The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a library and public research facility in Philadelphia, located at 1300 Locust in Center City. Though the society was founded in 1824, the current red brick building dates to 1910 and holds a spot on Philadelphia's Register of Historical Places. It is the largest genealogical repository in the Mid-Atlantic region and a short walk from notable Philadelphia historic sites such as Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell.
Research your ancestors on MyHeritage
Extensive collections spanning centuriesExtensive collections spanning centuries
HSP's collections currently total over 21 million items spanning four hundred years of U.S. history in multiple languages, ranging in format from original manuscript collections to books and serials, photographs, microfilm, maps, audio recordings, and artwork.[1]
Genealogists often wonder what they can get at HSP that they can't get online or at other repositories. One key difference is the nature of the collections. Most items in a historical society would be considered private records, as opposed to the kinds of more easily accessible government records that that genealogists often use (such as birth certificates, censuses, or tax lists). In contrast, the bulk of records at HSP were originally created by an individual or by an organization such as a church, business, school, social club, medical facility, religious group, or charity.
In most cases, these records have come into HSP’s possession over the years either via donation or as purchases from auctions or private sellers. HSP is still actively collecting as it enters its third century and accepts contributions from the public.
.jpg){kind=link}
Types of recordsTypes of records
For a genealogist, a historical society like HSP is often the best place for next-level digging, after the usual sources more readily available online like censuses and vital records have been exhausted. For example, records of greatest potential interest to genealogists at HSP include:
- Diaries, travelogues, and daybooks
- Letters
- Newspapers (including foreign language papers as part of the former Balch Insititute for Ethnic Studies)
- Church records
- Funeral home records
- Family Bibles
- Institutional admission and discharge registers
- Business records and ledgers
- Records relating to membership in ethnic or beneficial societies
- Records of historic social service and reform organizations (such as orphanages or poor relief)
- School yearbooks
- Private papers of individuals and families
Some specific notable larger collections include:[1]
- The Pennsylvania Abolition Society papers, which include manumissions and indentures for enslaved people going back to the 1700s
- Case files for the Children’s Aid Society and Orphan’s Society of Philadelphia, an early child welfare/foster care system in Pennsylvania
- Philadelphia public school records dating back to the early 1800s
- Membership records for ethnic and lineage societies, including the Russian Brotherhood Organization, the Netherlands Society, the Huguenot Society of Pennsylvania, the New Helvetic Society, and the Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick (among others!)
HSP also houses over 600,000 books. Many of these are transcriptions or indexes, but also include references and how-to guides, biographies, county histories, and historical monographs.
.jpg)
Scope of coverageScope of coverage
HSP's collections cover many states and critical early American history but do tend to center most prominently on the Mid-Atlantic region—specifically the eastern half of Pennsylvania,[1] plus southern New Jersey and parts of Delaware and Maryland.
For visitors interested in broader American history, HSP holds rare treasures such as the oldest surviving handwritten draft of the U.S. Constitution, the Underground Railroad diary of abolitionist William Still, and the first known photograph ever taken in the United States.
Access and servicesAccess and services
Much of what makes HSP unique is not yet online and a substantial portion of it cannot be found anywhere else. A searchable online catalog of archival holdings can be found at https://discover.hsp.org.
Those items that have been digitized can be found at https://digitallibrary.hsp.org. A few collections have also been digitized at Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, and FindMyPast.com as part of past partnerships with those companies.
As of 2024, HSP’s Reading Room is open to the public Tuesdays through Fridays (specific hours can be found on the website homepage). Appointments are preferred and can be made online here. Day passes are free for Friends of HSP or $10 for general admission.
The library also maintains remote services for those patrons who cannot visit in person. To request a record lookup or research, visit the "Library Services" page.
HSP also offers its patrons onsite computer access to several major genealogy subscription websites and is a FamilySearch Affiliate Library.
Finally, HSP publishes the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography (PMHB), a peer-reviewed quarterly journal dating back to 1877.
See alsoSee also
Explore more about Research at the Historical Society of PennsylvaniaExplore more about Research at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania
- The Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1824-2024. The Historical Society of Pennsylvania