Lewis Reno, Churchwarden

I've been trying to figure out which Lewis Reno served in the Dettingen Parish.  There are records of a Lewis Reno consistently through the Vestry book from when the parish was organized in 1745, and the death of a "Major Reno" is recorded in 1774.  But the notes are are just recording the minutes of the meetings and those present--they wouldn't necessarily have made notes of the death of Lewis III ( in 1755) even if he'd been a vestryman.  They may have just replaced him at the next meeting, and could have replaced him with his son Lewis, so there would be no gap in the Lewises.

If it was Lewis Reno III, the colonist, who served from 1745-until his death in 1755, then he would have been in the range of 67 to 77 when first elected as a vestryman in 1745.  And he would have been 73 to 79 in 1751 when elected Churchwarden.

Spelling and titles are no help.  The Lewis (or Lewises) on the records of the Dettingen Parish is alternately Lewis Renno, Lewis Reno Gent., Captain Lewis Reno, and Majr. Lewis Reno.  On occasion there are two different designations for Lewis on the same entry, which may have been Lewis III and IV, or Lewis IV and V.

My best guess is that it was Lewis IV (b. 1710, d. 1774) who served as vestryman from the time Dettingen Parish was organized out of Hamilton Parish in 1745, and also served off and on as Churchwarden and/or Collector.

One reason for not thinking that the church was all full of old men (and women actually - Catherine Bristor became Sexton of the Quantico church upon the death of her husband, the previous Sexton - page 14 of the Dettingen Parish records linked at right) is found on this gravestone below (in the Aquia Anglican Church graveyard in Stafford, VA).  James Scott was only 30 when he was appointed to be the Minister of this church, so it doesn't seem that young-ish age was a factor against you in positions of responsibility.  And life expectancy wasn't all that great then either.