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Spring Garden Street 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.).
Members of several Methodist churches in the vicinity of 22nd and Mount Vernon Streets in the Fairmount section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania began meeting for religious study in 1858. Soon after, in 1861 Spring Garden Street Methodist Episcopal Church was founded as a charge separated from the nearby Green Street Methodist Episcopal Church. A church building was constructed at 20th and Spring Garden Streets in 1865.
A mission of the Spring Garden Street Methodist Episcopal Church became Emmanuel Church in 1875. In 1892, the congregation of Emory Methodist Episcopal Church (formerly Fairmount Methodist Episcopal Church) at 18th and Callowhill Streets merged into the Spring Garden Street Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1986, there was a resolution to discontinue Spring Garden United Methodist Church, but its closing appears not to have happened until 1988.
This collection consists of minutes of the corporation, 1862-1945; trustee minutes, 1862-1940; Quarterly Conference minutes, 1884-1896; baptisms, 1861-1910, and 1914-1931; marriages, 1862-1905 and 1914-1931; and funerals, 1914-1931. An assortment of church newsletters, bulletins, directories, photographs, anniversary programs, and other documents are also present. A folder-level inventory for the collection is available. Copies of the baptism, marriage, and funeral records are also available on microfilm at the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania.
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.
Organization
Subject
Place
- 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
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Contact Historical Society of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church for information about accessing this collection.
Collection Inventory
100th Anniversary 1956, Fragments from the Diary of Fifty Years, Correspondence Re: Church Records 1988, Personal Notes for Sermon, Correspondence Re: 1988 Closing of Church Resolution to Discontinue Church 1986, Report of Moving of Church 1985, Sister-Church Relationship 1985, Pastor's Report 1984, Updating Parsonage 1981, Return of Items on Loan 1981, "Re-birth of Church" 1981, Jubilee 1913 Minutes, 50th Anniversary Acknowledgement, Correspondence Re: 1914 from Wm. Kelley, Speech from Bd. of Home Missions, RSVPs to Jubilee Supper 1914, 1936 bulletin, 1937 bulletin, 1938 bulletin, 1983 directory; 1984 Homeless Shelter clipping
Constitution 1864-Ammended 1901, Anniversary 1905, Diary 1864-1914, Conference Directory 1919, 75th Anniversary 1938, 80th Anniversary 1943, 1 Photo (Organ), 1 Photo (Church), Specifications for a Pipe Organ 1936-Hall, Moller, Herbert Brown, Austin, Estey, 60th Anniversary Program 1864-1924, Correspondence Re: Pastor's Report 1900, 1901, 1904, Quarterly Conference; Ladies Aid Society Report 1906, Plan of Galleries 1919, First Floor Plan 1919, Correspondence Re: Organ 1937, Excuses about Salvation Booklet, 9 Spanish Language bulletins 1962, 3 English Language bulletins 1962
Newletter 1898, newsletter 1899, 1985 newspaper article (U.S.. Grant Visit)