Country clergy of Pennsylvania

Preface

This work is a continuation of the ''Early Clergy of Pemfsylvania and Delaware T That book treated of Philadelphia mainly, as far as Pennsylvania was concerned. This one embraces the State, outside of Philadelphia, (with a few exceptions), which was all a country district when our narratives begin ; so that the title is appropriate, though cities and towns are here considered. The volume gives specimens of country clerical life. In England the "Country Parson," George Herbert, at Bemerton, who could move the farmer to stop his plough for a weekday service, and Hooker, at Bishop's Bourne, seeing " God's blessings spring out oi the earth, free from noise," and Keble in the Hursley vicarage are pleasant pictures, but the American church can show many like them. It were to be wished that every parish could have a volume prepared to note the lives of clergy and laymen and women who have served God in Christian faith.

A clergyman wrote me of one dignitary, that he was what he was largely through the influence of his mother and wife, and this is true in general. If some rector's wife would sketch the lives of the ministers and wives of bishops and noted clergy she would be doing a good deed. The effect of a rectory on a parish is an important factor in church life.

The author thanks the clergy and others who have loaned plates for this work, and specially Hon. W. A. Morton ; and J. M. W. Geist, of the New Era^ Lancaster, for furnishing the steel-plate portrait of Bishop Bowman,

6 PREFACE.

and the illustrations of St. James's and St. John's Church edifices.

Samuel Clarkson, Esq., of Philadelphia has also given aid in illustrating Lancaster parish.

For accounts of Huntington and York Springs see ** Gettysburg ; " and for Mount Hope, Manheim and Jonestown, see ''Lebanon."

Rectory of the

Memorial Church of St. Luke, the Beloved Physician,

Bustleton, Phila., Feb. nth, A. D, 1891.

Introduction

The Venerable Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts was chartered, A. D. 1701, "by the great deliverer, King William III." For over 70 years this Church of England Society expended ^5000 per annum in America, providing needy places ''with ministers and public worship of God." The folio account of the Society, prepared by Rev. Mr. Stubs, was printed in 1704. Bishop Wm. Stevens Perry's Historical Collections give the Reports of Pennsylvania Missionaries. Rev. Dr. David Humphreys was the Secretary of the Society in 1730. In 1747, Rev. Dr. Philip Bearcroft held the office, and in 1762 Rev. Mr. Neill mentions his death as much regretted by the Missionaries.

In the Early Clergy of Pennsylva7iia and Dclaiuare, in the sketch of Dr. Bedell, pp. 269, 270, may be found a notice of a patriarchal lay- reader in North Carolina, and Samuel Gunn, in Ohio, deserves remembrance. Richard Grafton, in Philadelphia, and Nathaniel Walton, the Frankford lay-reader and catechist, were useful in provincial days. There were vacancies in the churches by the deaths and removals of Missionaries, and the clergy had more work than they could perform ; though the Propagation Society strove to send the Gospel to the waiting parishes. Rev. Wm. Becket of Lewes, Delaware, reports two churches bmlt before there was a prospect of a minister, but lay-reading served to keep the people steady in church principles. Still the clergy were valued, and "unwearied solictations" went from the province of Pennsylvania to England from vacant churches. If there had been more clergy the Church would have had

6 INTRODUCTION.

a brighter story to tell. In 1726 Governor Gordon wrote the Bishop of London that the people were inclined to the Church, and that she was gaining ground everywhere where there were officiating clergy.

Rowland Jones was a patient schoolmaster, who taught children the Bible and the Catechism. The Bible was a text-book in school. One girl committed the Gospel of St. John to memory.

In 1740, Ebenezer Kennersly, a preacher among the Baptists, became a churchman, and desired to be a Missionary. When the Bishop of London gave 200 volumes of his sermons to Pennsylvania churches, the three " lower counties," (now the State of Delaware), received apart of them, and 14 were ordered by the voluntary convention of 1760 to be given *'to the Ministers of other denominations."

The reports to the Propagation Society show the poverty of the indefatigable missionaries and the indifference and opposition of some, contrasting with the zeal and generosity of individuals and parishes, especially in church-building.

The German Lutherans in coetus frequently proposed union with the English Church, and several of their clergy wished to address the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London on the subject. A large congregation of Dutch Calvinists in Philadelphia offered to conform to the Church of England if the gentleman whom they presented could be ordained. Perry's Historical Collections (Pa.), pp. 396-8.

In connection with the present church work among the Indians, it is interesting to note that Rev. Mr. Stuart, at Fort Hunter, could read a part of the morning service in the Mohawk language for the Indians. He also officiated for the whites, and was *'a most zealous and faithful laborer in the vineyard."

i

COUNTRY CLERGY.

Chapter I

Rev. Dr. Joseph Doddridge.

AN interesting memoir of this good man was written by his daughter Narcissa. In the edition of the Doctor's "Settlement and Indian Wars of Virginia and Pennsylvania," edited by x^lfred Williams, there is also a sketch of his life by Judge Thomas Scott, of Chilicothe. This edition was published by Joel Munsell at Albany, New York. The first edition was printed at Wellsburgh, Virginia, at the office of the Gazette, for the author. It is in the Ridgway Library, Philadelphia, and was issued in 1824. Munsell's edition is in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania Library, but I cull my notes from a type written copy of the memoir kindly sent for my use by the Rt. Rev. Dr. Whitehead, the Bishop of Pittsburgh, who has aided my labors.

The Bishop spoke of the work of this pioneer missionary in his Convention address of 1887.

Joseph Doddridge was the son of John and* Mary Doddridge, and was born at Friends' Cove, near Bedford, Pennsylvania, in 1768. He was a relative of Rev. Philip Doddridge, the celebrated English Vv^riter, who was the son of Rev. John Doddridge, an English rector. In 1773, when Joseph was a child, his father moved to Washington County, Pa., near the Virginia line. This was then the wilderness West, and the Indians held the larger part of the country. Dr. Doddridge's book gives

Ip • REV. DR. JOSEPH DODDRIDGE.

a vivid picture of the rude life and free manners of the early white settlers, as well as of Indian life. He was an observant man, and had wide opportunities for gathering notes. His earnest piety is evident in his early life. The Word of God w^as his guide. His mother died when he was eight years old, and the lad was sent to Maryland to school ; but when seventeen aided his father a part of the time on the farm, and spent a portion of the time in educating himself A scholarly friend, Mr. Johnson, advanced his studies. The lad's father was a Wesleyan and built a chapel on his farm for a church and a school. The son became a promising travelling preacher. The Doddridge Chapel is stated to have been the first house erected for the Avorship of God west of the Alleghenies. After his father's death Joseph entered Jefferson Academy, at Canonsburg, Pa. The Wesleyans having laid aside the prayer book prepared for them by their founder, young Doddridge sought the Episcopal Church as more congenial to his views, and in 1792 was ordained deacon by Bishop White, in Philadelphia. Several years after the same Bishop ordained him a priest in the same city. He was a good and instructive preacher. About 1800 Mr. Doddridge moved to Charlestown in what is now West Virginia. He was rector at Charlestown of St. John's Church for more than thirty years, and did good service also at Wheeling and other places as a zealous missionary in a new land. He wrote Bishop Moore, of Virginia, that he was striving to prepare the state of Ohio for the Episcopate as he thought it needed, as there was a bishop in Pennsylvania, and another in Virginia. He was a devoted churchman, and as the early American clergy cried to England for the Episcopate, so did he continually strive to awaken the East to the need of such an office in the

REV. DR. JOSEPH DODDRIDGE. II

West. If the Episcopate had been earlier given, the scattered sheep might have been collected to the great benefit of the Church. In 1810 a few clergymen held a meeting and authorized Dr. Doddridge to communicate with Bishop White about the much-needed Episcopate ; and, eventually, Bishop Philander Chase was consecrated for Ohio. The appeals of Dr. Doddridge are touching and pitiful. He made missionary journeys in Ohio, baptizing many children. The wife of Dr. Doddridge was Jemima, daughter of Captain John Bukey. Many of the settlers about the missionary had been brought up in the English Church, and were cheered by the presence of a Church clergyman. The trees often served as temples, when like Adam the worshipers adored God under the open sky. The people were generally poor, and the missionary determined to add the profession of medicine to his clerical duties, that he might obtain a living for his family. In 1800 he completed his medical course of study under Dr. Benjamin Rush, in the Medical Institute of Philadelphia. He was successful as a physician, and highly esteemed by his brethren in that profession. He was elected a corresponding member of the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia.

The Doctor "was tall and muscular;" his hair was dark, and his eyes grey, and his appearance striking. He was a good conversationalist and accessible. His manner was simple and his demeanor courteous, and he was agreeable and was fond of children, whom heJcindly greeted with a pleasant smile. Servants and those engaged in labor were saluted by him cheeringly. He was industrious and domestic. When well he rose at four for meditation and literary study, and blamed those who slumbered when God gave them light freely, and then purchased light for night study. He lived simply, and was benevolent to the afflicted, sometimes removing the sick poor to his own house for gratuitous treatment. He was fond of music and led his own congregation generally, when choirs and organs were not. He delighted in horticulture and bee culture, and loved bird music, and in the morning joined his hymn of praise to God with theirs. He would not allow the birds to be molested on his place, but taught the children that the fruits were to be shared with them, as they were the creation of Godvvho made human beings also. He put out a treatise entitled, " Culture of Bees," in which he explained his kind plan of colonizing instead of killing the bees. He was fond of rustic matters, and made a den as a home for some free squirrels who amused him, but he would not imprison them. He did not like to view "a bird in a cage, or an animal tied by the neck."

The exposure of medical work in a new country broke the constitution of the missionary, which was not strong; in later years he suffered much.

Dr. Doddridge wrote a work entitled, "Logan, the Last of the Race of Shikillimies. A Dramatic Piece," and "Dialogue between a Dandy and a Backwoodsman," and "some sermons an special subjects."

In 1824, in travelling through Pennsylvania, he writes from Bedford to his wife of the beautiful scenery viewed on the journey, and the thought in his poor health that his senses would soon fail to show him these grand mountains or quieter scenes so much admired ; but he thanked God that he could expect by faith to enter a land of eternal beauty and peaceful prosperity, where the weariness and pain that now afflicted him would depart. He preached at Somerset and baptized two children, thus continuing his missionary work. * There is an interesting description of the famed Bedford Springs and of the town of Bedford.

Dr. Doddridge attended a special convention of the Diocese of Ohio at Chilicothe, to meet Bishop Chase on his return " from his first visit to England " to obtain funds for his great educational plans. The missionary took charge of St. James's Church, Zanesville. His poor health had induced him some time before to give up "his parishes in Virginia and Eastern Oliio," and to relinquish the practice of the medical art on account of its demanding exposure to weather, and riding on horseback. For several months he performed his clerical duties at Zanesville, but when the Spring came he was severely attacked with pneumonia, which brought him near death. When he grew a little better he wrote that his life was fast passing away, and that ''the prospect of death" was familiar to his mind, and that it was ''by no means unpleasant." His little son Reeves died in 1825 in Christian hope. The Doctor visited his sister, Mrs. Reeves, in Chilicothe. His friend J. Scott then describes him as cheerful, though apparently soon to leave earthly scenes. The faith that he had inculcated on others now supported him. He desired death. Some time passed, however, before he died, and he made another journey for improvement in health, without avail. Leaning on Christ's atoning mercy and merits he fearlessly looked for the end. He died in Wellsburgh, Brooke County, Virginia, November 9th, A. D. 1826, being in his 57th year.

Rev. Mr. Asbury requested Dr. Doddridge to study German. He could preach in German, and found his knowledge of use in after years in conversing with the German population.

When the clergy met in Washington County, Pennsylvania, they desired to unite the western counties of

Pennsylvania with Western Virginia, Ohio and other Western States under a bishop. A meeting of the clergy was held September, 1803. The Rev. Messrs. Francis Reno, Seaton, Robert Ayres and Doddridge were present. They ''adjourned to meet on General Neville's old place on Chartiers Creek, Pa., not far from Pittsburgh."

The love of the scattered flock for the Church was shown on one occasion when, in 1815, Dr. Doddridge went seventy-five miles from his home to preach a funeral sermon, according to a request made by a patriarch before his decease, who had been before removal his parishioner. One who accompanied him describes the "arrival at the commodious mansion of the departed, where the preacher was welcomed by a large concourse of his children, grandchildren and neighbors, who had assembled to hear the words of eternal life from his lips, and to do honor to the memory of the deceased, at whose dying request they were called toa;ether on this occasion."

A sketch of Dr. Doddridge is appropriate in this volume, because his name is associated so closely with the early work of the Church in Western Pennsylvania, and with the efforts to secure a Western bishop. He must be numbered with our honorable toilers in a day when hardships were many, and the greatest encouragement was the smile of God, 'rather than visible success; but he sowed that others might reap, and if he can see the number of bishops who now water the field which he traversed, his soul must rejoice at the goodness of God in accomplishing his desires.

Bishop Whitehead in his Centennial Address to the Diocesan Convention of Pittsburgh in 1887, in the year commemorating Bishop White's consecration a century before, says :

"The impulse given by that single visit of Bishop White in 1825 has never been permitted to lose its force. At that time there were but ten clergymen within the region now composing the Diocese of Pittsburgh. They were as follows : The Rev. John P. Bausman, Jr., Fayette County ; the Rev. John H. Hopkins, Trinity Church, Pittsburgh ; the Rev. Robert Ayres, Brownsville ; the Rev. Francis Reno, Beaver County ; the Rev. John Taylor, Pittsburgh ; the Rev. Moses P. Bennett, Kittanning and Butler ; the Rev. Charles Smith, Meadville ; the Rev. H. H. Peiffer, Brownsville ; the Rev. D. C. Page, Greensburg ; the Rev. Wm. R. Bowman, Brownsville.

" There were five parishes organized, (Trinity, Pittsburgh ; Christ Church, Meadville ; Christ Church, l^rownsville ; St. John's, Franklin, and Christ Church, Greensburg), but it is difficult, if not impossible, to ascertain exactly the number of congregations which these ten clergymen served. Bishop White seems to have visited Pittsburgh, Greensburg, Connellsville and Brownsville, besides Wheeling, in Virginia, and several places in Central Pennsylvania.

" He confirmed over two hundred candidates, almost all of them the first fruits of the ministry of the Rev. John H. Hopkins, afterwards Bishop oT Vermont. From that visit the Church in W^estern Pennsylvania renewed its hope for the future.

" With the consecration of Bishop Onderdonk in 1827, a vigorous policy took its rise ; and 'heroic feet' were those which followed his over the Western portion of the state. To-day there are hundreds who revere and love the memories of the great Alonzo Potter, the sainted Bowman, the beloved Stevens.

" With the organization of this Diocese of Pittsburgh came redoubled energy, and no record of Episcopal vigor and devotion can surpass that which tells of the trials, unwearied journeys, and far reaching labors of my ever venerated predecessor, the noble Dr. Kerfoot."

REV. BERNARD PAGE, A. M. I7

Chapter II

Rev. Bernard Page, A. M.

IN the collections of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society, Vol. II., pp. 206, &c., is an account of the life of Rev. Bernard Page, the first Episcopal clergyman of Wyoming, in A. D. 1772. By Sheldon Reynolds, Esq. The writer states that the education and secular influence of the primitive clergyman gave him influence in the new settlements.

Mr. Page was ordained in London, and assigned to Wyoming parish in 1772, though he had been in Wilkes- Barre the previous year. He had the martyr spirit and undertook the work against the warnings of his friends. He came to his work with no call from the people, and no promise of support, simply obeying Christ's command to "preach the Gospel."

Land troubles concerning the Connecticut Colony and Pennsylvania interests were disturbing the country. The Yankees had been driven from the Valley five times, and yet returned and captured Fort Wyoming, and would not allow Mr. Page to preach in the Block House, through unjust but natural fear as to his intention. He wrote a burning letter to both parties, offering his spiritual remedies for wounded souls, and offered to fight the Lord's battle with the Shield of Faith and the Sword of the Spirit ; but held up the Deluge and Sodom and Nineveh as a warning to those who would not hear, though he hoped to present many

1 8 REV. BERNARD PAGE, A. M.

to King Jesus for a free pardon. He hoped that they would receive the savor of life. He longed for the salvation of souls, though he had been warned that he might be killed if he went to Wyoming. He declared himself willing to die in such a cause, and went. He pronounced himself neutral in the secular quarrel, (as both parties feared interference), and desired that those who may come to hear his sermon in the open air may not be molested.

Mr. Page returned to London for ordination, and was sent back as a missionary of the Propagation Society. He labored in a wide district. In Rev, Mr. Fithian's Journal he notes his being near Muncey in 1775. According to Bolton's History of West Chester County, N. Y., he appears to have been at St, Peter's, Peekskill, for a short time. He moved to Virginia, and is mentioned in Bishop Meade's "Old Churches of Virginia." He assisted Lord Bryan Fairfax, rector of old Christ Church, Alexandria ; and was at Shepherdstown, and Mrs. Shepherd commended him highly, as zealous and pious. He died in the lower part of Virginia. He was assisting at Christ Church when Washington was an attendant.

REV. WILLIAM ELDRED. I9

Chapter III

Rev. William Eldred.

REV. BENJAMIN ALLEN, the zealous rector of St. Paul's Church, Philadelphia, did much hard work in writing and printing and circulating good Christian literature. He opened a place for the sale of books that the Prayer Book might be sold cheaply, as well as other religious books. He wrote a narrative of the " Labors, Suffe'rings, and Final Triumph of Rev. William Eldred." The text: II. Tim. 2:12, " Jf we suffer we shall also reign with Him," adorns the title-page.

Mr. P^ldred was born in the north of England. " He was an humble, devout, self-denying evangelist." He was fond ol poetry in early life, arid in later years the repetition of hymns cheered his missionary journeys, as he passed through the forests of this new land. Finding on the floor a piece of the Gospel of St. John, containing "a command to preach the Gospel," he felt it addressed to himself He studied law, but Avished higher occupation. An elderly religious woman in London kept alive his sacred desires for a holy life. A Hindoo taught him the Bengalee language, and he was the means of converting his teacher, who died in the Christian faith. Mr. Eldred wished to go as a missionary to Hindostan, but as he had a large family he was not accepted. He, however, visited Lascar sailors in London, and gave therii portions of Scripture. He lived

2o REV. WILLIAM ELDREt).

several miles out of London, and walked into the city in the morning and out in the evening-. When living in London he went on Sunday mornings twelve or fourteen miles to a village, where he would gather the children for instruction. He emigrated to Western Pennsylvania, where he visited an uncle at Elklands. His wife and his six children were being conveyed in an ox-cart over a mountain when night closed in, and while w^ife and children slept in the cart he watched lest the oxen should push the cart over a precipice, while the animals trembled for fear at a panther's cry. He moved from his uncle's residence to Muncey, and in the cold and icy rain as the family walked down a mountain, the infant, already ill, was so affected by the cold that death ensued. Mr. Eldred afterward moved to Jersey Shore, and took the Academy ; and thence, with Rev. Caleb Hopkins, he went to Philadelphia to study theology with Bishop White. He studied under the disadvantage of poverty, and walked t6o miles and back in going to Philadelphia for examination by the Bishop. He moved to Greenwood, and was ordained deacon. He officiated at Greenwood, Bloomsburg, St. Gabriel's, Sugar Loaf and Muncey, and generally walked ; but his father gave him some books on theology and a little money, and he bought a dearborn for his journeys. Dark nights and severe weather did not deter him from meeting his appointments. When he died he had twelve places of service. He sometimes spent the night in the woods, tying his horse to the wheel of his wagon. Once a panther disturbed his rest "on an old log." In 1825 a clergyman visited Mr. Eldred, and saw the hovel in which he lived, and did not know his friend as he beheld him in the coarse garb of a laborer with bare feet. He cultivated "a few acres" of ground, and his children

REV. WILLIAM ELDRED. 21

aided him. The people were attached to their laborious pastor, and his labors were blessed of God. The wife was the daughter of a wealthy English manufacturer, and Mr. Eldred could have remained as a lawyer in London. The Advancement Society Reports mention his indefatigable and successful work in Lycoming, Columbia and Northumberland Counties. He established a Church Sunday-school at Pennsborough. Rev. Mr. Dupuy was at work in Bloomsburg and Jersey Town with success. Milton was under the care of Mr. Eldred. He considered Pottsville and Orwigsburg "very important places for a missionary station." In going and returning from conventions he had preached in these places. He writes, "Pottsville is rapidly increasing. I have been credibly informed that fifty families are waiting to remove there as soon as habitations can be raised for them." He declares that it is rapidly rising "in commercial importance," and he notices improvements in successive visits. He says, "no inconsiderable portion of the inhabitants are in favor of our Church." He notes in his field of labor a manifest increase in attention "to the Sacraments, the use of the Prayer Book, etc." His travels impaired his health. The English emigrants loved the Church and welcomed its missionary. Mr. Eldred formed several Sunday-schools under the General Episcopal Sunday-school Society. In 1826 two friends visited this dauntless man and found him ill, but still he rode over the rugged road "to Muncey hills." The wagon was not covered, and the sun beat upon the invalid ; but a congregation awaited him at a village schoolhouse, and he preached to them. As no other food could be had, he ate some berries, thanked God, and rested a short time, and proceeded in the darkness of the night ; and when

2 2 REV. WILLIAM ELDRED.

the muddy roads forced walking, or afterward a narrow mountain pass, near a precipice with a waterfall beneath, gave fear of danger, he strove to encourage his friends by stirring the echoes of the forest with ''Jerusalem My Happy Home," and similar strains. His home in the Muncey hills was poor, but the morning was wakened by the words, ''To Our Redeemer's Glorious Name," etc., sung by the missionary as he and his children cleaned "the humble chariot which had brought us to the habitation of a King's Son." The oldest daughter by the kindness of friends was placed in school at Philadelphia, and her father wrote her letters of Christian counsel in her absence. He used to make the house of Dr. Janney, in the Northern Liberties, his home in visiting Philadelphia. The father was grateful for the attention to his child. A visit of Rev. Drs. Boyd and Clemson to Jersey Town is noted. The missionary desires Tracts and English and German Bibles and Testaments. In 1827 we see this poor man raising money for the suffering Greeks among his people. The same year the ill health of Dr. Bedell is mentioned in a letter, and the work of Rev. Norman Nash, in endeavoring to establish the Church in Pottsville, is hopefully commented on.

The missionary's physician warned him against over effort, but he did not spare himself; and walked from point to point, and exposed himself to storm or sun, moved by no obstacles when duty called ; and he felt that his Christian ministry ordered him to testify as to the grace of the Gospel of God. He denied himself comforts for the sake of his wife, and he was a loving father. He would teach his children "at the barn, in the field, or by the wayside." Like Bishop Chase, of Ohio, he toiled with his hands. Mr. Allen, in this con-

REV. WILLIAM ELDREI). 23

nection, describes how a letter written by the Bishop to a clergyman in Boston, who had asked particulars of his life, showing that in the cold winter he was cutting and hauling wood and thrashing grain, was sent to a lady in London, who afterward on the Bishop's visit offered him pecuniary aid, but he wished his schools to be aided. The lady was the daughter of the Bishop of Inverness, and her father had received the letter, and her dying friend, John Bowdler, left a purse of gold to Bishop Chase in consequence of it. The money purchased a Communion Service for the Theological Seminary in Ohio, and the lady was the means of procuring large funds to aid the Bishop's work in Ohio.

In January of 1828 Mr. Eldred, one Sunday after preaching, visited some sick persons, returned home, and walked five miles to a point where he was to preach in the evening, and during the sermon he was attacked with illness. He recovered for a time, but in a few days died, having taken a final leave of his poor family. His parishioners regretted the loss of one who knew how to comfort those who were sick in body or soul. An account of his death by a clergyman who witnessed it, and preached his funeral sermon, closes the volume ; but the name of this clergyman is not given. He rejoices in the departure of his brother to a land where there are no tears. The tribulation ended in lasting joy, and he who had taught others of the blessedness of the chastisements of God, now experienced the truth of his words. He has left another example to clergy and laity of the truth that the way to God's Kingdom is through tribulation. One of the hymns of Watts, appended to this volume, will furnish a fitting thought to close the consideration of such a holy life ;

2 4 REV. WILLIAM ELDRED.

" So Jesus slept ; God's dying Son,

Past through the grave, and bless'd the bed, Rest here, O saint ; till from his throne The morning break and pierce the shade,

" Break from his throne, illustrious morn ; i^ttend, O earth, the sovereign word ; Restore thy trust, a glorious form ; He must ascend to meet his Lord."

CHAPTER IV. Bishop Kemper's Missionary Work in Pennsylvania

THE Rev. B. J. Douglass found in an ancient leather trunk belonging to his father some letters written by Dr. Kemper to the owner of the important trunk, showing that in the earlier days of diocesan life in Pennsylvania a missionary fire burned in the hearts of Drs. Boyd, Clay and Muhlenberg, Bird Wilson, Richard S. Mason, and the Rev. Messrs. Breintnall, Samuel Phinney, and Joseph Clarkson, and the Rev. Dr. Levi Bull. Bishop White must be named as having a spirit which still shows itself in connection with that of the other worthies named in the mission work of this diocese and in the West. In 1812 the Rev. Mr. Kemper was the first missionary of the Advancement Society. He pleaded for advance from East to West, and thought if the Church were firmly planted at the junction of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers, and in that section, that scattered churchmen in Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee would be affected by it. This he reported to the Society in 1813. Mr. Kemper's journey of missionary observation extended beyond the Alleghenies when easy railway travel was unknown. He was then a deacon, but full of energetic faith. He preached the Gospel faithfully, and laid foundations for future work. The Advancement Society was organized in 1812. Bishop White put out a series of practical queries which he desired to be answered, that he might 3 know the condition and promise of the points visited. Churches without settled clergy were to be visited. Dr. Joseph Pilmore, rector of St. Paul's, Philadelphia, was appointed to visit the counties adjacent to that city, but his mission was a short one. The Rev. Mr. Kemper was assistant at Christ, St. Peter's and St. James's Churches in Philadelphia, but the trustees of the Advancement Society arranged to supply his place, and he was away for three months, visiting the remote parts of Pennsylvania ; and as we consider his future life we may say that the deacon was father to the bishop, for in his later life various dioceses shared the zeal which impelled this first search for lost and scattered sheep. The Rev. B. J. Douglass, whose manuscript I am permitted to follow throughout this account, gives extracts from the Reports of the Society which show the good work done. Mr. Kemper found many church people scattered through Pennsylvania, and thought "that six, or even eight, missionaries might be constantly employed, and most usefully employed among those who are professedly Episcopalians." He believed that "many of them would be nearly if not entirely supported by the people among whom they officiated."