Page:History and characteristics of Bishop Auckland.djvu/119

 92 HISTORY OF BISHOP AUCKLAKB. 1721. — ^December 26. — Isabella, daughter of Whl Sanderson, fidler, De Ankland, Epis. 1724. — March 31. — Jane, ye daughter of John Willson, a Quaker, De Aukland, Epia. 1726. — May 31. — Mary, ye daughter of Robert Jackson, excise officer, De Aukld., Epis. The following are from the Register for Burials : — 1722. — April 8. — ^Wm., ye son of G^eorge Trotter, a Papist, De Byers Green. 1723. — March 27. — Barbary, the wife of Tobias Harrison, a Roman Catholick, De Counden. September 20. — Elizabeth, ye wife of Henry Smith, a Roman, De Eldon. 1724. — January 4 — Mrs. Anne Steward, a Roman Catholick, De Auckld., Epis. December 4. — ^Ruth, ye daughter of Tobias Harrison, a Papist, De Goundou. 1725. — ^April 16. — Frances, ye wife of Tobit Harrison, a Papist, De Goundou. 1727.— March 30.— George Trotter, a Papist, De Byers Green. In the Register for Marriages we find — 1727. — May 4. — Henry Blackett, of Witton L' Were, to Mary Walton, of ye Parish, Anabaptists. License. The above-named Henry Blackett was grandson to Henry Blackett who lived at " Old Beach- bum House," and of whom we extract the following notice, from Douglass's " History of the Northern Baptist Church" : — Mr. Henry Blackett, of Bitchbum, near to Bishop Auckland, County of Durham, was bom at Dublin, October 23, 1639. Who his father was, whether he was a native of Ireland, or only a sojourner there, we are not informed. The only thing we know with certainty is, that he left Dublin, with his family, on the eve of what is usually called the " Irish Massacre," 23rd October, 1641, when Henry had completed his second year, and that he then came to England. The circumstances connected with the escape of Mr. Blackett and his family, are rather interesting. The servant in the family was a Catholic, and had become acquainted with the design of her party, to attack the Castle of Dublin, on the day referred to. Being thus made alive to all the horrors that were likely to ensue, she felt distressed on account of the pious people with whom she lived, and particularly on account of the infant Henry, with whom she had usually slept, and to whom she was, in consequence, warmly attached. In putting him to bed on the evening of the 22nd of October, she was seen to weep over him, and overheard to say to him, as she most tenderly embraced him, *^ My dear Henry, farewell ; I shall never sleep with thee again !" Henry's parents being informed of this, by those who had overheard the unusual and bitter wailing of the girl, called her, and afiPectionatdiy and anxiously enquired the reason of her grief. She hesitated. Fear for her own life — ^fidelity to the party she was connected with — affection for the family she served, and wann attachment to her little charge — all these combined, wrought powerfully within her throbbing bosom ; and at "length, humanity and endearment triumphing over her religious scruples and bloody fidelty, she divulged the Roman Catholic -iMcret of the intended attack on the Protestants of Dublin next day. On hearing this awful disclosure, Henry's parents determined to leave the Irish capital forthwith, and embark, as soon as possible, for England. Prom the same work, we extract the following : — 1699. — ^The first meeting of the Northern Association of which we have any of the minutes and discussions was in the year 1699. This meeting took place at Newton Cap, near Bishop Auckland, on the Wear, in the County of Durham. Newton Cap is a farm-house, within a short distance of Mr. Blackett's house at Bitchbum. It is supposed to have been tenanted at this time by Mr. Stephen Walton, a relative of Mr. Blackett's by marriage, and, probably, a deacon of the church. At this meeting a number of important questions were debated, lliese chiefly refer to the New Testament, as the rule of Christian faith and practice ; anxiety to promote discipline in the churches ; and the due support of mimstera. Singing, however, had not, as yet, become the general practice of the churches ; but as to the theory of the question, the members of the churches were left to their individual liberty; only to preserve peace, they were not to make it a matter of public debate. In the following year (1700) the Association was again held at Newton Cap. This was the first associated meeting of a new and remarkable century, in the last ten years of which were formed the Baptist Missions — ^foreign and home. As if prophetic of this, one of the questions debated was, '* What can the Church of Christ do more than it does for an increase of converts ?' The substance of the answers was, " A more humble Aid heavenly conversation, importuning one another to diligence, in attending on public worship, and bringing of the gifts of the Church into ezerdse ; family religion, and a greater amount of liberality than hitherto. 1701-1705. — During the five following years, the associated churches held their meetings at Bitchbum, the residence of Mr. Henry Blackett In the last of these years, the valued possessor of the house in which they had long been wont to meet, was called to his heavenly rest. This happened on the 23rd October, 1705, exactly that day sixty-four years, that he had been so singularly preserved from a premature grave in 1641. Besides his immediate descendants,* Mr the Paiiah B«gistera of St Andrew's. Digitized by Google
 * Mr. Blackett had one son, named Silas, whose son, Heniy, was married to Mary Walton, as shown in the above extract £ram