USA > Virginia > Old churches, ministers and families of Virginia, Vol. II > Part 2
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FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA.
cuted for slander, but obtained no damages. Under the operation of such causes, as you may well suppose, the Church continued to decline. To give you some idea of the rapidity of this decline, I will make a few ex- tracts from the parish register during the first twenty years of Mr. Hay's ministry :-
"'1792. Baptisms, 89 whites, 35 blacks. Marriages, 11. Funerals, 1.' "'1802. Baptisms, 31 whites, 6 blacks. Marriages, 3. Funerals, 6.'
"' 1810. Baptisms, 6 whites, 7 blacks. Marriages, none. Funerals, none.'
"During the same time the whole amount of subscriptions in the parish for his support, the glebe then being occupied by him, was three hundred and forty-five pounds six shillings and elevenpence,-a little more than seventeen pounds per annum. 'For the last seven years of this time,' he says, 'during which my attendance was not constant, and my services partly discontinued, from an almost total want of encouragement of any kind, there was nothing subscribed.'
"I neglected to say, in the proper place, that measures were early taken for the erection of churches in different parts of the parish. Of these, one was rebuilt by subscription in 1793-94, but, no title to the land having been secured, it was afterward converted into a dwelling-house. Another, having fallen into disuse and being out of repair, was taken down and the materials used in the erection of a Baptist meeting-house. A third, having been sometimes used for the double purpose of a tobacco-barn and stable, was demolished and some of the timbers used in building a store on the same site. The last, having been repaired in 1795-96, was burned to the ground a few years since, having been set on fire by some one, it is said, who wished to obtain the nails. It is proper to remark that it had been some time unused, and was probably in a dilapidated state.
" In 1816 or 1817, after the Church had begun to revive in other parts of the State, and the late Bishop Ravenscroft was beginning to make her claims known in the adjoining county of Mecklenburg, a small edifice was erected about three miles from this place, in which Mr. Hay preached a few times before his death, which occurred in 1819. Here also Mr. Ra- venscroft occasionally preached before his elevation to the Episcopacy, and admitted three or four persons to the communion. The situation of this church not proving favourable for an Episcopal congregation, it has re- cently been sold to the Methodists and the proceeds appropriated toward the erection of another in this village.
"In 1814, Evan Ragland, Esq., dying, left a large estate, consisting of land, negroes, &c., to the Church, with various provisions, but designed primarily and chiefly for the support of a minister or ministers in this parish. This will was contested by the heirs-at-law of said Ragland, and its execution opposed on several grounds. Accordingly a suit was com- menced by Mr. Hay on the part of the Church, he being particularly in- terested, and the case was decided in his favour in the Court of Chancery. From thence it was carried up to the Court of Appeals, where the decision was likely to be reversed. After the death of Mr. Hay, however, agents or commissioners were appointed by the Convention on the part of the Church, who were authorized to make a compromise with the heirs of Mr Ragland. This they effected, and the case was of course dismissed from court. By the terms of the compromise, the land, which in the mean time had considerably depreciated in value, was sold, and bonds to one-fourth of the amount were executed to the agents for the purposes specified in
.
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the will. The last of the bonds is now due, and the Convention is ex- pected to determine at its next meeting what shall be done with the money, amounting to one thousand seven hundred or one thousand eight hundred dollars.
" In 1820 or 1821, the Rev. Mr. Wingfield-now of Portsmouth parish, near Norfolk, but then residing with Mr. Ravenscroft-officiated several months, perhaps a year, in the county, with the view of permanently esta- blishing himself; but he did not meet with sufficient encouragement to persevere. Four or five years since, Mr. Steel, the successor of Bishop Ravenscroft in Mecklenburg, was called to the county to perform some official duty. This led to an arrangement for him to preach once a month at Mount Laurel Church, which had been built a few years previous, chiefly by Episcopalians, but with the condition that it should be free to others when not used by them. Subsequently he made an arrangement to preach one Sunday in a month also in the court-house, which he con- tinued to do until the close of 1828. In the spring of the same year I received ordination, and was directed by the Bishop to make this the field of my labours. These I commenced the first Sunday in June, and was well received by a few, though I found great ignorance of the Church prevailing, and, among many, the most bitter prejudices against her. These prejudices, I am happy to say, appear to be dying away, and the Prayer-Book is becoming more and more popular. During the last year I have admitted to the Communion eight persons, and baptized three adults and six children. A commodious brick church is now nearly ready for consecration in this village, and a smaller place of worship has been erected for me during the past year in another part of the county. My Sunday labours are divided between these congregations, but I am often invited to preach in Baptist and Methodist meeting-houses ; and, did my stated duties permit, I might preach much oftener than I do, where twenty years ago a minister of our Church would have had little but the bare walls for an auditory. This I mention merely to show the decline of prejudice.
" Thus I have given the annals of my parish as far as I have been able to collect them; and, lest I should prove tediously prolix, I will touch upon but one point more. It is stated, in an article which I saw some time ago, from the 'Protestant Episcopalian,' and, I presume, from one of you, that Patrick Henry was once an infidel, &c. His widow and some of his descendants are residing in this county, and I am authorized by one of them to say that the anecdote related is not true. He ever had, I am informed, a very great abhorrence of infidelity, and actually wrote an answer to 'Paine's Age of Reason,' but destroyed it before his death. His widow has informed me that he received the Communion as often as an opportunity was offered, and on such occasions always fasted until after he had communicated, and spent the day in the greatest retirement. This he did both while Governor and afterward. Had he lived a few years longer, he would have probably done much to check the immoral influence of one of his compatriots, whose works are now diffusing the poison of infidelity throughout our land."
Mr. Dresser became the minister of this parish in 1828, and continued in it until 1838, when he was succeeded by its present rector, the Rev. John Grammar. Under his ministry the congre- gation has become one of the largest in the diocese. A church at
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Meadville was built many years since, but has failed to effect what was hoped from it. A large and costly church has been built at the court-house, in place of the one mentioned by Mr. Dresser, in which one of our largest country-congregations assemble every Sabbath.
List of the old Vestrymen of Antrim Parish, from 1752 to
James Terry, Richard Echols, Thos. Dillard, Thos. Calloway, Richard Brown, William Irby, Merry Webb, Peter Wilson, William Wynne, John Guillingtine, John Owen, Nathaniel Terry, Geo. Currie, Samuel Harris, Andrew Wade, Jas. Dillard, Robert Wooding, Archibald Gordon, John Bates, Edward Booker, Hugh Junis, Geo. Watkins, Alexander Gordon, Thomas Tunstall, John Donaldson, Evan Ragland, Benjamin Dickson, William Thompson, George Boyd, Moses Terry, William Sims, Walter Coles, Edward Wade, Isaac Coles, John Coleman, William Terry, Michael Roberts, John Ragland, Armistead Washington, Joseph Hobson, George Carrington, Thomas Davenport, John Faulkner, Edmund King, Joseph Sandford, Thomas Thweat, John Ervine, Daniel Wilson, Thomas Clark, Evan Ragland, Jr., Joseph Haynes, Thomas Lipscomb, John B. Scott, Francis Petty, Daniel Parker, George Camp, William Thomas, Jno. Wat- tington, Achilles Colquett, Hansom Clark, John A. Fowlkes, Chas. Meri- wether, Adam Toot, Edward Boyd, Thomas Clark, Beverly Syndor, Jos. Hewell, Samuel Williams, Littlebury Royster, Benjamin Rogers, Chilton Palmner, John Haynes, Sceevor Torian, Robt. Crute, Granville Craddock, Edward Carlton, William Fitzgerald, Isham Chasteen, Icare Torian, Isaac Medley, John R. Cocke, William Scott.
To them we may add other names, though not vestrymen, yet from the time of efforts for reviving the Church, taking an interest in it and contributing to it,-such as the Bruces, Ligons, Greens, Wimbishses, Leighs, Banks, Logans, Borums, Edmundsons, Fon- taines, Carringtons, Baileys, &c.
In another part of the county of Halifax the Rev. Mr. Clark has been for many years doing a good work, chiefly among the poor and servants, to whom he has devoted time and labour without compensation, being enabled by Providence so to do. Under his auspices, and not without considerable pecuniary aid on his part, three new churches have been erected in that part of the county.
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ARTICLE XLVII. Parishes in Pittsylvania, Henry, Campbell, and Bedford .- Camden Parish, Pittsylvania.
THE names of this county and parish tell their own origin. Pitt and Camden are names familiar to the English and American ear. They were divided from Halifax and Antrim in the year 1767. At different times, subsequent to this, Henry, Patrick, and Franklin were taken from Pittsylvania, but no new parishes established, except in Henry, the Church and State having been separated, so that the two last of them were, according to Colonial law, in the parish of Camden, until the Episcopal Convention made other arrangements. There are no records of the vestry-meetings in this parish; yet the records of the court show that vestrymen were regularly elected, and had the same duties assigned them as in other places. To them were assigned the processioning of lands, the binding out poor and unfortunate children, and the punishment of offences against the moral law. Rude as was the state of so- ciety, it is a fact that these officers did sometimes punish certain violations of the law of God, as Sabbath-breaking, profane swearing, and incontinence, which now are never noticed. It is also a fact that the sins of the fathers being visited upon children to the third and fourth generation, and children's teeth being set on edge by the eating of sour grapes on the part of their parents, is remark- ably exemplified in the case of the descendants of those who nearly a century ago were bound out on account of the immorality of the parents. These descendants, bearing the same name, are objects of the same action by the overseers of the poor as their ancestors were by the churchwardens.
As to the ministers of Camden parish before the revival of the Church in Virginia, we find but one on all our lists. In the year 1774,-seven years after the establishment of the parish,-we find the name of the Rev. Lewis Guilliam. Would that we could find it nowhere else! but, alas, on examining the records of the court, we there find his name, not connected with the registry of baptisms and marriages, as perhaps none would call on him for these offices, but with continual petty law-suits, in which he was almost always the loser. Shame and contempt covered his whole life. He was
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FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA.
a Scotchman, and never married. As to churches, I have heard of one about twenty miles from the court-house. In the year 1773, Mr. Richard Chamberlaine, of St. Peter's Church, New Kent, con- veyed to the vestry, for one hundred and sixty pounds, five hun- dred and eighty-eight acres of land. On this land the Rev. Mr. Guilliam lived. One of the vestrymen, to whom the land was conveyed,-John Donelson,-emigrated to Tennessee, and was the father of Mrs. General Jackson. The glebe lay on the road to Henry Court-House, a few miles from " Callands." It doubtless shared the fate of other glebes. The other vestrymen were John Pigg, Crispin Shelton, John Wilson, Peter Perkins, Thomas Dillard, Hugh Innes, Theodoric Lacy, Abram Shelton, George Rowland, Robert Chandler, and William Witcher.
The descendants of the above, by the same and other names, are scattered over this and the surrounding counties. There is one family in the county which has contributed so much to keep alive the hope of the Church in this parish, in her darkest days, that I must give it a passing notice. Colonel Isaac Coles, ancestor of a number of that name in this region, and uncle of those in Albemarle, married first a Miss Lightfoot, of York, (a maid-servant of whom, one hundred and ten years old, is still alive and in the family,) and had one son by her,-Mr. Isaac Coles, of Halifax. His second wife was a Miss Thompson, from New York, with whom he became acquainted while member of Congress, and whose sister mar- ried Elbridge Gerry .* By this marriage he had a numerous off- spring, who are dispersed through this county and other places. At a time when the venerable widow, and her daughter Mary, who married James M. Whittle, were almost the whole Church in that region, I always made the old mansion in which they lived a stopping-place and a house of prayer, for the mother had long been confined to it. The Lord's Supper was always administered to her. Many baptisms and confirmations of children, and chil- dren's children, have I performed, and happy religious seasons en- joyed in that " Church in the House."
The mother and the daughter above mentioned were, in person and character, striking and impressive. Great was the parental anxiety of the widow and the mother for all her children's welfare, and tender and faithful was the filial piety of the daughter, who devoted herself to the comfort of the aged mother. May the descendants of both of them follow their holy example, and not
1
* They were married in the year 1790, by Bishop Provost.
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only, like them, love and nourish the Church of their ancestors, but the holy standard of religion which it lifts up on high.
By the exertions of this family, and a few others,-the Smiths and Slaughters, Millers and Sheltons,-and under the auspices of the Rev. Mr. Dresser, then minister in Halifax, now at Jubilee College, in Illinois, a church (St. Andrew's) was built in this part of the county, and, for a time, hopes were entertained that a per- manent congregation might be established there; but deaths and removals have disappointed these hopes. In relation to Danville and the court-house, after a visit from the Rev. Mr. Towles, and numerous visits from the Rev. Mr. Clark, the services of the Rev. Mr. Dame were secured in 1840, for the joint purpose of teaching young females and building up the Church. At his first coming there were only eight communicants, and they all females, in the three counties of Pittsylvania, Franklin, and Henry. Since his ministry, one hundred and twenty have been added, exclusive of those coming from other parishes. A new church has been built in Danville, and another at the court-house, since Dr. Dame's coming, in 1840. He is still the minister of the parish, and will, I hope, long continue to be so.
HENRY COUNTY, PATRICK PARISH.
The county of Henry was separated from Pittsylvania in the year 1776, and the parish of Patrick from Camden in 1778 ; but no steps, we believe, were ever taken to build churches and procure ministers. Our fathers were then in the midst of the war, and every thing was unfavourable for such an enterprise. Patrick Henry, after whom both the county and parish were probably called, was then, I believe, a delegate from this part of the State, having his abode and much land here. Some of his descendants are here to this day. Some readers were probably exercising their functions in private houses in this county, but we hear of no settled pastor. The first efforts at the establishment of the Church, in later days, were made by the Rev. Mr. Webb, while a teacher of youth, can- didate for the ministry, and lay reader at Henry Court-House.
He was succeeded by the Rev. Mr. Wade, a native of the county, and descendant of some whose names have hitherto appeared among the vestrymen of adjoining parishes. During his ministry a church has been erected at the court-house, and the foundation of a promising congregation laid. He occasionally officiated in Franklin county. No parish was ever established by
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law, or otherwise, in either Franklin or Patrick, until of late years, when one was erected in the former, where there is a prospect of our having a respectable settlement, as we trust, before many years.
CAMPBELL COUNTY.
Campbell was separated in 1781, just at the close of the war, when the civil Legislature was ceasing to act for the affairs of the Church. Nothing is said of a parish. That was reserved for our Convention at a later period. The first minister in Lynchburg- the Rev. Amos Tredway-is said to represent Lynchburg parish, and by that name does it still go. Subsequently, Moore parish is established in the county. In Lynchburg, the Rev. Franklin G. Smith succeeded Mr. Tredway, in 1825, and continued for about fourteen years. The Rev. Thomas Atkinson (now Bishop) suc- ceeded Mr. Smith, and the Rev. William H. Kinckle, the present rector, succeeded him in 1844. An excellent brick church was erected in the time of Mr. Smith, and a larger and much costlier one in the time of Mr. Kinckle.
In Moore parish, the Rev. Mr. Osgood was the first who taught school and ministered. Under his care, St. John's Church was erected. In its loft was his vestry-room and chamber, and, near at hand, his school-house. The present location of St. John's is not the same with its original one, it having been found that a more convenient one might be had a mile off, to which it was moved on rollers. After the removal of Mr. Osgood to the West,- where he died,-the Rev. Mr. Tompkins took his place in both departments for many years, preaching at St. John's, and at another position some twelve miles off. Since his removal to Western Virginia, the Rev. Mr. Kinckle, of Lynchburg, has, by occasional services, kept alive the hopes of our few but zealous members in that part of the county, sometimes aided by the visits of the Rev. Mr. Clark, of Halifax, until, during the last year, the Rev. Mr. Locke, having settled himself at Campbell Court-House, took charge of both of the congregations, and added to it a new one at the place of his residence. A church has recently been pur- chased and consecrated at that place, and the friends of the Church in that part of the county are encouraged to hope for better times.
RUSSELL PARISH, BEDFORD COUNTY.
The county of Bedford was separated from Lunenburg in 1753. The parish of Russell was established in it at the same VOL. II .~ 2
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time. Both were enlarged in the year 1754 by the addition of a part of Albemarle, then of large extent. The present county of Campbell was included in the original bounds of the parish of Russell and county of Bedford.
On our list of clergy for 1754 and 1758, we find no minister from Bedford. In the years 1773-74-76, we find the Rev. John Brandon. Doubtless there were ministers there during the twenty years of which there are no records. Our Conventions under the independent system, after the Revolution, commenced in 1785 and continued until 1805; but there is no representation, either clerical or lay, during that period. The first representation from that region was in the year 1823, when the Rev. Amos Tredway appears as a delegate from Lynchburg, then in Campbell county. But Mr. Tredway officiated also at New London, in Bedford, as had also the Rev. Mr. Dashiel, who had the academy at New London, though he was never in regular connection with the diocese.
In the year 1825 the Rev. Nicholas H. Cobbs appears as the first regular representative from Russell parish. Its revival is to be ascribed under God to his zealous, and for a long time almost gratuitous, services, since his support was mainly derived from a school. Under his ministry St. Stephen's and Trinity Churches were built, and other positions, as Liberty, and Mr. Wharton's, occupied, where churches are now to be seen. Mr. Cobbs con- tinued his indefatigable labours until the year 1835, when he removed to the University of Virginia, and, after two years' service as chaplain, returned to Bedford, and continued until 1839, when he removed to Petersburg. Mr. Cobbs was succeeded, for a short time, by the Rev. Mr. Doughen, after which the Rev. Mr. Marbury took charge of the parish, and was succeeded by the Rev. Mr. Cofer. The Rev. Mr. Kinsolving followed, and, after some years, was succeeded by the Rev. R. H. Wilmer, the present minister.
The Rev. Mr. Sale has been for many years occupying other parts of the county of Bedford, as at St. Thomas's Church, built under his auspices, at Liberty, at Trinity Church, when separated from St. Stephen's, and at Pedlar's Church, in Amherst county. While labouring on a farm and raising a large family, he has performed the duties of minister for a very small pecuniary com- pensation.
A new church was built at Liberty, in this county, during the ministry of the Rev. Mr. Caldwell, who spent some time at
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FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA.
that place after the removal of Mr. Cobbs. After the removal of Mr. Caldwell the Rev. Mr. Sale took charge of it, and still is its canonical rector, although the duty of preaching is performed by the Rev. John Wharton, who has for some years been acting as sub-deacon. There are now no less than four parishes in that part of old Russell parish which lay in Bedford county, as now reduced in its dimensions. No parish register is found to supply a list of the old vestrymen of this parish .*
* I have been told of two other old churches in Bedford county, and as many other ministers, and had a promise of their names, but something has prevented its fulfilment.
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ARTICLE XLVIII.
Parishes in Amelia, Nottoway, and Prince Edward.
AMELIA county was cut off from Prince George in the year 1734. Raleigh parish was established in the following year. In the year 1754 the Rev. Musgrave Dawson was minister of Raleigh parish,-how long, if before, not known. He was not the minister in 1758. The Rev. John Brunskill was minister in 1773-74-76 .*
* The following is from an aged lady :-
The Egglestons are of Irish extract, but came over to this country from England, and settled first on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. After some time two brothers-William and Joseph-came to Amelia county, and located near the central position, where they lived to the time of their death. They, with Mr. Thos. Tabb, Colonel Archer, and Mr. Edward Booker, of Winterham, built Grubhill Church, which was supplied by a minister sent from England,-Parson Brunskill,-who, although not an acceptable preacher, always had large congregations, composed of the families immediately around, and many from a distance. Those who had galleries in the church were the Tabbs, Egglestons, and Bookers,-one public gallery.
On one occasion, when the house was full, just before the Revolutionary War, when the whole Colony was incensed against England, Parson Brunskill arose, and, seeing Colonel Archer and one or two other gentlemen dressed in regimentals, called them rebels, and expressed himself indignant to see such indications of a general rebellion, and said he should write immediately to the King and inform against them. Whereupon nearly every one in the church got up and left the house, not before warning him, however, never to repeat such language, or he would receive harsh treatment added to disrespect. He never attempted to preach afterward, but lived a quiet secluded life at the glebe, about five miles from Grubhill. Mr. McCreary was his successor,-a most pious and worthy man, whose sons fought in the Revolution.
The following is from high authority :- )
Joseph Eggleston, Sen. moved to Amelia county in 1758 or '59, as shown by the baptism of his third child by the Rev. John Fox, in Ware parish, Gloucester county, in 1758, and of his fourth child by the Rev. John Brunskill, in Raleigh parish, Amelia county, in 1759, as recorded in his Bible, now in the possession of his family. This proves that the Rev. John Brunskill was in this parish in 1759, where he continued till his death in 1803 or 1804. The Rev. John Brunskill was thought to be an amiable man and an indulgent master, but stood very low for piety, and the ruin of the Church here was attributed to him. He died at his glebe, near Amelia Court-House, in 1802 or 1804, in good circumstances, leaving his servants free, and every thing else to a Mr. Richard Booker.
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