South Murderkill Hundred in Magnolia in Kent County, Delaware — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

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Murderkill
⎯⎯⎯
Motherkiln Friends Meeting

Photographed by Nate Davidson, September 22, 2007

1. Murderkill/Motherkiln Friends Meeting Marker

Inscription. Quakers were gathering for worship in this area by 1712, when members of the Religious Society of Friends met "at the widow Needham's at Murderkill Creek." Established as Motherkiln Preparative Meeting (under the care of Duck Creek Meeting), the group probably met in the homes of its members until a meetinghouse was constructed at this site, circa 1760, on land donated by William Jackson. The structure was burned soon thereafter, and for a time Friends debated relocating the Meeting to a site near Tidbury Creek. At length, it was decided to re-erect a (brick) meetinghouse here. As of 1788 Motherkiln Meeting gained the status of a monthly meeting. By 1814 members were considering removal to the growing community of Camden, where a preparative meeting had been established in 1805. Regular worship at this site was discontinued by 1828, and in 1830 the Motherkiln and Duck Creek Meetings were formally united with Camden Preparative Meeting, forming Camden Monthly Meeting of Friends. The Motherkiln Meetinghouse was used occasionally until 1844, when the building was sold and dismantled.

Erected 2005 by Delaware Public Archives.

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(Marker Number KC-90.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Colonial Era • Religion & Religious Structures. In addition, it is included in the Delaware Public Archives, and the Quakerism series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1712.

Location. This marker has been replaced by another marker nearby. It was located near 39° 4.547′ N, 75° 28.754′ W. Marker was in Magnolia, Delaware, in Kent County. It was in South Murderkill Hundred. It was on South State Street close to Quaker Hill Road. Located just north of Magnolia along South State Street. Touch for map. Marker was at or near this postal address: 16 Quaker Hill Rd, Magnolia DE 19962, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker was in the American Mid-Atlantic,

on the Delmarva Peninsula,

and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it was in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it found itself in what was once New Netherland,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

and the

Motherkill Friends (Quaker) Meeting House and Burial Ground - 1705-1844 image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Nate Davidson, September 22, 2007

2. Motherkill Friends (Quaker) Meeting House and Burial Ground - 1705-1844

This makeshift marker is located at the same site. It reads: In this cemetary are the remains of at least 150 souls including those of Dr. Nathaniel Luff, battalion surgeon with Geo. Washington at the crossing of the Delaware for the Battle at Trenton & Warner Mifflin the first abolitionist in America. Within the cemetery Dr. Nathaniel Luff's gravestone is extant, but Warner Mifflin's is not.

Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this location, measured as the crow flies: Murderkill/Motherkiln Friends Meeting (here, next to this marker); Warner Mifflin 1745-1798 (here, next to this marker); Banning Meeting House (approx. 1.4 miles away); The St. Jones River: Why the Mansion Faces South (approx. 2.4 miles away); The Dickinsons in Delaware (approx. 2½ miles away); Toward a Future Union (approx. 2½ miles away); Home of John Dickinson (approx. 2½ miles away); St. Jones Neck (approx. 2.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Magnolia.

Another marker is no longer nearby. Warner Mifflin (was here, next to this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it).

More about this marker. Is located directly next to the historical marker for Warner Mifflin

List of burials at the Motherkill Friends Meeting Cemetery image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Nate Davidson, September 22, 2007

3. List of burials at the Motherkill Friends Meeting Cemetery

This marker, also on site lists the nearly 150 persons buried within the cemetery. The heading reads: "The following named souls were interred in this cemetery between 1769 and 1834. Only a tiny number of graves can be identified thanks to the few surviving headstones. Since the written records may not be complete, it is possible there may be more individuals who were buried here."

Credits. This page was last revised on May 15, 2026. It was originally submitted on January 4, 2011, by Nathan Davidson of Salisbury, Maryland. This page has been viewed 1,736 times since then and 33 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on January 4, 2011, by Nathan Davidson of Salisbury, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.

Murderkill⎯⎯⎯Motherkiln Friends Meeting

Murderkill
⎯⎯⎯
Motherkiln Friends Meeting