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Section
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OLD CHURCHES,
MINISTERS
FAMILIES or VIRGINIA.
By bishop MEADE.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. II.
PHILADELPHIA:
J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY.
1900.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in tlie year 1857, by
J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO.
in the Clerk's OfiSce of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern District of
Pennsylvania.
The profits of this work, if any, will he devuied to Missions.
CONTENTS OF VOL. II.
ARTICLE XLVI.
ua*
Antrim parish, Halifax county — Rev. Mr. Dresser's letter about it to Dr. Hawks
—Sketch of its ministers — Rev. Alexander Hay — Evan Ragland, Esq. —
Testimony to the religious belief of Patrick Henry — His answer to Payne's
"Age of Reason" — Mr. Grammar — Rev. Mr. Clark minister in part of the
county — His labours among the poor and servants 9
ARTICLE XLVII.
Parishes in Pittsylvania, Henry, Campbell, and Bedford — Camden parish — Nc
vestry-book — Records of court mortifying — Rev. Mr. Guilliam — Church ai.d
glebe — Vestrymen — Colonel Isaac Coles and family — -Church built at the in-
stance of Mr. Dresser — Patrick parish — Rev. Messrs. Webb and Wade — Moore
parish, Campbell county — Succession of ministers — Church in Lynchburg —
Bussell parish — Imperfect list of its old churches — Church at Liberty 14
ARTICLE XLVIII.
Parishes in Amelia, Nottoway, and Prince Edward — Raleigh and Nottoway
parishes — Rev. Mr. Brunskill — His toryism — Tlireats in church — Churches
in Amelia — Families — Egglestons, Archers, Bookers, Tabbs, Banisters, &c.
— Old Grubhill — Attachment to the name — Vestrymen — Rev Messrs. Lee and
Berkeley — Nottoway parish — Its ministers — Treatment of one of its old
chm-ches — St. Patrick's parish. Prince Edward — Its ministers — The Rev. Mr
McRoberts — Contest about an old church — Mr. William Berkeley — Rise and
progress of Presbyterianism in this part of Virginia — View of it confirmed
and enlarged by a friend — Hampden-Sydney College — The Smiths and others
— The Reads, Mayos, Carringtons, Venables, Watkins 'iO
ARTICLE XLIX.
Parishes in Cumberland, Buckingham, and Fluvanna — St. James Southam —
Vestry-book — List of its ministers — List of its churches — List of its vestry-
men— Rev. Mr. McClaurine — Littleton parish — Rev. Mr. McCrae — Other
ministers — Assault on Mr. McCrae — His defence by Patrick Henry — The
Carringtons — Sermon by Mr. McCrae — Tillotson parish — Its ministers and
churches — Parish of Fluvanna — Its ministers and church 88
ARTICLE L.
Fredericksville and Trinity pai-ishes, in Louisa and Albemarle counties — Vestry-
book — Test-oaths and oaths of allegiance — List of vestrymen before the
division of the parish — List of vestrymen after the division — List of ministers
— The Maurys — The Walker family — Old Walker's Church — The church's
petition for funds to repair it — The new church 41
ARTICLE LI.
St. Anne's parish, Albemarle — First churches ordered in the time of the Rev.
Robert Rose — Other ministers — The Rev. Charles Clay — His patriotic ser-
mon— Vestrymen in St. Anne's parish — Other churches — Later ministers —
Old Ballinger Church — General Cocke — Church in Charlotteville — Mr. Hatch
— Mr. Jefferson — Rev. Zachariah Mead — His mode of curing consumption —
University — Its chaplains — Pestilence among the students — Extract from a
funeral-sermon delivered by the author of these notices — OflFence given by it. 48
ARTICLE LIL
Parishes in Amherst, Nelson, Botetourt, Rockbridge, Greenbrier, and Mor.*-
gomerv — Ministers in Amherst and Lexington parishes — Churches in wte
3
C0>' TENTS.
PiOB
baiue — Churches in Lexington ji;iri.sh after the division — List of vestrymen,
from the vestry-book — xVmherst parish, in Nelson county — Ministers of it —
Churches — Old one removed and repaired by Mr. Coles and Mr. Martin — The
family of Cabells — Sermon of the Rev. Mr. O'Neale on the death of two daugh-
ters of Nicholas Cabell — The Massie family— Mr. William Waller — Botetourt
parish — Its ministers and churches — Old Major Burwell and his descendants
— Church in Rockbridge — Its ministers and church — The prospect at Wythe-
ville, Abington, &c 57
ARTICLE LIII.
St. George's parish, Spottsylvania county — The Rev. Mr. Slaughter's history of
it — Governor Spottswood — Germanna — Colonel Byrd's account of Fredericks-
burg— List of its ministers — Of its churches — Of its vestrymen — The two
Maryes — Rev. Mr. Thornton — General Washington's visit to Fredericksburg
— Republican mode of choosing a minister — Rev. Samuel Low — Berkeley pa-
rish— Its ministers and churches 68
ARTICLE LIV.
St. Mark's parish, Culpepper — Its first vestrymen — Church at Germanna — Colo-
nel Byrd's account of it and the place — The German settlement there, and
its removal — Numerous churches in Culpepper — List of vestrymen, from the
old vestry-book — The Rev. Mr. Thompson — His letter to M.S. Spottswood,
and its effect — Mr. Woodville and family ''
ARTICLE LV.
Churches in St. Thomas parish, Orange county — The Rev. Mr. Earnest's
account of them — Names and locations of the churches — Major Burton —
Indian antiquities on the Rapidan River — Benjamin Cave an early settler
— Plate, the gift of the grandmother of President Madison — The letter of
James Madison, Sr. to Mr. Lelaud, the Baptist preacher, about the use of
our churches — The Rev. Matthew Maury and the Rev. Mr. Waddell employed
to preach in them — The latter administered the Lord's Supper to our people
— Mr. Wirt's account of him exaggerated — List of ministers — Rev. Mr. Marye
—Old Mrs. Madison's Confirmation by Bishop Moore 84
ARTICLE LVI.
Genealogy of the Madison and Taylor families, from the papers and diary of
President Madison and his father — President Madison's religious character
— His mother's piety — His wife's baptism late in life — Attachment of the
Taylors and Madisons to the Church — Philip Williams's oration on the death
of Mr. Madison and view of his course in relation to the Church — Favourable
opinion of his religious belief. 96
ARTICLE LVII.
Northern Neck of Virginia— Bounds of the Northern Neck — Fairfax family —
Its liistory in England — Four volumes of letters, &c. recently published —
Their Protestant character at an early period — The Rev. Henry Fairfax —
Rev. Denny Martin an<l Rev. Bryan Fairfax — History of Cromwell's great
general, George William Fairfax, of Belvoir — Address to the descendants
— The Carter family — John and his wives — Robert (alias King) Carter and his
wives — Councillor Carter, of Nomini — His excellency but eccentricity — Mr.
Charles Carter, of Shirly — His generosity to the widow of the Rev. Mr.
Currie and to the poor — King Carter's character 105
ARTICLE LVIII.
Parishes in Lancaster county — Old vestry-books — The loss of one of them —
Discipline proved by them — Account of my visit to Christ Church ir 1837 —
CONTENTS. 5
The tombs of the Carters and their wives — The Kellys — The epitaphs — The
repairing of the church — White Chapel Church, St. Mary's parish — A list of
the ministers of both parishes — A list of the vestrymen — Tombs at White
Chapel — The family of Balls— The Rev. Mr. Waddell— Records of the court
— Letter of Joseph Ball, from London, to his sister, the mother of General
Washington, concerning the project of young Washington's entering the navy
— Also a letter to his nephew after Braddock's defeat 115
ARTICLE LIX.
Parishes in Northumberland county — Wycomico and St. Stephen parishes —
Early history of the county — Ministers of the county — Old Wycomico — Visits
of Bishop Moore and myself — Its downfall — The sale of its bricks and non-
payment— Its Communion-vessels in the church at Millwood — History of the
Lee familjr — Richard Henry Lee and children — Old Stratford House built by
Queen Caroline — Old Northumberland House — Mr. Presley, and Presley
Thornton — Postscript — Further notice of the Lees — The Corbin family — Old
vestry-book found — [See Appendix) , 131
ARTICLE LX.
Cople parish, Westmoreland — Ministers of it — Churches of it — Yeocomico —
Visit to it in 1834 — The McGuire family — The Newton family — Tombstones
and epitaphs in Cople parish — Contest about the church — Judge McComas's
letter — Letter of Mr. Rogers, of Princeton, New Jersey 147
ARTICLE LXI.
Washington parish, Westmoreland county — The ministers — Rev. Mr. De Butts
— His letter to the Bishop of London — Rev. Archibald Campbell — History
of himself and- family — Old Round Hill and Pope's Creek Churches — Other
ministers — Washington's birthplace— A visit to it and the vault — Proposition
before the Legislature in relation to them — Leeds or Bray's Church — The
town a cradle of Virginia patriotism — Resolutions there adopted, [See Ap-
pendix)— Bishop Payne's letter about Old Round Hill Church, and his family
— The Washington family — The wills of the two brothers John and Law-
rence, the first settlers in Virginia — The vault at Stratford — Thomas Lee
buried at Pope's Creek Church 158
ARTICLE LXII.
Farnham and Lunenburg parishes, Richmond county — Records of the court at
Tappahannock — Magistrates of old Rappahannock county and Sittenburne
parish — Records of Richmond county — Principal families — Farnham parish
and churches — Ministers — Vestrymen — Address of the vestry to it — Letters
to and from Bishop Madison — My visit to Farnham Church in 1837 — Lunen-
burg parish and churches— ^Ministers — Controversy between the Rev. Mr.
Kay and some of his vestry — Rev. Mr. Giberne — Letter of a friend (Colonel
Carter) in Lunenburg parish, concerning the old churches and ministei's —
The Tayloe family — Micous and Fauntleroys intermarry 172
ARTICLE LXIII.
Parishes in King George — Changes in their boundaries — Hanover parish — Its
chui'ches and ministers — Its vestrymen, from the vestry-book and records of
the court — Rev. Mr. Boucher — Letter of General Washington to him — Recent
history of the parish — The Turner family — Brunswick parish — Its ministers,
churches, and vestrymen — St. Paul's parish — Old vestry-book and register,
begun by the Rev. David Stuart, and continued by his son, William Stuart —
Their long and excellent ministry — Other ministers — St. Paul's Church — My
visit to it in 1812 or 1813 — The old African woman— History of the Fitz-
hugh family 183
ARTICLE LXIV.
Overwharton parish, Stafford county — Alexander Scott — His tombstone — R°r
Mr. Moncure — His history by Mrs. Wood — Tomb of her mother — Death o'
CONTENTS.
PAOI
the Kev. Mr. Moncure — Letter of George Mason, of Gunston, on me occas'.'^n
— Ministers after Mr. Moncure — Old Aquia Church — Old Potomac Church
— Letter of Judge Daniel, giving an account of the old families around the
two churches 197
ARTICLE LXV.
Dettingen parish, Prince William county — Vestry-book — Ministers — Rev.
James Scott — His descendants — His son and the duel — Churches in the
parish — Old pieces of Communion-plate — Dumfries — Care of the vestry in
having apprentices instructed — Rev. John Scott buried in the old church at
Winchester — His history — Ministers after him — Names of vestrymen and
lay readers 207
ARTICLE LXVI.
Hamilton and Leeds parishes, Fauquier — Fate of the vestry-book — Rev. Mr.
Keith — Rev. Mr. Brunskill — The churches — Other ministers — Rev. Mr.
Thomson's patriotic sermon — Oakhill — The principal families — Rev. Mr.
Lemmon — Judge Marshall — Anecdotes of him — Tenderness to Mrs. Marshall
—His religious opinions — Letter of the Rev. Mr. Norwood 216
ARTICLE LXVII.
Truro parish, Fairfax county — Rev. Charles Green — Rev. Lee Massey — Ser-
mons of Mr. Massey — First vestry an unlawful one — Pohick Church, when
built — Vestrymen of it — Contest between Washington and Mason about the
site — My visit to it in 1837 — Its repairs — Sketch of the Mason family —
Mother of Temple Mason — Her pious letters — The Lewis family — Martin
Cockburn — The Hendersons — The Rev. Mason Weems — Mount Vernon after
the death of Mrs. Washington — The Blackburns — Judge Washington — Two
letters from Mr. Stoddert, of Maryland, concerning the Rev. Lee Massey,
George Johnson, and Martin Cockburn, and Mrs. Cockburn — Mistake in the
same — General Washington's English coach 226
ARTICLE LXVIII.
Religious character of Washington — The Rev. Mr. McGuire's book — Washing-
ton's early advantages under pious friends and ministers — Early indication
of pious feelings — His public documents prove it — The general voice ascribes
it to him — His private devotion — His public acts when a young officer — His
correspondence with Governor Dinwiddie — His private diary testifies to it —
As General of the army, his orders are marked by it — His respect for the
Sabbath as private citizen and President of the United States — His condem-
nation of swearing, of gambling, of duelling — His belief of a special Provi-
dence— How far he was addicted to hunting — Was he a communicant? —
Bishop White's account of it — His last moments 242
ARTICLE LXIX.
Fairfax parish — Christ Church — Original names of Alexandi'ia — Churches —
Ministers — Rev. Bryan Fairfax — Rev. Dr. Griffith — Visit to the Falls Church
— Dr. jMcQueri' — Griffith chosen first Bishop — His zeal in the cause of the
Church — Correspondence with Dr. Buchanon — Case of the glebe — List of
vestrymen — George Taylor and Edmund I. Lee 256
ARTICLE LXX.
6t. Paul's Church, Alexandria, Cameron and Shelburne parishes, Loudon
county — Separation from Christ Church under Mr. Gibson — Purchase of
Old St. Paul's — First vestry — Other vestrymen — New church — Liberality of
Mr. McLean — Bishop Claggett — Bishop Madison — List of ministers — Came-
ron parish — Its ministers and churches — Shelburne — Its churches and minis-
ters and vestrymen — Rev. Dr. Griffith — Rev. Mr. Dunn — The glebe — Lawsuit
— Its vestrymen 2/1
CONTENTS. 7
ARTICLE LXXI.
Parishes in Frederick county — The Valley of Virginia — Mr. JefiFersou's opinion
of it correct — Grermans the first settlers — The Kites — Presbyterians tolerated
— First vestry condemned — Log churches — Lord Fairfax — List of the vestry-
men— Lay readers — Ministers — Alexander Balmaine — Mrs. Hannah Wash-
ington— Cvinningham's Chapel 27S
ARTICLE LXXII.
Continuation of ministers — Old parish divided into four — New churches — Free
and common churches opposed — Burwell graveyard — List of vestrymen con-
tinued -The Burwell family — Governor Nicholson and Miss Burwell — Ed-
mund Randolph — His account of the infidelity of the age at William and Mary 287
ARTICLE LXXIII.
Norbourne parish, Berkeley county — The Shepherds — Shepherdstown and its
churches — Charlestown and the old church — The Washingtons — The ministers
of this parish — The Rev. Benjamin Allen — Martinsburg and the old church —
The Pendleton family — Judge Pendleton's autobiography — The value of re-
spectable birth — Colonel Edward Colston — Other families 2£5
ARTICLE LXXiy.
Morgan's Chapel — The character of Morgan Morgan — The family — Benjamin
Allen — Names of other ministers — New churches — General Charles Lee and
his impious will — Other Generals around.., 302
ARTICLE LXXV.
Parishes in Hampshire and Shenandoah — List of ministers in Hampshire — •
Rev. Norman Nash and Bishop Moore about the study of the dead languages
— The old Scotchman and his commentary — The churches built by the Messrs.
Nash — Parish of Beckford, in Dunmore, afterwards Shenandoah, county —
Settled by Germans — The Swedish congregation united with the Episcopal
Church under Peter Muhlenburg, afterwards General Muhlenburg — Sketch
of his history — Downfall of the Church — Recent and fruitless efforts for its
revival 309
ARTICLE LXXVI.
Parishes in Augusta and Rockingham — First part of the valley seen by the
white man — Governor Spottswood's view of it from the Blue Ridge — First
vestry — Its first ministers — Rev. Mr. Balmaine — His patriotism — Address
from the county on American affairs — Vestrymen and Burgesses — The Vir-
ginia Assembly driven to Staunton — Met in the old church — Later ministers —
New church — Present church — Old churches in Rockingham — Gabriel Jones
— Peachy Gilmer — The Lewis family 817
ARTICLE LXXVIL
Churches in Brooke county — Dr. Doddridge's account of the neglect of the Epis-
copal Church in the West — Objections to it — Dr. Doddridge's history and
character — His labours in Brooke county — The churches in it — The minis-
ters— The case of Western Virginia — Proposition to divide the Diocese — The
result — Extract from my pamphlet on the subject 327
ARTICLE LXXVIII.
Churches in AVheeling, Clarksburg, Faii-mont, Weston, and Buchanon — Dr.
Doddridge the first who preached in Wheeling — Bishop Chase moved its
organization — Mr. John Armstrong the first rector — Names of the first ves-
trymen— Succession of vestrymen — Succession of ministers — Churches —
Action of the vestry as to the division of the Diocese — Mr. Simms — Judge
Caldwell — Resignation of the Rev. William Armstrong — Church in East
CONTENTS.
FAOI
Wheeling established with the approbation of Mr. Armstrong — Its ministers
— Glebe-house and church — Church in Clarksburg — Its ministers and church
— Case of Mr. McMechin — Mr. Despard — Church in Weston — Its ministers —
Church in Fairmont — Its ministers — Buchanon 386
ARTICLE LXXIX.
Churches in Kanawha, at Ravenswood, Parkersburg and its vicinity, New
Martinsville, and Mouudsville — Rev. Mr. Page first minister in Kanawha —
Other ministers — The church in Charleston — Its history — List of vestrymen
— Old Mrs. Quarrier and family — The Salines — Coalsmouth — Its churches —
The Hudsons and Thompsons — Vestrymen — Stations on the Kanawha —
Point Pleasant — Mercer's Bottom — Bruce Chapel — Ravenswood Church — Its
builders — Vestrymen — Ladies' association — Ministers — Bellville Church —
Its builder — Parkersburg — Its church — Ministers — Vestrymen — Cow Creek
Church — New Martinsville — Moundsville 344
ARTICLE LXXX.
The General Church — The Church in Maryland — Dr. Chandler's testimony —
Bishop White's opinion of the old clergy — Sir William Berkeley's wish as to
schools and printing — Church in South Carolina — Her first missionaries —
The sermons of that day in England and America — Dr. Coke's estimate of
the clergy — Tillotson's sermons the best in use — Tracts of the Christian
Knowledge Society — Mr. Wilberforce — The Rev. Mr. Bacon, of Maryland —
Instruction of servants — Moralizing preaching — My first acquaintances
among the clergy — Bishop White, Dr. Abercrombie, Bishop Hobart, &c. — Dr.
Percy, of South Carolina — His tracts — His history — My tour in favour of the
Colonization Society — Acquaintances formed — Results of it — General Con-
vention— Hymns added to the Prayer-Book — History of it — Public baptism
and pious sponsors recommended — Francis Key — Great deference for Bishops
— A change in that respect — Proposed alteration in the thirty-fifth canon —
The general seminary — Judge Cameron — Bishop AVhite's statement — My own
— Proposed changes in the service — Episcopal Sunday-School Union — Evan-
gelical Knowledge Society — Missionary Society of the Church — Memorial and
commission of Bishops — My letter to the commission — Concluding remarks.. 351
APPENDICES.
No. 1. — Journal of the Convention of 1719 393
No. 2. — Celebration at Jamestown in 1807 420
No. 3. — Origin of the names of parishes 425
No. 4.— List of names of old families of Virginia, and of those from Wales 428
No. 5. — Rolph's letter concerning the early settlements in Virginia 430
No. 6.- -Association in the Northern Neck, in 1766, against the Stamp Act.... 434
No. 7. — Sundry Acts of the Virginia Assembly, memorials, &c., from the year
1/76 to 1802, concerning the Episcopal Church 436
No. 8. — Dr. Hawk's account of the last years of the Church, glebe question, &c. 446
No. 9. — Judge Story's opinion in the Supreme Court on the glebe question 452
No. 10. — John Randolph's recantation of Gibbon's principles 459
No. 11. — The Rev. David Mossom's epitaph 460
No. 12.— Genealogy of the Ellis family 460
No. 13.— Of the Baylor family 464
No. 14.— The Peyton family 466
No. 15. — Ministers, &c. of St. Stephen's and Wj-comico parishes, Northumberl'd 467
No. 16. — Extracts from Ralphe Hamor 469
No. 17. — The Brokenbrough and Fauntleroy families 474
No. 18.— The Beverley family 481
No. 19.— The Phillips and Fowke families 482
No. 20. — Further and more accurate information concerning Pohick Church... 484
No 21. — The inscription on Commissary Blair's tombstone in the old graveyard
at Jamestown 486
No 22.— Episcopal High School 488
No. 23. — Further Statements concerning the Religious Character of Washing-
ton and the Question whether he was a Communicant or not 490
No. 24. — Extract from the "Virginia Almanac ' for 1776 495
No. 25. — Blissland Parish. New Kent (?ounty 496
#Ib C|urc|es, JJiraBlers.anb Jfantilies
OP
VIRGINIA.
ARTICLE XLVI.
Antrim Parish, Halifax County.
When Halifax county was divided from Lunenburg, in 1752. it
comprehended all that is now Pittsylvania, Henry, Franklin, and
Patrick. Antrim parish was coextensive with the county. At
the time of its establishment it is probable, from certain entries in
the vestry-book, that there were no churches or chapels in its wide
extent, for the readers who had been appointed before the separa-
tion— four in number — were reappointed, and several gentlemen
were allowed to have services in their own houses, doubtless for the
benefit of their neighbours as well as their own families. Besides
this, when the first minister was settled among them he was required
to ofiiciate at six different places, at no one of which was there a
church or chapel, though at some of them buildings were about to
be erected. Four were ordered at some of the earliest meetings
of the vestry, and others afterward. One of the places of reading
is recognised as being on Pigg River, in Franklin county that now
is. The buildings were small, either log or frame, and not very
durable, generally. The first movement toward getting a minister
was in the year 1752, when a title to the parish was given to a Mr.
William Chisholm, a candidate for Ordei'S, who wished to be pre-
pared Avith that indispensable qualification when he should present
himself to the Bishop of London ; but, as usual, there was this
condition: — "Provided, on his return, the vestry approved of him
for their minister, or should not have accepted any other in his
10 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
absence." Nothing more is heard of Mr. Chishohn ; nor can I find
his name on any of the lists of clergy ordained by the Bishop of
London for any part of America.
"What follows in regard to the parish of Antrim I take from a
letter of the Rev. Mr. Dresser, in the year 1830, addressed to the
Rev. Drs. Hawks and Rutiedge, who were then engaged in writing
a history of the different dioceses of the Church in this counti*y.
THE REV. MR. DRESSER's LETTER.
" The earliest mention of a clergyman in the minutes of the vestry is
in 175.3, when it was 'ordered that two thousand pounds of tobacco be
paid to the Rev. Mr. Proctor, for services by him done and pei'formed for
this prirish.' And at the same meeting, ' on motion of James Foulis,
cle '", 9 id for reasons appearing to this vestry, he is received and taken
a^ .minister of this parish.' The name of Mr. Foulis continues to appear
on the minutes of the vestry until 1759, when tradition relates that ho
went away, nobody knew whither, and that he was not for a long time, if
ever afterward, heard from. In 1762 the Rev. Thomas Thompson offi-
ciated a few months, and then resigned his charge, in consequence of hii
age and the extent of the parish. The next spring the Rev. Alexander
Gordon, from Scotland, became rector of the parish, and continued to
officiate until the commencement of our Revolution, when, being disaifected
toward the new order of things, he retired, and spent his remaining days
near Petersburg. Some of his descendants are still remaining in the
parish, among wL<jm are some of the brightest ornaments and chief sup-
porters of the Church. Of his own morals, however, and those of his
predecessor, (Foulis,) tradition does not speak in unmeasured terms.
" From the time of his departui'e until 17S7, I liud no parish records,
and know but little of the Church during that interval. The Rev. James
Craig, of Cumberland parish, Lunenburg, however, officiated a part of the
time in this county during three or four of the last years, — a gentleman
highly esteemed both as a man and a preacher.
" In May, 1787, a Convention of the deputies from the several parishes
of the State was held at Richmond, and an ordinance passed, regulating
the appointment of vest'ries, &c. The same year a new vestry was elected
in this county, and, in 1790, Rev. Alexander Hay, likewise from Scotland,
was inducted into the parish. He is represented as having been a man
of superior talents and attainments, and, from some specimens of his ser-
mons which I have met with, he seems to have been strictly orthodox and
evangelical ; but, if report speak truly, he was not endowed by nature
with a very mild temper, and he soon found himself in a situation not the
most favourable for the cultivation of the passive virtues of our religion
He was hardly inducted into the parish before petitions began to be pre-
sented to the Legislature for the sale of the glebe, but without success.
As serving to throw some light on the condition of the parish and Church
at that time, I shall send you herewith two manuscripts from the pen of
Mr. Hay, — one an address to the vestry or parish generally, and the other
a remonstrance to t^ , Legislature. The ill temper manifested by him in
these and othf IrAnsactions, or some other cause, made several of the
ruost influential gentlemen in the county his personal enemies, and they
neglected no means to harass and thwart him. Some of them he prose-
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. ll
euted for slander, but obtained no damages. Under the operation of such
causes, as you may well suppose, the Church continued to decline. To
give you some idea of the rapidity of this decline, I will make a few ex-
tracts from the parish register during the first twenty years of Mr. Hay'a
ministry : —
" ' 1792. Baptisms, 89 whites, 35 blacks. Marriages, 11. Funerals, 1.'
1802. Baptisms, 31 whites, 6 blacks. Marriages, 8. Funerals, 6.'
1810. Baptisms, 6 whites, 7 blacks. Marriages, none. Funerals,
none.'
"During the same time the whole amount of subscriptions in the parish
for his support, the glebe then being occupied by him, was three hundred
and forty-five pounds six shillings and elevenpence, — a little more than
seventeen pounds per annum. 'For the last seven years of this time,' he
says, ' during which my attendance was not constant, and my services partly
discontinued, from an almost total want of encouragement of any kind,
there was nothing subscribed.'
" I neglected to say, in the proper place, that measures were early taken
for the erection of churches in diifereut parts of the parish. Of these,
one was rebuilt by subscription in 1793-94, but, no title to the land having
been secured, it was afterward converted into a dwelling-house. Another,
having fallen into disuse and being out of repair, was taken down and the
materials used in the erection of a Baptist meeting-house. A third, having
been sometimes used for the double purpose of a tobacco-barn and stable,
was demolished and some of the timbers used in building a store on the
same site. The last, having been repaired in 1795-90, was burned to the
gi'ound a few years since, having been set on fire by some one, it is said,
who wished to obtain the nails. It is proper to remark that it had been
some time unused, and was probably in a dilapidated state.
" In 1816 or 1817, after the Church had begun to revive in other parts
of the State, and the late Bishop Ravenscroft was beginning to make her
claims known in the adjoining county of Mecklenburg, a small edifice was
ei'ected about three miles from this place, in which Mr. Hay preached a
few times before his death, which occurred in 1819. Here also Mr. Ra-
venscroft occasionally preached before his elevation to the Episcopacy, and
admitted three or four persons to the communion. The situation of this
church not proving favourable for an Episcopal congregation, it has re-
cently been sold to the Methodists and the proceeds appropriated toward
the erection of another in this village.
"In 1814, Evan Raglaud, I]sq., dying, left a large estate, consisting of
land, negroes, &c., to the Church, with various provisions, but designed
primarily and chiefly for the support of a minister or ministers in this
parish. This will was contested by the heirs-at-law of said Ragland, and
its execution opposed on several grounds. Accordingly a suit was com-
menced by Mr. Hay on the part of the Church, he being particularly in-
terested, and the case was decided in his favour in the Court of Chancery.
From thence it was carried up to the Court of Appeals, where the decision
was likely to be reversed. After the death of oMr. Hay, however, agents
or commissioners were appointed hy the Convention on the part of the
Church, who were authorized to make a compromise with the heirs of Mr
Ragland. This they effected, and the case was of course dismissed from
court. By the terms of the compromise, the land, which in the mean time
had considerably depreciated in value, was sold, and bonds to one-fourth
of the amount were executed to the agents for the purposes specified in
12 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
the will. The last of the bonds is uow due, and the Convention is ex
pected to determine at its next meeting what shall be done with the
money, amounting to one thousand seven hundred or one thousand eighi
hundred dollars.
" lu 1820 or 1821, the Rev. Mr. Wingfield — now of Portsmouth parish,
near Norfolk, but then residing with Mr. Ravenscroft — officiated several
months, perhaps a year, in the county, with the view of permanently esta-
blishing himself; but he did not meet with sufficient encouragement to
persevere. Four or five years since, Mr. Steel, the successor of Bishop
Ravenscroft in Mocklenburg, was called to the county to perform some
official duty. This led to an arrangement for him to preach once a mouth
at Mount Laurel Church, which had been built a few years previous,
chiefly by Episcopalians, but with the condition that it should be free to
others when not used by them. Subsequently he made an arrangement
to preach one Sunday in a month also in the court-house, which he con-
tinued to do until the close of 1828. In the spriug of the same year I
received ordination, and was directed by the Bishop to make this the field
of my labours. These I commenced the first Sunday in Juue, and was
well received by a few, though I found great ignorance of the Church
prevailing, and, among many, the most bitter prejudices against her.
These prejudices, I am happy to say, appear to be dying away, and the
Prayer-Book is becoming more and more popular. During the last year
I have admitted to the Communion eight persons, and baptized three adults
and six children. A commodious brick church is now nearly ready for
consecration in this village, and a smaller place of worship has been erected
for me during the past year in another part of the county. My Sunday
labours are divided between these congregations, but I am often invited
to preach in Baptist and Methodist meetiag-huuses ; and, did my stated
duties permit, I might preach much oftenor than 1 do, where twenty years
ago a minister of our Church would have had little but the bare walls for
an auditory. This I mention merely to show the decline of prejudice.
" Thus I have given the annals of my parish as far as I have been able
to collect them; and, lest I should prove tediously prolix, 1 will touch
upon but one point more. It is stated, in an article which I saw some
time ago, from the ' Protestant Episcopalian,' and, I presume, from one
of you, that Patrick Henry was once an infidel, &c. His widow and
some of his descendants are residing in this county, and I am authorized
by one of them to say that the anecdote related is not true. He ever had,
I am informed, a very great abhorrence of infidelity, and actually wrote
an answer to * Paine's Age of Reason,' but destroyed it before his death.
His widow has informed me that he received the Communion as often as
an opportunity was oS"ered, and on such occasions always fasted until after
he had communicated, and spent the day in the greatest retirement. This
he did both while Governor and afterward. Had he lived a few years
longer, he would have probably done much to check the immoral influence
of one of his compatriots, whose works are now diffusing the poison of
infidelity throughout our land."
Mr. Dresser became the minister of this parish in 1828, and
continued in it until 1838, when he was succeeded by its present
rector, the Rev. John Grammar. Under his ministry the congre-
gation has become one of the largest in the diocese. A church at
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 13
Meadville was built many years since, but has failed to effect what
was hoped from it. A large and costly church has been built at
the court-house, in place of the one mentioned by Mr. Dresser, in
which one of our largest country-congregations assemble every
Sabbath.
List of the old Vestrymen of Antrim Parish, from 1752 to
James Terry, Richard Echols, Thos. Dillard, Thos. Calloway, Richard
Browu, William Irby, Merry Webb, Peter Wilson, William Wynne, John
Guillingtine, John Owen, Nathaniel Terry, Geo. Currie, Samuel Harris,
Andrew Wade, Jas. Dillard, Robert Wooding, Archibald Gordon, John
Bates, P]dward Booker, Hugh Junis, Geo. Watkins, Alexander Gordon,
Thomas Tunstall, John Donaldson, Evan Ragland, Benjamin Dickson,
William Thompson, George Boyd, Moses Terry, William Sims, Walter
Coles, Edward Wade, Isaac Coles, John Coleman, William Terry, Michael
Roberts, John Ragland, Armistead Washington, Joseph Hobson, George
Carrington, Thomas Davenport, John Faulkner, Edmund King, Joseph
Sandford, Thomas Thweat, John Ervine, Daniel Wilson, Thomas Clark,
Evan Ragland, Jr., Joseph Haynes, Thomas Lipscomb, John B. Scott,
Francis Petty, Daniel Parker, George Camp, William Thomas, Jno. Wat-
tington, Achilles Colquett, Hansom Clark, John A. Fowlkes, Chas. Meri-
wether, Adam Toot, Edward Boyd, Thomas Clark, Beverly Syndor, Jos.
Hewell, Samuel Williams, Littlebury Royster, Benjamin Rogers, Chilton
Palmer, John Haynes, Sceevor Torian, Robt. Crute, Granville Craddock,
Edward Carlton, William Fitzgerald, Isham Chasteen, Icare Torian, Isaac
Medley, John R. Cocke, William Scott.
To them we may add other names, cnougn not vestrymen, yet
from the time of efforts for reviving the Church, taking an interest
in it and contributing to it, — such as the Bruces, Ligons, Greens,
Wimbishses, Leighs, Banks, Logans, Borums, Edmundsons, Fon-
taines, Carringtons, Baileys, &c.
In another part of the county of Halifax the Rev. Mr. Clark
has been for many years doing a good work, chiefly among the
poor and servants, to whom he has devoted time and labour without
compensation, being enabled by Providence so to do. Under his
auspices, and not without considerable pecuniary aid on his part,
three new churches have been erected in that part of the county.
14 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
ARTICLE XLVII.
Parishes in Pittsylvania, Henry, Campbell, and Bedford. —
Camden Parish, Pittsylvania.
The names of this county and parish tell their own origin. Pitt
and Camden are names familiar to the English and American ear.
They were divided from Halifax and Antrim in the year 1767. At
different times, subsequent to this, Henry, Patrick, and Franklin
were taken from Pittsylvania, but no new parishes established,
except in Henry, the Church and State having been separated,
BO that the two last of them were, according to Colonial law, in
the parish of Camden, until the Episcopal Convention made other
arrangements. There are no records of the vestry-meetings in this
parish; yet the records of the court show that vestrymen were
regularly elected, and had the same duties assigned them as in
other places. To them were assigned the processioning of lands,
the binding out poor and unfortunate children, and the punishment
of offences against the moral law. Rude as was the state of so-
ciety, it is a fact that these officers did sometimes punish certain
violations of the law of God, as Sabbath-breaking, profane swearing,
and incontinence, which now are never noticed. It is also a fact
that the sins of the fathers being visited upon children to the third
and fourth generation, and children's teeth being set on edge by
the eating of sour grapes on the part of their parents, is remark-
ably exemplified in the case of the descendants of those who nearly
a century ago were bound out on account of the immorality of
the parents. These descendants, bearing the same name, are
objects of the same action by the overseers of the poor as their
ancestors were by the churchwardens.
As to the ministers of Camden parish before the revival of the
Church in Virginia, we find but one on all our lists. In the year
1774, — seven years after the establishment of the parish, — we find
the name of the Rev. Lewis Guilliam. Would that we could find
it nowhere else ! but, alas, on examining the records of the court,
we there find his name, not connected with the registry of baptisms
and marriages, as perhaps none would call on him for these offices,
but with continual petty law-suits, in which he was almost always
the loser. Shame and contempt covered his whole life. He was
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 15
■d Scotchman, and never married. As to churches, I have heard
of one about twenty miles from the court-house. In the year 1773,
Mr. Richard Chamberlaine, of St. Peter's Church, New Kent, con-
veyed to the vestry, for one hundred and sixty pounds, five hun-
dred and eighty-eight acres of land. On this land the Rev. Mr.
Guilliam lived. One of the vestrymen, to whom the land was
conveyed, — John Donelson, — emigrated to Tennessee, and was
the father of Mrs. General Jackson. The glebe lay on the road
to Henry Court-House, a few miles from " Callands." It doubtless
shared the fate of other glebes. The other vestrymen were John
Pigg, Crispin Shelton, John Wilson, Peter Perkins, Thomas Dillard,^
Hugh Innes, Theodoric Lacy, Abram Shelton, George Rowland,
Robert Chandler, and William Witcher.
The descendants of the above, by the same and other names,
are scattered over this and the surrounding counties. There is
one family in the county which has contributed so much to keep
alive the hope of the Church in this parish, in her darkest days,
that I must give it a passing notice. Colonel Isaac Coles, ancestor
of a number of that name in this region, and uncle of those in
Albemarle, married first a Miss Lightfoot, of York, (a maid-servant
of whom, one hundred and ten years old, is still alive and in the
family,) and had one son by her, — Mr. Isaac Coles, of Halifax. His
second wife was a Miss Thompson, from New York, with whom he
became acquainted while member of Congress, and whose sister mar-
ried Elbridge Gerry.* By this marriage he had a numerous oflF-
spring, who are dispersed through this county and other places. At
a time when the venerable widow, and her daughter Mary, who
married James M. Whittle, were almost the whole Church in that
region, I always made the old mansion in which they lived a
stopping-place and a house of prayer, for the mother had long
been confined to it. The Lord's Supper was always administered
to her. Many baptisms and confirmations of children, and chil-
dren's children, have I performed, and happy religious seasons en-
joyed in that " Church in the House."
The mother and the daughter above mentioned were, in person
and character, striking and impressive. Great was the parental
anxiety of the widow and the mother for all her children's welfare,
and tender and faithful was the filial piety of the daughter, who
devoted herself to the comfort of the aged mother. May the
descendants of both of them follow their holy example, and not
* They were married in the year 1790, by Bishop Provost.
16 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
only, like them, love and nourish the Church of their ancestors,
but the holy standard of religion which it lifts up on high.
By the exertions of this family, and a few others, — the Smiths
and Slaughters, Millers and Sheltons, — and under the auspices of
the Rev. Mr. Dresser, then minister in Halifax, now at Jubilee
College, in Illinois, a church (St. Andrew's) was built in this part
of the county, and, for a time, hopes were entertained that a per-
manent congregation might be established there ; but deaths and
removals have disappointed these hopes. In relation to Danville
and the court-house, after a visit from the Rev. Mr. Towles, and
numerous visits from the Rev. Mr. Clark, the services of the Rev.
Mr. Dame were secured in 1840, for the joint purpose of teaching
young females and building up the Church. At his first coming
there were only eight communicants, and they all females, in the
three counties of Pittsylvania, Franklin, and Henry. Since his
ministry, one hundred and twenty have been added, exclusive of
those coming from other parishes. A new church has been built
in Danville, and another at the court-house, since Dr. Dame'a
coming, in 1840. He is still the minister of the parish, and Avill,
I hope, long continue to be so.
HENRY COUNTY, PATRICK PARISH.
The county of Henry was separated from Pittsylvania in the
year 1776, and the parish of Patrick from Camden in 1778 ; but no
steps, we believe, were ever taken to build churches and procure
ministers. Our fathers were then in the midst of the war, and
every thing was unfavourable for such an enterprise. Patrick Henry,
after whom both the county and parish were probably called, was
then, I believe, a delegate from this part of the State, having his
abode and much land here. Some of his descendants are here to
this day. Some readers were probably exercising their functions
in private houses in this county, but we hear of no settled pastor.
The first efibrts at the establishment of the Church, in later days,
were made by the Rev. Mr. Webb, while a teacher of ., youth, can-
didate for the ministry, and lay reader at Henry Court-House.
He was succeeded by the Rev. Mr. Wade, a native of the
county, and descendant of some whose names have hitherto
appeared among the vestrymen of adjoining parishes. During
his ministry a church has been erected at the court-house, and
the foundation of a promising congregation laid. He occasionally
officiated in Franklin county. No parish was ever established by
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 17
law, or Otherwise, in either Franklin or Patrick, until of late years,
when one was erected in the former, where there is a prospect of our
having a respectable settlement, as we trust, before many years.
CAMPBELL COUNTY.
Campbell was separated in 1781, just at the close of the war,
when the civil Legislature was ceasing to act for the aifairs of the
Church. Nothing is said of a parish. That was reserved for our
Convention at a later period. Tlie first minister in Lynchburg —
the Rev. Amos Tredway — is said to represent Lynchburg parish,
-ind by that name does it still go. Subseijuently, Moore parish is
established in the county. In Lyncliburg, the Rev. Franklin G.
Smith succeeded Mr. Tredway, in 1825, and continued for about
fourteen years. The Rev. Thomas Atkinson (now Bishop) suc-
ceeded Mr. Smith, and the Rev. William H. Kinckle, the present
rector, succeeded him in 1844. An excellent brick church was
erected in the time of Mr. Smith, and a larger and much costlier
one in the time of Mr. Kinckle.
In Moore parish, the Rev. Mr. Osgood was the first who taught
school and ministered. Under his care, St. John's Church was
erected. In its loft was his vestry-room and chamber, and, near
at hand, his school-house. The present location of St. John's is
not the same with its original one, it having been found that a
more convenient one might be had a mile off, to which it was moved
on rollers. After the removal of Mr. Osgood to the West, —
where he died, — the Rev. Mr. Tompkins took his place in both
departments for many years, preaching at St. John's, and at
another position some twelve miles off. Since his removal to
Western Virginia, the Rev. Mr. Kinckle, of Lynchburg, has, by
occasional services, kept alive the hopes of our few but zealous
members in that part of the county, sometimes aided by the visits
of the Rev. Mr. Clark, of Halifax, until, during the last year, the
Rev. Mr. Locke, having settled himself at Campbell Court- House,
took charge of both of the congregations, and added to it a new
one at the place of his residence. A church has recently been pur-
chased and consecrated at that place, and the friends of the Church
in that part of the county are encouraged to hope for better times.
EUSSELL PARISH, BEDFORD COUNTY.
The county of Bedford was separated from Lunenburg in
1753. The parish of Russell was established in it at the same
'\ Vol. 11.— 2
* OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
time. Both were enlarged in the year 1754 by the addition of a
parr of Albemarle, then of large extent. The present county of
Campbell was included in the original bounds of the parish of
Russell and county of Bedford.
On our list of clergy for ITo-t and 1758, we find no minister
from Bedford. In the years 1773-74-76, we find the Rev. John
Brandon. Doubtless there were ministers there during the twenty
years of which there are no records. Our Conventions under the
independent system, after the Revolution, commenced in 1785
and continued until 1805 ; but there is no representation, either
clerical or lay, during that period. The first representation from
that region was in the year 1823, when the Rev. Amos Tredway
appears as a delegate from Lynchburg, then in Campbell county.
But Mr. Tredway ofiiciated also at New London, in Bedford, as
had also the Rev. Mr. Dashiel, who had the academy at New
London, though he was never in regular connection with the
diocese.
In the year 1825 the Rev. Nicholas H. Cobbs appears as the
first regular representative from Russell parish. Its revival is to
be ascribed under God to his zealous, and for a long time almost
gratuitous, services, since his support was mainly derived from a
school. Under his ministry St. Stephen's and Trinity Churches
were built, and other positions, as Liberty, and Mr. Wharton's,
occupied, where churches are now to be seen. Mr. Cobbs con-
tinued his indefatigable labours until the year 1835, when he
removed to the University of Virginia, and, after two years'
service as chaplain, returned to Bedford, and continued until 1839,
when he removed to Petersburg. Mr. Cobbs was succeeded, for a
short time, by the Rev. Mr. Doughen, after Avhich the Rev. Mr.
Marbury took charge of the parish, and was succeeded by the
Rev. Mr. Cofer. The Rev. Mr. Kinsolving followed, and, after
some years, was succeeded by the Rev. R. H. Wilmer, the present
minister.
The Rev. Mr. Sale has been for many years occupying other
parts of the county of Bedford, as at St. Thomas's Church, built
under his auspices, at Liberty, at Trinity Church, when separated
from St. Stephen's, and at Pedlar's Church, in Amherst county.
While labouring on a farm and raising a large family, he has
performed the duties of minister for a very small pecuniary com-
pensation.
A new church was built at Liberty, in this county, during
the ministry of the Rev. Mr. Caldwell, who spent some time at
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 13
that place after the removal of Mr. Cobbs. After the removal of
Mr. Caldwell the Rev. Mr. Sale took charge of it, and still is itg
canonical rector, although the duty of preaching is performed by
the Rev. John Wharton, who has for some years been acting as
sub-deacon. There are now no less than four parishes in that part
of old Russell parish which lay in Bedford county, as now reduced
in its dimensions. No parish register is found to supply a list of
the old vestrymen of this parish.*
* I have been told of two other old churches in Bedford county, and as many
other ministers, and had a promise of their names, hut something has prevente>>
its fulfilment.
20 OLD CHURCHES, MINJSTERS. AND
ARTICLE XLVIII.
Parishes in Amelia, Nottoway, and Prince Edward.
Amelia county was cut oiF from Prince George in the yeai
1734. Raleigh parish was established in the following year. In
the year 1754 the Rev. Musgrave Dawson was minister of Raleigh
parish, — how long, if before, not known. He was not the minister
in 1758. The Rev. John Brunskill was minister in 1773-74-76.*
* The following is from an aged lady : —
The Egglestons are of Irish extract, but came over to this country from
England, and settled first on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. After some time two
brothers — William and Joseph — came to Amelia county, and located near the central
position, where they lived to the time of their death. They, with Mr. Thos. Tabb,
Colonel Archer, and Mr. Edward Booker, of Winterham, built Grubhill Church,
which was supplied by a minister sent from England, — Parson Brunskill, — who,
although not an acceptable preacher, always had large congregations, composed of
the families immediately' around, and many from a distance. Those who had
galleries in the church were the Tabbs, Egglestons, and Bookers, — one public
gallery.
On one occasion, when the house was full, just before the Revolutionary War,
when the whole Colony was incensed against England, Parson Brunskill arose, and,
seeing Colonel Archer and one or two other gentlemen dressed in regimentals,
called them rebels, and expressed himself indignant to see such indications of a
general rebellion, and said he should write immediately to the King and inform
against them. Whereupon nearly every one in the church got up and left the
house, not before warning him, however, never to repeat such language, or he
would receive harsh treatment added to disrespect. He never attemptea 'o
preach afterward, but lived a quiet secluded life at the glebe, about live miles
from Grubhill. Mr. McCreary was his successor, — a most pious and worthy man,
whose sons fought in the Revolution.
The following is from high authority : —
Joseph Eggleston, Sen. moved to Amelia county in 1758 or '59, as shown by the
baptism of his third child by the Rev. John Fox, in Ware parish, Gloucester
county, in 1758, and of his fourth child by the Rev. John Brunskill, in Raleigh
parish, Amelia county, in 1759, as recorded in his Bible, now in the possession of
his family. This proves that the Rev. John Bi-unskill was in this parish in 1759,
where he continued till his death in 1803 or 1804. The Rev. John Brunskill was
thought to be an amiable man and an indulgent master, but stood very low for
pietj, and the ruin of the Church here was attributed to him. He died at his
glebe, near Amelia Court-House, in 180^ or 1804, in good circumstances, leaving
hi;' i-'^rvants free, and every tiling else to a Mr. Richard Booker.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 21
It does not appear to have been represented in any of the Conven-
tions subsequent to the Revolution, until some years after the
revival of the Church, except in the years 1790 and 1791, by a
lay delegate, — Mr. John Royall. It is believed that Mr. Brunskill
lived for many years to be a dead weight upon the Church. He
never married, and lived a solitary, uncomfortable life. It is
stated of him, and on authority entirely to be relied on, that, upon
the declaration of war, he proclaimed from the pulpit that to take
part in it was rebellion ; upon which the gentlemen arose and
carried their families out of the church, and, on consultation,
determined to inflict punishment upon him, which was only pre-
vented by the interference of two of the elder and most influential
gentlemen present. But he was never permitted to ofiiciate again,
a lay reader being appointed to take his place. He continued
until his death to hold the glebe and to live upon it.
Of the churches in Amelia I have received accounts from two
of the oldest persons now living in it. There was one called Hun-
tington, (long since in ruins,) about five miles northwest of the
court-house. There was another called Chinquapin Church, in
the upper part of the county, built about the year 1749 or 1750,
at a place since called Paineville. There were three other churches,
called Rocky Run, Avery's, and Pride's, in diff'erent parts of the
county, two of which have been claimed as private property, taken
down, and used for farming-purposes. Of old Grubhill Church
we have more particular accounts. A venerable lady, now living,
and in her ninetieth year, remembers, when a child, to have
accompanied her parents to this church, and knows that the
timber for it was furnished from her father's and uncle's lands,
(Messrs. William and Joseph Eggleston.) Another old lady, now
deceased, is known to have said that in the year 1768 she saw
the workmen laying the floor of the wing of the church, the main
body having probably been built some years before. I have
been visiting that old building since the year 1827 or 1828.
It was even then in a somewhat tottering condition as to the
galleries, which had been put up, with the permission of the
The families who attended Grubhill Church were the Bookera, Tabbs, Eggles-
tons, Archers, Royalls, and Meades.
The plate was kept by Joseph Eggleston, Sen. and Jr., till the death of the
latter, and was sold by order of the court a few years after, — in 1815.
The Archer family is one of early settlement in Virginia, and of high respect-
ability. Some of them formed a part of that happy and interesting circle of whicli
Judge Tucker speaks as dwelling in York before the Revolutionary Wai".
22 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
vestries, by some of the old families of Egglestons, Banisters,
Tabbs, Archers, &c., for their own use. Although cold in winter,
hot in summer, at all times dark and uncomfortable, (being high
up, and near the roof,) yet such was the old family feeling of at-
tachment to them on the part of the descendants of those who
built and first occupied them, that even after it became somewhat
unsafe to sit in them, being propped up with large poles and in
other ways, they could not be induced to abandon them. This
presented an obstacle for some time to remodelling and improving
other parts of the church ; and the attachment to the whole
building, such as it was, though decaying and very uncomely and
uncomfortable, for a long time stood in the way of a new and
better one.
At length old feelings were so much subdued as to permit a new
one to be erected and the old one to be removed. The attachment
to the old name, Grubhill, though neither classical nor scriptural,
was so great, that not even a compromise, by which it should be
called St. Paul's, Grubhill, would be accepted by those whose
antiquarian feelings were distressed by the change of the name
given it by their ancestors and so long in use. The history of the
transaction is on the pages of the vestry-book.
As 7iames are not always tilings, we trust that the divine
blessing will be as abundantly poured out on the religious services
performed in it under the old and homely name of Grubhill, as of
any other. Of the two extremes, an undue attachment to old
things, or an undue fondness for new, we prefer the former, as most
conservative; but ''^ medio tutissimus ibis."
Having had access to the vestry-book of Raleigh parish, com-
mencing in 1790, we are enabled to furnish a list of the vestry-
men from that date. At an election at that time we find the
name of William Giles, John Pride, Richard Eggleston, John Wiley,
John Archer, Joseph Eggleston, Rowland Ward, John Towns, Jr.,
Daniel Hardaway, — John Archer and Richard Eggleston being
made churchwardens. From that time until the year 1827 there
does not appear to have been any election of vestrymen, or any
thing done in the parish. In that year the Rev. William F. Lee
was elected minister, and the following gentlemen vestrymen : —
Hodijah Meade, John R Robertson, Charles Eggleston, T. R.
Banister, W. A. Mileston, Benjamin L. Meade, W. J. Barksdale,
William Murray ; to whom were added, at different times, John
Booker, James Allen, Jaqueline Berkeley, Dr. Thomas Meaux,
Dr. Skelton, Daniel Worsham, William Barksdale, Jr., Dr. Skelton,
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 23
Jr., B. M. Jones, Thomas G. Tabb, Egbert Leigh, J. W. Lane,
Thomson Walthall. Here my list ends.
I have already said that the Rev. Mr. Lee, of whom I have
spoken more fully in another place, became the minister in 1827.
In the year 1835 the Rev. Farley Berkeley, the present minister,
took charge of it, connecting with it the pastorship of either the
church in Chesterfield, or that at Genito Bridge, in Powhatan, or
sometimes of both. I see from the vestry-book, that he has ever
insisted on an "annual election, though the vestry protest against it
as unnecessary, and record the same. How different from former
days, when, though Governors, Commissaries, and clergy ever
protested against annual elections, the vestries insisted on them.
The difference arises from the great difference in the character of
the clergy generally. I know of but one parish in the diocese
which follows this ancient custom, and peculiar circumstances in
its past history led to this. The clergy of our day are ready to
relinquish their charges the moment they believe their services
are unacceptable and unprofitable, while the people are anxious to
retain as long as possible the labours of a worthy, pious, and
zealous minister.
I have only to add, in relation to Raleigh parish, that the Rev.
Mr. Chevers, a few years since, devoted himself very diligently to
the effort at establishing the congregation at Chinquapin Church,
but, after two years' faithful services, relinquished it as a hopeless
task at the present time. ''''Non si male nunc et olim sic erit."
NOTTOWAY PARISH, NOTTOWAY COUNTY.
Nottoway county was separated from Amelia in the year 1788.
Nottoway parish was established in the county of Amelia, being
separated from Raleigh parish before the year 1752 and after the
year 1748. There being no account of the Acts of Assembly for
1749-51, in Henning, I am unable to decide the precise year.
In the year 1754, and again in 1758, the Rev. Wm. Proctor was
the minister, — the same, no doubt, of whom mention is made in
the vestry-book of Halifax. In the years 1773-74-76, the Rev.
Thomas Wilkinson is the minister. Of him I have found a good
account. The Rev. Mr. Jarratt informs us that Dr. Cameron was
its minister for about two years after leaving Petersburg in 1793,
but was obliged to resign for want of support. This was, no
doubt, the last of Episcopal services in this parish, except some
occasional ones of late years. As to the churches in this parish,
24 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
all that I have been able to learn is from the Act of Assembly in
1755, by which the parish of St. Patrick is established in the county
of Prince Edward. It seems that the county of Prince Edward had
been separated from Amelia the previous year, and from that part
of it in which the parish of Nottoway lay, but no new parish Avas
then cut off from it and established in Prince Edward. But now,
in 1775, the parish of St. Patrick is taken from Nottoway and
made to correspond with the bounds of Prince Edward. At a later
period (178S) Nottoway county is established, corresponding, I pre-
sume, with the bounds of old Nottoway parish in Amelia. The Act
speaks of twc new churches being recently built in the lower part
of Nottoway parish, and requires the parish to refund a portion of
the money which had been raised from the whole parish for their
erection, to be refunded to the new parish in Prince Edward. Where
these churches are situated, and what were their names, and what
others had been there before, I am unable to say.*
ST. Patrick's parish, prince edward county.
We have seen that the county was established in 1754 and the
parish in 1755. In the year 1758 the Rev. James Garden is its
minister. We find him there also in 1773, — fifteen years after. In
the years 1774 and 1776 the parish has no minister. In the years
1777 and 1778 the Rev. Archibald McRoberts was the minister.
We have already spoken of his relinquishment of our ministry iu
;he year 1779. With his ministry Episcopal services no doubt
* I have an old leaf from a vestry-book, without the name of the parish on it, in
which I find the Rev. John Brunskill minister in 1753, Major Thomas Tabb and
Major Peter Jones churchwardens, William Craioby, Wood Jones, William Archer,
Richard Jones, and Samuel Cobb, vestrymen. This must certainly be a part of the
old vestry-liook of Raleigh parish, and Mr. Brunskill must have been its minister
in 1753. In the following year (1754) he was certainly in another parish, and Mr.
Dauson in this, lie must have i-eturned to this before the year 1773, or else one
of the same name, for there were three John Brunskills in Virginia at this time.
" In the year 1829 or 1830," writes a friend, " while riding with a friend from
Prince Edward Court-House to Nottoway Court- House, I noticed, near to a farm-
house on the road, a barn of singular appearance. 'Yonder barn,' I remarked,
'looks much like some of the old Colonial churches I have seen.' ' It was a church
of the Old Establishment,' was his reply. ' The present owner of the farm, (which
I think had been the glebe,) finding it vacant and on lan'l which was once a part of
the tract he purchased, and as it was near his house, had it put on rollers and re-
moved to its present position for the use you see. There was no one to forbid the
sacrilege, or, if so, it was without avail ; but the act, I believe, is condemned by ihe
general sentiment of this community as that of a coarse-minded, unscrupulous votarj
of mammon.' "
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 25
ceased in Prince Edward, as we see no representative) either clerical
or lay, in any Convention.
There were in Mr. McRoberts's time three churches in Princo
Edward, one of which, or the congregation thereof, separated with
him. Their names were — 1st. The Chapel or Watkins's Church,
about eighteen miles from Prince Edward Court-House, on the
Lynchburg Road, which was the one whose congregation followed
Mr. McRoberts in his movement toward an Independent Church.
It is now occupied by different denominations. 2d. French's
Church, which was about a mile from the court-house and is now
gone down. 3d. Sandy River Church, on Sandy River, about
eight miles from the court-house on the Petersburg Road. This
last church is now, I am told, occupied by the Baptist denomination.
I have in my possession a pamphlet of some twenty-two pages,
containing an account of a controversy concerning it between the
Methodists and Baptists in the years 1832-34. When deserted
by the Episcopalians it had been repaired by general subscription,
and at several different times occupied as a free church. In the year
1832 the Baptists obtained a title to it and claimed sole right to it,
though not refusing to allow the Methodists *he use of it at su.'h
times as the owners might choose. The MeJiodists were unwilling
to accept these terms, and much unhappy disputation ensued. At one
time two ministers of each denomination met on the same day and
were in the pulpit together, and the vote of the congregation as to
who should preach was taken. The matter was referred to two
men eminent in the law, — Judge Thomas Bouldin and Mr. Charles
Smith. They determined that the deed recently given to the
Baptists was not good, that the one given to the churchwardens at the
first creation of the church was the legal title, and that it belonged
now to the Commonwealth of Virginia, unless there was an older
and better title than that of those who made one to the church-
wardens, and to this they were inclined, and therefore advised that
the line be run in order to decide the point. A line w"as run, and
it passed through the church; and so a part of it only was legally
the property of the churchwardens and afterward of the Common-
wealth. The result was that the Baptists retained possession,
though the Methodists maintained that a wall might be raised
through the church according to the line run ; but it was not done.
If either Mr. Chapman Johnson's opinion — that the churches were
the property of Episcopalians — was true, or that of Judge Bouldin
and Mr. Smith, then, in the first case, the Episcopalians in the
county ought to have been applied to to decide the question, or
26 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
else the public authorities, either of which would, I think, have
settled it more amicably and more to the honour of religion. Other
unhappy disputes have occurred concerning our old churches in
other places. I knew of one where, after much strife between two
denominations, the church was set up by them to the highest bidder.
Who gave the title, or what was it worth? About another, two
parties preached in different pulpits, — one in the old Episcopal
pulpit and the other in a new one in a different part of the church.
So far from their being always respected as equally common
property, I have myself been refused admission into one, while on
an Episcopal visitation, by those who claimed it by the right of
use. In relation to the suggestion that the Episcopalians in Prince
Edward were the most proper persons to decide the question as to
the occupancy of Old Sandy River Church, if it be said that there
were scarcely any left unto whom application might have been made,
I reply that, from all the information I have been able to get, there
have always been some few of high respectability there. One at
least there was, whose firm attachment to the Church, yet catholic
spirit to all others, and great weight of character, were felt and
acknowledged by all. I allude to Mr. William Berkeley, son of
the old lady of Hanover who bade the overseers of the poor who
sent a deputation to her for the Communion-plate to come them-
selves and take it. He inherited all his motb.er's devotion to the
Church, and when at our Conventions, and on other occasions,
opportunity was presented for displaying it, never failed to do so.
He was not, however, a bigot to a particular Church, but loved the
whole Catholic Church. In evidence of which, being in the provi-
dence of God placed beyond the reach of an Episcopal place of
worship, and near the Presbyterian College in Prince Edward, he
not only attended the religious services held there, but was an
active member of the board of trustees thereof. For a long period
of time he presided over that board, fulfilling the duties of his
station faithfully, and yet always having it distinctly understood
that he was a true son of the Episcopal Church. So amiable,
pious, and dignified a Christian gentleman as he was is not easily
found.
In the list of vestrymen in Brunswick, Lunenburg, Halifax, and
elsewhere, we meet with certain persons some of whose descendants
are enrolled on other registers than those of the Episcopal Church,
such as Read, Venable, Watkins, Carrington, Cabell, Morton, &c.,
and we know not where in the progress of our work we can more
properly introduce some notice of them than in connection with
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 27
Prince Edward county and the College of Hampden-Sydney. We
have seen how the Presbyterians from Ireland and Scotland, settling
first in Pennsylvania, began to emigrate to the Valley of Virginia
about the year 1738, — how, under Mr. Samuel Davies, they were
established in Hanover and some parts around between 1740 and
1750. From thence, in a short time, they found their way into
what is now Charlotte and Prince Edward, and made strong and
permanent settlements there. This was in a great measure effected
by the establishment of Hampden-Sydney College, a brief history
of which, taken from the Sketches of the Presbyterian Church of
Virginia, by the Rev. Mr. Foote, will best enable us to understand
the subject. In the year 1774 the ministers and members of the
Presbytery of Hanover determine to establish a public school in
that part of the State, — Prince Edward, — understanding that they
can procure the services of Mr. Samuel Stanhope Smith, then a
candidate for the ministry in the New Castle Presbytery, and
teacher of languages in Princeton College, afterward the dis-
tinguished President of the same. Sufficient funds being raised
and a place selected, in November, 1774, Mr. Smith, with his
brother, J. B. Smith, a candidate for the ministry, and a third
person, are regularly chosen to commence the work. The first,
being now ordained, was called also to the congregation in that
place. Under this most eminent scholar and eloquent preacher
and his yet more zealous and laborious brother, Mr. J. B. Smith,
the institution flourished, notwithstanding all the obstacles of the
war. In the year 1779 the elder brother resigned and accepted a
sail to a professorship in Princeton College. The Presidency of
Hampden-Sydney devolved upon his most excellent and devoted
brother, J. B. Smith, who continued to promote its welfare and the
religious interests of the country around until the year 1788, when
he accepted a call to a church in Philadelphia. During the Presi-
dency of the younger Mr. Smith a charter was obtained for the
College.
On the list of trustees we find names to which our eyes have
become familiar on the pages of the old vestry-books, as those of
Oarrington, Nash, Watkins, Morton, Read, Booker, Scott, Meade,
Allen, Parker, Foster, Johnson. Now, though some of them were
doubtless still attached to the Episcopal Church, since it was de-
clared at the outset that the institution should be conducted " on
the most catholic plan," and it was the best policy to enlist general
favour by appointing some of the Episcopal Church, yet a con-
siderable number of them had doubtless given in their adhesion to
28 OLD CHURCUES, MINISTERS, AND
the Presbyterian Churcli. Whereupon, ever since that time, we have
found most of the above-mentioned names in each denomination
Let these remarks introduce the following genealogy of the
Reads and Carringtons, who may be regarded as common to the
Episcopal and Presbyterian Churches of Virginia, though more of
the former belonged to the Presbyterian and more of the latter to
the Episcopal. I take them chiefly from the Rev. Mr. Footers
Sketches of the Presbyterian Church.
Colonel Clement Read (so often mentioned as the active vestry-
man in Brunswick and Lunenburg) was born in the year 1707. He
was a trustee of William and Mary College in 1729. Being Presi-
dent of the Council at the departure of Governor Gooch for Eng-
land, in 1749, he beca^me Governor of the Colony, but died a few
days after. He had been educated at William and Mary under
Commissary Blair. He married the daughter of William Hill, an
officer in the British navy and second son of the Marquis of Lans-
downe. Mr. Read, having, with Colonel Richard Randolph, of
Curls, purchased large tracts of land in what was then Lunenburg,
moved to that county and was clerk of the same for many years.
He frequently served in the House of Burgesses with the great
leaders of the Revolution. He died in the year 1763 and was
buried at Bushy Forest. His wife was laid by his side in 1780.
She was (says Mr. Foote) a pious woman and an exemplary member
of the Episcopal Church. Their eldest son, Colonel Isaac Read,
married a daughter of Henry Embra, (another vestryman of the
Lunenburg Church,) who represented the county with his father,
Clement Read. He himself represented the county with Paul
Carrington, who married one of his sisters. They were both asso-
ciated with Washington, Jefferson, and Henry in their patriotic
movements. Paul Carrington was a zealous friend of the Episcopal
Church. What were the partialities of Mr. Isaac Read, whether
he followed in the footsteps of his father or not, we are unable to
say. He was made colonel in a Virginia regiment, and soon after
died, being laid with military honours in a vault in Philadelphia.
He left a son by the name of Clement, who became a distinguished
minister of the Presbyterian Church, after having for a time offi-
ciated among the Methodists. He married a descendant of Poca-
hontas,— a Miss Edmonds, of Brunswick, — by whom he had thirteen
children.
I take from the same source (Foote's Sketches) the following no
tice of the Carrington family, whose members abound in this part
of Virginia. Mr. Paul Carrington and his wife (who was of the
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 29
Henningham family) emigrated from Ireland to Barbadoes, where
he died early in the eighteenth century, leaving a widow and a
numerous family of children. The youngest child, George, came to
Virginia about the year 1727 with the family of Joseph Mayo, a
Barbadoes merchant. Mr. Mayo purchased and occupied the an-
cient seat of Powhatan, near the Falls of Jamestown. Young Car-
riugton lived for some years with Mr. Mayo as his storekeeper.
About 1732, when in his twenty-first year, he married Anne, the
eldest daughter of AVilliam Mayo, brother of Joseph, who had
settled in Goochland. They w^ent to reside on Willis's Creek, now
in Cumberland county. They had eleven children, — viz. : Paul,
William, (who died in infancy,) Geoi-ge, William again, Joseph,
Nathaniel, Henningham, Edward, Hannah, (who married a Cabell
and was mother of Judge Cabell,) Mayo, Mary, (who married a
Watkins.) The parents, George Carrington and his wife, both died
in 1785. From them sprung the numerous families of Carringtons
in Virginia ; and in the female line the descendants have been
numerous. Their eldest child, Paul Carrington, married, as we
have already said, the daughter of Colonel Clement Read, of Lu-
nenburg,— now Charlotte, — who left a memory of great virtues.
Their children were Paul, Clement, George, Mary, and Anne. Her
youngest child, Paul, became Judge of the General Court of Vir-
ginia, and died in 1816. The elder Paul Carrington was married
a second time, to Miss Priscilla Sims. Two of their children died
in infancy. The rest were Henry, Robert, Letitia, and Martha. A
very interesting account is given of this, the elder Carrington, in
Mr. Grigsby's book, — the Convention of 1776. He was a member
of that body, and filled various departments of duty during the
Revolutionary struggle, while furnishing three sons to the army,
two of whom were eminently distinguished. He was an able lawyer
in his day, and after the close of the war was promoted to the
General Court, and then to the Court of Appeals, where he was
associated with his old friend, Edmund Pendleton, from whom he
seldom if ever differed on all the great questions which came before
them during the scenes of the Revolution. Agreeing Avith Pendle-
ton on the subject of religion and in attachment to the Episcopal
Church, when the question of the constitutionality of the law for
selling the glebes came before the Court of Appeals, we find them
united in giving their voice against the law. Mr. Grigsby informs
us that "in middle life, and until the war of the Revolution was
past, he was of a grave turn. Before the troubles began he had
lost the bride of his youth. During the war, and when the Southern
30 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
States were almost the reconquered Colonies of Britain, lie was
never seen to smile. Day succeeded day in his domestic life, and
not only was no smile seen to play upon his face, but hardly a
word fell from his lips. He was almost overwhelmed with the
calamities which assailed his country. But his latter years were
cheered by its prosperity and glory. He died in the eighty-sixth
year of his age."
That some of the descendants of such men as Paul Carrington
and Clement Read, born and living in Prince Edward and the
counties around, should have forsaken a Church many of whose
ministers had forsaken them in times of trial, or else proved most
unworthy, is not to be wondered at, when we remember the ministers
of the Presbyterian Church who were sent into Virginia, and were
reared in it just before, during, and after the Revolution. Samuel
Davies led the way. The two Smiths were men of superior abilities.
Old David Rice was himself a host. Dr. Graham, Dr. Alexander,
and Dr. Hodge, following soon after, and having the powerful influ-
ence of a college in their hands, could not but make a deep im-
pression on the public mind in all that region. It is not to be
wondered at that Episcopalians should wish well to the institution,
and that we should find among the trustees the names of Paul Car-
rington, William Cabell, Sr., James Madison, General Everard
Meade, and others, who with their families were attached to the
Episcopal Church, and so many of whose descendants have con-
tinued so to be. It was, in opposition to some fears expressed at
the time, most solemnly pledged that it should not be a sectarian
proselyting institution, though the forms of the Presbyterian Church
would be observed in it; and the fact that Episcopalians have
often been in some measure concerned, as trustees or professors, in
its management, proves that the pledge has been redeemed as far
as perhaps is practicable in such institutions. The long and pros-
perous Presidency over it by the late Mr. Gushing, whose memory
is held in respect by all who knew him, and who, although a member
of the Episcopal Church, enjoyed the confidence of the trustees of
the College, and the fact that the Rev. Mr. Dame, of Danville, and
Colonel Smith, of Lexington, with their well-known Episcopal
attachments, were professors in the institution, are proofs that it
was conducted in as catholic a spirit as circumstances would admit
of. Whether in the lapse of time any change has taken place in ita
constitution or administration, I am unable to say.
The articles in which the Presbyterian Church has been spoken
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 33
of having been read by a gentleman well versed in its history, he
has kindly sent me the following letter : —
" Right Rev. and Dear Sir : — I have lately read your articles on
Lunenburg, Charlotte, Halifax, Prince Edward, &c. with special interest,
as my early years were spent in the latter county, where my maternal rela-
tives reside, and who were connected with many families in the other
counties mentioned, by blood, or affinity, or religious sympathy. Your
papers embody much that I have often heard, with considerable additions.
Knowing that, while traversing this region, "Incedis per igues, suppo-
sitos cineri doloso," I must needs be curious to see how you would bear
yourself, and I cannot refrain from intimating my admiration of the spirit
in which you have handled a somewhat difficult theme. T will even add
something more in this connection, — reflections occasioned by your notices,
and which I must beg you to excuse, if at all trenching on propriety.
" 3Iy mother, as you may have heard, though firmly attached to her
own faith and Church, has a sincere, and, of late years, growing, respect
for that over which you preside. I read your articles above mentioned to
her, and while she was pleased with their spirit, she is ready to confirm most
of the facts, saying of that concerning Prince Edward in particular, ' It
is all true; and he might have added more in the same strain.'
" The decline of Episcopacy in that region was no doubt hastened by
the causes to which you have adverted, — such as the defection of one
minister, the character of others, the rise of Hampden-Sydney College,
&c. ; but the falling off of certain families, whose influence ultimately
gave a caste to religious opinion, was prepared long before. Thus, Anne
Michaux, daughter of one of the original refugees, and who, having fled
from France on the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, settled at Manakin,
married Richard Woodson, Esq., of Poplar Hill, Prince Edward, some-
times called Baron Woodson on account of his large possessions. This-
lady, to whom I referred in my former letter, lived herself to a great age,
but of a numerous oflFspring only two daughters survived, one of whom
was married to Nathaniel Venable, son of that Alvan Venable whom you
have mentioned as one of the vestrymen of a parish in Louisa, — the other
to Francis Hopkins, Esq., clerk of Prince Edward. The tradition of Mrs.
Woodson's many virtues is preserved among her numerous descendants to
this day. Her strong character and devoted piety appear to have made
un indelible impression on such of them as had the happiness to know her.
And this it was, I believe, that gave them a respect not only for religion
in general, but a bias toward that particular type of Protestantism of which
she was so brilliant an ornament.
'•Joseph Morton, the ancestor of the most numerous branch of the
xMortons, of Charlotte, married a sister of Richard Woodson. The pro-
genitor of the Mortons of Prince Edward and Cumberland married a Mi-
chaux. Other families of Scots or Scotch-Irish and Huguenot race were
settled in both counties. But the families of Venable and Watkins, and
afterward the Reads, of Charlotte, did not become thoroughly Scotched
until the tide of Presbytery, which had now set in from Hanover through
Cumberland, was met in that county by a corresponding wave from the
Valley through Bedford. The rise of the College, which was in part the
eSect of this movement, beoame the cause of its increase, and this institu-
tion, together with the Theological Seminary, may be said to have com-
32 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
pleted it. That the spiritual children of Calvin and Knox should have
formed an alliance under such circumstances was perhaps natural. But
that a portion of the Carringtons should more recently have taken the same
direction may be ascribed in some measure to the infiueuce of family
connections.
*' I must say, however, that I have never regarded either the Venables
or Watkinses as 'bigots to Presbytery' as such. And in this connection it
would be false delicacy in me to refrain from stating a fact which was
notorious in that county. The leading mind in that whole region, whether
among the clergy or laity, was that of Colonel Samuel W. Venable, (eldest
son of Colonel Nathaniel Venable above mentioned,) and of whom you will
find some notice in the memoir of Dr. Alexander, of Princeton. Two of
his brothers, Abraham and Richard, were known as public characters,
while he remained in private life; but they always veiled their pretensions
in his presence, partly from aflfection, but more from deference to the
ascendent intellect and acknowledged wisdom of their elder brother, which
impressed all who approached him. His early life, it is believed, was
unstained as to morality; but, although an alumnus of Princeton, it was
not until after the Revolution that he gave in his adhesion to the religion
of his mother and grandmother, which had now also become that of his
wife. He had fought bravely in the war, and was a decided republican in
his political sentiments. Would it be too much to suppose that his settled
hostility to the spirit of the English Government had somewhat jaundiced
his view of the Constitution of her Church? Colonel V. was eminently a
practical man, — a stern patriot and friend of good order in society, public
spirited, and a patron of all improvement. Now, the bitter waters of infi-
dehty, which had begun to appear in other parts of the State, were not
unknown there, and on the outbreak of the French Revolution society in
V^irginia was menaced as it were with a deluge of false philosophy and its
train of evils. It was to stem this tide that he and those who co-operated
with him set themselves. It was not for a party that he contended, but
for the substance of Christianity itself, which he believed to be in peril.
As this was essential to the very existence of free society, all other ques-
tions were regarded as secondary. His numerous engagements did not
permit him to enter deeply into any scriptural investigation of the relative
claims of the different forms of Church Grovernment; and, had it been
jtherwise, there were few to aid or sympathize with him."
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 3S
ARTICLE XLIX.
Parishes in Cumberland, Buckingham, and Fluvanna. — St.
James Southam, Cumberland.
In 1745, Southam parish was cut off from St. James Northara,
in Goochland county, which county then extended over James
River and to the Appomattox. That on the south side of James
River was called Southam parish. Southam parish is now in Pow-
hatan county, which was separated at a later date from Cumberland.
A vestry-book of this parish, whose record began in 1745 and
continued until 1791, furnishes the following particulars. On June
30, 1746, the Rev. John Robertson enters upon his duties in this
parish, being recommended by Governor Gooch and Commissary
Dawson, having been ordained the previous year by the Bishop of
London. He ceased to be minister in 1751. Mr. McClaurine is
then received on probation for twelve months, and continues until
his death in 1772. Mr. Jarratt, in his autobiography, speaks of
him as a pious man.* The Rev. Jesse Carter, James Oglesby, and
Hyde Saunders, at the death of Mr. McClaurine, became applicants
for the parish, each preaching some time. Mr. Saunders is chosen
in November, 1773, and continues so to be until the year 1791,
when the record ends. In the year 1793 he also appears on the
journal of the Convention for the first and only time. Nothing
more is heard of the parish until the Rev. Mr. Lee took it under
his care in connection with Goochland and Amelia, in the year
1827. The Rev. Farley Berkeley, who succeeded Mr. Lee, has
also connected a new church at Genito, in Powhatan, with the
church in Amelia. For the last eleven years the Rev. Mr. Fisher
has been the minister of Southam parish, preaching at Emanuel
and St. Luke's Churches, each of which have been built since the
* Of Mr. McClaurine, other favourable accounts of his piety and great benevo-
lence have come to me. He preached at Tar Wallett, Manakin, and Peterville
Churches: beneath the chancel-floor of the latter he was buried. He was the first
of his name in Virginia. He left three sons and three daughters, two of whom
lived and died in Cumberland, and the third at Norfolk, during the last war. Of
the daughters, one married a Hobson, another a Swann, and the third a Steger.
Their mother was a Miss Blakely, from the Eastern Shore of Virginia.
Vol. II.— 3
84 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTEKS, AND
commencement of his ministry. He has recently relinquished the
care of one of them, which has connected itself with a congregation
in Littleton parish, Cumberland, St. Luke's being in Powhatan.
THE CHURCHES IN SOUTHAM PARISH.
The first church determined on was on Tear or Tar Wallett Hill.
The church has long been called Tar Wallett. It was built on the
land of Daniel Coleman, in what is now Littleton parish, Cumber-
land. The next was ordered to be on James River, on Thomas
Carter's land. The next to be at or near the reading-place called
Worley's. At the same time Peterville Church is spoken of as
having a reader, and another chapel, called Ham, is ordered to be
examined. These last were doubtless built before the division of
the parish. Additions are made at different times to some of these
churches, as to those of Tear Wallett and South Chapel. Mr.
Alexander Trent is allowed to build a gallery for his family. Ni-
cholas Davies and Carter Henry Harrison are allowed to put addi-
tions to Ham Chapel for their families. John Mayo and Benjamin
Moseby are allowed to build galleries in Peterville Church for their
families.
The vestry appears to have performed their duty in regard to a
glebe and glebe-houses for the ministers, and to have complied with
a law forbidding a vestryman to be a lay reader, by displacing two
who were lay readers, or rather by accepting their resignation.
A lay reader of disorderly behaviour is also summoned to answer
to the vestry.
The following is a list of the vestrymen : — William Randolph,
probably the second of that name ; George Carrington, probably
the first of that name who settled on Willis Creek ; (these were
the first churchwardens ;) Alexander Trent, James Barnes, James
Terry, Benjamin Harrison, Charles Anderson, Samuel Scott, Ste-
phen Bedford, Thomas Turpin, John Baskerville, (in 1748, in room
of William Randolph, removed,) Benjamin Harris, (in place of
Benjamin Harrison, resigned,) Archibald Cary, Thomas Davenport,
(in place of Archibald Cary, removed in 1750,) Abraham Sally,
William Barnit, Creed Haskins, Wade Netherland, Alexander
Trent, Jr., John Fleming, Thompson Swann, Littlebury Moseby,
Henry Macon, Roderick Easly, John Netherland, Maurice Lang
home, John Railey, George Carrington, Jr., Edward Haskins,
John Mosely, John Hughes, Edmund Logwood, William Mayo,
Richard Crump, George Williamson, William Ronald, Edmund
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 85
Vaughan, Peter F. Arclier, William Bentley, Edward Carrington,
Brett Randolph. The clerks or lay readers were Messrs. Hubbard,
Anderson, Terry, Turpin, &c.
LITTLETON PARISH, CUMBERLAND COUNTY.
This was separated from Southam parish in the year 1771. Its
early history is very brief, — at least such of it as has come down to
us. The Rev. Christopher Macrae appears on our lists of clergy as
minister of Littleton parish, Cumberland, in the years 1773-74-76,
and 1785 ; after which he appears no more. In the next year Mr.
Mayo Carrington appears as the lay delegate, without any clerical
representation. In the year 1790 he appears again with the Rev.
Elkanah Talley as the minister. He continues the minister for
*hree years, and then removes to Ware parish, Gloucester. In
1797 the parish is represented by two laymen, — Alexander Brand
and James Deane. In the year 1799 the Rev. James Dickenson
and Mr. Alexander Trent are in the Convention. There being no
journal, and perhaps no Convention, between 1799 and 1805, and
none between 1805 and 1812, and having no other means of in-
furmation, we are unable to say how long Mr. Dickenson continued
in the parish, or whether he had any successor until some time after
the revival of the Church commenced. Still, there were laymen
there who, at the first signs of reviving life, came forward to de-
clare their readiness to help on the good cause. In the first of
our renewed Conventions — that of 1812 — Mr. Codrington Carring-
ton is the delegate, and, in 1813, Mr. Samuel Wilson.
A long interval again appears where all seemed hopeless. At
length, in 1843, the Rev. Mr. Kinckle takes charge of it in con-
nection with some other of the waste places around. He is suc-
ceeded in 1844 by the Rev. Mr. Bulkley, who, after some years,
was succeeded in part by the present minister, the Rev. Mr. Mere-
dith, who, in connection with the church in Buckingham, serves
the congregation at Ca-Ira. Of the ministers yet alive it is not
my purpose in these sketches to speak. Of those whom we have
named as the ministers of this parish before 1800 we know nothing,
either by report or otherwise, with the exception of Mr. Elkanah
Talley and Mr. Macrae. Of the former we have spoken elsewhere
in terms which it was our regret to use. Of the latter the testimony
of those who ought to have known him best is most satisfactory. He
was by birth and education a Scotchman, — probably ordained about
1765 by the Bishop of London. He was a man of prayer, retiring
from his family three time? a day for purposes of private devotion
85 OLD CHURCHES, iMINIPTERS, AND
and study. He Avas a Scotchman, and not a modern A^irginian,
in his notions and habits of governing his children and the boys
committed to his care, and was therefore comphiined of as too
strict. He did not enter with spirit into the American Revolution,
and was suspected of favouring the other side, though he said and
did nothing, so far as Ave can learn, to give just offence. He had
a right to a conscientious opinion on the subject ; but the temper
of the times did not allow this, and some violent young men either
waylaid him at night or took him out of his bed, and severely
chastised him, leaving him naked in the woods. Tradition says
that he was prudent in the affair, and never opened his lips in the
way of complaint or sought to find out his nocturnal and cowardly
assailants, well knowing that it was too good a story to be kept
secret, and that if he did not they would reveal it. Accordingly,
in due time, they boasted of the deed and were witnesses against
themselves. They were summoned before a tribunal of justice,
which did not allow any patriotic feeling to prevent the punishment
of such an outrage. A heavy fine was accordingly inflicted upon
them. Patrick Henry, who Avas then in the Legislature, being
well acquainted Avith Mr. Macrae, took some public occasion to
animadvert upon the conduct of these young men, and spoke in
the highest terms of Mr. Macrae. The sons of Mr. Macrae, I be-
lieve, are all dead, but three daughters and grandchildren are yet
alive, and love the Church and the religion of their fathers.*
* The following is an extract from a letter received from one of the daughter.
of Mr. Macrae : —
"We were young at the time of our father's death, and regret not being able to
give a more satisfactory history of his life. He was educated in Edinburgh, I be-
lieve, at the same college with Beattie, author of the celebrated Hermit. They
were classmates, and corresponded in after-life. A professorship was offered him
as soon as he graduated, and he was told all that would be required was that he
should sign his belief in the Confession of Faith. He said he had never read it, but
would do so immediately. On perusing the volume, there were portions he could
not conscieutionslj' subscribe. He therefore came to America, and settled in Surrey
county, Virginia, where his health failed, and during that attack he became in-
terested on tlie subject of religion, returned to England, and was ordained by the
Bishop of London ; came back to Surrey county, (where he married Miss Harris, in
1778, the daughter of Mr. John Harris, one of his vestry,) where he laboured for
several years. His own and family's ill health determined him to remove to Cum-
berland county, where he preached for many years at Tar Wallett and Turkey
Cock, During the Revolutionary War he was called out to visit [the messenger said)
a dying neighbour who was anxious to see him. He had not proceeded a mile from
home, when three men, ai'med with clubs, assailed and knocked him off his horse
The servant that accompanied him rode with speed to friends, who came immediately
to his rescue. They left, supposing he would not survive. One of the men was
]?AMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 87
I have no record frora which to derive the names of vestrymen
or their doings in this parish. I know nothing of its former
killed, on that very spot, by a tobacco-hogshead, and another revealed the whole
matter just before he was hung for some capital offence. A petition was sent to
the Legislature, then in session at Williamsburg, praying that he, Mr. Macrae,
might be banialied. Patrick Henry instantly rose, and said that there were many
fictitious names on that paper ; that he knew Mr. Macrae intimately, and that if he
was banished they would lose one of their best citizens ; he hoped nothing would
be done till he could send an express to Cumberland, who returned with a counter-
petition, signed by the most respectable portion of the community, praying that he
might remain with them ; which was granted. Letters were put in the pulpit
threatening his life if he ever dared to preach there again, but he knew no fear
when in the path of duty, and never in a single instance omitted going to church.
The Rev. Christopher Macrae died at his residence in Powhatan county, on the 22d
of December, 1808, in the seventy-fifth year of his age. Dr. Cameron preached his
funeral sermon."
Parson Buchanou has often lamented to us that his brother Macrae would not
consent to be nominated as Bishop. He gave his advanced age as the reason for
ieclining.
We have received an old manuscript sermon of Mr. Macrae, on the death of
Colonel George Carrington and his lady, who died in the year 1785, within a few
days of each other. We have already spoken of this, the first of Carringtons in
Virginia, and of his wife Anna, daughter of Mr. William Mayo, one of the two
brothers who first came to this country ; but it is due to departed worth and piety
to add the following testimony from the pulpit. The text is from the 35th Psalm,
37th verse: — "Mark the perfect man and behold the upright, for the end of that
man is peace." The sermon itself, I am very sorry to say, is too much like those
so common at that day, which, while containing no heretical doctrines, and some-
times having passages recognising the true ones, yet are of the moralizing rather
than of the evangelical cast. For instance, although in one place, and in one only, he
speaks of "a firm afl&ance and unshaken confidence in the mercy of God througli
Christ," yet he often speaks in a manner well calculated to encourage the belief that
virtue and integrity must be our reliance. He quotes from Pope, " The soul's calm
sunshine and the heartfeltjoy are virtue's prize;" says that " Heaven is our reward for
a well-spent life ;" that " peace is the result of integrity of life ;" that " peace and
serenity of mind can only be secured by a virtuous life ;" of the "reward due to
our actions." Now, I doubt not but that some had juster views of the plan of salva-
tion than the language used by them would seem to indicate, and that they intended
more by virtue, and goodness, and integrity, than is due to such words : but, after
all the allowance that charity can make, we must acknowledge that there was a
dreadful deficiency of the Gospel in such preaching, and that sermons of that cast
would never awaken sinners to a sense of their lost condition and conduct them to
a Saviour. With these remarks, which truth and fidelity require of me, I proceed
to the close and application of the sermon : —
" Having uow done with the text, give me leave to observe, that tliough I very
rarely say any thing concerning the character of a departed friend [an honest ex-
ample, worthy of imitation] on any occasion, I thought it not consistent with duty
to pass over the character of persons so eminently distinguishable for the practice
of piety and virtue, as our worthy departed friends. Colonel Carrington and his
lady, without recommending their exemplary life as a pattern of imitation to those
^8 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERb* AND
.•hurclies, except that old Tar Wallett has long been in the service
of other denominations. Two new ones, one at Ca-Ira and another
near Cartersville, have been erected of late years, and are in con-
stant use.
TILLOTSON PARISH, BUCKINGHAM COUNTY.
These come next in geographical order, although not taken from
Cumberland county and Littleton parish.
At the time that Albemarle county and St. Anne's parish, in
the same, were separated from Goochland, they comprehended all
that is now Buckingham, Fluvanna, Nelson, and Amherst, as well
as Albemarle. In the year 1757, Tillotson parish was separated
from St. Anne's parish, and, in the year 1761, the county of Buck-
ingham was taken from Albemarle.
We have a list of ministers for 1758, — the year after the parish
was formed, — but there is none "belonging to it. Our next list is
for 1773, when the Rev. Mr. Peasly 13 minister, and continues to
be in the years 1774 and 1776. How much longer, if at all, or
who, if any, succeeded, is not known, as there are no records until
who survive them. I have had the pleasure of being personally acquainted with them
both for more than twelve years past, and can confidently affirm that they have always
appeared to me to be as punctual and exact in the performance of the duties of their
several stations, as it is possible for persons clothed with flesh and blood to be.
And I have reason to believe, from general report and the relation of their ac-
quaintances, that the same uniformity of conduct and regularity of life had always
secured to them an unexceptionable good character in the opinion of all good men
of their acquaintance; of which they have left sufficient proof in the world in a
numerous offspring, (eleven children,) who all behave themselves as children of
such worthy parents. They were generous and charitable without ostentation, and
religious without noise. The gentleman filled the chair of a legislator with the
integrity of a Cato, and that of a magistrate with the justice of an Aristides. All
the public offices which he undertook (and they were many) he filled with credit
and discharged with honour. His benevolent disposition enabled him to serve the
j:nblic with so much punctuality and exactness, when there was no prospect of any
other reward but the pleasure of doing good, that it is rare to meet with an instance
of the same kind in an age. I have reason to conclude that both our departed
friends had many friends, and no foes — if any — but such as a good man would be
ashamed to number among his friends. They had as many virtues and as few fail-
ines as we can expect to meet with in any of Adam's fallen race ; and, in short, 1
know not whether I ever knew two characters more perfect that were heads of the
same family. It is certain they were both an ornament to human nature, an
honour to their country, and a blessing to their neighbourhood. Time would fail me
to erumerate their good qualities: suffice it, therefore, to observe that their lives
were truly exemplary, and that it is our duty to imitate their virtues, that we may
after death partake of their felicity, which, I firmly hope, they do now, and ever
will enjoy through the endless ages of eternity.'"
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 3J»
1785, — nine years after. No delegation then appears, and the
name of Tillotson disappears from the journal until the year 1830,
when the Rev. Mr. Osgood, minister of Moore parish, Campbell
county, reports some services in it. In the year 1833, the Rev.
Mr. Swift was there. In the year 1838, the Rev. Mr. Gofer, — how
long before or after we have not the present means of ascertaining.
In the year 1845, the Rev. Mr. Meredith appears as its minister,
and has continued so to the present time. A new church has been
erected in this parish, which now stands at Curdsville, having been
originally placed a few miles from its present site, but recently
removed to its present more convenient position.
No vestry-book remains to furnish the names of the old vestry-
men and families of this parish.
There Avere two old churches in Buckingham. At one of them,
called Goodwin, near the court-house, we have officiated. The
locality of the other we cannot specify, but think that it was
somewhere near the Methodist Female College.
PARISH OF FLUVANNA, IN FLUVANNA COUNTY.
These were separated at the same time by an Act of Assembly,
in 1777, from Albemarle county and St. Anne's parish. Just
entering on the war, during which little or nothing was done, even
in the old parishes, it is doubtful whether a vestry was elected or
any steps taken toward building a church. At any rate, there is
no record of it. The following extract, from the letter of a friend
to whom I applied for information, tells nearly all that is known
of this parish : —
"Our annals do not go far back. From 1835 to 1849 we were con-
nected with St. James parish, Goochland. At the Convention of 1849
we were admitted into union with it, as Rivauna parish.* Our first minis-
ter was the Rev. Mr. Pleasants in 1835, and, I think, the first who ever
preached statedly in the county. He only remained about three months.
The next was the Rev. Mr. Doughen, who remained less than two years.
He was followed by the Rev. J. P. B. Wilmer in 1838 and 1839. He
was succeeded by the Rev. R. H. Wilmer in April, 1839, who continued
until the fall of 1843. The Rev. J. P. B. Wilmer returned to the parish
and continued until Easter, 1849. After our separation from Goochlaud.
the Rev. Lewis P. Clover was with us from October, 1850, to April, 1852.
The Rev. Mr. Bulkley succeeded him, and was with us from July, 1852,
to December, 1855. The only Episcopal Church which has ever been in
* The name given it by Act of Assembly, in 1777, was Fluvanna pariah. Per-
haps this fact was not known or thought of at the time of its new name
40 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
the county is St. John's, Columbia, which was consecrated on the 30th
of July, 1850. The only Episcopal families prior to 1835 were the Carys
and General Cocke's.
Since that time the two Mr. Gaits, Mr. Archy Harrison's, Mr.
Bryant's, Mr. Brent's, and a goodly number of other famiiiea,
have been added.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 41
ARTICLE L.
Fredertcksville and Trinity Parishes, in Louisa and Albemarle
Counties.
After the separation of Louisa county from Hanover, in the
year 1742, and of Fredericksville parish, Louisa, from St. Martin's,
Hanover, the parish of Fredericksville was enlarged by taking in
a part of Albemarle lying north and west of the Rivanna. After
some years Fredericksville parish was divided into Fredericksville
and Trinity, the former being in Albemarle and the latter in Louisa.
We first treat of it in its enlarged and undivided state. It was then
without a place of worship, except an old mountain-chapel (age not
known) where Walker's Church afterward stood. The first meeting
of the vestry was in 1742. The vestry-book has some documents
worthy of introduction as historical antiquities. They were the
tests required of vestrymen at that period of England's history : —
"I. Oath of Allegiance.
" I, A. B., do sincerely promise and swear that I will be faithful and
bear true allegiance to his Majesty King George the Second, so help me
God.
'* Oath of Abjuration.
" I, A. B., do swear that I do from my heart abhor, detest, and abjure,
as impious and heretical, that damnable doctrine and position that Princes
excommunicate or deprived by the Pope, or any authority of the See of
Rome, may be deposed or murdered by their subjects or any other what-
soever. And I do declare that no foreign Prince, Prelate, Person, State,
or Potentate, hath, or ought to have, any jurisdiction, power, superiority,
pre-eminence, or authoi'ity, ecclesiastical or spiritual, within this realm.
So help me God.
"II. Oath of Allegiance.
** I, A. B., do truly and sincerely acknowledge and promise, testify and
declare, in my conscience, before God and the world, that our sovereign
Lord, King George the Second, is lawful and rightful King of this realm
and all other his Majesty's dominions and countries hereunto belonging;
and I do solemnly and sincerely declare that I do believe in my conscience
that the person pretended to be Prince of Wales during the life of the late
King James, and since his decease pretending to be, and taking upon
himself the style and title of, the King of England, or by the name of
Tames the Third, or of Scotland by the name of James the Eighth, or the
4*2 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
stvle and title of Kiiio; of Great Britain, hath not any right whatsoever to
the crown of this realm, or any other dominions hereto belonging. And
I do renounce, refuse, and abjure any allegiance or obedience to him, and
I do swear that I will bear faithful and true allegiance to his IMajesty
King George the Second, and him will defend to the utmost of my power
against all traitorous conspiracies and attempts whatsoever which shall be
made against his person, crown, or dignity; and I will do my utmost to
eadeavour to disclose and make known to his Majesty and his successors
all treasonable and traitorous conspiracies which I shall know to be against
him, or any of them; and I do faithful'y promise to the utmost of my
power to support, maintain, and defend the successor of the crown against
him, the said James, and all other persons whatsoever, which succession,
by an Act entitled 'An Act for the further limitation of the crown and
better securing the rights and liberties of the subjects,' is, and stands
limited to, the Princess Sophia, late Electress and Duchess-Dowager of
Hanover, and the heirs of her body, being Protestants; and all other these
things I do plainly and sincerely acknowledge and swear, according to
these express words by me spoken, and according to the plain and common-
sense understanding of the same words, without any equivocation, mental
evasion, or secret reservation whatsoever; and I do make this recognition,
acknowledgment, abjuration, renunciation, and promise, heartily, willingly,
and truly, upon the true faith of a Christian, so help me God.
"■ Thomas Paulett, Robert Lewis,
" A. I. Smith, Charles Barrett,
" David Cosby, John Poindexter,
"Thomas B. Smith, Abrm. Venable,
" Roger Thompson, Ephm. Clark,
" T. 31eriwether, John Stark.
" Test- Oath.
" I do declare that I do believe that there is not any transubstantiation
in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, or in the Elements of bread and
wine at or after the consecration thereof by any person whatsoever."
From the foregoing it is evident that the apprehension of Popery
and the success of the Pretender was quite strong, and that the
English Church and Government endeavoured, not only at home,
but in the Colonies, through her officers, to guard most effectually
against both.
Those who signed the above tests were the first vestrymen after
the organization of the parish in 1742. The following were added
&u different times until the division of the parish in 17G2 : — Thomas
Walker, John Meriwether, Nicholas Meriwether, David Mills,
Robert Harris, Robert Anderson, Tyree or Tyrce Harris, William
Johnson, John Harvie, Thomas Johnson.
After the division, a new vestry was elected from Fredericksville
parish. Some of the old ones continued, and others were added, as
Morias Jones, Isaac Davis, Thomas Caw, William Barksdale, John
Foster, Hezekiah Rice. Robert Clark. Nicholas Lewis, and at differ-
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 43
ent times afterward John Walker, Henry Fry, Thomas Jefferson,*
William Tims, John Rodes, John Harvie, Mordecai Ford, Isaac
Davis, James Quarles, William Dalton, Dr. George Gilmer, David
Hooks, James Marks, Thomas Walker, Jr., Robert Michie, James
Minor, Peter Clarkson, William Michie, Reuben Tinsley, Francis
Walker, George Nicholas, Joseph Tunstall, William D. Meriwether.
The last election of vestrymen was in 1787; and the last act re-
corded in the vestry-books was the election of Mr, John Walker as
lay delegate to the Convention of that year.
Having thus drawn from our record all that relates to the vestry-
men, we will return and gather up whatever else is worthy of notice.
There being no churches in the parish, the services were held at
Louisa Court-House and at various private houses at different points
in the county. These were performed by lay readers on Sundays,
and for some years by the Rev. Mr. Barrett, from Hanover, twenty-
four times in the year during the days of labour, three hundred and
twenty pounds of tobacco being paid for each sermon. In the year
1745 it was determined to build three frame churches, one in some
central place in Louisa county, called the Lower Church, and some-
times Trinity Church ; another in Albemarle, called Middle Church,
and which was doubtless the same with Walker's Church; and the
third between the mountains on the Buckmountain Road, which is
doubtless the same Avith that now called Buckmountain Church.
Each of these was built at different times durino; the few following
years. In the year 1763 another church was resolved on nearer
to Orange, — whether built or not I cannot say. In the year 1747
the Rev. Mr. Arnold was chosen for one year, and continued until
his death, in 1754, when his funeral was preached by Mr. Barrett.
* Mr. Jefferson, then living at Shadwell Mills, on the west side of the Rivanna,
was in Fredei-icksville parish, and appears to have been an active vestryman for
some years. Himself and Nicholas Meriwether were ordered to lay off two aci-es
of land including a space around Walker's Church, — land given by Mr. Walker.
Of the Walkers, four of whom appear repeatedly on the vestry-book, I have only
been able to obtain the following notices. Dr. Thomas Walker is believed to have
been the first discoverer of Kentucky in 1750. In 1755 he was with Washington
at Braddock's defeat. In 1775 he was one of the committee of safety appointed
by the Convention of 1775 on the breaking out of the troubles with England. He
was also repeatedly a member of the General Assembly.
Colonel .John Walker, his eldest son, was for a short time aid to General Washing-
ton during the war. He was also for a short time a member of the Senate of the
United States. Colonel Francis Walker, the youngest son, was repeatedly member
of the State Legislature, and represented the counties of Albemarle and Orange iv
Congress from 1791 to 1795.
44 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
A Rev. Mr. Beckett then performed some services in the parish, as
also the Rev. James Maury, who became the minister in the same
year, and who married a Miss Walker. Soon after he settled in
the parish a good glebe of four hundred acres was purchased for
him, near Captain Linsey's, and a parsonage built, which, with the
outhouses and other improvements, seem during his life to have
been well attended to by the vestry. In the year 1763 the parish
was divided into Trinity, in Louisa, and Fredericksville, in Albe-
marle. Of Trinity we now lose sight altogether, I fear, as I know
of no source from which to obtain information. By an Act of the
Legislature the vestry of Fredericksville was ordered to pay two
hundred pounds — half the price of their glebe — to the new vestry
of Trinity for the purchase of a glebe.
The Rev. James Maury continued until his death, in 1770, to
officiate in this parish. Of him and his Huguenot ancestors I have
written in my article on Manakintown, — of him particularly in my
notices of the Option Law, or Two-Penny Act, and in my remarks
on toleration. He was a very deserving man. He was succeeded
by his son, Matthew Maury, who was ordained the preceding year.
Mr. Matthew Maury continued to be the minister of the parish
until his death, in 1808, though his name does not appear on the
vestry-book as receiving a salary after the year 1777. From that
time forward he received little or nothing for his services as a
minister. He retained the glebe for the benefit of his mother and
family, who lived on it, while he taught school on an adjoining farm,
and educated a large number of the citizens of Virginia. He lived
very near to, and on the most intimate terms with, the old blind
preacher, Mr. Waddell, who officiated at the death of his wife, there
being no Episcopal minister at that time in any of the surrounding
counties, and but few in the State.*
* The Rev. James Maury, father of Matthew Maury, had twelve children, — Mat-
thew, James, Walker, Abraham, Benjamin, Richard, Fontaine, Ann, Mrs. Strahan,
Mrs. Barrett, Mrs. Lewis, Mrs. Eggleston. His son James was the old consul at
Liverpool, filling that station for forty-five years, and leaving five children. His son
Matthew raised ten children, — Matthew, Thomas Walker, Francis, Fontaine, Reuben,
John, Mrs. Michie, Mrs. Fry, Mrs. Lightfoot, Elizabeth Walker. His son W:ilker
was a teacher of youth in Williamsburg, Norfolk, and Albemarle, also a minister
in Norfolk for a short time. His children were James, William, Leonard, Mrs.
Hite, INIrs. Hay, and Mrs. Polk. Space, if not time, would fail us, even if we had
the information, to mention the names of all the descendants of the old patriarch,
the Rev. James Maury. They are scattered all over our land, and are to be found
in various professions One of them is a worthy minister of our Church in Ken-
tucky, while two are married to worthy clergymen, — the Rev. Mr. Berkeley, rf
Lexington, Kentucky, and Rev. Mr. Nash, of Ohio. Another descendant presiaes
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 45
Before we make our brief mention of the ministers of this parish,
since the revival of the Church during the present century, a few
words are due to the two old churches at Walker's and Buckmoun-
tain, which we have said were determined upon in the year 1745,
and built within a year or two afterward. Old Walker's Church,
built upon the site of a still older and ruder house, stood on the
side of the road from Orange Court-House to Charlottesville, at the
end of a noble avenue of oaks — now no more — leadino; down to Mr.
Walker's old seat, Belvoir, — itself no more, having been consumed
by fire, but for a long time the seat of hospitality, especially
to ministers and persons coming to church from a distance. The
church being of wood — a framed one — of course must decay much
sooner than one of more solid material.
In the year 1827, when Judge Hugh Nelson, Mr. William C.
Rives, and Dr. Page, occupied their old seats, (having married into
the families of the Walkers,) and the descendants of other old
families were still around, the duty of repairing it was felt. But
the vestry not being able, as of old, to order a levy of tobacco for
building and repairing churches, it was not so easy to accomplish
the work. One of the females of the parish on that occasion made
the following very interesting appeal. It is believed to be from the
pen of one who has since taken so active a part in procuring the
new one which has recently been erected.*
THE church's petition.
"Ye friends and kind neighbours, in pity draw near,
And attend to my sorrrowful tale ;
Should you grant me but misery's portion, — a tear, —
To my grief-burden' d heart will that tribute be dear.
While I my misfortunes bewail.
"Stern winter is o'er, nor his sway will resume.
Though sullen and scowling he flies ;
Soft May greets us now, with her beauty and blocni,
And her whispering airs, breathing varied perlume.
Bear her incense of flowers to the skies.
" Ail nature is lovely and verdant around ;
New charms to creation are given, —
From the modest wild violet that droops on the grr'^'ird,
To the oak in the forest with majesty crown'd
And proudly arising to heaven.
over a National Institute at Washington, and by his learning, zeal, and great dis-
coveries, is conferring benefits on the whole human race, rendering the ocean almost
as safe as the dry land.
* Mrs. W. C Rives.
46 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
'•l3ut. alas! not to iiie does the season r'^turn.
AVith reviving and soul-breathing powers .
Wnile all nature around me is smiling, 1 mourn
My glory departed, my aspect forlorn,
Contrasted with freshness and flowers.
"Through my windows dismantled and dreary asj yujrtt
The wild birds in my court seek their rest !
The owl an i the bat wheel their ominous flight
O'er my altar once hallow'd by heaven's own light,
And there is the swallow's rude nest.
" Then pity, kind friends, and your timely aid lend.
Or soon I shall sink to decay ;
'Build up the waste places,' your Zion befriend.
And gently on you shall my blessing descend.
Oh, let me not moulder away !
"Should this world e'er forsake you, yoiir friends become foes,
While a wreck, tempest-tost, you are driven,
Then fly to my arms, on my bosom repose ;
I can dry every tear, I can soften your woes,
And lead you triumphant to heaven."
The result of this poetic appeal, in co-operation with other means,
was the raising a sufficient sum for the repairs of the church. But,
time still going on with its ravages, it was felt that a new and more
durable one should be had. A gentleman, some years since, then
iu prosperous circumstances, promised several thousand dollars
toward the erection of a new one, though by adversity he was dis-
abled from the full performance of his promise. This stimulated
the desire for a more expensive building than would otherwise have
been attempted. It was commenced under the auspices of one
family,* although the people around, during its progress, contri-
buted about five thousand dollars to it. False calculations were made
as to the expense of the style and manner of its execution, which
caused great delay in the work, and led to various efforts and soli-
citations in Virginia and elsewhere in order to raise the needful
amount. Could all the disappointments and miscalculations and
costs have been foreseen, it would have been improper to have
attempted such a building, as a much cheaper one would have
answered all the needs of the neighbourhood. But it was at length
completed, and is in its exterior appearance a most beautiful build-
ing, without any thing gaudy about it, while the materials and
manner of its execution give the promise of its long continuance.
As to Old Buckmountain Church, at the time that measures were
* The family of the Hon. W. C. Rives, of Castle Hill.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 47
commenced for the resuscitation of our Zion in Virginia, it Lad
been so long in the use of some other denomination that it Avas
claimed, not merely by right of possession, but on the ground of
having been repaired. It will amuse the reader to learn the kind
and the amount of repairs on which this claim was grounded. When
I first saw it, more than thirty years ago, it was — though said to
be repaired — a mere shell, with many an opening in the clapboard
walls, through which the wind might freely pass. The inward re-
pairs consisted in removing the old pews into the gallery, where
they were piled up, and in their room putting benches made of the
outside slabs from the sawmill, with legs as rude thrust through
them, and of course no backs. The old pulpit was left standing,
but by its side was a platform made by laying a few planks across
the backs of two pews, which the preacher preferred to the old-
fashioned pulpit. A few years after the revival of our Church
began, the Episcopalians around, not thinking that either these
repairs or the occasional occupancy of the building had deprived
them of iheir right, put in their claim, which, though stoutly re-
sisted by some, being as stoutly insisted on by others, was finally
admitted, and the old church, being much better repaired than
before, has ever since been in our possession and use.
As to the ministers who have ofiiciated in Fredericksville parish
since the revival of the Church, we have but little to say. The
Rev. Mr. Bausman took charge of it in 1818, and remained less
than one year. The Rev. Mr. Hatch succeeded him in 1820 and
continued until 1830. He was succeeded by the Rev. Zachariah
Mead, who continued three or four years, and, as did Mr. Hatch,
served the whole county. From 1833 to the fall of 1838, the Rev.
W. G. Jones, from Orange, ofiiciated at Walker's Church. In the
year 1839 the present minister, the Rev. Mr. Boyden, took charge
of the parish, and for some years ministered also to the congrega-
tion on the Green Mountain. The church on Buckmountain has
for many years been served in conjunction with other congregations,
which will be mentioned when we speak in our next article of St.
Anne's parish.
iP OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
ARTICLE LI.
St. Anne's Parish, Albemarle County.
In the year 1761, Albemarle, besides its present territory, em-
braced all of Fluvanna, Buckingham, Nelson, and Amherst. By
various Acts between that time and 1777, it was reduced to its pre-
sent dimensions. St. Anne's parish covered the whole of this region
at its first organization in 1742, and by successive Acts was reduced
to the same dimensions with the present county of Albemarle, with
the exception of that part which forms Fredericksville parish. The
dividing-line, after running some distance along the Rivanna, crosses
the same and passes through Charlottesville. Of late years some
other parishes have been formed within St. Anne's parish, as that on
(jlreen Mountain, &c. Our first knowledge of any churches in
that part of St, Anne's parish now in Albemarle, as at present
bounded, is of two which began about the year 1746 or 1747, under
the direction of the Rev. Robert Rose, who moved from Essex to
what is now Amherst, and extended his labours, during a short period,
to that part of Albemarle called the Green Mountain, where were
built Ballenger's Church, not very far from Warren, and the Forge
Church, not far from Mr. John Cole's, the ancestor of those now
bearing that name, and who appears from the vestry-book in my
possession to have been the most active member of the vestry, until
the year 1785, when the record closes. After Mr. Rose's death, in
1751, the Rev. Mr. Camp probably succeeded to all his churches.
He lived in the neighbourhood of New Glasgow. The old glebe-
house is still to be seen on the land of Dr. Hite, near the road-
side. He moved with his family to the West just before the Re-
volution, and it is said was murdered by the Indians near the
fort of Vincennes on the Wabash. Previously to this the Rev.
Mr. Ramsay had settled in Albemarle and become the minister of
St. Anne's parish with its reduced dimensions. He is represented
as a very unacceptable minister. The Rev. Charles Clay fol-
lowed him. He was near relative of our statesman, Mr. Henry
Clay, — probably first-cousin, — and inherited no little of his talents
and decision of character. He was ordained by the Bishop of Lon-
ion in 1769, and on 22d October of the same year was received as
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 49
minister of St. Anne's parish. The vestry-book opens in 1772 and
closes in 1785, during all of which time, as well as the three preced-
ing years, Mr. Clay was the minister, living at the glebe, somewhere
in the Green Mountain neighbourhood, and preaching at the two
churches, — Ballenger and The Forge, — and sometimes at the court-
house, and at various private houses in Albemarle ; also, at the
Barracks during the war, which was probably the place where the
British prisoners under General Philips were kept, first by Colonel
Bland, and afterward by General Wood. He also preached in
Amherst and Chesterfield occasionally. The places of his preach-
ing I ascertain from the notes on a number of his sermons, which
have been submitted to my p^^rusal. The sermons are sound, ener-
getic, and evangelical beyond 'Jie character of the times. One of
them, on the new birth, is most imj[)ressive and experimental. Another
on the atonement, for Chxistmasday, is very excellent as to doc-
trine, and concludes with a faithful warning against the profa-
nation of that day by " fiddling, dancing, drinking, and such like
things," which he said were so common among them.
In the year 1777, on the public fast-day, he preached a sermon
to the minute-company at Charlottesville, in which his patriotic
spirit was displayed. " Cursed be he (in the course of his sermon
he said) who keepeth back his sword from blood in this war." He
declared that the " cause of liberty was the cause of God," — calls
upon them to " plead the cause of their country before the Lord
with their blood." And yet he said, " There might be some present
who would rather bow their necks to the most abject slavery, than
face a man in arms." It was at this time and under these circum-
stances that he became acquainted with Mr. Jefierson, who, having
removed into this parish from Fredericksville, was now elected to
the vestry of St. Anne's, though it does not appear that he ever
acted. This intimacy was kept up until his death in Bedford county,
in the year 1824, where he and Mr. Jefi'erson each had farms, and
where, during the visits of the latter, there was much friendly in-
tercourse. During the latter years of his ministry in St. Anne's
parish, the connection of Mr. Clay with his vestry was very un-
happy The salary of one year was the occasion of it. There ap-
pears to have been some division in the vestry about it. The ma-
jority, however, was against Mr. Clay, and a law-suit was the result.
The decision was not satisfactory to Mr. Clay, and he refused taking
the amount offered, and told the vestry if they would not pay
him what he considered right, he would receive none. The vestry
ordered Mr. Fry, the collector, to lay it out in a land-warrant.
Vol. II.— 4
50 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
thinking that he might change his mind. Nothing more appeared
on the vestrj^-book about it, and how it was ended I know not.
Mr. Clay must have left St. Anne's in 1784, for we find him repre-
senting the Church in Chesterfield in the Episcopal Convention at
Richmond, in the year 1785, but never afterward. The Church
was daily sinking, and, his mind being soured perhaps by his con-
troversy with the vestry, and discouraged by the prospects before
him as a minister, he moved to Bedford, and betook himself to a
farmer's life, only ofiiciating occasionally at marriages, funerals,
&c. to the few Episcopalians of that region. He married a most
estimable and pious lady of that neighbourhood, who survived him
many years and contributed greatly to the revival of the Church
under the Rev. Mr. Cobbs of that count3\ He left a numerous
and most respectnble family of sons and daughters, who have ad-
hered to the Church of their parents. At his death the Rev. Mr.
Ravenscroft performed the funei-al services. There was something
peculiar in the structure of Mr. Clay's mind, in proof of which it
is mentioned that by his will he enjoined, what has been strictl}^
observed, that on the spot where he was buried, and vi'hich he had
marked out, there should be raised a huge pile of stones for his
sepulchre. It is about twenty feet in diameter and twelve feet high,
and being first covered with earth, and then with turf, presents the
appearance of one of those Indian mounds to be seen in our Western
States.
In looking over the vestry-book, which extends from 1772 to
1785, we find nothing requiring notice except the list of vestrymen
and what is said of churches.
The list of vestrymen is as follows : — John Coles, Jacob Moore,
John Ware, Patrick Napier, James Hopkins, James Garland, Michael
Thomas, William Coxe, John Fry, Roger and George Thompson,
William Burton, John Harris, John Scott, Thomas Jefferson, Or-
lando Jones, William Oglesby, Richard Farrar, Philip Mazzei,
William Hughes, Samuel Shelton, Wm. Ball, Charles Lewis, Na-
thaniel Garland, Nicholas Hamner, Richard Davenport, John Old,
Joshua Fry, Charles Irving, John Jordan, The vestry appears
throughout to have been attentive to the glebe-house and its appur-
tenances. As to churches, in 1774 it was ordered that a church
be built at a place to be chosen by Henry Martin and Patrick
Napier, and that Messrs. Roger and George Thompson might each
build a pew, adjoining, at their own expense. In 1777 a church
was contracted for with Mr. Edward Cobbs, at whose house services
had been held. It was not finished for some years. It is also
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 51
stated that in 1777 Mr. James Minor, Dabney Minor, and John
Napier were appointed to examine a church built by a Mr. Ander-
son. During the ministry of Mr. Clay there was also a Mr. Holmes
acting as a teacher and preacher in Albeiqiarle. He was also Ame-
rican in his feelings, and rejoiced in the capture of Cornwallis.
After the resignation of Mr. Clay the Rev. Mr. Darneile per-
formed some services here and in Nelson. We learn that he became
involved in debt, and studied law ; but, not extricating himself, he
left his family, and, going to the South, spent some years there.
From the year 1795 to 1812 the Rev. William Crawford occasion-
ally officiated at the churches in St. Anne's parish.
After that period there were no services until the year 1818,
when the Rev. Mr. Bausman divided his labours between the few
remaining Episcopalians about Charlottesville in St. Anne's parish,
and Walker's Church, in Fredericksville. The Episcopal Church,
under new auspices, now began to revive a little. The Gospel was
preached in a clearer and more forcible manner than had been com-
mon in Virginia, and the ministers exhibited more zeal. In the year
1820, the Rev. Frederick Hatch succeeded to Mr. Bausman, and
extended his efforts to the Green Mountain, finding a considerable
number of the old families still attached to the Church. Old Bal-
lenger Church was in ruins, and that called The Forge was in little
better condition. Still, service was held in it for some years. The
first time I ever saw it was in company with Bishop Moore, not long
after his coming to Virginia. It was a cold, cloudy, stormy day,
and the wind whistled not only around but within its tattered walls.
The Holy Communion was administered to a few of the old adhe-
rents of the church. General Cocke, from Fluvanna, had come
that morning from his home, between twenty and thirty miles, to
partake of his first Communion, as he has continued to do ever since
on Episcopal visitations. The resolve was taken that day, that a
new and better house must be provided for the worship of God,
which has been faithfully fulfilled. Some miles off, in a more cen-
tral position and on a beautiful site, a neat and excellent brick
church has been erected, and near it, more recently, a parsonage
and small glebe have been added. A parish has been established in
that part of the county. A succession of ministers either in whole
or in part have ministered unto it. The Rev. Mr. Hatch stands
first. Then follow the Rev. Zachariah Mead, the Rev. Joseph
Wilmer, the Rev. Mr. Boyden, the Rev. Charles Ambler, and their
present rector, the Rev. W. M. Nelson. But few of the old fami-
62 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
lies ai-e represented now. The Fryes, Cobbs, Nicholases, Harrises,
Lewises, Garlands, Thomases, Thompsons, Joneses, Napiers, are
gone, but the descendants of John Cole, in considerable number,
the Tompkinses, Riveses, Carters, Gants, Randolphs, and others, have
taken their places, and will, I trust, fulfil them well. In that part
of the parish called North Garden, and near which an old church
stood, a new brick church was also erected by the zeal and libe-
rality of a few devoted friends, and the same was done also on the road
leading from Charlottesville to Staunton, and the two, being brought
into one parish, have generally been supplied with a minister.
The Rev. Mr. Christian acted for some time as missionary in that
part of the county. Then the Rev. William Jackson, who recently
fell victim to the fever in Norfolk, was the settled pastor for some
years. After him came the Rev. Mr. Slack, and at present the
Rev. Mr. Davis, who, as well as most of his predecessors, connect
with them the church on Buckmountain, in Fredericksville parish,
and sometimes the church at Rockfish, in Nelson county.
To the zeal and enterprise of the Rev. Mr. Hatch, is, under God,
to be ascribed the building of the church in Charlottesville, which
stands just within the bounds of Fredericksville parish. For a long
time the court-house was the only place in Charlottesville or round
about for public worship. The four leading denominations in the
State equally divided the Sabbaths, and some thought that this
was sufficient, and calculated to promote peace and love among them
all. Mr. Jefferson used to bring his seat Avith him on horseback
from Monticello, it being some light machinery which, folded up,
was carried under his arm, and unfolded served for a chair on the
floor of the court-house. But the great body of the people felt
the need of a more convenient place of worship, where more per-
sons could be accommodated and in a better manner. It was pro-
posed that all denominations should unite in one; but that was
found full of difficulties, and was soon abandoned. It was then
proposed that two should unite, — the Episcopalians and Presbyte-
rians ; which also came to nothing. Mr. Hatch, who Avas opposed
to either scheme, then circulated a subscription for an Episcopal
church, which immediately succeeded, and was soon followed with
the same success by all the others; and the village is now filled
with well-built churches. The plan of the Episcopal church was
furnished by Mr. Jefferson, and, though far from being the best, is
much better for the purposes of worship and preaching than most
of those which now come from the hands of ecclesiological archi-
tects, who, if hired to injure the voices and energies of ministers, and
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 53
to frustrate the main purposes for which temples of religion are
built, could not have succeeded much better than they have done by
their lofty ceilings, their pillars, recesses, and angles, besides the
heavy debts into which they have led their employers. The church
in Charlottesville has been recently enlarged and much improved.
The Rev. Mr. Hatch was succeeded in this parish by the Rev.
Zachariah Mead, an alumnus of our Seminary. For the encou-
ragement of young men of weak constitutions to choose a country
parish, let me give the experience of Mr. Mead. When he left the
Seminary he was thought to be far gone in that disease of which
he eventually died, — consumption, — so that he required assistance
to get into the stage which was to convey him to the place where
it was soon to be determined whether a speedy death or a prolonged
life was to be his portion. The latter was his portion. By little
and little he enlarged his sphere of labour, until on horseback he
rode over the whole hilly and mountainous country of Albemarle,
taking charge of all the congregations in both parishes, which now
employ, and fully employ, the labours of four ministers, and in
less than a year swam the Rivanna River, on horseback, on a
bleak day, without taking cold. He became a hearty man, and
continued so until he returned to the North, took charge of a con-
gregation in Boston, lost his health, and was obliged to seek its
restoration in the milder climate of Richmond and in the editorial
chair. Had he returned again to the labours of a country ministry,
his days and services might have been prolonged. Mr, Z. Mead
was succeeded for two years in the church at Charlottesville by the
Rev. Mr. Cobbs, (now Bishop,) while performing the duties of
Chaplain to the University. He was followed by the present
minister, the Rev. R. K. Meade, who has been in this position ever
since his ordination, — more than twenty years. Every fourth year
at first, and, of late, every two years in eight, the Chaplaincy of
the University is filled by an Episcopal minister, which deserves to
be mentioned in the history of the Church in this parish. It was
just before the Chaplaincy of Mr. Cobbs, that a circumstance
occurred deserving some notice, as it occasioned much excitement
at the time, and not a little misapprehension. A pestilential
disease had visited the students of the Institution for two succes-
sive years, or twice in the same year, sweeping a number of them
into untimely graves. There was something most unaccountable,
mysterious, and awful in all the circumstances of it. Though
there was confessedly much of irreligion and even infidelity in the
fa(*Uity of that day, yet such an awe rested upon them, that at the
4)4 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
instance of a pious member of it, Judge Lomax, the Law Professor,
it was determined to celebrate the event in the most solemn man-
ner. The Episcopal Convention was to meet in Charlottesville the
ensuing spring, and that was selected as the proper time for it.
The author of these pages was requested to prepare and deliver a
discourse at that time and on the occasion referred to. It was a
most trying and responsible undertaking, but he dared not refuse.
At the time appointed there was present, on Sabbath morning, in
the great rotunda of the University, a large number of the clergy
and laity then in attendance on the Convention, with the Professors,
students, and people around.
The sermon was preached from those words of the Prophet Amos,
(3d chap. 6th verse,) " Shall a trumpet be blown in the city and
the people not be afraid ? Shall there be evil in the city and the
Lord hath not done it?" I need not say that the doctrine of an
overruling special providence was drawn from these words, in op
position to atheism, chance, or some general divine providence
which attends only to great things, which governs and directs the
spheres, but lets the atoms fly at random, — that a warning was
given to take heed to this judgment, and carefully inquire what
was the righteousness that God called on us to learn. The im-
portance of literary institutions was dwelt upon, and especially the
great duty of calling in the aid of Heaven in the conduct of them.
I hope the reader will excuse the insertion of the following
passages : —
" The design of God, therefore, in these dispeusatious, aud the use to
be made of them by us, are as plain as they are important. When God
visits us with the rod of affliction, it is that we may search our hearts
and try our ways and turn to him. When his judgments are abroad in
the earth, it is that the inhabitants may learn righteousness. Does it not,
then, become all concerned in this Institution to ask, May not these
judgments have been intended to stir us up to more zeal in rendering it
holy and acceptable to God ? Should they not ask, Witii what views aud
hopes have we entered upon this work ? Did we acknowledge the
Almighty, and feel that without his blessing we could not prosper? or
was our hope from the talents and favour of man ? Have we not only
invoked the aid and placed it under the guardian care of God, but sin-
cerely dedicated it to him, wishing to make it an instrument of glory in
our land, by training up youths, not merely in human literature, but in
tlio sublimest of all sciences and the noblest of all virtues, — the knowledge
and love of God? If such have not been the principles upon which this
Institution was raised, or on which it is now conducted, is it superstition
or weakness to ask whether these visitations have not been sent to show
the rulers thereof their entire dependence upon God ? See how easily
the Almighty can blast all their high hopes and dash all their noble
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 55
schemes to the earth. See how quickly he can send a plague or pestilence
through these buildings, and scatter far and wide the young tenants
thereof, and strike such a panic through the hearts of pai'ents and friends
that you can scarce recall them. Oh, it is a hazardous experiment to un-
dertake to conduct such an institution, in which the minds of young
immortal and rational beings are to be instructed, and their passions
restrained and their actions regulated, without constantly and earnestly
imploring and seeking the aid of God in the way of his appointment. It
cannot be done. I know the difficulties of this work; I am well aware of
the peculiar difficulties of it in this place; and am not upbraiding those
who are sincerely desiring to do all that is right. But still, as the minister
of God requested to speak on this occasion, I can take no other view of
the subject than that which has been presented, and am firmly convinced,
from the word of God and the past history of man, that any attempt to
succeed in such a work without invoking and securing the blessing of
God must fail of permanent success.
"In every age of the world the instructors of youth have been deeply
impressed with the importance of inculcating reverence to the gods, and
making religion take its due part in their public exercises. The philoso-
phers of Greece and Rome — Socrates and Plato, Seneca and Epictetus —
failed not in this duty. The Rabbis in Judea made this a principal
science in their schools. And has it pleased the Almighty to clear away
all the shadows and clouds and reveal the true light to us ? Has he visited
the earth and brought life and immortality to light by the Gospel? Has
he set this in opposition to all the wisdom of man, — philosophy, falsely so
called, — saying, ' Where is the wise, where is the scribe, where is the
disputer of this world ? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this
world?' And shall this be neglected and left out of the wide range of
scientific research ? Shall we be content to be wise for a few years only,
and not for everlasting ages? From the circle of sciences shall the most
important and sublime and interesting be excluded? In an institution
bearing in its very name a determination to take the widest range of
intellectual improvement, shall that be omitted in which all are equally
because all are infinitely concerned ? Shall the roving and adventurous
mind of youth be permitted to wander through all the labyrinths and
mysteries of science without the sure light of heavenly truth to guide it?
Oh, might I be permitted to speak to all the friends and patrons and
directors of this College in the language of plain but affectionate entreaty,
I would beseech them, as they would have it to find favour with God and
man and be a mighty blessing to our State and country, that they solemnly
dedicate it to Almighty God, and place it under his guardian care. In
his name and by his laws let them rule over it. Let them see that the
high motives and awful sanctions of religion be continually and eloquently
presented to the minds of the youth committed to their care. Let the
divine philosophy of the Bible be here studied. Let the morality here
taught be the morality of the Bible. Let the Bible, which is the religion
of Protestants, be the text-book of first esteem and most constant reference.
Let the history of our religion be learnt ; let the proofs of Christianity be
investigated; let the prophecies of the most ancient and venerable books
be read and compared with all other histories that attest their fulfilment.
Let it not be said that nothing is taught contrary to Christianity; that the
mind is left free to its own choice ; rather let it be announced to the
world that every thing which can be said is said in its behalf, and every
56 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
thing which can be done is done in order to lead those immortal souls, whci
come hither for the high improvement of their faculties, to the soA'iug
knowledge of Him who is ' the true God and eternal life.' Then indeed
may we be assured that this Institution enjoys the smiles of a gracious
Providence, and will be as others in our land, — the fruitful nursery of
Christian patriots, of learned defenders of the faith, of able and eloquent
ministers of the Grospel, as well as of those who shall adorn by their worth
and talents all other professions of our land, and shed a mild lustre over
the most private walks of life. Then will the most anxious Christian
parents, and the most fearfully jealous Christian ministers, cherish it with
fondness, as the favoured of God, and with confidence commit, as to a
fostering mother, the sons whom they have dedicated to Heaven, and
would have to be trained up in its holy nurture and admonition; and
then will those pious youths who have been here advancing in all divine
as well as human wisdom ever look back to these seats of science with
delight, and reckon among the happiest and best of their days those spent
within these consecrated walls."
At this discourse much offence was taken by some, and many
misrepresentations went forth through the State. It was charged
against it that, besides undertaking to interpret and apply the
judgments of God in a way which had been most carefully avoided,
a personal attack had been made on the Professors and Visitors of
the University, and especially on its chief founder, whose opinions,
having been published to the world, were known to be contrary to
those expressed in the sermon. So extensively were these charges,
with many colourings and exaggerations, spread abroad, that after
due consideration the sermon was published, and the author had
the happiness of learning that the effect of its publication was
such as he desired. Many Avere astonished to find that any in a
Christian land could object to its doctrine, or expect any other
improvement of the occasion from a Christian minister. But it
was long before the preacher could be forgiven by some within the
walls of the University. Previous to that he had been freely in-
vited to preach there, but for some years even some of his friends
were afraid to propose it. We must, however, in justice say, that
the opposition was not from Virginians, nor from Americans, but
from foreigners, who were allowed to forbid a minister of Virginia
to be heard in the University of Virginia. It was, however, tlie
happiness of that minister to see, only a few years after, all the
offensive features of his sermon adopted into the administration
of the College, as far perhaps as is practicable under the circum-
stances of its existence as the common property of all denomina-
tions of Christians and all citizens of the State.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 57
ARTICLE LII.
Parishes in Amhe' st, Nelson, Botetourt, Rockbridge, G-reenhrier^
and Montgomery.
In 1761, Amherst county and Amherst parish were separated
from Albemarle county and St. Anne's parish. In the year 1778,
Amherst parish was divided and Lexington parish established. In
the year 1780, the boundary-line was changed so as somewhat to
reduce Lexington parish. The line, as settled in 1780, we presume
is the same, or nearly the same, which now separates Nelson and
Amherst. Amherst parish was left in that part which is now Nel-
son county. We have seen in our notice of the Rev. Mr. Rose,
that he became minister of this region about 1745 or 1746, by being
minister of all St. Anne's parish and Albemarle county, then
extending over Amherst and Nelson ; that he had four churches
ordered by the vestry at one time, — two in what is now Albe-
marle, and two in what is now Amherst and Nelson. He was
followed by the Rev. John Ramsey, who was minister in 1754 and
also in 1758, — how much longer not known. In 1773-74-76 we find
the Rev. Ichabod Camp minister of Lexington parish, — how long
before 1773 not known. He lived at the glebe near New Glasgow,
now in possession of Dr. Hite. The shell of the parsonage is still
to be seen.
About the commencement of the war, Mr. Camp moved to Illinois,
to a fort on the Wabash, and tradition says that he and his family
were destroyed by the Indians. The first minister of Lexington
parish, after its division from Amherst, was the Rev. John Bu-
chanon, in the year 1780. The following is the entry in the vestry-
book : — " The vestry, taking into consideration the distressed con-
dition of the parish for want of an orthodox minister, elect Mr. J.
Buchanon, a gentleman of fair character, &c." This is the same
person who afterward ministered in Richmond. He was ordained
in 1775, and had officiated acceptably elsewhere in Virginia. In
the year 1788, the Rev. John W. Hole was elected. In the year
1789, the Rev. Charles Crawford, a native of Amherst, was ordained
by Bishop Madison, and received as minister of this parish, and
continued its minister until 1815, when, from great corpulency,
5b OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
age, and infirmities, lie resigned. Those who have retained the
recollection of Mr. Crawford, and have knowledge of him otherwise,
bear testimony to his excellency as a preacher and a Christian.
The Rev. Silas Freeman succeeded him in 1823, and continued a
few years. The Rev. Charles Page followed him and laboured for
many years in that and the adjoining parish of Amherst, in Nelson
county. The Revs. Nelson Sale, Stewart, Black, Caldwell, Walker,
Caldwell again, and Martin, have followed in too rapid succession.
The Rev. Mr. Nowlin is the present minister.
The churches in Lexington parish were — Pedlar's, near the moun-
tains, where a new one was built some years since ; Rucker's or
St. Matthew's, some miles from the court-house ; Maple Run
Church, afterward moved to New Glasgow ; and another called
Bent Chapel, which was near James River. This being burned
down was never rebuilt. The brick church noAv at New Glasgow
was built by a general subscription, but chiefly of Episcopalians,
and regularly assigned to them, but afterw^ard claimed by others
and forcibly entered by the Campbellites. It was then bought, by
the Episcopalians, of the executors of David Garland, to whom it
legally belonged, being on his land, and was regularly consecrated
as an Episcopal Church. Another church of brick has within the
last few years been built at the court-house of Amherst county.
The following is the list of vestrymen of this parish from 1779 : —
Richard Ballenger, Hugh Rose, Ambrose Rucker, Joseph Goodwin,
Josiah ElUs, Richard SheU.ou, Richard Ogilsby, Benjamin Rucker, Wm.
Ware, Henry Christian, John Christian, Charles Taliafero, Thomas
Moore, Jos. Burras, W. S. Crawford, Nelson Crawford, Richard Powell,
James Ware, James Franklin, Reuben Norvel, Thomas Crews, Richard
Ellis, Thomas N. Eubank, William Shelton, John Coleman, Gabriel Penu,
David Woodroof, James Dillard, Daniel Gaines, Samuel Higginbotham,
Robert Christian, Roderick McCulloch, Samuel Meredith, John Wyatt,
David Crawford, George Peun, Edward Carter, James Calloway, Jamea
Higginbotham, David Tinsley, Robert Walker, Henry Turner, John Eu-
bank, James Ware, John McDaniel, Edward Winston, John Ellis, Arthur
B. Davies, Cornelius Powell, Edmund Penn, David S. Garland, Dr. Paul
Cabell, William H. McCulloch, Samuel M. Garland, Ralph C. Shelton,
Zachariah D. Tinsley, Dr. H. L. Davies, James Thornton, William I.
Cabell, William H. Johnson, John I. Ambler, Jr.. Henry Loring, Vale-
rius McGinnis, Whiting Davies, William R. Roane, Thomas Strange,
James S. Pendleton, Captain J. Davies, Edward A. Cabell, Prosser Powell,
William Waller, Wilkins Watson, A. B. Davies, Jr., B. B. Taliafero,
Robert Warwick, Marshall Harris, D. H. Tapscott, George W. Christian,
William Knight, Dr. William S. Claiborne, Lucas P. Thompson, Martin
Tinsley, James Davies, William Shelton, James Rose, William Tucker,
Edwin Shelton.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 59
AMHERST PARISH, NELSON COUNTY.
We have seen that this was separated from Lexington in 1778.
It is not known how many churches there were in it at that time,
but certainly one at Rockfish Gap, near the mountain, and one
near James River, in the neighbourhood of the Cabells. The Rev.
Robert Rose, in his journal ending in the year 1751, often speaks
of being at the houses of the Cabells and preaching in that neigh-
bourhood, and doubtless a church must have been built there soon
after, called Key's Church. About the year 1780, it is believed
a Mr. Buchan was minister of that parish, — probably the same who
was afterward in Stafford. In the year 1790 the Rev. Isaac
Darneile appears on the journal of the Convention as minister of
this parish. Of him I have spoken on a former occasion, as one
who was always in pecuniary difficulties, who exchanged the pulpit
for the bar, and, failing in that also, left his family behind, and,
going to the South, spent some years there. In 1795 the Rev.
William Crawford, brother or near relative of Mr. Charles Crawford,
succeeded Mr. Darneile, preaching at Rockfish Key's, the old
court-house, and Hat Creek. Mr. Crawford was, I believe, the
last regular minister of this parish, until the Rev. Charles Page
undertook the charge of it, in connection with that of Lexington,
some years after the revival of the Church commenced. The Rev.
Mr. King and Dr. Stephens, of Staunton, had performed some
duties at Rockfish Gap Church before Mr. Page's more regular
assumption of the charge of the parish. The Rev. Frederick
Goodwin succeeded Mr. Page in this parish, and has continued to
be its minister until the last year. The Rev. Mr. Martin is its
present minister.*
As to the churches in the parish of Amherst and county of Nel-
son of more recent erection, there was, until a few years since, one
called Calloway's Church, of whose date, however, I am unable to
speak positively, but think it must have been at a much later date
than the old ones which have long since passed away. This has
been deserted of late years for two new brick houses, — the one
called Trinity, near the residence (Oak Ridge) of old Mr. Rives,
and built chiefly, if not entirely, by him, and the other at New
Market, on the James River Canal, at the mouth of Tye River.
The old church at Rockfish has also been removed to a more con-
venient place, not far off, and entirely renovated.
* The Rev. Cleland Nelsou preceded Mr. Goodwin in this parish.
60 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, ANP
Amidst no little opposition. Captain John B. Coles and Mr.
Martin, two fast friends of the Church, determined upon the effort
for its removal and renewal, and invited all the neighbours — even
the poorest — to meet at certain appointed days for its prostration,
its removal and re-erection, and completely triumphed over all
opposition and falsified all unfavourable prophecies. In another
place I have stated that it has been for many years supplied wit!
occasional services by ministers from Albemarle county.
THE FAMILY OF CABELLS.
Among the numerous families of Amherst and Nelson who were
the active supporters of the Episcopal Church, the Roses and Ca-
bells were most conspicuous. Of the Roses, the descendants of
the Rev. Robert Rose, who died in 1751, leaving large estates to
his four sons, we have already written in our sketches of the father
in a previous article. Of the Cabells we will now make some
mention, abridging our notice from the various accounts we have
of them.
Dr. William Cabell, a surgeon of the British navy, emigrated
td Virginia about the year 1720 or 1725, according to different ac-
counts. It is said he owned twenty-five thousand acres of land on
either side of Upper James River, in the counties of Nelson, Am-
herst, and Buckingham. He was one of the earliest vestrymen and
wardens in the Church, as established in that part of Virginia, and
was the intimate friend of the Rev. Robert Rose. Between the
years 1740 and 1750 he appears as chiefly concerned in the contracts
for the building of churches, &c. He had four sons, — William,
Joseph, John, and Nicholas. William, the eldest, was the owner of
the estate called Union Hill, in Nelson county, on James River.
Mr. Grigsby has given a very glowing account of this mansion and
the hospitality of its owner, and his great business-talents as a
farmer, and in other respects comparing his house to Mount Vernon,
except that it was larger, and himself to Washington, as to the
management of his estate, and methodical accounts kept by him.
He speaks of his association with Washington in all the great poli-
tical bodies in Virginia previous to 1776, as well as in that year, and
of his political career afterward, terminating in the adjournment of
the Federal Convention. It remains for me to add, that before and
after the death of his father, Dr. Cabell, he was also the active
vestryman and churchwarden in the parish, the intimate friend of
the Rev. Mr. Rose, who was often at his house. I have before me
subscription-papers and contracts in which he is leader in all Church
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 61
matters in the parish, especially after the Establishment was put
down and it became necessary to raise a salary for the minister by
private contributions. His son also, Mr. William Cabell, who was
a representative in Congress from this district before his father's
death, and in connection with his father, took part in the vestry-
proceedings. Of his other sons I have no account. Of his daugh-
ters, one married Mr. Rives, the father of W. C. Rives and of a
number of other sons and daughters ; another married Judge Ca-
bell ; another the Rev. Mr. Legrand. The present Mayo Cabell,
of Nelson, and Mrs. Bruce, of Richmond, are also descendants of
Colonel Wm. Cabell. The second son of Dr. Cabell, father of the
family, was Joseph, of whom all the information I have is, that he
was also at various times in the House of Burgesses, and took
part in the Revolution, and was the ancestor of General Cabell, of
Danville, and of the Breckenridges of Virginia and Kentucky. Of
the third son, John, I learn that he was in the Convention of 1775
and 1776, and was the father of the late Dr. George Cabell, of
Lynchburg. Of the fourth son, Nicholas Cabell, of Liberty Hall,
I find that he was both in the field and the Legislature, and was
the father of the late Judge W. H. Cabell and Joseph C. Cabell.
I have also papers showing that he was a vestryman of the church
in this parish, and took a lively interest in its affairs. He was the
collector of the subscriptions made to the ministers after the Revo-
lution : to him Mr. Darneile applied in his difl&culties, for relief,
and both himself and his brother, Colonel Wm. Cabell, acted as
friends to Mr. Darneile by advancing moneys for him. On a slip
of paper before me I find that he also collected what was given to
the Rev. Mr. Clay, while minister in Albemarle, for services
rendered at Key's Church, in Nelson, but which Mr. Clay re-
quested him to give to the poor of the parish.*
* The following additions to my account of the Cabells have been sent me by one
of the family, and will, I am sui-e, prove interesting, not only to all of that wide-
spread connection, but to many others.
"Dr. William Cabell came to Virginia either in 1723 or 1724. Colonel William
Cabell, Sen. it was who once held twenty-five thousand acres of land in this region.
His father may at one period have owned half so much. His object seemed to be
rather to acquire that of the best and most durable quality for the use of his pos-
terity, than to embrace a surface which could not be brought into use for a genera-
tion to come. He accordingly secured all the alluvial land in the Valley of James
Uiver, for more than twenty miles continuously, above this place, where he resided.
Was not he also the Wm. Cabell whom Mr. Rose visited ? I have some doubts whe-
ther Colonel Wm. Cabell (who was born in March, 1730) was settled at Union Hill
62 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
I liavc also a manuscript sermon preached by the Rev. Charles
O'Neale, then probably a minister of some neighbouring parish,
(or Colleton, as it was then called) before Mr. Rose's death. Two of the contracts
for building churches iu Albemarle, which I sent you, were those spoken of by
Mr. Rose near the close of his diary, and probably left with Dr. Cabell for safe-
keeping.
"1. Of the sons of Dr. Cabell, the first and third — William and John — married re-
spectively Margaret and Paulina, daughters of Colonel Samuel Jordan, who lived on
James River, in Buckingham, and near the Seven Islands. The former was ac-
counted an able man and true patriot in his day, and was much respected iu all the
relations of life. He had four sons, of whom three were somewhat distinguished
in the family. Samuel Jordan, the eldest, — who married Sarah, daughter of Colonel
John Syme, of Hanover, — was the member of Congress from this district from 1795
to 1803. He had risen to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the Southern War, and
afterward served in the Legislature of the State, and in the Convention of 1789.
William, generally known as Colonel Wm. Cabell, Jr., also served in the latter scenes
of the war in this State, and was occasionally in the Legislature afterward. He
married Anne, daughter of Judge Paul Carrington, and was the father of Colonel
Edward A. Cabell, sometime of Amherst, now of Washington, D.C., of Mayo Cabell,
and of Mrs. Bruce, and others. Landon, — the third son, — a man of distinguished
talents and acquirements, but never in public life, married a daughter of Colonel
Hugh Rose, and was the father of Dr. R. Henry Cabell, now of Richmond. Colonel
Cabell's daughter Paulina had married Major Edmund Read, of Charlotte, (son of
Colonel Clement Read,) before she was married to Rev. Mr. Legrand.
" 2. Colonel Joseph Cabell — who married a Miss Hopkins, of Amherst, (now Nel-
son,)— had but one son and several daughters. The son, who bore his own name,
married Pocahontas, daughter of Colonel Robert Boiling, of Chellowe, Buchanan,
and their descendants (of whom you have mentioned General Cabell) are numerous.
Colonel Joseph Cabell was the ancestor of the Breckenridges of Kentucky, and not
of Virginia. Thus, his daughter Mary married John Breckenridge, (elder son of
General James Breckenridge.) This gentleman, after a successful career at the
bar here, (he lived in Albemarle,) removed with George Nicholas to Kentucky,
of which territory they immediately became the leading citizens. AVhen it was
erected into a State Mr. Breckenridge was sent to the Senate of the United States,
and at his death was Mr. JeiFerson's Attorney-General. The eldest son of Mr.
Breckenridge (Joseph Cabell Breckenridge) was a rising statesman of Kentucky
at the time of his death. He married a daughter* of President Smith, of Pi'ince-
ton, and their son is now Vice-President of the United States. The three
younger sons of Mr. Breckenridge — John, Robert, and William — became dis-
tinguished Presbyterian clergymen. His daughter (Letitia) married first a son of
Mr. Senator Grayson, and second. General P. B. Porter, of New York, Mr. Adams's
Secretary of War. To return : Colonel Joseph Cabell had other daughters, of whom
Anne married Robert Carter, son of Carter Harrison, of Clifton, in Cumber-
land ; and Elizabeth married Colonel William J. Lewis, of Campbell, sometime mem-
ber of Congress from that district. The major part of Colonel J. Cabell's descend-
ants are now to be found in the West, — particularly in Kentucky and Missouri.
" 3. Colonel John Cabell had several sons, — of whom Dr. George Cabell, of Lynch-
* MisB Caroline Smith, who, when the author of this work was at Princeton 0)Uoge, was a favount*
with the students by reason of her many interesting qualities.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 63
afterward in Prince William, in the year 1794, on the occasion of
the death of two of Mr. Nicholas Cabell's daughters, Hannah and
Henningham, who died on the 7th and 8th of September of that
year, aged the one eight and the other six years. In this sermon
also we see the deficiency of the pulpit in that day. Once only is
there allusion to Christ, when he says that " to those who lead a
virtuous life, and die in the faith of Christ, the whole aspect of
death is changed," while in the sermon, which is on resignation and
preparation for death, he speaks of certain duties " to be performed
in order to make us acceptable to God," and at the close of it says
that "the best preparation for death is a virtuous temper and a good
life. When once you are furnished with these qualifications, you
may view it approaching toAvard you with a calm and constant mind,
free from any timorous and unmanly solicitude." Nothing is said in
the sermon about a new birth of the Spirit as a necessary qualifica-
tion for heaven, of faith in Christ and repentance toward God as
being the constant exercises of the true Christian, and from which
any good works can flow. There are many very good things said
about the vanity of earthly things and the duty of considering our
latter end, but they are such things as are common to the Christian
preacher and the pagan philosopher.
I might also speak of the Sheltons, Taliaferos, Thompsons,
Ellises, Davises, Tinsleys, Garlands, and others, as having been
fast friends of the Church in Amherst and Nelson, but refer to the
list of vestrymen for the purpose of showing who were her perse-
vering advocates.
There is one name on which I must dwell for a moment. Mr
William Waller, lately deceased, was perhaps inferior to none of
the laity of Virginia in personal piety and hearty zeal for the
bnrg, was the eldest. His brother John, of the same place, was also a learned and
successful physician.
"A third son — Frederick — succeeded to the family mansion on James River, op-
posite New Market, and his eldest son, of the same name, was several times a dele-
gate from this county under the second Constitution, and the first Senator from this
district under the present regime. A fourth son of Colonel John removed to Kentucky.
One of his daughters married first her cousin Hector, and afterward Judge Daniel.
"4. Colonel Nicholas Cabell embarked in the Revolutionary service so early
as 1775, and several years afterward the Legislature appointed him to the com-
mand of one of the State Regiments ; but it so happened, and much to his morti-
fication, that he was never called into action. He served in the Senate for more
than sixteen years from 1785. Of his four sons we have mentioned the first and
third. The second was the father of Professor Cabell, of the University; the fourth
of Francis Tabell, of Warminster."
64 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
Church, as well as for all that was amiable and excellent in private
life. He was well known in our Conventions, which he delighted
to attend, and acted as an eflBcient vestryman and lay reader for a
long time. He has left a large family of children, who I trust will
follow his good example.
One word is added concerning the family of Massies, in Nelson,
not very far from Rockfish Church. It came at an early period
from England, and settled in New Kent, where several in succession
were vestrymen. Major Massie, of Nelson, after having served in
the Revolution, moved from New Kent about the close of the war,
and was a vestryman of the Church in Frederick county, with
Colonel Burwell, Meade, and others. From thence he moved to
Nelson, and lived in great seclusion the remainder of his days. He
had three sons, of whom Dr. Thomas Massie, of Nelson, was the eldest.
COUNTIES AND PARISHES OF BOTETOURT, ROCKINGHAM, ROCK-
BRIDGE, GREENBRIER, AND MONTGOMERY.
When Frederick county was first divided from Augusta, the lattei
was left with all of Western Virginia beyond the Alleghany Moun-
tains, then extending to the Pacific Ocean, or, as it was sometimes
said, to the "waters of the Mississippi."
In the year 1769, Botetourt was taken from Augusta, and also
extended westward indefinitely. At a subsequent period Mont-
gomery was taken from Botetourt. But in the year 1777, Rock-
ingham, till then part of Augusta, and Rockbridge and Greenbrier,
were cut off from Augusta, Botetourt, and Montgomery. In all
of these, parishes were also established by Act of Assembly. What
was done in them after this is unknown. In Rockingham, probably
before its separation from Augusta, there were, as may be seen in
our article on Augusta, two churches. In Rockbridge, when com-
posed of parts of Augusta and Botetourt, there may have been a
church or churches, but I have obtained no information of such.
Before this period the Presbyterians had made settlements in this
region, especially about Lexington. On none of our lists of clergy
or records do we find any minister belonging to Rockbridge after
its separation from Augusta and Botetourt. In Montgomery and
Greenbrier parishes and counties, we presume there were none. In
Botetourt parish, (for all the new parishes were called by the same
name with the counties,) we find that the Rev. Adam Smith was the
minister in the years 1774 and 1776. He was the father of Mr.
Alexander Smith, sometimes written Smythe, of Wythe county,
member of Congress, and General in the last war with England.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 65
We know of no other but the Rev. Samuel Gray, who appears on
the journal of 1796, and who died in the parish poor-house, the
miserable victim of drink. In Fincastle there was an Episcopal
churcli on the spot where the Presbyterian church now stands.
A new church being built there, the Presbyterians vrorshipped in it,
r\nd were perhaps most active in its erection. By an Act of the
Legislature, the lot of ground on which it stood was given to that
denomination. It was not until the Rev. Mr. Cobbs commenced
his labours in Bedford and extended his visits to Botetourt, that
any hopes were raised, in the breasts of the Episcopalians in that
county, of the establishment of the Church of their fathers and of
their affection.
During the ministry of Mr. Gray, some of the descendants of
Major Burwell, an old vestryman of the church in King William,
had removed to the neighbourhood of Fincastle. General Breck-
enridge, and Watts, who had not forgotten the Church of their
forefathers, were also there. Woodville, son of the old minister
of Culpepper, one of the Taylors from Old Mount Airy, in the
Northern Neck, Madison, son of Bishop Madison, and others who
might be mentioned, were there to encourage the effort at esta-
blishing a church. And yet, on my first visit to that county after
my consecration, only one solitary voice was heard in the responses
of our service.
After some years the Rev. Dabney Wharton, from the neigh-
bouring county, took Orders and entered on the work of resuscita-
ting or rather establishing the Church there, and during his residence
in the parish did much to effect it. The Rev. W. H. Pendleton
succeeded him for some years, and, though removing for a time to
another, has returned to a portion of his former field. He was
succeeded by the Rev. Mr. McElroy, in 1847. The Rev. George
Wilmer also spent some years there, first as minister to the whole
parish, and then to a portion of it, which was formed into a distinct
parish, now in the county of Roanoke. New churches have been
erected in each portion, — one at Big Lick, in Roanoke, another at
.Fincastle, a third at Buchanon. The Rev. Mr. Baker has for some
years been the minister of the two congregations in Fincastle and
Buchanon. The new church at Buchanon deserves a word of
special notice. It is chiefly the result of female enterprise. A
lady well known in Virginia, who occasionally visited it in the
summer season, fleeing from the sultry heat of Richmond, deter-
mined to effect it by collections, far and near, of only twelve and
a half cents from each contributor, and by dint of perseverance,
Vol. II.— 5
66 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
succeeded in the course of a few years, — at least, so far as to secure
the object. A neat, well-filled brick church is now to be seen at
Buchanon.
Although there was no church in Rockbridge county in former
times, so far as I am informed, I must not omit to mention a most
successful effort of later years. About the year 1839 or 1840, the
Rev. William Bryant, a native of Virginia, and a graduate of West
Point, who had left the army of his country to enter the army of
the Lord and become one of the great company of preachers, was
induced by his friend, and almost brother, as well as fellow-student
at West Point, Colonel Smith, of the Military Institute at Lexing-
ton, to come and seek to establish an Episcopal church at that
place. Difficult as the work seemed to be, and most doubtful the
success of it, especially to one of so meek and quiet a spirit, and
destitute of those popular talents in the pulpit so much called for
in such positions, he nevertheless, in humble dependence on divine
assistance, undertook the task and succeeded far beyond general
expectation. With generous aids from other parts of the State,
and active exertions on the part of the few friends in Lexington,
a handsome brick church has been built and a respectable though
still a small congregation been collected. The Rev. Mr. Bryant
was succeeded by one of our present missionaries to China, — the Rev.
Robert Nelson, — who, pursuing the same judicious course and putting
forth the same efibrts with his predecessor, carried on the work
with the same success, until in the providence of God he was called
to a distant field in which he had long desired to labour. The Rev.
William N. Pendleton has now for some years been labouring as his
successor.
Higher up the valley, in what was once Montgomery county and
parish, but is now not only Montgomery, but Wythe, and Wash-
ington, and others, we cannot read or hear of any efi"ort being
made in behalf of establishing the Episcopal Church until within
the last twenty years, when the Rev. Mr. Cofer was sent as mis-
sionary to Abingdon, in Washington county. Some years after his
relinquishment of the station the Rev. James McCabe occupied it,
and during his stay, I believe, a neat but very small brick church
was put up. He was succeeded for two years by the Rev. Mr. Lee.
It has now for some time been without a minister, though we hope
for better times.
As emigration and natural increase of population shall follow
the railroad up this narrow though fertile valley, and whenever the
mountains on either side shall be cleared of their forests, we may
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 67
Burely hope better things for our Church. Already are there many
interesting families inheriting an attachment to the Church of their
fathers to be found along the great highway leading through this
part of Virginia and the West. At Wytheville the indefatigable
efforts of a mother and daughter have raised a considerable sura of
money for the erection of a church. The tongue hath spoken, the
pen hath written, and hands have laboured, in the cause, and none
of them in vain. A most eligible sight, at great cost, has been
obtained, and perhaps great progress made in the erection of a
church. Other openings, I am told by those who have made recent
missionary visits to this upper valley of Virginia, are likely to
present themselves. The Rev. Frederick Goodwin has just settled
at Wytheville.
68 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
ARTICLE LIII.
St. G-eorge's Parish, Spottsylvania County.
I AM saved all trouble in the examination of records and docu-
ments, in order to the execution of this part of my work, by the full
and interesting history of this parish from the pen of the Rev. Mr.
Slaughter. His authorities are the old vestry-books and Henning's
Statutes.
The county of Spottsylvania was established in 1720, being
taken from the counties of Essex, King William, and King and
Queen. It extended westward to the river beyond the high moun-
tains,— the Shenandoah. The parish of St. George's was then
commensurate with the county. In the year 1730, the parish was
divided into St. George's and St. Mark's, — St. Mark's lying in the
upper portion, which, in the year 1734, was made the county of
Orange, and contained all that is now Orange, Madison, Culpepper,
and Rappahannock. At the first establishment of Spottsylvania,
in 1720, fifteen hundred pounds were appropriated by the House
of Burgesses to a church, court-house, prison, pillory, and stocks.
Governor Spottswood, after whom the county was named, esta-
blished the seat of justice at Germanna, and there built a church,
&c. In the year 1732, the seat of justice was, by Act of Assembly,
removed to Fredericksburg, as a more convenient place ; but, seven-
teen years after, the law was repealed as derogatory to his Majesty's
prerogative to take from the Governor or Commander-in-Chief of
this Colony his power and authority of removing or adjourning the
courts because it might be inconvenient in a case of smallpox or
other contagious disease. Fredericksburg was founded, by law, in
the year 1727. Colonel Byrd, in his visit in the year 1732, says
>f it at this time, "Besides Colonel Willis, who is the top man
of the place, there are only one merchant, a tailor, a smith, an
ordinary-keeper, and a lady who acts both as a doctress and cofi"ee-
woman." A church was built in that year, (1732.) There had
been a church near Fredericksburg in the year 1728, (as also one
at Mattapony,) called the Mother-Church, besides that built at
Germanna, by Governor Spottswood's order, at the first establish-
ment of the county. Its first minister of whom we have any know-
FAMILIES OP VIRGINIA. 69
ledge was the Rev. Theodosius Staige, whose name is found incor-
porated with the Davis family, of Albemarle, and with some others,
I think. He continued until November, 1728. The Rev. Mr. De
Butts, of Westmoreland, became a candidate for the parish ; but
the Rev. Rodham Kennor, having been recommended by the Go-
vernor, was accepted. He continued the minister for eighteen
months, and then preached there once a fortnight for more than
two years, — the Rev. Mr. Pearl occasionally officiating. The Rev.
Mr. Kennor appears to have been a rolling stone, — passing from
parish to parish, — and the vestry of St. George's were well pleased
to part with him. In 1732, the Rev. Patrick Henry, uncle of the
celebrated orator, and who was afterwards, and for a long time,
minister of St. Paul's parish, Hanover, became the minister, and
continued until April, 1734. Governor Gooch sent a Rev. Mr.
Smith to the parish ; but his preaching was so unacceptable that
the vestry sent a deputation to inform the Governor that they could
not accept him. They also petitioned the Governor to allow the
Rev. James Marye, who was the minister of the Huguenot settle
ment at Manakintown, in King William parish, then in Goochland
now in Powhatan, and who was willing to come, to leave his parish
He was accordingly inducted in October, 1735. During his ministry
two chapels were built in the parish at places not now to be identi
fied. Roger Dixon was allowed to have any pew in the church
except two already granted to Benjamin Grymes, provided he did
not raise the pew higher than the other pews. In the year 1767
after a ministry of thirty-two years in this parish, Mr. Marye died
and was succeeded by his son, James Marye, who was born in
Goochland, in 1731, was educated at William and Mary, and had
been minister in Orange county. His father was one of the Hu-
guenots who fled from France at the time of the persecutions of the
Protestants in that country. He married a Miss Letitia Staige, of
London, daughter of an English clergyman, — perhaps the one who
was minister in Fredericksburg. Mr. Marye, Jr. continued the
minister until 1780. He was the father of Mrs. Dunn, wife of the
Rev. John Dunn, of Leesburg, and of Mrs. Yeamans Smith, of
Fredericksburg. During his ministry a new church, near Bur-
bridge's Bridge, was built, and was used as an Episcopal Church
long after the Revolution, though now occupied by other denomi-
nations. The parish also was divided during his time, and Berkeley
parish cut off from it. The parish was now vacant for seven years,
at the end of which the Rev. Thomas Thornton was chosen its
minister. Under his ministry and the voluntary system, which was
70 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, A.ND
of necessity adopted after the Establishment was put down, the
congregation increased so as to require an addition to the church.
This addition made it a cruciform church. It was, however, getting
to be like an old garment with new cloth put upon its rent. During
Mr. Thornton's ministry, General Washington, coming to Frede-
ricksburg to visit his mother, attended, as usual, the Episcopal
Church, which drew such a crowd that something gave way in the
gallery, which produced great consternation in the attendants, who
rushed out of it through the doors and windows. It, however, still
lasted for a number of years. I was in it in the year 1811, but a
more dark and cheerless place I have seldom seen. The rite of
confirmation was first administered in this parish by Bishop Madi-
son, in the year 1791, during the ministry of Mr. Thornton. Soon
after this Mr. Thornton left the parish, and died at Dumfries. The
following obituary, taken from a paper of that day, shows not only
that he was a minister of that parish, but also the high esteem in
which he was held: —
" Died, in Dumfries, on the 25th ultimo, in the 76th year of his age,
the Rev. Thomas Thornton, late rector of this parish. He possessed steady
faith, rational benevolence, and unaffected piety. With the dignity of
the minister he associated the familiarity of the man, and was truly an
ornament to human nature. In his sermons he was accurate and persua-
sive, more attentive to sense than to sound, to elevation of sentiment than
to loftiness of style, expatiating on the evidences of Christianity when
infidelity prevailed, and strongly urging the practice of Christian morality
where vice predominated. His amiable qualities secured him universal
respect, and his death is now the theme of universal lamentation."
A successor to Mr. Thornton was chosen in 1792, in a way most
unusual in an Episcopal congregation, and contrary to her laws,
except in the case of Christ Church, Norfolk, which is provided for
by a special act. A notice was given in the old "Virginia Herald"
inviting the subscribers to the Episcopal church to meet in the
town-hall to elect a clergyman. On that occasion ninety-six
votes were given for the Rev. Mr. Woodville, and thirty-four for
the Rev. Thomas Davis. Mr. Woodville resigned the parish in
1793, — the year after his election, — and removed to St. Mark's, Cul-
pepper, where he lived until his death, respected by all who knew
him.
On the 6th of January, 1794, the people assembled in the market-
house, and again, by a popular vote, unanimously elected the Rev.
James Stephenson their minister. Mr. Stephenson resigned in
1805, on account of ill health. Mr. Stephenson married a Miss
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 71
Littlepage, a lady of fine intellectual endowments. He was the
father of the Hon. Andrew Stephenson and Mr. Carter Stephenson,
also of Mrs. Woodville.
In 1806, the Rev. Abner Waugh took charge of the parish, but
was obliged to relinquish it by reason of ill health. Retiring to
Hazlewood, where he soon died, he addressed the following letter
to his friends in Fredericksburg : —
" Impressed with a high sense of their friendly regard and general at-
tention to him during his residence and want of health among them, the
liev. Abner Waugh begs them to receive his acknowledgments. Loss
of health, and consequently loss of power of being any longer useful, com-
pelled him to relinquish his prospects in Fredericksburg. In bidding the
citizens farewell, he wishes them, individually and generally, as much
comfort, ease, and happiness in this life as may be consistent with a more
exalted degree of happiness in the next."
In the year 1808, the Rev. Samuel Low succeeded Mr. Waugh
Mr. Low was a man of gigantic stature, stentorian lungs, and for-
bidding countenance. His powers of oratory were great. He had
been, before his coming to Fredericksburg, preaching to crowds in
Norfolk, Richmond, and elsewhere, on duelling and gambling, and
other special topics. Some of these sermons were published. He
was at that time living with a woman who was not his lawful wife,
having deserted her who was his true wife and the mother of his
children. It was some time before the news of this reached Fre-
dericksburg, and when it did, he solemnly denied it in the pulpit.
The fact being established beyond all doubt, he acknowledged it in
a letter to the vestry, which is on record, and going to the North,
obtained a divorce from his wife and married the other. The effect
of all this must have been most disastrous to the Church.
In the year 1811, the Rev. Mr. Strebeck was chosen to fill the
vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Mr. Low, but the Church
was little benefited by the change. Such was the unhappy con-
dition of the parish, that the people, in 1813, were glad to avail
themselves of the services of their present minister, as lay reader,
one year, I believe, before he was old enough to be admitted to
Deacons' Orders.
As it has been a rule observed by me in these notices to avoid all
praises or censures of the living, and in the fewest possible words refer
to the acts and successes even of my oldest friends, therefore to Mr.
Slaughter's account of the revival of the Church in this parish
during the thirty-throe years of Mr. McGuire's ministry, ending
with his history of the parish, to which must now be added fourteen
72 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
more, I refer mj readers for a full view of the subject. Suffice it
to say that, from that time, a succession of revivals, or rather a
continued one, under faithful evangelical preaching, has added
great numbers to the Church; that two new churches, each in-
creasing in size and expense, have been called for ; that several
young ministers have issued from the parish, — among them the Rev.
Launcelot Minor, whose remains are on the African shore, alons-
side of those of Mrs. Susan Savage, the devoted missionary, whose
spiritual birthplace was St. George's Church, as Fredericksburg
was that of her other nativity. Mr. McGuire and he who makes
this allusion entered the ministry at a short interval apart, and
cannot be long separated in leaving it behind, for another and we
trust higher ministry, in the presence of our Redeemer.
Having done with the ministers and churches of St. George's
parish, nothing remains but to present a list of the vestrymen of
the same.
Vestrymen from 1725 to 1847.
Augustus Smith, William Grayson, John Waller, Thomas Chew, Geo.
Wheatle, William Hansford, H. Sharpe, John Taliafero, Francis Thorn-
ton, Goodrich Lightfoot, Larkin Chew, Z. Lewis, Hon. John Robinson,
Henry Beverley, Ambrose Grayson, Henry Beverley, Edward Hickman,
John Chew, F. Taliafero, John Waller, Jr., Wm. Robinson, Rice Curtis,
William Battaley, John Taliafero, Jr., Richard Tutt, John Thornton,
Rice Curtis, .Jr., William Waller, Edward Herndon, Robert Jackson,
John Spottswood, Fielding Lewis, Joseph Brock, Roger Dixon, Richard
Brook, Charles Lewis, Charles Carter, John Lewis, Charles Washington,
William Dangerfield, Charles Dick, Joseph Jones, Edward Herndon,
Thomas Fox, Lewis Willis, Thomas Colston, Thomas Minor, Michael
Robinson, William Wood, James Tutt, Mann Page, George Thornton,
Thomas Strachan, John Chew, John Steward, Thomas Crutcher, D.
Branham, John Julian, J. W. Willis, James Lewis, G. Stubblefield,
Benjamin Ballard, Thomas Sharpe, John Legg, Charles Mortimer, Chas.
Urquart, Benjamin Day, Francis Thornton, Jr., George Weedon, Edward
Carter, R. B. Chew, George French, W. S. Stone, John Herndon, Thos.
Strachan, J]dward Herndon, Beverley Stubblefield. John Welch, Edward
Herndon, Jr., John Wright, William Stanard, William Lovell, Charles
Gates, David Blair, Samuel Greenhow, Fontaine Maury, Elisha Hall,
James Brown, William Taylor, John Chew, Hugh Mercer, Godlove Heis-
kell, Thomas Goodwin, William Smith, Robert Patton, David Henderson,
David C. Ker, Jacob Kuhm, John Minor, Charles L. Carter, William I.
Stone, Benjamin Botts, John Scott, John Lewis, Dabney Herndon, John
Taliafero, Z. Lucas, Hubert Wellford, James Smock, John Smith, Jr.,
William Bernard, G. W. B Spooner, James Carmichael, Horace Marshall,
Robert I. Chew, Francis Taliafero, Robert Lewis, Churchill Jones, Geo.
Hamilton, John Mundell, Alexander F. Ro.se, R. Johnson, John Crump,
Charles Austin, William A. Knox, John Gray, R. T. Thorn, John Hart,
William F. Gray, William Storke, F. J. Wyatt, John Metcalfe, John T.
Lomax, H. 0. Middleton, Larkin Johnson, George Rotchrock, Jr., Yea-
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 73
mans Smith, Thomas H. Hanson, Archibald Hart, W. M. Blackford, Gr
W. Bassett, Murray Forbes, B. H. Carmichael, Thomas F. Knox, K. B>
Maury, John Coakley, James Cooke, R. C. L. Moncure, William Pollock,
J. B. Fickliu.
BERKELEY PARISH, SPOTTSYLVANIA COUNTY.
This parish was taken from St. George's in March, 1769—70.
The first minister was the Rev. James Stephenson, who was after*
ward the minister of St. George's. As he was ordained in London
in 1768, and appears on the lists of 1773-74-76 as minister of
Berkeley parish, it is more than probable that he was ordained
expressly for this parish, and became its minister in 1769. He
was, I believe, a citizen of Virginia, and an inhabitant of Frede-
ricksburg, before his ordination. From the time that the Rev. Mr.
Stephenson left it for Culpepper, previous to his removal to Wil-
liamsburg in 1794, we are unable to state who, if any, was the
minister of Berkeley parish, until the year 1789, when the Rev.
Hugh Goran Boggs appears on the journal of Convention. He
was either ordained by some other English Bishop than the Bishop
of London, or else by Bishop White, or some other American
Bishop, since Bishop Madison was not consecrated until 1790.
Mr. Boggs continued to be the minister of Berkeley parish until his
death. Rev. Mr. Ward succeeded him in 1837. The Rev. Dabney
Wharton, the present minister, succeeded to Mr. Ward in 1843.
Two new churches have been built in this parish within the last
year: one of them is near the court-house, and the other near the
Louisa line.
74 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
ARTICLE LIV.
St. Mark's Parish, Culpepper Counts/,
This parish was originally in Spottsylvania, when that was the
frontier county, and was a part of St. George's parish. The
vestry-book, from whence I derive my information concerning it,
thus begins in 1730: — "In pursuance to an Act of the General
Assembly holden at Williamsburg the 21st day of May, 1730,
entitled An Act for dividing the parish of St. George, in the county
of Spottsylvania, and that all the other parts of the said parish
be known by the name of St. Mark : according to the said Act,
the freeholders and housekeepers of the said parish of St. Mark
did meet at the church at Germanna, in the said parish, on the 1st
day of January, and there did elect and choose twelve of the most
able and discreet persons of their parish to be vestrymen, — viz. :
Goodrich Lightfoot, Henry Field, Francis Huntley, William Peyton,
James Barber, (now Barbour,) Robert Slaughter, John Finlason,
Francis Slaughter, Thomas Staunton, Benjamin Cave, Robert Green,
Samuel Ball." Robert Slaughter and Francis Slaughter were the
first churchwardens, William Peyton clerk, and William Peyton,
William Philips, and John MacMath were continued lay readers
at the several churches and chapels they formerly read at.
At the meeting of the vestry in March, 1731, the church at
Germanna is ordered to be repaired and the roof tarred ; the Fork
Chapel and the Mountain Chapel ordered to be swept and kept
clean. Three houses of worship are recognised as being in use
before the division, that at Germanna being the church, the others
the chapels. The church seems to have required repairs. This
was doubtless the house built by Governor Spottswood for the
German settlers, who, like the Huguenots on James River, had
been patronized by Government and allowed certain immunities.*
By this time, however, they had removed higher up the river, into
what is now Madison county. Colonel Byrd, in his visit to General
Spottswood in 1732, speaking of Germanna, says, " This famous
* Germanna was so called after this settlement by the Germans, as Spottsyl-
vania was so called after Governor Spottswood.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 75
town consists of Colonel Spottswood's enchanted castle on one side
of the street and a baker's dozen of ruinous tenements on the
other, where so many German families had dwelt some years ago,
but are now removed some ten miles higher up the Fork of Rappa-
hannock, to land of their own. There had also been a chapel about
a bow-shot from the Colonel's house, at the end of an avenue of
cherry-trees, but some pious people had lately burnt it down, with
intent to have one built nearer to their own homes." Mr. Byrd's
writings being full of such remarks, we may conclude that he does
not always expect us to receive them as historical verities. No
doubt the locality of the church was inconvenient, and many did
not lament its destruction, as another would be built nearer to the
body of the congregation.
Before we proceed further in the history of this parish, it may
be well to state what information we have in relation to this German
settlement which Governor Spottswood had cherished on his estate
at Germanna, which estate, it is said, was only a part of a tract
of forty-five thousand acres on which he worked a number of iron-
ore furnaces. From the letter-book of the Venerable Society in
England for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts, we obtain
the following document, headed —
CASE OF THE GERMAN FAMILIES IN THE YEAR 1720.
'' The case of thirty-two Protestant German families settled in Virginia
humbly showeth : — That twelve Protestant German families, consisting of
about fifty persons, arrived April 17th, in Virginia, and were therein
settled near the Rappahannock River. That in 1717 seventeen Protestant
German families, consisting of about fourscore persons, came and set
down near their countrymen. And many more, both German and Swiss
families, are likely to come there and settle likewise. That for the enjoy-
ment of the ministries of religion, there will be a necessity of building a
small church in the place of their settlement, and of maintaining a minis-
ter, who shall catechize, read, and perform divine otfice.'* among them in
the German tongue, which is the only language they do yet understand.
That there went indeed with the first twelve German families one minis-
ter, named Henry Hoeger, a very sober, honest man, of about seventy-five
years of age; but he being likely to be past service in a short time, they
have empowered Mr. Jacob Christophe ZoUicoffer, of St. Gall, in Switzer-
land, to go into Europe and thei'e to obtain, if possible, some contributions
from pious and charitable Christians toward the building of their church,
and bringing over with him a young German minister to assist the said 31 r.
Hoeger in the ministry of religion, and to succeed him when he shall
die ; to get him ordained in England by the Right Rev. Lord-Bishop
of London, and to bring over with him the Liturgy of the Chui'ch of
England translated into High Dutch, which they are desirous to use
in the public worship. But this new settlement consisting of but mean
76 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
persons, being utterly una<.ie of tu^ .iSewus both to build a church aud
to make up a salary suiBcieut to niaiutain such assistiug minister, they
humbly implore the countenance and encouragement of the Lord-Bishop
of London and others, the Lords, the Bishops, as also the Venerable
Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, that they
would take their case under their pious consideration and grant their usual
allowance for the support of a minister, and, if it may be, to contribute
something toward the building of their church.
"And they shall ever pray that God may reward their beneficence both
here and hereafter.'"
Whether they did succeed in their effort, and how long after this
they continued at Germanna, and ^vhat was their history after their
removal, we are not able to state. One thing we have ascertained
from one of the oldest men now living in Culpepper, — that within
his recollection, their descendants, when without a Lutheran minis-
ter, would come a long distance to receive the sacrament from an
Episcopal minister at Buckrun Church, not many miles from Culpep-
per Court-House. It is very certain that at one time they had a large
church, a flourishing congregation, a fine organ, and good music.
In passing on to our notice of the churches and ministers of
St. Mark's, we cannot but express some surprise at not finding the
name of General Spottswood among those of the vestry, although
it is mentioned in the vestry-book, as he always appeared while
Governor to be much interested in Church affairs. It may be that,
as he lived on the outskirts of the parish, and the new church
was now removed so far from him, he declined an active part in
its concerns. In a few years after this he died. His widow and
children continued to live at Germanna, and were within the pas-
toral charge of its ministers. We shall see hereafter that Mrs.
Spottswood became the wife of one of them.
Previous to the year 1728, we ascertain that a Rev. Mr. Staige
had officiated at Germanna, and after him a Rev. Rodham Kennor.
Between the years 1731 and 1733 we find a Rev. Mr. De Butts and
a Rev. Mr. Pruit often preaching in St. Mark's, but neither of
them was elected. In May, 1733, the Rev. Mr. Beckett was regu-
larly elected and continued minister until the year 1739.
In the year 1732, the vestry built a church at the Two Springs,
on the Germanna Road, at the cost of thirty-six thousand-weight
of tobacco. In the year 1633, the choice of a pew in the new
church is offered to Colonel Spottswood. In the same year twenty-
seven thousand pounds of tobacco are voted for building a new
church in the Southwest Mountains; also, another, "twenty feet
square, near Batley's Quarter, where David Cave be lay reader."
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 77
Ik the year 1735, a chapel is ordered between Shaw's Mountain
and the Devil's Run. Ordered the same year "that the ministers
preach as the law directs at every church and chapel."
In the year 1739 we find the following order : — " That the church-
wardens agree with the Rev. Mr. McDaniel, if he please to serve
the parish, and if not, some other minister, except Mr. Beckett."
From something on the vestry-book a year or two before, there
would seem to have been a serious cause of complaint against Mr.
Beckett. In the year following — 1740 — the Rev. John Thompson
comes, recommended by Governor Gooch, and is accepted. In this
year also the parish of St. Mark, which was still in the county of
Orange, was divided, and St. Thomas formed out of it. Mr. James
Barber and William Cave being in the ne^v parish of St. Thomas,
Mr. William Triplett and William Russell were chosen in their room.
Mr. John Catlett had been previously added to the vestry in place
of one deceased. The estimate in which Mr. Thompson was held
appears at once by the increased attention paid to the glebe-houses.
In the year 1741, Mrs. Spottswood presents a velvet pulpit cloth
and cushion to the church, and Goodrich Lightfoot is chosen vestry-
man in place of Thomas Stanton, deceased. In 1742, a church
was resolved on in Tenant's old field. In the year 1743, an addi-
tion of twenty-four feet square is ordered to the Fork Church. In
1746, Benjamin Roberts and Philip Clayton appear on the vestry.
In the year 1747, Robert Slaughter, Jr. is appointed vestryman
in place of W. Finlason, deceased, and William Green in place of
Robert Green, deceased. In the year 1750, a chapel is ordered at
the Little Fork, where an old chapel stood. In the year 1751, Abra-
ham Field is on the vestry, also Thomas Slaughter in place of
Robert Slaughter, Jr., who removed out of the parish, and James
Pendleton in place of Samuel Ball, deceased. In 1744, large addi-
tions are made to the glebe-houses. In 1752, Bloomfield parish
cut ofi" from St. Mark's, and services at the court-house instead
of at Tenant's Church. In 1752, Thomas Stubblefield and John
Hackley on the vestry. In 1752, the site of the new chapel, which
was ordered on the Little Fork, is changed to one in Freeman's old
field, and to be called a church. In the same year, — 1752, — a church
ordered on Buckrun upon Colonel Spottswood's land, to cost fifty-
four thousand pounds of tobacco. Some leaves being torn out, the
next meeting of the vestry is in 1757, — Mr. Thompson still the
minister. Nathaniel Pendleton and James Pendleton are each clerk
of one of its churches. In 1758, Thomas Slaughter and Anthony
Garnet elected vestrymen. In 1760, an addition ordered to the
<8 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
Little Fork Church, thirty-two by twenty-two feet. Willianc
Williams vestryman in 1761. In the year 1763, William Ball ves-
tryman in place of James Pendleton, deceased. Henry Field, Jr.,
in place of Henry Field, Sen., resigned. In the year 1764, the
Rev. Mr. Thompson obtained leave to build a gallery in the church
(that nearest Germanna) for the use of his family and friends. In
the year 1766, Samuel Clayton vestryman in place of Philip Clayton,
resigned. In 1768, Buckrun Church enlarged. In the year 1770,
the old glebe sold to Samuel Henning, and Mr. Henning allowed
to build a pew in the gallery of Buckrun Church. Cadwallader
Slaughter chosen vestryman, and John Green in place of William
Green, deceased. In the same year new glebe of three hundred acres
bought of Francis Slaughter for one hundred and ninety-nine pounds
and ten thousand-weight of tobacco. In 1771, Philip Pendleton ap-
pointed clerk of the vestry in place of William Peyton, deceased. He
was also lay reader, as two others of the name had been, and others
have been since elsewhere. In the same year French Strother and
John Gray vestrymen, in place of Goodrich Lightfoot, resigned, and
Henry Field, removed. Another addition to the Little Fork Church
of the same dimensions with the last. In 1772, a glebe-house ordered,
forty-eight feet long by thirty-two, — eight rooms, — for thirty-five
thousand nine hundred weight of tobacco. In the midst of these
preparations for the comfortable entertainment of the Rev. Mr.
Thompson, his labours were ended by death, after a ministry of thirty-
two years of uninterrupted harmony with his parishioners, and of la-
borious duty in a most extensive parish. Judging from the number
of churches and chapels, and their frequent enlargement, and the
benches we read of as placed at the doors, he must have been a most
acceptable minister. His is one case added to a number which might
be adduced, from the vestry-books, in proof that where the minister
is faithful to his duty the people do not wish to exchange him.
Some few exceptions doubtless there were. Of so exemplary a
man as Mr. Thompson the reader will desire to know as much as
can be furnished. Mr. Thompson was from Scotland, and took the
degree of Master of Arts in the University of Edinburgh. On
the 28th of October, 1739, he received Deacons' Orders in Duke
Street Chapel, in the parish of Westminster, from the hands of
Nicholas, the Bishop of St. David's. On the 4th of November of
the same year, he received Priests* Orders from the same Bishop
in the Chapel of St. James, within the palace royal of St. James
of Westminster. On the following year we find him settled as
minister in St. Mark's parish, where he continued until his death, — ■
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 79
knowing, as a minister, one only love. On the 9th of November,
1742, he married the widow of Governor Spottswood, who was one
of his parishioners and living at Germanna. By this marriage he
had two children, Ann Thompson, who was born at Germanna, in
1744, and married Mr. Francis Thornton, of Fall Hill, near
Fredericksburg, at the early age of fifteen years, eight months.
The other is Mr. William Thompson, of whom I have as yet received
no certain information. In the year 1760, Mr. Thompson mar-
ried a second wife. Miss Elizabeth Roots, by whom he had three
children, — Mildred Thompson, John Thompson, and Philip Roots
Thompson. The last married the daughter of old Mr. R. Slaugh-
ter, one of the vestrymen of that name in St. Mark's parish, and
moved many years since to Kanawha, where his descendants for
the last forty years have formed a little congregation of zealous
Episcopalians.
But although Mr. Thompson was so good and amiable a man,
and, as tradition informs us, one of the most imposing of men in his
person, he did not easily succeed in securing his first wife, in con-
sequence of the family pride of the children, which objected to the
union of the widow of Governor Spottswood with a minister of the
Gospel. Such was the opposition that, after an engagement, she
begged to be released. This caused the following- letter, which all
must agree is a masterpiece of its kind. Its efi'ect has already
been told in the fact of their marriage in a few months. An entire
reconciliation of all parties, however, was not efi'ected until many
years after, by the intervention of the Rev. Robert Rose, the friend
and executor of Governor Spottswood, as I have said elsewhere.
Copy of a Letter p'om the Reo. John Thompson to Lady Spottswood.
"Madam: — By diligently perusing your letter, I perceive there is a
material argument, which I ought to have answered, upon which your
Strongest objection against completing my happiness would seem to depend,
viz. : That you would incur y^ censures of y*^ world for manying a person of mj
station and character. By which I understand that you think it a diminution
of your honour and y^ dignity of your family to marry a person in y® station
of a clergyman. Now, if I can make it appear that y^ ministerial office is
an employment in its nature ^^ most honourable, and iu its effects y® most
beneficial to mankind, I hope your objections will immediately vanish, y'
you will keep me no longer iu suspense and misery, but consummate my
happiness.
"I make no doubt, madam, but y' you will readily grant y' no man
can be employed in any work more honourable than what immediately
relates to y* King of kings and Lord of lords, and to y® salvation of
souls, immortal in their nature, and redeemed by y^ blood of the Son of
God. The powers committed to their care cannot be exercised by y'
greatest princes of earth; and it is y* same work in kind, and y" same ic
80 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
y* dcsigu of it, with y' of y* blessed Augels, who are iniuistering spirits
for those who shall be heirs of salvation. It is y'^ same business y' y® Son
of God discharged when he condescended to dwell amongst men. Which
engages men in y® greatest acts of doing good, in turning sinners from y°
errors of their ways, and, by all wise and prudent means, in gaining souls
unto God. And the faithful and diligent discharge of this holy function
gives a title to y'^ highest degree of glory in the next world; for they y' be
wise shall shine as y^ brightness of y" tirmament, and they y' turn many
to righteousness as y" stars forever and ever.
"All nations, whether learned or ignorant, whether civil or barbarous,
have agreed in this as a dictate of natural reason, to express their reve-
rence for the Deity, and their affection to religion, by bestowing extraor-
dinary privileges of honour upon such as administer in holy things, and
by providing liberally for their maintenance. And that the honour due
to the holy function flows from y° law of nature appears from hence, — y' in
y® earliest times y^ civil and sacred authority were united in y* same person.
Thus Melchisedeck was King and Priest of Salem; and among y^ Egyp-
tians y** priesthood was joined with y* crown. Y*^ Greeks accounted y*
priesthood of equal dignity with kingship, which is taken notice of by
Aristotle in several places of his Politicks. And among the Latins we
have a testimony from Virgil y' at y' same time Aulas was both priest and
king. Nay, Moses himself, who was Prince of Israel, before Aaron was
consecrated, officiated as priest in y' solemn sacrifice by which y^ covenant
with Israel was confirmed. And y^ primitive Christians always expressed
a mighty value and esteem for their clergy, as plainly appears from eccle-
siastical history. And even in our days, as bad as y*^ woi'ld is, those of
y* clergy who live up to y'^ dignity of their profession are generally reve-
renced and esteemed by all religious and well-disposed men.
" From all which it evidently appears y' in all ages and nations of y°
world, whether Jews, Heathens, or Christians, great honour and dignity
has been always conferred upon y® clergy. And, therefore, dear madam,
from hence you may infer how absurd and ridiculous those gentlemen's
notions are who would fain persuade you y* marrying with y* clergy you
would derogate from y" honour and dignity of your family. Whereas in
strict reasoning the contrary thereof would rather appear, and y' it would
very much tend to support y^ honour and dignity of it. Of this I hope
you will be better convinced when you consider the titles of honour and
respect y' are given to those who are invested with y^ ministerial function
as amply displayed in y^ Scriptures. Those invested with y' character are
called y*^ ministers of Christ, stewards of y^ mysteries of God, to whom
they have committed y® word of reconciliation, y'^ glory of Christ, ambas-
sadors for Christ in Christ's stead, co-workers with him, angels of y°
Churches. And then it is moreover declared y' whosoever despiseth them
despiseth not man but God. All which titles shew y' upon many accounts
they stand called, appropriated, and devoted to God himself. And, there-
fore, if a gentleman of this sacred and honourable character should be
married to a lady, though of y'' greatest extraction and most excellent
personal qualities, (which I am sensible you are endowed with,) it can be
no disgrace to her nor her family, nor draw y* censures of y° world upon
them for such an action. And therefore, dear madam, your argument
being refuted, you can no longer consistently refuse to consummate my
Lappiness. John Thompson-
" May, 1742."
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 81
While we entirely agree with all that is written above as to the
respectability of the ministry, we would caution against an ill use
that is sometimes made of the principle advocated by Mr. Thomp-
son. No matter how high the birth, how complete the education,
of a lady, if she be truly pious, humble, and devoted to good works,
she may be a suitable helpmate to a minister ; but it is not often
that one very delicately brought up in the higher walks of life can
accommodate herself to the circumstances of many of the clergy.
As to those who are born to large fortune, let the ministers of re-
ligion rather avoid than seek them as companions, taking warning
from the many unhappy failures which have resulted from such
experiments.
We now proceed with the history of the parish. After employ-
mg the Rev. Charles Woodmason for a short time, the vestry elected
the Rev. Edward Jones, of Carolina, and had him inducted, — a thing
of rare occurrence. In this year Mr. John Waugh is chosen vestry-
man. In the year 1773, it appearing that no convenient place,
having water, could be found on the land purchased for a glebe, the
vestry obtained one hundred more, at a cost of one hundred and
fifty pounds, from Mr. Francis Slaughter. One of the churches
being burned that year, the vestry determined to build one forty by
sixty of wood, on Mr. Robert Freeman's or Peter Bowman's land.
This order being reconsidered, it was resolved to build one eighty
feet by thirty, of brick, on the land of Peter Bowman. In this year
Captain Richard Yancey was vestryman in the place of Major John
Green, who had entered the Continental service. In the year 1778,
the vestry recommend subscriptions for paying the officers of the
church. In the same year Biskett Davenport vestryman in place
of William Williams, deceased. In February, 1780, Mr. Jones re-
signed the parish, and the vestry advertised it.* Mr. John Gray
resigned his seat, Robert Pollard chosen vestryman. In April,
1780, the Rev. Mr. Stephenson was elected. The last meeting re-
corded in the vestry-book is in 1784. On the journal of the Con-
vention in 1796, Mr. Stephenson appears as the minister of St
George's Church, Fredericksburg, and Mr. Woodville as from St.
Mark's parish, they having changed places, as Mr. Woodville had
been the minister of St. George's. Mr. Woodville had married the
daughter of Mr. Stephenson, who was also the father of Mr. An-
drew Stephenson, our late minister to England, and of Mr. Carter
* The Rev. Mr. Iredell also officiated for a time in this parish, but was a disgrace
to the ministry.
Vol. XL— tj
S'2 OLD CHURCHES, ministers, and
Ste})lienson, who died some years since in Fredericksburg. With
Mr, Woodville I became well acquainted soon after my entrance on
the ministry, being often at his house (the glebe) in Culpepper,
where he connected a school with the ministry, both of which he
conducted in the most conscientious manner, being himself a man
of unblemished character. His son James became a lawyer of dis-
tinction in Botetourt county, and his son Walker has for many
years been supplying some parts of his father's old parish. With
his wife and two daughters, Fanny and Sarah, I became intimately
acquainted, and with purer spirits I do not expect to be acquainted
on this side of heaven. The former has long since gone to her rest.
The two latter — Fanny, who married Mr. Payne, and is the mother
of a numerous offspring, and Sarah, Avho is unmarried, and lives
with her — are residing in Mississippi. I often hear from them, and
rejoice to know that they still love Virginia and the old Church of
Virginia. I cannot take leave of old St. Mark's parish and vestry
without a brief reference to those who once composed them, — tho
Spottswoods, Slaughters, Pendletons, Fields, Lightfoots, Barbers,
Greens, Peytons, Caves, Balls, Williamses, Strothers, Knoxes,
Stephenses, Watkinses, and others, who amidst all the adversitiea
of the Church have been faithful to her. Others have followed in
their path, — the Thompsons, Carters, Randolphs, Winstons, Mor-
tons, Stringfellows, Cunninghams, Thoms, and others; but death,
removals, and other circumstances, have sadly hindered her pro-
gress. Perhaps no part of Virginia has suffered more in this way
than the county of Culpepper.
As I am writing of the past for the gratification and benefit of
the present, and not of the present for the use of the future, I can
despatch the remaining history of St. Marks in a few words. Soon
after the resuscitation of the Church of Virginia commenced, a new
church, called St. Stephen's, at Culpepper Court-House, was esta-
blished within the bounds of St. Mark's parish, and the Rev. Wil-
liam Hawley appears on the journal during the years 1814 and
1815 as the minister. He laboured and preached zealously there
and in Orange, and with much effect. He was followed by Mr.
Herbert Marshall, who for some years laboured faithfully and
successfully. In the year 1827, the Rev. George A. Smith com-
menced service and continued it for several years. The Rev.
Annesley Stewart performed some duty there after Mr. Smith's
removal.
The Rev. John Cole has now for a long term of years been
minister in Culpepper. Previously to his coming a new church
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. ^3
had been built at Culpepper Court-House, and since bis settlement
in the parish two new ones have been built on opposite sides of the
county, near each branch of the Rappahannock, while the old brick
church in Forke is still remaining. A comfortable parsonage haa
also been provided for the minister.
M OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
ARTICLE LV.
Orange County. — St. Thomas Parish.
[The Bishop is indebted for the following communication to the pen and
labours of its present minister, the Rev. Mr. Earnest.]
The county of Orange (embracing St. Mark's parish) was sepa-
rated from Spottsylvania in the year 1734. It was " bounden south-
erly by the line of Hanover county, northerly by the grant of the
Lord Fairfax, and westerly by the utmost limits of Virginia." In
1740, "for the convenience of the minister and the people," the
parish of St. Mark's was divided. The southerly portion, including
a part of what is now Madison county, was called St. Thomas parish,
and its western limits were somewhat reduced. St, George's parish,
Spottsylvania, of which St. Thomas was a part, had for its western
boundary "the river beyond the high mountains:" the summit of
the Blue Ridgebeing made the western limit of St. Thomas parish.
Before the days of the Revolution St. Thomas parish had within
its limits three churches, — viz. : The Pine Stake Church, the Middle
or Brick Church, and the Orange Church. The two former have
disappeared entirely, — although both were standing and in tolerably
good keeping within time of memory. The last named, and the
oldest of the three, situated near Ruckersville, a small village about
eighteen miles from Orange Court-House, in what is now the county
of Green, is still standing, though it has long ceased to be used as
a place of worship by an Episcopal congregation. It was for a long
while in the occupancy of the Methodists. The old church, which
is of wood, has undergone so many repairs since the time it was
built, that it is thought, like the old frigate Constitution, little if
any of the original timber is to be found in it. As I passed it
some years since, for the first time, curiosity — rather I may say
veneration for the ancient house of God — led me to stop and take
a near view ; but my heart was saddened to see this relic of former
tiaies so far gone into dilapidation as to be wholly unfit for the
sacred purposes for which it was set apart. Here old Major Burton,
a staunch patriot and as staunch a Churchman, who had served his
country in the war of the Revolution, continued for a long while
in the absence of the regular ministry to serve the church as a lav
reader.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 85
This churcli, though the oldest of these three Colonial churches.
was not the first in point of time that was erected within this parish.
The first church that was built in the parish was situated about ten
miles northwest of Orange Court-House, on a portion of land now
owned by Mr. Robert Brooking. The country adjacent was doubt-
less sacred ground with the aborigines long anterior to the dis-
covery of America; for but a short distance from this "church In
the wilderness," upon the right bank of the Rapidan River, is
yet to be seen an ancient mound, or burial-place of the Indians.
Here, as the waters of this rapid stream lave its banks, there are
often exposed to view the bones of the mighty dead, — bones whose
giant size indicate that a race of men hardy, athletic, and powerful
once inhabited this fertile region.
At what period of time this first " Orange Church" was built, we
have it not in our power exactly to verify. We have been told that
it was frequented as a place of worship by some of the old settlers
as early as 1723. Certain it is, that it was used as such in 1740, —
the year in which St. Thomas was formed into a separate parish.
The winter of this year was noted in this region for its exceedingly
great severity. The degree of cold was so intense that several of
the early planters determined on seeking a more genial climate
farther south, and accordingly purchased lands in North Carolina.
At that time an old Scotch minister of the Episcopal Church,
whose name I have not been able to ascertain, but who it seems was
fond of good cheer and a game of cards, officiated regularly at
this church. He resided with Mr, Benjamin Cave, Sen., a first
settler, whose residence was but a short distance from where the
old church stood. Subsequently, as the settlements advanced west-
ward, the old church was removed about eight miles distant to the
place where its remains are still standing.
The Middle or Brick Church was situated about three miles south-
east of Orange Court-House, on the old road leading to Fredericks-
burg, upon land owned originally by Mr. James Taylor, Sen., a
first settler, and subsequently in possession of his grandson, Mr.
Zachary Taylor, who was the grandfather of the late General
Zachary Taylor, and is now owned by Mr. Erasmus Taylor. We
have not been able to ascertain the year in which the church was
built; but from certain private records in our possession we can
assign the date of its erection somewhere between 1750 and 1758.
This church, like the old Colonial churches generally, was well built
and of durable materials. As late as 1806, time had made but
little impression upon it. But what time failed to accomplish was
86 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
reached by the unsparing hauil of man. After the Church in
Virginia was divested of her glebes, her liouses of worship came to
be regarded by the multitude as "common property." While her
hand was against no man, every man's hand seemed to be against
her. During or shortly before the last war with Great Britain the
work oi' the church's destruction was begun. Delenda est Carthago
seemed to be the watchword of the ruthless foe. They first com-
menced with the roof; this soon yielded to their onset ; the rafters
next gave way : the naked, massive walls resisted for a time their
further onslaught, but, nothing daunted, they redoubled their forces
and renewed the attack. The walls fell, and the triumph of the
invaders was complete, as they carried away as so many captives
the vanquished, unresisting bricks. The altar-pieces, (the gift of
Mr. Andrew Shepherd,) executed in gilt letters, and which long
adorned the venerated chancel, were torn from their ancient rest-
ing-places, rent into fragments, and were afterward, though with
no sacrilegious intent, attached as ornamental appendages to some
articles of household furniture.
Amidst the general destruction of the property of the church,
even the ancient Communion-plate, belonging to the parish, came
to be regarded as common property. This plate, consisting of a
massive silver cup and paten, with the name of the parish engraved
thereupon, was, as we learn, the gift of a few pious communicants
about a century since, among whom were Mrs. Frances Madison^
grandmother of the President, and Mrs. James Taylor, mother of
the late Mr. Robert Taylor, and Mrs. Balmaine. It has been only
by the exercise of vigilance that this solitary remnant of the old
church's property has been rescued and handed down in a state
of perfect preservation, for the present use of St. Thomas's Church.
The time of the erection of the Pine Stake Church is, like that
of the other two, involved in obscurity. It is probable that it was
built about the same time as the Middle or Brick Church. It
was situated near Mountain Run, about fifteen miles northeast of
Orange Court-House, on lands originally taken up by Mr. Francis
Taliafero, Sen. It continued to be used as a place of worship by
an Episcopal congregation in the early part of the present century,
and was standing at least as late as the year 1813. During the
war of the Revolution a Mr. Leland, a Baptist preacher, who was
a man of considerable notoriety in these parts at that period, ap-
plied to the vestry for the use of this church. The following letter
from the father of President Madison, who was at the time a
member of the vestry, written in a clear, bold hand, (the original of
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 87
which we have in our possession,) answers his application, and at
the same time throws no little light upon the rights and privileges
of the Church as they stood at that time : —
" August 23, 1781.
" Sir : — For want of opportunity and leisure, I have delayed till now
answering your letter relative to your preaching in the Pine Stake Church.
When the vestry met I forgot to mention your request to them, as I pro-
mised you, till it broke up. I then informed the members present what
you required of them ; who, as the case was new and to them unprece-
dented, thought it had better remain as it then stood, lest the members
of the church should be alarmed that their rights and privileges were in
danger of being unjustifiably disposed of.
^' I do not remember ever to have heard of your claiming a right to preach
in the church till you mentioned in your letter of such a report. As to
any right in Disesnters to the church, you may see by the Act of Assembly
made in the October Session in 177G, they are excluded. The Act, pro-
bably to satisfy the members, (as much as the nature of the case would
admit of,) reserved to the use of the Church by law established the glebes,
churches, books, plate, ornaments, donations, &c. Which, as hath been
generally said, the Dissenters were well satisfied with, having in lieu
thereof by the same authority gained a very important privilege, — the
exemption from contributing to the support of an established Church and
ministry, which they had long groaned under and complained of. On
considering the case I make no doubt, sir, but your candour will readily
excuse the vestry in not granting your petition.
"I am, sir, your humble servant,
"James Madison
"Rev. Mr. Leland."
At a later period, ministers of other denominations had free
access to these old Colonial churches, and used and occupied them not
so much by courtesy as of common right. The Old Orange Church
was for a long while in the exclusive use of another denomination
of Christians, and the Middle Church was for some time, as was
also Walker's Church in Albemarle, alternately occupied by the
Rev. Matthew Maury and the blind Presbytei'ian preacher. The
latter came to this part of Virginia at a period of great depression in
the Episcopal Church, and a house of worship was erected for him
near Gordonsville, in this county, to which, however, he did not con-
fine his ministrations. It was here, probably on his way from
Albemarle to Orange Court, that Mr. Wirt was furnished with a
theme which has given as much notoriety to himself as to the
preacher. Before this Mr. Waddell laboured among his people in
comparative obscurity. His fame as a preacher was little known,
even in his own immediate vicinity, until after the appearance of
Mr. Wirt's celebrated letter in the British Spy. His congregations,
which previously had been very small, now became large to over-
88 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
flowing. ^ ersons from a distance far beyond the usual limit of
attendance upon divine worship in those days — some on foot, some
on horseback, some in " every kind of conveyance" — flocked to hear
the famous blind preacher. Without meaning to detract aught
from his fame as a preacher, we have no doubt, if we may form
an opinion from the representation of persons who knew him well
and heard him often, that his discourse on the occasion referred to
owes not a little of its surpassing beauty and eflfectiveness to the
brilliant imagination and fine descriptive powers of the author of
the British Spy.
Turning now from the old Colonial churches to the clergy who
ministered in this parish in former times, we find ourselves, in the
absence of vestry-books and other ancient records, somewhat at a
loss to reproduce in exact chronological order their names and the
period of their service. "The memory of man," and some private
records in our possession, must furnish all the data upon which we
can proceed in this regard. The old Scotch minister to whom we
have already referred, who resided near and preached at the first
Orange Church as early as 1740, is the first in the order of time
of whom we can obtain any information; and even his name is
passed into oblivion. In 1753, the name of the Rev. Mungo
Marshall appears for the first time in connection with this parish,
though it is probable he took charge of the same at an earlier
period. He continued to reside here until the time of his death,
which took place either in 1757 or 1758. We find it on record in
the clerk's office of this county, that letters of administration upon
his estate were taken out in the latter year. He was buried in
the churchyard attached to the Old Brick Church, but for a long
while no stone or other memento distinguished the place of his
interment. At length, many years after his death, a connec-
tion of his bequeathed a certain sum, upon condition that his
legatee was not to receive it until he had first placed a tombstone
over the remains of the Rev. Mungo Marshall. In due time
thereafter this was done. But it was not long permitted to desig-
nate the quiet resting-place of the dead. When the work of
destruction commenced upon the church, the despoilers did not
overlook the churchyard. The graves of the departed, and the
monuments sacred to their memory, were not sacred in their eyes.
The tombstones were borne ofi" by their sacrilegious hands and ap-
propriated to common and unhallowed uses. That which covered
*,he remains of this man of God was used first to grind paints
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 89
upon, and afterward served in a tannery for the purpose of dress-
ing hides.
In 1760, we find the Rev. William Giberne officiating in this
parish. Whether he was removed by death or otherwise we cannot
ascertain ; but his residence here was a brief one ;* for at the close
of the year 1761, the Rev. James Marye, Jr., having just entered
into Orders, commenced his ministry in Orange. His first recorded
official act tr which we are able to refer was his preaching the
funeral sermon of the paternal grandmother of President Madison.
We find in the family record of her son (James Madison, Sen.) the
following entry: — "Frances, wife of Ambrose Madison, departed
this life October 25, 1761, and was interred the Sunday following,
(at Montpelier in Orange.) Her funeral sermon was preached on
Wednesday the 30th of December following, by the Rev. Mr. James
Marye, Jr., on Revelations xiv. 13." Mr. Marye was a worthy
exception to a class of clergy that obtained in A^irginia in olden
time. So far as we can learn, he was a man of evangelical views
and sincere piety. We have seen a manuscript sermon of his on
the religious training of children, which would do honour to the
head and heart of any clergyman, and whose evangelical tone and
spirit might well commend it to every pious parent and every en-
lightened Christian. He remained in charge of this parish about
six years. Upon the death of his father, (the Rev. James Marye,
Sen.,) who was the minister of St. George's parish, Spottsylvania,
for thirty-one years, he was chosen to supply his place, — an unmis-
takable evidence of the high regard in which both father and son
were held by the parishioners of St. George's. The Rev. Mr. Marye
is the first minister in St. Thomas parish whose residence we can
with any degree of certainty fix at the glebe. This farm, after
passing through various hands since it ceased to be the property
of the Church, is now by a singular coincidence in possession of
one of his lineal descendants, Robert B. Marye, Esq.
The Rev. Thomas Martin succeeded Mr. Marye in 1767-68. He
was a young man of merit. He came with his mother and sister
to reside at the glebe ; but his residence was of short duration.
Death removed him from the scene of his labours and his usefulness
not long after he entered upon the duties of the parish. He was
followed by the Rev. John Barnett. His name occurs officially in
1771. But his connection with the parish was also of brief dura-
* He removed to Richmond county, Virginia.
90 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
tion, for in 1774 the Rev. John Wingate was the minister, and is
the last of the ante-Revolutionary clergy whose name occurs.
Whether he continued in charge of the parish during the war we
have no means to verify ; but circumstances justify the conclusion
that, like some others of the old Colonial clergy, he surrendered
his charge at the commencement of hostilities between the Colonies
and the mother-country.
A perod of sad depression dates from this time. For the long
interval between 1774 and 1797, (twenty-three years,) the parish
seems t'> be without a minister. The occasional services that were
rendered by the Rev. Matthew Maury, of Albemarle, during the
latter part of this interval, are, so far as we can see, the only ones
performed by any clergyman. Mr. William Moore, a man of note
in the parish at this time, a good old Churchman and an excellent
reader, was generally called upon on funeral occasions to read the
burial service. In the first Convention of the Church in Virginia,
held in 1785, we find St. Thomas parish, though without a minis-
ter, not without a representative. Mr. Thomas Bai-bour (father
of the late Governor and of the late Judge Barbour) appeared as
the delegate. In the following year the parish is again represented
by Mr. Barbour, in connection with Mr. William Moore. In 1790,
Thomas Barbour and J. Daniel are the delegates. In 1793, the
parish is again represented by Thomas Bnrbour. In 1797, Ave find
the Rev. Charles O'Niel the clerical and William Moore the lay
delegate. The Rev. Mr. O'Niel took charge of the parish in the
latter year, and remained until 1800. He resided first near the
Pine Stake Church, and preached at that church during his resi-
dence in Orange. He afterward removed to the upper part of the
county, where, as well as at his former residence, he taught school
in connection with his parochial duties. The late Judge Barbour
was one of his pupils. Mr. O'Niel was an Irishman, and a man
of ardent temperament and of ardent temper. We have often
heard him spoken of by elderly persons, but more as a teacher
than as a preacher. He was of that class of teachers that adopted
not only the theory, but the practice also, of the old regime, as the
best for the government of boys. Flogging was a main ingredient
in the practice of his system. He had a summary method of re-
ducing and gentling a refractory youth. Mounting him upon tt e
back of an athletic negro man, whom he seems to have kept for
the purpose, the culprit was pinioned hand and foot as in a vice,
and, with the unsparing application of the rod to his defenceless
back, was taught the lesson, if not the doctrine, of passive obe
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 91
dience. However his school may have flourished under his manage'
ment, it seems his parish did not, for we look in vain for any fruits
of his parochial laboiirs. Another long interval now occurs in the
history of the parish, without any one to take the regular oversight
of its spiritual interests. The Rev, Matthew Maury again kindly
extended his care to this neglected field, and performed occasional
services in it at least as late as 1806. In 1809-11, we find the Rev.
Hugh Coran Boggs, of Berkeley parish, Spottsylvania, devoting
a portion of his time to Orange. He preached at the Pine Stake
Church and also at the court-house. We have often heard it said,
that when he preached at the latter place he was never known to
use the Liturgy. This may have been owing to the difficulty he
met with in procuring the responses. He may have rightly judged
the lex necessitatis to be a "higher law" and of more stringent
force than any canon or rubric to the contrary. From 1811 to 1815
the parish was again without a minister. In the latter year, the
Rev. William Hawley, coming to reside at Culpepper Court-House,
took charge of St. Thomas parish in connection with St. Stephen's
Church, Culpepper. At the time he commenced his labours in
Orange, the Episcopal Church had wellnigh died out in the county.
But three or four communicants remained in all this region of
country, and some of these were far advanced in age. So entirely
had our time-honoured service gone into desuetude, that when Mr.
Hawley first commenced its use it was listened to as a striking
novelty. Under his ministry there began to appear the dawn of a
brighter day for the Church. Several communicants were added ;
some of whom, in the providence of God, still remain with us. In
the autumn of 1816, Bishop Moore made his first visitation of the
parish, preached and administered the Lord's Supper, and also the
rite of Confirmation, in the court-house. This was now our usual —
nay, our only — place of worship. Referring to this visitation, the
Bishop, in his report to the following Convention, says, "My
labours commenced in the county of Orange, at which place I
preached to a large and attentive auditory, celebrated the Lord's
Supper, and administered the rite of Confirmation to a goodly
number." The visit of the good Bishop, as well from its novelty
as its eff'ectiveness, was calculated to make, and did make, a great
impression at the time. It was an event of unusual solemnity, and
is still remembered with lively interest by some who were present.
This was the first Episcopal visitation that had ever been made,
and this the first time the rite of Confirmation had ever been ad-
ministered, in the parish. Bishop Madison, it appears, was in the
92 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
habit of visiting his relatives at Montpelier, socially, from time to
time, but we learn from undoubted authority that he never visited
the parish in his Episcopal capacity. Among the " goodly number"
confirmed by Bishop Moore on this occasion was the aged mother
of President Madison. She became a communicant at the age of
twenty, and now at the age of fourscore and four she came forward
to ratify her early baptismal vows. Until that day an opportunity
had never presented itself for the reception of this solemn and
sacred rite. The ministry of Mr. Hawley was evidently blessed
during his connection with the parish ; but the growing interest in
religion and the Church which now became manifest was checked
at this auspicious period by his removal in 1817 to another field
of labour. In 1820, the Rev. Herbert Marshall came to Culpepper
and devoted some of his time to Orange. This worthy young mi
nister married the sister of the present Bishop of Kentucky. The
parish was very soon deprived of the benefit of his labours. Death
ended his usefulness not long after he came to this part of the
diocese. For about two years from 1823, the Rev. Frederick
Hatch, of Albemarle, had the oversight of the congregation in
Orange, ofiiciating once a month at the court-house. In the winter
of 1826-27, the Rev. George A. Smith came to reside in Culpepper,
and took charge of St. Thomas parish in connection with St.
Mark's. He continued in charge until 1830, and devoted two
Sundays in the month to the congregation at Orange Court-
House. While it appears the attendance on divine service was good
and the congregations attentive during the time he officiated here,
yet at this period the interests of the parish were at a low ebb.
In his report to Convention in 1828, Mr. Smith says, "There is no
vestry in this parish, and the churches which existed there some
years since have been destroyed." A decided improvement, how-
ever, in the spiritual interests of the congregation took place under
his ministry, and several communicants were added to the Church.
In the early part of August, 1832, the Rev. William G. H. Jones,
coming on a visit, was induced to take up his residence in Orange,
and to undertake the pastoral care of the parish together with
Walker's Church, in Albemarle. Here he met with the Assistant-
Bishop of the diocese, who had an appointment at Orange Court-
House at that time. This was a most auspicious period in the history
of the parish. There was found at the time of his coming a deep
awakening in the hearts of many on the subject of religion ; and
this interest was kept alive for some time thereafter. The visit of
Bishop Meade at the time was also most opportune, and was at-
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 93
tended with the happiest effects. In his report to the following
Convention he stated, "From Albemarle I proceeded to Orange
Court-House, where I spent two days in ministering the word and
ordinances to large and deeply-impressed assemblies ; on the second
day I administered the rite of Confirmation to seventeen persons,
and the Holy Communion to more than twice that number. A spirit
of earnest inquiry has been awakened among the people of that
place, which will, T trust, lead to glorious results to themselves and
their posterity." Of the communicants added on that occasion,
Mr. Jones, in his first report from St. Thomas parish, says, "Five
were added by Bishop Meade, and twelve by myself." An effort
was now made to reorganize the parish. A vestry was elected — a
body which had not existed in the parish for many years — and
steps were shortly after taken for the building of a church. In
1883, a spacious and eligible lot in the village was selected, and a
neat church-edifice of brick was commenced and completed the fol-
lowing year, at the cost of three thousand five hundred dollars.
The Rev. Mr. Jones continued in Orange until the summer of
1840.
In January, 1841, the present minister took charge of the parish.
Since that time there have been alternate seasons of prosperity and
adversity in the congregation. Yet, in the face of some discourage-
ments, both the communion and the congregation have steadily
increased. Mr. Jones, in his last report to Convention from St.
Thomas's Church, gave thirty-four as the number of communicants :
the number now reaches ninety. In 1853, to accommodate the
increasing congregation, the church-edifice was enlarged, and at
the same time both the exterior and interior were much improved.
When we look back at the depressed state to which the parish
was reduced, and compare it with what it now is, we cannot but
exclaim, "What hath God wrought!" and to add, "Not unto us,
0 Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name, give glory." If we
except the interval between 1797 and 1800, during which the Rev.
Mr. O'Niel resided in Orange, the parish was without a resident
minister from 1774 to 1832. Nowhere, during the long and dreary
night through which the Church in Virginia was made to pass, was
the darkness more distinctly visible than in Orange. With but
three or four communicants left, and they far advanced in age, —
with her substantial church-edifices, erected in Colonial times,
utterly destroyed, — with the graves of her once honoured servants,
who ministered at her altars, dismantled and insulted, — with her
time-hallowed Liturgy, so dear to every true-heartod Churchman,
94 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
gone into disuse and become a novelty in public worship, — with a
parish without an organization and existing only in name, and with
the place of litigation as the only place for the worship of Almighty
God, — the destruction of the Church in Orange seemed wellnigh
complete. But light was made to dawn upon her darkness. By
the mercy of God she has risen again, phoenix-like, from her former
ashes, and is now, in point of numbers, as it respects both her
communion and her congregation, one of the largest of the rural
parishes in Virginia.
During the darkest period of the parish, there were not wanting
a few faithful witnesses. These were identified with the Church
in the time of her prosperity and in the time of her adversity. They
forsook her not because she was down-trodden and depressed ; on
the contrary, they loved her more the more she was afflicted, and
clung to her like loving children to a devoted mother. If among
God's ancient people the children were blest for their fathers' sake,
so we may believe the Church in Orange was ultimately blest for
the sake of these devoted servants of the living God. Among
these we deem it proper to notice specially the names of several
individuals, and we can do so now with the more propriety as we
speak of the dead and not of the living. The individuals to whom
we allude were the mother of President Madison, the mother of
Governor and Judge Barbour, Mrs. Frances Burnley, and Mrs.
Jane Howard, — the two last the sisters of Mrs. Lucy Balmaine, of
Winchester. These were all bright ornaments of the religion which
they professed, and the savour of their piety continues to the
present day.
In the absence of vestry-books and other records, I am unable
to furnish the names of the vestry prior to the reorganization of
the parish in 1832. Since that time we find among the vestry the
following : —
Charles P. Howard, Mann A. Page, Jeremiah Morton, James Shep-
herd, Peyton Grymes, Lewis B. Wilhams, Anthony Twyman, Robert T.
Willis, Lawrence H. Taliafero, John Taliafero, Benjamin Franklin Talia-
fero, Jaqueline P. Taliafero, Uriel Terrill, Thomas T. Slaughter, John J.
Ambler, John H. Lee, James H. Minor, William Bankhead, Peter T.
Johnson, Thomas A. Robinson, and Horace D. Taliafero.
The principal families connected with the Church in Orange in
Colonial times were the Barbours, Bells, Burtons, Campbells, Caves,
Chews, Conways, Daniels, Madisons, Moores, Ruckers, Shepherds,
Taylors, Taliaferos, and Whites. Mr. Richard White, who died
some years since at the age of ninety, was the last communicant
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. ^f)
connected with the Old Orange Church. With comparatively few
exceptions, the descendants of these respective families continued
to retain their attachment to the Church of their fathers, and some
of them are among its most worthy members.
The following letter has also been received from the same : —
"Orange Court-House, March 7, 1857.
"Right Rev. and Dear Sir: — Since I wrote you some days since, a
few items of interest in relation to this parish have come to my hands. A
single leaf, and that somewhat mutilated, of the old vestry-book of St.
Thomas parish, was found among the papers of one of my communicants
who died last week, and has since been handed to me. From this I am
able to ascertain who composed the vestry as far back as 1769. The
record states: — 'At a vestry held for St. Thomas parish, at the glebe, on
Friday, the 1st day of September, 1769, present, Rev. Thomas Martin,
Eras. Taylor, James Madison, Alexander Waugh, Francis Moore, William
Bell, Rowland Thomas, Thomas Bell, Richard Barbour, William Moore.'
The object of their meeting was to take into consideration the repairs
necessary to be made to the house and other buildings connected with the
glebe.
" From a private record kept at the time, I also learn that the congre-
gation in Orange, in the year 1786, engaged the services of Mr. Waddell,
the blind Presbyterian minister, to preach for them for two years. He
officiated at the Brick Church. There was no Episcopal clergyman here
at the time. It appears that forty pounds were subscribed for him, and
it was expected the subscription would reach sixty pounds. The Rev.
Mr. Balmaine was here occasionally at that period, addressing Miss Lucy
Taylor, whom he married on the 31st day of October, 1786. He preached
and administered the ordinances from time to time, both before and after
his marriage. On one occasion, when Mr. Waddell preached, we observe
he gave notice that he would preach and administer the Lord's Supper on
the following Sunday.
"I have also ascertained that the Rev. Mr. O'Niel was in Orange in
1796. I stated he came in 1797. You will make this correction, and also
add to the list of the families the Thomases and the Waughs.
" Yours very truly and affectionately, J. Earnest."
36 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
ARTICLE LVI.
The G-enealogy of the Madisons and Taylors — President Madison's
religious character — Churches in Madison and Rappahannock.
The following documents will give you the ancestry of President
Madison. You may be aware that he married Mrs. Dolly Todd :
her maiden name was Payne. She was, as I am informed, a Qua-
keress, and was born in the county of Hanover, but at the time of
her marriage resided in Philadelphia. It was, if I mistake not,
while he was a member of Congress, sitting at the time in Phila-
delphia, that he made her acquaintance. She was a lady of ex-
ceedingly attractive manners. During the latter years of her life
she resided in Washington, and in her old age was baptized and
became a member of St. John's Church in that city. Mr. Madison
died without children. Mrs. Madison had one child, a son, by her
former marriage.
I have thought it best to furnish you with a transcript from the
record of James Madison, Sen., as it will give you some further in-
formation respecting the family. It was transcribed in great haste,
and was intended only for my own eye.
A. — James Madison (the late President) is the eldest of twelve chil-
dren— eight sous and four daughters — of whom but one brother and one
sister are now living. He was born on the north bank of the Rappahannock,
at Port Conway, opposite the town of Port Royal, on the 5th of March, 1751.
His father's name was James, the son of Ambrose Madison and Frances
Taylor. He lived to the age of seventy-eight years, and died in February,
1801. The father of Ambrose was John, the son of John Madison, who
it appears took out, by a statement of a patent now in possession, certain
lands on the shores of the Chesapeake, between Nurth and York Rivers,
in Glocester county, near Colonel Taylor's creek, in the year 1653, — 6th
Charles XL, — Richard Benuet, Governor and Captain-General of Virginia.
The ancestors of Frances Taylor are traced one remove further back, and
were residents of the same district of country. The name of his mother
was Nelly Conway, descended from some of the early settlers. Her father,
Francis, lived near Port Royal, in the county of Caroline, whose father,
Edwin Conway, married Elizabeth Thompson. Her mother, Rebecca, was
the daughter of E. Gaines and John Catlett, whose father, John, was born
in Viriiinia and educated in England. He was killed by the Indians in
defending the fort of Port Royal, — being a first settler. A great-aunt of
his was likewise killed by the Indians lower down the river. It appears
that all the ancestry just traced were natives of Virginia, and, it is be-
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA.. 97
Heved, for the most part at least, if not altogether, of English descent.
In both the paternal and maternal line of ancestry they were planters, and
among the respectable though not the most opulent class.*
B. — From the Record of James Madimn, Sen., father of the President
Ambrose Madison was married to Frances Taylor, August 24, 1721.
Ambrose Madison was father of James Madison. Frances Taylor was
sister of Erasmus Taylor and daughter of James Taylor.
James Madison, 8en. was born March 27, 172o, and was baptized April
21, and had for godfathers Thomas Madison and James Taylor, and for
godmothers Martha Taylor and Elizabeth Penu.
Frances, wife of Ambro.^e Madison, departed this life October 25, 1761,
and was interred the Sunday following at Montpelier in Orange. Hei
funeral sermon was preached on Wednesday, the 30th of December fol-
lowing, by the Rev. Mr. James Marye, Jr., on Revelation ch. 14, v. 13.
James Madison. Sen. was manied to Nelly Conway, September 15, 1749.
The following are their children : —
James Madison, Jr., the President, was born on Tuesday night at 12
o'clock, being the last of the 5th and beginning of the 6th day of March,
1751, and was baptized by the Rev. Mr. Wm. Davis, March 31, and had
for godfathers Mr. John Moore and Mr. Jonathan Gibson, and for god-
mothers Mrs. Rebecca Moore, Miss Judith, and Miss Elizabeth Catlett.
[James Madison, Jr. was born at Port Conway, in King Greorge, and
was baptized there, — his mother being on a visit there to her mother at
the time of his birth.]
Frances Madison was born on Monday morning at 7 o'clock, June 18,
1753, and was baptized by the Rev. Mr. Mungo Marshall, July 1, and
had for godfathers Mr. Taverner Beale and Mr. Erasmus Taylor, and for
godmothers Miss Milly Taylor and Mrs. Frances Beale.
Ambrose Madison was born on Monday night between 9 and 10 o'clock,
January 27, 1755, and was baptized by the Rev. Mungo Marshall, March
2, and had for godfathers Mr. James Coleman and Colonel George Taylor,
and for godmothers Mrs. Jane Taylor and Alice Chew.
Catlett Madison was born on Friday morning at 3 o'clock, February
10, 1758, and was baptized by the Rev. Mr. James Maury, February 22,
and had for godfathers Colonel Wm. Taliafero and Mr. Richard Beale, and
for godmothers Mrs. Elizabeth Beale and Miss Milly Chew.
Nelly Madison (afterward Mrs. Hite) was born February 14, 1760, and
was baptized March 6, by the Rev. Mr. Wm. Giberne, and had for god-
fathers Mr. Larken Chew and Mr. Wm. Moore, and for godmothers Miss
Elizabeth Catlett and Miss Catharine Bowie. The said Nelly was born on
Thursday morning just after daybreak.
William Madison was born May 1, 1762, baptized May 23, by the Rev.
James Marie, Jr., and had for godfathers Mr. Wm. Moore and JNIr. James
Taylor, and for godmothers Miss Mary Willis and Miss Milly Chew.
He was born on Saturday morning, about twenty-five minutes after 10
o'clock.
* These papers arc copies from the originals loaned me by Mrs. L. H. Conway,
niece of the late Presi lent Madison. They were found among his papers after the
death of his wife. The original of this marked A. is believed to be in Mr. Madisoa's
handwriting. The handwriting of the other is not known.
Vol. II.— 7
us OLD CHUilCIIES, MINISTERS, AND
Sarah Madison, (Mrs. Thomas Macon,) born August 17, 1764, and
was baptized September 15, by the Rev. James Marye, Jr., and had for
godfathers Captain Ilichard Barbour and Mr. Andrew Shepherd, and for
godmothers Mrs. Sarah Taylor and Miss Mary Conway. She was born
forty-five minutes after 5 o'clock p.m., on Friday.
Elizabeth Madi.son was born February 19, 1768, half an hour after 12
o'clock, and was baptized February 22, by the Rev. Mr. Thomas Martin,
and had for godfathers Major Zachariah Burnley and Captain Ambrose
Powell, and for godmothers Miss Alice and Miss Milly Chew.
Reuben Madison was born September 19, 1771, between 5 and 6 o'clock
in the evening, and was baptized November 10, by the Rev. Mr. John
Baruett, and had for godfathers Mr. Thomas Barbour and Mr. James
Chew, and for godmothers Miss Alice and Miss Milly Chew.
Frances Taylor Madison (afterward Mrs. Dr. Robert H. Rose) was born
October 4, 1774, and was baptized October 30, by the Rev. Mr. John
Wingate, and had for godfathers Mr. Thomas Bell and Mr. Richard
Taylor, and for godmothers Miss Frances Taylor and Miss Elizabeth
Taylor.
THE TAYLOR FAMILY.
The Taylors of Orange trace their ancestry back to James Taylor,
of Carlisle, England. The time of his emigration to Virginia is
not known. It appears he settled on the Chesapeake between the
North and York Rivers, (Doc. A.) He died in 1698. He had
several children, — one of whom (Mary) was the mother of Judge
Edmund Pendleton. His son John (who married a Pendleton) is
the ancestor of Colonel John Taylor, of Caroline. His son James
took up lands in Orange, and was a first settler. He was the father
of Frances, wife of Ambrose Madison and grandmother of the
President. He had four sons, — James, George, Zachary, and Eras-
mus. From James are descended the Taylors of Kentucky.
George had fourteen sons, seven of whom served in the Revolution-
ary War, and thirteen of whom held offices under GoA^ernment at
the same time. Some of his descendants are now residing in
Orange, and are members of the Episcopal Church. Zachary had
seven sons and three daughters. He was grandfather of General
Zachary Taylor. Tlie latter was born at Hare Forest, about four
miles from Orange Court-House. Erasmus had two sons and five
daughters, — viz.: John and Robert, Mildred, (married Wm. Morton,)
Frances, (married Burnley,) Elizabeth, (married Glassel,)
Lucy, (married the Rev. A. Balmaine,) Jane, (married Charles P.
Howard.) John was father of the late Judge John Taylor, of Mis-
sissippi. Robert married Frances Pendleton, and from them are
descended most of the Taylors now residing in Orange, — all of
whom retain their attachment to the Church of their fathers.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 99
PRESIDENT Madison's religious opinions.
In the neighbourhood of Orange Court-House, at Montpelier,
lived Mr. James Madison, once President of the United States, and
rehitive of Bishop Madison. Having been often asked concerning
his religious sentiments, I give the following, received from the Rev.
Dr. Balmaine, who married his near relative, and by whom Mr.
Madison himself was married. Mr. Madison was sent to Princeton
College, — perhaps through fear of the skeptical principles then so
prevalent at William and Mary. During his stay at Princeton a
great revival took place, and it was believed that he partook of its
spirit. On his return home he conducted family worship in his
father's house. He soon after oflFered for the Legislature, and it
was objected to him, by his opponents, that he was better suited to
the pulpit than to the legislative hall. His religious feeling, how-
ever, seems to have been short-lived. His political associations
with those of infidel principles, of whom there were many in his
day, if they did not actually change his creed, yet subjected him
to the general suspicion of it. This was confirmed in the minds of
some by the active part he took in opposition to every thing like
the support of churches by the Legislature, in opposition to Patrick
Henry, Governor Page, Richard Henry Lee, and others. This,
however, ought not to have been sufficient to fix the charge upon
him, as George Mason and others, whose faith was not questioned,
agreed with him in this policy. A reference to a memorial against
any such act by Mr. Madison, at the request, it is affirmed, of some
non-Episcopalians, will show his character and views. It is by
far the ablest document which appears on that side of the question,
and establishes his character for good temper as well as decision.
[t is drawn up on the supposition of the truth of Christianity. It
must indeed have done this in order to be acceptable to those by
whom it was solicited. Whatever may have been the private senti-
ments of Mr. Madison on the subject of religion, he was never
known to declare any hostility to it. He always treated it with
respect, attended public worship in his neighbourhood, invited minis-
ters of religion to his house, had family prayers on such occasions,
— though he did not kneel himself at prayers. Episcopal ministers
often went there to see his aged and pious mother and administer
the Holy Communion to her. I was never at Mr. Madison's but
once, and then our conversation took such a turn — though not
designed on my part — as to call forth some expressions and argu-
100 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
ments whicli left the impression on my mind that his creed was not
Btrictly regulated by the Bible. At his death, some years after
this, his minister — the Rev. Mr. Jones — and some of his neighbours
openly expressed their conviction, that, from his conversation and
bearing during the latter years of his life, he must be considered as
receiving the Christian system to be divine. As to the purity of
his moral character, the amiableness of his disposition toward all,
his tender affection to his mother and wife, kindness to his neigh-
bours, and good treatment of his servants, there was never any
question.
Among the many orations called forth by the death of Mr
Madison, there was one — now before me — by Mr. Philip Williams, of
Winchester, Virginia. From this I select the following passages : —
" His pareuts were both pious, and instilled into his youthful mind the
moral and religious principles which were the strong foundations of his
future greatness. His father died before he was elevated to the Presidency,
but his muther lived to see him advanced to that office, and enjoying all
of worldly honours that the fondest mother's heart could wish. He re-
ceived his classical education from Mr. Robertson, a Scotchman, who
resided in King and Queen, and the Rev. Mr. Martin, an Episcopal clergy-
man, who lived for many years in his father's family. Under their in-
struction he prepared himself for college, and entered at Princeton in 1769.
When he arrived at Princeton, he found that in his literary acquirements
he was behind many of his juniors, and, with praiseworthy emulation,
determined to learn twice as much each day as was usually acquired in
that time. He persevered in his determination until he graduated on the
last Wednesday in September, 1771. He continued at Princeton until
1772, from a desire to learn Hebrew and to extend his other studies under
the superintendence of Dr. Witherspoon, then President of the College, to
whom he was sincerely attached."
From his early training in pious principles, and from the testi-
mony of his minister and others as to his later years, Mr. Williams
expresses his conviction that Mr. Madison was an humble believer
in Christianity. Mr. Williams, though a zealous Episcopalian,
agrees with Madison in his opposition to the law advocated by Mr.
Henry for the support of religion, and quotes the following passages
with some others from his argument on the subject, introducing
them with this statement : —
" The free exercise of religion was protected by the Bill of Rights; but
there were many of our most distinguished men, who not only insisted
upon the right of the Legislature, but urged the expediency of compelling
every man to contribute to the support of some Church, but giving him
the liberty to prescribe to which Church it should be paid. At the pro
ceding session a bill for a general assessment 'for the support of Christian
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 101
teachers,' upon this principle, was reported to the House. Its opponents,
with the double view of enlightening the public mind and ascertaining
more accurately the public will, succeeded in passing a resolution that the
bill should be printed and submitted to the people, that it might be exa-
mined by them, and passed or rejected at the ensuing Legislature as they
might dictate.
"Mr. Madison drew a memorial and remonstrance against the passing
this bill, characterized by his usual mildness, good sense, and close reason-
ing, which was extensively circulated throughout the State, and doubtless
contributed in a great degree to defeat the measure.
" This memorial was by many attributed to the pen of George Mason.
While it admitted the divine origin of the Christian religion, and paid a
just tribute to the purity of its doctrines, it showed clearly the impolicy
and danger of any interference by the civil power with the subject of
religion.
" This able paper is so little known that I must trespass upon your
patience by some extracts from it : —
" ' The bill implies either that the civil authority is a competent judge
of religious truth, or that it may employ religion as an engine of civil
policy. The first is an arrogant pretension, falsified by the extraordinary
opinions of rulers, in all ages and throughout the world ; the second, an
unhallowed pervei'sion of the means of salvation. The establishment pro-
posed by the bill is not requisite for the support of the Christian religion.
To say that it is, is a contradiction to the Christian religion itself, for
every page of it disavows a dependence on the power of this world; it is
a contradiction to fact, for it is known that this religion both existed and
flourished, not only without the support of human laws, but in spite of
every opposition from them, and not only during the period of miraculous
aid, but long after it had been left to its own evidence and the ordinary
care of Providence.
"'Experience testifies that ecclesiastical establishments, instead of
maintaining the purity and efficacy of religion, have had a contrary ope-
ration.
" ' The establishment in question is not necessary for the support of
civil government. What influence, in fact, have ecclesiastical establish-
ments had on civil society ? In some instances they have been seen to
erect a spiritual tyranny on the ruins of the civil authority ; in more in-
stances have they been seen upholding the throne of political tyranny; in
no instance have they been seen the guardians of the liberties of the
people, llulers who wished to subvert the public liberty may have found
an established clergy convenient auxiliaries; a just government, instituted
to secure and perpetuate it, needs them not. Such a government will be
best supported by protecting every citizen in the enjoyment of his religion,
with the same equal hand which protects his person and property, by
neither invading the equal rights of any sect, nor sufiering any sect to
invade those of another. It will destroy that moderation and harmony
which the forbearance of our law to intermeddle with religion has produced
among its several sects. Torrents of blood have been spilt in the Old
World by vain attempts of the secular arm to extinguish religious discord
by proscribing all differences in religious opinion. Time has at length
revealed the true remedy. Every relaxation of narrow and vigorous policy,
whenever it has been tried, has been found to assuage the disease. The
102 OLD CHURCHES, iMlXISTEllS, AND
American tlieatre has exhibited proofs that equal and complete liberty, if
it does not wholly eradicate it, sufficiently destroys its malignant influence
in the health and prosperity of the State. If, with the salutary effect of
this system under our eyes, we begiu to contract the bounds of religious
freedom, we know no name that will too severely reproach our folly. At
least, let warning be taken at the first-fruits of the threatened innovation.
The very appearance of the bill has transformed that Christian forbearance,
love, and charity, which of late mutually prevailed, into animosities and
jealousies which may not soon be appeased. What mischief may not be
dreaded should this enemy to the public quiet be armed with the force of
law!
" ' The policy of the law is adverse to the difi"usion of the light of
Christianity. The first wish of those who enjoy this precious gift ought
to be that it may be imparted to the whole race of mankind. Compare
the number of those who have as yet received it with the number still
remaining under the dominion of false religion, and how small is the
former ! Does the policy of the bill tend to lessen the disproportion ? No;
it at once discourages those who are strangers to the light of truth from
coming into the regions of it, and countenances, by example, the nations
who continue in darkness, in shutting out those who might convey it to
them. Instead of levelling as far as possible every obstacle to the victo-
rious progress of truth, the bill, with an ignoble and unchristian timidity,
would circumscribe it with a wall of defence against the encroachment of
error.
" ' Finally, the equal rights of every citizen to the free exercise of his
religion, according to the dictates of his conscience, is held by the same
tenure with all our other rights. If we recur to its origin, it is equally
the gift of nature; if we weigh its importance, it cannot be less dear to us;
if we consult the declaration of those rights which pertain to the good
people of Virginia, as the basis and foundation of government, it is enu-
merated with equal solemnity, or rather with studied emphasis. Either,
then, we must say that the will of the Legislature is the only measure of
their authority, and that, in the plenitude of this authority, they may
sweep away all our fundamental rights, or that they are bound to leave
this particular right untouched and sacred ; either we must say that they
may control the freedom of the press, may abolish the trial by jury, may
swallow up the executive and judiciary powers of the State, — nay, that they
may annihilate our very right of suffrage and erect themselves into an in-
dependent and hereditary assembly; or we must say that they have no
authority to enact into a law the bill under consideration.'
THE CHURCHES IN MADISON AND RAPPAHANNOCK.
The following letter from the Rev. Mr. Leavell, the present
minister of these counties, contains all that I have been able to
collect concerning old Bloomfield parish : —
" Dear Bishop: — I have endeavoured to obtain all the information to
be had respecting the old parish of Bloomfield, — embracing a section of
country now known as Madison and Rappahannock. What I have
gathered is from the recollections of the venerable Mrs. Sarah Lewis, now
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 103
In her eighty-second year. Mrs. Lewis is descended from the Pendletons
and Grainescs, of Culpepper, the Vauters, of Essex, and the Ruckers.
From her I learn that there were two churches, — the brick church, called
F. T., which stood near what is now known as the Slate Mills. It took
its name from being near the starting-point of a survey of land taken up
by Mr. Frank Thornton, who carved the initials of his name — F. T. — on an
oak-tree near a spring, where his lines commenced. The other church
was called South Church, — I presume from its relative situation, being
almost due south, and about sixteen miles distant, and four miles below
the present site of Madison Court-House. It was a frame building and
stood on the land of Richard Vauters. Both buildings were old at the
commencement of the Revolutionary War, and soon after, from causes
common to the old churches and parishes in Virginia, went into slow decay.
The first minister she recollects as officiating statedly in these churches
was a Mr. lodell, (or Iredell,) who was the incumbent in 1790 or 1792.
He remained in the parish only a few years, when he was forced to leave
it in consequence of heavy charges of immorality. He was succeeded by
the Rev. Mr. O'Niel, an Irishman, who had charge of the parish for some
years, in connection with the Old Pine Stake and Orange Churches. He
was unmarried, and kept school near the Pine Stake Church, which stood
near to Raccoon Ford, in Orange county. Mr. .John Conway, of Madison,
was a pupil of his, and relates some things which I may here mention, if
you are not already weary of the evil report of old ministers. He played
whist, and on one occasion lost a small piece of money, which the winner
put in his purse, and whenever he had occasion to make change (he was a
sheriff) would exhibit it, and refuse to part with it, because he had won it
from the parson. He also took his julep regularly, and, to the undoing of
one of his pupils, invited him to join him in the social glass. Still, he was
considered as a sober man. Mr. O'Niel left these churches abjut the year
1800. After that the Rev. Mr. Woodville occasionally performed services
there. After the parish became vacant, and the churches tiad gone to
decay, the Lutheran minister, a Mr. Carpenter, officiated at the baptisms,
marriages, and funerals of the Episcopal families. It was at the old
Lutheran Church, near the court-house, that some of our drst political
men in Virginia, when candidates for Congress, held meetings and made
speeches on Suudaj^s, after the religious services. The same .vas also done
in other places, under the sanction of Protestant ministers.
"The Episcopal families around the churches above mentioned were the
Ruckers, Barbours, Beales, Keastleys, Lewises, Blafords, Vauiers, Strothers,
Thorntons, Burtons, Conways, Gipsons, Pannells, Gaineses.
" Since the resuscitation of the Church in Virginia, alruough a long
time after the commencement of the same, effi)rts have been made to re-
vive the Church in the old Bloomfield parish. A new brick church has
been put up at Madison Court-House, and for a time there was a most
encouraging prospect of a considerable congregation at tuat place ; but
emigration, the bane of so many other rising congregations in Virginia,
has sadly reduced our numbers and disappointed our hopes.
" Since the first efforts in behalf of the churches in Madison, the follow-
ing clergymen, ministers of the adjoining counties of Orange, Culpepper,
and Rappahannock, have given a portion of their time and labours to
Madison: — The Rev. Mr. Lamon, the Rev. Mr. Doughen, the Rev. Mr.
Cole, the Rev. Mr. Brown, the Rev. Mr. Earnest, the Rev. Air. Leavell.
104 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
" Of late years the county of Rappahaimock has been formed, partly, 1
believe, from Madison, and a parish organized in the same. Through the
zealous efforts of a few individuals, a neat brick church has been put up
at Woodville, in that county. Previous to this the Rev. Mr. Brown spent
some years in the parish, labouring there and in Madison. A few years
since the Rev. W. H. Pendleton, of Leeds parish, Fauquier, rendered them
regular though unfrequent services. For the last three years the Rev.
Mr. Leavell has been dividing his time and labours equally between the
two counties of Madison and Rappahannock.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 105
ARTICLE LVII.
Northern Neck of Virginia. — Fairfax and Carter Familieg.
We enter now on that most interesting portion of Virginia called
the Northern Neck, which, beginning on the Chesapeake Bay, lies
between the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers, and crossing the
Blue Ridge, or passing through it, with the Potomac, at Harper's
Ferry, extends with that river to the heads thereof in the Alleghany
Mountains, and thence by a straight line crosses the North Moun-
tain and Blue Ridge, at the head-waters of the Rappahannock. By
common consent this is admitted to be the most fertile part of
Virginia, and to abound in many advantages, whether we consider
the rich supply of fish and oysters in the rivers and creeks of the
tide-water portion of it and the rapid growth of its forests and
improvable character of its soil, or the fertility of the lands of the
valley, so much of which is evidently alluvial.
There were settlements at an early period on the rich banks of
the Potomac and Rappahannock by families of note, who took pos-
session of those seats which originally belonged to warlike tribes
of Indians, which latter were forced to give way to the superior
prowess of the former. Of some of these families and their abodes
we shall have occasion to make mention in our progress along the
parishes lying upon the two rivers. It is not inconsistent with the
religious character and design of our work to begin with some
notice of that family to which the whole proprietorship of the
Northern Neck originally belonged, by a grant from the Crown,
especially as, both in England and in Virginia, so many of that
name have been attached to the Episcopal Church, and some of
whom have been bright ornaments of it.
In the corrupt and venal reign of Charles II., the whole State
of Virginia, except such parts as had been specially patented, was
made over for a time to Lord Culpepper. There was, of course, a
good pecuniary consideration given to the King for quitrents.
Lord Culpepper was not only the proprietary of the Colony, but
had the livings of all the parishes in his gift, — could bestow or
take away as he pleased. There was, however, too much of Ame-
rican feeling, even at that early period, to submit to such a mea-
\0H OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
sure. So heavy were the comphiints, and so threatening the
opposition, that the King withdrew the grant of proprietorship for
the whole State, and restricted it with limitations to the Northern
Neck, as above described. By intermarriage between the families
of Culpepper and Fairfax, this part of the State came into possession
of Thomas Fairfax, whose mother was daughter of Lord Culpepper,
himself being the seventh Fairfax Avho had inherited the title of
Lord Cameron. He it was who lived and died in the forests of
old Frederick county, as we have stated in a former number, being
one of the earliest vestrymen of the parish, an active magistrate,
the patron of Washington, a friend of the poor, an eccentric but
most upright man.
The family of Fairfax is a very ancient and respectable one,
according to English history and family records. Within the las'
few years, four octavo volumes of the Fairfax history and corre-
spondence have been published in England, a large portion of M-hoso
contents were accidentally discovered in an old box, supposed to
contain tiles, in one of the old family seats. They had been se-
creted there during Cromwell's rebellion, or soon after, for safe-
keeping, and lest they should fall into the hands of those who would
make an ill' use of them. Being in a box which, Avhen opened,
presented only tiles to the eye, they were supposed to be lost for
the larger part of two centuries. Being furnished with a copy of
these volumes," and having looked over them for the purpose of
collecting any thing suitable to these pages, I present the following
brief notices.
The Fairfaxes were of true Saxon origin, going back to the timea
of William the Conqueror. The name Fair-Fax meant Fair Hair.
In the early history of the family an interesting fact is stated in
old English verse, — viz.: that grandfather, son, and grandson, with
their wives and children, lived in the same house at Bradford, — a
village in England.
" Under one roof they dwelt with their three wives,
Aud at one table eat what God gives :
Our times a sweeter harmony have not known ;
There are six persons, yet their hearts but one.
In these three pairs Bradford may justly glory:
What other place can parallel this story ?"
The above lines were written by the rector of Bradford, in lt>47.
At the beginning of the Reformation, one of the Fairfaxes waa
BC staunch a Catholic that he disinherited his eldest son for taking
part in the sacking of Rome by the Protestants. The following
FAMILIES OF VIR JINIA. 107
extract from Kis will shows the character of his creed : — " First, I
will and bequeath my soul to our Lord Jesus Christ, and to Ladj
Mary, his blessed mother." He leaves money to the poor, and
also to fourteen poor persons with which to buy black gowns and
torches for attendance at his funeral. In a few generations, how-
ever, after this, we find Romanism supplanted by as staunch a
Protestantism. Thomas Fairfax, the first who had a peerage, and
for which, besides many civil and military services, he had to pay
fifteen hundred pounds to King James I. in his pecuniary diffi-
culties, was a Protestant, and sympathized with Cromwell in his
contest with Charles T. His son Ferdinand distinguished himself
in Cromwell's army ; and his grandson Thomas was the celebrated
Lord Fairfax, one of the leaders in the rebel army.
The first Thomas, who purchased the title, had a brother named
Edward, who signalized himself by translating "Tasso's Jerusalem
Delivered" into a smooth English, before unknown. In a work on
Demonology, he thus declares his religious belief and ecclesiastical
position: — "I am, in religion, neither a fanatic Puritan nor super-
stitious Papist, but so settled in conscience, that I have the sure
ground of God's word for all I believe, and the commendable
ordinances of our English Church to approve all I practise."
The will of Ferdinando Fairfax, father of the great General in
Cromwell's army, difi'ers much from that of his Romish ancestor.
Instead of commending his soul to Lady Mary, in conjunction with
her son, his will runs thus: — "First, I commend my soul to their
infinite Majesties, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, — the
same God who hath with his manifold blessings been gracious to
me in this world, and whose goodness, in his great mercy, I hope
to enjoy in heaven. Next, I give my body to be buried, without
much pomp or ceremony, in what place it shall please God to call
me out of this sinful world ; but, if with convenience it may be, I
desire to be interred in the parish of Bolton Percy, near the body
of my dear wife." A sensible and pious will, worthy of imitation.
This parish of Bolton Percy was one in which his brother, the
Rev. Henry Fairfax, ministered. He appears to have been a truly
pious man, and his wife to have been an helpmeet to him. Some
interesting letters, written before and after their marriage, show
them to have been well formed by nature and grace for the position
which they chose in preference to all others. While the country
was full of confusion and bloodshed, and his father, brother, and
nephew were so actively engaged in revolutionary scenes, he
quietly performed his duties as a parish minister, molesting none.
108 OLD CHURCHES, xMINISTERS, AND
and being unmolested by any. He had two sons : one of them,
Bryan, was a scholar and author ; another, Henry, was the fourth
Lord Fairfax, inheriting the title from the great General, who had
no son. His son, who was the grandson of the humble curate
of Bolton Percy, was also inheritor of the title, and married the
daughter of Lord Culpepper. Their son Thomas was the emigrant
to America. At his death, his brother Robert, in England, in-
herited the title, who, dying without issue, bequeathed his estate
to the Rev. Denny Martin, a relative of the family, who assumed
the name of Fairfax. The title, however, descended to the Rev.
Bryan Fairfax, minister of the Episcopal Church of Alexandria,
who was the son of William Fairfax, of Eelvoir, the friend of
"Washington, and manager of the estates of Lord Fairfax after the
death of Robert Carter, alias King Carter, of Lancaster.
Before proceeding further with our brief notice of the Fairfax
family in Virginia, I must add a word as to the celebrated Genera'
in Cromwell's army. Marrying into a Presbyterian family, anu
espousing a cause much patronized by that denomination, he in-
clined, for a time at least, to that persuasion. He appears to have
been an upright and conscientious man. The language of his let-
ters sometimes savours not a little of that which marked the com-
munications of Cromwell ; but his sincerity was never questioned,
— which cannot be said of Cromwell, notwithstanding all the praises
heaped upon him of late years. His great General (Fairfax) could
not bring himself to pursue the ill-counselled, obstinate, and tyran-
nical Charles to the scaffold, but retired into private life until the
time came to put an end to the troubles of the Commonwealth by
the restoration of monarchy, in which he took an active part. He
had an only child, — a daughter, who married the profligate Duke
of Buckingham and led a suffering life. Her relative, Bryan
Fairfax, the author, in writing of her, says, " She was an example
of virtue and piety in a vicious age and debauched court;" adding,
" David tells us, ' Men of high degree are a lie, (they promise and
never perform,) and men of low degree are vanity,' (that is, have
nothing to give.)"
Before leaving the English connections of this family, it may nov
be without interest to mention, that there appears to have been an
intimate friendship between the Herberts and Fairfaxes in the
mother-country, which may have laid the foundation of that which
was established between some of them in this. The same may be
said in relation to the many matrimonial connections between the
Fairfaxes and Carys of Virginia. I meet with a notice of one
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 109
occurring in England, which may have led to those in America.
Coming back to Virginia, with mj notices of this family, I take
pleasure in recording the proofs of genuine piety in the Rev. Bryan
Fairfax. On going to England to receive the title, and perhaps
some property with it, he met with much trouble, delay, and morti-
fication. The Earl of Buchan, General Washington's friend, ad-
dressed a letter of religious sympathy and condolence to him, to
which he thus responds: — "I have the happiness to say with the
Psalmist, in respect of God's dealings toward me, ' I know that of
very faithfulness thou hast caused me to be troubled.'" I have
also seen and published a sermon of his, in which the evangelical
plan of salvation is most distinctly and happily set forth. He also
married into the Gary family, — his marriage being one of five oc-
curring between the families in the course of a few years. Mr.
William Fairfax, of Belvoir, near Mount Vernon, the father of the
Rev. Bryan Fairfax, had married one of the same. One of his
daughters was married to General Washington's elder brother
Lawrence, the owner of Mount Vernon, by which means it came to
pass that there was such an intimacy between the General and the
Fairfax family, and that matrimonial connections between the
Washington and Fairfax families have been so multiplied.
I have thus unavoidably been led, in tracing the history of this
family, to speak of titles and great possessions, which are now all
gone and were of little worth while had.
Let me now address a few admonitory words to those who still
bear the name, or in whose veins the blood of their ancestors con-
tinues to flow, and many of whom are still to be found in our State
and land. I have adduced some interesting proofs of the Protest-
ant, evangelical piety in a number of your ancestors. Show your
estimate of a respectable ancestry, by faithfully "Copying their
excellencies. Say not that you have Abraham for your father, said
our Lord, for God is able to raise up children unto Abraham out
of the stones of the earth. He bids them to do the works of Abra-
ham in order to receive his favour. Your ancestry may, and will
be, only a shame to you, except you copy what is worthy of imita-
tion in their character and conduct. I especially ask your atten-
tion to one fact in the preceding account. In a few generations,
as I have stated, three of your ancestors have chosen the sacred
ministry as their profession, in preference to the army, the navy,
or any other pursuit. Doubtless many others of their wide-spread
relations have done the same. I counsel you, as you would regain
far more than lost titles and lands, that you covet from the Lord in
110 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
behalf of your sons the highest of all honours, — the privilege of
seeking lost souls, and turning sinners to righteousness : then will
thej shine, not on the page of earthly history, but as " stars in the
kingdom of God forever."
SKETCH OF THE CARTER FAMILY,
This may with propriety follow that of the Fairfaxes, as Mr.
Robert Carter — called King Carter — was for a long time the agent
and representative of the Culpepper and Fairfax families, and as his
representatives have been so numerous and respectable in the
Northern Neck.
The first of the family, so far as is known, settled in Upper
Norfolk, now Nansemond county, and was a member of the House
of Burgesses in 1649. In the year 1654, we find him a Bufgess
from Lancaster county, and Commander-in-chief of the forces sent
against the Rappahannock Indians. He continued to be a member
of the House of Burgesses for some years. Both himself and his
eldest son John appear on the vestry-book as members of the
vestry in the year 1666, the father having been acting in that
capacity before, — how long not known. The father, who died in
1669, had previously built, by contract, the first church standing
on the spot where Christ Church now is, and the vestry received it
at the hands of his son John, in six months after the father's death.
The name of John Carter, 1702, is still to be seen on an old dial-
post of cedar, which was taken out of the ground, near the church-
door, some years since, and placed under the pulpit in the present
Christ Church. The first John Carter had three wives, — 1st, Jane,
the daughter of Morgan Glyn, by whom he had George and Eleanor ;
2d, Ann, the daughter of Cleave Carter, probably of England;
3d, Sarah, the daughter of Gabriel Ludlowe, by whom he had
Sarah. All these died before him, and he was buried with them,
near the chancel, in the church which he built, and the tombstone
from which we take the above covers them all, being still in the
same position in the present church. He had also a son named
Charles, of whom nothing is known. His son Robert was by his
last wife, Sarah Ludlowe. The eldest son, John, married, — 1st,
Elizabeth Wormley, and 2d, a Miss Loyd, and had issue. Of this
branch we have no account, and must confine ourselves to that of
Robert, alias King Carter. He married twice : — first, a Miss Ar-
mistead ; next, a widow Willis, daughter of Thomas Landon, of
England. He had ten children by the two wives. Those of whom
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. Ill
we have information were John, Elizabeth, Judith, Ann, Robert of
Nomini, Charles, Landon of Sabine Hall, Mary, Lucy, and George.
The eldest son, John, married Miss Hill, and was Secretary of State
to the Colony, having to pay one thousand five hundred pounds
sterling for the office. His daughter Elizabeth married, first Mr.
Nathaniel Burwell, of Gloucester, and then Dr. George Nicholas,
of Williamsburg. His daughter Judith married the first Mann
Page, of Gloucester, and lived with him at Rosewell. His daughter
Ann married Benjamin Harrison, of Berkeley. His son Robert
married a Miss Bladen. His son Charles married first a Miss
Walker, then a Miss Byrd, sister of Mr. Byrd, of Westover, lastly
a Miss Taliafero. His son Landon, of Sabine Hall, married first
Elizabeth, daughter of Mr. Wormley, of Rosegill, then Maria, a
sister of Mr. Byrd, of Westover, then a Miss Beale. His youngest
child, Lucy, married Henry Fitzhugh, of King George county.
Thus we have disposed of the sons and daughters of Mr. Carter,
of Corotoman, and their marriages. To attempt to do the same
even Avith his grandchildren, much more with their descendants,
would not merely exceed the bounds prescribed to such genealogies
in these notices, but would require a small volume. SuSice it to
say, that, besides intermarriages one with another, the family of
Carter may be found intermingled, not only with those already
mentioned, but with those of Moore, Lee, Berkeley, Champe, Skip-
with, Braxton, Nelson, Waller, Randolph, Brown, Clayborne,
Tasker, Churchill, Chiswell, Minor, Brooke, Thornton, Baylor,
Grymes, Peck, Mitchell, Harris ; and should we attempt to bring
down the list to present times, it would contain others almost with-
out limit. Out of the number of descendants, of whom both
Church and State might well be proud, it would be invidious to
select. So far as we have been able to judge by observation and
learn by report, we may be permitted to say that there has been
much of the amiable and the pious in the family, sometimes mixed
with a portion of eccentricity in individuals of it. In Councillor
Carter, of Nomini, the grandson of King Carter, this peculiarity
was found in a large measure. Early in life his disposition was
marked by a tendency to wit and humour. Afterward he was the
grave Councillor, and always the generous philanthropist. At a
later day he became scrupulous as to the holding of slaves, and
manumitted great numbers. The subject of religion then engrossed
his thoughts. Abandoning the religion of his fathers, he adopted
the creed of the Baptists, and patronized their young preachers,
\\aving a chapel in his own house at Nomini. After a time he em-
112 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
braced the theory of SweJenborg, and at length died an unhappy
death-dreading Papist. All the while he was a most benevolent
and amiable man. I might mention many others, of both sexes,
with whom I have had personal and intimate acquaintance, who
have been beautiful specimens of piety, without the versatility and
inconsistency of Mr. Carter, of Nomini. I was not acquainted
with Mr. Charles Carter, of Shirley, though it has been my happi-
ness to know many of his descendants and to love them for their
work's sake. I find his name on the list of those few devoted
friends of the Church who after the Revolution met together in
Convention at Richmond, to rescue the things that remained
and were ready to perish. I have, however, in the following letter,
a better proof of his love to the Church and its ministers than any
mere attendance on Conventions could furnish. It was addressed
to his old friend and pastor, the Rev. Mr. Currie, of Lancaster, who
was the faithful minister of Christ Church parish for fifty years.
Anticipating his own death as well as that of Mr. Currie, aa
events which might occur before that of Mrs. Currie, he thus gene-
rously provides for her support during her remaining days. She
did survive her husband a number of years, and doubtless enjoyed
the bounty of Mr. Carter.
^^Letter of Mr. Charles Carter, of Shirley, to the Rev. Mr. Currie, at the
Glebe, Lancaster county, Virginia.
"Shirley, May 12, 1790.
" My dear Friend : — Your letters, the one by Mrs. Carter, and the
other enclosing your amiable daughter's to that good lady, are both come
safe to hand, and you may rest assured that nothing could give my family
a greater pleasure than to hear and know from yourself — that is to say,
to have it under your own signature — that you still enjoy a tolerable share
of health; and your friend, Mrs. Ann Butler, [Mr. Carter's second wife,]
begs leave to join with me in congratulating both you and Mrs. Currie
upon being blessed, not only with dutiful, healthy, and robust children,
but clever and sensible. We rejoice to hear it, and pray God they may
prosper and become useful members of society.
" As you are of Caledonian race, you may yet outlive a Buckskin
should it so happen, my will has directed five hundred acres of my land
at Nantypyron to be laid off for the use of Mrs. Currie for and during
her natural life. In the mean time, no power that I know of can deprive
you of your right to the glebe. Our best wishes attend you and yours,
and believe me when I subscribe myself, dear sir,
"Your affectionate friend and servant,
"Charles Carter."
Although Mr. Currie was a man who, judging from a sermon of
his in my possession, put his trust in God for his fatherless children
and widow v.dien taken from them, yet it must have been truly
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 113
comforting to know that this provision was made for them bj a
generous friend. The sermon is on the text, (Matthew vi. 34,)
" Take no thought for to-morrow, for the morrow shall take thought
for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."
It is a very sensible and pious discourse on the subject treated of,
showing, among other things, the impropriety of all uneasy thoughts
about our earthly condition, and is in some respects a '■'■ conscio ad
clerum" one to poor clergymen. I find on the cover of it these
words : —
" A sermon writteu by my father, which I have determined to read at
least once a year. "E. Currie.
'September 29, 1808."
In relation to the above act of generosity, on the part of Mr.
Carter, to the widow and children of a worthy clergyman, though
there be few who can follow his example in affording them the use of
a farm of five hundred acres, yet there are many who can contribute
something to their comfort; and the thought that there are many
who will do it must be a great solace to the heart of a dying minister
when taking leave of his fatherless ones and widow. It is thus
that God fulfils his promise when be bids them leave their father-
less ones to him, and let their widows trust in him. And let me,
in connection with this case, recommend to the pious charity of the
living and dying members of our communion the two societies now
established in our diocese, — the Society of the Widows and Orphans
of Deceased Clergymen, and that for Disabled, Superannuated
Poor Clergymen. They are both of them worthy of patronage.
Another instance of the charitable disposition of Mr. Carter is
worthy of being mentioned and imitated.
Solomon in one of his Proverbs says, " He that withholdeth corn,
the people shall curse him ; but blessing shall be upon the head of
Jiim that sellcth it." Here is an allusion to some covetous and
hard-heart?d persons, who, in a time of scarcity and suffering
among the poor, hold up their corn for some high price and will
not sell it. I have been told that, in a year of this kind, Mr. Carter
sent a vessel full of corn down James River, disposing of it among
the poor at a very reduced price, thus showing not only his charity,
but his judgment in the disbursement of it. Let the rich through-
out our land go and do likewise with all manner of goods which
God hath given them in abundance, and of which others stand in
need
A few remarks concernino- him who was called Kino- Carter
Vol. II.— 8
114 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
seem to be called for, before we close our notice of this family.
From the fact that such a title was bestowed on him, the idea has
become prevalent in Virginia that he was not only of princely posses-
sions, having numerous tenants and servants, and a splendid palace
for his residence, but that, as a consequence of this, he was autho-
ritative, lordly, and arbitrary in his bearing and conduct, moving
as a king in the Colony. He ruled over the Colony for more than
a year, until the arrival of Governor Gooch. I have in my pos-
session copies of two of his letters during this period, concerning
a suspected clergyman who was desirous of getting the parish of
Wycomico, in Northumberland. They were addressed to Captain
Charles Lee and Mr. Thomas Berry, churchwardens of the parish.
They breathe a Christian spirit of moderation and yet of decision.
There is nothing of a dictatorial temper about them, but only a
desire to do his duty, in the absence of a Governor, and in refer-
ence to one when he should arrive. It is very certain that Mr.
Carter and his family were very popular throughout the State.
His daughters were married to the first men in Virginia, and his
sons to the first ladies in Virginia. At his death a long Latin
inscription, written by some ripe scholar, was placed on his tomb,
in which the greatest virtues are assigned to him, and a sincere
piety. The opit-iph will be found in our next article, on Christ
Church, Lancaster countj.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 115
ARTICLE LVIII.
Parishes in Lancaster County.
Thl first mention which is made of Lancaster county in Hen-
aing's "Statutes at Large" (volume i., page 374) is in 1652, when
it is represented in the House of Burgesses by Captain Henry
Fleet and Mr. William Underwood. At that time, and for four
years after, it included all that is now Lancaster, Middlesex, Essex,
and Richmond counties. In 1656, the old county of Rappahannock
was cut off from Lancaster, and contained what, in 1692, was di-
vided into the two counties of Richmond and Essex, — Rappahannock
being abolished. The county of Middlesex was not cut off from
Lancaster until about 1664 or 1665, and, indeed, it is not men-
tioned in Henning until the year 1675, when a levy of twenty-five
men from each of the counties of Lancaster and Middlesex is
ordered for a garrison in Stafford county, to protect the frontiers
against the Indians. We are enabled to approach very near to
certainty, as to the time of the division, by reference to an old
vestry-book of the church in Middlesex, beginning in 1664. In
1668 the vestry pass an order that a petition should be distributed
among the people, praying the Assembly to ratify a former Act
dividing Lancaster into two counties ; from which it would seem
that something was wanting to complete the division, though it must
have been acted on, in some way, a year or two before. In the
county of Lancaster, when including Middlesex, there were four
parishes, — two on each side of the river. Those on the south side
of the river were called Lancaster parish and Piankatank until, at
an early period, they were merged in one and called Christ Church.
Those on the north side were St. Mary's and Christ Church until,
at a much later period, they were united in what is now Christ
Church.
The vestry-book of Christ Church, Lancaster, before the union
of the two parishes, commenced, I think, about the year 1654. I
saw it for the first time about twenty years ago, nnd again three
years after, I believe, and took extracts from it, some of which
were published. Soon after this it disappeared, and, though care-
fully sought for since, can nowhere be found. For want of it we
116 OLD CHURCHES, MINISIERS, AND
lose the names of the first vestrymen, (except those of the firs
John Carter and his sons John and Robert,) and some acts of the
vestry, not remembered or written down by myself. I have re-
cently been furnished with the vestry-book of St. Mary's parish,
beginning in the year 1739, and continuing after its union with
Christ Church, in 1752, until the war of the Revolution. But we
still have to lament the loss of the proceedings of both parishes
until 1739, and of Christ Church until 1752, except so far as I
have retained in memory, and by print, the doings of the latter.
Something more we have as to the names and acts of the vestry of
Christ Church, by reason of the fact that, though the parishes were
separate, they always employed the same minister, and met some-
times in what was called a general vestry, — that is, a meeting of
both, — when their names are recorded.
We will first state such information as we have retained from the
last records of Christ Church parish. About, as we believe, tho
year 1654, the name of John Carter, the father of that family,
appears at the head of the vestry-lists, in a large, bold hand ; then
followed the name of the minister, which I do not recollect. The
same may be said of his eldest son John, and his youngest son
Robert, alias King Carter. Their names always preceded the mi-
nister's, and were written in a large, bold hand. This was one sign
that they took the lead in the vestry, — even going before the mi-
nister. In all the other vestry-books I have seen, even in that of
Middlesex, where, about the same time, baronets were in the ves-
tries, as Chicheley and Skipwith, the minister's name was always
first. The action of the vestry, doubtless under the influence of
the Carters, seems to have been good in relation to the exercise of
discipline on oflfenders. One instance is recorded where a fine of
fifteen hundred-weight of tobacco is imposed on a man for swearing ;
but, upon his pleading poverty, it was afterward reduced to five
hundred. Mr. Robert Carter had large possessions and numerous
servants and tenants, as we have already said. Tradition has it
that the congregation, which doubtless consisted chiefly of his de-
pendants, did not enter the church, on Sunday, until the arrival of
his coach, when all followed him and his family into it. Whether
this be so or not, it is certain, from the agreement on the vestry-
book when he built the church, that good provision was made for
his tenants and servants, one-fourth of the building being secured
for their use, besides a very large pew near the pulpit and chancel,
which he prepared for his immediate family.
The following extract from my report to the Convention in the
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 117
year 1838, after a visit to the parishes in the Northern Neck, will
show what were the impressions made upon me by that venerable
building, — impressions renewed and deepened by my subsequent
visit : —
" My next appointment was at Christ Church, Lancaster, on the 23d of
June. This was the day appointed by the Convention to be observed as a
day of humihation, fasting, and prayer, on account of the languor of the
Church, and the sins and troubles of the nation. No temple of religion,
and no spot in the diocese, coukl have been selected more in accordance
with the solemn duty of that day, than the old and venerable church in
which three of God's ministers were assembled. T preached a sermon
adapted to the occasion, and then proposed that those who were minded to
spend the day as the Church recommended should remain for some hours
at that place, in suitable rehgious exercises. A goodly number complied
with the invitation, and after the interval of perhaps an hour, which was
spent in surveying the building and the tombs around this ancient house
of God, another service was performed, and a second aopropriate discourse
was preached by the Rev. 3Ir. Nelson, the service having beeu performed
by Mr. Francis McGuire, the present minister of the parish The past
history and present condition of this hallowed spot and temple deserve a
more particular notice. This notice is derived from the memorials fur-
nished by the house itself, the tombstones around and within, and the
vestry-book of the parish, kept from the year 1(354 to 177U, to which I
had access.
" The present church was built on the site of an older one, which was
completed in the year 1670, under the direction of Mr. John Carter, the
first of that nau^e, and the great ancestor of many bearing that name in
Virginia. By the side of the chancel is a large marble slab, on which are
the names of John Carter and his three wives, and several children, who
all died before him and were buried in that spot.
" The church being too small for the increasing population, a larger one
was meditated, and some change in its location talked of, when Mr. Robert
Carter (since known by the name of King Carter) offered to build one
at his own expense, saying that in consequence of his large possessions,
increasing family, and number of tenants, he had intended for some time
to build a larger one for the parish. The offer was cheerfully accepted,
and the present house was completed about the time of Mr. Carter's death,
— that is, about the year 1732, — and exhibits to this day one of the most
striking monuments of the fidelity of ancient architecture to be seen in
our land. Very few, if any, repairs have been put upon it : the original
roof and shingles now cover the house, and have preserved in a state of
perfection the beautiful arched ceilings, except in two places which have
within a few years been a little discoloured by the rain, which found its
way through the gutters where the shingles have decayed. The walls of
the house are three feet thick, perfect and sound. The windows are large
and strong, having probably two-thirds of the original glass in them. The
pews are of the old fashion, high-backed, and very firm. A ver}' large
one near the altar, and opposite the pulpit, together with the whole north
cross of the building, was especially reserved by Mr. Carter for the use of
his family and dependants in all time to come.
" Lt deserves to be mentioned, that, in addition to the high backs which
118 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
always concealed the family and prevented any of them from gazing
around when sitting or kneeling, a railing of brass ro<ls with damask
curtains was put around the top of the pew, except the part opposite the
pulpit, in order, it is supposed, to prevent the indulgence of curiosity
when standing. These remained until a few years since, and parts of them
may probably yet be found in the possession of neighbours or relatives. In
further evidence of the fidelity with which the house was built, I would
mention that the pavement of its aisles, which is of large freestone, is
yet solid and smooth as though it were the work of yesterday. The old
walnut Communion-table also stands firm and unimpaired, and not a round
from the railing of the chancel is gone or even loosened. The old marble
font, the largest and most beautiful 1 ever saw, is still there; and, what
will scarce be credited, the old cedar dial-post, with the name of John
Carter, 1702, and which was only removed a few years since from its
station without the door, where it was planted in the ground, is still to be
seen in its place of security under the pulpit. In such a house, surrounded
by such memorials, it was delightful to read the word of God and the
prayers of the Church from the old desk, to pronounce the commandments
from the altar near which the two tables of the law, the creed, and Lord's
prayer are still to be seen, in large and legible characters, and then to
preach the words of eternal life from the high and lofty pulpit, which
seemed, as it were, to be hung in the air. Peculiarly delightful it was to
raise the voice in such utterances in a house whose sacred form and
beautiful arches seemed to give force and music to the feeblest tongue
beyond any other building in which I ever performed or heard the hal-
lowed services of the sanctuary. The situation of this church, though
low, and surrounded on two of its sides by woodland, with thick under-
growth, is not without its peculiar interest. A few acres of open land,
with some very large trees, chiefly spreading walnuts, furnish ample room
for the horses and vehicles of those who attend it. An old decayed brick
wall, with a number of graves and tombstones around the house, adds no
little solemnity to the scene. Among the latter, at the east end of the
house, within a neat enclosure, recently put up, are to be seen the tombs
of Robert Carter, the builder of the house, and of his two wives. These
are probably the largest and richest and heaviest tombstones in our land.
A long Latin inscription is to be seen on that of Mr. Carter. While the
tomb of the husband is entire, those of the wives appear to have been
riven by lightning, and are separating and falling to pieces. Such is the
belief and testimony of the neighbours. It is pleasing to know that a
considerable sum of money has been subscribed for repairing the roof
which requires a new covering, and for improving the interior of this
remarkable building, and that a generous portion of it is contributed by
some of the descendants of the original builder, or those connected with
them, who, though residing at a distance from the spot, possess the land
around it, and have given the best assurance to the remaining families of
the church, that it shall ever be continued for its original and sacred
purposes."
To the foregoing notices of Christ Church from my report to the
Convention of 1838, I add the following from memory. Of tho
two days spent in this hallowed spot, the one following the day of
humiliation was a dark and gloomy one, — the sky being overcast
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 119
with heavy clouds, from which showers were descending upon the
earth. To be in that old building, with only two-thirds of the glass
in the windows, on such a day, had a peculiar interest in it to a soul
at all inclined to the love of ancient things. The weather being
mild, there was nothing to interrupt the indulgence of such a feel-
ing. There was also something to encourage it, in the fact that an
aged lady, (the descendant of Mr. Carter,) whose two nieces — the
eldest daughters of Mr. Tomlin, who lived near at hand — had on
the preceding day ratified their baptismal vows, desired on this
occasion to do the same. I can never forget my feelings as I stood
in the old chancel administering the rite, while only a few indi-
viduals, and they chiefly the descendants of the builder of the
house, were here and there to be seen in the large double pews
adjoining the pulpit and chancel. There was a circumstance
which occurred at that time not unworthy to be mentioned, as
showing that we of this day of progressive improvement are not
in all things in advance of our fathers, but in some rather the con-
trary. I spent the night intervening between the two above-men-
tioned days at Mr. Tomlin's house, which was a new one scarcely
finished, and, while lying in bed early in the morning and looking
toward the ceiling, suddenly saw a large portion of the plastering
giving way just above me, leaving only time to draw the covering
over my head before it fell upon my body, and not without a slight
bruise. I could not help then and often since instituting a com-
parison between the fidelity and durability of ancient and modern
architecture. Here was the ceiling of a private house, not a year
old, tumbling over me, and there was the heavy plastering of an
old church, built one hundred and twenty or thirty years before,
perfectly sound and impervious to rain, except in one or two small
spots where it was a little discoloured underneath the gutter, where
the shingles had decayed. Where is the house, built in these
degenerate days of slight modern architecture, which may com-
pare with Old Christ Church, either within or without ? When a
few years since it was repaired, as I in my report expressed the
belief that it would be, the only repairs required were a new roof,
(and but for the failure in the gutters that would have been un-
necessary,) the renoAval of the cornices, supplying the broken .
glass, and painting the pews, pulpit, &c. All the rest was in a most
perfect state of soundness. The shingles, except in the decayed
gutters, were so good that they were sold to the neighbours around,
and will probably now last longer than many new ones just gotten
from the woods, — having become hardened by age on the steep and
12) OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
taunt roofs from -which the rains of more than a centurj rushed
downward, not stopping for a moment to settle in the joints. That
is one reason why all of the old roofs were more durable than the
modern, — the fashionable taste for low or flat ones leading to their
speedier decay. Another is the fact that in former days worms, so
destructive now to timber, appear not to have abounded as at
present, or else some method for drying and hardening all the ma-
terials used was adopted, which is now neglected. In taking off
the roof of Old Christ Church for the purpose of renewing it, one
secret of the durability of the plastering was discovered. Besides
having mortar of the most tenacious kind and of the purest white,
and laths much thicker and stronger than those now in use, and
old English wrought nails, — our modern factories not then being
known, — the mortar was not only pressed with a strong hand
through the openings of the laths, but clinched on the other side
by a trowel in the hand of one above, so as to be fast keyed and
kept from falling.
In all respects the house appears to have been built in the most
durable manner, but without any of the mere trinkets of archi-
tecture. The form and proportion of the house are also most excel-
lent, and make a deep impression on the eye and mind of the
beholder. Though the walls are three feet thick, yet such is their
height and such the short distance between the windows and doors,
and such the effect of the figure of the cross, that there is no ap-
pearance of heaviness about them. The roof or roofs are also very
steep and high, and take the place of tower or steeple. A steeple
or tower would indeed injure the whole aspect of the building.
For the repairing of this house we are indebted mainly to the
liberality of two brothers, — Mr. Kelleys, — descendants of old Epis-
copalians of the Northern Neck. Not only did they furnish far
the larger part of the fifteen hundred dollars required for it, but
superintended most carefully the expenditure of the same. Their
bodies lie side by side within a strong iron enclosure near the
church. The eldest of the brothers has died within the last two
years, leaving, among other bequests, two thousand dollars to our
Theological Seminary and High School.
I am sure the reader will be pleased in having the following
epitaphs added to the foregoing notices of Old Christ Church.
I.
This incription is to the north of the chancel, in the east end of
the church : —
FAMILIES OP VIRGINIA. 121
'<Here lyeth buried y^ body of John Carter, Esq., who died y" lOtb of
June, Anno Domini 1669 ; and also Jane, y* daughter of Mr. Morgan
Grlyn, and George her son, and Elenor Carter, and Ann, y^ daughter of
Mr. Cleave Carter, and Sarah, y"' daughter of Mr. Gabriel Ludlow, and
Sarah her daughter, which were all his wives succe.ssively, and died before
him.
" 'Blessed are y" dead which die in y® Lord ; even soe, saith y* Spirit, for
they rest from their labours, and their works do follow them.'"
II.
This inscription is in the centre of the church, at the intersec-
tion of the aisles : —
" Here lyeth the body of Mr. David Miles, who died the 29th of De-
cember, 1674, and in y" 40th year of his age.
" Hodie mihi, eras tibi."
(Mine to-day, yours to-morrow.)
III.
This tombstone is at the east end of the church : —
"H. S. E.
" Vir honorabilis Robertus Carter, Armiger, qui genus honestum dotibus
eximiis et moribus antiquis illustravit. Collegium Gulielmi et Marias
temporibus difficillimis propuguavit, Guberuator.
" Senatus Rogator et Quaestor sub serenissimis Principibus Gulielmo,
Anna, Georgio Primo et Secundo
*'A publicis concilliis concillii per sexennium praeses; plus anno Coloniae
Praefectus, cum regiam dignitatem et publicam libertatem aequali jure
assei'uit.
" Opibus amplissimis bene partis instructus, aedem banc sacram, in
Deum pietatis grande monumentum propriis sumptibus extruit. Locu-
pletavit.
" In omnes quos humaniter excepit nee prodigus nee parous hospes.
Liberalitatem insignem testantur debita munifice remissa.
''Primo Juditham, Johannis Armistead, Armigeri, filiam; deinde Betty,
generosa Landonorum stirpe oriundam, sibi connubio junctas habuit :
e quibus prolem numerosam suscepit, in qua erudienda pecuniae vim maxi-
mam insumpsit.
" Tandem honorum et dierum satur, cum omnia vitae munera egregiae
praestitisset, obiit Pri. Non. Aug. An. Dom. 1732, aet. 69.
" Miseri solamen, viduae praesiduum, orbi patrem, ademptum lugent."
EAST OP THE CHURCH.
IV.
" Here lyeth buried the body of Judith Carter, the wife of Robert
Carter, Esq., and eldest daughter of the Hon. John Armistead, Esq., and
Judith his wife. She departed this life the 23d day of February, Anno
1699, in the year of her age, and in the eleventh year of her mar-
riage having borne to her husband five children fou" daughters and a
122 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
son, two whereof, Sarah and Judith Carter, died before, and are buried
near her. Piously she lived, and comfortably died, in the joyful assurance
of a happy eternitie, leaving to her friends the sweet perfume of a good
reputation."
EAST OF THE CHURCH, AND MUTILATED.
V.
"To the memory of Betty Carter, second wife of Robert Carter, Esq.,
youngest daughter of Thomas Laudou, Esq., and Mary his wife, of Grednal,
in the county of Hereford, the ancient seat of the family and place of her
nativity. She bore to her husband ten children, five sons and five daugh-
ters, three of whom — Sarah, Betty, and Ludlow — died before her and are
buried near her. She was a person of great and exemplary piety and
charity in every relation wherein she stood : whether considered as a
Christian, a wife, a mother, a mistress, a neighbour, or a friend, her con-
duct was equalled by few, excelled by none. She changed this life for a
better on the 3d of July, 1710, in the oGth year of her age and 19th of
her marriage. May her descendants make their mother's virtues and
graces the pattern of their lives and actions !"
EAST OF THE CHURCH.
VI.
" Under this stone are the remains of Mary Carter, the afi"ectionate wifo
of Charles Carter, of Corotoman, who died on the 30th of January, 1770,
after a painful illness of three months, during which time she discovered a
truly Christian fortitude, aged 34 years."'
Mr. Carter moved to Shirly, on James River, in 1776, and mar-
ried Ann Butler Moore, — his second wife.
The following translation of Mr. Robert Carter's epitaph may be
a help to some of our readers : —
" Here lies buried Robert Caiter, Esq., an honourable man, who by
noble endowments and pure morals gave lustre to his gentle birth.
" Rector of William and Mary, he sustained that institution in its most
trying times. He was Speaker of the House of Burgesses, and Treasurer
under the most serene Princes William, Anne, George I. and II.
" Elected by the House its Speaker six years, and Governor of the Colony
for more than a year, be upheld equally the regal dignity and the public
freedom.
" Possessed of ample wealth, blamelessly acquired, he built and endowed,
at his own expense, this sacred edifice, — a signal monument of his piety
toward God. He furnished it richly.
" Entertaining his friends kindly, he was neither a prodigal nor a par-
simonious host.
" His first wife was Judith, daughter of John Armistead, Esq.; his
second Betty, a descendant of the noble family of Landons. By these
wives he had many children, on whose education he expended large sums
of money.
" At length, full of honours and of years, when he had well performed
all the duties of an exemplary life, he departed from this world on the
Irth d;)y of August, in the 69th year of his age.
FAMILIES 3F VIRGINIA. 12^^
" The unhappy lament their lost comforter, the widows their lost pro
tectoi, and the orphans their lost father."
MIMISTERS OF THE PARISHES OF CHRIST CHURCH AND ST. MARY'S.
We have already stated that the same ministers served both
parishes. Who the first minister or ministers were, we are unable
to state ; but upon the vestry-book, whose loss we lament, there
was one whose name and history were too striking to be forgotten.
His name was Andrew Jackson, and, for what cause we know not,
some one wrote his name, and he made his mark, beneath the name
of one of the John Carters. He was not Episcopally ordained, and
this led to a correspondence between the vestry and one of the
Governors of Virginia, — most probably Governor Nicholson, — at a
time when an order came from England that the law requiring all
holding livings in the Church to be Episcopally ordained should
be enforced in Virginia. The vestry remonstrated earnestly with
the Governor against its execution in the case of their minister,
Mr. Jackson. They plead that he had been serving the parish
faithfully for twenty-five years, that he was much esteemed and
beloved, had brought up a large family of children, and laid up
something for them from his industrious culture of the glebe, (then
and now a good farm near the church,) and the people were very
unwilling to part with him. They urged one argument very em-
phatically,— viz. : that, by reason of the inferiority of the quality
of tobacco raised in the Northern Neck of Virginia, by comparison
with that in many other parts, it being worth less by twopence per
pound, the parish was not on an equal footing with a large number
elsewhere in procuring suitable ministers, and that, therefore, they
ought to be allowed to retain the one whom they had. What was
the issue of the controversy either did not appear or is not recol-
lected. My impression is that it took place early in the last century,
and that he was succeeded by the Rev. John Bell, who was cer-
tainly the minister in 1713, and continued so until the year 1743,
when, at his death, the Rev. David Currie succeeded, and continued
until his death in 1792, — nearly fifty years. If such be the case,
then were the people of Lancaster served for more than one hundred
years by three ministers, who Avere esteemed and loved by them.
In my previous account of the Carter family I have spoken more
particularly of Mr. Currie, whose descendants are numerous and
respectable and have adhered to the Church of their worthy an
cestor. At the death of Mr. Currie, in 1791, the Rev. David Ball
appears for one year on the list of our clerical delegates to the
124 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
Convention, and for one only. Whether he was of the large family
of Balls belonging to Lancaster, or whence he came, or whither he
went, I know not. He was followed by a Rev. Mr. Leland and :>
Rev. Mr. Page, each for a short time. Of each of these I shall
speak in another place. In 1794, no clerical delegate appears ;
but there were two laymen, — Mr. Raleigh Downman and Mr.
William Eustace. From the year 1796 to the year 1805, the Rev.
Daniel McNaughton is on our list as minister of this parish.
James Ball, Martin Shearman, and William Montague appear as
lay delegates. In 1812, Raleigh Downman and J. M. Smith are
lay delegates. In 1813, the Rev. Samuel Low is minister. Be-
tween him and his friends, and Mr. McNaughton, there was for
some time a CGr.test for the parish and the use of the churches.
On one occasion Mr. Low had all the congregation in the church-
yard, and preached from the seat behind a carriage, while Mr
McNaughton had the pulpit and the empty pews within. They
were both of them such unworthy characters, though in diiferenj
ways, that we shall not waste time and words upon them. In the
year 1821, the Rev. Ira Parker, an ignorant and incompetent
minister, took charge of the parish, but soon left it for some other.
After floating about for a few years, he adopted the system of
Swedenborg, and was dismissed from the ministry. In the year
1832, the Rev. Ephraim Adams took charge of the parish and
tontinued its minister for four years. He was a worthy man, but,
oy reason of some peculiarities, unfitted for much usefulness. In
1838, the Rev. Francis McGuire was its minister ; and, in 1839,
the Rev. Mr. Bryant, of whom we have spoken elsewhere, succeeded.
In 1844 and 1845, the Rev. Mr. Richmond was its minister. In
1850 and 1851, the Rev. Mr. Nash. In 1853, its present minister,
the Rev. Edmund Withers, took charge of it. Within the last few
years a small church has been built at Kilmarnock, about four
miles from Old Christ Church. It being more convenient to the
majority of the people in that region than the old one, services are
held there alternately. Although but few attend generally at the
old and venerable one, by reason of its inconvenient location, yet
at my recent visit to it, although there Avere other services near at
hand, one hundred and seventy-five persons might be counted thrre
on a Sabbath morning. It is somewhat remarkable that Kilmar-
nock is the very spot on which the vestry determined to build a
new church nearly one hundred and fifty years ago, deeming it
the most central and convenient place, ^hen Mr. Carter offered to
build one at his own expense, if allowed to locate it nearer to hia
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 125
residence at Corotoman. Tradition says that the bricks of which
the church is built were brought from England. It is far more
probable that it is true in this case than in most of the other
houses, public or private, of which the same report has come down
to us ; for Mr. Carter, having so manj vessels from England as-
signed to him, may, at little cost, have had English bricks put in
as ballast, and then conveyed in flatboats up the creek, within a
short distance of the place where the church stands. Piles of
Btones thus coming from England may yet be seen near the river-
bank at Corotoman, there cast to prevent the waves from depre-
dating on the bank near his house.
List of Vestrymen in St. Marys Parish, be/ore the union of the parishes,
from 1739 to 1756, and of both parishes after the union.
William Bertrand, William Ball, Jr., Joseph Bali, Joseph Heale, Jos.
Chinn, Martin Shearman, Raleigh Chinn, Richard Chichester, Jesse Ball,
Robert Mitchell, Colonel Ball, Major Ball, (making five Balls in one
vestry,) Joseph Carter, Thomas Chinn. In the year 1743, the following
vestrymen from Christ Church met with the vestry of St. Mary's White
Chapel, — viz.: Henry Carter, Henry Lawson, Mr. Edwards, Mr. Steptoe,
Mr. Martin, Captain Tayloe, Colonel Conway, Thomas Lawson, John
Steptoe, Mr. Pinkard. At this time six of each vestry are appointed tc
form a general vestry, and it is sometimes difficult to determine to which
parish each one belongs. Hugh Bent, from Christ Church, James Ball,
Jr., Dale Carter, Stephen Towles, George Payne, Merry man Payne, Rich-
ard Selden, Thomas Chinn, Solomon Ewell, John Fleet, William Dymer,
Charles Carter, John Chinn, James Kiok, Thaddeus McCarty, Thomas
Griffin, Thomas Lawson, Edwin Conway, William Montague, in place of
Charles Carter, in 1776, Henry Towles, James Newby, William Sydnor,
John Berryman, Colonel John Tayloe, James Brent, William Chewning,
James Ball, Jr.
In 1786, Cyrus Griffin is appointed to attend the Episcopal
Convention in Richmond, and James Ball to attend the examination
of the Rev. Edward Jones at the court-house. For what purpose
and of what character that examination was, is not certainly known,
but it is believed to have been a kind of trial under a canon of
Virginia. Thus ends the vestry-book.
WHITE CHAPEL CHURCH.
The first church was torn down. From the vestry-book it appears
that the present was built in 1740. It was contracted for with Mr.
James Jones. In that year Major James Ball and Mr. Joseph
Ball are allowed to build a gallery in the church for their families,
provided it be completed at the same time with the church, and finished
in the same style with the west gallery. Leave is also granted to two
126 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
of the Balls and two Mr. Burgesses to build an end-gallery on the
same terms. The house was originally in the form of a cross. The
twc wings have been taken down, and it is now an oblong square.
In the early part of the last century the parishes must have been
in a flourishing condition, so far as numbers and attendants go.
In the year 1724, Mr. Bell, who had then been their minister for
twelve years, informs the Bishop of London that there were three
hundred families in it ; that the churches were thronged ; that almost
all the white persons in the parish attended ; that there were a great
many negroes who neither understood his language, nor he theirs ; that
the old church was opened to them, and the word preached, and the
sacraments administered with circumspection. He says at that time
the two parishes were united in one, and called Trinity : but of this
we read nothing, either in the Acts of Assembly or in the vestry-book.
Around Old White Chapel Church, under the venerable pines
which enclose it on two sides, and near an old county road, lie a
number of those strong, heavy tombstones which betoken a deep
regard of the living for the dead. Almost all of them are inscribed
with the name of Ball, — a name which so abounds in the vestry-
book, the county, and the State. Through the attention of a friend
I have a document of more ancient date than any tombstone in-
scription there. It is a description of the coat of arms of the family
of Ball, brought to this country about the year 1650, by the first
of the name who came to Virginia. The coat of arms has much
that is bold about it, as a lion rampant, with a globe in his paw,
and there is helmet and shield and vizor, and coat of mail, and
other things betokening strength and courage ; but none of these
suit my work. There is, however, one thing which does. On the
scroll which belongs to it are these words : — " Coelumque tuerC
They were taken, of course, from these lines of Ovid : —
" Pronaque cum spectant animalia ccetera terrain
Os homini sublime dedit, coelumque lucri."
May it be a memento to all his posterity to look upward, and
"seek the things which are above." On the back of the original
copy of this armorial document are the following words, in a bold
hand, such as was common in those days : — " The coat of arms
of Colonel William Ball, who came from England with hia family
about the year 1650, and settled at the mouth of Corotoman River,
in Lancaster county, Virginia, and died in 1669, leaving two sons,
William and Joseph, and one daughter, Hannah, who married
Daniel Fox. William left eight sons, (and one daughter,) five of
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 127
whom have now (Anno Domini 1779) male issue. Joseph's male
issue is extinct. General George Washington is his grandson, by
his youngest daughter, Mary, Colonel Burgess Ball is the only
child of Jeduthun, who was the third and youngest son of James,
the third son of said "William." On the tombstones around the
church there is no inscription of the first William Ball or any of
his children, but only of his grandchildren and other descendants.
The first is over the grave of David Ball, seventh son of Captain
William Ball, who was born in 1686. The others are the tomb-
stones of Mildred Ball, Jeduthun Ball, Mary Ann Ball, daughter
of the Rev. John Bertrand, of Jesse Ball, of Mary Ball, daughter
of Edwin Conway, of James Ball, her husband, of William Ball,
"who died in a steadfast faith in Christ and full hope of a joyful
resurrection," of James Ball and Fanny, his wife, daughter of Ra-
leigh, and Frances Downman, of Lettuce, third wife of James Ball,
and daughter of Richard Lee, of Ditchley, of Colonel James Ball,
of James Ball, second son of James and Mary.
P.S. — Since the above was written I have received a communi-
cation from a friend who has looked into the earliest records of
Lancaster county, when Middlesex and Lancaster were one. They
go back to 1650. A few years after this, in the absence of a vestry,
the court appointed the Rev. Samuel Cole the minister of the whole
county on both sides of the river. This is the same minister who
appears on the vestry-book of Middlesex in the year 1664. The
court also appointed churchwardens and sidesmen, as in the Eng-
lish Church, on both sides of the river. They were John Taylor,
William Clapham, John Merry man, Edmund Lurin, George Kibble,
and William Leech. Other names also appear on the records, as
Thomas Powell, Cuthbert Powell, Edward Digges, W. Berkeley,
Robert Chewning, Henry Corbyn, David Fox, John AVashington,
of Westmoreland. In the year 1661, a general vestry is formed,
and Mr. John Carter, Henry Corbyn, David Fox, and William
Leech, are appointed to take up subscriptions for the support of
the minister. They were chosen from each side of the river. An
instance is recorded at this early period of a man being fined five
thousand pounds of tobacco by the court for profane swearing.
In the year 1685, we find John Chilton fined, and required to
appear four times on his bended knees, and ask pardon each time,
for a misdemeanour committed in their presence.
In the year 1699, we find that none are allowed to be teachers
of youth except such as are commissioned by the Bishop of London,
and, in the same year, that inquiries were ordered as to any reli-
128 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
gious meetings except those of the Established Church, These
things were under the mild reign of the amiahJe Governor Nicholson.
In the year 1727, we find presentments for being absent from
church one month and two months, for swearing, for selling craw-
fish and posting accounts on Sunday.
In addition to the above, it may be stated that the county records,
as well as vestry-books, show that the family of Balls was very
active in promoting good things. At an early period of our history,
it is stated that a measure was set on foot for educating a number of
Virginia youths for the ministry, in order to a larger and better
supply. It would appear from the county records that this mea-
sure originated, in 1729, with Mr. Joseph Ball, of Lancaster. The
following is the entry : —
'•' A proposition of Joseph Ball, gentleman, in behalf of himself and
the rest of the inhabitants of Virginia, directed to the Honourable the
General Assembly, concerning the instructing a certain number of young
gentlemen, Virginians born, in the study of divinity, at the county's
charge, was this day presented in court by the said Joseph Ball, and ou
his prayer ordered to be certified to the General Assembly."
This Joseph Ball married a Miss Ravenscroft, of England, and
settled in London as practitioner of law. He had only one
daughter, Fanny, who married Raleigh Downman in 1750. Her
children were Joseph Ball Downman, of Moratico, Fanny, who
married Colonel James Ball, of Bewdley, and Mr. Raleigh W.
Downman, of Belle-Isle, This Joseph Ball was the uncle of
General Washington. I have before me two letters from him, the
one addressed to his sister Mary, and the other to his nephew
George Washington, from which I take the following passages.
The first is to his sister, when her son was thinking of going to
sea. It is dated Stratford-by-Bow, 19th of May, 1747 :—
'' I understand that you are advised and have some thoughts of putting
your son George to sea. I think he had better be put apprentice to a
tinker, for a common sailor before the mast has by no means the common
liberty of the subject ; for they will press him from a ship where he has
fifty shillings a month and make him take twenty-three, and cut and
slash and use him like a negro, or rather like a dog. And, as to any
considerable preferment in the navy, it is not to be expected, as there
are always so many gaping for it here who have interest, and he has none.
And if he should get to be master of a Virginia ship, (which it is very
difficult to do,) a planter that has three or four hundred acres of land and
three or four slaves, if he be industrious, may live more comfortably, and
leave his family in better bread, than such a master of a ship can. • • • •
He must not be too hasty to be rich, but go on gently and with patience.
I
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 129
as tilings will naturally go. This method, without aiming at being a fine
gentleman before his time, will carry a man more comfortably r-.nd surely
through the world than going to sea, unless it be a great chance indeed.
I pray God keep you and yours.
" Your loving brother, Joseph Ball."
To his nephew he writes thas after Braddock's defeat : —
" Stratford, 5th of September, 1755.
" Good Cousin : — It is a sensible pleasure to me to hear that you have
behaved yourself with such a martial spirit, in all your engagements
with the French, nigh Ohio. Go on as you have begun, and God prosper
you. We have heard of General Braddock's defeat. Everybody blames
his rash conduct. Everybody commends the courage of the Virginians
and Carolina men, which is very agreeable to me. I desire you, as you
may have opportunity, to give me a short account how you proceed. I
am your mother's brother. I hope you will not deny my request. I
heartily wish you good success, and am
" Your loving uncle,
"Joseph Ball "
"To Major George Washington,
•* At the Falls of Rappahannock, or elsewhere, in Virginia.
" Please direct for me at Stratford-by-Bow, nigh London."
A few words concerning a minister and church of another de
nomination will close my notices of Lancaster.
The county of Lancaster was the scene of the early labours of
the Rev. Mr, Waddell, the blind Presbyterian preacher who is so
feelingly described by Mr. Wirt, in the British Spy. At a time
when disaffection toward the Established Church was spreading
through Virginia, and great numbers were leaving it, Mr. Waddell,
by his talents, zeal, and piety, gathered two congregations in this
county. One of the churches Avas near the court-house. The
graveyard, in its ruins, is the only relic of the establishment of
that denomination in Lancaster county. About fifty years since,
the church shared the same fate with those of the Establishment
which have now passed away. The two acres of land on which it
stood, and beneath which are the remains of numerous adherents
to that denomination, has ever been regarded as sacred. A grove
of ordcs, sycamores, pines, and other trees shaded the hillocks and
some tombstones which were spread over the surface of the earth,
which was carpeted with a covering of green grass. It Avas, I am
told, a favourite resort to the people of the village and country
around, — to the young as a play-ground, to the old as a scene of
contemplation. I recently visited the spot, but found it no longer
a scene for the young or old, the gay or the grave. Nearly every
Vol. II.— 9
130 OLD CIIUKCHES, MINISTERS, AXD
tree was gone, having been, within a year or two, cut down and
converted into cord-wood and sold to the steamboats. Nothing is
now to be seen but stumps and piles of dead branches, which hide
not only the hillock-graves, but the few tombstones which were
once to be seen. Young cedars are everywhere putting forth their
shoots, and in a few years it will be with this spot as with many
like it in Virginia, — it must be so hidden from the view that it will
be difficult for any ecclesiastical antiquary to discover the spot
where Mr. Waddell once proclaimed the Gospel of Christ. Rumour
says that, in the absence of any member of the Church near at
hand, application was made to some Presbyterian ministers at a dis-
tance, and leave granted to do something to this interesting spot
which has resulted in such utter desolation.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 131
ARTICLE LIX.
Parishes in Northumberland County. — Wycomico and St.
Stephen's.
Northumberland county, lying on the bay and the Great Po-
tomac, was partially settled at an early period. In the year 1646,
during the government of Sir William Berkeley, we find the follow-
ing Act of Assembly: — "Whereas, the inhabitants of Chicawane,
alias Northumberland, being members of this Colony, have not
hitherto contributed toward the charges of the war, [with the Indians,]
it is now thought fit that the said inhabitants do make payment of
the levy according to such rates as are by this present Assembly
assessed. . . , And in case the said inhabitants shall refuse or deny
payment of the said levy, as above expressed, that, upon report
thereof to the next Assembly, speedy course shall then be adopted
to call them off from the said Plantation." It had in the previous
year been allowed a Burgess, in Mr. John Matram. In the fol-
lowing year Mr. William Presley was the delegate. In the year
1648, we find the following Act : — " That the ninth Act of Assembly
of 1647, for the reducing of the inhabitants of Chickcoun and
other parts of the neck of land between Rappahannock and Poto-
macke Rivers be repealed, and that the said tract of land be here-
after called and known by the name of the county of Northumber-
land." In the year 1649, it is declared "that the inhabitants on
the south side of the Potomacke [Potomac] shall be included, and
are hereafter to be accounted within the county of Northumber-
land." In the year 1653, the bounds of Northumberland are
reduced by the establishment of Westmoreland county, which was
made to extend "from Matchoactoke River, where Mr. Cole lives,
and so upward to the falls of the great river Potomacke above
the Necostins town ;" that is, above what is now Georgetown, in the
District of Columbia. In the year 1673, the boundary-line between
Lancaster and Northumberland is settled, according to an order of
the Assembly, by Colonel John Washington, (the first settler, and
great-grandfather of General Washington,) Captain John Lee,
William Traveson, William Moseley, and R. Beverley. While we
132 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
have the above Acts of Assembly in relation to its civil divisions,
we find nothing as to its religious concerns. The establishment of
a parish or parishes within its bounds is nowhere given us, excep,
in two lists of the counties in the year 1754, when it is called St
Stephen's parish, with Mr. Thomas Smith for its minister, and in
1758, when it is called Wycomico, and has the Rev. John Leland
as its minister. In the year 1776, it is said to have two parishes. —
Wycomico and St. Stephen's, — Mr. John Leland the minister of the
former, and the Rev. Benjamin Sebastion of the other. Mr. Leland
was ordained by the Bishop of London in 1775, and Mr. Sebastion
in 1766. It is, however, confidently affirmed to this day that there
were two parishes, called Upper and Lower St. Stephen's, besides
Wycomico, and that the glebes can be pointed out.
In the year 1785, we find the two parishes represented in the
Convention, — Wycomico by the Rev. Mr. Leland, and as lay delegate
T. Gaskins, St. Stephen's by the Rev. Thomas Davis, with Mr,
Hudson Meuse as lay delegate. In the year 1786, Wycomico
alone is represented by Mr. Leland and Mr. Gaskins. In 1787,
Mr. Leland appears for the last time, with Mr. David Ball as lay
delegate. In 1789, Mr. Oneriphorus Harvey is lay delegate from
Wycomico, and in 1790, Mr. Isaac Besye. In that year the Rev.
Thomas Davis represents St. Stephen's parish, and also in 1792.
In 1795, the Rev. John Seward, Avith Abraham Beacham as lay
delegate, represents St. Stephen's, while three lay delegates, Messrs.
Hopkins, Hardy, and Hurst, represent Wycomico. In the year
1797, Thomas Gaskins and Thomas Hurst are lay delegates from
Wycomico, and Mr. William Claughton from St. Stephen's. In
1799, the Rev. Mr. Seward still represents St. Stephen's, while
William Davenport and Thomas Harvey are lay delegates for
Wycomico. There being no Convention, or, if one, no records of
it, until 1805, we are unable to say who ministered in Northumber-
land in the interim. In that year the Rev. Duncan McNaughton
represented St. Stephen's, with John Hull as lay delegate. In the
year 1812, the Rev. Samuel Low, with Thomas Gaskins as lay
delegate, was in the Convention. Mr. Low was also there in 1813,
accompanied by Mr. Joseph Ball. From that to the present time
there has, I believe, been no regular minister belonging to either
of the parishes of this county, though services have been rendered
to them both by the ministers of Lancaster county.
Concerning the church in Wycomico parish, and which was called
Wycomico Church, we have something to say from personal know-
ledge. Bishop Moore and myself both performed services in it,
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 133
though to a small number of persons. The last time that Bishop
Moore Avas in the desk, a piece of plastering from its high arched
ceiling fell upon his head, which was protected by only a few gray
hairs. Judging from the size of the house, there must, at the time
of its erection, have been many attendants, for it was the largest
of the old churches in Virginia of v/hich I have any knowledge.
It was built about the beginning of the Revolutionary War, when
faithful architecture had already waned. After my last visit to it
in 1837, I made the following communication to the ensuing Con-
vention of 1838 : —
''On Thursday, the 22d instant, I visited Northumberland Court-House
in company with the Rev. Washington Nelson, and preached to a respect-
able congregatiou in the Reformed Methodist Church. But few Episcopal
families are now to be found in this county. There were formerly three
large brick churches in it, two of which are entirely gone, and the third
will soon share their fate unless speedy means of prevention be adopted.
The one yet remaining, called Wycoiuico Church, was built in the year
1771, not long before the Revolution, and the walls are still firm. The
other part of the workmanship was so inferior to that of former times,
that the vestry refused to receive it at the hands of the contractor. The
roof is now falling in, and the ceiling has given way some years since.
Each of the Bishops of Virginia have preached in this decaying house,
though not without some apprehension. Its present condition is truly
distressing The doors and windows are gone. The fine bricks which
case the windows and doors are gradually disappearing. Along the deserted
aisles, and in the pews of this large cruciform church, measuring seventy-
five feet in every direction, may now be seen the carriage, the wagon, the
plow, the fishing-seine, barrels of tar and lime, lumber, and various im-
plements of husbandry. The cattle have free admission to it, and the
pavement of the aisles, and even the marble slab which covers the remains
of one of the latest of its ministers, is covered with dirt and rubbish. The
old bell which once summoned the neighbours to the house of God is lying
in one of the pews near the falling pulpit. In the deserted chancel you
look in vain for the Communion-table and the baptismal font, and there is
too much reason to fear that these also are used for purposes far other than
those to which they were originally consecrated and applied. Some steps
have recently been taken toward the repair of this large and venerable
building, but whether they will be continued and the work consummated
is still doubtful."
At the end of twenty years it pains me to say that my faintest
hopes have been more than disappointed, and my worst fears more
than realized, since not only every vestige of the house is removed
and its site enclosed and cultivated with an adjoining field, but I
cannot learn that there is a single family or even individual in the
parish still connected with or attached to the Church. The whole
population is incorporated with other denominations. That worthy
friend and member of our Church, Mr. Joseph Ball, of the old seat
134 OLD CHUBCHES, MINISTERS, AND
of Ditchloy, was near enough to attend Wycomico, and in Romish
days would have been regarded and called its patron saint. Some
years after my last visit to this falling church, he placed in my
hands a rich service of Communion-plate which belonged to it,
saying, that as he was the only surviving friend of the old church,
and utterly despaired of its revival, he wished me to take charge
of it and let it be used in some other parish. This I did, on the
condition that if the parish ever revived it should receive back
again the property of its ancestry. The vessels are now used in
the congregation and church at Millwood, in Clarke county, and
the condition of their loan is recorded in the vestry-book of the
parish. The following inscription will also show that its date and
use were far anterior to the establishment of old Frederick parish,
out of which the parish about Millwood has been carved.
They are as follows : — on the tankard, " The gift of Bartholomew
Shriver, who died in 1720, and of Bartholomew his son, who died
in 1727, for the use of the parish of Great Wycomico, in the county
of Northumberland, 1728." The inscription on the plate is, "The
gift of Reynard Delafiae to Quantico Church." We know of no
Quantico Church but that which stood near Dumfries, in Prince
William county, and suppose that this plate must once have belonged
to it. There is no date to the inscription. The cup, as will be
seen hereafter, was the gift of Hancock Lee, in 1711.
I sincerely wish that it were in my power to give as good an ac-
count of the remnant of the old church itself. The following
extract from my report to the Convention of 1841 will tell the
history of the disposal of the walls of Wycomico Church: —
" Having thus briefly stated my Episcopal duties in the Northern Neck,
I must beg leave to advert to a circumstance which was particularly pre-
sented to my consideration while near the site of one of our old churches
in the county of Northumberland, and which has been not a little mis-
understood and even misrepresented in the public prints and on the floor
of our Legislature. In the spring of 1840, I received a communication
from Mr. Joseph Ball, an old and valued member of our Church in North-
umberland, on the subject of the sale of the church in his neighbourhood.
It was then just in that condition when, sp(jIiation of the bricks having
begun, it would become an object of plunder to all around and soon dis-
appear. One of the neighbours, therefore, proposed to purchase it, and my
consent was asked. I replied that I had no right whatever to di.spose of
it. Visiting that part of the State soon after, Mr. Ball informed me that
a gentleman living near the church, and jirofessing an attachment to it,
declared that it distressed him to see the church thus treated ; that in a
shorl. lime not a brick would be left; that they would be used for hearths,
chimneyb, and such like purposes, all the country around; that, if Mr. Ball
would consent, he would give five hundred dollars, either to rebuild it or
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 13-5
to take it down, — the materials in the latter case beinp; his own; that he
had consulted a lawyer, who told him that the head of the Church could
dispose of it. As Mr. Ball was an old warden of the parish and the only
surviving member, the gentleman thought he might be regarded as the
head; but, on being told that the Bishop was so regarded, it was referred
to myself. In reply to the renewed proposal, I stated again that I had no
right to sell it, and was unwilling to have any thing to do with it, as it
might be misunderstood and misrepresented. On its being urged by Mr.
Ball that a refusal to give such permission would only encourage great
numbers to I'obbery, I at length said that, if he chose to sell it, I would
receive the proceeds, and place them in the hands of the trustees of our
Theological Seminary, to be returned should it ever be called for to build
a church in its room. I was induced to do this partly by the consideration
that our Convention had many years before passed a resolution calling
upon persons having church-plate in vacant parishes to send it for safe-
keeping to the Bishop of the Diocese, liable to be called for should the
parishes ever be revived. Such property has been given into the hands
of Bishop Moore and myself, and has been lent to other parishes on that
condition. I accordingly, in writing, stated my assent to the sale of the
walls of the church (nothing else remaining) for five hundred dollars,
giving what right I might be thought to have. I looked upon the trans-
action as an affair between the person proposing it, Mr. Ball, and myself,
as friends to religion and the Church, who were desirous to prevent a
dishonourable use of the remains of a building not likely to be wanted
again, and as an act which would be approved by all good and pious per-
sons. After having paid one-half of the money, the purchaser refused the
remainder, on the plea of its having been an improper sale. In order to
prevent all future misunderstanding of this transaction, I have thought it
best thus to place it among our records. The two hundred and fifty dollars
which were paid were expended, I believe, on the Chapel attached to our
Theological Seminary, and I hold myself personally responsible for its
return whenever any competent authority shall claim it."
I am sorry to add that to this day the remaining two hundred
and fifty dollars is unpaid. I trust that the descendants of the
purchaser, even to the latest generation, will feel bound to Wyco-
mico, even as the trustees of the Theological Seminary, for the part
which has been used.
NOTICES 0.. THE LEE FAMILY IN VIRGINIA.
In the county of Northumberland and parish of Great Wycomico,
and within sight of the Chesapeake Bay, there is an estate and
mansion called Ditchley, — an English name of note, — which has
probably from its first settlement, more than one hundred years
ago, been the favourite resort of the ministers of the EpiscopiJ
(yhurch. Its present owner is Mr. Flexmer Ball. His father, !Mr,
Joseph Ball, was one of the truest members of our Church. Of his
ancestry we have just written in our last article. Many and plea-
sant have been the hours which, in company with some of the
136 OLD CIIUKCHES, MINISTERS, AND
brethren, I have spent at Ditchley within the last thirty years
Ditchley is one of the old residences of the Lees. The mansion
called Cobbs, where Colonel Richard Lee, the first of the family,
lived for some time, was near to Ditchley, and has only very re-
cently been removed to make place for another, although it must
have been built two hundred years ago or more. The first settler,
of whom more will hereafter be said, had many sons, of whom the
seventh, Hancock Lee, built and lived at Ditchley. He was twice
married, — first to a Miss Kendall, then to a Miss Allerton, by each
of whom he had children, whose descendants are among us to this
day. He died in 1729, as his tombstone in the family burying-
ground at Ditchley shows to this day. Both of his wives are bui'ied
at the same place. That he was a patron of the church is shown
by the fact that he presented a Communion-cup to the parish in
1711. In honour either of himself or father, or the whole family,
the parish was then called Lee parish, as may be seen by the in-
scription on the cup. It was afterward called Wycomico. After
the downfall of the parish, Mr. Joseph Ball placed this and other
pieces into my hands for preservation, in hope that the day might
come when the old Lee and more modern Wycomico parish might
call for it again. It is now used in the church at Millwood, Clarke
county, and the source whence it came and the pledge given are
recorded in the vestry-book of the same, as has already been said.
The following account of the Lee family is copied from a manu-
script in the handwriting of William Lee, dated London, September,
177—, the last figure not known, but just before the war, as is evi-
dent from the document itself. Its author was one of the six sons
of Thomas Lee, so many of whom were active in the Revolution.
It is somewhat doubtful whether in the early part of it Mr. Arthur
Lee and William Lee, in London, were not as eflFective as Richard
Henry Lee and Francis Lightfoot Lee in America. Mr. William
Lee, author of the following sketch, was sheriff and alderman in the
city of London, and subsequently commercial agent for Congress
in Europe and their Commissioner at the Courts of Berlin and
Vienna. He married a Miss Ludwell and left three children, —
William Ludwell, of Greenspring, who is buried in the old church-
yard at Jamestown, Portia, who married Mr. William Hodgson,
and Cornelia, who married Mr. John Hopkins. The high character
of Mr. Lee stamps a value on the following statement :—
" Richard Lee, of good family in Shropshire, and whose picture, I am
told, is now at Cotton, near Bridgenorth, the seat of Lancelot Lee, Esq.,
Bcuie time in the reign of Charles I. went over to the Colony of Virecinia
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 137
as Secretary and one of the King's Privy Council, which last part will for
shortness be called 'of the Council.' He was a man of uood stature,
comely visage, enterprising genius, a sound head, vigorous spirit, and
generous nature. When he gut to Virginia, which at that time was not
much cultivated, he was so pleased with the country that he made large
settlements there with the servants he carried over. After some years he
returned to P]ngland, and gave all the lauds he had taken up and settled
at his expense to those servants he had fixed on them, some of whose de-
scendants are now possessed of very considerable estates in thit Colony.
After staying some time in England, he returned to Virginia with a fresh
band of adventurers.
" During the civil war here, Sir William Berkeley was the (xovernor of
Virginia : he and Lee, both being loyalists, kept the Colony to its allegiance,
so that after the death of Charles I. Cromwell was obliged to send some
ships-of-war and soldiers to reduce the Colony, which not being able to
do, a treaty was made with the Commonwealth of England, wherein
Virginia was styled an independent dominion. This treaty ^yas ratified
here as made with a foreign power, upon which Sir William Berkeley
(who was of the same family as the present Earl of Berkeley) was re-
moved, and another Governor appointed in his room. When Charles II.
was at Breda, Richard Lee came over from Virginia and went there to
him to know if he could undertake to protect the Colony if they returned
to their allegiance to him ; but, finding no support could be obtained, he
returned to Virginia and remained cjuiet until the death of Cromwell,
when he, with the assistance of Sir William Berkeley, contrived to get
Charles II. proclaimed there King of England, Scotland, France, Ireland,
and Virginia two years before he was restored here, and Sir William
Berkeley was reinstated as his Governor, in which station he continued
until some time after the Restoration, when he came over, and died pre-
sently. It was in consequence of this step that the motto of the Virginia
arms always till after the union was ^En dat Virginia quintam ;' but
since the union it was changed to '^n dat Virginia quartamf that is,
King of Great Britain, France, Ireland, and Virginia. Here, by-the-
way, I cannot help remarking the extreme ingratitude of this Prince
Charles II. Oliver Cromwell, to punish Virginia and some of the other
parts of America for adhering to the royal cause, after he had got him-
self quite fixed in his supreme authority, both here and there, contrived
the famous Navigation Act, upon a model he borrowed from the Dutch,
by which the American Colonies were deprived of many of their ancient
and valuable privileges : upon the Restoration, instead of repealing thia
Act, it was confirmed by the whole Legislature here; and to add to
the ingratitude, at two other periods in his reign, taxes were imposed
on American commodities under the pretext of regulations of trade, from
which wicked source have flowed all the bitter waters that are now likely
to overwhelm America or this country, and most probably will in the end
be the ruin of both. But to return. This Richard Lee had several chil-
dren. The two eldest — John and Richard — were educated at Oxford.
John took his degree as doctor of physic, and returned to Virginia, and
died before his father Richard. He was so clever and learned, that some
great men otfered to promote him to the highest dignities in the Church,
if his father would let him stay in England ; but this oft'er was refused,
because the old gentleman was determined to fix all his children in Vir-
ginJi. So firn was he in this purposo, that by his will he ordered an
138 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
estate he had in Eugland, (I think near Stratford-by-Bow in Middlesex,y
at that time worth eight hundred or nine hundred pounds per annum, to
be sold and the money to be divided among his children. He died and
was buried in A'irgiuia, leaving a numerous progeny, whose names I have
chiefly forgot. His eldest son then living was Richard, who spent almost
his whole life in study, and usually wrote his notes in Greek, Hebrew,
or Latin, — many of which are now in Virginia; so that he neither im-
proved nor diminished his paternal estate, though at that time he might
with ease have acquired what would at this day produce a princely reve-
nue. He was of the Council in Virginia, and also in other offices of honour
and profit, though they yielded little to him. He married a Curbin or
Corbyne, I think of Staffordshire : from this marriage he had and left
behind him when he died in Virginia — which was some time after the
Revolution [in England under William and Mary] — five sons, — Richard,
Philip, Francis, Thomas, and Henry, and one daughter.* Richard settled
in London as a Virginia merchant, in partnership with one Thomas Corbin,
a bruther of his mother : he married an heiress in England of the name
of Silk, and by her left one son, George, and two daughters. Lettuce
and Martha. All these three children went to Virginia and settled.
George married a Wormly there, who died leaving one daughter ; then he
married a Fairfax — nearly related to Lord Fairfax, of Yorkshire — and
died, leaving by his last marriage three sons that are now minors and are
at school in England under the care of Mr. James Russul. Lettuce mar-
ried a Corbin, and her sister married a Turberville : their eldest children
intermarried, from which union George Lee Turberville, now at school at
Winton College, is the eldest issue. Philip, the second son, went to
Maryland, where he married and settled. He was of the Proprietor's
Council, and died leaving a very numerous family, that are now branched
out largely over the whole Province, and are in plentiful circumstances.
The eldest son, Richard, is now a member of the Proprietor's Council.
Francis, the third son, died a bachelor. Thomas, the fourth son, though
with none but a common Virginia education, yet, having strong natural
parts, long after he was a man he learned the languages without any as-
sistance but his own genius, and became a tolerable adept in the Greek
and Latin. He married a Ludwell, of whose genealogy I must give a
short account, being maternally interested therein. The Ludwells, though
the name is now extinct, are an old and honourable family of Somerset-
shire, England, the original of them many ages since coming from Ger-
many. Philip Ludwell and John Ludwell, being brothers, and sous of a
Miss Cottington, who was heiress of James Cottington, the next brother
and heir to the famous Lord Francis Cottington, of whom a pretty full
account may be seen in Lord Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, were
in court favour after the restoration of Charles IL John was appointed
Secretary, and was one of the Council in Virginia, where, I believe, he
died without issue. Philip, the eldest brother, went to America Governor
of Carolina, from whence he went to Virginia, and married the widow of
Sir William Berkeley, by whom he had a daughter, (that married Colonel
Parke, who was afterward the Governor of the Leeward Islands, in the
* The daughter married Mr. William Fitzhugh, of Eagle's Nest, King George
sounty, — son of the first William Fitzhugh, — and was the mother of the late Willianj
Fitzhugh, of Chatham.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 139
West Indies, and died in Antigua, the seat of his government,) and on.«
son named Philip.
'* After some time old Philip Ludwell returned to England, and died
here. He was buried in Bow Church, near Stratford : his son Philip
remained in Virginia, where his father had acquired a considerable estate,
and married a Harrison, by whom he had two daughters, — Lucy, the
eldest, married a Colonel Grymes, who was of the Council in Virginia, and
Hannah, who married the before-mentioned Thomas Lee, — and one son,
Philip. This Philip was, as his father had been, of the Council of V^ir-
ginia. He married a Grymes, by whom he had several children, — most of
whom died in their infancy ; and in the year 1753 his wife died ; in 1760
he came over to England for his health, and in the year 1767 he died here,
when the male line of Ludwell became extinct. He left heiresses three
daughters, — Hannah Philippa, Frances, and Lucy : the second is since
dead unmarried. This Thomas Lee by his industry and parts acquired a
considerable fortune ; for, being a younger brother, with many children,
his paternal estate was very small. He was also appointed of the Council ;
and, though he had very few acquaintances in England, he was so well
known by his reputation, that upon his receiving a loss by fire, the late
Queen Caroline sent him over a bountiful present out of her own privy
purse. Upon the late Sir William Gooch's being recalled, who had been
some time Governor of Virginia, he became President and Commander-in-
chief in the Colony, in which station he continued for some time, until
the King thought proper to appoint him Governor of the Colony; but he
died before his commission got to him. He left by his marriage with
Miss Ludwell six sons, — Philip Ludwell, Thomas Ludwell, Richard Henry,
Francis Lightfoot, William, and Arthur, — and two daughters, all well pro-
vided for in point of fortune
Here ends the manuscript of Mr. William Lee, of London ; but
we are enabled by another document to proceed further, though
not justified by the bounds prescribed to our notices to pursue it in
its details. Of the six sons of Thomas Lee, of Stratford, some-
thing must be said, or we should be justly condemned.
Philip Ludwell, the eldest, succeeded his father at Stratford, in
Westmoreland. He married a Miss Steptoe, and left two daugh
ters. Matilda, the eldest, married General Henry Lee, of the Revo
lution ; and Flora married Mr. Ludwell Lee, of Loudoun. Thomas
Ludwell settled in Stafford, and married a Miss Aylett. Richard
Henry was educated in England, and returned in the nineteenth year
of his age, and married first a Miss Aylett, and next a Mrs.
Pinkard, who was a Miss Gaskins or Gascoigne. He took an
active part in the Revolution. His life has been written by
his grandson, Richard Henry Lee. Francis Lightfoot Lee also
participated largely in the events of the Revolution, and was
regarded as one of the ablest orators and statesmen of that period.
He married a Miss Rebecca Tayloe, daughter of Colonel John Tay-
loe, of Richmond county. Of the fifth son, William, the sheriff and
alderman of London, we have already given some account. Arthur,
140 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
the sixth and youngest, as a scholar, a writer, a philosopher, a poli-
tician and diplomatist, was surpassed by none and equalled by few
of his contemporaries. He studied physic in Edinburgh, where ho
took his degrees ; but, disliking the profession, he studied law, and
distinguished himself as a lawyer in England. The services ren-
dered by him to his country as her minister at foreign courts were
most valuable.
In the English document immediately preceding, nothing is said
of one branch of the family, — viz. : Henry Lee, one of the bro-
thers of Thomas Lee, of Stratford, and grandson of the first Lee.
He married a Bland, and had several children. His son Richard
was Squire Lee, of Lee Hall. His only daughter married a Fitz-
hugh. Henry, the third son, married a Miss Grymes, and left five
sons and three daughters, — viz. : Henry, who was Colonel in the
Revolution, Charles, Richard Bland, Theodoric, and Edmund; also,
Mary, Lucy, and Anne. A numerous posterity has descended from
these, among whom are some bright ornaments of the Church, the
State, and the army. Mention is made in our English document
of one of the family at an early period moving to Maryland and
having numerous and influential descendants in that Province. I
have reason to believe, from recent examinations into the records
of different courts in the Northern Neck, that some of that branch
returned to Virginia, and were for a long series of years clerks in
the county of Essex. The following extract from a communication
sent me by a competent person establishes the fact. "John Lee,
clerk of Essex county, who succeeded Captain William Beverley,
came from Maryland. His nephew, John Lee, who was a member
of the House of Burgesses, succeeded him. At his death, his son
Hancock Lee succeeded to the office. At the death of Hancock
Lee, his son John Lee succeeded to it." Thus four of the name
held the office of clerk in Essex in succession.
The family of Lees, in all its branches, so far as I know and
believe, have always been Episcopal. I know of scarce an excep-
tion. I have been intimately acquainted with some most excellent
specimens of true piety among them, — too many to be specified and
dwelt upon. If tradition and history and published documents are
to be relied on, the patriotic, laborious, self-sacrificing, and eloquent
Richard Henry Lee, of the Revolution, must have deeply sympa-
thized with Washington, and Peyton Randolph, and Pendleton, and
Nicholas, and Henry, in their religious character and sentiments.
In looking over the two volumes containing the life and corre-
spondence of Richard Henry Lee, of Chantilly, in Westmoreland,
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 141
the reader cannot fail to ask himself the question, '' Was there a
man in the Union who did more in his own county and State and
country, by action at home and correspondence abroad, to prepare
the people of the United States for opposition to English usurpa-
tion, and the assertion of American independence? Was there a
man in America who toiled and endured more than he, both in body
and mind, in the American cause ? Was there a man in the Legisla-
ture of Virginia, and in the Congress of the Union, who had the pen
of a ready writer so continually in his hand, and to which so many
public papers may be justly ascribed, and by whom so much hard
work in committee-rooms was performed ?" To him most justly was
assigned the honourable but perilous duty of first moving in our
American Congress "that these United Colonies are, and of right
ought to be, free and independent States." Nor is it at all won-
derful that one who was conversant with the plans and intentions
of the English ministry should have declared that, in the event
of the reduction of the Colonies, the delivery of General Wash-
ington and Richard Henry Lee would be demanded, in order to
their execution as rebels. Although the great principles of morality
and religion rest on infinitely higher ground than the opinion of
the greatest and best of men, yet it is. most gratifying to find them
sustained in the writings and actions of such a man as Richard
Henry Lee. Mr. Lee advocated private education as being better
calculated for impressing the minds of the young "with a love of
religion and virtue." His biographer says that he had early studied
the evidences of the Christian religion, and had through life
avowed his belief in its divine origin. He was a member of the
Episcopal Church in full communion, and took a deep interest in
its welfare. He proved the sincerity of what has been quoted from
him, in favour of private education, by having a minister or can-
didate for the ministry in his family as private tutor. Mr. Bal-
maine was sent over to him by his brother Arthur, from London,
as both a staunch friend of America and a pious man. I have
often heard Mr. Balmaine speak in the highest terms of Mr. Lee
as a Christian and a patriotic statesman. His attacnment to the
Church of his fathers was evinced by the interest he took in seek-
ing to obtain consecration for our Bishops, immediately after the
war, and when he was President of Congress. Twice were thanks
returned to him by our General Convention for his services. Mr.
Lee was a decided advocate of the appointment of public acts of
supplication and thanksgiving to Almighty God in times of adver-
sity and prosperity. When all was dark and lowering in our
142 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
political horizon, and when it was proposed that, as one means of
propitiating the favour of God, it should be recommended to the
different States to take the most effectual means for the encou-
raging of religion and good morals, and for suppressing "theatrical
entertainments, horse-racing, gaming, and such other diversions as
are productive of idleness, dissipation, and a general depravity of
manners," while some voted against the measure, Mr. Lee waa
found in company with the most pious men of the land in favour
of it, and it was carried by a large majority. Again, when by the
capture of Burgoyne's army the hearts of Americans were cheered,
we find Mr. Lee one of a committee drafting a preamble and reso-
lution, which is believed to be from his own pen, in the following pious
strain: — "Forasmuch as it is the indispensable duty of all men to
adore the superintending providence of Almighty God, to acknow-
ledge with gratitude their obligation to him for benefits received, and
to implore such further blessings as they stand in need of; and it
having pleased him, in his abundant mercy, not only to continue to
us the innumerable bounties of his common providence, but also to
smile upon us in the prosecution of a just and necessary war for
the independence and establishment of our unalienable rights and
liberties ; particularly in that he hath been pleased in so great a
measure to prosper the means used for the support of our arms,
and crown them with the most signal success: it is therefore re-
commended to the Legislature and executive powers of these States,
to set apart Thursday, the eighteenth of December next, for solemn
thanksgiving and praise ; that with one heart and one voice the
people may express the feelings of their hearts, and consecrate
themselves to the service of their Divine Benefactor ; and, together
with their sincere acknowledgments and offerings, they may join
the penitent confession of their manifold sins, whereby they have
forfeited every favour, and their earnest and humble supplication
that it may please God, through the merits of Jesus Christ, merci-
fully to forgive and blot them out of remembrance ; that it may
please God," &c.
Mr. Lee, though entirely opposed to any Church establishment,
was, together with Henry, an advocate for a proposition to make
every man contribute to the support of the Christian religion, as
the only sure basis of private and public morality. In this, how-
ever, they failed. When the question about paying debts in depre-
ciated currency came on, Mr. Lee evinced his high and honourable
sense of morality in the earnest and eloquent opposition rrado to
it. He declared that nothing so deeply distressed him as a pro-
position which he regarded as a violation cf honesty and cood faith
FAMILIES OF VIR«INIA. l4b
ainoiiij; men, and said that it " would have been better to have re-
mained tlie honest slaves of Britain, than dishonest freemen."*
Of the descendants of so great and good a man, I cannot refrain
from adding something. His oldest son was Thomas Lee, ^Yhose
daughter Eleanor married Girard Alexander. His second son was
Mr. Ludwell Lee, of Loudoun county, who was a worthy member
of our Church, and left children and grandchildren who have fol-
lowed his example. His daughter Mary married Colonel William
Augustin Washington, but died childless. His daughter Hannah
married Mr. Corbin Washington, many of whose descendants have
been or are zealous members of the Church. His daughter Harriet
married twice, — first Mr. George Turberville, and then the Rev. Mr.
Mafiit, of the Presbyterian Church. Many of their descendants,
whether of the Episcopal or Presbyterian Church, are characterized
by exemplary piety. Sally married Edmund I. Lee, of Alexandria,
and has left a numerous posterity of children and grandchildren
and great-grandchildren, who belong to and love the Church of
their ancestors. The Rev. William F. Lee was one of her sons.
Anne, the other daughter of R. H. Lee, married Charles Lee.
Her daughter Ann married General Walter Jones, and was the
mother of a numerous family of children, who love the religion and
Church of their ancestors. Her daughter Catherine is one of our
missionaries in China.
NORTHUxMBERLAND HOUSE.
On the Potomac, and within sight of the bay, are the remains
of an old graveyard, belonging to what has always gone by the
name of the "Northumberland House." The place was originally
settled and a house built on it by a Mr. Presley, one of the earliest
settlers, who was murdered in it by his own servants. It was
afterward owned by Mr. Presley Thornton, who lies buried there.
The following extract from the letter of a friend is worthy of in-
sertion : —
"I have also, according to promise, visited the graveyard of old North-
umberland House, and found the remains of but one tombstone. This,
although erected of the heaviest materials, has been so much mutilated
by lightning and the waste of time, that nothing more can be deciphered
than that it was erected to the memory of Presley Thornton, who was
elected in early life to the House of Burgesses from the county of North-
umberland, which office he held until 1760, when he was appointed one
of the Council of State for this Colony; and that he tilled both offices
with great credit to himself and to the public emolument. He departed
* I have ascertained, beyond a doi.bt, tliat he was buried at Chantilly, in the
vavd or garden.
144 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
this life ou the Sth of December, 1769, in the forty-eighth year of his
age, having enjoyed all the chief honours of his country."
To this I add that, in the absence of the vestry-books and court-
records, I find that at an early period the Lees, Presleys, Poy-
thresses, Kenners, Thorntons, Newtons, &c. were the leading per-
sons in Northumberland.
The assertion by Mr. Lee that Charles II. was proclaimed King
in Virginia before he was received as such in England is a matter
of dispute among historians. Beverley, our earliest, who published
his work in 1705, — about forty-five years after the event is said to
have occurred, — affirms it as a fact. Robertson, the historian, and
Chalmers, another writer of that day, repeat the same. Burke,
who published in 1805, agrees with the foregoing so far as to think
that something of the kind took place, though not in a regular way.
Dr. Hawks agrees with Beverley and his followers. Mr. Henning,
in his Statutes at Large, compiled by order of the Virginia Assem-
bly, and commenced in 1809, is of opinion that there is no founda-
tion for any such supposition, and appeals to the entire absence of
all notice of such proceeding in the documents of that period.
Mr. Bancroft and Mr. Charles Campbell adopt the opinion of Mr.
Ilenning. Of course, if it was an irregular, partial, or tumultuous
act of individuals, as Mr. Burke supposes, we could not expect to
see it among the recorded Acts of Assembly, as we do see the later
and more formal acknowledgment of Charles II. It is not, how-
ever, a matter of sufficient importance to produce a Trojan war.
It is scarcely probable that Mr. Lee is mistaken in the tradition
that his ancestor was a zealous loyalist, and did, on his return to
England, visit Charles at Breda and hold communion with him on
the subject of his acknowledgment by Virginia, then having so
many staunch Cavaliers in it, whatever uncertainty may rest upon
the subsequent proceedings.
Since the foregoing article was written, I have received some
further information concerning the first of the Lee family and his
children, which is worthy of insertion. The will of the first Richard
Lee, dated 1663, may be seen in Mr. Charles Campbell's History
of Virginia, p. 157. From it I extract the following : — "I, Colonel
Richard Lee, of Virginia, and lately of Stratford-Langton, in the
county of Essex, Esquire, being bound out upon a voyage to Vir-
ginia aforesaid, and not knowing how it may please God to dispose
of me in so long a voyage," &c. " First, I give and bequeath my soul
to that good and gracious God that gave it me, and to my blessed
Redeemer Jesus Christ, assuredly trusting in and by his meritorious
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 145
death and passion to receive salvation, and my body to be disposed
of, whether by sea or land, according to the opportunity of the
place, not doubting but at the last day both body and soul shall be
united and glorified." Here again we see the faith and the divinity
of that day. He then directs that his wife and children, who it
seems had not yet been to Virginia, should be sent there, except
Francis, to whose option it was left. To his wife Anna he left
Stratford-on-the-Potowmacke (to which he had removed from Cobbs)
and Mock Necke, together with servants black and white, and other
property during her life. To his son John he leaves his plantation
called Matholic, with servants, &c. This is now the Mount Pleasant
farm owned by Mr. Willowby Newton. To his son Richard he
leaves his plantation called Paradise, and the servants there. To
his son Francis he leaves his plantations called Paper-Maker's
Neck and War Captain's Neck, with servants black and white. To
his five younger children, William, Hancock, Betsy, Anne, and
Charles, he leaves a plantation, including Bishop's Neck on the
Potomac, four thousand acres on the Potomac, together with Strat-
ford and Mock Neck at the death of their mother. To William he
leaves his lands on the Maryland side ; to Francis an interest in
his two ships. He also leaves a fund for the better education in
England of his two oldest sons, John and Richard.
Since writing the account of the marriages of Richard Henry,
as given by his brother William Lee, I have received two commu-
nications, stating that one of his wives was a Miss Gaskins, so that,
unless he was married three times, there must have been a mistake
as to the name of one of those before mentioned.
THE CORBIN FAMILY.
The following account of the Corbin family may very properly
be added to that of the Lees, on account of their early connection
by marriage.
The vestry-books of Middlesex and King and Queen counties
doubtless speak of some of the same persons mentioned in this
genealogy.
Henry Corbin settled in the parish of Stratton Major, King and
Queen, about the year 1650. One Nicholas Jernew obtained a
patent for Peekatone, in the county of Westmoreland, dated 18th
October, 1650, which he transferred to Henry Corbin, who had
another patent issued in his own name, dated 26th of March, 1664.
Henry Corbin had three children, of whom mention is made in the
•)\d papers in my possession. Thomas Corbin, one of his sons,
Vol II.— 10
146 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
must have died without male issue, as his brother Gawin Corbin,
by his will, devises to his son Gawin Corbin "the land of my
brother, the late Mr. Thomas Corbin." His eldest daughter,
Letitia, married Richard Lee, second son of Colonel Richard Lee.
Gawin Corbin, the other son of Henry Corbin, and once President
of the Council, married a daughter of William Bassett, and left
seven children, — three sons and four daughters. Jenny, one of his
daughters, married a Mr. Bushrod; Joanna married Major Robert
Tucker; Alice married Benjamin Needier, and the other a Mr.
Allerton. His sons were — 1st, Richard Corbin of Laneville, Avho
married Miss Betty Tayloe, daughter of Colonel John Tayloe,
(Carter Braxton married their oldest daughter;) 2d, John Corbin,
of whose history I am ignorant, (the lands devised to him were
chiefly in Maryland;) od, Gawin Corbin, once a member of the
Council, and who married Hannah Lee, sister of Richard Henry
Lee. Gawin Corbin, third grandson of Henry Corbin, left an
only daughter, Martha, who married George Turberville. George
Turberville left two sons, — viz. : Gawin Corbin Turberville, and
Richard Lee Turberville. Gawin Corbin Turberville married a
daughter of Colonel John Dangerfield, and left an only daughter,
Mary, who married William F. Taliafero.
A friend has sent me the following record, which shows at how
early a period that kind of dissipation which proved so destructive
to Virginia made its appearance in the Northern Neck. "John
Lee, Henry Corbin, Thomas Gerrard, and Isaac Allerton, en-
tered into a compact, dated 30th of March, 1670, (recorded 27th
March, 1774,) to build a banqueting-house at or near the corner
of their respective lands."
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 147
ARTICLE LX.
Cople Parish, Westmoreland County.
Westmoreland county was cut oiF from Northumberland county
in 1653, and extended along the Potomac as high as the Falls above
Georgetown. In the years 1661—62 the two counties were tempo-
rarily reunited, because, by the removal of some leading persons,
there was not a suitable number of civil and military gentlemen to
constitute a proper commission in either of them alone. After some
time Stafford was taken from Westmoreland, leaving it a small,
narrow county lying on the Potomac, and only extending half-way
across the neck toward the Rappahannock River. First Lancaster,
then Rappahannock, and then Richmond counties, divided what
is now Westmoreland. In time, all the land lying between the
rivers was given to Westmoreland, and Cople parish occupied the
lower part of the county and Washington the upper. We will begin
with Cople parish.
The first minister we have on any of our lists is the Rev. Charles
Rose, brother to the Rev. Robert Rose, of Essex. He appears on
the earliest list we have, — that of 1754, — but from the diary of his
brother we know that he was its minister some years before this.
He was also minister in 1758. In the year 1773, the Rev. Thomas
Smith was its minister, as he was in 1776. Either before or after
him, we are informed that the Rev. Augustine Smith was its
minister. We presume that they were relatives of the many re-
spectable persons of that name in this and other counties around,
but we have received no particular account of them. In the year
1799, the Rev. James Elliott was minister. Of him we hear nothing
good from this or any other parish which he served. We hear of
no other minister in Cople parish until the Rev. Washington Nelson
took charge of it in connection with the parishes in Richmond
county. He was succeeded in 1842 by the Rev. Mr. Ward. The
Rev. Mr. Rumney succeeded him in 1849, and was succeeded by
the Rev. Edward McGuire in 1850. He was followed by the Rev.
William McGuire in 1852. The present minister, the Rev. Mr.
Dashiel, took charge of it in 1854.
There were two churches in this parish, — one at Yeocomico River
14^ OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
or Creek, from which it takes its name, Yeocomico ; and another
about ten miles oflF, on Nominy River or Creek, from which it also
took the name of Nominy. The latter was destroyed by fire soon
after our last war with England, but a new brick one has taken its
place within the last few years. The plate belonging to this church
was carried olF by Admiral Cockburn and his party, when they were
on a pillaging-expedition on the Potomac and its tributaries. The
plate was kept on a plantation upon the banks of Nominy River, just
opposite the church. The farm itself was called Nominy, and was
then, and still is, owned by the Griffith family, relatives of the Bishop-
elect of that name. The house was plundered and then burned.
The other — Yeocomico Church — is still in good repair, but among
the rudest and roughest of all the old brick churches. It was built
in 1706. For the first time a new roof has, within a few years,
been put upon it, and some internal changes been made in it.
Although I think it might have been better done and made more
complete, yet it would be difficult, and perhaps not desirable, to
give a more modern aspect to it. The following extract from my
report in 1838 may not be without interest to the reader : —
" On Monday I went, in company with Mr. Nelson, to Yeocomico
Church, in Westmoreland, where 1 preached, and administered the rite of
Confirmation to three persons.
" Yeocomico Church, so called after the river of that name, is one of
the old churches, being built in the year 1706. The architecture is rough,
but very strong, and the materials must have been of the best kind. Its
figure is that of a cross, and, situated as it is, in a little recess from the
main road, in the midst of some aged trees, and surrounded by an old brick
wall which is fast mouldering away, it cannot fail to be an object of interest
to one whose soul has any sympathy for such scenes. It has undergone
but little repair since its first erection, and indeed has needed little. It is
not known or believed that a single new shingle has ever been put upon
the roof, and the pews and whole interior are the same. During the late
war it was shamefully abused by the soldiers who were quartered in it
while watching the movements of the British on the Potomac. The Com-
munion-table was removed into the yard, where it served as a butcher's
block, and was entirely defaced. Being of substantial materials, however,
it admitted of a new face and polish, and is now restored to its former
place, where it will answer, we trust, for a long time to come, the holy
purposes for which it was originally designed. Nor was the baptismal font
exempt from profanation. It was taken some miles from the church, and
used as a vessel in which to prepare the excitements to ungodly mirth.
This, however was not long permitted, for in the absence of every member
of our own communion, none being left to do it, a venerable old man of
the Presbyterian connection,* mortified at the dishonour done to religion,
* The name of this worthy old man is Murphy. He has now gone to his rest.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 149
took pains to regain it and restore it to its former place. It is a large and
beautifiil marble font, and by its side T took ray station while I heard the
renewal of baptismal vows from the lips of those who were confirmed.
The canvas on which the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and the
Creed were impressed was so torn by the soldiers that they could no
longer be permitted to retain their place, and are now lying in fragments
in one of the distant and unoccupied pews.
" It deserves to be mentioned that whatever repairs have been put upon
this house were at the expense of the good man mentioned above, and a
worthy gentleman of New York, a member of our communion, and whose
matrimonial connection in the family often brought him to that part of
Virginia. A large and excellent stove, which completely warmed the
whole church, was a present from the latter, and on the desk and pulpit
the Bible and Prayer-Book bear the name of J. Rogers, of New York."
It deserves to be stated that I have in my possession a con-
tract with the vestry for the repairs of this church in 1773, at a
cost of one hundred pounds, or five hundred dollars. In the agree-
ment, various repairs within and without the house and in the walls
around the yard are specified, but nothing is said about a new roof,
which goes to establish the tradition that the present roof is the
original one put upon the house in 1706.
THE M^GUIRE FAMILY, BY THE PRESENT MINISTER OF COPLE PARISH.
For twenty years or more, prior to the pastorate of the Rev. Wash-
ington Nelson, this parish was without clerical services. In all that
time there was nothing except the visitations of the Bishop to re-
mind the people here that there was an Episcopal Church. And
depressing as was such a state of things, and calculated as it was
to break us down entirely, we were just as likely to have the same
end brought about by the life and character of the man who had
last been rector. I do not know whether this man resigned the
parish, or died whilst in charge : be that as it may, his course was
well calculated to disgust people and drive them from our services.
Looking at the consequences which must naturally flow from such
a connection, and from the long period in which there was entire
absence of Episcopal ministrations, we cannot otherwise than won-
der, whilst we thank God, as we now see our Church upon the
same spot enjoying every promise of prosperity. Whilst, during
the period referred to, there was nothing done by us, other Chris-
tian bodies were active ; and, under all the influences which operated
against us, it is not surprising that all or nearly all who had any
afiection for our Church should have lost their feelings of attach-
ment and have sought comfort elsewhere. In truth, when Mr.
Nelson came here the Episcopal Church had nearly died out. The
150 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
only communicants he found were three old ladies in the humblest
walks of life. An account of these pious and excellent people was
published by Mr. Nelson, but I believe it must be out of print.
Even, however, if there should be any copies of it in existence,
their history is so remarkable that it will very well bear the mention
here made. The name of these sisters was McGuire, — Miss Emily,
Miss Mary, and a widow, Mrs. Davis. Two of them are still alive
and still continue warmly attached to our Church, and are exerting
a considerable influence in its favour among their acquaintances.
The eldest of them — Miss Emily — died in August, 1855. I tried to
obtain for myself a satisfactory account of how they became Epis-
copalians, and how they retained their love for the Church when
every one else in the surrounding country deserted it. They said,
in substance, that they had been educated by their mother, who was
an Episcopalian, and brought up to love all our services. They
were baptized by our ministry, and attended its preaching whenever
they could. When their mother died she left them a large Prayer-
Book, with the request that they would abide by its teachings;
and, from affection for her as well as for the Church, they obeyed
her word. They told how the Church had flourished in days gone
by, — how it had been ridiculed when its clergy behaved badly, —
and how the members had been shamed away from it, and how
themselves still clung to it. I asked them how they got along
during the many years there was no minister. "Why, sir," said
Miss Emily, " whenever there was preaching at Westmoreland or
Richmond Court-House, we would walk to it, — once in a while we
would have this chance, — and when there was no preaching I would
read the Lessons on Sunday to my sister and we would go through
the morning service, and if any neighbours came in maybe I would
read a sermon." Westmoreland Court-House is four miles from
their residence and Richmond Court-House about twelve miles;
and I have it certified by others that the statement of Miss Emily
is true, — they have been known to walk to and from these places
to attend our Church services in the coldest and hottest weather.
I asked them if in that time they never attended the services of
other denominations. "Well, sir," they said, "we did sometimes;
they would be holding church all around us, and sometimes we
would go ; but it wasn't like home to us. We know they're good,
but still we felt happier worshipping here in our own way."
The piety of these worthy people is even more remarkable than
their attachment to their Church. They are very poor, but their
uniform contentment and happiness is rarely to be met with. Upon
FAMIIIES OF VIRGINIA. 151
one occasion whilst Miss Emilj was alive, lier sister Mary remarked
that now in their old age they sometimes got right cold while walk-
ing to church in the winter. "But what of that, sister?" says
Miss Emily; "why should we care for that?" "And I don't care
for it," was the reply.
We have mentioned that Miss Emily died in August, 1855. She
was very aged, and for some weeks previous to her decease was
imbecile. It pleased God, however, not to let her depart in this
state. The day before she died her reason returned, and she talked
solemnly and impressively to those around her. She remained thus
conscious almost up to the very moment of her death. Miss Mary
and Mrs. Davis still attend their church and see the parish which
once could number only themselves as its friends, now containing
more than twenty families, about thirty communicants now living,
and many evidences that it is still to flourish. May God help us
to remember and cherish the poor !
To this it well deserves to be added, that during the entire inter-
mission of services in this parish, these sisters were in the habit
of going once in a year in a sail-boat to Alexandria in order to
receive the Communion.
THE NEWTON FAMILY.
From a document of Mr. Willowby Newton, father of the present
Willowby, and grandson of a WilloAvby Newton, I learn that at an
early period four brothers emigrated to Virginia, — one of whom
settled in Norfolk, another in Alexandria, one in Westmoreland,
and one in Stafford ; so that it is probable that all of the name in
Virginia, and many out of it, are from the same stock. Richard
Lee, of Lee Hall, in Westmoreland, not far from the ruins of the
old burnt house, which was an ancient Lee establishment, married
a Miss Poythress, of Prince George, who was a granddaughter of
Richard Bland. After the death of Mr. Lee — commonly called
Squire Lee — she married Mr. Willowby Newton, both of whom
were vestrymen, as was John Newton, father of this Willowby,
and son of the first Willowby. The name of Willowby was an
ancient one about Norfolk, and intermarried with the Newtons.
At Bushfield, in this county, there is an inscription which gives
us the origin of the name Bushrod, which is incorporated in many
other names of Virginia: —
" Here lies the body of Johu Bushrod, Geutleman, sou of Richard
Bushrod, Gentleman, by Apphia his wife. He was born in Glouoestef
152 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
county, Virginia, the oOtb of January, 1663. He took for his wife Han
nah, the daughter of William Keene, of Northumberland, and Elizaboth
his wife, and by her left two sons and four daughters, and died the 6th of
February, 1719, in the 56th year of his age."
At Wilmington, the family seat of the Newtons, we have also the
following inscription : —
'' Beneath this stone are deposited the remains of Mrs. Sarah Newton,
daughter of George Eskridge, and late wife of Captain Willowby Newton,
of Westmoreland county, who, after having justly established the cha-
racter of a dutiful child, a faithful friend, an affectionate mother, and
sincere Christian, departed this life on the 2d of December, 1753, in the
46th year of her age."
In the same graveyard is the tomb of Mrs. Elizabeth Oldham,
wife of Colonel Samuel Oldham, who died in 1759, in her 72d year.
TOMBSTONES IN COPLE PARISH.
From a tombstone in the Burnt-House fields, at Mount Pleasant,
Westmoreland county, where are yet to be seen the foundations
of large buildings, are the following : —
"Hie conditur corpus Richardi Lee, Armigeri, nati in Virginia, filii
Kichardi Lee, generosi, et antiqua familia, in Merton-Regis, in comitatu
Salopiensi, oriundi.
"In magistratum obeundo boni publici studiosissimi, in Uteris Graecis
et Latinis et aliis humanioris literaturse disciplinis versatissimi.
"Deo, quern, summa observantia semper coluit, animam tranquillus
reddidit xii. mo. die Martii, anno MDCCXIV. £etat. LXVIII."
" Hie, justa, situm est corpus Lsetitiae ejusdem uxoris fidae, filiae Henrici
Corbyn, generosi, liberorum matris amantissimae, pietate erga Deum,
charitate erga egenos, benignitate erga omnes insignis. Obiit Octob. die
vi. MDCCVI. setatis XLIX."
The first is thus translated : —
"Here lieth the body of Richard Lee, Esq., born in Virginia, son of
Richard Lee, Gentleman, descended of an ancient family of Merton-Regis,
in Shropshire.
" While he exercised the office of a magistrate he was a zealous pro-
moter of the public good. He was very skilful in the Greek and Latin
languages and other parts of polite learning. He quietly resigned his
Boul to God, whom he always devoutly worshipped, on the 12th day of
March, in the year 1714, in the 6Sth year of his age."
The second is thus translated: —
" Near by is interred the body of Lettuce, his faithful wife, daughter
of Henry Corbyn, Gentleman. A most affectionate mother, she wa^ also
FAMILIES OP VIRGINIA. 153
distinguished by piety toward God, charity to the poor, and kindness to all
She died on the 6th day of October, 1706, in the 49th year of her age."
VESTRYMEN OF COPLE PARISH.
Although no vestry-book of this parish has come down to ua
from which we might give a connected list of the vestrymen, yet
we are glad to present to our readers the result of two elections
which were held in this parish, — the one in 1755, and the other in
1785. Those chosen in 1755 were John Bushrod, Daniel Tibbs,
Richard Lee, Benedict Middleton, Willowby Newton, Robert Mid-
dleton, George Lee, John Newton, Samuel Oldham, Robert Carter,
Fleet Cox, James Steptoe. Those chosen in 1785 — thirty years
after — were Vincent Marmaduke, Jeremiah G. Bailey, John A.
Washington, Samuel Rust, John Crabb, Richard Lee, George Gar-
ner, George Turberville, Patrick Sanford, John Rochester, Samuel
Templeman.
CONTEST ABOUT YEOCOMICO CHURCH.
During the ministry of the Rev. Mr. Ward in Cople parish, a
difficulty arose as to this church, and the question was carried
before the Legislature. The following letter from Judge McComas
shows his opinion on the subject. The action of the Legislature
was in favour of the claim of the Episcopal Church : —
''KiCHMOND, January 20, 1844.
"To THE Rev. Wm. N. Ward.
" Dear Sir : — You will remember that 1 objected sitting as a member
of the Committee for Courts of Justice, whilst it was acting upon the
petition in relation to Yeocomico Church, because I was a member of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, and understanding that it was the subject
of dispute between that Church and the Episcopal Church ; but at your
instance I did sit, but, being chairman of the committee, its action made
it unnecessary for me to vote. I take this mode, however, of saying that
I perfectly agreed with the committee, and even desired to go further
than the committee in this. I wished to pass a law giving to the Epis-
copal Church all churches that it is now in possession of, to which it had a
right before the Revolutionary War. I think the construction given by
the committee to the Act of 1802, or at least my construction of it, is, that
the General Assembly claimed for the Commonwealth the right to all the
real property held by that Church, but that Act expressly forbids the sale
of the churches, &c. It is true, the proviso to that Act does not confer
upon the churches the right of property in the houses, &c. But it in-
tended to leave the possession and occupancy as it then existed; and, that
possession and occupancy being in the Episcopal Church, it had a right to
retain it until the Legislature should otherwise direct. I believe that the
Committee was of the opinion that the Episcopal Church had a right to
the use and occupancy of the church now in question : it certainly is my
J 54 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
opiuion. 1 hope my Methodist brethren will see the justness of the de-
termination of the Committee, and with cheerfulness acquiesce in its
decision.
" Yours very respectfully,
"David McComas."
The following letter from Mr. W. L. Rogers, of Princeton, New
Jersey, will form an interesting supplement to what has been said
about Old Yeocomico : —
"To THE Right Rev. Bishop Meade.
" Honoured Sir: — The Rev. Wm. Hanson, rector of Trinity Church
in this place, a few days since handed me a number of the ' Southern
Churchman' from Alexandria, dated the 27th of February, 1857. In it
is an historical sketch, from your pen, of Cople parish, Westmoreland
county, Virginia, and particularly of Yeocomico Church, — a spot ever
near and dear to my memory. From a long and intimate acquaintance
with its locality and history, I beg leave very respectfully to present the
following facts. It was built in the year 1706, as an unmistakable record
will show, — it being engraved in the solid wall over the front-door. It
was called by«that name after the adjacent river, — the Indian name being
preserved. The Rev. Mr. Elliot was the last settled minister up to the
year 1800, when he removed to Kentucky. From that time it was wholly
unused and neglected as a place of worship until the Methodists occasion-
ally met under the shadow of its ruin about the year 1814, and continued
so to do, keeping alive the spark of vital piety, until the Rev. Mr. Nelson
in 1834 took charge of it as a settled minister. During his ministration
it was jointly used by the Episcopalians and Methodists in Christian bar
mony and good-will. He being succeeded by the Rev. Mr. Ward in 1842,
the question of occupancy and right of possession was unhappily agitated,
which led to a decision of the Legislature giving to the wardens and vestry
of the Episcopal Church the exclusive right to its use and control. Thus
it will be seen, for thirty-four years there had been no settled minister of
our communion, or its sublime and beautiful service performed, except
two or three times by occasional visits.
"The Mr. Murphy you allude to was a Scotch gentleman from Ayrshire,
living at Ayrfield, half a mile distant from Old Yeocomico, whose estate,
consisting of some thousands of acres, surrounded the church and burial-
ground on all sides. He was a gentleman of intellectual culture, an
honoured magistrate, and a Presbyterian of the ' Covenant' school ; whose
residence was the seat of hospitality and the home of the clergy, with a
welcome to all ' who proclaimed the glad tidings, that published salvation,
that saith unto Zion, Thy Grod reigneth.' The Mr. Rogers you kindly
allude to is the unworthy writer of these lines and the following narrative.
I am a citizen of New Jersey by birth and education, (not of New York,
as you incidentally state.) In the spring of 1813, I joined the 36th
Regiment of United States Infantry (Colonel Carberry) at Washington.
In the fall of that year, I was detached by order of General Bloomfield to
Sandy Point, Westmoreland county, Virginia, on the Potomac, with a
company of men to watch the movements of the British fleet. In the
Bpring of 1814, our quarters becoming uncomfortable, we sought out an
encampment in what is called there the Forest or high ground. i\moug
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 155
other places recommended to us by the late General Alexander Parker
we visited the ruins of Yeocomico Church. As soon as I saw it, I ex-
claimed, 'There is Kirk-Alloway,' (alluding of course to Burns's 'Tam
O'Shanter.') Had it stood for the original picture as drawn by the
humorous poet, it could not have more forcibly impressed me with awe
and deep-abiding interest. Its form, — that of a cross, — its solitude, were
strikingly impressive, for it stood in a dell where its silence was only dis-
turbed by the passing breeze whispering through the pines and cedars and
undergrowth which choked up the entrance. It was overshadowed also
by ancient oaks stretching their gigantic arms, as it were, to guard the
sacred relic from mouldering time and the desolating elements. Its doors
were open, its windows broken, the roof partly decayed and fallen in, and,
to complete its apparent hopeless fate, a pine-tree thirty or forty feet
high was blown up by the roots and lay across the main structure. Its
burial-ground, which is spacious, was enclosed by a costly, high brick wall,
with narrow gateways, — symbolical perhaps of the ' narrow path,' — filled
to its utmost capacity with broken tombstones and desolate graves over-
grown with briers and shrubbery, showing that the ' rich and the poor
there rested together, and the servant was indeed free from his master,' —
alike unprotected and uncared-for. A ruin outside the wall, which was
intended and once served as a vestry, had rotted down ; the chimney, a
strong brick one, alone standing, — a naked monument of better days. In an
alcove of forest-trees a few yards distant flowed numerous springs of cool,
delicious water. Indeed, it required no great stretch of imagination to
fancy the midnight-scene so graphically described in Burns's Kirk-Alloway,
and the race to cross the running stream (for one really flows across the
main road, some hundred yards distant) where ' mare Meggie lost her
tail.' With some difliculty I entered the porch, which was built of brick
and formed the upper part of the cross, spacious and on a level with the
ground, — its massive double doorway quite open, presenting within as
hopeless a ruin as its exterior, — the roof rotted away at its angles, one
of the galleries partly down, the girders rotted ofi" and fallen upon the
pews, and the wall in two places mouldered away by years of satura-
tion from snow and rain The remains of a large Bible still lay upon
the desk. The font was gone, — which I was told was of marble, and now
used for convivial purposes. The chancel, in the eastern arm of the
cross, to the right of the pulpit, surmounted by a large Gothic window
much broken, was still in tolerable preservation. In it was the Communion-
table,— its frame antique, covered with a heavy walnut slab, — sound, but
rough and soiled from exposure. Large frames, once covered with canvas
exhibiting in distinct characters the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Command-
ments, and other texts of Scripture, hung upon the walls, now much
defaced, mouldered, and torn. The aisles were paved with brick, and
covered with abundant evidence of its being the resort of sheep and
cattle running at large; and, to complete the evidence of its abandonment,
the ceiling — which was of boards — was tenanted by squirrels, snakes, and
scorpions. Indeed, we may truly say, ' All its hedges were broken down
by the wild boar of the wilderness,' and there was no one to care for it
Be.-^ides, I was told, it was the terror of the neighbourhood, from being
the resort of runaway negroes and wandering vagrants, added to the awe
inseparably connected with the lonely, silent depository of the dead. In
contemplating the scene before me, I felt a mysterious attachment to this
relic of piety and early faith of our fathers, — not dreaming (being a
156 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, ANT)
stranger and a wanderer) at some future day I should be honoured and
favoured by the commission to restore this temple, now in the dust, to the
service of my Creator and Redeemer. We resolved at once to pitch our
tents outside the wall : a fatigue-party was detailed to trim up the trees,
cut down the undergrowth, and burn up the leaves and rubbish, to re-
move the tree which lay across the roof, to cleanse the church and repair
it as far as practicable, to make it a safe depository for our stores and
camp-equipage. This being done, we were presented with a shady grove,
dry ground, and a most inviting and lovely prospect, — with an abundance
of pure, delicious water at our feet, and a central position to make nightly
detachments to guard the historic shores of old Potomac, — for there rest
the remains of the Washingtons, the Lees, the Parkers, and many other
gallant spirits of patriotic memoiy. As illustrative of the actual condition
of the spot I am now describing, permit me to relate an original anecdote,
which occurred a short time before my visit.
" Colonel Garner, an officer of the Revolution, lived three or four miles
distant: passing the church late in the evening with a friend, they were
overtaken by an angry cloud of wind and rain, accompanied by lightning
and thunder. The colonel proposed taking shelter in the church, leading
their horses in, which they could do without difficulty, as the porch and
pavement of the aisles were on a level with the ground. To this his friend
positively objected, declaring he would rather bear the pelting of the storm
than pass an hour within its gloomy walls. He therefore put spurs to his
horse for his home. Not so with the colonel : he was a brave man, not
fearing hobgoblins or witches. He dismounted at the opening in the wall,
where there had once been a gate. Taking the bridle-rein in his hand, he
proceeded to thread his way through the bushes to the porch. He got
inside, followed by his horse, and was just entering the church, when the
unusual visit frightened a flock of sheep that had taken shelter there, who
suddenly rushed to the door to make their escape. The charge took the
colonel by surprise, knocked him down, routed his horse, and trampled
him in the dust, (for it was not paved as it now is.) After the column
had passed over him, he found in the ' melee' he had lost his hat, and was
scratched and bruised about the face and hanas. Nothing daunted, how-
ever, he groped his way into the church, and, being well acquainted with
its internal arrangement, he took shelter in the pulpit, where he knew was
a comfortable seat, and where he would be protected from the wet by the
sounding-board, made of durable materials and still firmly attached to the
wall. The storm was now raging without, lightning and thundering and
raining, with a tempest of wind. After sitting for a time he fell asleep
and did not awake until three or four in the morning. By this time the
cloud had passed over, the stars were shining, and he was glad to extricate
hiujself by a hasty retreat homeward. He found his discomfited horse
taking his rest at the stable-door.
" Our happiness at this encampment, after some months, was unexpectedly
broken up by the arrival of a vessel with an order to embark for St. JMary's,
Maryland. We finished our military service by assisting in the defence of
Fort McHenry, Baltimore. We had the satisfaction, however, of carrying
with us the united testimony of the whole neighbourhood that not a chicken,
an egg, or a vegetable, had been wrongfully taken by any one of the soldiers,
aor an injury or an insult ofiered to any one. The church and its environs
had been sacredly guarded, and wc left it in a much better condition than we
found it. But it was not so (as I afterw>rd learned) by our successors, a
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 157
company of militit. from the upper country, who proved themselves to be a
scourge to those they professedly came to protect, by robbery, violence, and
destruction of private property. It was they ' who made a chopping-block of
the Communion-table' and otherwise defaced the church. In ascribing it to
the soldiers, be assured, sir, you have been led into an unintentional error.
They served under a discipline paternal but strict, both as regards order
and cleanliness. In the year 1820, being on a visit to Ayrfield, and seeing
Old Yeocomico still a ruin, even more deplorable than when 1 left it, I
proposed to Mr. Murphy to undertake its repair. To this he not only
assented, but gave money, labour, and his personal service. The gentle-
men of the neighbourhood subscribed cheerfully and liberally, and the
work was pushed forward by employing suitable mechanics and importing
from Alexandria lumber, shingles, paints, and seven or eight barrels of
tar for the roof, which had not had a shingle put upon it since the year
1788, at which time, I heard Mr Murphy say, the gentlemen of the sur-
rounding estates were assessed to meet the expense. It is true as you
state, — the font, 'a beautiful marble one,' as you describe it, had been
taken away and used for unholy purposes, and by him restored; also, the
plate, with a damask tablecloth and napkins marked ' Yeocomico Church'
in the centre, had been safely kept at Lee Hall, and were gladly restored
by the pious and excellent lady, the late Mrs. Sai'ah Newton, who at that
time owned and occupied the mansion and estate. The hrst thing we did
was to open a double gateway in front, with a wide gravel-walk up to the
porch or apex of the cross, the pavement of which I laid with my own
hands, none there being familiar with such work. If the narrow opening
in the wall was symbolical of the 'narrow path,' the one we now opened
was illustrative of 'free grace,' — a truth to which I feel myself indebted
for a knowledge of salvation through the interceding blood of a crucified
Redeemer. It is also true, as you state, I presented the church with a
large stove and ample pipe to warm it thoroughly, it having stood for upward
of a century without one. It is also true I had the great pleasure to place
a Bible and Prayer-Book both on the desk and in the pulpit, and I I'ejoice
to know the church is still protected and cared for, — although I have not
seen it for more than twenty years. Permit me now, sir, in conclusion, to
say I have frequently reflected with sorrow on the mysterious desolation
of the ancient churches of Virginia, and can only account for it by the
demoniac influence of the infidel theories and sentiments of the French
Revolution, which at that time pervaded the public mind and had poisoned
the very fountain of our better nature and sealed the best impulses of the
human heart. These temples of the living God, these sacred monuments
of the faith of our fathers and the religious care of the Provincial Grovern-
ment, were generally of lofty and commanding structure, of costly finish,
and of the most durable materials, — such as in England have lasted for
centuries. They stood in well-chosen positions, and under their shadow
lay the remains of the kindred of large congregations, many of whom were
the immediate descendants of holy men who had ministered at their altars;
yet, most strange to say, not an arm was put forth to save, or an eye found
to pity. ' Behold, therefore, saith the Lord, your house is left unto you
desolate.'
''Be pleased to accept, reverend sir, my most respectful regard,
"WM. L. ROGERS.
"Princeton, Nkw Jersey, March 20, 1857."
160 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
ioners, ■while Alexander preferred the British side of the question,
and returned to Scotland. The youngest son of Alexander was
born in Glasgow, in 1777.*
* This youngest son was none other than the celebrated poet Thomas Campbell.
In a letter from a friend who is much interested and deejily versed in such mat-
ters, there is the following passage: — "Of the Campbells I can say nothing more
than you have related at this moment, except perhaps that lawyer Campbell was
a most eloquent man, and that Campbell, a brother of the poet, married a daughter
of Patrick Henry. This I will inquire into. As Patrick Henry himself was de-
scended on the mother's side from the stock of Robertson the historian, and is in
that way a relative of Lord Brougham, so his descendants are connected with the
poet Campbell, thus showing a connection between our great orator and one of the
greatest politicians and one of the sweetest poets of the age."
The following extract from a letter of one of Mr. Campbell's grandsons throws
additional light on the history of the family: — "I will now give you some facts
that I have been able to gather in reference to him and his descendants. Parson
Campbell came to Virginia previous to the year 1730. He resided at the glebe
near Johnsville, in what was then Westmoreland but now King George county.
He preached at Round Hill Church, and probably at Pope's Creek Church. A road
leading a part of the way from the glebe to Round Hill Church still goes by the
name of the Parson's Road. It was said to have been cut through the forest for
Parson Campbell's use. Parson Campbell was twice married. His first wife died
soon after her marriage. His second wife was a sister of the Rev. William Stuart,
of King George County By this marriage there were three sons, — Archibald,
Alexander, and John: the two last-mentioned were distinguished lawyers. Archi-
bald, my grandfather, left a daughter and two sons. Frederick, the elder son, was
a lawyer. He inherited an entailed estate in Scotland, and died in Europe. Ferdi-
nand, the second sou, was formerly Professor of Mathematics in William and Mary
College, and died near Philadelphia. Alexander was twice married, and left two
daughters, one of whom died unmarried : the other is the wife of Judge Wayne,
of the Supreme Court. John was also married twice, and left several children.
Parson Campbell was from Scotland. He was related to the Stuart and Argyle
families of that counti-y, and was the uncle of Thomas Campbell the poet. In
addition to the performance of his ministerial duties, he also taught a school. It is
said that he had among his pupils Madison, Monroe, and Chief-Justice Marshall.
The Rev. William Stuart studied theology under his direction. Parson Campbell
died leaving a considerable estate."
The following lettei', having been received since the foregoing was published in
the "Southern Churchman," corrects some inaccuracies and furnishes additional
information.
"Bishop Meade, "Newstead, March 20, 1857.
" Rev. and Dear Sie: — In perusing the brief sketch given by you of the Camp-
bells of Virginia, my mother discovered some inaccuracies, which it gives us plea-
sure to correct as far as we can do so. She says that her grandfather (Archibald
Campbell) mai-ried twice. Of the history of his first wife, whose name you saw on
the tombstone at the Round Hill Church in King George, she knows very little, as she
survived but a very short time after marriage, leaving no descendants. The second
wife, who was her grandmother, was a Miss McCoy, daughter of William McCoy, who
was the pastor of North Farnham parish, Richmond county, in the year 1754, but
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. l61
The sons of Archibald were Archibahi, Alexander, and John.
Archibald inhei'ited the property of his father in Westmoreland,
consisting of two seats, the one called Pomona, the other Camp-
bellton, at the last of which the father lived and kept his school.
It is now the summer residence of Mr. Laurence Washington. The
other sons, Alexander and John, were eminent lawyers. Alexander
married a Miss Fitzhugh, of King George, who at his death married
the Rev. Dr. Kollock, minister of churches in Princeton, New York,
Charleston, (South Carolina,) and lastly in Savannah. An only
daughter, by her first husband, married Judge Wayne, of the Su-
preme Court. The last son, John, was a lawyer in Westmoreland,
and represented the county in the Legislature, and the parish in
one of our Conventions. His daughters were Eliza, who married
Mr. Leland ; Emily, who married Robert Mayo ; Sarah, who mar-
ried Landon Berkeley; Louisa, who married John Mayo; and
Octavia.
After the disappearance of Mr. Campbell from any of our re-
whose name jou incorrectly spell, in your article on that parish, McKay. This William
McCoy married a Miss Fitzhugh, of Marmion, King George, — a woman distinguished
for her eminent piety. — and our grandmother was a daughter by that marriage. The
school which you speak of was established after his last marriage, for the benefit of
his own sons, Archibald and Alexander. My grandfather, who was John, being an
infant at the period of his death, was baptized by him on his death-bed. My mother
thinks she has heard that Chief-Justice Marshall, Mr. Madison, and Mr. Monroe,
were taught by him, with her uncles Archibald and Alexander. She does not think
that the school was established early enough to admit the belief of Colonel Marshall
or General Washington's having been pupils of his. To the property acquired by
my mothei''s grandfather in Virginia, he gave the name of Kirnan, after a family
seat in Argyleshire, Scotland. Campbellton was the residence of my grandfather.
Alexander married his cousin, Miss Fitzhugh, of Marmion, and had only one daughter
by that marriage, whose name was Lucy : she lived in my grandfather's family until
the period of her death, which occurred within a few years past. Mrs. Wayne
was by a second marriage. The other brother, Archibald, married Miss Hughs, of
Maryland, and had two sons and a daughter. The eldest son, Frederick, inherited
a large entailed estate in the island of Bute, iu Scotland, from the Stuarts, who
intermarried with the Campbells, and he took the name of Frederick Campbell
Stuart with the estate. The second son, Ferdinand, was Professor of Mathematics
in William and Mary, under the administration of Drs. Smith and Wilmer. The
daughter, Anna Campbell, married Dr. Tennant, an eminent physician of Port
Royal : she died not many years since. Her children were Washington, who was a
physician ; Mercer, who married Miss Grymes, of King George ; Susan, the first
wife of Dr. John May, of Westmoreland ; Maria, who married Thomas Hunter, of
Fredericksburg; and Lucy, who married his brother, Taliafero Hunter. Mrs.
Tennant lived and died a very consistent member of the Episcopal Church, and
her children are all members of it. We give this information in compliance with
your request that mistakes might be corrected.
"Yours very respectfully, Eli^a C. Lel.\nd."
Vol. II.— 11
162 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
cords, we have no account of any minister in Washington parish
until the year 1785, when the Rev. Francis Wilson serves it for
one year. In the year 1796, the Rev. John O'Donnell appears
once in a Convention. We have none after this until the year
1822, when the Rev. Josiah Clapham appears in Convention, with
Mr. John Campbell, son of the Rev. Mr. Campbell, as lay delegate.
Mr. Clapham continued its minister for some years, performing
his duties piously and faithfully, and with as much energy as his
bodily infirmities would allow of. After a considerable interval, we
find the parish again supplied by the services of the Rev. William
McGuire, who served it in connection with Cople parish. Within a
few years past, a new parish has been taken from Washington parish,
by the name of Montross, in which a new church has been built,
while another, by the name of St. Peter's, has been built at Oak
Grove. We are much indebted to the labours of the Rev. William
McGuire for both these new churches. The Rev. Mr. Tuttle was
the minister of Washington parish for one year, since which time
the Rev. Mr. Chesley has been settled there,
THE OLD CHURCHES IN WESTMORELAND.
There were three of these, — the Round Hill Church, Pope's
Creek Church, and one at Leeds, on the Rappahannock. Pope's
Creek Church lay immediately on the road from Westmoreland
Court-House to King George. The following notice of it is taken
from my report to the Convention of 1838 : —
"It was near to this church that General Washington was born. It
was in this that he was baptized. Here it was that he received those
sarly impressions of relifrion which, instead of being effaced by age, seemed
to grow with his growth and strengthen with his strength. The proofs
of this have been abundantly furnished in the ' Eeligious Opinions and Cha-
racter of Wa.shington,' by the Rev. Mr. McGuire, a work recently published,
and for which the writer deserves the thanks of every friend of Washing-
ton, of religion, and of our country. I have said that this church is now
in ruins, and I would add, that about twenty-six years ago, [1812,] when
I was in Deacon's Orders, I remember to have been in it, with the Rev
Mr. Norris, an early and beloved associate in the ministry, at which time
it was beginning to decay in the roof; but there was a large congregation,
and twenty-eight children were brought forward for baptism. It was the
first service which had been performed in it for a long time, and from that
period it continued to decay, until a few years ago it was set on fire in
order to prevent injury, from the falling of the roof, to the cattle which
were accustomed to shelter there."
It ought to be added that so attached were the citizens of the
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 163
county to this old building, that the excuse for its destruction by
fire was not readily admitted. Indeed, so indignant were they,
that it was brought before the grand jury and the court. The
result, however, was the acquittal of the party. It has now been
twenty years since the above-mentioned visit, and I have often
within that time passed the same spot, at each time perceiving the
disappearance of all that was old, and the rise and growth of what
was new. Trees and shrubs have been growing up over and around
the old site, rendering it more difficult each year to the passing
traveller to find out where Old Pope's Creek Church once stood.
I should not myself, in a recent visit, have been able to discover it,
but for the aid of a friend who was with me. I could not but ask
myself and that friend if it were not possible that a simple but durable
monument — say a pillar a few feet high — could be placed on the
roadside, with the name of Pope's Creek Church upon it, to inform
posterity that on that spot stood the church of the Washingtons, the
Lees, the Paynes, and others. It is said that the Legislature intends
to have an enclosure around the birthplace of Washington and the
burying-place of his ancestors, which are near at hand ; and surely
some individual or individuals would take pleasure in marking the
spot w^here God was worshipped by so many, and where the remains
of not a few were interred, although no tombstones have preserved
their names. Among those whose bodies were deposited around
this church is to be numbered the Hon. Thomas Lee, (the father of
Richard Henry Lee and a noble band of brothers and sisters,) the
owner of Stratford, for whom it was rebuilt by the Queen, after
being consumed by fire, who held the first offices in the Colony
under several Governors, and whose commission as Governor reached
Virginia in 1756, just after his death. I take the following inscrip-
tion from his tombstone, which I saw some years since, lying
against the wall of the family vault at Stratford : —
" In memory of the Hon. Thomas Lee, whose body was buried at
Pope's Creek Church, five miles above his country-seat, Stratford Hall,
in 1756."
Of Mr. Lee some account has been given in the sketch of the
Lee family in the article on Northumberland county.
LEEDS OR bray's CHURCH.
This church stood on the Rappahannock, at the outskirts of the
place called Leeds. It was of brick. The ruins of it are yet to
be seen, apparently hanging on the bank of the river. It haa
164 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
undergone many changes of late years since it was deserted as a
house of worship, having been used as a tavern, stable or barn, and
been altered so as to suit the different purposes to which it has been
applied. Leeds was once a place of note in this part of Virginia.
It was doubtless named, either by the Fairfaxes or Washingtons,
after the town of Leeds, in Yorkshire, near which both of their
ancestral families lived. This in Virginia was a place of much
trade in tobacco and other things. Its shipping was very consider-
able at one time, and it gave the promise of being a town of no
small importance, but, like many other such places in Virginia, as
Dumfries, Colchester, Warren, Warminster, it failed to fulfil the
expectations excited. For one thing it deserves to retain a lasting
place in the history of the American Revolution. As Boston was
the Northern, so Leeds may be called the Southern cradle of Ame-
rican Independence. This was the place where, with Richard
Henry Lee as their leader, the patriots of Westmoreland met,
before any and all others, to enter their protest against the in-
cipient steps of English usurpation. At this place did they resolve
to oppose the Stamp Act, nor allow any citizen of Westmoreland
to deal in stamps. This is a true part of the American history.
ROUND HILL CHURCH.
Of this we have said something in our mention of the Rev. Mr.
Campbell. In the following communication from my brother,
Bishop Payne, of Africa, further notice of it will be found, together
with interesting accounts of his own family. One of these at my
first visit to Pope's Creek Church promised one hundred dollars
for its repairs, — a large sum for those times.
''lu the summer of 1833, after leaving Williamsburg, I visited a great-
uncle, Captain William Payne, a venerable old gentleman, (grandfather
of Richard Payne, of WaiTenton,) residing near Warrenton. He wa3
dressed in short pants, had served in the Revolution, and was a fine speci-
men of the old Virginia gentleman. Finding me interested in the history
of our family, he took down from his library a copy of Smith's History of
Virginia, and in the index showed me the names of our ancestors to whom
King James gave patents of land in Virginia. They were Sir William
Payne, John Payne, and Richard or Thomas, I forget which. Sir William,
he said, never came to America, but the other two brothers did. One of
these brothers, as I learned from him, and his daughter, — my cousin, — Mrs.
Scott, of Frederick.sburg, settled in the country about Lynchburg, and
from him descended Mrs. Madin, (Polly Payne.) The other — John Payne
— settled between the Potomac and Rappahannock, probably in or near that
which was to be the great city Leedstown. My grandfather, John
Payne, whom you saw, I think died when I was six or seven years old.
FAxMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 165
but I recollect him distinctly as dressed in the old style, like Uncle Wil-
liam. His residence was at tlie old family-stead called, when I knew it,
the Red House. It is immediately in the rear of Bunker's Hill, (Henry
Taylor's place,) and three miles from Leedstowu. His estates — subse-
quently divided between my father and his brothers, Daniel, George, and
daughter Elizabeth — were on the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers, and
partly in Richmond county. My third great-uncle, Richard, whom I re-
member well, settled in Culpepper, and his descendants, (except one son,
William, — Episcopalian, — who married old Parson Woodville's daughter,
and removed to Columbus, Mississippi,) Methodists, are now to be found
in Culpepper county.
"When in Alexandria, Mr. Dana showed me in the ve.stry-books of
Christ Church the name of William Payne associated with George Wash-
ington; and one of the cross-streets in Alexandria, near the head of King,
I noticed, still bears the name of 'Payne Street.' Learning that this family
emigrated to the West, when in Lexington 1 made inquiries about them,
and soon found multitudes of most respectable people in and about Lexing-
ton and Frankfort bearing this name. They are Presbyterians. 31r.
Berkeley, the Episcopal minister, subsequently introduced me to Dr.
Payne, of Lexington, who said at once, 'We are doubtless the same family,'
and he and all his relatives about there were descended from Washington's
contemporary and associate, William Payne, of Alexandria. He told me
with a spirit of too much self-complacency — as I told him — that this was
the same William Payne who knocked down General Washington in Alex-
andria for insulting him. But he replied quickly, "Oh, no! he was right.
For General Washington the next day sent him an apology, instead of a
challenge as his friends had anticipated.'
" Of the ecclesiastical and theological views of my father and grand-
father I know but little. I think you told me that the latter gave you proof
that he clung to ' the old Church' and eschewed all others. I am inclined
to think, from circumstances which I can remember, that my father was
like-minded. I found among his books 'The Theological Repertory,' with
whose history you are familiar; and one of the few things that I can re-
member about him well was his holding long and late discussions with the
Methodist ministers who in 1823-25 began to preach in the neighbourhood
and occasionally to visit my father's hou,se. My father was a teetotaller,
very thoughtful, — I will hope, a religious man, though of this I cannot be
certain. My mother, however, from my earliest recollection I know ica.s,
but she did not make a profession of religion until after my father's death,
nor until my eldest sister (now dead) made a profession among the Method-
ists. This circumstance leads me to think my father's influence prevented
my mother from uniting herself before with the Methodists, — though the
only representative of the Episcopal Church in the neighbourhood was our
poor friend, Mr. Clapham.
"The last baptism by a Church parson in our family was that of brother
William. I infer it was one of the old sort, as his godfether was any thing
but a pious man, and thought his duty to his godson quite performed after
he had given him a yoke of oxen.
"' I have said I was born in the White Oak Swamps about one mile from
the Potomac. This was my father's residence for two or three years after
his marriage, being convenient to his estate on the Potomac. But it proved
bO unhealthy that he purchased one of the old glebes in the Pine Forest,
on t' > ridge between the Potomac and Rappahannock, seven miles from
166 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, ASD
the former, and vhree from tlie nearest point of the latter. Here eight
of us were reared in most remarkable health. From this glebe to the
Old Round Hill Church, or rather its remains, — for it was demolished
before my earliest recollection, — there was in my childhood one of the most
beautiful roads I ever saw. It led for several miles in a direction perfectly
straight, under an avenue of beautiful oaks. It was called 'the Parson's
Road,' and was no doubt the road by which the parsons travelled to the
Round Hill Church. By-the-way, have you ever ascertained or written
the history of this said Round Hill Church ? It was situated on a beau-
tiful and commanding knoll, near old Machodoc Meeting-House, which
superseded it, and in which Mr. Clapham was wont to officiate before hia
removal from King George to Loudon. But, as I have said, nothing of
it but some fragments remained at the time of my earliest visits to the
neighbourhood.
" I have given you all that occurs to me of my family history of inte-
rest. Should you wish to make further inquiries, I would refer you to my
cousin, Mrs. Scott, of Fredericksburg, and through Cousin Richard Payne,
of Warrenton, to his father and Mrs. Scott's eldest brother, Daniel Payne,
who resides in the neighbourhood of Warrenton. He is called the French-
man of our family, and should you ever meet with him you will find
him very agreeable and fond of talking, and on no subject more than that
about which I have been writing."
THE WASHINGTON FAMILY.
It is agreed on all hands that, about the year 1655, two brothers,
John and Laurence Washington, came over to Virginia and settled
in Westmoreland county. In all the histories which I have seen
of the Washington family there is not another word said of Lau-
rence Washington, except that he and his brother came together
and settled at the same place. While the descendants of John
Washington, in all their branches, are minutely described in gene-
alogies and histories and biographies, doubtless in a great measure
because the great Washington was one of them, Laurence Wash-
ington was forgotten and lost sight of as though he had never been.
I have met with persons who could not trace their connection with
General Washington or his first ancestors, yet were certain of some
connection with the family, but never thought of inquiring whether
their descent is not from the other brother. In a recent visit to
Tappahannock, the county seat of Essex county, (where are the
records of the old county of Rappahannock, which from 1653 to
1692 embraced all that lay on each side of the Rappahannock
River for some miles up to the Falls above Fredericksburg,) in
searching in an old record of wills, I found that of this same Lau-
rence Washington. Although he may have settled near the Poto-
mac with his brother John, he must have removed into Rappa-
l^annock county, for his will is there recorded. He may h? /e done
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 167
this without moving many miles from his brother, as Westmoreland
county and Washington parish were only about five miles wide, and
Rappahannock county and Littenburne parish were about the same
width, the one lying on the Potomac, the other on the Eappahan
nock River. I have also obtained, by the help of a friend, the
will of Mr. John Washington, which was recorded at Westmoreland
Court-House, and whose original is still there in an old book of
wills, though in a somewhat mutilated form. That they were the
two brothers is evident from the fact that they mention each other
in their wills. Both of the wills are made in the same year, — that
of one on February 26, 1675 ; that of the other on September 27,
1675. The one is proved the 10th of January, 1677, and the other
the 6th of January of the same year, at an interval of only four
days, so that it is probable they died in a few days of each other.
There is something so pious in the language of these wills, that I
make no apology for introducing a portion of them. Without any
means of ascertaining which was the elder of the two, we begin
with the will of John Washington : —
"In the name of God, Amen. I, John Washington, of Washington
parish, in the county of Westmoreland, in Virginia, gentleman, being of
good and perfect memory, thanks be unto Almighty God for it, and calling
to remembrance the uncertain state of this transitory life, that all flesh
must yield unto death, do make, constitute, and ordain this my last will
and testament and none other. And first, being heartily sorry, from the
bottom of my heart, for my sins past, most humbly desiring forgiveness
of the same from the Almighty God, my Saviour and Redeemer, in whom
and by the merits of Jesus Christ I trust and believe assuredly to be saved,
and to have full remission and forgiveness of all my sins, and that my soul
with my body at the general resurrection shall rise again with joy."
Again he repeats the same sentiment, hoping ''through the
merits of Jesus Christ's death and passion to possess and inherit
the kingdom of heaven prepared for his elect and chosen." He
directs his body to be buried on the plantation upon which he
lived, by the side of his wife and two children. He then proceeds
to distribute his property, which he says it has pleased God to give
him "far above his deserts." After dividing a number of landed
estates between his second and surviving wife and his children,— •
John, Laurence, and Anne, — and also his property in England, he
directs that a funeral sermon be preached and no other funeral
kept^ and that a tablet with the Ten Commandments be sent for to
England and given to the church. I think, also, that he directs
four thousand-weight of tobacco to be given to the minister, though
168 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
of this I am not certain, some words being lost. He leaves one
thousand pounds to his brother-in-law, Thomas Pope, and one
thousand pounds and four thousand-weight of tobacco to his sister,
who had come or was coming over to this country. He makes his
wife and brother Laurence his executors. From the above it would
seem that, great as were his military talents, being commander-in-
chief in the Northern Neck, high as he stood in the Government,
60 that the parish was called after him, and large as was his property
in England and America, he was also a sincerely pious man, and
in his will emphatically testifies to those great Gospel principles
which are so prominent in the Church of his fathers.
In the will of his brother Laurence there is the same spirit of piety.
After the usual preamble, he says, "Imprimis: I give and bequeath
my soul unto the hands of Almighty God, hoping and trusting,
through the mercy of Jesus Christ, my one Saviour and Redeemer,
to receive full pardon and forgiveness of all my sins, and my body
to the earth, to be buried in comely and decent manner by my exe-
cutor hereafter named : and for my worldly goods, I thus dispose of
them." To his daughter Mary Washington (by a former wife in
England) he bequeathed his whole estate in England, both real
and personal, to be delivered immediately after his death, together
with a ring and other articles. To his loving son John he left all
his books and part of his plate, the other part to his daughter Ann,
when they should be of age or marry. His lands are divided be-
tween his wife and the two children — John and Ann — by her. A
farm called West Fales, which lay on the south side of the Rappa-
hannock, which once belonged to Captain Alexander Fleming, and
which came to him by his wife, was to be sold for his debts. It is
probable that his second wife was a daughter of Captain Fleming.
He leaves his wife executrix of the estate, but provides that in case
of her death or neglect to be the guardian and overseer of his
children, his loving brother John Washington and loving friend
Thomas Hawkins should be. In a codicil written at the same time,
he leaves that part of the land on which he then lived, and which
came to him by marriage, to the sole disposal of his wife. It is
probable, from the above, that he lived on the north side of the
river, in what is now Westmoreland. From the foregoing particu-
lars, some other than myself may be able to ascertain the maiden
name of his wife, and who, if any, are the descendants of his three
children, as it is more than probable they had descendants.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 169
THE WASHINGTON FAMILY SEAT AND VAULT.
I recently paid a visit to the old family seat of the Washingtons,
which is sometimes said to be on Pope's Creek, and sometimes on
Bridge's Creek, near the Potomac. The farm lay between the two,
which are about a mile apart, near their junction with the Potomac.
The family mansion lies near Pope's Creek, and the vault where
the dead were deposited near Bridge's Creek. The latter appears
to have been favourable to a rich growth of cedars, and may have
been chosen for this reason. Or it may be that one of the two
brothers first settled there. The estate is still in the family, or in
the possession of one intermarried with the family. Some years
since it was owned by Mr. John Gray, of Travellers' Rest, near
Fredericksburg, who either repaired one of the outhouses or a wing
of the old one, or built a small house for his overseer out of the old
materials. The brick chimney is all that remains of the Washing-
ton mansion, — the birthplace of General Washington, — except the
broken bricks which are scattered about over the spot where it was
built. The grandson of Mrs, General Washington, Mr. Custis, of
Arlington, some years since placed a slab with a brief inscription
on the spot, but it is now in fragments. I was happy to hear that
a bill had passed one branch of our Legislature, appropriating a sum
of money for enclosing this spot, as well as the vault in a neigh-
bouring field nearly a mile off. I also visited that spot, which no
one can look upon without distress and even disgust. The condition
of all such vaults as were once common in some parts of Virginia,
especially in the Northern Neck, must after the lapse of time be
necessarily thus distressing and disgusting, like the sepulchres of
old when filled "with rottenness and dead men's bones." The
vault where so many of the Washington family are interred is in an
open field and unenclosed. A small space around it is covered with
grass, briers, shrubs, and a few small trees. Itself can only be
distinguished by the top of the brick arch which rises a little above
the surface. The cavity underneath has been very properly filled
up with earth by Mr. Laurence Washington, one of its date proprie-
tors, to prevent the bones of the dead being taken away by visitors,
who had begun thus to pillage it. Not far from the vault there was
a large slab lying on the ground, with the name of one of the family
and two of his children. There were also fragments of another.
It is to be hoped that the Legislature will resolve on putting a
permanent enclosure around this also
170 OLD CHLRCHES, MINISTERS, AND
THE VAULT OF THE LEES AT STRATFORD, IN AVESTMORELAND.
In the preceding sketch of the Lees, by Mr. William Lee, cf
London, there is mention made of a loss by fire sustained by his
father, Thomas Lee, of Stratford, and of a present to him by Queen
Caroline. This establishes the source from whence came the means
of building the present most "durable building at that place, which
for the thickness of the walls and the excellency of its architecture
is not surpassed, if equalled, by any in Virginia.* It has some-
times been called the Governor's House, probably because its
owner and builder, Thomas Lee, was commissioned as Governor,
though he did not live to act in that capacity. The cemetery
was not built by him, as he was buried at Pope's Creek Church.
I have been assured by Mrs. Eliza Turner, who was there at
the time, that it was built by General Harry Lee. The ceme-
tery is much larger than any other in the Northern Neck, consist-
ing of several apartments or alcoves for diflFerent branches of the
family. Instead of an arch over them there is a brick house, per-
haps twenty feet square, covered in. A floor covers the cemetery.
In the centre is a large trapdoor, through which you descend by a
ladder to the apartments below. I went down into it some years
since, when nothing was to be seen but the bones of the deceased,
which were scattered over the dirt floor. I was informed that it
had sometimes been filled with water, and that then the bones and
skulls of the deceased might be seen floating upon the surface, — at
any rate, if stirred up with a pole, as was sometimes done. The
entrance to this house has of late years been almost prevented by
a thick growth of young aspens and briers. I am happy to state
that it is the purpose of the present proprietor to fill up the vault,
take down the brick walls and convert them into a mound over the
place, and on the top of the mound to have the tombstone of old
Thomas Lee fixed in some immovable way.
Some mournful thoughts will force themselves upon us when
considering the ruins of churches, of mansions, and of cemeteries,
in Westmoreland. By reason of the worth, talents, and patriotism
which once adorned it, it was called the Athens of Virginia. But
how few of the descendants of those who once were its ornaments
* An American writer says there were once a hundred rooms in this house. A
view of the engraving of it will show how untrue this is. Even including the base-
ment and the large hall, there are not more, I think, than seventeen, and never were
more. Another says there were one hundred stalls for horses in the stable, — almost
equally untrue.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 171
are now to be found in it ! Chantilly, Mount Pleasant, Wakefield,
are now no more. Stratford alone remains. Where now are tlie
venerable churches? Pope's Creek, Round Hill, Nomini, Leeds,
where are they? Yeocomico only survives the general wreck. Of
the old men, mansions, churches, &c. we are tempted to say,
"Fuit Illium, et ingens gloria Dardanidum;" and yet we rejoice
to think that new ones have taken their places, in some respects
better suited to present times and circumstances. Those who, in
the general defection, have remained to the Church, are exerting
themselves to repair the waste places ; and we trust there awaits for
Westmoreland a greater glory than the former.
172 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
ARTICLE LXIL
Farnham and Lunenburg Parishes, Richmond County.
To do justice to the history of this county and these parishes,
we must go back to the time when they were a part of Rappahan-
nock county and Littenburne parish, — which they were from the
year 1653 to 1692, — when new counties and parishes were esta-
blished. But where are the vestry-books or county records from
whence to draw our facts ? Of the former there are none. Some
few of the latter are to be seen in Tappahannock, the county seat
of Essex, where the archives of old Rappahannock county are
preserved.
At my request, a worthy friend — most competent to the task —
has searched these records, and though unable to specify who were
the vestrymen of the parish, yet, in giving the following list of
magistrates from 1680 to 1695, has doubtless furnished us with
the names of far the greater part of the vestrymen, if not the whole
of them, during that period. We cannot determine to which side of
the river they belonged, as both the county and parish were on both
sides. They are as follows : — Henry Aubrey, Major Henry Smith.
Captain George Taylor, Mr. Thomas Harrison, Colonel John Stone,
Colonel Leroy Griffin, Major Robinson, Colonel William Loyd, Cap-
tain Samuel Bloomfield, William Fauntleroy, Samuel Peachy, Wil-
liam Slaughter, Cadwallader Jones, Henry Williamson. My friend
adds that " the character and habits of the early settlers, so far as can
be ascertained from their wills and the records, indicate intelligence
and a high state of morals for the times." This section appears to
have been settled chiefly by those coming from the lower counties, —
the names of the principal men being those of families in the lower
country. There are some, however, whose names are rarely met
with in other counties ; and there is evidence that they originally
settled here. They are such as Latane, Waring, Upshaw, Rowsee,
Rennolds, Micou, Roy, Clements, Young.
To the labours of another friend, on the other side of the river,
w^e are indebted for information gotten from the records of Rich-
FAMILIES 01 VIRGINIA. 173
mond county after the year 1692, which can nowhere else be found,
as we have no vestry-book of that county, except that of North
Farnham parish, from the year 1787 to 1804. The first justices of
the peace were Captain George Taylor, William Underwood, Cap-
tain William Barber, James Scott, Captain Alexander Swan. From
that time to the Revolution, the principal families in the county
were Stone, Glascock, Deane, Donaphun, Colston, Thornton, Travis,
Peachy, Tayloe, Conway, Brockenbrough, Gwin, Tarplay, Down-
man, Slaughter, Parker, Sherlock, Davis, Robinson, Beale Smith,
Woodbridge, Heale, Barrow, Taverner, Barber, Griffin, Fitzhugh,
Fauntleroy, Gibson, Taliafero, Ingo, Bellfield, Tomlin, Grymes,
Metcalf, Newton, Barnes, Sydnor, Jordan, Hornby, Hamilton, Car-
ter, Mountjoy, Flood, Plummer, Beckwith. Of all these, my in-
formant says, a very few have descendants in the county at this
time who are called by these names.
According to the records of the court, he says, there were once
three parishes in the county, — North Farnham, Lunenburg, and St.
Mary's, — having separate ministers.
Of the three ministers mentioned on the records, from the year
1693 to 1742, the account is sad. The two first — John Burnet and
John Alexander — were always in court, suing or being sued. The
third — the Rev. Thomas Blewer — was presented by the grand jury
as a common swearer. A particular account is drawn from the
records of different families. From the votes on election-days, the
Woodbridges and Fauntleroys appear to have been at one time the
most popular. The Carters and Tayloes, of Sabine Hall and Mount
Airy, were active and useful men. The Chinns first appear in
1713. "From Raleigh Chinn," he says, "descended those model
males and females of that name who have served to give character
to our county in modern times." The McCartys were an ancient
family, springing from Daniel and Dennis McCarty, who are first
mentioned in 1710.
Having furnished this general account of individuals and families
from the court records, we proceed to give the information in our
possession concerning each of the parishes separately.
First, of North Farnham. This was established in 1693, when
Rappahannock county was stricken from the list of counties and
Richmond and Essex erected in its stead, and South Farnham
parish created in Essex. The first minister of this parish whom
we have on our lists — though there were doubtless many before — is
the Rev. William Mackay, who was there in 1754, and continued
174 OLD CHUKCHES, MINISTEKS, AND
until 1774.* From his long continuance in the parish and the
respectability of the people, we have grounds for believing that he
was a worthy man, — although in a few years after his death, or
departure from the parish, it seems to have been in the most de-
plorable condition, as we shall soon see. The Rev. John Leland, a
worthy minister from Northumberland, officiated statedly in Farn-
ham for some time after Mr. Mackay disappears. Then the Rev.
Thomas Davis, from one of the parishes of Northumberland, gives
them a portion of his time for two years. After this a considerable
interval occurred in which there was no vestry, — several efforts at
an election having failed. At length, a partial meeting having been
had, the following address was prepared : —
" Friends and Fellow Protestant Episcopalians :-
" Permit us, surviving members of the late vestry of this parish, to ad-
dress you and entreat you, for your own sakes as well as that of the rising
generation, to come forward on this occasion. Although our church, from
various causes, has been most woefully neglected for a season, we flatter
ourselves that the time is at hand when the members thereof — of whom
there are not a few — will throw off their lukewarmness and exert themselves
in the cause of that profession of Christianity handed down to us by our
forefathers, who — Grod rest their souls — left us a goodly fabric to assemble
in and pay our devotions to the Almighty Creator and Preserver of the
universe, as they had done, — although by our neglect it is mouldering into
ruins. The first step toward a reform is the appointment of trustees ;
for, until that is done, our church must remain in that miserable condition
we see it. There is now a probability of procuring a minister to perform
divine service once a fortnight ; but this cannot be done until there shall
be persons authorized to meet and consult on the ways and means of afford-
ing him an adequate compensation for his services. Awaken, then, from
this fatal supineness. Elect your trustees, and they, we doubt not, will
make the necessary arrangements, in the accomplishment of which, aided
by your hearty exertions and concurrence, our church will be restored to
its former decency and rank as the temple of the living God.
" We are your Christian brethren and friends of true religion,
''Benjamin Smith, William Peachy,
"B. McCarty, John Sydnor,
"Walker Tomlin, John Fauntleroy,
"BicHARD Beale, Samuel Hipkins."
Great pains were taken to circulate this ; and yet on the ap-
pointed day less than thirty persons assembled, and half of these
after two o'clock, and so there was no election. f Five or six of those
present agreed to appoint Whit-Monday for another meeting, and
* It should probably be McKay, though it is written Mackay in our printed lists.
f This was probably less than the number hitherto required by law.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 175
to get a neighbouring minister to preach on that day. This was
successful, and they paid the minister four pounds ten shillings for
coming.
The vestry direct Mr. William Peachy to write to Bishop Madi-
son for a minister, to which the following answer was received ; —
" W'lLLIAMSBURG, AugWst 1, 1794.
" Dear Sir : — It would afford me great pleasure, could I give you an
assurance of being speedily supplied with a worthy minister. I sincerely
regret the deserted situation of tuo many of our parishes, and lament the
evils that must ensue. Finding that few persons, natives of this State,
were desirous of qualifying themselves for the ministerial office, I have
written to some of the Northern States, and have reason to expect several
young clergymen who have been liberally educated, of unexceptionable
moral character, and who, I flatter myself, will also be generally desirous
of establishing an academy for the instruction of youth, wherever they
may reside. Should they arrive, or should any other opportunity present
itself of recouimmeuding a worthy minister, I beg you to be assured, if
your advertisement proves unsuccessful, that I shall pay due attention to
the application of the worthy trustees of North Faruham.
"With great respect, I am, dear sir,
"Your most ob't servant,
"James Madison."
The Bishop, it seems, was as much troubled about getting a
meeting of the Convention as the friends of the Church in Farnham
had been to get an election of vestrymen. The following circular
will too surely establish that : —
" Williamsburg, December 13, 1795.
" Reverend Sir : — It is, no doubt, well known to you that the failure
last May in holding a Convention at the time and place agreed upon was
matter of deep regret to every sincere friend of our Church. To prevent,
if possible, a similar calamity at the next stated time for holding Con-
ventions, the deputies who met last May requested me to send circular
letters to the difi"erent parishes, exhorting them to pay a stricter regard
to one of the fundamental canons of the Church. I fulfil the duty with
alacrity, because the necessity of regular Conventions is urged by conside-
rations as obvious as they are weighty. I need not here enter into a detail
of those considerations ; but I will ask, at what time was the fostering care
of the guardians — nay, of every member — of the Church more necessary
than at this period ? Who doth not know that indifi'erence to her interests
must inevitably inflict a mortal wound, over which the wise and the good
may in vain weep, when they behold that wound baffling every effort to
arrest its fatal progress ? Who doth not know that irreligion and im-
piety sleep not whilst we slumber ? Who doth not know that there are
other enemies who laugh at our negligent supineness and deem it their
victory '(
" But, independent of these general considerations, there are matters
of the first moment to our Church, which require the fullest representation
176 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
at the eusuiug Convention. Those parishes which, faithful to their duty,
have not failed on former occasions to send forward their deputies, as di-
rected by the injunction of the Church, need no exhortation on this subject.
The same laudable sentiments which have hitherto directed their conduct
will doubtless continue to produce a similar effect. But to those which have
been neglectful in making the necessary appointment of deputies, and in
supplying the means for their attendance, 1 address myself with peculiar so-
licitude. Let me then, sir, through your agency, and, where there is no
minister, let me through the agency of the churchwardens or vestry, exhort
and entreat such parishes to be no longer unmindful of the interests of
their Church, — no longer to be languid and indifi'erent in what concerns
her essential welfare, — no longer to treat her injunctions with disrespect, —
but, on the contrary, animated by a warm and laudable zeal, and satisfied
how much the holy cause of religion must depend on wise and prudent
exertions, let them evince, at the approaching Convention, that they will
not abandon a Church which they cannot fail to love and to venerate so
long as piety and virtue shall continue to maintain the least portion of
influence in the hearts of men. Permit me only to add, that I feel a
confidence that this exhortation will not be disregarded, and that the next
Convention, which is to be holdeu on the first Tuesday in May next, will
manifest to the Church and to the world that the zeal of both clergy and
laity remains unabated. Such is the confidence and such the sincere
prayer of Your brother in Christ,
" James Madison,
"Bishoj} of the Prot. Epis. Church in Virginia."
In the year 1796, the vestry obtained the services of the Rev.
George Young, for one Sunday in three, (the other two being
engaged to the adjoining parish of Lunenburg,) agreeing to pay
him the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars, besides the rent
of the glebe. In the year 1799, the Rev. John Seward offers his
services one Sunday in three, and receives two hundred dollars
with the glebe. Here the vestry-book ends, except an entry of an
election of vestrymen in 1802.
The following is a list of the vestrymen from 1787 to 1802 : —
William Peachy, William Miskell, John Fauntleroy, John Sydnor, Leroy
Peachy, Griffin Fauntleroy, Thaddeus Williams, J. Hammond, Benjamin
Smith, Samuel Hipkins, Epaphroditus Sydnor, Jno. Smith, Walker Tomliu,
Richard Beale, Bartholomew McCarty, David Williams, Ezekiel Levy,
Charles Smith, Abner Dobyns, William McCarty, William Palmer, John
G. Chinn, Vincent Branham, W. T. Colston, George Miskell, Peter Tem-
ple, J. M. Yerby.
If there were any other minister or ministers in this parish until
the Rev, Washington Nelson, in 1835, took charge of it in con-
nection with Lunenburg parish, of the same county, and Cople
parish, Westmoreland, we have not been able to ascertain the
fact. Under Mr. Nelson's charge the Old Farnham Church was
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 177
repaired at a cost of fourteen hundred dollars, and a new church
built at the court-house, by the side of whose walls his body is
interred. Mr. Nelson was succeeded in all his congregations by
the Rev. William Ward. The Rev. Mr. Coffin succeeded him in
Farnham and at the court-house, and continued about two years,
resigning them both in the summer of 1856.
CHURCHES IN NORTH FARNHAM PARISH.
Besides the one now standing, there was another about half-way
between it and the court-house, the foundation of which may yet
be seen. It was probably deserted at the time that North Farnham
Church was built ; but when that was. cannot be discovered. We
have mentioned that among the families once prominent in this
parish — though now dispersed — were those of the Fauntleroys and
Colstons. To each of these, within a few miles of Farnham Church,
there were those unhappy receptacles of the dead, called vaults,
which were so common from an early period in the Northern
Neck. What the precise condition of the former is, we have not
heard, though we believe a bad one. As to the latter, the follow-
ing note, which I find among my papers, gives what I doubt not is
a true account : —
" The burying-place of the Colston family is on the Rappahannock River,
about seven miles from North Farnham Church. The vault is in a dilapi-
dated condition. It was originally arched over with brick. A number
of bones are exposed, — so much so, that with but little diificulty an entire
human frame could be collected.
The following account of Old Farnham Church m my report to
the Convention of 1838 will complete my notices of this parish: —
" My appointment next in order was at Farnham Church, which had
recently been so much refitted, that on this account — because it is believed
that none of the old churches were ever consecrated — it was on Tuesday,
the 20th of June, set apart to the worship of God, according to the pre-
scribed form. A considerable congregation assembled on the occasion,
when I preached, — the service having been read by the Rev. Francis
McGuire, and the deed of consecration by Mr. Nelson, the pastor of the
congregation. This church was first built more than a hundred years
ago, after the form of the cross, and in the best style of ancient archi-
tecture. Its situation is pleasant and interesting, — being immediately on
the main county road leading from Richmond Court-House to Lancaster
Court-House.
*' What causes led to its early desertion, premature spoliation, and
shameless profanation, I am unable to state ; but it is said by the neigh-
bours not to have been used for the last thirty or forty years. Thus
'leserted as a house of God, it became a prey to any and every spoiler
Vol. II.— 12
178 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
An extensive brick wall which surrounded the church and guarded the
graves of the dead was torn down and used for hearths, chimneys, and
other purposes, all the county round. The interior of the house soon sunk
into decay and was carried piecemeal away. For many years it was the
common receptacle of every beast of the field and fowl of the air. It was
used as a granary, stable, a resort for hogs, and every thing that chose to
shelter there. Would that I could stop here ! but I am too credibly in-
formed that for years it was also used as a distillery of poisonous liquors ;
and that on the very spot where now the sacred pulpit stands, that vessel
was placed in which the precious fruits of Heaven were concocted and
evaporated into a fell poison, equally fatal to the souls and bodies of men ;
while the marble font was circulated from house to house, on every occa-
sion of mirth and folly, — being used to prepare materials for feasting
and drunkenness, — until at length it was found bruised, battered, and
deeply sunk in the cellar of some deserted tavern. But even that sacred
vessel has been redeemed, and, having been carefully repaired, has resumed
its place within the sacred enclosure. Although the doors of the house
had been enlarged, by tearing away the bricks, to make a passage for the
wagons that conveyed the fruits that were to be distilled into the means
of disease and death ; although the windows wei'e gone and the roof sunk
into decay, — the walls only remaining, — yet were they so faithfully exe-
cuted by the workmen of other days as to bid defiance to storms and
tempests, and to stand not mei'ely as monuments of the fidelity of ancient
architecture, but as signals from Providence, held out to the pious and
liberal to come forward and repair the desolation. Nor have these signals
been held out in vain to some fast friends of the Church of their fathers
in the parish of North Faruham. At an expense of fourteen hundred
dollars, they have made Old Faruham one of the most agreeable, con-
venient, and beautiful churches in Virginia. It should also be mentioned
that the handsome desk, pulpit, and sounding-board now to be seen in
Farnham Church were once in Christ Church, Baltimore, when the Rev.
Mr. Johns officiated in the same. They were a present from the minister
and vestry of that church; and few events could give more pleasure to
the congregation at Farnham than to see them again occupied by the
former tenant, and to hear from his lips, if only one or two of those im-
pressive appeals which have so often been heard from the same."
LUNENBURG PARISH, RICHMOND COUNTY.
The first information we have of this parish is from communi-
cations made to the Bishop of London by the Rev. Mr. Kay, it?
minister, between the years 1740 and 1750, as well as my memory
serves me, not having the documents before me at this time. A
most painful and protracted controversy took place between him
and a portion of his vestry, — especially Colonel Landon Carter.
Though the doors of the church were closed against Mr. Kay, such
was the advocacy of him by a portion of the vestry and many of
the people that he preached in the churchyard for some time. The
dispute appears to have been about the right of Mr. Kay to thu
parish in preference to another who was desired by some of the
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 179
vestrj and people. The cause was carried before the Governor
and Council, and from thence to the higher court in England.
The sympathy of the Commissary and the clergy appears to have
been with Mr. Kay. How it was finally settled in the English
courts does not appear, but we find Mr. Kay in Cumberland parish,
Lunenburg county, in the year 1754.* In that year the Rev. Mr.
Simpson becomes minister of Lunenburg parish, Richmond county.
How long he continues, and whether any one intervenes between
him and the Rev. William Giberne, who becomes the minister in
1762, is not known. The name and memory of Mr. Giberne have
come down to our times with considerable celebrity. The first
notice I have of him is in a letter to the Bishop of London, in which
he inveighs with severity on some things in the Church of Virginia.
On the Bishop of London's writing to Commissary Robinson con-
cerning them, the Commissary denies the charge in its fulness, and
says that it comes with ill grace from Mr. Giberne, who himself seta
an ill example, being addicted to card-playing and other things
unbecoming:; the clerical character.
All the accounts I have received of him correspond with this.
He was a man of talents, of great wit and humour, and his home a
pleasant place to the like-minded, — especially attractive to the
young. He lived at the place now owned by the Brockenbrough
family, near Richmond Court-House. He married a daughter of
Moore Fauntleroy and Margaret Micou. Her father was Paul
Micou, a Huguenot who fled from Nantes in 1711-1 In the follow-
ing communication from a friend in Richmond county there is more
particular mention of Mr. Giberne, in connection with some inte
resting particulars about the two churches in Lunenburg parish.
" The church here, which I remember, was situated near the public
road, near our court-house, and was surrounded by large and beautiful
trees, affording a fine shade in summer to those visiting the church. The
ground was enclosed by a brick wall, which was finally overthrown by the
ofrowing roots of a mag-nificent oak. Like most of the old churches in Vir-
ginia, it was built of brick, finished in the best manner, and cruciform in
shape; the pulpit was very elevated, and placed on the south side at an
* In different vestry-books I find the name sometimes Kay and at others Key.
There may have been ministers of both names.
f At the old Port Micou estate on the Rappahannock may still be seen the large,
heavy, iron-stone or black marble tombstone of this Paul Micou, the first of the
name who came into this country. By reason of its weight and the lightness of
the soil, it sinks every few years somewhat beneath the earth, but is raised up again
The inscription is as follows: — " Here lies the body of Paul Micou, who departed this
life the 23d of May, 1736, in the seventy-eighth year of his age."
180 OTJ) CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
angle near the centre of the building. The aisles were floored with large
stones, square and smoothly dressed, and the pews with planks. They
were high at the sides and panelled, and better suited for devotion than our
churches at the present day. The church was claimed by an individual,
when in ruins, and the materials from time to time removed and used for
various domestic purposes.
" It was built, according to the recollection of an individual now living,
in 1737, and he remembers to have seen the date marked in the mortar,
'Built in 1737.' This building remained until about 1813, when its walls
were thrown down by the outward pressure of the roof, which had fiillen
from decay. The Rev. Isaac Wm. Giberne was the pastor of this church.
He was an Englishman, and I think the nephew of the Bishop of Durham.
I ascertained the fact fi'om an inscription in an old Prayer-Book, which
was in the possession of Mr. Griberne, and which after his death came into
my hands. It had belonged to her Majesty Queen Anne, and was used
by her in her private chapel : on her demise it was retained by her chap-
lain. The inscription further stated it was intended to be presented to the
'Bodleian Library,' in which the Prayer-Books of two of the crowned heads
of England had been preserved.
" Mr. Giberne commenced his services in this church in January, 1762,
as we learn froni the parish register, and continued to oflSciate in this and
the 'Upper Church,' as it was called, until incapacitated by age. He was
a man of great goodness of heart and Christian benevolence, highly educated,
well read, and extensively acquainted with the ancient and English classic
writers.
"After an interval of some eight or ten years or more, Mr. Giberne was
followed in his pastoral duties by the Rev. W. George Young, an English-
man, who, I believe, occupied the glebe in 1800 or 1802. I am unable to
learn how long he continued, but he removed, and the glebe, like many
others, was sold under an Act of Assembly.
" The silver vessels consisted of a massive silver tankard, goblet, and
plate. These remained in the keeping of our family until sold by a decree
of the Court. They were purchased by the late Colonel John Tayloe, of
Mount Airy, and by him presented to St. John's Church, Washington.
"The principal families attached to the old church here were the Car-
ters, Tayloes, Lees, (Colonel F. L. Lee, of Manakin,) Beckwiths, Neales,
Garlands, Belfields, Brockenbroughs, Rusts, Balls, Tomlins, &c.
" The 'Upper Church,' as it was commonly called, situated in the upper
part of this county, has been long a ruin, the spot marked only by the
mounds of crumbling bricks. Mr. Giberne was the last minister who
regularly oiEciated in it. The families chiefly belonging to its congrega-
tion were the Fauntleroys, Lees, Belfields, Beales, Mitchells, Jenningses,
&c. It would be impossible to ascertain at this time, I presume, when
this church was built.
" There was but one other church in 'old times' in the county of Rich-
mond : it was Farnham Church, which continued in tolerable repair until
after 1800. I think in 1802 there was regular service in this church by
a Mr. Brockenbrough, a minister of the Church, a remarkably small man,
as I recollect him, so diminutive that he required a block in the pulpit to
btand on. He did not live at the glebe, but at Cedar Grove, the property
of a Miss McCall, and kept a grammar-school there. After this time the
church became dilapidated, and no service was performed in it; in truth,
it was completely desecrated, and served as a shelter for cattle. Logs, and
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 181
horses for many years. Its walls, however, were permitted to stand, and
its magnificent oaks allowed to grace the place and to give their friendly
shade to the weary traveller who halted at the neighbouring tavern to re-
fresh himself and horse. When we look back on this period of infidelity
and heathenism in this county, when the old churches were pulled down
or permitted to fall to decay, wheu no religious instruction was to be found,
no declaration of the Gospel but by an itinerant preacher, little calculated
to awaken the slumbering people, we are led to wonder how the land
escaped some signal mark of divine vengeance, — that some calamity had
not overshadowed it to call its thoughtless and wicked inhabitants back to
the Christian fold.
" I have never heard what became of the sacred vessels belonging to
this church. The glebe was in the occupancy of Dr. Thomas Tarpley, a
well-educated and highly-polished man; how it came into his possession I
never knew, — probably by purchase at public sale."
After the Rev. Mr. Young, mentioned in the foregoing commu-
nication, I know of no minister until the Rev. Washington Nelson,
in 1834 or 1835, who took charge of this parish in connection with
those of North Farnham and Cople. At his death the Rev. Mr.
Ward succeeded to all three of the parishes, and at his resignation,
a young man, whose name I forget, was minister of Lunenburg for
part of a year. He was succeeded by the Rev. Mr. Coffin for two
years.
The most remarkable of the old seats in this parish, known to
the writer, are those of Sabine Hall, belonging to the Carters, and
of Mount Airy, belonging to the Tayloes. Having in a preceding
article given some account of the Carter family, which has so
abounded in the Northern Neck, I subjoin a brief genealogy of the
Tayloes, who have appeared on our vestry-books in the Northern
Neck from their first settlement to the present time.
THE TAYLOE FAMILY.
" William Tayloe, (probably Taylor at that day,) of London, emigrated
to Virginia about 1650. He married Anne, a daughter of Henry Corbin,
(who was settled in King and Queen county,) the ancestor of the Corbins.
John Tayloe, son of William and Anne, married Mrs. Elizabeth Lyde,
daughter of Major Gwyn, of Essex county. Their children were William,
John, Betty, and Anne Corbin. The first died young. John was the
founder of Mount Airy. Betty married Colonel Richard Corbin, grand-
son of Henry Corbin. Anne Corbin married Mann Page, of Mansfield,
near Fredericksburg.
" The last-named John Tayloe, of Mount Airy, was a member of the
Council of Virginia, before the War of the Revolution, and was re-elected
with his colleague by the House of Burgesses during the progress of the
war. He died suddenly on the 18th April, 1779, leaving a large family.
He had twelve children, of whom eight daughters and one son survived
him. His wife was Rebecca Plater, sister of the Honourable Governor
182 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
George Plater, of Maryland, whom he married in 1747. She died in 1787.
Their eight daughters married, — 1st, Elizabeth, to Governor Edward Lloyd,
in 1767, of Maryland ; 2d, Rebecca, to Francis Lightfoot Lee, the signer
of the Declaration of Independence in 1769; 3d, Eleanor, to Ralph
"Wormly, of Middlesex, in 1772; 4th, Anne Corbin, to Thomas Lomax,
of Caroline, in 1773 ; 5th, Mary, to Maun Page, of Spottsylvania, in 1776;
6th, Catherine, to Landon Carter, of Richmond county, in 1780; 7th,
Jane, to Robert Beverley, of Essex, in 1791; 8th, Sarah, to Colonel Wm
Augustine Washington, of Westmoreland, in 1799.
"John, son of the foregoing John and Rebecca, third of the name, was
born in 1771, the only son in a family of twelve. In 1792 he married
Anne, daughter of Governor Benjamin Ogle, of Maryland. He died in
Washington in 1828. Their children were fifteen, of whom three died
young, and eleven (six sons and five daughters) survivefl their father.
Their mother died in 1855, at the unusual age of eighty-three. Five sons
and three daughters have survived her. Their eldest son, John, entered
the navy, and was distinguished in the battles of the Constitution with the
Guerriere and with the Cyane and Levant. After the first action the State
of Virginia presented him with a sword. He was captured in the Levant
by a British squadron whilst lying at Port Praya, Cape de Verde Islands.
He died in 1824 at Mount Airy, having resigned, shortly before, his rank
of lieutenant in the navy, to which he was promoted soon after his first
action. Benjamin Ogle Tayloe, the second son, resides in Washington.
Three other sons — William, Edward, and George — reside in Virginia,
and one in Alabama, — Henry Tayloe, an active member of the Church in
that State. John Tayloe, a grandson, resides at Chatterton, in the county
of King George."
From the earliest accounts of this family, they have been either
warm friends of the Church, or in full communion with it. Many
of the male members of the family have been active and liberal
vestrymen.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 183
ARTICLE LXIII.
Parishes in King Gteorge Qounty.
King George county was taken out of Richmond county in tho
year 1720, at which time Richmond county extended as far on one
side of the Rappahannock as Essex did on the other, which was, I
believe, near the Falls of the Rappahannock or Fredericksburg.
It did not extend from the Rappahannock to the Potomac, as West-
moreland and King George now do, for Westmoreland and Stafford*
extended along the Potomac, while Richmond and King George
lay on the Rappahannock. Formerly there were two parishes in
King George, — Hanover and Brunswick, lying along the Rappa-
hannock, the latter reaching up to the falls at Fredericksburg, for
we find Mr. W. Fitzhugh, of Chatham, opposite Fredericksburg,
representing Brunswick parish in the Conventions of 1785 and 1786.
In 1776, the boundaries of Stafford and King George were changed,
and each of them made to extend from river to river, instead of
being divided by a longitudinal line running east and west. At
this time St, Paul's parish, and part of Overwharton, formerly in
Stafford, were thrown into King George county, and that of Bruns-
wick parish into Stafford. There are, therefore, now in King
George, St. Paul's parish, on the Potomac side, and Hanover, chiefly
on the Rappahannock. In the parish of Brunswick there was
formerly a church some miles below Fredericksburg, whose ruins,
or the traces of whose foundation, may yet, I am told, be seen.
* Stafford is first mentioned among the counties in 1666, in the following manner.
It seems that, besides the private looms of weavers, there was required by Act of
Assembly a public one in each county, with certain exceptions: — "Provided that
the executing hereof in the counties of Rappahannock, Stafford, Westmoreland,
and Northumberland, who, by the newness of their ground, pretend themselves in-
capable of making provision for the soon employment of a weaver, be respited for
fowre years after the date hereof." From this Act we may see what was the state
of the whole Northern Neck of Virginia in 1666, nearly sixty years after the first
settlement of the Colonj'. It either was not, or pretended not to be, able to support
one weaver at public expense. It is pleasing to think that there was a better state
of things as to religion, and that there were several ministers in the district at the
above-mentioned period.
184 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
There was also a church in Fahnouth which belonged lo this parish,
and in which I have preached at an early day of my ministry.
In Hanover parish there were, from 1779 to 1796, two churches,
— viz. : Strother's, between Port Conway and Oakenbrough, and
Round Hill, under the charge of the ministers of the parish.
Until the year 1777, Round Hill Church Avas in Washington parish,
Westmoreland, but certain changes in the boundaries of King
George' and Westmoreland in that year threw Round Hill Church
into King George county and Hanover parish. As we have but
little to say of Hanover parish, we will say it at once. We cannot
ascertain the precise time of -its establishment. It was in existence
in 1720, and probably established in that year, as King George
was then cut off from Richmond county. In 1753, we find on one
of our lists the name of William Davis as its rector. In the years
1773, 1774, and 1776, we find the Rev. William Davies. But in
the mean time the Rev. Mr. Boucher was the minister of the parish
for some years.
We have nothing on any of our lists, or in the vestry-book of
this parish, concerning this distinguished man, and for the plain
reason that we have no list or vestry-book covering the period of
his ministry in Hanover parish. He was ordained for this parish
in 1762, having been resident in Virginia since he was sixteen
years of age, and probably in that part of Virginia. He was an
intimate friend of General Washington, and, as has been stated in
the article on Caroline county, dedicated a volume of sermons to
Washington. He was selected by the General as a travelling-com-
panion and guide to young Custis, son of Mrs. Washington, when
it was contemplated that he should make the tour of Europe. The
following extract from a letter of General Washington on the
subject will at the same time explain the causes of the relinquish-
ment of this plan, and show the amiableness and sound judgment
displayed by him on the occasion. Mr. Boucher was the tutor to
young Custis at Annapolis, in the year 1771, when the letter was
written of which the following is an extract : —
" Upon the whole, it is impossible for me at this time to give a more
decisive answer, however strongly inclined I may be to put you upon a
certainty in this aifair, than I have done; and I should think myself want-
ing in candour, if I concealed any circumstance from you which leads me
to fear that there is a possibility, if not a probability, that the whole
design may be totally defeated. Before I ever thought myself at liberty
to encourage the plan, I judged it highly reasonable and necessfiry that
his mother should be consulted. I laid your first letter and proposals
before her, and desired that she would I'cflect well before she resolved, ap
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 185
ftu unsteady behaviour might be a disadvantage to you. Her determina-
tion was, that if it appeared to be his inclination to undertake this tour
and it should be judged for his benefit, she would not oppose it, whatever
pangs it might give her to part with him. To this declaration she still
adheres, but in so faint a manner, that I think, with her fears and his in-
difference, it would soon be declared that he had no inclination to go. I
do not say that this will be the case. I cannot speak positively; but, as
this is the result of my own reflections on the matter, I thought it but
fair to communicate it to you. Several causes have, I believe, concurred
to make her view his departure, as the time approaches, with more reluc
tance than she expected. The unhappy situation of her daughter has in
some degree fixed her eyes upon him as her only hope. To what I have
already said, I can only add, that my warmest wishes are to see him pro-
secute a plan, at a proper period, which I may be sure will redound to his
advantage, and that nothing .shall be wanting on my part to aid and assist
him."
It seems that Mr. Custis preferred an early marriage to a Euro-
pean tour, and so the matter ended.
We return from this digression to the other ministers of Hanover
parish. We have a vestry-book beginning in 1779, which shows
that in 1780 the Rev. Rodham Kennor (an old Virginia name) was
chosen its minister. In 1785, he resigned and removed to his farm
in Fauquier. The next year the Rev. John Low became its minister,
and continued until 1796, when he was allowed to preside in the
vestry till the end of the year, on condition that he would resign
at that time, which he did in a letter recorded in the vestry-book.
We know of no other minister being in this parish until its reor-
ganization and the election of the Rev. Mr. Friend, who has recently
left it. The following list of vestrymen from 1779 to 1796 will
show who were the leading friends of the Church in that parish.
Messrs. Piper, Woffendall, Kendall, Jett, Boon, Lovall, Marshall,
Kirk, Conway, Washington, Bernard, Johnson, Dade, Stewart,
Dishman, Flood, Oldham, Berry. Mr, Johnson was reader at
Round Hill Church, and Mr. Thornby at Strother's. Two orders
on the vestry-book serve to throw light on the manners of the
parish. One directs Mr. Ashton to try to procure four locks for
the glebe-house, evidently showing that there was difficulty and
uncertainty about it. This speaks well for the honesty of the
times, locks being so little used that they were hard to be gotten.
The other is not so creditable to the temperance of the times and
parish, as it directs that "forty pounds of tobacco be paid for two
quarts of brandy for burying a poor woman," — that is, for use at
the funeral.
A few words will suffice for the history of the parish since the
year 1796. Some years since, a number of families in the upper
186 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
part of it — the Tayloes, Masons, Turners, &c. — united in builuing
a neat brick church near the court-house, for which they secured
the partial services of the Rev. Mr. Friend, by which means a very
respectable congregation has been formed. As stated above, Mr
Friend has recently resigned his charge.
Since writing the above, we have been indebted to the kindness
and diligence of one or two friends for some further information
concerning this parish, obtained from the old records of the court.
In the years 1725, 1727, and 1737, the names of the Rev. Mr.
Skaife, Mr. Edyard, and Mr. Mackay, appear on the record, though
it is not known with what parishes they Avere connected. The fol-
lowing were the names of vestrymen between the years 1723 and
1779 : — John Grimsley, James Kay, William Strother, Rowland
Thornton, Thomas Turner,* John Furguson, Jos. Strother, Maxi-
milian Robinson, William Thornton, Joseph Murdock, Joseph Jones,
George Tankersley, George Riding, Thomas Vivian, Isaac Arnold,
Samuel Skinker, Harry Turner, Charles Carter, John Triplett,
Thomas Jett, Thomas Hodges, Richard Payne, Thomas Berry,
Horatio Dade, John Skinker, William Robinson, George Marshall,
John Washington, Townsend Dade, Robert Stith, Henry Fitzhugh,
Jr., Laurence Washington, Sen., John Pollard, William Fitzhugh,
Laurence Ashton, Thomas Hood, William Newton, William Bruce,
James Kenyon, John Taliafero, Joseph Jones, James Hunton, John
Taliafero, Jr. Whether all these belonged to Hanover parish I
think doubtful. In the year 1744, there is a suit in King George
Court in the name of Henry Downs and Zachary Taylor, (doubt-
less the ancestor of our late President,) the churchwardens of St.
Thomas's Church, Orange county.
* The families of Tayloes and Turners are the most ancient with which I am
acquainted in the parish of Hanover. Of the former I have given some account in
my article on Lunenburg parish, Richmond county. The first of the Turners was
a physician who came to Virginia about 1650 or 1G60, and settled in the very region
now occupied by his descendants, on the banks of the Rappahannock, in Hanover
parish. He left two sons, Harry and Thomas. The latter died young. Harry mar-
ried the only surviving daughter of Mr. Nicholas Smith, of "Smith's Mount," in
Westmoreland, by whom he became possessed of that estate, which he bequeathed
to his posterity, and which has gone by the name of the seat of the Turner family.
He and his wife Elizabeth are both buried there, as are also their parents. The
tombstones still remain and testify of them. Mr. Harry Turner left only one son,
Thomas, who married a daughter of Colonel William Fauntleroy, of Naylor's Hole,
in Richmond county, about the year 1767, and left a family of eight children,— four
sons and four daughters. The sons were Henry, Thomas, Richard, and George, —
the descendants of whom, as well as of the daughters, are dispersed throughout
the State ; a number of them living in King George, where, as we have said, the
first ancestors settled.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 187
BRUNSWICK PARISH.
A short notice will suffice for Brunswick parish. This was also
in existence in 1720. In 1754 and 1758, the Rev. Daniel McDo-
nald was its minister. In the year 1786, we find the parish, or a
portion of it, included in Stafford county. It was no doubt taken
into it at the establishment of the new boundaries between it and
King George, in the year 1776. I have already mentioned that
there was a church a few miles from Fredericksburg, within the
parish of Brunswick. It was called Muddy Creek Church, and
about nine miles from Fredericksburg. Muddy Creek is now the
boundary-line between King George and Stafford. At a later
period, Lamb's Creek Church was the church of Brunswick parish.
The stepping-stone at the door bears the date of 1782, but the
church may have been built before that. From the records of the
court we find that a Mr. Anthony Hainy was churchwarden in this
parish as far back as 1734, and Mr. Chaides Carter and John
Champe in 1739. Mr. Charles Carter was also vestryman in 1750.
ST. Paul's parish, king george county.
Our authority for the earlier part of the history of this parish is
a vestry-book beginning in 1766, during the rectorship of the Rev.
William Stuart, who, according to the Rev. Robert Rose, was a man
of eloquence and popularity and high character.
There is also a register of the marriages, and of the births, bap-
tisms, and deaths of both white and black. Much of it is torn out.
Its first entry is in 1722. At that time, and long before, the Rev.
David Stuart was the minister. He continued to be so until his
death, in 1749, when he was succeeded by his son, William Stuart,
who was probably his father's assistant for some time before his
death. The son died in 1796. The earlier part of my mother's
life was spent under his ministry, and I have often heard her speak
in high praise of him. He was in bad health for some years before
his death. The followina; is his letter of resignation : —
" To THE Vestry of St. Paul's Parish.
" Gentlemen : — I have been curate of this parish upward of fortj
years. My own conscience bears me witness, and I trust my parishionera
(though many of them have fallen asleep) will also witness, that until age
iiud infirmities disabled me I always, so far as my infirmities would allow,
faithfully discharged my duties as a minister of the Gospel. It has given
me many hours of anxious concern that the services of the Church should
be 80 long discontinued on my account. The spirit indeed is willing, but
188 OLD CHURCHES, MINl;STERS, AND
the fiest is weak. I therefore entreat the favour of you to provide me a
Buccessor as soon as you can, that divine service may be discontinued no
longer; and at the end of the year the glebe shall be given up to him by
your affectionate servant,
"William Stuart."
It is most probable that the father's term of service was equal
to that of his son's ; and if so, we should go back to near the be-
ginning of the century with the ministry of the two, — and that
would carry us to a period not far from that in Avhich the first of
the Fitzhughs — Mr. William Fitzhugh — of this region wrote to
the Bishop of London urging him to send them a sober and pious
minister. Mr. Fitzhugh lived at Bedford, in what is now King
George but was then Westmoreland, and there was a church and
graveyard near his residence (Bedford) on the Potomac. A second
church was built near the present, and a few miles only from the
first. Before closing our notice of Mr. William Stuart, I must ex-
tract from the record an entry which shows that, though he lived
some years after his resignation, his zeal for theChurch did not abate :
though unable to preach, he was able and willing to give. When
a subscription was raised for his successor, Mr. Parsons, (the Esta-
blishment being put down,) his name stands first on the list for ten
pounds, — no other exceeding three. The voluntary system was
then in its infancy, and only fifty-seven pounds were raised ; but
this was as much as the most of the parishes paid their ministers
under the Establishment. Mr. Parsons was never admitted to
Priests' Orders : for what reason I am unable to say. It is not
wonderful that on this account the religious condition of the parish
should have rapidly declined, and at his death, in 1808, was in so
deplorable a state. The house of worship, which, at successive
periods from the year 1766, had been begun, completed, and re-
paired, and become one of the best of the cruciform churches in
Virginia, was permitted to fall into ruins, — except its well-built
walls. In the year 1838, I gave the following account of a visit
paid to it many years before : —
" On Thursday and Friday, services were performed in St. Paul's
Church, King George county. I preached in the morning of each aay,
and Mr. Nelson and Mr. Friend in the afternoon. Here I baptized three
children and couhrmed two persons and administered the Communion.
About twenty-six years ago, (in the year 1812 or 1813,) the Rev. Mr.
Norris and myself visited this place together. St. Paul's was then iu ruin?.
The roof was ready to fall ; and not a window, door, pew, or timber remained
below. Nevertheless, notice was given that we would preach there. A
rude, temporary pulpit or stand was raised at one angle of the cross, and
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 189
from that we performed service and aidressed the people. On the night
before the meeting a heavy rain had fallen, and the water was in small
pools here and there where the floor once was, so that it was difficult to
find a dry spot on which the attendants might stand. Such was its con-
dition twenty-six years ago, and thus did it continue for some years after,
until the Legislature granted leave to citizens of the county to convert it
into an academy. This being done, it was used conjointly as a seminary
of learning and place of worship. At length, the seminary being neglected,
aud the house u.seless for purposes of education, as well as inconvenient for
public worship, the neighbours petitioned the Legislature to restore it to
its rightful owners and original purposes ; which being done, it was con-
verted back again into a temple of God, — one part of it being divided
into three small rooms for the residence of a minister, and the other part —
three-fourths of the whole house — being handsomely fitted up for public
worship. It is now one of the most convenient and delightful churches in
Virginia."*
The following extract from the letters of a friend and relative
in King George, (Dr. Abraham Hooe,) who has long faithfully
served as vestryman of the parish, and who has carefully examined
its records, will complete our notice of it : —
"At a meeting of the vestry on the 19th of January, 1797, the re-
signation was accepted by the following order: — 'That the Rev. William
Stuart having resigned as rector of St. Paul's parish, and having petitioned
the vestry to appoint him a successor, we, the vestry of said parish, do
receive the Rev. John Parsons to officiate as Deacon agreeably to the
canons of the Protestant Episcopal Church.'
" Mr. Parsons survived until some time in 1808, as I learned. I sup-
pose it was subsequent to his death that the church went into ruins. Then
the glebes were sold, and the very life of the Church here seems to have
gone out. During the interval between the death of Mr. Parsons and
1817, you and others would occasionally come and minister to our fathers
and mothers, and afford them the opportunity of placing their dear chil-
dren in covenant with their God; and 1 believe the late Dr. Keith, of the
Seminary, — at that time a private tutor in the parish, — was in the habit
of lay-reading within the ruins. But these ruins were not only used for
occasional religious services ; they were a resort (for shelter they furnished
none) for the beasts of the field as well as for the soldiers of the camp, and
furnished material for plunder to all the ruthless of the land. In men-
tioning the kindness of those who would come among us, I cannot omit
to refer to that of the Rev. John McGuire, who had so often taken part in
* An old African woman, who, in her youth, had been brought to Virginia and
piously brought up in some good family, near St. Paul's, and carried there every
Sunday aud taught to join in the service, became so attached to the place and mode
of worship, that after the church was deserted of minister and people, and her
fellow-servants were all going to other meetings and joining in other ways of praying,
used regularly to go to the old place and sit upon one of the naked sleepers by her-
self, for some time every Sabbath. Upon being questioned and perhaps ridiculed
for this, she said it did her more good to go to the old church and think over by
herself the old prayers she was used to, than to go into any of the new ways.
190 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
those ' associations' which, though of course less frequent, at one time
seemed to be looked for with almost the same regularity as the stated
services of the Church, and with no less interest. On the 18th of May,
181G, a vestry was again organized, and Richard Stuart and Townshend
S. Dade, sou and grandson of the late rectoi", Mr. Stuart, were appointed
delegates to the Convention to be held in Richmond, thus reorganizing
the parish after an interval of so many years. The vestry elected con-
sisted of Richard Stuart, Townshend S. Dade, Abraham B. Hooe, Lang-
horne Dade, John J. Stuart, William F. Grymes, Cadwallader I. Dade,
and Charles Massey, Sen.; but not until the 11th of December, 1817,
were the sei'vices of a minister obtained. Then the Rev. Joseph R. An-
drews, also a private tutor in the neighbourhood, was elected as rector.
This gentle and godly man officiated in the Academy and, I believe, at
King George Court-House, as well as at Port Royal, for several years, when,
feeling himself called to the work of missions, (honoured of Heaven,) he
left his native land to find an early martyr's grave on the unfriendly shore
of Africa, and I have the pleasant recollection of having helped him to
pack his little all in my father's house.
" In 1822, the Rev. Josias Clapham was called to the charge of this
parish, and his last official signature on the vestry-book bears date May 3,
1824. How long subsequently he may have continued in charge does not
appear, and, being from home for several years about that time, I do not know
myself. He, however, preached in Washington parish, Westmoreland
county, and in a small meeting-house near Round Hill Church in this
county, for some years afterward, when he removed to Halifax county,
from which time his history is unknown to me further than to be able to
say I am sure he has received the reward of the righteous, for he was a
good man and a faithful and strict follower of his Lord and Master. Even
the days just spoken of were days of destitution with us; but, as in the
days of the ruins, so in those of our destitution, one and another minister
of our Church would once and again come to preach the word to us ; and
none were more kind and true in so doing than the Rev. Charles Mann,
now of this diocese, but then rector of William and Mary parish, just
across the Potomac River, in Charles county, Maryland, the grateful re-
collection of which kindness can only cease with the lives of those of us
who remember it.
" It was also customary in those days for the Methodists to have stated
appointments to preach at the Academy, as did occasionally the Baptists
and Presbyterians, up to the time of the Repeal Act restoring to us our
church. On the 11th of January, 1828, the Rev. P]dward W. Peet, now
at Des Moines, Iowa, was chosen minister of the parish. He, I think, had
been at first, in 1827, sent to us by the Diocesan Missionary Society, and,
having been elected as above, he continued our minister until 1830, when
he resigned, to take charge of St. John's Church, Richmond, and was
succeeded by the Rev. Mr. Goldsmith, who was elected on the 20th of
August of that year. It was mainly owing to the exertions of Mr. Peet
that the restoration of the church to its former and rightful proprietors may
be attributed, as was certainly the new roofing of Lamb's Creek, mentioned
above. During his ministry there is reason to believe much interest in the
cause of religion was awakened among us, and from that time on, the
borders of the Church have been enlarged. The Rev. Mr. Goldsmith con-
tinued in charge of our parish and of Lamb's Creek united, most of the
time until his resignation of the former in April, 1837; and it was during
'^^ff/
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 191
his ministry that the consecration of the church took place. On the 22cl
of July following, the Rev. Charles Goodrich, Deacon, was chosen as rector
of this and Lamb's Creek Churches, and entered on his duties on the 1st
of October, 1837. Of his services among us I need only say his prai.se is
on all our lips, and the love of him fills all our hearts. He left us at the
end of a year for New Orleans, where he has been faithfully labouring in
his Master's cause. From October, 1838, to the fall of 1840, we were
without the regular services of the Church. Repeated unavailing attempts
were made to secure them, and in the mean time our kind and good neigh-
bour, the Rev. William Friend, as he always has done in our need, would
come among us and minister to us, as his convenience would allow or cir-
cumstances might require. On the 26th of June, 1840, the Rev. John
Martin, now of Maryland, was elected, and continued as minister of this
parish and Washington parish, in Westmoreland, until July, 1844, when
he resigned, and was succeeded by the Rev. Lewis Walke, Deacon. Diffi-
culty in maintaining a minister in conjunction with other parishes having
become manifest, it was determined to endeavour to do so ourselves, and
Mr. Walke's services were obtained for our parish exclusively, and he
continued to officiate for us most faithfully until the summer of 1848, when
the parish was again vacant until the fall of 1851, when the Rev. B. B.
Leacock took charge of it, and we were favoured with his valuable services
for one year, when he resigned, owing to ill health, as well as with a view
to a mission to Africa, and was succeeded by the Rev. Joseph A. Russell,
our present rector. Of the glebes I can only say they were sold after the
death of the last incumbent, Mr. Parsons, and as much of the proceeds of
the sales as was needful were appropriated as before referred to, — the re-
mainder being now a fund in the hands of a board of school-commissioners
for the county, to aid in a system of education established under a late Act
of the Legislature. The earliest notice of the plate of this parish is an
entry on the vestry-book as follows : — ' On the 4th day of June, 1802, the
following articles of church-plate belonging to this parish, — viz. : one large
silver can, a silver chalice and bread-plate, — were deposited in the care of
Mr. John Parsons, the then incumbent.
"'Signed, Toavnsend Dade, Wanhn.' "
These same articles of plate are now in possession of the parish,
and I am sure are familiar to you. They had been, at some period
prior to the above date, the gift of Colonel Henry Fitzhugh, of
Stafford, in this county, as appeai-s from the following inscription
on each piece: — "Given by Henry Fitzhugh, of Stafford county,
St. Paul's parish, Gent., for the use of your church." There are
also a large Bible and Prayer-Book belonging to the parish. The
first has the following inscription in gilt letters on the back : —
" Given for the use of the church in St. Paul's parish, by the Rev.
Wm. Stuart, rector of the same, 1762." It is a Cambridge edition,
appointed by his Majesty's special command to be read in churches,
'■'■Cum privilegiis," and its dedication is, "To our most high and
mighty Prince James, by the grace of God King of Great Britain,
France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, the translators of the
192 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
Bible wish grace, mercy, and peace, through our Lord Jesm
Christ." The inscription on the Prayer-Book is, "Presented to
St. Paul's Church, King George county, by Miss Jane S. Parke,
1831." Miss Parke was great grand-daughter to the Rev. William
Stuart, the former rector.
P.S. — Since the foregoing was written, the Rev. Mr. Russell has
left the parish, and the Rev. Mr. Stuart has taken his place.
The following is the list of vestrymen of this parish from the year
1720 to the present time: —
Richard Bernard, John Hooe, Richard Foote, Captain John Alex-
ander, Captain Baldwin Dade, Colonel Henry Fitzhugh, Jerard Fowke,
John Stith, Cadwallader Dade, John Stewart, John Alexander, Jr.,
Francis Thornton, John Washington, Thomas Pratt, Thomas Bunbury,
(Thomas StribHug, reader,) Henry Fitzhugh, Jr., Wm. Fitzhugh, Wm.
Fitzhugh, Jr., Samuel Washington, Laurence Washington, Townsend
Dade, in the place of Samuel Washington, who removed in 1770; John
Berryman, in 1771, in place of William Fitzhugh, removed out of the
county; Robert Washington, Andrew Grrant, Robert Stith, W. G. Stuart,
William Hooe, Daniel Fitzhugh, Wm. Thornton, Wm. Stith, Henry Fitz-
hugh, Robert Yates, Wm. Stork, Wm. Quarles, Thomas Short, Benjamin
Grynies, Thomas Washington, Rice W. Hooe, John B. Fitzhugh, John
Waugh, Langhorue Dade, William Stone, Henry A. Ashton, Charles
Stuart, J. K. Washington, Abraham B. Hooe, J. J. Stuart, William F.
Grymes, Charles Massey, J. Queensbury, Robert Chesley, Needam Wash-
ington, Alexander Keech, Francis C. Fitzhugh, B. 0. Tayloe, Thomas
Smith, Dr. Robert Parsons, G. B. Alexander, Henry Mustin, Gustavus
B. Alexander, Hezekiah Potts, T. L. Lomax, Jacob W. Stuart, Henry
T. Washington, Drury B. Fitzhugh, Benjamin R. Grymes, John T. Wash-
ington, W. E. Stuart, M. Tenent.
AN ACCOUNT OF THE FITZHUGH FAMILY; ESPECIALLY OF THE
FIRST ANCESTOR, WILLIAM FITZHUGH.
The Fitzhugh family is a very ancient and honourable one in
England. Some of its members were high in office and favour
during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The name is a com-
bination of the two names Fitz and Hugh. Sometimes one, some-
times the other, would precede, until at length they were united in
Fitzhugh. The first who settled in this country was William Fitz-
hugh. His father was a lawyer in London, and himself of that
profession. He settled in Westmoreland county, Virginia, when a
young man, and married a Miss Tucker, of that county. He was
born in the year 1650, and died in 1701. He left five sons, — Wil-
liam, Henry, Thomas, George, and John, — between whom, at his
death, he divided 54,054 acres of land in King George, Stafford,
and perhaps Essex. His sons and their descendants owned the
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 193
Beats called Eagle-nest and Bedford in King George, and Bellaire
and Boscobel in Stafford. He had one daughter named Rosamond,
who married Colonel Oberton, of Westmoreland, but died without
issue. His son William married Miss Lee, of Westmoreland.
Henry married Miss Cooke, of Gloucester. Thomas and George
married daughters of Colonel George Mason, of Stafford, and John,
Miss McCartj, of Westmoreland. From these have sprung all the
families of Fitzhughs in Virginia, Maryland, and Western New
York. The Rev. Robert Rose married Ann, the daughter of Henry
Fitzhugh, of Eagle-nest, in the year 1740. She lived to the year
1789, surviving her husband thirty-five years. There are some
things in the life and character of the father of this large family
of Fitzhughs worthy to be mentioned for the benefit and satisfac-
tion of his posterity. I draw them from his pious and carefully-
written will, and from a large manuscript volume of his letters, a
copy of which was some years since gotten from the library of Cam-
bridge, Massachusetts, by one of his descendants, and which is now
in the rooms of the Historical Society of Virginia.
It appears that he was, during the period that he exercised his
profession, an eminent and most successful lawyer, and published
in England a work on the laws of Virginia. He was much engaged
in the management of land-causes for the great landholders, whether
residing in England or America. He was counsellor for the cele-
brated Robert Beverley, the first of the name, and who was perse
cuted and imprisoned for too much independence. He transacted
business for, and pui'chased lands from, Lord Culpepper, when he
held a grant from King Charles for all Virginia. In all these
transactions he appears to have acted with uprightness and without
covetousness, for in his private letters to his friends he speaks of
being neither in want nor abundance, but being content and
happy ; though before he died he acquired large tracts of lands
at a cheap rate. The true cause of this was his being a sincei'e
Christian. This appears from his letters to his mother and sister,
to whom he remitted pecuniary assistance according to his ability,
increasing it as his ability increased. The following brief letter to
his mother in the year 1694 will exhibit his filial and pious dispo-
sition : —
" Dear Mother : — I heartily condole with you io your present sickness
•and indisposition, which your age now every day contracts. God's grace
will make you bear it patiently, to your comfort, his glory, and your ever-
lasting salvation. I cannot enough thank you for the present of your
choice Bible. The money that you say you had present occasion for 1
Vol. II.— 13
194 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
have ordered Mr. Cooper to enlarge, and you will see by bis letter tbat it
is doubled. Before I was ten years old, as I ani sure you \Till remember,
I looked upon this life here as but going to an inn, and no permanent
beino-. By God's grace I continue the same good thoughts and notions,
therefore am always prepared for my dissolution, which I can't be per-
suaded tc prolong by a wish. Now, dear mother, if you should be neces-
sitated for eight or ten pound extraordinary, please to apply to Mr. Cooper,
and he upon sight of this letter will furnish it to you."
He adds a postcript to the letter, saying, " My sister died a true
penitent of the Church of England."
His sister had come over to America at his instance some years
before and married here, but died without children. Other letters
to his mother, who it seems was much afflicted with some troubles,
which are not mentioned, he writes in a very consoling manner,
bidding her regard her sorrows as from Heaven, and thanks her for
pious instruction of him. His habits w^ere strictly temperate. In
writing to a friend who was much afflicted with the gout, he tells
him the secret of his freedom from it, — viz. : that he never was ad-
dicted to the orgies of Bacchus, or to the adoration of Ceres or
Venus, never courted unlawful pleasures, avoided feasting and the
surfeit thereof, and bids him tell the physician this.
Mr. Fitzhugh was not merely a moral man, but a sincerely reli-
gious man, beyond the measure of that day. He is not ashamed
in one of his legal opinions to quote Scripture as the highest author-
ity. He was a leading member of the Episcopal Church in his
parish. Through him presents of Communion-plate and other things
from English friends were made to the parish. Referring to the
unworthiness of many of the ministers who came over from Eng-
land, he communicated with his friends and with the Bishop of
London, asking that sober, rej^iifabh, and educated men might be
sent over instead of such as did come. All this appears from pas-
sages in his letters to England. But, were there none of these
letters extant, the following extract from his will would testify to
his sound and evangelical views of our blessed religion.
Extract from the will of Colonel William Fitzhugh, of Stafford county,
Virginia, who died in October, 1701. He was the parent of the Fitz-
hugh family in Virginia, and the patentee of Ravensioorth : —
"At a court held for Stafford county, December 10, 1701. Present
her Majesty's Justices for said county.
"In "the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Trinity in Unity,
Unity in Trinity, Three Persons and One God, blessed forever. Amen.
I, William Fitzhugh, of Stafford county, in Virginia, being by God's grace
bound for England, and knowing the frailty and uncertainty of men's lives,
and being at present in perfect health and memory, do now ordain, consti-
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 195
tute, and appoint this my last will and testament, revoking all other and
former, or other wills, this 5th day of April, 1701.
"Imprimis: I recommend my soul into the hands of God, throus^h the
mediation and intercession of my blessed Saviour and Redeemer, hoping
by the merits of his death to have my sins washed away in his blood,
nailed to his cross, and buried in his grave, and by his merits and passion
to obtain everlasting life; therefore, now do bequeath and dispose such
estate as it hath pleased God to bestow in his mercy upon me, after this
manner following,
" After they have disposed of my body to decent interment, without
noise, feasting and drink, or tumult, which I not only leave to, but enjoin,
my executors, hereafter named, to see decently performed.
" Item : I give and bequeath to my eldest son, William Fitzhugh, all
these tracts of land following," &c. &c.
(Then follow the bequests tc the various members of the family.)
It is evident that in the foregoing will there is much more than
the usual formal recognition of a God and future state. Here is
to be seen a true acknowledgment of the Holy Trinity, and an
entire reliance on the merits of the Saviour's death and the cleansing
of his blood, such as no orthodox divine could better express.
!N^one can doubt but that the recorded sentiments and the con-
sistent life of this father of a numerous family must have had its
effect upon many of his posterity. I have known many, and heard
of others, who imbibed his excellent spirit, and not in Virginia only,
but in other States, to which they have emigrated. One there was,
too well known to the writer of these lines, and to whom for Chris-
tian nurture and example he was too much indebted, ever to be
forgotten. A beloved mother was a lineal descendant of this good
man, born and nurtured on the soil which his economy and dili-
gence had bequeathed to a numerous posterity. To her example
and tuition, under God, am I indebted for having escaped the snares
laid for the youth of our land and for having embraced the blessed
religion of Christ. And if I may be permitted to single out one from
the numerous families of the name, it must needs be that one which
was nearest to me, and with which I have been most intimately
acquainted from my childhood up. The name of Mr. William
Fitzhugh, of Chatham, in the county of Stafford, as a perfect gen-
tleman, as a most hospitable entertainer, and a true son of Virginia
in her Councils, will not soon be forgotten. His name is not only
on the journals of our civil Legislature, but may be seen on the
ecclesiastical records of our Church, among those who were the last
to give up her regular assemblies and the hope of her prosperity
in her darkened days. Nor is it unlawful to proceed to some brief
notice of the two children who survived him. His son, William
196 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
Henry Fitzhugh, my associate at college, entered life with as fair
a prospect for honour and usefulness as any young man in Virginia.
Twice only, I believe, did he appear in the legislative hall of our
State, and once in a Convention of the same ; hut such a promise
of political distinction was there given, that it could not but be
felt that a few years would find him in the higher Councils of the
land. It pleased Providence to interfere, and by a sudden and
early death to remove him from this earthly scene. Before this
decree of Heaven was executed, as if admonished of its coming, he
had, after pleading by his pen and voice for the American Coloni-
zation Society, directed that all his slaves — amounting, I believe, to
about two hundred — should be prepared for, and allowed to choose,
Africa as their home.
But I must not lay down my pen, though the heart bleed at its
further use, without the tribute of affection, of gratitude, and reve-
rence to one who was to me as sister, mother, and faithful monitor.
Mrs. Mary Custis, of Arlington, the wife of Mr. Washington Custis,
grandson of Mrs. General Washington, was the daughter of Mr.
William Fitzhugh, of Chatham. Scarcely is there a Christian lady
in our land more honoured than she was, and none more loved and
esteemed. For good sense, prudence, sincerity, benevolence, un-
affected piety, disinterested zeal in every good work, deep humility
and retiring modesty, — for all the virtues which adorn the wife, the
mother, and the friend, — I never knew her superior. A husband yet
lives to feel her loss. An only daughter, with a numerous family
of children, also survive, to imitate, I trust, her blessed example.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 197
ARTICLE LXIV.
Overwharton Parish, Stafford County.
I COME now to Overwharton parish in Stafford county. The
county and parish take their names from the corresponding ones
in England. Stafford county once extended up to the Blue Ridge
Mountain. In the year 1730, Prince William county was formed
from the "heads of King George and Stafford." Overwharton
parish was also coextensive with Stafford before Prince William
was taken off. In the same year, — 1730, — Overwharton parish
was divided and Hamilton parish taken off. Overwharton covered
the narrow county of Stafford, and Hamilton the large county of
Prince William before Fauquier, Fairfax, and Loudoun were taken
away. Stafford, in its original dimensions, first appears as a
county in 1666. When it was erected into a parish is not known, —
but most probably about the same time. Its division in 1730
is the first mention of it. The Rev. Robert Rose in his account-
book mentions the Rev. Alexander Scott as a minister in it in
1727 ; and it is well known that he was the minister of this parish
for many years.* He came from Scotland, — being obliged to leave,
it is supposed, after some unsuccessful rebellion. He never mar-
ried. Having acquired considerable property, he invited his younger
brother, the Rev. James Scott, to come over and inherit it. He
had one estate in Stafford called Dipple, at which he lived. His
* The Rev. Alexander Scott was minister in this parish in 1724, and for thirteen
years before, as appears from his report to the Bishop of London. Being then a
frontier-county, its limits were not known ; but it was inhabited about eighty miles
along the Potomac and from three to twenty miles in the interior. There were six
hundred and fifty families, eighty to one hundred communicants, in attendance, one
church, and several chapels. Glebe so inconvenient that he rented it out and bought
one more convenient for himself. His church and chapels as full as they could hold.
Epitaph of Rev. Alexander Scott, who was buried at Dipple, his seat on the Po-
tomac : — '■ Here lies the body of Rev. Alexander Scott, A.M., and presbyter of the
Church of England, who lived near twenty-eight years minister of Overwharton
parish, and died in the fifty-third year of his age, — he being born the 20th day of
July, A.D. 1686, and departed this life the 1st day of April, 1738.
"Gaudia Nuncio Magna."
This is written upon his coat of arms, which is engraved upon his tomb.
198 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
brother came over, and after some time became the minister of the
adjoining parish of Dettingen in Prince William, which was sepa-
rated from Hamilton when Fauquier was taken from Prince
William, and in which he ministered for thirty-seven years. Mr.
Alexander Scott had as his assistant or curate, for a short time
before his death, the Rev. Mr. Moncure, a Scotchman, but descend-
ant of a Huguenot refugee who fled from France at the revoca-
tion of the Edict of Nantes. Mr. Moncure was the successor of
Mr. Scott. In what year he entered on his duties I have been
unable to ascertain, but his name is still to be seen painted on one
of the panels of the gallery in Old Aquia Church, together with
those of the vestry in 1757. The first church was burned in the
year 1751. I here give the names of the minister and vestry as
painted on the gallery in the year 1757, when it is supposed the
second church was finished. John Moncure, minister. Peter
Houseman, John Mercer, John Lee, Mott Donithan, Henry Tyler,
William Mountjoy, Benjamin Strother, Thomas Fitzhugh, Peter
Daniel, Traverse Cooke, John Fitzhugh, John Peyton, vestrymen.
It is gratifying to know that the descendants of the above are, with
probably but few exceptions, in some part of our State or land still
attached to the Episcopal Church. Their names are a guarantee
for their fidelity to the Church of their fathers. Of the minister,
the Rev. J. Moncure, the following extract from a letter of one of
his daughters, who married General — afterward Governor — Wood,
of Virginia, will give a more interesting account than any which
could possibly be collected from all other sources. It was written
in the year 1820, to a female relative, the grand-daughter of the
Rev. James Scott, who married a sister of the Rev. Mr. Moncure's
wife, and daughter of Dr. Gustavus Brown, of Port Tobacco,
Maryland : —
" I was only ten years old when I lost my dear father. He was a Scotch-
man descended from a Fi'ench ancestor, who fled among the first Protest-
ants who left France in consequence of the persecution that took place
Boon after the Reformation. He had an excellent education, and had made
considerable progress in the study of medicine, when an invitation to seek
an establishment in Virginia induced him to cross the Atlantic, and his
first engagement was in Northumberland county, where he lived two years
in a gentleman's family as private tutor. During that time, although teach-
ing others, he was closely engaged in the study of divinity, and, at the com-
mencement of the third year from his first arrival, returned to Great Britain
and was ordained a minister of the then Established Church ; came back
to Virginia and engaged as curate to your great-uncle, Alexander Scott,
who at that time was minister of Overwharton parish, in Stafi'ord county,
and resided at his seat of Dipple. Your uncle died a short time after, and
FAMILIES OF VIRftlNIA. 199
aiy dear father succeeded him in his parish and resided at the glebe-1 ouse.
Your grandfather, the Rev. James Scott, who inherited Dipple, continued
there until he settled at Westwood, in Prince William. He was my
father's dearest, kindest friend, and one of the best of men. Their in-
timacy brought my father and my mother acquainted, who was sister to
your grandmother Scott. Old Dr. Gustavus Brown, of Maryland, my ma-
ternal grandfather, objected to the marriage of my father and mother.
Although he thought highly of my father, he did not think him an eligible
match for his daughter. He was poor, and very delicate in his health.
Dr. Brown did not, however, forbid their union, and it accordingly took
place. The old gentleman received them as visitors and visited them
again, but would not pay down my mother's intended dowry until he saw
how they could get along, and ' to let them see that they could not live on
love without other sauce.'* I have often heard my dear mother relate the
circumstauocs of her first housekeeping with tears of tender and delightful
recollection. They went home from your grandpapa's, where they were
married, wiih a slenderly-supplied purse and to an empty house, — except
a few absolute necessaries from their kind friends. When thus arrived,
they found some of my good father's parishioners there : one had brought
some wood, another some fowls, a third some meal, and so on. One good
neighbour would insist on washing for them, another would milk, and
another would tend the garden ; and they all delighted to serve their good
minister and his wife. Notwithstanding these aids, my mother found much
to initiate her into the habits of an industrious housewife, and my father
into those of an active, practical farmer and gardener, which they never
gave up. When the business of preparing their meal was over, a small
writing-stand was their table, the stair-steps furnished one a seat, and a
trunk the other. Often, when provisions were scarce, my father took his
gun or his fishing-rod and with his dog sallied forth to provide their dinner,
which, when he returned, his happy wife dressed ; and often would she
* The opposition of Dr. Brown to the marriage of his eldest (laughter with a
poor clergyman does not seem to have been attended with the evils which he doubt-
less apprehended, for Mr. Moncure prospered both in temporal and spiritual things
He has numerous descendants who have also prospered, and many of them are
living on the very lands bequeathed to them by their ancestor, who purchased them
at a cheap rate during his ministry. They are also zealous friends of the Church
wherever we hear of them. Dr. Brown had many other daughters, four of whom
followed the example of their eldest sister and married clergymen of the Episcopal
Church. The Rev. James Scott, of Dettingen parish, Prince William, married one,
who is the maternal ancestor of numerous families in Virginia of whom we shall
soon speak. The Rev. Mr. Campbell and the Rev. Mr. Hopkins and the Rev
Samuel Claggett, of Maryland, (doubtless a relative, perhaps a brother, of Bishop r^oJ»Kj
Claggett,) married the fifth, so that the family of Browns were thoroughly identified
with the Episcopal Church and ministry.
Epitaph of Mrs. Frances Brown, who was buried at Dipple, the seat of the Rev
Alexander Scott, on the Potomac : — "Here lyeth the body of Frances, the wife of
Dr. Gustavus Brown, of Charles county, Maryland. By her he had twelve children,
of whom one son and seven daughters survived her. She was a daughter of Mr.
Gerard Fowke, late of Maryland, and descended from the Fowkes of Gunster Hall,
in Staffordshii-c, England. She was born February the 2d, 1691, and died, much
lamented, on the 8th of November, 1744, in the fifty-fourth year of her age."
200 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
accompany hiin a-fisliing or fowling, for she said that they were too poor
to have full employment in domestic business. Though destitute of every
luxury, they had a small, well-chosen library which my father had collected
while a student and tutor. This was their evening's regale. While
my mother worked with her needle he read to her. This mode of
enjoyment pleasantly brought round the close of the first year. When
the minister's salary was paid they were now comparatively rich. My
dearest father exchanged his shabby black coat for a new one, and the next
year was affluent. By this time the neighbouring gentry found out the
value of their minister and his wife, and contended for their society by
soliciting visits and making them presents of many comforts. Frequently
these grandees would come in their splendid equipages to spend a day at
the glebe, and bring every thing requisite to prevent trouble or expense to
its owners, — merely for the enjoyment of the society of the humble in-
habitants of this humble dwelling. In the lapse of a few years, by fru-
gality and industry in the management of a good salary, these dear parents
became quite easy in their circumstances. My father purchased a large
tract of land on the river Potomac. He settled this principally by tenants ;
but on the most beautiful eminence that I ever beheld, he built a good
house, and soon improved it into a very sweet establishment. Here I was
born : my brother and two sisters, considerably my seniors, were born at the
glebe. My brother, who was intended for the Church, had a private tutor
in the house. This man attended also to my two sisters, who pl"e^^ously
to his residence in the family were under the care of an Englishman, who
lived in the house, but also kept a public school under my father's direc-
tion about a mile from his house. Unhappily for me, I was the youngest,
and very sickly. My father and mother would not allow me to be com-
pelled to attend to my books or my needle, and to both I had a decided
aversion, unless voluntarily resorted to as an amusement. In this I was in-
dulged. I would sometimes read a lesson to my sister or the housekeeper, or,
if their authority was resisted, I was called to my mother's side. All this
amounted to my being an ignorant child at my father's death, which was a
death-stroke to my dearest mother. The incurable grief into which it plunged
her could scarcely be a matter of surprise, when the uncommonly tender
aflFection which united them is considered. They were rather more than
middle-aged when I was first old enough to remember them ; yet I well recol-
lect their inseparable and undeviating association. They were rarely seen
asunder. My mother was an active walker and a good rider. Whenever she
could do so, she accompanied him in his pastoral visits, — a faithful white
servant attending in her absence from home. They walked hand in hand,
and often rode hand in hand, — were both uncommonly fond of the cultiva-
tion of flowers, fruits, and rare plants. They watched the opening buds
together, — together admired the beauty of the full-blown blossoms, and
gathered the ripening fruit or seed. While he wrote or read, she worked
near his table, — which always occupied the pleasantest place in their cham-
ber, where he chose to study, often laying down his pen to read and com-
ment on an impressive passage. Frequently, when our evening repast was
over, (if the family were together,) some book, amusing and instructive,
was read aloud by my dear father, and those of the children or their
young associates who could not be silent were sent to bed after evening
worship, — which always took place immediately after supper. Under the
void which this sad separation occasioned, my poor mother's spirits sunk
and never rallied. The first six or eight months were spent in a dark.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 201
secluded ctamber, distant from that formerly occupied. The manage
ment of the family devolved on my brother and second sister. My eldest
married two or three years previous to this period. I was left pretty much
to my own management. The education of my brother and sister was
so far finished that they not only held what they had acquired, but con-
tinued to impi'ove ; but alas, poor me ! I as usual refused every thing like
study, but became, unfortunately, immoderately fond of books. The key
of the library was now within my power, and the few romances it con-
tained were devoured. Poetry and a botanical work with plates came
next. This gave me a useless, superficial knowledge of what might have
been useful, but what in this indigested way was far otherwise. The
Tattler, Guardian, and Spectator were the only works I read which con-
tained beneficial instruction ; and of these I only read the amusing papers ;
and, taking the beautiful and sublime allegories which abound with moral
instruction in a literal sense, I read them as amusing tales. This kind
of reading made up a pernicious mass of chaotic matter that darkened
while it seemed to enlighten my mind, and I soon became romantic and
exceedingly ridiculous, — turned the branches of trees together and called
them a bower, and fancied I could write poetry, and many other silly
things. My dear mother suffered greatly toward the close of her life with a
cancer : for this she visited the medicinal springs, and I was chosen to attend
her. It was a crowded and gay scene forme, who had lived almost entirely
in seclusion. I did not mix in its gayest circle ; yet it was of service to
me, as it gave me the first view of real life that ever I had. My beloved
parent was not desirous of confining me; but I rejoice at the recollection
that I very seldom could be prevailed on to leave her. There I first
became the favourite and devoted friend of your most excellent mother.
Forgive the vanity of this boast, my dear cousin, but I cannot help
observing that she afterward told me that it was the manner in which
I discharged this duty that won her esteem and love. At this place I
first met with Greneral Wood, who visited me soon after my return home,
and became my husband four years after."
The time of Mr. Moncure's death is seen from the following letter
from that true patriot and statesman, Mr. George Mason, of Guns-
ton, Fairfax county, Virginia. As he signs himself the kinsman
of Mrs. Moncure, the relationship must have come from connection
between the Browns, of Maryland, and Masons. Dr. Brown came
to this country from Scotland in 1708, and married in Maryland.
" GuNSTON, 12th March, 1764.
'* Dear Madam : — I have your letter by Peter yesterday, and the day
before I had one from Mr. Scott, who sent up Gustin Brown on purpose
with it. I entirely agree with Mr. Scott in preferring a funeral sermon at
Aquia Church, without any invitation to the house. Mr. Moncure's cha-
racter and general acquaintance will draw together much company, besides
a great part of his parishioners, and I am sure you are not in a condition
to bear such a scene; and it would be very inconvenient for a number of
people to come so far from church in the afternoon after the sermon. As
Mr. Moncure did not desire to be buried in any particular place, and as it
is usual to bury clergymen in their own churches, I think the corpse being
202 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
deposited in the church where he had so long preached is both decent and
proper, and it is probable, could he have chosen himself, he would have
preferred it. Mr. Scott writes to me that it is intended Mr. Green shall
preach the funeral sermon on the 2Uth of this month, if fair; if not, the
next fair day; and I shall write to Mr. Green to morrow to that purpose,
and inform him that you expect Mrs. Green and him at your house on the
day before; and, if God grants me strength sufficient either to ride on
horseback or in a chair, I will certainly attend to pay the last duty to the
memory of my friend; but I am really so weak at present that I can't walk
without crutches and very little with them, and have never been out of
the house but once or twice, and then, though I stayed but two or three
minutes at a time, it gave me such a cold as greatly to increase my dis-
order. Mr. Green has lately been very sick, and was not able to attend
his church yesterday, (which I did not know when I wrote to Mr. Scott :)
if he should not recover soon, so as to be able to come down, I will inform
you or Mr. Scott in time, that some other clergyman may be applied to.
"I beseech you, dear madam, not to give way to melancholy reflections,
or to think that you are without friends. I know nobody that has reason
to expect more, and those that will not be friends to you and your chil-
dren now Mr. Moncure is gone were not friends to him when he was living,
let their professions be what they would. If, therefore, you should find
any such, you have no cause to lament the loss, for such friendship is not
worth anybody's concern.
"I am very glad to hear that Mr. Scott purposes to apply for Over-
wharton parish. It will be a great comfort to you and your sister to be so
near one another, and I know the goodness of Mr. Scott's heart so well,
that I am sure he will take a pleasure in doing you every good office in
his power, and I had much rather he should succeed Mr. Moncure than
any other person. I hope you will not impute my not visiting you to any
coldness or disrespect. It gives me great concern that I am not able to
see you. You may depend upon my coming down as soon as my disorder
will permit, and I hope you know me too well to need any assurance that
I shall gladly embrace all opportunities of testifying my regard to my de-
ceased friend by doing every good office in my power to his family.
" I am, with my wife's kindest respects and my own, dear madam, your
most affectionate kinsman, George Mason."
As to the successor of Mr. Moncure in this parish, it is probable
that the Rev. Mr. Green, mentioned in the above letter, took his
place in 1764. It is certain that Mr. Scott did not. In the years
1774 and 1776 the Rev. Clement Brooke was minister. After the
Revolution, in the Convention of 1785, called for organizing the
diocese and considering the question of a general confederation of
Episcopalians throughout the Union, we find the Rev. Robert
Buchan the minister of Overwharton parish, and the Rev. Mr.
Thornton of Brunswick parish, which had been taken from King
George and given to Stafford when St. Paul's was taken from Staf-
ford and given to King George. The lay delegates at that Con-
vention were Mr. Charles Carter, representing Overwharton parish,
and Mr. William Fitzhugh, of Chatham, representing Brunswick
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 203
parish, which lay on the Rappahannock and reached to Hanover
parish in King George. In the year 1786 we find Mr. Fitzhugh
again representing Brunswick parish ; and this is the last notice we
have of the Church in Stafford until some years after the revival
of Conventions. In the year 1819, the Rev. Thomas Allen, the
present devoted missionary to the poor in Philadelphia, took charge
of this parish and laboured hard for its resuscitation, preaching
alternately at Dumfries and Aquia Churches. At a subsequent
period the Rev. Mr. Prestman, afterward of New Castle, Delaware,
gave all his energies to the work of its revival. The labours of
both were of some avail to preserve it from utter extinction, but
not to raise it to any thing like prosperity. The Rev. Mr. Johnson
also made some ineffectual efforts in its behalf as a missionary. In
the year 1838, I visited Old Aquia Church as Assistant-Bishop. It
stands upon a high eminence, not very far from the main road from
Alexandria to Fredericksburg. It was a melancholy sight to be-
hold the vacant space around the house, which in other days had
been filled with horses and carriages and footmen, now overgrown
with trees and bushes, the limbs of the green cedars not only cast-
ing their shadows but resting their arms on the dingy walls and
thrusting them through the broken windows, thus giving an air of
pensiveness and gloom to the whole scene. The very pathway up
the commanding eminence on which it stood was filled with young
trees, while the arms of the older ones so embraced each other over
it that it was difficult to ascend. The church had a noble exterior,
being a high two-story house, of the figure of the cross. On its top
was an observatory, which you reached by a flight of stairs leading
from the gallery, and from which the Potomac and Rappahannock
Rivers, which are not far distant from each other, and much of the
surrounding country, might be seen. Not a great way off, on an-
other eminence, there might be seen the high, tottering walls of the
Old Potomac Church, one of the largest in Virginia, and long be-
fore this time a deserted one. The soldiers during the last war
with England, when English vessels were in the Potomac, had
quartered in it ; and it was said to have been sometimes used as a
nursery for caterpillars, a manufactory of silk having been set up
almost at its doors. The worshippers in it had disappeared from the
country long before it ceased to be a fit place for prayer. But there
is hope even now for the once desolated region about which we have
been speaking. At my visit to Old Aquia Church in the year 1837,
to which I allude, I baptized five of the children of the present Judge
Moncure, in the venerable old building in which his first ancestor
204 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
had preached and so many of his other relatives had worshipped.
He had been saving them for that house and that day. I visited
once more, during the last spring, that interesting spot. Had I
been suddenly dropped down upon it, I should not have recognised
the place or building. The trees and brushwood and rubbish had
been cleared away. The light of heaven had been let in upon the
once gloomy sanctuary. At the expense of eighteen hundred
dollars, (almost all of it contributed by the descendants of Mr.
Moncure,) the house had been repaired within, without, and above.
The dingy walls were painted white and looked new and fresh, and
to me it appeared one of the best and most imposing temples in our
land. The congregation was a good one. The descendants of Mr.
Moncure, still bearing his name, formed a large portion. I was
told that all those whom I had baptized eighteen years ago (some of
whom, of course, were not babes at the time) were there and meant
to make it their home. The country, which seemed some time
since as if it were about to be deserted of its inhabitants by reason
of sickness and worn-out fields, is putting on a new aspect. Agri-
culture is improving. A better population is establishing itself in
the county, and at the end of a century there is an encouraging
prospect that a good society and an Episcopal congregation will be
again seen around and within Old Aquia Church. The Rev. Mr.
Wall is now their minister.
The Hon. Judge Daniel, of the Supreme Court, has been kind
enough to supply me with the following letter, which, with the
accompanying extracts from the county records, will be an im-
portant addition to my notices of this parish : —
"Washington, November 12, 1855.
" Dear Sir : — In reply to your inquiries concerning the Old Potomac
Church and its neighbourhood, I give you the following statement, founded
in part upon tradition and partly upon my own recollection. My maternal
grandfather, John Moncure, a native of Scotland, was the regular minister
both of Aquia and Potomac Churches. He was succeeded in the ministry
in these churches by a clergyman named Brooke, who removed to the
State of Maryland. The Rev. Mr. Buchan succeeded him : he was tutor
in my father's family, and educated John Thompson Mason, General
Mason, of Greorgetown, Judge Nicholas Fitzhugh, and many others.
Groing back to a period somewhat remote in enumerating those who lived
in the vicinity of Potomac Church, I will mention my great-grandfather,
Rowleigh Travers, one of the most extensive landed proprietors in that
section of the country, and who married Hannah Ball, half-sister of Mary
Ball, the mother of General George Washington. From Rowleigh Travers
and Hannah Ball descended two daughters, Elizabeth and Sarah Travers :
the former married a man named Cooke, and the latter my grandfather,
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 205
Peter Daniel. To Peter and Sarah Daniel was born an only son, — Travera
Daniel, my father, — who married Frances Moncure, my mother, the daugh-
ter of the Rev. John Moncure and Frances Brown, daughter of Dr. Gus-
tavus Brown, of Maryland. The nearest and the coterminous neighbour
of my father was John Mercer, of Marlborough, a native of Ireland, a
distinguished lawyer; the compiler of 'Mercer's Abridgment of the Vir-
ginia Laws;' the father of Colonel Greorge Mercer, an officer in the British
service, and who died in England about the commencement of the Revo-
lution ; the father also of Judge James Mercer, father of Charles F. Mercer,
of John Francis Mercei", who in my boyhood resided at 3Iarlborough, in
Stafford, and was afterward Governor of Maryland; of Robert Mercer, who
lived and died in Fredericksburg; of Ann Merocr, who married Samuel
Selden, of Selvington, Stafford; of Maria Mercer, who married Richard
Brooke, of King William, father of General George M. Brooke; and of
another daughter, whose name is not recollected, — the wife of Muscoe
Garuett and mother of the late James M. Garnett.
Proceeding according to contiguity were Elijah Threlheld, John
Hedgeman, who married a daughter of Parsoo Spencer Grayson, of
Prince William ; Thomas Mountjoy, William Mountjoy, and John Mount-
joy, the last-mentioned of whom emigrated to Kentucky, having sold
his farm to Mr. John T. Brooke, the brother of the late Judge Francis
T. Brooke, and who married Ann Cary Selden, daughter of Ann Mercer
and grand-daughter of John Mercer. Xeit in the progression was the
residence of John Brown, who married Hannah Cooke, daughter of Eliza-
beth Travers and grand-daughter of Hannah Ball, wife of Rowleigh
Travers. Next was the glebe, the residence of the Rev. Robert Buchan.
Adjoining this was the residence, (in the immediate vicinity of the church,)
called Berry Hill, of Colonel Thomas Ludwell Leo, who possessed another
plantation, on the opposite side of Potomac Creek, called Bellevue. The
son of the gentleman last named, and bearing the same name, removed to
London. Of his daughters, one married Daniel Carroll Brent, of Richland,
Stafford, and the other Dr. John Dalrymple Orr, of Prince William. Next
to Berry Hill was the plantation of John Withers, on the stream forming
the head of Potomac Creek. Crossing this stream were those of John
James, Thomas Fitzhugh, of Boscobel, Major Henry Fitzhugh, of Belle
Air, Samuel Selden, of Selvington, the husband of Ann Mercer, and lastly,
Belle Plaine, the estate of Gaury Waugh, and, after his death, of his sons,
George Lee Waugh and Robert Waugh. I have thus, sir, without much
attention to system or style, attempted a compliance with your request,
and shall be gratified if the attempt should prove either serviceable or
gratifying. I would remark that the enumeration given you, limited to a
space of some eight or ten miles square, comprises none but substantial
people, some of them deemed wealthy in their day, several of them per-
sons of education, polish, and refinement.
"With great respect, yours, P. V. Daniel."
The present clerk of Stafford county (Mr. Conway) has also been
kind enough to search through the old records, going back to the
year 1664, for such things as may answer my purpose. Among
the items furnished is the presentment, in the year 1693, by Rich-
ard Gipson, of George and Robert Brent as being Popish recusants.
206 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
He calls upon the court to insist upon their taking the test-oath in
order to the practice of law. That oath is abjuration of tran-
substantiation. The court sustains the presentment and requires
them to take the oath ; but they refuse, and appeal to the General
Court in Williamsburg. What was the issue we know not, but
believe that they were leading men at the bar after that. One of
them was associated in the practice with the first William Fitzhugh,
and one of them joint sponsor with the first George Mason at the
baptism of an Indian boy whom they had taken prisoner.
We find also presentments for swearing, for pitching and playing
on the Sabbath, for not attending church. The fines were five to
ten shillings, to be paid to the churchwardens for the poor of the
parish. To the great kindness and diligence of Mr. Conway I am
indebted for a list of the justices from the year 1664 to 1857. Of
course it is a long list. I shall only select the surnames of those
most familiar to our ears : —
Williams, Alexander, Mason in great numbers, Osburn, Fitihugh in
great numbers, Buckner, Thompson, Withers, Maddocks, Massey, Ander-
son, Waugh, West, Hoe, Washington in great numbers, Sumner, Jameson,
Dade, Harrison, Storkey, Broadwater, Linton, Berryman, Farrow, Thorn-
ton, McCarty, Triplett, Grigsby, French, Aubrey, Hedgeman, Markam,
Lee, Carter, Brent, Fowke, Bernard, Foote, Doniphan, Peyton in numbers.
Grant, Daniel in numbers, Scott, Walker, Waller, Chapman, Meroer,
Strother, Stewart, Stith, Seldon, Moncure, Bronaugh, Edriugton, James,
Adie, Brown, Banks, Mountjoy, Hewett, Vowles, Morson, Hood, Nicholas,
Eustace, Ficklin, Richards, Botts, Wallace, Fox, Brooke, Bristoe, Lewis,
Lane, Seddon, Tolson, Voss, Crutcher, Forbes, Skinker, Rose, Beale,
Grayson, Hill, Cooke, Norman, Briggs, Morton, Bowen, Kendall, Conway,
Green, Benson, Chinn, Browne, Stone, Irvine, Slaughter, O'Bannon,
Harding, Hickerson, Clift.
We must not in our minds confine all these to Stafford as it now
is, but think of its original dimensions.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 207
ARTICLE LXV.
Dettingen Parish, Prince William County.
This was taken out of Hamilton parish, which, in 1745, covered
all of what is now Prince William and Fauquier. It is supposed
to have been named after a town in Germany, called Dettingeu,
near which the English gained a victory in the year 1743, — two
years before. The parish register having been destroyed in the
Clerk's office in Fauquier, as we shall hereafter see, we have no
record of the parish of Dettingen previous to the year 1745. All
that I can learn is that the Rev. Mr. Keith, the grandfather of
Chief-Justice Marshall, was the minister of Hamilton parish pre-
vious to the division, and continued to be the minister of that part
called Hamilton after the division. My information concerning
Dettingen parish is derived from a vestry-book in the Clerk's office
of Prince William, commenced in the year 1745 and continued to
the year 1785. It commences with the following test, signed by
the vestry: — "We do declare that we do believe there is not any
transubstantiation in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, or in
the elements of bread and wine, at or after the consecration
thereof by any person whatsoever." It would seem that the
above was the only test subscribed in this parish, showing that
there was at this time some peculiar fear and detestation of Popery,
it being about the time of the last efforts in England in behalf of
the Pretender. Although a form of the subscription of vestrymen
was prescribed by Act of the Assembly, which was generally
used, the vestries did not always conform to it, but adopted several
diflferent ones, as we shall show hereafter. The first minister of
this parish after its separation from Hamilton was the Rev. James
Scott, of whom we have already spoken as coming over to this
country by the invitation of his elder brother, Mr. Alexander Scott,
minister of the adjoining parish of Overwharton, in Stafford. How
long Mr. James Scott had been in America is not known. The
following resolution of the vestry shows that he was living in Staf-
rd at the time of his election, and also the probability that he
208 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
was married at that time.* " Ordered, that the Rev. James Scott
be received into this parish on condition of his moving into it as
soon as a glebe and house is prepared." The following letters
from Governor Gooch and Commissary Dawson speak well in his
behalf.
"Williamsburg, April 26, 1745.
"Gentlemen : — As your parish is at present unfurnished with a mi-
nister, I reconmiend to your approbation and choice the Rev. Mr. Scott,
who, in my opinion, is a man of discretion, understanding, and integrity,
and in every way qualified to discharge the sacred ofiice to your satisfac-
tion. I am your affectionate friend and humble servant,
"William Gooch."
FROM THE COMMISSARY.
" Gentlemen : — I hope and believe that your parish will be worthily
supplied by the Rev. Mr. James Scott. His merit having been long known
to you, I need not dwell upon it. That you may be greatly benefited by
his good life and doctrine, and mutually happy with each other, and all
the souls committed to his charge may be saved, is the daily prayer of,
"Gentlemen, your most affectionate, humble servant,
" William Dawson.
" William and Mary College, April 26, 1745."
In the above letter, Mr. Scott is said to have been long known
to the vestry of Dettingen parish. It is supposed that he was for
some years assistant or curate to his brother Alexander Scott in
* The Hev. James Scott, who married Sarah Brown, had several sons and daugh-
ters,— viz. : James Scott, (the father of Alexander Scott, Mrs. Dr. Horner, and Mrs.
Brown, of Fauquier,) the Rev. John Scott, (father of the late Judge Scott, of
Fauquier, and Mrs. Peyton, of Gordonsdale ; of a daughter, who first nifirried Mr.
Y". Peyton, then Mr. Charles Lee, and lastly, Mr. Glassell,) — Gustavus, (the father
of Robert and John Scott, and Mrs. Rankin.) One of the daughters of Rev. Jamea
Scott married Judge Bullett, father of Judge BuUett, of Maryland, and of Mr.
Alexander Bullett, an eminent lawyer of Louisville, Kentucky, who has left a num-
ber of descendants. Another married Colonel Blackburn, of Rippon Lodge, not
very far from Dumfries, father of Mr. Thomas Blackburn, who married Miss Sin-
clair ; and of Richard Blackburn, father of Mrs. Jane and Polly Washington, of
Jefferson county, Miss Christian Blackburn, and Miss Judy Blackburn, now Mrs.
Alexander, of King George. Colonel Blackburn, of Rippon Lodge, was also the
father of Mrs. Washington, of Mount Vernon, wife of Judge Washington, and of
Mrs. Henry Turner, of JeflFerson county, Virginia. Mrs. Blackburn, mentioned above,
was long known, loved, and revered, as one of the most exemplary members of our
Church in the parish of Wickliff, in old Frederick county. From my first entrance
on the ministry, the house of Mrs. Blackburn was my frequent resort. I have
never known a family of children and servants more faithfully regulated by Christian
principles than was hers, and by herself, for she was a widow at an early age. She
left three children, who are members of the Episcopal Church, and who seek to
follow her example in the regulation of their household. One of the daughters of
the Rev. James Scott married Dr. Brown, of Alexandria, who was at one time
General Washington's family physician.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 20S
Stafford, and was succeeded in that station by the Rev, Mr. Moncure.
A glebe was purchased for Mr. Scott on Quantico Creek, which
runs up the Potomac to Dumfries. It consisted of four hundred
acres of land, and was bought of Mr. Thomas Harrison, for one
hundred and thirty-five pounds sterling. So far as I have ascer-
tained, but few of the glebes cost that much, and when rented out,
as they often were, seldom brought more than twenty or thirty
pounds. Mr. Scott continued the minister of that parish until his
death in 1782, being minister of the parish for thirty-seven years.
He lived most of the time at his own estate of Westwood, the gift,
it is believed, of his brother. Before we proceed to make mention
of his successors in office, there are some things worthy of notice,
in relation to the parish, which had better be disposed of in this
place. There were two churches in the parish, between which the
services of the minister were equally divided. One of them was
very near Dumfries, the other near the two streams Broad Run and
Slater Run, and sometimes called by either name. At the time of
the division of the parish, there was an old and indifferent one
near Dumfries, which, in the year 1752, was sold for fifteen hundred-
weight of tobacco, and a new one costing one hundred thousand-
weight was ordered. The contractor for it was a Mr. Waite, an-
cestor to the worthy member and lay reader of our Church in
Winchester, Mr. Obed Waite. The church at Broad Run was also
contracted for in 1752. Both were of brick, and very substantial
ones. It has not been many years since the roof and walls of the
latter fell to the ground. Some remnant of the ruins of the former
may perhaps be seen near Dumfries at this time. I have often
seen them, when more abundant, in my travels through that region.
Dumfries itself, once the mart of that part of Virginia, the scene
of gayety and fashion, the abode of wealthy merchants from Scot-
land, who named it after a city of that name in the mother-country,
is now in ruins, almost as complete as those of the old church.
Quantico Creek, through which the trade from Europe came, is now
filled up, while the pines have covered the spot where the church
once stood near its banks. Desolation reigns around. The old
court-house was fitted up some thirty-five or forty years ago for
Avorship, but that has long since been abandoned for want of wor-
shippers. A few years since I spent a night in the neighbourhood,
in a worthy Baptist family, and, while conversing on the past, the
lady of the family mentioned that she had in her possession some
things belonging to the old church, which she would be glad to put
into my hands, as she wished to be clear of them. After hunting for
Vol. XL— 14
210 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
some time amid the rubbish of the top-shelf of an old cupboard
standing in the room, she brought out two small, old, well-worn
pieces of church-plate, supposed to be those once used in the Old
Quantico Church. I still have them in my possession, to bestow on
some poor parish which will not be too proud to use them. There
were galleries in the church at Broad Run, one of which was allowed
to be put up by Mr. Thomas Harrison, provided it was done so as not
to incommode any of the pews below it. The other? were put up
by the vestry and sold. The pews below were all common, though
doubtless taken possession of by different families, as is usual in
England. The old English custom (beginning with the Royal
family in St. George's Church at Windsor) of appropriating the
galleries to the rich and noble was soon followed in Virginia, and,
as we shall see hereafter, the old aristocratic families could with
difficulty be brought down from their high lofts in the old churches,
even after they became uncomfortable and almost dangerous. I find
an entry on this vestry-book concerning payment to the sextons
of these churches for making fires, which is the first of the only
two instances 1 have met with, and I am in doubt whether the pay-
ment was for fire in the churches or vestry-rooms in the yard ; for
I have never seen where provision was made for fires in any of the
old churches, either by open chimneys or stoves, if indeed stoves
were then known in the land. It was the same case in the old
churches in England, and still is in cathedrals to this day, and it
is no wonder that the latter are so cold, damp, and comfortless.
Very few, if any, of the country churches, even in New England,
were warmed by stoves when I travelled through it in the year 1819.
In this respect I think we have c-n-tainly improved on the customs
of our fathers. I think that in some other respects we have
advanced in liberality. Nothing was done gratuitously by any
member of the church. The lay readers were always paid one
thousand or twelve hundred weight of tobacco. Clerks received
about the same. No liberal gentleman gave his wine for the Com-
munion, as in latter days, but always charged for it. The annual
cost at each of the churches in this parish was four pounds for
twelve bottles of wine. One thing has struck me, in all the in-
dentures required of those to whom orphan or illegitimate children
were bound by the vestry, as speaking well for the times. The
masters were required to teach those who were bound to them " the
art and mystery of some trade," to " instruct them in the principles
of the Christian religion." Sometimes the catechism, Lord's
prayer, creed, and Commandments are specified, as also the doc
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 211
trines of the Episcopal Church. On the part of those bound, they
must "obey their masters, keep his secrets, not leave his house
night or day without leave, not embezzle his goods or suflfer others
to do it, not play at cards, dice, or any other unlawful game, or
frequent taverns or tippling-houses." Whether these promises
were faithfully complied with or not, we are unable to say. We
shall see hereafter that, by the laws of the Assembly, the very same
things were forbidden the clergy, — viz. : cards, dice, and other un-
lawful games ; also taverns and tippling-houses and such places : but
they were disregarded by many. It is, however, a matter of re-
joicing to see such testimonies to good morals by those in authority,
and by legislative acts, even though contradicted by the conduct
of those who bear them. In the most corrupt ages of the Chris-
tian Church the most wholesome laws are to be found and the best
forms of religion have been used. That God who has kept the
Bible pure through so many ages of darkness and corruption has
also, by civil and ecclesiastical legislatures and rulers, preserved
and handed down many most faithful expositions of its moral code.
Some faithful ones there have been in every age who have obeyed
these laws. I doubt not but there were some ministers in the
darkest age of the Church in Virginia who obeyed her canons, and
some masters and mistresses who fulfilled pledges to orphans and
poor unfortunates.
I now return to the history of the ministers of Dettingen parish.
At the death of Mr. James Scott, his son, the Rev. John Scott, was
chosen minister. His ministry was of short duration. He resigned
the following year on account of ill health, and died soon after.
There are some painful circumstances in the history of this minister ;
and, as they have been misrepresented and made worse than they
really were, it is due to himself and posterity to make a correct
statement. Even in that there is much not only to be regretted,
but utterly condemned, — the spirit of the times affording no excuse
which should for. a moment be entertained. From a letter in my
possession, I think it probable he was set apart for the ministry in
early youth. At the age of eighteen, however, he was engaged in
an affair which showed that he was ill qualified for it at that time, —
being destitute of all godliness, — however changed he may have been
afterward. He conceived that his father and himself had been in-
sulted and injured by the misrepresentations of one who, according
to report, was a most unworthy and dangerous man, and that it
was his duty to seek reparation by a resort to arms. He accord-
ingly determined to challenge, and applie I to Mr. Bullett, his
212 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
brother-tn-law, to be with him in the contest. Mr. Bullett dissuaded
him from the challenge in a letter, which I have in my possession,
and Avhich contains some of the many unanswerable arguments
against duelling. Failing in his effort, he attends him to the place
of combat, — the end of Old Quantico Church, where the father of
young Scott had so often read the words of Jehovah from Mount
Sinai, " Thou shalt do no murder." The result was, that the second,
who had warned against the act, and who, it was supposed, had
gone in the hope of preventing the contest, was so treated by the
challenged man on the ground as to engage in a contest with him,
in which the other was slain. He was tried and unanimously ac-
quitted by the court upon the ground of self-defence. Mr. Scott
was obliged to fly the country, and, with his younger brother,
Gustavus, went to Scotland. I take the following account of him
while in Scotland, and after his return, from a letter written by one
of his descendants: —
"Immediately after the trial and acquittal of Mr. Bullett, my grand-
father and his younger brother, Gustavus, left this country for Scotland.
Soon after their arrival in Scotland they entered King's College, old
Aberdeen, where they finished their education. My grandfather, who
seems to have taken life by storm, married, while a student of King's
College, Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Grordon, one of the professors. He
was afterward ordaim.-l by the Bishop of London. It was during his re-
sidence in Scotland that my grandfather formed an acquaintance (which
ripened into a friendship) with Sir Robert Eden, an English or Scotch
baronet. When Sir Robert was appointed Grovernor of Maryland, he in-
vited my grandfather to Annapolis, promising to appoint him his chaplain,
and to use his influence to obtain for him the rich parish of Eversham.
My grandfather readily accepted so advantageous an oflFer, and soon after
sailed for America, leaving his infant son, Robert Eden Scott, (who it was
feared coidd )iot bear a three months' voyage,) with his maternal relatives.
Upon his return to America, he proceeded to Annapolis, was appointed
chaplain to the Governor, and pastor of the parish of Eversham. He re-
sided in Maryland until the war between the Colonies and the mother-
country broke out. An Englishman in principle, he adhered to the royal
cause, and, taking too active a part in politics, became obnoxious to the
Revolutionary party, — into whose hands the government had passed, —
and was banished one hundred miles from tide-water. Compelled to leave
Maryland, he sold his property there for Continental money, and returned
to Virginia, intending to return to Scotland as soon as he could make the
necessary arrangements. While making those arrangements he resided
on his plantation, which he called Gordonsdale, after the name of his wife.
His health soon after failing, he was advised to try the waters of Bath, in
Berkeley county, Virginia. On his return from Bath he stopped at the
residence of General Wood, who had married his cousin, Miss Moncure, —
died there, and was buried under the pulpit of the old Episcopal church
in Winchester. Whether he was pastor of any parish in Fauquier, I am
unable to say j but, as hs did not long survive his banishment from Mary-
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 218
land, I am inclined to think he never received such an appointment.* My
grandfather, as the Bishop has no doubt heard, was a man of fine talents
and remai'kable eloquence, as well as the handsomest man of his day. His
gayety and wit caused his society to be much sought after, and, from all
that I have heard, rather unfitted him for his sacred profession. After his
death, my grandmother, who had been .summoned to Winchester to receive
his expiring adieu, returned to Gordonsdale. The distracted condition
of the country (the Revolutionary War was then at its height) compelled
her to relinquish all liopc uf a return to her native country. She continued
to reside at Gordonsdale, devoting herself to the education of her chil-
dren,— a task for which she was eminently fitted, since she had received a
college education. She lived to see her children grown and settled in life,
and died lamented. Several years before her death she had the pleasure
of welcoming to Virginia her eldest eon, Robert Eden Scott, and, although
twenty-one years had elapsed since she had left him an infant in Scotland,
she recognised him immediately. During his visit to Virginia he received
the office of a professorship in King's College, old Aberdeen, where he had
received his education and his maternal ancestors had held professorships
for three hundred years. He returned to Scotland, was made professor
of mathematics, married a daughter of Sir William Forbes, and died young
and childless."
To the above notice of Mr. Scott I add a report, which is not
improbable, that, at the time he was summoned before the Council
at Annapolis to give an account of his anti-American principles,
Robert Goodloe Harper, tnen a young lawyer, was called in to
examine him, and ever afterward spoke of him as the most talented
man with whom he had ever engaged in controversy. After the
resignation of the Rev. John Scott in 1784, the Rev. Spence
Grayson was chosen minister. How long he continued such we
do not know ; nor can we say any thing concerning him or his
ministry, — though our impression is that he was a worthy man.
The vestry-records end with the year 1785. At the last meeting
vestrymen were elected under the new organization of the Church,
a delegate appointed to the Convention, and an order made to raise
funds for the support of the minister, — as nothing now remained
but the glebe, which was of little value. Although an order was
passed that the records of the vestry should be handed over by the
old clerk to the clerk of the new vestry, it fell into the hands of
the overseers of the poor ; and, some blank leaves being left in the
vestry-book, the proceedings of the latter body were for a few years
recorded on them. In this way it happened that the vestry-book
came into the possession of the court. I have petitioned the court
to have it sent for safe-keeping to our fireproof library at the
* In this the writer is mistaken, as the vestry-book shows that he was minister
in Dettingen parish nearly two years.
214 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church near Alexandria,
to Avhich, I hope, many such documents will be transmitted. We
have no certain accounts of any successor to Mr. Grayson ; but it is
confidently believed that the Rev. Thomas Harrison was the minister
for some years after Mr. Grayson's death, as his name appears in
the list of the overseers of the poor from 1792 to 1802, when it
disappears, and when he either probably died or resigned. I have
been unable to obtain any reliable accounts of Mr. Harrison. His
name is nowhere to be seen on any of the lists of the clergy which
I have. My old friend, Mr. Samuel Slaughter, of Culpepper, (now
eighty-eight years of age,) told me, during the last summer, that he
went to school to him in Culpepper when he was minister of Bloom-
field parish, and that he afterward moved over to Prince William.
He was the father of a numerous offspring of sons and daughters, who
became scattered over the land. The late Mr. Phil. Harrison, of
Richmond, was one of his sons, who are said to have been nine in
number. I became acquainted with one of the families many years
since near Dumfries. Its members were then preparing to move
to the South. On the first page of the vestry-book of Dettingen
parish, I find a leaf taken from the old Overwharton vestry-book
and fastened to the latter, — doubtless by Mr. Harrison, — in which
there is the following genealogy, taken from the parish record of
St. Margaret's, Westminster, and certified by Richard Gibson,
London : —
" Burr Harrison, of Chappawamsic, born in England, son of Cuthbert
Harrison, baptized in the pa,rish of St. Margaret's, Westminster, 28th
December, 1637. His son Thomas born in 1665 ; grandson Burr born
May 21, 1699; great-grandson Thomas born 3d of March, 1723; his
sister Jane the 9th of December, 1726 ; his sister Seth the 30th of
November, 1729."
This last Thomas Harrison was, I suppose, the minister. There
was doubtless an intermarriage between the PoAvells, of Loudon
county, and the Harrisons, of Prince William, from which it comes
that the names Cuthbert and Burr are so often to be found in these
families. Whether all of the above were born in England, or some
of them in this country, I am unable to say. There was a Thomas
Harrison belonging to Broad Run Church, in Dettingen parish,
long before the Rev. Mr. Harrison appears in the parish, and may
have been his father. After the death of the Rev. Mr. Harrison,
the Rev. Mr. O'Neal ofiiciated for a short time. He died after I
entered the ministry ; but I never met with him. No clerical dele-
gate, and only one lay delegate, — Mr. Jesse Ewell, — ever appears in
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 215
the Conventions of Virginio. from Dettingen parish. It only
remains that I mention, for the satisfaction of their posterity,
the lay readers and vestrymen of this old parish during the fifty
years of which the records testify. At Broad Run we find the
names of John Bryant, William Peyton, Joseph Sherman, James
Gray, George Carter. At Quantico Church, Mr. Thomas Machem
or Mitchem, John Peyton, Jeremiah Moore, lay readers. The
following are the names of the vestrymen of this parish during the
fifty years of its recorded proceedings : — Peyton, Rearser, Butler,
Deskin, Linton, Renno, Blackburn, Furguson, Ewell, Seale, Gray-
son, Baxter, Whetlige, Fouchee, Rust, Roussan, Crump, Frogg, Har-
rison, Wright, Bullett, Wicklifie, Bell, Copedge, Thornton, Elsey,
Betty, Eustace, Blackwell, Waggoner, Nisbett, Kennor, Tibbs,
Triplett, Carr, Lee, Bay lis, Buchanon, Bennett, Hoe, Alexander,
Fitzhugh, Kincheloe, Washington, Guatkin, M'Millon. The names
of Adie and Tompkins are mentioned as men of uprightness, to
whom the vestry and minister referred some important matters of
difference for decision. The Lees, Peytons, Blackburns, and Ewells
appear to have been most numerous and prominent in the vestries.
After a failure of all efforts for the resuscitation of the Church
in Dumfries, our attention was directed to the other parts of the
parish of Dettingen. The Rev. Mr. Steel, beginning in 1822, la-
boured for some years with partial success, and built a small church
in the centre of the parish. The Rev. Mr. Slaughter followed him
in 1835, and preached with more success at Brentsville — the new
county seat — and at Hay-Market. The Rev. Mr. Skull succeeded
Mr. Slaughter at the same places. The Rev. Mr. Towles has now
for many years been faithfully and acceptably serving the parish.
A new and excellent stone church has been built at Brentsville ;
and the old court-house at Hay-Market has been purchased and
converted into a handsome and convenient temple of religion. A
race-course once adjoined the court-house, and in preaching there
in former days I have, on a Sabbath, seen from the court-house
bench, on which I stood, the horses in training for the sport which
was at hand. Those times have, I trust, passed away forever.
216 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
ARTICLE LXYl.
Hamilton and Leeds Parishes, Fauquier County,
After the division of the former parish of Hamilton into Det-
tingen and Hamilton, in the year 1745, the Rev. Mr. Keith con-
tinued to be minister in Hamilton. How long he had been minister
of the whole parish is not known ; neither have I been able to as-
certain how long he continued to be minister of Hamilton parish
after the division, only that in 1758 the Rev. Joseph Brunskill was
the minister. The vestry-book, which could have informed us, was
placed in the Clerk's office, and there torn up, page after page, by
the clerks or others, for the purpose of lighting cigars or pipes.
Of the Rev. Mr. Keith and his descendants I have not been able
to obtain all the information I desire and hope for. From all that
I can learn, he was a worthy man. He was a native of Scotland.
Being involved in the rebellion in favour of the Pretender, he was
forced to fly his country, and came to Virginia. Returning to
England for Orders, he was then settled in Hamilton parish, and
performed the duties of his office there for a long time, — probably
until 1757 or 1758. A daughter of his married Colonel Thomas
Marshall, of Oakhill, Fauquier, the seat of the Marshalls to this
day. He was the father of the late Chief-Justice. Both father
and son were in the Revolutionary Army, and fought together at
the battle of Monmouth. Another of Mr. Keith's children was
the Clerk of Frederick county, Virginia, who so long and faith-
fully performed the duties of that office. The descendants of Mr.
Keith are numerous. They are also devoted members of the Epis-
copal Church. After the division of the parish of Hamilton, Mr.
Keith served, until his death, all that region now embraced in
Fauquier county, as it was not until 1769 that Leeds parish was
cut off. I am unable to ascertain how many churches there were
then in that part now making the parish of Leeds. I can only
speak of the two in that which is now Hamilton, — namely, Elk Run
and Turkey Run Churches, both of which I have often seen, and
in one of which I have preached. Elk Run Church was about
fifteen miles, I think, below Fauquier Court-House, on the road to
Fredericksburg, upon a small stream from which it took its name.
It was a substantial brick church, — cruciform, I believe. I am not
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 217
certain that the roof was on it when I jSrst saw it, in 1811. Its
walls continued for many years after this, and I saAv them gradu^
ally disappear during my annual visits to the Conventions. The
other was called the Turkey Run Church, and was situated about
a mile below Fauquier Court-House. It was an old frame church,
which, after the erection of one at the court-house, was carried
away and converted into a barn, and is still used as such. It was
here I first met with Bishop Moore, after his arrival in Virginia in
1815. His preaching was very melting. I saw an old Episcopalian
wiping the tears from his eyes during the sermon, but, on speaking
to him afterward about the Bishop's preaching, was surprised to
hear him say that the Bishop was nothing but a Methodist, so differ-
ent was his style and manner from what had hitherto been common
in Episcopal pulpits. The Bishop confirmed fifty persons at that
time, the most of whom came forward in ignorance of the proper
qualifications for this rite, or of the nature of true religion. Such
was the case with many other congregations at the Bishop's earlier
visits, some of which had no ministers, and others new ones, so that
due precautions could not be easily taken to prevent unsuitable
persons from coming forward. It injured the Church and the
Bishop not a little for some time. He once told me that he really
feared to hold a Confirmation in a new place, lest some unworthy
candidates should come forward. Of the ministers who succeeded
Mr. Keith, but little is known. In the year 1758, the Rev. Joseph
Brunskill was the minister.* In the year 1774, the Rev. James
* Since writing the article on Hamilton parish, I have learnt something concern-
ing the Rer. Mr. Brunskill which deserves to be noticed, especially as it is connected
with the question of discipline in the Colonial Chui'ch. He was a notorious evil-
liver, being given to intemperance and other vices. His vestry complained of him
to Governor Dinwiddie, who summoned him and his accusers, with their witnesses,
to Williamgburg. They appeared before the Governor and Council, Commissary
Dawson being one of the Council. Being found guilty, the Governor ordered the
vestry to dismiss him and choose another minister. On his return to the parish,
Mr. Brunskill posted the Governor and Council on the church-door, and perhaps
elsewhere, declaring that they had no jurisdiction in the case, and adding in tho
same notice a canon of the English Church, whereby none but a Bishop could pass
sentence on a clergyman. The justification of the Governor was, that, although
none but a Bishop could absolutely deprive of Orders, yet the Governor, as supreme
ruler in Virginia, and representing the Crown, which was chief in Church and
State in England, had a right and was bound to exercise some discipline and prevent
such dishonour to religion, and that, as ministers were tried before the civil courts
in England, so Mr. Brunskill had been tried before the Governor and Council, which
was the supreme court in Virginia. Commissary Dawson entertained some doubt
as to the canonical regularity of the proceedinj^, but in a letter to the Bishop of
London justified it on the ground of necessity
218 OLD CHJRCHES, MINISTERS, AND
Craig is minister. After Mr, Craig, I hear of the Rev. Mr. Kennor
from Hanover parish, King George, and the Rev. Mr. Iredell, from
Culpepper, as living in the parish and preaching, — neither of whom
was very credital)le to the Church. In the year 1805, the Rev.
Mr. O'Neale and Mr. Charles Marshall appear as delegates in the
Convention, as minister and lay delegate. Mr. O'Neale taught
school in Warrenton for some years, and then removed to Dumfries,
and died since I entered the ministry. Most prostrate was the
condition of the parish in the year 1812 or 1813, when I first visited
it. There was no house of worship at Warrenton belonging to any
denomination, and the old Turkey Run Church was inconvenient,
so that the service was held in the court-house. Notice being given
that I would preach at three or four o'clock on a certain day during
the session of the court, a large crowd assembled from the country
around to hear a young Virginia Episcopalian. It so happened
that a very important case detained the court beyond the appointed
hour of worship. The people, however, gradually filled the house
and hemmed in the lawyers. The ladies ascended the bench on
which judges and magistrates sat, and enclosed the judge, until at
length the business of the court was obliged to stop, and neither
judge nor lawyers could escape. The house being completely filled,
I was sent for, and, being unable to pass through the crowd, was
raised up through the window and put into the sheriff's box, from
which I preached.
About this time, the Episcopalians and Presbyterians proposed
to build a church in conjunction. It was commenced, and a wall
was put up and a roof completed. Some difficulty arising between
the partners, as is generally the case, the Episcopalians determined
to build one for themselves, without relinquishing their claim on
the unfinished one. Accordingly, a frame building was put up and
consecrated as an Episcopal Church. This was used until within a
few years. A still better one of brick now receives the increasing
congregation, under its faithful and zealous minister, the Rev. Mr.
Norton, whose father and myself became candidates for the ministry
at the same time. His lot was cast in Western New York, though
by birth a Virginian. He still lives, a venerable though disabled
minister.
LEEDS PARISH, FAUQUIER.
This parish, as we have seen already, was taken out of Hamilton
in the year 1769. The first and only minister, before the Rev.
Mr. Lemmon took charge of it in 1816, was the Rev. James Thorn-
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 219
Bon, from Scotland, born near Glasgow, in the year 1739, and who
died in February, 1812. He came to this country in 1767 or 1768.
He lived at first in the family of Colonel Thomas Marshall, of
Oakhill, and instructed his sons, John Marshall, afterward Chief-
Justice, James Marshall, and others. In 1769, he went to Eng-
land for Orders. On his return, he married Miss Mary Ann Far-
row, sister of the late Nimrod Farrow, of Leeds Manor, and settled
at the glebe, near Salem, where he had a school, to which some of
the sons of Mr. Thomas Marshall were sent to him again. Mr.
Thomson, at the coming on of the Revolution, partook largely of
the spirit which animated Colonel Marshall and his son, the Chief-
Justice. In a sermon preached at the time of the first diflSculties
at Boston, he thus speaks : —
"You have all heard before now of the measures taken by the British
r'arliament to deprive his Majesty's subjects of these Colonies of their just
and legal rights, by imposing several taxes upon them destructive of their
liberties as British subjects. And to enforce those acts they have for
some time blocked up the harbour of the city of Boston with ships-of-
war, and overawed the inhabitants by British troops. By which illegal
steps, the people in general have endured great hardships by being deprived
of their trade, and the poor reduced to great want. It is therefore incum-
bent upon every one of us, as men and Christians, cheerfully to contribute
according to our ability toward their relief. And as we know not how
soon their case may be our own, I would likewise recommend to you to
contribute something toward supplying the country with arms and ammu-
nition, that if we be attacked we may be in a posture of defence. And
I make no doubt that what you bestow in this manner will be employed
in the use you intend it for. If you want to be better informed with
respect to the Acts which have been passed with a view to impose illegal
taxes upon us and deprive us of our liberties, I shall refer you to the
gentlemen of the committee for this county, who will satisfy you on that
head."
Mr. Thomson, from the memoranda on a number of sermons
or fragments of sermons I have seen, seemed to have been punctual
in preaching in four churches, — Taylor's Church, not very far from
Warrenton, Goose Creek Church, near Salem, Old Bull Run
Church, whose location I cannot specify, and Piper's Church, in
Leeds Manor, not one of which are now standing. They were, I
suppose, all badly-built wooden churches, which soon came to ruin.
I never saw Mr. Thomson, though he lived in a neighbouring parish
and did not die until the year after I entered the ministry. From
an examination of some of his sermons, or parts of sermons, I
should say that they were marked by more taste and talent than
most of those which have been submitted to my perusal. But the
Episcopal Church from various causes failed, and almost disap-
220 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
peared, under his ministry. Other denominations took possession
of the ground which was once entirely ours.
My nearness to Leeds parish, and its position being such that
I must pass through it on my numerous visits to other parts of
Virginia, caused me to preach more frequently there than in any
of the surrounding parishes. Mr. Thomas Marshall, eldest son of
the Chief-Justice, lived at the old homestead of the Marshalls,
Oakhill, on the road to Warrington and Fredericksburg. He was
one of my earliest and dearest Christian friends. He became a
communicant at an early period. He often begged that, in any
efforts I might make for the promotion of religion, which required
pecuniary aid, I would consider him as ready to afford it. Mr.
Thomas Ambler, a nephew of Judge Marshall, and an old school-
mate of my early years, lived in the same neighbourhood. Cool
Spring Meeting-house lay between them. At this I often preached,
and it was the place where Mr. Lemmon officiated until perhaps the
close of his labours in that parish. The Marshalls and Amblers
continued to settle in this neighbourhood, until they have become
two small congregations, or rather important parts of two congre-
gations. The children of my esteemed friend, Mr. Thomas Mar-
shall, six in pumber, settled in sight of each other, on the estate
of their father, and are all living.* The Peytons, Turners, Be-
verleys, Hendersons, and others, descendants of Episcopal families,
still adhere to the old Church, and are active in seeking its resus-
citation. In the year 1816, the Rev. George Lemmon, of Balti-
more, wJ^^o graduated at Princeton College a year or two before
me, took charge of both Hamilton and Leeds parishes, and conti-
nued to be the minister, with the exception of a few years spent
in Hagerstown, Maryland, until his death. In my report to the
Convention of 1847, I find the following notice of him: —
" In the death of the Rev. Mr. Lemmon, the Church has parted with one
who bad grown old and gray in her service, having devoted all his strength
of body and mind to the promotion of her welfare. He who now addresses
you has lost his earliest and oldest brother in the ministry. Our acquaint-
ance, our friendship, our choice of the ministry, are all of the same date,
and reach back to forty years save one. During all this period we have
been living in the most intimate communion of soul. A sounder theo-
logian, a more true-hearted minister, a more sincere Christian, I have never
known."
N^ever was there a minister more esteemed and beloved by his
* Mr. Marshall was killed by the falling of a brick upon his head in Baltimore,
*a his way to Philadelphia to see his father, who died there a few days after.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 221
people of all ages and characters. His preaching-talents were not
attractive, on account of the harshness of his voice, but he wa.s faith-
ful to the truth, and understood how to present it experimentally
to the people. His forte was in private intercourse as a pastor
and gentleman. Though strict in his views of fashionable amuse-
ments, in which the young are apt to delight, yet so tender, cour-
teous, and loving was he, that the young were ever pleased with
his company and conversation. It is delightful to hear him spoken
of to this day by his old parishioners. His health was very im-
perfect for many years, and his ministrations very irregular ; yet
such Avas the attachment of his people in both congregations, that
they bore it almost without complaining. The active friends of the
Church and Mr. Lemmon were Colonel Randolph, of Easternview,
(who was always sure to be at the minister's house on the first day
of each year with his subscription of one hundred dollars,) the
Horners, the Bells, the Withers, Smiths, Paines, Edmonds, Hen-
dersons, Fitzhughs, Digges, and others, in Hamilton parish, and
the Marshalls, Amblers, Scotts, Adamses, Carters, Chunns, and
others, in Leeds parish. In Hamilton parish Mr. Lemmon was suc-
ceeded by the present rector, the Rev. Mr. Norton, in the year 1847,
under whose ministry the congregation has greatly increased, and
by whose enterprise, aided by the zeal of some untiring ladies, a
new church has been built at the cost of seven or eight thousand
dollars. I have mentioned before that Judge Marshall had no
hope of the revival of the Church in Virginia, though contributing
liberally to the efforts made for it. He lived to see himself mis-
taken, and to unite with his children and grandchildren in the
services of our resuscitated Church in the very place of his nativity
and amid the scenes of his early life. In my frequent visits to
Goolspring and Oakhill, I often met with him, as I had done at my
father's house, and other places in Frederick, in more boyish days.
Though not a communicant, he was the sincere friend to religion
and the Episcopal Church. I can never forget how he would pros-
trate his tall form before the rude low benches, without backs, at
Coolspring Meeting-House, in the midst of his children and grand-
children and his old neighbours. In Richmond he always set an
example to the gentlemen of the same conformity, though many of
them did not follow it. At the building of the Monumental Church
he was much incommoded by the narrowness of the pews, which
partook too much of the modern fashion. Not finding room enough
for his whole body within the pew, he used to take his seat nearest
the door of his pew, and, throwing it open, let his legs stretch a
222 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
little into the aisle. This I have seen with my own eyes. He waa
a most conscientious man in regard to some things which others
might regard as too trivial to be observed. It was my privilege
more than once to travel with him between Fauquier and Frede-
ricksburg, when we were both going to the lower country. On one
occasion, the roads being in their worst condition, when we came
to that most miry part called the "Black Jack," we found that
the travellers through it had taken a nearer and better road through
a plantation. The fence being down, or very low, I was proceed-
mg to pass over, but he said we had better go round, although each
/Step was a plunge, adding that it was his duty, as one in office, to be
very particular in regard to such things. As to some other matters,
however, he was not so particular. Although myself never much
given to dress or equipage, yet I was not at all ashamed to com-
pare with him during these travels, whether as to clothing, horse,
saddle, or bridle. Servant he had none. Federalist as he was in
politics, in his manners and habits he was truly republican. Would
that all republicans were like him in this respect ! He was fond of
agriculture, and to gratify himself, and for the sake of exercise, he
purchased a small farm a few miles from Richmond, to which he
often went. On one of my visits to Richmond, being in a street
near his house, between daybreak and sunrise one morning, I met
him on horseback, with a bag of clover-seed lying before him, which
he was carrying to his farm, it being the time of sowing such seed.
But the most interesting and striking feature in the domestic cha-
racter of this truly great and good man was the tender and assidu-
ous attentions paid to his afflicted companion. Mrii. Marshall was
nervous in the extreme. The least noise was sometimes agony to
her whole frame, and his perpetual endeavour was to keep the house
and yard and outhouses as free as possible from the slightest cause
of distressing her ; walking himself at times about the house and
yard without shoes. On one occasion, when she was in her most
distressing state, the town authorities of Richmond manifested their
great respect for him, and sympathy for her, by having either the
town-clock or town-bell muffled. I am sure that every Virginian
will excuse this discression.*
* The strength as well as tenderness of Judge Marshall's attachment to Mrs.
Marshall will appear from the following affecting tribute to her memory, written by
himself, December 25, 1832 :—
'• This day of joy and festivity to the whole Christian world is, to my sad heart,
the anniversary of the keenest affliction which humanity can sustain. While all
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 223
I have nothing more to say of Leeds parish, but that during the
few years of Mr. Lemmon's stay at Hagerstown, the Rev. Mr.
around is gladness, my mind dwells on the silent tomb, and cherishes the remem-
brance of the beloved object which it contains.
" On the 25th of December, 1831, it was the will of Heaven to take to itself the
companion who had sweetened the choicest part of my life, had rendered toil a
pleasure, had partaken of all my feelings, and was enthroned in the inmost recesa
of my heart. Never can I cease to feel the loss and to deplore it. Grief for her i8
too sacred ever to be profaned on this day, which shall be, during my existence,
marked by a recollection of her virtues.
"On the 3d of Januarj', 1783, I was united by the holiest bonds to the woman I
adored. From the moment of our union to that of our separation, I never ceased
to thank Heaven for this its best gift. Not a moment passed in which I did not
consider her as a blessing from which the chief happiness of my life was derived.
This nevei'-dying sentiment, originating in love, was cherished by a long and close
observation of as amiable and estimable qualities as ever adorned the female bosom.
To a person which in youth was very attractive, to manners uncommonly pleasing,
she added a fine understanding, and the sweetest temper which can accompany a
just and modest sense of what was due to herself. She was educated with a pro-
found reverence for religion, which she preserved to her last moments. This senti-
ment, among her earliest and deepest impressions, gave a colouring to her whole life.
Hers was the religion taught by the Saviour of man. She was a firm believer in
the faith inculcated by the Church (Episcopal) in which she was bred.
" I have lost her, and with her have lost the solace of my life ! Yet she remains
still the companion of my retired hours, still occupies my inmost bosom. When
alone and unemployed, my mind still recurs to her. More than a thousand times
since the 25th of December, 1831, have I repeated to myself the beautiful lines
written by General Burgoyne, under a similar affliction, substituting 'Mary' for
'.Anna :' —
" 'Encompass'd in an angel's frame,
An angel's virtues lay ;
Too soon did Heaven assert its claim
And take its own away !
My Mary's worth, my Mary's charms,
Can never more return !
What now shall fill these widow'd arms ?
Ah me ! my Mary's urn !
Ah me ! ah me ! my Mary's urn !' "
As to the religious opinions of Judge Marshall, the following extract from a letter
of the Rev. Mr. Norwood may be entirely relied on : —
"I have read some remarks of yours in regard to Chief-Justice Marshall, which
have suggested to me to communicate to you the following facts, which may be use-
ful should you again publish any thing in relation to his religious opinions. I often
visited Mrs. General Harvey during her last illness. From her I received this state-
ment. She was much with her father during the last months of his life, and told
me that the reason why he never communed was, that he was a Unitarian in opinion,
though he never joined their society. He told her that he believed in the truth of
the Christian revelation, but not in the divinity of Christ ; therefore he could not
commune in the Episcopal Church. But during the last months of his life he re«d
Keith on Prophecy, where our Saviour's divinity is incidentally treated, and was
22-1 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
Barnes took his place both in Leeds and Hamilton, and that after
Mr. Lemmun's death the Rev. Mr. Slaughter officiated in Leeds
parish in conjunction with Upperville and Middleburg. At Mr.
Slaughter's resignation of the charge, the Rev. Wm. H. Pendleton
became the minister, and so continued until the year 1854. The
present minister is the Rev. Mr. Callaway. The parish has recently
been subdivided. There are two new churches under the care of
the Rev. Mr. Shields, in the part recently cut off, and one in the
other under the care of Mr. Callaway. An excellent parsonage is
now being built.
convinced by his work, and the fuller investigation to which it led, of the supreme
divinity of the Saviour. He determined to apply for admission to the Communion
of our Church, — objected to commune in private, because he thought it his duty to
make a public confession of the Saviour, — and, while waiting for improved health to
enable him to go to the church for that purpose, he grew worse and died, without
ever communing. Mrs. Harvey was a lady of the strictest probity, the most humble
piety, and of a clear discriminating mind, and her statement, the substance of which
I give you accurately, (having reduced it to writing,) may be entirely relied on.
" I remember to have heard Bishop Moore repeatedly express his surprise (when
speaking of Judge Marshall) that, though he was so punctual in his attendance at
church, and reproved Mr. , and Mr. , and Mr. , when they were absent,
and knelt during the prayers and responded fervently, yet he never communed. The
reason was that which he gave to his daughter, Mrs. Harvey. She said he died an
humble, penitent believer in Christ, according to the orthodox creed of the Church.
"Very truly, your friend and brother in Christ, Wm. Norwood.
"P.S. — Another fact, illustrating the lasting influence of maternal instruction,
was mentioned by Mrs. Harvey. Her father told her that he never went to bed
without concluding his prayer with those which his mother taught him when a
child, — viz.: the Lord's Prayer and the prayer beginning, 'Now I lay me down to
Bleej).' "
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 225
ARTICLE LXVir.
Truro Parish, Fairfax County.
Fairfax county was separated from Prince William in the year
1742, and at first embraced Loudon county. The whole of this
was covered with Truro parish.* In 1749, Cameron parish was
cut ofl" from it, and was afterward in Loudon, when that county
was separated from Fairfax in 1757. The parish of Truro was
again divided in the year 1764. In the years 1754, 1758, and
1764, I have evidence that the Rev, Chas. Green was the minister
of Truro parish, and probably lived in the neighbourhood of Gun-
ston, the seat of the Mason family, near which stood the old church
which was superseded by Pohick or Mount Vernon Church. Mr.
George Mason makes mention of him in a letter dated 1764. I
think it probable General Washington also mentions the same person
as visiting Mount Vernon in 1760, when Mrs. Washington was sick.
How long he may have been the minister after 1704, I cannot
ascertain. He was succeeded by the Rev. Lee Massey, either in
or before the year 1767, as that is the date of one of his sermons
preached at the Old Pohick Church. He was also in the parish as
minister in the year 1785, as I find from the date of a sermon
preached at the present Pohick Church, which was built during his
ministry, of which I possess the proof. How long he ministered after
this, I am unable to say. Mr. Massey was a lawyer previous to his
engaging in the ministry, and was ordained by the Bishop of London
* A curious circumstance in relation to the first movements of this parish is
recorded in the fifth volume of Henning, pp. 274-275. The Act of Assembly is as
follows: — " Whereas, it is represented to this Assembly, that divers of the inha-
bitants of the parish of Truro, in the county of Fairfax, do now and for several years
past have acted as vestrymen of the said parish, although many of them were never
lawfully chosen or qualified ; that several pretending to act as vestrymen are not
able to read or wi-ite, and, under a colour of being lawfully chosen, have taken
upon themselves to hold vestries, and imposed many hardships on the inhabitants
of the said parish : for remedy thereof be it enacted," &c. The Act proceeds to
order a new election, though ratifying the levies of the pretended vestry. As Lau-
rence Washington, the elder brother of the General, William Fairfax, George Mason,
and his father, of Gunston, and others of character and education, were then in the
parish, and soon after were vestrymen, we presume that the condemned act was done
in some other part of the county.
Vol. II.— 15
226 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
for Virginia in 1766. His sermons evince talent and are sound m
doctrine, but, like most of that day, want evangelical life and
spirit, and would never rouse lost sinners to a sense of their con-
dition. He was a man of great wit and humour, the indulgence
of which was the fault of many of the clergy of that day. The
following account of a dispute between himself and his vestry
has been sent me, and illustrates his character. The clerk whom
Mr. Massey had selected was unacceptable to the vestry, and in order
to get rid of him they give him no salary or a very small one. Mr.
Massey complaining, the vestry met and passed tAvo resolutions : —
1st. That the minister had a right to choose his clerk ; 2d. That
the vestry had a right to fix his salary. In a letter to the vestry
Mr. Massey descanted on these resolutions with severity, and thus
concluded: — "And now, gentlemen, as to the knowing ones among
you, — and I admit there are such, — I would say, '• liumanum est
errare;' and, as to the rest of you, ' 7ie sut.or ultra crepidam.' "
Mr. Massey was a native of King George. His mother was an
Alexander. He lived to his eighty-sixth year, and died in 1814.
He had, however, ceased from the ministry for many years before his
death. The old families had left the neighbourhood or the Church.
General Washington, at the close of the war, had fully connected
himself with Christ Church, Alexandria, and Pohick was deserted
ur only attended occasionally by some ministers of whom I shall
presently speak. Before taking leave of Mr. Massey, I will adduce
the proof that M'as mentioned that Mount Vernon or Pohick Church
was built during his ministry, and not at the much earlier date as
supposed by some. A friend has furnished me the following state-
ment : —
" The date of its erection is inscribed on and near the head of one of the
columns forming part of the ornamental work of the chancel, in the fol-
lowing manner : — ' 1773. W. B., sculptor.' "
The date is also further established by a deed recorded in tho
county court, of which I have a copy. It is a deed from the vestry
of a pew in the church to Mr. Massey and his successors.
" A deed from the vestry of Truro parish, in the county of Fairfax, to
wit : — George Washington, Geo. Mason, Daniel McCai'ty, Alexander Hen-
derson, Thomas Ellzey, Thomas Withers Coffer, Peter Waggener, Thomas
Ford, Martin Cockburn, William Triplett, William Payne, Jr., John Barry,
John Gunnell, and Thomas Triplett, to Lee Massey, dated 25th of Feb-
ruary, 1774, recite that, whereas, in the new church lately built near
Pohii;k, the vestry have set apart one of the pews, — viz.: *he one next
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 227
the pulpit, on the east side thereof, and adjoining the north front wall of
the church, for the use of the said Lee Massey, (now rector,) of the said
parish, and his successors.
" Teste, Alfred Moss."
We have in this document not only a witness to the age of the
present Pohick Church, but a list of the vestrymen of that day. We
have seen a printed list of the vestry of Truro and Fairfax parishes
in the year 1765, — just after the division, — in which are some
other names belonging to the neighbourhood of Pohick, — as George
Wm. Fairfax, Edward Blackburn, William Lyuton, William Gar-
diner, &c. It comes from a leaf, it is said, of the old Pohick vestry-
book, which has by some means gotten into the Historical Society
of New York. Of the vestry-book itself I can hear no tidings.
In the year 1785, I find the name of George Washington, in his
own handwriting, — not as a vestryman, but as a pew-holder and
subscriber, — in the vestry-book of Christ Church, Alexandria, After
this he seldom, if ever, attended at Pohick.
It will be expected that I should say something concerning the
tradition as to the part Avhich Washington took in the location of
Pohick Church. The following account is probably the correct one.
The Old Pohick Church was a frame biiilding, and occupied a site
on the south side of Pohick Run, and about two miles from the
present, which is on the north side of the run. When it was no
longer fit for use, it is said the parishioners were called together
to determine on the locality of the new church, when George
Mason, the compatriot of Washington, and senior vestryman,
advocated the old site, pleading that it was the house in which their
fathers worshipped, and that the graves of many were around it,
while Washington and others advocated a more central and con-
venient one. The question was left unsettled and another meeting
for its decision appointed. Meanwhile Washington surveyed the
neighbourhood, and marked the houses and distances on a well-
drawn map, and, when the day of decision arrived, met all the
arguments of his opponent by presenting this paper, and thus
carried his point. In place of any description of this house in its
past or present condition, I offer the following report of a visit made
to it in 1837 : —
" My next visit was to Pohick Church, in the vicinity of Mount Vernon,
the seat of General Washington. I designed to perform service there on
Saturday as well as Sunday, but through some mistake no notice was given
for the former day. The weather indeed was such as to prevent the as-
sembling of any but those who prize such occasions so much as to be deterred
228 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
only by vo-ry strong considerations. It was still raining when I a\ preached
the house, and found no one there. The wide-open doors invited nie to
enter, — as they do invite, day and night, through the year, not only the
passing traveller, but every beast of the held and fowl of the air. These
latter, however, seem to have reverenced the house of Grod, since few
marks of their pollution are to be seen throughout it. The interior of the
house, having been well built, is still good. The chancel. Communion-
table, and tables of the law, &c. are still there and in good order. The roof
only is decaying ; and at the time I was there the rain was dropping on these
sacred places and on other parts of the house. On the doors of the pews,
in gilt letters, are still to be seen the names of the principal families which
once occupied them. How could I, while for at least an hour traversing
those long aisles, entering the sacred chancel, ascending the lofty pulpit,
forbear to ask. And is this the house of God which was built by the Wash-
ingtons, the Masons, the McCartys, the Urahams, the Lewises, the Fair-
faxes ? — the house in which they used to worship the God of our fathers
according to the venerable forms of the Episcopal (Jhurch, — and some of
whose names are yet to be seen on the doors of those now deserted pews ?
Is this also destined to moulder piecemeal away, or, when some signal ia
given, to become the prey of spoilers, and to be carried hither and thither
and applied to every purpose under heaven ?
" Surely patriotism, or reverence for the greatest of patriots, if not re-
ligion, might be eifectually appealed to in behalf of this one temple of
God. The particular location of it is to be asci'ibed to Washington, who,
being an active member of the vestry when it was under consideration and
in dispute where it should be placed, carefully surveyed the whole parish,
and, drawing an accurate and handsome map of it with his own hand,
showed clearly where the claims of justice and the interests of religion
required its erection."
"It was to this church that Washington for some years regularly
repaired, at a distance of six or seven miles, never permitting any
company to prevent the regular observance of the Lord's day.
And shall it now be permitted to sink into ruin for want of a few
hundred dollars to arrest the decay already begun? The families
which once worshipped there are indeed nearly all gone, and those
who remain are not competent to its complete repair. But there
are immortal beings around it, and not far distant from it, who
might be forever blessed by the word faithfully preached therein.
"The poor shall never fail out of any land, and to them the Gos-
pel ought to be preached.
"For some years past one of the students in our Theological Semi-
nary has acted as lay reader in it, and occasionally a professor
has added his services. Within the last year the Rev. Mr. Johnson,
residing in the neighbourhood, has performed more frequent duties
there.
"On the day following the one which has given rise to the above,
I preached to a very considerable congregation in this old church,
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 229
one-third of which was made up of coloured persons. The sacra-
ment was then administered to twenty persons. If I should ever
he permitted to visit this house again, it must be under circum-
stances far more clieering, or far more gloomy, than those which
attended my recent visit."
I am happy to say that this report led the Rev. Mr. Johnson to
its use, in a circular, by means of which he raised fifteen hundred
dollars, with which a new roof and ceiling and other repairs were
put on it, by which it has been preserved from decay and fitted for
such occasional services as are performed there. A friend, who
has recently visited it, informs me that many of the doors of the
pews are gone. Those of George Washington and George Mason
are not to be found, — perhaps borne away as relics. Those of
George William Fairfax, Martin Cockburn, Daniel McCarty,
William Payne, and the rector's, are still standing and their
names legible. Of Martin Cockburn and Mrs. Cockburn, intimate
friends of George Mason, we have heard a high character for piety
and benevolence. Mr. Cockburn was from the West Indies, and
Mrs. Cockburn was a Miss Bronaugh, a relative of the Masons, of
Gunston. They left no children to inherit and perpetuate their
virtues and graces. The family of Mason has long adhered to Old
Gunston, near which was the Old Pohick. The following account,
from one of the family, will be interesting to its members and
friends. The first of the family who came to Virginia was Colonel
George Mason, who was a member of the British Parliament in the
reign of Charles the First. In Parliament he opposed with great
eloquence the arbitrary measures of the King, but when the civil
war commenced he drew his sword on the side of the King and was
an oflficer in Charles the Second's army, and commanded a regi-
ment of horse. When the King's army was defeated at Worcester
by Oliver Cromwell in 1651, he disguised himself, and was con-
cealed by some peasants until he got an opportunity to embark for
America. He had considerable possessions in Staffordshire, (though
the family was of old a Warwickshire one,) where he was born and
generally lived; all of which were lost. A younger brother em-
barked with him, and they arrived and landed in Norfolk, Virginia.
The younger brother, William, married and died at or near Norfolk.
He left a son, who went to Boston and settled. His female de-
scendants married among the Thoroughgoods, and that family was
for a long time in Princess Anne, — perhaps may be now. Colonel
George Mason went up the Potomac and settled at Aceotink, near
Pasbytanzy, where he died and was buried. He called the county
230 OLD CHURCHES, jVflNISTEKS, AND
Stafford, after his native county in England. Such at least is the
probable conjecture. This is the George Mason who, in another
place, we have spoken of as being, with his wife and Colonel Brent,
sponsor in baptism for a young Indian chief whom they took pri-
soner in Maryland. Our notice Avas taken from one of the early
Tracts, republished by Peter Force, and which is ascribed to Mr.
Mason himself. The Mason family intermarried with the Brents,
Fitzhughs, and Thompsons at an early period, and afterward with
the McCartys, Bronaughs, Grahams, and many others.
Of one branch of this family, in connection with another old
family of Virginia, I have something to say. There was at Hamp-
ton, in Elizabeth City county, an old Episcopal family by the name
of Westwood. A daughter of one member of it, Elizabeth West-
wood, married a Mr. Wallace. At his death she married John
Thompson Mason, who settled at Chappawamsic, in Stafford county.
She was the mother of Mr. Temple Mason, of Loudoun, and other
children, among whom was a daughter named Euphan, who mar-
ried Mr. Bailey Washington, of Stafford. At the death of her
husband, Mr. Washington, she married Mr. Brent, and lived and
died at Park Gate, in Prince William county. She had many chil-
dren. Among them was a daughter, who married first Mr. McCrae,
then Mr. Storke, of Fredericksburg. Her daughter Euphan mar-
ried Mr. Boy, of Matthews. This is mentioned as introductory to
some extracts from a few letters of old Mrs. Mason to her son,
Temple Mason, of Leesburg, showing the earnest desire she had
for the religious welfare of her children. From a letter of her
grand-daughter, Mrs. Storke, I learn that she was living at the time
of her death at Dumfries, in Prince William county. She was one
of those old-fashioned Virginia ladies who, like Mrs. General
Washington and Solomon's model of a lady, not only superintended
the labours of her servants, but worked with her own hands. This
she did until within a few days of her death. But her soul was
much more actively engaged with God. While it was possible, she
bent her knees daily before God, even when it was thought im-
proper to attempt it. Among her last words were the following : —
'•'•Certainly, certainly, I can see no other way than that of Christ
crucified." "Christ is my all in all."
Let the following sentences, from a letter to her son Temple in
1816, sink deep into the hearts of all her descendants. After
exhorting him earnestly to attend at once to personal religion, by
reading the Scriptures, and prayer, and attendance on public wor-
ship, she thus concludes: —
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 231
" Have no work done on the Sabbath more than is necessary to be done
Have your victuals cooked on Saturday. Give your poor slaves who work
in the field, Saturday to sell what they make, that they may have it in
their power to go to worship on Sunday. Attend to your dear children.
Bring them up in the fear of the Lord. He requires it of you to teach
them their prayers. Set them an example, by having family worship foi
them and your servants. Pray for faith : it is the gift of Grod. He will
hear our prayers, if we ask in faith. Oh that the Lord Almighty and
my blessed Saviour may awaken you and open the eyes of your under-
standing, while you are reading these lines, and bring you to consider
what will make for your everlasting salvation. Oh, if you did but know
what your aged mother feels for you and the rest of her children and
grandchildren, how much she implores the mercy of Grod with daily fer-
vent prayer, that he would of his great love and pity convert you all," &c.
In two other letters, one of them dated in 1818, she writes in
the same earnest strain. One of them to her son Temple, whom
she addresses, "My dear child," thus concludes: — "0 my blessed
God, of thy great mercy, grant, while you are reading these lines,
that you may consider and turn and seek him and find him. Oh,
what a joy it would give your aged mother to hear or see that you
were converted !"
That the prayers of this aged woman were heard in behalf of
one of her grandchildren, all who knew Mrs. Henry Magill, of
Leesburg, will be ready to believe.
Among the families which belonged to Pohick Church w^as that
of Mr. Lawrence Lewis, the nephew of General Washington, the
son of his sister Betty, who married Mr. Lewis. Mr. Lawrence
Lewis married Miss Custis, the grand-daughter of Mrs. Washington.
In many of the pictures of the Washington family she may be
seen, as a girl, in a groupe with the General, Mrs. Washington,
and her brother Washington Parke Custis. There were two other
full-sisters, who married Mr. Law and Mr. Peter. Mrs. Custis, the
widow of Mr. Washington's son, married again. Her second hus-
band was Dr. David Steuart, first of Hope Park, and then of Ossian
Hall, Fairfax county. He was the son and grandson of the two
Mr. Steuarts who were ministers in King George for so long a
period. They had a numerous ofi"spring. The residence of Mr
Lawrence Lewis was a few miles only from Mount Vernon, and was
called Woodlawn. After the desertion of Pohick they also attended
in Alexandria, and some time after the establishment of St. Paul's
congregation, and the settlement of Dr. Wilmer in it, they united
themselves to it, and were much esteemed by Dr. Wilmer, as he was
by them. After some years they removed to an estate near Berry-
ville, in what was then Frederick, now Clarke county. Mr. Lewis
232 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
was one of the most amiable of men bj nature, and became a sin
cere Christian, and a communicant of our Church. His person
was tall and commanding, and his face full of benignity, as was
his whole character. I wish some of our friends at a distance
could have seen him in the position I once beheld him in the church
at Berryville, when I was administering the Holj Communion.
Some of his servants were members of the church in that place,
and on that day one of them came up after the white members had
communed. It so happened that Mr. Lewis himself had not com-
muned, but came up and knelt by the side of his servant, feeling no
doubt that one God made them and one Saviour redeemed them.
Mrs. Lewis was also a zealous member of the Church, a lady of
fine mind and education, and very popular in her manners. Like
her grandmother, she knew the use of her hands, and few ladies in
the land did more with them for all Church and charitable purposes,
even to the last days of a long life. They had three children.
Their son, Lorenzo, married a Miss Coxe, of Philadelphia, and
settled on the estate in Clarke, but died some years since. The
two daughters married, the one Mr. Conrad, of New Orleans, and
♦^^he other Mr. Butler, of Mississippi or Louisiana. A numerous
posterity is descending from them.*
* The Lewis family of Eastern Virginia is of Welsh origin. Their ancestor,
General Robert Lewis, (whose name is favourably mentioned in English history,)
ca-me from Wales to Gloucester county, Virginia, in the latter part of the seventeenth
century, and there lived and died. His son Robert, who also lived and died in
Gloucester, had three sons, — Fielding, John, and Charles. Of the two last I have
received no account. Mr. Fielding Lewis, of Wyanoke, Charles City county, was
doubtless a descendant of one of them. Colonel Fielding Lewis, son of the second
Robert, removed to Fredericksburg early in life, was a merchant of high standing
and wealth, a vestryman, magistrate, and burgess, and during the Revolution,
being a genuine patriot, superintended the manufacture of arms in the neighbour-
hood. He was twice married. His first wife was the cousin and his second the
sister of General Washington. One child only, out of three by his first wife, lived
to any considerable age. His name was John. He moved to Kentucky, and left a
posterity there. The children of Colonel Lewis by his second wife, Betty Wash-
ington, were six, — Fielding, George, Elizabeth, Lawrence, Robert, and Howell.
Fielding died in Fairfax county, leaving descendants. Elizabeth married Mr.
Charles Carter, and was one of the most interesting and exemplary of Christians.
George was captain in Baylor's regiment, and commander of General Washington's
life-guard. In his arms General Mercer expired on the field of battle at Princeton.
Toward the close of the war he married and settled near Berryville in Old Frede-
rick, and took an interest in the affairs of the Church in that parish. After some
years he removed to Fredericksburg, and from thence to King George, dying at his
seat, Marmion, in 1821. He enjoyed the highest confidence of General Washington,
being sent by him on a secret expedition of g-eat importance to Canada. Mr
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 233
iTiere were other families who belonged to this parish and church,
but I am not possessed of information to enable me to speak of
them as I could wish. The Chichesters, the Footes and Tripletts,
were, I am told, the last to leave it. The following letter from m^
friend, General Henderson, of Washington, gives some notice of
his father, Alexander Henderson, who was one of the vestry of
Pohiclc Church who signed the deed of a pew to Rev. Mr. Massey : —
"Washington, 5th of February, 1857.
" My dear Sir : — I received yours this morning. My father, Alex-
ander Henderson, came to this country from Scotland in the year 1756,
and settled first as a merchant in Colchester. During the Revolutionary
War he retired to a farm in Fairfax county to avoid the possibility of fall-
ing into the hands of the English, as he had taken a decided part on the
side of freedom against the mother-country. About 1787 or 1788 he re-
moved to Dumfries. He died in the latter part of 1815, leaving six sons
and four daughters, all grown. John, Alexander, and James emigrated to
Western Virginia, and settled as farmers in Wood county. Richard and
Thomas were known to you, the former living in Leesburg and the latter
for the last twenty years being in the medical department of the army.
James and myself are the only surviving sons. Two of my sisters — Mrs.
Anne Henderson and Mrs. Margaret Wallace — are still alive. My sisters
Jane and Mary died many years ago. The latter married Mr. Inman Hor-
ner, of Warrenton. All the members of the family have been, with scarce
an exception, steady Episcopalians."
Of Mr. Richard Henderson, of Leesburg, Dr. Thomas Hender-
son, and the sisters, I need not speak to the inhabitants of Lees-
burg and Warrenton, where they were so well known as the props
of our Church. The author of the letter from which I have ex-
tracted has long been a communicant and active vestryman of the
Church in Washington.
I have said that after the Revolution, when General Washington
changed his attendance from Pohick to Alexandria, and others left
the parish, regular services ceased in that part of the county. Mr.
Massey either relinquished services because none attended, or from
some other cause, although he lived many years after. The Rev.
Lawrence Lewis, of whom we have spoken above, was aid to General Morgan, in
his expedition to the West to quell the insurrection in Pennsylvania. Mr. Robert
Lewis, the fourth son of Colonel Fielding Lewis, was the private secretary of Gene-
ral Washington during a part of his Presidential term. In the year 179i, he took
up his residence in Fredericksburg, where as private citizen, as mayor of the town,
and as a communicant of the Episcopal Church, he was universally esteemed and
beloved. His daughter Judith married the Rev. E. C. McGuire, who has so long
been the minister of the Episcopal Church in Fredericksburg. Mr. Howell, the
fifth and last son of Colonel Fielding Lewis, moved to Kanawha countj-, where
some of his posterity still reside.
234 OLD CHURCUES, MINISTERS, AND
Mr. We ems, in his books, announces himself as the rector of thia
parish after this period. If some may, by comparison, be called
"nature's noblemen," he might surely have been pronounced one
of "nature's oddities." Whether in private or public, in prayers
or preaching, it was impossible that either the young or old, the
grave or the gay, could keep their risible faculties from violent
agitation. To suppose him to have been a kind of private chaplain
to such a man as Washington, as has been the impression of some,
is the greatest of incongruities. But I wish to do him ample justice.
Although his name never appears on the journals of any of our
Conventions, and cannot be found on the lists of those ordained for
Virginia or Maryland by the Bishop of London, so that a doubt
has been entertained whether he evar was ordained a minister of
our Church, yet I have ascertained that to be a fact. We pre-
sume that he was from Maryland, as there are or were persons of
that name there, who were said to be his relatives. We will give
him credit for much benevolence, much of what Sterne called the
milk of human kindness, and of which Mr. Weems delighted
to speak in his sermons and writings. In proof of our disposition
to do him ample justice, we present the following account of his
boyhood in Maryland, which has been given us by one who knew
him : —
" la his youth Mr. Weems was an inmate of the family of Mr. Jenifer,
of Charles county, Maryland. They confided in him as a boy of principle,
and had no duubt as to his uprightness and morality until about his four-
teenth year. When at that age he was seen to leave the house every even-
ing after tea and to be often away until late at night. The family began
to be afraid that he was getting into corrupt habits, and, notwithstanding
his assurance that he would do nothing that would render him unworthy of
their esteem and friendship, they felt uneasy. He scorned the idea of
abusing their confidence, but, as he persisted in the practice of going
away, at length they determined to find out what was the cause of it.
Accordingly one night a plan was laid by which he was tracked. After
pursuing his trail for some distance into the pines, they came to an old
hut, in which was young Weems, surrounded by the bareheaded, bare-
footed, and half-clad children of the neighbourhood, whom he had been in
the habit of thus gathering around him at night, in order to give them
instruction."
I acknowledge that he was in the habit of having the servant, as-
sembled in private houses, where he would spend the night, and would
recite a portion of Scripture, for he never read it out of the book,
and perhaps say something to them, or in the prayer about them,
but then it was in such a way as only to produce merriment. This
I have experienced in my own family and at my mother's, and have
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 235
heard others testify to the same. I do not think he could have long
even pretended to be the rector of any parish. From my earliest
knowledo-e of him he was a travellino- bookseller for Mr. Matthew
Carey, of Philadelphia, visiting all the States south of Pennsylvania,
and perhaps some north of it, in a little wagon, with his fiddle as a
constant companion to amuse himself and others. If he would pray
with the servants at night in their owners' houses, he would play
the fiddle for them on the roadside by day. One instance of his
good-nature is well attested. At the old tavern in Caroline county,
Virginia, called the White Chimneys, Mr. Weems and some stroll-
ing players or puppet-showmen met together one night. A notice
of some exhibition had been given, and the neighbours had assem-
bled to witness it. A fiddle was necessai-y to the full performance,
and that was wanting. Mr. Weems supplied the deficiency.
He was of a very enlarged charity in all respects. Though calling
himself an Episcopal minister, he knew no distinction of Churches.
He preached in every pulpit to which he could gain access, and
where he could recommend his books. His books were of all kinds.
Mr. Carey, his employer, was a Roman Catholic, but dealt in ail
manner of books. On an election or court-day at Fairfax Court-
House, I once, in passing to or from the upper country, found Mr.
Weems, with a bookcaseful for sale, in the portico of the tavern.
On looking at them I saw Paine's "Age of Reason," and, taking it
into my hand, turned to him, and asked if it was possible that he
could sell such a book. He immediately took out the Bishop of
LlandafTs answer, and said, " Behold the antidote. The bane and
antidote are both before you." He carried this spurious charity
into his sermons. In my own pulpit at the old chapel, in my ab •
sence, it being my Sunday in Winchester, he extolled Tom Paine
and one or more noted infidels in America, and said if their ghosts
could return to the earth they would be shocked to hear the false-
hoods which were told of them. I was present the following day,
when my mother charged him with what she had heard of his ser-
mon, and well remember that even he was confused and speechless.
Some of Mr. Weems's pamphlets on drunkenness and gambling would
be most admirable in their effects, but for the fact that you know
not what to believe of the narrative. There are passages of deep
pathos and great eloquence in them. His histories of Washington
and Marion are very popular, but the same must be said of them.
You know not how much of fiction there is in them. That of Wash-
ington has probably gone through more editions than all others, and
ha^ V)een read by more persons than those of Marshall, Ramsey,
236 OLD cnuRciiES, ministers, and
Bancroft, and Irving, put together. To conclude, — all the while
that Mr. Weems was thus travelling over the land, an object of
amusement to so many, and of profit to Mr. Carey, he was trans-
mitting support to his interesting and pious family, at or near
Dumfries, who, if I am rightly informed, were attached to the Me-
thodist Church. If in this, or any thing else which I have written,
any mistake has been made, I should be glad to receive its cor-
rection.
There were three other ministers who occasionally preached at
Pohick, and visited Mount Vernon after the death of General and
Mrs. Washington, of whom a few words must be said. But, before
these few are said, it is proper to speak of the change which took
place at Mount Vernon by the death of its illustrious owners. It
is well known that Judge Bushrod Washington, the son of General
Washington's brother John, inherited Mount Vernon. He was in
full communion with the Church when I first became acquainted
with him in 1812, having no doubt united himself with it in Phila-
delphia under Bishop White, while attending the Supreme Court
in that place. I know that he was intimate with Bishop White
and highly esteemed him. Judge Washington attended one or more
of our earliest Conventions in Richmond and was a punctual mem-
ber of the Standing Committee from that time until his death. He
married into the family of Blackburns, of Ripon Lodge, not many
miles from Dumfries, and perhaps twelve from Mount Vernon. The
first Richard Blackburn of whom our vestry-books speak married a
daughter of the Rev. James Scott, of Dumfries. His son was, I
believe, the father of Mrs. Bushrod Washington, Mrs. Henry
Turner, of Jefferson, Mr. Richard and Thomas Blackburn. The
family at Ripon Lodge had long been the main support of the
church at Dumfries and Centreville, and their house the resort of
the clergy. I have before me a paper drawn up in 1812 for the
support of the Rev. Charles O'Neill. The first and highest sub-
scriber is Mr. Thomas Blackburn, who was, I believe, the husband
of our excellent friend Mrs. Blackburn, who lived near Berryville
for many of the last years of her life. His subscription is fifty
dollars. The next highest is that of a Mr. Edmund Denny, twenty-
five dollars. The next Dr. Humphrey Peake, for tAventy dollars.
All the rest much less. Old Mrs. Blackburn, with her four grand-
daughters,— Jane, Polly, Christian, and Judy Blackburn, — daugh
ters of Mr. Richard Blackburn, were much at Mount Vernon. I be
came acquainted with them during the years 1812 and 1813, while
I was ministering in Alexandria. They were the first-fruits of my
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 237
ministry in that pla je, and very dear to me. Two of them — Jane
and Polly — married nephews of Judge Washington, and settled in
Jeflforson. One of them — Judy — married Mr. Gustavus Alexander,
of King George, and the fourth — Christian — died unmarried. By
my intimacy with these four most estimable ladies and with Mrs.
Blackburn and her sister, Mrs. Taylor, I have from time to time
become acquainted with the state of things at Ripon Lodge and
Mount Vernon as to the clergy. The Rev. Mr. Kemp and the Rev.
Mr. Moscrope occasionally officiated at Dumfries and Pohick, and
perhaps at Centreville, for the want of those who were better. But
in order to conceal the shame of the clergy from the younger ones,
and to prevent their loss of attachment to religion and the Church,
the elder ones had sometimes to hurry them away to bed or take
them away from the presence of these ministers when indulging too
freely in the intoxicating cup. The doctrine of total abstinence in
families, of banishing wine and spirits from the cellar and the table,
was not thought of then in the best of families. If the minister
chose it, he must drink. The third and last minister, and who died,
I think, in 1813, was the Rev. Charles O'Neill, who was an im-
provement on the two last. The families at Mount Vernon and
Ripon Lodge were fond of him. He always spent his Christmas at
Mount Vernon, and on those occasions was dressed in a full suit
of velvet, which General Washington had left behind, and which
had been given to Mr. O'Neill. But as General Washington was
tall and well proportioned in all his parts, and Mr. O'Neill was
peculiarly formed, being of uncommon length of body and brevity
of legs, it was difficult to make the clothes of the one, even though
altered, sit well upon the other.*
* In speaking of Mount Vernon, it might be expected that I should say something
of this venerable house and beautiful place, and the Washington vault, and that I
should have an appropriate pictorial representation of the same ; but, as they are to
be read of and their similitudes seen in so many books, I shall refer my readers to
those books. There was, however, one object of interest belonging to Genei-al
Washington, concerning which I have a special right to speak, — viz. : his old English
coach, in which himself and Mrs. Washington not only rode in Fairfax county, but
travelled through the length and breadth of our land. So faithfully was it executed
that, at the conclusion of this long journey, its builder, who came over with it and
settled in Alexandria, was proud to be told by the General that not a nail or screw
had failed. It so happened, in a way I need not state, that this coach came into
my hands about fifteen years after the death of General Washington. In the course
of time, from disuse, it being too heavy for these latter days, it began to decay and
give way. Becoming an object of desire to those who delight in relics, I caused it to
be taken to pieces and distributed among the admiring friends of Washington who
nsited my house, and also among a number of female associations for benevolent
238 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
I am happy to be able to add to this article the following extracts
from two letters of my old college friend, Colonel Stoddert, of
Wycomico House, Maryland, concerning his grandfather, the Rev.
Lee Massey: —
" My grandfather I remember well. He died in 1814, at the age of
eighty-six, a rare instance of physical and mental vigour for so advanced an
age. He was the friend and companion of Washington from early youth,
and the legal adviser and friend of George Mason. He commenced life
u lawyer, — having pursued his studies in the oflBce of George Johnston,
Esq., than whom an abler lawyer was not to be found in the Northern Neck
of Virginia. He married the daughter of Mr. Johnston, and began his
professional career with every prospect of success, but retired when a
young man, because his 'conscience would not suffer him to make the
worse appear the better reason,' and to uphold wrong against right. He
tried to follow in the lead of Chancellor Wythe, to examine cases placed
in his care and to accept the good and reject the bad. It proved a failure,
and he withdrew from practice. He was afterward appointed a judge, but
declined it as taking him too much from his family. He recommended to
me to read law, but earnestly opposed my pursuing it as a vocation. He
often said Mr. Wythe was the only ' honest lawyer he ever knew.'
'• General Washington, Mr. Mason, Fairfax, McCarty, , Chichester,
and others urged him to study divinity and become their pastor. He
yielded to their counsels and was ordained in London, — Beilby Porteus,
Lord-Bishop of Loudon, assisting in the ordination. I have heard him
speak of the high oratorical powers of Dr. Dodd, who then preached in
the Queen's Chapel, and describe the personal appearance of George IH.
and his Queen. He witnessed the performances of the famous Garrick,
and thought he deserved the high fame he had won. All the clergy of
the Church of England then attended the theatre. The loss of his fore-
teeth impairing his speech was the cause of his ceasing to preach. He
then studied medicine as a means of relieving the poor, and announced
that he would practise without charge. He said he was soon sent for by
all classes, and he had to withdraw altogether and confine his medical aid
to giving advice and medicine at his office; and, of course, with few ex-
ceptions, his advice was given only in cases of children brought to him.
His conversation was rich with anecdotes and reminiscences of the dis-
tinguished men of Virginia, and of social customs and manners before the
Revolution. He had read deeply the great volume of human nature,
and was a good judge of character. He loved virtue, and hated vice
intensely, and perhaps had too little compassion for the weaknesses and
infirmities of our nature. His social intercourse was influenced greatly
and visibly by the moral character of the men he was brought into contact
■and religious objects, which associations, at their fairs and on other occasions, made
a large profit by converting the fragments into walking-sticks, picture-frames, and
snuff-boxes. About two-thirds of one of the wheels thus produced one hundred and
forty dollars. There can be no doubt but that at its dissolution it yielded more to
the cause of charity than it did to its builder at its first erection. Besides other
mementos of it, I have in my study, in the form of a sofa, the hind-sen*, on which
the General and his lady were wont to sit.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 23i>
with. His manner was an index to his opinions of those he was with in this
respect ; and often he would admonish persons of their vices. His integrity
and honour were of the hiiihest order, and he detested all meanness and
double-dealing with his whole heart. No advantage of position, or fortune,
or official distinction, saved the profligate or unjust and oppressive from his
open and strong denunciation ; and no man had at his command a more
ready wit and biting sarcasm. But goodness of life and character — though
clothed in rags and despised of men — commanded not only his sympathy but
open respect. From these traits, I have often heard my excellent mother
express her fears that her fiither looked too much to good works; but my
opinion is that the Christian's faith only could have produced and pre-
served so high a standard of morality and so keen a sense of moral duty.
My grandfather was possessed of high powers of mind, and they had been
well developed and cultivated. He was a ripe Latin scholar, and familiar
with all the best English writers. He was remarkable for conciseness of
style and condensation of matter in composition. He admired a plain and
nervous as much as he disliked a florid and diff"use style : the more of the
old Saxon and the less of French or Latin and Greek derivatives the better.
Addis-on and Swift pleased him as much as Dr. Johnson displeased in this
particular. He met death without fear : his last words were, ' The great
mystery will soon be solved and all made plain.'
" In person he was six feet high and finely proportioned : his eyes were
a deep blue, and expressive to the last, and his nose and mouth well shaped.
I have often fancied that in his youth he must have possessed much manly
beauty. He made his mark on his age and generation, for many tradi-
tions are preserved of him and his sayings.
" With sincere esteem and regard, yours truly,
" J. T. Stoddert.
" P.S. — In the burial-ground of one of the Episcopal churches first
erected in Maryland, near the site of St. Mary's City, is a beautiful monu-
ment of Italian marble erected to the memory of the Rev. Lee Massey, by
his parishioners, 'as a testimony of their grateful aff'ection for the memory
of their much-loved pastor.' It was placed there not many years after the
settlement of the Colony, and is now in excellent preservation. This
divine, who died in his youth, but not before he had deeply stamped his
image on the heart and minds of his charge, was the uncle of my grand-
father.
" The memory of the devoted zeal and piety of this young clergyman
may have had its influence in determining my grandfather to enter the
ministry. This, however, is mere speculation. J. T. S."
The following extract is from a second letter in answer to further
inquiries : —
" In answer to your note of the 14th instant, this day received, I state
that my grandfather was married three times. His first wife (my grand-
mother) was the daughter of G-eorge Johnston, p]sq.,a distinguished law-
yer residing at Alexandria, with whom my grandfather read law, and who
drew the resolutions against the Stamp Act,* which were moved, at his
* In ascribiug the authorship of the resolutions, oflFered by Mr. Henry, to his did-
tdnguished ancestor, Mr. Johnston, I think it probable my friend, Mr. Stoddert, is
240 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
instance, by Patrick Henry in the Virginia Legislature in 1765. Mr,
Johnston always claimed the credit of being the first man who discovered
the great but hidden powers of that unrivalled orator. He had great diffi-
culty in persuading Mr. Henry that he was the only man who was fitted to
make such a speech as suited the occasion, — which would electrify the
State and rouse the people to resistance. His own powers, being only
argumentative, would fail to produce such an effect. Such is the history
of this bold and effective movement, which, in the language of Mr. Jeffer-
son, 'gave the first bl(jw to the ball of Revolution.' His son George was
a member of (xeneral Washington's military family as aid and confidential
secretary. When ill-health compelled him to retire, Washington looked
to the same family to find his successor, and selected Colonel Robert Han-
son Harrison — son-in-law of Mr. Johnston, and then a practising lawyer
in Alexandria, though a native of Maryland — for this delicate trust. This
gentleman would have declined the appointment but for the influence of
my grandfather, whose whole heart was in the struggle, and who removed
the only diflSculty by agreeing to receive his two orphan-daughters in
his family on the footing of his own children. Colonel Harrison, after
the war, returned to Maryland and was made Chief-Justice of the General
Court. On the organization of the Supreme Court, President Washing,
ton selected him as one of the Associate Justices, — an appointment at first
declined, as it would separate him from his daughters, whose education he
was conducting, but accepted on an appeal to his duty by his old military
chief, who said 'he must select by his own knowledge the officers to insure
success to the new government.' He died at Bladensburg on his way to
Philadelphia to take bis seat on the bench. These things show the many
links in the chain of friendship which bound together the hero and patriot
of Mount Vernon and his pastor and early associate.
" The second wife of my grandfather was a Miss Burwell, who died nine
months after marriage. She was a lady of rare excellence, and my grand-
father often dwelt on her memory with the tenderest affection. His last
marriage was with Miss Bronaugh, of Prince William county, by whom
he had two children, — a son, who was an officer in the navy and was
drowned at Norfolk, and Mrs. Triplett. I think it probable her mother
was a sister of Colonel George Mason, though I cannot state it as a fact.*
mistaken. Mr. Wirt, ia his life of Mr. Henry, says that he left the original of these
resolutions, drawn on the blank leaf of an old law-book, with his will, to be opened by
his executors. A copy of that original is framed, and may be seen at Red Hill, one of his
places of residence in Charlotte county, and now owned by his sou, John Henry, Mr.
Wirt says that Mr. Henry, after having prepared the resolutions, showed them to two
members of the House only, — Mr, John Fleming, of Cumberland, and George John-
ston, of Fairfax, Mr. Wirt alludes to a report of the day, that they were drawn by
Ml, Johnston, but says that it was unfounded. He speaks of Mr. Johnston, however,
in the highest terms. The religious reflections of Mr. Henry, attached to the copy
of the resolutions left behind him, are worthy of insertion in this place. As to the
elFects of our independence he says, "Whether it will prove a blessing or a curse
will depend upon the use our people make of the blessings which a gracious God
hath bestowed upon us. If they are wise, they will be great and happy. If they
are of a contrary character, they will be miserable. Righteousness alone can
exalt them as a nation. Reader, whoever thou art, remember this, and in thy
sphere practise virtue thyself, and encourage it in others. P. Henrt "
* She was a first-cousin of George Mason
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 241
The Masons claimed Aunt Nancy as a cousin, and I do not kaow hoAV else
the relationship could originate. George Mason, the eldest son of Colonel
George, married a first-cousin of my grandfather, as did Thomas Mason, a
younger son. Martin Cockburn — the uncle of Admiral Cockburn, a native
of Jamaica, whither his father had removed from Scotland — married a
sister of this last lady. He was a fine scholar and polished gentleman and
good Christian. He, a youth of eighteen years, was travelling with Dr.
Cockburn in this country, when he met with Miss Bronaugh. The father
objected on the score of their youth, but said if his son wished it at the
age of twenty-one years, he would cheerfully assent ; but the absence of
three years was to intervene. Martin was faithful and constant to his first
love and returned. A new difficulty then sprung up : the lady would not
go to Jamaica, and the gentleman had to come to Virginia. He pur-
chased a residence near Colonel Mason's, (an adjoining farm,) and a few
miles from my grandfather, where both husband and wife lived to an ad-
vanced age. I have often heard my grandfather say that they were the
only couple, he believed, who had lived fifty years together without one
word, look, or act to disturb their harmony for a moment. Such was said
to be the fact in their case. The courteous and afiectionate attentions
which each paid to the other impressed my mind when a child, and are
now present to my recollection with vivid distinctness. Nothing but the
gentle teachings of Him who taught as man never taught could have
wrought so beautiful a picture of conjugal love, forbearance, and peace."
It should be stated that the old church, called Payne's Church,
near the railroad, and a few miles from Fairfax Court-House, as
well as the new one at the court-house, are both in Truro parish.
Voi;. n — 16
242 OLD CHURCUES, MINISTERS, AND
ARTICLE LXVIIL
The Religious Character of Washington.
An interesting question in relation to Washington will now be
considered, — viz. : What are the proofs of his personal piety? This
work is already done to my hands by the Rev. E. C. McGuire, of
Fredericksburg, from whose careful and faithful volume on the
"Religious Opinions and Character of Washington" I select the
fo^l-^wing particulars. He was the child of pious parents and
ancestors, was baptized in his second month, — Mr. Beverley Whiting
and Captain Christopher Brooks godfathers, and Mrs. Mildred
Gregory godmother, — at a time when care was taken to instruct the
children in our holy religion, according to the Scriptures as set
forth in the standards of the Episcopal Church. Until he had
passed his eleventh year he enjoyed the superintending care of
both parents, and after that of his mother and uncle. It is also
believed that, besides the instructions of the parish sexton and Mr.
Williams, he also sat under the ministry of the Rev. Archibald
Campbell, and perhaps was for a time at his school in Washington
parish, Westmoreland county. While with his mother in Fredericks-
burg, there can be no doubt of his receiving pious instruction from
her and her minister, the Rev. Mr. Marye. While at school, he
was remarkable for his abhorrence of the practice of fighting among
the boys, and, if unable to prevent a contest, would inform the
teacher of the design. When about thirteen years of age he drew
up a number of resolutions, taken from books, or the result of his
own reflections. Among them is the following : — "When you speak
of God or his attributes, let it be seriously, in reverence." "Labour
to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called
conscience." At the age of fifteen his filial piety was remarkably
displayed in relinquishing an earnest desire to enter the navy, just
when about to embark, out of a tender regard to his mother's wishes.
The religious sentiments of his mother and of himself were drawn
from the Bible and, Prayer-Book, and next to them, from the " Con-
templations, Moral and Divine, of Sir Matthew Ilale," judging from
the great use which seems to have been made of this book by both
of them; and in no uninspired book do we find a purer and more
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 243
elevated Christianity.* Should it be said that, notwithstanding his
early religious education and some indications of youthful piety, he
may have fallen into the irreligion and skepticism of the age, and
should proofs of his sincere belief of Christianity, as a divine reve-
lation, be asked for, we will proceed to furnish them. At a time
when so many of the chief men in France and America, and even
some in England, were renouncing the Christian faith, and when
he was tempted to be silent at least on the subject, in his public
addresses, he seems to have taken special pains to let his sentiments
be known, and to impress them upon the nation, in opposition to
the skepticism of the age, — a skepticism which was sought by some
leading men to be propagated with great zeal among the youth of
Virginia.
In his address to the Governors of the States, dated at Head-
Quarters, June, 1783, when about to surrender up his military com-
mand, speaking of the many blessings of the land, he says, ^^And,
above all, the pure and benign light of revelation.'" He also speaks
of '■'■that humility and pacific temper of mind which were the cha-
racteristics of the divine Author of our blessed religion."
In his farewell address to the people of the United States, on
leaving the Presidential chair, he again introduces the same sub-
ject : — " Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political
prosperity , religion and morality are indispensable supports. A
volume could not trace all their connections with private and public
felicity.'' He warns against the attempt to separate them, and to
think that " national morality can prevail to the exclusion of re-
ligious principles."
No candid man can read these and other expressions, in the pub-
lic addresses of Washington, without acknowledging that, as though
he were the great high-priest of the nation, availing himself of his
position and of the confidence reposed in him, he was raising his
warning voice against that infidelity which was desolating France
and threatening our own land. That Washington was regarded
throughout America, both among our military and political men, as
a sincere believer in Christianity, as then received among us, and
a devout man, is as clear as any fact in our history. Judge Mar-
shall, the personal friend, the military and political associate, of
Washington, says, " He ivas a sincere believer in the Qliristian
faith, and a truly devout man." Judge Boudinot, who knew him
* The book appears to have been much used, and has many pencil-marks in it,
noting choice passages.
24-i OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
well during and after the Revolution, testifies to the same. Gene-
ral Henry Lee, who served under him during the war, and after-
ward in the civil department, and who was chosen by Congress to
deliver his funeral oration, says, in that oration, "First in war,
first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen, he was second
to none in the endearing scenes of private life. Pious, just, humane,
temperate, and sincere, — uniform, dignified, and commanding, — his
example was edifying to all around him, as were the eifects of that
example lasting." Sermons and orations by divines and states-
men were delivered all over the land at the death of Washington.
A large volume of such was published. I have seen and read them,
and the religious character of Washington was a most prominent
feature in them ; and for this there must have been some good
cause. Let the following extracts sufiice. Mr. Sewell, of New
Hampshire, says: —
"To crown all these moral virtues, he bad the deepest sense of religion
impressed on his heart, — the true foundation-stone of all the moral virtues.
He constantly attended the public worship of God on the Lord's day, was
a communicant at His table, and by his devout and solemn deportment
inspired every beholder with some portion of that awe and reverence for
the Supreme Being, of which he felt so large a portion. For my own part,
I trust I shall never lose the impression made on my own mind in behold-
ing in this house of prayer the venerable hero, the victorious leader of
our hosts, bending in humble adoration to the God of armies and great
Captain of our salvation. Hard and unfeeling, indeed, must that heart be
that could sustain the sight unmoved, or its owner depart unsoftened and
unedified. Let the deist reflect on this, and remember that Washington,
the saviour of his country, did not disdain to acknowledge and adore a
greater Saviour, whom deists and infidels affect to slight and despise."
Thus spake New Hampshire. What says South Carolina?
David Ramsay, the historian, says: —
"Washington was the friend of morality and religion; steadily attended
on public worship; encouraged and strengthened the hands of the clergy.
In all his public acts he made the most respectful mention of Providence,
and, in a word, carried the spirit of piety with him, both in his private life
and public administration. He was far from being one of those minute
philosophers who think that death is an eternal sleep, or of those who,
trusting to the sufficiency of human reason, discard the light of divine
revelation."
Mr. J. Biglow, of Boston, says : —
"In Washington religion was a steady principle of action. After the
surrender of Cornwallis he ascribes the glory to God, and orders, 'That
divine service shall be performed to-morrow in the different brigades and
divisions, and recommends that all the troops not on duty do assist at it
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 245
with a serious deportment and that sensibility of heart which the recollec-
tion of the surprising and particular interposition of Providence in our
favour claims.' "
To the foregoing I will only add, that Major William Jackson,
aid-de-camp to Washington, in his address, speaks of the "milder
radiance of religion and morality 'as shining in his character,' and
of his being beloved and admired by the holy ministers of re-
ligion ;" and that Captain Dunham of the Revolution, in his oration,
says of him, "A friend to our holy religion, he was ever guided
by its pious doctrines. He had embraced the tenets of the Epis-
copal Church ; yet his charity, unbounded as his immortal mind, led
him equally to respect every denomination of the followers of
Jesus." The Rev. Mr. Kirkland, of Boston, says, "The virtues
of our departed friend were crowned with piety. He is known to
have been habitually devout." We conclude with the testimony of
our own Devereux Jarratt, of Virginia, whom none will suspect of
flattery or low views of religion : —
"Washington was a professor of Christianity and a member of the Pro-
testant Episcopal Church. He always acknowledged the superintendence
of Divine Providence, and from his inimitable writings we find him a
warm advocate for a sound morality founded on the principles of religion,
the only basis on which it can stand. Nor did I ever meet with the most
distant insinuation that his private life was not a comment on his admired
page."
Nor was the belief of his piety confined to America. The Rev.
Thomas Wilson, the pious son of the pious Bishop Wilson, of Sodor
and Mann, thought he could make no more suitable present to
General Washington than his father's family Bible in three volumes,
with notes, and a folio volume of his father's works. The former
was left by the will of General Washington to his friend the Rev.
Bryan Fairfax, minister of Christ Church, Alexandria ; the latter
is, I presume, still in the Arlington library. From the latter I
Belected, forty-six years ago, a small volume of private and family
prayers, as I have elsewhere stated
If more certain proofs of personal piety in Washington be re-
quired than these general impressions and declarations of his co-
evals and compatriots, founded on their observation of his public
conduct, and derived from his public addresses, we proceed to
furnish them. They will be taken from the testimony of those
whose intimacy with his domestic habits enable them to judge, and
from his own diary. As to his private devotions, of course the
same kind of testimony is not to be expected as that which attests
246 OLD CHURCHES, MIi^TISTERS, AND
his public observances. It may most positively be affirmed, that
the impression on the minds of his family was, that when on each
night he regularly took his candle and went to his study at nine
o'clock and remained there until ten, it was for the purpose of
reading the Scriptures and prayer. It is affirmed by more than
one that he has been seen there on his knees and also been heard
at his prayers. In like manner it is believed, that when at five
o'clock each morning, winter and summer, he went to that same
study, a portion of time was then spent in the same way. It is
also well known that it was the impression in the army that Wash-
ington, either in his tent or in his room, practised the same thing.
One testifies to having seen him on more than one occasion thus
engaged on his bended knees. It is firmly believed that when in
crowded lodgings at Valley Forge, where every thing was unfa-
vourable to private devotions, his frequent visits to a neighbouring
wood were for this purpose. It is also a fact well known to the
family that, when prevented from public worship, he used to
read the Scriptures and other books with Mrs. Washington in her
chamber.
That there was a devotional spirit in Washington, a belief in the
virtue of prayer, leading to private supplication, is also rendered
most probable by his conduct as an officer in seeking to have public
prayer for his soldiers, and even conducting them himself in the
absence of a minister.
At twenty-two years of age, when heading an expedition against
the Indians, he was in the habit of having prayer in the camp at
Fort Necessity, at the Great Meadows, in the Alleghany Mountains.
His friend and neighbour, Mr. William Fairfax, of Belvoir, a few
miles from Mount Vernon, and whose daughter, Lawrence, the elder
brother of George Washington, married, thus writes to him while
at the Great Meadows, and in the letter evinces not only his own
pious disposition, but his confidence in that of the youthful Wash-
ington:— "I will not doubt your having public prayer in the camp,
especially when the Indian families are your guests, that they, see-
ing your plain manner of worship, may have their curiosity to be
informed why we do not use the ceremonies of the French, which,
being well explained to their understandings, will more and more
dispose them to receive our baptism and unite in strict bonds of
cordial friendship."
In the year 1755, Washington was the volunteer aid-de-camp to
General Braddock, and, though in danger of pursuit by the Indians,
he did, on the night after the memorable defeat, in the absence of
FAMILIES OF V^IRGINIA. 247
a chaplain, himself perform the last funeral rites over the body of
Braddock, a soldier holding the candle or lighted torch while the
solemn words were read. For several successive years Washing-
ton was engaged in a trying contest with the Indians, and during
a considerable portion of that time — according to the testimony
of one of his aids, Colonel B. Temple, of King William county —
he frequently, on the Sabbath, performed divine service, reading
the Scriptures and praying with them when no chaplain could bo
had. It was during this period that a sharp correspondence was
carried on between Washington and Dinwiddie, the latter being
offended at the persevering importunity of the former that a chap-
lain might be allowed his army. At the recall of Dinwiddie, Wash-
ington addressed the following letter to the President of the Council,
who was chief in the Colony until the arrival of Governor Fauquier,
saying, "The last Assembly, in their Supply Bill, provided for a
chaplain to our regiment. On this subject I had often, without any
success, applied to Governor Dinwiddie. I now flatter myself that
your honour will be pleased to appoint a sober, serious man for this
duty. Common decency, sir, in a camp, calls for the services of a
divine, which ought not to be dispensed with, although the world
may think us void of religion and incapable of good instructions."
In the year 1759 Colonel Washington was married, and until the
Revolution lived at Mount Vernon. That he was interested in the
affairs of the Church at this time is evident from what we have said
as to the part he acted in relation to the building of Pohick Church.
The Rev. Lee Massey was the minister during part of this time.
His testimony was, "I never knew so constant an attendant at
church as Washington. His behaviour in the house of God was
ever so reverential that it produced the happiest effects on my con-
gregation and greatly assisted me in my pulpit labours. No com-
pany ever kept him from church."
In the year 1774 he was sent as a Burgess to Williamsburg. It
was at that time that a day of fasting and prayer was appointed in
view of the approaching difficulties with England. The following
entry in his diary shows his conduct on that occasion: — "June 1st,
Wednesday, Went to church and fasted all day." In September
of that year he was in Philadelphia, a member of the first Congress.
In his diary he speaks of going, during the three first Sabbaths,
three times to Episcopal churches, once to the Quaker, once to the
Presbyterian, and once to the Roman Catholic, He was a member
of Congress again the next year, and then chosen commander-in-
chief of our army. On the day after assuming its command he
248 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
issued the following order; — "The General requires and expects of
all oflBccrs and soldiers, not engaged on actual duty, a punctual
attendance on divine service, to implore the blessings of Heaven
upon the means used for our safety and defence." On the 15th of
May, 1776, Congress having appointed a day of humiliation, the
following order is given: — "The General commands all officers and
soldiers to pay strict obedience to the order of the Continental
Congress, that by their unfeigned and pious observance of their
religious duties they may incline the Lord and giver of victory to
prosper our arms." The situation of the army not admitting the
regular service every Sunday, he requires the chaplains to meet
together and agree on some method of performing it at other times,
and make it known to him. Such was Washington as head of the
army.
As President of the United States his conduct exhibited the same
faith in and reverence for religion. Not only did he regularly
attend divine service in the Church of his fathers and of his choice,
but he let it be understood that he would receive no visits on the
Sabbath. The only exception to this was an occasional visit, in
the latter part of the day, from his old friend, the Speaker of the
House of Representatives, Colonel Trumbull, who was confessedly
one of the most pious men of the age, and who would not have
sought the company of an irreligious man on the Sabbath, even
though that man were President of the United States. On the
subject of a strict observance of the Sabbath, we might have men-
tioned other proofs of it, occurring before his being elevated to the
chief command of the army or first Presidency in the Republic.
His private diary shows it in various places. Let one suffice. On
a certain occasion he was informed on Saturday evening that the
smallpox was among his servants in the valley. He set out the
next morning to visit them, but notes in his diary, " Took church
on the way," thus combining duty to the poor and to his God.
His condemnation of the prevailing vices of the day deserves also
to be mentioned in proof that he understood Christianity as being
that "grace of God which hath appeared unto all men, teaching
us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live
soberly, righteously, and godly in this present evil world."
Not only was he addicted to no kind of intemperance, scarcely ever
tasting ardent spirits or exceeding two glasses of wine, — which was
equal to total abstinence in our day, — and not using tobacco in any
shape, but he used his authority in the army to the utmost to put
down swearing, games of chance, an \ drinking, and irregularities
FAMILIES OF VIKGINIA. 249
of every other kind. Whilst at Fort Cumberland in 1757, we find
the following order: — "Colonel Washington has observed that the
men of his regiment are very profane and reprobate. He takes this
opportunity to inform them of his great displeasure at such practices,
and assures them that if they do not leave them off they shall be
severely punished. The officers are desired, if they hear any man
swear, or make use of an oath or execration, to order the offender
twenty-five lashes immediately, without a court-martial. For the
second offence he shall be punished more severely." The day after
General Washington took command of the American army he issued
orders to the troops, from which we take the following: — "The
General most earnestly requires and expects a due observance of
those articles of war which prohibit profane cursing, swearing, and
drunkenness," and soon after issued the following order: —
" All officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers are posi-
tively forbid playing at cards and other games of chance. At this
time of public distress men may find enough to do in the service
of their God and their country, without abandoning themselves to
vice and immorality." Again, we find in August of that year an
order in these remarkable words : — " The General is sorry to be in-
formed that the foolish and wicked practice of profane cursing and
swearing — a vice hitherto little known in the American army — is
growing into fashion. He hopes the officers will, by example as
well as influence, endeavour to check it ; and that both they and
the men will reflect that we can have little hope of the blessing of
Heaven on our arms, if we insult it by our own folly and impiety :
added to this, it is a vice so mean and low, without any temptation,
that every man of sense and character detests and despises it."
And is this the man of whom some have reported that he was
addicted to this very disgusting vice, only saying that he did it
most gracefully and swore like an angel ? Credat Judceus Apella.
It has also been attempted by some to introduce greater variety into
the character of Washington, and bring him down to the common
level, by representing him as passionately fond not merely of the
chase and much addicted to it, but also of the dance, the ballroom,
and the theatre. On what ground does this rest ? His fondness
for the chase is associated with that of Lord Fairfax, during the
time that he lived at Mount Vernon and his lordship at Belvoir,
the seat of his relation, William Fairfax, a few miles off. But how
long did this sporting-intimacy continue? Washington came to
Mount Vernon in his sixteenth year. Lord Fairfax came to
Virginia at that time, and young Washington for a few months
260 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
sometimes attended him in hunting, but not neglecting his mathe-
matical studies and surveying, which recommended him to Lord
Fairfax as a suitable agent in the valley. At the beginning of his
seventeenth year, Washington came over the Blue Ridge on duty, —
laborious duty. Lord Fairfax, after visiting England, settled at
Greenway Court. His house was only the occasional abode of
Washington during the two years in which he was surveying and
dividing the immense landed possessions of Lord Fairfax, and also
acting as public surveyor in all Western Virginia. What time was
left him to waste in the sports of the chase? From the age of
nineteen he was faithfully and painfully serving his country in the
field of battle, except when on his voyage to the West Indies with
a sick brother. During the period betAveen his marriage and the
Revolution, he was a most diligent farmer at Mount Vernon, —
sometimes visiting his plantations in Jefferson, and acting as Burgess
in Virginia and Delegate to the earlier American Congresses.
What time, I ask, for the sports of the field ? What do we find, in
his diary, of dogs and kennels and the chase ? We do not say that
he may never have thus exercised himself at a time and in a country
where game and forests abounded and it was less a waste of time
than at other periods and other places : but how different must have
been the pursuit with Washington from that of the idlers of his
day ?* And as to his admiration of the theatre and his delighting
in its ludicrous and indelicate exhibitions, does it seem probable
* In proof of bow little dependence is to be placed on assertions of this kind, I
quote a passage from the life of General Muhlenberg. While a minister at Wood-
stock, in what is now in Shenandoah county, in the Valley, he was among the first
to join Revolutionary movements in 1774. It is said that he "corresponded ex-
tensively with the prominent Whigs of the Colony, and with two of whom — Washing-
ton and Heni-y — he was on terms of personal intimacy. With the former he had
frequently hunted deer among the mountains of his district ; and it is said that, fond
as Washington was of the rifle and skilled in its use, on trial he found himself in-
ferior to the Pennsylvanian." Now, Mr. Muhlenberg did not come to the Valley
until twenty years after Washington had left tlie service of Lord Fairfax, and four-
teen years after he had been settled at Mount Vernon as a farmer. Mr. Muhlen-
berg came to Virginia in the fall of 1772, and in the summer of 1774 he was —
though a clergyman — in the House of Burgesses and Convention with Washington
and Henry, and there, in all human probability, commenced their acquaintance
and subsequent correspondence. As for Washington's frequently hunting deer with
him in the mountains of Shenandoah, during the short time Mr. Muhlenberg was
there, preceding their meeting in Williamsburg, it is a most improbable conjecture
Washington was, during that time, busy with his farm at Mount Vernon and as a
Delegate to the House of Burgesses. He visited his estates in Jefferson occasion-
ally, but I believe there was nothing to draw him to the mountains of Shenandoah
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA, 251
that the grave and dignified Washington, with all the cares of the
army and afterward of the state pressing upon him, should have
found time for such entertainments ? In a letter to the President
of Congress, dated New York, April, 1776, he thus writes: — "'I
give in to no kind of amusements myself, and consequently those
about me [alluding to his aids] can have none." On the 12th of
October, 1778, the following preamble and resolutions were adopted
by the American Congress: — "Whereas, true religion and good
morals are the only solid foundation of public liberty and happi-
ness, Therefore, resolved, that it be, and is hereby, recommended to
the several States to take the most effectual measures for the en-
couragement thereof, and for suppressing theatrical entertainments,
horse-racing, gaming, and such other diversions as are productive
of idleness, dissipation, and a general depravity of manners." Is
it probable that Washington, at the head of the army, then calling
upon his officers and soldiers to abandon their oaths and drinking
and games of chance, in obedience to military laws and lest they
should offend God and lose his favour, would himself despise and
disobey this solemn call of Congress, and that too when the names of
Adams and Gerry, Sherman and Ellsworth, Morris and Dean, Lee
and Smith, of Virginia, Laurence and Mathews, of South Carolina,
were on the list of those who voted for it, and so few were against it ?
As to Washington's pasaionate fondness for the dance, if Cicero
thought it an unbecoming exercise for any Roman citizen, as be-
neath the dignity of any who were admitted to the citizenship of
that great republic, how unlikely that our great Washington — even
if feeling no religious objection to this childish amusement —
should be still a child and delight himself in such frivolous things !
May we not rather suppose him to have felt and said, with a great
man in Israel when tempted to leave the work of the Lord — the
building of his house on Mount Zion — and come down to some
meeting in one of the villages of the plain, "/ am doing a great
work, so that I cannot come down'? Let not the sons and daughters
of idleness, vanity, and pleasure seek to find a sanction for their
favourite amusements in the example of Washington, — even though
in a dark age and under peculiar circumstances he may at times
have lent himself to some of them.
I come now to speak of that feature in Washington's religious
character which must most forcibly strike every reader of his public
and private communications, — his firm reliance on a special Provi-
dence, as distinguished from that philosophic belief in Providence
which is little better than atheism. In a letter to his brother, John
252 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
A. Washington, written a few days after Braddock's defeat, he says,
" By the all-powerful dispensations of Providence, I have been pro-
tected beyond all human probability or expectation ; for I had four
bullets through my coat and two horses shot under me, — yet escaped
unhurt, — although death was levelling my companions on every side
of me." In his entrance on the contest with England, he thus
writes to General Gage: — "May that God to whom you appeal
judge between America and you ! Under his providence, those who
influenced the councils of America, and all the other inhabitants
of the Colonies, at the hazard of their lives, are determined to hand
down to posterity those just and invaluable privileges which they
received from their ancestors." In a letter to his friend, Joseph
Reed, in 1776, under some great trials in relation to his supplies,
he writes, " How it will end, God in his great goodness will direct.
lam thankful for his protection to this time." In his address to
the General Assembly of Massachusetts, after the evacuation of
Boston without blood, he ascribes it " to the interposition of that
Providence which has manifestly appeared in our behalf through
the whole of this important struggle." Speaking of the expecta-
tion of a bloody battle, he says, in a letter to his brother John, "It
is to be hoped that, if our cause be just, — as I do most religiously
believe it to be, — the same Providence which has in so many in-
stances appeared for us will still go on to afford its aid." In view
of an expected attack from the combined forces of the enemy he
thus calls on his soldiers : — "The fate of unborn millions will now
depend, under Grod, on the courage and conduct of this army. Let
us rely upon the goodness of the cause, and the aid of the Supreme
Being, in whose hand victory is, to animate and encourage us to
noble actions." After the surrender of Burgoyne's army, he writes
to his brother John, " I most devoutly congratulate my country and
every well-wisher to the cause on this signal strcke of Providence."
In the year 1778, just after the battle of Monmouth, he writes to
his brother, that all would have been lost "had not that bountiful
Providence, which has never failed us in the hour of distress, enabled
me to form a regiment or two of those who were retreating in the
face of the enemy and under their fire." To General Nelson, in
that same year, in taking a retrospect of the vicissitudes of the
war, he says, " The hand of Providence is so conspicuous in all this,
that he must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and more
than wicked that has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obli-
gations." In a letter to Benjamin Harrison, in 1778, he writes,
" Providence has heretofore taken care of us when all other means
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 253
seemed to be departing from us." To General Armstrong, in 1781,
he writes, " Our affairs are brought to a perilous crisis, that the
hand of Providence may be more conspicuous in our deliverance.
The many remarkable interpositions of the Divine government in
the hours of our deepest distress and darkness have been too lumi-
nous to suffer me to doubt the issue of the present contest." The
foregoing are only a few out of the many passages which pervade
all the private letters and public communications of Washington
touching a special Providence. Is it too much to say that the
communications of no king, ruler, general, or statesman in Chris-
tendom ever so abounded in expressions of pious dependence on
God? There was an habitual reliance on God which must have
been connected with habitual prayer to God. Nor can we forbear
to institute a comparison between the language of trust in Provi-
dence, as seen in the letters and orders of Washington, and those
of Cromwell. Who for a moment questions the sincerity and deep
feeling of Washington in all he writes ? Who does not sometimes
suspect at least the hypocrisy of Cromwell and revolt at his cant ?
Who does not see and feel that, while Washington was all for his
country and his God, Cromwell was sometimes seeking his own ?
On one other subject in connection with the religious character
of Washington I must ask the attention of the reader. Washington
in word and deed condemned duelling. Nearly all our great men
have done it by word, but, if they have not recommended it by deed,
have been afraid to say that they might not so do, either by giving or
receiving a challenge. When a young man in Alexandria and an
officer in the army, a quarrel ensued on an election-day, in which
he used strong and offensive language to one who, with a stick,
prostrated him to the ground. On the following day he sought
an interview with his antagonist, when it was fully expected that
another rencounter or the preliminaries for one would take place.
Instead of this, Captain Washington, conscious of being in fault,
declared that the interview was sought in order to acknowledge it.
Here was true greatness of soul. Here was the true courage of
the Christian, breathed into the soul by the Spirit of God. God was
training up the spirit of Washington for all the subsequent trials
and duties of life. In the army he of course discouraged and
prevented this most foolish and wicked practice. M. Lafayette, in
a chivalrous spirit, wished to revenge some supposed insult to his
country on an Englishman who offered it, and asked leave of Wash-
ington to send a challenge. Washington conducted the matter
with consummate skill, — and, while fully resolved not to permit it.
264 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
chose rather by a grave h-ony to laugh him out of it. What an
example Avas thus set to the gentlemen and officers and public
functionaries of America ! How does Washington tower above those
who, while acknowledging that the practice is indefensible by any
laws of God or man, and utterly opposed to them, and condemned by
common sense and true honour and humanity, yet, in a most incon-
sistent and cowardly manner declare that, nevertheless, such is their
apprehension of public opinion, they might be induced to engage
in this murderous act ! To receive a blow, be felled to the earth
before a crowd, and then ask pardon for having provoked the blow,
must surely be considered in a young officer as an act of moral
courage which is prompted by the Spirit of God.
One question only remains to be settled : — Was Washington a
communicant of the Church? That he was, might be reasonably
inferred from the indication of youthful piety, his religious, his
ministerial offices at the head of his regiment, the active part taken
in the concerns of the parish, his habits of devotion, his regular
attendance at church, his conscientious observance of the Sabbath,
his strict fasting on appointed days. It is also believed that he was
a communicant, from the testimony of the Rev. Lee Massey, as
handed down through his family, and also of others which have come
down to us. The testimony which has often been adduced to prove
that, during the war, he did commune on a certain Sabbath in a
Presbyterian church at Morristown, New Jersey, ought to be enough
to satisfy a reasonable man of the fact. Add to these the decla-
ration of so many, in the sermons and orations at the time of his
death. But still it has been made a question, and it may be well
to consider on what ground. It is certainly a fact, that for a certain
period of time during his Presidential term, while the Congress was
held in Philadelphia, he did not commune. This fact rests on the
authority of Bishop White, under whose ministry the President sat,
and who was on the most intimate terms with himself and Mrs.
Washington. I will relate what the Bishop told myself and others
in relation to it. During the session or sessions of Congress held
in Philadelphia, General Washington was, with his family, a regular
attendant at one of the churches under the care of Bishop White
and his assistants. On Communion-days, when the congregation was
dismissed, (except the portion which communed,) the General left
the church, until a certain Sabbath on which Dr. Abercrombie,
in his sermon, spoke of the impropriety of turning our backs on the
Lord's table, — that is, neglecting to commune, — from which time
General Washington came no more on Communion-days. Bishop
FAMILIES OF VIEGINIA. 255
White supposes that the General understood the "words turning our
backs on the Lord's table" in a somewhat different sense than was
designed by the preacher ; that he supposed it was intended to censure
those who left the church at the time of its administration, and, in
order not to seem to be disrespectful to that ordinance, thought it
better not to be present at all on such occasions. It is needless to
attempt to conjecture what may have been the reason of this tempo-
rary (as we hope it was) suspension of the act of communicating.
A regard for historic truth has led to the mention of this subject.
The question as to his ever having been a communicant has been
raised on this fact, as stated by Bishop White, and we have thought
it best to give the narrative as we heard it from the lips of the
Bishop himself. It has been asked why he did not, in the dying
hour, send for some minister and receive the emblems of a Saviour's
death. The same might be asked of thousands of pious communi-
cants who do not regard the sacrament as indispensable to a happy
death and glorious eternity, as some Romanists do. Moreover, the
short and painful illness of Washington would have forbidden it.
But his death was not without proofs of a gracious state. He told
to surrounding friends that it had no terrors for him, — that all was
well. The Bible was on his bed; he closed his own eyes, and,
folding his arms over his breast, expired in peace.
256 OLD CHURCHES. MINISTERS. AND
ARTICLE LXIX.
Fairfax Parish, Fairfax County.
The town of Alexandria was at first called Hunting Creelf
Warehouse, sometimes Bell Haven, and consisted of a small esta-
blishment at that place. Its growth was encouraged by successive
Acts of the Legislature, establishing semi-annual fairs and granting
certain privileges to those who attended them. In the year 1762,
it was enlarged by the laying off of numerous lots on the higher
ground, belonging to Dade, West, and the Alexanders, after which
it improved rapidly, so that at the close of the last or beginning of
the present century its population was ten thousand, and its com-
merce greater than it now is. So promising was it at the close of
the war, that its claims were weighed in the balance with those of
Washington as the seat of the National Government. It is thought
that, but for the unwillingness of Washington to seem partial to
Virginia, Alexandria would have been the chosen spot, and that on
the first range of hills overlooking the town the public buildings
would have been erected. Whether there had been any public
worship or church at Alexandria previous to this enlargement of
it, and the great impulse thus given to it, does not appear from
the vestry-book, though it is believed that there was. But soon after
this, in the year 1764, Fairfax parish is established, and measures
taken for the promotion of the Church in this place. The vestry-
book commences in 1765. At that time there were two churches
in the new parish of Fairfax, — one at the Falls, called, as the pre-
sent one is. Little Falls Church; the position of the other — the
Lower Church — is not known. It may have been an old one at
Alexandria.
Among the first acts of the vestry was the repairing of the two
old churches in the parish, at a cost of more than thirty-two thou-
sand pounds of tobacco. In the year 1766, it is determined to
build two new churches, — one at the Little Falls, very near the old
one, and one in Alexandria, to contain twenty-four hundred square
feet, and to be high-pitched so as to admit of galleries. Mr. James
Wrenn agrees to build the former, and Mr. James Parsons the other,
for about six hundred pounds each. A most particular contract is
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 257
made for them. The mortar is to have two-thirds of lime and one of
sand, — the very reverse of the proportion at this day, and which ac-
counts for the greater durability of ancient walls. The shingles were
to be of the best cypress or juniper, and three-quarters of an inch thick,
instead of our present half-inch ones. Mr. Parsons was allowed to add
ten feet to the upper part of the church on his own account, and to pay
himself by their sale, on certain conditions. He commenced his
work, but was unable to finish it. It lingered for some years, until,
in 1772, Mr. John Carlisle undertakes it, and completes it in 1773.
The ten pews are now sold, and General Washington, though having
just been engaged in the erection of Mount Vernon Church, which
was finished the same year, and having a pew therein, gives the
highest price for one in Christ Church, which was occupied by him
and his family during his life, and has been by some of his name
and family ever since. The gallery was not put up until the year
1787, at which time the pews were balloted for. The steeple is of
modern construction. A gallery never was erected in the Little
Falls Church. The following notice of my visit to this church in
1827 will tell something of its history : —
''The exercises of the Seminary being over, I next directed my steps
to the Falls Church, so called from its vicinity to one of the falls on the
Potomac River. It is about eight miles from Alexandria, and the same
from Georgetown. It is a large oblong brick building, and, like that near
Mount Vernon, has two rows of windows, being doubtless designed for
galleries all around, though none were ever put there. It was deserted
as a house of worship by Episcopalians about forty years ago. About that
period, for the first, and it is believed for the last time, it was visited by
Bishop Madison. Since then it has been used by any who were disposed
to occupy it as a place of worship ; and, the doors and windows being open,
itself standing on the common highway, it has been entered at pleasure
by travellers on the road and animals of every kind. Some years since,
the attention of the professors of our Seminary, and of some of the students,
was drawn toward it, and occasional services performed there. This led
to its partial repair. The most successful effort in its behalf was made by
one of those devoted youths who has given himself to Africa. Young Mr.
Minor, of Fredericksburg, (then a student at the Seminary,) undertook the
task of lay reader in this place, and by his untiring zeal and most affection-
ate manners soon collected a large Sunday-school, in the conduct of which
he was aided by some of his fellow-students of kindred spirit. In losing
Mr. Minor (when he went to Africa) the parents and children thought
they had lost their all; but Providence raised up others, and doubtless will
continue to raise up as many as are needed. Our Seminary will surely
furnish the supply that is called for. The house of which we are speak-
ing has recently been more thoroughly repaired, and is now, as to outward
appearance, strength, and comfort, one of our most desirable temples of
religion, bidding fair to survive successive generations of those unworthy
structures which are continually rising up and falling down throughout-
Vor.. II.—] 7
258 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, ANl>
our land. On Saturday and Sunday, assisted by several of our ministers,
I performed pastoral and episcopal duties in this church. On the latter
day, in the midst of an overflowinti- congregation, I confirmed six persons
and administered the Holy Communion. On the evening of this day, I
visited an interesting school of young ladies at Mr. Henry Fairfax's, and
sought to make some improvement of my visit by addressing a discourse
especially to the young ones."
Mr. Henry Fairfax was the grandson of the Rev. Bryan Fairfax,
of whom we shall soon speak as the minister of this church. He
inherited the generous and disinterested spirit of his grandfather.
It was chiefly at his expense that the church was repaired, and by
his liberality the minister supported, when another than the pro-
fessors was employed. Being a graduate of West Point, he felt
that he owed his country a debt, which could only be discharged by
engaging in the late Mexican war, and, in opposition to the wishes
and judgment of his friends and relatives, raised a company for that
purpose; but scarcely had he reached the scene of action before he
fell a victim to the climate, leaving a devoted family and congre-
gation to feel and mourn his loss.
While on the subject of churches, it may be as well to mention
that at a more recent date a neat frame church has been built at
Fairfax Court-House, under the auspices of the Rev. Mr. Lock-
wood, who for some years officiated there as well as at the Falls
Church. The Rev. Templeman Brown had officiated at the Falls
Church and at the court-house for some time before Mr. Lockwood's
ministry, and has again been serving them for a number of years,
since Mr. Lockwood's relinquishment.
We proceed now to such notices as we possess of the ministers
of Fairfax parish. For these we are indebted to the vestry-records.
The Rev. Townshend Dade was ordained for this parish by the Bishop
of London in 1765, and entered upon his duties in the following
year or perhaps sooner. It is more than probable that he was the
son of Mr. Townshend Dade, who appears on the list of the first
vestry, or of Mr. Baldwin Dade, who was a vestryman at a later
date, and owner in part of the land on which Alexandria was built.
We are sorry to be unable to make a favourable report of the Rev.
Mr. Dade. In the year 1768, the vestry discuss the question of
examining into some alleged misconduct of his, and decide against
it, five members entering their dissent from the decision. In the
year 1777, a committee is appointed to wait upon him to know why
he neglects his congregation. Some months after, the committee is
enlarged and directed to take further steps. The result was his
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 259
resignation^ and relinquishment of the glebe and rectory. In the
same year the Rev. Spence Grayson is a candidate for the parish,
but the Rev. Mr. West, probably from Maryland, is preferred. He
continues until February of 1779, and resigns. The Rev. David
Griffith, then chaplain in the army, and formerly minister of Shel-
burne parish, and well known to the people, is elected, though he
does not appear on the vestry-book as minister until October, 1780.
He continued to be its minister until his death in 1789. Of him
we shall speak more fully after our brief notice of the succession
of the ministers of this parish. The Rev. Bryan Fairfax suc-
ceeded him in 1790. He was ordained deacon in 1786 by
Bishop Seabury. Mr. Bryan Fairfax had been a vestryman of
the parish and delegate to the Virginia Conventions for some
time before this. Whether it was that his health was delicate
from the first, or whatever was the cause, he wished an assistant
in the parish, and the vestry passed an order allowing him to
invite the Rev. Mason Locke Weems, or any one else whom
he might choose, to act as such. Mr. Fairfax made a very
different selection, and called the Rev. Bernard Page, giving
to him all the emoluments of the parish. Mr. Page was very de-
cidedly of the then rising evangelical school in the Church of Eng-
land, and a very zealous preacher of its doctrines. I doubt not but
that Mr. Fairfax sympathized with the principles of that school. In
a sermon of his which I have published, he sets forth the doctrine
of salvation by grace through faith in Christ in such a way as was
not common in that day. In the year 1792, he resigns his charge
in a letter stating his reasons, which is not entered on the record,
though the most flattering letter of the vestry, regretting their loss
of him, is. I am not aware how long he lived after this. His resi-
dence during the latter years of his life was at a place called Mount
Eagle, a short distance beyond the Hunting Creek Bridge. He
was the father of the late Ferdinando Fairfax and Thomas Fairfax,
the latter of whom inherited his empty title of Lord Fairfax, also
of the late Mrs. Charles Catlett, by a second marriage. I am not
aware of other children, though there may have been. I have, in
another place, stated that he endeavoured to dissuade his friend
and neighbour, General Washington, from the war with England
The General, in his letter to him, deals most gently and respectfully
with him. He was the son of his old friend and neighbour, George
William Fairfax, of Belvoir, and the brother of the wife of Law-
rence Washington, elder brother of the General. The Rev. Mr.
t airfax acted with such prudence, if he did not see cause to change
5260 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
his sentiments, as not to forfeit the friendship of Washington and
of the patriots in Fairfax parish, but was, as we have seen, chosen
to be their minister He has left behind him many worthy adhe-
rents to our Church, though some few have varied from it. At the
resignation of Mr. Fairfax the Rev. Thomas Davis was chosen. He
continued its minister until 1806, when he removed to Hungar's
parish, on the Eastern Shore, wh'ere he died. Mr. Davis had
ministered in various places throughout Virginia, and, though a man
of temperate habits and correct life by comparison with too many
of our clergy, was not calculated by his preaching or conversation
to promote the spiritual welfare of any people. He was succeeded
by the Rev. Mr. Gibson, of Maryland. Previous to his removal to
Alexandria, and while the church was vacant, the vestry invited
the Rev. Mr. McQuerr a Scotch minister of the Presbyterian Church,
who was then principal of the Washington Academy in Alexandria,
to officiate for them. With the character and habits of Mr. McQuerr
I became acquainted through my old teacher, Mr. Wiley, who was
educated at that school. They were nothing better than those of
many of the old Episcopal clergy. I am happy, however, to say
that more than twenty years after this, on one of my journeys to
the South, I heard of him as a most pious and exemplary minister
of that communion in the State of Georgia, a zealous advocate of
the Temperance and Colonization societies and of every good work,
and highly esteemed by all. He lived to a great age, persevering
to the last. There is something sad in the history of the Rev, Mr.
Gibson, but it must be told for the benefit of others. He began
well, preached zealously, was praised and flattered to his undoing.
He gave offence to some by a rather harsh way of saying true
things. This was complained of, and perhaps? harsh things said in
return. These were communicated to him by a few of those false
friends who think to ingratiate themselves with their minister by
communicating to him what ought to be concealed. This exasperated
a temper naturally excitable. Under the influence of this, he sud-
denly and unexpectedly, from the pulpit, resigned his charge.
The vestry were divided as to the acceptance of it, but the majority
were in favour of it. When too late he apologized, and wished to
retract. Parties were formed, and the result was another congre-
gation under his auspices. But, as will be seen when I come to
speak of that congregation, he did not continue long with it, but
returned to Maryland, where, after a short time, he was dismissed
for intemperance. There was reason to fear that the habit had
commenced in Alexandria, under the too popular pretext of using
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 261
ardent spirits privately as a medicine. He afterward united with
the Methodist Church and ministered in it. Let the clergy learn
from his fate to beware of false friends who inform them what their
enemies say of them, and to eschew alcohol, even as a medicine,
unless prescribed by a temperate physician and as a mere temporary
expedient imperiously called for.
In the following' year, 1810, the Rev. Mr. Barclay, who came to
this country from the West Indies, was chosen. Bishop Clagett,
of Maryland, certified to his character for the last six years, during
which he had been ministering in Maryland ; but in April of 1811
a wife, whom he had deserted, followed him from the West Indies,
and he resigned his charge in Alexandria and has been heard of no
more since.
Under these circumstances, the Avriter of these sad notices, having
been ordained by Bishop Madison in the spring of that year, at the
age of twenty-one, was induced to take the charge of Christ Church
in October, 1811, in conjunction with his charge in Frederick,
visiting the latter once a month. For some account of his ministry
at that time and place he refers to the second article in this series.
At the close of that brief term of service, extending only to
eighteen months, the Rev. Oliver Norris took charge of Christ
Church. Mr. Norris was of Quaker descent, but, occasionally at-
tending the services of St. Peter's Church, Baltimore, during the
ministry of Mr. Dashiel, first became convinced of sin, then of his
need of a Saviour, and then of the excellency of our service to
build up a convert in the true faith and practice of a Christian.
He has often detailed to me the circumstances of his conversion.
He first ministered at Elk Ridge and near Bladensburg, in Mary-
land, and then came to Virginia. He was an afi"ectionate pastor
and faithful preacher of the Gospel, very dear to his people, and
esteemed in the Church of Virginia. Being called upon to preach
his funeral sermon, and the same being published by the vestry, I
am able to present the following passage on one trait in his minis-
terial character : —
" May I not, fearless of contradiction, ask this congregation if there be
one among them who has not experienced many evidences of his pastoral
fidelity and tenderness ? Who has ever complained of neglect there, where
a people are so apt to complain ? What individual so poor or so obscure
but has received a full share of his pastoral kindness? Which of you, rich
or poor, did he ever meet, but affection beamed from his eye and spoke
from his lips, and was felt in the warm pressure of his affectionate hand ?
Which of you ever left (though but for a season) his pastoral care, but he
was with you to bid a kind farewell and commend you to the care of Heaven,
262 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
and when you returned was he not the first to meet and welcome you bacl{
again ? Whicli of you was ever sick, but he was soon at your side, ready
to comfort you, pray with you, entreat you to take it in good part as the dis-
pensation of God, and, if there was need, to be your tender nurse ? Which
of you was ever in any distress of soul, body, or estate, but he was the first
to condole with you and endeavour to make some spiritual improvement
of your affliction ? Which of his people departing this life, but he was
with them, exhorting to due preparation, and strengthening them for the
conflict with the last enemy and great adversary ? Once more, let me ask
which of your dear little children but has received his kind attentions,
heard from his lips some words of counsel suited to their age, and which
should be remembered and treasured up in their hearts?"
After the death of Mr. Norris, in the summer of 1825, efforts
were made to obtain the services of the Rev. John Johns, then in
Fredericktown, Maryland, and of the Rev. Mr. Cobbs, of Bedford
county, Virginia, and on the failure of these applications the Rev.
Mr. Keith was induced to add the duties of a pastor and preacher
to those of professor. He continued this, with some interruption,
for the greater part of three years, when the Rev. Geo. Griswold,
son of Bishop Griswold, became pastor in 1828. On account of ill
health he resigned the following year, to the deep regret of the
congregation. The Rev. J. P. McGuire followed for one year, and,
unable through weakness of his eyes to make the necessary prepa-
ration for the pulpit, resigned the charge. The Rev. Mr. Mann
succeeded, and, after continuing for three years, accepted an
agency for the Seminary. The Rev. Mr. Dana, its present minister,
then took charge of the church.
THE REV. DAVID GRIFFITH.
Concerning the Rev. David Griffith we have something more
particular to record. He was born in the city of New York, and
educated, partly in that place and partly in England, for the me-
dical profession. After taking his degree in London, he returned
to America and entered on his profession in the interior of New
York about the year 1763. Determined to enter the ministry of
the Episcopal Church, he went to London in the year 1770, and
was ordained by Bishop Terrick, August the 19th of that year, and
returned as missionary to Gloucester county. New Jersey. He
could not have continued there long; for, in the close of the next
year, he accepts the charge of Shelburne parish, Loudoun county,
Virginia. Governor Johnson, of New York, was very anxious to
obtain his services in that State, where he was regarded as a " man
of uncommon merit." The Governor of Virginia, also, — either from
personal knowledge or report, — recommends him very highly to
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 263
Shelburne parish. He continued in it until May, 1776, Avhen —
being an American not only by birth but in heart — he entered the
service as chaplain to the 3d Virginia Regiment. In this service
he continued until some time in the year 1780. He appears as the
minister of Christ Church, Alexandria, during that year, — though
he was elected the previous year. He is represented as a man of
good size and fine appearance and pleasing manners, and as
enjoying the confidence of General Washington and the army.
Tradition says that, on the night before the battle of Monmouth,
he sought an interview with General Washington, and, in the pre-
sence of his aids, bade him beware of General Charles Lee, though
he was not at liberty to give his reasons or authority. When Lee
unnecessarily and ingloriously retreated on the field of Monmouth,
and almost lost America the battle, there were those who believed
that he wished only to diminish the reputation of Washington and
receive the supreme command to himself. We only give this aa
tradition. From the year 1780 to his death, in 1789, Mr. GriflSth
was the much-esteemed pastor of Christ Church, Alexandria, and
that called Little Falls, higher up on the Potomac. During the
greater part of this time General Washington was his parishioner —
having a pew in Christ Church — and Mr. Griffith was a welcome
visitor at Mount Vernon. Mr. Griffith was not merely attentive to
his duty as a parish minister, but, in the dark and distressing days
of the Episcopal Church in Virginia and in the other States, took
a deep interest in the measures proposed for her welfare. When
a number of the clergy from the Northern States met — of their own
motion, in New York, in October, 1784 — to consult about those
measures, Mr. Griffith appeared of his own accord from Virginia.
But before that time, I have letters to and from him, showing that
he was earnestly engaged in correspondence, both North and South,
with a view to promoting both State and General Conventions, as
the instruments of saving the Church from ruin. The following
letters which passed between himself and Dr. Buchanon of Rich-
mond will show how deplorable was the condition of things in Vir-
ginia at this time, and also establish the fact that Dr. Griffith was
the first mover of the proposition to have a Convention in Virginia
after the war. I have also a letter in August, 1784, from the Rev.
Mr. West, dated from Baltimore, in which he delivers a message
from Dr. Smith, of Philadelphia, to Mr. Griffith, showing his esti-
mate of the latter in relation to this movement. It is probable that
this Mr. West was the same who preceded Mr. Griffith in Alexan-
dria, as he speaks of being there.
264 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, A^D
The following letter of Dr. Griffith to Dr. Buchanon, of Rich
mond, must have been written in the fall of 1783, before any meet-
ing of Episcopalians, in any part of the land, had occurred with a
similar object. Dr. Buchanon's reply was not until the February
following, except so far as a verbal message went : —
*' Dear Sir : — You may recollect the conversation we had when I had
the pleasure of seeing you at Richmond ; that we mutually lamented the
declining state of the Church of England in this country, and the pitiable
situation of her clergy, — especially those whose circumstances are not
sufficiently independent to place them beyond the reach of want. I am
satisfied our Church has yet a very great number of powerful friends who
are disposed to give it encouragement and support, and who wish to see
some plan in agitation for eifecting a business so important, and at this
time so very necessary. It is (and very justly) matter of astonishment to
many, that those whose more immediate duty it is to look to the concerns
of their religious society should show so much indiiference and indolence
as the Church and clergy do, while the leaders of almost every other de
Domination are labouring with the greatest assiduity to increase their in-
fluence, and, by open attacks and subtle machinations, endeavouring to
lessen that of every other society, — particularly the Church to which you
and I have the honour to belong, in whose destruction they all (Quakers
and Methodists excepted) seem to agree perfectly, however they may differ
in other points. Against these it behooves us to be cautious. But, unless
the clergy act conjointly and agreeably to some well-regulated plan, the
ruin of our Church is inevitable without the malevolence of her enemies.
Considering her present situation and circumstances, — without ordination,
without government, without support, unprotected by the laws, and yet
labouring under injurious restrictions from laws which yet exist, — these
things considered, her destruction is sure as fate, unless some mode is
adopted for her preservation. Her friends, by suffering her to continue in
her present state of embarrassment, as effectually work her destruction as
her avowed enemies could do by their most successful contrivances.
" In the late contest for a stake of the last importance to this country, it
would have been imprudent to enter on a regulation of ecclesiastical affairs,
or to attempt any thing that might interrupt that union which was so
necessary for our mutual security and preservation. But that time, God
be thanked, is happily over, and those reasons no longer exist. It seems
to be high time for those whom it concerns to be engaged in the important
business of regulating the affairs of the Church. I have been for some
time in the hope that some of my brethren near the seat of government
would have set on foot this necessary business ; and my reason for address-
ing you at this time is to be informed whether any thing of the kind
is begun or intended, — the time when, the place where, and manner
how, — and, if nothing of the kind should be yet determined upon, to
request of you, as your situation renders it noway inconvenient, to un-
dertake to promote a Convention of the clergy for that purpose. I shall
also presume to offer my advice. In order that the measures agreed on
may be generally acceptable to the clergy and no objection remain to im-
pede their future execution, it will be necessary to have as numerous a
meeting as possible. I would recommend to have the clergy summoned to
this Convention both by public notice and private information; for, as
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 265
the \''irginia newspapers seldom come in'o this and several other quarters,
perhaps the end W'Hild be best answered by sending- printed circular letters
to all ([uarters of the State : if circular letters were not sent, many of the
clergy might nut have timely notice. I would recommend this Convention
to be called on the authority of the few clergy contiguous to the seat of
government, — the notices to be signed by the whole of them, or one as
chairman. I would advise the notices to be couched in general terms, to
avoid, as much as possible, assigning reasons for it, especially such as may
alarm the Dissenters and rouse them into opposition. The time for send-
ing and publishing these notices should be near three muuth.s before the
intended Convention, that the clergy might with certainty be informed of it
and be prepared to leave their homes. As Richmond is near the centre of
the State, i think it is the properest place to hold the Convention at. The
time for holding the Convention I would recommend to be about the 20th
of April next. It will be impossible to have any thing like a full meeting
in the winter sea.son • and, about the season 1 have mentioned, the weather
is generally fine for travelling and the roads settled. Besides, our plans
should be agreed upon previous to the session of Assembly, as we must
necessarily have recourse to it for the repeal of those existing laws which
made a part of the old Establishment, and which, while they do exist, must
prove ruinous to the Church in spite of any regulations the clergy may
adopt. I have not the pleasure of knowing Mr. Blagrove, chaplain to the
House of Assembly, but I think his name, or yours, or buth, would not
appear improperly at the bottom of the notices, or any thing that will answer
the purpose. If the above proposal should be adopted, I shall be much
obliged to you for informing me of it as soon as it is determined on.
Please direct to me at Alexandria, either by post or some private hand.
If a meeting is likely to take place, it would not perhaps be amiss if your-
self and our brethren in your neighbourhood were to digest some plan for
the consideration of the Convention. If it was well considered by sensible
men what regulations were wanting and what reform necessary, it would
save abundance of time, if I have timely notice, I will cheerfully devote
all the spare time I have to this service. And if the Convention is re-
solved on, I will engage to send the notices to all the clergy in the Northern
Neck above Falmouth, if the copies or a form are sent me in time. You
may remember that when I had the pleasure of seeing you I expressed a
wish that a coalition might take place between us and the Dissenters : it
is still my most earnest wish, but I am now satisfied it is a vain one : and
I think our Church has no chance of preserving any of its ancient and ex-
cellent forms of worship, but from the united zeal and efforts of her clergy.
I think it is this alone that can preserve her very existence. I am, &c.
"David Griffith,"
The following is Dr. Buchanon's answer: —
"Dear Sir: — I received your letter, favoured by Mr. Fairfax, which
reminded me of a conver.sation which passed between us respecting the
low state of the Church whereof we are members, and in which you make
inquiry whether any thing has been attempted by any of its clergy to raise
it from its distressed situation, and inform me that reflections have been
thrown out against them for their remissness and want of zeal in an atiair
of so much consequence. In order to remedy these evils, you propose
a plan for convening the clergy in the montl of April next, to the end
2(56 OLD CHURCUES, Mi:^ ESTERS, AND
that some form of ecclesiastical governmeut might be established, par
ticularly a mode of ordination ; and that an application might be made to
the Assembl}' for redress of grievances and a legal support.
*' As I had nothing of consequence to write you by Mr. Fairfax, I desired
him verbally to acquaint }ou that your brethren in this neighbourhood
had done nothing to forward the re-establishment of our Church: indeed,
they seemed to despair of any tMng being done effectually without its
originating in the Assembly. I showed them your letter: they approved
highly of your zeal, but were by no means sanguine in the result of a
convocation. It was agreed among us that we should meet on some day
most convenient for Mr. Leigh, who lived the greatest distance from this
city,* to take into further consideration the subject of your letter. Thus
matters stood until the 29th of December, when Mr. Selden received a
letter from the above gentleman, — a copy whereof is herein enclosed that
you may have a full view of the argument he offers against your plan of a
convocation. For my own part, before I was favoured with your ideas I
was hrmly of opinion that the reformation should first take place in the
Legislature; — that, if they thought public religion essential not only to the
good order but to the very existence of government, it behooved them to '
make a legal provision for its teachers, and to raise them from that state
of indigence and dependence which, I will not scruple to say, they them-
selves were the cause of; otherwise they cannot reasonably expect that
religion will flourish in a country where its ministers are reduced to a
state of beggary and contempt. 1 remember, in a conversation at Wilton, "j"
on this very subject, a Mr. Douglass, lately from England, expressed his
surprise that the clergy of our Church had never presented a memorial to
the House respecting the state of religion ; in which he was joined by the
Speaker of the Senate. I gave my opinion as above, and further added,
that such an application would give the alarm to the Sectaries, who would,
no doubt, throw every obstruction in the way, if not render totally abor-
tive every measure we should adopt. The present Governor thought my
argument had weight, and said that it was a reproach on Government that
they had done nothing in support of religion. I am apt to think that some
who are no well-wishers to our persuasion had got intelligence of our de-
sign; for, soon after Mr. Fairfax's appearance here, some scurrilous pub-
lications appeared in the papers concerning the importation of clergy
at forty or fifty pounds a head, according to certain qualifications specified,
and other stuff to that purpose. I am told that a petition was last session
preferred to the House, representing the fatal decline of religion, and of
consequence the great depravity of morals resulting from it, and praying
that the House would take into their most serious consideration a subject
of so much importance. Some were for putting it oti' *to a more convenient
season,' but Mr. Henry thought it of too much moment to be deferred to
another session. Notwithstanding this, the matter was dropped, and when
it will be resumed I know not. At the beginning of the session, you
would think that most of the House, from their speeches without-doors,
were for doing something eflectual; but they no sooner get involved in
secular matters, than the idea of religion is obliterated from their minds.
''You observe Mr. Leigh expresses a willingness to meet us at any ap-
pointed time, to put into execution the plan you propose, or, if we think
* The Rev. William Leigh, of Chesterfield.
■f A seat of the Randolphs, near Richmond.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 267
proper, he allows us to put his name down to any notification to our
brethren.
"As we have been so long undetermined, nothing, I think, can be done
this winter. Should business, or your inclinations, lead you to this city in
April, pray send me previous notice of it, that I may inform some of the
gentlemen in this neighbourhood. Your presence may rouse us from om
lethargy; and for my own part, if you should think a memorial to the
House expedient, I will give it my hearty concurrence, or any other plan
you may adopt.
" I am, dear sir, with real esteem
" Your most obedient servant,
"John Buchanon.
"Richmond, February 2, 1784."
Nothing could better exhibit the true condition of things in Vir-
ginia than this correspondence. Dr. Buchanon acknowledges that
the clergy had brought this ruin upon themselves by their own mis-
conduct. Guilt-stricken, they were afraid and ashamed to come
forward boldly and call upon the Legislature to do something for
the cause of religion and morals, which were both declining. It never
seemed to enter into the thoughts of some, as a possibility, to do
any thing on the voluntary principle, independent of the State, so
accustomed were they to the old English system. Whether any
such meeting as that proposed by Dr. Griflfith ever took place, I
have not the means of ascertaining. In the winter of 1785, the
Legislature incorporated the Episcopal Church, tendering the same
privilege to others, and in the preamble states that it was done at
the petition of the Episcopal clergy. How many united in it, and
whether it was done at a general meeting called for the purpose,
I know not. In May of that year, 1785, the first Convention of
clerical and lay deputies met in Richmond, under the Act of incor
poration. Mr. Griffith, being there, was appointed a delegate to
the General Convention in Philadelphia that fall. The second Vir-
ginia Convention was held in May, 1786, when the Rev. Dr. Griffith
was chosen Bishop, by a vote of thirty-two members. Dr. Bracken
received ten, and Mr. Samuel Shield seven. An assessment was
made upon the parishes for funds to bear the expenses of his visit
to England for consecration ; but such was the depressed condition
of the Church, that a sufficiency was not raised, either in that year
or the two succeeding ones. In May, 1789, Mr. Griffith resigned
his claim upon the office, and in the summer of that year died at
the house of Bishop White, while attending the General Convention.
At the following Convention, the Rev. James Madison was chosen
Bishop by a vote of forty-five, — the Rev. Samuel Shield having
nine. To the shame of the Church of Virginia, in that day be it
268 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
said, suflBcient funds were not raised for Bishop Madison's conse-
cration. A part was drawn from his private resources, and that
worthy man, Graham Franks, of London, of whom we have before
spoken as the warm friend of the Church of Virginia, and whose
wife lies buried in old York graveyard, contributed five guineas
toward it.
List of the Vestrymen.
John West, Wm. Payne, Jr., Wm. Adams, John Dalton, Thomas Wren,
Edward Duling, Daniel French, Thomas Shaw, Towushend Dade, Richard
Sanford, Charles Broadwater, Edward Blackburn, James Wren, Heniy
Gunnel, John West, Jr., Richard Conwyy, Henry Darne, John Hunter,
Charles Alexander, Presley Cox, \\ m. Chapman, Townshend Hooe, Wm.
Herbert, Thomas Triplett, George Gilpin, Wm. Browne, Bryan Fairfax,
Robert Powell, Wm. Syles, David Stewart, John Courts, Wm. Hunter,
Roger West, John Jackson, Benjamin Harris, Lewis Hipkins, George
Gilpin, Nicholas Fitzhugh, Robert T. Hooe, Baldwin Dade, Philip R.
Fendall, James P. Nicholls, Ludwell Lee, Wm. Fitzhugh, George Taylor,
John Roberts, George Deueale, Daniel McClean, H. Smoot, John Tinker,
Edmund I. Lee, Charles Simms, Charles Alexander, Jr., John Tucker,
James Kieth, Wm. S. Moore, Cuthbert Powell, John Muncaster, Jonah
Thompson, Thomas Swann, Tristam Dalton, Augustin J. Smith, William
Hodgson, Anthony Crease, Richard M. Scott, Francis Adams, Wm. H.
Fitzhugh, James Kieth, Jr., James H. Hooe, Craven Thompson, Thomas
Semmes, Horatio Clagget, Noblet Herbert, Newton Keene, John Roberts,
Bernard Hooe, Wm. Herbert, Peyton Thompson, John Lloyd, J. J. Fro-
bell, Wm. Fowle, J. A. Washington, James Atkinson, J. H. Crease, W.
C. Page, Edward Latham, R. H. Claggett, W. F. Alexander, Daniel
Minor, George Johnson, Guy Atkinson, Cassius F. Lee, Solomon Masters,
Wm. Morgan, Richard C. Mason, George Fletcher, James Irwin, J. Grubb,
General John Mason.
The following names, not in the old vestry-book, have been fur-
nished me: —
Louis A. Cazenove, William W. Hoxton, William L. Powell, Edgar
Snowden, Edward C. Fletcher, William G. Cazenove, Henry C. Neale,
John J. Lloyd, Reuben Johnston, Charles H. Lee, William C. Yeaton,
Richard C. Smith, Thomas C. Atkinson, Lawrence B. Taylor, Henry W.
Vandegrift, John Crockford, Douglass R. Semmes.
Concerning two of the above-mentioned vestrymen 1 may be
permitted to say a few words. Mr. George Taylor and Edmund
L Lee were churchwardens when I took charge of Christ Church
in 1811, and so continued until the removal of one by a change of
residence, and the other by death, after a long term of service.
They were both of them members of the Standing Committee during
the same period. I think I knew them well, and knew them to bei
sincere Christians, and useful, punctual business-men Mr. T;\yIor,
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 269
1 think, nearly reached his century of years, his step still elastic
and form erect and countenance fine and temper unruffled, — walk-
ing between Washington and Alexandria without weariness almost
to the last, and lifting up a distinct voice in the utterance of those
prayers in which he delighted, — dying, as he had lived, in the faith
of the Gospel. Mr. Lee generally attended on State Conventions,
and sometimes the General Convention. He was a man of great
decision and perseverance in what he deemed right, — obstinate, some
of us thought, even to a fault, when we differed from him. There
was no compromise at all in him, with any thing which he thought
wrong. He was as fearless as Julius Caesar. On a certain Sab-
bath, while I was performing service in Christ Church, a certain
person in the gallery disturbed myself and the congregation by
undue vociferation in the responses, and also at the opening of the
sermon. I paused, and requested him to desist, and was proceed-
ing, but Mr. Lee, who was near him, arose and asked me to suspend
the sermon. Walking toward the offender, he told him that he
must leave the house. As he nppvonclied to enforce it, the person
raised a loaded whip and stru«k at him. Mr. Lee, nothing moved,
took him by the arms and led him out of the house, and deposited
him in the town jail. When mayor of the town, he was a terror to
evil-doers. Ascertaining that there was much gambling going on
among the gentlemen of the place, and some of the principal ones,
he took effective measures for their discovery, brought between
thirty and forty before the court, and had them fined. The prose-
cuting attorney was his particular friend, and was slightly impli-
cated in the evil practice; but he did not spare him. Nor did he
wish to be spared, but, coming forward and paying his fine, then
did his duty with all the rest. Mr. Lee was of course not a popular
man, nor did he seek or care to be, but did his duty entirely re-
gardless of all others. He kept our Conventions in good order, by
always insisting upon the observance of rules of which the clergy
are not always mindful. He was the great advocate of our Bishops'
fund, and defended it from all invasions. I not only knew Mr.
Lee from my youth up, but I saw him in his last moments, and
heard him with the truest humility speak of himself as a poor sin-
ner, whose only hope was in Christ. And can I speak of him
without remembering that meek and holy woman to whom he was
BO long a most affectionate husband ? She was the daughter of that
Christian patriot, Richard Henry Lee. For more than thirty
years she was gradually dying of consumption, and yet in such a
way as to admit of the exhibition of all her Christian graces in
i70
OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
the various relations of life. By universal consent, she was one of
the purest specimens of humanity sanctified by the grace of God.
P.S. — It was in this parish that the question of the right of the
Church to the glebes, which had been determined against the Church
in the Virginia courts, was reconsidered. Being brought before
the Supreme Court, the former decision was reversed, so far
as the glebe in Fairfax pai'ish was concerned. The opinion of the
court, which was drawn up by Judge Story, of Massachusetts, may
be seen in the Appendix.
From Sparks s Life of Washington.
•' After the French War, while in retirement at Mount Vernon, Wash-
ington took a lively interest in Church affairs, regularly attending public
worship, and being at different times a vestryman in two parishes.
"The following list of votes for vestrymen in Fairfax parish and Truro
parish is copied from a paper in Washington's handwriting, and shows
that he was chosen a vestryman in each of those parishes. How long he
continued in that station, I have no means of determining. The place
of worship in Fairfax parish was at Alexandria; in Truro parish, at Pohick;
the former ten, the latter seven, miles frem Mount Vernon."
Vestry chosen for Fairfax parish, 2Sth 3Iarch, 1765, with the
number of votes for each.
John West
. 340
George Johnston
. 254
(Jharles Alexander
. 309
Townshend Dade
. 252
William Payne .
. 304
Richard Sandford
. 247
John Dalton
. 281
William Adams .
. 244
George Washington
. 274
John Posey
. 222
Charles Broadwater
. 260
Daniel French
. 221
Vestry chosen for Truro parish, 22d July, 1765, with the number
of votes for each.
George Mason
. 282
Alexander Henderson .
. 231
Edward Payne .
. 277
William Gardner
. 218
George Washington
. 259
Tomison Ellzey .
. 209
John Posey
. 259
Thomas W. Coffer
. 189
Daniel McCarty .
. 246
William Lynton .
. 172
George William Fairfax
. 235
Thomas Ford
. 170
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 271
ARTICLE LXX.
St. Paul's Church, Alexandria and Cameron and Shelhurne
Parishes, Loudon County.
We have already said that St. Paul's Church grew out of a differ-
ence between the Rev. Mr. Gibson and the congregation of Christ
Church, in 1809. There were worthy persons in the vestry and
congregation who thought that Mr. Gibson's apology for the manner
in which he resigned his charge ought to have been accepted, and
that he should have been allowed to withdraw his resignation and
continue his ministry. The majority of the vestry thought other-
wise, and that it would be better to let the connection be dissolved.
Some of the vestry and of tlie congregation thought that the harsh-
ness of manner and language sometimes apparent in his discourses
proceeded from an honest zeal, which made him speak very differ-
ently from the tame Avay and courteous strain of the old clergy,
and therefore determined to form a new congregation. They accord-
ingly purchased a small vacant church belonging to the Presbyterian
denomination, and commenced services in it. On the 23d of Janu-
ary, 1810, a vestry was organized, consisting of Daniel McLean,
Lawrence Hooff, James B. Nicholls, Mark Butts, Nathaniel C.
Hunter, John Young, Joseph Thomas, Adam Lynn, Joseph Thorn-
ton, John Hooff, Thomas West Peyton, to whom at different times,
until the year 1832, have been added Charles Page, Thomas Moore,
Augustin Newton, Ferdinand Mastellar, John Gird, Lawrence
Lewis, Humphrey Peake, W. C. Gardiner, James Entwisle, Isaac
Cannell, Christopher Neale, George Johnson, Norman Fitzhugh,
Silas Reed, Lewis A. Cazenove, Benjamin I. Fendall, Bernard
Hooe, Charles Koones, William Fowle, Lewis Hooff, Anthony Mc-
Lean, Geo. U. Smoot, William H. Fowle, James Green, Dr. Isaac
Winston, Francis L. Smith, Stephen Shinn, David Funsten, Orlando
Fairfax, Silas Reed, George Brent, Bernard Hooe, &c.
MINISTERS OF ST. PAUL's CHURCH.
The Rev. Mr. Gibson resigned in the month of September, 1811.
In the following February the Rev. Wm. Wilmer entered upon the
charge and continued in it until the 19th of October, 1826, when
272 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS. AND
he accepted the rresidcncy of William and Mary College. During
his ministry the old church was enlarged and the present church
built, and the congregation increased manifold. Of Dr. Wilmer T
have already spoken in one of the articles on Williamsburg. I will
only add that the congregation could not have been supplied with
one better calculated to build it up, whether we consider his zeal,
prudence, or ability for the work, in private or public. During his
residence in Virginia he was always sent to the General Convention,
and when there chosen to preside over its deliberations. With his
pen he defended Protestantism against Romanism, and moderate
views of the Church and Sacraments against certain extravagant
ones which were at that early period finding their way amcng us.
At the resignation of Mr. Wilmer, the Rev. William Jackson was
chosen, but did not enter upon his duties until February, 1827.
Most acceptably and usefully did he labour in this congregation,
until his resignation in June, 1832, when he accepted a call to St.
Stephen's Church, New York, He left St. Paul's and the diocese
of Virginia with the deep regrets of all who knew his amiable
character, heard his excellent sermons, and had opportunity to
appreciate his great worth. The Rev. James T. Johnson was then
elected, and entered upon his duties in the fall of 1833, and con-
tinues the minister until the present time, 1857.
I find one or two things on the records of this parish which are
worthy of insertion. Bishop Madison was applied to to consecrate
the first St. Paul's Church, but declined on account of collegiate
duties, and requested Bishop Claggett to perform the oflSce, which was
done promptly and much to the gratification of all. An instance
of liberality deserves also to be inserted. The first St. Paul's
Church was bought on credit for the sum of three thousand five
hundred dollars. In the year 1813, Mr. Daniel McLean, one of
the vestry, paid the amount and made a deed to the vestry for it.
The second church so exceeded the first in size and expense as to
cost twenty-six thousand dollars.
CAMERON AND SHELBURNE PARISHES.
Cameron parish was cut ofi" from Truro parish in 1749, and until
1769 included Shelburne parish. A few words will suffice for all
the information I have to communicate concerning it. In the year
1758 the Rev. John Andrews was its minister; whether before or
after this, or how long, is not known. Whether he was the minister
who was subsequently the professor at Williamsburg, and after the
war discontinued the ministry and moved to Philadelphia, is not
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 273
known. He was ordained in 1749, and the Rev. Archibald Avens,
who probably succeeded him in Cameron parish, in 1767. In the
years 1773, 1774, and 1776, the Rev. Speuce Grayson was the
minister ; w^hether before or after, or how long, not known. We hear
nothing of this parish after the Revolution. There was a church
in it near the Gumspring, the traces of which are yet to be seen.
There was, I think, another not far from the junction of the roads
from Georgetown and Alexandria to Leesburg.
In addition to this brief notice of Cameron and Shelburne parishes,
we are able to furnish the following facts concerning the latter,
taken from an old vestry-book, or rather fragment of one, com-
mencing in 1771 and ending in 1806. On the 10th of April, in the
year 1771, the churchwardens — John Lewis and Thomas Shore —
are directed to employ some minister to perform divine service once
in every three months during pleasure, and that the preference be
given to the Rev. Mr. Scott, and that the minister employed do
preach at Leesburg and the other chapel (called the Mountain
Chapel) in the parish, as also at some convenient place near the
gap of the Short Hill, to be fixed on by the churchwardens. On
the 27th of July of that year, at the meeting of the vestry, it ap-
pears that the Rev. Archibald Avens, who was no doubt the minister
in the parish of Cameron in the year 1769, two years before, when
Shelburne was cut off from it, and who was living in the part which
was assigned to Cameron, had moved into Shelburne and claimed
to be its minister. This the vestry resisted, and advertised for a
minister in the Virginia Gazette. In the month of August of the
same year we find the following entry : —
" Mr. William Leigh, a student of William and Mary College, having
been warmly recommended to this vestry by the president, masters, and
professors of said college, as a young man of sound learning, unfeigned
piety, and unexceptionable morals, we do hereby undertake and agree to
receive him as minister of this parish, provided it should continue vacant
till he returns from Great Britain in Holy Orders, unless he should by
some misconduct forfeit the good opinion we entertain of him."
At a meeting in November of the same year, five thousand three
hundred and twelve pounds of tobacco were levied for the Rev.
James Scott, who had been officiating for them. He was doubtless
the minister of Prince William parish, of whom we have formerly
written, and who had been engaged to visit this parish during the
last six months.
In the next month we find the Rev. David Griffith elected and
unanimously recommended to the Governor for induction, which
Vol. II.— 18
274 OLD CllUllCHES, MINISTERS, AND
was a striking proof of their confidence in him. Five thousand-
weight of tobacco were added to his sahiry in phace of a glebe, —
there being none at that time. Mr. Griffith continued their minister
until May, 1776. During that year he engaged in the Revolu-
tionary struggle as chaplain. There is no record of any meeting
of the vestry after May the 22d, 1776, until April 27, 1779 In
1780 the vestry advertise for a minister. From 1776 to 1792 the
vestry was unable to obtain a minister. Indeed, it was impossible
to collect any thing for that purpose. The glebe which had been
purchased for Mr. Griffith was rented out during that time for a
very small sum. In the year 1794 the Rev. Alexander Jones is
minister for one year on a salary of fifty pounds. In 1796 the
Rev. Alexander McFarlan becomes the minister, on the written
condition that he may be removed at any time according to the
canons of the Church of Virginia. He engaged to preach two
Sundays at Leesburg, one at the Pot-House, and one at Middle-
burg. In the year 1801, Mr. McFarlan, in a letter to the vestry,
resigns the parish and gives up the glebe, on the express condition
that they choose the Rev. John Dunn as his successor. The vestry
accept his resignation, adding that they have no regard to his con-
ditions, which he had no right to make. They, however, elect Mr.
Dunn, who was their worthy minister until his death in 1827. He
was ordained Priest by Bishop Madison. Mr. Dunn was suddenly
seized with paralysis while performing service in Middleburg, and
died in Leesburg shortly after.
I was called to witness his happy, triumphant death, and after
some time to make an improvement of both his life and death in a
funeral discourse, which was published. Had I a copy of it, I
would make use of some parts of it in order to convey to my read-
ers the impressions then resting on my own mind and on that of the
community concerning this excellent man. The text was, "Be-
hold an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile." And seldom
has it ever been so true of any of the frail children of men. He
was in all things a most sincere and upright man, " speaking the
truth from his heart." He was a man of a most humble and con-
tented mind. He lived on his glebe, and, though not much of a
farmer, and a very easy master to the few servants belonging to
himself or Mrs. Dunn, lived on its proceeds, receiving little or
nothing else, until perhaps the last few years of his life. I can
never forget his words or looks when, walking about his premises,
he told me that he had nothing to wish for more ; that he had corn
enough in his granary to last until Christmas, and some hay, and
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 275
was out of debt ; " and what do I want more ?" he emphatically asked.
Mr. Dunn was a man of sound views of religion and an honest
preacher of them. From the time of the first efforts for the revival
of religion in Virginia until his death, he was a member of the
Standing Committee of the diocese and punctual in his attendance,
though living at some distance from the place where its meetings
were held.
He was succeeded by the Rev. Thomas Jackson, who continued
for three years to fill the place with ability and great acceptable-
ness. The Rev, Mr. Cutler then spent a year in the parish, and,
at the end of that time, removed to his present charge in Brooklyn,
New York.
The Rev. George Adie took charge of it in 1832, and continued
in it until his death, in 1856, — being its faithful, laborious, and
beloved minister for nearly twenty-four years, — and has been suc-
ceeded by the Rev. Mr. Caldwell. Mr. Adie, for many years con-
nected with his charge at Leesburg regular though infrequent service8
at Upperville, Middleburg, and Aldie. He also acted as chaplain to
the female school at Belmont, a few miles from Leesburg, kept by
Miss Margaret Mercer. For a faithful and deeply-interesting
account of this remarkable woman we must refer our readers to the
little volume by Dr. Caspar Morris, of Philadelphia, than which
there are few biographies more just, more edifying, or more pleasing.
Miss Mercer still lives in the memories and affections of her nume-
rous pupils, who are scattered over the land. For some years the
Sunday afternoon services of Mr. Adie were held in the large hall
at Belmont ; but, as there were many poor in the neighbourhood,
Miss Mercer, at her own expense, put up a neat little chapel a
short distance from the house, for their benefit. I have spent some
interesting seasons in this house of God, preaching and administer-
ing Confirmation. Miss Mercer was then and there to be seen in
her highest glory and happiness, in the midst of her pupils and the
poor. At her death, a tomb was erected in the churchyard by a
general contribution from her pupils, with the following inscrip-
tion : —
"Sacred to the memory of Margaret Mercer, born July 1, 1791; died
September 17, 1846. Her remains repose beneath the chancel of this
church, built by her own self-denying labours. This monument is erected
by her pupils, as a testimony of their admiration of her elevated Christian
character, and of their gratitude for her invaluable instructions."
The history of the churcies in Shelburne parish, as seen on
the vestry-book, is amusing. For some years before the war, the
276 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
record states that various places were determined upon and thei;
abandoned, various plans agreed upon and then changed. Twice
was it ordered that a church be built at a place belonging to George
William Fairfax, once on the land of Colonel Tayloe, then at the
fork of the road leading to Noland's Ferry ; sometimes it was to
be of wood, then of stone, sometimes of one size, then of another.
I am unable to designate either of the places. The war came upon
them while thus divided in sentiment, and settled the question in
favour of none. It was not until the second war with England
that an Episcopal church was begun in Leesburg, on its present
site. Services were held by Mr. Dunn in the old Presbyterian
church in Leesburg, and the free church in Middleburg.
A few words concerning the old glebe in this parish will not be
without interest to the present generation. About the year 1772,
a tract of land containing four hundred and sixty-five acres, on the
North Fork of Goose Creek, was purchased, and, soon after, a
house put upon it. When Mr. Dunn became minister, in 1801, an
effort was made by the overseers of the poor to sell it, but it was
eflfectually resisted at law. At the death of Mr. Dunn, in 1827,
the overseers of the poor again proceeded to sell it. The vestry
was divided in opinion as to the course to be pursued. Four of
them— Dr. W. C. Selden, Dr. Henry Claggett, Mr. Fayette Ball,
and George M. Chichester — were in favour of resisting it ; the
other eight thought it best to let it share the fate of all the others.
It was accordingly sold. The purchaser lived in Maryland; and,
of course, the matter might be brought before the Supreme Court
as a last resort, should the courts of Virginia decide against the
Church's claim. The minority of four, encouraged by the decision
of the Supreme Court in the case of the Fairfax glebe, determined
to engage in a lawsuit for it. It was first brought in Winchester,
and decided against the Church. It was then carried to the Court
of Appeals, in Richmond, and, during its lingering progress there,
three out of four of the vestrymen who engaged in it died, and the
fourth was persuaded to withdraw it.
hist of the Vestrymen of Shelhurne Parish from the year 1771 to 1806.
William Smith, Thomas Lewis, James Hamilton, Francis Peyton, Josias
Clapham, Levin Powell, John Lewis, Thomas Ousley, Thos. Shore, Thomp-
son Mason, Stephen Donaldson, Craven Peyton, Colonel Wni. Bronaugh,
Colonel John Alexander, Joshua Gore, Thos. Respass, Jos. Combs, Colonel
Symon Triplett, Thomas Kenner, J. Daniel, Benjamin Grayson, Joseph
Lane, Stephen Thompson Mason, Matthew Rust, Wilson C. Selden, Chas.
Bennett, A. B. T. Mason, William Bronaugh, Jr., W. H. l^owejl, Willian:
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 277
Jones, Thomas Fouch, William Fouke, Dr. Thomas Simm, Burr Powell.
Peter B. Whitiug, Jas. Leith, William Chilton, Charles Fenton Mercer.
The vestry-book from the year 1806 to this present time having
been mislaid or lost, a friend has sent me from recollection the
following list of vestrymen in addition to the above : —
W. C. Selden, Henry Claggett, Richard H. Henderson, W. T. T. Mason,
Payette Ball, Gr. M. Chichester, Jno. I. Hai-ding, William Ellzey, Lewis
Berkeley, B. Maulsby, C Douglass, W. H. Gray, Dr. J. Gray, W. A. Powell,
George Lee, J. P. Smart, H. Saunders, A. Belt, C. Powell, C. Hempstone,
John Wildman, S. K. Jackson, B. W. Harrison, H. T. Harrison, I. Orr,
Thomas H. Claggett.
THE POWELL FAMILY.
I have not been able to ascertain any thing very certain con-
cerning the family of Powells which appears on the records of the
Church in Loudon county. The name of Powell is a very ancient
one on the civil records of Virginia. Cuthbert Powell was contem-
porary in Lancaster county Avith the first John Carter. Indeed, the
name is found on one or more of the earliest lists of adventurers to
Virginia. Colonel Powell, of Loudon, — father of Messrs. Leven,
Burr, Cuthbert, Alfred Powell, and their sisters, — married a near
relative of the Rev. Mr. Harrison, of Dumfries, of whose ancestors
some account, taken from the record of Westminster parish, England,
was given in our sketch of Dettingen parish. Colonel Powell was
once a member of Congress from his district. With his widow I was
acquainted in the earlier years of my ministry. She was one whose
fidelity to the Church no adversity could shake. When all others
were deserting it, she continued steadfast. A minister of another
denomination was once conversing with her on the subject of his
own and her Church, and said that there was but little difference
between them, — that they were like twin-sisters. Whether she
suspected him of some design at proselyting or not, I cannot say,
but she very decidedly replied, " It might be so, but that she
greatly preferred one of the sisters to the other." She was old-
fashioned in all her ways, — in her dress, her home, her furniture,
and domestic occupations. She lived in a plain house, a little back
of the main and indeed only street in Middleburg. On one of my
journeys to Alexandria, while stopping on a summer's afternoon at
that place, I walked over to her abode, and found her busily en-
gaged at her wheel, spinning tow or flax, on what was called the
small wheel in those days, in contradistinction to that on which
wool and cotton were spun, and which was called the large wheel.
278 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
The march of improvement has left both sorts far behind, and with
them much honest, domestic industry and substantial clothing.
One word concerning my old friend, Mr. Lewis Berkeley, of Aldie.
We were school-boys together. He was descended from the old
family of Berkeleys in Middlesex, which lived at Barnelms, on the
Pyankatank, and which was the last to leave the county, after
having been a main prop to the Church for more than one hundred
and fifty years. Mr. Lewis Berkeley married a daughter of Mr.
William Noland, an old member of the Legislature from Loudon, in
days long since passed away. Mr. Noland signalized himself by his
zealous advocacy of the law against duelling. So just and sensible
was his speech on the subject, that it was soon introduced into the
school-books or collection of pieces for school-boys, and still holds
its place. Mr. Berkeley, his excellent wife, and Mr. and Mrs.
Noland, were for a long term of years the pious, consistent, active,
and liberal supporters of the Episcopal Church in Loudon, whether
the services were at Aldie, Middleburg, or even twelve miles off,
at Leesburg, at which latter place they often attended.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA, 270
ARTICLE LXXI.
Parishes in Frederick County.
In our last communication we had reached the Blue Ridge, — the
great dividing-line between Eastern and Western Virginia. We
now ascend that beautiful range of mountains, and look down on
the wide and extensive valley which lies between it and those nume-
rous ones which hide the great Alleghany from our view. I believe
it is generally admitted that this valley is not only the most fertile
and desirable portion of the State, but also the most picturesque
and beautiful. But it is not our province to descant on such themes.
We may, however, be permitted to declare our assent to the hypo-
thesis of Mr. Jefferson and others, that it was once a great lake or
sea, which emptied itself through the channel formed by the force
of the waters at Harper's Ferry, leaving immense prairies behind
to be covered in due time with heavy forests, some of which our
eyes now behold, while most of them have been felled by the hands
of our forefathers.*
Such a country could not but attract the attention of hardy and
adventurous farmers. The first who entered it were from Pennsyl-
vania. Crossing the Potomac at what is now called Shepherdstown,
but at first and for a considerable time Mecklenburg, — doubtless
after some town or place in Germany, — they there made a settle-
ment. From thence emigration proceeded on toward Winchester,
Stephensburg, or Newtown, Woodstock, &c. Joist Hite, the an-
cestor of all the Hites, was the first to make a settlement north of
Winchester, with sixteen families. This was in the year 1732. His
* It is a true tradition, I believe, that one of the Carters, who at an early
period took up or purchased a large tract of land in old Frederick, including all
that which now belongs to the Burwell family, and extending beyond and along the
Opequon and its barren hills and stunted trees, offered to one of his sons the choice
of an equal portion of that upon the Opequon and of that fertile prairie lying be-
tween it and the Shenandoah River, and that the former was preferred because of
the timber, which was visible, though of so indifferent a character. That the lower
and richer lands of this part of the valley were once praii-ie in the days of our
forefixthers is generally admitted. Old Mr. Isaac Hite, of Bellgrove, now deceased,
informed me that his father often spoke of the land about the Wliite Post as being,
in his day, covered with a thickci of saplings.
280 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTEKS, AND
descendants of that name became active members of, or friends of,
the Episcopal Church. Soon after this, Presbyterians of Scotch
and Irish descent began to settle in the valley. In the year 1738,
a nmnber from Pennsylvania, wishing to add themselves to those
already settled, sent, through the synod of Pennsylvania, a deputa
tion to Governor Gooch, of Virginia, " asking all liberty of con-
science and of worshipping God agreeably to the principles of their
education." They professed the utmost loyalty to the King, and
promised "the most dutiful submission to the government which is
placed over them." The Governor assured them of his favour, and
that no interruption should be given to their ministers, if they should
" conform themselves to the rules prescribed by the Act of Tolera-
tion in England." It was the same principle which had been acted
on before this time in Virginia, and continued to be to the end of
the Colonial Establishment. Under that law, any number of
persons, of whatsoever name, might ask for and should receive a
license for some place of meeting where they might worship after
their own way. Even during the preceding century, the first of
our settlements in Virginia, the Germans on the Rappahannock
and the French Huguenots on James River had not only been tole-
rated, but allowed special favour^, such as grants of lands and
freedom from taxes, until of their own accord they applied to be
admitted into union with the Established Church under Episcopal
ministers, — finding it difficult to procure any of their own. Other
denominations also were allowed licenses for places of worship, —
whether private or public houses, — provided they sought and used
them in compliance with the true intent of the law. In the case of
President Davies, about the middle of the last century, — Avhich we
have considered when speaking of the parish in Hanover, — seven
places of worship were licensed for him before the Governor de-
clared that he was exceeding the bounds prescribed by the spirit
and intent of the law.
With these general observations we proceed to the history of the
parish of Frederick. The materials are furnished by the Acts of
Assembly dating back to the year 1738, to the records of the court
beginning in 1744, and to the old vestry-book going back to the
year 1764, and some papers of an earlier date.
In the year 1738, the Assembly, in consideration of the increas-
ing number of settlers in the valley, determined to cut off two
new counties and parishes — West Augusta and Frederick — from
Orange county and parish, which latter then took in all Western
V'rginia. The county and paiisli of Frederick embraced all that
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 281
is now Shenandoah, with a part of Page, Warren, Clarke, Frederick,
Jefferson, Berkeley, and Hampshire. Augusta had all the rest to
the utmost limits of Virginia, wherever they were, — the contest with
France as to the boundaries not being then settled. The execu-
tion of the Act, however, was postponed until it should be made to
appear that there were inhabitants enough for the appointment of
justices of the peace, &c. In the year 1744, the vestry and court
of Frederick county were organized and in action. Of the vestry,
nothing more is heard after its organization, except the appoint-
ment of processioners in 1747, until the year 1752, when an Act
of Assembly was passed dissolving it and ordering a new election,
on the ground that it had raised more than fifteen hundred pounds
for building a number of churches which were unfinished and in a
ruinous condition. As the churches of that day and in this region
were log-houses, costing only from thirty to forty or fifty pounds,
there must have been much misspending of money. Who those
vestrymen were does not appear. Those chosen in their place were
the following : — Thomas Lord Fairfax, Isaac Perkins, Gabriel Jones,
John Hite, Thomas Swearingen, Charles Buck, Robert Lemmon,
John Lindsey, John Ashby, James Cromley, Lewis Neil. Thomas
Bryan Martin, the nephew and one of the heirs of Lord Fairfax,
does not ever appear as vestryman, but seems to have been an
active magistrate, and to have taken a considerable part in com-
pleting McCoy's Chapel, on the road from Winchester to Front
Royal, in the neighbourhood of the McCoys and Cunningham Chapel,
which stood near the spot where what has been long called the Old
Chapel — near the Burwell burial-ground — still stands. Mr. Edward
McGuire also appears as a magistrate, but not as vestryman, — he
being of the Romish Church. He was the ancestor of many worthy
ministers and members of the Protestant Episcopal Church of
Virginia.
Having mentioned Lord Fairfax as the first on the list of that
most respectable body of vestrymen given above, and who also gave
the land on which the church in Winchester stood, and under which
he was buried, it is but right that we should add a few words as to
himself and his numerous and most estimable relatives now scattered
through this and other States.
The first of the Fairfaxes who came to this country, and who
Bettled in Westmoreland, and then on an estate near Mount Vernon,
called Belvoir, was Mr. William Fairfax, a scholar, a soldier and
civilian. The latter character he exhibited as President of the
Council of Virginia, — the station next to that of Governor. By two
282 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
marriages he had five children, — George William, Thomas, William,
Bryan, and Hannah. George William married a Miss Gary, of
Virginia, but left the county before the Revolutionary War.
Thomas and William died, the one in the English navy and the
other in the army. Bryan took Orders in the Episcopal Church, and
was for some years minister of Christ's Church, Alexandria. Hannah
married Warner Washington, of Fairfield, a near relative of George
Washington, and was a worthy member of our Church, leaving two
Bons and three daughters behind. Two of her daughters — Mrs.
Milton (who was previously Mrs. Nelson) and Mrs. Whiting — were
long and well known to me as amono; the best of women. Of their
mother I have often heard Mr. Balmaine speak in the highest
terms.* The elder William Fairfax was the manager of the estates
of his kinsman. Lord Thomas Fairfax, the owner of all the lands in
the Northern Neck of Virginia, which he inherited from his mother,
the daughter of Lord Culpepper, and which were bounded by the
Rappahannock and Potomac, extending to the head-waters of each,
the one beginning in the Blue Ridge, the other in the Alleghany
Mountains. Lord Fairfax was a man of the most perfect English
education, Oxford being his Alma Mater. He was a member of
that club of which Addison was the head, and to whose pens we are
indebted for that immortal woi'k, the Spectator. He was early and
deeply disappointed in love, which gave a turn to his character and
habits, and prepared him for seclusion in the wilds of America.
In 1749, he visited his estates in Virginia, and was so much pleased
with the country that he determined to settle here. During that
visit he became acquainted with, and attached to, young George
Washington, then only sixteen years of age. The afiection was
returned on the part of Washington, and he readily accepted the
proposition of Lord Fairfax to become surveyor of all his lands.
Lord Fairfax returned for a short time to England, while Washing-
* In proof of the zeal of Mrs. Hannah Washington, of Fairfield, in the cause of
religion and the Church, I might adduce a brief correspondence between herself and
Mr. George Lewis, who lived at the place afterward owned by Mr. Milton, on the
subject of securing the services of Mr. Balmaine in the year 1787, when steps
were taken to build what has always been called The Chapel. Mrs. Washington,
whose example has been followed by many good ladies in Virginia since, took an
active part in some Church matters, and wrote to Mr. Lewis, proposing that,
inasmuch as at least a year must elapse before the chapel could be finished, the
neighbours on both sides of Bnttletown should unite in renting a house of a Mr.
McMahon, at Traphill, for divine service, and promises to send her carpenters to fit
It up for the purpose. To this Mr. Lewis readily assents, and the plan was adopted.
The house was pointed out to me between forty and fifty years ago.
FAMILIES DF VIRGINIA 283
ton immediately repaired to his work in the valley, making his
head-quarters at Greenway Court. Washington continued for two
or three years in the service of Lord Fairfax, and as public sur-
veyor for Western Virginia. At the death of Lord Fairfax, in
1781, being ninety-two years of age, the title fell to his only sur-
viving brother, Robert, in England, and at his death, which occurred
soon after, to the Rev. Bryan Fairfax, the nearest kinsman. It
deserves to be mentioned of Lord Fairfax, that, titled as he was, and
rich, he never failed to perform his duty as a citizen and neighbour,
but, besides acting as Keeper of the Rolls for Frederick, was uniform
in his attendance at Winchester, twelve miles off, as one of the
magistrates of the county. The poor around him cultivated some
of his lands, and received all the benefits of the same.*
To McCoy's and Cunningham's Chapel are to be added two on
the north and south branches of Shenandoah, whose location cannot
now be ascertained, one in Winchester, one at Bunker's Hill, called
Morgan's Chapel, of which we shall speak more fully hereafter,
perhaps one called Wood's Chapel, between Winchester and Charles-
town, and one at Shepherdstown, then called Mecklenburg Chapel.
All these were probably begun, and some of them sufficiently com-
pleted for use, between the years 1740 and 1750. In 1768, Mr.
Van Swearingen received one hundred and forty-eight pounds for
completing a new church at Mecklenburg, now Shepherdstown. In
the year 1768, Isaac Hite was directed to contract for a church at
Leith's — place not known — for forty-nine pounds. In the year 1774,
a church was ordered to be built near Cedar Creek for one hundred
pounds; whether executed or not, I cannot tell. In the year 1772,
it was resolved to build a church, costing two hundred and fifty-two
pounds, at Carney's Spring, near Berryville, on land given by Mr.
Charles Smith, which was afterward increased to four hundred and
forty-nine pounds, and a contract made with Mr. John Neville, father
of General Neville, and some of the materials collected on the spot.
In the following year it was determined to build it at Cunningham's
* In proof of the Heedlessness of great landed or other possessions, let me men-
tion the end of all Lord Fairfax's earthly property. His nephew, Colonel Martin,
was his heir. In the year 1794, his estate in lands was nine thousand seven hun-
dred acres. My father's farm lay beside it. I have a letter from my father in that
year to Mr. Charles Carter, of Shirly, on James River, who, it seems, thought of
moving to Frederick, urging him to purchase it, as Colonel Martin had determined
to sell. The price asked was forty shillings per acre, Virginia currency. The
whole Northern Neck of Virginia, computed at many millions of acres, is thus re-
duced to less than ten thousand.
284 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
Chapel, two acres of ground being given by Colonel Hugh Nelson, of
York, the then owner of the Burwell tract, and the materials moved
there. Again it was resolved to build at Carney's Spring, and the
materials removed a second time. The result of the controversy was
that no such church was ever built, though the money was in hand.
The war soon came on, and at the end of it the funds were delivered
into the hands of the overseers of the poor. In the year 1762, a
new stone church was contracted for in Winchester, — the same which
was afterward sold in order to build the present church.
Having thus brought down the history of the church-buildings to
the time of the Revolution, we will now give a list of the lay readers
and vestrymen from the year 1764, when the vestry-book com-
mences, merely premising that the county and parish of Frederick
were in 1769 divided into the counties of Dunmore, afterward
changed to Shenandoah, Frederick, and Berkeley, and into the
parishes of Beckford, Frederick, and Norbone.
Names of the vestrymen from the year 1764 until the year 1780,
when no more meetings of the vestry take place until 1785: — Isaac
Hite, John Hite, John Greenleaf, Thomas Rutherford, James Keith,
John Neville, Charles Smith, James "VYood, Jacob Hite, Thomas
Wadlington, Burr Harrison, Thomas Swearingen, Van Swearingen,
Angus McDonald, Philip Bush, Frederick Conrad, George Rice,
Alexander White, James Barnett, Marquis Calmes, John McDonald,
Edward Snickers, Warner Washington, Joseph Holmes, Benjamin
Sedwick, Edmund Taylor, John Smith, Samuel Dowdal. Of these,
Philip Bush and some others, in consequence of some unknown diffi-
culties, resigned in the year 1774, though all of them resumed their
seats except Mr. Bush. Lord Fairfax in the year 1775 made a deed
to Mr. Bush, Frederick Conrad, and others, for the lot on which the
Lutheran church stood, though Mr. Conrad continued as vestry-
man until the year 1780, when the vestries were all dissolved by
Act of Assembly. James Wood, who was both clerk and vestry-
man, resigned in 1777 and entered the army. He rose to the rank
of General, and was afterward Governor of the State, and repre-
sented the parish two years in Convention while Governor. James
Barnett resigned in 1773 and joined the Baptists.
The lay readers during all this period, at the different chapels,
were John Ruddell, James Barnett, John Barns, Henry Nelson,
James Graham, Henry Frencham, Morgan Morgan, John James,
William Dobson. William Howard, John Lloyd.
FAMILIES OF VIRGIXIA. 285
THE MINISTERS OF FREDERICK PARISH.
The Rev. Mr. Gordon was the first ; when his ministry commenced
end ended, not known. The Rev. Mr. Meldrmn comes next, and
continues until 1765. Between him and the vestry a long law-suit
was carried on, which terminated in his favour. The vestry applied
to the Legislature for relief, and obtained it. Mr. Sebastian was re-
commended by the vestry to the Bishop of London for Orders in 1766,
and became their minister, but after two years removed to North-
umberland county. The Rev. Mr. Thruston became the minister in
1768, binding himself to preach at seven places scattered over the
large parish of Frederick, Shepherdstown being one of them. Mr.
Thruston was a native of Gloucester, where the name still abounds,
and was captain of the militia in that county. The vestry of Pets-
worth parish, in Gloucester, recommended him for Orders, and he
was their minister for some years before coming to Frederick. He
laid down the ministry and entered the army in 1777. After the
war he lived at Mount Zion, in Frederick. In his latter days he
removed to the neighbourhood of New Orleans, and, it is said, was
preparing to take some part in defending that place against the
British when they were defeated by General Jackson. He was
the father of the late Judge Thruston, of the District of Columbia,
and the ancestor of many respectable families in Virginia and else-
where. From the time of Colonel Thruston's resignation in 1777
to the year 1785, there was no minister, so far as we can ascertain.
In the year 1785, a vestry was elected, consisting of Colonel R. K.
Meade, George F. Norton, churchwardens, John Thruston, Edward
Smith, Raleigh Colston, Girard Briscoe, John Milton, Robert Wood,
Major Thomas Massey. By this vestry the Rev. Alexander Bal-
maine was chosen minister. He had been chaplain in the army
of the Revolution, in which a number of the above-mentioned vestry-
men had served. Mr. Balmaine was born in Scotland, in the
neighbourhood of Edinburgh, in the year 1740, was educated at St.
Andrews with a view to the Presbyterian ministry, but relinquished
the design. Himself and his brother, who was a lawyer, were
warm friends of the Colonists in the Stamp Act difficulties, and
became so obnoxious on that account to the loyalists about Edin-
burgh, that they thought it best to try their fortunes elsewhere,
and moved to London, where they became acquainted with Mr.
Arthur Lee, who recommended Mr. Balmaine to the family of
Richard Henry Lee, as private tutor. While there, he prepared
286 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
for the ministry of the Episcopal Church, and upon receiving Orders
became rector of Augusta parish, then extending to the Ohio River,
and including, it is believed, Pittsburg itself, for he paid several
visits to the Episcopalians in that place. When our difficultiea
commenced with England, true to his principles adopted in Scot-
land, he took an early and active part, was chairman of the Com-
mittee of Safety in Augusta, and drafted the resolution adopted
by that committee. Soon after this, he entered the Virginia line
as chaplain, and continued so until the very close of the war.
Mr. Balmaine was the rector of the parish of Frederick until his
death. I was his assistant during a number of the last years of
his life.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 287
ARTICLE LXXII.
Parishes in Frederick County. — No. 2.
After the death of Mr. Bahnaine, the Rev. Mr. Bryan officiated
for a time at Winchester, Bunker's Hill, and Wicklift'e, in the ca-
pacity of assistant to myself, for a few years. He was followed by
the Rev. Mr. Robertson as assistant in Winchester alone. After a
few years he resigned and went on a mission to Greece. In the
year 1827, Christ Church, Winchester, was organized into a sepa-
rate parish, to be called the parish of Frederick, Winchester, with
the Rev. J. E. Jackson, minister. Mr. Jackson was one of three
worthy brothers of most respectable parentage in Tutbury, England,
all of whom ministered in the Church of Virginia and elsewhere in
this country. The Rev. J. E. Jackson was the father of the Rev.
William Jackson, who recently died so enviable a death in Norfolk.
He was a most diligent and faithful pastor, preaching the true
doctrines of the Gospel. Under his careful supervision the present
excellent church and parsonage were built. In 1842, he resigned
and moved to Kentucky. He was succeeded in 1842 by the Rev.
Mr. Rooker, who resigned in 1847. Its present rector, the Rev.
Cornelius Walker, succeeded Mr. Rooker. In May, 1834, another
division of Frederick parish took place, when Wickliffe, including
Berryville, was organized. The Rev. Mr. Jackson had been my
assistant in that part of the parish for two years before this. The
Rev. Mr. Rice had preceded him in that capacity. The Rev. Mr.
Shiraz followed Mr. Jackson. Its next was the Rev. Richard Wil-
mer, who was succeeded by the Rev. Mr. Peterkin. Its present, the
Rev. Mr. Whittle. This parish has recently been subdivided, and
the Rev. Mr. Powell, who was disappointed during the last year in
going to China, is the minister of that part which includes Wickliffe
Church. Another offshoot was also made from Frederick parish many
years since, in the neighbourhood of Middletown, where a parish
was organized and a neat brick church built in the village, under
the auspices of the late Strother Jones, the families of Hites, and
others. It has had mainly to depend on the occasional services of
the ministers in Winchester. The Rev. Mr. Bryant and the Rev
Mr. Irish were each for some time settled among them, and in none
288 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
of our congregations have more zeal and liberality been displayed,
according to numbers and means.
Having thus spoken of the five different divisions of Frederick
parish, after itself had been reduced by Acts of Assembly, I pro-
ceed to mention the new churches built since the Revolution, in
addition to those at Winchester and Middletown, already alluded
to. Among the first things done by the vestry of Frederick, after its
reorganization in 1787, was the adoption of measures for the build-
ing of a stone chapel where it was designed to erect that one which
failed, through the disagreement of the people and vestry, just be-
fore the Revolution, — viz.: where that called Cunningham's Chapel
stood. The land having now come into possession of Colonel
Nathaniel Burwell, the same two acres for a church and burying-
ground, which were offered by Colonel Hugh Nelson before the
war, were now given by Colonel Burwell, and the present stone
chapel ordered to be built in 1790. At what time it was completed
does not appear, but probably in the same year. After the revival
of our Church in Virginia commenced, a stone church was built
at Wickliffe, Mr. Tredwell Smith and General Thomas Parker being
the most active agents. A strenuous effort was made to have it a
free church, which I earnestly opposed, and offered to insure from
elsewhere as much as was pledged by other than Episcopalians. It
was ascertained that not more than fifty dollars, out of the two or
three thousand dollars which it cost, would be subscribed by other
than Episcopalians, and the plan was dropped. This church was
badly executed, and after a time the present excellent one of brick
was built under the superintendence of Mr. Jaqueline Smith, and
in a great measure at his expense. The ground on which it stood
had been given by the family of Williams, who, with their ancestors
in the Northern Neck of Virginia, had ever been staunch friends
of the Church. After some years the church at Berryville was
built on ground given by Mr. John Taylor, who owned the farm of
which it was a part. The building of this church was delayed for
some years by the attempt to have it placed on some basis which
would make it common to all denominations. Effort after effort
was made to effect it on this plan, without success. At length, when
the friends of the scheme acknowledged its failure, I addressed the
congregation in favour of an Episcopal church, and succeeded at
once. In the year 1834, it was found that the old chapel was too
small and inconvenient for the increasing congregation, and it was
therefore determined to erect another and larger one, in a more
central and convenient place, in the vicinity of Millwood, on ground
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 289
given by Mr. George Burwell, of Carter Hall. Such, however, waa
the attachment of many to the old chapel that funds for the latter
could not be obtained, except on condition of alternate services at
the chapel. From year to year these services became less frequent,
until at length they are now reduced to an annual pilgrimage, on
some summer Sabbath, to this old and much-loved spot, except
when services are held for the servants, or death summons the
neighbours to add one more to the tenants of the graveyard.*
My remarks on the old parish of Frederick, and some of its
branches, will be brought to a close by a brief reference to a spot
of all others most sacred to many now living as the depository of
all that was mortal of those most dear to us, — the burying-ground
which lies at the foot of the hill on which still stands the old stone
chapel. Ever since its appropriation to this purpose, it has been
the graveyard of rich and poor, bond and free, those who lived near
it, and the stranger from afar who died near it. It is called the
Burwell graveyard, not merely because the land was given by one
of that name, but because it is the resting-place of a far greater
number bearing that name than any other. It has recently been
enlarged and a portion of it divided into lots and the whole enclosed
with a strong stone wall. The vestry have also proposed the raising
and vesting in stock the sum of one thousand dollars for the per-
petual preservation of it and the old chapel which overlooks it.
Both of them stand in the immediate angle of two public and
much-frequented roads, and the passing traveller may see old and
venerable trees overshadowing many tombs, younger ones of per-
petual verdure more recently planted, green hillocks, covered with
grass and ivy, high headstones and large marble slabs, marking the
place of interment and designating the names of those whose re-
mains are beneath, and now and then a pillar, either for young or
old, rising above the other memorials. To this place, for more
than sixty years, have I been travelling, either borne in the arms
of others, or as a mourner, or as officiating minister. To it, at no
* The following are the names of the vestrymen of Frederick parish before the
division of it took place. It would be too tedious to enumerate all those belonging
to the subdivisions down to the present time. In addition to those already men-,
tioaed as composing the first vestry after the war, in 1787, are the following: —
John Woodcock, .John Peyton, Edward Smith, Thomas Byrd, Isaac Hite, Jr., Na-
thaniel Burwell, Warner Washington, Jr., John Page, General Thomas Parker,
Robert Page, Matthew Page, Philip Nelson, Robert Carter Burwell, Fairfax Wash-
ington, Henry St. George Tucker, Alfred Powell, George Norris, Philip Burwell,
G. R. Thompson, Nathaniel Burwell, Jr., ObedWaite, Dabney Carr, Joseph Baldwin,
Richard Briarly, Daniel Lee, William B. Page, John W. Page, Strother Jones.
Vol. IL— 19
290 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AXD
distant day, I expect to be carried, and from it I hope to see arise
the bodies of some of the truest saints of the Lord, unto whom, in
the adjoining temple, I was privileged to preach the blessed Gospel
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
A brief notice of the family of Burwells, so many of whom lie
buried there, and of one other individual mentioned in the vestry-
book as the friend and defender of the Church, and whose body
was interred among his relatives, is all that I shall further say in
connection with this spot. The early genealogy of this family I
take from Henning's Statutes at Large, Campbell's History of Vir-
ginia, and the tombstones at Carter's Creek, in the county of
Gloucester. The first of the name in this country was Major Lewis
Burwell, of Carter's Creek, in Gloucester county, Virginia, who
died in 1658. His wife was a Miss Higginson, whose father sig-
nalized himself in the wars with the Indians. He had two sons, —
Nathaniel and Lewis. Nathaniel married a daughter of Robert
Carter, commonly called King Carter, by whom he had three sons
and one daughter. The daughter was named Elizabeth, and mar-
ried President Nelson. His sons were Lewis, Carter, and Robert
Carter. Lewis was either father or grandfather of that Lewis
Burwell who was President of the Council in 1750. Carter married
Lucy, the daughter of John Grymes, and settled at the Grove, near
Williamsburg. He was the father of Colonel Nathaniel Burwell,
who moved to Frederick and built Carter Hall. The third son,
Robert Carter, settled in Isle of Wight, and was the father of Na-
thaniel Burwell, of that county, and of Fanny, the first wife of
Governor Page. His son Nathaniel was the father of Robert Car-
ter Burwell, who moved to Frederick, of Mrs. Philip Nelson, and of
their three sisters, Jane, Fanny, and Ariana, who died unmarried,
and lie with their brother in the Burwell graveyard. The second
son of the first of the Burwells was, as we have stated, Major
Lewis Burwell. His first wife was Abigail Smith, heiress of Na-
thaniel Bacon, who was for many years President of the Council,
and near relatives of Bacon the rebel. Hence the name of Bacon,
in the Burwell family. By this marriage, he had four sons and
six daughters. His second wife was the widow of the Hon. Wil-
liam Cole, and came from Nansemond county, by whom he had
two sons and three daughters. He died in the year 1710, leaving
only three sons out of the six, and six daughters out of the nine.
He lived at King's Mill, or somewhere near, either in York county
or James City. His son Lewis built a large house at King's Mill
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 291
and improved the place at great expense, also purchased other landfc
around, and a tract in the Isle of Wight; on account of which, in
1736, he obtained leave of the Assembly to dock the entail of a
tract of land in King William and dispose of it. Of his numerous
descendants, and of those of the other branches, we can only say
that we find them settled in King William, Lancaster, Nansomond,
Isle of Wight, and then moving to Frederick, Berkeley, Botetourt,
Richmond City, and other places. The father of those settled in
Botetourt we read of as an active member of the vestry in King
William. Wherever they have gone, they have retained their at-
tachment to the Church of their fathers, and some have entered its
ministry.
I shall be excused for adding to the above a piece of family
history connected with that of a high public functionary of Old
Colonial Virginia, which may serve to cast some light on the state
of society and of the Church at the close of the first century of our
settlement. The second Lewis Burwell, as we have seen, had nine
daughters, one of whom completely upset what little reason there
was in Governor Nicholson of famous memory. He became most
passionately attached to her, and demanded her of her parenty in
royal style. Neither she, her parents, or the other members of the
family, were disposed to comply. He became furious, and for years
persisted in his design and claim. All around him felt th-c: (fi"ectf
of his rage. The father, brothers, Commissary Blair, and tLe Rev.
Mr. Fowace, minister of some parish near Williamsburg, i-ere the
special objects of his threatened vengeance. To the J'^tng lady
he threatened the life of her father and brothers if i.Lo did not
yield to his suit. This caused a friend of his in Engl//a<1 to write
a letter of remonstrance, in which he says, "It is not here as in
some barbarous countries, where the tender lady is drij'^^ed into th^
Sultan's arms, just reeking with the blood of her nearest relatives,
and yet she must strangely dissemble her aversion." To Commissary
Blair he declared that "he would cut the throats oi" three men if
the lady should marry any other but himself, — viz. : the bridegroom,
the ofiiciating minister, and the justice who issued the license." The
Rev. Mr. Fowace, in a letter to the Lord-Commissioners in England,
complains, among other things, of being assaulted by Governor
Nicholson one evening on his return from a visit to the family, (the
Major being sick,) and ordered never again to go to this house with-
out leave from himself. It seemed that the Governor was jealous
of him. Besides abusive language and other indignities, he pulled
292 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
off the minister's hat, as being disrespectful to him even on horse*
back. Such was the conduct of the Governor to him in this and
other respects that the Council and some of the clergy united in a
petition to the Crown for his removal, which was granted. All thia
and much more is on record in the archives of Lambeth Palace,
copies of which are before me. What was the subsequent history
of the young lady who, like another Helen, was the innocent cause
of so much strife, is not told. Even her Christian name is not
given. I need not say that if a Governor of Virginia under our free
system should assume such royal airs, the case Avould be much more
speedily and easily disposed of by the lady, the parents, and the
minister.
I promised to conclude this article with some mention of a gen-
tleman whose name was on the vestry-book and whose body was
interred in the old graveyard. That person was Mr. Edmund
Randolph, a distinguished lawyer of Virginia, who was often em-
ployed by the vestries as their counsellor. Such was the case with
the vestry of Frederick parish. Mr. Edmund Randolph was the
son of Mr. John Randolph, once Attorney-General of the State, but
who, at the breaking out of the war, preferred the royal to the re-
publican cause, and went to England with his family. His office
was given to his patriotic son Edmund Randolph, who figured so
largely, as the defender of his country, in the councils of the
State and of the nation, and the zealous supporter of the Church
against all which he believed to be assaults upon her rights. Young
Edmund Randolph was adopted by his uncle Peyton (who had
no children,) and espoused the same side, both as to the Church
and State, with the uncle, and was for a time the Secretary of State
under General Washington. He was educated at Williamsburg,
soon after Mr. Jefferson, Governor Page, and other distinguished
men of Virginia. It was a period of growing infidelity at that
college, and Mr. Randolph was for a time somewhat tinctured with
it, as he himself told me toward the close of his life. I can never
forget the manner in which he described the effect of a little flattery
from one of the leaders of the new school, for some doubts expressed
by him as to the truth of Christianity or of some of its doctrines.
That leader patted him on the head, calling him a promising youth
for the utterance of so independent a thought. The pressure of
that hand, he said, was felt for a long time afterward. But he
happily escaped the infidelity which soon deluged the State, and
joined Mr. Peyton Randolph, Robert C. Nicholas, Judge Pendie-
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 293
ton, Governor Page, and others, in defending the Church and
religion. He was not only engaged by different vestries in special
cases, as in the parish of Frederick, but was counsel for the whole
Church in that great question of the constitutionality of the law
which took away the Church property, and which was lost to the
Church by the sudden death of Judge Pendleton. Mr. Randolph
informed me that he had read that opinion and decision which was
drawn by Judge Pendleton, the President of the court, and, as I
think, that it was among his papers. Since his death I have re-
peatedly inquired for it, but was informed that neither among his
papers nor those of Judge Pendleton was it to be found. It has
always been said that the document was in the pocket of Judge
Pendleton when he was suddenly struck dead on the morning of
the day on which it was to have been used. The latter days of
Mr. Randolph's life were spent chiefly at his son-in-law's, Mr.
Bennett Taylor's, of Frederick county. I saw him during this
period, and conversed with him on religious subjects, in which he
seemed to take a deep interest. McKnight's Commentary on the
Epistles came out about this time, and Mr. Randolph, who had pro-
bably never been much conversant with such books, became passion-
ately fond of it, and sometimes talked of preparing and publishing
some selections from it, or an abridgment of it, that others might
enjoy the pleasure he had experienced in some of its elucidations
of Scripture, which seemed to him, to use his own language, like a
new revelation on some dark points. Mr. Randolph died at Carter
Hall, the seat of Colonel Nathaniel Burwell, of Frederick county,
and lies buried in the old graveyard by the side of Mrs. Taylor
and her husband. I close by referring in anticipation to a topic
which at some later stage of this work I purpose to notice more
fully. I have said above that the time of Mr. Randolph's residence
at William and Mary was one of growing infidelity. I was not
aware until lately that infidelity was of so recent an origin in
Virginia. In the year 1723 the Bishop of London addressed a
circular to all the clergy of Virginia, with a view of ascertaining
the state of religion in all the parishes. Among the questions
was the following: — Are there any infidels in your parish? In-
variably the reply was, none but the Indians and negroes. An
infidel among those who had been brought up in the Christian
faith was an unhappy being not then known in Virginia. The
great deep of the French Revolution had not then begun to be
broken up. Even France was not then infidel. I could scare©
294 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
believe those uniform responses of the clergy of Virginia, registered
as they are in the archives of our Mother- Church, and copies of
which are before me, until I came to another record of a somewhat
later date, which tells of the introduction of the first infidel book
which came over to Virginia. It was entitled, ''A Plain Instruc-
tion." The fact is communicated to the authorities in England, by
a letter or letters from the authorities here, as a most dreadful one.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 295
ARTICLE LXXIII.
Norhourne Parish, Berkeley/ Counts/. — No. 1.
This parish and county were, by Act of Assembly, taken from
Frederick in the year 1769, — just after the completion of the
church at Mecklenburg, or Shepherdstown, under the superintend-
ence of Mr. Van Swearingen. A small church had previously
stood probably on the same spot. By his will in 1776, the father
of Mr. Abraham Shepherd — Mr. Thomas Shepherd — directed his
executor to deed "a lot of two acres on which the English church
stood." A third was erected on that lot many years since, and
has been enlarged of late years to its present dimensions. A
new, larger, and more excellent one in all respects is now far
advanced. Without detracting from the praise due to many who
have contributed funds and efforts to the last two churches, we
must ascribe the first of them chiefly to the zeal, perseverance, and
liberality of that true friend of the Church in her darkest days, Mr.
Abraham Shepherd, and its enlargement to the generous dona-
tion of eight hundred dollars by his pious widow ; and the erection
of the fourth to the gift of three thousand dollars by one of his
sons, while other members of the family, and the parishioners
generally, have not been wanting in their contributions. To an
excellent parsonage for the minister they also contributed ; but the
holy woman, the aged mother, excelled them and all others, — con-
tributing not less than one thousand dollars to it. From the year
1813 to the time of her death, in 1852, when she had reached her
ninety-second year, I knew her well. It was good to hear her speak
from the abundance of her heart on the subject which interested
her most. Out of the Bible first, and then out of the writings of
Hervey, Newton, and others of the evangelical school of the Church
of England, she drew her views of doctrinal and practical piety.
It so happened that several of those ministers under whose teach-
ings she sat were of that class, having for a time been followers of
Lady Huntingdon, Wesley, and Whitefield, but Avho drew back from
their path when they were about to turn aside from the old way of
the Church of England. She was most faithful in the use of all
the means appointed of God in his Church for " the perfecting of
296 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
his saints," — in prayer private and public, in the participation
of the Lord's Supper, in the strict observance of the Lord's Day,
in fasting and alms, in simplicity and cheapness of apparel, in self-
denial that she might have to give to the poor and good objects.
She was conscientious even to scrupulousness. Her sons delighted
in fine cattle, and, at great expense and with great care, became
possessed of some of the finest in the land, and sold the young
ones at high prices. She has often told me that she could not be
reconciled to their asking and receiving such enormous prices for
poor little lambs and calves ; and she took care to be in no way
partakers with them. Much more might I say, but prefer directing
my reader to the excellent and just picture of her character given
in a funeral-sermon by the Rev. Mr. Andrews, her minister.
Having thus referred to the first establishment of the Church at
Shepherdstown, I proceed to notice its next settlement in the parish
of Norbourne, at Charlestown, in what is now Jefferson county. It
took its name from Mr. Charles Washington, — one of the brothers
of General Washington, — who settled on some of the fine land
taken up or purchased by the latter during the period when he was
public surveyor. His house still stands in the suburbs of the village.
Others of the family soon moved to this neighbourhood, and for the
last forty years have formed a considerable portion of the flourish-
ing congregation now surrounding the county-seat of Jefierson.
The venerable walls of an Episcopal church, built of stone, in the
form of a T, are still to be seen a short distance from Charlestown.
Various conjectures have been offered as to the age of this house.
I have recently made particular inquiry on the spot, of some of the
oldest inhabitants, and hare no doubt that it was erected soon after
the division of the parish from Frederick, in 1769, and not many
years before the war. As Washington had large possessions in this
neighbourhood, and was often there, none can doubt but that he was
a contributor to its erection and had often worshipped within its
walls. Under the ministry of the Rev. Mr. Allen, a new brick
church was erected on the site of the present one. That becoming
too small to hold the congregation, another, much larger and more
expensive, was put up under the ministry of the Rev. Mr. Jones.
Scarcely was it consecrated and begun to be used, before it was
consumed by fire, owing to some negligence or defect about the fur-
nace. To the praise of the congregation be it recorded, a third was
immediately erected on the same spot, which now stands, and I
hope will long stand, a monument of what may be done by zeal
and enterprise.
FAMILIES OF A''IRGINIA. 297
As to the ministers who officiated in Norbourne parish at an
early date, we have but little information. From a list of ministers
licensed for the Plantations by the Bishops of London in 1745 and
onward, I find that the Rev. Daniel Sturges was licensed for
Norbourne parish, in 1771, — two years after its separation from
Frederick, — and tradition speaks well of him. In 1786, he was
succeeded by the Rev. Mr. Veasy, of whom a venerable old lady
in Charlestown — Mrs. Brown — speaks as a man who faithfully
performed his duty in preaching and catechizing, as she was the
subject of both. He was succeeded by the Rev. Mr. Wilson, of
whom I can learn nothing. In the year 1795, the Rev. Bernard
Page was minister. Of him I have often heard old Mrs. Shepherd
speak as one of the evangelical school, — deeply pious, zealous, and
far beyond the ministerial standard of that day. He had been
previously an assistant minister to the Rev. Bryan Fairfax, in Christ
Church, Alexandria. From Shepherdstown he went to the lower
part of Virginia, but soon died from the effects of the climate. Mr.
Page was succeeded by the Rev. Mr. Heath, who was minister in
1800, and died in the parish. Mr. Heath was a follower of Mr.
Wesley, and came over to this country under his auspices, to preside
over a female institution in Maryland, as appears by a letter to him
from Mr. Wesley, which I have seen. He, I presume, like many
others, refused to separate from the Episcopal Church when the
secession took place. The Rev. Emanuel Wilmer succeeded him,
and was in the parish about the years 1806 and 1807. The Rev.
Mr. Price had been occasionally preaching in this parish, especially
at Martinsburg and Shepherdstown, when I first visited them about
the year 1812 or 1813.
Having treated of the churches about Shepherdstown and Charles-
town, and the ministrations in Norbourne parish generally, I shall
now give an account of the churches in Martinsburg and the
vicinity, with some notice of certain laymen whose names are
worthy of a place in these sketches. The first church built at
Martinsburg, and which stood in the suburbs of the town, was erected
chiefly at the cost and under the superintendence of Mr. Philip
Pendleton, — father of the present Mr. P. Pendleton, of that place.
He was a zealous Churchman, and, so far as we know and believe, a
good Christian. He had a brother, — Mr. William Pendleton, — who
lived some miles ofi", and who, for a number of years during the
almost entire destitution of ministers, acted as a lay reader in
Martinsburg and at the church in Hedgesville, — the latter having
been built chiefly by himself and Mr. Raleigh Colston. Of the
298 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
latter we have already spoken as vestryman near the old chapel in
Frederick. The families of Hedges, Coxes, and Robinsons also
took part in it. As it is a part of our plan to introduce brief
notices of some of the old families of the Church, and as there is
mention of the name of Pendleton, a name belonging to so many
true friends of the Episcopal Church of Virginia and elsewhere, we
shall devote a short space to a notice of the family. That notice shall
be chiefly taken from a brief autobiography of Judge Pendleton,
President of the Court of Appeals, and from a genealogy by the same,
— both executed not long before his death. From these we learn that
about the year 1674 there came from England to Virginia two
brothers, — Nathaniel, a minister, and Philip, a teacher. The former
died without issue. The latter left three sons and four daughters.
The two younger sons married and had children, but of them there
is no certain account. The four daughters married Messrs. Clay-
ton, Vass, Taylor, and Thomas, — leaving numerous descendants.
The eldest son married, at the age of eighteen, Mary Taylor, who
was only thirteen. Their sons were James, Philip, Nathaniel, and
Edmund, — the latter being the President of the Court of Appeals.
Their daughters were Isabella and Mary, who married William and
James Gaines, from one of whom the late General Gaines was
descended. The sons all married and left children, except Edmund,
the Judge, who first married Miss Roy, having one child, who died,
and next Miss Pollard, who had none, and who lived to the age of
ninety. The descendants of the above-mentioned grandchildren of
the first Pendleton have intermarried with the Taylors, Pollards,
Roys,Gaineses, Lewises, Pages, Nelsons, Harts, Richards, Taliaferos,
Turners, Shepherds, Carters, Kemps, Palmers, Dandridges, Cooks,
and others unknown to me, and who now exist in thousands through-
out Virginia and elsewhere. I shall only particularize the line of
those above mentioned in the parish of Berkeley. Nathaniel Pendle-
ton— grandson of the first of the name and brother of Judge
Pendleton — lived in Culpepper and had four sons, — Henry, Na-
thaniel, William, and Philip. Henry was put in business in Fal-
mouth or Fredericksburg, but, not liking it, and his father not
consenting to its relinquishment, ran away and became a great man
in South Carolina, — having the Pendleton district of that State
called by his name. Nathaniel studied law, — went first to Georgia,
then to New York, where he became the intimate friend of General
Hamilton, and was the father of the late member of Congress from
Cincinnati. William was the faithful lay reader in Berkeley, whose
eon followed his example, and whose grandson is the Rev. William
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 299
H. Pendleton, of Virginia. Philip — the last of the four sons — was the
father of the present Philip Pendleton, of Martinsburg, and the late
Edmund Pendleton, of Maryland, and of Mrs. Cook and Dandridge.
The Rev. William N. Pendleton, of Virginia, belongs to a different
branch of the same family, — his mother being the daughter of Colonel
Hugh Nelson, of Yorktown. It would be inexcusable in me not to
record something more particular of one member of this large and re-
spectable family, — viz.: Mr. Edmund Pendleton, President of the
Court of Appeals. He was born in Caroline county, and brought up
in the clerk's office of that county. At an early age he was clerk of
the vestry, and the little which he received for that office was spent
in books, which he diligently read. At twenty years of age he was
licensed to practise law. In a few years we find him in the General
Court. He was in the House of Burgesses in the beginning of the
war, — taking a leading part in all its incipient steps. He was also
in the first Congress. After this, and until his death, he was Judge
and President of the Court of Appeals. Thus he says, (in that
brief autobiography from which I have taken the above,) "Without
any classical education, without patrimony, without what is called
the influence of family connection, and without solicitation, I have
attained the highest offices of my country.". His following words
deserve to be written in letters of gold : — " I have often contem-
plated it as a rare and extraordinary instance, and pathetically ex-
claimed, "Not unto me, not unto me, 0 Lord, but unto thy name,
be the praise !' " I cannot refrain from adding the following words,
written by himself, in the year 1801, at the bottom of a genealogical
tree of the family drawn by his own hand: — "I have never had
curiosity (or, more properly, pride) enough to search the Herald's
Office or otherwise inquire into the antiquity of my family in England,
though I have always supposed the two brothers who came here
were what they call there of a good family, fallen to decay, — since
they were well educated, and came the one as a minister, the other as
a schoolmaster : however, I have had pleasure in hearing uniformly
that my grandfather and his immediate descendants were very re-
spectable for their piety and moral virtue, — a character preserved
in the family to a degree scarcely to be expected in one so numerous.
My mother was among the best of women, and her family highly
respectable." The elevation to which Judge Pendleton attained by
diligence and moral worth, — the latter resulting from true piety, —
without the advantages of birth, education, and fortune, affiirds great
encouragement to the young men of our land to imitate his noble
example. He did not despise such advantages, but he considered the
300 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
blessing of God on honest industry and the having of moral and
religious ancestors as infinitely better. He did not, in a proud
spirit, boast of his own achievements, saying, —
" Nam genus et proavos, et quae non fecimus ipsi,
Vix ea nostra voco," —
but humbly ascribed all merit and success to God.
Of a renowned and wealthy ancestry we have no reason to be
proud : for a pious one we ought to be thankful to God ; for he has
promised his mercy to thousands descended from such. To be
descended from a Lord Nelson or a George IV., a Cromwell or a
Bonaparte, with all their honours and offices, while their characters
were stained with crimes of deepest dye, is not to be coveted ; but
to be descended from such virtuous and religious patriots as were
some of those who achieved the independence of America, is a
lawful gratification, though we have no reason to be proud of or to
value ourselves on account of that. If at any time we are tempted
to think highly of ourselves at the thought of worthy ancestors, it
would be well to remember that, by going a little further back, we
may find ourselves in company with some of the most ignoble and
base of the human family. We should, indeed, ever bear in mind
that all of us must trace our origin to two most notorious transgressors
who were driven into evil from one of the richest and most beautiful
lands on earth. Such exiles are we, their descendants, to this day,
before that God with whom not only a thousand days, but a thou-
sand generations, are but as one.
Having said thus much of a family two of whose members — Mr.
William Pendleton and his son — contributed so much as lay readers
to the sustaining the Church at Hedgesville, I should be inex-
cusable not to make some record of the character and services of
one of the most honest and upright specimens of humanity, in the
person of Colonel Edward Colston, in the same neighbourhood,
who also was a most efficient lay reader, as well as promoter of
every good work in the parish and in the diocese. Whether we view
him as a member of the parish, of the diocese, or General Conven-
tion, or the State Legislature, or Congress, as husband, father,
master, neighbour, or friend, he was the same open, manly, con-
sistent person. You always knew where to find him on every
question. As was said by one of General Hamilton, "he carried
his heart in his hand, and every one might see it." Though through
life often pressed in his pecuniary aifairs, — but this no fault of his
own, — he made a conscience of setting apart a due portion to the
cause of religion and charity. On one occasion, when he had lost
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 301
a most valuable mill by fire, before I could condole with him on the
event, he enclosed to me a share of bank-stock worth seventy-five
dollars, requesting me to apply it to some good object, and saying
that perhaps he had withholden something which was due to other
objects besides his family, and God had taken away from him a
portion of what was put in his hands as a steward, considering him
unworthy of the trust. I may also appeal to all his neighbours, if
in his intercourse with them he did not display the same simplicity
and friendliness which so remarkably characterized his uncle, Judge
Marshall, and his venerable mother, who was a softened image of
that uncle both in person and character. I might also speak of
other worthy persons in that interesting parish among the Robinsons,
Hedges, and Coxes, who contributed after a time to build the pre-
sent larger church at Hedgesville, and one not far ofi" on Back
Creek ; but I must hasten to the more particular mention of one in
whom they are all deeply interested, as having been even more than
an ordinary minister to their fathers and mothers.
302 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
ARTICLE LXXTY.
Norhourne Parish, Berkeley County. — No. 2.
In a previous .article I spoke of Morgan's Chapel, in old
Frederick county and parish, and of Morgan Morgan as lay reader
there and elsewhere. The site of that chapel is near the dividing
line between Frederick and Berkeley, and the family of Morgans
has always been round about it. The foundation of the old chapel
may still be seen in the graveyard, though two churches have since
been built within a few paces of it. The following family sketch
is taken from a pamphlet published many years since by the Rev.
Benjamin Allen, and is so much better than any thing from my
pen, that I shall make no apology for borrowing it : —
"morgan morgan.
"It is but justice to departed piety to hold up to the view of survivors
its beauty and its value. Affection to the living also prompts us to depict
the character of the Christian dead, in order that their holy examples may
light others the way to happiness and peace. Actuated by these motives,
we present our readers with an obituary of Morgan Morgan, a man by
many of them respected and beloved already. Colonel Morgan Morgan,
the father of him we propose to notice, was a native of Wales, whence
he emigrated in early life to the then Province of Pennsylvania. There he
married, and there his first son was born, in the year of our Lord 1715,
Thence, about the year 1726, he removed to Virginia, to the place where
his descendants now reside, in the county of Berkeley. He there erected
the first cabin built on the Virginia side of the Potomac, between the
Blue Ridge and the North Mountains. Of course the country was a
wilderness, the dwelling-place of bears, wolves, and Indians. But in this
wilderness did he find the God of the Christians present, for here, in the
spirit of the patriarchs, did he wait upon Him, and here did he experience
His providential care.
"In or about the year 1740, he — associated, as we are informed, with
Dr. John Briscoe and Mr. Hite — erected the first Episcopal Church
iu the valley, at what is now called Mill Creek, or Bunker's Hill. la
that building he had the satisfaction of seeing his son, Morgan Morgan,
(who was born to him March 20, 1737,) perform the service of the Church
as lay reader at the early age of sixteen. With the religious education of
this son he appears to have taken peculiar care. He took him with him in
his usual visits to the sick and dying. At seventeen, he induced him to
act as clerk to the Rev. Mr. Meldrum, then rector of the parish at Win-
chester. He lived a pattern of piety and good citizenship until the ad-
vanced age of seventy-eight, when, under the roof of his son Morgan, he
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 303
breathed his spirit into the hands of his Creator. The close of his life
was spent in close communion with his God, in fitting himself for the
change at hand, and in impressing the precious Gospel on the minds of his
descendants. When on the bed of death, so anxious was he for the pious
walk of his children, that he thus expressed himself: — 'I hoped I should
have lived to see Morgan's children old enough to say their catechism and
read the word of God; but I must depart.' One of his expressions,
uttered with the greatest humility, was, 'Lord Jesus, open the gates of
heaven and let me in.' He fell asleep in that Jesus, leaving on the coun-
tenance of death the smile of the triumphant soul. He died the 1st of
November, 1766.
"The mantle of the father was caught by the son. Morgan Morgan, the
subject of our present notice, lived also a pattern of piety. He served his
fellow-citizens in various public capacities. He officiated as clerk for the
succes.sive rectors of the parish, and as lay reader when there was no rector.
He was the friend of the needy, and the comforter of the afflicted. Was
any one sick with so contagious a disorder that their neighbours fled from
them with alarm, Morgan Morgan was ready to attend their house of suffer-
ing, and to watch over their bed. In public ministrations, he officiated
chiefly in his immediate neighbourhood, until within a few years of the
close of his life, when, in consequence of the destitute state of the country
generally, he was often called far from home to perform the religious duties
proper for a layman. At length, from the frequency of those calls, he
gave himself entirely to the work of a labourer in the vineyard. While
the Church to which he belonged exists in this land, his labours will be
remembered with gratitude. In a dark day, when desolation and death
seemed brooding over her interests, he commenced a career of active ex-
ertion, which revived the attachment of her friends and kept her from
descending to the dust. Though encumbered with the weight of years,
and but a layman, he, by constant exhortation and incessant labours of
love, through the blessing of God, impressed the minds of many of the
young with the truths of the Gospel, and revived the spirit of piety gene-
rally in the land. Through Jeflerson and Berkeley, and part of Frederick,
Hampshire, and Maryland, his labours extended. He visited alike the
mansions of the rich and the cottages of the poor, — everywhere acting in
the spirit of a crucified Master. To the prosperous he was the messenger
of warning, — to the afflicted, of consolation. Many are there now living,
who can testify to his faithfulness; many are there, we trust, in heaven,
who have hailed him as their spiritual father. His course through this
country may be traced by the fruits of his labour, — fruits that still arise to
call him blessed. He died, as he had lived, in the faith of his Redeemer.
He was buried at the Mill Creek Church, which was named, after him,
Morgan's Chapel."
Mr. Morgan died in the year 1797. An excellent sermon was
preached on the occasion by Dr. Balmaine, of Winchester. He
does ample justice to his personal piety, his active zeal, and his
evangelical views, as displayed in the sermons which he read. To
the latter I can testify. I have a large number of the sermons
which he used as lay reader, and have read not a few of them.
They are faithful, and deeply experimental. He has evidently
304 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
compiled some of them from various autliors, and adapted them to
the occasions on which they were preached. By the notes on the
outside leaf, they appear to have been preached at funerals, in
private houses, on thanksgiving-days, on the first opening of Mor-
gan's Chapel, and other special subjects. Had all the sermons
preached in Virginia, from its first settlement, been like these, and
all the ministers and readers been like Morgan Morgan, the history
of the Church of Virginia would have been different from that which
truth now requires it to be. So well calculated was he for the
ministry, and so esteemed by the people whom he served, that they
united in a letter of recommendation to some Bishop, (supposed to
be Bishop Madison, not long before Mr. Morgan's death,) begging
that he might be ordained as their pastor, notwithstanding his de-
ficiency in human learning. The paper lies before me, and is very
strong in his praise. His age, infirmities, and the distance to be
travelled, prevented his application. The efiect of his example and
ministrations has been felt to this day, where his services were
more frequent, and are to be seen especially among his own de-
scendants^ who have been among the chief supporters of the church
at Mill Creek, or Bunker's Hill. At my last visit there, a few
months since, the congregation was called to mourn the sudden
death of one of his grandsons, William G. Morgan, who had fol-
lowed the pious example of his father, grandfather, and great-grand-
father. I mention, as one of the effects of Morgan Morgan's
example and exhortations upon his descendants and neighbours,
that when Mr. Allen first visited the neighbourhood he found no
dijficulty, though twenty years after the death of this good man, in
raising a large catechetical class, among whom were full-grown
young men and women, repeating the Church catechism and hear-
ing it explained. This my eyes have seen, in a public tavern at
Bunker's Hill, the old church being unfit for use.
Having thus brought the history of the ministers and churches of
Norbourne parish to the time when, by God's blessing, a new order
of things commenced, I now proceed to make mention of the chief
instrument by which the revival was effected. On Christmas eve,
in the year 1814, a little after dark, there entered into my house a
gentleman who introduced himself to me as Mr. Allen, from New
York, with letters of introduction from Bishop Moore and Dr. Wil-
mer, certifying that he was a candidate for Orders, and wished
employment in the valley as a lay-reader. Although the roads
were in their worst condition, much rain having fallen, he had in
two short days walked from Alexandria to my house, about sixty
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 305
miles. Carrying him with me to the Old Chapel the next day,
we met with Mr. Beverley Whiting and his sistei", Miss Betsy,
from Jefferson county, who had, as they and others near them
afterward did, come about fifteen miles to church through bad
roads. Into their hands I consigned Mr. Allen, on a horse which
I had lent him. In just two weeks he returned in high spirits. He
had itinerated through the whole of Jefferson and Berkeley counties,
found out all the principal families who were still attached to the
Church, established at least twelve places for service, and received
a kind invitation from Mr. Whiting and his sister to bring his little
family to their house and make it a home for the present. To
Alexandria he immediately returned, where his wife and infant
were, and without delay, in a spell of bitter cold weather in the
month of January, brought them up in a road-wagon of Mr. Whit-
ing's, on its return from Alexandria, to which it had carried a load
of flour. Mr. Whiting's was his home for a considerable time, — for
years indeed ; and even after a parsonage was provided his visits to
that abode of hospitality were frequent and long. From this time
until the year 1821, with feeble health, the pressure of debt upon
him, a growing family, he perhaps rode as great a distance, preached
as often, studied his Bible as much, and prepared as many things
for the press, as any man of his day. No one had a better oppor-
tunity than myself of knowing this, for I had often to go the rounds
with him, doing more duty from necessity than I ever did before
or have done since. Sleeping in the room with him, often I have
seen him watch the morning light with his little Bible, and reading
it when others were sleeping. I have travelled with him, and seen
that Bible, or some other book, in his hand on horseback, and during
any little spare time in private hours busy with his pen in preparing
something for the press. While thus itinerating in these counties,
and also in the adjoining county in Maryland, he was conducting a
little paper called the "Layman's Magazine," and actually abridged
and published the History of the Reformation, by Burnet, in a small
volume, and compiled a history of the whole Church in two octavo
volumes. All this he did while, like an honest man, he was paying
his debts out of a small salary and the scanty profits of these pub-
lications, if indeed there were any. For nine years he thus laboured,
contracting his sphere, though not his diligence, by the introduction
of one or two ministers into some of the numerous places he had
taken in charge, when he was called to St. Paul's Church, Phila-
delphia, being the next choice to Bishop Mcllvaine. His labours
in such a congregation and city were of course not diminished. He
Vol. II.— 20
806 OLD CHUllCUES, MINISTERS, AND
again issued a religious magazine, and engaged in every plan for
promoting Sunday-schools, infant-schools, Bible-classes, missionary
societies, and all such things, being especially interested in Bishop
Chase's college in Ohio. His house was the Bishop's home. The
increase of Episcopal churches in Philadelphia soon attracted hia
mind. At a time when a narrow and selfish policy kept ministers
and vestries in a state of fear and trembling whenever a new church
was talked of, lest its establishment might somewhat interfere with
their monopoly, his large soul, disdaining all petty considerations,
determined on at least one other church, under the patronage of
St. Paul's. Mr. Bedell was about leaving North Carolina, and wished
some situation in the North. Mr. Allen, learning this, immediately
determined to secure him for Philadelphia, and proposed it to a
few friends. Alarmed at the thought of such a great Avork, they
shrunk back from it ; but Mr. Allen persevered and succeeded, and
St. Andrew's Church was the result. While Mr. Bedell was col-
lecting the congregation and the house was rising up, Mr. Allen
insisted that he should use St. Paul's during a part of each Sabbath.
Some of his people and friends were alarmed, and predicted that
the popularity of Bedell would ruin Mr. Allen's prospects, and di-
minish, if not destroy, St. Paul's congregation. But nothing of
this kind moved such a man. His reply was, "Let me decrease, so
the Church increases." By God's blessing on such a Christian
course, both increased, though Mr. Allen's pulpit-talents were only
of the moderate order. At length, under the pressure of mental
and bodily labour, his health so failed that a voyage to Europe was
resorted to. But it was only used by him on his Avay to England,
in England, and on his return, as an occasion for greater efforts in
his Master's cause and for the souls of men. Providence found
work for him in a foreign land, and gave him favour with the most
zealous of the Christian philanthropists in England. It may be
Bafely afiirmed that, within the same short period, no minister from
this country had ever attracted more attention, and had, and zeal-
ously used, more opportunities of promoting the welfare of all reli-
gious and benevolent societies, than Mr. Allen. Even the Society of
Quakers felt the influence of his zeal in behalf of Sunday-schools,
and to this day speak of him as "that wonderful man." After
these dying labours, which were like the last notes of the swan, he
returned toward America in a vessel which, by contrary winds, was
detained nearly one hundred days on the deep, the crew suffering
for provisions. Mr. Allen's grave was the great deep, as though no
narrow sepulchre was fit for one of so large a soul.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 307
We now draw to a close these notices of what was once Berkeley
county and Norbourne parish, but which in the year 1801 became
Berkeley and Jefferson counties, and in time has been divided into
Bix parishes, — those around Charlestown, Harper's Ferry, Shep-
herdstown, Martinsburg, Bunker's Hill, and Smithfield. The Rev.
B. B. Smith, now Bishop of Kentucky, succeeded Mr. Allen in the
congregations at Charlestown and Shepherdstown, and continued
to serve them most acceptably for nearly two years. The Rev.
Alexander Jones succeeded in 1823, and for fifteen years served
the same congregations, at the end of which time he confined his
services to the congregation at Charlestown. The Rev. Mr. Morri-
son tooTi his place at Shepherdstown and continued for two years,
and was succeeded by the present rector, the Rev. Mr. Andrews.
Dr. Jones continued in Charlestown until his removal to Richmond
a few years since. During his long ministry in that parish the
congregation steadily increased, until it became one of the largest
of our country parishes, and two noble churches were erected, the
first having been consumed by fire, as we have said before. Mr.
Jones was followed in Charlestown by the Rev. Dudley Tyng, and
he was succeeded by its present rector, the Rev. Charles Ambler.
The small number of Episcopalians at Harper's Ferry had, from
the time of Mr. Allen, been occasionally — sometimes regularly —
visited by the ministers at Charlestown and Shepherdstown, until
a few years since, when the church now standing on an imposing
eminence was built. During its erection, and with much attention
on his part, the Rev. Horace Stringfellow, Jr., was its minister.
To him succeeded for a time the Rev. Mr, Wilcoxon. The congre-
gation at Martinsburg, after being organized and for a time sup-
plied by Mr. Allen, was put in charge of the Rev. Mr. Hoi-rell,
who continued for several years, and was succeeded in 1819 by the
Rev. Enoch Lowe. The Rev. Mr. Lippitt succeeded him. The
Rev. Dr. Brooke, now of Ohio, the Rev. James Tyng, the Rev. Mr.
Johnson, the Rev. Mr, Taliafero, the Rev. James Chisholm, the
Rev. D. F. Sprigg, and the present minister, the Rev. Richard
Davis, have successively for the last thirty years supplied the two
congregations at Martinsburg and Hedgesville. The church at
Bunker's Hill, or Morgan's Chapel, has been for the most part
supplied by the ministers from Martinsburg and Winchester, but
of late years has united with the congregations of Smithfield and
Leetown, each about five miles off. The Rev. Mr. Brown was the
first who had charge of these three in conjunction, who, after some
years, was succeeded by the Rev. Mr. Callaway. The Rev. Mr.
308 OLD CHLRCHES, MINISTERS, AND
Grammer has just taken charge of them. In Smithfield and Lee-
town two excellent churches have recently been erected, the former
by the zeal and liberality of a very few ladies and gentlemen, and
the latter at the expense of the Rev. Lewis Balch, of Baltimore,
with the aid of some of his people in the church of St. Bartholo-
mew, of New York, while he ministered to them. It being the
birthplace or early home of some of his ancestors, and the present
residence of his parents, Mr. Balch has sought to confer upon it an
honour far higher than the proudest and most expensive monument.
There is a circumstance peculiar to this neighbourhood which de-
serves a record. Not only was the property and the residence of
General Charles Lee, of Revolutionary memory, from whom it took
its name, in sight of the church, but not far distant were the
estates of General Gates, General Stephens, and General Darke,
all of them officers in the American army. It was meet that a
Christian church should tower above the abode of such a wretched
blasphemer as General Lee. The following extract from his will
declares the character of him who once enviously sought to de-
throne Washington from the confidence of the nation, and to have
the chief command of the American army conferred on himself,
who wellnigh lost us the victory on the field of Monmouth, and
who ingloriously terminated his days, a selfish celibate, in the midst
of dogs for his most familiar friends, and an enemy to God and
man: —
"I desire most earnestly that I may not be buried in any church oi
churchyard, or within a mile of any Presbyterian or Anabaptist meeting-
house, for since I have resided in this country I have kept so much bad
company when Hving, that I do not choose to continue it when dead. I
recommend my soul to the Creator of all worlds and all creatures, who
must, from his visible attributes, be indifferent to their modes of worship
or creeds, whether Christians, Mahometans, or Jews, whether instilled by
education or taken up by reflection, whether more or less absurd, as a weak
mortal can no more be answerable for his persuasions, notions, or even
skepticism in religion, than for the colour of his skin."
Extracted from his will, recorded in the court of Berkeley
county.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. SO^
ARTICLE LXXV.
Parishes in Hampshire and Shenandoah Counties.
Having disposed of Berkeley county, I come to Hampshire, which
was formed into a county and parish in the year 1753. I perceive
how the parish of Hampshire was divided and one established in
Hardy in 1785, but of the ministers and churches of the same I
have but little to say. In the year 1771 the Rev. Mr. Ogilvie, and
in the year 1772 the Rev. Mr. Manning and the Rev. Mr. Kenner,
were all ordained, in England, for Hampshire. Mr. Manning alone
ever reached there, — the others settling in parishes below the Ridge.
About the year 1812, or 1813, 1 remember to have seen a Rev. Mr.
Reynolds, who said that he was the minister in Hampshire and
Hardy. No churches, I expect, were ever built in these counties
until those I am about to mention. The Rev. Norman Nash, a
friend of Mr. Allen, desired to become a candidate for Orders. in
Virginia, and be ordained without the knowledge of the languages.
To this Bishop Moore objected. Mr. Nash strongly declared his
conviction that he was called of God and moved by the Holy Ghost
to the work, but that he was advancing in years, and, having never
studied the ancient languages, it must be a long time before he
could be prepared for the ministry, if a knowledge of these were
requisite ; that he might die before that period arrived, and that
if God should inquire of him why he had not obeyed his orders,
he could only say that Bishop Moore would not let him, until he
had studied Latin and Greek. Without entering into the merits
of the question between him and the Bishop, suffice it to say
that the latter yielded. Mr. Nash was ordained for the county of
Hampshire, where the ancient languages were but little known and
not much required. Hampshire may be truly called the hill-coun-
try of Virginia, — not surpassed in high hills and deep valleys by
that of Judea itself. In one of its deep narrow valleys, and on its
hill-sides, a few families of plain people had settled, who retained a
strong attachment to the Church while all around had forsaken
her as the Babylon of prophecy. There was added to them one
which had emigrated from Scotland, with all the Scottish prejudices
against the Church; but the father of the family, on his way tn
BIO OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, ANB
these Western hills, had met with some of Bishop Hobart's works,
and become a thorough convert to his views of Episcopacy and the
Church. The old man was also a great reader of Scripture, and
spent many of his latter years in writing a full paraphrase of large
portions of it, — even of the prophetical books. At his death he
bequeathed them to Dr. Balmaine and myself for publication, if
we deemed them worthy. A box of considerable size was full of
these manuscripts, in very close, small hand. We were, of course,
afraid to venture on so great an undertaking. Into this hilly re-
gion did the Rev. Mr. Nash enter, and never did man labour more
faithfully than he did. It might have been said of him, if he could
not say it of himself, —
" Si Pergama dextra defendi possent,
Etiam hac defensa fuissent;"
for he was well suited to the work and place. Having spent his
earlier days in mechanical pursuits, he diligently employed his skill
in helping to erect and complete two log churches, — working with
his own hands in various ways. When completed, he used every
proper effort to fill them with Episcopal worshippers, and, for a
time, did in a measure succeed. But there are some winds and
tides against which even the power of steam proves ineffectual, and
there are some places and societies where the excellencies of our
Church system and service cannot avail against violent and long-
established prejudices, even though the Gospel be faithfully preached
in connection with it. Such was the case in relation to this part
of Virginia, where not only Norman Nash laboured zealously and
preached faithfully, but where his nephew, — Mr. Sylvester Nash, —
who succeeded him, did the same, and where other ministers have
lent their aid, and Bishops have not failed in their peculiar offices.
Bishop Moore visited these churches several times. Mr. Sylvester
Nash not only officiated for some years at these log churches, but,
by much solicitation and perseverance, succeeded in building a neat
brick church in Romney, the county seat of Hampshire, where ma-
terials more abounded and the prospects for a time were more
flourishing, but he was not encouraged to make a permanent abode
there. The Rev. Mr. Hedges also made a few ineffectual efforts
after the resignation of Mr. Nash, and, within a few years past,
the Rev. Mr. Irish repeated the same, with the same result. Since
this last effort, the church has been consumed by fire. In the
many changes which are continually going on in society, we will
not despair of seeing her old bare walls clothed again with garments
of praise, and a crown once more on her head.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 311
I come now — if not in the order of time, yet of geography — to
the county of Shenandoah, — originally called after Lord Dunmore,
but changed to its present title by reason of the conduct of Dun-
more, which made his name so hateful to Virginia. The parish was
named Beckford. All this region was settled by Germans and
Swedes. Hence it was that a Swedish congregation was here col-
lected, and that the Rev. Peter Muhlenburg — son of the Rev. Mr.
Muhlenburg, father of the Lutheran Church in America — was sent
to take charge of it. A brief sketch of his history is necessary to
the proper understanding of his settlement at Woodstock, the county
seat of Shenandoah. He Avas born in the village of Trappe, in
Pennsylvania, in the year 1747, and baptized John Peter Gabriel
Muhlenburg. His father emigrated from Germany in 1742, and
became the founder of the Lutheran Church in this country, — living
at first, and for some years, in Philadelphia, then moving to Mont-
gomery county, Pennsylvania, and thence back again to Philadelphia.
His son was early destined in his father's mind and purpose to the
ministry, and educated with a view to the same. In the year 1763,
Peter, then sixteen years of age, and his two brothers, — Frederick
and Henry, — were sent to Halle, in Germany, for their education.
Before this time, his father had begun to fear that Peter's disposi-
tion and habits were not suited to the ministry. In writing to a
friend, to whose care he consigned him, he says : —
'' My son Peter has, alas, enjoyed but Uttle of my care and control, on
account of my extensive official duties ; but he has had no evil example
from his parents, and many reproofs and counsels. His chief fault aud
bad inclination has been his fondness for hunting and fishing. But if our
most reverend fathers at Halle observe any tendency to vice, I humbly
beg that they will send him to a well-disciplined garrison-town under the
name of Peter Weiser, before he causes much trouble or complaint. There
he may obey the drum, if he will not follow the Spirit of God. My prayera
will follow him, and if his soul only is saved, — be he in what condition he
may, — I shall be content. I well know what Satan wishes for me and
mine."
I take the following account of him, until his settlement in Vir-
ginia, from his life, written by Mr. Henry Muhlenburg, who was
either his brother or some near relative : —
" These anticipations were soon realized. Perhaps the young Americans
were looked upon as demi-savages by their German fellow-students, and
perhaps Peter's disposition was too fiery to submit to the strict discipline
of a German school, — at that time strict even to the verge of cruelty. Be
that as ii may, — whether caused by one or the other reason, or by a combina-
tion of both, — Peter was continually in trouble. Things went on from bad
to worse, until some time in the year 1704; upon the occasion of a public
312 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
procession in the presence of the heads of the University, some insult was
oflPered to him by his tutor, which his hot temper would not brook, and it
was revenged upon the spot by a blow.
" This outrage rendered his expulsion inevitable. He did not, however,
wait for its official notification, but, collecting his little property, fled from
the University. A regiment of dragoons was passing through the town,
in which, upon the spur of the moment, he enlisted, little thinking that his
father had recommended that very remedy to cool his hot blood. Although
not eighteen, he was tall and well proportioned, and so desirable a recruit
was readily accepted. He thus left the University, little caring what be-
came of him, so rejoiced was he in being freed from what he deemed the
tyranny of rectors and proctors.
" The precise length of time he remained with this regiment, the writer
has no means of ascertaining. He must, however, have fully upheld the
character he had gained at the University, as appears from the following
anecdote connected with this regiment, related by himself, and still pre-
served as a family tradition. Ten or eleven years after, the battle of
Brandywine was fought. In that action General Muhlenburg commanded
a brigade of Virginians, which, with Weedon's, was thrown forward, at the
close of that hard-fought day, to repel the victorious advance of the enemy
and give time to our shattered columns to retreat. The struggle was at
the point of the bayonet, and it so happened that this very regiment dis-
mounted was one of those opposed to Muhlenburg's command. The
General, mounted on a white horse, tall and commanding in his figure,
was very conspicuous at the head of his men leading on the long line of
Continentals : when the contending parties came near enough to be recog-
nised, many of the older soldiers (German enlistments being for life)
remembered their former comrade, and the cry ran along their astonished
ranks, 'If ier kommt teufdPietl' (Here comes devil Pete !) Finally he
was freed from the obligations he had so rashly assumed, in the following
manner. A colonel in the British army, whose name is unfortunately
forgotten, was leaving Hanover, where he held some official appointment,
for America. He had been, prior to this, long stationed in that country,
was a frequent visitor at the house of Dr. Muhlenburg, and knew the
family and Peter well. On his journey he happened to pass through the
town in which this regiment was then quartered, and, to his utter surprise,
recognised his young American acquaintance among its soldiers. He
sought him out, and learned the cause of his present position, after which,
by representing the matter in its true light, as a boyish student's freak,
and certifying to the respectability of his family, he easily procured
his discharge. Peter took leave of his comrades and accompanied hia
kind friend to America, where he arrived some time in the year 1766.
This interposition was probably the most fortunate event of his life ; for,
although his family would sooner or later have procured his discharge, yet,
from the rarity of intercourse and length of time necessarily occupied, he
might have remained there a year or two longer and become utterly dis-
qualified for any other pursuits. As it was, the occurrence had a beneficial
efi'ect upon his character and disposition, rendering him more tractable,
although most probably the taste for military life here acquired influenced
his whole future career.
" His father, who, as we may well conceive, had sufi"ered much anxiety
on account of his son, in his joy at the lost being found, received him with
open arms, and granted him forgiveness for, and oblivion of, the past.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 313
For some time Peter remained at home, his father personally superintend
ing the completion of his education.
"It was now time for him to turn his thoughts to the selection of a
profession, and, had his own wishes only been consulted, he would doubt-
less have chosen the armyj but his father very earnestly desired that the
Church which he had founded in America should be supported and sus-
tained by the efforts of his sons. The uniform kindness which his many
youthful follies had met with at his father's hands inclined him to yield
to his wishes ; and accordingly he commenced the study of theology,
under his father's directions.
" Early in the year 176S, he was ordained a minister of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church, according to the rules and discipline of that sect, and
on the 12th of May was appointed assistant rector of Zion's and St. Paul's
Churches, in New Jersey. These congregations, couimonly known as the
Valley Churches, were situated at New Germantown and Bedminster, in
Hunterdon and Somerset counties. On the 5th of February in the
ensuing year, he commenced officiating, and remained in that capacity for
several years.
"Retaining his strong partiality for hunting and fishing, (the bad in-
clinations referred to earlier by his father,) he become thoroughly acquainted
with that part of the country, — a knowledge which, during the long stay of
the army at Morristown and its subsequent operations in New Jersey,
became of great value. While situated in New Jersey, his marriage with
Anne Barbara Meyer took place, the ceremony being performed on the
6th of November, 1770.
" For some years prior to this, the German inhabitants of the Middle
States commenced emigrating in considerable numbers to Virginia, set-
tling principally in the Valley of the Blue Ridge. These German settle-
ments gradually became large, particularly those in Dunmore; and, being
Lutheran, a congregation was formed at Woodstock, the seat of justice for
that county. This congregation desired a pastor, and accordingly appli-
cation was made to Dr. Muhlenburg to appoint one, with the request that
his son might be assigned to that situation. Some difficulties, however,
presented themselves. In order to meet the peculiar laws of the Colony
of Virginia on the subject of Church establishment, these Germans had
organized themselves as members of the Swedish branch of the Lutheran
Church, there being no difference between that and the German, save in
point of form only. Some congregations of the former existed at this very
time in Pennsylvania, and were in close connection with the Lutheran
Church proper. The Swedish Church, at the Reformation, differed from
the German in retaining its Bishops, and their discipline required that
pastors should be ordained and consecrated by a Bishop. This had not
been done in Mr. Muhlenburg's case, who had been ordained by his father
in accordance with the rules and discipline of the German Lutheran Church.
Another obstacle arose from the union of Church and State in Virginia,
where the Church of England was established by law, and, in order that
the rector might enforce the payment of tithes, it was necessary that he
should have been ordained by a Bishop of the English Church, in which
case he came under the provisions of the law, although not a member of
the Established Church. To meet these difficulties, it was deemed neces-
sary that Mr. Muhlenburg should be ordained anew, according to the dis-
cipline prescribed by the Swedish Lutheran Church. Accoi'dingly, he
resigned his charge in New Jersey, and made preparation for a voyage to
314 OLD CHURCUES, MINISTERS, AND
Englan(l to receive Episcopal ordination, any properly-consecrated Pro-
testant Bishop being competent for that purpose. He sailed from Phila-
delphia for London on the 2d of March, 1772, and arrived at Dover on
the 10th of the followinp; month. During this journey, Mr. Muhlenburg
kept a daily journal, now in the writer's possession, which is in many
parts highly interesting ; but space forbids any extracts being here made.
From this journal, however, we learn that, if any scruples did exist in his
mind with respect to his profession at the time of his entering upon the
study of it, they were now entirely removed, and he seems to have been
fully impressed with the serious nature of the duties he had assumed, and to
have brought to their discharge a spirit of pure and humble Christianity."
His biographer informs us that his stay in London was brief,
and that he was ordained at the same time with a Mr. Braidfoot
and Mr. White, the latter being afterward Bishop of Pennsylvania.
He further adds, that the disputes between the mother-country
were just commencing to be of intense bitterness, when Mr. Muh-
lenburg removed with his family from Pennsylvania to take charge
of his congregation in Virginia. Arriving among them in the fall
of 1772, sufficient time was given him, before the breaking out of
hostilities, to become extensively acquainted throughout the valley.
With Washington and Henry he was soon on terms of persona]
intimacy, for in June, 1774, he was with them in the House of
Burgesses, being sent as representative by the people of his county.
This friendship had afterward much weight in determining Mr.
Muhlenburg to enter the army. Dunmore county, afterward She-
nandoah, under the controlling influence of Mr. Muhlenburg, waa
one of the first to step forward in opposition to British usurpation.
At the first meeting of its citizens he was chosen moderator, and
one of the committee of correspondence. Although still a minister,
he was sent to the House of Burgesses and Convention again and
again, and with all his zeal supported Mr. Henry in the boldest
measures he proposed. His character became so well known that in
1775 he was elected Colonel of the 8th regiment, without any other
knowledge of military matters than he had acquired when a truant
youth in Germany. Washington and Henry both urged his appoint-
ment, for they had doubtless seen in which direction his talents moved.
His was the first regiment completed on the field. His biographer
endorses the tradition of his last sermon, which concluded with the
words that there was "a time for all things; a time to fight, and
that time had now come." The sermon finished, he pronounced
the benediction. A breathless silence brooded over the congrega-
tion. Deliberately pulling off the gown w^hich had thus far covered
his martial figure, he stood before them a girded warrior, and, de-
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 315
scending from the pulpit, ordered the drums at the church-door to
beat for recruits. From all the foregoing, we must conclude that
though he was doubtless conscientious and respectable, for that day
at least, as a minister, yet he still loved his juvenile sports of hunt-
ing and fishing too much to excel in the duties of the sacred office,
and that he had never ceased to be more of the soldier than the
divine.
"Quo semel est imbuta, recens, servabit odorem,
Testa diu."
Of the subsequent history of that Swedish Episcopal congregation
in Woodstock I have as yet been unable to obtain any accurate
information. Some time after the revival of the Episcopal Church
in Virginia, an eifort was made by General Steenbergen, the
Arthurs, Blackfords, and Aliens, to establish it in their neighbour-
hood, and I paid them several visits ; but the effort failed. The
same was done more than once by some friends of the Church at
Woodstock, headed by Mr. Williams, the old and much-esteemed
clerk of the county and staunch member of the Church ; but with
like success.
I cannot take leave of this county and parish without a brief
notice of one remarkable locality in it. In the very centre of
Mr. Muhlenburg's parish, and only a few miles from his residence
at Woodstock, commence the mountains, almost touching each
other at first, and running parallel, so as to form a valley be-
tween. After running some distance, they unite in one, which is
called the Massamatti Mountain. The valley between is called
Powell's Fort, and contains some thousands of acres. The moun-
tains on either side are called the East and West Fort Mountains.
The entrance to this valley is through a narrow defile, along which
a small but bold stream runs out into the surrounding country, with
high, steep mountains on each side, as if some convulsion of nature
had opened a passage for the waters. If the whole Valley of
Virginia was once a lake, emptying itself at Harper's Ferry, this
may be regarded as a lake within a lake, the smaller emptying
itself into the larger through this narrow passway, and both of
them sending their waters through Harper's Ferry and the Poto-
mac into the great Atlantic. Washington and Muhlenburg had
doubtless often been within and around this place, and the military
eye of each may have been caught by it, as one of the strongest of
nature's fortifications. In one of the darkest and gloomiest seasons
of the Revolution, when even the soul of a Washington began to fear
the stability of his fellow-citizens, they may have communed together
H16 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
about this, as the last retreat of their diminished and retreating
forces. Certain it is that Washington once referred to it as the
place to which he should conduct his wasted remnant, there to call
the God of nature to its defence, and bid defiance to the British
army ; thus hoping to arouse his countrymen to renewed and more
vigorous efforts for liberty and independence. I can never look
at, (for it is, on a clear day, in sight of my own residence,) pass
by, or read of this spot, and recollect that proposal of Washington,
without remembering the Edom of Scripture, — the strong city, as it
is called ; for, if travellers and historians be true, there is a strong
resemblance between them, as to their entrance, their valley, and
high surrounding mountains. The loose stones almost overhanging
this narrow pass, and covering the nearly-perpendicular sides of
other parts of the mountains, would have furnished weapons of de-
fence to a few brave men sufficient to overwhelm thousands of
assailing foes.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 317
ARTICLE LXXVI.
Parishes in Augusta and Rockingham Counties.
We come now to that part of the valley which was the first seen
by the white man. In the year 1714, Governor Spottswood and
his gallant band of Cavaliers, with their attendants, ascended the
Blue Ridge, at Rockfish Gap, in Albemarle county, and became the
delighted beholders of the rich and beautiful valley below.* Carv-
ing the name of his King on one of the highest rocks of the moun-
tain, while one of his followers did the same with the Governor's on
another, they returned to Williamsburg, — the young gentry being
established into an order, and dubbed " Knights of the Horse-
Shoe," — each having a small miniature golden horseshoe presented
to him by their enterprising leader. They were followed, after some
years, by hardy and daring adventurers, who settled in the valley, —
driving back the Indians still farther westward. It was not, how-
ever, until the year 1738, that it, together with old Frederick, was
separated from Orange, — which was until then the frontier-county,
extending to the Pacific Ocean, and one hundred miles into it, ac-
cording to a charter given by King James to the London Company
for Virginia, — whose dimensions were four hundred miles wide on
the Atlantic, and of the same width from sea to sea, with all the
islands in both seas within one hundred miles from the shores
thereof. Such was old Virginia when Illinois, embracing all beyond
the Ohio River, was, in 1778, made one of her counties. Such was
old Virginia until, by various acts and charters of the Crown and
her own liberality, she was restricted to her present boundaries.
Augusta, in the year 1738, became the frontier-county, and was
therefore called West Augusta. All that I could say about the
parish of Augusta is so much better said in the following extracts,
taken from a sermon at the opening of the new church in Staunton,
a few weeks since, by the Rev. Mr. Castleman, its present minister,
that no apology is needed for using it :
" The county of Augusta was organized in 1738. Its boundaries ex-
tended from the line of old Frederick on the north, along the summit of
* Some think that he crossed at a gap lower down the valley, — near the head
ivaters of the Rappahannock.
618 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AMD
the Blue Kidge Mountain indefinitely to the south and west. Its parish
was known as the parish of Augusta, and filled up the circuit of the illimit-
ably-extcnded territory of the county. The first election that was ever
held in the county was the election of the vesti'y. This was in the year
1746, and resulted in the choice of James Patton, John Buchauon, John
IMadison, Patrick Hays, John Christian, Colonel John Buchanon, Eobert
Alexander, Thomas Gordon, James Lochart, John Archer, John Matthews,
and John Smith. These were among the most prominent and influential
men of the county. From the records which remain of their various meet-
ings and deliberations for the general good, we cannot doubt that they
were men of intelligence, good moral character, and fidelity in the trusts
committed to them.
*' On the 6th of April, 1747, they assembled, for the first time after their
organization, to elect a minister to break to them the bread of life. Having
received letters from Governor Gooch commending the Rev. John Hind-
man as an able and worthy minister of the Gospel, they unanimously chose
him as their spiritual instructor. He entered immediately into the duties
of his pastoral ofiice, — the first minister of the Church of England who ever
set foot on Augusta soil and preached the glad tidings of Christ among
the mountains of this wild home of the Indian. Owing to the sparseness
of the population and inability of the people to build a church, Mr. Hind-
man was obliged to preach and administer the sacraments in the court-
house and in private houses in difierent parts of the parish during the
whole of his ministry here."
In the year 1747, the vestry determined to purchase a glebe near
Leper's old plantation, and build a house ; also, a church on the
plantation of Daniel Harris. Nothing of either now remains. The
glebe was sold and the proceeds vested in the academy at Staunton.
Mr, Hindman was minister for about three years. Nothing is
known of his ministry or of his death.
" On the 6th of August, 1750, the vestry met and empowered its wardens
—James Lochart and John Madison — to employ any minister they might
think fit to serve them in the Lord. And on the 16th of October, 1752,
the following letter was presented to the vestry from Governor Dinwiddle : —
" 'Gentlemen : — The Rev. John Jones has been recommended to me
by many of good repute and undoubted credit as a worthy and learned
divine. As such I recommend him to you, gentlemen, to be your pastor, —
not doubting but his conduct will be such as will entitle him to your favour
by promoting peace and cultivating morality in the parish. Your re-
ceiving him to be your pastor will be very agreeable to
" ' Your very humble servant,
" 'Robert Dinwiddie.'
"Just one month after the reading of this letter, Mr. Jones was unani-
mously received into the parish and assigned a salary of fifty pounds per
annum for his services and twenty pounds per annum for board, until the
glebe-buildings were improved and put in order for his occupancy.
" Between 1756 and 1759, John Matthews, Samson Archer, Robert
Breckenridge, and Israel Christian, were added to the vestry.
"On the 20th of May, 1760, it was unanimously resolved to erect a
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 319
church-building in the town of Staunton, forty feet by twenty-five. It
stood partly on the spot now occupied by the new church, just completed,
the foundation of ita southern wall being covered by the northern wall of
the present building.
" Either the infirmities of age, or enfeebled health, had so worn upon
the constitution of Mr. Jones as to render him unequal to the duties of
his oifice. He therefore called a meeting of the vestry and advised the
employment of a curate, and oflered to relinquish one-half of his salai-y
(which by this time had been increased to two hundred pounds) toward
his support, lu obedience to his wishes, the vestry procured the services
of the Kev. Adam Smith, who entered upon his duties as curate in the
spring of 1772. Of Mr. Smith's character and use!ulness as a preacher,
or in what way his connection with the parish was severed, we have no
information. He did not, however, remain longer than one year. On the
9th of November, 1773, the Kev. Alexander Balmaine was unanimously
chosen to fill his place. From this time onward, we hear no more of Mr.
Jones. Though the history which remains of his labours as a preacher
and pastor is exceedingly meagre and unsatisfactory, — confined almost
entirely to his meetings with the vestry and to the records which he kept
as its clerk, — we cannot but revere his memory as a devout and faithful
minister of God. The only substantial and valuable relic of him which
remains to us is the old worn and defaced Bible which is constantly used
in our pulpit.
"■ How long, precisely, Mr. Balmaine remained in the parish, we are not
informed. The time was drawing near which tried men's souls. The
spirit of '76 began to swell and agitate the American breast. Of this
spirit Mr. Balmaine seems to have partaken in no small degree. The
following proceedings of a meeting of the freeholders of Augusta county,
held at Staunton on the 22d of February, 1775, will throw no little light
on his character as a patriot : —
" 'After due notice given to the freeholdei's of Augusta county to meet
in Staunton, for the purpose of electing delegates to represent them in
Colony Convention, at the town of Richmond, on the 2Uth day of March,
the freeholders of said county thought proper to refer the choice of their
delegates to the judgment of the committee, who, thus authorized by
the general voice of the people, met at the court-house, on the 22d of
February, and unanimously chose Mr. Thomas Lewis and Captain Samuel
McDowell to represent theui in the ensuing Convention.
" 'Instructions were then ordered to be drawn up by the Rev. Alex-
ander Balmaine, Mr. Samson Matthews, Captain Alexander McClanahan,
Mr. Michael Bowyer, Mr. William Lewis, and Captain George Matthews,
or any three of them, and delivered to the delegates thus chosen, which
are as follows : —
" ' To Mr. Thomas Lewis and Captain Samuel McDowell. The com-
mittee of Augusta county, pursuant to the trust reposed in them by the
freeholders of the same, have chosen you to represent them in Colony
Convention, proposed to be held in Richmond on the 2d of March instant.
They desire that you may consider the people of Augusta county as im-
pressed with just sentiments of loyalty and allegiance to his Majesty King
George, whose title to the imperial crown of Great Britain rests on no other
foundation than the liberty, and whose glory is inseparable from the hap-
piness, of all his subjects. We have also respect for the parent State.
which respect is founded on religion, on law, and on the genuine principles
820 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
of the Constitution. On these principles do we earnestly desire tc see
harmony and a good understanding restored between Great Britain and
America.
" ' Many of us and our forefathers left our native land and explored thia
once-savage wilderness to enjoy the free exercise of the rights of conscience
and of human nature. These rights we are fully resolved, with our lives
and fortunes, inviolably to preserve; nor will we surrender such inestimable
blessings, the purchase of toil and danger, to any Ministry, to any Parlia-
ment, or any body of men upon earth, by whom we are not represented,
and in whose decisions, therefore, we have no voice.
" 'We desire you to tender, in the most respectful terms, our grateful
acknowledgments to the late worthy delegates of this Colony for their wise,
spirited, and patriotic exertions in the General Congress, and to assure
them that we will uniformly and religiously adhere to their resolutions
providently and graciously formed for their country's good.
" ' Fully convinced that the safety and happiness of America depend,
next to the blessing of Almighty God, on the unanimity and wisdom of
ter country, we doubt not you will on your parts comply with the recommen-
dations of the late Continental Congress, by appointing delegates from this
Colony to meet in Philadelphia on the 10th of May next, unless American
grievances be redressed before that time. And so we are determined to
maintain unimpaired that liberty which is the gift of Heaven to the sub-
jects of Britain's empire, and will most cordially join our countrymen in
such measures as may be deemed wise and necessary to secure and per-
petuate the ancient, just, and legal rights of this Colony and all British
America.
" 'Placing our ultimate trust in the Supreme Disposer of every event,
without whose gracious interposition the wisest schemes may fail of success,
we desire you to move the Convention that some day, which may appear to
them most convenient, be set apart for imploring the blessing of Almighty
God on such plans as human wisdom and integrity may think necessary to
adopt for preserving America happy, virtuous, and free.'
" In obedience to these instructions, the following letter was addressed : —
" 'To the Hon. Peyton Randolph, Esq., President, Richard Henry Lee,
George Washington, Patrick Henry, Richard Bland, Benjamin Harrison,
and Edmund Randolph, Esqrs., Delegates from this Colony to the General
Congress.
" 'Gentlemen: — We have it in command from the freeholders of Au-
gusta county, by their committee, held on the 22d February, to present
you with the grateful acknowledgments of thanks for the prudent, virtuous,
and noble exertions of the faculties with which Heaven has endowed you
in the cause of liberty and of every thing that man ought to hold sacred, at
the late General Congress, — a conduct so nobly interesting that it must
command the applause not only from this but succeeding ages. May that
sacred flame that has illuminated your minds and influenced your conduct
in projecting and concurring in so many salutary determinations for the
preservation of American liberty ever continue to direct your conduct to
the latest period of your lives! May the bright example be fairly tran-
scribed on the hearts and reduced into practice by every Virginian, by
every American ! May our hearts be open to receive, and our arms strong
to defend, that liberty and freedom, the gift of Heaven, now being banished
from its latest retreat in Europe! Here let it be hospitably entertained in
■yf
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 321
every breast, here let it take deep root and flourish in everlasting bloom,
that under its benign influence the virtuously tree may enjoy secure repose
and stand forth the scourge and terror of tyranny and tyrants of every
order and denomination, till time shall be no more.
" 'Be pleased, gentlemen, to accept of their grateful sense of your im-
portant services and of their ardent prayers for the best interests of this
once happy country. And vouchsafe, gentlemen, to accept of the same
from your most humble servants, Thomas Lewis,
Samuel McDowell,
Delegates.'
u (f£Q Thomas Lewis and Samuel McDowell, Esqrs. : —
" ' Gentlemen : — Be pleased to transmit to the respectable freeholders of
Augusta county our sincere thanks for their aff"ectionate address approving
our conduct in the late Continental Congress. It gives us the greatest
pleasure to find that our honest endeavours to serve our country on this
arduous and important occasion have met their approbation, — a reward fully
adequate to our warmest wishes; and the assurances from the brave and
spirited people of Augusta that their hearts and hands shall be devoted to
the support of the measures adopted, or hereafter to be taken, by the Con-
gress for the preservation of American liberty, give us the highest satis-
faction, and must afford pleasure to every friend of the just rights of man-
kind. We cannot conclude without acknowledgments to you, gentlemen,
for the polite manner in which you have communicated to us the senti-
ments of your worthy constituents, and are their and your obedient, humble
eervants, Peyton Randolph,
Patrick Henry,
Richard Henry Lee,
Richard Bland,
George Washington
Benjamin Harrison,
Edmund Pendleton.'
" The letter of instruction which called forth this correspondence be-
tween the delegates from Augusta and these distinguished statesmen and
patriots is drawn up in a style so free and easy that we cannot doubt it was
written by one accustomed to the pen of composition. It breathes so much
of the spirit of true piety, and of humble dependence on the God of na-
tions, that we cannot doubt it was the production of a pious man and a
minister of God. This man must have been Mr. Balmaine. In this we
are still further sustained by the fact that Mr. Balmaine was the chairman
of the committee appointed to draw it up, and that, while the other mem-
bers were prominent and influential men in the county, they were yet plain
farmers and by no means accustomed to that diplomatic style which cha-
racterizes the letter.
" March 20, 1775, just one month after these letters were drawn up, the
Convention met in the Old Church in Richmond. There it will be seen,
by reference to Wirt's Life of Patrick Henry, pp. 132-136, that all the
objects desired to be attained by them were adopted, and there the great
speech of Patrick Henry, which seemed to set in motion the great ball of
the Revolution, was made.
" From this time Mr. Balmaine laid aside his peaceful vestments as a
minister of God, and went into the army as chaplain in defence of his
country."
Vol. 11.-21
322 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
The foregoing documents, it is believed, have never been pub-
lished in any history or newspaper, and arc therefore, as well as on
account of their intrinsic merits, here inserted. Nor are they in-
consistent with the character of these notices, since a minister and
laymen of the Episcopal Church are so prominent in them.
" From the commencement of the Revolution onward, until the year
1781, the doors of the venerable old church in Staunton remained closed.
We have no information that its solemn silence was ever broken by the
voice of any public speaker. In that year, however, a portion of the
British army, under the command of Tarleton, drove the Legislature from
its place of meeting in Richmond, first to Charlottesville, and thence to
this place. And here they held their counsels in the old church, and here
the proposition was made to create a "dictator." Here they remained in
session undisturbed for about sixteen days, and adjourned to meet in Rich-
mond in October following.
"About the year 1788 the rectorship of the old church was in the hands
of a Mr. Chambers. Who he was, or how long he remained in the parish,
we are nowhere infoi'med. Tradition says that, after a short residence in
this place, he removed to Kentucky.
" Years rolled on, in which a long interval occurred in the rectorship
of the parish. At length the few friends who had been left from the deso-
lations of the Revolution, and from the withering odium which had fallen
on the Church because of its connection with the British Crown, began to
lift up their heads and to look round with a cautious and timid eye for
some one to minister to them in holy things. At length a good old man,
moving in the humbler spheres of life, remarkable for nothing but his con-
sistent and inoffensive piety, presented himself as willing to serve them in
the capacity of God's minister. He had long been a member of the
Methodist Church, and had there imbibed that spirit of feeling and ardent
religion which seemed so peculiarly to characterize that body of Christians
in those dreary days of our Church. Notwithstanding Mr. King's (for that
was his name) roughness of manners, his meagre education, his simplicity
of intellect, and his humble profession as a steam-doctor, he was taken in
hand by a few friends of the Church, and piished forward in his laudable
efforts. He was sent off, with letters of commendation from Judge Archi-
bald Stuart and the Hon. John H. Peyton, to Bishop Madison, who or-
dained him Deacon and sent him back to read the services and sermons to
the littlt desolate flock in Staunton. His ministry began in the year 1811
and closed with his death in 1819. That was a long and cheerless day for
the Church here. No evidence can be found that she then had a single
communicant besides the simple-hearted old Deacon to kneel at her altar.
So unpopular was her cause that none but those whose principles were as
true and unbending as steel would venture openly to avow themselves her
friends. An eye-witness of the scene told me that on the occasion of the
first service after Mr. King's return from W^illiamsburg, the small congre-
gation, the feeble and disjointed response, the dampening dreariness of the
church, with its old high-back pews, and the long, singsong, drawling
tones in which the new deacon attempted to read the service and one of
Blair's Sermons, presented a solemn ludicrousness he never before or since
witnessed. The congregation, numbering not a dozen, left the church dis-
spirited and ashamed, almost resolved never to repeat the experiment. Mr.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 323
King died here, esteemed by all who knew him for his humble zeal and
simple-hearted piety.
"On the 1st of January, 1820, the Rev. Daniel Stephens, D.D., visited
the parish, and remained until the following Easter. On Easter Monday,
the congregation assembled, and elected Vincent Tapp, Chapman John-
son, John H. Peyton, Briscoe Gr. Baldwin, Dabney Cosby, William Young,
Erasmus Stribling, Levi L. Stevenson, Jacob Fackler, Alexander McCaus-
land, Armstead M. Mosby, and Nicholas C. Kinney. This vestry imme-
diately assembled, and passed resolutions highly commendatory of the
preaching and living of Dr. Stephens, unanimously electing him as
their rector. These were the props and the pillars of the Church in its
darkest and most trying day. Dr. Stephens laboured and preached with
a zeal and devotion which secured for him the confidence and love of the
great mass of his congregation. Under his ministry, the Church was
somewhat revived, and the hearts of its friends cheered. At a Convention
held in Staunton in May, 1824, the number of communicants reported was
fifteen.
**In 1827, Dr. Stephens removed to the Far West, where he died but
a few years since. His ministry was followed in 1831 by the E-ev.
Ebenezer Boyden. In the early part of 3Ir. Boyden's ministry, the vene-
rable old church was torn down, and a new one erected near its site. The
latter was ready for use on the 23d of July, 1831. Mr. Boyden continued
in the parish, with high credit and universal acceptability to his congre-
gation, until January, 1833, when he resigned for another field in the
West.
"Next came the Eev. Wm. Gr. Jackson, who preached with success and
acceptability in the parish for several years. He was succeeded by the
Rev. Frederick D. Goodwin, who continued until 1843, and removed to
Nelson county, leaving sixty-two communicants."
The present rector entered on his duties in August, 1843. For
some years past, the desirableness of a new church had been felt,
and various plans proposed and efforts made in its behalf, the
minister being very anxious for it.
"At length, about three years ago, an interesting little boy, on whose
head scarce five summer suns had shone, stood at the window of his
mother's chamber, just as the sun was going down, holding something
thoughtfully in his hand. Observing his sei'iousness, his mother said to
him, ' What are you thinking about, my son? What are you looking at
80 earnestly?' It was a new gold dollar, which his father had given him.
His answer was, ' Mother, I am thinking of giving my gold dollar to Mr.
Castleman, to build a new church I have heard him say he would like to
have.' The mother encouraged the thought, and said, 'Well, my son, do
give it. God will bless you for it.' Accordingly, that dollar was wrapped
in a small paper, with the written request that I would receive it for that
object. This little event cheered my heart, and caused me to resolve at
once to move forward with the enterprise. The result is a beautiful church,
seventy-three feet six inches by forty-six feet six inches in the clear, thirty
feet high, with a tower of eighty feet, and capable of accommodating com-
fortably six hundred and fifty persons."
324 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
The following communication from General Samuel Lewis, of
Port Republic, Rockingham county, is a suitable sequel to the
foregoing : —
"Rockingham parish, Rockingham county, was formed from a part of
Augusta in the year 1776. In that portion of Augusta now constituting
the county and parish of Rockingham, there were two chapels of the Esta-
blished Church. One was situated about four miles west of Harrisonburg,
near the present village of Dayton. The families of Smith and Harrison,
with others of the early settlers in that neighbourhood, were of the Church
of England. The other chapel was situated about five luiles north of Port
Republic, on the road from that place to Harrisonburg. The early settlers
on the Shenandoah River near Port Republic were generally of English
descent, and belonged to the Established Church. John Madison, (Clerk
of Augusta county, the father of Bishop Madison,) Grabriel Jones, (the
most distinguished lawyer of his day in the valley,) and Thomas Lewis,
(who for many years represented Augusta county in the House of Bur-
gesses, and was one of the earliest advocates of American independence,)
had married sisters, (Misses Strother, of Stafford county,) and were among
the earliest settlers in that neighbourhood. Peachy R. Gilmer, John
Mackall, of Maryland, and others, soon after settled among them. These
families were all of the Church of England. The Rev. Alexander Bal-
maine for several years officiated at these two chapels, and spent much of
his time with his parishioners on the Shenandoah.
" The old chapel near Dayton (a framed wooden building) remained
standing until within the last twenty or thirty years. During and after
the war of the Revolution, the services of the Church were discontinued;
and, after the rise of Methodism in this county, most of the families who
had formerly worshipped there became Methodists, and this chapel was
used for many years as a Methodist meeting-house. The property on which
it stood, after a lapse of years, fell into the hands of a Tunker* family :
its use as a place of worship had been abandoned by the Methodists,
and it was finally used as a barn by its Tunker proprietor. But few of
the descendants of the original worshippers at this chapel now reside
in its neighbourhood, and but one of them, within the knowledge of the
writer of this sketch, retains any attachment to the Church of their
ancestors,
"The descendants of the Church-of-England settlers in the neighbour-
hood of Port Republic are many of them now members of the Protestant
Episcopal Church, but very few of them remain in the neighbourhood.
One of the sons of Thomas Lewis — the late Charles Lewis, Esq. — inherited,
and lived, and died upon, the paternal estate. He ever retained his attach-
ment to the Church, and several of his descendants are now communicants
in the church at Port Republic."
Among those descendants is the author of the foregoing commu-
nication. General Samuel Lewis, so often the delegate, not only
to our Diocesan but to our General Conventions. I knew his ex-
* A sect of German Christians.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 825
cellent father, Mr. Charles Lewis, well. A truer friend to the
Church when friends were few, a more perfect gentleman, and a
worthier citizen, could not be found. I also knew that venerable
old lady, Mrs. Gabriel Jones. The first visit ever paid to that
parish was in company with her grandson, Mr. Strother Jones, of
Frederick, when we saw her in her old age, rejoicing in the prospect
of the resuscitation of the Church of her love. Her large old Prayer-
Book is still in the hands of one of her descendants. Her husband,
Mr. Gabriel Jones, was for a long time so prominent at the bar in
the valley, that he was called "The Lawyer." His name is on the
vestry-book of Frederick parish as council for the Church in one
of her suits.
THE LEWIS FAMILY.
Augusta is undoubtedly the county in which something should
be said of this name, as John Lewis, the father of the numerous
families of Lewises in Western Virginia, was the great Augusta
pioneer in 1720. Whether this family, and other families in Vir-
ginia of the same name, are allied by reason of a common origin
in a foreign land, cannot positively be affirmed ; but the same-
ness of family names, and oftentimes resemblance of personal ap-
pearance and character, are such that many have inferred a common
origin. Such was the expressed opinion of the late Benjamin
Watkins Leigh, as of others. Mr. John Lewis, of Augusta, came
from the county of Dublin, in Ireland, about the year 1720, — his
eldest son, Thomas, being born there in 1718 : some ascribe a Welsh
origin, and others a Huguenot, to the family. His eldest son,
Thomas, was a vestryman of the early Church in Augusta, and one
of the first delegates to one of the first Conventions in Virginia
after our troubles began. His library was well stored with old
English theological books; and such was his attachment to the
Episcopal Church, that in his will he requested that his friend and
brother-in-law, old Peachy Gilmer, should read the burial-service
of the Prayer-Book over his remains, there being no minister in the
parish at that time. At one time he was in correspondence with
the Rev. Mr. Boucher in reference to Augusta parish. He was the
father of the Charles Lewis spoken of above, and grandfather of
the present General Lewis, of Port Republic. There were three
other sons of the first John Lewis. The second was Andrew Lewis,
the hevQ of Point Pleasant. The third was William, who was also
a vestryman in Augusta, and afterward settled at the Sweet
326 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
Springs. The fourth was Charles, who was killed by the Indians
m the battle of Point Pleasant. Such is the information I received
from one of the family, who speak of only four sons. Howe in
his book on Virginia, and Charles Campbell after him, speak of
two others. They say that all six of the brothers, under the com-
mand of Samuel, the oldest, were with Washington at Braddock'a
defeat.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 327
ARTICLE LXXVn.
Ohurches in Western Virginia. — St. PauVs and St. John's, Brook •
County.
We introduce our notices of the churches in Western Virginia
by the following passage from a sketch of Western Virginia, by the
Rev. Dr. Doddridge, whose ministry will be duly noticed : —
*' The Episcopal Church, which ought to have been foremost in gathei
ing their scattered flocks, have been the last aud done the least of any
Christian community in the evangelical work. Taking the Western country
in its whole extent, at least one-half of its population was originally of
Episcopalian parentage ; but, for want of a ministry of their own, they
have associated with other communities. They had no alternative but that
of changing their profession or living aud dying without the ordinances
of religion. It can be no subject of regret that those ordinances were
placed within their reach by other hands, whilst they were withheld by
those by whom, as a matter of right and duty, they ought to have been
given. Oue single chorepiscopus, or suffragan Bishop, of a faithful spirit,
who, twenty years ago, should have ' ordained them elders in every place'
where they were needed, would have been the instrument of forming
Episcopal congregations over a great extent of country, and which, by
this time, would have become large, numerous, and respectable ; but the
opportunity was neglected, and the consequent loss to this Church is
irreparable.
"So total a neglect of the spiritual interests of so many valuable people,
for so great a length of time, by a ministry so near at hand, is a singular
and unprecedented fact in ecclesiastical history, the like of which never
occurred before.
" It seems to me that if the twentieth part of their number of Christian
people of any other community had been placed in Siberia, and dependent
on any other ecclesiastical authority in this country, that that authority
would have reached them many years ago with the ministration of the Gospel.
With the earliest and most numerous Episcopacy in America, not one of
the Eastern Bishops has yet crossed the Alleghany Mountains, although
the dioceses of two of them comprehended large tracts of country on the
western side of the mountains. It is hoped that the future diligence of
this community will make up in some degree for the negligence of the
past.
"There is still an immense void in this country, which it is their duty to
fill up. From their respectability, on the ground of antiquity, among the
Reformed Churches, the science of their patriarchs, who have been the
lights of the world, — from their number and great resources even in
America, — she ought to hasten to fulfil the just expectations of her own
people as well as those of other communities, in contributing her full share
^ the science, piety, and civilisation of our country.
32b OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
"From the wtole of our ecclesiastical history, it appears that, with the
exception of the Episcopal Church, all our religious communities have
done well for their country."
Without questioning the perfect sincerity and honest zeal of Dr.
Doddridge in this severe criticism, or desiring to apologize for what
was blameworthy in the Episcopal Church in regard to the West,
we think that truth and justice require some modification of the
sentence. We cannot assent to the fact that one-half of the Western
population was originally of Episcopal parentage. We must remem-
ber that even Maryland had a large proportion of Romanists,
as well as other Protestant denominations besides the Episcopal.
North of this there was scarce any Episcopalians from the first set-
tlement of the country. A short time before the war. Bishop White
was the only Episcopal minister in Pennsylvania. The emigrants
from all the Northern States, beginning with Pennsylvania, were
not of Episcopal parentage. Although Episcopalians abounded
from the first in Vii'ginia and the Carolinas, yet it should be re-
membered that, of the emigrants to the West, immense numbers —
far the larger part — had renounced the Episcopal Church before
their removal, and only carried with them bitter hatred toward it.
I am satisfied that not a tenth part of those who have left the
Eastern for the Western States were Episcopalian at their removal :
perhaps a much smaller proportion would be a correct estimate.
Soon after the issue of Dr. Doddridge's book, — perhaps forty years
ago, — I prepared something on this subject and offered it for pub-
lication.
Owing to various circumstances in her history, the Episcopal
Church may be regarded as the last of all the Churches in our
land which began the work of evangelizing. Her race only com-
menced after the Revolution. All that was done before proved but
a hinderance to her. All other denominations were in active opera-
tion long before, and were so prejudiced against her as not to be
willing to have her as a co-worker with them. Instead, therefore, of
the advantages possessed by the Episcopal Church for establishing
herself in the West being greater than those of other Churches, they
Were less, whether we consider the Bishops and clergy at her com-
mand, or the difficulty of the work to be done, by reason of existing
prejudices. Justice to the memory of our fathers requires this
statement. That of Dr. Doddridge has often been quoted without
due consideration.
We must, however, do the justice to Dr. Doddridge to say that, it
we had had many such laborious ministers as himself, the West would
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 329
have been far better supplied with Episcopal churches and ministra-
tions than it has been. And yet truth requires us to admit, what
will soon appear, that even his zealous labours have not been fol-
lowed by all the results which we could desire, by reason of the
numerous opposing influences with which he and the Church had
to contend. Nothing that I could draw from any documents or
record, or from living witnesses, could so interest the reader as the
following sketch of Dr. Doddridge's life and labours, from the pen
of a friend, and I therefore adopt it : —
"The following article, with some slight alterations, was sent to me as a
friend of the late Rev. Dr. Doddridge, by the Hon. Thomas Scott, of Chil-
licothe. The writer was among the early settlers of the Northwest Terri-
tory,— was Secretary to the Convention which framed the Constitution of
the State of Ohio, and has since held important and responsible offices
under its government. He is now far advanced in life, and employs a
still vigorous intellect in throwing together for publication his reminis-
cences of early associations and bygone days. D.
''Reminiscences of the first Minister of the Protestant Episcopal Church
who adventured into the Wilderness Regions of Western Virginia and
Eastern Ohio, — the late Rev. Dr. Joseph Doddridge, of Wellshurg, Brooke
County, Virginia.
"Presuming that but few of the present members of the Episcopal
Church in the now flourishing diocese in this State are aware that it was
owing, in a great measure, to the early labours and indefatigable exertions
of the individual above named that an Episcopate was obtained in Ohio, we
feel persuaded that a few brief reminiscences connected with his self-deny-
ing and persevering efforts for the establishment in the West of the Church
of his fathers will not be unacceptable at the present period : indeed, as
the early and intimate friend of this pioneer-herald of the Cross in our
Western borders, we deem it but a measure of justice to the memory of
a man who, for a series of years, laboured in the good cause single-handed
and almost without remuneration. We shall, however, only advert to his
labours in general, not having at hand the data to enable us to do so in
detail.
"My first acquaintance with the subject of this notice commenced in
1788, in Hampshire county, Virginia. He was then about nineteen years
of age, and a successful and highly-esteemed labourer among the Wesleyan
Methodists, in connection with whom he continued several years. Being
recalled from his field of labour to the paternal mansion, in Western Penn-
sylvania, by the sudden decease of his father, in consequence of which
event the younger members of the family — of whom he was the eldest — ■
were placed in circumstances requiring for a time his personal supervision,
the youthful itinerant felt it to be his duty to resign his charge, and, in
conformity with the last wish of his deceased parent, — who had appointed
him the executor of his will, — to apply himself to the settlement of hia
estate.
" This accomplished, he found himself in possession of sufficient means
to enable him to prosecute his education, which as yet was limited,
830 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
owing to the few facilities for obtaining one afforded by their wilderness
location.
" Accompanied by his younger and only brother, Philip, — who subse-
quently became eminent in Virginia as a lawyer and legislator, dying,
while a member of Congress, in Washington City, in 1833, — he entered
Jefferson Academy, Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, they being among the first
students at that pioneer literary institution, in what was at that period, in
the transmontane States, denominated the ' Far West.'
'• The Wesleyans having now laid aside the Prayer-Book or ritual en-
joined to be used on occasions of public worship by the founder of their
society, the Rev. John Wesley,— a formula which Dr. Doddridge's judg-
ment sanctioned as being not only beautifully appropriate but highly edi-
f^'ing, — he did not therefore resume his connection with them after his
return from college, but diligently applied himself to an examination of
the claims of the Protestant Episcopal Church, of which his parents had
been members prior to their removal to the West. Suffice it to say, this
examination resulted in a determination to offer himself a candidate for
Orders in that Church, pearly in the year 1792, he received ordination
at the hands of the Right Rev. William White, of Philadelphia, soon after
which he located temporarily in Western Pennsylvania, but in the course
of a few years settled permanently in Charlestown, now Wellsburg, in
Brooke county, Virginia.
" At this early period of the settlement of the country, the greater portion
of the population of Western Virginia and Pennsylvania consisted of
emigrants from Maryland and Virginia, where many of them had been
attached to the Mother-Church ; hence the advent of a preacher of their
own denomination was hailed by them as an auspicious event, filling their
hearts with gladness. He was everywhere greeted with kindness, cheered
and encouraged in his labours by the presence of large and attentive con-
gregations ; albeit in most places where they assembled for public worship
their only canopy was the umbrageous trees of the unbroken forest, whose
solemn silence was, for the time-being, rendered vocal by their devotions.
"During the year 1793, I occasionally attended the ministrations of
this zealous advocate for the cause of Christ, at West Liberty, then the
seat of justice for Ohio county, Virginia, and the residence of many re-
spectable and influential families. At this place divine service was held
in the court-house. Although still a young man, Dr. Doddridge was an
able minister of the New Covenant. When preaching, there was nothing
either in his language or manner that savoured of pedantry or awkward-
ness; yet he did not possess that easy graceful action which is often met
with in speakers in every other respect his inferiors; but this apparent
defect was more than compensated by the arrangement of his subject, the
purity of his style, the selection and appropriateness of his figures, and
the substance of his discourses. He was always listened to with pleasure
and edification, commanding the attention of his hearers not so much by
brilliant flights of imagination and rhetorical flourishes, as by the solidity
of his arguments and his lucid exhibition of the important truths which
he presented for their deliberate consideration.
" In person he was tall and well proportioned, walking very erect. He
possessed fine colloquial powers, was social, an agreeable companion, and
highly esteemed by those who knew him on account of his plain, unosten-
tatious manners, courteous deme-vnour, and rigid devotion to duty.
"The first Episcopal church ir Western Virginia, if I remember rightly^
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 381
called St. John's, was erected in 1792-93, in a country parish, a few miles
distant from the residence of Dr. Doddridge, whose pastoral connections
with it, I have been informed, continued for nearly thirty years, when
declining health compelled him to dissolve it. At no great distance from
St. John's, and occupied by the same pastor, another edifice, also in Vir-
ginia, was erected at a very early period, the name of which I cannot now
recollect.
"In the course of a few years after he took up his abode in Virginia,
many families reared in the Episcopal Church removed from the older
States and settled west of the Ohio River, where they were as sheep in a
wilderness without a shepherd. To those of them within a convenient dis-
tance from his residence he made frequent visitations, holding service in
temples not made with hands but by the Great Architect of nature.
" We have been credibly informed that Dr. Doddridge was the first
Christian minister who proclaimed the Grospel of salvation in the now
flourishing town of Steubenville, in this State, and that some years
previous to the close of the last century he officiated there monthly, the
place at that time containing but a few log cabins and a portion of 'Fort
Steuben.'
"The parish of St. James, on Cross Creek, in Jefferson county, was
early formed by him, and was for many years under his pastoral charge.
At St. Clairsville, Belmont county, he had a congregation and church, the
pulpit of which he occupied from time to time until another pastor could
be obtained. Occasionally his missionary excursions included Morristown,
Cambridge, and Zanesville.
"In the autumn of 1815, this untiring apostle of the Church, with a
view of preparing the way for future missionaries, made a tour through
part of Ohio, coming as far west as this city, — Chillicothe, — preaching in
the intermediate towns and ascertaining where Episcopal services would be
acceptable. He was, I think, the first regularly-ordained clergyman of
that Church who officiated in our place, which he did several times during
his stay among us.
"In Virginia at a very early period he held religious services at Charles-
town, Grave Creek, and Wheeling. At the latter place was quite a num-
ber of Episcopalians, whom he frequently visited, keeping them together
until the arrival of that pious and devoted servant of God, the Rev. John
Armstrong, their first resident pastor.
"From the time of his ordination, he made it a practice to visit and
preach wherever he could find a few who desired to be instructed in the
faith of their fathers. These efforts to collect and keep within the fold
of the Church the scattered sheep of the flock imposed upon him the ne-
cessity of traversing a wide extent of country, which, being but sparsely
settled, was poorly provided with roads; consequently, all his journeys had
to be performed on horseback.
"In labours this Christian minister was most abundant, sustained under
their performance by the approbation of his own conscience and the long-
deferred hope that the time was not far distant when Episcopalians in the
Atlantic States — to whom, through letters to several of their Bishops and
otherwise, he made request and earnest appeals in behalf of a field already
white for the harvest — would awake from their apathy to a lively con-
sciousness of the imperative duty of making the long-neglected West a
uheatre for missionary exertion.
"Some years subsequent to his entrance into the ministry of the Pro
332 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
testant Episcopal Churcli, lie found it necessary, in order to meet the wants
of an increasing family, to combine with his clerical profession one that
would be more lucrative in a new and sparsely-settled country : he accord-
ingly studied medicine, completing his course under Dr. Benjamin Rush,
in the Medical Institute of Philadelphia. To the avails of the latter pro-
fession he was mainly indebted for means to rear and educate a large fixmily
of children.
"His life was one of close application and incessant toil; but his health
eventually failed, and an asthmatic disease, with which in his later years
he was sorely afflicted, in a great measure impaired his ability for useful-
ness. In the fall of 18'24 he attended a Convention of his Church holdea
in this city, but he appeared greatly enfeebled. In the course of the
succeeding summer, he spent some weeks here in the family of a beloved
sister, Mrs. N. Reeves, hoping, though vainly, that a cessation from labour,
change of air and scene, would in some measure renovate his exhausted
energies. During this period the friendship of our youthful days and the
remembrance of former years revived. He often visited me at my own
domicile, where we held free converse and communion togethei", and I
found him the same cheerful, agreeable companion as iji days 'laug syne.'
Nothing ever occurred to mar our friendly intercourse or to diminish our
kindly regards for each other. But he is taken from our midst; his dis-
encumbered spirit has been called to its reward by the Great Head of the
Church.
" Finding that neither travelling nor rest availed to arrest the progress
of disease, my friend returned to his home and family in Virginia, as he
emphatically said, 'to die among his own people.' He lingered in much
bodily affliction till November, 1826, when, strong in the faith which he had
preached, in the hfty-eighth year of his age, his sufferings were terminated
by death, to him a most welcome messenger.
"Of the published writings of the Rev. Dr. Doddridge, his 'Notes on
the Settlement and Indian Wars, together with a View of the State of
Society, Manners, Customs, cStc, of the Early Settlers of the Western
Country,' is the principal.
"This graphic picture of pioneer scenes, manners, customs, and events,
is peculiarly interesting as well as valuable on account of its fidelity, — it
being the result of the writer's personal experience and observation. The
work was undertaken by its author not only for the purpose of preserving
the facts therein recorded, but also with a view of enabling those who
come after him properly to estimate the advantages of position in a civil-
ized and refined state of society, by contrasting them with those possessed
by their forefathers in the Western regions. Thomas Scott.
"CniLLicoTUE, Ross COUNTY, Ohio, June 25, 1855."
To the foregoing we add a few things which we received from
those who knew him as the minister in Brooke county. He preached
at four places in that county, two of which are now occupied by
Presbyterians and Methodists. The other two were Wellsburg
and the neighbourhood where St. John's Church now stands.
Although he was followed by that most zealous and popular man,
the Rev. Mr, Armstrong, still it was found impracticable to sustain
congregations in all of them. Dr. Doddridge died in the year
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 333
1826, in his fifty-eighth year. He was buried in a vault under his
own house, near Wellsburg, but afterward removed to a public
burying-ground.
The Rev. Mr. Armstrong, from Wheeling, preached much and
zealously to the congregations after Dr. Doddridge's death, as did
also his son at a subsequent period. The Rev. Mr. Wheat, of
Wheeling, who was the immediate successor of the elder Armstrong,
also laboured for them. After some time, the Rev. Mr. Skull was
sent as a missionary tp Brooke county. He was followed by the
Rev. Mr. Harrison in the same capacity. The Revs. Mr. Goodwin,
Hyland, and Tompkins followed in succession. The Rev. Mr.
Christian is the present minister. During the intervals of minis-
terial supply, which have been very considerable, the Rev. Dr.
Morse, of Steubenville, Ohio, has most kindly and laboriously
served the people of St. John's, for which he is most justly very
dear to them. Three churches have been put up in St. John's
parish on the same site, — the first of log, the second of framework,
and the last of brick, — the last being consecrated in 1850. There
has always been a considerable congregation at St. John's, and I
have ever been delighted to find myself in the midst of that plain,
unpi'etending, hospitable, and zealous congregation of people,
devoted to the true principles of the Gospel and worship of our
Church.
In Wellsburg, which is about seven miles from St. John's, on the
Ohio River, the congregation is small. They have a neat brick
church, which was built some years since, almost entirely at the
expense of two brothers, John and Danford Brown. The former
has gone to his rest. The latter still lives and hopes for better
times to the church of his affections.
To these notices of the Church in Brooke county, I subjoin an
extract from a pamphlet which I had occasion to publish some years
since, when the question of forming a separate diocese in Western
Virginia was considered. In discussing it I was led to consider the
real condition of that part of the State, which unfitted it for the
support of a separate organization at that time. The following is,
I believe, a true account of it : —
" Those who would see the main causes of the feeble condition of the
Episcopal Church in Western Virginia, and of the difficulties in the way
of its speedy progress, under any helps that can be brought to bear upon
it, must consider the history of Western Virginia, and the peculiarity of
her condition, by comparison with other portions of our laud, similar aa
to soil and position. Take, for instance, Ohio and Western Pennsylvania,
334 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
lying on two sides of Western Virginia. "While the latter (Western Vir-
ginia) is more hilly and mountainous, and less attractive on that account
to the emigrant, she has also had other obstacles to settlement and im-
provement, which have left her far behind the former two. In the first
place, the unsettled condition of her land-titles continues to this day to
present most serious difficulties in the way of sale to those who would form
such materials as might be moulded into Episcopal congregations. An-
other obstacle to the settlement of Western Virginia is the fact of its
being part of a slave-holding State. This has prevented immense num-
bers from the North from choosing this as' their home, while, on the other
band, the fact of the contiguity of Western Virginia to the free States, fur-
nishing a facility for the escape of slaves, has prevented Eastern Vir-
ginians from settling there. Episcopal fiimilies for a long period of time
have in great numbers been passing by or through Western Virginia, and
have formed the basis of churches in the South or Southwest. Compara-
tively few have settled in Western Virginia. The few are indeed the
chief materials out of which our churches are composed. The causes
above-mentioned have mainly produced the immense difference between
the present condition of Ohio, Western Pennsylvania, and Western Vir-
ginia. While the two former have their forests cleared, their lands well
cultivated and covered with comfortable dwellings and farm-houses, — while
they abound in flourishing villages and even large towns, and churches and
schools and colleges, — it is quite otherwise with the latter. A large pro-
portion of her high hills and mountains are still covered with dense forests.
Her villages and towns are few and small, — some not increasing at all,
others but slowly. Immense bodies of her lands are owned by non-residents,
being only inhabited by those who have no inducements to improve them,
aud who only seek to gain, during their uncertain residence, just what is
necessary for the sustenance of life. On my recent visit, I passed through
four tracts of fifty thousand acres each, owned by four different individuals,
who were non-residents. These, I am told, are only a few of many large
unimproved tracts : hundreds of thousands of acres can be bought at the
low price of from twenty-five cents (perhaps less) to one dollar per acre,
and of good land too, which will one day, though a distant one, be covered
with flocks and herds. Of course, as villages and towns in the interior
are for the most part sustained by the surrounding country, if this be un-
cultivated, or does not flourish, those cannot increase greatly. That
Western Virginia has, on her surface and within her bosom, the materials
of great wealth aud improvement, none can doubt. I have ever believed
and said that at some future day she would be one of the most interesting
aud desirable portions of our country. The improvements in the roads,
already made from Winchester, Staunton, and other places, to the Ohio
River, have done something for the comfort of the traveller and the im-
provement of the country ; but it is only necessary to travel these roads in
order to see in how wild and uncultivated a condition large portions of
Western Virginia still are; while those who traverse it on horseback, by
the cross-routes, will see a far more rugged state of things. The Balti-
more aud Ohio Railroad will do much for certain portions of Western Vir-
ginia; and the Central Railroad, if pursued, as we trust it may be, will do
much for some other portions. There will also be a general, though it
cannot be a rapid, improvement throughout the greater part of this region.
Still, however, the causes mentioned above will continue for a long time
to operate. The slave-holder from Eastern Virginia aud elsewhere will
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 335
not clu se this iucreasingly-unsafe position for his slave-property. The
Northe* a man, who still cherishes strong opposition to slavery, will not
come ws\ere it exists, nor would he be welcomed there ; for in no part of
Virginu is the opposition stronger to any thing savouring of abolitionism
Still, It is our duty, as I have often said privately, publicly, and officially^
not only diligently to cultivate the places already opened to us, tend the
little tiocks already gathered, search for wandering sheep among the hills
and mountains, but be ever ready to occupy any new positions, such as
Fairmont and Fellowsville, which shall from time to time present them-
selves. If we cannot do all that we would, let us do all that we can. But
it is best to think soberly, and not deceive ourselves with false calculations.
Even Western Pennsylvania, though having more ministers and churches
than vVestern Virginia, has but few by comparison with her agricultural
and other improvements, and by comparison with Ohio and other parts of
our country. The cause of this may be found chiefly in the character of
the population which first took possession of it, and still holds possession,
and which was and is averse to the Episcopal Church. The same may be
said of the population of Western Virginia. Though for the most part of a
different kind from that which first established itself in Western Pennsyl-
vania, it was not and is not favourable material for the Episcopal Church, aa
past experience has shown. Western Virgini? was doubtless settled chiefly
from Eastern Virginia. Those who moved from the valley were not Epis-
copalians, for it is well known that the Germans and Scotch-Irish took
possession of the valley at an early period, and that the Episcopal Church
had scarcely an existence there until a very late period. Those who emi-
grated from Eastern Virginia were chiefly of that class who had deserted
the Episcopal Church and been engaged in a violent hostility to it, and
carried with them and transmitted to their children nothing but prejudice
against it, — which prejudice has been cherished ever since by their re-
ligious teachers. But, even if such prejudice has not been, so many
generations have since grown up in utter ignorance of our Church, that in
the great body of the people of Western Virginia there is no tendency to
it, but the reverse. That the service of our Church is most admirably
adapted to the edification of the poor and labouring man, I firmly believe
and often delight to affirm ; but the difficulties in the way of getting such
to make trial of it are so great, by reason of their partiality to other de-
nominations, and various other circumstances, that hitherto all the efi"orta
to induce them so to do, whethe: in Virginia or elsewhere, have been of
little avail."
336 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS. AND
ARTICLE LXXVIII.
Churches in Wheeling, Fairmont, Clarksburg, Weston, Buchanon.
The Rev. Joseph Doddridge was the first Episcopal minister, it ia
believed, who officiated in Wheeling. Residing in Wellsburg, he occa-
sionally visited the few Episcopal families then in Wheeling ; but
there was no organization until the 11th of May, 1819. This is to
be ascribed to a visit of Bishop Chase, at whose instance it doubtless
took place. The organization was with the title of " St. Matthew's
Church, Wheeling." The persons composing the first association
were as follows: — John Armstrong, Jr., W. T. Good, W. Gray, T.
H. Armstrong, JoshuaMorton, J.Good, W. Perrine, Richard Simms,
P. Ray, J. C. Williams, Josiah Chapline, J. W^ilson, Jr.,W. Chapline,
Jr., P. Bier,S. Scovill, T. M. Cowles, C. D. Knox, J. M. Smith, R.
C. Thompson, Moses Shepherd, Moses W. Chapline, H. Thornbury,
John Eoff, Samuel Chamberlain. A vestry being appointed, we find
that the Rev. John Armstrong, from Maryland, was chosen the first
minister. In the year 1821, Mr. Noah Zane presented a lot for an
Episcopal church. On the 9th of May, 1821, the corner-stone of
St. Matthew's Church was laid by the order of Masons, — the Rev.
Mr. Armstrong delivering a sermon and the Rev. Dr. Doddridge an
oration. In the fall of that year it was ready for divine service.
Mr. Armstrong's labours continued for seven years, at the end of
which time he died and was buried in the church. He was an
honest, zealous, laborious, and faithful minister. At the building
of the new church his remains were removed to it and now rest
beneath its chancel. His son — the Rev. William Armstrong —
was elected to fill the vacancy, but declined, and recommended the
Rev. Thomas Wheat, who was chosen. In 1832, the Rev. Mr.
Wheat resigned, and the Rev. Wm. Armstrong, being again elected,
became the minister of St. Matthew's Church. The congregation so
increased under his care that it became necessary to build a larger
house. The present one was consecrated by myself on the 26th of
October, 1837. In the year 1849, the question of dividing the
diocese of Virginia having been agitated in the western part of the
State, and being brought before the vestry, it Avas decided by a
unanimous vote to be inexpedient. In the year 1853, the Rev.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 837
Mr. Perkins was appointed assistant to the Rev. Mr. Armstrong.
In the following year Mr. Armstrong resigned. The vestry and
congregation were so unwilling to part with one who had faithfully
served them for nearly one-quarter of a century, that earnest efforts
were made to prevent his removal from Wheeling or the vicinity;
and, had he consented, provision would have been made for his sup-
port without the performance of the usual ministerial services ; but
he felt it his duty to return and spend his remaining days in a small
parish in Maryland, which he had served during the first thirteen
years of his ministry The Rev. Mr. Perkins was therefore chosen
as his successor, and still continues to be the pastor of St. Mat-
thew's Church.
List of the Vestrymen of St. 3Iatthew's Church.
John Good, Richard Simms. Wm. Chapline, Jr., S. Scovill, .J. C. Wil-
liams, Noah Zane, W. Chapline, Seu , Alexander Caldwell, Josiah Chap-
line, Eli B. Sweariugen, Moses Shepherd, Richard Lane, Peter Gi-arnall,
Patrick Roy, Joseph Caldwell, Jas. Tanner, Edmund I. Lee, Jr., Dr.
Morton, W. H. Heiskell, John F. Clark, Major Good, Z. B. Curtis, F.
Bassett, John Robinson, W. T. Selby, H. D. Brown, W. B. Atterbury,
C. T. Strong, Alexander T. Laidley, Morgan Nelson, Samuel Neil, Alfred
Richardson, A. P. Woods, Alexander Caldwell, J. L. Newby, J. R. Greer,
W. K. Linsay, George Armstrong, S. Brady, R. C. Bonham, G. C. Tingle,
M. C. Good.
Of the high respectability of the above body of vestrymen, under
whose guardianship the Episcopal Church in Wheeling has so emi-
nently flourished, the citizens of Wheeling, during the term of their
service, would, I doubt not, bear a strong and willing testimony.
Some of them were, and others still are, personally known to me.
Of those who were known to me on earth, and whom I hope to
know again in a higher sphere, and who are specially noticed and
honoured on the records, I may be permitted to mention the names
of Judge Caldwell and Richard Simms. The latter I knew from
the year 1820 to the time of his death, — a few years since, — and
knew him always as the same active, useful vestryman, and con-
sistent Christian. He helped to build the first church in Wheeling,
when it was in the midst of the woods. He loved, like David, to be
a doorkeeper in the house of the Lord, though from first to last he
was the chief churchwarden. Providence permitted him to expe-
rience great reverses during his earthly pilgrimage, but, through
grace, he knew how to abound and how to suffer need. One thing
he did not know, and that was to be idle and dependent. When, in
extreme old age, he was deprived of all earthly property, but when
both the church and the town would have felt honoured in making
Vol. II.— 22
338 OLD ciiurvCHEs, ministers, and
provision for him, he coukl not endure the thought of being unem-
ployed, but obtained the place of toll-keeper on the great turnpike-
road from east to west, a few miles from Wheeling, and there, with
his old and excellent companion, who yet survives him, spent the
evening of his days, — still turning the curse into a blessing, and by
the sweat of his broAv making an honest livelihood. Mr. Simma
was a native of Maryland, moved to Wheeling in 1816, was married
by Dr. Doddridge, died in Triadelphia in March, 1854. His re-
mains were brought to Wheeling, and into the church, and from
thence to the East Wheeling Cemetery. Judge Caldwell was a
man of high character and standing in every position in society, but
above all was an humble Christian. Whenever the Holy Communion
is administered, the pastor and the people partake of the emblems
of the Saviour's body and blood from a rich service of plate, cost-
ing, according to the vestry-book, the sum of three hundred dollars,
a present from Mr. Joseph Caldwell, the brother of Judge Caldwell.
ST. John's church, east wheeling.
The following account of it has been furnished me by one who
is fully acquainted with its history. St. John's parish. Wheeling,
was organized in the year of our Lord 1849. Previous to that
time St. Matthew's parish embraced the whole of the city of Wheel-
ing, and was the only Episcopal church in Ohio county.
The location of the church-building was at an inconvenient
distance from the residences of a portion of the congregation.
This, together with the rapid increase of the population and business
of the city, demanded the formation of a new parish. Moved by
these considerations, and an earnest desire to extend the influence
and benefits of the Church, the Rev. William Armstrong, rector of
St. Matthew's Church, on the 31st of July, 1849, called a meeting
of his vestry for the purpose of considering the propriety and ex-
pediency of erecting a church and forming another congregation
in the southern part of the city. The vestry, in pursuance of said
call, met on the second day of August, 1849. The following are
the proceedings of the vestry at said meeting, so far as they relate
to a division of the parish : —
"The petition of Robert C. Woods and others upon the subject of a new
parish being the first business before the meeting, Mr. Brady offered the
following paper: — 'A communication from Robert C.Woods, Beverley M.
Eoflf, and Henry Tallant, — committee, — was presented and read, signifying
that the necessary means had been raised for the support of a minister of
the Protestant Episcopal Church in a new parish which it is proposed to
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 339
organize within the city, and asking the assent of the rector, wardens, and
vestry of this church to such organization.' Whereupon it was unanimously
ordered, that the assent desired be and the same is hereby cordially given,
and that the new parish embrace within its limits all south of Wheeling
Creek.
'■'■Resolved, Moreover, that this vestry would humbly invoke God's bless-
ing upon the organization contemplated in the communication this day
submitted."
Having obtained the consent of the vestry of St. Matthew's
Church, and being favoured with the heaity support and sympathy
of the respected and beloved rector, the committee promptly called
a meeting of such of the citizens of South Wheeling as were favour-
able to the formation of a parish of the Church in that part of the
city. At the meeting so called, the rector of St. Matthew's Church
was present, and, in remarks appropriate and impressive, explained
the object of the meeting. After wdiich, suitable measures were
adopted for the complete organization of the new parish, and pro-
vision made for the erection of a building for the services of the
Church.
On the 6th of August, 1849, the Rev. Jas. D. McCabe was invited
to take charge of the parish as rector thereof, which invitation was
accepted on the 24th of the following month. The rector-elect did
not, however, enter upon the duties of his office until January, 1850.
On the 8th of February, 1850, the building erected by the con-
gregation was sufficiently near completion to be used, and the pulpit
was, for the first time, occupied on that day by the Rev. Mr. Arm-
strong. The services were conducted by the rector, assisted by
the Rev. William L. Hyland. The organizatiork of the parish was
sanctioned and confirmed by the Convention of the Diocese of Vir-
ginia, in May, 1850, as " St. John's Parish, Wheeling." The church-
edifice — which had been erected and completed by the congregation —
was consecrated to the service of Almighty God, by the Rt. Rev. John
Johns, Assistant Bishop of Virginia, on the 1st of November, 1850.
The Rev. Dr. McCabe laboured profitably and accepta,bly to the
congregation until the 8th of January, 1856, when he removed to
Baltimore, as associate rector of St. Paul's Church, in that city.
The following is part of the proceedings of the vestry of St. John's
parish at the meeting called to act upon the resignation of the
rectorship of the parish by the Rev. Dr. McCabe. This resolution
was adopted unanimously, and heartily concurred in by every mem-
ber of the congregation : —
" Resolved, That the Rev. James D. McCabe, D.D., has by courtesy and
kindness, by purity of life and doctrine, and by the faithful discharge of
340 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
duties pertaining to his holy office, secured the lo\e and confidence of his
people."
The Rev. George K. Warner was elected rector of the parish in
January, 1856, and took charge of the congregation on the 16th
of March following. St. John's parish was established upon the free-
seat system, which has been found to work satisfactorily. The
rector's salary is provided for by the voluntary subscription of the
members. The incidental expenses, &c. are met by weekly collec-
tions at the Sunday morning services. The parish has a commodious
and convenient dwelling-house, erected in 1855 expressly for the
use of the rector.
St. John's parish has at this time (February, 1857) eighty-six
communicants. The Sunday-school connected with the parish is in
a flourishing condition, and, under the judicious cai-e and manage-
ment of the rector, proves an important auxiliary to the Church.
I must add to the above, for the encouragement of others to go
and do likewise, that the rectory mentioned above, and which cost
three or four thousand dollars, was at the sole expense of a very
few zealous individuals. May they be rewarded for it by always
having a faithful minister of God to occupy it !
THE CHURCH IN CLARKSBURG.
The first missionary movement in our diocese was in behalf o^-
Western Virginia, by the association in the valley, composed of the
ministers in Frederick, Jefferson, and Berkeley, in the early part
of the ministry of the Rev. Benjamin Allen, Mr. Bryan, B. B. Smith,
Enoch Lowe, and the author of these pages. The first missionary
sent into Western Virginia was the Rev. Wm. F. Lee, and the first
point to which he went was Clarksburg and the next Morgantown.
In each of these places he preached repeatedly and acceptably and
did his duty faithfully as a pioneer and explorer. He was soon
followed by his relative, — the Rev. Charles Henry Page, — who imi-
tated his example in all things. The first effort of a more perma-
nent character was made by the Rev. Mr. Ward. In a letter from
a friend in Clarksburg, he thus speaks of this effort: — " Mr. Ward
came here in the fall of 1834 or 1835. At first he was the inmate
of the family of Mr. Trapnall, a firm friend of the Church. Mr.
Trapnall dying, Mr. Ward abode the remainder of his time with
Mr. Richard Despard, a devoted friend of the Church from the old
country. I have been informed that Mr. Ward succeeded in awaken-
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 341
mg considerable interest among the friends of the Church, — that his
Sabbath-school was flourishing, and his public services well sus-
tained." The same friend continues: — "Mr. Ward was succeeded
by the Rev. Mr. McMechin, about the year 1840. He had pre-
viously been in the Methodist ministry. You are well acquainted
with the course pursued by him and with the unhappy termination
of his ministry." The foregoing remark requires explanation. Other
records of the Church have already made it, but, for the benefit of
young ministers, it deserves a place here. Mr. McMechin, though
of an ancient Episcopal family, had united himself with the Method-
ist communion and ministry. During the few years of his con-
tinuance in this Society he was much esteemed. He then entered
the Episcopal Church and ministry. After a short stay in Parkers-
burg, he commenced the duties of the latter under very favourable
auspices in Clarksburg. At his own cost he provided a house which
should answer the double purpose of school-room and place of wor-
ship. In this place he preached on the Sabbath and instructed
young females during the week, — deriving his support chiefly if not
entirely from the latter. His pulpit-addresses were very acceptable.
Numbers attended his ministry. His sermons seemed about to be
blessed in the conversion of many, and there was a reasonable pro-
bability that most if not all of them would be united to our Church.
In several successive letters he communicated to me the joyful in-
telligence, and the confident expectation of a large class of candi-
dates for Confirmation when I should next visit Clarksburg, which
was to be after a few months. Before that time arrived, however,
I perceived a change in the tone of his letters. He was less confi-
dent that many would be ready for Confirmation, — was afraid that
he would be disappointed in a number who had promised well. At
length my visit was made. On my arrival, he gave me the following
honest account of the whole matter. After having for some time
earnestly preached the Gospel of salvation to those who attended
his ministry, and having reason to believe that a number were pre-
pared to make an open profession of religion, and to do it after our
manner and in connection with our Church, he determined to make
the latter sure by a series of discourses on the ministry, the Sacra-
ments, the Liturgy, and the rite of Confirmation. I do not know
what particular position he took in regard to these, but the efiect,
he told me, was to reduce his congregation from Sabbath to Sabbath,
BO that, by the time the series was over, a mere handful were left him.
Meanwhile the pulpits of othei denominations were denouncing
34-2 OLD CHURCHES, MIN ESTERS, AND
him and the Church, and tracts and books against Confirmation
and our peculiarities were gotten up and put in circulation through
the place, so that when I reached Clarksburg there was but one
individual who would dare to appear for Confirmation, and sickness
prevented the attendance of that one. Nor did the calamity end
here ; for, not long after, Mr. McMechin himself returned, under
the influence of excited feelings, to the Methodist communion as a
lay member. It is, however, proper to state that when that excite-
ment passed away he resumed his place in the bosom of the Episco
pal Church, but, of course, only as a lay member, — having been
displaced from our ministry. Let young ministers in new parishes
learn a lesson from the foregoing statement, and old ones even in
old parishes not despise it.
The letter of my correspondent continues by saying that " after
Mr. McMechin abandoned the ministry, the Rev. Thomas Smith,
of Parkersburg, gave the little flock such pastoral care as his
distant residence allowed. He called the friends of the Church
together, proposed and caused to be adopted articles of confedera-
tion, and had a regular vestry elected. Until the services of a
regular minister were secured, he paid them several visits, — riding
on horseback the distance of eighty-five miles to supply their spi-
ritual necessities. The Rev. Mr. Kinsolving was the next settled
minister. He officiated regularly at Clarksburg and Weston, and
occasionally at Morgantown. He remained about a year, and was
not only acceptable to his own people, but popular with all classes.
The Rev. Mr. Tompkins succeeded him at Weston, and preached occa-
sionally at Clarksburg, — perhaps once a month, — as well as at other
places." To this communication I add that in the year 1852, the
Rev. Robert A. Castleman went to Clarksburg, and was soon after
joined by the Rev. James Page, who, between them, supplied Clarks-
burg, Weston, Fairmont, Morgantown, and Buchanon, for one year,
when the former confined his services to Clarksburg and Fairmont,
and the latter to Weston and Bucbanon. During the residence of
the Rev. Mr. Tompkins in Weston, and chiefly by his exertions, an
Episcopal church has been built in that place. During the ministry
of Mr. Castleman, one has been built in Clarksburg and one pur-
chased and repaired at Fairmont. To his efi"orts in Clarksburg and
his solicitation abroad, we are indebted for the excellent house now
standing in Clarksburg. A few zealous friends in Fairmont are
entitled to praise for what they have done. Although our eiforts
have thus far failed in Morgantown, I cannot pass it by w'th')«t
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 343
mention of the pleasant visits made to that place, and the hospitable
reception given me by those worthy members of our Church, — Mr.
John Rogers and Mr. Guy Allen. Could the zeal and liberality of two
individuals have sufficed for the establishment of the Episcopal Church
in Morgantown, theirs would have done it. I have nothing more
to add but that Mr. Castleman is about to leave Clarksburg, and
the Rev. Mr. Smyth, a Deacon, is officiating in Weston,
344 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
ARTICLE LXXIX.
Churches in Kanawha, Mavenswood, Parkersburg and the
neighbourhood, Hew Martinsville, and Moundsville.
Still pursuing the order in which efforts have been made for
the establishment of the Episcopal Church in Western Virginia, we
proceed to speak of the churches in Kanawha. The Rev. Messrs.
Lee and Page, our first missionaries, extended their visits to Ka-
nawha, and by the way of Point Pleasant ascended the Ohio, stopping
at Parkersburg. The visit of Mr. Page led to his settlement in
Kanawha, and during the time of his residence there he oflficiated
in Charleston, at Coalsmouth, and Point Pleasant. A good be-
ginning was made by Mr. Page, and, if circumstances had not made
him feel it his duty to seek another field of labour after a few
years, it is thought that the Church in that county would have
greatly benefited by his labours. He was succeeded, after a num-
ber of years, by the Rev. Frederick D. Goodwin, who laboured
amidst many difficulties for two years and then removed to another
field. The Rev. Mr. Martin followed Mr. Goodwin, and laboured
at Charleston and Coalsmouth. He was succeeded by the Rev.
Mr. Craik, now of Louisville, who laboured among them for some
years. Mr. Whittle and Mr. Ward were the next ministers. Mr.
Ward was followed by the Rev. R. T. Brown, who, after a few years,
was obliged, on account of his failing voice, to relinquish the charge.
The Rev. Thompson L. Smith is the present minister.
There is an excellent brick church in Charleston, whose history
deserves a special notice. When I first visited Kanawha, there
were only two communicants in our Church in Charleston, — Mrs.
Colonel Lovell and Mrs. Quarrier. There Avere some few other
ladies, who by birth or education were attached to the Episcopal
Church, and some few gentlemen who laughingly advocated it in
preference to others. There was no Episcopal Church, and the
idea of building one seemed preposterous. Some two or three ladies,
however, determined upon a trial, — their husbands, fathers, and
brothers making sport of it. They used their tongues, their hands,
their pens, and raised in one year about a hundred dollars, which
afforded amusement to the gentlemen. The ladies, with charac-
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 345
teristic good-humour, patience, and perseverance, endured it all,
putting their earnings in the bank, and proceeded in their work.
The next year doubled their collections, which were also put at
interest. How many years were thus spent, and what was the
increase of each year, I cannot say ; but this I know, that after many
years of patient perseverence, and the accumulation of a very con-
siderable sum, the gentlemen found that the ladies could not be
laughed out of their determination, and, some of them having also
come to better thoughts on the subject of religion, it was resolved
to accept the large amount now in hand, and add to it as much as
was necessary to build a church costing four or five thousand
dollars.
OLD MRS. QUARRIER.
I mentioned that at one time there were only two communicants
in our Church at Charleston, — Mrs. Lovell and Mrs. Quarrier. The
latter died in the year 1852, full of years, and ready to depart
and be with Christ. As Mrs. Quarrier, beyond any other in-
dividual, may be considered the mother of the Church m Western
Virginia, by reason of her age, her holy life, and numerous pos-
terity, who in different places have zealously promoted it, I must
give a brief genealogical sketch of the same. Mr. Alexander
Quarrier was born in Scotland in the year 1746. He removed to
America in his twenty-ninth year, and, settling in Philadelphia and
marrying, lived there twelve years, when he removed to Richmond.
His wife dying, he contracted a second marriage with Miss Sally
Burns. He left Richmond in 1811, and removed to Kanawha,
where he died at the advanced age of eighty-two. By his first
marriage he had six children, — Harriet, Eliza, Margaret, Helen,
Alexander, and Betsy. By his second wife he had seven children,
— William, James, Gustavus, Monroe, Archibald, Fanny, and Vir-
ginia. Being unable to state the marriages and localities, &c. of
all of them, I shall mention none. The members of the Church in
diflerent parts of Western Virginia know how much it has been
indebted to them.
THE CHURCH IN THE SALINES.
About six miles above Charleston, in the midst of the celebrated
salt-works, there is a considerable population and several churches.
One of them belongs to the Episcopalians. When I was last there,
it had been deserted for a time on account of its bad construction,
with a view either to its repair or the building of another. The
346 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
minister at Charleston gives a portion of his time and labours to
this place.
THE CHURCH AT COALSMOUTH.
About twelve miles from Charleston, and lower down, the river
Coal enters into the Kanawha. At this place a number of EpiS'
copal families settled themselves from thirty to sixty years ago.
They attracted the attention of our first ministers in Kanawha,
and shared their labours. Among those families was that of Mr.
Philip Thompson, of Culpepper, son of the Rev. Mr. Thompson,
of St. Mark's parish, of whom we have given so good an account
in our article on Culpepper. His family, now reduced in num-
bers by death and dispersion, have contributed largely to the sup-
port of this congregation. The venerable mother, daughter of old
Mr. Robert Slaughter, of Culpepper, was loved and esteemed by
all who knew her, as one of the humblest and most devoted mem-
bers of the Church in Virginia. I have always felt my own sense
of the divine power and excellency of religion strengthened by every
visit made to her abode. She exchanged it some years since for a
better one above.
The following communication from Mr. Francis Thompson, who
has long been a lay reader of the Church, contains every thing of
importance in relation to the congregation at Coalsmouth : —
"Coals, February 24, 1857.
" Right Reverend and Dear Sir : — I hasten to give you an imperfect
account of the history of the Church in this neighbourhood; and, as there
are no records to refer to, I shall have to rely on an imperfect memory.
Morris Hudson, Elizabeth his wife, and their six children, nearly all mar-
ried, removed to this neighbourhood from Botetourt county, Virginia, in
1797, and were probably the first Episcopalians that settled in this neigh-
bourhood. They were both communicants of the Church. They came to
Virginia originally from Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and were mem-
bers of Bangor Church, — an old church erected before the Revolution.
They removed to Botetourt county, in this State, during Bishop Madison's
time. The old patriarch, then in his eightieth year, (being uncertain
whether he had been confirmed in childhood,) received the rite of Con-
firmation at your hands, on your first visit to this county, together with
several of his children. Some of their descendants still continue true to
the faith of their fathers, whilst others have wandered into other folds.
The next Episcopalians who settled here were my father's family, with
whose history you are well acquainted. They removed here in 1817.
My father died in 1837, in the seventieth year of his age. My mother
died the 8th of March, 1852, in the seventy-fifth year of her age.
"The first clergyman who visited us was the Rev. Mr. Page, who came
as a missionary, and was afterwards the pastor of the congregation in this
neighbourhood, and ofiiciated generally throughout the county. He la-
boured zealously for several years, and, I have no doubt, accomplished much
good. Had he remained, I think the Church would have been established
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 347
here on a firm foundation. I do not recollect the precise time of bis coming
or leaving. The little brick church on the bill was erected in 1825,
(chiefly by old Mr. Hudson.) I think the Rev. Mr. Page preached in it
for some years. This church was used until 1835, when it was burned.
" The first vestry was P. R. Thompson, Davis Hudson, Jesse Hudson,
and others whose names I have forgotten. After Mr. Page left, we were
for some time without a minister, and the 3Iethodists and Presbyterians
came in and gathered up the sheaves already bound by him, as many bap-
tized by him connected themselves with those Churches. The Rev. F. D.
Goodwin succeeded Mr. Page, and continued about two years. I think he
came in 1830 or 1831, and was followed by the Rev. Mr. Martin in 1833,
who remained in the county about five years, and gave place to Mr. Craik,
who preached for us occasionally for several years. Old Mr. West had
charge of this parish part of a year during Mr. Craik's ministry in Charles-
ton. After Mr. West left us, Mr. Craik still continued to preach for us,
until the spring of 1845, when the Rev. F. B. Nash was called to this
parish. He continued to labour zealously for several years. During his
ministry St. Mark's Church was built on a part of the lot given by my
father for a church and pai'sonage. The parsonage was built for Mr.
Martin, but was never occupied by a minister until Mr. Nash came. St.
Mark's Church was built in 1846, and shortly afterward St. John's in the
Valley. The congregation in Quay's Valley was first gathered by Mr.
Craik, and an old still-house converted into a place of worship. I think
be started a subscription-paper for St. John's before he left. There are
several communicants still living near this church, though they have never
had any services since Mr. Nash left, with the exception of one or two
sermons from Mr. Henderson, who continued here a short time. I was
licensed as a lay reader about thirty-two years ago, and have continued to
officiate in that capacity and as superintendent of the Sunday-school up to
this time. Our school last summer, and as long as the weather permitted
during the fall, was quite a flourishing one, numbering more than forty
scholars. We shall resume it on next Sunday, if the weather continues
good. I remain, dear sir, your attached friend, F. Thompson "
List of Persons who have acted as Vestrymen, (from m,emory^
P. R. Thompson, Sen., Davis Hudson, Jesse Hudson, John Lewis, P. R.
Thompson, Jr., John P. Turner, Alexander Bradford, Dr. John Thompson,
Robert Simms, G-eorge Rogers, Alfred A. Thornton, Benjamin S. Thomp-
son, George W. Thornton, Francis Thompson.
We have no other church besides these on the Kanawha River,
though our ministers have had stations at the court-house in a
neighbouring county and at Buffalo in Kanawha county. At Point
Pleasant, besides the occasional visits of the Rev. Mr. Craik and
Mr. Henderson, the Rev. James Goodwin laboured several years in
the hope of building a church and raising up a congregation, but
was disappointed. Various circumstances have prevented the es-
tablishment of a flourishing village on that most beautiful of all the
sites on the Ohio and Kanawha Rivers, which, by their junction
there, concur to make it as convenient for trade as it is memorable
348 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
for the bloody battle with the Indians in which the family of Lewis
80 signalized itself, — some of whose descendants still live upon the
spot and adhere to the Church of their ancestors.
BRUCE CHAPEL.
About twelve miles below Point Pleasant, on Mercer's Bottom,
a large and fertile tract of land, once owned by Charles Fenton
Mercer, we have a comfortable brick building called Bruce Chapel,
erected during the ministry of the Rev. James Goodwin, and so
named because of the large contribution made to it by Mrs. Eliza
Bruce, now of Richmond, and whose liberality to so many other
objects is well known throughout Virginia. The chapel is in the
neighbourhood of the Moores, Beales, General Steenbergen, and
others whose names I cannot now recall.
THE CHURCH AT RAVENSWOOD.
Ravenswood is a small village on the Ohio River, built on land
taken up by General Washington, (who never made a mistake as to
the quality of soil,) and left to some of the Ashton family of King
George, with whom the Washington family was connected. Mr.
Henry Fitzhugh, formerly of Fauquier, marrying a descendant
of the Ashtons, became possessed of a part of this estate, and
settled on it with a large family of children. At his expense a
neat little chapel has been put up at Ravenswood, and when minis-
terial services were not to be had one of his sons has officiated as
lay reader. The Rev. Mr. Tompkins has now for the last two
years been residing there, discharging the duties of a teacher and
minister at the same time. Services are also held at the court-house
of that county.
Since the above was penned, I have received a communication
which states that the ladies, by their zeal and diligence, raised one
hundred and fifty dollars for the furnishing of the chapel, and that
some contributions were made by individuals other than the fiimily
above mentioned, in the neighbourhood, and in Wheeling and Cin-
cinnati, though not to a large amount. Contributions of labour were
also made by some of the neighbours. The Rev. Mr. Wheeler was
the minister for two years from the year 1842. The Rev. Messrs.
Martin and Craik and Brown, of Charleston, the Rev. Mr. Goodwia,
of Point Pleasant, the Rev. Messrs. Smith and Perkins, of Parkers-
burg, the Rev. Mr. Hyland, of Moundsville, and Drs. Armstrong
and McCabe, of Wheeling, have all rendered acceptable services at
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 349
Ravenswood. The vestrymen have been Mr. Henry Fitzhugh.
Dr. John Armstrong, Thomas Atkinson, W. S. Holmes, D. M. Barr,
Burdett Fitzhugh, Henry Fitzhugh, Jr., R. H. Dickenson, James
R. Mays, George H. Fitzhugh, T. D. Noussey, J. Beckwith, Thomas
Kirk, D. Frost, I. J. C. Davenport, H. Harpold, James Beatty.
THE CHURCHES IN PARKERSBURG AND THE VICINITY.
Parkersburg was one of the places visited by our first mission-
aries,— the Rev. Messrs. Lee and Page. The Rev. Mr. Goodwin,
also, either before or after his settlement in Kanawha, paid an ac-
ceptable visit to the people of that place. The Rev. Mr. McMechin,
soon after his ordination, spent a year or more in attempting to
raise up a congregation there. In the year 1843, the Rev. Thomas
Smith was elected its minister and the church was regularly organ-
ized, and in the following year was admitted into union with the
Convention of Virginia. Mr. Smith immediately commenced, with
his accustomed enterprise, to raise funds for building a church, and
was sufficiently successful in securing enough to provide a small
and plain church ; but, as is too often the case in the progress of
such a work, the views of those engaged in it were enlarged, both as
to the size of the building and the style of its execution, so that
the completion of it was delayed for some years. It is a well-built
and handsome brick church, and stands on ground presented to the
vestry by J. F. Snodgrass, late member of Congress from that dis-
trict. For a large portion of the funds for its erection, and for much
of the superintendence of the work, the congregation is indebted
to General J. J. Jackson, of Parkersburg. Mr. Smith died in 1847,
and was buried beneath the vestibule of the church, at his own re-
quest, the reason being assigned that, as he felt himself to be a
poor sinner, he wished to be trampled under the feet of all who
entered the house. In the same year the Rev. Mr. Perkins was
chosen, who entered on his duties in the month of October. In
the year 1853, Mr. Perkins resigned the charge, since which time
it has been vacant. During Mr. Perkins's term of service two other
churches have been built in connection with Parkersburg, — one
about fifteen or twenty miles above it, on Cow Creek, and another
about ten or twelve miles below it, at Bellville. The latter was
built almost entirely by Mr. Wells, on whose land and near whose
house it stands. Mr. Perkins used occasionally to officiate at each
of these places.
The following is the list of the vestrymen of this parish : — John
Taylor, J G. Stringer, Dr. D. Creel, A. L. Kinnaird, J. M. Little-
o60 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
boy. Sen., J. F. Snodgrass, J. R. Murdock, W. S. Gardiner, David
B. Spencer, J. J. Jackson, Beverley Smith, W. P. Rathbone, Dr.
Farmin, E. D. Safford, C. J. Meale, Isaac Morris, W. H. Morehead,
G. B. Neale, J. J. Dickenson, W. H. Laurence, W. H. Small, J. J.
Neale, J. H. Adams, E. F. De Selding.
CHURCH IN WETZEL COUNTY.
A church at New Martinsville, in this county, was partly built
some years since, under the auspices of the Rev. James McCabe
and the Rev. Mr. Hyland, and supplied for some time with services
by the same. I have no list of the vestrymen of this parish, which
was called Wetzel parish after the name of the county.
CHURCH AT MOUNDSVILLE.
Within twelve miles of Wheeling, on the Ohio River, is to be
seen one of the largest of those Indian mounds which are to be
found in our Western world. It gives the name to the place. In
the time of the elder Mr. Armstrong, there were some families be-
longing to our Church in and around it, which were visited by him,
and to whom with the other people of the place he preached. The
passage of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad through it, and the
establishment of a large depot at it, has increased the population
80 much that an Episcopal church was erected here some years
since, and the Rev. Mr. Hyland has, in connection with a school,
performed the duties of a minister in it.
The following is a list of the vestrymen of the parish : — Colonel
John Thompson, Isaac Hoge, E. H. Caldwell, W. S. Lane, 0. S.
Hock, G.W.Bruce, William Collins, General G.Jones.
From the foregoing notices of the Church in Western Virginia,
it will be perceived that our "beginning is small." May some
future historian, when all its resources have been developed, have
the pleasure of recording that "its latter end has greatly increased" !
FAMILIES OF VIKGINIA. 351
ARTICLE LXXX.
Recollections of the Episcopal Church in this Country during th&
last Fifty Years.
Having thus disposed of the Church of Virginia, I purpose in
the present to record some things in relation to the General Church
which have come under my observation, and in which I have taken
some part. As I introduced the notices of the Virginia Church
with some preliminary remarks on its previous histoiy, so would 1
offer a few thoughts as to the earlier history and character of the
American Church generally, before entering on the particular nar-
rative to which this article is devoted. And, as I was forced by a
regard to historic truth to acknowledge that at no time from its
first establishment was the moral and religious condition of the
Church in Virginia even tolerably good, so am I also, by the same
consideration, obliged to admit much that was defective in relation
to other parts of the American Episcopal Church. More especially
was this the case in regard to Maryland, which bore a strong re-
semblance to Virginia in more respects than one. The character
of her early population resembled that of Virginia, in having more
of the aristocracy than was to be found in some other parts of the
English territory in this country. Slavery also was introduced at an
early period, and served to strengthen that feature in her character.
She, like Virginia, was also put under a regular establishment, —
though not at so early a period. She had her Grovernors and Com-
missaries, who acted as substitutes for the Bishop in ecclesiastical
matters. Neither Maryland nor Virginia were under the patronage
of the Society for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts, as
other portions of America were. The history of those other portions,
by comparison with those of Virginia and Maryland, establishes the
fact beyond contradiction, that the selection of missionaries by that
Society was generally better than the supply coming to Virginia
and Mai-yland through the Bishop of London, or some other chan-
nel. The reader is referred to Dr. Hawks's faithful and laborious
History of the Church in Maryland for proof of this in relation to
that diocese. I adduce only one testimony besides, and that from
the well-known Dr. Chandler, of our American Church. After a
352 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
visit to the Eastern Shore of Maryland, about the year 1753, he
addressed a letter to the Bishop of London, in which, after speaking
in high terms of the laity of that part of the State, he adds, "The
general character of the clergy, I am sorry to say, is wretchedly
bad. It is readily confessed, that there are some in the Province
whose behaviour is unexceptionable and exemplary ; but their
number seems to be very small in comparison, — they appearing
here and there, like lights shining in a dark place. It would really,
my lord, make the ears of a sober heathen tingle to hear the stories
that were told me by many serious persons of several clergymen in
the neighbourhood of the parish where I visited ; but I still hope that
some abatement may be fairly made on account of the prejudices
of those who related them." My own recollection of statements
made by faithful witnesses forty-five years ago, as to a number of
the old clergy of Maryland, accords with the above. I have but
little knowledge from any source of the few Episcopal clergy north
of Maryland. They were not more than eighty in number when
the War of the Revolution began. As to foreign importation of
clergymen. Bishop White (who was once the only Episcopal minister
in Pennsylvania) justly remarks, " It could not be the channel
of a respectable and permanent supply." Nevertheless, as they
nearly all of them depended chiefly for their support on the aid of
the above-mentioned Society, it is to be believed that pains were
taken to select the best which could be obtained from the English
Church at that time, and to require the best recommendations in
behalf of those who were natives of America. That there were
mistakes none can doubt.*
The history of the missionaries of that Society in South Carolina,
as given by one of her sons, (the Rev. Mr. Dalcho,) informs us of
some who, on account of their evil character, were soon complained
* That some of the followers of Laud came over to Virginia after his fall, is evident
from what Sir William Berkeley says in his memorable protest against much preach-
ing and the establishment of a printing-press and schools in the Colony. He speaks
in praise of some ministers who came out soon after Laud's death, and very slight-
ingly of the rest, saying that, " if they would only pray more and preach less, he
would like to see them better paid." As for free schools and a printing-press, he
thanked God there were none in the Colony, and trusted there would be none for a
hundred years to come, as he considered them fruitful nurseries of heresy and
rebellion. No doubt Sir William sympathized with Laud in many things. He was
as much disposed to high-handed measures in the management of the Colony as
Laud was in England. Cromwell's rebellion in England and Bacon's rebellion in
Virginia may be, in a great measure, traced to the arbitrary spirit and conduct of
the Archbishop and Governor.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 353
of, and either recalled or dismissed from the service. The con-
gregations, indeed, became very cautious how they received the
missionaries. They delayed institutions, as in Virginia, until satis-
fied of their good character by sufficient trial. The Society some-
times complained that too long a trial was required. Still, I doubt
not that their general character for morals and piety was much
superior to that of the imported clergy of Maryland and Virginia.
But now a most important inquiry must be made, in order to form a
correct estimate of the religion of the Colonial Churches. It is
this : — What was the type of the theology — the substance and style
of the preaching — of the ministers of that day? What doctrines
were insisted on with emphasis from the pulpit ? How did the
preaching of that day accord with the doctrines of the apostles and
the reformers on the subject of human depravity, and of Christ
as the sinner's " all in all"? How did the sermons compare with
our homilies on the misery or sinfulness of man, on justification,
on the new birth, &c.? It will surely be admitted to be a fair way
of deciding this question to ascertain what was the theology and
preaching in England during the time when our supply was greatest
from the Mother-Church. The clergy coming over to us must have
borne a strong resemblance in their theology and style of sermon-
izing, and in other respects, to the great body of those left behind ;
only that we are obliged to admit the probability of what was
so generally declared in all the documents and histories of the
times, — namely, that, with some honourable exceptions, they were
inferior in character. In making this inquiry, we shall not go back
to the few who came out during the reign of James I. We will
pass over those few who came to America in the days of Laud, who,
intent on establishing high Episcopal and Sacramentarian views and
on putting down all dissent, neglected (as some of his own admirers
admit) most shamefully the religious condition of the Colonies.*
* Dr. Coke, the Methodist Bishop, who from his office and his extensive travels
throughout England and America had a good opportunity to form a correct judgment,
says, not only of those who absconded at the American Revolution, but of those who
remained, that, " Fallen as the ministers of the Establishment in England generally
are, they are incomparably to be preferred before the clergy of America." (See his
Life of Samuel Drew, p. 145.) The Bishop of London wrote a letter to Dr. Dod-
dridge, in the year 1751, concerning a communication from the Rev. Mr. Davies, in
which, while he endeavours to defend the American clergy against the wholesale
charges brought against them, he is forced to make the following acknowledgment : —
"Of those who are sent from hence, a great part are the Scotch or Irish, who can get
no employment at home, and enter on the service more out of necessity than choice ;
some others are willing to go abroad to retrieve either lost fortunes or lost character '
Vol. II.— 23
854 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
We pass over also the times of the Commonwealth and of the two
succeeding reigns, and come down to that of William and Mary, —
the time of the greatest influx of ministers to America, — the time
of Tillotson and Burnet, and the formation of the two great societies
for extending the Church, — the Christian Knowledge Society and
the Propagation Society, which began their work within two years
of each other under the direction of kindred spirits, — the one in
1098, the other in 1700. The history of those times shows that
Romanism and Calvinism were equally eschewed. Let the sermons
and tracts of that day be compared with those of the Calvinistic
preaching in the time of Elizabeth and the semi-Romanistic ones
in the days of Laud, and a marked difference will be seen. But
there may also be seen as marked a difference between the sermons
of Tillotson and others of his stamp, and those of the earlier Re-
formers, as well as those of a later period, which have been denomi-
nated Evangelical. The age of Tillotson and Burnet may be called
the age of reasoning, of liberalism, of comprehension. Tillotson
and Burnet were great and good and pious men, — practical and
useful men. Their views of the Church, ministry, and Sacraments
were conservative. Their charity was truly Christian. And yet it
must be admitted that they stood at the beginning of a new school,
differing from any going before, and destined soon to degenerate
into something which they did not design. The sermons of Tillot-
son are masterpieces of reasoning on all theological subjects, — are a
body of divinity to students ; but then they are not addressed to
the hearts and consciences of sinners so as to aAvaken them to cry,
"What must we do to be saved?" They do not present Christ in
all his fulness to the soul with that earnest application which the
true evangelical preacher does. Burnet also admitted that he
wished to lower the doctrine of the article " On Justification by
Eaith" somewhat, — though by no means to make it approach the
Sacramental view, but rather the contrary. The followers of such
men soon began to substitute reasoning, natural religion, and mo-
rality for the Gospel. They did not deny the evangelical system,
but they did not preach it as they ought to have done, and the pulpit,
of course, lost its power. There were but few sermons published
The Bishop on this and other accounts was anxious to have Bishops sent to America,
that they might exercise discipline over the clergy coming from England, and ordain
natives for the Church. Had all the ministers of Dissenting Churches in America
been as liberal as Mr. Davies, Bishops would probably have been sent at an early
period, and much evil been prevented. Mr. Davies, in his letter to the Bishop of
London, expresses himself most favourabb' of the measure.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 355
in that day. At any rate, Tillotson's so far exceeded all others in
many respects, that they were the sermons of the Church. In the
Church of Virginia none appear to have been used by the lay readers
but Tillotson's. Tn many old vestry-books I have met with, a suflS-
cient number of his sermons were ordered to supply the lay readers ;
and there were probably two lay readers to each clergyman in the
diocese. They were indeed better and longer than the brief and
most unimpressive sermons of the clergy, (judging from a number
of the latter which I have read,) but still they are not calculated to
rouse lost sinners to a sense of their condition and lead them to a
Saviour, notwithstanding all that is so excellent in them. Tillot-
son's sermons, abridged into moral essays and dry reasonings on
the doctrines of religion, were, I fear, the general type of sermon-
izing among the clergy who came over to America for the last
seventy or eighty years before the War of the Revolution.
I fear that many of the publications of the Christian Knowledge
Society were somewhat wanting in that pressing of evangelical
principles upon the hearts and consciences of men in the way that
has been found so effective to their conversion since the days of
Venn, Newton, Simeon, and others. Soon after entering the mi-
nistry, I was desirous to publish a volume of sermons and tracts
for servants, and, being unable to find any such in this country, I
addressed a letter to Mr. Wilberforce, the warm friend of the negro
race, and made known to him my wishes, — not without acknowledg-
ing my indebtedness to his book, under God, for much of that which
I considered a true view of our holy religion. In reply, he sent
me all the tracts of the Christian Knowledge Society, — perhaps all
that then had been published in England for the poor. I confess
I was disappointed in them ; not that they had any of that false
doctrine which, at a later period, was surreptitiously introduced into
some of them by altering certain words, but that they did not press
with sufficient force and earnestness certain truths upon the minds
of the poor.
About this time my attention was called to some sermons of the
Rev. Mr. Bacon, a minister of our Church in Maryland, addressed
expressly to masters and servants. They were preached and pub-
lished in 1743. Their style is plain and forcible, and all that is
said is well said; but still there is the deficiency of the age in them.
They do not present Christ to men as poor lost sinners, in the way
they ought to do. They recognise the doctrine and declare it in
few words, but do not emphasize and press it. They were the best
I could get, however, and I published them. In an abridgment of
356 OLD CHmCHES, MINISTERSs, AND
two of them afterward, I sought to supply this deficiency. Let
me add, that I think there may seem this same error in one of the
directions for the conduct and preaching of the first missionaries
of this Society when sent to South Carolina. The directions, with
this one exception, are most wise and pious. Nothing could be
better. The defective passage, as I think, is this: — "That, in in-
structing heathens and infidels, they begin with the principles of
natural religion, appealing to their reason and conscience, and
thence proceed to show the necessity of revelation," &c. Now,
this is precisely the method attempted at first by the Moravian
missionaries in the North, and which they found so fruitless, and
therefore abandoned, choosing the more evangelical one with suc-
cess.* (See Dalcho's History of the Episcopal Church in South
Carolina, p. 46.) The fault of the Tillotson school was too much
reasoning, — too much appeal to natural religion, which, though,
like Butler's Analogy, it might be very effective with some for a
certain purpose, could not answer for the multitudes. Had our
Lord preached thus, the common people would not have heard him
gladly. Nor would the wise and mighty have been converted by
the Apostles, if such had been their preaching. Li what I have
said of the successors of the Tillotson school, there has been of late
a general agreement of our divines, whether called High or Low
Churchmen, all admitting that the moralizing system will not avail,
though differing much as to other things. I would not be mis-
understood on this subject. I do not deny to Tillotson most ad-
mirable method and valuable matter in his sermons ; for I have
read many of them with great pleasure, and not, I hope, without
profit. But I must regard him and his imitators as false models
of preaching, as comparatively ignoring the deep corruption of
human nature, so that God in his good providence saw fit to raise
up not only the Whitefields and Wesleys, who took an erratic course,
but the Venns, the Newtons, and the Simeons in the bosom of the
Church, to preach a simpler and fuller Gospel to the millions of
lost ones in our mother-country. This failing to set forth the
desperate wickedness of the human heart, calling for a Saviour,
* Bishop Horsley, in his charge of 1790, exposes the plan of beginning with
natural religion, affirming that the difficulty of understanding the principles of
natural religion is as great as that of understanding revealed ; that the true way is
to preach the plain Gospel of redemption to sinners, as that which God has pro-
vided for them, and look up to him to open the hearts of the hearers to receive
what he has sent them. Such has been the experience of all who preach to the
benighted heathen, or to the poorest and most illiterate in Christian lands.
FAMILIES OF VIKGINIA. 357
a new birth, has, from my first entrance on the ministry, seemed to
me the great defect of our old clergy. I remember to have preached
before one of the oldest, most venerable and eminent of them, on
the text, "The carnal mind is enmity toward God," and in the
sermon to have quoted many of those Scriptures which represent
us as "hating God," • being nis enemies in our minds," "being
children of the devil," and having quite grieved him by it. He
said that he did not like such a mode of preaching. It was in vain
that I adduced Scripture as my warrant and example. He did not
like it. And yet I was not wont to speak the doctrine harshly,
but tenderly and in pity.
Having presented this general view of the American Church,
let me proceed to mention some things which will show that I have,
from an early period, had opportunity of forming a correct estimate
of some things occurring within it during the last forty or fifty
years. At the age of seventeen I went to Princeton College. In
going from and returning to Virginia during my collegiate course,
I became a temporary inmate in the hospitable house of Dr. Aber-
crombie, the associate minister with Bishop White in the churches
under his care. Several of the sisters of Mrs. Abercrombie, having
lived for a long time in the family of one of my uncles of Virginia
and received much kindness from him, became the means of my
introduction to this very kind and agreeable household. The
daughters were most interesting young women. On Good Friday,
1807, I heard Dr. Abercrombie, who was regarded as one of the
pulpit orators of the day, preach on the Passion of Christ. A
strong impression was made on my mind and memory by his action
in the pulpit, as well as by his language. After describing some
of the sufi"erings of Christ, he came to the crucifixion, and, erect
ing his tall form to the highest point, he stretched out his arms in
a horizontal direction, and, standing motionless for a time, pre-
sented the figure of a cross. I have never entered St. Peter's since,
without having the scene renewed. Nor has the impression made
by the kindness of himself and family ever been efi"aced. At the
close of my collegiate course, I formed some acquaintance with the
Rev. Dr. Beasley, associate minister with Dr. Hobart in Trinity
Church, New York ; and with Dr. Montgomery, of Grace Church,
New York. That acquaintance was increased into considerable
intimacy afterward with Dr. Beasley, while he lived both in Balti-
more and Philadelphia, and with Dr. Montgomery in the latter
place, whom I often saw, for many years, at my home in the family
of old Commodore Dale, that good man and true Christian, who
Sbb OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, i^ND
married Dr. Montgomery's aunt. From these two mmisters I
necessarily learned many things about the Church of that day. In
the year 1811, I was ordained, and soon after received from Bishop
Hobart, by the hand of his old college friend, Charles Fenton
Mercer, of Virginia, a large assortment of books, tracts, and pam-
phlets, most of them written by himself, on points of controversy
with other denominations, and on some matters of internal trouble
in the diocese of New York, and also some Episcopal devotional
works. I read them all, and remember to have sympathized with
him in his personal difficulties. I admired the ability displayed by
him in his contest with Dr. Mason, and entirely agreed with him
in his argument for the Apostolic origin of Episcopacy, though
unable to follow when he proceeded to claim exclusive divine right
for it. By means of these publications, I became tolerably well
acquainted with the politics of the Church, and under circumstances
quite favourable to an impartial judgment. x\bout six years after
this, (and before I attended any General Convention, though twice
elected, being prevented by unavoidable circumstances,) I went on
a painful errand to the South, bearing to its milder climate a sick
and, as the result proved, a dying wife. During my stay in Charles-
ton, South Carolina, myself and wife received every kind attention
which brother ministers and Christian ladies could have shown us.
It was during the last year of good Bishop Dehon's life, whose
praise was on every tongue. Dr. Gadsden was then in the la-
borious discharge of his duties to bond and free. I saw him in
the place of his greatest honour, — in the Sunday-school, teaching
the coloured ones, both old and young. I preached in several of
the churches in Charleston. In one of them — either St. Philip's or
St. Michael's — I witnessed what surely would have gladdened the
heart of the most prejudiced opponent of slavery. I saw what I
was told were the last fruits of the labours of the old missionaries
of the Society for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts, — old
negro men and women with some of their children sitting on benches
along the side-aisles, and around the chancel and near the pulpit,
which was advanced some distance into the middle aisle.* Spec-
* The structure of this building was nearly the same with that of most of the
old large English churches, which is, I believe, the best that can be. The chancel
Is against the wall, behind the pulpit, that being advanced some distance into the
middle aisle, which is always large enough to admit of benches for the poor. The
poor also sit around the chancel, on the place where the communicants kneel, and
on chairs and stools between that and the pulpit, and on the stair-steps leading up
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 359
tacles aided their aged vision, and, with Prayer-Books in their hands,
they read the responses aloud in the midst of their owners. The
missionaries were not prevented from teaching them to read, but
rather encouraged so to do. Nor have masters and mistresses ever
been prevented from doing it themselves, or having it done at
home ; though public schools are forbidden. On the contrary,
there have, I believe, always been more well-instructed and in-
telligent coloured persons, bond and free, in Charleston than in
any other city in the Union. I had occasion, two years after this,
to take the gauge and dimensions of the condition of the coloured
people in all the Atlantic States, and think that I am qualified to
judge on the subject.
It was at this time that I became acquainted with Dr. Percy, and
his excellent son-in-law, the Rev. Mr. Campbell, of South Carolina;
both of whom agreed in their views of experimental piety, and that
mode of presenting the Gospel to men for which we are pleading.
Dr. Percy was a bold, impressive, and faithful preacher of the doc-
trines of grace. He was one of those who, under the auspices of
Lady Huntington, felt called on to preach an almost-forgotten
Gospel in England, though in a somewhat irregular way. He was
a graduate of Oxford, and was ordained by an English Bishop in
1767. He came over to America as one of Lady Huntington's
preachers. Here he took part with the Revolutionists, and preached
to the American troops. At the fall of Charleston, he was ordered
by Colonel Balfour to desist from preaching, on pain of confine-
ment. When Lady Huntington in her old age proposed to secede
from the Church of England, and wished Dr. Percy to ordain some
preachers for her, he positively and indignantly refused, and then
connected himself more closely with the Episcopal Church. In
1805, he became assistant minister in St. Philip's and St. Michael's
Churches, Charleston, South Carolina. A few years after this, St.
Paul's Church in that city was built for him. He died in the year
1817. Dr. Gadsden preached his funeral-sermon in St. Philip's
Church, at the request of the Bible Society, of which he had been
to the pulpit. A door at the upper part of the church allows an easy ingress
and egress to the poor. The minister is thus more in the midst of his people, and
has them all so near to him that he can see their countenances and be seen and
heard by them much better than on the more modern plan, where the preacher is
either thrown against the wall, perhaps in a recess, or else is on one side of the
congregation, before some little quasi pulpit where, what with the high-pitched
roof and great distance of the congregation, the voice is almost lost.
360 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
President. Although Dr. Percy was honoured by the Church in
Carolina, and was President of the Standing Committee, yet I
could perceive there was a marked difference in his views on some
points and those of the other clergy with whom I associated. His
views are presented in two pamphlets which he published while
officiating in St. Philip's and St. Michael's, and which he presented
to me. One, on the Episcopal Church, sets forth her claims in
such a manner that no sound Churchman could question his attach-
ment to her, and yet no reasonable Non-Episcopalian complain.
In the other we have a portrait at large of the true evangelical
preacher in life and doctrine. One or two extracts from the latter
of these will serve to confirm my views of the state of the Church
at that time. He says, in his Introduction, "That real religion at
the present period is at the lowest possible ebb, in most of our
Churches, will hardly be denied by any serious and reflecting mind,
who understands what the religion of Christ is, and ivhat Chris-
tianity was intended to do for mankind.'' He declares that all
great and general declensions of religion, whether in principle or
practice, begin at the Sanctuary or Church of God ; and therefore
he calls upon all the clergy to examine themselves, both as to their
lives and preaching, and see whether they are not much in fault.
He quotes Bishop Horsley as condemning the preaching of that
day, saying to his clergy "that too many have continued so long
preaching in the smooth and fashionable strain of dry ethics and
mere moral suasion, instead of preaching the pure doctrines of the
Reformation, that they had wellnigh preached pure Christian
morality out of the world." Dr. Percy speaks very impressively
of the duty of ministers "having their own hearts savingly con-
verted unto God," as they hoped to be instruments of saving others.
The whole pamphlet is worthy of perusal. I cannot, however,
leave this topic without adverting to and correcting an error into
which many have fallen in tracing the evangelical movement of
the Church of England to the school of Whitefield and Wesley,
with which Dr. Percy was for a time connected. Although God
made much use for good of these zealous and fearless men, as all
acknowledge, yet the great work of evangelical reformation in the
English Church commenced in a different line, and at an earlier
period, at Cambridge and London, and elsewhere, and has ever con-
tinued distinct. We begin our line with the Venns, Newtons, Ro-
maines, Legh Richmonds, and bring it down through the Simeons,
Cecils, Pratts, Gisbornes, Wilberforces, the Thorntons, Hannah
Mores, and others. These were never associated with the Hunt-
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 361
mgton school, but ever continued most true and faithful members
of the English Church. There have been those both in England
and in America who have sought to disparage the evangelical cause
by identifying it with those who left the English Church; and many
have been deceived by the misrepresentation. I remember that
Mr. John Randolph could hardly be convinced by me that Mr.
Wilberforce, Mr. Perceval, and Miss Hannah More were not regular
members of the Methodist Church in England. His prejudices were
quite strong against them on this account. In my earlier days
there were many such persons. We in* this country also were
esteemed or spoken of little otherAvise. By many we were con-
sidered as in no sense Churchmen, but rather intruders into the
ministry of the Episcopal Church, having some sinister end in view.
The wish has been often expressed that such would go to their place,
— that is, to some other denomination with which they sympathized,
— just as some of us have wished that Tractarians would go to their
place, the Church of Rome. Which of us had the better right so
to speak, let history declare. Hundreds of Tractarians have gone
from the Church of England and America to Rome. Who. of us
have gone to Geneva? I doubt not but many were very sincere in
their hard thoughts and hard speeches of us ; but so was Paul in his
denunciation of Christians. Even Bishop White has been declared
(and it has often and recently been in print) to have denounced us
in very strong and offensive language ; which I shall believe when
affirmed on sufficient authority. But if true, it only proves the
justice of our complaint as to the manner in which we have been
dealt with; for if the amiable Bishop White, with his moderate
Church views, could thus speak, what might not others have said?
Bishop Hobart issued a Pastoral entitled " The High-Churchman
Vindicated," in which he not only boasts of the name and principles
of High-Churchmen, predicting that they will one day prevail and
be honoured universally, but makes some comparisons between
them and Low-Churchmen which are not only invidious, but such
as only party feelings (of which we did not profess to be free) could
have induced him to make. I should not have adverted to this,
but that this Pastoral and another on the Principles of a Church-
man have been republished by the Protestant Episcopal Society
of New York, bound up in its volumes, and transmitted to posterity.
In one of them, those who rank the distinctive principles of the
Church, for which he pleads, among the non-essentials of religion,
«re declared to be guilty of treachery to their Church and to their
blaster. It is well known that Low-Churchraen do not consider
362 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
those things in which the Episcopal Church differs from orthodox
denominations as among the essentials of religion, though they do
regard them as important, — some of them very important. Of course
they are among the non-essentials, nothing being essential in re-
ligion but what is necessary to salvation.
I now proceed to show how, in the providence of God, I was
further led into circumstances very favourable to an accurate ac-
quaintance with the General Church in this country, and to a just
estimate of persons and things on both sides. Having taken an
early and lively interest rn the American Colonization Society, and
written something in its behalf, I was induced, in the year 1819, to
devote myself for some time to the formation of auxiliary societies
throughout the United States, the collection of funds, and the se-
lection of the first colonists. This led me to visit all the principal
towns, from Milledgeville, in Georgia, to Portland, in Maine. As
in duty bound, and by choice led, I invoked the aid of the ministers
of all denominations, and especially of my own, without distinction
of party. For visiting the former I was honoured with a printed
pamphlet by one "Sopater of Berea," addressed to Bishop Moore,
advising him to recall me to Virginia and to my duties at home.
While I received much kindness from ministers of all denomina-
tions, I experienced still more from those of the Episcopal Church.
Let me mention some of them : — The clergy of Savannah, Georgia;
Bishop Bowen and the clergy of Charleston; the Rev. Mr. Lance,
of Georgetown, South Carolina ; the Rev. Mr. Bedell, then living
in Fayetteville, North Carolina ; Bishop Kemp, Dr. Beasley, and
Dr. Henshaw, of Baltimore ; Bishop White, (at whose house I was
kindly entertained for three weeks while engaged in selecting colo-
nists,) and Drs. Muhlenberg, Boyd, and Montgomery, of Philadel-
phia ; Drs. Milnor, Lyell, and B. T. Onderdonk, of New York ; Dr.
Croswell, of New Haven ; Dr. Wainwright, of Hartford ; Dr. Crocker,
of Providence ; Drs. Eaton and Gardiner,* of Boston; Mr. Carlisle,
of Salem ; Dr. Morse, of Newburyport ; Dr. Burroughs, of Ports-
mouth, New Hampshire; and Mr. Tenbroeck, of Portland, in Maine.
One of the most pleasing impressions made on my mind by that
risit, and which I have ever delighted to recall and speak of, re-
sulted from the uniform hospitality and kindness experienced from
one end of our land to the other. Whenever, since that time, I
* AVhile in Boston, the corner-stone of St. Paul's Church was laid, and I then
became acquainted with Bishop Griswold, Dr. Jarvis, and other clei-gy. Dr. Gardiner
delivered a severe lecture on Unitarianism, standing on the corner-stone of the new
church along one of the streets of Boston.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 363
have heard any thing like a comparison instituted between different
portions of our country in this respect, I have entered my protest
against it. Circumstances render hospitality more easy to the rich
in the South, by reason of their numerous servants and large estates ;
but, according to the means possessed, the hospitality is the same
everywhere. It is, indeed, the most universal good feature in the
character of man. When Mr. Pickering, at Salem, (my father's old
friend and comrade in the Revolution,) cleaned my boots at daylight
in the morning, and at a later period Bishop Griswold, in Boston,
did the same, I felt that no greater hospitality could be shown me
by the richest layman or Bishop of the South. All sectional pre-
judices I have ever endeavoured to discourage. Although I am
aware of the advantage of having natives of the soil to be ministers
in Virginia, yet do I always condemn any disposition to object to
worthy ministers, come from whence they may. Virginia has reaped
much advantage from ministers coming from most distant parts.
Taking warning from the unhappy dissensions of other denomina-
tions on one painful subject, may our Church be at peace and prove
one bond of union to the land ! In advocating the claims of the
Colonization Society from Northern pulpits, I always commended it
for this, that, however we might differ as to the subject of slavery,
we might all agree touching this mode of benefiting the African
race ; and there has been a very general and happy agreement.
It being evident that I must have gained some considerable share
of information concerning the Church from the places thus visited
and the persons seen and conversed with, I proceed to mention a
few things which resulted from this visit.
INTRODUCTION OF MORE HYMNS INTO THE PRAYER-BOOK.
To my surprise, I found that there was a liberty taken in regard
to hymns in public worship to which I had not been accustomed.
Not only were there voluntaries before and after service, with words
chosen by the choir or minister at pleasure, but there were several
hymn-books in use not known to the Church, as, for instance, in
Savannah, Georgia, and in Trinity Church, Boston. I saw also a
few printed hymns for some special occasion at Dr. Moore's Church
in Newburyport, Massachusetts. This struck me very forcibly,
having been from a child accustomed only to those in the Prayer-
Book; nor did it strike me very favourably.* I was not aware at
* Before the revival of the Church in Virginia, Dr. Buchanon, of Richmond, had
also a collection of his own ; probably one of the English collections.
364 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
that time that a variety of hymn-books was allowed in the English
Church, and I knew that each denomination in this country deemed
it best to have its own selection. Being conscious, however, that
we were stinted in hymns, whether for public, social, or private use,
and that many psalms were badly versified or unsuited for Christian
worship, I introduced a motion at the General Convention of 1823,
for additional hymns and a revision and selection of the metrical
psalms, and had the honour of being placed at the head of the
Committee of the Lower House. I urged the measure by stating
the diversity which I had witnessed a few yeavs before, and plead
for such an increase of hymns and selection of psalms as would
answer all the purposes of private, social, and public worship. Dr.
Jarvis supported the resolution, and, I think, seconded it, though
maintaining that there was a perfect liberty here, as in England,
to have a variety of selections, as the hymns and psalms formed
no integral part of the Prayer-Book, but were only an appendage,
not subject to rubrics. The joint committee of both Houses, being
appointed, met during the interval between that and the next Gene
ral Convention. Dr. Muhlenberg, one of the Committee, selected,
prepared, and published a volume of hymns for the use of the Com-
mittee, many of which were adopted. Dr. Onderdonk, afterward
Bishop of Pennsylvania, also prepared a number of paraphrases of
Scripture, some of which were also introduced into our collection.
Severe strictures having from time to time been passed upon our
work, I beg leave to offer a few remarks upon them. In the first
place, I afiirm that none but those who engage in the work of se-
lecting hymns have any idea of the difliculty of the work. Dr.
Muhlenberg had collected hymn-books from all over England and
America, and brought a large basketful of them to the meeting.
They covered the table around which the Committee sat. I recollect
the remark with which he introduced them, — that he had no idea,
when he undertook the work, what a mass of bad poetry and false
sentiment was to be found in the hymn-books of the different de-
nominations of England and America, and how difficult it was to
get a good selection. The Committee found it so in the progress
of their examination. The various and strange tastes which sought
to be gratified in the selection formed another difficulty. I re-
member that one of the first classical scholars of the Church, and
an excellent divine, proposed a great favourite to the Committee,
expressing a most earnest desire for its admission, and there was
every disposition to gratify him ; but the hymn was so entirely un
suitable that no one could think of adopting it. Another instance
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 3bt
may be mentioned. At this time the delegation from Soutl: Caro-
lina came around to the General Convention by sea, and it was
thought desirable, by one, at least, of their delegation, to have a
hymn suited to their case while on the ocean. Accordingly, one
had been prepared, and was put into my hands. The first line of
it read thus : —
*' 0 thou epithet-exhausting ocean I"
I need not say that it found no support in the Committee, being
even more objectionable than one which may be found in some hymn-
books, and which it was wished to have in ours, namely, "The Star
of the East." Each partook too much of the character of pagan
worship. The selection which has been made, we think, does not
deserve the criticisms which have been unsparingly passed upon it.
When we read the names of such men as White, Hobart, Pro-
fessor Turner, Dr. Muhlenberg, and Mr. Francis Key, as members
of the Committee, we might surely expect something more deserv-
ing of praise than censure. The selection has been highly esteemed
by many good judges. When in England, at the house of Mr.
Bickersteth, who had them, I was pleased to hear him say that it
was either the very best, or among the best, he had ever seen ; and
he lived in the midst of hundreds, and had himself selected one for
his own parish. Among the objections made to some of the hymns
of our selection, I have been amused to hear the following, — namely,
that we had altered the poetry of the authors of them. Now, it
happens that one of the rules adopted by the Committee was, to
give the preference to the original when it could be ascertained,
except when there was some very sufficient reason. When a hymn
was proposed, the original was called for. Certain changes com-
plained of were actual returns to the originals from the versions in
common use, whose compiler had altered them.
As to the desire expressed by some for an increase of hymns, I
confess I cannot feel the force of it, being convinced that a smaller
number frequently used, whether in private or public, is likely to
produce the greater efi"ect. I do not mean to condemn selections
for Sunday-schools, and perhaps for some social meetings, but am
still decidedly in favour of one book of hymns and psalms, as in the
American Church, rather than the unbounded liberty of the English
Church, where so many hundreds, I believe, are in use.
366 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
PUBLIC BAPTISM AND PIOUS SPONSORS ADVOCATED.
In my intercourse with many ministers and churches I discovered
that there were very low notions and practices as to the adminis-
tration of baptism and the qualification of sponsors, little or no
regard being paid to the rubric, though so express as to the public
performance of it, and sponsors being admitted without any refer-
ence to their pious qualities. My friend, Mr. Francis S. Key, and
myself had often mourned over the profanation of this sacrament
in Virginia and Maryland, where, in its private performance, even
ungodly boys and girls had been sometimes admitted as sponsors.
We were both of us on the Committee on the State of the Church,
and there introduced, after a proper preamble, the following reso-
lution to be acted on by the House : — " Resolved, That it is the
opinion of this General Convention that the ordinance of baptism
ought, in all possible cases, to be administered in public, and that
when necessity requires it to be administered in private, then the
office for private baptism should be used, and the infant and spon-
sors should be afterward required to appear in Church and to con-
form to the rubric in that respect, and that the Right Reverend
the Bishops be respectfully requested to call the attention of the
clergy to this subject, and to enjoin upon them a particular care in
requiring proper qualifications in those who are admitted as spon-
sors." We were surprised to find ourselves opposed by those who
held the highest views of the efficiency of baptism, and who ought
on that account to have desired to see it most highly honoured in
the performance. After considerable discussion, the following sub-
stitute was adopted : — " The House of Clerical and Lay Deputies,
reverting to the notices of private baptism in some of the preceding
statements, (the report from Virginia called special attention to it,)
respectfully request the House of Bishops to insert in the pastoral
letter, solicited by this House, their opinion and advice on the sub-
ject of the existing custom of administering private baptism without
a great and reasonable cause, and of using in private the public
office; and also on the proper qualification of sponsors." The
difference between our resolution and its substitute is obvious and
great. The resolution expressed a positive and strong opinion on
the part of the clergy and laity that certain evils existed, and ought
to be corrected, requesting the Bishops to warn against them in
their pastoral letter. The substitute expressed no opinion on the
part of the House, but placed it all in the hands of the Bishops,
merely requesting their opinion and advice on the subject. It was
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 36»
then (for certain reasons) more customary for those in the majority
to throw every thing into the hands of the Bishops, and those who
doubted the propriety of such a course were regarded as wanting
in respect for Bishops, and no Churchmen.* As some of us feared,
the opinion of the House of Bishops was not such as we desired.
It was regarded as rather apologizing for tlian condemning the
violation of rubrics in relation to baptism, though admitting the
duty and importance of public baptism and of pious sponsors. It
is due to Bishop White, the supposed author of the pastoral, to say,
* A gi'eat change took place in this respect in after-years. It was particularly
manifested at the time of the lengthened discussion in the Lower House on the
question of Bishop Mcllvaine's consecration. The Bishops, by a majority of one,
were in favour of declaring the Diocese of Ohio vacant, and proceeding to the con-
secration of Bishop Mcllvaine. After waiting the decision of the other House for
nearly two weeks, the question was taken and the action of the Bishops sent down.
It being understood by some, that the communication of the House of Bishops was
in favour of consecration, a strong and successful opposition was made to its being
read, on the ground that it was improper that the sentiments of the Bishops should
be allowed to have any influence on the opinions of the members of the other House.
Ten years before that, indeed, when my consecration was the subject of discussion
for one week in the Lower House, on the alleged ground of a condition annexed to
it by the Diocese of Virginia, it was well known that the Bishops, with one excep-
tion, (Bishop Ravenscroft,) were in favour of consecration, with a certain protest
against the condition; but still the opposition was strong for one week. In both
of these cases, the votes generally were too clearly marked by party distinction
not to induce the belief that such distinctions had their influence. The same might
be said in a somewhat lesser degree of the opposition made to the consecration of
other Bishops since the above. It has so happened that the difiiculties as to con-
secration have always occurred in regard to those of one party in the Church, —
that of the minority. Some candid men of the majority have admitted that party
feeling must have had a controlling influence. Should those who have in times past
been in the minority ever become predominant, it is hoped that they will not follow
the example which has been set. A most striking instance of the above-mentioned
change in relation to the asking the opinion of Bishops, or requesting that they
give advice in their pastorals on some disputed subject, may be found in the oppo-
sition made to a proposed request that the Bishops would notice the Tractariau
heresies in the pastoral of 1844.
Hitherto, the Bishops, either by request or without it, had delivered their opinions
and warnings freely on various disputed subjects, but when it was wished that they
should warn the Church against these dangerous doctrines and practices, whose
effects have been so pernicious to the Church, a most violent and successful oppo-
sition was made. As a matter of fact or history only do I allude to these things,
among others, as worthy of remembrance and capable of being turned to some
good use. I am not anxious to make the Bishops dictators to the other House,
or to throw undue power into their hands. As to the pastoral letters, so far from
desiring to make them discuss and settle doctrines, I have been most decided in
opinion, for some years past, that they had better be omitted altogether, or some-
thing quite diflFerent be adopted in their place.
368 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
that not very long after this he became satisfied that more decisive
measures ought to be adopted, and gave notice in all the three
churches under his care, that henceforth there should be no more
private baptisms in those churches, except for such cases as the
rubric justified. In speaking to me on the subject soon after this
order, he made this significant remark : — that if the parents had so
little respect for the ordinance that they would not bring their chil-
dren to the church, it only proved that the baptism would be of
very little service to them, thereby showing that he regarded the
chief efficacy thereof to depend on the view the parents took of it,
and the use they made of it in the education of their children. One
remark I beg leave to make as to the qualification of sponsors.
Some ministers question their right to interfere as to the qualifi-
cation of sponsors, in the absence of a positive statute. Are they
then forbidden to exclude infidels, blasphemers, and most aban-
doned persons? If permitted and bound to require proper qualifi-
cations in adults coming to baptism, in candidates desiring Con-
firmation and the Communion, does not consistency require that
they avert from the Church the shame of such an abuse of the saci:ed
office of sponsors as sometimes occurs? The circumstance M'hich
determined my mind more resolutely than ever against private
baptism and improper sponsors was the fact, that not long before
this efi'ort in the General Convention I consented to baptize a child
in private, and during the ceremony discovered, to my deep concern,
that the father, who had the child in his arms, and was acting as
sponsor, was in a state of intoxication. I have during my ministry
found it a comparatively easy task to prevent any but communicants
presenting themselves as sponsors. By preaching on the subject,
and showing its great inconsistency, I have generally prevented
such applications, and when they have been made, I have never
failed to convince the persons thus applying of the impropriety of
the step proposed, by going over with them the baptismal service,
and appealing to their own consciences and judgments. Rarely,
if ever, has it happened that I was unable to receive into the visible
Church any child, where parents desired it, no matter how unsuit-
able they were to become sponsors, as there could, by a short delay
and a little trouble, be found some one communicant who would
perform the part. I have on some few occasions acted as sponsor
myself, making of course some changes in the service.
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 369
PROPOSED ALTERATION IN THE THIRTY-FIFTH CANON.
Another subject came up in this Convention worthy of some
notice. It was the meaning and design of the thirty-fifth canon,
which relates to the officiating of those not ministers of our Church
in the houses of worship belonging to our communion. On my
visit to NeAvburyport the preceding year, I spent several days in
the hospitable family of the Rev. Dr. Morse, Episcopal minister in
that place. So far from condemning me for preaching in the pul-
pits of other denominations on the subject I had in hand, as " Sopater
of Berea," and perhaps some others, had done, he informed me
that only on the preceding Sabbath he had a most respectable
minister of the Presbyterian denomination in his pulpit, and justified
the act. At the succeeding General Convention, in the year 1820,
to my surprise, he brought forward a proposition to repeal the
thirty-fifth canon, which seemed to forbid what he had done, and
which he also alleged might be construed so as to forbid lay read-
ing in our churches. His proposition was referred to a committee,
which reported unfavourably. It was nevertheless carried. Being
sent to the House of Bishops for concurrence, it was there nega-
tived. A committee of conference was proposed and agreed to,
and I was one of the committee. On a meeting of the joint com-
mittee, it was urged, by those who were in favour of its being re-
scinded, that our Bishops and ministers, in seeking to build up our
Church in many places where we had no houses of worship, were
often allowed the use of those of other denominations, and it would
be unbecoming in us to seek or accept such favours without being
willing to grant similar ones. The meeting, however, broke up
without any agreement. On that or the following day I dined with
Bishop Hobart at a Mr. Smith's, of Philadelphia, and just before
dinner the Bishop took me aside and read me something which he
thought would satisfy all parties. It is the same which may be
seen on page 58 of the Journal of the Convention of 1820. It is
as follows : —
"The Bishops have found by experience that such ministers, [those not
of our Church,] in many instances, preaching in our churches and to our
congregations, avail themselves of such opportunities to inveigh against
the principles of our communion ; and in some instances have endeavoured
to obtain a common right with us to our property. It is therefore not
from want of charity to worthy persons dissenting from us, but for the
maintenance of such charity, and to avoid collision, that we declare our
non-concurrence. The Bishops further dechire their opinion concerning
the thirty-fifth canon as it now stands, that it does not prohibit the offi-
Vol. II.— 12*
370 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
ciating of pious and respectable persons as lay readers in our chiurches, in
cases of necessity and expediency; nor the lending of any church to anj/
respectable congregation on any occasion of emergency."
It will be seen that in the foregoing exposition of the Bishops
there is no exclusive offensive reason assigned for their non-con-
currence, but one which all candid persons must admit to be good,
— which indeed all denominations act upon, according to circum-
stances. It is not said that no other ministers but ours have a
right to preach, and that none but ours must enter Episcopal pul-
pits, but that, to promote charity, to prevent collision, it is best
that they be opened only to our own, except when justifying causes
exist. That we have suffered at times in the way complained of,
in permitting the too free use of our churches, is a fact too well
known to us in Virginia, as elsewhere. I have on more than one
occasion advised the refusal of our churches, when there was no rea-
sonable cause for the loan of them. Against the uniting in free and
common churches I have protested from my first entrance on the
ministry, and have on various occasions been instrumental in sub-
stituting Episcopal churches for such. Of course, it is for the
ministers and vestries to apply the reasoning and advice of the
Bishops, and decide when it is proper to open our churches to
others. There is not much cause to fear the excessive hospitality
of our OAvn or other denominations in this respect; for all are so
multiplying houses of worship through the land that there is little
need of it. The jealousy of sects is also a sufficient safeguard
against excess. Let me add, in conclusion, that this was an old
canon of the English Church, adopted, like many others, into our
code. Its title in England, and for many years in our own land,
was, "Concerning the officiating of strangers, &c." It was de-
signed to prevent strolling impostors from getting into our pulpits,
and therefore their regular credentials Avere required to be shown
to the vestries and ministers. Had it been originally framed to
prevent all non-Episcopalian ministers from being admitted into
Episcopal pulpits, it would surely have been declared in some plain,
honest way, and the word "strangers" not have been used, for that
would have been most inapplicable to some worthy ministers of
other denominations living in the same town or parish, and well
known. For many years the same title was used in the American
Church. In the Convention of 1808, a committee was appointed
(of which Dr. Hobart was one) to revise the canons. The title of
the old canon, and nothing else, was altered, and perhaps without
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 371
iiscussiou or observation. Bishop Hobart was a good expositor of
the design of the change, and of the construction to be put upon it.
It is to be regretted that any alteration took pLice in the title.
The Church has sustained injury by it in the increased prejudice
produced by the construction put upon it by some too zealous friends
and some too bitter foes, — namely, that the Episcopal Church hereby
denies the right of any other minister to preach the Gospel, which
is inconsistent with the exposition given of it by the House of
Bishops. Without any such canon, all the ministers and trustees
of other denominations guard their churches against intruders, and
lend them out when it is deemed expedient. For various reasons,
ours will always be yet more particular, even without law.
THE GENERAL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY.
The General Theological Seminary was first established in New
york in the year 1817, then removed to New Haven, as a more
suitable place. Jacob Sherred, of New York, bequeathed a large
sum to a seminary within the State. A question arose as to the
construction of the will. Bishop Hobart maintained that the be-
quest properly belonged to New York, and that he had established
a seminary there to inherit and apply it. Others thought somewhat
difiFerently. A General Convention was called in October, 1821, to
settle the question. After much discussion, it was resolved that
the seminary should be restored to New York on certain terms, and
with a new constitution, — placing it, as many thought, too much in
the power of the Bishop and diocese of New York. In Bishop
White's Memoirs of the Episcopal Church in America, the follow-
ing account is given of this transaction. Speaking of the committee
to whom the subject was referred, he says, " All the members of
the committee concurred in giving praise to Judge Cameron, of North
Carolina, for the ability and good-temper manifested by him in the
progress of the business ; and the same were again displayed by
him when it came before the House of Clerical and Lay Deputies.
However, it did not pass without opposition, which was almost
entirely confined to the clerical and lay gentlemen of Virginia, with
whom it is a favourite idea to establish a theological professorship
in the College of William and Mary." I endorse all that is here
said of Judge Cameron. I knew his venerable father, — one of the
best of our old Virginia clergymen. I think I knew the son well.
I heard him, during the time of his first love, tell what God had
done for his soul, under the ministry of Dr. Bedell, while in North
Carolina. He said, " If I have experienced a change in my soul,
S72 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
I know that it was done by God's Spirit. That Spirit began the
work, not I." He had no sympathy with certain views of religion,
even then too prevalent. He did not desire the seminary to be
placed at New York. He thought the terms forced upon the Church
were hard ; but they were the best that could be obtained, and
the good-temper displayed by him was in submitting to them and
counselling others to do so. I remember his speech well, and
conversed freely with him in private. The question he believed to
be between a General Seminary in New York, under the partial
influence of the whole Church besides, or a Diocesan Seminary in
New York, with Sherred's legacy and all the wealth and power
and numbers of that State, — able to overwhelm a General Seminary
elsewhere without funds. He believed, or at least hoped, that the
evil of the undue influence of New York in the General Seminary,
under the constitution as agreed upon by the committee, would be
chiefly at the beginning, and would be decreasing every year. In
glowing prophetic vision, he saw the Church extending itself over
the land ; new dioceses rising up in every part and rapidly filling
themselves with ministers and churches, — sending their funds to
the treasury of the General Seminary, and, on their account, as
well as on account of the ministers, having the right to regulate
the seminary ; by which means the power of the General Church
would be increasing, and that of New York proportionally decreas-
ing. This he said to comfort those of us who feared the over-
whelming influence of New York. I remember well how he applied
the prophetic words of the patriarch Jacob, that " the sceptre should
not depart from Judah until Shiloh come ; and unto him should he
the gathering of the nations.'' I do not say that the scriptural ap-
plication was correct, but his meaning was plain. The dioceses
were to be the gathering together of the nations to take the sceptre
from New York in the management of the General Seminary.
Bishop White also intimates that the opposition from Virginia pro-
ceeded from " a favourite idea with us to establish a theological
professorship in William and Mary College." We ought to have
been better acquainted with our views, motives, and reasons than any
one else. We were then struggling on with our effort at Williams-
burg, faint, yet pursuing, with Dr. Keith and one student, and scarce
any funds. We knew not but Virginia might have to depend on some
General Seminary. It was not a selfish attachment to Virginia alone
—a desire for the aggrandizement of ourselves or the destruction
of others — which prompted what we said and did. Not knowing
how soon we might have to rely on a general institution, we wished
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 37o
it placed under more favourable auspices for the promotion of what
we believed to be sound views of the Gospel and the Church, than
it would be in New York. The writer of these lines recollects hia
thoughts, and almost his very words, when he dared to lift up his
voice even in opposition to Judge Cameron. Whether Judge
Cameron, with all his purity of motive and strength of mind and
practical wisdom, was in this instance right, or those so greatly his
inferiors in all respects, let subsequent events and the present con-
trolling influence of New York in the conduct of the General Semi-
nary declare. The sceptre has not yet departed from Judah ;
Shiloh has not- yet come. The gathering together of the nations
(dioceses) has not yet been, and never will be. It was even for-
mally proposed, some years since, by the Bishop of Western New
York, to give it up entirely into the hands of New York, and let the
several sums contributed from other dioceses be returned to them.
" Rusticus expectat dum defluat amnis, et ille."
" Labitur, et labetur, in omne volubilis oevum."
PROPOSAL BY THE HOUSE OF BISHOPS, IN THE YEAR 1826, TO
MAKE SOME CHANGES IN THE SERVICE.
In my second article it was stated that Bishop Hobart acknow-
ledged that there were some delinquents as to the use of the ante-
Communion service in New York, as well as in Virginia, Maryland,
or elsewhere, and that the discovery of this fact had something to
do with his proposed changes.. I had a few years before — perhaps
at the General Convention, 1823 — told him that some of his clergy,
chiefly in Western New York, were not more regular than some
others in the Church. This, at the time, he could not assent to ;
but, at the opening of the Convention of 1826, he took me aside
and said that, on inquiry, he had found that I was correct, and
that he meant to propose something which he thought would satisfy
all parties and produce a happy uniformity throughout the Church.
His plan was soon proposed to and adopted by the other Bishops,
and, being sent down to the Lower House, was, after some discus-
sion, adopted by it, and spread before the Church for rejection or
ratification by the ensuing General Convention. By this proposal,
the Litany might be omitted, except on special occasions.* One or
more of the Psalms might be selected and read by the minister in
place of the morning or evening portions. The lesson might be
* This was withdrawn before the vote was taken in the Lower House.
374 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
abridged by the minister, only so that not less than fourteen verses
be retained. The ante-Communion service was to be read on every
Sabbath. A change was to be made in the preface to the Confirma-
tion service and in one of the prayers of the same. By the latter,
the vexed question of baptismal regeneration was to be settled, and
settled at the lowest point, — namely, that of a mere change of
state or conditional title to salvation, — in opposition to certain
vicAvs which the Bishops said were imputed to the Church and inju-
rious to it. This proposal was unanimously adopted by all the
Bishops present. Bishop Moore, being absent, was much dissatis-
fied with it, and, at the next Convention in Virginia, most earnestly
invoked a protest of the diocese against it. But for this appeal and
a tender regard for the feelings of the Bishop, I believe that the
Church in Virginia would, by its silence at least, have consented to
the action of the General Convention, — although none of us were
satisfied with some things in it. I took occasion at another Con-
vention, where the delegates to the General Convention were directed
to vote against the proposed changes, to declare my continued con-
viction that the action of the General Convention had been, on the
whole, calculated to do good, though I meant not to oppose what had
been determined on in the Convention of Virginia. The adoption
of the changes would have effected much of what seems now so
generally desired. Had the change proposed, whereby the meaning
of baptismal regeneration was fixed at its lowest point, been adopted,
there would have been, by anticipation, a protest of the whole Church
against all that flood of error in relation to the efi'ects of baptism
of infants which has been since brought in by the Tractarian heresy.
I would not, however, be understood as endorsing Bishop Hobart's
mode of explaining our baptismal service, as I believe another is
more consistent with the whole tenor of our services, of which the
hypothetical theory, or the judgment of charity, is the way for their
true understanding. The lead which Virginia took in opposition to the
measure was followed by some other Conventions ; and, as it failed
to give general satisfaction, Bishop Hobart proposed its withdrawal,
and it was accordingly withdrawn, and the obligation to use the
ante-Communion service on every Sabbath was left to rest on its
former doubtful foundation. The Bishops had indeed expressed
their opinion that it was obligatory, but it was of course only an
opinion, wanting the force of law, as the General Convention had
never adopted it. Nor did the Bishops claim more for it-
FAMILIES OF VIKGINIA. 37ft
THE EPISCOPAL SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION.
This was established at the General Convention of 1826. No-
thing of its formation appears on the journal, for it was not even
proposed to the House. It was the wish of some to make it an
institution of the Convention, and such a proposition was talked of;
but the whole history of the action of the General Convention was
against it. On more than one occasion, individuals had applied to
the Convention or to the House of Bishops to adopt or recommend
certain Church-books, but were refused on the ground that the
General Convention was formed for other purposes, and that the
precedent would be bad. In that very year, — 1826, — the Rev. Mr.
Barlow brought forward a scheme for a Church book-establishment,
and was permitted to occupy many hours in the explanation and
advocacy of it. The following resolution was adopted in regard to
it: — '■''Resolved.) As the opinion of this House, that, without enter-
ing at all into the merits of the plan noticed in the report of tho
committee, it is inexpedient to legislate on the subject." On an-
other occasion an effort was made to form a General Education
Society under the patronage of the General Convention. This also,
after being considered for some time, was postponed, and never
resumed. In truth, the only institutions which have been brought
under the General Convention are the General Seminary and the
Missionary Society ; and whether they give any encouragement for
the trial of others, all may judge for themselves. The Episcopal
Sunday-School Union was therefore, as has since been publicly
and formally admitted by itself, a voluntary institution. Several
attempts were made, at different General Conventions, to have it
enrolled and recognised among the general institutions of the
Church; but they failed, — the Convention being reminded that it
was only a voluntary society. The determination of the Church
not to embarrass itself and produce discord, by adopting any such
institution, was further manifested by the failure of an effort made
in 1847 by Bishop Henahaw, who proposed to have a committee
of both Houses to prepare a few catechetical books for the children
of the Church, with a view to uniformity and harmony. It was
opposed by Bishops Delancy, Whittingham, Hopkins, and myself.
After a discussion during a part of several days, the question being
taken, the mover of the resolution was the only one who voted for it.
There was, however, from the time of its formation a general
disposition to encourage the Episcopal Sunday-School Union as a
376 OLD CHUKCHES, MINISTERS, AND
voluntary society. The American Sunday-School Union and the
American Tract Societies were noble institutions, and furnished
many excellent and suitable works for individuals, families, and
Sunday-schools; but they could not supply certain books setting
forth the peculiarities of the different denominations in connection
with the Gospel. It was therefore desirable that Episcopalians as
well as others should have some organization for supplying such.
It was distinctly understood, at the establishment of ours in 1826,
that it should assume no party character, but be conducted on libe-
ral comprehensive principles, setting forth only those common truths
about which Episcopalians are agreed, — which platform has been
repeatedly declared since then. Accordingly, the diocese of Vir-
ginia, at the first Convention after its organization, earnestly re-
commended it to the patronage of the Episcopalians of the State.
A few months only, however, had elapsed, when some of its publi-
cations contained sentiments very different from what was expected,
and which were calculated to dissatisfy many of us. I immediately
wrote to the chief manager of it, — the present Bishop of Maryland,
— making complaints. In reply, I was assured that the greatest
pains should be taken in the future to avoid giving offence ; that
the book most objected to should be withdrawn from circulation;
and that henceforth books favouring both parties in the Church
should be published. I did not question the sincerity of the promise
and intention, but saw the impracticability of the plan proposed.
Thus disappointed, I did not take any particular concern in the
operation of the Society after that. I only saw that from time to
time some things came out which were criticized, and which I could
not approve, though there were many good little books published
for children, chiefly from the pens of pious writers in England. At
length, when Tractarian publications began to multiply in our own
and Mothe-r-Church, the character of the issues of this Society be-
came more and more tinctured with the false doctrines of that
school. Complaints became so numerous and heavy, that in the
summer of 1846, when a number of Bishops were in New York at
the annual meeting of the General Missionary Society, the Execu-
tive Committee of the Union was convened, and the complaints
stated. An order was then passed that a set of all the books of
the Society should be sent to each Bishop for examination. On
receiving and examining those sent to myself, I found so much to
object to, that the duty was felt to spread the same before the
Church. This was done in an octavo pamphlet of more than sixty
pages. For so doing I received much severe censure from the press
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 377
and elsewhere. My charges were pronounced to be false. The
books were declared to be worthy of all praise, and to have no un-
sound doctrine in them. The Church was solemnly and repeatedly
called on to sustain it just as it was. Seeing that there was no
promise or hope of amendment, a number of those who believed
that better books and tracts might be procured determined to form
another voluntary Society, in which those who agreed in sentiment
might with more harmony and efficiency benefit the Church by the
press, and resist that torrent of evil which was pouring itself over
our own and Mother-Church. Wherefore a number of Bishops,
clergy, and laity, who met together at the Convention of 1847,
in New York, united in forming what is called the Evangelical
Knowledge Society. For so doing they have been stigmatized by
many of the friends of the other Society as the promoters of division,
schism, and discord, and as slandering that Society, whose publica-
tions were still defended as sound and useful. God has neverthe-
less been pleased to bless our efforts and to extend the sphere of
our operations beyond our first hopes. Under these circumstances,
at the last General Convention, a most unexpected and extraordi-
nary call was made upon us to cease from our work and unite with
the elder Society under a somewhat new organization, which dis-
avowed all former claims by its friends of being other than a volun-
tary society, and made fresh pledges of the avoidance of all which
could ofiend any sincere and pious Episcopalian. Had the regular
officers and members of this Society, after due consideration, for-
mally proposed to those of the Evangelical Knowledge Society a
conference for the purpose of inquiring whether there might not be
a union of effort on some liberal basis, and, having agreed on the
same, called upon the Church generally to sustain such a union,
there would have been something worthy the name of compromise,
though I do not believe such union practicable or likely to satisfy
long. Or had the managers of the elder Society been content to
discard such of their books as were at length found to be unworthy,
and made, even on the ground of expediency, certain changes in
others, and resolved on the most comprehensive and conciliatory
mode of action for the future, and left the other Society to do its
own work in its own way, there would have been nothing to com-
plain of. All must have desired to see the work of reformation go
on. But instead of this, as though it were the only Society having
a right to exist, having resolved on certain changes and certain
promises, and forgetful of past failures, it calls upon all the clergy
and congregations of the Church to rally around its banner, and it
378 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
only, under pain of being regarded as wanting in true attachment
to the Church and devoid of Christian charity. If such is not the
position which the old Society (under an altered name) has assumed
toward the Evangelical Knowledge Society, consisting of a large
number of Bishops, clergy, and laity of the Church, I have mistaken
the movement. So have I understood the language of its managers,
its committees, and its active friends, as spoken throughout the land.
As to the probability of success in making it answer all the wants
of the whole Church, it is not in place to discuss the question. It
is sufficient to say that the Evangelical Knowledge Society has seen
no cause to relinquish its work. That work is not the division of
the Church, (as has been falsely charged upon it,) either as designed
or as the natural or probable consequence. On the contrary, the
best method of preventing division is to allow a reasonable liberty
of thought and action. By attempting hermetically to seal the
minds and lips of men, there may be a swelling and an explosion.
In our Mother-Church, different societies, having the same great
object in view, but using somewhat different means, are not con-
sidered as interfering with the unity and welfare of the Church.
Many there are, among both clergy and laity, who actively co-ope-
rate with different societies. I sincerely hope that both of our
Societies may be worthy of such general patronage.
THE DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN MISSIONARY SOCIETY OF THE CHURCH.
Our Church was too tardy in this noble enterprise, especially as
to the foreign department. The first impulse given to us was the
tender of some pecuniary help from the Church Missionary Society
of our mother-country, if we would enter upon the work. The
missionary character and tendency of the Colonization Society did
much to excite our Church to action. The plea for Africa was a
pathetic one, addressing itself to all hearts. But it was not heard
at once by all. Even after our first efforts in behalf of that unhappy
land, I heard an old and respectable clergyman of our Church,
preaching at one of our General Conventions, designate the foreign
missionary effort as a wild crusade, and another of high standing
express the opinion that the foreign missionary work was for other
denominations, and the domestic for Episcopalians. In three years
after, however, I heard the latter plead zealously for the foreign
missionary cause. An effort for preparing coloured missionaries
for Africa was made at Hartford under the patronage of Bishop
Brownell and Dr. Wainwright, but, from various causes, it proved
of but little avail. The efff rts of our Virginia Seminary commenced
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 379
with preparing Mr. and Mrs. Hill for the Greek mission, and nave
ever since been successfully continued. The missionary work went
on gradually increasing on its first platform until the year 1835.
Some of its friends then thought that its labours and funds might
more rapidly increase if some changes in its organization were
effected. It was proposed to place it more entirely under the
patronage and direction of the General Convention ; to constitute
the whole Church, consisting of every baptized person and child, the
Society; to declare the whole world to be but one field, forbidding
the distinction of foreign and domestic, or so arranging it that no
dissensions should arise in the management of them. I was not at
the opening of this General Convention, being detained several
days in Virginia. All things were agreed upon before my arrival
between some of those who, from their location and other circum-
stances, took a more active part in the conduct of the Society, On
reaching Philadelphia, a number of those brethren whose lead I was
always ready to follow in regard to such matters, and some of whom
are yet alive, informed me that a most happy agreement had taken
place among the active friends of missions, that all party distinctions
were to be done away, and that, in proof of the liberal feeling toward
those of our way of thinking — that one Bishop should be chosen for
China and two for the domestic field — one of the latter, together
with the former, should be such as we would designate. Of course
this was very acceptable to one who had never professed to be in-
different to the distinctions which prevailed in the Church. It
seemed to promise well. On conversing with that wise and good
man, Bishop Griswold, I found that he was not at all carried away
with the new plan ; that he would rather it should assume more
than less of the voluntary system, referring to the two successful
Societies in England, — the Church Missionary Society and the So-
ciety for Propagating the Gospel, — which had always acted on the
voluntary principle. When the proposed changes came before the
whole Society for discussion, there was, I thought, a disposition on
the part of some to underrate the character and success of the old
organization, and I took the liberty to object to such strictures,
and to refer to what it had done, and especially to the great increase
of its funds for the last year or two, at the same time declaring my
intention to act with those who understood the operation of the
Society better than myself. All things were settled on the new
platform, and some of us continued until the last night of the Con-
vention under the pleasing expectation of having two missionary
Bishops of our own choice ; but it so happened that two of the other
880 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
side were chosen for the domestic field, and the election of one for
the foreign field was indefinitely postponed. This, among other
things, may help to account for the fact that some of us are rather
fearful of what are called compromises.
Though thus disappointed, we determined to support the new
organization. In many addresses throughout Virginia, I advocated
the peculiarities of it, — even as though it had commended itself
entirely to my own choice and judgment. The Society under the
new organization has certainly not succeeded as well as was expected
by some. An impulse was given to it by the first extraordinary
efforts made in its behalf, and its funds increased for a time ; but, as
they Avere already on the increase, it is impossible to say Avhether,
with the same exertions, the increase under the old system might
not have been even greater. Certain it is, that the annual increase
Boon began to decline, and that the advocates for the new arrange-
ment were disappointed. The friends of missions have long mourned
the want of zeal and liberality of the Church toward them. The
domestic department especially has languished. The Constanti-
nople mission dragged heavily for some years, then stopped alto-
gether for want of men, means, and success. The Greek mission,
being in a measure self-supporting, has sustained itself well. Those
of China and Africa alone seemed to draw forth missionaries and
support, and even these have done it in a degree most dispropor-
tioned to the importance of the object and the wealth of the Church.
At the last General Convention, the causes of failure were inquired
into, especially Avith a view to some change in the management of
the domestic department, which was in a very languishing condition.
A night was appointed for the consideration of the subject. Through
Bome mistake on my part as to the place of meeting, I was not
present. I had intended, if present and opportunity offered, to
have stated my own candid convictions as to the main causes of the
deficiencies complained of. I should have referred to the notorious
fact, that the domestic department was unpopular with a large portion
of those entitled Low-Churchmen, whose funds were given reluc-
tantly, while many on the other side were far from being liberal to
either department. I heard it said by at least two of the Bishops,
ranging on the other side, that it would be necessary to place both
departments in the hands of Low-Churchmen, in order to draw forth
funds from the people. That confidence was wanting in the other
portion was evident from the fact, that a voluntary society had been
formed in Philadelphia for the disposal of its funds on such mission-
aries as it might select. The committee of the General Society waa
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 381
also changed, and some of well-known Low-Church views were put
on it, in the hope of inspiring confidence and raising funds. Some
efiFect has certainly been produced by this measure, though, unless
other causes of failure be removed, the efiect may be only tempo-
rary. Had a similar course been pursued in the election of Mission-
ary Bishops at the reorganization in 1835, according to the supposed
understanding of some, and as was most reasonable, that liberal
policy might have attached a larger number of one portion of the
Church to it, have received more funds, and have had some effect as
to the kind of missionaries employed. But, in connection with this,
there had been other causes in operation. I had never been dis-
posed to ascribe to the domestic committee a desire or Avillingness
to send unsuitable persons or men of extravagant views to the
domestic field, in preference to others. It was not their province,
indeed, to select where there were Bishops. The Bishops received
certain sums of money, and nominated the missionaries on whom it
was to be expended. The committee must, indeed, approve ; but
all must see that when a Bishop makes his selection the committee
can scarce object, except in some most notorious case. Whatever
be the cause, the fact is not to be questioned, that the reputation
of the Society has suffered from the reported character of many of
her missionaries. Their very reports, in the " Spirit of Missions,"
were often very unsatisfactory on several accounts. To hearts
imbued with evangelic feeling there was nothing to interest, —
the mere externals of religion being dwelt upon, and even those
not prospering. Their evil report came back to the Eastern
States through various channels. Although there were doubtless
a considerable number of worthy men among them, yet I have
from time to time met with clergymen and laymen who were to
be relied on, who, from their own observation, have declared that, as
to very many of them, we must have different men and of different
views in the Western field, or our Church could never prosper.
From Virginia many individuals and families have gone to various
parts of the West, and from these, through their friends and rela-
tives at home, I have heard much that was unfavourable. The great
want of the Church, therefore, is not merely more missionaries, but
more of the best kind, — evangelists in the truest sense of the
word, — men of sense to eschew all follies and novelties, and men of
self-denial and toil and with as much experience as possible. For
such men must the Church pray and labour as she hopes for success.
Many have withheld their funds from this Society, because not
knowing unto whose support they might be given, and what false
382 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
views of the Gospel and the Church they might be made to promote.
I confess that such has been my case for many years. At first, and
for some time, I gave my annual contributions to domestic missions,
hoping the best ; but such were the accounts received in various
ways, and such the most unsatisfactory reports of some of the
missionaries, that I could not continue them with a good conscience.
Still, I avoided all public declaration of my difficulties, and never
attempted to interfere with the conduct of others in regard to it.
Though hoping that the time would come when, under favourable
auspices, some voluntary society might by general consent be
formed, I have hitherto discouraged all suggestions or proposals,
either public or private, which looked toward a new society antago-
nistic to that already established. In the Episcopal Missionary
Society for the West, established a few years since in Philadelphia,
I was pleased to see an organization which, while paying all due
respect to the General Society, came as near as circumstances would
allow to such an institution as will afford a channel for the convey-
ance of funds to those missionaries, and those only, who are be-
lieved by the donors to be calculated to disseminate the true doctrines
of the Gospel and the Church. While it continues to fulfil the end
and design of its formation, I shall gladly contribute to its support.
I shall also rejoice to know that, by the blessing of God in turning
the hearts of many right-minded and zealous young men to the
ministry, our General Society may have such numbers of suitable
ones at its command that no just cause for complaint may hereafter
arise.
THE MEMORIAL AND COMMISSION OF BISHOPS,
At the last General Convention, a memorial from sundry presby-
ters, of all shades of opinion and from various parts of our land,
on the subject of bettering the condition and extending the opera-
tions of the Church, was sent into the House of Bishops, which,
together with the action thereon, has excited so much attention
and called forth so much discussion that it deserves some notice in
connection with the topics referred to in this article. As some of
my brother-Bishops have, in addresses to their Conventions, de-
clared their sentiments in relation to it, and Conventions also have
had it under consideration, I shall be excused for a brief expression
of my own views, especially as they have been misunderstood. Most
suddenly and unexpectedly was this document introduced into the
House of Bishops. I had never heard of it until it was read to the
House. There were passages in it which seemed either unintelli-
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 383
gible, or most likely to be misunderstood to the injury of the cause
sought to be promoted by it. I asked for a second reading of it,
but my difficulties were not removed. I asked for an explanation
of the difficult passages, but none could be given. I suggested a
reference of the paper to its authors and signers for explanation or
modification, as I foresaw and predicted that such would be called
for, and the Bishops expected to give an account of themselves if
they accepted it and complied with its prayer. Not seeing my
way clear in favour of the motion, after speaking freely concern-
ing it, sometimes playfully, sometimes seriously, I united with a
few others in voting against its being submitted to a commission.
That I was not wrong in my apprehension as to the construction
which might be put on some very undefined and latitudinarian ex-
pressions in the memorial, has been proved by the views since
presented in an exposition of the same by the chief mover of it.
Notwithstanding all the excellent things in that exposition, I have
no hesitation in saying, as to its main feature, that, had such been
the understanding of the plan, the Bishops would not have com-
mitted themselves to the consideration of the memorial without some
modification of its language. Although voting against it, and
wondering much at some things said in its behalf, I have never
questioned the sincerity and purity of the motives of those present-
ing it or of those encouraging it, and have ever taken pains to
declare my belief that no evil, and some good, would result from the
movement. In proof of my favourable disposition toward it, when
the questions of the commission, addressed to all the Bishops and
clergy, came out, I made a response and ofi'ered some suggestions.
I did not dream that the communication would ever see the light ;
but, inasmuch as some of my brethren in the Episcopacy have pre-
sented their views to the public, I here subjoin my own brief and
imperfect one. I may also add, that the favourable notice of
the memorial and commission by the last Virginia Convention met
my entire approbation, — having been previously consulted on the
subject.
" To the Bishops appointed to consider the Memorial of the Rev. Dr.
Muhlenberg and others.
** Dear Brethren:-— I have received your circular asking communi-
cations on the important subject submitted to your consideration, and oiFer
the following suggestions as coming within the terms of your commission : — •
"1st. It has ever appeared to me that the Church does not make the
most profitable use of the Psalms. One-half of our congregations — perhaps
a much larger part — have only one service on the Sabbath, and therefore
884 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
never hear one-half of the Psalms, in which half are some of the most
edifying, while the other half, beins; read accordin2; to the days of the
month on which the Sabbath falls, are read unequally. Would it not be
better to have the whole of them (with the exception of such as are not
so suitable for Christian worship) arranged in selections, according to the
different topics of prayer, praise, penitence, &c., and according to the sea-
sons and days which the Church celebrates, making some fifty or sixty in
number, and leaving it to the minister to choose out of them as he may
think best, except when they belong to a particular day or season? Would
not that be better than the present plan, or than that of Bishops White,
Hobart, and others, — namely, letting the minister select for himself one or
more psalms at pleasure? Might not also some of the longer and less
important lessons be abridged, as was proposed by the above-mentioned
Bishops?
"2d. It has always appeared to me that the service on Communion-days
was too long. Inasmuch as the prayers in the Communion-service contain
nearly all that is in the Litany, and are therefore a repetition, I suggest
that the Litany be omitted. I would substitute for it, and for the prayer
for all conditions of men in the morning service, the prayer for the whole
state of Christ's Church militant, and use it in the morning service in
place of the prayer for all conditions of men. This prayer for the Church
militant comes to us from primitive times, and was called the short or
shorter Litany. This arrangement would supersede the necessity of one
of the changes of posture in the Communion-service, which are thought by
many to be too numerous.
"3d. The service on ordination-occasions is felt by Bishops, clergy, and
people to be oppressive and injurious. The service peculiar to the ordi-
nation is most solemn and impressive, and its effect should not be weakened
by the addition of so much of that which is used every Sabbath. I would
suggest the omission of the Litany and Commandments on that occasion.
"4th. I would suggest that the same method which our forefathers
adopted, in relation to a clause in the Apostles' Creed and to the form of
ordination, be applied to the declaration of regeneration and being born
of the Spirit after baptism. In the Creed we are allowed to omit the
words, ' He descended into hell,' or use some others. In the ordination
of ministers two forms are allowed, according to the option of the Bishop.
Why not the same privilege of omission granted to the minister in bap-
tizing, or the use of another prayer which might be prepared? I am per-
suaded that nothing would contribute more to peace among ourselves, and
to the removing of prejudice from the minds of those who belong to other
denominations and the community at large, than such an arrangement. It
would be in entire accordance with what now seems to be generally ad-
mitted,— namely, that a considerable latitude of opinion as to the meaning
of certain expressions in the baptismal service is allowed. If it be allowed,
why enforce on all the use of the words which, by their sound, seem to
convey a meaning which is repudiated by so many? I have long known
that a painful difficulty is felt in the use of these passages, not by one
portion of our ministers and people, but by a number who differ from such
on other points. I believe that public baptism would be much more com-
mon but for the reluctance to use these expressions before so many who do
not understand or approve them. Many parents, I believe, are prejudiced
against the baptism of their children and put it off on account of these
■words and their supposed meaning. I believe that nothing stands more
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA, 385
in the way of converts from other denominations, and especially such of
their ministers as are worth having, than the required use of these words
in our baptismal service. A slight alteration in the preface to our Con-
firmation-service, or rather another preface, to be used at the pleasure of
the Bishop, would also be desirable.
"As I fear my brethren will be wearied with many and lengthy com-
munications, I omit other suggestions of less importance, (in relation to
the service,) and sincerely commend them to the direction of the Great
Head of the Church.
" Your friend and brother, WlLLlAM Meade."
It will be perceived that in the above nothing like a complete
scheme was attempted. That was not even thought of. I only
oflfered a few unconnected suggestions for those who were appointed
to draw up some regular plan for the consideration of the Church.
As to the substance of them, they are less in amount than the
changes proposed by the Bishops in 1826, and therefore, as an
individual, I may shelter myself behind them from any charge of
presumption or desire of change. I voted for those proposed by
the Bishops and House of Delegates in 1826, believing it to be
better to settle by law any thing which might be regarded as a se-
rious departure from the order of our service, rather than leave it
to individual discretion, though always maintaining that, as to
smaller matters, there must ever be room left for the exercise of a
sound discretion, and that even as to greater ones occasions must
arise justifying a departure from them, on the principle that God
loves mercy more than sacrifice, and that laws were made for men
and not men for laws. I believe that some wholesome change may
be made in the arrangements of the services, which, so far from
interfering with their original use and design, will be conformable
with the same. I trust that in a wise and conservative spirit such
arrangements will be made. It was not for the purpose of encou-
raging an unlimited license in the use of the service that I opposed
the Commission, nor do I believe that it is for such a purpose that
some still contend against it, as has been sometimes intimated. I
believe that there is now a disposition on the part of many who
have hitherto been most strenuous for rubrical exactness and
lengthened services to make more changes and relaxations than I
ever practised, countenanced, or now desire. The omission of the
ante-Communion service, except on Communion-days, was in truth
almost all that distinguished some who were deemed irregular from
the most strictly rubrical according to their understanding of rubrics.
I am, however, willing for other arrangements more in accordance
Vol. II.— 25
386 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
with the orighial plan and use of our varied services. In relation
to the suggestion in my letter as to the omission of certain parts
of our baptismal service after the rite is performed, I do not know
that any others have made the same to the Committee, but I know
full well that there are many, and they not of one party only, who
feel the desirableness of it. It ought to be much iess objectionable
than that of Bishop Hobart, which was agreed to by the whole
House of Bishops and by a large majority of the other House in
the year 1826. That proposed to repudiate all high views of bap-
tismal regeneration, as doing injustice and injury to the Church,
and to establish the lowest theory — namely, a mere change of state
and conditional title to salvation — as the doctrine of the Church.
This only proposes to omit the use of certain parts following after
the baptism, and not at all essential to its completeness, and about
whose meaning there ever have been disputes in the Church, from
the times of the fathers to the present moment, and will be perhaps
to the end of the world. It leaves every one to form his own
opinion as to the efficiency of the rite, drawing it of course from
Scripture, — the only authoritative source, if, indeed, he believes
that Scripture speaks on the subject, — or else to be content to re-
main in ignorance and only perform the duties enjoined by the
ordinance. It only forbears to define and to render thanks for
something of which we can have no certain knowledge. It will
leave the service a purely devotional and scriptural one, to which
none can object, which will not perplex or distress the consciences
of either parents, sponsors, congregation, or minister, and will re-
lieve the Church from much misunderstanding and censure on the
part of many who hear it. I am well aware that in some of the
confessions of other Reformed Churches there may be found ex-
pressions of the same kind, which of course are liable to a similar
objection ; but there is this difference, that in their case the ex-
pressions are locked up in books that are seldom seen. They are
not used in the public administration of baptism ; not put in the
form of positive thanksgivings for a spiritual regeneration certainly
received at a given moment and through a certain act, and are
therefore not the occasion of such unhappy disputation. It is the
great shame and reproach of Christendom that so much strife and
bitterness have ever been about those things which lie beyond the
reach and above the range of the human mind, and that the clergy
especially should be the most curious and anxious to be wise above
what is written and should puzzle their poor people with such
questions. The disputes about the Divine decrees and the effects
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 387
of baptism on the condition and the souls of unconscious infants
are of this kind. How numerous and how contradictory and ex-
travagant the theories as to the latter! How intolerant the feelings
and speeches and conduct of some toward those Avho differ from
them ! Is it not time that these should cease ? Could there be a
better way of beginning it than by cutting off the continually-
recurring occasions of bringing it before the minds and consciences
of men ? The Church has adopted this plan in relation to a clause
in the Apostles' Creed and in the service for the ordination of
priests, and has left some other things optional with the minister.
Might not the same method be adopted with happy effect in relation
to the interminable dispute about baptismal regeneration? None
of the various expositions would then be either affirmed or con-
demned in the service. I am persuaded that though there always
might be differences, — great differences, requiring to be discussed,
false doctrines concerning it requiring to be exposed, — yet the
omission of any thing like defining or seeming to render thanks
for an effect certainly produced Avould greatly diminish controversy
and be a solemn testimony' on the part of the Church against the
attempt to be wise above what is written. I confess I shall have
little confidence in the existence or strength of a spirit of compro-
mise in the Church for the sake of unity and peace, if there be not
a willingness merely to omit a few words, about whose meaning
there are such various opinions, and which no one can hold to be
essential to the ordinance. To be baptized with water in the name
of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost is commanded and required.
That the word should accompany it, and prayer be offered up for
God's blessing, is manifestly proper ; but that we should undertake
to define the effect produced, and render thanks for it, is nowhere
enjoined. The addition is the work of man, and has been a great
unhappiness to the Church. Should any be disposed to think or
say that some of us are desirous to dispose of some words in the
service which interfere with our views of regeneration, I can most
conscientiously say that such is not my case. As I understand the
service, and believe it ought to be understood, after having exa-
mined all that has been written on the subject, it expresses my own
convictions on the subject of baptism ; but there are peculiarities
and difficulties in the mode of presenting the subject, and in the
terms used, which require continual explanations and defences, that
perplex and injure the cause. It is therefore maintained that the
omission of these words, which are the causes of almost all the con-
•iroversy, would promote the peace and welfare of the Church ; which
Sb6 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, \ND
words, it is again affirmed, are not at all necessary to the right
performance of baptism. It is complete without them.
CONCLUDING REMARKS.
If I may be allowed to express an opinion as to the present state
and prospects of our Church, I should say that some are now as
much disposed to undervalue her efficacy for good, even without the
proposed changes, as many were formerly to overrate it. Very
Boon after my entrance on the ministry, I read a sermon by one of
our most distinguished Bishops on those words of the Psalmist, —
" Walk about Zion; mark well her bulwarks; consider her palaces,"
&c. They were applied to our Church in this country, and her
praises highly spoken. It was confidently affirmed that she must
greatly prevail over others by reason of her divine organizatiu.
and many excellencies. The same glorious things were continually
spoken of her by such as claimed to be her true sons ; and those who
did not firmly believe that she must outstrip, or perhaps overwhelm,
all others, were considered as wanting faith in the promises of God
to his Church, and a hearty zeal in her behalf. Just at this time I
met with a sermon, on the same text and in the very same style, by
one of the oldest and most respectable Baptist ministers in Virginia,
showing that the Baptist Church was so clearly the true Apostolic
Church — of course after God's own heart — that it must carry every
thing before it ; that the signs of the times could not be mistaken.
Shortly after this I went to the West, and heard of an eminent
Presbyterian minister who was preaching from place to place a ser-
mon, or series of sermons, if not from the same text, yet on the
same subject, in which he declared his firm conviction that his Church
was, as to her constitution, doctrine, and discipline, so scriptural
and so suited to the genius of our government that in twenty years
the whole land would embrace it. At this time also a favourite song
with many Methodists was, —
" The Methodists are gaining ground ;
The devil's kingdom's tumbling down
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!"
Doubtless all these were most sincere in their belief that what
they earnestly desired would surely come to pass. Forty years
have since elapsed, and no one of them has taken the place of the
other. On the contrary, all of them have, by God's blessing, done
much good on the difierent theatres assigned them, are still doing
good, and will do more good. Moreover, they have sustained very
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 389
much the same relation to each other as to numbers and success.
All of them have had then* trials, their declensions, their reverses,
which should make them humble, and cause them to refrain from
taunts and reproaches, rather remembering the admonition that
" Brethren in calamity should love."
I believe that there are very few now to be found who would venture
the prophecy that their own denomination must soon swallow up
all others. Our own Church has not been favoured with the same
abundant opportunities of preaching the Gospel to the poor, (except
on Southern plantations,) while she has enjoyed greater opportuni-
ties of presenting it with acceptableness to the wealthy and educated.
Nor have her evangelical Liturgy and the faithful preaching of
many of her ministers been unblessed in the behalf of such. Sadly
has she been afflicted for the last fifteen years with the hankerings
of some of her ministers and people after Kome. Their apostasy
has indeed been most mortifying, and is well calculated to punish
her for much vain boasting, and to lead to a more chastened estimate
of her character and mission. She has certainly lost much in the
confidence of the community, and given to her enemies, both in
the Church and the world, occasion for increased opposition and
condemnation. It is needless to close our eyes on this most noto-
rious fact. It will be wisdom, honesty, and good policy to acknow-
ledge it freely. Sins must be confessed as well as forsaken, in
order to be fully forgiven and their evil consequences prevented.
We must also adopt the most effectual means for recovering what
has been lost. It is most encouraging to know that all of God's
favour has not been lost. On the contrary, never has the Gospel
been more faithfully and earnestly preached by greater numbers of
our ministers in England and America than during our recent fiery
trial. Though the enemy came in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord,
speaking from thousands of pulpits, has lifted up the standard of
truth against him. The heretical movement has been arrested, and
now stands, covered with shame and confusion, seeking to find out
some object on which to lay the blame of its own mischievous pro-
ceedings.
Together with many who are guiltless of the evil sought to be
removed, some of those who have contributed to it are now pro-
posing certain changes in the mode of the Church's worship, in
order to regain what is lost and press forward in the duty assigned
us by God. It is believed that an abridgment of the usual worship,
V a partial separation of services once distinct, will remove one
390 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND
Stumbling-block out of the way of the Church's popularity, and 1
hope that it may be found practicable to do so. But whether the
service be longer or shorter, if ministers preach the Gospel faith-
fully and perform all other duties piously and zealously, great will
be the effect. Numbers will be added to the Lord of such as shall
be saved. Too many instances of a true conversion and most ex-
alted piety are to be found in our own and Mother-Church to allow
of a doubt on this point. The great want of the Church is more
pious and zealous ministers, who understand and preach the Gospel.
Let them be sons of the Church, — not converts, except they be
young, — not proselytes from other ministries. It is not reasonable
to expect many useful and acceptable ones from the pulpits of other
denominations. All experience is against it. If respectable, in-
fluential, and happy in the places of their birth, training, and minis-
try, it will not often happen that either conscience, choice, or
judgment will induce them to leave their old associations. Most
honourable exceptions there are. I have known such, — have laid
my hands on such, and highly esteem them. But, at the same time,
I have ever made it my boast, that if in any thing I have done good
service to the Church, it has been in dissuading from our ministry
those who would have gladly entered it, but who, like too many
others, might have done us evil instead of good, — might either have
been drones in our hive, or else have taken our ministry on the way
to Rome. When I have heard it boasted that hundreds have left
other ministries, drawn by the superior and exclusive claims of
ours, and have known who and what too many of these were, I have
mourned over the fact instead of rejoicing at it, and regarded it as
the judgment of Heaven upon us for urging, to an extreme which
neither Scripture nor our Protestant fathers nor our standards
justify, the exclusive claims of the Episcopal ordination. At the
same time, when I have heard some of other denominations declare
that none but the unworthy ever leave them, I could not forbear
the hint that there must be something most defective in the training
of their ministers, when they have so many unworthy ones to spare.
The great complaint of those who desire some change is, that
our Church does not, as at present administered, operate on the
masses, — especially that we have so few of the very poor in our
congregations, although some have laboured very faithfully to this
end. It ought certainly to be regarded as a great unhappiness and
defect to be without a due admixture of such. Ministers ought to
covet the poor for their congregations, and seek them by all proper
means. They should do it for their own sakes, and for that of the
FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA 891
rich of their flock, as well as for the benefit of the poor. The pre-
sence of the poor will help them to preach the Gospel in a plainer
and more effective way, — will exercise all their ministerial graces, —
will call forth the alms of their parishioners the more abundantly.
Our services, rightly understood and used, are admirably adapted
to the poor and ignorant. It is deeply to be lamented that so much
prejudice exists in the minds of the great mass of the American
people against our Church and her peculiarities, so that thus far but
little success has attended even the most zealous efforts of some who
have devoted themselves to the work. Various circumstances con-
nected with our political and religious history have contributed to
this. With all the republicanism of our country, there is as much
of social and religious prejudice, caste, and division among us as
in any nation of Christendom, although it differs considerably in
some of its modes. Political and religious demagogues are con-
tinually fostering it in order to promote their ends. Religious
associations are hard to be broken. " Can a people forsake their
gods?" may be asked now in relation to the religious sects of our
country, as formerly concerning the sects in pagan lands. Two or
three denominations among us have absorbed almost all of the
poorer classes, and claim them as their birthright. To induce even
a few of such to unite with us is attended with great difficulty, for
against no denomination of Christians are their prejudices so strong
as against our own. Still, let us endeavour to allure as many as
possible of the more neglected ones into our fold, and tend them
well. If any modifications of our system can adapt it the better
for this purpose, most assuredly let it be done. In ordaining men
for the purpose, however, let us beware of lowering our standard
too much. Our Lord and the Apostles, who preached so well to the
poor, were filled with all knowledge by the Spirit. All other de-
nominations are raising their standard of ministerial qualification.
Some expressions have been used among us which have excited fears
that we were about to err in this respect. I have no such fears
myself. At any rate, I am confident that a few mistakes in ordain-
ing ignorant and unsuitable men would soon correct the error.
I have thus in a most imperfect manner completed my recollection
of such things in the diocese of Virginia and in the General Church
as seemed most worthy of being recorded. I had thought, in vie^
392
CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA.
of death, to leave behind me some such notices; but it may be
better to have been surprised into this §arlier statement, so that if
I have fallen into any mistakes I may have the opportunity of cor-
recting them, as I should be grieved to misrepresent even in the
slightest degree the Church of my affections, or any member
of it.
APPENDIX.
No. I.
A Copy op the Journal of the Proceedings op the Convention
HELD at the College op William and Mary, in the City of
Williamsburg, in April, 1719.
At a Convention of the Clergy of Virginia, begun on Wednesday, the
eighth day of April, 1719, in the College of William and Mary, in the
city of Williamsburg, Mr. Commissary Blair called over a list of the
clergymen of this Colony, and the following members answered to their
names : —
Mr. Selater, Mr. Guy Smith, Mr. Lewis Latane, Mr. Thomas Sharpe,
Mr. Hugh Jones, Mr. Andrew Thomson, Mr. Ralph Bowker, Mr. Cargill,
Mr. George Robinson, Mr. Monroe, Mr. Eml. Jones, Mr. Bar. Yates, Mr.
Wm. Finney, Mr. John Shaife, Mr. Alex. Scott, Mr. John Worden, Mr.
Benj. Pownal, Mr. Wm. Brodie, Mr. John Bagge, Mr. Fran. Mylne, Mr.
Brunskill, Mr. Fountaine, Mr. Geo. Seagood, Mr. James Robertson, Mr.
James Falconer.
Absent.
Mr. Alex. Forbes, Mr. John Bell, Mr. Giles Rainsford, Mr. James
Breghin, Mr. John Span, Mr. Owen Jones, Mr. John Prince, Mr. James
Tenant, (out of the country,) Mr. Daniel Taylor, (excused by letter,) Mr.
Saml. Bernard, (sick,) Mr. James Cleck, (sick,) Mr. Wm. Black.
Then Mr. Commissary Blair read two letters from the Lord-Bishop of
London, our Diocesan, one to himself, and another to Reverend the Clergy
of Virginia, and recommended the particulars of them, which letters are as
foUoweth, — viz. :
To the Rev. Mr. Blair, Commissary of Virginia.
Dear Brother : — You will find in the enclosed the reason I have for
writing it, and will, I doubt not, agree in opinion with me that it cannot
but be useful to put the clergy under you in mind of their duty, even if
there should be no failing, much more if there be any. I therefore de-
sire you to communicate this letter to them, and to use all proper means
to redress any deviations from our rules, considering that both you and I
are to be answerable if we neglect our duty in that part.
398
394
APPENDIX.
I have wrote to the Governor, and entreated him to give you all pro-
per countenance and assistance in these matters, and am persuaded he
will be ready so to do upon any application you may have occasion to
make him.
I should be glad to hear from you what vacant churches are in your
parts, to the end I may use my best endeavours to procure you a supply.
I am, sir.
Your assured friend and brother,
FiTLHAM, August 6, 1718. _ John London.
To the Reverend the Clergy of Virginia.
Reverend Brethren : — It is always a joy to me to hear of the gooa
success of your ministerial labours, and no less a grief to hear of any defaults
and irregularities among you ; to which disadvantageous reports I am not
forward to give credit, finding that wrong representations are frequently
made. Some occasions have been given to apprehend, there may have
been faults and miscarriages in the life and conversation of some among
you, which I trust are corrected ; and that the grace of God, and a sense
of duty you owe to Him, his Church, and to yourselves, will so rule in your
hearts, as that I shall no more hear any thing to the disadvantage of any
of you upon that head. Nevertheless, I cannot but give you notice, that
I have information of some irregularities, which, if practised, will need
very much to be redressed j and I cannot but hope, if such things there
be, you will not be unwilling to do your part, as I think it a duty to do
mine by this advisement.
Whether any ministers be settled among you who have not a license from
my predecessor or myself, I must leave to the inquiry of your Governor,
who is instructed in that case, and will, I believe, upon notice given, be
ready to act accordingly, as also in reference to institutions and inductions.
At least I must hope, that, by this case and yours, none will be suffered
to ofiiciate in the public worship of God, or perform any ministerial offices
of religion, but such only as are Episcopally ordained; and from all such
I cannot but expect a regular conformity to the established Liturgy,
from which none of us can depart without violating that solemn promise
we made at our ordination.
I have desired Mr. Commissary to communicate this to you, and, as I
hope he will use all fitting earnestness in pressing the observation of these
things, so I doubt not he will be able to procure a redress for those or any
other disorders in the worship of God, when the same shall come to bia
knowledge.
I am, reverend brethren.
Your affectionate brother and assured friend,
John London.
FcLHAM, August 6, 1718.
APPENDIX. 39,'>
Then the Convention received a letter from the Honourable the GrO-
vernor, directed to the clergy, which was read, and with it a copy of a
letter from the Governor to the vestry of St. Anne, in Essex, which was
read also, which letters are as followeth, viz. : —
Reverend Gentlemen : — You are now come hither at your Com-
missary's desire, that he might have the easier opportunity to communicate
to you a letter from vour Right Reverend Diocesan. And seeing his Lord-
ship has been pleased to make mention of me in that letter,"~1;aking notice
that I have instructions to act in reference to institutions and inductions,
and that he must leave to my inquiry whether any ministers be settled
among you who have not license from him or his predecessor, and as his
Lordship seems to rely on my care as well as yours, that none may be
suffered to officiate in the public worship of God, or perform any ministerial
offices of religion, but such only as are Episcopally ordained, I ought not
to be silent on this occasion, and thereupon must remark to you, that the
very person whom his Lordship expects should use all fitting earnestness
in pressing the observations of these things is he whom I take to be the
least observer thereof himself. For none more eminently than Mr. Com-
missary Blair sets at naught those instructions which your Diocesan leaves
you to be guided by, with respect to institutions and inductions; he deny-
ing by his practice as well as discourses that the King's Government
has the right to collate ministers to ecclesiastical benefices within this
Colony; for, when the church which he now supplies became void by the
death of the former incumbent, his solicitation for the same was solely to
the vestry, without his ever making the least application to me for my col-
lation, notwithstanding it was my own parish church; and I cannot but
complain of his deserting the cause of the Church in general, and striving
to put it on such a foot as must deprive the clergy of that reasonable
security which, I think, they ought to have with regard to their livings.
As to the disorders in the worship of God, which are pointed at in the
said letter, it appears as if my Lord of London knew not that this Com-
missary is more apt to countenance than redress the same ; for I myself have
seen him present in the church while a layman (his clerk) has read the
divine service to the congregation, he himself vouchsafing to perform no
more of the ministerial office than to pronounce the absolution, preach,
and dismiss with the blessing. I have also seen him present in the church-
yard while the same clerk has performed the funeral-service at the grave.
And I remember when he was for having the churchwardens provide lay
readers, who should on Sundays read to their congregations some printed
sermons; and so far he declared in Council his approbation thereof, that
such practice had like to have had the sanction of the Government, had I
not withstood it as destructive to the Establishment of the Church.
Those and many other instances that might be given induce me to be-
lieve that a reformation of what has chiefly (as I apprehend) given occa-
sion to your Diocesan's letter will not be pressed very heartily upon you
896 APPENDIX.
by your Commissary, especially if he made no such solemn promise at his
ordination as his Lordship reminds you all of: wherefore I judge it to be
the more incumbent upon the several members now in this Convention
diligently to inquire of the disorders which your Diocesan takes notice of,
and earnestly to apply yourselves to proper means for redressing them.
As to any faults and miscarriages in the life and conversation of some
among you, which your Diocesan likewise touches upon, I trust your Com-
missary will use all fitting earnestness in pressing the reformation of such
manners as may give offence and bring scandal upon your holy profession-
and I have so good an opinion of the present body of the clergy, that 1
do not in the least doubt of a very general concurrence to censure and
admonish any one of your fraternity here whom you shall know to have
erred in either his doctrine or manners. For my part, I hope, after so
many years' experience of my conduct in this Government, there is little
need to express in words my disposition toward the Church; and I cannot
suppose that any one of you doubts of my real inclination to support the
interest thereof, or that I am otherwise than, reverend gentlemen,
Your very affectionate and assured humble servant,
A. Spottswood
Williamsburg, April 8, 1719.
To the vestry of St. Anne, in Essex, September' 3, 1718.
Gentlemen : — Though the hurry of public business, wherein I was
engaged, did not allow me time immediately to answer your letter of the
1st of August, yet I told Mr. Short on his going hence, on the 5th of that
month, that you might expect my answer in a few days ; and if he has done
me justice he has informed you that I advised your forbearing, in the mean
time, to run too rashly into the measui'es I perceived you were inclining to;
assuring him my intentions are to make you easy, if possible, in relation to
your minister. But, whether that advice was imparted to you or not, it is
plain, by your proceedings of the 8th of the same month, that you resolved
not to accept of it, seeing you immediately discarded Mr. Bagge and sent
down Mr. Rainsford with a pretended presentation of induction. As soon
as that came into my hands, I observed it expressly contrary to a late
opinion of the Council, whereby it is declared that the right of supplying
vacant benefices is claimed by the King, and by his Majesty's commission
given to the Governor; and for that reason I let Mr. Rainsford know that
before I could admit of such a presentation it was necessary for me to
have likewise the advice of the Council thereon. But, not content to wait
their resolution, I understand you have taken upon you the power of in-
duction, as well as that of presentation, by giving Mr. Rainsford possession
of the pulpit, and excluding the person I appointed to officiate. I have,
according to my promise, taken the advice of my Council upon your pre-
tended presentation, and here send it enclosed, by which you will find that
the Board is clearly of opinion that I should not receive such presentation •
APPENDIX. 397
SO that if you are the patrons (as you suppose) you may as scon as you
please bring a "quare impedit" to try j^our title; and then it will appear
whether the King's clerk or yours has the most rightful possession of this
church. In the mean time I think it necessary to forewarn you to be
cautious how you dispose of the profits of your parish, lest you pay it in
your own wrong.
Should T end my letter here, it might be imagined that I am as willing
as you to keep up contention ; but, as I am rather desirous to prevail with
you by reason than to convince you at your own expense, I think it ne-
cessary to exhort you to some just terms of accommodation : but I must
tell you, that this is not to be accomplished by the interposition of such
faithless deputies as Mr. Short, your late messenger hither; for if upon
his return he reported what I have seen attested under Mr. Winston's
hand, he ought to be excluded all human conversation ; for I do assure
you that no such discourse happened between Short and me as he has
related, neither did Mr. Bagge ever solicit me to turn out any one of
your vestry, nor did I ever receive such a proposal from any man else,
except Mr. Rainsford, who in a letter last year did importune me to remove
one of your vestry, whom he terms a Judas among the number of the
twelve Bishops of St. Anne's, but, because I never pretended to intermeddle
in the choice or removal of vestries, I never answered his letter. By the
same hands it is like you received such another piece of news, — to wit : that
Mr. Commissary Blair advised your insisting on your right, for that you
had the law, and the major part of the Council is on your side. I have
taxed Mr. Commissary with this, and he has publicly denied it, and even
given it under his hand that he never did such a thing; but, if he did, the
enclosed proceedings of the Council (wherein he joined) will convince you
how much he was mistaken. Another thing, which perhaps may have
given you a fallacious assurance, is, that the vestry of James City were
taking the same measures with you to dispute the King's authority; but,
to undeceive you on that point, that vestry has thought fit to drop the
dispute, and the person they pretended to fix in their parish has been fain
to supplicate me to put him into some other benefice.
Having thus endeavoured to remove the impression which false rumors
and public insinuations may have made on you, I shall in the next place
remind you of some particulars which probably some of you have forgot
and others perhaps have never come to the knowledge of. In the year
1712, Mr. Bagge was so much in the esteem of your parish that, though
he had then the care of another, he was the only person you would think
of to supply yours, and you represented him to me as a sober man, a good
preacher, and of a life and conversation blameless; when I yielded to
supply your parish by collating Mr. Edwards, the only objection to Mr.
Bagge was his non-residence in your parish ; when, upon Mr. Edwards's
decease, I was willing to prefer Mr. Bagge to that vacancy, you then only
objected against him his not being in Priests' Orders; and when, in order
898 APPENDIX.
to his qualifying himself for the care of youi* parish, he undertook a voyage
to England, you gave him a very ample testimonial of his pious and laud-
able life and doctrine, all which are yet extant, under the hands of those
who now so violently oppose him. It was on the testimony of your vestry
that your Diocesan, — the Bishop of London, — after having admitted Mr.
Bagge into Priests' Orders, recommended him to me that he might be
collated into that parish where he had gained so good a reputation; and
who could imagine he would not be acceptable to a people who had given
such encomiums of his life and doctrine, after he had taken such pains to
remove the only thing that could be objected to him? And what opinion
your Bishop will have of men who, without any new experience of Mr.
Bagge's behaviour, act so inconsistent with themselves, I leave you to
judge.
That I may the better prevail with you to reflect in time upon what you
are going about, I shall plainly lay before you the power by which I act,
leaving you to judge whether I ought to give up a right so well founded
both on law and reason : As the King is the sovereign of these plantations,
so he is vested with the right of patronage of all ecclesiastical benefices,
unless when it appears that he has by apt words granted the same away to
private subjects.
That his Majesty doth claim the right here in Virginia appears by the
commission under the broad seal, whereby his Majesty gives his Governor
full power and authority to collate any person or persons to any churches
or chapels, or any other ecclesiastical benefices, as often as any of them
shall become void, (which power is also expressly excepted out of the
Bishop of London's patent as Bishop of the Plantations;) and in his Ma-
jesty's instructions the Governor is particularly directed as to the qualifi-
cations of the persons so to be collated by him, and enjoined to cause all
persons not so qualified to be removed, and immediately to supply the
vacancies, without giving notice to the vestries, which is always done in
England (in the case of deprivation) where there is a patron. This shows
that the King acknowledges no other patron but himself. But, besides this
commission, there is a further and very early evidence of the King's not
looking on the law you hinge on to give the vestries any right of patron-
age: it is a lease made by King Charles II., to the Lords Arlington and
Culpepper, of the whole Territory of Virginia for thirty-one years, wherein,
among other things, there is this remarkable grant, — viz: " And we do
;urther give and grant to the Lord Henry Earle of Arlington, and Thomas,
Lord Culpepper, that they shall, for and during the said term of thirty-one
years, be sole and absolute patrons of all the churches and chapels already
built, or shall hereafter be built, within the said Territory," &c. Now, this
grant being made in 1672, just ten years after the law for inducting of
ministers passed here, is it to be supposed that the King's Counsel-at-law,
who prepared the grant, and the Lord-Chancellor, who put the great seal
to it, would have suffered it to pass had they judged it incomy&tible wiia
APPENDIX. 399
a law of the Colony so lately enacted, wlien it must have heen fresh in
memory, especially considering that the Lord-Chancellor was always one
of the Committee for Foreign Plantations? And the then Government,
Council, and House of Burgesses, though they sent home agents to re-
monstrate against this law, did not plead that this grant of the patronage
of churches was repugnant to the right of the vestries; neither could the
agents prevail to get the grant set aside, though they were particularly
charged to endeavour it. If you consider f?ir Edward Northey's opinion,
(which I find mentioned in your letter,) it is plain he never had the
King's right under consideration ; nor doth he at all determine that the
vestries are the undoubted patrons; but, after he had cited the several
laws relating to the churches, he declared that the ri^ht of advowson must
be determined by the laws of England, (there being no law of this country
that gives any further direction therein,) and the whole scope of his argu-
ments thereafter is only to show what is the practice in England, where
there are such undoubted patrons; which is but supposing what the King
has not yet yielded in this country, seeing he still claims the right of
supplying the vacancies of all ecclesiastical benefices, as the Council hath
declared to be the true meaning of his Majesty's commission and instruc-
tions.
Lastly, I shall set forth to you the reasonableness of believing that the
King looks upon the right of disposing of the benefices here as still vested
in the Crown.
Every minister sent here is denominated one of the King's Chaplains,
employed in his Majesty's service abroad, and as such receives twenty
pounds out of his treasury to defray the charge of his passage. If any of
the King's ships are coming hither, those ministers have the passage and
provision gratis. The Bishop of London recommends them to the Govern-
ment to be preferred to some ecclesiastical living. But they brins no
recommendation to any vestry as patrons of the churches; nor doth either
the King or the Bi.shop direct or desire the Governor to intercede with the
patrons of the churches to bestow on such ministers the vacant livings in
their gift. Now, to what purpose is the King at so much expense to send
over clergymen to the Plantations, if they are to starve here till a lay patron
thinks fit to present them? To what purpose doth the Bishop recommend
them to the Government, if he has no preferment to bestow? To what
purpose do they bring the Bishop's testimonial and license to preach, if
their qualifications are to be again tried by a vestry here, and they to
depend on popular humour for their livings? Can it be supposed that the
Governor's instructions, prepared by the Board of Trade, (who are well
acquainted with all the laws of this country,) and afterward read and
approved of in Council, where the King's learned judges are present,
should enjoin the Governor, upon the removal of a minister, immediately to
supply the vacancy without waiting the six months' lapse, and should not
rather direct him to follow the practices of England by giving timelv notice
400 APPENDIX.
to the patron to present another clerk, if their Lordships had any imagina-
tion that the hiw of Virginia gave the right of patronage to the vestries?
Whatever wild notions some people may entertain of his Majesty's minis-
ters intrusted with the inspection of the Plantations, I am confident they
would never advise his Majesty to enjoin anything repugnant to law; and
therefore, till the King thinks fit to alter my commission and instructions,
I hope I cannot be blamed for not giving up a right which his Majesty
has intrusted me with, unless it be otherwise determined by due course
of law, to which I shall be as ready as any man to submit; and I doubt
not you will allow me to be a fair adversary in so fully informing you be-
forehand of the merits of the cause I am to defend. However, you have it
in your power to bring this dispute between us to an accommodation; and
I do again assure you that I shall be ready on my part to show myself an
indulgent Grovernor, and, in order to make you easy, to yield what I can
without betraying my trust to my master.
The said letter being read, a motion was made that the Commissary be
desired to print his sermon preached this day before the members of the
Convention, at the parish church of Bruton, in the city of Williamsburg.
Mr. Commissary answered that he had never yet appeared in print; but,
if the members of the Convention wished it, he would transmit a true copy
of it to the Lord-Bishop of London; and it was desired accordingly.
Resolved unanimously that the Grovernor be addressed.
Then a committee of the seven members following was appointed to
prepare the address, — viz. : Mr. Emanuel Jones, Mr. Hugh Jones, Mr
George Robertson, Mr. Skaife, Mr. Seagood, Mr. Brodie, and Mr. Yates,—
and return it to the House by to-morrow morning, nine o'clock.
Ordered, That the Convention be adjourned to that hour.
Thursday, April 9, 1719.
Mr. Brodie, one of the committee that was appointed to draw up an
address to the Grovernor, being absent by reason of sickness, the rest of
the said committee — viz. : Mr. Emanuel Jones, Mr. Hugh Jones, Mr.
George Robertson, Mr. Skaife, Mr. Seagood, and Mr. Yates — appeared,
and Mr. Emanuel Jones in their name delivered it in ; which, being read
and examined paragraph by paragraph, passed without amendment, and is
as followeth, viz : —
To the Hon. Alexander Spottswood, Ms Majesty's Lieutenant-Governor
and Commander-in-Chief of this Colony.
May it please your Honour, should we, the clergy of his Majesty's Pro-
vince of Virginia assembled in Convention, (who have, with the utmost
indignation and resentment, heard your Honour affronted and abused by a
few prejudiced men,) be silent upon this occasion, we should appear
ungrateful ic both capacities as ministers and subjects. Therefore, with
APPENDIX. 401
grateful hearts we now express our deep sense of your just and wise
government, — a government that has raised this Colony to a flourishing
condition by exercising over it no other authority but that wherein its
happiness and liberty consist, and which nothing but the groundless sus-
picions and unreasonable jealousies of the eager and violent can render
liable to exception. Your Honour is happy to us rather than to yourself,
in that you are perpetually toiling for the public, constantly doing good
to many, whilst you do injury to none.
We approach you, therefore, not only as our Governor, but as a common
good, and think we cannot better declare our love to this counti'y than in
our hearty wishes and fervent prayers that you may long, very long,
preside over it, which we assure you are the sincere desires of your
Honour's very much obliged and most humble servants.
William and Mary College, Api-il 9, 1719.
The Convention next took the Lord-Bishop of London's letter into con-
sideration, which being again read and considered paragraph by paragraph
the first question that was put by Mr. Commissary was, Whether any of
the members present knew of any person who oflSciated in this country as
a minister without license from our present Diocesan or his predecessor?
and the whole House declared they knew of none. The next question
upon it was. Whether any of the members present knew of any minister
that otiBciated in the Colony without Episcopal ordination? to which the
following members answered they knew of none, — viz.: Mr. Monroe, Mr.
Mylne, Mr. Smith, Mr. Fountaine, Mr. Brunskill, Mr. Sharpe, Mr. George
Robertson, Mr. Finney, Mr. James Robertson, Mr. Thomson, Mr. Cargill.
The following members were doubtful whether Commissary Blair had
Episcopal ordination or not, — viz.: Mr. Skaife, Mr. Latane, Mr. Yates, Mr.
Bagge, Mr. Emanuel Jones, Mr. Bowker, Mr. Seagood, Mr. Scott, Mr.
Hugh .Jones, Mr. Falkoner, Mr. Downal, and Mr. Worden. Mr. Selater
suspended his judgment. The next question was, Whether any member
knew of any minister who did not conform punctually to the rules of the
Established Church?
It was owned that there were many rules which were not observed by
any of them, because of the circumstances of the country.
Ordered, That it be an instruction to the committee that shall be ap-
pointed to answer the Lord-Bishop of London's letter, that they set forth
the particulars wherein at present they cannot help being deficient in the
discharge of their function, and that his Lordship's directions be requested
therein, and that they inform him that none of the members refuse to
conform to the rubrics and canons to the utmost of their power.
The next thing inquired into was the irregularity of the lives of the
clergy.
To which it was answered, that no member had any personal knowledge
of the irregularity of any clergyman's life in this Colony.
Vol. II.— 26
402 APPENDIX.
"Whereupon it was ordered, that it be an instruction to said committee
modestly to vindicate the lives of the clergy from the aspersions (thrown
on them by former informations to his Lordship) of faults and miscarriages
in the lives of some among them.
Ordered, That it be an instruction to the committee to inform his
Lordship that visitations have been attempted by Mr. Commissary, but
have been found very difficult, and that his Lordship's directions be desired
in that matter.
The next things in his Lordship's letter taken into consideration were
institutions and inductions.
Upon which the question was put, Whether, in order to the redress of
the grievances we labour under with reference to them, the difficulties
which render our livings and circumstances precarious should not, in the
said answer, be represented to his Lordship?
It passed in the affirmative.
Ordered, That the said committee be instructed accordingly ; and that
they let bis Lordship know tbat, whenever the Governor has been applied
to, be has been always ready to redress us in this matter to the utmost of
his power.
Ordered, That the committee to be appointed to draw up the representa-
tion and answer to his Lordsbip's letter consist of seven members. Then
the House named Mr. Commissary, Mr. Bagge, Mr. Hugh Jones, Mr. Cargill,
Mr. Mylne, Mr. Finney, and Mr. Pownal to be that committee.
Ordered, That the committee meet this evening at six o'clock.
Rewlved, That the address be presented to the Governor.
Ordered, That the committee that prepared it attend him to know when
he will be pleased to be waited upon therewith. Then the Convention
adjourned to 9 o'clock to-morrow.
Friday Morning, April 10.
Mr. Selater and Mr. Smith being absent when the House was called
over, Mr. Bagge moved that no member should be allowed to be absent
from the Convention without leave, which was seconded and ordered.
Mr. Yates moved that when the committee was engaged in drawing the
answer to the Bishop of Loudon's letter, a copy of the proceedings of the
Convention should be laid before the rest of the members to inspect them,
in order to reducing the same into a regular journal, which was seconded
and granted.
Mr. Emanuel Jones reported tbat the committee which prepared the
address had waited on the Governor to know when he would be pleased to
be waited on by the House to present the same, and, his Honour having
Bignified his pleasure that he would receive it at seven of tbe clock in the
evening, the members accordingly presented it him, who was pleased to
receive it very graciously, and to return an answer that he thanked us for
our kind address, and that we should always find him willing and ready to
APPENDIX. 403
promote the interest of the Church and clergy of this Colony, and assured
us that we should not only have his protection but affection.
Mr. Bagge moved that the several letters, together with the address men-
tioned in the minutes, be inserted in the fair transcript of them in their
proper places.
The committee desiring more time to finish the representation and
answer to the Bishop of London's letter, the Convention adjourned till six
of the clock in the evening.
Accordingly, the House meeting at that hour, the committee appointed
to prepare the said representation and answer delivered in the same, which
was read, and considered paragraph by paragraph.
The Ist paragraph being read, ordered that it pass.
And 2d paragraph being read, it passed unanimously
And the 8d, it likewise passed unanimously.
And the 4th, ordered that it pass.
And the 5th, it passed unanimously.
And the 6th, ordered that it pass.
And the 7th, it passed unanimously.
And the 8th, it passed unanimously
And the 9th, ordered that it pass.
And the 10th, ordered that it pass.
And the 11th, ordered that it pass.
And the 12th, ordered that it pass.
And the 13th, it passed unanimously.
Accordingly, the whole passed, which is as followeth, — viz.:
May it please your Lordship : —
We, your Lordship's dutiful sons and servants, the clergy of Virginia,
being, in obedience to your Lordship's monitory letter, in Convention duly
assembled, and having in the fear of God impartially considered the import
and contents thereof, beg leave to return your Lordship the following
answer and representation.
We are extremely sensible of your Lordship's tender care of us in re-
minding us of our duty, and of the prudent manner of it, in that you have
not been forward to give credit to disadvantageous reports concerning the
clergy of this Colony, but have given us this opportunity of answering for
ourselves, which we humbly and gratefully accept, and make use of with all
sincerity.
We find, upon examination, that there is no minister among us who has
not license from your Lordship or your predecessor.
We are fully satisfied that we all of us are Episcopally ordained, except
Mr. Commissary, of whose ordination a major part doubt, — a true account
of which he has promised to transmit to your Lordship, together with the
journal of this Convention.
We must confess the circumstances of this Colony are such that, in many
respects, they will not permit us to perform that regular conformity to the
404 APPENDIX.
establish-^d Liturgy as otherwise we would wiliingly observe and our dutj
requires; particularly we beg leave to inform your Lordship, that the
parishes are so large, the inhabitants so dispersed, and so distant from the
church, (some twenty, thirty, forty miles and upward,) that throughout
this whole country we have divine service but once every Sunday, and but
one sermon ; and, for the same reason, the people neglect and refuse to
bring their dead to be buried in the churchyards, and seldom send for the
minister to perform the office, but make use of a layman for that purpose, —
alleging for reasons the extremity of heat in summer, and the great dis-
tance from the habitation of the minister. Also, that people observe no
holy days except those of Christmas-day and Good Friday, — being un-
willing to leave their daily labour; and you are well satisfied that we are
obliged to administer the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper to persons who
are not confirmed.
We must confess that we have some laws of the Colony which might
favour us in the discharge of our sacred function ; but, should they be put
in execution, the defect or obscurity of others would expose us to the
greatest difficulties ; for which cause we are obliged to baptize, and church
women, marry and bury, at private houses, administer the Lord's Suppey
to a single sick person, perform in church the office of both Sacraments
without the decent habits and proper ornaments and vessels which our
established Liturgy requires.
We have inquired into the irregularities among us which were intimated
to your Lordship, and we have discovered none such to our personal know-
ledge, but observe that the lives of the clergy and laity are much improved
of late years.
We deplore the unhappy precariousness of our circumstances, to which
many of the afore-mentioned deviations from the established Liturgy are
to be attributed, and beg to lay them in the most pressing manner before
your Lordship for your advice and direction.
The people in general are adverse to the induction of the clergy, — the
want of which exposes us to the great oppression of the vestries, who act
often arbitrarily, lessening and denying us our lawful salaries, — the opinion
of the Attorney-General being that we are incapable of taking the benefit
of the law to oblige them to do justice, without that necessary qualification,
or a compact.
Our Governor, who is, under God, our chief support here, has never been
wanting to us in redressing our grievances to the utmost of his power, and
would willingly act in our favour with respect to institutions and inductions,
according to the King's patent and instructions; but he imputes the opposi-
tion he meets with in this affair to some of the Council, and particularly to
Mr. Commissary, whom he also accuses of some other irregularities, as your
Lordship, by his Honour's letter to us and by another to the vestry of the
parish of St. Anne, in Essex, may perceive, and which we most humbly
and earnestly pray your Lordship to interpose your advice and assistance.
APPENDIX. 405
Visitations have been attempted by Mr. Commissary ; but he met with so
many difficulties, from the churchwardens refusing to take the oath of a
churchwarden or to rriake presentments, and from the general aversion of
the people to every thing that looks like a spiritual court, that little hag
been done.
Could your Lordship procure any thing that might tend to the promotion
of religion and the knowledge of the clergy or laity of this dominion from
the Venerable Societies for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts, and
for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge, we assure your Lordship that
we will use our utmost endeavours in the right application of any such
charitable favours, and shall gratefully esteem it a signal instance of good-
ness from you and them.
We return our most hearty thanks for your Lordship's admonitions and
advice, and, begging your Episcopal benediction, take leave to subscribe
ourselves, My Lord,
Your Lordship's most dutiful sons
and most humble servants.
College of William and Mart, at Williams- "|
BUKQ, Virginia, April 10, 1719. i
The members of the Convention having desired Mr. Commissary to sign
the said letter and representation, he refused the same. Ordered it be
entered accordingly. Mr. Hugh Jones moved that the members of the
Convention sign the said letter and representation.
Ordered, That it be signed; and it was signed accordingly.
Ordered, That Mr. Commissary, Mr. Hugh Jones, Mr. Seagood, Mr.
Bagge, or any two of them, examine the journal of this Convention, and
transmit two copies, one to the Bishop of London, and one to the Go-
vernor, attested by them.
Then Mr. Commissary asked whether the members had any thing more
^<i prepare, &c. It being answered in the negative, he dissolved the Con-
• ontion.
(A true copy.) James Blair,
Hugh Jones.
Mr. Commissary's Speech to the Convention, April 8, 1719.
Reverend Brethren : — As in my letter for calling you together at
this time I acquainted you that it was in pursuance of the directions of
our Right Reverend Diocesan, my Lord-Bishop of London, I shall first
read to you his Lordship's letter about it to myself, and his letter to the
clergy of this country, which he has desired me to communicate to you;
and then I shall (as I find my Lord expects of me) endeavour to resume the
particulars and press the observation of them with all fitting earnestness.
Then, having read both these le*ters, he went on thus: —
406 APPENDIX.
Bievhren, it is plain that the ground of this admonition is an iuforuiation
my Lord-Bishop has received of some irregularities among us that need
very much to be redressed. I wish the informers, whoever they are, be-
fore they had given our worthy Diocesan this trouble and uneasiness, had
first made known their complaint to me, who have the honour to be de-
puted by his Lordship for that purpose; and then, by your concurrent
advice, matters might have been redressed among ourselves, without ex-
posing us to his Lordship's suspicions, or bringing us under the character
of a clergy guilty of several irregularities. As in secular affairs no man
carries a cause from this country to England till it has been first tried in
our Virginia courts, and, if any one is dissatisfied with their sentence, in
weighty causes there lies an appeal for England, it is most regular that
it should be so too in spiritual affairs. It would be too great a burden for
my Lord-Bishop of London to be troubled in "prima instantia" with all
the irregularities of the numerous clergy under him, especially in the re-
mote Plantations, where he can't have the parties before him, or be sufii-
cieutly informed of the circumstances or the facts, the witnesses living at
so great distance. But this piece of justice, which was not designed its
by the informers, my Lord of London himself, out of his great prudenco
and unbiassed justice, has done us. He tells us that he "is not forward
to give credit to disadvantageous reports, finding that wrong representa
tions are not unfrequently made," and perhaps never more frequently than
now. And therefore his Lordship has reduced this complaint into the
right method; that is, he has given you and me notice of it; and, like a
good Bishop, he stirs us up to do our parts toward redressing any irre-
gularities that may be among us.
And, seeing our Diocesan has been so just and kind as not to proceed to
censure upon this private information, but has left both the inquiry into
the truth of the information and the redressing the irregularities, in great
measure, to ourselves, let me with all earnestness exhort you to discharge
a good conscience in this matter, and to speak freely, if ye know any that
officiates as minister of any parish in this country, without license from
my Lord-Bishop of London or his predecessor ; if you know any among
us who has not had Episcopal ordination; if you know any who does not
comply with the established Liturgy; and, lastly, if you know any that
are scandalous in their lives and conversation. These are the chief things
pointed at with relation to our duty in my Lord's monitory letter There
is one word added concerning institutions and inductions, intimating that
the Governor will be ready, upon notice given, to act accordingly, if any
minister is settled among us who has not a license from the present Bishop
of London or his predecessor, as also in reference to institutions and in-
ductions. As to this of institutions and inductions, I say, I do not so well
apprehend what is required of us in them. They are in the Governor's
hands, who does not fail to institute and induct when presentations are
duly made. But for want of these the clergy of this country have been
APPENDIX. 407
upon a very precarious footing. Many endeavours have been made to
procure a remedy for this evil, and, in the revival of the laws about sixteen
or seventeen years ago, particular care was taken of it ; but it miscarried
in that Assembly which was in Governor Nott's time, when the great body
of the revisal passed.
The common remedy in England is for the ordinary to take the benefit
of the lapse, which is not so easy in this country, for want of men in Orders
who are unprovided. And, indeed, this makes it much harder, too, on
their side who are to present, if they are strictly limited to the six months,
as in England, — there being no vacant ministers here for our vacant
parishes. In the year 1703, Governor Nicholson had the opinion of Sir
Edward Northey — then Attorney-General — as to the business of presenta-
tions and inductions. He gave his opinion that the right of presentation
by our laws was in the parishioners, and the right of the lapse in the
Governor ; only, he added, that if the parishioners have never presented,
they may have a reasonable time to present a minister. But, if they will
not present, — being required so to do, — the Governor may, in their default,
collate a minister.
These are the subjects of my Lord of Loudon's letter and of our con-
sultations, which, I think, we must go upon in the first place, and then, if
any one has any thing further to propose, it will be time to consider it
Our consultations will be much shortened if we proceed regularly and with
Christian temper, and speak on at once, without heat, or passion, or par.
tiality, and without breaking in one upon another.
There is one thing more I have to recommend, — namely, a unanimity
and brotherly love among ourselves, which will be a great ornament of our
profession and a great mutual support to our interest.
I need not put you in mind that there are now many censorious eyea
upon us, and therefore we must be very circumspect in our behaviour :
prudence, gravity, sobriety and modesty, and moderation, are great orna-
ments of our profession at all times. I hope we shall leave a good character
behind us in this place, that the very adversaries may have nothing to
reprehend in our example or conduct, and so God, of his infinite mercy,
accompany all our consultations with his blessing, and direct them to his
glory and the welfare of that part of the Church in which we are more
particularly concerned.
Historical Remarks for the Better Understanding of the Pro-
ceedings OF THE Convention of the Clergy at Williamsburg,
in April, 1719.
Before the Convention was called, great pains were taken to prepossess
the clergy in favour of the Governor by getting them to sign addresses of
encomiums upon him, in which there was usually some reflection against
the House of Burgesses that sent home a complaint against him to his
Majesty, so that, without condemning themselves, it could not be expected
i08 APPENDIX.
they would act otherwise in relation to him than they did at the Conven-
tion. To make way for these addresses, it was confidently given out, and
most industriously spread all over the country, that Mr. Commissary and
three more were turned out of the Council, and that the address of the
House of Burgesses was refused to be received, because it came not through
the hands of the Governor; both which proved otherwise.
On the day of the Convention, the Commissary and clergy waited on the
Governor at his house ; and, the Commissary asking if he had any com-
mands for the Convention, he said he would signify what he had to say in
a letter.
While Mr. Commissary was yet giving his charge, and was come to that
part of it which gives an account of Sir Edward Northey's opinion, — viz.:
"In the year 1703, Governor Nicholson had the opinion of Sir Edward
Northey, then Attorney-General, as to the business of presentations and
inductions. He gave his opinion that " the right of presentation by our laws
was in the parishioners, and the right of the lapse was with the Governor."
Here Mr. Emanuel Jones interrupted him, crying out that it was a mis-
take; it was not the parishioners, but the vestry. " I have right to know it,"
said he, "for I brought in that opinion." Mr. Commissary answered, "Sir,
you ought not to interrupt me : I have Sir Edward Northey's opinion here,
and I'll show you presently that it is right quoted;" and accordingly pro-
duced it, and satisfied the whole Convention that he had right quoted it.
Immediately after the Commissary's charge, and before any other business
was entered upon, Mr. William Robinson, Clerk of the Council, being sent
by the Governor, desired admittance, and presented a letter from the Gover-
nor, directed to the reverend the clergy of Virginia in Convention at Wil-
liamsburg, and then withdrew. This letter, being all an invective against
Mr. Commissary, contributed vei'y much to the ill-temper of the Convention.
There was such a confused noise upon it, that for a considerable space no
one could be heard. When that confusion was a little over, so that he
could be heard, Mr. Commissary said he was very unhappy to be under
the frowns of the Governor, but was so conscious of his innocency, that, if
they would have patience to hear him, he would ask no time, but would
immediately answer all the accusations of that letter. And, beginning, as
the letter does, with the business of collations, while he was showing the
law and practice of the country and the opinion of the late Bishop of Lon-
don and of Sir Edward Northey, by which he had always governed himself,
another confused clamour ai'ose, that they were not proper judges of these
things, and therefore desired him to desist, and send his answer to the
Governor's letter in writing to my Lord-Bishop of London; to which he
acquiesced.
Then Mr. Hugh Jones and some others, faulting the doctrine of Mr
Commissary's sermon preached before them that day, desired Mr. Com-
missary to print it. He, excusing himself as never having appeared in
print, said if they had any objections against it he was read^ to answer
APPENDIX. 409
them, or, if they desired it, he would transmit a true copy of it to my
Lord-Bishop of London; and accordingly they insisted upon this last, and
he promised to do it.
Then it was moved that an address be made to the Governor. Mr.
Commissary and some others put them in mind that it was more proper, and
would look better upon the minutes, to begin with the principal business
they were called upon, — viz.: The answer to my Lord of London's letter.
But, this being overruled, a committee was appointed to draw the said
address. Some moved that Mr. Commissary might be one of this com-
mittee to help prepare the said address ; but this was opposed by the greater
part.
Then Mr. Commissary and some others moved that it might be consi-
dered whether it was not proper to give directions to the committee con-
cerning the manner of the said address, particularly that they should
abstain from intermeddling with those unhappy differences of State that
were between the Governor and the House of Burgesses; and that they
should confine themselves to what was more proper for the clergy, — namely,
the thanking the Governor for his protection of the Church. If they drew
a handsome address to this purpose, it was said, we should all unanimously
join in it, which would do him more service than if they drew any thing
which we could not all unanimously sign. But this motion was overruled
and the committee left to themselves without any limitation.
Thursday, April 9.
Mr. Emanuel Jones delivered in the address to the Governor, which,
being read and examined paragraph by paragraph, passed without amend-
ment.
Though it was carried by a majority of the Convention that this address
should pass without amendment, there was a very great debate on the
subject-matter of it. They were put in mind that those prejudiced men
by whom they said his Honour was affronted and abused were the body
of the representatives of the country, — the House of Burgesses; that they
had made a public complaint of the Governor, which now lies before the
King; that it did not belong to our province either to prejudice his Majesty
or to decide the points in difference between the Governor and the House
of Burgesses; that, if we were ever so desirous to justify the Governor, we
were not in a capacity to do it, the matters in difference being entirely out
of our cognizance. The House of Burgesses complain that their privileges
are encroached upon: is that a fit subject for us to determine? They
complain of a great sum of money taken without order and spent about the
Governor's house and gardens : they had the account before them, whereas
if we say any thing upon that subject we must speak without book. And
so of the forfeiture of lands and the Burgesses' salaries and some other
ihings o)mplained of, of which we are very incapable judges. They were
likewise told that the duty of mediation of peace did much better become
410 APPENDIX.
US than the espousing of any party; that we should thereby incur the
displeasure of a great many gentlemen of our own parishes ; that we should
create to ourselves lasting uneasiness ; and that a time might come when
the House of Burgesses might think fit to call those to account that put
such public afi'routs on them, as we heard the House of Commons in
Ireland did those that counter-addressed in the case of Sir Constantine
Phips
When none of all this prevailed, but the address was carried by vote, the
Commissary, and seven more that were against addressing in that form,
desired that they might enter the reasons of their dissent. But this was
wholly refused.
While this business was in debating, Mr. Robertson brought a letter from
the Governor to the Commissary, requiring the perusal of his sermon
preached yesterday before the Convention. The style of it is so particular
that Mr. Commissary thought fit to set it down verbatim, which follows : —
Sir : — In your sermon preached yesterday before me, upon occasion of
the Convention of the clergy, you thought fitting to advance such principles
with respect to Government that I judge I should not discharge the duty
I owe to my Prince if 1 failed to tiike notice thereof; and lest I might,
upon one cursory hearing, misapprehend some positions you then laid down,
I desire you will favour me now with a more deliberate perusal of the
sermon in writing ; and your immediate compliance with this request will
be the only means to satisfy, sir, your most humble servant,
A. Spottswood.
WiLLiAMSBUEG, April 9, 1719.
Upon this, he immediately sent the sermon, hoping the Governor would
either rest satisfied, or, by the help of his friends of the clergy, form his
objections and give him an opportunity of answering them. He heard no
more of it, only understands he took a copy.
Upon the question of Mr. Commissary's Episcopal ordination, of twenty
four that were present besides Mr. Commissary himself, twelve voted that
they were doubtful of his Episcopal ordination, eleven that they had no
doubt about it, and one that he suspended his judgment. The reasons of
those who were doubtful were, first, that they knew not the hand in which
the certificate was written subscribed Jo. Edenburgen. To which it was
answered, that they could not have a better proof, that fell within their
knowledge, than the late Bishop of London's license under his hand and
seal. Second, it was objected that the certificate was not in the usual
English form, nor any seal annexed to it. To which it was answered that
a certificate from a Scotch Bishop of any one being a minister in hia
diocese, in the Order of Presbyter, is a suflacient proof of the matter of fact,
though it is not in the English form; and that, being taken for such thirty-
four years ago by the late Bishop of London, (and the late Lord Effingham,
Governor of Virginia,) to whom both his ministry in Scotland and the test
APPENDIX. 411
for which he suffered were at that time well known, it ought not now to be
called in question. Third, Mr. Hugh Jones objected to the word Presbyter
in that certificate, — that it should have been Priest. But this objection
•was ridiculed by most of themselves, since in the English certificatevS oi
Priests' Orders they are said to be promoted " Ad Sacrum Presbyteratus
Ordinem."
In answer to the question whether they knew of any minister in this
Colony that did not punctually conform to the rules of the Established
Church, there is no more set down in the minutes but that it was owned
there were several rules which were not observed by any of them because
of the circumstances of the country. But upon this Mr. Commissary urged
that my Lord-Bishop of London had been certainly informed of great de-
viations from the Liturgy, and therefore that if any of the informers were
then present they would acquaint us with what they had observed of this
kind, that it might be certified, and told them they must expect he would
acquaint my Lord with it if they had nothing to say. Upon this Mr. Hugh
Jones said something to this purpose : — That he was desired by my Lord of
London to give his Lordship some account of the state of this Church, and
that accordingly he had given an account of some things in which Mr.
Commissary did not observe the rubric. He instanced in the clerk's
publishing the banns and some other things in church. For by the laws
of this country all proclamations and many laws are published in Church,
and, the clerks commonly keeping the register, the usual way is for them
to publish the banns and give a certificate of it to the minister. He com-
plained too of Mr. Ingles, his taking upon him in his school to make ex-
hortations to his schoolboys, alleging that he should only teach them the
Church Catechism. The whole Convention, judging these things frivolous,
commended Mr. Ingles (who is a sober, good man, and master of arts) for
giving good instructions to his boys concerning their morals; and as for
some other things of small variation from the rubric, they found none but
such as the difi"erent circumstances of the country from those of England
necessarily engaged us in, which are more particularly mentioned in the
clergy's answer to my Lord of London's letter.
In the evening of this day, after the Convention was adjourned, eight
ministers, who, for the reasons above mentioned, did not join in the address
which the major part prepared for the Governor, agreed upon one of their
own, both to show their duty to him and their moderation with relation to
the public difi"erences in the country. It was as follows : —
To the Hon. Alexander Spottsioood, his 3Iajesty's Lieutenant-Governor
and Comma nder-in- Chief of the Colony.
May it please your Honour, it is with no small concern we humbly
represent to your Honour that we could not join with the rest of our
brethren in one uniform address, being unwilling to determine between
persons and things which, as we apprehend, were not properly under our
412 APPENDIX.
cognizance nor within our province. Nevertheless, we think it our duty
to return our most hearty thanks for the continuance of your Honour's
protection to the Church and clergy of this country. We have no doubt
of your Honour's ready concurrence in any present methods that can be
oflPered for our support and encouragement. And seeing your Honour is
well apprized of all our circumstances, without any further information
from us, we desire to leave it with yourself to consider of the best ways
and means to remedy what wants redress in the precariousness of our cir-
cumstances, whether by execution of the laws in being, or the contrivance
of new ones, to answer better the circumstances of the Church and clergy
and people of this country as in your wisdom you shall think fit.
It is far from our thoughts to add any thing to the uneasiness of your
circumstances from other hands, being extremely concerned at the unhappy
differences in the country. As we heartily wish a better understanding,
we shall not fail by our prayers and endeavours in our station to procure
it as far as in us lies. And in the mean time, committing you to God's
conduct and direction, we take leave to subscribe ourselves, sir, your
Honour's most obedient and most humble servants,
James Blair, Com'y,
James Selater,
John Cargill,
Peter Fountaine,
John Brunskill,
GtAY Smith,
Jno. Monro,
Francis Mylne.
William and Mart Colleok, April 9, 1719.
And then they went to his house to present it. But he, having first
perused it by himself, at last refused to receive it, called it a libel, and
gave it back to Mr. Commissary.
Friday, April 10.
There is nothing to be remarked upon this day's proceedings but that
some objections were made to a few things in the clergy's answer to my
Lord of London's letter, upon the amendment of which all the clergy
declared their readiness to sign it. These objections were, — 1st. The slur
it casts upon Mr. Commissary's ordination. 2d. The unfair representation,
or insinuation, at least, as if some of the Council, and particularly Mr.
Commissary, obstructed the Governor's acting in favour of the clergy in
the point of institutions and inductions. It is true they do not take it
upon themselves to say this, but lay it upon the Governor, and say that he
imputes the opposition " he meets with in this aflFair to some of the Council,
and particularly to Mr. Commissary, whom he also accuses of some other
irregularities, as your Lordship, by his Honour's letter to us and another
to the vestry of the parish of St .inne's, may perceive, both which, together
AI PENDIX. 41b
witti Mr. Commissary's answer, we doubt not your Lordship will receive,
and in which we most humbly and earnestly pray your Lordship to inter-
pose your Lordship's advice and assistance." Though this was the least
they could do without directly incurring the Grovernor's displeasure, there
were several who said they knew the Council and the Commissary had
been such constant friends to the clergy that they would have no hand in
putting this slight upon them, as if they opposed their institutions and
inductions. 3d. That it lays the blame upon our laws that we are obliged
to baptize, church women, marry, and bury, at private houses, &c., whereas
It is not by our laws these things are occasioned, but partly by our pre-
cariousness, (the Governor never making use of the lapse,) and partly by
the exceeding largeness of the parishes and other inconvenient circum-
stances of the country.
Immediately before dissolving the Convention, Mr. Hugh Jones moved
something to this effect, — that, in regard a major part doubted of Mr.
Commissary's Orders, the Governor should be required to suspend him
from officiating as a minister of this country, and the Bishop desired to
send another Commissary. This proposal was with a general voice ex-
ploded and cried out upon, and they asked him if he was not ashamed to
offer any such thing. When nobody backed his motion, he desired it might
be entered on the minutes. But the whole Convention rejected it ■^•th
great indignation.
The above account, consisting of ten pages, is a true narrative, to the
best of our remembrance.
James Blair,
Jno. Monro.
An Answer to the Accusation "pntained in the Governor's Letter to the,
Convention, which Letter is to be seen in Journal of the Proceedings of
the said Convention.
accusation.
For none more eminently than Commissary Blair sets at naught those
instructions which your Diocesan leaves you to be guided by, with respect
to institutions and inductions, — he denying by his practices, as well as dis-
courses, that the King's Governor has the right to collate ministers to
ecclesiastical benefices within this Colony; for when the church he now sup-
plies became void by the death of the former incumbent, his solicitation
to the same was solely to the vestry, without his ever making the least
application to me for my collation, notwithstanding it was my own parish
church.
ANSWER.
As this accusation is here worded, the design of it is plainly to induce
your Lordship to believe that I oppose the King's instructions and deny
414 APPENDIX.
the Governor the power of collation, and that I was inducted into my
parish without him. But none of all these do in the least touch and ex-
plain the true state of the difference betwixt his opinion and mine in this
matter, which I must therefore beg leave more clearly to unfold to your
Lordship.
The sole question as to this affair is, What is to be meant by collation
as in the Governor's instructions? — whether such a power as the King has
to bestow livings of which he himself is the patron ? or such a power as
the Bishop has to collate to livings that fall into his hands by lapse ? He
claims it in the first sense ; I have always understood it in the second, for
the following reasons. It has been the constant practice in this country
that whatever ministers we have had inducted have had first a presenta-
tion from the vestries, who, by law here, act in the name of the parish-
ioners. And before this gentleman's time, it was never known that ever
ft Governor refused to induct upon any such presentations, or gave collation
and institution without it. 2d. By a law of this country, entitled Minis-
ters to be Inducted, after it has spoken of a minister's producing a testi-
monial of his ordination, and his subscribing to be conformable to the orders
and constitutions of the Church of England and the laws there established,
follow immediately these words: — "Upon which the Governor is hereby
ret^^psted to induct the said minister into any parish that shall make pre-
sentation oi 'uni." And from these words it has been always understood
here that the parish had the presentation and the Governor the induction,
For, as to the word requested, they think, and he grants, it doth not alter
the case when applied to the Governor, — that being the usual form in
which our laws express his duty, and not by the more authoritative words
of enacting, commanding, or requiring, as they do other people's. 3d.
The parishes here are at the charge of founding the churches, the glebes,
and the salaries. 4th. Governor Nicholson consulted Sir Edward Northey,
the late Attorney-General, as to all this affair, — being desirous (as I thought)
to remedy the precariousness of the clergy, who, except a very few, have
no inductions. And Sir Edward was altogether of this opinion, as your
Lordship will see by a copy of it, which I herewith transmit. Governor
Nicholson sent copies of that opinion to the several vestries of this coun-
try, and threatened if they did not present that he would take the benefit
of the lapse : the very threatening procured presentations, and consequently
inductions, for some ministers. And had the Governor collated and in-
ducted upon the lapse, — nay, had he made but one or two examples of it, —
all this grievance might have been redressed, long ago. But he only
threatened, and never once collated upon lapse; so that the precariousness
is as much fixed as ever. 5th. Having often discoursed with your Lord-
ship's predecessor and written to him on this subject, I never found he
had any other notion of collation by the Governor but that it was to be
upon lapse. And the great difficulty started in those days to that scheme
was that the country complained six months was too short a time for them
APPENDIX. 415
to supply their vacancies in, — there being no ministers to be had here who
were not ah-eady provided. For remedy of which, in the last revisal of
our laws, a law was provided in which two years (if I remember right)
were allowed the parishes to supply their vacancies. This law, about fifteen
years ago, was under consideration of the Council of Trade. My Lord-
Bishop of London was that day present at the Board, and I, being then in
London, was desired to attend. After full debate upon it, the law was
approved of, and my Lord of London was very well .satisfied. But after
all it miscarried here in this country. Our Assembly could not agree
about it, and so it fell. Sure, if either the Bishop or the Council of Trade
had had any notion of this right of patronage which the Governor claims,
(and his commission and instructions are the same now they were then,)
having so ready a remedy for the precariousness of the clergy, they needed
not to have made these extraordinary concessions. 6th. The Governor's
new method would destroy all benefit of lapse ; whereas, if the presenta-
tion is in the parish and the lapse in the Governor, we have the ordinary
check upon the patron, as in England and other Christian Churches, which
is a very valuable security. 7th. Collations for benefices, together with
licenses for marriage and probates of wills, — being three things pertaining
to the ecclesiastical jurisdiction, but expressly excepted out of it and by
the King's instructions given to the Governor, — seems to be a good argu-
ment that, in the point of collations, the Governor acts only as ordinary,
and consequently either institutes upon presentation or collates by lapse,
but not as original patron.
These are the reasons which have induced me to think collations are to
be interpreted in another sense than the Governor has lately fixed on
them. I say lately ; for I do not remember that he fell upon this notion
above three or four years ago, which makes me astonished at the censure
he gives of me for not applying to him for his collation. There are two
wrong things here insinuated. One is, as if the Governor at that time
had claimed (as he now does) the right of collating to the living as patron
before it lapsed ; whereas this pretension was, by four or five years, of a
later date, — my coming to this parish being at Christmas, 1710, — and no-
body at that time having ever questioned the vestry's right of choosing a
minister when the parish was fairly void, — as it was here, by the death
of my predecessor, Mr. Solomon Wheatly. As soon as I was elected by
the vestry, I immediately acquainted the Governor, and he said he was very
glad, of it. And I do assure your Lordship he nor no one else at that time
faulted this as being then, and long afterward, the common practice of the
country. If a Governor ever interposed in such cases in those days, it was
only by recommendation to the vestries, but never by way of collation, which
he now begins to claim. The other thing which I take to be here insinuated
is as if, upon the vestry's presentation of me, I had, in contempt of his
authority and right to give collation, never applied to him for it. This. I
confess, would have been a great contempt, and such one as never any
416 APPENDIX.
minister in this country was guilty of. For, as soon as we can get a pre-
sentation from the vestry, we never fail to apply to the Grovernor for in-
duction, as readily as any clerk in England applies to the Bishop with his
presentation. But this is the unhappiness of our precarious circumstances
in this country, — that the vestries are such enemies to induction that they
will give no presentations, and our Grovernors have been so unwilling to
disobliffc the parishes that they have never taken the benefitof the lapse; so
that the ministers generally officiate upon the election of the vestry, without
presentation or induction. As this is the case of about nine or ten of
our ministers, (for some four or five are inducted,) your Lordship will
easily perceive that, as matters then stood, without a presentation it was
in vain for me to apply to the Governor for collation or induction. But I
thought it became me, in good manner, to wait on the Governor and to ac-
quaint him with what was done : he signified his great satisfaction, and did
not in the least fault any thing in the conduct of the matter. We were
then, and for many years afterward, in perfect friendship; though now all
things that are capable of any ill aspect are mustered up to make a crime
where never any before was so much as pretended.
ACCUSATION.
And I cannot but complain of his deserting the cause of the Church in
general, and striving to put it on such a foot as must deprive the clergy of
that reasonable security which I think they ought to have with regard to
their livings.
ANSWER.
It passes my skill to find out the defects of this method. If the Governor
would give the parishes warning to present in a reasonable time, and, in
case of failure, to make use of the lapse, it would remedy the precarious-
ness of the clergy as well as the other, and would have this advantage, —
that it would be much more easily applied, and a minister would have more
of the love of his parishioners ; whereas, the other way will involve him
in a lawsuit to defend his title ; and if we should at any time have a
Governor that has little regard to the Church or religion, he may keep the
parish void as long as he pleases, — there being no lapse ever incurred by
that scheme.
ACCUSATION.
As to the disorders in the worship of God which are pointed at in the
Baid letter, it appears as if my Lord of London knew not that his Com-
missary is more apt to countenance than redress the same ; for I myself
have seen him present in church while a layman — his clerk — has read
the divine service in the congregation, — he himself vouchsafing to perform
no more of his ministerial office than to pronounce the absolution, preach,
ana dismiss the cono-reojation.
APPENDIX. 417
ANSWER.
It is well known that I do constantly, while I enjoy my health, read the
whole divine service myself. And if the Governor has at any time seen
it otherwise, it has been when I have been so weakened with sickness that
I was not able to go through the whole service and preach too. If it be
thought an irregularity that on such a case I made use of a laic, it is to
be considered that this is a country where there is not one clergyman to be
had on such an occasion, — they being all employed at the same time in their
own far-distant parishes, — and that the country is so used to this practice,
that long before I knew it, by the fifth law in the printed book, entitled
Ministers to Provide Readers, it is enacted "That where there is not a
minister to officiate every Sunday, the parish shall make choice of a grave
and sober person of good life and conversation to read divine service every
intervening Sunday at the parish church, when the minister preacheth at
any other place." But I constantly read prayers myself, unless disabled
or weakened by sickness.
ACCUSATION.
I have often seen him present at the churchyard, while the said clerk
has performed the funeral-service at the grave.
ANSWER
Here it is insinuated as if I had been at the funeral when the clerk
performed the funeral-service at the gi-ave. I can aver that my constant
practice is otherwise. What might occasion it that one time — whether
that I had not been spoken to, or that I was hoarse, or that I passed through
the churchyard accidentally while the clerk was in the funeral-service, and
I did not think fit to interrupt him — I can't tell, except the circumstances
of the fact were explained But it is a common thing all over the country — •
what through want of ministers, what by their great distance and the
heat of the weather and the smelling of the corpse — both to bury at
other places than churchyards and to employ laics to read the funeral-ser
vice, — which, till our circumstances and laws are altered, we know not
how to redress.
ACCUSATION.
And I remember when he was for having the churchwardens provide
lay readers, who should on Sundays read to their congregations some printed
sermons ; and so far he declared in Council his approbation thereof, that
such practice had like to have had the sanction of the Government, had I
not withstood it as destructive to the establishment of the Church.
ANSWER.
The Governor's memory must in this matter have exceedingly failed
him, when he represents this of lay readers either as a new project — for
Vol. II.— 27
418
APPENDIX.
(as I quoted above) there is a law of the country for it, duly put in practi-ce
when there is no minister to officiate — or as a project of mine. The thing
I would have rectiBed in it was, that I understood that readers took upon
them to read what sermons they thought fit, and I was for their reading only
the homilies. This meeting with some opposition, (for it was alleged, if
nothing but the homilies were read, the people would not come to Church,)
it was, with the Governor's consent, accommodated thus : — that where there
was a minister in the parish, the minister should direct what sermons the
reader should read at the distant church or chapel, and where there was
no minister the Commissary should do it. But for the horrid innuendo
this part of my accusation is capable of — as if ministers were hereby in-
tended to be laid aside and lay readers set up in their places, and so the
establishment of the Church destroyed — there was never any such thing
thought of, far less argued, in Council. I have upon all occasions acquainted
your Lordship and your predecessor when vacancies fell by the death of
the minister, and pressed for a speedy supply; and whenever they came
in they were immediately provided with parishes, if the Governor himself
did not delay them.
ACCUSATION.
These and many other instances that might be given, which induce me
to believe that a reformation of what has chiefly (as I apprehend) given
occasion to your Diocesan's letter, will not be pressed very heartily by your
Commissary, especially if he made no such solemn promise at his ordina-
tion as his Bishop reminds you all of. Wherefore I judge it to be more
incumbent upon the several members now in Convention diligently to in-
quire of the disorders which your Diocesan takes notice of, and earnestly to
apply yourselves to proper means for redressing them.
ANSWER.
Whether I did heartily press reformation in pursuance of your Lordship's
letter, your Lordship will more readily apprehend from the copy of my speech
to the Convention, than from these hard prognostications of it. And though,
by means of this letter of the Governor's and other more clandestine pre-
possessions, they were sufficiently inflamed, your Lordship will observe
that, instead of accusing me of any irregularities, when 1 put the question,
Whether any of them knew of any that did not punctually conform to the
established Liturgy, they answered only that there were several things
that were not observed by any, by reason of the circumstances of the coun-
try, which particulars were ordered to be mentioned by the committee
appointed to answer your Lordship's letter, and that your Lordship's direc-
tions be requested therein. But the worst innuendo of all is a doubt here
suggested, and more industriously circulated in his private insinuations, —
at least in the insinuations of his emissaries, — as if I never had Episcopal
ordination. The Governor, indeed words it somewhat doubtfully. "Espe
APPENDIX. 419
cially (says he) if he made no such promise at his ordination as his Bishop
reminds you all of." He was satisfied before that I was ordained with.
Episcopal ordination in Scotland. The doubt he here suggests is concern-
ing the form of that ordination, — whether it had any such stipulation as the
English form has. I had told him that I was ordained by the very same
English book of ordination, — as indeed I was. But, if he could not believe
that, — having it only from my own testimony, — he might have remembered
that I showed him my license under the hand and seal of your Lordship's
predecessor, in which, among other things, is certified that I promised to
conform to the Liturgy of the Church of England as by law established ;
so that there was no occasion for throwing out this reflection.
These are the accusations I am charged with in that letter : the sum oi
which is, — 1st. A diff'erence of opinion about presentation, which I own,
and have given your Lordship my reasons for it ; which yet I humbly
submit to your more mature judgment. 2d. Some few irregularities as to
the Liturgy, which were owing partly to sickness and weakness disabling
me at that time to perform the whole service, and partly to the circum-
stances of the country, which will not admit of exact conformity as in
England. This will be more fully explained in the clergy's answer to your
Lordship's letter.
But that all this heat and auger should break out now, when the pre-
tended causes were the same all along, — both during his nine years' go-
vernment and all his predecessors', from the first seating of the country, —
everybody here observes is owing to his late resentments because I could
not go along with him in several late innovations, which have given such
distaste to the country that our House of Burgesses have complained of
them to his Majesty. Had he taken the advice of the Council, he might
have made himself and the country easy. But he is so wedded to his own
notions that there is no quarter for them that go not into them. He is
now endeavouring to remove several gentleman of the Council of the most
unblemished characters. But, his resentment having more ways to reach
me than any of the rest, he has exerted himself to the utmost of his en-
deavours both to ruin me with the College and my parish and your Lord-
ship. But your Lordship's backwardness to discard an old servant without
some crime proved against him, and the clearness of my title to be president
of the College by the charter, and the love of my parishioners, give him great
uneasiness, — though my interest is a very unequal match for his. The
fair, candid way with which your Lordship has used me, notwithstanding
the vast pains he has taken to supplant me with your Lordship, has laid me
under great obligations of gratitude, and the highest esteem of your Lord-
ship's candour and justice.
I doubt not there are many other things laid to my charge which I have
never heard of, and therefore cannot answer at this distance. But, if your
Lordship will give me leave to come home, T hope I .shall be able to clear
myself of all imputations to your Lordship, as 1 had the good fortune
420 APPENDIX.
to do formerly in the like case to your Lordship's predecessor, who sifted
all those matters to the bottom.
I hope your Lordship will pardon all this trouble. God forgive them
who have occasioned it. I am only on the defensive. The equity of my
judge gives me great boldness, — knowing that I have endeavoured to keep
a good conscience, and that whereinsoever I have erred I am ready to
submit to your Lordship's judgment, and to correct whatever you think
amiss in my conduct. Being, with all sincerity, my Lord,
Your Lordship's most
Obliged and humble servant,
James Blair.
No. II.
Extracts from a Pamphlet reporting the Proceedings oj- a
Jubilee at Jamestown in Commemoration of the Second Cen-
TENNARY ANNIVERSARY OF THE SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA, MaY 13,
1807.
Due notice having been given of the intended celebration, the pre-
parations commenced on the 10th. A packet, a sloop and schooner had
arrived before the 12th, with bands of musicians and a company of artil-
lery and cannon, and with a number of visitors.
On the 12th, the beach began to assume the appearance of a regular
encampment, from the erection of tents for the sale of various articles ;
and the scene was agreeably diversified by groups of beautiful women who
were every moment passing from the main into the island. It was not
unusual to see groups of pilgrims stealing away from the throng and bustle
of preparation, from the wild revelry of joy and the enthusiasm of satis-
fied and rapturous exultation, to saunter among the ruins, and converse in
fancy among the tombs with the illustrious dead whose virtues and achieve-
ments had furnished the motives for their assemblage. It was in the
highest degree interesting and edifying to trace the effects produced upon
the minds and faces of the spectators by the view of these venerable re-
mains of other times. The eye, in surveying the ruin of the church-steeple
garlanded to its summit with irregular festoons of smilax and ivy, carried
back the mind to the interesting incidents and events of the first settlers.
A crowd of pilgrims were discovered on their hands and knees within
the churchyard, removing the dust and rubbish from the mouldering and
mutilated tombs, and exploring with anxious though patient curiosity the
almost effaced characters which affection and piety had sketched there
in the vain expectation that they would be immortal. Whilst engaged in
APPENDIX. 421
these pious and interesting offices, a pleasing melancholy insensibly stole
over the mind ; the grosser passions of our nature, the dull pursuits of the
world, were forgotten, whilst each fior a moment by the witchery of fancy
imagined himself in the presence of those gallant and venerable spirits
that once animated and informed the mortal tenants of those graves.
As it were by general consent, the discovery of the oldest stone became
an object of general emulation, and, in the course of the examination, the
results, as they seemed to be successful, were triumphantly announced.
Not even the searchers of gold-mines, whose mania is so deservedly ridi-
culed and censured by Smith and our other historians, could have ex-
ceeded the zeal and patience with which the pilgrims of 1807 examined
every character or fragment that promised to throw light on the character
of their fathers and the antiquities of their nation.
Beyond 1682, nothing legible could be traced; but, from the freshness
of the marble bearing this date, contrasted with the surrounding masses
of mutilated and mouldering decay, it was the general impression that
this stone was comparatively young.
Among the group of objects calculated to excite reflection on such an
occasion, it was impossible to avoid noticing the growth of a sycamore,*
whose germ had been inscrutably deposited between the fissure of two
massy tombs, whose growth was gradually but certainly eifecting their
demolition. In vain did a brawny wreath of the poisoned oak, having
first wound itself round the sycamore, grasp the trembling marbles for
the purpose of averting their fall. The sycamore was a lever that in-
cessantly propelled them from their centres, and it was obvious that no-
thing but its death could save them from falling without the line of the
base. To a reflecting mind every incident is fruitful This seemed to be
a struggle between life and death; and, what may appear extraordinary, it
was the general wish that death should come off victorious in the contest.
On the loth, the dawn was ushered in by a cannon : a second announced
the first faint etchings of the sun on the edge of the horizon. During the
night, several vessels had arrived, and the eye rested with pleasure on the
spectacle of thirty-two sail at anchor in the cove, boats plying incessantly
off and on from the shore, groups of beautiful women every moment
making their appearance, crowds flocking in and from every part of the
adjacent country, and the Powhatan evolving in silent majesty his flood,
margined as far as the eye could reach with cultivated plantations and
gay villas.
About 11 o'clock, the long-deserted shores of Jamestown witnessed a
spectacle equally picturesque and impressive. It was no longer the mourn-
ful image and gloomy silence of depopulation. Thirty-two vessels graced
the ancient harbour; upward of four hundred ladies embellished the
scene, which became every moment more animated by the increasing con-
* Platanus Occidentalis
422 APPENDIX.
course of citizens, and upon which the presence of the military, and a
band of music of Captain Nestle and his company of artillerists from Nor-
folk, reflected no small lustre.
At 12 o'clock, in consequence of arrangements previously agreed upon
by the joint committees from Norfolk, Portsmouth, Petersburg, and Wil-
liamsburg, a procession marched to the ruins of the old church-steeple and
the lugubrious group of tombstones contiguous to those ruins. The order
of the procession was as follows : —
1. Bishop Madison, and the orators of the day.
2. The deputies from Norfolk, Portsmouth, Petersburg, and Williams-
burg.
3 The ladies.
4. Band of music.
5. Artillery.
6. A cannon-ball weighing five cwt., supported by eight men.*
7. Citizens at large.
During the procession, several tunes of a solemn nature were struck by
the music, and cannons fired at proper intervals. Upon reaching the niins,
the venerable Bishop of Virginia ascended a tombstone, and, in that affect-
ing, pathetic manner which characterizes all his religious effusions, poured
out a prayer strongly expressive of the national gratitude for that peculiar
protection which the Deity has been pleased to bestow on the feeble but
auspicious germ planted two hundred years ago in the wilderness, — a germ
from which a State has sprung up now highly prosperous and flourishing.
Here two sentiments equally dear to the human heart, and equally power-
ful,— religion and patriotism, — united their influence; and that influence
was irresistibly felt : pious tears were seen hanging on many a cheek fur-
rowed by age or adorned with youthful bloom.
BISHOP Madison's prayer.
0 God ! Parent Almighty, who, though unseen, upholdest this ponderous
ball, and, breathing through the immensity of space, fillest with stupendous
life all which it inhabit; Spirit invisible, Grod of our forefathers, to thee
we raise the voice of praise and thanksgiving; oh, hear us, and deign to
accept this our imperfect homage. Thou great and glorious Being, who,
according to the plans of thy wisdom, didst first inspire our forefathers
with the elevated idea of seeking an asylum for man in this Western world;
thou, who badest the terrors of death to retire from their hearts, the re-
morseless billows of the deep to be at rest, and the horrors of the howling
wilderness no longer to alarm, oh, hear, and, on this eventful day, suffer U8
to pour forth, from the fulness of our souls, the tide of reverential affec-
tion, of joy, and of gratitude; suffer us, the descendants and the heirs of
* This ball was originally brought over for the purpose of awing the aborigines.
APPENDIX. 428
those mighty men whose footsteps, under thy gracious providence, here
were first impressed to approach thy divine Majesty, to declare the won-
drous things which thou hast done for us, and to implore thy continued
protection.
Assembled in thy sight, we now prostrate ourselves before thee, upon
that ground which thou, 0 God, didst choose whereupon to rest the
wearied feet of our progenitors. Twice one hundred times hath this earth,
iu obedience to thy command, performed its faithful revolution around the
fountain of light, since thy providential goodness was here testified by our
ancestors with heartfelt songs of gratitude and praise. The stream of
time hath swept before thee the generations which since have arisen and
passed away; but we, upon whom this day hath fallen, will rejoice in thy
presence, and, with a sincere and ardent gratitude, will recall to vivid
memory thy former and thy present mercies.
Hallowed be the place where thou didst particularly manifest thy good-
ness to our forefathers, and where the heavenly plan for spreading wide
the blessings of social rights first beamed forth. It was here, 0 God, it
was on this chosen ground, that thou didst first lay the sure foundations of
political happiness. Here didst thou say to our forefathers, who, under
thy guidance, had defied the perils of an untried ocean, " Here fix youi
abode; here shall the great work of political salvation commence; here
I will strike deep the roots of an everlasting empire, where justice and
liberty and peace shall flourish in immortal vigour, to the glory of my
name and the happiness of man. Here ye shall sleep; but your sons and
your daughters shall possess the land which stretcheth wide before you;
shall convert the wilderness and solitary place into fields smiling with
plenty; shall, in ages yet to come, exceed the sands upon the sea-shore in
number; shall, when two hundred years are accomplished, here resort,
here recall to mind your valour and your sufi'erings, and here, touched
with a lively sense of the blessings vouchsafed to them, they shall exalt
and adore my name, and acknowledge that the mightiness of my arm
and the overshadowing of my Spirit hath done those great and excellent
things for them."
Such, 0 God, was thy will. To thy servants now before thee has
been given the high boon of living to see the light of that day, and of
acknowledging that thy promises are as steadfast as the everlasting hills.
To us has been given the triumph which this day afi'ords. It was thy
providence which reared the tender plant that here took root, and which
nourished it with the dews of heaven until its branches have cast their
shade from ocean to ocean. It was thy providence, gracious Benefactor
of man, which awoke in our breasts a just sense of the inappreciable value
of our rights, and infused that indomitable spirit which eff'ected a revo-
lution the most important in the annals of time, and which led to the
establishment of civil governments throughout this rising empire upon the
broad and firm basis of equal laws. It was thy providence which in-
424 APPENDIX.
spired that wisdom which hath guarded us against the horrors of war, and
which, amidst the dread convulsious that agitate the Old World, hath •itill
irradiated this thy chosen land with the blessings of peace. To thee, 0
God, we ascribe, as is most due, that never-ceasing current of national
prosperity which has daily increased, and which, under thy auspices, we
trust, will continue to increase, until its waters, spreading throughout
every region of the earth, shall gladden, with their salubrious streams,
nations which are now the victims of ambition, and thence diffuse peace
and good-will among the whole family of mankind.
Continue, gracious Benefactor, thy mercies toward us. Oh, teach us
ever to love and to reverence thy name ; teach us that the God of virtue
can love only virtue; teach us that it is thou only, the first Source of
happiness, who can secure it to the human race. Impress upon our hearts
an ardent love for thy holy religion : may its pure and sublime morality
be to us the rule of all duties : may it guard us against the debasing in
fluence of licentiousness and vice, and inspire the people of these United
States with those inflexible virtues which republics demand : may the
love of our country and obedience to law be the dignified characteristic
of citizens: may they never forget that, without religion, morality dies;
and that, without morality, republics are swept from before thee with the
besom of destruction.
Bless all the constituted authorities, and so rule their hearts and
strengthen their hands that they may drive from among us all manner
of vice.
Give prosperity to the different seminaries of learning; increase true
knowledge, and infix upon the hearts of the rising generation a just sense
of the duties which they owe to themselves, to their fellow-creatures, and
to their God.
Finally, 0 God, pardon our offences, and deign to hear our imperfect
prayer, for the sake of thy Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ.*
The prayer being over, the citizens repaired to a lawn in front of the
principal house on the peninsula, for the purpose of hearing the orations
and poems prepared for the day. Mr. B. G. Baldwin, from Winchester,
then a student at William and Mary, — afterward Judge Baldwin, of
Staunton, — spoke first. He was followed by Mr. John Madison, also a
student from the upper country. The speeches were creditable to the
* While we approve the patriotic sentiments of this prayer, we cannot but lament
the absence of that without which no prayer can be acceptable to God, — the spirit
of penitence, of true Christian humility. It was the fault of the age. Let any one,
after reading this prayer, turn back to the beginning of our work, and read that
sent over with our early colonists to be used, not by a Bishop or other minister,
but by the ofiBcers on guard in behalf of themselves and soldiers: let him compare
the two together, and he will see *he difference between the theology of 1607 and
1807.
APPENDIX. 425
patriotism and talents of these young men. Then followed two odes, by
Mr. C. B. Blanchard, of Norfolk, and Mr. Le Roy Anderson, of Williams-
burg, which were interesting to the assembly.
Two days and nights were spent in these and other exercises of a dif-
ferent character. After feasting and mirth on the island, which con-
tinued two days and nights, the scene was transferred to Williamsburg,
where another day and night was spent in like manner, — very unlike the
manner of the first days of our forefathers on the island, whose first act
was the solemn celebration of the Loi'd's Supper.
No. III.
Origin op the Names of Parishes.
[The following was furnished at my request by my friend, Mr. Hugh Blair
Grigsby, of Norfolk, to whom I am indebted for many other things in the fore-
going articles.]
My Dear Sir : — Your letter of the 18th was received last evening, and
[ hasten to reply at once to your interrogatories.
1. Augusta. — So called from the Princess Augusta, wife of Frederick,
Prince of Wales, who was the eldest son of George II., but died before his
father. The county of Augusta was created in 1738, and Frederick in the
same year, and were thus named after the Prince and Princess of Wales.
2. Dale. — This is a fancy name, probably applied from the local pro-
priety of the name, — probably from Dale Manor in England, from which
some of the vestry may have emigrated ; just as George Mason the first
called the county of Stafford from Stafford in England. (See note to George
Mason's Life in Virginia. Convention of 1776.) Thomas Dale was High-
Marshal of Virginia in 1611.
3. Beckford. — The name of a place in England, and a common name
of persons; but I know not its application here. By-the-way, its true
meaning is hec fort, (a strong beak.)
4. South Farnham. — Farnham is the name of a town in Surrey, Eng-
land, in which the Bishop of Winchester has a castle. Its products are
hops and corn. It is on the banks of the Wey.
5. Truro. — This is the name of a borough in Cornwall, England, and
is the shipping-port of the tin and copper ore found in its vicinity. Pro-
bably there were mines in the vicinity of Truro parish, in Virginia, or some
of its people came from Truro.
6. FiNCASTLE. — The name of this parish was taken from the county of
Fincastle, which was so called after the country-seat of Lord Botetourt, in
England. Fincastle county was taken from Botet('urt in 1774. In Oc*
426 APPENDIX.
tober, 1776, the county of Fincastle was divided into Kentucky, Wash-
ington, and Montgomery, — the name of Fincastle having been dropped.
The town of Fincastle, however, which had been incorporated in 1772,
retained the name.
7. Petsworth. — The true name is Petworth, and is the name of a
town in Surrey, England, which contains a church in which the Percys
were buried. If the parish were created before 1630, it was doubtless so
called in honour of Percy, who was for a short time Governor of Virginia,
and was of the noble house of Xorthumberland. A likeness of Percy (with
his amputated finger) is in our Historical Hall, — having been presented by
Conway Robinson, who saw the original portrait in England. The name
Petso, to which you allude, is only an abbreviation of '' Petswo.," which
was the old way of recording the word, as Norfolk was written "Norff.,"
■)T "Norfo."
8. Antrim. — This is the name of a parish in the county of Antrim, on
the northeast coast of Ireland, of which Belfast is one of the principal
towns, as also Lisburn and Carrickfergus, — all noted in the history of that
great effort to Saxonize Ireland. It is the head-quarters of the Protestants
and Scotch-Irish. It is an immense county of two hundred and seventy-
one thousand inhabitants. Some de.scendant of the Scotch-Irish (as were
the Lewises) gave one parish that name.
9. St. James's Northam. — Northam is a common name of a hundred
places in England, (signifying north settlement,) and corresponds with
Southam, Eastham, and Westham.
10. Stratton Major. — Stratton is the name of a town in Cornwall,
England, and individuals took the name from the town. The Strattons
came over to Virginia early and were scattered on the eastern and western
Bhores of the Chesapeake. It was doubtless named by some minister who
came over from Cornwall. That is to say, the minister suggested the name
to the representative of the county, who proposed it in the House of
Burgesses.
11. Shelburne. — Called after Lord Shelburne, who was prime minister
in England for a short time, and was regarded as friendly to the Americans.
12. Blisland. — This is a common name in England, and is synonymous
with " happy land." It is evidently applied from some local incident long
lost, or from some place in England connected with some of its parish-
ioners. The word was originally Bliss-land.
13. Saint Bride. — This should have been printed "St. Bride's." It
alludes to the spiritual marriage of St. Catharine, who, according to the
Catholic legends, had the bridal ring placed on her finger by our Saviour
in his childhood. Correggio — I think it is — has given us a superb paint-
ing of the scene. The picture (partly original) is at the house of the late
Miss Ann Herson, a Catholic lady of Norfolk, who died during the yellow
fever, and who was during her life a ministering angel to the poor, — be-
stowing her vast wealth freely in the cause of charity. As St. Catharine
APPENDIX. 427
was never married corporeally ^ she has been called the bride of Heavei, —
that is, Saint Bride. We have a street in Norfolk called Catharine, named
about the time of the erection of the parish of St. Bride.
14. Bromfield. — I overlooked Bromfield in its proper place. The
term " brom," which signifies xolld oats, is a common prefix in England;
as, Bromley, Bromwich, Bromgrove, Bromton, (now Brompton,) &c.
There are seven different places in Staffordshire, England, called Brom-
ley, and in Kent ; and it is probable that some Staffordshire colonist or
Kentish man suggested the name Bromfield, as appropriate to the position
of the church in the county of Culpepper.
15. Lynnhaven. — This was so called from the port of Lynn in the
county of Norfolk, England, and before Princess Anne, in which it now is,
was set apart as a distinct county.
16. OvERWHARTON. — This name, like that of Stratton, is that of an Eng-
lish town in the first place, and, secondly, of an individual. It may have
been called in honour of George Wharton, a native of Westmoreland, in
England, who lost all during the civil wars, and who may have been a friend
to the George Mason — the first of the name — who was a Staffordshire man
and a royalist. Or it may have been called after the Marchioness of
Wharton, who was a daughter of Sir Henry Lee, of Ditchley, — a great
royalist, — and who inherited his wealth. If Stafford had not been settled
by some strong Cavaliers, and the parish had been created after the Revo-
lution of 1688, I would suppose it was called Wharton in honour of the
author of the celebrated ballad of Lillibulero.
17. CoPLE. — This should correctly be written Copple. The word ia
common in Cornwall and in the mining-counties of England, and meana
a vessel used in refining metals. It was common, three hundred years ago,
to name taverns after instruments; as, the "Mortar and Pestle," the "Bell,"
&c. But I know of no place in England so called. If there were any
mines in Westmoremand, the title would be appropriate enough.
18. Westmoreland. — This county was created between the years 1648
and 1653, near a century before any of its Revolutionary men were born;
60 the Northern writer cannot say properly that it was so called from its
having produced so many great men in Virginia. The true meaning of
Moreland is "greater land," from the comparative "more," which is used
in the sense of great by Gower, Chaucer, and even as late as Shakspeare, who
Bays, in King John, Act II. 5th sc, "a more requital." But, if Moreland
is derived from the Celtic word " more," then Moreland signifies great land,
or high land; as, Maccullum More is the Great Maccullum. "Gilmore"
means the henchman of the more or great man. The name of Westmore-
land was given originally without doubt to a scene of high land or a great
stretch of land of some kind, and never had allusion to the men who were
born or died in any place so called.
19. Martin's Brandon. — Brandon was so called from the town of
Brandon, in Suffolk, England. It gives the British title to the Scotch
428 APPENDIX.
Duke of Hamilton. It is situated on the river Ouse, and its name waa
given, like that of Surrey, Sussex, and Suffolk, from emigrants from those
parts of England. It appears from the appendix of Burke's History, vol.
i. p. 334, that one John Martin brought out a patent from England of five
hundred acres, which was located on the tract, or hundred, called Brandon,
on Chapoke Creek ; and, in the early enumeration of the different settle-
ments or plantations in the Colony, the farm of John Martin was always
called " Martin's Brandon." This was as early, I think, as 1630.
No. IV.
Names of some of the Old and Leading Families in Eastern
Virginia in Colonial Times and Immediately Succeeding the
Revolution.*
[The following has been furnished by Mr. Francis Cabell, of Warminster, Va.,
to whom I am indebted for other valuable communications.]
Allen, Alexander, Ambler, Archer, Armistead, Atkinson, Aylett, Acril.
Bacon, Baker, Ball, Baldwin, Ballard, Bankhead, Banister, Bassett,
Baylor, Baynham, Berkeley, Beverley, Birchett, Blair, Bland, Boiling,
Bouldin, Booth, Bowyer, Bradley, Brent, Braxton, Bowdoin, Browne,
Brooke, Broadnaxe, Burwell, Burnley, Butler, Buckner, Byrd, Basker-
ville, Branch, Booker, Blow.
Cabell, Calloway, Carr, Carrington, Carter, Cary, Catlett, Chamberlayne,
Christian, Clopton, Claiborne, Clayton, Clarke, Cocke, Coleman, Coles,
Colston, Cooper, Conway, Corbin, Custis, Crawford.
Dabney, Daniel, Davenport, Davis, Dandridge, Digges, Dulany.
Edmunds, Edwards, Eggleston, Eldridge, Ellis, Embry, Eppes, Everard,
Eyre.
Fairfax, Farley, Faulcon, Field, Fitzgerald, Fitzhugh, Fleming, Fry.
* The above list of names is a copy of one which was drawn up for the writer's
own use, and which, having grown by gradual accretion from a small nucleus, is
still very imperfect. Especially is it defective in the names of many who resided
in the lower counties, or in the Northern Neck, or the other necks between the
large rivers. It is not pretended that these families were all of the ancient "aris-
tocracy," so called, although most of them might have certain representatives among
the gentry of the country. Some of them were " novi homines" within the memory
of the living. They are here arranged in alphabetical order : those who are
acquainted with our political and social history will know how to classify them
according to another standard. Neither are they assigned to any determined locality.
The original ancestral seats might be assigned to certain counties in most cases;
but their posterity in many :*,hers is too widely dispersed.
APPENDIX. 429
Gay, Gibbon, Gilmer, Gojde, Goodwyn, Graves, Grayson, Green, Grif-
fin, Grymes, Grammar, Greeuway, Garnett, Garland, Gaines, Gliolson.
Hackley, Hansford, Hardaway, Harmer, Harrison, Harvie, Herbert,
Hill, Holliday, Holmes, Hooe, Howard, Hubard, Hairston, Heath, Heth.
Hicks, Hopkins, Hawkins, Hodges, Henderson, Haynes.
Innes, Irby.
Jefferson, Jennings, Johnson, Jones, Joynes.
Kennon, King.
Lanier, Lee, Lewis, Lightfoot, Littlepage, Littleton, Lomax, Ludweil,
Lyons, Leftwich.
Mallory, Martin, Marshall, Marye, Mason, Massie, Matthews, Mayo,
Meade, Mercer, Minor, Meredith, Merriwether, Michie, Minge, McCarty,
Moore, Moseley, Munford, Morris, Morton, Mosby.
Nash, Nelson, Newton, Nicholas, Nivison, Norvell, Noland.
Page, Parke, Parker, Peachey, Pegram, Pendleton, Penn, Peter, Pey-
ton, Phillips, Pierce, Pleasants, Pollard, Pope, Powell, Poythress, Prentiss,
Price, Prosser, Posey.
Randolph, Reade, Riddick, Roane, Robertson, Robinson, Rose, Ruffin,
Russell, Royall.
Savage, Saunders, Scarburgh, Selden, Shepherd, Short, Skelton, Skip-
with. Slaughter, Spottswood, Stanard, Stevenson, Stith, Stokes, Steptoe,
Strother, Swann, Syme, Spencer.
Tabb, Talbot, Taliafero, Tayloe, Taylor, Tazewell, Terry, Thornton,
Todd, Travis, Trent, Tucker, Tyler.
Upshur, Upshaw ; Venable, Vaughn.
Waller, Walker, Walton, Wade, Ward, Waryng, Washington, Watkins,
Watson, West, Wickham, Webb, Whiting, Westwood, Wilkins, Wilcox,
Willis, Winston, Williams, Withers, Wood, Woodson, Wise, Wormley,
Wyatt, Wythe.
Yates, Yelverton.
A very few Scotch and Irish names are found in this list, — still more of
Welsh; but the great body of them are English or British, (other than
Saxon.)*
* Welsh Names to be found in the United States and many of them in Virginia.
Atkins, Adams, Apjohn, Apthorp, Aubrey.
Balch, Barlow, Bayly, Benlow, Bevan, Bowen, Boydell, Breese, Broadus, (Broad-
hurst,) Broughton, Bulkley.
Cadwallader, Catesby, Clements, Cloyd, Conway, Coates, Cobbs, Cerwin, Crad-
dock, (Caradoc,) Crute, (Crwt,) Cunlifife.
Davis, Davies, Dawkins, Denby, Dickins, Dickinson, Dewey.
Edmunds, Edwards, Evans.
Fane, Fielding, Floyd, Fluellen.
Garland, Gerald, Glyn, Godwin, Griffin, Griffith, Gwathney, Gwillyn, Gwynn,
Gwinnett, Graves.
Hawkins, rianmer, Harris, Haskins, Hawkins, Havard, Haynes, Hopkins, Hoskins,
Herbert, Hickes, Holland, Howell, Howland, Hughes, Humphreys, Hurst.
430 APPENDIX.
No. V.
Extract from John Rolf's Letter to King James when he was in
England with Pocahontas, concerning the first Plantations
or Settlements in the Colony.
At Henrico, on the north side of the river, ninety odd myles from the
mouth thereof, and within fifteen or sixteen myles of the Falls or head of
Jenyns, Jenkyns, Judkins, Junkin, Jeffreys, Jefferson, Jacobs, James, Jones,
Jchnes, Isaacs.
Langhorn, Leigh, Lewis, Lewellyn, Lister, Lloyd, Ludlow, Lyman.
Maddock, (Madoc,) Matthews, Mansel, Meredith, Meyrick or Merrick, Morgan,
Miles, Morris, Morse, Mosby, Mostyn, Middleton.
Nichols, Norris, Nevin or Nevins.
Owen, Owens.
Pannill, Par, Parry, Parkins, Perkins, Perkinson, Peacock, Peters, Penn, Pen-
dergast, Pennant, Pickens, Phillips, Poole, Polwhell, Powell, Powys, Price, Pratt,
I'richard, Pugh, Pym.
Richards, Rees or Reece, Rice, Rivers, Rowland, Roberts, Rogers, Ragland.
Stokes, Stanley, Stephens, Shelby, Simonds or Simmons, Snowden.
Thomas, Tompkins, Trevelyan, Trevor, Tudor, Tyndale or Tindall.
Vane or Fane, Vaughn.
Watkins or Gwatkin, Williams, Winn, Wilkins, Wilkinson, Watts, Walters or Wa-
ters, Wills, Willis, Wallis, Wall, Warner, Wayles, Wilks, Womack, Wootan, Wayne.
1. The following surnames are taken from those of the ancient princes of the
country: — Cadwallader, Griffin, Gwynnett, (Gwynnedd,) Craddock, (Caradoc,)
Howell, Lewellyn, Madoc, Owen, Rice, (Rhuys,) Tudor, (Tewdor.)
2. These by adding " s" to Scripture names, — viz.: Adams, Daniels, Davies,
(Davids,) Ellis, (Elias,) Johnes or Jones, James, Isaacs, Jacobs, Matthews, Phillips,
Stephens, Symonds, Peters, Thomas.
3. And these by adding " s" to common Christian names: — Clements, Edmunds,
Edwards, Evans, Hughes, Humphreys, Jeffreys, (Geoffreys,) Richards, Roberts,
Rowlands, Wills, Williams, Watts, Walters.
4. "Ap" or "ab" means son, and is often prefixed to other names; and the affix
«' kins" denotes a collateral relation : thus, Bevan is equivalent to Ap-Evan ; Bowen,
Ap-Owen; Breese, Ap-Rees ; Parry, Ap-Harry ; Powell, Ap- Howell ; Pugh, Ap-
Hugh ; Price, Ap-Rice ; Prichard, Ap-Richard ; Penry, Ap-Henry. Atkins, (Ar-
thurs'-kin,) Dickens-son, Dawkins, Haskins, Hawkins, Hopkins, Jenkins, Judkins,
(Judas-kin,) Pickens, Perkins-son, Tomkins, Watkins, Wilkins.
5. Some of the above names may be Cornish, old British, or otherwise Celtic,
rather than strictly Welsh ; thus, the English have a proverb, —
" By Tre, Pol, and Pen
You may know the Cornish men."
6. It is curious to note how many of the original Puritans of New England, of
the Quakers of Pennsylvania, of the Baptists of Virginia and elsewhere, of advocates
of extreme republican opinions in matters of State, as well as of Revolutionary
leaders, bore names to be found in the above list. Of very many of the citizens
of the Piedmont district, in Virginia, the same may be said. Their ancestors may
have been attracted thither from its resemblance to the Principality in its physical
features.
APPENDIX. 481
that river, (being our furthest habitation within the land J are thirty-eight
men and boyes, whereof twenty-two are farmors, the rest officers and
others, all whom maintayne themselves with food and apparrell. Of this
towne one capten Smaley hath the command in the absence of capten
James Davis. Mr. Wm. Wickham minister there, who, in his life and
doctrine, give good examples and godly instructions to the people.
At Bermuda Nether Hundred, (seated on the south side of the river,
crossing it and going by land, five myles lower then Henrico by water,)
are one hundred and nineteen — which seate couteyueth a good circuite of
ground — the river running round, so that a pale running cross a neck of
land from one parte of the river to the other, maketh it a peninsula. The
houses and dwellings of the people are sett round about by the river, and
all along the pale, so farr distant one from the other, that upon anie alarme,
they can succor and second one the other. These people are injoyned by
a charter, (being incorporated to the Bermuda towne, which is made a
corporacoun,) to effect and pei'forme such duties and services whereunto
they are bound for a certain tyme, and then to have their freedome. This
corporacoun admit no farmors, unles they procure of the governor some of
the colony men to be their servants, for whom (being no members of the
corporacoun,) they are to pay rent corne as other farmors of this kind —
these are about seventeen. Others also comprehended in the said num-
ber of one hundred and nineteen there, are resident, who labor generallie
for the colonic; amongst whom some make pitch and tarr, potashes, char-
cole and other works, and are maintayned by the magazin — but are not
of the corporacoun. At this place (for the most part) liveth capten
Peacdly, deputy marshal and deputy governor. Mr. Alexander Whitaker,
(sonne to the reverend and famous divine. Dr. Whitaker,) a good divine,
hath tbe ministerial charge here.
At West and Sherley Hundred (seated on the north side of the river,
lower then the Bermudas three or four myles,) are twenty-five, commanded
by capten Maddeson — who are imployed onely in planting and curing
tobacco, — with the pi'ofitt thereof to clothe themselves and all those who
labor about the generall business.
At James Towne (seated on the north side of the river, from West and
Sherley Hundred lower down about thirty-seven myles,) are fifty, under
the command of lieutenant Sharpe, in the absence of capten Francis
West, Esq., brother to the right ho'ble the Le. Lawarre, — whereof thirty-
one are farmors; all theis maintayne themselves with food and rayment.
Mr. Richard Bucke minister there — a verie good preacher.
At Kequoughtan (being not farr from the mouth of the river, thirty-
seven miles below James Towne on the same side,) are twenty — whereof
'eleven are farmors; all those also maintayne themselves as the former.
Capten George Webb commander. Mr. Wm. Mays minister there.
At Dales-Gift (being upon the sea, neere unto Cape Charles, about
thirty my'es from Kequoughtan,) are seventeen, under the command of one
432 APPENDIX.
lieutenant Cradock ; all these are fedd and maintayued by the colony. Theh
labor is to make salt and catch fish at the two seasons aforementioned.
So the nomber of officers and laborers are two hundred and five. The
farmor.s 81; besides woemcn and children, in everie place some — which in
all amounteth to three hundred and fifty-one persons — a small nomber to
advance so great a worke.
Theis severall places are not thus weakly man'd, as capable of no greater
nomber, (for they will maintayne many hundreds more,) — but because no
one can be forsaken without losse and detriment to all. If then so few
people, thus united, ordered and governed, doe live so happily, every one
partaking of the others labor, can keepe in possession so much ground as
will feed a far gTcater nomber in the same or better condition; and seeing
too, too many poore farmors in England worke all the yeare, rising early
and going to bed late, live penuriously, and much adoe to pay their land-
lord's rent, besides a daily karking and caring to feed themselves and
families, what happines might they enjoy in Virginia, were men sensible
of theis things, where they may have ground for nothing, more than they
can manure; reape more fruits and profitts with half the labor, void of
many cares and vexacions, and for their rent a matter of small or no
moment, I leave to your singular judgment and consideracoun, nothing
doubting, but He (who, by his infinite goodnes, with so small means,
hath settled these poore and weake beginnings so happily,) will animate,
stirr up and encourage manie others cheerfully to undertake this worke,
and will assuredly add a daily strength to uphold and maintayne what he
hath already begun.
Seeing then this languishing action is now brought to this forwardness
and strength, no person but is provided for, either by their owne or others
labors, to subsist themselves for food, and to be able to rayse commodities
for clothing and other necessaries, envy it selfe, poysoned with the venom
of aspes, cannot wound it.
Now, to drawe to a conclusion of this my poore oblacon, I would crave
your Highnes' patience a little longer — and that you would turne your
heart to a more heavenly meditacoun, wherein much joy and comfort is to
be reaped and found, of all such as shall truly, sincerely and unfeynedly
seeke to advance the honor of God, and to propagate his gospell. There
is no small hope by pietie, clemencie, curtesie and civill demeanor, (by
which meanes some are wonne to us alreadie,) to convert and bring to the
knowledge and true worship of Jesus Christ thousands of poore, wretched
and misbelieving people on whose faces a good christian cannot looke with-
out sorrow, pittie and compsssion, seeing they beare the image of our
Heavenlie Creator, and we and they come from one and the same mould,
especiallie we knowing that they, merely through ignorance of God and
Christ, doe run headlong, yea, with joy, into destruction and perpetuall
aamnation, — for which knowledge we are the more bound and indebted
to Almightie God, (for what were we before the gospell of Christ shined
APPENDIX. 433
amongst us?) and cannot better express our duties and thankfulness for so
great mercies, then by using such meaues to them, as it pleased him to
lend unto others to bring our forefathers and us into the waies of trueth,
— it is much to be mourned and lamented how lightlie the workes of Grod
are now a days generallie regard'id, and less sought after; but the worke
of the world, as though they were eternall, hungered for, and thirsted after
with insatiable greedines. But should we well consider, examine and
search into ourselves, what we were, and now are, there can be no heart,
(if not hardened as the nether mill stone,) but would even break itself to
pieces, and distribute to manie poore soules some parte thereof, to purge
them from their lees of synne, and to sette them in the right pathes of
holines and righteousnes, to serve the King of Heaven ; by which meanes
and God's holy assistance, no doubt they will sooue be brought to abandon
their old superstitions and idolatries, wherein they have been nursed and
trayned from their infancies, and our greatest adversaries shall not taunt
us with this reproach, "Whom of you have you wonne to christianitie?"
What a crowne of glorie shalbe sett upon their heads who shall faithfuUie
labor herein, I leave to the enjoying of them, who shall endeavour un-
feynedly to meritt the same. Fiuallie, as Caleb and Joshua in the verie
heate of grudgings, murmurings, and assemblies of the children of Israeli,
stood stoutlie for the Lord's cause, commending the goodnes of the land
they discovered, to the faces of their oppressors, and the easines to obtain
it even to the perill of their lives, so many right ho'ble and worthie per-
sonages, both here and in Virginia, (whom generallie the most parte with-
drew themselves, that the action was almost sunck downe in forgetfulnes,)
bav^e mightilie upheld this christian cause — for God, even our owne God,
did helpe them. For neither evill reports, nor slanders, nor murmurings,
noi backbitings of others, nor any disaster, did once dismay or hinder
them from upholding thereof with their good reports, incouragements, and
meanes yearelie sent to the planters, to nourish life and being in this zeal-
ous worke. I beseech God to raise up many more such, so zealous for
God's glory, to forward the same — we have tasted of some fruits thereof.
There are no great nor strong castles, nor men like the sons of Anack, to
hinder our quiet possession of that land. God's hand hath been mightie
in the preservacoun thereof hitherto; what need we then to feare, but to
goe up at once as a peculiar people, marked and chosen by the finger of
God, to possess it, for undoubtedly he is with us. And as for murmurers,
slanderers and backsliders, a due porcoun shalbe given them for their re-
ward. So the blessings of Caleb and Joshua shall fall upon all those that
constantly persevere to the end.- Thus, craving your gracious pardon for
my rude boldnes, beseaching God to send you the fulnes of his blessings
in this world and in the world to come, I rest,
Your highnes' most faithful and loyall subject;
John Rolf.
Vol. II.— 28
434 APPENDIX.
No. VI.
The following address and resolutions of the patriots of the Northern
Neck of Virginia, in the year 1765, immediately after the passage of the
Stamp Act, properly belongs to the article on Washington parish, Westmore-
land. It was drawn up by Richard Henry Lee, whose name is first on the
list. It is said to have been the first public association in the land for the
resistance to that act.
Roused by danger, and alarmed at attempts, foreign and domestic, to
reduce the people of this country to a state of abject and detestable slavery,
by destroying that free and happy constitution of government under which
they have hitherto lived, — We, who subscribe this paper, have associated,
and do bind ourselves to each other, to God, and to our country, by the
firmest ties that religion and virtue can frame, most sacredly and punctu-
ally to stand by, and with our lives and fortunes to support, maintain, and
defend each other in the observance and execution of these following
articles.
First. — We declare all due allegiance and obedience to oar lawful
Sovereign, George the Third, King of Great Britain. And we determine
to the utmost of our power to preserve the laws, the peace and good order
of this colony, as far as is consistent with the preservation of our constitu-
tional rights and liberty.
Secondly. — As we know it to be the birthright privilege of every British
subject, (and of the people of Virginia as being such,) founded on reason,
law, and compact, that he cannot be legally tried, but by his peers, and
that he cannot be taxed, but by the consent of a Parliament, in which he
is represented by persons chosen by the people, and who themselves pay
a part of the tax they impose on others. If therefore any person or per-
sons shall attempt, by any action or proceeding, to deprive this colony of
those fundamental rights, we will immediately regard him or them as the
most dangerous enemy of the community; and we will go to any ex-
tremity, not only to prevent the success of such attempts, but to stigmatize
and punish the offender.
Thirdly. — As the Stamp Act does absolutely direct the property of the
people to be taken from them without their consent expressed by their
representatives, and as in many cases it deprives the British American
subject of his right to trial by jury; we do determine, at every hazard,
and, paying no regard to danger or to death, we will exert every faculty
to prevent the execution of the said Stamp Act in any instance whatsoever
within this colony. And every abandoned wretch, who shall be so lost to
virtue and public good, as wickedly to contribute to the introduction or
fixture of the Stamp Act in this colony, by using stamp paper, or by any
other means, we will, with the utmost expedition, convince all such pro-
APPENDIX.
435
fligates that immediate danger and disgrace shall attend their prostitute
purposes.
Fourthly. — That the last article may most surely and effectually be
executed, we engage to each other, that whenever it shall be known to
any of this association, that any person is so conducting himself as lo
favour the introduction of the Stamp Act, that immediate notice shall be
given to as many of the association as possible; and that every individual
so informed shall, with expedition, repair to a place of meeting to be
appointed as near the scene of action as may be.
Fifthly. — Each associator shall do his true endeavour to obtain as many
signers to this association as he possibly can.
Sixthly. — If any attempt shall be made on the liberty or property of
any associator for any action or thing done in consequence of this agrree-
ment, we do most solemnly bind ourselves by the sacred engagements
above entered into, at the utmost risk of our lives and fortunes, to restore
such associate to his liberty, and to protect him in the enjoyment of his
property.
In testimony of the good faith with which we resolve to execute this
association, we have this 27th day of February, 1766, in Virginia, put our
hands and seals hereto.
Richard Henry Lee
Will. Robinson
Lewis Willis
Thos. Lud. Lee
Samuel Washington
Charles Washington
Moore Fauntleroy
Francis Lightfoot Lee
Thomas Jones
Rodham Kenner
Spencer M. Ball
Richard Mitchell
Joseph Murdock
Richd. Parker
Spence Monroe
John Watts
Robt. Lovell
John Blagge
Charles Weeks
Willm. Booth
Geo. Turberville
Alvin Moxley
Wm. Flood
John Ballantine, Junr.
William Lee
William Sydnor
John Monroe
William Cocke
Willm. Grayson
Wm. Brockenbrough
Saml. Selden
Richd. Lee
Daniel Tibbs
Francis Thornton, Juni
Peter Rust
John Lee, Jr.
Francis Waring
John Upshaw
Meriwether Smith
Thos. Roane
Jas. Edmondson
Jas. Webb, Junr.
John Edmondson
Jas. Banks
Smith Young
Laur. Washington
W. Roane
Rich. Hodges
Jas. Upshaw
Jas. Booker
436
APPENDIX.
Thos. Chilton
Richard Buckner
Jos. Pierce
Will. Chilton
John Williams
John Blackwell
Winder S. Kenner
Wm. Bronaugh
Wm. Peirce
John Berryman
John Dickson
John Brooue
Edwd. Sanford
Charles Chilton
Edwd. Sanford
Daniel McCarty
Jer. Rush
Edwd. Ransdell
Townshend Dade
John Ash ton
W. Brent
Francis Foushee
John Smith, Jour,
Wm. Ball
Thos. Barnes
Jos. Blackwell
Reuben Meriwether
Edw. Mountjoy
Wm. J. Mountjoy
Thos. Mountjoy
John Mountjoy
Gilbt. Campbell
Jos. Lane
A. Montague
Rich'd Jeffries
John Suggett
John S. Woodcock
Robt. Wormeley Carter
John Beale, Junr.
John Newton
Will. Beale, Junr.
Chs. Mortimer
John Edmondson, Jr.
Charles Beale
Peter Grant
Thompson Mason
Jona. Beckwith
Jas. Samford
John Belfield
W. Smith
John Augt. Washington
Thos. Belfield
Edgcomb Suggett
Henry Francks
John Bland, Junr.
Jas. Emerson
Thos. Logan
Jo. Milliken
Ebenezer Fisher
Hancock Eustace
John Richards
Thos. Jett
Thos. Douglas
Max. Robinson
John Orr.
No. VII.
Synopsis of Assembly Acts Relating to the Protestant Epis-
copal Church.
It was my intention to have written an article on the last years of the
Protestant Episcopal Church of Virginia, beginning with the Act of As-
sembly in 1776, which suspended the salaries of the clergy, and ending
AIPENDIX. 437
With that which confiscated the glebes, in 1802. But I find the same so
much better done in this and the two following numbers of this Appendix
that I cannot hesitate between them. The summary of Acts and Memo-
rials has been furnished me by my young friend, Mr. John Eston Cooke,
of Richmond, Virginia, who, with great care, has examined all the docu
ments on the subject which are laid up in the archives of the State, and
presented the following result, for which my readers, as well as myself,
will owe him many thanks : —
1. The first Act aimed at the Established Church was passed at a Grene-
ral Assembly begun and held at the Capitol, in Williamsburg, on the 7th
October, 1776, — the first year of the Commonwealth. This Act is inte-
resting in an historical point of view, as the first public exhibition of the
dislike of a large class of the community for the English Establishment.
After reciting that much doubt existed touching the application of the laws
of Parliament upon religious matters to the Commonwealth of Virginia,
the Act proceeds to declare that all such laws " which render ci'iminal the
maintaining any opinions in matters of religion, forbearing to repair to
church, or the exercising any mode of worship whatsoever, or which pre-
scribe punishments for the same, shall henceforth be of no force or validity
in this Commonwealth." After the passage of the Act, "all dissenters,
of whatever denomination, from the said Church, shall be totally free from
all levies, taxes, and impositions whatever, toward supporting and main-
taining the said Church, as it now is or hereafter may be established, or
its ministers." It is nevertheless provided that the vestries of the difi'erent
parishes shall levy and assess upon the tithables, including dissenters, as
before, all the salaries and arrearages due the ministers up to the first of
the ensuing January. These assessments are also directed where the ves-
tries, counting upon them, have made engagements; and the former pro-
visions for the poor are directed to be continued, conformist and dissenting
tithables contributing.
The fourth section reserves to the Church her glebe lands held at the
time, her churches and chapels built or then contracted for, and all books,
ornaments, and decorations used in worship ; also, all arrearages of money
or tobacco then due, and the "perpetual benefit and enjoyment" of all
private donations.
The Act winds up with directions for taking a list of tithables, and ends
by declaring that the old law of 22 George II., for the payment and support
of the clergy, should be "suspended" until the termination of the next
General Assembly.
The Assembly contented itself thereafter for several years with affirming
simply this "suspension" of the old law
2. But at the session commencing October, 1779, it distinctly erased
the old statute, declaring that this and "all and every other Act or Acta
providine salaries for th<? ministers, and authorizing the vestries to levy the
438 APPENDIX.
same, shall be, and the same are hei'eby, repealed." The former provisions
are made, however, for arrearages of salary, the performance of engage-
ments, and the support of the poor. For these purposes all tithables.
whether conformists or dissenters, are to be levied upon as before.
3. There was no new legislation then until the year 1784. In that year,
in compliance with the petitions of the clergy, the Church was incorporated
under the name of "The Minister and Vestry of the Protestant Episcopal
Church" — in each parish. They were to hold and enjoy all which the old
Act of 1776 permitted them to possess, and could sue or be sued like other
corporations. An exception is made in the case of the glebe in the cotnty
of Augusta, where, until the Church was organized, the overseers of the
poor were to receive and apply the proceeds for the repairing of the church,
the grounds, &c., and the support of the poor.
The second clause directs that the vestries shall decide by vote, — the
minister voting with the rest, and having no negative voice.
The third clause grants to the minister and vestry power to receive and
hold every species of property, real and personal, for the Church, and
to improve it as they think best; but the Church cannot derive from these
tenements, in any case, more than eight hundred pounds income. They
may use these proceeds in any manner they desire for the cause of religion
and education.
The other clauses direct that the vestry shall consist of twelve "able
and discreet men," to be elected by the members of the Church, "every
third year forever j" that they shall, with the minister, present to the county
court, triennially, a statement of all property held, real or personal, by the
Church, verified by oath, failing to comply with which they shall forfeit to
the Commonwealth one hundred pounds, and in case of further contumacy
cease to be a body corporate. If the annual revenue exceeds eight hun-
dred pounds, the subject shall be laid before the Assembly.
The Act ends by repealing all former laws touching the internal govern-
ment of the Church, its liturgies, mode of worship, fasts, festivals, &c. All
such are to be decided by Conventions, in which are vested all the powera
of discipline, change, and general government.
At this same term of 1784, the vestry of South Farnham parish, in
Essex, were declared "dissolved," having supplied vacancies in their body
without consulting the freeholders. These latter were directed to meet
and elect a vestry.
4. The f regoing is a summary of the Acts of the General Assembly
touching the Established Church up to the time of the passage of the
"Act for establishing Religious Freedom." This was passed December 16,
1785, and need not be recited.
5. In January, 1799, the Assembly declared that all the old legislation,
above recited, in which the existence of a Governmental Church was di-
rectly or indirectly recognised, should thenceforth be repealed; that no
Kuch Establishment had ^egally existed since the Commonwealth; and that
APPENDIX. 43&
the Act of "Religious Freedom" was the tnie exposition of the Bill of
Rights and the Constitution.
6. The final legislation of the General Asscmhly was the Act "Con-
cerning the glebe-lands and churches within the Commonwealth," passed
January 12, 1802. The preamble declares that the Act of 1799, just
referred to, "recognises the principle that all property formerly belonging
to the said Church, of every description, devolved on the good people of
this Commonwealth, on the dissolution of the British Grovernment here, in
the same degree in which the right and interest of the said Church was
derived therein from them." The Assembly does not wish, however, to
"disturb the possession of the present incumbents," though it has the
"right of authorizing a sale of all such property indiscriminately." There-
fore the overseers of the poor shall only sell such glebe-lands as are vacant
or shall become so. Leases granted by the former officers of the Church
shall be respected; but the overseers shall sue for and recover all moneys
due from tenants, and shall receive all other moneys to which the Church
is entitled. The proceeds of the sales, &c., shall be in all cases appropri-
ated by the overseers for the benefit of the poor, or for any other purpose
which a majority of the freeholders may elect: Provided, that these
appropriations shall not be for "any religious purpose whatsoever."
Nothing in the Act, however, shall authorize a sale of the churches and
their fixtures, furniture, or appliances, or the churchyards, nor affect any
private donation prior to January 1, 1777, for Church or other purposes,
where there is any person in being entitled to take the same, or affect the
property of any kind "acquired by private donations or subscriptions by
the said Church since the date last mentioned."
From the Manuscript Journal of the House of Delegates, 1773—74, and
Manuscript Archives.
Thursday, the 12th of May, 14 George III., 1774. — "A petition of
sundry persons of the community of Christians called Baptists, and other
Protestant dissenters, whose names are thereunto subscribed, was presented
to the House and read, setting forth that the toleration proposed by the
bill, ordered at the last session of the General Assembly to be printed and
published, not admitting public worship except in the daytime, is incon-
sistent with the laws of England, as well as the practice and usage of the
primitive Churches, and even of the English Church itself; that the night
season may sometimes be better spared by the petitioners from the neces-
sary duties of their callings, and that they wish for no indulgences which
oiay disturb the peace of Government," &c.
The action of the House not discoverable.
On the VI th May, 1774. — "A petition of several members of the Pres-
byterian Church, in the county of Bedford, setting forth that many well-
disposed persons of their community had made contributions, to which
440 APPENDIX.
Others are willing to add, for supporting their clergy in a method more
convenient <han the ordinary one by subscription, but that the pious in-
tentions of such benefactors cannot be effectually carried into execution,
the elders of the Church not being incorporated so as to be capable of
taking and holding land and slaves for the use of the ministers, and there-
fore praying that the said elders may be enabled to take and hold land
and slaves to such uses, under proper regulations."
No action, owing to political matters.
May 14, 1774. — " The vestry of the parish of Frederick ask leave to
leyy on the tithables, for the minister's salary, "one hundred and fifty
pounds of current money of Virginia, in lieu of the tobacco and cask and
the legal allowance for shrinkage."
The petition is granted, — Mr. Wood, Mr. Edward Pendleton, and Mr.
Zane being directed to prepare the bill
, On May 23, 1774. — The petitions of sundry inhabitants of the county
and parish of Augusta, representing that " the parish is upward of ninety
miles long and near eighty miles wide, and that .there are between three
and four thousand tithables in it, and but one church ; therefore praying it
may be divided."
On May 24, 1774. — "Ordered, That the members of this House do
attend in their places at the hour of ten in the forenoon, on the first day of
June next, in order to proceed with the Speaker and the mace to the church
in this city, and that the Rev. Mr. Price be appointed to read prayers
and the Rev. Mr. Gwatkin to preach a sermon suitable to the occasion."
Richard Henry Lee is to request Mr. G. to comply. Mr. G. has "a
disorder in his breast," and Mr. Price preached. This was the day ap-
pointed by Parliament for the closing of Boston Harbour.
Many petitions ask the dissolution of vestries for malfeasance of various
sorts, — that parishes may be altered, &c.
The first great Act aimed at the perpetuity of the Established Church
was passed at the session commencing in October, 1776. I find a very
striking paper among the archives, which seems to have had a large share
in the passage of the subsequent Act. It is labelled "Dissenters' Pet'n,
1776, Oct. 24. Ref'd to Com. of Religion."
The petition is as follows : —
" To THE Honourable the General Assembly of Virginia : —
"The memorial of the Presbytery of Hanover humbly represents, That
your memorialists are governed by the same sentiments which inspire the
United States of Ame "ica, and are determined that nothing in our power
APPENDIX. 441
and influence shall be wanting to give success to their common cause. We
would also represent that the dissenters from the Church of England in
this country have ever been desirous to conduct themselves as peaceable
members of the civil government, for which reason they have hitherto sub-
mitted to several ecclesiastic burdens and restrictions that are inconsistent
with equal liberty. But now, when the many and grievous oppressions
of our mother-country have laid this continent under the necessity of
casting off the yoke of tyranny and of forming independent governments
upon equitable and liberal foundations, we flatter ourselves that we shall
be freed from all the encumbrances which a spirit of domination, prejudice,
or bigotry hath interwoven with most other political systems. This we are
the more strongly encouraged to expect by the Declaration, of Rights, so
universally applauded for that dignity, firmness, and precision with which
it delineates and asserts the privileges of society and the prerogatives of
human nature, and which we embrace as the magna charta of our Com-
monwealth, that can never be violated without endangering the grand super-
structure it was destined to sustain. Therefore we rely upon this Declara-
tion, as well as the justice of our honourable Legislature, to secure us the
free exercise of religion according to tke dictates of our consciences ; and we
should fall short in our duty to ourselves and the many and numerous con-
gregations under our care were we upon this occasion to neglect laying
before you a statement of the religious grievances under which we have
hitherto laboured, that they no longer may be continued in our present
form of government.
"It is well known that in the frontier-counties — which are justly sup-
posed to contain a fifth part of the inhabitants of Virginia — the Dissenters
have borne the heavy burdens of purchasing glebes, building churches,
and supporting the Established clergy, where there are very few Episcopa-
lians, either to assist in bearing the expense or to reap the advantage; and
that throughout the other parts of the country there are also many thou-
sands of zealous friends and defenders of our State who, besides the invidious
and disadvantageous restrictions to which they have been subjected, annually
pay large taxes to support an Establishment from which their consciences
and principles oblige them to dissent, — all which are confessedly so many
violations of their natural rights, and in their consequences a restraint upon
freedom of inquiry and private judgment.
**In this enlightened age, and in a land where all of every denomination
are united in the most strenuous efforts to be free, we hope and expect that
our representatives will cheerfully concur in removing every species of re-
ligious as well as civil bondage. Certain it is, that every argument for
civil liberty gains additional strength when applied to liberty in the con-
cerns of religion; and there is no argument in favour of establishing
the Christian religion but what may be pleaded with equal propriety for
establishing the tenets of Mahomed by those who believe the Alkoran;
or if this be not true, it is at least impossible for the magistrate to adjudge
442 APPENDIX.
the right of preference among the various sects that profess the Christian
faith, without erecting a chair of infallibility, which would lead us back
to the Church of Rome.
" We beg leave further to represent that religious establishments are
highly injurious to the temporal interests of any community. Without
insisting upon the ambition and the arbitrary practices of those who are
favoured by Government, or the intriguing, seditious spirit which is com-
monly excited by this as well as every other kind of oppression, such esta-
blishments greatly retard population, and, consequently, the progress of
arts, sciences, and manufactures. Witness the rapid growth and improve-
ment of the Northern Provinces compared with this. No one can deny
that the more early settlement and the many superior advantages of our
country would have invited multitudes of artificers, mechanics, and all other
useful members of society to fix their habitation among us, who have either
remained in the place of their nativity, or preferred worse civil government
and a more barren soil where they might enjoy the rights of conscience
more fully than they had a prospect of doing it in this. From which we
infer that Virginia might have now been the capital of America and a
match for the British arms, without depending upon either for the neces-
saries of war, had it not been prevented by her religious Establishment.
" Neither can it be made appear that the Gospel needs any such civil
aid. We rather conceive that when our blessed Saviour declares his king-
dom is not of this world he renounces all dependence upon State power;
and, as his weapons toere sjnritual, and were only designed to have influence
upon the judgment and heart of men, we are persuaded that if mankind
were left in the quiet possession of their unalienable religious privileges,
Christianity, as in the days of the apostles, would continue to prevail and
flourish in the greatest purity, by its own native excellence and under the
all-disposing providence of God.
"We would also humbly represent that the only proper objects of civil
government are the happiness and protection of men in their present state
of existence, the security of the life, liberty, and property of the citizens,
and to restrain the vicious and encourage the virtuous, by wholesome laws
equally extending to every individual ; but that the duti/ which we owe
our Creator, and the manner of discharying it, can only he directed by
reason and conviction, and is nowhere cognizable but at the tribunal of the
Universal Judge.
"Therefore we ask no ecclesiastical establishment for ourselves, neither
can we approve of them when granted to others : this, indeed, would be
giving exclusive or separate emoluments or privileges to one set (cr sect)
of men, without any special j^ublic services, to the common reprjach or
injury of every other denomination. And, for the reasons recited, we are
induced earnestly to entreat that all laws now in force in this Commonwealth
ffh'ich. countenance religious domination may be speedily repealed, — that
all of every religious sect may be protected in the full exercise of tb«!ir
APPENDIX. 443
several modes of worship, and exempted from all taxes for the support of
any Church whatsoever, further than what may be agreeable to their own
private choice or voluntary obligation. This being done, all partial and
invidious distinctions will be abolished, to the great honour and interest
of the State, and every one be left to stand or fall according to merit,
which can never be the case so long as any one denomination is established
in preference to others.
"That the Great Sovereign of the universe may inspire you with unani-
mity, wisdom, and resolution, and bring you to a just determination on all the
important concerns before you, is the fervent prayer of your memorialists.
" Signed by order of the Presbytery.
"John Todd, Moderator.
" Caleb Wallace, P. Clerk."
On June 3, 1777, the Presbytery of Hanover petitioned the Assembly
again. Thanking it for the late Act, (of 1776,) they proceed to remonstrate
against "a general assessment" which was left to be decided by the next
Assembly. If the Legislature have any power over religion and its mi-
nisters, it has all power, and might oppress and enslave. The memorialists
declare that these consequences are " so entirely subversive of religious
liberty, that, if they should take place in Virginia, we should be reduced
to the melancholy necessity of saying, with the apostles in like cases,
'Judge ye whether it be best to obey God or man,' and also of acting as
they acted."
Nov. 28, 1777. — The petition of the inhabitants of Christ Church
parish, in the county of Lancaster, says that in 1759, by an Act of As-
sembly, a new vestry was elected in the parish, but death has now reduced
them to four. These four have "elected into that office a person whom
we think not friendly to the glorious cause we are now engaged in; and,
as we are now declared a free and independent people, we think we have
a right to the choice of a new set of rulers." They therefore pray a disso-
lution of the tory vestry and power to elect a new one. This petition is
signed by one hundred and twenty-eight persons, apparently the principal
men of the county. A counter-petition is filed, signed by seven persons,
declaring that the vestryman in question — Mr. William Montague — is not
a tory, though he had been so considered, and praying a refusal of the
petition to dissolve the body. But the vestry was dissolved."
On the 26th November, 1778, various inhabitants of King William
county (Protestant Episcopal) petition and say that the Act suspending
the salaries of clergymen was regarded as temporary : they hope some
provision will be made. They do not wish conscientious Dissenters to
contribute to the support of the Church; "that men of such principles and
persuasions should be exonerated from the support of a clergy so diiferent
44^ APPENDIX.
in point of worstip from them, must be confessed by all to be just and
reasonable." The clergy are, however, men of real merit and fine educa-
tion, and deserve some assistance from the Legislature. The Dissenters
are declared to be, often, men of " disorderly and dissipated lives," who
seduce the poor from their labour and negroes from their duties.
This memorial was " deferred" to the next Assembly.
Petitions from Amherst, Culpepper, Caroline, &c. for a general assess-
ment. This last — Caroline — memorial, (Episcopal,) of date December 5,
1777, states that the memorialists "have seen an Act of the last session
of Assembly, by which dissenters from the Church of England are ex-
empted from all levies for the support of the said Church or its ministers,
and highly approve thereof, as founded on principles of justice and pro-
priety, and favourable to religious liberty : at the same time they beg
leave to suggest that as, in their opinion, public worship is a duty we owe
the Creator and Preserver of mankind, and productive of effects the most
beneficial to society, it ought to be enjoined and regulated by the Legis-
lature, so as to preserve public peace, order, and decency, without pre-
scribing a mode or form of worship to any." It then declares that the
voluntary-contribution system will cause difficulties between the clergy
and people and discourage men of genius and injure religion. A general
assessment is then prayed.
December 2, 1778, referred to next session.
November 6, 1778. — Sundry (Episcopal) inhabitants of the county of
Cumberland declare that the Dissenters are seducing the ignorant and
sowing "discontent between husbands and their wives." They have
" seen meetings in the night of our slaves, without our consent, which
could produce nothing but deeds of darkness," and the Dissenters had
produced "disobedience and insolence to masters." They "wish to see a
well-regulated toleration established," that men " may be permitted to
serve God in their own way, without molestation. . . . But we wish also
that these nightly meetings may be prohibited under severe penalties."
Lastly, they pray that " some regulation may be adopted to make the clergy
of the Established Church accountable for their conduct, and be removed
for their misbehaviour."
This was rejected December 2, 1778.
October 29, 1778. — " Some of the people called Seceding Presbyterians"
pray that they may thereafter make oath "by holding up the right hand"
only; which petition was granted.
November 10, 1779. — " Divers of the freeholders and other free inhabit-
ants of Amherst county" — who afterwards describe themselves as " com-
posed of Church of England men, Presbyterians, Baptists, and Method-
APPENDIX. 445
ists" — " unanimously and witli one voice declare their hearty assent, con-
currence, and approbation of the Act of January, 1779, declaring all
Church-laws null, and the Act of Religious Freedom the true exposition
of the Bill of Rights." Signed by a great number. Many for and against.
May 12, 1780. — Sundry inhabitants of Amelia pray that marriage-
li senses shall not continue to be directed, in the old form, to Episcopal
ministers ; that certain persons therefrom doubted the validity of marriages
by other than the Episcopal clergy: they pray that the ceremony "without
the use of the ring and the service" may be declared lawful. Successful.
It led to the bill legitimizing children of all such marriages by Dissenting
ministers. The Baptist Association at Sandy Creek, Charlotte, petition
for the same. Also other Baptist associations.
November, 1780. — Petition and counter-petition of the inhabitants of
Cumberland. The Presbyterians pray the Assembly to declare all non-
juring clergymen incapable of preaching. The Episcopalians indignantly
declare the Presbyterians " disorderly and turbulent, desirous of giving
laws to all societies," and fond of noise and violence. The real object of
their (the Presbyterians') petition, the memorialists say, is to ruin the Rev.
Christopher MacRae, who, although prevented by conscientious scruples
from taking the oath, is a most benevolent man, a pattern of piety, and
one who wishes liberty and happiness to all mankind. The ruin of the
Church in Cumberland is declared to be the ultimate object of the
Presbyterians.
November 22, 1781. — Sundry inhabitants of Prince Edward county
pray that all the old vestries may be dissolved by Act of Assembly and
new ones elected by the body of the community at large. Dissenters to be
equally competent with conformists to the post of vestrymen, and the sole
proviso to be "attachment to the present form of government." Referred
to next Assembly, and, June 9, 1782, rejected.
November 12, 1784. — The Hanover Presbytery pray that there may be
no incorporations, and, if a general assessment is decided upon, that it may
be as liberal as possible.
Jtme 4, 1784. — The Protestant Episcopal clergy file their memorial.
From this time — that is to say, the date of the Act of " Religious
Freedom" — the enemies of the Establishment redoubled their efi"orts to
overthrow the last vestiges of its former power and usefulness. The peti-
tions are throughout of this description, and need not be particularly
referred to. The concessions of the Assembly had evidently given them
hope and resolution, and they seem to have employed every possible means
in their power to cast discredit on the Episcopacy.
446 APPENDIX.
During the same period, the petitions from parishes praying a dissolu-
tion of old, inanimate vestries and a sale of unoccupied glebes indicate
that the Establishment was almost at its last gasp. There are great num-
bers of these petitions. The foregoing is the conclusion which will be
arrived at from reading them. It is not necessary to publish them.
No. VIII.
Dr. Hawks's Opinion on the Glebe Case, taken from his Work
ON THE Church of Virginia.
[I had intended to examine for myself the question of the constitution-
ality of the law for selling the glebes so far as to form and express an
opinion on the subject, though it would have been of very little worth;
but want of time, and the reading of this and the next number of the ap-
pendix, containing Dr. Hawks's candid statement of the case and Judge
Story's able opinion, have led me to a course which will, I am .sure, be
greatly preferred by all my readers. I do not hesitate to say that I have
always inclined to the belief that the Act was unconstitutional. 1 have
long laboured, but in vain, to obtain the opinion of Judge Pendleton, which
was to have been delivered the day after his sudden death, and which would
have decided the question in favour of the Church. I hope it may yet be
found. At the same time, I must declare that I have always rejoiced in
that Act of the Assembly, so far as the Church was concerned. Such has
also been the feeling of almost all our clergy and laity with whom I have
ever conversed. Could we have had the glebes restored to us by a decision
of the courts, or even by the Act of Assembly, we should have opposed the
effort ; it being injurious to the cause of religion in our own Church and
in the State. The history of the glebes and glebe-houses in Virginia has,
from first to last, been a most mortifying one. With comparatively few
exceptions, as may be seen on the old vestry-books, they were not worthy
of the residence of our ministers, and, for the most part, were rented out
for very small sums of money — even for forty, thirty, and twenty shil-
lings— or surrendered to vestries on condition that the casks or hogsheads
for the tobacco were furnished. When the salaries were withdrawn, only
a few of the glebes held out any inducement to the incumbents to remain,
as the voluntary contributions were very small and often nothing at all.
For these few the Episcopalians earnestly contended, and for their sale
some other denominations as earnestly sought. I doubt not that there were
those who advocated their sale from a sincere conviction that it was re-
ligiously and politically right, while it cannot be doubted that, in many
instances, sectarian feeling and political ambition had much to do with it. j
APPENDIX. 447
As to the arguments by which a sale of the glebes was urged upon the
liCgislature, the principal were as follows : —
1. That most of the glebe-lands were originally purchased with money
levied upon the people at large, and that, consequently, whenever a majority
of the people desired a sale of the lands, they should be sold and the money
applied to such other use as might seem best to them.
2. That if the Church was permitted to retain the property, a certain
pre-eminence and superiority was thereby conferred, which was odious in
a republic and inconsistent with its institutions.
3. That the fourth article of the Declaration of Rights of Virginia as-
serted, ''That no man or set of men are entitled to exclusive or separate
emoluments or privileges but in consideration of public services;" but the
enjoyment of the glebes did confer upon the Church "exclusive emolu-
ments from the community," and was consequently unconstitutional.
To the first of these arguments it was answered that some of the glebea
were a private donation ; that those which were purchased were bought
many years before, — some of them more than a century, — and that the
" people" with whose money the purchase was made were not Dissenters,
(for there were few or none in the Colony at that day,) but were members
of the Establishment, and perfectly content that their money should be
thus applied; that, having been thus applied, the "people" had voluntarily
divested themselves of it, and their descendants could not now take it back,
any more than they could other moneys of which their ancestors had seen
fit willingly to deprive themselves : it was also answered that, upon this
principle of a restoration to the "people" of money which the "people"
once gave, there should obviously be returned no more than such a part as
would be proportionate to the original number of Dissenters among the
people who purchased ; for, if those who now asked for a sale of the glebes
had, from conscientious motives, dissented from the faith of their fathers,
they should thence learn that their fathers also had consciences, and with
no justice or propriety could they seek to undo what their ancestors
had done with a good conscience. But, as to Dissenters among the ori-
ginal purchasers, there were either none at all, or, at best, the number
was very limited ; and it was certain that there were no Baptists among
them.
It was also asserted to be very questionable whether, considering the great
emigrations to the Western countiy and to other States, there was one-third
of the inhabitants remaining whose ancestors had contributed to purchase
a glebe; that, if they were sold for the benefit of that third, it would be
impossible to ascertain to whom the proceeds should be paid. If it should
be urged that "the country" first purchased them, and that now they
should be given back to "the country," then it was to be remembered that
that country by a solemn Act had declared that " in all time coming" they
should not be taken from the Church; and that if it would be unrighteous in
an individual to take back by mere force that which he had once bestowed
448 APPENDIX.
upon another, it required no small skill in casuistry to prove that similai
conduct was righteous in a State.
As to the second argument, it was said in reply that the question of
permitting the Church to retain the property was one of right, founded on
law, which republics were emphatically bound to respect. That by the
very law which released Dissenters from all taxes to support the Episcopal
Church, the Assembly of Virginia had pledged its legislative faith — the
most solemn pledge and firmest sanction which a free State could give — that
the property in dispute should "in all time coming'' be saved and reserved
to the use of the Episcopal Church. That to order a sale of property
thus solemnly reserved would tend to sap the foundation of those rights by
which property in general is held, introduce into the Acts of the Legisla-
ture instability and uncertainty, exhibit a fluctuation in law unprecedented
in Virginia, and overturn that confidence and security which the citizens
of a republic should always feel in the stability of purpose avowed by their
pelected representatives. It also said that, if pre-eminence and superiority
in the Church were evils justly dreaded, a declared preference for any
other religious denomination was no less to be deprecated; and that, if the
glebes were sold to gratify any sect or party, a distinction would be so far
manifested in its favour, and would tend to furnish it, in this patronage of
the State, with the means of establishing its own creed upon the ruins
of every other.
To the argument of unconstitutionality as deduced from the Declaration
of Rights the answer was that "the community" under the Government
established after the Revolution certainly had granted to the Church no
exclusive emoluments," for it had granted nothing: it had only confirmed
to the Church that which she had and owned and enjoyed for more than
a century before. But, in truth, the fourth article of the Declaration of
Rights had no bearing upon the question, as was evident when the whole
of it was viewed together. The article declared "that no man or set of
men are entitled to exclusive or separate emoluments or privileges from
the community, but in consideration of public services ; which, not being
descendible, neither ought the offices of magistrate, legislator, or judge, to
be hereditary," — thus showing simply an intention to prevent hereditary
honours, offices, or emoluments in the civil government.
These are the principal arguments and answers which from time to time
were presented to the Legislature upon the question of a sale of the glebes
generally : there are to be found also among the memorials and remon-
strances some which concern the sale of a glebe in some particular parish
only; and these affi)rd additional considerations for and against the measure,
founded upon the peculiar circumstances of each case, and possessing no
general interest.
Bishop Madison, in the exercise of the discretion confided to him by
the Convention of 1796, submitted to the Legislature of that year the
memorial touching the sale of the property of the Church. It was not
APPENDIX. 449
acted upon by the Assembly; but the subject, according to some former
precedents in matters concerning the Church already recorded, was sub-
mitted to the consideration of the people. Episcopalians began now to
think that their only mode of saving the glebes was, if possible, with the
concurrence of the Legislature, to draw the deterinination of the question
from before that tribunal and submit its decision to the courts of law.
With the concurrence of the standing committee, the Bishop therefore
resolved to obtain professional advice, and an opinion was sought at the
hands of some of the ablest jurists of Virginia. Bushrod Washington,
Edmund Randolph, and John Wickham were consulted, and, as the result
of their deliberations, stated : —
1. That the Protestant Episcopal Church was the exclusive owner of
the glebes.
2. That so far was the title of the Church from being impaired by the
Bill of Rights, that on no sound construction did they clash ; but that the
title of the Church stood upon precisely the same grounds with the rights
of private property, which had been recognised and secured by the prin-
ciples of the Revolution and by the Constitution.
3. That any question concerning the right of property in the glebea
could constitutionally be decided by the judiciary alone.
Having obtained this opinion, the Bishop called together the Conven^
tion in December, 1797, and, in his address, directing their attention to
the Church property, laid before them the opinion just recited.
The Convention appointed a committef to attend the discussion of their
memorial before the Legislature, and instructed them to propose to that
body that the controversy should be submitted to the decision of a proper
tribunal of justice.
The task becomes truly painful of following through the ecclesiastical
records of this period the gradual but sure descent of the Church from
level to level, each a little lower than the former, and of witnessing effort
after effort made in vain by her few remaining friends to stay her down-
ward course. The picture presented by the Bishop, in one of his addresses
about this time, offers to our contemplation a suffering clergy, temples in
every stage of dilapidation and decay, and an increasing indifference to the
interests of the Church, which told too plainly that the protracted struggle
was fast driving Churchmen into the hopelessness of despair.
The last Conventional effort of which we have any record was made in
1799. By a resolution of that year, the Bishop was directed to employ
counsel to defend the rights of the Church before the judiciary whenever
it should be deemed most proper to bring the question before it ; and it
is to be presumed that the Church now sat down in patience to await the
blow which probably was seen by all to be inevitable. The crisis came at
last ; and on the 12th of January, 1802, the Legislature passed the law
by virtue of which the glebes of Virginia were ordered to be sold for the
benefit of the public. The warfare begun by the Baptists seven-and-twenty
Vol.. II.— 29
450 APPENDIX.
years before was now finished : the Church was in ruins, and the triumph
of her enemies was complete.
If there should be those who are disposed to view this law as an illegal
encroachment upon the vested rights of the Church, it is proper to remind
them of the reasons which satisfied those who enacted it that they were
doing right. They supposed that from the beginning the property of the
glebes was in the people, not in the dcrgi/ ; and that, as the number of
lOpiscopalians in the parishes which remained was not a majority of
the people, therefore no injustice was done by the Act in question.
Many who voted for the law felt compelled to do so by the force of popu-
lar opinion.
It was not long after the passage of the Act of 1802 before the Church
found it necessary to bring the constitutionality of that law before the
proper tribunal for consideration. This was done in the year 1804, in the
celebrated case of Turpin et al. vs. Locket et al., commonly known as the
Manchester case. The defendants, as overseers of the poor, had undertaken
to sell the glebe-lands of the parish of Manchester, under the Act of 1802,
and the plaintiff's — who were the churchwardens and vestrymen — filed a
hill in Chancery to prevent the sale by an injunction.
The cause finally, by an appeal from the decree of Chancellor Wythe,
came before the (^ourt of Appeals, — the highest tribunal in Virginia, —
which at that time was composed of Judge Pendleton, the President, with
Judges Carriugton, Lyons, Roane, and Fleming. The last-named gentle-
man, however, did not sit in th^cause, because he considered himself in-
terested in the decision.
As the principles involved in the case were of great importance and the
property of the glebes was of much value, it may readily be supposed that
the cause excited a deep interest; and, after an elaborate argument, the
court declined then giving an opinion and held it under advisement. In
the vacation which succeeded. Judge Pendleton prepared his opinion in
writing. It was, that the Act of 1802 was unconstitutional, and that the
glebes belonged to the Protestant Episcopal Church. But, on the night
before the opinion was to have been pronounced, Judge Pendleton died ;
and, as Judges Carrington and Lyons were both known to be of a similar
opinion, the judgment of the court, but for the death of its President,
would have been rendered on the next day for the Church.
After the death of Judge Pendleton, Judge Tucker was appointed to
succeed him, and the cause was again argued. The grounds taken were
briefly these : — On the part of the defendants it was argued : — 1. That if
the Church had power to hold the glebes before, the American Revolution,
that event destroyed such power; and, upon a dissolution of the former
political system, the glebes devolved upon the Commonwealth.
To this it was answered that, by various legislative acts adopted after the
change in government, the very frainers of the Constitution who adopted these
acts conclusively showed that they did not suppose the Revolution had de-
APPENDIX. 451
stroyed the Church : thus, on the very day after the declaration of indepen-
dence, the Convention of Virginia altered the Book of Common Prayer, to
accommodate it to the change of affairs ; and it should here be added that
Judges Carrington and Lyons — both of whom were members of the Con-
vention of Virginia — declared in their opinion that the destruction of the
Church was not supposed at the time to have resulted from the change
of government. It was also answered that revolutions are intended to
preserve rights, not to take them away ; and that alterations in the form
of a government do not affect the rights of private property.
2. It was urged that a distinction obtains between a natural person and
an artificial body, such as a corporation; that even admitting the rights
of the first to be unmolested by a revolution, yet the rights of the latter
are thereby lost.
In reply it was said that, as all property was matter of civil institution,
and the right to it was not natural, but in all cases created by law, the ground
on which private property was held sacred applied as forcibly to a society
as it did to an individual.
3. It was argued that the Church, as a society, lost its corporate ex-
istence by the Revolution : first, because the King — one of its integral
parts — was gone ; secondly, because incorporated religious societies were
contrary to the sixteenth article of the Bill of Rights ; and, thirdly, because
the profits of the glebes were emoluments, which were forbidden by the
fourth article.
It was answered that neither of these positions was true.
1. The King never was an integral part of the Established Church, even
in England; but, if he were, then a society is not destroyed by the removal
of one of its parts, provided enough be left to carry on its operations.
2. The sixteenth article of the Bill of Rights relates simply to the rights
of conscience and the mutual charities due from man to man.*
3. The fourth article does not relate to property at all, but to emolu-
ments and privileges subsequently to be created in favour of the great
officers of government, and refers to magistrates, legislators, and judges
only.
Upon the second argument. Judges Carrington and Lyons still retained
their former opinion ; Judge Tucker concurred in opinion with Judge
Roane that the Act of 1802 was constitutional, and that the glebes might
be sold ; while Judge Fleming, who was known to agree with Judges
Carrington and Lyons, still declined, for the reason before given, to sit in
the case. Thus the court was equally divided, and, of course, the decree
* The article is in these words: — " That religion, or the duty which we owe to
our Creator and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and
conviction, not by force or violence, and therefore all men are equally entitled to the
free exercise of religion accoi'ding to the dictates of conscience ; and that it is the
mutual duty of all to practise Chiistian forbearance, love, and charity toward each
'.ther."
152 APPENDIX.
below, from which an appeal had been taken, was aflSrmed ; though it haa
never yet been determined by a majority of the Court of Appeal in Vir-
sjinia that the law of 1802 is constitutional.
No. IX.
Opinion and Judgment of the Supreme Court written and de-
livered BY Judge Story in the case op the Fairfax Glebe
Question and in contradiction to the Decision of the Virginia
Courts.
[It is not known whether the decision was unanimous, or by what ma-
jority it passed. Chief- Justice Marshall was in favour of it, but requested
Judge Story to draw up the opinion.]
Other considerations arising in this case, material to the title, on which
relief must be founded, render an inquiry into the character and powers
of the Episcopal Church indispensable.
At a very early period the religious establishment of England seems to
have been adopted in the Colony of Virginia; and, of course, the common
law upon that subject, so far as it was applicable to the circumstances of
that Colony. The local division into parishes for ecclesiastical purposes
can be very early traced; and the subsequent laws enacted for religious
purposes evidently presuppose the existence of the Episcopal Church with
its general rights and authorities growing out of the common law. What
those rights and authorities are need not be minutely stated. It is
sufficient that, among other things, the Church was capable of receiving
endowments of land, and that the minister of the parish was, during his
incumbency, seised of the freehold of its inheritable property, as emphati-
cally persorjm ecdesiae, and capable, as a sole corporation, of transmitting
that inheritance to his successors. The churchwardens, also, were a cor-
porate body clothed with authority and guardianship over the repairs of
the Church and its temporal property ; and the other temporal concerns of
the parish were submitted to a vestry, composed of persons selected for
that purpose. In order more eifectually to cherish and support religious
institutions, and to define the authorities and rights of the Episcopal offi-
cers, the Legislature from time to time enacted laws on this subject. By
the statutes of 1661, ch. 1, 2, .3, 10, and 1667, ch. 3, provision was made
for the erection and repairs of churches and cliapels of ease; for the laying
out of glebes and church-lands, and the building of a dwelling-house for
the minister; for the making of assessments and trades for these and other
parochial purposes; for the appointment of churchwardens to keep the
APPENDIX. 453
church in repair, and to provide books, ornaments, &c. ; and, lastly, for
the election of a vestry of twelve persons by the parishioners, whose duty
it was, by these and subsequent statutes, among other things, to make and
proportion levies and assessments, and to purchase glebes and erect dwelling-
houses for the ministers in each respective parish. See statute 1696 ch. 11 ;
1727, ch. 6; and 1748, ch. 28.-2 Tucker's Blackst. Com. Aj^p. note M.
By the operation of these statutes and the common law, the lands thus
purchased became vested, either directly or beneficially, in the Episcopal
Church. The minister for the time-being was seised of the freehold, in
law or in equity, yw/-e ecdesise, and during a vacancy the fee remained in
abeyance, and the profits of the parsonage were to be taken by the parish
for their own use.— Co. Lit. 340, h ; 341, 342, h. 2 Mass. K. 500.
Such were some of the rights and powers of the Episcopal Church at the
time of the American Revolution; and under the authority thereof the pur-
chase of the lands stated in the bill before the court was undoubtedly made.
And the property so acquired by the Church remained unimpaired, notwith-
standing the Revolution ; for the statute of 1776, ch. 2, completely confirmed
and established the rights of the Church to all its lands and other property.
The statute of 1784, ch. 88, proceeded yet further. It expressly made
the minister and vestry, and, in case of a vacancy, the vestry of each
parish respectively, and their successors forever, a corporation by the
name of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in the parish where they re-
spectively resided, to have, hold, use, and enjoy, all the glebes, churches,
and chapels, burying-grounds, books, plate, and ornaments, appropriated to
the use of, and every other thing the property of, the late Episcopal Church,
to the sole use and benefit of the corporation. The same statute also pro-
vided for the choice of new vestries, and repealed all former laws relating
to vestries and churchwardens and to the support of the clergy, &c., and
dissolved all former vestries; and gave the corporation extensive powers as
to the purchasing, holding, aliening, repairing, and regulating the Church
property. This statute was repealed by the statute of 1786, ch. 12, with
a proviso saving to all religious societies the property to them respectively
belonging, and authorizing them to appoint, from time to time, according
to the rules of their sect, trustees, who should be capable of managing
and applying such property to the religious use of such societies; and the
statute of 1788, ch. 47, declared that the trustees appointed in the several
parishes to take care of and manage the property of the Protestant Episcopal
Church, and their successors, should, to all intents and purposes, be con-
sidered as the successors to their former vestries, with the same powers of
holding and managing all the property formerly vested in them. All these
statutes, from that of 1776, ch. 2, to that of 1788, ch. 47, and several
others, were repealed by the statute of 1798, ch. 9, as inconsistent with
the principles of the Constitution and of religious freedom. And by the
statute of 1801, ch. 5, (which was passed after the District of Columbia
was finally separated from the States of Maryland and Virginia,) the Le-
454 APPENDIX.
gislalure asserted their right to all the property of the Episcopal churches
iu tlie respective parishes of the State; and, among other things, directed
and authorized the overseers of the poor, and their successors, in each
parish wherein any glebe-land was vacant or should become so, to sell the
same, and appropriate the proceeds to the use of the poor of the parish.
It is under this last statute that the bill charges the defendants (who
are overseers of the poor of the parish of Fairfax) with claiming a title to
dispose of the land in controversy.
This summary view of so much of the Virginia statutes as bears directly
on the subject in controversy presents not only a most extraordinary di-
versity of opinion in the Legislature, as to the nature and propriety of aid
in the temporal concerns of religion, but the more embarrassing considera-
tion of the constitutional character and efficacy of those laws touching the
rights and property of the Episcopal Church.
It is conceded on all sides, that at the Revolution the Episcopal Church
no longer retained its character as an exclusive religious establishment.
And there can be no doubt that it was competent to the people and to the
Legislature to deprive it of its superiority over other religious sects, and to
withhold from it any support by public taxation. But, although it may
be true that " religion can be directed only by reason and conviction, not
by force or violence," and that "all men are equally entitled to the free
exercise of religion according to the dictates of conscience," as the Bill of
Rights of Virginia declares, yet it is difficult to perceive how it follows, as
a consequence, that the Legislature may not enact laws more effectually to
enable all sects to accomplish the great objects of religion by giving them
corporate rights for the management of their property, and the regulation
of their temporal as well as spiritual concerns. Consistently with the Con-
stitution of Virginia, the Legislature could not create or continue a religious
establishment which should have exclusive rights and prerogatives; or
compel the citizens to worship under a stipulated form or discipline, or to
pay taxes to those whose creed they could not conscientiously believe.
But the free exercise of religion cannot be justly deemed to be restrained
by aiding with equal attention the votaries of every sect to perform their
own religious duties, or by establishing funds for the support of ministers,
for public charities, for the endowment of churches, or for the sepulture of
the dead. And that these purposes could be better secured and cherished
by corporate powers cannot be doubted by any person who has attended to
the difficulties which surround all voluntary associations. While, therefore,
the Legislature might exempt the citizens from a compulsory attendance
and payment of taxes in support of any particular sect, it is not perceived
that either public or constitutional principles required the abolition of all
religious corporations.
Be, however, the general authority of the Legislatui-e as to the subject
of religion as it may, it will require other arguments to establish the posi-
tion that, at the Revolution, all the public property acquired by the Epis-
APPENDIX. 45?
copal churches under the sanction of the laws became the property of the
State. Had the property thus acquired been originally granted by the
State, or the King, there might have been some colour (and it would have
been but a colour) for such an extraordinary pretension. But the property
was, in fact and in law, generally purchased by the parishioners or ac
quired by the benefactions of pious donors. The title thereto was inde-
feasibly vested in the churches, or rather in their legal agents. It was not
in the power of the Crown to seize or assume it, nor of the Parliament
itself to destroy the grants, unless by the exercise of a power the most arbi-
trary, oppressive, and unjust, and endured only because it could not be
resisted. It was not forfeited; for the churches had committed no oifence.
The dissolution of the regal government no more destroyed the right to
possess or enjoy this property, than it did the right of any other corpora-
tion or individual to his or its own property. The dissolution of the form
of government did not involve in it a dissolution of civil rights, or an
abolition of the common law, under which the inheritances of every man
in the State were held. The State itself succeeded only to the rights of the
Oown, and, we may add; with many a flower of prerogative struck from
its hands. It has been asserted, as a principle of the common law, that
the division of an empire creates no forfeiture of previously-vested rights
of property. Kelly v. Harrison, 2 John. 0. 29. Jackson v. Lunn, 3 John.
C. 109. Calvin's Case, 8 Co. 27. And this principle is equally consonant
with the common sense of mankind and the maxims of eternal justice.
Nor are we able to perceive any sound reason why the Church lands
escheated or devolved upon the State by the Revolution any more than
the property of any other corporation created by the royal bounty or esta-
blished by the Legislature. The Revolution might justly take away the
public patronage, the exclusive cure of souls, and the compulsive taxation
for the support of the Church. Beyond these we are not prepai-ed to admit
the justice or the authority of legislation.
It is not, however, necessary to rest this cause upon the general doc-
trines already asserted; for, admitting that by the Revolution the Church
lands devolved on the State, the statute of 1776, ch. 2, operated as a new
grant and confirmation thereof to the use of the Church.
If the Legislature possessed the authority to make such a grant and
confirmation, it is very clear to our minds that it vested an indefeasible and
irrevocable title. We have no knowledge of any authority, or principle,
which could support the doctrine that a legislative grant is revocable in
its own nature, and held only durante bene placito. Such a doctrine would
uproot the very foundations of almost all the land-titles in Virginia, and
is utterly inconsistent with a great and fundamental principle of a republi-
can government, — the right of the citizens to the free enjoyment of their
property legally acquired.
It is asserted by the Legislature of Virginia, in 1798 an^ 1801, that this
statute was inconsistent with the Bill of Rights and Constitution of that State,
45t) APPENDIX.
and therefore void. Whatever weight such a declaratiou might properly
have as the opiuion of wise and learned men, as a declaration of what the
law has been or is, it can have no decisive authority. It is, however, en-
countered by the opinions successively given by former Legislatures, from
the earliest existence of the Constitution itself, which were composed of
men of the very first rank for talents and learning. And this opinion, too,
is not only a contemporaneous exposition of the Constitution, but has the
additional weight that it was promulgated or acquiesced in by a great ma-
jority, if not the whole, of the very framers of the Constitution. Without
adverting, however, to the opinions on the one side or the other, for the
reasons which have been already stated, and others which we forbear to
press, as they would lead to too prolix and elementary an examination,
we are of opinion that the statute of 1776, ch. 2, is not inconsistent with
the Constitution or Bill of Rights of Virginia. We are prepared to go yet
further, and to hold that the statutes of 1784, ch. 88, and 1785, ch. 37,
were no infringement of any rights secured, or intended to be secured,
under the Constitution, either civil, political, or religious.
How far the statute of 1786, ch. 12, repealing the statute of 1784, ch.
88, incorporating the Episcopal churches, and the subsequent statutes in
furtherance thereof of 1788, ch. 47 and ch. 53, were consistent with the
principles of civil right or the Constitution of Virginia, is a subject of much
delicacy, and perhaps not without difficulty. It is observable, however,
that they reserve to the churches all their corporate property, and authorize
the appointment of trustees to manage the same. A private corporation
created by the Legislature may lose its franchises by a misuser or a non-
user of them; and they may be resumed by the Government under a judi-
cial judgment upon a quo warranto to ascertain and enforce the forfeiture.
This is the common law of the land, and is a tacit condition annexed to
the creation of every such corporation. Upon a change of government,
too, it may be admitted, that such exclusive privileges attached to a pri-
vate corporation as are inconsistent with the new Grovernment may be
abolished. In respect, also, to public corporations, which exist only for
public purposes, such as counties, towns, cities, &c., the Legislature may,
under proper limitations, have a right to change, modify, enlarge, or re-
strain them; securing, however, the property for the uses of those for
whom and at whose expense it was originally purchased. But that the
Legislature can repeal statutes creating private corporations, or confirming
to them property already acquired under the faith of previous laws, and
by such repeal can vest the property of such corporations exclusively in
the State, or dispose of the same to such purposes as they may please,
without the consent or default of the corporators, we are not prepared to
admit. And we think ourselves standing upon the principles of natural
justice, upon the fundamental laws of every free government, upon the
spirit and the letter of the Constitution of the United States, and upon the
decisions of most respectable judicial tribunals, in resisting such a doctrine.
APPENDIX. 457
The statutes of 1798, ch. 9, and of 1801, ch. 5, are not, therefore, in our
judgment, operative so far as to divest the Episcopal Church of the pro-
perty acquired, previous to the Revolution, by purchase or by donation.
In respect to the latter statute, thereis this further objection, that it passed
after the District of Columbia was taken under the exclusive jurisdiction
of Congress, and, as to the corporations and property within that District,
the right of Virginia to legislate no longer existed. And as to the statute
of 1798, ch. 9, admitting it to have the fullest operation, it merely repeals
the statutes passed respecting the Church since the Revolution ; and, of
course, it left in full force all the statutes previously enacted, so far as they
were not inconsistent with the present Constitution. It left, thei-efore, the
important provisions of the statutes of 1661, 1696, 1727, and 1748, so far
as respected the title to the Church lands, in perfect vigour, with so much
of the common law as attached upon these rights.
Let us now advert to the title set up by the plaintiffs in the present bill.
Upon inspecting the deed, which is made a part of the bill, and bears date
in 1770, the land appears to have been conveyed to the grantees as church-
wardens of the parish of Fairfax, and to their successors in that office for-
ever. It is also averred in the bill that the plaintiffs, together with two of
the defendants, (who are churchwardens,) are the vestry of the Protestant
Episcopal Church, commonly called the Episcopal Church of Alexandria,
in the parish of Fairfax, and that the purchase was made by the vestry
of said parish and church, to whom the present vestry are the legal and
regular successors in the said vestry; and that the purchase was made for
the use and benefit of the said church in the said parish. No statute of
V^irginia has been cited which creates churchwardens a corporation for
the purpose of holding lands; and at common law their capacity was
limited to personal estate. 1 £. C. 394. Bro. Corp. 11, 84. 1 Roll. Ahr.
393, 4, 10. Com. Dig. tit. Esglise, F. 3. 12 H. 7, 27, h. 13 H. 7, 9, h
27 H. 6, 30. 1 Burns's Eccles. Law, 290. Gihs. 215. It would seem,
therefore, that the present deed did not operate by way of grant to convey
a fee to the churchwardens and their successors; for their successors, as
Buch, coult* flot take; nor to the churchwardens in their natural capacity,
for '' heir/' is not in the deed. But the covenant of general warranty in
the deed binding the grantors and their heirs forever, and warranting the
land to the churchwardens and their successors forever, may well operate
by way of estoppel to confirm to the Church and its privies the perpetual
and beneficial estate in the land.
One difficulty presented on the face of the bill was, that the Protestant
Episcopal Church of Alexandria was not directly averred to be the same
corporate or uuincorporate body as the church and parish of Fairfax, or
the legal successors thereto, so as to entitle them to the lands in controversy.
But upon an accurate examination of the bill, it appears that the purchase
was made by the vestry "of the said parish and church" "for .the use and
benefit of the said church in the said parish." It must, thtrefore, be taken
458 APPENDlA.
a« true thut there was no other Episcopal church in the parish; and that
the property belonged to the Church of Alexandria, which, in this respect,
represented the whole parish. And there can be no doubt that the Epis-
copal members of the parish of Fairfax have still, notwithstanding a sepa-
ration from the State of Virginia, the same rights and privileges as thej
originally possessed in relation to that church while it was the parish-
fihurch of Fairfax.
The next consideration is, whether the plaintiiFs, who are vestrymen,
have, as such, a right to require the lands of the church to be sold in the
manner prayed for in the bill. Upon the supposition that no statutes
passed since the Revolution are in force, they may be deemed to act under
the previous statutes and the common law. By those statutes the vestry
were to be appointed by the parishioners "for the making and proportion-
ing levies and assessments for building and repairing the churches and
chapels, provision for the poor, maintenance of the minister, and such
other necessary purposes, and for the more orderly managing all parochial
affairs;" out of which vestry the minister and vestry were yearly to choose
two churchwardens. As incident to their office of general guardians of the
church, we think they must be deemed entitled to assert the rights and
interests of the church. But the minister also, having the freehold, either
in law or in equity, during his incumbency, in the lands of the church, is
.entitled to assert his own rights as persona ecdesise. No alienation, there-
fore, of the church lands can be made either by himself, or by the parish-
ioners, or their authorized agents, without the mutual consent of both
And therefore we should be of opinion, that, upon principle, no sale ought
to be absolutely decreed, unless with the consent of the parson, if the
church be full.
If the statute of 1784, ch. 88, be in force for any purpose whatsoever,
it seems to us that it would lead to a like conclusion. If the repealing
statute of 1786, ch. 12, or the statute of 1788, ch. 47, by which the Church
property was authorized to be vested in trustees chosen by the Church, and
their successors, be in force for any purpose whatsoever, then the allegation
of the bill that the plaintiffs "have, according to the rules and regulations
of their said society, been appointed by the congregation vestrymen and
trustees of the said church," would directly apply and authorize the plain-
tiffs to institute the present bill. Still, however, it appears to us that in
case of a plenarty of the Church, no alienation or sale of the Church lands
ought to take place without the assent of the minister, unless such assent
be expressly dispensed with by some statute.
On the whole, the majority of the court are of opinion that the land in
controversy belongs to the Episcopal Church of Alexandria, and has not
been divested by the Revolution, or any Act of the Legislature passed since
that period; that the plaintiffs are of ability to maintain the present bill;
that the overseers of the poor of the parish of Fairfax have no just, legal,
or equitable title to the said land, and ought to be perpetually enjoined
APPENDIX. 459
from claiming the same; and that a sale of the said land ought, for the
reasons stated in the bill, to be decreed, upon the assent of the minister
of said church (if any there be) being given thereto; and that the present
churchwardens and the said James Wren ought to be decreed to convey
the same to the purchaser; and the proceeds to be applied in the manner
prayed for in the bill.
The decree of the circuit court is to be reformed, so as to conform to this
opinion.
No. X.
John Randolph's Recantation.
Norfolk, April 8, 1867.
Mr. John Randolph, of Roanoke, was at one time deeply impressed
with religion, and in a pious frame of mind revised his copy of Gibbon's
History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, which he had filled
with notes approving the deistical views of the historian. These notes,
or most of them, he obliterated, and on the celebrated fifteenth chapter, in
which the historian gives an account of the rise of Christianity, on either
side of the text of several pages, he wrote the following remarks, which I
now copy for you from the book before me : —
" When the pencilled notes to this and the succeeding chapter were
written, (and, indeed, all the notes, one excepted in volume tenth, page — ,)
the writer was an unhappy young man, deluded by the sophisms of infi-
delity. Gibbon seemed to rivet what Hume and Hobbes and Bolingbroke
and Voltaire, &c. had made fast, and Satan — i. e. the evil principle in our
(fallen) nature — had cherished ; but — praised be His Holy name ! — God sent
the sense of sin and the arrow of the angel of Death, 'unless ye repent,'
straight to his heart, and with it came the desire of belief; but the hard
heart of unbelief withstood a long time, and fear came upon him and waxed
great, and brought first resignation to his will, and after much refractori-
ness, (God be praised, but never sufficiently, that he bore with the fro-
wardness of the child of sin, whose wages is death,) after a longer course
of years, more than the servitude of Jacob for Rachel, God in his good
time sent the pardon and the peace which passeth in the love which struck
out fear. Allelujah."
The above is a true transcript from the original pencilled remarks of Mr,
Randolph. His copy of Gibbon is in twelve volumes, printed in Dublin
in 1784. The book belonged to Richard Randolph, the elder brother of
John, and has Richard's name in it, with the endorsement ''Matoax,
1790." Hugh B. Grigsby.
To Bishop Meade.
460 APPENDIX
No. XI.
The Rev. David Mossom'.? Epitaph on his Tombstone, at St
Peter's Church, New Kent.
M. S.
Reverendus David Mossom prope Jacet,
Collegii St. Joannis Cantabrigiae olim Alumnus,
Hujus Parochiae Rector Anuos Quadraginta.
Omnibus Ecclesiae Anglicanae Presbyteriis
Inter Americanos Ordiue Presbyteratus Primus ;
Literatura Paucis Secundus.
Qui tandem Senio et Moerore confectus
Ex variis rebus arduis quas in hac vita perpessus est,
Mortisq: in dies memor, ideo virens et valens,
Sibi huuc sepulturae locum posuit et elegit,
[Jxoribus Elizabetha et Maria quidem juxta sepultis
Ubi requiescat, donee resuscitatus ad vitam Eternam
Per Jesum Christum salvatorem nostrum.
Qualis erat, indicant illi quibus bene notus
Superstiles
Non hoc sepulchrale saxum.
f Londini Natus 25 Martii 169Q.
I Obiit 4° Jan". 1767.
No. XIL
The Ellis Family.
[In my article on Amherst I omitted any special notice of my old friend
Mr. Richard Ellis, of Pedlar Mills or Red Hill.
The following communication from our worthy fellow-citizen, Mr.
Thomas Ellis, of Richmond, will more than compensate for the omission.]
April 2, 1857.
The name of Ellis appears at an early day in connection with the
Colony of Virginia. David Ellis came out in the second supply of emi-
grants from England, and was one of the men sent by Captain Smith to
build a house for King Powhatan at his favourite seat, Werowocomico, on
York River. John Ellis was one of the grantees in the second charter
of the Virginia Company.
APPENDIX. 461
My immediate family is of Welsh extraction, and my descent traced to
John Ellis, who settled on Peters's Creek, a branch of Tuckahoe Creek,
in Henrico county. He was born in the year 1661, and he appears at
Varina, the county seat of Henrico, October 1, 1683. His wife was
named Susannah, and their children were John, William, Thomas, Henry,
James, Joseph, Mary, and Charles.
John, the eldest son, married Elizabeth Ware, a relation of Baldwin
and Ware Rockett, seafaring men, who owned the property in the city of
Richmond since called " Rocketts'." He was a magistrate and sheriff of
Henrico. His eldest son, who was also named John, inherited the family
residence, and lived in it during his life. It still belongs to the family of
one of his grand-daughters, who married John Bowles, of Louisa county.
The land on which it is situated was patented to William Glover, April
28, 1691, and by him sold to John Ellis (the first named) for two thou-
sand pounds of tobacco.
William, the second son, lived to be eighty-three years of age, and
died leaving four sons and four daughters. One of his grandsons, Williana
Burton Ellis, who married Elizabeth West, is still living on Tuckahoe, in
the seventy-sixth year of his age.
Thomas, the third son, was inspector of tobacco at Shockoe Ware-
house, and owned the coal-property since known as the " Edgehill Pits."
He married Elizabeth Patterson, by whom he had two sons and three
daughters, all of whom married and have left families.
Henry, the fourth son, never married. He died in the year 1768.
James, the fifth son, married, but died without issue.
Joseph, the sixth son, married Elizabeth Perkins and raised a very
numerous family. He has a grandson, Daniel Ellis, born May 2, 1774.
now living near Watkinsville, in Goochland county. The Ellises at this
day on Tuckahoe Creek are principally the descendants of Joseph Ellis,
His will, dated 11th June, 1785, is proved in court January 7, 1793
His wife died about the year 1798.
Mary, the seventh child and only daughter, married John Smith, whe
owned the fine farm now belonging to Mr. Robert Edmond, of Richmond,
called " Strawberry Hill."
Charles, the seventh son, (my great-grandfather,) was born in Hen-
rico county in the year 1719, was married, by the Rev. William Stith,
to Susannah Harding, daughter of Thomas Harding and Mary Giles, in
the year 1739, and had issue two sons and eight daughters. He removed
with his family to the county of Amherst, thci; the county of Albemarle,
in the year 1754, and settled the original seat of the Ellises in that county,
Bince called '' Red Hill," on the waters of Pedlar River. He died
May 4, 1759, and was buried in the family burying-ground at Red Hill.
His widow lived to the ninety-fifth year of her age, and was buried by
his side. The children of Charles Ellis and Susannah Harding were
462 APPENDIX.
Hannah, Edith, Susannah, Josiah, Mary Ann, Charles, Sarah, Bethena,
Elizabeth, and Eosanna.
Hannah married William Haynes.
Edith married Devereux Grilliam.
Susannah married Isaac Wright.
Josiah married Jane Shelton.
Mary Ann married Peter Carter.
Charles married — first, Elizabeth Waters, secondly, Sarah Tucker.
Sarah married John Harrison.
Bethena married Thomas Leftwich.
Elizabeth married William Gilliam
Rosanna married Charles Davis.
Josiah, (my grandfather,) above named, inherited the "Red Hill"
estate, and lived and died there. His wife — a daughter of Richard
Shelton — was born September 1, 1747. They were married on the
3d of April, 1766, and had issue John, Nancy, Charles, Richard Shelton,
Josiah, Mary Wright, Thomas Harding, Jane Shelton, Lewis, Joshua
Shelton, and Powhatan.
[The following letter, from the Rev. Mr. Caldwell, will be read with
interest by all who were acquainted with Mr. Richard Ellis, of Red Hill,
and his estimable family.]
Richmond, Va.
My dear Mr. Ellis : — I fear that I shall be able to communicate
very little in regard to the church on Pedlar. Your uncle Richard was
one of the old-school, true Virginia gentlemen, — hospitable, unaffected,
polite, courteous, — and as regardful of the rights and feelings of a servant
as he was of the most favoured and distinguished that visited his house
I had not been in his house five minutes before I felt it to be what he
and his delightful family ever afterward made it to me, — a home. I,
however, experienced at their hands only what every clergyman of our
Church who has been connected with the parish experienced.
Your uncle's hospitality was not, however, the most captivating trait of
his character. The most captivating trait in his character was his simple-
hearted piety and devotion to the Church. His devotion was the same
when the ways of our Zion mourned, and when none came to her solemn
feasts, and when her sanctuaries in his neighbourhood were levelled by
the stranger and the spoiler. I think he told me that the first time the
services of our Church were held in the Pedlar neighbourhood after the
Revolution, the people met in a tobacco-house, and that many aged per-
sons who had been accustomed to our services in their youth, when the
clergyman repeated the sentences and exhortation, stood up and wept like
children, big tears coursing their way down their cheeks in spite of every
effort to restrain them. The confession following was made, by every one
whose feelings did not stifle utterance, with a voice tremulous with erne-
APPENDIX. 463
tion. Many an aged heart remembered and returned to its first love
The meeting in that tobacco-house was the beginning of the resuscitation
of the church on Pedlar. Your uncle was the foremost and the most
liberal in the effort at resuscitation. He gave largely — as he did to the
end of life — both of bis substance and of his time to the accomplish-
ment of the object. He succeeded, but not without overcoming strong
opposition. He applied, for a contribution toward building a church, to a
good Christian man in the neighbourhood, who had been a soldier of the
Revolution, to whom the old veteran replied, the fire of '76 flashing in his
eye and speaking in the tones of his voice, ''No ! I drew my sword once
to put that church down; and, if necessary, I will draw it again to keep
it down." No one doubted either the old soldier's honesty or piety. And
his reply only revealed the feelings in the minds of many in regard to
the Episcopal Church. Their prejudices were as honestly as they were
warmly entertained, and nothing but the unbounded eonfideuce they had
in the patriotism as well as piety of your uncle softened them. That
confidence did soften them, first to tolerate, then to admire, and then to
sustain, the Church whose cause he advocated. I am persuaded that the
resuscitation of the church on Pedlar was owing altogether to the personal
influence of your uncle; and what he was so instrumental in resusci-
tating he afterwards sustained with a liberality that was bounded only by
his means, and a devotion that ended only with his life. His daughter
Emily, who became a member of the Church while I was rector of the
parish, was as like to her father in her devotion to the Church as a child
could be like to a parent. Both she and her most excellent husband, David
H. Tapscott, manifested the same fervid and hallowed spirit of devotion
in their piety, as well as lively and liberal interest in the advancement
of the Church. It grieves me to think that the Church on earth has lost
three such faithful soldiers and servants. And I should be doing violence
to my feelings if I did not speak of Mrs Ellis, though a decided Pres-
byterian, in the same way. If I had been her own son she could hardly
have treated me with more kindness. And she had been, I learned,
equally kind to all the pastors of her husband. Indeed, I cannot think
of any member of the family but with feelings of affectionate regard. I
regret that my narrative is so limited and meagre : I hope, however, that
it may not be altogether useless to you in accomplishing what you desire
for Bishop Meade's Letters.
Truly and sincerely yours,
Thomas H. Ellis, Esq. David Caldwell.
464 APPENDIX.
No. XIII.
The Baylor Family.
[The following account has been furnished me by a member of the same.]
John Baylor the elder, and first of the name who came to the New
World, was born at Tiverton, in England, where, from old Sellers, we learn
that he was related to the Freres, Courtenays, Tuckers, Hedjers, Nortons,
and others. His son John was born in 16.50, and, emigrating to Virginia,
was followed by his father, a very old man. He settled in Gloucester
county, and was married to Lucy Tod O'Brien, of New Kent, in 1698.
Large grants of land had been made to father and son in various parts of
the Colony, and the latter, being of an enterprising character, embarked
extensively in mercantile schemes, by which a large fortune for that day
was amassed, — the inventory of his personal effects amounting to £6500.
The books kept at his various counting-houses in Gloucester, King and
Queen, and New Kent, from 1692 to 1722, are preserved, and not only
attest his method and exactness, but afford an interesting comparison.
The relative value of some articles of merchandise then and now is
worthy of note. We find nails at four shillings sixpence per pound,
cotton atone shilling sixpence per yard; and a Madagascar boy, "from on
board ship Tiverton," in one place, is charged to Thomas Randolph at £6,
and another at £10. Mention is made of between six and ten ships,
belonging to him, at different times, engaged in trading with the Old
World. To John Baylor the second and Lucy his wife were born two
children, — John, on the 12th of May, 1705, and another whose fortunes
we have no means of following. The Essex family of the same name
originate here. John, the third of the name, married Lucy Walker at
Yorktown, the 2d of January, 1744, several sons and daughters being the
issue of this marriage. A sister of Lucy Walker married, at the same
time and place, John Norton, of London, of whom we shall have occasion
to speak hereafter. John the third (Colonel Baylor) was with Washing-
ton at Winchester. He represented the county of Caroline in the House
of Burgesses from about 1740 to 1760. A list of the votes at one
election is extant, and reveals his extensive popularity, as he received
every vote in the county save one. Colonel Baylor moved to New Market —
then King and Queen — in 1726, and occupied a grant of land which was
made by Robert Trousdale in behalf of the King the year before. This
paper is also preserved. The year following Caroline was formed, and
New Market remains in possession of the family, from which it has never
been alienated. Extravagance and folly, unfortunately, leave few such
instances of successive proprietorship, in the State, for so long a time.
The Episcopal church at the Bowling Green was built by Colonel Baylor,
and other gentlemen, between 1640 and 1660, where the family continued
APPENDIX. 465
to worship until the death of the Rev. Mr. Waugh, after which time the
church had no minister and the building, like many others in Virginia,
was destroyed and the materials devoted to secular purposes. Colonel
Baylor held several commissions, one of which, constituting him Lieutenant
of the county of Orange, signed by Robert Dinwiddle at Williamsburg in
1752, is in the possession of the family. He too, like his father, was a
man of great energy. New Market was in his time celebrated for a large
and generous hospitality. John, the eldest son of Colonel Baylor, fourth
of the name herein mentioned, was born at New Market on the 4th
of September, 1750; was sent at twelve years of age to Putney Grammar-
School, from which he was removed to Cambridge, and was a classmate
and associate of Mr. Wilberforce. While in Europe, the Letters of Junius
appeared, and, for some reason, he felt so deep an interest, either in the
subject, style, or authorship, as to transcribe them as they were published, —
the manuscript being now in a perfect state of preservation. The per-
formance of a task so laborious as that involved in the copying of these
famous letters from the Public Advertiser as they appeared, the num.
bers of which could have been as well preserved, presents a puzzle which
has exercised the minds of his descendants to this day. This John Bay.
lor the fourth was married, while in England, to Fanny, his cousin, only
daughter of John and Courtenay Norton, of Gould Square, London, and
returned to A^irginia. They were followed by the brothers of Mrs. Bayloi*,
John Hatley, George, and Daniel Norton, who married in Virginia, leaving
issue. Several of their descendants have devoted their lives to the
ministry. The Rev. John H. Norton, of Fauquier, is one of them. George,
the second son of Colonel Baylor and Fanny Walker, was born at New
Market the 12th of January, 1752. He was aid to General Washington
at the battle of Trenton, and enjoyed the honour of presenting the colours
then taken to the Congress at Philadelphia, and would doubtless have
filled a large space in the stirring history of the times, had not a bayonet-
wound through the chest, in a night-skirmish a short time after, disabled
him so as to unfit him for the service. He died of pulmonary disease,
from this injury, in Barbadoes in 1784. The regiment of horse which
bore his name sprung into existence from his patriotic exertions and
from the pecuniary aid of his elder brother, which was freely given.
Colonel George Baylor married, at Mansfield, Lucy Page, daughter of
Mann Page, Esq., by whom he had one son, — John W. Baylor. Mrs. Bay-
Jor, widow of Colonel George Baylor, was married a second time, to Colonel
N. Burwell, of Millwood, Frederick county, Virginia. Walker, fourth
sou of Colonel Baylur, was a captain in the Revolutionary army. He was
also disabled, by a spent ball, which crushed his instep, at Germantown or
Brandy wine, which made him a cripple for life. He married Miss Bled-
soe, and left several sons and daughters, one of whom — .Judge R. E. B
Baylor — is now alive and is a prominent citizen of Texas. Robert, fourth
son of Colonel Baylor, married Miss Gwinn, of Gwinn's Island. Lucy,
Vol. II.— 30
4:6^ APPENDIX.
third daughter of Colonel Baylor, was married to Colonel John Armistead,
17th of March, 1764. The sous by this marriage were all endued with
martial spirit. Lewis was killed in battle in Canada; George defended
Baltimore when attacked by the British in the war of 1812; and two
other brothers occupied distinguished rank in the army of their country.
John and Fanny Norton resided at JNew Market, and were the parents of
two sons and five daughters, who intermarried with the Claytons, Up-
shaws. Foxes, Koys, &c. John Walker Baylor also left children. The
Brents and Horners belong to this branch.
John Roy Baylor, of New Market, Caroline county.
No. XIV.
The Peyton Family.
[The following limited account of this family has been sent me by a
friend. In the civil and ecclesiastical lists the name may be found at an
early day.]
John Peyton, Esq., of Stafford county, Virginia, who died in 1760,
was twice married. By his first wife his children were Yelverton, Henry,
and Ann Waye. By the second wife they were John Rowzee, and Valen-
tine.
1. Yelverton had four sons and four daughters. One of the daughters —
Elizabeth — married her cousin, John Peyton Harrison; and Catherine
married Captain William Bronaugh, of Stafford, who moved to Kanawha
and is the father of a numerous family, the most of whom now live in
Missouri.
Of the sons of Yelverton, Henry was a pious Methodist preacher, and
married a Miss Brent, of Fauquier; and another of his sons — Colonel
Samuel Peyton — was the father of Yelverton, William, and Henry, all of
whom were talented and pious ministers of the Methodist Church, and
died young, leaving each one child.
2. Henry, the second son of John Peyton, married a Miss Fowke, and
resided near the Plains, in Fauquier county. He was a pious member of
the Episcopal Church. One of his sons — Dr. Chandler Peyton — married
Eliza B. Scott, the eldest daughter of the Bev. John Scott; and another
son — Yelverton — married Margaret, the youngest daughter of the Rev. Mr
Scott. She, after his death, married Mr. Charles Lee, and then Mr.
Glassell.
3. Ann Waye, the daughter of John Peyton, married Mr. Thomas
Harrison, of Stafford ^^e had a son named John Peyton Harrison, who
APPENDIX. 467
married his cousin, Elizabeth Peyton, and has left many descendants; and
another son — Thomas — who was an Episcopal minister and the father of
Philip Harrison, Esq., late of Richmond.
4. John Rowzee, the third son of John Peyton, was the father of John
Howard Peyton, of Staunton, of General Bernard Peyton, of Richmond,
and of Mr. Rowzee Peyton, who has moved to the State of New York.
5. Doctor Valentine Peyton, the fourth son of John Peyton, resided at
the family seat, Tusculum, in Staflford, and was the father of Mrs. John
Conway, of Staflford Court-House, and Mrs. Chichester, who resides near
the Falls Church, in Fairfax county, and of many others.
No. XY.
Ministers and Vestrymen of St. Stephen's and Wicomico
Parishes, Northumberland.
[To the diligence of the Rev. Edmund Withers, minister of Lancaster
county, I am indebted for the following lists, taken from an old vestry>
book recently discovered by him.]
ministers op ST. Stephen's (called upper and lower) parish,
NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY.
March 20, 1712, Rev. John Span, to 1722.
October 23, 1723, " John Bell, for eight sermons at 450
pounds tobacco a-piece.
1723, " Lawrence De Butts, to 1726.
1724, " Mr. Lecharcey, for two sermons, 600
pounds tobacco.
1726, " John Blacknall.
1727, " William Wye,
1731, " Francis Peart,
1742, " Henry Christall,
1743, " Moses Robertson,
" David Morthland,
1754, '< Thomas Smith,
1758, " James Crague,
1758, " Adam Minzies,
1767, " Benjamin Sebastian,
1779, " Thomas Davis,
1792, •' Thomas Andrews
to
173L
to
1742.
to
1743.
to
to
1754.
to
1758.
to
to
1767.
to
1777.
to
1786.
to
1794
468
APPENDIX.
VESTRYMEN OF ST. STEPHEN'S PARISH, (UPPER AND LOWER,)
NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY.
1712.
Col. Peter Hack,
1752.
Mr. Newton Keane.
Capt. Christopher Neale,
1754.
Wynder Kenner.
Capt. John Cralle,
1758.
Parrish Garner,
Mr. John Clughton,
Samuel Blackwell, Jr.,
Mr. Richard Hull,
Capt. Spencer Mottram Ball
Capt. Richard Hews,
1763
Mr. Kenner Cralle,
Capt. Francis Kenner,
Mr. Thomas Jones.
Mr. Edward Coles.
1770.
Mr. Rodham Kenner,
1714.
Mr. Griffin Fantleroy,
John Williams,
Capt. Richard Span,
Joseph Ball,
Mr. John Opie,
Edward Nelmes.
Mr. David Straughan.
1772.
James Ball.
1716.
Col. Peter Presley.
1778.
Matthew Neale,
1720.
Capt. Edward Sanders,
William Eskridge.
Mr. Thomas Hughlett,
1779.
Joseph Williams,
Mr. Thomas Cralle.
Henry Boggess,
1721.
Capt. Richard Kenner.
Elisha Harcum,
1724.
Mr. John Sharpleigh,
John Rogers,
Mr. Samuel Bonom,
Abram Beacham,
Mr. John Lewis,
James Claughton,
Capt. Samuel Blackwell.
Pemberton Claughton,
1728.
Mr. Robert Clark,
John Anderson.
Capt. John Waughop.
1781.
Walter Jones,
1731.
Mr. John Foushee,
John Cottrell,
Mr. Thomas Gill,
William Nelmes,
Mr. Matthew Kenner,
Peter Cox,
Capt. John Hack.
Thomas Hudnall,
1738.
Mr. Travers Colston,
Lindsey Opie,
Mr. Spencer Ball
Daniel Muse,
1742.
Capt. Cuthbert Span,
Hudson Muse,
Mr. Ellis Gill,
Joseph Hudnall.
Capt. William Taite.
1794.
Catesby Jones.
1749.
Col. Presley Thornton.
MINISTERS FOR WICOMICO PARISH, NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTJ.
May
15, 1770, Rev. John Leland,
to 1791.
1791, " John Bryi
in,
to 1794, (expelled.)
1794, " David Ball,
to 1799.
1799, " Duncan MacNaughton, to
1798, " John Seward, 50
pounds for services during thij
year.
APPENDIX.
46»
VESTRYMEN OF WICOMICO
1770. John Eustace,
Col. Thos. Gaskins,
Capt. David Ball, St.,
Capt. John Heath,
Capt. David Ball, Jr.,
Capt. Thos. Gaskins,
Mr. Geo. Dameron,
Mr. Wm. Taylor.
1772. Mr. Chas. Coppedge,
Col. Chas. Lee.
1775. Mr. John Lawson,
1777. Mr. Kendall Lee.
Capt. Wm. Nutt,
Mr. Thos. Edwards,
Capt. Wm. Davenport.
1784. Mr. Wm. Lee,
Capt. Geo. Ingram,
Mr. Isaac Baysie,
PARISH, NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTS.
1784. Mr. Thos. Hurst,
Capt. .John H. Faliin,
Mr. Mosley Nutt,
Onesiphorus Harvey,
Hopkins Harding,
David Ball,
Richard Hudnall,
James Sutton,
Chas. Lattimore,
Capt. Geo. Ball.
1794. Thos. Hurst, Jr.,
David Palmer.
1796. Henry L. Gaskins,
Wm. Blackerby,
Cyrus Harding,
Henry Cundiff,
Thos. W. Hughlett,
Thos. Harvey.
No. XVI.
Extracts from Ralphe Hamor.
■DITION PRINTED AT LONDON BY JOHN BBALE, FOR WILLIAM WE8LEY ; DWELL-
ING AT THIS SIGNE OF THE SWANNE, IN PATJL's CHURCHYARD, 1615.
[Mr. Hamor was a man of high standing in the Colony. His residence
was at Bermuda Hundred, a few miles only from Henricopolis, where Sir
Thomas Dale and the Rev. Alexander Whittaker lived. He appears to
have been intimate with them both and to have partaken of their pious
spirit. It is one evidence of the estimation in which he was held, that
the severest punishment ever inflicted in the Colony was on a man who
uttered slanderous words against Mr. Hamor. Mr. Hamor' s work, from
which we take the following extracts, was obtained by Mr. Conway
Robinson, of Richmond, on a late visit to England, and presented to the
Historical Society of Virginia. It is the most reliable and authentic
work on the early history of Virginia.
His religious character, and that of the age, is seen in the following
introductory passage.]
Sure, young though in years and knowledge, I may be said to be, yet
let me remember, to thee perhaps much knowing Reader, what the wisest
470 APPENDIX.
man that ever writ or spake (excepting him that was both God and man)
hath said, that such who bring others unto righteousnesse, shal themselves
shine as the stars in the firmament. And doubtlesse I doe beleive even
amongst the rest of my Articles, when these poore Heathens shall be
brought to entertaine the honour of the name, and glory of the Gospell
of our blessed Saviour, when they shall testifie of the true and ever-living
God, and Jesus Christ to be their salvation, their knowledge so inlarged
and sanctified, that without him they confesse their eternal death : I do
believe I say (and how can it be otherwise ?) that they shal breake out and
cry with the rapture of so inexplicable mercie : Blessed be the King and
Prince of England, and blessed be the English Nation, and blessed forever
be the most high God, possessor of Heaven and earth, that sent these
English as Angels to bring such glad tidings amongst us. These will be
doubtlesse the empaticke effects and exultation of this so Christian worke,
and may these nothing move ! Alas let Sanballat, and Tobiah, Papests
and Plaiers, Ammonites and Horonites, the scumme and dregges of the
people, let them mocke at this holy Businesse, they that be filthie, let
them be filthie still, and let such swine wallow in the mire, but let not
the rod of the wicked fall upon the lot of the righteous nor let them
shrinke back, and call in their helpes from this so glorious enterprise,
which the Prophet Isaiah cals, the declaring of God to the left hand, but
let them that know the worke, rejoice and be glad in the happie successe
of it, proclaiming that it is the everlasting God that raigneth in England,
and unto the ends of the world.
[The following is the true and full account of the capture of Pocahontas
by Captain Argall.]
It chaunced Powhatans delight and darling, his daughter Pocahuntas,
(whose fame hath even bin spred in England by the title of Nonparella
of Virginia,) in her princely progresse, if I may so terme it, tooke some
pleasure (in the absence of Captaine Argall) to be among her friends at
Pataomecke (as it seemeth by the relation I had) imploied thither, as
shopkeepers to a Fare, to exchange some of her fathers commodities for
theirs, where residing some three months or longer, it fortuned upon
occasion either of promise or profit, Captaine Argall to arrive there, whom
Pocahuntas, desirous to renew her familiaritie with the English, and de-
lighting to see them, as unknowne, fearefull perhaps to be surprised, would
gladly visit, as she did, of whom no sooner had Captaine Argall intelligence,
but he delt with an old friend, and adopted brother of his, Japazeus, how and
by what means he might procure her captive, assuring him, that now or
never, was the time to pleasure him, if he intended indeede that )ove which
he had made profession of, that in ransome of hir he might redeeme some of
our English men and armes, now in the possession of her Father, promising
to use her withall faire, and gentle entreaty : Japazeus well assured that
his brother, as he promised would use her curteously promised his best
APPENDIX. 471
indevours and secresie to accomplish his desire, and thus wrought it,
making his wife an instrument (which sex have ever bin most powerful!
in beguiling iuticements) to effect his plot which hee had thus laid, he agreed
that himselfe, his wife, and Pocahuntas, would accompanie his brother to
the water side, whether come, his wife should faine a great and longing
desire to goe aboorde, and see the shippe, which being there three or
four times, before she had never seen, and should be earnest with her
husband to permit her : he seemed angry with her, making as he pre-
tended so unnecessary a request, especially being without the company of
women, which deniall she taking unkindly, must faine to weepe (as who
knows not that women can command teares) whereupon her husband seem-
ing to pity those counterfeit teares, gave her leave to goe aboord, so that
it would please Pocahuntas to accompany her : now was the greatest labour
to win her, guilty perhaps of her fathers wrongs, though not knowne as
she supposed, to goe with her, yet by her earnest perswasions, she assented :
so forthwith aboorde they went, the best cheere that could be made was
seasonably provided, to supper they went, merry on all hands, especially
Japazeus and his wife, who to express their joy, would ere be treading
upo Capt. Argalls foot, as who should say tis don, she is your own.
Supper ended, Pocahuntas was lodged in the Gunner's roome, but Japazeus
and his wife desired to have some conference with their brother, which
was onely to acquaint him by what strategem, they had betraid his prisoner,
as I have already related : after which discourse to sleepe they went, Poca-
huntas nothing mistrusting this policy, who nevertheles being most pos-
sessed with feare, and desire of returne, was first up, and hastened Japazeus
to be gon. Capt. Argall having secretly well rewarded him, with a
small copper kettle, and some other les valuable toies so highly by him
esteemed, that doubtlesse he would have betraid his owne father for them,
permitted both him and his wife to returne, but told him, that for divers
considerations, as for that his father had then eight of our English men,
many swords, peices and other tooles, which he had at severall times by
trecherous murdering our men, taken from them, which though of no use
to him, he would not redeliver, he would reserve Pocahuntas, whereat
she began to be exceeding pensive and discontented, yet ignorant of the
dealing of Japazeus, who in outward appearance was no ies discontented,
that he should be the meanes of hir captivity, much adoe there was to per-
swade her to be patient, which with extraordinary curteous usage, by little
and little was wrought in her, and so to Jamestowne she was brought, a
messenger to her father forthwith despatched to advertise him that his only
daughter was in the hands and possession of the English : ther to be
kept til such time as he would ransom her with our men, swords, peices
and other t,ools treacherously taken from us : the news was unwelcome,
and troublesom unto him, partly for the love he bare to his daughter, and
partly for the love he bare to our men his prisoners, of whom though with
us they were unapt for any imploymeut, he made great use : and those
472 APPENDIX.
awords, and peices of ours, (which though of no use to him) it delighted
him to view and look upon.
[The following is from the account of Sir Thomas Dale's visit to
Powhatan at his residence, when he took Pocahontas with him and in-
formed the king of the attachment between her and Mr. Rolfe, not long
before their marriage. Mr. Hamor was of the pa.ty, and then presented
Mr. Rolfe' s letter to Thomas Dale, which we have published.]
Long before this time a gentleman of approved behaviour and honest
cariage, Maister John Rolfe, had bin in love with Pocahuntas and she
with him, which thing at the instant that we were in parlee with them,
myselfe made known to Sir Thomas Dale by a letter from him, whereby
he intreated his advise and furtherance in his love, if so it seemed fit to
him for the good of the Plantation, and Pocahuntas herselfe, acquainted
her brethren therewith : which resolution Sir Thomas Dale well approv
ing, was the onely cause, hee was so milde amongst them, who otherwise
would not have departed their river without other conditions.
The bruite of this pretended marriage came soon to Powhatans know-
ledge, a thing acceptable to him, as appeared by his sudden consent
thereunto, who some ten dales after sent an old uncle of hirs, named
Opachisco, to give her as his deputy in the church, and two of his sonnes
to see the marriage solemnized, which was accordingly done about the
fift of Aprill, and ever since we have had friendly commerce and trade,
not onely with Powhatan himselfe but also with his subjects round about
us; so as I now see no reason why the collonie should not thrive apace.
The Attempt of Sir Thomas Dale to get another Daughter of Powhatan,
as a Surer Pledge of Peace.
It pleased Sir Thomas Dale (myselfe being much desirous before my
retourne for England,) to visit Powhatan & his court, (because I would be
able to speak somwhat thereof by mine own knowledge) to imploy my-
selfe, and an English boy for my Interpreter one Thomas Salvage (who
had lived three years with Powhatan, and speakes the language naturally,
one whom Powhatan much aifecteth) upon a message unto him, which
was to deale with him, if by any meanes I might procure a daughter of
his, who (Pocahuntas being already in our possession) is generally reported
to be his delight, and darling, (and surely he esteemeth her as his owne
aoule) for surer pledge of peace.
APPENDIX. 473
Letter of Mr. Whittalcer to his cousin, the Minister of Black-Friars'
Bridge, London, declaring the pious character of Sir Thomas Dale,
and confirming the fact of the bajjtism of Pocahontas before her
marriage. Taken from Mr. Hamor's hook.
To my verie deere and loving cosen M. Gr. Minister of tte B. F. in
London.
Sir the colony here is much better. Sir Thomas Dale our religious
and valient Governour, hath now brought that to passe which never
before could be effected. For by warre upon our enemies, and kind usage
of our friends, he hath brought them to seek for peace of us which is
made, and they dare not breake. But that which is best, one Poca-
huntas or Matoa the daughter of Powhatan is married to an honest and
descreete English Gentleman, Maister Rolfe, and that after she had
openly renounced her countrey Idolatry, confessed the faith of Jesus
Christ, and was baptized ; which thing Sir Thomas Dale had laboured a
long time to ground in her.
Yet notwithstanding, are the vertuous deeds of this worthy Knight,
much debased, by the letters some wicked men have written from hence,
and especially by one C. L. If you heare any condemne this noble Knight,
or doe feare to come hither for those slanderous letters, you may upon
my word bouldly reprove them. You know that no malefactors can abide
the face of the Judge, but themselves scorning to be reproved, doe pro-
Becute withal hatred, all those that labour their emendment. I marvaile
much that any men of honest life, should feare the sword of the magis-
trate, which is unsheathed onely in their defence.
Sir Thomas Dale (with whom I am) is a man of great knowledge in
Divinity, and of a good conscience in all his doings : both which bee rare
in a martiall man. Every Sabbath day we preach in the forenoone, and
chatechize in the afternoone. Every Saturday at night I exercise in Sir
Thomas Dales house. Our church affairs bee consulted on by the minister,
and foure of the most religious men. Once every month wee have a com-
munion, and once a yeer a solemn Fast. For me, though my promis of
8 years service to my country be expired, yet I will abide in my vocation
here untill I be lawfully called fi'om hence. And so, betaking us all unto
the mercies of God in Christ Jesus, I rest for ever
Your most deere and
Virginia, June 18, 1614. loving cosen,
Alex. Whitakebs.
474 APPENDIX.
No. XVII.
THE BROKENBROUGH AND FAUNTLEROY FAMILIES.
[After supposing that my work was done, a box of papers has been
sent me by a friend,* from which, and a brief notice by himself, I have
drawn the following particulars concerning some members of the above-
mentioned families.]
Colonel William Brokenbrough, the first of the name in Virginia of
whom we have any information, settled in Richmond county and married
a Miss Fauntleroy. The Rev. Mr. Giberne married her sister. The sons
of Colonel Brokenbrough were Austin, who married a Miss Champe,
daughter of Colonel Champe, of King George. The children of Austin
Brokenbrough were Champe, who married a Miss Bowie, of Port Royal,
and left no sons. His surviving daughters are Mrs. Thornton, Mrs.
Peyton, and Mrs. George Fitzhugh, of Port Royal. The other son of
Austin Fitzhugh was John, who became an Episcopal clergyman, — a
learned, amiable, but somewhat eccentric man. He left one son, — Austin,
— who married a daughter of the late General Brown, of the United
States Army. The daughters of the first Austin Brokenbrough were
Lucy, who married a Mr. Alexander, of King George, and, at his death,
a Captain Quarles, of Orange ; Elizabeth, who married the Rev. James
Elliott; Jane, who married Mr. Thomas Pratt, of King George, and was
the mother of Mrs. William and Benjamin Gryraes and Mrs. Dangerfield
Lewis, of King George. At the death of Mr. Pratt, Jane married Mr.
Taliafero, of Blenheim. Newman Brokenbrough, the second son of
Colonel William Brokenbrough, left no children. More, the third son,
was the father of the late Colonel William Brokenbrough, of Richmond
county. John, the remaining son, was the father of the late Judge Wil-
liam Brokenbrough, of the Court of Appeals, Dr. John Brokenbrough,
of Richmond, President of the Bank of Virginia, Thomas Broken-
brough, also of Richmond, Arthur Brokenbrough, of the University of
Virginia, and of Dr. Austin Brokenbrough, of Tappahannock.
The first Austin Brokenbrough, son of Colonel William, was a man
of no little notoriety in Virginia. He was in the English army with
Washington, under General Braddock, but took a very diiFerent view of
his obligation to the Crown from General Washington. He, like some of
the old clergy, thought that he was perpetually bound by his oath of al-
legiance to the King. He wished, however, to remain in America, as he
had a father, brother, children, and property here. He was willing to be
passive and obey our laws, but could not unite in what he considered re-
* Mr. George Fitzhugh, of Port Royal.
APPENDIX. 475
belliou. This, however, did not suit the times and Virginia, especially
the Northern Neck. In the year 1775, he sent in a petition to the As-
sembly, asking leave to remain in Virginia on the terms above mentioned,
which was rejected. Nor only this, but not less than five companies of
men from Richmond, Caroline, and Westmoreland counties came to his
house, determined on some signal punishment, if not the taking of hia
life, which he avoided by flying to J^ngland in a vessel about to sail from
Hobbs's Hole. His father and brother, though respecting his motives
for adhering to the Crown, joined themselves to the American party. I
have had access to a diary kept by this Austin Brokenbrough from the
time he set sail in 1775 to the time of his return at the close of the war,
and also to letters of the family. Although the diary is much mutilated,
enough remains to enable us to form a just estimate of his character and
a correct view of himself and companions in England during the war.
Some of them had been officers in the army with him, but most of them
were gentlemen from Virginia who sympathized with him. From hia
diary it would seem that they had a merry time of it while in England,
especially in London, their chief place of rendezvous. But, in order to
relieve the tedium of such a state of idleness and suspense, the American
loyalists determined to form themselves into a company and off"er their
services to the King in ease of a threatened invasion from France. When
the time for electing officers arrived, a Lord Pepperell and John Randolph
of Virginia, brother of Speaker Randolph, were the candidates for the
captaincy. The former gained it by two votes. JNIajor Grymes, who
married Mr. Randolph's daughter, was made ensign of the company.
The King most graciously accepted their ofi'er. There was, however, no
need of their services. Mr. Randolph, it is said, died of a broken heart,
and made it his last request that his remains should be brought back to
Williamsburg and deposited in the College chapel, which request was
granted. Mr. Grymes also returned to Virginia. While in London the
American loyalists' seem to have had a merry time of it, dining and
supping together at various inns, and having more private lodgings
Those who approved their principles and conduct were not wanting in
hospitality to them, — especially Lord Dunmore, who either lived in London
or was often there. Among those who consorted together I find the
names not only of Randolph, Grymes, and Brokenbrough, but of Corbin.
Beverley, Maury, Brackenridge, Kirkpatrick, Wormley, Madison, Burnley,
Marshall, Norton, Gilmore, lunis, Steuart, Walker, Williamson, Richardson,
Fitch, Rhoan, Delauy, Loyd, Stephenson. All of them appear to have
been Americans, — most of them Virginians. Whether they were all dis-
afi"ected to the American cause, or whether other considerations may not
have carried them thither, I know not. Mr. Brokenbrough seems to
nave been intimate with them all.
Time seems to have hung heavy on Mr. Brokenbrough 's hands. He
appears to have been more temperate than some of his companions, either
476 APPENDIX.
English or American, and more chaste in his speech, for he expresses
himself quite shocked at some things in his intercourse with them;
yet he speaks of taking two dinners at different taverns with one of them
in the same day, and again two suppers the same night, and being; quite
drunk, with all the rest of his company, on one occasion. The manners
and morals of London must have been very bad at that time. Mr.
Brokenbrough exhibits a very varied character in his diary. At one
time we have a humorous parody on a passage in Shakspeare ; then ono
of Addison's hymns is copied into it. Now he visits the King's Chapel
in the morning, dines with a friend, and, "after bottle, goes to St.
Thomas's." Now he is in other churches, and speaks in praise of the
sermons, and now at different theatres, and with a company of ladies at
Vauxhall, all of whom, except the young ladies, drank too freely and
were vociferous.
While in Glasgow he heard the celebrated Dr. Robertson, the historian,
preach, and represents his delivery as the most inanimate and uninterest-
ing, though his style was good and some sentences striking. Much of
his time while in London was spent in hearing the debates in Parliament,
especially those on American affairs. He was present when Lord Chat-
ham delivered his last speech and fainted and was carried home. His
account of it is quite good. After spending seven years in this manner,
he becomes very desirous to return to Virginia. During his absence his
father and youngest son died, and his property was wasting away through
mismanagement and was in danger of confiscation. In the year 1782 he
came over, and we find him in a vessel at Boyd's Hole, but is advised by
his brother not to venture farther. After this he is in Charleston, S.C.
At what time he actually resettled himself in Virginia does not appear.
While at Boyd's Hole, on board the " Flag," he addresses a long letter to
Mrs. Tayloe, of Mount Airy, whose husband died during the war. The
letter is in reply to inquiries concerning some friends and relatives in
England. An extract from it will be interesting to some of my readers.
"Dear Madam: — I received your favour by my brother, and should
not have delayed returning my thanks for your kindness to my family
and benevolent wishes to myself had it not been that I am under severe
restrictions in a very small cabin. I lament the unhappy state of my
native counti-y and the causes which separated me from my family, and
nothing is left for me but to be humbly content. It gives me pleasure
that good people and those I respect sympathize with me. The prayers
of such will, I hope, fly up to heaven. My prayers — God help me ! — for
seven long years have availed nothing; yet I shall still most cordially join
them that Great Britain and America may be again cemented by mutual
interests and that an honourable peace may soon take place. Should it
be otherwise, I hope the din of war will never approach so near to Mount
Airy as to produce the least disquietude or in any manner disturb your re-
pose. May your son be a great comfort to you ! I am told he very much
APPENDIX. 477
resembles your papa, and I most sincerely wish tliat he may emulate his
good qualities and eminent virtues. To surpass them can scarcely be ex-
pected,— that so rarely falling to the lot of man. I cannot, dear madam,
help being highly interested in the welfare of a youth whose father al-
ways took pleasure in rendering my family his best services,* and laid me
under particular obligation, and gave the most lively instances of generosity
and humanity, unsolicited, at a time when party prejudices ran high and
sorely against me, and in the moment when I was reduced to the most
lamentable and critical situation that man could be driven into."
It seems that Colonel Tayloe, though on the iimerican side, had gone as
far as he could in behalf of Mr. Brokenbrough, and then warned him of
his danger. The brothers of Mr. Brokenbrough were decidedly American,
as is seen by their letters. The following extract from one of Mr. Newman
Brokenbrough's shows that he took a religious view of the war : —
" The direful scene of war now carried on by Britain upon this con-
tinent is truly melancholy. No man could have thought that English-
men and Christians could have so far degenerated from humanity as to
be guilty of such barbarity as is acted upon the people of this continent.
The most savage race in any age of the world would blush at it. How-
ever it may not be thought, on your side of the water, to be more severe
than the nature of the offence deserves, yet I would beg leave to observe
that people are never the sooner convinced of error by such measures,
and that it rather incites them to revenge than deters them from war.
Upon reflection we may plainly discover the cause of such calamity. The
wickedness and impiety of the present profligate age requires an iron rod
for chastisement. You are now in a country where iniquity abounds,
and if you won't be wilfully blind you may discover the great degeneracy
of the British nation from their ancient purity."
Mr. Austin Brokenbrough in his diary mentions one instance of thia
which shocks him, — viz. : the fact that the English Government sought,
through Grovernor Johnson, of New York, to bribe some of the members
of the American Congress. There was a nobleness of soul in him which
revolted at this.
To the above gleanings from the fragments which have been sent me,
I must add something concerning one member of this family from per-
sonal knowledge. With Dr. John Brokenbrough, of Richmond, President
of the Bank of Virginia, I was long and intimately acquainted. His
house was my home during many years whenever I visited Richmond,
and we freely corresponded at other times. A more amiable man is not
easily found. He took an active part in the building of the Monumental
Church, and was during Bishop Moore's life the vestryman to whom he
referred most frequently for council. And yet he was for a long time
* Colonel William Brokenbrough was a ward of Colonel Tayloe.
478 APPENDIX.
beset with skeptical opinions, and often lamented to me the difficulty of
eradicating them. They were the result of the early teachings of Mr.
Ogilvie, who did so much injury to the youth of Vii'ginia. Mr. Austin
Brokenbrough speaks of this gentleman in his diary as one with whom he
became acquainted in England. How he came to Virginia I am unable
to say, but he became a teacher in Tappahannock, and Dr. Brokenbrough
either was his pupil, or heard those infidel lectures which he delivered
in various parts of Virginia and which ruined so many of her young
men. I have reason to believe that these unhappy doubts ceased to
disturb the mind of Dr. Brokenbrough, and trust that he died in the true
faith of the Christian.
THE FANTLEROY FAMILY, NOW SPELLED FAUNTLEROY.
This is a very ancient and numerous family of Virginia. The name is
often found in the old vestry-books. I have not been able to get any
genealogical account of it, but Henning's "Statutes at Large" makes
frequent mention of Major Moore Fantleroy at a very early period, and I
have recently received a document of some interest, dated 1651, in which
he is one of the chief parties., which I shall present to the reader. Major
Fantleroy lived in the Northern Neck, and kept the Indians in that region
in order by his military talents. In the year 1651 he purchased a large tract
of land from one of the tribes, as the following contract shows: —
At a machcomacoi held the 4th of April, 1651, at Rappahannock, — Acco-
patough, Wionance, Toskicough, Coharneittary, Pacauta, Mamogueitan,
Opathittara, Cakarell James, Minniaconaugh, Kintassa-hacr.
To all people to whom these presents shall come, both English and
Indians, know ye that I, Accopatough, the right-born and true king of
the Indians of Rappahannock Town and Townes, and of all the laud thereto
belonging, do hereby, for and in consideration of ten fathom of peake and
goods, amounting to thirty arms'-length of Rohonoke already in hand
received, and for the love and affection which I the king, and all my men,
do bear unto my loving friend and brother. Moor Fantleroy, who is
likewise now immediately to go with me unto Pasbyhaies unto the gover-
nor, and safely to convey me and my men back again hither unto Rappa-
hannock, for which and in consideration thereof I do hereby bargain and
sell, give, grant, and confirm, and by this present indenture have bar-
gained, sold, given, granted, conveyed, and fully confirmed unto the said
Fantleroy, his heirs and assigns forever, a certain p'cell of land situate,
lying, and being in two necks on the north side of Rappahannock Creek,
beginning for breadth at the southernmost branch or creek of Macaugh-
tions bay or run, and so up along by the side of the said river of Rappa-
hannock, unto a great creek or river which run — Totosha or Tanks Rappahan-
nock Town ; for length extending easterly with its full breadth unto the
bounds of the Potowmack River at the uttermost bounds of my land. To
APPENDIX. 479
have, hold, and enjoy all and singular the aforesaid lands and waters, with
all and every part and parcel thereof, lying and being as aforesaid, unto
the said Fantleroy, his heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns for-
ever, so long as the sun and moon endureth, with all the appurtenances,
rights, liberties, commodities, and profits whatsoever thereunto belonging,
in as full and as ample manner as ever I, the said kins, or any of my
predecessors, ever had or could have had, by for me. My heirs and suc-
cessors fully assuring the said Fantleroy, his heirs and assigns, forever peace-
ably and quietly to enjoy all and every part and parcel of the said land
without any manner of lett, losses, molestations, or disturbance what-
soever proceeding from me or any Indian or Indians whatsoever, now or
hereafter, may or shall belong unto me or any of my heirs, assigns, or
successors, hereby giving unto my said brother full power, leave, license,
and authority to punish, correct, beat, or kill any Indian or Indians
whatsoever, which shall contrary to the intent of this my act and deed
presume to molest, harm, or offer any manner of harm, wrong, injury, or
violence upon the said land, or any part of it, unto the said Fantleroy, his
heirs, executors, administrators, or assigns, or any whomsoever he or they
shall seat, place, or put upon any part or parcel of the abovesaid land
hereby given, and granted, and alienated as aforesaid. In witness whereof,
and to the true and full intent and meaning is hereof, with a full knowledo-e
and understanding of this present act and deed, I, the said kin"-, in the
presence of my said great men and divers others of my Indians, have
hereunto signed and sealed, the fourth day of April, one thousand six hun-
dred and fifty-one. Signed, sealed, and possession given by tree and turf,
ACCOPATOUGH, (seal.)
John Edgecombe, Natha Batson,
Alexander Campler, Franc : Marsh.
This eleventh of May, one thousand six hundred and fifty-one, we,
Touweren, the great King of Rappahannock and Moratoerin, do hereby
fully ratify and confirm the above said act and deed unto our loving
brother Fantleroy, his heirs and assigns. Witness our hand and seals the
day above written.
Witnesses : Touweren, Machamap
William Foote, (seal.) (seal.)
Fran. Marsh,
Natha Batson
(A copy.) (Teste.) Wilson Allen, C. G. C.
Colonel Fantleroy was probably a man of high and fearless temper. It is
on record that on a certain occasion, when he was a member of the House
of Burgesses, something occurred which greatly displeased him, and led
to such strong denunciation of the Assembly that he was expelled for
insulting its members. On the following morning, however, he was
reinstated.
480 APPENDIX.
The following extract from a communication from Dr. Henry Faunt Le
Roy, of Naylor's Hole, Richmond county, furnished at my request, is
added to what has been said about the Faunt Le Roys.
The family is of French origin. After their increase they became dis-
persed, and, from what I can gather, had something to do with the struggles
between the Catholics and Huguenots or French Protestants. Some remained
in their native land, some crossed the Channel, and one came to America
and settled in Virginia at an early period. The last-named, Moore Faunt
Le Roy, purchased from the aborigines a very large tract of land on the
Rappahannock River, above and below the creek of the same name, and
located. How many children he had, I know not. The only written
record which I have is in an old family Bible, in which appears the name
of my great-grandfather, whose name was William. He was born in
1684, was married to Apphia Bushrod, had three sons and seven
daughters, and died in 1757. The sons were William, Moore, and John.
The first-named was my grandfather, and was born in 1713 and died in
1793. The second was born in 1716; death not mentioned. His
children moved from the Northern Neck to King and Queen, where their
descendants now live. The third was born in 1724 : when he died is
not mentioned. My grandfather (who was called Colonel William Faunt
Le Roy) was twice married. By the first wife he had one daughter,
(Elizabeth,) who became the wife of Mr. Adams, of James River, after
having refused her hand to General George Washington. By his second
union (with Miss Murdock) he had seven sons and three daughters. One
married Colonel Turner, near Leedstown, another Mr. Carter, of Am-
herst; a third died single. The eldest two of the sons (William and Moore)
as was customary in the good old days of the aristocracy, received the
greatest share of attention, and, in accordance with the usages of the
./imes, were sent to Europe (home, as it was then called) to be educated.
They were medical students at Edinburgh and Aberdeen, — one fourteen
ftnd the other seven years. William died soon after his return. Moore
lived for some time after bis return in Tappahannock, Essex county.
On account of bad health, he did not do much professionally. He died
in Charleston, S. C, in 1802, at the house of the Rev. Wm. Wilson Henry.
The youngest son but my father was very chivalrous in character, enlisted
D the Revolutionary army, and became a favourite with the commander-
"n-chief. He was killed in the battle of Monmouth, N.J., in June, 1777.
on the anniversary of his natal day, aged twenty-one years. My father
(Robert) was born in 1758, and was married to Sarah Ball, a daughter of
Colonel James Ball, of Lancaster county, and had five children. His life was
marked by a great non-conformity to the world, which made him offensive
to some who did not understand him, but by those who knew him and
his motives he was highly esteemed and duly appreciated. He embraced
religion in 1806, and was a Christian in the Scripture sense of the word
APPENDIX. 481
He died, peaceful and happy, on the 29th of October, 1832. His last
words were, "I want to diej come, Lord Jesus," and he entered into his
rest. ** Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright, for the end of
that man is peace."
[t would seem from the foregoing, and from what may be read in my
notice of Mr. Edward Ambler and his wife, and what Mr. Irving and other
writers have conjectured concerning Miss Grymes, of Middlesex, and per-
haps one other lady in the land, that General Washington in his earlier
days was not a favourite with the ladies. If the family tradition respect-
ing his repeated rejections be true, — for which I would not vouch, — it may
be accounted for in several ways. He may have been too modest and dif.
fident a young man to interest the ladies, or he was too poor at that time,
or he had not received a college or university education in England or
Virginia, or, as is most probable, God had reserved him for greater things,
— was training him up in the camp for the defence of his country. Ad
early marriage might have been injurious to his future usefulness.
No. XVIII.
THE BEVERLEY FAMILY.
[The following extract from a letter of Mr. William B. Beverley, of
Blandfield, Essex county, Virginia, is all I have received concerning this
widely-extended family. The reference made to what is said in Hen-
ning's ''Statutes at Large" is well worthy of attention.]
Dear Sir : — In replying to your letter from Tappahannock, I am sorry
to have to say to you that I am in possession of no papers that can be
useful to you in your notices relative to the Church, &c. in Virginia. I
have always understood that my ancestors were attached to the Protestant
Episcopal Church from their first settlement in this new world. They
were all well-educated men, and all business-men, generally filling public
offices down to the Revolution. It is highly probable my grandfather —
who died in April, 1800, and who, I was told, was a regular attendant at
and supporter of the church of which Parson Matthews was the pastor —
did leave papers that might have been useful to you. But in the divi-
sion of his estate his library and papers not on business were divided out
among his many sons, and, no doubt, like the other property left them,
scattered to the four winds. My uncle. Carter Beverley, qualified first aa
his executor, and so took all papers on business — and, it is probable,
Vol. II.— 31
482 APPENDIX.
many others — to his home in Staunton, and, he told me, lost every thing
of the kind by the burning up of his house.
My father, Robert Beverley, married Miss Jane Taylor, of Mount Airy,
Richmond county. My grandfather, Robert Beverley, married Miss
Maria Carter, of Sabine Hall. My great-grandfather, William Beverley,
married Miss Elizabeth Bland, — the sister, I have heard, of the distin-
guished Colonel Richard Bland, of the Revolution. My great-great-
grandfather, Robert Beverley, (the historian,) married Miss Byrd,
of Westover, I have heard. His father — the first of the name in the
Colony of Virginia — settled at Jamestown about the year 1660, and from
thence moved to Middlesex county. He was a long time Clerk of the
House of Burgesses, a lawyer by profession, and a prominent actor in
Bacon's Rebellion, commanding, I think, the King's troops as major. I
have never beard the name of the lady he married in Hull, England. I
have heard she was the daughter of a merchant of that town. He
brought her to Virginia with him. For a more particular account of this
individual I must refer you to the third volume of Henning's "■ Statutes
at Large," from page 541 to the end. You will there see an authentic
account of some of his services and persecutions. You will also find
in vol. viii. of the same work, page 127, an act which gives, I pre-
sume, the only true account of the male branch of the family now
extant : the act was obtained by my grandfather for the purpose ot
changing an entail from an estate in Drysdale parish, King and Queen
county, (where the historian lived and died,) to one of more value in
Culpepper.
I am sorry I have nothing more interesting to communicate.
With much respect, your ob't serv't,
Wm. B. Beverley.
Rev. Bishop Meade, Milhcood.
No. XIX.
THE PHILLIPS AND FOWKE FAMILIES.
[The following communication concerning two families whose names
are to be seen on the old vestry-books has been sent me by one of the
descendants.]
Mr. James Phillips (sometimes spelled Philipps) was a native of the
South of Wales. He came to this country early in the eighteenth century,
and settled in that part of Virginia known as the county of Stafford. He
mamed » Miss Griffin. Colonel William Phillips, their only child, whm
APPENDIX. 488
born about the year 1746, was Higb-SherifiF of Stafford, and died about
the year 1797. Colonel William Phillips married Miss Elizabeth Fowke, a
daughter of Gerard Fowke, Esq., and Miss Elizabeth Dinwiddle, (Miss
Dinwiddie was a daughter of Mr. Lawrence Dinwiddle, Provost of Glasgow,
Scotland, and was a niece of Robert Dinwiddie, Governor of Virginia,)
by whom he had twelve children, six of whom are now liTing, the eldest
of those living (Mrs. Jones) being eighty-three, and the ycuugest (Cok
nel William Fowke Phillips) being sixty-two, years of age. Colonel Wil-
liam Fowke Phillips married his cousin, Sarah Edith Cannon, of Prince
William county, Virginia, by whom he had seven children, — Laura and
Mary Caroline, (now dead,) William Fowke, Jr., Laura E. S., (married to
Mr. Wm. B. Carr, of Loudon county, Virginia,) Dinwiddie Brazier, (mar-
ried Miss Nannie F., daughter of William Walden, Esq., of Rapp county,
Virginia,) Virginia Edith, and Roberta Gustavia. Colonel Gerard Fowke
was the first of his name who came to this country. He was Colonel in
the British army, and Gentleman of Privy Chamber to Charles I. He
came to Vii'ginia about the time that his unfortunate monarch was be-
headed. One of his sons settled in Maryland. His son. Chandler
Fowke, Esq., settled in King George county, Virginia. He had three
sons, — Chandler, Gerard, and Richard. Chandler married a Miss Har-
rison, Gerard married a Miss Dinwiddie, and Richard married a Miss
Bumbary. Their sister, Elizabeth Fowke, married a Mr. Z. Brazier, (son
of Robert Brazier, of Isle of Thanet, Kent county, England.) Chandler,
the eldest of the children, had three sons, — viz. : William, John, and
Thomas. William married his first-cousin, Jenny Fowke, of Maryland,
and John went to the South with his sister Jenny.
Mr. Gerard Fowke (the second brother) had issue also, — Chandler and
Roger, who went South, Gerard, William, (William married a Miss Bro-
naugh,) Robert Dinwiddie, (Robert Dinwiddie married a Miss Peachy,)
Elizabeth, (who married Colonel William Phillips, of Stafford,) and an-
other daughter, (who married a Mr. Johnston, who resided in Kentucky.)
Richard Fowke, Esq. died in the army. He also left a family.
Elizabeth Brazier had a daughter, — Sarah Harrison Brazier. She
married Mr. John Cannon, son of Mr. L. Cannon, of Ireland. They left
four children, — Grandison, (now dead,) Elizabeth, (dead,) and Sarah
Edith, who married Colonel William Fowke Phillips, the present Auditor
of Treasury for the Post-Ofiice Department. She is now dead also.
Most of those named in this short and in some respects deficient his-
tory were members of the English and Episcopal Churches. Of the
others, two were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and some
few were not communicants in any.
48 i APPENDIX.
No. XX.
Further and more Accurate Information concerning Pohick
Church.
[Mr. Alfred Moss, the present clerk of Fairfax county, having carefully
examined all its records, furnishes me with the following statement. The
church at Pohick must have been completed in the year 1772, since a
certain number of its pews were sold in that year by order of the vestry.
A copy of one of the deeds is presented to the reader as probably the first
of the kind ever executed in Virginia. I have met with no hint of any
such thing in all my researches. The example was in a measure followed, a
year or two after, in Christ Church, Alexandria, as has been already stated.
It appears from the court-records that General Washington was vestryman in
1763. George Mason was elected first in 1749. Some objection was made
to him on the ground that he was not a resident in the parish, but it did
not avail. The Rev. Charles Green was the minister from 1738 until his
death in 1765. He came from Ireland, and in his will recommended his
wife to return thither. They do not appear to have had children. Mr. Moss
informs me that Payne's Church must have been built some time before
Pohick, as there is an old man now living in the neighbourhood who is
ninety-nine years old and who was baptized in it.]
This indenture, made the twenty-fourth day of February, in the year
of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy-four, between the
vestry of Truro parish, in the county of Fairfax, of the one part, and
Daniel McCarty, of the same parish and county, gentleman, of the other
part: whereas, the said vestry did, on the fifth day of June, in the year
1772, order sundry pews in the new church on the upper side of Pohick
to be sold, at the laying of the next parish levy, to the highest bidder for
the benefit of the parish, pursuant to which order the said pews were sold
accordingly by the vestry at the laying of the said next parish levy, on the
20th day of November, in the same year; and the said Daniel McCarty,
party to these presents, then purchased one certain pew in the said church
for the price of fifteen pounds ten shillings current money, — to wit : the
pew numbered 14, situate on the north side of the said church, and ad-
joining the north wall and the rector's pew, being the second pew above
the pulpit, as by the proceedings and records of the said vestry, reference
being thereunto had, may more fully and at large appear. Now this in-
denture witnesseth that the said vestry, for and in consideration of the
said sum of fifteen pounds ten shillings current money, to them in hand
paid, for the use of the said parish, by the said Daniel McCarty, before
the sealing and delivery of these presents, the receipt whereof is hereby
confessed and acknowledged, have granted, bargained, and sold, aliened
and confirmed, and by these presents do grant, bargain, and sell, alien and
APPENDIX.
485
confirm, unto the said Daniel McCarty, the said pew in the said new
church lately built on the upper side of Pohick, in the said parish of Truro
and county aforesaid, numbered and situated as above mentioned, to have
and to hold the said pew above described unto the said Daniel McCarty,
his heirs and assigns, to the only proper use and behoof of him, the said
Daniel McCarty, his heirs and assigns forever. And the said vestry, for
themselves and their successors, (vestrymen of Truro parish,) do covenant
and grant to and with the said Daniel McCarty, his heirs and assigns, that
he, the said Daniel McCarty, his heirs and assigns, shall, and may forever
hereafter, peaceably and quietly have, hold, and enjoy the said pew above
mentioned and described, without the lawful let, hindrance, interruption,
or molestation of any person or persons whatsoever. In witness whereof
the vestry now present (being a majority of the members) have here-
unto set their hands and affixed their seals the day and year first above
written.
G. Mason,
Geo. Washington,
Alex. Henderson,
F. Ellzey,
Thos. Withers Copfeb,
Thos. Ford,
J. A. Wagener,
Martin Cogkburn.
Signed, sealed, and
delivered in the pre-
sence of
' Wm. Triplett,
Wm. Payne,
John Barry,
John Gunnell,
Thomas Triplett.
At the close of this deed is a receipt to Mr. McCarty for fifteen pounds
ten shillings, the price of the pew. General Washington's pew in Christ
Church, Alexandria, cost thirty-six pounds ten shillings.
4:86 APPENDIX.
No. XXI.
The Inscription on Commissary Blair's Tombstone in the Old
Graveyard at Jamestown, furnished by Mr. Hugh Blair
Grigsby, a Descendant of Commissary Blair's Brother.
My dear Sir : — I send you the inscription on the stone of the old Com-
missary in as perfect condition as I could procure it. I also send a trans-
lation, filling the blanks and chasms with my own knowledge of the
events of the Commissary's life. If you look critically at the Latin and
at my paraphrase, you will perceive that I have rarely missed the mark.
One thing it is proper to say. In the line " Evangeli — Preconis" there
may be a mistake of the transcriber. If the word "Preconis" be correct,
then it is figurative, and means to compare the Commissary with John
the Baptist. But I think the word " Preconis" is wrong, and was written
'^Diaconi," " Deacon," as the number of years shows that it was in his
combined character of Evangelist, Deacon, and Priest, to which allusion
is made ; that is, to his whole ministerial services, which were precisely
fifty-eight years.
To another topic I would invite your attention. The concluding lines
in which theology is mentioned are imperfect, and cannot convey the
exact meaning intended, and so I translate them as referring to pious
youth who may seek instruction in sacred things ; but they certainly lead
us to suspect that the good old man left his books to theological students
as a class, and that he had in view to endow by his will an ecclesiastical
professorship. His will in the Clerk's Office, and the statute or order of
the faculty accepting his books, would ascertain the fact.
I wish the remains of the Commissary could be removed to the chapel
of the College, and there, with appropriate services, deposited beneath
the chancel.
With affectionate regards, I am, as ever, reverently and faithfully yours,
Hugh B. Grigsby.
Bishop Meade.
H. S. E. (Hie sepultus est)
Vir Reverendus et Honorabilis
Jacobus Blair, A.M.
In Scotia natus.
In Academia Edinburgensi nutritus,
Prime Angliam deinde Virginiam
venit :
In qua parte tenarum
Annos LVIII. Evangeli, Preconia
LIV. Commissarii
Guhelmi et Marige Praesidis,
APPENDIX. i'^t
0 Britanniae Principum
Consiliarii
Concilii Praesidis,
Coloniae Prefect!,
munera sustiuuit :
ornavit
um oris venusti Decus,
ate hilari sine (?) hospital!
munificent
issimo egenis largo.
omnibus comi
superavit.
Collegio bene diversam
fundaverat
ens TJibliothecam suam
id alendum Theologiae studiosum
juventutem pauperiorem instituendam
Testamento legavit
Cal. Maii in die*
MDCCXLIII
setat: LXXXVIII
am desideratissimi
Senis Laudem
is nepotibus commendabunt
pene marmore perenniora.
Here lies buried
The Reverend and the Honourable
James Blair, A.M.,
who was born in Scotland, was educated in the College cf Edinburgh,
and emigrated to England, and thence to Virginia, in which Colony
he spent fifty-eight years as an Evangelist, Deacon, and Priest of the
* The word "Maii" must be a mistake of the gentlemen who transcribed one of
the fragmentary inscriptions from which I have made out the above skeleton. Dr.
Blair died, I believe, on the 3d of August, 1743. Some of the words, apparently
perfect in my notes, are certainly wrong ; but I have done the work as thoroughly
as my materials will allow me. The two transcripts before me were made, one of
them by the Rev. George W. McPhail, of Eastou, Pa., the other by William Lamb,
Esq., of Norfolk. I have made a translation, filling up the oliasms with my own
suggestions ; and 1 feel confident that, however much we may regret the loss of
the inscription as a whole, and however unable we may be to judge of it as a work
of taste in its present dilapidated state, I have incorporated every important senti-
ment which it contained in the transcript which I send you on the opposite leaf
I am ashamed to say that I have lost — or, ratlier, put too carefully away — the frag-
ments of the inscription which you transmitted to me.
488 APPENDIX.
i^uurch of England, and fifty-four years as Commissary of the Bishop of
London.
He was the Founder and first President of William and Mary College,
a member of the Council, and, subsequently, its President ; and, as such,
in the absence of the representative of the King, the Grovernor of the
Colony.
He sustained his various offices with the approbation of his fellow-men,
while he illustrated in his life those graces which adorn the Christian
character.
He had a handsome person, and in the family circle blended cheerfuK
ness with piety.
He was a generous friend of the poor, and was prompt in lending as-
sistance to all who needed it.
He was a liberal benefactor of the College during his life; and, at his
death, bequeathed to it his library, with the hope that his books — which
were mostly religious — might lead the student to those things that per-
tain to salvation.
He died on the — day of the Calends of May, [August, rather,] in the
year 1743, aged eighty-eight years, exhibiting to the last those graces
which make old age lovely, and lamented by all, especially by his nephews,
who have reared this stone to commemorate those virtues which will long
survive the marble that records them.
No. XXII.
Episcopal High School.
This institution, the diocesan school for boys, is situated at Howard,
m Fairfax county, three miles west of Alexandria, and within a quarter
of a mile of the Theological Seminary. The situation is perfectly healthy
at all seasons of the year, and from its elevation commands a beautiful view
of the Potomac, the cities of the District of Columbia, and the surround-
ing country for many miles. The play -grounds are extensive and adorned
with trees of inviting shade. They are immediately adjoining the school,
and with the fields of the enclosure (containing about seventy acres) afford
ample room for exercise and recreation. The Potomac and other small
streams in the neighbourhood furnish opportunities for bathing and skating.
The buildings, erected expressly for the purposes of the school, are large,
furnished with every convenience for the wants of the students, and
capable of accommodating about eighty boys.
The object of the Church in establishing the High School was to provide
'Il4.::i!l^
APPENDIX. 489
an institution of learning, where youth could be thoroughly educated on
Christian principles, and where their morals and habits could be preserved
from the dangers of evil association. Students can here fully complete their
studies; or they can be prepared for advanced classes — the junior and
senior — at any of the colleges or universities of the country ; or be fitted
to enter upon the study of a profession or the active business of life
During their entire course, the most wholesome moral and religious influ-
ences are sought to be exercised over them.
It is a fixed and unvarying rule, that every branch taught at the school
is to be studied faithfully and well. To efi'ect this object, every effort is
made to insure ability and faithfulness on the part of the instructors and
diligence and improvement on the part of the scholars. Great pains are
taken, by the internal regulations of the school, in each particular depart-
ment, to train the students to habits of method, neatness, and punctuality,
so important in every business or profession and so indispensable to the
comfort and convenience of individuals.
Education of the mind, however, and the formation of business-habits,
are by no means the sole or most important aim of the school. Whilst
these receive constant and proper attention, it is at all times borne in mind
that the morals and the manners of the students are by no means to be
neglected.
To make mere scholars or exact men of business is not the sole duty of
the Christian teacher. He has much nobler ends in view. No exertions
are to be spared to secure those just named; but at the same time he is to
be diligent to bring those intrusted to his care under the influence of re-
ligious principle. He is not only to labour to make them useful men, but,
60 far as in him lies, he is to endeavour to make them Christian gentle-
men,— gentlemen as well in feelings and principles as in outward conduct
and manners.
For these important ends the school was established by the trustees of
the Theological Seminary, in 1839, in obedience to a resolution of the
Diocesan Convention, and placed under the care of the Rev. William N.
Pendleton, who opened it in October of that year. The number of pupils
eoon became large ; and, besides superior intellectual training, the blessings
of divine grace were very richly bestowed upon them, about forty having
in the first few years made a creditable profession of religion, and some of
these having afterward entered the ministry of the Church. This pros-
perity continued until the years 1843—44, when, chiefly through a general
pecuniary embarrassment, which injured almost every literary institution
in the country and ruined some, it became necessary to close the High
School for one year.
In the fall of 1845 it was reopened by the Rev. E. A. Dalrymple, who
nad been appointed its rector at the Convention in May preceding, and
whose energy and skill, under the blessing of a good Providence, soon
lestored it to its former prosperity A.fter a most laborious devotion to
490 APPENDIX.
his duties for about seven years, the failure of his health constrained him
to resign, leaving the institution in a condition promising permanent
success. In the summer of 1852, the Rev. John P. McGuire, its present
rector, was appointed his successor, and is now nearly at the close of his
fifth session. The number of pupils — between seventy and eighty — is
about what it has been for years; it is still among the very first as an
institution of learning; the fruits of grace are still gathered to an encou-
raging extent, some twenty having been added to the Communion of the
Church during the last session, and others now expecting soon to be con-
firmed,— thus in the highest sense accomplishing the purpose for which
the school was originally established.
No. XXIII.
Further Statements concerning the Religious Character o*
Washington and the Question whether he was a Communicant
OR NOT.
Extract from a letter of the Rev. Dr. Berrian, of New York, to Mrs.
Jane Washington, of Mount Vernon, in answer to some inquiries about
General Washington during his residence in New York as President of
the United States : —
" About a fortnight since I was administering the Communion to a sick
daughter of Major Popham, and, after the service was over, happening to
speak on this subject, I was greatly rejoiced to obtain the information
which you so earnestly desired.
"Major Popham served under General Washington during the Revolu-
tionary War, and I believe he was brought as near to him as their difference
of rank would admit, being himself a man of great respectability, and
connected by marriage with the Morrises, one of the first families in the
country. He has still an erect and military air, and a body but little
broken at his advanced age. His memory does not seem to be impaired
nor his mind to be enfeebled."
To the above I can add my own testimony, having in different ways
become acquainted with the character of Major Popham, and having
visited him about the same time mentioned by Dr. Berrian.
Extr let from Major Popham' s Letter to Mrs. Jane Washington
New York, March 14, 1839.
My dear Madam : — You will doubtless be not a little surprised at re-
ceiving a letter from an individual whose name may possibly never have
APPENDIX. 491
-eached you; but an accidental circuu>stance has given me the extreme
pleasure of introducing myself to your notice. In a conversation with the
Rev. Dr. Berrian a few days since, he informed me that he had lately paid
a visit to Mount Vernon, and that Mrs. Washington had expressed a wish
to have a doubt removed from her mind, which had long oppressed her,
as to the certainty of the General's having attended the Communion while
residing in the city of New York subsequent to the Revolution. As nearly
all the remnants of those days are now sleeping with their fathers, it is
not very probable that at this late day an individual can be found who
could satisfy this pious wish of your virtuous heart, except the writer. It
was my great good fortune to have attended St. Paul's Church in this city
with the General during the whole period of his residence in New York
as President of the United States. The pew of Chief-Justice Morris was
situated next to that of the President, close to whom I constantly sat in
Judge Morris's pew, and I am as confident as a memory now labouring under
the pressure of fourscore years and seven can make me, that the President
had more than once — I believe I may say often — attended at the sacra-
mental table, at which I had the privilege and happiness to kneel with
him. And I am aided in my associations by my elder daughter, who dis-
tinctly recollects her grandmamma — Mrs. Morris — often mention that fact
with great pleasure. Indeed, I am further confirmed in my assurance by
the perfect recollection of the President's uniform deportment during
divine service in church. The steady seriousness of his manner, the solemn,
audible, but subdued tone of voice in which he read and repeated the
responses, the Christian humility which overspread and adorned the native
dignity of the saviour of his country, at once exhibited him a pattern to
all who had the honour of access to him. It was my good fortune, my
dear madam, to have had frequent intercourse with him. It is my pride
and boast to have seen him in various situations, — in the flush of victory,
in the field and in the tent, — in the church and at the altar, always him-
self, ever the same.
Letter from General Lewis, of Augusta county, Virginia, to the Rev. Mr
Dana, of Alexandria.
Lewistown, December 14, 1855.
Reverend and Dear Sir : — When (some weeks ago) I had the plea-
sure of seeing you in Alexandria, and in our conversation the subject of the
religious opinions and character of General Washington was spoken of, I
epeated to you the substance of what I had heard from the late General
Robert Porterfield, of Augusta, and which at your request I promised to
reduce to writing at some leisure moment and send to you. I proceed
now to redeem the promise. Some short time before the death of General
Porterfield, I made him a visit and spent a night at his house. He related
many interesting facts that had occurred within his own observation in
492 APPENDIX.
the war of the Revolution, particularly in the Jersey campaign and the
encampment of the army at Valley Forge. He said that his official duty
(being brigade-inspector) frequently brought him in contact with General
Washington. Upon one occasion, some emergency (which he mentioned)
induced him to dispense with the usual formality, and he went directly to
General Washington's apartment, where he found him on his knees, en-
gaged in his morning's devotions. He said that he mentioned the cir-
cumstance to General Hamilton, who replied that such was his constant
habit. I remarked that I had lately heard Mr. say, on the authority
of ]\ii.. ^ that General Washington was subject to violent fits of passion,
and that he then swore terribly. General Porterfield said the charge was
false; that he had known General Washingtou personally for many years,
bad frequently been in his presence under very exciting circumstances,
and had never heard him swear an oath, or in any way to profane the
name of God. " Tell Mr. from me," said he, " that he had much
better be reading his Bible than repeating such slanders on the character
of General Washington. General Washingtou," said he, ''was a pious
man, and a member of your Church, [the Episcopal.] I saw him myself on
his knees receive the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper in Church, in
Philadelphia." He specified the time and place. My impression is that
Christ Church was the place, and Bishop White, as he afterward was, the
minister. This is, to the best of my recollection, an accurate statement
of what I heard from General Porterfield on the subject.
I am, sir, with great respect, very truly yours, S. H. Lewis
[In relation to what is said about the paroxysms of passion and terrible
swearing of General Washington, we have something very special to say.
We have heard of this many years since, and think we are able to trace
it to its true source.
The following extract from a late synopsis of General Washington's
private letters to his secretary,— Mr. Tobias Lear, — by the Hon. Richard
Rush, of Philadelphia, will throw some light on the subject: — ]
"An anecdote I derived from Colonel Lear shortly before his death in
1816 may here be related, showing the height to which his [General
Washington's] passion would rise, yet be controlled. It belongs to his
domestic life which I am dealing with, having occurred under his own
roof, whilst it marks public feeling the most intense and points to the
moral of his life. I give it in Colonel Lear's words as nearly as I can,
having made a note of them at the time.
Toward the close of a winter's day in 1791, an officer in uniform was
seen to dismount in front of the President's in Philadelphia, and, giving
the bridle to his servant, knock at the door of his mansion. Learning
from the porter that the President was at dinner, he said he was on public
business and had despatches for the President. A servant was sent into
APPENDIX. 493
the dining-room to give the information to Mr. Lear, who left the table
and went into the hall, when the officer repeated what he had said. Mr.
Lear replied that, as the President's secretary, he would take charge of
the despatches and deliver them at the proper time. The officer made
answer that he had just arrived from the Western army, and his orders
were to deliver it with all promptitude, and to the President in person;
but that he would wait his directions. Mr. Lear returned, and in a whisper
imparted to the President what had passed. General Washiugton rose
from the table and went to the officer. He was back in a short time and
made a word of apology for his absence, but no allusion to the cause of it.
He had company that day. Every thing went on as usual. Dinner over,
the gentlemen passed into the drawing-room of Mrs. Washington, which
was open in the evening. The General spoke courteously to every lady in
the room, as was his custom. His hours were early, and by ten all the
company had gone. Mrs. Washington and Mr. Lear remained. Soon Mrs.
Washington left the room. The General now walked backward and for-
ward slowly for some minutes without speaking. Then he sat down on a
sofa by the fire, telling Mr. Lear to sit down. To this moment there had
been no change in his manner since his interruption at table. Mr. Lear
now perceived emotion. This rising in him, he broke out suddenly : — " It's
all over! St. Clair's defeated, — routed; the officers nearly all killed, the
men by wholesale; the rout complete. Too shocking to think of; — and a
surprise into the bargain!" He uttered all this with great vehemence.
Then he paused, got up from the sofa, and walked about the room several
times, agitated, but saying nothing. Near the door he stopped short and
stood still for a few seconds, when his wrath became terrible. "Yes," he
burst forth, "here, on this very spot, I took leave of him. I wished him
success and honour. ' You have your instructions,' I said, ' from the Secretary
of War : I had a strict eye to them, and will add but one word, — beware
of a surprise! I repeat it, beware of a surprise; you know how the Indians
fight us.' He went ofi" with that as my last solemn warning thrown intc
his ears. And yet to sufi"er that army to be cut to pieces, hacked,
butchered, tomahawked, by a surprise, — the very thing I guarded him
against! 0 God! 0 God! he's worse than a murderer! How can he an-
swer it to his country ? The blood of the slain is upon him, — the curse of
the widows and orphans, — the curse of Heaven !" This torrent came out
in tones appalling. His very frame shook. " It was awful," said Mr. Lear.
More than once he threw his hands up as he hurled imprecations upon St.
Clair. Mr. Lear remained speechless, awed into breathless silence. The
roused chief sat down on the sofa once more. He seemed conscious of his
passion, and uncomfortable. He was silent. His warmth beginning tc
bside, he at length said, in an altered voice, "This must not go beyond
this room." Another pause followed, — a longer one, — when he said, in a
tone quite low, "General St. Clair shall have justice: I looked hastily
through the despatches, saw the whole disaster, but not all the particulars.
494 APPENDIX.
[ will receive him without displeasure; I will hear him without prejudice,
he shall have full justice." He was uow (said Mr. Lear) perfectly calm.
Half an hour had gone by. The storm was over; and no sign of it was
seen in his conduct or heard in his conversation. The whole case was
investigated by Congress. St. Clair was exculpated, and regained the
confidence Washington had in him when appointing him to command. He
had put himself into the thickest of the fight, and escaped unhurt, though
60 ill as to be carried on a litter and unable to mount his horse without
help.
In relation to the above, let it be granted that Mr. Lear, (who did not
sympathize with Greneral Washington's religious opinions,) after the lapse
of more than twenty years, retained an accurate recollection of all his
words, and that Mr. Rush fully understood them and truly recorded them,
as doubtless he did: yet what do they amount to? Is the exclamation "O
God ! 0 Grod I" under his aroused feeling, that swearing since imputed to
him, but which from his youth up he had so emphatically condemned in
his soldiers as impious and ungentlemanly?*
If it be said that some doubt still rests on the question of General
Washington's being a communicant, by reason of the testimony of Bishop
White, as mentioned in a previous part of this book, such doubt may be
removed in the following manner : — Here are two most respectable ofiicers
under General Washington, who testify to the fact of having seen him
commune in New York and Philadelphia. He may have communed iu
Philadelphia on some occasion and yet not been seen by Bishop White, who
had the care of two or three churches, at which he officiated alternately in
conjunction with one or more ministers. He may have retired, and doubt-
less did, at other times, and was seen by Bishop White. If it be asked how
we can reconcile this leaving of the church at any time of the celebration
of the Lord's Supper with a religious character, we reply by stating a well-
* The Rev. Dr. McGuire, of Fredericksburg, while preparing his volume on the
Religious Opinions and Character of Washington, having heard this report ema-
nating from some of the enemies of Washington and too readily admitted by somo
of his friends, made a particular personal inquii'y of Mr. Robert Lewis, of Frede-
ricksburg, and Mr. Laurence Lewis, of Woodlawn, two gentlemen as competent to
know the private habits of Washington as any others in the land They were
nephews of General Washington. The former lived iu the family of Washington
for some time as private secretary: the latter was his near neighbour, living on a
farm given him by the General. Both of them were men of the highest character,
and pious members of our Church, and both declared that they had never heard
an oath from the lips of their uncle. To this testimony, and those of General
Porterfield and Major Popham, is to be opposed that of Mr. Tobias Lear's account
of one of Washington's paroxysms, as given above, and which, according to his
own showing, was never to go beyond the room in which it occurred. The testi-
mony of one who had betrayed a sacred trust if Washington on another occasion
oesides this should be received with doubt.
APPENDIX. 495
known fact, — viz : that in former days there was a most mistaken notion,
too prevalent both in England and America, that it was not so necessary
in the professors of religion to communicate at all times, but that in this
respect persons might be regulated by their feelings, and perhaps by the
circumstances in which they were placed. I have had occasion to see
much of this in my researches into the habits of the members of the old
Church of Virginia. Into this error of opinion and practice General
Washington may have fallen, especially at a time when he was peculiarly
engaged with the cares of government and a multiplicity of engagements,
and when his piety may have suffered some loss thereby.
No. XXIV.
The Virginia Alminack for the Year of our Lord God 1776.
The right Honourable John Earl of Dunmore, Governor.
Jlfembers of his Majesty's Council.
Honourable.
Thomas Nelson, Esqr., Presid George William Fairfax, Esqr.
Richard Corbin, Esqr. Ralph Wormley, jun., Esqr.
William Byrd, Esqr. Rev'd. John Camm.
John Tayloe, Esqr. John Page, Esqr.
Robert Carter, Esqr. Gawin Corbin, Esqr.
Robert Burwell, Esqr.
Governors and Visitors of the College.
Nathaniel Burwell, Esqr., Rector.
Hon. Thomas Nelson, Esqr. Thomas Nelson, jun., Esqr., (after-
" Richard Corbin, Esqr. wards General Nelson).
" Wm. Byrd, Esqr. Richard Bland, Esqr.
'' John Page, jun., Esqr. Dudley Digges, Esqr.
" Ralph Wormley, Esqr. Charles Carter, Esqr., Corotoman.
Rev. James Maury Fontaine. Richard Randolph, Esqr.
Rev. Thomas Field. .John Blair, Esqr.
Pevton Randolph, Esqr. Robert Beverley, Esqr.
Robert Carter Nicholas, Esqr. Benjamin Harrison, Esqr.
Mann Page, Esqr.
The foregoing shows who were the leading persons in the government
of the State and College in the year 1776. The Mr. Nathaniel Burwell
496 APPENDIX.
who was rector of the College was probably of Isle of Wight, and the
ancestor of many of that name. The Thomas Nelson who was President
of the Council was one of the sons of the first Thomas Nelson, and
usually called Secretary Nelson, because generally Secretary of the
Colony. His brother William, who was generally President of ihe
Council, being now dead, Thomas succeeded to his office as President.
No. XXV.
Blissland Parish, New Kent County.
Since the first edition of this book 1 have received a fragment of the
vestry-book of this parish, beginning in the year 1721, and ending in 1786
During this period of sixty-five years, there were only three ministers: the
Rev. Daniel Taylor, who continued from 1721 to 1729 ; the Rev. Chickerley
Thacker, from 1729 to 1763; the Rev. Price Davies, from 1763 to 1786
Their continuance in office for such periods speaks well for their charac
ter. The Rev. Mr. Davies was one selected by the House of Burgesses
to take part in the services at Williamsburg, at the beginning of oui
Revolutionary struggle, — which indicates his patriotic principles. The
services of the ministers of this parish are supposed to have been divided
between Warren Church, so called from the swamp of that name about
ten miles below New Kent Court-House, which has entirely disappeared,
and Hickory Neck Church, in James City county, which is still stand-
ing, though not used by Episcopalians. We hear of some movement
towards the re-establishment of Episcopal worship there. It is about
ten miles distant from Williamsburg, and was sometimes visited by
Bishop Madison. Eltham, the seat of the Bassetts, in New Kent, was
within this parish, and the Honourable Burwell Bassett, as well as
his father, William Bassett, were long the vestrymen of it. The follow-
ing is a list of the names of the vestrymen from 1721 to 1786 : — Bassett,
Thornton, Slater, Cox, Morris, Richardson, Alderley, Armstead, Keeling,
Holdcroft, Kenney, Hockaday, Doran, Williams, Woodward, Dickson,
Allen, Mackain, Sherman, Clough, Henley, Radcliffe, Terrel, James,
Hogg, Power, Goddin, Macon, Dandridge, Hankin, Prince, Russell, Tim-
berlake, Bridges, Banks, Lewis, Baker. In the above, how many of the
families in Virginia and elsewhere may find the names of their ancestc.tsJ
THE END.
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