 | A history of Caroline county, Virginia |  |
REV. JAMES D. COLEMAN
James D. Coleman, son of Thomas B. Coleman and Elizabeth
Coghill, was born at "Concord," Caroline county, Va., about
the year 1800. The foundations of his education were laid in
Concord Academy, a school founded by his grandfather, Daniel
Coleman, and made famous in after years by his distinguished
brother Frederick William Coleman, of whom see chapter on
Education and Educators. His later training was received in
the University of Virginia.
The plantation known as "Concord," upon which stood the
famous academy, was an estate of nearly two thousand acres
and here James D. Coleman lived for many years the life of
the old-time southern planter, owning many slaves and cultivating
an extensive acreage. From here he went to the churches
in Caroline, which he served as pastor.
His work as a minister was confined largely to his native county
and to Carmel, Bethel, Bethesda, Liberty and Round Oak
churches. He was pastor of Carmel as early as 1855. At this
early date Carmel was a strong church having over five hundred
members. He was pastor of Bethel for more than a quarter
of a century and of Bethesda, Liberty and Round Oak many
years.
The Rev. Mr. Coleman was born of the best English blood
in Virginia, from an ancestry noted for intellectuality, and is
described by the Rev. T. S. Dunaway, a friend and associate of
many years, as "a man of fine physique, tall and well-proportioned
and looked like one of nature's noblemen who was born for a
leader and ruler. His deportment was dignified and courteous,
impressing one as a gentleman of the highest culture. He was a
minister of the deepest consecration and during the last years of
his life neglected his plantation and all material interests to devote
himself wholly to his calling. His sermons were methodically
arranged and gave evidence of great thought and of familiarity
with the best literature of the time. He was a true pastor of the
churches he served and was devoted to every member of his
in their Christian life."
The Rev. Mr. Coleman married Miss Hulda DeJarnette and
had issue: James Coleman, Jr., Alice Coleman and Lucy Coleman.
Among his descendants are the following grandchildren: Hampton
Coleman, Belle Coleman, James Coleman, James Daniel Coleman
DeJarnette, Elliott DeJarnette, Burbage DeJarnette. There is
one great grandchild, Edmund T. DeJarnette.
The Rev. Mr. Coleman was at the bedside of a sick parishioner
when stricken with the disease from which he never recovered. He
preached his last sermon on the day after he was stricken, the
fourth Sunday of December 1877 and died on November 21, 1878.
| A history of Caroline county, Virginia | |