Legends of Loudoun: An account of the history and homes of a border county of Virginia's Northern NeckWilliams, Harrison
History
Legends of Loudoun: An account of the history and homes of a border county of Virginia's Northern Neck
Williams, Harrison
Historic buildings -- Virginia -- Loudoun County; Loudoun County (Va.) -- History
"it has been represented to this present General Assembly, that the
Vestries of the parish of Antrim, in the County of Halifax; of the
parish of Cameron in the County of Loudoun; of the parish of Bath, in
the County of Dinwiddie; and of the parish of Saint-Patrick, in the
County of Prince Edward, have been guilty of arbitrary and illegal
practices to the great oppression of the inhabitants of said parishes
... and the inhabitants of said parishes have respectively petitioned
this Assembly that the said vestries may be dissolved;"[88]
[88] 7 Hening, 301.
the Legislature thereupon dissolved the vestries named, their future
acts were "declared utterly void to all intents and purposes whatsoever"
and the freeholders and housekeepers of the respective parishes
authorized to meet, on notice, and "elect twelve of the most able &
discreet persons of the said parishes respectively to be vestrymen of
the same." So far was the Legislature willing to go; but the orthodox
rulers of Virginia did not for a moment propose to turn over control of
the vestries in the dissatisfied parishes to a dissenting element; there
was a further provision that should any vestrymen dissent from the
communion of the Church of England and join "themselves to a dissenting
congregation, and yet continue to act as vestrymen" they should be
displaced.
During the ensuing ten years Loudoun's population grew rapidly and a
parish extending from Difficult Run to the Blue Ridge covered so much
territory that it made it difficult for a vestry, chosen from different
parts of the parish, to assemble frequently for business. The project of
dividing Cameron was the subject of a petition to the Legislature in
1769 but because of opposition and disagreement the division was not
made until June, 1770, when an act was passed creating a new parish
beyond Goose Creek and running to the Blue Ridge.[89] It was given the
name of Shelburne in compliment to the British statesman William
Petty-FitzMaurice, Lord Shelburne.
[89] 8 Hening, 425.
This contemplated division of Cameron had repercussions in the relations
between that parish and its mother parish Truro. The new Shelburne would
take from Cameron many of its tithables or taxpayers and suggested
intensive study of its remaining economic resources. In November, 1766,
or twenty-eight years after the creation of Cameron, the Legislature
passed an act empowering Truro's vestry to sell its parish Glebe and
church plate and divide the proceeds between Truro and Cameron; while
three years later, in the act creating Shelburne, it was provided that
as the Cameron Glebe was then located inconveniently, the latter's
vestry was authorized to sell it and use the proceeds "toward purchasing
a more convenient glebe, and erecting buildings thereon, for the use and
benefit of the minister of the said parish of Cameron, for the time
being, forever."[90]
[90] 8 Hening, 202.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account