The City Of Chester.

It does not, as stated, appear when this subscription was collected, but we know that nothing was done towards erecting the meeting until the 6th of "y^e 2^d mo., 1691," when, at the house of Walter Faucit, we find that "Its agreed by this meeting that John Bristow & Caleb Pusey do forthwith agree w^th and Inploy workmen in the Building the meeting house ats Chester (w^th stone) on the place that was formerly bought for that purpose the situateing of w^ch as also the manner of Building the sayme is Left to their Discretion and that this meeting do Defray the Charges of the saime so that it exceed not above one Hundred pounds and that there bee one Convenient Chimney att Least and that the s^d John Bristow and Caleb Pusey do Give account of what they have done at y^e next month meeting." On the 12th of Eighth month, 1691, the meeting appointed Walter Faucit and Randall Vernon to "Goe to those y^t subscribed to the Building the meeting house that they forthwith bring their pay unto Calebs Mill and make report at y^e next month meeting." Some of the subscribers seem to have regretted their liberality, for on 11th of Second month, 1692, it was ordered that "Randall Vernon and Randall Malin Goe to Thomas Powell and Return him the two pounds tenn shillings that hee saith hee lent toward building the meeting house and paying for the Ground it Stands on att Chester and make Returne of their proceeding to the next mo. meeting." There was doubtless some dispute respecting the payment of these moneys to Powell, for on the 1st of the Eleventh month, 1693, "a memorandum" was entered of record in which Randall Malin, Robert Vernon, and Peter Taylor certify that they were at Powell's house and the money had been paid to him in their presence. On the 5th of First month, 1693/4, John Simcock, Randall Vernon, Walter Faucit, Robert Baker, and Robert Carter were directed to meet John Bristow and Caleb Pusey "in order to make up the accompts w^th them concerning the meeting house att Chester and also to Receve the Deed of the Land the s^d house stands upon." At a meeting held at Robert Vernon's, 2d of Second month, 1694, John Bristow brought the deed and the account of disbursement in erecting the building. The deed was given to John Simcock for safe keeping, and Walter Faucit, Caleb Pusey, and Robert Barber were directed to "Inspect into and Cast up the s^d accompts w^th him" (Bristow).

The impression which so long held undisputed sway that the first Assembly in the province sat in this old meeting-house has ceased to be a disputed topic among historians, but the question which part of the ancient building was first erected was long in dispute. The records of Chester Meeting, which are explicit, leave even that no longer a debatable point. The building being of stone, that part of it which faced on Edgmont Street was the original structure, and the brick addition towards the creek was placed there after Friends had worship in there for several years. As late as 1848, when the building was inspected by a critical observer, these facts were established by the house itself. Whitehead tells us, "The brick part bore evidence of having been subsequently added as a kitchen, having an oven built within and forming part of the original wall. The timbers, too, were in a better state of preservation." Indeed, it may be asserted without fear of contradiction that the latter part was not erected until after 1701, for Lydia Wade bequeathed thirty pounds - a large sum in those days - to Chester Meeting, twenty of which were "towards the Inlarging and finishing the meeting-house of Friends in the towne of Chester," the remaining ten pounds were to be expended by the women's meeting, to be "disposed of as they shall think fitt for the servis of Truth." This sum was received from the executor of Lydia Wade's will, for on the 24th of Ninth month, 1701, Caleb Pusey paid that amount to the meeting, which payment is acknowledged by the records.

When the meeting-house was first built, it seems some of the neighbors had encroached on the lot, for on Eighth month 4, 1797, "John Simcock's on behalf of the meeting required Henry Hollingsworth to remove his shop from off the land belonging to the Meeting House, who promised so to do."

In the old structure Penn frequently spoke, and many pleasant memories clustered about this first meeting of Friends, and therein services were held for forty-three years, until, in 1736, the society found it necessary to erect a larger building to accommodate its increasing membership, and the house on Edgmont Street was sold to Edward Russell, who added a garret-story to the front building, and possibly erected the back part. In recent years the house was used by Samuel Long as a cooper-shop, and was sold in 1844 to Joshua and William P. Eyre, when partition was made of Long's estate.

On April 18, 1736, Caleb Coupland conveyed the southern part of the lot on Market Street, south of Third Street, on which the meeting-house now stands, to Jacob Howell, Thomas Cummings, John Owen, Samuel Lightfoot, John Salkeld, Jr., and John Sharpless, and the latter the same day executed a declara-