I do a fair bit of research in the Philadelphia area, as that’s where most of my family was living from the mid-1800s through the mid-1900s. I put together some of the most useful resources here to keep everything in one place.
Maps
- PhilaGeoHistory Maps Viewer – Historical maps overlaid on present day Google Maps
- Philadelphia Historic Streets Index – Look up old street names and find out what their current names are
- Street Directories of Philadelphia
- Philly History Photos – Historical photos of Philly searchable by map/streets
- Index to Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties PA area Sanborn Maps Volumes
- Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery County Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps
City Directories
- 1780s: 1780 / 1781 / 1782 / 1783 / 1784 / 1785 / 1786 / 1787 / 1788 / 1789
- 1790s: 1790 / 1791 / 1792 / 1793 / 1794 / 1795 / 1796 / 1797 / 1798 / 1799
- 1800s: 1800 / 1801 / 1802 / 1803 / 1804 / 1805 / 1806 / 1807 / 1808 / 1809
- 1810s: 1810 / 1811 / 1812 / 1813 / 1814 / 1815 / 1816 / 1817 / 1818 / 1819
- 1820s: 1820 / 1821 / 1822 / 1823 / 1824 / 1825 / 1826 / 1827 / 1828 / 1829
- 1830s: 1830 / 1831 / 1832 / 1833 / 1834 / 1835-1836 / 1837 / 1838 / 1839 (alt)
- 1840s: 1840 (alt) / 1841 / 1842 / 1843 / 1844 / 1845 / 1846 / 1847 / 1848 / 1849
- 1850s: 1850 / 1851 / 1852 / 1853 / 1854 / 1855 / 1856 / 1857 / 1858 / 1859
- 1860s: 1860 / 1861 / 1862 / 1863 / 1864 / 1865 / 1866 / 1867 / 1868 / 1869
- 1930s: 1930 / 1935
- 1950s: 1950
List of Philly directories online
Other Stuff
- FamilySearch Full-Text search of land & probate records, filtered down to Philadelphia (ignore the error and just add search terms on the right side; may need to opt-in to this feature first with FamilySearch Labs)
- PastPerfect Online: Pennsylvania – A list of smaller archives that use the PastPerfect platform. This is a good way to find your way to collections you may have missed when looking at larger sources.
- Good news as of 2026: Philadelphia and Ancestry have a deal to get a lot more records online!