Answer: Genealogy.

Gilbert Cope (1840-1928) was born in East Bradford Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. He attended the Friend's School in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and later the Westtown Friends' Boarding School. When he was 17, he focused his efforts on genealogical research, compiling his family’s data and publishing some of his early works. Gilbert Cope married Anna Garrett (1849-1918) in 1880 and constructed a house on North Church Street in West Chester, Pennsylvania, which also housed his growing genealogical and historical collection. Anna and Gilbert had three children: Herman, Joseph, and Ellen.

Cope was one of the founders of the Chester County Historical Society and served it as secretary, director, and honorary director. He was a member of the Friends’ Historical Association and a corresponding member of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and the New England Historic Genealogical Society. In 1912, he was elected an honorary member of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania and became one of its honorary vice presidents in 1924.

Gilbert’s son Joseph (1886-1983) continued his father’s work, augmenting the Cope family’s genealogy and those of other prominent families. Today, the bulk of the Gilbert's and Joseph's genealogical and family history records can be readily accessed at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. These records contain not only information on the Cope family but also that of hundreds of other families both related and unrelated. The Chester County Historical Society also has a sizeable Cope collection that contains a variety of material relating to the history and people of the county.

Gilbert Cope's vast collection of family history records that he gave to the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania are available for research at HSP. Also open for research is the Gilbert and Joseph Cope papers (GSP041), which consists of genealogical research and personal papers compiled by Cope and his son Joseph.