Searching for Your Ancestors?
The Erie County Public Library has a dedicated collection of materials that can assist you in your search for ancestors that lived in the Erie / Northwest Pennsylvania area. This collection does not circulate; it must be used on site. The Heritage Room is located on the second floor of the Blasco Memorial Library.
Equipment
The Heritage Room at the Blasco Memorial Library has self-service equipment available to help you view and convert historical material.
A flat-bed scanner is available that can scan books, photographs, letters, or any other document up to 11 x 17. Scans are free of charge. Our scanning station allows you to save to flash drive, send via email, or print a hard copy.
A VHS to DVD converter will transfer your memories to a digital format. Using the equipment is free of charge, and at your own risk. The library sells blank DVDs, or you can bring your own. Please note that the conversion occurs in real time. You can reserve it here.
The Heritage Room microfilm collection contains Erie newspapers published from 1820 to 2018. Erie County censuses from 1800 to 1930, and selected censuses for other Pennsylvania counties and nearby states. Five microfilm reader/printers are available for use on-site on a first come first serve basis. Photocopies can be made for 10 cents per page cash or coins. You can scan images to a USB flash drive at no charge. Non-flash photography is permitted in the Heritage Room.
Collections
The general focus of the collection is Northwestern Pennsylvania and the surrounding tri-state area. Check our catalog to view our holdings. Our collection includes:
- Family histories, standard reference works, county histories, local history information and other resources.
- A printed obituary index is available for Erie newspapers that covers 1822 to 2017.
- City directories are available for Erie beginning in 1853, and suburban (or Millcreek) directories start with the 1957 edition.
- Yearbooks are available for many Erie City and Erie County high schools, some dating back to the early 1900s. There are also Erie-area college yearbooks.
- A vertical file containing subject folders on local Erie locations and topics
- Historic maps and atlases
- If you have an Erie County Public Library card, you can request books, microfilms and photocopies through the Library’s Interlibrary Loan Department. Availability of these materials may be restricted by the owning libraries.
Please note: materials in the Heritage Room must be kept at a constant temperature of 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Please dress accordingly; a sweater or light jacket may help.
Computer Databases
ECPL subscribes to Ancestry.com and American Ancestors, for in-library use on the Heritage Room public computers.
The Heritage Room is a FamilySearch affiliate library. You may be able to view limited-access images in the Heritage Room that you cannot view from home.
Library staff maintains links to a number of useful genealogy related Internet sites.
The Library also provides in-library and remote access to the Library editions of HeritageQuest and Fold3. A list of resources is available on the Local History & Genealogy section in the eDatabases.
Information by Mail and email:
As a service to patrons doing genealogical research, the ECPL has compiled and maintains an online obituary index for Erie County, Pennsylvania, from 1822 to 2022.
The Heritage Room staff can fulfill record requests for obituaries by mail or email. Please visit our Obituary Search Request Page to search the index or place an order for an obituary. Fees apply.
You may contact the Blasco Memorial Library Heritage Room by mail at:
Heritage Room
Blasco Memorial Library
Erie County Public Library
160 East Front Street
Erie, PA 16507
