The Neighborhood House of Christ Church, Philadelphia, with a Social Survey of its district
Christ Church (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Social conditions
Social surveys
St. Michael's Church (Trenton, N.J.)
Episcopalians
Episcopal Church
Baptismal records
Marriage records
Burial records
Confirmation records
Record of christenings, marriages, burials and confirmations performed by St. Michael's from 1771 to 1852. Records are listed in chronological groupings. Christening records include date, name, parents' name, and age at the time of christening. Marriage records include the date, names of brides and groom, notes on license, and city of residence or origin. Burial records include the date, name of decedent, whether the decedent was an adult or child, and parent's names in cases of the latter. Sacraments performed for black parishioners are often denoted with "(negro)."
Church membership
Records of St. Michael's baptisms, confirmations, communicants, marriages and burials, dating from 1855 to 1867. Most entries span verso and recto pages. Baptismal records run from page 3 to page 37, and include date, name, parents' names, date of birth, and remarks such as location of ceremony, officiant, and witnesses. Confirmation records run from page 73 to page 80, and include date, name, and remarks (usually name of officiant). Lists of communicants run from page 85 to page 116, and include date, name, mode (received/admitted), removed date and mode (moved/died/transferred), and miscellaneous remarks. Marriage records run from page 121 to page 141 and include date, names of bride and groom, their residences, and place of ceremony. Note: Images 50-51 show marriage records inserted into the confirmations section. Burials records run from page 145 to page 157, and include date, name, place of interment, age, and remarks (names of relatives, city of origin, person who performed burial). There are also several loose items, one note of birth and four letters of transfer.
Corporate minutes
Pews and pew rights
Church finance
Meeting minutes of the wardens and vestrymen of St. Michael's begin on image 5, in 1755. Entries jump around chronologically, and were likely copied over from other records. The latest entry is dated 1818. The register portion of the document begins on image 98 with an undated alphabetical list of church members, notated for communicants, contributors, and removed or deceased members. Christenings, marriages and burials are then listed in chronological groupings starting with image 105, beginning in 1769 and ending in 1855. Entries include dates, names, and other relevant data. Black persons are marked as "negros." The next portion of the manuscript includes an account of communion collections on image 190, a list of pew holders as of December 1836 on image 202, and a list of communicants from 1840 on image 206. An index of the register entries from 1818-1822 appears on image 209, and the final pages of the manuscript contains a map and listings of interments in the St. Michael's burial ground.
Church buildings
Church committees
Church fund raising
Church music
Church management
Meeting minutes of the wardens and vestrymen of St. Michael's, dating from 1857 to 1881. Each entry includes the date and place of the meeting, names of attendees, and a summary of the business discussed. Business includes but is not limited to: Elections and appointments; maintenance of the church and Sunday school buildings; reports from church committees; sundry topics such as the purchase of music for the church choir and the need for a new organ; and church finance, including pew rents, collections, and subscriptions.
Articles of incoporation
Meeting minutes of the wardens and vestry of St. Michael's, dating from 1818 to 1857. Entries include the date, names of those present, and business discussed. Business includes but is not limited to: elections and appointments, repairs and improvements to the church building, management of church finances, collection of pew rents, and committee reports. Note: a copy of the "act to incorporate the Protestant Episcopal Church of St. Michael's in the city of Trenton" dated January 28, 1818 opens the manuscript.
Meeting minutes of the wardens and vestry of St. Michael's, dating from 1761 to 1818. Each entry includes the date and location of the meeting, persons present and business discussed. Business includes but is not limited to: the hiring and payment of church employees; elections; fundraising and payment of debts; improvements to the church building; assignment of pews and collection of pew rents.
Correspondence
Sermons
Church records and registers
A set of many loose documents pertaining to the history of St. Michael's, dating from 1770 to 1862. Several of the documents are accompanied by typewritten transcripts. Included are: a record of the official naming of St. Michael's (submitted 1795, recorded 1796); lists of subscribers paying for Reverend Doctor Henry Waddell's salary, starting in 1797 and continuing for several years thereafter; a list of "Families of Episcopalians" in Trenton; an undated "plan of sittings" (map of church pews); Articles of Agreement for Building a Church in the City of Trenton, 1819; correspondence regarding the engagement of a minister; lists of communicants in 1855 and 1862; some marriage and baptismal records; and extracts from "Sermons by the Late Rev. John Logan, Edinburgh, one of the Ministers of Leith."
Charters
A 1703 land grant from Governor Inglesby, giving four English farmers land to build a church on the hills north of the Delaware Falls, which they shared with Scottish farmers. In 1751 St. Michael's original Trenton sanctuary was built on this land.
Church of England
Psalmody
Prayers
Sacraments
Consecration
Rites and ceremonies
Full title: "The Book of Common Prayer, and Administration of the Sacraments, and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church, According to the Use of the Church of England: Together with the Psalter or Psalms of David, Pointed as They are to be Sung or Said in Churches; and the Form or Manner of Making, Ordaining, and Consecrating of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons."
Old St. Mary's Church (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Catholics
Church schools
Cemeteries
Minutes of the meetings of the trustees of Old St. Mary's from1835 to 1843. Each dated entry includes a list of attendees and a description of the topics covered. Topics include but are not limited to: election, appointment, and payment of church staff; management of the church finances, buildings, school and burial ground; pew rentals; and reports from committees.
Minutes of the meetings of the trustees of Old St. Mary's from 1829 to 1899. Each dated entry includes a list of attendees and a description of the topics covered. Topics include but are not limited to: election, appointment, and payment of church staff; management of the church finances, buildings, school and burial ground; pew rentals; and reports from committees.
Minutes of the meetings of the trustees of Old St. Mary's from 1812 to 1829. Front matter includes a map of the pews and list of pewholders of Old St. Mary's, a copy of the act of incorporation, and the trustees' rules for management of the church. Meeting minutes begin on image 46, and each dated entry includes a list of attendees and a description of the topics covered. Topics include but are not limited to: election, appointment, and payment of church staff; management of the church finances, buildings, school and burial ground; pew rentals; and reports from committees.
Minutes of the meetings of the trustees of Old St. Mary's from 1788 to 1811. Front matter includes a copy of the Act of Incorporation dated September 13, 1788; lists of subscribers who paid towards the burial ground, the building of the church in 1762, and the addition of pews and galleries in 1782; and rules for conducting church business. The meeting minutes begin on image 26, and each entry includes a list of attendees and a description of the topics covered. Topics include but are not limited to: election, appointment, and payment of church staff; management of the church finances, buildings, school and burial ground; pew rentals; and reports from committees. Rear matter includes: a copy of the articles agreed upon in 1782; another list of subscribers, towards building the schoolhouse in 1781; an account of the costs involved in building that schoolhouse; a list of pewholders and their pew numbers dated 1782; and maps of the numbered pews.
Registers of births, etc.
Record of funerals performed by Old St. Mary's from 1861 to 1874. "Prices of Interment" are listed on image 5, followed by "Rules" on image 6. Funerals are then listed chronologically, and include the name of the decedent, a note on the location of their grave, age at time of death, and fees paid.
Record of funerals performed by Old St. Mary's from 1856 to 1861. Entries are chronological and include the date of the funeral, name of the decedent, age at time of death, and fees paid. Entries also often note if the burial was on a church lot or "poor ground."
Record of deaths in the congregation of Old St. Mary's from 1837 to 1850. Entries are listed chronologically and include the decedent's date of death, name, age at time of death, native country, and cause of death. Causes of death include consumption of the lung, disease of the heart, poison by arsenic, hydrocephalus, croup, colic, old age, asthma, influenza, and small pox, among others.
Record of burials at Old St. Mary's from 1859 to 1878. Burials are listed chronologically, and include the location of the grave, decedent's name, age at time of death, and fees paid.
Record of burials at Old St. Mary's from 1851 to 1859. Burials are listed chronologically, and include the location of the grave, decedent's name, age at time of death, and fees paid.
Record of burials at Old St. Mary's from 1844 to 1850. Burials are listed chronologically, and include the location of the grave, decedent's name, age at time of death, and fees paid.
Record of burials at Old St. Mary's from 1823 to 1843. The manuscript begins with new regulations dated January 1, 1844, listing fees for various burial services. Burials are then listed by date beginning on page 3, with name, age at time of death, which ground the decedent was buried in, and fees paid. Notes are included for the purchase of a headstone, and if the decedent was a child, "colored," or poor. Entries from January 1830 onward also note causes of death, which include consumption, worms, whooping cough, scarlet fever, old age, inflammation of bowels, drinking cold water, apoplexy, accident, and dropsy, among others.
Holy Trinity Catholic Church (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Meeting minutes from Holy Trinity, dating from 1840 to 1936. Much of the text is in German. Topics covered include but are not limited to: pew rents; election of trustees and committees; staff salaries; and management of the church buildings, cemetery and schools.
Meeting minutes from Holy Trinity, dating from 1788 to 1839. Much of the text is in German. Topics covered include but are not limited to: pew rents; election of trustees and committees; staff salaries; and management of the church buildings, cemetery and schools. A notable topic is the schism between the trustees and Bishop Carroll of Baltimore, who held authority over the entire Catholic population of the United States prior to the creation of the diocese of Philadelphia in 1808, over the hiring of priests.
Death registers
Record of deaths in the Holy Trinity congregation from 1790 to 1849. Two alphabetical indexes take up the first half of the manuscript. The first index begins in 1790, and the second index begins on image 33 with deaths from 1828. Chronological listings from 1806 to 1849 run from image 59 to image 104, and from 1790 to 1795 in images 105 to 111. For earlier deaths, only the person's name and year of death may be recorded. For later years, the complete date of death is usually included.
Baptisms and burials, 1790-1826, bulk 1796-1806
Record of baptisms and burials undertaken by Holy Trinity from 1790 to 1826. The manuscript is in Latin. The first page of the manuscript lists the Trustees of Holy Trinity from 1819 to 1826. Next is a summary of the numbers of "baptismi" (baptisms), "sepultura" (burials) and "matrimonia" (marriages) performed by each "pastore" (shepherd, reverend) from 1790 to 1823. A chronological list of the baptisms performed by Reverend Wilhelmus Elling from 1799 to 1806 begins on image 9 and runs through image 82. Each entry includes name, date of birth, date of baptism, parents' names and names of sponsors. Some entries include the signatures of the parents and sponsors. Image 83 lists all the infants who were buried in 1806. A chronological listing of burials from 1796 to 1798 takes up the remainder of the manuscript. Entries include the date of death, and sometimes place of death.
Baptisms, marriages, and burials, 1796-1806
Record of baptisms, marriages and burials in the congregation of Holy Trinity from 1796 to 1806. Most entries are in Latin or French. Baptisms are listed chronologically from images 11 to 28, then from images 33 to 39. Baptismal records include the date, name of person baptized, pastor, parents, and sponsors. A name index for baptismal records begins on image 91. Some burial information, including the interment of infants and paupers, can be found interspersed in the baptismal records, from images 23 to 25. The names of congregants buried at Holy Trinity are listed by date on images 29 to 32. Marriages records, some quite detailed, are recorded in images 41 to 90.
Third Presbyterian Church (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Church discipline
Poor
Charity
Presbyterians
Presbyterian Church
The Session is a body of elected elders governing a Presbyterian church. Meeting minutes run from 1828 to 1863, and note the date, members present, and business discussed. Business includes elections to office and appointments to committees; management of church finances, including financial assistance to the poor; church membership; and the resolution of conflicts between, and discipline of, church members.
The Session is a body of elected elders governing a Presbyterian church. This manuscript begins with a brief history of Third Presbyterian, followed by an alphabetical list of "members in full communion." Meeting minutes begin on image 19 and run from 1809 to 1828. Each entry notes the date, members present, and business discussed. Business includes: elections to office and appointments to committees; management of church finances, including financial assistance to the poor; church membership; and the resolution of conflicts between, and discipline of, church members. Please note there are some page numbering irregularities in the original manuscript; image numbers will provide better identification of each page.
St. Peter's Church (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Account books
Regular accounting of "cash received and paid" by St. Peter's from 1842 to 1864. Funds received by the church include ground rents, pew rents, box money, and payment for interments. Expenses paid by the church include salaries for church employees, supplies such as wine and coal, and services such as gardening and building repair.
Regular accounting of "cash received and paid" by St. Peter's from 1831 to 1842. Funds received by the church include ground rents, pew rents, box money, and payment for interments. Expenses paid by the church include salaries for church employees, supplies such as wine and coal, and services such as gardening and building repair.
Second Presbyterian Church (Philadelphia, Pa.)
The Session is a body of elected elders governing a Presbyterian church. Meeting minutes run from 1817 to 1841, and note the date, members present, and business discussed. Business includes elections to office and appointments to committees; management of church finances, including financial assistance to the poor; church membership; and the resolution of conflicts between, and discipline of, church members.
The Session is a body of elected elders governing a Presbyterian church. Meeting minutes run from 1798 to 1817, and note the date, members present, and business discussed. Business includes elections to office and appointments to committees; management of church finances, including financial assistance to the poor; church membership; and the resolution of conflicts between, and discipline of, church members.
Gloria Dei Church (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Missionaries
Religious education
Sunday schools
The manuscript begins with a transcription of the by-laws of Wicacoe Church adopted on December 3, 1838, which include the duties of the warden, secretary, and sexton, and policies for interment of members. Vestry minutes follow, including the place and date of the meeting, members present, and business discussed. Business includes, but is not limited to: collection of pew rents; record keeping; elections to leadership and appointments to committees; resignations, appointments and payment of staff; upkeep of building and grounds; fundraising for the mission society and Sunday school; and preparation of a charter to be reviewed by the state legislature.
First Presbyterian Church (Philadelphia, Pa.)
The Session is a body of elected elders governing a Presbyterian church. This manuscript begins with a list of pastors at First Presbyterian up to 1830, then includes an historical list of elders, followed by a list of communicants, with their dates of admission as well as notes on certificates, dismissals, exclusions and deaths. Session minutes begin on image 90. They run from 1830 to 1851, and note the date, members present, and business discussed. Business includes elections to office and appointments to committees; management of church finances, including financial assistance to the poor; church membership; and the resolution of conflicts between, and discipline of, church members.
The Session is a body of elected elders governing a Presbyterian church. Meeting minutes run from 1807 to 1830, and note the date, members present, and business discussed. Business includes elections to office and appointments to committees; management of church finances, including the funding of missionary work and financial assistance to the poor; and the resolution of conflicts between, and discipline of, church members. The history of First Presbyterian is sketched out on the verso of the first flyleaf, and the first few pages of the notebook contains a list of members from 1807. A list of communicants runs from image 116 to image 147, followed by several pages of certifications for members in good standing, and a list of members who had moved to other churches.
Ground plan of the Moravian stores on Vine Street, circa 1808
First Moravian Church (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Moravian Church
Moravians
Pen on paper drawing of the layout of the Moravian stores on Vine Street, from around 1808.
Congregation Mikveh Israel (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Two page manuscript documenting the previously secured Commonwealth approval for a lottery to raise money for repairs to Mikveh Israel's synagogue and burial ground, "and other purposes of relief," as well as laying out a detailed plan for how to structure the lottery.
Jews
A draft of the measurements of Mikveh Israel's cemetery, situated on the North side of Spruce Street between 8th and 9th streets. According to the one page manuscript, the walled-in burying ground was found when the Poor House was built, and was resurveyed on October 8, 1765.
Peters, Richard, 1704-1776
Duche, Jacob, 1737-1798
United Churches of Christ-Church and St. Peter's (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Two items of correspondence involving Richard Peters, an important figure in colonial Philadelphia and rector of Christ Church from 1762 to 1775. The first letter, dated September 31, 1771, is from Rector Peters and Assistant Minister Jacob Duche to the Bishop of Cork, regarding a relation of the bishop who is a member of their congregation. She traveled to Philadelphia with her husband, who drowned two years previously, and fell on hard times. Peters and Duche request financial assistance on behalf of the widow, so she can set up a shop and support herself. The second letter, dated June 28, 1771, is to the Reverend Doctor Peters from Robert Smith, regarding the purchase of a lot of land from the church.
Jacob Beyerle letters to Jacob Duche, 1775
Two letters to Reverend Duche from Jacob Beyerle, one dated October 28, 1775 and the other dated November 15, 1775, regarding the long overdue payment to Beyerle for Christ Church's organ. Beyerle had grown old and infirm and expressed an urgent need to settle his account.
A Journal of Tours through the United States From August 26, 1819 to May 8, 1857 By Rev. Benjamin Dorr A. M.
Dorr, Benjamin, 1796-1869
Voyages and travels
American Civil War (United States : 1861-1865)
Steamboats
Reverend Benjamin Dorr served as rector for Christ Church from 1839 to 1868, and undertook the difficult job of holding the congregation together during the Civil War. Dorr traveled extensively throughout his life. This handwritten manuscript contains Dorr's notes about his many travels through the United States from 1819 to 1864. He often traveled through New England, but also visited the mid-Atlantic states, and even ventured into the deep South and as far West as the Green Bay area, stopping in Detroit and Chicago. He traveled by steamboat, stagecoach and horse; stayed with family and friends; dined with persons prominent in the military, church, politics and local businesses; and visited museums, hospitals, libraries, colleges, factories and local historical landmarks. He would sometimes preach and collect money for missionary work. The last entry details his visit to the Army of the Potomac in 1864. A typewritten transcript of this manuscript has also been scanned for this project.
Yearly Meeting of Women Friends (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Society of Friends--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia
Quakers--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia
Philadelphia (Pa.)--Genealogy
Quaker women
Women and religion
Indians of North America
African Americans
Temperance
Persecution
Yearly Meetings are large autonomous bodies of Quakers, meeting for several days once annually to conduct business, formulate the discipline, receive reports and concerns from its constituent meetings, review the state of the Society, and communicate with other yearly meetings and non-Quaker organizations.
Yearly Meeting of Women Friends (Philadelphia
Pa.)
Epistles, letters, minutes, and reports, 1821-1828
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends
Religious literature
Miscellaneous papers might include reports, financial documents, epistles, and other items which were usually only briefly referenced in the minutes of the business meeting. Includes typed index of contents at beginning dated 1821-1828.
Epistles, letters, minutes, and reports, 1807-1820
Miscellaneous papers might include reports, financial documents, epistles, and other items which were usually only briefly referenced in the minutes of the business meeting. Includes typed index of contents at beginning dated 1807-1820.
Epistles, letters, minutes, and reports, 1801-1806
Miscellaneous papers might include reports, financial documents, epistles, and other items which were usually only briefly referenced in the minutes of the business meeting. Includes typed index of contents at beginning dated 1801-1806.
Epistles, letters, minutes, and reports, 1796-1800
Miscellaneous papers might include reports, financial documents, epistles, and other items which were usually only briefly referenced in the minutes of the business meeting. Includes typed index of contents at beginning dated 1796-1800.
Epistles, letters, minutes, and reports, 1791-1795
Miscellaneous papers might include reports, financial documents, epistles, and other items which were usually only briefly referenced in the minutes of the business meeting. Includes typed index of contents at beginning dated 1791-1795.
Epistles, letters, minutes, and reports, 1780-1785
Miscellaneous papers might include reports, financial documents, epistles, and other items which were usually only briefly referenced in the minutes of the business meeting. Includes typed index of contents at beginning dated 1780-1784.
Epistles, letters, minutes, and reports, 1785-1790
Miscellaneous papers might include reports, financial documents, epistles, and other items which were usually only briefly referenced in the minutes of the business meeting. Includes typed index of contents at beginning dated 1785-1790.
Epistles, letters, minutes, and reports, 1776-1779
Miscellaneous papers might include reports, financial documents, epistles, and other items which were usually only briefly referenced in the minutes of the business meeting. Includes typed index of contents at beginning dated 1776-1779.