Pennsylvania Prison Records
Presented by Tyler Stump of the Pennsylvania State Archives

Researching Ancestors in Prisons at the Pennsylvania State Archives Pennsylvania’s prisons has a long and complicated history. From famous facilities like Eastern and Western State Penitentiaries to smaller county jails, hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians have spent time behind prison walls since the 1600s. Thankfully for researchers, all this history comes with a long paper trail full of invaluable genealogical information, much of which can be found at the Pennsylvania State Archives in Harrisburg.

Join archivist Tyler Stump and learn about what kinds of records are available in the archives, how to access these records, and see recently acquired prison records which were only just opened for research last year!

Tyler Stump has been an acquisitions archivist at the Pennsylvania State Archives since 2016. He mostly works with historical PA government records. He has published several pieces about the history of Pennsylvania’s prisons and state-run institutions, most recently an article in Pennsylvania History about Fairview State Hospital, an institution in Wayne County. Tyler grew up in the Baltimore
area, but his family has lived in the York Township/Dallastown area since the mid 18th century. He currently lives in Camp Hill, PA with his wife Andra (who is also an archivist at the PA House of Representatives Archives).

South Central Pennsylvania Genealogical Society, Inc. (SCPGS) is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization of genealogists. Their purpose is to encourage and promote an interest in genealogy by collecting and preserving materials related to genealogy, encouraging the compilation and publication of family genealogies and histories, publishing materials of interest and benefit to members, holding meetings for the education of members and the public, and offering financial and volunteer support to the library at the York County History Center.  Monthly meetings are held in the Meeting Hall of the York County History Center, at 250 East Market Street, York, Pennsylvania unless otherwise noted. Meetings are FREE and open to the public.

Attorney Richard K. Konkel is Vice President of the South Central Pennsylvania Genealogical Society.