SURVIVING GRAVESTONES AT
TRINITY CHURCH,
PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIAFrom the Inventory of Marshall Wingfield Butt
With Added Material By Dean Burgess: Trinity Church Historian
Portsmouth, Virginia 2000.Continuation.
[21] STONE 30
On a flat white stone facing east: "Sarah Young died the 23rd of February 1801, age 36 years. Her son William Young died 30 July, 1803, aged 5 years."
On a flat white stone facing east: "Sacred to the memory of Ann J. Reynolds, late wife of Captain William Reynolds who departed this life December 17th, 1800, age 19 years. Mild spirit rest and weight the maker's will, then rise unchanged and be an angel still."
Captain Reynolds is listed among the tithables of Portsmouth in 1798.
Stone 32 is a modern white stone facing west duplicating the damaged original (stone 33):
"In remembrance of John Luke, son of Isaac and Rachel, who was born April 15, 1759, and
departed this life December 18, 1779.
On a flat white stone facing east: "To the memory of Samuel Livingston who departed this life April 3rd, 1829, aged 57 years."
The following appeared in [23] the paper on the day of his death: "His friends and acquaintances are invited to attend his funeral, without further notice. The corpse, it is expected, will reach Trinity Church, Portsmouth, THIS DAY about 12 o'clock." Without refrigeration, interment was not delayed. The article also tells us he died " . . . at his residence about three miles from Portsmouth." It was probably in Gosport.
On a flat white stone facing east: "Sacred to the memory of Martha Livingston, daughter of Samuel and Margaret Livingston, born March 6th, 1795, died October 9th, 1866. The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants, and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate."
On a flat white stone facing east: "In memory of Mrs. Margaret Livingston who departed this life on the 25th of January, 1828, in the 59th year of her age. Sincerely lamented by a numerous circle of relatives and friends."
Margaret was listed among the tithables in 1798, and her property was purchased in 1826 as part of an expansion of the shipyard.
[24] STONE 37
On a gray stone facing east
Marshall Butt has read this
inscription: "Here lies the
body of William Tiguer, son
of Judith Tiguer who
departed this life the 6th
day of August, 1775, aged
one year," but I believe
the name should be Tigner.
On a red stone facing east:
"Here lies the remains of
William Broun
(probably Brown)
son of John Broun
and Elizabeth, his wife,
who departed this life
November 22nd, 1771,
aged 2 years and two months.
On a flat white stone facing east: "Sacred to the memory of Mrs. Caty Webb, consort of Captain John Webb, who departed this life on the 9th of May, 1820, aged 46 years 10 months and 12 days. Here rests from all the scenes of troubled life a once fond mother and a loving wife. Faithful and just to all her friends on earth, they mourn her absence and departed worth."
Captain George Webb is among the tithables in 1798. They lived on Crabb Street in what is described as the " . . . healthy part of town."
In her obituary she is called "Catherine" and it says: "She has left a husband and eleven [25] children.
Two years after her death, her daughter, also Catherine, was married to Charles Boush at Trinity by the Rev. Mr. Wingfield the elder.
STONE 40
On a gray stone facing west:
"Here lies the remains of Sus. Lello,
wife of John Lello
who departed this life
the 26th day . . . 1775."John Lello was identified as the
"town cordwayner" when he bought
a lot at the corner of Middle and County
Street on St. James Square in 1770.
On a white stone facing east:
"Sacred to the memory of
Mary, daughter of George and Cary Webb,
who departed this life
on the 10th day of September, 1814,
aged 15 years."For her mother's grave
see stone 39.
[26] STONE 42
"Here lies the remains of
Henry Brown who departed this
life May the 7th 1782 aged 46 years."
He lives on St. James Square at the corner
of Middle and County Streets and is called
a mariner of Norfolk County.
Portsmouth was, throughout the period
of burials at Trinity, the county seat
of Norfolk County (one of the
oldest counties in America) and itself a part of it.
"Sacred to the memory of Eliza Ann H. Webb, wife of George Y. Webb, who departed this life on the morning of the 8th of September 1830, age 26 and 4 months. As a dutiful wife dutiful and affectionate, As a mother kind and indulgent."
"Ann McRea Bain, consort of Jno. McRea, died May 29, 1881, aged 77 years." She died long after her first husband, but was buried here, presumably with him long after Trinity Churchyard was closed to burials. Her second husband is buried in the new walled public burial ground at North Street and Effingham.
This is the first of several McRea burials. Captain John McRea was a well known sea captain in the trade described by Foreman in his papers. There were many small shipyards along the Elizabeth River. In each a captain would build a ship and sail it to the Caribbean, where he would sell it, buy rum, import the rum to America, sell it at a great profit (because Americans drank much more than they do today, mainly in the form of rum), take part of the proceeds as profit and use the rest to build another ship. Captain McRea's handsome house survives in the last block of London Street before it reaches the river, between Crawford and Water Streets on Water Row. Tours of Portsmouth say he died at sea, but his obituary in the library clearly says he died in his home on London Street. His grave, however, is no longer marked. He came to Portsmouth originally from Alexandria. In 1822 he married Ann Doggett who lies in this grave, the daughter of Captain William Doggett of Portsmouth. The Doggetts lived on Middle Street, Foreman tells us.
Indiana B. McRea
Wife of Lieut. John H. Parker, U.S. N.
Died June 7, 1858.
Aged 33 years.Rev. Wingfield, the elder, officiated at their marriage in 1845 when Lieut. Parker was an officer on a ship of the line in the shipyard. It is curious she would want to be buried under her maiden name.
Sacred to the memory of
Eliz'th M. Adams
Born Sept. 2, 1802.
Died May 2, 1863.
Beneath
this silent marble
are deposited the remains of
James Berkhead McRea
infant son of Capt. John W.
and Ann McRea,
who departed this life on
the 27th day of October
1824, aged 1 yr 4 mo &
11 days.
[30] STONE 48
"Fanny Stark Southgate
(presumably born) October 6th,
1801 . . . "Butt notes that none
of the Southgate burials here
appear in the church records.
They may have been moved
here from a family plot.
"Bolling Stark Southgate,
obt. May 13, 1810.
AE 2 years and 11 months.
'Of such is the Kingdom of Heaven.'"
[31] STONE 50
"Sarah Eliza Southgate
died May 24th, 1806,
Aged 11 months 25 days.
'Of such is the Kingdom of Heaven.'"
(Here lies) the (remains) of Hebee . . . Jones, who departed this life April 4, 1779." This stone is now missing.
"Here lies Ann Randolph, wife of Charles Randolph, who departed this life Sept 7th, Aged 30 years, 1779." She died during the occupation of the city by the British Army. We know the soldiers of this army worshiped at Trinity at this time.
"Mrs. Eliza Gray
Departed this life
April the 14th, 1825,
in the 59th years of her age."
She died at the home of Mordicae Cooks.
Her obituary says, " . . . a lady highly respected and esteemed by all who [32] had the pleasure of her acquaintance. She was affable and conciliating in her manners, amiable and benevolent in her disposition; and these endearing qualities were irradiated by the effulgence of a superior intelligence."
STONE 54
"Here rests
the mortal remains
of the late
Mrs. Ann Pinkham
who died on the 17th of Jan'y
1820
Aged 63 years.
The deceased was a native of England
and relict of the late Capt. Elisha Pinkham of Nantucket, Mass.
Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord,
even so saith the Spirit
for they rest from their labors.
Also, the mortal remains Mrs. Ann Pinkham,
wife of Mr. Henry Pinkham,
who departed this life 5th October 1821, AK. 29."
STONE 55
The foot stone to the previous: "Mrs. A. P."
The Frith Monument. West Side: "In Memory of Edward Frith (rest of inscription not legible). East Side: "Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man Cometh.' St. Matthew 24:44. In Memory of Mary W. Frith wife of Edward Frith, who departed this life 28th of Dec. 1820 Aged 36 years. The dec'd was long a member of the Episcopal Communion, & few indeed have given such evidence of the good effects resulting therefrom."
Edward Frith must be related to Captain Tudor Frith who came to Portsmouth from Nansemond County in 1802.
Although Portsmouth was British Army headquarters in Virginia through much of the American Revolution, the British troops are known to have worshiped at Trinity (based on references to it in the Hessian diaries) and many of its citizens were Tories, even more took up the cause of the new nation and served with distinction in that cause.
STONE 57
"Here rests the mortal remains of Willis Wilson, Esq., late Colonel of the 5th Regiment of Artillery, who departed this life 11th Sept 1798 aged 50 years. He was many years a respectable magistrate for Norfolk County.
Reader, if Patriot worth demands thy tear,
Then stop and pay that honest tribute here.
Here sleeps that clay, the Soul of Wilson fired,
Whom virtue loved and even vice admired.
Manly and generous, he revered the Brave,
The tyrant hated, and disdained the slave.
In virtue's cause, on ruins dangerous brink.
[35] Dauntless he'd speak, what others scarce dared think,
Nor was the milder virtues less his own,
Benevolence made his manly heart her throne.
I've known the tale of Misery reach his ear
And seen (not idly) swell the glist'ning tear,
Thus his departed worth his friends express,
But who can paint his widow's deep distress,
Bereft of all she held most dear in life,
A childless parent and a widowed wife,
To his loved memory she raised this stone,
Which holds his ashes and expects her own."This inscription says it all about this Revolutionary War veteran. There are so many Wilsons in Portsmouth they are almost as difficult to sort out as the Parkers, but all of them were related to John and Thomas who were first purchasers in the town at lot 14 and the other on London Square.
This is a white slab facing east (pictured on the next page).
It is a shame that this important stone is now almost completely unreadable, probably because of constant rubbings.
[36, drawing of stone 57]
[37] Stone 58
"Here rests the mortal remains of Mary Wilkingson, consort of Colonel William Wilkingson, who departed this life July 24, 1807, aged 53 years." This would be the first wife of this Revolutionary War veteran who is listed as "a mariner of Nansemond County." In October 1806 he rented a warehouse in Gosport from Bartholomew Clinch. On August 5th of 1807, less than a month after his wife's death, the Reverend Mr. George Young joined William in marriage with Mrs. Clinch, "relict of the late Bartholomew Clinch," thereby certainly saving on warehouse rent. Rev. Young was the fourth rector of the parish and died in Prince George County, Virginia, in 1811.
"The mortal remains of Jannet Craigdallie lies under this tomb.
She was the daughter of Doctor Hugh Craigdallie and Mary, his wife.
Born Febry 9th, 1774, and departed this life Sept. 6, 1793.Her joyful Soul, triumphant wings her way,
While beckoning angels bid her not delay,
Behold, the youth up to her Saviour flies,
Her eager pinions cleave the yielding skies,
And when alighted on the ethereal plains,
With Christ she lives, with Christ forever reigns."This is one of three burials moved from the garden of a house on the other side of the Gosport Bridge across Crab Creek. The three were disinterred and reburied here to make way for the construction of a foundry to cast ship fittings in the 1820s.
"Here lies the remains of William Thompson,
who was born in Linlithgow, N. Britain
who departed this life
July ye 11, 1773,
aged 40 years."In 1771 he bought half of lot 61 from the baker John Ewing on Middle Street on the Court House Square side. He is listed, as so many in this graveyard are, as a mariner.
Edith Clagett,
wife of the Rev. Reverdy Estill,
January 3, 1880,
aged 26 years.
Barnes Clagett Estill,
their son,
died January 16, 1879,
aged 1 year.The Rev. Mr. Estill became rector of Trinity Church in October 1878. He lost his son in the following year and his wife the year after that. In 1883 he left to become rector of St. Paul's Church, Newport, Kentucky.
STONE 62
"Here lies the remains of Ben Dale Thompson, son of Isaac Thompson and Wilson who departed this life on xx July 1779 in the 7th year of his age.
A set of miscellaneous bills of Isaac Thompson survive in Portsmouth and Norfolk County Documents running from 1762 through 1812, among them a bill for several "pantaloons." These Thompsons may be related to Captain John Thompson who wa a warden of Trinity, a veteran of the War of 1812 and built what is now the Washington Reed house on the corner of North and Middle Streets. John Thompson also built the Hill House, now owned by the Portsmouth Historical Society, and open for tours, for his adopted son John Thompson Hill. [39] John Thompson is buried in Cedar Grove. Isaac was clerk to William Dickson, of whom much more later.
STONE 63
"Here lies the remains of Capt. Thomas Bowers Dickinson, who departed this life 25th April 1785, aged 36 years."
This stone does not appear on the map because I could not find it. It may be the square piece of white marble by the path beside the church. This stone is blank on the side now facing up, but may have an inscription on its underside.
"Sacred to the memory of Thomas M. Hill
who departed this life March 29, 1815,
in the 59th year of his age."In 1783 Thomas Hill was a member of the Trustees of the Town of Portsmouth: something analogous to the town council.
"In memory of William Cottle,
son of William and Mary Cottle
of Homes Hole, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts,
who was killed by accident
on board ship Concord, in James River,
March 23, 1820,
aged 23 years, month and 13 days.Our friend, our son, our only child is dead,
Strangers, while you walk this grave around,
And view the sculptured stone and rising mound
[40] Let the soft sigh of sorrow languish here,
and Pity's eyelids flow with great [grief?] sincere."
This may have been the burial which caused the Vestry in 1821 to say: "Resolved, that in future no stranger shall be deposited in said burying ground without the particular permission of at least two members of the Vestry of said Parish . . . "A foot stone, inscribed "R. M." for Rebecca Morgan (stone 66).
In memory of Rebecca Morgan
consort of Captain L. Morgan,
who departed this life
June 24th, 1813,
aged 22 years.Captain Morgan was a Revolutionary War veteran and is listed as
of the Rifle Company stationed at Fort Nelson for the War of 1812
as well, known in Virginia as "The Norfolk War." When the fort
was dismantled, granite stones from it were used to repair the
north wall of Trinity Church.
[41] "In memory of
Edward Linscott
of the U. S. Navy,
a native of Massachusetts,
who departed this life
May 25th, 1827,
aged 50 years.The best of husbands and the parent kind,
Under this clod doth lie confined
Waiting for the final judgment day, I trust,
To rise again and stand among the just."
In 1820 we know he was at the Shipyard, as he appears among the "sick" there. His obituary describes him as a "Boatswain" in the U. S. Navy and that he was on the frigate Essex ". . . in the brilliant cruise of that ship in the Pacific Ocean, during the late war under the command of Com. Porter, which terminated by her capture by the Phoebe frigate and the Cherub sloop of war off the port of Valpariaso. In the action Mr. Linscott was distinguished for his good conduct, and at its close most grievously wounded by an explosion of cartridges. . . He was some time after the close of the war transferred to the Gosport Navy Yard . . . He has left a widow and three infant daughters to deplore his loss."STONE 67 B
A foot stone to grave 67, marked "E. L."
"Sacred to the memory of Sarah, the beloved wife of John Dickson, who departed this life Aug. 15 A D 1817, in the 36th year of her age. Also their sons William Henry and John Frederic."
John Dickson and William Dickson were both members of the Vestry of Trinity Church in 1821 and among those renting pews in 1822, one for #20 and one for $30 a year.
John may also be the Captain Jack Dickson whom Foreman tells us operated a restaurant just outside the Shipyard gate in Gosport. William, he said, owned a whole block in Gosport with four brick warehouses, his residence and wharf from which: "I have seen more rum, sugar and molasses landed in one day . . . than you can see in the port now in six months. The whole river was lined with vessels trading to and from foreign ports."
[42] On the south side: "Sacred to the memory of our revered and beloved parents Henry and Hannah Dickson, also Captn Henry Dickson their second son who was lost at sea." STONE 69 [same as stone 68]
On the east side: "Sacred to the memory of Ann Rowland, daughter of Henry and Hannah Dickson, the beloved wife of George Rowland, who departed this life Oct. 26, AD 1821, in the 35th year of her age. Also their children George William Thomas and infant daughter."
[43] On the north side: "Sacred to the memory of Sarah, the beloved wife of John Dickson, who departed this life August 15, 1817, in the 36th year of her age. Also their sons William Henry and John Frederic."
There may be an inscription on the west side, but if so it is now unreadable.
In 1796 and 1800 Henry Dickson is listed as a Town Trustee and he appears on the Tithables in 1798. He is mentioned in the sale of a plantation on Paradise Creek belonging to Edward Moulson (elsewhere in the churchyard) to settle a deed of trust with William Dickson. On his death in 1811 his property is auctioned at the Market House, which was across Court Street from the church. Among his effects was his "home dwelling and outhouses" on three adjacent lots adjoining the Portsmouth Sugar House commencing at Gosport Bridge and running to "the channel." The bridge across Crab Creek was finished in 1789.
