The Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Founding of Neshamina (Middletown) Meeting

THE MIDDLETOWN ANNIVERSARY135 the west end. The planning and construction of the addition required almost three years. The Advancement Committee suggested such a building at the meeting on Eleventh Month 26, 1926. The special Building Committee was authorized to proceed with the work on Third Month 25, 1929, and ground was broken on Sixth Month 3. The addition was completed five months later, and dedicated on Eleventh Month 9, 1929. This paper may be closed by a paraphrase of the words of Charles Linton, spoken at Abington Meeting on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the founding of the meeting, in 1883 : We will now leave these sturdy pioneers, having seen them in the forest, clearing away bushes and trees, and breaking the soil for new seed. Pioneers in religion, clearing away the errors of priestcraft and church abuses, and planting seed of religious freedom in which is found the true food for the spirit of man. How watchful were they over one another for good ! How careful of the youth, how kind to the weak and lame, how helpful to the poor! Where shall we look for an equal number of men and women who lived nearer to the spirit of the Heavenly Father? THE TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF NESHAMINA (MIDDLETOWN) MEETING Middletown has also had its anniversary celebration, held Eleventh Month 1, 1933, at its own meeting house. We reprint an account of the occasion from the Friends Intelligencer of Eleventh Month 18, 1933. The address of Marion H. Longshore , on the history of Neshamina and Middletown Meeting, we expect to print in the next issue. The quotation from the Friends Intelligencer is as follows : About four hundred members, descendants of members and guests, thronged the 140-year-old meeting house at Langhorne, Pennsylvania, to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of that meeting. Relics and old records of historical interest were displayed. Arthur P. Townsend had charge of a "Book of Ancestors" in which those present were asked to record facts of family genealogy. In the time allotted for this, only sixty were able to enter their records, so the book was kept open for the privilege of entry at later gatherings. Several women wore the Quaker 136 BULLETIN OF FRIENDS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION garb of early days, using costumes of grandmothers and great-grandmothers . Henry C. Pickering, clerk of the meeting, presided, and after welcoming the guests, asked the serious question : "Are we building as well for our children as the early Quakers built for us?" Marion H. Longshore read a paper on "Neshamina Meeting, 1683-1700," and John H. Wood one on "18th Century Progress." George W. Row read a poem written and read by his father, the late Washington Row, at the anniversary exercises held at Middletown in 1893. Rufus M. Jones followed with an address on "The Future of Quakerism ." George Fox, he said, was "not only a Quaker—he was an 'earthquaker .' " The telephone and the radio are effective because of their transmitters, and Quakerism, too, must transmit its ideas and ideals to other groups. The Society, he said, started out with a world-wide mission, but Friends soon settled down to doing "their own little work in their own little way." They not only built fences bull-strong, pig-tight, sheephigh , around their farms, but they zealously fenced in their own beliefs and customs and were content to live apart. We know now that we cannot live in detachment and no man can live unto himself, for his life is like the other half of a return ticket—not good if detached. The great experiment is still far from triumphant. The last speaker was Lucretia M. Blankenburg, 88 years old. She told of the experiences of her uncle, the late Joseph Longshore, and his brother in the temperance movement one hundred years ago, and of their arrest and fine for holding a meeting in favor of this reform. She urged Friends to use their influence along the line of temperance. THE EIGHTH GERMAN YEARLY MEETING The German Yearly Meeting held at Bad Pyrmont, Germany, from July 29 to August 1, 1933, seemed to the Editor...