The Bulletin of the Loudoun County Historical Society, Volume IV, 1965Various
History
The Bulletin of the Loudoun County Historical Society, Volume IV, 1965
Various
Loudoun County (Va.) -- History
The Potts’ or Gap Meeting to which Staunton alludes, was held at
Hillsboro and was a meeting held under Fairfax. It was a constant source
of disputation and trouble to its Monthly Meeting, delegations often
being sent to try to straighten things out with the Potts and Janneys of
that section, but to no avail; for instance, Fairfax minutes report in
1761—“As Friends of Goose Creek and Friends of the Gap have not attended
business meetings—this meeting appoints Mary Janney, Rachel
Hollingsworth and Sara Janney to visit (them) to excite them to more
diligence.” In 1765 “—if any disorder appear this meeting appoints David
Potts to supervise.” Still in 1765 “—this meeting takes no note of the
great deficiencies of the Gap Friends in several particulars—” Meetings
were held in the home of David Williams until finally the Gap Meeting
came through with a meeting house, as this minute from Goose Creek
testifies: “Friends of the Gap reporting that they have built a house
for the conveniency of holding their meetings in, and got it now nearly
ready, this meeting concurs with their proposal in 1770 of holding it
therein accordingly.” The land was two acres conveyed by Mahlon Hough to
Stephen Gray, Isaac Nichols, Jr., Thomas Smith and William Hough, “to
permit Such People Called Quakers to erect a Meeting House, Schools,
Yard and Place of Burial.” In 1804 it is noted that the Gap Meeting is
small and in 1805 it is laid down. Sic transit mundi.
South Fork Meeting was another meeting which did not long survive,
despite the observation of the traveling minister John Comly in 1829
that it was strong and healthy. Yardley Taylor states that the meeting
was active in 1853. A later minister reported that all they thought
about was cock fighting and horse raceing. South Fork’s “worldiness”
caused “concern” for its members “drank to excess,” “fought, gambled”,
“took to horse raceing,” and “were lax morally.” This meeting was laid
down shortly after the Civil War, and the administration of its
graveyard on a small budget has been a head ache to Goose Creek Meeting
ever since.
In 1757, while the Goose Creek Meeting was bursting out of its log
meeting house, the county of Loudoun was formed from Fairfax. The
trustees acted quickly. “On the 31st day of August, in the year of our
Lord one thousand seven hundred and fifty-seven, between William Hatcher
of the County of Loudoun and Colony of Virginia, planter of one part,
and Issac Nichols, Jacob Janney and Thomas Clows, of the said county,
planters of the other part, for five shillings sterling, together with
all trees, woods, underwoods, ways, paths, waters, watercourse,
easments, profits, commodities, advantages, emoluments, hereditaments,
rights, members and appurtentences whatsoever to the same
belonging”—were handed over to the said Nichols, Janney and Close for
one year in consideration of “one pepper corn in and upon the feast of
St. Michael the Archangel if demanded.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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