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 collection includes all of the individual collections covering Chester County, PA (Please see individual collection listings for detailed descriptions of titles.)

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.

CH01 - Chester County PA - Everything Collection (All Collections on Chester County)

CH02 - County History & Biography Collection
History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, With Genealogical and Biographical Sketches (J. Smith Futhey & Gilbert Cope, 1881, 1255 pages)
Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of Chester County, Pennsylvania (Samuel T. Wiley, 1893, 857 pages)
The History, Geography and Government of Chester and Delaware Counties (Joseph S. Walton & G. W. Moore, 1893, 197 pages)
Chester County and Its People (W. W. Thomson, 1898, 961 pages)
Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Chester and Delaware Counties, Pennsylvania (Gilbert Cope & Henry Graham Ashmead, 1904, 1462 pages)
History of Chester County Pennsylvania (Charles William Heathcote, 1926, 138 pages)
A History of Chester County Pennsylvania (C. W. Heathcote St., Lucile Shenk, 1932, 500 pages

CH03 - Regional and Miscellaneous History Collection

Town, Township & Regional Histories
Annals of Phoenixville and its Vicinity (Samuel Whitaker Pennypacker, 1872, 301 pages)
West Chester, Pennsylvania. The Most Important Suburb of Philadelphia (The Board of Trade, 1888, 115 pages)
Oxford - A Representative Pennsylvania Borough (The Board of Trade, 1894, 153 pages)
West Chester Past and Present - Centennial Souvenir 1799-1899 (Daily Local News, 1899, 172 pages)
The Greater Reading Vol. II, Nos. 4 & 5 [Coatesville, Oxford, Quarryville & Strasburg] (W. S. Hamaker, 1899, 52 pages)
History of Downingtown Chester County, PA (Charles H. Pennypacker, 1909, 168 pages)
Old Home Week West Chester, Penna. - 1875-1925 - Golden Anniversary Company I 111th Infantry P. N. G. (Anonymous, 1925, 100 pages)

Church, Family, Education, Military and Miscellaneous Histories
Industrial and Commercial Resources of Pennsylvania (Historical Publishing Company, 1886, 122 pages)
Industries and Wealth of the Principle Points in Southeastern Pennsylvania (Excepting Philadelphia) Embracing Dauphin, York, Lancaster, Schuylkill, Berks, Bucks, Montgomery, Chester and Delaware Counties (American Publishing and Engraving Co., 1890, 148 pages)
A History of the Reformed Churches in Chester County (J. Lewis Fluck, 1892, 148 pages)
1871-1896 Quarto-Centennial History of the West Chester State Normal School (Andrew Thomas Smith, 1896, 71 pages)
The Pedigree of William Griffith, John Griffith and Griffith Griffiths (Thomas Allen Glenn, 1905, 101 pages)
Dodson Genealogy 1600-1907 (Thompson S. Ege, 1908, 439 pages)
The History of The Old Eagle School, Tredyffrin, in Chester County, Pennsylvania (Henry Pleasants, 1909, 195 pages)
Side Lights on the Bench and Bar of Chester County (Wilmer W. MacElree, 1918, 273 pages)
Genealogy of Evans, Nivin, and Allied Families (Spetimus E. Nivin, 1930, 271 pages)
The Church of Saint Peter in the Great Valley, 1700-1940 (Harold Donaldson Eberlein & Cortlandt Van Dyke Hubbard, 1940, 208 pages)

CH04 - Maps Atlases & Images Collection

Maps & Atlases
1847 Map of Chester County, Pennsylvania (S. M. Painter & J. S. Bowen, Color)
1856 Map of Chester County, Pennsylvania (T. J. Kennedy, Color)
1860 Map of Chester Co., Pennsylvania (T. J. Kennedy, Color)
1873 Atlas of Chester Co., Pennsylvania (A. R. Witmer, 61 pages, B/W)
1883 Breou's Official Series of Farm Maps of Chester County Pennsylvania (W. H. Kirk & Co., 83 pages, B/W)

Birds-eye Town Views
Downingtown, Chester County, Pennsylvania (1893, by T. M. Fowler)
Bird's Eye View of Oxford, Chester Co., Pennsylvania (1907, by Fowler & Kelly)

CH05 - Directory Collection (1857-1914)
Directory of the Borough of West Chester – 1857 (Wood & James, 1857, 162 pages)
Boyd's Business Directory of the Counties of Adams, Bucks, Chester, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Franklin, Lancaster, Montgomery and York, PA. together with a General Directory of all the Inhabitants of Harrisburg 1860 (William H. Boyd, 1860, 326 pages)
Boyd's Directory of Lancaster, Columbia, Chester and West Chester, 1874-5 (Wm. H. Boyd, 1874, 497 pages)
Boyd's West Chester Directory for 1879-80 (S. Fred. Boyd, 1879, 117 pages)
Boyd's Chester County Directory 1884-85 (W. Andrew Boyd, 1884, 351 pages)
Boyd's Chester County Directory 1886-87 (W. Andrew Boyd, 1886, 421 pages)
Boyd's Chester County Directory 1888-89 (W. Andrew Boyd, 1888, 438 pages)
Boyd's Chester County, Pennsylvania Directory, 1896-97 (C. E. Howe Company, 1896, 735 pages)
Boyd's Chester County Pennsylvania Directory 1904-1905 (C. E. Howe Co., 1904, 779 pages)
Boyd's West Chester, Oxford and Kennett Square Directory for 1908-1909 (Howell & Co., 1908, 227 pages)
Farm and Business Directory of Chester County Pennsylvania 1914 (Wilmer Atkinson Company, 1914, 372 pages)

CH06 - Directory Collection (1922-1959)
United Telephone Directory - Southern District - June 1922 (United Telephone Company, 1922, 120 pages)
Penn State Telephone Directory Southern District - June 1924 (The United Telephone Company, 1924, 132 pages)
Telephone Directory - Winter 1925 [Reading-Lebanon-Pottsville and Vicinity] (Bell Telephone Co. of PA, 1925, 218 pages)
Reading and Nearby Points Telephone Directory - March 1939 (Bell Telephone Co. of PA, 1939, 248 pages)
Coatesville, Downingtown and Vicinity Telephone Directory - June 1947 (Bell Telephone Co. of PA, 1947, 216 pages)
1949 Chester County Pennsylvania Farm Directory and Purchasing Guide (American Advertising and Directory Service, 1949, 104 pages)
Chester County PA. Farm Directory and Purchasing Guide 1953-54 Edition (American Advertising and Directory Service, 1953, 112 pages
Reading and Nearby Points Telephone Directory - May 1955 (Bell Telephone Co. of PA, 1955, 584 pages)
Reading and Nearby Points Telephone Directory - June 1957 (Bell Telephone Co. of PA, 1957, 262 pages)
Reading and Nearby Points Telephone Directory - June 1958 (Bell Telephone Co. of PA, 1958, 544 pages)
Reading and Nearby Points Telephone Directory - June 1959 (Bell Telephone Co. of PA, 1959, 268 pages)