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The Ridgely House, Dover, Delaware: Makemie

For some years Makemie travelled from place to place, preaching and organizing churches as he went, but from 1699 to 1708, except in 1704 and 1705, when he visited Europe, he lived in the neighborhood and preached at Rehoboth whenever he was at home.

When it became necessary to erect a new church building, he decided to have this on his own land, because of Maryland's intolerant laws. This building, which is still in use, dates from 1706, the year when its builder OVER THE MASON AND DIXON LINE 213 assisted in organizing the first Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church at Philadelphia. Makemie's name will ever be connected with the struggle for religious liberty. He had a certificate from the court that permitted him to preach in the Province of Maryland, but he had many trying experiences in spite of this fact. His congregation groaned under the necessity of paying taxes to support the rectors of three neighboring parishes.

The greatest trial was not in Maryland, but in New York, where he spent a portion of 1706 and 1707. His experiences there should be familiar to all who are interested in the struggle for religious liberty in America. The story is told in a curious document written by Makemie himself, which was printed in New York in 1707, under the title "A Particular Narrative of the Imprisonment of two Non-Conformist Ministers; and Prosecution & Tryal of one of them, for Preaching one Sermon in the city of New-York. By a Learner of Law and Lover of Liberty."