attend upon
a catechist for instruction"; that he had baptized several, but was unable
to add to his other duties; and the Society, ever ready to lend a helping
hand to such pious undertakings, appointed the Rev. W. Sturgeon as
catechist for the Negroes at Philadelphia.[27] The next to show diligence
in the branch of the work of the Society was Mr. Neill of Dover. He
baptized as many as 162 within 18 months.[28]

The operations of the Society did not seem to cover a large part of New
Jersey. The Rev. Mr. Lindsay wrote of the baptizing of a Negro at Allerton
in 1736.[29] The reports from the missions of New Brunswick show that a
large number of Negroes had attached themselves to the church. This
condition, however, did not obtain in all parts of that colony. Yet
subsequent reports show that the missionary spirit was not wanting in that
section. The baptism of black children and the accession of Negro adults
to the church were from time to time reported from that field.[30]

The most effective work of the Society among Negroes of the Northern
colonies was accomplished in New York. In that colony, the instruction of
the Negro and Indian slaves to prepare them for conversion, baptism, and
communion was a primary charge oft repeated to every missionary and
schoolmaster of the Society. In addition to the general efforts put forth
in the colonies, there was in New York a special provision for the
employment of sixteen clergymen and thirteen lay teachers mainly for the
evangelization of the slaves and the free Indians. For the Negro slaves a
catechizing school was opened in New York City in 1704 under the charge of
Elias Neau. This benevolent man, after several years' imprisonment because
of his Protestant faith, had come to New York to try his fortunes as a
trader. As early as 1703 he called the attention of the Society to the
great number of slaves in New York "who were without God in the world, and
of whose souls there was no manner of care taken"[31] and proposed the
appointment of a catechist to undertake their instruction. He himself
finally being prevailed upon to accept this position, obtained a license
from the Governor, resigned his position as elder in the French church and
conformed to the Established Church of England, "not upon any worldly
account but through a principle of conscience and hearty approbation of
the English liturgy."[32] He was later licensed by the Bishop of London.

Neau's task was not an easy on