USA > Delaware > Historical and biographical encyclopaedia of Delaware. V 1 > Part 26
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This church like others of the denomination, is founded in liberality and freedom of thought and action. The members take an advanced position and active interest in all benevolent enterprises, and in all measures for the educa- tion, prosperity and happiness of their fellow men.
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HISTORY OF DELAWARE.
"THE HOUSEHOLD OF FAITH," OF WIMINGTON.
HE occasion of the organization of this church was the withdrawal of Rev. George R. Kramer from the ministry and membership of the M. E. Church, which occurred June 20th, 1877. He was then in the third year of his pastorate of the As- bury church of that city, a large number of whose members followed him into the new field he had chosen. The church was organ- ized with a membership of seventy, on Sunday June 24th, 1877, and first worshiped in a tent on the corner of Fourth and Lombard streets. Their views differ from those held by the great body of christians, principally,in the be- lief that man sleeps after death till the resur- rection, and that after the judgment the wicked are destroyed in the second death, and not kept alive in endless punishment. The church is independent. They reject infant baptism and believe only in immersion. In August of the same year they rented the Mc- Clary building, 605 Market street, where the church prospered and increased in member- ship to over three hundred. As soon as means and numbers would permit they purchased a lot on Tatnall street, between Seventh and Eighth streets, and laid the corner stone of their new building, October 20th, 1880, with appropriate ceremonies. Mr. Kramer preach- ed to the large company assembled, and read a poem composed by himself, after which the choir sang the hymn, "Satisfied," also written by the pastor. The latter then deposited in the cavity left in the corner stone, the articles selected for that purpose, which were ; The Holy Bible, the Constitution of the Church, its roll of membership, and hymn book, and a history of the church, which was first read aloud ; next a written prayer, the hymn "Sat- isfied," copies of several religious papers, to- gether with copies of the Wilmington Dailies, of the day previous.
The new church, the first of its denomina- tion in Wilmington, was dedicated on Sunday, December 3, 1881. Much outside interest had always been attached to the church, largely through the zeal and eloquence of the pastor, his lectures and writings, and the warmth and fervor with which the meetings were con- ducted ; the members all participating, and
so deeply moved, themselves, that the observer could not fail to be affected by the influences around him. Now assembled in their own church building, feeling still more at home, and indeed like one " household," they were more united and happy than ever. Therefore the disappointment was great when the first break in their strong bond of union and affec- tion occurred in the resignation of the pastor. He had received a number of calls to churches in other places, and finally accepted one to the "Church of the Blessed Hope," Brooklyn, N. Y. His farewell sermon was preached on Sabbath evening, July 30, 1882, to a deeply affected audience. With their new and pleas- ant place of worship, and constant accessions to their numbers, this congregation is undoubt - edly but in the beginning of its strength, and will long continue to exert a good influence in the community.
THE DELAWARE BIBLE SOCIETY.
N the sixty-fifth annual meeting of the Delaware Bible Society, held in the Forest Presbyterian Church, Middle- town, September 13, 1877, a sketch of its history from its organization to that time, was read by Hon. D. M. Bates, from which the following is compiled. On the 22nd of No- vember, 1813, a small number of Christians of different denominations, within New Castle County, met in Wilmington to form a society for the diffusion of the Bible among the desti- tute of this State. Agreably to this object it was organized as the Bible Society of Dela- ware. Rev. John E. Latta was appointed Chairman, and John Rumsey, Secretary. Rev. Messrs. Daniel Dodge, William Pryce, John E. Latta, and Samuel Henderson, and Messrs. Samuel Hilles, Robert Porter, and Matthew Kean were appointed a committee to prepare a constitution and an address to the public, which were reported and adopted, and another committee was thereupon appointed to revise the address and superintend its publication, composed of Rev. Dr. Thomas Read, Rev. Messrs. William Pryce, Daniel Dodge and John E. Latta, and Messrs. James Cowper, George Monroe and Robert Porter. The meeting adjourned until the last Monday of
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HISTORY OF DELAWARE.
December. In the proceedings of this ad- journed meeting other names appear, such Dr. William McKee, Richard Bassett, John Hagany, James M. Broom, Gideon Farrell, Alexander Draper, Hugh Gemmel, Samuel Taylor and Jared Chestnut ; also Rev. Andrew K. Russell, Mr. Samuel Bell, David Sebo and Leonard Vandegrift. An organization under the Constitution was then completed by the choice of Rev. John E. Latta as President, and John Rumsey as Secretary ; also by the choice of a Board of Directors. The address to the public, issued by the newly-formed so- ciety, is still extant.
The infant society received early and seas- onable encouragement from its co-laborers in the work. December 27, 1813, "a letter was received from the managers of the Bible Society of Philadelphia, advising of the estab- lishment of their stereotype press for printing the scriptures ; and also an extract from their minutes, making a donation to this Society of twenty-five English Bibles, and the like number of New Testaments for gratuitous distribution." The fraternal spirit of the Phil- adelphia Society was gratefully acknowledged, and an order was made on that Society for fifty copies of the stereotype impression of the Bible, and as many of the New Testament. At the next meeting, January 31, 1814, the Delaware Society received a friendly greeting from the Bible Society of New York. The annual report of that Society was received ; also a circular address communicating a pro- posal to print the scriptures in French, for the benefit of the French inhabitants of the newly acquired territory of Louisiana, and asking the advice and aid of other Societies. In accordance with this request the extracts from the circular were published in the news- papers ; and a contribution of $100 was ordered to be made out of the very moderate resources of the Society. It also began to extend its sympathy and aid in the general work. In December, 1814, learning that a Bible Society was about to be formed at Snow Hill, the Directors were authorized, for the encouragement of the new Society, to make it a donation of twenty-five Bibles and as many Testaments. At the same meeting the first essay seems to have been made, in a small way, toward local supply by an order to furnish twelve Bibles for distribution in
Georgetown. Under advice contained in a | letter from the Treasurer of the Bible Society of Philadelphia, this Society put itself into official communications with the British and Foreign Bible Society, to which it transmitted a copy of its constitution and address.
A prompt and generous response was received. By a letter dated February 24th, 1815, the British and Foreign Society tender their friendly congratulations, and gratefully acknowledge their unbroken harmony and co-operation with the British Society throughout the war be- tween the two nations, then just closed. A very substantial token of their sympathy and friendship was given to the infant society by a donation of one hundred pounds sterling. In 1815 the American Bible Society was organ- ized, and measures were taken to bring into connection with it, as auxiliaries, the various local societies which had been previously formed. This the Delaware Society accepted, and remitted to the larger society $250.00 as a donation. We notice in the minutes of this period (1816,) the accession to the Society of some who are still remembered as prominent in the history of the State, and active in good works, such names as those of Dr. David Stewart, Nicholas Van Dyke. Kensy Johns, Jr., and Dr. James Couper. The first object of the society after organization had been to pro- vide a depository in Wilmington, from whence to supply all special demands for Bibles and Testaments, and, in addition, it had contrib- uted both in books and money to assist newly organized and feeble societies, having sent at one time one hundred Bibles and as many Testaments to very destitute portions of Tennessee. They now began to consider the question of supplying more at large the desti- tute of their own state, and the churches were requested to assist and to take an annual collection for the Society. At the meeting of October 20, 1818, there first appears the name of Rev. E. W. Gilbert, pastor of the Hanover Street Church for more than twenty- two years, through all of which period he was a very active member of this Society, and most of the time its Secretary. In October, 1819, it was noted in the minutes, that during the six years of its existence the Society had distributed 1560 Bibles and Testaments.
There was a deepening sense, from year to year, of the necessity of giving the Bible to all
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the destitute within the State, with strenuous efforts made to extend its influence and in- crease its resources. In 1828 the society resolved to supply the whole State, and the pledge was renewed in 1829. The efforts which had been made to organize local auxil- iaries began then to be successful. Favorable reports were received from the associations of White Clay Creek, Lower Brandywine, Pen- cader, St. George's and Newark. To these the society acknowledged itself much indebted, and so great was the encouragement felt that a resolution was taken to raise $300 to aid the American Bible Society in a proposed effort to supply the whole United States within the two years to come. Five persons on the spot pledged themselves to raise half the required sum, and the $300 was afterward remitted to the National Society. In the succeeding five years there was considerable increase of con- tributions, and in 1835 the society made its first direct attempt to distribute the Bible throughout the State. Richard H. Merriken. a preacher of the Protestant Methodist Church. was engaged in the work about ten months, and was reported by the Board of Managers as having prosecuted it with "industry, fidelity and zeal." He distributed 800 Bibles and 917 Testaments. This was followed by some years of inactivity. In 1842 a committee, con- sisting of Rev. Mr. Wynkoop, Judge Hall and Rev. Mr. Hogarth, was appointed to prepare a circular addressed to the pastors and churches within the State with the hope of reviving an interest in the subject. At the meeting of 1844 it was resolved "that a second thorough survey should be made with a view to ascer- tain and supply the wants of all the families in the State in reference to the word of God." To the great encouragement and aid of the society at this juncture, a renewed interest in the subject was awakened by Rev. J. P. Knox, one of the agents of the American Bible Society, who visited the churches at large within the State, and as the result of his labors, "contributions were made which ex- ceeded the expectations of the Board." Mr. Joseph Gregg was employed for the second Bible distribution. He completed his work in New Castle county in 1845, and in 1848 it was reported that the debt incurred was nearly liquidated, and that the work of re-supply had also progressed through Kent. The work in
Sussex was thoroughly done under the efficient labors of Rev. Mr. Mustard, than whom few men have brought to such a work equal quali- fications-none superior.
The society in 1849 acknowledged his faith- ful services by a cordial vote of thanks, and by raising his salary to $50 a month. With re- spect to Sussex county it is but just to ac- knowlege the faithful and valuable services voluntarily rendered through a series of years, by Rev. T. P. McColley, who in that county held much the same relation to the Bible cause as was sustained by the venerable Judge Hall in the interests of the State Bible Society. At the annual meeting held in 1859, in Dover, it was recommended by the State Societies that County Bible Societies should be formed, and a gentleman from each county, Hon. C. L. Layton, from Sussex: Rev. Dr. Cook, from Kent; and Rev. Mr. Wiswell, from New Castle, were appointed to take measures to form such societies. This was accordingly done, and the work went on separately in each county. In 1860 the third direct and thorough supply of the State was accomplished. This was a season of universal prosperity and the society rejoiced in its success. In 1861 and the years following, Testaments were supplied to the troops raised in Delaware for service in the civil war. In 1869 a re-supply of New Castle county was undertaken, which occupied nearly two years. It may be considered that since the organization of the Society in 1813 there have been four thorough supplies of the desti- tute by means of agencies. Edw. T. Taylor, Esq., was Treasurer from 1847 till 1878, when he resigned. Dr. L. P. Bush is now the President of the Society.
NEW JERUSALEM CHURCH. BY COL. W. A. LA MOTTE.
HE First Society of the New Jerusalem Church in Wilmington, Delaware, was organized in the beginning of 1857. Daniel Lammot was the first President, Hon. Edward W. Gilpin, Treasurer, and Daniel
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HISTORY OF DELAWARE.
Lammot, Jr., Secretary. There were in all | THE WESLEYAN FEMALE COLLEGE, about twenty members. A room was rented, AT WILMINGTON. where services were held by Rev. D. K. Whit- taker, and Rev. E. A. Beaman.
On August 6th, 1857, the corner stone of the present church, corner of Delaware Avenue and Washington Street was laid, and on 29th April, 1858, the church was dedicated ; the Rev. Abiel Silver was called as pastor and re- mained till March 16th, 1860, when he accepted a call to New York.
The pulpit was temporarily supplied until September Ist, 1860, when Rev. J. T. Eaton came for one year. In September, 1861, Rev. R. N. Foster became pastor, and remained until July, 1863, when he determined to leave the ministry. The church was closed until the following spring, though the Sunday School was continued. In May, 1864, Rev. Abiel Silver returned, and remained with the Society until May, 1866, at which time Rev. Willard H. Hinckley, of Baltimore, grandson of the Rev. John Hargrove, the first ordained clergy- man of the New Church in the United States, accepted a call and remained until May, 1873.
The church was without a settled pastor for some months although the services were regu- larly held by the Rev. B. F. Barrett and Rev E. P. Walton.
In January, 1874, the Rev. S. S. Seward be- came pastor and remained until November, 1878. The pulpit was again temporarily sup- plied till February, 1879, when the Rev I. B. Parmalee, the present pastor accepted a call.
The present officers are William H. Swift, President ; Ferdinand L. Gilpin, Treasurer ; W. A. La Motte, Secretary.
James H. Cameron is Superintendent of the Sunday School which numbers about fifty scholars.
The church is entirely free from debt.
HIS is one of the earliest institutions in the country, for the higher education of women. Rev. Solomon Prettyman, of the M. E. Church was conducting a Female Seminary,at Seaford, which he was in- duced to remove to Wilmington as a more de- sirable location. It was opened in October 1837, at No. 175 Market street, in a hired house which was soon found to be too small, and a larger building was secured. In 1839 a large edifice was erected, especially adapted to school purposes on French street, above Sixth street, and here the school was established as The Wesleyan Female Collegiate Institute. It grew and prospered, drawing students from all parts of Delaware and the adjacent States, and soon its reputation extended throughout the country.
In 1851 it passed into the hands of a Board of Trustees, representing the M. E. Church, and a new charter was obtained and the name changed to Wesleyan Female College. Under this management, for thirty years, it has done excellent educational work, and its graduates are found in all parts of the Union.
In 1882, the property passed from the cor- porate body to private ownership, having been purchased by Mr. William Bright, of Wilming- ton,one of the original Board of Trustees, and always a warm and zealous friend of the insti- tution. This change, however, does not affect the character of the school, which is continued on the same general principles as under the former control. The present owner has greatly improved the buildings and accommo- dations, and with superior advantages for acquiring an English, Classical and Art educa tion, the Wesleyan College will open in Sep- tember, 1882, in charge of Rev. John Wilson, A. M., Ph. D., formerly, for many years, Presi- dent under the old organization.
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Public Improvements and Industries.
HISTORY OF DELAWARE RAILROAD,
INCLUDING A SHORT ACCOUNT OF
CONNECTING PENINSULAR ROADS. BY M. HAYES, Secretary and Treasurer.
HE original charter of "The Delaware Railroad Company," enacted by the General Assembly at Dover, June 20th, 1836, authorized the construction of a railroad "from any point on or near The Wil- mington and Susquehanna Railroad, or The New Castle and French Town Railroad, to the southern line of the State in a direction towards Cape Charles, with full power to con- struct lateral branches, to Lewes, Seaford, or to any other points or places within the limits of the State of Delaware."
The commissioners appointed by this act were John M. Clayton, William D. Waples, and Richard Mansfield. They employed John Randel, Jr., a distinguished civil engineer, whose corps of assistants surveyed a line from a point near the village of Newark, on the Wilmington and Susquehanna Railroad,- now constituting part of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad,-south- wardly passing through or near the principal towns of the State on the route to George- town, the county seat of Sussex, and from thence surveyed branch lines, as contemplated by the charter, to Lewes, to Millsboro and to Seaford.
The Chief Engineer's report gave a descrip- tion of the route and the distances, by the sur- vey to the places mentioned. Maps and pro- files of the lines and estimates of the cost of construction are still preserved.
Referring to the general features of the country, Mr. Randel says-that, by his exami- nation of the Peninsula, "he was confirmed in the opinion he had previously formed as to a large portion of the State of Delaware being almost a level plane and peculiarly favorable for the construction of railroads, with gentle grades and curves of large radii, at moderate cost. * *
* * ' this feature of the coun - try is particularly applicable to the dividing ridge which extends nearly the whole length of the State, and separates the waters which flow into the Chesapeake from those which empty into the Delaware Bay."
The cost of the projected Railroad, esti- mated by Edward Stavly, Assistant Engineer, was $1,069,462. This was on the circuitous route surveyed from the "Wilmington and Susquehanna Railroad " to the Maryland State line south of Millsboro, measuring 94} miles. From a reconnoissance made of the the ridge route to Seaford on the Nanticoke River, it was found to be more direct and consequently shorter, and the cost of grading much less expensive than it would be were the line surveyed adopted. The report of the Commissioners to the Legislature sets forth the advantages of this work to the people of the state, acknowledges the liberality of the preceding Legislature in granting a charter exempting the property of the Company from taxation for fifty years, and with the right to
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HISTORY OF DELAWARE.
construct lateral branches from the main line ; | mostly farmers, or country merchants of small "and having appropriated an amount sufficient means ; they had as yet given little thought to the benefits they would derive from the pro- jected improvement, and could not be induced to invest their money in the enterprise; the fair representations of the commissioners and Mr. Clayton's persuasive eloquence and per- sonal influence failed alike to inspire confi- dence in its success. Their hopes were next turned to the cities of Philadelphia and Wil- mington, believing the prospect open to their commerce of easy access to the Breakwater harbor, with all the advantages to be derived on the other hand by railroad connection with the waters of the Chesapeake, would insure the required subscription, but owing, in part, to the bad financial condition of the country in 1837, no aid could be obtained from the cities ; and the enterprise, failing of this sup- port, was abandoned for want of capital. At the same time the Maryland project also failed, on account of the financial troubles which embarrassed the affairs of States,as well as the fortunes and enterprises of individuals. The Company was dissolved and its property became vested in the State, and the prospect of a Peninsular Railroad seemed for many years hopeless. to pay the expenses of the survey, and author- ized a subscription of $25,000 to the stock of the company, in the opinion of the Com- missioners, "no further pecuniary aid was re- quired of the State." Mr. Clayton, the author of the charter as well as of this report, gave as a reason for not asking further aid from the State that, "a corporation of this character, if its capital be entirely or chiefly composed of State funds, must want that stimulus to suc- cessful exertion which the private interests of enterprising individual stockholders can alone supply:" and this would seem to have been adopted as the settled policy of the State for many years thereafter. The Com- missioners made an earnest appeal to the citizens of the Eastern Shore of Maryland, to unite their energies with those of our own people, in the construction of a road designed for the benefit of the whole Peninsula ; which by its extension to the waters of the Chesa- peake, as it was sliown, "would open the shortest, safest and cheapest possible line of communication between Norfolk and the northern cities;" Unfortunately this enter- prise was not viewed with favor by the people of Maryland ; the State had refused to grant STEAMBOAT LINE FROM DONA. a charter to extend the Delaware Road through her limits to the Virginia State line; acting upon the belief that the travel and trade would be thereby directed to the northern cities, and operate injuriously upon the in- terests of Baltimore.
To secure this trade the Maryland Legisla- ture had anticipated the action of Delaware, and granted a charter in 1833 for a line of Railroad from a point on the Wilmington and Susquehanna R. R., near Elkton, through the tier of Eastern Shore Counties, to the Anna- messex River, and in 1835 the State appro- priated one million dollars for the prose- cution of this work The surveys had already been made, and some work had been done on the located line, and whilst this rivalry con- tinued, co-operation on the part of the people of Maryland with the projectors of the Dela- ware R. R. could not, reasonably, be expected.
The citizens of Dover and the vicinity, as well as those residing further south, felt greatly the need of better traveling facilities, as no steamboat line existed further down the bay than Smyrna landing, on Duck creek; from whence the "Kent," a small steamboat, had been running since 1840. In the summer of 1846 a public meeting was held at Dover, and a Committee was appointed to examine the old causeway and landing on Dona River, seven and a half miles from the Capital, to inquire into its condition and the probable cost of repairing the road and rebuilding the old wharf. This was the point where passen- gers from Philadelphia to Norfolk, by the old Philadelphia Steamboat and Transportation Line, were transferred from steamboats to stage coaches and posted through. to Seaford, on the Nanticoke River, where they again em- barked on steamers for Norfolk. This line was in operation in 1825, before passenger railways were built in this country ; and the tally ho post-coaches, drawn by four horses
Subscriptions to the stock of the Delaware Railroad Company were solicited by the Com- missioners, but the citizens of the country through which the route was surveyed, were an well filled with passengers, traveling at 20
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HISTORY OF DELAWARE.
the high speed of 46 miles in from 6 to 7 hours, | those engaged in it to look forward to its ex- over the level county roads of Kent and Sus- tension by railroad further down the Penin- sula, and opened the way to an improvement, which, in its development, as will be seen, turned the course of travel from this route to another, which has proved to be of far greater public advantage and general benefit to the people of Delaware and the Peninsular Coun- ties of Maryland. sex, attracted great attention, and some of the most enterprising and highly honored citi- zens of Dover became enthusiastic stock- holders in the Company, of which the Hon. Thomas Clayton, afterward chief justice, was President. Unfortunately the steamboats, either from defects in their construction or from bad management, seldom arrived at their THE DELAWARE RAIL ROAD. landings at the appointed time ; and these delays and irregularities in making connections with the stage line at the points of transfer, , had the effect of soon diminishing the number of passengers, and the loss in operating the line constantly increasing, became so great that, after little more than a year's service, the boats were withdrawn and the Company was declared insolvent :- their property was taken under execution and sold by the Sheriff. The wharves and other structures at Dona were abandoned to the encroachment of the tides, and in a few years the place was over - grown with salt grass. Dona was in this con- dition when the Committee of 1846 examined the property, some of the piling and a few of the old wharf Ings remained. The esti- mated cost of rebuilding the wharf and cause- way was moderate ; a small amount was ob- tained by subscription for that purpose, and in the hope of establishing a steamboat line to Philadelphia, the Levy Court of the county appropriated a sum sufficient to put in good repair the road from Dover to the Landing. A company chartered and organized in 1847 called "The Dona Steamboat and Transporta- tion Company" took charge of the work at the Landing, and as it progressed the owners of shares became limited to three stockholders: Hon. Samuel M. Harrington, Caleb H. Sipple, Esq., and the writer of this sketch, who super- intended the improvements. On their comple- tion the owners entered into negotiations with the managers of "The Smyrna Steamboat and Transportation Company," which resulted in leasing the wharf at Dona to that Company and uniting with them in the purchase of a fast and commodious steamboat, the "Zephyr," for the new line from thence to Philadelphia. The Zephyr made her tri-weekly trips from Dona in good time, and with great regularity: the affairs of the company were well managed, and the success attending thiis enterprise led
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