To acquaint the Society with the propriety of building a new church at Salem I would observe, that Salem is a township twelve miles in length and but two in breadth, joining ou the one side to Connecticut and on the other partly to Cortlandt's manor, which extends twenty miles westward to Hudson river, and partly to another patent, which extends several miles westward toward Bedford, which is the utmost limit of Mr. Avery's mission. The church which is already built, is situated within about two miles of the north end of Salem, on the borders of Cortlandt's manor, as the Society was informed in the petition of the Church- wardens and Vestry. It was built by the people of this part of Salem and Cortlandt's manor in conjunction, and this congregation is something larger than either of those in Connecticut-- there being generally, in

a County Rec. Lib. H., p. 3S4.

b Dr. Dibblee records in his register : Salem, 1767, April 10th, baptized Epenetus Wallis,

John Wallis. c County Rec

THE TOWN OK NORTH SALEM.

74y

good weather, in the summer season, upwards of two hundred people assembled. Tlio church which I expect will soon be bui!t in Salem, will be about five or six miles to the southward, and about two or three miles to the westward from Ridgefield, Conn., where I have been informed there are near thirty families of Church people, besides a considerable number in places very contiguous, for whom it ia extremely difficult to attend public worship, either at Ridgefield, or at the church towards the north end of Salem, in the borders of Cortlandt's manor, where I reside. When this church is built, (if the Society approves of my officiating in it sometimes, besides my attendance at the other three churches,) I would request the favor of the Society to give a quarto Common Prayer Book and Bible to that, as they have to the other churches of Salem and Ridgebury.