Home › Pennsylvania › Presbyterian
Presbyterian church records in Pennsylvania
Presbyterian records were kept by each congregation and are not centrally indexed. You need the congregation's name plus its city and state. The Presbyterian Historical Society in Philadelphia is the national archive of the PC(USA) and its predecessor churches, but congregations deposit records voluntarily, so not every church's records are there.
Where the records are
Presbyterian Historical Society (PHS)
Philadelphia, PA · Reading Room Tue–Fri 9–4 by appointment
Access: Search the Calvin catalog and the Archives Database to confirm PHS holds your congregation. Then visit, borrow some microfilm by interlibrary loan, or use the Genealogy Record Search. Records under 50 years old are restricted; PHS gives a transcription instead. Its burial and cemetery records are limited.
Cost: Genealogy Record Search: $30 per congregation and name, for up to 1 hour of research plus up to 10 copies. Paid in advance, no refunds, up to 8 weeks.
Source: Presbyterian Historical Society – Genealogy Record Search, Presbyterian Historical Society – Genealogy FAQ, Presbyterian Historical Society – Genealogy Research guide
Statewide sources for every denomination
Pennsylvania State Archives – Church Records (MG-262) and WPA Inventory of Church Archives
Access: Church records on microfilm, plus the 1937–40 WPA survey that recorded where each congregation's records were kept at the time.
Cost: Contact the State Archives
Historical Society of Pennsylvania via Ancestry
Access: Church and town records for PA and NJ, 1669–2013, all denominations.
Cost: Ancestry subscription
Source: Ancestry – PA and NJ Church and Town Records, 1669-2013 (HSP), HSP LibGuide – Ancestry