Colonial churches; a series of sketches of churches in the original colony of Virginia, with pictures of each church, Part 24

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 24


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


After his resignation Mr. Read returned to England, and there is an entry in the Vestry Book as follows:


250


"I, Deuell Read, late of Middlesex in Virginia, having lived in the county for at least seven years past, and received divers kindnesses from the parishioners thereof, and Almighty God in His great good- ness, having preserved me through many dangers in my return to England, and being most kindly received by my Right Honorable and Right Rev. Henry, Lord Bishop of London, do, in point of gratitude to Almighty God, and in honour for the Church of England, freely give and bestow, for the use of my successors in the said parish, four milch cows and calves, four breeding sows, a mare and colt, to be delivered on the glebe of said parish to the next incumbent, he to enjoy them and their increase for his own use, and leaving the like number and quality on his death to his successors; humbly requesting my aforesaid Right Rev. Diocesan to give charge to his Commissary there to take care herein, and to settle it in such manner as to him shall seem fit, according to the true intent hereof. Witness my hand in London, this 12th day of November, in the second year of our Sovereign Lord and Lady King William and Queen Mary, etc. Deuell Read."


In imitation of this act, another entry states that: "The following gentlemen, Vestrymen of the parish, viz .: Henry Corbin, Richard Perrott, Abraham Weeks, John Hastewood, Richard Cock, Robert Chewning, agree, each of them, to mark one cow-calf with a crop in the right ear, to be kept, as well as their own cattle, until they be two years old, then given to the vestry as stock for the parish." In 1692 the Rev. Matthew Lidford was chosen minister, and died after a rectorship of one year. He was succeeded by the Rev. Samuel Gray, who in 1698, after serving the parish most unworthily, agreed to resign on the payment to him of a certain amount of tobacco. His career was a dark cloud in the history of the church.


It may be stated here, however, that the ministry of the Church in these early days, as shown by the records of this parish, will compare favorably with that of any period and of any religious body. Bad men there were then, as there are now, among all Church bodies, but they were the exception.


In 1669 the Rev. Robert Yates became rector, and continued so until about 1704, when ill health compelled his return to England. His record was evidently that of a good and true man, for his vestry continued his salary for some time in hope of his return. The Rev. Bartholomew Yates (supposed to be his son) succeeded him. He served the parish as minister for eighteen years, when he was called


251


to York-Hampton Parish. His vestry increased his salary to two thousand pounds of tobacco, in order to retain his services, and on the Vestry Book is the copy of a petition to the General Assembly, signed by John Robinson, to take measures to have him remain where he was so highly esteemed. He continued in Middlesex, therefore, until his death, which occurred in 1734, thus completing a rectorship of thirty years.


Mr. Yates had sons in England at college, and the vestry decided to wait two years until his son, Bartholomew, was ordained. In the meantime the parish was served by the Rev. Messrs. John Reade and Emmanuel Jones, from parishes nearby. Rev. Bartholomew Yates 2d was rector for twenty-five years, serving the parish until 1767.


Nine years before this date, the Rev. William Yates and the Rev. Robert Yates were ministers in the adjoining parishes of Petsworth and Abingdon, in Gloucester county, and they were either grandsons or great-grandsons of the Rev. Robert Yates, the family thus con- tributing great strength to the Church in its early days in Virginia.


A large tombstone was placed over the grave of the Rev. Bartholo- mew Yates in the churchyard. It is still in its place, and bears the following inscription: "Here lie the remains of the Rev. Bartholomew Yates, who departed this life the 26th day of July, 1734, in the fifty- seventh year of his age. He was one of the visitors of William and Mary College, as also Professor of Divinity in that Royal Founda- tion. In the conscientious discharge of his duty, few ever equalled him, none ever surpassed him. He explained the doctrine by his practice, and taught and led the way to heaven. Cheerfulness, the result of innocence, always sparkled in his face, and, by the sweet- ness of his temper, he gained universal good will. His consort enjoyed in him a tender husband, his children an indulgent father, his ser- vants a gentle master, his acquaintances a faithful friend. He was minister of this parish upwards of thirty years; and to perpetuate his memory, this monument is erected at the charge of his friends and parishioners."


The descendants of Mr. Yates are many and honored in different parts of the State.


In 1767 the Rev. John Klug became rector, and, it is thought, con- tinued so until his death, in 1795. His ministry was also marked by deep piety and earnestness, and his works lived after him. He was succeeded by the Rev. Mr. Heffernon, whose ministry was one of shame and dishonor. He was rector for eighteen years, the Church suffering


252


from his presence. At the time of his death, in 1813, the condition of the church was depressing in the extreme; indeed, as Bishop Meade says, "Its prostration was complete." This was brought about largely by political conditions, the Church generally having suffered greatly at that period, but an unworthy minister is responsible for much of the sin and carelessness among his people.


The respect of some of the people of Middlesex for the matters of the higher life, in those old days, is illustrated in an extract of the will of Mr. William Churchhill, in 1711, in which he bequeathed one hundred pounds sterling to the vestry of Christ Church Parish, Middle- sex, to be placed at interest, the proceeds to be given the minister, provided he preached four quarterly sermons each year against the four reigning vices, viz .: Atheism (meaning living without God in the world) and irreligion; swearing and cursing; fornication and adultery and drunkenness.


Twenty-five pounds were put at interest and the interest money was to be given the clerk or sexton attending such sermon.


From 1813 to 1840 there is little record of Church work in Middlesex, though the parish was represented in the Diocesan Council of 1821 by Mr. James Chewning as lay delegate, and in 1840 the old mother church was a ruin, the walls alone standing. At this date Bishop - Meade thus strikingly refers to its sad condition:


"And what has become of the mother church-the Great Church as she is styled in her journal-standing in view of the wide Rappahan- nock, midway between Rosegill and Brandon?


"More, perhaps, than fifty years ago it was deserted. Its roof de- cayed and fell in. Everything within it returned to its native dust. But nature abhors a vacuum. A sycamore tree sprung up within its walls. All know the rapidity of that tree's growth. It filled the void. Its boughs soon rose above and overspread the walls.


"In the year 1840, when it pleased God to put it into the hearts of some in whom the spirit of Old Virginia Episcopalians still remained, to seek the revival of the Church's dry bones in Middlesex, that huge overspreading tree must first be removed piecemeal from the house, and the rich mould of fifty years' accumulation, to the depth of two feet, must be dug up before the chancel floor and the stone aisles could be reached-faithful workmanship of other days. These were uninjured, and may still remain, while generations of frail modern structures pass away. The house is now one of our best country churches. The graves of our ancestors are all around it. In scattered


253


fragments some of the tombstones lie; others too substantial to be broken, too heavy to be borne away, now plainly tell whose remains are protected by them.


These blessed improvements were wrought largely through the energetic interest of Mrs. Kemp (Barbara Minor) Gatewood, who started the movement which resulted in the restoration of the old church. Others assisting prominently in the work were Dr. Rowan, Dr. Nicholson, Mr. Boswell Roy, of Rosegill; the Blackburns and Segars and Mr. Gatewood.


In the original arrangement of the parish there were two churches in addition to the parish church. These were situated in the upper and lower ends of the county, respectively. The three were known as the Upper, Lower and Middle churches. All were of brick, and are now standing, but the Upper church is occupied by the Baptists, who have named it "Hermitage," and the lower by the Methodists, and is still known as the Lower church.


The Rev. Mr. Carraway, rector about 1845, writing to Bishop Meade, thus speaks of them:


"The Upper and Lower churches or chapels are still standing. One of them is about to be repaired by the Baptists. The Lower chapel retains some appearance of antiquity, in spite of the effort to destroy every vestige of Episcopal taste and usage. The high pulpit and sounding-board have been removed, and the reading desk placed within the chancel, before which is the roughly carved chest which formerly held the plate and other articles for the decent celebration of the Holy Communion.


"There were three sets of plate in the parish. A descendant of one of the earliest families, now the wife of one of the Virginia clergy, on removing from this county, took with her, in order to keep from desecration, the service belonging to the Lower chapel. She lent it to a rector of one of the churches in Richmond, with the under- standing that, upon the revival of the parish, it must be restored. Application was accordingly made in the year 1840, and the vestry received the value of the plate in money, which was given at their suggestion, they having a full service in their possession.


"The plate owned by Christ church was presented by the Hon. Ralph Wormley. It numbered five pieces. But for the inscription, bearing the name of the donor, it would have shared the fate of much that was irreligiously and sacreligiously disposed of.


It was deposited in the bank in Fredericksburg, where it remained


254


for more than thirty years. It was afterwards in regular use, but was at one time almost destroyed by fire. Enough was rescued, how- ever, for the use of church.


The set belonging to the Lower church was sold by the overseers of the poor."


The old Glebe house, a large square brick building, is still standing at the head of Urbanna Creek, which is near Christ church.


The Rev. W. Y. Rooker was in charge of the work in Mathews and Middlesex a few years after 1840. He was succeeded by the Rev. G. S. Carraway. As to the people who lived in Middlesex in the old days, under the ministrations of the Church, much could be said. They represented some of the most distinguished of the early citizenship of the State, and their descendants have figured prominently in the history of the country. Such names as the following were among them: Corbin, Perrott, Chewning, Potter, Vause, Weeks, Willis, Cock, Curtis, Smith, Dudley, Thacker, Skipwith, Beverley, Wormley, Jones, Miller, Scarborough, Woodley, Whitaker, Robinson, Warwick, Gordon, Chichester, Midge, Churchill, Burnham, Kemp, Cary, Daniel, Price, Mann, Segar, Reid, Eliot, Miles, Montague and Nelson. The names of Sir Henry Chicheley, Baronet and Knight (once Deputy Governor of Virginia), and Sir William Skipwith, Baronet and Knight, appear always at the head of the vestrymen, as written in the vestry books, these titles giving them precedence. They appear to have been active and liberal, giving land and plate to the churches. John Grymes and Edmund Berkeley appear to have been church wardens for a longer period than any others. The Thackers and Robinsons were also con- stant attendants and church wardens for a long time. So also were the Smiths, Churchills, Corbins, Curtises and Beverleys. Many of these were members of the Council, and held other offices in the Colonial government. The first Beverley on the list was the cele- brated Robert Beverley, so noted in the early history of Virginia as a martyr to the cause of liberty. He was clerk of the House of Bur- gesses and father of Robert Beverley, the historian of Virginia, and ancestor of the other Beverleys.


There were always three lay readers in each of the churches. The names of Chewning, Baldwin and Stevens appear among these. They were required not only to read homilies, but to catechise the chil- dren, and see that everything about the church was orderly. By express act of the vestry it was required that these lay readers be sober and reputable men.


255


The office of vestryman was that of an active worker for the uplift of the people, those holding it being guardians of the poor and desti- tute, and at the same time supervisors in business matters of the parish and county. There was one very important duty which vestries had to perform and which occasioned differences between them and the Governor of Virginia, namely: To maintain their rights as repre- senting the people in the choice and settlement of ministers. In the English Church the congregation have no part in the choice of their ministers. Patrons appoint them and livings support them. In Vir- ginia the salary being drawn immediately from the people by the vestries, the latter sometimes claimed the right, not only to choose: the ministers, but to dismiss them at pleasure. In the absence of Bishops and canons to try ministers, the temptation on the part of the vestries to act arbitrarily is evident. The Governor, therefore, claimed to be the Ordinary, to act as Bishop in reference to this point. Ap- pealing to the English canon, he allowed the vestries the right to call the ministers and present them for induction. Being inducted, the minister could not be displaced by the vestry. He had a right to the salary, and could enforce it by an appeal to law, unless, in- deed, for misconduct, he could be deprived by a process under the direction of the Governor. Should a vestry not appoint a minister after a vacancy of six months, the Governor might send one, and induct him as the permanent minister, not to be removed by the vestry.


In the old churchyard rest the remains of many of the people who have figured prominently in the affairs of Church and State. Three of these inscriptions on the tombs are of particular interest. One is the epitaph of Mr. John Grymes, and reads as follows:


"Here lies interred the body of the Honorable John Grymes, Esq., who for many years acted in the public affairs of this Dominion, with honor, fortitude, fidelity to their majesties, King George I. and III. Of the Council of State of the Royal Prerogative, of the liberty and prop- erty of the subject, a zealous asserter. On the Seat of Judgment, clear, sound, unbiassed. In the office, punctual, approved. Of the College of William and Mary, an ornament, visitor, patron. Beneficent to all, a pattern of true piety. Respected, loved, revered. Lamented by his family, acquaintance, country. He departed this life the 2d day of November, 1748, in the fifty-seventh year of his age."


Another epitaph reads:


"This monument is erected to the memory of Ralph Wormley, Esq., of Rosegill, who died on the 19th of January, 1806, in the sixty-second


256


year of his age. The rules of honor guided the actions of this great man. He was the perfect gentleman and finished scholar, with many virtues founded on Christianity."


Mr. Wormley was a member of a number of Episcopal Conven- tions after the Revolution. After his death the descendants of Colonel Edmund Berkeley appear to be almost all that remained of the church.


This family preserved the Vestry Book from which all of the in- formation gathered by Bishop Meade was obtained.


On the tomb of the wife of Mr. Wormley are these words:


"Beneath this marble lies interred the remains of Mrs. Eleanor Wormley, widow of Ralph Wormley, Esq., of Rosegill, and sister of Colonel John Tayloe, of Mount Airy, who died the 23d of February, 1815, in the sixtieth year of her age. Few women were more emi- nently distinguished for correctness of deportment, and for the prac- tice of all the Christian virtues. As a wife she was conjugal, as a widow exemplary, as a mother, fond and affectionate, as a neighbor charitable and kind, as a friend, steady and sincere."


There are also tombs of Lucy Berkeley, who died in 1716, and Sir Henry Chicheley, Knight and Deputy Governor of Virginia; the Rev. John Shephard and the Hon. Lady Madame Catharine Wormley, wife of the Honorable Ralph Wormley (the first Ralph Wormley), in the year 1685.


Rosegill, the grand old house of the Wormleys, still stands. It was bought about fifty years ago by Captain John Bailey, a man of great heart, who did much good for the Church in modern years. The old mansion was restored to much of its former grandeur under his owner- ship.


After his death his widow lived there many years, and it was the privilege of the writer to visit and enjoy her hospitality, and view the house, one of the most interesting relics of a bygone age. Its situa- tion is ideal, in full and beautiful view of the broad river, about two miles from the town of Urbanna. Since Mrs. Bailey's death it has been bought and beautified by a gentleman from Pennsylvania.


The modern history of Christ church is similar to that of most Virginia Colonial churches. After being a long time asleep, it has awakened to a new life, with hopes and aspirations which are well founded. Though sometimes in a feeble condition, it has weathered the storms of war and other trials. The ministers who have served it since 1850 are the Rev. Joseph R. Jones, the Rev. John McGill, the


257


Rev. Claudius R. Haines, the Rev. J. Hervey Hundley, the Rev. John Moncure (for a brief time), the Rev. Frank Stringfellow, the Rev. E. B. Meredith, the Rev. H. J. Beagen and the Rev. R. C. Cowling, the present incumbent. Special mention should be made of the Rev. J. Hervey Hundley, through whose energy and interest, largely, the church in Middlesex was kept alive for many years. Dr. Hundley was originally a Baptist minister in Lower Essex. He came over to the Church, bringing his congregation with him. He served Christ church as a rector for several times, being recalled time and again as the church became vacant. He went to his reward about four years ago, and, like all of the blessed dead, his works live after him.


Among the faithful laymen of modern days was Mr. Oliver J. Marston, of Saluda. He, too, has gone to his rest, but his active, whole-souled interest in the old church and its affairs will long remain in the hearts of the people.


The parish is now in good condition. The old church building has been improved by extensive repairs and adornments. It has been en- riched by some fine memorial windows, and is now a place of beauty as well as of sacredness. The present vestry is as follows: Mr. F. M. Eastman, senior warden; Mr. J. C. Gray, junior warden; Mr. Gordon Taylor, register, and Messrs. William Seagar, Marion Walters, William T. Perkins, W. C. Walker and Benjamin Upton.


WESTOVER PARISH, CHARLES CITY COUNTY, VIRGINIA.


BY MRS. MARY MORRIS TYLER, OF STURGEON POINT, VA.


T HERE is no parish in Virginia more interesting, nor bearing more distinctly the mark of antiquity than Westover. The oldest church plate in the United States is a Communion cup presented in 1619 to "St. Mary's Church in Smith's Hundred in Virginia," by Mrs. Mary Robinson. The cup is still preserved by the church at Hampton and bears the hall-mark of 1617, with the inscription above mentioned.


Smith's, or Southampton Hundred extended from Weyanoke to the Chickahominy river; was located in 1617 and abandoned after the Indian massacre of 1622. If "St. Mary's Church," for which the plate was designed was actually built, it was contemporary with the Argall church at Jamestown, and older than any other in the Colony. The county of Charles City, in which it was located, was one of the original shires or counties into which the Colony was partitioned in 1634, and extended over a broad area on both sides of the James river. West- over Hundred, Weyanoke (or Weyanoake) Hundred, Shirley Hundred, and Charles City Hundred were early settlements on James river, within its bounds, and we read of a school being, or to be established "at Charles City Hundred in aid of the proposed college at Henrico." Westover Parish followed the original county lines; was thirty miles long and, extending to the other side of the river, included Charles City Hundred (now City Point) and a section of country extending to Martin's Brandon. Bishop Meade states that there were originally in Charles City county the parishes of Westover, Weyanoke and Wal- lingford, which extended to the Chickahominy river; all three after- ward uniting into one, taking the name of Westover Parish.


At Weyanoke, generally accepted as the next settlement after Jamestown, there long remained foundations of an ancient church, and a pamphlet in the possession of Mr. Graves, of Maryland, states authoritatively that an assembly was held at the church at Weyanoke early in the 17th century. There are still traces of the old graveyard, and one of the tombs from there was carried to St. Paul's, Norfolk, (by the Rev. Dr. Okeson) where it may still be seen. Apparently


WESTOVER CHURCH, CHARLES CITY COUNTY, VA.


259


after the destruction of the church at Weyanoke the "county was divided into Westover and Mapsco. The part above the courthouse was called Westover, and the part below called Mapsco, from an In- dian name given the creek near where the original Lower church stood."


The parish took its name from the Westover tract, which was granted to Captain Francis West in 1619, for Henry West, the son and heir of Lord Delaware, Governor of Virginia; Westover gaining its name from the West family.


Owing to the unfortunate loss or lack of early parish records, it is impossible to fix the age of the present Westover church. The original Westover church stood near the Westover house, about a quarter of a mile up the river bank. Its location is established by the existence of very interesting tombs at that point. The earliest is that of Walter Aston, who patented in 1642 a tract on Kimage's creek.


Next in point of antiquity is that of Theodoric Bland, who in 1666. purchased Westover:


S. M.


Prudentis & Erudite Theodorici Bland Armig Qui Obijt Aprilis 23rd A. D. 1671. Aetatus 41 Cujus Vidua Maestissima Anna Fillia Richardi Bennt Armig Hoc Marmor Posuit.


Here are the highly interesting Byrd monuments, that of Mary Byrd, wife of one, and mother of another of the distinguished William Byrds:


Here lyeth the Body of Mary Byrd, Late Wife of William Byrd, Esq. Daughter of Warham Horsemander Esq. Who died the 9th Day of November 1699. In the 47 year of Her Age.


Nearby lies that fair heroine of romance, Evelyn Byrd:


Here in the sleep of peace, Reposes the Body of Mrs. Evelyn Byrd, Daughter of the Hon. William Byrd Esq.


260


The various and excellent endowments of Nature


Improved and perfected by an accomplished education formed her for the happiness of her friends, for an ornament of her county.


Alas Reader, We can detain nothing, however valued, from unrelenting Death. Beauty, fortune or exalted honour See here a Proof,


And be reminded by this awful Tomb; that every worldly comfort fleets away, excepting only, what arises from imitating the virtues of our friends and the contemplation of their happiness.


To which God was pleased to call this Lady On the 13th day of November, 1737, In the 29th year of her age.


In the adjacent garden lies Col. William Byrd, by long odds the most accomplished man of his day in America-statesman, scholar and fellow of the Royal Society. He built the present noble brick mansion at Westover, ran the Virginia and North Carolina line, and founded the city of Richmond. His monument is very elaborate and bears the following inscription:


"Here Lieth


The Honorable William Byrd, Esq., being born to one of the amplest Fortunes in this Country, he was sent early to England for his Edu- cation; where under the Care and direction of Sir Robt Southwell, and even favored with his particular Instruction, he made a happy Proficiency in polite and various Learning. By the means of the same noble Friend he was introduced to many of the first Persons of the Age, for Knowledge, Wit, Virtue, Birth or high Station, and particularly contracted a most intimate and bosom Friendship with the learned and illustrious Charles Boyle, Earl of Orrery, he was called to the Bar of the Middle Temple, studied for some time in the Low Countries, visited the Court of France, and was chosen Fellow of the Royal Society."


On the opposite side of the tombstone is inscribed:


"Thus eminently fitted for the Service and ornament of his country, he was made Receiver-General of his Majesty's Revenues here, was thrice appointed Public Agent to the Court and Ministry of England,




Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.