Metadata
Title
Christ Church correspondence and other records
Date
1821/1826
Digital Identifier
ChristChurch.CorporationCorrespondence_4-2-0-36
Call Number
4.2.0.36; F524
Description
Among documents housed in this file is a published letter from a government committee appointed to look into poverty in Philadelphia, along with the church's detailed response outlining their charitable disbursements.
Additionally, the file contains correspondence regarding a financial arrangement and salary deductions for Reverend James Abercrombie to pay off a debt to Chandler Price, a nomination for Reverend John Rodney to assist Bishop White, and an 1826 letter from Abercrombie to William Meredith concerning personal matters and an accusation by a Mr. Parkman.
Additionally, the file contains correspondence regarding a financial arrangement and salary deductions for Reverend James Abercrombie to pay off a debt to Chandler Price, a nomination for Reverend John Rodney to assist Bishop White, and an 1826 letter from Abercrombie to William Meredith concerning personal matters and an accusation by a Mr. Parkman.
Place
Pennsylvania--Philadelphia
Congregation
Christ Church, Philadelphia, PA
Extent
9 documents
Format (Digital)
tiff
Rights
http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/
Language
eng
Type
Text
Abstract
This collection of nine documents centers on the United Churches of Christ Church, St. Peters, and St. James in Philadelphia during 1821. A printed circular from the Commissioners on Pauperism, appointed under a Pennsylvania act of April 2, 1821, solicits information from religious institutions about their charitable relief in order to assess the causes and extent of pauperism in the City and Liberties of Philadelphia. The circular, signed by Roberts Vaux and attested by secretary T. M. Pettit, poses four questions on the amount of money disbursed, the distribution of clothing, the number of individuals relieved, and their demographics [p.1-2]. Two copies of the circular are present.
The United Churches' reply, dated August 8, 1821, reports an average annual disbursement of $2,846 for church members plus $1,458 for the poor of Christ Church Hospital (totaling $4,305) over eight years, with clothing distributed only in a limited way to needy children of the Sunday School. About 153 individuals were relieved annually, generally females, roughly half of them infirm [p.5r-5v].
A separate document dated June 30, 1825 records the nomination by William Harris of the Rev. John Rodney as a suitable assistant to Bishop White [p.3r-3v]. An 1826 letter from Rev. Dr. James Abercrombie to William Meredith discusses a lost letter and pocket-books, a missing letter from a Mr. Parkman, and a "railing accusation" brought against Abercrombie, for which he offers to apologize [p.4r-4v].
The final documents concern a financial arrangement of November 1821: Chandler Price agrees to endorse Dr. Abercrombie's note for $500 (later extended to $600) in exchange for quarterly payments of $100 drawn from Abercrombie's salary as Assistant Minister, beginning April 1822 [p.6-7]. Church Warden John Read formally agrees, so long as he continues as accounting Warden, to pay $100 quarterly from Abercrombie's salary to Price until the sum is paid, later promising an additional $100 to make the total $600 [p.8-9].
The United Churches' reply, dated August 8, 1821, reports an average annual disbursement of $2,846 for church members plus $1,458 for the poor of Christ Church Hospital (totaling $4,305) over eight years, with clothing distributed only in a limited way to needy children of the Sunday School. About 153 individuals were relieved annually, generally females, roughly half of them infirm [p.5r-5v].
A separate document dated June 30, 1825 records the nomination by William Harris of the Rev. John Rodney as a suitable assistant to Bishop White [p.3r-3v]. An 1826 letter from Rev. Dr. James Abercrombie to William Meredith discusses a lost letter and pocket-books, a missing letter from a Mr. Parkman, and a "railing accusation" brought against Abercrombie, for which he offers to apologize [p.4r-4v].
The final documents concern a financial arrangement of November 1821: Chandler Price agrees to endorse Dr. Abercrombie's note for $500 (later extended to $600) in exchange for quarterly payments of $100 drawn from Abercrombie's salary as Assistant Minister, beginning April 1822 [p.6-7]. Church Warden John Read formally agrees, so long as he continues as accounting Warden, to pay $100 quarterly from Abercrombie's salary to Price until the sum is paid, later promising an additional $100 to make the total $600 [p.8-9].
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