334 HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF WESTCHESTER. 



matters, it should be that every minister sent over by the Society should be re- 

 quired to send a list of all the inhabitants of their parish, with the towns and 

 places of their abodes, dividing the list of each town and place into three dis- 

 tinct parts ; in the first, who are the communicants ; in the second, those who 

 come to hear them, but do not communicate ; and in the third, which are Quak- 

 ers and others who are Dissenters, and that they should be strictly directed con- 

 stantly to visit ye Quakers and those who dissent from the Church, and use 

 their best endeavors to persuade those who are reconciled to the Church and reg- 

 ular in their lives, and do not communicate to receive the sacrament, and to give 

 the Society an exact account every six months, at least, what progress they make 

 therein ; and further, they should be ordered not to fail preaching in every town 

 within their respective parishes, according to the proportion of the inhabitants; 

 by this means the Society will have a true account of the growth of the Church, 

 and what service is done by those they send over, and the bread of life will be 

 equally dealt among the people ; and in case the ministers find that their duty is 

 too hard, that they jointly solicit the government that this country might be di- 

 vided into three parishes, for one of which there cannot be a better man than 

 Mr. Bondett, whom I mentioned in the former part of my letter, whose character 

 I have alreadj' very often and fully given to my Lord of London, and will lie 

 altogether needless to insert here. We have in this count}- six small towns, viz. 

 Westchester, Eastchester, New Rochelle, Mamoroneck, Rye and Bedford— be- 

 sides a place called Lower Yonkers, containing about twenty families; and an- 

 other, the Manor of Philipsburgh, about forty families. Now, were those three 

 ministers appointed for the county, viz. one at Westchester, which is the west- 

 ermost part of the county ; another at Rye, which is the eastermost ; and another 

 at New Rochelle. which is pretty near the centre ; those dividing their duty 

 fairly and equally, the whole county might be taken care of, and the ministers 

 not over-burthened. Upon my word, sir, it gives me a great deal of concern, 

 when I consider what pains and charge the Society have been and are at to prop- 

 agate the Gospel in these parts of the world, and that a gent (I mean Mr. Bar- 

 tow, who is a very good man,) should be sent over on that errand to this 

 county, which consists of about four hundred families, of which not above forty 

 or fifty have any benefit of him ; and should the minister of Rye serve us in like 

 manner, not above one-third of the county would be better for all the cost and 

 labor bestowed upon us ; and notwithstanding the arguments which are used by 

 the men of heat— that the congregation ought to follow the minister, and not he 

 the people — it will be time enough to preach up that doctrine twelve or fifteen 

 years hence, when perhaps the county won't only be much more willing, but 

 more able to maintain six ministers that they can three now ; besides those who 

 live some three or four, others seven to fourteen miles from Westchester and 

 Rye, tho' once in a great while they might come, I mean the masters and mis- 

 tresses of families, yet it will be morally impossible for them to move their chil- 

 dren so far, of whom the greatest hopes are, and with whom, by catechising and 

 other ways, the most pains ought to be taken. I had once formed a projection 

 for fixing schools in this county for the benefit of all the youths therein, in order 

 to their being trained up, not only in learning, but in their tender years to 

 ingraft them in the Church ; but the storm which was lately raised upon me con- 

 cerning Church affairs, made me lay the thought of it aside for a while. How- 



