The Fourth Annual Report of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania

THE FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE GENEA¬ LOGICAL SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA. THE Directors of the Society have great pleasure in reports ing to the members that the fourth year of the Society’s exist¬ ence has proven that the work undertaken is a good one and that their collections are becoming more valuable day by day, and are in constant use not only by members of the Society, but also by those who are not members. We kindly call to the attention of the latter that this Society is self-sustaining so long as there are sufficient dues collected from the mem¬ bers to accomplish the work mapped out by the Board, which covers a vast field ; and that none of the officers receive any compensation, and that their work is simply and solely a labor of love in theinterest of the preservation of valu¬ able Church registers, private collections (generally inaccessi¬ ble), and the copying of public records which may become lost or destroyed ; as the average person who is the custodian of such valuable public archives is generally more interested, perhaps very naturally so, in the receipt of his salary than in preserving the ancient manuscripts confided to his care. This is due not so much to the man himself as to the general public, as a rule, caring little for such mat¬ ters until a late period. There are, however, some notable exceptions to this rule, and we believe that the very advent of such societies as ours into the field of collecting valuable data, has in many cases engendered a friendly rivalry between these custodians of records as to the care and atten¬ tion bestowed upon them, which will be of great benefit to historical and genealogical researches in the years to come. The Society during the year and since our last report has made the following additions to its collections : 1. Records of the vestry of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in the Great Valley, Chester County, Pennsylvania. (100) The Fourth Annual Report. 101 2. First Presbyterian Church records of Philadelphia have been indexed and bound and are now in use. 3. The Lancaster County original court documents and marriage license bonds, mentioned in our last report, are now indexed, bound and in use; four volumes. 4. We have spoken in our previous report of the St. Michael’s Evangelical Church of Germantown ; the indexing of this Church has been completed, and the records, in two volumes, 1751 to 1841, making twelve hundred and fortyfour pages with an index of three hundred and thirty-two pages, embracing over fifteen thousand names. 5. The Abstracts of Philadelphia Wills,1682 to 1800,which had been partially completed at our last report, are now all bound and in use, and these manuscripts are found to be invaluable, and constantly referred to. 6. We are now having an abstract made of the Wills of Lancaster County. 7. The records are now being copied of the “ Old Trappe Church,” Augustus Lutheran Church at Trappe, Mont¬ gomery County, Pennsylvania. They begin 1732. 8. The original records of the Brandywine Baptist Church in Chester County, Pennsylvania, are in our possession, and a copy will be made of them. 9. The records of St. James’ Episcopal Church, of Lan¬ caster, Pennsylvania, have been copied and bound, em¬ bracing about twelve thousand names. 10. The records of the Third Presbyterian Church, in Pine Street, Philadelphia, are being bound. The Board acknowledges with thanks : (1) A printed copy of the Powell Pedigree (chart form), presented by Washington Bleddyn Powell, Esq. (2) One Thousand Years of Hubbard History, compiled by Edward Warren Day, presented by Charles F. Jenkins, Esq. ; (3) John W. Jordan, Esq., has loaned us a manuscript of the records of two Dutch Churches in the Minesinck Valle}7, New Jersey. We are having them copied and indexed ; (4) the second volume of Abington Monthly meeting, presented by Joseph E. Gilling¬ ham, Esq. ; (5) four pamphlets of French and Swiss Protest¬ ants, presented by L. Taylor Dickson, Esq. 102 The Fourth Annual Report. The Treasurer’s report which is presented as a part of this report shows a balance of $606.04 in the treasury at this date. There is also in the treasury a fund of $480.95 from life memberships. The second publication of the Society is now in type, but its issue is withheld so as to include the annual report of this year and the newly elected officers. It will be issued to the members as soon as this data can be printed. The Board and the Society have suffered a severe loss in the death of James Mifflin, Esq., one of the founders; a copy of the minute adopted by the Board, and a memoir is made a part of this report. We have elected during the year thirteen new members and there have been eight resignations. The thanks of the Board are again due to Mr. Stone and Mr. Jordan, of the Historical Society, for many kindnesses and attentions which this Board and Society have received at their hands. Your Board have to report the death, during the year, of the following members : DR. A. R. THOMAS, WILLIAM JOHN POTTS, GRANT WEIDMAN, HON. HENRY REED, JAMES MIFFLIN. All of which is respectfully submitted. EDWARD SHIPPEN, M.D., U.S.N. President. EDWARD S. SAYRES, Recording Secretary.