USA > Pennsylvania > Delaware County > Radnor > The history of old St. David's church, Radnor, in Delaware county, Pennsylvania, with a complete alphabetical list of wardens and vestrymen, and of the interments in the graveyard, 1700-1906 > Part 4
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When the spell of the mighty preacher is yet fresh upon the people of the Province the wail of this loyal churchman is almost pathetic.
In his letter to the Society, dated "Radnor, July 7, 1740," he says :
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Old St. David's Church.
You have here enclosed an acct. of ye state of my two con- gregations from May 1739 to May 1740. It may perhaps be somewhat surprising to ye Honble Society to find so great a difference between this and ye last acct I sent you; But did they know how much pains and Labr ye Revd. Mr. Whitefield has lately spent among us to Rob us of our char- acters and then of our hearers their wonder would imme- diately cease. This strolling preacher, what by a musical voice, by an agreeable delivery, a brazen forehead, imperti- nent asseverations, uncharitable assertions and impious im- precations upon himself, if what he says be not true, has raised such a confusion among the people of this province as I believe will not be laid in haste, and (which I am troubled about) has made a very great rent in all the con- gregations belonging to the Church of England. The gen- erality of my hearers not only run after, but adore him as an oracle from heaven.
They look upon all he says to be ye immediate dictates of ye Holy Ghost, only because he confidently asserts it to be so, & Imprecates ye most dreadful curses upon himself if what he says be not true. There is a very large church a- building for him in ye City towards wch all sorts of people have contributed. This deceiver pretends to be ye only true minister of ye Church of England now in all America & yet he has a Criminal Regard for all those who have ever been ye avowed enemies of ye Church of Engd. When he left this Province last he conjurd. all his hearers especially those of ye Church of Engd to leave their own teachers because their Doctrine was Damnable, and cleave to his Dear Bror. Mr. Gilbert Tennant & his Brern. as ye only true Gospel preachers in the whole country. Now this Gilbert Tennant has ever been lookd upon even by ye Discreeter sort of his own Society as a kind of mad man and generally went by ye names of Hell-fire Tennant. However since he was recom- mended by Whitefield he is followed by all sorts of people
49
George Whitefield, 1740.
and is now in as great repute as his Master, his whole endeavr is to preach men out of yr reason. In it he has been greatly successful for there are sevl. people now raving mad wch, was intirely occasioned by ye Damnatory Sentences pro- nounced agst ym. by this mad Enthusiast and some of his Crazd. Brethern.
This short account of ye State of our affairs at present is from
Reverend Sir Your hub servant WILLIAM CURRIE.
P. S. I wrote to ye Society sometime ago for a prayer book for Radnr Church but have not recd it. I pray you to send it and some small ones to distribute and some King's Inventions of Men &c.
Later, as the wave of enthusiasm has somewhat diminished in force, he writes under date of "Rad- nor, May 2, 1741":
I supply constantly at Radnor & Perqua Excepting one Sunday in every seven weeks when I'm obliged to preach at Philada, by The appointment of the missionaries till that Congregation can be provided with a minister of their own.
All the people in my congregations who were smitten wth Whitefield are again returnd to their former principles, So that I have the same number of communicants in Radnor I used to have and in Perqua the number is considerably in- creased. In Radnor there were last Easter upwards of forty and in Perqua about twenty.
Upon Whitefield's coming here my people grew slack in paying their Subscription money and Still Continue so. Out of upwards of 60 pounds Subscribed I dont receive twenty from both places and Bills here are a mere drug having fallen from 70 to 35 so that it goes hard with me, And to mend the matter I was obligd to buy a plantation being
4
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Old St. David's Church.
turned out of the place where I lived before. The Plan- tation I have purchased cost me 160 pounds one-half whereof I was obligd to pay immediately.
Again, in letter dated "Radnor, Sept. 28, 1741," he says :
I have two flourishing congregations. Some of my hearers were like to be drawn away by Whitefield & his followers but through the blessing of God upon my Endeavors I have not only kept such to their profession but have brought over Several others Since his departure, to be my constant hearers & two persons who were Dissenters before have recd the Sacrament from me.
The following incident in the history of the church during this period is copied from The American Weekly Mercury, of Philadelphia, under date of July 12, 1742, and is at least valuable as giving a glimpse of the furnishings of a colonial church at that early date :
Some time last week the Church in Radnor Township, Chester County, was broke open and a Chest therein which was bound round with Iron Hoops was also broke open and the following Goods stole out of the same, viz: one large folio Bible almost new with Cuts and the Arms of the Hon- ourable Society in it and writing in several Places, one quarto Bible almost new; one black Gown made of fine Spanish Cloth-one Chalice; two Plates; and one Bason being stamp'd Radnor Church. Whosoever will apprehend and secure the Felons so that they may be brought to Justice shall receive Five Pounds as a Reward from the Minister and Wardens of the said Church.
An important contribution to the history both of St. David's, Radnor, and of St. Peter's Church, in Great
5 I
"St. Peter's in the Valey."
Valley, Chester County, also appears in Mr. Currie's letter dated "Plymouth [probably the township near Norristown, where he owned property], Sept. 23, 1744," as follows :
I acquainted ye Society in a former lettr That ye upper part of my parish at Radnor were about to make an addition to their Chapel, But instead of that They have built a New Stone one for wch they humbly pray ye Venerable Society for a Bible & Prayer book.
Again, under date "March 26, 1745," he says :
My congregation being much the same as when I wrote in September last I have nothing now to add but that the Church in the Valey wch was then in building was Since opened by the Revd Dr. Jenny by the name of St. Peters in the Valey. There I preach once a month to a Large and Regular Congregation who humbly pray the Venerable So- ciety for a Bible & Prayer book.
To this letter, under date of "April 8, 1746," the Society replied : "It is with Pleasure the Society hears of new Churches rising in Pennsylvania, and have ordered a Folio Bible and Common Prayer Book for that of St. Peter's in the Valey."
But this cause for gratification is tinged with dis- appointment, for in letter dated "Philada., Sept. 28, 1747," Mr. Currie writes :
I beg leave to acquaint Ye Venerable Society that the Con- gregations of Radnor and Perqr have in a great measure withdrawn their Subscriptions ever since I began to officiate one Sunday in every three weeks in St. Peter's Church and the Congregation there being generally poor though numerous makes up but a very small sum for me annually which
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Old St. David's Church.
together with the great expense I am at for ye recovery of my health having labored under a very ill state for sevl years makes it very hard for me to maintain my numerous family. I therefore humbly pray the Venerable Society to take my case into their Consideration and redress this grievance either by allowing me a Small annuity for officiating at St. Peter's or else enjoining the Congregations to Contribute more lib- erally to my Support. I might have made this Complaint two years ago but waited in hopes that time would have brought them to a better mind.
That Mr. Currie's suggestion was promptly acted upon by the Society by some special allowance to him is clear from his letter, dated Philadelphia, September 28, 1748, wherein he writes: "Yours of July 28, 1748, I recd. with joy, and return my most hearty thanks for ye regard the honble Society was pleased to show to my remonstrance of Sept. 28, 1747, and for the gen- erous present which I shall in all my future Conduct make it my Constant Endeavors to deserve."
In preparing this history of Radnor Church so lit- tle direct connection exists between the information obtained from Mr. Currie's letters and that obtained from other sources that it will be more satisfactory first to consider these letters chronologically up to the time of the Revolution, and then review the history of the same period as presented in the records of the church, and in existing traditions. To this end ex- tracts from these letters will be considered seriatim.
Though containing much of a peculiarly personal nature and padded with stereotyped expressions of
53
Contemplated Removal.
devotion, these letters yet contain much authentic in- formation obtainable from no other source.
In letter dated "Plymouth, Nov. 12, 1748," Mr. Cur- rie, evidently sick and discouraged, writes: "That as ye Mission of Radnor, &c., has been for several years past by much too fatiguing from my infirm State of health, I am willing to be removed to Trenton, pro- vided I shall be appointed for that & the two Towns mentioned in a petition to your Honours from those places & be allowed the usual salary of 60 pounds sterlg. p. annum with such a Library as is allowed to your other missions."
That this application for removal was seriously con- sidered, and the subject of general discussion, and that its contemplation also caused him solicitude for the people whose pastor he had already been for twelve years is evidenced in a letter dated "Plymouth, March 28th, 1749," wherein he writes: "As I have received no Account as yet what the Society has Determined with Relation to the mission to be settled at Trenton, I shall only Observe that my congregation are mightily disturbed at the Report that I am like to be Removd from them, which if it should happen I earnestly beg that they may be speedily supplyed with a discreet & able minister."
During his long term Mr. Currie's health was at best but feeble, and this fact is strongly emphasized in many letters.
In letter dated "Philada., March 29, 1751," he
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Old St. David's Church.
speaks of "My ill state of health which rather grows worse than better," and that "I am advised by my Physicians that a Voyage to Sea would be of service to me, and having some affairs relating to my Family to Settle in Scotland," and he asks for a leave of absence of eight or nine months from the parish, as- suring the Society that "I'll endeavor to take care that it be frequently supplied by my neighbouring Brethren." This request was renewed in letter of Sept. 30, 175I.
In letter dated "Philada., Mch. 28, 1761," he reports that, "Notwithstanding my sore affliction I have been enabled to attend my Churches without intermission ever since my last Letter by ye help of an anodyne taken every morning before I set out."
Again in letter dated "Radnor, Sept. 29, 1761," after referring to his continuance to discharge his duties, he says, "Yet so grevious is my affliction that next to a sense of God's favr through Christ ye prospect of ye happy moment when I shall exchange ye present for a future state gives me ye greatest pleasure."
By letter of March 28, 1750, the Society had notified Mr. Currie that "the Society's circumstances will by no means permit them to erect Trenton, Hopwell and Maidenhead into a Mission." And under date of August, 1751, they had assented to Mr. Currie's leave of absence, provided the parish be duly supplied in his absence, "and therefore if Mr. Usher be not yet returned to his Mission they could wish you would defer yr Voyage some little Time till his Arrival."
55
Pathetic Letter, 1762.
In the Peters' collection of manuscript letters is a tattered fragment from Mr. Currie, which tells of a terrible sorrow in his life. Though the letter is un- dated, the incidents to which it refers fix its date early in the year 1762. No other allusion to the inci- dent has been obtainable from any source; but as there is some evidence that the subject of his solicitude was a physician in Chester County after the Revolution, it is probable that Dr. Peters' intercession was successful.
Though remotely bearing on the history of Radnor Church, the letter is deemed of sufficient interest to warrant its reproduction here, as follows :
The Revd. Mr. Richard Peters in Philada.
As gratitude is all ye Tribute great & generous minds will have in return for ye Benefits they confer I can only beg you to accept ye overflowings of a Heart charged with ye most grateful resentments for your kind Promise to intercede with his Excellency General Monkton on behalf of my unhappy son James who (as I have been informed lately) dishonor- ably abandoned his Post in ye army under his Excellency's Command in Mortinieo. Should that unhappy youth once ye Darling of both his Parents be obliged to submit (illegible) ye fatal sentence of a Court Martial it would Dr. Sr. (ille- gible) our gray Hairs with Sorrow to ye Grave.
May gracious (illegible) therefore give success to your Endeavours preserve (illegible) for a Comfort to the dis- tressed & reward this most (illegible) instance of friendship and humanity with the Concert of its Blessings here and hereafter.
I am Rev. Dr. Sr. with ye greatest Esteem
Your ever obliged & most humble servant WILLIAM CURRIE,
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Old St. David's Church.
This letter and the mysterious circumstances to which it refers are given additional interest by the fact (appearing from papers in the William Smith MSS and in notes to Perry's Collections) that some twenty years before (in April, 1741) Mr. Currie had united in a formal protest to the Bishop of London against Mr. Peters' appointment as Commissary in Pennsylvania containing aspersions against Mr. Peters' character which were subsequently retracted by Mr. Currie through fear, it is said, of legal prosecution.
A further interest is also excited in the incident by the fact of Dr. Peters' close association with the early history of the College of Philadelphia-now the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania-of whose Board of Trustees he was president as early as 1756. He was, therefore, almost certainly acquainted personally with James Cur- rie, who matriculated at the college in 1757.
Many of the original letters to the Society during the middle period of the Eighteenth Century have been lost, but the copious minutes kept by their secretaries largely supply the deficiency. From this source, in minutes of meeting of November 21, 1755, it is learned that Mr. Currie had expressed a hope that "the Society will send him an assistant, to whom he will resign all his perquisites, reserving only for the support of his numerous family the Society's bounty." "Mr. Cur- rie has been missionary at Radnor for eighteen years next May, during all which time he never had the least difference with any member of his numerous congrega-
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No Curate for Missions.
tion, for though they have been very negligent in their subscriptions yet he would never quarrel with them for private interest, but if the Society should appoint an assistant Mr. Currie hopes they will enjoin the con- gregations of Radnor, Perquihoma and St. Peter's to contribute generously towards his support."
To this letter, "being a case of extraordinary na- ture," the Society gave "further consideration," but subsequently acquainted Mr. Currie "that it is not the practice of the Society to keep curates for their mis- sionaries."
From minutes of May 21, 1756, it is learned that in September, 1755, Mr. Currie had reported baptizing eighty-eight persons in last half-year, and that the number of actual communicants at Easter was ninety. That he had also reported his health much improved, "and if he should be once able to take a voyage by sea, for which he has obtained leave of the Society, he is persuaded it would be of great service to him." "The Rev. Mr. Smith, Provost of the College in Philadel- phia, has promised to supply Mr. Currie's place when- ever he shall be able to undertake his intended voyage."
This record is of value as indicating the high esteem in which Mr. Currie must have been held to secure so prominent a clergyman to fill his place during his contemplated absence.
The Minutes of the Society of March 21, 1760, also report a letter from Mr. Currie, dated September 29, 1759, showing number of communicants eighty-seven,
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Old St. David's Church.
and that "about three months before they had put the last hand to the finishing of St. Peter's Church with a large gallery which, with the floor below, is crowded every time he preaches there ; and they are about to re- pair St. David's, in Radnor, with a legacy of Fifty pounds left for the purpose by a religious young man who died some years ago."
Another valuable contribution is in his letter dated "Radnor, March 31st, 1760," wherein he writes to the Society as follows :
I must beg leave to acquaint the Society that although my hearers are many in number especially at Radnor and ye Valley, yet they are become so very careless and lukewarm that I cannot get them to meet on Easter Monday to chuse a Vestry. And as to my support among them there are but a very few that give themselves any concern about it and hitherto I have lived upon a place of my own purchasing, but as my ill state of health rendered me incapable of managing it any longer I have parted with it and am now destitute of a habitation for my numerous family and as there is a small Glebe belonging to Perquihama Church but no house on it, I pray ye Society may enjoin ye Congregation to rebuild ye house or purchase one more convenient, a standing Rule of ye Society they have never yet complied with which if they neglect to do I must petition to be removed to a mission where I can have a convenient habitation.
Again, under date of "Radnor, September 29, 1763," he writes to the Society :
I have the pleasure to acquaint you that my congregations of Radnor and the Valley daily encrease; but that at Per- quihama rather declines as the Dutch buy out the English and settle in their room. I have acquainted the Society that
59
Radnor Men Lukewarm.
the Glebe House is in ruins and have expected orders from time to time to the Congregations to repair it, and if it is not repaired soon I must beg leave to petition the Society for a remove to another Mission where I can have a better support for my numerous and expensive family having noth- ing to depend upon here but the Rent of the Glebe which is but Five pounds this Currency Parr. and about Twenty pounds a year for marriages besides the Society's Salary.
That Mr. Currie did not avail himself of the Society's leave of absence is apparent in a letter dated "Radnor, March 26, 1764," wherein he asks for leave of absence "to settle two of my sons in ye colony of Granada," and suggests his own appointment to such mission as the Society may open there, to the end that he may better support his family, consisting of six sons and one daughter.
And in letter dated "Radnor, Sept. 29, 1764," he re- fers to the Society's letter "of 23 Feb., 1764, to ye Church Wardens of Radnor," evidently written in reply to his request of March 31, 1760; and after stat- ing that "My infirm State of Health obliges me to postpone my intended Voyage to ye Granades till some future opportunity," he again refers to his congrega- tions as "so lukewarm that I cannot prevail with 'em to spare so much time on a week day as to meet to choose a Vestry, & unless they are roused to their Duty by Letters from ye Society ye Mission here will in a short time dwindle to nothing."
That the Society responded kindly to these letters appears by his letter dated "Radnor, March 30, 1765," wherein he writes :
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Old St. David's Church.
Your favr. of Sept. 19, 1764 I had ye honour to receive and return my kindest thanks to ye Venble. Society for their indulgent offer, but as there is to be no mission opened in Granada and my State of Health continues much ye same I must leave my sons to push for themselves and be content to spend ye small remains of Life yet before me in ye station wherein kind Providence and my generous Benefactors have been pleasd to place me, & I shall endeavour thro. ye help of God as I have always done hitherto that it shall not be spent in vain.
The Society's letter to the Vestry of Radnor &c. I laid before them which they have still under consideration. The congregation of Perqa. is willing to comply with it, but that of Radnor is not, alledging that as the Glebe is not situated convenient to them they cannot think of laying out their money upon it but would rather in conjunction with ye con- gregation of St. Peter's purchase a small Glebe betwixt these two churches, but as I am satisfied they are not of ability, the price of land being exceeding high, I have thought of living in ye glebe at Perqua, towards ye repairing of which & re- building ye Glebe house I have subscribed 14 lb of this Cur- rency which is 9 lbs sterl. unless the other two Churches will either purchase or hire a House for me.
Though Mr. Currie certainly kept the Society well informed concerning his ill condition of health, yet his reports were evidently details of fact, and not of fancy, for-"Oct. 1, 1765," he writes that his health is "bet- ter this half year than for several years before," and asks for a reply to inquiries of last letter, "for as ye congregations of Radnor & the Valley are like to do nothing towards providing a Glebe I intend with ye Society's leave to move my family to ye Glebe at Per-
6I
Mr. Currie's Residence.
quihoma, ye House whereof is almost finished by that generous handful of people and my own assistance."
And "March 29, 1766," he again writes that he en- joys "a much better state of health than formerly, so that I am able with ease and pleasure to attend ye Dutys of my sacred function. I long for an answer to my last letters relating to ye Glebe House, not being willing to move my family to Perquihoma till I know ye Society's pleasure, which, with their leave, I am resolved to do unless ye congregations of Radnor and ye Valley provide me a Convenient Habi- tation." "At present I live on a little farm I pur- chased some years ago, which my expensive Family obliges me to fill in order to put my Sons in some way of business."
The desired permission for Mr. Currie to remove to Perkiomen was at last sent in the Society's letter of May 26, 1766, and his removal there was probably effected soon afterwards, though there is no formal rec- ord to that effect, and the fact that most of his sub- sequent letters are dated at Radnor, seems to leave the place of his actual residence in much doubt.
A much brighter tone appears in his letter dated "Radnor, Mch. 30, 1768." He writes, "Blessed be God, I enjoy a much better state of health than I did some time ago so that I am able to attend my Numer- ous Congregations more constantly & with a great deal more pleasure now I am sixty years of age than when I was forty."
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Old St. David's Church.
But as the flare of a dying fire is often the pre- cursor of its extinguishment, this letter is followed by one containing such a touch of real pathos as can hardly fail to excite sentiments of sympathy in the reader. Under date of "Radnor, March 27, 1771," he informs the Society of the burial of his wife, "whose unexpected death is the sorest stroke I ever met with. One of my sons (a hopeful youth) I am educating for the Ministry, and hope my honble Pa- trons will receive him into their Service when qualified for holy orders." "He is now in the 21st year of his age." "Blessed be God your aged servant in the 63rd of his Life performs the duties of his function with more pleasure & greater ability than when 15 years younger, having received a better state of health. * My son is a great help to me in reading Prayers and a Discourse to the congregations when the weather is too Stormy for me to ride out."
Perhaps his personal sorrow explains the absence of any reference in this letter to the building of the gallery at St. David's, which occurred in this same year, and of which more particular mention will be made in con- sidering the history of the church as presented front other sources.
Under date "Radnor, March 28, 1772," he acknowl- edges to the Society their "kind sympathizing letter of 20th of Aug., 1771." "The assurances you give me in it of the honble Society's kind and generous Intention towards myself & son afford me no small consolation
63
His Second Marriage.
under my present declining state & I can only say that I want words to express the grateful acknowledgements I am willing to make them for so much goodness."
The circumstances of Mr. Currie must not be over- looked in the consideration of his next letter. He has plainly presented them, and they should prevent the withdrawal of the sympathy his last letter properly ex- cites.
Under date of "Radnor, Sept. 29, 1772," he writes :
Being extremely destitute and uncapable of managing my numerous Family consisting of Children, Grandchildren and Old Negroes, without a Wife, I was inducd to marry again. [ made choice of a Widow Gentlewoman of my own congre- gation, who being a prudent religious Woman of a suitable age, fifteen years younger than myself, without any incum- brance & a remarkable good manager, seems every way quali- fied to render my future life comfortable, [and he asks for her] the same indulgence after my decease with other Mis- sionary's Widows.
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