A history and record of the Protestant Episcopal church in the diocese of West Virginia, Part 2

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Colony; and the historians of that day relate the fact of her marriage soon after her arrival.

Evil days came to Jamestown. Famine did its work so effectively that on June 10th, 1610, when Lord De la War ar- rived, he found only sixty survivors of the five hundred. The new comers went first to the Church, and gathering the peo- ple by the sound of the bell, betook themselves to prayer.

The coming of Lord De la War marked a change in the gov- ernment of the Colony. Instead of being under a President and Council, it was now placed under certain officers sent out from England. Lord De la War became the first Governor, and, whereas before, nothing more definite had been said about the exercise of Christianity in the new world than that it should conform to the Rites, Ceremonies and Doctrines of the Church of England, we find that after this period more specific instructions were sent from the mother country, and religion began to form one of the subjects of the very imper- fect legislation of the Company for their distant Colony.

With the coming of Sir Thomas Dale, May 10, 1611, we find penal laws first introduced to aid the Colonists in keeping a good conscience. But during the government of the London Company, not a solitary instance is recorded of a persecution for mere difference of opinion, and the penalties for the non- observance of religious duties were never rigidly enforced.

In 1613, and afterwards, more emigrants arrived, and also built. This church was put under the charge of the Rev. Alexander Whitaker, who enclosed a hundred acres of land and built a parsonage. At his hands Pocahontas received baptisms, and was united by him in marriage to Mr. Rolfe.

In 1613, and afterwards, more emigrants arrived, and also parishes were formed, so that we presently find that at Hen- rico, the Rev. Mr. Wickham was the clergyman. Mr. Whita- ker was at Bermuda Hundred, and Mr. Bucke at Jamestown.

1619-1624.

In 1619, Sir George Yeardley became Governor, and the population was increased by the introduction of a thousand

IN WEST VIRGINIA.

new settlers. This year is memorable in the annals of Vir- ginia, as being the period at which a Legislative body taken from among the inhabitants convened for the first time. It met at Jamestown, and among its first enactments were those that concerned the Church.

In 1621-2 it was enacted that each clergyman should re- ceive from his parishoners 1,500 pounds of tobacco and 16 barrels of corn. About this time a small number of Puritans sought refuge in the Colony, but public worship continued to be conducted in conformity with the Ritual of the Church of England. From this period we date the Establishment of the Episcopal Church in Virginia. There were five clergy- men, Rev. Messrs. Whitaker, Stockham, Mease, Bargrave and Wickham. The Bishop of London exerted himself to pro- cure suitable clergymen for the Colony, and this may have given rise to his jurisdiction over the American Church prior to the Revolution.

Before this time efforts had been made to erect a college in Virginia. Nearly £1,500 had been obtained and 10,000 acres of land granted by the Company for the new University of Henrico. The spiritnal good of the natives seems also to have been an object of deep solicitude, for the Governor and As- sembly were urged by the Company to use all possible means to bring over the natives to a love of civilization and to a love of God and of His true religion.

But these prosperous beginnings were rudely arrested by the great conspiracy of more than thirty tribes, which broke out on March 22nd, 1622, and in the short space of an hour resulted in the massacre of three hundred and forty-seven men, women and children. The remnant sought refuge in Jamestown. To the horrors of massacre were soon superad- ded the horrors of famine. Of eighty plantations only eight remained, and of 2,960 inhabitants, 1,800 were all that were left. This massacre gave a death blow to the first efforts that were made in America to establish a college, and years elapsed before the attempt was renewed. Meantime it ought

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to be noted, that the preservation of that part of the Colony that escaped was owing to the fidelity of a Christianized na- tive.

By 1624 the Colony had received accession of strength from England, and the Colonial Assembly busied itself among other things, in enacting laws relating to the Church and ministry; imposing a fine for absence from Service; re- quiring houses for worship; also requiring uniformity in pub- lic worship; and providing for the payment of the ministers' due share of tobacco and corn, and forbidding his protracted absence from his cure.

1628-1651.

In 1628 Lord Baltimore, who was a member of the Church of Rome, and declined to take the oaths of supremacy and al- legiance, visited Virginia and called forth, by his arrival, evi- dence of the strong attachment of the Colony to the princi- ples of the Protestant faith as held by the Church of England.

In 1629 Sir John Hervey became Governor. While at this time the decisions of the Court of High Commission in Eng- land were acknowledged to be authority in the Ecclesiastical concerns of the Colony, yet their influence was rarely, if ever, felt; as during the first twenty-six years of the Colony's ex- instance of the application of ecclesiastical discipline for the non-observance of the ordinances of the Church, nor any instance of the application of ecclesiastical discipline for crimes of a spiritual nature. Virginia, therefore, is entitled to the honorable distinction of having in the infancy of her political existence sustained religion without severity, and, that, at a time when such a course found but little counte- nance in the world's example.

In 1629, however, at the instigation of Sir John Hervey, an act was passed enjoining under severe penalties a strict con- formity to the Canons of the Church, and there is evidence to show that after this time infractions of Church law were visited with punishment. During the administration of Sir Francis Wyatt, (1639-1641), who succeeded Hervey, several

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laws were enacted against the Puritans, though at that time there were none in the Colony, to prevent, as was said, the in- fection from reaching this country. Suchı punishments failed, as they usually do, to produce the desired effect, and certain persons driven into opposition by the severity of their rulers applied to the General Court of Massachusetts, and the gentlemen of influence in that community, beseeching them to send missionaries to Virginia from the Independents of New England. This was done, and three gentlemen went as Congregational missionaries to the Church of England in Vir- ginia.

After a brief stay they were driven away by an act of con- formity. There seems reason to believe that at this time the great mass of the people were conscientiously attached to the. Church of England and to the crown. Virginia was loyal. She was the last Colony to submit to the Parliament, and, hundreds of the cavaliers sought and found refuge within her borders.

The assembly of dissenters collected by the missionaries from Massachusetts amounted in 1648 to one hundred and eighteen persons, but it experienced from the beginning the opposition of the Government, and both Mr. Durand, its el- der, and Mr. Harrison, its pastor, were banished from the Colony. It would seem, however, that in Mr. Harrison's case, at least, there were other considerations than those of religion. It was a short time before the execution of Charles I., and no doubt the religious opinions of Mr. Harrison were taken as an index to his political sentiments. Parliament soon sent out an expedition to subdue the colonies. The Vir- ginia Colonists rallied around the Governor, Sir William Berkeley, and so formidable was his preparation, that he se- cured most liberal and ample terms.

1651- 1693.

No doubt the success of the Parliamentary party led to the introduction into the Colony of new residents, who had but little affection for the Church of England, and it may be, that

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among them some congregations were organized on the model which had been set up in the mother country, but the great body of the people still retained their attachment to the Church of their Fathers, and during the whole of his protec- torate, Cromwell seems to have regarded Virginia with sus- picion. That this suspicion was well founded, appears from the fact, that in January, 1659, Charles the Second was pro- claimed in Virginia, and Berkeley resumed the Government sixteen months before the King was restored to his throne.

In 1661 there were fifty parishes in the Colony, but only about ten ministers, and they by no means always what they ought to have been. Various remedies were suggested to en- sure a supply of qualified clergymen. Among other things it . was recommended that there be established at the two Uni- versities, Virginia fellowships, imposing upon the fellows at their ordination, after seven years, the duty of going to Vir- ginia and officiating as Parish Priests for seven years more.

In 1662, various enactments touching the Church were made: 1. Respecting building churches and keeping them in repair. 2. Respecting the duties and compensation of the clergy and the appointment of Lay Readers. 3. As to the rights and duties of the Laity in choosing a vestry, and also, as to the due observance of the Lord's Day, and the neglect of Baptism. 4. For the advancement of Education.

In 1663, severe laws were enacted against the Quakers, but Virginia did not proceed as far as her sister Colony, Massa- chusetts, in inflicting the punishment of death. No Quakers were hanged in Virginia.

In 1689 the Rev. Dr. Blair was duly commissioned by the Bishop of London as Commissary for Virginia. He was a practical man; being blessed with sincere piety, a clear mind, and indefatigable perseverance. His services were invaluable to the Church in Virginia. He revived the project of a college, and, at no little expense and labor, he built William and Mary College-the second college built upon the continent-and became its first President.

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1700 - 1731.

Upon the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, a great number of French Protestants found their way into for- eign countries. King William later, 1690, sent a large num- ber to Virginia, and lands were allotted to them on James River. These were naturalized by a special law. In 1699, another body of six hundred came over. These Huguenots were welcomed by the Assembly of Virginia, and for a term of years allowed special privileges for their maintenance and encouragement. Many of their descendants have been among the brightest ornaments of the State in every walk of life.

In 1713 similar kindness was shown to certain German em- igrants, who settled on the Rappahannock, and thus there were two religious communities differing from the establish- ment, not only tolerated, but favored.

Meantime the College of William and Mary was making slow progress, many still preferring to send their sons to be educated at one of the English Universities.

At this time there were fifty-four parishes in Virginia, and about seventy churches and chapels. Rectories were provid- ed for each parish with glebes of two hundred and fifty acres.

More than half of the churches were supplied with clergy- men, and in the vacant ones Lay Readers ministered. The people were almost entirely of the Church of England. It is stated that at this time there were only four dissenting places of worship in the Colony; three for the Quakers and one for the Presbyterians.

In 1722, one hundred and fifteen years had elapsed since the first clergyman landed in Virginia and yet the state of religion was far from satisfactory. Incompetent and un- worthy ministers were often sent out from England, and un- der such ministrations you could not expect much of the laity. The Constitution of the Church making it dependent on the Mother Church of England for complete organization, pre- vented the raising up of a native clergy, and seriously hinder-

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ed the proper administration of the Church. A community of Episcopal Churches without a Bishop, is a body without a head. Such was the condition of the Episcopal Church in Virginia, and it is no wonder that grave dangers threat- ened its very existence. Happily the Church of England pur- sues a very different policy with her colonies to-day, and with most encouraging results.

It ought to be added that after all allowance is made for want of Episcopal supervision, and for the inferior quality of many of the clergy who came to Virginia, and the consequent difficulties in connection with their support, that there was in the minds of many a suspicious apprehension of Ecclesias- tical domination founded upon some of the past incidents of English history.

1731-1746.

Up to this time the Episcopal Church was almost the only religious denomination in Virginia, but henceforth she is to have the company of other religious societies which begin to spring up around her. The Quakers and Presbyterians seem to have been first in establishing themselves, and after them the Moravians, the New Lights and the Methodists.

1748-1771.

By proper legislation the clergy were guarded against tres- pass on their glebes, and after considerable discussion, money was substituted for tobacco in paying them. This, owing to the rise in tobacco after poor crops, worked hardship to the clergy and they claimed damages. It was on this question that Patrick Henry distinguished himself, and carried away the jury by his eloquence, which was as extraordinary as it was unexpected. He won his cause against the clergy, when the jury brought in a verdict of one cent for the damages claimed.

About the year 1765, according to Leland's Chronicle, the Baptists first made their appearance in Amelia, and some of the adjacent counties; although Semple says, that some few

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came from England in 1714, and some from Maryland in 1743. It must be confessed that they were very harshly treated, be- ing not only imprisoned, but beaten, and with the usual re- sult, that persecution made friends for its victims.

In 1771 an effort was made to secure the Episcopate, but it failed to receive proper support, and since the majority of the Legislature belonged to the Establishment, it is most prob- able that the opposition rested upon political considerations. It was not deemed expedient at that time.

1772-1778.

About this time the Methodists began to increase in Vir- ginia. When they made their first appearance they claimed aliance with the Church, but ultimately, proceeded to the length of an entire separation.

The founder of Methodism, Rev. John Wesley, was a Pres- byter of the Church of England, and professed a strong at- tachment to it. He gave his followers a list of "reasons for not separating from the Church"; and in his farther appeal to men of reason and religion, he thus addresses the members of the Church of England: "We do not dispute concerning any of the externals or circumstantials of religion. There is no room; for we agree with you therein. We approve of, we adhere to them all; all that we learned together when we were children, in our Catechism and Common Prayer Book. We were born and bred in your own Church, and desire to die therein. We hold, and ever have done, the same opinions which you and we received from our forefathers."

In accordance with these sentiments the first Methodists in America acted. Their preachers were all laymen; they never administered the sacraments, but received the Lord's Supper themselves at the hands of the clergy of the Church of Eng- land; and they claimed to be nothing more than members of a religious society, formed within the bosom of the Established Church at home, and extended to America. The language of the Methodist preachers was, that "all who left the Church left the Methodists." Indeed in public opinion the Methodist

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Society, was so far identified with the Church, as to share with it the odium which from political causes rested upon the Establishment in Virginia. This suspicion derived strength from the fact that Mr. Wesley, who in the commencement of the dispute between England and the Colonies had defended the latter, suddenly changed his opinions, and wrote and preached against the American cause with so much warmth as to provoke that memorable rebuke from the celebrated Junius.

When the struggle began between the Colonies and Eng- land many of the clergy of the Established Church were nat- urally in a very embarrassing position. They were generally friends to their mother country; attached to it by the circum- stances of birth, and bound by the oath of allegiance. As has been already explained, the situation of the Established Church, without Episcopal supervision, precluded the raising up a native ministry. It would perhaps, be not far out of the way, if we should say that about two-thirds of the Virginia clergy were loyalists. The great mass of the population, and a large majority of these were Episcopalians, were opposed to England. Among the laity were General Washington, Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, the mover of the Declara- tion of Independence, Francis Lightfoot Lee, one of the sign- ers, George Mason, Edmund Pendleton, Peter Lyons, Paul Carrington, William Fleming, William Grayson, with the families of the Nelsons and Meades and Mercers, and Harri- sons and Randolphs, and hundreds of other names deserv- edly dear to Virginia.

In the Legislature which convened in October, 1776, there was a great contest in regard to Church establishment. The Baptists and Presbyterians petitioned against the establish- ment and the Churchmen and Methodists petitioned for its continuance.

The great advocates for the Church were Mr. Pendleton and Robert Carter Nicholas, and its great opponent was Mr. Jef- ferson. The question was finally decided against the estab-

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lishment, but arrears of salaries due to the clergy were se- cured. Glebes already purchased were reserved for the use of the Episcopal clergy, and the churches and chapels al- ready built, with the books and church plate, were preserved for the use of the Episcopalians.

Under these circumstances many of the Established clergy, who were thus summarily deprived of their livings, and who on account of their politics were often disliked by the people, must have found it difficult to procure a subsistence by con- tinuing in the exercise of their pastoral duties. In the situ- ation, to which they found themselves reduced, many aban- doned the country; and parishes, from time to time, became vacant, so that ere long, a large majority of the cures were left unsupplied. The sacraments were no longer ad- ministered in many of the parishes, and this condition of affairs led to an effort, on the part of the Methodists, to reme- dy the evil by an irregular ordination of ministers among themselves. Some of the clergy of the Church advised them against this measure, but in vain, and in 1778, a consid- erable number of the Lay Preachers, earnestly importuned Mr. Asbury, a prominent preacher among the Methodists, "to take proper measures, that the people might enjoy the privi- leges of all other Churches, and no longer be deprived of the Christian Sacraments."

Mr. Asbury, whoseemsatthis time to have been suspicious- ly watched, and indeed confined in the State of Delaware, as one disaffected to the American cause, professed the strong- est attachment to the Church of England; and violently op- posed the proposed plan; nay, he went so far as to write to some of the clergy of the Establishment, reproving them for not having checked in its incipient stage this approach to dis- order.

Upon the refusal of Mr. Asbury to co-operate with them in their plan of ordination, a majority of the preachers with- drew from all connection with him and Mr. Wesley; and choosing from their number three senior members, these last

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proceeded, to what they called an ordination of the rest, by the imposition of their hands; and the preachers thus set apart proceeded to baptize and to administer the Lord's Sup- per, wherever they went, to those whom they deemed suita- ble recipients. Afterward Mr. Asbury, having obtained his liberty, visited Virginia, and by all the address in his power, with indefatigable labor and attention, succeeded, at length, in bringing back the seceders one after another, and by a vote. of one of the Conferences, the ordination was declared in- valid and union was restored; while to prevent, as far as pos- sible, a renewal of the complaint of the want of the sacra- ments, some, at least, of the Episcopal clergy traveled over large circuits for the purpose of baptizing the children of Methodists, and administering the Lord's Supper and con- tinued to do so, until the final separation of the Methodists. from the Church, without desiring or receiving for the service the smallest compensation.

1779 - 1784.

When the Revolutionary war begun, Virginia in her sixty- one counties contained ninety-five parishes, one hundred and sixty-four churches and chapels, and ninety-one clergymen. She came out of the war with a large number of her churches destroyed, or injured irreparably, with twenty-three of her ninety-five parishes extinct or forsaken. Of the remaining seventy-two, thirty-four were destitute of ministerial ser- vices; while of her ninety-one clergymen, twenty-eight only remained, who had lived through the storm, and these, with eight others who came into the State soon after the struggle terminated, supplied thirty-six of the parishes.

Up to this time the Methodists had continued in alliance with the Church, and professed to consider themselves as a part of it; but the time had now come for their final separa- tion from it. The incipient steps in this business are thus related by two of the historians of Methodism. (Life of Wesley by Coke and More, p. 351): " When peace was estab- lished between Great Britain and the States, the intercourse

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was opened between the societies in both countries. Mr. Wes- ley then received from Mr. Asbury a full account of the prog- ress of the work during the war; and especially of the divis- ion which had taken place and the difficulties he met with before it was healed. He also informed Mr. Wesley of the ex- treme uneasiness of the people's minds for want of the sacra- ments; that thousands of their children were unbaptized; and the members of the society in general had not partaken of the Lord's Supper for many years. Mr. Wesley then con- sidered the subject, and informed Dr. Coke of his design of drawing up a plan of Church government and of establishing an ordination for his American societies. But, cautious of entering on so new a plan, he afterwards suspended the exe- cution of his purposes, and weighed the whole for upwards of a year. At the Conference held in Leeds, 1784, he declared his intention of sending Dr. Coke and some other preachers to America. Mr. Richard Whatcoat and Mr. Thomas Vasey offered themselves as missionaries for that purpose and were accepted. Before they sailed, Mr. Wesley abridged the Common Prayer book, and wrote to Dr. Coke, then in Lon- don, desiring him to meet him in Bristol to receive fuller powers, and to bring the Rev. Mr. Creighton with him. The doctor and Mr. Creighton accordingly met him in Bristol, when, with their assistance, he ordained Mr. Richard What- coat and Mr. Thos. Vasey, presbyters for America, and did af- terwards ordain Dr. Coke superintendent, giving him letters of ordination under his hand and seal, and at the same time, a letter to be printed and circulated in America." To this statement it should here be added that Dr. Coke wrote Mr. Wesley urging him to ordain him bishop. On the third of November, 1784, Dr. Coke arrived in New York, and on the fourteenth, met Mr. Asbury for the first time, who, upon hear- ing of the new plan, expressed strong doubts about it, which by some means or other were soon removed, as subsequent events proved. On Christmas eve, a general conference of the Methodists assembled, by appointment at Baltimore, by

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which a circular letter from Mr. Wesley, of which Dr. Coke was the bearer, dated Sept. 10th, 1784, was published, from which the following extracts are presented. The letter is addressed to Dr. Coke, Mr. Asbury, and our brethren in America:

" By a very common train of providences, many of the provinces of North America, are totally disjoined from their mother country, and erected into independent states. The English government has no authority over them, either civil or ecclesiastical, any more than over the states of Holland. A civil authority is exercised over them, partly by the Con- gress, partly by the provincial assemblies. But no one either exercises or claims any ecclesiastical authority at all. In this peculiar situation, some thousands of the inhabitants of these states desire my advice, and in compliance with their desire, I have drawn up a little sketch.

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A history and record of the Protestant Episcopal church in the diocese of West Virginia, Part 2

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