USA > Maryland > Baltimore County > The Garrison Church; sketches of the history of St. Thomas' Parish, Garrison Forest, Baltimore County, Maryland, 1742-1852 > Part 1
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Gc 975.201 B2la 2089162
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REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02243 8359
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center
http://www.archive.org/details/garrisonchurchsk00alle
THE GARRISON CHURCH
SKETCHES OF THE HISTORY
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ST. THOMAS' PARISH
GARRISON FOREST
BALTIMORE COUNTY, MARYLAND
1742 1852
BY THE
REV. ETHAN ALLEN, D. D., BALTIMORE
EDITED BY REV. HOBART SMITH M A. RECTOR ST. THOMAS' PARISH, 1898 WITH ADDITIONAL SKETCHES
NEW YORK JAMES POTT & CO.
00023
80 1033
5
1
2089162
Garrison
Forest
St. Thomas
T
Go libris Rt . Re. Won , Part OD X . O . . i
:
A. J. Waterwie fr. Joly 13, 1911.
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asthen E. Hungerford, To his friend and rector Willu D. Watkins. fr
Thay 4. 1925
8631
THE GARRISON CHURCH. Belote Any Additions Were Made.
COPYRIGHT. 1895, BY HOBART SMITH
PAUL A FALCONER COMPANY, BALTIMORE.
THIS HISTORY OF ST. THOMAS' PARISH. GARRISON FOREST MARYLAND 15 AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED TO MR CHARLES MORTON STEWART. SENIOR VESTRYMAN.
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1.
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HE EDITOR of these sketches, when he became Rector of St. Thomas' Parish, in 1888, found himself the custodian not only of the old records and papers, but also of the manuscript history of the Garrison Church, by the Rev. Ethan Allen, D. D. The Diocese of Maryland cannot too highly honor this name. It is due one who has kept from oblivion the names and deeds of
vi
Introduction.
carly workers in the Church in this colony chat his own life and work should be remembered.
Dr. Allen was born in Plymouth County, Massa- chusetts, of Puritan ancestry. The names of Alden, Standish, Pryor, Carey and Waldo appear in the family records. It is said that when four days old he "was carried across the village green to the meeting-house and dedicated to God in holy baptism." He graduated at Middlebury College, Vermont, in 1818. He at once evinced a preference for the Protestant Episcopal Church, and, coming to Maryland, became a lay reader at Trinity Church, West Marlboro', and studied for holy orders under Bishop Kemp. He was ordered deacon March 7, 1819, and priest 1821. After good service in St. John's, Prince George's County, and in Washington, D. C., the missionary spirit was so strong in him that he went to Ohio where he organized the Church in Dayton, 1830; Troy, 1831; Springfield, 1833; Hamilton, 1835; Trinity Church, Cincinnati, in 1844. In 1847 he returned to Maryland where he gave twenty-five years more of faithful service under the Bishop he loved, Bishop Whittingham. The clos- ing years of his life were spent in Kentucky, where he died November 17, 1879, aged eighty-three years.
The Hon. A. Bowie Davis, in a memorial of Dr. Allen read before the Baltimore Convocation, said : "I knew this venerable man as a Presbyter, saw him as the active missionary of the Diocese, traveling from parish to parish, presenting the cause of missions in bold,
vii
Introduction.
eloquent and irresistible appeals ; in Church conventions I saw, on several occasions, such men as Judge Chambers, Sammel J. Donaldson, Hugh Davy Evans, and even Bishop Whittingham call on Dr. Allen upon questions of church history and the early settlement of the Church in Maryland, and his opinions were accepted as conclusive upon the subject matter of inquiry. He was the first to discover and rescue from oblivion the important historical fact that the Maryland Toleration Act of 1649 was due to Protestant and not to Roman Catholic suggestion and enactment."
The manuscript history of this parish was pur- chased in 1884 from Judge Wm. A. Stewart by Mr. Samuel H. Tagart, a vestryman, for $75.
At that time Col. William Allen, Principal of MeDonogh School, proposed to edit these sketches and publish them, but unfortunately he was not able to carry out his purpose. After his death the duty and privilege devolved upon me, and with this in view I fre- quently conversed with Mr. Thomas Cradock, the senior warden. His father and mother both were grandchildren of the first Rector, the Rev. Thomas Cradock. His father born in 1773, (died 1860) was twenty-two years old when Mrs. Thomas Cradock, the widow of the first Rector, died. The traditions of the parish are therefore direct and reliable. Mr. Cradock repeated these traditions with the utmost care for accu- racy. When some doubted whether the brick in the church really came from England, Mr. Cradock would
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Introduction.
say, "my father told me and his father told him, and in those days, sir, gentlemen told the truth."
These sketches by Dr. Allen were largely derived from Mr. Cradock's father, but the honor is due Dr. Allen for their preservation in this form, and also for the careful searching of the old records. The Editor has gone over the records and made a few corrections of dates, and has added notes, but has not attempted to revise the style. He has also corresponded with the descendants of early Rectors and vestrymen, and is in- debted to them for interesting facts. The late Rev. Andrew Oliver, D. D., Professor in the General Theo- logical Seminary, (died October 17, 1897, in his seventy- fourth year) contributed valuable information concern- ing his grandfather, the Rev. Thomas Fitch Oliver, who died as Rector of this parish in 1797. Dr. Oliver was greatly interested in the publication of this Parish History, and only the day before his death dictated to his son some data which I had asked ; two weeks before his death. he enclosed me a photograph from an old por- trait of his grandfather, and gave me permission to print an interesting letter abont chanting, which will be found in these pages.
Mr. Robert Andrews, of East Orange, N. J., the great-grandson of Rev. John Andrews, D. D., Rector of this parish 1782-1785, has helped materially by his research concerning his distinguished ancestor.
A most interesting feature of this book of sketches will be found in the contributions of Miss Katherine
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Introduction.
Cradock, of "Trentham," of notes of the conversation of her father, Mr. Thomas Cradock.
Miss Sophie DeButts Stewart has added attractive- ness to the book by her illustrations; and Miss Lonisa Hopper, of New York, by a pen-and-ink sketch, has brought into light a faded portrait of Rev. Thomas Fitch Oliver.
My part has been the sometimes tedious work of verifying dates and preparing all the matter for publi- cation. There is abundant opportunity for the imagina- tion to illumine the facts gathered here, and some of the characters would serve well the writer of romance. As a Parish History it is not remarkable for the record of great sacrifice, or of conspicnous personal devotion. It is a sad story in the long periods of vacancies in the rectorate, and in the struggles of Rectors with a seanty living made possible ouly by teaching school. But there have always been a faithful few to whom the old Church has been dear. While there are many colonial parishes in Maryland, few are as old as this where the walls of the first church building remain.
Antiquity has its value ; but the value is greater if that which is old increases in strength and grows in usefulness. It does not detract from the veneration of the old walls that they are not yet ruins, but have been extended in recent years to gather in twice as many people as when Dr. Allen closed his historical notes. This has been accomplished without violence to the colonial features of the architecture. Like the English
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Introduction.
Church in the Reformation, which kept that which was valuable in Liturgy and in Doctrine, and yet adapted itself to the growing intelligence and spiritual freedom of Christian civilization, this little parish church of Maryland colonial days has kept to the old, and yet seeks to gather in the life of the present. Chapels and meeting houses have multiplied within its ancient par- ish bounds ; its children have been scattered and sepa- rated, but still it is here as a "witness and a keeper" of the truth.
That it will continue to bless is assured by Divine promise, and they are happy who share its work and blessing.
This book goes forth with a prayer that its pages may inspire a greater love of the Church, and that it may serve as a memorial of "the labor which is not in vain, in the Lord."
HOBART SMITH.
ST. THOMAS' RECTORY,
GARRISON FOREST, MARYLAND,
ADVENT, 1898.
Cable of Contents.
PART I.
CHAPTER I
Benedict Bourdillon-The "Forest Inbabitants"-The Garrison-Chapel of Ease-Parish Incorporated . -
CHAPTER HI.
Parish Organized-Vestry-Record-Thomas Cradock- Education-Romance-Marriage - Archbishop Cra- dock
CHAPTER III .- 1745-1770. 7
Vestry House-Communion Rail-Bachelors Taxed- Church Plastered-Surplice Bought . 13
CHAPTER IV .- 1747-1770.
Thomas Cradock-Sermons-Meeting of the Clergy- Psalms in Verse-Death of Parson Cradock 22
CHAPTER V .- 1770-1775.
William Edmiston-The Methodists- Chapel at the Forks-Chalice and Paten Bought-Communion Table Covered With Green Cloth -The Revolution- A Tory Parson . 28
CHAPTER VI .- 1775-1782.
Thomas Hopkins-Vestry Renounces Allegiance-Vestry Act 1779-Rev. William West
CHAPTER VII .- 1782-1785. 36
John Andrews -- Tries to Reconcile the Methodists-Dr. Coke-Mr. Asbury-Provost University of Penn- sylvania
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CHAPTER VIII .- 1785-1797.
Thomas Fitel Oliver-Pews Re-rented-George Ralph --
Parsonage Built 50
CHAPTER IX .- 1797-1805.
John Coleman-A Soldier of '76-A Methodist Preacher- Left the Methodists-1784-Marriage-Rectory En- larged-Glebe Purchased-Census Ordered
CHAPTER X .- 1805-1810. 57
John Armstrong-A Methodist-Ordained by Bishop White-Pew System Set Aside-Lottery to Pay for Glebe-Mr. Armstrong asked to Resign CHAPTER XI .- 1810-1819.
67
George Ralph, locum tenens-John Chandler-The Churchyard Wall-Joseph Jackson-Elected-Dis- missed
CHAPTER XII .- 1820-1849. 75
Charles C. Austin-Major David Hopkins-Parish of the Ascension-Churchyard Wall Completed-Death of Mr. Austin So
CHAPTER XIII .- 1849-1852.
Jacob B. Morss-Joseph J. Nicholson 88
CHAPTER XIV.
William F. Lockwood-Rectory Enlarged- A Review-
End of Dr. Allen's Manuscript 93
PART II.
1852-1898.
CHAPTER XV.
Repairs and Improvements-Dr. Maynard's Legacies- Death of Mr. E. D. Lyon-The Pipe Organ given 105
CHAPTER XVI.
St. Mark's on the Hill-Church Road Macadamized- Vestry Sued- W. Strother Jones-Assistant Rector- Mr. Lockwood's Death. . 110
CHAPTER XVI.
Hobart Smith-Plans for Enlarging Church-Mr. Tagart's Generous Gift-Plans Carried Out- The La Farge Windows-Growth of the Parish 117
PART III.
Biographical Sketches
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The Gists-The Howards-The Owings-The Car- mans-Capt. John Risteau-George Bramwell-The Moale Family-The Lyon Family-The Worthing- tons-The Cockey Family-The Hunt Family-John Gill-Dr. Randle Hulse-Dr. Thomas Cradock --- Major John Cradock-Abel Brown-Charles Walker -Dr. Thomas Cradock Walker-Joseph West- Rev. George Ralph-Rev. Jacob B. Morss.
APPENDIX.
A. The Colonial Fort.
B. Subscriptions for Building Church.
C. Journal of Secretary of Commission to Treat With Indians.
D. Names of Bachelors Taxed.
E. Correspondence of Drs. Andrews and Cradock.
F. A Page of the History of Chanting.
G. Names of Rectors.
HI. Vestrymen, Wardens, Delegates.
1. Donations for Church Improvement, 1890.
J. Statistics (1898) of Parishes and Churches within Ancient Bounds of St. Thomas'.
List of Ilustrations.
The Garrison Church, (before any additions were made.) Frontispiece·
Sophie de Butts Stewart.
The Church Porch, S. de B. S. V
Rev. Ethan Allen, D. D. . I
The Most Rev. John Cradock
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Facsimile First Page Vestry Record
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The Howard House Ruins, S. de B. S.
35
Rev. John Andrews, D. D.
43
Rev. Thomas Fitch Oliver 51
"Where Old Frank Lives," S. de B. S.
53
The Old Rectory, S. de B. S.
56
"Ulm," Where Samuel Owings Lived
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The Lottery Ticket
74
Rev. C. C. Austin, Rev. J. B. Morss, Rev. William F.
Lockwood, Rev. W. Strother Jones 93
The Garrison Church (1869) . 103
St. Thomas' Rectory
. 109
Rev. Hobart Smith .
. 117
The Garrison Church (1881) .
. 121
Interior Garrison Church
. 123
A Friendly Character
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128
"Atamasco," Residence of Charles Carnan
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A Corner of the Churchyard .
145
Williamina Smith
155
The Garrison Fort
171
The Test Oath
. 185
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Part 1
REV. ETHAN ALLEN, D.I).
The Garrison Church.
CHAPTER I.
BENEDICT BOURDILLON.
N AUGUST, 1739, the Rev. Benedict Bourdillon was presented to the Parish of St. Paul's, Baltimore county, by Gov. Ogle, then Governor of the Province of Maryland, and thus became the incumbent; for by that name the rectors of parishes were then called. He came to Maryland in 1737, and appears to have been an energetic and efficient clergyman.(1) In May, 1741, he proposed to the vestry of St. Paul's the building, by subscription, of a chapel of ease for the accommodation of the " forest inhabitants."
The "forest inhabitants" were the residents of what was then called, as it ever since has been, the Garrison Forest. It was so called because of a fort. and garrison of soldiers, under Capt John Risteau, high sheriff of
(1) Mr. Wm. H. Corner, who is in possession of a manuscript history of St Paul's Parish, by Dr Ethan Allen, furnishes the following information concerning Mr. Bourdillon. "His wife was Johanna Gertruij Janssen, and was the niece of Sir Theodore Jansen, and consin of Lady Baltimore. In another entry in the book she is called Mrs. Janett Jansen Bourdillon, and also Jane Bourdillon. The Bourdillons were quite intimate with the family of Gov. Thomas Bladen, who was a brother-in-law to Lord Baltimore. Gov. Bladen was God-father and Mrs. Bladen God-mother to Mr. Bourdillon's sou, Thomas, born August 6, 1742."
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The Garrison Church.
the county, stationed there for the defense of these frontier inhabitants against the Indians. The garrison was not far north of where the United States arsenal now is, and was on Capt. John Risteau's plantation.(1)
St. Paul's Parish, at this period, extended from the Patapsco River on the south to the Pennsylvania line on the north, and from the Patapsco Falls and the county line on the west to the Chesapeake Bay on the east, and to the Middle River, the big Gunpowder Falls, the Western Run, and Piney Run on the north-east, by which streams it was divided from St. John's Parish.
The proposition for building the chapel was adopted by the Vestry ; and the Rector and Vestry drew up a memorial to the Governor and General Assembly, stating that the Parish Church in Baltimore Town was found to be very inconvenient to a great part of the parishioners, especially the forest inhabi- tants, and asking that an act might be passed for their assistance. The reason of this application is found in the fact, that in the charter, by which the territory and government of the Province of Maryland was given to Lord Baltimore, in 1632, "the license and faculty of erecting and founding churches, chapels and places of worship, on suitable and convenient places within the province," was granted and confirmed "unto the said Lord Baltimore." And the granting of this license and faculty to applicants had been deputed by him to the Governor of the Province and the General
(1) See Appendix A.
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The Parish Incorporated.
Assembly. No church, chapel, or place of public worship, could be erected and established in the province, by any denomination of Christians, but by their author- ity. The people themselves were entirely debarred of this liberty and right.(1)
The memorial of the Rector and Vestry of St. Paul's having been duly presented in October, 1742, an act was passed by the General Assembly, in accordance with the wishes of the memorialists, by which William Hamilton, Christopher Gist, Samuel Owings, Chris- topher Randall and Nicholas Haile were empowered to receive voluntary subscriptions for the purchase of two acres of land where most convenient, and to build a chapel thereon, as desired by the memorialists. And in case, also, such contribution should not prove suffi- cient an assessment on the Parish was granted, which assessment was not to exceed £133. 6s. Sd. or about $354.70, in any one year, nor continued for more than three years.
The subscription ordered by the Vestry, and au- thorized by the former part of this act, was accordingly made, and the names of the subscribers, together with the amounts severally subscribed by them towards the building of the chapel, are given here from the records of the Vestry of St. Paul's of that date. It will doubt- less be interesting to many of the present residents of
(1) This statement must be modified. It is true as to the erection of any Parish or Church of the Established Church, but there must have been considerable freedom, as to the exercise of public worship at this time by the Dissenters. In this Parish Suter's Meeting House was created by the Baptist> about the same time a > Garrison Church. See also : Off Virginia and her Neighbors." Vol. II. page tt 5 -Jons Fiski ..
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The Garrison Church.
St. Thomas' Parish to see who were the original con- tributors for the erection of the old church. For this reason they are here inserted.(1) These subscriptions amounted to 4 400 pounds of tobacco and £64. 10S. currency. These sums, it must be remembered, were over and above what each one was required, by the act of the Assembly, to pay annually for the three successive years. The amount which Mr. Bourdillon subscribed was nearly double that of any one else. St. Thomas' Church owes much to the personal exertions and influ- ence, as well as to the money contribution, of the Rev. Benedict Bourdillon.
In 1743 the site of the chapel was selected, and two acres were purchased of Christopher Gist for £4. or $11.70. It is on land thus purchased that St. Thomas' Church was then erected and still stands. The deed conveying it to the Vestry was acknowledged July 19, 1743, before T. Sheridan and Charles Ridgely, Esqrs., two of His Majesty's Justices.
During this and the coming year, some progress was made in the erection of the chapel edifice. The walls were carried up, and the roof covered in. The bricks of which it was built were brought from England, but falling short somewhat of the requisite number, . the gable ends could not be carried up to a point by four or five feet. This accounts for the peculiar appearance of the upper part of both ends of the roof.(2)
(1) See Appendix B.
(2) The " peculiar appearance of the upper part of both ends of the roof " does not now exist. In is70 it was found necessary to entirely replace the roof. The chairman
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Death of MIDr. Bourdillon.
It was not the original design. The edifice was 56 feet long, by 36 feet in breadth. It was a spacious build- ing for its day, and admirably well built.
At the same time, and in the same act which pro- vided for the building of the chapel, it was enacted, that at the death of the Rev. Mr. Bourdillon, Soldiers Delight and Back River Upper Hundreds, being all of St. Paul's Parish north of the Old Court Road, leading from the Patapsco Falls and Joppa, then the county seat, in which the chapel was to be built, was to be for- ever separated from St. Paul's Parish and erected into a new parish to be called St. Thomas'. The chapel was then to be the Parish Church of the new parish thus created. This event soon occurred, for on the fifth of January, 1745, the Rev. Mr Bourdillon died. At that date, therefore, according to the before mentioned act, St Thomas' became a separate and independent parish. The territory of this parish then extended from the south line, separating it from St. Paul's, just stated, to the Pennsylvania line on the north, and from the line separating Baltimore county from Anne Arundel and Frederick counties on the west, to the Big Gunpowder Falls on the east ; and on the north-east, to the Western Run, Piney Run and a line north-west in the same direc- tion, separating it from St. John's Parish, now St. James'.
of the committee was Mr. Noah Walker. Mr. John Ellicott, architect, in Balti- more. was consulted. The gable ends were carried to a point, and a sharp pitched roof took the place of the former picturesque hip roof, much to the regret of many of the people. The distinctly marked line referred to by Dr Allen, and often mentioned by Mr Cradock, where the brick which had been brought in the second year of the erection of the church commenced) was lost, and modern brick, laid in the modern way of building, instead of what was called the Flemish binding. detracted from its antique character.
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The Garrison Church.
At this time the inhabitants north of the Church were but few. The patent for the land four miles north of it, now known as the Worthington Valley, bears date 1740, ouly five years previous to this time, and was of course all wild-wood. The Indians, bears, wolves and deer were then common in that region, and so con- tinucd to be for years thereafter.
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CHAPTER II.
THOMAS CRADOCK.
N THE fourth of February, 1745, under the Act of Assembly referred to the parish- ioners assembled at their Parish Church, and elected Nathaniel Stinchcomb, John Gill, William Cockey, Joshua Owings, John Hamilton and George Ashman. Vestrymen; and Peter Gosnell and Cornelius Howard, Church Wardens Christopher Randall was, at the same time, appointed Register, with a salary of £5. currency per annum, about $13.30.
On the same day the vestrymen and wardens held their first meeting. The Rev. Thomas Cradock then showed his letters mandate from His Excellency, Thomas Bladen, Esq., Governor of the Province of Maryland, dated January 14, 1745, to exercise the office of minister in St. Thomas' Parish. At that time, and so it had been in the Province from the year 1692, the appointment of a minister to a parish was not in the hands of the parish, nor in the hands of the vestry, as it now is. The appointment was at the disposal of Lord Baltimore, the proprietary of the Province. It was given him in his charter. And he exercised this, his
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The Garrison Church.
appointing power, by his Governor. Indeed, by that charter, he held the appointment of ministers of all denominations to their respective churches; and no church of any name could have a minister to officiate but by his appointment, whether Episcopalian, Romanist, or Puritan, (1) and so it continued until 1776, except from 1692 to 1714.
Mr. Cradock was born at Wolverham, Bedfordshire, England, in 1718. Wolverham was one of the estates of the Duke of Bedford. Soon after the birth of a younger brother of Mr. Cradock, the lady of the Duke presented him also with a son, but so feeble was her health that she was unable to take charge of her infant, and the care of it was readily assumed by Mrs. Cradock.(2) He was the youthful associate of her own son; and so tenderly and faithfully did she fulfill her part that she won the high regard and grati- tude of the Duke. He consequently took upon himself the education of the two young Cradocks. He placed them under the same masters with his own son, and at a proper age sent them to Oxford, where the three pursued their studies till their course was finished. The Duke intended both of the Cradocks for the Epis- copate, and by such influence as he wielded were men sometimes made Bishops at that time in England. In the case of Jolm, the younger brother, he was successful.
(1) It is exceedingly doubtful if this prerogative was exercised, except in appointments in the Established Church.
(2) It appears from the Book of Peerage that the Duchess of Bedford died at this time. This more fully accounts for Mrs. Cradock taking the child into her own home. The Duke married again; his second wife being the daughter of Lord Gower
.
THE MOST REV. JOHN CRADOCK,
ARCHBISHOP OF DUBLIN.
From a l'ostrut in the Archbishop's Palace.
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Archbishop Cradock.
After being, by the patronage of Lord Gower, whose daughter the Duke married, the Rector of St. Paul's, Covent Garden, London, and subsequently the Duke's chaplain, in the year A. D. 1757 he accompanied that nobleman to Ireland, upon his accession to the Vice Royalty of that island, and in two months after his arrival he was appointed to the See of Kilmore. In 1772 he was translated and became Archbishop of Dublin, and a member consequently of the House of Lords. He died December 11, 1777, and was buried in St. Patrick's Cathedral. "He was," says his biographer, " a portly, well-looking man, of a liberal turn of opinion, and of a social and generous disposition." He left a son, who, from being an officer in the Horse Guards and a boon companion of George IV, was promoted to the command of Major-General in India, and subsequently knighted with the title Lord Howden.
Thomas had been intended by the Duke for one of the Sees in England. But an attachment having sprung up between a sister of the Duchess and himself, he was induced by her friends to emigrate to Maryland. Mr. Cradock was ordained Deacon, September 20, 1741, by the Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, as is shown by his letters of orders.(1) In December 21, 1741, he is styled clerk, and was licensed by the same bishop as master of the Free School of Trentham, in Staffordshire. In that situation he seems to have remained till September 25.
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