Appendix F of Ministers of the PBA

The American Baptist Historical Society was organized at the Spruce Street Baptist Church on the evening of May 5, 1853. Appendix F in Ministers of the Philadelphia Baptist Association gives an account of its formation and stated purpose. One such purpose was the "collecting and preserving [of] all documents elucidating our denominational history, and publishing such papers and volumes as throw light upon the rise and growth of Baptist churches, and the progress of Baptist principles throughout the Union." 

The picture is of the American Baptist Publication Society, 118 Arch Street, Philadelphia, at the time the Historical Society was formed.