Twentieth Annual Report of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, at the Annual Meeting, March 4, 1912

TWENTIETH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA, AT THE ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH 4, 1912. This being the anniversary of the founding of our Society, one-fifth of a century ago, it seems proper to present some account of its career. During the twenty years $29,686.34 have been received. The Permanent Fund amounts to about $5,000.00, yielding an income of $228.00. There are two hundred and sixty-nine manuscript volumes in our collection, an increase of ten volumes during the year. The work accomplished by the Society can be estimated best by an examination of our shelves. Owing to the demand for the Publications of the Society, made by libraries in various parts of the country, the Directors have established a Publication Fund, by the terms of which, libraries paying twenty dollars, will receive the Publications during a term of twenty-five years. Three institutions have subscribed to the fund, viz.: The Yale University, the State Library of Pennsylvania, and the Newberry Library, Chicago. The Society has lost seventeen esteemed members by death, reported during its fiscal year : Heber S. Thompson, March 9, 1911 ; Francis L. Potts, March, 1910; William Alexander Smith, May 31, 1911; Rear-Admiral Edward Shippen, M. D., U. S. N., June 16, 1911; Frank Brooke Evans, June 21, 1911; Alexander E. Harvey, July 3, 1910; Howard Wood, July 1, 1911; William Rotch Wister, August 21, 1911; Mrs. Oliver Hopkinson, August 28, 1911; George D. Bright, October 9, 1911 ; John H. Noblit, Oetn( 129 ) 130 Twentieth Annval Report of 11w Board of Directors. her 11, 1011 ; Martin I. J. Griffin, November 10, 1911 ; John McMurdie Warner, November 11, 1911 ; James Martin, December 20, 1911 ; Miss Margaret Bancroft, January 3, 1912 ; Horace Magee, January 4, 1912 ; John D. McKennan, February 2, 1912. The membership of the Society at the present time is as follows : 311 Number of members March 1, 1911, 17 Deaths, 11 Resignations, 4 Dropped from roll, 32 Elected and qualified during the year, Number of members March 1, 1912, A loss of fifteen members. The membership is classified thus:— Honorary, 3 52 Life, Publication Fund, 3 238 Annual, 279 17 200 29(1 The following records, reported as copied, in our last annual report, have been indexed and are in use : 1. Records of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, Tinicum, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 1747-1885. 2. Records of Moselem Lutheran Church, Berks County, Pennsylvania, 1741-1809. 3. Records of Middletown Monthly Meeting, Bucks County, including marriage certificates, certificates of removal, papers of condemnation, births and deaths. 4. Records of the Dutch Reformed Church of Lebanon, Clinton Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey ; including records of the Rockaway Congregation. Twentieth Annual Report of the Board of Directors. 131 5. Vol. IV. Publications of the Society ; indexed and distributed. Records copied and indexed since the last annual meeting : 1. Records of Westland Monthly Meeting, Washington County, Pennsylvania, 1785-1865. 2. Vol. I. Abstracts of Wills and Administrations of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, 1784-1822. 3. Vol. II. Abstracts of Wills and Administrations of Montgomery County, 1822-1850. 4. Marriage Certificates of Middletown Monthly Meeting, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 1780-1836. 5. Moravian Congregation, Nazareth, Northampton County, Pennsylvania. Births and Deaths, 1743-1880. 6. Tombstone Inscriptions, Moravian Burial-ground, Franklin and Vine Streets, Philadelphia. 7. List of Philadelphia Marriages, 1800-1851. Collected by Thompson Westcott. 8. Persons who took oath of allegiance in Berks County, Pennsylvania, 1777-1787. Records copied but not indexed : 1. Records of the Hill Church, Annville, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. 2. Records of the Evangelical Lutheran Congregation, Mt. Joy Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. 3. Records of the Evangelical Lutheran Congregation, Elizabethtown, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. 4. Records of Emanuel's Church at the Loop, Centre County, Pennsylvania. 5. Records of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, Bernville, Berks County, Pennsylvania. 6. Rev. Daniel Schumacher's Record, 1754-1774. (Pastor of the Lutheran congregations in Berks, Lehigh and Northampton Counties, Pennsylvania. 132 Twentieth Annual Report of the Bowid of Directors. 7. Births and Deaths of Middletown Monthly Meeting, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The following Records have been copied for the next Publication of the Society, to be issued this Spring : 1. Register of the Dutch Reformed Church, Bensalem, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. 2. Baptisms from Hohn's Church, Berks County, 1745— 1805. 3. Baptisms from Bern Church, Berks County, 1739— 1835. The histories of Old Philadelphia Families, resumed by Frank Willing Leach, in The North American, are deposited in our collection, and have been mounted in books, to date. Gifts received during the year : 1. Monnet Family Genealogy, by Orra E. Monnette. Presented by the compiler. 2. Genealogical Queries and Answers from The Chicago Inter-Ocean, with index. Presented by Dr. Thomas H. Streets. 3. Land of Legendary Lore. Presented by Dr. Thomas H. Streets. 4. A Calendar of Delaware Wills, New Castle County, 1682-1800. Presented by Mrs. Willard Saulsbury. 5. Index of the Genealogical and Historical Queries and Answers, in The York Mail and Express. Presented by Miss Mary E. Sinnott. 6. Abstracts of Lee Wills and Accounts, from the Consistory Court of Chester, England, 1663-1738. Presented by Mr. Edward Clinton Lee. 7. Abstracts of Lee Wills and Accounts, from the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, England, 1650-1698. Presented by Mr. Edward Clinton Lee. 8. Cambria County Pioneers, by James M. Swank. Presented by the author. Twentieth Annual Report of the Board of Directors. 133 9. Some Genealogical Notes of the Hollinshead Family, by A. M. Stackhouse. Presented by the compiler. 10. Bulletin of the New York Library, 1911. 11. The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. 12. The Essex Institute Historical Collections. 13. Proceedings of the Rhode Island Historical Society. 14. Records of the American Catholic Historical Society, 1911. 15. Annual Report of the American Historical Association. Presented by the Smithsonian Institution. 16. Mayer Family, with chart, by Harriet Hyatt Mayer. Presented by the author. 17. Report of the Kansas State Historical Society. 18. Library of Congress Report. 19. Social Registers of Philadelphia, 1910, 1911. Presented by Mr. Miers Busch. 20. Philadelphia Blue Books, 1909, 1910, 1911. Presented by Mr. Miers Busch. 21. Annals of Iowa, 1911. Containing a Memorial of Dr. William Salter. 22. Chart of the Descendants of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg. Presented by Yale University Library. 23. Family Bible of Robert H. Sayre. Presented by Mr. Edward S. Miles. The third number of the fourth volume of our Publications was issued during the past year, and the first number of the fifth volume is now being printed. At the annual meeting, March 6, 1911, Francis B. Lee, Esquire, of Trenton, made an interesting address on "Genealogical Research in New Jersey and Elsewhere." At the meeting of the Board, March 20, 1911, the following officers were elected : President, Rear-Admiral Edward Shippen, M. D., U. S. N., Retired. Vice-Presidents, Colonel J. Granville Leach and Charles Penrose Keith, Esquire. 134 Twentieth Annual Report of the Board of Directors. Recording Secretary, Edward S. Sayres. Corresponding Secretary, James Emlen. Treasurer, C. Howard Colket. Historian, Oliver Hough. On June 16, 1911, by the death of Dr. Shippen, the Society lost its valued and beloved President. He was one of the earliest members of the Society and had been President since its founding, with the exception of a brief period at the organization, when the late Charles R. Hildeburn held the position. Dr. Shippen was deeply interested in the welfare and success of the Society, and rarely missed a meeting, until advancing years and infirmities prevented. His death was greatly lamented by all who had the privilege of his acquaintance. Subsequently, Colonel J. Granville Leach was elected President by the Directors, and William M. Mervine was elected to fill the vacancy on the Board, caused by Dr. Shippen's death. The By-Laws, relating to dues, have been amended by the Board, to read : "The Knnual Dues shall be Five Dollars, and are payable in advance on the First day of March in each year. Provided, that a person elected between September First and January First, shall pay Two Dollars and Fifty Cents, for the balance of the fiscal year ; and further provided, that a person elected between January First and March First, shall not be required to pay Annual Dues for the fiscal year." Our thanks are due, as formerly, to the Librarian and the Curator of The Historical Society of Pennsylvania, for courtesies and attentions, and our clerk and transcriber Miss Bunting, has been most diligent in her duties. All of which is respectfully submitted, J. GRANVILLE LEACH, President. EDWARD S. SAYRES, Secretary.