RULES AND REGULATIONS
FOB THE GOVERNMENT OF THE
CHURCH WARDENS & VESTRYMEN
OF THE
EPISCOPAL CHURCH, IN SAVANNAH,
• • CALLED
Christ
TOGETHER WITH THE
REPORT OF ONE OF THE VESTRY
UPON THE SUBJECT OF
»
CHRIST CHURCH CEMETERY,
AND THE ACTION OF THE
CITY COUNCIL OF SAVANNAH,
IN REFERENCE THERETO.
Published by Order of the Vestry.
SAVANNAH:
GEORGE N. NICHOLS, PRINTER,
Corner Bay and Drayton-Sts—Up-Stairs.
1857
Robert W. Woodruff
Library
Boles Collection
special collections
emory university
RULES AND REGULATIONS
FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE
CHURCH WARDENS & VESTRYMEN
OK THK
EPISCOPAL (JHtJllCH, IN SAVANNAH
CALLED
Christ C|urc|.
TOGETHER WITH TH1C
REPORT OF ONE OF THE VESTRY
UPON THK SUBJECT OF
CHRIST CHURCH C E M K T K K Y
AND THK ACTION OF THE
CITY COUNCIL OF SAVANNAH,
IN REFERENCE THERETO.
:o:
Published hv Order of the Vestry.
:o:
SAVANNAH:
GEORGE N. NICHOLS, PRINTER,
Comer Bay and Drayton-Sts—Up-Stairs.
1857
C|rist <J|nrt|,
Savannah., Greorgia.
Rector.
Right Rev. STEPHEN ELLIOTT, Jr.
Wardens.
WILLIAM P. HUNTER,
WILLIAM H. CUYLER.
Vestrymen.
WILLIAM T. WILLIAMS,
ROBERT HABERSHAM,
JAMES POTTER,
JACOB WALDBURG,
GEORGE A. GORDON,
P. M. KOLLOCK,
ANDREW LOW.
Secretary and Treasurer.
GEORGE A. CUYLER.
^Uport
Of a Committee appointed for the purpose of Reporting
By-Laws for the Government of the
Vestry of Christ Church.
To the Church-Wardens and Vestrymen of the Episcopal
Church in Savannah, called Christ Church:
The Committee to whom was assigned the duty of exam¬
ining the ancient records of this Church to find whether there
have ever been any regulations or by-laws for the govern¬
ment of your body, and, if none such were discovered, to draft
a series of by-laws for that purpose, respectfully report:
That they have examined with much care the books of
minutes of this body from the fourteenth day of January,
1786, down to the present time, and can find no such by¬
laws spread on the records. Thsy see by the proceedings of
the Vestry on the eleventh day of July, 1794, that the initia¬
tory step was taken for preparing the necessary regulations.
"At a meeting of the Vestry and Church Wardens, on Fri¬
day, 11th July, 1794, Present Richard Wayne and Geo. An¬
derson, Wardens; Sir Geo. Houston, Jos. Clay, Col. Haber¬
sham, N. W. Jones, W. Stephens, Geo. Jones, Vestrymen :
Resolved, That N. W. Jones, Jos. Habersham, and W. Ste¬
phens, Esqr's., be a Committee to frame an ordinance for the
establishment of regulations for the government of the
members of Christ Church."
It will be seen that the word "regulations" is used in the
resolution instead of by-laws, which, when taken in connec¬
tion with the fact that these regulations were intended "for the
government of the members of Christ Church," might at
first blush suggest the impression that they were not designed
to be by-laws for the government of the Vestry. But, on
further consideration, your Committee has come to the con¬
clusion that they were intended to be by-laws. The charter
of the Church (Watkins' Digest, p. 410) nowhere gives us
4
the right, in so n\any words, to enact by-laws ; but it does
clothe us with power "to make all necessary regulations and
rules." The word "regulations," therefore, was rightly and
judiciously chosen, as being in accordance with the language
of the charter. Now, "regulations for the government of
the members of Christ Church" may be either one of two
things. They must be either regulations by which, as a
standard, the members should be guided, in which case, the
book of Common Prayer was superfluous; or regulations
as to the manner in which the government of the members
of Christ Church should be conducted, in which case they
would be designed for the Vestry, who were the government
of the Church. Hence your Committee have concluded that
a former committee was appointed, nearly a century since,
for the very purposes which now occupy their attention.
That committee never reported, or if they did, no trace of
their action can be discovered after a most laborious, but
interesting search into the records of the Church.
Your Committee have, therefore, drafted a series of reg¬
ulations and rule*: for the government of this body which
they respectfully submit.
WiVl H. CUTLER,
GEO. A. GORDON,
Committee,
|lnles anit |kpMiins.
I.—V estry.
The Vestry shall consist of Two Wardens
and Seven Vestrymen, who shall be chosen on Easter
Monday, annually, at the church, between 3Srlhow
the hours of ten and two, by the members and sup¬
porters of the Gospel in said church, as hereinafter
prescribed.
All male communicants of said church who shall
have attained the age of twenty-five, shall ward«8!lbeelec'ed
be eligible to the office of Warden; and all male
members and supporters of the Gospel vesu-ym"nbeelectRl1
in said church, who shall have attained the age of
twenty one years, shall be eligible to the office of
Vestrymen.
In case there be no election as aforesaid, the Vestry
previously chosen shall hold over until Eioctim!1" °°
an election is made ; and the Vestry are authorized
and directed, whenever, through Providential cause
or otherwise, no election has been made, to call a
special election at the earliest practicable oppor¬
tunity.
In case a vacancy occurs in the Vestry by death,
resignation, or otherwise, the Vestry may,
by ballot, fill such vacancy for the unexpired term,
until the next haster election.
II.—O ffi c e r s.
The Warden longest in office shall be, and be styled
the Senior Warden, whose duty it shall SeniorWaiden-
be to preside at all meetings of the Ves- Hlsd,lt,e3
try, and decide all questions of order. In his absence
the Junior Warden shall fill his place, and in the ab-
6
sence of both Wardens, the Vestry shall appoint a
chairman.
The duties of the Wardens shall be to assist, by
waiedenSDuties of tlicir counsel, advice, and exertions, the
Rector of this church ; to have the charge and dis¬
bursement of the communion contribution for the
poor, in the protracted absence or illness 01 the rector;
to use their utmost endeavor to till his place whenever,
through sickness or unforeseen absence, the rector can¬
not officiate, and generally to be the spiritual advisers,
coadjutors, and co-workers ot the Rector of this
church.
At the first regular meeting after the annual elec-
TreSurrer.an(1 tion, the Vestry shall choose a Secretary
Term of office. an(j Treasurer, who shall hold office until
a successor be chosen. A majority of the Vestry shall
how elected. be necessary for a choice, and the Vestry
may elect their officers out of their own bodv or other¬
wise, and unite the offices in one person, if desirable,
compensation. an(^ fix the compensation of said officers.
The duties of the Secretary shall be to give notice
Duties of secretary. 0f meeting, keep minutes of the same in
a proper book and make record of the proceedings of
the Vestry.
The duties of the Treasurer shall be to collect, keep,
Duties of Treasurer. an(j disburse the funds of the church, pay¬
ing stated salaries as fixed by the Vestry, keep proper
accounts ready for exhibition to any member of the
Vestry, and he shall render an annual statement at
the meeting at the Easter election.
III.—Meetings.
Meetings shall be called at any time by the War¬
dens, or upon the request of any two of
How called
7
the Vestry: Provided, that there shall be two regular
meetings always held, to wit: oil Easter Tw™e^ng8r
Monday, and on the first Wednesday in December of
each and every year. No business shall be transacted,
unless a quorum, which shall consist of a majority of
the Vestry, be present.
IV.—V o t e r s.
Each ''member and supporter of the Gospel in said
church," i. e. each male communicant and WhoshallbuVotcw
male pew-holder of said church, shall be entitled to
vote for Wardens and Vestrymen, .,nd on such mat¬
ters as shall be submitted to them by the Vestry :
Provided, that no one person shall be en- Proviso,
titled to more than one vote, nor shall anv one who
' 4/
is in arrears for rent, be entitled to vote.
V.—Duties.
The general duties of the Vestry shall ve^DutieBof
be to appoint the Sexton and other sub- Sexton-
ordinates ; to provide for vacancies of the pulpit in
the protracted sickness or absence of the Rector, or
upon his death or resignation ; to select and appoint
an organist and choir,| and fix their com- 0r?iiniKtan<iChoir-
pensation, and generally to provide for, supervise, and
manage the affairs of the church, the church-building
and its appurtenances.
VI.—A mendments.
These Regulations and Rules may be suspended or
altered by unanimous consent of the whole Vestry
Otherwise any change must be proposed how made,
at one meeting and not acted upon until the subse¬
quent meeting, when it shall require a vote of two
thirds of those present to pass the proposed amend¬
ment.
Of GEORGE A. GORDON, a Member of the Vestry,
upon the subject of the Rights of this Church in refer¬
ence to the ancient Cemetery, known as the Cemetery of
Christ Church.
To the Church Wardens and Vestrymen ol the Episcopal
Church in Savannah, called Christ Church :
The Committee to whom was assigned the examination of
the acts and ordinances of the State and City, which have
reference to the ancient Cemetery known as the "Cemetery
of Christ Church," begs leave respectfully to present the
following report:
As far back as the history of Savannah can be traced,
long anterior even to its incorporation as a town, a "parish
Church and Cemetery of Christ Church" seems to have been
recognized. Your body is aware that the Province of Geor¬
gia was, on the seventeenth day of March, 1758, divided and
constituted into eight parishes, one of which, including Sa¬
vannah, was styled the parish of Christ Church. Many acts
of the Provincial Legislature in reference to these parishes
have been rendered obsolete by their repugnance to the con¬
stitution either of the United States or of Georgia ; but among
those which still remain on our statute book unrepealed and
unaffected by the revolution, are the acts or parts of acts col¬
lated by your committee upon the subject of Christ Church
Cemetery.
The first legislative recognition ot the Cemetery of Christ
Church, which your committee has found, is section 2, of
the act of March 15, 1758, Watkins Digest, page 54. "And
be it further enacted, That from and after the said seven
teenth day of March, one thousand seven hundred and fifty-
eight, the church already erected in the town of Savannah,
and the ground now used for a Cemetery or burial place
thereto, shall be the parish Church and Cemetery of Christ
Church^
9
The fact is here established that in the year 1758, there
was in Savannah a cemetery known as the Cemetery of
Christ Church. Its location and dimensions seem to be a
matter of too common knowledge to be specifically mentioned
in the Statute. It may not be uninteresting, however, to
note, at this point, that in the year 1758, the depth of the
Cemetery was one hundred and ten feet running South.
This we shall see by the extent of its subsequent enlargement.
Its dimensions east and west at this time must be a matter
of conjecture.
By the 2d section of the act of April 7, 1763, Watkins
Digest page 85, it is provided that, "Whereas, the Cemetery
in the parish of Christ Church, belonging to the said parish,
is become too small for the occasion, be it therefore enacted,
&c., That the said Cemetery be enlarged and extended to the
line of Abercorn Street, to the westward, and one hun¬
dred feet to the Southward, the whole to contain two hundred
and ten feet square, and the Church Wardens and Vestrymen
of the said parish are hereby empowered, at their discretion,
to agree with and hire workmen to complmt, inclose, and
finish the same." By this act, we arrive incidentally at the
location of the Cemetery, to wit: that its western terminus
was Abercorn Street, and that from the fact that its further
extension was southwardly, its northern boundary was de¬
fined and limited by a street or road. Here also we see that
its original depth must have been one hundred and ten feet,
since one hundred feet was added to make up the two hun¬
dred and ten feet square. Section 3d of this act, authorized
two hundred feet square "adjoining the line oi the Common,
towards the five acre lots, in a line with the said Cemetery/'
to be laid out "for the conveniency of a burial ground for
negroes."
By the act of April 11, 1768, the Cemetery was still more
enlarged, and the authority of the Wardens and Vestry of
Christ Church over it expressly recognized. "Whereas the
Cemetery or public burying ground for the parish of Christ
Church, notwithstanding the addition made thereunto, by an
B
10
act of the General Assembly, passed April 7, 1763, is appa¬
rently too small to answer the purposes thereby intended,
&c., be it enacted, that, immediately after the passing of this
act, it shall and maybe lawful to and for the Church Wardens
and Vestry of the parish of Christ Church aforesaid for the
time being, and they are hereby authorized and empowered
to lay out an addition of one hundred and seventy feet
in length of and from the Common of the town of Savannah,
and adjoining to the eastward the present Cemetery or
public burial ground, and that the addition so laid out, made
and extended shall from thenceforth forever he and remain
as part and parcel of the said Cemetery or public burial
ground, and that the Church Wardens and Vestrymen of the
said parish for the time being, shall be and they are hereby
empowered to enclose the same accordingly at their discre¬
tion," &c. Here, again, the location is plainly marked. Ab-
ercorn Street remains the western boundary, the northern
boundary remains untouched, and the only extension is to
the east. From these several acts, therefore, there can oe no
doubt that the Cemetery of Christ Church was situated on a
portion of that piece of ground in the City of Savannah now
known as the Old Grave Yard, or, as styled in a recent ordi-
dinance "the old or brick cemetery." It is important here
to note the dimensions of the Cemetery mentioned in the
above acts. By the act of 1763, it was made two hnndred
and ten feet square ; and by the act of 1768, an addition of
one hundred and seventy feet was made to the eastward;
so that, in 1768, the dimensions of the Cemetery of Christ
Church were three hundred and eighty feet east and west;
and two hundred and ten feet north and south.
Such were the provisions of the General Assembly in ref¬
erence to the Cemetery of Christ Church, anterior to the rev¬
olution, when Savannah was but a part of the parish of
Christ Church. In 1776, the independence of the United
States was formally declared, and on the 5th day of February,
1777, Georgia published her constitution as a sovereign
$tate. This constitution was amended and substituted by
11
another, adopted at a later day, but from this time she be¬
came a State. On the 19th of February 1787, the General
Assembly passed an act for the better regulating the town of
Savannah and the hamlets thereof, dividing it into wards,
and providing for the election of a warden for each ward,
who should form the town council. These wardens with
their president, corresponded to the mayor and aldermen now
elected as the city council of Savannah. It is important to
see how they regarded the ground known as the Cemetery
of Christ Church. For the town property being represented
by the council, any act of ownership on their part is strong
proof of the public character of the property claimed. And,
on the other hand, any recognition on their part of property
in another, whether individual or corporation, is evidence that
at least it is not public property. On page 24 of Minutes of
Council for the years 1789 to 1809, is an ordinance so
interesting and important that your Committee has copied it
entire. It is entitled,
"An ordinance for Enlarging the Cemetery or public
Burial Ground, and for Laying off a Burial Ground for
Negroes. (Minutes of City Council 1789—1809, pages 24,
25, 26.)
Whereas, the Cemetery or public burial of the parish of
Christ Church, in the town of Savannah, notwithstanding
the several additions, which have, by acts of the General
Assemblys under the provincial government, been made
thereto, containing in the whole two hundred and ten feet
in width, and three hundred and eighty feet in length
is found too small to answer the purposes intended. And
whereas, it hath been represented to the Board of War¬
dens that it is necessary a further addition should be made
thereto.
"Be it ordained, That the County Surveyor be authorized
and required, and he is hereby authorized and required to
admeasure and lay off from the lands, being the Common of
the town of Savannah, one hundred and twenty feet to the
eastward, and two hundred and ninety feet to the southward,
12
to be added to the present Cemetery or burial ground, so
that the whole be five hundred feet square.
"And be it ordained, That the addition of one hundred
and twenty feet eastward, and two hundred and ninety feet
southward, so laid out, added and extended, shall from hence¬
forth and forever be and remain a public burial ground, for
the interment of all christian people of whatever denomina¬
tion, and not to be considered as belonging or appertaining
solely to the Episcopal Church of Savannah, commonly call¬
ed Christ Church.
"And be it further ordained, That with the consent of the
Vestry of Christ Church, a proper person shall be appointed
to superintend the digging of graves in the said burial
ground, to prevent the deposit of the dead being disturbed;
and that the person so appointed shall be entitled to demand
and receive the following fees : for digging the grave and
closing the same, four shillings.
"And whereas, by an act of the General Assembly, passed
April 7th, 1763, two hundred feet square on the Common,
towards the five acre lots, for the convenience of a burial
ground for negroes, was directed to be laid out.
"Be it further ordained, That the County Surveyor be au¬
thorized and required, and he is hereby authorized and re¬
quired, to admeasure and lay out the said two hundred feet
square for a burial ground for the said negroes, and that the
same, so admeasured and laid off shall be forever considered
as a place of burial for the negroes
"And be it further ordained, That the plats of the said
County Surveyor be annexed to, and shall be considered as
part of this ordinance.
"Signed by order of the Board Wardens, convened the
29th day of July, 1789. '
"SAM'L STIRK, President.
"Thomas Pitt, Town Clerk.
13
harden Lots.
•Q9-Q1 CT 82, -S
«S
c
Road 108 f.
Stif 200 f.==f|^t
I ~
o
Stake.
•a 8L "S I
C. L.
5 85
Common.
A.
St
o
C
N. 78 W.
500 f.
Church
Cemetery.
<♦4
O
'■ COUNTY OF CHATHAM.
At the request of the Board of Wardens of the Town of Savannah,
I have laid out at the spot A, 200 feet square for the purpose of a
burying ground for the negroes. The offsets from the Common are
laid down after the plan of tho Town corrected in 1770. Done in
the presence of a Committee of said Board, and certified this 16th
July, by CLAUD THOMPSON, C. S. C."
14
Cor. Stake.
Common.
~N. 78 West, 500 feet"
' Cor. Stake.
25,
o
o
£
<N
Xfl
Burying Ground.
380 f.
ts>.
o
£
3
o
U
Cor. Stake.
JOSl
Old Cemetery j2>!
O:
•J 088 '3 81 'S 11 Cor. Stake.
Street 157.
Fourth Tything.
Anson's Ward.
a
S
o
fo
<
so
3
3
&
=r
" COUNTY OF CHATHAM.
At the request of the Board of Wardens of the Town of Savannah,
I have laid out the burying ground or Cemetery of said Town (being
500 feet square) in manner and form above described. Certified
by CLAUD THOMPSON, C. S. C.
"Savannah. July 8. 1789."
15
Three important conclusions are at once suggested by the
reading ot the above ordinance. In the first place, the
identity of the "Cemetery of Christ Church," with a portion
of what is now called the Old Grave Yard, is established be¬
yond a doubt. Location, dimension, shape, all correspond
with the descriptions and provisions of the acts above cited,
and, as though to leave no room for cavil at any future time,
a survey is made and ordered to be spread upon the minutes
of council. The intention of this act was to prevent Christ
Church from ever claiming the additional land there set
apart for all christian people. Strange it would be, if the
very ordinance which in 1789, was ordained for the purpose
of protecting the people against you, should, a century later,
prove a means of protection for you against the people.
Strange should the surveyor's draft, which was made to bar
your claim to one moiety, prove the instrument of establish¬
ing your right to the other.
Another important admission made by this ordinance is,
that the Cemetery of Christ Church, 380 feet by 210 feet
"belonged and appertained solely to the Episcopal Church
in Savannah, commonly called Christ Church." In read¬
ing the acts of the provincial legislature above cited, your
Committee has thought a doubt might sometimes arise
as to the import of such words as the ''parish of Christ
Church," whether they were to be construed as meaning
one of the eight parishes into which the State was divided,
in which case the Cemetery in question must be considered the
public property of (the county of Chatham as we l^nvcall) the
parish, i. e. the county of Christ Church, or whether they were
to be taken in an ecclesiastical sense. The latter position seem¬
ed the more tenable from the fact that the acts vest the Cem¬
etery not only in the Wardens of the parish of Christ Church
who might be the Wardens, i. e. public officers of the parish
or county, but in the Wardens and Vestrymen of the parish
of Christ Church, which can have reference to none other
than the board of which we are the successors. But, by
the light of this ordinance, there can be no doubt as to the
16
true interpretation of the words, or, at any rate, the construc¬
tion which was put upon them by the only persons interested,
to wit, the President and Wardens ot the Town of Savaunah.
A third most valuable deduction from this ordinance is the
recognition therein of the binding validity ot the acts of the
Provincial Legislature in reference to this subject. The act
of 1763, as has been seen, directed a certain portion of land
to be set apart for the burial of negroes. It is the same act
which extends the limits of the Cemetery of Christ Church.
What is the action of the Board of Wardens of Savannah ?
Referring to this act as their authority, they enact an ordi¬
nance to carry out its provisions to the very letter. If the
provincial legislature had power to set apart two hundred
feet square for the "conveniency of burial for negroes," they
had power to give to the Episcopal Church of Savannah,
commonly called Christ Church, three hundred and eighty
by two hundred and ten feet for the -'conveniency of the
burial" of its people.
The theme is prolific, and your Committee had thought of
presenting some further suggestions upon this ordinance—
such as the appointment of the grave-digger only ''with the
consent of the Vestry of Christ Church," the recognition of
the precise piece of land the property of the Episcopal
Church as was specified in the acts of the provincial legisla¬
ture, the dedication as a public burial ground of only so much
as was added, expressly excluding the Cemetery of Christ
Church, and sundry other reflections of a like character. But
too much sjface has already been occupied.
If it be conceded that the ''Cemetery of Christ Church" was
the individual property of the Episcopal Church of that
name, the next act, which your Committee will cite, is preg¬
nant with importance—and that importance is not diminished
by the consideration of its following so close on the heels of
thejibove ordinance. On December 23d, 1789, five months
after the passage of the ordinance, the General Assembly of
the State of Georgia passed an act "to incorporate the Epis¬
copal Church in Savannah called Christ Church." One
17
of the provisions of that act is as follows: "And they the
said Church Wardens, and Vestrymen afore¬
said, shall be invested with all manner of property, both real
and personal, all monies due, donations, gifts, grants, heredit¬
aments, privileges and immunities, whatever, which may be¬
long to said Church ," &c., "to have and to hold the same for
the proper use, benefit and behoof of the said Church," &c.
Here we have, in the broadest and most comprehensive lan-
guage, a confirmation by the State of Georgia of all property
belonging to Christ Church and among the rest, if the Pres¬
ident and Wardens, may be trusted, of three hundred and
eighty by two hundred and ten feet of ground, bounded at
present by South Broad Street on the north, by Abercorn
Street on the west, and on the remaining sides by the public
burial ground of Savannah.
Had it not been so, it is natural to believe that our
predecessors in this body woulc1 have taken some such
step for the reservation of the resting place of their holy
dead, as was done by the parish of St. Pauls. The parish
of St. Pauls, like the Parish of Christ Church, was one
of the, so to speak, provincial counties of Georgia, and
the parish church and burial place of St. Paul were set
apart and incorporated by the same provincial act of March
15, 1758, as were the parish church and cemetery of Christ
Church. But the Church of St. Paul was not incorporated
by the Legislature of Georgia until a comparatively recent
period, (December 21st, 1819,) so that whatever property it
may have possessed previous to the revolution was not vested
in its Wardens and Vestry by any formal act of the legisla¬
ture of the State of Georgia until that time. To meet that
contingency and to prevent the desecration of the ancient
burial ground of St. Paul, the Episcopalians of the city of
Augusta, procured the passage of an act, on December 19,
1818, vesting the ancient burial ground in the Trustees of
the Protestant Episcopal Church in that city. Now, had
not the old Cemetery of Christ Church been a portion of the
property vested in them by their charter, our predecessors in
c
18
the vestry of this Church would have used like means for the
sacred keeping of its cemetery. Had the Council of Savannah
instead of recognizing their right of property in the Cemetery,
ignored and usurped it by the ordinance above cited, the
charter would have been more specific, though it could not
have been more absolute.
Our next search into the ordinance books of Savannah,
brings us to one of March 7, 1803. (Ordinance of Council
for 1800, IS05, page 297.) In this Ordinance Christ Church
is not recognized as having joint authority over the grave-
digger as before. Among other things it provides -'that no
vaults or tombs be for the future dug or enclosed in the bury¬
ing ground without previous leave obtained from Council,
and that the grave-digger hav 1 notice of this resolution, and
see the same attended to.'" Your Committee does not trans-
scribe this or a succeeding ordinance of October 31, 1803, in
full, because of the fact that they are merely police regulations,
in reference to the duties of the sexton, the register of burials,
and the proper preservation of the lots therein. No allusion
is made to the Vestry of Christ Church, nor any evidence
to show our joint ownership. It may not be uninteresting
to note, in passing, that, the original two hundred f?et set
apart for a burial ground for persons of color, was abandoned
about this time, and, by ordinance of September 3d, 1810, a
new one was dedicated to that use, which was known to
most of us a few years since as the Negro Burying Ground.
The Savannah Medical College marks the location of the
original dedication.
On the 14th of March, 1839, an ordinance was passed,
consolidating all previous ordinances on the subject of burial
grounds and repealing all in repugnance thereto. By this
ordinance, we find that there were at that time three ceme¬
teries in the city of Savannah, one called by the ordinance
" the new Cemetery in Abercorn-sreet," which will be recog¬
nized by us as the old Potter's Field ; one " the old or Bric&
Cemetery," and the third " the burial ground now used for
persons of color;" which three cemeteries were declared to
19
" be the only places for burial for all persons, who may or
shall be buried in the city of Savannah," &c. The larger
part of this ordinance possesses no interest in connection with
the subject now before your committee. A distinction drawn
in the sixth section, however, between the new cemetery"
and "the old or brick Cemetery," appears to be somewhat
significant.
"Sec. <3—Be it further ordained. That it shall be the duty
of the sexton to bury in the new cemetery all strangers, who
have no relations interred in the old cemetery, unless some
proprietor or owner of a vault in the old cemetery shall con¬
sent, in writing, that the body of the stranger may be buried
in his or her vault, in which case it shall be the duty of the
sexton to report such written permission to the mayor and
chairman of the cemetery committee, who may confirm or
refuse said permission according to his or their discrefion."
The first consideration, suggested by this section, is that the
authority of the city over the two cemeteries was not the
same. Over the new cemetery its power was absolute, be¬
cause the land was the property of the city and by it alone
dedicated. The authority of the city over the old cemetery,
on the other hand, is supervisory, as though it were a trustee
for certain uses. It may be replied that this was owing to
the fact that it had parted with the lots to individual purcha¬
sers and it could not therefore exercise the same control as
over one, but recently laid out. This may be so, but, under
that supposition, the title to the lots would not be in the city,
and, if so, how could they nrrogate such authority as the
abrogation of a written permit of the owner of a lot; and
this suggests a second consideration, in connection with this
section, to wit: that the owners or proprietors of lots in the
old cemetery did not possess fee simple titles. If they had,
what power on earth could prevent their entering whom¬
soever they pleased in their own vault ? and yet their written
permission so to do was invalid and ineffectual unless coun¬
tersigned by the mayor. There was something behind this
ordinance to render interments in the old cemetery so difficult,
20
and, though these considerations may not prove much, they,
at least, suggest the fact that, paramount even to the title
which was obtained by the proprietor of a lot, there was a
vested interest somewhere, superior and anterior to that title,
which the chief executive of the city was bound to look after
and protect.
The subject grows as we proceed, but it is time to draw
this report to a close.
To sum up, your committee has collated the following
acts and ordinances in reference to the Cemetery of Christ
Church :
1st. The Act of March 15th, 1758—Watkins' Digest page 54.
2nd. " " April 7th, 1763— " " " 85.
3d. " " April 11th, 1768— " " " 150.
4th. The Ordinance of July 29th, 1789—Ordinances for 1789,
1809, pp. 24-5-6.
5th. The Act of December 23,1789—Watkins' Digest p. 410.
6th. The Ordinance of March 7th, 1803—Ordinances for 1800,
1805 p. 297.
7th. The Ordinance of March 14th, 1839—Revised Ordi¬
nances, title Cemetery.
In conclusion, it may be asked, to what does this investi¬
gation tend—what practical result will have ensued from this
search into the past ?
In the first place, if viewed simply as an investigation of
the former history of our church, your committee feels satis-
satisfied that the time has not been idly wasted, which has been
devoted to the perusal of these precious records. In this age
of bustling progress, amid the cares and excitement of every
day affairs, we are too apt to drop unheeded those precious
links in the chain of history, which, scattered lavishly within
our reach, will to another generation be lost forever. The
race of men, whose minds are stored with reminiscences of
the last century, is gradually disappearing, and, as they, one
by one, pass away to their eternal rest, with each is buried a
mine of what will soon be priceless. The records, which we
have cited, are to be found in but one perishable volume in
21
the archives of the city; should they bfe destroyed, by some
contingency of the future, how precious would he even this
meagre and imperfect report to the bewildered antiquarian of
the next century. Our lives in this generation are cast at an
eventful period in the history of our country. If we are true
to ourselves and our children we will not suffer the u 11 writen
history of our country to die with the patriarchs of to-day.
By the light of all, which the writer has heard from one, to
whom he is indebted for so 'large a portion of the information
given in this report, how does the subject become magnified
in importance ! From lip to lip for years past has h<; been
gathering and storing in a memory peculiarly retentive, facts
of most inestimable value—From the treasure-house of his
memory was this investigation started, while for decades of
years these same records have existed and no examination
made thereof—we allude to R. R. Cutler, Esq. We repeat
that, if considered as simply an historical investigation into
the affairs of our church of old, it should not be considered
valueless.
But, in the next place, we have not only gathered an
interesting, historical fact, to wit: that in former years Christ
Church did own the original cemetery, now included in the
old or brick cemetery, but we have incontrovertible proof
that, whether she can ever claim it as her own or not, Christ
Church, through its vestry, can to-day and forever prevent the
desecration of its sacred soil for any secular purpose whatever.
And, when three hundred and eighty by two hundred and
ten feet in the oid grave yard were vested in the wardens
and vestry of Christ Church for the purposes of a cemetery
no lapse of years, no adverse possession, nothing short of an
obliteration of every record we have cited, can divest them ot
that right—Without the consent of Christ Church that spot
,»f ground can never be appropriated to any other use. Need
I expatiate upon the privilege ? A generation hence, and it
will be too late to ask tor what would now be eagerly grant¬
ed. With all of us is the sand of that cemetery made sacred
by the ashes of some loved one, and, though the scattered
22
bones may have been gathered and removed, the soil, in
which those bones have rested, is holy ground. We tonch
not, then, the question of our absolute, legal right to the
cemetery—your committee deems it unwise and inexpedient.
We would simply suggest that now, since you have found
your position, some action be taken conjointly by the vestry
of this church and the City Council of Savannah. To the
latter, that spot is as dear as to us, and our suggestions would
meet a hearty response from them. In amicable unity this
labor of love could be accomplished and the hallowed ground
wherein our dead have rested, be forever secured from future
desecration.
Respectfully submitted,
GEORGE A. GORDON, Committee.
Savannah, April 26, 1856.
At a meeting of the Wardens and Vestry of Christ Church,
held at the church, November, 1856, the Secretary was
ordered to have the following application to Council, signed
by the Wardens and Vestry, handed to Council, and spread
upon the minutes:
To the Honorable the Mayor and Aider men of the City
of Savannah :
The undersigned, Wardens and Vestry of the Episcopal
Church in Savannah called Christ Church, respectfully
present:
That the establishment by the City Council of Savannah
ofLaurel Grove Cemetery and the abandonment, for purposes
of burial, of the old or brick cemetery, afford, in their judg¬
ment, a proper occasion for putting on record their claim to
three hundred and eighty (3S0) by two hundred and ten (210)
feet of ground in the old cemetery, bounded on the north by
South Broad street, on the wset by Abereoru street and on
the remaining sides by the public burial ground of Savannah.
That they are advised by counsel that the lit e to the
aforesaid portion of the old or brick cemetery is now, and has
always been, in the Wardens and Vestrymen of said church.
23
The undersigned, therefore, animated by no want of confi¬
dence in your honorable body, but fearful that, at some future
time, the attempt may be made to appropriate to some secular
use the sacred soil of the old cemetery, respectfully request
that this, their claim to a portion thereof, bounded as follows,
to wit: commencing at the corner of South Broad, and Aber-
corn streets, thence running east three hundred and eighty
feet along the line of South Broad street, thence south two
hundred and ten feet, thence west three hundred and eighty
feet, thence north, along the line of Abercorn street, two
hundred and ten feet to the place of beginning, be spread as
of record upon the minutes of your honorable body.
Respectfully,
WILLIAM P. HUNTER, ) w ,
WILLIAM H. CUYLER, } Wardens-
WILLIAM T. WILLIAMS,
ROBERT HABERSHAM, I
JAMES POTTER, I v ,
JACOB WALDBURG, \ Vestrymen
P. M. KOLLOCK, I
GEORGE A. GORDON, j
OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS OF COUNCIL.
Savannah, Sept. 3, 1857.
Council met. Present; His Honor James P. Screven,
Mayor; Aldermen Purse, Gordon, Foley, Champion, Basin-
ger, Lacklison, Cohen, Falligant, Miller, Posey and Arnold.
The minutes of the last meeting of Council were read and
confirmed.
In the matter of the memorial of the Wardens and Vestry¬
men of Christ Church, the report of the Corporation Attor¬
ney was taken up and read, viz :
24
To the Honorable the Mayor and Mdermen, fyc.
The memorial of the Wardens and Vestrymen of the Epis¬
copal Church, in Savannah, called Christ Church, in regard
to their claim to a portion of the old brick cemetery, has been
before me lor some time under a reference from your Honor¬
able body. The importance of the subject has justified a
careful examination of the question submitted, and will, I
trust, render unnecessary any apology for the time bestowed
upon the investigation.
By reference to the memorial, it will be seen that the claim
extends to " three hundred and eighty (380) by two hundred
and ten (210) feet of ground in the old cemetery, bounded on
the north by South Broad street, and on the west by Aber-
corn street, and on the remaining sides by the public burial
ground of Savannah; and the memorialists state that "the
establishment by the City Council of Savannah of Laurel
Grove Cemetery, and the abandonment for purposes of burial
of the old or brick cemetery, afford, in their judgment, a pro¬
per occasion for putting on record their claim and although
they ask nothing more of Council, at present, than that their
claim " be spread as of record upon the minutes of your
Honorable body," yet it is proper that the claim be investi¬
gated <and the rights of all parties in the premises be con¬
sidered.
The earliest public recognition of a burial place or cemetery
at Savannah, of which I have any knowledge, is the provin¬
cial act of 1758, (Watkins' Digest, pp. 52, 53 and 54,) and is
entitled "An Act for constituting and dividing the several
Districts and divisions of this province into parishes, and for
establishing of religious worship therein, according to the
rites and ceremonies of the Church of England, and also for
empowering the Church Wardens and Vestrymen of the re¬
spective parishes to assess rates for the repair of Churches,
the relief of the poor, and other parochial services"—by which
it is in the first section enacte i that " the town and district
of Savannah, extending up the River Savannah, including
the islands therein, as far as the south-east boundary of Go-
25
shen, from thence in a south-west line to the River Great
Ogechee, and from the town of Savannah eastward, as far as
the mouth of the River Savannah, including the sea islands
to the mouth of the River Great Ogechee, and all the settle¬
ments on the north side of the said river, to the western
boundaries thereof, shall be and forever continue a parish, by
the name of the parish of Christ Church and by the second
section of the same act it is enacted " that from and after the
said seventeenth day of March, one thousand seven hundred
and fifty-eight, the Church already erected in the town of
Savannah, and the ground as now used for a cemetery or a
burial place thereto, shall be the parish Church and Ceme¬
tery of Christ Church."
The next act in point of time is that of April 7th, 1763,
(Watkins' Dig. p. 85,) by the second section of which it is
recited and enacted as follows: " And whereas,the cemetery
in the parish of Christ Church belonging to the said parish is
become too small for the occasion, Be it therefore enacted by
the authority aforesaid, That the said cemetery be enlarged
and extended to the line of Abercorn street to the westward,
and one hundred feet to the southward, the whole to contain
two hundred and ten feet square, and the Church Wardens
and Vestrymen of said parish are hereby empowered, at their
discretion to agree with and hire workmen to complete, in¬
close and finish the same."
The next act in order to that of April 11th, 1768, (Watkins,
Dig. 149, 150, which, reciting that "wnereas the cemetery
or public burial ground for the parish of Christ Church, not¬
withstanding the addition made thereunto by an act of the
general assembly, passed on the seventh day of April, in the
year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and sixty-three,
is apparently too small to answer the purposes thereby in¬
tended, and it appearing necessary to make a further addition
thereto," enacts " that immediately after the passing of this
act, it shall and may be lawful to and for the Church Wardens
and Vestry of the parish of Christ Church aforesaid, for the
time being, and are hereby authorized and empowered to lay
D
26
out an addition of one hundred and seventy feet in length, of
and from the common of the town of Savannah, and adjoin¬
ing to the eastward, the present cemetery or public burial
ground, and that the addition so laid out, made and extended,
shall from thenceforth forever be and remain as part and
parcel of the said cemetery or public burial ground, and that
the Church Wardens and Veslrv of the said parish for the
time being shall be, and they are hereby empowered to en¬
close the same accordingly, at their discretion, any thing in
any law heretofore enacted to th« contrary notwithstanding."
By the Constitution of Georgia, adopted in 1777, " the
parish of Christ Church ai l the lower part of St. Philip"
were created into a county, to be known by the name of
Chatham and, so far as I have found, by any public record,
the cemetery or public burial ground for the parish of Christ
Church," as it is called in the provincial act of 1768. remain¬
ed a public cemetery or burial ground as far down as the
year 1789. In that year an Ordinance was passed by the
Board of Wardens of the town of Savannah, entitled "An
Ordinance for enlarging the cemetery or burial ground, and
for laying off a burial ground for negroes," and reciting that,
u whereas, the public burial ground or cemetery of the parish
of Christ Church, in the town of Savannah, notwithstanding
the several additions which have, by acts of the general assem¬
bly under the provincial government, been made thereto,
containing in the whole two hundred and ten feet in width,
and three hundred and eighty feet in length, is found too
small to answer the purposes intended ; and whereas, it hath
been represented to the Board of Wardens that it is necessary
a further addition should be made thereto, it was then "or¬
dained that the county Surveyor be authorized and requred
to admeasure and lay off from the lands being the commons
of the town of Savannah, one hundred and twenty feet to the
eastward, and two hundred and ninety feet to the southward,
to be added to the present cemetery or burial ground,so that
the whole be five hundred feet square," and it was further
" ordained that the addition of one hundred and twenty feet
27
eastward, and two hundred and ninety feet southward, so laid
out, added and extended, shall from henceforth and forever
be and remain a public burial ground, for the interment of ail
christian people of whatever denomination, and not to be
considered as belonging or appertaining solely to the Episco¬
pal Church of Savannah, commonly called Christ Church."
Another section provides, "'that with the consent of the
Vestry of Christ Church, a proper person shall be appointed
to superintend the digging of graves in the said burial ground,
to prevent the deposit of the dead being disturbed; and that
the person so to be appointed shall be entitled to demand
and receive the following fees for digging the graves and
closing the same—four shillings."
Pursuant to that Ordinance, the county Surveyor returned
a plat of the burial ground, as laid off by him, and within the
area of five hundred feet square is marked the location
of the " old cemetery," two hundred and ten by three
hundred and eighty feet.
The " old, or brick cemetery," as it now stands, was then
laid out by said extension, and contains five hundred feet
square, including the said area of two hundred and ten by
three hundred and eighty feet claimed by the Wardens and
Vestrymen of Christ Church, and it only remains to be seen
whether the claim is exclusive of other denominations or the
public.
The memorialists state that •' they are advised by counsel
that the title to the aforesaid portion of the old or brick ceme¬
tery is now, and has always been, in the Wardens and Ves¬
trymen of the said Christ Church." By the term title I
suppose is meant a claim to the freehold or fee in the soil;
but I will consider the claim as grounded also on a supposed
dedication of the soil as a place of sepulture for the dead of
a particular denomination of christians, and this I propose to
consider first. I have already had occasion to express to your
Honorable body the opinion, in the case of a highway, that
the easement or right of user in the public, is perfectly con¬
sistent with the existence of the freehold in the owner or
28
owners of the adjoining land. In this case the claim is against
and not by the public. The acts and ordinances already
referred to show that the dedication was not by a private
owner of the soil, but by authority of the public in whom the
freehold is supposed to have been at the time of the dedica¬
tion. But I do not regard the question of original ownership
as at all varying the principle. Humanity forbids that
the state of the case, that is, the original ownerihip
being private or public, should practically affect the result.
A dedication by public authority for public or charitable pur¬
poses is, or ought to be, irrevocable; certainly as long as the
original object of the dedication remains ; and I have no idea
that the Mayor and Aldermen can revoke the dedication
made by the Ordinance of 1789, and I am clear in the opinion
that they cannot revoke that made by authority of the general
assembly, to wit: of the two hundred and ten by three hun¬
dred and eighty feet. It cannot be necessary to anticipate
the time—probably a very remote period—when there shall
be no living person to claim a repose in the old cemetery
for the ashes of those who have been deposited there by such
claimant or his ancestors; nor is it necessary now to inquire
whether, on the supposition that such time will come when
that cemetery shall no longer be considered as consecrated
ground, municipal or State authority will be required to
divert the soil to purposes other than those of the repose of
the dead then lying there. I propose, then, to consider the
claim of the Wardens and Vestrymen to the law itself, simply
remarking that, so far as a dedication for charitable or reli¬
gious purpeses is concerned, a dedication to the congregation
of Christ Church exclusively, if such ever was made, would
have have been as good without as with an act of incorpora¬
tion.—2 Peters, 536 ; 12 Geo. Rep. 239.
But I do not think there was ever any such exclusive
dedication, as I shall endeavor to show in considering the
question of title to the soil.
By an act of the General Assembly of Georgia, passed on
the 23d December, 1789, (about five months after the ordi-
29
nance of the Board of Wardens of the same year,) Christ
Church was incorporated—that is, certain persons named in
the act, and their successors in office, "by the name and style
of the Church W ardens and Vestrymen of the Episcopal
Cnurch in Savannah, called Christ Church."—Marbury and
Crawiord's Digest, 144; and the act declares that they, the
said Wardens and Vestrymen, " shall be invested with all
manner of property, both real and personal : ail monies due,
donations, gifts, grants, hereditaments, privileges and immu¬
nities whatever, which may belong to the said Church; all
monies that have been granted for rebuilding the said Church,
or for building a new Church, or which may hereafter be
given, granted, conveyed or transferred for rebuilding the
said church, or for building a new church in Savannah ; or
which may be made or transferred to them, or their success¬
ors in office : To have and to hold the same, for the proper
use, benefit and behalf of the said church ; and the said
Church Wardens and Vestrymen, and their successors in
office shall be, and they are hereby declared to be, capable of
sueing and being sued, and of using all necessary legal steps,
for recovering and defending any property whatsoever, while
the said church may hold, claim or demand, and is therein
secured, or otherwise," &c. &c.
In this act, which is the only one I find on the subject of
church property in Christ Church, no direct reference is made
to the cemetery, and we are then thrown back upon the
provincial acts already cited, and the ordinance of 1789'and
subsequent ordinances.
The act of 1758 created a parish "by the name of the
parish of Christ Church," and declared that "the church
already erected in the town of Savannah,and the ground as
now used for a cemetery or a burial place thereto, shall be
the parish church and cemetery of Christ Church." By the
third section of that act, Episcopacy was made the established
religion of the province, and one ot the purposes for
which that act was passed, as its title declares, was 4< for
empowering the Church Wardens and Vestrymen of the
30
respective parishes to assess rates for the repair of churches,
the relief of the poor, and other parochial services and it
is worthy of remark that the next act in order, (of 1763)
further authorize the assessing of rates " for enlarging the
public burial ground at Savannah, and enclosing the same."
Although, in our compilations, the several enactments con¬
ferring those powers, are omitted as repugnant to our form of
government which succeeded the Revolution, yet it is believed
that no class of British subjects were exempt from such
assessment. Dissenters as weil as members of the established
church contributed to those objects, and were ail entitled to
interment in the parish cemetery, unless laboring at their
death under some special ecclesiastical disability. The act
of 1768, both in its title and body, speaks of the cemetery at
Savannah as "the cemetery or public burial groundand I
am forced to the conviction that neither the Provincial
or State Legislature regard it as a place for the interment
exclusively of any denomination of christians; that it was
originally a part of the commons appertaining to the said
town, and that as such, it was (under the act of 1760, Mor.
<§• Craw. Dig. 117,) to be and continue the common property
oftiielot holders in the said town," and that it could "not
be claimed or granted away for any purpose whatsoever, than
by act of the General Assemblythat the General Assembly
did by the subsequent acts already cited, dedicate two hun¬
dred and ten by three hundred and eighty feet of said com¬
mon, to the purpose of common sepulture, with an addition
afterwards by the Hoard nf Wardens of an area sufficient to
make a square of five hundred feet.
It may be said that the Ordinance of 29th July. 1798, al¬
ready referred to, recognized the title of Christ Church to
the said area (of 210 feet by 380 feet) and thereby removed
any doubt as to the legislative or municipal intent. P think
the answer is plain and obvious:
1st. That the supposed recognition is too equivocal to be
interpreted as an admission of an exclusive right even for
burial purposes.
31
2dly. That if it is to operate as an admission of the exclu¬
sive right of Christ Church for purposes of interment, such
admission goes no further, and cannot have the effect of tur¬
ning an easement into a grant of the soil ; and with the ease¬
ment the t ;ayor and Aldermen do not propose to interfere
as against any person whose dead have been buried there.
3dly. That the admission, if it operates at all, is to be
considered with reference to the time when the ordinance
was passed, soon after the period of our revolutionary strug¬
gle, when the people of Georgia, accustomed previously to
a mild but regal government, had hardly ceased to remember
the established Church as the only one supported under the
laws of the province, and when it is probable that most of
the dead who reposed within the limit* of the old portion of
the Cemetery belonged to Episcopal families or had been
buried according to the rites of the Church of England; and
when, also, as the ordinance itself shows, there could have
been little room for further interments within such old portion.
4thly. That no ordinance of the Board of Wardens, in
whatever terms couched, could alien or convey title to the
soil; the fee to which was not in them, at least for the pur¬
pose of alienation.
I would not be understood as saying that the parish Church
was not capable, even without a special act of incorporation,
of taking a grant of lands for parochial purposes; nor do 1
mean to say that the change in the form of government
would have divested the title to lands so granted; but, I put
my opinion on the distinct ground that no such grant of the
soil in the cemetery was ever made, and that although in
one sense the division of the province into parishes was an
ecclesiastical division, yet, as the provincial acts gave no dis¬
tinct or exclusive right in the soil to the parish Church, the
change in government took away all pretence for supposing
that a cemetery which had before been dedicated to the
burial of persons of all christian denominations, was not
by the act of the revolution itself opened as a place of sepul¬
ture for all persons entitled to burial under any rite or form.
32
The foregoing views render it unnecessary to examine par¬
ticularly the various ordinances (since that of 1789) recog¬
nizing the old cemetery as a public burial place, regulating
the appointment of a sexton, the digging graves, &c' If, as I
think, the fee in the soil could be granted only by legislative
action (or, during the provincial governments, by the author¬
ity of the crown,) and no such grant can be shown, no action
of the Wardens and of the Mayor and Aldermen could
amount to more than a dedication of the land for purposes
of sepulture.
As this is a subject of importance, and no immediate ac¬
tion is contemplated by any party, I take the liberty of sug¬
gesting to Council the passage of a resolution hereto append¬
ed, which, whilst it is an act of simple justice to the memo¬
rialists, will leave the subject open for future action whenever
the proper time shall arrive. Respectfully submitted by
EDWARD J. HARDEN*
June 19, 1857. Corporation Attorney.
The Wardens and Vestiymen of the Episcopal Church in
Savannah, called Christ Church, having filed their memorial
in which they state that they are advised that the title to
three hundred and eighty (380) by two hundred ai.d ten (210)
feet of ground in the old or brick cemetery, bounded on the
north by South Broad Street, on the west by Abercorn Street,
and on the remaining sides by the public burial ground of
Savannah, is and has always been in the Wardens and Ves¬
trymen of the said Christ Church ; and praying that their claim
be spread, as of record, upon the minutes of Council, and the
said memorial having been referred to the corporation attor¬
ney, who has reported, in writing, adversely to said claim—
Be it therefore Resolved, That in complying'With the said
request to spread said memorial upon the minutes of Council,
the Mayor and Aldermen of the city of Savannah and the
Hamlets thereof, do not admit, and are not to be considered
as admitting the justice of the said alleged claim.
On motion, the above report and resolution were adopted,
and on motion of Aldermen Gordon, the following resolution
was read and adopted, viz :
Resolved, That the ordinances of 1789, referred to in the
report of the corporation attorney upon the matter of the
claim of the Wardens and Vestrymen of Christ Church, be
published, together with said^eport, as a portion of the min¬
utes of this meeting.