USA > North Carolina > Edgecombe County > History of Edgecombe County, North Carolina > Part 41
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1 Bonaros was also the name of Rev. Mr. Pettigrew's plantation.
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world, the flesh, the devil. Two heavy crosses I have, one a poor crazy constitution, and a miserable chump of an overseer, whom I am obliged to oversee."
The premature death of Mr. Pettigrew obviously retarded the progress of a stable church organization in the State. It was nearly thirty years after his death before a diocese was established and a bishop of North Carolina ordained. One of the marked hindrances to the Episcopal Church in Edgecombe and the State, and one which had retarded its success from 1790 to 1833, was the want of a bishop who could over look the church organization and establish a ministry to remove the indifference and lethargy which was prevalent among the people.
In the meantime, it appears that the county was not without ministerial services. An old manuscript, supposed to have been one of Reverend Mr. Pettigrew's writings, mentions the names of Reverend James L. Wilson as minister of Martin and Edgecombe counties, and also Rev. Nathaniel Blount, of Pitt and Edge- combe, in 1795. Reverend Mr. Wilson was ordained by Bishop White in the year 1789. He had been a strong advocate for the election of a bishop for North Carolina in the convention at Tar- boro, and was the only minister who attended all four meetings at Tarboro. He was the president of one and had been selected as a delegate to the general convention. It is believed that he con- tinued to visit Edgecombe until about the year 1800.
The Reverend Mr. Blount also paid frequent visits to the county during the trying days succeeding the ill-fated attempt to organize an Episcopacy in the State by the conventions at Tarboro. The conditions following 1794 were indeed deplorable. In spite of this fact credence is given to the tradition that a church was built in Tarboro between 1790 and 1800. This must have been the church which replaced the one built on Tar River, which had decayed by the close of the Revolution, since a church was torn down in 1856. This church has been repeatedly mentioned as a public meeting house, and was used by all the denominations after the Episco- palians ceased to use it. Bishop J. B. Cheshire is of the opinion that this church was used by the conventions which met in Tar- boro 1790-1794. The Reverend Mr. Whitfield preached in this church in the early nineteenth century. Tradition mentions the fact that the stone over the grave of Reverend John Philips, who
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had been active in the church in the county, bore this inscription : "Rector of this church." The bell in the old Missionary Baptist Church 1 on Hendricks Creek and adjacent to the Tarboro Power House was taken from this church prior to the time it was torn down.
This church roll contained names of members handed down from St. Mary's Chapel, viz : Suggs, Tools, Irwins, Haywoods, Penders, Knights, Johnsons, and Philips. Dr. John Leigh, who had been active in the conventions of Tarboro, and was a prominent physi- cian and politician, still entertained hope for the church. There was also William Clements, and Robert White, a brilliant lawyer, and James Adams, the last two having acquired considerable emi- nence in politics and who represented town and county in the efforts for greater church activity. General Thomas Blount, who entertained George Washington, also lived in the county and dis- played an interest in the welfare of the church after 1794. There were quite a few others who had been noted Revolutionary patriots, among whom were James W. Clark, and Blake Baker, once At- torney General of the State. The presence of these men no doubt induced for a time the visits of various clergymen who lived in adjacent parishes.
There was, however, little desire for local organization. Much indifference existed in electing vestrymen during the period be- tween 1794 and 1819. Attempts had been made to induce the be- lievers in the church to elect twelve vestrymen according to the conventional proceeding enacted in Tarboro in 1793. Each county was admonished to elect a vestry and also to appoint two delegates to attend the various State conventions and also to elect two of the vestrymen to serve as church wardens. If any were ever selected in Edgecombe, the local organization ceased when the second church was abandoned about 1805.2
A new period in the history of the church began in Edgecombe about 1817 under the consecrated efforts of Reverend Adam Empie. A convention was held in New Bern of that year. In this convention the remaining and scattered clergy was bound to- gether in bonds of revision and the existing churches were inter-
1 This church was originally a Primitive Baptist Church until the split occurred.
" Dr. Jeremiah Battle, writing about the county in 1811, says that there were no churches but Baptist and Methodist.
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ested in the movement for a better organization. Only four parishes were represented in the convention of 1817, but in the course of two years the spirit of revival seized the minds of the people and an earnest reawakening ensued.
A congregation was organized at Tarboro by Reverend John Philips in 1819 and in that year it applied for admission to the diocese at the convention held at Wilmington. The people who constituted this congregation were doubtlessly the remnant of the colonial parish of St. Mary's or their descendants. At the time of the church reorganization the names of the Clarks, Nashes, Suggses, Tooles, Irwins, Penders, and others were still in evi- dence, and these same names are not uncommon on the parish register of this day.
Bishop Cheshire is of opinion that the name Trinity Church should not have been applied to the new church, but that the name of St. Mary's should have been retained. In this view Bishop Cheshire in all probability is correct. The retention of the old name of the church would have been most reasonable, thus retaining the old association with both the church and its founders. The failure to give the name of St. Mary's was in all probability due to the fact that since the old church went down by reason of indifference and inactivity, the name St. Mary's had been applied to a parish in Eastern North Carolina, and in order to avoid confusion arising from identical names, the name of Trinity was given. In like manner the change from Trinity to Calvary in 1833 was perhaps attributable to a similar cause.
Trinity Church beginning with 1819 entered an existence, which at first gave signs of useful and continued growth. The Reverend Mr. Philips, the rector, was a man of considerable abil- ity and commendable piety. He had been associated with Rev- erend George Strebeck and acted as his assistant in the New Bern Academy until the year 1814, at which time he was ordained by Bishop Moore, of Virginia. He remained in Virginia until 1818 and then became a missionary in North Carolina. His ac- tivities were not confined to Tarboro, for after organizing the church here, he became active in the churches at Warrenton, Blount's Chapel, and Washington. He also gave occasional visits to Hillsboro, Raleigh, Oxford, Scotland Neck, and Williamsboro. He was interested in organizing a church at Raleigh, which was
29
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HISTORY OF EDGECOMBE COUNTY
also made up of some of Edgecombe's citizens who had been affili- ated with the church at Tarboro. Notable among them were the Haywoods, and Mrs. Blount, the widow of Honorable Thomas Blount.
Bishop Moore, of Virginia, who had consented to supervise the diocese of North Carolina, in making his visit to North Carolina in 1819 visited Tarboro and, according to his journal, preached several times here. He must have passed through the town more than once, because he journeyed to Greenville and Washington, and his course of travel necessitated his having to return this way. He also attended the State convention in 1820 which convened at Edenton, and in all probability at that visited the church in Tarboro.
About 1822 the Reverend Mr. Philips was in failing health, but continued his ministration until 1823, when he returned to Virginia. He died in that State in 1831. The year he left the county a convention was called to meet in Salisbury, and Dr. Ravenscroft was elected to the episcopate. It is disappointing to find from the list of the parishes represented that Edgecombe was not among the number. Trinity Church had gone down.
After the decay, which followed from 1823 to 1833, there re- mains little to be said. The people in the county had evidently lost all hope after Reverend John Philips' departure, and being of an indifferent nature neglected the welfare of the church. Bishop Ravenscroft records in his journal the account of a visit to Tarboro in 1826 and says, "The prospects of a church in this place have declined so far that no reasonable expectation of its survival should be entertained."
The year of 1833 marked the beginning of a continuous exist- ence of an organized church. This year also records the first real vestry which existed in the county after the Revolution. At this time the name of Calvary Church was given, when the old con- gregation had a reorganization and applied for admission to the diocese of North Carolina, when the convention met in Warrenton on May 20, 1833. The Reverend Mr. Norwood became the rector, and Theophilus Parker, Spencer D. Cotton, Benjamin J. Spruill, James R. Lloyd, and Richard Hines, vestrymen. These men were then very prominent in politics and business circles of the State and county.
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In 1834 Mr. Thomas Burgess, the grandson of Reverend Thomas Burgess, conveyed a lot in the town of Tarboro, the one purchased in 1760 by Reverend Mr. Burgess, clergyman of Edge- combe Parish in Halifax, to the vestry of Calvary Church.1 It was the intention of the church to build a place of worship, but this purpose was not carried out until several years later. At the same time Theophilus Parker, a vestryman, gave an adjoining lot. The church which was already being used continued to answer the purpose of the congregation until after the war between the States. Frequent references have been made to this church as the "Old Church." In 1849 a eulogy of Ex-President Polk was made there by W. F. Dancy. The committee on arrangement was composed of H. T. Clark, who was a strong churchman at the time; R. E. McNair, John Norfleet, John F. Speight, and Harmon Ward. The notice of the occasion read as follows: "On the life and character of James K. Polk pronounced by William F. Dancy, at the old church in Tarboro, July 24, 1849."
Sometime after the gift of a lot by Mr. Parker, the vestry bought a lot, and in 1858 still another lot was given to the church by John S. Dancy, R. R. Bridgers, William F. Dancy, John L. Bridgers, William S. Battle, and Baker Staton.
The ministration of Reverend Mr. Norwood was of short dura- tion, for he left towards the close of his first year. The congre- gation, however, held together and had a strong organization in its vestry. After Reverend Mr. Norwood left the vestry requested the services of Mr. John Singletary, who at the time had not been ordained. He was ordained April 6, 1834, by Bishop Ives, and began his duties as rector of Calvary Church the following Sunday. Reverend Mr. Singletary left the charge after about two years and went to Warrenton.
In the meantime, the vestry of Calvary Church began a move- ment to build a church on the four lots which today constitute the two-acre churchyard. James R. Lloyd, Spencer D. Cotton, Richard Hines, and Theophilus Parker each gave $250.00 to the cause. The building was completed November, 1840, at a cost of $2,200.00, the congregation and friends subscribing the remaining $1,200.00. On March 8, 1840, Bishop Ives consecrated the church. This edifice remains today and is commonly known as the chapel.
1 This lot was used as a burying ground.
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HISTORY OF EDGECOMBE COUNTY
In the year 1842 the Reverend Joseph Blount Cheshire was called to the parish, and the history of the church centers around his ministrations for over fifty years. The Reverend J. B. Cheshire was born in Edenton, N. C., December 29, 1814, and on his mother's side he was a descendant of the well-known Blount family which was prominently connected with the Protestant Episcopal Church from organization of the first parish vestry in 1701. He received his early education at the old Edenton Academy. After his father's death he studied law and was subse- quently admitted to the bar and practiced in Edenton court from 1837 to 1839. He then abandoned the law for the ministry. In 1840 he was ordained deacon, and priest in 1841. He then acted as missionary in Halifax and Bertie counties for one year, when he accepted charge of Trinity Church at Scotland Neck and Calvary Church at Tarboro.
When Rev. Mr. Cheshire took charge there were only six mem- bers of the church. About eight years afterwards the report of the church census states that Tarboro had one Episcopal Church and aggregate congregation of 400, and church property valued at $2,000.00.
On March 16, 1856, Bishop Atkinson visited Tarboro and preached two sermons and administered confirmation to several persons. The church had been aroused, and the power for good which had been dormant for almost fifty years was fully alive. The slaves were beginning to receive spiritual attention, efforts were also being made to establish services at Rocky Mount. Mr. William Murphy, who evidently was a man of considerable piety and influence, was appointed by Bishop Atkinson to officiate at Rocky Mount.
Bishop Atkinson also relates in his journal of having preached in Rocky Mount in 1856 and administered the communion; in the afternoon he preached to a congregation of slaves belonging to Mr. Battle. Prior to the opening scenes of the war, the min- isterial work among the slaves in the county was postponed on account of indifference shown for the work. The work of the church at Tarboro continued without interruption. It is true some of its congregation was absent doing duty upon the field of battle and in the legislative halls, both in the State and Confed- eracy. R. R. Bridgers was in Richmond, John L. Bridgers led his
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troops at Bethel, W. S. Battle in the various conventions, as well as others who gave allegiance to the cause of the South.
Prior to the beginning of hostilities the church at Tarboro had experienced considerable progress and an increase in numbers. A new church was accordingly proposed and a movement began in 1860. The church was to be of brick. By early summer, 1861, the work was well under way, with the walls and both spires nearly completed. The Tarboro Southerner, in commenting on the work in March, said that the church would be completed by the follow- ing spring. The hurried preparation for war and the urgent need of men and material checked the work until after the closing scenes of 1865. The church gave its bell in response to the de- mands of the Confederate Government for metal.
By January, 1867, a sufficient amount of money was sub- scribed to complete the new church. The building committee con- sisted of Reverend Joseph Blount Cheshire, R. Chapman, J. H. Bowditch, William F. Dancy, Matthew Weddell, N. J. Pittman, John L. Bridgers, and H. B. Bryan. In the latter part of the year 1867 the structure was completed. A new bell, weighing 1,200 pounds, was received and paid for by the generosity and liberality of the citizens of the town and county. The church at the time of its completion was not surpassed in architectural beauty by any known church in the State or in the South. The cost of construction was $25,000.00. It received numerous edi- torial comments in the larger State papers. Calvary churchyard, consisting of two acres, soon became one of the chief attractions of Tarboro. The ground was planted with numerous trees and shrubs of rare species which were collected from various sources. The Reverend Mr. Cheshire, possessing a natural love for trees and flowers, devoted much care and attention to the planting. The churchyard was laid off with attractive walks, bordered with beautiful evergreens, creeping vines, roses and a great variety of flowers. The walls of the church are covered with English ivy, a fitting adornment to the graceful lines of the structure. The whole a spot of unsurpassed beauty. All of this being the loving work of Dr. Cheshire, and memorial of his devotion and fine Christian character.
After the war the local church took on new life and received inspiration at the general convention of 1865. The Reverend
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Dr. Cheshire and Mr. William H. Battle, from Edgecombe, rep- resented the State with other delegates. At the convention of 1866 the Reverend Dr. Cheshire and General William R. Cox were appointed on a committee to consider the church's attitude toward the races. Their sentiment was to "commend the people of color to the continued kindness and good will of the churchmen of the diocese." Two men of the county-father and son-were destined to become eminent and influential churchmen. The Reverend Dr. Joseph B. Cheshire was active in church endeavor and was present at most all conventional proceedings. He served on the committee that reported on the matter of electing an assistant bishop, which could not be legally done unless an amend- ment of the canons of the General Convention was made. He was on the committee which prepared the learned treatise on the "Usage and precedent concerning the Episcopate in the early days of the church." The Reverend Mr. Joseph Blount Cheshire, Jr., in his early ministry began to give evidence of his ability. He succeeded Dr. Marshall, the first historiographer of the diocese, and remained in this office with honor to himself and his church until he was elected bishop in 1893. For this eminent position he was qualified. He was a graduate of Trinity College in 1869, when only nineteen years of age, and received his mas- ter's degree there in 1872. He received the degree of doctor of divinity from the University of North Carolina in 1890, and also from the University of the South in 1894. Like his father, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1872, and had an active practice for six years. Like his father he then entered the ministry, and was ordained deacon in 1878, and priest in 1880. His first pastorate was at Chapel Hill where he remained three years. In 1881 he assumed the charge at St. Peter's in Charlotte and had an active ministry there until 1893. During this year he was consecrated coadjutor bishop, and October 15th became bishop after the death of Bishop Lyman. He is a trustee of the University of the South and has made valuable contributions to his church's history. His principle work was the "History of the Episcopal Church in the Confederate States."
Under the direction of the Reverend Dr. Cheshire the church in the county experienced its greatest growth. In 1870, in cooperation with Reverend Mr. Benton, who exercised untiring
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energy and perseverance, success was made in establishing a chapel at Stantonburg. Bishop Atkinson visited the chapel on April 4, 1870, three days after its completion. The Reverend Mr. Benton preached here over a month and officiated over the chapels in the eastern counties.
In 1883 the efforts which had been made to establish a church in Hickory Fork Township materialized in the construction of St. Mary's Chapel; the name was given in honor of the first church in the county. The people in the township without regard to sect supported the movement. Mr. John W. Howard donated the land, while popular subscription financed the building. In April, 1883, just before the church was completed, the Right Reverend T. B. Lyman, bishop of North Carolina, held the first services in the chapel. The Reverend W. J. Smith was the principal promoter of the project and reported a flourishing Sunday school with considerable interest.
At the same time a movement for a colored church service was arranged and in 1880 a colored Episcopal minister, Reverend Cumings, from Missouri, appeared in the county. He was re- ported to be a good preacher, and a man of culture. He preached on several days in Windsor, soon after being stationed in Tarboro, to a crowded house. His appearance evidently created a sensa- tion, according to the account of the local paper, which declared "a black face and a white gown is somewhat of a novelty in a pulpit in this place." 1
By the year 1879 this body of Christians had three meeting houses and several hundred communicants. Local interest was beginning to be in evidence, by the springing up of auxiliaries in the church. Shortly after the days of reconstruction the men of the church at Tarboro organized a guild. This organization was designed for charitable purposes and gave several hundred dollars to the Episcopal Orphanage. It staged plays and entertainments by local talent. Tarboro furnished excellent material, and its amateur plays received worthy support and hearty commendation. In addition concerts were given by the ladies. On several occa- sions the women of the church gave a series of tableaux and a
1 The colored church was successfully conducted from this beginning. Under the worthy efforts of an honorable man of color, Rev. - Perry, the negro church had a useful career.
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HISTORY OF EDGECOMBE COUNTY
concert for aiding in the collections of funds for the poor and also to assist in financing the Stonewall Cemetery for the Confederate dead at Winchester, Va.
In the meantime, various missions were being established in the county under the earnest and unselfish efforts of S. S. Nash, Charles F. Clayton, Frank Hart, J. W. Forbes, George Pender, Newett Webb, and others. In 1897 Grace Church at Lawrence was erected, and Mr. S. S. Nash became lay reader. In 1910 Calvary Chapel at Hart Cotton Mill was constructed, with Mr. Frank Hart as superintendent. In 1912 St. Andrew's Mis- sion under Mr. J. W. Forbes as superintendent was constructed. During the same year Mr. S. S. Nash became superintendent of St. Matthew's Mission, which was newly built. In 1914 St. Anne's Mission was founded by Mr. George Pender, while a year later St. Saviour's Church was erected and Mr. Newett Webb was placed in charge as lay leader. The next year St. Joseph's Mis- sion was organized.1 In addition the church showed the true missionary spirit in conducting services at the county home for the aged and infirm who were unable to attend services elsewhere.
After the retirement from active service of the Reverend Dr. Cheshire in 1889 the church at Tarboro was served by the follow- ing ministers : Poffenberger, Hoffman, Hebbard, Gamble, Harding, and B. E. Brown, who is now the present incumbent, and through his efforts the church received a stimulus for erecting the more recent missions in the county. Calvary Parish numbers about 450 communicants; and at the various chapels in the county Sunday schools are regularly conducted and services held by clergy and laymen of Calvary Church.
At the meeting of the Diocesan Convention of 1889 the Rever- end Joseph Blount Cheshire, Jr., very appropriately offered a resolution that the one hundredth anniversary of the election of the first bishop in North Carolina be observed by a celebration at Tarboro, the first bishop having been elected there. The Reverend Cheshire, Jr., Mr. Samuel Nash, and Judge Philips, of Tarboro, were appointed on a committee with others to carry word to the diocese of East Carolina and to give them an invitation to be
1 Only three of these Missions-Grace Church, St. Mary's at Speed, and St. Matthew's-are regularly organized missions, and have recognition, separate from the church at Tarboro. They are kept up principally by the efforts of Mr. 8. 8. Nash. The other missions are on the communicant list of Calvary Parish.
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present, Mr. Nash acting as special messenger. The joint cele- bration in Tarboro lasted for three days, beginning May 16, 1890. The joint centennial convention constitutes a history in itself as copied from the state papers. A general review of the history of the church was elaborately discussed in valuable historical con- tributions by various men of the church. Judge Philips, of Tar- boro, delivered the address of welcome.
The church is maintaining its past dignity and great work for good under the ministration of the Reverend Bertram E. Brown.
CHAPTER XIV
PRESBYTERIANS AND SONS OF TEMPERANCE
Sometime previous to 1750 it is commonly believed that Pres- byterian colonists settled in Orange, Rowan, Mecklenburg, and what is now Granville County. In the latter, the eloquent Pattillo gave a remarkable revelation of the worship of Christ and had a wonderful career.
Immediately after 1750 Presbyterianism made its appearance in Edgecombe County with the Scot-Irish immigration. There were, during the Revolution, some Scotch merchants in Tarboro who may have adhered to this belief. The Reverend James Camp- bell was the first ordained minister to live in North Carolina. Of his activities in this county nothing is preserved. The Rev- erend Hugh McAden was the first permanent missionary in the colony and for aught one knows was the first to reach Edgecombe and to leave the impress of his personality upon the religious life of the adherents of his faith.
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