In 1768, when the Methodist missionary, Thomas Ware, crossed over from Long Island to Westchester to promote the Wesleyan faith, he said, "there was not a Methodist on the east side of the Hudson above New York,'' although the great George Whitefield had preached in Peekskill in 1770 and talked from the veranda of the Van Cortlandt Manor House, too. Bishop Francis Asbury made great progress, though, in 1795. Croton must have pleased him, for in his journal of that year these items occur: I had a comfortable time in Croton chapel on Romans 1-16. I returned to Gov. V. C.'s and dined with my dear aged friends. We had all we needed and abundantly more than we desired. The Presbyterians were established by that date. The Reverend

Silas Content of the Presbyterian faith also kept a diary and its notes are illuminating. The entry for August 10, 1786 reads: Rode to Croton from Carmel. Heard Mr. Davenport preach at Montrosses; rode home; blessed be God for His Goodness to me and my family. The Society of Friends had a large and flourishing congregation for over a hundred years in Croton. The Underhills, Fields, Wheelers and Matthews were prominent Quakers connected with it; many other families worshipped there and are buried in its cemetery. Saint Augustine's Episcopal Church at Croton was started in 1756 by the Reverend James Wetmore. Its most remarkable pastorate was that of the Reverend A. Vallette Clarkson who served as priest in charge for more than fifty years. The Methodist Episcopal Church of Croton erected its first church edifice in 1780 and has maintained a strong and steady growth all through the ensuing years. Ninety years ago, there were not ten Roman Catholics in all Croton. Today, the Holy Name of Mary Church and the Chapel of the Good Shepherd have hundreds of parishioners.