At that time its old church, built a century and a half before, was destroyed; nothing but its stone-marl walls were left standing. In this picturesque condition it remained for thirty years, when it was repaired, and is now used as a place of worship. In the old burial-ground adjoining it are the tombs and monuments of the Nelson family, situated a few yards from the banks of the York. The nearer one in the engraving, which stands over the grave of the first emigrant of the family (who was called "Scotch Tom"), although mutilated, is yet highly ornamental.
It is about four feet high, three feet wide, and six feet long. Upon one end are sculptured two angel-heads breaking from the clouds.
Over the upper one are the words, "All glory be to God."
The one below it is blowing On the other end are two heads, one of which is about receiving a crown. On the side is an heraldic cloth, with the head of an angel at the center of the top; and on the top slab is the Nelson coat of arms, with an appropriate epitaph. This monument is of white marble, and was made in London. The second monument is that of president William Nelson. It is built of brick, with a handsomely wrought and inscribed marble slab on the top. In a vault at the end of the fragment of the brick wall seen beyond the monuments, rest the remains of Governor Nelson, the signer of the Declaration. There is no monument above it, and nothing marks the spot but a rough stone lying among the rank grass. Around these are strewn fragments of the stone marl of the old church wall, beautifully crystallized, and indurated by exposure. The view from this point is very charming, looking out upon the York stretching away toward the broad Chesapeake, and skirted by woodlands and cultivated fields.