Salona, Fairfax County, Virginia Part 3

One reason for this belief may have arisen because of a bequest in the will of Elizabeth Lee Jones, the "Miss Betty Jones" of Harriotte's letter. Daughter of Lettice Corbin Turberville and Catesby Jones of Westmoreland County, Miss Betty lived at "Sharon" on part of the George Turberville grant. Her will, dated April 16, 1822, left four acres of her property "as a site for a church and churchyard ... dedicated to the uses and purposes of divine worship in such manner and subject to such rules as shall ... be prescribed by the Rev'd William Maffitt" and eight other ministers: -- Carnahan, Wells Andrews, William Hill, John Mathews, J. B. Hoge, William C.

Walton, M. Baker, and Samuel D. Hoge, all representatives of the Presbyterian Church. William Maffitt was a witness to this will.

Apparently, this was Maffitt's primary connection with the establishment of the Presbyterian Church at Lewinsville.[86]

Chapter II Notes

Salona and the Maffitts

[18] Handwritten family tree, source unknown, in possession of Henry Mackall, Fairfax, Virginia; interviews with Peter Maffitt, direct descendant of William Maffitt, by the author.

[19] John H. Johns, _History of the Rock Presbyterian Church of Cecil County, Md._ (Oxford, Pa.: Oxford Press, 1872) p. 20; interviews with Peter Maffitt by the author.

[20] Princeton University, _General Catalogue, 1767-1845_. Peter Maffitt also investigated and reported that William had not attended the university. Founded in 1746 as the College of New Jersey, Princeton did not have a theological school, as such, until 1812.

Because a persistent legend links Maffitt with South Carolina, the author checked his possible attendance at the College of Charleston, S.C. Surviving enrollment records beginning in 1790 (the college was founded in 1770) show no William Maffitt. Both the College of William and Mary and the University of Delaware reported no William Maffitt listed in any surviving records.

[21] An unsigned note from the Presbyterian Historical Society, 425 Lombard St., Philadelphia, Pa., to the author, dated December 30, 1976, states:

A check of the Presbytery of New Castle Minutes for the dates you cited, revealed mention of Maffitt's name but presented no biographical data. The 7 April 1795 minute referred only to his transfer from New Castle to Baltimore Presbytery and that he would reside in Alexandria.

[22] Letter from the University of Delaware to the author, April 4, 1977. Working papers, Virginia Room, Fairfax County Central Library.

[23] Note to the author from the Presbyterian Historical Society, December 30, 1976.

[24] Board of Trustees, Alexandria Academy, Minutes, April, 1795.

[25] Letter dated February 26, 1798, from George Washington to Dr.

David Stuart. George Washington, _The Writings of George Washington, 1749-1799_, John C. Fitzpatrick, ed. (Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1941), Vol. 36, p. 170.

[26] Mary G. Powell, _History of Old Alexandria, Va._ (Richmond, Va.: William Byrd Press, 1928), p. 155. According to A. J. Morrison in _The Beginnings of Public Education in Virginia, 1776-1860_ (Richmond, Va.: Virginia State Board of Education, 1917), while the Alexandria Academy was incorporated in 1786 with George Washington as one of the trustees, the school seemingly predated its incorporation.

[27] _Alexandria Gazette_, November 4, 1801.

[28] Board of Trustees, Alexandria Academy, Minutes, March, 1804.

[29] This is evident only through announcements in the _Alexandria Gazette_, and not in lodge records, although Maffitt's likeness, a Raphael Peale physiognotrace, is displayed in the Lodge 22 headquarters now located in the George Washington Masonic Memorial in Alexandria and is reproduced in this monograph. Lodge records list Maffitt in 1804 as chaplain, but no other records show even the dates of his initiation or transfer affiliation. F. L. Brockett, _The Lodge of Washington_ (Alexandria, Va.: George E. French, c. 1875) wrote profiles of 34 members of the lodge as of 1814, but these do not include Maffitt. However, Brockett reported that in 1799 Maffitt's charity sermon brought in a collection of $74.52, and his sermon of 1805, $91.67. "Charity sermons were preached on St. John's Day, December 27, and the collection was used to a.s.sist the poor."

[30] _Alexandria Gazette_, December 24, 1799.

[31] The Reverend Thomas Davis, Rector of Christ Church, Alexandria, preached the funeral sermon at Mount Vernon. The Reverend James Muir, pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Alexandria, and Dr. Addison, an Episcopal clergyman from Maryland, also attended the service. Charles W. Stetson, _Washington and His Neighbors_ (Richmond, Va.: Garrett & Ma.s.sie, Inc., 1956), p. 298, quoting Tobias Lear.

[32] Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, Minutes of the General a.s.sembly, 1798, p. 141. The preceding year, Maffitt was listed simply as "licentiate."

[33] Ibid., Minutes, 1800, p. 192. This year, and in succeeding years, Maffitt is listed as "without charge." He did, however, carry out various pastoral duties. In 1802, at the ordination of James Inglis in the Presbyterian Meeting House, Maffitt "concluded the services, after having exhorted the newly ordained pastor and the people of his charge, in a short but impressive address," according to the _Alexandria Gazette_ of April 30, 1802.

In May, 1808, Maffitt was a commissioner to the general a.s.sembly of the Presbyterian Church at its meeting in Baltimore, along with Reverend James Inglis. He was late in arriving and "took his seat the 4th day of the sessions." The minutes of May 23 (p. 399) report that

The Reverend William Maffitt, of the Presbytery of Baltimore, appeared in the a.s.sembly and stated that he had neglected to bring his commission. Two commissioners from the same Presbytery certified that Mr.

Maffitt had been appointed by the Presbytery as commissioner to this a.s.sembly. On motion: _Resolved_, that Mr. Maffitt be received as a member. And he accordingly took his seat.

[34] Letter to the author from Ruth B. Lee, librarian of the Historical Foundation of the Presbyterian and Reformed Church, Montreat, N.C., dated March 29, 1977:

As you will see the first reference to Mr.

Maffitt is as a licentiate in Baltimore Presbytery. His only pastorate seems to have been in Bladensburg (later Hyattsville), and after this he is listed as being without charge. This means that he was not an active pastor in a church. He seems to have remained in Baltimore Presbytery, though of course he may have served outside the Presbytery at some time and still remained a member of that Presbytery. I question whether he was actually ordained by Newcastle Presbytery, since the ordination usually took place when a man was installed as the pastor of a church. The licentiate is the candidate for the ministry who is licensed to preach but is not yet ordained.

Minutes for 1809 (p. 238) and 1814 (p. 184) show Maffitt "without charge." Minutes for 1824 list him in the Presbytery of the District of Columbia as "near Georgetown, D.C." again without charge. The present offices of the Presbytery of the District of Columbia have his death date as his only record in their files.

[35] _Alexandria Gazette_, January 30, 1800.

[36] Ibid.

[37] Ibid., February 10, 1800.

[38] Ibid., February 21, 1803.

[39] Alexandria Library Company, Minutes, 1801, 1802, 1803, 1804.

[40] _Alexandria Gazette_, May 7, 1803. Although this marriage was performed by the pastor of the Presbyterian Meeting house, it did not take place in the church and is not listed in the church records.

[41] Lee, _Chronicle_, p. 183.

[42] Ibid., pp. 182-3.

[43] Ibid., pp. 183, 273. Here is one of the sources of confusion, as Lee states on page 183 that Henrietta was "married secondly to the Rev. William Maffit (sic) of South Carolina."

[44] Ibid., p. 183.

[45] Fairfax County, Virginia, Will Book H, p. 55.

[46] Ibid., I, p. 413.

[47] Old Presbyterian Meeting House, Alexandria, Baptismal Records.

[48] Fairfax County, Virginia, Will Book J, p. 338.

[49] Ibid.

[50] Fairfax County Personal Property Tax Records, 1805.

[51] Fairfax County Census, 1810, #284.

[52] Fairfax County, Virginia, Will Books J, pp. 241, 338; K, p. 143; L, p. 294.

[53] Ibid., L, pp. 294, 302-3.

[54] Harrison, _Landmarks_; Lee, _Chronicle_.

[55] Fairfax County, Virginia, Will Book L, pp. 294, 298.