Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
The first Nicholas Helfenstein (later Helverson) in this country was the first undertaker in the family. His two sons, William and Horatio, continued together in the undertaking business until Horatio started his own establishment.
Helverson Funeral Home Coffin Warehouse
The funeral records were given to The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania by descendants of the family. They have been organized into 9 volumes of burial records beginning in 1841, 3 volumes of Lot Books, (some for the Union Harmony Cemetery 1828-1915 and Hanover Burial Ground 1840-1900) and 3 volumes of Account Books of miscellaneous dates.
The Helversons also owned a coffin warehouse at 93 Coates Street, next to their residence and business at 91 Coates Street. These street numbers changed to 227 and 225 Coates Street in 1857. There is more information about the Helverson business and the records at the beginning of volume 1 of the Burial Records.
If you find an entry in the indexes for anyone whom you think may have been an ancestor and would like a copy of the record, please contact GSP at info@genpa.org, with the request as “Copy of Helverson Record” as the subject line of the e-mail.
- Helverson Funeral Home Records Volume 1 – Burials (August 14, 1844 – October 13, 1846)
- Helverson Funeral Home Records Volume 2
- Helverson Funeral Home Records Volume 3
- Helverson Funeral Home Records Volume 4 – Burials (July 16, 1849 – October 3, 1852)
- Helverson Funeral Home Records Volume 5 – Burials (October 6, 1852 – November 17, 1856)
- Helverson Funeral Home Records Volume 6 – Burials (November 18, 1856 – June 10, 1861) and Burials (January 1, 1865 – August 10, 1865)
- Helverson Funeral Home Records Volume 7 – Burials (January 2, 1859 – June 30, 1860) and Burials – Miscellaneous Pages (July 1, 1849, November 1, 1859, 1861, 1864)
- Helverson Funeral Home Records Volume 8 – Burials (January 18, 1860 – July 25, 1872)
- Helverson Funeral Home Records Volume 9 – Burials (January 1, 1885 – December 4, 1895)
- Helverson Funeral Home Records Volume 10 – Lot Holders (Cemetery not named, no dates) and Lot Book – Union Harmony Cemetery (1828 – 1915), Strangers Ground (1828 – 1915), and Hanover Burial Ground (1840 – 1900)
- Helverson Funeral Home Records Volume 11 – Lot Book – Unknown cemeteries, possibly Hanover (pages 1 – 60 missing) and Lot Book with dates
- Helverson Funeral Home Records Volume 12A – Lot Book of Willia S. Helverson Funeral Home Records and Unknown Cemetery Removals Pags 1 thru 213, Strangers Graves Pages 214 thru 222 (Alphabetical List with Part of S and T thru Z missing), and Misc. Lot Book pages with Dates
- Helverson Funeral Home Records Volume 12B – Miscellaneous Lot Book pages with dates
- Helverson Funeral Home Records Volume 13 – Account Book – Nicholas Helverson Funeral Home Records’s Ledger A (July 26, 1834 to August 13, 1844)
- Helverson Funeral Home Records Volume 14A – Account Book (July 26, 1834 to October 4, 1837) Miscellaneous Account Book Pages (September 22, 1835 and April 18, 1831 – 1834)
- Helverson Funeral Home Records Volume 14B – Miscellaneous Account Book Pages (1832 – 1836 – 1837)
- Helverson Funeral Home Records Volume 15 – Account Book (January 1, 1885 to December 29, 1895)