From The Archives… Alex W. Quarrier
The magnificent Eagle Lectern located in the chancel is dedicated to Alexander W. Quarrier who died on 13 April 1893 by drowning at the age of 26. Alex was a beloved member, lay leader and lector at St. John’s and a ministerial student.
The eagle has a long and significant history as a symbol of St. John. Its association with him can be traced back to biblical references and early Christian traditions, emphasizing his role as an evangelist and divine messenger. The symbolism of the eagle as a representation of strength, spiritual insight, and nobility resonates with the portrayal of St. John in art, heraldry, and religious iconography. The eagle is also depicted in the Good Shepherd stained-glass window over the altar and in the St. John stained-glass window on the Quarrier Street side of the nave.
PROBABLY DROWNED
Alex Quarrier and a Young Lady go Boat Riding and Have Not Since Been Seen.
Special Dispatch to the Intelligencer
CHARLESTON, W. Va., April 14 [1893] – Last evening about 7:30 o’clock Alex W. Quarrier, one of Charleston’s most estimable young men, and eldest son of the late Hon. W. A. Quarrier, accompanied by Miss Ella Young, of Missouri, who has been visiting in the city for some time, went boat riding on the Kanawha in a canvass canoe owned by Mr. Quarrier. Since that time nothing has been heard from them. Mr. Quarrier had a position in the secretary of state’s office and left there at about the usual hour last evening but was absent from his post of duty this morning. His failure and the failure of the young lady to return to their homes when expected naturally caused considerable alarm and this morning every possible inquiry was made.
The government steamer Bee started down the river in the hope of finding some [clue] as to the fate of the missing ones, and Ward’s steam yacht Madge also went out on the search. About 10 o’clock this morning a paddle believed to belong [to] Mr. Quarrier was found at Lock 6, just below the Weir, on the north side of the river. Nothing more has been found to indicate the whereabout of Quarrier and his companion, but there seems to be little doubt that they have
found a watery grave. A searching party also went out in skiffs, but failed to find anything that would throw any light on the mystery. It is thought that the boat was sunk by the waves of the Kanawha Belle, that boat having come down about 8:30 last evening, and [it] is reported that cries for help were heard a short distance above the bridge about that time. A reward of $50 has been offered for the recovery of the bodies.
Family History
The great grandfather of Alex, Alexander Buchanon Quarrier, was born on 11 March 1745, in Fife, Scotland. Alexander immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1774 and served as a captain in the Revolutionary War. At the age of 28, as an apprentice to William Tod to learn coach making, he married Elizabeth Dannonbury on 1 January 1783, at the Philadelphia Monthly Meeting, Philadelphia. In 1778, at the age of 33, his occupation is listed as having established his own carriage shop. Captain Quarrier died on 24 March 1827, in Charleston, Kanawha County, Virginia at the age of 82 and was buried in Spring Hill Cemetery, Charleston, Kanawha, West Virginia.
Alex’s grandfather was Alexander Washington Quarrier who was born on 16 November 1795, in Virginia. He married Caroline Winston Shrewsbury on 30 January 1823, in Kanawha, Virginia. Alexander lived in Charleston, Kanawha, Virginia, and died on 6 July 1863, at the age of 67, and was buried in Spring Hill Cemetery, Charleston, Kanawha County, West Virginia.
The father of Alex Quarrier was William Alexander Quarrier who was born on 1 October 1828, in Kanawha, Virginia. He married Cora Alexline Greenhow in 1865. He died on 10 September 1888, in Charleston, Kanawha, West Virginia at the age of 59, and was buried in Spring Hill Cemetery, Charleston, Kanawha County, West Virginia.
(See additional information about Alex on the Archives website.)
