The Rev. Frederick W. Neve (1855-1948)

The Rev. Frederick W. Neve, born in England and educated at Oxford, came to Virginia in 1888 to serve as rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, here, and Emmanuel Church in Greenwood. Between 1890 and 1935, he established more than 30 missions, many with schools and hospitals, in the Blue Ridge and Ragged Mountains. At first traveling by horseback, he brought worship, literacy, education, and medical care to families living in remote areas. He recruited and trained dozens of mission workers, primarily women from outside the region. Neve, appointed Archdeacon of the Blue Ridge in 1904, later organized The Order of the Thousandfold, a worldwide prayer ministry. He is buried here at St. Paul’s.