USA > North Carolina > Edgecombe County > History of Edgecombe County, North Carolina > Part 40
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divided between the members of the parish by John Dawson and Robert Jones, who were allowed five per cent for their services
Meanwhile, the spiritual condition in the county was at a low ebb. Mr. Moir's itineracy was characterized by selfishness and per- sonal greed. The idea which actuated him seems to have been to get rich and return to England. He owned a plantation which had been allotted to him in the nature of Glebe Lands, granted by an act of the colonial legislature for the support of the clergy. In addition he complained daily of not receiving his salary which was due him, while "the essential branch of the constitution of this Province is to do as little justice as possible to creditors." Mr. Moir was perhaps correct in this assertion, for he was paid in rated commodities and he experienced considerable difficulty in making disposition of them.
Mr. Moir also had friction with the various Governors. The erection of a new parish in Halifax and the change of the name of the parish to be maintained in Edgecombe County to that of St. Mary's, was designed to transfer Mr. Moir out of the parish in the county. The most natural and logical thing to have done was to have given the name St. Mary to the parish newly erected and to have permitted Edgecombe to have maintained its old parish name. Governor Dobbs, however, labored under the im- pression that Mr. Moir would be transferred to Edgecombe Parish in Halifax. In this he was disappointed. Mr. Moir had investi- gated Governor Dobbs' character and had also received a sketch from Reverend Dr. Beaucroft. The entire controversy came out when, at the solicitations of the vestry of Edgecombe, Mr. Moir and two members of the parish waited upon Governor Dobbs with grievances in the hope of obtaining redress for some vestry dues. He also appeared before Governor Dobbs when the parish of Edgcombe was divided and when St. Mary's Parish was compelled to pay the arrears of the former parish. The complaints were laid before the Assembly, but to no avail. During the visit, Mr. Moir had several conferences with Governor Dobbs which must have been somewhat heated. Mr. Moir said: "I could never dis- cover in him any regard to truth or equity, and had it not been for a member of the council, I should have publicly exposed him for one of his notorious falsehoods." Mr. Moir also complained "that clergymen were made slaves, and had no chance for a fair
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trial, being subject to the whimsicality of the Governor and Council."
As early as 1748, when Mr. Moir had been in the county less than a year, he expressed himself as desiring to leave the parish. In a letter to the S. P. G. in London, he referred to the request of his parishioners for him to remain, because they were not only . pleased with his labors, but also that for the lack of a minister, many in the county had turned Baptist. Mr. Moir was at the time having trouble with his vestry. He reported that a vestry would be chosen on Easter Sunday, 1749, that would do him justice, his chief grievance being his failure in securing his salary. Later he stated that the new vestry had done him justice, for the vestrymen met, called the taxpayers to account, and paid his salary promptly. A Glebe was also purchased for him the follow- ing year. This vestry also gave him more opportunity and time to visit other places in the county than did the former one.
The controversy between Mr. Moir and Governor Dobbs con- tinued throughout his ministry here. In April, 1760, Mr. Moir issued the statement that he had baptized 206 children and three negroes. Governor Dobbs addressed a letter to the S. P. G. Janu- ary 22, 1760, in reply to a specific reference made to Mr. Moir's activities in the parish by the Society in England. He said, "I wish that your admonition of Mr. Moir may have good effect. I observe, in his returns to you, he mentions having baptized over three hundred white people and fifty negroes in one year, as I am informed he does very little duty, but lives on his plantation, not showing hospitality as is his duty, and hoarding up his money to return to England."
Mr. Moir sought to clear himself by accusing Governor Dobbs of unjust accusations resulting from prejudice and that he experi- enced handicaps in his work on account of Governor Dobbs' ac- cusations against him. The character and indolence of Mr. Moir was confirmed by Governor Tryon, Governor Dobbs's successor. He wrote to the Society July 31, 1765, that the Province did not derive any benefit from Mr. Moir, "for under his license to preach everywhere, he seldom preaches anywhere. I do not repre- sent him as an immoral man, but think it would be advisable that he be fixed to some parish." 1
1 Mr. Moir at this time was authorized to officiate in more than one parish and Governor Hobbs' letter was evidently intended to suggest that one specific parish be selected for his services.
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The principal defects in Mr. Moir's ministerial career in the county seems to have been that of indifference to church progress and a desire to accumulate a fortune. The emphasis in all his letters was usually placed upon the latter. In consequence his first attack and criticism of conditions was that against a law passed in April, 1748, authorizing the issue of paper bills to the value of 23,000 pounds. Mr. Moir had his salary paid in these bills and attempted to sell them at ten per cent discount, but he could not succeed. He wrote the Society in England in regard to the matter, but so far as the records show, he received no encouragement.
It is easy to judge how conditions prevailed for the years 1741 to 1767. The Church of England did not thrive, it barely lived. With a field for the work of three missionaries and the efforts of one being partially spent, the spiritual life of the people suffered. The progress of the church was being more or less interfered with by the Baptist ministers, who had maintained a strong footing in all the eastern counties. Moreover, the taxpayers in the parish were slow in paying their taxes, and this kept the parish con- stantly in the arrears. The taxes that were collected were fre- quently misapplied, while the collectors and Mr. Moir were con- stantly in controversy. The negligence of the officials placed in charge of the county courts was a burden well nigh insupportable. The fact also that Mr. Moir was supposed to officiate in North- ampton County in 1764, required his absence from Edgecombe when his services were frequently in need at St. Mary's. He was burdened with the parish taxes in this county, and at one time was seven years behind with his salary. In 1765 suit was brought against the sheriff of Edgecombe County in order to collect the salary. The vestry in Northampton failed to bring suit for the same purpose, and in 1766 Mr. Moir, being in bad health, re- signed from the vestry in Northampton and requested the vestry to employ another clergyman.
In the fall of 1766 he left North Carolina for the northern colonies in order to regain his health. He reported that his physical condition did not enable him to ride such a large parish. He visited New York, Suffolk, Va., and sailed for Great Britain in the spring of 1767. He left a reputation in the county more notable for his ability as a business man than that of a minister.
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He was one of the commissioners who laid off the streets of Tar- boro in 1760. Reverend B. E. Brown, now rector of the church in Tarboro, relates an incident which brings his memory down to comparatively modern times. Governor Henry T. Clark, of Edge- combe, in his early life was informed by an old man then residing in the county that he was baptized by the "Old Parson." The proof offered was the register of St. Mary's Chapel, then sup- posed to be in the possession of Charles Knight. Governor Clark then proceeded to Mr. Knight's in order to confirm the statement, but learned that the old book which had been thrown around the house for generations, had previously been used to make a fire. This act is one of the tragedies that writers experience.
Mr. Moir left the county with a population of 2,260 souls, of whom 1,220 were taxables. The report gathered by the Governor of the colony for presentation to the Society showed St. Mary's anxious for a minister. Accordingly, the Bishop of London com- missioned Reverend Henry John Burgess, Jr., on recommendation of Governor Tryon, to take charge of the parish in Edgecombe County. Governor Tryon, in writing of the ordination of Rever- end Burgess, said he expected much from his ministry.
The ministerial career of Mr. Burgess, however, was of short duration. After less than two years of ministerial work he went to Virginia, and became a schoolmaster, having the distinction of teaching Dr. Simmon J. Baker and President William H. Harri- son. In fact very little is known of his activities, for in 1772 Reverend C. E. Taylor, of Northampton County, paid a visit to Edgecombe and stated that the parish had been for sometime with- out a minister. While in the county Mr. Taylor traveled 219 miles in the space of six days, and baptized 159 whites and four colored children in three days. He described conditions by saying the people in the county were very poor, while the parish was 80 extensive that there was little probability of a minister settling in the county.
From all indications gathered from early reports, especially that of Mr. Woodmason, the state of religion in Edgecombe and ad- joining counties was lamentable. Governor Dobbs had labored to get a church built in each parish, convenient to each town, and to have the church matters settled on the plans prevailing in South Carolina. As early as 1755 the county had over 1,300 men in the
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militia, representing a population of over 2,500 people, yet there was only one clergyman. Public invitations were frequently given to clergymen of England to come over and foster the re- ligion of the mother country. There were only a few who ever came to Lord Granville's district. There were, at this time, at least two chapels in the county; one at Tarboro, and also one at Halifax before the Edgecombe parish was divided. At the latter place an old church was erected in the colonial days. Over the pulpit was to be seen a cross, a sacred symbol. The tombstone in the old churchyard described as late as 1850 was so ancient that the chiseled letters and the carvings were entirely obliterated.
It was reasonable to believe that the people had services at stated periods. The Reverend Thomas Burgess, who had become minister of Edgecombe Parish, Halifax County, in October, 1759, was too near the people in the vicinity of Tarboro not to have paid them at least an annual visit. The fact that he had identified himself with the material interests of the town of Tarboro by purchasing a lot when the town was laid off in 1760, gives reason to believe the existence of his spiritual interest in the people. The fact that the people were for the most part unappreciative, and the vestry refused to levy sufficient taxes for the maintenance of the ministers and churches, gave little encouragement to any one who came. Governor Dobbs, realizing the situation, proposed an act to pay clergymen out of the common funds of the colony. This naturally brought a protest on the part of the dissenters, who could not reconcile the act of paying for the support of a religion in which they took no active part.
Governor Martin, who succeeded Governor Dobbs, also had to confront this issue, not only in St. Mary's Parish, but in all the eastern counties. In 1774, therefore, in order to reduce the size of so large a parish, a new parish was cut off, which was named Elizabeth. St. Mary's Parish began, after the division, at the land of James Canes on Fishing Creek and extended to Rich- mond Bunns's on Tar River, thence to an old ferry, known as Christian Roes's ferry, on Great Contentnea. St. Mary's lay to the eastward of the old boundary, while Elizabeth Parish included all the territory in the westward direction. Sherwood Haywood, William Horn, and Etheldred Exum were appointed commission- ers to determine the boundaries and to settle the disputes arising
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from the adjustment of the taxes collected and distributed among the parishes.
The inducements being insufficient for clergymen to settle in the various parishes in the province, a law was passed about 1770 giving the minister a salary of 133 pounds, 6 shillings, and 8 pence proclamation money. In additions he received 40 shillings for preaching funeral sermons, 25 shillings for marrying a couple, while every parish was to purchase 200 acres of land as a Glebe for the use of the minister.
After the resignation of Mr. Burgess, except by infrequent visits by ministers in adjoining parishes, St. Mary's was entirely neglected. As the time of the Revolution approached, the church had grown weaker and weaker. The parish had had two ministers, Reverend Milton Holt and Reverend Samuel McDougal, who were reported as having been appointed to St. Mary's Parish and re- mained only a short time, but little is known of their services here. In 1775 Reverend Edward Dromgoole preached in St. Mary's and also Halifax County.
The neglect of the church soon caused a decay, while the interest of the faithful of the Established Church revived only when the Revolution began. The majority of the churchmen in the county remained faithful to the American cause. The peace which was declared in 1783 found the church neglected and almost gone, while the remnant of the supporters were without a leader and organization. A stigma rested upon all communicants because of the English origin of the church. All the royal Governors had been strong churchmen, and many had faithfully labored for the promotion of the church's interest. The dissenting element had grown numerically superior, and having a marked dislike for anything English, gave little opportunity for the surviving few churchmen to proclaim their religious convictions. In the mean- time the Halifax convention of November, 1776, separated church and state, which proved a blessing in disguise to the church in North Carolina. It decreed that in the future no professing Christian of any denomination was under compulsion to support the church or clergy of any other denomination. Moreover, all Christians were to enjoy peace and undisturbed worship accord- ing to their own conscience. This declaration was the work of
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dissenters, and was made with the object of assuring religious freedom.
Soon after the Revolution the church was reorganized on the American basis. The American church was, of course, the prin- cipal factor in reviving the local churches. The first need was a national organization. Efforts had been made before the Revo- lution to form an American Episcopate, but all efforts had failed. Peace was hardly declared before efforts were renewed. Religion had taken a decided turn when the battle for political freedom had also won religious freedom. There were men in the county who remembered the church with kind feeling, and those who had won the rights of speech on the battlefield against their former king.
A few years following the Revolution, Tarboro was destined to become the starting place for a reawakening of the Episcopal Church in the State.
Dr. William White, an eminent figure in the Episcopal Church after the Revolution, in 1789, wrote Governor Samuel Johnston of his desire to inaugurate a movement for the reorganization of the church. Governor Johnston, being a layman of the church, referred the letter to Charles Pettigrew. Governor Johnston and Mr. Pettigrew had for sometime been intimate friends, he being a member of Reverend Pettigrew's congregation at St. Paul's Church in Edenton. The contents of the letter voiced a desire to select some convenient place for the clergymen to meet and con- sult as to procedure to reawaken an interest in the church.
After the matter was referred to Mr. Pettigrew, he wrote letters to Dr. Cutting, of New Bern; Reverend Mr. Wilson, of Martin County, and Reverend Mr. Blount, residing on Tar River, ex- pressing a desire that they meet at Tarboro on the second Thurs- day in May, 1790. He mentions this place as a central and con- venient location. Accordingly, Mr. Pettigrew and Reverend James L. Wilson met in Tarboro on June 5, 1790, and held the first convention of the Episcopal Church in North Carolina. These two gentlemen were met in Tarboro by Dr. John Leigh and Mr. William Clements, who were residents and staunch church- men. Reverend Mr. Pettigrew, in a letter addressed to Bishop White, regretted the fact that no more were in attendance, and that he had expected that as many as six clergymen would be
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present. The idea was for a clergy and lay representation, in order that all phases of the church could be considered and a plan laid for arousing interest in church activity and organization. He commended Dr. Leigh and Mr. Clements very highly for their merit and character. Mr. Clements had the distingusihed honor of becoming the secretary of the convention, while Dr. Leigh was appointed on a committee to draft a circular letter in answer to a letter written to the convention of Tarboro by the General Con- vention in Philadelphia. He was the layman appointed to repre- sent the church in the State in the General Convention held in New York in September, 1792. He was honored by being put on the standing committee of the state of the church, which re- ceived applications and recommended candidates for Holy Orders.
The convention of June, 1790, above referred to, proceeded with business regardless of the scant number in attendance. The gen- eral meeting house 1 in Tarboro was used as the place of as- sembly. Reverend Mr. Wilson wrote Reverend Mr. Pettigrew on December 30, 1790, that the convention proposed more business than could be accomplished, the deliberations being carried on by two clergymen and two laymen who represented the entire State. One of the questions discussed was evidently the selection of a bishop. This seems to have been the one urgent need of the church at this time. However, Dr. Leigh wrote Mr. Pettigrew in March before the time for assembling in the next convention in October, 1791, that he thought it was something that might be deferred for sometime, but should it become necessary, he saw no logical reason why a resident of the State should not be elected. Mr. Leigh said, "If the appointment of a bishop will tend in any degree to raise once more the fallen state of our church, I am clearly convinced that it should be done." From this gathering seeds were sown which later bore a fruitful harvest. The conven- tion which was to have met at Tarboro October, 1791, never con- vened for the lack of the presence of sufficient numbers, and also because of Mr. Pettigrew's sickness.
In a letter to Bishop White in Philadelphia Mr. Pettigrew wrote: "I had determined to be at our next Episcopal Convention, which was to meet in October, 1791, but being seized with a certain
1 This meeting house was evidently built by the Episcopal congregation and was subsequently abandoned by them, due to the lack of local interest.
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ague two or three days before I was to set out, I found it out of my power to give my attendance, as the distance was about one hundred miles."
Mr. Pettigrew, in the meanwhile, had written a clergyman who had been in attendance to learn what was accomplished at the convention, and was informed that due to insufficient numbers the convention never organized. During this year Dr. William Or- mond visited the town and held a profitable meeting in the public meeting house in Tarboro. Mr. Ormond was connected with the rise and growth of the church at Tarboro. He was born in Dobbs County in 1769, and was a man of quick perceptions, generous, and affectionate. He also possessed an abundance of natural gifts, was striking in appearance, and was a faithful consecrated worker. His intellectual ability proved a great asset and assisted him in forming a systematic organization, of which his church was badly in need.
Two years later the third convention met in Tarboro. Rev- erend James L. Wilson was president and William Clements was again secretary. This convention made considerable more progress in the movement for a church reorganization. A State committee was appointed, and a circular was published calling a fourth convention to be held in Tarboro in May, 1794. The con- vention of 1793 was the largest held since the Revolution, but con- sisted of only six persons; Dr. Halling, the principal spirit of the convention, of New Bern; Reverend Gurley, of Murfreesborough; Reverend Wilson, of Williamston; Mr. William Clements, Dr. Leigh, of Tarboro, and Mr. F. Green, of Craven County. There is conclusive evidence that the county at this time had not more than two or three communicants. Of these Mr. Clements was formerly a Presbyterian.
The principal purpose of the convention of 1793 was not real- ized. The need for a bishop was urgently stressed, but the luke- warmness of the few members prevented any action. Dr. Halling in writing to Reverend Mr. Pettigrew, December 16, 1793, said : "You may readily suppose that it would have been unavoidable in us to appoint a bishop-elect." He then explains the matter by saying: "The smallness of our number would have subjected him to reproach, and our church also, if anything possibly can, after it has evidenced such want of zeal, for the professors of our re-
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ligion have not on this occasion even shown themselves to be lukewarm."
In order to carry out the purpose of electing a bishop an adver- tisement, accompanied by a circular, was sent to influential and responsible parties in each county to arouse an interest in a con- vention to meet for this purpose. Suggestions was also made to elect a vestry in each county, and to appoint lay leaders where a clergyman was not in evidence. The vestries were requested to elect delegates to attend a convention in Tarboro in the following year.
In the meantime, Reverend Mr. Pettigrew was approached by Dr. Halling in reference to his acceptance of the Episcopacy of North Carolina, since it was the general wish that he be elected. Dr. Halling expressed himself strongly in his favor by saying: "My exertions shall not be spared on this occasion and you must not refuse."
The efforts of Dr. Halling to arouse a zeal and fervor for the Episcopal cause deserves all praise. One would gather from his writings that his heart and mind were aflame for the purpose of creating a workable and permanent organization that would pro- mote church endeavor. It was through his activities that repre- sentatives of clergy and laity were induced to meet in convention at Tarboro on May 28, 1794. At this convention Dr. Halling received what appeared to be a realization of his hope the elec- tion of a bishop. Meeting in conjunction with about five clergy- men and eight laymen, Dr. Halling carried out his purpose of having the Reverend Charles Pettigrew elected bishop.
Mr. Pettigrew was born in Pennsylvania March 20, 1743, re- ceived his education in North Carolina, and became a school teacher of no small merit. His inclinations led him to become a minister, and following the dictation of his conscience, he gave up his teaching and went to England in 1774 for ordination. He returned to America to find the American Colonies in the throes of revolution. His services in the established church were recog- nized by all who knew him. He built Pettigrew Chapel out of his own purse and officiated there, in Edenton, and in all the eastern counties. His efforts after the Revolution were chiefly spent in attempting to organize a diocese in the State. The results of his
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consecrated efforts were the conventions held in Tarboro 1790, 1793, 1794.
Following his election as bishop of North Carolina, he proceeded to Philadelphia in order to be ordained by the convention, then in session at that place. The method of travel was slow and rough. Mr. Pettigrew succeeded in reaching Norfolk, Va., only to find that an epidemic of yellow fever had terrorized the town. He was delayed here until it became too late to accomplish his mission at Philadelphia, and he returned, dying April 8, 1807, before the next general convention met. Thus by an act of Providence he missed being ordained the first bishop of North Carolina. Mr. Pettigrew was a strong friend of Dr. Leigh, of Tarboro, and one of the best and most beautiful portrayals of his character and the physical suffering which he experienced during the latter part of his life and after his election to the Episcopacy, is shown in a letter to him. This letter also contains a description of Lake Scuppernong, located in Tyrrell and Washington counties. Mr. Pettigrew wrote: "I write you from Bonaroa,1 a name I have given my situation on the lake. I sit under the shade of three beautiful hollies. The surrounding scene is truly romantic. On one side the prospects toward the water is very beautiful and ex- tensive, while the gentle breezes play over the surface of the crystal fluid, and render the air grateful for respiration, now when the sun sheds his warmest influence upon the earth-it being the meridian hour. In three angles of the improvement, the woods are luxuriantly tall, and dressed in a foliage of deepest verdure, while the cultivated field exhibits the greatest power of vegetative nature, and arrests my eye from every other object. Let me, then, pursuant to the suggestion of gratitude, lift my eyes and my heart in a devout aspiration of thanksgiving and praise to the indulgent author of my existence and of these bless- ings of which I am an unworthy partaker in common with my species. But am I not growing too serious for you? I hope not. We have our troubles. This was never designed to be a heaven for us. We are therefore crossed, that we may extend our views to a brighter world, where there is an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled and unfading, in reserve for him that overcometh the
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