USA > Virginia > Sketches of Virginia : historical and biographical > Part 39
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On Monday, October 19th, the installation services were per- formed, Mr. Speece preached from the words -" So thou, son of man, I have set thee as a watchman." The feeling of the congre- gation was highly excited. Other installations have been witnessed in Richmond of great interest, but never such a day. The church, now united to a pastor, was organized June 12th, about a month after Mr. Rice went to Richmond. The elders, George Watt . and Benjamin Moseby, were ordained on the 20th of the same month ;. Messrs. Robert Quarles, William S. Smith, John Seabrook, and David I. Burr, were soon added. The number of members reported to Presbytery in May, 1813, was sixty. In May, 1814, the number was seventy, as reported to Presbytery. At that time Benjamin HI. Rice reported a church in Petersburgh of twenty-seven members, with elders Messrs. Benjamin Harrison, John Gordon, and William Baird ; Mr. Benjamin H. Rice was installed their pastor. Mr. Paxton was at the same time ordained evangelist at the request of the church of Norfolk.
Mr. Rice called the attention of the citizens of Richmond to the supply of the city with the Bible in obedience to a recommendation of the General Assembly on the church in May, 1813, the Virginia- churches being represented by Messrs. J. B. Hoge, Shannon, Ken- non, Calhoon and Bourne, with John Mark, elder. The citizens re- sponded to the call, and a society was formed, that still exists, under the name of the Virginia Bible Society. This society, by its dele-
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gates, assisted in forming the American Bible Society in the city of New York in 1816. The Presbytery, in the fall of '13, " enjoined on all the members of Presbytery to use their influence as far as may be in their power, to establish auxiliary societies in their respec- tive bounds." The whole State was soon aroused to a general sup- ply of families with the Bible.
Mr. Rice met his congregation in the Masons' Hall till the house for worship near Rockets was prepared for temporary occupation. It was never finished. The location proved unsatisfactory ; and after much expense all hope of completing it was abandoned. Mr. Rice felt the force of the objections, and advocated the sale of the lot and unfinished building, and the erection of a house in a more convenient position. " All this time " - he says in a letter to Dr. Alexander - " my salary was very pecarious, and not very seldom was I reduced to my last sixpence, and in fact had not money to go to market. Many times I thought very seriously of seeking another place of abode; but was put from these thoughts by some unex- pected provision being made for me. Providence always provided for the supply of my immediate wants. Besides, I was convinced that,' humanly speaking, the success of the Presbyterian cause depended on my staying here." Its main supporters were my warm personal friends, and they declared that if I should leave them they would give over. 'Don't give up the ship,' was my motto." A little incident, related years afterwards by Mrs. Rice, with great glee, illustrates the preceding statement. They had received from their friends in Prince Edward a present of some black-eyed peas, a great favorite with Virginia folks, especially south-siders. There was no bacon in the house to give them their proper flavor; and what was worse, Mr. Rice declared he had no money in his pocket - much of his salary, by unfortunate neglect, being in arrears. Mrs. Rice, with some reflections on the remissness of the people he was serving, pro- posed sending some of the furniture to auction ; and looking around, fixed upon the mahogany tables, saying they should be sent ; and that pine tables were good enough for them and the people that could withhold his support. Mr. Rice remarked pensively that the case was sad ; he knew and felt it. Starting for his study, he turned at the door, and said smilingly, "I trust, my dear, the Lord will pro- vide." As he was leaving the room a knock was heard at the door ; as he passed on through the passage, he said, "perhaps relief has
come now." Mrs. Rice went to the door ; and there stood a servant with a message from a lady in the country, and a number of pieces of bacon. "I was vexed at myself," said she, "for what had just passed, - half vexed at the lady for granting Mr. Rice such a tri- umph, and ashamed to go and tell him of a present so opportunely made." At meal-time they rendered thanks. This dear lady, whose spirits were disturbed at the neglect of the congregation, when times of real necessity 'came, especially in building Union Theological Seminary, had a cheerful endurance that animated, and often amazed her husband. Many a heart in Richmond would have ached had
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REV. JOHN H. RICE, D. D.
they supposed their beloved pastor was in such extremity. What was unknown to the kindest of men was well known to God, and he sent a supply from the stores of his children.
The residence of Mr. Rice, on Braddock hill, being exposed to high winds, and otherwise not comfortable, Mr. Parkhill procured for him a small, but very pleasant tenement at the foot of Richmond hill, on Franklin street, near Mr. George Watt's residence. To this he removed in 1813, and remained in it till the close of 1816, when the house was sold. He then removed to a small house opposite the dwelling of Benjamin Watkins Leigh, near Mrs. Gamble, Mr. West, and the Guathmey's; and by this removal increased his intimacy with that circle of acquaintances. Removing from this place, he resided near Masons' hall, till his own house on Innes hill, between Shockoe and Richmond hill, was completed in 1818. General Blackburn, calling to see him in his new residence, and hearing from Mr. Rice that the house had been built by the price of his farm in Charlotte, said laughingly - " You have given your horse for the saddle." He remained in this residence, till accepting the Profes- sorship of Theology, he removed to Prince Edward. He ever con- sidered that the damage and loss of frequent removals, were, in his case, amply compensated by his increased usefulness.
In the mourning and distress that followed the burning of the theatre, wounded affection sought relief in raising a monument to the memory of the dead. A church building, in whose structure some memorial of the fire and its victims should be enwrought, was chosen as the most becoming monument ; and the site of the theatre the place of its erection. Various schemes for the proprietorship and occupancy were proposed. Should it be common to all deno- minations, or owned and occupied by two, or be the exclusive pro- perty of one ? Mr. Blair held back, with his accustomed modesty, from exerting any influence, lest he should be charged with eagerly desiring what he could easily have obtained by proper exertions - the possession of the house. The subscribers were divided in their prepossessions between the Presbyterians and the Episcopalians ; but the majority might have been carried for Mr. Blair and the Presbyterians if he had pressed his claims with the diligence others pressed theirs. Influences out of Richmond were used till the sub- scribers were about equally divided. An Irish gentleman, from the generous impulses of his nature, and from the influence of some Episcopal connexions, finally gave his vote for Episcopal consecra- tion rather than prolong a discussion that might end in bitterness. This example prevailed with others, and the matter was decided. Dr. Moore, of New York, was elected bishop of the diocese and rector of the church in February, 1814. Mr. Moore and Mr. Rice were not unknown to each other by reputation, and met with mutual high regard for past services. In the latter part of the year, Mr. Rice writes to Dr. Alexander - " Bishop Moore appears to be a zealous and pious man, and I hope will do much good among the
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REV. JOIIN HI. RICE, D. D.
people. He is uncommonly friendly with me, and I am resolved that it shall not be my fault if he does not continue so."
When the Monumental Church was opened, some of the Scotch families, of Presbyterian origin and habits, discouraged by the ob- stacles thrown in the way of Mr. Rice and his congregation, par- ticularly in obtaining a suitable place for worship convenient for their attendance, united with the Episcopal Church under Dr. Moore. This saddened the heart of Mr. Rice without breaking his spirits or embittering his soul. But some sentiments propagated with caution and yet sedulously, about an authorised ministry, and sacraments, and succession, and diocesan Bishops, and confirmation as a rite, disturbed his heart. Writing to Dr. Alexander he says -" The Episcopalians are making a mighty effort in this State to revive their Church. At first I thought they were setting out on true evangeli- cal principles, and was heartily enough disposed to take them by the hand, and bid them God speed; but it now seems to me as if they intended to pull down the building of others, in order to erect their own. They aim especially at the Presbyterians. Their con- duct is such as, I fear, will make it necessary for us to oppose them. In fact we shall certainly be plagued with a religious controversy. I have for my part resolved not to strike the first blow, but I wish to be ready to defend myself."
The Rev. Mr. Buchanan, the Episcopal minister, who alternated with Mr. Blair in conducting public worship in the capitol, gave Mr. Rice a hearty welcome to Richmond. Cheerful in disposition, and frank in manners, of a cultivated mind, fond of study, strongly attached to his own Church, yet understanding the rights of con- science, acquainted with Richmond, and no stranger to Scotch Pres- byterianism either in his native land or in Virginia, he welcomed Mr. Rice as the man demanded by the dispositions and necessities of multitudes in the city, some of whom were from his own dear Scotland. His welcome soon became friendship, and this grew warmer and warmer till death. A man of property, and a bachelor, he continued to give Mr. and Mrs. Rice substantial proofs of his attachment, in a most gentlemanly and Christian manner. On one occasion seeing that Mrs. Rice was sinking under the effects of disease, and having discussed the propriety of a visit to the Springs, till he thought he discovered the cause of her being detained at home, he waived the matter for a time, and when again he renewed it, he made a cheerful attack upon Mr. Rice -that he was the fa- vored one that had been fortunate enough to get a wife, - but that he himself, a bachelor brother, had some right in her, so far as to de- mand that her health should be cared for. Some time after a lady put into the hands of Mrs. Rice a roll of bank bills, advising her to go to the springs, and saying a friend who must be anonymous, had sent her that for her expenses. After her return, when the name of the kind friend was mentioned to her by the lady, Mrs. Kice, sent Mr. Buchanan a complimentary note of thanks. On reading it, he said to their mutual friend Mrs. Moncure, very cheer-
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REV. JOHN H. RICE, D. D. 1
fully -- " why madam, this is worth a hundred dollars." He was in the habit of sending to Mr. Blair, for his wife's sake, his marriage fees. Mr. Blair showed a similar kind feeling to a Methodist min- ister, by admitting his son, free of charge, to the privileges of his classical school. The Methodist minister returned the compliment by sending his son, who was a good singer, to aid . Mr. Blair, as a chorister, the days he preached in the capitol. These four minis- ters had each their sphere in Richmond.
Through the indefatigable labors of Mr. Parkhill and others, the Church lot and house near Rockets were sold in 1815, for nine thou- sand dollars, and a subscription raised to the amount of eight thou- ·sand more ; and a lot in a more central position near the market- house was purchased. The business of the city reviving with re- turning peace, the building of the new Church was commenced without delay and prosecuted with vigor. In the succeeding year it was finished ; and the congregation and their pastor joyfully en- tered their place of worship.
The Christian Monitor in pamphlet form, of eight octavo pages, made its appearance July 8th 1815, from the press of Arthur G. Booker & Co., four doors below the Bell tavern, to be continued weekly ; Mr. Rice the sole editor and proprietor. " The funda- mental principles are Ist. That man is a totally depraved and help- less creature ; 2nd. That Jesus Christ is the only Saviour; 3d. That we are justified by faith alone, without the deeds of the law; 4th. That we are regenerated and sanctified by the Holy Spirit ; 5th. That the only proper and satisfactory evidence of faith and conver- sion is a holy life." The principal purpose of the paper is to com- municate religious intelligence." The second year of its existence the periodical became more original and literary, and was issued once in two weeks, in numbers of 16 pages, from the press of John Warrock. The last number appeared Saturday, August 30th, 1817. As a register of facts occurring in Virginia, and as the repository of productions of great merit written by worthy ministers in the State, it is invaluable. At the conclusion of the 2d volume, the editor says, "a number of gentlemen have laid a plan for the pub- lication of a Monthly Magazine, and have committed the editorship to the conductor of this paper, after having given him assurance of" liberal support both as contributors to the work, and agents for its circulation."
While Mr. Rice was busy in preparing the prospectus of the Christian Monitor, Mrs. Rice was summoned in haste to visit her sick mother. Leaving Richmond on Saturday, February 4th, she made all speed, but was not permitted to see her depart. Death had completed his work on the 2d, two days before the news of the sick- ness of the mother reached the daughter. From an interesting article prepared by Mr. Rice who esteemed Mrs. Morton - " the dearest and best friend that I ever had, one who in all respects sup- plied the place of a mother to me" - we learn that Mary Smith was born, in the year 1755, of parents who occasionally had the privilege
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MRS. MARY MORTON.
of hearing Samuel Davies ; and brought up their children in the fear of God, supplying as far as practicable, to their family the want of gospel preaching, by their godly example and instruction. " Just after the close of the revolutionary war she was married to a young officer, who had served very much to his own credit during the whole of that arduous conflict. Having become a mother, a new field of duties was opened to her. And here she was distin- guished beyond any other person with whom the writer has ever been acquainted. Few mothers were ever more active, industrious or economical, in making provision for the temporal support of their children ; and yet this did not weigh a feather in the scale, when. compared with the everlasting interests of those whom God had given her. The whole course of her conduct seemed to have reference to the eternal welfare of those who were committed to her care.
" When a daughter of hers had arrived at the age of about three years, she took her into her closet, and addressed her in language to this import : - ' My child, when you were a little baby I devoted you to God in the ordinance of baptism. I then gave you up to him. I intend to give you to him again. You must be a child of God. He made you, and keeps you alive, and gives you every good thing to enjoy. When you lie down at night he preserves you, and when you rise up and go out, he preserves you from harm. He is always doing you good. You must learn to love and serve him, and he will take care of you while you live and make you happy when you die.' She then kneeled down, and with all the ardor of true piety, and all the fervor of a mother's love, commended the child to the divine protection, and implored on her behalf the blessing of heaven. The impression made at this time, as I have heard, was never erased ; but is deeply felt even to this day, although the occurrence took place four and twenty years ago. She acquired, to a very uncom- mon extent, an ascendancy over the minds of both her sons and daughters. They had no secrets to keep from their mother. She was their counsellor, sympathised with them in all their little trou- bles and perplexities, and made herself necessary for their enjoy- ments. Although the economy of the family was conformed to the strictest notions of religion, there was in it nothing gloomy or austere. A more cheerful domestic circle was never known than that in which Mary Morton presided ; and yet there were no parties of pleasure, there was no dancing, no card-playing. In fact, there was no need of amusements. "They were never thonght of. The parents and children were so happy in themselves and in the com- pany of their select friends, that every day seemed too short for the enjoyment of the domestic happiness which flowed bounteously in upon them. In the family of Mary Morton, old age was always treated with most marked respect. An old man, who had lived to second childhood, had done something not a little ridiculous for a person of his age. 'William,' said an acquaintance to one of the . little boys, about twelve years of age, 'did you not laugh when Uncle Tom behaved so foolishly to-day ?' ' No,' replied William; 'and I
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LAST DAYS OF REV. DRURY LACY.
hope that I shall always know better than to laugh at an old man.' 'Right, my son,' exclaimed both the parents at once; "and always remember to reverence the hoary head.'"
The last days of Drury Lacy, by his two friends, Mr. Rice and Robert Ralston.
Mr. Rice says, November 16th, 1815-"Mr. Lacy came to my house on his way to Philadelphia. He is afflicted with the stone, and is gone with the view of having a surgical operation performed. This, at his time of life especially, is a serious matter. But an - event, which has taken place since his departure from home, makes his situation as distressing as it well can be. About the first of the present month Mrs. Lacy was taken with the disease which proved - so fatal last winter, and died on the eighth day. Of this melan- choly change Mr. Lacy knows nothing; and it is my wish that he may not hear of it until some time after the operation on him shall have been performed." Mr. Robert Ralston, at whose house in Philadelphia he died, says - "Our dear friend was calm and com- posed under the prospect of the severe trial he was. to undergo. The Saturday night previous to the operation (the 25th of November having written his last letter to his wife, whom he supposed still living) he changed his seat at the fire, where the family were sitting, and came alongside of my chair, observing that he wished to make a communication previous to his confinement up stairs, which he was looking to on the next Monday morning. He then handed a little parchment pocket-book, containing three hundred dollars, desiring that, after paying the expenses which might be incurred for him in case of his death, fixing a stone at the head of his grave, the resi- due, if any, should be given to his son. This was spoken loud enough for the family to hear; and many other things relative to his dissolution, if it should please God, in his wise providence, to call him into the eternal world. The family were impressed with . . the solemnity of the, communication, and the perfect tranquillity which attended him during the time of making it. On Monday, December 4th, he told me, about daylight, that he had spent a more comfortable time than in many preceding nights. His great anxi- ety, he said, was that the noise he made would disturb us in the next room; observing, at the same time, he knew we thought nothing an inconvenience concerning him; that we were showing him kindness because he was a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Lord would not overlook it. On Tuesday, being very low, he said he had no ecstacy or raptures, but the Lord enabled him to trust in him to a degree that surpassed his former expectations. He requested me to write a letter to Mrs. Lacy, in case of his death, to comfort her dear mind ; he knew it would be a great comfort to her. A strong prevailing hope appeared to be his happy portion. The hiccup pre- vailed all the morning, with some intervals; at 9 o'clock, P. M., a cold sweat, returns of the hiccup, and paroxysms of pain. I asked him if he knew me; he replied, it is Ralston. On Wednesday,
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ACT OF INCORPORATION DENIED.
December 6th, he appeared very near his end. He said to me - 'Not my will, but the will of my heavenly father, be done." Mr. Eastburn prayed with him, but he did not appear to be sensible throughout the exercise. Dr. Janeway prayed with him just before his departure, which was about 4 o'clock in the afternoon. He went out of the world easy."
The Board of Directors of Union Theological Seminary, in com- pliance with a resolution of the Synod of Virginia, made in the fall of 1815, appointed Rev. Messrs. John H. Rice and William Hill, together with William Wirt, Esq., a committee, to obtain, if prac- ticable, on reasonable terms, from the State Legislature, an Act vesting in the trustees of the seminary corporate powers. A petition was presented early in the succeeding sessions ; the committee of propositions reported favorably. On Tuesday, the 2d of January, 1816, the bill was taken up in order, in committee of the whole house, and the gentlemen petitioners were admitted to the floor, to be heard in its favor. Mr. Baker, of Cumberland, moved to strike out the words, " is reasonable," and insert, "be rejected." The peti- tion was novel, the objections talked over among members were numerous, and of various sorts; it was an innovation on Virginia political habits to have an incorporation of a religious bearing; it was not right to do any thing to give one denomination any advan- tage over the others, particularly after the movements made respect- ing the glebe lands : and it would be, in fact, a religious establish- ment. Mr. Rice entered into an argument of some length in favor of the petition, and endeavoring to remove objections. Mr. Wirt followed, with a speech of acknowledged ability, adding to his pre- viously great reputation. These gentlemen urged that it was not a general law of incorporation for religious purposes, but a single act resting on the merits of the case; that the act was necessary to promote sound learning, good morals and true religion, by elevating the character and qualifications of the ministry ; that the doors of the institution were open for all denominations ; that other denomi- nations might, if they desired, obtain the same privilege from the Assembly ; that there was no relation between such an act and a religious establishment; that this act was asked for simply that suf- ficient funds might be legally held, to sustain an institution for the education of clergymen ; and that religious liberty was best de- fended, by extending to all members of the community the privileges of education, and demanding a high degree of it in the ministers of the gospel ; and that the privilege of vesting their own funds, under the protection of law, was a privilege that had been granted to _ associations of almost every imaginable kind, except those of a reli- gious bearing ; and that the petitioners only asked for the acknow- ledged rights and privileges of the feeblest citizens of the Common- wealth, for the right of citizens to give their property to a school," and to have that property legally protected. After Messrs. Rice and Wirt had spoken, Mr. Hill enquired if any objection remained on the mind of any member ; that he would be gratified with the
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REV. JOHN H. RICE-SAMUEL J. MILLS.
opportunity of hearing it, with the privilege of replying. Mr. Mercer moved that the petition be laid on the table ; carried without debate. The feeling of the house was averse to incorporations of a religious nature. While the matter was under consideration, Mr. Rice pre- pared for the press a pamphlet, containing a succinct statement of the course pursued by the Presbyterians, in the efforts for religious liberty, in the times preceding and during the Revolution. His documents were drawn from the records of the Virginia Legisla- ture and of Hanover Presbytery, and formed a mass of testimony of unanswerable weight and authority. Unexpectedly, it was de- layed in the press, until after the action of the Assembly. It was widely circulated, and read with deep interest. Whether the delay in the press had any influence on the determination of the vote in the committee, is a matter of speculation ; the argument was un- answerable, but the decision was probably foregone, in the decided unwillingness of the Legislature to take any step on the subject of incorporations of a religious bearing. The public sentiment in Vir- ginia has undergone a great change on that subject. 1
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