Research Request Forms

...ined through the CHRC. All records after 1945 must be obtained from the individual parishes including those in the city of Philadelphia and the surrounding counties of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery. CHRC has the admission records for three boys’ orphanages: St. John’s Orphan Asylum (Dec. 1845 through May 1970),

Continue reading

1832 Cholera Outbreak in Philadelphia and Duffy’s Cut

Lately, there has been a fair amount of news coverage (“Fates Of Irish Workers Sealed In Mass Grave”, “Pennsylvania Ghost Story Leads to Murder Mystery”, "CNN Visits Penn Museum to Follow Story of "Duffy's Cut" Excavations in Malvern, PA") about the mystery surrounding “Duffy’s Cut,” a stretch of land in

Continue reading

St. Peter Claver

...to Mother Katharine Drexel to inform her that he had secured a priest to minister to the Black Catholics in Philadelphia.[1] There had been a growing need for a dedicated ministry for some time. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, Black Catholics did not have a church of their own

Continue reading

Philadelphia’s Third Archbishop

...s in the city alone, including St. Nicholas of Tolentine, Our Lady of Pompeii, and Our Lady of Consolation, were established during Prendergast’s brief tenure.   St. Nicholas of Tolentine Several Catholic institutions devoted to education and social services, some of which Archbishop Ryan had initiated, were completed and erected

Continue reading