According to the Historical Directory of Presbyterian Churches and Presbyteries of Greater Philadelphia: Related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and its Antecedents, 1690-1990, by Kenneth A. Hammonds, the First Reformed Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was organized in 1798 by the Reformed Presbyterian Church denomination. Samuel B. Wylie served as its pastor from 1803 to 1852.  In 1868, the congregation split. Part continued as First Reformed Presbyterian Church, and part left the Reformed Presbyterian denomination and continued as an independent ministry until 1885, when it united with the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. under the name Wylie Memorial Presbyterian Church. Chambers Church was created when members of Ninth Presbyterian Church affirmed their call to the minister John Chambers and took the name First Independent Church of Philadelphia. Chambers-Wylie Memorial Presbyterian Church was organized in 1897 through the uniting of the Wylie Memorial Presbyterian Church and Chambers Church/First Independent Church of Philadelphia. In 1948, a trial merger was proposed between the First, Second, and Chambers-Wylie Memorial Presbyterian Churches in Philadelphia. While First and Second united, after the initial trial period the Chambers-Wylie Memorial Presbyterian Church remained separate. The congregation was dissolved in 2000.  

The society holds records of the Chambers-Wylie Presbyterian Church and its predecessors, some of which contain genealogical information: 

• Chambers-Wylie Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, Pa.  Records, 1789-1939.  4.50 cubic feet, includes minutes, register, baptisms, manuals, and financial records. (Call number: Archives 95 1027)
   
• First Reformed Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, Pa. Records, 1858-1905. Includes session minutes, 1868-1905, and trustees records, (Call number: Archives 03 1127m)
   
• Chambers-Wylie Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, Pa.  Records, 1977-2000. Includes; Session minutes, 1990-1996, Church Register including Baptisms, 1977-2000, and Marriages, 1978-1998, Trustees minutes, 1986-1991. (Call number: Archives 06 0721a)

The society holds the following records on microfilm which may contain genealogical information:

• Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America. Presbytery and congregation records microform. Reel 2 includes Philadelphia, Pa. First Reformed Presbyterian Church, 1833-1952. (Call number: MFPOS. 423 r. 2)

If you are interested in borrowing the microfilm, please have the interlibrary loan (ILL) librarian at your local public or academic library contact us directly to submit the request on your behalf. We accept ILL requests by letter, email and fax. We loan a maximum of three reels per request for a four-week loan period. We charge a fee of $20.00 per reel, plus $5.00 for shipping. This material will be held on reserve for you and may only be used within the borrowing library. Please provide your ILL librarian with the catalog information provided above when making your request. Please tell the ILL librarian that requests cannot come from OCLC (Online Computer Library Center, Inc.) because we are not listed as a borrowing institution.

The Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU) has microfilmed the First Reformed Presbyterian Church’s records, and they are available through the Family History Centers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  To use the microfilm, you may visit their website, www.familysearch.com, and search for a center near you.

It is the policy of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to restrict access to all official records on deposit at the Presbyterian Historical Society that are less than 50 years old.  This restriction applies at the national, middle governing body, and congregation level.  We administer this restriction in order to protect the rights and privacy of the records’ creators/owners and the privacy rights of the individuals mentioned in the records.  If researchers want to access official records less than 50 years old, we require that they secure written permission from the records’ owners.

Note that the society also holds publications, treasurer’s records, correspondence, charters, photographs and miscellaneous records for Chambers-Wylie Memorial Presbyterian Church and predecessors, which do not contain genealogical information.