given by Mr. George Burwell, of Carter Hall. Such, however, was the attachment of many to the old chapel that funds for the latter could not be obtained, except on condition of alternate services at the chapel. From year to year these services became less frequent, until at length they are now reduced to an annual pilgrimage, on some summer Sabbath, to this old and much-loved spot, except when services are held for the servants, or death summons the neighbours to add one more to the tenants of the graveyard.*

My remarks on the old parish of Frederick, and some of its branches, will be brought to a close by a brief reference to a spot of all others most sacred to many now living as the depository of all that was mortal of those most dear to us, the burying-ground which lies at the foot of the hill on which still stands the old stone chapel. Ever since its appropriation to this purpose, it has been the graveyard of rich and poor, bond and free, those who lived near it, and the stranger from afar who died near it. It is called the Burwell graveyard, not merely because the land was given by one of that name, but because it is the resting-place of a far greater number bearing that name than any other. It has recently been enlarged and a portion of it divided into lots and the whole enclosed with a strong stone wall. The vestry have also proposed the raising and vesting in stock the sum of one thousand dollars for the perpetual preservation of it and the old chapel which overlooks it. Both of them stand in the immediate angle of two public and much-frequented roads, and the passing traveller may see old and venerable trees overshadowing many tombs, younger ones of perpetual verdure more recently planted, green hillocks, covered with grass and ivy, high headstones and large marble slabs, marking the place of interment and designating the names of those whose remains are beneath, and now and then a pillar, either for young or old, rising above the other memorials. To this place, for more than sixty years, have I been travelling, either borne in the arms of others, or as a mourner, or as officiating minister. To it, at no

The following are the names of the vestrymen of Frederick parish before the division of it took place. It would be too tedious to enumerate all those belonging to the subdivisions down to the present time. In addition to those already mentioned as composing the first vestry after the war, in 1787, are the following:John Woodcock, John Peyton, Edward Smith, Thomas Byrd, Isaac Hite, Jr., Nathaniel Burwell, Warner Washington, Jr., John Page, General Thomas Parker, Robert Page, Matthew Page, Philip Nelson, Robert Carter Burwell, Fairfax Washington, Henry St. George Tucker, Alfred Powell, George Norris, Philip Burwell, G. R. Thompson, Nathaniel Burwell, Jr., Obed Waite, Dabney Carr, Joseph Baldwin, Richard Briarly, Daniel Lee, William B. Page, John W. Page, Strother Jones. VOL. II.-19

distant day, I expect to be carried, and from it I hope to see arise the bodies of some of the truest saints of the Lord, unto whom, in the adjoining temple, I was privileged to preach the blessed Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

A brief notice of the family of Burwells, so many of whom lie buried there, and of one other individual mentioned in the vestrybook as the friend and defender of the Church, and whose body was interred among his relatives, is all that I shall further say in connection with this spot. The early genealogy of this family I take from Henning's Statutes at Large, Campbell's History of Virginia, and the tombstones at Carter's Creek, in the county of Gloucester. The first of the name in this country was Major Lewis Burwell, of Carter's Creek, in Gloucester county, Virginia, who died in 1658. His wife was a Miss Higginson, whose father signalized himself in the wars with the Indians. He had two sons,Nathaniel and Lewis. Nathaniel married a daughter of Robert Carter, commonly called King Carter, by whom he had three sons and one daughter. The daughter was named Elizabeth, and married President Nelson. His sons were Lewis, Carter, and Robert Carter. Lewis was either father or grandfather of that Lewis Burwell who was President of the Council in 1750. Carter married Lucy, the daughter of John Grymes, and settled at the Grove, near Williamsburg. He was the father of Colonel Nathaniel Burwell, who moved to Frederick and built Carter Hall. The third son, Robert Carter, settled in Isle of Wight, and was the father of Nathaniel Burwell, of that county, and of Fanny, the first wife of Governor Page. His son Nathaniel was the father of Robert Carter Burwell, who moved to Frederick, of Mrs. Philip Nelson, and of their three sisters, Jane, Fanny, and Ariana, who died unmarried, and lie with their brother in the Burwell graveyard. The second son of the first of the Burwells was, as we have stated, Major Lewis Burwell. His first wife was Abigail Smith, heiress of Nathaniel Bacon, who was for many years President of the Council, and near relatives of Bacon the rebel. Hence the name of Bacon, in the Burwell family. By this marriage, he had four sons and six daughters. His second wife was the widow of the Hon. William Cole, and came from Nansemond county, by whom he had two sons and three daughters. He died in the year 1710, leaving only three sons out of the six, and six daughters out of the nine. He lived at King's Mill, or somewhere near, either in York county or James City. His son Lewis built a large house at King's Mill

and improved the place at great expense, also purchased other lands around, and a tract in the Isle of Wight; on account of which, in 1736, he obtained leave of the Assembly to dock the entail of a tract of land in King William and dispose of it. Of his numerous descendants, and of those of the other branches, we can only say that we find them settled in King William, Lancaster, Nansemond, Isle of Wight, and then moving to Frederick, Berkeley, Botetourt, Richmond City, and other places. The father of those settled in Botetourt we read of as an active member of the vestry in King William. Wherever they have gone, they have retained their attachment to the Church of their fathers, and some have entered its ministry.

I shall be excused for adding to the above a piece of family history connected with that of a high public functionary of Old Colonial Virginia, which may serve to cast some light on the state of society and of the Church at the close of the first century of our settlement. The second Lewis Burwell, as we have seen, had nine daughters, one of whom completely upset what little reason there was in Governor Nicholson of famous memory. He became most passionately attached to her, and demanded her of her parents in royal style. Neither she, her parents, or the other members of the family, were disposed to comply. He became furious, and for years persisted in his design and claim. All around him felt the effects of his rage. The father, brothers, Commissary Blair, and the Rev. Mr. Fowace, minister of some parish near Williamsburg, were the special objects of his threatened vengeance. To the young lady he threatened the life of her father and brothers if he did not yield to his suit. This caused a friend of his in England to write a letter of remonstrance, in which he says, "It is not here as in some barbarous countries, where the tender lady is drugged into the Sultan's arms, just reeking with the blood of her nearest relatives, and yet she must strangely dissemble her aversion." To Commissary Blair he declared that "he would cut the throats of three men if the lady should marry any other but himself,-viz.: the bridegroom, the officiating minister, and the justice who issued the license." The Rev. Mr. Fowace, in a letter to the Lord-Commissioners in England, complains, among other things, of being assaulted by Governor Nicholson one evening on his return from a visit to the family, (the Major being sick,) and ordered never again to go to this house without leave from himself. It seemed that the Governor was jealous of him. Besides abusive language and other indignities, he pulled