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 has served historic Charles Town District and Berkeley County. 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.

The churchwardens of St. Thomas and St. Dennis Parish reported the following poor tax statistics in 1751:


 * 70,265 acres
 * 2,062 slaves
 * £21,366 at interest

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. An overlay of districts is available at Carolana.com.

Cemetery
More than 100 graves from the parish church cemetery are described at Find A Grave. Includes transcripts and select photographs.

Many graves from Pompion Hill Chapel Cemetery are also described at Find A Grave.

Genealogy

 * Webber, Mabel L. "Moore of St. Thomas' Parish," The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Vol. 27, No. 3 (Jul., 1926), pp. 156-169. Digital version at JSTOR ($).

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 ($); Google Books; Internet Archive; World Vital Records ($).

Marriage registers have been abstracted:


 * Holcomb, Brent H. and Thomas L. Hollowak. South Carolina Marriages, 1688-1799. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1980.

Abstracts of St. Thomas and St. Denis Parish Marriages 1751-1780 are available online, courtesy: South Carolina TriCounty Genealogy.

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