Research Tools

Guides to Archival Collections

An archival guide (or "finding aid") describes an archival collection and typically includes a history of the collection and creator and outlines the arrangement of the material to help a user navigate the contents of the collection and identify material relevant to their research. It can be divided into two sections:

• Front Matter: includes summary information that describes the entire collection as a whole
• Inventory: provides an outline that identifies the series, boxes, folders, and items within the collection

*Please note that the collection guide search interface is still in development. Keyword search across the collection guides will be available soon.

Search Collection Guides

Subject Guides

PHS staff members have created topical guides to popular research topics in the society's holdings.

Browse Subject Guides

Church Record Surveys

The Presbyterian Historical Society holds many church records of interest to genealogists. To aid in the research process, the staff of the society has created Church Record Surveys for the congregations most frequently researched.

Browse Church Record Surveys

Hall's Index of American Presbyterian Congregations

Hall's Index of American Presbyterian Congregations is part of the Sheppard database. It is a compilation and summary of information on Presbyterian congregations published as part of the General Assembly minutes, annual denomination yearbooks, and related sources. The index contains the organization and dissolution dates of churches as well as denomination and location changes, mergers, and other actions. Read tips on searching Hall's here.

Search Hall's Index