St. Thomas and St. Denis Parish, South Carolina

United States   South Carolina    St. Thomas and St. Denis Parish

History
St. Thomas and St. Denis Parish serves Berkeley County, South Carolina. Also known as White Church. Pompion Hill Chapel served as a chapel of ease to St. Thomas parishioners.

In the Colonial period, many Huguenots attended this church. It was the first South Carolina parish church built outside of Charleston.

South Carolina's "Anglican parishes were used as election districts and had responsibility for road development, care of the poor, and education."

Founded

 * 1706

Boundary

 * Borders Christ Church, St. James Goose Creek, St. James Santee, St. John's Berkeley, St. Philip's and St. Michael's, and St. Stephen's parishes. For a map, see: Early parishes in South Carolina.

Parish History
For a history of the parish, see Chapter 8, Parish of St. Thomas and St. Dennis, pages 284-294, in:


 * Dalcho, Frederick. An Historical Account of the Protestant Episcopal Church in South Carolina from the First Settlement of the Province, to the War of the Revolution; with Notices of the Present State of the Church in Each Parish and Some Account of the Early Civil History of Carolina, Never Before Published. Charleston: E. Thayer, 1820. ; digital versions at Google Books; Internet Archive.

Parish Records
St. Thomas and St. Denis Parish has a rich archive of early records, including accounts, minutes, marriages, baptisms, christenings, births, deaths, and burials. In the 1950s, they were kept at the Bishop's office, St. Philip's Church, Charleston. Copies:. Parish register copies:.

Parish registers have been abstracted:


 * Clute, Robert F. The Annals and Parish Register of St. Thomas and St. Denis Parish in South Carolina from 1680 to 1884. Charleston, S.C.: Evans &amp; Cogswell, 1884. 975.7 A1 no. 33; digital versions at Ancestry ($); Google Books; Internet Archive; World Vital Records ($).

Websites

 * St. Thomas Church, The Historical Marker Database
 * White Church, Berkeley County (Cainhoy vicinity) in National Register Properties in South Carolina at SCDAH. Includes old photographs and history.
 * Pompion Hill Chapel Marker, The Historical Marker Database