USA > Maryland > Anne Arundel County > Historical notices of St. Ann's parish in Ann Arundel county, Maryland, extending from 1649 to 1857, a period of 208 years > Part 3
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"That your conduct over us in this place, your great care and study has been, to promote the prac- tice of piety and worship of Almighty God, by erect- ing churches, schools, and nurseries of learning, both for reforming manners and education of youth, where- in you have been, not only a large contributor, but an intelligent promoter, together with your integrity of maintaining his Majesty's honor and authority in this province, your care in providing arms, and mil- itary discipline of it ; your regulating and happy set- tlement of the civil constitution, both as to the courts of justice, and in bringing us out of debt, which the public was in, into a condition clear of debt and money in bank ; by your promotion of good laws to
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such purposes, your great care to cause speedy jus- tice to be administered to all persons, your pious and just, your noble and benevolent carriage in all things, deserve better pens than ours, and would take up more paper than this to recount. Be pleased there- fore, honorable Sir, to accept our humble acknow- ledgements for the same, as the just though slender tribute of an obliged people to a generous, good gov- ernor, praying God to bless you in all your pious and noble undertakings with happiness and success, so pray your humble and obliged servants." Signed as above stated.
Oldmixon, in his history of Maryland, Vol. 1, page 195, edition of 1708, has an extract from a letter from the Rev. Hugh Jones, then Rector of Christ Church, Calvert, written about the year 1699, in which he says, "Governor Nicholson has done his endeavors to make a town of Annapolis. There are about 40 dwel- ling houses in it, seven or eight of which can afford a good lodging, and entertainment for strangers. There are also a State House and a free school built with brick, which make a great show among a par- cel of wooden houses, and the foundation of a church is laid, the only brick church in Maryland." In this last statement the writer was mistaken no doubt, (for there was one it is believed in St. Paul's parish, in Baltimore County, which then was quite an out of the way parish).
REV. EDWARD TOPP, SECOND INCUMBENT,
Governor Nicholson was succeeded by Nathaniel Blackistone, Esq.
The progress of building the church was slow ; an
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HISTORICAL NOTICES
Act of the Assembly of July 22, shows us that a fine was imposed on Edward Dorsey of £333. 6. 8. to the king, for not fulfilling his agreement to build the church; and at the same time, another Act appointed persons to treat with workmen to build it. Up to this time therefore, there was no house of public wor- ship in the town, and the General Assembly seem to have been far more active and interested in getting one up, than were the vestry; nor is this to be won- dered at, the number of Churchmen was not many, and the puritan place of worship was near by, which no doubt concentrated the hereditary sympathies of the neighborhood.
At what time precisely Mr. Topp became the in- cumbent here cannot be ascertained, but in the min- isterial records of the parish, we find that he baptized a child five weeks old of Mr. Kendrick's, November 5, 1699, so that he certainly was here somewhat pre- vious to this date, and the record thus made, styles him Rector.
At the visitation of Dr. Bray, the Bishop of Lon- don's commissary for Maryland, held at Annapolis the 23rd of May, 1700, at which were present sev- enteen clergymen, Mr. Topp's name appears as one of those in attendance, as "Rector of Annapolis in Ann Arundel County."
But how long Mr. Topp remained here we do not learn. On the Ist of July, 1703, the Rev. George Keith, an itinerant missionary of the society for the Propagation of the Gospel was here, and in his jour- nal of this date, he says, "we came to Annapolis in Maryland, where we were kindly entertained by Es- quire Finch, then President of Maryland, (Governor Blackistone had gone to England about the close of 1701, and his successor had not yet arrived,) and Sir Thomas Lawrence the secretary there. July 4th, Sunday, I preached at Annapolis on Ist Thessaloni-
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1827771
OF ST. ANN'S PARISH.
ans, 1, 5, ("for our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance, as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake,") and had a large auditory well affected. My sermon at the request of a worthy person who heard it, was printed at Annapo- lis, mostly at his charge ; and copies of it sent by him to many parts of the country." We find no men- tion of an incumbent here, probably the parish was at this time vacant, though by no means certain. This Journal has been republished in the collec- tions of the Protestant Episcopal Historical Society, 1851.
REV. JAMES WOOTTON, THIRD INCUMBENT.
With this year 1704, commence the existing re- cords of the proceedings of the vestry. The volume has been rebound and is in good order, though the leaves have been much misplaced in rebinding-the records as a whole were very defectively kept. There is also a small quarto volume commencing with the year 1767, where the old folio volume ends.
On a fragment of page 13, stand the following en- tries-April 4, 1704 :-
Present the
Rev. James Wootton,
Col. John Hammond, Mr. Amos Garrett,
Mr. William Bladen, Mr. John Freeman,
Mr. William Taylard, Mr. Samuel Norwood, -vestry men : when it was ordered, that Mr. Garrett should pay Obadiah Hollingshead and Philemon Smith, Carpenters, the sum of £4.10s. for altering
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HISTORICAL NOTICES
the gallery scats,-and 9s. they had received before in part.
Their charge was, to 9 days work each, at 4s. 6d. per day, £4.01.0.
To accomodations 1s. per day cach, 18.0.
£4.19.0.
Short as this entry is, we are shown by it that Mr. Wootton was now the Rector of the Parish, but how long he had been, there is nothing to tell; we see also who the vestry were, that the church had been built, and that it had a gallery, and had now been al- tered; incidentally, too, we have the price then per day of carpenters labor, it being about 4s. 6d., or 65 cents per day, and that board was about 87 cents per week.
At this time the pews had been made, and we find somne who occupied them mentioned, they being own- ers ; for instance, William Hammond, Charles Kil- burn, Jacob Harness, Samuel Dorsey, Henry Pink- ney, Charles Ridgely, Thomas Macnemara, Thomas Hollings and Robert Lusby, who had No. 19 on the right hand, going in at the front door.
In August, was another meeting at which the same vestry men before mentioned were present, they be- ing the whole number, the vestry law then required but six. It was now ordered, that Mr. Garrett, who seems to have been the vestry's Treasurer, should pay William Gwynn the smith, the sum of £1. 4. 6. for making and setting the vane of the belfry, and thus we learn that the church had these things, and we are further shown that Andrew Whelpley had been paid for making the belfrey, £38.
On the 4th of October, the State House was con- sumed by fire, which must evidently have begun in the loft where the County Clerk's office was, as the
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OF ST. ANN'S PARISH.
main loss of Records appears to have been those be- longing to that office ; early in December, the assen- bly passed an act for rebuilding it.
At a vestry meeting, December 4, it was ordered that Benjamin Fordham be paid his account £3.2s., for his charges about the bell wheel, and thus we are shown that the church had a bell as well as a belfry and spire.
In 1705, mention is made of the church plate ; the taxables now were only 363, there had been no in- crease therefore for ten years.
In 1706, a golden ball is mentioned as being on the spindle or spire of the church, and the taxables are put down at 414.
The new State House was finished this year, as we learn from Mr. Ridgely. It was rebuilt upon the old walls, and in the same form and manner as before. In 1840, he tells us, that it was recollected by some few then living in the city, as a neat and spacious brick building, being an oblong square, entered by a hall, opposite to the door was the judges' seat, and on each side were rooms for the juries ; over the judges' seat, was a full length portrait of Queen Anne pre- senting a printed charter of the city of Annapolis. A handsome cupola surmounted the building, sur- rounded with balustrades, with seats for those who wished to enjoy a view of the beautiful surrounding scenery.
About the same period, an armory was built near and on the north side of the State House, here the Governor and Council held their sessions. It is now used as the Treasurer's office.
During this year, the Lower House of Assembly di- rected that of the three lots originally laid out with- in the city, one should be for the Rector of the Pa- rish, one for the sexton, and a third for the clerk of the vestry and commissary's clerk.
4
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HISTORICAL NOTICES
In 1707 the taxables amounted to 440. Mr. An- drew Whelpley was ordered by the vestry, February 7th, to take into his care and custody as church war- den, the communion plate, marked with King Wil- liam's arms, to wit, 2 chalices, 1 cup, 1 large plate and 2 pattens, together with 1 table cloth and 2 napkins; and on the 3d of June, it was ordered that John Miller sexton, cut up all the bushes in the church yard. It was at this time inclosed by a ditch.
It appears March 30, 1708, that Gen. John Ham- mond, who married Ann the second daughter of Col. Nicholas Greenbury, had left the church, to aid in paying its debt, £10 at his death. The following subscriptions were also added, His Ex'y, John Sey- mour, El. Is. Gd., S. Young, Esq., Maj. Wilson, Wn. Bladen, Esq., Mr. Amos Garrett, Col. John Contec, Mr. Secretary Lloyd, Mr. Anthony Ruley, Maj. John Freeman, and Wormal Hunt Esq., 10s. each, and Mo- ses Adney 5s. making in all 25. 16.6. The church debt could not of course have been large, for it seems tien. Hammond's legacy was otherwise appropriated, it being at this time ordered by his Excellency the Gov- ernor, that the donation of Maj. Gen. Hammond be employed towards purchasing a large church Bible of the best sort extant, and a large common prayer book, of the best impression on imperial paper, with gilt leaves, &c., likewise on the frontispiece of both books there be this inscription, namely,
The Gift of Maj. Gen. John Hammond To St. Ann's Church in Annapolis, who deceased the 24th day of November, Anno Domini 1707.
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OF ST. ANN'S PARISHI.
On the 16th of August, Annapolis received its char- ter from Governor Seymour, by which it became a city, with its usual municipal privileges, and had con- ferred upon it the right of sending two delegates to the General Assembly, which it continued to do till 1840, when that right was taken away under the new Constitution of 1836.
On the 7th of September, the vestry ordered that R. Beckerdick level the oyster shells even with the ground-sill of the church descending therefrom, and provision was made for paving the church piazza and passage. The taxables as returned, were 441 in the parish.
A satire was published in London at this time by Eden Cook agent, which thus speaks of the city of Annapolis, as
A city situate on a plain, Where scarce n house will keep out rain, The buildings framed with cypress rare Resemble much our Southwark fair, But strangers there will scarcely meet With market place, exchange or street.
St. Mary's once was in repute, Now, here the judges try the suit, And lawyers twice a year dispute, As oft the bench most gravely meet, Some to get drunk, and some to eat, A swinging share of country treat. But as for justice, right, or wrong, Not one among the numerous throng Knows what it means.
It is as a satire that this must be received, of course, and not as literal truth.
On the 17th of December, an act was passed by the General Assembly confirming and explaining the charter. The taxables were 430, in 1710, being an increase in 15 years of only 67.
On the 10th of February, 1710, 40s. were ordered to be paid for every corpse buried in the church yard,
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HISTORICAL NOTICES
a bier was to be provided, and the church gate to be painted. The offerings at the communion were col- lected in "little boxes."
Mr. Wootton was present in the vestry for the last time, April 19, 1710. He died probably on the 8th of June following, but his funeral services were not performed till the 5th of August.
Up to the time when he became the rector of the parish, there had been no increase of the popula- tion, and in the six years of his incumbency, it could not have increased much more than 100, so that at his death, the amount of his support could not have exceeded $450.
REV. JOSEPH COLBATCH.
Mr. Colbatch was the Rector of All Hallows Parish, South River, and had been since 1695, the first no- tice which we find of his officiating here, is June 13, 1710, when it was ordered, that notice be given to Mr. David Macklefresh.to set over (the South River ferry) the Rev. Mr. Colbatch on Sabbath days, in or- der to preach in this parish. He continued to officiate here part of his time till the 8th of April, 1711, and on the first of May of that year, he was allowed one half of the 40 per poll, or in that proportion, from the 8th of June, 1710, to the 8th of April following, or longer, if he had officiated longer ; this shows that he had officiated here only half his time. He was never inducted into the parish as rector, but officia- ted simply till one could be had.
Mr. Colbatch continued in his incumbency of All Hallows till his death, which took place in 1734, having been the rector there near 40 years. He wasa minister of
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OF ST. ANN'S PARISH.
high standing in the colonial church in his day so held both hereand in England. In 1727, the Bishop of Lon- den wrote to him inviting him to come to London, in order to receive consecration as his suffragan for Ma- ryland, but the government of Lord Baltimore, and he as well as his government, was now protestant, forbid by a writ, ne exeat his leaving the province. And thus a protestant government of the church of England itself prevented Maryland from having the Episcopate here. See Dr. Hawk's Maryland, page 196.
REV. EDWARD BUTLER, FOURTH INCUMBENT.
Mr. Butler had been in the city some time, and was probably the master of the school ; so far back as October 30th 1710, we find this entry ; the vestry taking into consideration the great calamity, (and was not their condition rightly estimated of this parish for want of a minister?) and there being in town one Mr. Edward Butler, and who is destitute of a parish, it is thought proper to petition the Hon. President (of the council) that the said Mr. Butler may be appointed minister of this parish, and it was so ordered.
Accordingly on the 14th of April, 1711, Mr. But- ler was appointed by Edward Lloyd, Esq., President of the Council, and acting Governor, to officiate till the arrival of his Majesty's Governor; the vestry then accepted him, and he was inducted into the rectorship on the 16th.
At this time, the fee for burying in the church yard had been fixed at £2.10; and the taxables were re- ported to be 426, being less than what had been giv- en in before.
4*
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HISTORICAL NOTICES
John Hart, Esq., the new Governor, not arriving as was expected, at length Mr. Butler obtained from the President, Mr. Lloyd, a regular appointment as incumbent of the parish, and accordingly on the 14th of March, 1713, he presented to the vestry his letter of induction dated March 7th, being recommended by the Bishop of London. This appointment from Mr. Lloyd speaks well for Mr. Butler, as he had - now become well known in the community. Indeed it does not seem so far, that St. Ann's had been af- flicted with a different character. In the midst of a community, originally so thoroughly puritan and not yet emancipated from educational habits, it would have been worse than suicidal to have had the minis- trations of such an one.
It appears that hitherto, Mr. Butler had himself kept the communion furniture, for on the 14th of March it is stated that he then gave them in charge to the church warden. The account at that time rendered for wine used at the communion was eleven bottles at is. each ;- this was probably for the year, as the custom was to have the Lord's Supper monthly.
From this time we find nothing to note, till we meet with the following statement in the ministerial re- cords, "died November 9, 1713, Rev. Edward Butler, Rector of St. Ann's, and master of the free schools, Annapolis."
REV. JACOB HENDERSON, FIFTH INCUMBENT.
Mr. Henderson was at this time, the incumbent of Queen Anne's Parish, Prince George's County. He had been licensed for the colonies by the Bishop of Lon-
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OF ST. ANN'S PARISH.
don, June 5, 1710, and was sent over by the society for the propagation of the Gospel to Dover, Kent County, Delaware. Having continued there somewhat perhaps more than a year, he was transferred to Queen Anne's, which was then a frontier parish, not long formed, with an appropriation for his support. He was the only missionary on the Western Shore it is believ- ed, who was ever sent by the society to Maryland.
On the 4th of December, it is thus noted on the re- cord, the vestry having made application to the Rev. Mr. Henderson, now in this time of vacancy and hav- ing assured him of their utmost endeavors to procure for him the dues to such services, and the utmost of what the law will allow, do hereby resolve, that the full 40 per poll be allowed him from this time, in pro- portion to the time of service, if the same shall be ap- proved by the President and Council as legal. On this proposal he promised his services. All indeed that was required to make it legal, was the consent of the vestry of Queen Anne's, for according to the act of es- tablishment, no one could be rector of two parishes but with the consent of both vestries, this of course was obtained, and it might have been felt necessary in his Parish in Prince George's as the society's help was continued there but for one year. Accordingly on application, he was presented to the Parish of St. Ann's, February 13, 1714, by letters from Edward Lloyd. Governor Hart of course was at that time absent.
The Rev. Henry Hall, Rector of St. James's Parish, West River, had been in 1707, appointed the Bishop of London's commissary in the Province, but we do not hear anything of his doings as such, and on Bishop Compton's death 1713, his commission expir- ed. But there being a necessity, Governor Hart who had returned just before, called together the clergy of the Province to meet him and each other at Annapolis.
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HISTORICAL NOTICES
They met, as we learn from Dr. Hawks, in June. It is stated, that there were 21 clergymen then present. It is probable that there were not more than four or five absent.
It appears that Mr. Henderson continued his ser- vices here only to December 4, 1714, one year ; two years after this, he was appointed by the Bishop of London his commissary for the Western Shore, this, except during a short interval, he held till his death in 1751. He was for many years a member of the corporation of the society for the Propagation of the Gospel, and left it a legacy of upwards of $5,000. His popularity in Annapolis is shown in the fact, that the vestry gave him the whole of the 40 per poll, while to the excellent Mr. Colbatch they had given but one half of it for the same services ; Dr. Hawks has spoken very fully of him as a pious, energetic and able man. The taxables of the Parish were now 430, showing still, the almost stationary numbers of the population in it.
REV. SAMUEL SKIPPON, SIXTH INCUMBENT.
Mr. Skippon presented his letters of Induction to the vestry from Governor Hart, December 4th, 1714, but there is nothing calling for particular notice from us for some time, every thing having fallen into a uniform train, and so matters went on.
Queen Anne having died this year, George the I. ascended the throne of England. With the prospect thus, of the permanent and entire influence on the government of Protestantism, Benedict Leonard Cal- vert, the fourth Lord Baltimore, embraced the doctrines of the established Church of England and so educa-
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OF ST. ANN'S PARISH.
ted his children; but he dying soon after, his title and possessions then descended to his son Charles. The Calverts thus having become, as they afterwards con- tinued to be, protestants, all pretext for withholding from him the government of the Province ceased. It was now, May, 1715, restored to him, and Mr. Hart was continued by him as Governor.
But to return to the affairs of the parish, this year 1716, a vestry room was built for the church, and the taxables had increased to 497, being an increase of 67 in two years.
On the 25th of March, Mr. Skippon met with a se- vere affliction, in the loss of his daughter Sacharissa, but at what age she died the record does not state.
In 1717, on the 4th of June, it was agreed by the vestry to petition the General Assembly, for whom, during its sessions it seems certain pews in the church had been always reserved, for leave to put locks on them and dispose of them to such as should be will- ing to purchase them, with the right of reservation to the said Assembly at all public times. The popula- tion and the congregation were increasing and this measure was resorted to to meet the want thus crea- ted, and at the same time to add something to the Rector's support. The taxables were now 504 being an increase of 140 in twenty years, more than one half of which had been in the last three years. The population of the parish at this time was about 1500, yet so small was the tax that was imposed for the sup- port of the incumbent, and such had been the reduction in the value of tobacco, that he received not over $350.
As showing somewhat the price of making such vestments at this time, it may be mentioned here, that the making of a surplice cost about $4.
The following document under date of May 5th, 1719, shows us something of the state of the parish at that time, and will well repay an attentive perusal.
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HISTORICAL NOTICES
To the Honorable, the Lower House of Assembly! The remonstrance and address of the vestrymen and church wardens of St. Ann's parish at Annapolis, in behalf of themselves and others of the parishioners, freeholders in said parish.
May it please your Honors-We the vestrymen and church wardens of St. Ann's Church at Annapolis, in behalf of themselves and the rest of the parishioners, freeholders in this parish, beg leave to lay before your honorable house, a statement of such difficulties as at present we labor under.
And here we would first observe to your honors, that the parish church, by being built near the utmost verge of the parish, is thereby rendered very inconve- nient to a great part of the parishioners, some of these living twenty miles, and others at a greater dis- tance from it, so that were it not that the rector vol- untarily goes up at appointed times and preaches among them, a great part of them would be without the benefits of a minister, that to add to this difficul- ty the church is much too little for a parish church, many of the parishioners being obliged to stay at home for want of room, but that this is most visible at public times, as we humbly conceive is apparent to the constant experience of this Honorable House, that there is no visible way to remove the first of these diffi- culties, but by contracting the parish into narrower bounds or dividing it, nor is there any means to re- move the latter, but by enlarging the church, but that both these are rendered impracticable to us, by some other difficulties which we shall take the liberty of naming to your honors.
As to the contracting or dividing the parish in or- der to remove the first difficulty, we humbly conceive, that it is attended with greater difficulties than what would be removed thereby. We beg leave to observe to your honors, that the benefits of this parish are al-
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OF ST. ANN'S PARISII.
ready so small, that it is but a bare support for a sin- gle man in a private parish, and that without further addition it is in no way sufficient to support a cler- gyman with a family, who by being obliged to re- side at the seat of government and bearing the char- acter of Chaplain to the public, is unavoidably ex- posed to much greater expense than the benefits of the parish can defray. We take the liberty to add, that the small benefits of this parish and the great expense above mentioned, have often been the occasion that this parish has been without a minister, no man being willing to stay in a place where he is necessi- tated to run in debt by serving the parish and at- tending on the public, and that whenever an oppor- tunity offers of bettering himself, a clergyman will be obliged by his necessities to embrace it, which as we find, has been the case formerly, so we know of no way of preventing it for the future.
As to enlarging the church, whereby the other dif- fieulty may be removed, we beg leave to assure your honors that were our abilities equal to our inclina- tions, we should be ready to remove it ourselves with- out giving any trouble to this honorable house, but the constant expense we have been obliged to be at, to keep the church, church yard and belfry in repair has wholly rendered us impossible to do anything in that matter, and we believe that this will be the sense of your honors, when you shall find by compu- tation of the charges we have been at, which we are ready to offer, what sums of money and tobacco have been raised and expended already on that account. We therefore pray your honors to take these things into your consideration, and to make such provision, as in your wisdom shall be judged sufficient, to an- swer the necessity of the parish, and to maintain the honor of the public in the respects above mention- ed.
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