Genealogical and Local History Resources
The Historical Library and
Archives contains a rich collection of materials
relating to three centuries of Mennonite and
local history and culture in Montgomery, Bucks,
Chester, Berks, Lehigh, Northampton and
Philadelphia counties in eastern Pennsylvania.
- Genealogical and Local History Resources
- Transcribed Mennonite Church Records
- Manuscript and Archival Collections
- Periodicals
- Early Mennonite Families
- Local Brethren Family Names
Genealogical and Local History Resources
- Local Mennonite and other published families histories.
- Transcripts of about 165 local cemeteries (Mennonite, Brethren, Lutheran, Reformed, Union, Baptist, Methodist, Episcopal, community and private).
- Transcribed and translated diaries, account books, letter collections and records of local Mennonite families and ministers (1740s-1940s)
- Copies of Family Bible Records (more than 175 from the eighteenth to twentieth centuries).
- Genealogical File - photocopies of unpublished research work and source material filed by surname.
- Index of the Cemetery Database of local Mennonite and Brethren and other cemeteries. Currently over 82,000 records from 120 cemeteries.
- Obituary Database of Mennonite, Brethren and other obituaries from local newspapers. Over 7,000 records and growing.
- Subscription to Ancestry.com (a major genealogical research website)
- Transcribed and translated local church records (Mennonite, Brethren, Lutheran, and Reformed - 1730s to 1950s).
- Local newspaper abstracts (marriages, deaths, advertisements).
- Census records for most of Bucks and Montgomery Counties (1790-1930 on microfilm and on-line).
- Agricultural Census, Montgomery Co., 1850-1880.
- Local newspapers on microfilm (Souderton and Harleysville) 1880s-1970s.
- Indexes to wills, abstracts of wills, early tax records, eighteenth century immigration records, land records, marriage records, and other genealogical reference material.
- Published Pennsylvania Archives Series and Colonial Records.
- Area township and county published histories.
Transcribed Mennonite Church Records
- Alms Books (Skippack, 1738-1954); Franconia, 1756-1945 and others).
- Subscription lists for meetinghouses (from 1805). These are basically early membership lists.
- Trustees Records (from 1818: Salford, Towamencin, Franconia, Swamp, Lower Skippack).
- Membership Records (of baptisms, deaths, removals). Records from 1848 to present for some congregations.
Manuscript and Archival Collections (a sampling)
- Robert C. Bucher Collection. Lower Salford Twp., Montgomery County materials. 1718-1960s.
- Henry S. Landes (1871-1950) Genealogical Collection (photocopies).
- Abram C. Hunsicker (1905-1991) Genealogical Collection.
- Bishop Warren G. Bean (1866-1948) Records of baptisms, marriages, funerals, ordinations, memberships and sermon notes in the Skippack district, Montgomery County 1898-1946.
- Four Franconia Families. Collection of 657 letters from the families of Abraham S. Gehman, Bally; John F. Landis, Bucks Co.; William G. Gross, Fountainville, Bucks Co.; and Preacher John Gross, Plumstead, Bucks Co., 1848-1927.
- Preacher John Z. Gehman (1793-1882) Family documents, diaries, cyphering and account books, letters, fraktur, taufscheins and broadsides, 1786-1880s.
- Preacher Jacob Mensch (1835-1912) Collection; Upper Skippack Congregation. Diary; 1600 letters, 1860-1911; church records, 1870s-1910; Minutes of Franconia Conference, 1880-1907.
- Henrich Wismer (d. 1805), Abraham Wismer (1756-1844), Abraham Wismer Jr. (1791-1859) Family Collection from Deep Run, Bucks Co.
- Bucks County Historical Society Papers
- Der Reggeboge
- Gospel Herald from 1908 to 1998
- Herald of Truth, 1864-1908 (microfilm)
- The Mennonite from 1885 to present
- Mennonite Family History
- Mennonite Historical Bulletin
- Mennonite Life
- Mennonite Quarterly Review
- Mennonite Yearbook and Almanac
- Historical Society of Montgomery County "Sketches" and "Bulletins"
- Pennsylvania Folklife
- Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine
- Pennsylvania German Society annual volumes (1891-2005)
- Pennsylvania German Folklore Society annual volumes (1936-1966)
- Pennsylvania Mennonite Heritage
- Perkiomen Region
Record of the following Bucks and Montgomery County area Mennonite families can be found in the holdings of the Mennonite Historical Library and Archives. This list is not exhaustive nor does it indicate to what extent any given family is documented in the collection.
| Acker-Acre Ackerman Alderfer Allebach Anders Angeny Anglemoyer Atherholt Bachman Basler Bauer-Bower Bare-Bahr Baum Bauman-Bowman Bealer-Bieler Bean-Biehn Beary-Bury Bechtel Beidler Benner Bergey Bertolet Bingeman Bishop Bleam Boorse Borneman Boyer Brouer-Brower Bryan Buckwalter Butterweck Cassel Clemens Clemmer Cole-Kohl Conrad Custer-Kuster Defrehn Delp Derstine Deaterly Detweiler/Detwiler Diehl Dock Drissel East-Ehst Ecker-Acker Engers Erb Eschbach Fly Frederick Freed-Friedt Fretz Frey-Fry Frick Fulmer Funk Gabel Garges Gehman-Gayman Geil Geissinger |
Godshalk-Gottschall Goshow Gotwals Grater-Greder Groff Gross Grubb Hackman Haring Hagey Haldeman-Halteman Heckler Hendricks Herstein High-Hoch Histand Horning Housser-Hauser Hunsberger Hunsicker Jansen-Johnson Kappes-Koppes Karsdorp Kasselberry-Casselberry Kauffman Keeley Kephart Keyser Kile Kindig Kinsey Knorr Kolb-Kulp Kooker Krall-Croll Kratz Krey Krout Krupp Landes-Landis Lapp Latshaw Leatherman Lederach Leise-Leicy Lewis Longacre-Longenecker Loux Mack Mensch Metz Meyer-Moyer Meyers-Myers Mininger Moll Moore Musselman Nace-Nase Nash-Nesch Neucomer-Newcomer Nice-Nyce Nold Nunemaker Oberholtzer-Overholt |
OpdenGraeff Pennypacker Proctor Reeser-Reaser Reiff Rice Rickert Rittenhouse Roar-Rohr Roosen Rosenberger Roth Rothrock Rush Ruth Saeger-Saiger Saylor Schantz Schimmel Schleiffer Schlichter Schlosser Schnebli-Snavely Schott-Shutt Schneider-Taylor Schrager-Schrauger Schwartz Schweitzer-Switzer Sell-Sellen Shaddinger Shelly Shoemaker-Schumaker Showalter Souder Spare Stager-Steiger Stamm-Stemm Stauffer Steiner-Stoner Stover Swartley Swartzlander Trauger Tinsman Turner Tyson Van Fossen Van Sintern Walter Weinberger Wenger-Wanger Werstler Wile-Weil Wisler Wismer Wireman Woodward Yellis Yoder Yothers Young Zetty-Zeti Ziegler Zimmerman |
| Bach-Baugh Becker Booz Brecht-Bright Connor Harley |
Kempfer Klein Koch Mack Oplinger Price |
Shisler Slingluff Stover Stump Urner |