NECK DISTRICT — Beckwith United Methodist Church is one of the larger Methodist churches of Dorchester County. It is in the Neck District, in between Cambridge and Hudson, to the west.
It appears to have been built in the fourth quarter of the 19th century and had a close affiliation with the Beckwith family, information from the Maryland Historical Trust says.

The first Beckwith in the county was William, born in Acton, York, England in 1571. He died sometime after 1619 in Dorchester.
William came to the New World in 1607, the year the first permanent English-speaking settlement was established. He landed at Jamestown, Va., from the ship Phoenix.
His son Henry was born sometime after 1619, and came to Maryland from Virginia. He died on 17 August, 1717 in this county.
Henry’s will mentions two tracts of land called “Berry’s Chance” and “Willmot’s Choyce” on the Little Choptank River.

Henry Beckwith II was born about 1678 in Dorchester County. He married Mary Warner about 1717, and by 1734 owned 700 acres.
He died in June 1756, aged 77-78. Records indicate he was buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery in Hudson.
Mary Warner was born About 1682 in Dorchester County. She died in June 1758, also in Dorchester.

Her will, dated Oct. 21, 1756 named the following: sons Charles and Nehemiah; grandsons John Taylor, Nehemiah Cooke, Edward Cooke; granddaughters Elizabeth Taylor, Anne Cooke; daughter Mary Vickers and son-in-law Thomas Cooke.