USA > Virginia > Old churches, ministers and families of Virginia, Vol. I > Part 34
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" The old church and churchyard were near the present Westover House,-about one-quarter mile up the river-bank,-where are some very old tombstones, besides that of Benjamin Harrison. The present West- over Church was built by Mrs. Byrd on her land, called Evelington. The minister once resided on the adjacent tract, called Westing, which also belonged to the Westover estate, across the creek from the Westover House. Perhaps it was only Mr. Dunbar who occupied that farm; for the glebe proper was between the two churches, and below the present court- house about two miles.
"The clerk of the county has told me that the county was divided into two parishes,-Westover and Mapsco. The part above the court-house was called Westover, and the part below called Mapsco, from an Indian tribe who gave name to the creek near where the Old Brick Church, called Mapsco, stood, about seven miles below the court-house and immediately on the road to Sandy Point,-the old seat of the Lightfoot family. That
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church was convenient to the Chickahominy neighbourhood, being only seven or eight miles from the mouth of that river, where the most of th earlier friends of the Church in that part of the county must hav resided; and it was behind the Old Mapsco Church that it is said that one of its ministers-either Davis or Dunbar-fought a duel. The quarrel originated about a horse-race. An additional fact was related to me by the late Benjamin Harrison, of Berkeley,-viz. : That this Mr. Dunbar offered to be the bearer of a challenge from Benjamin Harrison, of Berkeley, to Benjamin Harrison, of Brandon, assuring the former, as his friend, that the conduct of the latter justified such notice. But Mr. Harrison, of Berkeley, was not persuaded by him. The note was at Berkeley, and Mr. Harrison promised to show it to me when he had more leisure; but he died suddenly soon after.
" In addition to the names of the old ministers you have mentioned in your article, I have been told by some very old servants, and some of the oldest citizens too, that there were two others remembered besides Chapin, who was the last occupant of the glebe, whilst the churches mouldered away or were used as barns. That of Westover was so used at the time the friends of the Church got possession of it, when the family at Berke- ley and Shirley undertook its repairs. The other two ministers were Black and Blagrove. Several servants told me they were christened by Parson Black. Old Mr. Chapin occupied the glebe until persuaded by Mr. F. Lewis, of Weynoake, and Mr. Colier Harrison, of Kettiuvan, to rent out the place and come and live with them. He died at Weynoake, the residence of Mr. F. Lewis, and was buried in the aisle and under the present chancel of the Westover Church. I have made frequent inquiry for his sermons, &c., but have never been able to find any : all that could be remembered of them was that they served the young ladies for paper in which to roll up their hair at night."
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ARTICLE XXVII.
Parishes in Gloucester .- No. 1. Petsworth and Kingston.
GLOUCESTER is recognised as a county in 1652, when it was repre- sented in the House of Burgesses by Colonel Hugh Gwinne and Francis Willis. No change took place in it until 1790, when Mathews county was cut off. The parishes in Gloucester in 1754 were Petsworth, Abingdon, Ware, and Kingston, the last being cut off with Mathews in 1790. The Rev. Mr. Carraway, having hunted up some mutilated copies of the vestry-books of Petsworth and Kingston, has furnished the following summary of the contents of the former :- " Petsworth exists only on paper: its church and worshippers have alike ceased to be." The writer, feeling a com- mon interest with those who wish to gather up the history of the Colonial times, proceeds to note some facts drawn from the old ves- try-book. This book contains, with a slight exception, the records of the vestry-meetings from the year 1677 to 1793. When com- menced and closed, its torn condition permits us not to discover. In 1677 there is an order for the completion and furnishing of a church at Poplar Spring. At this date there is mention of a lower church within the parish, which in the year 1695 is spoken of as the " Old Church." It being then a ruin, it was determined not to re- build on its site, but to have only one place of worship, and that to be kept in "thorough order and repair."
In 1684 we find the following entries :- "His Excellency the Governor, having given to this Church one large Bible, one Book of Common Prayer, one Book of Homilies, the Thirty-nine Articles, and Book of Canons of the Church of England: it is ordered that the clerk of the vestry enter the same in the register, to the end His Lordship's so pious a gift may be gratefully remembered." "Ordered, that the clerk enter into the register of this parish the generous and pious gift of the Hon. Augustine Warner, deceased, to this church,-viz. : one silver flagon, two silver bowls, and two silver plates, which, though long since given, hath not yet been en- tered." In 1723 an order was made for the building of a new church at Poplar Spring,-the cost of said building, exclusive of painting, &c., to be eleven hundred and ninety pounds Virginia
21
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currency. This church was standing a few years since, and but for the ruthless hand of cupidity it might have stood for centuries. The writer will never forget his feelings as he looked upon it when the work of destruction and desecration was going on. There remained enough then of its former condition and elegance to assure the be- holder that they who erected this temple entered into the meaning of God's ancient prophet, who taught that sacred edifices should exceed, in comfort and stability and magnificence, private abodes. We gather from the records in the large expenditure for painting, and in the way of furnishing and ornamenting, that no means were spared to present a church of the finest taste and finish. Such it doubtless was,-perhaps too gorgeous for our republican simplicity. The writer has talked with persons who remembered this church. One of them-the late Mrs. Page, of Shelly-had much to say of the former glory of old Petsworth. She, in childhood, had been a wor- shipper within its hallowed courts, and had united her voice in songs of praise with the swelling notes of the organ. In confirmation of the liberality of this congregation and the elegance of the church, we make the following copies from the record :- At a vestry-meeting in 1735, it is noted that "there were great subscriptions made by the present vestry for an organ, to be purchased for the use of the church at Petsworth ; also, it was directed that seven hundred gold leaves be ordered for the use of the painter. In 1751 the vestry ordered Mr. Augustine Smith to send to England for 'pulpit, and table-cloth, and cushion;' the cloth to be of crimson velvet, with a gold fringe and lace." A subsequent entry shows that the cost of the same was one hundred and fifty-four pounds, sixteen shillings, sixpence, cur- rent money. Much refinement and wealth were found in the numerous families who worshipped within the venerable church. Among those who were active in the duties of the parish may be mentioned the name of Porteus. It appears on the record from the earliest date. This is the family of Beilby Porteus, Bishop of London, who, it is supposed, was a native of Gloucester. Also, Colonel John Wash- ington, and son Warner, and their ancestor, Augustine Warner .*
* The following letter is from a lady who in her youth saw this church at Poplar Spring :-
" DEAR BISHOP :- I have been thinking you might perhaps like to hear a little of Old Poplar Spring Church, in Gloucester, which was a few miles above Rosewell, on the road that passed up to King and Queen. My first recollections of it were very pleasing, as I was going with my mother in the old Rosewell coach. It was in warm weather, and mamma desired the driver to stop under the shade near the spring, while we all got out ; and, after drinking some of the cool water, she took us into the
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A LIST OF THE MINISTERS OF THE PARISH.
In 1677, Rev. Thomas Vicaris, who continued until his death in 1697, when the Rev. Joseph Holt was employed as a temporary supply. In 1700, Rev. George Young was elected upon the nomina- tion of Governor Nicholson ; he remained only a few months, when the Rev. Emanuel Jones was chosen, who served until his death, in the year 1739. Rev. John Read supplied the pulpit until the return of Mr. Ford. In 1741, Robert Yates, a member of the congregation, was sent to England for Orders. He continued the minister until his death, in 1761. In 1762, Rev. James Horrox served in the place of Mr. James Maury Fontaine, who had been sent to England for Orders. In 1764, the Rev. James M. Fontaine was the minister for a few months, and removed to Ware parish. The vestry then elected one of their own body, Captain Charles Minn Thruston, who went to England for Orders. In 1767, Rev. Charles M. Thrus- ton ; he served until the year 1768, when he resigned. In 1768, Rev. Arthur Hamilton : no mention of him after this year. 1776, 1777, 1778, 1779, 1780, 1781, supposed to be vacant. In 1782,
church, and showed us the remains of the fine painting, over what had been the chancel, and told us how it had been when she first remembered it. I think I then first received a correct idea of the solemn use and importance of a church, as I must have been very young. I remember a broad cornice, painted with the resemblance of a bright blue sky, and clouds rolling off on either hand; below this were frag- ments of the plaster, extending farther down at the corners, and representing an immense crimson curtain drawn back. I remember seeing part of what seemed a very large cord and tassel. Mamma said there used to be an angel just where the curtain was drawn on one side, with a trumpet in his hand, and rolling on toward him were vast bodies of clouds with angels in them, and that she used to fancy one of the faces was like her dear little brother John, who was drowned when only ten years old, and who had been her playfellow, she being next to him in age. I feel sure that then I first understood about the last Judgment; for I seldom think of that great day, but what my dear mother and the painting at Poplar Spring Church are not united in my memory as a kind of picture, the groundwork being the ruined church, the bright green grass, the shade, and the cool spring. Our dear mother's teachings, on that and other occasions, were so mixed with a sorrow for the state 'of the Episcopal churches, and the want of ministers 'since Mr. Fontaine's death,' that, childlike, I thought Mr. Fontaine must have been the best and greatest man in the world, except my grandpapa. Most of the flagstones in the middle aisle were there on my first visit. On passing it in later years, all trace of the bright colours had departed, and the stones which had so often echoed the steps of those who came to worship God had been removed for more unhallowed purposes. And the last time I saw it some cows were reposing on the bare ground within, and swallows, bats, and other birds occupied the large roof. As regards the painting, I have so often heard my mother speak of it, that I am sure I cannot do it full justice by my description, but can only say what I remember."
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Rev. Thomas Price: not known how long he served. In 1790, Rev. James Elliott. In 1791, Rev. James Fontaine was elected as weekly lecturer; in 1792, Rev. Thomas Hughes. Mr. Hughes was a member of the congregation, and ordained by Bishop Madison.
We make the following significant extract from the vestry-book. It has reference to one who had been the minister of the parish for many years :- "Ordered, that Mr. Vicaris, the present minister, continue in his charge and exercise his ministerial functions until the next shipping, in hopes of his future amendment, he declaring his willingness then to leave the place if not approved by the pre- cinct and vestry." He became a reformed man, and was minister for some years. (By the next shipping was meant the next impor- tation of ministers from England.) On agreeing with a clergyman it was ordered, "That he, the said clergyman, will behave himself in his ministerial function upon all occasions."
The site of this church, now only marked by a few ancient tombs, is claimed as private property. The glebe was sold under the law of 1802. No information is possessed by the author concerning the plate. The sermons of the Rev. Robert Yates were found in the library of Mr. John Randolph, and were sold and purchased with other books and manuscripts .*
Vestry of Petsworth Parish.
John Buckner, Robt. Lee, Thomas Royston, Philip Lightfoot, William Thornton, Thomas Pate, William Pritchet, John Ascough, William Throck- morton, William Hansford, Thomas Ramsey, Thomas Miller, Richard Barnett, Ralph Greene, Robert Carter, Charles Roan, William Thorn- ton, Jr., Robert Cobb, Edward Porteus, William Grymes, Thomas Buckner, James Dudley, John Evans, Colquit Wyatt, Robert Yeardley, Captain John Smith, Richard Stignor, William Barnard, William Brook- ing, Thomas Cook, Nicholas Smith, David Alexander, William Dodsley, William Upshaw, John Pate, Robert Porteus, John Pratt, John Coleman, Albion Throckmorton, Augustine Smith, Philip Smith, Richard Seaton, Henry Willis, Francis Wyatt, Thomas Green, Thos. Booth, Sr., Bayley Seaton, Thomas Stubbs, Francis Thornton, John Read, John Washington, William Miller, Thomas Green, Captain John Alexander, Seth Thornton,
* The following account of the bricks has been given me :-
" Several efforts were made to remove the bricks from Petsoe, and were prevented by presentments before the Grand Jury ; but some years since, Mr. - , whilst building a hotel at Old Point, purchased from Mr. - , who owned the land, any right he might have in the remains of the old church, and under that deed Mr. - removed the bricks. The hotel was struck by lightning and injured before its completion."
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Samuel Buckner, Mr. John Throckmorton, Thomas Booth, John Royston, David Alexander, George Reade, Gwynne Read, Bayley Seaton, Warner Washington, John Stubbs, James Carter, James Hubard, Edward Wyatt, John Shirmon, William Thornton, Richard Jones, Peter Kemp, Francis Stubbs, Ludwell Grymes, John Wyatt, John Scott, Geo. Booth, John Buckner, Chas. Minn Thruston, John Roots, Alexander Dalgleish, James Hubard, Jr., Henry Whiting, Richard Taliafero, Lewis Booker, William Duval, John Fox, Captain John Hubard, Jonathan Watson, Sterling Thornton, Peter Wyatt, Wm. Sears, Robert Yates, Charles Tompkins, M. Anderson, Benjamin Dabney, James Baytop, Lewis Booker, Jr., Chris- topher Garland, Meaux Thornton, Major John Hughes, William Booth, Francis Duval, Lewis Wood. [The remainder torn out.]
KINGSTON PARISH, MATHEWS COUNTY.
This was originally one of the parishes in Gloucester. There are loose leaves of an old vestry-book, going back to the year 1677, the first of which leaves do not indicate how much older the book was. It was called the parish in North River precinct. It has a peculiarity distinguishing it from all other parishes. With the vestrymen, who were generally very few, there met a larger number of the inhabitants, who seem to have managed the affairs of the parish in conjunction.
From 1677 to 1691 the Rev. Michael Typerios and James Bowker were ministers; but when their ministries began or ended cannot be made out. In the year 1740 the Rev. John Blacknal appears on the first page of another imperfect vestry-book. It cannot be ascertained how much of the vestry-book was lost, and how long Mr. Blacknal may have been the minister before 1740. He died in 1747, and was succeeded by the Rev. John Dixon in 1750, the Rev. John Locke having served meanwhile for three months. In the year 1770 Mr. Dixon resigned, and died in 1777. Four appli- cants appeared for the parish,-the Revs. Thomas Baker, Thomas Field, Arthur Hamilton, and Archibald Avens, of whom Mr. Field was chosen,-Mr. Baker having previously served three months. In the year 1778, Mr. Field either dying or resigning, Revs. Robert Read and William Dunlop were candidates, when the former was chosen. In the year 1784 the Rev. Thomas Hopkinson became its minister, and in the year 1789 the Rev. James McBride. In 1794 the Rev. Armistead Smith, of the old family of Smiths in that part of Virginia, became the minister, being ordained by Bishop Madi- son. He served the parish until his death in 1817. " His descend- ants and relatives," says the Rev. Mr. Carraway, the present minister of the parish, "are amongst the foremost friends of the
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Church, and most of them communicants." One of the family, the late Miss Elizabeth Tompkins, was the instrument under God for the revival of the church. Under circumstances the most discou- raging, she determined to build a house of prayer, in which the few scattered ones " who loved the old paths" might worship the God of their fathers. Her efforts were crowned with success. She lived to witness the completion of her dear little church, and her highest earthly joy was experienced when she first heard within its walls these solemn words :- " The Lord is in his holy temple," "declared by the minister of salvation." Mr. Carraway adds that there were once four places of worship in the parish, over two of which the plough and the harrow have passed. On the sites of the others two churches have recently been erected,-the one just men- tioned, and another under his special care. Tradition says that one of the old churches was a private chapel of the "family of Hesse," the residence of the Armisteads.
By giving a list of the old vestrymen we shall see who were the most prominent persons in Church matters. Mr. Carraway mentions them as the " Dudleys, Armisteads, Carys, Tabbs, Gwynns, Billops, Throckmortons, and Sir John Peyton,"-the latter being the patriot of the Revolution as well as the Churchman.
Names of the Vestrymen, beginning in 1677.
Richard Dudley, James Ransom, James Hill, Sands Knowles, George Burge, Thos. Bayley, Robert Elliot, Ambrose Dudley, Peter Ransom, John Billop, William Tompkins, Charles Jones, John Coot, Humphrey Tompkins, Edmund Roberts, George Dudley, John Hayes, Hugh Gwinne, Robert Barnard, Charles Debrum, William Marlow, Humphrey Joye Tabb, Wm. Armistead, Kemp Plumer, Gwinne Reade, Thomas Hayes, Wm. Tabb, Chas. Blacknal, John Peyton, Captain Thomas Smith, Kemp Whiting, George Dudley, John Armistead, James Ransom, Robt. Tabb, Wm. Plummer, Wm. Armistead, of Hesse, Edward Hughes, Francis Armistead, John Willis, Gabriel Hughes, John Billop, Walter Keeble, Edmund Custis, Edward Tabb, John Dixon, Thomas Peyton, Robert Mathews, Dudley Cary, Mordecai Throckmorton, James Booker, Josiah Dean, Thos. Smith, Jr., Samuel Williams, Joel Foster, Armistead Smith, Robert Cary, Thomas Tabb, Richard Gregory, James Bibber, Sands Smith, John Cary, Wilton Glasscock.
In the above list hundreds scattered through Virginia and various parts of the land will see the names of their forefathers.
The remaining history of Kingston parish is very brief. The erection of a church, chiefly through the zeal of Miss Elizabeth Tompkins, near her father's house, led to the employment of a
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missionary about the year 1841 or 1842. The Rev. Mr. Rooker spent some time between the two counties of Mathews and Middlesex in this capacity. He was followed by the Rev. Mr. Carraway, who to this day continues to perform the arduous labours required by so large a field. Under his ministry a new church on the opposite side of the county has been built on the ruins of one of the old ones.
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ARTICLE XXVIII.
Gloucester County, Abington, and Ware .- No. 2.
I TAKE these together, since they have so long been identified in the public mind, so long under one minister, and so little to be said of them, though so much might be said, had we any ancient records. The following letter from the Rev. Mr. Mann, the present rector, forbids the hope of ever recovering what is lost in regard to these parishes :-
"MY DEAR BISHOP :- Nothing has astonished me more in this county than the utter ignorance of the people as to the early history of the Church. All our records of former times are lost,-the church registers, with the county records, by the burning of the court-house many years since. The late Dr. Taliafero told me that the first church in Ware parish stood on Mr. William P. Smith's land, where there is an old graveyard, and near to which was the glebe. The parish church of Ware is built on land granted to the parish by the Throckmorton family,-the female an- cestors of the Taliaferos : when erected, no one knows. On the outside of the church is the tombstone of the Rev. James Black, a native of England, and many years minister of Ware parish. He died in 1723. On the inside, near the chancel, are the tombstones of the Rev. John Richards and his wife, and their beloved servant Amy. Mr. Richards was once rector of Nettlehead, and vicar of Leston, England, and died rector of Ware in 1735. Adjoining these is a stone erected by the Rev. John Fox over his wife, who died in 1742, and two of his children, who died in 1742 and 1743. The Rev. James Maury Fontaine was once minister of this parish and kept a school near it .* The Rev. Mr. Smith, father of Mr. W. P. Smith and Colonel Thomas Smith, and of the first Mrs. Colonel Tompkins and the first Mrs. Tom Tabb, held the church, I believe, until his death, preaching in all the churches of this county and Mathews. Then came a long vacancy, and with it the desolation and destruction of the building, which continued until the Rev. Mr. Carnes took charge of it, when it was repaired by the exertions of Colonel Thomas Smith, Mr. Tom Tabb, Dr. Taliafero, and others, and remained as they left it until last year, (1854,) when a new roof was put upon it, and the inside altered and improved. A few hundred dollars will render it a handsome as it is now a convenient place of worship. Dr. Taliafero, Jr., has lately placed the old subscription in my hands which was made for Mr. Carnes, and I
* There is no mention of this minister in the history of the Maury and Fontaine families by Dr. Hawks and Miss Ann Maury; but we doubt not he was one of them,-probably the son of Mr. James Fontaine, one of the five brothers, and who settled in King William.
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find very much the same names of families now attending the church. The Corbins and some others have removed from the county. The first subscription to Mr. Carnes was four hundred and ten dollars.
"Of Abington as little is known as of Ware. The first church stood near the present building, and its foundations are easily traced. It seems originally to have been a very small building to which a section was sub- sequently added. Then the present noble building was erected. On the arch of the door, 1765 has been cut, but whether at the time of building no one can say. This church was repaired by the exertions of Colonel Lewis, of Eagle Point, the present residence of J. R. Bryan."
To the foregoing information as to the earlier ministers of Abington I am able to add something from documents in pos- session. In the year 1724 the Rev. Thomas Hughes writes to the Bishop of London "that he has been living in this parish for four or five years, after having lived in the upper parish of Nansemond for three years ; that he was not inducted,-only four ministers in the Colony being inducted; that he has three hundred families under his charge, about two hundred attendants at church, sixty or seventy communicants, no surplice used in the parish, as is the statement in many other reports, a free-school endowed with five hundred acres of land and servants; no parochial library here or in any other parish in the colony." There being no minister in Ware parish, he gives a portion of his time to it.
In the years 1754 and 1758 the Rev. William Gates was minister of Abington, and the Rev. John Fox of Ware parish. In the years 1773-4 and 1776 the Rev. Thomas Price was minister of Abington, and the Rev. James M. Fontaine of Ware. In the year 1785 neither Abington nor Ware was represented in the Convention by the clergy, Mr. John Page (Governor) being the lay delegate from Abington, Mr. Thomas Smith from Kingston, and Matthew An- derson from Petsworth. Mr. Page attended the next two Conven- tions, and Mr. Anderson one. Mr. Thomas Lewis also attended from Abington in 1787. After this we find no more delegates, either clerical or lay, from Abington until long after the revival of the Church commenced. The Rev. Mr. Carnes was the first minister after that work commenced. He continued for some years in zealous prosecution of it, and was succeeded by the Rev. John Cole, now in Culpepper, who was followed by the Rev. Mr. Mann, the present rector of the parishes of Abington and Ware.
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