St. Mary's Church was established in Smith's Hundred in 1618 in part with £200 bequeathed by Mrs. Mary Robinson, of
St. Olave Parish in London, to educate the "poore people" (i.e.
Powhatan Indians) in Christianity. Along with others who contributed to the church was an unknown person who gave a set of Communion Silver (
Hallmark: London 1617/1618). When the church was abandoned during the Uprising of 1622, the communion silver was taken to Jamestown. It was held by
Sir George Yeardley, Governor of the
Colony of Virginia. After his death, the Jamestown court in 1628 had
William Claiborne, land surveyor for the Colony, inventory the items from Smith's Hundred. It is believed he had the silver given to the
St. John's Episcopal Church, the second Church in the relocated, renamed settlement (then called
Elizabeth City). This silver comprises the oldest church artifacts in continuous use from the colonial period in the United States. These items are preserved and used on special occasions at St. John's, now located in
Hampton, Virginia. ==References==