A history and record of the Protestant Episcopal church in the diocese of West Virginia, Part 49

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Moore, in a letter of that date, written to Mr. Allen, asking if the church was completed. The Rev. Benjamin Allen re- signed his charge in 1821, accepting a call to Philadelphia, and was succeeded at Zion Church by the Rev. B. B. Smith, who, after serving as Rector one year, was elevated to the Episcopate. Dr. Smith became the first Bishop of Kentucky. The third Rector of the parish, the Rev. Alexander Jones, D. D., was called in 1823, serving the Church for twenty-seven years, the longest rectorate in the history of the parish. During the rectorship of Dr. Jones, in 1847, the first church building was torn down and a much handsomer one erected. However, the congregation had enjoyed this new building only one year, when it accidentally caught fire, and was burn- ed to the ground. It was immediately rebuilt, and on the same site, this being the present building. The vacancy caused by the resignation of Dr. Jones was filled by the Rev. Dudley Tyng, who was called in 1851, and who served as Rec- tor for two years. Those who remember Mr. Tyng, remember him as an unusually strong preacher. The Rev. Charles Am- bler came to Zion Church in 1853, and remained until 1867. It was he who ministered to, and comforted and consoled his people during the dark and anxious days of the Civil War. Those who remember him best tell us that he was endowed with that tender and affectionate sympathy, coupled with an intense spirituality, qualities which always leave their last- ing impress upon parish life. Like Dr. Jones, "He being dead, yet speaketh," not only through his sweet memory, but through the Christian lives of his widow and children, who labor and worship in our midst. Mr. Ambler was succeeded in 1867 by the Rev. William H. Meade, D. D., another man of consecrated Christian life. His daily walk was a daily sermon. Dr. Meade, during his rectorship, succeeded in mak- ing Zion Church the banner Church of the Diocese, in mis- sionary spirit and missionary offerings. Another feature in the parish life, was his deep interest in the colored people of Charlestown. With the assistance of some of his people he

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organized a colored Sunday-school, which was held every Sunday morning in the gallery of the church. This was the germ of the colored work which has since been developed.

Having laid such a spiritual foundation under the leader- ship of those who had gone before, it is not surprising to find the parish willing and ready to launch out into wider work under the leadership of the two energetic and enthusiastic men who followed. In 1883 the Rev. Dallas Tucker was called to fill the vacancy caused by Dr. Meade's removal to Phila- delphia. During the rectorship of Mr. Tucker, the steeple of the church, as it now is, was built, and, through his zeal and efforts, the parish now enjoys the convenience of a most substantial and well-equipped parish-house. It was also dur- ing his rectorate that St. Philip's Chapel, for the colored people, was built and served. This work was accomplished and carried on by the help of Zion Church, and generous out- side friends of Mr. Tucker. Before this the colored school, organized by Dr. Meade, had been reorganized and conducted in a town hall by Mr. Bushrod Washington, a most earnest Christian worker, who still is superintendent of St. Philip's Sunday-School. It was during Mr. Tucker's rectorship that some young men, among whom were Mr. Claiborne Green and Dr. William Neill, began a Sunday-school in a school- house on the Blue Ridge Mountain. This was in 1886. They requested Dr. Fontaine Lippitt to act as their superinten- dent, and secured several teachers, among whom were Miss Mary Lippitt, Miss Flora Green, Mr. Fontaine Lippitt and Mrs. Louise Lippitt. Dr. and Mrs. Lippitt continued in this work until, two years ago, ill health compelled them to re- sign. In the meantime, Mr. Tucker was asked to go over and hold services, which he most gladly did. Through the untir- ing efforts of Rector, superintendent and teachers, money was raised and a pretty little chapel, seating one hundred and fifty, was built in 1889. Shortly after this, through the efforts of Mr. Tucker and Mrs. Lippitt, a very nice organ was placed in the chapel. It was during Mr. Tucker's stay, also,

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that Harewood Mission was begun. A Sunday-school was or- ganized on the first Sunday in March, 1883, by Thomas Staub, a zealous Methodist, and Miss Irene Green Aldridge. They were, in a few Sundays, joined by Miss Christine Washington, Miss Estelle Aldridge and Mr. Samuel Walter Washington, and still later by Mrs. James Lawrence Hooff. This Sunday- school was and is held in the public school building near the historic old home of the Washington families, Harewood. Mr. Staub was superintendent until his removal to Mary- land. He was succeeded by Mr. Walter Washington, and Mr. Washington by Mr. Oscar Ramsey. The school, for ten years, was run as a union school; but in 1893 Mr. Frank Beckwith was elected superintendent, and changed it into a Church Sunday-school. Mr. Beckwith was a most faithful and never- tiring worker in this school until, in April of 1900, he was persuaded to give himself to the work at St. Andrew's, on the mountain, where it, was felt he was more needed. Mrs. Frank Beckwith, for several years, has been the most faithful and efficient organist and teacher at the school. Since Mr. Beckwith's departure, Mr. Joseph Trapnell has been serving as superintendent. From the beginning of the work services have been held there by the Rectors of Zion Church. In 1893 Mr. Tucker resigned as Rector of St. Andrew's parish, and was succeeded in the same year by the Rev. William Loyall Gravatt. Mr. Gravatt took up and most successfully carried forward the activities of the parish as he found them. With the assistance of Rev. W. P. Chrisman, and afterwards with that of the Rev. C. E. Shaw, Mr. Gravatt not only ministered to his own congregation. St. Andrew's, St. Philip's. Hare- wood, but, also, Harper's Ferry, where he finally succeeded in placing Mr. Shaw as resident minister and made Harper's Ferry an independent work. Another obstacle confronted the new Rector. When Mr. Tucker left. the generous sup- port given to St. Philip's by his friends at a distance was withdrawn. By the efforts of Mr. Gravatt and Mr. Chrisman, the needed amount was raised to carry on the work. and a

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colored minister was called to take charge. The Rev. Mr. Deaver, the present minister in charge of St. Philip's, has, during the past two years, with assistance from Zion Church and the Diocese, kept up the Industrial School, connected with the chapel, paid off the debt in the chapel and had it consecrated. The church has been beautified and made more comfortable by having a recess chancel, a memorial window and a furnace put in. The memorial window was put in the memory of Mrs. William P. Craighill, who was so intimately connected with the colored work. In 1875 Mrs. Craighill or- ganized a sewing school for colored girls. This successful work was continued on independent lines until the chapel was built. She then combined with the chapel work, and up to her death gave not only most liberally of her money, but of her personal interest and effort. During the latter part of Mr. Gravatt's rectorship, Zion Church was renovated, being greatly improved and beautified by having the side galleries removed, the walls painted and frescoed. After serving the parish for six years, Mr. Gravatt was elected Bishop Coad- jutor of the Diocese of West Virginia. He was succeeded by the Rev. Robt. S. Coupland, who took charge of the church February 1st 1900, and who the is present Rector. In 18SS the Church in Charlestown and indeed in the whole Diocese, met with a great loss in the death of Mr. N. S. White. A tablet has been placed on the walls of Zion church, Charles- town, On it is inscribed-"In the peace of God, Nathan S. White, sometime vestryman and warden of this church and superintendent of the Sunday school; born November 6th, 1817, died November 4th, 1888, and Fredericka White, his beloved wife; born April 14th, 1816, died April 9th, 1891. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house; they will be always praising thee."

Extract from the History of the Valley, by Norris.

Old St. George's Chapel,-One of the most singular as well as unfortunate results of the proneness of humanity to for-

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getfulness is evidenced in the fact that all knowledge of the date of the building of the some-time splendid Chapel of St. George, has entirely escaped the memory of the oldest resident of, even, the vicinity of the picturesque ruin that lies in such close proximity to Charlestown. Even Bishop Meade, who wrote extensively in regard to the early churches of the denomination that he so much honored, knew nothing of the origin of this grand old landmark of colonial days. He merely says, in his elaborate sketches of the "Old Churches and Old Families of Virginia," that it was an old ruin when he was a boy, and places the date of its erection some time between 1760 and 1770. There are actually no records, in the United States at least, in regard to the origin of this old church, for had there been, Bishop Meade would have had access to them. It is inexplicable, for the devout and talented bishop has full and satisfactory accounts of many other churches that antedate St. George's by at least one hundred years. Just why the date of building is set down as 1760-70 does not appear, but probably arises from the fact, that Norborne Parish was created between the dates named, but it does not follow, that the chapel was built synchronol- ogically with the creation of the parish. Now, the new parish, cut from the northern third of Frederick Parish, which ex- tended from the upper or southern line of what is now Shen- andoah county to the Potomac, and from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Alleghanies, was named in honor of Nor- borne Berkeley, Baron de Botetourt, who was governor of the colony of Virginia between the dates named above, 1760- '70. But the building may have been erected before 1760, and to bear out that idea there seems to be evidence in Hening's Statutes at Large, where a church is referred to in an old statute, wherein mention is made of one of the chapels being more costly than any of the others. This mention occurs about the time that the church officials were displaced and a new set appointed, in consequence of the misappropriation of the funds raised for Church purposes. A portion of those

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charges may have had reference to the extravagance in- dulged in by the dispensers of the people's money. But it is altogether probable that private contributions materially as- sisted in the erection of the splendid colonial chapel. There was considerable stir in church-building about 1752, and a little later, when Lord Fairfax gave a number of sites for churches in various sections, and St. George's may have been commenced at as early a date as that given. Near where it was located there were many wealthy Church of England people, who would have taken pride in outdoing all their neighbors in the size and magnificence of their chapel. At any rate, the present ruin was once grand for its time. The walls were twenty-two inches in thickness, and constructed of stone quarried in the vicinity. The rest of the material is believed to have been brought from England, as there were no manufactories of the articles, used therein, in the colony at that time. The roof was covered with sheet-lead. The window and door frames were of cedar wood; the floor was laid in tiling: the high-backed pews were of oak, and the pul- pit of the same wood, elaborately carved and projecting from the wall considerably. The finishing and furnishing was rich, tasteful and harmonious. There were numerous graves mark- ed by tombstones fifty years ago, but time, and the ruthless hand of man, have left not a trace of the latter, and scarcely any indications of the former. The ruin stands just as it did thirty or fifty years ago, with barely any diminution in size. It is ivy-hung now, as it was then. In summer it is an inter- esting and beautiful sight to behold the vines clinging and swinging in the soft breezes to the gray old walls that have stood there for 125 years. Through that once ornamented doorway, Washington and many other illustrious men of his time, often entered to take part in the ministrations led by Rev. Alexander Balmaine and Rev. Charles Mynn Thruston, the patriotic parson-soldiers of the Revolution. The venera- ble pile is situated in an uncultivated field on the lands of Colonel 11. B. Davenport. about one mile from Charlestown,

REV. ROBERT S. COUPLAND.

ZION CHURCH, CHARLES TOWN.

RECTORY, CHARLES TOWN.

ZION CHURCH-INTERIOR.

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and the straggling grove of trees, surrounding it, seem en- deavoring to shelter their ancient friend from the rude winds, some of them, indeed, with their now leafless arms.

Memoranda as to Old St. George's .- A thorough search from books, documents and persons has been made for all availa- ble information likely to throw light on the question of the date of the erection of old St. George's Church, now in ruins (before 1836), near Charlestown. Some say this church was originally known as Trinity Church, Norborne Parish. The result is embodied in the following condensed statement:

A descendant of Mr. Baker, who donated the ground on which the church was built, and was buried there, says that this ancestor, his grandfather, told him the church was built in the reign of George II., which extended from 1727 to 1760.

Hon. Alexander Boteler, of Shepherdstown, wrote that, "this ancient church is said to have been built in the reign of George II." It is said that George Washington attended this church, when a young surveyor, and it is also spoken of in John Esten Cooke's "Survey of Eagle's Nest," as the ruins where Stonewall Jackson went to pray.

As it was built by people who were members of the Church of England, it seemed a proper line of inquiry to ascertain when there were present within a reasonable distance of the lecality a sufficient number of such people to justify the erec- tion of such a building.

There were settlers on the Opequon as early as 1729, but they were probably Quakers; as early as 1732 a number of families, some of whom were surely Episcopalians, were set- tled from the Opequon up the Valley as far as Cedar Creek, beyond Winchester. In 1734 there was a settlement of Mor- gans and others in the Valley near the site of the town of Shepherdstown. The indications are that these were also Episcopalians.

While there were a few houses in 1738, on the present site of Winchester, its formal establishment as a town began in 1752. It is known that at least one of the men, Robert Ruth-

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erford, who lived in Winchester in 1738, was an Episcopalian. George Washington mentions Winchester in 1753 as a place of "considerable importance." His first appearance in this Valley as a surveyor was about 1748, when he was quite a youth. The Act of the Colonial Assembly of 1738 speaks of "the great numbers of people that have settled themselves of late upon the rivers Shernando (Shenandoah), Cohurgoru- ton (Potomac), and Opequon and the branches thereof." There were also settlers on Bullskin and at Leetown.

The indications are, therefore, that as early as 1740, there were people enough to lead one to expect to hear of the erec- tion of churches. Accordingly, Norris, in his history of the Valley, says that in 1740 Morgan Morgan, aided by John Briscoe and Mr. Hite, erected the first church in this Valley.

Hawks, in his history of the Protestant Episcopal Church, quoted by Howe in his history of Virginia, says the first Epis- copal Church in the Valley of Virginia was built in 1740, and is supposed to be what is called the "Mill Creek Church." One of the oldest men in the vicinity of Charlestown, whose ances- tors have lived hereabouts since 1734, says the site of the Mill Creek Church is Bunker Hill, about ten miles from the ruins of St. George's Church. Norris, in his history, says, "the first mention of any religious edifice" in Frederick county, in the records of the court, is dated June, 1744, and refers to laying out a road "from the Chapel to Jay's Ferry." Norris says the location of the Chapel may have been the old Mill Creek Episcopal Church, or it may have been the "Old Norborne Church," in ruins near Charlestown. At that time the limits of Frederick county included the present counties of Jeffer- son and Berkeley. The corner-stone is said to have been found by Colonel Davenport, and bears date of 1747.

The "Old Chapel," near Millwood, was not built until 1796. While Charlestown was not established as a town until Octo- ber, 1786, the old mill was there before 1750, and probably a small settlement near it. Norris, from his investigations, concludes, "it is more than probable that before 1770 there

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was a considerable village on the present site of Charles- town."

An important historical event took place in 1755, the pas- sage through this section of the country of a portion of the troops of Braddock on their way to Fort Duquesne, now Pittsburg. Tradition, in more than one line, through per- sons now living in Jefferson, says this old church was then standing and in regular use.

The conclusions reached are the following: There are rea- sonable grounds for belief that the church was built between the years 1727 and 1760; almost certainly it was not built before 1740; it may have been standing in 1744; it was almost certainly standing in 1755.

The first Episcopal Church in Charlestown was built in 1817. Services were almost certainly continued in the old church until 1817. It's disuse probably began about that time. It was known that by 1820 the boys of the neighbor- hood were taking lead from the building with which to mould bullets. There are pieces of the old roof still in existence in the country. If a corner-stone was placed under this old church, its contents would tell the secret of the date we have been seeking so long.

Tradition says the chancel furniture was removed from the old church to the new one in Charlestown. The original Com- munion Table in the first church in Charlestown is still in existence, in excellent condition. It has been presented to Zion Church by General W. P. Craighill and deposited for safe-keeping in the vestry-room. A suitable inscription on a brass plate tells its history.

Zion Episcopal Church .- Norborne Parish, in which this church was originally situated, and in which it continued to be, for about fifteen years, even after the separation of Jef- ferson from Berkeley county, as has been previously stated, was created in 1769. The Episcopalians, until the erection of Zion Church, worshipped at the old chapel, south of Charlestown, and the ministers of the parish, as far as can

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be ascertained, were: Revs. Sturges, Veasy, Wilson, Bar- nard, Page, Heath, Wilmer and John Price. These covered the time from 1770 to 1813. During the pastorate of Rev. Benjamin Allen, who began his labors in 1815, the parish of St. Andrew's was created, and about the same time, 1817, the first Zion Church was built. Since that date seven dis- tinct parishes have emanated from the same source, viz .: Charlestown, Shepherdstown, Harper's Ferry, Martinsburg, Bunker Hill, Smithfield and Hedgesville. St. Andrew's Parish was coterminous with the limits of Jefferson county, and was the mother of four of the above distinct parishes. Rev. Mr. Allen exercised his ministry at twelve points, included in the seven parishes just named, and for nine years, when he was succeeded by Rev. Benjamin Bosworth Smith, subsequently made First Bishop of the Diocese of Kentucky, and afterward the venerable Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in this country. Rev. Alexander Jones was next Rector, for twenty-three years. During his incumbency, in 1838, the parish was sub-divided by the organization of an independent congregation at Shepherdstown, and again in 1849, by the separation of St. John's Church, at Harper's Ferry. In his time, also, a second enlarged church was built, which burned to the ground a few months after its completion. The con- gregation at once set to work to restore it, and the present still further enlarged building was consecrated in 1852, under the charge of Rev. Dudley A. Tyng, son of Rev. Dr. Stephen H. Tyng, of New York. During the late war this church was sadly disfigured by the Federal soldiery, and, in 1867, when Rev. Dr. W. H. Meade, a grandson of Bishop Meade, took charge of it, was in a sad condition. Several years ago the congregation lost its rectory by fire, and the new Church was injured by a storm; but, notwithstanding all these misfor- tunes, the Church is stronger than ever to-day. They have lately erected a beautiful chapel on the main street of Char- lestown, which gives evidence of the prosperity of the Church.

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Rev. Dallas Tucker is the present pastor, having succeeded Mr. Meade, April 22, 1883.

Trinity Church, Shepherdstown .- (From a sketch written in 1845 by Rev. C. W. Andrews.)-This town was the first set- tled in this Valley north of Winchester, having been laid off by Captain Thomas Shepherd, and established by law in 1762, fourteen years before the Revolution. The Church must be of still more recent origin, but the account of its first establishment cannot be ascertained. The first efforts in its behalf were probably made by the proprietor of the town, already mentioned, as we find his son, the late Captain Abra- ham Shepherd, among its most active friends and liberal supporters. The first lay member of the Church, of which we have any account, was Colonel Joseph Van Swearingen, who deserves to be remembered with gratitude, for his lib- erality in the erection of the first church edifice. The date of the erection of that edifice we have not yet been able to ascertain. It must have been previous to the year 1785, as at that time there was a stone church upon the site of the present building. From that year to the present there have been twelve ministers, who have had charge of the parish, or, rather, of the Church, which is in St. Andrew's Parish, which embraces the entire county.

Of the earlier ministers very little can be ascertained, be- yond their names, no record having been preserved of their settlement or removal. That was a dark period in the his- tory of this, as of nearly all of our Churches in Virginia. Under the Colonial Government, the Episcopal Church had been established by law; most of her ministers were from England, and, during the Revolution, generally adhered to the interests of their native land. The result was that many returned to England; others were obliged to leave their parishes, and popular prejudice fell heavily upon the Church at whose altars they had ministered, a prejudice not unnatu- ral, being directed towards an institution which many had unwillingly sustained under the English law,-thoughi it was

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but reasonable to hope that the claims of justice would have been respected with regard to that property, of which she was as rightfully possessed as any man of his private estate; at least in consideration of the distinguished services ren- dered by the sons of the Church, with Washington at their head, in the achievement of our glorious independence.

The first minister who had charge was the Rev. Mr. Sturgis, who was the incumbent in 1785. He was followed by the Rev. Mr. Stubbs, in the next year, by whom a gentleman now re- siding in the neighborhood was baptized. Then followed a considerable period, during which it is supposed that the Church had no services, except those occasionally rendered by Morgan Morgan, the celebrated lay-reader, or, rather, lay- preacher, to whom the Church was so much indebted for many years in this and the adjoining counties. The next clergyman was the Rev. Mr. Veazy. Persons baptized by him are still living in the parish. He was followed by the Rev. Mr. Wilson, of whom we know as little as of his predecessor. The next in order was the Rev. Mr. Page, about the year 1795, who is said to have been a very able and eloquent preacher. The Rev. Mr. Heath had charge of the Church in 1800, and the Rev. Mr. Price in 1810; but it is supposed to have been vacant during the greater part of the time from its first establishment to this period. This brings us to the year 1817, when the Rev. Benjamin Allen took charge of the Church. His praise is still in all the Churches in this and the adjoining counties. His memory is cherished with affection- ate interest by many, who delight to tell of the great revival which took place under his ministry. He had charge, also, of several other congregations, and sent during this year the first report ever made from this county to the Diocesan Con- vention. He reports 150 communicants as under his care, but there are no specifications respecting the Church in Shep- herdstown. The church edifice, which gave place to the pres- ent building, was erected by his exertions. After a ministry of four years he was called to Philadelphia. He was succeed-

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A history and record of the Protestant Episcopal church in the diocese of West Virginia, Part 49

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