 | A history of Caroline county, Virginia |  |
THE EPISCOPALIANS
In the Legislative Journals of the Council of Colonial Virginia,
Volume III, page 1279, it is recorded that at a session of the Council
held on April 3, 1762, there was presented:
"A message from the House of Burgesses by Mr. Pendleton
that they had passed a Bill entitled, An Act to Impower the Vestries
of the Parishes of Drysdale in the counties of Caroline and King
and Queen, and of St. Stephen in said county of King and Queen
to sell their glebes and lay out the money in purchasing more
convenient glebes, to which they desired the concurrence of the
Council. The Bill was read the first time, and ordered to be
read a second and third time immediately. The said Bill was
accordingly read and second and third time. Resolved, that the
Bill do pass."
The Parish of Drysdale, referred to in this Bill, was established
in 1723 and named for Lieutenant Governor Hugh Drysdale.
It was originally a long, ill-shaped parish, extending from Spotsylvania
county on the north, to very nearly the central part of
King William on the south. It was divided in February, 1780,
as follows:
"By a line to begin at the lower corner of the land of John
Page, Esq., upon the Mattaponi river, and run along his lower
line, and those of Christopher Smith, Anthony Seale, and
the elder, Esq., and Edmund Jones; thence along the lines between
them to Morococick creek; thence up the creek to the mouth of
Phillips run; thence up the said run to Digges upper line; thence
along that line and the course thereof continued to the line of
Essex county; and all that part of the said parish which lies to the
eastward of the said line, shall be one distinct parish, and retain
the name of Drysdale; and all that other part thereof shall be
one other distinct parish, and shall be called and known by the
name of St. Asaph."—Hening's Statutes at Large, Volume X,
page 209.
This parish—St. Asaph—was the last parish erected by the
General Assembly in Virginia before the disestablishment.
The first churches built in these parishes, like the first homes,
were rude and unpretentious structures, but these were replaced
by substantial and attractive buildings, and later still by large
and massive brick structures, such as may still be seen in many
sections of eastern Virginia. Several massive brick church-houses
were erected in Caroline before the Revolution—but they have all
been destroyed, and only the bare sites of two or three are now to
be found. Near Rappahannock Academy post office may be seen
the beautiful site of old Mount church, which was one of the
largest and most beautiful churches in Virginia in that day, and
which contained a fine organ imported from England, an unusual
thing in Virginia at that time. Just when Mount church was
erected, or what churches preceded it cannot be definitely
ascertained, but it is quite certain that it was one of the first,
if not the first church established in St. Mary's Parish and it was
undoubtedly intended to serve the whole of St. Mary's since it
stood near the center of the parish. After the Revolutionary
War, with the social, political and religious revolution which
followed it, Mount church fell into disuse and was afterward
appropriated by the State and given over to school purposes,
becoming the Rappahannock Academy.
W. W. Scott, in his History of Orange County, Virginia, says:
"One of the first effects of the `freedom of worship' and the
practical confiscation of the glebes and church properties was, that
the people's consciences became very `free' also to do as they
pleased with the church belongings. * * * Churches were
actually and literally destroyed, the very bricks carried off and
the altar pieces torn from the altar and attached to pieces of
as common property. * * * Nor did the despoilers
overlook the churchyards when the work of destruction began.
Tombstones were broken down and carried off to be appropriated
to unhallowed uses. * * * The slab which marked the grave
of the Rev. Mungo Marshall was taken away and used first to
grind paints upon, and afterward in a tannery on which to dress
hides."
Dr. J. B. Baylor says: "With the rise of Jefferson and his party
and the disestablishment of the Episcopal church, many of the
old Colonial houses of worship were desecrated, or confiscated
by the State; many beautiful marble monuments in the church
yards were wrecked; glebes were confiscated; and many pious
ministers were driven out of their homes."
From the Rev. L. E. Goodwin, Historiographer of the Diocese
of Virginia, we learn that the first minister of record in St. Mary's
Parish was the Rev. Owen Jones who came over from England
and served the church from 1704 to 1724 and was succeeded by
the Rev. Musgrave Dawson and the Rev. Jonathan Boucher,
respectively. The latter, we are told, was a very brilliant man
and a close personal friend of George Washington, who intrusted
him with the education of his stepson, young Custis. With the
approach of the Revolution he proved himself such a staunch
Tory that he was banished from the country. On returning to
England he published a pamphlet which discredited the ability
of his friend, General Washington, but later atoned for this slight
by dedicating to Washington a volume of his Sermons which he
had preached in Caroline. Washington gracefully acknowledged
the dedication and they remained warm personal friends and
equally warm political enemies. The Rev. Abner Waugh succeeded
the Rev. Mr. Boucher in St. Mary's Parish and remained
in this charge until his death in 1806.
There were two large brick churches in St. Margaret's Parish;
Reedy church, situated not very far from the present site of
Edmund Pendleton High School and Bull church, or St.
Margaret's, a few miles west of Penola. A magisterial district
of the county bears the name of the old Reedy church. Both of
these old churches have long since disappeared, but the sites may
still be found. The Rev. Francis Fontaine was rector of this
parish before the formation of Caroline county and the Rev.
John Brunskill, Sr., and the Rev. Archibald Dick, served the
old St. Margaret's church was destroyed an unpretentious frame
building was erected near Ruther Glen to take its place. In
addition to the three clergymen above named, St. Margaret's
has been served in succession by the Rev. Messrs. H. C. Boggs,
William Friend, C. J. Good, L. H. Johns, W. N. Ward, D. M.
Wharton, W. W. Greene, W. B. Williams, J. K. M. Lee and
Morris Eagle. St. Margaret's Parish was established in 1720
and originally lay partly in King William and partly in Caroline,
but it was divided in 1744 and all below the Caroline county line
was made a part of St. David's Parish, King William, while all
that lay in Caroline remained as St. Margaret's.
James B. Wood, Superintendent of the Virginia State Penitentiary,
once wrote the author concerning Bull church in the
following words:
"My father, Col. Fleming Wood bought the old home place
of his father, which was one mile from the church. At the time
of his death my grandfather, Robert Wood, was a lay reader in
the church and had been from my earliest recollection. My
mother's father, Bailey Tompkins, lived three miles from the
church. He was a member of the vestry. I do not recollect
him. The first rector I recollect was Rev. Dabney Wharton,
who preached at St. Margarets on the third Sunday of each
month. He had other churches and lived near Spotsylvania
Courthouse fourteen miles from the church. He was a large
portly man, but had a throat affection that kept him from filling
his appointments at times and those were the times that my
grandfather Wood conducted the services. In those days besides
my two grandfathers' families, the following families were members
of the church. John V. Kean, Samuel Amery Swan, George
Tompkins, Curtis W. Durrett, Frank Tompkins, Thomas Goodwyn,
William B. Harris, Edmund Tompkins, Mrs. Lucy Temple,
Mrs. Judy Swan, James L. Ball and Cyrus Carson. There were
probably others that I do not recall. Just before the Civil War
Mr. Wharton left and Rev. William Green from Fredericksburg
became pastor. During my early boyhood days Bishop Meade
visited the church, next was Bishop Johns and then later Bishop
Whittle. All three visited my home.
"The old church was in the shape of an `L,' the bottom of the
`L' was not used and was left to go to ruin when I first recollect
the church. Some said it was the newest part of the church.
the workmen who built this addition lived on bull meat during
the time of construction and that they named it Bull church.
The skull and horns of the bull were placed in the fork of one of the
large oaks in the church yard and in time the oak grew over them.
The points of the horns could just be seen in 1858, I having seen
them myself."
Drysdale Parish, as before stated was formed in 1723 and
contained one large church, known as Joy Creek, situated on the
eastern side of the county. This parish was served by the Rev.
Messrs. Robert Innis, Andrew Moreton and Samuel Shield respectively,
from about 1750 to 1780, when the parish was divided
and Rev. Mr. Shield became the first rector of the new parish of
St. Asaph. He was succeeded in Drysdale Parish by the Rev.
Jesse Carter.
St. Mary's Parish was established prior to the year 1700 and
as before stated was served from 1704 to 1806 by the Rev. Messrs.
Jones, Dawson, Boucher and Waugh. After the confiscation of
Mount church by the State at the close of the Revolution, St.
Mary's Parish declined, but was revived through the heroic
labors of the Rev. J. P. McGuire, of Essex. Grace church at
Corbin was built in 1833 and St. Peter's church at Port Royal
about 1835. In 1835 the Rev. William Friend removed from
St. Margaret's to Port Royal and was rector of St. Mary's Parish
until his death in 1870.
The Rev. Mr. Friend was succeeded in St. Mary's by the
Rev. James E. Poindexter who resigned in 1888 and was succeeded
by the Rev. S. S. Ware who served the parish until 1918; so for
eighty-three years St. Mary's parish was served by three rectors.
The Rev. Messrs. J. K. M. Lee and Morris Eagle have served the
parish since 1918. The county of Caroline has given several of
her sons to the ministry of the Gospel in the Episcopal church,
among them the Rev. George Fitzhugh, of Spotsylvania, the
Rev. Austin Mitchell, of West Virginia, the Rev. J. J. Gravatt,
Rector of Holy Trinity church, Richmond, Va., and the Rt.
Rev. Wm. Loyall Gravatt, Bishop of West Virginia. The latter
two are sons of St. Peter's church, Port Royal.
St. Asaph's Parish was formed from Drysdale in 1780 and the
parish church which was built before the division of Drysdale was
situated a short distance north of the town of Bowling Green.
The Rev. Samuel Sheild, one of the most prominent clergymen
Parish to become the first rector of St. Asaph's. He afterward
removed to York county and was succeeded in St. Asaph's by the
Rev. Messrs. James Taylor and George Speirin. A commodious
brick church was erected in Bowling Green about 1832, but St.
Asaph's parish becoming too weak to support a minister, the members
usually attended St. Margaret's. After the war between the
States the church house in Bowling Green was sold to the Methodist
church by consent of the Bishop of the Diocese and since that time
services have been held, with some degree of regularity in a hall
or chapel, chiefly by the rector of St. Mary's.
The parish registers and the record books of the vestries of the
parishes of Caroline have been lost. Had they been preserved
we should have a list of the families of the county for nearly a
century and many other valuable historical incidents besides.
Other records have preserved the names of many of the families
of first rank who, before and after the Revolution, were Episcopalians.
To name but a few, they include the Thorntons, Baylors,
Pages, Pendletons, Woodfords, Woolfolks, Battailes Taliaferros,
Taylors, Corbins, Fitzhughs, Tompkins, Temples, Minors, Fontaines,
Hoomes, Robbs, Washingtons, Bernards, Buckners,
Upshaws, Colemans, Wyatts, Clarks and others of equal standing.
| A history of Caroline county, Virginia | |