USA > Virginia > Old churches, ministers and families of Virginia, Vol. I > Part 17
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From this digression, should it seem so to any, I resume the his- tory of Bruton parish. At the death of Mr. Whately, the Rev. James Blair, Commissary to the Bishop of London, and President of William and Mary College, was chosen minister, with the un- derstanding that there was to be an annual election. He con- tinued the minister for thirty-three years, until his death, in 1743. Mr. Blair came over to Virginia in 1685, and was the minister of Henrico parish for, nine years, and then moved to Jamestown, in order to be more convenient to the College which he was raising up. In the year 1710, he became the minister of Bruton parish. The history of Mr, Blair during the last forty-three out of the fifty-three years of his ministry is so connected with the history not only of Williamsburg and the College, but of the Governors, the Council, the Assembly and Church of Virginia, that it will require some time and labour to do it any thing like justice. In- deed, with all the documents I possess, consisting of numerous and most particular communications made by him and others to the Privy Council, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Bishop of London, as to the personal difficulties between himself and the Governors and the clergy,-communications never published, and which would form a large volume,-I find it very difficult to form a positive opinion as to some points in his character. I begin with that which is most easy and satisfactory,-his ministerial life. It commenced under the administration of Governor Spottswood, and with a tender from the Governor to the vestry of aid in building a new church ; the plan of which was sent by him, and is, I pre- sume, the same with that now standing. Its dimensions were to be seventy-five by twenty-two feet, with two wings, making it a cross as to form. The governor offered to build twenty-two feet of the length himself. Mr. Blair, so far as the vestry-book shows, lived in uninterrupted harmony with his vestry during the thirty-
Richmond-Hudson Muse and Charles McCarty, Esquires ; Southampton-Edwin Gray and Henry Taylor, Esquires ; Spottsylvania-Mann Page and George Thorn- ton, Esquires ; Stafford-Thomas Ludwell Lee and William Brent, Esquires; Surry -Allen Cocke and Nicholas Fulton, Esquires ; Sussex-David Mason and Henry Gee, Esquires ; Warwick-William Harwood and Richard Cary, Esquires ; West- moreland - Richard Lee, Esquire, Richard Henry Lee, Esquire, and John A. Washington, Esquires ;* York - Dudley Digges, Esquire, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Esquire, and William Digges, Esquire; Jamestown -- Champion Travis, Esquire ; Williamsburg-Edmund Randolph, Esquire, for George Wythe, Esquire ; Norfolk Borough-William Roscow Wilson Curle, Esquire; College of William and Mary- John Blair, Esquire.
* John A. Washington was probably the alternate of R. H. Lee.
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three years of his ministry. As to his preaching, we have a full opportunity of deciding upon the style and doctrine, in four printed volumes upon the Saviour's Sermon on the Mount, con- taining one hundred and seventeen sermons. These sermons went through at least two editions in England. Dr. Waterbury published a preface to the second, in high praise of them. Dr. Doddridge also has spoken well of them. I have gone over these discourses with sufficient care to form a just judgment of the same. As an accurate commentary on that most blessed portion of Scripture, I should think it can never have been surpassed. Since it was reserved for the apostles, under the dic- tates of the Spirit, to dwell on the power of the resurrection, on justification by faith, on the cleansing by the blood of Jesus Christ, so Christ, in this discourse, was not setting forth the faith .and doctrines of the gospel, but expounding the law, in opposition to the false glosses of the Jews, and showing the superior spirit of the gospel. Mr. Blair does not, therefore, enter fully into some of the doctrines of the gospel, though he recognises them suffi- ciently to show that he held them according to what may be termed the moderate Arminian scheme. A faithful exposition of the Sermon on the Mount must necessarily condemn all evil dispo- sitions and practices, and Mr. Blair does not soften any thing. His congregation was often composed of the authority and intelli- gence, fashion and wealth of the State, besides the youth of the College ; nor does he spare any. I do not wonder that some of the Governors and great ones complained of his being personal. From many sources of information, I fear that swearing was most com- mon among the gentlemen of that day, those high in office setting a bad example. In concluding his sermon on the third command- ment, as explained by our Lord in his Sermon on the Mount, he thus speaks :-
"Thus, now I have done with my text; but I am afraid I have done no good all this while, and that the evil one, from whom the spirit of lying and swearing comes, will be abundantly too hard for all that I can say or do to fortify you against his devices. Learn, I beseech you, this easy part of Christianity, to be men of your word, and to refrain from the evil custom of swearing; and to refrain from it from a right principle,-the fear of God. I know no vice that brings more scandal to our Church of England. The Church may be in danger from many enemies ; but per- haps she is not so much in danger from any as from the great number of profane persons that pretend to be of her; enough to make all serious people afraid of our society, and to bring down the judgments of God upon us, for ' by reason of swearing the land mourneth.' But be not deceived : our Church has no principles that lead to swearing more than the Dis-
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senters; but, whatever Church is uppermost, there are always a great many who, having no religion at all, crowd into it and bring it into dis- grace and disreputation ; but the time is coming that the tares must be separated from the wheat ; and they shall be cast with the evil one-the devil that loved them-into hell; but the angels shall carefully gather the wheat into God's barn. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them."
In speaking of the lusts of the flesh, he hesitates not to call things by their right names and to threaten the Scriptural penal- ties. In warning against the temptations and provocations to the same, he speaks in different terms from many of that day of theatres, balls, frolics, rendezvous, promiscuous dances, interludes, and clatter of company, the intoxication of drink, the lulling the thoughts asleep by music, gaming, &c. In warning against the love of dress, from our Saviour's allusion to the flowers of the field being clothed with more glory than even Solomon, he says :---
" I doubt not but it was designed to cast a slur upon the vanity of ap- parel, since it is a thing of so little estimation in the sight of God that he bestows it in the highest degree on the meanest of his creatures. For it is to be presumed, had it been a thing of any great worth in itself, instead of bestowing these admirable varieties of colours, gildings, and embroideries upon tulips, he would have bestowed them upon creatures of higher dignity. Whereas, on mankind he has bestowed but very sparingly of these gaudy colours and features ; a great part of them being black, a great part of them being tauny, and a great part being of other wan and dusky complexions, show that it is not the outward gaudy beauty that he values, but the ornaments of the mind-Christian graces and vir- tues-which, in his sight, are of great price."
He is throughout a faithful reprover of sin. He admits that there is little or no infidelity known in the Colony, as in England, but a great deal of wickedness. As to Church principles, as some call them, he was no Sacramentarian, and denounces Romanism in no measured terms, but is still conservative. He admitted Mr. Whitefield into his pulpit, but, on hearing that the Bishop of Lon- don had proscribed him, made a kind of apology for it, and asked the Bishop's opinion about him.
11.1.
WILLIAM & MARY COLLEGE, WILLIAMSBURG, VA.
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ARTICLE XII.
Williamsburg, Bruton Parish .- No. 2.
WE have now to consider Mr. Blair as Commissary, and having, with the Governors, the superintendence of the clergy and the affairs of the Church; as representative of the Bishop of London, with no defined limits of authority; as the founder and President of William and Mary College, having joint action, with visitors, professors, and others, in all things belonging to the College, and of course often coming in collision with them; as member of the Council, consulting and deciding with the Governor and others-the first men of Virginia-on all the concerns of the State, civil and religious, and forming the great judicial body to whom all important causes were referred for final decision. That a man of his active character and supe- rior mind should, for more than half a century, have been thus associated in matters of such importance, without frequent colli- sion and without having many enemies, is not to be supposed. That he should be charged with worldliness and management, with being an informer to the Bishop of London and the Archbishop of Canterbury, with whom he must have had intimate correspond- ence, was to be expected; that he should be misunderstood by many, and be very unpopular with some good men, through that misunderstanding, and perhaps through want of conciliatory man- ners, and a tact in the management of men :- all these things might be expected. He was involved in difficulties with Gover- nors and clergymen, more or less, during almost the whole period of his Commissaryship and Presidency of the College. I have the whole of these controversies spread before me in long and tedious letters, from himself and his opponents, to the authorities in Eng- land, which have never been published. His first controversy was with Governor Andros, who came to Virginia, under no good character, from New York. By royal instructions Andros was not only Governor of Virginia, but the ordinary, the representative of the King and Bishop of London in Church matters, the Com-
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missary being comparatively a very negative character. When these complaints were made, which ended in his disgrace, Dr. Blair, then in England, about his College, preferred the charges against him as an enemy to religion, to the Church, the clergy, and the College, bringing proofs of the same. The charges cover thirty-two folio pages of manuscript, and are well written. But Blair had formidable foes to meet in London. Governor Andros sends over in his defence Colonel Byrd, of Westover, Mr. Harri- son, of Surry, Mr. Povey, a man high in office in the Colony, and a Mr. Marshall, to arraign Dr. Blair himself before the Bishop of London and the Archbishop of Canterbury. Two days were spent in Lambeth Palace in the examination. The charges and the answers are set down, and fill up fifty-seven folio pages of manu- script. Never were four men more completely foiled by one. The accusers seem to feel and acknowledge it, and doubtless wished themselves out of Lambeth Palace long before the trial was over. One of the chief charges was Mr. Blair's partiality to Scotchmen, whom they said he brought over to fill the churches, contrary to the wishes of the people. But, being called on to specify names, it was found that they had made egregious blunders as to facts; that some whom they supposed to be Scots were Englishmen. Great was the prejudice against Mr. Blair, as being a Scot. This was the time when that unhappy feeling was at its height in England, when a "beggarly Scot" was the common phrase. A number of the private letters which I have show the prejudice to have been very strong. The result of it all was, that Mr. Blair came home with a good sum of money for his College, and Andros was sent back to England to stand his trial, from which he came out but badly. Governor Nicholson succeeded him. He had been Deputy-Governor before Andros came over, and there was then a good understanding and friendship between him and Mr. Blair. During the government of Andros he was Gover- nor of Maryland, and disagreed with the good Commissary Bray not a little. On returning to Virginia he seemed to be a changed man. A disappointment in love was thought to have much to do with it. He was vain, conceited, fickle, passionate, and acted sometimes like a madman, though still professing great zeal for the Church. After a year or two Dr. Blair and himself were open foes. Letters on both sides were written to England. Blair wrote four, covering in all forty-four pages folio, charging him with interfering with his province and with private and public miscon- duct; dwelling on his furiousness in relation to the affair of Miss
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Burwell, and the Rev. Mr. Fouace .* The Council and some of ยท the clergy joined with him in petitioning the recall of Nicholson, which petition was successful. The Church and State were in an uproar. A number of the clergy, with whom Mr. Blair was un- popular, and whom Mr. Nicholson had ingratiated by taking part with them against the vestries and representing Mr. Blair as less favourable to their cause, took part with Mr. Nicholson. Mr. Nicholson ordered a Convocation to be assembled for general purposes, and during its sitting had private meetings of those friendly to him, at his house or lodging, who signed a paper denying the charges of Mr. Blair and the Council. A great dinner or supper was given them at the hotel in Williamsburg, which was satirized in a ballad, in which their hilarity was set forth, and some of them depicted in rather unfavourable colours. It soon appeared in London. Mr. Blair, with his few friends,
* The second Lewis Burwell had nine daughters, one of whom completely upset what little reason there was in Governor Nicholson of famous memory. He became most passionately attached to her, and demanded her in royal style of her parents. Neither she, her parents, or other members of the family, were disposed to com- pliance. He became furious, and for years persisted in his design and claim. All around felt the effects of it. The father and sons, Commissary Blair, and the Rev. Mr. Fouace, minister of an adjoining parish, were the especial objects of his threatened vengeance.
To the young lady he threatened the life of her father and brothers if she did not yield to his suit, which caused a friend in England to write a letter of remon- strance, in which he says, "It is not here as in some barbarous countries, where the tender lady is dragged into the Sultan's arms just reeking in the blood of her nearest relatives, and yet must strangely dissemble her aversion." To Commissary Blair he declared that "he would cut the throats of three men, (if the lady should marry any other man than himself,) viz. : the bridegroom, the minister, and the justice who issued the license. The minister of the parish, the Rev. Mr. Fouace, in a letter to the Lord-Commissioners in England, complains of being assaulted one evening, on his return from a visit to the family, (the major being sick,) by Governor Nicholson, and commanded never again to go to this house without leave from himself. It seemed that the Governor was jealous of him. Besides abusive language and other indignities, he pulled off the minister's hat, as being dis- respectful to him, the Governor, for one to keep on his hat, even on horseback. Such was the misconduct of the Governor, in this and other respects, that the Council and some of the clergy united in a petition to the Crown for his removal, and the petition was granted. All this, and much more, is on record in the archives of Lambeth Palace. Copies of the records are now before me. What was the subsequent history of the young lady-the innocent cause of so much strife-is not told. Even her Christian name is not given. Perhaps some of the descendants of the family may find it out. I need not say, that if a Governor of Virginia, under our free system, should assume such royal airs, the case would be much more speedily and easily disposed of by the lady, the parents, and the minister.
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however, (for a large majority of the clergy present were against him,-17 to 6,) triumphed again, and Mr. Nicholson was recalled. In his place Mr. Nott, an amiable man, came out, and the Bishop of London sent with him a severe letter to the clergy, begging them not "to play the fool any more." Mr. Nott died in a short time, much esteemed and regretted.
In 1710, Colonel Spottswood was appointed Governor,-an old soldier, a man of resolute character, of liberal views on many points, but a most ultra man for the royal prerogative, and for the transfer of it to the Governor of Virginia. For some years he and Mr. Blair agreed well. They both were in favour of efforts for the Indians. Mr. Blair advocated the Governor's favourite enterprise, -the ascending the Blue Ridge and looking upon the valley be- yond. At length the Governor became unpopular with the House of Burgesses for some measures supposed to be high-handed, and again Colonel Byrd is sent over, with others, to bring charges against him, and was more successful than in the case of Mr. Blair. About this time Governor Spottswood got into a difficulty with the vestry of St. Anne's parish, Essex, on the subject of the rights of the vestries and Governors in the matter of induction, in which he claims higher powers than had ever been claimed before. The Rev. Hugh Jones had been in England and reported some things to the Bishop of London unfavourable to the rubrical ex- actness of Mr. Blair and others; and evil reports also as to the moral character of some of the clergy were rife in the mother- country. In 1719 the Bishop of London addressed a letter to the Governor and Commissary, directing a convocation of the clergy to receive a communication from him. At their meeting the letter is read. It referred to some reports as to the evil conduct of the clergy and the violation of the rubrics. Commissary Blair opens the meeting with a sermon and address. The Governor calls upon him for his sermon, which he immediately sent. The Governor was offended at something in it touching Government. Perhaps the Commissary, even at that day, had a little of the spirit of American independence in him. The Governor also sends in an address to the clergy in reference to the Bishop of London's letter, which he had previously read. He opens with a direct assault on Commissary Blair, saying that he knew of no clergyman who transgressed the rubrics except the Commissary, who sometimes let a layman read the service for him in church, and even the burial-service in his presence, and wished to establish lay-readers in the parishes. He also charged him with injuring the clergy by
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opposing their induction, &c. To all this the Commissary had an easy answer. Once or twice, when unable to go through the ser- vice through sickness, he had gotten a lay-reader to assist him. On some occasion he may have passed the churchyard when a clerk or lay-reader was burying some one,-a thing very common in Virginia at that time by reason of the scarcity of clergymen, and when lay-readers were common and commanded by law. As to the discouraging of induction, he shows that he had always ad- vised it; but that the vestries would not present ministers for this purpose to the Governor, and that the Governors would not use the privilege granted and perform the duty enjoined upon them by the royal institution,-viz. : after six months' vacancy to present and induct if the vestry did not supply the place. As to his own example, he said that he could not help it, for the vestry in Wil- liamsburg would not present him to the Governor for induction ; and that he, (the Governor,) though on the spot, had never remon- strated against it, but, on the contrary, when he communicated the fact of his election to the Governor he only received the assurance of the pleasure it gave him ; not one word being said about induc- tion .* The manuscript of the journal of this convocation is before me, covering some forty or fifty pages. Neither this nor any other journal of the Colonial convocation has ever been in print. It is one of the most interesting documents of the kind I ever read, and exhibits in a clearer light the true condition of the Church, and character of the clergy, and peculiarities of the two great combatants, Spottswood and Blair, than can be seen anywhere
* Another insinuation against Dr. Blair by the Governor, and open charge by some of the clergy, was that he had never been Episcopally ordained. The Bishop of London, in his letter, inquired whether any of those officiating in Virginia were without Episcopal orders. In reply to this, some of them expressed their doubts in open Assembly, whether Dr. Blair's papers were genuine. This was also satis- factorily answered. The triumph of Dr. Blair was again complete. Governor Spottswood was superseded in 1722 by Governor Drysdale; and it is more than probable that his unfortunate assault upon Dr. Blair, and the high position he assumed in regard to the vestries, who were the Burgesses of the country, and opposed to Spottswood, contributed to this. Governor Spottswood evidently felt his defeat, and was not disposed to engage in another contest with Dr. Blair; for, in a letter to the Bishop of London, speaking of some steps which ought to be taken in relation to a clergyman supposed to be an evil one, and who had been entertained in a parish in preference to one whom he had appointed, he says, "That I must remain passive, or else I shall raise the old combustion in this government, and be in danger of drawing your Lordship's Commissary on my back again."
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else. The whole history of the dispute about induction is also there seen. The persevering determination of the vestries as to their defensive measures, and the fearfulness of the Governor, the Council, the Bishop of London, and the Crown, to come into colli- sion with the vestries, is there plainly seen. Though the vestries doubtless often made the position of the ministers a painfully-pre- carious one, and that doubtless prevented some good men from coming over, yet these were lesser evils than would result from allowing the Governor to be the patron of all the livings, with authority to send to and keep in parishes any and all whom he should choose. So interesting and instructive is this journal be- yond that of any meeting ever held by the clergy of Virginia, that I shall subjoin the document in an appendix. There is one ques- tion, proposed by the Bishop of London, which was very difficult to be managed,-viz .: whether any of them knew of the existence of evil livers among the clergy. It was first proposed in the meeting from the chair. The answer was, that none of them were personally acquainted with any notorious evil livers, and the same was introduced into an answer to the Bishop of London, drawn up by the committee. It was a trying question, and was doubtless evaded by denying that they were personally acquainted with such. It is probable that the notorious evil livers did not attend convoca- tions, especially this, as they might have heard the special object of it. As this seems to be a proper place for considering this painful question, I will adduce from letters addressed to the Bishop of London, from Governor Drysdale, Dr. Blair, and others, some passages which may give us a correct view of it. In 1723, Mr. Blair, in writing to the Bishop of London, says :-
" Bishop Compton directed me to make no further use of my commis- sion than to keep the clergy in order; so that I have never pretended to set up any spiritual court for the laity, though there are enormities among them which want to be redressed; and, as to the clergy, unless they are notoriously scandalous, I have found it necessary to content myself with admonitions ; for, if I lay them aside by suspension, we have no unpro- vided clergymen to put in their place. At present we have about ten vacancies and no minister to supply them.
He complains of the precariousness of the ministers, by reason of their dependence from year to year on new elections by the vestries. "This (he says) has gone on so long, by the connivance of Governors, that though our present Governor (Drysdale) is very willing of himself to redress it, yet thinks it not prudent to do it without an instruction from his Majesty." Dr. Blair wished the
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Governor, when a vacancy of more than six months occurred, to send and induct a minister, as by law directed. But neither the Governors-not even the brave Spottswood-dared to do it, nor did his Majesty dare order it to be done. In another letter from Mr. Blair to a worthy clergyman, Mr. Forbs, he says :-
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