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Ballston Presbyterian Church

The First Presbyterian Church in Arlington was the church that Miles C. Munson left to form our own Arlington Presbyterian Church. The First Presbyterian Church was founded in 1872 and between 1874 and 1876, the building shown in the undated photo below was built on the northwest corner of Wilson Boulevard and Glebe Road.  It was re-organized as the Ballston Presbyterian Church in 1895. In 1951, the Ballston Presbyterian Church congregation moved to the corner of Carlin Springs Road and North Vermont Street and the church was renamed the First Presbyterian Church we know today. Return to APC Historical Timeline

Photo courtesy of the Arlington Historical Society

Miles Cleveland Munson

Miles Cleveland Munson was born in 1831 and lived at 1863 South 13th Street.  He was a founding member of APC.  Miles was a clerk in the Sixth Auditor's office of the Treasury Department. He was tall and handsome and he loved children.  He died in 1914 and is buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Falls Church, Virginia.  Miles' brother, Charles B. Munson, was also a founding member of APC. 

Reginald Munson, Washington, D. C., the son of Miles C. Munson and Katherine (Newton) Munson, was born at Falls Church, Fairfax county, Virginia. His father and mother were both of American ancestry. He was educated in the district schools and later he entered as a student the University of Wooster, Ohio ; and subsequently he entered the Columbian (now George Washington) University Medical School, Washington, D. C., from which he graduated in the year 1883 with the degree of M. D. In the following year (1884) he took a post-graduate course at Hahnemann Medical College of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and upon completing his studies returned to Washington, where he has since been practicing medicine. Dr. Munson has been a member of the staff of the National Homœopathic Hospital of Washington since 1890. From 1893 to 1896 he was surgeon of the engineer batallion of the District of Columbia national guard. He is a member of Sons of the Revolution, of the Homœopathic Medical Society of the District of Columbia, and the Homœopathic Medical and Surgical Club of Washington. He married, June 15, 1894, Mary Arnold, of which marriage four children have been born : Miles Arnold Munson, Katherine Munson, Archibald Munson and Reginald Munson, Jr.

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The Committee

The committee appointed by the Washington Presbytery consisted of Rev. Drs. Davis, Cummings, and Robert Robinson, L. Cabell Williamson, and O. O. Spicer, and assisted by Rev. Dr. E. N. Kirby and Rev. James H. Depue and organized the church on April 21, 1908.  According to the Washington Post, the Tuesday evening services were conducted by Dr. Kirby, Cummings, and DePue after which the following officers were ordained and installed as Elders: Miles C. Munson, Henry C. Corbett, and Thomas J. Delashmutt.  The deacon was William W. Middleton; trustees were W. C. Wibert, T. T. Burke, Stephen P. Wright, T. R. Gray, and E. F. Burner.  The treasurer was T. R. Gray. The Sunday School Superintendent was William W. Middleton.

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Rev. Dr. James H. DePue

We don't know very much about our first minister and frankly, what we do know, is not good news.  He served for a little more than four years until May 3, 1912.  we have no records of how he ministered to his burgeoning flock of Presbyterians in what was then, a rural area.  All we have is two articles from the Washington Post covering his indictment for fraud.  The July 26, 1913 Washington Post reported that Rev. James H. DePue was indicted for "alleged false pretenses."  The  charges were eventually dropped   

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APC's 21 Charter Members

Miss Bessie Allender (Allen) We don't know too much about Bessie. Wayne Frost and his family found her gravestone. Read all about it by clicking here.

Mr. T. T. Burke T. T. Burke is a tough name to hunt.  Burke is pretty common and T. T.... well we really need a name not just an initial.  Again one hoe might be the Arlington County Library. This might be a Taylor Burke. 

Mrs. T. T. Burke We know even less about his wife.

Mr. Enoch F. Burner (click on the name to read an article about Mr. Burner)

Dr. Henry C. Corbett: President of the Arlington Citizens Association (1923) We know from reports of the 1925 church fire, that Dr. Corbett lived across the street from the church because according to the Washington Post reporting, passersby saved the wooden church pews from the fire and dragged them across the street to Dr. Corbett's lawn.

Mrs. Henry C. Corbett We don't know anything about Mrs. Corbett at the moment, either.

Munson Corbett Munson was apparently the son of Dr. and Mrs. Henry Corbett. 

Mr. Thomas J. DeLashmutt: Thomas J. DeLashmutt was originally from Frederick, Maryland.  According to the Washington Post, in 1904, Thomas's brother, Lynn O. DeLashmutt--with whom Thomas had gone into some real estate dealings--killed himself after accumulating significant personal debt. Thomas served on the Arlington Board of Supervisers and he was also a member of the Arlington School Board.  Thomas died at 91 years of age in December 1956 at his home in Arlington.  He was a resident of Arlington for 69 years.  

Mrs. Thomas J. DeLashmutt

Mr. William Whitwell Middleton was born on January 27, 1881 in Washington, D.C. According to a geneological website, Wiliam's family was from Prince Georges County in Maryland. He married Katherine Newton Munson on June 12, 1906 in Arlington and according to a brief article on the Washington Post society page, they honeymooned on an extended trip through the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. William died on May 8, 1944 in Mobile Alabama.  

Mrs. William Whitwell Middleton (nee: Katherine Newton Munson) was the youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Miles Cleveland Munson. She was born on May 5, 1877 in Arlington, Virginia.  She died on April 1, 1958 in Mobile Alabama.  The Middleton son, Whitwell Newton Middleton was born on May 12, 1907 in Arlington, Virginia. He died on January 4, 1977 in Mobile, Alabama.  

Dr. Charles B. Munson Dr. Charles Munson was a dentist who had a thriving practice in Washington, D.C. He rode the trolley daily through Ft. Myers to Rosslyn which offered commuting access to the city. Dr. Munson bought one of first cars in the community.  Dr. Munson spent his retirement years buying land and building houses and commercial structures, including the Arlington Theater and Dorchester Towers. The land on which the latter was developed was long owned by his family. He also served on the Arlington District Board.  His home on 13th and Irving included farm land, barn, cattle, orchards and gardens, and had been a small cottage used by Union troops in the Civil War and added onto many times by him and subsequent owners.

Mrs. Charles B. Munson We don't know too anything about Mrs. Charles Munson yet.

Miles Cleveland Munson  Miles Cleveland Munson was born in 1831 and lived at 1863 South 13th Street.  He was a founding member of APC.  Miles was a clerk in the Sixth Auditor's office of the Treasury Department. He was tall and handsome and he loved children.  He died in 1914 and is buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Falls Church, Virginia.  Miles' brother, Charles B. Munson, was also a founding member of APC. 

Mrs. Miles Cleveland Munson (nee Katherine Virginia Newton) was born on October 5, 1834 in Alexandria.  They had a son named Reginald Munson who was born in Falls Church, Virginia. He became a doctor, graduating in 1883 from the then Columbian University Medical School, now known as George Washington University.  He practiced in Washington, D.C. and specialized in homeopathic medicine. They had a daughter Katherine Newton Munson who also was a founding member of Arlington Presbyterian Church (see more below).  Katherine's grandchildren remember her as a tiny, sweet-tempered woman who occasionally slipped money to her grandchildren as a surprise. Mr. and Mrs. Miles Munson lived in a large three-storied house that had been built just before the Civil War. She died in 1921.  She is buried buried with her husband in Oakwood Cemetery in Falls Church, Virginia.  

Mrs. A. H. Reed (click on the name to read an article about Mrs. Reed)

Mrs. Rose L. Sharrard

Mrs. W. C. Wibert: a tax assessor from Alexandria who had a summer home in Florida

Mr. Stephen P. Wright

Mrs. Stephen P. Wright

Miss Abbie Wright 

Mrs. Mary F. Young 

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APC's First Church Minutes: April 21, 1908

The identity and history of several founding members remains elusive as we enter the APC Centennial year. The search for our founders is an exciting adventure and any small discovery can at times be very moving; this was the case of Bessie Allender. I have very little to report about Bessie but I am happy to report that we now know who she is. Today I share the story of finding “Miss Bessie."

My initial attempts to find Bessie Allender hit a “brick wall." I thus shifted my attention to another Allender in Arlington, the pastor of the Arlington Methodist Church, the Reverend J.E. Allender. Rev. Allender was widely known and sought out as an “eloquent” speaker and motivator. Although, he died at Sibley Hospital in October 1903 (his wife had died the previous year), he would certainly have known Miles Cleveland Munson of the Ballston Presbyterian Church (now the First Presbyterian Church of Arlington) and other prominent citizens that would later establish Arlington Presbyterian Church. We will remember that when APC burnt to the ground in December of 1924, it was the Arlington Methodist Church that offered its assistance and provided its facilities for APC to hold Sunday services (including Christmas services that year). Could cooperation have extended back to Rev Allender and Miles Cleveland Munson?

As I gathered more information on the Allender families in the mid Atlantic region, I formed 3 hypotheses:

• Bessie was the daughter of Rev. Allender 

• Bessie was from the large Allender family of Accomack, Virginia

• Bessie was the daughter of John Allender of Baltimore, Maryland.

As I explored these theories I was surprised to find that they all seemed to merge. The Rev. Allender was very active with the Methodist church (and other denominations) in Accomack (I would later confirm that he was born and lived in Baltimore) and although not confirmed, I believe that the family of Bessie’s mother was a very prominent family in Accomack since the 1700’s. My theories looked promising, but still with no proof and many issues to resolve, I still did  not know who Bessie Allender was.

Over the summer, my wife, Mercedes, and son, Michael, and I spent several days exploring cemeteries in search of APC founders and preparing a photographic inventory of gravesites. On the personal side, I found this to be good learning experience for Michael. Yes, exploring is exciting, but our first mission was to pay our respects to our APC founders and early church members. Where possible we cleaned overgrowth, and left flowers and our prayers.

Having spent a sweltering July day finding the Munson family, we decided to take a quick look in the Ivy Hill Cemetery where I had learned that the Rev. J.E. Allender was buried. We searched and searched, but could not find his gravesite. As we left the cemetery the sun, now low in the sky, filtered through the canopy of mature oaks and tall evergreen trees leaving an eerie glow; I stopped to take a parting photograph. Glancing over my shoulder a row of tall bleached white tombstones caught my eye; we went to investigate. As I knelt to see if I could read any names and dates, I suddenly stood and turned to face a tall obelisk, almost hidden under the trees about 50 paces away. As we walked towards it, I imagined seeing the name Allender; indeed spelled out at the foot of a granite monument was “ALLENDER;” we had stumbled across the resting place of the Rev. J.E. Allender and his wife Jennie S. Allender.  A I was photographing the grave site, I noticed that Michael was standing near a small grave marker covered with leaves and vegetation. Inscribed was Bessie, but Bessie Wallen. Further clearing of the 8” x 10” marker however revealed: “Bessie W. Allender 1873-1922." After a short prayer, Michael and I left the cemetery knowing where we can find our APC founder, Bessie Allender. The fact that Bessie did not continue in her father’s church leads me to believe that she and her father both played an active role in the pre-formation days of Arlington Presbyterian Church.

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1930

October 12:  Groundbreaking ceremonies are held for APC’s new stone building. This building would become the basic structure of our current church building.  

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Two APC Founders were Reeds: Mrs. Charles B. Munson and Mrs. A. H. Reed. Who are they? Are they related to Walter Reed? Who was he?

Like our APC founders from the Munson and Corbett families, the Reeds also came from New York . William N. Reed, an engineer brought his entire family consisting of four teenagers from a previous marriage; his mother-in-law, Francis; a 35 year old woman named Rachael Hand- (not legible}, and his bright-eyed new bride, Francis A Reed. But where are our founding members Mrs. A. H. Reed and Mrs. C. B. Munson?

The Reeds first appear in the 1870 Virginia Census where they had taken up residence near the home of Miles C. Munson. (Ah Ha!)  Soon the couple’s first child would be born.  Years later their baby, Flora would marry one of Miles boys in one of Arlington ’s biggest social events of the year.

As for Mrs. A. H. Reed, she has been right in front of my nose for months, yet only days ago did I discover her identity.  Newspaper articles of the time refer to an A. H. Reed and I also learned her name is Amelia; still I could not verify Amelia H. Reed as belonging to this particular Reed Family.  I transcribed and compared my hand written notes over and over again with the often illegible historical documents at hand.  Upon closer scrutiny I finally could make out the maiden name of William Reed’s mother-in-law, “Handford,” “Francis Handford.”  This means that William Reed had married a Handford.  I have an “H”; Can somebody give me an “A”?  How about “Francis Amelia (Handford) Reed?”  I had found our APC founder, Mrs. A. H. Reed, mother of APC Founder, Florence Amelia (Reed) Munson.

Women’s activities of the day were generally delegated to the personal and social pages unless there was something more “newsworthy” such as when APC Founder, Mrs. T. T. Burke had her horse and buggy stolen in 1900.  She had tethered her team at 7th and D Street to go shopping.  When she returned and found her horses gone, she worried that she had no way to return home to Barcroft.  Police recovered her transportation in time to make it home before dark, but the basket of cherries she had bought for Tom had been eaten by the 10 year old that had taken her buggy for a joy ride. 

The social pages of the Washington Post for example, require sifting through two or three pages to discover that in April of 1929, “Mrs. A. H. Reed is a guest at a luncheon at the home of Mrs. Henry W. Petty.”  Nevertheless the accumulation of such tidbits and the occasional lengthy article provide a good snapshot of the person and the times  and often clues in the hunt for the story.

Church business was as much women business as for the men; especially when dealing with the children, but also women were the heartbeat of social life of the church.  They were major fundraisers and gave generously of their land, property, money and their time to the church and additionally for the Presbyterian women: ”food.”  APC would certainly have gone hungry and probably would not have survived without the talents and generosity of APC womenfolk over the past century.  In addition to Mrs. Charles B. Munson and Mrs. A. H. Reed nine other of our 21 founders were women.  

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Enoch F. Burner: The Douglas Affair

-- Wayne Frost

Founders of Arlington Presbyterian Church and other early members and allies often teamed to build a better Arlington and to fight injustice, corruption and “sin.”  One such case I call the “Douglas Affair,” a scuffle that took place in 1906.   

We know very little about APC Founder Enoch F. Burner.  My impression is that he was a devoted Presbyterian of strong morals and principles and not one to back away from a fight in which he believed.  E. F. Burner believed county supervisor, Will W. Douglas was abusing his position and entered the fray along with Oden B. Gray--younger brother of APC founder Thomas R. Gray--C. H. Wibert and over 30 other concerned Arlington civic leaders and neighbors

Will W. Douglas was no lightweight.  My impression is that he was a fierce opponent and a fiery orator while remaining cool under fire; not one to tangle with.  It is not known for which Douglas the community is named, but consider that ground once associated with the highly respected Corbett family is today known as Douglas Park.  In this ground called Douglas Park, is where forgotten Corbetts still lay buried.  A prominent attorney, Douglas was involved with Arlington politics and civic affairs from the late 1800s through the late 1930s.  In the election of 1895, APC Founder and former sheriff, W. C. Wibert handily won the county treasurer seat while APC neighbor William H. Palmer was elected sheriff.  It had been a bitter campaign and following his defeat for Commonwealth Attorney, Douglas called foul, claiming voter fraud centered on the two race tracks and gambling in Jefferson district; a bed of sin that APC leadership would later take up the fight against.

In April 1906, Sheriff William H. Palmer served the written citizens petition seeking removal of Will W, Douglas from his position as county supervisor on the charge that he “purchased stuff not fit to be used on roads” referring to sand and gravel purchased from his father, and “that he has improved roads near his own property and has neglected others.”  When asked about this by a Washington Post reporter, he stated that he would not dignify the charges by responding nor would he be represented by consul.  Nevertheless, he did appear well represented and the charges were dismissed.  Four months later, he filed a damage suit against Enoch F. Burner, Michael J. Ryan, Augustus Davis, Curtis B. Graham, Harry Palmer, John S. Embrey and George W. Veitch—quite a collection of honorable men fighting for a better Arlington.

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