USA > Virginia > King and Queen County > King and Queen County > King and Queen County, Virginia (history printed in 1908) > Part 8
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Supper every Lord's day. Many of these positions, being new to the Baptists, were very strongly opposed and denounced, and because we as a sect denied that the Holy Spirit operated independently and apart from the Word of God, the charge was made (and with some is still insisted on) that we deny the influence of the Holy Spirit in conversion.
The discussion on these questions, especially the last, grew very warm. By a decree of the Dover Associa- tion in 1831 the new views were unscriptural and de- moralizing, and the persons who advocated them were promoters of damnable errors; and the decree recom- mended the churches to withdraw from every one who still insisted upon these sentiments, which were con- trary to the then prevailing doctrines held by the Bap- tists. Along with other Baptist churches, Bruington acted upon the advice of the Association, and withdrew from thirty-two members; who then, being without a place to meet in for religious worship, organized as a church, with R. B. Pendleton and Temple Walker as elders and John Draper and J. W. Watkins and others as deacons. As they had no house in which to worship, they erected a stage, as it was then called, across the road from Henry C. Nunn's residence, now owned by Mr. G. Tuck. There were only rude seats for the ac- commodation of the people. There were some splen- did old oaks and hickories which gave abundant shade, and there the members and others met every Lord's day to sing and pray and to remember their Lord and Savior in the Supper. When the chilly days in the fall came on, they repaired to a vacant house, called the Cottage, on the land of P. B. Pendleton, now owned by Dr. Thomas Latane.
Next year, 1832, a church building was erected and dedicated. Soon Thomas M. Henley moved to the county, and he became the pastor and an elder, along with those first chosen; then James C. Roy, who had been a deacon, was chosen an elder after the death of P. B. Pendleton. Dr. John Duval preached for a long time for the Smyrna church, and also for the one at Rappahannock, but held his membership at Jerusa-
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lem in King William, where he also preached and acted as elder. Smyrna church, like all religious bodies, has had its days of prosperity and adversity, its days of joy and sorrow, but has steadily pursued its course, meeting regularly every Lord's day, keeping the ordinances as they were ordained by the Apostles, and standing for the truth, both in precept and example, as they under- stood it, and as they verily believe it taught in the Holy Scriptures.
Smyrna church, however, has not been as aggressive as the demands of the cause have required; has been too well satisfied to proclaim the Gospel and keep the ordi- nances as required by the divine standard, and has not reached out as it should to the regions beyond; still, the membership has been large for a country church, reach- ing as high as two hundred and fifty, and larger than any other church in the county.
Some time between 1845 and 1850 a church claim- ing to hold the truth as given by the Apostles was or- ganized in the upper portion of the county, and called Horeb; sustained by Dr. William Dew, John Lumpkin, Roy Boulware, Richard Pollard, and others, it held regular meetings until during the war, when the Yan- kees destroyed it, and all the leading members dying or moving away, the organization was broken up and has never been revived.
METHODISM IN KING AND QUEEN
By Reverend Joseph W. Shackford.
(Much of the information contained in this paper was gleaned from the diary of Mr. John Walker of Chatham Hill.)
The Methodist Episcopal Church was organized at the " Christmas Conference " held in the city of Balti- more, Md., in 1784; and Francis Asbury was chosen by
BEDFORD CITY, VA., June 9, 1902.
* REV. ALFRED BAGBY,
Richmond, Va.
MY DEAR BROTHER :
Enclosed I send you the paper on " Methodism in King and Queen." Owing to lack of data for the lower part of the County, my account
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that body as the "Itinerant General Superintendent," or Bishop. For about twenty years prior to that time, itinerant Methodist preachers had been at work along the Atlantic slope from New England to the Carolinas. At first these men were few in number, irregularly dis- tributed, and greatly handicapped by their distance from Mr. John Wesley in England, by whose authority they were generally directed. Now, however, with a regular organization of their own, and with a resident Bishop of fervent piety and indomitable energy, they greatly multiplied."
King and Queen County, like many others, early be- came the traveling ground of these Methodist " circuit riders." Without houses of worship at first, they preached at private residences, under brush arbors, at camp meetings, or in any place where they could get a congregation to hear the Word of the Lord.
The early " circuits " were not defined by any nat- ural or political boundary lines; but were composed of an irregular number of "appointments," or preaching places, including often the whole, or large portions, of several counties. In this way King and Queen, for some time prior to 1829, was in the "Gloucester circuit "; from that time to 1834 it was in the " Caroline circuit "; it was then put in the " Essex circuit "; and, a few years later, was called by its own name, the " King and Queen circuit." Under these fluctuating conditions it is diffi- cult to trace the growth of Methodism here separately
in that direction had to be brief and only of a general character. It may seem that undue prominence is given to Mr. John Walker and my father. It is true I had more material at hand respecting them than respecting others, but I think the facts will support the position given them.
I have not signed my name to the paper, because I do not know your wish as to that. You can do as you wish about that. Of course there are many other features, such as the relations of Methodism to other denominations in the County, etc., which are not to be mentioned in so brief a sketch. I trust the paper may be serviceable to your work; and wishing you much success therein, I remain,
Yours fraternally,
Jos. W. SHACKFORD.
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and apart from the contiguous regions with which it has been so intimately associated.
About 1790 Stephen Roswell preached in King and Queen. The first Methodist preaching in the upper part of the county was at the home of Mr. William Shepherd, Sr., the great-grandfather of Mr. Melville Walker of Walkerton. Among the first Methodist members in that neighborhood was old Mrs. Clayton. The first Methodist church there was originally built about three miles east of Clarkston Postoffice by Mr. William Shepherd, Jr., in 1800, for a schoolhouse. In 1802 this was turned into a Methodist "meeting- house " and called " Shepherd's," after the name of its builder. This small wooden structure was replaced by a brick building (33x39 feet), completed on the 23d of October, 1838, and dedicated by Rev. Harry B. Cowles on the 25th of the following December.
It cost $468.36, the most of which was paid by Mr. John Walker of " Chatham Hill," son-in-law to Mr. William Shepherd, Jr. This house, it seems, was badly constructed, and in 1859 it was pulled down and the present large brick edifice was built just across the road, opposite the old site; the new house was dedicated to the worship of Almighty God May 27th, 1860, by Rev. Henry B. Cowles.
About 1835 " Providence " meetinghouse was built, a plain wooden structure, which was succeeded in 1890 by a large brick church. "Paces" was a preaching place very early in the nineteenth century, and the brick church now standing was built about 1836.
Still lower in the county the "Old Church," "New Hope," "St. Andrew's," and "Shackelford's " very early became rallying points of Methodism. In 1885 a Methodist church, called " Mizpah," was built in the village of Walkerton and added to the King and Queen circuit. Many other places from time to time have been used by the Methodists for assembling the people to hear the Gospel; but the above churches, or meeting- houses, as they were originally called, mark the princi- pal spots in the county where they have established strongholds for the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Among the active ministers of the first half-century of Methodism in this field were the following: Stephen Roswell, Samuel Gerrard, Lewis Skidmore, Hezekiah McLelland, John Hersey, Rufus Ledbetter, Samuel T. Moorman, William H. Starr, Thomas S. Campbell, Moses Brock, George W. Nolley, Edward Cannon, Richard Corbin, David Fisher, Thomas Crowder, Rich- ard Bennett, Richard Mitchell, Thomas Durham, Wil- liam Davis, John W. White, John P. Gregory, James McDonald, James W. Lewis, Henry B. Cowles, Robert Michaels, William E. Grant, Richard Hope, Isaac M. Arnold, James E. Joyner, Gervis M. Keesee, and Abram Penn.
Within the last fifty-five years, the following preach- ers, in the order given, have labored in that part of the county lying above Little Plymouth, and now known as King and Queen circuit :
Joseph H. Davis, Joseph Lear, Stephen W. Jones, Thomas H. Briggs, John Bayly, John B. Laurens, B. H. Johnson, Charles H. Boggs, Joseph R. Griffith, Wil- liam H. Starr, Lloyd, Moore, John G. Rowe, Hezekiah P. Mitchell, Thomas M. Beckham, George M. Wright, Josiah D. Hank, Charles E. Watts, John W. Shack- ford, William E. Evans, Benjamin C. Spiller, William W. Lear, William A. Crocker, John T. Payne, Joseph W. Shackford, Robert E. Barrett, John P. Woodward, Robert E. Bentley, and Frederick G. Davis. In addi- tion to these, the presiding elders of this period did a great deal of effective work in the county; among them were William B. Rowzie, E. P. Wilson, Thomas A. Ware, Jacob Manning, Leonidas Rosser, James D. Coulling, Joseph H. Davis, J. Powell Garland, Fran- cis J. Boggs, George H. Ray, William E. Payne, Charles E. Watts, and Joseph H. Amiss. Of all these preachers named, only two, Hezekiah McLelland and John W. Shackford, settled in King and Queen; the others were nearly all transient itinerant pastors.
Mr. McLelland, having served in the Virginia Con- ference for many years, located after his marriage with Miss Mary Temple, daughter of Mr. Humphrey Tem- ple, near Walkerton, where he lived until his death,
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November 9th, 1832. His funeral eulogy was preached November 27th, 1832, by Rev. Lewis Skidmore, from the text II. Corinthians, vii. 2.
While living in the county he labored earnestly, and so long as his strength lasted, for the salvation of souls and the cause of Methodism. He was survived by his wife, three sons,-Thomas Cole, Benjamin Whatcoat, Enoch George,-and two daughters, Susanna Benson and Martha Cole. The last named, Miss Martha Cole McLelland, on February 10th, 1846, was married to Rev. John William Shackford, while he was on the King William circuit. In 1847 Mr. Shackford traveled the Westmoreland circuit, and in November of the same year he retired from the Virginia Conference, of which he had now been a member for five years, and located on his farm near Walkerton, to which he gave the name Orange Grove.
At that time he was only 28 years of age, and was ardently devoted to the cause of Methodism. Thence- forth for more than thirty-five years he labored " in sea- son, out of season," throughout King and Queen, and often in King William and Essex Counties, for the cause of Christ. He preached often at " Shepherd's," " Providence," " Paces," and the " Old Church," and many souls were converted under his ministry. He never lost his devotion for his itinerant brethren; his house was their home, they sought his counsel, loved him cor- dially, and he labored with them in their meetings, and for their support in all the practical work of the church. Acting under the authority of the Quarterly Conference in 1873, he raised the money to buy the first parsonage for King and Queen circuit. He was class-leader, super- intendent of Sunday school, and preacher, all in one. He loved God's people of every name; and no minister ever labored in King and Queen who did more to estab- lish Methodism in the county. For the last fifteen years of his life he was too feeble in body to preach much; but he did what he could to help on the little church which had now been built at Walkerton, and to which he gave the name of Mizpah. He died in his eighty- first year, on July 10th, 1900, and was laid to rest in
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the family burying ground, lamented by a great number of neighbors, relatives, brethren, and friends. Very tender and impressive memorial services, at which lov- ing tributes were spoken by ministers and laymen of his own and other denominations, were held at Mizpah on July 22d, 1900.
The total number of Methodists in King and Queen probably never exceeded a thousand at any one time. They number now (1902) seven hundred and ninety. Among this people there have been many, both men and women, who were faithful and devoted followers of Christ, shining as lights before the world. There may be mentioned Mr. William Shepherd, Jr., the founder of "Shepherd's Church," where he was the leading member for more than forty years. He died April 5, 1842. Mr. John DeShazo, a member of the same class with Mr. Shepherd for twenty-eight years, died No- vember 5, 1834. Mr. John Walker, of "Chatham Hill " for nearly fifty years, first joined the Methodist Church in 1818 in Nashville, Tenn., where he was then engaged in business; but he returned to Virginia and united with the " Shepherd's class " at a meeting held by Rev. Samuel Gerrard at the house of Mr. William Shepherd, Jr., in December, 1819. From that time until his death in February, 1867, he was a faithful and devoted Christian. No member of the denomination in King and Queen ever exerted a more positive and abiding influence for Methodism than did this godly layman. Truly he was " diligent in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord." The Bible was his guide- book. He daily held prayers with his family and serv- ants, for whose spiritual welfare he showed the deepest concern. He was kind to the poor, generous to the weak and erring; but he had no toleration for duplicity or meanness of any sort. Cato the Censor was not more strict in his ideas of rectitude; nor was John, the be- loved disciple, more affectionate and tender towards his Christian brethren. On June 19th, 1826, returning from a camp meeting, held at "Old Church," in the lower end of the county, he wrote these words: "I feel thankful to my Maker I am yet striving for the King-
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dom of Glory. Lord [grant] that I may hold out till death and be crowned with life eternal in Heaven! " When the end came, more than forty years afterwards, his loved and intimate friend, Rev. John W. Shack- ford, inquired of him: "Brother Walker, what are your prospects now ? " As his spirit was passing through the gates he answered back: "O, Eternal life ! Eternal life!" So lived and died one of the pillars of early Methodism in King and Queen. His wife, Margaret W. Walker, a faithful, godly woman, survived him, with her two sons, Watson and Melville-she for nearly twenty years. Watson died in 1900; Melville in 1904.
There were many others who faithfully served God and went to their reward. Space is left to mention only a few. At Shepherd's, besides those already given, were William Dix, Sr., Dr. Moore Fauntleroy and family, William J. Clarkson, Charles R. Evans, Charles Bur- gess, Peter Toombs, Philip Hodges, Joseph T. Brown- ley, Franklin Simpkins, Mrs. Elizabeth Carlton, Mrs. Elizabeth Hundley, with her sons, John and George K., Mrs. Mary McLelland, Miss Martha Wilson, Miss Mildred Perryman, Miss Susan Crowe, and many others who have fallen asleep. In more recent years Watson Walker, Melville Walker, Thomas Sterling, William Trice, John F. Trice, Lewis P. Fryer, Willie Cook, and others, have served the church there officially. Of these, Watson and Melville Walker, sons of Mr. John Walker named above, deserve special mention. For fifteen years after their father's death they were the strength and support of Shepherd's. When Mizpah was established at Walkerton, they, together with Lewis P. Fryer, Mrs. William H. Walker, and the Shackford family, transferred their membership to that place, and there wrought for Methodism with such faithful co- workers as Captain George P. Hudson and wife, Cap- tain B. F. Eaton and wife, Mrs. J. W. Caldwell, and others.
Among the laymen at " Providence " in the long-ago were: James Southgate, Robert S. Nunn, Henry Nunn, Thomas DeShazo, John DeShazo, Low Brown, Quarles
KING AND QUEEN COUNTY, VIRGINIA 111
Nunn, and Richard Williams; more recently, William C. Anderson, Richard B. Nunn, Joseph G. Nunn, Thomas J. Crouch, William Brown, Samuel P. Latane, John C. DeShazo, and Charles W. Porter. Some of these are still living, but most of them have fallen asleep. Of the last two named it ought to be said that for more than thirty years they have toiled with unceasing fidelity for their church. Mr. DeShazo, merchant and farmer, and Mr. Porter, treasurer of King and Queen County for the last thirty-four years consecutively, are truly such material as men are made of, reflecting credit not only on themselves but on the church they have served so well, earning thereby the confidence and love of the whole community.
But the time would fail me to speak of many more " whose names are in the book of life."
At Paces there were William Watts, Lambeth Hund- lev. Thomas W. Garrett, Dr. James B. Garrett, Jimmie Gibson, Alfred Carlton. Isaac Carlton, and others.
At Old Church and Shackelford's many of the large family of Blands,-including Colonel Robert Bland, Dr. William Bland, Dr. James Bland, Major Bland,- Mr. Beverly Anderson and his son, Dr. Garrett Ander- son, with a large number of Roanes, Shackelfords, and others, followed the Methodist faith.
The increase in membership has usually come through special revival meetings in the churches, or through camp meetings, so frequent in the earlier days. At a camp meeting in 1827 in Gloucester there were more than a hundred conversions; June 20-24, 1834, at Shep- herd's there were about thirty conversions; August 23, 1838, under preaching of Rev. Robert Michaels, there were ninety-four conversions at Providence; July 20- 28, 1850, there were sixty conversions at Shepherd's, and likewise at other places multitudes of souls were turned unto the Lord. Thus it will appear without the least disparagement of other Christian denominations that Methodism has contributed liberally to the number of godly men and women in the good old county of King and Queen, the noble lives and conduct of whose people prompted the public statement made by Bishop
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James A. Latane at Antioch in 1880: "I have trav- eled," said he, "in many parts of the country; but I have never been in any other place where the people have so much of the fear of God as they have in this community."
BRUINGTON CHURCH
We give here some extracts from an interesting sketch of Bruington Church, written by Judge J. H. C. Jones; Bruington being one of the oldest of the churches in our county :
" The earliest account we have of Baptist preaching in the neighborhood of Bruington is that in August, 1772, James Greenwood and William Stovall were preaching not far from the place, when they were seized by virtue of a warrant,* and immediately taken to prison in the common jail of the county, where they remained sixteen days, at the end of which period they were re- leased upon giving bond for good behavior.
"It seems probable, however, that previously in 1772, and even in 1771, John Waller and other Baptists from one of the upper counties had already preached in this neighborhood. After them, Greenwood and Ivison Lewis held meetings here. But while there were Bap- tists living around Bruington as early as 1772, they were not organized until 1774, when they formed some con- nection with Piscataway Church in Essex.
" About 1780 a church was constituted at Bruington under the care of William Jones, but in consequence of some charges against him it was thought advisable to dissolve, and the members returned to Piscataway and were regarded as a branch of that church until 1790, when, having been favored with a revival in which sev- eral influential persons were baptized, they formed a church of their own. At its organization on the fourth Saturday and Sunday in September, 1790, it was com-
* James Greenwood was seized while preaching near Bruington Church and imprisoned in the County jail. There, the historian says, " he preached, and prayed, and wept".
KING AND QUEEN COUNTY, VIRGINIA 113
posed of 150 members. Robert Semple,* being then in his 2 Ist year and having been previously baptized, was unanimously chosen pastor, and accepted the call. It is said that on the 24th of the same month in which he was baptized, he and the late Andrew Broaddus, Sr., both made their first attempt at preaching at the house of Mrs. Lowrie in Caroline. He was publicly ordained to the Gospel ministry on the 26th of September, 1790, by Elders Ware, Noel, and Lewis. On the same day Lewis Smith, Thomas Nunn, and William Whavne were ordained deacons. In 1791 they built their first house of worship, which stood on the opposite side of the road to the present building. It was a wooden structure, plain, unplastered, and uncomfortable, with no heating appliance, and no glass lights save one nar- row window at the pulpit.
" Under Semple's ministry the church soon began to grow in influence, and took high rank for efficiency. Some were added by baptism every year, and then at the close of 1799 a work of grace was manifested which continued through many years, and was so remarkable that it was the subject of special notice in the Dover Association for the year 1800. It is said that the re- vival was due, not to preaching, but to singing, prayer, and exhortation by private members, and to the ordi- nance of baptism as most effectual; it was administered nearly every Lord's Day, and some of nearly all ages and ranks and both sexes were baptized. About one hundred and thirty were brought into the church, among them the late Elder William Todd, who soon afterward began to preach. On the third Sunday in March, 1804,
* Robert Baylor Semple was of Scotch descent, born 1769, educated by Mr. Taylor and Rev. P. Nelson. He was teacher, lawyer, and preacher; was baptized in 1784 by Rev. Theodoric Noel. Semple had a keen knowledge of human nature and was well instructed in right- eousness; he " aimed his darts at the conscience, not at the head". In 1820 he was president of the old Baptist Triennial Convention. He was made D. D. by Brown University and William and Mary College. The last year of his life there was a great revival at Bruington and over a hundred persons were baptized. His last sermon was upon Exodus xv. II.
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he was dismissed, with about one hundred others, who resided in the lower vicinity of the church, to join Lower King and Queen Church. On the first Sunday in Au- gust, 1804, Josiah Ryland, William Fleet, William Holt and Thomas Courtney were ordained deacons. In 1809 a membership of three hundred was re- ported to the Dover Association, and between this date and 1816 Moses Nunn, Justin Beadles, William Hill, Lewis Howerton, and Robert S. Jones are mentioned as deacons; later the names of Joel Willis, Thomas Garnett, and Hugh Camp- bell appear. William Fleet was Clerk in 1812, and Thomas Nunn was Treasurer. In 1816 a day of fasting and prayer was appointed on account of the low spiritual condition of the church, and also on account of a prevailing drought. On the Wednesday following fast day one of the best rains of the year came, in answer to prayer. At a church meeting in February, 1817, a sister was cited before the church to answer the charge of leaving her father's house and marrying against his consent, she being under age. She appeared and apolo- gized, and a committee was appointed to intercede with her father for a reconciliation.
" On November 27, 1817, James Webb, a deacon of Piscataway, had been received by letter and recognized as a deacon of this church. As early as 1816 it was pro- posed to build another house for worship; the work was discussed and laid over until July 4, 1818. The first service was held in the new house on the fourth Sunday in June, 1820. It was a brick structure, 70x33 feet, and stood upon the site of the present building. It had a gallery, a door at each end, and another door on the south side of the house, opposite to which on the north side stood the pulpit. About this time two things caused some trouble; one, the failure of members to attend service, and especially business meetings; the other, the failure of members to contribute to the support of the church. Measures more or less stringent were adopted to remedy these evils.
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