Philip Reading (1720-1778) was an Anglican clergyman sent to the American colonies by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG). He served as the priest of St. Anne’s Church in Apoquiniminck (present day Appoquinimink Hundred in Delaware) from 1746-1778. The SPG was established in London in 1701 through a charter from King William III. The organization was created as a vehicle for sending priests and teachers to North America, in order to improve and expand the ministry of the Church of England to the colonists.
Thompson, Henry Paget. Into All Lands: The History of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, 1701-1950. London: S.P.C.K., 1951. Further biographical and historical information derived from the collection.
From the guide to the Sermons on Various Subjects Preached at Apoquiniminck in the Year 1765, 1765, (University of Delaware Library - Special Collections)
