Google

This is a digital copy of a book that was preserved for generations on library shelves before it was carefully scanned by Google as part of a project

to make the world's books discoverable online.

It has survived long enough for the copyright to expire and the book to enter the public domain. A public domain book is one that was never subject

to copyright or whose legal copyright term has expired. Whether a book is in the public domain may vary country to country. Public domain books

are our gateways to the past, representing a wealth of history, culture and knowledge that's often difficult to discover.

Marks, notations and other maiginalia present in the original volume will appear in this file - a reminder of this book's long journey from the

publisher to a library and finally to you.

Usage guidelines

Google is proud to partner with libraries to digitize public domain materials and make them widely accessible. Public domain books belong to the public and we are merely their custodians. Nevertheless, this work is expensive, so in order to keep providing tliis resource, we liave taken steps to prevent abuse by commercial parties, including placing technical restrictions on automated querying. We also ask that you:

+ Make non-commercial use of the files We designed Google Book Search for use by individuals, and we request that you use these files for personal, non-commercial purposes.

+ Refrain fivm automated querying Do not send automated queries of any sort to Google's system: If you are conducting research on machine translation, optical character recognition or other areas where access to a large amount of text is helpful, please contact us. We encourage the use of public domain materials for these purposes and may be able to help.

+ Maintain attributionTht GoogXt "watermark" you see on each file is essential for in forming people about this project and helping them find additional materials through Google Book Search. Please do not remove it.

+ Keep it legal Whatever your use, remember that you are responsible for ensuring that what you are doing is legal. Do not assume that just because we believe a book is in the public domain for users in the United States, that the work is also in the public domain for users in other countries. Whether a book is still in copyright varies from country to country, and we can't offer guidance on whether any specific use of any specific book is allowed. Please do not assume that a book's appearance in Google Book Search means it can be used in any manner anywhere in the world. Copyright infringement liabili^ can be quite severe.

About Google Book Search

Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web

at|http: //books .google .com/I

I

a^uu-^^^

OLFCHUKCHES,

MINISTERS

AND

FAMILIES or VIRGINIA.

By bishop MEADE.

.1 «•

L . /.^' '

IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. II.

m t

•

V ^

« •

. *

•t t

PHILADELPHIA:

J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY.

1891.

738576

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857) by

J. B. UPPINCOTT k CO.

in the Gerk's Office of the District Court of the United Stiites fbr the Eastern District of

PennsylTania.

• •

The profits of this work, if any, uill be devoted to Missions.

CONTENTS OF VOL. II.

ARTICLE XL VI.

rjMM A NTRiM parish, HalifAX county — Rev. Mr. Dresser's letter about it to Dr. Hawks — Sketch of its ministers — Rev. Alexander Hay — Evan Raglaud, 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 OLd 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 — Russell parish — Imperfect list of its old churches — Church at Liberty 14

ARTICLE XLVIIL

Parishes in Amelia, Nottoway, and Prince Edward — Raleigh and Nottoway parishes — Rev. Mr. Brunskill — His toryism — Threats in church — Churches ia Amelia — Families — Egglestons, Archers, Bookers, Tabbs, Banisters, &c. — Old Grubhill — Attachment to the name — Vestrymen — Rev Me88i*s. Lee and Berkeley — Nottoway parish — Its ministers — Treatment of one of its old churches — 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 'o

ARTICLE XLIX.

Parishes in Cumberland, Buckingham, and Fluvanna — St. James Southam — V\»8try-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.. 38

ARTICLE L.

Frcdericksville and Trinity parishes, 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 ministor? —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 Re^. Robert Rose — Other ministers — The Rev. Charles Clay — His pau'oti<' pir- mon — Vestrymen in St. Anno's parish — Other churches — Later ministvrs — Old Ballinger Church — General Cocke — Church in Charlotteville — Mr. Hatch — Mr. Jefferson — Rev. Zachnriah 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 — Offence given by it 1^

ARTICLE LIL

Parishes in Amherst, Nelson, Botetourt, Rockbridge, Greenbner, and Mor*.- sjomery — Ministers in Amherst and Lexington parishes — Churches in .Le

4 CONTENTS.

yiGK

same — Churches in Lexington parish after the division — List of vestrymen, from the vestry-book — Amherst parisli, 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 M(\jor Burwell and his descendant! — Church in Rockbridge — Its ministers and church — The prospect at Wythe ville, Abington, &c '•'

ARTICLE LIII.

/ Ht. George's parish, Spottsylvania county — The Rev. Mr. Slaughter's history- of ^ it — Governor Spottsvrood — Germanna — Colonel Byrd's account of Frcdrricks- hurg — List of its ministers — Of its churches — Of its vestrymen — The two Muryes — Rev. Mr. Thornton — General Washington's visit to Frederick}*burg — 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 ettect — Mr. Wood v ill e and family • *

ARTICLE LV.

^"^ Churches in St. Thomas parish, Orange county — The Rev. Mr. Earnest's account of them — Names and locati<ms of the churches — Migor Burton — Indian antiquities on the Rapidan River — Benjamin Cave an early settler — Plate, the gift of the grandmother of President Madison — The letter of .Tames Madison, Sr. to Mr. Leland, 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 — ilr. Wirt's account of him exaggerated — List of ministers — Rev. Mr. Marye —Old Mrs. Madison's Confinnation by Bishop Moore 84

ARTICLE LVI.

Grnealogy of the Madison and Taylor families, from the papers and diary of President Madison and his father — President Madison's religious character — His niotiicr's piety — His wife's baptism late in life — Attachment of the Taylors and Madisons to the Church — Philip Williams's c»rati(»n 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 history in England — Four volumes of letters, &c. recently published — Their Protestant charnctor at an early period — The Rev. Henry Fairfax — Rev. Denny Martin an<l Rov. Bryan Fairfax — History of Cromwell's great general, (tcorge William Fairfax, of Belvoir — Address to the descendant* — The Carter family — John and his wives — Robert {aliin King) Carter and his wives — Councillor Carter, of Nomini — His excoDency 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.... 106

ARTICLE LVIIT.

Parishes in Lancaster county — Old vestry-books — The loss (tf one of them — Discipline proved by them — Account of my visit to Christ Church ir 1837 —

CONTENTS. 0

pA«r The tombs of the Carters nnd 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, frcm 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 family — 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) ]''i

ARTICLE LX.

Cople parish, Westmoreland — Ministei-s 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.

V ashington 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 Leo buried at Pope's Creek Church 158

ARTICLE LXII.

Farnham and Lunenburg parishes, Richmond county — Records of the court at Tappahanuock — 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 vestrj' — Rev. Mr. Giberne — Letter of a fHeiid (Colonel Carter) in Lunenburg parisih, concerning the old churche?* and ininij^ters — The Tayloe family — Micous and Fauntleroys intermarry 172

ARTICLE LXIIL

Parishes in King George — Changes in their boundaries — Hanover parisih — Its churches and ministers^ — Its ve**trymen, from the ve«try-book ami records of the court — Rev. Mr. Boucher — Letter of General Washington to him — Recent history of the parish — The Turner family — Brunswick parish — It* ministers, churches, and vestrymen — St. Paul's parish — Old vestry-book and n-pster, 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- bugh family , IH^l

ARTICLE LXIV.

Overwharton parish, Stafford county — Alexander Scott — His tombstone — R"- Mr. Moncure — His history by Mrs. Wood — Tomb of her mother — Death o*

6 CONTENTS.

vhe Kev. Mr. Moncare — Letter of George Mason, of Gunston, on the occaT*:"'! — 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 dcscendants-t-His Hon 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 Marchall — Anecdotes of him — Tenderness to Mrs. Mar.shall

-His religious opinions — Letter of the Rev. Mr. Norwood 21ft

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. Ma.son Weems — Mjunt Vernon after the death of Mrs. Washington — The Blackburns — Judge Washington — Two letters from Mr. Stoddert, of Maryland, concerning the Rev. Lee Mnssey, George Johnson, and Martin Cockburn, and Mrs. Cockburn — Mistake in the same — General Washington's English coach 226

ARTICLE LXVIII.

I'eligious 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 oificer — His /jorrespondcnce with Governor DinwidJie — 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 212

ARTICLE LXIX.

Fairfax parish — Christ Church — Original names of Alexandria — Churches — Ministei-a — Kev. Bryan Fairfax — Rev. Dr. Griffith — Visit to the Falls Church — Dr. McQtierr — Griffith chosen tirst Bishop — His zeal in the cause of the Church — Correspondence with • Dr. Buclianon — Case of the glebe — List of vestrymen — George Taylor and Etlnumd I. Lee 256

ARTICLE LXX.

St. P.'iurs Churcli, Alexrimlrin, Cameron nnd Shelburne jiarishes, Loudon county — Sei)Mration from Chri^'t Cliurch under Mr. Gibstm — Purchase of UM St. Paul's — First vestry — Other vestrymen — New ehiircli — Liberality of Mr. McLean — Bishop Clnggett — Bishop Madison — List of minister.s — Came- ron j)arish — Its nnnister.*^ and churches — Shelhurne — Its churches and minis- ters and vestiymen — Kev. l>r. Griffith — Rev. Mr. Dunn — The glebe — Lawsuit —Its vestrymen '21 i

CONTENTS. 7

ARTICLE LXXI.

PAua

Parishes in Frederick county — The Valley of Virginia — Mr. Jefferson's opinion of it correct — Oermans the first settlers — The Hites — Presbyterians tolerated — First vestry condemned — Log churches — Lord Fairfax — List of the yestry- men — Lay readers — Ministers — Alexander Balmaine — Mrs. Hannah Wash- ington— Cunningham's Chapel 279

ARTICLE LXXII.

Continuation of ministers — Old parish divided into foui' — 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 LXXm.

Norbourne parish, Berkeley county — The Shepherds — Shephrrdstown and its churches — Charleatown 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 295

ARTICLE LXXIV.

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. S0*2

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 300

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 affaiirs — 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 U17

ARTICLE LXXVII.

Churches in Brooke county — Dr. Dcddridge's account of the neglect of the Epis- copal Church in the West — Objections to it — Di*. 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 ray pamphlet on the subject 827

ARTICLE LXXVIII.

Churches in Wheeling, Clarksburg, Fairmont, 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 •

8 CONTEXTS.

PAOt

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 Ticinity, New Martinsville, and Moundsville — Rev. Mr. Page first minister in Kanawha — Other ministers — The church in Chnrlestnn — Its history — List of vestrymen — Old Mrs. Quarrier and family — The Salines — Coalsmouth — Its churches — The Hudsons and Thompsons — Vestr^'uien — Stations on the Kanawha — Point Pleasant — Mercer's Bottom — Bnice Chnpfl — Ravenswood Church — Its builders — Vestrymen — Lathes' association — .Ministers — Bellville Church — Its builder — Parkersburg — lis church — Ministers — Ve^trymen — Cow Creek Church — New Martinsville — Moundsville S\A

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 da}' 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 altenition in the thirty-fifth canon — The general seminary—Judge Cameron — Bishop White'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 893

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. 6. — Holph's letter concerning the eafly settlements in Virginia 4J?0

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

lv76 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 Supremo Court on the glebe question 452

No. 10. — John Randolph's recontation of Gibbon's principles 469

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 Wyconiieo parishes, Northumberl'd 467

No. 16. — Extracts from Ralphe Ilnnior 469

No. 17. — The Brokenbrough and Fauntleroy families 474

No. 18.— The Beverley family 481

So. 19.— The Phillips' an<i Fowke families 482

No. 20. — Further and more accurate information concerning Pohick Church... 484 No 21. — The in.«cription on Commi.««sary Blair's tomb.«tone in the old graveyard

at Jamestown 486

No 22.— Episcopal High School 488

No. 28. — Further Stiitcmcnts concerning the Religious Chanicter of Washing- ton and the Question whether he was a Connnunicjint or not 490

No. 24. — Extract from the ''Virginia Almanac" for 1770 49-'»

No. 25. — Ulissland Parish. New Kent County VM'i

^Ib C|urc|cs, P^im$lers,anb Jfamilies

OF

YIRGINIA.

ARTICLE XLVI.

Antrim Parish^ Halifax County,

WnEX 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 tlie 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 officiate 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 Rivor, 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 Orders, who wished to be pre- pared with 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. Chisholm ; 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 Rutledge, who were then engaged in writing a history of the different dioceses of the Church in this country.

THE REV. MR. DRES8ER*S LETTER.

** The earliest mention of a clergyman in the minutes of the vestry is in 1753, when it was * ordered that two thousand pounds of tobacco be paid to the Rev. Mr. Pn>ctor, for services by him done and performed for this pr»risb.' And at the same meeting, *on motion of James Foulis, cle."^, • id for reasons appearing to this vestry, he is received and taken ftw ininistcr of this parish.' The name of Mr. Foulis continues to appcr.? on the minutes of the ve8t^^• 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 mouths, and then resigned his charge, in consequence of hh age and the extent of the parish. The next spring the Rev. Alexander Gordon, from Scotland, becauie rector of the parish, and continued t'> officiate until the commencement of our Revolution, when, being disaffectcl 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 wLwiu are some of the brightest ornamcuts 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 departure until 1787, I find no parish records, and know but little of the Church durinsj that interval. The Rev. James Oaig, of Cumberland parish, Luuenburg, however, officiated a part of the time in this county during three or four of the last yeai-s, — a gentleman highly esteemed both as a man atid 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, regulatini: the appointment of vesf les. &c. The same year a new vestry was elected in this county, and, in 1790, Rev. Alexander Ilay, 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 reli^M<^n He was hardly inducted into the parish before petitions be^an to be i>ro- 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 reuionstranctf to t^ . .legislature. The ill temper manifested by him in the«e and oth* t r.»ssactions, or some other cause, made several of the uiuM 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. U

cnted for slander, but obtained no damages. Under the operation of such causes, as you may well suppose, the Church continued to decline. Tc 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's ministry : —

" ' 1792. Baptisms, 89 whites, 35 blacks. Marriages, 11. Funerals, 1.'

<<<1802. Baptisms, 31 whites, 6 blacks. Marriages, 3. 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 different 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 1795-96, was burned to the ground 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 erected 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.

**ln 1814, Evan llagland, Esq., 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 Mr. Hay, however, agents or commissioners were appointed by 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 CHURCUES, MINISTERS, AND

the will. The last of the huuds is now due, and the Convention is e\ pected to determine at its next meeting what shall be done with the money, amounting to one thousand seven hundred or one thousand eight hundred dollars.

" In 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 Mecklenburg, was called to the county to perform some official duty. This led to an arrangement for him to preach once a month at Mount Ijaurel Church, which had been built a few years previous, 3hiefly by Episcopalians, but with the condition that it should be free to others wuen 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 spring of the same year 1 received ordination, and was directed by the Bishop to make this the field of my labours. Ihcse I commenced the first Sunday in June, and was well received by a few, though 1 found great ignorance of the Church prevailing, and, among many, the most bitter prejudices against her. These prejudices, 1 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 uf the county. My Sunday labours are divided between these congregjitions, but 1 am often invited to preach in Baptist and Methodist meeting-houses ; and, did my stated duties permit, 1 might preach much oftener than I 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 1 have given the annals of my parish as far as I have been able to collect them; and, lest I should prove tediously prolix, I will touch upon bat 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 F<<trick Henry was once an infidel, &c. His widow and some of his descendants arc residing in this county, and I am authorized by one of them to tay 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 ofliered, and on such occasions always fasted until after he had communicated, and spent the day in the greatest retirement. Thia 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 difi*using 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- gati(»n 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 tu

James Terry, Richard Echols, Thos. Dillard, Thos. Calloway, Richard Brown, 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, Jolin Bates, Edward Booker, Hugii Junis, Geo. Watkins, Alexander Gordon, Thomas Tunstall, John Donaldson, Evan Ragland, Benjaniin Dickson, William Thompson, George Boyd, Moses Terry, William Sims, Walter Coles, Edward Wade, Isaac Coles, John Coleman, William Terry, Michael Roberts, John Raglan d, Armistcad 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 CHURCH BS, MIXISTGRS, AND

ARTICLE XLVII.

Parishen in Pittsylvania^ Henry ^ Campbell^ and Bedford.'^

Camden Parish^ Pittsylvania.

The naines 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, so 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 pariijh, — we find the name of the Rev. Lewis Gullliam. 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 hira 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. 1£

•

a 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, — pmigrated 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 off- 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.

in 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 Colltge, in Illinois, a church (St. Andrew's) was built in this part of the CLunty, 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 Churoli. 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's coming, in 1840. He is still the minister of the parish, and will, T 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 efforts 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 VIUGINIA. 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 affairs of the Church. Nothing is said of a parish. That was reserved for our Convention at a later period. The first minister in Lynchburg — the Rev. Amos Tredway — is said to represent Lynchburg parish, *nd by that name does it still go. Subsequently, Moore parish is * established in the county. In Lynchburg, 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.

RUSSELL 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. IL— 2

.</

a8 old CHURCIIES, MINISTERS, AND

lime. Both were enlarged in the year 1754 by the addition of a part 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 1754 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 tiiere 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 oflSciated 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 tht^ diocese.

In the year 1825 the Rev. Nicholas H. Cobbs nppears 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 which 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 r.he ministry of the Rev. Mr. Caldwell, who spent some time at

FAMILIES OF VIRaiNLA. Vi

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 its 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 connty, and as many other ministers, and bad a promise of their names, bat sumetning ha« preTeii(e«i w fuMbufat.

20 OLD CHURCHES, MIXJSIERS, ANI>

ARTICLE XLVIII.

Parishei in Amelia , Nottoway ^ and Prince JEdward,

Amelia county was cut off from Prince George in the yeat 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 liTcd 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 languajre, or he would receive harsh treatment added to disrespect. lie uever actemptea «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 1768 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 Brunskill 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 Ciiurch hero was attiibuted to him. He died at his glebe, near Amelia Court-House, in 180t^ or 1804, in good circumstances, leaving hi:' F^rvants free, and every thing 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 tht 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 officiate 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 Chinqunpin 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 different 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 vener.ible 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 land?, (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 182S. 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 BooVcrs, Tabbs, Eggles- tons. Archers, Royall?*, and Meades.

The plate was kept by Joseph Eggleston, Sen. and Jr., till the death of the Utter, 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 which Judge Tucker speaks as dwelling in York before the Revolutionary War.

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 tiroes 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 lar£;e poles and in other ways, they could not be induced to abandon them. This presented an obstacle for some time to remodelling and impraving 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 names are not always things, 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 : — Ilodijah 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 Worshnm, 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.

1 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. **iVb/i 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 Ilenning, 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 was 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 (1788) Nottoway county is established, corresponding, I pre- sume, with the bounds of old Nottoway parish in Amelia. The Act speaks of two 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 in she 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 1763, Major Thomas Tabb and Major Peter Jones churchwardens, William Craioby, Wood Jones, Willinm Archer, Richard Jones, and Samuel Cobb, vestrymen. This must certainly be a part of the old vestry-book of Raleigh parish, and Mr. Brunskill must have been its minister in 1753. In the following year (1764) he was certainly in another parish, and Mr. Dnuson in this. He must have returned 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 18.30," writes a friend, " while riding with a friend from Prince Edward Court-Houao 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 Establisihment,* was his reply. ' The present owner of the farm, (which I think had been the glebe,) finding it vacant and on land 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 the general sentiment of this community as that of a coarse-minded, unscmpuloos Totarj r»f mammon.' "

FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 25

seased in Prince Edward, as we see no representative, either clerical or lay, in any Convention.

There were in Mr. McRoherts's time three churches in Prince 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 *]ie 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 churcli was the legal title, and that it belonged now to the Commonwealth of Virgini-i, 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 was 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 — tliat the churches were the property of Episcopalians — was true, or that of Jud^ire Bouldin and Mr. Smith, then, in the first case, the Episcopalians in the county ought to have been applied to to decide the question, ci

26 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND

else the public authorities, either of which would, T 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 Saiuly 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, sou of the old lady of Hanover who ba<le the overseers of the poor who sent a deputation to her for the Communion-plate to come tliem- selves and take it. He inherited all his mother'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 bcyon<l 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

rrince 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 Davics, 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. SuflScient 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 Carrington, 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- fiiderable number of them had doubtless given in their adhesion to

28 OLD CHURCHKS, MINISTERS, AND

the Presbyterian Church. 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 became 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 fiimily, whose members abound in this part Df 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- rington 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 William Mayo, brother of Joseph, who had settled in Goochland. They went to reside on Willis's Creek, now in Cumberland county. They had eleven children, — viz.: Paul, William, (who died in infancy,) George, 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 Priacilla 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 with Pendle- ton on the subject of religion and in attachment to the Episcopal Church, when the question of the constitutionality of the law for Belling 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, he waa 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 lip8. 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 unw^orthy, 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 heM 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 its constitution or administration, I am unable to say.

The articles in which the Presbyterian Church has been spoken

FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 31

of having been read by a gentleman well versed in its history, be 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 ignes, suppo- sites cineri dolose," 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. I 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 en propriety.

" My 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 19 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, kfi. ', 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 Edi(?t 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 offspring 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 an 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 hhe was so brilliant an ornament.

*• Joseph Morton, the ancestor of the most numerous branch of the Mortons, 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 effect of this movement, became the cause of its increase, and this institu- tion, together with the Theological Seminary, may be said to have com-

82 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND

pleted it. That the Rpiritnal children of CalTio 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 he ascribed in some measure to the influence 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 wa:) 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 affection, 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- delity, 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 Virginia 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 rebitive claims of the different forms of Church Government; and, had it been Otherwise, there were few to aid or sympathize with him."

FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 3ft

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 Itved 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 Blakel j, from the Eastern Shore of Virginia.

Vol. II.— 8

84 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, 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 ns 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 w^ho 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. Archer, 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 Dcane. 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- formation, 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 apeak. 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 times a day for purposes of private devotion

85 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND

and study. lie was a Scotchman, and not a modern Virginian, in his notions and habits of governing his children and the boys committed to his care, and was therefore complained 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 we 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 was then in the Legislature, being well acquainted with 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 reoeived from one of the daughten 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. Ho was educated in Edinburgh, I be- lieye, 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 s\^\\ his belief in the Confession of Favith. He said he had never read it, but would do so immediately. On perusing the volume, there were portions he could not conscifutiously 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 the subject of religion, returned to England, and was ordained by the Bishop of Loudon ; 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 metsenger taid) a dying neighbour who was anxious to see him. He had not proceeded a mile from home, when three men, armed with clubs, assailed and knocked him off his horse The servant that accompanied him rode with speed to friends, who came immedmtely to his rescue. They left, supposing he would not survive. One of the men was

FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 87

I have no record from which to derive the names of vestrymen or their doings in this parish. I know nothing of its former

killed, on that very spot, bj a tobacco-hogshead, and another revealed the whole matter just before he was hong for some capital offence. A petition was sent to the Legislature, then in session at Williamsburg, praying that he, Mr. Macrae, might be banished. 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 tlic 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 seveuty-fifth year of his age. Dr. Cameron preached his funeral permon."

Parson Buchanon 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 declining.

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 85th Psalm, 37th verse: — "Mark the perfect man and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace." The sermon itself, 1 am very sorry to say, is too much like thosi? 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 affiance and unshaken confidence in the mercy of God through 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 heartfelt joy 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, aftei* all the allowance that charity can make, we must acknowledge that there was n 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 tc a Saviour. With these remark?, which truth and fidelity require of me, I proceed to the close and application of the sermon : —

** Having xiow done with the text, give me leave to observe, that though 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 hie lady, without recommending their exemplary life as a pattern of imitation to those

38 OLD CUURCHES, MINISTERS, AND

churches, 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. Peasiy h 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 sarvive them. I have had the pleasure of being persona-lj 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 secui^d 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 public 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 fiiends had many friends, and no foes — if any — but such as a good man would be ashamed to number among his friends. They hod as many virtues and as few fail- ings 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 enumerate 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 parUike of their felicity, which, I firmly hope, they do now, and evei will enjoy through the endless ages of eternity.'

I II

FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. *3^

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. Cofer, — 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 were 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 COUNIT.

These were separated at the same time by an Act of Assembly, in 1777, from Albemarle county and St. Anne's parish. Jusl 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 Kivanna parish.^ Our first minis- ter was the Rev. Mr. Pleasants in 1835, and, 1 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. Ho 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 Goochland, the Rev. Lewis P. Clover was with us from October, l^oO, to April, lb5'i. 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, w.is Flavanna parish. 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. Jobn*s, Columbia, which was consecrated on the dOth of July, 1850. The only Episcopal families prior to 1835 were the Garjs 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 famiiids, have been added*

FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. H

ARTICLE L.

t^ederlekivtlle and Trinity ParisheB^ in Louisa and Albemarle

Counties.

After the separation of Louisa county from Hanover, in • the year 1742, and of Fredericks ville 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, us 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 authority, 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 beFonc^ing ; 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 ^ames the Third, or of Scotland by the name of James the £ighth, or the

i± OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND

Style and title of Kincf of Great Britain, hath not any right whatsoever lo 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 Majesty 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 faithfully 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 fiirther 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. Meriwether, 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 oflScers, 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 «.!; dirterent times until the division of the parish in 1702: — Thomas Walker, John Meriwether. Nicholas Meriwether, David Mills, Robert Harris, Robert x\nderson, 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 r: 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 Gourt-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 h doubtless the same with that now called Buckmountain Church. Each of these was built at different times during 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 Sha<lwell Mills, on the west side of the Rivanna, was in Fredericksville parish, and appears to have been an active vestryman for some years. Himself and Nicholas Meriwether were ordered to lay off two acres 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 1765 he was with Washington at firaddock'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. Ho 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 alsro 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 Id 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 othpr 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, fiithcr 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. HLs son Matthew raised ten children, — Matthew, Thomas Walker, Francis, Fontaine, Reuben. John, Mrs. Michie, Mi-s. Fry, Mrs. Lightfoot, Elizabeth Walker. His son Walker was a teacher of youth in Williamsburg, Norfolk, and Albemarle, also a ministoi in Norfolk for a short time. His children were James, William, Leonard, Mrs; Hite, Mrs. 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. Berkele;', cf Lexington, Kentucky, and Rev. Mr. Na.*«h, of Ohio. Another descendant presides

FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 46

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 — leading 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 Rooner 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 CUURCH^S PETITION.

**Ye friends and kind neighbours, in pity draw near,

And attend to my sornrowful 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 hlo'»'>), And her whispering airs, breathing varied periuaic,

Bear her incense of flowers to the skies.

•* All nature is lovely and verdant around ;

New charms to creation are given, — From the modest wild violet that droops on ♦he 8rr'^'ii»d, lo the oak in the forest with majesty crown M

And proudly arisins; to heaven.

over a National Institute at Washington, and by his learning, zeal, and great dis- coveries, is conferring benefits on the whole humun race, rendering the ocean almost 08 safe as the dry land. *Mrs. W. C Rives.

40' OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND

'•xiut, alas! not to me does the seabon r<*tiinL With reviving and soul-brenttiing powers . Wnile all nature around me is smihng. 1 mourn My glory departed, my aspect forlorn, Contrasted with freshness and flowers.

" Through my windows dismantled and dreary aj. Mient The wild birds in my court seek their rest ! The owl and 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, your friends become fees. While a wreck, tempest-tost, you are driven,

Then fly to my arms, on my bosom repose ;

I oan dry every tear, I can soften your woes. And lead you triumphnnt to heaven."

The result of this poetic appeal, in co-operation ^ith other means, was the raising a suflScient 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 in 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 had been so long in the use of some other denomination that it was 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 oflSciated 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, officiated 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*8 parish.

kd OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND

ARTICLE LI.

St. Anne 8 Pariihj 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 Green 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, w^ho 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, th^ 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- lon in 17G9, and on 22d October of the same year was received

FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 49

minister of St. Annc*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 th3 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 perusal. The sermons are sound, ener- getic, and evangelical beyond the character of the times. One of them, on the new birth, is most impressive and experimental. Another on the atonement, for Christmas-day, 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 sermoa 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. Jefferson, who, having removed into this parish from Frcdericksville, 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. Jefferson 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. Tiiere 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,

60 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND

thinking that he might change his mind. Nothing more appeared on the vestry-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- sonting 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 officiating 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 county. 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 funeral 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 strictly observed, that on the spot where he was buried, and which 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 notliing 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 Haraner, 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 servicea had been held. It was not finished for some years. It is also

FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 51

Btated that in 1777 Mr. James Minor, Dabney Minor, and John Napier were appointed to examine a church built by a Mr. Ander- son. Daring the ministry of Mr. Clay there was also a Mr. Holmes acting as a teacher and preacher in Albemarle. 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 oflSciated 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- longer 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 inniint rector, the Rev. W. M. Nelson. But few of the old fami-

62 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND

lies are 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 with 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 was 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. 63

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 {MiQtj of that day, yet such an awe rested upon them, that at the

b4 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND

iastance 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 dispensations, and the use to be made of tJieni by us, are as plain as they are important. When God visits us with the rod of afllictiou, 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, With what views and 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 the sublimestof 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 (heir noble

FAMILIES OF VIRQINIA. J 55

K'hemes to the earth. See how quickly he can send a plague or pestlleuco through these buildings, and scatter far and wide the young tcnanti> thereof, and strike such a panic through the hearts of parents and friends that you can scarce recall theuj. 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 Grod 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, — philosophj', 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 yeara 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 deterniinutiou 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 mondity 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 il 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 mift. 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, whc *eome hither for the high improvement of their faculties, to the sa-ving 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 bo as others in our land, — the fruitful nursery of Christian patriots, of learned defenders of the faith, of able and eloquent ministers of the G-ospel, 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 us 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 ho desired. Many were 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, the 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.

ARTICLE LIL

Parishes in Amherst, Nelson, Botetourt, Mockbridge, Greenbrier^

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, he 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 now at New Glasgow- was built by a general subscription, but chiefly of Episcopalians, and regularly assigned to them, but afterward 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 Ballanger, Hugh Rose, Ambrose Rucker, Joseph Goodwin, Josiah Ellis, Richard Shelton, Richard Ogilsby, Benjamin Rucker, Wm. Ware, Henry Christian, Juhu 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 Penn, David Woodroof, James Dillard, Daniel Gaines, Samuel Hijrginbotham, Robert Christian, Roderick McCulloch, Samuel Meredith, John Wyatt, David Crawford, George Pcnu, Edward Carter, James Calloway, Jamea Higginbotham, David Tinslcy, Robert Walker, Henry Turner, John Eu- bank, James Ware, John McDaniel, Edward Winston, Jolm 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 1. Cabell, William II. Johnson, John I. Ambler, Jr., Henry Lorinj;, 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. U. 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 VIROINIA. 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, bat 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 Rer. Cleland Nelson preceded Mr. Goodwin in this parish.

60 OLD CnURCHES, 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 witl: 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 to 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 bis 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. Darneilc applied in his difficulties, 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 CabelU have been sent mo by one of the family, and will, I am sure, 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 al 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 llirer, 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 Mirch, 1730) was settled at Union Hill

62 OLD CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND

I have also a manuscript sermon preached by the Rev. Charles 0*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 buildiog churches in 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 in all the relations of life. He had four suns, 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, genorally 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 Cabull, 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, nnd 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 sht) was married to Rev. Mr. Legnind.

** 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 Chellowc, 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 Breckenridgo, (elder son of General James Brcckcnridge.) 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. When it was erected into a State Mr. Breckenridge was sent to the Senate of the United States, and at his death was Mr. Jefferson'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 Prince- ton, and their son is now Vice-President of the Uoited 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 Grnyson, 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 Caiter, eon 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 mnjor part of Colonel J. Cabell's descend- ants are now to be found in the West, — particularly in Kentucky nnd Missouri.

** 3. Colonel John Cabell had several sons, — of whom Dr. George Cabell, of Lynch-

• Mifw Caroline Smith, who, when the author of this work waa at Princeton College, was a CeiTouritf with the fitudontii by reason of her mony interesting qoalitioa.

FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 68

afterward in Prince William, in the year 1794, on the occasion of the death of two of Mr. Nicholas GabeH'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 )ie 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, be speaks of certain duties ^' to be performed in order to make us acceptable to God,'* and at the close of it say.s that ^Uhe 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 toward 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 Qod 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

burg, was the eldest. His brother John, of the same place, was also a learned dnd 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 timee a dele- gate from this county under the second Constitution, and the first Senator from th'.s district under the present rtgime. 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 sereral 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 notion. 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 fourtV of Francis Cabell, of Warminster."

64 OLD CHURCDES, MINISTERS, AND

Church, as well as for all that was aminble and excellent in private life. He was well known in our Conventions, which he delighted to attend, and acted as an efficient 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 Sinythe, of Wythe county, member of Congress, and General in the last war with England.

FAMILIES OF VIROIKIA. 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 church on the spot where the Presbyterian church now stands. A new church being built there, the Presbyterians worshipped in it, and 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 ray consecration, only one solitary voice was heard in the responses of our service.

Afier 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

% half oents from each contributor, and by dint of perseverance, TO&.IL— 5

t>6 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. DiflBcult 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 efforts 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 effort 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 cither side shall be cleared of their forestSi we may

FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 67

surely 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 sum 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 LIIL St. George' % Parx%h^ 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- taifis, — 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 coffee- 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 OF VIRGINIA. 69

(edge 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 oflBciating. 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 h&ve any pew in the church, except two already granted to Benjamin Grymcs, 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 out 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, AND

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 Duinfries, 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 stronpjly urginjjj 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 tlieir minister. Mr. Stephenson resigned in 1805, on account of ill health. Mr. Stephenson married a MiflS

FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 71

Littlepagc, 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 amoDg them, the Rev. 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 cemfort, 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 daring the thirty-three 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 my 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, along- 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 (o 1847.

Augustus Smith, William Grayson, John Waller, Thomas Chew, Geo. Wheatle, William Hansford, H. Sharpe, John Taliafero, Francis Thorn- ton, Goodrich Lightfoot, Larkin Che\?, 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 Jacksoo, John Spottswood, Ficldinj; Lewis, Joseph Broct, 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 Lejrg, 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, Edward Herndon, Beverley Stubblefield. John Welch, "Edward Hernd()n. Jr., John Wright, William Stanard, William Lovell, Charles Gates, Di.vid 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, Robert Wellford, James Smock, John Smith, Jr., William Bernard, G. W. B Spooner, James Carmichacl, Horace Marshall, Robert I. Chew, Francis Taliafero, Robert Lewis, Churchill Jones, Geo. Hamilton, John Mundell, Alexander F Rose, R. Johnson, John Crump, 'jharles Austin, William A. Knox, John Gray, R. T. Thom, John Hart, William F. Gray, William Storke, F. J. Wyatt, John Metcalfe, John T. Lomax, H. 0. Middlcton, I^rkin Johnson, Georgo Rotohrock, Jr., Yea-

FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. 73

mans Smith, Thomas H. Hanson, Archibald Hart, W. M. Blackford, G W. Basaett, 3Iurray Forbes, E. 11. Carmichael, Thomas F. Knox, R. R Maury, John Coakley, James Cooke, R. C. L. Moncure, William Pollock, J. B. Ficklin.

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 itg minister in 1769. He was, I believe, a citizen of Virginia, and an inhabitant of Frede- ricksburg, before his ordination. From the time th«t 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 Coran 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 County,

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 Ist 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 Spottsjl- vania was so called after Governor Spottswood.

FAMILIES OF VIKfllNIA. 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 wo 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 tliirty-two Protestant German families settled in Virginia humbly sboweth: — Ihat twelve Protestaut German families, consisting of about fifty persons, arrived April 17th, in Virginia, and were therein settled near the Rappahannock River. That iu 1717'seventeen Protestant German families, consisting of about foui-scorc persons, came and set down near their countrymen. And many more, both German and SwLss 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 pltce of their settlement, and of maintaining a minis- ter, who shall catechize, road, and perform divine offices among them in the German tongue, which is the only languuge they do yet understand. That there went indeed with the first twelve Ger.nan families one minis- ter, named Henry Hceger, a very sober, honest man, of about seventy-five years of agej but he being likely to be pnst service in a short time, they have empowered Mr. Jacob Christophe Zollicoffer, of St. Gall, in Switzer- land, to go into Europe and thereto obtain, if pcs.sible, sonie contributions from pious and charitable Christians towarJ the building of their chnrch, and bringing over with him a young Gern;an minister to assist the said Mr. HoBger 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 Church of Englaod 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

perso^js, beiDg utterly unable of themselves both to build a church aud to make up a salary sufficient to maintain such assisting 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 Propogation 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 Grod may reward their beneficence both here and hereafter/'

Whether they did succeed in their eflFort, and how long after this they continued at Germanna, and what 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 ofiiciated 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 laj retder."

FAMILIES OF VIRQINIA. 77

In 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. McDanie), 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 new parish of St. Thomas, Mr. William Triplett and William Russell were chosen in their room. Mr. John Gatlett 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 off from St. Mark's, and services at the court-house instead of at Tenant's Church. In 1752, Thomas Stubblefield and John Uackley 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 (me of its churches. In 1758, Thomas Slaughter and Anthony Gbmel eketed Testrymen. In 1760, an addition ordered to th€

78 OLD CUURCHES, MINISTERS, AND

Little Fork Church, thirty-two by twenty-two feet. Williarc 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 throe 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 4ih 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 Gerraanna. By this marriage he had two children, Ann Thompson, who was born ut 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 lust married tlie daughter of old Mr. R. Slaugh- ter, one of the vestrymen of that name in St. Mark's parish, and moved maay 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 effect has already been told in the fact of their marriage in a few months. An entire reconciliation of all parties, however, was not effected 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 Lttter from the Reo. John Thompson to Lady Spottswood,

" Madam : — By diligently perusing your letter, I perceive there is a material argument, which I