Glebe Episcopal Church

Transition of the1642 Church on the Glebe
a New 1738 Church on Bennetts Creek
Submitted by Larry and Helen Todd
INTRODUCTION
The article in the January issue of the Gazette discussed the origin of Glebe Church in 1642 on a 450 acre land patent donated to the parish to serve as a glebe on which a parsonage and church would be built. The donor, Percival Champion, had made the donation to serve the local population of settlers, many of whom were sponsored by a future colonial governor, Richard Bennett. A large share of the emigrants to the area east of the Nansemond River were Puritans, as was Mr. Bennett.
Mr. Champion disappeared from documented history in 1644, but the glebe and the church lived on to become the Glebe Church we know today. In this issue of our series on the history of Glebe Church we will reveal what is known of the church’s life from the 1642 to the construction of a new brick church on Bennetts Creek.
ANGLICAN OR PURITAN?
In 1624, 18 years prior to the establishment of the church on the glebe, the colony had been declared a royal colony by King James I forcing the Virginia Company to yield its control to royal authority. Then, after King James died in 1625, his son, King Charles I, aimed to prevent in the Virginia Colony the kind of religious and political unrest that eventually did lead to civil war in England. Religious tolerance was less of an issue under the Virginia Company’s management since their main goal was to bring in as many settlers as possible to make the colony work. Consequently, many Puritans and others who were considered religious dissenters in England were tolerated prior to the establishment of the royal colony.
The years surrounding 1642 when the first church was established on the glebe made for a very dynamic period of rising levels of intolerance of non-conformists. Ministers were in notable short supply in the colony; consequently in 1641, Richard Bennett, then a member of the Governor’s Council, sent for Puritan ministers from the New England colonies to be brought to Virginia. It has been recorded that these ministers gained their strongest foothold in Nansemond County where a “flourishing church of 118 members was organized. (The History of Nansemond County by Joseph B Dunn, pg. 19)
When the staunch royalist Sir William Berkeley became colonial governor in 1642, he was ordered by Charles I to oppose any religious nonconformity within Virginia. A House of Burgesses act of 1643 then established a law requiring “the littargie of the Church of England for the administration of the word and sacrament be duly performed according to the Booke of Common Prayer.” Furthermore, all nonconformists were to depart “with all convenience.” (Henings Statutes. http://vagenweb.org/hening/vol01.htm Pg. 241)
PUSH FINALLY COMES TO SHOVE
The relatively large Puritan population in the East Nansemond Parish was just getting their church on the glebe established in 1642 when this act requiring conformity to the Anglican Church was passed. The remoteness of the parish from Jamestown, however, allowed the parishioners to worship more freely as Puritans while ignoring the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. That changed when Rev. Thomas Harrison openly declared himself a Puritan minister.
Of interest, is the fact that Rev. Harrison, formerly Governor Berkeley’s chaplain and notably married to a cousin of Massachusetts Governor Winthrop, came to the the East Parish of Nansemond County in c.1645 to serve the local population who attended church on the glebe. Just prior to serving the East Parish, he served the Elizabeth City Parish and progressively displayed his affinity for the Puritan faith which he had kept under wraps as Berkeley’s chaplain. Rev. Harrison was banished from the colony in 1648 by Gov. Berkeley and was replaced by Rev. William Durand who was also subsequently banished.
The banishment of the ministers was followed by dissolution of the East Nansemond church by Gov. Berkeley as a place of worship while other parishes loyal to the Crown were rewarded with efforts by the colonial leadership to build brick churches. The East Parish, however, remained intact for the purposes of its civil administrative responsibilities. The plight of the non-conformists is well summarized in the History of the Colony and Ancient Commonwealth of Virginia, pg 212…..
“At first their pastor was banished, next their other teachers, then many were confined in prison; next they were generally disarmed, which was a very harsh measure in such a country, where they were surrounded by Indian savages; lastly the non-conformists were put in a condition of banishment that they knew not how in those straits to dispose of themselves.”
An Act of 1647 read….”If any ministers were reported as not reading the Book of Common Prayer, their parishioners need not pay their tithes”….. added further impetus to forcing non-conforming ministers to leave the colony. The resultant diminishing support by parishioners suffering from the economic implications of the act led to further impetus for non-conforming ministers to leave. (Separation of Church and State In Virginia. Citing Hening Statutes Pg 149, 155,159 )
About 300 Puritan settlers left the Lower James River region in 1648-49 along with Richard Bennett who moved to the Severn River area of Maryland where he came to own more land than he owned in Virginia and also gained political power as he had in Virginia. (The Early Relations between Maryland and Virginia. Expulsion of Puritans from Virginia, Pg. 47 ) Ironically after the fall of the English monarchy, Bennett returned to Virginia and was elected colonial governor in 1652 by the House of Burgesses, despite his commitment to Puritanism. His three years of colonial leadership were marked by religious tolerance.
Based on Rev. Harrison’s estimates, more non-conformists remained in the East Nansemond Parish than migrated to Maryland and the parish showed unmistakable indications of Puritanism during the following decade. (Early Puritanism in the Southern and Island Colonies. Pg. 133). A number of prominent Puritans kept their plantations along the James River, including Richard Bennett who also retained his Virginia citizenship.
Records of the parish following dissolution of the church become scarce for the remaining of the 17th century, but long periods of 18th century Vestry Books reflect active parish operations and church ministries. (The Vestry Book of Suffolk Parish 1749-1856). No records of assigned ministers is evident from 1648 until Rev. John Wood is appointed parish minister in 1680.
A DREAM OF A NEW CHURCH BECOMES REALITY
After nearly a century of using the church, the Vestry voted on the 15th of December 1737 on the following motion, “Whereas upon examination and proof of ruinous condition of the church built on the south side Nansemond River in part formerly called the Lower Parish. It was a full vestry held the 16th of May 1737 Resolved and Agreed to build a new brick church at a place called Jordans Mill Hill as more convenient for the people on both sides Nansemond River than the old church was.” (Colonial Churches of Tidewater Virginia, Pg 176-77)
The confusion of dates reflected in the motion is due to a delay resulting from friction between vestrymen from the two component parishes of the Suffolk Parish, the Lower and the Chuckatuck. Edward and Thomas Godwin, vestrymen on the Building Committee from the Chuckatuck Parish, refused to perform their duty or allow others to do so with the hope a delay in the church erection would allow a majority of the vestry to rescind the construction order and make Chuckatuck the parish church.
(Colonial Churches of Tidewater Virginia, Pg 177)
Political differences within the vestry representing the three churches of the entire Suffolk parish were finally overcome through the influence of Richard Bennett, Jr (Gov. Bennett’s nephew), Thomas Tilley and John Yeates. This brought to fruition their years of effort to locate a parish church near the poor farm derived from the 1675 will of Gov. Richard Bennett land.
For several years, Bennett Jr and Tilley had set aside 200 acres of land for a church and a glebe, but were lacking funds to construct the church. Funding of the church construction was resolved by selling 198 acres of the reserved land and dedicating 2 acres on the old highway from Portsmouth and Bennett’s Creek for the new church. The church then became known as Bennett’s Creek Church. “The old ‘horse road’ which was deeply cut into the soil is still evident between the church and the highway and the original spring lies just below the road on the north side of the creek.” (Colonial Churches of Tidewater Virginia, Pg 177).
The Glebe Church we worship in today is the same church built in 1738, although with architectural changes related to periods of deterioration and reconstruction. A future article will discuss the original architecture and alterations when the parish was recovering from disruption of the church’s operation, primarily following the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.
CONCLUSION
As we learn more about Glebe’s history through the efforts of the History Committee, the more we realize the uniqueness of our history among the early colonial churches. The work of the vestry-appointed special committee for Strategic Planning will give us an opportunity to replicate the kind of foresight Bennett, Jr., Tilley and Yeates had when they adapted the parish to changes happening in the community the church serves. Next month the Glebe Church history story will continue with an article by Steve Turner on the deposal of Rev John Agnew in March 1775.
Acknowledgement: Much of the research source material for this article was
generously contributed by John Cross.
Bibliography
Colonial Churches of Tidewater Virginia by George Carrington Mason. Historiographer Diocese of Southern Virginia. Whittet and Shepperson. Richmond Virginia 1945
Early Puritanism in the Southern and Island Colonies by Babette M. Levy. Reprinted from the Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society for April 1960. Worcester, Massachusetts. https://www.americanantiquarian.org/proceedings/44525063.pdf Chapter
The Early Relations between Maryland and Virginia. Chapter II: Expulsion of the Puritans from Virginia. https://www.thearkandthedove.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/The-Early-Relations-Between-Maryland-and-Virginia.pdf
Henings Statutes at Large. Collection of all the Laws of Virginia from the first session of the Legislature, in the Year 1619. By: William Waller Hening. Transcribed for the internet by: Freddie L. Spradlin, Torrance, CA. http://vagenweb.org/hening/vol01.htm)
History of the Colony and Ancient Commonwealth of Virginia.
https://archive.org/details/historyofcolonya00campuoft/page/n4 pg. 210-212, 258. (Discusses the growing intolerance of non-conformists in Nansemond County c.1642
The History of Nansemond County by Joseph B Dunn
The Vestry Book of Suffolk Parish 1749-1856. Hand transcribed copy at Suffolk County Clerks Office, Suffolk, Virginia.
Separation of Church and State In Virginia: A Study in the Development of the RevolutionCornell University. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028784043 (Chapter 9) Virginia State Library. Special Report OF THE Department of Archives and History. H. J. Eckenrode, Archivist RICHMOND: DAVIS BOTTOM, SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC PRINTING, 1910. F V6l… Chapter 9 Citing Hening Statutes Pg 149, 155,159.
1737 VIRGINIA COLONIAL GOVERNOR’S COUNCIL SUPPORT FOR
A NEW BRICK CHURCH AT JORDANS MILL HILL
By Larry and Helen Todd
Introduction
This article deals with the history of how our present Glebe Church building became a reality. Interestingly, it took an action of the Virginia Governor’s Council to overcome local political disputes and obstructions that prevailed on the west and east sides of the Nansemond River. The first part of the article describes details of the history and the second part is a transcription of the original Governor’s Council minutes.
Overview of the History Behind the Council Deliberations
A Virginia Governor’s Council met on 15 December 1737 to deal with the matters related to the West (now St. Johns) and East (now Glebe) Parishes of the combined Suffolk Parish having separate churches on each side of the Nansemond River. Formerly, these parishes were referred to as the Chuckatuck and Lower Parishes, but in 1725 they were united to form the Suffolk Parish which was to be served by one minister. After they were combined they became known as the West and East Parishes, instead of Lower and Chuckatuck. This is confusing history and anyone can be forgiven for inability to keep these names straight, especially for the time period. At this December 1737 Governor’s Council meeting the East and West Parishes were still referred to as Lower and Chuckatuck.
It was duly noted in the May 1737 vestry minutes that the wood frame church at Glebe Point was in ruinous condition. The lack of a safe and sound church building on the east side was requiring the East residents to cross the river to attend church and parish meetings. The vestry of the combined East and West Parishes voted on 16 May 1737 build a brick church at Jordans Mill Hill to replace the wood frame church on Glebe Point.
The deliberations by the Governor’s Council were intended to resolve these disputes between the West and East Parishes as reflected in the 16 May 1737 vestry minutes. Fortunately the Council showed intense sensitivity to the needs of the East Parish for having a safe, usable, and better located church, albeit a “brick” church on the east side. It is important to also understand that in the “political” background was the plan to establish the Town of Suffolk within the county which took several years to accomplish.
The minutes of the Governor’s Council were originally hand written and were transcribed as accurately as possible in the McIlwaine document referenced below. The Mcllwaine reference can be easily accessed in a digital format online, although it still is a very difficult read. This modern transcription for the purposes of this article is done to make the minutes even more readable for general consumption, but with every effort to maintain the intent of the minutes, as originally written.
Despite the complexities of the make-up of the local parishes in colonial times, there is a value in understanding the historical intrigue of how Glebe Church became a reality. It is another chapter is the long unique history of Glebe Church as a colonial church that continues as an active church in the 21st century.
The Governor’s Council Minutes, as transcribed for this article….
At a Council held at the Capitol Dec. 15th 1737
Present
The Governor
Cole Digges John Curtis
John Carter John Taylor &
John Grymes Tho’ Lee Esq
Whereas upon the petition of the Vestry of Chuckatuck Parish and the Lower Parish of Nansemond representing their inability separately to support the charge of maintaining a minister in each of the said parishes or other parochial charges. The Governors pleased to consolidate and unite the said two parishes into one by name of Suffolk Parish and to continue the then vestry men until by death or a removal out of the parish. The said vestrymen should fall Under the number of twelve. And whereas, upon Examination and proof of ruinous condition of the church built upon the south Side of the Nansemond River in that part formerly called the Lower Parish, it was in a full Vestry held on 16th of May 1737 Resolved and Agreed to build a new brick church at a place called Jordans Mill Hill as more convenient for people on both sides the Nansemond River than the old church was and persons were Chosen and authorized by the said Vestry to agree with workmen for building the same. Yet by the combination of some of the persons so entrusted therein refusing to act and Influencing others of the said Vestry to dissent from what was formerly agreed on by them, no progress hath yet been made toward erecting the said church. And whereas, upon humble petition by the minister and church wardens of the said united parish, the Governor was pleased to order all parties concerned to attend the Board this day in order to reach a final determination of the controversies between them touching the building of the said church; and now upon hearing the arguments and allegations of both parties it evidently appears to this Board that the old church on the south side Nansemond River is so much decayed and in such ruinous condition that the people cannot without eminent danger attend the divine worship therein and that the said Order of Vestry for building the New church was a just and reasonable appointment both in respect of the situation and the ease and of the parishioners whose expense will be greatly lessened by applying thereto a considerable donation left for that purpose by John Yates deceased. It is therefore the opinion of this Board and accordingly ordered that the vestry of said united parish do with all convenient speed meet at the lower church of the said parish and take care that their former Order be complied with either by appointing other persons in the room of Mr. Edmund Godding and Thomas Godding Jr (if they refuse still to accept the trust) to be joined with the other trustees heretofore by them named to agree for the speedy erecting the said new church as they will answer their contempt in a matter wherein the Honor of Religion the respect due to His Majesty’s Royal Instructions in this behalf and the safety and conveniences of the parishioners are so greatly concerned. And whereas, it hath been represented to this Board that the said vestry having now got a majority on the north side the said river whereby as is suggested they intend to continue & increase the hardships of said Lower inhabitants which is contrary to that Justice an Equality upon which the consolidation of the two parishes was first established. It is ordered that in the future choice of vestry men none of the upper inhabitants be chosen until there be an equal number of Vestry men on each side of the said Nansemond River and that this Order be entered in the Vestry Book of the said parish.
Bibliography:
Mcllwaine, Executive Journals of Council of Colonial Virginia, IV, (available digitally online) pg 411
Colonial Churches of Tidewater Virginia by George Carrington Mason. pg 177
A Decisive American Revolution Incident at Glebe Church
on Whitsunday, 4 June 1775
Introduction
The American Revolution is considered to have officially begun on 19 April 1775 with the Battles at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts, and is known to have been preceded by several hostile events such as the 1770 Boston Massacre and the 1773 Boston Tea Party. While outright challenges to the Crown had been located more in the northern colonies, concerns by patriots in the Virginia Colony became more evident with the Gunpowder Incident on 21 April 1775 in Williamsburg. Many throughout the colonies maintained their dedication to the Crown, while many other colonists were taking on the role of "Patriot" by expressing desire for freedoms and by participating in rebellious actions.
The parishioners of the Lower Parish of Nansemond County were known to be less appreciative of monarchal control, especially when compared to the residents on the west side of the Nansemond River. The Lower Parish (aka Suffolk Parish after 1725) was located east of the Nansemond River in Virginia where Glebe Church, then known as Bennetts Creek Church, was constructed in 1738. The Lower Parish had been heavily settled in the 1630s by Puritans who had traditionally rejected the monarchy and the Church of England for generations in England. In the late 1640s, the Lower Parish Puritans were forced by the royal governor to leave Virginia or conform to the Anglican religion, the official religion of England and the Virginia Colony. Hundreds of faithful Puritans left the Lower Parish and the Virginia colony, and those who remained accepted the Church of England as their form of worship. Generational memory may well have been a driving force in the rebellion directed at The Reverend John Agnew on Whitsunday 1775.
The Prelude - The Reverend John Agnew becomes the Lower Parish minister
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Born in 1727 in Scotland, John Agnew immigrated to Virginia in 1751 and settled in Nansemond County where it is believed he taught school for two years. During a return trip back to England, he was ordained by the Bishop of London as a deacon on 11 June 1753 and as a minister, six days later on 17 June 1753. On Agnew’s ordination as an Anglican minster, the bishop granted him a license to officiate in Virginia and he soon returned to the Old Dominion. Ordination required meeting the Anglican standards of character, orthodoxy and knowledge, and the taking of oaths of allegiance and canonical obedience to the king and to the Church of England. (Lohrenz, p. 31 and cited from The Fulham Papers, 34:144-45).
The Rev. Agnew was then appointed rector of the Suffolk Parish on 30 April 1754, as reflected in the parish vestry minutes….Order’d that the Rev’d Mr. John Agnew be rec’d (received) minister of our parish in room of the Rev’d Mr. Mackenzie Dec’d (deceased). (Suffolk Parish Vestry Book- 1749-1856) The West or Chuckatuck Church Parish had been previously combined with the East or Bennetts Creek Church Parish to form the Suffolk Parish in 1725. (Lohrenz, p. 31). A third church in the county was in the Upper Parish and located at Reid’s ferry on west side the Nansemond River. Suffolk Parish at the time of Rev. Agnew’s appointment was managed by a joint vestry from the Chuckatuck and Lower Parish churches and the glebe land proceeds were shared by the two churches and managed by the shared minister.
In 1755, Agnew married Teresa Osheal, who is believed to have brought a great deal of wealth and land ownership into the marriage, which by tradition readily transferred to the male partner. They had one son, Stair Agnew, born in 1757.
Rev. Agnew was known in the parish for showing loyalty to the crown, as was required by his ordination vows. Despite the adoption of compacts by the patriots of Nansemond County in 1770 and 1774, Agnew did all he could in his public and private capacities to persuade parishioners to continue firm in their loyalty to the king and mother country. (Lohrenz, p. 37)
The Relationship Between Agnew and His Parishioners becomes increasingly Strained
As tension was growing between loyalists and patriots in Virginia and Nansemond County, the county's Committee of Safety ordered Agnew to attend a session on 6 March 1775 to respond to allegations that he abused the Continental Association from the pulpit and that he was involved in illegal business dealings. Agnew failed to honor the summons and the committee agreed to exhibit him for public censure because those who aimed to frustrate and counteract the aims of the patriots were “enemies of America.” (Note: The Nansemond committee of safety was a local committee of patriots whose purpose was to serve as a shadow government. The Nansemond committee was typical of similar committees that operated throughout the thirteen colonies and were also known as committees of observation, correspondence, or inspection)
Otto Lohrenz observed in his writing that, “asking the public to censure an individual was a call to shun the victim, to break off all social and economic intercourse with him, and thus to isolate and ostracize him completely. In the case of a minister, parishioners were expected to refrain from attending all worship services and to refrain from calling on him for baptisms, weddings, and funerals.” Agnew reported that neighbors and parishioners denied him the “rights of society;” millers refused to grind his corn, and physicians refused to attend to the needs of Mrs. Agnew. He later claimed in his memorial to the claims commissioner of England on 24 March 1784 that while he was attempting to gain recovery of his financial losses in Nansemond County during the Revolutionary War he was branded as an outlaw, was signaled for persecution and pillage, suffered from public notices with most violent threats against his life resulting in desperadoes waylaying and chasing him. He also claimed that mobs surrounded his house at night, shot at his slaves, broke open his doors, threatened to burn his house and insulted his wife. (Lohrenz, p. 39)
DEPOSAL FROM THE MINISTRY - 4 JUNE 1775
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As history has recorded, the Rev. Agnew was not fully appreciated in the Suffolk Parish for his continuing efforts in the early 1770s to encourage allegiance to the crown while some parishioners and vestrymen were getting more involved in efforts to free the colonies from the crown’s rule. And then a very significant event in the history of the Suffolk Parish, as well as the Colony of Virginia and the other 12 colonies, occurred that changed the lives of John, Teresa, and Stair Agnew forever and changed the lives of the Suffolk parishioners as well.
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During the weeks leading up to Whitsunday, 4 June 1775, the Rev. Agnew was calling for the women of the parish to make a special effort to be in church that Sunday. It appears, in retrospect, that he was planning to make a special effort to influence rebellious interests of the men of the parish by presenting a pro-monarchy sermon. His request for the women’s attendance was successful as the church over-filled and a large overflow crowd of men of the parish gathered outside of the church as well, estimated to be a full attendance of 500 parishioners.
The content of the sermon was definitely of the expected pro-monarchy nature in which he called for the citizenry to “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s…..” Almost unimaginable drama evolved during the sermon when Major William Cowper, parish magistrate and vestryman, approached the pulpit demanding Agnew to cease and desist from proceeding with the sermon. Agnew responded with “I am doing my master’s business.” And Cowper retorted, “Which master? Your Master in heaven or your Master over the seas? You must leave this church or I will use force.” Agnew responded that he would “never be the cause of breeding riot in his Master’s house.”
Then, Agnew did leave the pulpit, left the church through the minister’s door, boarded his carriage and departed from the church after 21 years of service as minister for the parish. (Note: The date for the deposal event is often recorded as March 1775 and sometimes as being on a Wednesday. The variation in reported dates of the Whitsunday removal from the pulpit is due to variation in the use of the Julian and Gregorian calendars and the confusion with the 6 March 1775 Committee of Safety censure.)
Agnew later reported to the British claims commission in 1784 that following the 4 June 1775 event, the church windows and doors were then nailed up and and armed guards guarded the church during services to prevent loyal and well disposed from assembling together in worship. At a meeting on 8 September 1775, vestrymen complained that Agnew had “neglected to officiate” in the parish churches for three months and ordered the church wardens to find a clergyman to preach. (Lohrenz, p. 40)
Rev. Agnew never again entered the church he had served for over 20 years. He joined the Canadian forces and was later taken prisoner by the French. Major William Cowper, popular for his patriotic stand for the Revolution was elected to the Virginia Constitutional Convention in 1776.
As the Revolution rapidly evolved in Virginia, The Battle Of Great Bridge was fought on 9 December 1775 and Norfolk was burned on 1 January 1776. British military leaders were well aware of the Parson Agnew's deposal from his role as minister at Bennetts Creek Church and the Lower Parish's prevalent disloyalty to the Crown. It became necessary to cease holding services and parish meetings at the church and the church facilities were known to be in a severe state of disrepair by 1812. The church didn't return to service until the 1850s.
Agnew had received news of Mrs. Agnew being ill while he was imprisoned in Williamsburg and by the compassionate intercession of Richard Bland he was allowed to visit her where he found his property and crops had been destroyed, his slaves gone, and the glebe rented out. (Lohrenz, p. 42, citing Agnew’s memorial to the British claims Commission, 24 March 1784)
After five months of imprisonment and trials, the Virginia Committee of Safety observed that Agnew had failed to procure the necessary securities for future good conduct that was required in his sentence so he then proposed the conveyance of his lands and slaves as a security for good behavior, which the board accepted. (Lohrenz, p. 43) ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
The Epilogue - Reverend Agnew Sought and was awarded Protection by Governor Dunmore and the British Military - November 1775
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In Agnew’s testimony to the British claims commission in 1784, he expressed that he felt “obliged, for self-preservation, to seek protection with Dunmore” who as loyalist colonial governor had taken refuge on British ships buoyed in the waters between Portsmouth and Norfolk in early June as he recruited a small loyalist army. Many of his recruits were African American slaves and freedmen who he became known as the Ethiopian Regiment.
Agnew claimed to have given assistance to Dunmore with intelligence information. (Lohrenz, p. 40). Stair Agnew accepted appointment as an ensign in a loyalist unit that became the Queens Rangers on 1 December 1775. On 8 December 1775 Dunmore was defeated by the colonists at Great Bridge which led to the confinement of Dunmore’s party, including Agnew and his son, to naval vessels.
During the time since Agnew had joined with Dunmore, Teresa Agnew had remained at home with friends, but on about 1 February 1776 she delivered provisions to the British fleet. On her departure after the delivery, Agnew joined her for a short distance when soldiers of the Second Virginia Regiment ambushed and seized him. The Nansemond Court of Commissioners then imprisoned him and tried and convicted him on 30 March 1776 for “conduct inimical to the liberties of America.” On 9 April 1776, Agnew appealed this sentence to the Virginia committee on safety in Williamsburg. With evidence presented by the Nansemond Court and the parish vestry the board reversed and annulled the sentence. The committee ordered his estate be restored to him and ordered he enter into a bond of 1000 pounds with two securities. Agnew made a claim to the Virginia committee of safety that the trial had been illegal because three military officers “sat” with the five Nansemond Commissioners and dominated the proceedings. (Lohrenz, p. 42)
On 1 January 1778, Agnew was appointed chaplain to the Queen's Rangers. His salary was £120 per annum which was increased by £50 on 5 January 1780 based on a plea by he and other chaplains. On 19 February 1781, when serving a chaplain on the H.M.S. Romulus and destined for the Chesapeake, Agnew and his son, Stair, were captured when the French forces overtook the Romulus. Agnew later reported that the French forces confined him to a ship in the Newport, Rhode Island harbor where General Washington (whom Agnew claimed he had known since 1757) refused his request for release contending that he was too dangerous for the cause of France and America. Following imprisonment on the Hermione at Newport and temporary holding in Santo Domingo on 20 July 1781, Rev. Agnew and his son were imprisoned at St. Malo, France for 20 additional months. (Note: Stair Agnew's military career, when serving as a captain in the corps, was ended when he suffered serious hip wounds at the Battle of Brandywine Creek on 11 September 1777.)
In response to a 1 July 1783 British War Claims Commission, Agnew related his story of his revolution experiences and filed for compensation for his personal losses due to the war, including his loss of rector's salary and use of the glebe land, the loss of thirty-six slaves, four Nansemond County plantations (of 101, 450, 150, and 72 acres), three dwelling houses and outbuildings. He also filed compensation for three corner lots in Portsmouth, a tavern lot, a warehouse lot, a wharf lot with a strong log wharf, four dwellings and a warehouse. Included in hs petition was land in North Carolina, forty cows, sixty sheep, much poultry, hogs and her horses. After extensive negotiation and determination that Agnew's claims were highly inflated, the commissioners reduced his request for compensation to £7000 sterling. (Lohrenz p. 53-56)
Following the war, Agnew and his son, Stair, became significant landowners via land grants near Fredericton, New Brunswick and provided a much needed ferry service at the confluence of the Saint Johns and Nashwaak Rivers. The Reverend died in 1812 at the age of 85.
References:
Impassioned Virginia Loyalist and New Brunswick Pioneer: The Reverend John Agnew. By Otto Lohrenz. Anglican And Episcopal History, Vol. 7, No. 1Essays in American Episcopal History: Colonial, Revolutionary, and National Periods (March 2007), PP29-60. Published by Historical Society of the Episcopal Church.
Researched and written by Larry and Helen Todd, co-chairs of the Glebe Church History Committee with the dedicated assistance of John Franklin Cross. This information updates previous research and writing by Steve Turner, former member of the Glebe Church History Committee and Vestryman

GLEBE CHURCH’S ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY 1738 TO 1856
Submitted by Larry and Helen Todd and John Cross
Introduction
Every now and then someone asks the very good and insightful question about what Glebe Church looked like in the past. A good place to start the discussion is with a copy of the floor plan for the 1759 addition of the north wing. (shown in Figure 1) It is somewhat helpful that the 1759 floor plan includes the original church floor plan, but with alterations to accommodate the north wing. For all to see, a copy of the 1759 floor plan is hanging on the wall in the lobby of Keener Hall. This blueprint has appeared in several colonial church history books including the authoritative Colonial Churches of Tidewater Virginia by George Carrington Mason in 1945.
In this article we will discuss the details of the church as it looked after the 1759
north wing addition and especially as it looked on the day Rev. John Agnew was challenged by magistrate and vestryman William Cowper to cease delivering a sermon by which he was calling for loyalty to the crown. We will begin, however, by discussing the original design of the 1738 church based on norms in the colony for Anglican church design in colonial times and and the 1759 plan.
The 1738 Church (then known as Bennetts Creek Church)
In an effort to replace the deteriorated wood structure church on the Glebe farm, the vestry voted in 1737 to build a new brick church at Jordan’s Mill Hill on the bank of Bennetts Creek, Glebe Church’s present building. No time was wasted to get the church built as it was finished an opened in 1738, which had to be a major feat by the parish. As we’ve discussed in previous articles, Richard Bennett, Jr (Governor Richard Bennett’s nephew, and Thomas Tilley, a local landowner, made the new church possible after almost two decades of efforts on behalf of the parish.
Highways were slowly replacing waterways for travel and the church was built on 2 acres along Nansemond Parkway, then Kings Highway, which was one of the major colonial roads that connected Portsmouth and Edenton, NC. Wood frame churches were being replaced by brick structures in the colony and they consistently complied with the ecclesiastical requirements of the Church of England, which mandated that churches be oriented on the long axis east to west with the chancel in the east end. (Colonial Churches of Tidewater Virginia, pg x) Glebe Church’s Georgian architecture is consistent with many of the early 18th century colonial churches. (Virginia’s Colonial Churches: An Architectural Guide pg 3-4) The original church’s roof may have been higher and steeper and the roof gable ends may have been clipped which was commonly done at the time in a Queen Anne style.
Glebe Church today retains its original 1738 footprint of 48ft-6 in long and 25ft-4in feet wide, likely the smallest in the colony. With the chancel and altar located on the east end, the main entry door for the congregation was on the west end with a connecting walkway to a wharf on Bennetts Creek. An additional door was located near the chancel on the south side for primary use by the minister. There were three windows on the north side and two on the south. A window on the east end overlooked the chancel. Due to the church’s small size the doorways and windows had plain relieving arches, unlike the elaborate pedimented doorways which were typical of the period. The walls were constructed of brick laid in a Flemish bond pattern and with glazed headers. An English bond pattern was and is present below the bevelled water table. (Virginia’s Colonial Churches: An Architectural Guide pg 148)
When one sits in the church pews today, understanding the 1738 floor plan simply requires an understanding that the chancel would have been behind you and the pews would be facing in the opposite direction. And, of course, entry would have been made through the door where the altar is today and the minister’s door on the south wall has been replaced by a window.
Like Glebe Church, rural colonial Virginia churches had a notable lack of bell towers since they were usually built near waterways on which the parishioners were traveling to attend church, therefore bell towers served no purpose. Conversely, churches built in more dense communities had bell towers to use for calling the parishioners to worship. (Anglican Virginia: The Established Church of the Old Dominion 1607-1786. Pg 62-63)
A 1759 North Wing Addition Reflects Parish Population Growth
Just 21 years after the 1738 church was built, the vestry voted on July 13, 1759 to accommodate population growth with a north wing addition. The vestry order read as follows, "13 July 1759 Vestry meeting at the “Lower Church”, “Addition to the said church viz. a Brick Piece to the North side of the upper end 25 X 23. On the East side pews leaving a alley 5 feet wide. Trustees to agree with the workmen are Anthony Holladay, Jonathan Godwin, James Pugh, James Riddick, Allen Groves and Edward Wright. Rev. John Agnew attending.”
This addition extended into the area where the present church office building is located and had a door on the north side. Figure 1 shows the 1759 floor plan including the gallery over the addition. As can be seen in the floor plan, galleries also existed over the west end of the church and over the chancel on the south side with an outdoor staircase. Mason makes the point that such galleries were often devoted to use by schoolboys of the parish.
The pews, known as double pews, were 5X9 feet on each side of the aisle which was one of the more common designs in the colony. (Holy Things and Profane pg 177)
The galleries and additional floor level pew space likely was more than double the seating allowance in the present church.
Although the exact location of the pulpit in the original 1738 church can only be surmised, it likely was to the left of the chancel area on the north wall. With the addition it moved to the intersection of the addition and the pre-existing north wall where the minister could address the entire congregation, albeit with some physical pivoting.
A Visualization of the Church the Day in 1775 when Rev. John Agnew was escorted from the pulpit and the church by Magistrate and Vestryman William Cowper…..
One of the purposes of this article is to show the church as it appeared on the day Rev. John Agnew was asked to step down from the pulpit for his “Render onto Caesar….” sermon intended to mobilize parish loyalty to the crown. The floor plan shows the pulpit where he would have been giving his sermon and the short distance he had to walk to the minister’s doorway on the south wall and to his carriage which likely was parked close to the minister’s entrance. Descriptions of the church that day have indicated there were 500 parishioners present, which would have filled the pews and galleries. In fact, descriptions have indicated the outside of the church was surrounded by an overflow crowd of men.
Conclusion
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Hopefully, this article helps the reader to visualize the original Glebe Church, the 1759 addition, and the scene on the day Rev. John Agnew was deposed after 21 years as parish minister. There is a tendency when contemplating history to picture a historic event in the physical setting as it appears today. However, history can be more fully appreciated if we have a concept of what the scene looked like at the time of the event.
The church was relatively inactive after the Revolutionary War when the Anglican Church was officially rejected for its association with the crown. During that long period, the church deteriorated, resulting in the loss of the roof and the entire 1759 addition. In 1856, the church was restored with a new roof, but without the 1759 north wing. Significant changes were made such as movement of the chancel to the west end of the church, the entrance door to the east end, and the congregation facing the altar on the west as it is today. Reversal of the altar location is another example of the rejection of the Church of England influence that had prevailed on the colonial churches for almost 200 years.
References
Colonial Churches of Tidewater Virginia. George Carrington Mason. Whittet and Shepperson, Richmond, Virginia. 1945
Anglican Virginia: The Established Church of the Old Dominion 1607-1786
Arthur Pierce Middleton. 1954. Colonial Williamsburg Library Research Report Series - 0006 Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Library. Williamsburg, Virginia. 1990
Virginia’s Colonial Churches: An Architectural Guide. James Scott Rawlings. Garrett and Massie 1963
(Holy Things and Profane: Anglican Parish Churches in Colonial Virginia. Dell Upton. Yale University Press. 1997

Glebe Church’s 1759 Floor plan showing the North Wing Addition