Concord Township.

Sunday before Christmas Day, the Sunday before Easter, and the Sunday before Whitsunday. that is the lawful interest of the said twenty pounds shall be carefully paid unto such minister yearly who shall preach the sermons at the times as above mentioned, whilst there is a Church remain in Concord aforesaid."

Although this bequest was not made a specific charge on the real estate of Ralph Pyle, yet William Pyle, his son, by will Jan. 8, 1745/6, proved four days thereafter, devised to his son, John Pyle, a plantation of two hundred and fifty-six acres in Birmingham, subject to the annual payment of this and other "demands which his grandfather, Ralph Pyle, ordered to be paid by his last will and testament." The peculiar feature of this devise was that the land on which the grandfather's bounty was made a charge by William Pyle in his devise to his son, was conveyed to him by his father, Ralph, twenty years before the latter made his will, in which the above bequest was made.

Six years prior to the death of John Hannum - he died in 1730 - Isaac Taylor, the noted surveyor of Chester County, on Sept. 25, 1724, surveyed the plot of ground given to the church twenty-two years prior to that date. The log church erected in 1702 was located on the present cemetery, just below the Foucitt lot, and the old church records "the graves of Rev. Richard and Mary Saunderlands were at the churchdoor." I have been unable to designate who Rev. Richard Saunderlands was. His name does not appear in Professor Keen's carefully-prepared and exhaustive history of the descendants of James Sandelands, of Chester. The first books of the church have been lost, and no record remains prior to 1727. That the congregation of St. John's Church was organized and recognized many years previous to that date is accepted as historically established the reference made to it by Rev. Mr. Evans, heretofore mentioned, can leave no doubts existing, and the fact that Queen Anne presented, in 1707/8, a silver communion set to St. John's Church, at Concord, is confirmatory of this statement. The frame structure was the only house of worship for the Episcopalians of Concord for many years. In February, 1765, the Provincial Assembly passed an act authorizing the raising of £3003 15s. by a lottery, the proceeds to be divided among the congregations of St. Peter's Church, in Philadelphia, St. Paul's, in Chester and in Carlisle, to be used in furnishing those churches, to build a church at Reading, to repair the church at Molltown, in Berks County, and Huntingdon township, York County, "and for repairing the Episcopal churches in Chichester and Concord, and purchasing a glebe for the church at Chester, in the county of Chester." In 1769 the treasurer of the Province paid to the congregation at Concord its proportion of the funds netted by this lottery. With this sum in 1773 a western end, laid with brick, was added to the frame church, and in 1790 an eastern end, laid with stone, took the place of the early rude structure in which the congregation for nearly a century had worshiped. The new building, however, did not cover the site of the first church. In 1837 another addition was made, but as the edifice had been erected at various dates, and was insufficient to meet the requirements of the congregation, it was determined to build a new church. On June 15, 1844, the corner-stone of the present building was laid, and the work was so hastened to completion that on Oct. 27, 1844, the new church was consecrated by Bishop Lee, "acting with the permission and at the request of Bishop Henry W. Onderdonk, Bishop of Pennsylvania." With the exception of such repairs as from time to time became necessary, the present building is the one erected in 1844. A large chancel window was placed in the church as a memorial of the late Bishop Onderdonk, and several other smaller memorial windows have also been erected. New furniture since the building was completed has taken the place of that of ancient days. St. John's Church has an endowment of one thousand dollars, a bequest of the late Mrs. Elizabeth Sharpless. During the years 1883-84 a new church was erected in the parish, - St. Luke's, at Chad's Ford, - which is in charge of Rev. J. J. Sleeper, rector of St. John's.

The pastors of St. John's parish have been as follows:

Revs. Evan Evans, Henry Nichols, George Ross, John Humphreys, John Backhouse, Thomas Thompson, George Craig, John Wade, James Connor, James Turner, Levi Heath, Joshua Reece, M. Chander, William Pryce, Jacob M. Douglass, Samuel C. Brinckle, Jacob Douglass, George Kirke, John Baker Clemson, M. D. Hirst, E. Wilson Wiltbank, Alfred Lee, Samuel C. Stratton, Benjamin S. Huntington, R. B. Claxton, W. H. Trapnell, Charles Buck, John R. Murphy, Richardson Graham, John B. Clemsen, M. Christian, J. J. Craigh, Joshua Coupland, H. Baldwin Dean, Joseph J. Sleeper, the present rector.

It is unnecessary to refer to the Roman Catholic Church establishment in Concord, that being presented in the account of Ivy Mills and the Willcox family.

The Taxables in 1715 and 1799. - The following taxables appear on the assessment-list for 1715, of taxables in Concord:

Nath. Newlin, Ju^r, Nicholas Pyle for y^e mill, James Clamston, Nath. Newlin, Sen^r, Joseph Cloud, Henry Oburn, John Palmer, John Palmer, Ju^r, Godwin Walter, George Robinson, Jacob Pyle, Ralph Pyle, Henry Peirce, Matthias Carle, Ralph Evenson, James Heavrd, William Ammet, Thomas Smith, John Lee, Robert Chamberlin, Robert Chamberlin, Jun^r, Thomas West, William Hill, Morgan Jones, Thomas Durnall, George Lee, Daniel Evans, Joseph Nicklin, John Hannum, Benj^m Mendenhall, John Mendenhall, John Newlin, Joseph Edwards, Thomas Broom, William fforde, ffrancis Pulin, John Penneck, James Chiffers, John Hackney, Christopher Penock.

ffreemen, Caleb Pearkins, Richard ffar, Peter Poulston, John Pennock, John Engram, Henry Jones, Thomas Ealthan.

In the assessment for the year 1799, the following persons appear as taxables in the township:

William Alleson, taylor; Moses Bullock, mason; John Ball, weaver; Joseph Cloud, carpenter; Joseph Hutton, mill-house, currying-shop, and tan-yard, tanner; James Jefferies, tavern-keeper and store-keeper; Thomas Marshall, one stone mill and currying-shop, tanner; Thomas Newlin, Esq., justice of peace; Nathaniel Newlin, saw-mill; Thomas Newlin, blacksmith; John Newlin, stone grist-mill, miller; Moses Palmer, assemblyman and hatter; John Palmer, saddler; John Perkins, shoemaker; Micajah Speakman, blacksmith; Thomas Speakman, joiner; Jacob Thomas, store-keeper; William Trimble, one saw-mill, one large paper-mill; Ann Vernon, tavern-keeper; William Vernon,