Visitation list, circa 1940

The records of the Strawbridge M.E. Church consist of 15 vols. and approximately 260 items (in 7 document boxes). The bulk of the collection is made up of parish registers and roll books. Also important are a number of church minutes and treasurer's reports. And there are miscellaneous other reports for various church organizations and special committees, Sunday School lists, correspondence, etc. There is a good typescript history of the church too, done by one of the members in 1932.



The parish registers and roll books exist from its founding as a church in 1843 up through the mid 1950's. The registers contain lists of members, marriages and baptisms, while the roll books list only members. But books of marriages, baptisms and funerals for the time of the roll books make the records fairly complete.



The church mimutes [UNK] reports are extant for 1930-1940's only--and, even though not complete, are valuable. There are also Quarterly Conference Records for the early 1940's, pastoral reports, etc.



The miscellaneous reports contain many interesting items like a survey of the neighborhood to determine the unchurched, which unfortuneately does not record the date it was made, minutes of different church organizations, reports of the Finance Campaign of the Maryland Council of Churches, 1939-41, and material for a 1954 audit.



Finally, very important is a typescript history of the church, complete with pictures and clippings done in 1932 by Miss Suaanna A. Forsyth, and several one page capsule summaries of the church's history.



Except for roll books, the records of this Baltimore church are not complete--though often the run is long enough to get an idea of trends, etc. Also unfortunately, not everything is dated, so some items' intrinsic worth is diminished.