St. George’s History comprises individual articles, documents and collections around the 300 year history of St. George’s Episcopal Church, located in Fredericksburg Virginia. This site is unrelated to St. George's main website.
Supplementing them are a category-based search, a content index and a timeline. We have two tour documents - a building summary and a 15 minute walking tour you can take in the church.
If this is your first visit, check out the 2 tours - building summary and a 15 minute walking tour.
Recent articles
Rev. Theodosius Staige 1696/London, England – 26 Dec 1747
By Trip Wiggins
Rev. Theodosius Staige
1696/London, England – 26 Dec 1747/Charles Parish, York Co., Va
First St. George’s Rector
At St George’s: late 1725 – about Nov. 1728
Rev. Edmund C. Murdaugh, Rector Fredericksburg, VA 1871-1877
By Trip Wiggins
Rev. Edmund C. Murdaugh (aka Edward C Murdaugh, E C Murdaugh)
15th St. George’s Rector
At St. George’s: Oct. 1871 – April 1877
Burial: City Cemetery (St. George’s lot for ministers)/Fredericksburg, VA.
Rev. Magruder Maury 1836-1877, At St George’s: Dec. 1864 – April 1871
By Trip Wiggins
Born: 1836/Fredericksburg, VA (only Fredericksburg native to be our rector) son of Richard Brooke Maury and his second wife Ellen Magruder; and grandson of Fontaine Maury and Elizabeth Brooke (of Smithfield).
Died: 8 May 1877/Philadelphia, PA
14th St. George’s Rector
At St George’s: Dec. 1864 – April 1871
Rev. Patrick Henry, Third St. George’s Rector, Jan 1733-April 1734
By Trip Wiggins
Rev. Patrick Henry
Abt 1705/Aberdeen, Scotland – March/Apr 1777/Hanover Co., Va
Third St. George’s Rector
At St George’s: Jan 1733-April 1734
Rev. Samuel Low, Sr. (abt 1765- probably between 1811 and 1821)
By Trip Wiggins Rev. Samuel Low, Sr. Born: abt. 1765 – Died: probably between 1811 and 1821 Tenth St. George’s Rector At St George’s: July 15, 1808 – April 1810 From the time Rev. Waugh left the parish, St. George’s went through two years without a minister. We were still new at this Protestant … Read more
Rev. Abner Waugh (1746-1806)
By Trip Wiggins
Rev. Abner Waugh
Jan 1746/Orange Co., Va. – 13 Sept 1806/Caroline Co., Va.
Ninth St. George’s Rector
At St George’s: Jan. 1806 – July 1806
Rev. James Stevenson (1745?-1809)
By Trip Wiggins Rev. James Stevenson Abt. 1745/Va? – 9 Jun 1809/Culpeper County., Va. Eighth Rector Rector: April 1794 – July 1805 A somewhat odd occurrence happened in late 1793/early 1794 – two priests (one the father-in-law of the other) “swapped” their positions as rectors of St. George’s Parish and St. Mark’s Parish! Out … Read more
Rev. John Woodville (1763-1834)
By Trip Wiggins
Rev. John Woodville
11 Mar 1763/White Haven, Cumberland Co., ENGL – 11 Jan 1834/Culpeper Co., Va.
Seventh St. George’s Rector
Rector: Jan. 1792 – Dec. 1793
1. Carrol Quenzel's History of St. George's
Quenzel's 1951 history is still the standard for the church. He was a librarian for Mary Washington College as well as being active at St. George's, helping to create the St. Georgian newsletter as well as a part of the Vestry. We have the entire book online which was published by St. George's
2. The Three Churches of St. George's - Barbara Willis
Barbara Willis was a local historian and writer and long time St. Georgian with her husband Mac. This paper is a detailed summary of the evolution of St. George's church from its wooden colonial church to the impressive 1849 brick building we have today.
The Civil War may be the most popular historic topic in all of our history. The church served in 3 capacities - as a fortress, center of revival and as a hospital. We have a 9 part series on our role and relationship to Fredericksburg.
McGuire served all 3 churches over the course of 45 years. He is probably the most influential of all our rectors in all phases of ministry from preaching, teaching, and outreach. Trip Wiggins, our archivist, wrote this for a Sunday school class and has been teaching classes for years
5. Charles Syndor on Social Policy
Charles Sydnor served St. George's from 1972-2003 and was responsible for furthering Thomas Faulkner's outreach ministries and creating new ones. This paper he wrote in 2009 was for an adult forum in that year.
6. Tom Faulkner confronts the Vestry on race
Faulkner served St. George's for 30 years from 1946-1976. During these years racial policies were paramount, especially 1954, in the year of Brown vs. Board of Education, Faulkner was challenged by the Vestry on the role of Blacks in our service. He was able to move St. George's toward racial justice that other rectors would further
