USA > Virginia > Henrico County > Henrico County > History and reminiscences of the Monumental Church, Richmond, Va. : from 1814 to 1878 > Part 2
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A list of the dead in the three wards of the city was accurately made out the day after the fire, and the names are upon the mon- ument now standing in the front portico of the church, and they accord with those published in the Virginia Argus of the 30th December, 1811. G. D. F.
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most esteemed and valuable members, and inflict- ing upon its survivors pangs the most poignant and afflicting ; and the Common Hall, participating in those feelings, and being desirous of manifesting their respect for the remains which have been preserved from the conflagration, and to sooth and allay as much as in them lies the grief of the friends and re- lations of the deceased :
"1. Be it therefore ordained by the President and Common Council of the city of Richmond, in Com- mon Hall assembled, and it is hereby ordained by the authority of the same, that Dr. Adams, Mr. Wm. Hay, Mr. Ralston, and Mr. Gamble be, and they are hereby authorized and empowered to cause to be collected and deposited in such urns, coffins, or other suitable enclosures as they may approve, all the re- mains of persons who have suffered, which shall not be claimed by the relatives, and cause the same to be removed to the public burying ground, with all pro- per respect and solemnity, giving to the citizens of Richmond and town of Manchester notice of the time of such interment, and providing the necessary re- freshments ; and they shall have further authority to cause to be erected over such remains such tomb or tombs as they may approve, with such inscriptions as to them may appear best calculated to record the melancholy and afflicting event.
"2. And be it further ordained by the authority of the same, that the constable of the city be authorized to communicate to the citizens, that it is earnestly re- commended. that they will abstain from all business,
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keeping their shops, stores, counting houses, and offices shut for forty-eight hours from the passing of this ordinance.
"3. And be it further ordained, that no person or persons shall be permitted for and during the term of four months from the passage hereof to exhibit any public show or spectacle, or open any public dancing assembly within the city, under the penalty of six dollars and sixty-six cents for every hour the same shall be exhibited.
"4. The commissioners appointed by this ordinance shall have authority to draw upon the Chamberlain for the amount of any expenses by them incurred in executing the same.
"Passed at eleven o'clock, on Friday, the twenty- seventh day of December, eighteen hundred and eleven, at a called meeting of the Common Council for the city of Richmond, held at the capitol in the said city.
" In testimony whereof, the president hath caused the seal of the said city to be hereto affixed, and hath subscribed the same with his name.
WM. C. WILLIAMS,
(Seal of the city.) President."
At a very numerous meeting of the citizens of Richmond and Manchester, and others, convened at the capitol, on the afternoon of the same day, the following preamble and resolutions were unanimously adopted :
"This city having been visited by a calamity the:
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most distressing with which society can be afflicted, which has deprived us of many of our most valuable citizens, pervaded every family, and rendered our whole town one deep and gloomy scene of woc, the extent of which at this time cannot be ascertained :
" Resolved therefore, That three proper persons in each ward be appointed to go around and procure the most accurate information of the names and num- bers of each of our citizens and others who have fallen a sacrifice to the burning of the Theatre last even- ing, and that some persons in Manchester be requested to perform the same service in that town, and that they make report thereof to the mayor.
"And the following persons were appointed, viz : In Jefferson Ward, Win. Rowlett, Joseph A. Myers, and Samuel Pleasants ; in Madison Ward, Jedediah Allen, Ro. McKim, and Ro. Pollard ; in Monroe Ward, Thos. Taylor, Anderson Barrett, and Thos. Rutherford. And in Manchester, Wm. Fenwick, Mr. Clarke, and Mr. Alex. Freeland.
" Resolved, That it be recommended to the citizens of Richmond to observe Wednesday next as a day of humiliation and prayer, in consequence of the late melancholy event, and to suspend on that day their usual occupations.
" Resolved. That the committee appointed by the Common Hall to collect the remains of the deceased, be also requested to regulate the time and order of the funeral procession ;
" Resolved, That the members of the Legislature, the Executive, and the judiciary branches, be re-
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spectfully requested to attend on this melancholy occasion ;
" Resolved, That the Rev. Mr. John Buchanan and the Rev. Mr. John D. Blair, be requested to prepare a funeral sermon for the occasion, to be delivered by one of them on Wednesday next, in the Church on Richmond Hill ;
" Resolved, That the citizens of Richmond be re- quested to wear crape for one month, in token of the deep sense universally entertained of this severe visitation ;
" Resolved, That the inhabitants of this city and town of Manchester, be respectfully requested, and such strangers as may wish to join in this melancholy occasion, be most cheerfully permitted to contribute towards the monument to be erected over the re- mains of the deceased, in aid of the public funds to be contributed by this corporation ;
" Resolved, That a committee, consisting of the fol- lowing gentlemen, viz: Gen. John Marshall, Thos. Taylor, Joseph Marx, Wm. Fenwick, and Benjamin Hatcher, be appointed to receive contributions, and to make such arrangements in concert with a com- mittee from the Common Hall as may be necessary for erecting the monument designated by an ordi- nance passed this day ;
" Resolved, That although this meeting have no reasons whatever to believe that this melancholy catastrophe has been produced by design, a com- mittee, consisting of Thomas Ritchie, Wm. Marshall, and Samuel G. Adams, be appointed to enquire into
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its causes, for the purpose of submitting this state- ment for the information of the world. And then the meeting adjourned.
BENJAMIN TATE, Mayor."
In the House of Delegates, on the same day, Mr .. John G. Jackson, who had himself narrowly escaped from the conflagration, offered the following resolu- tion :
" Resolved, Unanimously, that the members of this. house will wear crape on the left arni for the space. of thirty days, in testimony of their regard for the memories of George Wmn. Smith, Governor of this- Commonwealth, and the other distinguished and re- spectable persons who fell victims to the dreadful conflagration in this city last night. Which having. been adopted,
" On motion of Mr. Chas. Fenton Mercer, the house: immediately adjourned."
On Saturday, the 28th December, the Executive: Council of the State, Mr. Peyton Randolph being the senior member, and as such, acting Governor,. unanimously adopted the following resolutions, to- wit :
" Resolved, That in testimony of the profound sor- row which, as individuals and members of this body,. we feel for the loss of our much esteemed friend and fellow citizen, George William Smith, late Gover- nor of this Commonwealth, and which, in common with the afflicted people of this city, we feel for the loss of those other worthy and meritorious citizens
1
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who fell a sacrifice to the flames in the late confla- gration of the Theatre; and that as a tribute of the very high respect which we entertain for his and their memory, we will, for the space of thirty days, wear crape on our left arm;
" Resolved, also, That agreeably to an arrangement proposed by the committee appointed by the Com- mon Hall of this city, to superintend the interment of such of the remains of the unfortunate sufferers. as have been saved, we will join the funeral proces- sion."
On the same day, the Common Council, on the motion of Mr. Wm. Marshall, (a brother of the Chief Justice), adopted an amended ordinance, in these words :
"WHEREAS, it is represented to the President and Common Council of the city of Richmond, in Com- mon Hall assembled, that the remains of their un- fortunate fellow-citizens who perished in the confla- gration of the Theatre, on the night of the twenty- sixth instant, cannot with convenience be removed: from the spot on which they were found, and some . of them were so far consumed as to fall to ashes, and that it would be more satisfactory to their relations that they should be interred on the spot where they perished, and that the site of the Theatre should be consecrated as the sacred deposit of their bones and ashes :
"1. Beit therefore ordained by the authority afore- said, that the committee appointed by the ordinance:
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entitled 'an ordinance concerning the conflagration .of the Theatre in the city of Richmond,' instead of burying the remains of our fellow-citizens in the public burying ground, shall cause them to be in- terred within the area formerly included in the walls of the Theatre; and the said committee is hereby anthorized and empowered to purchase of the pro- prietors thereof, as soon as may be possible, all the ground included within such walls.
"2. And be it further ordained, that in addition to the duty imposed upon that committee by the before recited ordinance, they be requested to enclose with ·suitable walls of brick, of the height of five feet at the least, the whole of the ground formerly covered by the said Theatre; and that the Common Hall of the city of Richmond hold the funds of the city pledged to defray the expenses of purchasing the said area, and of the enclosure thereof, to be paid out of any money in the hands of the Chamberlain at the time the said enclosure shall be erected by the said committee, and to be paid by him to their draft or drafts.
"3. This ordinance shall take effect from the pass- ing thereof.
" Passed at a called meeting of the Common Coun- cil for the city of Richmond, held at the Washington Tavern, in the said city, on Saturday, the twenty- eighth day of December, one thousand, eight hun- dred and eleven. In testimony whereof, the presi- dent hath caused the seal of the said city to be hereto affixed, and hath subscribed the same with his name.
WM. C. WILLIAMS, President."
(Seal of the city.)
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INTERMENT OF THE DEAD. From the Richmond Enquirer of 31st December,. 1811 :
"The arrangements for this melancholy occasion could not be completed before Sunday, and the place of interment had been changed from the church (St .. John's, on Richmond Hill,) to the area where the Theatre stood, that fatal and devoted spot ; the fun- eral procession did not move, as was originally con -- templated by the committee, from the Baptist meet- ing-house, near the Theatre, where the relics lay, to the church where the interment was intended to be- made.
"The mournful procession began at Mr. Edward Trent's, on Main street, where the remains of the unfortunate Mrs. Patterson lay.
" In front, the Corpse, then the Clergy, Ladies in Carriages, the Executive Council, Directors of the Bank, Members of the Legislature, the Court of. Hustings, Common Hall, Citizens on foot and on horseback.
"Why paint the length and solemnity of the line !
"They moved up Main street until they struck the cross street leading to the bank; here they were joined by the corpse of poor Juliana Harvie, who. expired at her brother-in-law's, the cashier of the bank. They moved up the Capitol Hill, and at the capitol were joined by the bearers of two large ma- hogany boxes, in which were enclosed the ashes and relics of the deceased. The mournful procession then moved to the devoted spot, and in the centre of the,
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area where once stood the pit, these precious relics were buried in one common grave. The service for the dead was read by the Rev. Mr. Buchanan. The whole scene defies description-a whole city bathed in tears ! How awful the transition on this devoted spot ! A few days since it was the theatre of joy and merriment, animated by the sounds of music and the hum of a delighted multitude. It is now a funeral pyre ! the receptacle of the relics of our friends ; and in a short time a monument will stand upon it, to point out where their ashes lay."
When intelligence of this public calamity reached Washington, Mr. Stephen R. Bradley, one of the senators from Vermont, offered in the Senate of the United States, a resolution, which was unanimously agreed to, as follows :
" Resolved, That the members of this house will wear crape on the left arm for one month, in testi- mony of the condolence and sorrow of the senate, for the calamitious event by which the chief magis- trate of the State of Virginia, and so many of her citizens, perished by fire, in the city of Richmond, on the night of the 26th of the present month."
And in the House of Representatives, a nearly similar resolution was adopted, on the motion of Mr. John Dawson, one of the representatives from Virginia.
Mr. Wm. B. Giles, one of the senators from Vir- ginia, while detained from his place in the senate by the illness of his wife, prepared an eloquent and
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impressive paper, to be delivered in the senate; but the resolution of the senate, above copied, having been in the meantime adopted, his paper was not offered. It was, however, published in the Richmond Enquirer, and concludes with the following resolu- tion :
" Resolved, That the Senate of the United States has received with the deepest emotions of sorrow and regret, information that a great and signal calamity has befallen the State of Virginia, and the city of Richmond, in the destruction of the Theatre of that city by fire, on the night of the 26th of the present month, whereby the lives of many valuable and distinguished citizens have been lost, and among them, George W. Smith, the Chief Magistrate of Virginia, and Abraham B. Venable, President of the Bank of Virginia; and in testimony of these afflicting and sorrowful feelings, and of sincere con- dolence for all those who are the more immediate objects of this severe calamity, the members of the senate will wear crape on the left arm for one month."
Resolutions of condolence, sympathy and respect, were adopted in many places; particularly by the Mayor, Recorder, Aldermen, and Common Council of the Borough of Norfolk; the citizens of Fal- mouth; the inhabitants of the town of Fredericks- burg, of Smithfield, and its vicinity, and of Win- chester; the Common Council of Alexandria; the citizens of Raleigh, North Carolina, and the judges of the Supreme Court of North Carolina; the City
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Council of Savannah, Georgia; the City Council of Charleston, South Carolina; the midshipmen at the Washington Navy Yard; upwards of one hundred natives of Virginia, composing a part of the medical class of the University of Pennsylvania; upwards of five hundred of the young men of Philadelphia; a number of the young gentlemen of New York; the Legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts ;; the young gentlemen of Boston; the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Ohio.
In most of these cases, a day of humiliation and prayer was appointed, and some minister of the gospel requested to preach an appropriate sermon ; in several cases committees were appointed to re- ceive contributions towards erecting the monument in Richmond, proposed by the Common Council ; in others, it was recommended to the people to abstain from all dancing assemblies, and other pub- lic amusements, for a certain length of time.
The Alexandria dancing assemblies were post- poned for one month, in consequence of this tragical and melancholy event.
The Masonic Lodge of Petersburg gave notice that a Masonic Ball, to which the ladies of that town and vicinity had been invited, would not take place ;: and the Richmond Republican Blues, more than a month afterwards, declined to celebrate the approach- ing 22nd of February, according to their custom, or to join in any rejoicing on that day, through sympa- thy with the calamity which had befallen their friends. and fellow-citizens.
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The proprietors and managers of theatres, and the corporate authorities in several cities, announced new regulations adopted by them in respect to thea- trical exhibitions, especially looking to the provision of an increased number of doors and other avenues. of escape in case of any alarm.
Odes and elegiac stanzas, to the memory of the unfortunate sufferers ; separate tributes to the me- mory of the young, the beautiful, the gifted, the brave who perished ; appropriate notices of the many splendid instances of disinterestedness and heroism exhibited on the occasion of the fire, which excited the public admiration and applause ; essays on the nature and effects of the stage, (one of which was by the celebrated Doctor Witherspoon, of Phil- adelphia,) appeared either in the papers or periodi- cals of the day, or in pamphlet form.
Among the sermons was one published entitled "A sermon delivered January 19, 1812, at the re- quest of a number of young gentlemen of the city of New York," who had assembled to express their. condolence with the inhabitants of Richmond on the. late mournful dispensation of Providence in that. city, by Samuel Miller, D. D., Pastor of the First: Presbyterian Church of New York, which attained. a good deal of celebrity, being an able discourse, after the model of Archbishop Tillottson's on the sin and offence of attending theatrical amusements ..
In Norfolk an "invitation" was addressed to all the citizens of Norfolk and others, to assist, on Thursday, the 9th instant, at 10 o'clock in the fore-
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noon, to the service that will be performed at the Roman Church, for the souls that were victims to the fire at the Richmond Theatre.
These proceedings show to how considerable an ex- tent the whole country was affected by this awful dispensation of Divine Providence. In Richmond it gave rise to the suggestion that besides the monu- ment proposed by the Common Council, there should be erected by public subscription, on the ruins of the Theatre, an edifice to be set apart and conse- crated for the worship of God.
From the Richmond Enquirer:
"RICHMOND, 9th January, 1812.
"At a meeting of the 'Association for building a church on Shockoe Hill,'-
"Resolved, That the Treasurer be authorized to re- ceive subscriptions for any number of shares that shall be applied for, until the aggregate number shall be three hundred.
Extract.
C. J. MACMURDO, Treasurer."
"We, the subscribers, the committee appointed at a general meeting of the citizens of Richmond and Manchester to receive contributions for the purpose of erecting a monument sacred to the memory of those who perished in the late conflagration in this city, believing that by avoiding every personal appli- cation we shall perform the task assigned to us in a manner most grateful to the feelings of the afflicted
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relatives of the deceased, who can yield only to the earnest wishes of their fellow-citizens, voluntarily expressed, the sad privilege of being the sole con- tributors to an object so dear to them, have requested Mr. William Dandridge, Cashier of the Bank of Vir- ginia, to receive the subscriptions of all those who are desirous of contributing on this melancholy oc- casion, and will call at the bank for that purpose.
JOHN MARSHALL, JOSEPH MARX, BENJAMIN HATCHER, WILLIAM FENWICK, THOMAS TAYLOR."
January 13, 1812.
" THE MONUMENT.
"As the size and form of the monument to be erected over the remains of the victims to the confla- gration of the theatre, lately consumed in this city, will depend on the sum subscribed for that purpose, and as it must be extremely desirable that arrangements should be promptly made for commencing the work, it will be necessary soon to close the subscription. The committee therefore earnestly request those gentlemen whose feelings impel them to give this mark of their regard for the memories of the de- ceased not to defer their contributions, as the sub- scriptions will close on the first day of March next.
JOHN MARSHALL, JOSEPH MARX, WILLIAM FENWICK, BENJAMIN HATCHER, THOMAS TAYLOR."
February 4, 1812.
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CITY OF RICHMOND IN COMMON COUNCIL. February 17, 1812.
The following report was made to the Common Hall this day, and a committee appointed to bring in an ordinance in pursuance thereof :
At a meeting of the committee appointed by the "Association for erecting a Church on Shockoe Hill" in the city of Richmond, with the committee ap- pointed by the Common Hall for superintending the erection of a monument on the site of the late Theatre,-present: James Smith, Gabriel Ralston, William Hay, Jr., and John Adams. The follow- ing resolution from the church association was sub- mitted for consideration, viz :
" Resolved, That the committee appointed in pur- suance of the fourth article, be authorized to unite with the committee of the Common Hall, in pur- chasing the whole of the said ground, (meaning the whole lot on which the Theatre stood,) and arrange with the said committee, the most eligible plan on which to appropriate the ground so to be purchased to the joint purpose of erecting thereon both the monument and the church.
"It is proposed and approved by the members of both the above committees, that forty feet square fronting on H street, and in the centre of the Theatre lot on that front, be reserved for the monu- ment, to be enclosed by and under the direction of the committee of the Common Hall, and that the re- mainder of the ground be appropriated to the erec- tion of a church, under the direction and control of
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the committee or agents of the above mentioned association; and so much of said lot as may not be covered by such church and its appendages, to be enclosed with bricks, stone or iron, at the expense of the aforesaid association, and the whole to be, by said association and their successors for ever, kept and applied to sole purposes of Divine worship.
"It is further proposed and approved as aforesaid, that the committee of the Common Hall, shall pur- chase the whole ground, one-third of the expense of which purchase to be paid by the Common Hall, the other two-thirds by the church association.
"As it is understood that the powers of the com- mittee of the Common Hall will not permit them absolutely to ratify and confirm the above stipula- tions, the members of that committee pledge them- selves to use their best endeavors to procure the passage of an ordinance by the Common Hall, authorizing them to carry the same into complete effect.
JAMES SMITH, GABRIEL RALSTON, WM. HAY, JR., JOHN ADAMS."
City of Richmond, in Common Council, March 7, 1812. The following report was this day made to the Hall, and substituted for the one formerly made on the same subject: At a meeting of the committee appointed by the " Association for building a church on Shockoe Hill," in the city of Richmond, with
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the committee appointed by the Common Hall of the said city for superintending the erection of a monument on the site of the late Theatre, held on 5th of March, 1812,-present: James Smith, Michael W. Hancock, Gabriel Ralston, John Adams, and Jno. G. Gamble.
The following resolution from the church associa- tion was submitted for consideration, viz :
"Resolved, That the committee appointed in pur- suance of the 4th Article be authorized to unite with the committee of the Common Hall in purchasing the whole of said ground, (meaning the whole lot whereon the Theatre lately stood), and arrange with the said committee the most elegible plan on which to appropriate the ground so to be purchased, to the joint purpose of erecting thereon both the monu- ment and the church."
"It is proposed and approved by the members of both of the above committees, that the monument and church shall be comprehended in one building, the plan of which building to be approved by a ma- jority of the joint committee, associated with any three of the relatives of the deceased who may be by such relatives deputed so to act.
"It is further proposed and approved, that an ag- gregate fund, made up of all sums of money which have been or may hereafter be subscribed by indi- viduals for the purposes of the monument, of any sum which may be authorized by the Common Hall to be expended for this object, and of all sums which now are, or may hercafter belong, to the 'Association
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for building the church,' out of which aggregate fund the committee of the Common Hall shall pur- chase the whole of the ground, and the remaining sum shall be applied to the building of the church and monument, and their appendages, under the di- rection and control of the three before mentioned committee.
"It is distinctly understood that nothing herein con- tained shall impair the right of the subscribers to the ' Church Association' to any benefits or immunities which, by their original constitution, and their sub- sequent proceedings thereon, were contemplated, but that all management or control over such building shall exclusively pertain and belong to such associa- tion, to be for ever devoted to the sacred purposes of Divine worship, so soon as such building shall be completed.
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