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Sarah D. Cooper 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
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.).
Methodists began meeting for religious instruction in Haddington, then a suburb to the west of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the summer of 1830. Haddington Methodist Episcopal Church was formally chartered in 1849. In 1890, construction began on a new building at 63rd Street and Girard Avenue, in the Haddington neighborhood, which had been incorporated into the City of Philadelphia in 1854. Soon after, in 1893, the congregation changed its name to Sarah D. Cooper Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church. Sarah D. Cooper Memorial United Methodist Church closed in 1978, although the associated Sunday school continued to meet until 1985.
The collection, dating from 1834 to 1978, includes trustee minutes, Quarterly Conference minutes, cemetery records, vital and membership records, photographs, and other documents from Sarah D. Cooper Memorial United Methodist Church. 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.
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
Souvenir of Church and Village; Reunion and Echo Service 1901; Historical Sketch 1930; 100th Anniversary 1830-1930; Founders Day Anniversary 1926; Report of Board of Trustees 1897; 125th Anniversary Program; Request for Information; 140th Anniversary; 140th Anniversary Service (1970); 11 photographs; Picture of Church; Last Will of Mary A. Allison with bequeath to church Sunday School (1901); correspondence Re: sale of church; Member Souvenir (3) - (Pictures and stained glass); Womanless Wedding Program (1957); The Hour of Worship Handout; Sept 1978 bulletin; November 1970 bulletin; "Tidings" newsletter, Dec. 1957-May 1959 (13); "The Cooper Herald" newsletter, 1936; 1921 directory; 1940 directory; 1954-1955 directory
Missionary Anniversary bulletin 1867; "Our Church News" 1885; Undated photos of church 1901; 26 various undated photographs; 2 undated photos of church Sunday School; picnic - undated; 1908 scene photo; 1877 scene photo