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 | Old churches, ministers and families of Virginia |  |
ARTICLE VII.
Being an appendix to the articles on James City parish, and containing
a further account of the Jaquelines, Amblers, and James
town.—No. 5.
Since the foregoing notice of these families was written I
have had access to some most reliable documents, from which have
been obtained the following additional information:—
Within the last thirty years visits have been made to England
by a number of their descendants, and an intercourse, personal
and epistolary, been established between those in England and
those in America. I am the more pleased at being allowed access
to these documents, because I am enabled thereby to gratify a
favourite wish and design of these articles in the establishment
of a connection between the old families and the old Church of
England and America.
The tradition prevalent in Virginia as to the descent of the
Ambler family is entirely confirmed by a letter of the Rev.
George Ambler, of Wakefield, in Yorkshire, to one of his relatives
in Virginia. Wakefield and Leeds are near to each other in
Yorkshire, as they are in Westmoreland, Virginia,—the latter
deriving their names from the former through the instrumentality
of the Washington and Fairfax families, whose residence was in
that part of England. The Amblers were also from the same
place, and Leeds Manor, in Fauquier, may have received its name
through them. The following is an extract from a letter of the
Rev. Mr. Ambler, of England, to Mr. Philip St. George Ambler,
of Virginia:—
"I am seventy-four years of age,—a graduate of the University of Cambridge,—a
clergyman,—living in my native town (Wakefield, in Yorkshire)
upon my private means; am descended from John Ambler, of the
city of York, who was sheriff of the county in 1721. My great-grandfather,
the aforesaid John Ambler, had a son, Richard, who followed the
fortunes of a relative in Virginia. That son had nine children, of
which I happen to possess a list."
This number exactly agrees with that of the children of Richard
Ambler, of York, who married Miss Jaqueline, of Jamestown. A
George Shaw, a minister of the Established Church, and was
grandmother of Charles Shaw Lefevre, late Speaker of the House
of Commons. For many years this Richard Ambler was collector
of the port at Yorktown, an office both honourable and lucrative,
and which he discharged with great integrity. Of his
nine children by Elizabeth Jaqueline, all died at an early age,
except Edward, John, and Jaqueline, as we have said in our last
article.
I find some interesting notices in the document before me concerning
these three,—which I shall introduce, but not without a
previous notice, from the same source, of the family of their
mother, Elizabeth Jaqueline:—
"Her father, Edward Jaqueline, of Jamestown, was the son of John
Jaqueline and Elizabeth Craddock, of the county of Kent, in England.
He was descended from the same stock which gave rise to the noble family
of La Roche Jaqueline in France. They were Protestants, and fled from
La Vendée, in France, to England, during the reign of that bloodthirsty
tyrant, Charles IX. of France, and a short time previous to the Massacre
of St. Bartholomew. They were eminently wealthy, and were fortunate
enough to convert a large portion of their wealth into gold and silver,
which they transported in safety to England."
"Whilst I was in Paris," (says one of the travellers from America,) "in
1826, the Duke de Sylverack, who was the intimate friend of Madame
De la Roche Jaqueline, (the celebrated authoress of the `Wars of La
Vendée,') informed me that the above account—which is the tradition
among the descendants of the family in America—corresponds exactly
with what the family in France believe to have been the fate of those
Jaquelines who fled to England in the reign of Charles IX. I found the
family to be still numerous in France. It has produced many distinguished
individuals; but none more so than the celebrated Vendéan
chief, Henri De la Roche Jaqueline, who, during the Revolution of 1790,
was called to command the troops of La Vendée after his father had been
killed, and when he was only nineteen years of age. Thinking that he
was inadequate to the task, on account of his extreme youth and total
want of experience in military affairs, he sought seriously to decline the
dangerous honour; but the troops, who had been devotedly attached to
the father and family, would not allow him to do so, and absolutely forced
him to place himself at their head in spite of himself. As soon as he
found that resistance was useless, he assumed the bearing of a hero and
gave orders for a general review of his army: to which, (being formed in
a hollow square,) in an animated and enthusiastic manner, he delivered
this ever-memorable speech:—
" `My friends, if my father was here you would have confidence in
him; but as for me, I am nothing more than a child. But, as to my
courage, I shall now show myself worthy to command you.'
"This young man started forth a military Roscius, and maintained to
the end of his career the high ground he first seized. After displaying
hero, he nobly died upon the field of battle, at the early age of twenty-one,
thus closing his short but brilliant career."
The document thus concludes on the subject of the Jaquelines:—
"By a mourning-ring now in possession of Mary Marshall, the wife of the
Chief-Justice of the United States, it appears that Edward Jaqueline
died in the year 1730. He died, as he had lived, one of the most
wealthy men in the Colony."
We now proceed to speak of the three grandsons of Edward
Jaqueline. The sons of Richard Ambler and Elizabeth Jaqueline
were John, Edward, and Jaqueline. John was born in Yorktown.
At the age of ten he was sent, with his elder brother, Edward, to
Leeds Academy, near Wakefield, in Yorkshire, England, for his
education. He afterward graduated with great credit at Cambridge,
and then repaired to London, to begin the study of law.
There he became a very learned and accomplished barrister-at-law.
After travelling over Europe, he returned to Virginia and took
possession of Jamestown, which estate had been given him by his
grandfather Jaqueline. He represented the borough of Jamestown
for many years, and was considered one of the most accomplished
scholars in the Colony. He was perfect master of seven
languages. Many of his books in those different languages have
come down to his relatives. His health sunk under his literary
habits, and he died of consumption, at the age of thirty-one, in the
island of Barbadoes. His body was brought to Jamestown, and
deposited in the old graveyard around the church. The following
inscription, taken in 1820 from a tombstone of which no vestige
now remains, shows in what esteem he was held by his brother Edward,
who died on the day it was placed over his remains:—
"John Ambler, Esquire, Barrister-at-Law, Representative in the Assembly
for Jamestown, and Collector of the District of York River, in
this Province.
"He was born the 31st of December, 1735, and died at Barbadoes,
27th of May, 1766. In the relative and social duties—as a son, and a
brother, and a friend—few equalled him, and none excelled him. He
was early distinguished by his love of letters, which he improved at Cambridge
and the Temple, and well knew how to adorn a manly sense with
all the elegance of language. To an extensive knowledge of men and
things he joined the noblest sentiments of liberty, and in his own example
held up to the world the most striking picture of the amiableness of religion."
To this brief testimony to the worth of one whose days were
soon numbered, we add a more enlarged one to the virtues of his
brother, Mr. Jaqueline Ambler:—
"Jaqueline Ambler, the seventh child of Richard and Elizabeth Ambler,
was born in the town of Little York, on the 9th of August, 1742.
At an early age he married Rebecca, daughter of Lewis Burwell, of White
Marsh, in Gloucester county, Virginia. He was Councillor of State
during the Revolutionary War, at the time that Thomas Jefferson was
Governor of Virginia. He was afterward appointed Treasurer of State,
which office he held until his death. He stood as high, as a man of
honour, as any who had ever lived, either in ancient or modern times. He
was indeed so remarkable for his scrupulous integrity that he was called,
throughout the land, `The Aristides of Virginia.' Whilst Treasurer, one
of his clerks robbed the Treasury of £5000. The officers whose duty it
was to examine the Treasurer's books for that year failed to detect the
defalcation, and reported to the Legislature that the Treasurer's books
balanced as they should do. Mr. Ambler was the first to find out the villany
and immediately reported it to the Legislature, who caused a re-examination
of the books to take place, re-elected him to the office, and
passed an act in which they declared that their confidence in his character,
so far from being impaired by the event, had been greatly increased:
whereupon he immediately paid the £5000 into the treasury, out of his
own funds, and determined to continue in office. He was as charitable
as his means would allow him to be; no meritorious person in distress
ever applied to him in vain. There was living in Richmond a poor
Scotch clergyman, named John Buchanon, whom he invited to make his
house his home until he should be able to support himself. The invitation
was accepted.
"The excellent parson Buchanon lived with him till he died, officiated
when he was consigned to the grave, and preached his funeral
sermon, from which the following extract is made:—
" `And when can we more seasonably apply to these duties than when
we are warned by the loss of our friends to remember our latter end and
apply our hearts unto wisdom? We have, my brethren, been lately paying
the last sad tribute to a departed brother. He whose loss we now
lament has passed the fifty-fifth year of his age without a blemish to
his reputation; without an enemy; with numerous friends. Adored
by his family, he has almost consoled them for his loss by the conviction
that he has not gone too early for himself, and that he was mature in
character.
" `Notwithstanding the constant exposure of an official man to the displeasure
of others, by the impartiality of his conduct, even those who went
away from him unindulged in their applications were satisfied by a confidence
in the purity of his motives. His public career for nearly twenty
years was a series of testimony to this truth. Drawn from the peaceful
walks of private life into public action, without a solicitation or a wish
previously expressed, he was chosen by the Legislature to three important
offices during the Revolution and since the peace. His last, that of Treasurer,
presented for thirteen years to malice, envy, or enmity, had they
existed against him, an annual opportunity of gratification. And yet was
he annually re-elected, because he had unremittingly shown his fitness
bore his agonies with every firmness of which human nature was capable,
cherished, strengthened, and animated by the divine glow of Christianity,
and foreseeing with a smile the prospect opening to his view. The poor
scarcely knew the hand from whence they so often received relief; and
those who were his dependants could not but own how much their condition
was softened by the kindness of their master.' "
"To this fair transcript of his character," says Dr. Buchannon,
the author of the sermon, "I might, from a fourteen
years' knowledge of him, (ten whereof I spent in his family,)
add many private traits which characterize him as the good man
and sincere and pious Christian. I could set before you innumerable
instances of kind attention and anxious solicitude to alleviate
the distresses, bear the infirmities, provide for the wants, nay, even
anticipate the wishes, of her to whom he was united; of the constant
care and unremitted assiduity of the fond but judicious parent
training up his own children, as also the fatherless and those
who had none to guide and direct them in the paths of religion and
virtue, not merely by daily precepts, but by what is infinitely more
efficacious, by daily example; and thus conscientiously discharging
that most important of all trusts, and securing their eternal as well as
temporal interests. I might bear honourable testimony to his being
as tender of the reputation of another; repelling every report circulated
by envy or malice against his neighbour's fame, and, like
Christian charity, thinking no evil. I might adduce repeated
proofs of his delicacy and purity of manners and conversation,
and of his temperance and self-government. He may, however,
have been thought by some too reserved and too much of a recluse;
and that he separated himself more than was necessary from
scenes of cheerful and innocent sociability. But, it may be truly said,
none had greater enjoyment in his family and the private circle
of his friends whenever the state of his health would permit; and
that he was sufficiently conversant in the world to present a fair
model of integrity, and a constant attention to his duties as an
officer, though not enough to be seduced or contaminated by its
follies and vices. To sum up all, I might lead to his private retirement,
and there present to you the devout Christian, prostrate in
humble supplication before his almighty Creator, which they only
who follow his example can justly estimate, and which they know
proves their greatest consolation in the various trials and calamities
of life. In fine, I might conduct you to the altar of God, where
you would hear him making a public profession of his faith, and,
and inconsiderate world, giving an open and solemn testimony that
he was not ashamed of the cross of Christ, which was to him both
the wisdom and power of God to his salvation.
"These and many more features of his character I might exhibit
to your view. But though a minute and particular detail would
still appear to myself as falling short of his merit, yet, to those
less acquainted with him than I was, it might seem to be drawn by
the flattering pencil of a friend. I therefore forbear a further
recital, and make one reflection naturally arising from the subject:
—that whenever the eye of man is disgusted and shocked by scenes
of impiety, rapine, cruelty, and bloodshed, let him cast it on such
a fair and pleasing picture as the present, which does so much
honour to human nature, and he will not fail to conclude that man,
the prey of furious and malignant passions, resembles an infernal
spirit; but when actuated by the sacred dictates of religion and
devoted virtue he claims kindred with the angels in heaven.
`Mark, therefore, the perfect man, and behold the upright, for
the end of that man is peace.' "
The following account of Mr. Edward Ambler is from the same
source,—the family document:—
"When he attained the age of twelve years he was sent to England to
finish his education, accompanied by his younger brother, John. They
were entered at Leeds Academy, near Wakefield, in the county of York,
at which place they continued for several years; after which they were
sent to Cambridge, where they went through a regular course of study
and terminated their university career with the highest credit. The
liberality of Mr. Richard Ambler allowed his son Edward to make
the grand tour of Europe after he quitted the university, so that he had
passed his twenty-first year before he returned to Virginia. After
which event it was not very long before he led to the altar Miss Mary
Cary, the daughter of Wilson Cary, Esquire, of Celeys, Elizabeth City
county, Virginia, who was descended from one of the most noble families
in all England.
"The elder sister of Miss Mary Cary had married George William
Fairfax, at whose house she was on a visit, when she captivated a young
man, who paid her his addresses. His affection, however, was not returned,
and the offer of his hand was rejected by Miss Cary. This young
man was afterward known to the world as General George Washington,
the first President of the United States of America. Young Washington
asked permission of old Mr. Cary to address his daughter before he
ventured to speak to herself. The reply of the old gentleman was, `If
that is your business here, sir, I wish you to leave the house, for my
daughter has been accustomed to ride in her own coach.' It has subsequently
been said that this answer of Mr. Cary to the stripling Washington
of the future fame of the first of heroes and the best of men,—our
immortal Washington; as it was more than probable that, had he obtained
possession of the large fortune which it was known Miss Cary would carry
to the altar with her, he would have passed the remainder of his life in
inglorious ease. It was an anecdote of the day, that this lady, many
years after she had become the wife of Edward Ambler, happened to be
in Williamsburg when General Washington passed through that city at
the head of the American army, crowned with never-fading laurels and
adored by his countrymen. Having distinguished her among the crowd,
his sword waved toward her a military salute, whereupon she is said to
have fainted. But this wants confirmation, for her whole life tended to
show that she never for a moment regretted the choice she had made. It
may be added, as a curious fact, that the lady General Washington afterward
married resembled Miss Cary as much as one twin-sister ever did
another.
"Edward Ambler, after the death of his father, Richard Ambler, was
appointed Collector of the port of York, which station he was induced
to occupy, rather on account of the honour it conferred in those days,
than for the sake of the emolument. He was a man of such consideration
in the Colony, that when Lord Baron Botetourt came over to this
country as Colonial Governor of Virginia he brought a letter of introduction
to him, which is now in possession of the writer. Upon the death
of his younger brother, John, who gave him Jamestown, he removed
there to live, and represented the old borough for many years afterward in
the House of Burgesses. Edward Ambler died and was buried at Jamestown,
in the thirty-fifth year of his age, Anno Domini 1767. His
widow survived him fourteen years. When the Revolutionary War broke
out she removed, with her children, from Jamestown to the Cottage, in
Hanover county, which was a much less exposed situation. Several of
her acquaintances and connections removed from the lower country and
bought estates near the Cottage, merely for the sake of society. Among
others were Robert Carter Nicholas, Esquire, who bought and lived at a
place called `The Retreat.' Wilson Miles Cary, Esquire, her brother,
bought an estate near, as did the family of General Nelson; so that this
neighbourhood, as deserted and uninhabited as it now is, afforded at that
time as polished society as any in Virginia. Mrs. Ambler was a woman
of uncommon strength of mind and firmness of purpose. After the tea
had been thrown overboard at Boston, she would not allow a particle of it
to be used in her family, though fully able to have indulged in every
luxury which the country afforded. And, as another proof of her patriotism,
I will mention, what I have often heard my father say, that, at the
time that the young Marquis De la Fayette was retreating before Lord
Cornwallis, he passed with his army near the Cottage, taking the right-hand
road to Negrofoot, about half a mile above Ground-Squirrel Bridge
and two from the Cottage. As soon as she heard of it she procured uniform
and arms for my father, then a boy only sixteen years of age, buckled
them on him with her own hands, and then bade him `to go out and join
the American troops; and though you are my last and only child,' said
she, `return to me with honour or return no more!' This most excellent
and amiable lady did not live to see her country independent and the war
terminate, as she fondly wished she might do, that she might once more
return to light her hospitable fires in the hearths of her noble old family
exceedingly attached for several generations past; for at that spot almost
all of the blood and the name had been born, had lived, had died, and
been buried. Independent of its antiquity,—being so celebrated as the
spot where the first successful Colony from England located themselves in
America, and where the first town and the first church had been built in
America, with bricks brought from England,—it is a noble estate of about
thirteen hundred acres of land, situated on the banks of James River,
where this noble stream is near four miles wide, and originally had one of
the largest old mansions on it that was built in times when a Virginia
gentleman vied in wealth with an English nobleman. Though half of
this structure was destroyed by fire during the lifetime of the first John
Ambler, yet the remainder presents as commodious and commanding an
appearance as any dwelling-house in Virginia. The estate is now an
island; though it was formerly a peninsula, connected with the mainland
by a narrow isthmus, which has in the last century been entirely washed
away by the resistless action of the waves upon it. At Jamestown there
abound, in the very greatest perfection in which they can be eaten, all
sorts of fish, deer, wild ducks, sora, and ortolans. Figs, grapes, and pomegranates
here attain perfection. It is situated within eight miles of the
ancient city of Williamsburg, which, during the lifetime of my grandmother,
contained as polished society as could have been found at the
court of St. James itself. In the year 1781, Mrs. Mary Ambler, the
widow of him whom we shall call the first Edward Ambler, whilst staying
at the Cottage, in Hanover county, was attacked by that illness which
ended in her death. Whilst on her death-bed she directed that her remains
should be taken to Jamestown. But, as the war still raged with
England, it was thought best to have them interred where she died. And
even this precaution did not have the effect of securing them from the
profanation of the British troops, a detachment of which overran this part
of the country and came to the Cottage to ransack and to plunder. In
looking for the family plate they took it into their heads that it was
buried in the graveyard; though they were assured to the contrary by the
servants. They proceeded to the grave of my grandmother, dug up the
coffin, and actually opened it before they would be satisfied that the object
of their search was not there. When the war was ended, Mrs. Ambler's
remains were taken to Jamestown, according to her request, and placed by
the side of those of her husband."
The following account of a recent visit to Jamestown will conclude
our notices of this parish:—
On the 27th of October, 1856, I went to this place of ruins in
company with the Rev. Dr. Totten, the Rev. George Wilmer, Mr.
Richard Randolph, and Colonel Durfey. The latter had been
owner of the place some years since, and was well acquainted with
its past and present history. Mr. Randolph, our Virginia antiquary,
was also quite at home as to all that belonged to the
scene. We entered the island in a boat, at the upper or western
end of it, near to that which was once the neck constituting it a
peninsula and uniting it to the mainland. This has long since
ninety years ago the late Mr. John Ambler, then owning the
greater part of the island and residing on it, made a causeway on
that which had been the neck of land, but which was now covered
with water some feet deep. This, after some time, having been
overwhelmed with the waves of James River, Colonel Durfey, on
becoming the proprietor of the whole island, made a bridge to it at
some distance from the causeway, over which the stage passed, carrying
passengers to the Old Wharf at Jamestown, where the
steamboats received them. Only the piles on which the bridge
rested now remain, and the steamboats receive passengers from
Williamsburg and the country around at some other place. The
only access at this time to the island from the mainland is by boat
across Back River, which surrounds the island on the west and in
part on the north and east, uniting with James River at the upper
and lower ends of the island; also stretching up some miles into
the mainland, by a creek called Portan. While the neck of land
stood firm, Back River terminated in this creek. Since the irruption
of the waters of James River over this neck, the upper part
of the island has lost much of its ancient territory. The neck
itself is in some places a third of a mile in the river. A large
portion of the town also lies buried in the waves. At low-water
some signs of it may yet be seen. As this was the highest part
of the peninsula, and the most fertile and beautiful, the town was
chiefly built on it. The work of destruction has now passed along
nearly a mile, from the original connection with the mainland to
the lower part of the town, where the public buildings and the old
church stood. The bank is giving way within one hundred and
fifty yards of the old tower and graveyard; and, if some remedy
be not applied in time, they also must be immersed in the waters
of old Powhatan; for that was the Indian name of James River.
As the church was built on the fifty acres of land which is deeded
to the authorities of James City for public houses, it is hoped that
in due time either those authorities or that of the State will guard
the same against destruction. The old tower and the ruins of the
church are about fifty yards from the river, which in that place
has not yet encroached on the bank; although, as we have said, a
hundred and fifty yards above it is rapidly advancing on the
island.
Something special deserves to be said of the ruins of the old
church. The graveyard, in the midst of which it stood, contained
about half an acre of land, which is covered with old sycamores,
dense shade. The old brick enclosure, which was mouldering into
ruins, and some of the walls of the church, were used about sixty
years ago by Mr. William Lee, of Green Spring, and the late Mr.
John Ambler, of Jamestown, in making a small enclosure around
the tombstones which were still remaining. This enclosure covers
about one-third of the original one, and takes in a part of the spot
on which the church stood. The foundation of the old church is
still marked by the bricks which remain. On accurate measurement,
we found it to be an oblong square of just twenty-eight feet
by fifty-six. The ruined tower was judged to be about thirty feet
high, and, by measurement, proved to be eighteen feet square. As
there are conflicting opinions concerning the date of the erection
of this old church,—some affirming that what we see are the ruins
of that which was destroyed in Bacon's rebellion, while others
affirm the building of a new one after that event,—we will briefly
state the facts bearing on the case. The history of the succession
of the Jamestown churches is as follows:—The first place of worship,
as described by Captain Smith, was made of the awning, or
old sails, taken from vessels, and fastened to trees. The second
was a very plain log building, which was burned down in the second
or third year of the Colony, during the ministry of the Rev. Mr.
Hunt. The third was a larger and better one, probably of wood,
built during the presidency of Captain Smith, and in a ruinous
or neglected condition when Lord De la War arrived, in 1611.
By him it was repaired and adorned as I have stated. Its dimensions
were twenty-four feet by sixty. The chancel, called quoir,
was large enough to hold the Governor, the Council, and other
officers of state. This was doubtless the same in which Governor
Yeardley, with the Councillors and Burgesses, held their legislative
session in 1619; and, as we read of no other being built between
that time and 1676, when the town and church were burned down
by Bacon, it is most probable that this was the building. In opposition
to the theory that the present are the ruins of the old church
which was burned in the rebellion, is the fact that the dimensions
of the church which Smith built and Lord De la War repaired
were different from the one whose ruins are now seen. The dimensions
of the former were twenty-four by sixty; those of the latter
twenty-eight by fifty-six. Other circumstances there are, which
render it almost certain that another church had been built since
the destruction of the one by Bacon. Not only was there a goodly
number of families residing in the place for some time after this,
![illustration](https://iiif.lib.virginia.edu/iiif/uva-lib:190000/full/!1600,1600/0/default.jpg")
RUINS OF THE CHURCHYARD, JAMESTOWN.
removal of the seat of government to Williamsburg, after the year
1705. Although the Governors may have lived at Green Spring,
yet some of the officers of government, belonging to the port, and
Legislature, were there; and it is not to be supposed that they
would live for thirty years without a church. This improbability
is strengthened by the fact that Governor Andros presented some
communion-plate to the church at Jamestown in 1694; and yet
more by another fact, that in 1733 a silver font, still in existence,
was presented to it by two of the Ambler family. Surely these
would not have been presented to the ruins of a deserted church.
We must, therefore, suppose that the ruins which we now behold
are those of a church put up since the rebellion. That they are
not the ruins produced by fire I ascertain, not merely by the fact
that there are no marks of destruction by fire, but by the testimony
of an elderly gentleman, who assured me he was present when the
wooden part of the tower was burned by accident. It is proper to
state, in connection with this, that at a later period, the date not
known, a brick church was built on the road from Jamestown to
Williamsburg, called the "Main Church," in which Bishop Madison
preached in the concluding years of his ministry. He doubtless
preached at Jamestown in the earlier part of it. The Main
Church has recently disappeared. Underneath it was found a brick
vault, containing the remains of some unknown ones who were
buried there.[31] Having thus disposed of the church, we add something
concerning the graveyard. Deep-pressed into the earth and
almost covered up by it we found the following inscription:—
"Here lyeth the body of the Rev. John Gough, late minister of
this place, who departed this life January 15th, 1683-4, and waits
in hopes of a joyful reunion." This supplies one blank in our list
of its ministers. Besides this, we found the tombstones, or fragments
thereof, of Philip Ludwell and Sarah his wife, of Ursula
Beverly, wife of Robert Beverly and daughter of William Byrd,
(the first of that name, we presume, and who lived in Williamsburg
Jaqueline and Jaqueline Ambler, also those of B. Harrison and
Mrs. Edwards, may yet be seen.
Something special in the way of notice is due to the condition
of the tombs of Commissary Blair and Mrs. Blair; the latter being
the daughter of Philip Ludwell, of Green Spring, who married
Miss Sarah Grymes, of Middlesex. The tombs were placed side
by side, and were very heavy and strong. The platform, sides,
and ends were of white freestone, and the interior filled with
bricks, well cemented. The top slab, on which the inscriptions
were made, are of thick dark iron-stone, or black marble. A
sycamore-shoot sprung up between the graves and is now a large
tree. In its growth it embraced, on one end and on the top, the
tomb of Mrs. Blair, one-third of which lies embedded in the body
of the tree and is held immovable. All the interior, consisting of
brick, and two of the side-stones, have been entirely forced out of
their places by the tree and lie scattered around, while the dark
iron-stone slab is held in the air three feet above the surface of the
earth, fast bound by the embrace of the body of the tree, into
which it is sunk between one and two feet, the inscription being
only partially legible. On the other side, the whole tomb of Commissary
Blair has been forced away from its place by the roots
and body of the tree, and is broken to pieces in all its parts.
We found about two-thirds of the slab (on which was the inscription)
scattered in three or four fragments at some distance from
each other, and having put them together made out an imperfect
Latin memorial,—so imperfect that we shall not insert it.
Leaving the ruins of the church and graveyard, we add a few
concluding words as to the island. About two hundred yards below
the church and a hundred from the river, is the old brick house
of the Amblers, or a large part thereof, built, it is supposed, more
than a hundred years since. It is still in good repair and is the
residence of the manager of the present owner, Mr. William Allen.
It is the only house on the island except the old brick magazine
and a small frame room near it, both of which, unless preventive
measures are adopted, must soon tumble into James River. At the
lower end of the island there are still the remains of a graveyard
belonging to the Travis family, which owned that part of the island
for some generations. The house is gone. This part of the island
became separated from the other by some low and swampy ground.
Mr. Allen now owns the whole of the island, which consists of
about seventeen hundred acres and is between two and three miles
acres of it are now and always have been a marsh and incapable
of use. There are one hundred acres of woodland and four hundred
of arable land, very fertile and valuable. Within the last
thirty years it has changed owners several times, being sold at
various prices, from ten to thirty thousand dollars.
Since the above was written I have received the following information:—"The
last minister of the `Main Church' before Bishop Madison was the Rev. Mr. Bland,
afterward of Norfolk. His wife was a daughter of the Rev. William Yates, who
was for a short time President of William and Mary College. When the church
was taken down, a piece of timber broke the arch of a vault containing a coffin,
with a plate on which was inscribed `Elizabeth Bland,' with a vacant space sufficient
for another coffin."
| Old churches, ministers and families of Virginia | |