Early Clergy of Pennsylvania and Delaware, S. F. Hotchkin, 1890 - Chapter 18, Early Clergy of Delaware Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Judy Banja and Sally Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/pafiles.htm ________________________________________________ EARLY CLERGY OF PENNSYLVANIA AND DELAWARE. BY REV. S. F. HOTCHKIN, M.A. Author of The Mornings of the Bible, History of Germantown, &c. P. W. ZIEGLER & CO., PUBLISHERS, NO. 720 CHESTNUT STREET, PHILADELPHIA, PA. 1890 Copyright, 1890, by Rev. S. F. Hotchkin. NOTE: Use URL: http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/1pa/1picts/hotchkin/early-clergy.htm to access other chapters. EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 234 CHAPTER XVIII. EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE.* THE Historical Collections of Bishop Perry relating to the American Colonial Church contain one volume on Delaware. The Rev. Dr. Francis L. Hawks, the Historiographer of the American Church, was sent to England to secure copies and originals of records which have been "carefully followed" as is stated in Bishop Perry's work, which may be seen in the Library of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. The references in this book add much to its value, and show the pains which the distinguished writer has taken in his task. I shall select and condense this narrative as to the earliest days of the church in this diocese, and the Bishop says the early writings "give minutely a vivid description of the growth both of the outward fabric and the Spiritual Temple of the Church of Delaware." The reports of the Missionaries of the Venerable Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts are the basis of the volume, and we can never be too grateful to England for her fostering care of her distant sons, and we ought to return the favor by sending out missionaries to places yet destitute of the blessed Gospel. ____ *A lecture delivered before the Church Club of Delaware composed of laymen, under the Presidency of E. Tatnall Warner, Frank G. du Pont being Secretary. EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 235 In A.D., 1706, Rev. Thomas Crawford reports from Dover Hundred, in Kent County, that he is gathering Quakers into the church, baptizing whole families of them. His church was full on Sundays. He visited Sussex County, and "preached several times where," he writes, "I find a people mighty civil, and a great many well inclined to the Church," and the gentlemen, at his request, asked the Bishop of London, who was in charge of this country, "for a minister." Mr. Crawford wrote Rev. Mr. Stubbs that he preached at "Captain Hil's house, then at Lewistown, and on a third time in another place." The people were about to build a church. "Fifty or sixty miles riding" were then needed to reach the point from the clergyman's home. The residents of Lower Delaware knew what long drives meant for generations before the railways came, and good Bishop Lee used to drive his two ponies around on his early visitations. He resided at first in Georgetown. Mr. Crawford said that he lived "in the country where no ships come, and under a hundred miles scarce can have a letter delivered or put on board of any vessel." Compare the daily papers now running every morning into the country districts. This earnest missionary held services in three places regularly on Sundays. He sometimes taught the Negroes at the church porch. In the old country let us remember that the church porch was a place where early schools were held, and true education should lead into the Church of God. In 1708 Rev. Thomas Jenkins writes from New Castle, Pa. In Penn's day Delaware was a part of Pennsylvania, though any one who reads the early history of the province can see that there was much friction in the endeavor to make "The three lower EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 236 counties," as Delaware was styled, work with the three upper counties of Philadelphia, Bucks and Chester, which then constituted Pennsylvania. Mr. Jenkins was eleven weeks in sailing from Portsmouth, England, to Virginia, where a boat was hired to go to Bohemia Landing, in Maryland. Colonel Evans, the Governor of Pennsylvania, was at Bohemia when the missionary arrived. New Castle is described by this English clergyman as "formerly a place of great trade," still owning some vessels, and mostly inhabited by merchants. There were hundreds of church people in town and country. Mr. Jenkins died the next year. In 1710-11 Rev. Robert Sinclare is in charge of "New Castle on Delaware," as he prettily writes it. He notes the coming into the church of over twenty Quakers, and many others, so that the Holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper received more worthy partakers. The church at New Castle he calls "a stately fabrick." He returned to England in 1712. In 1713 Rev. Jacob Henderson was missionary at New Castle. He became a commissary in Maryland, and was prominent. In 1729 White Clay Creek Parish, known as St. James's, states that it contains sixty or seventy Church of England families, and is repairing its church. Rev. Mr. Campbell had served them for a time. They ask for a missionary. In 1732 Rev. William Becket states that he has instructed over a thousand people, and ridden so far that two horses were needed to further his work. He preached and prayed and catechised, and administered the Holy Communion and Holy Baptism "with good success," as he expresses it. He calls Lewes "a small seaport on the mouth of the great river Delaware, where all European goods are EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 237 generally sold at near 200 per cent. advance on Sterling," and remarks that the clergyman was often obliged charitably "to maintain shipwrecked and distressed people," as well as gentlemen and strangers, specially those "of the Communion of the Church of England." In 1739 he reports an agreement to finish the interior of the church at Lewes, which has stood unfinished seventeen years. Humphrey's History of the Propagation Society notices the work of this zealous missionary. Rev. Dr. David Humphreys was the secretary of the society. The diligent Mr. Becket, in 1721 notes the finishing of the Lewes church, and of two country churches also. The buildings could not contain the hearers, and the people readily rode twenty miles to church. In one year Mr. Becket baptized eighty-two, twelve being adults; and in one day, in Kent County, where they had no minister for their new church, he baptized twenty-one, six being adults. The people were zealous. Major Patrick Gordon, Governor of Pennsylvania, describes Mr. Becket as "a man of sober good character." While Lord Baltimore and the heirs of Penn were contending about the ownership of Delaware, Becket suggests that many people think it belongs to the Crown, and that his Majesty should grant it to the Society to carry on its work, and that there should be a suffragan bishop. This would indeed have given the Propagation Society sufficient means for active work. Mr. Becket was appointed missionary by the society in 1721, having the whole of Sussex County under his care, being fifty miles long, and twenty broad. He was a diligent and successful laborer in the vineyard of the Lord. The magistrates and gentlemen thanked him for reforming blasphemers and the drunkard by his faithful EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 238 ministry. There was an increase of those who loved and honored the church, and were blessed by her Holy Sacraments and heavenly worship. Three years after he commenced his work three churches had been built, not one of which could hold the crowd of worshipers who came up to the House of the Lord. Five years later a fourth church arose in the forest. In 1741 he had been twenty years at work, and his people were steadfast. The next year, when his labors were closing, one of his last letters to the Society speaks of his four churches as full on Sundays and holidays, and in summer, when they could not hold the congregations, he was "often obliged to preach under the green trees for room, for shade, and for fresh air," as he strikingly expresses it. This is noted in the valuable History of the Church of England in the Colonies, by the Rev. James S. M. Anderson, one of the Queen's chaplains. True Christianity increased under Becket, and his work was abiding. Watson's Annals of Philadelphia refer to a manuscript book by Mr. Becket, which states that he was born in Cheshire, and went from London to Lewistown. This clergyman wrote several poems. Watson also notes that Deputy Governor Thomas Lloyd, of Pennsylvania, sent his youngest daughters from Philadelphia to Lewistown to finish their school life in an early period of the history of this country. This shows a cultured institution in the little town. In 1733 Rev. George Frazer writes that Dover has only "about fifteen or sixteen families" in the place. He preached in the Court House, and a subscription was started "to build a new brick church." The old wooden one was in a ruinous state. In 1734 he states that the walls of the church are completed, and the church would have been covered if the one who undertook the work had not died. EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 239 In 1740 Rev. Arthur Usher reports an increasing congregation at Dover, and the finishing of the church, and the beginning of "two wooden chapels." In 1745 he notes the flourishing condition of the Sussex County Churches under his care. On Sundays they were fully attended. He served four churches, officiating at Dover once a month. He labored twelve years in Delaware. In 1748 the Dover Church wardens refer to the death of Rev. Mr. Morris. Some time before he had been a Missionary in Connecticut, and he is noticed in Rev. Dr. Beardsley's History of the Connecticut Church. Rev. Thomas Bluett, of Dover, in 1748, mentions a sickness so that two, three, or four, or more would die every day; and the church-yard would see from one to two or three daily burials. A Public Fast was observed, and the clergyman preached to the greatest audience he had seen since he came to the place. A rumor that Don Pedro, a famous Havana Privateer, would again infest the coasts with many vessels also caused much terror. In 1761 the Rev. Mr. Inglis, afterward Bishop of Nova Scotia, reports from Dover that St. Peter's Church at Duck Creek is "too small for the congregation," so that many could not get within it. The people intended to replace the wooden building with a larger one of brick. Duck Creek was fifteen miles from Dover. The church at Mispillion had been enlarged. In 1761 Rev. AEneas Ross, son of Rev. George Ross, in writing from New Castle, describes St. James's Chapel, Stanton, as out of repair, and states that the congregation proposes to build a new church at Newport, expecting one missionary to serve both places. In 1765 Bishop Inglis says that he had persuaded the EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 240 Congregation at Cedar Creek Church to build a new church, as the old wooden one was decayed. They planned a brick church with galleries. On the fifth of April, 1766, occurred a sad event which was long remembered in the history of our mission. Owing to the want of a bishop in this country, Rev. Messrs. Giles and Wilson went to England for ordination, and in returning were drowned off the coast of Delaware on that day. Mr. Wilson was a nephew of another missionary, the Rev. Hugh Neil. In writing from New York in 1766, Bishop Inglis mentions their sad death. The Dover Mission was to have been divided between them, making two separate missions out of one. In 1767 Rev. Dr. Samuel Magaw reports "large, regular and attentive" congregations at Dover. Dr. Magaw was afterward rector of St. Paul's Church, Philadelphia. In 1771 this gentleman writes, "The members of our Church are more numerous than those of any other denomination in this county." He speaks of their piety and zeal. According to Watson's account from Becket's manuscript, in 1728, the church people in Sussex County largely exceeded in number those of other religious beliefs. In 1773 Rev. Mr. Lyon writes that he is to leave Sussex and go to Virginia. He had baptized many children and a number of adults. Colored people were among those baptized. In 1729 Rev. Walter Hacket took charge of Apoquiniminck. He "appears to have officiated quietly and successfully," according to Bishop Perry's account. Humphreys and Anderson notice his work, and Dr. Dorr, in his Early History of the Church, appended to his History of Christ Church, Philadelphia, quotes Humphreys about him. He was inducted into a Maryland parish. The clergy often went to Maryland EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 241 from Pennsylvania in early days. The establishment of the Church there gave them better support. There were no bishops at hand to arrange such matters. Rev. George Craig thought that there should be two bishops, one for our American colonies and the other for Canada. The case of Rev. Philip Reading is a representative one in the Revolutionary days and other English clergy had like experiences. In war the strongest passions are roused, but now we can realize that many good men felt bound by their ordination oaths, and honestly refrained from advancing what they thought a rebellion. At the Convention of 1760 Mr. Reading reports from Apoquiniminck, now Middletown, that the Church of England congregation was "prior to any other religious denomination whatever." The people were "remarkable for a regular devout behaviour in time of Divine Service. The ordinances of religion were in great esteem among them." The Liturgy was greatly valued, "and the celebration of the Lord's Supper attended by a good number of devout, serious communicants." In 1765 he expects a new church to be built. A family has given ground for a church and graveyard, and a gentleman has promised to oversee the building; and over five hundred pounds were subscribed in a few days, which Mr. Reading thought would be increased. For a time this missionary had charge of St. Augustine parish on Bohemia Manor, as was the case in later times in the rectorship of Rev. Robert L. Goldsborough. That parish is in Cecil County, Maryland. In 1760 Mr. Reading had reported to Archbishop Secker. He wrote a long and touching letter to the Secretary of the Propagation Society on August 25th, 1776, as to his troubles in the new government, as he was not able in conscience to violate his ordination vows, and omit to pray for the EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 242 King and Royal Family. He describes the weeping of the congregation when he told them that the church would be shut for six weeks, and then he "would administer the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper." The church was accordingly closed. The faithful parson busied himself with the Catechetical and parochial offices of his mission. He intended to be diligent in these things. He had labored thirty years for the society. The Protestant Episcopal Historical Society Collections state that this worthy man was licensed as missionary for Pennsylvania, on the seventh of April, 1746. In 1777 the Fulham Register records him as "dead." The weary one was at rest. The clergy list of the General Convention Manuscripts of 1777 also marks him as "dead." He removed to Maryland. The Rev. Mr. Hawkins's Notices of English Missions has some account of Mr. Reading. In Dr. Dorr's Christ Church we observe that on May 20th, 1761, the minutes in Bishop White's papers show that Mr. Reading was one of the twelve clergy who appeared at the annual convention of the clergy in Philadelphia. He was appointed with the president of the convention, Dr. William Smith, to wait on the Governor, who assured them of "his countenance and protection at all times." Mr. Reading was appointed as the preacher of the next annual sermon before the Convention, and Rev. William Sturgeon, the assistant minister of Christ Church, Philadelphia, was his substitute. Rev. Mr. Inglis of Dover, was also at this convention. Christ Church was then the only Episcopal Church in Philadelphia. Twelve clergy were a large number for that day, as Dr. Dorr says, but now four dioceses exist in what was then one organization, as Delaware was joined with Pennsylvania. Let us thank God and take courage. EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 243 In 1781 Rev. Samuel Tingley, of Sussex County, mourns over his dire troubles in Revolutionary times, as one loyal to England. He remarks that several thousand baptisms have taken place in his mission during the six years preceding his last report, including "many blacks from sixty years to two months old." The Rev. George Ross finds a fitting notice in the invaluable Annals of the Episcopal Clergy by the indefatigable Rev. Dr. Sprague, in a note to the sketch of the Rev. Evan Evans, the laborious rector of Christ Church, Philadelphia. He was sent by the Society to New Castle, Delaware, (then Pennsylvania), in 1705. He afterward had charge of Chester. He went to England, and in returning was taken prisoner by a French man-of-war in 1711, and carried to Brest, stripped of his clothes and inhumanly treated. After his release he returned to Chester, and afterward to New Castle. He went with the Provincial Governor, Sir William Keith, through Kent and Sussex, and in a week baptized one hundred and two persons. The remainder of his life was spent in New Castle. In 1752 he wrote the society that he was in the forty-third year of his mission, and the seventy-third of his life and in poor health, and this might be his last address to the society, whose favors he heartily acknowledged, begging pardon for failings, and blessing God for the services which he had been by His grace permitted to perform in propagating Christianity according to the worship of the Church of England. It had lately pleased God to call to Himself his worthy servant to receive his reward for his pious labors to the great loss of the church at New Castle, as the Society Reports for 1754 and 1755 declare, so he did not live long after that letter was written. The reports of Mr. Ross show that many places needed the "ministry EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 244 of the Word," and there were few missionaries, so that the workers were in danger of exhaustion in enduring the heat of the day, and the necessary travels. The harvest was indeed great. The Church increased wonderfully in opposition. When the friends left their own body they generally came to the church missionaries for baptisms, not to dissenters. They still love our quiet ways, even our bench of bishops has been reinforced from that quarter. Mr. Reading endeavored to promote family prayer. He used to visit families on Sunday evenings, and hold service, and recommend the master of the family to continue the custom. The missionary would make practical remarks on the Second Lesson. Dissenters were drawn to these services. Mr. Reading claimed to be loyal to King George. Mr. Humphreys and himself were at one time the only missionaries in Pennsylvania, as Mr. Talbot was "of a distinct government," being at Burlington, New Jersey. Governor Keith commends Mr. Ross's "capacity, pious exemplary life, and great industry." Governor P. Gordon wrote to the Bishop of London that he was "a very sober, good man." This devoted missionary finds notice in Bishop Perry's Historical Collections on Maryland, as well as in those of Delaware. His son, AEneas Ross, was rector of Trinity Church, Oxford, Philadelphia, and afterward succeeded Aaron Cleveland, an ancestor of Bishop Coxe, as rector of New Castle. The Rev. Charles Inglis has been mentioned as present at a Philadelphia Convention. The plaint of Mr. Thomas Barton, a faithful Pennsylvania missionary, at his isolation indicates the need of such gatherings when "as iron sharpeneth iron" friends excite each other to good works. Mr. Inglis held Dover Mission which EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 245 covered Kent County, and he served three churches. The church at Dover had been repaired handsomely; and the churches were crowded on Sundays, and people constantly asked for the tracts of the society. The number of communicants increased. Sprague's Annals gives us the means of sketching the life of this missionary. That refers to Dr. Berrian's History of Trinity Church, New York, and is enriched by a manuscript from Judge Halliburton. Rev. Charles Inglis was the son of Rev. Archibald Inglis of Glen and Kilcarr, Ireland. He was born about 1733. His grandfather, and it is believed, his great-grandfather, were ministers of the Established Church. This descendant of a priestly race came to America early in life, and taught school in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He had been ordained by the Bishop of London. His work at Dover was commenced in 1759. The church there was much invigorated by him. He married Miss Vining, who died in 1764. In 1765 he became assistant to the Rev. Dr. Auchmuty, rector of Trinity Church, New York, and Catechist to the Negroes. In six years in Delaware he baptized seven hundred and fifty-six children, and twenty-three adults. The communicants were more than doubled. The University of Oxford gave Mr. Inglis the Doctorate in Divinity. In 1776 Trinity Church was burned in a fire which broke out in the city, while this clergyman was connected with the parish. Dr. Auchmuty died in 1777, and Mr. Inglis was chosen rector. The vestry speak of him as, "universally esteemed for his exemplary life." The Bishop of London notes his "eminent abilities," and piety. In taking the rectorship of Trinity Church after the fire he laid his hands on the ruined walls, thus strikingly assuming his duty. Bishop Coxe sings of the demolished and rebuilt church: EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 246 "And so till good Queen Anna reign'd, It was a heathen sward: But then they made its virgin turf An altar to the Lord. With holy roof they covered it; And when Apostles came, They claimed, for Christ, its battlements, And took it, in God's Name." When the stones had risen from the dust, the foundations laid "with sapphires," he thus salutes the new church, which still stands to the glory of God: "Dear cross! hold fast they height in air: Stand ever wide, blest door! And ever crowd, ye faithful, there, High, lowly, rich and poor! Sweet bells! ring ever your glad sound, And let its message be Ho! ye that thirst - here Christ is found, And here His home is free." As the Rev. Mr. Inglis was a royalist he resigned Trinity Church in 1783, and soon afterward went to Nova Scotia where thousands of royalists, including many of his friends, had gone. He became the Bishop of Nova Scotia in 1787, being the first Colonial Bishop of the English Church. At first Canada and New Brunswick were also under his care. He died at Halifax, in 1816, being about eighty-two years old. His second wife was Miss Creek, daughter of John Creek, of New York. One of her sons, John Inglis, succeeded his father as Bishop of Nova Scotia. Hon. Chief Justice Brenton Halliburton married the oldest daughter of Bishop Charles Inglis, while the youngest daughter married Rev. George Pidgeon, rector of Frederickton, and afterwards of St. John's, New Brunswick. The Bishop published sermons on the deaths of EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 247 Rev. Doctors Ogilvie and Auchmuty. In St. Paul's Church, Halifax, there are monuments to both the bishops. The son erected the one to his father, recounting his success in church work. Judge Hailiburton describes the elder bishop as having an intelligent countenance, and of "light and active" figure. His manners were gentlemanly, and he was cheerful, and a good conversationalist. He was fond of his library, and delighted to instruct his children. In winter evenings he would read from Prideaux, and other "instructive authors." That old-fashioned custom of reading aloud was useful; would that it might come into use again. The Bishop was powerful as a preacher, and severe upon indifference. He enforced Christian doctrine with energy, and insisted on good works as a result of faith. As the first bishop of a British colony he had peculiar difficulties, which he prudently met with patience, impressing his character on his diocese. He had labored at one time as a Missionary among the Mohawk Indians, finding in Sir William Johnson a counsellor and aider, as I find noted from Anderson's History of the English Colonial Missions. He went to England in 1783, and four years after was consecrated Bishop of Nova Scotia. Of late Dr. Courtney has been called from work in the United States to the Episcopate of Nova Scotia. The father of Rev. Dr. E. Y. Higbee, of Trinity Church, New York, was at one time rector of St. George's, Dagsboro. Rev. Nathan Kingsbury followed him and kept a young ladies' school at Georgetown, and officiated at St. George's Chapel, Indian River Hundred, and at St. Peter's, Lewistown. He instructed the people thoroughly in church principles. After the death of his second wife, Ann Burton, he returned to New EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 248 York, where his children lived. Rev. Charles E. Pleasants followed him. This amiable gentleman was much beloved. Lewes and St. George's Chapel were under his care. After Rev. John Linn McKim, who succeeded Mr. Pleasants, resigned, Rev. John Reynolds took up work in Sussex County. He had been an English Wesleyan, and was of large size, and an earnest and excitable preacher, drawing crowds to church. Rev. Mr. Whitesides, who married a sister of Dr. Klapp, of Philadelphia, officiated for a time in Sussex County. The Rev. Walter E. Franklin, who lived at Georgetown, made a pleasant impression on his flock. He was afterward rector at Newark. In reading the reports of the early English missionaries, the work among the Negroes occupies an important place, and Rev. Dr. Childs had a special monthly service for the colored people at Lewes. Bishop Lee took much interest in the work at St. Andrew's among this class; would that the diocese could in some way have an organized effort to reach them. Rev. Gideon J. Burton, the descendant of Rev. Mr. Cotton, a Church of England missionary to Accomac County, Virginia, has given me some notes to guide these reminiscences of Sussex County. Rev. Greenbury W. Ridgely once told me of Mount Moriah Church, Black Swamp, where a graveyard remained to mark the site of a church. These old sites should be marked with a stone cross that the passer-by might breathe a prayer, and think of bygone days as he looked on the symbol of salvation. In summer time a service should be held annually at such spots, like the open air meetings of Bishop Lay, of Easton, and, perhaps, through the thin vail between earth and Paradise, the clergy and laity of the elder day might look down EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 249 and join in the worship, thankful they were not forgotten. The graves of the old churchyards should be faithfuly guarded, especially those of the clergy. In the advance of population perhaps the old sites may again be found fit places for churches or chapels, and the children praise God where their fathers lifted up their voices in humble adoration and devout thanksgiving. The Rev. John Leighton McKim writes me that St. Paul's Church, in Georgetown was built during the incumbency of Rev. William L. Gibson, though the church was dedicated on St. Paul's Day, in 1806 by Rev. Hamilton Bell. In 1844 a new brick church was consecrated, which had been built under the rectorship of Rev. John Linn McKim, the father of the writer, who is now rector of his father's former parish. The last-named building was beautifully rebuilt, in Gothic style with a tower, in the rectorship of Rev. Benjamin Douglass in 1881. Mr. Douglass also erected a chapel. In the rectorship of Rev. James C. Kerr, in 1885, the interior of the church was improved, and a pipe organ procured. The Rev. John Foreman is one of the rectors named who has not received notice in this sketch. In 1868 Rev. Charles D. Allen held the parish a year in connection with Lewes. Dr. J. Thomas Scharf's History of Delaware contains interesting information as to the Sussex County Churches in the second volume, while the Rev. Benjamin J. Douglass's narrative of Christ Church, Broad Creek, in that volume, will now aid these notes. Those of you who have visited that fine and well preserved wooden building, which has stood for generations, know how attractive the spot is. Rev. Hamilton Bell is buried near the chancel of this ancient house of God. He was vividly remembered by the aged people of the neighborhood, and crowded congregations attested his power. EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 250 He founded St. John's Church, Little Hill, which was a colony of Christ Church. He was rector of Stepney Parish, Maryland, which included Christ Church. He died in 1811. He was called "Old Parson Bell," after his death, apparently because of the passage of time since that event, as he was only twenty-nine when he laid off his armor, and entered on his reward. The mention of St. John's Church, calls up a later name, that of my friend Rev. William R. Ellis, who for twenty years faithfully served this parish, and that of St. Mark's, Millsboro'. He died in 1887. He was a commendable student in the Philadelphia Divinity School, and returned to his native home to do His Master's work until that Master called him to a higher home. In riding around the lower part of Delaware years ago to view the churches, with Rev. Robert L. Goldsborough, I was much struck with the fine old wooden church known as Prince George's Chapel, Dagsborough, which by its name recalls English days. It was built under St. Martin's Parish, Snow Hill, Maryland. Dagsborough takes its appellation from General John Dagworthy, a Revolutionary hero who is buried under the chancel of this church, according to an ancient custom. He had a stately mansion, which was approached by an avenue of trees, and he was a very large land owner. Mrs. Hickman had the Church Bible of Prince George's Chapel, which was published in London in A.D. 1750, by Thomas Baskett. Stepney Parish, in Maryland, which was so closely associated in old times with what is now Delaware had Rev. John Hewitt as rector in 1685, while Rev. George Trotter, and the "venerable servant of God," as Mr. Douglass styles him, Rev. Samuel Adams were once EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 251 rectors. Rev. John Scott held that post at the Revolution and Rev. William Skelley afterwards. From 1820 to 1829 Bishop Stone, of Maryland, held Stepney Parish, and ministered at Christ Church, Broad Creek. Until 1765 this region was a part of Maryland, but when the boundary line was settled it was found to belong to Delaware. Rev. Joseph Glover, an English clergyman, who had been transferred to the American Church, labored at Christ Church, Seaford and Laurel in 1834, under the Society for the Advancement of Christianity in Pennsylvania. He finished his earthly work in 1835, and his burial place is at the Seaford churchyard. Afterward Rev. Corry Chambers labored earnestly in this section. He was long an invalid in Wilmington, under the care of good Bishop Lee. Rev. J. Brinton Smith and Rev. John W. Hoskins were rectors at Christ Church, Broad Creek, with its united churches. I recollect hearing Mr. Hoskins preach an impressive sermon on one of his visits to Delaware. The saintly Richard T. Cadle had charge of Christ Church at one time. He was a missionary to the Indians in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Rev. Simon Wilmer, a noted clergyman of his day, and Rev. James Wiltbank must not be forgotten in this connection. "Parson Wiltbank," as he was called, was of Delaware stock, his ancestor having been an early settler at Lewes. The "parson" had a son named John, who was a professor in a medical college in Philadelphia. Rev. Dr. Robins, head-master of the Episcopal Academy in Philadelphia, is a grandson of this worthy clergyman. Chancellor Harrington's mother was a daughter of "Parson Wiltbank." In 1709 Rev. William Black held services in Lewes, though the church was not founded until several years EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 252 afterward. In 1768 Rev. Dr. John Andrews was successfully at work at Lewes. He was a friend of the celebrated Rev. Dr. Wm. Smith, of Philadelphia, who wrote a pleasant letter introducing him to the Bishop of London. Dr. Andrews became Provost of the University of Pennsylvania. He was the great grandfather of Rev. Dr. John Andrews Harris, of Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia. Rev. John Wade and Rev. Stephen Sykes also meet us at Lewes in the last century. In later days the genial clergyman, Rev. Thomas M. Martin, and the learned Dr. George Alexander Crooke held this ancient parish. Rev. John B. Henry afterward served as rector. Rev. Nathan Kingsbury taught school at Milton. Here in English days was built the church in the forest mentioned in the report to the Propagation Society in England, and in these times a pretty new church has arisen to adorn and sanctify the village which perpetuates the name of one whose poem on Paradise has stirred the hearts of multitudes. Samuel Hazard, in his Register of Pennsylvania, speaks of Henry Brooke as a poet of Lewes, who was said to have been the son of an English baronet, so that Delaware could boast its poet, as latterly the Milford Bard had a national reputation, and this poet Lofland, is buried at St. Andrew's churchyard in Wilmington. Hazard notes the high state of society in Lewistown in early times. In the Penn and Logan correspondence I find Penn writing to Logan: "Captain Rodney, a worthy good man, and now much missed in Kent, and Captain Hill in Sussex. . . . lately removed by death." Vol. 2, p. 331, A.D., 1708-9. Was not this the Captain Hill in whose house services were held as mentioned in the beginning of this article? EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 253 If one would follow out the general history of the church in Delaware, he may find aid in some articles which appeared in the Church Press in 1887, which have not been incorporated into this review. The same year Rev. L. W. Gibson gave a history of Christ Church, Dover, in the Delawarean. I had intended to say something of the good men whose names appear in the diocesan journals of modern time, but the night would wear away in the loving task. Bishop Freeman, at New Castle, and Rev. Dr. Wharton, in earlier days, and Rev. Sydenham Thorne, of Milford, and Rev. Mr. Presstman in recent ones, and Rev. Mr. Harold, of Middletown, deserves notice, as well as Rev. Jacob Rambo. Devout Mr. Brinckle who preached so earnestly when the convention met in the renewed Christ Church, at Dover, must not be forgotten, while Rev. George W. Johnson has but just closed his pure and patient life of service to Christ. Rev. Samuel Crawford Brinckle was born in Dover, in 1796. He was a graduate of Princeton College, was ordained deacon by Bishop White, in 1818, and priest the next year. His wife was Julia, daughter of John Rumsey, Esq., of Wilmington. Rev. Levi Bull performed the marriage in 1821. In 1818 Rev. Mr. Brinckle became rector of St. David's Church, Radnor, Pennsylvania, when he was twenty-two years old, and served the parish fourteen years, being also rector of St. Peter's, Great Valley, for twelve of these years. He had charge of a number of churches in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. In 1832 he assumed the rectorship of Grace Church, Philadelphia, remaining there two years. In 1834 he became assistant to Rev. Dr. Jehu C. Clay in the Swedish Churches of St. James's, Kingsessing, and Wicacoa; that is Gloria Dei, in Philadelphia, and Christ EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 254 Church, Upper Merion, afterward becoming rector of the country churches named, and holding them thirteen years and a half. In 1848 on the beautiful Brandywine Creek, near Wilmington, he organized Christ Church, Christiana Hundred, and a stone church of goodly appearance arose, which was filled by a flourishing congregation. Here he ended his honored and useful life on earth on the twelfth of March, A.D., 1863, at the age of sixty-seven, dying in the forty-fifth year of his ministry, or shall we not say entering on a new life before God? A host of laymen crowd around me, but the limits of the discourse permit only such names as those of William T. Read, Admiral du Pont, Franklin Fell, Bauduy Simmons, John B. Lewis, Dr. Cummins and George Lodge, and George and Henry Rodney, to rise to my lips. My lifelong friend, Rev. Thomas G. Clemson, was ordained at Claymont, in Ascension Church, (where his honored father, Rev. Dr. John B. Clemson, was long rector), and for a time assisted at St. John's Church in this city; he is now in Paradise. Rev. Messrs. Trapnell and Callahan were earlier workers in this Diocese. I wish some one would do for Delaware, and for every diocese, what Rev. Dr. T. Grayson Dashiell has done so well for Virginia; that is, make a diocesan history by condensing the important facts of the journals into a volume. Every departed clergyman and layman of the convention might have a few words to keep green his memory. Within a short time God has taken from you the spiritual head of this diocese. A number of articles from newspapers lie before me which indicate how great was your sense of loss as a diocese, and as parishes, when you found yourself deprived of the guidance of one who EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 255 had holily walked before you for a generation. As the Presiding Bishop of the Church, he was honored throughout the land. He had the strength of New England character, and from the time of his consecration in St. Paul's Church, New York, labored to do his duty toward the flock over which God had made him overseer. His gentle kindness to his clergy and people is fresh in your memory. His ripe scholarship was evinced in the works which flowed from his ready pen; and the Word of God was his constant study. Few have so well illustrated its precepts. As a volume lately appeared summing up the testimonials to his worth and his form has hardly faded from your streets, I need not repeat to you a well-known story. The throng at St. Andrew's Church at the funeral, indicated the feeling of loss, and while the dead bishop lay with the palm branch above him, we could but feel that his was the victory, while the struggle remained for us. God has sent you a new bishop, and the duty is to aid him in every new work that presents itself. I believe that I first saw Bishop Coleman at the consecration of Bishop Bowman, at Christ Church, Philadelphia. He was then looking forward to entrance at the General Theological Seminary, where I was a student. I marked him there. His eager spirit found work in the Sunday-school of Trinity Church, New York, and in the public institutions, under the lead of Rev. Dr. T. M. Peters. His after life has been full of energy, and he has acquired practical wisdom in church work at home and in the Mother Church of England. In a noble service at St. John's Church, in this city, endeared by the recollection of a layman's generosity, (Alexis I. du Pont,) who was of his family, he took up the burden of the Episcopate as a life-long task. Now, as one who EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 256 has served for years in this Diocese, and knows it well, permit me to say a few honest words. What are you going to do with your new bishop? Energy must have something to work with. A man may know how to lay a wall strongly, but he must have the stones brought to him. I want you to pity the case of a leader on whom much is laid, and whose resources cannot meet the demands. Becket proposed that Delaware be given by the English King to the Propagation Society. "The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof," as the Psalm declares; and the gift would have been natural. Some benefactors did give land in Wilmington in large measure to further the work of the Swedish Church. I see splendid advancement in this State. The railways and agriculture, and fruit culture have fostered towns and villages. The city of Wilmington was but a village in the days of the English missionaries. Money has come freely, and thousands have been poured out on your residences and places of business, but where is the Lord's portion? Men can build houses for themselves or their children, but too often the Lord's House lies waste. We need the idea of personal interest in the church as in family affairs, and then ways would open to do the work of God. A churchman in Hartford once mortgaged his house to relieve the obligation of the church. His heart was in his work. If you were to give all the wealth owned by churchmen in Delaware to your bishop and clergy, as the early Christians laid their treasures at the feet of the Apostles, there would be none too much for the work of Christ at home and in foreign missions. If you cannot do this, one-tenth might well be spared. Would it not be a pleasant thought in Paradise that a church-bell was yet ringing on earth by means of your benefaction? There is no worldly wealth EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 257 that can give such satisfaction as that treasure which our Blessed Lord told us to "lay up" in heaven, above the power of the fretting moth, or corrupting rust, and stealing thief. You have seen riches "fly away as an eagle," as the Scripture describes it. You may perhaps yourself have lost that which you wish now you had laid up "in heaven." We have been following a shadowy crowd of witnessess to-night, who are now beyond this earth, enjoying the result of their works which have followed them. You and I will soon be among them; while time is lent us, let us like them use it for our eternal good. You have already done nobly in the Episcopal Fund, but the aged and infirm clergy and schools need your attention; and I presume the bishop could add to the list; so do not hold back his work by keeping him out of material for labor. The organization of the Church Club was an excellent idea to bring out the results sought; and the alternation of the Conventions in the parishes gives the laymen an idea of church needs. There are country parishes where the death or removal of a few might hamper work; so you need endowments; and God, who gave you all things, should be remembered in your will, when you are simply dividing His gifts. This Diocese, in size, corresponds more nearly than usual to a primitive diocese; and fully developed, it would blossom as the rose. Then help your bishop to develop it, and leave a mark for good after you. In treating of the past, the old parish at Middletown came under review. It is a pleasant fact that before 1837 your bishop's father, Rev. Dr. John Coleman, was rector of Middletown, in connection with St. Stephen's, Cecilton, Maryland. Some of the parishioners at Middletown yet remember him with affection. He was EARLY CLERGY OF DELAWARE. 258 afterward rector of Trinity Church, Philadelphia, and editor of the Banner of the Cross, being noted as a preacher of power without notes, and a forcible and able writer. Can we close better, in reflecting on the labors of the clergy, yet toiling in the Lord's vineyard, than in the words of the Divine Liturgy of St. James: "Remember, O Lord, those who bear fruit, and labour honorably in the Holy (services) of Thy Church."