Jenkin  Jones  ;  the  rest  belonging  to  other  churches. They  did
indeed  in  1723  choose  George  Eaglesfield  to  preach  to  them,
contrary  to  the  sense  of  the  church  of  Pennepek ;  but  in  1725
he  left  them  and  went  to  Middleton. About  the  year  1746  a
question  arose,  whether  Philadelphia  was  not  a  branch  of  Penne-
pek ?  and  consequently,  whether  the  latter  had  not  a  right  to
part  of  the  legacies  bestowed  on  the  former?  This  indeed  was
a  groundless  question. But  for  fear  the  design  of  their  benefac-
tors should  be  perverted  the  church  of  Philadelphia  did,  May  15,
1746,  formally  incorporate,  which  had  only  been  done  implicitly


BICENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION. 469

in  December  16,  1698. The  number  of  persons  that  did  incor-
porate was  56. [Their  names  are  given  on  p. 38.]

"The  place  where  the  church  met  at  first  was  the  corner  of
Secondstreet  and  Chesnutstreet  known  by  the  name  of  Bar-
badoes  lot. The  building  was  a  store  house;  but  when  the  Bar-
badoes  company  left  the  i)lace  the  Baptists  held  their  meetings
there. So  also  did  the  Presbyterians,  when  either  a  baptist  or  a
presbyterian  minister  happened  to  be  in  town  ;  for  as  yet  neither
had  any  settled  among  them. But  when  Jedidiah  Andrews  came
to  the  latter  they  in  a  manner  drave  the  baptists  away. Several
letters  passed  between  the  two  societies  on  the  occasion,  which
are  yet  extant. There  was  also  a  deputation  of  three  baptists
appointed  to  remonstrate  with  the  presbyterians  for  so  unkind
and  rightless  a  conduct ;  but  to  no  purpose. From  that  time
forth  the  baptists  held  their  worship  at  a  place  near  the  draw-
bridge known  by  the  name  of  Anthony  Morris's  brewhouse  :
Here  they  continued  to  meet  to  March  15,  1707  when,  by  invi-
tation of  the  Keithians,  they  removed  their  worship  to  Second-
street  where  they  hold  it  to  this  day. The  keithian  meeting
house  was  a  small  wooden  building  erected  in  1692. This  the
baptists  took  down  in  1731,  and  raised  on  the  same  spot  a  neat
brick  building,  42  feet  by  30. This  also  was  taken  down  in
1762  to  make  way  for  the  present  which  hath  been  already
described. But  an  accident  in  1734  had  like  to  have  deprived
the  baptists  of  their  valuable  lot  and  house. 