Family History and Genealogy
Tools to help you discover "Who you really are?" and "Where you really came from?"...in a sociological sense.
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Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet
Probably the largest collection of links relating to genealogy. A good place to see what is available. -
RootsWeb
A free site devoted to helping genealogists. Includes research guides, volunteer created lists and databases, discussion boards, and links to helpful sites. -
Family Search
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints maintains the world's largest repository of genealogy records, the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Materials can be borrowed from any of the LDS Family History Centers located throughout the United States. You do not need to be affiliated with the church to borrow family history resources. -
National Archives and Records Administration: Genealogy Page
This site contains much useful information about federal records and how they can be used for genealogy. -
Social Security Death Index
This searchable index is available from many sites including Rootsweb.com, Genealogy.com (part of Family Finder), or Ancestry.com. Useful for verifying birth and death dates, and place of last known residence for those receiving Social Security benefits. -
USGenWeb Project
A volunteer effort to make useful material available online for every county in the U.S. Two major projects are inputting Census records, and transcribing tombstones. Materials are input by volunteers and offered free to the genealogical community.
Pennsylvania, Centre County, and Penn State Resources
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Centre County Historic Records Imaging Project
Among the resources are scanned images from the following files: Naturalization Records 1802-1929, Revolutionary War Declarations 1820-1835, Slave Records 1803-1820. -
Facilities for Genealogical Research in Pennsylvania
A list of societies by county that specialize in serving the needs of genealogists. Large state-wide collections include the State Library of Pennsylvania, Local History and Genealogy Section, and the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania. -
Historic Pittsburgh
A digital history collection, including maps, county histories, and Census materials for Pittsburgh and Allegheny County -
Historical Digital Collegian Archive (1887-1976)
Access to the complete Penn State student newspaper, including, text, photographs, and advertisements. -
PA’s Past: Digital Bookshelf
A free collection of online histories created by the Penn State Libraries, in collaboration with the Pennsylvania State Library in Harrisburg, the Free Library in Philadelphia, and the Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh. -
Pennsylvania County Histories Online
A listing by county of (mostly) 19th century publications. Good for getting a “feel” for a region’s history, but should be used with caution as authors often fail to distinguish fact from folklore. -
Pennsylvania Civil War Era Newspapers
Contains all the words, photographs, and advertisements from selected newspapers published during the pivotal years before, during, and after the U.S. Civil War. -
Pennsylvania Digital Archives
An online database of military service records including the Revolutionary War Military Abstract Card File, World War I Service Medal Application Cards, Spanish American War Veterans' Card File of United States Volunteers, Civil War Veterans' Card File, and the Mexican Border Campaign Veterans' Card File. -
Pennsylvania German Broadsides and Fraktur Collection
Baptismal, marriage, and other official certificates that record life events of 18th and 19th century Pennsylvania Germanic settlers. From the holdings of Rare Books and Manuscripts in the Penn State Special Collections Library.
Thinking of visiting the Library? As one of the nation’s leading academic research libraries Penn State’s library system is a major resource for those interested in Pennsylvania history and genealogy. Our online guide, will help you learn more about our collections. If you visit, be aware that library staff cannot do research for you. We are happy to help you use the library’s resources.
Note: Some collections are restricted to Penn State Alumni Association 
members only. Join the Alumni Association.