Sketches of Virginia : historical and biographical, Part 5

Author: Foote, William Henry, 1794-1869. 4n
Publication date: 1856
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.B. Lippincott
Number of Pages: 614

USA > Virginia > Sketches of Virginia : historical and biographical > Part 5

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

A little farther west, and we shall see the marble slab that covers the fourth pastor, James C. Willson, who having served this church 21 years, was suddenly called away on the 10th of January, 1840. He had devoted that day to praying for and writing to an absent son, whom he had hoped to see engaged in the ministry of the gospel. Stepping into the post-office in apparently usual health, he sat down and gasped, and never moved again. No medical effort could restore the lost pulse. The prayers and tears of the father were a memorial before God. His son followed the father in about two years, giving evidence of acceptance with God. The last prayers of the father were answered in the last hours of the child. 'These two slabs are a memorial to all pastors of Tinkling Spring- '. What thy hand findeth to do, do with all thy might"-" in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

Come down now to the south-west end. In this irregular piece of ground, surrounded on three sides by a stone wall, full of mounds,

PRESBYTERY OF HANOVER.

but not a single inscription,-here is the resting place of the ashes of the ancestors of many of the families in Virginia and Kentucky, men whose names are woven by their descendants in the web of political and religious courts, in colors too vivid to be unnoticed or mistaken. Here are the sepulchres of men that turned the wilder- ness into habitations, and after assembling on that hillside to worship the God of their fathers, are gathered here to wait the coming of the Son of God, when the graves shall give up their dead. It was a good thought in the conception, and will be patriotic in the execu- tion to raise here in the midst of these crowded mounds, a pillar as simple and unadorned as the manners of that age, and as beautiful and enduring in its simplicity, as the principles that peopled and have governed this valley, inscribed- 1

SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF THE EMIGRANTS TO THIS VALLEY.

CHAPTER IV.

THE PRESBYTERY OF HANOVER-FROM ITS FORMATION TO ITS REMODELLING.

THE history of the Presbytery of Hanover, the mother of Pres- byteries in the South and West, embraces facts in church govern- ment, church extension, church discipline, missionary efforts and success, biography of ministers, and members of the church, male and female, in different departments of life, of thrilling interest and in abundance to fill more than one volume. The facts and the actors will be found in any fair record of the memorable things in the Presbyterian Church, in the States of Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Ohio, in all of which, Hanover Presbytery had an existence for a series of years.

SAMUEL DAVIES may be called the father of Hanover Presbytery, though not by any means the founder of Presbyterianism in Vir- ginia. And in giving a notice of its members, he naturally stands first upon the list of worthies. A memoir of him extending over more than one hundred and fifty large octavo pages, more than fifty of which are in very small print, has been given in the 1st vol. of the Sketches of Virginia. In that memoir, many popular errors respecting that great and good man, widely circulated with some editions of his sermons, are corrected from authentic and original sources of information. Many of his actions are recorded in the following pages.

REV. JONATHAN EDWARDS.

An effort to remove Rev. Jonathan Edwards to Virginia.

Hanover, July 4th, 1751.

REV. AND VERY DEAR BROTHER-I never received any information of the kind in my life, that afforded me so many anxious thoughts, as yours concerning the great Mr. Edwards. It has employed my waking hours, and even mingled with my midnight dreams. The main cause of my anxiety, was, the delay of your letter, which I did not receive till about three weeks ago, when I was in Lunenburg, about one hundred and thirty miles from home. This made me afraid lest Mr. Edwards had settled some where else, being weary of waiting for the invitation from Virginia. Should this be the unhappy case, and should the obligation to his new people be deemed undissolvable, I shall look upon it as a severe judgment of incensed heaven on this wretched colony. What shall I say? 'I am lost in perplexities at the thought.

I assure myself, dear sir, of your most zealous concurrence to persuade him to Virginia. Do not send him a cold, paper message, but go to him yourself in person. If he be not as yet engaged to any place, I depend upon your word, and "make no doubt but he will come." If he is engaged, I hope he may be regularly dismissed upon a case of so great importance. Of all the men I know in America, he appears to me the most fit for this place; and if he could be obtained on no other condition, I would cheerfully resign him my place, and cast myself into the wide world once more. Fiery, superficial ministers, will never do in these parts: They might do good, but they would do much more harm. We need the deep judgment and calm temper of Mr. Edwards among us. Even the dissenters here, have the nicest taste of almost every congre- gation I know, and cannot put up with even the truths of the gospel in an injudicious form. The enemies are watchful, and some of them crafty, and raise a prodigious clamor about raving, injudicious preaching. Mr. Edwards would suit them both. Our liberties, too, are precarious, and methods are used to restrain them. There is nobody here who is known in Great Britain, whose representation might have some weight to counter-balance that of the Council; and on this account we greatly need Mr. Edwards, whose character there, especially in Scotland, would have considerable influence. He might also, as you observe, do much good by keeping an academy; and which is of greater importance than all, might be the happy instrument of turning many to righteousness.

As soon as I returned from Lunenburg, I wrote to the elders in the upper part of my congregation, (which I want to cast off when they have an opportunity of obtaining a minister), urging them to take pains with the people of their respective quarters, to obtain subscriptions for Mr. Edwards' maintenance; and though they had no knowledge of him, but by my recommendation, they made up about £80 of our currency, which is about £60 or £65 sterling;

DAVIES' LETTER.

and it is the general opinion of the people, that if Mr. Edwards does in any measure answer the character I have given him, (and I doubt not but he will), they can easily afford him £100 per annum. Sundry of them did actually plead their want of acquaintance with him as the reason of their backwardness ; and I could not expect it would be otherwise; and others might have had that as a secret reason, who did not publicly mention it. The people about the lower meeting-house, which is my more immediate charge, assure me they will contribute towards the expenses. of his first year's settlement ; and the people in Lunenburg told me they would cheer- fully subscribe towards his maintenance the' first year, should he settle anywhere in Virginia; and I doubt not but that all the dissenting congregations of Virginia will do the same, so that I believe Mr. Edwards may safely depend on £30 or £40 the first year, besides his annual salary. This, however, I am certain of, that he has the prospect of a comfortable livelihood; and indeed, should I ensnare him into poverty designedly, I should censure myself as the basest of mankind. My salary at present is about £100, and notwithstanding £20 or £30 peculiar expenses, I find I can make a shift to live upon it.

I could not content myself with following your advice, and only writing to Mr. Edwards ; and therefore the people have sent the bearer, a worthy youth who has been under my tuition for some time, to wait on him with their invitation. He has lived so long here, and is so perfectly acquainted with affairs, that he can inform you. and Mr. Edwards of them as well as myself.

And now, sir, I shall answer the other part of your letter. I send you herewith a narrative of religion here. As I have no correspondence with any of the Boston ministers, I have been obliged to impose upon you the trouble of sending it to the press, if you think it worth while. I beseech you, dear sir, to make such corrections as you and Mr. Edwards shall think fit, and be not afraid of offending me by so doing, for I was designedly careless in writing it, as I knew it would pass through your hands. I would have you particularly consider the expediency of publishing the postscript and the poetical lines on Mr. Blair.

I am impatient, sir, to see your books ; and wish you would inform me which way I shall send the price of them to the printer, and order them to be conveyed by water, to the care of Mr. John Holt, merchant in Williamsburg, or to Col. John Hunter, merchant in Hampton, as may be most convenient.

I have dropped the thoughts of my intended treatise on the Morality of Gospel-holiness, till I have more leisure, and a larger acquaint- ance with divinity ; but am now and then collecting materials for it.

I believe the weakest of the congregations in this colony, could afford a minister £60 or £70 yearly salary ; and as to itinerants, the usual rule is, twenty or thirty shillings a Sunday. As far as I know them, the (people) here are in general pretty generous. This colony is very healthy, except on rivers' sides, and "will suit very .

TO DR. BELLANEY.

well with the constitution of New England men." Dear sir, if Mr. Edwards fail, shall I prevail with you to come yourself, at least to pay us a transient visit ? O ! how would it rejoice my soul to see you !

Whenever I write to you, I am in such a hurry, that I am appre- hensive my letters afford you a very mean idea of my intellectual abilities ; but as you do not wrong me in it, I shall be quite easy unless you think I make you such wretched returns as that my correspondence is insufferable., Pray for me, and write to me as often as you can.

I am, sir, yours in the tenderest bonds, SAMUEL DAVIES.

Rev. Mr. Joseph Bellaney.

P. S. You may insert or omit the marginal note in page 28 of the narrative, as your prudence directs. The contents are un- doubtedly true, but I am afraid will seem incredible.

July 13th .- I did not receive the complete subscription for Mr. Edwards till yesterday, which happily exceeds my expectation. It amounts to about £97, which is near £80 sterling. This will undoubtedly be a sufficient maintenance. You will see by the sub- scription paper, how many dissenting families there are in the least half of my congregation, for the subscribers are chiefly heads of families. Oh, dear sir, let me renew my importunities with you to exert all your influence in our behalf with Mr. Edwards. Though the people seem eager for him above all men on earth, yet they request you by me, in case this attempt fails, to endeavor to send some other to settle among them: (for they have no prospect of relief these sundry years from Presbytery), but let him be a popular preacher, of ready utterance, good delivery, solid judgment, free from enthusiastical freaks, and of ardent zeal; for I am afraid they will accept of none other, and I would not have any sent here that might be unacceptable. You or Mr. Edwards are the only men they could make an implicit venture upon. I am with the warmest emotions of heart, dear sir,

Your most affectionate brother, S. D.

In a letter to Mr. Erskine-July 7th, 1752-Mr. Edwards, among many other things, says-"I was in the latter part of the last sum- mer applied to, with much earnestness and importunity, by some of the people of Virginia, to come and settle among them, in the work of the ministry ; who subscribed handsomely for my encouragement and support, and sent a messenger to me with their request and subscriptions ; but I was installed at Stockbridge before the mes- senger came.

JONATHAN EDWARDS.

At a meeting of the Synod of New York, Sept. 3d, 1755, "a petition was brought into the Synod, setting forth the necessity of

HANOVER PRESBYTERY.

erecting a new Presbytery in Virginia : the Synod therefore appoint. the Rev. Samuel Davies, John Todd, Alexander Craighead, Robert Henry, and John Wright, and John Brown, to be a Presbytery under the name of the Presbytery of Hanover : and that their first meeting shall be in Hanover, on the first Wednesday of December next; and that Mr. Davies open the Presbytery by a sermon ; and that any of our members settling to the southward and westward of Mr. Hogg's congregation, shall have liberty to join the Presbytery of Hanover."

The records of the first meeting of the Presbytery are short- " Hanover, December 3d. The Presbytery of Hanover met ac- cording to the above constitution and appointment. Mr. Davies, Moderator, and Mr. Todd, Clerk. Ubi post preces sederunt, Messrs. Samuel Davies, Robert Henry, John Brown, and John Todd, min- isters. Elders, Samuel Morris, Alexander Joice, John Molley. Messrs. Craighead and Wright, absent. Mr. Davies being sick, requested Mr. Todd to preach for him, and accordingly the Pres- bytery was opened by him, with a sermon from Zachariah the 4th, 7th, (Who art thou, O great mountain ? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain; and he shall bring forth the head-stone thereof with shoutings, crying grace, grace unto it). The Synod of New York having appointed that a day of fasting and prayer be held in all the congregations within their bounds, on account of the present critical and alarming state of Great Britain, and the British plan- tations in America; and having left it to the discretion of each Presbytery to determine the particular day, this Presbytery, there- fore, appoint next New Year's day to be set apart for that purpose ; because of the retrospect it may have to the important transactions of last year ; the prospect it may bear to the ensuing year which may be equally interesting and important; and that we may have the encouragement of joining, in our united requests, to the throne of grace, with the Presbytery of New Castle, who have appointed the same day. The Presbytery appoint Mr. Brown to give timely notice hereof to Mr. Craighead, and Mr. Henry to do the same to Mr. Wright. The Synod having recommended to all the congre- gations within their bounds, to raise a collection for the college of New Jersey, the Presbytery having taken the affair under consi- deration judge, that considering the present impoverished state of the colony in general, and of our congregation in particular, such a proposal would be quite impracticable; and appoint that the mem- bers that attend the Synod next year report the same to the Synod. A petition directed to Mr. Davies and Mr. Todd, from people living near the mountain in Albemarle, near Wood's Gap, was referred by them to the Presbytery, representing their destitute circumstances, in the want of gospel ordinances, and requesting some supplies from us :- the Presbytery therefore appoint the Rev. Samuel Davies to preach there on the 2d Sabbath in March next; and that Mr. Brown desire some of the people to appoint the place of meeting, to be out of the bounds of Mr. Black's congregation, at some conve-

REV. JOHN TODD.

nient place. The Presbytery appoint Mr. John Todd to be their constant clerk. Adjourned till the Thursday of the second Sab- bath of March next, to meet at Providence, and appoint that Mr. Henry open the Presbytery by a sermon.

Concluded with prayer.

Members of Hanover Presbytery.

JOHN TODD, the first minister introduced by Mr. Davies to share his labors, was a graduate of the college at New Jersey, in 1749, a member of the second class admitted to a degree. He was licensed by the Presbytery of New Brunswick, in 1750. On repre- sentation, by Mr. Davies, of the desolations and encouraging pros- pects in the southern colonies, made to the Synod of New York in the spring of 1750-" the Synod do recommend to the Presbytery of New Brunswick to endeavor to prevail with Mr. John Todd, upon his being licensed to take a journey thither." Report was made to the Synod in the fall of the year : it appears-"that Mr. Todd is licensed, and is preparing speedily to go.' On reaching Virginia, he preached in the houses licensed for Mr. Davies, and gave great satisfaction. The plan to locate him in Prince Edward or Charlotte Counties, was abandoned principally on account of objections made by the General Court to licensing more houses in addition to the seven already licensed for Mr. Davies, and the dissenting people. By a change of plan, Mr. Todd was invited to occupy four of the places licensed for Mr. Davies; and efforts were made to obtain other preachers for the vacancies south of James river, and thus avoid the charge of itinerancy, an offence in the view of the council. In the year 1751, Mr. Todd was ordained by the New Brunswick Presbytery ; and obtained from the General Court the license demanded by the law. , The following is a copy.

Wednesday, April 22d, 1752.

Present-the Governor WM. FAIRFAX,

THOMAS NELSON,

JOHN BLAIR,

PHILIP GRYMES,

WM. NELSON, Esqrs.,

PEYTON RANDOLPH.

WM. DAWSON, D. D.,

RICHARD CORBIN,

JOHN LEWIS,

PHILIP LUDWELL, Esqrs.

John Todd, a dissenting minister, this day in court took the oath appointed by the Act of Parliament, to be taken instead of the oath of allegiance, and supremacy, and the abrogation oath, and sub- scribed the last mentioned oath, and repeated and subscribed the test. And thereupon, on his motion, he is allowed to officiate as an assistant to Samuel Davies, a dissenting minister, in such places as are already licensed by this court for meeting of dissenters.

The jealousy of the court led to an arrangement which proved very agreeable to the seven congregations, as it left them all in

REV. JOHN TODD.

connection with Mr. Davies ; and equally pleasing to Mr. Davies, - as it gave him more frequent opportunities for those missionary excursions in which he delighted, the influence of which is felt to this day; and no less acceptable to Mr. Todd, who enjoyed the experience and counsel of his friend, with the privilege of missionary excursions.

The sermon preached by Mr. Davies at the installation of Mr. Todd, on the 12th of November, 1752, was, at the carnest request of the hearers, published, after being enlarged, with an appendix annexed. A dedication-" To the Rey. Clergy of the Established church of Virginia"-was prefixed, under the date of Jan. 9th, 1753. The dissenters in England procured a republication of this pamphlet while Mr. Davies was on his mission to Great Britain in the year 1754, as an expression of their high approbation of the production and its author.

Of the few documents that remain respecting Mr. Todd, the following show us his character and course of action. From a letter to Mr. Whitefield, June 26, 1755. "The impressions of the day you preached last here, at my meeting-house, can, I believe, never wear out of my mind; never did I feel any thing of the kind more distressing than to part with you, and that not merely for my own sake, but that of the multitudes, that stood longing to hear more of the news of salvation from you. I still have the lively image of the people of God drowned in tears, multitudes of hardy gentlemen, that perhaps never wept for their poor souls before, standing aghast,-all with signs of eagerness to attend to what they heard, and their significant tears, expressive of the sorrow of their hearts, that they had so long neglected their souls. I returned home like one that had sustained some amazing loss: and that I might con- tribute more than ever to the salvation of perishing multitudes amongst us, I resolved I would labor to obtain and exert more of that sound fire which the God of all grace had so abundantly bestowed upon you for the good of mankind. To the praise of rich grace be it spoken, I have had the comfort of many solemn Sab- baths since I saw you, when I am persuaded, the power of God has attended his word, for sundry weeks together ; and in my auditory which was more crowded through your means' than it had been before, I could scarce see an individual whose countenance did not indicate the concern of their souls about eternal things. And blessed be God, those appearances are not yet wholly fled from our assembly.

I was by order of Presbytery to attend the installation of Mr. Henry, the 4th of the month, at Lnnenburg, about a hundred miles south-west of this place; and we administered the sacrament of the Lord's supper the Sabbath following. We preached Thurs- day, Friday, Saturday, Sabbath, and Monday. There was com- fortable evidence of the power of God with us every day; believers were more quickened, and sinners were much alarmed. Many of them talked with Mr. Henry and me with great desire to know what

REV. JOHN TODD.

they should do to be saved, One I remember came to me trembling and astonished, the nearest image I ever saw of the trembling jailor crying-" What shall I do to get an interest in Christ." In my return home, I made an excursion to preach to a number of people who had never before heard a " New Light," as they call me. I hope the word of God was attended with divine power to many of their hearts."

Mr. Davies, in a letter bearing date Hanover, July 14th, 1756, says-"Last Sunday I had a sacrament, assisted by my good brother and next neighbor, Mr. Todd. It was a time of unusual anxiety to me. I hope it was a refreshing time to some hungry souls. I had the pleasure of seeing the table of the Lord adorned with about forty-four black faces."

After the removal of Mr. Davies to Princeton, Mr. Todd was for many years the leading man in the Presbytery, east of the Blue Ridge. To him the vacancies looked for counsel and assistance in obtaining ministers. During the revolution he was a staunch whig. In the proceedings of Hanover Presbytery, on the subject of reli- gious liberty, he took an active part : his name is appended to some important papers. (See vol. 1st of Sketches.)

Mr. Todd felt and expressed great interest in the early emigration to Kentucky. Some of his kindred were among the early adven- turers ; and his old friend and co-laborer, David Rice, had cast his lot among the inhabitants of that fertile region. He used all his influence in conjunction with others to obtain from the Virginia Legislature, a charter for a college. His nephew, Col. John Todd, a member of the Legislature from Fayette County, and the Honor- able Caleb Wallace, from Lincoln, took the lead in this matter. As early as 1780, escheated lands were given for this purpose. In 1783, trustees were incorporated. The escheated lands granted amounted to 20,000 acres. The Board of Trustees met in Nov. 1783, in Lincoln, and chose Rev. David Rice, chairman. . The Seminary, called the Transylvania Seminary, was opened at the house of Mr. Rice, Feb. 1785. This seminary passed from the hands of the original trustees. Mr. Todd, to encourage the culti- vation of literature and theology in the growing West, was the means of sending a small, but valuable library and an apparatus across the Alleghany, for the advantage of this seminary-but not as a donation to it.

Mr. Todd superintended a classical school for many years. Mr. Davies, while in Virginia, greatly encouraged the effort to educate youth with the hope of supplying the church with necessary min- isters. One of his assistants was James Waddell, who read divinity with Mr. Davies while thus engaged. By correspondence with Dr. Gordon, of London, he obtained as we are told by Mr. Davidson, in his history of Kentucky, for the use of the young men at his school, a library and apparatus to the amount of £80, 2s. 6d., including cost of transportation. Mr. Todd's school declined with his advancing years. He could find no fit successor. The semi-

REV. JOHN TODD.

naries at Hampden Sidney, and Lexington, were under the care of the Presbytery of Hanover, and received general patronage; and had procured each a small library. With the consent of Dr. Gordon, Mr. Todd placed the library in his possession in the hands of his friend, David Rice, for the use of students of theology in Kentucky, under the care of the Presbytery of Transylvania. These volumes and apparatus were by that Presbytery delivered to the trustees of the Kentucky Academy, incorporated in 1794. This academy was finally merged in the Transylvania University. The principal donor to the library for Mr. Todd, which became the nucleus of the library of Transylvania University, was the well known benevolent merchant of London, John Thorton. The others were Dr. Gordon, Rev. Mr. Fowle, Messrs. Fuller, Samuel and Thomas Stratton, Charles Jerdein, David Jennings, Jonathan Eade, Joseph Ainsley, and John Field, of Thames Street. The name of Todd is deservedly honored in Kentucky, both in church and State.

In the latter part of his life, Mr. Todd was very imfirm, and for many years unable to perform fully the ministerial services of his own particular charge ; and his great labors in early life made him prematurely old. His missionary excursions were all laid aside. His attendance on the judicatories of the church became irregular. The young brethren south side of James river, uttered suspicions that Waddell and Todd had relaxed somewhat of their spiritual religion in its visible exercise, if not in its deep principle ; this created in the breasts of the brethren north of the river, a coldness towards the brethren they esteemed rash. The facts involved in this coldness and these suspicions, were talked over in Presbytery, repeatedly ; and some letters passed between the parties, not de- signed for the public eye. In the course of time it became generally understood that Mr. Waddell's ideas of education, and his relaxing in his ministerial efforts, as also the causes of Mr. Todd's course, had been much misunderstood. Rev. J. B. Smith, on his return from Philadelphia, with a silk velvet vest and gold watch, called on Mr. Waddell, and passed the night; receiving all the attentions of that hospitable gentleman. Before parting, Waddell, in his inimi- table manner, gently called the attention of Smith, who had been grieved at Waddell's worldliness in education, to the possibility that " the pride of life" might be found in a gold watch-chain, and elegant carriage, and velvet vest. Smith felt the rebuke, both in its justness and inimitable manner. The controversy died away. There was one report in circulation about Mr. Todd, which he thought called for his special attention, that he had so relaxed discipline, that he had admitted a gambler to the Lord's table. To wipe away this aspersion, in his estimation as base as false, he attended the Presbytery in the Cove congregation, Albemarle, July, 1793. Having fully cleared himself from the stains of such a report, he set out for home on Saturday, the 27th. Whether, from the clumsiness consequent on his infirmities, or in a fit of apoplexy, is unknown; as he was alone, and was fond of riding a spirited

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Sketches of Virginia : historical and biographical, Part 5

Author: Foote, William Henry, 1794-1869. 4n Publication date: 1856 Publisher: Philadelphia : J.B. Lippincott Number of Pages: 614

Author: Foote, William Henry, 1794-1869. 4n
Publication date: 1856
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.B. Lippincott
Number of Pages: 614