St. David's Church (Radnor, Pa.) records

 Subseries a: Registers (circa 1706-2007) 

Subseries description

The Service Record books provide the following information: date of service, time, number of people in attendance, nature of service (Holy Communion, Children’s service litany, Sunday school), officiating clergy, and monetary offering total. Whether the service took place in the chapel or the church was also noted. Frequently remarks were made about the weather conditions the day of the service. Volume 2 has the combination for a safe on the inside front cover. In Volume 4, a confirmation service and font dedication are noted.

In the marriage registers, the church documented the marriage ceremonies in chronological order and each volume contains an index. Both the name of the groom and the bride are indexed in the front of each register offering the page with their marriage record. Each marriage record includes the name of the bride, groom, and their parents; the ages and residences of the bride and groom; whether the parties were widowed at the time of the marriage; and the signatures of the witnesses to the ceremony and the officiating minister. Often, the marriage license number is noted at the top of the page as well as the county in which it was obtained. Also, the location of the wedding was noted if the ceremony did not take place at St. David’s Church. Two other documents relating to marriages in the parish are a note certifying the marriage of Elizabeth Lewis and Thomas Gibson on May 18, 1741, and a list of marriage licenses on file at St. David’s Church as of February 5, 1952. This list documents the names of the licensees, the date of their marriage, and the county in which it occurred.

A visitor signed his or her name and provided the day of the visit and hometown in the guest registers (volumes 19-23). Sometimes there was a space to indicate who introduced the visitor to the church. The guest register from 1982 to 1991, which has been removed from its binder and foldered, consists of the visitors’ names, home address, date they visited the church, and general comments. Examples of some comments were that the church was a “peaceful place,” “impressive,” and “quietly inviting.” The guest registers span from 1926 to 1991 with few gaps in the record.

The parish register combines the lists of communicants, baptisms, marriages, confirmations, and burials into one volume with an index of names. The communicants section of the book provides the date one entered the church and notes concerning marriages and deaths. The baptism section consists of the name of the baptized person; birth date; location of birth; baptismal date; gender; the names of his or her parents; the names of the sponsors; and the officiating minister. Besides noting the date of the ceremony, the confirmation section provides the name of the officiating bishop. The marriage section has the same information that is provided in the previously mentioned marriage registers. The location of interment; cause of death; date of death; and minister are listed in the burial section of this volume.

The register of communicants (Volume 25) contains the same information as the communicants section of the parish register. This includes the name of the communicant, date received, how and when received, and memoranda. The volume has a name index.

A record book (Volume 26) has been placed in this series, which contains some of the earliest information about the church in this collection. With information dating to about 1706, this volume consists of various meeting minutes (e.g. vestry, congregation, Society for Propagating the Gospel); birth dates of parishioners including various members of the Morgan family; subscription (frequently for pews) and debt payments received by the church. The vestry men often settled disputes arising from the purchase of land for pews. In 1747, brothers Isaac and Francis Wayne each laid claim to a pew location belonging to the late Anthony Wayne (most likely the grandfather of Revolutionary general Anthony Wayne) and John Hunter. Eventually the matter was settled and each brother received part of the land on which the pew was located. There are also records of payments made for building maintenance – “settled with Samuel Pugh for his mason work at the church wall and horse block.” The church’s article of incorporation dated July 24, 1791 has also been recorded in this volume. Volume 27 is a photocopy of this Volume 26.

Volume 28, the rector’s record, contains a combination of the records previously mentioned. The parish’s baptisms, marriages, and burials were recorded in this volume. Of note in this volume is 1903 correspondence between former pastor Thomas Yocom and J.H. Lamb in which Yocom informed Lamb of a mistake in an entry for a marriage from 1861.

The parish directories (membership list in 1956) are alphabetical listings of the clergy and parishioners of St. David’s Church and were mostly given to the people in the parish. In the earlier directories, the parishioners’ street addresses and phone numbers are listed, but by 1989 the directories took the form of a photo album. Parishioners submitted pictures of their families to be placed in the directory with captions identifying those pictured without giving further personal information.

 Subseries b:  Vestry Committee (1737-2005) 

Subseries description

The Vestry Committee consists of about 12 members of the parish and has an administrative role in the parish as set forth in the act of incorporation from March 22, 1951. For example, the members tended to church business in the absence of the rector. The Vestry Committee of St. David’s Church held its meetings in several locations, including the vestry room (main location), the racquet club, and the parish house. This subseries is comprised mainly of the committee’s meeting minutes. The earlier minutes (volumes 29-30) represent a small portion of the vestry records in this collection. The 1902 meeting minutes are a memorial to the late rector George Alexander Kellor.

From the 1940s to the 1960s, the committee was concerned with a variety of activities in the parish. Meetings were held about every two months and the rector’s report and warden’s report were read aloud. The warden was the financial officer and his report offered information about the incomes and expenditures for the parish’s graveyard accounts, memorial parish house, and missions. There were also Real Estate and Finance committees within the Vestry Committee. The former oversaw the sextons and the church grounds.

Events of note in the meeting minutes of this time period, include the retirement letter of Reverend Crosswell McBee (April 2, 1945) and discussion of his successor (June 1, 1945) and the planning of the parish’s 250th anniversary. The April 1957 minutes shed light on the different people involved with the vestry – secretaries, treasurer, sexton (who was a salaried employee), organist, choirmaster, Real Estate, Finance, and Audit committees, and delegates to diocesan convention. Also mixed throughout the meeting minutes are the annual congregation meeting minutes; “regulations governing the sale, use, and care of burial lots;” and a large amount of financial information, such as operating account information (see 1.d. for further financial information). The 1966 minutes note Rector Reverend Knewstub’s death and the parish’s attempt to aid his family, which was in debt after his death (June-July 1966).

Starting in the 1970s, meeting minutes discuss the endowment; the establishment of a “St. David’s memorial fund” to care for the “grounds and buildings with priority given to the old church and graveyard” (1973); the nursery school’s enrollment; outside projects (e.g., daycares, blood drives); building of a new rectory, school building, and chapel; the addition of an atrium room to the Knewstub Building; the establishment of the “every member visitation” committee, which was charged with block collections for the church; and profiles of different commissions within the vestry. These committees included: Worship (people involved in services-acolytes, music), Fellowship (men and women’s fellowships, coffee hour, fair committee), Youth, and Christian Education (people in charge of getting speakers, organizing dinners, prayer group).

The correspondence of various members of the Vestry Committee has been placed in this subseries. William P. Morris served as the secretary of the vestry in the early twentieth century and his correspondence touches on the proposal to replace the church’s pulpit in 1912; the relationship between church funds and money placed in the Old Eagle Legacy Fund; and the closure of Church Road (see 1.d. for more about Church Road). The letters of Accounting Warden Henry P. Conner, Francis R. Wood, and R. Brognard (the latter two were most likely wardens too) were also concerned with the closure of Church Road.

The correspondence of William P. Drake and Rector John Knewstub occurred after the tenure of Morris, Conner, Wood, and Brognard. Drake was secretary of the vestry in the 1950s and his letters date to 1955. He wrote to the congregation about the church expansion and the congregation meeting; these printed, formal letters were most likely widely circulated. Knewstub’s correspondence, which has been placed in this subseries, informed the congregation about parish meetings, Sunday school, a new group therapy program, and money needed for capital improvements. There is also a letter to Knewstub from Charles Caroll Suffren, in which Suffren recollects the circumstances under which Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote his poem about St. David’s Church. The general vestry correspondence has been placed here.

Vestry meeting minutes from July 1990 to December 2001 are in Boxs 23 to 25. A copy of the vestry meeting minutes (1894-1990, 2002-2005) is on a CD found in Box 22, except for the folders labeled “secretary’s file.” These papers are most likely more informal minutes for the use of the vestry secretary with his personal notes.

 Subseries c: Other committees (1713-2006) 

Subseries description

Besides the Vestry Committee, there were several other committees that held various roles at St. David’s Church. In this subseries, the oldest records were produced by the Society for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts. There are typed abstracts of meeting minutes that date to the 1700s. They discuss the appointment of Mr. Clubb as the church’s missionary, most likely to Barbados.

The committee of Episcopal Churchwomen was reactivated in 1977 in order to help with the church fair, meals on wheels, and hospital visits. According to the committee records, the members “provide a working background for spiritual growth and leadership among the women of our parish, to aid our Church where we are able, and to minister to the needs of others.”

There are also records relating to the Altar Society and its later incarnation, the Altar Guild. This body oversaw the objects placed on the church’s altar – candles, plates, and linens. The papers include member lists, correspondence thanking people for donations, handbooks, and lists of altar hangings and who they memorialize.

According to its records, the Historical Committee was appointed in 1950 to “preserve the books, records, and relics relating to St. David’s Church.” The materials in this part of the collection relate to the committee’s activities tracing the history of the parish, its grounds, and parishioners; the committee is most likely responsible for the biographical information in the clergy files (see 1.e.). Of note are the 1953 meeting minutes, which mention that the church gave some records (3 record books and a minute book) to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania for safe-keeping. When the committee reformed in the 1980s, the records show that it had begun to organize the church materials and create an archives and a type of collections management system. The members were separating manuscripts, photos, maps, scrapbooks; making inventories for each category, and recording the supplies needed. The members divided themselves into three groups to accomplish their organizational goals – manuscripts, books, and photographs. Martin Snyder was the chairman of the committee in the 1950s and his correspondence dealt with donations of pictures, the preservation of the church, and the history of changes to the building.

The other committees represented in this collection are the Parish Fair, Horticultural, and Parish Council committees. They are mainly meeting minutes and lists of members. The Parish Fair Committee records are rich with information about the planning of the annual event (e.g., expenses for booths, floorplans).

 Subseries d: Financial and legal (1791-2004) 

Susberies description

The financial records in this collection consist of bills, receipts, fundraising papers, stewardship program papers, budget information and appeal letters. Most of the records are from the twentieth century, but some bills and receipts date to the 1800s. One bill is for “work done on the Radnor church burial ground in 1809.” There is also information about the church’s account with John Brook and his payment for “bushels of limes.” Another set of items reveals that parishioners were not happy with decisions by the church administration regarding use of money from fundraising efforts; some people wrote letters withdrawing from the parish. There are many legacies, which represented money someone gave “to be invested in legal securities” with profits going to the upkeep of their burial plot. There are also records concerning the Old Eagle School Legacy Fund (the church put money in this fund) with financial reports.

The church’s constitution and by-laws; burial plot records; and materials dealing with the closing of Church Road comprise the legal records. The burial plot records include a 1916 deed allowing subdivision of land for burial plots. The church’s articles of incorporation (both original and subsequent copies) are also among the legal records and they offer specific information about the roles of the vestry and rector, administration of the church land, and investments. The majority of legal records discuss the closing of Church Road as early as 1913. Radnor Township decided on July 28, 1916, that the road should be closed because it was burdensome but the church opposed this decision. On August 19, 1916, the rector, church warden, and vestrymen filed for a jury of review in Court of Quarter Sessions in Delaware County stating that the closure would cause “loss, inconvenience, and damage to the people of St. David’s.” In 1919, the courts overturned the decision and opened the road. The appellants’ books from the case are also included.

 Subseries e:  Clergy files ([1714]-2005) 

Subseries description

The clergy files are folders containing biographical information, articles, family pictures, programs, letters, papers produced by the clergy person, and other papers concerning clergy persons who have served St. David’s Church. These files, arranged alphabetically, were most likely compiled by the Historical Committee in 2002. Each file has a research sheet and biographical information created by historian Francis James Dallett (see Series 2). The facts on the biographical sheets specify the clergy persons’ church position (e.g., temporary rector), birth date, death date, dates at the church, family information, education, and responsibilities at St. David’s. Dating these materials was difficult because many are scans or photocopies. Brackets around a year signify the year the original document was produced, but that the document in the collection is a reproduction. Also included, an article by Dallett, “Griffith Hughes Dissected,” profiles Hughes, a naturalist and missionary to Barbados.

The clergy files are included on the CDs in Boxes 22 and 30.

 Subseries f:  Miscellaneous (1871-2008, undated) 

Subseries description

The records in this subseries mainly include various inventories and donation lists. People purchased many items for the church, such as linens, candles, and communion plates. There is also information about appraisals done by Samuel T. Freeman and Company. The vestry room was inventoried around 1975 and that list is among these papers. There is correspondence between Rev. Richard Hess and Richard DuPont regarding the history the “DuPont Chair,” which was donated to the church. A list of the records the church donated to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in the 1950s is among these materials.

There is also a group of records concerning the vestry room and architecture projects. Correspondence between Henry Pleasants and Joseph Sharp discussing the vestry room addition dates to 1871 (letter is a scan of the original). Then a letter from 1874 mentions the construction of a walkway on the church grounds. Also included are an 1893 article protesting architectural changes accompanied by the architect’s specifications, a timeline tracing architectural changes to the church and graveyard between 1700 and 1993, and several large sketches and blueprints.

In 1940, George Harrison, treasurer of the Philadelphia Branch of the American-English Ambulance Corps, wrote to Reverand Crosswell McBee urging him to donate to the war effort after he had said it was not the church’s “affair.” The church gave the corps $1350 on October 3, 1940, for which there is an acknowledgement, newspaper picture, and two photographs.

The other items in this subseries include burial lot plans, gravestone rubbings, and a lecture penned by an unknown author titled “On Atonements,” with a written reflection on the lecture.

The donation and inventory information can be found on CD in Box 22.