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Historical Society of Montgomery County local church records collection
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Held at: Historical Society of Montgomery County [Contact Us]1654 Dekalb Street, Norristown, PA, 19401
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Historical Society of Montgomery County. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
Montgomery County, situated in southeastern Pennsylvania, was established in 1784 out of the western portion of Philadelphia County. Part of the Welsh Tract, an area of Pennsylvania settled by Quakers from Wales, it is located along the Schuylkill River. Montgomery County has played an important role in U.S. history, including being the site of such Revolutionary War events as the dramatic reshaping of Washington's Army at Valley Forge and the lesser-known engagement of General Lafayette at Barren Hill. Among its significant residents are military figures Winfield S. Hancock, John F. Hartranft (also Governor of Pennsylvania), and Henry "Hap" Arnold; abolitionist Lucretia Mott; inventors David Rittenhouse and Thaddeus Lowe; and artist Thomas Hovenden. Since its founding, Montgomery County has experienced "booming industry and manufacturing, rich farm fields, advanced transportation, artistic endeavors and unique religious beliefs."
The Historical Society of Montgomery County was established in 1881 as the institutional successor to the Federation of Montgomery County Historical Societies. The Society's mission is "to preserve the county's rich heritage and help tell the stories of the many people who have walked and tended its soil."
Bibliography:
Quoted text from: Historical Society of Montgomery County. "Home." Accessed March 2, 2012. http://www.hsmcpa.org/
This collection consists of miscellaneous records from and material related to churches in the vicinity of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. In addition to original records from about one dozen churches, there are papers of several pastors, and clippings and notes compiled by researchers about churches. The Historical Society of Montgomery County also maintains a collection of pamphlets and publications of Montgomery County churches, and transcriptions of cemeteries (which are not included in this collection description).
A very rough inventory of the collection is provided below. It does NOT cover all the church records held by the Historical Society of Montgomery County, but provides a general sense of the types of material in the collection.
Aaron, Rev. Samuel papers
Boehms Reformed Church (Whitpain Township): account ledger in German (1789-1844) and Church Annals
Burr Meetinghouse Committee of Supervisors minutes
Emmanual Lutheran Church of Pottstown records
First Presbyterian Church of Norristown, Reverend D. Mallory framed letter of acceptance
Great Swamp Reformed Church, marriage, birth and death records
Greater Norristown Area Council of Churches pamphlet, 1969
Greater Norristown Area Council of Churches, three scrapbooks with minutes and records (1965-1968)
Mount Pleasant Baptist Church (Ambler) notebook, 1964 and clerk's book, 1954 and record book, 1834 and minute book (1867-1898), register (1928-1954), minute books (1899-1928)
Port Kennedy Presbyterian Church account book
Reverend George Wack book of marriages, 1803-1839
Reverend Simon Gross, private pastoral records
Seamen's Church Institute of Philadelphia notes
St. James, Perkiomen, records
St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church--Laurel Hill Cemetary of Philadelphia records, 1924
St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church of Norristown records
Steinbright clippings scrapbook on local churches, 1948
Sunday movie campaign clippings, 1947
Three Tuns Church minutes, 1897-1904
Transcription (1924) of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church (Red Hill, Pa.) records
miscellaneous religious materials, newspapers, and booklets
notebook on history of Montgomery County churches
Photocopies of vital records (birth, marriages, deaths) from various churches, mostly Evangelical, in Montgomery County
Materials collected at various times by the Historical Society of Montgomery County.
Subject
Place
- Publisher
- Historical Society of Montgomery County
- Finding Aid Author
- Finding aid prepared by Celia Caust-Ellenbogen and Michael Gubicza through the Historical Society of Pennsylvania's Hidden Collections Initiative for Pennsylvania Small Archival Repositories
- Sponsor
- This preliminary finding aid was created as part of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania's Hidden Collections Initiative for Pennsylvania Small Archival Repositories. The HCI-PSAR project was made possible by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
- Access Restrictions
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Contact Historical Society of Montgomery County for information about accessing this collection.