Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions. Item is a hard copy of digital scans of the original, which remains in private hands.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Joseph Crockett Painter Pastor's Register, 1873-1917. Accession 45463. Personal papers collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Loaned for duplication by Laura Painter Burns, Annapolis, Maryland, 30 March 2011.

Biographical Information

Joseph Crockett Painter was born 10 July 1845 in Draper's Valley, Pulaski County, Virginia, the son of Rev. George Painter and Jane Berry Temple. Painter served in the Confederate Army from 1863-1865, then attended Hampden-Sidney College (graduating in 1869) and Union Theological Seminary in Prince Edward County, Virginia (graduating in 1872). He married Sara Venable Fluornoy (1845-1931) of Prince Edward County on 14 May 1872. The couple went on to have eight children, three of whom died young. Painter was licensed to preach the Gospel on 12 June 1872, and ordained on 25 April 1874. He preached for one year in Hampshire County, West Virginia, 1872-1873, then at Hartwood Church (where he was installed as pastor in 1874) in East Hanover Presbytery, 1873-1879. He went on to pastor Waddell and Mitchells churches (Orange and Culpeper Counties) in West Hanover and Chesapeake Presbyteries, 1880-1891; and Cooks Creek Church (Rockingham County) in Lexington Presbytery, 1891-1893. In 1893 Painter returned to West Hanover Presbytery, pastoring Olivet, Bethel, and Tabor churches in Albemarle County. He resigned Bethel Church in 1906 and added Lebanon Church. Poor health forced his resignation in 1915. Painter resided in Charlottesville until his death on 16 October 1919. Information taken from the minutes of the Synod of Virginia, meeting in Charlottesville on 11 November 1919.

Scope and Content

Pastoral register, 1873-1917, of Joseph Crockett Painter (1845-1919), a Presbyterian minister who over the course of his career led churches in Fredericksburg, and Albemarle, Culpeper, Orange, and Rockingham Counties, Virginia. The majority of the register lists sermons preached by Painter from 1875-1911, including the Bible passage used, the subject of the sermon, when and where it was preached, number of times preached, whether written or extemporaneous, size of the congregation, and remarks. Sermons dated 1875-1884 are found in the "Register of Sermons" section of the book; the rest, 1884-1911, are scattered across unused pages of other sections. The used pages of those other sections record baptisms, 1874-1890; communicants received, 1873-1890; marriages, 1874-1917; funerals, 1874-1890; and pastoral visits, 1877. Enclosures include newspaper clippings, two handwritten copies of the text for a wedding service, notes for a sermon, and a copy of the 26 February 1893 resolution adopted by Cooks Creek Church upon Painter's resignation of its pastorate.