Don, If you're going into Harrisburg, you have three places to search. The PA State Library (Commonwealth & Walnut St.), The PA State Archives, which is about 2 blocks away, next to the William Penn Museum, and the Courthouse, corner of Front and Market Sts. You can walk to all three. The Courthouse is not open on weekends and the PA State Archives is closed on Mondays. The State Library has PA census from 1790? to 1920, city directories, some ships passenger lists,an excellent newspaper room,a huge genealogy room, etc. If you are there during the week, ask for Ray. He volunteers in the genealogy room and can be tremendous help as far as location of resources. You can access the holdings of the State Library at www.statelibrary.state.pa.us. Click on the library catalog link and you can then search by title, topic, etc. Yes, and even newspapers! The PA Archives has many records that are not contained in the St. Library, such as old birth and death registers, tax assessments, wills, deeds, marriage records. It varies by county and by year. Use this link for their holdings so you know what they have before you go. They have the census there on microfilm also. <A HREF="www.state.pa.us/PA_Exec/Historical_Museum/DAM/rg/rg47m.htm">Counties in State Archives</A> . I believe the courthouse is open 8-5. There are specific rooms for various records. Many of the same records at the courthouse are on microfilm at the State Archives, with some exceptions. I have found the staff there to be courteous and helpful. You can also call/write them for lookups, such as registered copies of birth records. Keep in mind that all PA birth and death records from 1906 on, are on file with Vital Statistics in New Castle, PA . You must fill out a form to obtain certificates. This link will provide more info. Ray may have these forms available in the genealogy room, I'm not sure. You should be able to download a form from a link from this web site. <A HREF="http://www.vitalrec.com/pa.html">Pennsylvania Vital Records Information - birth or death certificate, div</A> Hope this gives you an idea of what is available and will save you time before you go. Keep in mind that you can spend the entire day in any one of these places. Good Luck. Karen