Indian Mound Cemetery Romney WV 2013 07 13 36

William Henry Foote (December 20, 1794 – November 22, 1869) was an American Presbyterian minister in Virginia and North Carolina. He served as a Confederate chaplain during the American Civil War of 1861-1865. He wrote several books about the history of Presbyterians in the

American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

Early life

William Henry Foote was born on December 20, 1794 in Colchester, Connecticut.Documenting the American South: William Henry Foote, 1794-1869
/ref>John Walter Wayland, ''A History of Shenandoah County, Virginia'', Genealogical Publishing Company, 1969
p. 432
/ref> His father was Stephen Foote and his mother, Hannah Waterman Foote. He graduated from Yale University in 1816. He then studied at the Princeton Theological Seminary from 1818 to 1819, where he became an ordained Presbyterian minister.

Career

Foote served as a Presbyterian minister in Woodstock, Virginia from 1822 to 1824. He then preached at

Mount Bethel Church Mount Bethel Church is a Presbyterian church located at the junction of County Route 5 (Jersey Mountain Road) and County Route 5/4 (Three Churches Hollow Road) in the unincorporated community of Three Churches, West Virginia, Three Churches north ...

until 1833. Meanwhile, he served as the Principal of the

Romney Academy Romney Academy was an educational institution for higher learning in Romney, Virginia (now West Virginia). Romney Academy was first incorporated by the Virginia General Assembly on January 11, 1814, and was active until 1846 when it was reor ...

in Romney, West Virginia from 1826 to 1838. He also served as the first pastor of Strasburg Presbyterian Church in Strasburg, Virginia. From 1838 to 1845, Foote served as an agent for the Central Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church. He visited many Presbyterian churches in Virginia and North Carolina during that time. From 1845 to the early 1860s, he also preached at the Romney Presbyterian Church in Romney as well as in

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

and Patterson's Creek. In 1846, Foote published ''Sketches of North Carolina, Historical and Biographical'', based on his experience. The book starts with a history of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence and the War of the Regulation, two catalysts in the secession of the American colonies from Great Britain, and recounts the establishment of a Presbyterian community in Duplin County, North Carolina by immigrants from Ulster as early as 1736. It goes on to explain the history of Presbyterians in North Carolina until 1845. The book was reprinted posthumously in 1965. Foote received a Doctorate of Divinity (D.D.) from

Hampden–Sydney College gr, Ye Shall Know the Truth , established = , type = Private liberal arts men's college , religious_affiliation = Presbyterian Church (USA) , endowment = $258 million (2021) , president = Larry Stimpert , city = Hampden Sydney, Virginia , cou ...

(H–SC) in 1847. He served on its Board of Trustees from 1851 to 1870, and Board President from 1864 to 1866. He also served on the Board of Trustees of Union Presbyterian Seminary, then the Theology department at H–SC from 1838 to 1869. While he was at H–SC, he wrote a two-volume history of Presbyterians in Virginia; ''Sketches of Virginia, Historical and Biographical'' (1850) and ''Sketches of Virginia, Historical and Biographical, Second Series'' (1855). During the American Civil War of 1861 to 1865, he served as a Presbyterian chaplain in the Confederate States Army. He then returned to preaching in Virginia after the war. In 1869, he also wrote ''The Huguenots, or Reformed French Church'', a history of the Huguenot, descendants of the Reformed Church of France.Huguenots, or Reformed French Church : their principles delineated, their character illustrated, their sufferings and successes recorded (1870)
Internet Archive

Personal life

On February 21, 1822, Foote married Eliza Wilson Glass, the daughter of the Reverend Joseph Glass. They had two daughters: *Ann Waterman Foote. *Eliza Wilson Foote. After his first wife died in April 1835, he married Arabella Gilliam on October 31, 1838. They had a daughter: *Mary Arabella Foote.

Death

Foote died on November 22, 1869 in Romney, West Virginia. He was buried at the

Indian Mound Cemetery Indian Mound Cemetery is a cemetery located along the Northwestern Turnpike ( U.S. Route 50) on a promontory of the "Yellow Banks" overlooking the South Branch Potomac River and Mill Creek Mountain in Romney, West Virginia, United States. The ce ...

in Romney.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foote, William Henry 1794 births 1869 deaths 19th-century American clergy 19th-century American historians 19th-century American male writers 19th-century Presbyterian ministers American historians of religion American male non-fiction writers American Presbyterian ministers American school principals Burials at Indian Mound Cemetery Confederate States Army chaplains Education in Hampshire County, West Virginia Hampden–Sydney College alumni Hampden–Sydney College faculty Historians from Connecticut Historians from Virginia Historians from West Virginia Northern-born Confederates People from Colchester, Connecticut People from Romney, West Virginia People from Shenandoah County, Virginia Presbyterians from Virginia Presbyterians from West Virginia Princeton Theological Seminary alumni Yale University alumni Hampden–Sydney College trustees