Marker Logo HMdb.org THE HISTORICAL
MARKER DATABASE
“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
Downtown in Hampton, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
 

Third Church at Kecoughtan

Notable Burials in the Churchyard

 
 
Third Church at Kecoughtan Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, July 31, 2010
1. Third Church at Kecoughtan Marker
Inscription. You are standing within the foundations of the third church at Kecoughtan (present-day Hampton). The first church (1616–1624) was located 1.5 miles south of here and the second one was constructed across the Hampton River about two miles east. It was abandoned and replaced with this building after the hurricane of 1667. This church measured fifty by twenty-seven feet, was of wood-frame construction, and had glass windows. This site was less subject to storms and floods than the second one and was convenient to the main roads in Elizabeth City County.

By 1691, about eight hundred persons lived in the county. They paid their church tax and the minister’s salary in tobacco, the cash crop and medium of exchange. The county court usually fined those who failed to attend church fifty pounds of tobacco.

Among the eight persons having gravestones here in the churchyard, two were parish ministers: James Wallace and Andrew Thompson. Others include Thomas Curle, a justice on the Elizabeth City County court, Admiral John Neville of the British Navy, who died at sea, and Peter Heyman, who was killed by pirates.

During the sixty years (1667–1727) that the church was located here, Hampton developed as a port notable for shipping and shipbuilding. As the town grew, so did the desire of residents to relocate
Paid Advertisement
Click on the ad for more information.
Please report objectionable advertising to the Editor.
Click or scan to see
this page online
the church to a more convenient site near Hampton. In 1728, the fourth parish church—St. John’s Episcopal Church—was completed. It stands today a mile east, the earliest surviving building in Hampton, and continues to serve the oldest active Anglican parish in America.

(sidebar)
Epitaph of Peter Heyman

This stone was given by his
Excellency Francis Nicholson
Esq Lieutenant and Governor
Of Virginia; in memory of Peter
Heyman Esq grandson to Sir
Peter Heyman of Sumerfield in
ye County of Kent. He was
Collector of ye Customs in the
Lower District of James River
and went voluntarily aboard
ye king’s shipp Shoreham in
pursuit of a pyrate who greatly
infested this coast after he had
behaved himself seven hours
with undaunted courage was
killed with small shot ye
29th day of April, 1700 in
Ye engagement he stood next ye
Govenour upon the quarter
deck and was here honorably
interred by his order.

Bringing History to Life
For more visitor information visit: www.VisitHampton.com
In partnership with Virginia Civil War trails, www.civilwartrails.org
 
Erected by Bringing History to Life.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites
Third Church at Kecoughtan Foundation image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, July 31, 2010
2. Third Church at Kecoughtan Foundation
Churches & ReligionColonial EraSettlements & Settlers. A significant historical month for this entry is April 1700.
 
Location. 37° 1.72′ N, 76° 21.631′ W. Marker is in Hampton, Virginia. It is in Downtown. Marker can be reached from the intersection of West Pembroke Avenue and Patterson Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Hampton VA 23669, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Third Elizabeth City Parish Church (within shouting distance of this marker); Black Business (approx. 0.6 miles away); Grand Contraband Camp (approx. 0.6 miles away); Historic St. John's Episcopal Church (approx. 0.7 miles away); Hannah Nicholson Tunnell (approx. ¾ mile away); John Mallory Phillips (approx. ¾ mile away); St. John's Church (approx. ¾ mile away); Circle of Life (approx. 0.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Hampton.
 
More about this marker. On the left is a map of "Hampton, with the church sites" – Courtesy City of Hampton

On the center is a sketch of "Eighteenth-century shipping" – Courtesy Hampton History Museum
 
Also see . . .
Paid Advertisement
Click on the ad for more information.
Please report objectionable advertising to the Editor.
1. Brief History of St. John's Episcopal Church. (Submitted on August 2, 2010, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.)
2. Hampton, Virginia. (Submitted on August 2, 2010, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.)
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on February 1, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 2, 2010, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,185 times since then and 4 times this year. Photos:   1, 2. submitted on August 2, 2010, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.

Share this page.  
Share on Tumblr
m=33899

CeraNet Cloud Computing sponsors the Historical Marker Database.
This website earns income from purchases you make after using our links to Amazon.com. We appreciate your support.
Paid Advertisements
Mar. 19, 2024