Milford chronicle., 1960-05-27

place Of worship without signifi-
cant interruption or major struct-
ural requirements since it's conse-
Grafton. The parish dates from
1898. The records of its first sixty
years are fragmentary, toward the
close of the period, when contact
with Sweden had long been broken,
It was held together only by devout
laymen. From 1893, however, when
Swedish clergymen were again sent
to the Delaware settlements, the
rcords are very nearly complete.
Until the decade of 1850 entries are
in Swedish, gradually replaced by
English as the congregation be-
came less and less bi-lingual. Near
the close of the eighteenth century,
when the last of the Swedish miss
ionaries withdrew, the parish aft
iliated with the Episcopal Church.
In 1859 Holy Trinity parish moved
an authentic Swedish colonial
dwelling, formerly in Pennsylvania,
to the church yard to serve as
parish house and museum.
Just inside the Delaware bound
airy, at Claymont, is a stone block
house, which tradition dates from
the period of Swedish supremacy.
1t was, however, in their use of
wood that the early Swedes made
their most important contribution
to American life. They introduced
log cabins, easily made, weather.
tight and durable, an ideal frontier
dwelling soon adopted by colonists
of ther stocks and initiated wher-
ever quick housing was needed. The
Delaware State Museum in Dover
has such cabin, moved in recent
years from highway right-of-way
in New Castle County, and now
automatically furnished. This type
of habitation played an important
part in the settlement and develop
ment of the United States.
Both the Swedish and the Dutch
colonial governments in Delaware
ended in surrenders in the face of
superior military force. In each in
stance the public records were
evacuated along with the garrisons
and principal officials, and are
therefore to be sought in Europe
rather than the United States. The
earlier records of Holy Trinity
(Old Swedes) Church in conse-
quence comprise the only extensive
original documentary material in
either language still extant in Del
aware. The Public Archives Com
mission has few scattered items
only in each language. Except for
family names, which are relatively
numerous, and very few place
names such as Christina and She'll
pot (Turtle) Creeks, and kill"
meaning Creek, there is no evidence
of Swedish or Dutch elements in
the spoken language of the region.
The area which is now Delaware
was colony of Sweden for thir-
teen years; of the Netherlands for
nine; and of England for one hund-
red and eleven. Although immigra-
tion here has always been hetero-
geneous, the majority of new Della
wareans from 1864 until about 1850
were of British descent, whether
they came directly from abroad or
had first lived elsewhere in Amer
lea. 1t is therefore natural that
England's is the most distinct
among the voices from the past
still audible here.
Placenames in the State are u.s.
ually of British derivation. The
three counties are New Castle,
Kent and Sussex. None of the
larger town names seem unfamiliar
to English-speaking tongues. New
Castle, Dover and Lewes were spe-
officially named for cities in Eng
land, and Wilmington may have
been. English, Scotch and Irish
surnames predominant among the
long-established families, despite a
considerable blending of those of
Scandinavian, Dutch and French
origin. Recent generations have
added many newcomers of German,
Italian, Slavic and Jewish descent.
The older religious congregations
of Delaware, excepting only Old