Colonial churches; a series of sketches of churches in the original colony of Virginia, with pictures of each church, Part 16

Author:
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Richmond, Va., Southern churchman co.
Number of Pages: 404


USA > Virginia > Colonial churches; a series of sketches of churches in the original colony of Virginia, with pictures of each church > Part 16


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30


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About eight miles farther up in the county of Essex, and situated upon or near Blackburn's creek, stands Vauter's church, and Mr. Richard Baylor, of Kinloch, writes the following interesting sketch for Bishop Meade's above-mentioned work:


"The first thing that I recollect as connected with the old sanc- tuary is that my father used to keep the old English Bible at Marl Bank, and when the casual services of a passing Episcopal minister were to be held there a servant took the old Bible on his head and accompanied the family by a near walking way across the same Black- burn's creek, and after service brought it back. I still have the old Bible at Kinloch, valued for its antiquity, and on its blank leaves are numerous references in my father's handwriting. I remember when the church doors always stood wide open, if indeed they could be closed, and have taken refuge myself from a storm in the body of the church, leading my horse in with me."


Mr. Baylor relates the occurrence of a duel between two gentlemen before the south door of the church, of which he says he was informed by Mr. R. B. Starke, of Norfolk, who attended as surgeon. Mr. Baylor continues:


"We are indebted to the firm friendship of a lady that Vauter's church did not share the same fate of other sanctuaries, as, for in- stance, the church at Leedstown, just across the river. So soon as Mrs. Muscoe Garnett heard that persons had commenced carrying away the paving stones of the aisles, and perhaps some of the bricks, she claimed the church as her own, and threatened prosecution to the next offender. The ground on which she placed her claim was that the church stood on her land, or that of her family."


Mr. James Garnett, the father of Mrs. Muscoe Garnett's husband, did purchase lands adjacent to the church from the Vauter family before the middle of the 18th century, but we must ascend the stream of time higher than this, to trace the origin of Vauter's church. The date, 1731, is marked on a brick in the southern wall of the church, and this has led to a popular belief that the church was built in 1731; but this date may have been that of some alteration or repair. At any rate, the following facts seem to contradict the idea that the church was built in 1731: It has been the legend for years that Vauter's church was endowed with a communion service by Queen Anne of England, and the old cup of the church service was lost. A few years ago a gentleman in New Jersey was shown a communion


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cup in the collection of a friend, and marked "St. Anne's Parish, Essex County, Virginia." The new owner had purchased it in a New York shop to add to his collection as an antiquary. Now, no doubt, this was the missing cup presented to St. Anne's parish by the Queen, and as she died in 1714, the presentation must have been prior to 1731, when the church was supposed to have been built. This fact alone, however, may not be conclusive, because of the possibility that there was an earlier church in this parish; but in an old land survey, made by John Vauter for Buckingham Brown, who owned land on Blackburn's creek close to Vauter's church, there is a "road leading to the church" on the plot, and this plot is dated 1722; and in another survey, made for John Hawkins (who also owned land on this same creek), by John Vauter, surveyor, there is shown as a boundary the "church land," and this plot is dated 1719. Blackburn's creek (for- merly Lucas' creek), is the starting point in tracing many contiguous properties at the date of the earliest mention of Vauter's church; and as we find Vauters taking up "King's lands" on this creek close to Vauter's church, very early in the 18th century, it seems probable that the church was built upon "King's land," by order of vestry empowered by the Governor of Virginia, and took the name of "Vau- ter's" from propinquity to lands occupied by Vauters. However this conjecture may be, it seems certain that Vauter's church was standing in 1719, and possibly considerably earlier. Church and glebe lands in existence at that remote date are difficult to trace, as the vestries of the parishes seem to have been empowered to buy or sell property and to levy taxes for the maintenance of the church, often getting into difficulties with the Governor of the Colony, and administering their prerogative with great irregularity and little record of their proceed- ings. The combination of ecclesiastical and secular affairs was indeed so remarkable that in an old deed conveying land from Gaines to Garnett in 1766, there is the statement that it was "published in the Parish Church of St. Anne's."


Bishop Meade, in speaking of the earliest Church conventions after the Revolution, says: "In 1814 Thomas Matthews and Hon. James Hunter were delegates from St. Anne's Parish; in 1817 Hon. James M. Garnett; in 1820 Mr. Robert Beverley;" making this statement in connection with his narrative of the complete disorganization of the church for years previously, and its faint revival about the date of these conventions. While there is a notice of the first vestry in Rap-


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pahannock Parish under a minister named Francis Doughty, we do not hear of any minister of St. Anne's Parish before Rev. John Bagge in 1724. He seems to have died soon after he took charge of the parish, and to have been succeeded by the very remarkable Rev. Robert Rose. Mr. Rose appears to have enjoyed the great confidence of his people, both as a minister and a business man, and to have been a universal counsellor to his friends scattered over the wide territory of his ministry, reaching to Nelson county. He died while attending the laying out of Richmond city, in 1751, and was buried there. Mr. Smelt succeeded Mr. Rose. In 1774-76 "Parson John Matthews" was minister of St. Anne's. Then, after a. long interval, Rev. John Rennolds was minister in 1822, succeeded in 1825 by Rev. John P. McGuire, after whom were the following successors: Rev. Edward B. McGuire, 1852 to 1867; Dr. Charles Goodrich, in 1869; Rev. Alexander Overby, 1873 to 1880; Rev. W. S. Campbell, 1881 to 1884; Rev. J. C. Koon, 1885 to 1888; Rev. D. T. C. Davis, 1890 to 1899; Rev. E. W. Cowling, 1900 to 1902; Rev. J. F. Burks, 1902.


The early history of St. Anne's Parish, in the immediate vicinity of Vauter's church, is strikingly illustrative of the transitoriness of human affairs. Even the names of families, which for generations were prominent land owners and influential citizens, have completely disappeared. Cornhill, Lucas, Gaines, Hawkins, Brookings, Shipp, Meadows, Vauter and many others have left no trace, except in tat- tered deeds or records of land transfers, dating nearly or quite two centuries in the past. And yet it is still remarkable that for at least one century this old church has been supported by the same small band of hereditary members: Saunders, Dishmans, Pilkingtons, Bay- lors, Warings, Sales, Rowzies, Bairds, Beverleys and Hunters and Garnetts. Nearly all of these families furnish the same congregation for the two churches of St. Anne's parish, Vauter's and St. Matthew's.


AQUIA CHURCH, STAFFORD COUNTY, VA,


AQUIA CHURCH, OVERWHARTON PARISH, STAFFORD COUNTY, VA.


BY THE REV. JOHN MONCURE, D. D.


S TAFFORD is the northernmost county of the "Northern Neck," or that portion of Virginia lying between the Rappahannock and Potomac rivers. It is a part of the very early settled land in the new world, its organization being fifty-seven years after the settlement at Jamestown.


Were all of its records at hand, they would doubtless prove of in- terest to the lover of American history, second only to those which relate to days when Englishmen realized for the first time that there was, indeed, a home for them beyond the seas.


The county organization dates back at least as far as 1664. It was originally a part of Westmoreland, and extended up the Potomac river as far as what is now Georgetown, or West Washington, and to the west as far as the Blue Ridge Mountains, including some of the most fertile sections of the State. The counties of Prince William, Fairfax, Fauquier and Loudoun were thus within its bounds. What afterwards became the homes of Washington, Mason, Fairfax and others were part of Stafford.


The first grants of land in Stafford, which were near the Rappa- hannock River, at Fredericksburg, were awarded to Messrs. Gerald Fowke, Richard Heaberd and Robert Alexander, on March 23d, 1664. From the records in the Land Office at Richmond it would appear that this section of country was rapidly settled.


From 1664 to 1680 the following names appear among the land- owners in the county: Meese, Calclough, Wather, Beach, Hatloft, Morris, Boris, Hunston, Howison, Gaylard, Anderson, Palmer, Waller, Collingwood, Briggs, Bailey, Travers, Buchner, Hall, Walker, Watson, Berry, Normansell.


As Virginia is the mother of States and statesmen, Stafford is a mother of counties and distinguished men in Church and State. In its original dimensions, it did not touch the Rappahannock River. In June, 1666, the county, according to old records, was represented in the House of Burgesses by Colonel Henry Meese. His salary was a


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· cask of tobacco a day, with one hundred and fifty pounds for traveling expenses, and if traveling by water, one hundred and twenty pounds, at the rate of four days each way for his attendance as a member of the Assembly.


As to the history of the first settlers, nothing can be stated with definiteness. Some of these may have come immediately from England or Scotland, and from names of citizens, about twenty years later, it would appear that many were from the last-named country originally. The tide of emigration had then set in steadily towards the New World. Others of the early inhabitants may have come from Lancaster, West- moreland, Northumberland, and lower counties, nearer the coast, which was naturally the first settled land. Among the people prominent in the history of the county was Mr. George Brent, who came to Stafford from Maryland in 1683. He acquired large estates, called Woodstock and Brenton. The first of these still exists in the original name. It is at the head of Aquia Creek. There was considerable contention for this property by the Maryland authorities, the little colony then being governed by Lord Baltimore. It was claimed that his possessions ex- tended into what is now Virginia, up Aquia Creek, taking in the land aforesaid. The claim was not allowed. Mr. Brent was a Roman Cath- olic, and although the prejudice against that religion was great, his worth was acknowledged, for on May 2, 1683, he was appointed by the Governor and Council Receiver-General north of the Rappahannock River, and on July 10, 1690, he was made Ranger-General of the Northern Neck. The prejudice to his religion, however, was shown in 1693, when George Brent and his brother, Robert, were inhibited from practicing law, in view of their being Papists, the light of religious liberty not having then shone upon the land, or what may have been possible, the intolerance of dogma, on the part of those who were thus punished, having made itself felt in secular affairs; both conditions being alike lamentabie. These conditions evidently changed, even in that age, and the spirit of love became assertive; for one of these gentlemen afterwards was associated in practice with Mr. William Fitzhugh, and another was joint sponsor with the first George Mason at the baptism of an Indian boy, whom they had taken prisoner.


George Brent was twice married, his second wife being a daughter of Colonel Henry Seawell, of Maryland, whose widow married Lord Baltimore. Her tomb is still to be seen in Aquia graveyarú, about


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one mile from Woodstock. It bears this inscription: "She was the daughter of Lady Baltimore, by Henry Seawell, Esq., Secretary of Maryland; her age 35 years."


Another interesting item of history is the settlement of Huguenots in Stafford in 1700. There is on record a paper, entitled "French Men's Petition from Ettiene Reinbau, Jean Borchbleau, Jean Cabelle, Lewis Direaubaum, Charles Peraut, Marie Reinmonde, Pere Rouseau, Isaac Lafite, Abraham Michau, Piere Batie, Anderic Lebornie and John Calvert, stating that they have come to Stafford as strangers, reduced to extremity and poverty, and praying to be exempted from county levies for what time the court shall think fit." This record is dated March, 1700. These people, it is thought, afterwards left the country, and some joined the French colony at- Mannakin Settlement, in Henrico, now Powhatan county.


In the early county organization there are recorded, in 1680, such names as George Mason, Matthew Thompson, John Alexander, Philip Buckner, Rice Hooe, Richard Fossaker, John Washington, Robert Col- ston, James Sumner, John Waugh, Thomas Gregg and Thomas Owsley among the officers; and some years later, in the beginning of the eighteenth century, are Henry Fitzhugh, Thomas Lunn, John Waugh, James Jameson, Rawleigh Travers, and others, whose descendants are numerous at the present day, many having the same names.


Stafford Courthouse was first situated at Marlboro, on the Potomac. The present building, about seven miles west of that site, was erected in 1783, two acres of land having been deeded to the county for court- house and prison by William Gerrard and William Fitzhugh.


Many of the places whose names link the past with the present still exist. Among these are Arkendale, Chappawamsic, Clermont, Somerset, Chelsea, Clifton, Dipple and Woodstock, in the upper end, and Boscobel, Argyle, Chatham and Snowden, in the lower end of the county. The old homes on some of these estates have passed away.


The history of the Church is naturally closely interwoven with that of the county organization. Some of the very early records of the county, which were taken away during the Civil War, were found in the New York State Library, and restored to their rightful place within late years. From these the following interesting facts have been obtained:


"September 7, 1664. Wm. Green, and Vincent Young, sworn wardens


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of Potomac Parish." This was evidently the first Stafford Parish, its boundaries being the same as those of the county.


"November 19, 1665. Mr. Hugh Dowding sworn Church Warden."


"November 28, 1666. Vestry chosen as follows: Captain Jno. Alex- ander, Mr. Richard Fossaker, Mr. Richard Heabeard, Mr. Robert Os- borne, Mr. John Heabeard, Mr. Wm. Heabeard, Mr. Robert Howson, Mr. Vincent Young, Wm. Green, Jno. Withers, Thos. Humphrey, and Thos. Gregg. Mr. Robert Osborne and Mr. John Withers Church Wardens."


"April 3d, 1667. The Court doth order that the minister preach at three particular places in this county-viz .: At the southeast side of Aquia and at the Court House, and Chotanck, at a house belonging to Robert Townshend; to officiate every Sabbath Day in one of these places, successively, until further Order."


"June 12th, 1667. Vestry as follows: Dodman, Meese, Mason, Alex- ander, Rd. Heabeard, Mr. Wm. Townshend, Wm. Heabeard, Mr. Wm. Greene, John Wiser, Vincent Young and David Anderson."


"Oct. 8, 1667. Whereas, There is no certain place in the upper pre- cincts of this county for the reading of Divine Service, the Court doth order that John Withers, Church Warden for these precincts, agree for a house to read at the most convenient place."


It will be noted that no minister is named in connection with these proceedings, but there possibly may have been one or more.


The evidences point to a God-fearing people, however, whose strength of purpose in the trying days of early settlement was shown in their determination to worship and serve the God of their fathers. The proud heritage of such righteous example has been cherished by their descendants, and assisted in the honorable citizenship of succeeding generations.


If there were any church buildings they were probably of wood, the traces of which have long since been lost.


The first minister of whom there is record was the Rev. John Waugh. It is not improbable that he was the original rector of Stafford county, though he is first brought to notice in 1680.


There were then two parishes in the county-Stafford and Chotanck. Mr. Waugh seems to have been a man of great strength of character, as well as of personal influence with his people. It is noted that on March 11, 1692, there being difficulty in getting some to take charge of the ferry over Potomac Creek, he contracted to do it himself. He


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is said also to have been wise in temporal affairs, having patented and purchased considerable land, and he died, leaving a large estate. His descendants were prominent in county affairs in the early days, but the name has passed from the county, other sections having doubtless claimed those bearing it.


During his rectorship there was much fear of the aggression and domination of Romanism, James II. being upon the English throne, and his views being pronounced in favor of breaking down the prin- ciples of Protestantism. It is said that Mr. Waugh was very energetic in keeping this danger before the people, and great excitement was created, and from his addresses and methods of agitation employed by others, a very serious state of affairs was threatened. Mr. Nicholas Spencer, of Cople, Westmoreland, then Secretary of State in Virginia, stated that a rebellion as great as that led by Bacon was imminent. Happily, all of this was adjusted. William and Mary replacing James, peace and Protestantism reigned once more.


In the year 1700, we find again two parishes in the county-Over- wharton and St. Paul's; the former, like the county, taking its name from the corresponding place in England. The Rev. John Frazier was the rector of Overwharton.


The population of the county can be estimated from the fact that in the first-named parish there were 318 titheables, and in the latter 346. These represented about one-fourth of the population.


In 1710 the same two parishes appear, with the Rev. Alexander Scott as rector of St. Paul's. It would appear that these parishes were generally served by one rector, the scarcity of clergy in Vir- ginia being one of the regrettable conditions. This was evidently so in the early history of the Church, until the latter part of the 18th century.


The Rev. Mr. Scott was rector nearly twenty-eight years, and died April 1, 1738, aged 52 years. He must have been a useful man in the Church, there being many evidences of his earnestness. During his rectorship the old Potomac church, situated near the creek of that name, was probably the parish church. Bishop Meade speaks of it as "one of the largest in Virginia." This venerable building, after dese- cration by the soldiers in the War of 1812, and by others who had lost the sense of veneration, crumbled into ruins, and even these have been obliterated. This church was situated six or seven miles from Old Aquia.


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From the report of Mr. Scott to the Bishop of London, noted by Bishop Meade, it appears that in the parish there were "six hundred and fifty families, eighty to one hundred communicants in attendance, one church and several chapels; his glebe was so inconvenient that he rented it out and bought one more convenient for himself. His church and chapels as full as they could hold."


Mr. Scott is buried at Dipple, his seat on the Potomac. The tomb is still to be seen, together with a number of others, representing some of the first families of long ago. It is a slab resting on four pillars. The epitaph, surmounted by the Scott arms, is as follows: "Here lies the body of the Rev. Alexander Scott, A. M., and Presbyter of the Church of England, who lived nearly twenty-eight years, Min- ister of Overwharton Parish, and died in the fifty-third year of his age, he being born the 20th day of July, A. D., 1686, and departed this life the 1st day of April, 1738." Upon the coat of arms is inscribed these words:


"Gaudia Nuncio Magna."


A beautiful memorial of Mr. Scott is the Communion service which is in the possession of Old Aquia church, and in regular use.


It consists of three pieces-chalice, cup and paten of beaten silver, and very massive. Each piece contains this inscription: "The gift of the Rev. Mr. Alexander Scott, A. M., late minister of this Parish. Anno 1739." The service was evidently purchased with money be- queathed for the purpose, as the date is the year after Mr. Scott's death. It has passed through some of the country's most trying days, and was buried in the earth for safety during the three great wars-of the Revolution, of 1812, and that between the States. It was during Mr. Scott's rectorship (in 1730) that some very important changes were made in county and parish lines. The county of Prince William was formed from the heads of King George and Stafford; and Hamilton Parish was organized in the new county.


Mr. Scott was succeeded by the Rev. John Moncure. He was a native of Scotland, but a descendant of the Huguenots, who fled from France on the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Mr. Moncure came to America and settled in Northumberland county, Virginia, where, after two years' private study, he went to England for holy orders, which he received at the hands of the Bishop of London. Returning to the New World, he became curate to Mr. Scott, and on the death of the latter, his successor, as stated.


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He was rector of the parish for twenty-six years. Like his prede- cessor, he was a man to whose influence the growth of the early Church owes much.


Mr. Moncure married Frances, the daughter of Doctor Gustavus Brown, of Charles county, Maryland, and her sister was the wife of the Rev. James Scott, rector of the neighboring parish of Dettingen, in Prince William. He evidently resided at the Glebe, near Old Po- tomac church, but in the later years of his ministry, having by good management accumulated money, he purchased an estate in the north- ern section of the county, where he made his home. This place is called "Clermont." The house is still standing, and is in excellent preservation, being the true type of the old-time English home.


One daughter of Mr. Moncure was the wife of Governor Wood, of Virginia. In a letter to a friend, she speaks of the location as "the most beautiful eminence I have ever beheld." It overlooks the Potomac River on one side and Chappawamsic Creek on the other. Mr. Moncure had a large family, and among his descendants are the Daniels, Con- ways, Robinsons, and many other families in Virginia and elsewhere.


This letter of Mrs. Wood and another from George Mason, of Gunston, author of the Bill of Rights, a warm friend of Mr. Moncure and kinsman of his wife, which was written to Mrs. Moncure just after her husband's death, pays beautiful tributes to him as a man and Christian.


Part of the parish register during Mr. Moncure's rectorship has been preserved. It contains over twenty-five hundred names, many, if not the greater number, of them being unknown in the county to-day. This book was kept for many years by the Hon. R. C. L. Moncure, of the Virginia Court of Appeals, and great-grandson of Mr. Moncure, and is now in Stafford, and in good preservation.


During Mr. Moncure's rectorship Aquia church was built. A build- ing was erected in 1751, which was soon after destroyed by fire. On its site the present church stands, having been built in 1757. It occupies a commanding eminence near the public road from Fred- ericksburg, and is one of the most beautiful of Virginia's Colonial churches. Like many of them, it is cruciform and of brick. Unlike most of them, it has a bell and clock-tower, the hands of the latter having been in existence until the last few years, marking the dead past. Over the south door, in white letters on black ground, are these


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words: "Built A. D. 1751. Destroyed by fire 1751, and Rebuilt A. D. 1757 by Mourning Richards, Undertaker. Wm. Copein, Mason."


The aisles of the church are of stone, the cross in the center being of white marble. At the southeastern angle of the cross is the old "three-decker" pulpit, with its great sounding-board. The chancel is at the east end of the cross. It contains a handsome reredos, with four panels, on which are the Ten Commandments, Apostles' Creed and Lord's Prayer. Beneath the chancel rest the remains of Mr. Moncure, and under the Communion table is a marble slab, with this inscription :


"In memory of the Race of the House of Moncure."


The pews are of the old square kind.


The gallery faces the chancel from the west end of the cross, and on a panel of it are the names of the first minister and vestry, as follows:


Iohn Moncure, minister; Peter Hedgeman, Iohn Mercer, John Lee, Mott Doniphan, Henry Tyler, William Mountjoy, Benjamin Strother, Thomas Fitzhugh, Peter Daniel, Travers Cook, Church-wardens. Iohn Fitzhugh, Iohn Peyton, Vestrymen. 1757. Mr. Moncure died in 1764.


In 1777 important changes were again made in both county and parish lines. Up to that date, as stated, Stafford lay wholly on the Potomac, extending from Westmoreland to Prince William, while King George lay wholly on the Rappahannock, extending from Richmond county to Fauquier. The Stafford parishes were Overwharton and St. Paul and those in King George, Hanover and Brunswick. The divide or watershed was practically the dividing line.




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