Linda - First United Methodist Church Walnut Salem, NJ 08079 Phone:(856)935-0856 I thought you might find this interesting, if you don't have it, it comes from the History and Genealogy of Fenwick's Colony: pages 450-451 Henry Firth, one of the first Methodists in this county, was of a Quaker parentage. His great ancestor, John Firth, settled in the neighborhood of Salem as early as 1707, and had several children. Henry Firth's mother was the daughter of Samuel Stubbins, he having but one son, Henry Stubbins, who inherited his father's estate in Elsinborough, and married, in 1737, Rebecca Daniels, daughter of James Daniels, Sr. They had no issue, and Henry Stubbins Firth became the adopted son of his uncle, and eventually the owner, by will, of all the real estate that belonged to Henry Stubbins, in the township of Elsinborough. His wife was Sarah, the daughter of Charles and Sarah Bassett Fogg, of Alloways Creek. Henry subsequently purchased the Preston Carpenter property in Mannington, and perhaps that purchase, together with his liberality to the new religious sect, was the primary cause of his eventually losing his estate, and becoming unable to pay his just debts. John Wistar, whose heart was always filled with the milk of human kindness, with a few other friends, interceded for Henry and his wife, and succeeded in having a tenant house and about ten or twelve acres of ground attached, set apart for them to occupy whilst they lived. Henry soon after was appointed one of the Justices of the Peace of Salem county, he being well calculated for the office. He had a large patronage, and he and his wife lived comparatively comfortable to old age. They had three children--Stubbins, Ezra and Clara Firth. These children were greatly assisted in school education by those persons that took an interest in them. John Wistar soon discovered that the eldest son, Stubbins, possessed more than common abilities, and he accordingly gave him a liberal education at his own expense. The celebrated Dr. Casper Wistar, of Philadelphia, by the solicitations of his brother John, gave him studies, and soon after he graduated he removed to Charleston, South Carolina, where, in a short time, he had an extensive practice, and married a young lady of wealth, belonging to the old aristocratic families of that city. Stubbins died when he was about middle aged, without issue. John Firth, a younger brother of Henry, also left the religious sect of which he was born a member, and became a member of the Methodist Church. He married in 1793, Margaret Taber Sparks, of the county of Gloucester, in which place I think he resided mostly the remainder of his life. He was the author of the life of Benjamin Abbott. Take care - Deb >From: [email protected] >To: [email protected] >Subject: Methodist Church >Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 10:08:48 EDT >MIME-Version: 1.0 >Received: from lists2.rootsweb.com ([207.40.200.39]) by >mc1-f39.law16.hotmail.com with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.0.2195.5600); Tue, 8 Jul >2003 07:14:01 -0700 >Received: (from [email protected])by lists2.rootsweb.com (8.12.8/8.12.8) id >h68E8sTn005718;Tue, 8 Jul 2003 08:08:54 -0600 >X-Message-Info: UZmYcfFpTCewzfqvyl1d15R59mlxBfYY >Resent-Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 08:08:54 -0600 >X-Original-Sender: [email protected] Tue Jul 8 08:08:53 2003 >Message-ID: <[email protected]> >Old-To: [email protected] >X-Mailer: 8.0 for Windows sub 6014 >Resent-Message-ID: <[email protected]> >Resent-From: [email protected] >X-Mailing-List: <[email protected]> archive/latest/1533 >X-Loop: [email protected] >Precedence: list >Resent-Sender: [email protected] >Return-Path: [email protected] >X-OriginalArrivalTime: 08 Jul 2003 14:14:01.0921 (UTC) >FILETIME=[2E64E310:01C3455B] > >Does anyone on the list know if the Methodist Church built on Walnut St >around 1784 is still there? I recently found out that one of my ancestors >(Henry >Stubbins Firth) was instrumental in building that church and my dad and I >would >like to visit Salem and see it if it's still standing. >Thanks, >Linda Firth Layton > > >============================== >To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, >go to: >http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > _________________________________________________________________ The new MSN 8: advanced junk mail protection and 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail

Hi Deborah and list, Thanks for the answer and the post from Fenwick's Colony. (I am Linda McDowell, not the person asking the original question. ) One small correction on the passage from Fenwick's Colony: The researchers of this branch of the FIRTH family believe there is an error as to who was the mother of Henry Stubbins FIRTH and his brother John Firth (mentioned late in the article). I have inserted my corrections between the lines (------) below. One source as to the parents of Henry Stubbins Firth and his brother John is "Samuel Carpenter & his Descendants", pg 56, by Edward Carpenter and Louis Henry Carpenter, Lippincott, Philadelphia, 1912. From: "Deborah Johnson" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2003 7:46 AM Subject: Re: Methodist Church > Linda - > > First United Methodist Church > Walnut > Salem, NJ 08079 > Phone:(856)935-0856 > > I thought you might find this interesting, if you don't have it, it comes > from the History and Genealogy of Fenwick's Colony: pages 450-451 > > Henry Firth, one of the first Methodists in this county, was of a Quaker > parentage. His great ancestor, John Firth, settled in the neighborhood of > Salem as early as 1707, and had several children. Henry Firth's mother was ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- JUDITH VICKERY (1718-1780) daughter of EDWARD VICKERY. HENRY STUBBINS FIRTH's GRANDMOTHER WAS SARAH SMART. SARAH WAS MARRIED 3 TIMES (1) Samuel Stubbins 2 children: Elizabeth b. abt. 1710, Henry b. abt 1712 (2) John Firth, 1st in 1715 1 son: John Firth,2nd b. July 1718 (3) Edward Vickery, marriage reported to Friend's Meeting of Salem July 24, 1722 2 daughters: Rebecca and Hannah -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Samuel Stubbins, he having but one son, Henry Stubbins, who > inherited his father's estate in Elsinborough, and married, in 1737, Rebecca > Daniels, daughter of James Daniels, Sr. They had no issue, and Henry > Stubbins Firth became the adopted son of his uncle, and eventually the > owner, by will, of all the real estate that belonged to Henry Stubbins, in > the township of Elsinborough. His wife was Sarah, the daughter of Charles > and Sarah Bassett Fogg, of Alloways Creek. Henry subsequently purchased the > Preston Carpenter property in Mannington, and perhaps that purchase, > together with his liberality to the new religious sect, was the primary > cause of his eventually losing his estate, and becoming unable to pay his > just debts. John Wistar, whose heart was always filled with the milk of > human kindness, with a few other friends, interceded for Henry and his wife, > and succeeded in having a tenant house and about ten or twelve acres of > ground attached, set apart for them to occupy whilst they lived. Henry soon > after was appointed one of the Justices of the Peace of Salem county, he > being well calculated for the office. He had a large patronage, and he and > his wife lived comparatively comfortable to old age. They had three > children--Stubbins, Ezra and Clara Firth ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Note: also Letitia and Charlotte. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- These children were greatly > assisted in school education by those persons that took an interest in them. > John Wistar soon discovered that the eldest son, Stubbins, possessed more > than common abilities, and he accordingly gave him a liberal education at > his own expense. The celebrated Dr. Casper Wistar, of Philadelphia, by the > solicitations of his brother John, gave him studies, and soon after he > graduated he removed to Charleston, South Carolina, where, in a short time, > he had an extensive practice, and married a young lady of wealth, belonging > to the old aristocratic families of that city. Stubbins died when he was > about middle aged, without issue. John Firth, a younger brother of Henry, > also left the religious sect of which he was born a member, and became a > member of the Methodist Church. He married in 1793, Margaret Taber Sparks, > of the county of Gloucester, in which place I think he resided mostly the > remainder of his life. He was the author of the life of Benjamin Abbott. > > Take care - > Deb > > > >From: [email protected] > >To: [email protected] > >Subject: Methodist Church > >Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 10:08:48 EDT > >> > > >Does anyone on the list know if the Methodist Church built on Walnut St > >around 1784 is still there? I recently found out that one of my ancestors > >(Henry > >Stubbins Firth) was instrumental in building that church and my dad and I > >would > >like to visit Salem and see it if it's still standing. > >Thanks, > >Linda Firth Layton