The memorial plaque for Jacob Heffelfinger has been refurbished and remounted in the main room of Williams Hall. Its new location is on the wall to the left of the stage.
Heffelfinger had been Superintendent of Sunday School, Treasurer, and Vestryman of St. John’s Church for almost thirty years at the time of his death in 1915. He first saw St. John’s Church as a young Union soldier convalescing from wounds when he walked over the Queen Street Bridge from the hospital in search of men from his unit. They were bivouacked in the cemetery of St. John’s Church, which was in ruins.
After the Civil War he married a woman from Hampton and made his home here. He took part in the restoration of the church and the construction of the parish hall.
In 1910, Heffelfinger discovered the location of St. John’s second site, built in 1623 across the Hampton River, and was instrumental in preserving the site for future generations. Artifacts from the site are on display in our museum.
Originally published in St. John’s Epistle, April 2007.