Our History
Presbyterianism on the Eastern Shore dates to the later part of the seventeenth century. Reverend Francis Mackemie, often spoken of as the father of Presbyterianism in America, settled in Accomack County in 1658 (when his name first appears in the records).
He is credited with organizing several churches from Rehoboth, Maryland to Accomack County, Virginia. Reverend Mackemie lived near the town of Onancock. Sometime prior to 1690 he erected a meeting house on Rural Hill, on what is known as Old Church Road in Drumondtown, present day Accomack.
Seventy years before Makemie’s day, settlements of Scotch and English descent were made in lower Northampton County. These families were largely loyal adherents to the Church of England and two such churches were built in lower Northampton County, one in 1629 and another in 1645.
After Reverend Makemie died in 1708, the Meeting House in Accomack and the churches in lower Northampton County were unable to stand under the harsh laws of the next fifty years. Presbyterian and Episcopal churches alike went down and the buildings were destroyed. For many years after the Revolution, the lower section of our peninsula had no church, and generations grew up without any religious influence other than that found in the home.
In 1840 Hanover Presbytery sent Nathaniel Clark Locke to supply a mission of the church in the Bayview area of Northampton County.
There was not a Presbyterian in Northampton County at the time of Mr. Locke’s arrival. Faithful women had been gathering in homes praying for a church and minister so their children might have a Christian education. Locke gathered information and left to attend Union Theological Seminary in New York, from which he graduated in 1844. He was sent back to Bayview in 1845.
In 1846, with substantial aid from Dr. Thompson Holmes and a one-half acre of land deeded to the church trustees, a contract for construction of a Presbyterian church was awarded. The Presbyterian church was completed, dedicated and named Holmes in May of 1846.
In 1917 and 1918, the church was remodeled with a vestibule added in the front; choir loft added in the back; session room on the side of the choir; and a raised roof. The educations and activities building, Rosboro Building, was completed in 1930 and named after Reverend Dr. John Roseboro who advocated for this building in lieu of a new manse for his family. In 1857 Mr. Edward H. Compston, who had done missionary work in the upper part of Accomack County a few years before, returned to the Eastern Shore under a joint call from Holmes and Makemie Churches.
Spreading the Gospel
In 1879, under the direction of Reverend Robert D. Stimson, a time of outreach and new church establishment began. On May 4, 1879, Reverend Stimson organized the Belle Haven Presbyterian Church with twenty members dismissed from Holmes. The Cape Charles Presbyterian Church was organized on December 14, 1890, nine of whose charter members were dismissed from Holmes. Reverend Stimson served all three churches and preached at Holmes every other Sunday.
Reverend Robert D. Stimson
Reverend A. Sidney Venable
Hopewell Chapel, located on the lower tip of the Eastern Shore in Cedar Grove area, was organized by Reverend Stimson in 1884. Deed records refer to this church as “Second Presbyterian Church”. Reverend Stimson served the small congregation as pastor and Thomas H. Dixon, a Methodist, served as Sunday School Superintendent. Ten years after its organization, Holmes reported to Presbytery that the Hopewell mission was one of the efforts made by the church to reach the spiritually destitute. In 1898, when Cedar Grove Baptist Church was formed as Lower Northampton Baptist Church, they used the building for Sunday afternoon services until their church was constructed. Reverend Stimson’s successor, Reverend William C. Lindsey, also served the church. The building was also used a s schoolhouse and was moved across the street. In 1902 the property was sold back to the original owner from whom it was purchased.
In 1891 after fourteen years of service, Reverend Stimson left for the far south. Reverend A. Sidney Venable arrived on May 15, 1895, and continued the organization of a church in Eastville area which was begun by Reverend Lindsey. In 1904 a small congregation of twelve members, ten of them dismissed from Homes Church, was organized as Eastville Presbyterian Church. It was described in the Virginian Pilot and Norfolk Landmark as “the youngest scion of the Mother of Presbyterianism, Holmes Church”. The construction of the church on the land which had been purchased was never realized. The church is last listed in the Norfolk Presbytery records in 1919.
A Presbytery Meeting: 1857
It was during Mr. Compston’s early tenure that Hanover Presbytery was entertained at Holmes Church. In April 1857, the members of Presbytery arrived on a Wednesday morning at Cherrystone Wharf by way of a boat from Norfolk. The group was met by many horse-drawn gigs (two-wheeled vehicles) which would convey them to their meetings at Holmes and their host’s houses. Presbytery finished its business on Saturday evening. Each day there was preaching with dinner being served on the church grounds.
The boat from Norfolk arrived on Cherrystone Wharf each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On Monday following the meeting guests were taken to meet the boat. However, a “great gale wind was blowing” and the captain was too prudent to venture forth. All returned to the homes of their host and hostesses whose joy was evident. Preaching each night resumed and when Wednesday came there was no abatement of the storm, so the commissioners remained until Friday, when there was a great calm. The three-day Presbytery had finally come to an end on the tenth day. It was with sad hearts the Holmes members bid farewell to their new friends.
This abbreviated history of Holmes Presbyterian Church that covers the years from 1846 - 1996 was authored by Pat Lusk in 2024 for the PEVA meeting held at Holmes. The document from which he obtained the information (Holmes Presbyterian Church 1846 – 1996, Bayview, Virginia) was originally published by the Sesquicentennial Planning Committee at Holmes under leadership and hard work of Mariabeth J. G. Edwards and the presiding Historian, Theresa G. Long.