CHAPTER X
THE FRIENDS' MEETING HOUSE
A part of Kent County known as Quaker Neck was named in honor of the industrious and even-tempered Friends or Quakers. Among these early pilgrims were the Trews, who settled in Quaker Neck in. 1668. The representatives of this "colony" - now living are: Mr. Bartus Trew and his family, in Quaker Neck; Thomas W. Trew, of Pomona; Miss Josephine Trew, of Chestertown; Mr. Joseph Trew, near Kennedyville; Mrs. Virgil Kendall and sister, of Chestertown, and Mrs. T. Benjamin Durding, of Rock Hall. The original dwelling was a log cabin on the shore of Lanklord's Bay on the farm now owned by Mr. Bartus Trew. The Trew family, or at least the largest part thereof, has lived in Quaker and Broad Necks ever since the establishment of the original homestead. They have impressed their individuality upon the community in which they have lived for years, and the history of Quaker Neck; all that pertains to its development in all walks of life, could not be accurately written without the inclusion of the great part which the Trew family has played in that development. Mr. Bartus Trew is the oldest living member of the family today.
The old meeting house which stood for so many years at the fork of the road has been torn. away, but the cemetery was used for some time later. This Friends' Meeting House was the center of all religious and social activity for many miles, but had to give way to the march of time.
The commodious brick mansion in which Mr. Trew has lived for these many years was built in 1781, and is, therefore, one of the oldest landmarks in the county. Mr. Trew has in his home a grandfather's clock which was brought to this country in 1668. It is in excellent running Order today. There are also in his possession sheets made from flax grown on the farm and blankets made of wool grown on the sheep and spun on the looms in the home. These relics are precious heirlooms, and are in a remarkable state of preservation. All these and more of the links that bind the past to the present may be seen at the old homestead.
Another landmark of Kent is the Quaker Meeting House at Lynch. John Lynch, a Quaker, once lived where the village is now, and the meeting house stood on land once owned by him. The Quakers named this the "Cecil Meeting," because at the time (1698) it was erected or established it was within the bounds of Cecil County. It was a branch of the Friends' Yearly Meeting established at Philadelphia by the great Quaker, William Penn, and numbered many of Kent's best families as its members. From its records the following names have been taken: Turner, Dawson, Corse, Alston, Brown. Thomas, George, Hodges, Atkinson, Trew, Maslin, Norris, Simmonds, Parrott, Bowers, Rasin, Neal, Gale, Beck, Jones and Lamb. From this last-named family came that great educator of the past decade - Eli Lamb - known to hundreds of men and women as "Cousin Eli."
The early settlers of this neighborhood were: St. Leager Codd, William Frisby, William, Daniel and Gideon Pearce, Edward Scott, George Warner, Charles James, George Oldfield, James Hepburn, James Wroth, Edward Blay, John and Edward Beck, Nathaniel Styles, George Skirven and Philip Rasin. Later came Matthews Howard, Nathaniel Kennard, Cornelius Comegys, John Wethered, Charles Tilden, George Medford and many others whose names appear on the register of Shrewsbury Parish or the land records of the county.
Page(s) 88-91, History of Kent County, Maryland, 1630-1916, by Fred G. Usilton, 1916
Transcribed by Nathan Zipfel for the Maryland History and Genealogy Project