A history and record of the Protestant Episcopal church in the diocese of West Virginia, Part 45

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Amongst the prominent people in the church when I was a child were Mr. Josiah Hedges and his wife, Mr. Hezekiah Hedges, the Misses Wever, Mr. Garrett Wynkopp, Mr. James Cox, Mr. Aaron Myers and others. I have written this lit- tle sketch, which I hope you will like. I am truly your friend.

MARY W. LEIGH.

Franklin Parish, Louisiana.

Feb. 10, 1901.

To this may very properly be added a similar letter of rem. iniscences, from Mrs. Leavell.

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HEDGESVILLE, WEST VIRGINIA, March 23d, 1901.

MY DEAR MRS. LEIGH,

Thank you very much for your interesting reminiscences of Mt. Zion Church, Hedgesville, and I thought you would like to know something of its subsequent history after you connected yourself with the Church at Martinsburg. But let me tell you of something that occurred one Sunday morning. When you were a member, but absent; you must have been, for your keen sense of humor would never have permitted you to forget it. You remember Mr. Daly's he- roic efforts to teach Miss C- to play on the pipe organ. It was her habit to practice the tunes before service. The congregation had assembled and the Church was full and only a few minutes before service. For half an hour or more, Miss C- had been patiently toiling at the organ, and after several ineffectual attempts to bring time or mel- ody out of one of the tunes, her father sitting in the front aisle, and whose musical ear was more correct than his daughter's, suddenly sprang to his feet and facing the gal- lery, cried in an excited voice, "Sally, Sally, You had bet- ter stop, there is a hole in that piece." The effect on the con- gregation is better imagined than described. Her persistent perseverence was an example to all and no doubt had its reward. They have all passed away now-not one of the fam- ily left.

The church was much distressed and disorganized by its separation from Martinsburg; also suffered greatly from the effects of the war. On one occasion when Rev. W. D. Han- son was holding service, some Federal officers having heard his sympathies were with the South, pinned three or four small flags to the cushion on the reading desk, and placed two large flags at the door. You remember Mr. Hanson was very near-sighted. He had not noticed the small flags, and in opening the Bible, knocked them down. He was immedi- ately surrounded by a sergeant and several soldiers. In

REV. WILLIAM THOMAS LEAVELL.

ZION CHURCH, HEDGESVILLE.

REV. CHARLES E. SHAW.

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great surprise, he asked "What is the matter?" "You are under arrest, sir," said the sergeant. In great simplicity he said, "What have I been guilty of?" "You have knocked down your country's flag."

"My county's flag! Where was it?"

My father then went to the chancel and showed him the little flags.

"Oh! I did not see them," and, turning to the officer, said, "Please pin them a little lower down, so, I can open the Bi- ble."

They insisted upon the arrest, then papa told the sergeant he was very near-sighted, and he knew he had done it un- intentionally. Finally they desisted, but remained in the Church until the service was over. Soon after that the Church was closed. Colonel Cole's cavalry and several reg- iments of infantry were encamped around the town, the win- ter was severe, and the Methodist church had been occupied some time for barracks, Several times they sent for the key of our church, but my father always had some excuse and failed to produce the key, and strange to say, they did not force him. Becoming more urgent he tried to save the church by a little diplomacy. He called to see Colonel Cole and told him he had heard his brother was a clergyman in the Protestant Episcopal church and chaplain of his regiment, that our church had been closed sometime and would they not consent to hold regular services in the church, benefitting the people as well as the soldiers, and use one or two empty dwellings near the church for quarters? They consented very cheerfully, and the next Sunday found the church full of officers and soldiers, in the Federal uniform. Papa at- tended regularly and frequently was the only voice heard in response. One of the soldiers was organist and the sol- diers attended well, but never took any part in the service. After the war, it was a work of great patience to build up the church. Many of the old, staunch churchmen had gone to their reward-their deep love for the church and the de-

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light they took in its services, could be questioned by none, but many of their descendants torn by conflicting opinions and prejudices, generated by the civil war, were of a very different type of churchmanship. In 1876, Rev. W. T. Lea- vell became permanent Rector, and for nearly twenty years labored most patiently and cheerfully. His hopeful dispo- sition being a great help in the dull routine of a country clergyman's life, but his whole life was characterized by humility and unselfishness, and his chief ambition was to lead the weakest lamb in the flock to the fold. He died on the 25th of August, 1899, in his 86th year.

Genuine sorrow was manifested by the whole community, his own people ever holding him in affectionate remembrance and at Easter will place a memorial tablet in the church.

Cordially, and sincerely yours,

EMMA W. LEAVELL.

Bunker Hill, is on or near, the turnpike, where Mill Creek strikes that thoroughfare. There is one of the oldest church- es in the valley at this point, or rather the site of the old church, for the original passed away nearly one hundred years ago.

Christ Church, Bunker Hill. The records of this Church are meagre, and badly kept. The original church was erect- ed by Morgan Morgan, in 1740, and was the first church built in the Valley. The rectors who have served the con- gregation of this church since 1850 are: Rev. C. M. Calla- way, 1851-1855; Rev. Julius E. Grammer, 1855-1857; Rev. Wm. McGuire, 1857-1858; Rev. Wm. T. Leavell, 1861; Rev. T. M. Carson, 1866-1869; Rev. Jas. Grammer, D. D., 1869- 1878; Rev. Jas. H. W. Blake, 1879-1881; Rev. John S. Gibson, 1882-1888; Rev. Henry Thomas, 1889-1899; Rev. John S. Doug- las, 1899. In 1866, under the rectorship of Rev. Mr. Carson, there were three churches, St. Bartholomew's, Leetown; Grace, Smithfield, and Christ Church, Bunker Hill. When Rev. James Grammer took charge in 1869, Summit Point was added where services were held in a school house. At

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the Council of West Virginia, which met in Hunting- ton, June 6th, 1888, Nelson Parish was organized. Christ Church, Bunker Hill, remained in Norborne Par- ish. In 1889 it was taken under the protection of Martins- burg and that arrangement continues to the present time. Among the members of the vestry of Christ Church Bunker Hill, are the following: Wm. Morgan, Levi Hen- shaw, Chas. Stuckey, Wm. North, Thos. C. Bryarly, John Swimley, Morgan Morgan, Sr., James Ijams, Geo. Lemon, Rich'd Seamon, S. D. Bryarly, Richard H. Bryarly, Wm. Swimley, J. K. Cunningham, Zephaniah Morgan, Joseph Mor- gan. The account of Morgan Morgan elsewhere given in this Book, throws much light upon the early history of the Bun- ker Hill Church.

Calvary Church, near Hedgesville. There was a Church, called Calvary Church, near Back Creek, six or seven miles West of Hedgesville. The corner stone was laid Saturday, November 16th, 1844, the Rev. Jas. A. Buck, of Maryland, present and assisting.

It was opened the first time for religious services Satur- day and Sunday, the 10th and 11th of January, 1846.

Bishop Meade consecrated this Church November 28th, 1846. There were present and assisting, the Revs. R. H. Wil- mer, Richard T. Brown and the Rector, Rev. Jas. Chisholm. The sermon was preached by the Rev. Mr. Wilmer, from Zech. iv . 6.

This Church has since passed into the hands of the United Brethren.

Boone.

Boone county was formed in 1847, and was named for Dan- iel Boone. Square miles, 500. Population-1870, 4,553; 1880, 5,824; 1890, 6,885; 1900, 8,194.

Work in this county was begun by Mr. John Howe Peyton, who in addition to his great activity in the immediate neigh- borhood of Charleston, resulting in the building of St. Mat-

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thew's Church, and also St. Andrew's, Davis Creek, was ac- customed to make missionary excursions into the regions beyond. In this work he was assisted by Mr. and Mrs. Bar- cus, and Mr. Warner, who at various points in this section of the county, have signalized their devotion to the Church by gathering children into Sunday schools, and otherwise preparing the way for the regular ministrations of the Church.

Bishop Peterkin first visited Boone county in October, 1882. He was accompanied by the Rev. Dr. Lacy, of Hinton. Mad- ison, the county seat, was embraced in a long circuit they took on horseback. Starting from Hinton, they rode through Athens, (then Concord), to Princeton, and on to Pocahon- tas, thence by the peeled chestnuts, (a famous land mark in that section), to Moses Cartwright's, on Tug River, and so on to Peeryville, the county seat of McDowell county. From McDowell, they went to Wyoming Court House, and on through Logan and Boone, everywhere having service, and meeting with a most cordial reception from the public gen- erally. Bishop Peterkin preached in Madison on the even- ing of Tuesday, October 17, 1882. Judge Johnson, no doubt at the instance of Maj. T. L. Broun, who was attending court, put the Court House at our disposal.

A second visit was paid by Bishop Peterkin in October, 1891. This time he drove from Charleston, and continued his journey over to Logan Court House, and to Dingess, a sta- tion on the Norfolk and Western Railroad. At this time, there were no members of our Church in the county. At a later date, however, work was begun, as I have stated above, and in 1895, Christ Church was built, on Short Creek, only a mile or two from Racine. This Church was on ground given by Mrs. Evans, and was constructed of logs, which were contributed by that ever staunch friend of the Church, Maj. T. L. Broun. The work was largely done through the personal efforts of Mr. Peyton, though at this time he was receiving assistance from the Rev. Gerald Card, who with

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Charleston as a centre, was extending his ministrations as widely as it was possible for any one man to do.

In addition to such services as Mr. Card could give in person, and by the help of Mr. Peyton and Mr. Warner, his Lay Readers, he had the co-operation of such young students he could get to help him from time to time during the summer, and so with occasional visitations from the Bishop the work has gone on, sometimes with a good deal of en- couragement, and then again apparently lagging.

At last however, in his visit in August, 1901, the Bishop found this state of things: About seven communicants and twenty Sunday school scholars at Christ Church, and about twenty miles beyond, at the mouth of Robinson, a Sunday school of sixty, gathered by Mr. and Mrs. Barcus, and Mr. Warner, and about five miles still further on, at a school house on Bull Creek, another Sunday school of one hundred children gathered by the same workers. Here on Sunday, September 1st, service was held in the open air, as the room was too small for the congregation. Ten were baptized and seven confirmed. Under these conditions, with the Sun- day schools mentioned above, and seven communicants at Bull Creek, four at Robinson, and seven at Christ Church, it seemed necessary that some forward move should be made, and, accordingly, arrangement were made to put a man in this county, who should shepherd these people. We hope, as this book goes to press, that the work has been fairly begun under these favorable conditions, and that we may look for encouraging results in the future.

Braxton.

Braxton county was formed in 1836, and named for Carter Braxton, of Virginia. Square miles, 620. Population-1870, 6,480; 1880, 9,787; 1890, 13,921; 1900, 18,904.

Sutton .- The first Episcopal services in Sutton were held Thursday, August 12, 1880, in the Methodist Church by Bishop Peterkin, assisted by the Rev. W. H. H. Powers and the Rev. George W. Dame. At that time there were but two

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members of the Episcopal Church in Sutton, in fact, in the county of Braxton. Subsequently, services were held at in- tervals by the Rectors of St. Paul's Church, Weston, in the following order: Revs. Powers, Keeble, Lacy, Burkhardt, until about the year 1897, at which time the Rev. Thomas E. Swan, served Sutton and Buckhannon for about eighteen months, alternately giving two Sundays to each place every month. The Rev. Mr. Swan was succeeded by the Rev. Rob- ert C. Caswell for a short time. Since then there have been no services until May, 1901, when the Rev. A. G. Grinnan, Rector of St. Paul's Church, Weston, began holding monthly services. In 1896, under very adverse circumstances, the lit- tle flock, which had increased to some ten members, succeed- ed in completing a very neat church building, at a cost of about $1,200. which has a seating capacity of about 175 per- sons. Before this, services were held in the Methodist Church (South.)

Brooke .- Brooke county was formed from Ohio county in 1796, and was named for Robert Brooke, a descendant of one of those who accompanied Governor Spottswood to Virginia in 1710. Square miles, 80. Population-1870, 5,464; 1880, 6,013; 1890, 6,630; 1900, 7,219.

St. John's, Brooke County, and Christ Church, Wellsburg- In 1862-'63 the Rev. James Hervey Lee, assistant to Dr. Morse, at Steubenville Ohio, held services at Collier's, near St. John's. After him for a short time the Rev. Mr. Andrews, and then for about a year the Rev. M. M. Gilbert. In the fall of 1865 or '66 the Rev. Wellington E. Webb, of Hillsboro, Ohio, took charge of St. John's in connection with St. James', Jefferson county, Ohio. The Rev. Mr. Cowpland succeeded Mr. Webb and the Rev. Mr. Christian succeeded him. After Mr. Christian's death the Rev. Jacob Rambo, of Bellaire, Ohio, "supplied " for awhile. The Rev. Anselan Buchanan, Rector of Christ Church, Wellsburg, succeeded him. After Mr. Buchanan's removal, St. John's passed un- der the care of the minister in Steubenville. Ohio,

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who generally gave two Sunday afternoons each month, except during the winter weather. The Rev. R. W. Grange was in charge from April 16, 1882, to May 1, 1889, and the Rev. C. D. Williams came June 30, 1889. Rev. Thomas A. Waterman, Mr. William's assistant, preached from July 1, 1890, to October of the same year, and Rev. C. K. Benedict took his place October 19, 1890, and stayed until May 22, 1892. July 10, 1892, Mr. Thompson, a candidate for Orders, came and stayed two months; then the Rev. Thomas Stafford came and stayed until Mr. Williams left Steubenville, January, 1893. The Rev. Mr. Graham and the Rev. Mr. Cogswell, his as- sistant, preached for a time, and then again St. John's Church became associated with Christ Church, Wellsburg, as appears from this record.

On April 16, 1879, the Rev. Anselan Buchanan accepted the Rectorship of Christ Church, Wellsburg, and preached his first sermon here April 27, 1879. Rev. R. G. Noland preached his first sermon in the parish August 17, 1884. He took regu- lar charge, as deacon, October 1, 1884 but he preached on al- ternate Sundays between these two dates.

Rev. Henry T. Wirgman took charge of Christ Church Sep- tember 1, 1886. There is no record of his departure, but it is stated that in 1887 the Rev. Norman Badger gave occa- sional services. After occasional week day services for more than a year, the Rev. J. F. Woods accepted a call to the Rectorship of this parish, and in March, 1889, began holding a regular monthly service. On March 1st, 1890, he, at the suggestion of Bishop Peterkin, began giving half of his time to the parish, holding services on the first and third Sundays of the month.

The minutes of the vestry, April 30, 1895, record that Bishop Peterkin had made a proposition to provide a resident min- ister provided the congregation could pledge the payment of $300 per annum for salary. At a meeting of the Vestry held May 20, 1895, the Rev. Mr. Woods presented his resignation, to take effect July 1, 1895, giving as his reason for so doing,

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that the Bishop thought it would be for the welfare of the work of the Church in Brooke county to have a resident min- ister in Wellsburg, to give services there and in St. John's Church, Brooke county.

September 28, 1896, there was a meeting of the Vestry, the object of which was to take action towards securing money to build a rectory adjoining the church. On motion, a com- mittee, viz .: A. C. Hall, T. H. Buchanan, F. L. Hall and George A. Baxter, was appointed to see if a loan of $1,000 could be obtained by giving a mortgage on the property to be built, not including the ground on which the church is situated. This they succeeded in doing, and a comfortable rectory, well furnished and worth $1,700 was built. It is expected that the entire debt will have been paid in six years from the time it was contracted.

The Rev. C. A. Chrisman was incumbent from August 4, 1895, to October 1, 1897. The Rev. William K. Marshall took charge of the parish December 14, 1897. The church flourish- ed greatly under his ministry.

On Mr. Marshall's removal to Kentucky Rev. Thomas E. Swan took charge February 24, 1899, coming from Buckhan- non. He resigned to go to Ohio August 1, 1900. During the fall of this year Rev. H. B. Thomas became Rector of the two churches. By his efforts, in the spring of 1901, the debt on the rectory in Wellsburg was paid.

Short Creek, Brooke County-Rev. J. F. Woods has held an occasional service here in a school-house, generally the fifth Sunday of the month. While there is not a single communi- cant of the Episcopal Church, the attendance is good and the people heartily welcome our services and join in them.

The Rev. Dr. Doddridge.

The Rev. Dr. Joseph Doddridge was the eldest son of John Doddridge, of Maryland (of English descent), and of Mary, daughter of Richard Wells, of the same State. He was born October 14, 1769, in Friend's Cove, near Bedford, Penn. His father was a member of the Wesleyan Methodist Society, then

CHRIST CHURCH, WELLSBURG.

RECTORY, WELLSBURG.

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in its infancy, and differing but little in its doctrines and pub- lic ritual, from the Church of England, to which he had been attached in his native State. Dr. Doddridge labored for sev- eral years as an itinerant in the Wesleyan Society. The Hon. Thomas Scott, late of Chillicothe, Ohio, speaks of meeting him, when he was a travelling preacher, at the house of the Rev. John J. Jacob, in Hampshire county, Va., in July, 1788.

Resolved to qualify himself more thoroughly for his sacred calling, he spent some time at Jefferson Academy, Cannons- burg, Pa., between 1791 and 1794. It was probably about this time, that he determined to take Orders in the Protes- tant Episcopal Church. In March, 1792, being then a resident of Pennsylvania, Dr. Doddridge was ordained Deacon, by Bishop White in Philadelphia, and in March, 1800, in the same city and by the same Bishop, he was ordained Priest, having, in the interval between his ordinations, moved to Virginia. He speaks of the Church in Virginia, at this time, as having little more than a nominal existence, and says, that the resi- dence of the Bishop of Virginia, was so far from his own, as to make the requisite correspondence very inconvenient.

For nearly twenty-five years, Dr. Doddridge occupied the cheerless position of an advanced guard, in the ministry of the Protestant Episcopal Church; yet he faltered not in his labors, but untiringly exerted himself, to promote the growth and prosperity of the Church, and to awaken an interest in the trans-montane diocese by appeals to their Bishops, in behalf of the scattered members of the fold, who in the vast regions of the west, were as sheep without a shepherd.

We do not find among Dr. Doddridge's papers, any indicat- ing that he entered into written agreements with his parish- ioners to perform clerical duties, previous to the year 1800. He attended to such duties continuously from the year 1792, but probably prior to 1800, all his receipts were from volun- tary contributions, which we may conclude, did not amount to much. from the fact that a few years after his entrance in- to the ministry, he was under the necessity of combining with

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his clerical profession, that of medicine, in order to obtain a support. It is said that before he began the practice of medi- cine, he was too poor to buy himself a second suit of clothes, and when Saturday afternoon came, he was obliged to remain incognito, while his wife repaired and cleaned his clothes, for appearance in the pulpit on Sunday.

Dr. Doddridge's subscription papers for the year 1800, and for some years afterwards, show that in his country parishes, his salary was to be paid in cash, or in wheat delivered in some merchant mill, or such other produce as might be agreed upon.

In Virginia he seems to have found many who desired to walk in the "old paths," by worshipping God in the way of their fathers. As a matter of interest to their descendants, we shall give the names of the supporters of the Church in several of these parishes built up in the Wilderness. From these lists, may be gleaned some knowledge of the number of their descendants, who still adhere to the faith of their forefathers. They will also show that the number of those in the Western regions, who felt a decided preference for the Episcopal Church, at that early day, was by no means small. In the year 1793 Dr. Doddridge had three parishes in Vir- ginia, viz .: West Liberty, in Ohio county; St. John's and St. Paul's, in Brooke county.

St. John's Church-St. John's Parish, which is still in exist- ence, was doubtless the first one organized by Dr. Doddridge, in Northwestern Virginia. As early as 1793 it was provided with a small log church, since replaced by a handsome brick edifice. This parish continued under the charge of its first pastor for nearly thirty years, when declining health com- pelled him to resign.

The names of subscribers in this parish in the year 1800 are as follows: George Atkinson, John Foster, James Britt, Ab- salom Wells, Abel Johnson, John Crawford, Archibald Ell- son, William Baxter, John Ellson, John Davis, James White, Peter Hoy, Charles McKey, George Wells, George Richard-

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son, Charles Elliott, George Mahan, Andrew Lackey, William Atkinson, Simon Elliott, Hugh Lingen, John Strong, Simon Elliott, Jr., John Hendricks, George Swearingen, Daniel Swearingen, Richard T. Ellson, William Davis, Anthony Wil- coxen, Israel Swearingen, Richard Wells, Andrew Morehead, Richard Ellson, Asel Owings, Alexander Morrow, Thomas Crawford, Andrew Maneally, George Elliott, Jane Morrow, Thomas Nicholson, William Lawther, John Myers, William Adams.

Church at West Liberty-In the summer of 1792 Dr. Dod- dridge collected a congregation at West Liberty, the seat of justice for Ohio county, Va. Services were held in the court- house. The parish was much weakened by the removal of many of its members to Wheeling, when the county seat was removed to that place. Dr. Doddridge, however, still held services in West Liberty every third Sunday in the year 1800.

The supporters of the church there in that year were: Moses Chapline, Nathan Harding, Isaac Taylor, Benjamin Biggs, Charles Tibergein, Thomas Beck, Andrew Fout, Ebzy Swearingen, Thomas Wyman, Silas Hedges, William Griffith, Stephen G. Francis, John Wilson, Christian Foster, William Demont, Walter Skinner, Lyman Fouts, Zaccheus Biggs, Ab- raham Roland, Ticy Cooper, Benijah Dement, Thomas Dicker- son, James Wilson, William Cully, John Cully, Jacob Zoll, George G. Dement, Nicholas Rogers, John Abrams, John Wilkins, Sr., Samuel Beck, John Kirk, William Wilkins. Amount subscribed, $98.

West Liberty, like many other places in the Western coun- try, in the early part of the present century, presented a fine opening for Episcopal Missionary labor, in the absence of which the field has been successfully cultivated by others, and at the present period there is probably not an Episcopal- ian in the place. It may not be amiss, in this connection, to call attention to the fact, that the ritual of the Episcopal Church, was exceedingly popular among the rude pioneers of

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the West. The Book of Common Prayer has always been found suited to all classes and conditions of mankind.

St. Paul's Church, in Brooke county, Va .- We have no means of positively ascertaining when this primitive struc- ture was erected. Probably it was before 1793. It was located about five miles east of Charlestown (Wellsburg) and the Ohio River. The building was of logs, and surrounded by noble forest trees, amid which, in subsequent years, might be seen the narrow houses of many of those who had wor- shipped within it's walls.

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A history and record of the Protestant Episcopal church in the diocese of West Virginia, Part 45

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