In 1757, while the Goose Creek Meeting was bursting out of its log meeting house, the county of Loudoun was formed from Fairfax. The trustees acted quickly. “On the 31st day of August, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and fifty-seven, between William Hatcher of the County of Loudoun and Colony of Virginia, planter of one part, and Issac Nichols, Jacob Janney and Thomas Clows, of the said county, planters of the other part, for five shillings sterling, together with all trees, woods, underwoods, ways, paths, waters, watercourse, easments, profits, commodities, advantages, emoluments, hereditaments, rights, members and appurtentences whatsoever to the same belonging”—were handed over to the said Nichols, Janney and Close for one year in consideration of “one pepper corn in and upon the feast of St. Michael the Archangel if demanded.”
The object of this, one of the first deeds in the Clerk’s office of Loudoun County, was to conform to the Statute of Uses and Possession, for on the very next day, September 21st, 1757, William Hatcher sold to Isaac Nichols, Jacob Janney and Thomas Clows for thirty shillings the very property he had rented them the day before, “to said grantees. In TRUST to suffer and permit such of the people called Quakers—inhabiting said County, to erect and build so many Meeting Houses, School-Houses, Yards or Places of Burial—as they see fit—for the worship of God, the instruction of youth and burial of the dead.” One day had evidently been enough to show that the property was in use by the Religious Society of Friends.
As new settlers and babies arrived in the neighborhood the log meeting house was found too small to accommodate the members, and the stone meeting house across the road, according to the best information, was erected between 1765 and 70. A minute of Fairfax Monthly held on ye 24th of ye 9th month, 1774 reads: “This meeting received a copy of a minute of our Quarterly Meeting dated the 15th of last month, granting the request of Goose Creek Friends, a preparative meeting. This meeting is willing to assist them as far as capable, and appoints Mahlon Janney, Jonathan Myers, John Schooley, Moses Cadwalader, and William Williams to go and sit with them at their first preparative meeting.”
Friends in the Quarterly Meeting of which Fairfax was one part were most cautious in extending monthly meeting status to Goose Creek, possibly from unfortunate experiences elsewhere. We find from the minutes of Warrington and Fairfax Quarterly Meeting the following report of a committee appointed to judge of the expedience of settling a Monthly Meeting at Goose Creek. “Most of our members have visited the preparative meetings consituting Fairfax Monthly Meeting likewise attended the service of that meeting and have since met together and agree to report that we feel most easy to encourage the division proposed—and a Monthly Meeting being settled at Goose Creek. Submitted to the Quarterly Meeting by Isaac Everett, William Ballenger, James Steer, William Kersey, Harman Updegraft, Alan Farquhar, Elisha Kirk, Nathaniel, Jonah Hollingsworth, Ruth Holland, Rachel Hollingsworth, Mary Updegraft.—It is agreed that a Monthly Meeting be settled there accordingly.”
The first monthly meeting was held 12th month 26th, 1785 and William Kenworthy was selected clerk. In the first minutes we read the following: “Joel Lewis and Sara Daniel handed their intentions of marriage before the Meeting.” “Moses Cadwalader and Isaac Nichols are appointed to inquire into Joel’s clearness of other engagements, also to make inquiry into his conversation and what else may be needful.”
About the beginning of the 19th century the membership became too large to be comfortably accommodated in what came to be called “the old Stone Meeting House.” It was not until 1812, with a war going on, that the question of the most practical way of obtaining more room was brought before the meeting. The committee appointed to undertake the building of what came to be “the large new Meeting House,” was Jonas Janney, Isaiah Brown, Israel Janney, Isaac Nichols, Samuel Nichols, Stephen Wilson, Thomas Treham, Jesse Janney, George Walter, Joseph Bradfield and Mahlon Taylor. These gentlemen saw the meeting turn down a proposal to add a log addition to the stone building and finally on 2nd month, 27th, 1817, it was decided to build an entirely new house with Mahlon Taylor, Stephen Wilson and William Kenworthy as the building committee. Kenworthy was most likely treasurer of the committee as his name is signed to all the documents connected with the building operations.
William Kenworthy took in the subscriptions, which ranged all the way from ten dollars to three hundred dollars, with the final total collected being $3,606.00. Daniel Cockrell was to do the job, furnishing all the foundings, for the sum of $3,550.00. In the final report of the committee we find:—“the house being about completed, and in a good measure answerable to the contract, we have paid him the whole of the amount. We also examined his account of expenditures, by which it appears he will suffer considerable loss, by the contract, unless he be allowed some further renumeration.” They stated that it would be difficult to ascertain the exact loss but thought the meeting should pay Cockrell an additional $500.00. A committee was formed which raised the additional amount and paid the same to Cockrell.
On 1st month 27, 1819, Jonathan Taylor, a frequent visitor to Goose Creek Friends Meeting, “Preached the first sermon in our large new Meeting House.”
Jesse Janney who was on the original building committee, never lived to see it used. His foresight, however, solved one of the problems that building a new meeting house created, as is shown by this minute in April, 1819—“The committee continued in the first month last to propose to this Meeting what particular purpose the donation of Jesse Janney, Dec’d, shall be applied to reported that they had agreed to propose that it be applied to enclosing a yard and erecting some necessary buildings at the back of the New Meeting House. With which the Meeting concurred.”
Jesse Hirst, Samuel Nichols, Daniel Janney, Jonas Janney, Mahlon Taylor, William Piggott and Joshua Gore were appointed, “to consider what use the Old Meeting House would be most advantageously applied to, and the probable expense.” The William Piggott named above “Were the rich Billy Piggott what had glass windows in his barn.”