USA > Maryland > Somerset County > Princess Anne > History of the Manokin Presbyterian Church, Princess Anne, Maryland > Part 4
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"Rev. and Dear Sir, the necessitious condition of many souls who are ready to perish for lack of vision, the desires and prayers of God's children who are hungering after spiritual food, the honor and interest of the Kingdom of Christ, that needs some
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one well disposed and well gifted to defend and advance it, as well as the prospect of gaining many souls to the Redeemed, with many other arguments we might offer, all conspire to insure our earnest request that you will accept our call. And we do earnestly request the Rev. Presbytery of Lewistown to concur with us herein, and present this our call to the Rev. Mr. Jacob Ker; and we, your humble supplicants, as in duty bound, shall ever pray."
This call was signed by thirty-four members of the Manokin congregation. It was "ordered that Mr. James Polk, with such member as shall be appointed by Wicomico congregation, present the said call to the next Presbytery." Singularly enough, the name of but one woman, Mary Denwood, appears among the thirty-four signers.
1764. August. "Mr. James Polk made report, that ac- cording to order of Session, he had, in company with Col. John Henry, appointed by the Wicomico congregation, waited upon the Presbytery at Dover, and presented the call to them, who immediately delivered it to Mr. Ker, and was accepted by him ; and that the Presbytery appointed a meeting of the Presbytery at Princess Anne for his installment, on the third Wednesday of November next."
1764. November. "Ordered that the members of Session sit together in Mr. Sloss' pew, in order to be convenient to answer together, in behalf of the congregation, at the Installation; and that the Elders of Wicomico congregation be desired to sit in the pew with them.
"The Presbytery proceeded, according to their appointment, to the services of the day suitable to the occasion. The Rev. Mr. Miller preached a sermon from Heb. 13: 17, 'Obey them that have rule over you, and submit yourselves, for they watch for your souls as they that must give account.' The Rev. Mr. Harris gave the charge."
Infor
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History of the Manokin Presbyterian Church.
1764. December. "The Session, finding that the meeting- house was decayed, in almost every part, and not worth repairing, and that it is too small to contain the people that often attend, do determine to build a new one of brick, 50 x 40 in the clear, 16 feet from the water table to the plate, to be covered with inch cypress shingles, to have a gallery at each end for Negroes, with such windows, doors, pews and other matters as shall be convenient.
"Ordered that Messrs. George Irving, Thomas Jones and Samuel Wilson give public notice by affixing advertisements, that the building of the said house will be let out publicly to the lowest bidder, and give notice of the time and place in the said advertisement."
1765. January. "Messrs. Irving, Jones and Samuel Wil- son having complied with the order of the last meeting of giving notice of letting out the meeting-house, and this being the day, the same was publicly set up and struck off to Samuel Wilson, at the sum of 790 pounds."
1765. March. "The Session, taking into consideration that the sum at which the house was struck off was more than the congregation could afford to give, made application to Mr. Wilson to release them from their obligation, which was obtained, and afterwards Mr. James Wilson offered to build the house for 600 pounds, which was accepted by the Session, and accordingly agreed that bonds, with security, should be given for the per- formance of the work and payment of the money, which was done."
1765. April. "Mr. Ker informed the Session of an order of Synod for the making of collections in the congregations be- longing to it, for the support of two missionaries into the dis- tressed part of North Carolina, and of an Indian school in the Jerseys. Agreed upon it that the same should be complied with, and it was accordingly done to the amount of eight pounds, seven shillings and six pence."
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1765. December 23d. "Ordered that Messrs. George Irving and William Skirven collect this year's salary for Mr. Ker." This custom seems to have prevailed for a long time in the church.
1766. March 17th. "It having pleased God to remove Mr. Thomas Jones, the Clerk of this Session, by death, they pro- ceeded to make choice of another, and did appoint Captain Ephraim Wilson for that purpose."
1767. September 15th. "Ordered that Levin Wilson get the windows and doors painted with Turkey-point paint."
Between 1767 and 1788, very few meetings are recorded, and nothing of special interest was done.
1788. December 26th. "Ordered that the sums marked on the different pews shall be annually collected by the persons appointed to collect Mr. Ker's salary, for the purpose of keeping the house in good repair.
"Ordered that Messrs. John Wilson, James Wilson and William Jones be appointed to have the necessary repairs done to the house.
"Ordered that the tax on the pews for the purpose of repair- ing the house be immediately collected by Messrs. Denwood and James Wilson; and that every collection hereafter becomes due in July, as before directed.
"Ordered that Mr. Denwood Wilson keep the house until July, 1789."
1790. May 8th. "As the mode appointed by Session some time ago for raising a small sum of money to make some repairs on the house, as well as some other purposes, did not give general satisfaction, they have agreed to hand a collection box around the congregation to answer this purpose."
1790. June 19th. "The Session proceeded to count the money received from the congregation for the purpose of mak- ing repairs to the meeting-house ; there appeared to be nine pounds, eleven shillings and five pence of it, which money the
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History of the Manokin Presbyterian Church.
Session paid to Mr. Ker, as they did not expect to make imme- diate use of it."
1792. July 21st. "Paid Mr. Hobbs for keeping the meet- ing-house, 2 pounds, 10 shillings and 3 pence."
1793. July 22d. "Ordered that a collection be made in the congregation as soon as possible, for the purpose of defraying the expense of keeping the meeting-house and cleaning the same."
1794. August 18th. It was ordered "that no person from this time be permitted to hold a pew in this meeting-house who does not contribute and pay annually to the support of the or- dinances statedly administered in the same.
"That the pews Nos. 41 and 42 be appropriated to the use and accommodation of such persons as are unable to pay."
At the Session meeting held on the 20th of July, 1795, the Rev. Jacob Ker presided for the last time. He died nine days later, "on Wednesday, the 29th of July, 1795." He had been Pastor of the church since 1764, a period of thirty-one years. His last sermon was from John 15: 8, "Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit ; so shall ye be My disciples."
1795. August 18th. "Agreed that Mr. James Wilson wait on the Presbytery at their earliest meeting, and in behalf of this Session, together with such members as may be appointed by the Wicomico Session, make application for the supply of a minister in the room of the Rev. Jacob Ker, deceased.
1796. January 9th. "Mr. Thomas King appointed to apply to the Rev. Mr. Collins to preach pro tempore."
1796. April 26th. "Ordered that a collection be taken in the congregation every Sabbath during the time the Rev. John Collins is appointed by Presbytery to preach."
The following is entered upon the Sessional minutes at this time : "The Presbytery ... . directs that the Rev. John Collins supply every third Sabbath at Rockawaking (Wicomico), Mano- kin and Rehoboth, in rotation, till the last of August, the rest of his time, until the next sessions, to be at his own discretion.
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Beginning the third Sabbath after this, at Rehoboth; the fourth (the 24th of April) at Manokin; the first Sabbath of May, being the first of the month, at Rockawaking (Wicomico). Mr. Ran- kin is appointed with Mr. Collins, to administer the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper at Rockawaking the second Sabbath in October. Mr. McMaster is appointed to administer the same ordinance, with Mr. Collins, at Manokin on the first Sabbath of June, being the 5th day of that month."
1796. August 29th. "Doctor Ker unanimously elected a member of Session."
Mr. Collins' period for supplying the congregation having elapsed, "Resolved, That the sense of the people be taken relative to Mr. Collins and Mr. McLane, a licentiate from Carlisle Pres- bytery, who has visited our churches during the last winter, and given abundant satisfaction to the people. The heads of families being now present, they proceeded to ballot, and a majority ap- peared in favor of Mr. Collins, who was then offered 150 pounds to take the charge of the two churches. Mr. Collins declined to accept the offer. The Session then proceeded to appoint Major Jones, with Major Bailey of the upper church (Wicomico), to address a letter to Mr. McLane, and to make him the same offer. A considerable time elapsed before they received his answer, which was in the negative. In the interim, a Mr. Slemons and Paterson, licentiates from New Castle Presbytery, visited the churches and were highly pleasing. Several members of both Sessions applied to them to settle one of them with us. They could obtain no satisfactory assurance from them. They spent a few Sabbaths only in supplying our churches, and returned. After which, Major Jones from this, and Major Bailey from the upper church, were appointed to write to them, and solicit them to return, one, or each of them. The letters miscarried, and consequently we obtained no answer."
1798. March 24th. Two members of the Session were sent to the meeting of the Presbytery of New Castle, which met in
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History of the Manokin Presbyterian Church.
Wilmington in April. They obtained "a promise from Mr. Paterson to spend four Sabbaths from the middle of April with us; during which period the Session raised, by subscriptions, 175 pounds for him, and he was invited by the Sessions to take charge of the churches and for the above salary. He promised to give an answer in a few weeks, which he did-in the negative.
"The Rev. Mr. Slemons had been most cordially solicited by the commissioners to visit our churches, with a warranted assur- ance of his being highly acceptable to our people. He accord- ingly paid us a visit in the succeeding winter, and received a unanimous invitation to take the charge of the churches upon a fixed salary of 180 pounds, with a promisory addition of twenty (200 pounds), if it shall be found practicable to collect it. Mr. Slemons having expressed his willingness to accept the offer, the session means to bring matters to a speedy arrangement. Sub- scription papers were put into circulation, and the promptness with which they were filled up, practically confirmed the attach- ment of the people to Mr. Slemons. He was obliged to return to Lancaster, under a promise to return by the first or middle of June, 1799. During the absence of Mr. Slemons, the Ses- sions requested a special meeting of the Presbytery to be called on June 26th." .. "The Presbytery met, agreeably to ap- pointment, Mr. Slemons and the commissioners attending." Mr. Slemons was ordained by Presbytery the next day (June 27th, 1798). Mr. McMaster was appointed to install him in the churches as soon as possible, which he did. The Manokin Ses- sion "entered into a bond with Mr. Slemons for one hundred pounds, payable on the first day of June, 1800. The upper Ses- sion (Wicomico) bonding for 80 pounds. This Session to en- deavor to make up 110 pounds, and the upper Session 90 pounds, to complete the 200 pounds." The names of 71 persons appear attached to the subscription list. John C. Wilson subscribed the sum of 16 pounds, 7 shillings, 6 pence. Those next to him were Thomas King, Samuel Ker and Levin Winder, who subscribed
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4 pounds, 10 shillings each. Ten of the subscribers were women.
1799. July 23d. "Ordered that Mr. John Porter be ap- plied to to build a new Session house, and repair the church, by the direction of the Session." These repairs were completed by May 9th, 1800, and cost 30 pounds, 7 shillings and 6 pence. In the entries relative to the payment of Mr. Porter's bill, the dollar mark is used for the first time.
1801 July 7th. "A late break having happened from a crowded gallery, which rendered repairs necessary," a committee was appointed to have the repairs made. Workmen were engaged at "six and six pence per day."
1802. April 24th. Col. George Handy and Mr. George Irving were elected Elders. The request of the Wicomico Ses- sion that the two Sessions meet "yearly by committee or other- wise to consult upon measures of general utility to the churches," was approved.
1803. January 29th. "Resolved, That the Treasurer, Samuel Ker, purchase a quarto Bible for the use of the pulpit."
1803. July 23d. Mr. Josiah W. Heath was elected a mem- ber of the Session. It was also "Resolved, That our church avail itself of the incorporation law of this State, as it relates to the Church in general, and that a day of meeting to elect Trustees be publicly announced next Lord's Day."
1803. September 23d. "Resolved, That the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper be administered twice a year in each of the churches."
1804. "In consequence of the departure of Mr. George Irving, one of the Ruling Elders of this church, the Session pro- ceeded to elect his successor, Mr. Elias Bagley."
1806. May 6th. Dr. Thomas Handy was elected an Elder in place of William Polk, deceased.
1810. July 10th. "Three vacancies in ye Session having been caused by ye deaths of Mr. Jonathan Pollitt and Mr. James Wilson, and ye removal of Dr. Thomas Handy, Messrs. Jesse
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History of the Manokin Presbyterian Church.
Wainwright, Mr. William Stewart and Dr. Handy Irving were appointed to fill them."
1811. July 25th. It was resolved that Jesse Wainwright and William Stewart "be, as soon as convenient, ordained as Ruling Elders of this church, which has been delayed in conse- quence of the illness of. Mr. Slemons." As Dr. Irving had re- moved, no action was taken in his case.
1812. August 5th. "Resolved, That Messrs. Wainwright and George Handy be a committee to inspect the house, and have such repairs made as may render it comfortable."
September 2d. The committee reported "that window shut- ters, bars and bolts were required." "As the ground of the church lies unenclosed, and ye legal title is vested in Mrs. Elizabeth Jackson, who is aged; resolved, that Messrs. George Handy and Samuel Ker apply to Mrs. Jackson for a transfer of the property to the use of the congregation."
At this meeting of Session, Samuel Ker, only surviving son of the late Rev. Jacob Ker, requested permission to remove his father's body "to the family burying ground on his own farm." This was approved.
1813. May 13th. The committee to wait on Mrs. Jackson reported that she had given "a deed to Messrs. George Handy and Samuel Ker, conveying to the congregation any rights which may hereafter be found invested in her."
1813. August 18th. "Resolved, That as ye congregation is increasing, and the demand for pews greater than can be met, that there be an addition of at least twenty feet at the western end of the church, and that some new arrangement of the pulpit and pews take place."
1815. March 25th. "Resolved, That ye Treasurer place in the hands of Mr. Stewart $12.00 to be appropriated equally be- tween ye funds of ye Missionary and Education Society of the Presbyterian Church."
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1815. August 28th. A committee was appointed "to pre- pare a plan for ye enlargement of the Presbyterian Church in Princess Anne." At this meeting it was also "Resolved, That Samuel Ker and George Handy be appointed to prepare a peti- tion to Somerset County, at April term, for a commission to mark and bound the lot of ground in which the church stands."
1816. March 28th. "Resolved, That an addition of 20 feet to the west end of the church be agreed upon; and if, upon inspection of the walls, it should be judged practicable, ...... that there should be a half or whole story raised upon the old walls; and that the whole interior of the church should be re- modelled as to the pews, putting the pulpit in the west end."
"Resolved, That a substantial enclosure be erected around the building." The pews, when the alterations are made, are to be made choice of by the people in accordance with the size of their regular subscriptions to the support of the Gospel. Where the amount is the same, "the parties shall draw lots, in case they cannot agree between themselves."
1817. April 7th. "Resolved, That in consequence of the great scarcity of money, at this time, together with certain diffi- culties arising from the present circulating medium, it be deemed impracticable to prosecute the work for the present season" of repairing the church. It was determined to appropriate the money already collected "to the enclosing of the yard."
"Resolved, That the south part of the ground belonging to this church, on which stands a saw house, be exposed to public sale."
1817. August 15th. A committee was appointed "to pre- pare a petition to the next Assembly of this State, to incorporate the Manokin congregation." (See 1831.)
1818. January 29th. Elder Samuel Ker, having removed to Snow Hill, was dismissed to that congregation.
1820. June 7th. Mr. Stephen Collins, Jr., was elected a member of the Session.
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History of the Manokin Presbyterian Church.
Between 1820 and 1829, the Minutes of Session seem to have been very imperfectly kept. The following is a brief his- tory of the church during that period : Mr. Slemons continued to minister to the people until 1821. Rev. W. C. Kidd, Principal in Washington Academy, occupied the pulpit from the fall of 1822 to the spring of 1823. Rev. Robert M. Laird visited Prin- cess Anne and preached several times in the spring of 1823. He then went west. However, he was invited to take charge of the pulpit, and did so on the first Sabbath of October, 1824. He remained until the latter part of July, 1825. Rev. Joshua Moore accepted an invitation and came to Princess Anne in April, 1826, and was installed in June. He remained until September, 1828. In December, 1828, Mr. Laird again entered upon the work as stated supply.
1829. Robert Patterson was ordained an Elder on the 29th of July.
1830. May 15th. "Resolved, That in the future, the Lord's Supper be dispensed once in three months, if found convenient."
1831. "By an Act of Incorporation, passed on the 14th of February, 1831, all the temporal concerns of this church are to be conducted by a committee, consisting of the minister, ...... the elders, and not less than five nor more than twelve lay mem- bers." (See 1817.)
The Sessional records were very imperfectly kept between the years 1832-1840. A general summary, however, appears on the Minute Book.
"About the close of the year 1834," the Rev. Robert M. Laird "became so much enfeebled by disease and an over-application of the various duties he had to perform, as to render him utterly unable to fulfill his ministerial duties in the pulpit, so that in July, 1835, it became necessary for him to resign his charges here; and he, with his family, removed from this Peninsula to seek a more congenial climate, but he was soon after called by
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death from the Church below to the Church above." He "won the affection and esteem of all," by his "kind, conciliating man- ner, modest, dignified and ministerial deportment, and his faith- ful and diligent discharge of his duties."
"The Rev. Ferdinand Jacobs, who was Mr. Laird's successor in the Washington Academy, preached occasionally, but this by no means abated the effort to obtain a stated minister. It was not until the month of December, 1835," that the Rev. Enoch Thomas, a licentiate of the Wilmington Presbytery, was employed for a term of six months. He left "at the expiration of that period."
"In the spring of 1836, the Rev. Samuel B. Jones. ... preached here, and a call was unanimously made out for him on the 22d day of June, 1836, but was not accepted."
In the fall, Rev. James P. Stedman visited the churches, and was highly acceptable, but declined to accept a call.
"About the close of the year 1836, the Rev. James M. Stewart was warmly recommended and cordially received." He declined to accept the call tendered him, and left "on or about the 1st of July, 1837."
"On the 10th of June, 1837, the Manokin congregation met .and unanimously concurred in calling the Rev. Ferdinand Jacobs to the pastoral office in Manokin and Wicomico churches. The call was accepted by Mr. Jacobs, with the understanding that he would not fully enter into the duties of his office until the fall, when he would be released from his engagements with the Trustees of the Washington Academy. Mr. Jacobs' salary com- menced on the 15th of November, 1837. The annual sum cove- nanted to be paid for his serviecs is six hundred dollars-Mano- kin congregation to pay $360.00; and Wicomico congregation, $240.00, in half yearly installments. Since this engagement, the joint congregations have purchased of William W. Handy, Esq., the house and lot adjoining the Manokin Church, for a parsonage, where the Rev. Mr. Jacobs now resides-this house and lot is in addition to the $600.00 specified in the call."
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History of the Manokin Presbyterian Church.
"On the 23d of December, 1837, the Presbytery of Lewis met at Salisbury for the special purpose of installing Mr. Jacobs as Pastor of the united congregations of Manokin and Salisbury (Wicomico)."
"Mr. Jacobs preaches in this church on every other Sabbath morning, and lectures in the evening of the same day. The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper is here dispensed twice in the year, namely, in spring and fall."
"Prayer meeting, on Saturday and Sunday evenings, has been regularly kept up during the period between 1832 and 1840, chiefly by Dr. Samuel Ker, when a goodly number of those mem- bers who live convenient attend."
On the 9th of April, 1839, at a joint meeting of the Sessions of Manokin and Wicomico churches, held in Princess Anne, it was unanimously resolved to remain loyal to the Old School branch of the Church, and to send Mr. Jacobs and Robert Pat- terson as representatives to Lewis Presbytery, which was to meet in Laurel, Delaware, April 26th, 1839, to urge that Presbytery to acknowledge its allegiance to the Old School branch. The two representatives did the best they could, but they stood alone, the other representatives at Presbytery declaring their adherence to the New School branch of the Church. Mr. Jacobs at once in- formed them of his intention, and that of his two charges, to follow the direction of the Synod, and withdraw from connection with the Lewis Presbytery and unite with the Baltimore Presby- tery, which remained true to the Old School branch.
1840. December 20th. William T. G. Polk and his brother, Joseph G. Polk, were ordained Elders of the Manokin Church.
1841. January 26th. "We, the Session, hereby ordain it as a standing rule in Manokin Church, that two sermons be annually preached, one in favor of Foreign, the other of Domestic Missions."
1841. August 31st. The Sessions of the Wicomico and
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Manokin churches met in Princess Anne and voted "that we accede to the petition of Rev. Ferdinand Jacobs," asking to be released from the "pastoral relation with this people." By direction of the Presbytery, which met in Baltimore on the 7th of September, 1841, the dissolution of the pastoral relation was to take effect November 15th, 1841.
1841. September 29th. "The congregation met, agreeable to notice. Robert Patterson took the chair. The Rev. The- odore W. Simpson, from the Winchester Presbytery, Virginia, was unanimously chosen to succeed the Rev. Ferdinand Jacobs."
1841. The latter part of October, Rev. Messrs. Elias Har- rison, Cortlandt Van Rensselaer and John C. Backus held "pro- tracted meetings" in the Wicomico and Manokin churches. The record is: "May the Lord reward them for this labor of love, and for the great earnestness and zeal with which they labored."
1841. The Rev. Theodore W. Simpson, having accepted the invitation to become the Pastor of the united congregations, "arrived with his family on the 30th of November, and com- menced his ministerial labors by preaching at Salisbury on Sun- day, the 5th of December, and at Princess Anne on the 12th of December."
1842. April 2d. "Agreeable to a previous notice, the Rev. Robert T. Berry preached and moderated the call. Rev. T. W. Simpson received the unanimous call of this congregation to be their minister, on a salary of $600.00, and the use of the manse and lot-$360.00 to be raised by this congregation, and $240.00 by the church at Salisbury (Wicomico), salary commencing the 1st day of December, 1841.
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