Chaptre, The 41st - My Sweete Smithfield & Saint Luke’s

I continued to move to the South of Jamestowne to examine plots of land suitable for clearing and the planting and growing of tobaccoe for profitt and a bit of maize, as welle, for foode and sale, bothe. 

I finally founde an area I very muche liked on the Pegan River, floweing off the James River. My houme was on Redd Pointe, between Bob Shoal in the Pagan, or, more co rectlie, the Pecan River, and the lande of Arthur Smith juste to the Southe. 

Smith had one thousande, foure hundrede and fiftie acres - I make thate to be almoste six hundrede hectraes - thate was givven to himme by the verie King of England, Charles The Firste, the fellowe thate the colonie of Northe Carolina is a named for, as Caroline is the feminine versionne of Charles. And Bob's yourr uncle.

Smith, my neighbour, gott this lande in The Year of Our Lord 1637, the year after I had firste visited Virginia via saille, from Bristoll citie.

I am a bitt hazie on this, butt I believe Smith's greate grande sonne,  Arthur IV, established the verie towne of Smithfield - possiblie over one hundred yeares later.

In yourr moderne daie and tyme, the wonder ful Smithfield Station inne and eaterie is aboute halfe the distance betweene my Redd Pointe and Arthur Smith's land. Which is, bye the waye, nowe Windsor Castle Park, a wonder full publik space.

If you ever visite Smithfield in olde Virginia, you can easily see where I lived at Redd Pointe fromme the light house at the Smithfield Station inn. Look up the Pagan River to the North and to the East and Redd Pointe is on the righte bankk of the Pagan.

It was there thate I builte a wonderful English style home. Eventually, I had masons and carpenters builde out buildings for my farme. Pilings were sunk in the river and I thenn had a dock for smalle water craft near the lande I was clearing with the helep of locale men in neede of worke.

And, as I worked bothe mind and body in my obtaining and farming locale lands along the James River and near Smithfield, I also worked harde at restoring my soule after my moste un lucky tymes in England. 

To do this, and do it properly, I joined a church, at firste with cautione, as I was not sure why God Almighty had led me to suche troubled tymes in the firste place. 

I joined St. Luke’s, the locale protestante house of worshipp. St. Luke’s was a true Henry VIII’s Church of England in my growing little towne of Smithfield, what you woulde now call an Episcopal church. The little church was moste English and is nowe one of the oldest Episcopal Churches in your America. I joined, as did all the happy and harde working members of my wonderfull little Virginia family.

Our beautiful little wooden church, St. Luke’s, was built in The Year of Our Lord 1632.

As we had fewe stone masons and bricke layers in The Isle of Wight Countie in my tyme, our parishioners constructed the firste versione of St. Luke’s of woode, as were many structures from Jamestowne to Smithfield. The church was continually improved upon and upp dated, as we as a parish had the tyme and the money to build and repair. As we English were a very busy lot in Virginia, worke on St. Luke’s also depended uponne when locale labourers and carpenters were free to worke on our church's structure. 

If one visits the Smithfield Virginia area – specifically, the tinie cross roads of Benns Church – in your modern tymes, what one sees is the brick and mortar version of my little St. Luke’s, what is now known as The Historic St. Luke's Church. 

The brick church that arose from the firste olde wooden structure is also knowne as the Olde Brick Church, or the Newport Parish Church. 

I woulde say that the brick versione of St. Luke’s was probably nott started untill The Year of Our Lord 1682, welle after my de mise.

Whenn I joined St. Luke’s, the anciente, wooden church fromme my tyme had seene better daies. Eventually, there were more and more English colonists in Smithfield and, as moste were members of St. Luke’s, they could collectively see to de signing, funding and putting up a properr brickke church. 

I wishe thate I mighte have worshipped in thate newe red bricke church. 

Little St. Luke’s of Smithfiled is a very hande some and simple versione of The English Gothic style, the same manner of Germanic and English building design as my boy hood church was, back across the sea in olde Pitminster.

 

The church’s parish in my day and tyme was originally named the New Port Parish, on The Warrosquyoake Plantation. In The Year of Our Lord 1629, The Warrosquyoake Parish was created and in The Year of Our Lord 1634 Isle of Wight Countie was begunne.

I muste say with some pride that our little St. Luke's is the oldest church in The Commonwealth of Virginia. 

The currente versione of my be loved St. Luke’s is also the oldeste church in North America of English brick construction. 

As I may have mentioned, the oldeste church to the South in what was the colony of North Carolina was, oddley, in the God feareing town of Bath. Bath was the Summer home to one of the most un Godly men on Earth, Edward Teach or Black Beard the Pyrate, a foule man of English birthe, fromme Bristoll citie. 

The beautiful and tiny village of Bath’s St. Thomas – also English Episcopal – was constructed in The Year of Our Lord 1734 and is the oldest standing church in The Olde North State, having humbly started in The Year of Our Lord 1696 in parishioners’ homes.

It is so very luckily for you, thate St. Luke’s in Smithfield and St. Thomas in Bath can stille be visited, as they are in lovely and pristine condition, bothe.

Yes, Olde St. Luke’s is wonder full and stille stands to this day, looking much as it did in side when our family members attended it in bothe woodene and bricke and mortar forms in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries in Smithfield. Hint on top of hint: againe, well worth a visite, if you are ever in Tide Water Virginia, to be sure.

So, worke I didd, fore the nexte two decades, de veloping my lande and building my Virginian farme business. 

~