Genealogy

The way of how genealogical research requests for baptism and marriage register records are handled by Old Saint Joseph’s Church has changed.  Please read the following information below to select the best option for your needs.

If you are seeking a baptism record AFTER February 1963 or a marriage record AFTER January 1, 1974,

• Email your request to our Rectory Office.
• Or call 215-923-1733 a member of the staff will respond promptly to your request at no charge since these records are located at the church.

Please include the following information in your request:

• For baptismal records, give the complete name of the person baptized, the names of parents, and approximate date of birth.
• For marriage records, give the names of the bride and groom, the names of the parents (if known), and the approximate date of the marriage.
• If you are uncertain about your facts, give as much information as you know.

  If you are seeking a baptism record from 1917 to February 1963, or a marriage record from 1917 to January 1, 1974,

• Click here to download and complete the Genealogical Research Form (These requests are answered by the staff of the Archives and Special Collections at Saint Joseph’s University, where the Old Saint Joseph’s Church Archives have been housed since 2009.)

Baptism and marriage register information for Old Saint Joseph’s Church from 1758 to 1917 is now available online through a public/private partnership between the Catholic Historical Research Center of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the genealogical research service FindMyPast. You can search the millions of genealogical records in the FindMyPast database for free, but a membership or “pay as you go” account is required to retrieve a transcript or record copy, if available.  You may want to sign up for a free trial. The service gives you the ability to conduct research beyond the Old Saint Joseph’s Church registers in the Catholic Heritage Archive , which includes available baptism and marriage register information from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.  The resources in FindMyPast may also provide you with other leads in your family research. Requests for baptism and marriage records available through FindMyPast will no longer be accepted for research by Old Saint Joseph’s Church or Archives and Special Collections at Saint Joseph’s University.  However, other questions related to the history of Old Joseph’s Church will continued to be answered.   Other Sources: If you have access to Records of the American Catholic Historical Society, often available in Catholic libraries or local genealogical or historical societies, the following sacramental records of Old St. Joseph’s are published in Volumes I to XVIII, 1884-1907. Baptisms 1758-1810, except 1787-1790 Marriages 1758-1836, except 1787-1799 In addition, the pre-1800 records of Old St. Joseph’s have been published in alphabetical form in Catholic Trails West, Vol. 1, by Edmund Adams and Barbara Brady O’Keefe, Genealogical Publishing Company: Baltimore, 1988.