USA > Virginia > Old churches, ministers and families of Virginia, Vol. I > Part 26
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a prolific nursery of Virginia families was old Warwick !" In what part of Virginia are not some of the descendants of these first settlers to be found ?*
Besides visiting the old court-house and Clerk's Office and jail (the latter without an inmate) of Warwick county, I went to the ancient seat of the Coles and Digges, at Denbigh, on James River, just opposite to Nutmeg Quarter, on Mulberry Island, the island reaching down to this place and only separated from it by Warwick River. The ancient house at Denbigh is no more, ex- cept one wing of it, which forms a part of the habitation of the present owner, Mr. Young, a descendant of one of the old Epis- copal families of Denbigh parish. The settlement at Denbigh was formerly the seat of the Coles and Digges, who intermarried. The Hon. Edward Digges, no doubt, at one time lived at this place and owned part of Mulberry Island, which may have received its name from the trees which furnished food for the worms which were used in the raising of silk, of which operation Mr. Digges was the great patron, as appears from history and his tombstone. There is still handed down, in the family residing there, a ball of the raw material, made at an early period, a portion of which was pre- sented to me. Within a few miles of Denbigh farm is one of the ancient seats of the Cary family, and, at the same distance, old Denbigh Church. I paid a visit to the latter, and found it in a much better condition than I could have expected. It is in the parish called Upper Denbigh, there being formerly one called Lower Denbigh. The present building was erected one hundred and ten years since; and the weatherboarding was so well done, and was of such excellent material, that it is still good. The foundation of an older one is plainly to be traced a short distance behind it, in the woods which come up to the present church, which is only a few yards from the main Warwick road leading up and down the country. There is only one large tombstone there, on which is the following inscription :-
" Mary Harrison, daughter of the Honble Cole Digges, of his Majesty's
* The following extract, from an old will among the records, is worthy of inser- tion :-
"In the name of God, Amen: I, Garnett Corbett, of the county of Warwick, being now sick and weake, but of sound and perfect memory, and knowing not how soone it may be the pleasure of Almighty God to release mee out of this transitory world, doe hereby make my last will and testament, in form following,-viz .:-
"First, and principally, I most humbly recommend my soule into the protection and conservation of my blessed and precious Redeemer, Jesus Christ, with full and whole trust in him, by his bitter death and passion, to receive salvation."
16
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Council, wife of Nathaniel Harrison, of Prince George county, died No- vember 12th, 1744, in her 27th year. She so discharged the several duties of a wife, mother, daughter, and neighbour, that her relations and acquaintances might justly esteem their loss insupportable, was it not chastened with the remembrance that every virtue which adds weight to their loss augments her reward."
Mrs. Harrison was grandmother of the late George Harrison, of Lower Brandon, and of Mr. William Harrison, of Upper Bran- don, on James River .* I also visited the site of another old church in Warwick, in the parish of Martin's Hundred a few miles from the Grove, the former seat of the Burwells. After much exploring of the place, now covered with trees and bushes and leaves, my companion, Mr. Richard Randolph, and myself felt beneath our feet a tombstone covered with moss and leaves, and, on clearing them away, deciphered the name of "Samuel Pond, of Martin's Hundred parish, in the Colony of Va., who departed this life in the year of our Lord 1694, aged 48." By this disco- very alone have I been able to locate the parish of Martin's Hun- dred, so often mentioned in the early history and statutes of Vir- ginia. A part of this parish may have been in James City county.
The family of Cary owned large tracts of land in this county, and had two family-seats, well known and much visited in former days. One of them is near Denbigh. The tombs of a number of the family are still to be seen there. The other, called Richneck, is about eight miles off, and higher up the county. The last occu- pant bearing the name was Mr. Cary, who moved to Carys- brook, in Fluvanna county. On visiting this place, and going to the graveyard where some of the ancestors had been buried, I found that the brick enclosure had been removed, and even the bricks underneath the only large tombstone which was there had been taken away, and used in constructing a steam mill for sawing up the timber of the plantation. The whole estate, consisting chiefly
* I ascertained, also, that the last ministers who officiated at Denbigh Church were the Rev. Mr. Camm, son of the Rev. Commissary Camm, and a Mr. Wood,- both of them respectable men. They officiated at some other place or places in Warwick at the same time. The old high-backed pews are still retained. I was told that after the Episcopal Church had ceased to have services in this church, and other denominations had taken possession, on the occasion of some protracted and very exciting meeting, when the old pews seemed to be in the way of promoting & revival, it was proposed from the pulpit that they be taken away and benches put in place of them. The measure was about to be carried, when a young man, whose ancestors had worshipped in the old church as it was, rose up and protested against it, saying that he would appeal to the law and prevent it."
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of forest, either of ancient or modern growth, and amounting to fifteen hundred acres, had been sold to persons from a distance, who were converting it into lumber and wood. What is true of this is true of many other old settlements in Warwick. Impove- rished by improper culture, and deserted of its former owners, what was once covered with habitations and people has now returned to its primeval state, and is dense forest. It is now feeding the steam- boats and furnishing building-materials for our towns. A few more generations may see it once more in a different condition.
· Before leaving this county, it will be interesting to our readers to have an extract from the Acts of Assembly, in the year 1654, touching one whose family name is on the list of the early inha- bitants of Warwick, and who may himself have belonged to it at the time :-
" PUBLIQUE ORDERS OF ASSEMBLY
" Whereas, Col. Edward Hill, unanimously chosen Speaker of this House, was afterward maliciously reported by William Hatcher to be an atheist and blasphemer, according to an information exhibited against him the last Quarter-court, from which the Honourable Governor and Council then cleared the said Edward Hill, and now certified the same unto the House ; and forasmuch as the said William Hatcher, notwithstanding he had notice given him of the Governor and Council's pleasure therein, and of the said Col. Hill being cleared as aforesaid, hath also reported that 'the mouth of this House was a devil,' nominating and meaning thereby the said Right Worshipfull Col. Edward Hill, it is therefore ordered by this House, that the said William Hatcher, upon his knees, make an humble acknow- ledgment of his offence unto the said Col. Edward Hill and Burgesses of this Assembly; which accordingly was performed, and then he, the said Hatcher, was dismissed, paying his fees."
The above shows in what horror an atheist was then held, and what a reproach it was to have such a one in a public office.
I also promised to examine further into the history of the Digges, supposing them to belong much more to the county of Warwick than I find them to have been. Although they intermarried with the family of Cole, and some of them were Warwick men, yet, for the most part, they lived in York county. Their two seats, Chilham, near Yorktown, and Bellfield, some miles higher up the river and about eight miles from Williamsburg, were both on the river. The latter is just opposite to Shelly, on the Gloucester side, and was in the parish first called Chiskiack, and afterward Hampton, until it was merged into York-Hampton. Captain Smith, in his history of the Colony at its first establishment, speaks of King Powhatan as being sometimes with this tribe of Chiskiack Indians. He had only to cross the river from his residence at or near Shelly to Bellfield,
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now owned by Colonel McCandish, of Williamsburg, and he would be in the midst of this tribe. Being informed that Bellfield was the burial-place of the Digges, I recently spent a night there with Colonel McCandlish and a part of his family, who met me at this- which is only their occasional-residence. I found the tombs in much better order than at most of the old family graveyards. They are very massive. The top-stones, on which the inscriptions are put, are of what is called ironstone, or black marble, being the hardest and heaviest stone in England, scarcely less heavy than iron itself. Nearly all of the old imported tombs are of this kind. It preserves the inscriptions also much better than any other kind of stone or marble. The following are the inscriptions :---
I.
"To the memory of Edward Digges, Esquire, sonne of Sir Dudley Digges, of Chilham, in Kent, Knight and Baronett, Master of the Rolls in the reign of King Charles the 1st. He departed this life the 15th of March, 1675, in the 55th year of his age, one of his Majesty's Councill for this his Colony of Va. A gentleman of most commendable parts and ingenuity, and the only introducer and promoter of the silk-manufacture in this Colonie, and in every thing else a pattern worthy of all pious imitation. He had issue six sonnes and seven daughters by the body of Elizabeth his wife, who of her conjugal affection hath dedicated to him this memorial."
II.
This is to the memory of his son Dudley, who married Miss Cole, of Denbigh :-
" Sub hoc marmore requiescit in pace Dudleus Digges, armiger, Susannæ Digges juxta depositæ maritus amantissimus. Vir et virtute, et pro sapi- entia, vere inclytus, qui hujusce Colonia primo Consilioris, dein ad Audi- toris dignitatem, erectus est. Obiit, omnibus desideratus, 27 Januarii, 1710, ætatis suæ 47. Justorum animæ in manu Dei sunt."
Which is thus rendered :-
" Under this marble rests in peace Dudley Digges, gentleman, the most loving husband of Susannah Digges, buried near him. He was a man very eminent for virtue and wisdom, who was first raised to the dignity of Councillor and then Auditor of this Colony. He died, lamented by all, the 27th of January, 1710, in his forty-seventh year. 'The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God.'"'
III. THE TOMB OF HIS WIFE.
" Hic subtus inhumatum corpus Susanna Digges, filia Gulielmi Cole, armigeri, nec non Dudlei Digges, armigeri, conjugis fidelissimæ, quæ en hac vita decessit 9th Kal. Decembris, anno salutis 1708. Atatis suæ 34.
IV.
"This monument was erected by Col. Edward Digges to the memory
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of a most indulgent father, the Honble Col. Digges, Esquire, who being many years one of his Majesty's Honble Council for this Colony, and some time President of the same, died in the 53d year of his age, and in the year of our Lord 1744.
" Digges, ever to extremes untaught to bend ; Enjoying life, yet mindful of his end. In thee the world an happy meeting saw Of sprightly humour and religious awe. Cheerful, not wild; facetious, yet not mad ; Though grave, not sour ; though serious, never sad. Mirth came not, call'd to banish from within Intruding pangs of unrepented sin ; And thy religion was no studied art To varnish guilt, but purified the heart. What less than a felicity most rare Could spring from such a temper and such care ? Now in the city, taking great delight, To vote new laws, or old interpret right; Now crowds and business quitting, to receive The joys content in solitude can give. With equal praise thou shone among the great, And graced the humble pleasures of retreat; Display'd thy dignity on every scene, And tempted or betray'd to nothing mean. Whate'er of mean beneath it lies,
The rest unstain'd is claimed by the skies."
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ARTICLE XIX. Lynnhaven Parish, Princess Anne County.
CAPE HENRY, in this county and parish, was probably the first point at which our Virginia Colonists touched on reaching America. Here a fort was established, either then or soon after. At what time other settlements were made on the coast and bay surrounding this part of Virginia on three sides cannot certainly be determined, though there is every reason to believe it must have been at a very early period. In the year 1642 we find Lynnhaven parish recog- nised as existing, and its boundaries were then fixed. How long before this it had been a plantation, or congregation, or hundred, or parish,-for by all these names were the first settlements called, sometimes long before parish-boundaries were fixed,-we cannot ascertain. The following is the Act of Assembly which establishes the existence of this and other parishes in the year 1642-3 :- "Be it further enacted and confirmed, upon the petition of the inhabit- ants of Lynnhaven parish, by the Governor, Council, and Bur- gesses of this Grand Assembly, that the parish of Lynnhaven be bounded as follows." The bounds are then stated. After which it is added :- "Provided it be not prejudicial to the parishes of Elizabeth River and Southern Shoare by taking away any partes of the said parishes." Then follow certain immunities granted to the people of this parish.
The following interesting account of the first church and grave- yard in this parish will very properly introduce our notices of it :-
"There is much that is curious, at least, connected with the Lynnhaven country, besides what immediately pertains to the old church, of which nothing now remains but the mound which hardly marks the spot. I need not enter into the details, however.
"The church itself was probably built by the earliest settlers in this region, upon a flat surface about half a mile from Little Creek, which then ran east and west in a narrow channel, separated from the Chesa- peake or Lynnhaven Bay by a sand-beach about a quarter of a mile wide. The creek communicated with the bay through an inlet about thirty yards wide, and distant from the church some three or four miles. The people living on Little Creek were profitably engaged in the business of seine- hauling; but the profits were much reduced by the distance they had to go by water through the inlet to the bay shore, where the seines were
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hauled. To go and return by water required six miles, whilst to reach the fishery across the sandy beach was hardly half a mile; and the people, to remedy this objection, gathered their hands together, and, with their field-hoes, opened a trench across the beach wide enough to admit the passage of a canoe, not dreaming of any consequences beyond their im- mediate object. The moment, however, the trench was opened, the waters of the bay, probably piled up by an easterly wind from the Atlan- tic, rushed through the sandy beach, opening what is now the mouth of Lynnhaven, and passed through the lower lands of the neighbourhood, not stopping until they had run beyond what is now known as London Bridge, about five or six miles, and forming in their mad career the pre- sent beautiful Lynnhaven River, which varies from a quarter to three- quarters of a mile in width. This invasion of the waters carried away nearly the whole of the burying-ground attached to the church, which it left standing on the bank of the new-formed river, and divided the church from the glebe-land, which now lies on the eastern side of the river, and is still claimed and owned by the vestry of Lynnhaven parish ; although the overseers of the poor, it is said, are seeking to possess themselves of it.
"It was many years after this event that the old Donation Church, in its neighbourhood, was built. This, in its turn, has been abandoned to the beasts and bats ; though still a strong, commodious house, built of English brick. As to the remains of the Lynnhaven Church, they are covered with large trees and are scarcely discernible; but the writer of this note has, within the last forty years, seen the bones of the buried parish- ioners protruding from the sides of the bank of the river, and the tomb- stones strewed along its shores. In 1819, Commodore Decatur and another eminent person still living were bathing there, and in the middle of the river were enabled, by feeling with their toes, to decipher the names of those whose graves they had covered before the waters of the bay had carried away the churchyard. These stones are now many of them at the bottom of the stream ; but, although the water is not more than five or six feet deep, they are so covered with sand and marine shells that it would be difficult to recover them. The stones which fell and were left on the shore have long since been taken away by the fishermen and broken up for killicks, or anchors for their small boats, and for other purposes."
The following synopsis of the contents of the vestry-book of Lynnhaven parish have been furnished me by a friend, as I could not have access to the record :---
"The only parish-record known in this county commences the 20th of November, 1723, on which occasion were present the Rev. James Tenant, minister; Major Max'n Boush, churchwarden; and the following-named gentlemen, who composed the vestry :- Colonel Edward Moseley, Captain Henry Chapman, Mr. Wmn. Elligood, Captain John Moseley, Mr. Charles Sayer, and Captain Francis Lund. It appears that Mr. Tenant had been the minister for some time before ; but when he entered upon his duties, or when he ceased to perform them, does not appear upon the record. Nor is it known whether he died in the service of the Church or not. No- thing is said of him after the 3d of November, 1726, on which day his last account with the parish was settled, showing that his regular salary had been sixteen thousand pounds of tobacco.
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"Mr. Jas. Nimmo is mentioned as being the clerk of the Brick Church and lower chapel, Mr. Andrew Peacock being the clerk of the upper one.
"At the first meeting, say November 20, 1723, the parish is made debtor to Captain Hillary Moseley, for quitrents of glebe-land, which shows that the church was then in possession of the glebe, which is frequently men- tioned throughout the record. On the 15th September, 1724, Major Maxi- milian Boush and Mr. John Cormick are mentioned as churchwardens, and the names of Solomon White, John Bolithor, Captain Anthony Walke, Captain Robert Vaughan, and John Bonney, are mentioned as constituting a part of the vestry. At this meeting, a resolution was passed for building a new wooden chapel on the eastern shore of the county; and, on the 7th July, 1725, an order was passed that Captain Robert Vaughan, one of the vestry, should employ persons to repair the chapel at Machipungo, showing that a brick church and two chapels (one on the Eastern Shore, and one in Pungo, or Machipungo) were then in possession of the Epis- copalians of Lynnhaven parish, which seemed to embrace the whole county of Princess Anne.
"On the 2d February, 1726, about nine months previous to the settle- ment of Mr. Tenant's account, already referred to, Mr. Nicholas Jones, minister, was engaged to preach in the Brick Church and Eastern Shore Chapel once every month, and he was allowed four hundred pounds of to- bacco for each sermon; and with this engagement he appears to have com- plied until the 18th October, 1728.
" The Brick Church, already mentioned, was very old at that time, and in a dilapidated state, as appears from the frequent orders passed by the vestry for repairing it, and from the fact that it was given up to be used as a school-house on the 2d March, 1736, as appears by the record. It was the same church, no doubt, which stood on the western bank of Lynn- haven River, on what was then called Church Point, which point has been washed away by the encroaching tides, leaving nothing scarcely to desig- nate the spot where the church stood, the graveyard which was annexed to it being now entirely under water at high tide.
"On the 3d June, 1728, Mr. James Nimmo was employed, on a mes- sage to the Governor, for removing Mr. Thomas Bayly, who (contrary to the desire of the vestry) insisted on being the minister of the parish; and it is supposed that Mr. Nimmo succeeded, after a second application to the Governor, as no further notice is taken of it. At this time, the names of Christopher Bourroughs, Major Anthony Walke, Major Henry Spratt, and Mr. George Kempe, are mentioned as forming a part of the vestry.
"On the 7th January, 1729, the Rev. Richard Marsden was engaged to preach once every month, at the church and chapels, and he continued to do so until the 14th November, 1729, the same year when the Rev. Henry Barlow was engaged as the regular minister; and he continued to perform the duties until the 14th October, 1747, (about eighteen years,) after which he is not mentioned.
"On the 29th November, 1732, Mr. James Nimmo and Mr. William Keeling were engaged as clerks to the church and chapel for one year, and to receive one thousand pounds of tobacco each. On the 3d Novem- ber, 1733, an order was made that Colonel Anthony Walke, Captain Francis Lund, and Captain Jacob Elligood, or any two, agree with Peter Malbone on terms to build and finish the new church near the ferry.
"On the 25th of June, 1736, the vestry (having given up the Old Brick Church, on the 2d March of the same year, to be used as a school-house,
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which has been already stated) received from the contractor and builder, Mr. Peter Malbone, the 'New Church,' near the ferry, as it was then called, but which has been better known since as the 'Donation Church,' probably from the circumstance of its being very near the farm donated to Lynnhaven parish by Parson Dickson. From the above date, say 25th June, 1736, the services were regularly performed by Mr. Barlow in the new church, until the close of his ministry in 1747.
"On the 13th July, 1748, the Rev. Robert Dickson being minister, the following new names appear among the vestry :- Major Nathaniel Newton, Mr. Joseph Gaskin, James Nimmo, Major Thomas Walke, and John Whitehead.
"The Rev. Robert Dickson continued to discharge the duties of minister until the 23d February, 1776,-nearly twenty-eight years,-at a salary of sixteen thousand pounds of tobacco, which had been paid to the regular ministers who preceded him.
"When Parson Dickson died is not known exactly, but his will was admitted to record on the 14th February, 1777, in which he gives to the parish a farm, on certain conditions, which farm, within a few years, has passed into the hands of the overseers of the poor, the glebe referred to having been sold within the last three or four months.
"There appears to have been no regular minister after Mr. Dickson until 1785, and the church and chapels were much neglected.
"At a meeting of the vestry on the 22d November, 1779, the sum of twenty pounds was allowed Anthony Fentress for taking care of Pungo Chapel. This chapel has not been used by the Episcopalians for a great many years, and is now entirely out of repair.
"On the 28th March, 1785, a new vestry was elected, (under an Act of Assembly, passed the previous session, dissolving the former vestries throughout the State,) when the following names appear as composing the new vestry,-viz. : Anthony Walke, Edward H. Moseley, John Ackiss, James Henley, William White, John Cornick, Joel Cornick, and Francis Lund; and, on the 6th May, 1785, the Rev. James Simpson was inducted minister of the parish, and continued to officiate until May, 1788, when he formally resigned, having given notice of his intention to do so about four months previously.
"On the 3d July, 1788, the Rev. Anthony Walke was inducted minister, and continued to discharge the duties until the 10th of October, 1800, when he formally resigned. Some new names appear here among the vestry,-viz .: John Hancock, Peter Singleton, Cason Moore, and Dennis Dawley.
"On the 1st November, 1800, the Rev. Cornelius Calvert, Jr., was in- ducted minister, but served a short time only, as an entry on the book shows that there was no minister in the parish on the 18th July, 1801.
"On the 11th August, 1803, the Rev. George Halson was inducted minister, and discharged his duties as such until the close of the year 1805.
"At this time, the names of John Smith, Erasmus Haynes, James Ro- binson, Thomas Lawson, George D. Corprew, John James, and William Boush, appear as composing the vestry.
"The parish was then without a regular minister for some years, being served occasionally and irregularly by ministers from Norfolk.
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