Parish Lines Diocese of Southern Virginia Virginia State Library Richmond, Virginia INTRODUCTION THIS STUDY is a continuation of a former study made by this compiler entitled Parish Lines Diocese of Southwestern Virginia. This study of the Parish Lines Diocese of Southern Virginia, together with the former study, will cover approximately two thirds of the parishes of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Vir- ginia embraced within the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is my hope that the parish lines of all parishes within the Common- wealth will soon be documented. Then should come a more intimate study of each of these parishes, which would add greatly to the store of historical information relating to the three dioceses. From the establishment of the General Assembly in 1619, the creation of the counties and parishes in the Virginia Colony was vested in that body. This gave to the General Assembly two administrative agencies which could supervise the civil and re- ligious life of the Colony. After the establishment of the Diocese of Virginia of the Protestant Episcopal Church in 1785 the creation and control of the parishes rightfully was transferred to the church authority. The counties, of course, remained under the authority and control of the General Assembly. For the period of 1619-1785 the counties and parishes forged ahead hand in hand. The purpose of this study is to show the creation of the coun- ties and the parishes and how through the years the counties and parishes have fitted into the pattern of control of the civil and religious life of Virginia. Without a church organization with a bishop at its head in the Colony, the administration of the affairs of the church was assumed by the General Assembly, and there was no doubt that this body was very happy to take unto itself this responsibility. Through the parish vestries some of the civil administrative functions could be carried on. In the beginning, we should define a parish. Blackstone de- scribes a parish as "a circuit of ground committed to the care of one parson, vicar, or other minister, having the care of the souls therein." Today we speak of a parish not in the sense of that description, but we refer to a single congregation as a parish. For example: Mt. Olivet Parish includes the City of Roanoke and the eastern part of the County of Roanoke, and within its bounds are four separate congregations, each frequently referred to as a parish. St. John's Church in the City of Roanoke is the oldest congregation in the parish and is the parish church. The other three are separate congregations within Mt. Olivet Parish. In the early days the parish vestry was composed of representa- tives from each congregation in the parish. Today each separate congregation has its own vestry and is referred to as a separate entity or parish. In England the bounds of a parish are not fixed by an Act of Parliament as ours in Virginia in the days of the Colony were fixed by an Act of the General Assembly. In England the parish bounds, like so many other institutions, are the result of ancient and immemorial custom; in other words, they exist by the Com- mon Law. At given times representatives of the parish were re- quired to walk around the boundaries of the parish to see that they were properly observed; this was known as perambulating the bounds of a parish. This custom also existed in Virginia; in fact, processioning continued quite late and included the bounds of individual landowners. A diocese may be defined as a district in which a bishop has authority. A diocese is composed of the parishes within its boundaries. In Virginia we have three dioceses, namely: the Dio- cese of Virginia, established in 1785, which, speaking generally of the Protestant Episcopal Church, comprises that area north of the James River; the Diocese of Southern Virginia, established in 1892, embracing that portion south of the James River and extending westward to the borders of the counties of Augusta, Nelson, Amherst, Campbell, Franklin, and Henry; the Diocese of Southwestern Virginia, established in 1919, embracing that portion of the Commonwealth known as Southwest Virginia and including the counties above set forth.1 The passage of time, destruction of records, and the lack of necessity for the early planters to establish firmly county and parish lines make the present-day location of many boundaries a difficult and uncertain undertaking. The early boundaries were from one point on the James or York River to another point on the same river; from the mouth of one creek to the mouth of another. Usually a stream from its mouth to its head was the boundary line between counties and parishes. These natural boundaries were easily fixed and located. These answered the purpose quite well until the population had spread much beyond the heads of the streams. The question was the direction of the continued line. As the flow of population moved westward the western boundary of the new county was frequently described as "extending to the high mountains." For those counties bor- dering on the North Carolina line the southern boundary was described as "through the woods,'' or, "shall be the dividing line of each county backwards so far as the government extends." The indefinitcness of the boundary lines was the source of much confusion in the counties and a number of Acts of the General Assembly were passed authorizing surveys to be made fixing the boundaries. The compiler of this study has recently re-read his Parish Lines Diocese of Southwestern Virginia and has come to the conclusion that in one respect some of the maps of certain shires in this volume are not entirely accurate. Those maps show that Charles City County cut across James City County and a por- tion of Warrosquyoake County and that the former county did not extend to the North Carolina line. Those maps were based upon a "Map Showing the Original Colonial Shires and the Indian District of Chickacoun" which appears in Kegley's Vir- ginia Frontier, page 6. Kegley's map was not an original map. but was a compilation. In 1634 the eight shires were created by the General As- sembly. The bounds were not set forth in the Act of 1634. James City Shire was described as "on the south side [of James River from Lawne's Creek to Upper Chippokes Creek."2 The east and west bounds no doubt were fixed by the meandering of the creeks to their source. As the population moved south these lines were made straight lines which were accepted and re- spected The south bounds were indefinite but the boundaries were intended to extend as far as the Colony claimed title. This position was taken by the General Assembly in the case of Charles River, later York, County. In this case its settlements first crossed the York River and extended to the Rappahannock River. It was not until 1648, when intruders began to infiltrate into the Northern Neck, that the General Assembly created Northumberland County and authorized settlements therein, York County having claimed all title to the Potomac River. Considerable confusion had arisen over the county lines be- tween the counties of Prince George, Surry, Isle of Wight and Nansemond and the following Act was enacted at the October session, 1705, of the General Assembly: That the surveyors of the said countys (where the same is not already done) at some convenient time before the twenty-fifth day of December, one thousand seven hundred and six, do survey and lay out the Black- water Swamp in their said countys, and by comparing their severall surveys together to reduce the same into one straight line, from which said line so reduced, a perpendicular shall be raised, and a line run parallel to that perpendicular from the head of the bounds of each of the said counties, formerly settled to the Blackwater Swamp, shall here- after be the dividing line of each county backwards as far as this government extends [italics supplied], and that the said lines or bounds be run out by the surveyors of the respective counties, at the charge of their said counties within three months after the said twenty-fifth day of December.3 It seems to this compiler that it is reasonable to conclude that the boundary lines of James City (Surry) and Warrosquyoake (Isle of Wight) counties extended as far as the country claimed title, that is, to the North Carolina line wherever it was finally located. Brunswick County was created in 1720. The Act erecting the county contained a very sketchy description of the county and included the statement that it was "to be bounded by the di- rection of the governour with consent of Council."4 In 1723 the Council set forth a more particular description moving the boundary eastward, which extended the boundary Brunswick County so as to cut off a portion of Surry County and a small portion of Isle of Wight along the North Carolina line.5 Later, in 1732, in order for Brunswick to be organized, another por- tion of Surry County and a small triangle of Isle of Wight County were annexed to Brunswick.6 This demonstrates that Surry and Isle of Wight counties each claimed title to the area along the North Carolina line which was annexed to Brunswick County. The following conclusions are therefore reached: first, that James City (Surry) County, and Warrosquyoake (Isle of Wight) County originally extended as far as the government claimed, that is, to the North Carolina line wherever it was to be finally located; second, the maps of the shires in Kegley's Virginia Frontier were drawn to show the situation after Brunswick County was created and parts of Surry and Isle of Wight coun- ties had been annexed to Brunswick. The statement was made in Parish Lines Diocese of South- western Virginia that Henrico County and Charles City County were each one of the four great divisions created by Governor Argall. This statement that Governor Argall created the four great corporations is not accurate. On November 18, 1618, the Virginia Company gave in- structions on the formation of a laudable government for the Colony to Sir George Yeardley when he departed from London to become full governor of Virginia. In this document is re- corded the following: And forasmuch as our intent is to Establish one Equal [blank of several lines] Plantations, whereof we shall speak afterwards, be reduced into four Cities or Burroughs namely the chief City called James town, Charles City, Henrico and the Burrough of Kiccowtan.7 The instructions to Governor Yeardley concluded with the following: Lastly we do hereby require and Authorize you the said Captain George Yeardley and the said Council of State Associating with you such other as you shall there find meet to Survey or cause to be Surveyed all the Lands and territories in Virginia above mentioned and the same to be set out by bounds and metes especially so as that the territories of the said Several Cities and Burroughs and other particular plantations may be conveniently divided and known the one from the other.8 From the above records it seems clear that the establishment of the four great corporations was under the authority given to Yeardley and the corporations were established by him and not by Argall. The idea of the corporations was something new which Yeardley was to organize. These were definite orders to him to survey the corporations and to define their bounds. NOTES 1 Cocke 136. 2 Tyler 198. 3 3 Hening 486. 4 4 ibid., 77. 5 4 Council, Jnl, 56. 64 Hening 355. 73 Va. Company 100. 3 ibid., 108. CONTENTS 1. Historical Sketch ............................................... 23 2. Establishment of the Diocese of Southern Virginia ............... 35 3. Descent of the Counties in the Diocese of Southern Virginia from James City County, One of the Original Shires ............. 43 4. James City Corporation and James City Parish and the Parishes in the Diocese of Southern Virginia Descended Therefrom ......... 57 5. Descent of the Counties in the Diocese of Southern Virginia from Charles City County, One of the Original Shires ............ 69 6. Charles City Parish and the Parishes in the Diocese of Southern Virginia Descended Therefrom ................................... 79 7. Descent of the Counties in the Diocese of Southern Virginia from Elizabeth City County, One of the Original Shires ........ 103 8. Kecoughtan, later Elizabeth City, Parish and the Parishes in the Diocese of Southern Virginia Descended Therefrom ........... 109 9. Descent of the Counties in the Diocese of Southern Virginia from Henrico County, One of the Original Shires ................ 119 10. Henrico Parish and the Parishes in the Diocese of Southern Virginia Descended Therefrom ................................ 127 11. Descent of the Counties in the Diocese of Southern Virginia from Warrosquyoake, later Isle of Wight, County, One of the Original Shires ....... ...................................... 141 12. Warrosquyoake, later Isle of Wight, Parish and the Parishes in the Diocese of Southern Virginia Descended Therefrom ........ 145 13. Descent of the Counties in the Diocese of Southern Virginia from Warwick River, later Warwick, County, One of the Original Shires .............................................. 151 14. Warwick River, later Warwick, Parish and the Parishes in the Diocese of Southern Virginia Descended Therefrom ............. 155 15. Descent of the Counties in the Diocese of Southern Virginia from Charles River, later York, County, One of the Original Shires ........................................................ 163 16. Charles River, later York, Parish and the Parishes in the Di- ocese of Southern Virginia Descended Therefrom ............... 167 17. Descent of the Counties in the Diocese of Southern Virginia from Accomack, later Northampton, County, One of the Original Shires ................................................ 179 18. Accomack, later Northampton, Parish and the Parishes in the Diocese of Southern Virginia Descended Therefrom ............... 185 19. Parishes in the Diocese of Southern Virginia, When and How Created ..................................................... 193 20. Counties in the Diocese of Southern Virginia Showing Bounds of Parishes .................................................. 201 21. Counties and Parishes in the Diocese of Southern Virginia, 1962; Names of Counties and Parishes ........................... 233 22. Bibliography ................................................... 247 Maps .......................................................... 251 Index .......................................................... 277 MAPS Chart of James River Showing the Original Settlements .............. 253 Map of the Colony of Virginia, 1634, Showing the Location of the Eight Original Shires .......................................... 254 Map of the Diocese of Southern Virginia, 1962 ..................... 255 James City County .................................................. 256 Map Showing Additions to Brunswick County, 1732 ................... 257 Dinwiddie County ................................................... 258 Brunswick County ................................................... 259 Halifax County ..................................................... 260 Pittsylvania County ................................................ 261 Mecklenburg County ................................................. 262 Greensville County ..................................................263 Prince Edward County ............................................... 264 Nansemond County .................................................. 265 Norfolk County ..................................................... 266 Princess Anne County ............................................... 267 Cumberland County ................................................. 268 Powhatan County ................................................... 269 Chesterfield County ................................................ 270 Southampton County ................................................. 271 York County ....................................................... 272 Accomack County ................................................... 273 17 CHARTS HISTORICAL SKETCH ON MAY 14, 1607, three small English ships discharged their cargoes of planters, with their impedimenta, on the banks of the James River in the Colony of Virginia.(1) In this primeval forest these planters set about to establish a settlement and to provide protection against the elements and whatever sort of man or beast should appear. With the spirit of discovery ever urging them on, they soon traced footpaths through the trackless forests, and expansion began to take place. Little thought was given to the establishment of counties or their boundaries, much less to parish lines. The main objectives were protection and existence. Boundaries were the evidence of orderly government, and these did not come about until the Colony expanded up and down the James River and until law and order demanded that the bound- aries of settlements be fixed and known. The ancient charters for founding Virginia refer to two groups of sponsors, the "adventurers," and the "planters." The first charter was granted to a body designated as "The Treasurer and Company of Adventurers and Planters of the City of Lon- don for the First Colony in Virginia." The second charter of 1609 of the Company contains a provision for the incorpora- tion of the interested group of sponsors of the enterprise. One provision in the second charter states that: Whether they goe in their persons to be planters there in the said plantacion, or whether they goe not, but doe adventure their monyes [moneys], goods or chattels, that they shalbe one bodie or communaltie perpetuall and shall have perpetual succession and one common seale to serve for the saide bodie or communaltie; and that they and their successors shalbe knowne, called and incorporated by the name of The Tresorer and Companie of Adventurers and Planters of the Citty of London for the Firste Collonie in Virginia.2 25 The term "adventurers" was technically the term used for the stockholders who remained in England, while the term "planters" referred to the group who actually went to Virginia to establish the Colony. Sometimes the planters were referred to as settlers, or colonists. The first charter of the Virginia Colony, dated April 10, 1606, granted by King James, provided that "the colony shall have a Council which shall govern and order all matters and causes which shall arise in the Colony according to the laws, ordi- nances, and instructions issued by the Crown." The charter also provided that "in like manner a Council shall be established in England which shall be called the Council of Virginia with such powers as set forth in the Charter."3 Acting under this au- thority, the Council of Virginia in England appointed the Rev- erend Richard Hakluyt as the first Rector of Jamestown, and this appointment was confirmed by the Council in Virginia and was approved by the Archbishop of Canterbury.4 This appointment was made prior to the departure of the colonists for Virginia in preparation for the establishment of a colony in Virginia. The Church of England does not appoint rectors of trading posts in foreign lands. The selection of Mr. Hakluyt indicated that the Colony was to be a permanent colony. It was not expected that the aging Mr. Hakluyt would go in person to Virginia to set up a parish under such primitive conditions as existed in Virginia at that time. A very happy choice was made when Mr. Hakluyt selected the Reverend Robert Hunt as Vicar of Jamestown. Mr. Hunt was Vicar of Reculver, in Kent, from 1594 to 1602, at which time he became Vicar of Heathfield, in Sussex. When he was selected to go to Virginia in 1606 he was succeeded by Robert Say.5 Mr. Hunt did not live to see the parish he established in the wilderness become the first parish of the Church of England in America; nor could he have imagined that this parish would flourish through the years to the present day. Good Parson Hunt died early in 1608, after a ministry of less than two years which had gained the gratitude and affection of all the colonists. It was not until 1610 that his successor arrived in the Colony.6 No attempt will be made in this study to define bounds of the parishes prior to 1650, unless such bounds are definitely stated in Hening's Statutes. The first parishes in Virginia came into be- ing with the first settlements and were simply adjoining per- sonal plantations, each of a settler and his family. Later came "particular plantations," with special local privileges, called "hundreds," or "cities," sometimes called "corporations." Following the English custom, the parish was the local unit for the administration of religious affairs. Since the Church of England had no diocesan government in the Colony, the Gen- eral Assembly after 1619 assumed the authority to establish parishes and fix their boundaries. During the Commonwealth period, 1649-1660, the General Assembly empowered the coun- ty courts with authority to create parishes. After that period and until the establishment of the Diocese of Virginia in 1785 the General Assembly continued its practice of creating parishes.7 In England, parish bounds are fixed not by statute law but by tradition, and preserved by annual processioning. It was not until the 1630's that the General Assembly of Virginia definitely defined the boundaries of the parishes as they were created. As a general rule, the parishes in Virginia established during the period from 1643 to 1655 lay on both sides of a river and included from east to west all of the territory drained by a river. This was no doubt due to the fact that the rivers in those early days were the main highways of travel. Some of the parishes which illustrate this rule, with the dates of their establishment, were James City (1607), on the James; Elizabeth City (1610), on the James; Bristol (1643), on the Appomattox; Westover (prior to October 2, 1640), on the Chickahominy; and Farn- ham (1654), on the Rappahannock. It is also true that in the seventeenth and eighteenth cen- turies when a new county in Virginia was established shortly after the establishment of a parish in the same general district, it was not unusual to make the county coterminous with the parish area. This was done in the case of (Old) Rappahannock County (established 1656), whose bounds coincided with those of Farnham Parish (established 1654), and in the case of Mid- dlesex County (established 1669), whose bounds to this day co- incide with Christ Church Parish (established 1666). Also, Goochland County (established in 1728) coincided with St. James' Parish in Henrico, 1720. It was in Tidewater Virginia that the first parishes of the Church of England were established in the new world. James- town qualified as the first parish in the Colony of Virginia. In England, an area of land with a church building, a minister, the lay officials, and a number of people sufficient to support the parish organization was defined as a parish. In Virginia during the colonial days there was a lack of diocesan control because there was no resident bishop and no diocesan organization. Prior to 1619, as the settlements spread out from Jamestown up and down the James River these settlements organized themselves in some convenient grouping into separate parishes. Some soon passed out of existence, and some are active parishes in the dio- cese today. From the first General Assembly, held July 30, 1619, down to the organization of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Vir- ginia in 1785, this body took over the establishment of parishes. This gave the General Assembly the opportunity to make the parishes ecclesiastical units as well as civil units in the Church- State organization of Virginia. After the Convention of May 18, 1785, when the Diocese of Virginia of the Protestant Epis- copal Church in Virginia was organized, the parishes thereafter were established by action of the Diocese. To the Virginia Company of London was entrusted the estab- lishment of the Colony of Virginia. This Company exercised con- trol over the Colony until the final abolishment of its charter in 1624 by James I, at which time it came directly under the Crown and became a crown colony. In the meanwhile the period of 1607-1624 witnessed a gradual growth of the Colony of Vir- ginia, with Jamestown as its center. Settlements spread out up and down the James River, and some of the daring and courageous planters crossed the Chesa- peake Bay and established a permanent settlement on the East- ern Shore of Virginia in 1620, where earlier they had main- tained a camp to make salt and catch fish for the parent colony. Dr. Lyon G. Tyier and Mr. Charles E. Hatch, Jr. in their writ- ings fix the location of at least fifty settlements along both sides of the James River from Chesapeake Bay to near the site of the present City of Richmond.8 The fact that the Virginia Company sent out a minister with the first three ships bearing the planters to a new land was a clear indication that it was planning to establish a permanent colony, and not a mere trading post. These men planned to establish and develop in the colony a permanent home. They brought with them their religion, the Church of England. They also brought their national ways and customs. It was perfectly natural that, after landing, they should build a church and establish the first parish, with its minister, in the new Colony. Since the Church and State went along together, we soon find references to early parishes. The settlers were following custom, and new parishes were established; some of these grew and be- came the old, established parishes which exist today, while others disappeared with the changing flow of population and develop- ment of the Colony. The first mention in the statutes of the word "parish" is found in 1624 when it is ordered "That there shall be in every parish a publick granary unto which there shall be contributed for every planter. . . ."(9) Although it is clear that it was the intention of the recipients of the original charter under which the Colony was to be or- ganized to set up in the Colony the established Church of Eng- land, no provision was made for the establishment of the Church organization. Technically the Colony was under the authority of the Bishop of London, and from time to time reports were made to him, but no Anglican bishop ever set foot in the Colony during colonial days, nor was any diocesan organization cre- ated. In 1617 the Virginia Company announced a new plan of or- ganization. The Company itself had not secured sufficient fi- nancial backing to carry out its whole plan, so the offer was made to eive land in Virginia to individual stockholders or groups of stockholders, dependent upon the number of shares owned. Any such stockholder or group who would undertake to establish a plantation and bear the expense of transportation of planters would be given land at the rate of 100 acres of land for each share of stock, with the promise that when sufficient planters had been sent to occupy the land first granted, addi- tional land would be given. These new group settlements were known as "particular plantations" as distinguished from the ancient boroughs or the small personal plantations.10 One of the earliest "particular plantations," was Martin's Hundred, which was originally established in 1618. It consisted of some eighty thousand acres and was situated on the east end of what is now James City County on the west side of Skiffe's (then Keith's) Creek. Among similar early settlements. Smith's Hundred, later known as Southampton Hundred, was established in 1617, and also, in 1618, Flowerdieu Hundred was organized." There were three types of land owners: first, the Company; sec- ond, particular plantations, or hundreds, such as Martin's Hun- dred, belonging to private adventurers in England; and third, planters inhabiting and residing in Virginia; these latter might be termed personal plantations, and were by far the largest and most considerable in number. Following custom, a city, a group of adjoining plantations, or a "particular plantation," known as a "hundred," could be- come a parish. This rule continued during the entire life of the Virginia Company. As the population increased and expansion took place and the territory between plantations became occu- pied, new parishes were formed either by division of the older parishes or by the formation of a new parish in the new terri- tory. Most of the colonial records of these early parishes have long since disappeared, there remaining only a few vestry rec- ords. These are not sufficient to give a connected narrative of the early days, but the ones that have survived the ravages of time give an insight into the operation of the churches in those formative years of our Commonwealth. Since the development and growth of the Church were so closely identified with the development of the Colony, their in- terests being intertwined, it will be well to observe the develop- ment of the governmental control of the State over the Colony. In November, 1618, the Virginia Company had established four separate and distinct governmental divisions and parishes which were under its complete control. To them in all the later records was given the name of "the Four Ancient Boroughs," and, some- times, "Four Ancient Corporations." These were, in order of establishment, James City; Kecoughtan, which by 1620 had its name changed to Elizabeth City; the City of Henrico, and Charles City.12 Each of these cities, or corporations, consisted of the town or village with its surrounding suburban territory. This establishment of the four large corporations was done in order to establish equal and uniform government all over Virginia and to give the planters a hand in governing themselves, as each borough had the right to elect two burgesses to the General As- sembly. The ancient boroughs, or corporations, covered the whole territory of the Colony now settled, and might be considered in our present use of the terms of local government as large coun- ties, each with a head courthouse town or city. Each of these large divisions could be divided, as necessity arose, into bor- oughs, sometimes called hundreds, corresponding to districts or townships in present states of the United States. Any borough or hundred established by the Virginia Company within an ancient borough or corporation had certain governmental au- thority over its territory and also had the privilege of sending two delegates to the General Assembly. Alexander Brown de- scribed in 1898 the "ancient boroughs" or "corporations" as they were in 1619 as follows: 1. The City of Henricus included Henrico ^present Farrar's Island], extending thence on both side of James River to the westward, the pale run by Dale between the said river and the Appomattox River being the line on the south side. 2. Charles City. From the said pale, including the neck of land now known as Jones Neck, eastward, down James River, on both sides, to the mouth of the Chickahominy River. 3. James City extended down on both sides of the river, with the same bounds near the river as the present James City and Warwick Counties on the north side, and as the present Surry and Isle of Wight Counties, or it may have extended to the Elizabeth River on the south side, as the south bounds are not definitely stated. 4. "The Borough of Kiccowtan" extended from James City Corpo- ration to the bay.13 With the exception of a part of the corporation known as the City of Henrico, all of the territory included in the four large corporations is within the present boundary of the Diocese of Southern Virginia. That the formation of the four great corporations in 1618 carried with it in each case the creation of a parish coterminous with the corporation is evident from an order of the colonial Council dated October 10, 1624. This order states that: The Counsell at this Courte assembled do conceave that Accordinge to the Compenies Charter bering date the 4th of Maye 1620 they have researved to themselves the right of patronage of the minister and parishes of the fower [four] Ancyient Buroughes whereof the corporation of Elizabeth Cyttie is one. And therefor that the parishoners of the saide Corporacon are not of themselves to elect A minister but that the Choyse of the minister shall remane to the Company, or to such as in theire right shallbe Awthorised.14 The same order then relates that Mr. George Keith and Mr. Thomas White had served successively as "minister of the Cor- poracon of Elizabeth Cittie," proving that the Council regarded the borough and parish as coterminous up to that date, or at least that the borough constituted one parish coterminous with the settled territory of the borough. The Council of the Virginia Company, as the governing body of the Company which held title to all the land in the Virginia Colony, maintained, as long as it existed, the right to select the ministers and to create the parishes. The organization of the vestry came by slow development, but from the first, the genius of Virginia's colonial independence demanded and won the right to select its own ministers. One may see in this action of the Council in 1624 the beginning of the transition by which the au- thority to form new parishes was transferred from the Company to the General Assembly of Virginia. The first representative legislative assembly of America met in the little wooden church at Jamestown on July 30, 1619, with twenty-two representatives present. Each of the ancient bor- oughs or corporations, and each of the particular plantations or hundreds, was entitled to two burgesses. Summonses to the Assembly had certainly been sent to a number of other "particu- lar plantations" that we know were in existence, but circum- stances prevented representatives from attending. The following plantations were represented: Argall's Gift James City Capt. Ward's Charles City Lawne's Plantation Plantation Flowerdieu Hundred Martin's Brandon Smith's Hundred Henricus Martin's Hundred Kiccowtan15 The impressive fact remains true that the four independent self-governing "Cities" established in Virginia as the first settle- ments have continued to the present day as self-governing com- munities; each one at first a borough consisting of the town and its suburban territory; then as a corporation or general bor- ough; then as a shire. And so three of them exist today, still bearing their original names of James City County, Henrico County and Charles City County; the fourth, Elizabeth City County, having become the City of Hampton. The four still continue, as they have done at every election since 1619, to elect their burgesses or representatives in the General Assembly of Virginia. Due to the rapid spread of the population, it soon became evident that the large division of territory would prove more desirable than a small unit of government and civil administra- tion such as a "particular plantation." To fill this need, in 1634 the General Assembly established eight shires, "which are to be governed as the shires in England." These eight counties covered the whole inhabited territory of Virginia. The shires thus created were: 33 James City Warwick River (later Warwick) Henrico Warrosquyoake (later Isle of Wight) Charles City Charles River (later York) Elizabeth City Accomack16 As early as the session of 1639-40, the term county seems to have been established. The congestion of population in the Hampton Roads area has brought about recent changes in the counties of Elizabeth City and Warwick. On July 1, 1952, Elizabeth City was merged with the City of Hampton.17 Warwick County on June 10, 1952, first became the City of Warwick,18 and on July 1, 1958, became a part of the City of Newport News.19 Hence the original shires of Elizabeth City and Warwick no longer exist as counties. In 1645, Northumberland County was created. It included that portion of Charles River, or York, County between the Rap- pahannock and Potomac rivers. So from the original eight shires or counties have been created all of the counties of Virginia. NOTES 1 George Percy, "Narrative," in 1 Travels and Works of Captain John Smith (ed., Edward Arber), Ixvi. 2 Samuel M. Bemiss, The Three Charters of the Virginia Company of London, 42. 3 2 Alexander Brown, Genesis of the United Stales, 823. 4 1 Brydon 1. 525 VMHB 162, 297. 6 25 VMHB 412; 1 Brydon 47. 7 1 Philip Alexander Bruce, Institutional History of Virginia in the Seven- teenth Century, 55. 8 Tyier, 201 ff; Charles E. Hatch, Jr., The First Seventeen Years, 32. 9 1 Hening 125. 10 1 Brydon 34. 11Tyier, 211, 230, 236. 12 3 Va. Company, 100. 13 Alexander Brown, First Republic in America, 313. 14 Council, Minutes, 22. 15J//B (1619-59), 3, 16. l6 1 Hening 224. "Acts (1952), 747. ls Ibid., (1952), 1151. l9 Ibid., (1958), 147. 2 ESTABLISHMENT of the DIOCESE of SOUTHERN VIRGINIA THE DIOCESE of Southern Virginia includes within its bounds the oldest established parishes in the western hemisphere. The parishes within The Four Ancient Boroughs or Corporations created by the Virginia Company of London prior to 1614, namely James City, Elizabeth City, City of Henrico and Charles City, sent two representatives each to the first legislative General Assembly in Virginia, held July 30, 1619, and since then they have elected delegates to the General Assembly and to the dio- cesan councils down to the present time. In response to "A Petition of the Clergy of the Protestant Episcopal Church" in Virginia the General Assembly, by an Act of December 22, 1784, granted a charter incorporating the "Protestant Episcopal Church." Under this charter, "the vestry of each parish and their successors forever are hereby made a body corporate and politic, by the name of the minister and vestry of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the parish."1 The adoption of this Act of Incorporation was bitterly fought in the General Assembly, and so much opposition continued that two years later the Act of Incorporation was repealed.2 However, pursuant to the Act of Incorporation there gathered in the Capitol in the City of Richmond on May 18, 1785, a suf- ficient number of clergymen and lay deputies to form a Conven- tion. The Convention remained in session until May 25, 1785, and proceeded with the organization of the Diocese of Virginia. The Convention adopted its canon law and elected clerical and 37 lay deputies to a meeting of the representatives from other states to form a General Convention of the dioceses established in the other states of the Union.3 This Convention did not elect a bishop, and it was not until the next Convention of the Dio- cese of Virginia, held in 1789, that the Reverend David Griffith relinquished his appointment as bishop-elect, and at the Con- vention of 1790 the Reverend James Madison was chosen bishop. He was consecrated in England on September 19, 1790.4 The Diocese of Virginia included the entire Commonwealth, which in those early days embraced the present states of West Virginia and Kentucky. As the pioneers crossed the mountains and pushed westward in search of new land, the Church followed its people. The task of episcopal visitation, with distances to be traveled and with primitive modes of transportation, became more difficult each year. At the Convention of the Diocese of Virginia which met in 1842, after the death of Bishop Moore, Bishop Meade asked for an assistant. At this time the first recorded proposal for the di- vision of the Diocese was made. A committee was appointed to consider this request for a division. The committee reported that it was inexpedient to divide the Diocese at that time, and recommended the election of an assistant bishop. The Conven- tion then proceeded to the election of an assistant bishop, which resulted in the choice of the Rev. John Johns to be assistant bishop. He was consecrated in 1842.5 The next movement to consider the division of the Diocese took place in 1866. A committee was appointed, but did not report until the meeting of the Council in 1867. The committee was equally divided as to whether relief should be given by a division of the Diocese or by the election of an assistant bishop. The report and resolutions were re-committed to the committee, and the committee finally reported that in their judgment a di- vision might hereafter be required by the wants of the Church, but that since such division must originate with some part of the Diocese desiring a separate organization and since this would involve considerable delay, they recommended the election of an assistant bishop to supply the immediate demand for addi- 38 tional Episcopalian services. The report was adopted and the Reverend F. M. Whittle was elected to be assistant bishop of the Diocese.6 No further steps looking to the division of the Diocese were taken until the Council met in 1876, just after the death of Bishop Johns. At that Council, Bishop Whittle presented the ac- tion of the Convocation of West Virginia praying for the divi- sion of the Diocese so as to establish the Diocese of West Vir- ginia by its state lines. At this same Council, the clerical and lay delegates from that portion of the Diocese of Virginia lying south of the James River met to take into consideration the propriety of dividing the Diocese so as to set apart that section into a new diocese. The Bishop was directed to call a conference of the clergy and laity within the limits of the State of West Virginia to ascertain the facts concerning such a division, and to report to the next Council such facts as would enable the Council to act with understanding on the subject. The petition for the division of the area south of the James River was like- wise referred to a committee to report at the next Council.7 The Council which met in 1877 gave its consent to the es- tablishment of the Diocese of West Virginia. Bishop Whittle likewise gave his consent. The General Convention which met in October, 1877, gave its consent to the division, and thus the Diocese of West Virginia was created.8 The committee to whom was referred the subject of the divi- sion by the line of the James River reported in favor of grant- ing the petition and erecting a new diocese in the territory desig- nated. The resolution giving effect to the recommendation of the committee was defeated on the floor of the Council.9 The question of the division of the Diocese did not come again to the attention of the Council until 1890. Bishop Whittle, in his address to the Council, recommended that a committee be appointed to consider the question of dividing the Diocese of Virginia into two or three dioceses and to report to the next Council. The committee reported to the Council in 1891 in favor of the division. After much consideration, it was resolved by a large 39 majority that it was expedient to divide the Diocese, but there was such variety of opinion as to the proper line of division that the matter was referred back to the committee to report to the next Council. At the meeting of the Council in 1892 the committee's report in favor of a division was adopted with a minor change, and it was decided that the new diocese would be composed of the following counties: Accomack Chesterfield Lee Roanoke Alleghany Craig Lunenburg Rockbridge Amelia Cumberland Mecklenburg Russell Amherst Dickenson Montgomery Scott Appomattox Dinwiddie Nansemond Smyth Augusta Elizabeth City Nelson Southampton Bath Floyd Norfolk Surry Bedford Franklin Northampton Sussex Bland Giles Nottoway Tazewell Botetourt Grayson Patrick Warwick Brunswick Greensville Pittsylvania Washington Buchanan Halifax Powhatan Wise Buckingham Henry Prince Edward Wythe Campbell Highland Prince George York10 Carroll Isle of Wight Princess Anne Charlotte James City Pulaski Bishop Whittle gave his consent to the division which had been unanimously adopted by the Council. The General Con- vention, which met in October, 1892, gave its consent to the creation of the new diocese. This completed the canonical re- quirements, and it only remained for the new diocese to be or- ganized. The Primary Council met in St. Paul's Church, Lynch- burg, on November 23, 1892, and at that meeting the Diocese was duly organized under the name of the Diocese of Southern Virginia. The Right Reverend F. M. Whittle exercised his right of choice and declared he would remain as Bishop of the Dio- cese of Virginia, and the Right Reverend Alfred Magill Ran- dolph, assistant bishop, also exercising his choice, became the bishop of the new diocese." 40 The new diocese prospered and grew in strength. It was not until 1918 that the need for a division of the Diocese was again brought to the attention of the Council. In May, 1919, the necessary canonical steps were taken and a division of the Dio- cese of Southern Virginia was agreed upon. Proper presentation was made to the General Convention which was held in Detroit, Michigan, in October, 1919, and approval was received for the establishment of a new diocese to be composed of thirty-two counties in the western portion of the Diocese of Southern Vir- ginia, as follows: Alleghany Campbell Henry Rockbridge Amherst Carroll Highland Russell Augusta Craig Lee Scott Bath Dickenson Montgomery Smyth Bedford Floyd Nelson Tazewell Bland Franklin Patrick Washington Botetourt Giles Pulaski Wise Buchanan Grayson Roanoke Wythe12 The Primary Council met in St. John's Church, Roanoke, on December 10, 1919, to organize the new diocese. Bishop Bev- eriey D. Tucker and Bishop Arthur C. Thompson (bishop co- adjutor) announced their respective decisions to remain with the Diocese of Southern Virginia. The Primary Council chose the name "Diocese of Southwestern Virginia," adopted its Con- stitution and Canons, and elected the Reverend Robert Carter Jett as its first bishop.13 The organization of the Diocese was complete. The Commonwealth of Virginia now had three dio- ceses to care for the needs of its people. The present Diocese of Southern Virginia includes the follow- ing counties: Accomack Cumberland Mecklenburg Prince George Amelia Dinwiddie Nansemond Surry Appomattox Greensville Northampton Sussex Brunswick Halifax Nottoway Southampton Buckingham Isle of Wight Pittsylvania York Chesterfield James City Powhatan Charlotte Lunenburg Prince Edward 41 Four former counties within the diocese no longer exist as such. Elizabeth City County has been merged with the City of Newport News; Warwick County became the City of Warwick and has now been merged into the City of Hampton; Norfolk County has merged with the City of South Norfolk to form (in 1963) the new City of Chesapeake; and Princess Anne County has become (also in 1963) the City of Virginia Beach. It is interesting to note that the Diocese of Southern Virginia contains counties from each of the original shires or counties. York County is the only one from the shire of Charles River, later York County. Five came from Henrico County, and eleven from Charles City County. All of the counties which stem from the original counties of Elizabeth City, Warwick, Accomack, Isle of Wight and James City are within the Diocese of South- ern Virginia. NOTES 1 11 Hening 532. 2 12 Hening 266. 3 Hawks 3. •t Ibid., 26, 30. 5DV (1842), 15-18. 6 Ibid. (1867), 45-49. 7 Ibid. (1876), 55-57, 79-80. ^Ibid. (1877), 60. sibid. (1877), 56-57. ^Ibid. (1892), 50, 56-59. ^DSV (1892), 20, 21. ^DSV (1919), 69; DSWV (1919), 15. 13 DSWV (1919), 22. 42 (to be continued)