Kitabı oku: «Historic Fredericksburg: The Story of an Old Town», sayfa 12

Church and School

How They Grew in the New World; Pathways to the Light

In the spring of 1877, during the rectorate of Reverend E. C. Murdaugh at St. George’s Church, questions arose as to certain forms of the Episcopal ritual. Some of the members of the congregation approving Dr. Murdaugh’s views, believed them to be in perfect accord with the doctrines of the church, but others felt that the introduction of these debated minor forms was an innovation and tended towards a High Church ritual. These discussions were followed by the resignation of Dr. Murdaugh, and his followers assembled in old Citizen’s Hall on the 7th day of August, 1877, and steps were there taken to organize Trinity Church.

Reverend Dr. Murdaugh was promptly called to the rectorship of the new church, and Reverend Robert J. McBryde was called from the chaplaincy of the University of Virginia, to fill the vacancy at St. George’s. With the kindly good fellowship, the tact, and the piety characteristic of his Scotch ancestry, “he lived in accord with men of all persuasions” both in the Mother Church and the youthful Trinity.

This congregation first worshiped in the unoccupied Methodist Church on Hanover Street, but on Christmas Day, 1881, they assembled in their own attractive edifice, which had just been completed on the corner of Hanover and Prince Edward Streets. Through the efforts of the Reverend J. Green Shackelford, (who succeeded Dr. Murdaugh,) and the congregation, the debt was finally paid, and on February 12, 1890, the church was consecrated by Rt. Reverend Francis M. Whittle.

One of the prominent characteristics of this congregation has ever been the energy and perseverance with which they grapple discouraging problems, and the unfailing and stubborn optimism of its women, out of which is born that success which almost invariably crowns their oftentimes unpromising efforts. Reverend John F. W. Feild, the present rector, is a young man of unusual attainments, and under his able leadership the church is a vigorous organization. A handsome parish house has been built.

The Baptist Church

Very little credence has been put in the old superstition that an inauspicious beginning implies the promise of a good ending, but the Baptist Church here is a conspicuous example of the truth of the old saying.

In 1768 three Baptist zealots were imprisoned here on two charges: “for preaching the gospel contrary to law,” and, to use the words of the attorney bringing the second charge, “May it please your worships, these men cannot meet a man upon the road, but they must ram a text of scripture down his throat.” But this intrepid trio continued to preach their doctrine, and to sing their hymns from the grated doors and windows of their prison cells, and each day drew crowds of awed and interested listeners.

To the Rev. Andrew Broaddus, who organized the Church here in 1804, to Reverend Thomas S. Dunaway, whose pastorate covered a period of thirty-two years, to Reverend Emerson L. Swift, the present efficient pastor, and many other able and faithful men, is the church indebted for the largest membership in church and Sunday School in the city, the communion roll numbering twelve hundred and eighty-nine members, and eight hundred and twenty-eight officers, teachers, and pupils of the Sunday School.

The present large and splendidly equipped building on the corner of Princess Anne and Amelia Streets was erected in 1854, under the pastorate of Reverend William F. Broaddus, and has had frequent additions as the increasing activities and congregations demanded. Dr. Broaddus conducted a successful school for young women in the basement of his church for several years preceding the War between the States.

The Presbyterian Church

To the Presbyterians belongs the distinction of having the oldest house of worship in the town. The present brick edifice on George Street was erected in 1833, the ground having been donated by Mrs. Robert Patton, the daughter of General Hugh Mercer. At the time of the coming of Reverend Samuel B. Wilson, as a domestic missionary in 1806, there were two Presbyterians in the town – surely an unpromising outlook.

This was about the time of the critical period in the life of the Episcopal Church in Virginia. For various reasons many of St. George’s congregation had become dissatisfied. This fact strengthened by the forceful intellectuality, and the magnetic sympathy of Dr. Wilson, brought about the subsequent rapid growth of Presbyterianism, and proved that the psychological moment had arrived for its development here. In 1810 their first house of worship was built on the corner of Amelia and Charles Streets.

Adjacent to the present church on Princess Ann Street is the beautiful chapel, built of Spotsylvania granite, through the donation of the late Mr. Seth B. French of New York, in memory of a much loved daughter.

Dr. Wilson resigned his pastorate in 1841, and among the names of his efficient successors are Rev. A. A. Hodge, D. D., Rev. Thomas Walker Gilmer, Rev. James Power Smith, and the present much loved pastor, Rev. Robert C. Gilmore.

Dr. Wilson organized the female school which was taught for years by him at his residence on Charles and Lewis Streets, the former home of Mary Ball Washington. One of his teachers, Miss Mary Ralls, continued this school with great success, and admitted boys. How interesting would be the register of this old school, if it were available today! The older residents of the town remember well, and with pleasure, some of the men who were educated there, and won distinction in their chosen fields. Among others are Judge William S. Barton, John A. Elder, Judge Peter Gray, of Texas, Dr. Howard Barton, of Lexington, Dr. Robert Welford, Lieutenant-Governor John L. Marye, Byrd Stevenson, attorney, and the Virginian historian, Robert R. Howison, LL. D.

Dr. Francis A. March, the renowned philologist, and for years’ president of Lafayette College, taught school here for several years, assisting Reverend George W. McPhail, the Presbyterian minister who succeeded Dr. Wilson. Dr. March married Miss Mildred Conway, one of his pupils, and General Peyton Conway March, so well known in military circles, is a son of his, and is claimed by Fredericksburg, though he was not born here.

The Methodist Church

Shortly after the Revolution, the Methodists began to hold services here. It is thought that for some years they had their meetings at private residences, as there is no record of a house of worship until 1822, when a church was erected on George Street, in the rear of where Hurkamp Park now is. Reverend “Father” Kobler began his ministry here in 1789, and continued for more than half a century. He died in 1843, and his ashes, with those of his wife, repose today beneath the pulpit of the present church. As a result of his godliness and assiduity, combined with the fervor and zeal characteristic of that communion, the Methodists, under the leadership of faithful men, have enjoyed a successive series of prosperous years, materially and spiritually, culminating today in a handsome, modern brick edifice on Hanover Street, well equipped for its many activities, and a large membership both in Church and Sunday School. Reverend H. L. Hout, the present pastor, is a conscientious, capable, and intelligent leader.

Roman Catholic

Until a sermon of unusual ability and power was delivered here in 1856, by Bishop McGill, of the Roman Catholic faith, that denomination had no organization of any kind. This event, together with the energy and enthusiasm of the small band of disciples of that faith, was the impetus which forwarded the establishment of the church here in 1859. The visits of Bishop Gibbons – the late Cardinal – and Bishop Keene greatly strengthened the prospects of the church, and though its membership roll is not a long one, it embraces today some of our solid and successful citizens. They have erected a neat brick church, and comfortable parsonage adjacent on Princess Anne Street. The priests who have officiated have been men deserving the high esteem of the community, and well able to carry on; the genial Father Thomas B. Martin is the present priest in charge.

The Campbellite Church

An inconspicuous red brick building on Main Street which has the undeniable stamp of age, though decorated with a new and modern front, is the Christian, or Campbellite Church, built in 1834. This was only two years after Alexander Campbell, the eloquent founder of the sect, came here to expound his creed, and to organize his church. Its little band of workers has passed through many stages of discouragement, but with fortitude and energy they have again and again revivified the spark of life, which at times seemed to burn so low. The building was used, during the War between the States, as a hospital. Under the leadership of Reverend Landon Cutler, Reverend Cephas Shelburne, Reverend Samuel H. Forrer, and others, with the labors of the present pastor, Reverend Daniel E. Motley, the membership has of late been greatly increased. The Bible used by Alexander Campbell on some of his visits here, is a highly esteemed relic.

Some Schools of Fredericksburg

The Public School system was established here as early as 1870. At first the schools were not well patronized, owing in part to the unusual and well-merited success of the private schools, and old-time prejudice against new methods, then termed “socialistic.” Their popularity increased with their efficiency, prejudice was entirely eliminated, and to-day we have a splendid brick building on Main and Lewis Streets, which houses the elementary grades, well-equipped and with a commodious auditorium.

The handsome high school building on Liberty street has been completed within the past year. It cost 125,000 and is a credit to the town. The chief problem here is the lack of room to accommodate the unexpectedly increasing number of lads and lasses who present themselves on the opening September morn. More than several times have the efficient and painstaking principal and teachers congratulated themselves on acquiring adequate conditions for placing the pupils, when in an incredibly short time, “congestion,” and “half-day sessions,” are again topics in school circles.

The State Normal School

The crowning glory of Fredericksburg in the educational line and probably the most far-reaching in its benefits and results is the State Normal School, established here by Act of the Virginia legislature in 1908, State Senator C. O’Conner Goolrick being most active in securing its location here. The massive buildings crown the apex of one of the most picturesque slopes on the left of the far-famed Marye’s Heights. An institution of this caliber, in order to radiate the best in every line of its many activities, must be apart from the business, social, and commercial life of the community, and yet near enough to benefit from the many obvious advantages its proximity to such a center affords. The Normal School fully meets this condition. The drive of about a mile from the center of the town is an interesting one, and, when the summit of the hill is reached, the driveway circles around the imposing brick structures; the Administration Building, Frances Willard Hall, Virginia Hall, Monroe Hall, and others. To the east, in all its historic pride lies the ancient city. To the west, beyond the carefully kept, and attractive campus, and over the Athletic Field, nothing is visible but fields and forests and rolling hills, – nature’s handiwork, – and, as the eye sweeps the horizon, it is arrested by more hills and dales of that region of our state named in honor of that daring and picturesque character, “The Knight of the Golden Horseshoe.”

Under President A. B. Chandler, Jr., and a faculty of teachers chosen to provide that type of instruction calculated to prepare young women for successful vocations, the school is a success.

Schools of Old Times

If justice were done to each of the excellent schools of varying characteristics, in the old days of Fredericksburg, many times the space allotted to this subject would be infringed upon. But at the risk of this infringement, the names of some of the local educators of other days must be included. Mr. Thomas H. Hanson was sometime Master of the Fredericksburg Academy, that old school which is said to have begun its existence on Gunnery Green, which in its early days disseminated the seeds of learning to many youths, who afterwards became distinguished statesman. Messrs. Powell and Morrison were principals of a girl’s school in old Citizens Hall; Mr. John Goolrick and son George educated some of our most influential citizens of the past generation; Judge Richard H. Coleman taught a school for boys at Kenmore, and also at Hazel Hill; Mrs. John Peyton Little conducted a popular school for girls at her residence, the old Union House on Main Street; Colonel W. Winston Fontaine had a large school for girls, and at a later period Miss Frank Chinn, Miss Tillie Slaughter, and others, and still later Miss Willie Schooler (Mrs. Frank Page) conducted elementary schools, which by reason of their efficiency gained great popularity. The school of the late Charles Wisner was largely attended by both sexes.

Fredericksburg College

The interesting building (now the home of Mr. W. E. Lang, Smithsonia) has almost since its construction been closely associated with the religious or educational life of the community. In it for years was conducted successfully, under various teachers, a school for young ladies, always under Presbyterian management. For years it housed some of the departments of the Presbyterian Home and School, of which that popular and efficient institution, familiarly known as The Fredericksburg College was a part.

Founded in 1893 by Reverend A. P. Saunders, D. D., the beneficial activities of this institution continued until 1915. Not only were the widows and orphans of Presbyterian ministers the beneficiaries in many ways, but it afforded unusually fine opportunities to the youth of the town, and surrounding country, not only in the usual college courses, but in its school of music and art as well. In many instances its graduates have distinguished themselves at the University of Virginia, Johns Hopkins, and elsewhere.

Colored Institutions

The colored citizens of the town – and the phrase is synonymous with law-abiding, respectful and intelligent citizens – have shown commendable energy and interest in their churches and schools, as is manifested in the substantial buildings housing their religious and educational activities. Three churches, all of the Baptist denomination, each with its own pastor, hold services regularly. Each has a large congregation and a flourishing Sunday School. Though the equipment of both high and graded schools is only fair, the corps of teachers, all of their own race, is as efficient as anywhere in the State.

“Shiloh Old Site” and “Shiloh New Site” are the leading colored churches, and each of these has been steadily growing for years.

The Church of England

First in Virginia, the Church of England Has the Longest History

It has been said, and by reliable searchers after historical truths, that the first Christian shrine in America was built by Spanish missionaries, and on the site where now stands the City of Fredericksburg. But as no proof has been found, we relinquish this claim, and find our first authentic beginnings of Christianity in an old entry found in the records of Spotsylvania County, 1724: “Information brought by Thomas Chew, Church warden, against John Diggs for absenting himself from the place of divine worship; he is fined ten shillings, or one hundred pounds of tobacco, or must receive corporal punishment in lieu thereof, as the law directs.” These were days in the infant colony when religious freedom had no place. Legislation was paramount and, though never since those times has the need of the gospel been so obvious, the people had to accept the Minister that “His Honorable, the Governor,” sent them.

St. George’s parish and the early history of Fredericksburg are inseparably linked. Affairs of Church and affairs of State were embodied in one system.

In the main the character and manner of living of the early ministers of the Church of England here were not in accord with the dignity of their mission. Incidents so indicating were not at all unusual: on one occasion a clergyman of gigantic size and strength had a rough and tumble fight with members of his vestry, in which the laymen were knocked out. The burly Englishman took as his text the following Sunday, “And I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and plucked off their hair.” Bishop Meade says, “Surely God must have greatly loved this branch of his Holy Catholic Church, or he would not have borne so long with her unfaithfulness, and so readily forgiven her sins.” But happily, all those who in the olden days ministered in the Parish of St. George were not of this type.

Some of the Early Rectors

St. George’s Parish and the County of Spotsylvania were contemporaneously established in 1720. The first official record of the parish extant is the notice of the vestry meeting on January 16, 1726, at Mattaponi, one of the three churches then in the parish, Reverend Theodosius Staige, minister. Reverend Rodman Kennor succeeded Mr. Staige. It was not until the 10th of April, 1732, that Colonel Henry Willis contracted to build a church on the site of the present St. George’s, seventy-five thousand pounds of tobacco being the consideration. After much discussion accompanied by usual excitement, the State urging its claims and the vestry not indifferent as to who “His Honorable, the Governor,” would send them, the Reverend Patrick Henry, uncle of the famous Patrick Henry, became minister. Colonel Henry Willis and Colonel John Waller, “or he that first goes to Williamsburgh” is desired to return thanks to His Honor.

Reverend Patrick Henry resigned his charge in 1734, and Sir William Gooch, Governor, sent a Mr. Smith, who, on account of his “faithfulness or the contrary,” was very generally disliked, and after two sermons, left. The names of two ministers, father and son, appear successively on the interesting old yellow rolls at this time, Reverend James Marye, Sr., and Reverend James Marye, Jr. who officiated at St. George’s for almost half a century, and who were faithful and zealous. The salary of these men was fixed by law at sixteen thousand pounds of tobacco. It is impossible to compute with accuracy this equivalent in English money, “minister’s tobacco” representing many varieties, and its value seeming to fluctuate. In general four pounds of tobacco equaled one shilling. The elder Marye married Letitia Mary Ann Staige, the sister of the first rector; and Yeamans Smith, who built the attractive country seat “Snowden” in 1806, married Ann Osborne, a daughter of James Marye, Jr. From these families are lineally descended many of the worshipers at old St. George’s today.

The Oldest Cemetery Here

In 1751 the first bell, the gift of John Spotswood, was used. In 1755 the legislature passed an act directing that each parish should provide for the maintenance of the poor, thus the first “poor-house” was established. In 1722 an act was passed by the General Assembly relating to the churchyard, and authorizing the vestry to reduce the dimensions thereof. This small and interesting spot, so carefully maintained today, was used as “God’s Acre,” before the legal establishment of Fredericksburg in 1727. Contiguous to the church on the north, this little “City of the dead,” is a grassy hillside, sloping gently to the east; and amid the sturdy elms and maples, the graceful fronds and purple blossoms of the wistaria and lilac, the old fashioned roses, the clinging ivy and periwinkle, rest the ashes of those who helped to make the Fredericksburg of long, long ago. We love to think of those noted personages sleeping there, that

 
“It is not hard to be a part of the garden’s pageantry
When the heart climbs too, set free.”
 

Colonel Fielding Lewis, of Kenmore, and his three infant grandchildren, sleep beneath the old stone steps of the church. William Paul, the brother of John Paul Jones, is under the linden tree. Archibald McPherson, the generous Scotchman and friend of the poor, sleeps under a tangle of ivy and roses. Reverend E. C. McGuire and his relict, Judith Lewis, great niece of General Washington lie close to the loved old church beneath the weeping willow. Under the shade of the same beautiful tree, sleeps the father of Martha Washington, Colonel John Dandridge of New Kent County. Others, well known, are not far away.

Reverend James Marye, Jr., a faithful scion of the Huguenot faith, taught a parochial school here, which George Washington as a youth attended. It is thought to have been at this school that he wrote, under Mr. Marye’s dictation, his celebrated “Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior,” the original of which is preserved among the country’s archives. The faithful service of Reverend James Marye, Jr., ended with his death on October 1, 1780, and during seven years following the parish was without a minister.

In 1785 agreeably to the law passed in the legislature giving all Christian denominations the privilege of incorporation, the people of St. George’s Church met, and elected the following vestrymen: John Chew, John Steward, Mann Page, Thomas Colson, Thomas Crutcher, Daniel Branham, Thomas Sharp and James Lewis.

In 1787 Reverend Thomas Thornton was unanimously elected rector of the church. Steady faith, unaffected piety, ability to associate the dignity of the minister with the familiarity of the man, are some of the characteristics which his biographers have attributed to him, and which made him acceptable to all classes. It was during his ministrations that the Fredericksburg Academy was held in such high estimation. Many eminent men have attended this old school.

Washington’s Last Attendance

Four pews in the gallery of St. George’s were reserved for the use of the professors and students. An interesting incident which occurred at this time is told by Judge John T. Lomax, then a small boy. An addition to the galleries had just been completed, when George Washington, with freshly won honors, came on what proved to be his last visit to his mother, and as usual attended service at St George’s Church. Because of the presence of the hero, a great crowd gathered. Suddenly, during the service, there was heard from the galleries the sound of creaking timbers; this proved to be only the settling of the new rafters, which had not been well adjusted, but which caused great fear and excitement in the congregation.

After the resignation of Mr. Thornton in 1792, the following names appear on the church rolls, and follow each other in quick succession: Reverend John Woodville, James Stevenson, Abner Waugh, Samuel Low and George Strebeck. During the ministry of Reverend James Stevenson two institutions of learning were established, and the benefit and advantages derived therefrom are felt to this day. The male Charity School had its beginnings in 1795, with these gentlemen as subscribers: Benjamin Day, Charles Yates, Elisha Hall, William Lovell, Fontaine Maury, George French and Daniel Henderson.

Though this school ceased to exist years ago, there are still three stone tablets inset in the wall of the old building on Hanover Street, where the sessions of this school were held. (This building has been rejuvenated lately, and is now the home of the Christian Science Society.) These tablets are in memory of three of Fredericksburg’s philanthropists, Archibald McPherson, who died in 1754, bequeathing his property to the poor of the town, Benjamin Day and Thomas Colson, whose services to the school were many and valuable and whose charity was broad.

The Female Charity School

The Female Charity School was established in 1802, by the women of St. George’s parish, generously assisted financially by Miss Sophia Carter, of Prince William County, and is still maintained to this day; their present substantial brick building on upper Main Street has been occupied since 1836 and houses at the present time eight happy little maidens who, with their predecessors numbering into many hundreds, would probably, without its gracious influence have grown into womanhood without a spark of that light attained by education and religious influence.

But notwithstanding these blessings times grew sad for the Church of England in Virginia. The Revolution in which each was involved was destructive to the upbuilding of the Church and the growth of Virginia. The results of that war were many and far reaching. The church had been closely associated with that tyrannical government which the people had now thrown off. Its liturgy, its constitution, its ministry and members were naturally subjects of criticism, prejudice and abuse. Having had the strong right arm of a strong government for protection, it was now forced to stand alone, and it seemed for a while to totter, and almost to fall.

Such were the conditions under which Reverend Edward C. McGuire took charge of St. George’s Church in 1813. In writing of his reception here he says, “I was received with very little cordiality, in consequence I suppose of the shameful conduct of several ministers who preceded me in this place… Under these disastrous circumstances, I commenced a career most unpromising in the estimation of men.”

Nevertheless, this inexperienced young man of thirty years proved that by living himself the gospel of truth and love and preaching “simplicity and godly sincerity,” he could overcome those difficulties implied in the hopeless condition which prevailed at the outset of his ministry, when, we are told, there were only eight or ten communicants of the church. But his long ministry of forty-five years was one of prosperity and blessing.

New Edifice Consecrated

In 1816 the second church on the same site and this time a brick edifice, was consecrated and Bishop Moore confirmed a class of sixty persons. Reverend Philip Slaughter says in his history of St. George’s Parish, published in 1847, “There is apparently but one thing wanting to the outward prosperity of this congregation and that is, room for its growth… I trust that the parishioners will build such a house for God … as will be a fit monument for their thankfulness … a suitable reward to their venerable pastor for his life-long devotion to their service.” His hope materialized, for in the fall of 1849 the present beautiful edifice was completed. A few years after the completion of this building, July 9, 1854, a fire occurred, and the church was damaged. The loss was covered by insurance, and the building quickly restored to its former beauty. There is an authenticated story told in connection with this fire; the day succeeding the fire there was found, on the Chatham bridge, the charred and blackened remnant of a leaf from an old Bible and almost the only words legible was the significant verse from Isaiah, Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised Thee, is burned up with fire and all our pleasant things are laid waste.

Some Notable Vestrymen

Shortly before the death of Dr. McGuire, in 1858, the climax of his ministry was realized in the class of eighty-eight souls, which he presented to Bishop Meade for confirmation. Reverend Alfred M. Randolph, afterwards beloved Bishop of the diocese, succeeded Dr. McGuire, and in chronological order came Rev. Magruder Maury, Rev. Edmund C. Murdaugh, D. D., Rev. Robert J. McBryde, Rev. J. K. Mason, Rev. William M. Clarke, Rev. William D. Smith, Rev. Robert J. McBryde, D. D., the second time, and Rev. John J. Lanier, scholar and author, who is the present rector.

These men were all more or less gifted with a high degree of mentality and spirituality. Of a later and another day they were potent agents in diffusing the blessed light which must emanate from the church.

For nearly two centuries St. George’s Church, its three edifices each more costly and imposing than its predecessor, has commanded the summit of the hill at Princess Anne and George Streets. Its interesting tablets and beautiful windows tell in part, the story of its engaging past.

In glancing over that precious manuscript, the old parish vestry book, which numbers its birthdays by hundreds of years, names familiar to every student of American history are noted. Colonel Fielding Lewis is there and General Hugh Mercer, General George Weedon, and Colonel Charles Washington, also Dr. Charles Mortimer, the physician of Mary Washington. Others dear to the hearts of old Fredericksburgers are Reuben T. Thom, who held the unusual record of serving the vestry for a successive period of fifty-two years; Zachary Lewis, attorney to his majesty, the King of England; Lewis Willis, grandfather of Catherine, Princess Murat; Captain John Herndon, Francis Thornton, Ambrose Grayson, Francis Talliaferro, Robert Beverly; but for the fact that there is such a vast assemblage of names, interesting to the generation of today, an entertaining recital of them in this brief sketch, would be possible.