Mrs. Affra Coming,* a lady of eminent piety and liberality, generously made a donation of lands to the Church, in 1698. They are situated upon Wentworth, Coming, Beaufain and St. Philip's streets; and constitute the present glebe of St. Philip's and St. Michael's Churches. The following is a copy of the Deed:

"TO ALL CHRISTIAN PEOPLE to whom this Present Writing shall come. I Affra Coming, of Berkley County in the Province of Carolina, late wife of John Coming, Esq. deceased, send greeting. Know ye, that I the said Affra Coming, as well for and in consideration of the Love and Duty I have for, and owe to the Church, as by law established in the Kingdom of England, of which I profess myself a Daughter, as to promote and encourage so good, charitable and pious a work as the particular maintenance of a Minister of the Church of England in Charles-Town, as also for divers other good causes and considerations me at this present especially moving: Have given, granted and Demised, and by these Presents, do give, grant and demise unto the Rev. Mr. Samuel Marshall, Minister of the Gospel in Charles-Town, for and during his natural life, if he shall so long continue Minister of CharlesTown, or for and during the time he shall continue Minister of Charles-Town, and no longer. And after the said Samuel Marshall shall, by death or otherwise, cease to be Minister of Charles-Town, to such other Minister or Ministers of Charles-Town, successively, for ever, as shall be allowed of, nominated and appointed by virtue of, and according to the directions of an Act of Assembly entitled, "An Act to settle a maintenance on a Minister of the Church of England in Charles-Town," made and ratified the eighth day of October, Anno Dom. 1698, seventeen acres of land or thereabouts, situate, lying and being on the north side of Ashley river, next Charles-Town, in Berkley Coun

* See page 15.

y, and butting and bounding as by a Plot thereof hereunto annexed is represented, together with all the feedings, pastures, woods, underwoods, ways, waters, easements, profits, commodities and appurtenances whatsoever to the said Seventeen Acres of Land, or to any part or parcel thereof belonging or in anywise appertaining, To have and to hold the aforesaid Seventeen Acres of Land, together with all and singular other the Premises hereby given, granted, and demised with their and every of their rights, members and appurtenances unto the said Samuel Marshall for and during the term and time he shall continue Minister of Charles-Town, as aforesaid, and after unto his successors Ministers of Charles-Town for ever, to be allowed of, nominated and appointed as by the before recited Act is Provided. He and they paying to the true and Absolute Lords and Proprietors of the Province of Carolina, the Quit-rents due, reserved and owing to them for the same. Witness my hand and seal at Charles-Town, this tenth day of December, Anno Dom. 1698.

"AFFRA COMING.

*Sealed and Delivered in the presence of us, F. Ran

dolph, Geo. Dearsley, Geo. Logan, Jonathan Amory, John Fenning."

The Rev. Mr. Marshall died in 1699, of a malignant disease, which swept off many of the principal inhabitants of Charles-Town. This disease was, probably, the Yellow-Fever, which raged at the same time in Philadelphia. In a Letter from the Governor and Council to the Lords Proprietors, dated " CharlesTown in South-Carolina, Jan. 17, 1699-1700," they state that, they had nothing to communicate, but that 66 a most infectious, pestilential and mortal distemper (the same which hath always been in one or more of his Majesty's American Plantations, for eight or nine years last past) which from Barbados or Providence was brought in among us into Charles-Town, about

the 28th or 29th of Aug. last past; and the decay of trade, and mutations of your Lordships public officers occasioned thereby. This distemper, from the time of its beginning aforesaid, to the first day of November, killed in Charles-Town, at least 160 persons: Among whom were Mr. Ely,* Receiver-General, Mr. Amory, Receiver for the Public Treasury; Edward Rawlins, Marshall; Edmund Bohun,† Chief Justice. Amongst a great many other good and capital Merchants, and House-keepers in Charles-Town, the Rev. Mr. Marshall, our Minister, was taken away by the said distemper. Besides those that have died of this distemper in Charles-Town, 10 or 11 have died in the country, all which got the distemper, and were infected in Charles-Town, went home to their families and died; and what is notable, not one of all their families was infected by them."‡ This afflictive dispensation of Providence, is likewise mentioned in a letter from Isaac Norris, dated Nov. 18, 1699, O. S. It states that," 150 persons had died in Charles-Town, in a few days;" that "the survivors fled into the country," and that "the town was thinned to a very few people."

The Governor and Council likewise addressed a letter to "The Right Hon. and Right Rev. Father in God, Henry [Compton] Lord Bishop of London, “ dated Jan. 17, 1699-70, of which the following is an extract: "That fatherlike care which your Lordship

* John Ely, appointed Rec. Gen. July 26, 1698.

+ Ed. Bohun, appointed Chief Justice, May 20, 1698.

This is conclusive evidence, that it was neither imported nor infectious; that its origin was local, and that it was incommunicable by personal contact. This is the most particular account we have seen of the disease of 1699. It was, probably, the same with the Yellow-Fever of the present day. It appears, likewise, that it had existed in several of the American Provinces, in preceding years. Another interesting fact is obtained from these letters, that, before our extensive swamps were cleared of their timber, and their surface exposed to the direct rays of the sun, persons could reside in the country in the summer and autumn without danger; and when unusual sickness prevailed in the town, the country was resorted to as a place of health. Neither can now be done with impunity.

Rush's Works, iii. 204. Ramsay's So. Ca. ii. 82.

hath taken to fill all the Churches in his Majesty's Plantations in America, with pious, learned and orthodox Ministers, as well as your Lordship's application to us of that care, in a more especial manner, by sending to us so eminently good a man, as our late Minister, the Rev. Mr. Marshall, deceased, encourages us to address your Lordship for such another. He, by his regular, sober and devout life, gave no advantage to the enemies of our Church to speak ill of its Ministers: By his sound doctrine, the weak sons of our Church, he confirmed: By his easy, and as it were natural use of the ceremonies of our Church, took away all occasions of scandal at them: By his prudent and obliging way of living, and manner of practice, he had gained the esteem of all persons. For these reasons it is that we address your Lordship for such another. The same encouragement and provision as was made for Mr. Marshall, is settled by Act of Parliament upon his successor, a Minister of the Church of England; which is as followeth, viz: £150 yearly out of the Public Treasury; a good brick house and plantation;* two negro slaves, and a stock of cattle, besides a considerable benefit which, by the encouragement of the government, will accrue, by Christenings, Marriages and Burials."+

Mr. Marshall was succeeded by the Rev. Edward Marston, A. M. He arrived in Charles-Town in 1700, and continued in this cure until 1705, when he was removed from office by the Board of Lay Commissioners, appointed by the Act of Nov. 4, 1704. The year before he came to Carolina, he published, in London, a Sermon on Simony, from Prov. xx. 25.

A Provincial Library was established in CharlesTown, by the munificence of the Lords Proprietors;

The Parsonage was built on the Glebe given by Mrs. Coming, and was at some distance beyond the fortifications of the town. Its site is on St. Philip'sstreet, near Beaufain-street. See Map prefixed to Dr. Ramsay's So. Ca.ii.

Mrs. Martha Amory, 30th Oct. 1699, a few days before her death, bequeath

ed £10 to the successor of Mr. Marshall.

the Rev. Dr. Bray, the Bishop of London's Commissary in Maryland; and several of the inhabitants. The General Assembly passed the following Act for its preservation, Nov. 16, 1700:

"An Act for securing the Provincial Library at Charles-Town in Carolina.

"Whereas at the promotion of the Rev. Dr. Thomas Bray, and the encouragement and bounty of the Right Hon. the true and absolute Lords and Proprietors of this Province, and the aforesaid Dr. Bray and the Inhabitants of this Province, a Library hath been sent over to Charles-Town for the use of this Province, and it is justly feared, that the Books belonging to the same will quickly be embezzled, damaged or lost, excepting a law be passed for the effectual preservation of the same," &c. The Library was placed under the care of the Incumbent of the Church of England, in Charles-Town, for the time being, and in case of his death, or removal, the Church Wardens were to take charge of the Books, &c.

When, or how this Library was broken up, is unknown, but nothing of it now remains.*.

*The hurricane which occurred this year, is described by Dr. Ramsay from Hewatt. The following letter from Governor Moore, and the Council, dated Oct. 1st 1700, adds some other particulars:

"On Saturday, 7th Sept. last, died the Hon. Proprietor Joseph Blake, our late Governor. On Tuesday, 3d Sept. last, we had a great storm of wind and rain, which hath done a great deal of damage to the Planters as well as trade. Most of the vessels in the harbour were driven ashore or sunk, and five wrecked. A Scotch frigate, called the Rising Sun, mounted with 60 guns, about 220 men belonging to her, which from Caledonia [Darien] when it was surrendered to the Spaniards, went to Jamaica, and from Jamaica bound to Europe, in the Gulf lost all her masts, came and lay before our Bar of Ashley river, designing to lighten so as that she might come into our harbour to refit, was in the same storm at anchor, broke all to pieces, and 97 men, with the commander, Capt. James Gibson, then aboard her, all lost.(a) Another of the Scotch vessels, about 400 tons, from Jamaica, bound to Europe, disabled in the Gulf, put into our harbour, and is here sold to be broke up. The storm hath carried away all the timber piles which we set before our fort to break off the force of the waves from it, and hath so undermined one corner of it, that it is sunk and broken away from the rest of the wall. Your Lordship's Colony (God be thanked) is generally healthy."

(a) Ramsay's So. Ca. ii, 315, 591 ; and Hewatt's So. Ca. i. 142, state that, " Archibald Stobo, a Presbyterian Clergyman, Lieat. Graham, and several more belonging to the ship, being on shore, escaped the disaster."