of the tradition which marks the spot right underneath the altar, as the grave of one of the early rectors of this parish, whose name has been lost. There can be little doubt that with this single exception the remains of all our colonial rectors lie beneath the ruins which indicate the site of old Chester Church, and the hope is devoutly cherished, that this ancient place of burial may be put into a condition which will fit it for the holy uses to which it has been solemnly set apart.

Mr. Rigg was succeeded by the Rev. Mr. Barclay, from 1804 to 1805; Rev. Mr. Reynolds, 1806 to 1809; Rev. Daniel Stephens, from 1811 to 1816; Rev. Wm. J. Bulkey, from 1817 to 1820; Rev. Grandison Aisquith, from 1821 and 1823; Rev. Bennett S. Glover, in 1824; Rev. Thomas K. Peck, in 1825.

Here followed one of several intervals, during which the services of the Church were kept up by lay readers, principally by that learned, pious and devoted layman, whose praise was in all the churches of his day, and whose history is closely identified with that of this parish and diocese. I need hardly mention here the name, which is written in every volume of the valuable library (now the property of the parish), which he was at such pains to collect, inscribed upon the communion plate of Wye and Queenstown churches, and held in loving and grateful veneration by so many who hear me.

The declension of the parish, which commenced with the revolution, was so rapid, that in the year 1809 the list of communicants was reduced to 14 names, viz.: William Hemsley, Anne Hemsley, Philemon Hemsley, Henrietta Earle, Sarah Troup, James Tilghman, William D. Thomas, Charles Browne, Henrietta Blake, John Fisher, Edward DeCourcy, Sam'l Thomas, Henrietta Thomas and Elizabeth Hemsley.

The large "Old Chester Church" soon fell into dilapidation. A small portion, embracing the chancel, having been boarded off for winter use, it continued to be occasionally occupied by small and decreasing congregations, and the parish was almost threatened with extinction.

The Rev. Robert W. Goldsborough commenced his labors in this parish as a lay reader in 1829. Shortly afterwards he entered upon the rectorship, which he retained until the year 1836.

The difficulties in the way of keeping so large a building as the parish church in even tolerable repair, and of collecting a congregation within its walls, continuing to increase, it was deemed necessary to remove a portion of the materials of which it was composed, and with them to construct what may now be called the old part of the sacred edifice in which we are assembled. This was accordingly done, under the

superintendence of a building committee, consisting of the Hon. Richard T. Earle, Col. John Tilghman, Pere Wilmer, W. A. Spencer and Thomas A. Emory, Esquires. The corner stone of this building, built of materials taken from old Chester Church, and having within its walls bricks which belonged to the original church of that name, was laid by the rector, the Rev. R. W. Goldsborough, May 1, 1834; and its consecration by the Rt. Rev. William M. Stone, D.D., Bishop of the Diocese, took place on the 22nd of July, 1835. It was a good work. Humanly speaking, it saved the parish, and a heavy debt of gratitude is due to those whose wisdom devised it, and through whose liberality and energy it was effected.

To Mr. Goldsborough's succeeded the short ministry of the Rev. John Owen, in 1836.

Then followed that of the Rev. John P. Robinson from 1836 to 1841; Rev. Henry Brown, from 1841 to 1851; the Rev. William G. Hawkins, from 1851 to 1852, which brings us down to the rectorship of the present incumbent, (being the 21st rector of the parish) commencing December 2, 1852. The Rev. Mr. Goldsborough was the last minister by whom stated services were performed in old Wye Church; the condition of the building after his ministry, becoming such that without repair it could no longer be used as a place of worship. Instead of repairing it, however, the vestry deemed it expedient to build a new chapel in what was regarded as a more convenient location. Accordingly, the present edifice in Queenstown was erected, and under the title of St. Luke's (the name by which old Wye Church was officially known) was consecrated to the worship of God by the present Bishop of the Diocese on the 21st of April, 1842.

Since your present minister came among you it has pleased God to put into the hearts of some of the descendants of those who, in the infancy of this country, raised the venerable walls of Wye Church and worshipped with them; of others, who residing in that vicinity, earnestly desired to have in their midst a living Church, a living ministry and the life-giving Word and sacraments; and of others, whose only nearness to us is in the intimacy of those spiritual relations which bind in one Living Body all the true members of Christ, to provide the means for its restoration. That work has been done. The foundations of those old walls the oldest entire church walls in Maryland, and built of English bricks have been made secure, and the whole building, fitly framed, compacted and beautiful, is now as strong as in the days of old. It was the privilege of many who hear me to join heart and voice in the exulting services with which that ancient and solemn temple—never before consecrated—was set apart to the worship of the Ever Blessed Trinity. Those memorable services occurred on Thursday, the 20th day of July, 1854. A few days ago, on Thursday, the 19th day of July, 1855, within one day of the first anniversary of the consecration of old

Wye Church, within three days of the twentieth anniversary of the consecration of this church, and within five days of the fifty-second anniversary of the consecration of Old Chester Church, we came together again, with many rejoicing friends and a goodly company of preachers, to meet our chief pastor, and through him to present to God this beautiful addition to the House which was already His own. He had crowned us with blessings and had vouchsafed us the tokens of greater blessings in store; and that there might be "room to receive them," we ventured, as I trust, in faith and love, with a sincere desire to promote His glory and "the prosperity of His Holy Apostolic Church," to break forth on the right hand and on the left, lengthening the cords and strengthening the stakes of His Tabernacle in our midst.

And now that this work has also been completed, and we have met together in this Holy Sanctuary, thus enlarged, improved, and dedicated, to us, with one accord, render thanks unto Him who has inspired us with this holy purpose, united us in this good work, and at length, has crowned it with success. Not unto us, oh Lord, but unto Thy Name, be all the praise and glory, through Christ Jesus.

I congratulate you, my beloved brethren, and rejoice with you, upon this substantial token of God's presence and blessing. I rejoice and thank God, that He has put it into your hearts to strengthen and enlarge the foundation of your parish church, to make it in a good degree commensurate with the extent and importance of your parish, and worthy of your ancestry; and to give increased efficiency to the means of grace which are here dispensed. It gladdens my heart to know that now there is not only a cordial welcome, but also ample room, for our neighbors and friends to come and worship the Lord with us in the beauty of holiness, and heartily to rejoice with us in the strength of our salvation; and that some provision, at least, has been made, by which your servants also can partake with you of the fulness and the pleasures of God's House, and bow with you before the common Lord and Master of us all. And, beloved in the Lord, blessed as you are already for your fathers' sake, I hail in these evidences of your attachment to the holy religion which made them what they were, and to the Church which nourished them for immortality, the tokens of those blessings also, which are promised to filial love and reverence. Continue, then to honor your fathers and your mothers, though they may long since have rested from their labors. Cherish their memory. Guard their sepulchres from desecration. Preserve the affecting and sacred monuments of their zeal for God. Execute the wishes of those who have gone before you, leaving you their names, their possessions, and their good examples, as you hope to have your own regarded by those who are to bear your names and occupy your places. How little encouragement would you find to labor in any good cause, if you were deprived of the conviction, that that cause would be endeared to your children by your own exertions and sacrifices in its promotion. Esteem it, then, your sacred duty, as it is your privilege and safety, earnestly to contend for that pure and simple faith, which having been once delivered to the saints,

and by faithful men, handed down "through the ages all along," has been transmitted unto you by your fathers. Let the interests of the Church, which was to them the House of God, and to their souls the gate of Heaven, and in communion with which you are united to them in sanctified and immortal bonds be ever precious in your sight. Restore it so far as you can, to all its ancient seats, and extend its influences to all within your reach. Above all, give yourselves to be built up into it, as living stones, spiritual sacrifices, acceptable unto God through Jesus Christ. Be Churchmen of the ancient stamp; honest, manly, earnest Christians. Drink deeply of that filial spirit which has been the characteristic feature of God's faithful people in every dispensation. Should the scorner come among you, stand not by to hear the Holy Saviour and the Holy Faith of your fathers and your mothers, dishonored and reviled; but confess Him whom they confessed, and follow them as they followed Him in the way everlasting. So shall it be well with you, and with your children after you; and God, even your own God, and the God of your fathers, shall delight to be with and bless you.

And may we not be permitted in the exercise of that charity which "rejoiceth not in error but rejoiceth in the truth," and "which hopeth all things" to indulge and to avow the hope, that many among us, who are now living in separation from the Church of their forefathers, will claim their birth-right as the heirs of promise. For a century and a half, all who professed and called themselves Christians, within the bounds of this parish, knew nothing but "the Doctrine and Sacraments, and the Discipline of Christ, as the Lord hath commanded, and as this Church hath received the same." The very names which are now borne by the descendants of the first settlers and old residents, are to be found throughout our records. Though, in some cases, their immediate parents may have lived in separation from the Church, yet if they will go back, even to the second generation of their ancestors, they will find that they all belonged to the same holy fellowship. They will find also, that the only plea assigned by the first separatists, was the plea of necessity—that among the troubles and distractions of the times in which they lived, the ministry and sacraments of the church had been withdrawn from them. This reproach we have sought, and are still seeking to take away. St. Luke's, Queenstown, has been built. Old Wye Church has been restored and made free to all. This Church, built of old Chester bricks, has been enlarged to its utmost capacity of enlargement; and the additional accommodations which it affords, are now affectionately offered to those who will accept them, on their own terms.

And now, having thus far sought to perpetuate the work of those who came from a far distant land, bringing with them from the old country, where Apostolic hands had planted it, the Church of the Living God, may we not with propriety, must we not from duty, plead in its behalf and in their names, with those who occupy the homes they founded in what was then an untrodden wilderness of a new world,

who inherit their honored names and the rich blessings which their piety has bequeathed. We do not ask them to follow their forefathers, whether they were right or wrong; but to cultivate that filial feeling which must tend, wherever it is cherished, to keep religion in all its essential features, what it originally was; which makes us one with those who have preceded us, as they were one with those who preceded them even to the earliest generation of their spiritual parentage. We only ask them so far to honor their fathers and their mothers, as to stand in the ways and see whether the paths in which they walked, are not, of a truth, "the old paths" in which all the generations of their fathers also walked, even from the Apostolic age; in a word, to inquire and learn whether the church of their fathers is not also the church of their fathers' God.

My beloved parishioners, children of pious ancestors, you have a fair land, a goodly heritage; but what most of all endears it to your hearts and makes it above price, is, that the dust of many generations of your sainted fathers and mothers mingle with its soil. Follow them, beloved, in all virtuous and godly living, that when your mortal remains shall be gathered unto theirs, your immortal souls may go to join them in the blessed rest of "the Spirits of the just made perfect," leaving behind you, as your best legacy to your children and children's children the blessings which God hath promised "unto thousands of them that love Him and keep His commandments."

The above Sermon by Rev. W. C. Crane was preached in St. Paul's Church, Centreville, the Ninth Sunday after Trinity, August 5th, 1855 and published later in compliance with the request of the vestry.

WHITE MARSH CHURCH

saint peter's parish

There is no record extant of the date of the building of this old church but a mutilated Parish Register shows that a Mr. Joseph Leech was acting minister as early as 1690.

At a meeting of the vestry, March 7, 1709 O.S., bills for making ten new pews and the altering of several old ones, the making of a new pulpit and the repairs of the windows and chancel doors were presented and ordered to be paid to the amount of 5250 pounds of tobacco, and about this time a well was dug at the church for the use of those attending and coming long distances.

The vestry records make no other mention of this church building, White Marsh, until the year 1722 when under date of April 3, we find the following minute:

"Then the vestry of the parish aforesaid agreed with Mr. Bayley to make 150,000 bricks at the rate of two hundred pounds of tobacco