Pennsylvania State Archives Collection

This volume contains a list of the people, county governments, militia units, and state agencies for which the Comptroller General held accounts. Account numbers are listed to the right of each name. The listing includes account numbers 1 through 4432. Images are grouped alphabetically by the first letter of the surname of the account holder. This collection is part of the Office of the Comptroller General which was created in 1782.

A record of the 34,526 names of Pennsylvania veterans appearing on Pennsylvania monuments. Prepared from a record in the Pennsylvania State Library on February 7, 1958 that was originally compiled by the United States Department of the Interior. This collection is part of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs which is responsible for administering the Pennsylvania National Guard, and administers various programs of assistance to veterans.

The Anatomical Board was created in 1883 for the purpose of acquiring and distributing human cadavers to surgeons and medical schools in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of 1998, it is known as the Humanity Gifts Registry Board and is composed of representatives from the medical and dental fields and the Secretary of Health. The Board establishes rules and regulations governing registry operations. This collection contains a register, arranged chronologically by date received, of human cadavers received by the Anatomical Board to be distributed to medical and dental facilities for research. Information provided for each cadaver includes name, gender, color, age, place of birth, marital status, and occupation, date received, date and cause of death, physician's name, where received from and delivered to, tag number, whether cut or uncut, condition, and the claimed, substitute, or buried tag number. In addition, there is a monthly consolidated report of receipts from institutions giving the total number of bodies, the number of cut and uncut bodies, the number of white or black males and females, the number or bodies in good, bad and fair condition, the number of claimed, substitute, and buried cut and uncut bodies, and occasional remarks regarding each institution providing cadavers to the Anatomical Board.

Annual reports filed with the Department of Internal Affairs by passenger and street railway companies. Information provided is date of report, name of company, names and residences of officers, location of general offices, history of organization and construction, capital stock, debt, and a description of the characteristics of the line such as number of car houses, sheds, stables, depots, and first and second class passenger cars together with the capacity of the cars and the number of cars propelled by electricity, horses, and mules. Also given are the number of trips per day, the number of miles run each day, average time consumed in passing over the road and the material of the foundation upon which the rails were laid. Finally, there is a monthly statement of the number of passengers carried, rate of fare, expenses, receipts, summary of payments, general balance sheet, a statement of stock and dividends, and an account of important changes made during the year. Images are grouped chronologically by year and arranged thereunder alphabetically by name of company. These records are part of the Bureau of Statistics which was created in 1874 under the Department of Internal Affairs. Disclaimer: Not all records in this collection are digitized. Visit the PA State Archives to see the rest of the collection.

Images of three types of certification recordings for mine foremen and assistant foremen: certificate books, certificate receipt books, and registers. The certificate books contain copies of the certificates issued to eligible applicants, spanning the years 1886-1923 for foremen and 1891-1940 for assistant foremen. Information provided includes the certificate number and date issued; the name, residence, age, and place of birth of the applicant; length and nature of the applicant's service; mine district; and the report's number and date. The certificate receipt books, which cover the years from 1938-1963, contain only the receipt portion, not the actual certificate, and show the applicant's name, age, place of birth and length of service; the examining board's name; certificate number and date issued; and the applicant's test score. Finally, the registers list the name, residence, place of birth, and age of the applicant; the report's number and date; the certificate number and date issued; and length and nature of the applicant's service. The registers for foremen cover the period 1923-1955, and for assistant foremen from 1923-1968. Disclaimer: Not all records in this collection are digitized. Visit the PA State Archives to see the rest of the collection.

Images of records of cases brought before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in the Eastern District. An Appearance Docket generally documents the initial proceedings of a case, while actions taken months or years later after the appearance docket entry was completed, are listed in a continuance docket. Different types of dockets are found for different periods. From 1740 through September of 1795, the volumes may be either Appearance or Continuance Dockets, or combinations of both. From December of 1795 until 1829, there are generally both types of dockets for each term. From December of 1830 through 1837, however, only Continuance Dockets are found, while from 1838 on, all volumes are in the form of Appearance Dockets. Information provided by docket entries may include court term and case number; names of parties and their attorneys; names of county and lower courts from which the appellate case arose; a chronological listing of documents filed and proceedings held; and the court's decision on subsequent orders. For a more in-depth study of particular cases see the (RG-033-A-13) Appearance Papers, 1858-1879.

These are images of basic appearance dockets for the Supreme Court, marking the date that the original writ was issued by the Supreme Court and whether it was a Summons, Capias or Writ of Error. Information provided by docket entries may include court term and case number; names of parties and their attorneys; county and lower courts from which the appellate case arose; a chronological listing of documents filed and proceedings held; and the courts' decision on subsequent orders.

The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction was established under the Constitution of 1874. It replaced the Office of Superintendent of Common Schools, which had been created in 1857 to assume the duties relating to the administration of public schools originally lodged with the Secretary of the Commonwealth by the Free School Act of 1834. By 1876, the officials working under the Superintendent were commonly known as the Department of Public Instruction. The powers and duties of this Department were greatly increased in 1923 when the State Library and Museum, the State Board of Censors, the Public School Employees' Retirement Board, the Pennsylvania Historical Commission, and the various State professional examining boards were made administrative units of Public Instruction. In keeping with its responsibility for administering the State's educational policies, the Department of Public Instruction supervised the public school system, distributed State subsidies to school districts, administered teachers' colleges and vocational-education programs, issued licenses for certain professions, and operated the State Library. Several administrative units were eventually separated from the Department. In 1945 the Historical Commission, the Museum and the State Archives were merged to form an independent agency, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. The State Board of Censors was abolished in 1956 when the act creating it was declared unconstitutional by the State Supreme Court, and in 1963 the professional examining boards were transferred to the jurisdiction of the Department of State. In 1969 the name of the Department of Public Instruction was changed to the Department of Education. The Bureau of Statistics became the Bureau of Information Systems.This collection contains a record, arranged in numerical order by application number, of individuals licensed as chiropodists from October 26, 1956 to August 14, 1974. Information provided includes the name and address of the chiropodist; the date of graduation; the name and location of the institution which granted the degree; the date of application and the application number; the date that the license was issued and the license number; and the date that the license fee was paid and the amount. There is space available for recording the person's age and date of examination but it is left blank. As needed, a remarks section was used to indicate the date that the chiropodist died.This series continues under the Department of Education in series 22.53 Record of Licenses Issued to Chiropodists covering 1914-1956, these records are also digitally available.

The Superintendent of Public Instruction was the head of the old Department of Public Instruction and also served as the Chief Executive Officer of the State Board of Education that was created in 1963 to implement the School District Reorganization Act of 1963 (Act 299) under which the Commonwealth's 2,056 school districts were consolidated into 466 by 1966. In 1969 this post was superseded by that of the Secretary of Education. Applications for permanent, provisional, temporary, special, and temporary special continuation teaching certificates submitted to the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The type of information given varies with the forms utilized. Application forms for provisional college certification provide the name, age, address, county of residence, and college of the candidate; the college courses that he or she studied; the date that the diploma was issued; and the dates that the application was received and the certificate granted. Application forms for permanent certification, on the other hand, usually only indicate the name, address, semesters of teaching experience, and school district of the applicant; the date that the application was received; and the date that certification was granted.

Images of appointments and commissions issued for civil officers. Information given is name of appointee, name of Governor or commission making the appointment, the position to which appointed, date of appointment, and the term of the appointment. Microfilm covers the period through 1944. For names of applicants who applied for positions for the period 1775-1790 see "Guide to the Microfilm of the Records of Pennsylvania's Revolutionary Governments, 1775-1790," by Roland M. Baumann. Related records will be found in the following series in Record Group 27, Records of Pennsylvania's Revolutionary Governments: Appointment Book, 1777-1790 series 27.19; Appointments File, Military, 1775-1790 series 27.20; and Appointments File, Political, 1775-1790 series 27.21. For more related and duplicate records, see also, Commission Books, 1775-1842 series 26.46. See internal links below. Disclaimer: Not all records in this collection are digitized. Visit the PA State Archives to see the rest of the collection.