Aston Township.

Bishop Onderdonk authorized Kingston Goddard, a student of divinity, to officiate at Rockdale as layreader. The field was so promising that, under the auspices of the Advancement Society, Rev. Marmaduke Hurst was detailed as missionary, the bishop designating the feeble congregation as Calvary Church and admitting the parish to representation in the Convention. The number of worshipers which gathered in the mill-room grew so rapidly that it was determined, if possible, to raise sufficient funds to erect a church edifice, and so untiring were the efforts of Mr. Smith and those associated with him in the movement, that, notwithstanding many rebuffs, at length the subscriptions obtained aggregated a sum to justify the outlay. On Aug. 18, 1836, Bishop Onderdonk laid the corner-stone. The building was hastened forward, the roof raised, the floor of the church laid, the basement designed for the Sunday-school plastered, and in the latter apartment, on Christmas-eve, 1836, the first services were held, Rev. Richard D. Hall, rector of St. Paul's Church, Chester, officiating on that occasion. In October, 1838, Rev. Mr. Hurst tendered his resignation, and Rev. Alfred Lee was appointed rector at a small salary, it being understood that a dwelling should be provided for his family; but as no parsonage could be procured the rector was invited to make his home at Mr. Smith's house, which he did, and he continued there while he was in charge of the parish. During his ministry the congregation raised means sufficient to finish the church and furnish it. The ability displayed by the rector in this remote rural church was such that it attracted general attention in Eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware, anal when, in 1841, the Diocese of Delaware elected the first bishop of that State, Rev. Mr. Lee was the unanimous selection of that body. He thereupon resigned his charge at Rockdale to assume the exalted station to which he had been called. In 1845, Mr. Smith, who in that year sold his real estate at Rockdale, presented to the church an acre of ground adjoining the sanctuary, which tract he had reserved in the sale of his property. The present main stone structure, with its lofty spire, for many years was a conspicuous object outlined against the sky, but it was devoid of a clock. In 1859, John B. Rhodes and Thomas Blackburn, both young in years, and at that tine employed in the mills in the neighborhood, resolved that Calvary Church steeple should be lacking in that respect no longer, but when they broached the subject they were ridiculed by the older persons in the congregation. They had, however, determined that a clock should be had, and as they were without means they resolved themselves to make the time-piece. Learning that the works of an old clock, which had been discarded by one of the churches in Philadelphia as worn out, could be purchased for a small sum, the young men bought it, and every spare moment they devoted to repair it, until they were satisfied that it was in thorough order, when it was placed in the steeple to the astonishment of the residents of the village. For several months the hands marked the time to a charm, and the bell proclaimed the passing hours with commendable exactness. One Sunday, just as the rector had announced his text, the clock began to strike, and it kept on striking until it had scored a hundred hours, and was hammering industriously away, as if determined to reach a thousand before it would cease its reckless announcements. John B. Rhodes, who was present, could bear it no longer, but hastening up to where the untruthful time-piece ticked and struck, he removed it from its exalted position, and although since then Calvary Church has had another and more trustworthy clock, the marvelous performance of the one I am relating still lingers in the recollections of the good people of that locality.

In 1868 the congregation determined, "as a thank-offering for the blessings of peace," to enlarge and beautify the church, and to that end erected wings to the edifice, so that the structure was in the form of a cross, the two new transepts representing the arms, and the shorter limb being the new chancel addition. The new walls were of brick pebble-dashed, and the old walls were studded, lathed, and plastered, and finished in the natural color of the mortar. The first story is used as Sunday-school rooms. The ceiling of the church is of yellow pine oiled, with walnut ribs and mouldings. The windows are enameled glass, excepting that in the chancel, which is a stained-glass memorial window to the first wife of the late Robert L. Martin. On Feb. 14, 1869, worship was resumed in the church, Bishop Lee, of Delaware, officiating in the consecrating services. The cost of these improvements was about five thousand dollars. Since that time a lot of three acres was purchased at Rockdale by Bishop Potter, William Martin, and Richard S. Smith, and presented to the church for a parsonage, and thereon a handsome stone double house has been erected, at a cost of seven thousand dollars. The rectors of Calvary Church have been as follows:

Rev. Marmaduke Hirst, 1835-38; Rt. Rev. Alfred Lee, D.D., 1838-41; Rev. Benjamin S. Huntingdon, 1841-47; Rev. Charles W. Thomson, 1847-48; Rev. Charles Brick, D.D., 1848-53; Rev. John K. Murphy, 1853-68; Rev. William Ely, 1868-74; Rev. James Walker, 1874.

On Sunday, June 24, 1883, the semi-centennial anniversary of Calvary Church was observed, with appropriate ceremonies, the venerable Richard S. Smith making an historical address on that occasion. Since that time Mr. Smith has passed away, but on the inner walls of the church the congregation, with excellent taste, have erected a tablet to the memory of the man who founded, and in its infancy sustained, the struggling parish by his energy and means.

St. Thomas' Church, Ivy Mills. - The Catholic residents of Aston for many years attended worship in St. Mary's Church, the noted chapel in the man-