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In 1814, when Dr. Moore was elected Bishop of Vir- ginia, the Church was at its lowest ebb here, and there was only one Parish in the diocese which could promise proper support to its rector; this was the new "Monumental," in Richmond, and as there was then no "Bishop's Fund," the only way in which it was possible to provide for a bishop was to elect him rector of the new Church. For twenty-seven years he presided over a parish and a diocese alike devoted to him. The work he did can be best shown by the statement that in the Convention that called him to the Episcopate there were only seven clerical members, while at his death there were ninety-five clergy in the Diocese.
As a man he was gentle, tender and sympathetic, admired and beloved by all who knew him; as a preacher eloquent,
RT. REV. R. CHANNING MOORE, D. D., Second Bishop of Virginia.
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fervent and forceful, setting forth the truths of the Bible and the teachings of his Church with earnestness and con- viction. As a Bishop he was strong in his maintenance of the principles of the Church, wise and firm, but gentle in his dis- cipline, and untiring in his labors. Bishop Moore was twice married and has many descendants in Richmond and else- where.
RT. REV. WILLIAM MEADE, D. D., BISHOP OF VIR- GINIA 1841 TO 1862.
BY W. G. STANARD, OF THE VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
William Meade, son of Richard Kidder Meade, a distin- guished officer of the Revolution, was born near Millwood, Virginia, November 11, 1789, and died in Richmond, March 14, 1862.
He graduated at Princeton; studied theology, and be- came deacon February 14, 1811, and priest January 10, 1814.
So hopeless was the state of the Church at the time of his ordination-only one person having been ordained for a long time by Bishop Madison, "and he," says Bishop Meade, "a most unworthy one," it created surprise that a young Virginian should enter the ministry of the Episcopal Church. But William Meade was not to be daunted and he has the glory of being one of the group of godly and brave young men who at this dark time laid the foundation stone of the Church as she now exists. He became, in 1811, rec- tor of Christ Church, Alexandria, but after two years re- turned to Millwood as assistant, and became rector of that Parish in 1821. On August 19, 1829, he was consecrated, in Philadelphia, Assistant Bishop of Virginia, and succeeded Bishop Moore in 1841. He had been active in the selection of Bishop Moore as leader in the movement to rebuild the fallen Church, and his labors through life, as rector and Bishop, for the same great end bore such fruits as to make them of enduring memory. Not only does the Church in Vir- ginia owe to his devotion and tireless energy vast increase in numbers and vitality, but his personal influence and the character of his Churchmanship have left a stamp upon the Diocese which it still bears.
Bishop Meade was a man of courage and convictions. With
RT. REV. WILLIAM MEADE, D. D., Third Bishop of Virginia.
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him there were no compromises. In the intensity of his feelings in regard to right and wrong he has been compared to the best type of the old Puritan. In addition to all he accomplished in building up the Church in his native State, he was its historian. He was the author of numerous works, by far the most valuable of which is the well known "Old Churches and Families of Virginia," published in two vol- umes in Philadelphia in 1857.
It may interest students of heredity to learn that the Bishop was descended lineally from Richard Kidder, Bishop of Bath and Wells, and also from a sister of Reginald Pole, the last Roman Catholic Archbishop of Canterbury.
He was twice married, both of his wives being members of the well known Nelson family of Virginia, and he has numerous descendants.
RT. REV. JOHN JOHNS, D. D.
BY RT. REV. R. A. GIBSON.
The Rt. Rev. John Johns, D. D., third Bishop of Vir- ginia, was born in New Castle, Delaware, July 10, 1796. He was the son of Kensey and Anne (Van Dyke) Johns.
In his eighteenth year he became a communicant of the Episcopal Church. When nineteen he was graduated from Princeton College. There he also studied theology, and with the greatest exactness, according to the testimony of the Rev. Dr. Hodge, a lifelong friend. He was ordained deacon by Bishop White in St. Peter's Church, Philadelphia, May 19, 1819, and priest probably about 1820. His first Parish, when too young for priest's orders, was All Saints Church, Frederick, Maryland.
In 1829 he became rector of Old Christ Church, Balti- more.
The tide of population was moving westward, a new Church was erected in 1837-'38 on Gay street (now the Church of the Messiah), of which Mr. Johns was rector, until he was consecrated Assistant Bishop of Virginia, to which office he had been elected on Saturday, May 21, 1842, at the Council in Staunton. In Monumental Church, Rich- mond, October 13, 1842, he was consecrated Bishop by Bishops Griswold, Meade, Ives and Whittingham.
In his address to the Council the year after Bishop Meade said : "For this kind dispensation of Providence to myself and the Diocese of Virginia I have cause for daily grati- tude."
As the years went by Bishop Meade felt it more and more a cause of gratitude that Bishop Johns was with him.
After living in Richmond a few years Bishop Johns was, in 1849, elected president of William and Mary College, to which position he remained for several years. Of this period
RT. REV. JOHN JOHNS, D. D., Fourth Bishop of Virginia.
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Bishop Meade says: "During the five years of his contin- lance, notwithstanding the arduous labors of his Episcopal office, he so diligently and wisely conducted the management of the College as to produce a regular increase of the num: er of the students, until they had nearly reached the maxi- num of former times; established a better discipline than perhaps ever before had prevailed in the institution; and attracted more students of divinity to its lectures than had ver been seen there in the memory of any now living."
In 1854, feeling that Alexandria was the centre of the Diocese, so far as travelling facilities were concerned, he built a house near the Theological Seminary, and in Sep- ember of that year removed thither with his family. At the death of Bishop Meade, in June, 1862, he became Bishop of Virginia. The Journals of 1863 and 1864 show how busy he was in supplying the Confederate army, personally and officially, with the ministrations of the Gospel.
Gen. Jackson, just before his death, sent him a special re- quest to send, if possible, forty faithful ministers to supply. hat number of vacant Chaplaincies in the army on the Rap- ahannock. Gen. Lee added his earnest request, and the Bishop appealed to the Council. By a solemn resolution the Bishop was asked to call upon the ministers then without Parishes to render religious services to the army for such a time and at such a place as he might designate; and the whole clergy of the Council, in a body, offered themselves for he work.
In 1865, the re-union of our Diocese after the war between the States took place. Bishop Johns was ready to partici- Date in this movement, but the Diocese preferred to wait until the General Council of Confederate Dioceses sanctioned such action.
Alone now in the office of the episcopate, Bishop Johns began the toilsome work of rebuilding the wasted Parishes, and cheering the many darkened homes and broken hearts of his clergy and people. The re-united Episcopal Church proved immensely attractive to the people of the Diocese and the confirmations numbered a thousand or more every year. Though blessed with an uncommon degree of health and vigor, Bishop Johns soon began to feel the incessant labor
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too great for one who had already attained his "three score years and ten." In the spring of 1867 he intimated his need of an assistant. The majority of the committee to whom were referred the subjects of an assistant and the division of the Diocese were in favor of a division; but as the need seemed pressing, they yielded their own wishes to the
da I Bishop's necessity. His request was granted by the election of the Rev. Francis M. Whittle, of St. Paul's Church, Louis- ville, Ky.
Eight years longer was our Bishop spared to us, fulfilling more than thirty-three years of a most useful and honored episcopate. The Psalmist's description was true of him, he
ori "shall bring forth fruit in old age, his leaf also shall not wither." His love to God and his fellowman seemed to in- B en crease as he grew older. His mind and heart expanded and grew more tender. His influence in the House of Bishops was year by year more distinctly felt and acknowledged. His opening sermon at the General Convention of 1871. con "The love of Christ constraineth us," touched a chord ir every true Christian heart, and largely promoted the spirit sta wh of harmony and charity and missionary zeal which markec the proceedings of that body. It was at this Convention also, our Bishop showed his unabated vigor of mind, and his skill in the command of language, as well as his increasing influence among the Bishops, by the important part he took in framing the "Declaration of the House of Bishops" on the use of the word "regenerate" in the baptismal service. I cost him nights' sleep to fix upon the single word "determine' in the sentence, "We declare that in our opinion, the word 'regenerate' is not there so used as to determine that a mora change in the subject of baptism is wrought by that sacra ment." But the expression was satisfactory to the two war ring factions, a burning question was removed from the midst of an imperilled household of faith, and the declara tion was adopted almost unanimously.
On the 19th of February, 1876, the Bishop preached his last sermon, and soon after had a slight attack of paralysis His death occurred April 5, 1876, and his burial took place on the seventh of the same month from the chapel of the Theological Seminary ; Bishops Pinkney, of Maryland, and
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Dudley, of Kentucky, and the Rev. Dr. Packard, of the Sem- inary, officiating.
Bishop Johns was a preacher of consummate power and of exquisite polish. His memory was trained in his seminary days on the elaborate divisions and subdivisions of "Turretin Theology" and his voice was sweetened and extraordinarily flexible. It was his habit to distribute mentally the different sections of his sermon to different parts of the church build- ing in which he was speaking. This seemed to help his memory, for he always spoke without notes, and at the same time prevented the suggestion of the effort of speaking mem- oriter.
The Southern Churchman of April 16, 1876, says of the Bishop : "He was devoted to the Protestant Episcopal Church, and in times when others were thought careless of such things was himself strictly rubical. He was inclined to be conservative in practice, hopeful of the future of the Church.
"The influence of his steady adherance to evangelical truth and unabated confidence in the formularies and standards of our Church, will always be remembered by those who write the history of our Zion."
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RT. REV. F. M. WHITTLE, D. D. LL. D.
BY RT. REV. R. A. GIBSON.
Francis McNeece Whittle, fifth Bishop of Virginia, was the son of Mr. Fortescue Whittle, of Mecklenburg county, Va., and was born in that county July 7, 1823. He was next to the youngest of nine sons. Only one of his brothers survives him.
Bishop Whittle was educated at the Episcopal High School, and taught for a while after leaving school. He entered the Virginia Seminary and graduated with the class of 1847. Of that class of fifteen he was the last survivor, except the Rec. C. Winter Bolton, of Pelhoweville, N. Y.
He was ordained deason in St. Paul's Church, Alexan- dria, July 16, 1847, by Bishop Meade, and he was ordained priest in St. John's Church, Charleston, Va. (now West Virginia), October 8, 1848, by the same Bishop. As deacon, he was sent to Kanawha Parish, in what is now West Vir- ginia. In October, 1849, he accepted a call to St. James's, Northam Parish, Goochland county, Va., and there fulfilled his ministry till October, 1852, when he went to Grace Church, Berryville, Va. In Berryville Bishop Whittle re- mained, doing not only his Parish work, but much active missionary work, until October, 1857, when he accepted the rectorship of St. Paul's Church, Louisville, Ky. Here he became a conspicuous leader in Church affairs and repre- sented the Diocese in the General Convention.
He was in Louisville during the trying times of the war between the States, and though he was known as an ardent Southern sympathizer, so high was his character, so splen- did his integrity and so pure his conduct, that he lost no part of his influence or power for usefulness because of his views.
On the 17th day of May, 1867, he was elected Assistant
RT. REV. F. M. WHITTLE, D. D., LL. D., Fifth Bishop of Virginia.
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Bishop of the Diocese of Virginia, and was consecrated Bishop April 30, 1868, in St. Paul's Church, Alexandria (where he had been ordained deacon). His consecrators were Rt. Rev. John Johns, Bishop of Virginia, Rt. Rev. Alfred Lee, Bishop of Delaware, and Rt. Rev. G. T. Bedell, Bishop of Ohio. Bishop Bedell preached the sermon.
Upon the death of Bishop Johns, April 5, 1876, Bishop Whittle became Bishop of Virginia.
There were then twelve thousand communicants in the Diocese of Virginia, which consisted of the States of Vir- ginia and West Virginia.
The Diocese covered about sixty-seven thousand square miles of territory. Much of the travel could be done only in private conveyance, and private conveyances were scarce in the country. The ravages of the war had been only par- tially repaired and the Church people had suffered worse proportionately than any other part of the population. Into this field of work the Bishop threw himself with character- istic zeal, energy and self-denial, and when West Virginia had been cut off, in 1877, he held the other 42,000 square miles alone in spite of every effort on the part of clergy and laity to divide it until 1883, when Bishop Randolph was con- secrated as his assistant.
In 1892 the Diocese of Southern Virginia was organized with Bishop Randolph as Diocesan, and now has more com- municants than the entire old Diocese had when Bishop Whittle succeeded Bishop Johns.
Bishop Whittle married Emily Cary Fairfax, daughter of Stewellyn Fairfax, of Alexandria, and had five children, three of whom survived him.
Bishop Whittle was a faithful and godly man, a positive man, a power and a power-making for uprightness of life in whatever company he moved. Although apparently strong beyond the ordinary, he suffered much pain and his suffer- ings were borne with great fortitude. In every position which he held in the Church his service was marked by dili- gence, faithfulness, wisdom and courage. He went in and out among his people, known of all men as a faithful min- ister of Jesus Christ.
His character was laid out on large lines, his mind was
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vigorous, his memory singularly accurate and retentive, and his utterances, especially in the pulpit, were strong and em- phatic to a degree which his hearers will never forget.
He was buried in Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Va., on June 20, 1902, and the epitaph on his gravestone, after his name and title, is by his own direction simply this: "Psalm 51."
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RT. REV. R. A. GIBSON, D. D., Sixth and Present Bishop of Virginia.
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RT. REV. ROBERT A. GIBSON, D. D.
BY REV. R. A. GOODWIN.
Rt. Rev. Robert A. Gibson, D. D., sixth Bishop of Vir- ginia, was born in Petersburg, Va., on July 9, 1846.
He is the son of Rev. Churchill J. Gibson, D. D., who for more than fifty years was the rector of Grace Church, Peters- burg, Va.
His mother was, before her marriage to Dr. Gibson, Miss Lucy Fitzhugh Atkinson, sistor of Bishop Atkinson, of North Carolina.
Bishop Gibson was educated at the Episcopal High School, near Alexandria, Va., at Mt. Laurel Academy and at Hamp- den Sidney College. He studied theology at the Theological Seminary of Virginia, graduating in 1870.
Though but a boy, he was in the Confederate Army. As a member of the Rockbridge Artillery he loyally and faith- fully served his country in the last trying year of the war between the States, and reluctantly surrendered with his command at Appomattox.
He was ordained deacon by Bishop Whittle in the chapel of the Theological Seminary, June 24, 1870. Immediately after his ordination he began work as missionary of what was then called the Southeastern Convocation of Virginia. He labored faithfully to revive old Parishes which had been desolated by war, and to open new places for the Church in Dinwiddie, Nottoway and three other counties on the south side of James river. While engaged in this work, he was ordained priest by Bishop Johns in Grace Church, Peters- burg, Va., on the 4th of June, 1871.
Obliged by sickness to leave this field of missionary work, after eighteen months of active service, he became assistant to Rev. Dr. Peterkin, of St. James Church, Richmond, Va., and continued in that position for six years. The last four years of this time his energies were given chiefly to Moore Memorial Chapel (now the Church of the Holy Trinity), which had been built by St. James' congregation as a mission.
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While assistant at St. James he married Miss Susan Bald- win Stuart, a daughter of Hon. A. H. H. Stuart, of Staun- ton, Va. The joy and success of his future ministry were doubtless increased by her earnest interest and loving sym- pathy in his work.
In 1878 he became rector of Trinity church, Parkersburg, W. Va.
The Diocese of West Virginia had but recently been organized, and Parkersburg was the Bishop's place of resi- dence. Active, earnest work in the centre of the new Diocese was very important, and no mistake was made when Dr. Peterkin's assistant was called to do this work. During the nine years of his rectorship of Trinity church a new stone church was built and consecrated. A Parish house was built, a chapel was built on the southern edge of the Parish, and the Episcopal residence was designed and completed under the superintendence of the Vestry of his church.
In 1887 he removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, to take charge of Christ church-the mother church of all that section of country. Under his rectorship the church was rebuilt, and the Constitution of the ancient corporation adapted to mod- ern needs. The membership of the church increased, and the Sunday school was doubled.
When Bishop Randolph was elected Assistant Bishop of Virginia, Mr. Gibson received a number of votes for that office. When Bishop Newton was elected he was again voted for. After the death of Bishop Newton he was elected Bishop Coadjutor of Virginia on June 30, 1897. He was consecrated on November 3d of the same year in Holy Trin- ity Church, Richmond, Va. His consecrators were Bishops Whittle, Peterkin and Randolph. He was presented by Bishops Peterkin and Vincent. The sermon was preached by Bishop H. M. Thompson. Bishop Gibson entered upon his new duties with his accustomed earnestness and zeal. Owing to the age and infirmities of Bishop Whittle, most of the work of the Diocese devolved upon him. Upon the death of the beloved and revered Bishop Whittle, June 18, 1902, he became the sixth Bishop of Virginia, and is now zealously leading his Diocese in its great missionary work from the mountains to the sea.
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RT. REV. J. B. NEWTON, D. D., Assistant Bishop of Virginia 1894-1897.
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RT. REV. JOHN B. NEWTON, D. D.
BY REV. R. A. GOODWIN.
The Rt. Rev. John Brockenbrough Newton, D. D., Bishop Coadjutor of the Diocese of Virginia, was born in West- moreland county, Va., February 7, 1839.
He was educated at the Episcopal High School near Alex- andria, the Edge Hill School, and Schouler's School, near Fredericksburg. He attended a Medical School in Winches- ter, Va., and afterwards graduated from the Medical College of Virginia, at Richmond.
At the beginning of the war he entered the Confederate army as a private in the Fortieth Virginia Regiment, Gen. A. P. Hill's division. He was soon appointed assistant sur- geon ; afterwards was promoted to full surgeon, in which capacity he served till the close of the war.
He married Miss Roberta Page Williamson, November 5, 1862.
At the close of the war he settled in his native county, and began to practice his profession. In the absence of a rector, Dr. Newton conducted lay services. While thus engaged, he felt the Master's call to enter the sacred ministry. He studied theology privately, and supported his family by practicing medicine.
He was ordained deacon by Bishop Whittle, June 25, 1871, and presbyter the following year by Bishop Johns. He commenced his ministry in South Farnham Parish, Essex county, Va., where he did excellent work for four years. His next charge was St. Luke's, Norfolk, Va. In this church his work was much blessed. During his rectorship of eight years the congregation grew so steadily and rapidly that it was twice necessary to enlarge the church building. In Sep- tember, 1884, he accepted a call to the Monumental church, Richmond, Va., where he worked earnestly, faithfully and
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successfully till the day of his ordination to the Episcopate.
Dr. Newton was elected Assistant Bishop January 31, 1894, by a special Council which met in St. Paul's church, Richmond, Va.
He was consecrated in Monumental church on the 16th of May, 1894.
Within less than one week he was off on his first visitation through the Diocese; and from that time until his sudden death on the 28th of May, 1897, he grew in the respect, the confidence and the love of the clergy and laity of his Diocese. For several years Bishop Newton had represented the Diocese of Virginia in the General Convention. His clear judg- ment, high character, earnest manner and sound churchman- ship won the confidence of both clergy and laity of all schools of thought.
That he was called to the Episcopate in Virginia, where his whole life had been spent, and, consequently, where he was best known, shows that his brethren loved and revered his manliness and piety.
As a preacher his style was simple, earnest and energetic. He preached "Jesus Christ and Him Crucified" with the true eloquence of a loving heart. He was sought for as a mission preacher, and he led many to Christ.
He was a man of gentle, modest, simple habits. His heart was warm and affectionate. His mind was clear, and led straight to the truth. His life was pure, true and faithful.
He was buried in Hollywood, Richmond, Va., by Bishops, clergy and laymen, who felt that a dear brother and faithful servant of God had gone to be with Christ.
PEWHOLDERS
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Heads of Families.
PEWHOLDERS.
PEWHOLDERS JANUARY 1, 1845, ST. JOHN'S CHURCH.
REV. J. H. MORRISON, RECTOR.
Geo. G. Graham.
Chas. Bowdine.
Geo. Weller.
Dan'l Copley.
Wm. Buchanan.
G. M. Millspaugh.
Jas. R. Cooper.
Jno. Broadbent.
Dan'l H. Ellis.
Geo. W. Myers.
James Bogert.
Geo. W. Oakley.
Wm. Ruggles.
Virgil Wheland.
Sam'l Wait, Jr.
Robt. Hall.
Peter Bogert.
Cad. C. Colden.
John S. Greig.
Mrs. A. I. Millikens.
Peter Galatin.
Jno. Smith.
David G. Bogert.
Geo. Welling.
J. P. Cooke.
Jas. Galatian.
Gertrude Colden.
Jas. Scott.
Horace Warren.
Chas. Beattie.
Legrand Waring.
C. C. Hart.
Geo. W. Coleman.
Mrs. Thos. Hart.
Jno. Gordon.
Mr. DuBois.
Abraham Coleman.
Alex. Morgan.
Robt. Holmes.
Jonathan Tears.
L. L. Gowdey.
Paul Stewart.
Mrs. Van Orsdell. John Dorcas.
David Stewart.
HEADS OF FAMILIES.
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HEADS OF FAMILIES, ST. JOHN'S CHURCH-REV. MR. HART.
JOHN ADAMS.
Members .- John Adams, Mrs. Margaret Adams, Elizabeth Adams, Tabitha Adams, Mary Adams, Eliza Adams, Margaret Adams, Pat- sey Adams, Louisa Adams, John Adams, Richard Adams, Elvira Adams.
Communicants .- John Adams, Mrs. M. Adams, Elizabeth Adams, Tabitha Adams, Mary Adams.
SAMUEL G. ADAMS.
Members .- Samuel G. Adams, Cathrine Adams, Mary T. Adams, Innis Adams, Wm. Adams, Thomas Adams.
Communicants .- Samuel G. Adams, Cathrine Adams.
WM. A. CARRINGTON.
Members .- Wm. A. Carrington, Mrs. Eliza C. Carrington, Little- berry Carrington, Geo. M. Carrington, Richard A. Carrington, John C. Carrington, Geo. W. Smith.
Communicants .- Wm. A. Carrington, Mrs. Eliza C. Carrington.
HILARY BAKER.
Members .- Hilary Baker, Mrs. Margaret Baker, John Van Lew, Eliza Van Lew.
Communicant .- Eliza Van Lew.
JACOB EGE.
Members .- Jacob Ege, Mrs. Jane Ege, Diana Ege.
THOMAS BOHANNAN.
Members .- Thomas Bohannan, Mrs. Maria Bohannan, Miss Eliza Fox, Mary Ann Bohannan, Mrs. Royster, Joseph Bohannan, Martha Bohannan, Richard L. Bohannan.
Communicants .- Mrs. Maria Bohannan, Miss E. Fox, Mrs. Royster.
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