Mennonite Heritage Center
565 Yoder Road
Harleysville, Pa. 19438
215-256-3020
565 Yoder Road
Harleysville, Pa. 19438
215-256-3020
The mission of the Mennonite Historians of Eastern Pennsylvania is to collect, preserve, and interpret the Anabaptist-Mennonite heritage in order to educate, inspire, and witness to the church and broader community.
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.
For genealogical queries, email library@mhep.org.
Genealogical and Local History Resources
Local Mennonite and other published families histories.
Genealogical File - photocopies of unpublished research work and source material filed by surname.
Copies of Family Bible Records (more than 375 from the 18th to 20th centuries), as well as many originals. Inventory of family records -- in PDF or Excel
Cemetery Database of local cemeteries. Currently over 82,000 records from 120 cemeteries.
Transcripts of about 165 local cemeteries (Mennonite, Brethren, Lutheran, Reformed, Union, Baptist, Methodist, Episcopal, community and private).
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).
Transcribed and translated diaries, account books, letter collections and records of local Mennonite families and ministers (1740s-1940s)
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 Collections
Papers of local Mennonite families, ministers, historians, etc.
Click here for a list of significant manuscript collections.
Photo Collections
Photographs collected by local families and individuals.
Click here for a list of significant photo collections.
Archival Collections
Material produced by local Mennonite congregations and organizations.
Click here for a list of significant archival collections.
Periodicals (highlights)
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
For genealogical queries, email library@mhep.org.
Genealogical and Local History Resources
Local Mennonite and other published families histories.
Genealogical File - photocopies of unpublished research work and source material filed by surname.
Copies of Family Bible Records (more than 375 from the 18th to 20th centuries), as well as many originals. Inventory of family records -- in PDF or Excel
Cemetery Database of local cemeteries. Currently over 82,000 records from 120 cemeteries.
Transcripts of about 165 local cemeteries (Mennonite, Brethren, Lutheran, Reformed, Union, Baptist, Methodist, Episcopal, community and private).
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).
Transcribed and translated diaries, account books, letter collections and records of local Mennonite families and ministers (1740s-1940s)
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 Collections
Papers of local Mennonite families, ministers, historians, etc.
Click here for a list of significant manuscript collections.
Photo Collections
Photographs collected by local families and individuals.
Click here for a list of significant photo collections.
Archival Collections
Material produced by local Mennonite congregations and organizations.
Click here for a list of significant archival collections.
Periodicals (highlights)
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
