REFEI !ENCE ff £ "T mbs’ COLLEI jTIONS p 7»/./ P 3 / / V. ~7 ? Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2018 with funding from This project is made possible by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries https://archive.org/details/pennsylvaniacoun79unse MARK TWAIK’S SCftaj* ftOOK. PATENT 281.657. TRADE MARKS: UXITiD STATES. GREAT BRITAIN. Registered No. 5,896. Registered No. 15,979. DIRECTIONS. Use but little moisture, and only on the gummed lines. Press the scrap on without wetting it. DANIEL SLOTE & COMPANY, NEW YORK. 1 The First Church to Cele¬ brate flext Week. WHERE THEY FIRST MET Nine Persons Formed the pipst Con¬ gregation and They Organized Af\AAr W1AV A/IA/V- -JJJWj- -v/Tl/l l\*hE R op £TRS>T 0aPTT5t CliURCH o --O o o-J-v/l \jJ\As ..vA/LAy--\AAA/- bAPnyrcRfvn on the ^Hunruu \ OLD MEET/HO MOOSE OF .THE F/RST E> APT 1ST OHURCM UA6RAH6E PEACE ***•#4% ~ t wf&wbhdoes store house - ft V>. pEET/M Place of the ft apt tons ==--:-• BI-CENTENNIAL in the Barbados Storehouse. | OF THE BAPTISTS The First Baptist Church of this cit.v. situated at Broad and Spruce streets, will |rap‘- ---- - - celebrate its bi-centennial, it has just been ' SBW - I and local fideTs who. moved by the rural to meet until March l.r>. 1707, when by invi¬ loveliness of the place, were frequently tation of the Kothians, a form of Quakers, inspired to .sweep their lyres in praise of the they removed to Second street, below Arch, resort. , to tlie Ivethlan Meeting Mouse, which was In the midst of this lovely place was a a. small wooden building erected in 1692. large stone rising about three feet above j In this church they continued to worship the ground, around which the people knelt until 1731, when they pulled it down and jmdjtrayed before baptism had been admin erected in its stead a neat briek church. amounted, from December 6 to December In 1762 this building was displaced by an¬ 11. A most Interesting and. not (-worthy fact 1 other of larger dimensions, having pews in ernnectien with this celebration is that !j and galleries and costing 2,200 pounds. This thislchurch had its origin In the same;] church was situated in Lagrange place. plate and at almost the same tune as the j There was some trouble over the title to this Firct Presbyterian Church, which celebrated , property during the pastorate of Rev. .ton¬ its owe hundredth anniversary on November d kins Jones, but the matter was finally ad¬ 13. ;ts the service of both were held in the t justed satisfactorily. ! old lore house of the Burba does Company, l No other remarkable event occurred in the Second and Chestnut streets, each -using it ^ history of the church for many years, indeed twice a month, when either a Baptist or ^ until 1856, when the congregation moved to Presbyterian minister happened to be in, ' ji a handsome cut-stone edifice at the corner of ; town. Broad and Arch streets, remaining there un-1 The first of these services were held about o til last May, when the property was sold. 1695. At that time there was a nourishing-.. Previous to this the ^Beth-Bden Church, Baptist congregation at Cold Springs near.-.} Broad and Spruce streets, had consolidated Bristol. Pa., formed in 1*183, under the care j with the First Church, and the congregation Jof Thomas Dungan, a Baptist preacher from !: now worships in the Beth-Eden building. Rhode Island. As the exact line between J A new First Baptist Church is, however, H (Bucks and Philadelphia counties was not i to be effected next year at Seventeenth and fixed until April 3, 1685, Dungan naturally I Snnsom streets. visited this city before finally locating where I During the long life of the First Baptist he did, and as the Cold Spring interest was I Church many distinguished clergymen have in the end absorbed by the church of this .] officiated as pastors. For the first forty-1 Icity, the history of this First Baptist Churchy eight years of its history it was served by 1 in Pennsylvania legitimately belongs to Phil-1 itinerant ministers, among whom was Rev. I ladelphia. Between Penn and Dungan there 1 Ebenezer Kinnersly. a member of the facul¬ may have been a friendly though necessarily £ ty of the University of Pennsylvania and a | brief intimacy, the former returning to t friend of Benjamin Franklin. Rev. Jenkins * England August 12. 1684. The reasqn for p Jones, who had been pastor of the Penny- this supposed intimacy was that Admiral ii pack Church, was the first regular pastor. Penn, the father of William Penn, was an H He began his labors in, 1746. Another of ; English Baptist. William Penn himself, j the early pastors from 1761 to 1772 was Rev. : though a Quaker, entertained, it is claimed, |1 Dr. Morgan Edwards, afterwards the foun¬ jstrong Baptist sentiments. der of Brown University. After Dr. Ed¬ wards came the Rev. William Rogers, D. I), , Although services were held previous to —1772 to 1775. From the latter date until that date the actual founding of the' First j 1780 the church was without a regular pas¬ Baptist congregation in this city took place j] tor as Mr. Rogers resigned to become a i on the 16th of December, 1698, when John !.* chaplain in the Continental army. Farmer and wife, Joseph Todd, Rebecca J As Philadelphia was occupied by the Brit¬ Worsencroft, John Holmes, William Silver-13 ish troops there was no meeting of the Bap¬ stone, William Eton and wife, and Mary I tists’ Association and no records of the 1 Shepherd, in all nine persons, assembled atj i church were kept from May 8, 1775, to Au¬ the aBrbadoes storehouse and with the [j gust 6, 1779, when the Rev. Joseph Man¬ assistance of the Rev. John Watts formed a I ning tried to again gather together the permanent congregation. They continued to I j greatly scattered congregation, and in 1780 meet regularly at the Barbadoes storehouse ! l the Rev. Elhanau Winchester was placed and to live in, peace aud unity" with theli in charge. He was followed by the Rev. Presbyterians for about three years, when 1 Thomas Ustick, 1782-1803; the Rev. William Dr. Jedediah Andrews came to Philadel- S Rogers, D. D., 1804-1806; the Rev. William phia to fake charge of the latter congrega- 7 Staugliton, D. D., 1806-1812; and the Rev. tion. Dr. Andrews came from New England, tj Henry Holcombe, D. D., 1812-1824, since a part of the country where the Baptists 1 which time a number of brainy men have were bitterly persecuted. His love for the j had charge. The present pastor is the Rev. congregation he found here was conse- i Kerr Boyce Tucker. quently not strong. It is not remarkable |] One of the most curious and interesting therefore that he inaugurated measures to jj happenings in connection with the early his¬ drive them out of the building.- tory of the First Baptist Church took place Several letters are yet extant Which passed j| in 1782, when a beautiful grove was pur¬ between the two societies on (the occasion b chased by the congregation on the banks of of the dispute which arose for the posses- flj | the Schuylkill river, at the end of Spruce sion of tlie quaint little church. There was j j street, for the purpose of affording the also a deputation of three Baptists appointed | I pastor facilities for leading his initiates to remonstrate with the Presbyterians for I I into the river to be baptized as did John in tin ir unehristianlike conduct, but to no pur¬ I Enon. pose, and the Baptists were accordingly I At that time there were no wharves along obliged to vacate, although they had been I i the river and as the city was some dis¬ the first occupants. Front that time forth I tance away, the busy hum and den of busi¬ they held their worship at a place near I ness life had not found its way to this con-, tlie drawbridge—known as •‘Anthony Mor- I secrated spot. It was known as the “Bap- ns’ Brewery House”—where they continued I tisterion,” and when not in use by its owners |(it was a favorite resort for romantic lovers THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF PHILADELPHIA old as the First Baptist Church should be istered. The top was made level by art the parent of many other churches, among and steps had been hewn to ascend. In this which might be mentioned tbe following: primitive pulpit stood the minister when be The Roxborough, Blockley, First Fraukford, preached to the people. Third, African, Fourth, Sansom Street, The Rev. Morgan Edwards, in describing ■ First Camden, South Broad Street, Evangel, the Baptisterion in 1770, says; "Round the • Immanuel Mission and Baltimore Avenue spot are large oaks affording flue shade; , Churches. under foot in green, variegated with wild j The American Baptist Missionary Union, flowers and aromatic herbs, and a tasteful the Women's National Missionary Associa- house is near for dressing and undressing : i tion, the Philadelphia Home for Incurables, the proseuches.” This house to which Mr. the Baptist Orphanage at Angora and the Edwards refers was not by any means the Baptist Young People’s Union of Philadel- ! least curious feature of the Baptisterion. It phia are also Christian institutions in the j was divided into two rooms by a hanging establishment of which this old church has j partition and so contrived that when the been a leading factor and whose existence i partition was lifted up and the doors opened I is in a large measure due to its progressive j and the folding shutters in the front let ! religious sjtirit.