Reference Inquiries

The Presbyterian Historical Society's reference archivists are available to help facilitate your research in the Society's collections and will work with you to identify collection materials that may be relevant to your research.

Staff will respond to your request in as timely a manner as possible. Response times will vary depending on the complexity of the inquiry and quantity of resources needing to be searched. Your patience is appreciated.

If you haven’t already, we encourage you to search our online catalogs and databases:  

• Calvin library catalog  
• Sheppard databases
• Pearl digital collections
• Guides to Archival Collections  
• The Genealogy FAQ may be helpful for inquiries about family history research.

Portions of our holdings are not described online and must be searched onsite in our Reading Room. Consult the Information for Researchers webpage to learn about conducting research at the Presbyterian Historical Society and to schedule a research appointment.

PHS provides several services to help you gain access to information in our holdings:

• Use the Attestation webform to request an attestation of your baptism, marriage or church membership.
• The Biographical Research Service is a fee-based service that provides limited biographical information on some, but not all, Presbyterian ministers and missionaries.
• The Genealogy Record Search Service is a fee-based service that provides baptism, marriage, membership, and death information for genealogy research purposes.
• Use our Transcript Request webform to request your transcript from one of six closed Presbyterian schools/colleges. If you are an employer, use the Education Verification webform.

Ready to submit a question? Use the General Reference Inquiry webform below or email us at  [email protected]. To contact us by phone, please call (215) 627-1852.

General Reference Inquiry Form