University of Virginia Library

ARTICLE XXII.

Parishes in Norfolk County.

Until the year 1691, that which is now Princess Anne and Norfolk
was called Lower Norfolk, in contradistinction to Upper Norfolk,
now Nansemond. In that year Lower Norfolk was divided into
Norfolk and Princess Anne, the parishes being still called Elizabeth
River and Lynnhaven parishes.

The town of Norfolk was established in 1705. Colonel Byrd, in
his Westover Manuscripts, in the year 1728, after speaking of its
prosperous condition, says, "The worst of it is, they contribute
much toward debauching the country, by importing an abundance
of rum, which, like gin in Great Britain, breaks the constitution,
vitiates the morals, and ruins the industry of most of the poor people
of the country." Of the people of Norfolk he says, "The two
cardinal virtues which make a place thrive—industry and frugality—
are seen here in perfection; and, so long as they can banish luxury
and idleness, the town will remain in a happy and flourishing condition."
Although it has not increased in numbers and wealth as
some other places, if religion and morality constitute the real prosperity
of a place, then Norfolk has to this day flourished much
beyond most other towns in our land, and her industry and frugality
have ministered not a little to these.

Of the churches and ministers in Lower Norfolk before the year
1691, when the division above mentioned took place, we have but
scanty accounts. I state it on the authority of one who would not
speak unadvisedly, that, in the year 1637, one John Wilson was
minister of Elizabeth River parish, in Norfolk county. From this
until the year 1749 there is no information to be obtained as to
this parish or its ministers, except that in the year 1724, when
answers were sent to the Bishop of London's circulars, there were
no ministers of the parish to furnish one.

On a loose piece of paper which has come into my hands, I find
that, in the year 1728, a Mr. Thomas Nash—who was, I believe,
both clerk of the vestry and lay-reader of the South Branch Chapel—
gave in a list of births occurring in that part of the parish during
the year 1727. The number of these shows that there was a

considerable population at that time in the county, and that their
reliance here, as in some other places, was on the cheaper supply
of readers.

From the vestry-book, which begins in 1749 and ends in 1761,—
twelve years,—I learn that the Rev. Charles Smith was the minister
during all that period: how long before is not known, but it is
probable from the year 1743, from the following inscription on his
tombstone at the glebe, near Portsmouth, as he was the minister
of Portsmouth parish at his death in 1773:—

It appears, by what we learn from the vestry-book and tombstone,
that he was probably the minister of Elizabeth River parish
and of a division of the same during the whole period of a more
than thirty years' ministry.

In the year 1761 the parish of Elizabeth River, covering all
Norfolk county, was divided into three,—Portsmouth, St. Bride's,
and Elizabeth River. We cannot say whether Mr. Smith continued
to minister in Norfolk and Elizabeth River after this, or at once
chose Portsmouth town and parish as his place of residence and
field of labour. In the years 1773-4-6 we find, on our old lists,
the Rev. Thomas Davis the minister in Norfolk. He was one of
the ministers who zealously advocated the Revolution, and preached
on some public occasion by request of the Assembly. In the year
1785 he was the minister in Northumberland county,—afterwards
in Alexandria, and lastly in Northampton, where he died. In the
year 1785, when the first Convention was held in Richmond, no
clerical delegate appeared from Norfolk, and it is probable there
was no minister there, as two lay delegates were present, Dr.
James Taylor (son-in-law to the Rev. Mr. Smith, we presume) and
Mr. George Kelly. Although no clerical or lay delegation appears
from Norfolk in the years 1786-88, yet it is believed that the Rev.
Walker Maury was minister during a part of that time. The following
inscription on his tombstone in the graveyard at Norfolk,
put there, it is believed, by the congregation, would indicate that
he was the minister:—

He died of the yellow fever of that year. Mr. Walker Maury
was the son of the Rev. James Maury and brother of the Rev.
Matthew Maury of Frederickville parish, Albemarle, of whom we
have written. He married a Miss Grimes, of the Lower Country.
They were the parents of the ladies who married Mr. Isaac Hite
and John Hay, of Frederick county, and Mr. Polk, of Washington.
More pious and estimable ladies than the mother and daughters are
not easily found. There were also several sons.

In 1789-91, the Rev. James Whitehead appears in the several
Conventions as minister of Elizabeth River parish, Norfolk; and
again in 1805. During the interval no delegation appears. Soon
after this, it is believed, Mr. Whitehead accepted a charge in Baltimore.
From all the accounts I have received, Mr. Whitehead was
a worthy minister of the Gospel. He was also a good scholar, and
presided over the academy in Norfolk. He was the father of Mrs.
Commodore Skinner, and other children, who inherit the father's
attachment to the Episcopal Church.

It was during the ministry of Mr. Whitehead that a most unhappy
and bitter controversy occurred in the congregation, concerning
himself and the Rev. William Bland, who was the favourite of a
portion of the congregation, and was claimed, by some, to be the
minister, although he never had a seat in the Conventions. Mr.
Bland was ordained by the Bishop of London in 1767, and had
been floating about various parishes until he came to Norfolk. His
only virtue was an attachment to the Revolutionary cause while he
was minister in James City, and which brought him into some notice
by our patriots in Williamsburg. He was a man of intemperate
habits—at any rate while in Norfolk—but still had something about
him which created a party in his favour. The controversy was carried
on in the newspapers in Norfolk during the week, and also in
the pulpit on the Sabbath,—the same pulpit serving both ministers,
the one in the morning, the other in the afternoon. The following
extract of a letter from my friend, Mr. John Southgate, of Norfolk,
contains the most accurate account of the transaction which is to
be had:—

Mr. Whitehead was succeeded by the Rev. Thomas Davis, from
Alexandria, (the same who had formerly been minister in Norfolk,)
who continued with us until October, 1808, having received a call
from Hungar's parish, on the Eastern Shore. Mr. Davis was succeeded
by the Rev. Mr. Syme, who continued until February, 1815,
when he was not re-elected. He, however, occasionally did the
duties of the clerk and pulpit, in connection with the Rev. Mr.
Brown, until July, 1816. At this time Mr. Brown either died or
removed, and Mr. Syme was called to Hungar's parish. In August,
1816, the Rev. Samuel Low became rector of the parish, and continued
until his death in 1820. Mr. Low was the son of the unhappy
man who was minister in Lancaster and Fredericksburg and
gave much trouble to the Church, and of whom we shall have something
to say hereafter. His son was as a brand plucked from the
burning in more ways than one. Being of a literary and poetic turn,
and having some talent for the stage and passionately fond of it, he
for a time addicted himself to its performances; but the Spirit of God
followed him even into that synagogue of Satan, and brought him
forth and placed him on a higher and holier stage in the Church

of Christ. What little preparation he was able to make for the
pulpit was chiefly made under my own roof. His father's sin and
disgrace produced an abiding impression of pensiveness, if not of
melancholy, on a naturally sensitive mind, and this was deepened
still more by the early death of a lovely young woman (Miss Brown,
of Norfolk) whom he married soon after taking charge of Christ's
Church. His pious conversation and evangelical preaching began
that work which to this day has gone on. His successor, Mr.
Enoch Lowe, who had been a soldier in the late war and brought a
soldier's spirit with him into the ministry, by a bold and fearless
declaration of evangelical truth and a very impressive delivery,
advanced the work with rapid strides. He was succeeded by the
Rev. Mr. Wickes, originally a Methodist minister. His preaching
also was bold, impressive, sound, and experimental, and he was
effecting much good when the destroyer came in the form of strong
drink. He fell a victim to it, as many of God's ministers have
done, who, listening to the voice of the tempter, "Ye shall not
surely die," have fallen into the snare. Acknowledging his great
guilt, and not denying it, as too many do, he submitted to the
discipline of the Church, and afterward returned to the communion
he had left.

In the year 1825, the Rev. George A. Smith became the minister
of Christ Church, but was only able to continue one year, on account
of feeble health. He was succeeded by the Rev. Dr. Ducachet.
On his being called to St. Stephen's Church, in Philadelphia,
in 1834, I was induced, under peculiar circumstances, to leave
my old charge in Frederick to the care of another, and take the
temporary charge of this congregation, not knowing how long it
might seem to be my duty to continue. At the end of two
years, among the happiest and perhaps most useful years of my
ministerial life, I resigned the charge of it into the hands of the
Rev. Mr. Parks, whose ministry was highly acceptable. During
these two years I had also the care of the congregation at old
St. Paul's, which was without a minister, and in almost a despairing
condition. I was successful in keeping alive its hopes, and
preventing a dissolution of the congregation, and placing over it
the Rev. Thomas Atkinson, who was ordained a deacon by me
while in Norfolk. On the resignation of Mr. Parks, the Rev.
Upton Beale became its minister. His faithfulness in all the departments
of the ministry, private and public, his sound judgment
and prudence, and his unceasing labours and sound evangelical
and experimental preaching, secured for him the increasing affection

and esteem of the congregation until his death. To the Rev.
Mr. Beale succeeded the Rev. George Cummings, who, after a
ministry of a few years, was succeeded by the Rev. Mr. Minnegerode,
who has just resigned the charge.

THE CHURCHES OF NORFOLK COUNTY AND ELIZABETH RIVER PARISH.

As we hear of a minister in 1637, we must suppose that some
kind of a church was erected in Norfolk at that early period. The
first churches were always rude and indifferent, destined soon to
pass away. There were, indeed, very many such even to the time
of the Revolution.

I have no information concerning the old churches except that
contained in a vestry-book commencing in 1749 and ending in
1761. At the close of it a new vestry-book is spoken of as about
to be. Doubtless there was one, but it is nowhere to be found.

In the year 1750, there is, in the old one, a record evidently
alluding to St. Paul's Church that now is, and to one that had been
there some time before, but how long cannot be ascertained. It is
ordered in that year that Mr. James Pasteur be allowed to have
the bricks and timber of the old church to build a house on the
school-land,—a school-house, we suppose. This proves that the
present St. Paul's was built before 1750, and that there was a brick
church some time before this on or near the same place. It is
otherwise known that St. Paul's was built in 1739. There is an
entry showing that Mr. Smith, the minister, received sixteen thousand-weight
of tobacco for preaching at the mother-church, (St.
Paul's, in Norfolk) and four thousand for each of the three chapels,—that
at the Great Bridge, where the first battle of the Revolution
was fought, that at Tanner's Creek, and the Southern Branch
Chapel. In the year 1753, a Western Branch Chapel is also spoken
of. There are, I believe, some remains of one or more of these
chapels to this day. In regard to St. Paul's; in the year 1750,
we have an account of some of the interior of the same. It is
ordered "that Captain John Cook, Captain John Shriff, Captain
John Calvert, and Mr. Charles Sweny be allowed to build a gallery
in the church in Norfolk, reaching from the gallery of Mr.
John Taylor to the school-boys' gallery, to be theirs and their heirs'
forever." Also, "that Mr. Mathew Godfrey, Mr. William Nash,
Captain Trimagan Tatum, and Mr. William Ashley have leave to
build a gallery from the pulpit to the school-boys' gallery, to be
theirs and their heirs' forever." The whole church in each member

ST. PAUL'S CHURCH, NORFOLK, VA.

of the cross was, therefore, galleried by private individuals, except
that set apart for the school-boys. It appears from the foregoing
extracts that there was one church (St. Paul's) and four chapels,
with one minister and three readers. The readers were Chamberlaine,
Granbury, and Nash.

One-half of the glebe rented for thirty-six shillings; but there
were parish servants, and a parsonage which cost £131 10s. After
the building of the new church (Christ Church) in 1800, St. Paul's
was for a time loaned to the Baptist denomination, and was used
first by the white and afterward by the coloured portion of that
denomination. But in the year 1832 it was resumed and repaired
by the Episcopalians and solemnly consecrated by Bishop Moore.
It must not be omitted on our record that, during the war, all the
combustible materials of St. Paul's were consumed by the fire which
laid the town in ashes. The well-built walls, however, not only
resisted the fire, but the cannon-balls of our foe. There is still to
be seen a considerable indentation in the corner of one of them
made by a ball from the frigate Liverpool, and the ball itself may
also be seen in the vestry-room, although a Governor of Virginia
has petitioned that it might be placed in the public library at Richmond.
The communion-plate was taken by the enemy and carried
to Scotland. Some tidings of it have recently been received,
and hopes are entertained of its recovery.[81]

In relation to the other church in Norfolk, which was built in
1800, that was also destroyed by fire in the year 1827. A new
one, the present Christ Church, was immediately erected, which,
being planned before the new style of architecture was introduced,
(one so unfavourable to both speaker and hearer, in winter and in
summer,) is one of the most capacious and comfortable churches in
the land, and when well lighted up at night, and filled with worshippers,
as it almost always is, presents to the eye one of the most
delightful spectacles on earth.[82]

I would that it were in my power to furnish a larger list of the
vestry of the old church in Norfolk, but the brief term of twelve
years, to which the vestry-book is limited, forbids. Among the first
was Colonel Samuel Boush, who gave the land on which St. Paul's
and its graveyard stands, and whose tombstone, at the door of the
church, tells where his body lies. Himself, Colonel George Newton,
Colonel William Crawford, Captain William Hodges, Captain
Willis Wilson, Mr. Charles Sweny, Captain James Joy, Captain
John Shriff, and Mr. Samuel Boush were the first vestrymen on
the book. The two last were in place of Mr. John Scott and Captain
Samuel Langley, former vestrymen. To the above, at different
times, were added, Colonel Robert Tucker, Mr. Mathew Godfrey,
Mr. James Webb, Thomas Newton, Major John Willowby, Captain
George Yeale, Mr. Robert Tucker. This list comes down to 1761.
Should the new vestry-book which then commenced be discovered,
the list can be greatly enlarged.[83]

ST. BRIDE'S PARISH, NORFOLK COUNTY.

Of the position, lines, and boundaries of this we have no accurate
idea, but must refer our readers to the delineation of it in the
Act of Assembly, in 1761, which carved it out of Elizabeth River
parish. (See Henning's Statutes, 1761.) Having no lists of clergy
from 1758 until the year 1773, we must begin with 1773, when, as
well as in 1774, we find the Rev. James Pasteur its minister. In
the year 1776, the Rev. Emanuel Jones, Jr. becomes the minister.
How long he may have continued is not known. We know nothing
more of the parish until the year 1787, after the Revolution, when
the Rev. Needler Robinson appears on the list for one year, and
one only, as minister of St. Bride's parish. We presume he was
the last of her ministers.

Which of the old churches were embraced within her bounds I
know not, nor whether she erected any new ones.

PORTSMOUTH PARISH, NORFOLK COUNTY.

Of this I have rather more information, though no vestry-book
after 1761 affords it.

We have seen that the Rev. Charles Smith was its minister when
he died in 1773. He was succeeded in 1774 by the Rev. William
Braidfoot. He was a native of Scotland, and had not been long
in the ministry when it became evident that war between England
and the Colonies was inevitable; and, as he believed the Colonies
were contending for their just rights, he warmly espoused their
cause, and entered the army as chaplain, continuing to fill that
station until the close of the war, when he returned to Portsmouth
parish, and died at the glebe about the year 1784 or 1785.

Mr. Braidfoot married a Miss Mosely, of Princess Anne, and left
one son, whose descendants are now living in Portsmouth. Mr.
Braidfoot was succeeded by the Rev. Arthur Emmerson, son of
one of the same name who was minister on the Eastern Shore.
The son was minister in Meherrin parish, Greensville, and in
Nansemond, before coming to Portsmouth parish in 1785. He
ministered there from that time until 1801, much esteemed as a
man and minister, though from feeble health unable to lead an
active life. His wife was the widow of the Rev. John Nivison.
He was followed by the Rev. George Young, who continued until
the year 1808 or 1809. After his death or resignation there was
a vacancy until the year 1821, when the present rector, the Rev.
Mr. Wingfield, began his labours in that parish. In the absence
of any vestry-book to supply the names of vestrymen before the
time of Mr. Wingfield, I mention the following names of old
friends of the Church:—Sproull, Chisholm, Agnew, Herbert,
Hansford, Joins, Dyson, Porter, Godfrey, Wilson, Wallington,
Tankard, Parker, Veal, Roberts, Nivison, Marsh, North, Edwards,
Davis, Luke, Cowper, Blow, Braidfoot, Dickson, Thompson, Young,
Kearns, Grew, Garrow, Kidd, Mathews, Brown, Etheridge, Mushrow,
Shelton, Pearce, Satchwell, Milhado, Cox, Butt, Maupin,
Swift.

As to churches, there were three built in Portsmouth parish,—
one in the town of Portsmouth, in 1762, on a lot in the centre of
the town, given by William Crawford, Esq., the original proprietor
of the land on which the town is built; one on the north bank of
the Western Branch, and one near a village called Deep Creek.
The church in Portsmouth was rebuilt and enlarged in 1829, under
the rectorship of Mr. Wingfield. The country churches have long
since fallen into ruins. When the present rector took charge of
the parish, in 1821, the vestry had long since been dissolved, and
the members of the three congregations had united themselves—
as in many other places—with the various surrounding denominations.

A few years since, another congregation was formed in Portsmouth,
a church built, and the Rev. James Chisholm called to be
its rector. After labouring zealously and preaching faithfully and
affectionately for some years, he fell a victim, during the summer
of 1855, to the yellow fever, when, with the spirit of a martyr, he
was nursing the sick and dying of his congregation and of the
town. For the particulars of the life and death and character of
this most talented and interesting young minister of the Gospel, I

refer my readers to the Memoirs of the Rev. James Chisholm, by
his particular friend and former parishioner, Mr. Conrad, of Martinsburg,—a
biography which for thrilling interest is not easily
surpassed. For the biography of his brother and companion in
toils and sufferings and death, the Rev. William Jackson, the
minister of St. Paul's, Norfolk, I refer in like manner for a faithful
sketch of him to the work of the Rev. Mr. Cummings.

I now add, what was omitted in the proper place, that it was to
the labours of the Rev. Mr. Boyden, during the rectorship of Dr.
Ducachet in Christ Church, that the congregation of St. Paul's
owed its revival after a long, deathlike slumber. Its life was continued
and its energies increased under his successor, the Rev. Mr.
Atkinson. The Rev. B. M. Miller, who followed him, increased it
still more, especially by his attention to the poor. The Rev. Mr.
Caldwell was doing a good work, when failing health required his
withdrawal. The Rev. Joseph Wilmer and Leonidas Smith had
each rendered temporary services, not to be regarded as those of
regular pastors, as had also the Rev. R. K. Meade; but it was
reserved for the Rev. William Jackson and his faithful and
acceptable services to fill the church to such overflowing that it
was evident, if his life had been spared, a new and larger church
would have been built for him. His successor is the Rev. Mr.
Okeson.