Birth of the Killingworth Second Society

We have discussed on several occasions the circumstances that gave rise to the Killingworth “Second” Society. We have managed to put together several documents taken from town records that tell the story of the birth of the new Society. The first document is dated December the 12th 1728. The dialog concerning the wants of the people living in what is described, as our northern neighbors the farmers, had gained enough momentum that the town council, made up mainly of men from southern Killingworth, acknowledged that the issue had reached a point where decisions would have to be considered. The second document dated September 18, 1730 states the case for the northerners. Faith is essential to justification. Faith comes by hearing the word Preached. Implied was the fact that it was difficult to make the trip to church in southern Killingworth to hear the word. Then the claiming of the moral high ground, “We hope no good man will deny our Prayer”. The prayer was for the opportunity to hear the word in their own meetinghouse. The discussion was framed by two opposing points of view, stay together and with our pooled tithing money we can build a magnificent new meetinghouse vs. its too hard for us to make the trip south each week. Our needs are for a meetinghouse closer to our homes. But at issue was also the fact that these two groups had become two separate societies with two different sets of priories, one town folk, and the other farmers. On December 24, 1730 the issue came up for a vote. The description in the minutes is that “The meeting was prolonged by a vote in the evening”. Seeming after a prolonged discussion the two groups arrived at a resolution. Identify a line of division and agree to the formation of a new northern Society. The fourth document is the agreed on terms for the division of land and tithing money. The north agreed to help build the new meetinghouse to commence immediately. The south agreed to help the north build a building when the new Society was eventually formed. The last document is the act of authorization passed by the Colonial Assembly. Note it is dated May 12, 1737 some nine years after the first town meeting, seven years after the agreement. The new Killingworth Second Society became the home to the Griffin, Nettleton, Buell, Kelsey, Pelton and Davis families. The Griffin boys met and married the Hull girls in the Second Society, The Doud boys came calling probably at church socials. James Griffin’s sons and grandsons found wives in the second society. And we found our history there.