Bishop John Stark Ravenscroft
American
| Y/M/D | Description | Association | Composition | Place | Locale | Food | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Y/M/D | Description | Association | Composition | Place | Locale | Food | Event |
| 1772/05/17 | John Stark Ravenscroft is born on his family plantation near Petersburg in Prince George County, Virginia, to parents (physician John Ravenscroft and the former Lilias Miller) who were both descendants of Colonel Robert Bolling. | Born | |||||
| 1789/00/00 | John Stark Ravenscroft attends schools in Scotland and England until 1789, when he returns to Virginia on family business and enrolls at William and Mary to complete a law degree under the tutelage of George Wythe and St George Tucker. | Education | Wythe House | Williamsburg | |||
| 1789/00/00 | John Stark Ravenscroft attends schools in Scotland and England until 1789, when he returns to Virginia on family business and enrolls at William and Mary to complete a law degree under the tutelage of George Wythe and St George Tucker. | Education | Wren Building, College of William and Mary | Williamsburg | |||
| 1792/00/00 | Anne Spotswood Burwell marries John Stark Ravenscroft. | Groom | Marriage of Anne Spotswood Burwell and John Stark Ravenscroft | ||||
| 1793/09/28 | John Ravenscroft recommends carpenter John Inge to Sir Peyton Skipwith, in a letter dated 28 September 1793 in which Ravenscroft states that he is sending Inge to Prestwould. | Life | Prestwould | Clarksville | |||
| 1794/00/00 | Spring Bank is built for John S Ravenscroft and wife Anne S Burwell. | Home | Spring Bank | Lunenburg Courthouse | |||
| 1799/00/00 | Woburn Plantation is built by Jacob Shelor and John Inge for Armistead Burwell and his wife, Lucy Crawley Burwell. Completed circa 1799, Inge was recommended to Burwell by his brother-in-law, John Stark Ravenscroft. | Life | Woburn Plantation Manor House Remains, Burwell Family Cemetery | Clarksville | |||
| 1810/00/00 | Ravenscroft joins the Republican Methodists, a small sect led by James O'Kelly. | Faith | O'Kelly's Chapel | Farrington | |||
| 1826/05/21 | St Matthew's Episcopal Church building is consecrated by the Right Reverend John Stark Havenscroft, the first Episcopal Bishop of North Carolina. | Vocation | St Matthew's Episcopal Church and Churchyard | Hillsborough |
History
John Stark Ravenscroft was born May 17, 1772 in Prince George County into a family with strong ties to the Anglican Church. His great, great grandfather, Captain Samuel Ravenscroft emigrated from England to Boston in 1679 and in 1680 married Dyonisia Savage. In 1686, Samuel, along with a group of other parishioners, founded King's Chapel, the first Anglican Church in Boston. In 1692, three years before his death, he moved his family to James City County, Virginia. Thomas Ravenscroft, the youngest of Samuel and Dyonisia's six children, married Elizabeth Hamlin. In 1723, Thomas and Elizabeth moved to Prince George County, Virginia where he purchased a tract of land on the James River that was originally patented by Captain Samuel Maycox, who was killed in the 1622 Indian massacre. Thomas Ravenscroft represented Prince George County in the House of Burgess from 1727 until his death in 1736. His son, John Ravenscroft married Rebecca Stark, the daughter of Mary Bolling and William Stark. John and Rebecca had two children, the youngest of whom was Dr John Ravenscroft, who married Lillias Miller. Lillias Miller was the daughter of Jane Bolling, Mary Bolling Ravencroft's sister, and Hugh Miller. Lillias' two sisters, Anne and Jean, would be Sir Peyton Skipwith's first and second wives, respectively. Dr John Ravenscroft and his wife, Lillias Miller, had three children, Ann, Jane and John Stark Ravenscroft, the builder of Spring Bank. Soon after the birth of John Stark in 1772, the Ravenscroft family moved to Scotland because of the unstable political conditions in the Colonies. The younger Ravenscroft attended schools in Scotland and England until 1789, when he returned to Virginia on family business and enrolled at William and Mary with the intention of completing a law degree. John Stark Ravenscroft was known as having a mercurial temper and being fully engaged in all the popular vices of the day. He was given the moniker "Mad Jack" by his fellow students while at William and Mary. In a memoir describing the future Bishop's life, one of his fellow students, Thomas Green, wrote, "In Williamsburg, Ravenscroft developed habits which he carried through half his life. He became a skillful swearer; gambling and drinking were his favorite pastimes; violence characterized his personality."
John Stark Ravenscroft returned from Scotland in 1792 after a trip to settle his father's estate. In that same year, at the age of 21, he married Anne Spotswood Burwell. Around 1810, Ravenscroft joined the Republican Methodists, a small sect led by James O'Kelly. This sect was formed early in the 19th century and the founders opposed the use of the Episcopalian ministry structure and believed in the equality of all members of the ministry. This sect of Methodism was short lived and was eventually absorbed into the United Church of Christ. Ravenscroft became increasingly interested in religion and became a candidate for orders in the Protestant Episcopal Church in 1815, a year after the death of his wife. He was ordained the following year and appointed Rector of St James Church in Mecklenburg County. He married Sarah Buford in 1818. In 1823, Ravenscroft was granted a Doctor of Divinity degree from Columbia University and William and Mary College and was elected the first Bishop of North Carolina. Sarah Buford Ravenscroft died in 1829 and Ravenscroft followed close behind in March 1830. The Bishop was buried in a brick vault beneath the chancel of Christ Church in Raleigh, NC, where he had served as Rector since 1823.
The same factors that hindered growth - isolation and poor transportation - protected the county from the upheaval and destruction of the Revolutionary War. The disruptions of war and failing soils were loosening Tidewater's monopoly of the tobacco market. In 1785, Southside produced thirty-three per cent of all the tobacco in Virginia; by 1790 the area produced forty percent of the total tobacco crop; and by 1840, that number had risen to sixty-two percent. The amount of land being cultivated in the county changed little between 1795 and 1800 but the character of the population working the land changed radically. By 1800, the number of slaves (5,876) in the county exceeded the number of whites (4,372). By 1820, with 6,663 slaves, almost double the white population; Lunenburg had one of the highest concentrations of slaves living within its borders in the state. With an increase in production, better transportation and easier access to tobacco markets, wealth in Lunenburg grew. Ravenscroft appears to have moved to Mecklenburg County around 1813, but during his tenure at Spring Bank the property grew from 610 to 2,127 acres. The 1810 census for Lunenburg lists John S Ravenscroft, his wife Anne, and thirty slaves. By the 1820 census he is no longer listed in Lunenburg County but is listed in Mecklenburg County and was serving as the Rector for St James Parish. Ravenscroft's financial situation suffered in his years in the ministry due to his personal generosity and the neglect of his personal holdings. In 1819, Ravenscroft executed a Deed of Trust with William and Lucy Miller for Spring Bank but in 1824, trustees, John W Lewis and John J Nelson, were offering the property for sale at auction. On November 8, 1824, Spring Bank was purchased by Alexander M Hepburn. Alexander McHarg Hepburn (1792-1845) and his brother, Ebenezer McHarg Hepburn (1794-1864) were wards of John S Ravenscroft. When their father, Dr William Hepburn, died in 1794 he named John S Ravenscroft, Lewis Burwell, Samuel Pettus and William Wills Green as guardians of his five minor orphaned children. Dr Hepburn was predeceased by his wife Mary Watts McHarg. Ebenezer and Alexander were two of the five Hepburn boys raised by Ravenscroft and the only ones to survive to adulthood. - NRHP
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