University of Virginia Library

ARTICLE XXV.

Parishes in Isle of Wight and Southampton.

The Isle of Wight was one of the eight original shires in the
year 1634, and embraced what is now Southampton, extending
from James River to the North Carolina line,—a distance of ninety
miles. The first name it bore was Warrosquoyacke, which, in the
course of three years, was changed to its present. In all the early
notices of the Colony we have frequent mention of this settlement,
for it was among the earliest, being not far from Jamestown, on
the other side of the river. We find in Henning's Statutes, that
in 1642 it was divided into two parishes, the upper and lower, or
Newport and Warwicksqueake, each extending the full length of
the county, or ninety miles. The condition of the division, however,
was that the Rev. Mr. Falkner, the minister, should not lose
any thing of his salary by the change. In the year 1734, those
parts of the two parishes which lay south of Blackwater were
united in one, under the name of Nottoway parish, while those on
the north of it were to be united under the name of Newport parish.
In the year 1748, fourteen years later, Southampton was cut off
from Isle of Wight, the parish still retaining the name of Nottoway.
In the year 1762 this was again divided by the Nottoway River
running through Southampton, into two parishes, and St. Luke's
established. There are no Church records of this parish to which
I can resort for information about it. At the time of Tarleton's
invasion of Virginia, he sent a detachment to Macclesfield, the
residence of Colonel Josiah Parker, of Revolutionary memory, in
hopes to take him and destroy his papers, &c. In the former he
failed, but in the latter succeeded. Among the effects destroyed
were the vestry-book and some Church-papers, which he, as a warm
friend of the Church, had in keeping. It appears, however, that,
notwithstanding the vigilance of Arnold's men, some papers relating
to the Church were preserved and remained in possession of his
daughter, Mrs. Cowper, until the war of 1812, when a militia force
which was stationed near Macclesfield, being in want of cartridge-paper,
obtained from the servants what they supposed was waste
paper; and thus what remained of Church records was used in the
service of the country. Such being the case, I must rely on tradition

for any statements not provable by later records. There
have been some very old persons in the county, who have transmitted
to the present generation some testimonies which have probable
accuracy in them. There is a tradition that the old and venerable
brick church a few miles from Smithfield was built in 1632 and
was the second church erected in the Colony. Dr. Hawks mentioned
this as probable. It is quite likely that the date of its erection
was as early as 1632, but that it was the second church in the
Colony is disproved by all the early writers, who tell us of one at
Henrico in 1611. Others, no doubt, though of a rude character,
were raised in earlier settlements long before this time, and perhaps
some cheap and plain one at Warrosquoyacke itself. The building
of which we are speaking is a remarkable one. All of its materials
must have been of the best kind, and its workmanship superior,—
whether those materials were from England and the workmanship
as to the interior done in England, as tradition says, or not. Its
present condition fully proves this. Its thick walls and high tower,
like that of some English castle, are still firm, and promise so to
be for a long time to come. The windows, doors, and all the interior,
are gone. It is said that the eastern window—twenty-five
feet high—was of stained glass. This venerable building stands
not far from the main road leading from Smithfield to Suffolk, in
an open tract of woodland. The trees for some distance around
it are large and tall and the foliage dense, so that but little of the
light of the sun is thrown upon it. The pillars which strengthen
the walls, and which are wide at the base, tapering toward the
eaves of the house by stair-steps, have somewhat mouldered, so as
to allow various shrubs and small trees to root themselves therein.
Some few, indeed, though quite small, have issued from between
the bricks beneath the eaves, on other parts of the walls. This,
arising from the dense shade around, gives the building and the
picture of it (which I have) a deeply-interesting appearance.[87]
Some twenty or thirty years ago a new roof was put upon it
and worship occasionally held there, in which I have partaken on

OLD SMITHFIELD CHURCH.

several occasions; but, the neighbourhood being deserted of
Episcopal families and a new church built in Smithfield, it is now,
like the tomb or body of Sir John Moore, "left alone in its glory."

There were two other old churches in this county. The Bay
Church was a brick building about five miles northwest of Smithfield,
near a bend in James River called Burwell's Bay, (some of
that name having settled there at an early period,) originally
Warrosquoyacke Bay. It was erected about the middle of the last
century on the lands of Colonel Burwell, who was a Colonial clerk
of the county. About the year 1810, the estate came into other
hands; the church was pulled down and a kitchen built of the
bricks; the sides and backs of the pews were used to make stalls for
a stable and divisions in a barn, which was last struck with lightning
and burned down. The bell of the church was exchanged in
Richmond for a brandy-still. The other church, called the Isle of
Wight Chapel, was a framed wooden building about fifteen miles
southwest of Smithfield, and was erected about the year 1750. It
was destroyed by fire some thirty or forty years since. The new
church at Smithfield was built in 1832, and has been under the
charge of the Rev. C. J. Hedges, Thomas Smith, Jonathan Smith,
John Downing, John C. McCabe, H. T. Wilcoxon, and Chauncey
Colton.

Of the ministers in the county of Isle of Wight, previous to the
year 1724, we have not yet been able to learn any thing except
what has been already stated,—that, in the year 1642, the Rev. Mr.
Falkner was rector of the whole county. It was then divided into
two parishes. In the year 1724 the same division continued. The
Rev. Alexander Forbes was minister of the upper parish, called
Warwicksqueake, and Thomas Bayley of the lower or Newport
parish. I have before me a letter from each of them, in that year,
to the Bishop of London, giving an account of their parishes. Mr.
Forbes enlarges in a second letter on all the points contained in
his first, and gives a most particular, faithful, and painful history
of all the difficulties and trials of his ministry, and of the
unhappy condition of things in his parish and in the Colony. His
parish is eleven miles wide along the river, and more than sixty
miles long, extending to the North Carolina line. He has three
churches, one of which was doubtless the old one near Smithfield.
He speaks of the impossibility of any successful efforts at doing
much good either by preaching or catechizing, whether in churches
or private houses,—both of which he had diligently tried,—by reason
of the extent of his parish and the scattered position of the families

of his charge. He complains much of the Quakers, who annoyed
him not a little; somewhat of the Anabaptists, who were then finding
their way into Virginia; but most of all of some of our own
clergy, whose evil lives hindered the religion of the laity. His
nearest neighbour, as we shall see, was an instance of this. He
speaks of the Indian settlement on the Nottoway River,—Christina,
—where Mr. Griffin's school was, and which was in his parish, though
afterward in Southampton,—which was cut off from the Isle of
Wight,—and deplores the ill example of the Colonists and its influence
on the natives. There were no schools in his parish. His
number of communicants not more than thirty or forty. His glebe
was indifferent and had no house on it. The tobacco raised there,
being of bad quality, sold at a very reduced price, so that his salary
was small. From the testimony of Commissary Blair and others, he
was, however, not a mere complainant, but a very faithful and laborious
man, who continued at his post for a long time,—perhaps until
his death.

As to his neighbour,—the Rev. Mr. Bayley, in the lower parish,
—he was, from all the accounts we have of him, the very reverse.
Commissary Blair and Governor Spottswood speak of him, in their
letters to the Bishop of London and others, as a most notoriously
wicked man. Mr. Blair says that he has tried sharp reproof
without effect, and thinks that he shall be obliged to adopt something
more severe. Whether he ever did does not appear. He
acknowledges that the difficulties in the way of discipline were so
great, and ministers so scarce, that he was obliged to pass by many
offences.

From his answers to the Bishop of London, it appears that Mr.
Bayley had been ten years in the States,—during a part of which he
was minister of St. John's Church, Baltimore,—that there were four
hundred families in his parish, and about forty communicants. He
also had the small parish of Chuckatuck, in Nansemond, under his
care, at which he preached during the week. In answer to the question
whether there were any infidels in his parish, he says, "Yes,
both bond and free;" and the method of their conversion was "by
baptism and instruction." He speaks also of there being some
unendowed schools in his parish, but in such way that we conclude
they are none other than private schools.

After these we learn, by oral tradition, that there was a Mr.
Pedier, who probably was minister of the parish in which the old
church was situated, as he was buried in the aisle of it. Then the
Rev. J. H. Burgess, afterward of Southampton, was minister of

the parish for the years 1773, 1774, 1775, and 1776; how much
longer we know not. He went from thence to Northampton.
The last of whom we hear was the Rev. Mr. Hubard, who was
ordained by the Bishop of London in 1766. When he entered on
his charge we know not, as he was minister in Warwick in the
year 1776. He died in the parsonage on the glebe of Newport
parish, after the year 1802. He manifested his attachment to the
Church by preaching to the last, though there were only two or
three persons present.

No vestry-book furnishing us with a list of the vestrymen, we
insert the names of some of the families in this parish:—Bridger,
Smith, Pierce, Parker, Young, Cary, Pedier, Wills, Godwin, Burwell,
Cocke, Holliday, Todd, Purdy, Tucker, Butler, &c. The
tombstone of an ancestor of the Bridgers still stands on a farm a
few miles from the Old Brick Church, with an inscription which
declares him to have been a Councillor of State for Virginia
under Charles II., and that he died in 1682.

Since writing the foregoing, I have received further information
concerning this parish from a friend, who has come into possession
of the fragments of an old vestry-book, which partially cover
the period lying between 1724 and 1771. As we have stated
above, the worthy Alexander Forbes was the minister in 1724,
as appears by his letter to the Bishop of London in that year;
but, according to the vestry-record, in two years after the Rev.
Mr. Barlow is the minister officiating occasionally, being the
minister of some neighbouring parish. In the year 1727, we find
the Rev. Mr. Bayley—the minister of the lower parish, of whom
we spoke as being so unworthy a man—applying for this parish.
The vestry dispose of his application by electing him on the condition
that "he make it appear that he is not in any ways debarred
or silenced by any order of Government." It appears,
from other documents in my possession, that he had been thus
"debarred and silenced." He was a notorious character, and,
either before or after this, was in North Carolina and other parts
of Virginia, seeking employment.

In the year 1729, the Rev. John Gammill was chosen minister,
and continued so until his death in 1744. The following letter
from Governor Gooch to the vestry speaks well of him:—

Commissary Blair also recommends him highly.

After Mr. Gammill's ministry the Rev. Mr. Camm occasionally
officiated in this parish. Then the Rev. Mr. McKensie preached
nine sermons. In the year 1746, we find the Rev. John Reid
present with the vestry; and he seems to have been the minister
until 1755, when the record becomes defective. In 1766, the
Rev. Mr. Milner is the minister, and resigns in 1770. Tradition
says, as we have stated, that a Rev. Mr. Pedier was once minister,
and was buried in Old Smithfield Church. It is probable he succeeded
Mr. Milner. Then came Mr. Burgess and Hubard, as
before stated. The old vestry-book confirms what has been stated
as to the position of the three churches of this parish.

The following is the list of vestrymen during the period of which
it is a record:—

In the foregoing list, my friend remarks, are forty different
surnames, almost all of which are now to be found in Isle of Wight
and Southampton counties; that is, within the original bounds of old
Warwicksqueake shire and parish. It appears from the vestry-book
that, in the year 1737,—that is, one hundred and five years
after it was first built,—the Old Smithfield Church had a new
covering of shingles put upon it. This was doubtless the first
repair of the kind since its erection, for it was no uncommon thing
for a well-built roof to last thus long. Old Yeocomico Church, in
Westmoreland, has one on it at this time of greater age.

I have alluded to the families of Bridger and Parker, and their
mansion at Macclesfield,—a few miles from Old Smithfield Church,

—in the first part of this article, and to a tombstone thereat; and
a friend has furnished me with the following inscription, with the
explanatory remarks:—

Some eulogistic verses are added, from which we select the following:—

Perhaps it was as great an honour to him to be the son of the
man who built Old Smithfield Church as to have been one of the
Councillors of the corrupt Charles II., and to have acted with
Sir William Berkeley against him who is called the rebel Bacon.
That he was the son of the man who contracted for the church is
stated in the following words accompaning the inscription:—

My friend adds these words:—

I have also referred to a small parish, called Chuckatuck, in
Nansemond county, of which I could say nothing for want of any
documents. A friend has sent me the copy of a portion of an old
vestry-book of this parish, which contains the proceedings of the
vestry from December of the year 1702 to 1709. I will first
give the names of the gentlemen composing the vestry during that
period:—

The vestry seems to have been an energetic and decided one.
In April, 1703, is their first action:—

Mr. Rudd was then the minister of Norfolk, in Elizabeth River
parish, and it was customary to ask the consent of the Governor
to a separation; wherefore the vestry addressed a letter to Governor
Nicholson. Mr. Rudd became their minister, and remained such
for some years. After this they had the services of the Rev.
Thomas Hassell, but how long is not known. It was during the
infancy of this vestry that Governor Nicholson was endeavouring
to establish his authority over the vestries in relation to induction
of ministers and the supply of vacancies. The opinion of Sir
Edward Northy, the King's Attorney, was sent to all the vestries
and ordered to be recorded on the vestry-books. The vestry of
the little Chuckatuck parish obeyed the Governor's order and
placed the document on record, but added this spirited resolution
to it:—

I do not know that there was ever more than one church in this
parish. That is still standing, and has been occasionally supplied
by ministers from Suffolk and Smithfield. I have often been in
it, and enjoyed the services held therein.

On the few pages of this vestry-book which are before me, I
find all the oaths which at that time were required of vestrymen
and churchwardens. As they varied according to times and circumstances,
and some are to be seen in one vestry-book and some

in another, I will present them all to the reader as they here
appear:—

PARISHES IN SOUTHAMPTON.

Having exhausted our little stock of information concerning the
Isle of Wight parishes, we proceed to Southampton, which was cut
off from it in the year 1748, and the parish called Nottoway, which
was in a few years divided and St. Luke's parish established. In
the year 1758 we find a Rev. Thomas Burgess minister of the undivided
Nottoway parish; and in the year 1773, the Rev. William
Agur minister of Nottoway parish, and the Rev. George Gurley
of St. Luke's, and the same in 1774. But in the year 1776, the

Rev. William Andrews takes the place of Mr. Agur in Nottoway
parish. In the year 1785, Mr. George Gurley appears in the Convention
at Richmond as rector of St. Luke's still, and in 1786 the
Rev. Benjamin Blunt has taken his place. This is the last representation
from Southampton until after the revival of the Church
in Virginia. I have, however, some private information concerning
a portion of its intermediate history. During the war the Rev.
John Henry Burgess, who had been before ministering in Newport
parish, Isle of Wight, moved into Southampton, and there both
preached the Gospel and instructed the youth. He probably
preached at all the churches in the two parishes, and supported
himself by teaching, as the salaries of the ministers were very
badly paid during the war, if at all, and many of them ceased to
preach. There were not less than seven churches in the two
parishes, including one built under his auspices. The names of five
of them were Lecock, Oberry's, Simmons's, Jones's, and Millfield.
The latter, Millfield, was near his residence, and is now in possession
of the Baptists. All the rest have passed away. Mr. Burgess's
school was held in high esteem. Among those which were
educated in it we may mention one of the late Presidents, William
Henry Harrison. To the number of patriotic ministers we may
surely add the Rev. Mr. Burgess; for so zealously did he advocate
the cause of America, both privately and publicly, that the British
got possession of him during the war, and kept him a prisoner
until the close of it. So entire was the prostration of the Episcopal
Church in this county, that it was some time after our efforts
at resuscitation commenced before attention was turned toward it.
The Revs. Edmund Withers and Edward B. McGuire gave a portion
of their time and labours to it a few years since, and not without
effect. The Rev. Mr. Gibson, of Petersburg, and Robert, of
Greensville, have added their occasional services since then, and we
hope the time is not far distant when we shall have a regular
ministry and temples of our own.

PARISHES IN SURREY COUNTY.

This county originally contained all that is now Surrey and
Sussex. There were two parishes in it in 1738, called Lawn's
Creek and Southwark, running the whole length of the county
toward the Carolina line, being one hundred and twenty miles.
At that time each of them were curtailed; and, as in the case of
the Isle of Wight parishes, Black River divided them. Those
parts of the parishes which lie south of Blackwater River formed

a parish by the name of Albemarle, in what is now Sussex county,
and the parts north of Black River formed another parish, retaining
the name of Southwark,—that of Lawn's Creek being henceforth
dropped. Although there were many ministers in the parishes
of Surrey before the year 1724, and between that and 1754 and
1758, and though I have their names on different documents in
possession, I am not able to identify or locate them, because these
documents do not appropriate them to their parishes. I am able to
say who were the ministers in 1724, because their answers to the
Bishop of London show it. I can say who were the ministers in
1754 and 1758, because I have a list both of the ministers and
parishes of those years. Had I the old vestry-books, they would
supply the deficiency; but I have none of either of these parishes;
and yet they may be in existence, though in some tattered form.

I give, first, some of the answers of the Rev. John Worden,
who says,—

The following are the answers of the Rev. John Cargill, minister
of Southwark parish:—

Such is the sad account in 1724 of the two parishes in Surrey
county.

In the year 1758, after the arrangement by which all on the north
side of Blackwater is united in Southwark parish, we find the Rev.
Peter Davis its minister; in the years 1774 and 1776, the Rev.
Benjamin Blagrove. In the year 1785, the Rev. John Henry
Burgess, of whom we recently spoke as minister in Southampton,
appears in the Convention as minister of Southwark; and, in the
years 1790 and 1792, the Rev. Samuel Butler. After this we hear
of it no more. Its last minister was a man of pleasure, so devoted
to the turf that he was made President of the Jockey Club of
Surrey and Charles City, as I was informed by the clerk of the
same. Nothing else was to be expected but that the Church should
perish in such hands.

Since the revival of our Church in Virginia, efforts have been
made in behalf of the parishes in Surrey, and not without some
effect. Between twenty-five and thirty years ago the Rev. John
Cole, encouraged by the zeal of good Mrs. Falcon and others of
Southwark parish, preached for one year at Old Surrey and Cabin
Point Churches, reviving not a little the hopes of our few remaining
friends. At a later period the Rev. Edmund Christian spent some
time in the same; and for the last few years the Rev. John
McCabe recently of Hampton, has devoted one Sunday in four to
Old Surrey Church. Under his ministry the congregation increased,
and a new church has been recently erected near the old one.[88]
I know of no other churches in Surrey but those of Old Surrey and
Cabin Point, unless there be one standing about eight or ten miles
from the court-house. I made one visit to it about twenty years
ago. In company with a zealous female member of the Church,
some notice having been previously given, I approached the old
and desolate-looking place. No horses or carriages were around
it; but on the sill of an open door was sitting an old negro man,
who I was told had in former times been the sexton. We three
were the congregation. My visit has not been repeated.

To the foregoing I add the following communication from my
esteemed friend, William Harrison, of Brandon:—

The plate of this church, I have reason to believe, was sold by
a person having charge of it, and the proceeds applied to private
use. The Harrisons, Shorts, Allens, Cockes, and Peters, in olden
time, were leading families around this church.[89]

SUSSEX COUNTY.

A few words suffice for Sussex county, and Albemarle parish in
Sussex county. The parish, as has been stated above, was divided
from Lawn's Creek and Southwark parishes in 1738. We have an
old tattered register, which seems to have begun in 1738, and at
the bottom of each page is the name of William Willie, minister.
It continues until 1776 with the same name. I find the name of
William Willie, as its minister, on a list in 1754,—the earliest list to
be found on record. I find it also in a list for 1776 in an old Virginia
almanac. In both instances he is the minister of Albemarle
parish, Sussex. The parish, I doubt not, began and ended with
him, as does the old register, for we hear no more of him or the
parish after the year 1776. It is by far the most particular
register I have ever met with. It states the days on which he
preaches at each of his four churches,—St. Mark's, St. Andrew's,
St. Paul's, and Nottoway, and the number of persons present, and
occasionally other circumstances. It states the births, baptisms,
deaths, marriages, sponsors, names of masters, of bond and free,
black and white. So methodical and pains-taking a man, living for
thirty-eight years among a people (judging from the names in the
register) as respectable as any in Virginia, was, it is to be hoped,
a worthy minister in other respects.

In speaking of the church in Sussex as being born and dying
with Mr. Willie, we do not mean to say that there were no churches
and ministers in that region before,—the contrary being evident,—
but that its separate parochial existence commenced with him and
died with him so far as regular ministerial services were concerned.
Nor do we mean to say that no efforts have been made of late to
resuscitate it. Some years since a new church was erected by the

zeal of a few surviving friends and members of the church, and
the Rev. Mr. Withers, McGuire, and others, have performed
services in it. We hope the ground will never be abandoned, but
that in this and the neighbouring county of Southampton the
twelve churches which once were, but now are not, may in time
have their places supplied by the blessing of God on the labours
of faithful men.