USA > Virginia > Old churches, ministers and families of Virginia, Vol. II > Part 16
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The first minister we have on any of our lists is the Rev. Charles Rose, brother to the Rev. Robert Rose, of Essex. He appears on the earliest list we have,-that of 1754,-but from the diary of his brother we know that he was its minister some years before this. He was also minister in 1758. In the year 1773, the Rev. Thomas Smith was its minister, as he was in 1776. Either before or after him, we are informed that the Rev. Augustine Smith was its minister. We presume that they were relatives of the many re- spectable persons of that name in this and other counties around, but we have received no particular account of them. In the year 1799, the Rev. James Elliott was minister. Of him we hear nothing good from this or any other parish which he served. We hear of no other minister in Cople parish until the Rev. Washington Nelson took charge of it in connection with the parishes in Richmond county. He was succeeded in 1842 by the Rev. Mr. Ward. The Rev. Mr. Rumney succeeded him in 1849, and was succeeded by the Rev. Edward McGuire in 1850. He was followed by the Rev. William McGuire in 1852. The present minister, the Rev. Mr. Dashiel, took charge of it in 1854.
There were two churches in this parish,-one at Yeocomico River
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or Creek, from which it takes its name, Yeocomico; and another about ten miles off, on Nominy River or Creek, from which it also took the name of Nominy. The latter was destroyed by fire soon after our last war with England, but a new brick one has taken its place within the last few years. The plate belonging to this church was carried off by Admiral Cockburn and his party, when they were on a pillaging-expedition on the Potomac and its tributaries. The plate was kept on a plantation upon the banks of Nominy River, just opposite the church. The farm itself was called Nominy, and was then, and still is, owned by the Griffith family, relatives of the Bishop- elect of that name. The house was plundered and then burned. The other-Yeocomico Church-is still in good repair, but among the rudest and roughest of all the old brick churches. It was built in 1706. For the first time a new roof has, within a few years, been put upon it, and some internal changes been made in it. Although I think it might have been better done and made more complete, yet it would be difficult, and perhaps not desirable, to give a more modern aspect to it. The following extract from my report in 1838 may not be without interest to the reader :-
"On Monday I went, in company with Mr. Nelson, to Yeocomico Church, in Westmoreland, where I preached, and administered the rite of Confirmation to three persons.
" Yeocomico Church, so called after the river of that name, is one of the old churches, being built in the year 1706. The architecture is rough, but very strong, and the materials must have been of the best kind. Its figure is that of a cross, and, situated as it is, in a little recess from the main road, in the midst of some aged trees, and surrounded by an old brick wall which is fast mouldering away, it cannot fail to be an object of interest to one whose soul has any sympathy for such scenes. It has undergone but little repair since its first erection, and indeed has needed little. It is not known or believed that a single new shingle has ever been put upon the roof, and the pews and whole interior are the same. During the late war it was shamefully abused by the soldiers who were quartered in it while watching the movements of the British on the Potomac. The Com- munion-table was removed into the yard, where it served as a butcher's block, and was entirely defaced .. Being of substantial materials, however, it admitted of a new face and polish, and is now restored to its former place, where it will answer, we trust, for a long time to come, the holy purposes for which it was originally designed. Nor was the baptismal font exempt from profanation. It was taken some miles from the church, and used as a vessel in which to prepare the excitements to ungodly mirth. This, however was not long permitted, for in the absence of every member of our own communion, none being left to do it, a venerable old man of the Presbyterian connection,* mortified at the dishonour done to religion,
* The name of this worthy old man is Murphy. He has now gone to his rest.
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took pains to regain it and restore it to its former place. It is a large and beautiful marble font, and by its side I took my station while I heard the renewal of baptismal vows from the lips of those who were confirmed. The canvas on which the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and the Creed were impressed was so torn by the soldiers that they could no longer be permitted to retain their place, and are now lying in fragments in one of the distant and unoccupied pews.
" It deserves to be mentioned that whatever repairs have been put upon this house were at the expense of the good man mentioned above, and a worthy gentleman of New York, a member of our communion, and whose matrimonial connection in the family often brought him to that part of Virginia. A large and excellent stove, which completely warmed the whole church, was a present from the latter, and on the desk and pulpit the Bible and Prayer-Book bear the name of J. Rogers, of New York."
It deserves to be stated that I have in my possession a con- tract with the vestry for the repairs of this church in 1773, at & cost of one hundred pounds, or five hundred dollars. In the agree- ment, various repairs within and without the house and in the walls around the yard are specified, but nothing is said about a new roof, which goes to establish the tradition that the present roof is the original one put upon the house in 1706.
THE MCGUIRE FAMILY, BY THE PRESENT MINISTER OF COPLE PARISH.
For twenty years or more, prior to the pastorate of the Rev. Wash- ington Nelson, this parish was without clerical services. In all that time there was nothing except the visitations of the Bishop to re- mind the people here that there was an Episcopal Church. And depressing as was such a state of things, and calculated as it was to break us down entirely, we were just as likely to have the same end brought about by the life and character of the man who had last been rector. I do not know whether this man resigned the parish, or died whilst in charge: be that as it may, his course was well calculated to disgust people and drive them from our services. Looking at the consequences which must naturally flow from such a connection, and from the long period in which there was entire absence of Episcopal ministrations, we cannot otherwise than won- der, whilst we thank God, as we now see our Church upon the same spot enjoying every promise of prosperity. Whilst, during the period referred to, there was nothing done by us, other Chris- tian bodies were active; and, under all the influences which operated against us, it is not surprising that all or nearly all who had any affection for our Church should have lost their feelings of attach- ment and have sought comfort elsewhere. In truth, when Mr. Nelson came here the Episcopal Church had nearly died out. The
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only communicants he found were three old ladies in the humblest walks of life. An account of these pious and excellent people was published by Mr. Nelson, but I believe it must be out of print. Even, however, if there should be any copies of it in existence, their history is so remarkable that it will very well bear the mention here made. The name of these sisters was McGuire,-Miss Emily, Miss Mary, and a widow, Mrs. Davis. Two of them are still alive and still continue warmly attached to our Church, and are exerting a considerable influence in its favour among their acquaintances. The eldest of them-Miss Emily-died in August, 1855. I tried to obtain for myself a satisfactory account of how they became Epis- copalians, and how they retained their love for the Church when every one else in the surrounding country deserted it. They said, in substance, that they had been educated by their mother, who was an Episcopalian, and brought up to love all our services. They were baptized by our ministry, and attended its preaching whenever they could. When their mother died she left them a large Prayer- Book, with the request that they would abide by its teachings; and, from affection for her as well as for the Church, they obeyed her word. They told how the Church had flourished in days gone by,-how it had been ridiculed when its clergy behaved badly,- and how the members had been shamed away from it, and how themselves still clung to it. I asked them how they got along during the many years there was no minister. "Why, sir," said Miss Emily, "whenever there was preaching at Westmoreland or Richmond Court-House, we would walk to it,-once in a while we would have this chance,-and when there was no preaching I would read the Lessons on Sunday to my sister and we would go through the morning service, and if any neighbours came in maybe I would read a sermon." Westmoreland Court-House is four miles from their residence and Richmond Court-House about twelve miles; and I have it certified by others that the statement of Miss Emily is true,-they have been known to walk to and from these places to attend our Church services in the coldest and hottest weather. I asked them if in that time they never attended the services of other denominations. "Well, sir," they said, "we did sometimes ; they would be holding church all around us, and sometimes we would go; but it wasn't like home to us. We know they're good, but still we felt happier worshipping here in our own way."
The piety of these worthy people is even more remarkable than their attachment to their Church. They are very poor, but their uniform contentment and happiness is rarely to be met with. Upon
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one occasion whilst Miss Emily was alive, her sister Mary remarked that now in their old age they sometimes got right cold while walk- ing to church in the winter. "But what of that, sister ?" says Miss Emily ; "why should we care for that ?" "And I don't care for it," was the reply.
We have mentioned that Miss Emily died in August, 1855. She was very aged, and for some weeks previous to her decease was imbecile. It pleased God, however, not to let her depart in this state. The day before she died her reason returned, and she talked solemnly and impressively to those around her. She remained thus conscious almost up to the very moment of her death. Miss Mary and Mrs. Davis still attend their church and see the parish which once could number only themselves as its friends, now containing more than twenty families, about thirty communicants now living, and many evidences that it is still to flourish. May God help us to remember and cherish the poor !
To this it well deserves to be added, that during the entire inter- mission of services in this parish, these sisters were in the habit of going once in a year in a sail-boat to Alexandria in order to receive the Communion.
THE NEWTON FAMILY.
From a document of Mr. Willowby Newton, father of the present Willowby, and grandson of a Willowby Newton, I learn that at an early period four brothers emigrated to Virginia,-one of whom settled in Norfolk, another in Alexandria, one in Westmoreland, and one in Stafford ; so that it is probable that all of the name in Virginia, and many out of it, are from the same stock. Richard Lee, of Lee Hall, in Westmoreland, not far from the ruins of the old burnt house, which was an ancient Lee establishment, married a Miss Poythress, of Prince George, who was a granddaughter of Richard Bland. After the death of Mr. Lee-commonly called Squire Lee-she married Mr. Willowby Newton, both of whom were vestrymen, as was John Newton, father of this Willowby, and son of the first Willowby. The name of Willowby was an ancient one about Norfolk, and intermarried with the Newtons.
At Bushfield, in this county, there is an inscription which gives us the origin of the name Bushrod, which is incorporated in many other names of Virginia :-
" Here lies the body of John Bushrod, Gentleman, son of Richard Bushrod, Gentleman, by Apphia his wife. He was born in Gloucester
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county, Virginia, the 30th of January, 1663. He took for his wife Han- nah, the daughter of William Keene, of Northumberland, and Elizabeth his wife, and by her left two sons and four daughters, and died the 6th of February, 1719, in the 56th year of his age."
At Wilmington, the family seat of the Newtons, we have also the following inscription :-
" Beneath this stone are deposited the remains of Mrs. Sarah Newton, daughter of George Eskridge, and late wife of Captain Willowby Newton, of Westmoreland county, who, after having justly established the cha- racter of a dutiful child, a faithful friend, an affectionate mother, and sincere Christian, departed this life on the 2d of December, 1753, in the 46th year of her age."
In the same graveyard is the tomb of Mrs. Elizabeth Oldham, wife of Colonel Samuel Oldham, who died in 1759, in her 72d year.
TOMBSTONES IN COPLE PARISH.
From a tombstone in the Burnt-House fields, at Mount Pleasant, Westmoreland county, where are yet to be seen the foundations of large buildings, are the following :-
"Hic conditur corpus Richardi Lee, Armigeri, nati in Virginia, filii Richardi Lee, generosi, et antiqua familia, in Merton-Regis, in comitatu Salopiensi, oriundi.
"In magistratum obeundo boni publici studiosissimi, in literis Græcis et Latinis et aliis humanioris literaturæ disciplinis versatissimi.
"Deo, quem, summa observantia semper coluit, animam tranquillus reddidit xii. mo. die Martii, anno MDCCXIV. ætat. LXVIII."
"Hic, juxta, situm est corpus Lætitia ejusdem uxoris fidæ, filia Henrici Corbyn, generosi, liberorum matris amantissimæ, pietate erga Deum, charitate erga egenos, benignitate erga omnes insignis. Obiit Octob. die vi. MDCCVI. ætatis XLIX."
The first is thus translated :-
"Here lieth the body of Richard Lee, Esq., born in Virginia, son of Richard Lee, Gentleman, descended of an ancient family of Merton-Regis, in Shropshire. ~
" While he exercised the office of a magistrate he was a zealous pro- moter of the public good. He was very skilful in the Greek and Latin languages and other parts of polite learning. He quietly resigned his soul to God, whom he always devoutly worshipped, on the 12th day of March, in the year 1714, in the 68th year of his age."
The second is thus translated :-
"Near by is interred the body of Lettuce, his faithful wife, daughter of Henry Corbyn, Gentleman. A most affectionate mother, she was also
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distinguished by piety toward God, charity to the poor, and kindness to all. She died on the 6th day of October, 1706, in the 49th year of her age."
VESTRYMEN OF COPLE PARISH.
Although no vestry-book of this parish has come down to us from which we might give a connected list of the vestrymen, yet we are glad to present to our readers the result of two elections which were held in this parish,-the one in 1755, and the other in 1785. Those chosen in 1755 were John Bushrod, Daniel Tibbs, Richard Lee, Benedict Middleton, Willowby Newton, Robert Mid- dleton, George Lee, John Newton, Samuel Oldham, Robert Carter, Fleet Cox, James Steptoe. Those chosen in 1785-thirty years after-were Vincent Marmaduke, Jeremiah G. Bailey, John A. Washington, Samuel Rust, John Crabb, Richard Lee, George Gar- ner, George Turberville, Patrick Sanford, John Rochester, Samuel Templeman.
CONTEST ABOUT YEOCOMICO CHURCH.
During the ministry of the Rev. Mr. Ward in Cople parish, a difficulty arose as to this church, and the question was carried before the Legislature. The following letter from Judge McComas shows his opinion on the subject. The action of the Legislature was in favour of the claim of the Episcopal Church :-
"RICHMOND, January 20, 1844.
"TO THE REV. WM. N. WARD.
" DEAR SIR :- You will remember that I objected sitting as a member of the Committee for Courts of Justice, whilst it was acting upon the petition in relation to Yeocomico Church, because I was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and understanding that it was the subject of dispute between that Church and the Episcopal Church ; but at your instance I did sit, but, being chairman of the committee, its action made it unnecessary for me to vote. I take this mode, however, of saying that I perfectly agreed with the committee, and even desired to go further than the committee in this. I wished to pass a law giving to the Epis- copal Church all churches that it is now in possession of, to which it had a right before the Revolutionary War. I think the construction given by the committee to the Act of 1802, or at least my construction of it, is, that the General Assembly claimed for the Commonwealth the right to all the real property held by that Church, but that Act expressly forbids the sale of the churches, &c. It is true, the proviso to that Act does not confer upon the churches the right of property in the houses, &c. But it in- tended to leave the possession and occupancy as it then existed; and, that possession and occupancy being in the Episcopal Church, it had a right to retain it until the Legislature should otherwise direct. I believe that the Committee was of the opinion that the Episcopal Church had a right to the use and occupancy of the church now in question : it certainly is my
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opinion. I hope my Methodist brethren will see the justness of the de- termination of the Committee, and with cheerfulness acquiesce in its decision.
" Yours very respectfully, " DAVID MCCOMAS."
The following letter from Mr. W. L. Rogers, of Princeton, New Jersey, will form an interesting supplement to what has been said about Old Yeocomico :-
"TO THE RIGHT REV. BISHOP MEADE.
" HONOURED SIR :- The Rev. Wm. Hanson, rector of Trinity Church in this place, a few days since handed me a number of the 'Southern Churchman' from Alexandria, dated the 27th of February, 1857. In it is an historical sketch, from your pen, of Cople parish, Westmoreland county, Virginia, and particularly of Yeocomico Church,-a spot ever near and dear to my memory. From a long and intimate acquaintance with its locality and history, I beg leave very respectfully to present the following facts. It was built in the year 1706, as an unmistakable record will show,-it being engraved in the solid wall over the front-door. It was called by that name after the adjacent river,-the Indian name being preserved. The Rev. Mr. Elliot was the last settled minister up to the year 1800, when he removed to Kentucky. From that time it was wholly unused and neglected as a place of worship until the Methodists occasion- ally met under the shadow of its ruin about the year 1814, and continued so to do, keeping alive the spark of vital piety, until the Rev. Mr. Nelson in 1834 took charge of it as a settled minister. During his ministration it was jointly used by the Episcopalians and Methodists in Christian har- mony and good-will. He being succeeded by the Rev. Mr. Ward in 1842, the question of occupancy and right of possession was unhappily agitated, which led to a decision of the Legislature giving to the wardens and vestry of the Episcopal Church the exclusive right to its use and control. Thus it will be seen, for thirty-four years there had been no settled minister of our communion, or its sublime and beautiful service performed, except two or three times by occasional visits.
"The Mr. Murphy you allude to was a Scotch gentleman from Ayrshire, living at Ayrfield, half a mile distant from Old Yeocomico, whose estate, consisting of some thousands of acres, surrounded the church and burial- ground on all sides. He was a gentleman of intellectual culture, an honoured magistrate, and a Presbyterian of the 'Covenant' school ; whose residence was the seat of hospitality and the home of the clergy, with a welcome to all ' who proclaimed the glad tidings, that published salvation, that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth.' The Mr. Rogers you kindly allude to is the unworthy writer of these lines and the following narrative. I am a citizen of New Jersey by birth and education, (not of New York, as you incidentally state.) In the spring of 1813, I joined the 36th Regiment of United States Infantry (Colonel Carberry) at Washington. In the fall of that year, I was detached by order of General Bloomfield to Sandy Point, Westmoreland county, Virginia, on the Potomac, with a company of men to watch the movements of the British fleet. In the spring of 1814, our quarters becoming uncomfortable, we sought out an encampment in what is called there the Forest or high ground. Among
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other places recommended to us by the late General Alexander Parker, we visited the ruins of Yeocomico Church. As soon as I saw it, I ex- claimed, "There is Kirk-Alloway,' (alluding of course to Burns's 'Tam O'Shanter.') Had it stood for the original picture as drawn by the humorous poet, it could not have more forcibly impressed me with awe and deep-abiding interest. Its form,-that of a cross,-its solitude, were strikingly impressive, for it stood in a dell where its silence was only dis- turbed by the passing breeze whispering through the pines and cedars and undergrowth which choked up the entrance. It was overshadowed also by ancient oaks stretching their gigantic arms, as it were, to guard the sacred relic from mouldering time and the desolating elements. Its doors were open, its windows broken, the roof partly decayed and fallen in, and, to complete its apparent hopeless fate, a pine-tree thirty or forty feet high was blown up by the roots and lay across the main structure. Its burial-ground, which is spacious, was enclosed by a costly, high brick wall, with narrow gateways,-symbolical perhaps of the 'narrow path,'-filled to its utmost capacity with broken tombstones and desolate graves over- grown with briers and shrubbery, showing that the 'rich and the poor there rested together, and the servant was indeed free from his master,'- alike unprotected and uncared-for. A ruin outside the wall, which was intended and once served as a vestry, had rotted down; the chimney, a strong brick one, alone standing,-a naked monument of better days. In an alcove of forest-trees a few yards distant flowed numerous springs of cool, delicious water. Indeed, it required no great stretch of imagination to fancy the midnight-scene so graphically described in Burns's Kirk-Alloway, and the race to eross the running stream (for one really flows across the main road, some hundred yards distant) where ' mare Meggie lost her tail.' With some difficulty I entered the porch, which was built of brick and formed the upper part of the eross, spacious and on a level with the ground,-its massive double doorway quite open, presenting within as hopeless a ruin as its exterior, -the roof rotted away at its angles, one of the galleries partly down, the girders rotted off and fallen upon the pews, and the wall in two places mouldered away by years of satura- tion from snow and rain. The remains of a large Bible still lay upon the desk. The font was gone,-which I was told was of marble, and now used for convivial purposes. The chancel, in the eastern arm of the cross, to the right of the pulpit, surmounted by a large Gothic window much broken, was still in tolerable preservation. In it was the Communion- table,-its frame antique, covered with a heavy walnut slab,-sound, but rough and soiled from exposure. Large frames, once covered with canvas exhibiting in distinct characters the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Command- ments, and other texts of Scripture, hung upon the walls, now much defaced, mouldered, and torn. The aisles were paved with brick, and covered with abundant evidence of its being the resort of sheep and cattle running at large; and, to complete the evidence of its abandonment, the ceiling-which was of boards-was tenanted by squirrels, snakes, and scorpions. Indeed, we may truly say, ' All its hedges were broken down by the wild boar of the wilderness,' and there was no one to care for it. Besides, I was told, it was the terror of the neighbourhood, from being the resort of runaway negroes and wandering vagrants, added to the aw6 inseparably connected with the lonely, silent depository of the dead. In contemplating the scene before me, I felt a mysterious attachment to this relic of piety and early faith of our fathers,-not dreaming (being a
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stranger and a wanderer) at some future day I should be honoured and favoured by the commission to restore this temple, now in the dust, to the service of my Creator and Redeemer. We resolved at once to pitch our tents outside the wall : a fatigue-party was detailed to trim up the trees, cut down the undergrowth, and burn up the leaves and rubbish, to re- move the tree which lay across the roof, to cleanse the church and repair it as far as practicable, to make it a safe depository for our stores and camp-equipage. This being done, we were presented with a shady grove, dry ground, and a most inviting and lovely prospect,-with an abundance of pure, delicious water at our feet, and a central position to make nightly detachments to guard the historic shores of old Potomac,-for there rest the remains of the Washingtons, the Lees, the Parkers, and many other gallant spirits of patriotic memory. As illustrative of the actual condition of the spot I am now describing, permit me to relate an original anecdote, which occurred a short time before my visit.
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