Middletown transcript., 1871-09-23
By REV. GEORGE FOOr.

We are assembled to-day on a spot long since
hallowrd by the tears aud prayers aud affections
OF generations wli,h are now slrcping with the
dead We are surrounded by the graves Of those
Who once wurshpprl On This site and reared this
cdiGcc, Nery lew rrmdn among the living, Who
can remember the linic when his sanctuary WIS
huil. This day completes oNs HUNDRED ASp
riiiWrY -osE YfkRs, since tliis spot chosen A.
the site IF tltr house Oi tod, On the lNlh OF
May, l1li Isaac Nigofue. Hans Hanson, Andrew
Peterson, and Francis hing purchased OF Jnhn
Peterson one acre uf ground for This purpose
During The same year, house OF worship was
erected on this spot, Ur the men who engaged
in this usrk, We know lit;lr except the NAMES ot
those Hlre.dy mentioned, who purchased this
soil and Who also acted rs building committee
These fathers were aro ihcrt Not one Of the
men who reared the former house not one Of
those who nniaistcFcd st lis altar and " thin it,
walls and not Oh. of all who worslippcd there.
survives. The very materials o iha, house OF
God are muuidetej hhcs 10 dust. Unfortunately
Tor their successors. no record of their trarsae-
iiUus prior 10 i32 remains, except solitary fact
which WAS copied from the deed OF this property
and Incorporated in tie subscription for the cree
ton oi u, house II isa moufniul reflection
tia, the memory aud the very na,ncs Of most OF
the early worshppers On this spo, have pcrishei
But tue tomb from which no message ever
comes, holds them all in perpetual silence till the
day OF doom shall arrive. How solemn the
thought, TINT when mn equal period ol time shall
have passed away, Others will hold our posscs-
sions and succeed 10 our places In society, and
in the sanctuary while death will feed on us
the clods will cover us, and the very names OF
many of us will lie unknown except in the rec
ur,is ot eternity
To this place where your fathers worshipred,
will many of you look us the spot where truth,
pointed b, the Spirit OF the Eternal reached Your
heart and led YOU to God aud hope aud h-ay.
en- or whcre the SlvioGrs call was unheedcd,
and salvation spurned, aud your ruin sealed
But our oticc, on the prcseni occasion is 10
girc yon an outline OF ,h. history of this region,
aud especially of this congregation. You will
bear In mud that !, is no easy task To gather up
history where Few aud imperfect records exist.
u there are impcrcc,ions IN these details, you
will remember that II IL the almos inevitable re-
suit attending any Investigations where so few
materials remain.
The earliest permanent, setiemen, In Delaware
seems TO have been made by the Swodes, in lG3T
Christiana, Queen OF Swsdcn, formed the plan,
aud sent Peter Mcncwc rs commander OF th- col
ony, in the ship "kcy of Calmar." This colony
purchased the lands ON the west side of the Del
aware from Cape licnlupen, called by them Par
adisc point to the Falls of Sanchckiu, or Trcn-
ton.
Prior TO this date, the Dutch were in posses
sion OF the lands the eastern sidc Of the river
scncwc soon died, and Peter iiollcndarc succeed
cd him. The Swcdrs settled on the Chrisiiann
creek, where they bull, n fort, and called both
the creek and fort after the name OF their qnecn
In 1888 kieft, the Dutch governor, demonstrated
against the building of the fort. In i6aa John
Prin,z was sent from Sweden. In the ship France
AS governor Of the colony. Two other ships o
war accompanied him, the Swan and the Chari.
,as. With the emigran,s, n, this period, cam,
the Rev. John Champanius as chaplain Of ilis
colony, Among other things printz was in.
s'ruc,ed TO persuade the Dutch who bnd settled
under the crown Of Sweden TO remove farther
down from the vicinity OF Fort Chrstiana to
confirm the treaty with the Indians for the land.
lying on the west side OF the river, from Cap.
llcniopcn 10 the Falls of Trenton. The agent.
Of Queen Christiana had purchased the land.
from Cape May to Raccoon creek, nearly oppo
site Marcus Hook, and the English had settled VI
Perkins creek, now Salem Priniy was d.
rec,cd to rra, these English kindly, and In ordel
| to unite them with the Swedese was directed, /
| they were willing, TO receive them under ih,
| Swedish government. This colouy at Salem
settled on lands purchased by the New Haver
| company, In Connecticut aud was original,
| composed Of iny families who removed from
| that place to Salem In 1910, "for the purpose o
establishing trading houses and gathering church
cs In Gospel order and purity and In clos
| combination with the New Haven Colony In al
| their fundamental articles, and under the juris
diction Of that colony. After much annoy yanc,
from. the Dutch, the New England settlements ol
the Delaware we're taken under the protection o