This is a link to the Donald W. Hamer Center for Maps and Geospatial Information sponsored by Penn State University. Maps from the Library of Congress, the David Rumsey Collection, Penn State University Libraries, the Pennsylvania State Archives, the Free Library of Philadelphia and others are arranged by County.

The Wiki has links to many tools to assist you with your German research.

An online, searchable version of "Meyers Orts- und Verkehrs-lexikon des deutschen Reichs," the most important of all German gazetteers. The goal of the Meyer’s compilers was to list every place name in the German Empire (1871-1918). It gives the location, i.e., the state and other jurisdictions, where the civil registry office was and parishes if that town had them. It also gives lots of other information about each place.

Explore historic church records with Archion, which has made more than 125,000 church books available online. Partnered primarily with Protestant archives, as well as archives of dioceses, towns, associations and states. One portal explores many archives from all over Germany. ($)

Here you can find church registers (mostly books of birth, marriage and death) from various European countries (currently Austria, Germany, Poland, Serbia and Slovenia). These are mostly Catholic church records.

Research online before you visit the State Archives. The site has links to digital images of some documents, as well as links to finding aids and descriptions of records not yet digitized but available when you visit the Archives in person.

The official library for the State of Pennsylvania. Their Genealogy and Local History collection is one of their largest services and consists of indexes, genealogies, state and county histories, family histories, city directories, atlases, land warranty maps, ship passenger lists, and compilations of church and cemetery records.

Online resources, as well as archives and library in Lancaster, PA, with materials related to Mennonites and interrelated communities. Formerly called the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society.

The Moravians were early German Protestant settlers in colonial Pennsylvania, establishing communities in Bethlehem, Nazareth, Lititz, and elsewhere, and were excellent record-keepers. The Moravian Archives in Bethlehem, PA, is the official repository for records of the Northern Province of the Moravian Church in America, and records include references to individuals who were not church members.

The Heritage Center Library, located in Kutztown, PA, includes the Don Yoder Folklife Collection; Pennsylvania German Society publications; immigration records; church and cemetery records; will abstracts; tax and land records; family histories; Revolutionary and Civil War records; the published Pennsylvania Archives; and works regarding the culture, dialect, and folklore of the Pennsylvania Germans.

The PAGenWeb Project site is part of the USGenWeb Project and is the resource for Pennsylvania research.

If you are researching Pennsylvania Germans who arrived in Philadelphia during the 18th century, this three-volume series is an indispensable reference. Beginning in 1727, all non-British immigrants to the Colony of Pennsylvania, which meant Germans for the most part, were required to take oaths of allegiance to the British Crown upon arrival. Record keeping was somewhat inconsistent, and not all of the lists have survived, but Strassburger and Hinke did their best to accurately transcribe and index the surviving lists. Volume I contains their transcriptions by date and ship. The index for all three volumes is at the end of volume III.

Volume II reproduces the signatures from the surviving lists. This can offer insight into the immigrant’s handwriting or style of mark, if unable to write his own name. A useful reference if trying to distinguish between men with the same or similar names in other records. The index for all three volumes is at the end of volume III.

Volume III contains the surviving lists from the period after the Revolution when immigration resumed until early 19th century when they were discontinued, as well as indexing the names in Volume I & III.

Prepared by the Huguenot Society in 1921, the book includes the names of more than 6,400 Pennsylvanians who were naturalized between 1740 and 1772. Many of them were Germans; the lists include their place of residence at the time of naturalization.

Prof. Daniel Rupp collected names of German, Swiss, Dutch, and French immigrants to Pennsylvania from 1727 to 1776. Some duplicate the names in Pennsylvania German Pioneers but might contain variations or different information.

The ACPL Genealogy Center is a unique and valuable resource for the Northeastern Indiana community and the entire genealogical community at large. We have one of the largest research collections available, incorporating records from around the world. Our staff specializes in genealogy and is always available to help.