Book Description

Excerpt from Old Churches, Ministers and Families of Virginia, Vol. 1 of 2 In the fall of 1854, the author, being solicited to furnish some personal reminiscences of the Episcopal Church in Virginia, promised two articles to one of our quarterly Reviews, which have most unexpectedly grown into two octavo volumes. He was led into this enlargement by the further solicitation of friends that he would extend his inquiries into former times; and by the discovery that there were materials, not yet lost to history, of which good use might be made. Besides the recovery of many old vestry-books, or fragments thereof, supposed to have been lost, he has, either by his own researches or those of friends, found interesting materials for his work in a number of the old records of the State, which may yet be seen, though often in a mutilated and mouldering condition, in the Clerk's Offices of various counties. One of these extends back to the year 1632, and refers to acts of a still earlier date, while some approach within a few years of the same. Other documents, of general interest to all, and of special interest to Virginians and their descendants wherever found, have been furnished from old family records and papers, never before used, and which must otherwise soon have perished. The author has also wandered, and not a little, nor in vain, amidst old churches or their ruins and the graveyards around them, and the old family seats. The accounts of these, and the inscriptions taken from them, form an interesting contribution to Virginia history. For nothing will the descendants of the old families of the State be more thankful than for the lists of vestrymen, magistrates, and others, which have been gathered from the earliest records, and by means of which the very localities of their ancestors may be traced. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.