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.

County Histories & Biographical Volumes

History of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania (L. H. Everts & Co., 1877, 362 pages)
This publication is an early historical biographical work on Lawrence County, PA. The full title of the publication is: "History of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania: with Illustrations Descriptive of its Scenery, Palatial Residences, Public Buildings, Fine Blocks and Important Manufactories, from original sketches by artists of the highest ability." This is an excellent resource for historical or genealogical research in this area of Pennsylvania. It provides historical information on the county as well as its important towns; also, each township is covered. In addition to the historical information a number of biographies of the county's influential citizens are given. Theses sketches range in length, some being short, while others are more extensive.

Biographical Sketches:
Aiken, Alcorn, Alexander, Allen, Andrews, Armstrong, Barker, Blackwood, Brittian, Browne, Brugh, Calkins, Carlon, Cossitt, Cotton, Cowden, Cunningham, Davidson, Devoe, Drake, Du Shane, Dutcher, Durban, Eichbaum, Falls, Gemmil, Gillfillan, Gruber, Hall, Hatch, Hayes, Henderson, Hendrickson, Hezlep, Hocking, Jackson, Junkin, Justice, Kay, Knight, Lancaster, Leasure, Lininger, Linnville, Locke, Marquis, McComb, McCraken, McDowell, McGuffin, McKee, Meally, Mehard, Mitcheltree, Morgan, Neal, Nye, O'Brien, Peebles, Penn, Petit, Phillips, Pollock, Popino, Quimby, Raney, Reinholdt, Richardson, Rigby, Rhodes, Riley, Roberts, Robinson, Salisburg, Sankey, Shaw, Sheets, Smith, Stevenson, Stone, Tidball, Truesdale, Tyler, VanOrsdel, Walker, Wallace, White, Wilcox, Wilson, Woods, Young, Zimmerman

Book of Biographies. Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens of
Lawrence County, Pennsylvania (Biographical Publishing Company, 1897, 587 pages)
This biographical volume for Lawrence County, PA, covers hundreds of individuals who contributed to the growth and development of the county. It is a nice addition to the other historical / biographical volumes of the county, and an excellent place to conduct historical or genealogical research.

Surnames Indexed:
Aiken, Alborn, Alexander, Allen, Anderson, Arrow, Bailey, Banks, Barnes, Barnett, Bay, Bear, Bell, Binning, Bitner, Blackstone, Blackwood, Blair, Blanchard, Blatt, Blevins, Blim, Boak, Boggs, Book, Booksing, Boyd, Braby, Broadbent, Brown, Browne, Buchanan, Cage, Cain, Campbell, Caswell, Chambers, Christie, Clark, Clifton, Cline, Cochran, Cole, Colnot, Connor, Cook, Cooper, Cornelius, Cosgrove, Courtney, Cover, Cox, Crawford, Cunningham, Curry, Dach, Daly, Davidson, Davis, Dean, Dice, Dicks, Dixon, Doran, Douds, Dougherty, Douglas, Douthitt, Drescher, Duffy, Dugan, Edwards, Eger, Elder, Elliott, Emery, Evans, Fallis, Falls, Ferver, Fisher, Foltz, French, Fulkerson, Fulmer, Gageby, Gallagher, Gardner, Gearing, Gilmore, Gott, Green, Greer, Griffith, Grove, Hammond, Hardaker, Hartman, Hartsell, Hartsuff, Haun, Hazen, Henry, Hess, Hill, Hinkson, Hoffmaster, Hoover, Hough, Houk, Howard, Hunt, Ingham, Irvin, Jackson, Jameson, Jefferies, Johnson, Jones, Jordan, Keith, Kelley, Kelly, Kemp, Kennedy, Kenny, King, Kissick, Knobloch, Knox, Kyle, Lawrence, Leslie, Lindsey, Linville, Locke, Long, Lostetter, Lowry, Lutton, Maitland, Major, Marquis, Marshall, Martin, Matheny, Matthews, Mayne, McAnlis, McCleary, McClure, McClusky, McComb, McConaghy, McConnell, McCracken, McCready, McCreary, McCune, McFarland, McGinnis, McGraw, McKinley, McKnight, McMillin, Mealy, Means, Mehard, Menice, Merriman, Micheltree, Miller, Moncreif, Moore, Moorhead, Morehead, Morris, Mumbaugh, Murphy, Myland, Neal, Newell, News, Nickum, Norris, Nye, Offutt, Paden, Parker, Parshall, Parsons, Pattison, Patterson, Patton, Peters, Phillip, Phillips, Pitts, Pitzer, Pleas, Pollock, Poister, Porter, Potter, Preston, Pryor, Raney, Redmond, Reed, Reno, Repman, Reynolds, Rhodes, Rigby, Riley, Robinson, Robison, Rodenbaugh, Rogers, Ruby, Russell, Sample, Samuel, Sankey, Scanlon, Schweikert, Scott, Shannon, Sheaffer, Shearer, Shira, Simison, Slemmons, Smith, Snider, Sproull, Stevenson, Stewart, Streib, Stright, Swisher, Taggart, Taylor, Thomas, Thompson, Tidball, Todd, Toner, Travers, Treser, Truesdale, Turner, Van Gorder, Waddington, Wallace, Walter, Ward, Watson, Weinschenk, Weir, Weitz, Welch, Westminster, Wheildon, White, Whippo, Wick, Wilder, Wilkin, Wilson, Winter, Winters, Wood, Woods, Wright, Young, Ziegler

Pioneer Outline History of Northwestern Pennsylvania (W. J. McKnight, 1905, 719 pages)
The Full title is: "A Pioneer Outline History of Northwestern Pennsylvania, Embracing the Counties of Tioga, Potter, McKean, Warren, Crawford, Venango, Forest, Clarion, Elk, Jefferson, Cameron, Butler, Lawrence, and Mercer, Also A Pioneer Sketch of the Cities of Allegheny, Beaver, Du Bois, and Towanda" This publication is a historical account of the early beginnings of several counties in Northwestern PA. The information is more focused on historical details than biographical, but it still contains a great deal of information useful for historical or genealogical research.

20th Century History of New Castle and Lawrence County Pennsylvania
and Its Representative Citizens (Hon. Aaron L. Hazen, 1908, 942 pages)
This is a historical and biographical history of Lawrence County, PA. The first half deals the history of the county, covering such topics as the County's settlement and organization, its military history, and an account of its industries, professions, and businesses. It also contains a brief sketch of the County's townships and boroughs. The second part is biographical in nature, providing sketches of hundreds of the prominent and influential members of the county.

Surnames Indexed:
Agnew, Aiken, Ailey, Akens, Alborn, Aley, Allison, Amsbury, Anderson, Andrews, Andrzejewski, Armstrong, Atkinson, Aubel, Ayers, Baer, Baird, Baldwin, Barker, Barnes, Barr, Bartle, Bauder, Beatty, Beck, Becker, Beer, Beisel, Best, Biddle, Bigley, Bittles, Bittner, Black, Blackstone, Blackwood, Blair, Blank, Blatt, Bleakley, Blevins, Blocher, Blucher, Boak, Bockius, Boggs, Book, Boyd, Braby, Braden, Bradley, Breckenridge, Bredin, Brest, Bright, Britton, Broadbent, Brock, Bronson, Brown, Brownlee, Brua, Bruce, Brugh, Buchanan, Burgess, Burns, Buser, Butler, Byers, Byler, Cain, Calderwood, Callahan, Campbell, Canevin, Carlisle, Carter, Cearfoss, Challis, Chambers, Chapin, Christie, Clark, Cleveland, Coates, Cobler, Cochran, Cole, Collins, Conn, Connelly, Cook, Cooper, Cosgrove, Cossitt, Cotton, Cover, Covert, Cowden, Cox, Crabill, Craig, Crawford, Cubbison, Cukerbraum, Cummings, Cunningham, Curry, Dambach, Dana, Davidson, Davis, Davison, Dean, De Mita, De Normandie, Devenny, Dice, Dickey, Dickson, Dietterle, Dinsmore, Dombaugh, Donaldson, Donnan, Dooley, Douglas, Douglass, Dougherty, Douthitt, Duff, Dungan, Dugan, Dunlap, Dunn, Dunnan, DuShane, Eakin, Eckert, Eckles, Eckman, Eger, Elder, Elliott, Ellis, Ellwood, Elwee, Emery, English, Euwer, Evans, Ewer, Failor, Falls, Felton, Fenton, Ferguson, Ferree, Fisher, Foltz, Foreman, Foster, Fox, Franche, Fredrick, French, Frey, Fulkerson, Fullerton, Gageby, Gahring, Gailey, Gallagher, Gardner, Gaston, Gealy, Gebhart, Gelbach, George, Gibson, Gilfillan, Gilliland, Gilmore, Gleason, Glover, Gormley, Graham, Green, Greer, Gregory, Griffiths, Grigsby, Gross, Grove, Guthrie, Guy, Gwin, Hagerty, Haggerty, Haid, Hainer, Haines, Hamill, Hamilton, Hannon, Harper, Harris, Hartsuff, Haus, Hawthorne, Hayes, Hazen, Heasley, Heldman, Henley, Hennon, Hess, Hettenbaugh, Hieber, Hilbert, Hill, Hoagland, Hofmeister, Holland, Holt, Hoopengardner, Hoover, Hope, Hopper, Houk, Houston, Hoye, Hoyland, Hughes, Hugus, Hull, Humphrey, Hunt, Hunter, Hutchinson, Hyde, Igoe, Inboden, Iseman, Jack, Jackson, Jacobson, Jameson, Jamison, Jenkins, Johnston, Jones, Kanne, Kariher, Keagy, Keast, Keith, Kelly, Kelso, Kemm, Kepler, Kern, Kerr, Ketterer, Kifer, Kildoo, King, Kirker, Kirkham, Kirk, Kissinger, Knoll, Knox, Kuhn, Kurtz, Kyle, Lakey, Lamb, Lamoree, Leasure, Lee, Leech, Lahman, Lentz, Leonhardt, Leslie, Liebendorfer, Lindley, Linville, Locke, Lockhart, Long, Louer, Love, Lusk, Lutton, McAnlis, McBride, McCarthy, McCaslin, McChesney, McClaren, McClelland, McClure, McClymonds, McComb, McCommon, McConaghy, McConahy, McConnell, McCowin, McCown, McCracken, McCreary, McCullough, McCune, McCurley, McDowell, McElwain, McFarland, McFarlane, McGary, McGeorge, McGonigle, McGuffin, McKean, McKee, McKim, McKinley, McKinney, McLaren, McLaughrey, McMichael, McMillin, McNabb, McNeill, McQuiston, McWilliams, Maher, Main, Maitland, Major, Marburger, Market, Marquis, Marshall, Martin, Matheny, Matthews, Mayberry, Mayne, Mealy, Mehard, Mershimer, Miles, Milholland, Miller, Milliken, Mitchell, Moeschberger, Moffatt, Montgomery, Moore, Morehead, Morgan, Mornes, Morris, Morrow, Mulcahy, Munnell, Musser, Myers, Neal, Nesbit, Nesbitt, Newell, Newton, Norris, Norwood, Offutt, Ohl, O'Shea, Ostermeier, Oursler, Paden, Paland, Palmer, Parker, Parshall, Patterson, Pattison, Patton, Pearson, Peebles, Permar, Perry, Perschke, Pfeil, Phillips, Pitts, Pitzer, Platt, Pollock, Pontius, Popino, Popp, Poppino, Porter, Powell, Preisel, Prescott, Price, Pyle, Rager, Randolph, Raney, Rankin, Reed, Reeher, Reel, Reinholdt, Reno, Repman, Reynolds, Rhodes, Rice, Riddle, Rigby, Riley, Ripple, Robel, Roberts, Robertson, Robingson, Robinson, Roelofs, Rogers, Rose, Ross, Rowland, Runyon, Russell, Sage, Sample, Sankey, Saviers, Scanlon, Scheidemantle, Scott, Sechler, Seiler, Shaffer, Shannon, Sharp, Sheehy, Shehy, Sherer, Sheriff, Shields, Shimp, Shipler, Shoaff, Showers, Shurlock, Sieg, Simon, Sipe, Slemmons, Smiley, Smith, Snare, Snyder, Somers, Speer, Spencer, Stapf, Steen, Stevenson, Stewart, Stickle, Stiefel, Stoner, Strealy, Strohecker, Swisher, Swogger, Syling, Taggart, Taylor, Terrill, Thomas, Thompson, Thomson, Tillia, Tindall, Todd, Toner, Trainor, Treser, Trunk, Tucker, Twentier, Uber, Underwood, Urey, Urmson, Vance, Van Fleet, Van Gorder, Vanhorn, Veazey, Wagner, Walker, Wallace, Walter, Walton, Ward, Warner, Watson, Wehman, Weingartner, Weinschenk, Wellhausen, Welsch, Weltner, Whan, Whippo, Whistler, White, Whiting, Wilkinson, Wilkins, Wilkison, Williams, Wilson, Winternitz, Withers, Witherspoon, Wolf, Wood, Woods, Womer, Workley, Wright, Yoho, Young, Zerner, Zimmerman

Lawrence County Centennial 1849-1949 Historical Program
(Centennial Committee, 1949, 28 pages)
This booklet is a program of the centennial celebration of Lawrence County, PA as well as a brief historical account of the county's public offices. It contains a brief sketch of the Courts prothonotaries, Registers, Recorders, Sheriffs, District Attorneys, Commissioners, Treasurers, and some other public offices.

Town, Township & Regional Histories

Century Book of New Castle's Centennial Celebration
(Signature Oddvertising Service, 1925, 225 pages)
This publication is a centennial history of New Castle, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania. It was published as a souvenir of the celebration and includes a program of its celebration events and lists of those who participated. It also includes a time-line of events in the history of the town, a directory of New Castle from 1841, and many photographs of residents or views from the town.

Church, Family, Education, Military and Miscellaneous Histories

Young American Patriots - The Youth of Pennsylvania in World War II
(National Publishing Company, 1946, 674 pages)
This publication is a memorial to the service men and women of Pennsylvania who served in WWII. It contains brief sketches of 1,000's of soldiers from across the state. The sketches provide a variety of information on each soldier: Name, rank, branch of military, engagements, discharge date, military awards, birth date, parents, spouse, address, religion., etc. The information varies from soldier to soldier but most contain the information above. Also, nearly every sketch is accompanies by a portrait of the soldier.

This publication is not an exhaustive listing of all the soldiers of Pennsylvania who fought in World War II. Nearly all counties are represented, but some more extensively than others. Those given more extensive coverage include: Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Blair, Butler, Cambria, Cumberland, Dauphin, Erie, Fayette, Indiana, Lawrence, Northampton, Westmoreland,

Here is a sample listing:
Abbott, William Edward
Cpl., Army. Born Apr. 6, 1925. Entered Serv. June 12, 1943. Ft. Belvoir; N. Guinea; Phil. Is.; Okinawa. Awarded GCM, As-Pac Rib., BS, Phil. Lib. Rib. Disch. Mar. 2, 1945. Attended Clymer HS. Protestant. Son of Mr. and Mrs. Otto Abbott. Husband of Margaret Herrington Abbott, 818 Sandusky St., N. S., Pgh, 12, Pa.

In Memory of Our Honored Dead - Souvenir Program [Beaver & Lawrence County]
(Honor Degree of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, 1947, 100 pages)
This booklet was published as an honorary souvenir of the men and women of Beaver and Lawrence Counties, PA who died in the course of World War II. It covers numerous individuals from each branch of the military and includes a portrait, a listing of where they lived, when they entered service and where and when they died. This is an excellent resource for research on these counties of Pennsylvania or WWII.

Maps Atlases & Images

Maps & Atlases
1860 Map of Lawrence and Beaver Counties (N. S. Ames and Wm. Barker, Color)
1908 Warrantee Atlas of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania (Henry Houck, 27 pages, B/W)

Birds-eye Town Views
New Castle, Pennsylvania (1896, T. M. Fowler & James B. Moyer)