Reverend John Wright was a Presbyterian minister active in Cumberland County, Virginia, during the 1760s. On the
Feast of the Epiphany, 1761, he wrote to several benefactors in England describing the following Christmas scene:
"My landlord tells me, when he waited on the Colonel [Cary] at his country-seat two or three days [ago], they heard the Slaves at worship in their lodge, singing Psalms and Hymns in the evening, and again in the morning, long before break of day. They are excellent singers, and long to get some of Dr. Wattss Psalms and Hymns, which I encourage them to hope for."
