Guide to the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Board of the Church Erection Fund. Records

Descriptive Summary

Title

Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Board of the Church Erection Fund. Records

Inclusive Dates

1853-1946

Bulk Dates

1870-1946

Call Number

RG 43

Creator(s)

Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Board of the Church Erection Fund.

Quantity

7.00 cubic feet

Restrictions on Access

Open for research. Medical, educational, and psychological records of living people are closed.

Digital Content

To browse this collection's digital content visit Pearl.

Materials marked "Digital" in the Collection Inventory may not be available on Pearl or in their entirety.

Repository

Presbyterian Historical Society, 425 Lombard Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147-1516 USA

Biographical Note / Administrative History

Administrative History

Until 1844, church erection in the U.S. had been regarded as a local responsibility. However, in 1844 the General Assembly (Old School), in response to an overture, committed itself via the Board of Missions to the task of aiding financially weak congregations to build better churches. This was to be done by the churches through systematic benevolence giving. In 1855, the General Assembly appointed a Committee on Church Extension. With its headquarters in St. Louis near the frontier country where most of the aid was to be extended, the Committee was directly responsible to the General Assembly. In 1860, this work was assigned to the new Board of Church Extension which continued to aid weak churches in their building problems until the reunion of the Old and New School branches in 1870.

In 1853, the New School Assembly appointed a Church Erection Committee. Unlike its Old School counterparts, the New School program called for a permanent fund rather than annual benevolence giving which would be loaned to needy churches for a period of time and then repaid. This policy continued until 1870.

In 1870 the church extension and church erection agencies consolidated their work in a new organization known as the Board of the Church Erection Fund. During the 1870s and 1880s the Board enlarged its scope by building chapels in advance of building churches in the frontier country of Utah, New Mexico and Alaska. By the mid-1880s, its work was again extended with the establishment of schools and chapels among the Mormon, Indian and Spanish-speaking populations. With the general reorganization in 1923 the work of church erection was placed under the Board of National Missions though the original name was retained for legal reasons.

Collection Overview

Record group 43 contains the records of the Board of the Church Erection Fund, 1853-1946. The bulk of this collection dates from 1870. Miscellaneous items pre-1870 from the Old School program of the PCUSA have also been included.

Organization and Arrangement

SERIES 1: COMMITTEE/BOARD OF CHURCH ERECTION (OLD SCHOOL), 1853-70, MISC. ITEMS

Included are various plans of assembly and manuals, 1853-70. One ledger is also included.

SERIES 2: BOARD OF THE CHURCH ERECTION FUND, 1870-1946, MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS

Included are miscellaneous pamphlets and church/manse building plans, 1882-1921.
Also included are bound volumes with the following designations:

Index to minutes (1886-1915)
Journals (1890-1921)
Ledgers (1896-1924)
Cash Books (1916-1924)
Contributions and Appropriations (1919-1924)
Payments and Receipts (1901-1914)
Receipts and Disbursements (1936-1946)
Building Grants (1879-1888)
Legal forms, agreements, indentures, briefs, n.d.
Properties aided, 1927-1936
Appropriations to Churches by Synods, 1927-1930

Alternative Formats

To browse this collection's digitized content visit Pearl.

Materials marked "Digital" in the Collection Inventory may not have been digitized in their entirety.

Administrative Information

Processing Information

The bound volumes have been numbered chronologically. The researcher should cite the volume number, title and inclusive dates when requesting use.

The researcher is advised to consult the library's holdings for minutes and reports that have been cataloged separately.

Catalog Headings

The following headings have been used to index the description of this collection in the society’s electronic catalog.

Topical Subject

Church property Finance.

Church maintenance and repair.

Church buildings.

Genre-form

Plans (drawings) aat

Legal records. aat

Financial records. aat

Corporate Added Name

Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (Old School). Committee on Church Extension.

Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (Old School). Board of Church Extension.

Collection Inventory

Box	Folder	Description	Alternative Formats

1	1	Finding Aid to Record Group 43

		Series 1: Committee/board of Church Erection (Old School)

	2	Constitution and by-laws, 1853
	3	Plan of Assembly, 1856
	4	Plan of Assembly, 1855
	5	Plan of Assembly, 1866
	6	Manual of church erection, 1868	Digital
	7	Churches for the west, n.d.

		BOUND VOLUME

	#11	Ledger, 1856-70

		SERIES 2: BOARD OF THE CHURCH ERECTION FUND

	8	Church plans, 1882	Digital
	9	Synopsis of the History of the Board of the Church Erection Fund, 1888
	10	Plan of the B.C.E.F., 1914
	11	B.C.E.F./Kennedy request, 1915
	12	75 Years of Church Building, 1919
	13	Church and Manse building, 1920-1921
	14	Manual of manse plans, n.d.

		BOUND VOLUMES

		Index to Minutes

	Vol #1	April 1, 1886 - September 15, 1913
	Vol #2	April 22, 1889 - March 23, 1896
	Vol #3	April 27, 1896 - March 24, 1902
	Vol #4	April 20, 1908 - July 15, 1912
	Vol #5	September 16, 1912 - March 15, 1915

		Journals

	Vol #6	March 26, 1890 - July 1, 1892
	Vol #7	April 17, 1906 - July 31, 1911
	Vol #8	February 1909 - April 1911
	Vol #9	August 3, 1911 - March 31, 1916

		Ledgers
	Vol #10	June 26, 1918 - March 31, 1921
	Vol #12	April 11, 1896 - April 11, 1899
	Vol #13	April 11, 1899 - April 10, 1903
	Vol #14	April 1, 1911 - April 1, 1913
	Vol #15	April 1, 1913 - April 1, 1915
	Vol #16	April 1, 1915 - March 31, 1917
	Vol #17	April 1, 1917 - March 27, 1919
	Vol #18	April 1, 1919 - March 31, 1921
	Vol #19	April 1, 1923 - March 31, 1924

		Building grants

	Vol #20	#1879 - 1888

		Cash Books

	Vol #21	September 11, 1916 - October 31, 1918
	Vol #22	November 4, 1918 - November 31, 1920
	Vol #23	December 31, 1920 - September 30, 1922
	Vol #24	March 25 - June 18, 1924

		Contributions and Appropriations

	Vol #25	1919-1920
	Vol #26	1920-1921
	Vol #27	1921-1922
	Vol #28	1922-1923
	Vol #29	1923-1924

		Payments and Receipts

	Vol #30	December 2, 1901 - June 30, 1905
	Vol #31	July 1, 1905 - October 31, 1908
	Vol #32	November 5, 1908 - October 31, 1911
	Vol #33	November 1, 1911 - September 30, 1914

		Receipts and Disbursements

	Vol #34	March 16, 1936 - April 29, 1939
	Vol #35	May 1, 1939 - April 30, 1942
	Vol #36	May 1, 1939 - April 30, 1942
	Vol #37	May 1, 1942 - April 30, 1944
	Vol #38	May 1, 1942 - April 30, 1944
	Vol #39	May 1, 1944 - December 31, 1946

		Miscellaneous

	Vol #40	Legal forms, agreements, indentures, briefs
	Vol #41	Legal forms, agreements, indentures, briefs
	Vol #42	Properties aided, 1927-1936
	Vol #43	Appropriations to Churches by Synods, 1927-1930

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Guide to the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Board of the Church Erection Fund. Records

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