The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1890-09-05

Although parishes were not established in
the province by law until 1899, there was,
prior to that date, recognition both popular
and ecclesiastical, of such territorial divisions.
This recognition is found in the old records
of Baltimore county, which show that the
vestry of Copley afterwards St. Johns par
sh,) at their first meeting under the act OF
1892, used the expression, 1--WE, the vestry OF
Gunpowder parish" &c. Indeed, MIR. Fran
els Gregar, of Ann Arundel, would have us
believe that he has lately discovered in very
old will, proof positive that at least one par
ish existed in the province as early as l645.
This, however, is somewhat difficult TO
credit from the fact that until five years after
that date no minister of the Church of Eng
land had ever come into the province at all
excepting only the very isolated one who
had passed few years among the Kent ISL
anders under Claiborne. A parish where
there was not, and never had been, either
be like leaving Hamlet and Ophelia out OF
the play,) could have existed only in some
vivid fancy, ardently longing for such con.
summation.
1t is hardly to be supposed that before the
first church was built, the settlers had any
regular place of worship. 1t quite possible
however, that almost from the very first,
they may have met occasionally at the house
of some piously inclined planter, to hear the
reading of the prayer-book by one OF their
number !; but the great probability is that,
whatever praying or devotional reading there
NAV have been during the first twenty years
was done in each family so minded, by the
members thereof. Individually or collectively
almost certainly by no ordained minister
for it is not at all likely that any such, even
granting him the inclination to face the In.
evitable privations and hardships, could
have been spared from his duties in the
more thickly settled portions Of lower Mary
land long enough to visit, however Drleny
this remote corner of the province, especially
as we know that as late as 1914 there were
in the entire province only four ministers o.
the Church of England, which number, FOL
all practical purposes, might have been re-
duced to three, since one of them bore rep
utation so unsavory, that his eminent fellow
churchman, the Rev. DR.. Hawks characterz
es him as "Vice clad in the robes of priest.
Even in an extreme dearth of spiritual minis
trations, the truly devout could hardly have
brought themselves to endure, much less Il
solicit, such an infection.
There is now in existence no record o
proceedings in the matter of erecting st
Georges parish. By the act of establish
ment, we know that it was done, however
by the local Justices of tbs Peace and sucl
of the freeholders as they chose to take int
their counsels for the occasion-all meeting
at the county seat.
The county was laid off into three parishe
st, Johns, at first called Copley, after tn
new royal governor, and St. Paul's, being tn
other two. ST. Georges parish was boundet
as follows: From the mouth of Bynum'
run to its head, then TO Deer Greek atSth
mouth of Stirrup run; up Deer Creek to III
head thence north TO the northern bound
| of the province thence east to the Susque
hanna down that river to its mouth alonl
the bay to the mouth of Bush river and VI
that river to the mouth of Bynum's run.
The next step was to summon all freehold
| ers to meet, who elected six vestrymen. OF
whom devolved the duty of building tn
church, if one did not already exist Their
| is no record extant Of the earliest meeting o
the vestry of st. Georges, or the names
those composing it. Indeed, the existing re
cords of vestry proceedings does not begll
until quarter of century after the erection
of the parish.
AS all the territory east of Bush river wa
already known as "Spesutia Hundred" Their
is no doubt that from the first until 1861
whenever spoken of as a parish, it followet
|
the province, and was designated as "Spesut
parish" But with the advent of the Estab
lishment, as was to be expected, the Saints
as though 10 indemnify themselves for lopt
neglect, stepped in mot to speak irreverent
! ly,) and bore off all the honors. Patapsco
Gunpowder and Spesutia parishes became
respectively, St. Paurs, 81. Johns and 81
Georges. To be sure, in some parts unsaintl
names,-such eek" "Sassafrax," and tn
like, in Cecil,-were tried for while, IA
was Copley, above noted,) but these designa
tions from the animal, vegetable and human
kingdoms were soon superseded by the NOR
celestial st. Stephens, St. Mary AIMS AM
the rest. Of late reaction seems to hay
set in, and we, of the present generation il
Hartford are not seriously shocked by sue
terrestrial names as Churchville, Deer Creel
and Havre de Grace parishes.
Although there can be no doubt that tn
first vestry of St. Georges was one of the few
in Maryland that were spared the labor ant
expense of erecting church, by the existenc
of one already in the parish, there is nothing
to show even approximately when tina
church was built The date of erection il
usually placed at about twenty-five year
before the act of establishment. Scharf say
(Hist. of Bait. City and Coz that "Rey. MI
CHAMPION, in his Historical Sketch Of 81
| Georges, calculating from date now upol
record is induced to fix upon 1871, as tn
| latest year from which to reckon Its estab
lishment." A writer in the Eggs, few year
since, signing himself "Churchman,' also
says that "the latest date which can be allow
ed for its erection is 1871" Judge William A
Stewart, of Baltimore, wrote, in 1888, ut
erection is supposed to have been abou
1872; and the Rev. George A. Leakin SOM
twenty years since, ut appears to have beef
erected about 1870"
There can be little doubt that, as Mr.
Crampton's sketch preceded the expressed
opinion of all these writers, he is the sole au
thority for their statements as to the date il
question. Now, take the liberty OF sayin.
that believe Mr.. Champions date" or hi
calculation" made from it, to have been q
fault; as, amid all the controversy that ha
been going on upon the subject, he has re
manned silent Mr.. Leakin has modified bi
views, and has lately written me that b
thinks the erection must have been "at SOM
date prior to 1881, as, in that year the child
rem of John Coake were baptized in Busl
River Neck He adds, 81 got this fact from
Mr.. John Jay, the registrar, about 1870, a
then extracted from registry IN lis posses
sion though understood that the vestry re
cords Of that date are lost. Was that bap
tism, MIR. LeaKln ASKS, III CHURCH
Most probably" he goes on to say, "if ther
were sponsors-not SO, if without sponsors
Such has been the invariable rule of tn
church." 1t will at once be seen that ther
is here no positive proof at all that churc
existed in the parish even as late as 1851
depending. as it does, altogether upon al
eff"
Rev. Mr. Hotchkin, of Philadelphia, VIII
has been investigating the subject as con
nected, though remotely, with his sketch
lately published, of certain old churches il
that city, says, 1.-THE date Q6S3l of the con
struction of the Gravelly Church is il
Spragues Annals; and Rev. Ethan Allen
writings. Humphreys Early History of tn
Propagation Society, and the Delaware Re
gister are given as authorities for that work.
Rev. Mr.. Chesley, until lately rector of st
Georges, writes that he thinks "the oil
church must have been built earlier thai
1888, for we have the original baptismal re
cords as far back as 1854, and there is no re
ference to their being the beginning of tn
records" This is certainly non Seq,tstu7'
for "the beginning" for aught we can know
may have been recorded only week before
Is it not strange that Mr.. Champions mys
FERROUS "date" from which he made his "cal
culation," resulting in "1671," is not ono
| mentioned bV any of these later writers