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Tacony United Methodist Church records

Notifications

Held at: Historical Society of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church [Contact Us]235 N. Fourth Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19106

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Historical Society of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church. 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

Methodism is a protestant Christian faith based in the teachings of John Wesley (1703-1791), who preached "practical divinity," emphasis on Christian living, and putting faith and love into action. The Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1784 in Baltimore, Maryland with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as its first bishops and held its first general conference in 1792. In May of 1939, the Methodist Episcopal Church; the Methodist Episcopal Church, South; and the Methodist Protestant Church united to form the Methodist Church (U.S.). In 1946 the Church of the United Brethren in Christ (New constitution) and the Evangelical Church united to form the Evangelical United Brethren Church. In 1968 the Methodist Church (U.S.) and the Evangelical United Brethren Church united, forming the United Methodist Church (U.S.).

In 1858, a Methodist Sunday School was opened to serve the Tacony neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, sponsored by nearby Bridesburg Methodist Episcopal Church and Holmesburg Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1873, community members submitted a petition for a pastor for a Methodist church in Tacony. Construction began on a chapel later that year. In 1875, Tacony Methodist Episcopal Church became a separate charge. It relocated to Longshore and Hagerman Streets in 1880. Tacony United Methodist Church was discontinued in 2001.

Bibliography:

Wheeles, Cecile, Rev. "Tacony United Methodist Church (1873)." 1992. Document found in collection.

The collection includes Board of Stewards minutes (1875-1887), Trustee minutes (1873-1915), Quarterly Conference minutes (1887-1898), Official Board minutes (1887-1951), membership and vital records (membership, baptisms, marriages, and funerals, 1873-2001), anniversary programs and historical accounts (1873-2001), membership directories (1929-1994), property-related documents, photographs, and various other documents. A folder-level inventory for the collection is available.

Some church records at the Historical Society of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church, particularly membership and vital records, are available in digital form through Ancestry.com or on microfilm at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and/or the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania.

The Historical Society of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church is the repository for records of member churches when they close.

Summary descriptive information on this collection was compiled in 2012-2014 as part of a project conducted by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania to make better known and more accessible the largely hidden collections of small, primarily volunteer run repositories in the Philadelphia area. The Hidden Collections Initiative for Pennsylvania Small Archival Repositories (HCI-PSAR) was funded by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

This is a preliminary finding aid. No physical processing, rehousing, reorganizing, or folder listing was accomplished during the HCI-PSAR project.

In some cases, more detailed inventories or finding aids may be available on-site at the repository where this collection is held; please contact Historical Society of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church directly for more information.

Publisher
Historical Society of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church
Finding Aid Author
Finding aid prepared by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania's Hidden Collections Initiative for Pennsylvania Small Archival Repositories using data provided by the Historical Society of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church
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

Contact Historical Society of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church for information about accessing this collection.

Collection Inventory

Minutes, Male Members Meetings, Building Committee, 1882-1883.
Box 1 Folder 1
Minutes, Board of Stewards, 1875-1883.
Box 1 Folder 2
Minutes, Board of Stewards, 1883-1887.
Box 1 Folder 3
Amended Charter, Bylaws, 1946.
Box 1 Folder 4
Property Documents. 1882-1935.
Box 1 Folder 5
Historical Accounts, 1873, 1887, 1916, 1929, 1938, 1948, 1954, 2001.
Box 1 Folder 6
Sale of Parsonage, 1977.
Box 1 Folder 7
Annual Budgets, 1927-1939, 1951-1953, 1968.
Box 2 Folder 1
Closing Service, 2001.
Box 2 Folder 2
Selected Membership directories, 1929, 1945, 1948, 1959, 1967, 1974, 1982, 1988, c. 1994.
Box 2 Folder 3
Dedicatory Programs, 1873, 1883, 1916, 1925, 1928.
Box 2 Folder 4
Anniversary Programs, 1923, 1938, 1948, 1954.
Box 2 Folder 5
Ninetieth Anniversary, 1963.
Box 2 Folder 6
One Hundredth Anniversary, 1973.
Box 2 Folder 7
Selected Worship Bulletins, 1935, 1936, 1970-1975, 1986-1995.
Box 2 Folder 8
Photographs, c. 1883 - c. 1960.
Box 2 Folder 9
Newspaper Clippings, 1883, 1916, 1968.
Box 2 Folder 10
Trustee Minutes, 1873-1882.
Box 3 Folder 1
Trustee Minutes, 1883-1915.
Box 3 Folder 2
Quarterly Conference Minutes,1883-1897.
Box 3 Folder 3
Official Board and Quarterly Conference Minutes, 1887-1898.
Box 3 Folder 4
Official Board Minutes, 1898-1906.
Box 3 Folder 5
Official Board Minutes, 1946-1951.
Box 4 Folder 1
History of Methodism in Tacony, c. 1900.
Box 4 Folder 2
Church records 1873-1884.
Volume 1
Church records 1883-1900.
Volume 2
Church records 1906-1918.
Volume 3
Church records 1917-1944.
Volume 4
Church records 1944-2001.
Volume 5
History file.
File 1
History File Scope and Contents note

History 1992, 1873-1948, 1929, Request for Information; 2 Post-cards; Photo (Interior of Church) 1928; Picture of Church; 3 Pictures of Sunday School Bldg.; Photo (Original Church); Picture of Sanctuary 1928 and First Pastor 1873; Photo of Church; Picture of Church; Church under Construction; Anniversary of Re-opening of Church 1929; Inventory of Historical Records 2001; Home-coming Service 1977 bulletin; 125th Anniversary bulletin 1998; 1910 directory; 1929 directory; newspaper clipping on 1916 Sunday School Bldg.; clipping on Sunday School Temple

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