We cannot undertake to say from which particular member of this distinguished family the Gilberts of Antigua sprang, but they were among its earliest settlers, and constituted some of the greatest ornaments of the colony, in which for so many years they have been proprietors. The present most noble Marquis of Northampton, President of the Royal Society, descends, in a female line, from this family. His mother, the late marchioness, (married, August 18, 1787, to Charles, late Earl and Marquis of Northampton, and died, March, 1843,) being the daughter of a Miss Gilbert, (daughter of Nathaniel Gilbert, of Gilberts, Antigua, Esq., grandfather of the present Honourable and Reverend N. Gilbert,) by her husband, Joshua Smith, of East Stoke Park, co. of Wilts, Esq. But to return to Methodism. Unpromising as the state of this little society might seem, the good seed already sown was not destined to perish. The Great Shepherd cared for it; and when least expected, raised another pastor in the person of a Mr. John Baxter, a native of England. Mr. Baxter was a man who moved in humble life, and who worked in the capacity of shipwright, in Chatham Dockyard; but he was justly esteemed by all who knew him, a pattern to the society to which he belonged, and a highly-respected leader among Mr. Wesley’s sect. In 1777, a proposal was made him by some of the directors of the Chatham Dockyard, to sail for Antigua, and work as foreman of the calkers in the naval establishment of that island. To this Mr. Baxter assented; but not so his friends: they made use of every argument in their power to make him forego his purpose—representing, in the most glowing colours, the distance he would be from all he loved; the dangers of the ocean, over which he must pass; and the difference, perhaps insalubrity, of climate he would have to contend with. But all without avail; he felt an unconquerable desire to visit that portion of the globe, and accordingly, bidding his friends farewell, he left England, and arrived in Antigua on the 2nd of April, 1778. As might be expected, he found the infant Methodist Society in a very languishing state. Upon hearing of his arrival, and of his being a member of the same sect as their beloved benefactor, the little band waited upon him, and after welcoming him to their shores, begged him to tell Mr. Wesley he had many children in Antigua whom he had never seen, but who were earnestly desirous of his aid. On the following Sabbath, Mr. Baxter met them in the services of religion, and from that day constituted himself their pastor; which office he performed until his death, assembling them together on Sundays, and performing the full service, as in England, and on the other week-days, after his labours in the dockyard were over, visiting the different estates, and teaching the poor slaves the road to salvation.