Very soon after May, 1813, Mr. Bower died, after a ministry of twenty-seven years. He had been placed on the standing committee five times, and in 1801 preached the convention sermon.
The only time when the number of communicants was reported was in 1808. The number then was ten. At more than half of the conventions he was absent. He left a widow, three sons, and a daughter. One of the sons died in Frederick. The others of the family went West, but in July, 1815, Mrs. Bower was living in Hagerstown.
Rev. Thomas P. Irving became rector Sept. 22, 1813, at a salary of four hundred dollars. He also taught a school. Mr. Irving was a native of Somerset County, but came into the diocese from the South, having been ordained by Bishop White in North Carolina, where he was principal of an academy at Newbern. In November, 1814, the vestry ordered five dollars to be paid for burial, and four dollars for a christening. In July, 1815, Mr. Irving had formed a Bible Society. Under date of May, 1816, Mr. Irving writes Bishop Kemp that he had been compelled on account of his health to resign his church, though not his academy. He is said to have died in 1817, at the age of forty-one years.
Rev. Joseph Jackson was elected rector Aug. 27, 1816. By birth Mr. Jackson was an Englishman. He was ordained deacon by Bishop Claggett in 1794, and in 1796 was rector of St. Peter's, Talbot, and for fifteen years of William and Mary, St. Mary's. He moved to Hagerstown in 1811, but remained only a year. In 1820 he went as a missionary to Kentucky, where he died that year. He had been twice on the standing committee, twice the convention preacher, and once deputy to the General Convention. His savings formed the nucleus of St. James' College.
Rev. Jehu Curtis Clay was elected rector Oct. 25, 1817, to commence Jan. 1, 1818. He was the son of the Rev. Slater Clay, of Pennsylvania. In giving notice of his becoming a candidate for holy orders, Jan. 16, 1812, he says he had lived with the Rev. George Dashiell since 1809, except a few months spent in the University of Pennsylvania, " under whose direction I have pursued and am still pursuing the studies preparatory to ordination." He was ordained deacon by Bishop White, June 13, 1813, being just twenty-one years of age, and went to North Carolina, whence he removed to Hagerstown. He continued there four years, and resigned Dec. 18, 1821. He returned to Pennsylvania in 1822. In 1831 he became the rector of Gloria Dei Church, Philadelphia, where he died Oct. 20, 1863, in his seventy-second year.
Rev. Samuel B. Shaw was elected rector Feb. 27, 1822. He came from Massachusetts, his native State, having been ordained deacon by Bishop Griswold in 1821. He remained at Hagerstown but six months, and then returned to Massachusetts.
Rev. George Lemmon was elected rector Oct. 12, 1822, with a salary of eight hundred dollars. He was a native of Baltimore, and was ordained deacon by Bishop Claggett in 1813. He became the minister of Queen Caroline Parish, in Anne Arundel County, but in 1816 removed to Virginia, where he married. From thence he removed to Hagerstown. In 1823 the new church recently built was consecrated by Bishop Kemp.
Hitherto the parochial reports on the convention journal had been merely statistical; but in 1825 Mr. Lemmon reports that two Sunday-schools had been put into operation, one white and the other for colored children. The congregation had much increased, and some had become the subjects of "spiritual change of heart." In 1826 he speaks of a lecture delivered on every Thursday evening. On the 1st of April, 1828, Mr. Lemmon resigned, after a six years' pastorate, and returned to Virginia, where he died, aged sixty. When Mr. Lemmon resigned Rev. Ethan Allen was invited to the charge, but declined.
Rev. Robert Brent Drane was elected June 26, 1828, but took charge on the 31st of August. He was a native of Rock Creek Parish, a graduate of Harvard College, and was ordained deacon by Bishop Griswold, of Massachusetts, May 3, 1827. Returning to the Diocese of Maryland, he became the rector of Addison Chapel Parish, Prince George's County, and thence removed to Hagerstown. In his report Mr. Drane mentions (1830) the reorganization of the Sunday-school and the formation of an Auxiliary Missionary Society. In 1832 he reports a weekly meeting for prayer and the exposition of Scripture. About this time he officiated once a month at Williamsport, and occasionally at a place seven miles east of Hagerstown. In 1833 he reports that he was continuing to officiate regularly at Williamsport, and also to a congregation then recently formed in Funkstown. In 1834 he reports having officiated every other Sunday at Williamsport from May 10th. During the year 1835 a parsonage was built for St. John's Church, and Mr. Drane had a school. In 1836 he preached the convention sermon. In June, 1836, after a ministry of six years, he resigned, and removed to North Carolina, to the rectorship of St. James', Wilmington. In 1843 he became the president of Shelbyville College, Kentucky, and received the degree of D.D., but at the end of the year he returned to Wilmington, where he continued till his death, in October, 1862. He died of the yellow fever, after a ministry of thirty-five years, and left a wife and children. On Aug. 1, 1836, Rev. John Weleyman was elected, but declined.
Rev. John Wiley was elected rector April 2, 1837. He was a native of Delaware, and a graduate of the General Theological Seminary, and was ordained deacon July 5, 1829, by Bishop Hobart, of New York, and coming to Maryland, became the minister of St. James' Parish, Baltimore County. In 1833 he became rector of All Hallows and Worcester Parishes, Worcester County, and in 1836 of St. Peter's, Talbot, whence he removed to Hagerstown. Mr. Wiley's convention reports are all merely statistical. In 1840 he was the convention preacher. In 1841 he resigned this parish and went to North Sassafras Parish, Cecil County. In 1853 he removed to Trinity, Charles County; in 1866 to Labyrinth, Montgomery County; in 1872 to Sherwood Parish, Baltimore County. He has been a deputy to the General Convention twice.
Rev. Theodore B. Lyman became the rector of this parish in 1840, having been ordained deacon by Bishop Whittingham, Sept. 25, 1840. He was a native of Connecticut, and graduate of the General Theological Seminary. In 1841 St. James' College was founded under his auspices. In his convention report of 1842 Mr. Lyman mentions that since October he had been assisted by the Rev. Russell Trevett, deacon, that the church had been open on all holy days and Wednesday and Friday mornings, and that he had a Bible-class, a Sunday-school, a weekly service for the colored people, and weekly offerings. In 1844 the church had been enlarged and repaired, giving it a Sunday-school-room and a vestry-room. In 1848 two silver chalices and two large silver alms-dishes had been presented. About 1849, Mr. Lyman removed from St. John's Parish to Columbia, Pa. In 1857 he was in Pittsburgh; in 1857 he received the degree of D.D.; in 1863 was residing in Paris, France; in 1865 in Rome, Italy; in 1871 in San Francisco; and in 1874 became assistant bishop in North Carolina.
Rev. William G. Jackson took charge of the parish in September, 1850. Mr. Jackson was a native of England, the son of Rev. Thomas Jackson, rector of All Saints', Frederick, from 1830 to 1836. He graduated at the Virginia Theological Seminary, and was ordained deacon by Bishop Moore, of Virginia, in 1833. He became rector in 1850, and was married in 1852 to Lydia E. Kennedy, daughter of Col. Jacob Hollingsworth. In January, 1851, on account of ill health, he was absent a while, and his place was supplied by the Rev. W. W. Lord. Before the convention of 1853, Mr. Jackson had removed to South Carolina. In 1855 he had returned, and had become rector of Grace Church, Howard County. In 1870 he received the degree of D.D., and afterwards became dean of the Convocation. Rev. Walter N. Ayrault entered on his charge in June, 1853. He was a native of New York, and was ordained deacon in 1846 by Bishop De Lancey, and removed from Western New York. In 1856 he returned to Western New York. In 1868 he received the degree of D.D.
Rev. Henry Edwards became rector in January, 1857. He was born in Connecticut, and was ordained by Bishop Brownell in 1853, but came to Maryland from New York, and became assistant in Emmanuel Parish, Allegany, whence he removed to St. John's. In 1858 he reported that the daily service had been continued with increasing congregations, and that services had been held in two villages a few miles distant. In 1859 the old church debt had been entirely paid off. In 1860 were reported a parochial school and a ladies' sewing society of ten years' standing, and a new organ. During the civil war Washington County was often the scene of extensive military operations, and the parishes suffered greatly. Mr. Edwards resigned his charge in January, 1867, and became the rector of St. Mark's. He also assumed missionary charge of St. Andrew's, St. Luke's, Pleasant Valley, St. Mark's, and St. Paul's, in Frederick County.
The Rev. Claudius R. Haines commenced his rectorship