272 HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY. [1765. 



copalians, appeared not to have become awakened to those evils, 

 for in a single year (1765) eight Episcopal churches, one Pres- 

 byterian and one Lutheran church, received aid from this au- 

 thorized system of gambling. Of the Episcopal churches, three 

 were of this County, viz : St. Paul's at Chester, St. Johns in 

 Concord township, and St. Martin's at Marcus Hook.^ 



The act of the British Parliament for charging certain stamped 

 duties in the American Colonies, known as the ^'- Stamp Act," 

 was passed in 1765. In October of this year a vessel bringing 

 a supply of stamps arrived at Philadelphia, but the opposition 

 to the law was so great that it could not be enforced. The ex- 

 citement produced throughout the British Colonies was unpar- 

 alleled, and the discussions that resulted, it is known, led to the 

 Revolution. 



The Indian troubles ceased with a general treaty of peace en- 

 tered into in 1765 with Sir William Johnson ; but it was through 

 the instrumentality of Col. Boquet that the Indians were hum- 

 bled and brought to terms. 



The new Commission for the county of Chester embraced the 

 following names : William Moore, Thomas Worth, Samuel 

 Flower, John Miller, Isaac Davis, Edward Brinton, Alexander 

 Johnson, Jno. Culbertson, Will. Clingham, Will. Parker, John 

 Hannum, John Price, John Fairlamb, Henry Hale Graham, 

 Wm. Boyd, Rt. Riley, James Hunter and James Evans. 



The frequent dealings with members about this period by our 

 local Friends' meetings, for buying and selling slaves, at once 

 show what a very common article of traffic the negro had be- 

 come, in this our favored land, and the firm determination on 

 the part of that Society, that with their members, at least, the 

 traffic should cease and determine for ever. Some were now 

 prepared to go a step further than they had already gone, and 

 to enjoin the manumission of all slaves as a religious duty. In 

 this movement, Chester Monthly Meeting took the lead, as it 

 had done in the earlier movements of the Society on this delicate 

 subject. That meeting had already appointed a committee to 

 visit such of its members " as keep slaves, and endeavour to 

 convince them of the inconsistency of the practice, and advise 

 them of the proper time and manner of setting them at liberty." 

 This committee, after having visited all who kept slaves, made 

 their report this year. They found " a disposition in many they 

 visited to release their slaves, and one has been set at liberty 

 since their appointment. They believe that if Friends can be 

 continued to advise and treat with those that do not see clearly 



1 Gordon's Hist. Penna. 411. St. John's Church Records. 



