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Gc 975.501 Sp6s 1825691
M
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02379 5575
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HISTORY
OF
ST. GEORGE'S PARISH,
IN THE
COUNTY OF SPOTSYLVANIA,
AND DIOCESE OF VIRGINIA, BY
REV. PHILIP SLAUGHTER, D. D., LATE HISTORIOGRAPHER OF THE DIOCESE.
EDITED BY R. A. BROCK,
THE NEWDER' Y
WITH A
1
BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR,
AND) A CONTINUATION, EMBRACING THE HISTORY OF
ST. GEORGE'S AND TRINITY CHURCHES
'TO THE PRESENT TIME.
RICHMOND, VA. : J. W. RANDOLPH & ENGLISH, 1890.
--
1825691
1
NEWBERRY.
3
V
Copyrighted by J. W. RANDOLPH & ENGLISH, 1890.
28783
PREFACE.
N the infancy of a country, but little care is taken in preserving the materials of its history. The minds of the first settlers are generally absorbed in arrange ments for the protection of life, the acquisition of pro- perty, and in provisions for their personal comfort. But when in the progress of time the rights of persons and of property are established upon a secure basis, men have more leisure for thought and investigation. The history of the country now becomes an interesting sub ject of study. We love to trace existing institutions to their rude beginnings, and to mark the successive steps of their development, until they assumed their present forms. Everything which can throw light upon the po litical, religious, and social state, is diligently sought. Rare old books are collected and highly prized, musty records are examined, and the smallest fragments of co. temporary history become precious in our eyes.
This spirit of inquiry gives rise to historical societies, in which persons of kindred tastes and pursuits meet to- gether, and each contributing his mite to the common stock of knowledge, receives it return the benefit of the labors of all. Virginia, although the eldest in the sister hood of states, has been behind some of the younger members of the family in efforts for the illustration of her history. We are happy to know, however, that there has been of late an awakening of interest in this subject, as indicated in the revival of the Historical So
iv
PREFACE.
ciety- in the increased demand for the old works of HACKLUYT, PURCHAS, SMITH, STITH, BEVERLEY, and others, and in the appearance of the two new histories of HowI- SON and CAMPBELL. There is a fair prospect now that this spirit of inquiry will go on, until all the sources of our history are explored, when some master workman will take the materials, and build an immortal fabric, worthy of the theme.
The author of this unpretending series of tracts, de- sires to make an humble contribution to the department of Church history. He does not intend to write a history of the Christian religion in Virginia. This would open a wide field of discussion, for which he has neither strength nor taste. His plan only embraces the Protes tant Episcopal Church in Virginia. He does not even profess to give a general history of it. This has been already very ably done by Dr. HAWKS. He only proposes to write a separate history of the old parishes, founded upon the parish records, with an occasional illustration from other sources. This enables him to go into details which would be inconsistent with the plan, and beneath the dignity of a general history. He is aware that these details are tiresome and uninteresting to the general reader, but he does not expect these tracts to have more than a local interest and a limited circulation. In his judgment it is these very details which gives them value, and to omit them, would be to defeat the very end for which he writes. There are many persons in almost every parish who take the livchiest interest in the most trifling incidents when associated in their minds with a cause that is dear to them They wish to know every- thing about the history of those old churches in which their fathers and mothers were baptised and buried, and we have seen the faces of more than one beam with joy,
V
PREFACE.
when told for the first time, that those from whom they are descended were ministers, or communicants, or vestrymen of the Church.
There may be those who have but little respect for such feelings, and who would not condescend to minister to their gratification. The author differs in opinion with these persons, and rather sympathises with the venerable Bishop Moore, who says in the-report of one of his early Episcopal visitations, "I have seen whole congregations at the bare mention of the glory which once irradiated the Church in Virginia, burst into tears, and perfectly electrify my mind."
1847 ..
5
SUCCESSION
OF
Nectors of $1. George's Parish,
FREDERICKSBURG.
1. Rev. Theodosius Staige, Rector from 1726, to No- ยท vember, 1728. During a vacancy of four months, the Rev. Mr. De Butts preached seven sermons.
2. Rev. Rodham Kemer, from March, 1729, to October, 1730. During a vacancy of two years and three months, Mr. Kenner preached once a fortnight, and the Rev. Francis Pearl preached eleven sermons.
3. Rev. Patrick Henry, from January, 1733, to April, 1731. During the vacancy, the Rev. Mr. Smith preached two sermons. Rev. Mr. Smith was pro- posed to the vestry by the governor, but refused, October, 1734.
4. Rev. James Marye, from October, 1735, to 1767.
5. Rev. James Marye, Jr., from January, 1768, to 1780.
6. Rev. Thomas Thornton, from January, 1788, to July, 1791.
7. Rev. John Woodville, from January, 1792, to Decem- ber, 1793.
8. Rev. James Stephenson, from April, 1794, to July, 1805.
9. Rev. Abnor Waugh, from January, 1806, to July, 1806.
10. Rev. Samuel Low, Sr., from July, 1808, to April,
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SUCCESSION OF RECTORS.
1810. A vacancy of 18 months. One year of this time, Mr. Low, living in King George county, preached once in every three weeks.
11. Rev. George Strebeck, from November, 1811, to Feb- ruary, 1813. Vacancy of 8 months.
12. Rev. Edward C. McGuire, D. D., from October, 1813, to October, 1858.
13. Rev. Alfred M. Randolph, D. D., from October, 1858, to November, 1862.
14. Rev. Magruder Maury, from 1864, to June, 1871.
15. Edmund C. Murdaugh, D. D., from October, 1877, . to April 3, 1879.
16. Rev. Robert J. McBride, from July 2, 1879, to March 26th, 1883.
17. Rev. John K. Mason, from May 15th, 1883, to De- cember 1st, 1890, when he became Assistant Rector St. James Church, Richmond.
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
OF
REV. PHILIP SLAUGHTER, D. D.
"Not harsh and rugged are the ways Of hoar antiquity; but strewn with flowers."-WARTON.
"Of ancient writ unlocks the learned store, Consults the dead, and lives past ages o'er."-POPE.
Few men have been more inspiring in stimulating their fellows in this State, with regard for its past his- tory, and in quickening into active fruition their inhe- rent veneration and pious sensibilities, than the subject of this sketch.
Richly endowed, as he was, with the persuasive charms of the orator, and so possessed with that insatiate zeal to know, to guide, and to instruct, which neither the infirmi- ties of age could quench, nor physical anguish scarce restrict, he wrought, to the very end, with such potency and excellence, that in pulpit or page, there was per- ceptible in his latest utterances, no diminution in quality.
Beloved sage !- he was taken to the bosom of the Father in full mental panoply, and with plans of pecu- liar usefulness and beneficence still in progress.
The Slaughter family can be traced back to 1485, when the name was spelled Schlostre. There are three different branches of it located severally in Hertford- shire, Gloucestershire, and Worcestershire, England,
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REV. PHILIP SLAUGHTER, D. D.
bearing the similar arms .* The name has been vari- onsly spelled and pronounced: Rev. Edmund F. Slafter, A. M., D. D., Boston, Mass., conjectures that the ortho- graphy of his own name has undergone a transforma- tion to conform to a prevailing local pronunciation.
John Slaughter was a grantee of land in eastern Vir- ginia, as early as 1635. There are subsequent grants or record to Richard, John, Martin, George, and Robert Slaughter severally. The earliest of his family, as noted by Dr. Slaughter, appear in the following mention: " We limit our notice to the two brothers, who were first transplanted in this parish in the eighteenth century; Robert and Francis Slaughter were the first Church- wardens of St. Mark's parish, Culpeper County, chosen by the first vestry in 1731."+ Robert Slaughter married about the close of the 17th, or beginning of the 18th century, a daughter of Cadwalader Jones, of Essex county, who appears as a Justice of the Peace of Rappahannock County in 1680. 1
Robert Slaughter had issue seven sons: Ist, Robert; 2nd, William; 3rd, Thomas; 4th, Francis; 5th, James; 6th, Lawrence; 7th, George, who, with their descend- ants intermarried with the families of Briscoe, Crane, Stanton, Pickett, Martin, Bolling, Stringfellow, Hamil- ton, Thornton, Broek, Marye, and others like worthy.
The fifth son of Robert Slaughter, James Slaughter, " commanded a regiment at the battle of Great Bridge,"
* This data was communicated to me by Dr. Slaughter, who held that his ansestors were of the Hertfordshire branch, with the fol- lowing arms: Ar. a saltire az : Crest. out of u ducal coronet, or. an eagle's head, ar. wings expanded, su.
t A history of St. Mark's Parish, etc., p. 157.
# A gallant representative of the family and name in the Revo- lutionary war, was Captain Cadwalader Jones.
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A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCII OF
the first engagement of the revolution in Virginia. He married Susan, daughter of Major Philip Clayton, who migrated to Culpeper county from New Kent, by the way of that of Essex.
The eldest of the issue of Col. James and Susan (Clay- ton) Slaughter, was Philip, born December 4th. 1758; died, 1849; entered Capt. John Jameson's company of Minute men from Culpeper county in 1775, and marched with it to Williamsburg to reclaim the powder seized by Dunmore. Having been discharged, Philip Slaughter re-entered school, but in the spring of 1776, he again entered the service in Col. John Jameson's troop of cav. alry, enlisting for three years. Before it marched, how- ever, he was appointed by the Committee of Safety of Culpeper a lieutenant in Capt. Gabriel Long's company of riflemen, which joined the army under General Wash- ington in New York. In 1777 this company was at- tached to the 11th Virginia Regiment on Continental Establishment, commanded by the celebrated Daniel Morgan. Lieutenant Slaughter was promoted to cap- tain in 1778, and served gallantly throughout the war, being in the momentous battles of Brandywine, German- town and others. He was one of those who endured such bitter hardships at Valley Forge. His mess-mates were the two Porterfields, John and Robert, Lieutenant Johnson, and Lieutenant John Marshall (subsequently the Chief Justice). He married first a daughter of French Strother, (by whom he had issue), and secondly, January 19th, 1803, Elizabeth Brock, widow of William Brock, (son of Colonel Joseph Brock), daughter of Col. Thomas Towles, of Spotsylvania county, and neice of Colonel Larkin Smith. Captain Philip Slaughter had issue by his second marriage, two sons and two daugh- ters: Thomas T., M. D., married twice, first, Jane,
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REV. PHILIP SLAUGHTER, D. D.
daughter of Chapman Reynolds, secondly, Miss Brad- ford, with issue by both marriages; Mary S., married Robert A. Thompson, (grandson of Rev. John Thomp- son), and had issue, among whom was the wife of Gen- eral E. O. C. Ord, U. S. Army; Philip, and Anne Mer- cer, married first Edward Robertson, secondly, Philip, son of Col. John S. Slaughter, and had issue by both marriages .* It will thus be seen, that the springs of life of Philip Slaughter, were worthily enkindling. He was born at the seat of his father, "Springfield," in Cul- peper county, October 26th, 1808. His earlier educa- tion was by tutors at home, among whom were John Robertson, father of Hon. Win. J. Robertson, formerly of the Court of Appeals of Virginia, and Rev. Samuel Davies Hoge, the father of the eminent divine, Rev. Moses D. Hoge, D. D., Richmond, Va. At the age of fourteen, Philip Slaughter entered the Classical Academy of which John Bruce was head master, at Winchester, Va. In March, 1825, he matriculated at the University of Virginia. He was admitted to the Bar in 1828, but. relinquished the practice of law in less than five years, to devote himself to the ministry. He entered the Theo- logical Seminary of Virginia, in October, 1833, and was ordained Deacon by Bishop William Meade, May 25th, 1834, in Trinity Church, Staunton, Va. His first charge was in Middleburg, Prince William County. In July, 1835, he was ordained Priest by Bishop Richard Chan- ning Moore, in St. Paul's Church, Alexandria, Va. In January, 1836, he took charge of Christ Church, George- town, D. C .; removed, in 1840, to Meade and Johns' par- ishes, Va., and in 1843 took charge of St. Paul's Church,
*Those who may be interested in the families cited, or who are of the rumified lineage, may consult further the genealogies in the History of St. Mark's Parish.
xii
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF
Petersburg, Va., succeeding Rev. Nicholas Hamner Cobbs, D. D., subsequently, Bishop of the Diocese of Alabama, and who was preceded in the rectorship by Right Rev. Wmn. Meade. He filled with great accepta- bility and usefulness this ministry, and cemented witli his flock enduring ties of affection. Failing health, however, constrained him to resign his beloved charge, and seek recuperation in travel. He accordingly spent the years 1848 and 1849 in Europe.
Returning to Virginia, and still too feeble, physically, for constant service in the ministry, he established in 1850, in Richmond, the Virginia Colonizationist, which he edited with signal zeal and ability until 1855. One of the results of this earnest labor, was the enlisting of the State Legislature in the cause of African Colonization, and securing large appropriations in its behalf. As his health permitted, he freely expended his rich gifts in the "service of his Saviour, and employed them in the salvation of his fellow-men and the npbuilding of God's Church in his native State of Virginia. The work of his active ministry was short, but wonderfully brilliant and effec- tive. He had all the personal magnetism, the fire, and the spiritual power of Whitefield. Great crowds at- tended on his ministry, and conversions were numbered by the hundred. He preached for days at a time in the principal cities of the State -- in Norfolk, in Petersburg, in Fredericksburg, in Williamsburg, where the Rev. Dr. Minnigerode, the honored rector emeritus, of St. Paul's Church, Richmond, then a young professor in the col- lege of William and Mary, was impressed and brought to Christ, and in various other cities he preached with great success, and reaped a great harvest of souls for the Lord of the harvest. The churches in many of these cities still feel the effects of the stirring sermons which
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REV. PHILIP SLAUGHTER, D. D.
came from the burning lips of this son of Thunder. His spiritual sons and daughters in the Lord are legion, and will rise up everywhere to call him blessed."*
In 1856, he returned to his home in Culpeper county, near Cedar Mountain, and built a church on his own lands, in which he preached gratuitously to his neigh- bors and their slaves, until the church was destroyed by the Federal soldiers during the late war. Having been despoiled of personal property, his library destroyed and his home desolated, he took refuge in Petersburg, Virginia, and established there, The Army and Navy Messenger, a religious paper for distribution among the soldiers of the Southern Confederacy. He ministered to them also, as his strength permitted, visiting and preaching to them in camp and hospital. The war be- ing ended, he returned to his home, which had been made habitable by the generosity of his warm, personal friend, the late and revered philanthropist, William Wilson Corcoran. The churches in the vicinity of his home having all been either destroyed or so damaged as to debar their being used as places of worship, he fitted up a recess chancel in the parlor of his residence, with relies preserved from the investments of two of his former churches, and for a time officiated there. Later, he took charge of Slaughter parish, Culpeper county, and supplied its two churches as his health would admit. In May, 1879, he was elected by the Con- vention, Historiographer of the Episcopal Diocese of Vir- ginia, which position he held at the time of his death, June 12th, 1890.
His final illness was of brief duration, and as has been
*Tribute by Rev. Wm. T. Roberts, rector of Emmanuel Church, Harrisonburg, Va., Southern Churchmen, July 10, 1890.
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A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF
remarked, the sumions came to him in the fullness of his mental activity.
In one of his last letters to Rev. Joseph Packard, D. D., he wrote: "your letter found me up to my eyes in work-answering questions from all over the United States, from Canada, England and France." His daugh- ter also adds to the present writer: "In his case, life was so full and vigorous to the day that he was taken ill, that it seems more like the cutting off a man in his prime, than the fading out of one weary with the toils of life."*
As in other noble instances in which the predominant animus has been the good of others, subordinating thought of self, the life of Dr. Slaughter was touching in its ex- emplifications of simplicity, self-denial and generosity. In his home he was most tender and considerate as hus- band and father. The desolation of war, with him, in- volved not only res angusta domi, but for a time inade- quate domestic service, during which, many duties to which he was wholly unaccustomed were cheerfully un- dertaken by him.
Rev. Dr. Jos. Packard, of the Theological Seminary of Virginia, thus aptly presents the personal characteristics of Dr. Slaughter: "No one who knew him can forget the warmth of his friendship, the charm of his conversa- tion, his literary taste, shown in his familiarity with the best English literature and poetry, laid up in a remark- ably extensive memory, and, above all, to use his own lan- guage in writing of Rev. Dr. May, 'in the constant shin- ing of the light and the savor of the salt that was in him, in the brotherly kindness which beamed from his
* Mrs. Sophy M. Slaughter, in a letter dated July 23rd, 1890, The writer is indebted to Mrs. Slaughter for kindly aid in the preparation of this sketch.
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REV. PHILIP SLAUGHTER, D. D.
eye, flowed from his lips, and emanated from his own demeanor.'" His zeal and enthusiasm in historical re- search was unbounded, and his delight at the discovery and addition to the treasury of history of any material and directive fact, magnetic. The writer enjoyed the privilege of his friendship and his regard for many years, during which correspondence with him was fre- quent. His warthing words of sympathy and of en- couragement have been truly a benison of comfort and of sustenance to the present writer, which has to him been above price in trusts and tasks, oftentimes bewilder- ing in the self-dependence which they constrained. Doubtless, honorary membership in many historical so- cieties were conferred on Dr. Slanghter. The writer has cognizance of three in which he held cherished fraternity: the Virginia Historical Society, the Wis- consin Historical Society, and the New England His- torical Geneaological Society, Boston, Massachusetts. The degree of D. D. was conferred on him by William and Mary College, July 4th, 1871.
The following resolutions, by bodies to which Dr. Slaughter was peculiarly endeared, find fitting record. Other like actions have not reached the writer:
At a meeting of the vestry of Slaughter Parish, Culpeper County, June 13th, upon the announcement of the death of the Rev. Dr. Slaughter, rector emeritus of the parish, the following minute was adopted and ordered to be spread upon the parish re- cords :
The life service of the Rev. Dr. Slaughter is so inseparably identified with the last half century's history of the diocese of Vir- ginia, that he is an "epistle written and known of all men, " and to this vestry, therefore, there only remains the privilege of paying their grateful tribute to his faithful work in their behalf at a time when his vigilance and pastoral care was of vital value.
The existence of this parish, with Enmanuel Church within its limits and Calvary just outside, is largely due to his invaluable
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A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF
. ministrations and his great influence with a people to whom he was bound by hereditary ties, as well as by those of deep venera- tion and love.
After his retirement from active parish work, as rector emeritus, he ever maintained his tender interest in it, and was ever ready with wise counsel and advice.
Among the multitude who rise up and call him blessed, none can do so more heartily than the people of the parish which bears his honored name. " Si queris monumentum udspice."
F. L. WILLIS, Registrar.
At a called meeting of the vestry of St. Stephen's Church, held in the vestry-room, on Thursday, 12th of Jume, 1890, the death of the Rev. Philip Slaughter, D. D., having occurred at 8 A. M. this day, on motion the following resolutions, as expressive of the feelings of the vestry, and as a tribute to the great worth and Christian character of Dr. Slaughter, were offered and manimously adopted and directed to be spread on the minutes of the vestry.
Whereas, in the death of the Rev. Philip Slaughter, D. D., His- toriographer of the church in the diocese of Virginia, the church has been called to mourn the loss of an eminent son, a faithful presbyter, a learned historian, one whose varied talents were adorned by a long life of devotion to the Church of Christ, and by his humble Christian life, led in imitation of the Master, full of years and full of honors, having been called from his earthly to his heavenly home, we, the rector and vestry of St. Stephen's Church, St. Mark's parish, desire to place on record our apprecia- tion of his services and our expression of the great loss the church in Virginia has sustained; therefore, be it
Resolved, 1. That in the death of the Rev. Philip Slaughter, D. D., the church has sustained an irreparable loss learned, pions, und devoted to the cause of Christ- his removal from our midst will be felt throughout the church.
2. As presbyter and Historiographer of the church of Virginia he leaves an honored name, calling forth the affection and esteem of his contempories, his literary works an invaluable legacy to the church.
3. Full of years and full of honors he has served his day and generation faithfully and well. Ripe for the harvest, he has been garnered by the Master and has entered upon his eternal reward, leaving an illustrious example for future generations.
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REV. PHILIP SLAUGHTER, D. D.
4. That the rector and vestry of St. Stephen's Church, in a body, attend the funeral of Dr. Slaughter, to be held to-morrow evening, at 5 o'clock, at Calvary Church, in Culpeper.
5. That a copy of these resolutions be sent to the family of Dr. Slaughter, as an expression of our sympathy, as a body, with them in their bereavement, and also to the Southern Churchman news- paper for publication.
.
Dr. Slaughter married June 20th, 1834, Anna Sophia, daughter of Dr. Thomas Semmes, Alexandria, Virginia, who survives him, with one daughter, of an issue of two, Mrs. Sophia M. Slaughter, who married a cousin, Mr. Thomas T. Slaughter.
A list is appended, of the publications of Dr. Slaugh- ter, the basis of which is a memorandum prepared by him, from memory, not long before his death. It is manifestly not definitely comprehensive. From it may be apprehended that the happy offices of the zealous and life-long devotion of Dr. Slaughter, have been signally important. It will hardly be doubted that the publica- tion of his histories of Bristol and of St. George's Parishes in 1846 and 1847, the pioneers in such familiar illustration, was the stimulant, not only to the preserva- tion of kindred original material, but to the embalming in the magazines of the church of such essential narrativo. From among such useful contributors, Rev. John Collins McCabe, D. D., and Rev. Lewis P. Clover, D. D. are re- called. In the preparation of that invaluable repertory, " The Oldl Churches and Families of Virginia," Dr. Slaughter was directly instrumental. He more than once informed the present writer that the preparation of such a work was a cherished design with him, but that his feeble health demanding a trans- Atlantic voyage, determined the relinquishment of the pious task to Bishop Meade, to whom also was surrendered what ma- terial had been collected by him for the purpose.
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A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF
PUBLICATIONS OF DR. SLAUGHTER.
WHILE AT THE BAR, A FOURTH OF JULY ORATION. Delivered at Stevensburg, Va,
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