Page:Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography volume 5.djvu/371

 VIRGINIA BIOGRAPHY

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his wife was of Scotch-Irish lineage. Alex- ander Montgomery, great-grandfather of Mrs. Miller, on the maternal side, laid the corner stone of the State Capitol at Rich- mond.

Major Edwin Luzenberg Slaughter. The

Slaughter family in Culijcper county, Vir- ginia, sprang from two brothers, Robert and Francis, who were the sons of Robert and Frances Anne (Jones) Slaughter, and are of English descent. Robert and Francis Slaughter were the first wardens of the fam- ous St. Mark's Parish, chosen by the first vestry in 1731. The Slaughters owned large landed estates in this parish and west of Slaughters mountain, and at the old home- stead "Springfield" was born in 1808 Philip Slaughter, destined many years later to be the chronicler of St. Mark's Parish and many others, as well as historiographer of the diocese of \'irginia. His grandfather and father were both soldiers, the former commanding a regiment at the battle of Great Bridge, the latter serving gallantly throughout the revolutionary war, as cap- tain of the Eighth Continental Regiment, going through the fearful winter at Valley Forge with John Marshall, afterward chief justice «f the United States supreme court, as his lieutenant and messmate. Thus was blended in young Philip Slaughter the quali- ties of his great-grandfather and uncle, the first church wardens, and those of his grand- father and father, the soldiers, and no one ever doubted that the soldier of the Cross would have been as valiant a soldier of the state if called to such service.

Trained by the best tutors of his day and at one of the best classical schools, Philip Slaughter came to the University of Vir- ginia the first year of its existence, and formed one of a class of notable men, many of them afterward distinguished in the ser- vice of the state. He was admitted to the bar, but in a few years entered the Theo- logical Seminary of \'irginia and was or- dained deacon in 1834 and a priest of the Protestant Episcopal church in 1835. For fourteen years he did most efl'ective work in some of the most important parishes of Vir- ginia and elsewhere. Failing health caused him to go abroad in 1848 and 1849. On his return he devoted his energies to the cause of African colonization, with wise fore- thought anticipating and trying thus to avert the dreadful catastrophe he lived to

witness. Five years were devoted to this task and to evangelistic work. He then returned to Slaughters mountain where he built a chapel on his own lands and minis- tered to his neighbors and their dependents, giving his services as a free will offering. Here he lived up to the outbreak of the war, occupying a unique position. A staunch churchman in the midst of other Christian bodies, he provoked no antagonism from those who difi:"ered with him, and by his wise affectionate counsel and sympathy probably did more than any other man in the state to win the respect and often the allegiance of men of every class to the church of his forefathers. An exile from home dur- ing the four years of war, he ministered whenever opportunity offered, to those among whom his lot was cast. In hospital and camp his kindly presence carried help and solace to many a stricken body and many a weary soul. And when the war was over, he came back to his devastated home, the scene of one of its bloodiest battles, and took up the work with the strength that was left, meeting the priva- tions and trials of his lot with the courage of a soldier and the loyalty of a patriot, in uncomplaining toil as an humble parish minister.

He was a man of rare gifts. Of poetic temperament he was fond of literature and was master of the best writers in the Eng- lish language. As a pulpit orator he was unsurpassed in his day, and his personal magnetism was such that he swayed audi- ences at his will. He had great power as a mission preacher and hosts of the careless and indifferent were brought by his preach- ing into the "way of righteousness." His tall spare figure with a manner that com- bined great personal dignity with the ut- most courtesy and kindliness made him no- ticeable in any assemblage, and when he fpoke, a voice whose wonderful modulations even advancmg years could not atfect, never failed to fix the attention of his hearers. In his own home and beyond, he was the trusted friend and adviser as well as the pastor, the adjuster of variances and the ultimate court of arbitration.

And so the end crowned his work after a life spent in the service of his master in the land, and among the people he loverl so well, in the home of his childhood and of his ripened years, he was in the month of June. 1890, "gathered unto his Fathers hav-