Middletown transcript. [volume] (Middletown, Del.) 1868-current, 1905-07-01

"He received me-" he adds, Every kindly
and was willing to lodge and dine me in
his house, but it was so small that he
could afford me no retired room for my
self" He had scarcely entered on his
work when he was earnestly pursuaded
to remove to New Castle, field then
vacant where the opportunity seemed
greater, owing to the larger population.
He ventured to comply with this invita-
ton, but when the society in England
heard of his course, he was directed to
return to the field to which he had been
commissioned. He did so, and labored
here for short time with great earnest
ness and success. He drew together
congregation OF about two hundred per-
sons, and there were thirteen communi-
cants when he first administered the
Lords Supper. He wrote to the Society
that the people were very "earnest in
religion" that above twenty had dis
coursed with him sin order to their due
instruction and were preparing them
selves against the next administration of
the Lords Supper" also that "a great
many grown persons were preparing to
receive Holy Baptism" But after few
months he died, on July 30th, 1909, to
the great grief of all his people. Medical
nomenclature seems to have been different
in those days the record runs that he
"died of calenture caused by the mus
ketoes." No stone marks his grave, but
his body has doubtless mingled with the
dust near or, it may be, under the church
in which we are now assembled.
A vacancy of three years preceded the
coming of the second missionary, the
Rev. John Clubb, Welshmsn like his
predecessor. He held the cure for only
short time, removing in 1713 to Radnor
and Oxford, Pennsylvania.
1t was during these very early days
that Queen Anne of England showed her
interest in this distant mission station of
the church which enjoyed in SO many
ways her true devotion by presenting to it
an altar cloth, a fragment of which bear
ing the royal letters A. R., worked, it is
said, by her own hands, is still preserved
in the parish.
Thirteen years went by before the
people of this neighborhood again en-
joyed the services of a minister settled
among them. Three pastorates, those of
the Rev. Alexander Campbell. 1726-1729,
of the Rev. Walter Hackett, 1729-1733,
and of the Rev. John Pugh, 1734-1735,
were followed by another vacancy of
about eleven years. We need not sup
pose that during these long periods the
parish was left entirely devoid of public
Faithful men were labor
ing in places not far away, and they
would doubtless do what they could,
often, it may be, under the direction of
the Venerable Society," for the congrega-
ton at Appoquinimink. 1t was day of
small things, when laborers were few, and
when the Society in England found it
difficult to secure the means and men
necessary to keep every post supplied.
In the year 1746, however, there began a
pastorate, the longest by farin the whole
history ofthe parish, that of the Rev. Philip
Reading. He came here young man.
He had been educated at Winchester
School and at University College, Oxford.
Under the date of November 18th, 1746,
he writes to the Society as follows, "The
members of the Church of England ex-
press a grateful sense of the Society's ten
der concern for their spiritual welfare,
promising to acknowledge it by paying