Beverly Tucker Lacy, 3rd cousin 6X removed of Alayna Coughenour
Beverly Tucker Lacy was born 21 February 1819 in Ararat, Prince Edward Co, VA to William Sterling and Sallie E Campbell Lacy, and was one of at least 10 children of the union. One brother was James Horace Lacy. William was a Presbyterian minister, which meant the family moved around a lot. Beverly and the other children received their early education from their father. Beverly had decided that he wanted to become a lawyer, but when he joined the church where his father was pastor, he decided to become a pastor. He enrolled at Washington College (now Washington & Lee University) in Lexington, VA and graduated in 1843. He went on to Princeton Seminary, where he studied under Dr Archibald Alexander and graduated in 1846. He was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1847 then sent to his first charge, Kent Street Church in Winchester, VA. That year he also married Agnes Alexander, his 2nd cousin and Dr Alexander’s niece. They remained in Winchester 5 years. Agnes gave birth to a son, John Alexander in 1849, but sadly she died giving birth to a stillborn daughter in 1851. He served as a pastor in Salem, VA from 1852 – 1858, and then went to Frankfort, KY from 1858 – 1861. John Alexander stayed with relatives until he was grown.
In 1861, the happy and useful relation he had established in Kentucky was interrupted by the outbreak of the Civil War. Beverly returned to Virginia and entered the Confederate Army. General Stonewall Jackson soon appointed him to the position of forming a Chaplains Corps within the 2nd Corps and eventually, the Army of Northern Virginia. It was Lacy who baptized Julia Jackson 23 April 1863. It was Lacy who was with Jackson when he was shot on 3 May 1863 and journeyed with him to the 2nd Corps hospital. It was Lacy who took Jackson’s amputated arm, wrapped it in a blanket, and carried it up the hill to his brother’s family cemetery, and buried it there. It was Lacy who went with Jackson to Guinea Station, and was with him when he passed away 1 May 1863.
Lacy was remembered as a “genial gentleman, an Indefatigable worker, and a powerful and effective preacher.” These were the objectives that Jackson had laid out for his chaplains, and Lacy felt that he must be all thee to set the proper example. After Chancellorsville, the chaplains saw how low the morale was in the troops, and began religious revivals in the camps during the next few months. Conversions, confessions, baptisms, and a searching for God spread throughout the camps. The burning question was ‘Why did God take Jackson?” Lacy and the other chaplains sought to teach the South to trust in no man but in God only, not in any man, as so many had done with Jackson. Lacy stayed with the 2nd Corps under Ewell until the war ended
Rev Beverly Lacy served as pastor of a church in Wytheville, VA for a few months after the war. Then he went to St Louis, Missouri, where he served at the Pine Street Church for 4 years. He became Superintendent of Missions for the Synod of Missouri for 3 years. In 1874, he became pastor of a church in Mexico, Missouri. By 1879, his health began to fail, and he had to resign from the pulpit. He moved in with his son in Sedalia, Missouri, where he was still able to provide support to struggling congregations.
By 1887, John had been offered a job as a lawyer with the Labor Department in Washington, D.C., so they all moved. Beverly was confined to his bed and chair during the next 13 years, but he was comforted by the Master, whom he had so dutifully served for so many years. His body was failing, but his mind was still sharp, and all enjoyed hearing him talk. He could still recall the names of members of the families he had met throughout his life. He passed away 3 November 1900 at the home of his son in Washington, D.C. His body was moved to Lexington, VA, services were held at the Presbyterian Church, and the body was buried at the Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery in Lexington, VA.