Milford chronicle., 1929-06-28
Frankford

Prince Georges Church, Days
boro, will be rededicated June 80 by
Bishop Phillip Cook. This church
is supposed to have been built as
early as 1870. 1t was originally a
chapel-of-ease to st. Martins, the
mother church of Worcester Parish,
Maryland. The Rev. Mr.. Inglis, in
1865, writes to the Society for the
Propagation of the Gospel, that "the
lines between this province and
Maryland are now run out and fixed
according to a decree in chancery.
By this division Sussex will be
twice as large as it is at present,
and one or two Maryland churches
will be thrown into the lower end of
it."
Accordingly since that time there
its of this diocese the church at
Dagsboro, previously in Worcester
Parish, Maryland; Christ Church,
Broad Creek, and ST. Mary's Chapel,
Northwest Fork hundred, not far
from the present site of Seaford.
About so years after it's erection
Prince Georges was enlarged, chief
ly at the expense of Gen. Dagworthy.
This was done by adding transepts
and small sanctuary on the east
end, the ground plan, by these ad-
ditions, being extended into the
form of a Latin cross. The length
of the church was now 80 feet and
its greatest width so feet. The
walls were IA feet high; the cell
ings formed semi-circular arches,
intersecting each other and giving
to the whole interior most pleas
ing effect.
The furniture included all the ap-
pointments common to English
churches of the period, among 9TH
ers a hexagonal pulpit arising from
a stem and surmounted by quaint
looking sounding But the
chief ornament must have been the
altar window in the east end of the
church. This was divided into
three sections, the middle one hav-
ing a circular head. The whole
width of the windows was nine feet,
the height fourteen feet and the
sash contained one hundred and
twenty panes of glass. In 1866 the
transepts were still standing, but so
much decayed as to be past repair
ing. The original edifice, however,
(the nave) still remained in good
condition, the ground sills and
framing timbers of this part being
of the best cedar and pine that the
ancient forests of Sussex produced.
In 1866, under the superintend-
ence of the Rev. ]. Leighton McKim,
new shingles were put on the roof
of the nave, the expense being borne
mainly by Mrs. Rachel Hill NAPLES,
granddaughter of Gen. Dagworthy;
the Rev. John Linn McKim, who had
been rector in 1888, and the Rev. G.
Gardiner Littell, of Wilmington. Ten
years later the decayed part was re-
placed in a measure by small
chancel, intended to comport as far
as possible with the design of the
original structure.
The bodies of Gen. Dagworthy and
his wife were buried under the
floor of the north transept. Their
graves are now, of course, without
the building altogether. Regular
service in Prince Georges were dis
continued on or about 1847. On
September 10, 1847, the Rev. John
Limo McKim officiated at the fu-
neral of DR.. Edward Dingle, some
time senior warden, and the church
was not open again till 1867, when,
at the instance of Mrs. Rachel Wap-
les, the rector of Milford held SER
vice on one Sunday afternoon in
September. On this occasion not
only was the church filled with de-
vout worshippers, but scores of peo-
pie, unable to get inside, stood,
blocking the doors and windows.
The following named clergymen
have officiated either regularly or
in Prince Georges
Church since it's disconnection from
Parish, viz: Revs. Will
liam Skelly, 1898; James Wilt
bank, 1794-9S; William Pryce, 1900
8; William L. Gibson, 1S04-5; Hamil-
ton Bell, 1S06-11; Mr.. Baldwin, 1913;
Mr.. Weeks, 1914; John Foreman,
1S17-21; Daniel Higbee, 1S23-31;
Nathan Kingsberry, 1S99-S6; John
Lin McKim, 1889; H. F. M. White
sides, 1S40-41; John A. Childs, 1S45-
4S.
From 1890 to 1880 the number of
was seventy-five or
more. In Mr.. Kingsberry's time
there were about forty.
The congregation of Prince Geor-
ges was much reduced by the
formation of new parish at Mills
boro in 1S47, and still further by
the building a few years later of a
little house of worship at Balti-
more Mills.
AS we look at it today, the dis
continuance of services at the old |