LANCASTER COUNTY. 457 



tke last year, several of Froschaucr's edition of the Swiss 

 Bible, printed at Zurich, 1540, and still in a good state of pre- 

 servation, with the Mennonites. 



The Friends or Quakers. — These are next in order to the 

 Mennonites. They were very numerous about the years 1725 

 and 1730. Their meetings were well attended for a long time. 

 In 1729, there were at least 1000 families of Friends in the 

 county. They have since greatly diminished ; at present they 

 have only 9 or 10 places of worship. There are two denomi- 

 nations of them in the county— Orthodox and other Friends. 



The Owish. — This society are Rigid Mennonites, not differing 

 essentially from the Mennonites. At present, the chief differ- 

 ence between the Omish and Mennonites, consists in the 

 former being more simple in their dress, and more strict in 

 their discipline. They settled in this county at an early date. 

 They were numerous in 1735. Their number is comparatively 

 small, having 5 or 6 ministers. They hold their religious 

 meetings in private houses, founding this practice upon 

 Acts J. 46. 



The Episcopalians. — Their ministers visited this county as 

 early as 1717 or 1719. They were the first after the Mennon- 

 ites and Quakers, to erect houses for religious worship. We 

 could not obtain the names of their first ministers, except those 

 who labored principally in the city of Lancaster. In 1744, the 

 Episcopalians held a meeting at Lancaster, for the organiza- 

 tion of a parish. The Rev. Richard Locke, an itinerant mis- 

 sionary, was the first officiating minister. The following is the 

 order in which others succeeded him : 1751, Rev. Geo. Craig ; 

 1759, Rev. Thomas Barton; 1783, Rev. Joseph Hutchins; 1791, 

 Rev. Elisha Rigg; 1799, Rev. Joseph Clarkson ; 1820, Rev. 

 "W. A. Muhlenberg became associated with the Rev. Clarkson; 

 1826, Rev. L. S. Ives ; 1827, Rev. Samuel Bowman, the present 

 Rector; besides him, two others ofiiciate m the county: the 

 Rev'ds Levi Bull and E. Y. Buchanan. They have 4 places of 

 public worship in the county. 



The Presbyterians. — About the year 1717 a number of 

 Scotch and Irish Presbyterians, settled in the Octorara region. 

 Among their first ministers was the Rev. Adam Boyd, who 

 preached in Octorara in 1724. In 1726, Rev. Anderson received 

 a call from the Donegal church. Rev. Alexander Craighead 



39 



