USA > Virginia > Augusta County > Augusta County > History of Augusta County, Virginia > Part 13
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HISTORY OF AUGUSTA COUNTY.
any equivocation, mental evasion, or secret reservation whatsoever ; and I do make this recognition, acknowledgment, abjuration, renunciation, and promise, heartily, willingly, and truly, upon the true faith of a Christian. So help me God."
TEST OATH PASSED 1673, REPEALED 1828.
" I do declare that I do believe that there is not any transsubstantiation in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, or in the elements of bread and wine, at or after the consecration thereof by any person whatsoever."
The vestries of that day represented all the local and municipal govern- ment there was in Virginia, They had assigned to them, by act of the Burgesses, secular functions, made returns of births, marriages and deaths, presented for crimes, commanded the sheriffs to hold the election for Bur- gesses and assisted the county courts in building work-houses. They " processioned the lands " every four years, and kept up the roads and ferries.
The first vestry of Augusta parish was doubtless largely composed of Dissenters, men who, so far as religion was concerned, were politically Episcopalians and doctrinally Presbyterians, but willing to submit out- wardly to the powers in being, while they held themselves free to have their own private opinions. With the exception of Madison, their names would seem to indicate this. A liberal feeling prevailed for many years after the introduction of the Church of England, and all denominations of Christians attended worship, and now and again dissenting ministers preached from the Episcopal pulpit.
The community still retained strong marks of its Presbyterian leaven ; the clergyman abjured gown and surplice; the clerk, a layman, read the lessons ; the altar forsook the East windows, and the congregation stood and received the Holy Sacrament. When dissenting ministers increased in numbers, the doctrines of dissent were more widely promulgated ; the old spirit of non-conformity awoke; there were many seceders from the church, and almost all the sects extant in England were before the Revolu- tion represented in Augusta.
FIRST RECTOR OF AUGUSTA PARISH .- At the first meeting of the vestry, held in the court-house, 6th of April, 1747, Rev. John Hindman, having produced letters from the Governor and Commissary, directed to Col. John Patton, setting forth his ability as a minister, the vestry agreed to accept of him, conditionally-viz .: That the said Hindman will not in- sist on the parish purchasing Glebe lands, building a Glebe, and such other necessaries as are prescribed by law for the space of two years, until the parish be more able to bear such charges, and that he agree to preach in this court-house, and in people's houses of the same persuasion, in the different quarters of the parish, as shall be most convenient, and that he administer the Sacrament in the court-house instead of a church, and in
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HISTORY OF AUGUSTA COUNTY.
different quarters of the parish as aforesaid, unless His Honor, the Gover- nor, thinks proper to reverse the same, which shall not be by complaint of said Hindman or any person for him, and that he bring in his charge at the laying the parish levy for the same.
A GLEBE .-- Our English ancestors were particular to make provision for the support of the clergy ; to place them above want and the disrespect which too generally attends upon poverty ; to place those who were to in- struct ignorance, and be the censors of vice, where they would neither incur the contempt nor live upon the alms of the people. The Augusta vestry were ready to comply with the provisions of the law in this matter, but were particular to stipulate, as above, with Mr. Hindman, as a protec- tion against any inconsiderate or rapacious conduct on his part. They looked on his dues as his property, and they intended to protect him in that possession, but they were determined, also, to secure themselves against abuses.
It is not surprising, considering what manner of men many of the Epis- copal clergy were in Virginia, that the vestry should have been thus guarded. The sincerity of the Augusta vestry is evident from their action in July, 1747, when a committee was appointed to purchase land for a Glebe, &c., &c., unless a place could be bought with sufficient improve- ments to answer the purposes. On September 21st, 1747, the vestry pro- ceeded to make the parish levy, when the number of tithables is stated to be 1,670. If we allow five persons to a family, which is a moderate num- ber, the population of the county was, at this time. 8,350, and there were no poor, at least none who had applied for relief, as appears from the order of February 24th, 1747-'48: " That the money levied for fines, &c., be kept in the church wardens' hands until the meeting of the next vestry, the poor not being as yet known." Ordered that the persons appointed to purchase a Glebe meet on Monday next to purchase the same, and that the church wardens advertise and let the public buildings in November next, (September, 1747.) These lands were subsequently purchased of Robert Campbell, for the sum of £60.
The committee appointed for that purpose, having advertised and let out on contract the public buildings, at the meeting of the vestry board, Au- gust 22nd, 1748, this order was made :
"John Lewis, gentleman, having undertaken the public buildings of Augusta parish for £140., ordered that he be paid by John Madison, the trustee for the sd. parish, on raising the said buildings, £74, and the remainder on completing the same, unless he want money to carry on the said work, which the said Madison is ordered to supply him with."
These buildings had not been completed in 1750, when, on the 21st of May, it is
"Ordered : That John Lewis, gentleman, do such work as shall be nec- essary for completing the public buildings on the Glebe, over and above
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HISTORY OF AUGUSTA COUNTY.
his articles, and that it be valued by workmen, and that he be allowed for the same."
In August, 1750, the vestry, at its meeting on the 6th,
"Ordered that payment be made to Colonel John Lewis of £64.17.1, the balance due him for the Glebe buildings."
At the meeting of the 22d of August, 1748, the vestry proceeded to lay the parish levy as follows :
Augusta Parish. Dr.
To the Rev. John Hindman 16,000 pounds of to-
bacco, at three farthings per pound, without any deduction
To 10 per cent. on ditto for collection £50 0 0
5 O 0
To Mr. Hindman, for board
20 0 0
To Samuel Gay, per agreement with church war- dens I 4 0
To James Portees
2 5 0
To Robt. McClenachan, per acct 4 15 7
To Daniel Harrison, per acct IO O
To John Madison, clerk . 8 00
£91 14 7
The Parish Dr.
To the above creditors . £ 91 14 7
To a deposite in the collector's hands 50 6 5
£142 I O.
Per contra-Creditor.
To 1,421 tithables, at 2 shilling per pole . £142 I O
While the church buildings were being constructed, the following provi- sion was made for Mr. Jones (the Rector) :
" It appearing to this vestry (22nd November, 1752,) that the Glebe buildings are not yet finished, and the said Jones having acquainted this vestry that John Lewis, gentleman, (the contractor of the same) agrees to allow him at the rate of {20 per annum until the same be finished, for which he declares himself satisfied, and acquits this vestry and parish of any further charge for the same.
"Ordered that a reader to this parish be allowed the sum of £6.5 yearly, and that Rev. Mr. Jones have a liberty to choose the same to officiate at the court-house.
"Ordered that William Preston be allowed the sum of £5 per annum to serve as clerk for this vestry, and that he commence from the Ist Septem- ber, 1752."
It would seem from the following entry that some difficulty had occurred as to articles supplied the parish :
"Ordered that every particular (thing) to be provided for the parish to be set down in the vestry book."
Accordingly, at the October meeting, we find William Hunter send- ing in his account for articles furnished Col. James Patton for the parish, which is duly recorded :
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HISTORY OF AUGUSTA COUNTY.
3 law books . £4 10 0
3 stitched books IO 6
Wax .
3 0
Ink powder 3 9
I ream post paper I 8 0
2 8vo. prayer-books .
.I IO
I folio ditto . 2
3 4
£9 19 7
The Glebe buildings seem to have been completed somewhere between 1753-1754, as this order is entered on the 22d of November, 1754 : " That the church-wardens view the Glebe buildings, and make such reparation as they may deem proper, and bring in their charge at the laying of the next levy."
The tradition that the church was built of English-made brick, trans- ported on pack mules across the mountains, is a myth. The community could not have borne such an expense. We have been informed by an aged gentleman that the brick for the Glebe buildings were made on Jos. Ast's farm, near Staunton.
The caution of our ancestors is illustrated by the following entry, made evidently after the death or removal of Mr. Hindman, 21st May, 1750 :
"Col. James Patton having produced a letter, under the hand of Peter Hedgman, gentleman, recommending Mr. Robert McClowseme, and desir- ing presentation might be made to the Commissary, but the vestry not being acquainted with him, do agree to present none nor receive any min- ister without a tryal being first had."
The Glebe was sold about this time, and the proceeds invested in the Academy at Staunton.
REV. JOHN JONES, RECTOR .- It does not appear at what precise period Mr. Hindman retired from the rectorship of the parish, but on the 13th of October, 1752, Gov. Dinwiddie recommended the Rev. John Jones to the parish in this note :
" WILLIAMSBURG, 16th October, 1752.
"TO THE VESTRY OF AUGUSTA PARISH :
" Gentlemen,-The Rev. Mr. John Jones has been recommended to me by many persons of good repute and undoubted credit as a worthy and learned divine. As such I recommend him to you, gentlemen, to be your pastor, not doubting but his conduct will be such as will entitle him to your favor by promoting peace and cultivating morality in the parish. Your receiving him to be your pastor will be very agreeable to,
" Worshipful Gentlemen,
" Your very humble serv't, "ROBERT DINWIDDIE."
A month later Mr. Jones was received as rector, with a salary of £50 a year and £20 for his board. This excellent man continued to hold his position for over twenty-five years, and at the last meeting of the vestry at which he presided, November 19th, 1772, was authorized to employ a
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HISTORY OF AUGUSTA COUNTY.
curate. In this capacity the services of Rev. Adam Smith were secured but he only remained one year in the parish, and on the 9th of November, 1773, the Rev. Alex. Belmaine was chosen to fill his place. For more than four years subsequent to Mr. Belmaine's appointment, Mr. Jones retained his rectorship, as appears from this entry, made at the meeting of the ves- try February Ist, 1777. Among those present was " Mr. Robert McClen- achan, attorney-in-fact of the Rev. John Jones, Rector," &c. Mr. Jones was absent, no doubt, from his advanced age and growing infirmities. It does not appear how long Mr. Belmaine remained in the parish, but in 1776, he took an active part with the colonists against the mother country, and became a chaplain in the Revolutionary army.
The financial affairs of the parish still seem to have been in an unsatis- factory condition, and we find this order, passed August 21st, 1753 :
" Whereas, it appears to this vestry that there is no regular account either in the minute or register books, how the money collected off this parish, for the use of the same, is laid out,
" I'ts, therefore, ordered that the church wardens and clerk of this ves- try wait upon Mr. John Madison, late clerk and treasurer for this parish, and demand of him a full and perfect account, deb'r and cred'r, with all the vouchers for all the money collected off this parish, both fines and levies, since the 6th of April, 1747 ; also a particular account of the per- sons' names given in the lists of tithable by Mr. Montgomery in the year 1748."
Mr. Madison and his brother officials do not seem to have been rigid men of business, or ink and paper must have been scarce, for at the next meeting of the vestry, November 28th, 1753, the following gentlemen, having apparently neglected to give receipts in writing, were produced before the vestry, in person-viz .:
" Mr. Robert Campbell, of whom the Glebe land for this parish was purchased, acknowledged that he received the full sum of £60 of Mr. James Lockhart, being the price agreed on for the said lands."
"Col. John Lewis came into this vestry and acknowledged that he re- ceived of Mr. John Madison the sum of £148, being the full sum agreed on for building the Glebe work, according to bargain. He also acknowl- edged that he will pay this parish {20 per year until the Glebe buildings be finished, according to agreement, to commence from the first of Sep- tember last past."
" The Rev. John Jones acknowledged himself satisfied that he receives of this parish the sum of {20 per year from the Ist September last until the Glebe buildings are finished, over and above his yearly salary."
To prevent any further irregularities or looseness in business matters, this order was now made :
"Ordered that the church wardens agree with a collector and take bond and sufficient security, and that said collector pay the money put into his hands to the church wardens as he collects it, and discount for the whole sum with this vestry at the laying of the next levy."
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HISTORY OF AUGUSTA COUNTY.
Pursuing a strict business system, the church wardens then took the following among other receipts :
" Received of Mr. James Lockhart the sum of £50, Virginia currency, for salary from the Ist of September, 1752, till the Ist of September, 1753; also £4.6.8 for a visit in July, 1752. I say, received by me.
[Signed]
"JOHN JONES."
" Received of Mr. James Lockhart the sum of £5, which was due from Augusta parish to me for one year's service as clerk to the vestry. I say, received by me.
[Signed] "WM. PRESTON."
" Received of Mr. James Lockhart the sum of one pound ten, on Wil- liam Hayne's account, for carrying the vestry books from Williamsburg. I say, received by me. [Signed] DAVID STUART."
And so on with all the accounts. That the vestry meant business, is obvious from this order, made Nov. 27, 1754 : " It appearing to this vestry that Robt. McClenachan, gent., late Sheriff of Augusta county, and Col- lector of the parish levy, had collected in the year 1748 eighty-one titha- bles, at 2s. each, the then parish levy, and had not accounted for the same, and refuseth so to do, it's
Ordered, That the church wardens of this parish employ an attorney, practicing in this court, to prosecute him for the same."
From an act of the General Assembly, passed at the session of 1753, it appears that the salary of £50 a year was not sufficient for the support of the rector. The act provided :
That from and after the passing of this act, the vestries of the parishes of Frederick and Augusta and of Hampshire, when the same shall take place, at the times of laying their respective levies, shall * * * levy and assess upon the tithable persons in their respective parishes an annual salary of {100 for the minister of the said parishes, respectively, with an allowance of 6 per cent. for collecting the said salary, to be collected, levied, distrained for, and paid in the manner directed by the first above mentioned act, instead of, and in full compensation for the said salary of 16,000 pounds of tobacco and cask ; and if the vestries of either said par- ishes shall neglect or refuse to levy said {100, in such case all the vestry- men of the parish neglecting or refusing, shall be liable to the action of the minister injured thereby, his executors or administrators, for all dam- ages which he shall sustain by occasion of such refusal or neglect.
In 1760, it was resolved to build a new brick church in Staunton, 40 feet by 25. The work was undertaken and executed by Francis Smith, gent., of Hanover.
DIVISION OF THE PARISH.
On May 23d, 1774, the House of Burgesses received a petition from sun- dry inhabitants of the county and parish of Augusta, representing that " the parish is upwards of ninety miles long and near eighty miles wide, and that there are between three and four thousand tithables in it, and but one church; therefore, praying it may be divided." No action seems to have been taken on this subject by the House.
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HISTORY OF AUGUSTA COUNTY.
" From the commencement of the Revolution, onward," says Rev. T. T. Castleman, " until the year 1781, the doors of the venerable old church in Staunton remained closed. In that year, however, a portion of the British army, under Tarleton, drove the Legislature from its place of meet- ing, in Richmond, first to Charlottesville, and thence to Staunton. And here they held their meetings in the old church, and here the proposition was made to create "a dictator." Here they remained in session undis- turbed for about sixteen days, and adjourned to meet in Richmond in October following.
" About 1788, the rectorship of the old church was in the hands of a Mr. Chambers. Who he was, or how long he remained in the parish, we are nowhere informed. Tradition says that after a short residence in this place, he removed to Kentucky.
" Years rolled on, in which a long interval occurred in the rectorship of the parish. At length the few friends who had been left from the desola- tions of the Revolution, and from the withering odium which had fallen on the Church because of its connection with the British crown, began to lift up their heads and to look around with a cautious and timid eye for some one to minister to them in holy things. At length a good old man, moving in the humbler walks of life ; remarkable for nothing but his inno- cent and inoffensive piety, presented himself as willing to serve them in the capacity of God's minister. He had long been a member of the Methodist church, and had there imbibed that spirit of feeling and ardent religion which seemed so peculiarly to characterize that body of Chris- tians in those dreary days of our Church. Notwithstanding Mr. King's (for that was his name) roughness of manners, his meagre education, his simplicity of intellect, and his humble profession as a steam-doctor, he was taken in hand by a few friends of the Church and pushed forward in his laudable efforts. He was sent off with letters of commendation from Judge Archibald Stuart and the Hon. John H. Peyton to Bishop Madison, who ordained him Deacon, and sent him back to read the services and sermons to the desolate little flock in Staunton. His ministry began in 18II, and closed with his death, in 1819. That was a long and cheerless day for the Church here. No evidence can be found that she had a single communicant, besides the simple-hearted old Deacon, to kneel at her altar. So unpopular was her cause, that none but those whose principles were as true and unbending as steel, would venture openly to avow themselves her friends. An eye-witness told me that on the occasion of the first ser- vice after Mr. King's return from Williamsburg, the small congregation, the feeble and disjointed responses, the dampening dreariness of the church, with its old, high-back pews, and the long, sing-song, drawling tones in which the new Deacon attempted to read the service and one of Blair's sermons, presented a solemn ludicrousness he never before or since wit- nessed. The congregation, numbering not a dozen, left the church, dis- pirited and ashamed, almost resolved never to repeat the experiment. Mr. King died here, esteemed by all who knew him for his humble zeal and simple-hearted piety.
"On January 1, 1820, Rev. Daniel Stephens, DD., visited the parish and remained till the following Easter. On Easter Monday the congregation assembled and elected Vincent Tapp, Chapman Johnson, John H. Peyton, Briscoe G. Baldwin, Dabney Cosby, Wm. Young, Erasmus Stribling, Jacob Fackler, L. L. Stevenson, Alex. McCausland, A. M. Mosby, and N. C. Kin- ney. This vestry immediately assembled and passed resolutions highly com-
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HISTORY OF AUGUSTA COUNTY.
mendatory of the preaching and living of Dr. Stephens, and unanimously electing him their rector. These were the props and pillars of the Church in its darkest and most trying days. Dr. Stephens labored and preached with a zeal and devotion which secured for him the confidence and love of the great mass of the congregation. Under his ministry, the Church was somewhat revived and the hearts of its friends cheered. At a convocation held in Staunton in May, 1821, the number of communicants reported was fifteen. In 1827, Dr. Stephens removed to the far West, where he died in 1850. His ministry was followed in 1831 by the Rev. Ebenezer Boyden. In the early part of Mr. B.'s ministry, the venerable old church was torn down, and a new one erected near its site. The latter was ready for use on July 23, 1831. Mr. Boyden continued in the parish, with high credit and universal acceptability to his congregation, until Jan. 7, 1833, when he resigned for another field in the West. Next came the Rev. W. G. Jack- son, who preached with success and acceptability for several years. He was succeeded by Rev. Fred. D. Goodwin, who continued until 1843, and removed to Nelson county, leaving sixty-two communicants. He was fol- lowed by Rev. Thos. T. Castleman, who entered on his duties August, 1843, and continued in them until 1857."
He was succeeded by Rev. J. A. Latane, who served until 1871, when he withdrew from the church, left Staunton, and is now Bishop of the Re- formed Episcopal Church of the United States, and a resident of Baltimore. The present rector, Rev. W. Q. Hullihen, was chosen to fill Mr. Latane's place in the year 1871.
Having given, as necessary to faithful history, a brief account of the Established Church in Virginia during the colonial period, when it was a corrupt Church, with an unworthy and hireling clergy-an account we would fain have blotted from the page of history-it is proper to refer, and it gives us no ordinary pleasure to do so, to the wonderful change which has, since the Revolution, taken place in Virginia. It must not be for- gotten that while there were defective preaching and evil living among the colonial clergy, many of whom proved faithless shepherds, deserting their flocks during the war, some seeking Canada, others returning to England, and not a few taking to secular pursuits, there was also among them a small number of sincerely pious men, full of zeal and fidelity, whose reli- gion was deeper than a vague, instinctive feeling. Such a man was Alex. Belmaine, who once filled the Staunton pulpit, as we have seen, and who, for this reason, is here specially alluded to. He was a man with enough of the weakness of humanity to have often been led astray by those around him, always warm-hearted, and in his later years, remarkable for his sin- cere repentance, his fervid piety, and exemplary life. This good, but too frequently erring man, would often, when standing in the chancel on sacra- mental occasions, refer in eloquent terms, and with tears in his eyes, to his past errors.
When the connection with the Bishop of London, the tie which united the churches in America, was severed by the acknowledgment of our inde-
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HISTORY OF AUGUSTA COUNTY.
pendence, steps were taken to form for the United States a future eccle- siastical government. The first move was in 1784, and in 1785 a meet- ing was held in Philadelphia, in which seven States were represented. At this meeting the Book of Common Prayer was altered, accommodating it to the recent changes in the State. Other steps were also taken for a complete organization. It is unnecessary to go into the details of the history of the Protestant Episcopal Church, even if our limits and design admitted of it. Suffice it to say that it has had, since the formation of the Federal Union, a regular, vigorous growth, and has now a sure footing in every part of our country ; has founded theological seminaries, domestic and foreign mission societies, Sunday-school unions and book societies, societies for the promotion of evangelical knowledge, historical societies, church extension societies, the University of the South and ladies' colleges, all highly successful, and under control of the General Convention. These gratifying results have been obtained by reason of the fact that we have been blessed for nearly a century with a truly pious, humble-minded, and zealous ministry-men of deep-seated and pervasive piety, many of them possessing sound, discriminating, well-balanced minds, some gifted with eloquence, and all preaching diligently and faithfully " unto death." Some of them have had social dispositions and highly-engaging manners, ren- dering themselves peculiarly acceptable to and influential with their flocks, and the whole constituting a body or fraternity every way equal to any similar body of Christian ministers in the land.
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