USA > South Carolina > Berkeley County > The annals and parish register of St. Thomas and St. Denis Parish, in South Carolina : from 1680 to 1884 > Part 1
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Annals & Registers
of
St Thomas & St Denis Parish
S.C.
Class
937.787
Book
Są 2
Columbia College Library Madison Av. and 49th St. New York. Beside the main topic this book also treats of
Subject No.
On page
Subject No.
On page
929.3
THE ANNALS
AND
PARISH 6 REGISTER OF,
ST. THOMAS AND ST. DENIS PARISH, /
SOUTH CAROLINA,
FROM .1680 TO 1884.
COLLECTED AND ARRANGED BY
ROBERT F. CLUTE, RECTOR.
CHARLESTON, S. C. WALKER, EVANS & COGSWELL, PRINTERS, Nos. 3 BROAD AND 109 EAST BAY STREETS. 1884.
1884.
PARISH OF ST. THOMAS AND ST. DENIS. 0
DIOCESE OF SOUTH CAROLINA.
Rector. REV. ROBERT F. CLUTE, D. D.
WARDENS AND VESTRYMEN FOR THE YEAR.
Wardens. J. COMING BALL.
WM. I. VENNING.
Vestrymen. G. E. MANIGAULT, M. D.
JOHN SHOOLBRED, WM. L. VENNING, JR.
SAMUEL SANDERS,
ROBERT N. CLUTE.
WM. M. S. LESESNE.
CH's F. HANCKEL, JR.
Secretary and Treasurer. CH'S F. HANCKEL, JR.
Finance Committee.
G. E. MANIGAULT, M. D. WM. L. VENNING.
SAMUEL SANDERS.
1
Solicitors.
RUTLEDGE & YOUNG, Charleston.
69067
INTRODUCTORY NOTES.
I. Two hundred years are not a very long time, and yet owing to the neglect of recording details, much interesting and valuable parochial history has been lost, and the genera- tions of families broken and confused. Had the Rectors or Registrars given a thought to the probable wishes of poster- ity, our records would doubtless be full and minute. Christ Church has the most complete of any I have read; the pro- ceedings of the vestry extending back to about the beginning of the last century. Some of the incidents are sorrowfully amusing. St. Michael's, of Charleston, and St. Mark's Ciar- endon, have lost their records by fire ; St. John's Berkley, by military theft ; Beaufort, by decay ; St. Thomas, some by fire and others misplaced. It is to be desired that the vestries of those parishes who retain any record of their past will follow this example of their brethren of St. Thomas and St. Denis, and print them for the benefit of the Church and State. The present depositories of these archives are by no means fire- proof, and the publication of these annals and registers, placed in public or private libraries, seems to be the only mode of preserving the few remains of our parochial history.
2. To save expense it has been found expedient to give the historical facts without comment, and hence the form of annals.
The chairman of the vestry, during a recent visit at the North, sought information at the libraries of Harvard and Yale, for the most comprehensive method of arranging the registers, but found nothing satisfactory. The plan adopted seems to be the most simple. Where the same name is in
6
THE ANNALS AND PARISH REGISTER OF
each list it can be easily traced. The names of the wives are given alphabetically among those of their husbands. In the baptismal register the date of birth is also given ; the families of the same name grouped according to date. In the burial list the date of death is generally given ; that of burial only when the former is not given ; sometimes both. It seems as if the registrars had noted acts performed by the rectors in other parishes, and also of deaths of parishioners elsewhere. For nearly four years I have been reading and examining every source of information of which I could learn. There was a vast amount of notes, but when digested the remains are the meagre annals presented. The present arrangement of the old records of the parish was the most troublesome, and four written reviews were required before no error could be found.
I am much indebted to the kind aid of Langdon Cheves, Esq., and especially in the preparation of the history of the Beresford Family, which it is proposed to publish hereafter in the pamphlet concerning the Beresford Bounty Fund. Many additions have been made to the burial list from inscrip- tions in the several cemeteries, of which no record had been made from 1790 to 1823. By this neglect we have lost the list of marriages and births or baptisms during the same time. It is evident, from a study of the registers, that some dates are erroneous ; the same name spelled differently ; that very many of the French records are wanting ; that there was great neglect to obtain full returns from many families, and in some cases of entire generations.
New matter may hereafter come to light. I have done the best I could with my material amid professional duties and much family sickness.
The apparently rapid extinction of the parish, ecclesiasti- cally ; the former neglect to preserve records ; the use it may be for diocesan church history, family genealogies, &c., have influenced the Vestry to perform this, which they believe to be, a religious and patriotic duty.
3. The Dutarque is the only one of the original families remaining in the parish. Now Dutart.
7
ST. THOMAS AND ST. DENIS PARISH.
4. The three cemeteries are known by the names of
(1) The Brick Church-the Parish Church.
(2) The Old Ruins-Charity Meeting-Methodist Church.
(3) Pompion Hill-The Chapel.
5. It is my impression, though I have forgotten to search the Journals of the Diocese in charge of the Registrar, that, like many of the Colonial Churches, the Parish Church and Pompion Hill Chapel have never been consecrated, unless by the devout worship of successive generations.
6. B. B. S. among burials-Beresford Bounty Scholars.
7. There are a few entries of free negroes in the first regis- ter, or until 1790. In the second, are the names, baptisms, confirmations, communions, marriages, burials, &c., of very many slaves until the close of the late war. The names of owners are also recorded.
The Rev. Francis H. Rutledge was the first Rector to record confirmations, communicants, &c. The last register contains the arrangement of the former two, as herein printed. with the inscriptions copied from the tomb-stones, lists of parishioners, families, communicants, confirmations, &c., from 1827, and other information thought worthy of preservation.
8. St. Thomas and the other parishes were originally cre- ated Church of England, and not civil parishes, and so con- tinued until South Carolina became a State. Ramsay Eccles. Hist., p. 5.
9. The authorities consulted in the preparation of this work are :
The Parish Registers of St. Thomas and St. Denis, of Christ Church and St. Philip's, Charleston.
The Cemetery Inscriptions of St. Thomas and St. Denis.
The Journals of the Diocese.
Colonial and State Statutes.
Colonial Chancery Reports. Wills in Probate Office.
Hist'l Cols. of the Hist'l Soc., South Carolina.
Irving's Days on the Cooper River.
Memorial Services in St. Philip's.
8
THE ANNALS AND PARISH REGISTER OF
Dalcho's Hist. of the Church in So. Ca.
Humphrey's Hist. Soc. Prop. Gos. For. Parts, ed. 1730. Shipp's Hist. Methodism in So. Ca. Howatt's Hist. of the Province of So. Ca. Rivers' Sketch of the Proprietary Government. Gibbes' Documentary Hist. of So. Ca. Ramsay's Hist. of So. Ca.
R. F. C.
BERESFORD HALL, ST. THOMAS PARISH, June 1, 1884.
9
ST. THOMAS AND ST. DENIS PARISH.
THE ANNALS
OF
ST. THOMAS AND ST. DENIS PARISH,
SOUTH CAROLINA.
The peninsula formed by the Cooper and Wando Rivers, was probably settled by a few families, before Old Charlestown was removed to Oyster Point. Gradually others found honies on the banks of both streams, until about 1680 they had extended to the limit of navigation. These were chiefly from England. During the next five years, thirty-two French families Shipp settled in the interior, mostly from French Quarter 35. Creek to the Cooper. The greater number had been sent to the Province by King Charles II., at his own expense, in two vessels, at the earlier date. They cultivated the vine, olive and mulberry, and engaged in the manufacture of wine, oil and silk. A small church was erected, in which divine worship was occasionally celebrated by the Rev. Mr. Prioleau and the Rev. Dr. LeJeau. The services were well attended. The names of these Huguenot families, as the earliest Par. Reg. on record in the Parish Register, are supposed to have been Bonneau, Bochett, Bellin, Bremar, Brabant, Bossard, Carriere, DuPre, Dutarque, DeLonguemar, Durant, Duberdeaux, Dubois, Guerin, Joly, Jaudon, LeJeau, Leroux, Lesesne, Mouzon, Marbeuf, Poitvinc, Roulain, St. Martin, Simons or Symonds, Syer, Sallens, Tresvin, Verine, Verone, Videau and Warbeuf. If there is any public record extant of the original
Hist., p. 34,
IO
THE ANNALS AND PARISH REGISTER OF
grants of their lands, a more correct list might be made.
1702.
The Society for the Propagation for the Gospel in Foreign parts, chartered June 16, 1700, by William III., sent out the Rev. Samuel Thomas, as a Mission- ary to the Yemassee Indians; but on his arrival he was appointed by Governor Sir Nathaniel Johnson to succeed the Rev. Mr. Corbin in ministering to the families settled on the three branches of the Cooper River, and to make Goose Creek his chief place of residence. He reported that the French had 50 communicants. Mr. Thomas died in 1706.
Hum- phrey, page 8].
1703.
Pompion Hill Chapel was erected on the east side of the east branch of the Cooper. It was built of cypress, 30 feet square. The funds were contributed by Sir. N. Johnson and private subscription. The Cemetery, on the original map, was 400 feet square. It was the first Church of England edifice erected outside of Charleston.
Dalcho.
Old Map.
The Rev. Mr. Thomas reported to the Society 1704 that the people on the eastern branch of the Cooper, Mem. Ser- of which he had the care, numbered So Church and vices. 20 dissenting families. Communicants 45; heathen slaves about 200, of whom 20 can read.
St. Thomas Parish was laid off November 30, but 1706 2 Stat. S.C. its boundaries were first defined December 18, 1708 : p. 282. " To the northeast by the bounds of Craven County ; to the south by the bounds of Christ Church Parish 2 Stat. S.C. and the Wando River; to the west by the Cooper p. 329, Secs land 2. River to that tract of land commonly called the Hagin, inclusive ; and to the north by the eastern branch of Cooper River to the plantation of Sir Nathaniel Ramsay lecles. History, page 5. Johnson, Governor, exclusive; and then by an east line from the northmost part of said plantation to the bounds of Craven County." This was amended by an Act passed March 5, 1736-7 ; " bounded by the most northerly branch of the said eastern branch of the Cooper River."
II
ST. THOMAS AND ST. DENIS PARISII.
The French settlement called Orange Quarter, from the principality of that name in Avignon, France, fell Shipp. within the boundaries of St. Thomas. As few of the people understood the English language, it was erect- ed into a distinct parish, and called St. Denis, from the battlefield in the vicinity of Paris, where Admiral Coligny and the Prince of Conde met the Catholic Shipp. forces and slew their commander, Montmorenci. It was thus practically made a Church of England Parish. Hence, the people being poor, they peti- tioned the Assembly for the public allowance for an Episcopal minister, who should give them the Eng- lish Liturgy and French sermons. The amount granted to their first missionary, Rev. John LePierre, was £20 for present relief, October 11, 1711; £50 additional, April 2, 1712; and in the next June 7, the amount was increased to fioo per annum. The church edifice was made the Chapel of Ease to the Parish Church, December 18, 1708.
The Parish Church, now called the Brick Church, 1703 about three miles from Cainhoy, on the old Clement's Ferry Road, was authorized by the Assembly, 1706. It was begun the next year and finished in 1708, which date was engraved on one of the bricks. The Glebe lands were 200 acres for the Parish Church and 420 acres for the Pompion Hill Chapel. The money allowed by the government for the Parsonage was insufficient, and placed at interest until it should amount to the sum required.
The Rev. Thomas Hasell, lately a catechist in 1709 Charleston, was appointed by the Society P. G. F. P. Humphrey. as the missionary to this Parish.
Rev. Mr. Hasell writes to the Society that he had 1711 baptized two negroes, husband and wife, and an Indian slave : all well instructed in the Christian religion ; taught to read their Bible by their master and mis- tress, who presented them. He was very successful. The young Frenchmen who understood English con-
12
THE ANNALS AND PARISH REGISTER OF
stantly attended his ministry. "The books sent out by the Society to be distributed by him were of great use, especially the Common Prayer Books given to the young people of the French and to the Dissenters' children."
He reported 120 families, including the French.
1713 1714 In the old Parish Register there is the duplicate or Old Parish copy of a Warrant on the Public Receiver for £40 : Register for Clerk, £10; Sexton, £5; Registrar, £5; building a south porch to the Parish Church, £18 3s. 7d. ; for the use of the poor, £1 16s. 5d. Signed, Richard Harris, Josias Dupree, Wardens ; Nathaniel Ford, Philip Chevers, Richard Smith, Peter Simons, Vestry- men ; Thomas Hasell, Rector.
1716
Mr. Hasell writes that the French desired the Lit- urgy to be translated into their own language.
1718
Vestry's warrant to Alex. Paris, Public Receiver, to Old Parish pay the Psallary of Mr. Saville Scriven, schoolmaster Register of the Parish of St. Thomas, Tenne pounds.
1721 Dalcho. Rivers, II. 356 Ramsay, 1I., 198. Published Will, &c.
March 17. Richard Beresford, Esq , died, and by his will bequeathed the nett profits of his estate to the Vestry of St. Thomas Parish, in trust, until his son John, then 8 years of age, should arrive at the age of 21 years. One-third of the interest was to be paid to schoolmasters, and two-thirds to support, maintain and educate such poor children of the parish as should be sent to the school, to learn reading, writing, casting accounts, the languages and mathematics, &c. If no school, the money to put to interest, &c.
1723
· The Rev. Wm. Bull, Commissary, &c., writes to the S. P. G. : " St. Thomas is a large and populous parish. There are two churches, two glebes, but no parsonage. Rev. Mr. Hasell has been here fourteen years, resid- ing on his own estate and in a house of his own."
The population of St. Thomas consisted of 565 1728 Dalcho. Humphrey, whites, 950 negroes, 60 Indian slaves, 20 free negroes, 103-5 or about 1600 hundred souls.
I3
ST. THOMAS AND ST. DENIS PARISU.
The Vestry requested the Bishop of London to send them a qualified schoolmaster.
The Rev. John LePierre, first missionary to the French, died.
Richard Harris, John Moore, Francis Goddard, Chancery John Stewart and Robert Daniel, Esq., were vestry- Reports. men, and co-defendants with the Rector and Thomas Broughton, executor, &c., in a suit by Jolin Beres- ford, minor, &c., for £100 sterling, as additional allow- ance for his support, and £400 for his apprentice fee to Samuel Wragg, merchant, London, which he gained.
There was at this date a Presbyterian Church at Cainhoy, the Rev. Josias Smith, grandson of Land- Shipp. grave Smith, being the minister. He removed to Charleston, and became associate pastor of the Inde- pendent Church, in 1734. The remains of this church are now called the Old Ruins.
The Rev. John James Tissot was appointed mis- 1730 sionary to St. Denis by the Bishop of London. DaIcho.
Richard Harris, for many years Senior Warden, 1732 died, and bequeathed £500 currency, to be placed at Dalcho. interest until it should amount to £1000, for the Par. Reg. education, &c., of the poor children of the parish.
John Beresford became of age, and the final pay- 1732 ment of the estate completed the sum of £6500 cur- Ramsay, rency, received by the Vestry. The Rev. Mr. Bull, in 1723, wrote that £150 Carolina money was equal to £120 sterling. Hence, the Beresford Endowment was originally £5200 sterling, or $26,000, and money was of greater value then than now.
II .. p. 198.
The Vestry were incorporated, chiefly, that they 1736 might legally manage the Beresford and Harris trusts. 3 Stat., May 29. It was the only Vestry incorporated before the Revo- lutionary war. The Rectors of parishes were ex-officio Colonial Church incorporated, and possessed the usual powers of cor- Act, Sec. XV. porated bodies.
S. C., p. 431
An Act was passed by the Assembly to allow the 1739
14
THE ANNALS AND PARISH REGISTER OF
Act AS- sembly. Vol. 111., p. 516 Ramsay, 11., 198,
Vestry to take out of their capital stock and interest a sufficient sum for building a school.
£1200 was paid for a plantation of 600 acres, with convenient buildings, within a mile of the Parish Church. The balance of the money was placed at interest on landed security, and called the Beresford Bounty Fund. The first investment thus seems to have been in 1740, when Thomas Ashby gave a mort- gage on his plantation of 500 acres for £500.
M C. O. Book, v., p. 302.
1742 Sep. 21.
The Vestry applied to the Bishop of London for an assistant to the rector (Hasell being infirm), and who might instruct the higher classes in the school, the education so far having been confined to the lower branches, as reading, writing and arithmetic.
1743
The Rev. Alexander Garden, nephew to the com- missary, arrived in the parish, and was elected, July 18, the teacher of languages. Mr. Garden, also, took charge of the parish.
1744
November 9. The Rector, the Rev. Mr. Hasell, died. Had been Rector for thirty-five years. The Vestry wrote to the S. P. G. to appoint the Rev. Mr. Garden as his successor.
1747
Dalcho. 3 Stat., S. C., p. 699
An Act was passed declaring Pompion Hill to be the Chapel of Ease. The Rector to have service the third Sunday in each month. The Act of the Assem- bly, December 18, 1708, which declared St. Denis (French) to be the Chapel of Ease, was repealed.
Chancery Journal, p. 60.
The Vestry, by the Hon. Charles Pinckney, their solicitor, laid before the Court a copy of their accounts and proceedings under the seal of the corporation- " Deus benedicat operi et faventi"-down to March 25, 1747, pursuant to Act, &c.
The same done to March 25, 1750, by the same 1750 C. Jour- nal, p. 91. solicitor.
1755
The Rev. Mr. Garden informed the S. P. G. that the French Refugees were dead, and their descend- ants, understanding English, had united themselves with the Church.
15
ST. THOMAS AND ST. DENIS PARISH.
Rev. Mr. Garden had been infirm for fifteen months. 1758 Reports Church and Chapel well attended. Congre- gations regular, serious and attentive. Had baptized a negro child, and was preparing a negro adult for the Lord's Supper.
Ile went northward for his health, and the Rev. In Robert Smith, of Charleston, and the Rev. Samuel F. Warren, of St. James, Santee, supplied services to the parish.
April. He reports : Twenty white and one black 1762 children baptized, and that thirty are catechised every Lord's Day.
The new chapel at Pompion Hill was begun-to be 1763 of brick, 48x35 feet-£3000 for the outside, £1000 for the inside. £200 were given by the Assembly. Gabriel Manigault, Esq., gave £50 sterling and 960 brick tiles for the floor, valued at £10. They are in good condition, 1884. Rev. Mr. Garden reports that the school is flourishing. "Eight poor children are cloth- ed, boarded and educated, i. c., taught reading, writing and arithmetic, to fit them for apprentices. Many of the former pupils living in the world are good Chris- tians, and respected as sober, industrious and useful citizens of society."
Pompion Hill Chapel was finished by private sub- 1765 scription. The architect's name, with Masonic sym- bol, and date, are inscribed on bricks near the door.
April 12.
On the death of the Rev. John James Tissot, an Act 1768 was passed disestablishing the French Congregation in Orange Quarter. The records, &c., lands, build-9 Stat., ings, monies, bonds and effects of said French Con- gregation were given to the Vestry for the benefit of the poor of St. Thomas Parish. Among the Rules ordered by the Vestry for the school, were :
III. The master shall bring the children to church every Lord's Day when there is public worship, and shall teach them to behave with all reverence while they are in the house of God; and to join in the
S. C., p. 225
16
THE ANNALS AND PARISH REGISTER OF
public service of the church ; for which purpose they are to be furnished with Bibles and Prayer Books as soon as they can use them.
IV. The master shall use prayers, morning and evening, in school, and teach the children to pray, and to say grace before and after meals.
1771
March 31. The amount of bonds at interest be- longing to the Beresford Bounty Fund was £16,013 3s. Ild. currency. Using the former proportionate value of $150 currency to £120 sterling, the amount was about £12,800 sterling, or $64,000.
1778 May 4. Beresford Will. Pamphlet, p. 20.
The parishioners held a meeting and resolved to raise a fund for the support of an Episcopal min- ister and a parish clerk, and for the repairs of the Church and Chapel.
177-
The church plate was buried with that of the Rev. Robert Smith (afterwards first Bishop of South Caro- lina), by Mauder, his overseer, beneath a tree on his plantation, Brabant. Mander, having been suspended from the same tree three times, to force the secret of the location of the silver, in vain, was released by the British officer. He declared that the sacredness of the communion vessels, only, restrained him from confessing. Two cups or chalices now remain (1884), one dated 1711; the other 1753. The plates are of this century.
Irving.
On Benevento plantation there was a sharp skirmish between a detachment of Marion's Brigade and a corps of Cavalry under Tarleton's command. An old inhabitant (1843) remembers to have seen the bones of the slain whitening in the sun. The French Quar- ter Creek runs between Benevento and Spring Hill plantations.
1781
Irving.
Lieut .- Col. Coates, in command of 500 infantry and 100 cavalry, was attacked by Lieut .- Col. Lee with the Legion, and Lieut .- Col. Hampton with the State cav- alry. Generals Marion and Sumter, coming up with reinforcements, continued the engagement. The
-
Irving, Days on Cooper River, pp.
'
49-57.
17
ST. THOMAS AND ST. DENIS PARISH.
Americans killed and wounded 40 of the British and took 140 prisoners, and a large quantity of baggage, several wagons and above 100 horses. Those who fell were buried by the roadside, from Quimby Avenue to Quimby Bridge. The Wando was the scene of many skirmishes. The British at one time fortified Cainhoy, and the Americans searched vessels passing up and down the river.
No meeting of the Vestry had been held. The funds 1779 83 were greatly reduced, as the debts were paid in paper money or "continentals."
The Rev. Alexander Garden, having been Rector 1783 for thirty-nine years, died.
By Act of the State Legislature the Vestry were 1781 allowed to sell the two glebes and purchase one more 4 Stat .. central. By the same Act, the old charter was re- newed and the former corporate powers invested in the wardens and vestrymen for the time being, and their successors. The title of St. Denis was renewed, and joined with that of St. Thomas, as one parish.
S. C., p. 583
The Rev. Wm. Smith (nephew to the Bishop) was 1785 elected Rector, and continued until 1788, when he 1788 resigned.
The Rev. Samuel Nesbit became Rector. He left 1792 the State in 1793.
The Rev. George Pogson was Rector. He died of 1793 yellow fever, in Charleston, in 1794.
The Rev. John Thompson became Rector. No other 1796 record of him. He left no register.
The Rev. George T. Nankivel was Rector, and 179- served until 1809, when he returned to England. No register.
The Rev. Joseph Warren became Rector, and died 1811 in 1815. No register of his ministry extant.
An Act was passed authorizing the Vestry to dis- 1816 pose of the original school tract of land, except the 6 Stat , S. C., p, 42. school-house and necessary number of acres for use. This last was sold by the Vestry on Easter Monday, 2
18
THE ANNALS AND PARISH REGISTER OF
1883, for about $1 per acre. The house had disap- peared years ago.
1815
The Parish Church was destroyed by a fire in the woods.
1818
An Act was passed allowing the Vestry to loan the school money, in amounts, manner and security, at their discretion.
8 Stat.,
S. C., p. 298
1819
The Parish Church was rebuilt, 27x37 and 22 feet high ; much smaller than the old building. No glebe. 212 white inhabitants.
1823-7
The Rev. Edward Rutledge, Rector. No register.
1827-39
The Rev. Francis H. Rutledge (afterwards Bishop of Florida), Rector. Full register.
1842-52
The Rev. Edward Philips, Rector. Register very complete.
1842
63.
Pompion Hill Chapel. . The walls threatened to Irving, p. fall ; grass grew in the building ; the shrubbery was a wilderness ; trees grew so thickly that access to the graveyard and one of the church doors was very difficult.
1843 This year the avenue to the Chapel has been cleared, Irving, p. the undergrowth removed, trees trimmed, and the 68.
Chapel about to be restored.
1852-3
The Rev. John H. Cornish, Rector.
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