Lot 42
Vestryman Jacob Heffelfinger solved a mystery. Heffelfinger had an idea about the location of St. John’s “second site” (1624-1667). In 1910, he set out to find it. And, he did.
On 18 March 1910, Heffelfinger discovered and excavated the second location of St. John’s Church in an area known as the “Old Graveyard Thickett” on the farm of the late Colonel Thomas Tabb. A few weeks later, Mrs. Virginia Tabb and her family deeded the property to Elizabeth City Parish. Over the years, archeological work at the site has recovered 17th century artifacts, identified burial sites within the church, and provided evidence of the presence of Native Americans on the site as far back as 2,000 years ago. Did you know that St. John’s has 3 cemeteries—at the second site adjacent to what was the Tabb dairy farm, at the third site on Pembroke Avenue, and our present site between Lincoln Street and Queensway?
The Tabbs were a prominent Hampton family. They owned land in Elizabeth City County as far back as 1637. Born in 1835, Thomas Tabb attended local schools and was tutored—as was the custom of the day. Tabb graduated from Princeton University in 1856 with high honors and an overall average of 97.5%. In addition to farming, Tabb was an accomplished lawyer.
During the Civil War, Colonel Tabb served on the staff of Confederate General James Kemper. As a brigade commander during the Battle of Gettysburg in the summer of 1863, Kemper participated in Pickett’s Charge and was severely wounded. However, he recovered and was later elected as Virginia’s 37th governor—serving from 1874 to 1878.
After the war, Tabb resumed the practice of law. A contemporary observed that “in his arguments and pleas he could employ the keenest satire, the most scathing sarcasm, and in the same moment stir the emotions of his auditors with an impassioned appeal for justice.” Tabb provided free legal advice to Hampton Institute, whose property bordered his own.
Tabb was a trustee of Hampton Baptist Church and served as the Superintendent of the Sunday school for 25 years. In the parish records of St. John’s, Tabb is referenced on several occasions as a witness to weddings held at his home, Afton House.
In 1867, Colonel Tabb married Virginia Jones. Their family consisted of 4 children: Lucy, Eliza Simpkins, Malvina, and Paul. Colonel Thomas Tabb died in 1902. Virginia Tabb died in 1923.
Originally published in St. John’s Newsletter, September 2022.