Tuesday, September 15, 2026

It is the 15th of September 2026. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

 

Every year or so I find a way to quote from George Eliot’s Middlemarch- the very last sentence, and an evaluation of the life of Dorothea Brooke’s life- the relative obscurity she lived in despite the initial promise of something more noteworthy.

 

We read: “for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived a hidden life faithfully, and rest in unvisited tombs.”

 

The reverend James Chisholm, who died on this, the 15th of September in 1855, does not have an “unvisited” tomb- you can visit it at the Cedar Grove Cemetery in Portsmouth, Virginia. But at his funeral there were only 20 people, and his story languished in the yellow pages of old books until the Episcopal Church decided to recognize his quiet, short life of service with a commemoration in 2010.

 

So who was James Chisholm and what marked his faithful, hidden life?

 

James was born on September 30th, 1815, in Salem, Massachusetts, to Martha and William Chisholm. William had come to the United States from Inverness, Scotland, amidst the Jacobite rising in 1745. James was one of 4 children, the youngest, and the one who showed academic progress. His father's intentions were to give him the best possible education, but this was stalled with William's death when James was only 12. His mother and older siblings pooled money to send James to Salem Latin School in 1830 and then to Harvard in 1832. James was raised in a Baptist home, but while at Harvard seems to have veered into the then-trendy lanes of transcendentalism and Unitarianism. He was friends with the transcendentalist poet Jones Very and formed some kind of religious club with him. He would graduate with honors in 1836; a biographer notes his proficiency in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, French, Spanish, German, and Italian. In order to pay back his siblings, he took a job teaching at an academy in Charlestown, Virginia. There he began worshipping at the Protestant Episcopal Church and was deeply moved. He had some kind of conversion experience and was confirmed in the church in 1839. In 1840, he started classes at Virginia Theological Seminary and was ordained to the ministry. His goal was to preach to the enslaved population in Virginia. In 1842, he took a call to Berkeley County, where he did just that and served the enslaved and the poor. He worked across social and denominational boundaries.

 

During this time, he would marry his wife, Jane, and they had two children: William and John. The family would move to Portsmouth, Virginia in 1853 when he took a call to St. John’s Episcopal Church. In early 1855, Jane died- James called it “the severest of all domestic afflictions,” and he would visit her grave regularly and read scripture and poetry.

 

In July of that same year, Yellow Fever broke out in that region. By early August, thousands had fled by steamboat or rail. Those who remained were the poorest and the sickest. With one of his sons ill, he sent both to live with family in a neighboring county. In his writings, he lamented how many ministers fled and swore: “to abide by my post as long as Pestilence holds its dread sway.” On September 5th he received word that his oldest son had died. On that same day his diary reports that 32 had died of the yellow fever that Sunday, 21 on Monday, 13 on Tuesday, and on the day he was writing 17 had died by 11 am.

 

Two days later he himself became ill with the fever- contracted no doubt by his going into the homes of the sick to bring communion and to minister to them. A history of Portsmouth which retells his story notes that "He was, however, spared to comfort the pest-ridden sufferings until the disease had abated; then his frail body, worn out by privation and toil, succumbed to the fever." James Chisholm died at the Naval Hospital in Portsmouth on this, the 15th of September in 1855. The funeral was small because so many had fled and the fear of gathering kept many away. His story is not one of grandiose design and large-scale impact but rather of a faithful, hidden life… converted and determined to preach the Gospel to the poor and enslaved. Today we remember the short but faithful life of James Chisholm- he was 39 years old.

 

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and Romans 14

13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. 14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. 15 If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 15th of September 2026 brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who notes it is difficult to discuss Jones Very without sounding either emphatic or grammatically unfinished- he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man reminding you that George Eliot was not a man… she was Mary Ann Evans… I'm Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.