This is a collection of various historical and genealogical reference works on Pennsylvania. These references cover 1000's of individuals, and are an excellent way to start or continue research focused on PA.

This material was scanned from original publications and will be provided as text searchable PDFs (unless noted in description). You will receive an email with the download link after purchasing online. These files can be read using many PDF reader programs (Windows / Mac / Linux), however Adobe Reader or Acrobat are recommended.

History of Lancaster and York Counties (I. Daniel Rupp, 1845, 766 pages)
This is a very early history of Lancaster and York Counties, PA. The information on York County covers pages 532-766. It discusses its early settlers (particularly German and Irish) and also the formation and development of York County's townships and boroughs prior to the Revolution. Following this is some discussion of the County's involvement in the Revolutionary War. Other sections deal with educational institutions within the county and the various religious denominations that settled the area.

The Historical Sketch and Account of the Centennial Celebration
at York, July 4, 1876 (Centennial Publication Committee, 1876, 162 pages)
The full title is: "The Historical Sketch, and Account of the Centennial Celebration at York, July 4, 1876, Containing an accurate account of the proceedings from the time of the passage of the resolution by the Town Council to celebrate the Nation's birth and the appointment of a committee to carry out the spirit of the resolution, up to the close of the celebration; the earnest and eloquent Prayer offered by the venerable Dr. A. H. Lochman; the elaborate and instructive Historical Sketch prepared by John Gibson, Esq.; the beautiful Poem by E. N. Gunnison, Esq. and the eloquent Oration delivered by George W. McElroy, Esq."

History of York County, Pennsylvania (John Gibson, 1886, 1031 pages)
This is the first major biographical volume focusing on York County, PA. It begins with a general history of the county, followed by sections dealing with its townships and boroughs. Each section gives a history and description of the township or borough including biographies of its prominent persons. Following the historical section, there is a separate biographical section from pages 819-1031, focusing on additional persons important in various ways in the county.

Biographies:
York Borough - Ahl, Albright, Alexander, Allison, Baer, Barnitz, Barry, Bayler, Beckmeyer, Bell, Beltz, Bender, Bentz, Bentzel, Bittenger, Black, Blair, Blake, Boll, Bollinger, Bowman, Boyd, Brenneman, Bressler, Buckingham, Burnham, Carl, Caslow, Chambers, Clinch, Crider, Cross, Daron, Deardorff, Deininger, Dick, Durkee, Ebert, Ebner, Eichar, Eisenhart, Elick, Emig, Emmitt, Engle, Ettinger, Eyster, Fisher, Flinchbaugh, Forry, Frank, Frey, Frysinger, Grove, Gable, Geesey, Glatfelfter, Graybill, Gotwald, Gresly, Gross, Hamme, Hantz, Hay, Heckert, Heffener, Heiges, Heiman, Helb, Heller, Herbert, Herman, Herr, Hess, Hibner, Hoffheins, Hoffman, Holland, Hose, Hoshour, Ilgenfritz, Kain, Kauffman, Kerr, Kidd, Kindig, King, Kleffman, Kohler, Kraber, Kuehn, Kurtz, Lanius, Laucks, Lehmayer, Lewis, Link, Lint, Lockman, Loucks, McCall, McClellan, McElroy, McFall, McKinnon, Mack, Maish, Manifold, Martin, Marshall, Meisenhelder, Menough, Metzger, Miller, Mitzel, Morrison, Mumper, Mundorf, Myers, Neater, Neiman, Noedel, Noell, Noss, Neuman, Palmer, Palmtag, Patton, Pentz, Perkins, Pflieger, Presaw, Ramsay, Reese, Reichley, Reindel, Reisinger, Rice, Rohrbach, Root, Ruby, Rupp, Schmidt, Schroder, Scott, Seacrist, Seiffert, Shelley, Sherwood, Shive, Sitler, Small, Smith, Smyser, Spangler, Sprenkle, Stahle, Stair, Stauffer, Stewart, Stouch, Strack, Strawbridge, Strine, Stuck, Thompson, Vandersloot, Wagner, Wallace, Waltman, Wanner, Wantz, Warner, Wehrly, Weigle, Weiser, Weller, Welsh, White, Wiest, Williams, Wilt, Winehold, Wogan, Yessler, Yost, Young, Ziegler - Hanover Borough and Penn Township - Alleman, Bair, Bange, Barker, Barnitz, Bastian, Bittinger, Bowman, Butt, Eichelberger, Everhart, Flickinger, Garber, Grove, Gundrum, Hartman, Hauer, Heltzel, Hilbish, Kain, Keefer, Kleff, Knode, Koch, Koller, Leib, McCord, McKinney, Melsheimer, Metzger, Myers, Naill, Ruth, Schmidt, Schmuck, Schriver, Schwalm, Sell, Slagle, Smith, Snively, Stambaugh, Stark, Stick, Tanger, Trimmer, Trone, Wentz, Winebrenner, Wirt, Wolff, Young, Zieber, Ziegler, Zinn - Wrightsville Borough and Hellam Township - Armstrong, Bahn, Beidler, Berger, Birnstock, Blessing, Burg, Channell, Copenhafer, Decker, Deisinger, Detwiler, Dietz, Duden, Ebert, Emenheiser, Emig, Gable, Gohn, Hiestand, Hinkle, Hoke, Hollinger, Houck, Jamison, Kerr, Kline, Kocher, Lehman, Loucks, Mager, Miller, Minnich, Myers, Rebman, Reisinger, Rewalt, Secrist, Schenberger, Smith, Stoner, Strickler, Sultzbach, Thomson, Weitzel, Witman, Wilson, Weltzhoffer - Carroll Township - Altland, Arnold, Bailey, Baker, Beitzel, Bentz, Bowman, Cook, Fleming, Firestone, Hoffman, Kuntz, Lehmer, Logan, Metzler, Miller, Mumper, Nelson, O'Hail, Peterman, Pressel, Sheffer, Smith, Smyser, Starry, Watts, Williams - Chanceford Township - Conrad, Cross, Curran, Dietz, Fry, Gemmill, Graham, Kilgore, Kohler, Lyman, McCullough, Moore, Murphy, Porter, Reed, Robinson, Schenberger, Taylor, Thompson, Workinger - Codorus Township - Bahn, Borner, Brodbeck, Gable, Glatfelter, Heindel, Jones, Keller, Ketterman, Shaffer - Conewago Township - Ensminger, Kochenour - Dover Township - Boyer, Emig, Gross, Leckrone, Lenhart, Melsheimer, Spahr, Toomey, Yost - Fairview Township - Atticks, Cline, Garver, Hart, Hoff, Hursh, Kann, Kauffman, Kilmore, Maisch, Miley, Moore, Mosser, Schuler - Fawn Township - Anderson, Bartol, Blain, Boyd, Brown, Channell, Devoe, Fleming, Gemmill, Geisey, Grove, Hawkins, Herbert, Hostler, Hyson, Ilgenfritz, Jamison, Jones, Keller, Kunkel, McCall, McDonald, Merryman, Milner, Pyle, Prall, Scott, Strawbridge, Thompson, Webb, Wiley - Franklin Township - Albert, Arnold, Bender, Brandt, Chronister, Dick, Diller, Elicker, Ernst, Hummer, Klugh, Lehmer, Livingston, Menges, Mumper, Seifert, Smith, Spahr, Strayer - Heidelberg Township - Brodbeck, Eichelberger, Hershey, Kraft, Menges, Miller, Renoll, Thoman, Trone, Waltersdorff - Hopewell Township - Althouse, Anderson, Anstine, Arthur, Bell, Collins, Douglass, ebaugh, Free, Geesey, Gemmill, Green, Grime, Hammel, Hammer, Hammond, Hildebrand, Jordan, Keesey, Kerlinger, Leib, Liggit, Long, McDonald, McDowell, Manifold, Martin, Overmiller, Saylor, Sechrist, Smith, Springer, Stabler, Strayer, Thompson, Trout, Venus, Wallace, Winemiller, Winter, Zellers - Jackson Township - Bahn Bauer, Bowman, Bringman, Glatfelter, Hoke, Johnston, Lau, Lockeman, Markel, Menges, Metzger, Roth, Seiler, Shaffer, Smyser, Umberger, Wagner, Weist - Lower Chanceford Township - Aiken, Anderson, Bair, Boyd, Chandlee, Clayton, Collins, Colvin, Easton, Finley, Fry, Gallagher, Gilbert, Grove, Ilgenfritz, Kilgore, Kyle, Lane, Lindsay, McSherry, Manifold, Michener, Murphy, Neely, Pedan, Peirce, Plett, Ross, Shenk, Smith, Snodgrass, Sweeney, Urey, Wilson - Lower Windsor Township - Beard, Bortner, Budding, Burg, Craley, Deringer, Detwiler, Ferree, Haines, Kinard, Leber, Poff, Sprenkle, Stein, Wallace - Manchester Township - Albright, Altland, Bahn, Barnhart, Bear, Brentzel, Bishop, Diehl, Doll, Drayer, Duhling, Eisenhart, Eisenhur, Emig, Everhart, Forry, Free, Glatfelter, Good, Gress, Gross, Hake, Hartman, Hoff, Hock, Jacobs, Jacoby, Kauffman, Klindinst, Kohr, Kunkle, Lichty, Lichtenberger, Lightner, Loucks, May, Metzger, Miller, Myers, Pfaltzgraff, Porr, Quickel, Reeser, Rodes, Roland, Rutter, Schisler, Shepp, Smyser, Sunday, Throne, Tyson, Wier, Wogan, Yinger, Yost - Monaghan Township - Beelman, Cocklin, Dietz, Eichelberger, Forry, Fortney, Hyde, Kimmel, Landis, Myers, Shaffer, Wengart, Williams - Newberry Township - Bair, Baker, Breckinridge, Brinton, Coble, Crull, Dugan, Eppley, Fishel, Free, Funk, Garretson, Good, Grissinger, Hammond, Hays, Herman, Hummel, Kister, Koch, Landes, Mingle, Paup, Rynard, Scott, Shelley, Shettel, Smith, Spangler, Stem, Stonesifer, Strominger, Sweigart, Swiler, Willis, Wolf, Zeigler - North Codorus Township - Brinkman, Crist, Glatfelter, Henry, Kehm, Kline, Long, Sterner, Stewart, Strickhouser, Ziegler - Paradise Township - Alwine, Leib, Masemer, Trimmer - Peach Bottom Township - Ailes, Arnold, Barnett, Barton, Beattie, Blain, Clarke, Crawford, Dodson, Dougherty, Evans, Fry, Fulton, Glasgow, Hickman, Johnson, Jones, Kilgorr, McConkey, McCurdy, McLaughlin, McSparran, Morris, Orr, Parker, Ramsay, Ritchie, Robinson, Ruff, Smith, Steward, Wells, Whiteford, Wiley, Williams - Shrewsbury Township - Allen, Bahn, Bailey, Becker, Blasser, Bollinger, Bortner, Boyer, Brenise, Brown, Bussey, Collins, Crever, Crumbling, Day, Diehl, Dreisbach, Eberhart, Ehrhart, Everhart, Folckemmer, Freeland, Fulton, Gable, Gantz, Gerry, Gore, Grove, Hailer, Heathcote, Heindel, Helb, Hendrix, Herbst, Hershey, Hetrick, Hines, Hoshour, Klinefelter, Koller, Krebs, Lamotte, Lanius, Lee, Lowe, McDonell, Manifold, Miller, Radcliffe, Raffensperger, Ramsay, Richey, Ruhl, Seitz, Shafer, Shaffer, Shaw, Sheffer, Shirey, Schriver, Shuppert, Singer, Smith, Spate, Storms, Taylor, Venus, Weihmiller, Wertz, Wolff, Yost, Zeller, Zeigler - Springfield Township - Beck, Bopp, Bott, Brillhart, Ester, Feigley, Foust, Glatfelter, Hildebrand, Holtzapple, Kreidler, Loucks, Rennoll, Rohrbaugh - Spring Garden Township - Arnold, Beecher, Bender, Blauser, Blessing, Conn, Diehl, Dietz, Ebert, Emig, Erb, Flory, Forry, Frey, Fritz, Fry, Geist, Glatfelter, Gotwalt, Grothe, Heindle, Hiestand, Hively, Hyde, Ilgenfritz, Kissinger, Kleffman, Klefmann, Lefever, Lint, Loucks, Minnich, Myers, Peeling, Pfeiffer, Runk, Schaszberger, Scheffer, Shaeffer, Shank, Sheffer, Shellenberger, Sleeger, Slenker, Smyser, Stauffer, Tomes, Weidman, Williams, Witmer, Workinger - Warrington Township - Altland, Anthony, Beitzel, Bentz, Blackford, Brenneman, Bushey, Elcock, Ramsey, Reiver, Smith, Spangler - Washington Township - Deardorff, Gochnauer, Krall, McCreary, Schweitzer, Strayer, Straley - West Manchester Township - Aldinger, Baer, Bott, Gentzler, Glatfelter, Hamme, Hoke, Ness, Smyser, Sprenkle - West Manheim Township - Barnhart, Garrett, Hoffacker, Sterner - Windsor Township - Anstine, Burger, Bigler, Cross, Gehly, Haines, Hengst, Jones, Maish, Minnich, Mitzel, Seitz, Stein - York Township - Croll, Dietz, Druck, Flinchbaugh, Gable, Glatfelter, Geesey, Grove, Hose, Ilyes, Inners, Keech, King, Kohler, Lawson, Leader, Neff, Peeling, Sechrist, Spotz, Snyder, Strickler, Striebig, Wagner, Weiser - Supplemental Biographies - Sprenkle, Wiest

Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of the Nineteenth
Congressional District Pennsylvania (Samuel T. Wiley, 1897, 550 pages)
This publication is a historical and biographical volume on the 19th Congressional District of Pennsylvania, comprising the counties of Cumberland, York and Adams. It begins with a brief history and description of the area and its features. Following this are biographies of the prominent citizens of Cumberland, York and Adams counties. Many of the biographical sketches are accompanied by portraits of the sketch subjects.

Biographical Sketches:
Ahl, Alleman, Allewalt, Bahn, Baird, Baker, Barshinger, Beck, Bellman, Benner, Biddle, Billheimer, Birch, Bittenger, Bittinger, Black, Blasser, Boas, Bollinger, Bond, Bosler, Bowman, Boyd, Brame, Brenneman, Bressler, Brickley, Brindle, Brown, Bucher, Buehler, Bushman, Callender, Carl, Cassatt, Chapin, Cochran, Conrad, Culp, Dale, Daron, DeHoff, Delone, Dick, Dietz, Diven, Dougherty, Dromgold, Durbin, Durkey, Ebert, Eckert, Eichelberger, Ehrehart, Ehrhart, Elcock, Elliott, Farquhar, Fastnacht, Fegley, Fisher, Flora, Floyd, Forney, Franklin, Freas, Frey, Frick, Frysinger, Gable, Gardner, Gerry, Gibson, Gilbert, Glessner, Goodyear, Gotwalt, Graham, Gross, Grossbrenner, Grove, Hagerty, Haines, Hamilton, Hartley, Hay, Hays, Heiges, Heilman, Heller, Hemler, Hemminger, Hench, Henderson, Herman, Hersh, Himes, Hoober, Hoover, Houck, Hubley, Humrich, Jameson, Jones, Kerr, Keyworth, Klinger, Krise, Lafean, Lanius, Latimer, Lenhart, Lewis, Lilly, Lindner, Lloyd, Long, Loucks, Manifold, Mayer, McClean, McCoy, McElroy, McGuire, McIlhenny, McKinnon, McKnight, McPherson, McSherry, Meisenhelder, Milleisen, Miller, Minnich, Mohler, Moore, Mowers, Moyer, Murray, Musselman, Myers, Neeley, Neely, Neiman, Nes, Niles, Nisbet, Nixon, Norcross, O'Neil, Passmore, Patrick, Peffer, Peters, Pitcher, Plank, Quay, Quinby, Reed, Rees, Reese, Robbins, Ross, Ritchey, Rupp, Sadler, Safford, Schall, Schlueter, Seiffert, Sell, Sheely, Shindel, Shulenberger, Slagle, Small, Smead, Smith, Smyser, Snyder, Sonneman, Spangler, Stahle, Steacy, Steck, Stevens, Stewart, Stock, Stuck, Strawbridge, Strine, Stubbs, Swope, Tanger, Taylor, Thompson, Todd, Trimmer, Underwood, Vandersloot, Vale, Valentine, Van Cleve, Wagner, Walker, Wanner, Wasbers, Watts, Weakley, Weaver, Webb, Weber, Weiser, Wetzel, Whiting, Williams, Wood, Wormley, Yeagley, Young, Ziegler

A Book of Views - Illustrating York County's Sesqui-Centennial
Celebration (C. M. McElhinny & Horace O. Elicker, 1899, 122 pages)
This is a photographic souvenir of the of the 150th anniversary of York County, PA held in 1899. It contains over 150 views of city, its buildings and scenes of the celebration as well as over 40 portraits of city leaders and celebration organizers. There are also some historic views of the town of York, featuring reproductions of very old engravings, prints, and paintings in and around York.

Some Facts Concerning York and York County A Sesqui-Centennial Memento
(Charles H. Hawkins & Houston E. Landis, 1901, 148 pages)
From the Introduction: "This little book is designed to present to the general public some facts concerning the City of York, its notable development and its conspicuous advantages as a manufacturing and commercial center. It has been prepared chiefly for the benefit of our own citizens as a sequence to the sesqui-centennial celebration of the organization of York County in 1749."

A Brief History of York County (George R. Prowell, 1906, 66 pages)
This booklet was published as a concise history of York County, PA for teaching local history in schools of the county. It covers the general history of the county from its settlement, important dates and events, as well as some discussion of important citizens. It also includes a few photographs of scenes from around the county, as well as some portraits of the County's historical figures.

The Beginnings of the German Element in York County, Pennsylvania
(Abdel Ross Wentz, 1916, 213 pages)
This book was written to highlight the influence of the early German settlers of York County in the development of the county's history forward.

History of York County From its Erection to the Present Time; 1729-1834
(W. C. Carter & A. J. Glossbrenner and A. Monroe Aurand, Jr., 1930, 232 pages)
This publication was originally published in 1834 as a history of York County, Pennsylvania, covering the time period 1729-1834. This edition is a reprint of that original edition with corrections and some added material. In addition to the historical information there are some biographies of prominent men of York County.

Biographies:
Rev. Samuel Bacon, Gen. John Clark, Gen. Jacob Dritt, Michael Eurich, Gen. James Ewing, Rev. Jacob Goering, Thomas Hartley, Gen. Henry Miller, Rev. Lucas Raus, Hon. James Smith