Brief Historical Sketch of the
Tomahawk Presbyterian Church
Edited by William D. Moore, CLP
2004
Two
hundred and fifty years ago
Just
what time the tide reached
Dr.
James R. Graham in his book, THE PLANING OF PRESBYERIANISM IN THE NORTHERN NECK
OF VIRGINIA, speaking of Back Creek says.. " The valley is very beautiful,
and early attracted the emigrants who were seeking homes; many choosing the
smooth lands along this creek in preference to the strong limestone land in the
Valley between the
During
the French and Indian War - 1754 to 1763 - the settlers were so harassed by the
Indians that a large part of them crossed the
But
many years before the migratory movement began, the settlers who were largely
of the Presbyterian lineage and faith had established a church in their own
valley. Dr. William H. Foote, a church historian, places the organization of
the Back Creek Presbyterian Church at about 1740 - 1745, although this can not
be confirmed.
Some of the old records of Donegal Presbytery,
which included this territory, are lost and the name of the church does not
appear in the existing records until 1760. There is a gap of about fifteen years
when church records of this area from that Presbytery are lost.
Quoting
Dr. James Graham again, … " In April 1760, Rev. John Hoge is ordered to
supply Back Creek:" For the next nine years Presbytery furnished this
church repeatedly with supplies [ ministers ] in connection with Tuscarora or
Falling Waters. In October 1770, Rev. Hugh Vance, who had just been licensed,
was laid before Presbytery from Back Creek and Falling Waters to become their
Pastor." He seems to have been installed and continued as Pastor for more
than twenty years, until his death in 1791.
During
Mr. Vance’s pastorate, Back Creek church must have been one of the strongest in
the county, as will appear from the following entry in the diary of a certain
Mr. Fifthian: "Sunday, June 18, 1775, over the
Then
the area was thrown into the tumult of the Great War of Independence from
During
the years of struggle of sacrifice the church continued on, but records are
lost to antiquity and not much is known --- except that the church survived. It
appears that ministers of Falling Waters and Tuscarora were preaching at Back
Creek but not as the established pastor.
On
to the scene comes the person of the Rev. James Brown. He came to
With
true missionary spirit, he found time to minister to the people of the
The
Rev. Payton Harrison, who was Pastor of the Martinsburg church from 1837 until
1844, supplied the pulpit at Back Creek for a while. His name appears as the
moderator and clerk of Session for one year , 1838- 1839.
From 1846 to 1859 the Rev. James H.
Jennings was Pastor at Back Creek, also Bloomery. His name is signed to all
Sessional records during that time. Henry Kitchen was for a while the only
Elder; Jacob Siler was elected elder in 1851 and after the death of Mr.
Kitchen, Robert Wood was elected Elder in 1858.
During that time period the members
received were: Eli Siler, Miss Hannah Stuckey, Mrs. Elizabeth Jennings, James
M. Kitchen, Robert Wood, Misses Susan and Mary Snodgrass, Mrs. Julia Richards,
Mrs. Maria Stuckey, Philip Murphy, Mrs. Lucinda V. Tabb, Miss Hannah Helen
Snodgrass, Is. Wood, Peter Hess and Nancy Hess his wife.
Up
until this time Mr. Jennings was the only resident pastor the church ever had.
At all other periods when it had a pastor, it was grouped with Falling Waters
or Tuscarora or both and the Pastor lived east of the mountain.
Work
had begun on replacing the old log building as early as 1830. Records show
several receipts being given for work on the building.
" Rec’d Sept. 24th 1830 of
Robert V. Snodgrass four dollars and 50 cents, the amount of my account for
hauling sand and lime for the use of the Back Creek new meeting house. - Signed
Jacob Myers "
" Rec’d Sept. 23rd 1830 of
Robert V. Snodgrass on the behalf of the subscribers to the finishing of the
Back Creek new Meeting house, forty dollars and thirty to and half cents, being
the amount in full of my account for plastering said meeting house. - Signed
Robert Halbert "
" Rec’d May 23rd 1831 of Robert
V. Snodgrass six dollars and fifty cents the balance in full for the time
furnished for the Back Creek new Meeting house - Signed Charles Stuckey "
" Back Creek Meeting
House"
Memorandum of agreement made
concluded and entered into by and between James Robinson ( of Isl.) and Robert
V. Snodgrass, a committee acting by and on behalf of the Community of the Back
Creek Meeting House of the one part - and -
Robert Halbert ( late of Carlisle )
of the other part - Witness that for and in consideration of the compensation
herein after mentioned - he the said Robert Halbert hath agreed, and hereby
binds himself to plaister the inside of the said Meeting House & to
commence forth with and as soon as the materials are ready - at the rate of 12
½ cts per square yard, he to put in the studing, strps between the rafters,
curve pieces at the angles - board and tends himself - erect scaffles, and all other
fixings that are necessary, and warrant the work to be done in a good workman
like manner and if there should be any complaint about the goodness of the work
to suffer the same to be judged by competent workman and sumbit to be curtailed
in his price according to the judgment of said competent person, for which
consideration they the said James Robinson ( of Isl.) and Robert V. Snodgrass
as Committee as aforesaid, hereby bind themselves to pay said Robert Halbert
the said sum of 12 ½ cents the square yard to be measured when the work is
completed & also One Dollar as additional for the extra trouble of the
curve pieces and studing $ to all which agreement the parties hereto, have
hereunto interchangeable set their hands and append their seals this 22nd day of
August 1830
James Robinson- seal / Robert V.
Snodgrass - seal / Robert Halbert - seal
On the back is written: Halbert’s
Obligation
Apparently there were other
plasterer’s in the community and other proposal was given:
" Mr. Thomas Croney proposal
for plastering & lathing Meeting House.
To wit - Plastering - lathing )
& if required will rive lathe 20 cents per square yard.
All materials to be found him on the
ground - he scaffles - puts up stud and strips -
He will do plastering and lathing or
if boarded and attended for half the sum - that is 10 cents per square yard.
Mr. Croney says it will take some
3,000 lathes & 20 lbs lathing nails & some other common nails to put up
studing - 70 bushels of Back Creek lime and 16 bushels marble lime for white
coating - 40 bushels of hair.
3000 lathes 150 cts the co to make
it $1.00
70 bushes of lime at 10 Cts 7.00
25 nails - 12 ½ cents 3.12
40 bushels of hair 5.00
240 sqr yards - 20 cts per yard
48.00
Hauling 12.87
Total $80.00
1000 lathes will lime 50 yards
Would wish to commence the work as
soon as possible as he is done with [ other job ] which in all probability will
be 1st June but he would like to lath it before it is done. If this work is not
contracted for before harvest, it will not suit him to do it before sometime
this season. "
Mr. Halbert won the contract. The
paper reads:
The Plaistering of the Meeting House
Mr.
Robert Halbert gives a price of $31.77 ½. He will undertake to Plaister the
Meeting House and commence as soon as the material can be furnished - at the
rate of 12 cents per square yard - he to put in the studing strips & curve
pieces - erect scaffles, tend to and board himself - and warrant the work to be
done in a good and workman like manner.
We
subscribers hereto, bind ourselves and our heirs to pay the several sums
attached to our names and to create a fund to be expended for the completion
etc of the new Back Creek Meeting House, payable as soon as required, April
1830. The first signature is that of R. Snodgrass for the sum of $5.00 and was
marked paid.
[ Editors note: The entire list was
in the Perkins Library at
Mr. George M. Tederick, an Elder in
the Church in the 1930’s was in his 84th year when he interviewed about the
church. He said that he had settled in the Tomahawk community in 1877, renting
land from a Dr. Harper, who told him of a race between his team and another
driven by a Negro belonging to to a family named Grantham in the building of
the stone church. It was to see who would deliver the first load of stone for
the building of the church. When Dr. Harper’s team reached the foot of the
hill, the Grantham family was unloading stone at the top of the hill.
The name of the church changed from
Mr. Vance’s Meeting House to that of the Back Creek Stone Church and then
gradually it was changed to just the Stone Church at Back Creek because no
other stone church existed in that area.
The church had been built on the
private property of the Snodgrass Family. Later in the setting of the estate of
Col. Robert Snodgrass that it was recognized in the splitting up of the
Tomahawk Spring Farm. It was not until the last year of the life of Sarah Ann
Snodgrass, wife of the Col. Robert Snodgrass, that the actual deed was drawn up
giving the land to the church. Mrs. Snodgrass died on Nov. 24, 1891 at the age
of eighty-five. With the passing of Mrs. Snodgrass the family’s association
with the church and the community ceased.
The Snodgrass family held church
offices, contributed heavily to the church and are buried in the adjoining
cemetery to the church.
Here is a copy of the words of the
original deed:
Grantor: Joseph H. Kitchen, Grantee
Trustees of Presby. Church of Back Creek, Deed Book No. 89, page 127
This deed made the 31st day of
October in the year 1891, between Joseph H. Kitchen and Catherine Kitchen his
wife, parties of the first part, and James E. Murphy, Nathan P. Snyder and
James W. Wood as Trustees of the Presbyterian Church and Congregation of Back
Creek in the County of Berkeley and the State of West Virginia, parties of the
second part,
Witnesseth: that in consideration of
the sum of one dollar in hand paid to them by the said parties of the second
part, their successors, and assigns, that lot or parcel of ground in the line
between the land of Joseph H. Kitchen and the land of Levi Henshaw; thence N.
30 degrees E. 141 feet along said line to a stake; thence North 45 degrees East
5/10th of a pole to a stake; thence along said line North 30 degrees East 73 ½
feet to the place beginning, containing 23 ¾ square poles, and being a part of
a larger tract of land conveyed by Sarah A. Snodgrass and others to the said
Joseph H. Kitchen by deed dated March 27, 1866 and recorded in the deed book
No. 63, page 505 of the land records of said County, to have and to hold the
said lot of ground unto the said parties of the second part, their successors
and assigns in trust for use and benefit of the Presbyterian Congregation of
Back Creek as and for a place of Public Worship.
Joseph H. Kitchen - seal/ Catherine
Kitchen - her X mark
Witness the following signatures and
seals
Attesting witness - Rev. S. M. Engle
State of
I, Joseph H. Alexander, a Notary
Public of said County of Berkeley, do certify that Joseph H. Kitchen and
Catherine Kitchen, his wife, whose names are signed to the writing above,
bearing the date 31st day of October in the year 1891, have this day
acknowledged the same before me in my said County, given under my hand and seal
this day of December in the year 1891. - Joseph H. Alexander - Notary Public.
Rev. James Jennings is said to have
lived in the old Alonzo Myers house. This place is also distinguished as the
birthplace or early home of the Rev. John Calvin Siler, DD, a beloved son of
the
In
the records kept by Mr. Jennings the name of the church is given as "
Again
the desolation of War! This time a war where families were divided and the area
was besieged by armies of both the North and South of the same country. Rev.
Jennings pastorate closed in 1859 after the war and for thirty (30) years there
are no records of Session meetings or activity of the church. The church had no
regular Pastor and was well nigh extinct.
But
once more, in the providence of God, a young man of missionary zel and ability
appeared in the person of the Rev. S. M. Engle, who was ordained and installed
pastor of
" This Session book of the Back
Creek Presbyterian Church came to my hands from Mr. James Murphy near Tomahawk,
Rev. Engle goes on in his writing:
" When I came to the work at
Falling Waters church in the summer of 1890 the Back Creek church had six
remaining members of the original organization, which organized had been
dissolved by the war. I began preaching there regularly every two weeks and
after holding a protracted meeting in the fall of 1891, the membership was
increased to such an extent that they made application to Presbytery in the
spring of 1892 for reorganization. "
The church was regularly reorganized
by a Commission appointed by Presbytery and now there is a membership of
seventy (70), and a Sabbath school of something over a hundred members. The
present Elders are Mr. James Murphy, Mr. Thomas Siler, and Mr. George Tederick.
The Deacons are Mr. Daniel McDaniel, Mr. Robert Murphy, and Lewis Shriver. The
date of the reorganization was not listed but the sermon was preached by Rev.
F. M. Woods of Martinsburg.
Mr. George Tederick stated that at
the time Rev. Engle began the work, the church was very much in need of repair,
especially the roof, which had sagged and was leaking badly. The old rafters
were made of hewn logs, and in order to straighten them, two by four sawed
rafters were placed along side and fastened to them. Mr. David Miller ( nee Lefevre)
was especially active in contributing and securing the necessary money and a
roof was put on.
The pulpit was lowered, new pews
installed, and other needed repairs were made. The work was well done and were
in good order when the report was made in the 1930’s. The only major
improvement that was added in the 1930’s was in the installation of an electric
light plant, the gift of Mrs. Adelia Wood Todd, a former member living at that
time in
On May 21st in 1896 the Pastor at
the time, Rev. E. R. Leyburn made this statement: " Session met
immediately after the afternoon service in the Tomahawk Presbyterian
Church." THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT THE CHURCH WAS METNIONED INT EH
OFFICAL RECORDS AS THE
The succession of Pastors since Rev.
Engle is as follows:
Rev. E. R. Leyburn 1895-1902
Rev. John C. Leps 1902-1908
Rev. J. T. McBryde 1909-1912
Rev. Richard Lancaster 1913-1916
Rev. B. H. Franklin 1917-1920
Rev. Jos. A. M. McMurray 1921 -
[ When this listing was made the
present active officers are the church were:
Elders: E. G. Hiett and Charles
Coffinbarger
Deacons: Ben Myers, Peter Tederick,
Alonzo Myers
Treasurer - C. T. McDaniel