A brief review of our church’s history, based on….

Key questions to consider…

• Has the church always been small? If so, why? (geography, politics, economic development, etc.)

• Think about the relationship between the Presbyterians and the Episcopalians…. If many of the first wardens and vestrymen were dissenters ( not devout Anglicans), wouldn’t they have mostly transferred their loyalty to a Presbyterian church? Who was left?

• What individuals and families have been most responsible for the growth and survival of this church?

• What important events and political context framed the church’s history?

Timeline leading to the Botetourt Parish

• 1738 – decision by the House of Burgesses to allow non-Anglicans into the western territory…to provide a buffer against the French and Indians.

• 1740’s - flood of eager landowners • 1748 – Augusta County established ( Staunton, county seat)• 1754 – 1763 - French and Indian War• 1763 – King’s Proclamation• 1764-1770 - continued uncertainty over land claims• 1770 – Botetourt County is formed…Fincastle becomes county seat…

Duties of the wardens and the vestry…

Of tithes and taxes…

Processioners…Surveyors?

• With the demise of Fincastle County on December 31, 1776, Botetourt Parish was split into four parishes to conform with the boundaries of the counties of Botetourt, Montgomery, Washington, and Kentucky, formed January 1, 1777.

More questions than answers about the Established Church building….

After the death of Rev. Smyth…

Diocese of Virginia in decline…

The sad state of the church during this period is reflected inthe records of the annual General Convention of the Diocesewhich shows that attendance steadily declined from a high of 101 in 1785 to a low of 16 in 1813.

Presbyterians petition to erect a church

Title to land for a new church building…

Some things we know, and some things we’re not so sure about…

In 1956, Tiffany’s declared it to be from the time of George II.

In 2011, Bob Miller, of Ken Farmer Auctions, concluded that it was from the Victorian era

New life and vitality in the 1960s…

Work to be done….

1) Seek information from church families2) Seek information from other churches3) Gather copies of other histories relating to Botetourt Co.4) Other???