Davenport's Presbyterian Meetinghouse

Receive our blog posts in your email by filling out the form at the bottom of this page.

Much has been written here and elsewhere about the impact and legacy of Samuel Davies on Virginia Presbyterianism. After a 12-year ministry in Hanover County and surrounding parts, Davies left Virginia to assume the office of President of the College of New Jersey at in 1759 (he died at Princeton two years later). He had much occasion before his departure, however, to spend time in Williamsburg, Virginia, then the capital of the colony, in order to obtain his license to preach as a dissenter from the General Court, among other matters, and because his second wife was the daughter of the former mayor of Williamsburg.

George Davenport’s Presbyterian Meetinghouse at Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.

It was on June 17, 1765 that a group of seventeen men petitioned the Court for permission to maintain a place of worship for dissenting Presbyterians at the home of George Davenport (d. 1766), who was a respected clerk for legislative committees at the House of Burgesses. That Presbyterian Meetinghouse, along with Davenport’s home and related buildings, has been restored as an historical landmark at Colonial Williamsburg.

Courtesy of Rich Brown.

Our friend Rich Brown recently brought Davenport’s Presbyterian Meetinghouse to mind. This place of worship was the only place one could meet for worship as a dissenter in Williamsburg prior to the American War of Independence in a district dominated by Bruton Parish Church (Anglican). Stephen Nichols on the 5 Minutes in Church History podcast has a segment titled “17 in 1765” which tells the story of how this important landmark in the history of religious freedom developed. Whereas the birthplace of Samuel Davies, as we have noted before, is in a state of great disrepair, we are thankful that Colonial Williamsburg has seen fit to restore and maintain this historical site, the Davenport Presbyterian Meetinghouse for today’s generation to remember a key time and place from the past in the history of Virginia Presbyterianism.

Interior signage at the Davenport Presbyterian Meetinghouse (courtesy of Rich Brown).

Davenport did not live long after approval for his house of worship was granted. His wife Catherine continued to maintain the property, and the congregation, though without a regular pastor, continued with preaching by various Presbyterian ministers, including (in 1767), the notable James Waddel. See more about George Davenport at his page on Log College Press, and if you are in the area of Colonial Williamsburg, be sure to check out the Presbyterian Meetinghouse, the Davenport House, the Davenport Stable, the Davenport Kitchen and the Davenport Stable, and consider the legacy that endures.

Click here to join the Dead Presbyterians Society

Friday Funny

Eleanor Butler Roosevelt (née Alexander) (1888-1960) was the wife of Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. (1887-1944) and the great-grandchild of Archibald Alexander (1772-1851) and Janetta Alexander (née Waddel) (1782-1852). Janetta's father was the famed Blind Preacher of Virginia, James Waddel (1739-1805). 

Eleanor Roosevelt wrote a 1959 book titled Day Before Yesterday: The Reminiscences of Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. in which she recounted an anecdote from the courtship of Archibald Alexander and Janetta Waddel. 

"When he asked for her hand in marriage her father said, 'There is something I think I should tell you about Janetta's suitability as the wife of a clergyman. While her Latin is excellent and her Greek good, her Hebrew leaves much to be desired."
 

The Sermons of Moses Hoge are on the Log College Press website

ne of the early preachers of the American Presbyterian church was Moses Hoge, a student under William Graham and later James Waddel. He became the President of Hampden-Sydney College in 1807, and helped lay the foundation for Union Theological Seminary in Virginia. His sermons were renowned for their eloquence and erudition. Here are the first ten sermons in this volume (there are twenty-two more!):

Ministerial Piety - 1 Corinthians 9:21. 
The Demonstration of the Spirit - 1 Corinthians 2:4
Mysteries of Redemption - 1 Peter 1:12. 
The Origin of Sin - Romans 5:19
The Carnal Mind - Romans 8:6
The Gospel Worthy of all Acceptation - 1 Timothy 1:15
Glorying in the Cross - Galatians 6:14
Cordial Faith - Romans 10:10
Purifying Hope - 1 John 3:3
The Excellence of things Unseen and Eternal - II Corinthians 4:18

The preaching of 19th century American Presbyterians was often more textual and topical than what we understand as expositional preaching today. They would take a verse or snippet of a verse, explain its meaning in its immediate context, and then unpack and apply that meaning to their people from many different angles. Each sermon is more of what we would think of as an in-depth theological study of a particular topic, but they were never merely for theology's sake. Rather, the goal was the conversion of the lost, and the transformation of the found, through the knowledge of the truth. Download this volume today to go back in time to the pews of an early 19th-century father of American Presbyterianism.

The Sermons of Moses Hoge are Worth 15 Minutes of Your Day

The preaching of 19th century American Presbyterians was more textual and topical than what we understand as expositional preaching today. They would take a verse or snippet of a verse, explain its meaning in its immediate context, and then unpack and apply that meaning to their people from many different angles. Each sermon is more of what we would think of as an in-depth theological study of a particular topic, but they were never merely for theology's sake. Rather, the goal was conversion of the lost, and transformation of the found, through the knowledge of the truth. 

One of the early preachers of the American Presbyterian church was Moses Hoge, a student under William Graham and later James Waddel. He became the President of Hampden-Sydney College in 1807, and helped lay the foundation for Union Theological Seminary in Virginia. His sermons were renowned for their eloquence and erudition, and are found here.