Online Databases
SUMMARY
1. Pastors
2. Churches
3. Memoirs
4. Conference Historical Society Publications
5. Archival Shelf Holdings List and Finding Aids
6. Vertical Files and Item Collections
7. Archival Boxed Collections
8. Other Items
9. Digital Version of Relevant Histories
1. Pastors
These files give basic information (birth,
death, spouse, appointments, obituary reference, notes and other relevant
references) as described below.
a. Central
Pennsylvania Evangelical Pastors includes every person known to have
(1) been licensed or ordained by the Central Pennsylvania Conference of
the Evangelical [and Evangelical Association and United Evangelical]
Church or (2) served an appointment in that Conference 1839-1964.
b. Central
Pennsylvania Methodist Pastors includes every person known to
have (1) been licensed or ordained in the East Baltimore (1856-1868) or
Central Pennsylvania (1868-1970) Conferences of the Methodist Episcopal
[and Methodist] Church or (2) served an appointment in those conferences
1856-1970.
c. Methodist Protestant Pastors includes every
person known to have served a Methodist Protestant [and 1878-1883
Methodist] appointment that once existed within the boundaries of the
Susquehanna Conference of the United Methodist Church when it was
so-named in 2010. These
pastors/appointments are gleaned from the
Pittsburgh, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York and Eastern conferences of
the Methodist Protestant church.
(1) Maryland
Conference Pastor List gives the name of every person known to have been admitted to the Maryland Conference of the
Methodist Protestant Church or to have served under appointment as a
supply pastor in that conference.
The list includes date and circumstance for entering the
conference, date and circumstance for leaving the conference, location of
conference obituary, general comments (including death year and burial
location for those not having a conference ontiuary).
d. Pennsylvania UB
Pastors includes every person known to have (1) been licensed or
ordained in Pennsylvania by the Pennsylvania, East Pennsylvania or
Allegheny Conferences of the United Brethren [and EUB] Church or (2)
served an appointment in one of those Conferences.
e. Wyoming Conference Pastors
includes every person known to have served a church or in or been
given ministerial credentials by the Wyoming Conference (north-east
Pennsylvania and south-central New York) from its creation in 1852 until
its dissolution in 2010.
f. Susquehanna Conference
Pastors [in progress] includes every person known to have been licensed
or ordained in the Susquehanna (1964-70), Central Pennsylvania
(1970-2010), or Susquehanna (2010 onward) Conferences within
United Methodism. Persons who served an appointment in one of
those Conferences but who were originally licensed or ordained in
Conferences included in sections a-e above are listed with those
Conferences in sections a-e and are not duplicated in the
Susquehanna Conference list.
2. Churches
The following are works in
progress. The goal is to have two links, one to closed churches and
one to present churches, that will give information arranged by county
about every United Methodist (and predecessor denomination) church
building known to have existed within the boundaries of the present
Susquehanna Conference.
a. Closed Churches
b. Open
Churches
3. Memoirs
a. Allegheny Conference Memoirs gives an
alphabetic list of all obituaries appearing in the journals of the
Allegheny Conference of the United Brethren and Evangelical United
Brethren denominations from its creation in 1839 until its dissolution in
1951.
b. Central
Pennsylvania Conference United Methodist Memoirs gives an
alphabetic list of all obituaries appearing in the journals of the
Central Pennsylvania Conference (1970-2010) for pastors, spouses of
pastors, and missionaries.
c. Maryland Conference MP Memoirs
gives an alphabetic list of all obituaries published by the Maryland
Conference of the Methodist Protestant Church during its 1828-1939
existence, including those from the necrology section of the 1882
conference history. Journals prior
to 1882 are relatively scarce and incomplete in their obituary
coverage. Persons with an obituary
in both a pre-1882 journal and the 1882 conference history have two
entries in the list.
d. Wyoming Conference Memoirs gives a
complete alphabetic list of all formal obituaries appearing in the
Wyoming Conference of the Methodist Episcopal and Methodist and United
Methodist denominations from its creation in 1852 until its dissolution
in 2010.
e. Susquehanna Conference United Methodist
Memoirs gives an alphabetic list of all obituaries appearing
in the journals of the new Susquehanna Conference (2011 onward) for pastors,
spouses of pastors, and missionaries.
f. Evangelical
Messenger Obituary Index. This link takes you to another site
that gives information (subject, dates, other persons mentioned in the
obituary, etc.) for every obituary appearing in the Evangelical Messenger
1848-1935 of the Evangelical Association
(1838-1922) and the Evangelical Church (1922-1935).
Information is given on purchasing copies of the obituaries.
g GCAH
Obituary index. This link takes you to another site that gives
information (subject, dates, etc.) for every obituary appearing in the
journals in collection of the General Commission on Archives and History
for the various conferences of the United Methodist Church and its
predecessor denominations. Information is given on purchasing
copies of the obituaries. Be patient. This link is sometimes
slow to respond.
h. Obituary and Marriage index for The Evangelical (1887-1922) of the
United Evangelical Church. A complete index and complete microfilm
collection of The Evangelical is available at the conference archives.
Copyright arrangements prevent
placing the index on line, but information may be obtained by
contacting the archives.
4. Conference
Historical Society Publications:
a. The
Chronicle: The Historical Society has produced a quality
scholarly yet readable journal every year beginning in 1990. Some
back issues are available, and several libraries and other facilities
have complete sets, but the volumes and the information they contain are
becoming increasingly difficult to obtain. All the back issues (some with
minor corrections to the original printed versions) are now on line.
b. James M. Black and Friends, Contributions of
Williamsport PA to American Gospel Music.
c. Autobiography
of John Fohl
d. Early
Evangelical Association Hymn Writers Associated with New Berlin PA
5. Archival Shelf
Holdings List and Finding Aids: [in progress]
The shelved material in the main archives
is arranged in three collections. Major sections within each
collection are identified with a 3-letter code. Following are the
explanations for each collection/section and a link to a complete listing
for each. The spine label for each item contains 2 or 3 lines: the
first line gives the 3-letter identifying code for the particular
section, with the remaining line(s) as explained within each collection.
5.1. General
Collection
ACP
- Central Pennsylvania authors, in alphabetical order by author. The
second line of the spine label gives the first three letters of the
author's surname. This collection includes published general theological
or historical material, by authors with a direct connection to Central
Pennsylvania United Methodism.
ANM
- non-Methodist authors, in alphabetical order by author. The second
line of the spine label gives the first three letters of the author's
surname. This collection includes published general theological
material by prominent persons not in the United Methodist Church or its
predecessor denominations.
AUM
- United Methodist authors, in alphabetical order by author. The
second line of the spine label gives the first three letters of the
author's surname. This collection includes published general theological
material by persons in the United Methodist Church or its predecessor
denomination.
BIO
- biographies, in alphabetical order by subject of the
biography. The second line of the spine label gives the first three
letters of the subject's surname. Group biographies are filed at the end,
the second line of the spine label being ZZ followed by the first letter
of the compiler. This link
is an indexed list of the persons in the group biographies.
COL
- Educational institutions with ties to United Methodism and/or the Susquehanna
Conference area. The second line of the spine label gives a 3-letter
institutional code, and the third line specifies the type and date of the
material.
DEN
materials related to denominations not included in the United Methodist
Church. The second line of the spine label is a three-letter code for the
particular denomination. The materials is filed alphabetically by
denomination, and organized appropriately within each denomination.
M manuscript collection. The second line of the spine
label gives the county of origin, and the third line gives the first
letter of the city/church/circuit of origin. A comment line in the list
tells the nature of the material and the years it covers.
MET
- materials relating to the nature and organization of Methodism, in
alphabetical order by author. The second line of the spine label
gives the first three letters of the author's surname.
MUS
- hymnals and gospel songs and related material, in alphabetical order by
title. The second line of the spine label gives the first three letters
of the title. This collection includes several hundred gospel songbooks
from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Books about hymns
and hymn-writers are filed at the end, the second line of the spine label
being ZZ followed by the first letter of the title.
MIN
General Minutes of the Methodist Episcopal/Methodist/United Methodist
Church, giving the yearly appointments for every conference in the
denomination.
PAC
- Pennsylvania counties, in alphabetical order by county. The second
line of the spine label gives the first three letters of the Central
Pennsylvania County. The collection includes secular
county/community histories and published books on local churches.
Pennsylvania material for counties outside Central Pennsylvania and/or
for the entire state are filed at the end, the second line of the spine
label being ZZ followed by E (for Eastern PA), P (for Pennsylvania in
general) or W (for Western Pennsylvania).
SPE
- special collection of rare and/or fragile early publications, arranged
in alphabetical order by author. The second line of the spine label gives
the first three letters of the author's surname.
SSL
Sunday School library books of the 1800s, arranged by source. The
third letter on the first line of the spine label identifies the source,
as explained in the list. The second line of the spine label gives
the first three letters (or the number, in the case of a numbered series)
of the title. SSM is the first line for all books printed from 200
Mulberry Street in NYC and attributed to the ME Sunday School Union. SSV
is the first for all the various miscellaneous sources. SSX is the
first line for adult reference books. SSY is the first line for
lesson materials. SSZ is the first line for later materials, not in
the style and format of the mid-1800s.
TOP Materials
organized alphabetically by topic (e.g., Alcohol, Baptism). The
second line of the spine label is a three-letter code for the particular
topic. Material within each topic is arranged alphabetically by
author. This section is intended to preserve historical
perspectives, especially perspectives within United Methodism, on the
various topics.
USS
- United States state material, in alphabetical order by state. The
second line of the spine label gives the two-letter state postal
abbreviation. This collection includes published United Methodist
materials (mostly conference histories) from sates other than
Pennsylvania. Such materials from outside the United States are
filed at the end, the second line of the spine label being ZZ followed by
C (for Canada), E (for Europe).
WES - Wesleyana,
arranged in three separate sub-sections. The spine labels in this section
have three lines, the second line identifying the sub-collection. BRI - materials about
British Methodism. JOH -
materials about John Wesley, in alphabetical order by author, with the
third line of the spine label giving the first three letters of the
author's surname. CHA -
materials about Charles Wesley, in alphabetical order by author, with the
third line of the spine label giving the first three letters of the
author's surname. WOR -
works of John Wesley, in alphabetical order by title, with the third line
of the spine label giving the first three letters of the title.
5.2.
Susquehanna Collection
Each denominational section listed below
includes the following items: journals and other materials from the major
local conference of that denomination, disciplines, histories, hymnals,
general conference, materials, annual almanacs and handbooks, special
collections.
EUB
the Evangelical United Brethren Church (1946-1968) and the Susquehanna
Conference (1964-1969)
EVC
the Evangelical Church (1800-1946: including the Evangelical
Association and the United Evangelical Church) and the Central
Pennsylvania Conference (1800-1964)
MEC
the Methodist Episcopal Church (1784-1968: including the Methodist
Church) and the Central Pennsylvania Conference (1958-1969: including the
East Baltimore Conference).
MES
the Methodist Episcopal Church South (1844-1939) and the Baltimore
Conference (1844-1939)
MPC
the Methodist Protestant Church (1830-1939) and the Pennsylvania
Conference (1830-1939: including the Eastern Conference)
UBC
the United Brethren Church (1800-1968) and the Pennsylvania Conference
(1800-1964)
UMC
the United Methodist Church (1968 present) and the Central
Pennsylvania (1970-2010) and Susquehanna (2010 present) Conferences.
UMX
journals from the adjacent conferences within United Methodism to which
the Susquehanna Conference has contributed congregations and pastors:
Baltimore-Washington (1970-), Eastern Pennsylvania (1970-), Upstate New
York (2011-), Western Pennsylvania (1970-).
UMY
journals from the adjacent conferences within United Methodism that
have contributed congregations and pastors to the Susquehanna Conference:
24 feeder conferences as listed in the link.
5.3. Periodical
Collection (in progress)
6. Vertical Files
and Item Collections
a. Biographical File - a list of surnames
for which there is a biographical file.
b. Postcard
Collection a list (with image) by county of the items in the United
Methodist postcard collection.
c. Plate Collection
- a list by county of the items in the United Methodist plate
collection.
d. Videotape
Collection - a list by topic of videotapes in the audio-video
collection
d. Methodist
Publications (in progress)
7. Archival Boxed
Collections
This includes materials from closed
churches and from Conference boards and agencies. [In progress]
8. Other Items
a. Susquehanna
Facts gives in Word format a brief article on some matter of
current interest related to the history of the Susquehanna
Conference of the United Methodist Church and its predecessors.
b. Worlds Funniest
Photograph is an amazing, unedited picture that appeared in the
Harrisburg Patriot News. It shows the reactions of children sitting
through adult presentations on watershed awareness. I wonder if it might
as well be titled: Listening to a Talk on Church History and
Genealogy.
c. Heritage
Sunday gives information about this year's theme and resources for
use in the local church.
9. Digital Versions
of Relevant Histories
EVANGELICAL
a. Annals of the
Evangelical Association of North America, 1900, by Ammon
Stapleton.
b. History of the Central Pennsylvania Conference of the Evangelical
Church, 1939, by J.D. Shortess.
METHODIST
a. History of the Wyoming
Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 1904, by Amasa Franklin Chaffee.
UNITED BRETHREN
a. History of the Allegheny Conference of the
United Brethren in Christ Church, 1931, by J.S. Fulton.
b. History of the East Pennsylvania
Conference of the United Brethren in Christ Church, 1951, by Phares Gibble.
c. History of the Pennsylvania
Conference of the United Brethren in Christ Church,
1939, by Paul E. Holdcraft.
d. History of the Virginia Conference of the United Brethren in Christ
Church, 1921, by A.P. Funkhouser.
Note: This book repeats the names as
they were spelled in the written minutes each year, and so the same
person appears with different names in different years.
There are also spelling errors and format inconsistencies in the
original text. Hence, this website has two versions of the text:
History of the Virginia
Conference PDF adapted from the Huntingdon UBOC archives, following
the original text.
History of the Virginia
Conference WORD prepared by correcting errors in the original text,
adding a limited number of notes, and using the single best form
(for people, usually the one appearing in the obituary) for each name.
e. Minutes of the United Brethren
in Christ 1800-1846 (after 1830, "Harrisburg" conference
only), translated and transcribed in 1901,
by I.H. Albright. Note: Beginning in
1830 there were two conferences - Harrisburg (later, Pennsylvania)
and Hagerstown (later, Virginia).
f. Minutes of the United Brethren in Christ
(Pennsylvania Conference) 1847-1868,
transcribed and condensed in 1958, by Charles R. Miller.
Note: Beginning in 1847 the former Harrisburg Conference split into
two conferences - Pennsylvania and East
Pennsylvania. Beginning in 1869 the minutes were published
annually.
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