PA PowerPort On Line
On behalf of Pennsylvania Gov. Tom
Ridge, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) Executive
Director Brent D. Glass announced on 03 July 2001 that Pennsylvanians now --for the first
time -- can access historical records through the PA PowerPort.
The Archives Records Information Access System (ARIAS) will enable
Pennsylvanians and researchers from around the world to utilize the
tremendous resources of the Pennsylvania State Archives right from their
homes or local libraries.
The records can be accessed through the PA PowerPort at
www.state.pa.us or directly at the Commission's site at
www.phmc.state.pa.us.
"With the click of a mouse, students, teachers, family researchers and
history buffs will be able to view online historical records maintained at
the State Archives in Harrisburg," Glass said. "Our goal is to provide easy,
cost-free access to historical records that constitute our most valuable
window to the past. We think of it as the `Digital State Archives."
Currently, ARIAS offers approximately 200,000 images relating to the
participation of Pennsylvanians in the Revolutionary War, Spanish-American
War and World War I.
The Revolutionary War records are arranged alphabetically by the surname
of each soldier, with information on service in the Pennsylvania Militia,
Pennsylvania Line, and the Navy; the name and rank of soldier; active or
inactive duty; county of residence; battalion in which served; and the
archival record from which the information was extracted.
More than 300,000 Civil War and Mexican Border Campaign service card
images also are being loaded into the system.
Eventually, millions of digitized records, ranging from 19th-century
county birth, death and marriage dockets to collections of photographs
illustrating every aspect of the Pennsylvania experience, will be added.
"Genealogists are hungry for access to records such as these," said James
Beidler, executive director of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania.
"The beauty of the resources found in ARIAS is that they will lead
researchers to the original source documents, which is what every family
historian yearns to find about his or her ancestors."
Back to Genealogical Research in Slovakia