Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1894-08-09

Virginia, about mile from Kinsale
Gas the crow Aies," stands cold
Yeocomico" church, built In the
year 1706, as we are informed by
an inscription upon tablet insert.
ed in the from. wall. There is lit
tie or nothing known of its history
prior to the year 1912. Who its
builders were, who were its minis
ters in the earliest days and during
this period of LOG years, there is 20
record in existence to tell. Rev.
Thomas Smith, who resided at the
"Glebe," situated on Glebe creek.
q tributary of lower Machodoc. is
known to have been the rector OF
Cople parish, preaching at the Nom
ini Ferry church (which was burned
by the British soldiers) and at Yeo-
comico, and also "Parson Eliot"
noted card player of his time, a
younger son perhaps sent over from
England to fill the position of rec
tor OF this parish, is known, to have
preached there in earlier days. The
church was surrounded by brick
wall about six feet high, with three
gateways, which may or may not
have been put there when the wall
was built. This wall incloses a
square, with the church standing
back from the front entrance, near
the side of the wall built Tor at any
rate in our day. along a heavily
wooded piece of land. This yard
was used as burial place for many,
many years, indeed, until it was
found almost impossible to dig
grave without digging into another
in which some unknown person
slept. At the east end of the church
there is vault in which the re-
mains of three members of q Nc
Carty family were deposited. A
large iron-stone slab properly in
scribed was placed upon the vault
and is now there, but fallen from
its proper position. Who these peo-
pie were and why they were buried
with special marks of distinction,
-we San't know; there is no record
to tell us. In 1912 company of
soldiers under Capt. William Lut-
trel Rogers, of New Jersey, seeking
a camp and being pleased with this
spot pitched their tents there, and
Capt. Rogers becoming interested
in the old building, which was then
almost in ruins, after the close of
the war returned to the neighbor-
hood and interested the people in
restoring it to a condition of use
fulness. From that time it has
been used as place of worship.
AT present it is the most desolate
and melancholy spot imaginable.
Trees and dead branches from trees
have fallen about the yard-weeds
that will soon be higher than the
heads of the tallest men of the con-
gregation and growing in wild
and unchecked luxuriance-broken
bricks andstones are scattered about,
showing the most utter neglect upon
the part of those into whose keep
ing the sacred old place has been by
its destiny placed. The greater
part Of the old wall has been from
time to time robbed of its bricks.
and in many places is below its ORR
ginal height. No effort has been
made at any time, SO far as we
know, to rebuild it, but as a spirit
of interest would manifest itself.
repairs would be made, gates put
up, and the hand of decay arrested.
Now, for the first time in its life of
one hundred and eighty>eight years,
the hand of premeditated destruc-
ton has been laid upon it. For
shame, be it said, one section Of the
wall has been torn down to the level
of the ground, a few good bricks
taken out and cleaned, and a mass
of mortar and broken bricks left az
lasting monument of this act Of
vandalism. No one ever before
even thought of doing anything to-
wards its destruction. When one
generation was unable to repair and
restore, it was left to another more
able, to return TO the sacred work.
Even in this veneering age of yir-
ginia history, when the customs Of
the past are changing, when it is
said that old churches, like old
kitchens, must be abandoned, when
those who should give tone and di-
rectron to public sentiment, are for
the sake ofpower and place, pander.
ing to the destructive purposes OF
socialism, anarchism, populism. sec.