Kingston Parish, Virginia

United States   Virginia    Kingston Parish

History
Kingston Parish has served Gloucester and Mathews counties. Trinity Church belongs to Kingston Parish. Christ Church, in Mathews County, is a chapel in Kingston Parish. Today, Kingston Parish House and Christ Episcopal Church survive. For driving directions, see the Kingston Parish website.

Founded

 * abt 1652

Cemetery
The Virginia State Library (now Library of Virginia) published a survey of the graves at Kingston Church Cemetery and at Trinity Church of Kingston Parish Cemetery in 1959. (pages 128 to 130, 139-140).

The Mathews County Historical Society published a survey of the graves at Christ Church Cemetery in 1988: (pages 156 to 165). The compilers describe the cemetery as follows:


 * "There may have been a church at Kingston Parish as early as 1652. Vestry book records show a chapel on the North River in 1679. In colonial times the parish church would be established before a chapel, and the old name for the church on this location was 'Kingston.' It was noted in the old vestry book that a meeting was held the 29th September, 1715, at 'the Easternmost River Church.' The oldest identified tombstone is that of twenty-six year old Elizabeth Tompkins who died in 1842. Her stone today is in the chancel just beyond the altar rail. Elizabeth herself, is not under the stone, but lies in the churchyard with her sister, Sally Tompkins. The locations of earlier, colonial and slave graves are not known."

Parish History

 * Mason, George Carrington. "The Colonial Churches of Kingston Parish, Gloucester County, Virginia," The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 20, No. 2 (Apr. 1940):261-264. ; digital version at JSTOR ($).
 * Old Kingston Parish. 1976. Available through the Parish House (804) 725-2175.

Parish Registers

 * Matheny, Emma R. and Helen K. Yates. Kingston Parish Register, Gloucester and Mathews Counties, Virginia, 1749-1827. Richmond, Va.: E.R. Matheny and H.K. Yates, 1963. Reprinted 2004. Original is available at ; digital versions at Ancestry ($); and World Vital Records ($).

See also:


 * "Some Extracts from the Register of Kingston Parish," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 15, No. 2 (Oct., 1906), pp. 93-99. ; digital version at JSTOR ($).

Vestry Books

 * Chamberlayne, C.G. The Vestry Book of Kingston Parish, Mathews County, Virginia (until May 1, 1791, Gloucester County), 1679-1796. Originally published Richmond, Virginia, 1929. ISBN 0-8063-4842-9; available at ; digital versions at Ancestry ($) and Family History Archives.

Websites

 * Kingston Parish, The Diocese of Virginia (official website). Includes parish history, visitor directions, meeting schedules, contact information.
 * Kingston Parish, The Historical Marker Database