USA > Virginia > Old churches, ministers and families of Virginia, Vol. II > Part 7
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As to the churches in the parish of Amherst and county of Nel- son of more recent erection, there was, until a few years since, one called Calloway's Church, of whose date, however, I am unable to speak positively, but think it must have been at a much later date than the old ones which have long since passed away. This has been deserted of late years for two new brick houses,-the one called Trinity, near the residence (Oak Ridge) of old Mr. Rives, and built chiefly, if not entirely, by him, and the other at New Market, on the James River Canal, at the mouth of Tye River. The old church at Rockfish has also been removed to a more con- venient place, not far off, and entirely renovated.
* The Rev. Cleland Nelson preceded Mr. Goodwin in this parish.
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Amidst no little opposition, Captain John B. Coles and Mr. Martin, two fast friends of the Church, determined upon the effort for its removal and renewal, and invited all the neighbours-even the poorest-to meet at certain appointed days for its prostration, its removal and re-erection, and completely triumphed over all opposition and falsified all unfavourable prophecies. In another place I have stated that it has been for many years supplied with occasional services by ministers from Albemarle county.
THE FAMILY OF CABELLS.
Among the numerous families of Amherst and Nelson who were the active supporters of the Episcopal Church, the Roses and Ca- bells were most conspicuous. Of the Roses, the descendants of the Rev. Robert Rose, who died in 1751, leaving large estates to his four sons, we have already written in our sketches of the father in a previous article. Of the Cabells we will now make some mention, abridging our notice from the various accounts we have of them.
Dr. William Cabell, a surgeon of the British navy, emigrated to Virginia about the year 1720 or 1725, according to different ac- counts. It is said he owned twenty-five thousand acres of land on either side of Upper James River, in the counties of Nelson, Am- herst, and Buckingham. He was one of the earliest vestrymen and wardens in the Church, as established in that part of Virginia, and was the intimate friend of the Rev. Robert Rose. Between the years 1740 and 1750 he appears as chiefly concerned in the contracts for the building of churches, &c. He had four sons,-William, Joseph, John, and Nicholas. William, the eldest, was the owner of the estate called Union Hill, in Nelson county, on James River. Mr. Grigsby has given a very glowing account of this mansion and the hospitality of its owner, and his great business-talents as a farmer, and in other respects comparing his house to Mount Vernon, except that it was larger, and himself to Washington, as to the management of his estate, and methodical accounts kept by him. He speaks of his association with Washington in all the great poli- tical bodies in Virginia previous to 1776, as well as in that year, and of his political career afterward, terminating in the adjournment of the Federal Convention. It remains for me to add, that before and after the death of his father, Dr. Cabell, he was also the active vestryman and churchwarden in the parish, the intimate friend of the Rev. Mr. Rose, who was often at his house. I have before me subscription-papers and contracts in which he is leader in all Church
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matters in the parish, especially after the Establishment was put down and it became necessary to raise a salary for the minister by private contributions. His son also, Mr. William Cabell, who was a representative in Congress from this district before his father's death, and in connection with his father, took part in the vestry- proceedings. Of his other sons I have no account. Of his daugh- ters, one married Mr. Rives, the father of W. C. Rives and of a number of other sons and daughters; another married Judge Ca- bell ; another the Rev. Mr. Legrand. The present Mayo Cabell, of Nelson, and Mrs. Bruce, of Richmond, are also descendants of Colonel Wm. Cabell. The second son of Dr. Cabell, father of the family, was Joseph, of whom all the information I have is, that he was also at various times in the House of Burgesses, and took part in the Revolution, and was the ancestor of General Cabell, of Danville, and of the Breckenridges of Virginia and Kentucky. Of the third son, John, Ilearn that he was in the Convention of 1775 and 1776, and was the father of the late Dr. George Cabell, of Lynchburg. Of the fourth son, Nicholas Cabell, of Liberty Hall, I find that he was both in the field and the Legislature, and was the father of the late Judge W. H. Cabell and Joseph C. Cabell. I have also papers showing that he was a vestryman of the church in this parish, and took a lively interest in its affairs. He was the collector of the subscriptions made to the ministers after the Revo- lution : to him Mr. Darneile applied in his difficulties, for relief, and both himself and his brother, Colonel Wm. Cabell, acted as friends to Mr. Darneile by advancing moneys for him. On a slip of paper before me I find that he also collected what was given to the Rev. Mr. Clay, while minister in Albemarle, for services rendered at Key's Church, in Nelson, but which Mr. Clay re- quested him to give to the poor of the parish .*
* The following additions to my account of the Cabells have been sent me by one of the family, and will, I am sure, prove interesting, not only to all of that wide- spread connection, but to many others.
" Dr. William Cabell came to Virginia either in 1723 or 1724. Colonel William Cabell, Sen. it was who once held twenty-five thousand acres of land in this region. His father may at one period have owned half so much. His object seemed to be rather to acquire that of the best and most durable quality for the use of his pos- terity, than to embrace a surface which could not be brought into use for a genera- tion to come. He accordingly secured all the alluvial land in the Valley of James River, for more than twenty miles continuously, above this place, where he resided. Was not he also the Wm. Cabell whom Mr. Rose visited ? I have some doubts whe- ther Colonel Wm. Cabell (who was born in March, 1730) was settled at Union Hill
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I have also a manuscript sermon preached by the Rev. Charles O'Neale, then probably a minister of some neighbouring parish,
(or Colleton, as it was then called) before Mr. Rose's death. Two of the contracts for building churches in Albemarle, which I sent you, were those spoken of by Mr. Rose near the close of his diary, and probably left with Dr. Cabell for safe- keeping.
" 1. Of the sons of Dr. Cabell, the first and third-William and John-married re- spectively Margaret and Paulina, daughters of Colonel Samuel Jordan, who lived on James River, in Buckingham, and near the Seven Islands. The former was ac- counted an able man and true patriot in his day, and was much respected in all the relations of life. He had four sons, of whom three were somewhat distinguished in the family. Samuel Jordan, the eldest,-who married Sarah, daughter of Colonel John Syme, of Hanover,-was the member of Congress from this district from 1795 to 1803. He had risen to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the Southern War, and afterward served in the Legislature of the State, and in the Convention of 1789. William, generally known as Colonel Wm. Cabell, Jr., also served in the latter scenes of the war in this State, and was occasionally in the Legislature afterward. He married Anne, daughter of Judge Paul Carrington, and was the father of Colonel Edward A. Cabell, sometime of Amherst, now of Washington, D.C., of Mayo Cabell, and of Mrs. Bruce, and others. Landon,-the third son,-a man of distinguished talents and acquirements, but never in public life, married a daughter of Colonel Hugh Rose, and was the father of Dr. R. Henry Cabell, now of Richmond. Colonel Cabell's daughter Paulina had married Major Edmund Read, of Charlotte, (son of Colonel Clement Read,) before she was married to Rev. Mr. Legrand.
"2. Colonel Joseph Cabell-who married a Miss Hopkins, of Amherst, (now Nel- son,)-had but one son and several daughters. The son, who bore his own name, married Pocahontas, daughter of Colonel Robert Bolling, of Chellowe, Buchanan, and their descendants (of whom you have mentioned General Cabell) are numerous. Colonel Joseph Cabell was the ancestor of the Breckenridges of Kentucky, and not of Virginia. Thus, his daughter Mary married John Breckenridge, (elder son of General James Breckenridge.) This gentleman, after a successful career at the bar here, (he lived in Albemarle,) removed with George Nicholas to Kentucky, of which territory they immediately became the leading citizens. When it was erected into a State Mr. Breckenridge was sent to the Senate of the United States, and at his death was Mr. Jefferson's Attorney-General. The eldest son of Mr. Breckenridge (Joseph Cabell Breckenridge) was a rising statesman of Kentucky at the time of his death. He married a daughter* of President Smith, of Prince- ton, and their son is now Vice-President of the United States. The three younger sons of Mr. Breckenridge-John, Robert, and William-became dis- tinguished Presbyterian clergymen. His daughter (Letitia) married first a son of Mr. Senator Grayson, and second, General P. B. Porter, of New York, Mr. Adams's Secretary of War. To return : Colonel Joseph Cabell had other daughters, of whom Anne married Robert Carter, son of Carter Harrison, of Clifton, in Cumber- land ; and Elizabeth married Colonel William J. Lewis, of Campbell, sometime mem- ber of Congress from that district. The major part of Colonel J. Cabell's descend- ants are now to be found in the West,-particularly in Kentucky and Missouri.
"3. Colonel John Cabell had several sons,-of whom Dr. George Cabell, of Lynch-
* Miss Caroline Smith, who, when the author of this work was at Princeton College, was a favourite with the students by reason of her many interesting qualities.
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afterward in Prince William, in the year 1794, on the occasion of the death of two of Mr. Nicholas Cabell's daughters, Hannah and Henningham, who died on the 7th and 8th of September of that year, aged the one eight and the other six years. In this sermon also we see the deficiency of the pulpit in that day. Once only is there allusion to Christ, when he says that "to those who lead a virtuous life, and die in the faith of Christ, the whole aspect of death is changed," while in the sermon, which is on resignation and preparation for death, he speaks of certain duties "to be performed in order to make us acceptable to God," and at the close of it says that "the best preparation for death is a virtuous temper and a good life. When once you are furnished with these qualifications, you may view it approaching toward you with a calm and constant mind, free from any timorous and unmanly solicitude." Nothing is said in the sermon about a new birth of the Spirit as a necessary qualifica- tion for heaven, of faith in Christ and repentance toward God as being the constant exercises of the true Christian, and from which any good works can flow. There are many very good things said about the vanity of earthly things and the duty of considering our latter end, but they are such things as are common to the Christian preacher and the pagan philosopher.
I might also speak of the Sheltons, Taliaferos, Thompsons, Ellises, Davises, Tinsleys, Garlands, and others, as having been fast friends of the Church in Amherst and Nelson, but refer to the list of vestrymen for the purpose of showing who were her perse- vering advocates.
There is one name on which I must dwell for a moment. Mr. William Waller, lately deceased, was perhaps inferior to none of the laity of Virginia in personal piety and hearty zeal for the
burg, was the eldest. His brother John, of the same place, was also a learned and successful physician.
" A third son-Frederick-succeeded to the family mansion on James River, op- posite New Market, and his eldest son, of the same name, was several times a dele- gate from this county under the second Constitution, and the first Senator from this district under the present régime. A fourth son of Colonel John removed to Kentucky. One of his daughters married first her cousin Hector, and afterward Judge Daniel.
"4. Colonel Nicholas Cabell embarked in the Revolutionary service so early as 1775, and several years afterward the Legislature appointed him to the com- mand of one of the State Regiments ; but it so happened, and much to his morti- fication, that he was never called into action. He served in the Senate for more than sixteen years from 1785. Of his four sons we have mentioned the first and third. The second was the father of Professor Cabell, of the University; the fourth of Francis Cabell, of Warminster."
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Church, as well as for all that was amiable and excellent in private life. He was well known in our Conventions, which he delighted to attend, and acted as an efficient vestryman and lay reader for a long time. He has left a large family of children, who I trust will follow his good example.
One word is added concerning the family of Massies, in Nelson, not very far from Rockfish Church. It came at an early period from England, and settled in New Kent, where several in succession were vestrymen. Major Massie, of Nelson, after having served in the Revolution, moved from New Kent about the close of the war, and was a vestryman of the Church in Frederick county, with Colonel Burwell, Meade, and others. From thence he moved to Nelson, and lived in great seclusion the remainder of his days. He had three sons, of whom Dr. Thomas Massie, of Nelson, was the eldest.
COUNTIES AND PARISHES OF BOTETOURT, ROCKINGHAM, ROCK- BRIDGE, GREENBRIER, AND MONTGOMERY.
When Frederick county was first divided from Augusta, the latter was left with all of Western Virginia beyond the Alleghany Moun- tains, then extending to the Pacific Ocean, or, as it was sometimes said, to the "waters of the Mississippi."
In the year 1769, Botetourt was taken from Augusta, and also extended westward indefinitely. At a subsequent period Mont- gomery was taken from Botetourt. But in the year 1777, Rock- ingham, till then part of Augusta, and Rockbridge and Greenbrier, were cut off from Augusta, Botetourt, and Montgomery. In all of these, parishes were also established by Act of Assembly. What was done in them after this is unknown. In Rockingham, probably before its separation from Augusta, there were, as may be seen in our article on Augusta, two churches. In Rockbridge, when com- posed of parts of Augusta and Botetourt, there may have been a church or churches, but I have obtained no information of such. Before this period the Presbyterians had made settlements in this region, especially about Lexington. On none of our lists of clergy or records do we find any minister belonging to Rockbridge after its separation from Augusta and Botetourt. In Montgomery and Greenbrier parishes and counties, we presume there were none. In Botetourt parish, (for all the new parishes were called by the same name with the counties,) we find that the Rev. Adam Smith was the minister in the years 1774 and 1776. He was the father of Mr. Alexander Smith, sometimes written Smythe, of Wythe county, member of Congress, and General in the last war with England.
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We know of no other but the Rev. Samuel Gray, who appears on the journal of 1796, and who died in the parish poor-house, the miserable victim of drink. In Fincastle there was an Episcopal church on the spot where the Presbyterian church now stands. A new church being built there, the Presbyterians worshipped in it, and were perhaps most active in its erection. By an Act of the Legislature, the lot of ground on which it stood was given to that denomination. It was not until the Rev. Mr. Cobbs commenced his labours in Bedford and extended his visits to Botetourt, that any hopes were raised, in the breasts of the Episcopalians in that county, of the establishment of the Church of their fathers and of their affection.
During the ministry of Mr. Gray, some of the descendants of Major Burwell, an old vestryman of the church in King William, had removed to the neighbourhood of Fincastle. General Breck- enridge, and Watts, who had not forgotten the Church of their forefathers, were also there. Woodville, son of the old minister of Culpepper, one of the Taylors from Old Mount Airy, in the Northern Neck, Madison, son of Bishop Madison, and others who might be mentioned, were there to encourage the effort at esta- blishing a church. And yet, on my first visit to that county after my consecration, only one solitary voice was heard in the responses of our service.
After some years the Rev. Dabney Wharton, from the neigh- bouring county, took Orders and entered on the work of resuscita- ting or rather establishing the Church there, and during his residence in the parish did much to effect it. The Rev. W. H. Pendleton succeeded him for some years, and, though removing for a time to another, has returned to a portion of his former field. He was succeeded by the Rev. Mr. McElroy, in 1847. The Rev. George Wilmer also spent some years there, first as minister to the whole parish, and then to a portion of it, which was formed into a distinct parish, now in the county of Roanoke. New churches have been erected in each portion,-one at Big Lick, in Roanoke, another at Fincastle, a third at Buchanon. The Rev. Mr. Baker has for some years been the minister of the two congregations in Fincastle and Buchanon. The new church at Buchanon deserves a word of special notice. It is chiefly the result of female enterprise. A lady well known in Virginia, who occasionally visited it in the summer season, fleeing from the sultry heat of Richmond, deter- mined to effect it by collections, far and near, of only twelve and a half cents from each contributor, and by dint of perseverance, VOL. II .- 5
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succeeded in the course of a few years,-at least, so far as to secure the object. A neat, well-filled brick church is now to be seen at Buchanon.
Although there was no church in Rockbridge county in former times, so far as I am informed, I must not omit to mention a most successful effort of later years. About the year 1839 or 1840, the Rev. William Bryant, a native of Virginia, and a graduate of West Point, who had left the army of his country to enter the army of the Lord and become one of the great company of preachers, was induced by his friend, and almost brother, as well as fellow-student at West Point, Colonel Smith, of the Military Institute at Lexing- ton, to come and seek to establish an Episcopal church at that place. Difficult as the work seemed to be, and most doubtful the success of it, especially to one of so meek and quiet a spirit, and destitute of those popular talents in the pulpit so much called for in such positions, he nevertheless, in humble dependence on divine assistance, undertook the task and succeeded far beyond general expectation. With generous aids from other parts of the State, and active exertions on the part of the few friends in Lexington, a handsome brick church has been built and a respectable though still a small congregation been collected. The Rev. Mr. Bryant was succeeded by one of our present missionaries to China,-the Rev. Robert Nelson,-who, pursuing the same judicious course and putting forth the same efforts with his predecessor, carried on the work with the same success, until in the providence of God he was called to a distant field in which he had long desired to labour. The Rev. William N. Pendleton has now for some years been labouring as his successor.
Higher up the valley, in what was once Montgomery county and parish, but is now not only Montgomery, but Wythe, and Wash- ington, and others, we cannot read or hear of any effort being made in behalf of establishing the Episcopal Church until within the last twenty years, when the Rev. Mr. Cofer was sent as mis- sionary to Abingdon, in Washington county. Some years after his relinquishment of the station the Rev. James McCabe occupied it, and during his stay; I believe, a neat but very small brick church was put up. He was succeeded for two years by the Rev. Mr. Lee. It has now for some time been without a minister, though we hope for better times.
As emigration and natural increase of population shall follow the railroad up this narrow though fertile valley, and whenever the mountains on either side shall be cleared of their forests, we may
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surely hope better things for our Church. Already are there many interesting families inheriting an attachment to the Church of their fathers to be found along the great highway leading through this part of Virginia and the West. At Wytheville the indefatigable efforts of a mother and daughter have raised a considerable sum of money for the erection of a church. The tongue hath spoken, the pen hath written, and hands have laboured, in the cause, and none of them in vain. A most eligible sight, at great cost, has been obtained, and perhaps great progress made in the erection of a church. Other openings, I am told by those who have made recent missionary visits to this upper valley of Virginia, are likely to present themselves. The Rev. Frederick Goodwin has just settled at Wytheville.
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ARTICLE LIII.
St. George's Parish, Spottsylvania County.
I AM saved all trouble in the examination of records and docu- ments, in order to the execution of this part of my work, by the full and interesting history of this parish from the pen of the Rev. Mr. Slaughter. His authorities are the old vestry-books and Henning's Statutes.
The county of Spottsylvania was established in 1720, being taken from the counties of Essex, King William, and King and Queen. It extended westward to the river beyond the high moun- tains,-the Shenandoah. The parish of St. George's was then commensurate with the county. In the year 1730, the parish was divided into St. George's and St. Mark's,-St. Mark's lying in the upper portion, which, in the year 1734, was made the county of Orange, and contained all that is now Orange, Madison, Culpepper, and Rappahannock. At the first establishment of Spottsylvania, in 1720, fifteen hundred pounds were appropriated by the House of Burgesses to a church, court-house, prison, pillory, and stocks. Governor Spottswood, after whom the county was named, esta- blished the seat of justice at Germanna, and there built a church, &c. In the year 1732, the seat of justice was, by Act of Assembly, removed to Fredericksburg, as a more convenient place ; but, seven- teen years after, the law was repealed as derogatory to his Majesty's prerogative to take from the Governor or Commander-in-Chief of this Colony his power and authority of removing or adjourning the courts because it might be inconvenient in a case of smallpox or other contagious disease. Fredericksburg was founded, by law, in the year 1727. Colonel Byrd, in his visit in the year 1732, says of it at this time, "Besides Colonel Willis, who is the top man of the place, there are only one merchant, a tailor, a smith, an ordinary-keeper, and a lady who acts both as a doctress and coffee- woman." A church was built in that year, (1732.) There had been a church near Fredericksburg in the year 1728, (as also one at Mattapony,) called the Mother-Church, besides that built at Germanna, by Governor Spottswood's order, at the first establish- ment of the county. Its first minister of whom we have any know-
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ledge was the Rev. Theodosius Staige, whose name is found incor- porated with the Davis family, of Albemarle, and with some others, I think. He continued until November, 1728. The Rev. Mr. De Butts, of Westmoreland, became a candidate for the parish; but the Rev. Rodham Kennor, having been recommended by the Go- vernor, was accepted. He continued the minister for eighteen months, and then preached there once a fortnight for more than two years,-the Rev. Mr. Pearl occasionally officiating. The Rev. Mr. Kennor appears to have been a rolling stone,-passing from parish to parish,-and the vestry of St. George's were well pleased to part with him. In 1732, the Rev. Patrick Henry, uncle of the celebrated orator, and who was afterwards, and for a long time, minister of St. Paul's parish, Hanover, became the minister, and continued until April, 1734. Governor Gooch sent a Rev. Mr. Smith to the parish ; but his preaching was so unacceptable that the vestry sent a deputation to inform the Governor that they could not accept him. They also petitioned the Governor to allow the Rev. James Marye, who was the minister of the Huguenot settle- ment at Manakintown, in King William parish, then in Goochland, now in Powhatan, and who was willing to come, to leave his parish. He was accordingly inducted in October, 1735. During his ministry two chapels were built in the parish at places not now to be identi- fied. Roger Dixon was allowed to have any pew in the church, except two already granted to Benjamin Grymes, provided he did not raise the pew higher than the other pews. In the year 1767, after a ministry of thirty-two years in this parish, Mr. Marye died, and was succeeded by his son, James Marye, who was born in Goochland, in 1731, was educated at William and Mary, and had been minister in Orange county. His father was one of the Hu- guenots who fled from France at the time of the persecutions of the Protestants in that country. He married a Miss Letitia Staige, of London, daughter of an English clergyman,-perhaps the one who was minister in Fredericksburg. Mr. Marye, Jr. continued the minister until 1780. He was the father of Mrs. Dunn, wife of the Rev. John Dunn, of Leesburg, and of Mrs. Yeamans Smith, of Fredericksburg. During his ministry a new church, near Bur- bridge's Bridge, was built, and was used as an Episcopal Church long after the Revolution, though now occupied by other denomi- nations. The parish also was divided during his time, and Berkeley parish cut off from it. The parish was now vacant for seven years, at the end of which the Rev. Thomas Thornton was chosen its minister. Under his ministry and the voluntary system, which was
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