Despite the widespread poverty that persisted throughout the region, money was raised to rehabilitate the sanctuary, and in due course the windows and roof were repaired. Reverends James Erasmus McSparran and Henry Chapman Bowles served at Zion during those first difficult years after the Civil War. Progress would be slow, but Zion was buoyed by a faithful congregation and some occasional good fortune.
At the very reasonable cost of five dollars, Zion received a generous donation of land from Joseph Sanford, owner of the nearby hotel that bore his name. On January 1, 1868, Joseph and his wife, Quincy, signed a deed conveying once acre of land to John M. Smith and Dr. Fleming J. Hancock as trustees for the church. The deed provided for "the sole separate use and benefit of the Religious denomination known as the Methodist Episcopal Church South as a place of Religious worship."
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| Joseph Patrick Henry Crismond |
Joseph Patrick Henry Crismond was born in Caroline County on May 6, 1846. He was the second of three sons born to John B. Crismond and his second wife, the former Jane McDaniel. At some time before 1850, the Crismond family moved to Spotsylvania and settled on a farm just southeast of Zion. Crismond's father died on July 13, 1861. Two years later, Crismond and his older brother, John Jr., enlisted in the 36th Cavalry Battalion. Little of Crismond's military service is known, other than the fact that he was wounded near Woodstock, Virginia. Meanwhile, his widowed mother stayed with her youngest son, Horace.
After the war, Crismond returned home and farmed for several years, and then worked as a merchant. In 1866, he married Sallie Carnohan, with whom he had two children, Dora and Arthur Hancock. It is not known when the Crismonds began to attend Zion, but they became devoted and generous members of the church. None more so than J. P. H. Crismond himself. In 1871, he underwent an examination by Reverends D. Claiborne Butts, James F. Twitty and former Zion pastor John Quincy Rhodes. He passed this examination and was licensed to preach. However, Presiding Elder Joseph H. Davis declared this examination invalid. Crismond was obliged to go through the procedure a second time, and his license to preach was approved.
At the seventy-ninth session of the Virginia conference held in Norfolk in 1873, Crismond was appointed as a supply minister for the Spotsylvania Circuit. The records of Tabernacle Methodist Church indicate that Crismond served as a preacher there during 1873-74. In November 1876, he was elected as an ordained deacon at the eighty-second session of the conference held in Richmond. For decades to come, Deacon Crismond preached many sermons and officiated at many weddings and funerals. His growing popularity among the community he served made his entry into politics a logical move. In 1881, Crismond was elected clerk of the county court, a position he would hold until 1903.
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| Thomas Addison Harris (Courtesy of Richard Morrison) |
The life and career of another distinguished member of Zion, Thomas Addison Harris, paralleled that of J. P. H. Crismond. Harris's family came to Spotsylvania from New Jersey in the early 1840's; Thomas was their first child to be born in Virginia. At the outbreak of the Civil War, one of Harris's older brothers, William, returned north to fight for the Union. The other, John, enlisted in the 30th Virginia Infantry. Young Thomas Harris's allegiance was to the South. Shortly before his seventeen birthday, he enlisted for one year in the 30th Virginia Infantry, then joined the 9th Virginia Cavalry. The record shows that he was a brave and steadfast soldier. His horse was killed in action at Upperville, Virginia in 1863. During the Battle of Five Forks, he was seriously wounded while trying to save a family caught in a crossfire.
Thomas Harris returned to Spotsylvania after the war. In 1867, he married Mary Elizabeth Poole, with whom he had eight children. His political career began in 1870, when he became Superintendent of the Poor for Spotsylvania County. He was elected deputy commissioner of revenue in 1879. Four years later, he was elected county sheriff, a post he would hold for twenty years. In 1903, he replaced J. P. H Crismond as clerk of court and held that office until his death in 1912. In 1891, three years after the death of his wife, Mary, he married Elizabeth Jane Eastburn.
Although his parents and several other family members remained faithful members of Shady Grove's congregation, Harris and his family were loyal to Zion. One of his sons, Dr. William Aquilla Harris, married Crismond's daughter, Dora. They also remained members of Zion all their lives. There are two headstones dedicated to Thomas Addison Harris in Zion's cemetery. There is one provided from his family, the other ordered from the War Department by his daughter Roberta Harris Andrews to commemorate his military service. Roberta and her husband, Charles Robert Andrews, were also members of Zion. Buried near Thomas Harris are both of his wives and three of his sons.
The Carner and Pendleton families also deserve their place in the collective memory of Zion Methodist Church. Allen Carner was born in Bedford County, Virginia about 1804. He married Elizabeth Spindle of Spotsylvania, and with her raised five children--Mary Jane, John William, Henry, Cornelia Anne and Martha "Mattie" Dawson. By 1840, he had received his calling to enter the ministry, and was "on trial" (that is, in a probationary period) as a preacher of the Methodist Conference. He was preaching in the Gloucester, Virginia area in 1842, and was assigned to its circuit the following year. From there, he went to Little River in Perquimans County, North Carolina, where he served as a pastor until at least 1850.
At some time during the 1850's, Reverend Allen Carner and his family came to Spotsylvania, where he bought a farm near Andrews Tavern. Although there is no known record of his having been assigned to the Spotsylvania circuit, he did serve for a time as a trustee for nearby Lebanon Methodist Church. In the 1860 census, Reverend Carner's occupation is shown as "Methodist clergyman." He owned a farm valued at $1,800 and had a personal estate worth $6,000, a portion of which was tied to the value of the nine slaves he owned.
Both of Allen Carner's sons served in Company I of the 6th Virginia Cavalry during the Civil War. After Henry's return home, he became a member of Zion and married Lucy Johnson in 1875. Henry and Lucy and three of their five children--Ethel Wilshire and Medwyn and Edna Carner--are buried at Zion.
In 1884, Zion benefited, at least indirectly, from a deed of land from Sheriff Thomas A. Harris "and others." On June 23 of that year, one acre of land was conveyed to Oliver Eastburn, William Stapleton Hicks and Edmund Woodfolk acting as trustees for the Methodist Episcopal Church. This one acre lot, which had been part of Sheriff Harris's farm opposite Spotsylvania Court House, was intended "as a place of residence for the use and occupancy of the M. E. Church South who may from time to time be appointed to the said charge." On March 7, 1898, Thomas Harris and his second wife, the former Lizzie Eastburn, deeded an additional eight-tenths of an acre for the parsonage to the above named trustees and also trustees Alexander Watts Massey and John G. Miller. Reverend John Thomas Payne, who served Zion 1883-1887, was the first pastor to occupy the new parsonage when it was built in 1884. Reverend Payne had just recently been licensed as a preacher by the General Conference, and the Spotsylvania charge was his first assignment. Reverend Payne's son, Maurice, was killed in action while fighting in France in July 1918. Reverend Payne never recovered from the shock of hearing the news of his son's death, and he died on Christmas Eve, 1918.
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| Reverend John Thomas Payne (Tabernacle United Methodist Church) |
Martha "Mattie" Dawson Carner, the youngest daughter of Reverend Allen and Elizabeth Carner, was born in Greene County, Virginia in 1853. She married Spotsylvania native Joseph Albert Pendleton in January 1876 and raised four daughters--Maxie, Edith, Carrie and Fannie. Joseph Pendleton was a farmer and an enterprising business man. For a time, the Pendletons lived near Roxbury Mills, which Joseph owned. Their house burned in 1893. A year later, Joseph built a new house near the courthouse and purchased 43 acres adjacent to Zion. By a deed dated January 4, 1899, Joseph and Mattie Pendleton conveyed one acre of that property to John M. Smith, George W. Blackley and Stuart Marshall, acting as trustees for the church. The survey for this land was made by John M. Smith, who was the surveyor for Spotsylvania County. This gift of land was intended for use as the church's cemetery and included "specific instructions that no member ever be denied burial there and that no gravesite could be sold." The deed was witnessed by another member of Zion, clerk of court Joseph Patrick Henry Crismond. Joseph and Mattie Pendleton (who was a teacher of the Women's Bible Class) and their daughter, Maxie Austin, are buried there.
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| Members of Zion Methodist Church, c. 1885-1886 |
Shown above is a gathering of Zion's members taken during the mid-1880's. The caption for the photograph is believed to have been researched by the late teacher and historian, Robert Hodge. Something of interest could be written about each person in this picture; below are a few notes about some of the more noteworthy members. Not all of the relationships noted here existed at the time this picture was made:
(1) Fannie Andrews was the sister of (4) Buford Twyman Andrews and Charles Robert Andrews.
(2) Dora Crismond was the daughter of (22) J. P. H. Crismond and (23) Sallie Crismond. She was the wife of (58) Dr. William Aquilla Harris.
(13) George Washington Blackley was a long-time member of and trustee of Zion.
(17) Charles Robert Andrews was the husband of (38) Roberta "Bertie" Harris.
(22) Joseph Patrick Henry Crismond was a long-time member of Zion and an ordained deacon. He served as clerk of court for Spotsylvania County 1881-1903. He was the husband of (23) Sallie Carnohan Crismond.
(24) Arthur Hancock Crismond was the son of (22) and (23). He served as clerk of court from 1912 until 1940, and was followed in that position by his son, Cary Crismond. Arthur donated an inscribed Bible to the church in 1939.
(50) Clara Dabney was a daughter of former clerk of court, Robert Clarence Dabney. During the Civil War, Robert C. Dabney saved the county's historic records from destruction by Union forces by burying them near the courthouse.
(53) William W. Ashby was the husband of (50). For years he was a merchant and politician. He was appointed Consul to Colon, Panama, where he drowned in a boating accident in 1898.
In 1899, Zion's finances had improved to the point where it was possible to make major improvements to the sanctuary. These included enlarging the area behind the pulpit and installing new stained-glass windows there. These windows were donated by J. P. H. Crismond in honor of his mother. A tin ceiling was installed, as were oil-light chandeliers. Reverend James William Heckman was pastor during that time.
The prosperity and good fortune Zion enjoyed in 1899 continued through the Christmas season, when several of its leading members traveled to Fredericksburg to buy some things for the Sunday school celebration, as seen in the article above.
In the early 1900's, Senator Thomas Staples Martin of Virginia introduced a legislative initiative, whereby compensation would be made available to the state's churches damaged by the United States' army during the Civil War. In 1904 a claims court was established to process these claims. Zion began the process to make application for compensation as reported in the October 18, 1904 edition of The Free Lance: "Zion M. E. Church last night took preliminary steps toward securing reimbursement from the U. S. Government for damages done to the church during the war 1861-65 by Federal artillery. J. P. H. Crismond and George Blackley, trustees of the church, were appointed a committee to formulate items of damage and employ attorneys to present the claims."
The following summer, depositions were taken at Spotsylvania Court House to establish Zion's claims for damages. Granville Swift, who would later serve as commonwealth's attorney for Fredericksburg and represent the town in the House of Delegates, was engaged to represent the church. In the article below, George W. Blackley's name is misspelled as "Geo. G. Black:"
In an open letter to The Free Lance dated May 31, 1906, Zion's pastor, Reverend Edgar Poe Parham, noted the progress being made in obtaining reimbursement: "Zion is rejoicing in the prospect of getting the sum appropriated by the U. S. Court of Claims at Washington for damages done to it by Federal soldiers during the war and expects to make improvements when the money is forthcoming next spring."
In December 1906, The Free Lance reported that Zion was slated to receive $2,000 (the paper incorrectly indicated Zion as a Baptist church):
It is not known when Zion received any money, but it was likely nearly a decade after the process began. St. Stephen's Episcopal Church at Culpeper Court House received payment in 1914. The Fredericksburg Baptist Church received its money in 1915.
A number of Zion's congregation became adherents of the Spotsylvania Holiness Association, which bought land at the intersection of Brock and Piney Branch roads to establish a place where evangelistic camp meetings would be held. Reverend James William Heckman, Zion's pastor 1899-1902, was its founder and would be a frequent speaker at these meetings. This article from the April 11, 1903 edition of The Free Lance provides some insight into the religious fervor in Spotsylvania at this time and Zion's role in it:
A photograph from one of these camp meetings survives:
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| Spotsylvania Holiness Association, 1907 |
Shown in this picture are these people known to have been members of Zion, or associated with the church:
(16) Ethel Carner Wiltshire was the oldest child of Zion members Henry and Lucy Carner. She is buried in the church's cemetery.
(18) Reverend Thomas Evan Thomas temporarily served at Zion in 1909 after the regular pastor, Reverend George Henry Ray, suffered a stroke.
(22) Roberta Harris Andrews was a daughter of Zion member and clerk of court, Thomas Addison Harris. She was the wife of (45) Charles Robert Andrews. Roberta served as treasurer of Zion, was president of Zion's chapter of the Women's Society for Christian Service, and for many years was treasurer of the Spotsylvania Methodist Charge.
(26) Edna Clay Carner was the youngest child of Henry and Lucy Carner. Edna was murdered in Fredericksburg on October 3, 1939 and is buried in the church cemetery.
(27) Reverend George Henry Ray was pastor at Zion (1906-1909).
(32) Ellen Mae Burke Crismond was the wife of clerk of court Arthur Hancock Crismond.
(33) William Cary Crismond was the son of Arthur and Ellen Crismond.
(41) Carrie Pendleton Greer was a daughter of Zion members Joseph and Mattie Pendleton.
(48) Reverend James William Heckman was pastor at Zion 1899-1902.
(55) Fannie Pendleton Hilldrup was the youngest daughter of Joseph and Mattie Pendleton and the wife of (53) Robert Warner Hilldrup.
By October 1906, preparations were underway to inscribe a granite memorial commemorating the death of Francis Asbury, and to transport it to the site of the old George Arnold property, where Asbury had died 90 years before:
The stone marker was created and transported to the old Arnold farm in December 1906. In the meantime, lumber was salvaged from George Arnold's dilapidated house in order to build a small church, Asbury Chapel. Reverend George Henry Ray, Zion's new pastor, held Easter services there in April 1907:
On June 27, 1907 the Asbury monument was officially dedicated. Standing five feet high, the granite marker was inscribed with these words: "On this spot stood the home of George Arnold, where Bishop Francis Asbury died March 31, 1816. Erected by the Epworth Leagues of the Washington District, Baltimore Conference, Methodist Episcopal Church South, December 1906." Reverend Ray and several members from Zion attended the dedication. He wrote this article describing the occasion in the July 11, 1907 edition of The Daily Star:
A photograph was taken of the event:
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| Dedication of the Asbury Monument, June 1907 |
Several known members of Zion are shown in attendance that day:
(30) Maxie Pendleton Austin, daughter of Joseph and Mattie Pendleton.
(31) Elva Carner Alrich, (32) Edna Clay Carner, (33) Ethel Carner Wiltshire and (34) Cornelia Carner Tompkins were the daughters of Henry and Lucy Carner.
(43) Reverend George Henry Ray, pastor of Zion
(58) George Tompkins was the husband of (34) Cornelia Pendleton Tompkins.
Services continued to be held at the Asbury Chapel until 1915:
Dr. Caleb Rosser Massey (1867-1907) was one of Spotsylvania's leading citizens. In addition to his flourishing medical practice, the popular Dr. Massey was chairman of the Board of Supervisors and chairman of the Democratic Executive Committee. He married Inez Colbert at Massaponax Baptist Church on February 17, 1897. During their ten years together, they raised three children--Mary, Lucille and Caleb Rosser, Jr. They became members of Zion Methodist Church, and Reverend George Henry Ray presided at the funeral of Dr. Massey.
Inez Massey and her children continued to attend Zion, and after she married Arthur Lewis Blanton in 1912, they became one of the church's most important families. Arthur owned the Blanton Motor Company in Fredericksburg, and after his death in 1942 it was operated by his widow and his adopted children as Blanton-Massey Ford. Zion's pastor at the time, Charles Lewis Stillwell, officiated at Arthur Blanton's funeral. To honor his memory, his family donated to Zion a brass altar cross which is still in use today. Two brass candlesticks flank the altar cross; one was donated by the family of Dr. William Aquilla Harris, the other by the family of clerk of court Arthur Hancock Crismond. Other than the building itself, the cross and candlesticks are Zion's oldest artifacts.
In January 1912, clerk of court Thomas Addison Harris slipped on a patch of ice and was seriously injured in a fall. He died on January 25. Six years earlier, Harris had been featured in the January 5, 1906 edition of The Daily Star, which provided an excellent account of his life and his service to his community:
Less than four months later, his second wife, Lizzie, succumbed to pneumonia and died on May 9, 1912.
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| Lizzie Eastburn Harris (Courtesy of Richard Morrison) |
Thomas Addison Harris, his wives Mary and Lizzie, and two of his young sons--Eustace and Rupert--are buried at Zion.
Included in the scrapbook kept by Leota Pendleton are two photographs of Reverend Samuel Hunter Pulliam, who served at Zion 1917-1920. Born in Halifax County, Virginia, Reverend Pulliam was the father of ten children. After his time at Zion, he maintained close ties to the Spotsylvania area. He died in Snell in 1950 at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Clarence Payne. Reverend Pulliam is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Fredericksburg.
The passing of Joseph Patrick Henry Crismond on May 2, 1925 in many ways marked the end of an era at Zion Methodist Church. Despite a professional life sometimes marked by controversy, Crismond was a beloved figure in the county, and his decades of devotion to the church helped to sustain Zion through difficult times. His funeral was held at Zion (incorrectly shown as "Mt. Zion" in The Daily Star article of May 4, 1925, shown below) during the ministry of Egbert Ray Degges. He is buried with his wife in the cemetery at Zion. In 1930, Roberta Harris Andrews ordered a headstone from the War Department indicating Crismond's service during the Civil War. It was placed in the Confederate Cemetery at the courthouse.
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