Genealogy Research at the Presbyterian Historical Society
The Presbyterian Historical Society (PHS) is the national archives of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and its predecessor denominations. Records of individual congregations are the main resource for family history research at PHS.
This guide is designed to help researchers:
- identify congregations connected to their ancestors
- understand what relevant records may exist
- search PHS catalogs and databases
Genealogy Research at the Presbyterian Historical Society
The Presbyterian Historical Society is the national archives of the PC(USA), the largest U.S. Presbyterian denomination
PHS serves as the national archives for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and its predecessor denominations, including:
[1789-1959] Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA)
[1858-1959] United Presbyterian Church of North America (UPCNA)
[1861-1983] Presbyterian Church in the U.S. (PCUS)
[1959-1983] United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (UPCUSA) (Union of PCUSA and UPCNA)
[1983- ] Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (Union of UPCUSA and PCUS)
See the Family Tree of Presbyterian Denominations for a visual representation of denominational mergers and schisms.
If you are researching a congregation from another country or denomination, you will need to contact the archives for that denomination.
You may contact the Reference Desk for assistance with a denominational referral.
Presbyterian records are not centralized
The Presbyterian Historical Society does not maintain a centralized index of baptisms, marriages, memberships, or family names. Records were created and maintained by individual congregations.
To locate relevant records, researchers need to know:
1) the name of the congregation
2) the city and state where the congregation was located
3) the approximate dates connected to the individual or event being researched
Types of Presbyterian records that are useful for genealogy research
Church registers
Registers are the most valuable records for genealogy research because they include information about baptisms, marriages, memberships, and deaths.
Session and trustees’ records
Baptisms and marriages are sometimes recorded in the minutes of the session, but these records primarily document church governance and may contain little personal or family information beyond the names of elders, deacons, and trustees who served on committees and boards related to the work of the church.
Burial and cemetery records
Burial and cemetery records are limited in our holdings. By the mid-nineteenth century, many church burial grounds were maintained by private cemetery associations whose activities were rarely documented as part of the church record. As a result, these types of records are usually deposited at other archival repositories.
Not all Presbyterian church records are held by PHS
The deposit of records at PHS is voluntary. Some congregations have transferred historical records to PHS, while others retain their own records (if they are an active congregation) or may have deposited them elsewhere, such as a local Presbyterian seminary or a local or state archives. Many records of southern churches were deposited at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia.
Most records are not digitized
Although some records are available online through third-party services such as Ancestry and FamilySearch, the majority of archival records are not digitized and must be reviewed onsite in the PHS Reading Room.
Identify the congregation
Unlike some other denominations, Presbyterians are not obliged to worship within a certain geographical area, so your ancestors could have been members of any of the congregations in existence at that time. If you do not know which church your family attended, the following resources may help.
Hall’s Index of American Presbyterian Congregations (one of several databases in Sheppard)
Hall's Index allows you to identify Presbyterian congregations located in a particular state or city over time. It is a compilation of information on Presbyterian congregations found in General Assembly minutes, annual denomination yearbooks, and other denominational publications. Hall’s records the following types of actions:
1) Dates of church organization and dissolution
2) Church name and geographic location changes
3) Denominational changes
4) Dates of church transfers, mergers, and divisions
Hall's Index is up to date through approximately 2015. Actions taken after 2015 may not yet be reflected.
(Philadelphia, PA, only) Historical Directory of Presbyterian Churches and Presbyteries of Greater Philadelphia, by Kenneth A. Hammonds
If you are concentrating on the Philadelphia area, this title has a cross-street index of churches. This book is available for use in our Reading Room. It may also be available via interlibrary loan (ILL). See the following link for a list of institutions that hold this book: https://search.worldcat.org/title/29302065?oclcNum=29302065
Ancestry
Ancestry has digitized and placed online select congregational records deposited in our holdings that contain genealogical information up to 1970. These records can be searched in various ways, including by family name. Ancestry can be accessed onsite in the PHS Reading Room. Your local library may provide free access as well.
Biographical Vertical Files
If you know the name of the minister who performed a baptism or marriage, this file may provide a pathway for determining the church name. The Biographical Vertical Files are personnel files about some Presbyterian ministers. The content of these files varies, but may include minister application forms, images, incoming and outgoing correspondence, press releases, obituaries, and/or other printed material. This database can be searched online, but the files can only be accessed in the PHS Reading Room.
Bibliography of Ministerial Resources
The Bibliography of Ministerial Resources page of our website lists directories and biographical encyclopedias that may be useful for researching Presbyterian ministers. We also hold alumni directories and biographical catalogs from a number of theological seminaries, which are cataloged in our online library catalog, Calvin.
Search PHS catalogs, databases, and resources
Once you identify relevant congregations, search the following online resources to determine whether PHS holds records of that church. Catalogs and databases typically describe collections at a high level. Church records are usually described at the volume level, and they are not described or indexed by township, county, or street address. Researchers should be aware that personal names of individual church members (unless we hold works by or about that person) are not indexed and thus not searchable in our catalogs and databases.
Calvin library catalog
The PHS online catalog, Calvin, describes congregation and mid council records as well as many other types of archival collections (e.g., personal papers and organizational records), publications, and audio-visual materials. View a tutorial for searching Calvin here. **Please note that Calvin and Sheppard describe similar materials, and each discovery tool needs to be searched independently.
Archives Database (one of several databases in Sheppard)
Sheppard is a research tool that searches across multiple Presbyterian Historical Society databases. The Archives Database is one Sheppard database that describes archival collections, including records of congregations and mid councils of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and its predecessor denominations. **Please note that Calvin and Sheppard describe similar materials, and each discovery tool needs to be searched independently.
Guides to Archival Collections
The PHS archival guides provide detailed descriptions and inventories for over 550 processed archival collections. Use the “Collection Group” dropdown menu to select “Records of Local Congregations,” or use the Search field to search across all the Guides. Please note that most of our processed collections are categorized as personal papers and organizational records. Most church records are described in Calvin and the Archives Database.
Church Records Surveys (available for select congregations)
PHS has compiled Church Records Surveys for select churches which list records deposited in our holdings that are useful for genealogical research.
Pearl Digital Collections
A small percentage of our collections have been digitized. Our online digital repository, Pearl, contains images, manuscripts and documents, audio and video recordings, publications, and other digitized materials from our holdings. Pearl contains very few church records.
Card Catalog (onsite only)
The online resources listed above only describe a portion of our holdings. The card catalog in the PHS Reading Room provides access to additional materials that do not yet have electronic description. The card catalog must be consulted onsite in the PHS Reading Room.
Research Appointments at PHS
Once you have confirmed that PHS holds relevant records, you are welcome to schedule an appointment to review records in the PHS Reading Room in Philadelphia. The reading room is open to research by appointment, Tuesdays through Fridays, from 9am to 4pm. Researchers are welcome to arrive and leave any time between those hours. When you arrive, you will be asked to read and sign our Researcher Agreement Form, which outlines our policies for using the collections and conducting research in the Reading Room.
The Plan Your Visit section of our website provides information about nearby accommodations, parking information, directions to the building, and a list of our scheduled closures.
Hiring a Researcher
If you are unable to travel to Philadelphia, the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) maintains information on their website of individuals who are available to hire to do research for you, https://www.apgen.org.
PHS can also provide a list of names of local researchers by request. This information is provided for your convenience, and the society does not specifically endorse any one researcher or service. Please email [email protected] to request the list of names.
Interlibrary loan
Some church records have been microfilmed and may be available through interlibrary loan. Bibliographic records in the PHS library catalog, Calvin, will indicate if the microfilm is eligible for loan. If you are interested in borrowing microfilm, please have the interlibrary loan (ILL) librarian at your local public or academic library contact us at [email protected] to submit the request on your behalf. Please provide your ILL librarian with the catalog information when making your request. Please tell the ILL librarian that requests cannot come from OCLC (Online Computer Library Center, Inc.) because we are not listed as a borrowing institution.
We loan a maximum of three reels per request for a four-week loan period. We charge a fee of $30.00 per reel, plus $10.00 for domestic shipping. This material will be held on reserve for you and may only be used within the borrowing library.
Determine if the congregation is still active
If a congregation is still active, they may still hold their records. The following websites provide contact information for active PC(USA) congregations.
PC(USA) Research Services compiles data about PC(USA) congregations and mid councils, including contact information.
The PC(USA) Presbyterian Life & Witness agency also maintains a directory of active PC(USA) churches.
Search for records at Columbia Theological Seminary
Many southern churches elected to deposit their records at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. If you are researching a southern congregation, it is a good idea to search the collections of Columbia Theological Seminary’s C. Benton Kline, Jr. Special Collections & Archives.
Contact other repositories
Sometimes records of Presbyterian churches are deposited at local, regional, or state historical societies. These repositories may hold other resources, such as city directories, historical maps, copies of vital records, or newspapers, that can be helpful for genealogical research.
PHS serves as the national archives for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the largest U.S. Presbyterian denomination, and its predecessor denominations. If you are researching a congregation from another country or denomination, you will need to contact the archives for that denomination. You may contact the Reference Desk for assistance with a denominational referral.
Search for records via federated search engines
WorldCat is the world’s largest library catalog, aggregating bibliographic records from libraries and archives across the world. Descriptive records in WorldCat indicate which institution holds materials and often link directly to that institution’s library catalog. The following webpage provides additional guidance for using WorldCat for genealogy research: https://search.worldcat.org/topics/genealogy
The FamilySearch Library Catalog lists physical items available at the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, and select FamilySearch Centers around the world. When available, links are provided to content in the FamilySearch Digital Library.
Ancestry has digitized and indexed many Presbyterian congregational records in PHS holdings containing genealogical information through approximately 1970. Researchers can access Ancestry for free onsite in the PHS Reading Room. You may also be able to access Ancestry through a local library.
The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library containing millions of free texts, movies, software, music, websites, and more uploaded by libraries, archives, and individuals from around the world.