Tripp Jones is the archivist of The Church of the Epiphany, one of D.C.’s oldest and most prestigious Episcopal churches. The downtown Washington church was founded in 1847 and has been the spiritual home of dozens of major figures in American history, from Confederate President Jefferson Davis to newspaper baron Joseph Pulitzer.
How did you become the archivist?
I certainly have a great interest in history, and the preceding one was getting elderly and couldn’t do it. He stood up one morning and announced that he was quitting and he was looking for volunteers. I said, “Here I am, Lord, let’s do it.”
What does your job entail?
Heinz 57. Right now, we’re putting on a play to celebrate Lincoln’s bicentennial. I’ve written it, directed it, casted it, and we’re putting it on this Sunday. A lot of members of his inner circle were members of our church. We get a lot of requests from people who are looking up their family histories. I can kind of help put their family together. This guy called me from Chicago with a $2 bill and asking if the steeple in the background of the picture was our church. You get all kinds of requests. And once I got request from a person who was on their deathbed and wanted to confirm that they had been baptized and then five minutes later died.
What’s the best discovery you’ve made?
Oh, God. I hate these best and worst questions. A lot of times you see from your past where you’ve come from. I’ve discovered a lot about that from our past in the 19th century, people of color who were baptized there, people of different sexual orientation. A lot of people say such people weren’t admitted by the Episcopalians, but I can say, “Oh, yes, they were. And here’s the record.”
Is there is a religious impulse behind your work?
Yes. I feel it’s a ministry — helping people find out where they’ve come from, helping the parish understand where they’ve come from, helping to understand the role of the church in the city.
