St. John's Episcopal Church Broad Creek, Fort Washington, Maryland

Date: 1789 [unknown]
Location: Fort Washington, Maryland

Contents 1 Current Information 2 Historic Information 3 Sources 4 Contact

Current Information

The web site for today's church is here: http://stjohnsbroadcreek.org/

St. John’s, Piscataway, today, is located at Broad Creek in Prince George's County, south of the city of Washington, D.C., between that city and Fort Washington, across the Potomac River from Mount Vernon. ^[1]

Historic Information

Piscataway Parish: When the Church of England was established in the Province of Maryland in 1692, Piscataway Parish, officially named King George's Parish, was the westernmost of four parishes created in what was then Charles County.^[2][3]

• In 1695, Prince George's County was created from a portion of Charles County and a portion of Calvert County. Piscataway Parish was in the area which became Prince George's County.^[4]
• The church structure for Piscataway Parish, was built in 1699. ^[2] The present brick building, the fourth structure built on the site, was completed in 1767-1768.^[3]
• In 1726, the Prince Georges’ Parish, with the chapel at Rock Creek (now Washington DC) was created out of the western territories of the Parish. ^[2] At this time, Piscataway became known as St. John's.^[3]
• In 1742, the territory was further divided, and out of it was created “All Saints Parish”, with the parish church in Frederick. ^[2]
• In 1789, the Protestant Episcopal Church was formed by Anglican congregations in the United States of America as they formally separated from the Church of England.

This parish was founded in 1692. St John's Church, Broad Creek, was formed as Piscataway Parish. Its original bounds were "beginning at the moth of the Mattawoman Creek and running up the said Creek and Branch thereof to the utmost limits of the County [Charles] and running North to the line of the Province and then West to the Potomac River and then down the said River to the mouth of the Mattawoman Creek. ^[5] At the time of formation it was in the portion of Charles County, from which Prince Georges County was formed later. Piscataway Parish was one of the thirty Parishes formed at the time of the Establishment of the Church of England in Maryland in 1692. ^[6]

The early parish records of the church are a valuable resource for genealogists.

Profiles of those named in parish records from 1789 forward can be linked here. Profiles of persons who are named in the parish records prior to 1789 can be linked to Category:Piscataway Parish, Church of England, Prince George's County, Province of Maryland.

Often genealogical relationships may be found among such persons.

Sources

1. ↑ Ruth Zeller, Sketch of Francis Walker, 1985. The present building was built in 1723 and the church is still active. One of the pews bears a plaque concerning George Washington's attendance there. He and his family came over the Potomac in a barge.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Percy C. Skirvin. The First Parishes of the Province of Maryland. Baltimore: Clearfield Co., 1923, 1994, p. 135-136
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Wikipedia contributors, "St. John's Episcopal Church (Fort Washington, Maryland)," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=St._John%27s_Episcopal_Church_(Fort_Washington,_Maryland)&oldid=819798138 (accessed January 27, 2018).
4. ↑ Maryland at a Glance: Historical Chronology, Maryland Manual Online: a Guide to Maryland & Its Government (http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/chron/html/chron16.html : accessed 26 Jan 2018)
5. ↑ Charles County Land Records, Liber R, p. 460, cited by Skirven .
6. ↑ Percy. G. Skirven. The First Parishes of the Province of Maryland. Baltimore, Clearfield Company, 1994. Originally published 1923.

Contact

Rev. Jack Day of Baltimore County, Maryland.