Monthly Meeting of Friends of Philadelphia
Society of Friends--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia
Quakers--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia
Philadelphia (Pa.)--Genealogy
Corporate minutes
Correspondence
Church committees
Church discipline
Church finance
Church membership
Marriage records
Religious education
Temperance
Poor
Charity
African Americans
Antislavery movements
Indians of North America
The monthly business meeting is the basic unit of Quaker organization. In the 17th and 18th centuries, only members in good standing could participate. Men and women met separately to conduct business but worshipped together. The business meeting usually included Friends who might worship in several different meeting houses in a defined geographic area. It had responsibility for care of members, authorizing marriages and removals (transfers), and maintaining discipline. Includes index of members and committees at front of volume.
The monthly business meeting is the basic unit of Quaker organization. In the 17th and 18th centuries, only members in good standing could participate. Men and women met separately to conduct business but worshipped together. The business meeting usually included Friends who might worship in several different meeting houses in a defined geographic area. It had responsibility for care of members, authorizing marriages and removals (transfers), and maintaining discipline.
A certificate of removal was a document given to persons who were transferring their membership from one monthly meeting to another. Their removal testified that they were members in good standing with the meetings they were leaving.
Church management
Persecution
Cemeteries
Miscellaneous papers might include reports, financial documents, epistles, and other items which were usually only briefly referenced in the minutes of the business meeting.
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends. Meeting for Sufferings
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 index of contents at beginning dated 1823-1826.
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 index of contents at beginning dated 1818-1822.
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 index of contents at beginning dated 1812-1817.
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 index of contents at beginning dated 1807-1811.
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 index of contents at beginning dated 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 index of contents at beginning dated 1798-1800.
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 index of contents at beginning dated 1757-1797.
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 indexes of contents at beginning dated 1793-1794.
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 indexes of contents at beginning dated 1778-1792.
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 1786-1789.
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 1783-1785.
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 1781-1782.
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 content at beginning dated 1779-1780.
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 content at beginning.
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 index of content at beginning dated 1755-1760.
A “Meeting for Sufferings” was established by Philadelphia Yearly Meeting in 1756. This representative body was specifically charged with acting for the Society of Friends in the region during the time when the Yearly Meeting was not in session. Duties included oversight of Quaker publications, recording annual accounts of sufferings (primarily as a result of the Peace Testimony) and assistance to any affected individuals, collecting memorials concerning deceased Friends, and correspondence with the Meeting for Sufferings in London.
A “Meeting for Sufferings” was established by Philadelphia Yearly Meeting in 1756. This representative body was specifically charged with acting for the Society of Friends in the region during the time when the Yearly Meeting was not in session. Duties included oversight of Quaker publications, recording annual accounts of sufferings (primarily as a result of the Peace Testimony) and assistance to any affected individuals, collecting memorials concerning deceased Friends, and correspondence with the Meeting for Sufferings in London. Includes index of names at front of volume.
First Baptist Church (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Church records and registers
Baptists
Burial records
Book containing permits for interment in the "Ground of the First Baptist Church, Philadelphia," dating from 1825 to 1860, and later at Mount Moriah Cemetery, from 1860 to 1928. Notes on the prices for interment established in 1828 and 1846 are included in the front of the book. Each permit or stub contains the name of the person buried (or the name of a father or husband,) the date of burial, and the amount paid.
Book containing permits for interment in the "Ground of the First Baptist Church, Philadelphia," dating from 1811 to 1825. Each permit or stub contains the name of the person buried (or the name of a father or husband,) the date of burial, and the amount paid.
Mount Moriah Cemetery burial ground book, 1860-1928
Book containing records of sales for the Mount Moriah Cemetery, dating from 1860 to 1928. Each entry contains the date, name of purchaser, lot or grave number purchased, and cost. The first two flyleaves contain notes on the "Section of Church Plot for poor members and single graves."
Inscriptions copied from tombstones and monuments, 1859
"Inscriptions copied from Tomb Stones and Monuments in the Grave Yard of the First Baptist Church of Philadelphia - (Lagrange Place - above Second St.) Dec. 3 1859 By Horatio Gates Jones." An alphabetical index starts on image 24, although most of the entries are struck through, likely as remains were moved to Mount Moriah Cemetery in 1860. Three additional pages of names are entered upside down from the back of the notebook; these appear to be decedents from different congregations.
Resolutions in regard to interment, 1846
Pews and pew rights
One printed page, addressed "To the Members of the First Baptist Church and Congregation," dated May 11, 1846 and outlining policies and prices for interment in the First Baptist burial ground, including a pew rent requirement.
Mount Moriah Cemetery deed transcript, 1859
Deeds
Mount Moriah Cemetery was established in 1855, on the outskirts of Philadelphia. As the population grew and land in Philadelphia became scarcer and more valuable, many churches had their burials removed to more rural locations. After moving to a new building to accommodate their growing congregation, First Baptist Church made the decision to remove their burials from the cemetery on Arch Street to Mount Moriah in 1860. Deed from the Mount Moriah Cemetery Association of Philadelphia to the First Baptist Church of the City of Philadelphia, for lot 112, containing approximately 25,600 square feet, at the cost of $5,760, dated September 26, 1859.
Mount Moriah Cemetery committee minutes, 1859-1860
Mount Moriah Cemetery was established in 1855, on the outskirts of Philadelphia. As the population grew and land in Philadelphia became scarcer and more valuable, many churches had their burials removed to more rural locations. After moving to a new building to accommodate their growing congregation, First Baptist Church made the decision to remove their burials from the cemetery on Arch Street to Mount Moriah in 1860. This notebook contains the "Minutes of the Committee on the New Burial Ground of First Bapt. Church of Phil. appointed by the Trustees." The committee was charged with "presenting a suitable plan for the arrangement of the ground into burial lots, and of presenting to the Church such suggestions and recommendations as may be found necessary in preparing the way for the removal of the dead from our old ground." The first meeting was recorded on October 31, 1859. The November 11, 1859 entry spans five pages and documents a detailed plan proposed to the church. The Church moved quickly in resolving various concerns, and the minutes conclude in March of 1860.
Miscellaneous burial ground records, 1799-1901
Miscellaneous records of the First Baptist Church burial grounds, dating from 1799 to 1901, first at the La Grange/Arch Street site and then at Mount Moriah Cemetery. Items include: a resolution by the trustees in 1799 to raise the cost of interment in order to keep the burial ground in good repair; reports by the superintendent of the burial ground on interments performed; receipts for payments to the sexton and to Mount Moriah Cemetery Association for cutting the grass in section 112; the "Proposition for the Removal of the Dead" in 1860, and permission from the Health Office to move the burials from La Grange to Mount Moriah; and letters documenting the return of some remains to family members.
Lists of burials for removal to Mount Moriah Cemetery, 1860
Mount Moriah Cemetery was established in 1855, on the outskirts of Philadelphia. As the population grew and land in Philadelphia became scarcer and more valuable, many churches had their burials removed to more rural locations. In 1860, after moving to a new building to accommodate their growing congregation, First Baptist Church made the decision to remove their burials from the cemetery on Arch Street to Mount Moriah. These pages contain a list of graves, by range, including the stone number, name of the interred, date buried and age at time of burial. Entries are marked with an "X," presumably meaning those remains were successfully identified and removed. Note: The final page is an invitation to a mock trial hosted by the Young People's Working Association of First Baptist Church in 1890, which includes handwritten notes about unmarked graves on the back.
One page, front and back, documenting "an account of work and materials" done at First Baptist Church in 1768. Expenses include, for example, supplies such as stone, brick, sand, wood, and nails, and services such as relocating corpses from a bank into the vaults, and building gutters for those vaults. Note: A piece of the page is missing, due to deterioration.
Agreement to remove burials to Mount Moriah Cemetery, 1860
Mount Moriah Cemetery was established in 1855, on the outskirts of Philadelphia. As the population grew and land in Philadelphia became scarcer and more valuable, many churches had their burials removed to more rural locations. After moving to a new building to accommodate their growing congregation, First Baptist Church made the decision to remove their burials from the cemetery on Arch Street to Mount Moriah in 1860. This manuscript documents the agreement between the Trustees of First Baptist and a Mr. William Brown that Mr. Brown would "in a good workmanlike manner and according to the best of his art and skill" remove all remains to Mount Moriah. In 2016, human remains were uncovered at the Arch Street site by a construction crew. The effort to identify and re-inter those remains are documented at archstbones.org.
Robert Jenney Pledge of Conformity, 1742
Oaths
Christ Church (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Church of England
Religious leaders
British colonies
Robert Jenney served as the Reverend of Christ Church from 1742 until his death in 1762. In this document, he writes: "I do declare that I will Conform to the Liturgy of the Church of England as it is now by Law established." Such a pledge of conformity was required to secure license to perform ministerial office in the colonies.
St. Peter's Church (Philadelphia, Pa.)
United Churches of Christ-Church and St. Peter's (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Robert Jenney served as the Reverend of Christ Church from 1742 until his death in 1762. Jenney wrote this letter "to the Subscribers for erecting a new Church in Philadelphia" in 1753. As the population of Philadelphia grew, Christ Church no longer had enough room, and as a result, some members wanted to build a new church. While Jenney approved of the goal to accommodate more congregants, he was concerned about the approach, and strongly believed that the new church should remain part of one congregation with Christ Church, led by the same vestry, with a minister licensed by the Bishop of London. As long as they followed the "established rules" of erecting new churches, he was willing to assist them however he could. In 1758 the vestry of Christ Church authorized the construction of a new chapel at Third & Pine Streets to accommodate its members living in the southern section of the city. St. Peter's Church, located at the corner of Third & Pine Streets, and Christ Church shared the same vestry, ministers, and records and until they formally separated in 1832, and were known as the United Churches of Christ Church & St. Peter's.
Vestry minutes, Christ Church, v. 8, 1866-1886
Dorr, Benjamin, 1796-1869
Hodge, G. Woolsey, 1845-1929
Parish elections
Episcopalians
Church buildings
Hospitals
Episcopal Church
Church schools
Meeting minutes of the Christ Church vestry from 1866 to 1886. Each entry includes the date, place, members present and business discussed. As in preceding minute books, topics include the election of church leaders and hiring and payment of staff; appointments to and reports from various church committees; the upkeep of buildings and grounds; the ongoing balancing of financial accounts including ground rents, loans, investments and bequests; the collection of pew rents; and management of the Sunday school and hospital. Other topics specific to this book include the Rev. Dr. Dorr's declining health and eventual death; the conflict between Rev. Edward Foggo, Rector of Christ Church, and Rev. Woolsey Hodge, minister in charge of the the Christ Church Chapel; and the management of Calvary Church (also known as the Monument to Bishop White.) The pages tucked into the front of the book are likely attendance records. An index of subjects begins on image 576.
Transcript of the Travels of Benjamin Dorr, 1819-1864
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 manuscript was copied from one loaned to a Dr. Hedrick in 1941 or 1942, and 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.
Constitution of Mikveh Israel, printed 1823
Congregation Mikveh Israel (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Synagogues
Constitutions
Jews
Articles of incoporation
Printed copy of the Constitution of Mikveh Israel, dated June 29, 1823. One sheet with two sides, and each side divided into quarters. The recto side includes the cover page in the bottom right quarter. The text begins on page three, which is located on the bottom right quarter of the verso side. Pages four and five make up the top half of the recto, pages six and seven take up the left half of the verso, and page 8 concludes on the bottom left quarter of the recto. A scan of the official seal of Mikveh Israel is also included.
Constitution of Mikveh Israel, as signed by members admitted since the Charter of Incorporation, 1826-1883
Charters
This manuscript is a handwritten copy of the constitution of Mikveh Israel, signed and dated by members who joined in the years from 1826 to 1883. Mikveh Israel adopted their constitution on August 5, 1823, and the congregation's charter was granted by the governor of Pennsylvania in 1824, as documented on the title page. Note: Some years are cited using the Hebrew calendar.
St. George's Methodist Church (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Methodists
Methodist Church
"A Book... For the Collections & etc. to Defray the Expences of the Methodist Meeting House." Entries are listed by date, starting on August 21, 1769 and ending on July 14, 1774. Date ranges span two pages, with amounts collected on the verso and amounts spent, along with the items or services paid for, on the recto. Listed expenses include: travel, such as hiring horses and paying for room and board; supplies such as candles, nails, wood, paper, clothing, and wine; and services such as laundry, housekeeping, printing, mail, and the drawing up of legal documents.
Anthems
Choral music
Church music
Sheet music
Inscribed on the inside front cover: "This Book belongs to the Society of Singers of Christ Church Philadelphia, June the 20th, 1774." Contains sheet music and words to various anthems (choral compositions based on biblical passages, for singing by a choir in a church service.)
Protestants
Anne, Queen of Great Britain, 1665-1714
Clergy
Tobacco
Taxation
Treasury warrant from Queen Anne, continuing a previous warrant from King William, allowing Christ Church to pay annual salaries of 50 pounds to a Protestant minister and 30 pounds to a schoolmaster, to be paid with one penny per each pound of tobacco duties collected in Pennsylvania.
Washington, George, 1732-1799
Sermons
White, William, 1748-1836
Letters
Letter from George Washington to William White, Bishop of Pennsylvania and long-time reverend of Christ Church, dated May 30, 1799, thanking White for sending a sermon on "the duty of Civil obedience as required in Scripture." White had served as Chaplain of the Continental Congress, and Washington had regularly attended services at Christ Church. Washington died on December 14, 1799.