USA > Delaware > Sussex County > Some records of Sussex County, Delaware > Part 21
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Honor'd Sir,
Your very humb and Obliged Servant. WM. BLACK.
A JOURNAL OF MR. ROSS's LABOURS IN THE GOSPEL DUREING HIS SHORT STAY IN THE COUNTY OF SUSSEX UPON DELA- WARE. (AUGUST 1717).
The zeal and affection of the People in Lewis Town for the church has appeared so great of late, that they have pitch'd upon a sober person an Inhabitant among them, to read prayers to them every Lord's day, which he does with so great applause that the congregation he supplyes as a Reader doth visibly increase every Sabbath. Mr. Brook collector there a good & zealous church man supplyes him with sermon books wherein the said Reader reads, much to the Satis- faction of the People. This method I could not but approve of, & recommend in their present circumstances.
The Hon. Colonel William Keith, with the Rev Mr. Ross and several other gentlemen, set sail from New Castle, Satur- day, August 3d, 1717, for Lewes. They arrived Monday, August 5th. Tuesday, August 6th, Mr. Ross records: "I attended the Governor to the Court House of the said County where I read divine service, The Justice of the County with many others being present.
"Wednesday, August 7th, Service being read in the said Court House, I preached on these words, 'Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.'
"The house was full of People and many hearkened at the doors and windows.
"They had not an opportunity of hearing a Minister of the Church a good while before, and therefore the diligent attention they gave to my discourse was the less surprising.
182
SOME RECORDS OF SUSSEX COUNTY.
"I was obliged to dismiss the Congregation before I could proceed to administer Baptism to those many that came there to receive it, lest, by taking up too much of the Gov- ernor's time, I should prove a hindrance to him and the Justices in the dispatch of business.
"The number of Children and Infants baptized this day was thirty.
"Friday, August 9th, I preached again, the words I in- sisted upon were, 'and Behold one came and said unto Him Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may inherit Eternal Life;' the Governor and a greater audi- tory than I had formerly was present. I baptized one and twenty."
ABSTRACTS FROM DEEDS SHOWING LOCATION OF WILLIAM BECKET PROPERTY.
Deed from Samuel Davis of Somerset County in the province of Maryland, Gent .- to William Becket of the town of Lewes, in the County of Sussex upon Delaware, Gent .-
Dated sixth day of July in the eighth year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord George by the grace of God King of Great Britain A. D., 1722. Consideration-68 £.
Description .- One certain lott of Land Containing in breadth Sixty foot, & in length two hundred feet situate, lying and being in the second street of the Town of Lewes afs'd binding on the North West side with the lott that was formerly Philip Russell's but now in the Possession of William Godwin, and on the South East side with the Comon lotts and grave yard of the s'd Town. Together with the house that now is thereon and all and singular the appurtenances, privileges, proffits, Comoditys, ways, Easements, heredita- ments, freedoms, Imunities whatsoever thereunto belonging or in anywise appertaining and all Deeds, writings & Evidences touching or Concerning the same or any part thereof.
Deed Philip Russell to Wm. Godwin, dated Aug. 8, 1723 .-
All that lott or parcel of land lying and being in the Town of Lewes being sixty foot in breadth & two hun- dred feet in length and bounded on the South East with the lott of Wm. Becket and on the South West with a new street lately laid out and on the North West with knitting Street or Mulberry Street and on ye North East with the second Street.
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183
ECCLESIASTICAL RECORDS.
29 Sept., 1721.
MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH AT LEWES TOWN, PENSILVANIA.
The Rev. Mr. Beckett happily came amongst us on the first instant and after he had paid his respects to our worthy Govr Sir Wm. Keith made known to us the favorable disposition of the Hon. Society to this poor Congregation as they are set forth in a letter of the 31st of May wherewithal you have been pleased to favour us. We beseech you Sr to say for us to those Hon. persons that we shall always preserve in our minds a most gratefull sence of what they have had the good- ness to do for us. And what we have hitherto seen of Mr. Beckett gives us the strongest hopes that in the Tenor of his Life & Doctrine he will both adorn his Profession & fulfill that good & great end to which he hath the Honor to be appointed so shall it be our lasting care as well as pay him that respect which is due to his character as to make such suitable provision for his better & more comfortable support as Himself could justly expect were he fully seen in the Cir- cumstances of this People & we doubt not in a few months longer to make this good to his satisfaction & that of his Constituents. Do us the favour Sr to lay these things before the Hon. Board & we shall ever own ourselves to be
Sr Yor Most Humble & obliged Servants
LEWES ON MICHAELMAS DAY, 1721.
HEN. BURKE, WM. TILL.
A. D. 1722. "The Reverend Mr. Beckett, Minister at Lewes-Town, &c., in Pensilvania; That he has three Places to officiate at, where he has Considerable numbers of Hearers; at two of which Places, the People have built Churches, before they had a Prospect of a Minister; & appointed sober Laymen to read the Prayers of the Church, to keep the peo- ple steady to their Principles; that Subscriptions are raising for building another Church; that he has baptized 55 Per- sons, nine whereof were adult; & there is a manifest change in the Lives & Manners of, & a very great Reformation among many of the People, since his Coming there; for which he has received the Thanks of the Magistrates & Gentlemen of the Church of England in that County."
1724. "From the Reverend Mr. Beckett, Minister at Lewes in Pensilvania, That the number of Persons bap- tized last year in his Parish are 82, eleven or twelve of which are Adults; that the Church of Lewes is almost finished; & tho' they have now three Churches in that County, yet none of them will contain the Hearers which Constantly attend at Divine Service; that in his Journey thro' Kent County he baptized in one day 6 adults, & 15 children, & had a numerous Congregation, where they have a large church, but no Minister."
184
SOME RECORDS OF SUSSEX COUNTY.
QUERIES TO BE ANSWERED BY THE PERSONS WHO WERE COMMISSARIES TO MY PREDECESSOR (THE LATE BISHOP OF LONDON).
What Parishes are there, which have yet no Churches, nor Ministers?
Here being no publick Acts for a legal Establishment of the Church here; the Distinction of Parishes is yet unknown in this Government; but here are several large Tracts of Land inhabited, where there is neither Church nor Minister, and several Churches built in other Tracts, who are in great want of Missionarys; particularly those att Kent, Apoquin- iminck, Bristol, Parkiomen, & White-Marsh.
We are My Lord
Yr Lo'p most obedient, most Dutifull Sons & Servants
ROBT. WEYMAN. GEO. Ross.
WM. BECKETT. INS. HUMPHREYS.
(ANSWERS TO QUERIES ABT 1724.)
Queries to be Answered by Every Minister, 1724.
How long is it since you went over? &c.
Three years in June last.
Have you had any other church? &c.
None, my Lord.
Have you been duly Licens'd by the Bishop of London? &c. Yes.
How long have you been inducted? &c.
No Induction here.
Are you ordinarily resident in the Parish?
I have not been absent from my own care Two Sundays for the space of Ten Months pass'd.
Of what extent is your Parish?
I have the care of three churches in this County. One of them being 25 miles, the other 2 from the church in Lewes where I live. Number of Familys about Four Hundred.
1725. "From the Reverend Mr. Beckett, Minister at Lewes in Pensilvania, That tho' they have already three Churches, at which he officiates alternately, which are constantly filled with pretty regular Congregations; yet the People living in the Middle of the Country have raised a Subscription to build another Chappel in the Center of it; that the number of the baptized every year since his being
185
ECCLESIASTICAL RECORDS.
there, has been never less than eighty; & on Easter & Whit- sunday he had twenty-seven communicants."
1726 .- Churches in Pensilvania, how supplyed with Ministers ?
Lewes town & two more churches in Sussex County by Mr. Becket.
Are there any Infidels, bond or free?
Yes. A great many Negroe Slaves; Some whereof I have baptized since coming here. We have but few Indians & these seem obstinate to the means of conversion.
How oft is divine Service performed?
Thrice a week, viz Sundays, Wednesdays, & Fridays. On the Sabbath my Churches are full, & on Litany Days Several of the more Sober & devout duely attend on the Worship of God.
How oft is the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper administer'd?
Thrice a year viz: Easter, Whitsun, & Christmas. The number of communicants is about 20.
At what times do you Catechise?
Every Sunday in the Summer Season where I usually preach a catechetical Lecture in the Afternoon.
Are all things duly dispos'd & provided in the Church?
No, my Lord, Our Churches being none of them yet finished. Of what value is your living in Sterling money?
Besides the Bounty of the Honable Society, I have but very little to depend on for subsistance. The People here have indeed subscribed towards my Support, but by reason of Poverty few are able to pay.
Have you a House and glebe?
No House nor glebe is provided for a Minister here.
Is due care taken to preserve your House in good repair?
Att my own.
Have you more cures than one?
I have 3 Churches in this county as before mentioned. Att one of which I officiate every Sunday alternately.
Have you in your Parish any Publick School?
None, my Lord.
Have you a Parochial Library?
I have the Library sent thither by the Honable Society For the due preservation of which I take a particular care myself. I am My Lord,
Yr Lordship's most obedt & most dutifull Son & Servt.
WM. BECKET.
186
SOME RECORDS OF SUSSEX COUNTY.
EXTRACT FROM LETTER OF MR. BECKET WRITING IN FA- VOUR OF PETERS.
May it please your Lordship .- The Congregation at Phila- delphia, are desirous that the Reverend Mr. Peters, might be plac'd there, as Minister of that Church. And I beg with all Deference & Regard to remain,
My Lord, Yr most Dutiful & obedient Son & Servant
WM. BECKET, Missionary at Lewes.
USSHER'S LETTER AGAINST PETERS.
"I, Arthur Ussher missionary at Dover in the province of Pensil- vania do solemnly declare, that I heard the Revnd Mr. Peters preach in Christs Church in Philadelphia on Whit Sunday in the present year 1737. The words of the text were these: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost. In his discourse he seem'd to extoll & establish natural religion, so far as to destroy the necessity of Divine inspira- tion; and farther said that reason & Revelation alone, were sufficient to enable a man to work out his salvation. The whole discourse seem'd to be calculated to establish natural religion. And I do farther declare, that the Revnd Mr. Peters, in the Revnd Mr. Cummings house on the sd Whit Sunday evening, just before he went into Church, & preached the sd subject he preached upon that evening, that he had given it, its due weight, & treated it in a different manner from our Modern Divine.
"Sept: 18th, 1737.
"ARTHUR USSHER."
"PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 4th, 1743.
"MY LORD .- I am now all most seven years in the service of the venerable Society, and to the best of my knowledge and skill, have made use of all the possible means I could devise, to promote the glory of God, and the Salvation of the Souls committed to my charge , before the 26th of June last. I have baptized 510 grown persons and childeren, and since 45 childeren & 3 adults; The Mission of Lewes is now become vacant by the death of the late missionary Mr. Becket, the burthen of his charge lying upon me for these two years past (he being unable to officiate but a very short space of the above two years. After the strictest enquiry I coud make, I find a thousand and twenty men in the county of Kent, four hundred & eighty four of which number professing themselves of the Church of England, fifty six of the Quakers, three hundred and ninety seven Presby- terians, sixty two Papists, and above twenty who profess themselves to be of no religion, & seem to glory in it.
"I am, my Lord, with the greatest respect my Lord, "Your most dutiful & obliged Son & Servant,
"ARTHUR USSHER."
187
ECCLESIASTICAL RECORDS.
Letter to Mr. Cummings.
March 13, 1727-8.
REVD. AND DEAR BRO .- I had the favour of your letter of Nov. 11, for which I thank you, & till that time did not hear tho' I did suspect what success our solicitations with respect to the licences, has met with. I will write to the Bishop & Society upon that head, by the 1st opportunity & shall be glad to hear what you will do in the case. Mr. Ross has not said one word about it in any of his letters to me, he only wanted one licence for himself and did not care what became of all the rest. Now he has sped himself he may perhaps have taken care for the rest. Mr. Campbell was here in the beginning of the year, he brought with him a paper of recommendation to whom it might concern cautiously worded & signed by Laymen signifying that since he was only yet accussed but not convicted he might be employed in the service of the church, I consented that some of the gentlemen here should sign it but would not do it myself tho' he pressed me much, I told him the clergy would do nothing but in conjunction & it would be a jest for me to sign it. Please to give my humble service to honest Mr. Peter Evans & all friends. Messers. Brooke & Pemberton are well and give their service to you we have no news here having been shut up with ice for many weeks. My service to Mr. Fenton's family.
I am Dr. Bror. yours most affectionately, W. B.
I take this opportunity to acquaint you the affairs of the churches which are under my care go on as usual, that is, I thank God for it, they are in the main in a prosperous condition. But there is a matter or two of some moment to the welfare of the Church as I conceive which I more especially crave leave and intend to lay be- fore you at this time. Since Major Gordon's arrival here as Gov- ernor he has promisculously granted licences to us and the Presby- terian ministers, a thing which was never done before (save only in the last year of Sir Wm. Keith's goverment when Doctor Welton nonjuror was minister at Phila.) He was not fit to grant them & indeed his fortune appeared Desperate, so yt he was willing to raise money by any means.) so yt a small perquisite is hereby in a great measure granted away from the Missionaries but what is more con- siderable is that it is depriving us of what is our Right. At our last Convention held at New Castle, the Missionaries did humbly repre- sent this matter to the Governor desiring his Favour in the Case, which he hath denyed us. Perhaps a Letter in our favour from the Honrable Society to this Gentleman might bring him to reason & do the Missionaries a considerable kindness. There is another affair which I conceive of some moment which might lend much to pro- mote the designs of the Honrable Society for propagating the Gos- pel in America which I must beg leave to lay before you & it is briefly this: Here is a large, good Tract of Land lying between Maryland & Pennsylvania called the 3 Lower Counties on Delaware about 100 miles long & in some places 20 or 30 wide. This land as yet has no Proprietor but his Majesty tho' both Lord Baltimore and Penn's Heirs are now contending for it in England, not because either of them has a Title to it but because it is convenient for both and each has a mind to it. It is generally believed by many of the best people
188
SOME RECORDS OF SUSSEX COUNTY.
here who know the weakness and insufficiency of both their claims that this Land when the dispute on both sides is fully heard will remain to the King. If his Majesty when it is so determined will bestow it on the Society, a good Sum of Money might easily be raised off of it towards the Support of a Bishop or Suffragan the maintenance of missionaries or to such uses as the Society should think fit. I am told by some of the Representatives of the people here who meet in Assembly for the making of our Laws, that here are about 200,000 Acres of Land cleared & improved, some of the Settlers have Titles from James, Duke of York, some from Penn the Quaker, some from Lord Baltimore, all it is believed good for nothing in Law. It would be of little value to the Crown to keep it but of great service to the Church to bestow it on the Society. It would be a popular act & make a noise in England. And the people here would be glad to have the Church their Landlord, I mean the majority who are members of the Church of England. Dissenters of all sorts here being not so numer- ous as the Church people. I am satisfied if this point could be car- ryed it would be of the greatest service to the Church here, I will write to my Lord Bp of London on the same subject. But I will trouble you with no more at present only desire you to lay this before the Honrable Society in obedience to whose Orders I will very soon send to you such an account of the Church History & of my Parishes as you require.
I remain Sr your most obedt Servt W. B.
March 13, 1727-8 To DR. HUMPHREY.
To the Bishop of London.
MY LORD .- Tho' I have not the happiness of being known to your Lord'p, yet as I have been a Missionary to the Society for propa- gating the Gospel & in Pennsylvania near 7 years and have made some observation upon the state of affairs here, so I have something to offer to your Lordp's consideration which I conceive would (if it could be effected) conduce much to the Interest of Religion here. And this I humbly pray may be accepted as my Apology for giving your Lrp this present Trouble. Here is a good Tract of Land being on the West side of Delaware Bay & between the Two Provinces of Maryland & Pennsylvania commonly called the 3 Lower Counties (or Counties of New Castle, Kent & Sussex on Delaware about 100 miles in length & in some places 20 miles wide which as yet has proba- bly no Proprietor but his Majesty tho' Lord Baltimore & the Heirs of Penn the Quaker are both now contending for it at Law in Eng- land, not so much because either has a good title to it as because each desires & it will be a good convenient addition to either of their Provinces could they recover or procure a Grant of it. But it is generally believed by many persons of the best credit & capacities here, who are most acqted with the case that the Land does yct belong to the Crown yt the claims of both the one & the other are weak and insufficient & yt, when is fully canvassed before the proper judicature in England it will be determined in favour of his Majesties claim who when at any time a Commission is passed to a Governor of Pennsylvania & of the 3 Lower Counties on Delaware has always a clause inserted to this purpose "Saving to ourself our Rights to
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