USA > North Carolina > Rowan County > A history of Rowan County, North Carolina > Part 25
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About the year 1794, a number of Episcopal fami- lies removed from Maryland to the western part of Rowan, among them two families of Barbers, and other families by the names of Gardner, Chunn, Har- rison, Alexander, Lightell, Mills, Swan, Reeves, Bur- roughs, etc. The Rev. Richard W. Barber, of Wilkes- boro, is descended from Elias Barber, the patriarch of one branch of the Barber family, and the Rev. Samuel S. Barber, of Hyde County, is descended from Jona- than Barber, the patriarch of the other branch.
Mr. Chunn was the grandfather of the Chunns of this county, Mrs. Susan W. Murphy, Mrs. Betty Mur- phy, and many others. The late Archibald Hender- son was often heard to remark that the Rev. Thomas F. Davis-afterwards Bishop of South Carolina-said to him, that Mr. William Chunn-the father of Mrs. Susan W. Murphy-was "God's gentleman," meaning thereby that he was endowed by nature with all the
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graces and genuine characteristics of a true, cultured, Christian gentleman-a very high compliment indeed, coming from such a man as Bishop Davis. Mr. Sam- uel R. Harrison, of Salisbury, and many others are descendants of those who first came out with the Maryland colony, and the Turners, of Rowan and Ire- dell, are also descended from one of this colony. Mr. Charles Nathaniel Mills, with his family, removed soon after his arrival to Iredell County-where his descendants, including a portion in the Northwestern States and a few in Salisbury, now number several hundred. The Rev. Hatch Dent, an Episcopal clergy- man, and an uncle of the Barbers, came out with this colony. He purchased six hundred and sixty-one acres of land in Mount Ulla township, where Dent's Mountain is situated-being that part of the Boyden and Henderson plantation called "the Dent Tract." The reverend gentleman remained but a few years. Parson Dent and Jonathan Barber had married two Misses Swan - aunt and niece - and the parson, on returning to Maryland, left his nephew in charge of this tract of land just mentioned, giving him the use of it rent-free for ten years.
Jack Turner, whose wife was a Dent, was the father of Wilson and Joseph Turner and others. Wilson Turner (brother of Jack), was the father of Wilfred Turner and others. Samuel Turner came into the county ten or twenty years later than the first colonists.
Had Parson Dent made Rowan his permanent resi- dence, and if he had been ordinarily zealous and suc- cessful in his ministrations, it is believed 'by many that
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the Episcopal Church would have been at his time numerically as strong as any religious denomination in the county. An opportunity presented itself at that early day which can never occur again. The Rev. Thomas Wright, of Wadesboro, visited St. Luke's, Salisbury, and Christ Church, Rowan County, thrice each during the year ending April 21, 1825. He re- ported at that time six communicants at St. Luke's, and fifty-eight at Christ Church. On the twenty- fourth of November of the same year, Mr. Wright accepted a call to the rectorship of these two parishes. His salary was fixed at five hundred dollars-one-half of which was assured by the vestry of Christ Church. The contract on the part of Christ Church with St. Luke's was signed by William Cowan, John Swan, and David Cowan. On the twenty-seventh, Bishop Ra- venscroft preached in the courthouse in Salisbury, which the Bishop said "was more convenient to the inhabitants generally than the church, situated at the extreme end of town"-in the old Lutheran cemetery. At this time there seems to have been some misunder- standing between the Lutherans and Episcopalians, about the claim of the latter to use the old church building. The Bishop thus alludes to it in his Journal : "An interference in appointments took place, which gave me the opportunity to press upon the members of the church the necessity of providing a place of wor- ship for themselves. And though the present building has been erected almost entirely at the expense of Episcopalians, yet as the ground was originally given for a free church, and each denomination has an equal
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right to the use of it, I recommended to surrender it altogether, and rent some convenient place for present use until they could provide the means of erecting a suitable building for themselves." In his first report to the convention at Hillsboro, May 18, 1826, Mr. Wright returns the number of communicants at Christ Church at sixty-four, and at St. Luke's, eleven. In January, 1826, Mr. Wright took charge of these con- gregations, reserving five Sundays in the year for his former flock (in Wadesboro). He reports: "our prospects in the parish of St. Luke's, though not flat- tering, to be as good as ought to be expected under the existing circumstances. The brethren of Christ Church in general are of one mind and spirit; and walking themselves in the old paths and the good way, will in- duce others also to follow in their steps. They have recently raised the frame of a new building, sixty by forty feet."
Samuel Fleming attended the convention at Hillsboro as a delegate from Christ Church. In his report to the Newbern Convention, May 17, 1827, Mr. Wright said that "there was reason to hope that the friends and members of the church in his charge have not only increased in number, but are advancing in zeal and knowledge, growing in grace and holiness."
The new building of Christ Church was consecrated by Bishop Ravenscroft, July 17, 1827, in the presence of a large concourse of people, the customary deed having been executed on the day previous. The Bishop was assisted in the services by the Revs. Thomas Wright, R. S. Miller, and William M. Green.
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The latter is now the venerable and beloved Bishop of Mississippi. This church was situated about twelve miles west of Salisbury, near the Statesville Road- about one mile below the point where Third Creek station on the Western North Carolina Railroad is now located. In his report of this consecration, to the Fayetteville Convention, 1828, the Bishop speaks of the congregation of Christ Church as a "large body of worshipers, the second in number of communicants in the Diocese." On the fifteenth day of September, 1827, Moses A. Locke, Charles Fisher, and John Beard, Jr., as executors of Lewis Beard, executed and delivered to John McClelland, James Martin, Stephen L. Ferrand, Thomas Chambers, Edward Yarboro, and Edward Cress, vestry of the Episcopal congrega- tion of St. Luke's Church, a deed in fee for Lot No. II-one hundred and forty-four square poles-in the town of Salisbury-now the east corner of Church and Council Streets. The following clause is inserted in the deed :
"And in case at any time hereafter the congregation of St. Luke's shall dissolve, then the right to said lot shall vest in the Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of North Carolina, and his perpetual successors, in trust for the said congregation of St. Luke's when it shall revive." (Registered in Book No. 30, p. 8.) The lot is said to have been presented by Major John Beard, Jr., a very devoted churchman who removed to Florida, where he resided for many years, having died only a few years ago.
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The present church building was erected in the year 1828, the Rev. Francis L. Hawks being the architect. Mr. John Berry was the contractor and builder. Mrs. Mary N. Steele, widow of Gen. John Steele, gave the ground to make the bricks, and burned them. Before the church was consecrated, the Masonic Fraternity assembled there and organized "Fulton Lodge"-the Rev. W. M. Green (now Bishop) meeting with them. The building was consecrated by Bishop Ravenscroft, in July or August, 1878, assisted by the Revs. Messrs. William M. Green, Thomas Wright, Philip B. Wiley, and John H. Norment. The services "formed an ob- ject of much interest to some, and of curiosity to more." About this time, Mr. Wright ceased to be the rector of Christ Church, owing to the disinclination of the latter to continue their union with the church at Salisbury upon its original footing-and "that large and important and able congregation"-in the lan- guage of Bishop Ravenscroft-remained for some time without a regular pastor.
The thirteenth annual convention met in St. Luke's Church, Salisbury, on Saturday, May 23, 1829. The lay delegates from Christ Church were Charles Mills, Benjamin Harrison, David Cowan, and Dr. W. H. Trent. From St. Luke's Parish were James Mar- tin, Romulus M. Saunders, Edward Yarboro, and John Beard, Jr. Thomas F. Davis, Jr., afterwards rector of the parish and Bishop of South Carolina, was present as a lay delegate from St. James' Church, Wilmington. E. J. Hale was present as a lay delegate from St. John's Church, Fayetteville. During the
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morning service on the first day of the session, the sacrament of baptism was administered to four adults ; and at night to four infants. Mr. Wright reported fifteen communicants at St. Luke's and seventy at Christ Church, and said "Fears are entertained by some of the vestry that they cannot maintain a clergy- man, even with the aid of Christ Church. Perhaps an unmarried man, who could combine secular with clerical duties, or who would divide his time between the two churches of Rowan and the con- gregation at Wadesboro, might be supported. The few members of the Female Episcopal Society have wrought diligently, and have been able to defray the expense of painting the church and procuring cushions, etc., for the pulpit, reading desk, and altar. By the exertions chiefly of one lady, eighty-five dollars have been presented for the purpose of purchasing a bell." "The members in general of Christ Church are more confirmed in their attachment to the Church, and a few of them have obviously advanced in knowledge, zeal, and holiness." On Sunday morning, the Bishop preached from Romans 10: 14. The sermon was published by request of the convention, and was entitled, "Revelation the Foundation of Faith." The Rev. Philip B. Wiley was ordained priest, and the communion was administered to fifty- one persons. Evening service was performed by the Rev. G. W. Freeman. The Rev. Mr. Wright was elected one of the delegates to the General Convention. During the temporary retirement of the Bishop, Romu- lus M. Saunders, a lay delegate, was called to the chair.
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The Bishop's salary was fixed at one thousand dollars per annum, commencing from June II, 1829.
From Mr. Wright's report to the convention of 1832, I extract the following: "A' few years ago the congre- gations in Rowan had a name to live, and were dead ; but by the grace and mercy of God they have revived, arisen from the dust, and been in some measure puri- fied, and now our principles are better understood than at any preceding period. Our services are at- tended by those who love them; and the blessed Gos- pel is, in general, honored by the holy walk of such as profess to believe it." Bishop Ives, in his address, speaks of "the faithful and self-denying labors of Mr. Wright in St. Luke's Parish having been very inadequately repaid." He reported the congre- gation of Christ Church, "as to its spiritual state, seeming to be prosperous." On Wednesday, the thirtieth of May, 1823, Bishop Ives visited St. Luke's Church, officiating on Thursday, Friday, and Satur- day ensuing, preaching to unusually serious and atten- tive congregations, and confirming ninety-two persons. "It was a circumstance of unusual gratification to my- self," says the Bishop, "as it must have been to the worthy and devoted servant of God who was about leaving this scene of his self-denying labors, to ob- serve among those who on this occasion publicly pro- fessed their faith a number of the most deservedly influential gentlemen of the place, and among all a spirit of increasing solemnity. Among the gentlemen then confirmed were Judge James Martin, John
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Beard, William Howard, and Major John Mc- Clellan.
The Rev. Mr. Wright removed from Salisbury, with his family, to Tennessee, towards the close of the year 1832. He was for a short time a student of the law. He was born in Wilmington; ordained deacon about the year 1821, and ordained priest in 1823 or 1824. He married a sister of Bishop Green, and raised a large family of children. He lived in the old Mac- Namara house, on Main Street (near the Western North Carolina Railroad), next door to the Misses Beard. He was a most devoted herald of the cross -full of years and piety, and abounding in mission- ary labors. During the time he was at Salisbury he officiated constantly in the parishes of Rowan County, and frequently and regularly visited Wadesboro, fifty- six miles away. He occasionally visited the Mills Settlement in Iredell County, Mocksville, and Wilkes County. He accompanied Bishop Ravenscroft for days at a time whenever the latter was on his visita- tions. He is said to have built up the first Episcopal congregation of Memphis. He is remembered with great admiration and affection by his old parishioners in this State.
THE REV. JOHN MORGAN
Mr. Wright's successor, must have arrived in Salis- bury the latter part of November, 1832. He reached Oxford, on his way, on Saturday, the twenty-fourth, and there met Bishop Ives, and assisted the latter in his Sunday services. Mr. Wright and his family did
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not leave Salisbury until after his arrival. Mr. Mor- gan was an Englishman by birth and education, and was never married. Bishop Ives visited St. Luke's Church, Friday, June 14, 1833, and confirmed seven persons. "He was highly gratified to mark so many indications of spiritual improvement." I extract the following from Mr. Morgan's report to the conven- tion of 1834: Baptisms, twenty-six; communicants, twenty; Christ Church baptisms, twenty; communi- cants, seventy-six; Charlotte baptisms, seven; com- municants, three; Iredell County baptisms, ten. His field included Charlotte and Lincolnton, which he visited every fifth week. "We have ordered an organ ; the ladies deserving the credit of it. The congregation of Christ Church is decidedly improving in regard.to the number of those who regularly attend, and I trust in knowledge, grace, and zeal." The same organ has continued in use at St. Luke's to this very day. It was built by Henry Erben, of New York. The original price was seven hundred dollars, but he reduced the charge to five hundred dollars. Mr. Morgan removed to Maryland some time the latter part of the year 1835. He lived to a good old age, dying on Staten Island in 1877. He was fond of accumulating rare and beauti- fully bound books, and he took great pride in showing his books to those who called to see him. He was a very charitable man-spending his money, however, without discrimination. He paid a visit to England shortly after leaving here, in company with the late Hon. Burton Craige. I heard the latter say that Mr. Morgan was in the habit of dropping a gold guinea
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($5) into the box for the poor every time he entered a church, while other people were dropping in pennies or shillings. Mr. Craige said he repeatedly remon- strated with him about such reckless extravagance, telling him that, at the rate he was going on, the legacy which he had lately inherited would soon be exhausted. But his remonstrances had very little effect. He is said to have given his own overcoat to a man who was shivering in the cold, and rode home himself without one. Before leaving the State, Mr. Morgan, in De- cember, 1834, gave up the rectorship of St. Luke's Church, in order to confine himself more closely to his other fields of labor. About that time he reports the number of communicants at Salisbury at twenty-three ; Christ Church and Iredell, one hundred and ten; Burke County, seventeen ; Charlotte, two. On Friday, September 24, 1834, the Bishop confirmed at Christ Church thirty persons.
Mr. Morgan labored with great zeal and success, and was greatly beloved and respected by his parish- ioners-in fact, by all who knew him.
He was succeeded in the rectorship of St. Luke's by the
REV. WILLIAM W. SPEAR
in January, 1835. Mr. Spear had been ordained deacon, July 25, 1834, at Hillsboro. The ordination sermon was preached by the Rev. George W. Freeman. Mr. Spear was an educated gentleman. He went to school in Salisbury to the Rev. Jonathan Otis Freeman, a Presbyterian minister, and pastor of the Presbyterian
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congregation in Salisbury. The latter was a brother of the Rev. George W. Freeman, who was then rector of Christ Church, Raleigh, and afterwards the Bishop of Arkansas. The Rev. G. W. Freeman ministered to Bishop Ravenscroft during his last hours. He was born in Massachusetts in the year 1789 (?).
The Rev. Jonathan O. Freeman was a celebrated instructor. Numbers of the old people in Salisbury of all denominations were baptized and instructed by him, including many Episcopalians. His son, E. B. Freeman, of Raleigh, and Clerk of the Supreme Court, adopted the religion of his uncle, and became a com- municant of the Episcopal Church.
Mr. Spear, after becoming a candidate for Holy Orders, entered the General Theological Seminary, in New York, where he completed his preparatory theological studies. He remained in Salisbury about a year, when he removed to South Carolina. He afterwards went North, where he became a dis- tinguished divine. He is still living in the city of Philadelphia. His parents were English people, who came to this State shortly before or after his birth. He married Miss Emily Ewing, of Philadelphia, who is said to have been a beautiful woman. During his rectorship, Mr. Spear and his wife boarded in the family of the late Judge James Martin, who lived in the same house now occupied by the Rev. J. Rumple.
Miss Maria Louisa Spear, an elder sister of the Rev. Mr. Spear, also resided in Salisbury for a few years. She was born in Paddington, England, April 12, 1804, and died near Chapel Hill, January 4, 1881. She
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educated, both directly and indirectly, her own brother and sisters, and became a prominent and useful teacher of many young ladies ; and all her pupils have retained through life a grateful sense of the value of her literary instructions and religious influence.
Mrs. Mary S. Henderson and Mrs. Sarah J. Cain were in their childhood pupils of Miss Spear. When Miss Spear was in Salisbury, she lived in the family of the Rev. Mr. Wright. Miss Ellen Howard was an infant at that time. Miss Spear thought her a beauti- ful child, and used to remark what a pretty picture the child would make. Miss Spear is said to have been a very fine artist.
She was one of the first persons confirmed by Bishop Ravenscroft, and became an intimate friend and active helper of her pastor, Mr. Green, of Hillsboro, now the venerable Bishop of Mississippi, who has recently spoken of her as an "incomparable woman." Mrs. Cornelia P. Spencer, of Chapel Hill, herself a Presby- terian, and a sister of the Rev. Charles Phillips, D. D., thus lovingly writes about Miss Spear in an obituary article in The Church Messenger of January 27, 1881 :
"Miss Maria Spear, having been born an English- woman, remained an Englishwoman all her life, pos- sessing some of the most valuable representative char- acteristics of that nationality. She was thorough, she was sincere, she was quiet, she was conservative, and she was a staunch and devout churchwoman. Her love for the Episcopal Church, and her delight in its service, was in her blood. She has been teaching in North Carolina for fifty-six years, and of the many
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who have been instructed by her, and the many friends who have loved and esteemed her, not one, perhaps, could this day remember in her an inconsistency or an indiscretion or an unkindness. Miss Maria Spear passed out of life on the same night in which her beloved and revered Bishop Atkinson was released from his suffering forever. Together they passed into glory."
I extract the following from Mr. Spear's report to the convention of 1835: The connection with Christ Church "was dissolved, with the hope that each of these congregations would be able to support a min- ister resident among themselves. In Salisbury, the ex- periment has succeeded to a degree; though it is not probable that the present plan can long continue. A large and influential family, with other individual members, have removed to the West, and most of the remainder who are interested in our cause are antic- ipating the same result. The Sunday School has re- cently been opened, though that part of town open to us does not afford more than twenty scholars. Junior and senior Bible classes are held in the week, attended, I believe, with serious feeling." Communicants, seven- teen. He also occasionally officiated at Charlotte and Lincolnton.
The Rev. M. A. Curtis, then missionary deacon, located at Lincolnton, occasionally ministered to the Rowan congregations after the resignation of Mr. Spear. He afterwards became the beloved rector of St. Matthew's Church, Hillsboro, where he died a few years ago. He was a man of great piety and learning.
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The Rev. C. J.Curtis, editor of The Church Messenger, is a son of his, and the Rev. W. S. Bynum, of Winston, married one of his daughters.
Sunday, July 24, 1836, Bishop Ives preached, bap- tized six infants, confirmed six persons, admin- istered the Holy Communion, and examined the chil- dren in the catechism, in St. Luke's, Salisbury.
The next rector of the congregation of Christ Church and St. Luke's was the
REV. THOMAS F. DAVIS, JR.
He took charge in November, 1836. The congre- gations had been suffering from the want of regular religious services, and from the removals of some of the most valuable members of St. Luke's. Mr. Davis, in his report to the convention of 1837, prayed to "Almighty God to pour upon these congregations the abundance of his heavenly grace. Their pastor can- not but feel his own insufficiency, and deplore the small apparent fruit of his labors."
In 1838, the communicants at St. Luke's were eigh- teen; at Christ Church, seventy-eight. One of the largest families connected with St. Luke's Church had removed to the West during the previous year. Mr. Davis reported "the condition of the church in Salis- bury as not encouraging." "Christ Church was gradually gaining strength." The delegates to the convention of 1839 from St. Luke's, were John B. Lord, William Locke, and Charles K. Wheeler-the two former attended. Mr. Davis reported twenty-one communicants at St. Luke's, and for Christ Church,
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ninety-one. Confirmations at the latter twenty-one (July 14 and 15, 1838). "There has been a much larger and more interested attendance upon divine ordinances than heretofore. An increased interest in the church then certainly is accompanied with an increased degree of attention to the Word of God. The people of St. Luke's, entirely of their own accord, have almost doubled the pastor's salary, and have in every respect exhibited towards him a kind and affectionate regard." "The children of Christ Church are well acquainted with the Church cate- chism." "At Mills' Settlement, Iredell County, com- municants, eighteen. The cause of the Church is on the advance in this part of the country."
The twenty-fourth convention of the Diocese met in St. Luke's Church, Salisbury, Wednesday, May 13, 1840. St. Andrew's Church, Rowan County, was ad- mitted into union with the convention. Vestrymen were Philip Rice, Jacob Correll, Samuel Turner, Joseph Turner, and John Watson. Delegates to con- vention, Joseph Owens, William Heathman, Samuel Turner, and John Watson. From St. Luke's, A. Hen- derson, John B. Lord, Charles A. Beard, William Chambers. From Christ Church, J. E. Dobbin, William Chunn, Thomas Barber, Joseph Alexander. Among the names of many other lay delegates I find the fol- lowing: Dr. John Beckwith, Raleigh; Thomas S. Ashe, Wadesboro. Convention sermon was preached by Rev. G. W. Freeman, D. D.
The Bishop reported that he had visited Salisbury on the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh of July, 1839,
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preached five times, catechized the children, and con- firmed four persons. He stated that it had been an object with him during the year to visit every com- municant, and to cathechize every baptized person of suitable age in the Diocese, where there is no clergy- man or established congregation; and this object he had nearly accomplished.
Mr. Davis was chairman of the committee on the state of the Church and wrote a very eloquent and en- couraging report-in which this sentence occurs : "Not captivated by the specious but seducing influences of the day, the Church has remembered always that to her the object of divine faith is her adorable Redeemer and Head; her only law a simple and entire submission to his will and acquiescence in his appointments. She has ceased not to teach and to preach Jesus Christ." Mr. Davis' report to the convention shows the follow- ing as the condition of his charge: Communicants- St. Luke's, twenty-five; Christ Church, one hundred; Iredell County, seventeen. The ladies of St. Luke's had lately realized two hundred and forty dollars from a Fair.
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