Thomas, Ann

The first St. Peter's Episcopal Church was not built in Purcellville, VA until 1911, yet its story begins in 1871 in Leesburg, VA when the 76th Council of the Diocese of Virginia granted parishioners of Western Loudoun County the right to plant a church in Hamilton, VA. An already extant Catoctin Free Church separated from St. James Episcopal Church, Leesburg, and established themselves as St. Paul's Church, Hamilton in 1877. Bishop Alfred Randolph (1836-1918) consecrated the church seven years later in 1884. Their first rector was the Reverend Theodore Reid who held the position from 1874 to 1878.

From Hamilton, after only a few years of continuous growth, another church was ready to be planted and became Mt. Calvary, Round Hill in 1892. Mt. Calvary was consecrated six years later by Bishop Robert Gibson (1846-1919) in September of 1898.

Leesburg, Hamilton, Round Hill, and Purcellville all fell within the Shelburne Parish, with Purcellville lying in the middle of the three surrounding communities. Though a small town, Purcellville grew rapidly and soon the need for another church within the Shelburne parish was evident. In 1911, the first St. Peter's, Purcellville was built on Main Street.

In 1930, further growth resulted in the formation of a whole new Parish in Western Loudoun County - Madison Parish - carved off of Shelburne. Madison Parish consisted of the three Episcopal churches of Hamilton, Round Hill, and Purcellville. Eventually the three churches of Madison Parish saw benefit to consolidation. Purcellville was chosen for the central location and a new St. Peter's Episcopal Church was built at its present location on Glendale Street in 1964. That same year, parishioners held the first service of the newly merged church.

The bell tower which currently sits atop St. Peter's was erected in December 2000. It housed two bells, both with significance to Loudoun County history. The newer of the bells, dubbed "Loudoun," was cast in a Baltimore foundry in 1922 and dedicated in the old St. Peter's then on Main Street in Purcellville. With this bell parishioners commemorated the loss of 29 Loudoun County men who died in World War I. Their names still ring the outside of the 500 pound bronze memorial. The older bell first resided in St. Paul's, Hamilton. In 1909 it was given in memoriam of Lt. Jesup Nicholson (1852-1893) by his parents Mr. and Mrs. A. S. Nicholson. Lt. Nicholson served in the USMC from 1873 -1874. He died of Kidney disease.

Mt. Calvary Guild is Madison Parish's chapter of Episcopal Church Women (ECW). When Mt. Calvary Guild was first organized is unknown, but by the time the three churches of Madison Parish had consolidated into St. Peter's the women's group had already been meeting. Mt. Calvary Guild operated consistently from the early 1950s through to the present in order to conduct business, socialize, and share Bible devotions together. Their business included fundraising for different charities, keeping the church hospitable through decorating, managing the church kitchen, and many other tasks necessary for the maintenance and function of the church building and community.

From the guide to the St. Peter's Episcopal Church Collection, 1952-2006, (Thomas Balch Library)

A native Virginian, Ann Whitehead Thomas became a resident of Round Hill in 1968, soon after her 1961 marriage to H. Rogers Thomas (11 Oct 1911-28 Feb 2001). Mrs. Thomas had close connections to Upper Loudoun preceding her move to Round Hill; Snickersville and Snickersville Gap were named after her relative Edward Snickers. Mrs. Thomas graduated from Mary Baldwin College, Staunton. She served on the first Thomas Balch Library Advisory Board and on a committee for Winchester Handley Library. In 1998 she received a Loudoun History Award for her work in preserving Loudoun County's heritage. Although Mrs. Thomas has been involved in genealogical and local history for over thirty years, in the early 1990s she began systematically collecting information for the book she intended to write, which she completed in 2004.

A Story of Round Hill, published from the findings of this collection, traces Round Hill from early America's first land grants to today's development landscape. This book chronicles in detail changes in the town's residents, businesses, government, houses, and customs; a product of the research contained in these folders.

Mrs. Thomas is the daughter of Robert Whitehead (21 Sep 1897-8 Jun 1960) and Sallie Carter Whitehead (22 Jul 1905-Oct 1984), mother of Elizabeth Thomas Wallace, and grandmother to John Thomas Wallace, Sarah Elizabeth Wallace, and Robert David Wallace.

From the guide to the Ann Thomas Research Papers, 1836-2005, (Thomas Balch Library)