Bell ringing
Church bells
Clergy
Burial
Baptism
Christ Church (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Bell ringers
Fourth of July celebrations
American loyalists
Includes a letter and draft copy from bell ringer Joseph Dolby to the Vestry of Christ Church and St. Peter's, defending himself against accusations made by the Governor of Pennsylvania regarding his Revolutionary War allegiances and his refusal to ring the bells on July 4th. Dolby asserts his Philadelphia birth, militia service, and oath of allegiance to the United States. Also includes a committee report signed by the bell ringers agreeing to ring the bell on July 4th annually, and a letter from James Abercrombie requesting a burial order for the infant son of John Martin Baker. See also object ID: 1.4.0.1 for related documentation.
Letters from James Abercrombie and Joseph Fleming.
Robert Blackweed to Mr. Cumpston re burial of a Saint Peter's parishioner named Mrs. Richard Simpson.
Signed petition in favor of Mr. Abercrombie.
Includes draft petition reacting to an apparent municipal order to remove burial grounds from city limits. The order was probably in response to the yellow fever epidemics which severely effected Philadelphia's population in the 1790s. The petition is in favor of keeping burial grounds within city limits.
Letter from Joseph Dobbins to William White regarding annuity payments, 1791 August 24
White, William, 1748-1836
Blackwell, Robert, 1748-1831
Annuities
Debt
Contracts
Joseph Dobbins writes to Bishop William White, Robert Blackwell, and Robert Towers regarding payment delinquency on an annuity. Dobbins expresses frustration with the "unkind usage" he has received regarding the irregular payments, noting that he refused a partial payment from a Captain Williamson because a consistent payment method had not been adopted. He praises Mr. Hazlehurst for offering to advance the money but demands the recipients establish a reliable payment method through reputable agents.
Dobbins, Joseph
Joseph Dobbins correspondence regarding charitable bequest, 1789
Charitable bequests
Real property
Correspondence between William White, Joseph Dobbins, and the corporation regarding tracts of land in and around Philadelphia.
Letter to William White regarding the size of a burial vault to be built by Dr. Morgan at Saint Peter's burial ground.
Letter from George Bryan, Vice-president of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, to the corporation regarding the polictical connections of Mr. Coombe.
"Dr. Richard Peter's full discharge." Details of Richard Peter's resignation from the rectorship.
Letter to the Bishop of London; and a testimony regarding the resignation of Rev. Richard Peters and the appointment of Jacob Duche to the rectorship.
Documents include correspondence relating to the appointment of an assistant to the rector, an address written to the Bishop of London requesting monetary assistence in building [Saint Peter's] church as well as other topics.
Philip Bearcroft, of "The Society for the Propogation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts," writing re Mr. Sturgeon's appointment as secretary to the Rector.
Address re the appointment of a religious instructor.
Communication from an unidentified correspondent re the placement of Bishops throughout the colonies.
A majority of the documents in this folder pertains to the 1904 Easter Monday election. Of note was the issue of ending the rectorship of C. Ellis Stevens. Present are a high number of regret letters from various parish members explaining their inability to attend the vote. The sole 1922 letter from Clement Wainwright expresses his acceptence to the Vestry.
Correspondence pertains to many topics, including the separation of Christ Church Chapel.
Includes correspondence such as the resignation letter of William Kent, and an 1873 letter from an architect regarding the "imperfections" of the parish building and proposed repairs.
Correspondence includes letters relating to church and organ repair and a thank you letter to a Frances Lapsley, who went to care for Rev. James when he took ill on a trip to Western Pennsylvania. Other correspondence includes more typical subjects like parishioner's rights to pews and church music. A particularly interesting letter/report discuses the failure of public schools to teach the neighborhood children to read as a reason to maintain support of the church's Parochial Day School.
Folder holds continued discussion between the Resolution Hose Company and the Vestry, church and organ maintenence, and a printed circular from the "Corporation for the Reliet of the Widows and Children of Clergymaen in the Communion of the Protestant Elpiscopal Church in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,"
Letters subjects pertain to burial ground commemoration; a gift to Saint Thomas Church of the crystal chandeliers from Saint Peter's Church; rights to church pews, most notably the pew associated with Samuel and Elizabeth Powel; and a request of the Male Sunday School to take up collection in aid of their services.
A majority of the documents in this folder pertain to discussions regarding the use of land surrounding the burial ground. Institutions involved include the Amicable Fire Company, the Resolution Hose Company, and the M.E. Union Church.
Letters and associated documents from the church congregation and other individuals regarding reportedly "offensive" music at Saint Peter's Church, ground rents, requested improvements to the school room, and other subjects.
Includes correspondence from the church congregation asking the Vestry to consider raising Rev. Abercrombie's salary.
The Neighborhood House of Christ Church, Philadelphia, with a Social Survey of its district
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.