354 THE FEENCH BLOOD IN AMERICA 



A French 



Parish 



Established 



King William 

 Parish 



A French 



Church 



Organized 



The strict parish laws of the province were relaxed in 

 favour of the Manakin Town settlers. In 1700 the As- 

 sembly enacted as follows : 



Whereas a considerable number of French Protestant refugees have 

 been lately imported into his Majesty's colony and dominions, several 

 of which refugees have seated themselves above the falls of James 

 River, at, or near to a place commonly called and known by the name 

 of Manakin towne, for the encouragement of said refugee to settle and 

 remain together, as near as may be to the said Manakin towne, and 

 the parts adjacent, shall be accounted and taken for inhabitants of a 

 distinct parish by themselves ; and the laud which they now do and 

 shall hereafter possess, at, or adjacent, to the said Manakin towne, 

 shall be, and is hereby declared to be a parish of itselfe, distinct from 

 any other parish, to be called and known by the name of King Will- 

 iam Parish, in the county of Henrico, and not lyable to the payment 

 of parish levies in any other parish whatsoever. And be it further 

 enacted ; That such and so many of the said refugees, as are already 

 settled, or shall hereafter settle themselves as inhabitants of the said 

 parish, shall themselves and their familyes, and every of them, be 

 free and exempted from the payment of public and county levies for 

 the space of seven years next, ensuing from the publication of this act. 



V 



Owing to such liberal treatment the colonists were 

 enabled to have a church of their own, and at the first 

 division of land a choice plot of the best glebe was set 

 apart for the use of the pastor. The church which was 

 immediately organized (as a matter of fact the colonists 

 had come as one united church) prospered with the 

 growth of the settlement. According to Bishop Meade, 

 the life of this old church lasted down to about the 

 middle of the last century, services being held in the 

 name of the original organization until 1857. Where 

 harmony and quiet prosperity are the rule, there is apt 

 to be a dearth of material in the shape of records and 

 documents. Such is the case with the church at Manakin 

 Town. The peace was broken, however, in the year 

 1707, when there was an altercation between the pastor 

 and the vestry. Abram Salle, vestryman, deposeth : 



