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Gc 975.501 T77s 1214140
M. L.
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GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02379 5831
GENEALOGY 975.501 T77S
Miso Tipus fr И.В. ПенД. В. А.
Requested to Bes.R. L. Jmerrilla Jr. 1921
Leet wash.
THE HISTORY OF
TRURO PARISH
IN VIRGINIA
BY
REV. PHILIP SLAUGHTER, D.D.
Edited With Notes and Addenda By REV. EDWARD L. GOODWIN Historiographer of the Diocese of Virginia
QUI
NON PRO FICIT DET
ICIT
PHILADELPHIA GEORGE W. JACOBS & COMPANY PUBLISHERS
Copyright, 1907, by
GEORGE W. JACOBS & COMPANY Published January, 1908
All rights reserved Printed in U. S. A.
1214140
ILLUSTRATIONS
POHICK CHURCH Frontispiece
THE OLD VESTRY BOOK Facing Page 34
PAYNES CHURCH, 1768-1862
50
ORIGINAL PLAN OF POHICK CHURCH
82
POHICK CHURCH IN THE OLDEN
TIME
.
66
136
INTRODUCTION
When the English colonists made their first per- manent settlement on the shores of Virginia they came to establish themselves as an English people in America. They did not emigrate for purposes of robbery, nor yet to escape conditions which were not to their liking at home, but they brought with them all they could of the old England, in- cluding, as a matter of course, the English Church and English law, ecclesiastical and civil. They brought, too, as the event was to prove, the Eng- lish genius for adapting old forms of government to new conditions of life. Thus in process of time the Parish and the Vestry in Virginia became quite different from the same institutions in the old country, though still based upon the broad sanctions of the ecclesiastical law of England. The Parish was established and its bounds were fixed not by tradition, but by statute, and the Vestry, from an annual meeting of all the ratepayers to choose Churchwardens and discuss parochial af- fairs, became practically a close corporation of twelve of "The most able and discreet persons" in the Parish. These divided with the County Court the responsibility of local government, having as
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INTRODUCTION
their especial charge the maintenance of religion and the oversight of all things pertaining thereto in the domain of charity and morals. These Ves- trymen were described by Jefferson as being "Usually the most discreet farmers, so distributed through their Parish that every part of it may be under the eye of some one of them. They are well acquainted with the details and economy of private life, and they find sufficient inducements to execute their charge well in their philanthropy, in the approbation of their neighbors, and the dis- tinction which that gives them."
No Parish in the Colony had a Vestry more dis- tinguished in its personnel, or more fully qualified for their positions, than the Parish of Truro. Of its earlier members indeed little has come down to us but their names inscribed on almost every page of the scant records remaining to tell of the settle- ment of these upper reaches of the "Northern Neck," and the establishment of religion and civi- lization in what was then but a wilderness. But later her Vestrymen are found ranking among the first gentlemen of Virginia in position and influ- ence. Eleven of them sat at various times in the House of Burgesses. Two of them, the Fairfaxes, were members of "His Majesty's Council for Vir- ginia." Another of her Vestrymen was George Mason, one of the first among the founders of the State and the great political thinkers of his age; while still another was declared to be the
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INTRODUCTION
"Greatest man of any age," the imperial George Washington.
These men, however exalted their native genius, had and needed to have their period of training, that their characters might be matured on lines of piety and righteousness, their opinions formed in full view of the needs and capacities of their people, and their abilities ripened in the fields of practical experience. They received this training in part as Parish Vestrymen. It was no mean school in which to learn the rudiments of popular government, the foundations of human rights, or the reconciliation of diverse policies.
The Vestry Records of Truro Parish have there- fore a value quite unique as the sole and absolutely authentic record of the parochial administration and government of these great men. The affairs which occupied their attention seem small indeed as compared with those which afterward demanded the consecration of their powers, but they brought to them the same practical wisdom, scrupulous justice and exact attention to detail which char- acterized them later as master workmen in making the history and building the liberties of a nation.
For the recovery and preservation of these records we are indebted to the late Reverend Doctor Philip Slaughter, Clergyman, Genealogist, Antiquarian and Historian, whose name will long be held in affectionate remembrance in Virginia. He was the author of no large work, but his his-
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INTRODUCTION
tories of St. George's, Bristol, and St. Mark's Parishes, and very many pamphlets, articles and published addresses, combine to form a great con- tribution to the historical collections of his native State, and an enduring monument to his memory. A few years before his death he was so fortunate as to discover the whereabouts of the old Vestry- Book of Truro Parish which had been lost to sight for three-quarters of a century, and did not rest until it came into his possession. He afterwards committed it to the Vestry of Pohick Church, ac- cepting only the small sum in return which it had cost him to acquire it, but not before he had com- piled from its time-worn pages the History of Truro Parish which is here presented to the reader. It was almost his last literary labor, and indeed the infirmities of age forbade his giving the work of his amanuenses his final revision and cor- rections. The incomplete manuscript was en- trusted to the Rev. Dr. Samuel A. Wallis, then Rector of Pohick, to be published when the means for doing so should be forthcoming.
At the request of Dr. Wallis I have prepared the history for publication. The manuscript has been wholly re-written; more copious extracts from the records of the Vestry have been incorporated, so that it now includes all that is of general value in the Vestry-Book, the language and spelling of which have been preserved; a few errors and over- sights have been found and corrected; and in one
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INTRODUCTION
place, for reasons noted in the text, a number of pages of my own have been inserted in lieu of the author's. With these exceptions the continuous narrative is as nearly as possible as Dr. Slaughter wrote it. My own additions otherwise appear in the form of foot-notes and addenda.
EDWARD L. GOODWIN.
The Rectory,
Fairfax, Virginia.
V
THE GENESIS OF TRURO PARISH
Among the prominent features in the physiog- nomy of Eastern Virginia are the great rivers which run from the blue mountains and pour their streams into the bosom of the "Mother of Waters," as the Indians called the Chesapeake Bay. Along these rivers, which were then the only roads, the first settlers penetrated the wilder- ness. This explains the seeming anomaly, that the first Parishes and counties often included both sides of broad rivers, it being easier to go to Court and to Church by water, than through forests by what were called in those days "bridle paths." Hence Parishes were often sixty or more miles long and of little breadth. The space between the rivers was called "Necks." Among the most his- toric of these was the Northern Neck, which in- cluded all the land between the Potomac and the Rappahannock rivers from their head springs to the Chesapeake Bay. This was the princely plan- tation of Lord Fairfax. Within this territory were the seats of the Fairfaxes, Washingtons, Masons, McCartys, Fitzhughs, Brents, Alexanders, Lew- ises, Mercers, Daniels, Carters, Dades, Stuarts, Corbins, Tayloes, Steptoes, Newtons, Browns,
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THE HISTORY OF TRURO PARISH
Lees, Thorntons, Balls, Smiths, and other leading families too many to mention, who dispensed an elegant hospitality at Northumberland House, Nomini, Stratford, Chantilly, Mount Airy, Sabine Hall, Bedford, Albion, Cedar Grove, Boscobel, Richland, Marleborough, Woodstock, Gunston, Belvoir, Woodlawn, Mount Vernon, etc. Begin- ning at Lancaster, county was taken from county, Parish from Parish, as the population of each passed the frontiers, until in 1730 Prince William was taken from Stafford and King George Coun- ties, above Chappawansick Creek and Deep Run, and along the Potomac, to the "Great Mountains." This became also Hamilton Parish; which Parish, by an Act of the General Assembly passed at the Session of May, 1732, to take effect the first of the following November, was divided into two Par- ishes "By the river Ockoquan, and the Bull Run, (a branch thereof,) and a course from thence to the Indian Thoroughfare of the Blue Ridge of Moun- tains," (Ashby's Gap.) All that part of Prince William lying below the said bounds was to retain the name of Hamilton, "And all that other part of the said county, which lies above those bounds, shall hereafter be called and known by the name of Truro." The Parish was named after the Parish in Cornwall, in England, which is now the Diocese of Truro.
Such is the genesis of the Parish of Truro, which extended along the Potomac from the
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THE HISTORY OF TRURO PARISH
mouth of Occoquan to the Blue Ridge, including what are now the Parishes of Truro, Cameron, Fairfax and Shelburne .* Within this territory there were three churches. Occoquan, William Gunnells, and a chapel "above Goose Creek."
The present writer has been so fortunate as to find the old Vestry Book of Truro Parish; so long lost to the public eye that even Bishop Meade said he could "hear no tidings" of it and was con- strained to construct his sketch of the Parish from such facts and traditions as he could gather from other sources and from his own rich personal knowledge. It is now possible for the first time to authenticate its history by its own records, which are continuous from 1732 to 1785, when the civil functions of the Vestries were devolved by law upon the Overseers of the Poor. This book also contains a record of the proceedings of the Overseers of the Poor from 1787 to 1802, thus handing down the names of persons, many of whom had been Vestrymen of the Church.
The Vestry Book opens with a recitation of the Act of the General Assembly instituting the Par- ish, the election of the Vestry and the proceedings of their first meeting. The Act of Assembly pre- scribed that the Sheriff of the County should sum- mon the freeholders and housekeepers to meet and elect so many of the "most able and discreet per-
*These are Colonial Parishes. Those of more recent foundation in the same territory are Johns, Upper Truro, McGill, and a part of Meade.
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THE HISTORY OF TRURO PARISH
sons in the said Parish as shall make up the num- ber of Vestrymen in the said Parish twelve and no more." Which order being complied with, "Five of the Vestrymen elected, to witt, Charles Broad- water, Richard Osborn, John Lewis, Gabriel Adams, and Edward Emms, together with Denis Mc.Carty, John Heryford, and Edward Barry, having taken the oaths appointed by law, and Sub- scribed to be conformable to the doctrine and dis- cipline of the Church of England, took their places in the Vestry accordingly." The first Vestry met on November 7th, 1732, with the above gen- tlemen present. Edward Barry was nominated for Clerk, and "the question was put whether the said Barry should enjoy the place or not, which was carried in the said Barry's favour. And he was thereupon sworn, and took his place accordingly." He was ordered to "provide paper & books for the minutes and orders of this Vestry, and that he be paid for the same at the laying of the next parish levy." John Heryford and Edward Emms were chosen Churchwardens for that year, and "were sworn accordingly." At the next meeting of the Vestry, held March 26, 1733, John Sturman and Giles Tillett were added to the Vestry, and there were present also Francis Aubrey and William Godfrey, not previously mentioned. It was "Or- dered, that the Churchwardens give publick notice to workmen to appear at the next Vestry to be held for this parish to agree for the building of a
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THE HISTORY OF TRURO PARISH
Church at the cross roads near Michael Reagans in this parish." At the meeting on April 16, 1733, Michael Ashford took the oaths and subscribed the test as a Vestryman. An agreement was made with the Rev. Lawrence De Butts to preach three times a month for one year, "at Occoquan Church, the new Church, or William Gunnell's, and at the Chappell above Goose Creek,* for the sum of eight thousand pounds of tobacco clear of the Warehouse charges and abatements,-And the said De Butts doth further agree to and with the Vestry aforesaid, that in case he fails, or is by the weather prevented to preach at any of the places aforesaid, any of the times aforesaid, tobacco shall only be levied for him in proportion to his service." Mr. De Butts seems to have been a bird of pass- age. From 1721 to about 1728 he was Minister of Washington Parish in Westmoreland County, where he had two churches, and also officiated dur- ing the week in the neighboring Parishes of St.
*Occoquan Church, which Dr. Slaughter could not identify, was none other than the old Pohick Church, which stood about two miles from the ferry over the Occoquan at or near Colchester. When this Church was built is not known, but it was first an "Upper Church," or Chapel-of-Ease, in Overwharton Parish. When Ham- ilton Parish was formed, January 1, 1730, it was ordered that the freeholders and housekeepers meet "At the Church above Occoquan ferry" to elect their Vestry, "above" meaning up the Potomac. When Truro was set apart two years later this Church falls again in a new Parish. After the year 1733 the name Occoquan disap- pears and that of Pohick is substituted. The Church stood until superseded by the new or present Pohick in 1774.
"William Gunnell's Church" was probably a temporary, or per- haps a rented, building, and may have been situated not far below Difficult Run, as the Gunnells owned land in that vicinity. It dis- appears after the building of the "Church near Michael Reagan's," and may be considered the first Falls Church. The location of the "Chapel above Goose Creek" is not known. It was still unfinished .
at this time, being completed in 1736.
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THE HISTORY OF TRURO PARISH
Stephen's, Northumberland; Farnham, Richmond County; and Cople, Westmoreland, when they were vacant. In 1731 he was employed in St. Mark's Parish, Culpepper County, at 500 pounds of tobacco a sermon, and now is in Truro for one year .* At the expiration of this engagement he seems to have preached eight sermons in the Par- ish, for which he received 245 pounds of tobacco per sermon, and then he disappears from the record, having, we believe, gone to Maryland.
1733, June 9th, Mr. Richard Blackburn agreed with the Vestry to build a Church at the Cross Roads near Michael Reagan's, "Forty feet in length, two and twenty feet wide, and thirteen feet pitch, to be weather boarded, covered, and all the inside work perform'd and done after the same manner the work upon Pohick Church is done, for the sum of thirty-three thousand five hundred pounds of tobacco." William Godfrey and Michael Ashford were "to take care that the work upon the Church be well and sufficiently done and per- formed."¡ 12th. October: Jeremiah Bronaugh,
*Paul Leicester Ford, in "The True George Washington," sup- poses that this Mr. De Butts officiated at the baptism of Washing- ton. It is most improbable that such was the case. George Wash- ington was born in Washington Parish, Westmoreland County, Feb- ruary 11th, 1731-2 (Old style,) and was baptized the third of April following, according to the record in the family Bible. Mr. De Butts had left Westmoreland several years before, and was now officiating in Truro Parish.
¡This was known as the "Upper Church" until 1757, when the name "Falls Church" is first applied to it in the Vestry Book, prob- ably to distinguish it more clearly from the Church in Alexandria. The Church was apparently built on land to which no title had been acquired, for in 1746 the Church Wardens were directed to pay John Trammel fifty shillings sterling for two acres of land at the Upper Church, and on the 19th of March of that year Trammel
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THE HISTORY OF TRURO PARISH
William Peake, John Farguson and Thomas Lewis were chosen Vestrymen in the room of several de- ceased members, and qualified and took their places accordingly. Joseph Johnson was chosen "Reader at the new Church and the Chapell above Goose Creek," to receive 1300 pounds of tobacco "provided he does his duty in his office." In the Parish Levy for this year provision is made for 2500 pounds of tobacco to Capt. Francis Aubrey towards building the chapel above Goose Creek, and the next year the same amount, and in 1735, 4000 pounds for finishing said chapel.
1734, IIth. May; James Baxter was chosen a Vestryman and qualified. Ordered that Edward Emms, the upper Churchwarden, give notice to Capt. John Colvill to appear at a Vestry to be held at Pohick Church on the 4th. of June next, to take the oath of a Vestryman, if he shall think fit to accept of the office." Jeremiah Bronaugh, John Farguson and James Baxter were appointed to view the land offered for a Glebe by William God- frey, French Mason, William Hall, George Har- rison, and Burr Harrison, and any other land that shall be offered by any other person, and to report to the Vestry. On the 4th. of June John Colvill Gent. was sworn and took his seat as a Vestryman. There is a note on the margin here signed "C.
made them a deed, now on record at the Clerk's office at Fairfax, conveying two acres-"where the upper Church now is, to be laid off in such manner as the Vestry shall think proper, to include the said Church, churchyard and spring, and all appurtenances to the said premises."
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THE HISTORY OF TRURO PARISH
G." (Rev. Charles Green,) in these words: "Capt. Colvill appears to have been a 13th Vestryman. This is noted because when a Burgess for this County he promoted ye dissolution of the Vestry as illegal,-himself the only illegal Vestryman." John Heryford offered to sell 300 acres of land, "Scituate, Lying and being upon Accotink, and near the plantation of David Jones," for a Glebe, for 12000 pounds of tobacco. It was ordered that the land be laid off at the cost of said Heryford, and that John Sturman provide Deeds of Lease and Release for conveying the land sold to this parish for a Glebe. The Churchwardens were or- dered to receive of Wm. Godfrey 5000 pounds of tobacco he had assumed to pay to this parish for the parish of Hamilton.
"At a Vestry held for Truro Parish on the 23d. day of 7ber, 1734,-Whereas John Colvill Gent. one of the members of this Vestry, is in a short time bound for Great Brittain, and hath promised us that he will use his interest to procure a dis- creet and Godly Minister of the Church of Eng- land, to come over and settle in our said parish. And further that he will accommodate any such person with a free passage hither, on board any of his ships, if he is ready to come in any of them, and will accept of the same. We do therefore hereby impower and desire the said John Colvill to negotiate the said affair in our behalf, either by making application to his Grace the Lord Bishop
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THE HISTORY OF TRURO PARISH
of London, or by treating with any gentleman qualified as aforesaid in his private capacity, who shall be willing to come over and settle here. And we do agree to accept of, and provide for him, in as full and ample manner as the law of this Colony directs." Signed by the Churchwardens and the five additional Vestrymen present .*
I734. Oct. IIth. After the expiration of the year for which the Rev. Mr. De Butts had been employed he seems to have preached occasionally in the Parish, for at a Vestry of this date provision was made for paying him 1970 pounds of tobacco "for preaching eight sermons." Payment was also ordered for Mr. Catesby Cocke for "Clerks Fees," to John Trammell for "grubing a place for the Church," to John Massey for "keeping a house for the minister to preach in," and to the Church- wardens "to buy tarr for the Churches." The salary of "each Reader in this parish" was fixed for the next year at 1000 pounds of tobacco.
I735. Nov. 18th. "Augustine Washington gent. being this day sworn one of the members of this Vestry, took his place therein accordingly." "C. G." interlines this note: "A. W. a fourteenth Vestryman, father to L. W. the other Burgess when Truro Vestry was dissolved."+
*Nothing more is found in the Vestry Book in regard to this effort to procure a minister from England. Doubtless it was for- tunate for the Parish that the plan, for some reason, miscarried.
¡Father also of George Washington, who inherited Mount Vernon from his brother, Lawrence Washington, the Burgess here in- dicated.
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THE HISTORY OF TRURO, PARISH
Payment was ordered to Catesby Cocke, for re- cording deeds and copies of the lists of tithables in the Parish,* 168 pounds of tobacco; to Edward Barry, Clerk of the Church, (Pohick,) and Vestry, 1500 pounds; to Samuel Hull, Clerk of the Chapel above Goose Creek, and Joseph John- son, Clerk of the new Church, 1000 pounds each, and to Oliver Roe, Sexton at Pohick, 300 pounds.
"At a Vestry held for Truro Parish the 19th. day of August, 1736,-Mr. Charles Green, being recommended to this Vestry by Capt. Augustine Washington as a person qualified to officiate as a Minister of this Parish as soon as he shall receive orders from his Grace the Bishop of London to qualify himself for the same. It is therefore or- dered by this Vestry, that as soon as the said Green has qualified himself as aforesaid, he be re- ceived and entertained as Minister of the said Par- ish. And the said Vestry do humbly recommend the said Charles Green to the Right Honorable Thomas Lord Fairfax for his Letters of recom- mendation and Presentation to his Grace the said
*All male persons of the age of sixteen years or upwards, and also negro, mulatto and indian women of like age, ("except tribu- tary indians to this government,") were "tithable" or chargeable for county and parish levies. But the Court or Vestry, "for reasons in charity," could excuse indigent persons from payment, and this was frequently done. In 1733 there were 676 tithables in Truro. Ten years later there were 1,372. This indicates the growth of the population. The Parish Levy varied widely year by year, the aver- age being about 34 pounds of tobacco per poll.
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THE HISTORY OF TRURO PARISH
Lord Bishop of London to qualify him as afore- said.
Jeremiah Bronaugh, Church Warden.
Denis Mc.Carty Willm. Godfrey
August. Washington
James Baxter
Richd. Osborn
Edward Barry
John Sturman
Thos. Lewis."
October IIth. The Vestry met and made the usual appropriations for the officers of the Church and for the support of the poor. They also made a bargain with the Rev. John Holmes to officiate in the Parish, in these words :- "Ordered that the Revd. Mr. John Holmes be received and enter- tained in this Parish, as Minister thereof; and that he be provided for as the Law directs." Further, it was "Ordered that the Reverend Mr. John Holmes Minister of this Parish preach six times in each year at the Chappell above Goose Creek; and it is also ordered, that the Sundays he preaches at the said Chappell the sermon shall be taken from the new Church." At the bottom of the page is the following note, signed Cha. Green ;- "The Levity of the Members of the Vestry is worth notice, They applyed to Collo. Colvill & entered an order, 23d. Sept. 1734 for him to procure them a Clergyman from England. By the order on the other page they gave Cha. Green a title to the Psh. when ordained, and he had scarcely left the country when they received Mr. John Holmes into the parish as appears by the above order.
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THE HISTORY OF TRURO PARISH
N. B. Mr. Holmes was an Itinerant Preacher with- out any orders, & recd. contrary to Law."
This note was made after Mr. Green became Rector of the Parish. The foregoing entries are the only evidence of the connection of Messrs. De Butts and Holmes with the Parish. These facts were unknown to Bishop Meade, who never saw this record. This book also reveals the fact that the Rev. James Keith, of Hamilton Parish, the Grandfather of Chief Justice Marshall, also officiated in this Parish, when it was without a minister. At this very Vestry an order was en- tered to pay the Rev. Mr. James Keith 10,544 pounds of tobacco for services rendered.
On the 12th of April, 1737, a long contract with minute specifications is recorded with William Berkeley for building a "Mansion house" on the Glebe, with kitchen, barn, dairy, meat house, and all other appurtenances to a well furnished coun- try residence. The specifications as to the quality of the timber, the style of the work, etc., would be a suggestive and profitable study for modern Vestrymen. The cost of the buildings was to be 36,500 pounds of tobacco. Berkeley's bond, to Jeremiah Bronaugh and Thomas Lewis, Church Wardens, with Lewis Ellzey, Hugh West, George Harrison, and John Minor as bondsmen, and Val. Peyton, Abraham Saintclare and Joseph Cash as witnesses, is also recorded in the Vestry Book. At the same time an agreement was made with John
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