: Born 1 April 1920 in Brooklyn, New York, Thomas Anthony Imhof began birding as a teenager and began banding birds at age 19. He graduated from St. John's University, New York, with a B.S. in biology. Following Army duty during World War II, Imhof entered the Army Reserve, rising to the rank of Lt. Colonel. After the war he was employed as a chemist at U.S. Steel in Fairfield, Alabama, where he retired after 37 years. Thomas was an ornithological hobbyist, but his contributions to public knowledge of the avifauna of the southeastern U.S. and his service to ornithology were of a professional level. Imhof is best known as the author of Alabama Birds, which was first published in 1962, revised in 1976, and supplemented by an update in booklet form in 1984. He was a Regional Editor for Audubon Field Notes and American Birds from 1960 to 1989, a Christmas Bird Count compiler for nearly 50 years, a coordinator of and participant in Breeding Bird Surveys, and a constant advocate for Alabama birds and birders. In recognition of his achievements in ornithology, Tom was awarded an honorary doctorate in science by the University of Alabama in 1984.

Independent Presbyterian Church was established in 1915 by a group who left Birmingham’s South Highland Presbyterian Church to follow the Rev. Henry Edmonds, who had been dismissed from South Highlands following a theological dispute. The new congregation met at the synagogue Temple Emanu-El until their present church building was completed in 1926. Independent Presbyterian instituted a number of social service programs, including the Children’s Fresh Air Farm which opened in 1926. A 1996 fire destroyed all of the church’s buildings except for the sanctuary and the facility was rebuilt. The church had placed it’s records in the Archives of the Birmingham Public Library more than a decade before the fire, and so the church’s archives was spared. Today, Independent Presbyterian has more than 2,500 members. The collection includes minutes of the Session and Board of Deacons, correspondence, sermons, bulletins and other publications, financial records, membership records, scrapbooks and histories of the church.

Minutes of the Inglenook, Alabama Town Council and ordinances passed by the council for the period May 26, 1913 to July 18, 1916, August 1, 1916 to February 5, 1924, and April 1, 1924 to May 17, 1927. Inglenook was annexed into the City of Birmingham.

This collection includes an incomplete set of minutes books for the period 1933 to 1967, receipt books, a daybook and other material.

These membership records include information on individual members and payments of dues.