Main content

Simpson Memorial 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

Call Number:
28
Repository:
Historical Society of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church
Extent:
5.0 linear feet
Language:
English
Date:
1868-2012 (inclusive)
Creator:
Simpson Memorial United Methodist Church (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Abstract:
Cambria Street Methodist Episcopal Church in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was founded in 1868. In 1889, the church accepted funding from the Annual Conference to build a new church building on condition that the church be renamed Simpson Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church in memory of Bishop Matthew Simpson. Simpson Memorial United Methodist Church was discontinued around 2012. The Simpson Memorial United Methodist Church records, 1868-2012, consist mainly of membership records, board minutes, Quarterly Conference minutes, and Charge Conference minutes. There are also small amounts of building-related records, ephemera, flyers, pamphlets, and a few photos. Some of the records have been microfilmed.

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.).

Cambria Street Methodist Episcopal Church in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was founded in 1868. Its first church building was located on Cambria Street east of Kensington Avenue. In 1889, the church accepted funding from the Annual Conference to build a new church building on Kensington Avenue at Monmouth Street, on condition that the church be renamed Simpson Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church in memory of Bishop Matthew Simpson. Simpson Memorial United Methodist Church was discontinued around 2012.

This collection, dating from 1868 to 2012, consists mainly of membership records, board minutes, Quarterly Conference minutes, and Charge Conference minutes. There are also small amounts of building-related records, ephemera, flyers, pamphlets, and a few photos. A folder-level inventory for the collection is available. Some of the records have been microfilmed.

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

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

Collection Inventory

Microfilm - Church Minutes, 1877-1899, 1899-1975.
Box 1 Folder 1
Microfilm - Church Minutes, 1926-1927; Church Records, 1947-1953.
Box 1 Folder 2
Microfilm - Church Minutes, 1961-1964; Church Records, 1953-1957.
Box 1 Folder 3
Microfilm - Church Minutes, 1964-1967, 1967-1973.
Box 1 Folder 4
Microfilm - Church Minutes, 1974-1978, 1984-1986.
Box 1 Folder 5
Microfilm - Church Records, 1886, 1908-1926.
Box 1 Folder 6
Microfilm - Church Register, 1938-1953; Church Records, 1964-1986.
Box 1 Folder 7
Microfilm - Baptisms, 1930-1939.
Box 1 Folder 8
Microfilm, 1875-1953.
Box 1 Folder 9
Microfilm - Church Records, 1835-1910.
Box 1 Folder 10
Minutes, Trustees, Cambria St. M.E. Church, 1877-1899.
Box 2 Folder 1
Minutes, Trustees, 1899-1921; Official Board, 1921-1928.
Box 2 Folder 2
Minutes, Official Board and Quarterly Conference, 1926-1947.
Box 3 Folder 1
Minutes, Official Board and Quarterly Conference, 1948-1953.
Box 3 Folder 2
Minutes, Official Board and Quarterly Conference, 1953-1957.
Box 3 Folder 3
Minutes, Official Board and Quarterly Conference, 1957-1961.
Box 4 Folder 1
Minutes, Official Board and Quarterly Conference, 1962-1647.
Box 4 Folder 2
Minutes, Official Board and Quarterly Conference, 1964-1967.
Box 4 Folder 3
Minutes, Official Board and Quarterly Conference, 1967-1969; Administrative Board and Charge Conference, 1969-1973.
Box 5 Folder 1
Minutes, Administrative Board and Charge Conference, 1974-1976.
Box 5 Folder 2
Minutes, Administrative Board and Charge Conference, 1977-1979.
Box 5 Folder 3
Minutes, Administrative Board and Charge Conference, 1980-1981.
Box 5 Folder 4
Minutes, Administrative Board and Charge Conference, 1982-1984.
Box 6 Folder 1
Minutes, Administrative Board and Charge Conference, 1985-1987.
Box 6 Folder 2
Minutes, Administrative Board and Charge Conference, 1988-1992.
Box 6 Folder 3
Minutes, Administrative Board and Charge Conference, 1993-1995.
Box 6 Folder 4
Minutes, Administrative Board and Charge Conference, 1996-1999.
Box 6 Folder 5
Minutes, Administrative Board and Charge Conference, 2000-2003.
Box 6 Folder 6
Minutes, Administrative Board and Charge Conference, 2004-2007.
Box 6 Folder 7
Minutes, Administrative Board and Charge Conference, 2007-2012.
Box 7 Folder 1
Minutes, Council on Ministries, 1969-1980.
Box 7 Folder 2
Minutes, Trustees, 1954-1958.
Box 7 Folder 3
Minutes, Building Committee, 1893-1894; Trustees, 1894; Finance Committee, 1896-1897.
Box 7 Folder 4
Constitution, Cambria St. M.E. Church, 1871, 1881.
Box 7 Folder 5
Constitution, 1896.
Box 7 Folder 6
Constitution, 1973.
Box 7 Folder 7
Trustees' Memorial Fund, n.d.
Box 7 Folder 8
Deeds and Property Documents, Cambria St. M.E. Church, 1868-1889.
Box 7 Folder 9
Deeds and Property Documents, Parsonage, 622 E. Indiana Avenue, 1893-1904.
Box 7 Folder 10
Deeds and Mortgage, Parsonage, 1127 Wakeling St., 1964.
Box 8 Folder 1
Building Renovations, 1949.
Box 8 Folder 2
Bequests, 1931-1958.
Box 8 Folder 3
Historical Account, 1988.
Box 8 Folder 4
Anniversary Books, 1938-1963.
Box 8 Folder 5
100th Anniversary, 1968.
Box 8 Folder 6
125th Anniversary 1993.
Box 8 Folder 7
Worship Bulletins, 1946, 1951, 1969, 1976.
Box 8 Folder 8
Membership Directories, 1931, 1963, 1965, 1972, 1974, 2004.
Box 8 Folder 9
War Damage Insurance, 1942.
Box 8 Folder 10
Photographs, 1914-1957.
Box 8 Folder 11
Membership Records, 1886.
Box 9 Folder 1
Membership Records, 1886-1896.
Box 9 Folder 2
Membership Records, 1896-1908.
Box 9 Folder 3
Membership Records, 1908-1926.
Box 10 Folder 1
Membership Records, 1914-1938.
Box 10 Folder 2
Baptisms, 1930-1939.
Box 10 Folder 3
Membership Records, 1938-1953.
Box 11 Folder 1
Membership Records, 1953-1964.
Box 12 Folder 1
Membership Records, 1964-1996.
Box 12 Folder 1
Membership Records, 1996-2003.
Box 12 Folder 2
Alphabetical Membership Roll, 1996.
Box 12 Folder 3

Print, Suggest