Mm\:}\^' i f I ' 1. :^ s..,4>.ir, „.,i .. i, •0' 'o>' ^ ^ a" <."--*\o»-' V*^?f^V ^^''-^^^^'^ V^^^vTi'/ '^^'^^^?^*<«>'^ ^-^-'Z 'V^*^^??^*^' \^^^' J" % 3^^ .oiL*». '^O^ " J" ♦•^J^*_'^^ .0^ ..il.*«. •'o. " .4^ .''J^-.^^^ .0* ^** 3. *♦.,,-* aO' ^'♦•1 •'^.••!nL'i VS ./%. ^.^*5' .iJM:43 s,"^' -/ -_/.{..■ / Tin. 1 r. (ill l;i II, I\i;.\ I'. THE OLD BRICK CHURCHES (Bf JHarplauI}. BY HELEN WEST RIDGELY. WITH ILLUSTRATIONS SOPHIE DE BUTTS STEWART. ,<<-'-■■■ • J> W^ / NEW YORK: ANSON D. F. RANDOLPH AND COMPANY (incorporated), 182 Fifth Avenue. 1894. Copyright, 189 J^, By Anson D. F. Randolph and Co. (iNCORPOKATED. ) 2Intber3ttD iircss: John Wilson and Sox, Cambridge, U.S.A. FT? 2 TO E\)Z fRtmoxv of mc (^rantifatljfr, JOSEPH WHITE MOULTON, A PIONEER HISTORIAN OK THE STATE OF NEW YORK. M ^.\ iG^/ r.'-Xy' ... . -i An Old IMap of IMA):yLANU PEEFATORY NOTE. ijrPTON-, October, 1S!)4. ILLUSTRATIONS. Page The I. U. Church, Kent Frontispiece An Old ]\Iap of Maryland „ . . . . ix St. Paul's, Kent 7 A Picturesque Corner, Chestertown 10 Doorway of the New Choir, St. Thomas' . , . . . 21 St. Luke's, Wye 25 Somerset Parish Communion Silver 31 Old Green Hill Church before it was restored . . 32 Trinity Church, St. Mary's 39 An Old Manor House 41 An Old Parsonage 56 St. James' Church, Herring Creek 67 St. James', Herring Creek, Church Silver 71 Graves of the Dick Family 82 Marley Chapel 85 Tombs of the Moale Family 102 St. James', or the Manor Church 106 St. Thomas', or Garrison Forest Church 115 Silver belonging to St. Thomas', Garrison Forest . . 126 €i}apttv I. THE CAVALIER AXD THE TURITAX. — " OLD KENT. ST. PAUL'S CHURCH. — YESTRYMEX OF ST. PAUL'S. AX OLD YESTRY-HOUSE. — REY. STEPHEX BORDLEY. — THE L U. CHURCH. EMMAXUEL CHURCH. CHESTERTOAYX. ^ CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Pages The Cavalier axd the Plritax. — " Old Kext."— St. Paul's Church. —Vestkvmex of St. Paul's. —Ax Old Vestry - Hou.se. — The Rev. Stephex Bordlev. — The I. U. Church. — Emmaxuel Church, Chestertowx . 1-17 CHAPTER 11. Old Chester." — St. Luke's, Wye. — The Tilghmaxs AXD the Lloyds. — The Rev. Thomas Bacox. — Hexry Calllster.— The Bexxett Buryixg-Grouxd.— St. Luke's, Church Hill. — St. Johx's, Tuckahoe. — Trtxity, Dor- j. CHESTER COUXTY. — St. AxDREW's, SOMERSET COUXTY. l! The Old Greex Hill Church, Wicomico County. ►-■'"" All Hallows', Worce.ster Couxty. — St. Mary's, Cecil County. —A List of the Orioixal Parishes <»f the y Easterx Shore of Marylaxd 19-."M CHAPTER IIL The "Ark" axd the " Dove."— " Old St. Mary's."— The CouRT-HousE Church.— Ax Axciext Maxor.— The Pirst Wedding.— Anciext Documexts.— Rev. Dr. Bray.— The First Printing Press. — John Coode. — Rose Croft. A Midnight Escapade. — An Historic Mulberry . 35-47 k\ ) i xiv Contents. CHAPTER IV. Packs St. Marv's, Coxtinukd. — Coxtkibutioxs towards a Clergy- man's Support. — St. George's, Poplar Hill. — Christ Church, Chaptico. — St. Andrew's. — The Rev. Moses Tabds' Will. — The First Church of St. Clement's Uav Hundred. — William Bretton, Esq. — All Faith Parish. — The Cool Springs. — Calvert County. — Christ Church. — Miduleham Chapel. — All Saints'. — St. Paul's, Prince George's County 49-G3 CHAPTER V. Puritan Settlements. — The " Act Concerning Religion." The Quakers. — Ancient Parishes of Anne Arundel County. — St. James', Herring Creek. — The Chews 65-77 CHAPTER VI. Anne Arundel, Continued. — The South River Club. All Hallows' Church. — The Rev. Joseph Colbatch. Marley Chapel. — Odd Names. — St. Anne's Parish. The Dorseys. — Queen Caroline Parish Church, How- ard County 79-92 CHAPTER VII. Baltimore County. — Anecdotes. — Daniel Dulany. — Capt. Charles Ridgely. — The Rev. John Coleman. — Re- demptioners and Convicts. — Jeremiah Eaton's Bequest. T''he ^Ianor Church. — Weddings in "Ye Olden Time." Marriage Portions 93-112 Contents. XV CHArTER VIII. Pages Baltimokk County, Coxtixukd. — Oluton's Garrison. — St. Thomas' or Garrison Forest Church. — The Howards, The Rev. Thomas Cral>ock. — Schoolmasters in " Ye Oldex^ Time." — A Tax on Bachelors. — The Rev. Dr. Coke and the Methodists. — St. Thomas' Churchyard. A List of the Original Parishes on the Western Shore of the Chesapeake 113-129 ^ (Bib 35rick Cljurdjes of iHarj)lanli. I. N local history, the picturesque lias gen- erally taken precedence of the practical, because it first rivets the attention as an object-lesson. When details are entered into, other parts of the drama come to the front to claim their just position and consideration. The picturesque in ]V[aryland has been represented by its band of Cavaliers, who, in the costume of Charles I., with flowing locks, pointed goatee, and erratic mustache, took all hearts capti^'e to their bold, reckless, merr}', idle life. But fashions change ; Vandyke gives place to Kneller, and he in his turn to Sir Joshua Reynolds. Can it be that Maryland has furnished no type of the picturesque save the Cavalier and the stately dame? Have there been no subjects for the brush of a Gerard Dow, a Jules Breton, or a L'Hermite, — no examples from the life of the people, breathing the poetry of common things! Is there no recognition for those wdio have borne the ])urden and heat of the day, and laid the foundations of a purer social life? The lawlessness we generally associate with the gay Cavalier, but which, on account of his amiable qualities we find it so easy to forgive, received numerous checks in Maryland from his natural enemy, the stern Puritan, who, as early as 1650, reigned supreme on the banks of the Severn, and supplied his quota of burgesses to the Assembly of Maryland, held at St. Mary's. The two bodies assumed a mutual hostility in 1655, when the men of Severn shouted their battle-cry, " In tlie name of God, fall on; God is our strength!" over- powering the " Hey for St. Mary's, and wives for us all ! " of their dnshing opponents. Another blow to the Cavalier was dealt in 1692, when Maryland fell under the jurisdiction of Eng- land's king, the sagacious William. St. Mary's was shorn of her glory as the capital of the province in 1695, when she was supplanted by her hated rival on the banks of the Severn. This rival, bearing the name "Annapolis," became henceforth the hub of State affairs. At the time of William and Mary's accession, Prot- estant sects formed more than three foui'ths of the population of Maryland, but there were few worthy leaders among them. An established ministry seemed to be the crying need of the times, and the Episcopal, or National Church of England, was consequently adopted. Parishes were laid out, and a poll tax of forty pounds of tobacco imposed for the support of the ministry. Vestrymen and church wardens were (©ID ^tnu 5 appointed to attend to the secular atlairs of the church, and to serve as guardians of the public morals. The ancient manor houses, now scattered through the lower counties of Maryland, are so many monuments to the departed glory of the Cavalier, while the old brick churches and their offshoots, the chapels of ease, are so many witnesses to the vigorous growth of the people, who in some of the most important crises of our national life, have made a stand for the public good. It is to the life of the people centring around these old brick churches that w^e would now draw attention. The Isle of Kent, on the eastern shore of the Chesa- peake, is the spot where the seed of churchmanship was first sown. Kent was represented in the Virginia Assembly by Captain Nicholas Martin, before Lord Bal- timore's charter was granted, and before Maryland re- ceived her name. It became later the subject of contest between Lord Baltimore and Colonel William Claiborne, who had purchased it from native kings, and had formed a Protestant settlement there as early as 1630. Like Kent in England, which Avas the first to be con- quered by the Anglo-Saxon, Kent in Maryland was the first to fall before the power of the invader, and Clai- borne, with his followers, was obliged to flee. Their lands were confiscated, and among those wdio suffered exile was the Reverend Richard James, who returned to England, and died at the house of Sir Richard Cotton, in 1638. The traditions of Episcopacy were not destroyed, 6 t\)( Mn i5itfk Cl)urcljr0 of spar^lauD. however, and as early as 1650 we find Kent Island in possession of a church whose successor, built of English brick on a granite foundation, was standing as late as 1880, in a grove of venerable oaks near Broad Creek, an inlet of the Chesapeake. Christ Church at Stevensville, about a mile and a half distant, is partly constructed from the brick of this ruin, and rears its head in proud consciousness of lineal descent from the first authenticated church edifice in the province. This seems a strange statement to make in the face of prevailing Roman Catholic traditions, but it is true. The Catholic Lord Proprietary, although he liad the power to license the erection of churches, was obliged, by the terms of the charter, to see that " the same should be dedicated and consecrated according to the ecclesiastical laws of England;" and as the laws of Eng-land were at tliat time antaoT)nistic to the Roman Catholic Churcli, the Jesuits contented themselves with building chapels. The Isle of Kent has ever been noted for the beauty of its scenery and the wealth of its waters, and it is thought to be the only place of settlement of the col- onists on the Eastern Sliore before the year 1652. At this time we find Colonel Richard Bennett and Edward Lloyd making a treaty of peace with the Susquehanna Indians, by which tlie latter gave up "all land lying from the Patuxent to Palmer's Island," — now Watson's, — " on the west side of the Chesapeake Bay, and from the Choptank River to the northeast branch which lies St. Paul's, Kent. ^t. Paul's; €\)\m\), 7 to the north of the FAk River on the eastern side of the bay." The name of Edward Lloyd and liis estate of Wye point to a Welsh origin. Kent County was organized in 1G50, and nt that time embraced most of the territory on the Eastern Shore. The Cliester River enters into Chesapeake Bay between the Isle of Kent and Eastern Neck Island. Eastern Neck, north of the island, is intersected by Church Creek, so named because upon its banks was built the first church of the main land. James Ring-gold, of Huntingfield, lord of the manor on Eastern Neck, was doubtless one of the builders of this church, and one of the fouiulers of the town of New Yarmouth, on Gray's Inn Creek, a few miles distant. This town was prominent as a port of entry in 1684, and was the county town for a period of twenty years ; but its site is now only a matter of conjecture. It is said that the foundation stones of a church may be seen at very low tide, and that on the land have been dis- covered tombstones and brick arches of graves. In 1706, Chestertown, twelve miles further up on the Chester River, became the county town, and has re- tained the position to the present day. By drawing a line from Chestertown to Gray's Imi Creek in a south- west direction, we have the hypothenuse of a right- angled triangle, at Avhose aj)ex is to be found the oldest church remaining in Kent County. This is the parish church of St. Paul's Around this venerable structure 8 t\)t Mn llBiick Cljurcl)f0 of iiparvlanD, are stationed primeval oaks, spreacling" their patriarchal l)i-aiiches over the trees of a younger generation, and over the graves of nearly two centuries. The quaintest of gravestones bears the following inscription: — HERE LYES THE BODY OF DAVID COLEY. HE DEPARTED THIS LIFE OCTOBER Y"- 20 17J9. CUT BY JOHN GODFREY. On the foot-stone is carved the following epitaph : — IJeliokl and see now where I lye, As you are now soe once ^vas I, As I am now soe must 3^011 be, Therefore prepare to follow me. The first page of the Parish Records begins with the following entry : — Pursuant to an act of Assembly P'ntituled an Act for the Establishment of the i)rotestant Religion in tliis Province, Avherein it is ordered that the Counties within the Province of Maryland shall be Divided into Parislies, and likewise by the same Law it is ordered that the Justices of the County with the freeholdei's shall chuse six Vestrymen for Each re- spective Parish, which According was done and performed the 24th. Day of Janry — Anno qui Domini 1(593. Avhose names are her(!under inserted, viz* : f Mr. Thos. Smitu. Mr. Ciias. Tildrn. -j Mr. Wm. Fimsby. Mr, Mich. Miller. (Mr. Hans. ?Ianson.^ Mr. Simon Wilmer. Janry — 30tli. 1(;:»3. Acquaintance with these vestrymen may be formed from the well-})reserved records of Kent County and from the traditions of a proud posterity. iBcgtivmrn of ^t. paiil's* 9 Thomas Sinitli iippears on the rcicords as Colonel Thomas Smythe. He was tlie n-randson of Sir Thomas Sniytlie, Treasnrer of the Viro-iiiia CJ()ini)any, between 160(j and 1018. He was also one of tlie signers of the petition to William and Mary in 1G8D for the establisli- ment of the Protestant religion in Maryland. In 1694 he was chosen, with AVilliam Frisb}', Hans Hanson, and John Hynson, to serve as bnrgesses, and in IGDT these names appear in a public document from which the following extract may prove interesting : — " WilHam tlic Third, by tlio grace of God, King, Defender of the Faith, Ac. . . . We have also constituted and appointed von and everv four or more of you of which you the said William Frisby, John Hynson, Hans Hanson and Thomas Smvth or one of you are alhvays to be one of the Commis- sioners to Enquire of the Oaths of good and Lawful! men of your county aforesaid, of all manner of Felonies, Witchcrafts, Inchautments, Sorceries, Magick arts. Trespasses, Forestallings, Ingrossings and Extortions whatsoever ct of all and singular other misdeeds S: offences whatsoever of which Justices of the Peace in England may or ought Lawfully to En(iuire." Of witclicrafts, etc., there were but few cases in Mary- land, one woman only having lost her life on suspicion of being a witch, when she was thrown overboard by frightened sailors during a storm. Thomas Smythe presented to the church of St. Paul's in 1G99 a connnunion service, consisting of one chalice of silver and one plate of silver, which are still in use, and bear this inscription : " The gift of "$" to the Parish of St. Paul's on the north side of Chester." The vestry 10 ^l)c Mn )5ncU Cljurcljcs of ^aiv'lauD. books also record the gift of a pulpit cloth and cushion from his wife, " Elliner Smythe." Tliis has undoubtedly been long- since appropriated l)y the historic moth. Thomas Smythe's estate of Trumpington adjoined tluit of James Ringgold, whose name is also prominent in A riCTTRESQUE CoRNEK, CilESTEUTOWN. the hfstor}- of Kent. In the generations of Smythe that follow, are to be found an Honorable and a Major, and a house in Chestertown, dating from colonial times, still attests to the standing of the Ringgold fannly. ^fstiTmm of fe>t. Paul's; 11 Southeast of St. I'tiiil's was the lioiiie of tlie Frisbys, one of whom married the gTanddaugliter of Simon Wil- mer, a patriarch wliose descendants are found like twigs upon the geneah^gical trees of other families. The name of Wilmer, moreover, has to this day been distinguished in the Church and in the Law. The Tildens were men of standing in England, and their coat of arms is as follows : — Anns. Azure, a saltier, ermine, between foiu' pheons. Or, Crest. A battle-axe erect, entwined with a snake, proper. Motto. Truth and Liberty. Michael Miller, on whose land the cluirch was built, " repaid again as a gift to the church " the two thousand pounds of tobacco which he had received for the land. This gentleman was chosen burgess in 1685, and church- warden in 1709; but that did not exempt him from his duties as vestryman, for it is recorded that on July 20tli, 1695, he was lined one hundred pounds of tobacco for being absent twice from the meetings of the vestry. Hans Hanson was the only vestryman whose ances- tors were not all English. His grandfather, Avhose mother was a Swede, served with honor in the army of Gustavus Adolphus, and lost his life at the battle of Llitzen, while defending his king. The parents of Hans were Andrew Anderson Hanson and his wife Annika, who in 1642 emigrated with the Swedish set- tlers under Lieutenant John Printz to New Sweden on the Delaware. Hans was born on Tinicum Island in 12 t[)c o^ltJ y&tU]Si Cl)urcl)r0 of bPar^'lanD. 1646, but came to Maryland in 1653, when his parents were driven from Delaware by the Dutch. In the County Records we find the name of Colonel Hans Hanson associated with positions of honor and trust, and his blood has flowed in the veins of most of the prominent Kent Islanders from that time. After his marriage, in 1679, he purchased from Charles Vaughan the estate of Kimbolton, lying on the north side of Chester River and on the west side of Langford's Bay, near the mouth of Broad Neck Branch. He lived there till he died in 1703. The Hanson coat of arms, handed down from Colonel Hanson of the Swedish army, was as follows : — Arms. Azure, a cross betonnee, cantoned by four fleui-s-de-lis, argent. Crest. A niartlctt, j^roper. Motto. Sola virtus invicta. It differs from thnt of the English branch, but the motto is the same. The grandson of Colonel Hanson was Gustavus Hanson, Avho served with our revolution- ary patriots, severing all connection with his English relations, though his bride, Catherine Tilden, had re- ceived from his family in England a " magnificent silk dress inwrought with bullion tliread," a portion of which is still preserved by a descendant. In the history of those times, we find tliat the Privy Councillors, County Court Judges, High Sherifts, and Burgesses were all planters, and the large plantations, with tlieir group of storehouses and cabins, assumed the 0n <©ID Wt&tv^tQow&t, 13 cliaracter of towns, and the state of society was fendal. Among customs repugnant to modern ideas was tliat which sanctioned the corporal punishment of servants. A case is on record where the jury found tliat the pun- ishment of a maid-servant, although not tlie cause of lier death, was " unreasonable, considering her weak estate of body," and the court imposed a fine of three hundred pounds of tobacco for the '^ unchristianlike punishment." The rod used on the occasion was from a peach-tree, which shows that Kent was then, as it is now, a fruit-growing country. With William the Third the cane came into vogue, and we may picture to our- selves irascible gentlemen of the old school shaking their canes at refractory subjects. A few yards from St. Paul's Church stands the vestry- house bearing the date 1766 in brick mosaic on its south side. Here the vestry held their courts, and an indica- tion of the nature of some cases coming under their jurisdiction is found in an extract from the Parish Records, dated Feb. 10, 1695 : " Likewise ordered by this vestry that the churchwardens admonish Edward Plesto and Elizabeth North to live separately." When admonitions failed, the parties were summoned to ap- pear before the vestry, and if they still persisted in their way, they were finally handed over to the civil authori- ties to be punished according to law. The vestry-room was a place of social as well as business meeting for those who perhaps never met their neighbors excepting on Sunday. Here the men may have negotiated the 14 t\)t 0Ui 3Biick Cljurcljcs of SBarv'lauD. sale of their crops, and joined the women at a frugal repast, indulging" in a bit of gossip around the blazing logs. The colonial church was never heated. Before the vestry-house was built, vestry meetings took place at private houses or at the court-house, which stood first at New Yarmouth and afterwards at Chester- town. Every court-house had its " ordinary," a place licensed to sell licpiors, for which the rates were fixed by the court. In 1686 on the court-house wall of New Yarmouth was posted the following Hst of drinks : — Lbs. of Tobacco. Brandy per gall 100. Rum per gall 080. Brandy Burnt per gall , 100. Cider per gall 020. Quince drink & Perry per gall. , 025. Sherry wines per gall. . 120. Port wines per gall 060. Claret & white wine per gall. . 060. Canary per gall 150. A Bowl of Punch with one quart of Bum & Ingre- dients per gall 040. Ditto Brandy per gall 060. Madeira per gall . 076. Molasses beer per gall 012. Mault beer — strong — per gall 020. The first rector of St. Paul's was the Rev. Mr. Vander- bush, who was chosen b}- two members of the vestry commissioned to engage him for a year for the sum of eight thousand pounds of tobacco. He died in 1696, when Governor Nicholson sent to succeod him the Rev. t\)t Hrt). ^trpljcn 115oi'Dlfv\ 15 Stephen Bordley, with the following form of installation, which was at that time used in Maryland : — The Bearer hereof is Mr. Stephen IJordley, who is sent by the Right Iloii'ble and Right Rev'd Father in God, Henry Lord Bisliop of London, in order to officiate as a clergyman of the Church of England in this his Majestie's Province of JNIaryhuid ; I do therefore, in his Majestie's name appoint the same Mr. Stephen Bordley to officiate as a clergyman of the Church of England in the Parish of St. Paul's in Kent county. Given under my hand and Seal at the Port of Annapolis, the 23d day of June, in the 9tli year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord William the third, by the grace of God, of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, King, defender of the Faith, &c., Anno Domini, 1G97. Francis Nicholson (Seal) To the Vestrymen of St. Paul's Parish, Kent Co. — These. The Rev. Stephen Bordley died in 1709. His influ- ence, like that of other good pastors, seems to have infused into the church a store of vitality which enabled it to survive periods of religious famine and moral depression. Other entries on the church records show that the collections taken up at Christmas, Easter, and Whit- sunday went to defray the cost of wine used at the Holy Communion. We here learn also that after 1715, when the Hanoverian succession Avas threatened by the Pre- tender, vestrymen took an oath of '' Allegiance and Abhorrency," and continued to take the ^'Test Oath," which excluded Catholics from office. The oath of Allegiance and Abhorrency is as follows : — 16 t\)t 0\n 115ricfe €\)ntc\)cs of ^ariHauD. I, A. B, do swear that I do from my heart abhor detest & abjure as imjjious & heretical that damnable doctrine nolu C;ill, anD Jiiojctlj ClU paiisl)* 33 About eiglit miles from Salisbury stands the Spnn Dorchester, > County. N. Sassafras, \ Somerset, r Kent Couuty. IN. kSassairas, \ ooiuerseL, i S. Sassafras, or y Cecil County. .Coventry, I j_ /-, j. 'I r. ^. Somerset County. Shrewsbury, ) . Stepney, St. Peter's, ) St. Paul's, \ Snow Hill, J St. Michael's, \ Talbot County dDil^aptcr TIT. THE "ARK" AND THE " DOVE.' — " OLD ST. MARY'S."— THE COURT-HOUSE CHURCH. — AX ANCIENT MANOR. — THE FIRST WEDDING. — ANCIENT DOCUMENTS. — REV. DR. BRAY. — THE FIRST PRINTING PRESS. JOHN COODE. — ROSE CROFT. — A MIDNIGHT ESCAPADE. — AN HISTORIC MULBERRY^ $ III. TIE '' Mayflower " brought to the barren shores of New EiigUuid an oppressed and exiled people, whose struggle for life and liberty is to us a matter of national pride ; the "Ark" and the "Dove" bore to the fertile soil of Maryland a people for whom legislative freedom and religious liberty had been already secured, — a people whose first dealings with the natives insured their homes against the depredations so often committed in other colonies, and thus left undisturbed the founda- tions of that home life and that spirit of conservatism Avhicli characterize the Marylander to this day. It is not to be supposed that Plymouth Rock, which has attained such gigantic proportions through the re- fracting medium of a people's enthusiasm, is the only stone in the building of this great nation, or the only moiuuuent to its founders. History tells how the Maryland Pilgrims, under the leadership of Leonard Calvert, the Lord Proprietary's brother, landed March 25th, 1634, at the island of St. Clement's in the Potomac, and took possession of the country " in the name of the Saviour and our Lord the King." 38 t\)c 0[ti Brich Cljuicljcs of sparvHauD. Around a rude cross of wood, knelt Roman and " Protestant " Catholic, in recognition of equal civil and religious liberty. Two days later Leonard Calvert concluded liis treaty with the Piscataway Indians, purcliasing- from tliem tliirty miles of territory on the mainland, including tlie villaii'e of Yaocomico, which was henceforth called St. Mary's. This historic "-round lies on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay, between the Potomac and Patuxent Rivers, but tlie ancient town of St. Mary's is no more. The bluff overlooking St. Mary's River, where the court- liouse formerly stood, is now crowned by a thicket, above whicli rises the spire of Trinity Protestant Episcopal Church, while the Leonard Calvert monu- ment, a granite obelisk erected in 1891, stands like a lonely sentinel keeping guard over the memories of the past. About a stone's throw from the church is a female seminary, whose inmates, with those of a private house on another blufiP, represent the population of this defunct town. A drive of about seven miles in a southeasterly direc- tion, over a rolling country, which in summer is a wilderness of bloom, brings us to St. Inigoes Manor. This is part of a tract taken up by Thomas Copley, known also as Father Copley, in accordance with the " Conditions of Plantation " — he having transported fifty-two emigrants from across the water. The name St. Inigo is evidently a perversion of St. Ignatius, t\)t CourtHpousc CljurrI). 39 and this manor was at one time tlie strong-liokl of the Jesuits. The JViest's House, at Priest's Point, on St. Tnin-oes (^reek, is still in jiossession of the Ponian (/ntholics. As early ;is KJo-S the l*rotestant ( ^atholies worshipix'd in a log hut at St. Mary's, and in 1()94, after Maryland had become a Royal r, IVovince, and the seat of government had been tlie unused court-house, building in the form of a short-armed cross, was o-iven to the English removed to Annajxdis, a substantial l)rick Trinity Church, St. Mary's. 40 ti)t O^lD 115riffe Cljmdjfs of a>irvlanti. Clmrcb. In 1720 the gift was confirmed by the Legisla- ture to the vestrymen of WilUam and Mary Parish. All partitions were removed from the original structure, and a railing was placed across the east transept to form the chancel. The altar was of heavy carved oak, and above it was a fresco representing the " Flight into Egypt." The pulpit stood at the intersection of the cross, half- way down the church. In the north and soutli tran- septs were galleries for the negroes, reached b}' outside ladders. Unfortunately for the antiquary, this church was torn down in 1829, to satisfy a few persons, who inherited from Puritan ancestors that spirit of iconoclasm which always found vent upon anything in the shape of a cross. The resolution to demolish this venerable })ile was carried at a meeting of the vestry, which an influential member, named Dr. Caleb Jones, was unalde to attend. So outraged was he at the proceeding that he never afterward took any part in church affairs. The home of Dr Jones was an old manor house on St. Inigoes Creek, where his descendants now live in grateful remembrance of his virtues, and in fortunate possession of many interesting documents. On a bluff between the house and the water, and in sight of Priest's Point, is the garden, whose antiquity is attested by its gigantic box-trees with tortuous limbs. Here it was laid out two hundred and sixty years ago, when Cross Manor belonged to Sir Thomas Cornwaleys, " the wisest and ])est of the sfentlemen adventurers who Z\)c i?ir6t ^KUfDDing. 41 came over in 1().')4." lie was n member of tlie coiineil, and was conunissioned by Lord Baltimore to put down Claiborne's rebellion in 1G35, engaging- in the first naval ))attle ever fought on our shores. Cornwaleys brought over more than fifty followers. Ten years later, his servants, who were Protestants, joined in Ingle's in- surrection, burning his house and fences, slaughtering An Old Manor House. his cattle, and injuring his property to the extent of three thousand pounds, for which he afterwards sued Ingle. The first Protestant marriage recorded at St. ]\Iary's was between two of his servants, John Ilollis and 42 tl)t #ID llBrtck €\)xiu\)t& of Sl9arvlanD. Restitutio Tue, tlie ceremony being performed by the Rev, Thomas White from Virginia, " a man of good sufficiencies of learning," upon whose occasional min- istrations the Protestant settlers of St. Mary's had to depend. The old brick manor house represents three periods of architecture from 1650 to 1850. Several stories are told to account for the name of this manor. One of them is that, early in the days of the Virginia Company, a party was sent to explore the rivers and creeks north of the Potomac, and as they did not return, a second party went to search for them, and found their dead bodies on the sandy beach, where they had been mur- dered by the Indians. A cross was here erected to mark their place of burial, and Cornwaleys, finding this cross, named his manor after it. Another story, equally tragic, is that Cornw^aleys, while one day hunting with his dearest friend accidentally shot him. A cross was raised to his memory, and Cornwaleys ever afterwards lived a recluse. Among the precious relics preserved at Cross Manor is the fifth volume of '' A New History of Ecclesiastical Writers," translated from the Frencli of Louis Ellies du Pin, " Dr. of the Sorbon." It was printed in London in 1693. The gold lettering on the substantial leather cover informs us that this book belonged to the library of '^ St, Marie's," whicli was scattered when the old court-house churcli was demolislied. Tlie Rev. Thomas Bray was chosen in 1696, by 2:i)f iriist printing pifs0. 43 Dr. Comptoii, l^ishop of London, as tlie one best fitted to train tlie infant clinrch in Maryland. Seeing tlie importance of parish libraries, he established seventeen upon his arrival, contributing liberally himself, and obtaining assistance at home and abroad for tlieir su})- port. Four hundred pounds of the fund was given by Princess Anne of Denmark. During the session of the Assembly of 1700, a bill, which seems to have been the joint production of the zealous Doctor and the Attorney-General, was passed unanimously by the Assembly, providing " that the Book of Common Prayer and administration of the Sacra- ments, with the rites and ceremonies of the Church, the Psalter and the Psalms of David, with Morning and Evening Prayer, therein contained, be solenmly read by all and every minister or reader in every church or other place of public worship within this Province." Leaving quite a number of really good missionaries to carry on the work that he had begun. Dr. Bray returned to England to procure the Kings sanction to this law, which a powerful Quaker influence was enlisted to defeat. His mission was successful there, as it had been during his brief stay in Maryland. It has been stated that Dr. Bray brought over the first printer ; but thirty years earlier the Parliamentary Commissioners had a printing-press, on which was printed the '' St. Marie's Gazette for the Diffusion of Godly Doctrines." A public printer was also employed in 1G89, by John Coode, " an atheist and a profligate," to issue a 44 t\)t flu0ion, 63 Anne. This font was sent to England for repairs, after liaving gone tln-ough the war of the Revolution, and it is still in use. The stained-glass chancel window was presented by the Rev. John H. Chew in memory of his distinguished relative, Bishop Claggett, who was twice rector of the church. The bishop's gravestone is to be found in the Claggett burial-ground, not far distant, and it bears a Latin inscription, written by Francis Scott Key, of " Star Spangled Banner" fcune. A late rector of this parish says that it covers an area of sixty square miles ; that within its boundaries there is not another resident minister of relig'ion of any denomination, and that there are over two hundred communicants. He adds that " it is not an uncommon delusion to think of the Roman Catholic Church of Marjdand as altogether in the ascendant." To dispel this delusion one has only to visit the rural districts of Maryland, and to study the history of its old brick churches. Cl)aptcr V. PURITAN SETTLEMEiNTS. — THE "ACT CONCERNING RELIGION. ' — THE QUAKERS. — ANCIENT PARISHES OF ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY. — ST. JAMES', HERRING CREEK. THE CHEWS. ¥> He V. E have seen the beginnings of Anglo- Catholic Kent, of Konian Catholic St. Clary's, and now we will glance at Puritan Anne Arundel, or Providence, as it was called by its grateful settlers, flying from religious intolerance in Virginia. The year 1649 marks the arrival on the banks of the Severn River of a small band consisting of about ten families, nnder the leadership of Richard Bennett. The celebrated '' Act Concerning Religion " was passed by the Maryland Assembly that same year. It embodied the distinctive features of Puritan legislation in Eng- land resfardino: the observance of Sunday ; and dancing, vaulting, archery, and other sports that had been allowed during the reign of Charles I., were pro- hibited on that day. The " Act " also provided for the protection of all Christian sects in the exercise of their religion, and forl)ade a disparaging use of the words Heretic, Schis- matic, Idolater, Jesuit, Papist, Priest, Presbyterian, In- dependent, Lutheran, Baptist, Brownist, Antinomian, Burrowist, Brownist, Round Head, or any other secta- rian name, and imposed a fine of ten pounds for the transg-ression of this law. ^ B 68 ti)t (©It) llBrtch Cl;urc!;c0 of 99art?lanD. For speaking disrespectfully of the lioly apostles or saints, or of the Virgin Mary, the first offence was a fine, the second whipping or imprisonment, and the third banishment. To deny the Trinity was punishable with death ; but there is no evidence that this last clause was ever carried into effect. In 1650 another influx of Puri- tans arrived, headed by Robert Brooke, who seems, in the present era of genealogical research, to have more descendants in search of their ancestral link than any other personage in the State. This is not surprising, as he brought with him eight sons and two daughters, many of whose descendants achieved public distinction. He had from the Proprietary a grant of two thousand acres on the Patuxent River, and was made by his charter commander of Charles County, having absolute feudal supremacy over his colony. Anne Arundel County at this time was under the commandership of Edward Lloyd, who had received his appointment from William Stone, the Protestant Governor of Maryland; but the settlers of Providence had brought the Puritan S3^stem of church government with them, and Bennett and Durand were their pre- siding elders. A meeting-house was built near the Magothy River, and Mr. Philip Thomas, then a strict Puritan, but later a leader of the Quakers, lived on the premises, and guarded the sanctuary. The more Orthodox among the Patuxent settlers removed to Anne Arundel, and here were for some time preserved the characteristics t\)t Hfins of aoljfinmcnt in piintau ijauDj?. fio of Puritanism, wliicli were lost under a system of feudal laws and manorial courts in the settlement of the first Charles County. The oatli of fidelity to the Lord Proprietary was modified in 1(!50 by another Act of Assembly, and the words " Absolute Lord " and " Royal Jurisdiction," which stuck in the Puritan throat, were ex})unged. From this year the Roman Catholic power declined, and Maryland became largely Protestant. For eight years the reins of government were in Puri- tan hands, till matters were finally adjusted to the liking of these troublesome subjects of Cecil, Lord Baltimore. After this the Puritans of Anne Arundel gave the Pro- prietary no trouble, and in 1G89, when the Protestant Revolution broke out, they alone refused to sign tlie petition to their Majesties, William and Mary, to repeal his charter. Close in the wake of the Puritans followed the Quakers, who, like them, had been persecuted else- where. Slowly and quietly this thrifty and peace-loving people won the favor of the colonists; and in 1665 we find the very men holding minor offices, who had been complained of as " vagabonds and seditious persons," because they refused to sit on juries and take the oath, or serve in the militia. They were relieved from taking the oath in testamentary cases, and were permitted to wear their hats on all occasions ! The first house built for the "Yearly Meeting" of " Friends " was at West River, where an interesting 70 t{)t Mn 35nck Cljurcljfs of ai^arvlanD. old graveyard is still to be seen. The Galloways, Murrays, Cliestoiis, Chews, and others, who afterwards became influential members of the Episcopal Church, attended this " meeting-house." In 1672, when George Fox preached in Anne Arun- del, the Puritan meeting-house was thrown open to him, for many of those who were stanch Puritans ten years before were now zealous Quakers. Sometimes this had been effected by marriage, as in the case of Samuel Chew, whose wife, Anne Ayres, was of that faith. It was in this part of the province where stern Pu- ritanism was softened by contact with the gentle Friend, that four Church of England parishes were laid out in 1692, and here are to be found at present three brick churches dating from colonial times. Tliese churches represent the parishes of St. Margaret's Westminster, of All Hallows', and of St. James ; but these localities, knoum originally as Broad Neck, South River, and Her- ring Creek, had their places of worship before 1692. The Rev. Duell Pead, of Soutli River, afterwards All Hallows' Parish, performed the rites of baptism at An- napolis in 1682 and in 1690 In 1683 he preached be- fore both houses of the Assembly, which was held that year at the " Ridge" in Anne Arundel County. The records of St. James', or Herring Creek Parish, show that at a meeting of the vestry held on the 1st of April, 1695, it was ordered that the sheriff pay Morgan Jones eight hundred pounds of tobacco for " coverincr the old church and finishino^ the inside fe)t. 51amf6\ llKrnng Cifffe. 71 according- to agreement," — a conclusive fact that there was a church before tlic parishes were laid out in 1G92. At another meeting, held on the 29th of April, it was ordered that a church be built " forty feet by twenty-four, and twelve feet high ; " l)ut this order was not carried out until 1717, when the vestrymen " or- dered, and in 171S paid for, twenty thousand bricks made upon the glebe." This glebe was acquired by St. James', Herhing Creek, Church Silver. the church in 1707, when an Act of Assembly was passed for investing the vestrymen of St. James' Parish, Anne Arundel County, with certain lands given to said parish by Mr. James Rigby, and P]lizabeth, his wife, both deceased. In 1760 the church was again rebuilt, and is still standing. It is nearly square, and has a hip roof like the one on the present All Hallows' Church, whicli dates from about 1722; but while the latter is open inside to ij-aita 72 ti)t #ID Brirfe €\)uu\)cs of a^arvlauD. tlie roof, St James' has a vaulted ceiling spanning the building and slanting off at the ends to harmonize with the conformation outside. There are two aisles, and three sections of square pews with doors. The win dows, with their deep embrasures, are rounded at the top, and in most of them the small panes are still preserved. There are two stained-glass windows in the chancel, and the corners near it are boxed off into vestry-room and choir, — which necessary contriv- ances mar the effect of the otherwise perfect interior ; they, moreover, hide the tablets containing the Lord's Prayer and the Creed, which, with the Ten Command- ments covering the space between the chancel win- dows, were probably procured with the legacy of £10 given in 1723 by the wife of William Locke, Esq., " towards adorning the altar of St James with Creed, Lord's Prayer, and Ten Commandments." The altar in those days often meant the enclosure within the chancel rail, which in this church extended originally across the east end. William Locke himself gave money for a silver basin or baptismal bowl, which is now one of the four pieces of which the church plate consists. It bears the date of 1732, and also the name of the donor, wnth the word " Armigeri " after it ; but what was his coat of arms we do not know. The alms basin was the gift of the rector, the Rev. Henry Hall, who died in 1723. The other pieces look as if they might be of an earlier date, and all are men- Mljipping post anD &>tochs. 73 tioned in the church inventories of 1748 and ITo'J, when they were phiced in care of the vestry. Among- the articles mentioned on tlie list of 1752 was a flao-on, wliicli has disappeared, and also "one hood," wliicli indicates that a man of learning- liad been in cliaro-c of the })arish Such are the signs of prosperity and honor in tliis parish ; but an order entered on the church records for whipping-- post and stocks shows that it possessed also these instruments of shame, as did many parislies at that time, where vestrymen exercised judicial power, and churchwardens administered punishment on the spot. The minister of the parish, who was chief vestr^'man, was obliged, under penalty of a fine, to read from tlie chancel four times a year the laws concerning Sabbatli- breaking, drunkenness, swearing, and other offences. Tlie vestrymen generally occupied together a place of honor in the church, thus impressing the community with tlieir dignity and authority. In the graveyard of St. James' is a slab raised in 1665 to a nameless woman, whose virtues in life and whose departure to realms of the blessed inspired the following- lines : — This register is for her bones Her fame is more perpetual than the stones And still her virtues though her life be gone Shall live when earthly monuments are none Who, reading this can chuse but drop a tear For such a wife and such a Mother dear She ran her race and now is laid to rest And allaluecie sings among the blest. 74 t\)t (i^lD llBricb Cljurclies of SjSarnlanD* The Rev. Henry Hall also lies in St. James' church- yard, under a horizontal slab mounted on a brick foun- dation. Another slab, flat to the ground, bears this inscription : — Here lies the body of the Hon. Seth Biggs Esq. WHO departed this life & WAS INTERRED THE 31*^ OF July 1708 in the 55th year of his age. No tombstone of the Chew family is found in this graveyard, althougli the estate of Samuel Chew was near Herring Bay, and in his will he styles himself Samuel Chew of Herrington. In 1669 he was sworn in as one of the justices of the Chancery and Provin- cial Courts. A land writ, issued to him in 1650 by the Lord Proprietary, calls him his " Lordship's well- beloved Saml. Chew, Esq.," and his name appears in both Houses of Assembly until 1676, the year of his death. His grandson. Dr. Samuel Chew of Maidstone, an estate near Annapolis, married twice into the Galloway family of Tulip Hill, West River. He afterwards re- moved to Dover, and was created Chief-Justice of the three lower counties of the Province of Pennsylvania, now included in the State of Delaware. He was called the fighting Quaker, and his vigorous speecli on the lawfulness of self-defence is celebrated in verse by a local poet of the time, as follows : — Immortal Chew first set our Quakers right ; He made it plain they might resist and fight ; And gravest Dons agreed to what he said, And freely gave their cash for the King's aid, For war successful, and for peace and trade. ^amufl Cl)fto, t\)t ifiglKtng iEiuakcr. 75 The Assembly for the lower counties passed a militia law, with provision for arms, ammunition, etc., wliicli the Quakers endeavored to frustrate by declaring it " contrary to their charter and privileges." The Chief- Justice sustained the law, for which he was expelled from the Quaker community. In a leading gazette of the time appeared an article from his pen, wliich miglit be called an Essay on the Theory and Practice of Toleration. " New sects," he says, " are all able clearly to prove that matters of judgment and opinion, not being under the power and direction of the will, ought to be left free and unmolested to all men ; but once installed and con- firmed, we too often find tliat those very people who have contended for liberty of conscience and universal toleration become more clear-sighted, and soon discover the necessity for uniformity in matters of religion. The people called Quakers," he says, '' are a surprising ex- ample of this spirit of peace and charity maintained as long as they had occasion for it ; that is, as long as they were oppressed and persecuted; . . . but in process of time, liaving grown Rich and Powerful!, they extend tlicir Jurisdiction, and carry their claim so higli as, for differ- ences concerning even speculative matters, to exclude persons from their society with hard names, and other marks of bitterness worthy of the Pope himself. . . Tlieir bulls of excommunication are as full-fraught with fire and brimstone and other church artillery as those even of the Pope of Rome." ^- ' 76 t\)t #lD 15nck €\)mt\)ts of spar^lanD. Samuel Chew was the father of Benjamin, tlie ilUis- trious Chief-Justice of Pennsylvania, whose house at Cliveden, Germantown, was used as a temporary for- tification against American bullets at the time of the Revolution, creating a diversion after the battle of Ger- mantown which kept the Amei'icans from following up tlieir advantage. Benjamin tried to be neutral when hostilities broke out, but was tlu'own into confinement with John Penn, on the principle that " those who are not with us are against us.'' The welcome given by his daughters to tlie British officers was also a cause of complaint. Of these, Major Andre selected Peggy Chew as his " Lady of tlie Blended Rose" in the famous Mischianza Tourney and fete. The following verses addressed to her by Andre are preserved by one of her descendants : — If at the close of war and strife M}^ destiny once more Should in the various paths of life Conduct me to this shore ; Should British banners guard the land, And faction be restrained, And Cliveden's mansion peaceful stand, No more with blood be stained ; Say, wilt thou then receive again And welcome to thy sight The youth who bids, with stifled pain, His sad fai'ewell to-night ? Peggy and Harriet Chew were borne as brides to Maryland by two distinguished characters of the time, Colonel John Eager Howard, and Charles Carroll of Carrollton, only son of " the Signer." The little Tory, Peggy, had at first cherished a feel- ing of bitterness toAvard the hero of Cowpens, because he had vanquished her beloved Red-coats ; but meeting him one night at a ball, where he stood apart, with his arm in a sling, she became interested in the silent man, who not long afterwards achieved the conquest of her lieart. Years afterward her cliildren would gather around her to listen to tales of the Revolution. One night, Avliile their father was apparently absorbed in his book, their mother talked of Andre, tliat " most brilliant and ele- gant gentleman." The Colonel rose, and striding toward the group, exclaimed, " Don't listen to her, children ! He was nothing but a damned spy ! " Ci^apter vi. ANNE ARUNDEL, Continued. - THE SOUTH RIVER CLUB. ALL HALLOWS' CHURCH. -THE REV. JOSEPH COL- BATCH. — MARLEY CHAPEL. — ODD NAMES. ST. ANNE'S PARISH. — THE DORSEYS. QUEEN CAROLINE PARISH CHURCH, HOWARD COUNTY. ^ VI. PROMINENT colonist of Soutli River was the Hon. William Burgess, wliose tombstone is one of the oldest in IMar}'^- land. His epitaph runs as folloAvs : — Here lyeth ye body of W. Burges Esq, who de- parted THIS LIFE ON YE 24 DAY OF JaNU., 1686 ; AGED ABOUT 64 YEARS ; LEAVING HIS DeAR BELOVED WIFE Ursula and eleven children; viz. seven sons and FOUR daughters, AND EIGHT GRANDCHILDREN. In HIS LIFETIME HE WAS A MEMBER OF HIS LoKD- SHip's Council of State; one of his Lordship's Deputy-governors, a Justice of ye High Provin- cial Court, Colon, of a regiment of ye Trained Bands, and sometime General of all ye INIilitary Forces of this Province. His loving wife Ursula, his Executrix, In tes- timony of her true respect, and due regard to the Deserts of her dear deceased Husband, hath erected this Monument. All Hallows' Graveyard, South River, is full of these memorials, suggesting different phases of human life in the past. In one secluded corner stands an elaborate stone to the memory of Elizabeth Allein, and in another an altar tomb to "My Louisa;" on a third tablet is a ^S^-^ 82 tlK Mti IBricfe €i)nvd)t& of ^arDlanD. 'f'"^ ■F^Si^BPrw^''''^' 'SJ''-outlj IXibrr Club, 83 parish cliiircli and upon the phxntations ; I infer, the settlement, in point of intellectual culture and re- finement, upon this river, was in advance of the one upon the other" (the Severn). He also says that it chiefly consisted of Puritans and ilnglo-Catholics. The South River Club-house still stands, and is now lent to the local Grangers for their meetings. Here the good loyal subjects of the King once met to drink his health on such occasions as the birth or wedding of a prince, and here, no doubt, the hons vivants of the day tested the best way of cooking the terrapin, the canvas-back duck, the oyster, and the soft-shell crab. The menu on the most festive occasions always included pork in some form or another; a roasted "sucking pig," with an apple in his mouth, was a substitute for the boar's head of old England ; and the turkey, though less picturesque than the feathered peacock, was a toothsome morsel when stuffed with oysters, boiled, and served with a good "nip of punch," which was. the popular beverage at the time, although Madeira, in heavy cut-glass decanters, resting in silver-plated coas- ters, was to be found on every gentleman's sideboard. Tlie South River Club is in easy driving distance from Annapolis, and many prominent men of " ye olden time" in Maryland belonged to it. The list of its founders is lost, but there exists a deed, dated 1740, which was executed between John Gassaway on the one part, and Robert Sanders as trustee on the other, confirming a previous transaction between the " Society, 84 tl)t t. 0nnr's parisl), annnpolis;. 87 responsible for their oddity, lIuini)liroy, Umtli, and Reason being names still fonnd in the i-ural (Ustricts. In 16anid SDulan^* 97 tion of planter or merchant, his prosperity became the signboard wliicli directed others to these hospitable shores, where not only a competency, but even wealth, could be so easily attained. Even the indentured ser- vant, whose master allowed him a bit of cleared ground, employed his leisure hours in jdanting tobacco, which enabled him to add his hogshead to the cargo shipped for England ; freight which, like Whittington's cat, be- came the foundation of a fortune. The motto " To live and let live " was quite as applicable to the Marylander of those days as the bet- ter known motto of the Lords Baltimore, " Manly deeds and womanly words." Many an anecdote is preserved, proving the kindness of masters to their mdentured servants. One of these will be a sufficient example. A youtli named Daniel Dulany was discovered one day poring over a Latin grammar by his master, Walter Smith, a lawyer of Anne Arundel County, who, finding him to be a man of some education, promoted him from a menial position to a place in his office, and there made of him a lawyer. To prove that Dulany attained suc- cess in the profession, it is only necessary to state that he took up five thousand acres of land in Balti- more County in Avhat was then known as the "Valley of Jehoshaphat," but is now called '^Dulany's Valley." The " oldest inhabitant," though not always an in- fallible guide on the road to fact, is nevertheless a very entertaining chronicler. To this time-honored per- sonage the present writer is indebted for several anec- 7 98 ^be