PAGE 4-E
St. Paul’s Parish Established In 1701
This parish organized
under the first Vestry Act, in
1701, has one of the oldest
charters in the state and is
the second oldest church
building. A plaque on the side
of the building reads “This
building begun 1736 and first
used in 1760, is the third
church of St. Paul’s Parish -
Chowan Precinct, Edenton.
The first, A. D. 1701-2, stood a
mile hence on the sound side.
It was the first church
building in North Carolina.
The second was built in A. D.
1708 D. R. 1910.” In 1949, fire
destroyed the steeple, roof
galaries, and the old organ. A
restoration has brought back
all the old charm of the in
terior and we again have an
ideal village church.
Saint Paul’s Church, in
Edenton, was begun in 1736,
replacing a wooden building
of earlier date. Like the
Zeal Energy Os 3 Young Girls Founded Church
St. Anne’s owes its
beginning to the zeal and
energy of three young girls,
converts to the faith and
graduates of St. Joseph’s
Academy, Emmitsburg, Md.
In the spring of 1857 these
three girls, Mary Elizabeth
Jones, her sister, Louisa
Matilda Jones, and Elizabeth
Moore, began to dream of a
Catholic Church in their home
town of Edenton, North
Carolina. There were no
more than a dozen Catholics
counting children at the time,
and a priest came once a year
to offer Mass and administer
the Sacraments. With no
money but much faith the
girls set out to remove the
mountains of
discouragement, resistance
and lack of funds for such a
project. When the idea of a
Church of their own was
presented to the visiting
missionary priest, Father
Grogan, he dismissed it as
being not only fantastic but
impossible. From her father,
John M. Jones, Sr., the
youngest of the three, Mary
Elizabeth, obtained the first
donation of 100 dollars along
with the title to beautiful
piece of property in the best
section of town for the new
church. This young apostle,
Mary Elizabeth, set out for
Baltimore to enlist the aid of
Archbishop Kenrick, who had
been her spiritual director
since her conversion. The
words of the good Archbishop
deserve to be recorded, for
they strengthened the heart
of the little apostle that was
all but bursting with zeal. As
he handed her a 20 dollar gold
piece, the archbishop said,
“Go with my bundant
blessing my child; you will
succeed with the help of
God.” He then gave her a
personal letter granting her
permission to beg and asking
the Catholics of Baltimore to
be generous to the little North
Carolina begger. Away she
went from door to door until
in the course of several weeks
she had covered the entire
city receiving more insults
than money. Mary Elizabeth
returned home to Edenton
with over five hundred
dollars. Father Grogan,
amazed and pleased with the
progress, helped to get the
building under way, but
fearful of debt, he insisted on
a pay-as-you-go policy—when
the money ran out, the work
was to stop. The girls then set
out in earnest to keep the
money coming in as fast as
the building progressed.
Appeals were mailed to
every Bishop and Priest
listed in the Catholic
Directory, including a few in
other countries, such as
Father Faber in England and
even the great Cardinal
Antonelli. Besides writing
begging letters, one of the
girls helped increase the
treasury by teaching music,
while another did her part by
translating French works into
English and thus made a
valuable constribution to the
literary world.
The cornerstone of St.
Anne’s was laid on the Feast
of St. Anne, July 26, 1857.
Bishop Lynch of Charleston
preached an eloquent sermon
on the occasion to an
audience composed mostly of
Protestant friends and
relatives of the few Catholics
in the community The girls
continued their efforts and
their prayers that God would
Bless them with success.
When the treasury ran low,
they would kneel among the
shavings and hand-made
VioHn's Woods
The perfect resonance of a
fine violin is attributed to
the wood used in its making.
The silver fir of Europe is
sycamore is used for the
church in Bath, it remained
unfinished for quite a while
after its construction was,
commenced.
Among the contributors
towards its erection were the
Lords Proprietors of
Carolina, who gave two
hundred pounds sterling.
This parish has had a
longer unbroken existence
than any other in the state,
its history long antedating the
erection of the present
building.
Its first vestrymen—who
were also the first ever ap
pointed in the colony—were
His Excellency Henderson
Walker, Governor; the
Honorable Thomas Pollock,
President of the Provincial
Council, and later Governor
pro tempore; William
Dunkinfield, a Justice of the
General Court and a brother
of Sir Robert Dunkinfield,
bricks, imploring help from
God. Help came and the
building continued. Finally
the missionary pastor,
Father Rogan, seeing that the
faith of the young girls had
literally moved mountains,
decided to give them his full
support. Going north among
his friends, he was able to
collect $1,500 dollars to
complete the building. The
total cost was $5,654.00. The
Bishop of Charleston came to
preach at the dedication and
offer the first Mass in the
church on the Feast of St.
Anne, July 26th, 1858.
The tiny mission began to
flourish from the start.
Twenty-seven converts were
received into the church
before the Civil War came on
and forced the members to
flee. The building became the
barracks of soldiers. The
furnishings were stolen or
auctioned among them. The
church fell into disrepair
from lack of use in several
years. Later, through the
efforts of Father John Rilly,
pastor of St. Paul’s Church in
New Bern, N.C., the
mission of St. Anne’s was
revived and restored.
Through the generosity of the
Wozelka family, who had
moved to Edenton around
1878, the building was
■ SHOP D& M
I. N, S. at the 1
your Super
INDEPENDENT 1
NEIGHBORHOOD l« l
! v " 1 1 store Market
flffi DELIVERY EVERY DAY ON ORDERS
OK JJ.M OR WORE
“HEY, DID YOU KNOW
EDENTON’S HAVING
A PARTY?”
Mean To
| Celebrate
Their 250th
Birthday?”
r “Yes, And A
Party Means
* Good Food”
“Where Do They Get It?”
“AT 0&M, OF COURSE!”
The staff as D A M Soper Market tekes this oppor
tunity to seluto the people of Edenton, many of
whom ere our valued customers, on this 250th
Birthday occasion ... we look forward to sharing
with you even greeter accomplishments during
the years ahead. And, it is our plodgo to you, to
continue to provide you, as wo always have with
the best service, the best grocery lines end in an
old-fashioned, courteous end friendly manner.
ran shop d& m
/. W, S. 1,1
STOt i IYEvUTavi
Baronet; Nicholas Crisp;
Edward Smithwick, a
member of the Assembly of
the Province; John Blount, a
Justice of the General Court;
James Long; Nathaniel
Chevin, member of the
Provincial Countil; William
Benbury; Colonel William
Wilkinson, an eminent at
torney; Captain Thomas
Leuten and Captain Thomas
Blount.
These vestrymen (who
were all colonists of the first
consequence in their day and
generation) effected an
organization on December 15,
1701, by electing Colonel
Wilkinson and Captain
Leuten church wardens, and
Mr. Chevin clerk of the
vestry.
Measurements of the
present building are as
follows: nave length, 60 feet;
nave width, 40 feet and 3
repaired and the present
windows were installed.
In 1937 bishop McGuinness
appointed Father Edward
Gross first resident Paoior of
St. Anne’s. The parish had
grown through the arrival of
several new families, "he
McGuires, a most devout
family, helped much to
maintain the faith during the
lean years before a priest
could be spared foi Edenton.
The amily having died out,
they rest in peace in the
churchyard cemetery. The
Habit families also helped to
swell the numbers and held
on to their faith during those
difficult years. The
descendants of the Habit
brothers are well known and
respected in the town and still
make up a large part of the
resident congregation. When
Father Gross came the
rectory addition was added to
the church. He was suc
ceeded in turn by Father
Arthur Racette, ather f. J.
McCourt, Father John
Beshel, Father F. Smith,
Father C. Hill, Father M.
Mulkern and Father J. Klaus,
and Joseph Lash. Under the
pastorate of Father Smith
considerable improvements
and repairs were made to the
Church. Present pastor is
Robert L. Willsen.
TWO-FIVE-O EDITION EDENTON, NORTH CAROLINA
inches, nave height, sides 20
feet: dimensions of bricks,
2' 2 by 4by B>2 inches. Saint
Paul’s floor was tiled and
"intra-mural” burials were
allowed.
The oldest possessions of
St. Paul’s Church are its
book of vestry minutes going
back to 1701, and a silver
chalice and paten. Ten Lira
of the cost of this silver was
given by Governor Francis
Nicholson of Virginia; yet
they are inscribed “The Gift
of Colonell Edward Mosely
for ye of ye Church in
Edenton in the year 1725.”
There is a silver tankard
(made before the Revolution)
presented by Mrs. Mary
Harvey Granberry in 1833. A
slightly later piece was given
for an alms basin, it is in
scribed “Presented with the
Cushions & Hangings by the
Ladies of the Prot. Epis.
Church in Edenton, 1812.” A
pewter chalice, probably
about a hundred years old, is
machine-made, an older
pewter paten, hand-made,
probably came from
England. A pair of silver
plated vases, mentioned
above, commemorate the
Rev. Charles Parkman’s
ordination to the priesthood in
1852. A pair of silver-plated
alms basins were presented
by Mr. C. F. Greenwood in
1898.
Most of the Revolutionary
leaders in this section were
members of Saint Paul’s
Church—Joseph Hewes, who
signed the Declaration of
Independence; James
Iredell, later a Justice of the
first Supreme Court of the
United States; Samuel
Johnson, first Senator from
A Rededication
AS WE ENTER OUR sth YEAR OF
SERVICE TO CHOWAN COUNTY
As we begin our sth year of service to Edenton and
Chowan County ... we wont to express our gratitude and
appreciation to the many families we have served ... and
| we pledge anew to meet the future with on even greater
| determination to ossist every family, regardless of their
financial means in the fulfillment of their every need. I
i I
The people of COLONIAL FUNERAL HOME are
YOUR friends ... and are dedicated to the service of
I our community... and we extend sincere best wishes to all |
the citizens of Edenton on this momentous occasion . . .
YOUR 250th BIRTHDAY
Colonial Jfuneral Home i
300 SEAT CHAPEL S 2 SEAT FAMILY ROOM
2 ACRE ALL WEATHER PARKING CASKET DISPLAY ROOM |
| 482-4486
1 “TNUUGHTFUI SYMPATHETIC SERVICES Tl FAMILIES IF EVERY FAITI”
HWY.32N. nonwuu.
i i
North Carolina and one of the
earliest Governors of the new
state; and many more.
The rector, “Parson" Earl,
presided at the meeting
which elected delegates tp the
Provincial Congress in 1774
and urged that people defeat
England's economic warfare
by improving the quality and
quantity of their own
manufactures.
His vestry, on June 19,1776,
signed what they called the
Test, professing their
allegiance to the King and
constitutional government ,
and for that reason protesting
against unfair taxes, unjust
meddling in the colonial
government, and any other
infraction of the rights of free
people. They even engaged to
support all the actions of the
provincial and Continental
Congresses. That was fifteen
days before the signing of the
Declaration of Independence.
The graves' of Colonial
Governors; Henderson
Walker, Thomas Pollock, and
Charles Eden, for whom the
town is named, are in the
Churchyard; together with
many prominent in Colonial
days and later.
Saint Paul’s' Church and
Churchyard are open daily
from eight to five with
regular services conducted as
scheduled. The parish is
active and flourishing. The
Rector’s study hours are nine
£o twelve, Monday through
Friday and visitors are
cordially invited to the Parish
House on Gale Street to ee
exhibited items.
The parish history, chur
chyard chart, burial ecords
and photographs re available
for a nominal fee.
sycecgiSf r./pwL- 1 1
”
Edenton
Construction
Company
Edenton, North Carolina 27932
Best Wishes To Edenton
On Your 250th Birthday
Well Do Our Best To Keep You Growing.
RESIDENTIAL
COMMERCIAL
INDUSTRIAL
Phone 482-3315
N. C. GENERAL CONTRACTORS LIC. 17M
THURSDAY, JUNE 8, 1972