The most controversial rector to serve
Queen Anne parish was the Reverend
Jonathan Boucher, who came to Saint
Barnabas in 1771. Boucher was an
Englishman and an ardent Tory. More
than once he clashed with his parishioners
on political matters, and for
months he preached with a pair of
loaded pistols heside him. A crowd of
200 men once confronted him in the
new church. With a pistol in one hand
he seized their leader -- Osborn
Sprigg of Northampton -- and together
they marched to Boucher's house.
Boucher was allowed to leave without
harm. He returned to England with his
wife, Eleancyr Addison of Oxon Hill, in
1775. Courtesy of the Librarv of
Congress. Prints and Photograplls
Division.
From Prince George's County: A Pictorial History by Alan Virta.
Used with permission of The Donning Company/Publishers.
Prince George's County: 