Scots Presbyterian Church records, 1768-1791.

ArchivalResource

Scots Presbyterian Church (Philadelphia, Pa.). Scots Presbyterian Church records, 1768-1791.

Scots Presbyterian Church records, 1768-1791.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/62080146

The single box of materials for this collection contains minutes of the sessions of the Scots Presbyterian Congregation from May 15, 1768, until September 12, 1791. The sporadic minutes, typically ten to fifteen lines in length, mention church elections, services, and problems that arose with members, sometimes resulting in excommunication. The collection also contains a manuscript entitled "State of the Case of the Scots Presbyterian Church," which at first takes the form of a third-person narrative, then switches into the first-person by the second chapter. The manuscript presents the history of the congregation, presumably written by William Marshall. Chapter titles include: "Of the building the Church," "Of the difference between the principles of the Associate Reformed Synod and the Associate Presbytery," and "Of the violent ousting June 10 & 11 1786." Pasted onto the inside cover at a later date is a list of newspaper articles that covered the division of the congregation in 1786. Also included are legal depositions, testimonies, and judgments dated 1789 and related to the court case that arose as a result of the congregation's 1786 schism. This segment also includes two documents signed by members of the church that in 1768 named William Marshall as their chosen pastor, and in 1786 proclaimed their support of William Marshall and their condemnation of the "most tyrannical" resolve of the trustees to unite with the Reformed Presbyterians and depose of Marshall. There is also Marshall's signed statement of acceptance of his disapprobation. Three pamphlets are also included: "A Letter from the Associate Reformed Synod, to the Associate Presbytery of Pennsylvania; and Another from that Presbytery, in answer to the former," which includes within it "A state of some facts, relative to the controversy now subsisting, concerning the Scots Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia" (1787); "Act of the Associate Synod, explaining the connection of the Associate Presbytery of Pennsylvania with the said Synod" (1788); and "Act of the Associate Synod in Scotland, concerning the Associate Presbytery of Pennsylvania" (1785). The box also contains a vague letter dated June 6, 1786, that informed Marshall of his infringement upon the rights of several men of the congregation and of his right to appear before these men for "his own vindication."

1 box.

Historical Society of Pennsylvania