Col. David O’Sheal’s Plantation and the Parish Church near the O’Sheal’s Family and the Loyalist, Rev. John Agnew, son-in-law, of Col. David O’Sheal
Chuckatuck Church, renamed, St. Johns, could have been the parish church where the *O’Sheal family* worshipped. It was founded in 1643 and has undergone several renovations. George Carrington Mason (1945) described this colonial church:
“The new church ordered in 1737 is the present Glebe Church, which stands on the north side of U. S. Route 460, the old highway from Portsmouth, a short distance east of the present village of Drivers. The church is situated on high ground at the head of the west fork of Bennett’s Creek…In colonial times, the building was known as Bennett’s Creek Church…It is apparent the new building erected in 1737-8 was regarded as the parish church” (Colonial Churches of Tidewater Virginia, pps. 176-178).
FAMOUS TORY, REV. JOHN AGNEW and HIS AFFILIATION WITH CHUCKATUCK CHURCH, LATER NAMED GLEBE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
Albertson and Albertson (2003), describes where Rev. John Agnew, Teressa Agnew, and Stair Agnew lived, “Josiah Parker’s home…was near the prominent, Tory, Rev. John Agnew. Agnew “lived in Portsmouth, Virginia, at the SW corner of Crawford Street and North Street” (p. 19, Portsmouth, Virginia)
The Rev. John Agnew, a Loyalist, was chosen as minister for Chuckatuck Church in 1754. During his ministry, the talk of independence and the fury toward England gradually increased. Agnew’s loyalty to England drove him to give his famous sermon in 1775, “Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesars.”
It was Agnew’s conviction that those who supported independence were sinners, and it was his duty to God to root out the ungrateful and ungodly. According to Hesperides (1907), “He proceeded to decry the sins of disloyalty and rebellion (p.236). Vestryman, William Cowper, approached the pulpit and ordered Agnew to leave. At Cowper’s demand, Agnew exclaimed, “I am about my Master’s business!” Cowper further roared, “Which Master, your Master in Heaven or your Master over the seas?” Agnew left the pulpit, refusing to show violence and cause a riot; however, the controversy continued, and he was later arrested.
John Agnew, b. 1727, in Middlesex, London, England, son of Jacob Agnew of Kirmanock, Galloway, married Maria Theresa O’SHEAL, daughter of David O’SHEAL. ( Maria Theresa was aka Teresa.) She was born bet. 1721-1740 in Virginia and d. 8 February 1795. John Agnew d. 19 May 1812 in Monckton House, St. Mary’s Parish, York Co., NB,Canada. (OSHEAL CHUMLEY, 2003, by J.V. Michael Motes and later references were found at numerous websites, i.e. New Brunswick Loyalist, Sharon Dubeau)
Research, compiled, and written by Connie Chumley Stringer
* After I pubished this page two years ago, an individual used my research and claimed David O’Sheal is buried at Glebe Church. This false information can be found at www.findagrave.com.
Months ago I contacted personnel at the Glebe Episcopal Church and was told no burial records exist for the period of time when Col. David O’Sheal died and no graveyard is maintained at the church and that only a few old, broken tombstones are located near the front of the church. Then, to satisfy my curiosity, I took a trip to Virginia to explore the grounds at Glebe Church. The following photographs were taken by me 8 April 2011.
No one knows where David O’Sheal died or where he is buried.
A
April 8, 2011
As the Glebe personnel explained…..no graveyard is maintained and no known grave records are in existence…only a few broken tombstones near the front of the church.
Suffok, Nansemond County, Virginia, Location of Col. David O'Sheal's Plantation about five miles from the town of Suffolk.
The map above shows Nansemond County, Virginia, as it was at the time Col. David O’Sheal and his family resided in Suffolk, Virginia, near the community of Driver.