Cemetery Transcriptions: Over 2,500 cemetery transcriptions from Lancaster and other counties, states, and countries are listed by cemetery name, location, and religious denomination. In addition, the Gerberich and Worner collections are available on microfilm.
Deeds: A book of published deed abstracts for Lancaster County from 1729 to about 1770 is shelved in the reference area. Selected deed abstracts from 1729 to 1832 are filed in the card catalog.
Genealogical Archives: Correspondence, genealogists' papers, and miscellaneous items are valuable sources covering over 60 linear feet of vertical file space. This material is listed in the card catalog by surname and may be requested of staff.
Obituaries: Indexed obituary clippings from local newspapers are available for years beginning with 1956. Clippings from the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal are complete from 1970 to the present along with an index and may be requested of staff. Abstracts of all obituaries from the Mennonite periodicals, Herald of Truth (1864-1908) and Gospel Herald (1908ff.), as well as several local Mennonite periodicals are integrated into the genealogical card file.
Periodicals: Selected articles in the library's approximately 500 historical and genealogical periodicals have been indexed according to author, title, and subject. Cards in the card catalog for these articles are stamped "Periodicals" and "Vertical File." Periodical articles are also listed in the separate periodical file of the card catalog. Articles are available upon request.
Wills: Shelved in the reference area is a series of cross-indexed will abstracts for the following Pennsylvania counties: Lancaster (1721-1820), Berks (1752-1825), Bucks (1685-1825), Chester (1714-1825), Cumberland (1750-1825), Montgomery (1784-1850), Philadelphia (1682-1825), and York (1749-1820). Microfilms of Lancaster County wills from 1730 to 1908 and of the index from 1729 to 1947 are available.
Orphans' Court Records: A collection of indexed abstracts is available in the card catalog for the Lancaster County Orphans' Court records from 1740 to 1804. Family relationships are often indicated in these important records. Microfilms of the original records from 1742 to 1867 and of the index from 1742 to 1891 are available.
Surname Exchange File: This file contains names of researchers and the surnames pertaining to their interests. Researchers are invited to complete blank cards at the back of the drawer.
Tax Records: Published indexes for some tax lists of the 1700s in Lancaster and other counties are available in addition to microfilms of original tax lists of Lancaster County from about 1750 to about 1855.