Lonnie, I will investigate your specific question about records of Christ Episcopal Church in Winchester and get back to you. Frederick Parish was formed in 1738 by legislative act and the Governor's Council. Very few colonial church records exist in Virginia. Certainly there are no surviving Church of England (Anglican) Church registers in Old Frederick County that I am aware. Church and State were not separate during the colonial period (pre-Revolutionary). As you may know, the Protestant Episcopal Church was formed to replace the Church of England after the Revolutionary War, for obvious reasons. Several pages of an Eucharist register are among the Frederick County records in the Library of Virginia, and are published on page 16 of my book on settlers of Back Creek Valley. At the top of the register page is the statement: "I do declare that I do believe there is not any transubstantiation in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, and in the Elements of Bread and Wine, at or after the Consecration thereof by any Person Whatsoever." This was another way of saying that Roman Catholics were not allowed to take communion in Frederick Parish. A study of the original signatures reveals a Who's Who of Old Frederick County, 1761-1763. Most of the signatures are in English, but several are signed in German. No women signed the Register. Incidentally, some of the prominent early settlers of Old Frederick were Roman Catholic, but they moved to "Louisana" about the time of the Revolutionary War. Anyone who has researched the land records of Old Frederick has encountered the name of Bryan Bruin, the real estate tycoon. The Humphrey family was also Roman Catholic. There are some interesting stories that are beyond the scope of this e-mail. Someone in another post asked for a list of the Episcopal Churches in Old Frederick County. As mentioned, the Episcopal Church was not formed until 1785-1786 as the successor of the Church of England. Church and State were separated in the Colony of Virginia in 1776 when the State Constitution was adopted. I don't know details about Christ Episcopal Church in Winchester. The present Gothic Church building was built in 1828, designed by Robert Mills who designed the Washington Monument. The Rev. Alexander Balmain served as rector for the period 1782 until his death in 1821. A reproduced copy of the Rev. Balmain journal is in the Handley Regional Library, Archives Division in Winchester. There are marriages and some baptisms in this register, including names of persons I recognize as living in the backwoods. One of his predecessors was the Rev. Charles M. Thurston, who served from 1768 to 1777, when he joined the Continental forces. I'm not aware of journals that he may have left behind. Rev. Thurston lived in Clarke County. Let's face it folks, there are very few bits of church records that survived during the colonial period. Frederick County Court records give considerable information about the business of the church in its Order Books, 1743-1776, such as assisting the widows and the children, orphans, the poor, children born out of wedlock (the mother was often punished by the court, sometimes the father, too), lotteries, and a range of subjects that involve people. The Order Books are located in the County Court in Winchester. Several of the books are not indexed. If you have time and patience, there is a gold mine of information in the books. What role did your ancestor play in building the wagon roads in Frederick County? Who owned mills? How did your ancestor make a living? The Order Books will tell you that, and much more. No one has a complete history of their family surname until they have culled through the Order Books. But you won't find birthdates, marriage dates or baptisms in these books. Cunningham Chapel (Church of England) was built about 1747 near Berryville in Clarke County. After the log church was destroyed, a stone church was built about 1790, known as "The Old Chapel." The Clarke County Historical Society has published a number of high-quality historical bulletins that should be consulted by the serious researcher of history and genealogy. There are many cemetery inscriptions in these journals. Another source of information on the Episcopal Churches of Old Frederick County is a two-volume work by Bishop William Meade titled "Old Churches and Families...." I don't recall the complete title. Bishop Meade was a former rector at Christ Episcopal Church in Winchester. Another book on the churches of Winchester was written by the late Garland Quarles. I believe that copies may be purchased from the Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society. Sorry, but I dan't have a copy in my hands. Also, in my book titled, Historical Records of Old Frederick and Hampshire Counties (Heritage Books, Inc., Bowie, MD, 1992), there is a partial list of ministers and their denominations, copied from original court licenses to perform marriage ceremonies in Frederick County. I don't possess a copy of this book either, but I wouldn't object if someone wanted to do lookups or post the information to the Old Frederick County List. You cannot understand the colonial church in Virginia without getting involved with county history. There is more to genealogy than names and dates only. The Church and State were one, and that's one reason why the County Court records are important to the genealogist. Wilmer L. Kerns At 06:54 PM 9/29/97 -0600, you wrote: >Hello Mr. Wilmer KERNS, > Thank you very much for the information. One Answer leads to other questions. > >Are there any other record available for the CHRIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH for the >1790-1800 period in Fredericks Co,VA if So where? > >thanks again > >Lonnie > >>>From: "Wilmer L. Kerns" <wlkerns@intr.net> >>To: OLD-FREDERICK-CO-VA-L@rootsweb.com >>Message-Id: <199709290326.XAA19436@intr.net> >>Subject: Re: Rev. Alexander BALMAIN/Lewis CHASTAIN >>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >> >>To Lonnie Fink: >> >>The Rev. Alexander Balmain was born in Scotland in 1740, and was educated at >>St. Andrews University. He was brought to this country to be a tutor in the >>home of the famous Richard Henry Lee in Westmoreland County, VA. Balmain >>later returned to London where he studied for ordination in the established >>church. He came to Augusta County (VA) in 1771 where he served as assistant >>rector of the parish. In 1782, he became rector of Frederick Parish, where >>he served until his death in 1821. His Journal for that period of time is at >>Christ Episcopal Church in Winchester, but researchers are directed to a >>xeroxed copy which is maintained by the Handley Regional Library, Archives >>Division, in Winchester. > >>Unlike some of the German clergy who travelled to minister in various places >>in the Shenandoah Valley, Rev. Balmain's ministerial duties were discharged >>within Frederick Parish. He was the officially appointed rector of the parish. >> >>Wilmer L. Kerns >> > >Lonnie fink >InGenWeb Coordinator Floyd/Dubois Co,IN >KyGenWeb Coordinator Shelby/Pulaski Co,KY >http://www.dmrtc.net/~lonfink/wifeme.html >lonfink@dmrtc.net > > ==== OLD-FREDERICK-CO-VA Mailing List ==== Visit the Frederick County,VA USGenWeb Home Page! http://www.rootsweb.com/~vafreder/frederic.htm