From the Archives – Long-Distance Parishioners

In Saint Mary’s early years, parishioners often lived a long distance from the church. Records include an elderly gentleman who came from Warrenton to receive the sacraments; others came from as far away as Fredericksburg, Prince William and Stafford counties.

A genealogist compiling the history of a family in Stafford and Fauquier Counties included the account of a member of the Brent family, Anne Wright Embrey, who married a farmer living in Fauquier County, 20 miles from her home in Aquia. Her Protestant husband built a chapel for her in their home where she “said her beads” every day. Her children and grandchildren recalled her walking (or riding on horseback), traveling back to Aquia for Mass, probably when a missionary from Saint Mary parish in Alexandria or Charles County, Maryland, visited the Brents. The sister of Baltimore Archbishop John Carroll, S.J., had married a Brent and moved to Aquia. Carroll became the first Bishop of Baltimore in 1789, then the only diocese in the nascent United States. He was named the first Archbishop of Baltimore in 1808, up to which point he had also administered the Portrait of Archbishop Carroll by Gilbert entire U.S. Catholic Church, including our own Saint Mary parish.

— Kitty Guy, Parish Historian

In 2020, to commemorate the 225th anniversary of our parish, we started “From the Archives” as a weekly feature online and in our bulletin to spotlight the history of Saint Mary’s. Due to its popularity, we are continuing the series. An archive of the features is located here.