For Researchers

Visit the Archives

You are welcome to visit the archives to conduct genealogical and historical research.

The archives are open to researchers and visitors Monday – Thursday from 9:00am – 4:00pm. Please contact the ERHS staff by calling 717-290-8734 or by emailing us HERE to confirm your visit.

Research Services

If you are unable to visit in person, ERHS staff can perform limited genealogical or general historical research. The fee is $35 an hour with a one hour minimum. Pre-payment of the research fee is required. Fees are non-refundable. Additional fees can be found by clicking HERE. Please fill out either the Genealogical Research Request Form or the General Research Request Form with details of your search request, and a staff member will contact you as soon as possible.

Please note: Our research sources are original and transcribed church records; our research is most fruitful when you know the church, or at least have a specific location and year.

We do not have a complete list of all baptisms, marriages, and deaths. We will refer you to other sources when appropriate.

Application to use photographs and/or materials

Should you wish to publish material owned by ERHS, please fill out and send us a Permission to Publish. Please review the permission fees.

Facebook Posts

We enjoy sharing some of the objects that can be found in our physical collection. Today, on Digital Thursdays, we are highlighting some of the 25th anniversary booklets that were published by the various Districts that comprised the former German Evangelical Synod of North America. Each of these booklets hold the title "Festschrift und Protokoll" and that roughly translates to "Celebratory Publication and Minutes" in English. Today, you will find these 25th anniversary publications for the former Atlantic (1908), Iowa (1911), Kansas (1914), Ohio (1911), and South Illinois (1911) Districts in the Evangelical and Reformed Historical Society’s online library on the Internet Archive. In addition to a narrative history written in German, you will find pictures of former churches and prominent clergy. You can find these, and all of our digitized objects, on the ERHS online library by clicking the link in the comments below. #unitedchurchofchrist #conservativecongregationalchristianconference #erhistoricalsociety #evangelicalassociation #InternetArchive
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2 months ago

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Today on Friday Church Finds we are highlighting St. Peter’s United Church of Christ in Ferguson, MO. During St. Peter’s 10 am Worship service on January 21, 2024, those gathered were treated to the premiere of the documentary on the 180+ year ministry of St. Peter’s United Church of Christ in Ferguson. The documentary was born out of the last 18 months of conversation and relationship building between St. Peter’s, the Rev. Dr. Amy Butler of Invested Faith (www.investedfaith.org) and GoodFaith Media (goodfaithmedia.org).

From those conversations came the strong belief that the story of St. Peter’s is one needing to be told across the greater Church in America because of the current landscape of congregational ministry across the country, combined with St. Peter’s unique perspective of being located in Ferguson, Missouri. Invested Faith and Good News co-produced this documentary as a part of their shared commitment to storytelling and their hope to inspire other congregations like St. Peter’s.

The documentary features interviews with church members and staff and looks at the full history of St. Peter’s beginning at its original location in downtown St. Louis (14th and Carr), its move to North City (St. Louis and Warne Ave), before officially settling in Ferguson as its sole ministry location. To view the documentary, click the link in the comments below.
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3 months ago

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Today on Digital Thursdays, the ERHS is highlighting the Almanac and Year Book for the Evangelical and Reformed Church. Started after the merger in 1935, this combined edition began as the Almanac and Year Book of the Evangelical and Reformed Church until 1945 when it simply became known as the Year Book of the Evangelical and Reformed Church. Earlier editions were smaller in size and statistical reports were kept separately until 1945. The Year Book continued through 1962 until the Year Book of the United Church of Christ was formally organized.

Inside you can find interesting denominational histories, statistics on local churches, and genealogical information on E&R clergy. The Year Books are also a great way to trace the life of a church from its location, year of organization, and clergy that served each individual church.

Each of these volumes can be found in our online library collection on the Internet Archive by clicking the link in the comments below. We thank the Internet Archive for providing this wonderful technology. You can find this work and other digitized objects on the Evangelical and Reformed Historical Society’s Internet Archive page by clicking the link in the comments below. #unitedchurchofchrist #conservativecongregationalchristianconference #erhistoricalsociety #evangelicalassociation #InternetArchive
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3 months ago

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It’s our first "Friday Church Finds" for 2024 and today we are highlighting our friends at Zion Church Worland, WY. Zion Church recently celebrated its 100th Anniversary of its founding on January 20, 2023. This church began in 1923 as was originally affiliated with the German Evangelical Synod of North America and later the Rocky Mountain Synod of the Evangelical and Reformed Church. Today, Zion Church is an independent congregation near the heart of Wyoming. You can learn more about our friends at Zion Church by visiting their website by clicking on the link in the comments below. In addition, you can also view Zion’s 100th Anniversary service by clicking the link on the church’s homepage. We wish our friends at Zion Church all the best as they venture forward in this next chapter of their life! #erhistoricalsociety
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3 months ago

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The ERHS is pleased to announce that it has continued to digitize the,"Magazin für Evangelische Theologie und Kirche" or "Magazine for Evangelical Theology and Church." We have completed and uploaded several more editions from 1901 (Volume 3) – 1910 (Volume 12) today.