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Philadelphia, Bethany Presbyterian Church

According to the Historical Directory of Presbyterian Churches and Presbyteries of Greater Philadelphia, 1690-1990 by Kenneth A. Hammonds, Bethany Presbyterian Church was organized by the Presbytery of Philadelphia in 1865. The church began as the Bethany Mission School, which was founded in 1858 by John Wanamaker and E.H. Toland, a missionary from the American Sunday School Union. In 1867, the congregation was renamed Bethany Memorial Presbyterian Church. According to Hammonds, the congregation changed its name to Bethany Collegiate in 1911. Hall’s Index of American Presbyterian Congregations states that the church went by Bethany Central Presbyterian Church from 1922 to 1926. In 1926, the congregation changed its name back to Bethany Presbyterian Church. The congregation renamed itself again Bethany Collegiate and relocated to Havertown, Pennsylvania, in 1949. The congregation left the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in 2012 to join the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. It continues today as Bethany Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Haverford, Pennsylvania.  

Bethany Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, Pa.

Records deposited with the society relevant to genealogists include:

  • Baptismal Certificate Stubs, 1952-1956; 1958-1962; 1964-1967, 5 vols. (Call number: Upper Vault MI46 H299+)
  • Baptismal Records, 1897-1964, 6 vols. (Call number: Vault BX 9211 .P49146 B322)
    • Including: roll of infant church members, 1906-1908, stubs, 1897-1902.
    • Vols. 1-2 in Vault Folio
  • Class Roll Books, ca. 1880, 2 vols. (Call number: Vault BX 9211 .P49146 B352)
  • Church directory, 1915-1916, 1925, 1927 (Call number: Pam BX 9211 .P49146 B404)
  • Dismission certificate stubs, 1915-1949, 1 vol. (Call number: Vault Folio BX 9211 .P49146 B323)
  • Dismission and reception certificate stubs, 1949-1957; 1959-1964, 3 vols. (Call number: Upper Vault MI46 H299+)
  • Marriage certificate stubs, 1921-1932, 1937-1942, 6 vols. (Call number: Vault BX 9211 .P49146 B326)
  • Membership lists, undated, 4 vols. (Call number: Lower Vault V F MI46 P4555+)
  • Register, 1866-1903, 1 vol. (Call number: Vault BX 9211 .P49146 B32)
    • Including: membership, 1866-1881, baptisms, 1866-1901, marriages, 1872-1878, 1915-1963.
  • Register of Communicants, 1894-1906, 1 vol. (Call number: Lower Vault V F MI46 P4555+)
  • Register of Communicants, 1900-1949, 1 vol. (Call number: Vault Folio Large BX 9211 .P49146 B321)
  • Roll of Members, 1885-1903, 1914-1919, 1925-1929, 12 vols. (Call number: Vault Folio BX 9211 .P49146 B324)
  • Roll of Members, 1891-1910, 2 vols. (Call number: Lower Vault V F MI46 P4555+)
  • Roll of Members, 1894-1908, 1 vol. (Call number: Vault BX 9211 .P49146 B344)
  • Roll of Members, 1895-1907, 1 vol. (Call number: Upper Vault V MI46 P4555ro)
  • Sabbath School registers and records, 1866-1913, 6 vols. (Call number: Vault Folio BX 9211 .P49146 B3551)
    • Including: book of attendance, 1866-1868
  • Session Minutes, 1865-1872, 1927-1950, 7 vols. (Call number: Vault BX 9211 .P49146 B31)
  • Session Minutes, 1883-1921, 3 vols. (Call number: Vault Folio BX 9211 .P49146 B31)
  • Session Minutes, 1956-1967, 1 vol. (Call number: Vault BX 9211 .P49139 B31)
  • Year book, 1901, 1903, 1906 (Call number: BX 9211 .P49146 B402)

The Society also holds the following records which do not necessarily contain genealogical information:  

  • Annual reports
  • Architecture correspondence
  • Attendance of teachers and officers of Bethany Sunday School
  • Brotherhood of Andrew and Philip correspondence
  • Charter and by-laws
  • Christmas Sabbath programs
  • Church Council minutes
  • Correspondence
  • Deaconess’ Society annual report
  • Histories
  • List of all paintings donated by John Wanamaker
  • Memorial pamphlets
  • Photographs
  • Real estate appraisals
  • Sabbath School superintendent’s records
  • Sabbath School teachers’ Association
  • Sabbath School treasurer’s records
  • Scrapbooks
  • Senior Christian Endeavor Society minutes
  • Subscription records
  • Sunday School orders of worship
  • Treasurer’s ledgers
  • Treasurer statements and reports
  • Trustees’ minutes
  • Women’s Missionary Society minutes

The Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU) has microfilmed records of the Bethany Presbyterian Church from 1861 to 1899, including baptismal certificate stubs and session minutes, and they are available through the Family History Centers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  To use the microfilm, you may visit their website, www.familysearch.org, and search for a center near you.

Bethany Temple Presbyterian Church

According to the Historical Directory of Presbyterian Churches and Presbyteries of Greater Philadelphia, 1690-1990 by Kenneth A. Hammonds, Bethany Temple Chapel was established in 1906 as part of Bethany Memorial Presbyterian Church. Bethany Temple Presbyterian Church was organized as a separate congregation in 1926. It merged into Bethany Collegiate Presbyterian Church, Havertown, Pa., in 1969.

Records of the Bethany Temple Presbyterian Church deposited with the society relevant to genealogists include:

  • Baptismal Records, 1909, 1958, card file. (Call number: Upper Vault V MI46 P4556b+)
  • Register of members, 1906-1960, 2 vols. (Call number: Vault BX 9211 .P49139 B321)
  • Session Minutes, 1956-1967, 1 vol. (Call number: Vault BX 9211 .P49139 B31)

The society also holds the following records from Bethany Temple which do not necessarily contain genealogical information:  

  • Bethany Temple weekly bulletins
  • Bethany Temple weekly visitor
  • Book of memorials
  • Petitions to the presbytery
  • Photographs

John Chambers Memorial Chapel

The John Chambers Memorial Chapel (also known as John Chambers Memorial Presbyterian Church) was established in 1902 with funding by John Wanamaker. It began as a mission of Bethany Memorial Presbyterian Church. The Presbytery of Philadelphia organized John Chambers Memorial as a separate congregation in 1962.  It dissolved in 2011.

Records of the John Chambers Presbyterian Church deposited with the society relevant to genealogists include:

  • Baptismal records, 1910-1912, .04 cubic feet (Call number: Archives 00 0626a)
  • Memorial minutes, 1946 (Call number: Archives 11 0722)
  • Photographs and roll of servicemen, 1941-1945 (Call number: Archives 11 0722)
  • Register, 1962-2006 (Call number: Archives 12 0610), including: baptisms, 1962-2006, marriages, 1962-1993, and deaths, 1962-2006.
  • Roll, 1906-1935; including deaths, 1929-1931, baptisms, 1909-1934, marriages, 1910-1934.
  • Session minutes, 1962-1970, 1974-1992 (Call number: Archives 11 0722)
  • Session minutes, 1993-2011 (Call number: Archives 12 0610)

The society also holds the following records which do not necessarily contain genealogical information:  

  • Addresses
  • Annual reports
  • Bylaws
  • Church dedication
  • Newsletters, annual reports
  • Photographs
  • Portraits
  • Sunday school association minutes
  • Vacation Bible school

It is the policy of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to restrict access to all official records on deposit at the Presbyterian Historical Society that are less than 50 years old. This restriction applies at the national, mid council, and congregation level. If researchers want to access official records less than 50 years old, we require that they secure written permission from the records’ owners. If this restriction will affect your research, please contact the reference staff at the Presbyterian Historical Society for further information.

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