Lutheran Archives Center at Philadelphia

Lutheran Archives Center at Philadelphia Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Lutheran Archives Center at Philadelphia, Nonprofit Organization, 7301 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA.

The Lutheran Archives Center at Philadelphia, founded in 1792, is the Northeast Regional Archives (Region 7) for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

It’s been two months since we officially launched our Emergency Shelving Fund Campaign. The electrical system has been s...
10/05/2026

It’s been two months since we officially launched our Emergency Shelving Fund Campaign. The electrical system has been stalled for so long that staff members are turning to some . . . unusual methods to access files.

Thanks to your help, we have raised $3,100 to date. We need to raise $25,000 more to make the necessary upgrades to save the shelves and ensure efficient public access to our collections. Help protect Lutheran history (and our intern) and donate to our Emergency Shelving Upgrade Fund today at lutheranarchives.org/donate/shelving-fund.

Join us for a free lecture tomorrow, October 6, at 7 pm by genealogist Jim Beidler on “Turning up the Volume: Using All ...
10/05/2026

Join us for a free lecture tomorrow, October 6, at 7 pm by genealogist Jim Beidler on “Turning up the Volume: Using All Types of Lutheran Church Records in Your Genealogy.”

Genealogists with German-speaking ancestry are familiar with using church registers as vital records substitutes but too many stop with the “low-hanging fruit” of the most common records such as baptisms. New projects such as the Revolutionary City Portal and the Lutheran Archives Center at Philadelphia's digitization project with Ancestry.com are making accessible a wider array of church documents than ever before, adding to what researchers can find about their forebears.

Co-sponsored by the Lutheran Archives Center at Philadelphia

Location: St. Luke's Fellowship Church, 200 W. Main St. Trappe, PA

Cost: Free

October’s almost here, and with it the arrival of sweater weather, pumpkin spice, and best of all, American Archives Mon...
09/29/2026

October’s almost here, and with it the arrival of sweater weather, pumpkin spice, and best of all, American Archives Month. Interested in knowing more about what exactly an archivist is responsible for, how our collections are organized and maintained, or how research requests are managed? Starting next month, our archivists will respond weekly to questions from followers about their responsibilities and how things work behind the scenes. If you have a question you’d like to ask our staff, add it to the comments below!

On September 23, 1742, the ship Georgia Packet landed in Charleston, South Carolina, carrying the German native and Luth...
09/23/2026

On September 23, 1742, the ship Georgia Packet landed in Charleston, South Carolina, carrying the German native and Lutheran pastor Henry Melchior Muhlenberg. He would spend the rest of his life in America formally organizing the Lutheran Church, though he maintained correspondence with friends and family back in Germany, as well as his mentors at the Francke Foundations in Halle.

We don’t know exactly what Muhlenberg brought with him on his journey to America, besides “necessary supplies” and some medicines. Over the next few decades, he often received more medicines, books, and other supplies from his benefactors abroad. His glass mug, pictured below, is thought to be of German origin. The silver lid on top is engraved with floral decoration and Muhlenberg's initials. Perhaps he brought it with him from Europe when he emigrated in 1742, or received it from a friend abroad at a later date.

Henry Muhlenberg's glass mug is currently on loan to , along with many other objects and manuscripts from the collection of the Lutheran Archives Center. Visit Dewees Tavern now through February 2028 to see it on display as part of the exhibition Window to Revolution: Pennsylvania Germans and the War for Independence.

On September 22, 1777, Henry Muhlenberg learned that the American army was camped in the Trappe area:“Beginning last mid...
09/22/2026

On September 22, 1777, Henry Muhlenberg learned that the American army was camped in the Trappe area:

“Beginning last midnight the whole American army returned and encamped about a mile above our house because it was reported that the British were crossing the Schulkiel and coming out at our house and that the battle would take place in this neighborhood. Early in the morning Henrich Mühlenberg’s [his son, Henry Jr.] parents-in-law, together with wife, child, and maid, drove off for New Hannover with their wagon and horses. But they were not able to get through the army and had to make a detour. My son Henrich set out for Philadelphia and stayed behind with my wife to await what divine providence had decreed for us. The British did not cross the Schulkiel, and at two o’clock in the afternoon the American army broke camp and proceeded towards New Hannover, as far as my son Friedrich’s dwelling place. Accordingly the British have an open way to Philadelphia and can reach the city in a very short time. The wind is uncommonly cold and biting today. This, together with the equinoctial season and the other circumstances, has upset me. All day hungry and thirsty soldiers, etc. have been stopping in and calling on us.”

This excerpt is from “The Journals of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, Volume 3,” translated by Theodore G. Tappert and John W. Doberstein, 1958. This and additional volumes are available for research at Historic Trappe’s Center for Pennsylvania German Studies in the Dewees Tavern, and the original handwritten journals are preserved by the Lutheran Archives Center at Philadelphia.

Join us for a free lecture on Tuesday, October 6, at 7 pm by genealogist Jim Beidler on “Turning up the Volume: Using Al...
09/22/2026

Join us for a free lecture on Tuesday, October 6, at 7 pm by genealogist Jim Beidler on “Turning up the Volume: Using All Types of Lutheran Church Records in Your Genealogy.”

Genealogists with German-speaking ancestry are familiar with using church registers as vital records substitutes but too many stop with the “low-hanging fruit” of the most common records such as baptisms. New projects such as the Revolutionary City Portal and the Lutheran Archives Center at Philadelphia's digitization project with Ancestry.com are making accessible a wider array of church documents than ever before, adding to what researchers can find about their forebears.

Co-sponsored by the Archives Center at Philadelphia

Location: St. Luke's Fellowship Church, 200 W. Main St. Trappe, PA

Cost: Free

Calling all genealogists! Join us on October 6 for an evening with award-winning author and researcher Jim Beidler. He w...
09/08/2026

Calling all genealogists! Join us on October 6 for an evening with award-winning author and researcher Jim Beidler. He will discuss the types of Lutheran church records useful for tracking German ancestry, going beyond “low-hanging fruit” like baptismal and burial records to explore additional types of resources. Hosted in partnership with Historic Trappe, this free lecture will also highlight the latest resources available to researchers today, including digital resources like the Revolutionary City Portal and our digitization project with Ancestry.com.

The lecture will take place from 7-8 pm at St. Luke’s Church at 200 West Main Street in Trappe, PA. No registration or admission fee required. Refreshments will be served and books will be available to purchase.

Join us for the first installment of our fall lecture series on Tuesday, September 15, at 7 pm, with “Moravians in the A...
09/07/2026

Join us for the first installment of our fall lecture series on Tuesday, September 15, at 7 pm, with “Moravians in the American Revolution,” by Scott Paul Gordon!

The American Revolution put Pennsylvania’s Moravians in a tough place. They wanted to remain neutral, but Patriots demanded that they choose a side and threatened to seize all their property if they didn’t. When military forces—troops on the move, prisoners, injured soldiers—occupied Bethlehem (“engulfed” the small community, according to Bethlehem's leader John Ettwein), Moravians had no choice but to transform the way they lived. Their communities survived these dangerous times but, as this talk will explore, the Revolution permanently transformed Bethlehem.

Location: St. Luke's Fellowship Church, 200 W. Main St. Trappe, PA

Cost: FREE

Visit HistoricTrappe.org for more info

Happy 315th birthday to Reverend Henry Muhlenberg! To celebrate, enjoy this special birthday edition of our “From the Jo...
09/06/2026

Happy 315th birthday to Reverend Henry Muhlenberg! To celebrate, enjoy this special birthday edition of our “From the Journals” series.

On September 6, 1781, Henry Muhlenberg turned 70 years old, but life, and the Revolutionary War, kept marching forward:

“Today it is seventy years since I was born. I am amazed when I ponder the love, goodness, grace, mercy, patience, longsuffering, and forbearance which the Lord and Savior for His name’s sake has showed toward me, most unworthy and most unprofitable worm, in all these years! … Received a note from Frederick A Muhlenberg dated September 4…reporting that the French corps arrived in Philadelphia on September 3 under the command of His Excellency George Washington and Count Rochambeau, that the French fleet is outside on the coast, and that Nathaniel Brown has paid his ground rent, Engelfried intends to pay, and Roe and Weiss have not yet paid. Also received the English and German newspapers.

This excerpt is from “The Journals of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, Volume 3,” translated by Theodore G. Tappert and John W. Doberstein, 1958. This and additional volumes are available for research at Historic Trappe’s Center for Pennsylvania German Studies in the Dewees Tavern, and the original handwritten journals are preserved by the Lutheran Archives Center at Philadelphia.

On September 6, we have cause to highlight both Henry and Mary Muhlenberg, a husband and wife who laid the foundations f...
09/06/2026

On September 6, we have cause to highlight both Henry and Mary Muhlenberg, a husband and wife who laid the foundations for the Lutheran Church in America. Reverend Henry Muhlenberg was born in Einbeck, Germany, on this day in 1711. He arrived in America less than three weeks after his thirty-first birthday and spent the rest of his life working to build a church from the ground up; traveling constantly between scattered congregations and leading them through burgeoning times of war and political upheaval.

National Pastor’s Spouse Day also falls on September 6 this year, and Henry did not do all of the above alone. Following his immigration to the American colonies, he married Anna Maria Weiser in 1745. Known to her family as Mary, she frequently acted as Henry’s proxy in his absence and maintained a household that German Lutherans looked to as a spiritual and moral example. Together, the couple ensured the Lutheran Church in America would continue to grow beyond their lifetimes.

Image: Signatures of Henry and Mary Muhlenberg on a deed dated 1749.

Address

7301 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia, PA
19119

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 5pm
Tuesday 10am - 5pm
Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 10am - 5pm

Telephone

(215) 248-6383

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