First Annual Report, March 6, 1893 (Reprint)

PUBLICATIONS OF nil GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY Of PENNSYLVANIA. Vol. I. DECEMBER, 1898. No. 4. FIRST ANNUAL REPORT OF THE GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA. In presenting their first annual report, the Directors take the occasion to state briefly the origin and object of the Genealogical Society. The collecting of genealogical information has long been recognized as an essential part of the work of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, and that Society has expended large sums in the acquisition of its now extensive and valuable collection of books and manuscripts pertaining to the subject. But the immense amount of material yet to be gathered from fast perishing manuscripts, greatly overtaxes the resources of that Society applicable to this department; and many members felt that the rapid growth of interest in genealogy, which has developed of late years, rendered the moment an auspicious one for the formation of an auxiliary society, which should make the transcribing of records its special object. A few persons, holding this idea, met informally at the residence of Mr. Hildeburn, on (187) 138 First Annual Report. February 13th, 1892, and resolved to attempt the formation of such a society. On the 17th of February, another meeting was held in the Council Room of the Historical Society, and a committee was appointed to prepare a Constitution and By-laws. The committee appointed at the meeting just mentioned, called the founders together on February 24th, and submitted drafts of the Constitution and By-laws, which were adopted, and the Society was organized by Charles R. Hildeburn, L. Taylor Dickson, J. Granville Leach, Edward S. Sayres, Howard W. Lloyd, James Mifflin, Charles P. Keith, Philip S. P. Conner, John H. Merrill, William F. Lewis, Charles E. Cadwalader, Franklin Platt, John J. Thompson, Thomas A. Glenn, William Brooke Rawle, William John Potts, A Nelson Lewis, Samuel W. Pennypacker, Henry T. Coates, Clarence S. Bement, George M. Conarroe, Samuel S. Hollingsworth, Frank Willing Leach, Effingham B. Morris, Edward C. Lee, William G. Thomas, and Charles Roberts. The first fourteen named were elected directors, leaving one vacancy in the Board. Mr. Hildeburn was chosen President; Messrs. Leach and Dickson, Vice-Presidents ; Mr. Sayres, Recording Secretary ; Mr. Lloyd, Corresponding Secretary, and Mr. Mifflin, Treasurer. The object of the Society is : The promotion of genealogical research ; the collection and preservation of registers of births, marriages, and deaths kept by religious societies or individuals, or making transcripts thereof; as well as transcripts or abstracts of all kinds of official records, affording genealogical information. Its membership shall be restricted to members in good standing of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, and all material collected shall become the property of that institution, as soon as arranged for public use. A special meeting of the Board was held March 2d, at which the resignations of Mr. Hildeburn as President, and Mr. Mifflin as Treasurer, were accepted, and Dr. Edward • First Annual Report. 139 Shippen, U. S. N., was elected President, and Mr. Hildeburn, Treasurer. A special committee appointed at the last meeting to prepare a circular announcing the new Society, presented their report, which was adopted, and printed copies ordered to be sent to all the members of the Historical Society. In response to this circular about one hundred and fifty applications for membership were received, and with this modest assurance of success, the new Society entered upon its work. Up to the present time the results accomplished are : I. The Records of St. George's Methodist Episcopal Church, 1789-1856, comprising 10,651 entries, making, with an exhaustive index, 760 quarto pages. II. The Records of the German Reformed (now the Market Square Presbyterian) Church, Germantown, 1751— 1856, comprising 4,679 entries, making, with the index, about 775 quarto pages. The following records are under way : III. The Records of Trinity Protestant Episcopal, Oxford, Philadelphia, 1709-1856, comprising 1,300 entries, making 113 quarto pages. IV. The Records of St. Thomas' Protestant Episcopal Church, Whitemarsh, 1789-1856, comprising 1,093 entries, making 30 quarto pages. V. The Records of the Pennypack Baptist Church, 1697— 1745, comprising 1,334 entries, making 84 quarto pages. VI. The Records of the Third Reformed Dutch Church, Philadelphia, comprising 920 entries, making 51 quarto pages. VII. The Records of Baptisms in Christ Church and St. Peter's, about 20,000 entries, of which over 10,000 are now copied, making 500 quarto pages. VIII. The Records of St. Michael's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Germantown, about 12,000 entries, of which over 2,500 are now copied. IX. An abstract of the Wills recorded in Philadelphia, 140 Pint Annual Report. 1683-1800, about 20,000, of which about 2,000 have been done, making about 600 quarto pages. X. The Records of the Swedish Lutheran Churches at Swedesboro, and Penn's Neck, New Jersey, 1714-1810, comprising 4,703 entries, nearly completed. XI. The Records of the German Reformed Church, Alexandria, New Jersey, 1763-1802, comprising 634 entries, nearly completed. The expense of copying the last two records has been borne by the Historical Society. In all we have copied 35,000 entries from church records and made abstracts of 2,000 wills, amounting to over 3,000 pages of manuscript. Our reasons for adopting 1856 as the period to which we propose to bring our transcripts down, are fully set forth in Dr. Shippen's introductory address, and need not be repeated here. When the limited funds at our disposal, and the magnitude of our undertaking are fairly understood, we feel that we have a very crditable showing for our first year's work. The full extent of this, no one who has not had the superintendence of such work can fully appreciate. It is not merely the procuring of a church record, and finding some one competent to copy it, but it requires constant supervision, a decision of an endless variety of questions, and, when the copy is made, much time and labor are required in the preparation of indexes, without which the transcripts would not readily yield up their contents to the investigator. From the Treasurer's statement it will be seen that our receipts have been $1096.58, and our expenditures $938.22. Of the latter, all the expenses incidental to the organization of a society—amounting in our case to $200.00—have been discharged, and will not recur. Our stock of blanks for coming records, which cost $125.00, will not need replenishing for a couple of years, and both these items can be expended in copying. Having the use of the rooms of the Historical Society, we are at no expense for rent. For the coming year we hope to make a still greater First Annual Report. 141 showing, but to properly work the field we have entered upon, we must have a largely increased membership. At least one-half of the eighteen hundred members of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania have a more or less direct personal interest in our work, but not one-eighth of them have as yet acknowledged it by joining us. With a thousand members, we could in two or three years almost exhaust the field in our immediate neighborhood, and while not entirely abandoning work in America, could turn our attention largely towards collecting abroad, material for tracing our European ancestry. The Directors, therefore, earnestly request the members of the Society to do all in their power to add to our membership, and thus enable the Society to carry out successfully the work it has undertaken. The first meeting of the Society, under the management of a special committee, was held at the hall of the Historical Society on the evening of November 30, 1892. The President presented a report of the work accomplished by the management of the Society up to that time. He then made a brief address, introducing Mr. Howard M. Jenkins, who, at the request of your Directors, had prepared a valuable and instructive paper on the subject of The Value and Sources of Genealogical Information. The addresses delivered on that occasion to the large and appreciative gathering who honored us with their presence, will be found in full appended to this report. The Society is very glad to receive and preserve the work of individuals relating to their own or other family history, whether printed or in manuscript. In the latter case, it will arrange and have bound all such material as rapidly as the time of the Genealogical Committee and the funds of the Society will permit. As will be seen from the following list, we have already received a large number of valuable gifts of this kind, for which we now tender our thanks to their respective donors. Charles P. Keith, Esq., memoranda concerning the Asshe- 142 First Annual Report. ton, Shippen, Willing, Chew, Coxe, Hamilton, Allen, Lardner, Read, Shoemaker, Mifflin, Cadwalader, Trent, Tilghman, Logan, Lloyd, Moland, Lawrence, Chevalier, Pemberton, Till, Burd, Taylor, Strettell, Tresse, Finney, Plumsted, Hassell, Hopkinson, Palmer, and other families, mostly of the Provincial Councillors of Pennsylvania. H. M. M. Richards, Esq., The Descendants of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg. Mr. James Parham, Swanson Genealogy. Walter F. Atlee, M. D., Pedigree of Jennens of Gopsal, etc., etc. Mr. Zoeth S. Eldredge, The Eldredge Family. Mr. John R. Stevenson, The Descendants of Thomas Stevenson. Mr. Joseph Allison Steinmetz, The Allison Family. Brinton Coxe, Esq., Returns of Probate of Wills in England, etc., London, 1829-1845. 6 volumes. Miss A. H. Wharton, Genealogical Pamphlets. We have to record the loss by death of the following members : ISAAC C. MARTINDALE, REV. JOHN P. LUNDY, EDWARD T. STEEL. WILLIAM M. RUNK, All of which is respectfully su bmitted. EDWARD SHIPPEN, President. March 6, 1893. 143 First Annual Report. STATEMENT OF RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES FROM MARCH 2, 1892, TO FEBRUARY 20, 1893. Rumupra. EXPENDITURES. Annual Dues $1,085.00 Account Books, Minute Book, Interest on Deposits. . . . 6.58 etc 5.00 Printing and Stationery . . Sundries Postage Sundries Blank forms for copying • Copying and Indexing . . . Indexing boxes, etc . . . . Cash in Girard Life and Trust Co $1,096.58 $35.10 106.75 109.96 48.24 108.75 445.27 84.15 158.36 $1,096.58 CHARLES P. KEITH, Account examined and WILLIAM F. Lams, E. k 0. E. CHARDZS R. HILDEBURN, found correct, Feb- Jamas Mirpini, Treasurer. Auelaing Committee. rnary 20, 1893.