Pennsylvania. General Assembly

The oaths of allegiance were required by the General Assembly beginning in 1777. Records are arranged by receiving or last date and some by the name of the oath taker. "Many of these documents are loyalty oaths rather than naturalization papers. The emphasis of the record is on the Philadelphia environs, with individual items arranged by the date of the oath. While the oaths recorded from 1777 to 1786 usually only give the person's name and residence,...

The accounts "give the times of warning the militia, the services of the recruiting officers of the Pennsylvania Line, the names of many who fell in battle, the county contributing to the support of their widows, with the names of many soldiers who served at one time or another a tour of duty, .... These accounts give us the military service of many whose names do not elsewhere appear upon our records" -- Prefatory note.