WESTERN BRANCH MEETING

(also called Lower and, infrequently, Buskin's Monthly Meeting)

Established: 1737 when the Chuckatuck - Nansemond Monthly Meeting was divided.Divided: 1906 into Black Creek Monthly Meeting and the Corinth - Lower Monthly Meeting. Continues: 1950 under the name of Somerton Monthly Meeting

Counties within bounds of this Monthly Meeting: (1767) Southhampton, Nansemond, Isle of Wight and Norfolk. After 1807 Sussex and Surry. After 1832 all counties 'southeast of James River.

Particular Meeting: Chuckatuck, Nansemond Co.; Southern Branch (Buskin's), Nansemond Co.; Western Branch, Isle of Wight Co.; Terasco (Derascoe) Neck, Isle of Wight Co.; Vick's (Anne West's), Southampton Co.; Johnson's, Isle of Wight Co.; Somerton (Summerton), Nansemond Co.; Black Creek (or Sedley), Southampton Co.; Bennett's Creek (Nansemond Co.); Black Water, Surry Co.; Gravelly Run, Dinwiddie Co.; Corinth, Southampton Co.; Bethel, Southampton Co.

When the ancient monthly meeting of Chuckatuck was divided in 1737 (see Yearly Meeting and Nansemond sketch) part of it was appointed to convene "in the meeting house near Leowin Bufkins'". The official name of this place of worship was Southern Branch and is known to have been on the eastern side of the Southern Branch of the Nansemond River in Nansemond County. Its meeting house was built in 1702 and a full account of its construction is recorded in the Chuckatuck Record. Weeks states that this division of the Chuckatuck Monthly Meeting was first known under the name of the "Nansemond Monthly Meeting" - a name which previously had also applied to the ancient Summerton and then Chuckatuck. Since all monthly and quarterly meeting minutes of the period immediately following 1737 are lost, and since the representatives to the yearly meeting reported only by quarterly meetings, we cannot now say positively what happened, though Weeks is probably correct. In a pamphlet, written in long hand and now in the Baltimore vaults, dated 1762,8th month 17th and entitled "An Account of all Yearly, Quarterly, Monthly and Particular Meetings of the People called Quakers in the several Provinces in America, when and where held and how constituted", Western Branch Monthly Meeting is listed as being in the Virginia Yearly Meeting, Black Water Quarterly Meeting (also called Western Branch and Lower Quarterly Meeting-D.S.B.) and its particular meetings are listed as being: Chuckatuck, Western Branch, Terascoe Neck, Somerton and Murdaugh's. Since Murdaugh's seems merely a continuation of Southern Branch Meeting it is not difficult to bridge the gap.

It is highly probable that the newly divided monthly meeting circulated between the Southern Branch and Western Branch Meeting Houses in its sessions, then as the former meeting grew weaker and the latter stronger and the monthly meeting was permanently settled at Western Branch taking its name. Certainly in 1766 the 11th month, when the surviving Western Branch Monthly Meeting minutes open this is the name of the monthly meeting having jurisdiction over all Quakers in the counties of Southampton, Nansemond, Isle of Wight and Norfolk. In 1738 the Virginia Yearly Meeting was held "at our meeting house at the Western Branch" and under the date of 1753 the representatives to the Yearly Meeting from the "Western Branch Quarterly Meeting" are, John Denson, Samuel Hargrave, Thomas Trotter and William Ealey (Eley). All these are later listed in the Western Branch Monthly Meeting. So we can see that quite early Western Branch became the center of the business activities of the meetings in lower Virginia.Here it is important to pause long enough to learn something of the particular meeting of Western Branch in the Isle of Wight County which gave its name to the monthly meeting. It is famous in the annals of this part of the state. We know by a survey of the civil records of both Isle of Wight and Nansemond Counties that Quakers had been "on the Branch" from the very beginning of the spread of the Society in Virginia. Just when their meeting was organized we do not know, but it must have been early for it is mentioned in 1698 and in the Chuckatuck Record we find the following entry: "Att our men and woman's meeting held at our Publick meeting house on 12th of the first mo in the years 1702 Itt was ordered that friends of the Branch doe goe on & build them a house to meet In first daies & week daies and to sett itt on the ould feild of frances hutchins by the high way side".

In the Isle of Wight County deed book under the date of June 8th, 1702, it is shown that William Scott, Francis Bridle, John Denson, John Sikes, Isaac Ricks bought an acre of land from Francis Hutchins and his son, Richard. This plot was on the Western Branch of the Nansemond River and was part of that granted by Governor Berkeley in 1664. Abraham and Robert Ricks and George (X) Watkins sign the deed. Again referring to the Chuckatuck Record we find the next step taken by these leading Quakers:
   "An Accompt of our meeting House being built by friends in the western branch of Nansemond River in the year 1702 and now is sett upon a spot of ground wch friends did purchase of ffrancis Hutchins the older being twenty five feett in length & twenty foott in width fitted every way with formes (and) Benches sutable for such a House the workmen demand due to them for their work building the sd House is three thousand pounds of Tobb--
   Given By Us the Members of the sd meeting in the above sd year to witt as follows: Isaac Rickes Senior 400 lb Tobb; William Scott Senior 400 lb Tobb; James Denson 400 lb Tobb; Jno Denson 300 lb Tobb; Abrahm Rickes 100 lb Tobb; Jno Rickes 100 lb Tobb; Robt Rickes 100 lb Tobb; John Sikes 150 lb Tobb; Thos. Hampton 220 lb Tobb; ffrances Denson 550 lb Tobb. which in all makes 2650 lb Tobb; "ffrancis Bridle did give nayles towards the building this house. Sence the House is finished there hath been another collection made so as to compleat the above sd sum of Tobb 3200 wts wch is the workmen dus (dues) wch by name is Abraham Rickes & Robt Rickes".
      The surviving record under the specific name of Western Branch Monthly Meeting begins 1767 (though there is one item for 1766) and it continues until 1771. Pages from both the front and back of this book are torn out. There is one other record book for-the years 1806-1823. In 1767 William Eley was clerk of the meeting and we can easily determine the names of the male members by referring to the military exemption listed dated this same year. The families of Eley, Jordan, Copeland, Randolph, Trotter, Outland, Porter, Draper, Lawrence, Pretlow, Johnson, Denson, Vick and Hicks were among the more prominent in the meeting. The years 1767 to 1771 passed without unusual events while the critical difficulties were encountered. In January 1813 the members of the monthly meeting raised relief funds for the aid of-their companions and their_ families "who suffer under the militia law" . . . or "are carried off in the militia". The fines and seizures were heavy during this period and in March 1813 it was reported that "many members (were) . . . being ordered out in militia". Even further, in the same month "on the 27th of the 3rd three young men were taken and carried into the Army in or near Portsmouth and for refusing to bear arms they were by orders of Colonel Francis M. Boykin confined in a dungeon about 48 hours and are still detained in the Army". William Copeland, son of Elisha, is the only one of these three martyrs mentioned by name.
   In 1818 Friends in Southampton County were growing stronger and stronger and "members in the neighborhood of Summerton Creek request that a meeting for worship be established amongstthem". Though they were remote from any meeting their petition was not granted at this time. In 1815 Western Branch Monthly Meeting was reorganized and its meetings are named as being Vick's, Summerton, Black Creek, Western Branch, Johnson's and Bennett's Creek.As early as 1783 (in w's Quarterly Meeting) Western Branch Monthly Meeting was called Lower Monthly Meeting and as time passed the term was used more frequently. From 1823 to 1856 the minutes are missing but then the "Lower Monthly Meeting (was) held at Black Creek Meeting House". Hereafter it is always called "Lower". In the intervening years Black Water Particular Meeting had been added to this monthly meeting and also the care of all Quakers of Surry and Sussex counties. In 1832 Upper Monthly Meeting was discontinued so that Lower Monthly Meeting now had the jurisdiction of all Southside Virginia.
   As time passed and some of the more ancient meetings died (such as Bennett's Creek, Western Branch, Vick's, Johnson's and Black Water) new and vigorous congregations were created to take their place. at Corinth and Bethel, and even ancient Somerton and Black Creek took on new life. In 1844 at Somerton the Virginia Yearly Meeting was discontinued and the Half Yearly Meeting set up, so that once again the weight of influence passed into the hands of the Quakers of Lower Virginia. The Friends in Isle of Wight, Nansemond and Southampton Counties had been those who at the peril of their personal safety had sheltered the first missionaries and helped start the Society of Friends on its long history in this state. Now the weak old man had come back and these same Quakers were to nurse him in his sickness and eventually give him new life and vigor.
   During the War between the states the Virginia Friends suffered the usual persecutions and misunderstandings. In 1861 the situation had proceeded to the point where the Virginia Half Yearly Meeting took steps to correct the erroneous "reports circulating through the newspapers calculated to injure us as a people". Among other statements made at this time concerning the status of Friends in Virginia, two are of special interst: (1) True Quakers fought on neither side though the public was reminded that "many portions of the West are thickly settled by Quakers, some of whose sons may have departed from the faith of their fathers' so far as to join the Army, as we know a few have in some Confederate states but in their so doing only prove that they have forsaken the principles of Friends"; (2) "We here take occasion to say that several years ago some of our members in the West withdrew from their connection with us because the body of the Society would not unite with them in taking an active part in the Abolition movements of that day. There are several other bodies of people calling themselves Friends with whom we have no connection and for whom we are not responsible".
   After the War the Lower Monthly Meeting grew and prospered. A new meeting house was built at Somerton and also one "in the Raiford neighborhood". New meetings organized at Corinth and at Bethel. An aggressive and progressive program of evangelism and education was begun which soon bore fruit. In 1906 Black Creek and Corinth became monthly meetings, while Lower Monthly Meeting continued to meet at Somerton. In 1912 the name was officially changed from Lower to Somerton Monthly Meeting, thus this present court is the heir, by direct descent, of Qhuckatuck, the first monthly meeting in Virginia. It continues to this day. In 1921 Bethel became a monthly meeting also. So, today, in lower Virginia the Society of Friends still thrives under the guidance of four monthly meetings: Somerton, Black Creek (called Sedley), Corinth and Bethel. These are now a part of the Virginia Quarterly Meeting in the Baltimore Yearly Meeting.

D.S.B.

William Wade Hinshaw