Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1876-09-15

ISTKY-OuR ANCESTORS YIRTU Els AND
vICEs-TuE DOCTORS BILLS.
Only few days ago we noticed the pull
ing down of tire oldest building in Staun-
ton, on the corner of Augusta and New
Court House Streets. 1t was the Glebe
House and we have been hunting up among
the musty and dusty records of Augusta
Parish for the thirty years running from
1747 to 1850, some history Of the CID gen.
tlemen who used to meet there and what
they used to do. The old worthless were
elected under commission issued by VIM.
Goode, Lt.-GOvernor and Commander-in-
Chief OF Virginia, were twelve in number,
and after subscribing to the test and
likewise to be conformable to the doctrine
and discipline of the Church of England'
were sworn in and signed their names as
James Patton, Jno. Madison, John Chris
tian, Robt. Alexander, James Lockhart,
Jno. Mathews, John Buchanan, Patrick
Hayes, Thos Gordon, John Archer, John
Smith and John S. Buchanan. These were
the "Gentlemen Vestrymen," and Robt
Alexander and James Lockhart were the
| church Wardens.
| THE CHURCH MATTERS
| They engaged one John Hindman who
was recommended by the Governor AS min
lister, and the first thing the old gentlemen
did was to order a Glebe house, which is
the old building just torn down and until
the completion of which Mr.. Hindman was
to take EGO year in lieu of board 1t was ,
| finished q year afterwards by Mr.. John
Lewis, Gent. the contractor. or rather
complicated" as the Rev. John as Chair
man of the yestry, spells it. and in 1852 1t
was occupied by the Rev. Jno. Jones, who
had been by that time engaged as Rector in
place of Mr.. H., and who came for ESQ
year, and the church Wardens were direct
ed to have garden of half an acre pre-
pared for this gentleman. Mr.. Robt. Camp
bell, from whom the GIebe land was pur-
chased, was called up and paid EGO, the
purchase money in full, and Mr.. John
Lewis, Gent, was handed e14S for the
building, and everything started smooth
except that a levy on the people was made
to pay the money Though it may be prop I
to say that the Rev. Mr. Jones' board not
having been paid he agreed to take from
MI. Jno Lewis a due bill for it. The acct
dent was occaSioned, as we find noted in
the record, by the fact that the sheriff who
collected the levy ''has not accounted for
the same and refuseth to do so,'' and a
practicing attorney had been employed to
prosecute him for 1t. When Mr.. Hindman
left, the vestry received the following
from Gov. Dinwiddie
WILLIAMSBURG, Oct. Is, 1850.
GENTLEMEN
The Rev. Mr.. John Jones has been re-
| commended to me by many Persons of
Good Repute and undoubted Credit as Il
| Worthy and Learned Divine as such /
recommend him to you, Gentlemen, to be
| your pastor, not doubling that his conduct
will be such as will entitle him to your
Favor by Promoting Peace and Cultivating
| morality in the Parish. I our receiving him
to be your Pastor will be very agreeable to.
| Worshipfull Gentlemen,
Y'r Very H'ble Serv't,
| RoBT. DINWIDDIE.
The recommendation was we'll fulfilled
and Mr.. Jones staid as pastor for 80 years.
He was allowed reader at q salary of
EOS S. yearly, and Mr.. VIM. Christian got
the place. All did not go smooth with the
vestrymen, for they dropped MI. John
Madison, their clerk, and he would not de-
liver up his papers to VIM. Preston. who
was elected in his place, and the new clerk
recorded thatsfact in his minutes. The
salary of Mr.. Jones was 10000 pounds of
tobacco, or it's equivalent in money. In
| 1772, after good deal of squabbling about
| the old mans salary, he having become too
old and infirm for active duty, the vestry
| gave him curate, Rev. Adam Smith, who
left in six months, and was succeeded by
Rev. Alex. Belmain. Mrs. Jane Ferguson
was the sexton, at salary of FL per annum.
THE MORALS OF THE PEOPLE,
To the present virtuous generation the
state of morals exhibited in the vestry re-
ord is not complimentary to the memory
| of the stern old puritans of those days.
| Arrangement before the vestrY. which had,
under the Church Of England, secular au-
thority, for violating the laws of polite
society are painfully frequent, and fill many
pages of the book, and make the reader OF
the present day think in the ''good old
| days. people were really no better than
they ought to be. In the case of the fe-
male delinquent, the child was taken from
her as young as two years old, and bound
out by the churchwardens. The articles
Of indenture say that it shall be in all
things a faithful servant: che shall not
play at cards, dice, or any other unlawful
game; he shall not absent himself day or
night from his masters service, nor haunt
ale houses. taverns or play houses, nor
commit matrimony, nor waste nor lend his
masters goods to any," and in return for
this he is to be taught to ''read, write and
cipher'', and receive a sufficiency of food
and clothing.
THE POOR.
seemed to have been ssalways with' the
early settlers as much as they are now,
and to have been treated with equal con-
sideration, as nearly all who had the good
fortune to go on the parish for food wound
up by also calling on it for a coffin. But
even a pauper was not buried without some
effort after cheerfulnes. In the account S
OF expenses brought to the vestrymen to
allow, we find one Of Mr.. John Scales; for
burying Eleanor Crooks. He charged 15s.
for coffin, of which only los. was allowed
by the economical yestrymen. 2 quarts of
rum, gallon Of whiskey and S quarts of
beer, at l4s. 3d.; sheet, 12s. 3d.; digging
the grave, S., and for 2 days attendance,
IS. For burying Mr.. Jno. McAnassy the
bill was e3, and after putting down one
gallon of liquor at S.. the sexton for the
occasion, Mr.. VIM. Wallace, adds Ito nv