The Penn's Grove record., 1917-06-29
ST. GEORGES Anniversary
Church D~ignitaries and Citizens
Recalled 200 Years

at II o'clock for the Burlington Con-
vocation of New Jersey clergy to meet
at st. Georges p. f. Church at Church
town and hold a service commemoratory
of the 200th anniversary of the found
ing of that church by the Swedish.
Dutch and French Hugnenot first set
tiers along the lower Delaware river
who were of the Lutheran faith.
The clergy present were Rt. Rev.
Paul Matthews. DID,. Bishop of New
Jersey; Rt. Rev. Frederick j.. Kinsman,
DID,. Bishop of Delaware; Venerable
r.. Bowden Shepherd. b. d., Archdeac-
ON of New Jersey; Rev. j. Ellison Per-
OF, rector of the parish Rev. Charles
Perkins. of ~Collingswood; Rev. George
Campbell. of Swedesboro; Rev. X. NJ.
Black. Haddonfield; Rev. c. S. Lewis,
Burlington; Rev. BENZ. Myers. Vincen-
town; Rev. X. f. BRISTOL, Camden; Rev.
Fred A. Warden. Moorestown; Rev. ].
7. Oil. Collingswood; Rev. T. L. JOS
ephs. PaulsborO; Rev. Martin Stockett.
and Rev. II. l.. Jones. Camden; Rev.
Harold Moore. Merchantville: Rev. Geo.
Bishop. Philadelphia; Rev. Wells, Tren-
ton.
Rev. George Campbell, rector of Trim
l. l. Is 3hhINh " IitbtbN'
a general historic sermon, taking for his
text from the Litany: 80 God, we have
heard with our ears, and our fathers
have declared unto us the noble works
thou didst in their days, and in the old
time before them" Words of similar
import are in the 44th Psalm.
He said in part: eve are here to
celebrate a part of the work which was
bourn 1u tho SWa1iSh ncApla who a0ma
here to found a permanent settlement.
Naturally men are prone to praise the
things which are lone in their W par
ticular neighborhood and can too often
see the glories which are most visible
to the men of their n%eighboring COM
munities.
The people of Boston came an
English speaking race with governors
for writer's and historians which they
are not. The settlement on jamestown
island was recorded by the frantic. vivid
pen of Capt. John Smith, one of the
foremost. novelists of this or any other
age.
No such favor came to the Swedish
colony. The last Swedish minist +.
Nicolas Collins. made few records of
persons and dates. OF st. Georges
Church he wrote in the records pre-
served in the vaults of Trinity Church,
Swedesboro. as follows:
Until the beginning of this century.
Raccoon and Penns Neck made parts of
the congregations over the river or on
the Pennsylvania side. the first at Vic
AGO. the other at Christiana. In the
year 1904 a church at Swedesboro was
built where the present church at
Swedesboro now stands and was en-
dowed with lands yet preserved. Their
first minister. P~olfaduis. was drowned
in the Delaware river. 1706. The see
ond. Mr.. Auren. died. 1713. He was
succeeded by Abraham I%idenius, who
also became pastor at Penns-Neck A
church was erected there in lily, and
by John Jaquette endowed with four aces
of land. From that time both congre-
cations have been united and both con-
Joined in the commission of the rect
ors."
The oldest church records being kept
at Old Swedes in Wilmington. at Swed-
esboro. where the pastors of this mis-
sion resided, and being a mission of st.
Johns Church. Salem. in late years.
there is not the local history on record
as full as at other places. but of those
who lived here I'D their noble part in life
and lived up to the highest moral stand
ard of their day and were leaders in
maintaining and propagating the relig-
ion of our Lord and Savious Jesus
Christ, it may be said in the beautiful
words of Longfellow:
Full many a gen of purest ray serene,
The unfathomed depths of ocean bear.
Full many a rose has grown to bloom
unseen
And waste its fragrance on the desert
air"
An Irving may find many stories and
legends in the life of Swedes and Dutch
on the Delaware as he did on the Hud-
son, that wOul make interesting history
to their descendants. The journal of
Erik Biork has many references to the
Swedes cover the river" to whom he
came to ~officiate for the simple Swedish
folk.
The list of 939 individuals in 1893. on
record the church wardens at Raccoon
(Swedesboro) claimed thirty-one individ-
ual members. Among them are the
Mullicas. Rambos. Mattsons and Keens.
While these churches nave a later date
| am persuaded that they were in exist
encve many years Garlic.
After the sermon the Sacrament of
the Lords Supper was administered to
all of that denomination present. by
Bishop Matthews. assisted by other
clergy.
Dinner was served in the parish
house to the official visitors. Other
visitors from the surrounding country
ate their lunches in the shade of the
large old oaks in the yard adjoining the
r%ectory. Such old monarchs of the
early forests are becoming so rare as
to be priced by the lovers of nature.
At 2 o'clock the party boarded two
special trolleys and came to Penns
Grove. Many came in automobiles.
The event was the greatest in the his
tory of old st. Georges Church. the
mother church of Christianity in Lower
and Upper Penns Neck, which then in
cluded Oldman's township until 1882.