Thanks Deb -- very interesting. Joan In a message dated 7/8/03 10:47:03 AM Eastern Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: > 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