CHAPTER XX Life and Customs. I. RELIGION. The first permanent English settlement in America, was begun by Church of England men, and during the age of religious intolerance and persecution throughout the Christian world. Lord Baltimore, a Catholic nobleman, came to Virginia to seat a colony but upon being presented with the "oath of allegiance and supremacy" to the Church of England, he refused, and made the settlement in Maryland. Until about the date of the Revolutionary War, the Church of England controlled the colony. Many of the first acts of assembly relate to provision for that church. It was required by law that in every settlement in which the people met to worship God, a house should be appointed for that purpose. Glebe lands were laid off and the country divided into parishes, and the minister's salary provided for from the best (sweet scented) tobacco, and corn. By an act of the Assembly, 1623-4 it was decreed. “That no man dispose of any of his tobacco before the minister be satisfied, upon pain of forfeiture double his part of the ministers means, and one man of every plantation to collect his means of the first and best tobacco and corn." Penalties were imposed for absence during divine service on Sunday, without sufficient excuse, and a clause was added forbidding profanation of that day by traveling or work. The compulsory payment of ministers was abandoned about 1658, though no act of religious freedom was passed until the legislature of 1785 passed an act establishing religious freedom, and subsequently repealed all laws which recognized the "Protestant Episcopal Church" as the legal establishment. The glebe lands, and all other church property, was then vested in the overseer of the poor for charitable purposes, re serving only to the living incumbents an estate for life, and exempting the church buildings from confiscation. There are many of the old colonial churches yet standing throughout Tidewater Virginia. They are nearly all of the same style of architecture, substantially built of brick, the mortar between which appears to be nearly as solid and lasting as the brick itself. The Baptists are now the most numerous religious sect in Tidewater Virginia. The Methodists are the next in numbers. The Church of England has now a comparative few adherents in that section. The Baptists were said to be very loyal during the Revolutionary War. They tendered the services of their ministers in promoting the enlistment of the youth of their religious persuasion, and were prominent in efforts to secure religious freedom. They sent many petitions to the legislature of their State, asking for religious freedom, amongst which is the following in verse: "To the Honorable General Assembly " "Now liberty is all the plan, The chief pursuit of every man Whose heart is right, and fills the mouth "May a poor bard, from bushes sprung, "Hark! for awhile your business stop; "What say great Washington and Lee? 'Tis all one voice-they all agree, The heavenly blessing freely give, "Make vice and folly your rod, But leave our consciences to God; Leave each man free to choose his form Of piety, nor at him frown. "And he who minds the Civil law, No man is wrong'd but he alone." The first Baptist church of the colony was at Burley, Isle of Wight County, in 1714. In many of the counties, imprisonment was inflicted upon the ministers of this sect almost up to the date of the Revolution. A notable instance was the imprisonment of Rev. John Waller forty-six days in the jail at Urbanna, a town established by law in 1705, in Middlesex County. Rev. John Waller was the first Baptist preacher in that county. He was born in Spottsylvania County in 1741, and in early youth was said to be addicted to every species of wickedness, and was known as "Swearing Jack Waller," and the "Devil's Adjutant." His conversion was brought about through the meekness of a resident of his native county, who was tried and convicted for preaching the Baptist faith, by a jury of which Mr. Waller was a member. In 1773, Mr. Waller removed to South Carolina where he died in 1802. Religious intolerance is a memory only of the long past in Tidewater Virginia, as elsewhere generally throughout the world. The quiet of country life is more conducive to morality and to the greater reverence for religion than is usually found in the city life. The evening talks of the assembled family around the country fireside make lasting impressions upon the youthful listeners, and tends to strengthen their morals against temptations which future years may bring before them. Religious worship entails self-denial of worldly things. When it is conducted in the open field, or in the forest, there is an added air of sanctity and sincerity which partakes less of the machine worship held in the gilded cathedral of the city where cushioned seats, and many other comforts abound, and fashion displays its best models. The groves were Gods first temples. Ere man learned To hew the shaft, and lay the architrave, And spread the roof above them-ere he framed The lofty vault, to gather and roll back, The sound of anthems; in the darkling wood; Amid the cool and silence, he knelt down, And offered to the Mightiest solemn thanks There are three camp meeting grounds in the "Northern Neck" peninsula. Two of them belong to the Baptists. The one named "Kirkland," in honor of a deceased beloved minister named "Kirk," is distant from Heathsville, the county seat of Northumberland, about one and one-half miles. It is situated on a well-drained knoll, in a grove of oak, hickory, chestnut and maple trees. The "tents" are built of wood, two stories in height, fancifully and tastefully designed, and arranged in blocks, or squares with space for walks, or streets" between each square. The Tabernacle, constructed of wood, in the form of a square, is open upon all sides, and contains comfortable pine benches. The camp is in the midst of a dense forest which is reached through by-roads, and is beyond the sight of a public highway, or dwelling place, and far from all sounds excepting those of primitive nature. The "Katy Dids" enliven the scene in the summer's eve by their soft rasping melodies, and the squirrels build their nests in the trees, and scamper through the grounds in the daylight to gather their winter's store of acorns, which in the season are plentifully distributed over the land. Solemnity is added to the prayers of the congregation by the hooting owl, which sits perched upon some monarch of the forest whose limbs are so paralyzed as to shed their bark, and afford a firm foothold for this bird of solemn voice. During the moonlight nights, the sweet notes of the wild mocking birds are chanted heavenward from the neighboring forests in unison with the fervent hymns of the congregation. "Marvin Grove," the camp of the Methodists, is located in Richmond County, distant from Warsaw, the county seat of justice, fourteen or fifteen miles, and is also within a dense forest. It is located upon one side of a main road, on the ridge, or backbone, of this peninsula, in what is locally known as the "Forest" or "Quinton Oak." Before the Civil War, this was the principal section in which the less wealthy inhabitants were located, and where the greater number of Old Field Schools were found. The main public roads of this section are not deeply worn by constant travel. For many miles in some directions, they resemble "Indian trails" through the woods, and are as quiet, silent, and lonely for succeeding days as when the aboriginal Indian softly trod |