 | Annals of Henrico parish |  |
REV. DR. DAVID GRIFFITH.
BY J. STAUNTON MOORE.
Rev. Dr. David Griffith was chosen Bishop of Virginia by
the second Virginia Convention, held in 1786, by a vote of
32 out of 49. He resigned his claim upon that office in May,
1789. He was the de facto Bishop of Virginia for this
period, but was not such de jure. At the Convention held in
Richmond in 1787, Dr. Griffith was its president. The Convention
urged the churches to raise funds to pay the expenses
incident to the consecration of a Bishop, and instructed the
Standing Committee to apply without delay to Bishops White
and Provost, or either of them, to admit the Rev. Dr. Griffith
to consecration, by whom the request would have been granted
but for the obligation to the English Bishops, to whom they
felt in honor pledged not to admit any one to consecration
until three Bishops had been obtained from England.
So depressed was the condition of the Church in Virginia,
and so little zeal was found in her members, that it was impossible
to raise funds sufficient to defray the expenses of the
Bishop-elect to London. In response to the appeals of the
clergy, only twenty-eight pounds were raised, a sum totally
inadequate for the purpose. Dr. Griffith's want of means
were so limited he could not himself bear the expense across
the Atlantic. Dr. Griffith, as shown by Saffell's Records of
the Revoutionary War, was both chaplain and surgeon of the
Third Virginia Regiment, as it stood in 1777-1778. The
following certificate attests his service: "These are to certify
that the Rev. Mr. David Griffith was recommended to the
committee of Congress and appointed by me to do the duty of
chaplain to my brigade at the time the committee came to
Valley Forge, which I think was about the 1st of February
last. Given under my hand this 16th day of October, 1778.
"(Signed) Wm. Woodford, Brigadier General."
The following resolution is extracted from the minutes:
"In Congress July 23, 1776.
"Resolved, That Dr. David Griffith be appointed to the station
of chaplain and surgeon in the Third Virginia Regiment,
he being a person of uncommon merit, and there being few
surgeons of abilities who will enter into the army in that
State. This appointment not to be drawn into precedent.
That Dr. Griffith draw pay in both these capacities for the
time he has served in the regiment." Under the act of the
General Assembly of Virginia he received land warrants for
Revolutionary services. In 1789 he was appointed by the
Virginia Convention a representative to the General Convention
at Philadelphia, which met that year in Philadelphia.
His health at this time was feeble; he reached the city, but
was never able to take his seat. He died at the house of the
Bishop of Pennsylvania on the 3d day of August, 1789, and
the journals of the Convention attest the respect which was
entertained for his character. The senior clergymen of the
deputation from each State attended his funeral as pallbearers,
the residue of the Convention as mourners, while his
friends, Bishop White and Mr. Andrews, the lay delegate for
Virginia, were chief mourners.
Dr. Griffith was born in the city of New York, and was
educated partly in that place and partly in England for the
medical profession. After taking his degree in London, he
returned to America and entered on the practice of his profession
in New York about the year of 1763. Determined to
enter the ministry of the Episcopal Church, he went to London
in 1770, and was ordained by Bishop Terrick, August
19th of that year, and returned as missionary to Gloucester
county, New Jersey. The following year he accepted the
charge of Shelbourne Parish, Loudoun county, Va. He continued
in it until May, 1776, when—being an American not
only in birth, but in heart—he entered the service as chaplain
and surgeon. He continued in this service until 1779. In
1780 he became the minister of Christ Church, Alexandria.
He is represented as a man of good size and prepossessing
appearance and pleasant manners, and as enjoying the confidence
of General Washington and the army. From the
esteemed pastor of Christ Church, Alexandria, and that called
Little Falls, on the Potomac. During the greater part of his
rectorship General Washington was his parishioner, having a
pew in Christ Church, and Dr. Griffith was a welcomed guest
at Mt. Vernon.
Dr. Griffith was not only a patriot at this crucial period in
the history of his country that tried men's souls, but his love
for and interest in the Church shows that whilst not consecrated
a Bishop according to the rubrics of the Church, his
heart was thoroughly consecrated to her interests. His deep
concern in the welfare of the Church and his earnest solicitude
for her condition is voiced in the following letter, written
in 1783, to Dr. John Buchanan:
"Dear Sir,—You may recollect the conversation we had
when I had the pleasure of seeing you at Richmond; that we
mutually lamented the declining state of the Church of England
in this country, and the pitiable situation of her clergy,
especially those whose circumstances are not sufficiently independent
to place them beyond the reach of want. I am satisfied
our Church has yet a very great number of powerful
friends, who are disposed to give it encouragement and support,
and who wish to see some plan in agitation for effecting
a business so important, and at this time no necessary. It is
(and very justly) matter of astonishment to many that those
whose more immediate duty it is to look to the concerns of
their religious society should show so much indifference and
indolence as the Church and clergy do, while the leaders of
almost every other denomination are laboring with the greatest
assiduity to increase their influence, and, by open attacks
and subtle machinations, endeavoring to lessen that of every
other society, particularly the Church to which you and I
have the honor to belong, in whose destruction they all
(Quakers and Methodists excepted) seem to agree perfectly,
however they may differ in other points. Against these it
behooves us to be cautious. But, unless the clergy act conjointly
and agreeably to some well-regulated plan, the ruin
of our Church is inevitable without the malevolence of her
enemies. Considering her present situation and circumstances—without
ordination, without government, without
injurious restriction from laws which yet exist—these things
considered, her destruction is sure as fate, unless some mode
is adopted for her preservation. Her friends, by suffering
her to continue in her present state of embarrassment, as effectually
work her destruction as her avowed enemies could
do by their most successful contrivances.
"In the late contest for a stake of the last importance to
this country, it would have been imprudent to enter on a
regulation of ecclesiastical affairs, or to attempt anything
that might interrupt that union which was so necessary for
our mutual security and preservation. But that time, God
be thanked, is happily over, and those reasons no longer exist.
It seems to be high time for those whom it concerns to be
engaged in the important business of regulating the affairs of
the Church. I have been for some time in the hope that
some of my brethren near the seat of government would have
set on foot this necessary business; and my reason for addressing
you at this time is to be informed whether anything
of the kind is begun or intended—the time when, the place
where, and manner how—and if nothing of the kind should
be yet determined upon, to request of you, as your situation
renders it no way inconvenient, to undertake to promote a
Convention of the clergy for that purpose. I shall also presume
to offer my advice. In order that the measures agreed
on may be generally acceptable to the clergy and no objection
remain to impede their future execution, it will be necessary
to have as numerous a meeting as possible. I would recommend
to have the clergy summoned to this Convention both by
public notice and private information; for, as the Virginia
newspapers seldom come into this and several other quarters,
perhaps the end would be best answered by sending printed
circular letters to all quarters of the State; if circular letters
were not sent, many of the clergy might not have timely notice.
I would recommend this Convention to be called on the
authority of the few clergy contiguous to the seat of government—the
notices to be signed by the whole of them, or one
as chairman. I would advise the notices to be couched in
general terms, to avoid, as much as possible, assigning reasons
for it, especially such as may alarm the Dissenters and rouse
these notices should be near three months before the intended
Convention, that the clergy might with certainty be informed
of it and be prepared to leave their homes. As Richmond is
near the centre of the State, I think it is the properest place
to hold the Convention at. The time for holding the Convention
I would recommend to be about the 20th of April
next. It will be impossible to have anything like a full meeting
in the winter season; and about the season I have mentioned,
the weather is generally fine for travelling and the
roads settled. Besides, our plans should be agreed upon
previous to the session of Assembly, as we must necessarily
have recourse to it for the repeal of those existing laws which
made a part of the old establishment, and which, while they
do exist, must prove ruinous to the Church in spite of any
regulations the clergy may adopt. I have not the pleasure of
knowing Mr. Blagrove, chaplain to the House of Assembly,
but I think his name, or yours, or both, would not appear
improperly at the bottom of the notices, or anything that will
answer the purpose. If the above proposal should be adopted,
I shall be much obliged to you for informing me of it as soon
as it is determined on. Please direct to me at Alexandria,
either by post or some private hand. If a meeting is likely
to take place, it would not perhaps be amiss if yourself and
our brethren in your neighborhood were to digest some plan
for the consideration of the Convention. If it was well considered
by sensible men what regulations were wanting and
what reform necessary, it would save abundance of time. If
I have timely notice, I will cheerfully devote all the spare
time I have to this service. And if the Convention is resolved
on, I will engage to send the notices to all the clergy
in the Northern Neck above Falmouth, if the copies or a form
are sent to me in time. You may remember that when I had
the pleasure of seeing you I expressed a wish that a coalition
might take place between us and the Dissenters; it is still
my most earnest wish, but I am now satisfied it is a vain
one; and I think our Church has no chance of preserving any
of its ancient and excellent forms of worship, but from the
united zeal and efforts of her clergy. I think it is this alone
that can preserve her very existence. I am, etc.,
| Annals of Henrico parish | |