The Monmouth inquirer., 1923-02-08
ST. Peters Church,
Freehold and It's Rectors
By MARCY APPLICABLE. SR.
REV. GEORGE KEITH, FOUNDER OF
FREEHOLD.
ToPANEMUs.
KEITH SUCCEEDS IN HAVING
GOVERNOR PENN DEPosED.

GOVERNOR PENN DEPoSED.
Among the facts not generally
known about George Keith was that ht
was Instrumental In deposing William
Penn from the GovernoTship of Penn.
sylvanla,. when Penn was absent IL
England in 1888.
During the time when Penn was in
England, says Bryant's History of the
". s.. ne was panied by the accounts
sent to him by the dissentions in his
PROVINCE. The three lower counties
on the Della called THE Territor
les,' had insisted on a separate gov
eminent, and to this, he reluctantly as
sented. Other difficulties occurred.
relating to the religious doctrines OF
Friends. These were chiefly foment-
ed by George Keith, who had been
appointed the Principal of the Friends
Public School in Philadelphia, which
was established in 1888. The Court
took ADVANTAGE of these disturbances
TO depose Penn from the government
OF the Province, and another Govern
or was sen out, who administered
affairs till Penn was reinstated in
1854, having shown the hollowness of
the charges against himself and re-es-
tablished old feelings Of aInity with
the suspicious party in the Society.
The new Governor, Fletcher, who
was also Governor of New York. had.
in the meantime, with the usual fatal
facility of Royal Governors, quar-
relied with the Assembly and retired
in disgust to New York. Penn made
his defence and explanation before
the Council In 1893; his reinstatement
in the Proprietary government took
place IN August, 1894, while he was
preparing to return he appointed
his cousin, Colonel Markham, Deputy
Governor of the Province, his friend.
Thomas Lloyd with whom George
Keith had quarreled on account of
doctrine) who had been his Deputy
for some time, having recently died.
Penn renamed In England set Ting up
his private affairs till 1899. when he
once more sailed for America. with
his family. with the firm intention of
remaining there for the rest OF his days.
By this account it will be seen
that George Keith must have had in
iuential followers both in England
and America to foment such q strife
and depose the powerful William Penn
from the Goyernorship of the land he
had acquired and considered himself
AZ 0GOOA0tO PA0 4A1CA.
HQme's History of England has a
very severe arraignment of the Ouak-
ers and we quoke in part from it.
mo fanatics ever carried further the
hatred to ceremonies, forms. orders.
rules and positive institutions. Even
baptism and the Lords Supper, by all
sacts believed to be interviewer with
the very vitals Of christianity, weredis-
painfully rejected by them. The very
Sabbath they profaned, the holiness
of churches they derided; and they
| would give to these sacred edifices no
other appellations than that of shops
or steeplehouses. No priests were adj
mitted to their sect. every one had re-
ceived from immediate illumination a
character much superior to the sacre-
dotal. When they met for divine wor-
ship, each rose up in his place, and de-
livered the extemporary inspirations OF
the Holy Ghost. Women were also adj
mitted to teach the brethren, and were
considered as proper vehicles to con-
vey the dictates of the spirit. Some
times a great many preachers were
moved to speak at once; sometimes a
total silence prevailed in their con
gregations."
We have heard our Mother, Mrs. E.
f. Apologize, say when q child, she
attended the Shrewsbury Quaker
meeting with relatives, and the novel ex-
perience of sitting through q service
in silence aroused her childish curiosity
as generally she attended the Bap-
fist Church, Middletown, in
which faith she had been brought up.
She often when a child also attended
the Shrewsbury Episcopal Church, Tin
which some of her relatives were prom
inent and they are buried in the
church grave yard.) One can imagine
whata contrast this was to a child who
was obliged to sit through the meeting
for two hours without hearing any one
speak.
But not only the silence was broken
by the moving of the spirit to speak by
the Quakers, but singing also was in
dulged IN by Shrewsb ury Friends, as
a copy of n of their hymnals In the
Editors possession, is q mute witness.
One OF the favorite stories told by
George Keith when a Quaker, was
that at H~asington, in Northumberland,
coming to the minister on the Sabbath
day. and speaking to him, the people
fell upon the Quakers, and almost kill
ed one or two of them, who going out
fell on their knees, and prayed God to
pardon the people, who knew not what
they did; and afterwards speaking to the
people, SO convinced them of the evil
they had done in beating them; that
the country people fell a quarreling.
and beat one another more than they
had before beaten the Quakers.
A TRIBUTE TO THE listers COOK.
While on this subject of the early
Quarker settlementIn Freehold town
ship, VIZ wish to bear witness to the
early impressions Of the writer (Maxcy
Apologize Sr.). on the later preachers