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). These files can be read using many PDF reader programs (Windows / Mac / Linux), however Adobe Reader or Acrobat are recommended.

County Histories & Biographical Volumes

Portrait and Biographical History of Lackawanna County Pennsylvania
(Chapman Publishing Co., 1897, 1054 pages)
This is a biographical record of some of the leading citizens of Lackawanna County, PA. It begins with a section providing biographical sketches and illustrations for each President of the United States up to William McKinley. Following these are biographies of leading individuals in the rurals and towns of Lackawanna County, many of which are accompanied by a portrait of the sketch subject.

Surnames Indexed:
Ackerley, Adams, Aitken, Akerley, Albright, Alexander, Amerman, Ammann, Amsden, Archbald, Armbrust, Arms, Arnold, Arthur, Atherton, Atkins, Baker, Ball, Banks, Barnard, Barrett, Barrowman, Bartl, Battenberg, Bauer, Bayley, Baylor, Beach, Beck, Beemer, Bell, Bentley, Berry, Bessey, Best, Biedlingmaier, Biesecker, Bilheimer, Birkett, Birtley, Bittenbender, Black, Blair, Blatter, Blewitt, Bogart, Boies, Boldry, Borchers, Bortree, Boundy, Bower, Bowman, Boyd, Brady, Breck, Brennan, Briegel, Bright, Broadbent, Brooks, Brown, Bryson, Buchanan, Buck, Buell, Bunnell, Burschel, Busteed, Butler, Cann, Cannon, Carlton, Carlucci, Carpenter, Carr, Carson, Carter, Caryl, Casey, Castner, Cawley, Chamberlain, Chambers, Chappell, Church, Clark, Clarke, Clarkson, Clearwater, Clements, Cleveland, Cobb, Coffman, Colligan, Colvin, Comegys, Connell, Conner, Connolly, Connor, Dale, Daniels, Davidson, Davis, Dawson, Dean, Deans, Decker, DeLacy, Dembinski, Demuth, Dershimer, Devaney, DeWitt, Dick, Dickert, Dickson, Dimock, Donlan, Donne, Donovan, Douglass, Drake, Duckworth, Dunn, Durr, Edwards, Ellis, Emerson, Evans, Everhart, Everett, Everitt, Eynon, Fadden, Fahey, Fairchild, Farber, Barr, Faulkner, Fellows, Felts, Fenner, Ferber, Fern, Fillmore, Finch, Finkler, Finn, Fish, Fitzpatrick, Flannelly, Fowler, Francis, Francois, Frasier, Freeman, Frey, Firchtel, Frick, Frink, Fritz, Fuller, Fulton, Gaiger, Gardner, Garfield, Garvey, Gebhardt, Gibbons, Gilhool, Gillespie, Gilroy, Glover, Goodrich, Gordon, Gorman, Graham, Grant, Graves, Gray, Green, Greene, Gregory, Grewer, Griffin, Gritman, Grovenor, Grover, Guild, Gunster, Gutknecht, Haberstroh, Hagen, Haggerty, Halkyer, Hall, Hallstea, Halpert, Halstead, Hamilton, Hand, Hanks, Hannah, Haran, Harlow, Harrison, Harvye, Hayes, Heermans, Heilner, Helmes, Hemberger, Hendrick, Henwood, Herbert, Herz, Hetsel, Hill, Hinman, Histed, Hockenberry, Hoffman, Hollister, Hopkins, Horan, Horn, Hornbacker, Houser, Howe, Huester, Hughes, Hull, Hunter, Hutchins, Huyck, Ives, Iwanowski, Jackson, Jacobs, Jadwin, Jay, Jefferson, Jenkins, Jermyn, Jessup, John, Johnson, Jones, Jordan, Joslin, Judge, Kay, Kepmeyer, Kearney, Kellow, Kelley, Kelly, Kennedy, Kenny, Ketrick, Kiefer, Kierstead, Kiesel, Kilpatrick, Kinback, Kingsley, Kistler, Knedler, Knickerbocker, Knight, Koehler, Kriegelstein, Krouse, Kruegermann, Kuettle, Kunz, LaBar, Lacoe, L'Amoureaux, Lange, Langstaff, Lanning, Lathrop, LaTouche, Laubach, Law, Leach, Learn, Lee, Leighton, Leonard, Letchworth, Leuthner, Liews, Lincoln, Lindabury, Lingfelter, Lloyd, Loftus, Logan, Long, Longstreet, Loomis, Lorenz, Loughran, Love, Loveland, Lowry, Lutts, Lynde, MacEachen, McAndrew, McCann, McCawley, McClave, McClintock, McClure, McDonlad, McDonnell, McDonough, McFarland, McGarry, McGraw, McHale, McKenna, McKinley, McKinney, McLean, McManus, McMullen, McTighe, McWilliam, Mackey, Madenspacher, Madison, Mahon, Manley, Manness, Manville, Marcy, Marshall, Martin, Medway, Megargel, Melley, Mellon, Merrifield, Merrill, Merritt, Millar, Miller, Mills, Mitchell, Moir, Monies, Monroe, Montgomery, Moore, Morel, Morgan, Morrison, Morss, Moyer, Mulherin, Mullen, Murray, Nealon, Nelson, Neuls, Nichols, Nicholson, Nicol, Hiles, Norrman, Northup, Norton, Nyhant, Oakford, O'Boyle, O'Brien, O'Connell, Okell, Olmstead, O'Malley, Orchard, Osborne, Osterhout, Osthaus, Padden, Page, Paine, Parke, Parker, Patrick, Patterson, Pauli, Pearce, Pearl, Peck, Pennington, Peters, Pethick, Phillips, Phinney, Pierce, Pinnell, Platt, Polk, Porteus, Potter, Powderly, Powell, Price, Purdon, Purdy, Quinnan, Raffelt, Randall, Raynor, Rea, Reaves, Reed, Reese, Regan, Reinhardt, Rennie, Replogle, Rettew, Reynolds, Rhodes, Richards, Richmond, Rink, Ripple, Roberts, Robertson, Robinson, Roche, Roderick, Roesler, Rosar, Rose, Ross, Ruane, Russell, Rutherford, Sanborn, Sando, Sant, Tavage, Schadt, Scharar, Scheuer, Schimpff, Schneider, Schnell, Schoenfoeld, Scholl, Schoonmaker, Schrieber, Schreifer, Schultz, Scranton, Seamans, Seward, Shafer, Shanley, Shannon, Shedd, Shepherd, Sherman, Shoemaker, Shopland, Shumway, Siegel, Silkman, Simpson, Simrell, Slack, Slocum, Smith, Snover, Snyder, Sommes, Southworth, Spellman, Spencer, Spruks, Squire, Stair, Stanton, Stark, Stegner, Stevens, Stipp, Stone, Storr, Sullivan, Swartz, Sykes, Szlupas, Taylor, Thomas, Thompson, Thourot, Throop, Tiffany, Torrey, Travis, Tripp, Tyler, Tryon, Vail, Van Bergen, Van Brunt, Van Buren, Van Buskirk, Vandling, Van Doren, Vetter, Von Storch, Vosburg, Wagner, Walker, Walsh, Walters, Ward, Wardell, Warnke, Warren, Washington, Watres, Watson, Watts, Wedeman, Wehrum, Weichel, Wells, Welsh, Wentz, Weston, Westpfahl, Wetherby, Whelan, White, Wilbur, Wilder, Williams, Wilson, Winans, Wint, Winters, Winton, Woelkers, Wofl, Wonnacott, Woodbridge, Wooler, Wormser, Wyllie, Wymbs, Yeager, Young, Zang, Ziegler, Zizlemann, Zurlinden

Town, Township & Regional Histories

Views of Scranton (C. S. Woolworth, ~1910, 31 pages)
This publication was produced as a souvenir of the city of Scranton, PA. It contains dozens of photographs of historic buildings or locations around the city.

Dunmore 1862-1962 (Dunmore Centennial Committee, Inc, 1962, 148 pages)
This is a centennial history and pictorial souvenir of Dunmore, Lackawanna County, PA. It presents the history of Dunmore from Indian times onward, covering its growth and development over the years. It includes a copy of the resident map of the town published in 1873. The publication is also a souvenir of the centennial celebrations including photographs of area residents, a list of all those involved in the celebration committees, and lists of residents in the "Brothers of the Brush" and "Centennial Belles" chapters. There are also numerous ads for local businesses throughout.

Carbondale, Pennsylvania 125th Anniversary 1851-1976
(Carbondale Bicentennial, Inc, 1976, 108 pages)
This is a 125th Anniversary history of Carbondale, Lackawanna County, PA. It presents the history of the town from Indian times onward, covering its growth and development over the years. The publication is also a souvenir of the centennial celebrations including photographs of area residents, a program of the celebration events, and a list of all those involved in the celebration committees. There are also numerous ads for local businesses throughout.

Church, Family, Education, Military and Miscellaneous Histories

Industries and Wealth of the Principle Points in Northeastern Pennsylvania;
Being Scranton, Williamsport, Lock Haven, Wilkes-Barre, Allentown,
Bethlehem, Easton, Danville, Sunbury and Shamokin
(American Publishing and Engraving Co., 1890, 125 pages)
This publication contains sketches of industrial and economic significance from the major populated areas of northeastern PA. These commercial sketches provide a rare look at many of the businesses and business people of Pennsylvania before the 20th Century.

From Lackawanna County
-- From Scranton: -- The Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company, Lackawanna Trust and Safe Deposit Company, Rice Levy & Co., Foote & Shear, J. W. Guernsey, The Westminster, Alfred Harvey, The Moosic Mt. Coal Company, W. H. Owen, Grand Union Tea Company, D. W. Burr & Co., J. L. Hull, Lackawanna Cash Store, J. D. Williams & Bro., Dale & Co., Stelle & Seeley, Goldsmith Bros., DeGontard & Reynolds, Mt. Jessup Coal Company, Boston Store, Farmers' Dairy Company, W. F. Will, Hetzel & Collins, New York Bazaar, Alex. Dunn, G. W. Fritz, Wood's Business College, Waters & Co., H. Frey, C. P. Jadwin, J. Briegel, Robertson & Hitchcock, Scranton Wood Working Company, The Weston Mill Company, Scranton Brass Works, James Moir, Brannon & O'Neill, J. H. Rittenhouse, J. L. Hangi, Stewart & Meyer, Lackawanna Steam Laundry, Washburn & Zerfoss, Thos. B. McClintock, W. B. Hull, Casey Brothers, Levy & Withers, Luther Keller, G. H. Birdsall

Maps Atlases & Images

Maps & Atlases (*** Not Text-Searchable ***)
1864 Map of the County of Luzerne Pennsylvania (Lacoe & Schooley and F. H. Walling, Color)
1873 Borough of Dunmore (Anonymous, B/W)
1894 Atlas of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys (G. Wm. Baist, Color)

Birds-eye Town Views (*** Not Text-Searchable ***)
Bird's Eye View of Carbondale, PA. (1870, Fowler & Bailey)
Jermyn, Lackawanna County, PA. (1889, T. M. Fowler & James B. Moyer)
Carbondale, Pennsylvania (1890, T. M. Fowler)
Scranton, Penn. (1890, T. M. Fowler & James B. Moyer)
Moscow, Lackawanna County, Penn'a. (1891, T. M. Fowler & James B. Moyer)
Archbald, Lackawanna County, PA. (1892, T. M. Fowler & James B. Moyer)
Dunmore, Pennsylvania (1892, T. M. Fowler)
Moosic, Pennsylvania (1892, T. M. Fowler)
Peckville, Lackawanna County, PA. (1892, T. M. Fowler & James B. Moyer)
Providence, Pennsylvania (1892, A. E. Downs)