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A unique blend of family history and biography, this CD names 315,000 individuals who lived primarily in southeastern and southwestern Pennsylvania during the colonial and early federal periods. Brought to life in an exhaustive series of historical sketches, essays, biographies, and genealogies, these early Pennsylvanians (mainly Quakers, Scotch-Irish, and Germans) are the ancestors of hundreds of thousands of individuals living today and are a reminder of our cultural diversity. The numerous volumes of biographies, county histories, and genealogies which were drawn on in the compilation of this CD were originally published by the Genealogical Publishing Company, and all seventeen volumes--available on this CD at a fraction of their original cost--are now conveniently accessed by means of a single electronic index.

Typically, the biographical sketches mention the date and place of birth and marriage of an individual, the name of his wife and the names of his children, the names with dates and places of birth of his parents and often grandparents, sometimes the name of the first ancestor in America, and details of religion, education, military service, occupation, home, and residence. Details of this kind are usually wide-ranging and anecdotal, enabling descendants to ascertain something of the manner and habits of their ancestors

System Requirements: You must have a CD-ROM drive, and in order to read the CD you must use either the Family Archive Viewer (version 4.0 or higher), which is available as a free download at http://www.genealogical.com/content/dlfav6.html, or Family Tree Maker for Windows, version 4.0 or higher (Family Tree Maker software can be ordered from www.FamilyTreeMaker.com).

To access information on our Family Archive CDs using the Family Archive Viewer:

1. Install the Family Archive Viewer CD or download it from http://www.genealogy.com/dlfav6.html.
2. Start the Viewer if it is not already running
3. Insert the CD you wish to view into the CD-ROM drive. If you have 2 or more CD-ROM drives, the CD must be placed in the first one.
4. The CD should open automatically, but users of later versions of the Family Archive Viewer must click the CD/magnifying glass icon in the top toolbar (above the template in some versions) to read the CD.
5. When the screen entitled "About this Family Archive" appears, click OK where prompted.

To access information on our Family Archive CDs using Family Tree Maker:

1. Start your Family Tree Maker and open a Family File. (If the program is already running, skip to Step 2.)
2. Insert the CD in your computer's CD-ROM drive. (If you have 2 or more CD-ROM drives, the CD must be placed in the first one.)
3. From the View menu, select Family Finder, or select the Family Finder icon from the toolbar.
4. For FTM 2005, FTM 2006, or Version 16, you must go to the View menu, select Data CD, then View CD. For FTM 2008 or higher, you must download the Family Archive Viewer.

To search the CD for names, select the Search Expert button in the top right of your screen, then select "Search this archive for someone NOT from your Family File." You can also search for names by using the Index.

Note: If a window opens that contains a list of files on the CD, simply close it.