Encounters is better than ever!

We’ve made updates big and small to the Encounters genealogical database system. With these changes, it will be even easier to use -- letting you discover more of your family history at HSP!

The biggest improvements you’ll notice are:

1. The URL. You don’t have go to through PAL anymore – instead you’ll connect directly to the database through https://encounters.hsp.org.

2. No separate logins! You’ll log into Encounters using your regular PAL username and password.

3. More than 3200 new records to explore. We’ve added the Philadelphia Public School records (1828-1914), with more to come.

4. Access to the social functions (public and private lists, record tagging, and record commenting) requires only a single login.

5. Encounters now uses a fully secure, HTTPS server.

Want to see what databases are included in Encounters, even if you don’t have an account? You can check out the list by clicking here.

Encounters is our members-only database system containing references to over 258,000 unique names found in HSP collections. With sources including Oliver H. Bair Company funeral records, Philadelphia Home for Infants registers, and Philadelphia Placement Office registers, you can easily search for family members’ records.

Friends of HSP have offsite access to Encounters. Click here to make a gift to HSP, and commit to becoming a Friend of HSP and making history yours!