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APERS, HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL, RELATING
ORIGIN AND GROWTH OF PRESBYTERIAMISM
rHE CENTRAL AND EASTERN PART f
SOUTHERN PENNSYLVANIA.
VOL. II.-BIOGRAPHICAL.
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CONTENTS.
i
VOLUME II.— BIOGRAPHICAL.
I. Biographical Sketches of Deceased Ministers, ... 5
By Rev. Ebenezer Erskine. D. D., Pastor of the Big
Spring Presbyterian Church, Newville, Pa.
II. Biographical Sketches of Distinguished Laymen, . . 309
By Eev. Joseph Vance, D. D., Chester, Pa., and Rev.
George Norcross, D. D., Carlisle, Pa.
III. Influence of the Presbytery of Carlisle beyond its
Bounds 376
By Rev. George Norcross, D. D., Pastor of the Second
Presbyterian Church, Carlisle, Pa.
IV. Our Representatives on the Foreign Field, .... 395
By Rev. George Norcross, D. D.
VI. Index, 463
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. VOL. II.
Hon. George Chambers, LL. D Frontispiece
The Old Guard House, Carlisle, 64
Dr. Nisbet's Monument, 65
Rev. David Denny, 72
Rev. Amos A. McGinley, D. D 92
Rev. Henry Rowan Wilson, D. D., 96
Rev. Francis Herron, D. D., , 100
Rev. David Elliott, D. D., LL. D., 110
Rev. Robert Cathcart, D. D., 124
Rev. William R. DeWitt, D. D., 131
Rev. Robert Kennedy, 143
Rev. George Duffield, D. D., 149
Rev. John Moodey, D. D., 184
Rev. James Harper, D. D., 210
Rev. Thomas Creigh, D. D., 220
Rev. Thomas V. Moore, D. D., 233
Rev. Robert Johnston, 244
Rev. Alexander T. McGill, D. D., LL. D 255
Rev. Conway P. Wing, D. D., 263
Rev. Joseph A. Murray, D. D., 274
Monaghan Church (old), 275
Rev. Anderson B. Quay, > . . . . 277
Rev. John Jay Pomeroy, 280
Rev. Thomas Dobbins' Academy, 359
Hon. Alexander Thomson, LL. D., 360
J. W. Weir 370
Rev. Henry R. Wilson, Jr 410
Rev. M. Simpson Culbertson,'^D. D 434
Rev. John R. A.gnew, 441
Rev. Ashbel Green Simonton, 447
Rev. Oliver M. Green, 454
SKETCHES
OK THE
MORE PROMINENT
DECEASED MINISTERS
PRESBYTERIES OF DONEGAL, CARLISLE
AND HARRISBURG.
By rev. ebenezer ERSKINE, d d.
Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial
PREFATORY REMARKS.
IN the preparation of these Biographical Sketches,
the following Histories, Annals, Manuals, Sketches,
Biographical and Historical Discourses, Histories
of Churches, Genealogies and other publications,
have been consulted and free use made of what had a bearing
on the lives and labors of those here sketched.
Acknowledgment of such indebtedness was generally made as
I proceeded. It is impossible now at the end to recall all such
references and indebtedness, and hence this general acknowledg-
ment : History of Presbyterian Church in America, Webster ;
Constitutional History of Presbyterian Church, Charles Hodge ;
Sprague's Annals, Vols. Ill and IV : History of Presbyterian
Church, G-illett: Minutes of General Assembly, 1789-1835;
Records of Presbyterian Church : Records of Presbyteries of
Donegal and Carlisle ; History of Presbyterian Church in Ire-
land, Alexandei-; History of Presbyterian Church in Ireland,
Reid ; History of Church of Scotland, Hetherington ; The
Church of Scotland, Moffat; Scotch and Irish Seeds in Amer-
can Soil, Craighead ; Log College, A. Alexander ; Presbyte-
rianism in New England, Blaikie ; Presbyterian Encyclopedia,
Nevin ; Men of Mark, Nevin ; Churches of the Valley, Nevin :
Pennsylvania Genealogies, Egle ; American Presbyterian ism,
Briggs; Manual of the Reformed Church in America, E. T.
Corwin; Manual of the United I'resbyterian Church in Amer-
ica, James B. Scouller ; Memorial of Presbyterian Reunion,
1870: Centenary Memorial of Presbyterianism in Western
10 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
Pennsylvania ; Presbyterian Historical Almanac, Wilson ;
Tribute to the Irish and Scotch Settlers of Pennsylvania,
Chambers ; Historical Sketch of Synod of Philadelphia, and Bio
graphical Sketches, Robert M. Patterson and Robert Davidson :
History of Donegal and Carlisle Presbyteries, C. P. Wing:
History of First Presbyterian Church of Carlisle, Pa., C. P,
Wing; Necrological Reports of Princeton Theological Semi
nary ; Life of Nisbet, Samuel Miller ; Memoirs of John M.
Mason, Van Vechtan ; Life of Rogers. Samuel Miller ; One
Hundred Years Ago, George Duffield ; Lower Brandy Wine
and its Pastors, Rev. G. E. Jones ; Upper West Conococheague,
Creigh ; Derry Memorial Church, Egle ; York Presbyterian
Church, Niles ; Middle Spring Presbyterian Church, S. S.
Wylie: Life and Character of Francis Herron, W. M.
Paxton ; Silver Spring Presbyterian Church, Rev. T. J.
Ferguson ; In Memoriam, Rev. George Duffield, D. D. ; In
Memoriam, Rev. David Elliott, D. D.; In Memoriam, Wm. R.
DeWitt, D. D.: In Memoriam, Rev. Thomas Creigh, D, D.
E. E.
Deceased Ministers. 11
SKETCHES OF THE MORE PROMINENT DECEASED
MINISTERSOF THE PRESBYTERY OF CARLISLE.
By Rev. Kbenezer Erskink, D. D.
Introductxjry.
|HE origin and histoiy of the Presbytery of Carlisle
having been traced, it has been devolved upon me
to give some account of its ministers. Much mav
be learned in relation to the original constitution,
doctrines, order and life of the Presbyterian Church in this coun-
try by a careful study of the prmciples, characters and lives of
its earliest ministers. This requires an examination into their
origin and the influences under which their ministerial charac-
ters and lives were molded, and in relation to their views as to
doctrine, church order and mode of worship. Whatever diffi-
culty may be experienced elsewhere in obtaining satisfactory
information on these points, none need be felt here, for all the
early ministers of this Presbytery were either from the Presby-
terian Church of Ireland or directly from the church of Scot-
land, with but one exception, and they all, without any excep-
tion, adopted the Westminster Confession of Faith and the
Larger and Shorter Catechisms as the confession of their faith,
and approved the Presbyterian Form of Government and
Directory of Worship as most conformed to the word of God.
All the early streams which flowed into the ministry and mem-
bership of the churches of this Presbytery were from one or
other of these two sources and were of the thorough Presby-
terian type. When the way was opened for emigration to the
new world, the Presbyterians of Ulster, not being allied to
Ireland by any long standing traditions or sacred memories,
12 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial
and being subject to many and various grievances, and being
deterred from settling in the Province of Virginia on the one
hand, or New York on the other, by the intolerence of their
laws against all but the ministers of the Established Church
of England, they were attracted in large numbers to the free
province of Pennsylvania. Coming as they did in large num-
bers from 1700 to 1760, in many instances their ministers ac-
companied them and their licentiates followed after them.
They landed in great numbers at Wilmington, Delaware,
and hence the ministers usually united in the first place
with the Presbytery of New Castle. The people being gener-
ally agriculturists from the forfeited lands of the Earls of Tv-
rone and Tyrconnel, in the North of Ireland, settled first
on the lands along the streams of water or in the vicinity of the
larger springs, as on White Clay creek, Delaware, at the Forks
of the Brandy wine, and on Octorara creek, in Chester county, on
the Neshaminy, in Bucks county, and in Pequea and Donegal
townships in Lancaster county, and in Paxton and Derry town-
ships, and along Sprmg and Fishing creeks and other streams
and springs of water, in what is now Dauphin county.
From thence the stream of emigration flowed across the
Susquehanna, the long crooked river, up the Kittochtinny
valley, the valley of the endless mountains, and settled along
the Conodoguinet, the Conococbeague and the great springs
with which the valley abounds, and flowed on to the Potomac
river, and on down the valley of Virginia, to the Carohnas and
Georgia. Here is where many of the earliest churches and
ministers are found.
Coming as these early ministers did from Ireland and Scot-
land, they were educated men, with thorough collegiate
and theological training for the ministry. As a consequence
the principles of these earliest ministers were well defined and
settled.
Deceased Ministers. 13
Their character and piety, based as they were ou the doc-
trines and duties set forth in their standards, as drawn directly
from the word of God, were decided, vigorous and Scriptural.
That the character and piety of these early ministers were stern
and uncompromising is not only admitted but is easily ac-
counted for by the long and bitter conflicts which they were
forced to maintain against the alternate usurpations and perse-
cutions of Papacy and Prelacy, for the maintenance of the dis-
tinctive principles of their Presbyterian faith and order.
Coming as they did out of those fierce and protracted perse-
cutions which they and their fathers had endured in Ireland
and Scotland, they came with their Bibles and Confessions of
Faith in their hands, and well stored away in their minds.
They came ready to inscribe in bold characters upon their
banners here, the three great fundamental principles of Pres-
byterianism and also of religious and civil liberty, for which
they had so earnestly contended, viz : Loyalty to Christ as
the supreme and only head of the church, the parity of
the ministry and the right of every congregation to choose
its own officers. Of the truth and importance of these
fundamental principles the Scotch, and Scotch-Irish Presbyte-
rian ministers and people, were so fully persuaded that no
sacrifice was too great to be endured, rather than renounce or
betray them.
The Presbyterians of Scotland and Ireland having been
called, as they had been, to contend amid the most cruel and
bloody persecutions, under which many thousands of them had
sacrificed their lives for the supreme headship of Christ over
his church, and as a consequence for its freedom from kingly
and priestly domination, they became the foremost friends, ad-
vocates and defenders of religious and civil liberty, as against
the usurpations and tyranny of both ecclesiastical and civil
rulers.
14 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
The union of church and state had been so close and depend-
ent, and the relations of religious and civil liberty so intimate
in their bearing on each other, that those who contended for the
former, soon forfeited the favor of the kings and prelates. No
portion of the early settlers of this country so clearly compre-
hended the separate spheres of church and state, as the Scotch and
Scotch-Irish Presbyterians ; and, as a consequence, while they
were unwilling to allow the church to be interfered with or con-
trolled by the secular power ; so, for fear of such usurpations
as they had already suffered, they would neither ask nor
receive aid from the state nor submit to its dictation or author-
ity in matters of religious faith and worship.
In their past experience, the natural and constant allies of
civil despotism had been the Romish and Episcopal hierarchies,
and the Presbyterians of Ireland and Scotland, in their resis-
tence to tyranny and oppression, had suffered more from the
latter than the former, for the reason that the Episcopal Church
was more frequently in the ascendency, and her prelates had
much greater influence over their civil rulers and oppressors.
The greatest friends and promoters of religious and civil
liberty in this land, history shows, were the Scotch and Scotch-
Irish Presbyterians, the Puritans of England, the Dutch of
Holland and the Huguenots of France.
Presbyterianism as it came therefore into the Cumberland
Valley, and through all the borders of the Carlisle Presbytery,
(as held and taught by our earliest ministers), a century and a
half ago, was not a thing crude in its principles and chaotic in
its elements, but on the contrary was a clearly-defined and
thoroughly-developed system of religious faith and order. It
did not come here as something that was passive and plastic,
to be determined in its character and history by the force of
circumstances, or by the accident of its mere environment, but
its earliest propagators came with positive opinions, with well-
Deceased Members. 15
settled princi])les and with deep and strong convictions of truth
and duty, and with clear conceptions of their mission and a
deep sense of their responsibility, in laying the foundation of
the church in this new world.
The early Presbyterian ministers came with a system of doc-
trine that was distinct and sharply defined, with a form of gov-
ernment conformed to the word of God and with a mode of
worship that was at once simple, Scriptural and spiritual. In
tracing back, however, the lines of influence that centered in
the formation of our earliest churches and Presbyteries in this
land, the student of history cannot stop at Ireland, or Scotland,
or England, or France, or Holland. All the lines along which
the faith of the reformed churches, and also of religious and
civil liberty and popular education are traceable, stop not in
any of these countries, but all run through and beyond them
to that valley which lies embosomed in the mountains of
Switzerland, and to the banks of that beautiful lake on which
stands the city of Geneva, which has for its greatest distinction,
and will have through all time, that it was the home and the
scene of the labors and achievements of John Calvin, the great
theologian of the Reformation. Here it was that John Knox,
many learned English Puritans in the bloody times of Mary,
as well as the Huguenots of France, fleeing from the perse-
cutions at home, found their way, and there acquired a
more thorough knowledge of the great doctrines of the Re-
formed faith and of the principles of religious and civil liberty,
and there beheld a people governed by laws of their own
making; a commonwealth without kings or nobles, a church
without priests or prelates, and which acknowledged no head
but Christ, and whose doctrines, government, laws and officers
were all drawn directly from the word of God, and which had
no authority to bind the conscience of any one, any farther
16 . Presbytery of Carlisk — CetitamiaL
than they were sustained by the express statements of the
Scriptures, or by plain inference from their teaching.
It was thence that our earliest ministers received their chief
impress. They were cast in the mold of that system of reli-
gious faith and worship known astheCalvinistic, — "a system,"
says Froude, " which has always borne an inflexible front to
illusion and mendacity, and has preferred rather to be ground
to powder like flint, than to bend before violence, or melt under
enervatiog temptation." To Scotland belongs the great dis-
tinction of having perhaps more fully and clearly perceived
and held fast the Eeformed Calvinistic faith than any other
country. Says Macaulay : "To the attempt to enslave Scot-
land, England owes its freedom," and it may be added, the
United States their civil and religious liberty. This was due
to their rigid adherence to the principles of Knox and Calvin.
The great siege of Derry, the most memorable in the annals
of the British Isles, secured for the Presbyterians of Irelatid
Protestant faith and constitutional liberty.
Having indicated the origin of the ministei's who gathered
and organized the earliest churches of which the Presbytery of
Carlisle is composed, and the influences under which their min-
isterial characters were formed, I now proceed to a hasty
sketch of the individual characters and lives of the more
prominent among them.
As any proper history of the Presbytery of Carlisle must
necessarily embrace the history of the churches which were
set off at the time of its constitution, in the year 1786, and
which are now within its present limits, so any proper sketch
of the ministers of this Presbytery must include a sketch of
the ministers of these churches from the beginning.
In seeking to give some account of those who lived and labored
in the ministry within the limits of the present boundaries of
the Presbytery, I propose to group them in periods, as follows :
Deceased Ministers. 17
1. From the year 1729, the year of the adopting act, the
time of the coming of the first Presbyterian minister, of which
we have any certain knowledge, within our present bounda-
ries, to the year 1741, the time of the first division of the
church.
2. From the year 1741 to the year 1758, the time of the
first reunion.
3. From the year 1758 to the year 1788, the time of the or-
ganization of the General Assembly.
4. From the year 1788 to the year 1838, the time of the
second division of the church.
5. From the year 1838 to the year 1870, the time of the
second reunion of the church.
FIRST PERIOD— 1729-1741.
The more prominent ministers who lived and labored statedly
within the present boundaries of the Presbytery during the
first, period mentioned were : Rev. James Anderson, Rev.
William Bertram, Rev. Thomas Craighead, Rev. Richard Sane-
key, Rev. John Elder, Rev. Samuel Cavin, Rev. Samuel
Thompson. Of these, the earliest ministers, but comparatively
little biographical data is to be found, and what remains is
liable soon to perish unless gathered up and put into some
more permanent form.
Rev. James Anderson.
The first Presbyterian minister who came into this territory
and labored here in the ministry for any given period, was the
Rev. James Anderson, who was called to the church of Done-
gal, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, September 24th, 1726,
and who from September, 1729. gave one-fifth of his time to
the people on the Swatara, and one-fifth of his time to the
people on Fishing Creeks, which from 1732 were known as
Paxton and Derry congregations. He was the first stated min-
ister of these two congregations, the first record of whose ex-
istence runs as far back as 1724. He continued to preach
statedly to these congregations until the year 1732, when he
was succeeded bv the Rev. William Bertram.
18 Preshijiery of Carlisle — Centennial.
Mr. Anderson was a native of Scotland. He was Vjorn No-
vember 17, 1678, received his education at Edinburgh and was
ordained by the Presbytery of Irvine, November 17, 1708.
With a view to his settlement in Virginia, in answer to an over-
ture sent over to Scotland by the Rev. Mr. Makemie and others
for ministers for that colony, he sailed with this destination
in view, March 6, 1709, and arrived in the Rappahannock the
22d of the following April. Finding the laws and the dispo-
sition of the Governor and other officers of the colony un-
friendly to the introduction of any other ministers than those
of the Established Church of England, or. as he wrote to Prin-
cipal Stirling of Glasgow, in August, 1716: " Meeting with
unaccountable disappointments there, after a half year's stay,"
he came northward and was received by the Presbytery of
New Castle, September 20, 1710, and was settled at New Castle,
Delaware, in that same year.
Here he continued to labor, giving one-fourth of his time to
the people of Kent county, and one- fourth to the people of
Cedar Creek, in Sussex county, until the summer of 1716,
when he was called to be the first pastor of the First Presby-
terian congregation in the city of New York. This call he
accepted, after much deliberation and counsel, and was favor-
ably received by the people calling him, and for three years
preached, by permission of the proper authorities, in the City
Hall. In 1719 the first church edifice was erected by the First
Presbyterian congregation on Wall street. Here Mr. Ander-
son preached until September 24, 1726, when, at his own re-
quest, the pastoral relation was dissolved and he accepted a
call from the congregation of Donegal, Lancaster county,
Pa., where he continued to labor successfully until his death,
July 16, 1740.
His remains lie buried in the Donegal burying ground, with
those of his first wife, who was Mistress Suit Garland, of Dela-
ware. His second wife was Rebecca Crawford, of Donegal,
who after his death married Joshua Baker, and their daughter,
Mary Baker, became the wife of Rev. John Elder, the noted
pastor of Paxton and Derr3^
Mr. Anderson had eleven children. His son James married,
Rev. James Anderson. 19'
as his second wife, the widow of Rev. Joseph Tate, of the
Presbytery of Donegal, and his grandson, James Anderson,
married Margaret Chambers, of Cumberland county, in 1757,
who, after the death of her husband, lived at Fannetsburg, in
Franklin county, until her death, March 28, 1836.
The writer has met with two branches of this Anderson
family, one at Donegal, in Lancaster count}'. Fa., and the other
in Washington county. Pa., between which there was a strik-
ing resemblance. They were tall of stature, of strong physi-
cal frames and with features indicating great firmness and much
decision of character.
" Mr. Anderson," says Dr. Gillett in his history, " was a man
of talents, learning and piety, a graceful and popular preacher."
He was, however, a man of stern orthodoxy, of firm and de-
cided opinions, and open and fearless in the expression of them.
It is alleged that his strict orthodoxy and rigid Scottish habits
as to Presbyterian faith, order and discipline, together with a
disposition to dominate in all church affairs, were the occasion
of offense to a portion of his people in New York.
A part of his congregation separated from the First Church
in 1722, and were supplied for six months by the celebrated
Jonathan Edwards, who was then only nineteen years of age.
Mr. Anderson was very pronounced in his views in relation
to the religious movement known as the Great Revival,
and manifested very decided opposition to the New Side party,
and to the preaching of Whitefield and others. He was the
minister at Fagg's Manor, where some twelve thousand people
were assembled to hear Whitefield, and who, according to the
statement of the Rev. Samuel Blair, as soon as the sermon was
ended, pressed furiously to the stand to reply to Mr. White-
field, concerning his doctrine and mode of procedure, but
whovse request was denied.
In a letter to Principal Stirling, of Glasgow University,
Scotland, dated New Castle, Delaware, August, 1716, Mr.
Anderson wrote that there were at that time, in the Presbytery
with which he was then connected (Presbytery of Philadel-
phia just previous to the constitution of the Synod of Phila-
delphia), " seventeen ministers, and two probationers from the
20 Presbyter ij of Carlisle — Centennial.
North of Ireland, twelve of whom,'' he said, "T think received
the most of their education from the University of Glasgow."
''As to our proceedings in matters of public woi-ship and
discipline," he further adds, " we make it our business to fol-
low the Directory of the Church of Scotland, which we, as
well we may, own as our Mother Church."
At the close of another letter, August 8, 1717, he entreats
Dr. Stirling to use his best endeavors "that we in this Ameri-
can wilderness, especially we who are ourselves children of
that mother church, whereof you are an eminent member, may
not be forgotten, not only in private, but in the public prayers
of your churches."
In view of the present state and drift of things in the
Church of Scotland, their loose action and utterances in regard
to doctrine and subscription, we append at the close of this
sketch, a statement from one of the letters of Mr. Anderson to
Dr. Stirling, of Glasgow. It will be seen to be still more im-
portant and appropriate by reason of the wild and fallacious
utterances used by the late Moderator of the General Assenibly
of the Established Church, who, in his closing address, accord-
ing to a correspondent in a late number of the Philadelphia
Presbyterian, affirmed that " in the present state of theological
views, they required a great theologian to arise to give a full view
of gospel truth, to grasp it in its entirety, embracing all the three
phases of Christianity, and promulgating a theology more ra-
tional than that of Catholicism, more human than that of Cal-
vinism and more divine than that of Arminianism, and who,
like Luther, would embody in his person the spirit of the age,
and like him bring forth some regenerating truth from the ob-
scurity in which it had been buried for ages, and wield that
truth with the overpowering force of eloquence, combined with
the mighty rushing wind of the Spirit, and carry all before him."
According to these high-sounding and misleading phrases, how-
ever eloquent, the theology of Paul, Augustine, Anselm,
Calvin, Edwards and Hodge, has become effete; the Divine
Word as read and preached, and faith and prayer and the Holy
Spirit are no more efficient in the saving enlightenment and
salvation of men. In yiew of the present state of things
Rev. William Bertram. 21
and such utterences, how significant and applicable the words
with which he closes his letter of 1717 to Dr. Stirling, " May
the Church of Scotland be ever preserved from anti-Christian
superstitious dross in doctrine, discipline and worship ; may
practical godliness be held more and more in esteem and re-
nown among all classes and degrees of persons; may your
famous universities flourish and prove real nurseries of God."*
Rev. William Bertram.
The next Presbyterian minister who came into our present
boundaries, was the Rev. William Bertram. He was born in
the city of Edinburgh, February 2, 1674, was educated at the
university in that city, studied for the ministry and was licensed
by the Presbytery of Bangor, Ireland. At the meeting of the
Synod of Philadelphia, September 20, 1732, in Philadelphia,
he presented ample testimonials from his Presbytery of his or-
dination, ministerial qualifications and consistent walk and
conduct, and after his declaring his full assent unto the West-
minster Confession of Faith and Catechisms, as the confession of
his faith, he was received as a member of Synod. On October
11, 1732, he was received by the Presbytery of Donegal at its
first meeting and as its first business after its organization, and
declared his acceptance of a call to settle over the people on
the Swatara and Spring or Fishing Creeks, from this time known
as Derry and Paxton congregations.
To these congregations he preached until 1736, when he
complained to Presbytery of the great burden of the two con-
gregations, and was released from Paxton and continued to
preach at Derry until his death. May 3, 1746, at the age of 72.
Mr. Bertram, as the Presbyterial records show, labored in
these congregations with great fidelity and acceptance, and to
the continued spiritual profit of the people and prosperity of
the churches during the entire period of his ministry.
When, in 1736, he sought release from one of the congrega-
tions, both desired his continuance with them, and each made
the necessary provision for his support; and when again, in
1741, he asked permission of Presbytery to resign the pastoral
•See American Preebyterianism, by Brig^rs. Appendix p. 71.
Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
care of Derry, on account of liis increasing bodily weakness
and infirmities, and his alleged inability properly to perform
the duties required, the congregation remonstrated, on the
ground that they had enjoyed Mr. Bertram's services when he
was more able to perform them, and now they were willing to
accept them when he was less able to render them.
Mr. Bertram's wife was Elizabeth Gillespie, sister of the Rev.
George Gillespie, of New Castle Presbytery, one of the ablest
of the early ministers. Mr. Bertram's tomb stands on the
banks of the Swatara, near the old Derry meeting house.
Rev. Thomas Craighead.
One of the next ministers that settled within our present
bou!idaries was the Rev. Thomas Craighead, or Creaghead. He
was the pioneer minister to the " people over the river," the first
pastor west of the Susquehanna. He belonged to a family of
ministers. He was a son of Rev. Robert Craighead, a native of
Scotland, and pastor in Derry and at Doneughmore, Ireland, an
author of some distinction, and twice a commissioner from the
Synod of Ireland to London. He was brother to the Rev.
Robert Craighead, Jr., who was Moderator of the Synod of
Ireland, and who, in his sermon before the Synod, made an
earnest plea for peace, on the basis of a true and practical con-
formity to the acknowledged standards of the church in oppo-
sition to the Belfast Society.
Thomas Craighead was born in Scotland and studied medi-
cine there, but afterwards read theology under his father in
Derry, and was licensed to preach the Gospel, and was ordained
and settled some ten or twelve years in Ireland, and became a
well known and even a prominent member of the Irish Synod.
In consequence of a number of grievances to which the
Presbyterians were subject in Ireland, such as ''oppressive
rents," " the sacramental test'" and the "marriage ordinance,"
he joined a large company of emigrants and came to America.
He first settled as a minister in Freetown, in the colony of
Massachusetts. He was no doubt drawn there by a relative
wdio resided in that place. He continued there for some time,
but became dissatisfied on account of a want of sufficient sup-
Rev. Thama^ Craighead. 23
port Cotton Mather, the distinguished minister of Boston at
that time, esteemed him very highly for his gifts and acquire-
ments as a minister, and wrote letters to a friend of his in 1718
and 1719, in Freetown, urging his continuance, and spoke of
him as "a man of an excellent spirit, and as a great blessing to
their settlement, and as a minister of singular piety, meekness,
humility and industry in the work of God. All that are ac-
quainted with him," he said, '' have a precious esteem of him,
and if he should be driven from among you it would be such
a damage as is not to be thought of without horror."
His efiforts, however, failed to induce the people to make the
necessary provision to keep him there, and in January, 1724,
he became a member of New Castle Presbytery and soon one
of its leading members. He accepted an invitation to preach
at White Clay Creek and Brandywine.
In 1733 he was called to Pequea, Lancaster county, Pa., and
was installed there the last day of October of that year. This
brought him into the Presbytery of Donegal. Here he was
very active in gathering and building up new congregations.
His preaching was highly evangelical, and was in the demon-
stration and power of the Holy Spirit, and often attended with
the spiritual awakening of the impenitent and quickening of
God's people. His doctrinal views were in strict accordance
with the Westminster standards, to which he was warmly at-
tached, and which he had adopted both in the Presbytery of
New Castle and Donegal as the confession of his faith.
His pastorate at Pequea continued only two years. He was
released from there September 19, 1736. October 9, 1735,
he was appointed to supply the people of the Conodoguinet
the last Sabbath of October and two Sabbaths in November.
At a meeting of Presbytery, October 27, 1736, Rev. Thomas
Craighead was appointed to supply Conodoguinet until next
meeting or for six months. About this time the name of this
people began to be changed from the people of the Conodo-
guinet to the people of Pennsboro' and Hopewell, the line
having been run in 1735 from the North to the South Mount-
ain, by way of the Big Spring, dividing the valley, and all
east of that line was called Pennsboro' and all west of it Hope-
24 Preshytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
Alexander Craighead, his son, who had been recently licensed,
had been previous) y appointed an occasional supply to the people
on the Conodoguinet, even as early as October, 1734, but he was
never settled over any of the congregations west of the river.
Mr. Thomas Craighead, after supplying the people on the
Conodoguinet, was invited, April 10, 1737, to supply the
people of Hopewell, and shortly afterwards Presbytery was re-
quested to appoint some one to take the sense of the people in
relation to making out a call for him, which request was
granted, and on November 17, 1737, it was accepted and his
installation ordered at Hopewell or Big Spring, and most
probably at Middle and Rocky Springs, at some convenient
time before the next meeting.
His installation, however, was delayed a year on account of
opposition made by the people of Pennsboro' to the location
of the meeting house on the Big Spring by the people of Hope-
well and on account of a difficulty in his own family. A com-
mittee of Presbytery appointed to confer with the people in
relation to the location of the place of worship by the people
of Hopewell, met at the house of James McFarlane, on the
Big Spring, in 1737. They reported to Presbytery, the matter
was considered for a year or more but no final action was taken.
His installation, however, did take place Oct. 13, 1738, and the
church building was erected on the Big Spring at ITewville,
but his pastorate was destined to be one of short continuance.
He was now an aged man, but with his mental powers con-
tinued in their full vigor. He was reverently styled in the
Presbytery " Father Craighead." He still preached with great
power and impressiveness. Under his discourses the people
were at times deeply and powerfully moved, and often when
dismissed they were unwilling to leave. At such times he
would continue his impassioned discourses with his audiences
melted to tears. It was on one of these occasions, near the
close of April, 1739, at a communion season at the Big Spring
church, when having preached until quite exhausted, he waived
his hand, being unable to pronounce the benediction, and ex-
claimed, " Farewell, farewell," and sank down and expired in
the pulpit. An unverified tradition exists that his remains
Rev. lliomas Craighead. 25
were buried beneath the corner stone of the present church
edifice. It is more probable that they were buried beneath the
pulpit in the old church in which he died, which was located
in the present burying ground, as the second church edifice
was not built for nearly fifty years after his death.
Mr. Craighead left four sons, Thomas, Andrew, Alexander
and John. His grand daughter Elizabeth, daugher of Thomas,
married Eev. Dr. Matthew Wilson, pastor of the First Presby-
terian Church of Philadelphia. John was a farmer and lived
south of Carlisle. His daughter Jane married Rev. Adam
Boyd, and his son John was pastor of Rocky Spring church.
Alexander, his third son, was ordained and installed pastor of
^liddle Octorara church, November 19, 1735. He became an
ardent follower of Whitefield. His zeal led him into irregu-
larities which occasioned much trouble in Presbytery and
Synod. He was a most zealous member of the New Side
party at the time of the division, but broke away from them
on their refusal to revive the Solemn League and Covenant, and
he sought to establish churches in eastern Pennsylvania, in
connection with the Associate Presbyterians of Scotland. In
1749, he went south, and settled in Augusta county, Virginia.
In 1755 he removed to Mecklenburg, North Carolina, and
doubtless he had much to do in bringing about the sentiment
which led to the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence.
In 1758 he became pastor at Rock River, North Carolina, where
he lived until he died, March, 1766, much respected and esteemed.
Rev. Richard Sanckey.
Mr. Sanckey came from Ireland, was taken under the care
of Donegal Presbytery October 10, 1736, and was licensed
October 27, 1736, and sent to supply the people on the Monada
or Monaday creek (now Dauphin county). He was called to
become the pastor of that people (Hanover) with the promise
of sixty pounds to be paid in the usual way for those times, one-
half in money and the other half in the products of the com-
munity, flax, hemp, linen yarn and cloth, together with several
gratuities specified in the supplication. This call was accepted
August 31, 1737, but at his trials for ordination, it appeared
Presbyter u of Carlisle — Centennial.
that his sermon had not only been copied from a book, but
also contained dangerous errors. The Presbytery rebuked him
for his offense and delayed his ordination. The Synod cen-
sured the Presbytery for not entering his offense on the minutes,
but as he had been rebuked and his ordination postponed, they
added no further censure.
August 15, 1738, he was ordained and installed and con-
tinued as pastor of that people for twenty-one years. In 1759,
his congregation having been greatly scattered and quite
broken up by reason of the Indian incursions of the previous
years, he, with many of his people, some thirty families, re-
moved to Buffalo Yalley, Virginia, where he became a member
of Hanover Presbytery and was its moderator in 1785. There
he lived to an advanced age and died much respected by his
ministerial brethren and people.
Rev. John Elder.
Rev. John Elder. Rev. Samuel Caven and Rev. Samuel
Thompson came into the Presbytery of Donegal, now Carlisle^
about the same time.
September 1, 1737, the Presbytery of Donegal wa,s requested
by the congregation of Paxton and by commissioners from
Pennsboro' to apply to the Presbytery of New Castle for a
hearing in these places of some of their probationers. The
reason why that Presbytery had more licentiates than Donegal
has been already stated. At the next meeting, October 5, 1737,
Messrs. John Elder and Samuel Caven, the former from New
Castle Presbytery and the latter immediately from Ireland,
having produced sufficient testimonials and having preached
to the satisfaction of Presbytery and adopted the Westminster
confession of faith and catechisms, as the confession of their
faith and promised obedience to Presbytery, were taken under
its care.
At the next meeting, November 17, 1737, Mr. Samuel
Thompson, a student recently from Ireland and a licentiate of
the Presbytery of New Castle, was received.
John Elder was the second son of Robert Elder of Scotland,
who was settled for a time in Countv Antrim, Ireland, and
Rev. John Elder. 27
from thence with his family, except John, about 1730, came to
America and located in Paxton township, then Lancaster, now
Dauphin county, on a tract of land five miles north of Harris-
burg, Pa.
John Elder, according to Sprague's Annals, was born in
County Antrim in 1706. According to Bgle's Pennsylvania
Genealogies, he was boru in the city of Edinburgh, January 26,
1706. Sprague says he was left in Edinburgh in care of his
uncle, Rev. John Elder, to complete his classical studies and
prepare for the ministry. He graduated at the University of
Edinburgh, studied theology and was licensed to preach in 1732.
Four or five years afterwards, probably in 1736, he came to
America, presented his credentials to the Presbytery of New
Castle and was received by that body and sent by it to the
Presbvtery of Donegal, October, 1737. Mr. Bertram having been
released from Paxton congregation in 1735, that people April
12, 1738, unanimously called Mr. Elder, which call he accept-
ed and was ordained and installed there November 22, of that
year.
At the time of his settlement the excitement caused by
the great revival movement of that period had already extended
to that region. Mr. Elder took his position very decidedly
with the old side party. He preached against what he styled
the "religious furore" of that time and of that movement.
Two years after his settlement, he was charged by reason of
this, with having preached doctrines at variance with the
standards of the church. Though the charge was shown to
be groundless, it became the occasion of a great agitation and
led to a division of his congregation. The party separating
made application to the New Side Presbytery of New Castle
for supplies and the next summer Rev. Erends Campbell and
Rev. John Rowland were sent to supply them and other
places where the people sympathized with the New Side party
in the Presbytery. This was the Mr. Rowland under whose
preaching, Mr. William Alexander, the grandfather of Dr.
Archibald Alexander, before he moved to Virginia, became a
subject of divine grace. This fact Dr. Alexander learned of
Dr. Robert Smith, of Pequea, in 1791, when on his way from
Virginia to the General Assembly in Philadelphia.
28 Prenhytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
Mr. Elder, was one of those who signed the protest in the
Synod in 1741. And it was the people of Paxton and Derry
who overtured the Synod in 1735 for a more definite declara-
tion as to the adoption of the standards than that of 1729 and
which led the Synod in order to the removal of all ground of
jealousy on account of the expression of scruples which was
allowed as to matters non-essential, used in the adopting act,
to sav that year, " that Synod adopted and still adhered to the
Westminster confession, catechisms and directory for worship,
without the least variation or alteration and without any
regard to such distinctions, and that this was their meaning and
true intent in their fii-st adopting act of said confession.'"
Mr. Elder after the division of Paxton and Derry congrega-
tions retained the charge of the Old Side portion of Paxton
and took charge of the Old Side portion of Deny congregation.
Mr. Elder was a public-spirited man, of great energy and
decision of character. He took the command of the "Paxtang
Boys" during the troublous times of the French and Indian
war and in 1763 was appointed a colonel by the Provincial
authorities and had command or rather the superintendence of
the blockhouses and stockades from Easton on the Delaware to
the Susquehanna, nothing more being expected of him, as
stipulated by the Governor in his appointment, than a general
oversight. Such services were regarded as justified upon the
part of the ministers of that day, by the crisis of affairs then
existing in the country. The Indian massacre on Conestoga
Manor and at Lancaster in 1763, on account of which Mr. Elder
was subject to much criticism and some censure, was perpetrated
despite his most earnest remonstrance.
The union of the Synod in 1758, brought Mr. Elder and
his Old Side friends in the Donegal Presbytery into union with
a number of warm New Side men of the New Castle Presbytery.
To escape from these unpleasant associations Mr. Elder and
some others, by the action of Synod, were set oil to the Second
Presbytery of Philadelphia. On the formation of the General
Assembly in 1788 he became a member of Carlisle Presbytery.
At the period of the American Revolution Mr. Elder
warmly espoused the cause of American Independence. At
Rev. Samuel Caven. 29
the time wlieu the British arrnv overran New Jersey and drove
before them the remnant of our half-starved and poorly-clad
troops, in response to a brief and earnest appeal by Mr. Elder,
at a Sabbath morning service, to his people, a company of
volunteers was quickly formed, of which his oldest son Robert
was chosen captain and of which his younger son John, then
only sixteen, became a private member. The next day though
in midwinter, they marched away to the scene of conflict
Mr. Elder continued ])astor of that part of the congregation
of Paxton which adhered to the Old Side, and at the death of
Rev. John Roan, the New Side portion of the congregation of
Derry, united with that of Paxton in receiving him as their
minister, and for a period of fifty-three years Mr. Elder was
pastor of that people and died, highly respected and deeply
lamented, at the advanced age of eighty-six years.
Mr. Elder, from all the evidence which can now be gathered
with respect to his character and life, was a man conspicuous
in his day for talent, learning and piety ; a man of robust con-
stitution, of strong and decided convictions, of great courage,
of indomitable energy and strength of purpose ; a man full of
public spirit, of extensive influence and in many respects one
of the foremost men of his day ; a man similar in the promi-
nent characteristics of mind and disposition to John C. Calhoun
or Andrew Jackson.
He was a tall portly man, over six feet in height and of
strong and heavy frame. He had, said one who well remem-
bered the old minister, a good and very handsome face, his
features were regular and he was of fair complexion and had
blue eyes. He was a man of affairs, being equally sucessful
as a farmer, a soldier and a minister. His remains lie buried
in the old Paxton graveyard. He was twice married and had
fifteen children, four by the first and eleven by the second
wife.
Rev. Saxauel Oaven.
He came as a licentiate from Ireland ; was sent by Presbytery
of Donegal, November 16, 1737, to Conococheague or Clear
Waier settlement, embracing what is now Falling Spring, Upper
30 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
W. C. (Mercersburg), East C, or Greencastle, and Lower W.
C. or Welsh Run. lie received and accepted a call from the
East Side and was ordained and installed November 16, 1739.
In 1749 he was dismissed from Falling Spring. He was un-
acceptable to the New Side portion of his charge and was
much complained of by them, as not sufficiently anxious for
their salvation and as failing in pointed conversation and preach-
ing in regard to their spiritual state. On this account he was
allowed to retire from that field and after spending some time
in New York and in itinerating work in other places, he was
called to Lower Pennsboro' in 1749 and died there November
9, 1750, at the age of forty-four, and his remains were interred
in Silver Spring graveyard.
This is the inscription upon his tomb. " In memory of Ye
Rev. Samuel Caven who departed this life November ye 9,
1750, aged 44 years."
Rev. Samuel Thompson.
Mr. Thompson was received by the Presbytery of Donegal,
November, 1737, and was appointed to supply Pennsborough
the four following Sabbaths. At the next meeting, April 12,
1738, the two congregations of Upper and Lower Pennsborough
requested that some one be (iesignated to moderate a call for
him to those churches, and Mr. Thompson was appointed to
supplv them until the next meeting. June 29, 1738, a call,
with the necessary subscriptions for his support, was presented
to Presbytery, but he being providentially absent was con-
tinued as a supply and the call retained by Presbytery. At
the next meeting the call was placed in his hands and held by
him for consideration, he being again appointed to supply said
churches until the next meeting. His final acceptance of this
call and his ordination and installation were delayed until
November 14, 1739; five years from the time of the first supply,
Alexander Craighead was sent to that people. This delay
was chiefly owing to arrearages due to former supplies being
unpaid. Mr. Thompson, after his installation, continued pastor
of these congregations until March 26, 1745. Then, on account
of impaired health, he asked to be released from Lower Penns-
Kev. Samuel Thoinpson. 31
borough and gave his whole time to Upper Pennsborough or
Meeting House Springs, until November 14, 1749, when his
relation to it was dissolved and he was called to Great Cone-
wago, now Hunterstown, Adams county, Pa. Here he con-
tinued to labor until 1779 and here he died April 29, 1787,
and was buried in the Great Conewago burying ground, having
spent his entire ministry within the bounds of this Presbytery.
Mr. Thompson was the first settled pastor at Upper and
Lower Pennsborough. He was there ten years, in which time
on various grounds, he was subject to man}^ painful trials.
Charges of indiscretion, prevarication and immorality were
preferred against him. According to Webster he was suspended
but subsequently restored. His comfort and usefulness were
so impaired by his own course and that of the people,
that he felt constrained to seek a dissolution of his pastoral rela-
tion to Upper Pennsborough and the Presbytery thought it
best to grant it
These were the leading ministers settled within the bounds
of this Presbytery during the first period mentioned from 1729
to 1741. The whole church was at the close of this period
greatly agitated by what has been called the Great Revival, and
the qualifications for candidates forthe ministry, the controversy
in relation to which finally resulted in the division of the Synod
and the rending of many congregations. This great controversy
was not the result of conflicting views either as to doctrine or
church government. It was not in relation to either the nature,
the necessity or the importance of a true revival of religion.
On these points the Old Side held views as decided and Scrip-
tural as the other. It was chiefly owing to the alienation of
feeling produced by controversy in relation to the measures
and characteristics of that great religious awakening which was
then in progress and the course of its most active friends and
promoters. The result was, great exaggeration of each others
failings and disparagement of each others labors and useful-
ness. The most aggravating offense and that which made the
longer continuance of the two parties together so difficult, was
the right of intrusion, which was claimed and exercised by
certain ministers on one side into the congregations of the other
32 Prf^bylery of Carlisle — Ccnteiirdal.
side, on the ground of the alleged graceless character of botli
ministers and people in the congregations tlius invaded.
The schism which took place in 1741 and lasted until 1758,
was in many ways exceedingly unhappy and damaging in its
results. Donegal Presbytery, according to Webster, "was the
scene of the bitterest conflict and of direst consequences."
Not only the ministers were divided and arrayed in opposition
to each other, l)ut most of the churches were rent asunder, one
part calling for preachers of one side and the other side for
ministers of the opposite party. A part of Mr. Elder's charge
at Paxton withdrew and united with another division of the
people of great Couewago, under Rev. John Roan. A portion
of Upper Pennsborough withdrew and sent to New Brunswick
Presbytery for supplies and formed a separate congregation at
Carlisle. The greater part of the congregations of Big Spring,
Middle Spring and Rocky Spring united and called Rev. John
Blair of the New Side Presbytery of New Castle in opposi-
tion to the will of their own Presbytery of Donegal. The
congregations on the Conococheague divided and had their
different ministers; Lower West Conococheague, now Robert
Kennedy Memorial, went off from Upper W. C, now Mercers-
burg, and formed a separate congregation. These sore eccle-
siastical troubles were contemporaneous with the French and
Indian war, and the churches and people of this Presbytery suf-
fered alike from the ravages of both. The effects of the division
were most disastroiis for sometime after the re union of 1758.
Opposite convictions and alienated feelings, long-held and
cherished, still came into conflict, especially in relation to the
qualifications of candidates, constraining some of the Old Side
brethren in the ministr}^ to absent themselves from the meet-
ings of Presbytery and finally to withdraw from the Presby-
tery of Donegal and ask to be set off to the Second Presbytery
of Philadelphia composed of Old Side men. These were Elder,
Tate, Steel and McMurdie. This was found to be promotive
of peace and comfort and continued until the constitution of
the General Assembly in 1788, when there was a new arrange-
ment of Synods and Presbyteries.
Rev. John Blair, D. 1). 33
1741 TO 1758.
Among those who came within the boundaries of the Pres-
bytery of Carlisle during this period were John Blair, Samuel
Black, John Roan, Robert McMurdie, Joseph Tate, John Steel,
George Duffield, grandfather to the latter. Dr. George Duffield,
of Carlisle and Detroit.
Rev. John Blair, D. D.
Soon after the withdrawal of the New Side party from the
Synod in 1741, Hopewell (which seems to have included Big
Spring, Middle Spring and Rocky Spring) and the New Side
portions of Derry, Upper Pennsborough, Conococheagne and
other parts of congregations, sent supplications to the New Side
Presbytery of New Castle and also to that of New Brunswick,
for supplies, and Revs. Campbell and Rowland were sent to
visit them and to organize them so far as was thought advisable.
In 174:2, Mr. John Blair, a licentiate of the New Side
Presbytery of New Castle, was sent to Big Spring, Middle
Spring and Rocky Spring, these churches having been left
vacant by the death of Rev. Thomas Craighead in 1739.
John Blair was a younger brother of Rev. Samuel Blair, and
was born in Ireland in 1720, and came to this countrj^ when
quite young, and most probably his father settled near Brandy-
wine or Red Clay creek churches in Chester county. Pa., as
the name of William Blair occurs as an elder from therein
1729 and 1732. He and his brother received their classical and
theological education under William Tennent at the Log College
at Neshaminy, Bucks county. Pa. He was licensed to preach
by the New Side Presbyter}^ of New Castle and was ordained
pastor of the congregations of the Three Springs, Big, Middle
and Rocky. December 27, 1712. Mr. Blair's ministry in these
churches was very acceptable and profitable to the people.
And during his pastorate here he made visits to Virginia, the
last in 1746, preaching with great power and effect m various
places, organizing several new congregations and leaving,where-
ever he went, an abiding impression of his learning piety, and
eloquence as a preacher. Samuel Morris, speaking of one of
his visits to Virginia said, " trulv he came to us in the fulness
3*
34 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
of the gospel of Christ. P'ormer impressions were deepened
and new ones made on many hearts." It is stated that he
resigned his pastorate of these churches in December, 1748, on
account of the hostile incursion of the Indians which made it
necessary for him to retreat from the frontier settlements into
the more central and populous portions of the colony. But
the exact time of his leaving the churches of the Three Springs,
is involved in much uncertainty, for the reason that the
minutes of the New Side Presbytery of New Castle, of which
he was a member are lost and the last records of the session of
Middle Spring kept during his ministry is dated February 8
1749, a year later than Webster assigns as the period of his
withdrawal, and then from the further fact that there is
evidence favoring a much later period, as that the Indian
troubles did not take place in 1748, but from 1755 to 1757,
subsequent to the defeat of Braddock July 9, 1755. Then
some receipts have been discovered for payments of subscrip-
tions for his support at a much later date, one as late as
September 17, 1757, and also the fact that his whereabouts is
unaccounted for from 1748 to 1757, provided he had left the
Three Springs in 1748 as alleged.
In 1757, he accepted a call to the church at Fagg's Manor,
Chester county, which had been rendered vacant by the death
of his able, excellent and distinguished brother. Rev. Samuel
Blair. Here he continued for ten years, taking his brother's
place both as pastor of the church and principal of the classical
school which his brother had conducted. In the latter position
he assisted in the education and general training of a number
of young men for the ministry, who afterwards attained to
great distinction and usefulness.
In 1767, shortly after Dr. Fiuley's death, who had been
taken from the Nottingham church and Academy in Maryland,
to the presidency of Princeton College, a sum of money had
been left to that institution for the support of a professor of
divinity in it, which had been originality founded for the express
purpose of training young men for the ministry, and Mr. Blair
was chosen to that position. This appointment he accepted
and removed to Princeton. He was also chosen vice president
Rev. John Blair, D. D. 35
of the college and was its acting president until Dr. Wither-
spoon, who had been previously chosen president of the
college and had declined its acceptance and then reconsidered
his declinature and accepted the appointment, appeared there
in 1769 to enter upon its duties.
It soon became evident that the fund contributed was in-
sufficient for the support of the professor of divinity apart!
from the other positions which Dr. Blair had filled and from
which his support was partly derived, and as Dr. Witherspoon
was both able and willing to perform the duties of both
positions, it was deemed advisable to suspend the office of a
distinct professorship of theology, and assign the duties of
that position to Dr. Witherspoon. Accordingly Dr. Blair
resigned his position in favor of Dr. Witherspoon and accepted
a call to the Presbyterian church of Walkill, Orange county,
New York. There he continued until his death, which took
place December 8, 1771, at the age of fifty-one.
Dr. John Blair and his brother Dr. Samuel Blair were, with-
out doubt, among the very foremost preachers of their times.
Dr. Archibald Alexander expressed the opinion that Dr. John
Blair, as a theologian, was not inferior to any man in the
Presbyterian church in his day. President Davies spoke of
Samuel Blair as the " incomparable Blair," and said, that in all
his travels in Great Britain, he had heard no one equal to him,
not one to resemble or approach him in the matter and manner
of his preaching.
A writer in the Presbyterian Magazine of that time, spoke
of Dr. John Blair "as a judicious and pursuasive preacher and
that through his preaching sinners were converted and the
children of God edified." "Fully convinced of the truth of
the doctrines of grace, he addressed immortal souls with a
warmth and power which left a witness in every bosom."
Though he sometimes wrote his sermons out in full, yet his
common method of preaching was from short notes. His dis-
position was uncommonly patient, placid, benevolent, disin-
terested and cheerful. Ue was too mild to indulge in bitter-
ness or severity, and it is said " that he thought that the truth
required little else than to be fairly stated and properly under-
Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
stood to accomplish its saving results," and that those who could
not relish the savor of his piety were still drawn to him as an
amiable, and revered him, as a great and good man. He was
an intelligent and sincere believer in that system of doctrine
set forth in the Westminster standards and approved the Pres-
byterian form of church government and regarded them as
most favorable to the promotion of true religion and the peace
and prosperity of the church of Christ.
Mr. Blair married the daughter of Mr. John Durburrow, of
Philadelphia. The Rev. Dr. John Durburrow Blair, of Rich-
mond, Virginia, was his son. His daughter was married to
the Rev. Dr. William Linn, one of his successors in the church
of Big Spring. The Rev. Dr. John Blair Linn, pastor of the
First Presbyterian church of Philadelphia, was his grandson.
Dr. John Blair Smith and Dr. John Blair Hoge, were relatives
of his and named after him. Dr. Robert Smith, of Pequea,
the father of Dr. John Blair Smith and Dr. Samuel Stanhope
Smith, was married to his niece, a daughter of Rev. Samuel
Blair. Francis P. Blair, of the "Grlobe" at Washington and
Montgomery Blair his son, were of this same family of Blair's.
His published writings are. Animadversions on "Thoughts
on the Examination and Trials of Candidates.'" " The Synods
of New York and Philadelphia Vindicated," " A 'Treatise on'
Regeneration." "' A Treatise on the Nature and Use of the
Means of Grrace.''
Rev. Samuel Black.
He came a student of theology from Ireland, and was licensed
by Presbytery of New Castle, and was ordained pastor of
Forks of Brandywine, November 18, 1735. He was tried on
the charge of drunkenness and some less heinous offenses in
1740. The Presbytery found him guilty of the first offence
and rebuked him for it, and also for slighting his work ; after-
wards he was suspended and then again, after more particular
investigation, restored again and released from that charge.
In October, 1 740, he was called to the New Congregation of
Conewago, now Dauphin county, Pa., and installed the second
Wednesday in the following May. Difficulties arose in this
Rev. John Roan. 37
church and they asked to have Rev. John Steel sent to them.
Black was called by the people of North and South — six miles
wast of Staunton, Virginia, March 6, 1745. He was dismissed
from Conewago in April, but in the fall they sought to recall
him. A division ensued, and those who were opposed to him
obtained one-fifth of the time of Rev. Mr. Roan, pastor of the
New Side churches of Paxton and Derry. In 1747 he with
Thompson and Craig were directed to take the oversight of
the vacancies in Virginia. He was at Synod in 1751 and was
directed to supply Buffalo settlement and adjacent places four
Sabbaths and the congregations of Rockfish and Mountain
Plain, before 1752. He was dismissed from this charge by
Hanover Presbytery, July 18, 1759. He died August 9, 1770,
Presbytery styling him " an aged minister."
Rev. John Bean.
John Roan came from Ireland, was brought up a weaver,
was a student at Log College, Neshaminy, and taught in
Neshaminy, probably while pursuing his theological studies
under the Tennents. Dr. Rogers, the first Moderator of the
General Assembly, was one of his pupils. He was licensed by
the New Side Presbytery of New Castle and was sent on a
missionary tour to Virginia in 1744. His preaching was very
effective in Hanover and the adjoining counties in Virginia.
Many are alleged to have been awakened in different places
and to have been converted under his ministry. He was bold
and fearless in his denunciations of those he regarded as de-
linquent in duty and inveighed against the clergy of the
established church, charging them not only with the neglect of
their ministerial functions, but also of gross moral delinquencies.
His offensive statements and scathing satire brought upon him
the indignation of the parish clergy and their friends and led to
prosecutions against him for damaging reflections upon the
established ministers and for villifying the established religion.
These charges, although the occasion of not a little feeling and
trouble, were not sustained and the indictment was dismissed,
the chief accuser having fled the country.
In 1745. Mr. Roan was settled over the united New Side
38 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
Congregations of Paxton and Derry and Conewago. The last
was a division from Black's congregation and had one-fifth of
his time. The union of the Synods in 1758, brought Mr. Roan
into the Presbytery of Donegal. Here he became involved in
a serious controversy in relation to the licensure of William
Edmeston, as having declared himself not satisfied with what
the majority had accepted as evidence of the young man's piety.
Edmeston subsequently prosecuted Roan on various charges
to the effect of making him out the principal mover to destroy
Sampson Smith, of Chestnut Level, Lancaster county. Pa.,
who had been arraigned for drunkennesss. Edmeston liad
been a student of Smith's and had been a prominent witness in
his defense. The trial against Roan was protracted, trivial and
largely a matter of studied annoyance. The charges were not
sustained. Edmeston appealed to Synod and the whole case
was referred to a committee which was of the nature of a
commission. The matter lingered along and was finally dropped
and Edmeston went to England to apply for orders in the
established church.
Mr. Roan continued his labors in the congregations over
which he was placed during the remainder of his life, died
October 3, 1775, and was buried in Derry graveyard. The
following is the inscription on his tomb. '" Beneath this stone
are deposited the remains of an able, faithful, courageous and
successful minister of Christ.""
Rev. Robert McMordle.
Mr. McMordie was ordained by Donegal Presbytery, in 1754.
pastor of Upper Marsh creek and Round Hill, now Adams
county, and continued pastor there until 1761. Li 1768 he
was set off with Elder, Steel and Tate to the Second Presbytery
of Philadelphia By that Presbytery he was sent south the
next year. In 1772 he was sent by the Synod to Virginia and
North Carolina. In May, 1777, he was called to Tinkling
Spring, New Dublin, Reedy Creek and Fourth Creek in the
south. He was a chaplain in the arm}^ during the Revolution
ary War and in 1784, went south again. He died May, 1796.
He was married December 12, 1754, to Janet, second dauofhter
Rev. John Steel 39
of Rev. Adam Boyd, pastor of Octorara church and son-in-law
of Rev. Thomas Craighead.
The Rev. Robert McMordie Laird was a descendent of Mr.
McMordie.
Rev. Joseph Tate.
He was i-eceived as a Hcentiate by the Donegal Presbytery
Mai'cli 1. 1748, and was sent to Lower Pennsborough, Marsh
Creek and Conewago. A call was presented to Presbytery for
him, from Lower Pennsborough, April 4, 1748, which he de-
clined. On the 14th of that same month he was called to
Donegal. Soon after this the Rev. Andrew Bay, of the New
Side Presbytery of New Castle, accused him, before Presbytery,
of having preached false doctrine at the Three Springs, Big,
Middle and Rocky. He was, however, acquitted of the charge,
'October 25, of that year, and accepted the call to Donegal,
that people giving him £70 to buy a farm and £70 salary.
He was ordained and installed there November 23, 1748.
Immediately afterwards he was married, December 15, 1748,
to Margaret, eldest daughter of Rev. Adam Boyd, of Octorara
church. Mr. Tate, like Elder, Steel and McMordie, finding
little prospect of harmony with the New Side brethern of Don-
egal Presbytery after the reunion, withdrew for a time, and
afterwards had leave, with them, in 1768, to unite with the
Second Presbytery of Philadelphia. He was sent by the Synod
to Western Virginia and North Carolina, and was called to
oiiC of those churches. He died October 11, 1774, aged sixty-
three.
Dr. Samuel Martin said of him, that he was an eccentric
man, but faithful and fearless in reproving the vices and errors
of his times.
Rev. John Steel.
This orthodox and heroic minister was born in Ireland, and
was a licentiate of the Presbytery of Londonderry. He emi-
grated to this country in 1742, and put himself under the care
of New Castle Presbytery, Old Side. By the request of Don-
egal Presbytery, he was sent, Apnl. 1743, to supply Rockfish,
40 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
Roanoke and Great Conewago, now Hunterstown and Gettys-
burg, from whicli last-named congregation he received a call to
become its pastor, but which, after due consideration, he de-
clined to accept He was ordained by Presbytery of New
Castle, October, A. D. 1744, and was installed at New London,
Chester county, Pa., in 1746, and continued there until 1752.
He was received by Donegal Presbj^tery in 1753, and became
pastor of Upper West Conococheague, Mercersburg, and of
East Conococheague, now Greencastle.
His pastorate of these congregations was in most troublous
times. It was at the time of Braddock's defeat, July 9, 1755,
and when this whole frontier country was overrun by Indian
raids. As a consequence of these savage incursions the settle-
ments were greatly disturbed and scattered, and the congrega-
tions broken up and many of the ministers compelled to seek
other fields of labor. Mr. Steel, as all accounts of him agree,
was a man of great courage and firmness, and of unquestioned
soundness in the faith. His church at Mercersburg was forti-
fied, and, like Elder, he carried his rifle with him to the place
of worship and -had it standing at his side ready for use at a
moment's notice, during public services. When an attack was
apprehended it was a common thing for him to gather a com-
pany of riflemen together and lead them, with great prudence
and courage, in pursuit of the savage invaders. And among
the first companies organized in West Conococheague, on the
bloody outbreak of the Delaware Indians, in 1755, the Rev.
John Steel was chosen captain. This command was accepted
and executed with such skill, hravery and judgment as to
commend him to the provincial government, which appointed
him a captain of the provincial troops, which position he re-
tained many years.
After leaving the Conococheague churches he preached for
a time at Nottingham, Maryland, and then at York and Shrews-
bury, in Pennsylvania, and, on the union of the Synods, in
1758, was called, April 20, 1759, to Carlisle, where he took
charge of the congregation of Upper Pennsboro', or Meeting
House Springs. George Duffield had just before this been
called to Big Spring and the New Side congregation at Carlisle.
Rtc. John iSteel 41
Soon after his settlement here, a protracted controversy sprang
up between him and the Rev. Mr. Duffield. On the one side
some circumstances connected with Mr. Steel's call and settle-
ment in Carlisle gave great offense to Mr. D. and friends. The
fact that he came there at all. the haste and secrecy of his call,
the fact that thoy proposed, or had already commenced, the work
of building a house of worship in the town, were all grounds
of complaint. On the other hand a private letter written by
Mr. D. to a personal friend, containing reflections on Mr
Steel's course, and that letter falling into Mr. Steel's hands,
gave special offense on the other side, and was made a subject
of public complaint. The matter was carried first into the
Presbytery and from there to Synod. These troubles were
greatly aggravated by difficulties which arose in connection
with the examination of candidates for the ministry in regard
to the matter of their Christian experience, and also by reason
of objection having been made to the sitting in Presbytery of
an elder from M]-. Steel's congregation on the alleged ground
of not having been publicly ordained and installed. Presby-
tery and S^mod, after much and long deliberation, made de-
liverances with respect to these things, but as anything like
proper harmony between members of Old and New Sides in
the Presbytery of Donegal had come to be regarded as a thing
quite hopeless, the only remedy for this state of things which
seemed practicable was for the Old Side members who were a
minority to withdraw or absent themselves from the meetings
and ask to be set off to another Presbytery, the Second Pres-
bytery of Philadelphia, which they did, and it was done.
Under the circumstances this seemed to be necessary to secure
anythmg like peace or efficiency.
In the meantime Mr. Steel went on with his work at Carlisle,
giving one-third of his time, as a stated supply, to East Pcnns-
boro'. On April 10, 1764, however, the two congregations of
Carlisle and East Pennsboro' agreed to unite in his support,
and to have an equal portion of Mr. Steele's time and labors,
for which they agreed to pay him £150 annually. The Pres-
bytery approving of this arrangement, Mr. Elder was appointed
to install Mr. Steel at East Pennsboro, he having been called
42 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
and installed at Upper Pennsboro", or Carlisle, some time pre-
viously, as early as June, 1759.
Not much is now known as to the details of Mr. Steel's minis-
try in Carlisle, he having withdrawn from the Presbytery of
Donegal and seldom meeting with the Second Presbytery of
Philadelphia. It was during his ministry and by his people that
the present edifice of the First Presbyterian Church of Car-
lisle was erected. The congregation was large and strong and
continued to him their promised support. Mr. Steel himself
was independent in his worldly circumstances. His congrega-
tion seems to have been composed largely of people from the
country and to have been made up of a substantial people and
to have had a steady and healthy growth.
In the War of Independence Mr. Steele and his people took
an active and leading part. At the very outset of the popu-
lar excitement caused by the first intelligence of the Boston
massacre and the closing of the ports of Massachusetts, a
meeting of the citizens of several townships was called and
held in the First Presbyterian Church of Carlisle, July 12,
1774, at which John Montgomery, one of the elders of that
cliurch, presided and strong action taken expressive of sym-
path}^ with the Boston sufferers as being in the common
interest of all the colonies and in favor of concerted measures
for the redress of past grievances and for future protection.
And, two years later, when it was reported to the Assembly
that three thousand men were organized, armed and ready for
the conflict, the leading company in that battalion had for its cap-
tain the Rev. John Steel, whose previous experience and sound
judgment, as well as the esteem in which he was held, rendered
his services and example of great value. His advanced age
now, however, would not admit of his embarking for the war.
As a title of respect he was called the reverend captain. Mr.
Steel was not spared to see the close of the Revolutionary
struggle. In the ver}^ midst of it and at its darkest period he
was called away. After a ministry of thirty-seven years and
a pastorate at Carlisle of twenty years, he died August, 1779,
and his remains lie buried in the old cemetery of Carlisle.
Mr. Steel was a man of pure and exemplary life, sound in
George Duffield. D. D. 43
the faith, a good preacher, a faithful pastor, and careful in
catechizing the young. He was appointed by the Synod of
Philadelphia one of the committee to report a plan of union
with the Synod of New York. He left no published writings.
George Duffleld. D. D.
Mr. Duffield was the first of four generations of distin-
guished ministers in direct line of descent. He was born in
Pequea township, Lancaster county. Pa.. October 7, 1732.
He was the third son of George and Margaret Duffield, who
came to that place, from the north of Ireland, between 1725
and 1730. His parents were of French extraction and of the
Huguenot refugees in England and afterwards settled in the
north of Ireland. The name was originally Du Field.
George, the subject of this sketcli, was prepared for college at
the Academy of Newark, Delaware, graduated at Princeton in
1752, united with the church at Pequea under the ministry of
Dr. Robert Smith. He studied theology also under him, was
tutor in Princeton College from 1754 to 1756, and was
licensed by New Castle Presbytery, New Side, March 11,
1756, and was married a few days before to the daughter of
Rev. Samuel Blair, of Fagg's Manor. He was called to the
church of Big Spring and Carlisle, New Side, some time in
1757, but was not ordained and installed until the third Wed-
nesday of September, 1759. In the meantime his wife died,
September 25, 1757, and was buried with her infant child in
Carlisle. The difficulties accompanying his first settlement
have been already noticed in the sketch of Mr, Steel.
In 1761 a question was raised as to how much time Mr.
Duffield was bound to render to each of his congregations.
The congregation of Big Spring claimed one-half of his time,
and the people of Carlisle demanded that two-thirds be given
to them, and gave notice, by commissioners, if that was not
allowed they would, at the next meeting, make application for
all his time. At the next meeting, after considering the
claims of each party, Presbyter\^ decided, in view of Mr. Duf-
field's constitution being insufficient to endure the fatigue of
giving one-half his time to Big Spring, that he should give
14 Presbytery of Carlisk — Centennial.
two-thirds of his time to Carlisle and one-third to Big Spring
and that the salary should be in the same proportion.
In 1743 Mr. Duffield was called to the Second church in
Philadelphia, which had been organized out of the followers
of Mr. Whitefield and of which the Rev. Gilbert Tennent,
one of the most remarkable preachers of that day, was the
pastor. This call, on various grounds and after much consid-
eration, was not accepted. In 1766, after the death of the
Rev. Gilbert Tennent, this call was renewed, but Presbytery
declined, all things considered, to place it in his hands. In
1769 his relation to Big Spring was dissolved on account of
the salary promised having been allowed to fall in arrears. In
August of that year a call was presented for one-third of his
time from the newly-organized congregation of Monaghan,
proposing the usual salary of £50, or $133, for one-third of
his time. This call was acccepted and he was released from
Big Spring and installed there November 14, 1769.
May 21, 1772, a call was presented by commissioners from
the Third Presbyterian church of Philadelphia for Mr. Duf-
field. After much consideration by Mr. Duffield and much
deliberation by Presbytery, this call was accepted and he re-
moved to Philadelphia, and there, after much opposition by
the elders of that church and by the Presbytery and the
trustees of the First church, he was installed pastor of the
Third church and continued in this relation until his death,
from pleurisy, February 2, 1790, in the 57th year of his
age. His remains were buried beneath the central aisle of
that churoji. Dr. Duffield was a man of ardent temperament,
an earnest, zealous and popular preacher, in hearty sympathy
with the great revival movement and with the friends and
followers of Mr. Whitefield. He greatly excelled as an earnest
and forcible off-hand speaker. He was equally zealous and
patriotic in the cause of his country, and threw himself with
all the ardor of his nature into the struggle for freedom and
independence. He was chosen Chaplain of the Continental
Congress and was often found following the army and doing
all that he could to encourage, comfort and stimulate the sol-
diers in the great and protracted struggle and in preaching to
Rev. John Strain. 45
them the gospel and in administering to them its consolations.
The people in all his charges were warmly attached to him
and greatly regretted his removal from them. Dr. Duffield
was married a second time, March 5, 1759, to Margaret, sister
of General John Armstrong, an elder in his church at Car-
lisle, and who was greatly distinguished for his heroic services
in the Indian and Revolutionary wars. By this marriage he
left two children, one of them being the father of the later Dr.
Duffield, of Carlisle and Detroit. Dr. Duffield was the first
Stated Clerk of the General Assembly.
PROM 1758 TO 1788.
Among those who settled within the bounds of this Pres-
bytery, within this third period were. Rev. John Strain, Rev.
Robert Cooper, D. D., Rev. John Craighead, Rev. James
Laing, Rev. John King, D. D., Rev. Robert Davidson, D. D.,
Rev. John McKnight, D. D., Rev. Wm. Linn, D. D., Rev. John
Linn, Rev. Charles Nisbet, D. D., Rev. James Snodgrass, Rev.
Samuel Wilson.
Rev. John Strain.
Rev. John Strain, a minister of the highest reputation, both
as a man and a preacher of the gospel, graduated from the
College of New Jersey, 1757. It is supposed, but not cer-
tainly known, that he studied theology under Rev. Dr. Fin ley.
He was licensed by the Presbytery of New Castle May 29,
1759, and was ordained sine titulo hj the same Presbytery
1761. Sprague, in his annals, says he was settled as pastor of
of the churches of Chanceford and Slate Ridge, now York
county, Pa. He cites the testimony of Drs. Archibald Alex-
ander, Samuel Martin and Charles Hodge, going to show that
he was a man of fervent and devoted piety, of great zeal and
ardor in his ministry, and one of the most eloquent and im-
pressive preachers our church has ever produced. Dr. Wing,
in a note to his discourse on the history of Carlisle Presbytery,
says he was transferred by Synod to Donegal Presbytery in
1763, and supplied the New Side congregations which had
withdrawn from Elder's and Black's ministrations, was called
46 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centeauial.
with Duffield to Philadelphia in 1772, but declined the call,
and died May 21, 1774.
Robert Oooper, D. D.
Robert Cooper was born in Ireland about 1732. His father
died when he was a child. At the age of nine he came with
his mother and two sisters to America and settled in Lancas-
ter county, Pa. The family had very little means. He, like
many otherS, was greatly indebted to the energy, industry and
economy of an excellent mother in obtaining an education,
whose physical and mental qualities he is said to have inher-
ited. He was ever mindful of the self-denying efforts and
struggles of his mother for his comfort and advancement, and
manifested his appreciation and gratitude for the same by the
most affectionate filial attention as long as she lived He pre-
pared for college under Rev. John Roan, pastor of the New
Side congregations of Paxton and Derry and Mt. Joy, entered
Princeton College and graduated September, 1763. He
studied theology with Mr. Roan and Dr. George Duffield, of
Carlisle, was licensed to preach by Presbytery of Donegal,
February 22, 1765, ordained and installed pastor of Middle
Spring, November 21, 1765. His pastoral relation with this
church was dissolved, on account of impaired health and de-
pression of mind, April 12, 1797, and he died April 12,
• 1805. His remains were interred in the lower graveyard of
Middle Spring Church. Dr. Cooper was an able, instructive
and edifying preacher, a diligent, laborious and successful
pastor, and continued in the work of the ministry with great
fidelity, usefulness and success for a period of over thirty-one
years. He had a good library for his day, a part of which
had been selected and purchased in Scotland for him by Dr.
Witherspoon. He was a well read theologian and noted for
being a competent theological instructor. Among those who
resorted to him for theological instruction were a number of
students who afterwards attained to distinction in the church,
such as Dr. John McKnight, Dr. Joshua Williams, Dr.
Francis Herron, Dr. Matthew Brown, Dr. David McConaughy,
Rev. Samuel Wilson and others. His church greatly increased
Rev. Jolin Craighead. 47
under his ministry. He was moderator of the United Synod
of Philadelphia and New York in 1775, and was a member of
the committee to prepare rules for the government of the
the Assembly in 1785. Dr. Samuel Miller, in his life of Dr.
Rogers, in speaking of this committee, said of Dr. Cooper,
that " he was a man of remarkably sound mind, and a divine
of great judiciousness, piety and worth." He was regular in
his attendance at Presbytery, and took a lively interest in all
the movements of the church at large. He was eminently
patriotic, and on December 24, 1776, was regularly commis-
sioned as chaplain in the Revolutionary Army, which com-
mission he resigned January 25, 1777. Mr. Cooper was
married to Elizabeth Kearsley, of Carlisle, by whom he had
two sons and two daughters. One son died in infancy. The
other son, John, had charge of Hopewell Academy. His
oldest daughter, Jane, married Samuel Nicholson, died early
in life, leaving one daughter. His second daughter, Elizabeth,
married Rev. Isaac Grrier, the father of Robert C. Grier, of the
Supreme Court of the United States, and of Rev. Isaac Gner,
of Mifllinburg, Pa., of John C. Grier, of Peoria, Illinois, and
of General Wm. N. Grier, of the U. S. Army. Rev. J. Grier
Hibben, now pastor of Falling Spring church, Chambersburg,
Pa., is a great-grand-son of Dr. Robert Cooper.
Rev. John Slemmons
Mr. Slemmons graduated at Princeton College in 1760, was
licensed by the Presbytery of Donegal in 1763, and ordained
and installed at Lower Marsh Creek in 1765, and dismissed
from there December 20, 1774. He was called to Slate Ridge
and Chanceford, now York county, soon after, and resigned
there 1783. He died July 10, 1814. His remains were interred
in the graveyard of Piney Creek church.
Rev. John Craighead.
Mr. Craighead was the son of John C, and grandson of
Rev. Thomas Craighead. He was born in 1742, near Carlisle.
He graduated at Princeton college in 1763. He was a class-
mate of Robert Cooper, studied theology with Dr. Robert
48 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
Smith, of Pequea, was ordained aud installed pastor of Rocky
Spring church in 1768. Here he continued his ministry until
1799, when, on account of failure of health and mental de-
rangement, his pastoral relation was dissolved. He died April
20, 1799, and was buried in the Rocky Spring graveyard.
Mr. Craighead is noted in history for his earnest and patri-
otic appeals to his people during the struggle for American
Independence, and for his services as captain and chaplain to
a compan}^ formed from his own congregation in response to
his patriotic appeals, at a solemn crisis in the war, when the
whole male portion of the congregation rose to their feet in
token of readiness to embark in defense of the country.
Rev. John King, D. D.
Dr. John King was pastor of the church of Upper West
Conococheague, Mercersburg, from 1769 until 1811, and fourth
moderator of the General Assembly in 1792. He was the son
of Robert King, a ruling elder in the Chestnut Level cliurch,
Lancaster county. Pa. He was born December 5, 1 740. His
father, a truly pious man, careful in the religious education of
his children, came from Ireland, and purchased a tract of land
in that part of Lancaster county, on which he lived until his
death in 1760.
At the age of thirteen John entered a classical school at
home, and continued in it until he had acquired a consider,
able knowledge of Latin, Greek, logic and mental and moral
philosophy. He then engaged in teaching school for three
years in West Conococheague. One of his pupils was 'John
McDowel, who afterwards became Rev. Dr. McDowel, provost
of the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia.
At the end of that time, in 1763, he retured home, the
Indian war having broken out and his sister having been
killed by the savages and his school much declined, greatly
perplexed as to what he should pursue as his life work. He
had had the benefit of a careful religious training at home, and
had been the subject of early religious impressions and had
united with the church at Conococheague, but had not had
any special or comforting religious experience until at a com
Rev. John King, D. IK 49
m union service iit East Conococheague, conducted by Messrs.
Steel and Roan. This was the first time he had partake«i of
the sacrament of the Lord's supper, when he states he found
himself unusually engaged with the concerns of religion and
in prayer, before and during the communion services, and that
he had then much freedom in receiving Christ and in devoting
himself to his service. Still, he had afterwards much reason
to complain of his heart as careless about the things of true
religion, though he still had seasons of much spiritual tender-
ness, and had at times much freedom in receiving and resting
on Christ for salvation. After much reflection, being still dis-
trustful of his religious experience, and knowing that his
voice was weak and that he had suffered much from hoarse-
ness, he thought he could not see his way clear to study for
the ministry, and finally concluded, all things considered, that
the finger of Providence pointed him to the medical profes-
sion. h\ regard to this, after much loss of time and means, he
was over-ruled, when, by the advice of his classical teacher
and Dr. Allison, vice provost of the University of Pennsyl-
vania, he was led to abandon all further effort in that direction
and enter the university with a view of preparing for the
ministry. This he did May, 1765, and graduated in May,
1766. He studied theology with his pastor at Chestnut Level,
and was licensed by the Second Presbytery of Philadelphia,
August 13, 1767. He supplied the church at New London
that fall and winter, visited Upper West Conococheague in
the meantime and preached there, and the next spring received
a call to that congregation, but was not ordained and installed
pastor until August 30, 1769, He was there married to Eliza-
beth McDowell, a pious and most excellent woman, a grand-
aunt of the Rev. J. I. Brownson, D. D., and performed his life
work in that congregation. He resigned his charge Septem-
ber, 1811, and died July 15, 1813, in the seventy-third year
of his age, and his remains were interred in the cemetery at
Church Hill, close b}^ the church where he had preached the
gospel for over forty-two years.
Dr. King was a man of a good mind, which he diligently im-
proved. " He was," said Dr. Creigh, " a man of piety, social
4*
50 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial
in bis disposition, an edifying preacher, sound in the faith,
diligent as a pastor, and a man of varied acquirements/'
Under his ministry the state of the congregation was peaceful
and prosperous. At ever}* communion season the number
of professing disciples was increased b}' new accessions. His
labors were owned of God, and eminently blessed in l)uilding
up this church. He was all his life a diligent student, and be-
came a good general scholar. Said Dr. McKnight in his
memorial sermon : " Besides being a good Latin and Greek
scholar, he had a competent acquaintance with Hebrew and
French. He had studied natural and moral philosophy, as-
tronomy, mathematics and logic with attention, and had a con-
siderable general knowledge of chemistry. He had also paid
considerable attention to ecclesiastical history. With divinity,
in its several branches, he was well acquainted." Dr. David
Elliott speaks of him as a man of strong mind, an able and well
read theologian, a man capable of close and logical processes of
thought, capable of investigating the most difficult and
abstruse subjects with marked ability. His preaching was
solid, scriptural and edifying, rather than popular. He was
an intelligent and judicious ecclesiastic, and was chosen mod-
erator of the General Assembly in 1792, at Carlisle, Pa.
In his religious belief he was strictly Calvinistic. a warm
friend of the doctrines of grace. As his life advanced he
manifested an increasing concern for the interests of Zion. He
was a man of a catholic spirit, held friendly intercourse with
persons of other denominations, and was ready to encourage
all who sought the advancement of Christ's kingdon, but was
uncompromising m his adherence to that system of doctrine
which he held to be revealed in the word of God.
He was a man of great moral courage, an earnest advocate
of law and order in the face of violent opposition and much
popular excitement. At the same time he was thoroughly
patriotic, sympathizing fully with the war for independence,
making many addresses in defence of the rights of the colonies,
and in favor of liberty and independence, volunteering his
services and going as a chaplain in the army.
On his tomb is found this inscription : "As a tribute of re-
Rev. Robert Davidson, D. 1). 51
spect to the memory of Rev. John King, D. D., upwards of
forty-two years the able, learned and faithful pastor of the
congregation of Upper West Conococheague, whose life
exhibited the beauty of holiness, whose death declared the
triumph of the cross, this monument is erected by the grateful
children of his pastoral care."
Dr. King was the author of a catechism on the evidences of
Christianity, and of a dissertation on prophecy. Among other
public services, he gave the charge at the ordination of the
Rev. John McMillan, the patriarch of western Pennsylvania,
at Chambersburg, Pa., June 19, 1776, and also the charge at
the ordination and installation of Dr. Cathcart, at York. Pa., in
1793.
'' They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the
firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the
stars, forever and ever."
Rev. Robert Davidson, D. D.
Mr. Davidson was a native of Maryland, born at Elkton in
1750, graduated at the University of Pennsylvania, at Phila-
delphia, in 177J1, was licensed by the Presbytery of New Castle
at the age of twenty-two. At the age of twenty-four he was
appointed instructor in the University of Pennsylvania, and
was soon made professor of history. At the same time, 1774,
he was chosen assistant to Dr. Ewing, pastor of the First
church, and was ordained by the Presbytery of Philadelphia.
In these positions he was distinguished for learning, patriot-
ism and piety, and for his abilit}^ and zeal, for his purity of
character and life as a minister of the gospel.
In 1784 he was chosen professor of logic, metaphysics and
ethics in Dickinson College provisionally, and acted as its tem-
porary president, on the recommendation of Dr Rush, a warm
friend and patron of the institution, and who wrote to Dr.
Nisbet, saying : " His name \Nnll be of use to us, for he is a
man of learning and of excellent private character."
In 1785 he accepted a call from the first Presbyterian con-
gregation of Carlisle, and was installed April 27, 1785. He
received the honorary title of D. D. from the University of
Pennsylvania at the age of twenty-five.
52 Presbyter u of Carlisle — Centennial.
Soon after his installation, proceedings were entered uj)on
for the union of the two congregations of Carlisle, formerly
under the care of Mr. Steel and Di-. Duffield, both of which
had been for some time vacant, and also for the completion of
the church edifice of the First church. The,se measures
proved successful, resulting in the union of the two congrega-
tions, and the completion of the church edifice, with Dr.
Davidson as pastor and Dr. Nisbet as associate preacher, each
alternating every Sabbath morning and afternoon.
Under the ministry of these two able divines the people en-
joyed great privileges. Both were able and learned and scrip-
tural preachers, rich in the exposition of divine truth, and
abounding in historical and classical references and illustra-
tions. On Dr. Davidson devolved the whole work of pastoral
visitation and catechetical instruction, in both which he was
punctual and faithful. Under the ministrations of these men
the congregations were not only numerous, but people were
attracted to the place and took up their residence in Carlisle in
order to enjoy these educational and religious advantages.
In 1793, these ministers, like most Presbyterian ministei-s of
that day, while patriotic and the friends of religious and civil
liberty, were also, like Dr. King, the friends and supporters of
law and order. "When those engaged in the distillation and
sale of whiskey sought to excite a rebellion against the gov-
ernment, rather than pay the tax imposed upon the products
of their five thousand public and private distilleries of that
time, Dr. Davidson and Dr. Nisbet expounded the scriptures
in relation to the duty of all good citizens, " obeying the
powers that be, and of rendering tribute to whom tribute was
due." They took a firm stand in support of the government,
and as to the duty of all good citizens at such a time, even at
the risk of personal insult and threatened violence.
After the death of Dr. Nisbet, January 18, 1804, Dr. David-
son, as vice president, discharged the duty of principal of the
college for five years, and then, on the election of Dr. Atwater,
resigned all connection with the faculty and devoted himself
exclusively to his pastoral work, receiving a vote of thanks
from the trustees for his long and faithful services to the college
li^v. Jo)ni Mchmg/it, 1). D. 63
Dr. Davidson continued pastor of the First Church of Car-
lisle for twenty-eight years. The Old and New Side division
was healed in that congregation under his ministry. He was
systematic and indefatigable in his labors. His motto was a
time for everything and everything in its time. Every moment
of time with him was occupied. He mastered eight languages,
was well read up in theology, had a general acquaintance with
the whole circle of the sciences of that day. Astronomy was
with him a specialty. Music and drawing were with him
pastimes or recreations.
In 1797, he was chosen the sixth moderator of the General
Assembly. His memorial discourse on the death of Washing,
ton, in 1799, and on the death of Dr. Nisbet, in 1804, were
published. He was married three times, but left only one son,
the late Rev. JRobert Davidson, D. D. He died, December 18,
1812, of dropsy in the chest, in the sixty-third year of his age.
His brief and well-earned inscription on his tomb is
"A Blessed Peacev taker. ^
He left twenty volumes of manuscript sermons and scien-
tific lectures. He always preached with a manuscript of- his
sermon before him.
P«v. John McKnight, D. D.
John McKnight was born near Carlisle, Pa., October 1, 1754.
His father, who was a major during the French and Indian
war. died during his childhood. John was noted for special
buoyancy and amiability of temper as a youth, by reason of
which he was a general favorite with his youthful associates.
He graduated at Princeton College under Dr. Witherspoon, in
1773, studied theology under Dr. Cooper, of Middle Spring,
was licensed by Presbytery of Donegal, in 1775, and ordained
by same Presbytery, in 1776.
In 1775 he went to Virginia and organized a church on Elk
Branch, between Shepherdstown and Charleston. Here he
labored until 1782. In 1783 he accepted calls to Lower Marsh
Creek, now in Adams county. Pa., and Tom's Creek, Md. Here
he spent, what he regarded ever afterwards, the six happiest
54 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
years of his life. He had a farm of one hundred and fifty acres
which the people, in their kindness and friendship for him,
left him little to do in the wa\^ of the cultivation of ii, and, in
addition to which their voluntary contributions to him, more
than doubled the salary promised him.
While he was pastor here an amusing incident occurred, the
story of which has been attributed to others, especially to Dr.
Edgar, of Nashville, Tenn., as its original author.
He had just ordained three new elders, and one of these was
appointed to attend Presbytery the following week. On the
evening before they were to set out for Presbytery on horse-
back, he came to Mr. McKnight, in much trepidation of mind,
to inquire of him what the duties were which were required
of him as a delegate to Presbytery. Perceiving his embarrass-
ment, Mr. McKnight assumed a very serious manner and said
to him : '^ Well, sir, I will tell you what you are to do, you are
to be here in time to see that my horse is properly fed and
groomed and saddled and bridled and ready in time for us to
start, you are to keep along with me and be ready to go on and
open and shut all gates, put down and up all bars, you are to
go on before and order dinner for us, you are to pay all bills,
and then vote always as I do."
This sally of humor relieved the anxiety of the new elder,
and he joined the minister in a hearty laugh, and then was in-
formed as to what his real duties would be.
At the end of six years in Marsh Creek, Mr. McKnight
was called to be collegiate pastor to the Kev. Dr. John Rodgers,
pastor of the Collegiate churches in the city of New York.
This call, after the most careful consideration, with the advice
of Presbytery, he accepted, and was installed December, 1789.
Here he continued in the earnest and faithful discharge of his
ministerial duties for twenty yeai's, preaching, for the first four
years, three sermons each Sabbath, until the call of Rev. Sam-
uel Miller, as a colleague, in 1793. In 1792, he received from
Yale College the honorary title of D. D. In 1809, the collegi-
ate relation, which he never liked, was dissolved, and by meas-
ures which he regarded unjustifiable. On this account and on
account of his health being already enfeebled, and anticipating
Rev. John McKnight D. D. 55
protracted jealousies aud collisions, with the consent of Pres_
bytery, he resigned his charge and returned to Pennsylvania
and settled on a small farm with modern improvements, near
Chambersburg, Pa., which he purchased for a home. Soon
after this Rocky Spring church being vacant, he was invited
to take charge of it. Declining a call, he consented to serve
them as a stated supply, as his health would permit. He per_
formed for that church all the duties of a pastor while supply,
ing them with as much fidelity and regularity as if he had been
installed. He had a number of invitations to other churches
in the State of New York, all of which he respectfully de-
clined. In 1815. he was constrained to accept the presidency
of Dickinson College, but finding it, as it appeared to him,
seriously, if not hopelessly, embarrassed financially, he resigned
that position at the end of one year. Returning again to his
farm, he there spent the remainder of his life, preaching as op-
portunity occurred and his strength would allow, and, on the
21st of October, 1823, in the seventieth year of his age, from
the effects of a bilious epidemic disease, he passed away in the
full exercise of his mental powers and with a lively assurance
of eternal life in the world to come.
In 1795. Dr. McKnight was chosen moderator of the Gen-
eral Assembly, in Carlisle, Pa.
He published six sermons on faith, which were highly com-
mended by Drs. Rodgers and Witherspoon, besides a number
of others preached on different occasions.
He was married to Susan, daughter of George Brown, of
Franklin county, by whom he had ten children, two of whom
entered the ministiy.
Dr. McKnight was described by the late Dr. Duflield. "As a
man of slender pei-son, above medium height, and of a consid-
enite and reflective countenance, indicative of deep and pro-
tracted thought. His bearing and address were graceful and
dignified, without any manifestation of overbearing pride or
haughtiness, such as is sometimes assumed by distinguished
and popular preachers. He was at his ease in all society, and
could adapt himself to circunjstances and to all classes of per-
sons. As i« preacher he was calm, dispassionate, with little of
56 Prtahytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
variation of tone or gesture, with no prancing about and Utile
gesticulation, yet not monotonous or unimpressive, but with
a manner well adapted to liis matter, which was generally a
lucid and logical exposition of some important Scripture truth.
He was a zealous expounder and defender of the Calvir.istic
faith, which he was careful always to enforce by a due citation
of Scripture passages. The bearing of Christian doctrine on
religious experience he was wont clearly to set forth." He
took an active part in the discussion of the question relating to
the location of the theological seminary, in the General As-
sembly of 1812, earnestly advocating Chambersburg, Pa., as
the place for its location rather than Princeton, N. J.
Rev. "Wm. Linn, D D.
William Linn was born in Lurgan township, near Roxbor-
ough, in what is now Franklin county, Pa, February 27, 1752.
He was the oldest son of William Linn, a ruling elder in the
Middle Spring Presbyterian church. His mother is believed
to have died in Shippensburg, in November, 1755, where, in
consequence of the Indian raids at that time, the family, with
other frontier settlers, had fled for refuge to the fort erected at
that place. His grandfather had come from Ireland, in 1732,
and had settled first in Chester county. Pa., and from thence
had come, prior to 1750, to the Cumberland Valley, and pur-
chased and settled on the tract of land where William was born.
William, after going to such schools as the neighborhood in
which he was raised could afford at the time, was then sent to
a grammar school under the tuition of Rev George Duffield.
Afterwards he was sent to the classical school of the Rev.
Robert Smith, of Pequea, where he completed his preparation
for college. While at this school he became deeply impressed
with a sense of his religious duties, and entered upon the re-
ligious life in which he became distinguished as an eminent
minister of the gospel. He entered Princeton College and
graduated in the class of 1772, studied theology under his
pastor. Rev. Robert Cooper, D. D. He seems to have been
licensed and ordained by the First Presbytery of Philadelphia,
or that of New Castle, in 1775 or 1776, and was appointed
Rev. WiUiarn Linn, 1). D. 57
chaplain to Fifth and Sixth Pennsylvania Battalions, February
15, 1776, and preached an able and patnotic sermon before the
soldiers of Magaw's battalion, in Carlisle. Pa., March 17, 1776,
which was published at that time, and sincere-published in the
Christian Intelligencer.
Mr. Linn was married previous to this time to Miss Rebecca
Blair, daughter of Dr. John Blair, formerly pastor of the Big
Spring Church.
Shortly afterwards Magaw's battalion was ordered to Canada,
when Mr. Linn, because the situation of his family would not
admit of his protracted absence from home, resigned his chap-
laincy, and received a call to the Big Spring church, April 9,
1777, and was received from the First Presbytery of Philadel-
phia, and installed pastor of said church, October 3, 1777. Here
he continued until 1784, performing faithfully and with in-
creasing acceptance and usefulness the duties of pastor and
preacher. He was then elected principal of Washington
Academy, in Somerset county, Md. At the end of one year,
on account of the sickness of his family, he was obliged to re-
sign this position and to remove from that region. He accepted
a call to the Presbyterian cliurch of Elizabethtown, N. J , now
Elizabeth City, in 1786, but, in 1787, he was called to be col-
legiate pastor of the Reformed Dutch church in the city of
New York, which position he accepted and occupied until
1805. After entering on his work here he was chosen the first
chaplain to Congress, May, 1789. In his position in the city
of New York, Mr. Linn rose to great eminence in the ministry
and attained to a reputation for talents and eloquence second
to no other minister at that time in the city. His style of dis-
course was simple, chaste and forcible, his manner of address
tender, affectionate and sincere. His eloquence has been de-
scribed as not consisting in mere sudden and passionate out-
bursts of thought and feeling, but his was an ardor growing as
the discussion of his subject advanced, and as the importance
of his theme was seen and felt ; and, as he approached the con-
clusion of his discourse, his mind became so absorbed in his
theme, and his glowing imagination conceived his objects so
vividly, and his language, of which he had great conunand.
68 Presbytery oj Carlisle — Centennial.
was so graphic that the effect upon the people was often simi-
lar to what is said to have taken place under the preaching of
Massilon and Bourdaloue. His efforts on special occasions
were masterpieces of thought and diction. In his missionary
and charitable discourses he was eminently successful. His
oratory at such times was often of such a nature that he would
thrill his audiences with emotions of joy, and then again over-
power them with scenes of sorrow and dismay, and so earnest
and impassioned were his appeals, that many in the audience
were known to start up unconsciously from their seats and be
seen standing on their feet.
As a stated preacher of the gospel he was eminently prac-
tical. The great aim of his ministry was to exalt Christ, and
the burden of his discourses was to set Him forth as to His
Divine Person and atoning work, and to direct even the chief
of sinners to his cross. His exhortations were earnest, persua-
sive, tender and faithful. He was also eminently patriotic, and
took a warm interest in the politics of his times, even to the.
extent of giving offense to those of opposite views.
Dr. Linn resigned his pastorate in New York in 1805, on
account of declining health, and removed to Albany, N. Y.
He there engaged to supply the church, preaching once each
Sabbath for one year. In the meantime he was chosen presi-
dent of Union College, Schenectady, N. Y, but was unable to
accept the position on account of rapidly failing health. He
died in Albany, January. 1808. Dr. Linn was thrice married
and had ten children.
He was the father of Dr. John Blair Linn, who was born in
Newville, March 14, 1777, graduated at Columbia College,
New York, in the year 1795, in the same class with Dr.
Romeyn, of New York, and Dr. Inglis, of Baltimore. He
studied law under Alexander Hamilton, a personal friend of
his father, but afterwards studied theology under Dr. Derick
Romeyn, professor of theology in the Reformed Dutch church,
and was licensed to preach by the Classis of Albany in 1798,
and was ordained and installed co-pastor to Dr. Ewing, of the
First Presbyterian church, Philadelphia, in June, 1799.
Dr. John Blair Linn was possessed of talents of a very high
Rev. John Linn. 59
order, and of rare poetical genius. He was a man of fine
literary culture, at the same time capable of profound philo-
sophical research. He at once took a high position as a
preacher. He was sought after by a number of the most
prominent congregations in the country. He filled the pulpit
of the cliurch to which he was called with great acceptance to
the people, and found time besides for important literary and
scientific work. But his brilliant career was soon cut short
by disease, and he die<l August 30, 1805, in the twenty-ninth
year of his age. His death was greatly lamented, but by
none so deeply as by his father, to whom it proved a shock
from which he never recovered.
Dr. William Linn left a number of publications. A volume
of historical discourses, sermon on the spiritual death and life
of the believer, discourses on the signs of the times, eulogy on
Washington, and other occasional discourses.
Rev John Linn.
John Linn was born in Adams county, Pa., in the year
1749. He was of Scotch-Irish descent His parents were
members of the congregation of Lower Marsh Creek. He
united with the church when quite young. He prepared for
college at the school of Rev. Robert Smith, of Pequea, and
graduated at Princeton in 1773, under the presidency of Dr.
Witherspoon, in the same class with John McKnight, John
Blair Smith and William Graham. He studied theology
under Rev. Robert Cooper, D. D., was licensed by the Presby-
tery of Donegal December, 1776, and soon after was ordained
and installed as pastor of the congregations of Sherman's Val-
ley. In this charge he continued to labor faithfully and
acceptably throughout the entire period of his ministerial life,
and there died, in the year 1820, in the seventy -first year of
his age.
Soon after his settlement he married Mary Gettys, a member
of a highly respected family in that vicinity, by whom he had
seven children, five sons and two daughters. One of these
was the Rev. James Linn, D. D., for over fifty years pastor of
the church of Bellefonte, Pa.
60 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
Mr. Linn was a man of large, active and muscular frame, a
man of strong constitution and great physical endurance. He
was possessed of more than ordinary intellectual endowments,
a good preacher, and faithful in the performance of all minis-
terial duties. It was his custom to write out his discourses,
but to preach without the use of his manuscript. He was
noted for a remarkably clear voice, and was a speaker of great
solemnity and impressiveness. He was social and cheerful
in society, and capable of adapting himself to all classes of
people and every variety of circumstances. His general tone
was that of sobriety of mind, and of one who was observant
of the proprieties of his profession. As in the case of many
of the ministers of that day, his salary was inadequate to the
support of his family, and he was under the necessity of devot-
ing considerable time to the management of his farm, and at
certain seasons of the year of taking part in the labors of the
same, and yet without remitting his regular preparation for the
pulpit on the Sabbath. In his family, and in all his inter-
course with his people and with his ministerial brethren, he
habitually deported himself with christian dignity, kindness
and propriety. His descendants are the Linns of Chambers-
burg, Williamsport. West Philadelphia, Pa., Springfield, Ohio,
and elsewhere, all adherents of the Presbyterian church.
Rev. Charles Nisbet, D. D., First President of Dickinson
College.
Dr. Nisbet was in many respects a truly great man. He
was a man of strong natural abilities, of extensive reading and
wonderful memory. He was called a walking library. He
was the master of nine languages, a noted metaphysician, and
a well read theologian. Of him no full account can be given
in these hasty sketches, nor is it necessary, as we have his
published biography by Dr. Samuel Miller, and sketches of
him in Sprague's Annals and Davidson's Biographical Sketches
of Synod of Philadelphia.
He was born in Haddington, Scotland, January 21, 173«i
graduated from the University of Edinburgh at the age of
eighteen, studied divinity for six years in the Divinity Hall, in
Rev. Charles Nisbet, D. D. 61
the same city, and was licensed, September 24, 1760, by the
Presbytery of Edinburgh. While in the university he met ail
his expenses by performing the duties of a private tutor, and
when in the Divinity Hall he did the same thing, chiefly by
contributions to one of the popular periodicals of that day.
The first two years of his ministry were spent as a stated
preacher in Glasgow, but he was not there ordained or
installed. He then received and accepted a call to the large
and intelligent congregation of Montrose, and was there or-
dained and installed May 17, 1761. Here he married and
labored with growing reputation as a preacher and sound theo-
logian, and with great and increasing acceptance and usefulness
to the people of his charge.
Not long after his settlement, Dr. Witherspoon was elected
president of Princeton College, which position he at first de-
clined to accept, and recommended Dr. Nisbet, who was then
only in his thirty-first year, as the most suitable person known
to him to fill that position.
Dr. Nisbet, like Dr. Witherspoon, belonged to the orthodox
wing of the Ohurch of Scotland, in contradistinction to the
" moderate party " in that church, and, with Dr. Witherspoon,
he took an active part in the deliberations and important dis-
cussions in the General Assembly. He was an earnest advocate
of reform in the established church, and was especially opposed
to the patronage act, and zealously advocated its repeal and
the restoration to the churches of the right to choose their own
pastors, the question which subsequently occasioned the dis-
ruption of the church.
He, also, like Dr. Witherspoon, was of the number of those
who, though subjects of Great Britain, justified the course of
the American colonies against the mother country, and hesi-
tated not to give expression to his views, publicly as well as
privately, in reference to that contest which resulted in their
independence.
Some of Dr. Nisbet's speeches in the General Assembly of
the Church of Scotland have bfeen preserved and have been
pronounced models of eloquent discussion in a deliberative
assembly, with perhaps the exception that, like most of his
62 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
polemic efforts, they are notable for an excess of wit and sar-
casm.
In 1788 Dickinson College was organized, and in 1784 Dr.
Nisbet was chosen its first president, and his acceptance of the
position was earnestly urged by Governor Dici<:inson, Dr. Rush
and other friends of the institution, After much deliberation,
and against the advice of many and of some distinguished
friends, he gave notice of his acceptance of the same. He ar-
rived in Philadelphia in June, 1785, and was the guest of Dr.
Rush, and after visiting Dr. Witherspoon at Princeton, set out
for Carlisle and reached that place on the fourth of July. He
was received with great respect and attention, and on the fol-
lowing day was formall}^ inaugurated as president of the col-
lege and delivered his inaugural discourse, the subject of which
was, "The Relation Between Learning and Piety." It was
published and was regarded as in all respects worthy of his
high reputation for natural ability and scholarship. Dr. Nis-
bet brought with him his family, consisting of two sons and
two daughters, he having already buried four children in
Scotland.
The bright prospects with which he entered upon the duties
of the college were soon over-clouded with disappointment
and affliction. Soon after his inauguration he and several
members of his family were prostrated by a violent and lin-
gering fever, which led to his disability and confinement for
several months, from which his recovery was very slow and
gradual. The effect of this long illness was very depressing
and discouraging to him, so much so, as to lead him to re-
solve to return to kis native country, and in October to tender
his resignation to the trustees of the college. Providentially
he was led to postpone his return until the next spring, be-
cause the winter season was unfavorable to a sea voyage. In
the meantime his health had been regained, and with restored
health came back increase of courage and disposition to re-en-
gage in the work which he had resigned. On May 10, 178(>,
the Board to which he had tendered his resignation and by
which it had been very reluctantly accepted, unanimously re-
elected him president of the college. He resumed his official
Rev. Charles Nishel, D. D. 63
duties aud pursued them with unabated vigor and manifold
labors from year to year until the winter of 1804, when he
took a severe cold, which led to inflammation of the lungs,
and which, after three weeks of severe sickness and much suf-
fering, terminated his useful and valuable life, January 18,
1804. in the sixty-eighth year of his age. He died as he had
lived, a firm believer in the doctrines of grace, and with a tri-
umphant faith in a glorified Redeemer.
Dr. Nisbet. in the judgment of many of his best qualified
pupils, was not only a man of a very high order as to natural
abilities, but in love of knowledge and in .solid and varied
learning, as excelling most of the learned men of his age.
He was not only at home in both the ancient and modem
languages, and well read up in the literature of these languages,
but was a man alike distinguished for his acquirements in
sacred and secular knowledge.
As president of the college, h« at once prepared and deliv-
ered to his classes four separate and distinct courses of lec-
tures. One in Logic, one in Mental Philosophy, one in Moral
Philosophy, and one in English Literature, including special
reviews of the principal Latin and Greek classics.
In addition to these several courses in the college, he pre-
pared and delivered to graduates of the college, who desired
to study for the Christian ministry, a course of four hundred
and eighteen lectures in .systematic divinity, delivering five
lectures each week of the course extending through two years.
These lectures were all full}- written out and read with great
deliberation, so as to allow the students time for making full
notes of the same. Besides these, he had also a course of
twenty-two lectures in Pastoral Theology.
As 3'-et the college had no buildings ; aud Dr. Nisbet is said
to have taught his classes and delivered his lectures for a time
in a room at the Barracks. At the time Lee's army invaded
the State, in 1863, all the buildings at the Barracks were
burned except the Guard House, which still stands.
As a theologian, Dr. Nisbet was a thorough Calvinist of the
old school. He was a great admirer of the Westminster stand-
ards, considering them the best exposition of the system of
64
Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
THE OLD GUARD HoUSK, CARLISLE BARRACKS.*
doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures which the Christian
church had produced.
As a preaclier Dr. Nisbet had great and peculiar excellence.
He was never known to use notes of sermons in any form in
the pulpit. His sermons were usually full of thought and in-
struction, and often striking and deeply interesting. His mat-
ter was uniformly solid and clearly stated, and never failed to
fix and reward the attention of those who were serious and
thoughtful and who cared more for sound scriptural and theo-
logical instruction than for the ornaments of rhetoric and mere
empty declamation. His manner of speaking was calm and
dignified, his style was remarkably clear and direct, and always
adapted to please and interest intelligent and serious hearers.
With all his talents and learning, wit and sarcasm, he was
simple and tender as a child in worldly matters and in social
relations. His chief deficiencies were his accustomed prone-
ness to express his opinions at all times without reserve, his
disposition to indulge in satire and ridicule, his fixed Scottish
habits and prejudices, and his want of flexibility in the way of
accommodating himself to the requirements of his new position
and to the state and necessities of a new country. He had
been a devoted student from his boyhood, and an omnivorous
reader of books. He was remarkable in youth for physical
* The Old Guard House was built by the Hessian prisoners during the Revolu-
tionarj' War. This building is the only one left as it was in 1785.
Rev Charles Nishet, J). 1).
65
activity and endurance. It was not an unusual thing for him,
in early life, to take a run of a winter's morning of twenty
miles before breakfast, without any painful effort or exhaus-
tion. In middle life he became suddenly corpulent, and con-
tinued so, despite all his efforts to abate or arrest it, to the end
of his days. Dr. Samuel Miller and Dr. Matthew Brown, two
of his pupils and two of the writer's teachers, always spoke of
him with the utmost veneration, gratitude and love.
Dr. Nisbet's earnest and active life was terminated, January
19, 1804, and his remains were interred in the old graveyard,
Carlisle.
MONUMENT OF REV. CHAULES NISBET, D, D., OLD
OBAVEYABD, CABLISLE, PA.
6*
66 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
Rev. John Black.
The above-named minister was pastor of Upper Marsh Creek,
now Gettysburg church, for nineteen years. He was a man of
superior talents, good scholarship, of devoted piety, an earnest
and successful preacher of the gospel, and a most highly
esteemed friend and neighbor of Dr. William Paxton, of Lower
Marsh Creek church.
Mr. Black was born in North Carolina. He entered the
junior class in the College of New Jersey, and graduated, in
1771. He was licensed by the Presbytery of Donegal, in 1773,
and was installed pastor of Upper Marsh Creek church, August
15, 1775. He had supplied the pulpit at intervals for more
than a year previously.
The greater part of his ministry in this charge was very ac-
ceptable to and highly appreciated by the people. He was a
man of rare natural gifts, of thorough scholarship for that day,
and a popular and impressive preacher.
Soon after he took charge of the congregation, the attend-
ance upon his ministry so increased, that the previous log
church building was found too small to accommodate the people,
and measures were taken for the erection of a much larger
stone edifice. The dimensions of the new building wei'e 48x62
feet, arranged according to the plan of most of the church
buildings of that period. It had four doors, one at each end
of the long broad aisle in front of the pulpit the whole length
of the house, and two on the south side, at the end of the cross
aisles, with pulpit and sounding board on the north side of the
audience room, and precentor's stand in front of the pulpit.
This new edifice was built in 1779 and 1780, and cost the con-
gregation a great struggle. The aisles were unpaved. The
Presbytery of Donegal met in this church in 1781, by invitation
of the session. The popularity of Mr. Black as a preacher at
this time was very great among the people, and he was held
in the highest esteem by his ministerial brethern, and this con-
tinued so for many years. The church prospered financially
and spiritually under his ministry. A stranger visiting in the
congregation, when introduced to him, said to him, "Are you
that Mr. Black of whom all men speak well ? I have been
thinking of the woe pronounced on such as you."
Rev. John Black. 67
Mr. Black, as already intimated, was on intimate and friendly
terms with Dr. William Paxton. They were very congenial
in their tastes, reading, habits of thought, and spent much time
in each others company, and in conversations and earnest dis-
cussions on theological and philosophical subjects, and pursued
together such courses of reading and careful study as were
mutually interesting and profitable to them.
Mr. Black published a few essays, of which one is still ex-
tant, on the subject of church psalmody, which attracted much
attention at the time of its publication. He was noted for his
regular and punctual attendance on the meetings of Presby-
tery, and was stated clerk of the same for most of the time
from 1775 to 1790. He became greatly concerned on account
of the intemperate use of intoxicating drinks among his peo-
ple and in the community at large at that time. And during
the latter years of his ministry in this congregation, he felt
constrained to take a moderate and firm stand against the
drinking usages which then so generally prevailed. One of
the measures which he, in his anxiety to stay the ravages of
intemperance among his own people at this time, adopted, was
to submit to them for their consideration and signature the fol-
lowing resolutions :
1. We resolve that we will not make a common, much less
a frequent, use of spirituous or intoxicating liquors, and will
guard at all times against drinking so as in the least to disturb
our frame, or in any wise injure us in rational or religious ex-
ercises.
2. We resolve, secondly, to avoid temptation to the vice of
drunkenness, to shun the company of drunkards, to abstain
from places where liquors are sold, except when the pursuits
of our lawful business or the duties of good neighborhood
oblige us to visit them.
3. Moreover, we resolve that we will not give much liquor
to persons whom we may employ in harvest, at house-raisings,
or any other gathering for labor, to such a degree as to injure
them, and that at vendues which any of us may make we will
not afford any of it at all.
Moderate as these resolutions were, yet they met with but
68 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
little favor, only three men in the congregation signing them.
Such was the state of public sentiment at that time that a very
wise and cautious opposition to the evils of intemperance
would and did excite great and general ill-will, and bring upon
the advocate of the most qualified abstemiousness the scoffs
and jeers of the people. Such was the experience of Mr.
Black. His great popularity at once began to wane. The
subscriptions to his support began to fall of and steadily de-
clined. Men under the influence of intoxicating drinks, as
they passed by his residence, would shout insulting epithets at
him, so that he remarked that he had escaped the woe of hav-
ing all men speak well of him, and he had, like the Psalmist,
become the song of the drunkard.
In view of this growing and insane opposition to him, sim-
ply on the ground of the very moderate and wise position he
had taken in regard to the intemperate use of strong drinks,
he felt constrained, in 1792, to ask leave of Presbytery to re-
sign the pastorate of the church. His brethren in the Pres-
bytery, however, insisted upon his remaining for a season, in
the hope of his overcoming the opposition manifested towards
him. He yielded to their solicitations, but, in 1794, he again
asked to be released. The Presbytery then, though with great
reluctance, granted his request.
From 1794 Mr. Black remained in the neighborhood of Get-
tysburg, preaching statedly to a Reformed Dutch congregation
which then existed in the vicinity of Hunterstown. In 1800
Mr. Black received a call from the churches of Unity and
Greensburg, in Westmoreland county, Pa., which he accepted,
and was enrolled as a member of the Presbytery of Redstone.
He died August 16, 1802, in the full triumph of the Chris-
tian faith. His wife had departed this life a few years sooner,
and was interred in the graveyard which bears lier husband's
name, near where the stone church edifice of Upper Marsh
Creek stood, in what is now Adams county. Pa.
Mr. Black's case is that of a minister of eminent ministerial
gifts, of devoted and consistent piety, of high attainments in
learning, and great ability and faithfulness as a preacher and
pastor, suddenly deserted and forced to retire from a field in
Fourth Period, From 1788 to 1836.
which he had been pre-eminently useful and acceptable, simply
01'. the ground of his tidelity to duty and devotion to the highest
and best interests of that people. Had they sustained him and
upheld him in his work his ministrj' would have been a lasting
blessing to them and tlieir children and their children's chil-
dren. They, however, clung to their cups, and insulted God's
faithful servant, maligned his good name, drove him from
them, and perhaps shortened his days on earth, and the
blight of strong drink is on that community unto this day,
carrying its victims, from generation to generation, to a drunk-
ard's grave. It has invaded all classes and ranks in the
community, striking down the merchant behind his counter,
the physician in his practice, the lawyer at the bar, and even
the bench itself, as in a neighboring county, has not escaped
its degrading power. The writer spent parts of two days in
Gettysburg during the late celebration of the twenty-fifth anni-
versary of the battle of Gettysburg, and never has he any-
where seen so much drinking and so many staggering and
prostrate men, from the effects of strong drinks. The fathers
silenced the voice of the sainted Black, lifted up in faithful
admonition against the dangers of strong drinks, and the chil-
dren still cling to their cups. The people of Gettysburg have
done much for the vindication of their good name in this re-
spect by casting a majority of their votes, in 1889, for prohi-
bition.
FOURTH PERIOD, FROM 1788 TO 1838.
We have now reached the fourth period, marked out with
respect to these sketches, viz : that from the time of the con-
stitution of the General Assembly, in 1788, to the time of the
second division of the Presbyterian Church, in 1838, a period
distinguished for the rapid growth of the church, and one rich
in men distinguished for talents, learning, piety and usefulness.
Among these may be mentioned Rev. David Denny, Rev.
Samuel Waugh, Rev. Wm. Paxton, D. D., Rev. Amos A. Mc-
Ginley, D. D., Rev. Francis Herron, D. D., Rev. David McCon-
aughy, D. D., LL. D., Rev. Joshua Williams, D. D., Rev. John
Moodey, D. D., Rev. David Elliott. D. D., LL. D., Rev. George
70 Presbytery of Carlisle — CentenniaL
Duffield, D. D., Rev. William R DcWitt, D. D., Rev. Robert
Kennedy, Rev. Henry R. Wilson, D. D., Rev. Daniel McKin-
ley, D. D., Rev. Thomas Creigli, D. D., Rev. Robert McCachran.
Rev. James C. Watson, D. D., Rev. John Dickey.
Rev. James Snodgrass.
James Snodgrass was the son of Benjamin Snodgrass, and
was born near Doylestown, Bucks county. Pa., July 23, 1763.
His grandfather emigrated from the north of Ireland aV)out
the year 1700, and settled in Bucks county. Pa.
James graduated at the University of Pennsylvania in 1873,
and was for a time tutor at that institution. He afterwards
studied theology under the direction of Rev. Nathaniel Irwin,
then pastor of the church of Neshaminy, in said county, and
was licensed to preach the gospel by the Presbytery of Phila-
delphia in December, 1785. He preached for eighteen months
in vacant congregations and destitute places in the central and
northern part of the State of New York. In 1787 he received
and accepted a call from the church of Hanover, within
the bounds of this Presbytery, and was ordained and installed
pastor of the same. May 13, 1788. At these services there
were present, of this Presbytery, Revs. John Elder, John
Hoge, John Linn, John Craighead, Robert Cooper and Samuel
Waugh. His pastorate in this congregation extended over a
period of fifty-eight years. He died July 2, 1846, and was
interred in the graveyard of the old Hanover church.
Mr. Snodgrass was a man noted for sound judgment, great
excellence of character, soundness in the faith, and was emi-
nent for diligence in and devoteduess to the work of the min-
istry.
In his intercourse with the people he was always affable and
kind. Among his ministerial brethren he was distinguished
for retiring modesty and unaffected humility. As a preacher,
his sermons were the result of careful study, and characterized
for solid thought, logical power, and for clear and forcible ex-
pression. As a pastor, he was regular and faithful in the
work of family visitation and in the catechetical instruction of
the young.
Rev. Samuel Wilson. 71
His salary, although his congregation in the early part of
his ministry was numerous, was small. As a consequence he
was obliged to purchase a farm, on which he lived and which
he cultivated throughout his whole ministerial life. The con-
gi-egation to which he ministered became greatly reduced by
emigration, but he continued in the regular and faithful dis-
charge of his ministerial duties unto the end. Throughout
his whole ministerial life, such was his uniform good health
that he was, only on two occasions, prevented from occupying
his pulpit by reason of sickness. He died July 2, 1846, in the
full possession of all his faculties, and in great peace of mind
and no fear of death.
He was twice married, and both his wives are interred with
him in the same graveyard. He was the father of the late
Eev. William D. Snodgrass, D. D., of Goshen, N. Y., and of
Mrs. Martha Davis Snodgrass, wife of Dr. William Simonton,
of Harrisburg, Pa., and grandfather of Rev. William Simon-
ton, of Emmittsburg, Md., of Rev. Ashbel Grreen Simonton,
late missionary in South America, and of Judge John W.
Simonton, of Harrisburg, Pa.
Rev. Samuel 'Wilson.
Samuel Wilson was the fourth son of John Wilson, a farmer
of Scotch-Irish parentage, and Sarah Reid, his wife. Samuel
was born, in 1754, in Letterkenny township, Cumberland, now
Franklin, county, Pa., in sight of the old Rocky Spring church.
In 1788 he was farming his father's farm, when his youngest
brother, having finished his education and entered ihe army,
came home sick with camp fever and died Samuel con-
tracted the disease while attending upon him and was ex-
tremely ill also. During this sickness he resolved, if his life
was spared, to devote it to the service of God in the work of
the Christian ministr3^ Accordingly, on his recovery, he took
the books of his deceased brother and went to Princeton, and
graduated from Princeton College in 1782. He studied theol-
ogy under Rev. Dr. Cooper, at Middle Spring, was licensed by
the Presbytery of Donegal October 17, 1786, and called to be
the pastor of Big Spring church, and ordained and installed June
72 Preshylery of Carlisle — Centennial.
20, 1787. He continued to labor faithfully, acceptably and
usefully in the Big Spring congregation until his death, which
occurred March 4, 1799, in the thirteenth year of his ministry,
and in the forty-fifth year of his age.
Soon after his settlement in the ministr^^ Mr. Wilson was mar-
ried to Miss Jane Mahon, daughter of Archibald Mahon, of
Shippensburg, Pa., by whom he left only one surviving child,
Mrs. Dr. William M. Sharp, who died in Newville, Pa., July,
1876, and whose only surviving child at this time is Mrs. Mar-
garet Davidson, of Newville, Pa.
Mr. Samuel Wilson was uncle to Rev. Drs. Robert and
Samuel B. Wilson, sons of his oldest brother, John Wilson,
who moved to South Carolina, and also to Rev. James Carna-
han, D, 1^., president of Princeton College. Samuel B. Wilson,
D. D., was professor for many years in the Union Theological
Seminary, Virginia.
Rev. David Denny.
David Denny's father was a soldier in the Revolutionary
war., and fell in battle. David was the third son and graduated
at Dickinson College during the presidency of Dr. Charles
Nisbet. Under his instruction, he pursued his theological
studies and was licensed to preach the gospel by the Presby-
tery of Carlisle in the year 1791. His first settlement was in
Path Valley, in Franklin county. He had charge of Upper
and Lower Path Valley congregations from 179-1 to 1800, in
which his labors were very acceptable and profitable, and that
people became greatly attached to him and his ministry. In
the year 1800 he was called and transferred to the Falling
Spring church, Chambersburg, Pa., in which charge he con-
tinued throughout the remaining portion of his ministry, the
period of thirty and eight years. He died, December 16, 1845,
in the seventy-eighth year of his age.
Mr. Denny was a man possessed of talents of a high order,
and had a well-balanced mind and his was a character dis-
tinguished for great excellence. He was a sincere and ardent
lover of the truth, and always open and candid in the expression
of his views. His style of preaching was noted for its simplicity
Rev. Samuel Waugh.
and earnestness, rather than for rhetorical finish or ornament.
Modesty and humility were inherent traits of his character, and
he was tender and sympathetic in his feelings for the sick and
the afflicted, the poor and the suffering. He was always ex-
ceedingly regular and punctual in the performance of his
ministerial duties, never allowing either inclemency of the
weather or any transient illness to prevent him from fulfilling
his appointments. In his social intercourse with his people
and his ministerial brethren, he was always affable, courteous
and dignified, one that commanded and secured the highest
respect and affection of his brethren, and who was greatly
beloved by his people.
During his pastorate of the Falling Spring church, his salary
he found to be insufficient for the support of his large and
growing family and he was obliged to add to his labors the
work of teaching the Latin and Greek languages in the
Chambersburg Academy in order to supplement his support.
Mr. Denny was married to Margaret Lyon, eldest daughter
of William Lyon, by his second wife, Ann Fleming, of Carlisle,
Pa.. July 25, 1793.
Rev. Samuel "Waugh.
This excellent man of God, popular and edifying preacher
and highly esteemed and orthodox minister, was pastor of the
united churches of East Pennsborough and Monaghan for
twenty-five years.
Little is to be found as to the details of his life. He was
born and raised within the bounds of Lower Marsh Creek con-
gregation, Adams county, Pa. : prepared for college at Gettys-
burg, under Mr. Dobbin ; graduated at Princeton College, and
was licensed by the Presbytery of Donegal December 4, 1776,
and was ordained May 12, 1781. He was called to be the
pastor of East Pennsborough and Monaghan churches April
9, 1782, at a salary of £150 and a gratuity of £75 from each
congregation.
Mr. Waugh accepted these calls and was duly installed pas-
tor and continued in this relationship with great and growing
usefulness up to the time of his death, in January, 1807.
74 Presbytery oj Carlisle — Centennial.
On April 14, 1783, he was married to Miss Eliza Hoge, a
member of his church. That same year the people of East
Pennsborough, who, up to that time, had worshiped in a small
log building, erected a new and more commodious stone edifice,
and soon after a session house and pastor s study.
Mr. Waugh was an amiable and prudent man, a diligent and
persevering student of God's word, an interesting and acceptable
preacher and a faithful pastor. He was a man of great energy,
regular and punctual in the performance of his duties. In all
his intercourse with the people, his manner of life was such as
to add force to his ministry, and exhibited ever before them
the example of a consistent and upright life. His life was not
only pure and blameless, but one of great peace and harmony.
For a quarter of a century this faithful servant of God went
in and out among this people, ministering to them the word
and ordinances of God, greatly to their edification and comfort.
Many were added to the church under his ministrations, and
the people of God were built up in the knowledge and faith of
the gospel. He magnified his office, was a workman that
needed not to be ashamed and is numbered among God's faith-
ful ambassadors for Christ. The epitaph upon his tomb in the
graveyard of the Silver Spring church shows that "he lived
beloved and died lamented " by that people.
Rev. Joshua Williams, D. D.
Few men in the ministry of the Presbyterian Church, of the
eminent talents, learning, piety and usefulness of Dr. Joshua
Williams, were so little known to the church at large. This
was doubtless owing, in his case, to the quiet and retired life
which he lived, to the absence of everything in him like a
spirit of self-assertion or obtrusiveness, and to the fact that
but one single discourse of his was all that was ever published.
Dr. Williams was of Welsh descent. His grandparents came
from Wales to this country prior to 1764, and settled in
Chester county, Pa., in what was known as the " Welsh
Settlement."
His grandfather's name was Joshua, and his grandmother's
maiden name is believed to have been Davis. Thev were a
Rev. Joshua Williavis, D. D. 75
God-fearing family, one that called daily on the name of the
Lord, and were members of the Presbyterian Church.
They had two sons, Louis and Joshua. Both of them were
soldiers in the armies of the Kevolution. The latter served
during the whole period of the war. In his old age he was
wont to relate his recollections of the stirring scenes of the war
with all the enthusiasm of a young man His admiration of
Washington was unbounded, and he always spoke of him as
"His Excellency."
Louis married Mary Hudson, and afterwards removed from
Chester county and settled at Dillsburg. now York county. Pa.,
where they raised a family of eleven children, eight sons and
three daughters. The father and four sons were ruling elders
in the Presbyterian church. The Kev. Joshua was the third
son. He was born March 8, 1768. His mother was a woman
of strong character, eminent piety and was much revered by
all her children. After his entrance into the ministry and settle-
ment as pastor of Big Spring church, his parents came and
resided on his farm and sat under his ministry until their death.
Joshua prepared for college at Gettysburg, Pa., under the
tuition of the Rev. Mr. Dobbin, who had a good reputation as
a thorough classical teacher. He entered Dickinson College
and pursued his studies under the presidency of Dr. Nisbet,
and graduated in 1795, in the same class with Roger B. Taney,
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, John
Kennedy, Judge of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, and
Dr. David McConaughy, president of Washington College, Pa.
He was regarded as a good scholar in all the branches taught
in that institution. He read theology under the supervision
of the Rev. Dr. Cooper, of Middle Spring, in company with
Dr. Francis Herron, Dr. Henry R. Wilson, Rev. Francis Laird,
D. D., and others.
It is not known at what time he made a profession of religion,
but it was in his youth, and either at Dillsburg or at Silver
Spring, under the pastorate of the Rev. Mr. Waugh.
Mr. Williams was licensed to preach the gospel by the Pres-
bytery of Carlisle in the year 1797, in the thirtieth year of his
age. In the following year he was called to become the pastor
i. 9
sr f
ff^ .»■
74
Presbytery q/ Carlisle — Ceniennial.
On April 14, 1783, he was married to Miss Eliza Hoge, a
member of his church. That same year the people of East
Pennsborough, who, up to that time, had worshiped in a small
log building, erected a new and more commodious stone edifice,
and soon after a session house and pastor's study.
Mr. Waugh was an amiable and prudent man, a diligent and
persevering student of God's word, an interesting and acceptable
preacher and a faithful pastor. He was a man of great energy,
regular and punctual in the performance of his duties. In all
his intercourse with the people, his manner of life was such as
to add force to his ministry, and exhibited ever before them
the example of a consistent and upright life. His life was not
only pure and blameless, but one of great peace and harmony.
For a quarter of a century this faithful servant of God went
in and out among this people, ministering to them the word
and ordiuanc;es of God, greatlj^ to their edification and comfort.
Many were added to the church under his ministrations, and
the people of God were built up in the knowledge and faith of
the gospel. He magnified his office, was a workman that
needed not to be ashamed and is numbered among God's faith-
ful ambassadors for Christ. The epitaph upon his tomb in the
graveyard of the Silver Spring church shows that "he lived
beloved and died lamented " by that people.
Rev. Joshua Williams, D. D.
Few men in the ministry of the Presbyterian Church, of the
eminent talents, learning, piety and usefulness of Dr. Joshua
Williams, were so little known to the church at large. This
was doubtless owing, in his case, to the quiet and retired life
which he lived, to the absence of everything in him like a
spirit of self-assertion or obtrusiveness, and to the fact that
but one single discourse of his was all that was ever published.
Dr. AVilliams was of Welsh descent. His grandparents came
from Wales to this country prior to 1764, and settled in
Chester county. Pa., in what was known as the "Welsh
Settlement."
His grandfather's name was Joshua, and his grandmother's
maiden name is believed to have been Davis. Thev were a
Rev. Joshmi Williams, D. D.
75
God-fearing family, one that called daily on the name of the
Lord, and were members of the Presbyterian Church.
They had two sons, Louis and Joshua. Both of them were
soldiers in the armies of the Revolution. The latter served
during the whole period of the war. In his old age he was
wont to relate his recollections of the stirring scenes of the war
with all the enthusiasm of a young man His admiration of
Washington was unbounded, and he always spoke of him as
•His Excellency."
Louis married Mary Hudson, and afterwards removed fi'om
Chester county and settled at Dillsbui-g. now York county. Pa..
where they raised a familv of eleven children, eight sons and
three daughtei's. The father and four sons were ruling elders
in the Presbyterian church. The Rev. Joshua was the third
son. He was born March 8, 1768. His mother was a woman
of strong character, eminent piety and was much revered by
all her children. After his entrance into the ministry and settle-
ment as pastor of Big Spring church, his parents came and
resided on his farm and sat under his ministry until their death.
Joshua prepared for college at Gettysburg. Pa., under the
tuition of the Rev. ^fr. Dobbin, who had a good reputation as
a thorough classical teacher. He entered Dickinsc)n College
and pursued his studies under the presidency of Dr. Xisbet.
and graduated in 1795. in the same class with Roger B. Taney.
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, John
Kennedy. Judge of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, and
Dr. David McConaughy, president of Washington College, Pa.
He was regarded as a good scholar in all the branches taught
in that institution. He read theology under the supervision
of the Rev. Dr. Cooper, of Middle Spring, in company with
Dr. Francis Herron, Dr. Henry R. Wilson, Rev. Francis Laird.
D. D.. and others.
It is not known at what time he made a profession of religion,
but it was in his youth, and either at Dillsburg or at Silver
Spring, under the pastorate of the Rev. Mr. Waugh.
Mr. Williams was licensed to preach the gospel by the Pres-
bytery of Carlisle in the year 1797, in the thirtieth year of his
age. In the following year he was called to become the pastor
irti
78 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
was one of those, '' who was thoroughly convinced that it was
utterly impracticable for men so discordant in their views and
practices to continue in the same body without increasing the
existing evils."' He had long expressed the hope that some
decisive measure might be taken to effect the separation of the
two parties in the church, and he consequently most heartily
approved the action of the Assembly as affording the pleasing
prospect of the church bemg soon restored again to a state of
purity, peace and order.*
Three weeks after this meeting he was attacked with bil-
ious dysentery. He at once expressed the opinion that this
was to be his final illness. It proved to be only of a few days
continuance. Though he suffered much bodily distress, yet
all fears of death had vanished, this last great enemy seemed
to be wholly disarmed of his terrors, and on the morning of
August 21, 1838, he passed peacefully away, leaving to his
family and his surviving friends the great consolation of know-
ing that till the last hour of life all his hope of salvation was
through the blood of his Divine Kedeemer and in the faith-
fulness of his covenant-keeping God.
Very truly was it said that in the death of Dr. Williams,
the church had lost an able and faithful advocate of the truth;
and with equal propriety it might have been added, that in his
departure the Presbytery of Carlisle had lost its ablest theolo-
gian and metaphysician of that period, if not of its entire
history.
Dr. Williams was by nature possessed of an acute and vig-
orous intellect. His judgment was regarded as sound and dis-
criminating. He had a remarkable taste and aptitude for met-
aphysical reasoning. He was given to processes of abstract
thought and was fond of philosophical discussions, but this
disposition and tendency were never allowed to lead him into
vague and erroneous speculations in regard to the great and
fundamental doctrines of religion.
His mind was richly stored with the results of extensive
reading, close observation and much reflection, all systemat-
ically arranged and at his command. He gave much of his
♦See Presbyterial Biographical Records, page 6.
Rev. Joshua Williams, D. D. 79
time to the careful reading of standard authors and he could
detail with remarkable accuracy the views of such writers
upon any important question under discussion. The writer
has been told that it was a custom with him for a long time
to read Edwards on the Will through once a year. He was
slow in the formation of his opinions, and very decided and
firm in the maintenance of settled convictions of truth and
duty, and of well considered and important principles. He
was, in a remarkable degree, conscientious in the performance of
his public and private religious duties, and had an abiding
sense of the solemn responsibilities of the sacred office of the
christian ministry, and ever felt that his duties were paramount
to all others. As a steward of the mysteries of God Dr. Wil-
liams was well instructed and furnished for every good word
and work. He sincerely adopted the Calvinistic system of
doctrine set forth in the Westminster standards, and held it
fast and maintained it unto the end against all opposition, from
the conscientious conviction that it was that S3^stem of truth
taught in the word of God.
He accepted these standards in their plain and obvious
meaning, and as occasion required, he became the able and
fearless advocate of these doctrines and stood up faithfully in
their defense in tlie face of strong opposition, and gave his
solemn judicial vote against errors in conflict with them, which
had been publicly .avowed and openly advocated within the
bounds of his Presbytery.
The Rev. Dr. John W. Nevin, who was Dr. Williams' inti-
mate personal friend, and of whom the late Dr. Archibald
Alexander Hodge said at his funeral, that he was the greatest
man Pennsylvania had produced, wrote the following esti-
mate of Dr. Williams at the time of his death :
" He was a man of vigorous and comprehensive mind, in
thought original, acute, learned and able in his profession,
enlightened, firm and independent in his views of truth.
" As a preacher, sound, evangelical and instructive, and in
his general walk and character, a consistent christian, whose
life systematically ordered by principle rather than b}' impulse,
adorned the gospel which he proclaimed to others. Though
80 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
formed to take rank with the conspicuous of the age, he shrank
from observation while living and courted no fame beyond
the sphere of his own pastoral charge. Here his memory is
embalmed in many hearts and his voice will long continue to
be heard from the grave where he sleeps. May it find an
echo in every spirit and be 'as the still small voice from heaven,
that leads to righteousness and to God,'"
The Kev. Dr. David Elliott, who studied theology under
bim, considered him as having an intellect of high order and
fitted to rank with the most gifted. He was much resorted to
as a theological instructor. Wlien Dr. DeWitt, toward the
close of his life, visited Carlisle Presbytery, at a meeting at
Silver Spring, in his address then made, he gave a rapid sketch
of the fathers of the Presbytery, when he was a member of it.
When at the close he came to him who was the Nestor of the
Presbytery, he added, " and there was Dr. Joshua Williams,
whom we all feared."
As a preacher of the gospel, Dr. Williams was grave and
solemn in manner and richly scriptural and instructive in mat-
ter. His usual method was first to expound the passage se-
lected, state the doctrine it contained, and then confirm this by
ample scripture quotation and by arguments drawn from reason,
observation and experience. His aim was to make the truth
bear upon the judgments, consciences and hearts of his hearers.
His object was instruction and persuasion, believing that the
truth was in order to righteousness, and that there could be no
correct christian practice until the mind was enlightened and
the heart sanctified through the truth of the divine word.
Many of his sermons were written fully out, but such were
his modesty and reserve, that he never allowed but one to be
published, and this one only at the urgent solicitation of a
small congregation to whom he had preached it. This dis-
course contains an able, clear, logical and practical presenta-
tion of the subject and is constructed according to his accus-
tomed method already stated.
The great doctrines of the cross which he preached, were
not held by him as mere theoretical beliefs, but constituted the
very life of his own soul. While it was seldom, and then only
Rev. Joshua Williams. I J. D. 81
to most intimate friends, that he ever spoke of his own religious
experience, yet such was his uniform manner of life, that it
was manifest to all that he was an epistle written of the Spirit
of God. to be read and known of all men.
The sacred scriptures were his daily study, and from a
diary, kept during the earlier part of his ministry, it appears
that he made it an invariable rule to read a portion of the word
of God morning and evening, at his private devotions as well
as at family worship. In his own private devotions he usually
read in his Greek Testament. He always began and closed
each day with the devout reading of the Scriptures and with
prayer.
As a pastor he was regular and faithful in family visitation
and in the catechetical instruction of all classes of the people.
Socially in manner and conversation, this servant of God was
always courteous and dignified. He was a lover of hospitality,
and he greatly enjoyed the visits of his ministerial brethren.
Dr. Williams was married, June 15, 1800, to Eleanor Camp-
bell. They had six sons and three daughters. The first born,
James Campbell, a young man of great promise, died at the
age of twenty-one, one year after graduating at Union College,
and his death was a great disappointment and grief to his
father. He was the subject of a revival in the college in his
senior year, brought about by the death of a classmate. He
was in the same class with the late Dr. John W". Nevin, and
with the Hon. William H. Seward. All Dr. Williams' children
except one who died in infancy, became full members of the
Presbyterian Church. Two of them became ruling elders, and
they, with their wives, who were sisters and daughters of Mr.
Samuel McKeehan, a venerable ruling elder in the church of
Big Spring, and two of their children, constituted six of the
eight persons who were originally organized as the West-
minster Presbyterian church of Minneapolis. Two of Dr.
Williams' grandsons are now in the eldership and one in the
ministry of the Presbyterian Church. His second son, Mr,
Louis H, Williams, an aged and venerable man, in his eighty-
sixth year, and after having taught a bible class for forty
years, with most careful preparation, is now passing a green
6*
82 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
old age in Minneapolis, waiting, as it were, like Banyan's
Christian in the land of Beulah, almost within the sound of
the music of the heavenly country, for the angel messenger to
bid him pass over.*
As a mark of the taste and aptitude of this son, it is told of
him that while a young man, when plowing on his father's
farm, he carried in his pocket a copy of Milton's Paradise Lost
and Regained, and afterwards a copy of Pollock's Course of
Time, and committed them to memory.
The following is the epitaph upon the tomb of Dr. Williams
in the graveyard of the Big Spring church :
" In memory of Rev. Joshua Williams, D. D., Pastor of the
Presbyterian Church of Big Spring from A. D. 1801 to A. D.
1829. An able theologian, an evangelical preacher, a faithful
pastor and a consistent christian. He died August 21. 1838.
in the seventy-first year of his age."'
Entombed with his father are the remains of James Camp-
bell Williams. "A youth of extraordinary attainments and of
great promise. He died A. D. 1822, aged twenty-oue years."
Also, Eleanor Williams, wife of Rev. Joshua Williams, D. D.,
who died April 28, 1856. aged seventy-six years.
Rev. William Paxton, D. D.
^Vmong the more notable ministers in the early history of the
Presbytery of Carlisle, was the Rev. William Paxton, D. D.
He was the successor of the talented and accomplished Rev.
John McKnight in his first pastoral charge, Lower Marsh
Creek, Adams county, Pa. Of this church, and that of Tom's
Creek for a part of the time, Dr. Paxton was the faithful and
acceptable pastor for forty-nine years.
Mr. Paxton was born in Lancaster county, Pa., April 1,
1760. His father was a respectable farmer, a man of excel-
lent character and sound practical judgment.
William, while quite young, fired by the patriotic zeal of
that period, enlisted as a soldier in the Revolutionary war,
and served in two different campaigns, in one of which he was
present at and participated in the battle of Trenton. At the
* He has since died, in the eighty-seventh year of his age.
Rev. WilUaiit Paxlou. D. JJ. 83
close of the war, wlien he was about twenty-four years of age,
having made a public profession of faith in Christ, and de-
voted himself to his service, he entered upon a regular course
of classical and scientific study at the Academy of Strasburg,
Lancaster county, under the instruction of the Rev. Nathaniel
W. Sample, who for forty years was pastor of the churches of
Lancaster, Leacock and Little Britain. Mr. P. did not have
the advantages of a regular collegiate course, yet such was his
love of knowledge, vigor and activity of mind, and diligence
and perseverance in study, that both when he was received
under the care of Presbytery of New Castle, and when
examined for licensure his examination and all his parts of
trial were eminently satisfactory. He pursued his theological
studies under Mr. Sample. He was licensed to preach the
gospel, by the Presbytery of New Castle, April 8. 1790. He
supplied the churches of West Nottingham and Little Britain,
during the fall and winter of 1790-91, and received an earnest
call from them to become their pastor, which he felt con-
strained to decline.
The churches of Tom's Creek and Lower Marsh Creek, in
the Presbytery of Carlisle, had become vacant by the removal
of Rev. John McKnight, to the collegiate Presbyterian churches
in tlie city of New York. In October these churches re-
quested that he be appointed to supply them, and leave was
granted by the Presbytery of New Castle for him to do so for
live successive Sabbaths. On December 21, 1791, these
churches presented calls to the Presbytery of New Castle, for
the ministerial services of Mr. Paxton, and on April 4, 1792,
he signified his acceptance of them, and was accordingly dis-
missed from the Presbytery of New Castle, and placed himself
under the care of the Presbytery of Carlisle, and, on October 3,
1792, he was ordained to the full work of the gospel ministi-y,
and installed pastor of said churches. In a short time, the exact
date is not known, the congregation of Lower Marsh Creek,
finding itself able to support Mr. Paxton. desired all his time
and ministerial services, and requested his release from Tom's
Creek, which was very reluctantly submitted to by that people.
Mr. Paxton was married to Miss Jane, daughter of Col.
84 Presbytery oj Carlisle — Centennial.
James Dunlop, who resided near Shippensburg, Pa., January
20, 1794. Miss Dunlop was a young woman of respectable
family connections, of more than usual education and intel-
ligence, of earnest and devoted piety, and in all respects well
qualified to become the wife of a pastor, and proved a valuable
acquisition to the community in which she went to reside,
conciliating and commanding the respect of all with whom she
became associated. Having been well trained in all the domestic
duties of the household, she became a most efficient aid to her
husband in the way of making his small salary adequate for
the support and comfort of their family and the various de-
mands made upon the hospitality of their home.
They had four children who lived to manhood and woman-
hood, two sons and two daughters. The daughters were early
and happily married, but died before reaching middle life. The
younger son became an eminent physician, and was distin-
guished for his piety, as well as for his skill in his profession.
The elder sou. Col. James D. Paxton, father of Rev. William
M. Paxton, D. D., Professor in Princeton Theological Seminary,
and grandfather of Rev. A. R. Stevenson, and of Rev. James
D. Paxton, now of Schenectady, New York, survived his
father. He was a highly respected citizen of Adams county.
Pa., and was for a time associated with the Hon. Thaddeus
Stevens in the iron business.
Mr. Paxton received the honorary title of D. D., from Dick-
inson College, in the year 1826. This title was conferred upon
him, not as a matter of favor at the solicitation of friends, but
as a due recognition of his theological attainments and high
standing and usefulness as a preacher. In person Dr. Paxton
was large, six feet in height, and of full proportion, without
being corpulent. He was of the style of such men as Dr.
Francis Herron, Dr. James Carnahan, Dr. Moodey and others of
that day. His features were regular and well developed. His
expression was open, frank, calm, dignified and benevolent.
His disposition was exceedingly amiable and affectionate. His
intellect was strong, active and well-balanced. Dr. David Mc-
Conaughy who knew him well, said of him " that warmth of
affection, a delicate sensibility and a chaste imagination, to-
Rev. William Paxton, D. D. 86
gether with an uncommon power of discrimination and talent
for profound research, gave a charm and weight of authority
and majesty to his discourses." None were less disposed than
he to rest conteiit with a vague and superficial knowledge of
things. Like his co-presbyter, Dr. Joshua Williams, he was
much given to metaphysical thought and discussion. In the
person of Rev. John Black, pastor of a neighboring congre-
gation, he found a man of kindred spirit in this respect, with
whom he had many and prolonged discussions.
Dr. Paxton was accustomed to devote much time to the
critical and exegetical study of the sacred scriptjires. As a
preacher his sermons were distinguished for appropriate and
well digested thought, for clear logical arrangement and thor-
ough discussion of his subject. His habits were intensely do-
mestic and studious. In his preparations for the pulpit he
was conscientiously methodical and perseveringly careful and
regular. His good judgment and intelligent and consisten t piety,
his sense of obligation to the people and of the awful solemnity
and responsibility of his calling did not allow him to slight or
neglect the work of his ministry. He gave his whole time,
heart and strength to the performance of his duties. His
method of preparation for the pulpit, was a careful and prayer-
ful selection of his subject, a thorough examination of the
passage from which his text was chosen, an accurate statement
of the doctrine involved, and a full outline of the discourse.
His m-umer of preaching was without notes or manuscript,
and yet with great accuracy and fullness of statement. His
manner of address was solemn, deliberate, dignified, graceful
and most impressive. Like his Divine Master, "he spoke as
one having authority," and yet with great affection and ten-
derness. The result was that he was held in the highest es-
teem and veneration by a highl3'-intel]igent and respectable
congregation for over half a century. The Hon. Thaddeus
Stevens, who knew him well and heard him often, was ac-
customed to speak of him as one of the best prachers of his
day. While he was conscientious and faithful as a pastor and
wise and uncompromising in the administration of discipline,
yet owing to his love of retirement and study and his peculiar
86 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
affection for and devotion to his family, and a chronic bilious
disorder to which he was subject, which required generally a
strict regard to diet, and great regularity as to all his habits,
he was a great keeper at home, and was less among his people
than he would otherwise desire to have been, and on this ac-
count was rarely in attendance at the higher courts of the
church. At the same time he was eminently social in his dis-
position and greatly enjoyed the society of his ministerial
brethren, and his home was noted for a quiet and generous
hospitality.
Dr. Paxton, like many of the older ministers of the Presby-
tery of Carlisle, was an eminently modest man. He shrank
from notoriety, and was not disposed even to seek such dis-
tinctions as were within his reach, and to which his friends re-
garded him as fully entitled. He preferred to devote his life
to the duties of his ministry and of his family, in a compar-
atively retired field of labor, in which there were few occa-
sions calculated to call forth all his energies and talents in such
a way as to excite popular admiration : and yet there was in
the entire character and tenor of his life much that was pre-
eminently praiseworthy and deserving of grateful remembrance
by a christian people.
It has been thought that it was on this account also that he was
unwilling to publish any of his sermons, or other public addresses,
and that he prepared nothing for the press. That he was ca[)-
able of successful authorship, no one who was acquainted with
his well-stored mind, and his clear and forcible style of thought
and expression could for a moment doubt. His studies and
labors were spent in meeting the wants of an appreciative and
grateful people. His mode of preparation was simply that of
an outline of his subject, and as he seldom, if ever, wrote any
of his discourses out in full, it was on this account that he left
nothing ready for the press. Few ministers of liis day, how-
ever, have left a name which is more highly cherished within
the circle of his acquaintance. His memory and his services
were deeply embalmed in the hearts of his people, and no less
so m those of his fellow-laborers in the ministry, who had en-
joyed his society, shared his friendship, and heard his instruc-
Rev. David McCmiaughy, D. D., LL. D. 87
tive and impressive preaching. His visits and services in
reighbonng congregations were always highly prized and gave
great satisfaction.
After a long and successful pastorate of nearly half a cen-
tury, by reason of the increasing infirmities of advanced years,
he asked for a dissolution of his pastoral relation. This re-
quest his Presbytery most reluctantly granted, and on October
19, 1841. that pastoral relation which had so long and so
happily continued was dissolved.
His remaining years were clouded by severe affliction. He
suffered much from a rheumatic affection. His eyesight also
greatly failed, so as to deprive him of one of his greatest enjoy-
ments, that of a habitual reader. He, however, had others
read much to him from his favorite authors and from the Holy
Scriptures. It was his practice, even long after he was unable
to leave his arm chair, to attend regularly, morning and even-
ing, to the duty of family worship to the very end.
The summons to depart this life came to him in the stillness
of the night He retired to rest feeling somewhat weaker than
usual. He fell asleep, but about midnight his attendant was
awakened by some slight noise or movement, and on going to
his bed found him unable to speak. The family were sum-
moned, but he was speechless. In this condition he lingered
for two days, without apparent pain or suffering, and then his
spirit passed away to the presence of that God and Saviour
whom he had so long loved and served. He died April 16,
1845, in the eighty-sixth year of his age.
His friend,'Rev. David McConaughy, D. D., had called to
see him a short time before his death. He said, '" his manly
form was sadly changed, his memory, especially, had greatly
failed, but still his noble form was majestic, even in its ruins.
The sky, though clouded, yet by occasional openings revealed
the attributes of a superior mind and the workings of a vigorous
and elevated faith."
Rev. David McOonaughy, D. D., LL. D.
The Rev. Dr. David Elliott said, if there was a man within
the entire circle of his acquaintance, who was entitled to the
Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
character of " a good man," it was David McConaughy. lie
describes him as an eminently honest and sincere man, and as
possessed of a completeness of character beyond that of most
men. He certainly took rank, in all respects, among the most
prominent men of Carlisle Presbytery.
He was bom in Menallen township, York county, now Adams
county, within the bounds of the Lower Marsh Creek congre-
gation, September 26, 1775. His grandfather, David McCon-
aughy, had come into that region among its earliest settlers^
and had held previously the office of sheriff in Lancaster
county, under the royal government. His son, Kobert, the
father of David, was actively engaged in the Revolutionarj' war.
David prepared for college in the classical school of the Rev.
Alexander Dobbin, an aceomplished teacher in Gettysburg, a
minister in the Associate Reformed Church. He entered
Dickinson College, and graduated with Rev. Dr. Joshua Wil-
liams, Chief Justice Taney and others, in September, 1795.
To him was assigned the Latin salutatory, which was at that
time considered a mark of the highest scholarship in the class
Soon after graduation he commenced the study of theology
under the direction of the Rev. Nathan Grier, of Brandy wine,
who had a good reputation as a preacher and well-read theo-
logian. At the end of two years he was examined and licensed
to preach the gospel by the Presbytery of New Castle, October
5, 1797. He spent some time in itinerating work among the
vacant churches in Philadelphia and New York. In Septem-
ber, 1799, he received and accepted a call from the united
churches of Upper Marsh Creek, now Gettysburg, and Great
Conewago, within the bounds of the Presbytery of Carlisle, and
was ordained and installed pastor of the same October 8, 1800
The congregation of Upper Marsh Creek, Adams county,
was organized in 1740, with Gettysburg, the county seat, three
miles distant. In 1813 it concluded to transfer their place of
worship to that town. It was not until 1816 that their new
edifice was completed and ready for occupation.
Of these two churches Mr. McConaughy continued the effi-
cient and successful pastor for thirty-two years. He was not
only faithful as a preacher of the gospel and in the duties of a
Rev. David McConaughy. D. D., LL. D. 89
pastor to the jjeople, but active and efficient in relation txi all
the interests of the community. His ministry was eminently
successful. The attendance increased steadily under his
preaching, and many were added to the church from year to
year. The moral and spiritual condition of the coramunit}'-
was much improved during the time of his pastorate. His
preaching was solid, scriptural and edifying. He aimed to be
faithful to the divine injunction, " preacli the word," and also
to the souls of the people.
Mr. McConaughy took an early and active part in the cause
of temperance. He appointed meetings to be held in the court
house, at which he spoke himself and read from the writings
of various prominent men in that movement, for the purpose
of forming a public sentiment and preparing the way for the
organization of a temperance society in the county.
In the advocacy of the cause, he preached a sermon on the
evils of intemperance, which was distinguished for its faithful
and eloquent delineations of the consequences of the traffic and
use of intoxicating drinks. His discourse was published and
had an extensive circulation throughout that region at that
time.
In addition to his ministerial work, Mr. McConaughy, in
the year 1807, undertook the work of conducting a classical
school, with a view of preparing young men for college. As
a teacher, as well as a preacher, he rendered most important
and acceptable service to the community. His students took
a high grade, both for the extent and accuracy of their prepara-
tion, at the colleges where they entered. After five years of
ardent work in the two-fold capacity of preacher and teacher^
he felt constrained to relinquish the work of teaching to others.
The reputation, liowever, which he thus acquired doubtless
was the means of directing attention to him among those en-
gaged in the work of education, and to his qualifications for a
higher position in that line. Accordingly, when the presidency
of Washington College, Pa., became vacant, by reason of the
resignation of the Rev. Dr. Wylie, the attention of the trustees
of that institution was turned to him. and on the 12th of March.
1830. he was elected to that position. This appointment he
90 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
was prevented from accepting at once on account of an unex-
pected death of a near relative, which, in his own judgment and
that of his immediate friends, rendered it inexpedient for him
to change his residence at that time. Near the close of the
following year, however, that position being still vacant, its
duties having been consigned to others temporarily, he was
re-elected by the board, and the circumstances which had before
prevented his removal having now so far changed as to admit
of it, he accepted the position and removed to Washington,
and was inaugurated as president of the college May 9. 1832.
In this position he continued discharging all its duties with
increasing acceptance and usefulness unto the end, for over
seventeen years, during which time nearly four hundred young
men graduated from the institution. The first class under his
presidency consisted of four, the last numbered thirty-six, which
shows that the college during the time of his administration
enjoyed an increasing prosperity.
Mr. McConaughy received the honorary degree of D. D. from
Jefferson College in 1833.
Dr. McConaughy, on account of his advanced 3'ears, tendered
his resignation October 1, 1849, and the board in accepting it
conferred on him the honorary title of LL. D. The year after
his release from the presidency of the college he published a
volume of discourses, chiefly of a biographical character, which
were highly creditable to him as an author, and at that time
were regarded as a valuable contribution to the religious litera-
ture of the country.
On Sabbath, January 11, 1852, he preached in the church
at Washington, from Proverbs 1 : 22. It was a sermon of
special interest, and his manner was unusually animated and
impressive. It proved to be his last discourse. During the
week following he contracted a severe cold. This was fol-
lowed by speedy and rapid prostration, and on the 29th of
January, 1852, he died at his residence in Washington, in the
seventy-seventh year of his age, and the fifty-fifth of his min.
istry. Thus ended the highly honorable, equable and useful
life of the Rev. David McConaughy. He lived an eminently
pure and holy life, and died without a compromise or stain upon
his character.
Rev. David McConaughy, D. 7>., LL. D. 91
Dr. McConaugliy was married to Mary, daughter of David
Mahon, Esq., of Shippensburg, Pa., with whom he lived most
happily for fifty years. She survived her husband. They
had uo children.
In addition to the volume of discourses, a number of bacca-
laureate sermons and tracts of his were published. Among
these, two by the board of publication, one on Infant Salva-
tion, and one on the Trinity. Dr. McConaughy's religious
character was not only decided, but strongly marked by
consistency and fullness. His piety was eminently intelli-
gent and scriptural. As in the case of all truly good men,
his religious experience was simply the accordance of his
views and feelings with the word of Grod. He not only
preached the doctrines and the duties of the gospel, but these
doctrines he believed and they constituted the life of his
own soul, and to the duties he ever desired to conform. He
had not only an intelligent discernment of the truth concern-
ing God in Christ, but he confided in Him with all the affec-
tionate conlidence of a child. His piety was eminently spiritual,
cheerful and reverential, resting upon the promises of the
Divine word, confiding in the merits and intercessions of his
Divine Lord, and leading him to long and pray most ardently
after entire conformity to the Divine will. As to the presidency.
of the college. Dr. David Elliott, who was president of the
board of trustees during the entire period of his administration,
has borne this high testimony. " Here he exhibited the same
elevated traits of character, and made good his title to the same
public approval, which he had done as a pastor. His com-
manding talents, his extensive and accurate scholarship, his
unswerving integrity, his purity of motive, his paternal care
and affectionate regard for his pupils, the uniform dignity of
his deportment and the captivating benevolence of his disposi-
tion— in a word, the concentrated force of the many rare
qualities which constituted his character, gave him a power
and a control over th^ public mind, and over the hearts of the
men, against which any few incidental defects in the manage-
ment of the college, which might be imputed to him, presented
but slight resistance. The prosperity of the college during hia
92 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
administration is sufficient proof of the ability and fidelity with
which he presided over it."
In personal appearance, he was a man of medium height,
stoutly built, of square features, an intellectual face and open
and bland countenance. In these respects he very much re-
sembled the late Dr. William R DeWitt, of Harrisburg, I'a.
The writer saw and heard him preach and officiate at a com-
munion season, in Providence hall, at Cannonsburg, Pa., in
1842, and has a very distinct recollection of his appearance
and manner as a preacher. His sermon was able, logical and
forcible in thought and delivery, and comparatively short.
Rev. Amos A. McGinley, D. D.
Dr. McGinley was another eminent minister in the Presby-
tery of Carlisle. Talented and cultured, active and influen-
tial, wise, patient and persevering in duty, a holy man and
thoroughly consecrated to the work of the ministry, with tal-
ents and learning capable of adorning almost any position in
the church, and yet he was but little known outside of the
immediate field of his labors, and within the bounds of the
Presbytery of which he was a distinguished and most useful
member. He was a child of the covenant and the subject of
a most careful and prayerful home training. He was born in
the vicinity of Fairfield, Adams county. Pa., March 17, A.
D. 1778. He was the youngest son of Mr. John and Mrs.
Jane McGinley. Mrs. McGinley's maiden name was Jane
Alexander. His grandfather emigrated from Ireland and was
among the earliest settlers of that portion of Adams county,
then York county, where the subject of this biographical
sketch was bom and raised. He was one of four persons who
purchased from Carrol, the beautiful and fertile tract of land,
known as " Carrol's tract,'" on a part of which Judge McGinley,
of the same family still resides. Both the grandparents and
the parents of Mr. McGinley are represented as having been
intelligent, respectable, pious and useful people, and members
of the Presbyterian church. Mr. McGinley is reported as
having been heard to say from the pulpit, "had it not been
for the prayers and the influence of a pious mother, he who now
J,j/. y^^^H^L
/S/'H
Rev. Amos A. McGinley, D. D. 98
addresses jou, would not in all human probability be occupy-
ing this sacred place." Being thus descended from a pious
parentage his covenant relation was recognized and he was
early consecrated to God in baptism. He was not only the
subject of many prayei-s, but had set before him from infancy
a godly example, was brought up under the private and public
means of grace, was the subject of many wise and affectionate
counsels, and of a loving and firm parental government. His
parents being faithful to their covenant engagements, God was
faithful to fulfil to them His most gracious covenant promise :
" As for me this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord, my
spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy
mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth
of thy seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and forever." As
was to have been expected of one thus born within the cove-
nant and trained in covenant faithfulness, he openly assumed
early in life the vows which had been taken in his behalf. His
conversion doubtless took place under the ministry of Dr.
Paxton, who became his pastor when he was sixteen years of
age, and resided in the immediate vicinity of where he was
bom. We have no account of his religious experience at the
time he made a public profession of religion, further than that
in speaking of the exercises of his mind during the first com-
munion service upon which he attended he has been heard to
say, " I shall never forget it, it was like heaven begun on earth."
His experience was such at this time as to decide his future
course of life. Having dedicated himself fully to God, and
recognizing the truth that he was no longer his own, but had
been redeemed by the most precious blood of the Son of God,
he felt bound to serve and glorify God with body and spirit
which were his. And as he was led to feel that the way in
which he could do most for the glory of God, and the ad-
vancement of the kingdom of Christ, was in the work of the
christian ministry, he felt himself called of God to prepare him-
self to enter the sacred office. His father had died when he
was sixteen years of age. With the approval and benediction
of his pious mother, he entered upon a regular course of clas-
sical study under the instruction of the Rev. Mr. Dobbin, be-
;94 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
fore spoken of as a thorough classical teacher, in Gettysburg.
Pa. Here he prepared for college, stopping at intervals and
engaging in teaching in order to procure means to aid in the
further prosecution of his studies. He entered Dickinson Col-
lege, then under the presidency of Dr. Nisbet, from whence he
graduated with distinction in 1798. It is related of him that
his appearance on commencement day was extremelj^ youthful,
but that he acquitted himself so handsomely in the speech
that he delivered, that he excited the admiration of the whole
assembly and was greeted at its close with unbounded ap-
plause. Having completed his college course he returned
home and pursued his theological studies under the superin-
tendence of his pastor, the Rev. William Paxton, D. D. He
was licensed as a probationer of the gospel ministry by the
Presbytery of Carlisle, in A. D. 1801, and having preached
acceptably to the churches of Upper and Lower Path Valley
he was called to become their pastor and was ordained and in-
stalled pastor of these churches in the spring of 1803. Be-
sides preaching to these two congregations, he also preached
a part of his time to the people in Amberson Valley and in the
vicinity of the "Burnt Cabins "
He is represented as having entered upon this field of min-
isterial labor " with all the energy, freshness and buoyancy of
early manhood, and to have made here full proof of his min-
istry." As a preacher he is described as having been "in-
structive and persuasive." His manner and stvle of preach-
ing are said " to have been characterized by naturalness and
simplicity," adapted to please and attract, to instruct and edify
all classes of hearers. He is said to have been in style and
manner in the exhibition of divine truth, remarkably similar
to the venerable Dr. Archibald Alexander. As a pastor Mr.
McGinley was indefatigable in his duties, visiting and preach-
ing the gospel from house to house.
As a man he possessed in a remarkable degree the power of
personal attractiveness. He was exceedingly courteous and
bland in his intercourses with his people, making all classes to
feel at ease in his company, and winnmg the confidence and
esteem of all with whom he associated. They came to him
Rev. Amos A. McGinleij, D. 1). 95
for counsel in things temporal and things spiritual, and this
confidence he was most careful to improve to their spiritual as
well as temporal good.
The labors of such a minister, so faithful both as a preacher
and pastor, could not fail to be crowned with success. The
great promise, "Lo, I am with you always," was most gra-
ciously fulfilled to him in his ministry. The divine presence
seemed continually to be with him, so that while he was emi-
nently successful in teaching and edifying believers, he was no
less so in winning souls to Christ. As an evidence of his con-
tinued usefulness he was enabled to write to the author of the
Churches of the Valley as follows : " During the time inter-
vening between 1802 and 1831, there was a regular increase
in members. In 1831 there was an addition to the commun-
ion oi the church of one hundred and twenty-seven members,
and in the year following sixty members were added. Those
who at one time were in communion with us are numerously
scattered over the western country from Pittsburgh to New Or-
leans. Two western churches which are now comparatively
flourishing, would never have been organized, had it not been
for the number and influence of our people who emigrated
thither. Bj^ removals to the west, we have lost in one year
thirty-five communicating members, and five were removed by
death the same year. Notwithstanding our severe losses we
still have as man}' members as at any previous time." Mr.
McGinley"s experience in this respect is one with which all our
pastors in the rural districts of Pennsylvania are familiar.
There has been a constant drain from these congregations to
the fertile lands of the west, and to the larger cities and towns
of the east In the year 1802 Mr. McGinley was married to
Miss Annie Blythe. To them were born six children, three
of these died early, and the remaining three and Mrs. McGin-
ley survived him. In the year 1849 Washington College, Pa.,
conferred on him the honorary degree of D. D.
Dr. McGinley, during his time, was among the most active,
useful and influential members of his Presbytery. He was
wise and judicious in counsel, a firm defender of the faith as
set forth in our standards, and took a decided stand in the
96 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
controversy which resulted in the division of the church. At
the same time he was most courteous and conciliatory towards
all with whom he differed in opinion, and conciliated their
respect and esteem. Few men in the minisiry maintained a
higher ministerial standard as to character and usefulness, or
exhibited uniformly a more consistent christian spirit and life
than Dr. McGinley. For nearly fifty years he was permitted
to preach the gospel to the same people, having declined over-
tures from Philadelphia and other places for his ministerial
services. He spent his declining years among the people whom
he had so long served, and by whom he was universally
revered. In the spring of 1851, on account of his advanced
years and the infirmities of age, and his inability longer to
perform the duties of his office, he requested Presbytery to
dissolve the pastoral relation which he had so long sustained.
He continued as a stated supply until the following October.
He remained among the people to whom he had so long and
faithfully ministered until the year 1856, when, as the result
of a gradual decay of all his vital powers, and after only a few
weeks' illness, as the result of a cold contracted in February of
that year, on the evening of May 1, 1856, he passed peacefully
away, aged seventy-five years. During his last days he ex-
pressed himself as wholly resigned to the will of God. His
trust was entirely in the merits of Christ as his redeemer. He
was enabled to say he knew in whom he believed, and felt in
his mind a holy peace. His last intelligible words were ad-
dressed to his beloved wife, requesting her not to weep for
him, and for his family to meet him in heaven. His farewell
message to his people was that they should cling to Christ as
the only hope of a lost world. The remains of this man of
God and servant of Christ lie in the burying ground of the
Presbyterian church near Fannettsburg, Franklin county. Pa.
Rev. Henry Rowan "Wilson, D. D.
This earnest, laborious and faithful minister of the gospel,
and father of the late Henry R. Wilson, D. D., was the son of
David and Jane Rowan Wilson, and was born near Gettysburg,
in Adams county, Pa., August 7, 1780. His father was an
y^ ^ '^cZ^
Rev. Henry Rowan Wilson, D. D. 97
officer in the American army during the Revolutionary war,
and died in 1846, at the advanced age of ninety-eight. Henry
R. with many others, was- prepared for college in the classical
scliool of the Rev. Alexander Dobbin, at Gettysburg. Me
graduated with distinction from Dickinson College in 1798, at
the age of eighteen. He' studied theology under Dr. Nisbet,
partly during his college course and after his graduation, and
was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Carlisle in 1801.
Mr. Wilson was married in 1799, before entering the ministry,
to Elizabeth, daughter of David Brown, of Carlisle, Pa.
After preaching a short time in Virginia as a stated supply,
Mr. Wilson went to Bellefonte, Pa., prior to any Presbyterian
church organization in that place. He commenced preaching
in the court house, and was instrumental in gathering a con-
gregation there and another at Lick Run, twelve miles distant.
Over these two congregations he was ordained and installed
pastor by the Presbytery of Huntingdon in 1802. As there
was no house of worship in the place, nor any other building
of sufficient size to accommodate the people, these services were
held in a grove.
In addition to the charge of these two congregations, Mr.
Wilson was invited to take charge of an academy recently
established in Bellefonte, which invitation he accepted. Here
he continued in the active and laborious work of teaching and
preaching until 1809, when he was chosen professor of languages
in Dickinson College.
This position he accepted and occupied six years, and during
part of the time was assistant preacher to Rev. Dr. Davidson,
in the First Presbyterian church.
In 1815 he accepted a call to the church of Silver Spring,
and was installed there that year. This cliurch, which had been
in a declining condition, was much revived and strengthened
under his ministry, the membership having been doubled
during the eight years in which he was pastor of it.
In 1823 Mr. Wilson was called to take charge of the Asso-
ciate Reformed Presbyterian church, in Shippensburg, Pa.
This call he was not inclined to accept, but did so by the
advice of his Presbytery and bv the permission of the Presby-
7*
98 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
tery with which the church was connected. Mr. Wilson con-
tinued to be pastor of this church, in connection with the
Associate Reformed body, until 1825, when the Presbytery
with which this church was connected was dissolved, and Mr.
W. was then again received by the Presbytery of Carlisle,
Here he was most untiring in his labors, preaching three and
often four times on the Sabbath day, riding four and five miles
into the country, through heat and cold, to fill his afternoon
appointments. He was always noted for great regularity and
punctuality in filling all engagements. During his pastorate
in Shippensburg, the church enjoyed some precious seasons of
revival, and many were added to the church under his inde-
fatigable labors.
In 1838 Mr. Wilson was chosen the first general agent of
the Board of Publicaton at Philadelphia, which position he
accepted and occupied until 1842, laboriously and faithfully
performing its duties, when he received a call from the church
of Neshaminy, Hartsville, Bucks county, Pa. Here he was
installed, and continued with his accustomed fidelity to dis-
charge the duties of a pastor until October, 1848, when, on
account of extreme disability, at his own request, the pastoral
relation was dissolved.
For some time previous to the dissolution of his pastoral
relation, he had become so disabled that he had to be carried
to the church and placed in a chair, from which position he
preached and conducted the services with his usual vigor and
clearness of mind, and his accustomed earnestness of manner.
From Hartsville Mr. Wilson was carried to his son's home
in Philadelphia, where he continued to decline in health until
March 22, 1849, where, on the morning of that day, after great
bodily distress for two days, the silver cord was loosed, and
his spirit passed into the presence of that God and Saviour
whom he had so long sought to love and serve. His remains
were interred at Hartsville, the scene of his latest ministerial
labors.
Mr. Wilson received the honorary title of D. D. from Lafayette
College in 1845.
Dr. Wilson, in person, was a man of prepossessing appear-
Rev. Henry Roican Wilson. J). J).
ance, tall and well proportioned, of vigorous frame and general
good health. He had an aquiline nose, heavy eyebrows and
an intellectual face. He was very erect upon his feet, dignified
and gentlemanly in his bearing, easy and quiet in his move-
ments, honest and open-hearted in disposition, and one that
had an utter abhorrence of everything like cunning, pretension
or dupljcity.
Dr. Wilson was endowed with a strong mind, which had
been well trained and stored with useful knowledge. He was
a man of decided convictions, and fearless in the expression of
them. With all he was thoroughly sincere and upright. He
was eminently a spiritually-minded man, and devotional in his
private life, and an earnest and faithful preacher of the gospel,
one that was manifestly intent in the promotion of his Master's
cause and in bringing souls to Christ He was a good conver-
sationalist, and very affable and entertaining in his own home.
As a preacher. Dr. Wilson was serious, earnest, evangelical
and instructive. His voice is spoken of as soft, yet full, "the
good voice of a large man." He spoke with ease to himself
and with pleasure to his hearers. Dr. Andrews, of Doyles-
town. Pa., after having exchanged with him on a previous
Sabbath, met a lawyer of his congregation during the week,
who said to him, " Good proxy you gave us, neither apology
nor parade, a sensible discourse in a serious and acceptable
manner, stopped when he was done, would like to hear him
again."
Dr. Wilson was stated clerk of the Synod of Philadelphia
from 1826 to the time of his death. His careful accuracy in
all that he did is shown in the minutes which he wrote. His
successor in office said of them, "the entries were all made in
his own handwriting, presenting a uniformity and beauty of
page seldom seen in manuscript, and of the entire book we
might adopt as almost literally true," the language of the Gen-
eral Assembly's committee to examine the records of the pre-
ceding year, "without omission, erasure, interlineation or one
defect in spelling."
In the public assemblies of the church Dr. Wilson seldom
spoke, but when he did speak, it was usually with earnestness
100 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
and directly to the point. As a manifestation of the earnest-
ness and solemnity of his religious convictions and feelings, it
is related by Dr. Robert Steel, of Abington, Pa., "that having
evinced his devotion to Christ in giving up his only son to the
work of foreign missions, and that too among the very first
sent out by our church, when, after many years of active duty
in the field, that son, on account of the ill-health of his be-
loved wife, was compelled to return home, and I carried the
news to his aged parents, while tears of joy flowed freely at
the prospect of meeting him after so long a separation, the joy
was not unmingled with grief, for said he with emphasis, ' I
am truly sorry, I devoted him to the Lord in this work, and
I never desired to see his face again on earth.' This he said
from fidelity to the missionary cause.''
Rev. Francis Herron, D D.
The Rev. Francis Herron, a most conspicuous minister in
the church at large, ^as born, educated, licensed, ordained and
installed as pastor, within the bounds and by the Presbytery
of Carlisle.
Francis was the son of David Herron, a worthy ruling elder
in the ciiurch of Middle Spring. The family resided on what
was known as " Herron's Branch," some three miles northwest
of the church. Here Francis was born June 28, 1774. His
parents were of the Scotch-Irish race, and like all that people,
were noted for their devotion to the Presbyterian faith and
worship, and ardent friends of civil and religious liberty.
Francis was early consecrated to God, trained up in a christian
household, taught the Westminster catechism, and sat under
the ministry of the Rev. Dr. Cooper.
The following story is narrated by the Rev. S. S. Wylie, in
the history jof the Middle Spring church concerning David
Herron, the father of Francis, as throwing light upon the prac-
tices which prevailed under the ministry of Dr. Cooper: " He
had the custom of calling the roll of the members every Sab-
bath morning and noting the absentees whom he visited the
following week. He also required the members to sing one
of the Psalms in course on each Sabbath morning. So on a
Prenhytei I
J iie earnes
ro!,vi>Mit-i.s aiKt feelings,
Vbington, Pa., "that haviu
linst n. giving up Ins only son to U
•. and that too among the very fir
when, after many years of acti v
. account of the ill-horlth of
■ d to return home, -d
is, while t«ars of joy
t f prospect of meeting him after so long a sej.Hr»itk>n, the jt^
Mis not unmingled with grief, for said he " • .>'".i -io
•:n truly sorry, I devoted him to the Lord '
L pfr-cr d'^s'Torl t^ • • ■ '• ■ - nin on eart'
-ancle He;
The iu-v.
' oh!i»'oh
Francis was the son of David 1)
\v. the church of Middle Spring, x . .
v« ris known as " Herron's Branch," som
•1 the church. Here Francis was born .. u
y iirents were of the Scotch-Irish race, and lil
■od for their devotion to the Presbyrerian i.titu ai:
and ardent friends of civil and religious liberty
i- .' ... !-' was early <■- ^ to Go<i. trained up in achristi?i
hor.i-obcld, taught jnst-er cateohiern, and "wt und* '
il •' tniiistrv of the liev. Dr. Cooper.
"'■- 'V ' ''ing story is nnrrat'/d Ir-v *:h
i ■ the Mid-' mg iMvu:
"her of Ff: ' • .-■ il/" nnic
r ':mv fevuiled under t!
■ '^'' calling th<
ioting the
■ le also requjiv- • :-,ii!g or,.
■Lii-se on each S So on
102 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
suburb of Pittsburgh. Here Mr. Hen-on was prevailed upon to
spend the Sabbath and preach to as many people as could l')e
convened, which he did standing under the shade of an apple
tree. His two friends passed on to Pittsburgh and Mr. Mahan
preached for the people of the First church.
Mr. Herron continued his journey from Pittsburgh west-
ward as far as Chillicothe, Ohio. A large portion of the way
at that early day was most difficult and hazardous. His only
companion and guide was one of the early frontier settlers,
who had only once previously passed over the same route.
Much of the way la\' through unbroken forests, the course to
be pursued indicated at times only by a narrow foot-way, or
by the blazes upon the trees. For days X\\ey found no human
habition or shelter, two nights they encamped with the In-
dians near what is now the town of Marietta, Ohio.
On his return from Ohio, Mr. Herron again visited Pitts-
burgh, then a village of less than two thousand inhabitants,
without pavements, stage coaches, or other public improve-
ments, and with but one church building, a rude log structure,
which stood upon the lot where the First church now stands.
In the keeper of the tavern where he lodged Mr. Herron found
an acquaintance whom he had known east of the mountains,
at whose earnest solicitation he consented to preach to a con-
gregation of less than twenty people.
This was Mr. Herron's first introduction to the people of
Pittsburgh, with whom his after-life became so fully identified.
As the time of this journey was the period of the great re-
vival which prevailed at the beginning of this century quite
extensively among the early Presbyterian churches in western
Pennsylvania, Mr Herron was led to visit a number of these
churches, in which a deep religious interest existed. He en-
tered heartily into the work, and was greatly blessed and
strengthened himself, whilst his labors proved eminently ac-
ceptable and useful to the churches which he visited. Among
the ministers for whom he preached were the Rev. Dr. John
McMiUan, at the Chartiers church near Canonsburg, Pa., the
patriarch of Presbyterianism in western Pennsylvania, Dr.
Ralston, Dr. Smith, Mr. McCurdy and others, who were enjoy-
ing seasons (^f special revival in their churches.
Rev. Francis Herron, I). D. 103
Among the churches which he visited at this time was also
that of Buffalo, in Washington county, Pa., where the people
were so pleased and edified with his preaching, that they made
out for him a unanimous call to become their pastor. This
call he was strongly urged by Dr. Ralston and others to accept,
but holding it under consideration until his return home, he
tlw^re found a similar call awaiting him from the Rocky Spring
church, the church adjoining the one in which he was raised.
The latter call he concluded to accept and declined the one
from the church at Buffalo. He was accordingly ordained by
the Presbytery of Carlisle, and installed pastor of the Rocky
Spring church on the 9th of April, in the year 1800. Here,
in what was then a strong congregation, with its large and sub-
stantial church edifice, began the life work of Mr. Herron.
Greatly quickened and renewedly consecrated by the revival
scenes, and the ordination and installation services through
which he had passed, he girded himself for his work, and, fired
by a new zeal for the glory of God and with increased love for
the souls of the people, he began his ministry in such a way
as soon told upon the congregation. His preaching was with
such unction and power that the impenitent were awakened,
and professing christians were roused to new life and energy.
Prayer meetings were instituted, a thing previously unknown
in that congregation, and carried on with encouraging success.
Bible classes and meetings for catechetical instruction were ap-
pointed and conducted with persevering energy, to the great
and lasting advantage of all concerned.
The first decade of Mi-. Herron's ministry was thus passed
in labors such as these. It was a period of healthful growth
to the congregation, and a time when the young pastor grew
in ministerial strength and usefulness.
In the year 1810, Mr. Herron again made a visit to Pitts-
burgh, to his sister, Mrs. Peebles, then a resident of that city,
and also to Dr. Mathew Brown, his brother-in-law, then presi-
dent of Washington College, Pa During this visit he was
invited to preach in the First Presbyterian church, then left
vacant by the death of the Rev. Robert Steele. The people
were greatly pleased with his services, and on his return from
104 Prtsbytery of Carlisle — Centenniul.
Washington, he was urged to preach a second time. The re-
sult was a unanimous call to become their pastor. This call
he accepted, and according!}'- his pastoral relation with Rocky
Spring was dissolved April 9, 1811, and he was installed pas-
tor of the First church of Pittsburgh, June 18, 1811, by the
Presbytery of Red Stone.
Mr. Herron was fully alive to the rising importance of his
new" position. Pittsburgh had already started on its career as a
commercial and manufacturing city. A line of stage coaches
now connected it with the east. Trade upon the Ohio river
with the west and southwest was steadily increasing. These
two things and subsequent improvements made it the gateway to
the great west. But whilst the city was prospering in a worldly
way, wickedness abounded and the love of many of the pro-
fessedly christian people had grown cold. And as is usually
the case when the spirituality of a people is at a low ebb, the
financial condition of the church was in a correspondingly low
condition. Accordingly, notwithstanding the progress and
prosperity of the city in external things, when Mr. Herron
came to understand the state of religion in the church, he
found himself surrounded by most adverse circumstances,
which called into requisition all the energies of his nature
and his utmost faith in and dependence on God. The
church he discovered to be " in a state of almost hopeless em-
barrassment," and religion " with many of its professors, had
little more than the semblance of form." The pastor in after
years "was frequently heard to speak of the prevalence of
fashionable follies, the strength of pernicious social habits^ the
influence of worldliness over the church, and the mournful
absence of the spirit and power of vital godliness, that char-
acterized that period." The strength of Dr. Herron's charac-
ter, his confidence in the religion of the gospel, his faith in
God, and his practical wisdom are all evinced in the manner
in which he girded himself to meet this crisis in his ministry.
The experience of the previous years of his ministry was now
invaluable to him. Says Dr. William 'Paxton in his memorial
discourse, he at this time " set before him two objects — First.
to preach the gospel of Christ with pointed and pungent ap-
Rev. Francis Herron, D. D 105
plication to the hearts and consciences of his hearers. Second,
to expose their sins and follies, with the plain unsparing fidelity
of one who loved their souls, and who had come in the spirit
of his Master to seek and save them." The effect of his preach-
ing was what might have been expected. Cold dead formal-
ists and impenitent sinners were roused from their lethargy
and excited to violent opposition. But the Doctor persevered
in the way he had set out. His preaching was the faithful ex-
position of gospel truth in its practical adaptation to the wants
of the people. The testimony of one who was acquainted
with his preaching at that time is thus recorded : " T well re-
member the power of his preaching. His manner was digni-
fied and impressive, his application of the truth was pointed,
and the earnestness with which he appealed to sinners brought
the conviction that he believed all he uttered. His denuncia-
tions of the wrath of God against the wicked were most pow-
erful and alarming, whilst on the other hand he often dwelt
on the fullness of the Savior, and besought men to be recon-
ciled to God."
In addition to the faithful preaching of the word. Dr. Her-
ron sought to employ other means to elevate the piety of the
church and to secure the blessing of God. Among these he
sought to institute a prayermeeting, which he had found so
helpful in his former charge. But this, strange to say, met
only with the disapproval the best of his people, and with open
hostility from others. It was an inovation, a novelty, a rae-
thodistical extravagance. But none of these things moved
him. He determined to go forward, and in the person of Rev.
Thomas Hunt, the pastor at that time of the Second Presby-
terian church, a man of a thorough evangelical spirit, he found
a ready and valuable coadjutor. As the opposition was strong
in both congregations, and not wishing unnecessarily to incur
the risk of unduly exciting increased hostility, they appointed
the meeting for prayer in the building in which Mr. Hunt con-
ducted a school and invited all who felt disposed to unite with
them. The first meeting had an attendance of the two miiristers,
one elder and six women, and for eighteen months this little
company continued to meet and to wrestle in faith and prayer
without any increase to their number.
106 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
To this lack of a spirit of prayer, to the general disapproval,
and the chilling indifference to vital religion, was at length
added open hostility. Husbands and fathers prohibited their
wives and daughters from attending, and finally when the
faithful ministry of the word and the pious example of this
little band in their persevering continuance in these meetings
could be endured no longer, Dr. Herron was waited upon and
told that these meetings " must stop, and stop at once." To tliis
Dr. Herron replied with that moderation and firmness which
were so characteristic of the man, '' Gentlemen, these meet-
ings will not stop. You are at liberty to do as you please, but 1.
also have the liberty to worship God according to the dictates
of my conscience, none daring to molest or make me afraid."
This has come to be regarded as the turning point in the
moral and spiritual history of that city. From the hour of
Dr. Herron's utterance of those brave and determined words,
which will live in history while time endures, the opposition
which had been so strong began to give way. The meetings
for prayer gradually increased. A new life was awakened
among professing christians, and the conversion of many per-
sons, some of them from the ranks of those addicted to gaiety
and social follies, made a deep impression upon the community
as to the power and reality of the religion of the gospel. From
that time, it is stated, the cause of religion not only in the
First church, but in the two cities, began to prosper.
In the meantime, the pecuniary embarrassment of the church
continued. The heavy debt which Dr. Herron found hanging
upon the church at the commencement of his pastorate still
embarrassed his efforts to promote its advancement, and after
various expedients for postponing or shifting the responsibility,
matters forced their way to the final result, the property was
levied upon by the sheriff and put up at public sale in De-
cember, 1813. Here again Dr. Herron proved to be the man
for the crisis. He attended the sale and bid off the property
in his own name for the sum of $2,819, sold a small lot off
one corner for $3,000, paid the debt and placed a small surplus
in the treasury.
The church now entered upon a new era both as to financial
Rev. Francis Herron^ D. D. 107
and spiritual prosperty. Dr. llerron's preaching power was at
its height. His influence was extended throughout the two
cities, and his reputation was becoming known throughout
the whole church. The attendance upon his ministry rapidly
increased, the membership was correspondingly enlarged, and
tlie demand for pews was such that an enlargement became a
necessity. The extension was completed December, 1817, and
from the re-sale of the pews, sufficient funds were realized to
meet the expenses of the improvement and to erect a session
room in the rear of the church. The congregation in token
of their appreciation of his services, and the high estimate in
which he was held as a ministei-, increased his salary, and gave
him their united support and encouragement in his work, and
the session made the record that " the affairs of the congrega-
tion wore a satisfactory and pleasing aspect.'" Thus triumphed
the truth and grace of God over the carnal opposition of un-
renewed men.
In further token of the high valuation placed upon the min-
isterial services of Dr. Herron by the Second church of Pitts-
burgh, a proposition was made to the trustees of the First con-
gregation from those of the Second, expressive of their con-
viction, •' that it would contribute to the advancement of the
Redeemer's kingdom, the honor of religion, and the advantage
of the Presbyterian interests, to unite both congregations as a
collegiate charge, under the pastoral control of Dr. Herron,
with a colleague to be chosen by the joint vote of the two con-
gregations." This proposition was, after full consideration,
respectfully declined. It is here cited to show the high es-
teem in which Dr. Herron was held by the whole Presbyterian
community.
Dr. Herron was also an earnest advocate of thorough and
systematic bible and catechetical instruction in the family and
in the Sabbath school. He believed in the old method of
drilling the young in the letter of the shorter catechism as one
of the best methods of inculcating evangelical truth and of
training a generation of sound orthodox christians. In 1823
Dr. Herron organized a bible class for the instruction of old
and young, male and female, which was held every Sabbath
108 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
afternoon in the church, conducted by himself, and was largely
attended and productive of great and lasting good.
In 1825 a new field of christian effort was opened up adapted
to enlist the energies and call into requisition the practical
wisdom and persevering energy of Dr. Herron. In that year
the Greneral Assembly had resolved to establish a theological
seminary in the West, and had appointed live commissioners, of
whom General Andrew Jackson was one, to select a suitable
location. This led Dr. Ilerron in connectioji with Dr. Swift
to urge the claims of Allegheny City, upon the attention of
the commission. He entered with all his accustomed energy
and tact into the work of securing the institution for that lo-
cality, and as the result of much persevering and skilful effort,
supported as he was by the ministers and citizens of that
whole region, succeeded in securing a report in favor of its
location in Allegheny City, Pa. The location being settled,
Dr. Swift devoted himself to the supervision of the instruc-
tion of the students, whilst Dr. Herron took upon himself the
burden of providing for the financial support of the seminary.
To none but to those who have had experience in the same, can
the anxieties, the trials, the assiduous labors of such an enter-
prise be duly appreciated. To Dr. Herron, Dr. Swift and Dr.
David Elliott this insitution owes its establishment, and its
usefulness. These were the men who watched over its nativity,
nursed it in its infancy, and nourished it by their self-sacrificing
labors and benefactions. And to no one other source does this
institution owe its successful establishment under the good prov-
idence of God, more than to his persevering assiduity. It was
a great and unspeakable comfort to him in his old age that he
was permitted to see and rejoice in its prosperity. In the
winter of 1827 and 1828 Dr. Herron was graciousl y and abund-
antly rewarded for all his previous years of labor and toil, and
of long wrestling in faith and prayer, by the occurrence of a
deep, powerful and extensive revival of religion, the details of
which are very instructive and encouraging. The special in-
terest began in a brief conference between Dr. Herron, Dr.
Campbell and five or six others, after a Wednesday evening
prayer-meeting, on the state of religion in the church and the
Rev Francis Her r on, I). D. 109
importance of Christians praying for a revival of God's work,
leading them to unite in earnest prayer again before they parted
for the presence and power of the Holj^ Spirit. Another meet-
ing for prayer was appointed by those present for Saturday
evening, which proved to be a season of earnest wrestling with
God from which those present went away with believing pur-
suasion that God was about to pour out His Spirit with power
upon the people. The interest pervaded and controlled all the
services of the ensuing Sabbath and led to the appointment of
a meeting for conference and prayer in the lecture-room, whicli,
to Dr. Herron's surprise and joy, was filled and crowded by
those who presented themselves as subjects for prayer. A
series of meetings were commenced and continued daily, for
from three to four months. The work continued to deepen
and extend in the church and community. The members were
greatly quickened and increased in activity and many from the
world were savingly brought to Christ. The result was an
addition to the church of over sixty on profession of their faith
at the two following communions and an equal numlier to the
Second church, then under the ministry of Dr. Swift, among
whom was a number of young men who afterwards became
ministers of the gospel. This religious awakening Dr. Herron
always regarded as a genuine work of grace and permanent in
its blessed fruits. Another season of like precious revival oc-
curred in the year 1832. in connection with a similar work in
many other churches in Western Pennsylvania. Again a
series of meetings were appointed whicli increased in interest
from day to day, resulting in an ingathering of over one hun-
dred into the church. This religious interest continued for a
long period, the fruits of which were manifest in additions for
two successive years. The years 1840, 1841 and 1843 were
years of the right hand of God, in the ministry of Dr. Herron.
The year 1835 was a year of great religious excitement under
the preaching of the Rev. Mr. Gallagher, a noted revivalist.
The results of this religious flailing was some precious wheat,
but much more worthless chaff. " Some excellent Christians,"
said Dr. Paxton in his memorial discourse, " who were then
born again, live to attest the presence and power of the Holy
110 Presbytery of Carlisle — Ctntennial
Spirit, but many spurious converts and some dreadful apostates
live to attest the fact that there was another spirit at work, an
enemy sowing tares among the wheat." In the year 1850, in
his 76th year, Dr. Herron, on account of the persuasion that
the period of his active work had come to an end, asked to be
relieved of his pastoral charge. His request was granted and
by his approval his successor was chosen and for nearly ten
years this venerable patriarch of western Pennsylvania was
permitted to exemplify the sustaining power of Divine grace
amid the trials and infirmities of old age. His happy serene life
came to a peaceful end December 6, 1860. From Dr. Paxton's
memorial discourse we thus sum up his most conspicuous traits
as a man, a Christian and a minister of the gospel.
As a man he was a man of nerve, will, power, molding
rather than being molded, breasting the current rather than
floating upon its surface. As a Christian he was distinguished
by a vigorous growth and a uniform development of the whole
circle of Christian graces.
As a minister his preaching was doctrinal, expenmental,
awakening, tender and affectionate.
As a Presbyter he was attentive, regular and prompt, thor-
oughly acquainted with the rules of order and making a good
presiding officer.
Dr. Herron was chosen Moderator of the General Assembly
at its meeting in Philadelphia in the year 1827.
He was married in February, 1802, to Miss Elizabeth Blain,
daughter of Alexander Blain, Esq., of Carlisle, Pa,, and sister
of the wife of the Rev. Dr. Matthew Brown. She died in the
year 1855. Tliey had several children.
Rev. David Elliott, D. D., LL D.
Another most prominent minister of the Presbytery of Car-
lisle and eminent servant of God was the Rev. Dr. David
Elliott. Of him Dr. J. I. Browuson, in his admirable com-
memorative discourse, has thus spoken : '' A man who, favored
of God, and by reason of strength," passed far beyond fourscore
years ; a man who, through the average of two generations,
was an honored, as well as '' an able minister of the New Tes-
^t work, an
«f 1850, 111
^ion tkt
Jsi'ftitobe
ffited aod
Dearly ten
''ania was
renelife
ir. PaxtoQ's
er, ffioldiflg
ntk tb
»f the whole
(upt, thor-
aDgagood
whB
Landi
rterrofCar-
Dr. BaYid
ttiRiWeconi-
who.favore'i
laiKoaiscore
^e>'effTeS'
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•^pir
■■.']
ful apostates
>' work, an
1850, in
■ rron, i.>ri :
-ion that
e work \u' ■
-d to be
irga lii.
■ ,u,.i
•ssbr was <
a;lj
patriarch of w
lify the sustain!;
:C
;d i'nfirmities of old a
• . > i t-
ii ltm P.-oember 6, i: ..
• ' forialdiscoi
Slim up his mostoo:
.; man, a Chr
-■'■•i^ter of thegosp..
v.- a man I
nerve, will, power, molding
. ..-> ^hnr. ^
'■ : the current
rather than
io..tli:;^ ir
f.ian he was t
listinguished
).e whole
As a Fi' was attentiv»\
oughiy acq ih il>^ ru'';- * :'
presiding officei
Dr. Herron w«c * ^^ '. ,.> .iwv.v. ..i. .; wi lii. >^.
at its meeting in Philadelphia in the year 1827
^' married in February, 1802, to Miss ElT:ar)trn iiifiiu,
r Alexander Blain, Esq., of Carlisle, Pa., and sister
of the Rev. Dr. Matthew Brown. She died in '" ■
They had several children.
Rev. David Elliott, D. D., 1
liinent minister of tl,.
- of Car-
•/ant of God was ^
. David
J. L Br.
.>le cora-
]i;ist.hus ;-;
■ s favored
-ength,"}'.
. ond fourscore
c ., ,:, ■- i,..,v,.igh the av(
0 generations.
an honored, as well us '• an able
ibe New Tes-
'"."^ f'!/ Jchn Sartain.^
.^J^^fi^g^
R£v. David Elliott, D. D., LL. I). 113
control his after life and the educational work of western Penn-
sylvania. In the spring of 1805 Rev. Matthew Brown was
invited to become the tirst pastor of the Presbyterian church
in Washington, Pa., and principal of the academy of that place.
To this ])lace Mr. Brown took with him his young friend Mr.
Elliott as an assistant teacher. In this position he continued
for one year, discharging its duties with great fidelity and ac-
ceptance to all concerned. Here, in addition to the instruction
which he gave in the school, he carried on a course of study in
preparation to enter the junior class of Dickinson College of
the following year. These labors which were very confining
and exhausting by reason of the number and variety of the
classes, and the advanced studies of some of the students taught
by him, proved to be too great a tax on his strength and re-
sulted in a physical prostration which told upon all his after
life. As the result of his own experience in this respect he
was ever afterwards careful to guard students under his instruc-
tion against falling into the same error. During his connection
with the academy at Washington, a charter was secured by
Dr. Brown and others for Washington College, with which
Mr. E. became so closely identified in later years.
In the spring of 1806 Mr. E. set out for home on horseback
from Washington, Pa., and for lack of due preparation for
changes in the weather, and owing to the delicate and ex-
hausted state of his bodily health, he contracted a cold which
was followed by a spell of sickness which delayed his entrance
into college until January of the next year. But this afflic-
tion was blessed to his spiritual and eternal good. It became
to him the period of a new and spiritual birth. His mind had
been partially awakened under the preaching of Rev. Mr.
Marquis, an earnest and pungent preacher, who had been at
Washington. During his sickness he experienced a deep con-
viction of his lost condition out of Christ. He tried without
success, to obtain relief by reading, reflection and prayer. At
length after weeks and months of conflict the Lord Jesus
Christ was revealed to his mind and heart, and he saw in Him
a Saviour suited to his everj^ want, and he experienced relief
from the burden which had rested so heavily upon his mind,
8*
114 Presbytery oj Carlisle — Centennial.
The clouds and darkness were dispelled and his mind was
filled with light and peace.
His experience closely resembled that of President Edwarc^s
at the time of his conversion. " The transformation was a
wonder to himself. As he walked abroad he could now see
Grod in everything. The bright summer clouds and the azure
sky seemed to declare the glory of God. A mild glory ap-
peared in all things about him, which brought him into the
presence of God and made him desirous to be there." This
pleasing experience was followed '' by new views and feelings
concerning the character and law of God, Christ and his salva-
tion, and as to sin, duty and lioliness.'" Like many others
Mr. E. postponed for two years a public profession of his faith,
which, to him, was ever afterwards a matter of deep regret.
At the close of his first session at Dickinson College he
found himself again so exhausted from confinement and study
that he left the institution despairing of being able to return
again. But during vacation his health was recuperated to such
a degree as to justify his return, and with great care and regu-
larity as to all his habits of study, exercise, diet and rest, he
was able to complete his college course with credit to himself
and the highest approval of the faculty and his fellow-students,
and graduated September, 1808, delivering on commencement
day the valedictory address. The faculty at that time con-
sisted of Rev. Robert Davidson, D. D., acting president ; James
McCormick, professor of mathematics and natural philosophy ;
Rev. John Hays, professor of languages.
Princeton Seminary, the oldest of our theological schools,
was not organized until 1812, four years later than Mr. E.'s
graduation. As a consequence he, like all other candidates of
that time, studied under some approved divine of their own
choice. His first teacher in theology was his pastor, tlie Rev.
John Linn, a sketch of whom is given in this series. Under
him he spent two years in the careful study of theology, mak-
ing an analysis of the books read, and in writing answers to
questions given. His third year he spent under the instruction
and guidance of the Rev. Joshua Williams, D. D., of Newville,
Pa., whom he always held in the hisrhest esteem and admira-
Rev. Damd Elliott, D. I).. LL. L). 115
tion as a man, as a preacher and as one who stood in the front
rank of the theologians of his day in talents, attainments, dis-
criminating thought and the power of communication.
Concermng Dr. Williams as a theological instructor, Dr.
Elliott has left the following statement : " It is not very often
that he consented to take the direction of young men preparing
for the ministry, and when he did he modestly declined being,
considered in the light of an instructor. Hence he neither de-
livered written lectures nor propounded formal interrogatories
on the subjects of study. But having suggested suitable works
for their perusal he frequently, as inclination or convenience
led him, visited his students at their rooms, and in a free and
full conversation brought into view and discussed every topic
embraced in their course of reading. During these conversa-
tions in which he placed himself in the position of a friend and
companion, rather than that of a teacher, much valuable infor-
mation was communicated on the one part and received on the
other. Doctrines and principles were examined and analyzed
by him with a clearness and precision beyond what is generally
found in text books. Suggestions were made and thoughts
presented which gave freshness to the subjects under exami-
nation, and stimulated and quickened inquiry. And I owe it
to his memory to say that to these free unreserved conversa-
tions, I feel myself largely indebted for assistance and progress
in my theological studies. Every interview of this kind gave
a fresh impulse to my mind and excited to more careful and
extended research in reference to various subjects of investiga-
tion."
" He had high notions of the dignity and sacredness of the
ministerial office and of the necessity for ample preparation for
entrance upon its duties. And he had but little patience with
those weak and conceited young men, who, with crude notions
and superficial attainments in theology, sought to thrust them-
selves prematurely into the sacred office."
These statements are important, not only in reference to the
training which Dr. Elliott received, but as throwing much light
upon the mode of theological instruction of that day in com-
parison with that now given in the various theological schools
of the church.
116 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centeuidal.
Mr. Elliott was examined and licensed to })reach the gospel
by the Presbytery of Carlisle, September 26, 1811. Soon after
his licensure he was invited to preach to the congregation of
Upper West Conococheague and from that large and intelligent
congregation, recently left vacant by the resignation of the
Rev. John King, D. D., one of the most distinguished ministers
M that day, and the fourth Moderator of the Greneral Assembly,
he received a call to become their pastor. This call was made
out February 10, 1812, found in order and accepted at the
spring meeting in April, when Mr. E. entered upon the duties
of that charge, but was not ordained until the stated meeting,
October 7, 1812, at that church. At these services Dr. John
McKnight preached the sermon and Dr. McConaughy presided
and delivered the charges to pastor and people.
On May 14, 1812, he was married to Ann West, daughter of
Edward West, Esq., of Landisburg, Perry county, Pa., with
whom he lived happily for fifty-eight years, and by whom he
had two sons and three daughters.
The congregation, when he took charge of it, numbered one
hundred and thirty-seven families and three hundred com-
municants, and during his pastorate it increased to one hun-
dred and seventy families, but afterwards experienced a con-
siderable decline owing to causes which were beyond human
control.
Mr. Elliott, in his fninistry. went systematically at his work.
Regular pastoral visitation was joined with the faithful preach-
ing of the word. Family worship was pressed as a duty. In
1816 the first Sabbath-school in the congregation was organized,
and in 1818 the first weekly social prayer-meeting was estab-
lished. In addition to the Sabbath-school two Bible classes
were formed, one male and the other female, and conducted
with, much interest, the former having as high as seventy mem-
bers and the latter more than a hundred.
The result of the clear systematic and faithful preaching,
regular pastoral visitation, and persevering Sabbath-school and
Bible-class instruction, soon manifested itself in a quickened
interest in religious things among the people. The congrega-
tion greatl}' prospered, increasing largely in attendance upon
Rev. David Elliott, D. />., LL. D. 117
the public services and in steady additions to the membership.
A numerous congregation was built up in the knowledge and
belief of the truth, and a healthful moral and religious influ-
ence was exerted throughout the whole community.
In the year 1828 the church was blessed under his ministry
with a season of gracious revival. The work, however, was
principally confined to that portion of the congregation which
resided in the town of Mercersburg and manifested itself chiefly
in connection with the weekly prayer-meeting. It was pre-
ceded also by a monthly meeting for prayer and conference
upon the part of the session and resulted in an addition of
twenty-four to the membership, of those who had been hope-
fully brought to Christ. While this work did not extend to
all parts of the congregation as Dr. E. hoped it would, yet the
fruits gathered in and the general influence of the work on the
church proved to be a permanent spiritual blessing.
During his pastorate of this congregation of more than sev-
enteen years, the house of worship was twice enlarged, six hun-
dred and fifty persons were baptized by him, two hundred and
forty persons were received into the church by profession of
their faith, and seventy by certificate, making an average of
twenty for each year.
On October 27, 1829, to the great grief of the congregation,
and a most severe trial to the young pastor, he asked that the
relation between him and that people might be dissolved in
order to his acceptance of a call to the First Presbyterian church
of Washington, Pa.
Dr. Creigh, in his history of the church at Mercersburg, thus
speaks of the mutual relation between him and the people :
" His people were devotedlj^ attached to him. He was to them
all the}' desired, both as preacher and pastor. As a preacher
he was instructive and edifying ; as a pastor he was sympa-
thizing and laborious : as a friend he was sociable and reliable,
and as a man he was godly and exemplary in all his conduct."
He was thus faithful, not only in seasons of health but at a
time of great and wide-spread and long-continued sickness of
an epidemic character : he was alike faithful in his ministrations
to the sick and dying, day by day, through all the week, even
118 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
at the peril of his own Hfe and against the remonstrance of his
physician and friends. Bnt God beheld his faitli and, as in
his childhood, shielded him from harm.
Dr. Elliott proved himself to be no less efficient and wise as
an ecclesiastic than as a preacher and pastor during this early
period of his ministry. His qualifications in this respect were
put to a severe test. In the church there was a small, but in-
fluential party, as is often to be found in many congregations
who were restless under any form of church discipline or re-
straint upon their conduct. One of this party, a member of
the church, who had almost habitually ceased to attend upon
the public ordinances, even after several friendly conferences
of the session with him, finally applied for a letter of dismis-
sion from the church. The session granted his request with a
simple statement of his delinquency, without any expression of
censure. This certificate was refused and followed by a de-
mand for an unqualified dismission in good and regular
standing. On the refusal of the session to grant this request
the little party opposed to church discipline made the case
their own and sought to raise a great clamor, and, finally, when
clamor failed, carried the matter to Presbytery, presenting
formal charges in the name of the delinquent member against
the session, and one impeaching the veracity of the pastor,
" the difference between the parties being that between the
statement of a fact and that of an inference drawn from it."
During the intervening six months no effort was spared to
create a public sentiment against the session and especially
against the pastor. The result, however, showed that they did
not know the man they had to deal with. Though out of
health, with a soul keenly sensitive to the slightest imputation
of dishonor, he went to Presbytery, conducted the case with
transparent fairness and consummate skill and ability and secured
the unanimous acquittal of both session and pastor and the
censure of their accuser. But, not satisfied with the decision
of Presbytery, an appeal was taken to the Synod of Philadel-
phia, and the services of a prominent lawyer and ruling elder
from Philadelphia was secured to assist the appellant in the
management of his case, who espoused most warmly the case
Reu. David Elliott, D. D., LL. D. 119
of his client and in conclusion challenged the refutation of his
plea and demanded a reversal of the judgment of the lower
court. Mr. Elliott accepted the challenge, overturned step by
step all the arguments of his opponent and with but one dis-
senting voice the Synod sustained the verdict of the Presby-
tery, only relieving the appellant of the censure. Against this
removal of censure the Presbytery, in turn, appealed to the
Assembly of 1823 and that body, the court of final resort, re-
versed this latter action of the Synod as unconstitutional.
Thus the order of the church was vindicated, the character of
the pastor, conscious only of the highest rectitude before God
and men. was triumphantly sustained and his reputation greatly
enhanced at home and abroad and a disorderly faction rebuked.
Dr. Elliott's pastorate at Washington, though much briefer,
yet was equally successful and more important. Here he en-
tered upon his duties with the same persevering fidelity, wisdom
and zeal which had characterized his ministry in his former
chargea And by the blessing of God he was not only in-
strumental in building up the church, but also in reviving the
young college which, at this time, had become well nigh ex-
tinct. To him more than to any other man, it is alleged, was
due the resuscitation of this institution which has since absorbed
its greater rival. The trustees of the college elected him to its
presidency, in connection with his pastoral charge during the
first year after his arrival. This position he declined under
the conviction that the church required all his time and strength.
He, however, consented to become the " acting president and
professor of moral philosophy," until a suitable person could
be procured. He opened the college with two professors be-
sides himself and twenty boys, and at the end of the third ses-
sion handed it over to his successor, Rev. D. McConaughy,
with one hundred and nineteen young men enrolled, and the
college classes all reorganized and respectably filled.
Dr. Elliott's pastorate at Washington was crowned with the
same success as at Mercersburg. His preaching was more
st\idied, elaborate and persuasive than before. His prayer-
meetings were conducted with life and interest, family visita-
tion systematically pursued. Christian beneficence systematized ;
120 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial. f.
the confidence, respect and esteem of the people speedily se-
cured, and the whole work of the church efficiently managed
during the seven years that he was pastor. In 1835 the con-
gregation was visited by a work of grace, which brought fifty-
one additions into the church, some of whom were students in
the college and became ministers of the gospel. The whole
number added during the seven years was two hundred and
f()rty-njne, of whom one hundred and thirty-eight were by pro-
fession, making an average of twenty each year on profession
of faith.
In 1835 Dr. Elliott was called to a more responsible work.
By the General Assembly of that year he was elected to a
professorship in the Western Theological Seminary, at Alle-
gheny City, Pa. This position which was so difficult of suc-
cess, and yet so responsible and important he could see his
way clear neither to accept nor decline for nearly a year.
Having, after long deliberation, much counsel and unceasing
prayer, concluded to accept it, he gave to it all his remaining
days and all the zeal and energy and best labors of his long
and useful life.
It was so arranged with Dr. Luther Halsey, the only other
professor, by the board of dii-ectors, that Dr. E. should have
the chair of Didactic Theology, and he was inaugurated and
entered upon his duties in June, 1836. In doing so he took
upon him deliberately a great burden, which, with great faith
and patience, he bore through many long years. AVhat Dr.
Archibald Alexander was to Princeton Seminary in the days
of its infancy, weakness and the period of its struggle for ex-
istence ; what Dr. Leroy J. Halsey was to the Seminary of the
Northwest, through all the period of its conflict, all that, and
even more. Dr. Elliott was to the seminary of Allegheny City.
Dr. Elliott went into the seminary after repeated declina-
tures, which the board refused to accept, and as the result of
renewed appeals to him as the only man, who, under God,
could rescue the seminary from its depressed and imperilled
condition and make it successful.
Dr. Elliott's unwavering reliance upon God, his unwilling-
ness to undertake anything unless called to it from on high,
Rev. David Elliott, I). D., LL. D. 121
his great practical wisdom ; the strong confidence of his brethren:
his patient perseverance in the way divine providence indicated,
all combined to make him pre-eminently the man for the
position.
As a theological teacher Dr. Elliott was well read up in his
department. His familiarity with the standard theological
writers, and his facility in the Latin language, enabled him not
only to assign to the students the best course of reading in the
same, and in Turretin, Calvin, Stapfer and other Latin writers,
but to enrich from all these sources the discussions of the class-
room. Bymeansof thebesttextbooks, by acourse of lectures,
and by a series of searching questions, covering the various
topics in theology, and by additional papers on subjects assigned,
his students were subject to a thorough drill upon the course
prescribed.
Of this seminary he was the head thirty and eight years.
" He came to it," says Dr. Brownson, "in its adversity. He
bowed under its burdens with a trustful heart His faith
looked through its clouds of discouragement to read its future
in the promises of a covenant-keeping Grod. Upon its altar his
best offerings of talent and scholarship, zeal and prayer were
laid."' If the discouragements were great, the joy of triumph
must have been in proportion. Said Dr. Jacobus, " He came
in his full prime, fifty years old — ripe in experience and rich
in solid resources for his generation. What labors, what
struggles, what conflicts, what prayers and tears he gave
early and late to this service ; what a wprk to look back upon.
Nearly a thousand men have gone forth from under his hand,
ministers of Christ, in this and foreign lands."
Said Professor Wilson : ' As long as yonder seminary stands,
he will not be without a monument. It owes its existence to
him. Let this be said over his coffin. Had it not been for his
indomitable energy and tenacity of purpose it would not have
survived its trials. My belief, founded on facts and personal
observation, is that no day of his life passed without special
prayer for the seminary, its professors and students, past, present
and prospective."
Other positions besides those of pastor and professor Dr.
122 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
Elliott was called to fill, which equally illustrate his capacities
for high duties in the church, and the esteem in which he was
held by his brethren in the church. Not unfrequently he was
called to preside over meetings of ecclesiastical bodies, to serve
as a member and often as chairman of most important com-
mittees of the church judicatories and of the boards of the
church. He was chosen Moderator of the General Assembly
and presided with great wisdom, fairness, ability and firmness
at a most stormy period of the church, even at that critical
juncture when the disruption of 1837 and 1838 took place.
He carried great weight in argument and in his opinions,
because he always aimed to be right. The calmness, perspicuity,
promptness and thoroughness of his decisions as a presiding
officer gave them great weight and authority. Dr. Elliott was
sent as a commissioner to ten General Assemblies, He gave
his earnest and hearty support to the measure for forming the
Western Foreign Missionary Society by the Synod of Pitts-
burgh, in 1831. He was chairman of the committee on the
transfer of this Western Missionary Society to the control of
the General Assembly. He was chairman of the important
committee of bills and overtures in the assembly of 1835, to
which was referred the overture of the convention of Old School
men, prior to the assembly, in relation to the most important
questions in controversy, and prepared the report upon it.
Although a pronounced Old School man, whose sentiments were
well known by all, yet his decisions, arguments and measures
were always just, courteous and transparently honest He
sought no undue advantage nor would he give any. Never
did a moderator preside in a more important crisis than did
Dr. Elliott, yet there he sat for three weeks, calm amid great
excitement, ready for any emergancy, and meeting each ques-
tion with a prompt decision, and yet with an accuracy, which
in every case met with the approval of the Supreme Court of
Pennsylvania, as expressed in the decision of Chief Justice
Gibson. It was after this thorough examination of all the
decisions rendered by liim, that the Chief Justice is reported
to have said, "'that Pennsylvania had only missed having the
best lawyer of the State, in the person of Dr. Elliott, by his
Rev. David Elliott, D. D.. LL. J). 128
having become a minister." Church government, alike in its
principles and their applications, was congenial to his mind.
His sound and discriminating judgment gave him great advant-
age in the way of seeing the real point at issue, and in enabl-
ing him to free it from the entanglements of irrelevant ques-
tions, and setting it clearly before the minds of the body
called to act upon it. He had a judicial mind, which enabled
him to weigh evidence with a calm impartiality and to come
to and bring others to right conclusions.
In all the positions in which Dr. Elliott was placed, he per-
formed, wisely and well, the duty assigned him. The secret
of his eminent usefulness was a governing purpose in all
things to honor God and especially in the maintenance of His
truth.
Dr. Elliott's attitude towards the reunion of the Old and New
School branches of the Presbyterian church was simply that of
an eminently good and wise man, exceedingly jealous of
God's truth, waiting to see the indications of the divine will,
desiring reunion provided it could be accomplished on the basis
of truth, love and peace, but at the same time he was a man
that would have sacrificed his right arm before he would lift a
hand to compromise the truth of God. When the reunion
came on the basis of the standards, pure and simple, he ac-
quiesced in it and perhaps rejoiced over it, but if so, " with
fear and trembling." Beyond all controversy his prayer to
God was, that the reunited church " might be guided by the
wisdom that is from above and cemented by the charity which
is the bond of perfectness."
Dr. Brownson, in summing up the attributes of his char-
acter, well and truthfully, said : '' That his private character
was the real stronghold of his influence. Vigorous and cul-
tivated intellect, superior wisdom, unfaltering energy and a
life-long service, all come to proportion in the moral excellence
of the man to whom they belonged.''
2. " That Dr. Elliott's character in social sympathy deepened
with advancing years. His house was always a center of hos-
pitality. All classes found in him, one that could sympathize
with them."
124 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
3. "" But over all and better than all was Dr. Elliott's faith
in Christ and consecration to the service of God."
4. He gives his views and feelings in prospect of his ap-
proaching dissolution in his own words : " In looking back
over my long life I see much to deplore, and for which to be
humbled before God. But in Christ I have one sure and en-
during ground of hope. He is all my salvation and all my
desire. Although, not without fears arising from indwelling
corruption, yet as I draw near to the end of my earthly pil-
grimage I think I enjoy more of the presence of Christ with
me and find more and more comfortable communion with Him
in prayer and other religious duties." His very last statement
concerning his final departure out of this life, penned a few
weeks before his death was this. " Death is a very solemn
event, but it has long been familiar to my thoughts and I hope,
through the abounding mercy and grace of God, I shall be sus-
tained in that solemn hour."
His faith at the end was calmly triumphant, and on March
18, 1874, he gently fell asleep in Jesus, in the 88th year of his
age.
Near the close of his long life he spent a week in Newville,
Pa., visiting his relatives of whom there were five families at
that time, of nephews and nieces, here. His calm and serene
manner, and his friendly conversations, prayers and counsels
were greatly enjoyed by all. He was too aged and feeble to
preach, but made a short, impressive and tender address to the
people at the close of the sermon.
We have been greatly impressed by the careful study of Dr.
Elliott's character and life, and close with the deep conviction,
that he was, all things considered, one of the very best men our
church has produced, taking rank with such men as Archibald
Alexander, Samuel Miller and Charles Hodge. Men who
lived to know, to teach and defend the revealed truth of God
for the glory of His great name and the salvation of a lost
world.
Robert Oathcart, D. D.
The above-named minister was pastor of the church of York,
at that time in the Presbytery of Carlisle, from 1793 to 1837,
a period of forty-four years.
u
iUlYi
t
Robert Cathcart, D. D. 125
He was the son of Alexander and Mary Cathcart, and was
bora in November 1759. in the county of Londonderry, near
the town of Coleraine, Ireland. In his youth he pursued, with
diligence, English and classical studies, and laid the foundation
for that accurate scholarship for which he was distinguished in
after life. He studied the sciences and theology at the Uni-
vei*sity of Glasgow, and was licensed to preach the gospel by
the Presbytery of Route in Ireland, and preached for several
years within its bounds before coming to this country. He
came to the United States in 1790, and was received by the
Presbytery of Philadelphia as a licentiate, the year after the
meeting of the first General Assembly. The Presbytery of
Philadelphia received him very cordially, introduced him to
their churches, and appointed him to preach in their vacant
congregations. He always recognized this kind treatment with
respect for and gratitude to that body. While under care
of that Presbytery he received a call to the church of Cold
Spring, Cape May, N. J., which he declined on account of the
supposed unhealthiness of the situation. He subsequently re-
ceived a call from the churches of York and Hopewell, and
was received as a licentiate from the Presbytery of Philadel-
phia, April 9, 1793, and was installed pastor of the united
congregations of York and Round Hill, in Hopewell township,
October 2, 1793. These two congregations were located fifteen
miles apart, and he preached to them on alternate Sabbaths,
visited the families yearly, and catechised both young and old.
it is stated as something remarkable that he was able to fulfil
his appointments every Sabbath at Round Hill, save one, for
forty-two years. At the time of his settlement at York, that
congregation had about twenty-five families, and only six com-
municants all of whom were females. Among the signers of
his call to York, were James Smith, one of the signei*s of the
Declaration of Independence, Dr. Robert Kenedy, William
McClellan, John Forsyth anrl others. For many years the
church had neither elders nor trustees, and yet by reason of
Mr. Cathcart's good judgment, strict attention to all the affairs
of the congregation, and his great regularity and punctuality,
everything moved on in peace and harmony. He was accus-
126 Presbytery of Carlisle — Center, nial
tomed to give courses of lectures on differei)t books of the
Scriptures to bofh congregations, and in this way he went
regularly through the Psalms, one or more of the G()S{)els, the
whole of the Epistles to the Romans and Hebrews, and parts
of several other Epistles. This he always regarded as the most
profitable mode of instructing the people in all the great truths
and duties revealed and enjoined in the Scriptures, and to him
it was a matter of surprise, that this method so reasonable in
itself and so often recommended by the General Aseembly,
was so little practiced by the ministers of this country, in con-
trast with the prevailing custom in the Presbyterian churches
of Scotland and Ireland, with which the Presbyterian church
of the United States was so closely related. His method of
catechetical instruction was introduced in the church at York,
and in both places was attended with the most favorable
results.
Dr. Cathcart preached in the old brick church, a plain brick
building, with its wide brick aisle running through the mid-
dle, its entrance on one side and its high pulpit and large
square pews, and which was erected about 1790, on a lot or
piece of ground situated on the north side of High street and
on the easterly side of Queen street and deeded by the Penns,
in 1785, as a site for a house of religious worship and a burial
place for the use of the English Presbyterians in and near the
town of York. Here Dr. Cathcart continued to preach until
1835 when the old churfli edifice was remodeled and prepared
for the meeting of the Synod of Philadelphia which met in
October of that year.
This meeting is memorable on account of the trial of Rev.
Albert Barnes for alleged heresies of doctrinal opinion and
teaching. The entire community was greatly interested in the
proceedings. It was a time of wide-spread excitement through-
out the church. That trial resulted in his being found guilty
of the charge preferred and in his suspension from the ministry
by a vote of 142 to 16. From this decision he appealed to the
next Assembly when the decision of the Synod was reversed
by a vote of 134 to 96 and his suspension removed.
In this same year Dr. Cathcart, after a service of forty-two
liohert Cathcart. D. D. 127
years in the united congregations, resigned his pastorate of the
Round Hill or Hopewell church, and, in accordance with the
strong desire of the congregation of York, gave all his time and
labor to that people. But after two \'ears more of service, in
1837, on account of the infirmities of age and the giving way
of his hitherto robust constitution, he asked and obtained leave
to resign the care of the church at York.
In view of the dissolution of his pastoral relation, at a joint
meeting of the board of trustees and the session of the church,
a paper expressive of their sentiments on the subject was
unanimously adopted and ordered to be sent to the retiring
pastor, the closing paragraph of which was as follows : '' The
lx>ard feel a deep and affectionate interest in your welfare, and
sincerely pray that your last days may be your happiest and
best days ; that the author of every good and perfect gift may
enable you in your retirement to abound in everyihing that
can adorn the character of a venerable preacher and faithful
servant of Jesus Christ, and finally that your faithfulness may
be rewarded with a crown of glory, is the united prayer of
board and session."
These kind wishes were remarkably realized in the subse-
quent experience of Dr. Cathcart, for, having passed the even-
ing of his days in quietude and retirement, at peace with Grod
and all men, on October 19. 1849, at the advanced age of 90
vears, he fell asleep in Jesus.
Dr. Cathcart withdrew ' from the P*resbytery of Carlisle,
April 15, 1840, and became one of the constituent members of
the New School Presbyter}'^ of Harrisburg at the time of its
organization. He was married, in 1796, to Susanna Latimer, of
the State of Delaware. They had seven children, five of whom,
three sons and two daughters, survived him. One of his sons
became a practicing physician, the other two engaged in mer-
cantile pursuits. Mrs. Cathcart died in tne year 1810. He
received the honorary title of D. D., from Rutgers College in
1816. On January 22, 1839, the church at York, on account
of objections made to the reception and installation of Rev. B.
J. Wallace as pastor of that church, by the Presbytery of Car-
lisle withdrew from that body, and on F'ebruary 19, 1839,
128 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
made application to and was received by the Presbytery of
Harrisburg. * Part of the church at York, however, was not
satisfied with this course and adhered to the former Presbytery
and kept up a separate service under the pastoral care of the
Rev. Stephen Boyer, who was also principal of the York Acad-
emy. At length, by reason of the removal of some of the
more influential families to Philadelphia and elsewhere, this
organization was disbanded.
As a preacher Dr. Cathcart was largely didactic and exposi-
tory. 'He generally preached in the Hopewell charge without
a manuscript, and also when he preached away from home, in
Philadelphia and elsewhere. During the meetings of the Gen-
eral Assembly, upon which he was almost an habitual attend-
ant, he usually preached once for the Rev. Dr. Wilson of the
First church. His chief aim as a preacher was the inculcation
of divine truth. It was on the preaching of the gospel he re-
lied for the conversion of sinners, and on the exposition of the
truth for the sanctification of believers. In order to this end
he united with his preaching the careful and regular catechet-
ical instruction of the young and the thorough indoctrination
of all the people.
As a man Dr. Cathcart was noted for his great gentleness
and integrity of character. A more perfect gentleman at
heart, says one, I never knew. His was not the polished ex-
terior put on and off to suit the occasion. His character was
thoroughly sincere and genuine. He was a gentleman of the
old school, carefully observing all the proprieties of social in-
tercourse, jealous in the maintenance of his own rights, and
equally so in refraining from interference with the rights of
others. A principle of refined Christian feeling ran like a
golden thread through air his conduct
He was also a truly honest and reliable man, not only in all
his business transactions but in all his utterances. He was
always true to his convictions. He was never a slave to public
sentiment. He was never suspected of being disingenuous.
He was above suspicion. He scorned hypocrisy. That words
and heart should agree was with him, as with Carlyle, the
prime attribute of a man. And being transparently honest
* See at greater length Vol. I, pp. 138, 139.
Robert CathcarL D. D. 129
himself he was unsuspicious of others. He was a man re-
markable for a tranquil, serene disposition. He was an exem-
plification of the passage, " he that walketh uprightly walketh
surely."
Dr. Cathcart's piety was not of the emotional kind, but
rather of a steadfast faith and perseverance in duty. It was
observed by all who knew him that as he advanced in life he
grew in •sanctity of character. The farther he went down
into the vale of life, says one who testified of him, the clearer
was his vision of celestial realities — the nearer he drew to the
gates of the celestial city the more he reflected the light and
glory of the heavenly world. The whole community of York
in his last days were ready to rise up before him and do him
reverence.
Another attribute of his character was his systematic regu-
larity and remarkable punctuality as to all his duties and en-
gagements. His habits in this respect were those of a strict
business man. He was untiring in duty. He was conscien-
tiously punctual. One said of him that he was as regular as
the sun in the heavens. When the clock struck the hour of
an appointment the people were certain that he would be there.
He was accustomed to remark that "punctuality, if not a
Christian grace, is certainly a great moral virtue." His punc-
tuality was strikingly illustrated in his attendance on all the
judicatories of the church. For more than forty years he was
absent but from one meeting of the Synod of Philadelphia.
He attended the meetings of the General Assembly as a com-
missioner from his Presbytery, for nearly thirty years, remarks
Mr. Emmerson, in succession, and was one of its clerks for
nearlj twenty years. So uniformily was he present, that his
early fnend. Dr. Ashbel Green, once remarked pleasantly to
him,"Brother Cathcart, your Presbytery must have elected you
as their standing representative, you are always here."
He was a fast friend of education. For thirty years he was
a trustee of Dickinson College and during all that time never
missed a meeting of the board nor a commencement day.
While a trustee he procured the honorary title of D. D., among
others, for the commentator Thomas Scott. On the second day,
130 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
after receiving Dr. Cathcart's letter, informing him of the honor
conferred, Dr. Scott wrote a letter expressive of his apprecia-
tion of the honor conferred, but modestly added that he was
not certain he could with })ropriety use the title, as he had
never received a collegiate education. Dr. Cathcart was a
great admirer of Mr. Scott and was in the habit daily of read-
ing two chapters in the Bible with his exposition and practical
remarks.
. Dr. Cathcart was a great reader, especially during the last
twelve years of his life. Having a strong constitution, good
eyesight, a retentive memory and an unquenchable thirst for
knowledge, his reading after he was released from pastoral
work was constant and immense. This habit continued to the
end of his life.
He took an active and decided stand at an early day in favor
of the temperance reform. He was a devoted fiiend of the
missionary cause, and, like Dr. DeWitt and many New School
men, was warmly attached to the voluntary societies, especially
to the American Board. He watched its proceedings with in-
tense interest, read regularly the Missionary Herald and took
great interest in informing his people of the progress and suc-
cess of the gospel in every land to which the missionary had
been sent. While he was sincerely attached to his own denom-
ination and truly loyal to the Westminster standards, he was,
at the same time, a man of a broad Catholic spirit and abounded
in charity and good will to all who loved the Lord Jesus
Christ in sincerity and truth.
He is said to have been much annoyed at the instability and
readiness with whicli the pastoral relation was broken up in
this country. He would often remark that in Ireland the pas-
toral relation was considered as sacred and binding as the mar-
riage relation. On this subject he, at one time, spoke com-
plain ingly to Dr. Nisbet, and had expressed the hope that the
relation of some young minister, recently constituted a pastor,
might prove a permanent one. " Permanent, sir," exclaimed
Dr. Misbet, "Let me tell you sir, there is nothing permanent
in this country but revolution."
The only thing published by Dr. Cathcart was a sermon of
his on the death of Dr. Robert Davidson in 1812.
../#:
Rev. William Raddiffe DeWiit, D. D. 131
Rev. William Radcliffe DeWitt, D. D.
Dr. DeWitt had the rare distinction of liaving spent his
whole ministerial life, as the acceptable and useful pastor of a
single important congregation, that of the First Presbyterian
church of Harrisburg, Pa. The faithful performance of the
ministerial duties of a pastoral charge in the capital of one of
the leading states in the American Union, for so long a period,
involves an amount of intellectual labor in the way of careful
preparation for the pulpit, and of arduous and responsible pas-
toral duty, which only they can fully appreciate, who have had
much experience of a similar kind. His whole ministerial life
wag identified with all the highest interests of the community,
and must abide with it in some degree for generations to come.
The name DeWitt is a Holland name and signifies, " The
White."
Concerning the ancestors of Dr. DeWitt, the Rev. Dr. Thomas
H. Robinson, in his memorial discourse, gives the following
narrative :
'' Among the most ancient families of Holland descent that
settled in the State of New York, was that of Tjenick Claase
DeWitt, the first of the DeWitt family of whom we have any
record. He was married in the city of New York, April 24,
1656, to Barber Andriesen, as appears by the records of the
Dutch church of that city. He is described as ' van Grooth-
oldt in Zunderlandt,' and his wife as ' van Amsterdam.' The
names of the succeeding line are as follows : I. Andriesen, son
of Tjenick, Claase ; II. Tjerie, son of Andriesen ; III. Petrus,
son of Tjerie ; IV. John, son of Petrus ; V. William R, son
of John."
" The Dutch were almost universally of the Reformed
churches in religious faith, and sturd}' lovers of freedom in the
state. Memorable in the Old World for their devotion to lib-
erty and religion, the family of the DeWitts partook of the
spirit of its race and was early distinguished for its patriotic
devotion to country. Four generations have each furnished
defenders in times of national peril. From some ancient relics
in the family we learn that Petrus DeWitt was a captain in
the old French war and fought under Wolfe at the siege and
132 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial
capture of Quebec. His son, John DeWitt, during the entire
Revolutionary war, was the captain of minute men appointed
to guard the loyal citizens against the incessant and trouble-
some raids of the Tories who abounded in the section of coun-
try north of New York. After the close of the war he was
elected a member of the convention of the State of New York
and voted for the adoption of the Constitution of the United
States. He also served for several years as a member of the
Legislature of his native state, and in minor offices of Duchess
county. His son, William R, bore part in the war of 1812
and his grandson Calvin, son of William R, served as a cap-
tain in a Pennsylvania regiment during the late rebellion and
William E. DeWitt, Jr., was connected with the medical de-
partment of the army in the field for several years and attained
to high rank.
" William Radcliffe DeWitt, the sixth son of John DeWitt,
was born at Paulding's Manor, Duchess county, New York,
February 25, 1792. He was named after his uncle, the Hon,
William Eadcliflfe, Rhinebeck, Duchess county. The family
of the Radcliffe, to which the mother of Dr. DeWitt belonged,
were distinguished in civil life ; one of them, Jacob Radcliffe,
serving for several years as a Judge of the Supreme Court of
the State of New York ; another, Peter Radcliffe, an eminent
lawyer of the New York bar, and a judge of the courts of
common pleas of Kings county, and a third, William Radcliffe
for many years United States Consul at Demarara."
At the age of ten he was deprived of the love and care of
his mother. His childhood and early youth were spent in
schools in which he received a common English education.
He then served as a clerk in the store of his father in the city
of Alban}^ and later in the store of his brother in Fairfield, and
then again in that of his father and brother in Newburg, New
York. At the age of fifteen he entered the store of Cairns &
Lord, in the city of New York, and continued with them until
his nineteenth year, 1811. While here his mind became ex-
ercised on the subject of personal religion. On January 8,
1810, he made a public profession of his faith in Christ and
united with the Presbyterian church on Cedar street, of which
Rev. William Radcliffe De Witt, D. D. 133
Rev. John B. Komeyn was pastor. Soon after this his mind
became exercised as to his life's work and his attention was
turned to the subject of the Christian ministry and his duty
with relation to it.
Dr. Robinson states that one of the special agencies as hav-
ing had an important bearing upon his conversion and whole
future life, to which Dr. DeWitt was accustomed to refer in
his later years, was a young men's prayer-meeting, conducted
by the father of the late William E. Dodge, Pelatiah Perit,
one of the presidents of the American Bible Society, and
Eleazer and Daniel N. Lord, men afterwards noted for their
intelligence and piety. Dr. DeWitt ever regarded himself as
greatly indebted to Mr. Eleazer Lord, as having been greatly
instrumental, under God, both in his conversion and his intro-
duction to the Christian ministry.
As the result of much reflection and prayer Mr. DeWitt felt
called to enter upon a course of study in preparation for
preaching the gospel. For this purpose he gave up his posi-
tion in New York, which was one of much promise in a busi-
ness point of view, and went to reside with the Rev. Alexander
Proudfit, in Salem, New York, and entered Washington
Academy of that place, and commenced a regular course of
classical studies, under the instruction of Mr. Proudfit and a
Mr. Stevenson, the principal of the academy and a good classi-
cal teacher.
While here the war of 1812 came on, and young DeWitt
enlisted, and the regiment of which he was a member was
called to resist the invasion of the British at Plattsburg, and
witnessed Commodore McDonough's capture of the British
fleet on Lake Champlain, September 14, 1814. At the close
of the war in 1815 he entered the college of Princeton, N. J.,
but, on account of some disturbance among the students of that
institution at that time, he left there and entered Union Col-
lege, Schenectady, New York, then under the presidency of
Dr. Eliphalet Nott. Here he continued until near the close
of his senior year, when he left and entered upon the study of
theology in the Associate Reformed Theological Seminary,
New York, then under the control of the distinguished divine
134 Presbytery of Carlisle - Centennial.
Dr. John M. Muson of that city. Whilst a student here he was
received under the care of the Presbytery of New York City,
as a candidate for the gospel ministiy and was licensed April
28, 1818. During that summer he preached in a church in
Schenectady, New York, which desired to give him a call. In
the meantime, through the solicitation of a friend, he received
an invitation to visit Harrisburg, Pa., a town at that period of
less than three thousand inhabitants. This invitation he ac-
cepted and was received by the people of the church very cor-
dially, and a call was made out for him to become pastor of
the Presbyterian church, October 5, 1818. This call he con-
cluded to accept, and in his letter of acceptance to the people
he requested " the earnest prayers of the pious among them
that he might come to them in the fulness of the blessings of
the gospel of peace, determined to know nothing among them
but Jesus Christ and him crucified." He was dismissed to Car-
lisle Presbytery, by which he was ordained October 26, 1819,
in Carlisle, and installed in Harrisburg November 12, 1819.
On entering his ministry at Harrisburg, before his ordination,
a new and unexpected trial met him. He was informed by
the session that it would add very much to his acceptance
with the people if he would preach without the use of a man-
uscript in the pulpit, that this indeed was quite essential to his
success. The young minister concluded that he would try it.
But such was his embarrassment and difficulty in the pursuit
of this method that at the end of the second Sabbath he pro-
posed to surrender the call to them. At their earnest solicita-
tion, however, he consented to remain with entire liberty to
pursue his own course in that respect. The result was well
nigh a half century of most acceptable preaching with the use
of his manuscript.
Dr. DeWitt, however, was distinguished throughout his
ministry as a most excellent reader of the Scriptures, and for
a very impressive delivery of his sermons. Persons have been
known to attend his church for the express purpose of hearing
him read the Scriptures. In this respect he had doubtless
profited by the example of his noted preceptor, Dr. Eliphalet
Nott, president of Union College, one of the most distinguished
Rev. WilUayn Radcliffe De Witt, D. D. i,^5
readers of the sacred Scriptures in the public services of the
church, at that time in tliis country, as well as a noted pulpit
orator.
Dr. De Witt had the reputation, in many respects, of a model
preacher and pastor. Trained as he had been under Dr. Nott,
and under Dr. John M. Mason, a prince of Scripture ex-
pounders and preachers, Dr. DeWitt amied at a high standard
in the pulpit, and blessed as he was with a dignified presence
with a strong and pleasant voice under complete control, stim-
ulated by an intelligent and cultured audience, in the capital
of a great state, and called to preach statedly not only to an in-
telligent people, but also often to many and distinguished
strangers from all parts of the country, and also to many mem-
bers of the State Legislature, to officers of the government, to
judges of the courts and members of the learned professions,
the demand upon him for a high order of- preparation was
great and urgent and nobly did he acquit himself in his re-
sponsible position through a long series of years. His pulpit
preparations were most elaborately made, and the whole ser-
vices were so conducted as to command the respect and approval
of all the varied classes which attended on his ministry.
His ministry was highly successful, under it the church grew
rapidly and became very influential in the communitv. For
many years additions were made to the membership at nearly
every communion season.
Dr. DeWitt, from the commencement of his ministry, was
greatly encouraged and sustained by a few pious men and bv
a larger number of godly, praying women. He found in ex-
istence a weekly meeting for prayer, conducted by the female
members of the church, which has survived through all the
history of the church. He found also a Sunday-school of all
denominations, but conducted chiefly by the members of his
church and which soon after came entirely under the control
of the same. He organized a prayer-meeting from the elders
and male members of the church for their own spiritual im-
provement, which steadily increased in numbers and influence
until it became a great power for spiritual good to the church
and community. Several of the elders and other lav membere
186 Prtshytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
became men gifted in prayer and noted for religious intelli-
gence and spiritual activity and large Christain beneficence.
In addition to the faithful and stated preaching of the word
and meetings for prayer, Dr. DeWitt added great efficiency to
his ministry by the regular instruction of the children of the
church in the Westminster Shorter Catechism and of the older
youth and persons of mature age, in a Bible class. The chil-
dren were assembled on stated occasions to recite the catechism
to him personally, and once each week he met as many as
could be assembled for regular instruction in the Bible class.
He always urged the faithful drilling of the children in the
catechism, both in the family and in the Sabbath-school. He
recognized the fact that to no other one source was the Pres-
byterian church more indebted throughout its past history for
the religious instruction and definite religious knowledge of its
people than to this training in the catechism.
Dr. DeWitt made it a chief aim of his public ministry, not
merely to preach the gospel with a view to the conversion of
sinners, and the multiplication of members of the church, but
he also devoted much labor to the work of edifying the body
of Christ, by teaching them all things which he had com-
manded to be taught, and thus seeking to perfect the saints,
and train up a body of intelligent, orthodox and stable be-
lievers of the word. In all this work he relied chiefly upon
the regular and stated means of grace. It was onl}- when there
were clear indications of an increased spirit of prayer among
the members and of anxiety among the impenitent, and a man-
ifest desire for an increase of the preaching of the word, that
he was in favor of special and increased services. Both obser-
vation and experience had confirmed him in the judgment,
that in order to the maintenance of a healthy and growing
church, it was of the highest importance to cultivate a steady,
intelligent and consistent scriptural piety among the members
and families of the church, and that in the accomplishment of
this, the chief dependence should be placed upon the regular
and stated preaching of the word and the other stated services
of the congregation.
The Presbyterian church at Harrisburg, when he took charge
Rev. William Radcliffe De Witt, D. D. 137
of it, liad a membership of only forty members, although it
had a good attendance at the Sabbath services. Since its or-
ganization, in 1794, it had had two pastors, Rev. Nathaniel R.
Snowden, for eleven years, and Rev. James Buchannan for
seven years. For three years prior to Mr. De Witt's coming it
had had no settled pastor.
At the first communion season after Mr. DeWitt's ordina-
tion it had an accession of twenty-one members, nineteen of
these on profession of their faith. In 1830, 1834, and in the
winter of 1842-3 the church was blessed with gracious and
powerful revivals of religion. In 1843 one hundred and thirty
were added to the church on profession of their faith.
Dr. DeWitt was an early and life-long friend of the temper-
ance reformation. He was the prime mover in the organiza-
tion of a temperance society in the early part of his ministry.
He and his elders and other members took an open and public
stand upon this question at an early day in the history of this
movement, which he maintained throughout his ministry. He
also took an open and firm stand against sinful amusements
and all demoralizing practices.
Dr. DeWitt, while " a Presbyterian by birth, education and
profession, firm and decided in his religious views ; in all his
habits of thought conservative, and jealous of the new and un-
tried ; he was yet liberal and catholic in spirit, never waver-
ing in his preferences for and adherence to the church to which
he was attached, there was yet no spirit of exclusiveness in him
that claimed for his denomination all truth and goodness.
During a ministry of nearly fifty years he enjoyed the con-
fidence of all his ministerial brethren. He was ready to assist
them in every good work, and seldom in public prayer omitted
to invoke the blessing of God upon them and their churches.
Toward all who loved the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity and
truth he preserved a true affection and upon them all besought
grace, mercy and peace, from God, our Father and our Lord
Jesus Christ."
In 1854 the congregation called the Rev. Thomas H. Robin-
son to be his co-pastor. This relation continued to the end of
his life. For several years he preached once each Sabbath.
138 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
As bis strength gradually failed these services became less
regular and fewer in number until in 1865 when he relinquished
the active duties of the charge to his colleague.
Dr. Robinson mentions, as among the chief trials of Dr. De-
Witt's ministry in Harrisburg, the division of the church at
large in 1888 since reunited in 1870, and the division of his
own church into two separate congregations in 1858, which
last division has been overruled to the very much greater effi-
ciency of the Presbyterian cause in Harrisburg, resulting not
only in rendering these two congregations among the most
active and progressive in the state, but also in the organization
and establishment of four others on the same field. The great
advancement of the Presbyterian church in Harrisburg, how-
ever, at the present time is very largely due to the self-deny-
ing, active and persevering labors and liberality of one layman,
and the reactive influence of his example and the progress of
the Sabbath-school and Bible-class work in the church with
which he is connected upon the people of that church and the
other churches of the city.
The trial of the division of 1858 was doubtless a great trial
to Dr. DeWitt. It involved the rupture of personalties and a
separation from many families which had been under his pas-
toral supervision, and to see them go out from the stated as-
semblies of the congregation was to him a severe privation. It
was only, however, a repetition of a form of trial on a different
scale, which is ever occurring in almost every family, as well
as in all churches blessed with a good degree of growth and
prosperity.
In regard to the greater division of the church in 1838, Dr.
DeWitt, like many others, was placed in circumstances which
made that to him a subject of the deepest interest and long-
continued anxiety. In doctrinal sentiment he was regarded
as with the Old School division and in personal sympathy with
the New School.
In answer to a question addressed to his son, the Rev. John
DeWitt, D. D., in relation to the real position of his father at
that time, the writer received the following answer of the date
of August 24, 1888 :
Rev. William Radcliffe De Wilt, D. D. 139
" His theology did not differ from that of Dr. John M. Mason.
It was " Old School" rather than " New School." He agreed
with Dr. Alexander and Dr. Hodge rather than with Dr.
Beman, Mr. Barnes and Dr. Duffield. This was true of his
theology in respect to every point of difference between the
two schools, save one, namely, the " extent" or " design" of
the atonement. My impression is that both his " New School"
and his " Old School" ministerial brethren were accustomed to
say that father's theology was " Old School." My recollection
is distinct that Old School clergymen used to come to our
house quite as frequently as New School clergymen.
"Father's reasons for casting in his lot with the New School,
I think, were the two following : First, he thought the ex-
scinding acts were unconstitutional ; secondly, he thought the
views known as New School should have been permitted a
place in the church. To these'I ought to add that he was per-
sonally attached to the " voluntary societies." He was a young
man in New York when some of them were established, and
he never lost his affection for them. But his views on this
subject changed, and he was glad to see the New School Pres-
byterian church becoming more distinctly Presbyterian in its
ecclesiastical life."
" I ought further to add that he did not join the New School
church immediately after the division. He hoped, against
hope, that the two parties would come together and it was not
until 1840 that he and his church united with the Presbytery
of Harrisburg."
Dr. DeWitt made application to be received by the above
newly-organized Presbytery, March 4, 1840, and the church
made a similar application and was received November 26,
1840.
In the year 1854. when he was in his sixty-third year, after
much serious reflection and frequent conferences with minis-
terial friends and leading men in his church, he concluded, all
things considered, that it was his duty to accept the position of
State Librarian then offered to him and pressed upon his ac-
ceptance by the Grovernor of the State and proposed to the
congregation the propriety of their calling a co-pastor and of re-
140 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
leasing him from duties which were becoming too burdensome
for him.
It was in view of this proposition from him, and in order
that he might accept the position tendered him, that the con-
gregation took the following action February 6, 1854.
" The congregation, having heard the statement of the pas-
tor, desire to express their high regard for him in the various
relations he has sustained among this people during the period
of his long pastorate. His worth and services are cherished
in our affections, and will endure with our memory. His sep-
aration from us has always been regarded, whenever in any
way referred to, as an evil to be deprecated and avoided ; and
it would not now be entertained, but in the partial way pro-
posed. Acqaiescing in what appears, from his views and
statements, to be the leadings of Providence, and trusting that
the Great Head of the Church will bless both him and this peo-
ple in the measure proposed ; therefore,
" Resolved, That it is expedient, all things considered, that
the pastoral relation heretofore existing between Rev. Wil-
liam R. DeWitt, D. D., and this church and congregation be
so far changed that a co-pastor be associated with him in the
duties of this office."
Though Dr. DeWitt spent his whole ministerial life in one
charge, he had often received invitations to other places.
Among these were calls to the First Presbyterian church in
Brooklyn in 1822. He was pressed to allow his name to go
before the Essex Street church, Boston. In 1833 a most earn-
est and persevering effort was made to take him to Meadville,
Pa. In 1836 he was called to the Central church of Northern
Liberties, Philadelphia. In 1845 the Reformed Dutch church
of Kingston, Long Island, extended to him an urgent call.
These he respectfully declined. Though often discouraged
and deeply despondent over the apparent fruitlessness of his
labors, says his biographer, he could never consent to break
the bond that united him to his people. " Here he had buried
their dead and his own. To them he had given the dew of
his youth, the strength of his manhood, the care and counsel
of his ripest years. It was natural and reasonable that after so
Rev. William Madeline De Will, D. D. 14 i
long a pastorate he should desire to live and die among the
people to whom he had, for nearly half a century, preached
the unsearchable riches of Christ, and the bond between him
and them, of pastor and people, should be broken only on the
edge of the grave."
In this wish he was fully gratified. As his strength failed
and his public duties, one after another, were laid aside, there
seemed to be little left for him to do but to exemplify the
graces of the Christian character and the sustaining power of
that gospel he had so long preached to others, amid the grow-
ing infirmities of advancing years. And this he did beautifully
and well. As the hour of his departure drew near, happy and
affectionate as he always was in his own family, his spirit grew
more saint-like, until his chamber became more and more as
the very vestibule of heaven. He had set his house in order.
His earthly matters had all been arranged and when the sum-
mons at length came, and came suddenly at the last, on De-
cember 23, 1867, his spirit passed quickly away to the heavenly
world.
In summing up the leading elements of his character, after
stating that there was no one trait that stood out prominently
from the rest, but a combination and balance of qualities that
preserved him from the eccentricities of genius and gave to his
character symmetry and strength, Dr. Robinson says, that
" there was weight in his personal presence ;'' that in his ap-
pearance and bearing there was always that which inspired
respect and indicated power : that " he was a man warmly, so-
cial and genial in his temperament ;" " a man of a self-depre-
ciative and modest nature ;" and yet " a man of unquestioned
power as a preacher ;" " a writer of great clearness and purity
of style ;" " many of his sermons being in matter, form and de-
livery, models of pulpit eloquence ;" and that he was pre-em-
inently " a preacher of the gospel, decidedly evangelical and
scriptural." He says, ''He cared little for human speculations,
dealt sparingly in what may be called the philosophy of
Christianity ; but taking the truths of the divine word as they
are revealed ; the lost, ruined, helpless condition of man as a
sinner ; the provision which God has made for his recovery
142 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
in a vicarious atonement ; the contrasts of law and grace, the
character and completeness of that righteousness of Jesus
Christ which is ' imputed unto us and received by faith alone ;'
the regenerating and sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit;
the divine nature and kingly authority of Jesus Christ, the re-
lations of his atoning blood to all promises of good, all growth
in Christian life, and all hopes of heaven, as well as to all
threatenings of evil, and the condemnation of the guilty ; in
the region of these and their related truths, that bring the great
facts and principles of the gospel before the mind. Dr. DeWitt
was a preacher of great power. He was also very effective in
preaching the truth in its direct relation to Christian experience."
In the first year of his pastorate, June 22, 1819, he was mar-
ried to Julia Anna Woodhull, daughter of Rev. Nathan
Woodhull, of Long Island, by Dr. John B. Romeyn, of New
York. Mrs. DeWitt died May 1, 1822 She had been greatly
admired and much loved by the people, and her death was the
occasion of general mourning. Her sister was the wife of Rev.
Richard S. Storrs, D. D., a life-long friend of Dr. DeWitt.
March 15, 1825, he was married to Mary Elizabeth Wallace,
daughter of William and Eleanor Maclay Wallace, of Harris-
burg, and sister of the Rev. Benjamin J. Wallace, D. D.
By this marriage he had seven children, four sons and three
daughters, five of whom, with their mother, survived him.
Mrs. DeWitt died in Harrisburg in 1881.
Dr. DeWitt's published writings are the following : 1. A
Discourse in Behalf of the Colonization Society ; 2. A Sermon
on the Death of Adams and Jefferson : 3. On the Evils of In-
temperance ; 1. An Address on the Death of Gov. F. R
Shunk : 5. A Pastoral Letter to the Churches under the care
of the Presbytery of Harrisburg ; 6. A small volume entitled
" Her Price Above Rubies ;" 7. The Sermon before the Amer-
ican Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions ; 8. An
Address at the Dedication of the Harrisburg Cemetery ; 9. A
Sermon on the Death of Rev. Dr. Moodey ; 10, 11, 12. Three
synodical sermons entitled " Ministerial Responsibility,"
"Prayer for Zion," and " The Church that Christ loved : " 13.
" A Sermon when Seventy Years of Age."
ylty/yJ^yZ^ >.<^>-v..<-^^
Rev. Robert Kennedy. 143
Dr. DeWitt received the degree of A. M. in course, from
Union College, Schenectady, New York ; and, in 1838, from
the University of Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia, the title of
Doctor of Divinity.
Rev. Robert Kennedy.
The above-named minister was pastor of Bast and Lower
West Conococheague congregations, now Greencastle and
Welsh Run churches, for sixteen years, and in later years sup-
plied Welsh Run and other neighboring congregations to near
the close of his life. By reason of the thoughtful liberality
and grateful appreciation of a descendant of his, Mr. Elias D.
Kennedy, of Philadelphia, the Robert Kennedy Memorial
church was erected as a tribute to his memory.
Robert Kennedy was born in Lancaster county. Pa., July
4, 1778. His grandfather, William Kennedy, and his brother,
Robert, came to this country from the north of Ireland in 1730
and settled in Bucks county, Pa. Robert's son, William, be-
came a major in the Revolutionary war and was killed early
in the war. Some of the survivors of that branch of the fam-
ily continued to reside in Philadelphia up to 1886.
William Kennedy, the grandfather of him who is the sub-
ject of this sketch, had four sons, Thomas, James, Robert and
John, and three daughters. James, the second son, was mar-
ried, in 1761, to Miss Jane Maxwell, sister of General Maxwell
of the Revolutionary war. They had twelve children of whom
the Rev, Robert was the ninth. Of his earl}' youth little is
known, further than that he grew up in the Pcquea Valley,
near what is known as the Gap, where survivors of the famil}^
have continued to live unto the present time, and received his
classical preparation for college under the direction of a Mr.
Grier, and that he was a youth of good habits and of much
promise. He entered Dickinson College and graduated from
that institution, September 20, 1797, with honor, and as the
Rev, Dr. Amos McGinley, who graduated the year following,
said, " the best scholar in his class,"
Mr. Kennedy pursued his theological studies under the di-
rection of the Rev. Nathaniel Sample, then pastor of the Pres-
144 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
bjterian churches of Lancaster and Middle Octorara, and Au-
gust 20, 1799, was licensed at Upper Octorara church by the
Presbytery of New Castle to preach the gospel. At the request
of the church where he was licensed, he was appointed by the
Presbytery to supply the same for half of the time for the
next six months. After this he was permitted, for some time,
to labor out of the bounds of the Presbytery, and did so in
visiting and suppljnng vacant churches in the Presbytery of
Carlisle.
On September 30, 1800, he was dismissed as a licentiate from
the Presbytery of New Castle, to the Presbytery of Carlisle,
and was received by the latter October 7, 1801, and continued
to visit and supply the vacant churches. On September 9,
1802, a call was made out for him from the congregations of
East and Lower West Conococheague, to become their pastor.
This call was accepted and on August 13, 1803, was ordained
and installed pastor of these churches. In this i-elation he con-
tinued with increasing usefulness and acceptance until April
9, 1816, when, at his request, the pastoral relation was dissolved.
The disaffection which led to this request was traceable to
two incidents, such as have often led to similar results. A
young man had died in the congregation who had attained to
some distinction as a soldier and an officer in the war of 1812.
An obituary notice had been published in the papers, which
Mr. Kennedy, while he had a due regard for the standing and
achievements of the young soldier, considered too fulsome and
extravagant, and as not in good taste and ventured so to ex-
press himself in some private conversation. This conversation
is said to have been misunderstood or, at least, so represented
to the family of the deceased, as to wound their feelings and
greatly to offend them. Then, again, about the same time,
some remarks of Mr. Kennedy, in a public discourse on a day
of special observance, were interpreted as having a political
bearing and hawked about by prejudiced politicians to his
disadvantage. Mr. Kennedy being of an unduly sensitive na-
ture and hearing of the unfriendly gossip proceeding from these
two incidents, which was being repeated very generall}- in re-
lation to him, without any consultation of friends, and as was
Bev. Robert Kennedy. 145
thought hastily, announced to his congregation at once, near
the close of the public services on the Sabbath, his purpose, to
request of the Presbytery at its next meeting, a dissolution of
the pastoral relation.
In the former case he may have spoken unadvisedly : in the
latter he was doubtless sinned against. If conscious of error
or imprudence in relation to the one, a full explanation and a
sincere apology, if the party offended were reasonable, would
have probably set the matter right with them ; or if not it
would haye with all sensible people. And having done what
was right, then going forward in the line of duty, he could have
lived the whole matter down. As has been well said, " no po-
sition worth holding can be long held without lighting a battle
for it, and when that battle is fought and won then the man is
master of the situation." Mr. Kennedy's usefulness, happiness
and reputation in the ministry might have been greatly en-
hanced by pursuing this latter course. It is often a great in-
jury to a minister of talent, learning, piety and promise of use-
fulness, to be undermined or driven from a field of labor in
this or in many other ways, by persons who have, without good
or sufficient reasons, become hostile to him.
During the sixteen years of Mr. K.'s pastorate in the above
churches, it is represented by the Rev. J. Wightman in his
historical discourse at Greencastle, on May 9, 1869, " that the
congregation seems to have been in a prosperous condition.
The dangers of the frontier had been removed. The settle-
ment was at rest and the population was increasing. And, as
a consequence, the congregation, under the efficient ministry
of Mr. Kennedy, was speedily so strengthened in numbers
that to provide room for them, it became necessary to enlarge
the church.'" In the same discourse he also refers to a classical
school which, at that time, was conducted in the old " Study
House" by a Mr. Boreland, and adds this school was tenderly
cared for by Mr. Kennedy, who was a man of thorough scholar-
ship, and used his influence through his whole life to have
young men equip themselves well for any good work.
In May, 1816, Mr. Kennedy moved with his family to Cum-
berland, Maryland, where he had received an invitation to
10*
146 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
preach to the church at that place, which was then small, and
take charge of the academy. Academies abounded through
all the early history of the church in all parts of the country.
These academies, under the care of godly ministers or other
pious men, were the centers of a most healthy training to the
youth of the neighborhood, and the great and fruitful source
of well-trained yl)ung men for the ministry. Tlie breaking
down of these or the failure of the church to endow and sus-
tain them in sufficient number is one great cause of the recent
and present alarming decrease as to a proportionate number of
candidates for the gospel ministry.
On Mr. K.'s taking charge of the academy at Cumberland,
he delivered an address on the subject of education before the
trustees and others which made so favorable an impression
that a copy of it was requested for publication, Mr. Kennedy
felt very much the isolated character of his new position, the
sparsenses of the population, and the want of intercourse with
ministerial brethren and neighboring congregations.
In 1820 he was, however, greatly comforted and sustained
by encouraging tokens of the Divine presence and favor in his
ministry. In that year both his church and the town were vis-
ited by what he regarded as a gracious revival of religion,
which resulted in the addition of a goodly number to the
church who had made profession of their faith in Christ This
work was followed, however, the next year with an outbreak
of worldliness and folly, which to him and to the true friends
of the cause of Christ, was a matter of much regret and a
scandal and detriment to the cause of religion. By a class of
young men, theatrical and other amusements were introduced
into the place, and articles in their favor written and published
in the town papers. To these articles Mr. K. felt called upon
to prepare and furnish counteracting articles, and so able and
caustic were these replies, which were anonymous, that much
chagrin was experienced at their exposures and ridicule, and
the name of the author was demanded, accompanied by threats
of violence. The name of the author was given with his con-
sent and, although it was followed by much excitement, yet
there was no attempt made to carry the threats uttered into exe-
Rev. Robert Kennedy. 147
eution. Mr. K. openly and firmly maintained his position,
and bad the moral support of the pious Methodists and Lu-
therans of the place.
His son, John H., whom the present writer knew well as a
lucid preacher, and a good professor, many years later, in Jef-
ferson College, was now a student in I'rinceton Theological
Seminary, and Mr. R's income from church and academy,
being insufficient to meet his expenses and support his family,
he concluded to return to his former place of residence, and to
settle on a farm within the bounds of the Welsh Run congre-
gation. This he did in the spring of 1825. The church of
Greencastle having now secured the whole time of their pastor,
Welsh Run was vacant, and Mr. K. became the stated supply
of that congregation and of that at McConnelsburg. These
churches being too weak to support a minister, he continued
to supply them and to carry on his farm for many years, and
thus supported his family. His example and influence, both
as a preacher and farmer, were widely felt in the community
as on the right side of all moral questions, as well as in the
propagation of the gospel He was one of the first advocates
of temperance in that region of the country. His stand was
firm and consistent. He refused to sell his grain to the dis-
tillers. He was among the first to discontinue the use of liquor
in the harvest field, against great opposition at first, both from
the laborers and the neighboring farmers, and at much trouble
and labor in securing his harvest. By good judgment and
perseverance he showed that the grain could be fed to stock
and the harvests could be gathered in with greater profit and a
good conscience, without either the production or the use of
intoxicating drinks.
Mr. Kennedy was married Februar}- 17, 1801, to Jane Hcr-
ron, sister to Rev. Dr. Francis Herron, pastor of Rocky Spring,
and afterwards of the First church, Pittsburgh, Pa. She died
May 31, 1803, leaving two sons, one of whom was the Rev.
John H. Kennedy, pastor of the Sixth church in Philadelphia,
and professor in Jefferson College, Canonsburg, Pa., where he
died December 15, 1840. He was married a second timo, June
6, 1806, to Mary Davidson, daughter of Elias Davidson, of
148 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
Franklin county, Pa., by whom he had ten children, the only
surviving son now is Mr. Elias Davidson Kennedy, of Phila-
delphia, b}^ whom, as an expression of his appreciation of the
character and usefulness of his deceased father, he had erected,
at his own expense, upon the foundation of the preceding
church building, the present neat and handsome church edifice
at Welsh Run, which was dedicated to the worship of God.
September 30, 1871 In testimony of their gratitude to Mr.
Kennedy, the trustees, with the approval of the congregation
and of the Presbytery, changed the name from that of the
Welsh Run Presbyterian church, to that of the " Robert Ken-
nedy Memorial church." In person the Rev. Robert Kennedy
was of medium size, slender and of fair complexion. He had
blue eyes and was very near-sighted. He was a man of active
and industrious habits, and of plain and unostentatious manner.
He was generally recognized as a man of high order of intel-
lect, a good general scholar, and especially well trained in
classical studies. As a preacher Mr. Kennedy ranked well in
his Presbytery. Dr. David Elliott, said, " his sermons were
full of solid, evangelical truth, well arranged and forcibly ex-
pressed, were written in full, committed to memory and de-
livered without notes. His manner was earnest and impres-
sive, and he rarely failed to secure the fixed and sustained at-
tention of his audience. Dr. McGinley, another co-presbyter
of his for many years, is also quoted as having said of him,
" As a preacher he had few superiors. The plan of his dis-
courses was as clear as the sun. He could pour a flood of
light upon almost every subject he discussed, and there was
much pleasure and profit in attending to his sermons. They
were always orthodox, always to the point, always instructive
and frequently very impressive."
Dr. Elliott is also quoted as saying, " Mr. Kennedy's piety
was intelligent and practical ; the product of spiritual illumi-
nation and sanctifying grace, with great freedom from preten-
sion on his part. It manifested itself in a clear comprehension
of divine truth as revealed in the word of God, and in a con-
sistent and active obedience to the requirements of duty. Al-
though, said he, we have no account of his conversion, or of
REU. GEORGE nUEEIELE, U. E.
1734 — 1BS7.
Rev. Oewge Duffield, IX I). 149
the inward experience of his heart at this time, we have what
is equivalent in a paper found among his manuscripts, bearing
date December 8. 1798, between eight and nine months previous
to his licensure. This paper is denominated, " A solemn ded-
ication of all that I have and am to the service of God." In
this solemn act of consecration signed and sealed by his own
hand, there is ample evidence of a deep and earnest exercise
of soul, under the saving influence of the spii-it of God."
During his last illness he was visited by the Rev. Mr. Davie,
who said to him, " Father Kennedy, you have often adminis-
tered the consolations of religion to others, will you leave to
us, who are to stand in your stead, your feelings in dying."
To this he calmly replied, " I do not experience those raptur-
ous feelings which some have spoken of in dying, but mj^ faith
in the efficacy of the blood and atonement of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ is as strong as ever."
His death took place October 31, 1848, after a long and lin-
gering illness, and just before his decease, after his sight had
left him he requested his wife to call his children around his
bedside and when informed that they were there he i-aised his
head and said, " My dear children I am about to leave you ;
may the blessing of God rest with you, through time and
eternity," and in a few minutes after this he died.
Thus lived and died this servant of God, whose character
and life have been reflected in those of his children and of his
people, and may continue to be so reflected in their childrens'
children from generation to generation. The memory of the
just is blessed.
Rev. George DuflBeld, D. D,
The subject of the present sketch was the grandson of the
Rev. George Dnffield, D. D., an account of whom has been
previously given in this series. His father was George Duf-
field, who was for many years Comptroller General of the State
of Pennsylvania, and a ruling elder in the Presbyterian church.
He resided near Strasburg, Lancaster county, on the farm pur-
chased by his great grandfather, about 1730. Here his son,
perpetuating the same name, was born July 4, 1794. His
150 Preabytertj of Carlisle — Centennial.
father married Faithful Slajmaker, of the same county, who
like the Duffields, was of Huguenot and Scotch-Irish descent.
The French excitability of temperament seems, however, to
have predominated and come out in all that bear the Duffield
name.
The present George Duffield is spoken of as a wayward boy
and a precocious youth, who, at the early age of sixteen, grad-
uated from the University of Penns^dvania, May 30, 1811.
About this time life began to him to have some real aim. His
first awakening to any serious interest on the subject of per-
sonal religion was occasioned Iw his over-hearing the conver-
sation of two pious women on the subject. His first conviction
of sin is ascribed to a sermon preached by the Eev. Dr. Archi-
bald Alexander on prayer. It was, however, some time before
he attained to a comfortable hope of his acceptance with God
through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. As soon as he be-
came satisfied that he had found the way of peace he com-
menced the stud\' of theology under Dr. John M. Mason, the
prince of American preachers and expounders of the Scriptures,
under whose instruction lie took a full course of four years.
He was licensed by the Presbytery of Philadelphia, April 20,
1815, when he was still under twenty-one years of age.
Two questions which were especially prominent at that time,
were pressed upon him for definite answers during his exami-
nations before the Presbytery. They were, " What is saving
faith in Christ ?" " What is the grand essential fact to be be-
lieved in the first actings of saving faith ?"
These occasioned him much perplexity. And it has been
intimated that if there was anything individual in his theolog-
ical views, it was because of this discipline.
The hard point to solve he said in later life was, " What au-
thority have I to believe that Christ died for me personally ?"
It was solved at last in the conviction that the offers of salva-
tion through Christ are freely made to all, and that the saving
act of faith is first of all an appropriating act by which the
sinner accepts the gift as extended to and meant for him."
" This appropriating act of faith I saw was like the hand
stretched forth to take the free gift, and make it mine in pos-
Reii George Dujffield, D. D. lol
session as it was mine in offer. This became to me the way of
peace and joy and strength and holiness. So to preach the
riches of His grace and so to press upon sinners the acceptance
of Him as their personal Saviour, as having died as particularly
for each one as He did in general for all, I felt before my
licensure to be the way to preach the very essence and marrow
of the gospel. The Presbytery of Philadelphia thought in so
doing I taught that the sinner in his first actings of faith must
believe, that he is one of the elect, and did not give me credit
for the distinction made between faith's saying ' Christ is mine
in God's gracious offer,' and the witness of the Spirit, through
conscious dependence, enabling me to say. " He is mine in
actual possession."
" A similar difficult3%'' he said, " was found in harmonizing
the immediate obligation of the sinner to believe in Christ, and
the indispensable agency of the Holy Spirit, to induce and en-
able him so to do. This difficulty was thus solved. Moral
corruption I saw was not regarded in the Scriptures, i. e.,
viewed in the light of their definition of sin, as a physical
entity or quality at all : but the attribute of voluntary moral
agents, endowed with adequate capacities for moral obligation
and justly held responsible under law for obedience to God."
So he said " the agency of the Holy Spirit, in regeneration,
was never a physical potency or an irresistible afflatus, but a
powerful motive moral force brought to bear upon the minds,
consciences and hearts of sinners through the truth as revealed
by Jesus Christ."
Both the Presbytery of Philadelphia and that of Carlisle,
hesitated at first to accept of the answers which he then gave,
as satisfactory on these and other points, but after some delay
and discussion and explanations he was licensed by the former
and ordamed and installed by the latter pastor at Carlisle, Pa.,
September 25, 1816. The statements above given were made
at u much later period in relation to these points. He, no
doubt, thought them satisfactory, even in his maturest years.
Mr. Duffield, it is claimed, in the famous school of Dr. John
M. Mason, like all Dr. Mason's pupils, learned to be an inde-
pendent thinker. He was undoubtedly like his grandfather, a
152 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
man of very distinct individuality, of very positive convictions,
and ingenuous and frank in the expression of them. He was
an earnest man, a bold and fearless preacher of the gospel, a
man of piety and of prayer, throwing himself, soul and body,
into his work, facing uncompromisingly and unhesitatingly
opnvion£ and practices, however long prevalent, of which he
did not approve. He thus often gave great offense, exciting
deep feelings and strong prejudices which were hard to over-
come or allay, yet such were his earnestness and sincerity that
while he drove not a few away from him, he attracted more to
him and was instrumental in arousing professing Christians
to greater zeal and active devotion in the cause of religion and
in bringing large numbers to profess their faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ.
In the summer of 1815, when just of age, Mr. Duffield was
on his way to western Pennsylvania, on business for his
father, when he came to Carlisle, where there were many
friends of his grandfather still residing. He was induced to
remain over Sabbath and preach, as the church was vacant.
The congregation was greatly distracted at this time by in-
ternal dissensions, having been without a settled pastor for
three years and having divided in attempting to call Rev.
Henry R. Wilson, D. D., who had been assistant preacher to
Dr. Robert Davidson and a professor in the College. The
majority persisted in calling him, and the minority were equally
determined in opposing his settlement. Presbytery, after much
delibe]»ation, decided not to place the call in his hands and coun-
seled both parties to study the things which make for peace.
Under these circumstances young Mr. Duffield came among
them, his preaching was characterized by impassioned earnest-
ness, and made a deep impression upon the people, leading a
number to ascribe their permanent religious impressions to his
preaching at this time.
In December the congregation united in making out a call
for him to become their pastor. At the close of the year he
returned and commenced preaching regularly to them, but did
not make up his mind to accept their call until February and
was not ordained until the following autumn.
Reo. George Duffield, D. D. 153
At the first meeting of the session, which had been enlarged
by an addition of five new elders since his advent among them,
making eight in all, he introduced a series of resolutions in
favor of strict discipline, greater caution in the admission of
members to the full communion of the church ; requiring of
all communicants the regular observance of family worship,
and abstinence from worldly and sinful amusements, and in
favor of quarterly communions with only one day of prepara-
tory services.
Dr. C. P. Wing says, in his history of the church. " as each
of these resolutions were aimed at long-established usages in
the congregation, we need not be surprised that they should
have awakened much opposition."
In April, 1814, two hundred and twenty-one members were
reported as in communion with the church. No complete list
of the members had been kept, but only a record of baptisms
and admissions to the Lord's table. An invitation was given
to all who, at that time, were in regular standing to hand in
their names to the pastor or one of the elders, and receive
tokens admitting them to the communion. In response to
this call only one hundred and fifty-two names were handed to
the session. In this way those who were dissatisfied with the
new regulations dropped out of the communion of the church.
Baptism was refused to the children of all but professed be-
lievers and was required in all cases, except in extraordinary
circumstances to be public, and the children thus baptized
were treated as members of the church, subject to its oversight
and care. The pastor superintended their instruction in the
catechism, and at the time of pastoral visitation the pastor or
elder accompanying him, were expected to make diligent in-
quiry as to the religious instruction of the children. In 1816
a Sabbath-school was organized, the first one in the congrega-
tion. It was intended especially for the instruction and re-
ligious training of those children that received none at home,
and hence was regarded as a missionar}^ and benevolent work.
A female Bible-class was organized and conducted by the pastor.
A- prayer-meeting was also appointed, and a few of the elders
and other private members were encouraged to take part
154 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
in social prayer. A female prayer-meeting was soon com-
menced and carried on by the ladies themselves. On Wednes-
day afternoon appointments were made for meeting the young,
who were required to recite the Shorter Catechism with proofs
and the older ones were encouraged to commit the Larger Cat-
echism and the Psalms. Similar appointments were made for
those residing in the country, and when the young gave evi-
dence of piety they were informed that they had a right to a
place at the communion table.
The church, it is claimed, while reduced in members, was
greatly increased in purity and activity. The pastor, while he
raised the standard and enforced the new rules, sometimes with
severity, was alike strict with himself, and a man devoted to
the welfare of the church and community, and a man of faith
and prayer, consecrated to the work of the ministry. His
preaching was with power. A form of covenant for the public
admission of members to the communion of the church was
drawn up and read and assented to by all persons admitted to
the church, which pledged each one to renounce attendance at
balls, dances, theatres, and such like demoralizing amusements,
and set forth what were called the doctrines of grace in the
strongest terms. The enforcement of these terras of com-
munion excited great opposition at the time ; and the wisdom
and authority for such covenants is still questioned by many
of the wisest and best ministers and sessions in the church. It
would be difficult to show that anything more than a credible
profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is required in the
New Testament as a term of Christian communion, or is au-
thorized by our church standards. The lowest terms of salva-
tion are the highest terms of Christian communion. That
which will take a soul to heaven should take it into the
church on earth.
Mr. Duffield's zeal, earnestness, activity and fidelity as a
preacher and pastor, were greatly effective under the divine
blessing, in the way of large ingatherings into the church. At
his first communion twenty -three were admitted on confession
of their faith and twenty-one by certificate. During the first
year of his ministry sixty- seven were received on profession
R^. George Duffi^ld, D. D. 155
and six by certificate. In 1823, one hundred and nine on ex-
amination and thirteen by certificate. In 1831, one hundred
and eight by profession and sixteen by certificate. In the
eighteen years of his pastorate, seven hundred and twenty by
profession and one hundred and eighty-two by certificate, an
average of fifty per year. Among these were a number of col-
lege students and from among them fifty-six became ministers
of the gospel. This gives great importance and far-reaching in-
fluence to his ministry while in Carlisle and goes to show what
an inestimable loss was the loss of Dickinson College to our
church at large.
The seasons of large ingathering were by no means constant
or uniform. The faith and patience of both pastor and people
were often greatly tried by seasons of religious declension, as
well as greatly cheered by seasons of revival. Indeed there
were times in which the pastor and session were driven to states
of extreme discouragement. The ultimate result, however,
was to bring him and others to cease their dependence on man
and on means, and to bring them to more earnest wrestlings at
a throne of grace. Only one communion season, however,
passed during Mr. Dufiield's pastorate at which there were no
additions. Marked dispensations of divine Providence attended
the ministry of Dr. Duffield in Carlisle, and lessons of rebuke
were administered in some cases, which left most lasting and
salutary impressions on the community. In other cases these
solemn providences were blessed to a general religious awaken-
ing and under Grod to a genuine revival of true religion. A
marked case of this latter kind occurred in 1822, in the sudden
death of two young men of great promise, and connected with
families of high social position. One of these was a son of
Dr. John M. Mason, Dr. Duffield's theological preceptor, and at
this time president of Dickinson College. This young man
had graduated and was a teacher in the preparatory depart-
ment, and a young man of highly exemplary character. He
fell a victim to typhoid fever. His father was greatly over-
come by the affliction, and had been unwilling that any ad-
dress should be made at the funeral services, on the ground
that they were apt to run into eulogies upon the deceased.
156 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
But when the young men came to lift the cof&n as pall bearers
the aged father broke the solemn silence bv exclaiming in
tones wLich made a profound impression, '' Young men tread
lightly, you bear a temple of the Holy Ghost," and then amid
deep emotion said to his friend. Rev. Dr. McCartee, of New
York, who was present, " Dear Mc. ! say something which God
may bless to his young friends." He did so, a deep impression
was made, and soon a gracious revival commenced in the col-
lege, which extended to the town, and resulted in an addition
to the church of over one hundred on profession of their faith,
among whom were George Bethune, Erskine and Ebenezer
Mason, John M. Dickey and some fifteen others who became
ministers of the gospel.
Dr. Duffield and his people took an early and decided stand
in the temperance movement and in favor of Sabbath observ-
ance.
In the latter part of Mr. Dufheld's pastorate in Carlisle, Dr.
Wing, in his history of the First church, says: "He was
induced to adopt a style of preaching in some respects differ-
ent from that which characterized him at an earlier period, and
which prevailed among his ministenal brethren in the region.''
" The figurative expressions which he found in the Scriptures
to describe regeneration were drawn from those in use to de-
scribe the origin of natural life. He argued, therefore, if we
have been mistaken as to what life is in its more ordinary
forms, we can hardly fail to have been mistaken as to it in
spiritual things. If life was a created substance — regeneration
was a physical change wrought by the natural omnipotence of
God and depravity a physical essence producing sin by a
necessity of nature." " The discovery of the falsity of his early
philosophy on this subject," was followed by the discovery
" that life was no real essence but rather a state of being."
This was doubtless intended to be apologetic for this new de-
parture in his religious views and mode of preaching. Dr.
Robert Davidson in his biographical sketches of the more dis-
tinguished members of the Synod of Philadelphia, regards it
very differently. He says, " A visit to New England and Dr.
(Nathaniel W.) Taylor, of New Haven, is supposed to have
Rev. George Dujjield, D. D. 157
wrought a change in his theological sentiments which appeared
in his preaching." The simple truth is that the star of " Tay-
lorism'" or of '' the new divinity," as it was then called, was then
in its ascendency, and many were allured by its pretentious
light and Mr. Duffield, like Mr. Barnes, Drs. Beman, Cox and
others, came under its blighting influence. Dr. Duflield wrote
a book, alas ! for his reputation as a theologian and a meta-
physician. That book is not, as Robert Hall sarcastically
characterized Gill's Commentary, "a continent of mud." It is
a deep unfathomable mire, in which neither he nor any one
else has been able to touch bottom. Dr. Talbot W. Chambers,
one of his own spiritual children, than whom none is more
loyal to Dr. Duffield as a preacher and a Christian and a friend,
said in his reminiscenses at the centennial of the Presbytery,
that Dr. Alexander McClelland, an eminent scholar and meta-
physician once said of Dr. Duffield " that he knew no man so
effective and mighty in presenting the practical side of religion,
but that when he turned, as he sometimes did, to metaphysics,
he got so deep down in the mud that he did not know where
he was, nor did anyone else."
This estimate of Drs. McClelland and Chambei-s will be the
final and settled estimate of Dr. D., both as a metaphysician
and theologian. He had eminent gifts and acquirements, but
they were not of this kind. His good brethren, Drs. Wing, in
the history of the First church of Carlisle, and Z. M. Humphrey,
in his biographical sketch in the reunion memorial volume,
have tried to lift him up out of theological and metaphysical
mire, and to set him upon a pinnacle, but posterity will find
him theologically and metaphysically where Dr. Chambers left
him, and that is, where he neither understood himself and
where no one else can understand him.
It was in this light his own Presbytery regarded the change
in his views. The committee to which his book was referred
for examination reported, " that the book contained doctrines
in opposition to those of the Confession of Faith, and on sub-
jects essential to the gospel scheme of salvation." " In parts
of the work," the committee said, "the language is exceedingly
obscure or equivocal, many theological terms and phrases long
158 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial
in use and well understood are set aside and a new pliraseology
is introduced unnecessary and often unintelligible to most
readers; which things are calculated greatly to embarrass and
mislead even honest inquirers after the truth who are not ac-
customed to very elaborate investigations ; and, although the
work sometimes professes to set aside all philosophy and to
adhere simply to Scripture and facts, yet does the author range
through ever}^ department of natural science, and it is evident
that his philosophy respecting the nature of life runs through
the greater part of the work and gives character to it" This
report was approved by Presbytery, and " all the ministers,
elders and people were mosi solemnly and affectionately warned
to guard against distracting and dangerous errors." Against
this action a minority appealed to Synod. Before a decision
was reached by Synod, the Synod was informed that charges
were about to be preferred before Presbytery against Mr. Duf-
field, formally charging him personally '• with maintaining and
industriously propagating, both from the pulpit and through
the press, doctrines or opinions, either absurd in themselves or
directly at variance with some of the most important and vital
doctrines and truths taught in the standards of the Presbyterian
church and in the word of God." Then follows ten specific
charges respecting the life of man and the life of God : the
condition of the soul when created and born into the world ;
the nature of the life with which man was endowed, as in the
image of God ; the denial of the covenant relation between
God and Adam as the representative of his natural offspring ;
the denial of the imputation of the guilt of Adam's sin to his
posterity to their legal condemnation, and in ascribing the
natural death of infants solely to their natural relationship to
Adam as a parent ; in affirming that all holiness and sin con-
sist exclusively in the voluntary acts and exercises of the soul ;
that no moral character can be predicated of infants ; that they
are neither sinful nor holy ; that man in his fallen state is pos-
sessed of entire ability to repent, believe and perform other
holy exercises, independently of any new power imparted in
regeneration ; that regeneration is essentially a voluntary
change or act of the soul, due only to the moral suasion of the
Rev. George DuffieUt D. D. 159
spirit or of the truth ; that by Scripture election is to be under-
stood nothing more than a certain portion of mankind being
made the subjects of spiritual life — nothing more than the actual
display of God's sovereignty in making believers alive from
the dead.
These are the heads of the charges which were preferred
against Mi-. DufReld, at a meeting of the Presbytery of Carlisle,
November 28, 1832, in the Big Spring church. Newville, Pa.,
and approved by Presb\'tery as the items of error, charged
against him and to which he was cited to give answer Decem-
ber 18th following in the same church. Mr. Duffield it seems,
was absent from home by reason of a previous engagement at
New Haven, the place of Dr. Taylor's residence during all the
time of the interval between the Presbyterial meeting at New-
ville, on the 29th of November, and that before which he was
cited to appear on December 18th. On this account he was
unable to make preparation to meet Presbytery, and sent a
respectful apology to that effect, and asked Presbytery to meet
in Carlisle. He was accordingly cited again to appear before
the stated meeting in Carlisle, April. 1838.
In the meantime the Second Preslwterian church of Carlisle
in answer to a petition of seven t}'^ six persons, presented to
Presbytery, praying for such organization, was organized by a
committee of Presbytery.
On April 11, 1833, the Presbytery was constituted with
twenty-four ministers and thirteen elders, and the trial pro-
ceeded. The chief evidence adduced to sustain the charges
were extracts taken from the book on regeneration. Five days
were spent in the investigation of the charges and in hearing
the committee of prosecution, and Mr. D., in his own defense,
amid much popular excitement. On the first three charges in
relation to life and the image of God in man, the vote stood
seven and six for sustaining the charges to five and four for
not sustaining. On the following five charges, in which the
doctrines of Taylorism or of the new divinity were embraced,
and which were more serious errors, the vote to sustain was
larger, standing twelve to sustain, four not to sustain and two
non Uquit.
160 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial
»The Presbytery then, by a solemn resolution, adjudged that
Mr. D.'s book did contain the specified errors, yet in view of
his allegations that the book was misinterpreted and his pro-
testations that he held the doctrines of the standards, and of
his expressed desire to live in amity with his brethren and to
labor without interference for the glory of God and the salva-
tion of souls, Presbytery, while condemning his book, re-
solved to impose at present no farther censure, " further than
to warn him to guard against such speculations as may im-
pugn the doctrines of our church ; and that he study to main-
tain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace."
At the meeting of the Synod of Philadelphia in the follow-
ing October, the committee appointed to review the minutes of
the Presbytery of Carlisle, took the following exception to its
action, " inasmuch as the errors condemned were serious as re-
lating to fundamental truth and without receiving from him
any acknowledgment of his errors, or any pledge that he
would cease to teach or propagate them, Presbytery had re-
solved not to censure him any further than to warn him
against such speculations," "this, Synod cannot approve, be-
cause it compromises essential truths, defeats the ends of disci-
pline, and presents in effect a result never contemplated by the
book of discipline."
From this action Mr. D. appealed to the General Assembly
but the appeal was not prosecuted.
Mr! Duffield now came to the conclusion that he might be
more useful in some other field. During his absence, in De-
cember, 1832, he had, on invitation, visited the North church
of New Haven, but was unwilling to accept a call from that
church while the charges were pending against him before his
Presbytery.
In 1835, his trial being over, he received and accepted a call
to the Fifth Presbyterian church, on Arch street above Tenth,
Philadelphia, to succeed Dr. Thomas Skinner, where he re-
mained two years, and then after a brief settlement of one year
in the Broadway Tabernacle, New York, he was, on October
1, 1838, installed over the Protestant church, now the First
Presbyterian, of Detroit, Michigan, where he continued until
his death June 26. 1868.
Rev. George Duffield, D. D. 161
As a preacher Dr. Duffield was a man of power. His ser-
mons were pungent, forcible and his manner earnest and very
impressive. He was always a fearless preacher of what he
regarded the truth, terribly in earnest in the denunciation of
sin and vice.
In (Carlisle and its vicinity, where he spent the first and
freshest part of his ministry, he was long held in high esteem
by large numbers of the people, many of whom he had led to
the Saviour ; and by those who were opposed to him he was
always held in the highest respect on account of his eminent
talents as a preacher and for the purity of his motives, and for
the ardor of his zeal in the cause of Christ.
The thirty years spent in Michigan, constituted the maturest
and most important and most useful period of his life. Here
his views became more fixed and settled, his influence more
extended and powerful. He became a thorough and pro-
nounced Presbyterian and was indefatigable in his labors for
the advancement of Christ's kingdom through his own denom-
ination.
He continued to be a man of decided individuality, yet his
culture was continually broadening and deepening. He was
skilled in the use of the Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French and
German languages, as well as in his own native tongue. He
was also a student of the natural sciences. He had a retentive
memory and a brilliant imagination. In his religious views
he settled down more and more in conformity to the standards
of the Presbyterian church. At the suggestion of Dr. Park,
of Andover, when the committee of publication was organized
by the New School branch of the church, it was proposed in
the committee to prepare and publish a statement of the New
School Theology. Much difficulty was experienced in agree-
ing upon a suitable person to undertake its preparation. Mr.
Barnes declined to undertake it, alleging that he was not the
man to do it. Finally the committee settled upon Dr. Duffield,
then of Detroit. He accepted the appointment, prepared the
statement and forwarded it to the committee, but only two of
its members approved the statement, and as it could not re-
ceive the endorsement of the rest thev declined to publish it
11*
162 Presbytery of Carlisle^— Centennial
This is the paper which appeared in the Bihliotheca Sacra,
in 1863, and attracted much attention at that time. It is a'
very moderate and careful statement, very much in the line of
the Auburn Declaration, not embodying the objectionable
views previously published by Beman, Duffield, Barnes and
Cox, the nature of sin on regeneration, the federal headship
of Adam and human ability.
Thought in the end governs the church and the world.
Error, impulse and passion may rule for a time, but in the long
run truth will triumph. The views indicated above threatened
for a time to revolutionize and dominate in the Presbyterian
church. But God raised up those whom he emplo3^ed to ex-
pose their fallacy and show their contrariety to the Scriptures
and the standards of the church, and they were in time dis-
carded and have largely disappeared, and are not likely to
return to disturb the church again. The dangers now threat-
ening the church are of a still more serious nature and have
come from different quarters. The higher criticism, the ration-
alistic negation of the supernatural, a tendency to high church
formalism and ritualism, and a disposition to alter long ac-
cepted formulas of divine truth, these are what the church
is called to lift a standard against at the present time. The
great want of the church is able preachers and defenders of the
inspired word of God, men who will neither speculate against
the truth nor about the truth, but seek to understand and pro-
claim it, remembering that human speculations, like the mists
and clouds upon the mountains, will pass away, but that the
word of God, like the everlasting hills, shall abide forever.
Christianity has nothing to fear from an age of inquiry.
The reformation period was such an era, when Christianity was
rapidl}^ diffused. Life with all its hazards is better than death
which has no perils because it has nothing to lose. The Pres-
byterian church may now be said to be strong in the faith, in
zeal and in activity. Its membership was never so numerous
or so active. Its missionary agencies at home and abroad were
never so efficient, and its propagators and defenders in the
pulpit and through the press were never more learned, fearless
or confident. True the enemies of divine revelation, and of
Rev. Alexander McClelland, D. D. 168
the Christian religion were never more formidable or more
intellectually powerful, or more accomplished in literary and
scientilic attainments, or more earnest and combined in their
open hostility. And hence Christian men must be on the
alert and watch the tendencies of religious thought, and guard
against the negations of error, and stand firm for the truth of
God. In the present generation, as in the past, there is much
talk about improvement and progress in theology, and the
need of reformulating the creed of the church, but there is a
general vagueness and indefiniteness about the reform and the
improvement to be secured by this progressive class. Man is
admitted on all sides to be in his very nature a religious being
and that he must have a religion of some form, some object of
religious worship to satisfy the cravings of his religious nature.
Every community must have a religious faith and worship.
Any attempt to interfere with this must recoil upon those who
make it. The great question is from whence is that religion
to be derived and what is it to be ? The great reformers of
the sixteenth century said, from the inspired Scriptures of the
Old and New Testaments, as our only and infallible rule of faith
and conduct and from that word they derived their religious
faith and mode of worship, and the Westminster divines set forth
that faith and form of worship in clear logical statements, and
upon that basis the Presbyterian church has stood through all
her history. On it she must continue to stand as against all
opposing rationalistic skepticism from without and against all
vague and hasty theorists as to theological progress from within.
Dr. Duffield lost himself for a time in the cloudy and misty
regions of human speculation, but in his maturer years he
settled down upon the clearer statements of the reformed the-
ology, as set forth in the Westminster standards, as the the-
ology of the Scriptures and of true Christian experience.
Rev. Alexander McOlelland, D. D
Tlie above-named minister was professor of logic, meta-
physics and belles lettres in Dickinson College from 1822 to
1829, and a member of Carlisle Presbytery during that period.
He was born in Schenectady, New York, iu 1794. We find
164 Presbyter u of Carlisle — CenknniaL
nothing in relation to his parents or ancestors. He graduated
at Union (college in 1809. He is said to have been remarkable
in his youth for great facility m learning and the rapid devel-
opment of his mental faculties. Having received his collegiate
education in his native place, he commenced his theological
studies vinder the instruction of Rev. John Anderson, I). D.,
of the Associate Presbyterian church at Pittsburgh, Pa. We
know nothing of his early religious experience, nor as to his
motives as then expressed in seeking the gospel ministry.
Owing to the superior advantages which the Theological Sem-
inary of the Associate Reformed Synod of New York then
presented, he left Pittsburgh in order to avail himself of the
greater advantages in New York, especially in attending upon
the lectures of the Rev. Dr. John M. Mason. It was in con-
nection with that seminary he completed his theological prep-
aration for the ministry. Soon after he was licensed by the
Associate Reformed Presbyter}- of New York City to preach
the gospel, when but nineteen years of age, and in the same
year, 1815, he was ordained and installed as the successor of
the Rev. Dr. Philip MilledoUer, as pastor of the Rutgers Street
Presbyterian church in New York City. In this position he
continued for seven years, during which time he performed the
duties of that charge with great faithfulness, with distinguished
ability and with growing reputation as a preacher. At the
end of that period he was elected professor of rhetoric, logic
and metaphysics, in Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pa. To that
place he at once removed with his family in 1822. There he
entered upon his new Huties as a professor with great zeal and
earnestness and made himself master of the studies in his de-
partment and acquired a high reputation as a successful in-
structor. In 1829 he was chosen professor of languages in
Rutger's College, New Brunswick, New Jersey, and afterwards
professor of oriental literature and languages in the Reformed
Dutch Theological Seminary in the same city, in which posi-
tions he spent the greater part of his remaining life, until 1857,
when he resigned. His death was preceded by paralysis and
took place December 19, 1864, in the sixty-ninth year of his age.
On August 6, 1816, he was manied to the eldest daughter
Rev. Alexander McClelland, I). D. 165
of Charles Dickinson, of the city of New York, and sister of
Rev. Richard W. Dickinson, D. D., by whom he had two sons
and four daughters.
Dr. McClelland was a commanding and attractive preacher
from the outset. Though small in stature and somewhat ec-
centric in manner, he had a voice of unusual flexibility, fulness
and power, delivered his sermons from memory, with all the
earnestness of one whose mind was sur-charged with his sub-
ject, and with all the naturalness and ease and impressiveness
of an extempore speaker, with voice and manner adapted to the
appropriate expression of every sentiment ; and as a conse-
quence he failed not to interest and impress his audiences and
became noted for the style and manner of his preaching.
At the same time he was a man that had great acuteness,
strength and breadth of mind. He had the faculty of concen-
trating all his powers on any given subject. What he did he
did with all his might.
He was not given to mere empty declamation. This he
could not endure. He was equally hostile to vagueness, mis-
tiness and superficiality. He always aimed to be understood.
He had at the same time a nervous dread of monotony and
prosiness as a preacher. On this account it was thought that
he often verged to the opposite extreme, resorting to irony,
sarcasm, strokes of humor, to quaint stories and even to
phrases too well fitted to amuse and divert the minds of his
audience from that state of sobriety and solemnity befitting the
subject, the time and the place.
Few men in the pulpit were more* widely acceptable and
generally popular as a preacher. He preached the old gospel
but with a freshness, force and individuality of statement and
application that were peculiar to him. Adhering strictly to his
text, he was. by turns, argumentative, expository, descriptive
and practical, and always connected, logical and conclusive.
Notwithstanding his propensity to humorous statements,
even until it became with him a chronic affection of his mind,
yet he was always regarded as rich in thought, evangelical in
doctrine, which, taken in connection with his cultivated imag-
ination, his extensive reading, secured for his pulpit ministra-
166 Presbytery of Carlisle. — Centennial.
tions great clearness, variety and aptness of illustration and
made him remarkably graphic in the description of scenes and
in the delineation of characters. At the same time few of his
contemporaries were more searching in the analysis of the car-
nal mind, more successful in exposing the groundlessness of
unscriptural hopes, or in the exhibition of the sophistries of
error and the cavils of unbelievers. He was a most faithful
and instructive expounder of the great truths of divine revela-
tion, most forcible in the delineation of Christian character,
very affecting in showing forth the Saviour's dying love, and
most solemn and impressive in his appeals to dying men, when
eternity, with all its solemn realities, seemed to till the sphere
of his vision.
But his reputation as a preacher was regarded as excelled
by his success as a professor. lie considered himself better
fitted for the professor's chair than for the pulpit. It was for
this reason that he continued as professor at Carlisle, even
when called unanimously to succeed the Rev. Dr. James P.
Wilson as pastor of the First Presbyterian church in Philadel-
phia. In preparation for his successive chairs, he was neces-
sarily carried over a wide range of studies. In this way he
was led to resume and greatly extend and render more thor-
ough his knowledge of the classics, to re-examine and com-
pare the various systems of ancient and modern philosophy, to
watch the progress of scientific investigations, and to gather up
the fruits of these enforced studies, for use in his class-room. But
the more general his acquaintance with the treasures of varied
languages and the deeper his investigations of the operations
of the human mind, the stronger became his faith in the exist-
ence of the God of Revelation and the higher his reverence for
the divine word. To its divine authority he bowed with
docility in all matters of religious faith and duty ; for its
teachings he inculcated the deepest reverence, and inclined as
he was to speculative thought, he always recognized the limits
of legitimate speculation in relation to God and His holy word.
In his judgment the most firm and effective grounds of faith
in the divine word was thorough acquaintance with its I'e-
vealed truths. Hence his Biblical studies continued through
Rev. William Neill, D. D. 167
all his years, and during the period of his last professorship
his Bible became the favorite and all absorbing subject of his
study, a part, as one has said, of his intellectual self.
He was an enthusiastic teacher of the Hebrew language and
Biblical interpretation. He ainned to impart to his students
his own enthusiasm. He gave young men the secrets of men-
tal discipline, imparted to them a mastery over their own
minds : and instead of storing them with his own acquisitions,
sought rather to train them to habits of patient and persevering
investigation for themselves ; and thus put them in the way
of making continued acquisitions while life should last.
Says Dr. Dickinson with respect to him, " From my earliest
recollections of him, he was a close student, and, in the whole
course of my association with ministers of the gospel, I have
seldom met with one who bestowed more thought on a single
discourse, or expended more time in preparation for a partic-
ular service. It seemed, to be his settled conviction that no
one could refresh, much less kindle and elevate an audience
but by real thought : and this could only be attained by the
patient application of a well-disciplined and richly-stored mind
to the fundamental principles of religious faith and practice."
He was a remarkably good reader. His reading of the
Scriptures was greatl}- enjoyed. His distinct utterance, his
power of expression, his variety of tone, his reverential man-
ner, made it very impressive and edifying.
His prayers were noted for simplicity, humility, reverence
and the apt and abundant use of Scripture quotation.
His chief publications are his volume entitled, Oanon and
Interpretation of Scripture and a posthumous volume of ser-
mons. It is believed that Dr. McClelland will live more in
the lives of his students than either in his preaching or in his
published writings.
Rev. -William Neill, D. D.
Dr. Neill succeeded Dr. John M. Mason in the presidency of
Dickinson College, became a member of Carlisle Presbytery,
and ranked among the more distinguished ministers of his day.
He was the sixth and youngest child of William Neill and
168 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
Jane Snodgrass. His parents were of Scotch-Irish ancestry,
and were born and raised in Chestnut Level, Lancaster county,
Pennsylvania. In the year 1776 his parents, with their four
oldest children, Dorcas, Mary, John and Jane, moved to Alle-
gheny county, in western Pennsylvania, where his father pur-
chased two farms on the Monongahela river, a few miles from
Fort Pitt, now Pittsburgh, and settled on the one southwest of
the river, about three miles from the place now known as Mc-
Keesport. There his youngest sister Margaret and he were
born, she in 1776 and he April 25, 1778 or 9. This was in
the midst of the Revolutionary war and at a time when the
hostile Indians were making deadly incursions among the
border settlements, destroying property and slaughtering the
people on the frontiers. To one of these savage invasions his
father and an uncle, then on a visit with a view to settlement,
fell victims. Soon after William was born and the morning
after the arrival of his uncle Adam, from Lancaster county, he
and his father went out in search of the horses, with a view of
putting in the spring crop, when they were both shot down
and scalped by marauding Indians, within a short distance of
the house. A third brother, John, hearing the report of their
guns, ran for his rifle and hurried out in pursuit of them, but
they had made their escape, and on the way killed and scalped
three sons of a neighbor, some distance off by the name of
Marshall. The mother, with her infant child William in her
arms, and the rest of the family, fled to a block-house, distant
about a mile. The father and brother were buried in the same
grave, on what is known as the Long Run farm, about midway
between Pittsburgh and Greensburg. Under the pressure of
this sad disaster and of multiplied cares and sorrows, the health
oi the mother rapidly declined and she survived the husband
and father only about three years, and her remains are interred
near the Lebanon church, a few miles from the place where
they settled. From this time the children were located in the
families of near relatives. William, at about four years of age,
was placed in the family of an uncle, Robert Snodgrass, three
miles south of Pittsburgh, in which he spent the next six
years of his boyhood, doing light work on the farm and attend-
Rev. William Neill. D. D. 169
ing a common country school, a part of each year, some two
miles away.
This uncle lived remote from any place of public worship
and the family rarely attended upon the preaching of the word
and the worship of God, excepting now and then in the sum-
mer season, when there was preaching at some farm house or
in a neighboring grove. Nor had he the advantage of an early
religious training of any kind, as the neighborhood was desti-
tute both of churches and Sabbath-schools and there was no
religious training in the family home. At the age of ten, Dr.
Neill says, in his autobiography, he was about as ignorant of
the doctrines of the gospel and of the duties which he owed
to his Creator and Redeemer, as any of the children of the
forest.
At the close of this period, at the age of ten, with the con-
sent of all concerned, he went to reside tirst with his oldest
sister, Mrs. Sampson, and then with another and afterwards for
a year or two with his brother, who then owned and occupied
the farm on which his parents first settled. During all this
time, no one having any authoritative control over him, he says
he became a wandering, wayward, homeless orphan boy, and
but for the unseen and unheeded guardianship of divine Provi-
dence he must have gone to speedy ruin.
At length, having attended school long enough to enable
him to read, write and keep accounts, he became a clerk in the
store of a Mr. John Dayly, in the neighborhood of one of his
sivSters, where he gained some knowledge of the mercantile bus-
iness and the benefits of association with his employer, who
was, in all respects, an exemplary man. After being here only
a short time, he was offered a similar position in the store of a
respectable young man who had recently commenced business
in the town of Canonsburg, the seat of the old Chartiei-s
Academy, then in charge of the Rev. Dr. McMillan, who
preached statedly to the Chartiers church, two miles from the
town, and frequently on Sabbath evenings in the academy in
the village. His removal to Canonsburg, which took place in
1795, was to him a kind providence and had a most important
bearing u])on his whole after life and future destiny.
170 Presbytery of Carh^le — Centennial.
. Mr. White, into whose employment he had entered, was not
a religious man, nor was he especially attentive to his business
or to those associated with him. The result was a consequent
failure in business.
Dr. Neill says he himself was equally gay and reckless,
addicted to youthful follies and wholly destitute of that wis-
dom which is from above. But God soon in mercy laid His
hand upon him and arrested him in his waywardness.
Having attended a country dance, such as were in vogue in
those times, even around Canonsburg, and got wet on his re-
turn at midnight, he took a cold, which was followed by a dan-
gerous and protracted spell of fever which imperiled his life.
Shut up in a room away from his friends, attended only by a
young and inexperienced girl, part of the time deranged in
mind, wasting away and sinking under a violent fever induced
by his own folly, apprehensive of death and yet unprepared
for it, attended by a physician resident at Washington seven
miles away, only once a week : as he looked out of his lonely
window day after day, and watched the setting sun, he says,
" I cried bitterly unto the Lord for help, promising with many
tears, that if He would raise me up and give me space, I would
repent and live to His glory." God heard his cries and raised
him up, " but alas,'' says he, '' for sick-bed resolutions, they are
but the expressions of fear and seldom kept." While, how-
ever he returned iii some degree to his former ways of sin and
folly, he was not left entirely to despise the chastening of the
Lord, nor to forget how terrible death had appeared to him.
He was more careful and thouglitful than he had been, and oc-
casionally paid some attention to religious duties, and not long-
afterwards began to attend pretty regularly upon the ministry
of Dr. McMillan, at Chartiers and in the academy. Dr. Mc-
Millan was noted for his faithful and pungent preaching, aimed
directly at the heart and conscience. Under his thundering
voice, clear expositions of truth and solemn warnings, he re-
cords, that he was " often roused, terrified and melted to tears."
Under his ministry he was made to feel that he was a sinner
and that it was a fearful thing to be in a state of condemnation,
with the wrath of God abiding on him, bvitit was some eighteen
Rev. WUliam NeilL D. D. 171
months after his ilhiess, before he was led to take any decisive
steps for the renunciation of his sinful ways and to dedicate
himself to the service of God.
Sometimes he says, Dr. McMillan made him angry. His
manner was abrupt, harsh and rather repulsive. On one oc-
casion he passed him on his way to church, on a fast day, when
he was engaged in shooting pigeons, and the Doctor addressing
him in his usual stern manner said, " It is an audacious and
unseemh' thing for a sinner on the broad road to hell, to be
killing innocent binls by the way." Severe, as tliis reproof
was, it had the effect of producing in his mind an increased con-
viction of his sin and danger.
When he began to manifest seriousness and though tfulness
on the subject of personal religion, the pious students of the
academy soon observed it and sought opportunities of conver-
sation with him and by degrees drew him into their society
and to the prayer- meetings. This he felt was of great service
to him in his general ignorance of divine things and under his
incipient convictions of his sinfulness. He then betook him-
self to secret prayer, to the serious reading of the divine word
and to punctual attendance on public worship. He became
deeply concerned about the salvation of his soul and soon quit
the service of Mr. White, and entered the academy as a student,
with a view to the ministry if God would open the way and
make him truly a subject of His redeeming grace. This was to
him a most important movement and a subject of great anxiety.
He had a strong desire to be prepared for the ministry. But
his means were very limited and he had no wealthy friends to
aid him, yet after the most serious deliberation, he resolved,
with a sort of vague trust in divine Providence, to proceed as
far as he could. This was in the year 1797. He had not as
yet a satisfactory evidence of a change of heart. His solicitude,
however, continued. He sought the society of the pious. He
followed on to know the Lord. He began to relish religious
.services, to esteem the Sabbath a delight, and the courts of
God's house amiable. With these feelings he attended statedly
upon the public means of grace, and frequently walked eight
and ten miles to attend upon sacramental services in neighbor-
172 Presbytery of Carlisle — (JentenniaL
ing congregations, in which the services were usually continued
several days and were ver}^ solemn.
It was on one of these occasions that he was enabled, as he
humbly hoped, to commit his soul to Christ and to acquiesce
joyfully in the gospel plan of salvation.
The Lord appeared in the plenitude of His gracious power
to his soul and, as he was led to hope, changed his mournful
state. It was on a tranquil summer's evening, away from
human view, in the closet of a dense wood after attendance on
the service of the sanctuary, and while divine truth was yet
bearing down upon his conscience. Thus alone with God, he
felt his deep sinfulness and confessed that
" If his soul were sent to hell
God's righteous law approved it well."
His heart was sore burdened within him. He was without
strength and yet withovit excuse , means he felt to be insuffi-
cient ; the arm of human power was withered and could not,
be stretched forth without Divine aid. What could guilty help-
lessness do, but cry for mercy? There was the throne of grace,
and thence there seemed to issue a voice fraught with good
tidings of great joy, " My grace is sufficient for thee." " My
strength is perfected in weakness." " Come unto me all ye
that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." It
was enough. The word was with power and in demonstration
of the Spirit. The deaf ear was unstopped, the dark mind en-
lightened, the will subdued, the heart softened and the whole
soul sweetly won over to God, on His own terms, and Christ
was to him all and in all.
This is, in brief, the sum of his experience, at this important
juncture as recorded by himself. Well he asks, at the close
of the record. " Can all this be a delusion ?" and answers '' I
think not." We should look well to our experience, he adds,
and test it by the word of God. Though his subsequent feel-
ings were variable and his failings great, he never entirely re-
linquished his hope in God. He was what he was as to Chris-
tian attainments and official faithfulness by the grace of God.
His sole dependence for usefulness, acceptance and heaven, was
the mercy of God, through the merits and mediation of Christ ;
Re^K William Xeill, R 1). 173
and he humbly hoped that He, who had called him by His
grace, would keep him by His mighty power through faith
unto salvatit)!!.
This was, in substance, Dr. Neills confession of liis faith in
Christ and he was pre-eminently a sincere and honest man.
He was admitted to the communion of the church of Chart-
iers, Washington county, Pa., then under the pastoral care of
the Rev. Dr. John McMillan.
He continued in the academy at Canonsburg, pursuing his
studies with great diligence, for about two years. He found
the society of the pious students most delightful and edifying,
and a number of houses in which they were accustomed to
meet for prayer in the village very bethels. • There was he
thought, as much of the primitive spirit of Christianity among
them at that time in that place as he ever witnessed anywhere
in his life.
In the autumn of 1800, he took leave of Canonsburg for the
College of New Jersey, at Princeton, in company with his
friend and fellow student John Boggs, whose father lived in
Virginia, near Martinsburg. They rode on horseback. They
arrived at Princeton at the opening of the winter session, ap-
peared before the faculty, presented their letters, were ex-
amined and admitted, Boggs to the junior and he to the soph-
omore class. The Rev. Dr. Samuel Stanhope Smith was pres-
ident. Dr. John Maclean, father of the late Dr. John Maclean,
was professor of mathematics and chemistrv : William Thomp-
son, professor of languages, with two tutors, Benjamin B. Hop-
kins and Cyrus Riggs.
They were assigned to the same. room and were mutually
helpful to each other in their studies and in the maintenance
of a Christian life. The strength of their religious principles
and their attachment to Christ were soon put to a severe test.
Religion was at a low ebb in the college and many of the
students were dissipated and shockingly profane. They helped
to sustain a weekly prayer- meeting and had the usual privi-
leges of public worship on the Sabbath. They found the col-
lege to be a fiery furnace with respect to conduct and character
and a place of imminent peril to the morals and souls of inex-
perienced youth.
174 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
While at college Dr. Neill's means of support being inade-
quate and be being a candidate for the ministry, and a diligent
and laborious student, he was allowed a portion of the interest
of the Leslie fund, an endowment made b}'^ a gentleman of that
name for the support of worthy and pious students. Still
further by reason of very special diligence he soon found him-
self able to redeem time from class studies and to add consid-
erably to his means of support by giving private instruction to
such students as had certain studies to make up in order to
gain a full standing in their classes. During his senior year,
by thus giving private tuition in this way, he added consider-
ably to his means of support.
The writer of this sketch has recently met the son of one of
our ministers, who, in this same institution, more than sup-
ported himself in this same way. There are thus many wa3's
by which a young man of inadequate means of support, who
is diligent and economical in his expenditures, may help him-
self in procuring a liberal and thorough education.
Mr. Neill graduated in September, 1803, and was imme-
diately chosen tutor in the college, which position he accepted
and held for two years.
From the time when he thought he had found acceptance
with God through faith in Christ, he had kept the gospel min-
istry in view as the work to which he felt most inclined and
as that in which he could best serve and glorify God and do
good to mankind.
As Providence had opened the way and his preference for
the sacred office was clear and decided, he sought now to pre-
pare for it by an appropriate course of study, trusting that he
should obtain mercy to be faithful in its responsible duties.
As the Rev. Dr. Henry Kollock, then pastor of the Presby-
terian church in Princeton, had offered his services as a teacher
of theology to as many students as chose to avail themselves
of his instructions, Mr. Neill concluded to avail himself of
this offer as far as he could in connection with his duties as
tutor. Between the two pursuits he found himself most fully
occupied and all his powers enlisted. With his colleagues as
tutors and his fellow students in divinity, he lived in delightful
Rev. WdUam NtUl, D. D. 175
fellowship. With them he studied aud recited, and with them
he associated in religious exercises and worship. The}' walked
together for exercise, visited socially together in the families
in and around Princeton. At the end of two years he resigned
his tutorship, having had live years of college life in Nassau
Hall, and on October 3, 1805, was licensed by the Presbytery
of New Brunswick to preach the gospel. On October 5, 1805,
he was married to Elizabeth, second daughter of Matthew Van
Dyke, near Princeton, N. J., a sister to the wife of Kev. James
Carnahan, D. D.
Having already received an invitation to preach in the church
at Cooperstown, New York, he at once set out for that place,
to which he was soon after called and was ordained and in-
stalled pastor of that congregation in November, 1806. This
was the first scene of his labors as a minister of the word. It
was to him a new and most solemn undertaking. But having
learned in some degree the true source of his strength he en-
tered upon his work not without fear and trembling, but with
the full conviction that "his sufficiency was of God." The
field was new and large and only partially cultivated hereto-
fore. But by assiduous discharge of duty in his study and in
the pastorate, with the counsel and assistance of a pious and
excellent session, there was a steady, quiet and continuous in-
gathering of people into the congregation and the church proper.
Within two years a new church edifice was erected, witli a
capacity to accommodate some eight hundred people. The
pastor owned his own house and was able to live comfortably
on the small salary then given. It was to him, with all the
ardor of his first pastoral experience and warm personal at-
tachments, a very happy settlement The town was beautifully
located at the outlet of Lake Otsego, the source of the east
branch of the Susquehanna river. It was founded by Judge
William Cooper, the father of James P'enimore Cooper, tlie
distinguished American novelist
In the year 1809, Mr. Neill was called to the First Presby-
terian church of Albany, New York, to succeed the Rev. John
B. Romeyn, as their pastor. The meeting at which the call
was made out was moderated by the Rev. Dr. Eliphalet Nott,
176 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
grandfather of the present Bishop Potter, of New York, and
was accompanied by a letter from him urging his acceptance.
After much consideration and prayer and conference he con-
cluded to accept this call. The parting from his first charge
was a great trial to pastor and people. The house at the fare-
well service was a Bochim, and no one said he wept more bit-
terly than the preacher.
He was kindly received at Albany and in most respects his
position was pleasant, useful and comfortable. Soon, however,
the Lord laid his aiflictive hand upon him, and in the fall of
the first year of his pastorate there, after a short and severe
illness, Mrs. Neill, his amiable and exemplary wife was taken
from him, leaving him with two small children, the youngest
of whom was only five months old.
As a field of ministerial labor and usefulness few had greater
advantages. There was at the time of his settlement but the
one Presbyterian church in the city. The congregation was
large and intelligent and in all respects attractive and interest-
ing. It required a constant strain to meet the demands of such
a charge. In addition to his pulpit and pastoral work, soon
after his settlement Mr. Neill instituted a Bible-class, one of
the first that had been formed in the church and in this coun-
try. This he found a great means of usefulness. Most of the
members of it became hopefully subjects of renewing grace and
were received as members of the church. The writer heard
him say on one occasion that he thought he received more
members into the church from his teaching in the Bible-class
than from his preaching from the pulpit. There were addi-
tions to the church at every communion season, and while they
had frequent times of spiritual refreshing in the congregation,
yet there were no marked revivals of religion during his pas-
torate.
With the rapid growth of the city the congregation increased
until their house of worship became too small for their accom-
modation. This led to the organization of the Second Presby-
terian church and the call and settlement of the Rev. John
Chester, then of Hudson, N. Y. This was in 1813. The new
organization was composed largely at first from a colony from
Eev. William Neill, D. D. 177
the First church. The separation was made with good feeling
and entire harmony. The relation of the two pastors was most
cordial and fraternal. They were both lovely spirits and were
entirely free from unhallowed jealousy and unseemly rivalry.
The two congregations lived in peace and unity and grew and
prospered.
Soon after Mr. Neill's settlement he received the honorary
title of D. D. from Union College. This honor he modestly
ascribed to the respect which the board of trustees of the col-
lege had for the people of his charge. The Doctor, though he
always regarded these honorary distinctions among Presby-
terian ministers who hold to the parity of the ministry, as in-
expedient and undesirable, yet, under the circumstances, felt
constrained to accept it. He could hardly reconcile such de-
grees with the injunction of the Saviour : Be not ye called
Kabbi ; for one is your Master, even Christ, and all ye are
brethren.
In the year 1812, Princeton Seminary was organized and
Dr. Neill was one of its board of directors from its founda-
tion and was instrumental in securing towards its endowment
and support, from his own people and others, over twelve thou-
sand dollars. He always regarded this seminary, for soundness
in the faith, and for efficiency in promoting intelligence, zeal
and piety among the rising ministry, as standing first and
highest among all similar institutions in our country. He was
also a delegate to the convention that met in the city of New
York, in May, 1816, for the purpose of organizing the Amer-
ican Bible Society. At this convention Dr. Elias Boudinot,
of Burlington, New Jersey, who was the most munificent
patron of the Bible cause, was elected the first president of the
society, and Dr. John M. Mason was its most earnest and able
advocate and defender.
In the summer of 1816, Dr. Neill was called to the Sixth
Presbyterian church of Philadelphia, a new organization which
grew out of a secession from the Third Presbyterian church,
at the settlement of Rev. Ezra Styles Ely, as pastor. In mak-
ing this change Dr. Neill was influenced by the consideration
of his health, the attractiveness of a large and growing city,
12*
178 Presbytery of Carlish — Centennial.
and of returning to bis native state. And yet afterwards, on
serious reviews, be regarded tbem as of questionable validity.
His mature judgment was, tbat tbe pastoral relation wben once
formed and prosperous, sbould not be dissolved witbout " bigh
and potent reasons."
He entered upon tbis, his third charge, September, 1816.
He was well received. The congregation was at first small,
but gradually enlarged. That which operated against its rapid
growth was the removal of tbe First church from Market
street near Second to Seventh and Locust, within one square
of them. Tbat congregation was, at that time, numerous,
wealthy and liigbly respectable and bad for their pastor the
Rev. Dr. J. P. Wilson, a man of talent and of high ministerial
reputation. Dr. Meill, with his people, felt this to be a griev-
ance and a great hindrance to the growth of his congregation
and his success and usefulness, but bore it with his usual dig-
nity and equanimity, except to put upon record his can-
did judgment, tbat tbe older church, with all her maturity and
strength, could hardly be said to have regarded the Apostolic
injunctions, " Look not every man on his own things, but also
on the things of others.'' And " follow after the things which
make for peace, and the things whereby one may edify another."
Dr. Neill labored in this charge with the same zeal and fidel-
ity and measurable success and esteem which had characterized
his two former pastorates.
He organized here, as in Albany, a Bible-class with the same
good results, and it was his custom to catechise the children of
the congregation once a month, assembled in the lecture-room
for that purpose. He always labored to train his people in
habits of systematic benevolence toward the objects which were
intimately connected with the advancement of Christ's kingdom
on the earth. x\s a pastor he was ever faithful in tbe visita-
tion of the sick and the afflicted, and also as far as he could
from house to house.
His charge in Philadelphia was a pleasant one and his labors
were both useful and acceptable.
In the summer of 1824 he received an invitation to become
the successor of the Kev. Dr. John-M. Mason, as president of
Rev. William Neill, J). D. 179
Dickinson College at Carlisle, Pa. This invitation, like all the
others which he had received, was unsought and unexpected
by him. After some consideration, he concluded at first to
decline the position. But after further reflection and confer-
ence, he accepted it and accordingh' took leave of his people
and moved to Carlisle in September, 1824.
In entering upon this new field of labor, he found things not
in as good a condition as he had hoped to find them.
While the fame of Dr. Mason had lifted the institution into
public notice and favor and had drawn to it considerable pat-
ronage, yet his incumbency had been of too short continuance
to put the college on a permanent basis. The funds were in-
adequate to its support. The number of students had fallen
off to less than fifty.
But Dr. Neill was yet in his prime, and he resolved to iden-
tify himself fully with the interests of the college, and in con-
nection with the professors on the ground to labor earnestly for
its resuscitation and enlargement.
Dr. Neill's first winter, like that of Dr. Nisbet, was a ver}-
trying one. Both were confined to the house by protracted ill-
ness. As Dr. Neill lay upon his sick bed and looked out through
the window upon the dreariness of a long winter, the remem-
brance of the beloved people from whom he had been recently
separated, and of his pulpit ministrations, Bible-class and sweet
communion seasons, all came back upon him with overwhelm-
ing power and seemed to chide him for fickleness and vain de-
sires.
On his recovery, however, he gave himself heartily to the
duties of his position. By hard and persevering pleading an
annual appropriation of three thousand dollars for a term of
seven years was voted to the college by the State Legislature.
Correspondence was opened with a number of academies.
Students soon began to come in and the classes steadily in-
creased, until they numbered one hundred, besides those as-
sembled in a flourishing preparatory department. Had the
college been wisely organized, its permanent establishment
would have been secured.
The president of the college, iiowever, was hampered in his
180 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
duties and curtailed as to his proper authority-. Tlie trustees
assumed participation in the exercise of the disciphne of the
college. The faculty might admonish, temporarily suspend
from the privileges of the institution, but could not expel^
however disorderly the student, without the sanction of the
board. The local trustees had frequent meetings and inter-
fered with the proper authority of the faculty.
The faculty and the board were composed of men of differ-
ent denominations, the students were drawn from parents of
all religious persuasions and of no persuasion, the result was
jealousies, suspicions and the cry of sectarianism and religious
domination.
To these were to be added the evil of legislative aid, condi-
tioned upon an annual report to that body, of the state and
management of the college. This made the Legislature a sort
of court of appeal and the censors of all their proceedings.
This tended to destroy discipline, rendered the college open to
the charge of sectarianism and all manner of criticism, and to
disparagement in public estimation.
Dr. Neill's experience taught him these lessons : 1. That in
all institutions of learning, great or small, the teachers should
be the governors of the students. 2. That it would be best
for all concerned, for them to be in the hands of one denomi-
nation. 3. That state patronage is perilous to the proper gov-
ernment and management of a college.
During Dr. Neill's incumbency as president of Dickinson
College, a rebellion was raised on the part of the students, on
account of the suspension of one of their number for insubor-
dination to one of the professors. This led to the temporary
suspension of all engaged in the rebellion, in order to the main-
tenance of authority, to various clamors against the faculty as
tyrannical, to the final withdrawment of the whole faculty and
to the closing of the college. Dr. Neill's connection with the
institution was dissolved in September, 1829, and after the
commencement of that year, he accepted the office of corre-
sponding secretary of the board of education of the General
Assembly of the Presbyterian church and returned again with
his family to Philadelphia. Not long after a controlling inter-
Rev. WUliam Neill, I). I). 181
est in the college was transferred to pei-sons in connection with
the Methodist Episcopal church. This transfer was made
chiefly by tlie local trustees of the college, in response to over-
tures from individuals and officers of the Methodist denomina-
tion, accompanied by promises of large endowments and a rapid
increase of students and was urged forward by citizens of Car-
lisle as certainly promotive of the financial interests of the
community. A petition was circulated by two members of
the board, as one of them informed the writer, and signed by
men in business, requesting the transfer to be made. Dr. David
Elliott was then pastor at Mercersburg and a member of the
l)oard, but as we learned from him, received no notice of the
meeting at which that action was taken. The whole property,
grounds, buildings and library, were transferred without any
consideration to their original donors ; a most unwarrantable
assumption and exercise of power. Judge Chambers, who was
a Trustee of the College, in his tribute to the Scotch-Irish of
Pennsylvania, says, " The Trustees of Carlisle and vicinity
constituted its business board (or executive committee) for the
management of most of the concerns of the College, and either
discouraged by failures of measures adopted to sustain the
College, or from unhappy dissensions amongst themselves,
chose to give away the institution with all its property and
corporate privileges, and then abandon their trust by resigna-
tion, to make their donation effective. " Local trustees have been
the plague of many of our colleges, with rare exceptions, prov-
ing a hindrance rather than a support to many of these institu-
tions.
Had Dickinson College, in Presbyterian hands, been wisely
organized and efficiently managed, it would, in all human pro-
bability, have become one of the foremost institutions in our
country. There was no more favorable location or larger con-
stituency for a successful college under Presbyterian control
in all this broad land. The alumni of Dickinson College, while
under Presbyterian patronage and management, took rank with
those of the oldest and strongest colleges in the country.
Dr. Neill continued to discharge the duties of the secretary-
ship to which he had been elected for two years, when, on ac-
182 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
count of his health, he asked to be released from that position
and was succeeded by the eloquent and accomplished Rev.
John Breckinridge, D. D.
In September, 1881, Dr. Neill was invited to take charge of
the First l^resbyterian church in Germantown, Pa., where he
continued to labor faithfully and perseveringly in that then
small congregation for eleven years as stated supply. Duiing
that time the congregation grew in numbers and in strength,
manifested a good degree of zeal and liberality in the cause o:
missions, and in the support of the gospel, and has since be
come a strong and prosperous church.
In 1842 he returned to Philadelphia, where he spent the re
mainder of his days in supplying vacant churches and in mis
sionary labors in some of the charitable institutions of the city
Though he neither had nor wished to have any more a pas
toral charge, yet as he had strength and opportunity he con
tinned to preach the gospel, in compliance with his ordination
vows and from preference, and from the settled conviction o
its divine appointment and benign influence upon the tempora
and eternal interests of mankind.
In addition to his public services in the ministry, he wrote
and delivered a series of lectures on the evidences of Chris-
tianity, prepared and published a volume of lectures on Biblical
history, and a practical exposition of the Epistle to the Ephe-
sians, and an autobiography which has since been published
by the board of publication, together with a selection from his
sermons.
Dr. Neill, in person, was tall and dignified. He was always
calm, courteous and affectionate in his intercourse with his
brethren, never frivolous nor in an}' wise unbecoming his char-
acter as a Christian minister and a gentleman. He was always
an industrious and persevering student, a man of more than
ordinary talents, various reading and scholarly culture. He
had an enlightened and critical judgment, a chaste and simple
style, and a thorough acquaintance with the doctrines of the
church and was a firm believer in and defender of theCalvin-
istic system of religious truth.
Dr. Neill was no partisan, but uniformly cautious and con-
Rev. William Neill, I). D. 183
sen'ative and yet a man of intelligent convictions and fixed
principles and very reliable. At the same time he was cath-
olic in spirit and cherished a warm sympathy and affection for
Christians of every name. In manifestation of this he requested
th.'it this sentiment, as held by him, should be published at his
funeral and that ministers of different denominations should be
invited to take part in the services. No one, said Dr. Joseph
H. Jones, in his commemorative discourse, who ever enjoyed
the benefits of his ministry, heard his sermons, and witnessed
his daily conduct, ever doubted that Christ was his life, and to
advance His kingdom was the main object of his existence.
As he advanced in life and drew towards its close, there was
in him a gradual increase of Christian zeal and earnestness.
His prayers, addresses and sermons equaled those of the best
days of his ministry, in strength of thought, propriety and cor-
rectness of language, and in arrangement and argument, while
they greatly excelled them in earnestness, pungency, direct-
ness, unction and power. His inan}^ discourses uttered with-
out manuscript, his talks in the lecture-room and at the com-
munion table, could not be surpassed in tenderness, simplicity
of manner and richness of evangelical truth. For him to live
was Christ and to die was gain.
At the end though his sufferings at times were great, his
habitual language was that of submission, gratitude and praise.
Having delivered his last message and given directions con-
cerning his funeral in that same calm, dispassionate and col-
lected manner which had been characteristic of him through
life, he sank down and passed away August 8, 1860, in the
82d year of his age.
Dr. Neill was married February 25, 1811, to Francis King,
second daughter of General Joshua King, of Ridgefield, Con-
necticut. She died October 13, 1832.
On April 15, 1835, he was married to Sarah S. Elmer, only
daughter of Dr. E. Elmer, of Bridgeton, N. J. By each wife
he had children, among whom were two sons, William Van
Dyke and John S. Henry and several daughters. One daughter,
Maria, died, in Carlisle, a peaceful death April 4, 1839. In
August of that same year, his daughter Elizabeth was married
184 Preahytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
to David N. Mahon, M. D., of Carlisle, Pa. She died Septem-
ber 18, 1838, in Carlisle, and the remains of both lie buried in
the old cemeter}^ in Carlisle, Pa.
Rev. John Moodey, D. D.
This venerable and much-respected servant of God was born
on the birthday of our National Independence, July 4. 1776.
His ancestors were of the Scotch-Irish race of people. His
father. Robert Moodey, Esq., was a native of the county of
Derry, Ireland, and emigrated to this country about the year
1773, and settled in Cvimberland county, Pennsylvania. He
was married to Miss Mary Hutchinson in January, 1775. He
served in one or more campaigns as a soldier in the Revolu-
tionary War. He afterwards moved with his family into that
part of Lancaster county which was subsequently set off and
is now known as Dauphin county.
John's higher education was commenced here in a grammar
school, under the care of Mr. Francis Hindman, who afterwards
became a Presbyterian minister. He then came under the in-
struction of Mr. Andrew Mitchel, a pupil of Mr. Hindman,
with whom he finished his Latin and Greek studies. After
some time spent in reviewing and perfecting the studies over
which he had gone, he entered the junior class in Princeton
College, November, 1794, and graduated in September, 1796.
Having spent some time in teaching he commenced the study
of theology under the direction of his pastor. Rev. James Snod-
grass, August, 1799. At a meeting of the Presbytery of Car-
lisle, held in Chambersburg, April 9, 1800, the day after the
ordination and installation of the Rev. Francis Herron, at
Rocky Spring, Mr. Moodey and Messrs. Brady, Adair, H. R.
Wilson and Amos McGinley, were introduced to Presbytery
as candidates for the gospel ministry ; and after careful exam-
ination as to personal piety, and their motives in seeking the
office of the ministry, were received as candidates under the
care of the Presbytery.
He was examined and licensed to preach the gospel with the
brethren above named by the same Presbytery, October 9,
1801, and was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Crawford,
^,^^^A^^^
Rev. John Moodey, D. D. 185
in Dauphin county, April 1, 1802. He spent one year and
a half in visiting and supplying vacant churches, and in preach-
ing in destitute places, under direction of the Presbytery. On
April 12, 1803, a call was presented to Presbytery for his pas-
toral services, from the church of Middle Spring, promising
him a salary of £175. This church had been without a pastor
,for six years. The call was accepted by him, and he was or-
dained and installed Tuesday, October 5, 1803. Rev. Joshua
Williams, D. D., preached the sermon from II Cor. 2:17, and
Rev. Robert Cathcart, D. D., gave the charge to the pastor.
He continued pastor of this congregation for fifty years and
seven months or just fifty-one years from the date of his call,
the dissolution taking place April 14, 1854.
Dr. Moodey was a man of a meek and quiet spirit, patient
under opposition and even injury, and always a lover and
promoter of peace. He was, in person, tall of stature, of stately
personal appearance, dignified and gentle, manly in his deport-
ment, polite and courteous in manner, a man of sound, practical
judgment and methodical and industrious in his habits.
As a preacher Mr. Moodey was logical, instructive and prac-
tical. His manner in the pulpit was quiet, dignified and
solemn. He always wrote out his sermons in full, and preached
from his manuscript. He was a diligent student and an able
and faithful expounder of the word of God. His sermons were
not only finished in style, but often eloquent and impressive
in their delivery. He was well read as a theologian, modest
and reserved in the expression of his views, free from the rest-
lessness of an ambitious spirit, desirous only to be faithful in
the duties of the sphere in which he was placed, and devoting
his time chiefly to the duties pertaining to the spiritual over-
sight of a large congregation scattered over a wide extent of
territory.
During the history of his long, quiet and generally harmo-
nious pastorate, it is stated that but one communion season
passed without one or more being added to the membership of
the church.
Trouble occurred in the congregation in connection with a
revival in the year 1832, and the preaching of Dr. Duffield and
186 Presbytery of Carlisle — Ce^ttennial.
some others, resulting in the organization of churches in New-
burg and Roxbury, also in connection with the introduction of
Watts' psalms and hymns, and the commencement of prayer-
meetings, but these were such as were incident to those times,
and as the result of prudent management, they gradually sub-
sided.
As a Presbyter he was regular in his attendance, but reserved «
in the expression of his views on pending questions. His
opinions, however, when expressed, were very forcible and
usually prevailed
Dr. Moodey, during his pastorate, resided most of the time in
Shippensburg at the west end of the town. He was remarka-
bly orderly and systematic in all his work. His marriage,
communicants and baptism rolls, Mr. Wylie states in his dis-
course on the history of Middle Spring church, are models of
neatness and scrupulous care. His funeral discourses were
brief, and always to the living. His sermon most remembered
among the people was on the text, ''Joseph is not and Simeon
is not, and ye will take Benjamin away ; all these things are
against me." While in no wise distinguished for genius or
eloquence, the memory of Dr. Moodey is held in the highest
esteem and reverence, for his holy walk and conversation, his
calm, steady, trustful devotion to the service and glory of God,
his meek and quiet spirit, his power in prayer, and the general
purity and sanctity of his long and useful life.
Dr. Moodey was a warm friend and very sincere and reliable
in his personal attachments. Among his more ardent friends
was the Rev. Wm. R. DeWitt, who preached a memorial dis-
course of him before the Middle Spring congregation, in which
he paid the following eloquent tribute to his memory : " The
fact, that he remained, for more than half a century, the pastor
of this large and intelligent congregation is conclusive evidence
of his sound common sense, of his great prudence, of his ster-
ling piety, and his warm and devoted affections. Had he been
wanting in any of these attributes of character, it would have
been impossible to have retained his pastoral relations to you
for so long a period, and in such great harmony. It is an evi-
dence, also, that in the prosecution of his ministerial duties, he
Rev. John Muodey, D. D. 187
was governed by motives that won your respect and confi-
dence. You believed he was a man of God, a holy man, a man
of prayer, who feared God, and honestly sought to commend
himself to his Lord and Master, as a faithful and laborious ser-
vant in his public ministrations, and in his private walk and
conversation. No doubt he had his imperfections, for who is
free from them. No doubt he often mistook, for it is human
to err. But there must have been apparent, in all his life
among you, a singleness of aim, an honesty of purpose, a firm
adherence to principle, a determination to do what was right,
combined with the meekness and gentleness of Christ — attri-
butes always most prominent in his character — that secured
for him your confidence and esteem. He shunned, rather than
sought, notoriety. Beyond the sphere of his own congregation
he was little known, except among his co-presbyters and in the
judicatories of his church. By his brethren in the ministry,
who best knew him, he was held in high esteem. He was re-
garded an intelligent and sound divine, who, from the convic-
tion of their truth, embraced and taught the doctrines contained
in the standards of his church. He was not a man of " isms."
He lived to see many of them rise and fall and pass away as
the desv of the morning, while he held firmly to the doctrines
he had received, and to that form of sound words in which
they are set forth. He wanted, neither a new translation of
the Bible nor a new Confession of Faith and form of church
government. He adhered to the old paths, because he hon-
estly believed they were the safest and the best. His confi-
dence in the church, as an institution of God, and in the effi-
ciency of the ordinances He had appointed in that church for
the salvation of men, was such, that he gave little or no coun-
tenance to those plans of mere human device, for reforming the
world that have been urged with so much zeal for a time, and
then disappeared. He had no ambition to become prominent.
His Christian modesty, combined with a natural diffidence, led
him to esteem others better than himself, and to yield to them
places of prominence and trust, which he, perhaps, was better
qualified to fill. His chosen field of labor was among his own
people, nor was that labor in vain in the Lord. Man}- were
188 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
added to the church on earth under his ministry, and many-
doubtless to the church above. A pastor of more than half a
century to the same congregation ! What memories must cluster
around such a man and such a pastorate !"
Three years after the dissolution of his pastoral relation, as
the result of slight paralysis, physical and mental debility, on
October 7, 1867, he passed away, in the eighty-second year of
his age.
Dr. Moodey had four sons and four daughters. His young-
est son, Joseph, died early in life. His two oldest sons, Robert
C. and John W., became physiciians. Robert died about mid-
dle life. John W. lived and successfully practiced his profes-
sion in Greensburg, Indiana, until about 1870, when he died.
James C, his third son, was an able lawyer and became a
judge of the United States Court for the district of Missouri.
After his retirement from the bench he practiced law and has
since died.
Mr. Moodey received the honorary title of D. D. from Wash-
ington College. Pennsylvania.
His remains lie buried in the rear of the church of Middle
Spring, over which the congregation have erected a handsome
monument as a tribute of their regard to the memory of a be-
loved pastor.
During his ministry Dr. Moodey baptized, in other churches
where he had preached by the appointment of Presbytery, one
hundred and thirty-nine infants and eight adults — three of
whom were persons of color. In his own church he baptized
about twelve hundred, making in all thirteen hundred baptisms.
He received into the communion of the church six hundred
and eighty-two and performed five hundred and eighty-five
marriages.
Rev. Robert McOachren.
Mr. McCachren was pastor of the Big Spring church for
twenty years. There is a very common and widespread ten-
dency to underrate the value of a life so quiet and uneventful
as that of which we are now called to give a sketch. Eminent
talents, extensive learning, stirring powers of speech and infiu-
Rev. Robert McCachren. 189
ence, many are disposed to estimate much higher than a life of
quiet, persevering labor, of strict purity of conduct, and up-
rightness of character, of much patient self-denial and of a
blameless walk and conversation. The blazing meteor diverts
the eye, even from orion and pleiades, and it requires reflection
to impress the truth on the mind, that the greatest means of
usefulness and therefore the most valuable trait of human char-
acter is moral excellence or spiritual goodness.
The Rev. Robert McCachren was descended from a Scotch
ancestry. His great grandfather emigrated from Cantyre, near
Campbelstown, Scotland, about 1726. He came with his wife
four sons and one daughter to this country and settled in the
Forks of the Brandywine, Chester county, Pa. The McCach-
ren's have a historical record among the clans of the highlands
of Scotland. In the British Encyclopedia, in the article on
Cantyre, it is stated that at the beginning of the sixteenth cen-
tury, the former inhabitants of the peninsula, prior to its divi-
sion, were the McDonald's, McCachren's, McHays", McMath's
and others.
James, the grandfather of Robert, was placed soon after their
settlement here, in the family of Rev. Wm. Dean, a New Side
Presbyterian minister, at the Forks of the Brandywine to earn
a livelihood. In this position, while his fare was scanty and
the discipline rigid, the general influence upon his character
and future life is believed to have been most salutary.
He was subsequently married to Mary Ralston, who came,
some years later, from the same place in Scotland. To them
were born three sons, James, John and Robert.
By reason of their industrious and frugal habits, in 1790,
James, the grandfather, was able to purchase from the original
proprietors, the Penn's, over two hundred acres of land, on the
eastern branch of Brandywine creek, about five miles north of
Downingtown, Pa. Here he lived, following the occupation
of a farmer and reared his family. At the death of his wife,
he divided this land between his two older sons, James and
John, and made other provision for his youngest son, Robert,
the father making his home with his children until his death,
which occurred September 22, 1822, in the eighty-seventh year
of his age.
190 Presbytery of Carlisle— Centennial.
By birth and profession these aged grandparents were mem-
bers of the Presbyterian church, the church of their forefathers.
They were not only professors of religion, but were people
sound in faith and of a devout religious life. In a brief ac-
count of the family, written by the subject of this sketch, in the
year 1877, we find this statement : " In the observance of
family religion our grandfather was punctual, as well as serious
and devout. In the morning, after breakfast, the family all
gathered, he led the services of family worship and carried
them through in his earnest and broad Scotch dialect, and we
seem to hear some of his phrases sounding in our ears to this
day. This worship was always begun by singing a few stanzas
and sometimes many of the Psalms of David, in Rouse's version,
then a chapter of the Sacred Scriptures, in regular course, was
read, and this was followed bj a long comprehensive prayer,
giving glory to God, confessing sins and transgressions, peti-
tioning for forgiveness, imploring blessings, in particular for all
the household and for all the world. Before retiring at night,
this same service and in the same manner, was offered to God
at his throne of grace. In this way the entire Scriptures, New
and Old Testaments, were read over and over again, and after
his "death, the old man's marks were still left in the old family
Bible where he had read the daily lessons. His attendance on
public worship in the house of God, was equally punctual and
regular. He had great respect for his pastor, the Rev. John
Carmichel, and spoke of him with strong approbation and
pleasure."
His oldest son, James, moved with his family to Tuscarora
Valley, MiflQin county. Pa., where he died at an advanced age,
leaving a large family.
The second son, John, the father of the Rev. Robert, re-
mained and lived and died where he was born.
He was born, as near as could be ascertained, about the year
1763. In 1794 or 1795 he was married to Isabella, the daughter
of Mr. John Cunningham, of the same neighborhood. Her
mother had died when she was in her early childhood, and she
was placed in the care of a Mrs. Johns of whom she always
spoke with the warmest affection. Not long after her mother's
Rev. Robert McCachren. 191
death the Revolutionary War began and her father entered the
army, and most probably died in the service, as he was never
heard of after the close of the war. Her home, for many years
in her girlhood, was in the near vicinity of Washington's en-
campment at Valley Forge. Here, in her twelfth year, she
witnessed the destitution and suffering of the soldiers during
the winter of 1777, and saw them tramping through the snows
of that severe winter without shoes to protect their feet. Of
these scenes she often spoke in her family.
To John McCachren and his wife, Isabella Cunningham,
were born six children, the third of whom died in infancy and
the remaining five, in the order of their birth, were James,
Robert, Martha, John and Isabella.
John McCachren, the father of this family, died February
8, 1808, at the age of forty -five years, and was buried in the
graveyard at the Brandy wine Manor, of which church he was a
member and where he worshiped during his lifetime. At his
death he left a widow with five children, the oldest of whom
was in his eleventh year. The widow was left only with scanty
means on which to raise her family. But as the family narrative
states, " with great resolution, with much industry by day and
by night, and constant frugality, she carried on her work of
training, feeding and clothing her household, and they never
had need to be ashamed of their appearance "in the gates."
It was literally true of her that " she sought wool and flax and
wrought willingly with her hands." " She rose while it was
yet night and gave food to her house."' '* She laid her hands to
the spindle and her hands held the distaff." These were the
governing traits of her domestic character, and her religious
life was equally strong and real. She was the prophetess in
her own house and led her family, in the absence of any
male person, in the religious worship of her household.
Her daily habits of private communion with her heavenly
Father, the title by which she was accustomed to speak of
God, were constant and continuous to the end of her days, in
the eighty-seventh year of her age.
She died in the house of her son John, with whom she lived,
near Newville, Pa., on the Sabbath day, January 12. 1851, and
192 Prtshytenj of Carlisle — Ceyitennial.
her remains lie buried in the graveyard of the Big Spring
church, beside those of her family since buried there.
Robert McCachren, the second son of John McCachren and
Isabella Cunningham, was born at the Forks of Brandywine,
Chester county, Pa., September 24, 1798. He early manifested
a strong desire for a liberal education, and earnestly strove to
attain it. And as there was no school in his immediate neigh-
borhood, in which the higher branches of an English education
were taught, and as his mother was not able to send him from
home to school, he worked in summer and walked in winter
daily three miles to a school, where such branches were taught.
This he continued to do for some time, when a classical school
was opened at Brandywine Manor, by the Rev. John W. Grier,
a graduate of Dickinson College, and the father of the Rev.
Matthew B. Grier, editor of the Presbyterian. Into this school
the subject of this narrative entered as one of its first pupils,
and in it began the study of the Latin and Greek languages,
together with the higher mathematics. After some time Mr.
Grier transferred his school to the Great Valley Academy, in
Chester county, and then Mr. McCachren, not being prepared
to enter college, went to the academy at West Nottingham, in
Maryland, in charge of Rev. Jas. W. Magraw, a successful and
popular educator in those times. This academy was numer-
ously attended, was stem in its discipline and rigid in its re-
quirements as to exact recitations in all studies. Dr. Magraw,
though a stern disciplinarian, was at the same time a man of
ardent piety, a faithful preacher and a zealous pastor, a man of
great physical strength, and a diligent and successful worker
by day and by night.
At this very time Mr. McCachren states in his family narra-
tive, an extensive religious awakening pervaded the academy
and the congregation. And among the fruits of that awaken-
ing there were many additions to the church at West Notting-
ham, and numerous converts among the students of the acad-
emy, several of whom afterwards entered the ministry. Mr.
McCachren had been previously received into the communion
of the church at Brandywine Manor.
Of his early religious experience, we have no record. The
Rev. Robert McCachren. 193
probability is that his heart was renewed early in life and that
it was with a view to his preparation for the ministry, that he
first entered upon a course of classical education.
At the end of the course of study in this academy Mr. Mc-
Cachren entered the junior class in Dickinson College, Carlisle,
in 1823, then under the presidency of Dr. John M. Mason, and,
as he says, received his collegiate training in this institution.
And then, after teaching for a season in the academy at New-
ark. Del., then under the control of Rev. A. L. Russel, he en-
tered Princeton Theological Seminary in 1824 and graduated
in 1827, after taking a full three years' course.
Among those associated with him as classmates in the sem-
inary were John M. Dickey, T. L. Janeway, Daniel McKinley,
Erskine Mason, Wm. S. Plummer, John C. Young and Samuel
C. Jennings, all of whom attained to prominence in the church
as ministers of the gospel.
'• That famous school, he says, then had only three profes-
sors. Drs. Archibald Alexander and Samuel Miller and the
Rev. Charles Hodge, but these," he adds " were esteemed as
good as half a score by their students in general.'' After com-
pleting the entire course here he was licensed to preach the
gospel by the Presbytery of New Castle, at their sessions at
Head of Christaina church, near Newark, Del., in April, 1827,
a consummation he says, " long looked forward to with earnest
desire, and struggled after with much labor, many self-denials
and discouraging anxieties." " But the goal was reached at
last," he further states, " and it would betoken a darkened
vision not to discover the finger of Providence in this long and
perplexing path. This, indeed, was the guiding star through
all the dark mazes of uncertainty through which he had come."'
His next anxiety was a field of labor. In this respect no
time was lost. Under the direction of Providence a small field
in one a.spect of it and a large field, in another aspect, was
opened to him, in connection with the small church of Middle-
town, Delaware county, Pa. To this field he was sent by di-
rection of the Board of Missions in the autumn of 1827, and in
connection with this churcli to which he was to give half his
time, he was to do missionarv work in the entire field from
13*
194 Preshyiery oj Carlisle — Cenlennial.
Chester, on the Delaware river, the landing place of Wm. Penn,
to West Chester, there being no other Presbyterian church ex-
cept that of Middletown in all that field. After laboring here a
year the session of the church of Middletown petitioned the Pres-
bytery of New Castle to ordain him. Accordingly that body re-
garded this petition as equivalent to a call to the pastoral work,
proceeded to his ordination, and set him apart to the work of
an evangelist, so that he might not only preach the gospel but
also administer the ordinances. He was thus ordained in the
church of New Castle, Del., May 19, 1829, in company with
another licentiate and classmate of the same Presbytery, Mr.
John Miller Dickey, who was at the same time installed pastor
of the church where this service took place. Being thus set
apart to the full work of the gospel ministry he returned to his
charge with an increased sense of its responsibility, and pur-
sued his work with unabated diligence until the summer of
1830, when it became to him a matter of duty, on the advice
of his physician, by reason of long-continued attacks of chills
and fever, resulting in great physical prostration to leave that
region. This led him to take a journey on horseback in quest
of health and another field of labor, up through Lancaster,
York, Cumberland and Franklin counties, and to preach on
the way as he had ability and opportunity. A halt, he says,
was made for a few days at Newville, Pa., where the Big
Spring church had become vacant by the resignation of Dr.
Joshua Williams. Here, on the invitation of the session, he
preached one Sabbath. He then went on with some friends to
the Sulphur Springs, at Doubling Gap, and after remaining there'
some days returned to Newville and supplied the church an-
other Sabbath. He then journeyed on to Mercersburg by way
of Shippensburg and Chambersburg, where the church had be-
come vacant by the removal of Dr. David Elliott. This
church he supplied two Sabbaths, amid much bodily weakness,
and then returning to Newville, he preached there one or two
Sabbaths more and afterwards set out for his home in Chester
county, near Brandywine Manor, much improved in health and
spirits.
This visit became tlie occasion of a call for Mr. McCachren
Rev. Robert McCachren. 195
to become the pastor of the church of Big Spring. That con-
gregation had divided, previously to his visit, in an attempt to
make out a call, on the Rev. John W. Nevin and the Rev.
John Kennedy, afterwards pastor in Philadelphia, and pro-
fessor of mathematics in Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, but
now united on Mr. McCachren. In the fall of the same year,
1830, a commissioner was sent to prosecute the call before the
Presbytery of New Castle, of which he was a member. The
Presbytery met, at that time, at Brandywine Manor, found the
call in order and placed it in the hands of Mr. McCachren, by
whom it was accepted. He was then dismissed to the Presby-
tery of Carlisle and entered at once on his ministerial labors in
that church and was installed pastor of it on April 13, 1831,
and prosecuted his work with diligence and a good degree of
success, despite serious discouragements, for twenty-one years,
when for what he deemed good and sufficient reasons he asked
for and obtained the dissolution of the pastoral relation, Oc-
tober 8, 1851.
During Mr. McCachren's pastorate of this church there were
received into its communion five hundred and seventy-five
members. Four hundred and eighty-five .of these were ad-
mitted on examination and profession of their faith in Christ
and ninety on certificate. During his entire pastorate the
average number of admissions for each year was twenty-seven.
In the years 1832, 1833 and 1834 there seemed to have been
almost a continuous revival of religion in the church, resulting
during that time in an accession of over one hundred and forty
members on confession of faith. As an evidence of the deep
interest in spiritual things which at that time existed a prayer-
meeting was instituted and sustained for a period, at daylight
in the morning.
On November 11, 1834, Mr. McCachren was married to Miss
Jane Laughlin, daughter of Mr. Atcheson Laughlin, a highly
esteemed ruling elder in this church. To them were born two
children, Robert and Mary, the latter of whom died April 11,
1875, in the enjoyment of a good hope through grace, leaving
a husband and one child, and prayerfully commending her
father, husband and child to God's gracious care and sending
19"6 Presbytery of Carlisle— Centennial.
a most affectionate and prayerful message for lier brother, who
was absent at that time.
After the dissolution of the pastoral relation between Mr.
McCachren and the church, his attention was next turned to a
work closely allied to that of the ministry, the establishment
of a classical school, with special reference to the training of
candidates for the gospel ministry and the preparation of young
men for college. With this in view he erected a suitable
building and organized a classical and boarding school near the
village, and taught the languages in the same, continuing in
this work until the year 1864, when, owing to a large diminu-
tion of the number of students, because of the influence of the
great civil war, then still in progress, and his advancing years,
he discontinued the school, and from that time lived in a re-
tired way at his own home. He still, however, retained a lively
interest in all the general movements of the church at large,
and at the same time was ever ready and anxious to preach, as
he found opportunity. He was ever ready to relieve and as-
sist his brethren, as he had the strength to do so and they
might desire him.
For about a year previous to his death he was confined to
liis house with asthma, which was afterwards accompanied with
dropsy and great general debility. Through all the wearisome
days and nights of his prolonged illness, though unable to lie in
bed, and being obliged to sit up in a chair most of the time, yet
he was remarkably' resigned and patient in his privations and
sufferings. When thus afflicted he was wont to repeat the words,
" Wearisome days and nights thou hast appointed unto me."'
As he approached the end of life he spoke of death as a thing
which he expected, and with which he was familiar, though,
as to the precise time wlien it would come, he could no more
tell than any one else. But of death itself he had thought
long and carefully. He was wholly resigned. He was ready
and waiting. And finally on Sabbath evening, February 15,
1885, when he had prepared himself for the night, the sum-
mons came, when he peacefully, in the enjoyment of a good
hope and with the full use of all his mental powers to the last,
closed his quiet, orderly and consistent <.!)hristian and minister.
ial life, in the eighty- seventh 3^ ear of his age.
Rev. Robert McCachren. 197
Mr. McCachren, through all his life, was a man of great sim-
plicity of character and was so as to all his habits of living.
He was constitutionally diffident and modest, even to constant
embarrassment. He was intelligent and sincere in his religious
convictions, and conscientious in the performance of duty. He
was well read up in the ancient classics and in tlie works of
the old divines of the seventeenth century, especially in the
works of Calvin, Owen, Howe, Charnock and Edwards. He
was in the constant habit of dail)^ reading the New Testament
in the original Greek language.
As a preacher he was simple, plain, scriptural and orthodox.
He was generally regarded as excelling most of his brethren
in the brevity, comprehensiveness and felicity of expression in
his prayers. He was faithful in the administration of the dis-
cipline of the church. He was a regular and constant attend-
ant upon the meetings of Presbytery. For many years he was
stated clerk, and always an active member of the standing com-
mittee on languages and conducted his examinations with due
consideration and general acceptableness. He took great in-
terest and pleasure in attending upon the higher courts of the
church as he had the opportunity. He was always happy in
the company of his ministerial brethren and gi'eatly enjoyed
their society. In his private life he was quietly and unosten-
tatiously charitable to the poor, and especially so towards the
colored people, many of whom were greatly assisted, both by
his counsels and his liberality. It can be truly said of him
that his entire life was, in all respects, most exemplary and
blameless, and that his end was peace. " Mark the perfect
man, and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace."
In the strict evangelical sense of the word, Mr. McCachren was
a good man. His life and death afford the most satisfactory
evidence that he had experienced the renewing of the Holy
Ghost, that he repented of sin, and believed in the Lord Jesus
Christ as his onl}^ Saviour, and that he strove to render habit-
ual obedience to the divine commands. It was this spirit of
Christian piety which led him to seek the Christian ministry,
that he might preach the word of God and thereby communi-
cate to the world the knowledge of the true religion and be-
198 Presbytery of Carlisle — Genlennial.
come instrumental in the salvation of men. And I heard him
say, that he labored and did his very best in the preaching of
the gospel, and the sessional records of this church show that
the blessing of God attended his ministrations. B}' his plain
and solemn addresses Christians were excited to live unto God
and by his patient and affectionate labors the young were re-
strained from folly and vice and the church built up in the
faith, and the order of society promoted.
Rev. Daniel McKinley, D. D.
The Rev. Daniel McKinley, D. D., was born in Carlisle, Pa.,
October, 1801, and spent most of his ministerial life in con-
nection with the Presbytery, in the bounds of which he was
born and reared. He was distinguished for early piety and for
zeal and devotion to the cause of missions and the conversion
of souls.
At the age of ten he was the subject of deep religious con-
victions, and gave evidence at that early period of true con-
version to Christ, and at this tender age manifested m a most
striking manner those peculiar traits of mind and religious
character for which he was distinguished as a Christian and a
minister in all his after life. He united with the First Presby-
terian church, in Carlisle, under the pastoral care of the Rev.
George Duffield, who, at that time, perceiving his ardent piety
and promising talents, encouraged him to pursue a course of
liberal education with a view to his entering the Christian min-
istry. In due time he entered Dickinson College, took the
regular course and graduated, under the presidency of Dr. John
M. Mason, in the summer of 1824.
From the beginning of his religious life he was a great lover
of ministers, missionaries and the cause of missions, and the
burden of his prayers was that God would raise up and send
forth more laborers into the harvest. During his course in
Dickinson College, that extensive revival of religion took
place, which arose in connection with the death and funeral
services of the son of Dr. John M. Mason, previously noted in
these sketches, and which pervaded the college and thecliurch
at that time and in the promotion of which young McKinley
Rev. Daniel McKinley, D. D. 199
took an active and most efficient part, and whose efforts, in
connection with this work, were untiring and most valuable.
Dr. Duffield was known to have referred frequently to his la-
bors at this time, and to have remarked that he had rarely or
never, known one of his years so competent and successful in
the matter of directing inquiring souls to the Saviour.
He entered the Theological Seminary at Princeton, in the
autumn of the same year in which he graduated from college,
and took a full three years' course, and was licensed in the fall
of 1827, by the Presbytery of Carlisle, and was soon afterwards
ordained and installed as pastor of the Presbyterian church in
Bedford, Pa. In this church he labored earnestly and suc-
cessfully for four years, when he was compelled, by reason of
the development of a bronchial affection, which proved to be
the plague of all his afterlife, to seek a dissolution of his pas-
toral relation and to desist from ministerial duties for a period
of about two years. The church at Bedford, while not blessed
with any special season of grace, was steadih' strengthened and
built up under his faithful and zealous ministry, and he be-
came greatly endeared to the people as their pastor, and it was
with the deepest reluctance that they yielded to the necessity
for the dissolution of the pastoral relation.
It was at this time, in 1833, that the Second Presbyterian
church in Carlisle was organized. The attention of this peo-
ple was at once turned to Mr. McKinley, and as he had become
encouraged by the improved state of his health, a call was made
out for his services, which he accepted and was duly installed
pastor of this church. He continued in this relationship for
about five years. His ministry here was earnest, zealous and
eminently successful. Special seasons of religious interest
occurred at different intervals, and during his pastorate of five
years seventy-six were added to the churcli on profession of
their faith. The church had become firmly established under
his ministiy, and he left it in a healthy and prosperous con-
dition, having greatly endeared himself to the people, and won
the respect and confidence of all classes in the community.
It was at this time that the Board of Foreign Missions was
organized, and efforts were then being made- to arouse the
200 Prtshytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
churches to a liberal and general support of this agency of the
church for the evangelization of the heathen world, and Mr-
McKinley,on account of his known zeal in the missionary cause,
and general fitness for the work, was selected as the per-
son to act as general agent and was urged to accept the appoint-
ment. This he consented to do, and was released from his pas-
toral charge accordingly, and for more than three years he
plead the cause of Foreign missions with great zeal, earnestness
and success. His efforts in this connection contributed greatly
to the advancement of the cause and made a deep and lasting
impression upon the churches of his own Presbytery as well as
the churche at large. He laid special emphasis upon the duty
of professing Christians laying aside every week, according as
the Lord had prospered them, and of contributing systemati-
cally a certain proportion of their income to the cause of Christ
He became thus one of the pioneers in the matter of system-
atic beneficence.
In the fall of 1841, Dr. McKinley was called to become the
pastor of the Falling Spring church of Chambersburg, Pa.,
which call he accepted and continued in charge of the same for
about nine years. He retui'ned to the pastoral work with great
zeal and earnestness. He was a faithful and pungent preacher
of the gospel, and an affectionate and devoted pastor. In about
a year after his installation a gracious and powerful revival of
religion took place in the congregation, the results of which
were permanent and most salutary in the church and commu.
nity. At the ensuing communion thirty-two were added to the
church on profession of their faith, and a great impulse was
given to vital religion in the congregation. His pastorate in
this church was eminently faithful and successful, and during
the nine years of its continuance, one hundred and four were
added to the church on profession of faith. In the fall of
1860 he asked to be released from the Falling Spring church?
in order to take charge of a new enterprise in Pittsburgh, the
Sixth church, and one which it was thought would be a field
for which he had special adaptedness. In this, however, his
expectations and those of his friends were not fully realized.
Owing to the general discouragements incident to new organi-
Rev. Daniel McKinley, D. D. 201
zations, at the end of the first year's labors there, he asked to
be released and returned again to the Presbytery of Carlisle.
The church at Middletown had been recently organized,
and the Presbytery enlisted the services of Mr. McKinley in
its behalf, and he was induced to visit the churches and solicit
aid for its establishment, and, by reason of his personal minis-
try in that congregation and the contributions he secured for
its advancement, that church gave promise of soon becoming
one of the self-sustaining congregations of the Presbytery. This
expectation however failed to be realized, and largely it is be-
lieved for want of unity of feeling and co-operation upon the
part of some of its officers and members.
After spending a year in this service Dr. McKinley was in-
duced to become agent and evangelist for the Board of Home
Missions. This was a two-fold work for which he had special
qualifications, had his health been sufiicient for its earnest and
vigorous prosecution. As it was the board, with melancholy
pleasure, bore their united and recorded testimony to his emi-
nent piety, zeal and usefulness, as one of their most efficient
and devoted agents, as he had been previously a devoted and
useful pastor.
His zealous labors as an evangelist and as an agent of the
board, together with the exposure to which he was continually
subject, in a short time developed and brought on again with
increased severit}'-, his old bronchial trouble.
In this, his last sphere of ministerial labor, he was, however
instrumental of great good. He knew not how to spare him-
self when seasons of spiritual awakening in the churches took
place. He was active and zealous in a number of extensive re-
vivals of religion in several of the ] 'resby teries of the Synod of
Philadelphia, especially in the churches of Waynesboro', New-
ton Hamilton, Sinking and Spring Creek, Lower Tuscarora,
Lewistown and other churches of Huntingdon Presbytery, and
also in a number of churches in Donegal and New Castle Pres-
byteries. In these revival scenes he took great interest. He
was always, in every sphere of ministerial labor, zealous and
active, and always exerting himself beyond his strength, but
in these revival scenes he was unwilling to desist whilst there
was any evidence of the special ])resence and saving efiicacyof
202 Presbytery of Carl/isle— Centennial.
God's Spirit. He was very kind, and attentive, and attractive
to inquiring souls, and greatly blessed in directing them into
the wa}^ of peace and holiness. His services at such times were
always eagerly sought and highly prized by his brethren and
greatly enjoyed by the people.
In the spnng of 1855, b}^ reason of his arduous labors of the
preceding winter, and on account of the return of his old bron-
chial affection, aggravated by other painful and serious maladies,
his health, under the progress of his disease, which baffled the
best medical skill, steadily declined during the summer. His
bronchial affection during the later stages of his sickness, almost
entirely prevented his engaging in conversation. But through
all his sickness and suffering he gave unmistakable evidence
of resignation, and faith, and hope, and his last end was peace.
He had gone to Chambers burg in the hope of being able to at-
tend the meeting of the Synod of Baltimore, which was to con-
vene there in October, but there, by reason of his rapid decline,
he was detained to die, and to enter upon his eternal rest, and
the enjoyment of his gracious and glorious reward.
Dr. McKinley was a man whose heart, all his life long, was
thoroughly enlisted in the great work of extending Christ's
kingdom. He was a man of eminent piety, and of a pure
and consecrated life. He was in his day a practical and pungent
preacher of the gospel, a zealous and ardent advocate of the
cause of missions, both home and foreign. He was a firm
believer in revivals of religion and labored and prayed that he
might be instrumental in their promotion. In every depart-
ment of ministerial labor in which he engaged, he generally had
the seal and approval which comes from the blessmg of God.
His mortal remains lie buried in the old graveyard at Car-
lisle, under a stone erected to his memory by tlie members of
the Falling Spring church of Chambesburg. Fa.
On May 31. 1827, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary
Wyeth, of Harrisburg, Pa., who is still living at the advanced
age of ninety — waiting in quiet faith and hope for the sum-
mons to depart this life and enter into her everlasting rest.
By her he had two daughters, one, the intelligent and accom-
plished wife of the Rev. James F. Kennedy, D. D., the other
died in early childhood.
Rev. John Dickey. 203
Rev. John Dickey.
This excellent ministei- of the gospel was distinguished
among the ministers of Carlisle Presbytery, for his devoted
piety and eminent usefulness. He was born, May 19, 1807, in
East Nottingham township, Cliester county, Pa. He was the
second son of Samuel Dickey and Jane Hutchinson, who both
lived to an advanced age. His father was a ruling elder, orig-
inally in the Associate Reformed church, and after the union
of that church with the General Assembly of the Presbyterian
church, in May, 1822, he continued to serve the same church
in this office up to the time of his death.
The pastor of this church was his brother, the Rev. Ebenezer
Dickey. D. D.. long known as an eminent minister both in the
Associate and in the Presbyterian churches Mr. Dickey, the
elder, ruled well, not only in the church of God, but also in his
own house. He had been blessed with an intelligent pious Pres-
byterian ancestry.
There was nothing of marked peculiarity in the boyhood of
Rev. John Dickey, except that having commenced going to
school early in life, with the other children of the family, he
continued to do so with but little interruption until he was four-
teen years of age, when the following incident occurred which
showed a bias in his mind in favor of the ministry. His parents
had cherished the hope and expectation that one of their sons
would become a preacher of the gospel, but they had rather
fixed on the third son, Ebenezer, to whom they had given the
name of his pious and revered uncle, the pastor of the church.
A classical teacher having come into the neighborhood, the
question arose as to which of the sons should commence a reg-
ular course of liberal education with a view to the ministry.
The parents, according to their own prediction, submitted the
matter to Ebenezer, to enter upon such a course and prepare for
college, and then for the ministry, if so be he should feel called
of God to this sacred office. When the question was thus sab-
mitted Ebenezer seemed disinclined to enter upon such a course.
John ob.serving this, slipped up behind his mother's chair,
and whispered, "mother, I will be the preacher," and accord-
ingly it was determined that he should enter upon the regular
204 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
course of classical study. In this way he set his face toward
a work from which he never drew back until released by death.
Having pursued classical studies with the teacher referred to
for two years, he was then sent to the acadamy in charge of
the Rev. Dr. Magraw, in West Nottingham, Maryland. Here
he continued until the fall of 1825, when he entered the junior
class in Jefferson College. Canonsburg, Pa., from which he
graduated in the fall of 1827. Up to the time he entered col-
lege, his life had been moral and in all respects exemplary, but
he had not specially considered the subject of his personal sal-
vation. Soon after entering college it was noticed his letters
assumed a much more religious tone, and while there he be-
came the subject of a saving change of heart. It is not known
whether there was any particular instrumentality used by which
this result was produced or whether it came about under the
regular means of grace and the more decided religious influences
for which that college at that time was distinguished. That he
had truly experienced the regenerating grace of God was a mat-
ter manifest to all who were observers of his uniformly Christian
walk and conversation. And while at college he in like man-
ner consecrated himself to the work of the Christian ministry,
under t;he conviction that it was in this way that he could do
most for the glory of Grod and for the salvation of men.
On his return from college his father advised that he should
spend a year in teaching, as he was yet quite j'oung, before
entering upon his theological studies, but the son was anxious
at once to enter the theological seminary and press on into
his life-work. His father acquiescing in his wishes, he entered
Princeton Seminary in the fall of 1827, and continued there
for three years, prosecuting his studies with that conscientious
faithfulness and habitual diligence which characterized all his
future life. Toward the latter part of his second year in the
seminary he commenced keeping a diary, which he continued
for about a year. His first entry is dated June 3. 1829. It is
as follows : "Darkness broods over my mind and I have little
spirituality." June 13 — "Mind still dark, I am little affected
by what Christ has done for me. I seem to be striving and
praying but don't appear to be becoming any better. How
Rev. John Dickey. 205
long shall I mourn the hidings of thy face. Have I any grace .
in my heart? 0! for more of the power of religion." June 15 —
"Yesterday renewed my covenant at the Lord's table. May
I be more unreservedly devoted to his service than heretofore.
O I the hardness of my heart ! Nothing but the grace of God
can make me better."" May 10, 1830 — ''I am this dav twenty-
three years old. To how little purpose have I lived ; low little
growth in grace ; how little love to God and desire for His glory."
Here the diary stops with these lamentations over the coldness
of his heart and want of love to God.
At the close of his seminary course he was examined by
the Presbytery of New Castle, and was licensed, in October,
1880, to preach the gospel.
Mr. Dickey soon after he was licensed received a commission
from the Board of Home Missions, and spent a year on a mis-
sionary tour, in Virginia and North Carolina, preaching to
white people and to the slaves, as the way opened up before
him. In this missionary tour his preaching and other evan-
gelical work was greatly blessed of God.
The chief place of his labors was Lake Phelps, in Wash-
ington county, N. C. He reached this place near the close of
December. 1831, and labored here and in this vicinity for six
months. He preached steadily at a chapel, and in private houses,
and more especially to the black people on Sabbath afternoons,
after preaching to the whites in the morning. The blacks, he
records, were attentive and solemn, and before the close of his
first month's labors they manifested so much religious awaken-
ing that he appointed inquiry meetings for their guidance. On
March 12, 1832, he records that he had assisted at two protracted
meetings of four days each, one at Washington and one at
Newburn, besides preaching at Plymouth on the way. " The
Lord was specially present, Christians were revived, sinners
convinced, and about twelve in number professed a change of
heart. The interest among the negi'oes increased and numbers
were concerned about their salvation."
March 23, 1832. '• Held a four days meeting at the chapel : con-
siderable apparent seriousness manifested. Great deal of se-
riousness among the negroes in the afternoon. On Sunday at-
206 Presbyter u of Carlisle — Ceyitennial.
tendance at chapel very large. Hotise could not hold half the
people. Sash taken out of one window and I stood in open win-
dow and preached to those without and those within the house.
Three ladies professed hope in Christ during these services. In
April preached as usual and commenced a catechetical class for
the blacks."
May 11. "Held another four days' meeting at the chapel.
State of things among the negroes very encouraging. Com-
munion was held on Monday.
June 28. '"Preached at four days' meeting at Washington,
Twenty-three were received on trial for admission to the com-
munion of the church at one time and a number at another
time.
''During the six and half months spent at Lake Phelps
and in the adjacent country, Mr. D. visited fifty-three families
and conversed with them on the subject of personal religion .
preached one hundred and seven times, an average of four ser.
mons per week, and was instrumental in gathering into the
church forty-seven persons who professed faith in Christ. The
most of these were colored people. Besides these twenty-three
more were received on trial as canidates for admission to the
church, when he left to return north, July 16, 1832.
It was in this year that protracted meetings began to be held
in the Presbytery of New Castle, for the first time,which have
been continued from year to year, with remarkable success, from
the beginning. John's father thinking he could be useful in
these meetings and that they would be profitable to him, wrote
to him, advising him to come home and labor in them for a
time. He accordingly returned that autumn and preached with
great acceptance at these meetings for several months. His
preaching was practical and pungent and well adapted to such
services.
His next place of preaching was at Strasburg, Lancaster
county, Pa. Here he labored for a time and was instrumental
in the erection of a house of worship and in gathering a small '
congregation. But as the community was chiefly of German
origin, he did not regard the prospect of building up a self-sus-
taining church encouraging, he accordingl}' sought another
Rev. John Dickey. 207
field of labor. He visited New Bloomfield, Landisburg and
Buffalo churches, Perry county, and calls from these congrega-
tions were presented to the Presbytery of Carlisle, December
23, 1834, at its meeting in Newville, Pa., at which meeting he
presented his letter of dismission from the Presbytery of New
Castle, and after the usual examination as to his soundness in
the faith, according to a rule of the Assembly then in practice,
he was enrolled and in due time installed pastor of said churches,
Revs. McKinley and McCachren officiating in tlie installation
services
He entered upon his charge of those three congregations in
the fear of God, under a most solemn sense of his awfal re-
sponsibility and labored in the performance of his duties with
the most conscientious fidelity and persevering diligence. His
congregations lay in the form of a triangle, each about ten miles
apart. At two of these churches he preached every Sabbath
day, which required him to travel not less than twenty miles in
connection with each Sabbath's services. And yet over these in-
convenient distances he continued to journey, year after year,
with a remarkable degree of regularity and punctuality for a
period of nearly twenty years. He was habitual and unceas-
ing in his work. His bodily health admonished him that his
time was short, and he felt he must work while the day lasts
for the night cometh when no man shall work. He realized
that his accountability was great, his time short, and his day
of final account near at hand. He was'noted among his people
for his punctuality as a fixed liabit. '"At the appointed hour,"
they were wont to say, ''Mr. Dickey would come slipping in.
in his own quiet wa}^ and with his habitual gravity take his
seat in the sacred desk."
As a preacher he studied to show himself approved of God
by rightly dividing the word of truth. In relation to the im-
penitent he aimed to produce conviction in their consciences
of their guilt before God and their liability to endless punish-
ment. In his preaching the law became a school-master to lead
men to Christ, and he was not sparing in denouncing it's ter-
rors in order to that end. At the same time he was not less
faithful in unfolding God's revealed way of salvation,* and
Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
earnest in urging a speedy acceptance of the gospel invitations
and promises, and of their coming at once to Christ by faith,
upon all who came within the reach of his ministry. His
preaching was eminently scriptural, doctrinal and practical.
The sovereignty of God, the helplessness of the sinner and his
dependence on his good pleasure, and the doctrines of grace, he
did not fail to present in their due place in his ministrations.
These and their related truths were by him strongly believed,
clearly stated and fully confirmed, as greatly important in order
to exalt the character of God and humble the pride of man.
As to his manner of preaching he was exceedingly earnest,
his whole soul being deeply engaged in the delivery of his mes-
sage. Earnestness, engagedness, deep emotion, were character-
istics of his preaching. These were manifested in the motions of
his body, in the expression of his eye, and in the impressive
tones of his voice. All felt that his soul was impelled by the
urgent stress of divine truth. His style of composition and
modes of presenting the truth were strikingly peculiar to him-
self. This style was very simple, his method logical and clear.
For his great plainness and simplicity, he was accustomed to
say he was indebted to his first practice in preaching to the un^
lettered colored people of the south. His sermons, though
marked by transparent plainness, were carefully prepared and
far from being common place and tame. He was not given to
pious generalities. They were replete with well -digested, con-
nected, discriminating and penetrating truths.
His custom was to commit his discourses to memory, and
deliver them without a manuscript. This added greatly to his
acceptability to his own people and to other congregations.
His services were highly appreciated at protracted meetings
and communion seasons. At such seasons he preached with
great pungency and fervor, and his services were in demand
both within and beyond the bounds of his Presbytery.
He left between three and four hundred sermons written
out in full, in a clear round and neat hand, besides many others
in brief skeleton forms. He composed and published a cate-
chism, explanatory of the Westminster Shorter Catechism, for
his own use in the instruction of the young in his congregations,
Rev, John Dickey. 209
which was highly prized and widely used among his people
and in some other neighboring congregations.
His manner of life was such, that his opinions and example
came to have great weight in the community with all classes
of people. He was a very solemn-minded man, absolutely free
from levity in any form. He was eminently a good man,
and recognized by all who knew him as a most devout ser-
vant of God.
He was the advocate of order, temperance and sound morals
in the community, and no one was in doubt for a moment as
to which side he would take on all questions affecting the moral,
educational or religious interests of the community. He was
the friend of the destitute in our own land and an earnest
advocate of the cause of foreign missions. He was always in
his place in Presbytery and in the higher courts of the church.
While modest and unobtrusive, he had his opinions carefully
formed on all important questions, to which, at the proper time,
he would give brief expression, and was always, prepared to
vote' with decision and firmness. Whatever dut}' was assigned
him, he discharged it with promptness and did it wisely and well.
In person Mr. Dickey was tall, slender and erect, and of a
delicate constitution. He was of fair complexion, and had a
high and well-developed forehead, and blue eyes, which
kindled with animation in conversation and in public addresses.
He had a head of soft black hair, and a handsome cornel v face.
He was near-sighted and always wore glasses. His general
bearing and deportment indicated a man of thoughtful intelli-
gence and of great sobriety of heart and life. His intellectual
faculties were sound and clear, and his judgment cautious and
reliable, yet he was not a man of any special breadth or grasp
of thought. His academic, collegiate and theological acquire-
menis were respectable, and the fruits of conscientious and labor-
ious study. He was a man of great meekness of spirit, hum-
bleness of mind and of patient perseverance in well doing. His
piety was uniform, earnest and consistent. Mr. Dickey was
pre-eminentl}^ a good and useful man. His ministry was greatly
blessed in the edification of the people of God and in winning
souls to Christ.
14*
210 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
His delicate frame, at the end of twenty years of faithful ser-
vice in his laborious charge, broke down under a severe exposure
in a midwinter storm, and he was so prostrated by a serious spell
of typhoid fever, that he gradually failed in strength and vitality,
and, on October 20, 1855, with resignation and calm submission,
he passed away, in the forty-ninth year of his age.
Mr. Dickey was married to Miss Elizabeth Williamson, of
Cumberland county. Pa., in 1837, by whom he had six chil-
dren. His remains lie buried in the cemetery of New Bloom-
field, only a short distance from the place of his residence.
Rev. James Harper, D. D.
Another most excellent and worthy minister of the Presby-
tery of Carlisle was the Rev. James Harper, D. D., for thirty
years pastor of the church of Shippensburg, Pa.
He was born in Glasgow, Scotland, July 28, 1802, and was
nearly seventy-four years of age at the time of his decease.
He was born of parents eminent for their piety, culture and
social refinement. Early in life his father, who was a merchant,
was chosen to the office of ruling elder in the Antiburger
church, Duke street, Glasgow, and his mother, whose maidem
name was Annie Clark, was a woman of superior excellence
and of great moral worth.
These parents had a family of fifteen children and were most
faithful in their religious training and in the general watch and
care of their household. It was the custom of the father,
though busied with mercantile pursuits, to find time to retire
statedly with his children for religious instruction, counsel and
prayer. The religious influence of the mother was no less con-
stant and salutary. A covenant-keeping Go(i failed not to own
and bless such parental faithfulness. Their children, one after
another, were all brought to recognize their covenant relation ship
and to take upon them the vows of discipleship and to give en-
couraging evidence that they lived and died in the Lord.
Dr. Harper, like many others, thus trained from infancy in
the knowledge, worship and service of God, was not able to point
to the precise time when he first experienced the saving power
of divine grace in his soul. Like Samuel, he seemed to have
p^^
'^*A
::^uA^ (JfaC^^^/^l^
Rev. James Harper^ D. IX 211
known the Lord from a child. After five years of preparatory
study, chiefly at the Glasgow Grammar School, in October, 1820
he entered the college of Glasgow and had, among others, as a
fellow student, the poet, Robert Pollock. In this institution
he took the regular classical and scientific course and graduated
with the highest esteem of the professors and the universal re-
spect of his fellow students.
Having in the meantime been admitted to the full communion
of the church and consecrated himself to the service of God in
the work of the Christian ministry, he entered the Divinity
Hall, where he spent five years in the prosecution of his theo-
logical studies, under the instruction, among others, of the
well-known Dr. Dick, the author of Dick's Theology.
In all this extended course of academical and theological
study Mr. Harper was approved by his instructors as a diligent
and faithful student, making due improvement of his oppor.
tunities and laying a good foundation in habits of study and
solid acquisitions for the time to come. Having completed the
prescribed course, he was licensed by the United Secession
Presbytery and labored for three years as a missionary, under
the direction of the same Presbytery, in the city of Glasgow,
when he was ordained by that body with the view of coming
to America, as affording him a wider field of ministerial use-
fulness. Accordingly, without further delay, he left Glasgow
and sailed for New York city where he arrived in June, 1833^
He was soon providentially led to visit Galway in Saratoga
county, New York, the home of many people from Scotland,
where he preached in the Presbyterian church of that place the
third Sabbath after his arrival in this country. That church
being vacant and he having preached to the satisfaction of the
congregation he was called to become their pastor, and at the
end of the year of probation required by the rule of the Gen-
eral Assembly in relation to foreign ministers, he accepted the
call and was installed as pastor by the Presbytery of Albany
with which he had united. After three years of faithful ser.
vice in this congregation, the pastoral relation was dissolved at
his own request. Not long after, at the solicitation of the Rev.
Robert J. Breckinridge, D. D., then settled in Baltimore, Mr.
212 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial
H.irper was induced to visit Ellicott"s Mills, Maryland, where
he was instrumental in gathering and organizing the Presby-
terian church in that place, in the building up of which he
labored earnestly for about one year and eight months when
the congregation of Shippensburg, Pa., being left vacant, he
was invited by the session to visit them. Having done so,
and having preached acceptably to the people he was called to
become their pastor. This call he accepted and was installed
over this congregation by the Presbytery of Carlisle. May 8,
1840. In this pastoral relation he continued until June, 1870,
when, on account of increasing infirmities, he felt constrained to
ask for its dissolution. During all this time his preaching had
proved most acceptable to the people, the relation between them
had been mutually agreeable and most harmonious, and his
services had been greatly owned and blessed of God. In ac-
cepting his resignation, the people, in appreciation of his past
services, and from their high respect for him and his office, and
from warm attachment for him, voted him an annuity while
he lived.
Dr. Harper's infirmity had been partly induced by an inci-
dent which had taken place during a visit to his home in Scot-
land some years previous to the time of the dissolution of his
pastoral relation. While there, on a certain occasion, he had
walked with some friends a distance of twelve miles and at the
end of the journey, while yet warm from walking they went
in to bathe in the sea. While bathing he became unconscious
and had to be taken out of the water. After much rubbing
he was partially restored to consciousness. In that condition
he set out and walked back again. But on his return sank
again into a state of unconsciousness which continued for about
twenty-four hours, before he was restored to consciousness again.
When he told the writer of this incident he remarked that those
two days were a blank to him. He had no conscious remem-
brance of what had taken place in them after going in to bathe.
He was never afterwards the same man. The present writer
had known him before. His countenance now wore a different
expression. The color of his face and his walk were greatly
changed. His spinal column and his whole nervous system
Rev. James Harpes, D. D. 213
had been greatly shocked. He further remarked that his physi-
cians in Glasgow had expressed the opinion that had he not
walked back after bathing, he would not have recovered.
Dr. Harper preached occasionally as his health and strength
would permit after his resignation. He suffered now from a
complication of troubles, chief among which was spinal diffi-
culty, due to the incident just narrated. On May 9, 1876,
while working in his garden, in which he found great pleasure,
he was suddenly stricken with paralysis and on Saturday,
May 14, as has been recorded, the silver cord was loosed and
he peacefully slept in Jesus.
The funeral services were held in the church of which he
had been for so many years the pastor, and his brethren of the
Presbytery officiated in the solemn and impressive services,
when, like Stephen, he was carried by devout men to his burial,
and a large and deeply-affected congregation followed in the
train of mourners. As a token of respect for this devoted ser-
vant of God all the business houses of the town were closed
during the time of the funeral services.
It has been well remarked that Dr. Harper was comparatively
unknown beyond the immediate field of his labors. And yet
few men in the church have been more highly revered or more
truly loved than he within the sphere of his acquaintance.
Fettered by an invincible modesty he shrank from publicity.
The marked features of his character, were great gentleness
and kindness of nature, extreme diffidence, deep and abiding
humility, entire absence of envy and guile and a tender and
loving heart.
Blessed as he was with unwonted meekness, he was uniformly
affable and courteous to all classes and all ages in the commun-
ity, and never gave offence. His whole nature drew back
from every manifestation of pride or arrogance. He was a beau-
tiful illustration of him who minded not high things but con-
descended to men of low estate.
His piety was uniformly humble, scriptural and devout. If
he had not the faith and heroism of Paul, nor the fiery zeal of
Peter, he had much of the meekness of the great Lawgiver and
of the love of the beloved disciples. As a minister of the
214 Preshytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
gospel lie was a man of liigli intellectual endowments, a dili-
gent and indefatigable student through life, and of extensive
reading and thorough scholarship. He was an able expounder
of the Scriptures, a clear and forcible preacher of the great
doctrines of grace and an earnest defender of the faith. He
was at home in all the leading and standard writers in theology
and mental and moral science and in ecclesiastical history.
His sermons were clear, concise and logical. They were
always prepared with great care and delivered in the use of his
manuscript, and at the same time, with great solemnity, pathos
and impressiveness. His style was nervous, neat and polished.
His manner was dignified, affectionate and very tender.
While he was all this he was, at the same time, a fearless
expounder of divine truth. He was a faithful preacher of the
divine law, bold and uncompromising in the denunciation of
sin and vice and of the wrath of God against all unrighteous-
ness. And yet the cross of Christ was the theme in which like
Paul he glorified.
The great charm of his discourses, was that they were*always
freighted with divine trutli, lucidly and freshly stated, and
pressed home upon the hearts and consciences of his hearers,
in a most affectionate and devout manner and with the utmost
sincerity and tenderness. If he urged any particular doctrine
or duty, his method was first to deduce it from the Scriptures
and enforce it with the authority of God and with ample Scrip-
ture citation, then to show its accordance wdth reason and ex-
perience and finally to set forth the great practical benefits re-
sulting from its reception and practice. His preaching was
thus characterized by an admirable blending of the doctrinal
and the practical.
While Dr. Harper had a mind thus stored with the rich
treasures of theological truth and while he was greatly admired
and loved as a reliable preacher of the divine word by all in-
telligent hearers, at the same time he was yet ever as simple-
hearted and retiring as a child.
Then again, whilst he was modest in the assertion of his own
views, he was still a man of positive convictions, reliably or-
thodox in his doctrinal sentiments and in cases of necessitv or
IVif Wilhamso'n Brothers. 215
emergency, lie was ready to give expression to them with firm-
ness, though with characteristic diffidence. While he sought
not prominence of position, and shrank from notoriety and
greatly preferred retirement and exclusion to conspicuousness,
yet when any public duty was imposed upon him he would
perform it with tidelity even though it was with marked tim-
idity.
He was usually a regular attendent at Presbytery, but for
the most part a silent member, except in the performance of
prescribed duties.
He was an ardent lover of good men and devotedly fond of
the best authors. He was well read up in the controversies
of the day and had an intelligent judgment upon most of the
more prominent questions of a theological character thus in-
volved.
Dr. Harper was married three times, once in Scotland and
twice in this country. He left behind him a venerable widow
and his youngest son, a mute, and two members of his father's
family, all of whom have since passed away. A number of
grandchildren, however, still survive to perpetuate his name
and his virtues. The honorary title of Doctor of Di\dnity was
conferred upon him by Lafayette College in 1856.
The Williamson Brothers.
Revs. James, Alexander, McKnight and Moses Williamson,
sons of Ddvid and Tamar Williamson, were born in Mifflin
township, Cumberland county, Pennsylvania near Newville,
and were brought up in the Big Spring congregation, under the
pastorate of Rev.- Joshua Williams, D. D. Their father was a
farmer. Their parents were of Scotch-Irish ancestry and of
eminent piety. Their children were consecrated to God from
childhood and carefully trained up under the private and pub-
lic means of grace.
James, the oldest of the four brothers, was born June 11,
1795. He was educated at Washington College, Washington,
Pa., and graduated from that institution in 1817. Studied
theology in Princeton Seminary, and was licensed b}^ the Pres-
bytery of Carlisle November 1. 1820. He wab ordained by
216 Preshytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
the Presbytery of Luzerne in June 1821, and was stated sup-
ply of the church at Athens, Pa., until called to the church of
Silver Spring, in the autumn of 182-1, where he was duly in-
stalled and continued pastor of that church until April, 1838,
when he was released to accept a call to Milton, Pa. Under
his ministry and faithful pastorate at Silver Spring the church
was unusually prospered. The church edifice was remodeled
and much improved. The attendance upon the preached word
increased. During the winter of 1831, the congregation was
carefully visited by the pastor and the elders ; the latter going
two together from houge to house. " The church session had
resolved thus to visit all the families of the congregation and
to converse freely with them on the subject of religion person-
ally, and to pray with them and endeavor to awaken a deeper
interest amotig the people with regard to their spiritual con-
cerns than had hitherto generally prevailed." The result was
that during the following summer a season of special revival of
religion followed. Preaching services were held in Hoges-
town and Shepherdstown. There was a meeting for prayer in
the former village at six o'clock in the morning, which was
continued for several weeks. As the result of this gracious
season and of God's blessing upon the services held, fifty-five
persons were added to the church, the largest number received
at one time in the history of the congregation. At the close
of Mr. Williamson's pastorate the membership was two hun-
dred and twenty. This was the highest number of communi-
cants enrolled at any time in that church, and was twenty more
than when he came.
Mr. Williamson was regarded as a well redd theologian, an
earnest practical preacher of the gospel, a skillful casuist, a man
of devoted piety and much given to prayer. To awaken, en-
lighten and persuade men through the instrumentality of
divine truth, was his great aim in his pulpit ministrations, and
in his pastoral visitations. This also was the great burden of
his tender, earnest prayers. His clear views of the plan of
salvation, his habitual communion with Grod, and his tender
affectionate nature made him a sympathetic friend of inquirers,
and rendered him very successful in their guidance and instruc-
The Williamson Brothers. 217
tion and truly helpful to the despondent, as well as in the
awakening of the formal and the careless. He mingled much
with the people and promptly met all pastoral engagements and
duties. His ministry was one that was fruitful* in much that
was good, and was attended continually with the divine blessing.
Mr. Williamson, while thus devoted to the work of the min-
istry in these ways, was, at the same time, a truly orthodox
man in his religious faith, and in thorough accord with the
standards of the church. He was an able advocate and de-
fender of the truth, and took a prominent and active part in
the controversy against the New School theology from 1885 to
1838, and was one of the most active members of the Presby-
tery in the arraignment and prosecution of the Rev. George
Duffield on account of the views published in his book on
Regeneration. In this whole procedure he occupied the same
position as did his former pastor and teacher, the Rev. Joshua
Williams, D. D.
He had a number of fields of labor. From 1838 to 1845 he
was pastor at Milton and New Berlin. From 1845 to 1847 at
Miflflinburg and Hazleton. He was at New Windsor and Taney-
town, Md., from 1849 to 1854. At Athens and West Kisha-
couquillas from 1854 to 1858, He was stated supply at Little
Valley in 1863. In all these places his ministry was greatly
blessed. Many pastors and churches, as well as individuals,
were greatly impressed by the revival scenes through which he
and they had passed, and by his many words of warning and
comfort, his many affectionate entreaties, and his tender, earnest,
importunate prayers. To serve and glorify God in the salvation
of souls was the great end for which he lived and labored.
As a preacher, he was plain, practical, solid, scriptural and
earnest, with but little in the way of imagery or ornamentation.
He conscientiously labored to unfold the great truths of divine
revelation for the enlightment and conversion of men. As a
Presbyter he was a model of punctuality, courtesy and
fidelity. In all the relations of life, in the family and in
society, he was loving, loyal, gentle and generous in all his
ways. His vivacity and modesty, and his pure and unselfish
nature made him a most agreeable and attractive friend and
218 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
associate. He was one of those whom all who knew him
could not fail to honor and respect. His life was a benediction
in every relation he sustained.
In the year 1865, while engaged in the active duties of the
ministry, he was stncken with paralysis. He was at once
greatly prostrated. His mental and physical powers steadily
failed. He died at his residence, at Lewistown, Pa,, April 10,
1866, of paralysis.
He was married twice — first to Miss P. M, Hopkins, who
died leaving three children ; his second wife was Mi.ss C.
Geddes, who, with one child, survived him. His last words
were, "All is well."
Alexander Williamson
Was born near New ville, Pennsylvania, September 17, 1797.
He graduated at Jefferson College, Canonsburg, Pa., in 1818.
Entered Princeton Seminary in 1819, took the full three years'
course and graduated in 1822, He spent two years as a home
missionary in Mississippi, 1823-25. He was ordained as an
evangelist by the Presbytery of Salem, April 8, 1825. He
was stated supply of the Church of Cory don, Indiana, for ten
years, 1825-1835 ; at Lebanon, 1835-39 ; at Delphi, 1839-42 ;
at Monticello and Indian Creek, 1842-46 ; and at Corydon
again. 1846-49. He died at Corydon, July 14, 1869, having
lived an earnest, faithful, devoted Christian life, and after serv-
ing God faithfully and laboriously and with much self-denial
as a home missionary, in building new churches in a malarious
region of country for a quarter of a century. His record is on
high, and his reward that of a good and faithful servant.
McKnight "Williamson.
The third son and brother to enter the ministry, was born
near Newville, Pa., February 28. 1800. He graduated at
Jefferson College in 1820. Entered Princeton Theological
Seminar}^ in 1822, and graduated in 1825. Was ordained and
installed pastor of Dickinson church by the Presbytery of
Carlisle, October 30, 1827, and continued in that charge until
1834, He then became pastor of Lower Tuscarora church
Moses Williamson. 219
from 1835-45. He siiortly afterwards became pastor of Crab
Apple church, near New Athens, Ohio, from 1847-53. He
then labored as a home missionary in Ohio from 1853 to 1858.
He became pastor of Rocky Spring and Cynthiana churches in
1859, in which relation he continued fourteen years. After
this he made his residence at Cambridge, Ohio, until 1880,
when he came to Huntingdon, Pa., where he now resides, a
venerable and highly respected minister of the gospel, in the
ninetieth year of his age.
Moses Williainson.
Was bom near Newville, Pa., Ma}- 7, 1802. He was the
youngest of ten sons and the fourth from the same family to
enter the ministry of the Presbyterian church. He, like his
older brothers, was brought up on a farm, received his prepara-
tory education at Hopewell Academy, Cumberland count3% Pa.,
under the instruction of Mr. John Cooper, son of Dr. Cooper,
of Middle Spring church. He graduated from Dickinson
College, at Carlisle, in 1824. under the presidency of Dr. John
M. Mason. He made a public profession of his faith and was
received into the full communion of the Big Spring church in
the seventeenth year of his age.
After graduating from college he spent one year in teaching
in the academy at Bellefonte, Pa. He entered the theological
seminary at Princeton in 1825, and after a full course of three
years he graduated in 1828.
He was licensed by the Presbytery of Carlisle, April 28,
1828. He supphed the church at Christiana, Delaware, one
year, preaching part of the time at Elkton, Delaware, where
there was as yet no church organization.
He afterwards spent six months in study at Andover Theo-
logical Seminary. He supplied the church of Cold Spring,
Cape May county. New Jersey, for nearly five years, until July
6, 1831, when he was ordained and installed pastor of said
church by Presbytery of Philadelphia, within whose bounds
southern New Jersey was then included. In this one charge
he labored patiently, perseveringly and faithfully for over half
a century. During that period he received into the communion
of that rural church nearly live hundred members.
29.0 Preshijtenj of Carlisle — Centennial.
Like his older brothers, he was an eminently w>e, holy,
consistent and faithful minister of the gospel, greatly respected
by his ministerial brethren and beloved by all who knew him.
He died from a severe attack of typhoid fever, after only five
days sickness, October 30, 1880, in the seventy-ninth year of
his age. His last words concerning his spiritual state and future
prospects were, "Christ is all my desire."
Mr. Williams married September 15, 1834, Miss Emily H.
Hughes, daughter of Humphrey Hughes, of Cape May. She,
with three sons and five daughters, survived him.
Rev. David McKnight Williamson, who was ordained by
the Presbytery of Logansport, Indiana, in October, 1861, and
died in Ohio, in 1881, of diphtheria, in the forty-ninth year of
his age, was not a brother, but a nephew of the above four
ministers, and a son of David Williamson, of Troy, Ohio.
Rev. Thomas Creigh, D. D.
Dr. Creigh M^as pastor of the church of Upper West Cono-
cocheague, Mercersburg, Pa., from November 17, 1831, to
April 21, 1880.
He was born in Landisburg, Perry county. Pa., September
9, 1808, and was the son of Dr. John Creigh and Eleanor Dun-
bar. The Creigh family were of German origin and the name
signifies war or warrior. The branch of the family from which
the subject of this sketch was descended was Protestant in faith
and left Germany in the reign of James I., on account of reli-
gious persecution, and went to Scotland where they remained
about sixty years, when his more immediate ancestors emigrated
to Ireland and settled on lands in the county of Antrim. The
great grandfather of Thomas, John Creigh, was, in 1719, a rul-
ing elder in Carmony church, five miles from Belfast. His
son, Thomas Creigh, was also a ruling elder in the same church
in 1740. John Creigh, the son of the latter, emigrated from
Ireland to this country in 1761, and settled in Carlisle, Pa.,
bringing with him a certificate of church membership from the
church of Carmony, signed by the Rev. John Thompson, dated
March 1, 1761. He was the grandfather of Thomas Creigh,
the subject of this sketch. He is represented as a man of good
'^01my.
^m^ aLh jrimd dai^r.
%
Rev. Thomas Oreigh, D. D. 221
natural abilities, of high moral character, and as speedily taking
a prominent ])osition in civil and social society, and as a useful
and consistent member and officer of the church. He shared
in those clear and strong views as to civil and religious liberty
held so generally by the Presbyterian emigrants of that period
from the north of Ireland and Scotland.
He early espoused the cause of American Independence, en-
tered the army and on April 19, 1776, received his commission
as lieutenant colonel. In June, 1776, he was chosen as a rep-
resentative of Cumberland county, to the Convention of the
Province of Pennsylvania, which was held in Carpenter's Hall,
Philadelphia, from June 18, 1776, to June 25, 1776, which con-
vention unanimously declared that the Colony of Pennsylvania
was free and independent of the Crown of Great Britain. Sub-
sequently he joined his regiment, marched through New Jersey,
united with the Continental forces and participated in the bat-
tle of Germantown and in a number of other engagements.
After his return home, in the following year, he was chosen
associate judge of Cumberland county and also a ruling elder
in the First Presbyterian church of Carlisle, both of which of.
fices he retained up to his death.
Dr. John Creigh, son of Colonel Creigh and father of Thomas
Creigh, was born in 1773, in Carlisle, Pa., graduated from
Dickinson College in 1792, and from the medical department
of the University of Pennsylvania, in 1795. As a young phy-
sician he practiced for a short time in Pittsburgh and at Lewis-
town, Pa., but finally, in 1799, located at Landisburg, in what
is now Perry county. Pa., where he practiced medicine for the
next twenty years.
It was here that Thomas Creigh was born September 9, 1808,
the seventh child in a family of six sons and four daughters,
three of whom only, one sister and two brothers, survived at
the time of his death. One of these brothers, was the Hon.
John D. Creigh, of California, and the other was Dr. Alfred
Creigh, of Washington, Pa. As there was no Presbyterian
church at that time in Landisburg, Dr. Creigh, with his family,
attended the services held by the Rev. John Linn in the Cen-
tre church some four miles distant, at whose hands Thomas
received the ordinance of baptism in his infancy.
222 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
Thomas Creigh spent the first eleven years of his life in Lan-
(lisburg, aquiet village in Sherman's Valley, and there received
the elements of his English education. He is represented as
having been a quiet, sober-minded youth, manifesting that
gentle, reserved, serious disposition which adhered to him
through life.
Dr. Creigh, finding that he could not secure for his large
family in Landisburg that education which he desired them to
have, in 1819 removed to Carlisle. This change was greatly
to the advantage of his children and had a most important
bearing upon all their after life.
After spending some two or three years more in the common
schools of that period, in his fourteenth year Thomas entered
the grammar school connected with Dickinson College and here
spent two years, and in September, 1824, he entered the fresh-
man class and at the end of four years graduated in the twenty-
first year of his age.
Of the class with which he graduated eight entered the
Christian ministry, among whom was the Rev. Dr. W. H.
Campbell, for many years a professor in the Theological Semi-
nary of the Reformed Dutch Church, New Brunswick, N. J.
The tender influences of a pious mother and the restraining
influences of a Christian home life, together with the religious
training secured under the regular services of the sanctuary
and the common operations of divine grace, made him reverent
towards God and His word, kept him free from the vices inci-
dent to youth, and caused him often to become the subject of
the most serious religious impressions. The preaching of the
Rev. Dr. Duffield, his pastor, so noted for its force and pun-
gency, often was the means of religious awakenings to him,
producing in his mind alarming apprehensions of the wrath of
God and driving him to the reading of the divine word and to
prayer
During the larger part of his college course he was greatly
exercised and perplexed in relation to the subject of his per-
sonal salvation. A deep internal struggle seems to have been
carried on within his mind for years, seeking rest and finding
it not, yearning for light and salvation, but unable to obtain a
Rev. Thomas Greigh, D. D. 223
satisf^ang peace or rest ; growing careless for a time only to fall
into deeper trouble and more alarming apprehensions ; resolu-
tions were formed again and again in his own strength, only to
be broken. This vain struggle went on, accompanied by tears
of penitence, acts of consecration and vows of obedience to the
divine law, all the efforts of a self-righteous will vainly en-
deavoring to do something or suffer something which would
secure the divine favor. This old, old struggle to obtain sal-
vation by works, was thus continued, until, as often before, de-
spondency weighed heavily upon the mind and the health gave
way, and it became necessary to lay aside study and to seek
physical health by relaxation and a change of life. His health
in the good providence of God was in a great measure restored,
but his convictions were not allowed to leave him, until at
length the divine law, as a schoolmaster had served to bring
him to Christ. Wearied by the long conflict through which
he had passed, by the tender mercy of God and the guidance
of His word and Spirit, he was led at last to come as a poor,
lost, helpless, condemned sinner, without any righteousness or
strength of his own, and make a complete surrender of himself
to Christ and to rely upon Him for a free and complete salva-
tion. Then it was that he found rest and peace and hope. The
heavy burden was removed, a fixed hatred of sin took posses-
sion of the mind, clear and fresh discoveries of divine truth
cheered and strengthened the soul, a desire to be transformed
into the image of God became a controlling feeling and prayer
of his heart ; the plan of salvation was by him most heartily
•approved, and a complete surrender was made to God through
Jesus Christ, and all his salvation was ascribed to free and sov-
ereign grace.
After such an experience as this, by the advice of his pastor,
he appeared before the session of the First church of Carlisle
and having made an open confession of his faith in Christ, he
was received into the full communion of the church May 10,
1828.
This stand was taken during the last year in college. And
as Dr. Robinson, in his memorial discourse, has well said, " The
great crisis of his life was now passed. The poles of his being
224 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
were set, and the ends and aims of his life were determined."
It only remained for him now to answer the inquiry in what
way he could do most for the glory of God and the advance-
ment of Christ's kingdom on earth, to whose service he had
consecrated his life. This was now no difficult task. His diary
which he kept for thirty years shows that he had promised
God that if He would make him a child of His grace and give
him the proper qualifications, he would consecrate himself to
His service in the work of the gospel ministry. God having
revealed His Son in him, the question of his life work was
thus settled.
Accordingly he at once entered upon a course of study pre-
paratory to preaching the gospel. Being prevented by the
providence of God from going to the theological seminary, he
commenced a course of reading and the study of Hebrew and
New Testament Greek in the fall of 1828, under the direction
of the Rev. George Duffield, D. D., in Carlisle, and on Septem-
ber 25th, of the same year he was taken under the care of the
Presbytery of Carlisle as a candidate for the ministry. The
Rev. D]-. John M. Krebs, was a fellow pupil of his at this time.
The winter of 1829 and 1880 was spent at the theological
seminary at Princeton, under the instruction of Drs. Alexander,
Miller and Hodge. That winter was diligently occupied with
as much of the course pursued in that institution as he could
possibly pursue. Returning home a third year was spent in
further reading and study under Dr. Duffield.
During that winter and in the following spring, a gracious
and powerful revival of religion took place in the First Church
in Carlisle, resulting in a great quickening of the graces of God's
people and in the conversion of man}^ sinners to Christ. Hap-
pily for him, Thomas Creigh was brought into the very midst
of this work. For months he lived and worked earnestl}^
in these quickening and comforting scenes with respect to the
people of God and with them labored to bring souls to Christ.
The Holy Spirit fell upon him as well as on them. The rejoic-
ing saint and the convicted and inquiring sinner were on every
side of him. Christian experience was daily shown to consist
in the practical application of divine truth and in conformity
Rev. Thomas Creigh, D. D. 225
to it, and for months the ^^oung theological student was called
to labor for the requickening of saints, and for the bringing of
sinners to a saving knowledge of the truth.
From the mid.st of scenes like these he came to the meeting
of the Presbvterv at Newville and was examined as a candidate
for licensure, and having passed through all his parts of trial
\o the entire satisfaction of the Presbytery, he was, on the fol-
lowing day, April 12. 1831, licensed to preach the gospel. Two
others were licensed at the same time; the one was the Rev.
Joseph Mahan and the other the Rev. Robert Davidson, D. D.,
son of Dr. Robert Davidson, former pastor of the First church,
of Carlisle and vice president of the college.
Soon after his licensure Mr. Creigh was appointed to preach
in the Upper West Conococheague church, Mercersburg, Pa.
which was then vacant by reason of the removal of Dr. David
Elliott to Washington, Pa. He preached his first sermon to
this congregation in the church which was then in the country
Sabbath morning, August 7, 1831, and in the evening preached
in the town of Mercersburg, Pa. Both discourses were on the
freeness and fulness of the gospel which were the great themes
of his entire ministry. His youthful appearance, his modesty,
his earnest presentation of the great truths of the gospel, won
for him the respect and confidence of the people, and two weeks
later the session invited him to return and preach to them an-
other Sabbath. With much fear and trembling, and with very
great reluctance he consented to come. The reason of this was,
the feai- from intimations already received, that they were dis-
posed to make out a call for him. The size of the congregation,
the intelligence and large experience of many of the more ad-
vanced members and officers of the church, and the character,
attainments and high standing of their former pastors, and his
youth fulness and comparative inexperience, lie being only in
his twenty-third year, made him shrink back from such high
responsibility. He laid the matter before his pastor, wlio said
to him, "Thomas, it may be the call of God : take care what
you do; it might be with you as it was with Jonah." This de.
termined him to go. lie went and was called by a unanimous
call to become the pastor of that people.
15*
226 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
This call after mature deliberation and much earnest prayer
for the divine direction and preparation for the duties that would
be devolved upon him, should he feel constrained to accept it,
was at length accepted with two prescribed conditions.
1. That baptism should not be administered to children unless
one or both of the parents were communing members of the
church.
2. That he was to have a vacation of one month in each year.
These terms having been acquiesced in by the commissioners,
the call was accepted and the ordination and installation services
took place November 17, 1831. Dr. John McKnight preached
the sermon and Dr. Henry R Wilson and Robert Kennedy
conducted the other parts of the ser\nces.
The spirit with which this young minister entered upon his
work at this time, is clearly indicated in a paper which he wrote
the day preceding his ordination and installation.
In this paper he gave expression to the leading desires of his
heart These desires were : 1. That he might realize habitually
his entire dependence on God for all temporal blessings. 2,
That as a sinner his salvation was wholly of grace. 3. That as
a minister he was utterly unworthy to be put in trust of the
gospel and desired ever to look unto God for grace and strength
for the faithful discharge of its sacred functions, with an eye
single to his glory. 4. Finally that on the coming day God
would sustain him, give him clear discoveries of the truth, and
proper views of the duties devolving upon him, and ever be
with him according to his promise, Lo, I am with you alway.
Thomas Creigh, young as he was in entering upon the work
of the ministiy as the successor of two such men as Dr. Robert
King and Dr. David Elliott, entered upon it a consecrated man.
The governing desire of his heart was to know his duty and
faithfully perform it.
The people received him most cordially and the more aged
and experienced elders appreciated his embarrassment and sym-
pathized with him in his trials, and gave to him wise counsels,
and their most affectionate co-operation and support. Those
whose presence and mfluence he had most feared he soon found
to be what Aaron and Hur were with respect to Moses.
Rev. Thomas Creigh, D. D. 227
Dr. Creigh now entered upon his life's work. For forty-eiglit
and one-half years he was the messenger of God unto that peo-
jjle. Through all these years, he continued the quiet, indefati-
gable preacher and pastor of this one congregation. W hat la-
bors, experiences, burdens, anxieties, self-denials, discourage,
ments, patience, perseverance, expectations, disappointments-
changes, joys and sorrows, were involved in such a ))rotracted
pastorate? But committing himself and his work renewedly
and renewedly unto God, he held on and continued steadfast
to the end. His ministry was greatly blessed. When he en-
tered upon his pastorate there were two hundred and fifty com-
municants, and about one hundred and twenty families. Dur-
ing his ministry he received seven hundred and forty-four on
profession of faith and two hundred and ninety-three by certifi-
cate ; a total of one thousand and seventeen, and an average of
between eleven and twelve per year.
He gave letters of dismission to four hundred and forty mem-
bers. He administered the rite of baptism to eight hundred
and forty-four children and to one hundred and sixty-seven
adult persons. The number of deaths in the congregation was
iive hundred and eighty-six. Of this number three hundred
and fifty-three were members of the church. His pastoral
visits were about fifteen thousand, an average of nearly three hun-
dred a year. Tlie number of his sermons and lectures written
out in full, or given from a pretty full outline, were about thirty-
five hundred.
These figures, while furnishing no adequate idea of the vast
labors of such an extended pastorate, yet are sufficient to show
how systematic and persevering he was through all these vears,
how painstaking and faithful, and how God blessed and pros-
pered his work.
In addition to the regular ministrations of the gospel, faithful
pastoral visitation, and a regular and steady ingathering of
souls into the church by profession of faith in Christ and by
letters of admission from other churches, the church was visited
from time to time with special seasons of gracious and power-
ful revivals of religion, resulting in large ingatherings of souls
into Christ's kingdom.
Presbytery of Carlisle — Cente/nv'al.
The first and perhaps ths most remarkable of these occurred
in February, 1832, only three montlis after his histalhition. It
took place in connection with a protracted meeting, at M'hich
the young pastor was assisted by Rev. Heiuy R. Wilson, D. D.,
and Rev. McKnight Williamson, a committee of visitation from
the Presbytery, and Rev. George Duffield, D. D., Rev. Robert
Kennedy and Rev. James Knox. As the result of this gra-
cious outpouring of the Holy Spirit, extending through the
year, one hundred and seven persons were received into the
church on profession of faith.
One of these was the Rev. J. 1. Brownson, D. I)., so long a
faithful and honored minister of the gospel, and six others
became ruling elders in the church.
The winter of 1842-3, was rendered memorable by reason of
another gracious outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the church.
In the special services then held, the pastor was assisted hy the
Rev. John M. T. Davie. Rev. Daniel McKinley, Rev. John W.
Nevin and Rev. N. Grier White. As the result of this gra-
cious work, thirty-six persons were added to the church on
profession of their faith in Christ. Among these were Rev.
John W. McCune and Rev. Hezekiah Hanson.
In 1850 the church was again visited with the special presence
and power of the Holy Spirit in his quickening and converting
influence. The work at this time was a very quiet one extend-
ing through the entire year. God's people were greatly revived
and strengthened, and twenty-nine persons were added to the
church on profession of faith.
The winters of 1858-9, 1862-3, 1870-1, 1876-7. 1879-80, were
favored with like gracious visitations when inany were brought
into the church of such as were hopefully converted to God. Thus
patiently did this servant of God labor on. Some years were years
of special ingatherino-, others were years of seed time and of
patient waiting, years for the edification of God's saints, for the
careful instruction and training of the young. Year after year
witnessed some tokens of the Divine presence and favor, while
others again, in answer to earnest supplication, were marked by
richer blessings and larger ingatherings into the fold of Christ.
Dr. Creigii, as a man, had a good personal presence, was of
R^'o. Thomas CreigK D. D. 229
the ordinary statm-e, and had good general health. His natural
talents, while not of a high order, were respectable. His mind
was well balanced, his acquisitions as to theological and general
knowledge were fair and he was a man of great practical wisdom
and much natural sagacity.
As a preacher he had no one prominent characteristic. He
was what might be called a good sermonizer. His preaching
was scriptural, evangelical, orthodox and practical. His general
custom was to write out his sermons and preach from the
manuscript. His manner was earnest but not specially forcible
or impressive.
His piety was intelligent, scriptural, steadfast, earnest and
eminently quiet and consistent. He was a man of strong faith
and much given to prayer.
Socially he was exceedingly affable, courteous, dignified,
gentle and unassuming. In his family he was uniformly affec-
tionate, considerate and devoted to the welfare of all the mem-
bers of his household.
As a pastor he was watchful of his flock, attentive, concilia-
tory, and very considerate of the feelings and welfare of all the
families of the congregation and members of the church.
In his intercourse with his people he was uniformly circum-
spect in speech and action, gentlemanly and obliging in manner,
and in times of affliction and sori*ow, exceedingly kind and
sympathetic in all his bearing. As he went from house to
house his calm, dispassiQuate nature impressed itself upon the
people, won the respect and esteem of all classes, the af-
fections and reverence of the young, and made him always a
wise counsellor and a welcome visitor. lu all his business
transactions he was scrupulously upright and free from all taint
of avarice and penuriousness. Throughout all his ministerial
life he was distinguished for the kindness of his nature, for
habitual prudence, for general fidelity as to duty and for the
purity of his life.
Dr. Robinson represents him as •' a devoted friend of home
and foreign missions, as a life-long advocate of higher Chris-
tian education, a man of prayer and habitual communion with
Grod and spiritual things, and as a minister of Christ's church,
230 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
as having a thorough sense of the sacredness of his office and
of his solemn responsibihties."
In Presbytery and Synod he was regular and punctual in
attendance, courteous and dignified in his intercourse with his
brethren, reserved and cautious, calm and judicious in the ex-
pression of his views, and as a consequence always heard with
respect and carrying much weight in the disposition of all
ecclesiastical matters. He was pre-eminently a lover and pro-
moter of peace and harmony, one of those of whom all men
speak well, gentle and reserved in speech, never allowing him-
self to give expression to any sharp criticism or harsh judg-
ment, or disparaging remarks, preferring to err, if at all, always
on the side of charity.
As he advanced in life and drew near its end, he walked
thoughtfully along the shores of time and sought to have his
lamp trimmed and burning and prepared for the coming of the
bridegroom. He anticipated the end. Months before his call
to depart came lie wrote, " How near I may be the end of my
pilgrimage, the Lord only knows. It may be very near and
sudden. So I often think it will be, and hence, under this im-
pression, I would put my hand in the hand of Jesus and would
follow wherever He leads." Later he writes. " My shortness of
breath continues and probably increases. It may bring about
the end suddenly. May T be prepared for the issue, be it long
or short, sudden or protracted. All my springs are in Thee,
O God, into thy hands I commend my spirit."
Two weeks before his death he is said to hav^e luade this
record : " Indisposed, machine seems to be wearing out. The
Lord reigns, we will rejoice."
At the close of his last Sabbath's labors, he made this record,
'•Another Sabbath nearly gone, with all its privileges and re-
sponsibilities. Oh, to be prepared for the eternal Sabbath."
Dr. Creigh died very suddenly on the following Wednesday
night, April 21, 1880, of congestion of the lungs, in the seventy-
second year of his age. On the day preceding he had performed
pastoral duties as usual, and the evening was passed very
pleasantly and cheerfully with his family. At half-past ten
he retired, and before midnight he passed away.
Rev. James 'Clerrif^on Watsmi^ D. D. 231
He was twice married. First, February 14, 1833, to Miss
Anu Hunter Jacobs, daughter of James O. Jacobs, of Churcb-
town, Lancaster county, Pa. She died October 16, 1836.
Second, November 29, 1837, to Miss Jane McClelland Grubb,
daughter of Joseph Grubb, of Mercersburg, Pa., who survived
him, as did also two sons and one daughter.
Dr. Creigh received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from
Lafayette College in 1853.
Rev. James Clemson "Watson, D. D.
The above-named minister was ordained and installed pastor
of the Presbyterian churches of Gettysburg and Great Cone-
wago, by the Presbytery of Carlisle, October 4, 1832, and con-
tinued in this relation for nearly seventeen years, until he was
released, August 29, 1849.
James C. Watson was the son of Mr. John Watson, M. D.,
and Mrs. Margaret (Clemson) Watson, and was born in Done-
gal township, near the old Donegal church, Lancaster county.
Pa., January 27, 1805. Dr. Watson's parents were of the
Scotch-Irish people and were trained in the Presbyterian faith
and worship. He was prepared for college at the academy in
Newtown, Bucks county, Pa., under the supervision of Dr.
Boyd. While here he united with the Presbyterian church of
Newtown, on confession of his faith, in the nineteenth year of
his age. He graduated from the College of New Jersey at
Princeton. A. D. 1827, and entered Princeton Theological
Seminary the same year and continued there two terms and
part of a third term. He was licensed by the Presbytery of
Philadelphia, April 22, 1830, and was called to Gettysburg and
Great Conewago churches the following year and ordained and
installed, as above stated, in the autumn of that 3^ear. He was
married to Miss Margaret L. W^nikoop, daughter of Jonathan
Wynkoop. of Newtown, Bucks county. Pa., Mav 14, 1833.
Dr. Watson's ministry at Gettysburg and Great Conewago,
was blessed with a good degree of success. He was an earnest
and faithful preacher of the gospel He stood in the old paths,
preached the old theology and sought to build up the church
on solid scriptural foundations. His preaching was solid, log-
232 Presbytery of Carllsk — Centennial.
ical and forcible. He was an able expounder of Bible truth
and a zealous preacher of the great doctrines of grace. He
was, at the same time, a diligent and faithful pastor. He was
always a man of positive convictions and ready and fearless in
the expression of them. He was greatly attached to the people
of Gettysburg and Great Couewago, and loved to revisit them.
While Dr. Watson was likely to antagonize those who dis-
agreed with him in sentiment or practice, his friends were
warmly attached to him and he to them.
After leaving Gettysburg he was called to Clinton, Hun-
terdon county. New Jersey. Here he, however, continued only
a little over one year, having been installed November 21, 1849,
and released December 3, 1850. His third charge was at Kings-
ton, New Jersey, where he was installed Februai-y 19, 1851,
and from which he was dismissed October 17. 1854. His fourth
and last charge was at Milton, Pa., where he was installed De-
cember 14, 1854, and continued the remainder of his life. At
Milton, where he spent a quarter of a century in the work of
the ministry, he did great good and acquired a wide and strong
influence. His ministry here was a most faithful and success-
ful one. His preaching was doctrinal, evangelical and practical.
While he was always bold and fearless in the proclamation
of the truth, an able and earnest defender of the faith and a
strong denunciator of error and vice, at the same time he
preached a full and free salvation and was tender and affection-
ate in his entreaties for sinners to come and accept an offered
Saviour. He was Moderator of the Synod of Philadelphia and
Baltimore in 1845, and of the Synod of Harrisburg in 1870.
The closing months of his ministerial life were overshadowed
and darkened by the great calamity which befell the town of
Milton and his congregation, by reason of the great conflagra-
tion which swept over the town, and their pleasant homes and
house of worship and reduced them all to ashes. On the day
before his death he left his home in Milton to visit some rela-
tives and stopped in Philadelphia to attend the funeral of a
former member of his congregation. He left the hotel in the
evening in company with his daughter and while walking on
Chestnut street suddenly fell to the pavement. He was as-
^^^-^-^^
Rev. Thomas Vemer Moore, D. D. 233
sisted back to his hotel, medical aid was summoned, but he
died of disease of the heart about three o'clock on the following
morning, August 31, 1880, in the seventy-pixth year of his age.
His health had been feeble for some time, but his sudden death
was unexpected to him and his family. He left a widow and
three children, two sons and one daughter.
1838— 1870.
Rev. Thomas Vemer Moore, D. D.
The above-named minister of the gospel took a high rank as
a preacher and author among the more distinguished of the
Presbytery of Carlisle.
He was born in Newville, Pa., February 1, 1818. Having
pursued his academic course of preparation for college under
the Rev. Robert McCachren of the same place, he entered
Hanover College in 1834, and afterwards became a student in
Dickinson College, from which he graduated with honor in 1838.
For a short time after leaving college he acted as traveling
agent for the Pennsylvania Colonization Society. He entered
Princeton Theological Seminary in 1839. He was licensed by
the Presbytery of W. Jersey, and, in the spring of 1842. was
ordained and installed pastor of the Second Presbyterian chnrch
of Carlisle.
Ill 1845, in consequence of a controversy on a question of
ecclesiastical law, between him and an able lawyer, a member
of the session, which was carried to Presbytery and to Sjniod,
and very ably contested on both sides, he asked to have the
pastoral relation with that church dissolved, which request was
granted, and he received and accepted a call to the church of
Greencastle in the same Presbytery. Here he continued two
yeai-s. In 1847 he received and accepted a call to the First
Presbyterian church in Richmond, Va. There he continued
as pastor with growing reputation and usefulness for twenty-
one years. In 1868, on account of impaired and feeble health,
he asked leave to rasign the church at Richmond, in order to
the acceptance of a call to the First Presbyterian church in
Nashville, Tennessee. Here he remained only a short time, on
23-i Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
account of continued ill health. He died at Nashville, August
5. 1871.
Dr. Moore belonged to a family of strong intellectual endow-
ments, and of a highly nervous temperament. His parents
were Presbyterians of the stricter class, active and useful in the
church and community. In June. 1842, he was married to
Sarah, daughter of the Rev. Dr. Blythe, of Hanover, Indiana.
She died during his residence in Greencastle.
As a preacher Dr. Moore from the outset was earnest and
eloquent, instructive and attractive, popular and impressive.
His style was elegant and ambitious. He was exceedingly
fluent, had a cultivated and vivid imagination, and was com-
monly very solemn and often deeply and sometimes over-
whelmingly impressive.
His preaching in all the churches of which he was pastor,
commanded general attention, attracted full houses and being
very scriptural and evangelical, was continuously useful.
His pastorate at Richmond was eminently successful up to
the commencement of the war of the rebellion. Here he made
full proof of his ministry and to a very high degree realized,
as said Dr. Rice, the idea of a Christian pastor. He rose to the
highest rank of city preachers and pastors, and was eminently
successful and useful.
As a preacher it has been said of him, that '' his discourses
were perspicuous in thought and expression. His style was
finished and elegant, bright with the flashes of a chastened im-
agination, and glowing with the fervor of a sincere piety. The
hearer was ordinarily reminded of the beautiful, peaceful land-
scape, bathed in the pure white light of heaven, yet reflecting
the fresh tints of the springtime, or the varied hues of autumn ;
but at times, when the occasion demanded, he seemed to hear
the rush of mighty water's, as with a resistless torrent of elo-
quence, sin, and especially all baseness, were swept away to mer-
ited shame and ruin, yet he often loved to bear the soul away
to the blissful scenes where.
" Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood
Stand dressed in living green,"
where the palace of our Father stands on high, with its many
Rev Thomas Venter Moore, D. D. 235
mansions; where the multitude of the blessed sit down to the
marriage supper of the Lamb."
" Here in Riclmiond," says the same writer, "amid the arduous
labors of his pastorate, he redeemed the time to employ his ele-
gant and vigorous pen for the instruction of the church at large,
and future generations of Christians."
] It was in Richmond he wrote and published his Commentary
on the prophecies of Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi — the pro-
phets of the restoration, which has taken its position among
the scholarly works upon books of the Hebrew Scriptures, and
is quoted and referred to by men of the highest standing as
interpreters of the Old Testament. Before its publication the
manuscript was submitted to that prince of Hebrew scholars
and Old Testament expositors, Rev. J. Addison Alexander,
D. D., and received from him a hearty commendation.
It was during that same pastorate that he also wrote his
popular treatise on The Last Words of Jesus, which was well re-
ceived at the time, and is regarded as both scholarly and highly
valuable. He is also the author of a little book entitled the
Culdee Church, which is a highly instructive and practical
treatise on an interesting theme.
Two lectures by him are published in the series of lectures
delivered before the University of Virginia on the '■ Evidences
of Christianity," and a sermon preached as Moderator of the
Southern General Assembly, on the " Corporate Life of the
Church."
He was also engaged for a number of years as one of the
associated editors of- the Central Presbyterian. He was also
for a time one of the projectors and conductors of the Rich-
mond Eclectic Magazine. He was also a frequent contributor
to tlie Methodist Qaarterlij. During his pastorate in Richmond
Dr. Moore married Matilda, daughter of Mr. Henry Gwathmay,
an elder of the First Presbyterian church of Richmond. By
her he had six children, all of whom, with their mother, sur-
vived him. Two sons entered the ministr}'^, one of whom has
since died. His son, Rev. T. Y. Moore, has all the promise as
to talents, piety, scholarship and usefulness of his lamented
fatluM-.
236 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
Rev. James Jackson Hamilton.
The above-named minister was born in Pine Creek township,
Clinton county, Pa., June 16, 1809. He was the tenth of eleven
children, all but one of whom lived to an advanced age. Two
of his brothers still survive. John, a ruling elder m the Pres-
byterian church at Jersey Shore, Pa., and William, who for more
than fifty years has been a missionary among the Sioux and
Omaha Indians of Nebraska.
Mr. Hamilton was of Scotch-Irish ancestry. Some of his
relatives attained to great distinction in the service of the gov-
ernment. His grandfather, Captain Alexander Hamilton and
uncle of the distinguished General Alexander Hamilton, was
killed by the Indians during the Revolutionary war. Robert
Hamilton, father of the subject of this sketch, married, June,
1791, Anna Jackson, daughter of John Jackson and Elcy Arm-
strong ; the former of whom was a cousin of General Andrew
Jackson, seventh President of the United States ; and the latter
a sister of General John Armstrong, Secretary of War under
President Madison. One of Mr. Hamilton's ancestors, en his
mother's side, was killed fighting for King William at the battle
of the Boyne.
Sprung from such an ancestry, Mr. Hamilton very naturally
inherited a strong intellect, an indomitable will, great physical
and moral courage and much decision and force of character.
Blessed as he was also with pious Presbyterian parents, and es-
pecially with a mother of higli intellectual endowments and of
earnest devoted piety, he was from early childhood consecrated
to God and religiously trained in the faith and worship of the
Presbyterian church. He was accustomed to remark that from
his earliest years he was rooted and grounded in the faith of the
Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms and that he
had learned much of his theology at his mother's knees. From
her he had imbibed the faith which had controlled his life
and her memory was revered by him as long as he lived. She
was a woman remarkably familar with the sacred scriptures
and with the doctrines of the church and by reason of her high
intellectual endowments and deep religious experience, greatly
excelled in the religious instruction and training of her own
Rev. James Jacks&n Hamiltoi). 237
family and was much addicted to intelligent conversation with
ministers of the gospel and other persons on the doctrines and
experience of true religion.
In Mr. Hamilton's childhood Pennsylvania's great system of
public schools had not yet come into existence, and such schools
as the rural districts afforded were generally taught at that time
by soldiers whose health had been impaired or who had been
crippled in the second war with Great Britain. Such were the
schools which he attended during the winter seasons of his
youth, the spring, summer and autumn being devoted to work
on his father's farm.
Being, however, of a thoughtful disposition of mind, he availed
himself of every opportunity of mental improvement even
while engaged in the labors of the farm. His leisure hours
were devoted to reading and to much thought and reflection.
And at this early period he was given not only to prose com-
position, but was especially fond of the poets and began to ex-
ercise himself at efforts in verse and these effusions in later years
showed him to be possessed of a high order of poetic talent.
One of his earliest productions in this line is still in possession
of members of his family and gives evidence alike of his poet-
ical genius and his native kindness of heart. Its title is, "Lines
written on an old dog, the playmate of childhood.'' But the
schools and books of his early years failed to satisfy the deej)
yearning which they had awakened for higher intellectual at-
tainments and greater mental development. He determined to
seek a liberal education. He therefore left the farm and
with his brother William entered Washington College, Pa.
But not having the preparation required for regular entrance in
the college classes, he was compelled to enter conditioned and
was required to go into the y)reparatory department and make
up certain studies in which he was deficient. Such, however,
was his earnestness, ability and diligence, that he compassed the
whole collegiate course in three years. This he did V>y carrying
on courses of study in different classes at the same time. After
the first year he took up and carried on the studies- of two and
sometimes of three classes in the same year. He became a good
lino-uist but excelled in mathematics. He was soon at home in
2.38 Presbytery oj Carlisle — Centennial.
the reasoning and demonstrations of Enclid. Having read a
theorem he grasped at once the demonstration. His mind was
naturally logical, and it was easy for liim to discover the connec-
tions and apply the proofs. His readiness and clearness as a
reasoner made him early a leader in debate and in this respect
he not only excelled at college but this became one of his
marked characteristics through life.
He graduated from Washington College in 1835, under the
presidenc}' of Rev. Dr. McConaughey, and then turned his
attention to teaching and the study of law, and afterwards of
medicine. He was principal of Mifilinburg Academy of Union
county, Pa., and also of Clinton Academy near Jersey Shore,
Pa. As a teacher he was very successful, his students taking
high rank in college. Among these were such men as Hon.
Robert Lincoln, of Union county, Pa., Colonel P. Simmons, of
St. Louis, and Hon. George A. Crawford, of Kansas.
Having the conviction now that he was called of Grod to
preach the gospel, he gave up the study of law and of medi-
cine and commenced a regular course of reading and study with
a view to entering the ministr3^ He studied under the direc-
tion of different ministers of the Presbytery of Northumber-
land and was licensed by that Presbytery June 14, 1842, and
ordained November 12, 1844.
Mr. Hamilton was very sympathetic in his feelings, and his
sympathies at this time became very much enlisted in behalf
of the negro race as a down-trodden and oppressed people.
The Colonization Society was then making an effort to colonize
as many negroes as possible in Liberia, Africa. Mr. Hamilton
determined to go to Africa as a missionary among the freed
negroes. To this work he dedicated his life and made his
arrangements to go, but as he was about to sail the physicians
forbade him on the ground that his wife's health was such that
she could not endure the African climate for any length of
time. Mr. Hamilton was, therefore, obliged to give up the
idea of going to a foreign field, but as he had consecrated his
life to mission work, he next resolved to give his energies to
the home field of his native State. This he did refusing re-
peated calls to the pastorate of more important churches and an
Rev. James Jackson Hamilton. 239
invitation to a professorship in a prominent western college,
and to become the principal of another educational institution.
His first regular ministerial and mission work was at Sha-
mokin, Elysburg, Catawissa and Kohrsburg, in Northumber-
land Presbytery. Some of these churches he gathered and
organized, and these churches, especially that of Shamokin,
now large and strong, are monuments of his missionary zeal.
In 1851 he became pastor of the Presbyterian church of
Curwensville, Clearfield county, preaching also in a missionary
circuit at Luthersburg, Fruit Hill and Beulah. From 1855 to
1860 he ministered to the Logan's Valley church, composed of
the congregations at Tipton and Bellwood.
While here he was invited to assist the Rev. Dr. George L.
Thompson at the Lower Tuscarora church at Academia, at
which time one of those great revivals took place in that con-
gregation resulting in very large additions to the church on
profession of faith, and in the awakening of a great religious
interest among the students of the Tuscarora Academy. After
closing these special services at Academia, they together went
to the Middle Tuscarora church, then without a pastor, and held
a series of special meetings there. The result was much re-
ligious interest was awakened there and a call from this church
to Mr. Hamilton, which he accepted and entered upon his work
there in 1860. Here he labored until 1870, when he received
and accepted a call to the churches of Millerstown, Buffalo and
Upper, in Perry county, in the Presbytery of Carlisle. Here
he labored with great self-denial, energ}'- and success un'il pros-
trated by a stroke of apoplexy, from which he never wholly
recovered, and which was to him a providential warning that
his days of active, hard, ministerial work were well nigh over.
Still he continued up to within a few months of his death to
preach as opportunity offered and his strength permitted.
During his declining years he lived on a small farm at Rose-
burg, Perry county, Pa. The last four months of his life were
months of great physical suffering, which he bore with Chris-
tian fortitude and resignation. He was willing and anxious to
go and be with Christ, yet he was enabled to say, "If God
willed that he should suffer he was resigned to the Divine will."
240 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
His last words were, ''It will soon he all right." He died on
the evening of February 1 9. 1886. The last sermon he preached
was in June of the previous summer. He was then unable to
stand while he preached and «at while he proclaimed for the
last time the glad tidings he so much loved.
Mr. Hamilton was twice married. First to Sarah Coates,
sister to Hon. John Coates, Freeport, Illinois. She died with-,
out issue, June 20, 1852. March 80, 1858, he married Kate
G. Hoft'meir, of Lancaster city, Pa., who still survives. By her
he had four sons and two daughters, five of whom are living.
Mr. Hamilton was a man of large physical frame, six feet in
heighth and weighed two hundred and fifty pounds. He was
a powerful man and of great physical activit}' and endurance.
In the Presbytery he was called Father Hamilton.
He was a man of the most supreme physical and moral
courage. As Bismarck said of Gernjany with its large army,
he was afraid of nothing but God. He was a man of fiery
temper u,nd brusque manner. He would not brook an insult
but would resent it. He was wont to say he belonged to the
church militant. On one occasion he was riding in a stage
coach in which were two snobbish young men. They seeing
that he was a plain country^ minister, thought they might take
liberties with him. They made profane and sportive remarks
before him and \o him, and were disposed to make him an
object of ridicule. This he endured witii some degree of
patience for a time. But soon one of them feigning to .spit out
of the window on which one of his hands were resting, spat on
his hand. Mr. Hamilton called at once to the driver to stop.
As soon as the stage came to a stand, Mr. Hamilton opened
the side door and stepped out, and turned and reached in his
hand and laid hold of one and jerked him out with a firm grasp
and gave him a sling across the road, then he reached in and
grasped the other, and served him in the same way, then he
stepped in and shutting the door called to the dnver to drive
on, and on they went to their destination.
While he was thus quick to anger, yet beneath that rugged
exterior beat a warm and tender heart and a generous spirit.
No one was more ready to forgive any offense than he. No
Rev. James Jackson Hamilton. 241
one lamented more than he liis rash and impulsive disposi-
tion.
Mr. Hamilton was a man of a very high order of intellectual
endowments. He was in many respects a truly gifted man by
nature. His talents were such, that with a thorough education
and broad and liberal culture, he would have readily become
eminent in many spheres. He had not only a strong logical
mind, such as would have made him an eminent lawyer or
jurist, but he was a poet of no mean order. The most refined
poetical sentiments every now and then went out from his quiet
rural home to be read, appreciated and enjoyed by not a few.
Mr. Nesbit says, '"he wrote poetry as the birds sing." His
poems were largely religious in character and his hymns were
full of devotional fervor and pathos. His Centennial ode,
published during the National Centennial celebration, revealed
many excellent qualities and was much read and commended
even in high literary circles. Not many years ago the distin-
guished Quaker poet, Whittier, to whom one of Mr. Hamilton's
poems had been sent for his examination, was so favorably im-
pressed with his poetical talents, that in an authograph letter
he urged upon him that he publish his poems that they be not
lost to the world.
As a preacher Mr. Hamilton was able, scriptural, orthodox
and evangelical. His ministry was greatly blessed in the con-
version of men. From the time of his entrance into the min-
istry his whole life was given up to the most self-denying and
laborious work in the ministry of the word. He preached in
season and out of season. Sometimes he preached as often as
five times on the Sabbath and traveled from twenty to thirty
miles on that day to meet his appointments. He was remark-
ably familiar with the letter of the Scriptures, and was ever
ready in their quotation. His preaching was usually extem-
pore. His services v;^ere much sought after in connection with
protracted meetings and were usually much blessed at such
seasons. He was always more than willing to respond to all
such calls. The consequence was that a large part of his life
was spent in doing this kind of evangelistic work. He seemed
to have a special fitness and relish for this kind of service.
16*
242 Presbytery of Carlisle- — Centennial.
While he was eminently capable of building up believers in the
knowledge of the truth, yet it was in answering the objections
of men to the teachings and requirements of the Scriptures,
and in breaking down the opposition of men to the reception
of the gospel, that he was specially able and successful.
In a lengthy biographical sketch of Mr. Hamilton published
in the Lock Haven Express and Clinton Republican, written by
his life-long friend, the Rev. Joseph Nesbit, D. D., he sajs,
" As a preacher he was able, eloquent, fearless and faithful.
He spoke with great ease and freedom. His discourses were
remarkable for their clearness of statement, and their consecu-
tiveness of thought ; and by consequence for their logical force
and general effect
Whatever the attitude of his audience with reference to the
Master whom he served, they could not resist the conviction that
he saw into the heart of his subject and all around its circumfer-
ence ; and that he himself was fully persuaded of the truth of
what he said. They felt too that, liowever admirable the effort
he put forth, it was by no means all of which he was capable, but
that behind it there was a great reserve of strength ready to be
drawn upon at any time that the occasion might require."
Mi\ Hamilton was an able and fearless defender of the truth
and equally courageous in the denunciation of error and vice
in all their forms. He was a bold champion of the temperance
cause, preaching, writing and frequently publishing his views
on the question, braving opposition and denunciation and even
threats of physical violence from those who resented his vig-
orous exposures of the evils of the traffic and its dire conse-
quences to its victims, their families and the community. His
personal appearance was imposing and commanding. His head
massive and striking, showing, at a glance, great intellectual
force. That Mr. Hamilton was an able man in debate, two in-
cidents will illustrate.
Not long after his entrance into the ministry, being on a
visit to New York city, perhaps in attendance upon the Gen-
eral Assembly, for some reason he was detained in the city over
the Sabbath. On Sabbath morning he went out from his stop-
ping place to go to a place of public worship. As he passed
Rev. James Jackson Hamilton. 243
Tammany Hall he observed a crowd of people going in there,
and from curiosity he followed in and took a seat with the rest.
It proved to be a meeting of infidels who were addressed by
prominent speakers, and after several addresses a general invi-
tation was given to any one present to express his views. In
response to that invitation Mr. Hamilton arose, explained how
he came to be there and then entered upon an argument in re-
futation of the sentiments which had been advanced. They
listened with attention and no one ventured to reply. When
the meeting closed a gentleman came to him and handed him
his card and requested him to do him the favor to call at his
place of business the next morning. The card was that of
Professor O. S. Fowler, of the firm of Fowler & Wells, phrenol-
ogists, and when he called he was surprised to learn that the
Professor had been so struck by his appearance and his ad-
dress that he wished to take a plaster cast of his head that he
might place it in his collection.
The other instance to which reference was had as an illus-
tration of his power in argument is deserving of special mention.
Having acquired an interest in the Clinton Academy building
he applied for an insurance to the agent of the Lycoming Mu-
tual Insurance Company, and at the same time made the nec-
essary cash payment and executed the premium note. The
.application havmg been transmitted to the company, an alter-
ation in the building was directed and an authority required
from the trustees of the building to effect the insurance. When
these conditions were complied with and the company duly
certified of the fact, the policy was to be sent The conditions
were complied with and the agent requested to call and to ex-
amine, but owing to the pressure of private engagements he
neglected to do so. He had still not done so when some nine
months after the application for insurance, the building was
destroyed by fire. The company refused to pay, contending
that inasmuch as the policy was not delivered the contract was
incomplete. Mr. Hamilton entered suit The case came before
George W. Woodward, the president judge of the county, who
decided in favor of the defendants.
Mr. Hamilton appealed to the Supreme Court, but could not
244 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
induce any lawyer to undertake the case. The reasons on
wliich Judge Woodward had based his decision were regarded
by the lawyers generally as impregnable. Mr. Hamilton
thought otherwise and prepared his own case and carried it up
in propria persona. Lawyer Bellows, of Sunbury, furnished
him with the requisite law books in the case, and he went to
work courageously and made out his case, and when he had
written it out he read it to Mr. Bellows. The latter listened
to his argument with growing interest and when the last sen-
tence was read, he slapped his hand upon Mr. Hamilton's knee
and said, " You will gain your suit, your argument cannot be
overturned.'' At the proper time Mr. Hamilton went to the
Supreme Court, read his argument and succeeded in gaining a
reversion of the decision of the court below.
The Supreme Court held that the contract was complete,
and consequently the risk commenced as soon as the agent of
the insurance company was notified by the complainant of the
fact of his compliance with the terms of the conditional agree-
ment. The case is recorded in Baer vol. 5, page 339.
Mr. Hamilton's life was one of great unceasing labor, and to
a large extent a constant struggle against indebtedness and
poverty. His aspirations were high, his motives pure, his
labors self-denying and abundant, his eye single and his faith
steadfast. With him " a thus saith the Lord " was an end of
all controversy. He was thoroughly loyal to the word of God
and the standards of the church. His end was peaceful, re-
signed and happy. His reward is that of those who turn many
to righteousness. He died at Roseburg, Perry county. Pa.,
and was buried at Academia, Juniata county, Pa.
Revs. Robert and Mervin B. Jolinston.
These two excellent and devoted brothers were the sons of
James, a brother of the Revs. Robert and Edward Johnston.
James, Robert and Edward, were born in Shermans Valley,
Cumberland, now Perry county, Pa., about the time of the
Revolutionary war. In 1792 their father moved to western
Pennsylvania, and settled on a farm near Canonsburg, Wash-
ington county, Pa. This enabled Robert and Edward to pro-
end of
m
' f^^fdt^ii. W'i^J
r?^
Bevs. Robert and Mervin M Johnston. 247
His pastor, Rev. Mr. Orr, first suggested to him the propriety
of his considering the question <>f devoting himself to the work
of the gospel ministry. After full and ])rayerful consideration
he came to the conclusion that it was his duty to give himself
up to the service of God in this way, and he accordingly dedi-
cated himself with all his heart to the work of preparation for
preaching the gospel.
He entered upon a preparatory course of stud}^ with the
greatest enthusiasm amounting at times to a passion for the work
in prospect. He studied Latin for a*short time with Mr. Orr,
and then entered Grove Acadamy, Steubenville, Ohio, and was
ready to enter Washington College, Pa., prior to 1843, but waited
and engaged in teaching in order to enter with his brother at
that time and graduated with him in 1845.
His college course, like that of his brother, was marked by
great diligence and successful progress in his studies, and by the
most exemplary deportment and great urbanity towards the pro-
fessors and his fellow students.
Mervin, when he graduated from college, turned his attention
at once with great earnestness and zeal to his theological prep-
aration for the ministry. But Robert hesitated about going
forward on account of the circumstances of his father's family,
thinking that he should pursue some more lucrative secular
calling. But God had other purposes respecting him, and led
him in a way that he kncM' not.
It is stated concerning him at this time, that he was overtaken
with a great spiritual trial. His peace of mind in a large meas-
ure departed from him, and a horror of great darkness fell upon
him. In this state of mind he was led carefully to review his
past life and to draw up and sign a solemn covenant before God ;
the fourth and fifth articles of which are as follows : " I do sol-
emnly promise, if God will lift this load of sorrow from my
heart, and once more diffuse joy and gladness through my soul,
that my tongue shall speak his praise while I have any being."
" And inasmuch as Satan has pierced ray soul with many sor-
rows and is the common enemy of all peace, I do hereby swear
eternal enmity against his throne, and as God shall give me
ability, 1 will invade his kingdom."
248
Presbytery of Carlisle— Centennial.
This solemn pledge to invade Satan's kingdom he most faith-
fully strove to keep in after life. His peace soon returning he
consecrated himself unreservedly to the service of God, and to
the work of the gospel ministry.
The two brothers entered the Western Theological Seminary,
at Allegheny, Pa., in the fall of 1845, and took the full three
years' course. In this institution, their talents, diligence, zeah
prudence and piety, won for them the most favorable regards of
the faculty, and secured for them the highest respect and the
warmest attachment of their fellow students.
Mervin E. Johnston was licensed by the Presbytery of Steu-
benville, in October, 1847, previous to his last session in the
seminary. During the following winter he had frequent
invitations to preach in the churches of Pittsburgh and Alle-
ghenv cities, and other neighboring congregations, which he did
with much acceptance to both pastors and people. After leav-
ing the seminary he labored for about a year as a stated supply
in the churches oi Bethel and Madison in the Presbytery of
New Lisbon, Ohio.
Robert Johnston, when he had finished the course of study
in the seminary, was licensed by the Presbytery of Steubenville,
Ohio, and soon after, in 1848, was ordained by the same Pres-
bytery as pastor of Corinth church, Mechanicstown, Ohio, where
he continued for only one year. In April, 1848, he was married
to Miss Jane G., a daughter of Rev. John Waters, of Galesburg.
Illinois, one of the original founders of Knox College of that
place. On July 7, 1848, his brother Mervin was married to
Miss Julia E. Waters, daughter of the same minister, in Gales-
burg, Illinois.
In the spring oi 1849. Mervin, on the recommendation of
Dr. Alexander T. McGill, then professor in Allegheny Semi-
nary, was invited to visit the Second Presbyterian church, in
Carlisle, Pa., which had been vacant for about six months. The
people of this congregation at once cordially united upon him
as their pastor. A call was accordingly made out for him,
which he accepted after prayerful deliberation, and entered upon
his labors in the congregation in July, and on August 22, 1849,
was ordained and installed pastor of that church. Here he
Revs. Robert and JTenin K Johnston. 249
continued to labor most earnestly and successfully until removed
by death July 31, 1854.
His pastorate in Carlisle has been described as a scene of peca-
liar happiness to himself and of habitual profit to the people.
His ministrations attracted large numbers to the sanctuary. He
was abundant in labors, in season and out of season, even at
times beyond the measure of his physical strength. In public
and in private he was ever zealous to do his Master's will. He
was conscientious!}' faithful and scrupulously exact in the per-
formance of his duties. He was not only regularly in the pul-
pit twice on the Sabbath, and always in charge of the Wednes-
day evening lecture when at home, but he never allowed him-
self to be absent from the Friday evening prayer-meeting, which
was conducted in turn by the elders. He was alike diligent
and thorough in attention to all pastoral duties. And yet such
was his sympathy and great kindness in the performance of
these duties, that all classes, and especially the young, were at-
tracted rather than repelled by him. The gifts of nature and
grace combined to qualify him for the work of the ministry.
The ministry was the only office, said one, for which he had
either taste or talents, and for all its functions he had special
fitness. As a result of his five years labors in Carlisle, there
were added to the church eighty-two on profession of faith, and
fifty-eight on certificate, an average addition of twenty-eight
each year.
Mervin E. Johnston, had he been spared to the full maturity
and development of his powers as a preacher, would have risen
to the higher ranks among his brethren. He was possessed of
a clear, active and discriminating mind. The imagination,
and a refined poetical fancy were prominent in him, and gave
to his preaching a pleasing and popular charm. He could so
present old and familiar truths as to impart to them a new and
fresh interest to all clas.ses of hearers. In social life he was
specially amiable, friendly and urbane in all his intercourse with
the people. He possessed great buoyancy and cheerfulness of
feeling. He was always happy and imparted his cheerfulness
to all around him. He was highly and widely esteemed among
all classes of the community. He was very catholic in spirit
250 Presbytery of Ca rlisle — Cen tennia I
towards other christian denominations and he was greatly be-
loved and respected by his brethren in the ministry.
His death was occasioned by disease of the lungs. His re-
ligious experience during his illness and in the closing hours
of his life was most satisfactory and triumphant. He received
the final summons with the utmost composure and submission,
death was to him a vanquished enemy, and his end was peaceful
and happy.
The Rev. Dr. John M. Krebs, of New York city, preached
his funeral discourse, and in an obituary notice said of him,
" He was greatly esteemed for his amiable and affectionate piety,
his guileless deportment, and a simplicity, purity and innocence
of character most engaging. In the pulpit; he was eloquent and
earnest, pressing the claims of the gospel with fidelity and great
faithfulness.
Robert Johnston, his brother, was called to the church in
Gettysburg, in the Presbytery of Carlisle, in October 1849. and
entered upon his labors on the first Sabbath of 1850. He had
charge of this church for five years, when he was called to the
First Presbyterian church, of Peoria, Illinois, where he was in-
stalled October, 1855, and in which charge he continued until
his death, August 19, 1864.
Robert Johnston, though not a man of so refined an intellect,
or so gentle in disposition as his brother Mervin, yet was much
the stronger man. In social and domestic life he was mild and
gentle, but when called to stand up for Grod in the preaching of
the gospel or in the defense of his truth, he feared not the face
of man. And so, when called to meet an opponent or to deal
with a flagrant wrongdoer, he assumed the aspect of the sternest
and loftiest manhood, and his tones at such times were often
most commanding, and his flagellations niost scathing. He was
one of the recognized leaders in the church courts to which he
belonged. Every enterprise in behalf of sound Christian
education, of social reform, or of church work, was sure of an
earnest and able advocate in him.
As a preacher, while he was careless with respect to the graces
of style and oratory, yet he possessed, in an eminent degree, the
attributes of strength, earnestness, deep convictions with respect
Revs. Robert and Mervin E. Johnston. 251
to the great truths of the gospel, and gave to them a most vig-
orous and practical statement. His heart was in his work. He
loved Christ and his truth, and had an earnest longing for the
salvation of the perishing, and was a faithful, able and eloquent
preacher of the gospel. Few had a happier faculty in approach-
ing men and of influencing them for their good. His end like,
that of his younger brother, was also peaceful and happy. Called
as he was to part from a most amiable wife and six young chil-
dren greatly needing his support and guidance, yet when the
summons of the Master came, he was found ready to surrender
himself, and them, and his pastoral charge, into the hands of
Him who had called him from darkness to light, and was now
calling him from earth to heaven. His dying request to his
Christian fi-iends, was, " to go aside and pray that he might either
recover from this sickness or be wholly resigned to the will of
God." His last message to his church was, "It is awfully
responsible work to preach the gospel. Sinners must have
Christ or perish. Preaching is summed up under three great
heads — the atonement, the offer and the acceptance."
His ministrations to the church in Gettysburg were highly
acceptable to the people and greatly blessed to their spiritual
good. During his pastorate there no communion season passed
at which additions were not made to the church. The records
show the admission of sixty-three on profession of faith and of
forty-one on certificate while he was pastor, making an average
of over twenty for each year.
The Rev. Dr. William M. Paxton, then of the First church
in Pittsburgh, and lecturer to the students of the Allegheny
Seminary, and who knew well these two brothers, wrote this
concerning them :
" Between these brothers there existed an attachment as beau-
tiful and tender as any it has ever been our privilege to witness.
They grew up together, studied together, married sisters, and
being settled almost side by side in the ministry, they labored
and prayed together, with one heart, one interest, one aim, and
with such a perfect unity of spirit, and coalescence of feeling
as attracteil tin' admiration of every one who witnessed their
beautiful lives. They were men of totally different character-
262 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
istics, and yet this very dissimilarity seemed to perfect the inter-
locking of their fellowship. Mervin Johnston combined with
noble and manly characteristics a tender and gentle spirit, which,
with a brilliant imagination, polished rhetoric, atid line powers
of delivery, rendered him a captivating pulpit oratoi", whilst his
warm heart and unusual social attractions made him a beloved
and almost idolized pastor. Robert Johnston was a strong
man — clear, vigorous, and original in his lines of thought — inde-
pendent and resolute in his opinions and action — faithful and
courageous in the defense of the truth and in the rebuke of
error or vice — terse and striking in his style, and so earnest and
forcible in his delivery that he drove conviction to the heart,
whilst he fully impressed his auditors with the belief that he
meant and felt every word he uttered. But underlying all that
was strong and manly in his character, was a deep undercurrent
of warm tender feeling which endeared him to all who knew
him well, and rendered his pastoral attentions so acceptable to
the sick and sorrowing."
Rev. James Buchannan.
The above-named minister was pastor for a number of years
of the Presbyterian church in Harrisburg, Pa., and afterwards
pastor of the church at Greencastle, Pa., for twenty years.
He was a native of Chester county, Pennsylvania. He attend-
ed Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pa., and graduated from it Sep-
tember 28, 1803. He studied theology with Rev. Nathan Grier
D. D., of Brandy wine. Chester county, Pa., and was licensed by
the Presbytery of Newcastle at the age of twenty-three. His
first settlement was in the Presbyterian church of Harrisburg
Pa., where his labors were faithful and successful. His health
having become much impaired, he asked to be released from
this church and spent some time in rest and travel with a view
to its restoration.
At length, finding his health in some degree restored, he re-
ceived and accepted a call from the Presbyterian church in
Greencastle, Pa., where he was installed in 1818. Here he con-
tinued, laboring with great fidelity and acceptance for about
twenty years, when again, on account of failing health and ina-
Rev. James Buchannan. 258
bility to perform his ministerial duties to his own satisfaction,
he asked to be released from this charge, much to the regret of
the people who had become warmly attached to him. With a
view of retaining him as their pastor, they generously offered
to allow him to relinquish part of his labors and to perform
only such as his strength would admit of and without any di-
minution of his salary. But a conscientious sense of his obli-
gation to them and himself constrained him to persevere in
seeking a dissolution of the pastoral relation, in order that the
church might have the full services of a pastor and that he, by
a change of location, might inprove in health and his life be
thereby prolonged and his usefulness increased.
He accordingly, with his family, went to the west and settled
at Logansport, Indiana, where he took charge of the Presby-
terian church of that place, and labored for a time with a good
degree of success, but in 1843, his labors came to an end, and
on November 16, of that year, he was called to his reward on
higli, dying at the age of sixty.
As an evidence of the success of his ministry in this his last
place of settlement, it is stated that the church of Logansport
during his settlement increased from twenty members to over
one hundred. He died of congestion of the brain, which mani-
fested itself during his preaching on the Sabbath, causing him
abruptly to close the public services of the sanctuar}' on that
day, and terminating his life on the following Saturday. During
his illness, notwithstanding the nature and violence of the dis-
ease, he gave ample evidence of his resignation to the will of
God, and he died in the faith and hope of the gospel, placing
all his dependence upon the atoning blood of Christ.
Mr. Buchannan had been always a man of delicate health
and of a shattered nervous system, causing frequent and great
depression of spirits, giving to him often a sad and melancholy
appearance. He was however, to those who knew him more
intimately a man of warm and tender sympathies, and of a kind
and generous disposition. Dr. David Elliott, who knew him well
for over twenty years, spoke of him as although generally grave,
yet in the midst of his more intimate friends as often relaxing
from his accustomed solemnity and becoming for the time cheer-
254 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
ful and sociable. He says of his piety, that while of a retiring
and unostentatious character, he was however eminently con-
scientious and diligent in the performance of his ministerial and
Christian duties. He was a very humble man, distrustful of
himself and placed a low estimate upon his gracious attainments
and ou his ministerial labors. His bodily health gave a raelan
choly complexion to his religious experience and greatly hind-
ered his Christian comfort At times, however, he was favored
with seasons of greater bodily health and comfort and these were
usually times of much spiritual and religious enjoyment
As a preacher, Dr. Elliott describes him as one who held a
very respectable rank among his brethren and one whose min-
istrations were very acceptable to the people. " His sermons,"
he said, " in their structure were neat, systematic and short ; in
their matter solid, evangelical and practical, and in their manner,
grave, solemn and earnest Although he could not be consid-
ered eloquent he scarcely ever failed to interest and edify those
who were capable of judging correctly and had a taste for good
preaching. Indeed we have known very few men who preached
uniformly so well."
As a Presbyter, Mr. Buchannan was regular in his attendance
but usually a silent member. He rarely spoke, but when he
did he was found to be a man judicious as a counsellor and one
who performed whatever duties were assigned him wisely and
well. His quietness and reserve were not due to any lack of
interest in the affairs of the church at large, nor to indifference
as to the disposition of the business before Presbytery or Synod^
nor to any want of capacity to take part in the deliberations of
his brethren, but wholly to his nervous depression, and the pain-
ful embarrassment which he felt in attempting to take part in
public discussions.
"In his doctrinal views," remarks the same highly competent
and judicious writer, "he adhered strictly to the standards of
our church which he believed to be in conformity with the word
of God. He eschewed all novelties in doctrines and forms of
worship, being content to walk "in the old paths," and the
" good way " in which his fathers had trod. He was decidedly
and from conviction Old School, and gave his hearty approval
,.^^2.,^^^-^ y. ^/i-€i^^
Rev. Alexander Taggart McOill, D. D., L.L. D. 255
to the measures which were adopted by the Assemblies of 1837
and 1838, to purify the church from error."
This estimate of him by his distinguished and excellent
contemporary accords entirely with the traditional estimate of
this good man among the people resident in the fields of his min-
isterial labors and among the older members of his Presbytery.
Mr. Buchannan, we are inclined to the opinion, had even a
higher reputation as a preacher than that ascribed to him by
Dr. Elliott. The traditional idea which we have received and
entertained of him for many years, has been, that he was a
preacher of much more than ordinary ability and impressive-
ness, and that he was ranked among the best preachers of his
Presbytery.
Rev. Alexander Taggart McGill, D. D., L.L. D.
Dr. McGill, as a preacher, professor and ecclesiastic, attained
to high distinction and was regarded as taking rank among the
leading ministers of his day. His services in all these respects
were in constant demand. He was ordained within the bounds
of the Presbytery of Carlisle and was for a number of years one
of its most acceptable, useful and popular pastors and preachers.
Alexander Taggart McGill was born in Canonsburg, Pennsyl-
vania, February 24, 1807. He was the son of John and Mary
(Taggart) McGill, plain and humble Scotch-Irish people. His
father was a weaver. His mother was a woman of great excel-
lence and force of character, and was greatly revered and loved
by her gifted son, and to her feelings and wishes he showed great
deference in all her subsequent life.
She was a member of the Associate Presbyterian church. It
was in this church Dr McGill was born and brought up. His
early years were spent at Canonsburg, Pa., in the home of his
parents. He went through the preparatory department and
entered Jefferson College under the presidency of Dr. Matthew
Brown, and graduated in 182fj, at the age of nineteen and was
valedictorian of his class. For two years he served as tutor of
Latin in the college and commenced the study of Hebrew and
theology in )\\e Associate Seminary.
Dr. McGill was always of a slender, delicate constitution, and,
256 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial
as he was wont to describe himself, " like a reed shaken by the
wind." In early life his studies were often interrupted by rea-
son of lack of strength to prosecute them continuously. On
this account, in 1829, he felt it was best to seek a milder climate.
He went south to Milledgeville, Georgia, and there for a time
took charge of the Baldwin Academy. While there he seemed
to have changed his plans for life and commenced to read law
with Ex-Governor Mitchell, and was admitted to practice in
1830. During his residence in Georgia, he was clerk of the
lower house of the State Legislature and was appointed a
commissioner to survey the Cherokee Land Reservation within
the State of Georgia. It was a time of much excitement both
among the white people and the Indians, the former being anx-
ious for the removal of the latter from the State and an armed
collision was imminent. Di'. McGill, who at that time was only
twenty-three years of age, displayed great tact and courage,
conciliated the Indians and conducted the survey to a successful
termination and received warm commendation from many of
the public men of Georgia. While engaged in this expedition
he was brought to Missionary Ridge, a place rendered famous
during the late civil war. Here he came into pleasant inter-
course with the devoted missionaries of the American Board
located at this place, and shared their hospitality, and was so
deeply impressed by their devoted piety and self-deoying labors,
that he was led again to resolve to make the preaching of the
gospel the work of his life.
In 1831 he returned north, to his home in Canonsburg, and
entered the Theological Seminary of the Associate Church at
that place and resumed the study of theology under Dr. James
Ramsey. That seminary had been organized as early as 1794,
in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, and was transfered to Canons-
burg in 1821. Here young McGill devoted himself to the work
of the ministry. His health having been much improved by
his sojourn in the south, he was able to prosecute his studies
with great diligence. He was licensed by the Associate Pres-
bytery of Philadelphia, June 24, 1834. After spending some
time in missionary work, on May 7, 1835, three different calls
were presented to the Associate Presbytery of Philadelphia,
Rev. Alexander Taggart McGill, D. D.. L.L. D. 257
for his pastoral services. One was from Carlisle and Unity
churches, another was from Stone Valley church and adjacent
preaching places. The third was from Baltimore. Mr. McGill
declined to decide between the calls and referred the whole
matter to the Presbytery for their decision. The Presbytery
decided in favor of Carlisle and Unity, and Mr. McGill was
accordingly ordained and installed pastor of these united con-
gregations, September 29, 1836. His ordination took place in
the Stone church, in Dickinson township, Cumberland countyj
Pa., six miles southwest of Carlisle, Pa.
Here he commenced his ministry as pastor of these two small
churches, one in Carlisle, with two other preaching places, one
of which was at the Stone church where he was ordained, and
the other was at Dillsburg, six or eight miles southeast of Car-
lisle, and the other church was in Perry county. His salary
was four hundred and fifty dollars. His ministrv was earnest
and successful. By reason of his natural eloquence, his sound
and evangelical expositions of divine truth, many in Carlisle
from outside his own congregation, were found wending their
way to the Stone church at the hour of his public services. At
the expiration of two years, September 14, 1837, on account of
the labor and exposure involved, particularly in the winter
season, in supplying these four distant preaching places, he
asked Presbytery to release him fi-om this charge. At the same
meetmg a call was presented to him from the newly-organized
Second Associate church in Philadelphia. On November 2
following, his request to be released was granted, and the call
from Philadelphia he took under consideration, and agreed to
supply that pulpit during the following winter.
On May 2, 1838, a second call was presented to Presbytery
from Carlisle and Unity churches for Mr. McGill, which he
accepted on the condition that no arrangement should be made
for the present for his installation. He resumed his labors in
this charge and preached regularly to them with all his former
acceptance, until the meeting of the Presbytery at Mercersburg,
on the 24th of October following, when he returned the call, and
asked, in writing, for a certificate of dismission from the Asso-
ciate Church to the Presbyterian Church, on the ground that for
17*
258 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
two years his mind had been undergoing a change on the subject
of occasional hearing, close communion and the exclusive use of
the Book of Psahns in the public worship of God. Whereupon
the Associate Presbytery " Resolved, that Mr. McGill be re-
quired to acknowledge his sin and return to duty." They ''fur-
ther, Resolved, that in default thereof, he be suspended from the
exercise of the ministry and the communion of this church."
Concerning this action the writer of the history of this Presby-
tery very properly remarks : " As Mr. McGill had not been
accused of any immorality, nor of any serious overt act of un-
faithfulness to the testimony of his church, it will now be very
generally conceded that the Associate Presbytery of Philadel-
phia did, in this case, act hastily and with undue severity."
Mr. McGill asked for a certified copy of the action in his case,
which was granted. This, with a copy of his letter to that Pres-
bytery, he presented to the Presbytery of Carlisle, together with
a letter addressed to that body, in which he stated, " Believing
that your Confession embodies the doctrines of the gospel, and
that your practice is Scriptural, and more accordant with my
own views than that of any other branch of the visible church,
T respectfully ask admission to your communion and to the
exercise of the ministry among you."
After the reading of these communications, the Presbytery
of Carlisle declared the reasons contained in Mr. McGill's letter
to his Presbytery, in their opinion were insufficient grounds for
any ecclesiastical censure, much less for suspension from the
ministry of the gospel, and the act of said Presbytery, on such
grounds, formed no bar to his reception as a member of their
Presbytery.
Mr. McGill was then examined as to his views of the doctrines,
government and discipline of the Presbyterian Church and his
examination was sustained. The constitutional questions pro-
posed to candidates for ordination were then proposed to him,
which he answered in the affirmative, when, on motion, he was
received and his name entered upon the roll of Presbytery.
In the meantime a call was made out for him from the Sec-
ond Presbyterian church of Carlisle, which he accepted and was
installed pastor of the same December 29, 1888.
Rev. Alexander Taggarl McOill, D. IK L.L. D. 269
This position he occupied with the greatest acceptance and
usefulness, and with a rapidly-growing reputation throughout
the whole church, as one of its most eloquent and popular
preachers. As a preacher, he not only met the highest expec-
tations of his own congregation, but commanded the admiration
of the Carlisle bar, of the students and officers of the college and
of the whole community.
Dr. McGill throughout his life was exceedingly jealous and
careful of his reputation as a preacher. He would never consent
to preach without the most elaborate preparation. He wrote
his sermons out in full and committed them to memory. He
had a soft clear voice, and at times a most impassioned utterance.
His oratory was of the most graceful, finished and impressive
character. His manner was solemn and dignified. His discourses
were orthodox, evangelical and practical. His prayers were
remarkable for their solemnity and devoutness, and for their apt
and large embodiment of the devotional language of the Scrip-
tures.
Dr. William Henry Green, in his admirable address at the
funeral of Dr. McGill, thus describes him as a preacher : " In the
pulpit Dr. McGill possessed unwonted power. His public prayers
gained piuch impressiveness not only from the spirit of devo-
tion which pervaded them, but from the fact that they were
to so great an extent framed out of the very words of Scripture,
and particularly of the Psalms, which he had at ready command,
and which, whatever was the subject of supplication or whatever
was the theme that occupied his thoughts, he constantly intro-
(1 uced in a most appropriate and effective man ner. As a preacher,
he was always interesting, and when at his best, particularly
in his prime, he was truly eloquent. His well-rounded and
sonorous periods, his finely modulated voice, emphatic utter-
ance, and animated manner, gave great effect to his discourses,
which were always evangelical and earnest and dealt in the most
serious themes. His services were much in demand, particularly
on special and anniversary occasions."
Dr. Green was equally happy in describing Dr. McGill in a
social point of view. " To a deep interest in the spiritual welfare
of the people of his charge, and fidelity in declaring to them the
260 Presbyiary of Carlisle — Centennial.
whole counsel of Grod, lie joined dignified jet most attractive
manners, a polished and graceful ease in conversation, a ready
faculty of saying what it was pleasant to hear in the most agree-
able way, so that he promptly gained the ear and won the regard
of those with whom he came in contact.'"
Dr. McGill was not allowed to remain long in Carlisle. In
the fall of 1841, at the earnest solicitation of the directors of the
Western Theological Seminary at Allegheny City, his pastoral
relation was dissolved, that he might become instructor in
ecclesiastical history and church government in that institu-
tion, and in May, 1842, he was elected professor in that seminary
by the General Assembly.
The people of Carlisle gave him up with great reluctance and
afterwards sought to recall him from his professorship.
While Dr. McGill was endowed with pulpit talents of the
highest order and might have had a most distinguished career
as a preacher, his chief life work was as a professor, in which
capacity his services were in constant demand. On November
18, 1842, he was regularly inducted into the chair of church
history and church government in Allegheny Seminary, to
which he had been elected. Dr. David Elliott and Dr. Lewis
W. Green were tlie other two professors in the seminary. The
number of students had been small and the mstitution had a
hard struggle for existence. With the faculty, as now constituted,
more students were drawn to it. In two years after his inaugu-
ration the number had increased from seventeen to fifty-four.
Dr. Green resigned his chair in 1846, and Dr. Melancthon W.
Jacobus was elected to fill the vacancy in 1852. In the mean-
time the duties of both chairs chiefly devolved on Dr. McGill.
The effectof these two-fold labors was failure of health and much
consequent discouragement, which led to the resignation of his
chair and to the temporary occupation of a chair in the Theolog-
ical Seminar}' at Columbia, South Carolina.
During the winter of 1853-54, he returned and occupied the
chair which he had resigned in Allegheny Seminary to which
he had been re-invited. In May, 1854, he was elected, by the
General Assembly, a professor in Princeton Seminary. His
transfer to Princeton, about which some misapprehension has
existed, is thus described by Dr. Green :
Rev. Alexander Taggart McGill, D. D., L.L. D. 261
" A call was pending for him from an important church in
Cincinnati, and Columbia Seminary was not without hope that
he might be induced to abide there. At this time the vacancy
created in Princeton Seminary by the death of the venerable
Dr. Archibald Alexander, in 1851, was still unfilled. Repeated
attempts to fill it had proved abortive. Dr. E. P. Humphrey
and Dr. Henry A. Boardman, who had been elected in successive
years, had each declined, and it was felt by the friends of the
seminary that another failure must not be made. Upon the
assembling of the directors it was thought wise, in order to secure
unity of action, that an informal ballot should first be cast, in
which each one might freely indicate his preference. This was
done and a clear majority appeared for Dr. McGill." Professor
Green adds, " I distinctly remember meeting Dr. Charles Hodge,
as he came from the room where the directors were meeting.
The result was altogether unanticipated by him. He had been
deeply concerned lest there might be divided counsels and unan-
imity might be-impossible. He said to me with deep serious-
ness in recognition of the Divine ordering and with evident relief,
"The hand of Grod is in this."' He still further adds, "An ex-
plicit understanding was had with Dr. McGill that he had pos-
itively sundered his connection both with Columbia and Alle-
gheny, and that he was under no pledges whatever in any quarter
before proceeding to prosecute the matter at the General Assem-
bly." When his nomination was made in the Assembly, and
Dr. Charles Hodge made his able and earnest plea for his election,
Dr. Henry A. Boardman afterwards remarked that he never
knew so many votes to be made by any one speech as was made
by that of Dr. Hodge on that occasion.
Dr. McGill continued to perform the full duties of a professor
in Princeton Seminary from the fall of 1854 until May, 1883,
when he was retired from the active duties of his chair and made
professor emeritus, and Dr. William M. Paxton, pastor of the
First Presbyterian church in the city of New York was chosen
his successor.
Dr. McGill's department in Princeton Seminary, with the
exception of one year, when he had charge of church history,
was practical theology, which included pastoral theology,
Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
church government, and the composition and delivery of ser-
mons, in each of which "he was assiduous and enthusiastic."
In addition to his professorial duties he was active and capable
in the administration of the scholarship and other funds of the
institution placed under the care of the faculty for the aid of
needy and worthy students, and was also efficient in increasing
the permanent funds of the seminary and in obtaining money
to meet current expenses.
Dr. McGill received many other marks of public confidence
and appreciation of the value of his services. He was for twelve
years permanent, and for eight years stated clerk of the Old
School General Assenbly. He was twice tendered the presidency
of Lafayette College. He was also offered the presidency of
Washington College and subsequently that of Jefferson College,
all of which he declined. He was chosen moderator of the Old
School General Assembly at Baltimore in 1848, at the age of
forty -one. He received the honorary title of D. D., from Marshall
College, Pa., in 1842, and that of LL. D., from Princeton Col-
lege in 1868. He was a member of the committee on the revision
of the Book of Discipline appointed by the Old School Assembh^
in 1857, along with Drs. Charles Hodge, R J. Breckinridge,
James H. Thornwell, James Hoge and others. He was also a
member of the late committe which accomplished this work of
which Dr. E. R. Craven was the chairman.
Dr. McGill published comparatively little during his lifetime.
His inaugural discourse delivered at Princeton, which was re-
ceived with great favor, a few sermons and an occasional article
in the periodicals of the day. Since his retirement he was en-
gaged in the preparation of a volume on each of the three depart-
ments of his professorship, one of which, that on Church Gov-
ernment, has been issued by the Board of Publication.
Dr. McGill was married to Miss Eleanor Atcheson McCulloch^
daughter of General George McCulloch, of Lewistown, Pa., May
18, 1837, by whom he had eight children. One died in infancy.
His eldest son, George, was a surgeon in the army, served with
distinction through the war, and died while in active service in
1867. His youngest son, a lawyer of much promise, attended
his father's funeral in his usual health, but died two weeks after-
6m4M-aM 'F.WiAUl
Rev. Conway Phelps Wing, D. D. 263
wards. Alexander T, McGill, Chancellor of New Jersey ; John,
a practicing physician and Surgeon General of New Jersey;
Mary, wife of Rev. Joseph Gamble, of Plattsburgh, New York;
Hetty, wife of C. S. Lane, of Hagerstown, Md., and Miss Nannie,
his faithful attendant up to his death, two sons and three daugh-
ters survive both parents.
Mrs. E. A. McGill, the mother of his children, died in 1873.
She was a woman greatl}^ admired in life and much lamented
at her death. Y)y. McGill was married a second time, in 1875,
to Miss Catharine Bache Hodge, daughter of Dr. Charles Hodge,
with whom he lived happily until her decease, July 3, 1884.
At the advanced age of eighty-two, having spent nearly
twenty-five years in connection with Princeton Seminary, over
forty years as a professor, and tifty-four years in the Christian
ministry, he came to the close of his long life in the full posses-
sion and use of his mental faculties. Having committed the
care of his business affaire into the hands of his son, early in his
last illness, his mind became much occupied with the subject
of religion and the things of eternity. He said to his colleague,
Dr. Green, on a visit to him a few days before his death, after
greeting him with all his usual calmness, " I am very weak, but
I am resting on the sure foundation, I am trusting in my
Saviour." One of his favorite passages, which he frequently
repeated, and with which his mind was much occupied during
the closing hours of his life, were the words of the Apostle in
Romans, "Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing
instant in prayer." Thus rejoicing, thus patient, and thus en-
gaged in prayer, he continued until the morning of the Sabbath,
January 13, 1889, when he passed calmly and peacefully away
and entered upon the rest of that Sabbath which shall know
DO end.
Rev. Ctonway Phelps Wing, D. D.
Dr. Wing was pastor of the First Presbyterian church of
Carlisle. Pa., for twenty -seven years and pastor emeritus the
last two years of his life. For twenty-nine years he was thus
officially connected with one of the more prominent churches
264 PreHhyttry of Carlisle — Centeaniat.
in central Pennsylvania and took his place among the leading
ministers of the Carlisle Presbytery.
He was descended from that old English Puritan stock of
people that constituted the original settlers of New England,
and have had so much to do in founding our free institutions
and shaping the destiny of the American nation. His ancestors
were among the pioneers of the colony of Massachusetts Bay,
and were of that strong sturdy race of people born and bred
in the times of the great English revolution, and who were
dissenters in their religious faith and sacrificed everything
"for G-od and liberty."
In 1881, Dr. Wing published a genealogical history of the
Wing family from 1570 to the present time. F'rom this history
we learn, that in a journal kept by John Winthrop, the first
Governor of the colony of Massachusetts Bay, it is recorded,
that a vessel known as the William Francis, which had left
London, March 9, 1632, after a voyage of eighty-eight days
had reached this port, with about sixty passengers, among whom
" were Mr. Welde and old Mr. Batchelder (Rev. aged 71 years)
with their families and many other honest men." Among the
" other honest men," were John Wing and his three adult sons,
Daniel, John and Stephen. Their mother was Deborah, daughter
of the old Mr. Batchelder." Mr. Batchelder was the Rev.
Stephen Batchelder, aminister of good standing, and a man well
reputed for learning and piety. This company landed at Boston
only twelve years after the landing of the May Flower at Ply-
mouth Rock.
Dr. Wing was of the seventh generation from John Wing of
the ship William Francis.
After a few years sojourn at Lynn, Massachusetts, the Wing
family were among the original settlers and proprietors of Sand-
wich, on the peninsula of Cape Cod, where there are still many
of the descendents of this family. Stephen Wing of the sixth
generation from the said John Wing, and father of the Rev.
Conway P. Wing, after a residence of some years at Conway,
Massachusetts, in 1796, moved to Ohio, settling on the banks of
the Muskingum river, twelve miles above what is now Marietta.
Here Conway Phelps, the eleventh of thirteen children was bom
Rev. Conway Phelps Wing, D. D. 265
February 12, 1809. Three years afterwards his father removed
to Phelps, Ontario county, New York. Here his father became
a ruling elder in the Presbyterian ch.urch and was frequently
a delegate to Presbytery and Synod and three times a commis-
sioner to the General Assembh^
What is singular and peculiar in regard to the name of Dr.
Wing, is, that two of the places of his father's residence, Conway,
of Massachusetts, and Phelps, of New York, were taken and
combined and given to this son for his name, and hence that
name by which he was so widely known, Conway Phelps Wing.
Dr. Wing made a profession of his faith in Christ at the age
of thirteen and was received into the communion of the church
at Phelps, New York, of which his father was a ruling elder.
He prepared for college at Geneva Academy and entered Ham-
ilton College, from which he graduated with honor in 1828. at
the age of nineteen. Having chosen the ministry as his life work,
he at once entered Auburn Theological Seminary, and there
prosecuted his theological course under the instruction of Rev.
Drs. James Richards, Henry Mills and M. L. R. Perrine, and
graduated from that institution in 1831. He was licensed in
that same year, and in the year following was ordained by the
same Presbytery, that of Geneva, and installed, September 27,
1832, as pastor of the church at Sodus, New York. In this
place he labored with great earnestness for live years and then
for two years, 1837 and 1838, at Ogden, New York.
When he entered the ministry, it was a time of great religious
excitement in western New York. It was the period of the
revival movement under the leadership of such men as Charles
G. Finney, Burchard and others, in connection with what was
known as the new measures, and the new divinity. Mr. Finney,
while a man of great earnestness, much ability, and unquestioned
zeal for the conversion of men, yet from the beginning of his
career, was regarded as an unsound, unsafe and dangerous leader
in an}^ religious movement and as wholly off the orthodox basis
as to doctrine and practice. His zeal for the false doctrines
he preached knew no bounds. That mankind are not born
in a state of sin and condemnation ; that no man is chargeable
with either guilt or sin until he deliberately violates the known
Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
law of God ; that sinners are bound to change their own hearts,
and that regeneration is the sinner's own act; that all men
have plenary power to do all that God requires of them ; that
God cannot certainly control the acts of free agents so as to
prevent the present amount of sin in a moral system ; these
and kindred views, entered largely into the subject matter of
his preaching, and the opposite doctrines in the church standards
came in for a corresponding share of wild denunciation and
unsparing abuse.*
Dr. Wing, in bis history of his pastorate in the First church
of Carlisle, says, " that it was his privilege to commence his
ministry amidst the powerful revivals that prevailed throughout
western New York, and participate in them with great zeal."
and Dr. Robinson says in his memorial discourse of Dr. Wing, in
this connection, that Charles G. Finney, " was the most success-
ful preacher of the gospel in his age." This statement seems
passing strange to the present writer when Mr. Finney and his
views and work have passed into history and have taken their
fixed place in the general judgment of the church. Dr. Rob-
inson, however, felt constrained, in view of the known character
and issues of that religious movement, to throw in these quali-
fying statements : "Some evils mingled with the movement,
and to some extent marred the final results, but vast good was
accomplished. With all that was good in that era of revivals.
Dr. Wing deeply sympathized, and was extensively engaged in
active service."' The strain of these services and the labors and
excitement of that period, and the demand which they made
upon his strength proved too great for his constitution, and he
felt obliged to change the scene of his labors. In June, 1839,
he went to Monroe, Michigan, and there became the pastor of
the Presbytei'ian church of that place. After three years of
service there, with broken health and enfeebled constitution he
felt obliged to seek a milder southern climate.
A visit of some months was made to the West Indies. Part
of a year was then spent in Tennessee in preaching to the Pres-
byterian churches at Pulaski and Columbia. In 1844, he ac-
cepted a call to the Presbyterian church in Huntsville, Alabama,
* See Princeton Theological Essays, second series, pp. 76—112.
Rev. Conway Phelps Wing, D. D. 267
where he was pleasantly settled for four years. At the end of
that period, on acccmnt of the slavery agitation, while the church
evinced entire contideuce in him, and he was warmly attached
to them, he concluded "for their peace and his own," that it
was best for him to return to the North.
During a journey northward, in 1843, he had spent two Sab-
baths in Carlisle, Pa. The remembrance of his services on that
occasion had been retained by the people and had turned their
attention then to him as a pastor, and now, after a second visit
to this field, a unanimous call was tendered to him from the
First church, at a salary of one thousand dollars. This call he
accepted and was installed October 15, 1848. Here he con-
tinued to labor with great zeal, fidelity and much usefulness
until October 23, 1875, when at his own urgent solicitation, the
pastoral relation was dissolved, and he was constituted " pastor
emeritus " of the church, in which relation he continued until
his death, greatly beloved by his people and most highly re-
spected by all classes in the community. He died May 7, 1889,
in the eighty-first year of his age.
Dr. Wing was a man of very acute intellect, of refined taste
and scholarly habits, of a nervous and excitable temperament,
and of most excellent Christian character, and pure and exem-
plary life. He was modest and unassuming in his bearing,
frank, gentlemanly and courteous in all his intercourse with
his brethren.
He was a firm oeliever in the Divine authority and pienerary
inspiration of the Sacred Scriptures. He held the fundamental
doctrines of the gospel, and evinced the strongest faith and sin-
cerest love for the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour,
and he approved the general system of doctrine and polity of
the Presbyterian church, but was rather a biblical than a sys-
tematic theologian. His preaching was generally exegetical
rather than doctrinal. His style of composition was simple,
chaste and elegant. He lacked in analytical power. His voice
was weak, wanting in volume and force of expression. His
manner in the pulpit was always kind, gentle, tender and affec-
tionate. His prayers were simple, short, devout and earnest.
As a presbyter Dr. Robinson who was his co-presbyter for thirty
268 Presbytery of Carlisle — Geniertnial.
years, says of him, " In the transaction of business, in the de-
liberations and discussions of the body, in the excitements of
eager debate and the settlement of most serious questions, as
well as in daily intercourse with his brethren, Dr. Wing proved
himself to be a calm and wise counsellor, full of forbearance
and courtesy. He was scrupulously faithful in his attendance
upon the courts of the church, and was always ready to bear
his share of their burdens and responsibilities. His mind grasp-
ed the broadest interests of the Kingdom of Christ throughout
the world. Like a good presbyter he declined no service that
he could render and entered .heartily into the general movements
of the church in its aggressions on the kingdom of darkness."
As a pastor he sought to meet the wants of the people in the
ministrations of the pulpit and his visitations from house to
house. Dr. Wing loved to study, to write discourses and to
preach them. His study was his delight. Preaching was in-
deed a perpetual joy to him. A prominent feature in all his
pulpit and pastoral work was the sympathetic and loving spirit
which pervaded all that he said and did. He seemed even
more a minister of love than a witness for the truth. He was
a man of very broad charity. He was disposed rather to apol-
ogize for than condemn a holder of error. His sermons were
remarkable for their freedom from common place utterances
and from wrath and dogmatism. Even the most common
themes were rendered interesting, by the original treatment and
fresh learning which he poured upon them. Dr. Wing was too
much of a student to abound or excel in pastoral service. At
the same time in all pastoral duty his desire and purpose were
to be faithful, and in his visitations to the sick and dying, the
poor and sorrowing, and to the anxious and careless ones of
the flock, his ministrations were full of sympathetic love and
tenderness.
Dr. Wing was also ever ready to lend a helping hand to all
educational movements and to all moral and social reforms.
He was an earnest advocate of the temperance cause and of
Sabbath observance. During the civil war he stood up for the
rights of the government and the preservation of the Union.
He united most cordially with his people in all their efforts to
Rev. Conway Phelps Wing, D. D. 269
provide for the sick and wounded, and followed the soldiers to
the field with his sympathies, counsels and prayers.
The children of the church were not overlooked by him.
He did what he could to advance the efficiency and growth of
the Sabbath school. He secured and distributed large numbers
of Bibles, offered as premiums for memorizing the Shorter Cate-
chism. Feeling that the reading of his people was of import-
ance in enlarging their views and interesting them in the affairs
of the church at large and the progress of Christ's kingdom,
he made an effort to have them supplied with religious period-
icals of the best character. In his pastoral visits he sought to
have every family take a religious paper and in this he was
successful to an unusual degree.
During his ministry in Carlisle, of twenty-seven years, there
were admitted to the communion of the church, three hundred
and twenty persons on profession and ninety-seven by certifi-
catCi an average of over twelve on profession each vear. Dur-
ing the same period he preached not less than four thousand
one hundred times, attended four hundred and ninety-six fun-
erals, baptized three hundred and twenty persons and united
two hundred and four couples in marriage.
With respect to the church at large, Dr. Wing having entered
the ministry at a time of great religious controversy and much
excitement, induced by the adoption and propagation in certain
parts of the church of what was known as the " new divinity,
and by the general question of voluntary societies or ecclesi-
astical boards under tlie control of the General Assembly,
which led ultimately to the division of the body in 1838, and
he having been born and brought up within the bounds of the ex-
scinded Synods, he naturally fell in with his brethren of the
same region, and was a decided New School man. Dr. Rob-
inson says, " In his early ministry the Presbyterian church
was greatly agitated by the controversies that led to the separ-
ation of 1838. In the violence of the strife it was impossible
for any minister of the church to remain neutral or indifferent.
The sympathies and convictions of Dr. Wing were with the
New School men of that day. He was a member of the Gen-
eral Assemblv of 1836, one of the famous assemblies of the
270 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
church. The great division occurred two years later. That
division and the causes which led to it he greatly deplored.
His conviction of the unrighteousness of the excinding acts of
1837, by which he and others were summarily cut off from
the Presbyterian church was deep and abiding."
Those who write and speak in this way only look on one
side of that great controversy which agitated the church of that
day, and fail to take a comprehensive view of the false doc-
trines and unpresbyterial methods then in vogue, and the man-
ner in which the standards were then treated and the bold at-
tempt that was then in progress to revolutionize the church.
They fail to know or remember that such departures from
the standards of the church in matters of doctrine and order ;
such diversity of opinion as to ecclesiastical boards and vol-
untary societies ; such alienation of feeling and agitating con-
troversy, had for years so disturbed the peace and impaired the
efficiency of the church, as to produce a state of things which
on all sides was felt to be. intolerable, and that with a view to
reform these evils and secure the peace and purity of the
Church, every lawful and proper means that the wisdom of the
best men of the church could devise had been resorted to up
to that time only in vain.
In 1834 or 1835, Dr. Lyman Beecher, at a temperance
convention at Saratoga, had remarked privately to Dr. John
MacLean, of Princeton, that they now had a majority in the
General Assembly, and that they were going to keep it
Through the American Home Mission Society, and on the
plan of union they would have a majority in all the new Pres-
byteries in the west, and thus their majority in the Assembly
would be steadily enhanced. This led Dr. MacLean to take
that plan of union into most careful consideration, and to come
to the conclusion that it was unconstitutional, and to frame
resolutions so declaring it to be, and an overture to the Gen-
eral Assembly, from the Presbytery of New Brunswick, ask-
ing for its repeal. Accordingly one of the first things done by
the General Assembly of 1837, was to declare that " as the plan
of union adopted for the new settlements in 1801, was origi-
nally an unconstitutional act on the part of the Assembly, these
Rev. Conway Phelps Wing^ D. D. 271
important standing rules having never been submitted to the
Presbyteries, and as thej are totally destitute of authority as
proceeding from the General Association of Connecticut, and
as much confusion and irregularity have arisen from this un-
natural and unconstitutional system of union, therefore it is re-
solved that the Act of Assembly of 1801, entitled a plan of
union be and the same is hereby abrogated." In favor, 143 :
against, 110. Dr. Archibald Alexander, one of the wisest and
holiest men in the history of the church, voted in favor of it.
The next step was how to eliminate the congregational ele-
ment, thus irregularly and unconstitutionally introduced, from
the body. Three plans were proposed : 1st, To cite the Pres-
byteries thus irregularly constituted before the next Assembly,
2d. To require Presbyteries embracing congregational churches
to become Presbyterially organized or to withdraw from the
body, and to deny to such Presbyteries representation until
this action was carried out, 3d. Disown at once Presbyteries
and Synods thus constituted.
The consideration of these resolutions was postponed to hear
the report of the committee of ten on the question of an amic-
able separation of the church. This committee reported : 1st.
That separation was desirable, 2d, Agreement on the terms
of separation. 3d. Disagreement as to the time of separation,
one party insisting that it should be immediate, the other that
it should be postponed for a year and referred to the Presby-
teries, Failing to agree on this, the Assembly, under the great
pressure that was upon it, proceeded at once to affect a sepa-
ration from Congregationalism, irregularly introduced into the
body by its own immediate authority. Accordingly it was re-
solved first, " That by the operation of the abrogation of the
plan of union of 1801, the Synod of the Western Reserve is
hereby declared to be no longer a part of the Presbyterian
Church in the United State of America." It was stated that
less than one in four of the churches in this Synod were Pres-
byterian in their organization. Dr. Alexander voted for the
disowning of this Synod. But when a similar resolution was
offered for the disowning of the three Synods of Western New
York, he disapproved of it on the grounds on which it was
272 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
placed by the resolution. Others preferred the second plan
proposed, on the ground that so far as their churches had be-
come Presbyterian in their organization they were entitled to
be regarded and treated as such under the constitution of the
church. It is, however, to be remembered that this excision
of these Synods was not adopted as an act of discipline, nor on
account of the prevalence of false doctrine or new measures
among them. But it was done as a legislative act, in conse-
quence of the abrogation of the plan of union, as utterly un-
constitutional, and, therefore, the proceedings under it were
null and void, and they were no longer a constituent part of
the Presbj^terian Church. As the same end could have been
attained by the due operation of the abrogating act, in prevent-
ing the formation of any more churches on that basis, and by
rendering it necessary for all the Presbyteries within their
bounds to become Presbyterially organized, or be denied rep-
resentation in the higher courts of the church ; this plan was
preferred by many, but the majority were unwilling longer
to endiire the existing troubles, and by this exercise of the
authority of the Assembly, resolved to eliminate this danger-
ous and threatening element and to save the peace and purity
and life of the church. It was a severe process, but put an
end to the aspirations of the new divinity and of voluntary-
societies in the Presbyterian Church of the United States. The
Assembly of 1837 was also what it was by reason of the ex-
treme measures of the Assembly of 1836.
As voluntary societies were abandoned by the New School
church, and Taylorism has disappeared, and the divided church
reunited on the covenant basis that " the Confession of Faith
shall continue to be sincerely received and adopted as contain-
ing the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures, and
as each body has recognized the other as sound and orthodox
according to the principles of the confession common to both,"
then why complain now of these past differences and struggles,
and not rather continue to receive and stand by the confession
and its doctrines, and prove to the world the truth and sincerity
of our professions and covenant engagements. Every New
School man is under the stroncrest obligations to do this, and
Rev. Conway Phelps Wing. D. D. 273
thus show that that body was not like the old Trojan horse
filled with armed men ready to make war on the first occasion
offered, upon the very standards which they covenanted to con-
tinue sincerely to receive and adopt.
Dr. Wing greatly desired and earnestly labored for the re-
union of the church, and sincerely rejoiced over its final con-
summation, and, if now living, would no doubt honestly stand
by the standards which he professed to continue to receive and
adopt.
Dr. Wing, in addition to his scholarly attainments as a min-
ister of the Gospel, made himself quite proficient in the
Hebrew, Greek and Latin languages, and acquired the use of
modern French and German, and was enabled to read and
translate some German works.
His recognized ability and elegance as a writer led to his be-
ing called upon for the delivery of public addresses on set oc-
casions. In 1861, he delivered the annual address to the
Alumni of Auburn Theological Seminary. In May of that
«ame year he delivered the annual address, in behalf of the
Presbyterian Historical Society, before the General Assembly
at Cincinnati, and an address to the Synod of Pennsylvania,
New School, at Wilmington, Delaware, on "America as the
special field for the American Presbyterian Church." Most of
these, with several Thanksgiving discourses, were published.
He contributed several articles to the Presbyterian and Metho-
dist Reviews, and sent many papers to the New York Evan-
gelists and other religious journals. In 1856, in connection
with Dr. C. E. Blumenthal, of New York, he translated from
the German, Dr. Hasc's " Manual of Ecclesiastical History," and
in 1868, he translated, with additional copious notes, C. F.
Kling's Commentary on the Second Epistle to the Corinthians,
in Schaff's American Series of Lange's Commentaries. In
1870, he contributed two articles to McClintock and Strong's
Encyclopedia, one on Gnosticism and the other on Federal The-
ology. In 1877, he published his history of the First Presby-
terian Church of Carlisle, and in 1878, wrote an extended
sketch of the History oi Cumberland county, Pennsylvania,
18*
274 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centefinial.
which was published by James D. Scott, of Philadelphia, and
in 1880, his histoi-y of the Wing family.
On January 10, 1833, he was married to Prudence Maria,
daughter of Thomas Young, of Wayne county, New York,
with whom he lived for over fifty-five years, she having pre-
ceded him only about one year to the eternal world. They
had no children, except two whom they adopted and raised.
It is thus seen that Dr. Wing was a quiet, industrious and
scholarly minister of the Presbyterian Church for nearly sixty
years. These were years remarkable for their stir and devel-
opment, both in Church and State, in all of which he bore his
humble and gentle part, and then passed peacefully away to
his everlasting reward.
Rev. Joseph Alexander Mxirray, D. D.
The above well-known and highly-respected member of
Carlisle Presbytery, was the youngest son of George and Mary
(Denny) Murray. He was born in Carlisle, Pa., October 2
1815. His father was a native of Pittsburgh, Pa., and was the
first white child born within its city limits, but had spent the
greater part of his lift in Carlisle, Pa. He was a man distin-
guished for a high-toned and excellent moral and religious char-
acter. Mrs. Murray, his mother, was a woman of good family
connection and of cultivated and refined christian character.
Joseph A. was the youngest of several children. His early
education was acquired in Carlisle, and he was a student in
Dickinson College, in the time of the presidency of Dr. J. P.
Durbin, but completed his college course in the Western Uni-
versity of Pennsylvania, at Pittsburgh, Pa., from which he
graduated in 1837. He entered at once the Western Theolog-
ical Seminary in Allegheny, Pa., from which he graduated
in 1840.
During his college and seminary course he was a membei
of the family of his cousin, the Hon. Harmer Denny a wealthy
and distinguished citizen of Pittsburgh, Pa., and for a number
of years a member of Congress and prominent and influential
in the politics of the nation. Here, in addition to the educa-
tional advantages which he enjoyed, he had the benefit of
Rev. Joseph Alexander Murray, D. D.
275
contact with a large and influential social circle, and the oppor-
tunity of seeing and meeting many of the leading public men
of that day. The associations of these years were largely in-
fluential in imparting to him those urbane manners and that
dignified and courteous address for which he was so well known
among his ministerial brethren and in the community generally.
Many of the acquaintances and friendships then formed, he
continued to keep up by correspondences and interchange of
personal visitations through life.
After his graduation from the Theological Seminary he was
licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Ohio. For six months
he supplied the Presbyterian church of Marion, Ohio, and from
it received an unanimous call to become its pastor, which he re-
spectfully declined. During a visit to Carlisle, Pa., he preached
to the united congregations of Monaghan ( Dillsburg) and Peters-
burg, and from them received a call to become their pastor,
which he accepted and was ordained over the same April 13,
1842. In this charge he continued to labor usefully and success-
fully for a period of sixteen years.
Monaghan Chubch, buii.t jn 1849.
Ill 1858, in consequence of impaired health, he felt constrained
to seek a dissolution of his pastoral relation. His request
276 Presbytery of Carlisle — CentenniUl.
having been relactantly granted and his constitution having
been always feeble, he retired to Carlisle. On this account he
never afterwards felt at liberty to resume the responsibility
and active labors of a pastoral charge, although much of his
time, as strength would permit and opportunity offered, was
spent in supplying churches, filling vacant pulpits and assisting
his ministerial brethren in special services. Not long before
his decease, his old congregation at Dillsbui-g, as a mark of
their respect for him as a former pastor, made him pastor
emeritus.
In addition to his general interest and activity in everything
pertaining to the advancement of the church at large, his
scholarly habits and tastes manifested themselves in a variety
of ways. His library steadily increased in the number of its
volumes and in value from year to year. His disposition to
indulge in antiquarian, historical and biographical research led
to the accumulation of much material by him of great value in
each of these directions. A few years before his death he
claimed to have rescued from the ragman's stock of material
manuscripts and records of local and general historical interest.
So widely had his peculiarity in this respect become known of
late years, that by personal interviews and correspondence by
persons far and near, information was sought of him on a great
variety of topics of a historical and biographical character.
And such were the resources of information and documentary
evidence at his command, and his painstaking accuracy, and
his pride and pleasure in giving the information sought, that
such demands, however great, were never regarded by him as
burdensome, and he came to be widely regarded as a recognized
authority in all such matters. He was a corresponding member
of the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia,
a member of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, and also
of the American Philosophical Society. Of the Hamilton
Library Association of Carlisle he was secretary from the time
of its organization to his decease.
In 1869 he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity
from the University of Western Pennsylvania. For many
years prior to his decease, he was a director of the Western
^''J sttd by John SayCu.
d
"^
o
bad the
iig-cherished [^iau oi founding a scholarship in
;i of three thousand d<
•lymg gift, the >Mtir<"l of .
eir grateful a['|"' • ^> •' •
.'ipatby a:ndasHi
)i his great suL
;iv was also a iu
For this generous
that seminary
< to liim their
>r bis support
: be resident, and was much
'.repeated expressions of sym-
lich he received from his many friends.
^m: Murray was married to Miss Ann Hays
>f , Mr. Andrew Blair, a prominent citizen of
a leading and a.' ' '' r in the Second
irch from the tii tion to his de-
• laughter, their
e Foster,
of Phil-
as the o.
r. She
^-'.high ( ::
-omanly
re of him oouti
the sup-
i,,..,.. ,.,.„..., ,.(
is to the
V
CL
CC i^ ^
Z-
Bev. Anderson Beaton Quay. 277
Theological Seminary of Allegheny City. In it he took a deep
interest. During his last illness, he had the satisfaction of
carrying out a long-cherished plan of founding a scholarship in
it b}' the donation of three thousand dollars. For this generous
and self-denying gift, the board of trustees of that seminary
expressed their grateful appreciation and tendered to him their
heartfelt sympathy and assurance of their prayers for his support
in the time of his great suffering and sore affliction.
Dr. Murray was also a frequent contributor to different secu-
lar and religious periodicals of his day, and several of his public
addresses were published. During a long protracted illness
and under painful sufferings from disease, he maintained to the
end an unusual interest in all the affairs of church and State,
and of the community in which he resided, and was much
gratified and comforted by the oft-repeated expressions of sym-
pathy and kindness which he received from his many friends.
In April, 1843, Dr. Murray was married to Miss Ann Hays
Blair, daughter of Mr. Andrew Blair, a prominent citizen of
Carlisle, Pa., and a leading and active ruling elder in the Second
Presbyterian church from the time of its organization to his de-
cease. She died in 1875, leaving him with a daughter, their
only child.
In 1879 he was again married to Miss Lydia Steele Foster,
also a native of Carlisle, but for many years a resident of Phil-
adelphia. She was the daughter of Crawford Foster. She
survives him. Her high Christian character and her womanly
and constant tender care of him contributed greatly to the sup-
port and comfort of the later years of his life, as well as to the
mitigation of his sufferings during his last illness. He passed
quietly and calmly away, as one falling asleep, on November 27,
1889, in the seventy-fifth year of his age.
Rev. Anderson Beaton Quay.
The subject of this sketch was bom at Charleston, Chester
county, Pennsylvania, May 22, 1802. He was the son of
Joseph Quay and Assenath Anderson, who lived in what is
DOW Schuylkill township, Chester county, near Phoenixville. Pa.
278 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
Mrs. Quay was a daughter of Patrick Anderson, who was
the first white child born in that township. Patrick Anderson
was a captain in the French and Indian war, and on the break-
ing out of the Revolutionary war was, along with Anthony
Wayne, a member of the Chester county committee. He went
into the service, in 1776, as captain of the first company mus-
ketry battalion, and after the battle of Long Island, in which
Colonel Atlee was captured and Lieutenant Colonel Perry
killed, he commanded the battalion. In 1778 and 1779, he sat
in the Pennsylvania Assembly, and his son, Isaac Anderson,
represented that district in Congress from 1803 to 1807. Pat-
rick Anderson's wife, Ann Beaton, was the daughter of Daniel
Beaton, who, during the Revolution, was most active in mili-
tary affairs. Patrick Anderson's father came from Scotland
in 1713, and afterwards married Elizabeth Jeriiian, daughter
of Thomas Jerman, a noted Quaker preacher, who came from
Wales and settled, about 1700, in the Welsh settlement in
Chester county, Pa., where he erected one of the first mills in
the province.
Joseph Quay, father to Rev. A. B. Quay, was a saddler. He
served in the war of 1812, and died soon afterwards, leaving a
widow and five children, four sons and a daughter. He was
buried in the Anderson burying ground, near Phoenixville, Pa.
The Quays, according to a family tradition, came from the
Isle of Man to Canada, and from thence to Pennsylvania.
Joseph Quay, at his death, left very little property to his widow
and children. Anderson B. Quay, the eldest son, only a lad
at his father's death, worked upon a farm for some years, and
subsequently commenced to learn the trade of a tailor. This
he abandoned, however, in a short time. Owing to the circum-
stances in which the family were left, young Quay had only
very meagre educational advantages. Up to the time he
entered upon his theological studies, he was almost self-edu-
cated. His son, Senator Quay, remembers of hearing his father
frequently tell of having studied his Latin grammar "between
stitches," while learning the tailoring trade.
He entered Princeton Theological Seminary in 1827, and
continued two years iu that institution. He was licensed by
.M.
/>P?z£^^
Rev. John Jay Pomeroy, D. D. 281
departure for the array, Mr. Pomeroy, in his prayer in the public
services of the church before the sermon, prayed earnestly for
the Divine favor and blessing upon the members and officers
of the company, for God's protecting care over them and for
their preservation from sickness and in times of danger ; and
for His blessing upon the cause in which they had enlisted, and
the preservation of the union. When he opened his eyes at the
close of his prayer, he found that nearly the entire congregation
had left the house because of their sympathy with the Southern
Confederacy. Among the few that remained was Mr. Higgins,
who in the winter of 1888 and '89, was elected by the Delaware
Legislature to the United States Senate. His principal rival
candidate for that position was George Massey, Esq., the captain
of the Dover company. Both of these gentlemen were warm
personal friends of Kev. Mr. Pomeroy, when in Delaware and
up to the time of his decease, and he had taken a great interest
in the senatorial contest the winter previous to that in which
he was called away by death.
After leaving Delaware he was appointed chaplain to the
Thirty-second regiment of Pennsylvania volunteers, known as
the Third regiment of the Pennsylvania Reserves. He served
in this capacity from October 12, 1862, to June 17, 1864, when
the term of the regiment expired. By reason of his upright
and consistent conduct and the faithful performance of his duties
as chaplain, as a preacher of the gospel and his kind and respect-
ful attention to officers and men, and especially by his faithful
ministrations to the sick and wounded, he commanded the
respect of all the officers and men with whom he had been asso-
ciated. It was a common thing for him during the marches, to
dismount from his horse and place upon it some sick or lame
soldier, and he march with the men.
On September 15, 1864, Dr. Pomeroy was appointed chaplain
of the One Hundred and Ninety -eighth regiment Pennsylvania
volunteers and served with that regiment until the close of the
war. After the regiment had returned to Camp Cadwalader,
at Philadelphia, a handsome gold watch was given to Dr. Pom-
eroy, with this inscription on the inside of the case :
282 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
Presented to the
Rev. John J. Pomeroy,
Chaplain of the 198th Reg't. P. V.. As
a token of esteem, by the Non-
commissioned Officers and
Privates of the Regi-
ment.
March, 1865.
Dr. Pomerov carried the watch to the time of his death.
In 1866 " The Militar}- Order of the Loyal Legion of the United
States," was organized in Philadelphia and a vigorous effort was
made by some of its members to elect for its chaplain the priest
of the Irish brigade who held mass on the battle-field of Gettys-
burg, and who it was thought would be elected as he was very
popular among the officers. General Sickel, however, at the
last moment nominated Dr. Pomeroy who was elected without
an effort.
August 29, 1865, Mr. Pomeroy was called to be pastor of
the large and strong church of Upper Octorara, near Parksburg,
Chester county, Pennsylvania, where he continued to minister
to that people with great fidelity and success for ten years. In
the year 1875 he received a call from the First Presbyterian
church, Rahway, New Jersey. This call he accepted, and was,
with much reluctance by his Presbytery and people, released
from the Upper Octorara church. He was installed as pastor
of the First Church of Rahway, April 29, 1875. Here he con-
tinued with his usual prudence and fidelity in all his ministerial
duties for nearly another decade of years, winning the warm
attachment of the people of his own congregation and com-
manding the highest respect of the entire community.
As in his previous charge at Octorara, his faithful ministra-
tions of the gospel had the seal of the divine favor, in the way
of constant additions to the church of members on profession
of their faith In the spring of 1884, he received a call from
the Central Church of Chambersburg. Pa,, and was installed
pastor of the same April 10, of that year. Of this church he
wrs the faithful and beloved pastor up to the time of his sudden
and unlooked for death, December 1, 1889. By his exemplary
life, great fidelity in all his duties, and his eminent piety and
Rer). John Jay Pomeroy, D. D. 288
prudence, he steadily grew in the esteem of his people and won
the confidence and respect of all classes in the community, and
at the time of his decease was one of the most highly respected
and esteemed ministers of his Presbytery.
Dr. Pomeroy's death occurred, after two week's illness. Sat-
urday evening, November 9, he was in the best of health.
After the burial of one of his closest friends, Major J. C.
Austin, he called upon a parishioner, on East Queen street,
Chambersburg. The porch was being repaired and a board
was insecurely placed upon it. Through this Dr. Pomeroy
stepped and a slight wound on his right leg was the result.
The next day he conducted services, and on Wednesday night
prayer meeting. Friday, November 15, erysipelas set in and
progressed so rapidly that within a week his condition was re-
garded as critical. He appreciated the fact that his recovery
was very doubtful, and bore his sufferings without a murmur.
He died Sabbath morning, December 1, 1889, in the fifty-
sixth year of his age. The funeral services were held in the
Central church, on the following Wednesday, at 2 p. m.
Many of the members of the Carlisle Presbytery were present
and a large congregation of the citizens of Chambersburg and
vicinity.
The services at the church were conducted by Kev. C. R.
Lane, D. D., assisted by ministers most nearly resident to Cham-
bersburg.
The following address was delivered by Re^•. J. Agnew
Crawford, D. D. Dr. Crawford said :
"This, our brother here, whom we call dead, went away to
God early on the morning of last Lord's day. And this was
arranged for him with what seemed indeed a divine propriety.
For what so becoming as that he, spent with pain, wasted by
disease and tired in the tasks of life should, shutting his eye-
lids in the dark and as the week was going out, open them
early on the morning of the everlasting Sabbatli.
" It was one of the finest sayings of the Pagan Seneca, ' that
day which you dread as being your last is the birthday of
eternity,' and so our brother found it, as a Christian believer,
dying, living instantly again on that holy Sabbath morn. The
284 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
men of faith who go hence and go up on that day, would seem
to make the sky in specially favorable condition. It is the
Lord's own day. Hallowed indeed it is. Fragrant it is with
the man^^ memories of Him, and with the odors of that upper
Paradise of which the bloom and the beauty are forever. Our
brother had it as his ascension day.
" He lay sick but a little while, and, although it was said
that the risks were great, and that what are called the chances
were against him, it was hoped by us all that he would re-
cover. Many a prayer went up that he mi^t, and, when it
was known that he was dead, there was sincere sorrow in many
a home and in man}' a heart in this town. Dr. Pomeroy's posi-
tion here as a minister of Christ was assured. Though he had
lived among us but a few years, his worth and his spiritual
power were fully admitted. The impression which he made
was that of a man who was very much in earnest in pushing
his holy work. He lost no time. He was drawn off by no
side issues that one could see. He was sincere, devout, self-
denied, full of sacred zeal, ready for any essay which his high
calling might require of him. He had the courage of the
soldier, and the tenderest sympathy as well. He stood upon
his rights, and went in the line of his convictions, doing, with
a true resolve, what he took to be his duty. Loving the truth
and the peace he sought to advance them both.
" He was an earnest preacher. He impressed us as one who
had the heartiest belief in the gospel of the Son of Grod, and
who felt the attraction of the cross. It was easy to see that he
meant what he said, and that he took his fellowmen to be lost,
except as they were reached by the mystic power of that cross.
So he would help them by that which had helped and saved
him. He, therefore, threw himself into his sermons, and seemed
bent on getting the truth into the hearts of his hearers.
" Faithful," is the word by which, largely, the career of our
brother as a minister may be described. What Nehemiah said
of his brother we may say of this our brother, ' He was a faith-
ful man and served God above many.' He is entitled to this
inspired sentence as his epitaph : We thought him instant in
season out of season. The Apostle's idea of a steward was
Bev. John Jay Pomeroy, D. D. 286
well realized in him, ' It is required in stewards that a man be
found faithful.' Our brother was diligent, studious, making
conscience of bringing into the holy place the beaten oil.
Again and again, calling at his study, I found him busy with
his books. He was devoted to his church, not sparing himself
that he might advantage her, and ready, if at any time her way
seemed hedged about, to take the narrow places along with
her. His interest in the affairs of the Presbytery and of the
church at large was evident, and he ever played his part well.
" Our brother had, in a large degree, the regard of his min-
isterial brethren. And there was not one of us who would not
at any time have welcomed him to the pulpit, and made way
for him to the homes of our people. To us he seemed a man
who could not do a small or doubtful thing, whose aims were
the loftiest and best, and whose walk as a minister was along
the higher places of the field. He had an ear for any suf-
ferer's cry, and it was, as we know, while upon an errand of
mercy that he met the mishap which cost him his life.
" It is to us now for a lamentation that such was the nature
of his sickness, such his physical prostration that we could not
talk with him in his closing days. We should have been more
than glad to have heard from him while he was walking through
the land of Beulah, which, for a Christian, reaches, as Bunyan
tells us, all the way up to the river of death, and in which
land, he says, the sun shineth night and day, where the whole
air is very sweet and pleasant, where the King's gardens are
in which he himself walks, and whence the splendors of the
eternal city can be seen. But this was denied us by Him who
arranges all and who doeth all things well. Enough to know
in what safe custody we left him, enough that He to whom he
had long ago given himself, and whom he loved and served,
still led on. He has gone to God, having left here the savor
of a holy life, and the good name, which is better than precious
ointment, and the proofs of that diligence and fidelity which
have indeed a lustre of their own. He cannot be forgotten
here, nor in the other fields which he wrought so well, nor
among his soldier friends with whom he stood in the war for
the Republic.
286 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
" We mourn him dead. We would fain hail him crowned
and complete in the presence of his Loixl."
An earnest and very appropriate address was also made by
his most intimate and life-long friend, the Rev. John A. Lig-
gett, D. D., of Rah way. New Jersey, which our space will not
let us here insert.
Dr. Pomeroy was married on January 28, 1869, to Mary H.
Moore, eldest daughter of Hon. Robert Moore, of Danville, Pa.,
who, with six children, survive him.
When spoken to a few days before his death as to the place
of his interment, his answer was, " The soldier should lie where
he falls." His wishes were complied with, and on Wednesday
afternoon, just as the sun was sinking behind the mountains
he has known from youth, all that was mortal of Rev. John J.
Pomeroy was consigned to the tomb in Cedar Grove cemetery,
Chambersburg, Pa.
Rev. John Mitchell Mason, D. D.
This most noted of American divines was president of Dick-
inson College from 1821 to 1824, and during that period a resi-
dent of Carlisle and a minister and educator within our bounds,
and on that account has been included in this series of bio-
graphical sketches. Many of our more prominent ministers and
laymen were students under him at that time, or previously in
the theological seminary of which he was the chief instructor
in the city of New York, and received the impress of his powerful
intellect and grand character.
John M. Mason was one of seven children of the Rev. Dr.
John Mason and Catharine Van Wyck, his first wife, only three
of whom lived to maturity. The oldest, a daughter named
Helen, married Matthew Duncan, a merchant of Philadelphia,
and was the mother of the Rev. John Mason Duncan, D. D,
long pastor of the Associate Reformed church of Baltimore,
Maryland. The third, Margaretta, married the Hon. John
Brown, one of the first United States Senators from Kentucky.
The second child is the subject of this sketch.
Dr. John Mason, in the year 1761, when a young man and
Rev. John Mitchell Mason, D. D. 287
a teacher of philosophy at Abernethy, Scotland, in answer to
overtures from the Associate Presbytery of Pennsylvania, and
an earnest invitation from a small band of Associate Presby-
terians in the city of New York, which had separated from the
First Presbyterian church of that city, "because incurably dis-
satisfied with the system of Psalmody," adopted by that con-
gregation, was ordained and sent over to take charge of the
Associate Presbyterians of the city of New York.
On his arrival the people who had sent for him met together
in a private house for his reception. When he saw their few-
ness in number and their manifest humble and limited circum-
stances, he felt constrained to ask, "if they were all there, and
whether they felt able to support the ordinances of the gospel
among them? " After a pause, painful and protracted ; a pious
old lady is said to have answered, "We will try." A formal
call was made out dated May 25, 1762, and signed by less than
forty persons. Their first house of worship was a small frame
building on the south side of Cedar street, near Broadway.
Mr. Mason's ministry was blessed in the steady growth of his
congregation. The first church edifice gave way to a larger
and more commodious stone one in 1768. His labors were
interrupted by the Revolutionary war. At its close he resumed
and continued them with great earnestness, devotedness and
efficiency, until his death in 1792
Dr. John Mason took a leading and active part in the for-
mation of the Associate Reformed Synod and was the most
earnest advocate and ablest defender of that movement. Dr.
Samuel Miller, in his life of Dr. Rogers, speaks of him " as a
man of sound and strong mind, of extensive learning and of
unusually fervent piety. Few ministers have ever lived in
New York in so high esteem or died so generally and deeply
lamented."
John M. Mason was born in New York City, March 10, 1770.
He inherited the sterling qualities of his father, became one of
the most distinguished preachers of his age, and left his im-
press upon the church and upon the country as few men have
done. Consecrated to God from infancy and brought up
in a family noted for its strict orderly proprieties and high
288 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
parental authority, at the age of nine years he evinced the
effect of careful religious instruction and intelligent religious
training in becoming the subject of deep religious conviction
and much religious anxiety.
After years of earnest struggle he determined through grace
to follow Christ, depending upon the promised aid of the Holy
Spirit.
In 1787 he entered Columbia College from which he gradu-
ated with the highest honors of his class in 1789. The professors
regarded him as a student of great promise. His public per-
formances at that time showed high attainments, thorough
mental discipline, power of continuous thought, great force of
expression, minute acquaintance with history and the classics,
and great skill in using them both in the way of illustration
and ornamentation in speaking and writing. He especially
excelled in the ancient classics and philosophy, the two depart-
ments in which his father was distinguished.
From the time he left college his face was set steadfastly
towards the Christian ministry. Two years were spent in
biblical studies under his father, continuing at the same time
the further prosecution of study in Latin and Greek. It was
at this time he made himself familiar with the original languages
of the Sacred Scriptures and which proved afterwards of such
special advantage to him in his stated Sabbath morning expo-
sitions of the different books of the Bible and as a teacher in
the theological seminary, in both of which he became so pre-
eminent.
In the prosecution of his theological course, his father made
the Bible the one great text-book and he labored most of all to
become thoroughly acquainted with it, not only in the original
languages in which it was written, but with all the aid which
could be derived from ancient Bible geography, biblical anti-
quities and the customs and manners of Oriental nations. And
in connection with this thorough study of the Sacred Scriptures,
he was led to study subjects rather than books or systems of
divinity, following in this respect the order of doctrine set forth
in the Westminster Standards. The aim was to have him
exercise his own faculties in the investigation of subjects rather
than merely absorb what other men have thought and written.
Bev. John Mitchell Mason, D. D. 289
At one time he became discouraged by the slowness of his
progress, and complained to his father that three hours of the
closest application had become insufficient to solve a single
difficulty. His father's reply was, " if you thoroughly master a
real difficulty in three weeks you will bedoing remarkably well.''
His own view came afterwards to be " that to see the precise
point of a difficulty and to be able clearly to define it in one's
own mind, is more than half the battle in order to its full solu-
tion ; and to reach the solution ourselves is infinitely better
than to have it solved for us by others. The habit of investi-
gation must be formed by each one for himself."
At this particular period of his life, an incident occurred
which strikingly illustrates the mental peculiarities of father
and son. One morning the father came into the son's room
with a paper in his hand, and requested him to read an article
in it, which he said was a triumphant vindication of the Chris-
tian Sabbath in answer to an infidel attack upon it which had
appeared shortly before. The confusion of the son betrayed
the authorship of the article. The latter on this discovery
without a word more, withdrew, and in his study subjected
the article to the most critical examination and pointed out
every defect which the closest scrutiny could detect, as to
structure of sentences, diction, style and argument, and with
these strictures carefully written out returned it to the son.
The lesson taught was that even in regard to our most suc-
cessful efforts, higher degrees of excellence are attainable.
In his diary, through all this period, he makes record of his
failures in duty, of his gratitude for God's mercies, and espec-
ially in causing him to be born of parents so eminent for piety,
so faithful in their instructions, and in enforcing them by
authoritative precepts and corresponding example. He was
thankful to God that he had become accustomed to habits of
filial obedience and kept from temptations to vice and wicked-
ness, by wise and firm parental government, and had been sup-
plied with everything necessary to the prosecution of his studies
and the investigation of truth, which enabled him to secure an
education adapted to render him useful to the church and the
world.
19 *
290 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
He was still more thankful that God had not permitted him
to rest satisfied with external decency, but had awakened his
conscience to a sense of his guilt and defilement, and notwith-
standing his obstinacy and carelessness and his grieving of
the Holy Spirit, had not cut him off in his iniquity and
cast him into hell, as His unimpeachable justice might have led
him to do. He was thankful that God did not suffer him to
be content with his own righteousness ; that He had not aban-
doned him to despair, but had led him to be pursuaded of the
perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ, and to find in His atone-
ment an adequate satisfaction for his sins and ample ground for
his justification before God : and for revealing Christ to him
through the Word and by His spirit more and more in all His
offices as his Redeemer, and for enabling him to renew his
covenant from time to time with Him, leading him to take God
to be his God in Christ; the Lord Jesus to be his Saviour, and
the Holy Spirit to be his guide and comforter, and in constrain-
ing him to dedicate himself to His service in the ministry of
His Son.
After spending nearly two years in this way with his revered
father, in 1791 he sailed for Scotland to spend one year in the
University of Edinburgh, and another year on the continent in
the further prosecution of his studies in Hebrew and in the
Arabic, Syriac and other cognate languages.
His father's aim in sending him abroad was three-fold : " higher
accomplishment in his profession, a wider range of general
knowledge, and such an acquaintance with cultivated Christian
society abroad, as might contribute to his future usefulness."
Before taking leave of him his father placed in his hand an
extended letter, in which he gave him such counsel as his
sense of parental duty and his tender regard for him prompted
him to write ; a letter in which the father's theory and practice
of the sacred ministry and the maxims and model on which
the character and work of a minister should be formed and
guided are most concisely stated. This letter contains price-
less counsels to every young man setting out in life. It can-
not be too highly commended to the attention of all educated
young men. especially to all candidates for the ministry. In
Rev. John Mitchell Mason. D. D. 291
it, among other things, he says, I wish you to have the char-
acter of a gentleman. Go freely into every respectable com-
pany. Be modest and attentive in company, avoiding equally
loquacity and silence. Be very attentive to ladies, and let
every part of your conversation towards them be marked by
the most refined delicacy. Never speak to the disadvantage
of any absent person, nor hurt the feelings of any person
present. Be very kind to pious poor people, and converse
familiarly with them. Have few intimate friends, and be nice
in the choice of them, and give the preference to those who are
the most eminent in piety, learning and politeness. Consider
manly exercise an important duty in which you may serve
God in preserving your health, and defending you against
liypocondriac affections.
These things are important, but the following things with
others he regarded as of much more importance : Keep your
eye upon the state of your soul, the principles which govern
your conduct and the great realities of eternity. To be a
Christian and to live a Christian is the sum of your happiness
and duty. Never neglect the reading of the Scriptures. Be
attentive to every part of the Bible. Mark the texts which
touch your heart, and while the impressions are fresh prepare
schemes of discourses upon them.
He would have him be very attentive to the study of the
Hebrew language, and the Arabic, Syriac and Chaldaic, to
study carefully the leading religious controversies, to read the
Early Fathers, and the Apostolic Constitutions, to attend par-
ticularly to the purity of his own language and to study to ex-
press his own sentiments with propriety and ease. Labor, said he,
to have clear ideas of things and to acquire the habit of speaking
in a plain, neat, and unaffected stylo, avoiding bombast and vul-
garity. Remember superficial study and writing in youth make
a weak old man. Fill your discourses with useful matter. Go
to the pulpit so possessed of your notes as to be able to speak
with dignity, propriety and ease.
Let the peculiar doctrines of the gospel be your principal
subjects. Do not neglect morality, but see that 3'ou enforce it
chiefly by arguments drawn from redeeming grace. Give faith
292 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
and obedience their due prominence. Acquire command of
your voice, never speak louder than necessary. Consider your
hearers your fellow sinners. Preach to yourself and you will
preach well to others. Be serious and pointed and you will
command attention. If any person treats you in an unbecoming
manner, take no notice of it, but pray for him and treat him
as though nothing occurred. Never give an expression to an
unfavorable report of any one.
These wise and affectionate counsels were not unheeded,
but received ample illustration in the distinguished and useful
life of him to whom they were addressed.
In the meantime he crossed the ocean and joined the divinity
class in the University at Edinburgh. He was honored with
the friendship and esteem of the learned professors and other
distinguished ministers, among whom were Dr. Hunter, the
author of Sacred Biographies, Dr. John Dick, the theologian,
professor Dugald Stuart, the philosopher, and Dr. John Erskine,
the eminent and eloquent preacher, and formed enduring intim-
acies with many of his fellow students.
Edinburgh at that time was a place of literary eminence and
young Mr. Mason was admitted to a society which both excited
and fed the desire for knowledge. He was the guest of a pious
uncle, a merchant and brother of his father.
While thus earnestly engaged in the prosecution of his studies
and in the conflicts with the plague of his own sinful heart, his
father suddenly failed in health, and soon after was called away
by death. This unexpected change made it necessary for him
to terminate his studies abroad at the end of the first year and
to return to New York. He reached home in September and
was licensed by the Associate Reformed Presbytery of Penn-
sylvania in the city of New York, October 18, 1792. From
this time he felt as never before that he was no longer his own,
but the servant of Jesus Christ. His prayer was that "God
would help him to feel the power of his truth upon his own
heart, and as he believed so speak for the Lord Jesus Christ."
The church in which he had been raised, the church of which
his father had been pastor from the time of its organization,
"a father," said he, "such as few have had the happiness of
Rev. John Mitchell Mason, D. D. 293
having," at once sought his services. After supplying them
for a few months, he was unanimously called to be their pastor,
in March, 1793, and was duly ordained and installed in April
1793.
May 13, 1793, he was married to Miss Ann Lefferts, a pious
and cultured young woman of a Reformed Dutch family, in
New York city, which proved in all respects an eminently
happy union, and continued through life, she being his survivor
at the time of his decease. Mrs. Mason is described as " a woman
of sound judgment, cheerful disposition, of refined taste, culti-
vated and pleasing manners. To her good sense and unaffected
piety she added the accomplishments of a cultivated mind,
and a warm heart, and as in all respects equal to the practical
duties of her station."
Mr. Mason now entered upon his grand career as a minister
of the gospel. He filled the position to which he had been
called, with the greatest acceptance and increasing distinction
and usefulness for seventeen years.
The saintly and devoted Mrs. Isabella Graham, a parishioner
of his father, grandmother of Dr. George Bethune, and who
was present at the death of his father, thus wrote: " 1 had the
honor to close his dear eyes, and to shut those dear lips from
whence so many precious truths have proceeded." A letter,
written by her in 1793, to a friend showed the favor with which
the son was received and the high estimation in which he was
held. "Our young Timothy is a perfect champion of the
Gospel of Jesus. The Lord has well girded and largely en-
dowed him. He walks closely with God and speaks and
preaches like a Christian of long experience. He is reckoned
a lad of great talents and an orator, and many, even of the idle
and the careless, go to hear him."
His influence soon extended beyond the circle of his own
people and the boundaries of his own denomination. He took
rank at once with the leading preachei*sof the different branches
of the Protestant church and finally became conspicuous among
the foremost preachers of his age.
In the first year of his ministry, his fast day sermon was re-
quested for publication. It dealt with the nature and preva-
294 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial
lence of public sins, and the obligations of the people under
the moral government of God. Not long after a thanksgiving
sermon was published ; and next to this, his discourse entitled
" Hope for the fleathen, " which was preached before the New
York Missionary Society, soon after its organization.
During the first ten years of his ministry, his church, though
small in numbers when he took charge of it, was increased by
an addition of six hundred members on profession of their faith
and had become one of the strongest evangelical churches of
the city. His success was not due to any mere rhetorical arts
or displays of oratory, but to the able, pointed and faithful
preaching of the Gospel, This rapid growth was made not-
withstanding great strictness and care as to the qualifications
of those admitted.
Near the close of the century his " Letters on Frequent
Communion " appeared, had an extended circulation, and made
a great impression. The practice of the Associate Eeformed
Presbyterian Church, up to that time, had been to administer
the ordinance of the Lord's Supper only once, or at most twice,
in a year, preceded by a day of fasting and followed by one of
thanksgiving. The object of these letters was to bring about
a more frequent celebration of the communion, and with what
the writer regarded greater Scriptural simplicity. The letters
had great influence and were largely instrumental in producing
the desired result.
At the opening of the present century Mr. Mason felt that
the great want of the church in this country was a largely in-
creased supply of well-qualified ministers of the Word. As he
knew from experience the advantages of a thorough theological
education, he was among the foremost to discern the great want
of the times in this respect and became exceedingly anxious not
only that the number of ministers should be increased, but also
that the necessary means for the thorough training of candidates
for the sacred office should be devised and adopted. This led to
his projection of a plan for a theological seminary, which he
submitted to the Synod of the Associate Reformed Church for
its approval. The seminary was to be established by the
Synod and subject to its control. The plan was approved in
1801, and carried into effect in 1804.
Rev. John Mitchell Mason, D. D. 295
Mr. Mason was chosen its first professor, and also appointed
to visit Scotland for the purpose of securing a supply of min-
isters and candidates to meet the present urgent want of newly-
organized and vacant churches, and also to solicit aid in money
and books for the projected theological seminary. On his visit
to Scotland he was received with the most marked cordiality.
The Associate (Bergher) Synod, anticipating the object of his
mission, had appointed a committee to confer with him on his
arrival and to aid him in its accomplishment. By their advice
he repaired at once to the Divinity Hall at Selkirk and laid before
the principal and the students and placed in the hands of the
committee of co-operation a memorial, setting forth with great
clearness and force the vacancies and the prospects of i-apid
growth of the Associate Reformed Church in America, and the
necessity and importance of the ministry of a young and rising
church in anew country being both intelligent and pure. The
ablest ministry, other things being equal, would do most honor-
to the gospel and most good to the souls of men. An illiterate
ministry had always proven detrimental to the peace, purity
and growth of the church. " America," he afterwards wrote,
" is in unspeakable danger of being overrun by declaimers,
whose zeal without knowledge will in the end do more mischief
to the church of Christ than the enmity of open foes." Mr.
Mason was presented to the Associate Synod, at its meeting in
April, 1802, and in his report to his own Synod on his return,
he said, "nothing could exceed the frankness, affection and
zeal with which they manifested their interest in the Associate
Reformed Church of this country and their desire to do all they
could to promote its prosperity."
The matter which was uppermost in interest and importance
in the mind of Mr. Mason — that upon which his heart was
most strongly set, was the matter of founding a theological
seminary which might prove to be a perpetual source of sup-
ply to the churches of America.
During his visit to Scotland, in Edinburgh, Glasgow and
everywhere he went, he made an impression for talent, genius,
eloquence and greatness, which no other American has ever
equaled. Wherever he was announced to preach the people
296 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
flocked after him. His commanding person, his majestic
voice, his solemn sense of his position and his whole demeanor
in the sacred desk, never failed to arrest the attention and raise
1)he expectations of his audience, and to impress all present
that he was indeed an ambassador of Christ, a steward of the
mysteries of God. It was during this visit that he preached in
Edinburgh his famous sermon entitled " Living Faith," and in
London, at the invitation of the London Missionary Society' at
its annual meeting, his sermon entitled " Messiah's Throne."
The meeting was held in Tottenham Court Chapel, on May 13,
1802. There was an audience of five thousand people and
above three hundred ministers. Those who have read this
sermon, and add to it the glow which he gave to it from his
own ardent temper, and the expression given by the wonderful
compass and varied intonations of his splendid voice, are not
surprised at the glowing accounts published as to the effect of
it upon those present.
An incident showing the effect produced, was the impression
made on the great preacher, Kobert Hall, one of the most in-
tellectual and accomplished pulpit orators of his day, who went
forth from that service, " declaring that he would never be able
to preach again." That discourse made Mr. Mason, for the
time, the idol of London. It served to bring him the most im-
portunate invitations from all directions and greatly to advance
the object of his mission. The dignity of his person, the grand-
eur of his conceptions, and the persuasive force of his eloquence,
filled his hearers with rapture. Every feature of his counte-
nance, and the very palor of his face, it is said, gave impres-
siveness to his utterances. His voice sounded out at times
like a trumpet, and then thrilled all within its sound by its
deep, pathetic tones. Never was human eloquence more grand
or effective.
Mr. Mason returned home in the following September, ac-
companied by six ministers, with the view to their settlement
in this country, and with about five thousand dollars in money
and three thousand volumes for the seminary. In October,
when he made his report to the Associate Reformed Synod,
that body declared that his very important mission had been
Rev. John Mitchell Mason, D. D. 297
executed with great fidelity and zeal, and that the dignified and
the liberal reception given to their representative, the serious
attention shown to the interests of the church in this land, and
the number of brethren sent over to become their co-laborers,
entitled them to our highest acknowledgments and deepest
gratitude.
Mr. Mason from this time was over- burdened with work and
correspondence. The seminary went into operation in 1804,
and at once attracted students and attained to a high degree of
respectability. Of it Dr. Mason from the beginning was its
first and chief professor. The whole course of instruction fell
principally upon him.
In 1806 he projected the Christian Magazine, of which he
and Dr. Romeyn were the editors and to which they were the
chief contributors. Dr. Mason's articles, while often of a highly
polemical character, covered a great variety of topics, and show-
ed his familiarity with many departments of human learning.
In 1810 he formed the purpose of establishing a new con-
gregation and erecting a larger and more commodious church
edifice on Murray street. With this view he asked and obtained
a dissolution of his pastoral relation. It was on this occasion
that he delivered the speech which is included in his published
works, assigning the reasons for this movement, which takes
rank with his ablest productions. In this address to the Pres-
bytery, he stated the grounds upon which he made this request
with a power of argument and force of eloquence which it is
thought perhaps he himself never excelled, and paid a tribute
to the memory of his father, which was alike honoring to father
and son.
It was during this interval between his resignation in 1810,
and his entrance into his new house of worship in 1812, that
the infant church to which he ministered, by invitation wor-
shiped in the Presbyterian church in Cedar street of which
Dr. Romeyn was pastor. By reason of the very intimate and
mutually pleasant relations into which the two pastors and
their congregations were brought, a change was produced in
the views and practice of Dr. Mason and his people on the sub-
ject of psalmody and the terms of christian communion, which
Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial
gave much offense to many of his brethren, and were regarded
by them as inconsistent with his obligations to his own denom-
ination. He and his people had not only united with Dr.
Eomeyn and his people in the celebration of the Lord's Sup-
per, but also in the use of what, with the Associate Reformed,
was an unauthorized version of the book of Psalms. This led
to a protracted discussion both in his Presbytery and Synod,
and to the preparation of his "Plea for Sacramental Commun-
ion on Catholic Principles," which appeared some four years
afterwards, and which produced a marked sensation both in
this country and in Scotland. In this treatise he presented a
concise and powerful argument against the practice of exclud-
ing from the communion table members in good standing of
other Evangelical churches and because of such connection.
He took the common ground that " a profession of faith in
Christ and of obedience to His commandments, not discredited
by other traits of character or conduct, entitled an adult to the
privileges of His church." In other words, that the lowest
terms of salvation are the highest terms of Christian commun-
ion. What will take a soul to heaven entitles that soul to the
privileges of the church on earth.
What was remarkable in this connection was that, without
any previous knowledge or concert of action, Robert Hall, of
England, already referred to, was conducting a like argument
with close communion Baptists in Great Britain. The posi-
tions which these two eminent men took, and the thoroughness
of the arguments which they advanced against restricted com-
munion, were so complete and overwhelming, that they have
never since been successfully assailed.
In 1811, he was constrained to accept, in addition to all his
other labors, the office of provost of Columbia College. This
was with him no mere nominal position. He became the act-
ing head of the institution and a daily instructor of its classes.
In 1812, the church edifice on Murray street was completed,
and became the place of his stated and powerful ministrations
to immense and deeply interested congregations. He was now
at the height of his reputation as a preacher. Never did his
transcendent pulpit abilities, says Dr. Sprague, shine more
Rev. John Mitchell Mason, D. D. 299
brightly than during the period in which he preached in Cedar
street, in the church of Dr. Romeyn, and at the time of his en-
trance upon his niinistry in the new edifice on Murray street.
He was then in the meridian of life, but with a face as radi-
ant almost as in youth. His appearance in the pulpit was
most striking and commanding. He was tall and erect in per-
son, with a large, robust frame, had good health and capable
of great exertion and apparently of any amount of endurance.
He had a high and expanded forehead, deep blue eyes, and a
face full of manly frankness and intellectual force, capable of
expressing every varying emotion. His actions were natural
and graceful, full of energy but never wild or extravagant.
His voice was one of great compass and flexibility and under
full control.
As a rearder he greatly excelled. With him correct em-
phasis was sound exposition. His emphasis, tones and modu-
lations of voice gave such expression to the sense of what he
read that his reading was to a good degree the interpretation
of what he read.
His public prayers were scarcely less remarkable than his read-
ing and preaching. They were distinguished for their appropri-
ateness to the times and the circumstances of the audience ; for
their comprehensiveness, their holy Scriptural unction, and for
their great tenderness. They were never didactic but consisted
wholly of adoration, supplications, intercessions and thanks-
giving, the utterances of a soul in reverent, earnest and de-
vout converse with the great Grod and Saviour of men.
The amount of labor which he performed for a series of years
is almost incredible. He seemed to shrink from nothing that
he was called to do, and never thought of overwork. During
five days of each week he was found in his class room in col-
lege conducting recitations from twelve until half-past one, "
and with his theological students in like manner from two
until half-past three, and on Saturdays he devoted an hour and
a half to hearing and criticising their discourses. Thus, at one
and the same time, he was the pastor of a large congregation,
the provost and teacher of an important college, the professor
of a theological seminary, teaching with but little assistance
Prenhyf^ry of Carlisle — Centennial.
the whole range of biblical and theological studies, the con-
ductor of a religious periodical, and carrying on at the same
time several important controversies against vigorous and dis-
tinguished opponents. In addition to all this his hospitable
home was the resort of a large circle of intelligent and pious
friends, and his company was eagerly sought, and he was courted
and/efeo? by the best circles of New York society. His digni-
fied and courteous manners, his genial humor, his ready wit,
his varied knowledge of men and books, and his ample fund
of anecdotes made him the admired and attractive center of
every circle into which he entered. The demands of society
and of a large and extended correspondence, were a constant
draft on his time and strength. Under all these oppressive
burdens of responsibility and labor, for many years, Dr. Mason
was seen "moving majestically forward," unconscious of the
mighty drain that was being made upon his nervous system
and of the undermining process that was going on with respect
to his robust constitution. The physical endurance of his
athletic frame was all the while overtaxed, and a constant gen-
erous diet, in connection with the many entertainments to which
he was invited, only stimulated his powers to more excessive
exertion, and hastened the catastrophe by which he was at
length overtaken.
Professor Benjamin Silleman, in his admirable portrait of
Dr. Mason, in Sprague's Annals, after speaking of the labor
which was added to the weight of his multiplied cares already
borne as a preacher, professor, writer and oracle for advice and
influence, both in religious and secular affairs, by his appoint-
ment as provost of Columbia College, says, " Whether this new
labor added the weight which could no longer be borne, he
could not say, but the impending catastrophe was perceived by
the skilful and sagacious."
His friend, the late distinguished Dr. David Hosack, had
related to him that he had met Dr. Mason coming from the
college buildings and saw from the livid hue and turgid con-
dition of the blood vessels of his face and head his imminent
danger. So great was his apprehension, that his first impulse
was to draw his lancet and ask to relieve him of the pressure
Rev. John Mitchell Mason, D D. 301
upon the brain, but he was restrained by his sense of medical
etiquette and his fear of being thought officious and an alarmist
without cause, and allowed the threatened sage to pass on his
way. In 1816 his health so far gave way that he felt obliged
to resign his connection with the college, and seek rest and
recreation in a trip to Europe. He went abroad, visited the
Continent, traveled extensively in France, Italy and Switzerland
had great advantages and much enjoyment in his journey, re-
ceived many tokens of public favor, formed many new friend-
ships and renewed and strengthened old ones, returned home
after a year's absence, and resumed his accustomed labors in
connection with his pastoral charge and theological seminary,
in the hope that his strength was so far restored that he could
do so without interruption. But it soon became apparent that
his constitution had been effectually undermined by the ex-
cessive labors of previous years. In the summer and fall of
1819, he had two slight attacks of paralysis. He struggled on
and sought to recover his shattered strength. But all his efforts
were in vain. This was the beginning of the end. He was
obliged to write out and read his discourses, because of a failure
of memory. In 1820, he broke more completely down and
said, with great emotion, amid a flood of tears ; " the hand of
the Lord was upon him." His people desired, if possible, to
retain him, but on October 25, 1821, his pastoral relation was
dissolved, and his great career as a preacher came to an un-
timely end. He was the premature victim of overwork.
He had been previously invited to the presidency of Dick-
inson College, but had declined that invitation as he had other
similar invitations to different institutions. Now that the posi-
tion was again vacant, the invitation was renewed. To this he
wrote his acceptance, adding, " It will employ me usefully in
a work to which I find my.self adequate." In December, 1821,
he removed with his family to Carlisle, Pa. The college which
had been in a depressed condition at once revived. His great
reputation attracted students from all parts of the country.
A number accompanied him from New York. He selected an
able faculty and hoped to spend tlie remainder of his days
usefully in connection with this institution. But after a few
302 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
months of encouraging labor, he was overtaken by severe
afflictions. By means of a fall he fractured the neck of his
thigh bone which laid him up for a long time and subjected
him to much suffering. This was soon followed by other still
severer afflictions. A beloved daughter, Mrs. Van Vechten,
was called away by death. Afterwards his son, James Hall,
a young man of great promise, was suddenly seized by a fever
and sank under it. On both occasions, writes Dr. Sprague,
" he discovered great sensibility, qualified however by the
actings of a sublime faith." It was on the occasion of the fu-
neral of this son that a touching incident took place described
already in these sketches, which made a deep and lasting im-
pression upon all present. He was opposed to funeral addresses,
as leading to fulsome eulogy of the deceased. But when the
young men came forward to lift the coffin, his feelings overcame
him, and in tones which those present could never forget, he ex-
claimed, " young men tread lightly, ye bear a temple of the
Holy Ghost," then dropping his head upon the shoulder of his
friend. Dr. McCartee, who had come on from New York to
attend the funeral, he said, " Dear Mc, say something which
God may bless to his 3^oung friends." The doctor made an
address. The students of the college were deeply impressed.
A gracious revival of religion ensued, which pervaded the col-
lege and extended to the town, among the subjects of which were
two brothers of the deceased young man, Ebenzer and Erskine
Mason. His removal to Carlisle seemed like a beneficent
Providence. It proved to be, as has been said, " the twilight
of a bright and radiant day, the closing service of a life of
unwonted energy, and usefulness."
In the fall of 1824, Dr. Mason tendered his resignation as
president of the college and returned to New York, to spend
the remainder of his life in retirement among his friends. For
some time he enjoyed reasonable bodily health, but was cap-
able of only a moderate degree of intellectual exertion. There
had been from the time of his paralytic affection, a gradual
decline of bodily and mental vigor. And during all this later
period of retirement there was a steady verging toward a state
of comparative mental imbecility. He however attended stat-
Rev. John Mitchell Mason, D. D. 303
edly upon the public worship of Grod under the ministry of
his successor, the Rev. William D. Snodgrass, and uniformly
conducted the worship of his own family up to the close of
his life.
Dr. Mason's transcendent pulpit talents and the wonderful
facility which he acquired for extemporaneous speaking during
his connection with the Edinburgh University, as a member of
the theological society, gave him great advantages on special
as well as ordinary occasions, as a preacher. His mode of
preparation was to write the introduction and application of
his sermons with great care and commit them to memory. For
the body of his discourses he made as full analysis of the text
or of the subject as his time would permit, leaving the language
in which the thoughts should be clothed, to the inspiration of
the moment. This was his method of preparation at the time
of his first visit to Scotland and London as a minister, in 1802.
It was in this way that his famous sermon, Messiah's Throne,
which he preached before the London Missionary Society and
those he preached in Scotland, which made so great an impres-
sion, were prepared. Those that were published were written
out in full after their delivery. During the busiest part of his life,
his numerous pressing duties did not allow him time even for this
kind of preparation. After his two paralytic attacks, because
of failure of memory, to his great mortification, he was obliged
to write out his discourses and read them from the pulpit Most
of his published discourses were the production of the first ten
or twelve years of his ministry. His theological and exegeti-
cal and expository lectures, and the gi'eater part of his preach-
ing was extemporaneous, and, on this account, failed to be pre-
served. Dr. Mason, perhaps more frequently than most min-
isters preached on the questions of the day or some great sub-
ject that was absorbing the public mind. Generally, however,
his themes were evangelical, and upon no subjects did he preacli
with such earnestness, pathos and effect, as upon those con-
nected with the very marrow of the Gospel. The cross of
Christ, and the various bearings of that great central truth, con-
stituted the staple of his preaching. He was always careful to
expound the truths embodied in tlie text, and to defend them
304 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
against the objections of gainsayers. With masterly analysis
of his subject and his logical arguments in the establishment
of his positions, he combined an evangelical warmth and spir-
itual unction, which made him very tender and impressive as
an earnest preacher of the gospel. His themes on communion
seasons were uniformly both as to topic and treatment, con-
nected with the person and work of Christ, and were presented
with great force and often with the deepest emotion.
His most elaborate productions are his orations on the death
of Washingion and Alexander Hamilton, and his sermons en-
titled, " To the Poor the Gospel is Preached," "Living Faith,"
"Pardon of Sin by the Blood of Jesus," "Messiah's Throne,"
and the funeral discourse of Mrs. Isabella Graham. There
were others, of which nothing has been preserved, but which,
according to the testimony of most competent witnesses, made
equally as great an impression at the time of their delivery as
any of these. Dr. Sprague heard him on the evening of No-
vember 2, 1817, on his return from Europe, preach to an im-
mense congregation from the text, " My meat is to do the will
of Him that sent me," and never had he heard him preach
with equal force or effect The two discourses which he re-
peated in various places, most frequently and always with the
greatest effect, were " Messiah's Throne," and " To the Poor the
Gospel is Preached." Dr. Spring thus describes the effect pro-
duced by the latter discourse in Nosv Haven, where Dr. Mason
preached it in 1808 : " The sun had just risen when crowds of
men were seen pouring into the house of God. There were
ministers of the gospel, both the aged and young, learned pro-
fessors, reflecting judges of the law and lawyers in their pride
were there. There were Senators and men of learning from
every part of the land. There sat the venerable Dwight and
not less venerable Backus, melted into a flood of tears. That
vast audience which seemed at first only to listen with interest,
and then gaze with admiration, with few exceptions, covered
their faces and wept." It was the hearing of this sermon that
led Gardner Spring to abandon the profession of the law and
enter the christian ministry.
As great as was Dr. Mason as a preacher, he was no less emi-
Rev. John Mitchell Mason, D. D. 305
nent and successful as a theological instructor. His students
left the seminary with the most profound admiration and rev-
erence for his talents, learning, piety and eloquence. He had
a course in ethics and theology, in exegetical and expository
lectures on the epistles of the New Testament and an outline
in ecclesiastical history, together with a thorough drill in the
Hebrew and Greek of the Old and New Testaments. The
Bible was the great text-book of the seminary. His masterly
powers of analysis and his deep insight into the meaning of scrip-
ture, came out most conspicuously in the study of the argu-
mentative epistles of the N ew Testament. This was his favorite
department. His aim was to make the students " mighty in
the scriptures,' and this, he was careful to impress upon them,
could only be attained as the result of laborious, persevering
and prayerful study.
It was charged that Dr. Mason had perhaps encouraged in
his students certain habits of thought or study which after-
wards led them to think of themselves more highly than they
ought to think and to regard with disfavor and even contempt
long received and established formulas of doctrines. This may
have arisen from a practice which he had of saying to his stu-
dents, " young gentlemen think, and prove your answer. Don't
go round a thing but drive straight into it; investigate for your-
selves ; don't take things at second hand ;" and from the fact
that some of his students did stray from the " old paths," con-
spicuously among these his nephew, John Mason Duncan and
George Duffield. But his friends repudiated this charge, and
alleged that no man was more quick to detect or more prompt
to condemn such departures. He was wont to say, " that new
light is in most cases only a second edition of old darkness."
His opinions were firmly those of the old orthodox school as
set forth in the Westminster Confession of Faith and Cate-
chisms, which he considered the best defined and most com-
prehensive summary of divine truth ever produced.
Dr. Mason was scarcely less distinguished as a controversial-
ist He did not love controversy for its own sake. It was gen-
erally forced upon him. He recognized his solemn obligation
to stand up for the truth of God when it was assailed. As to
Presbytery of Carlisle — Continued.
his corltroversy on Episcopacy, as in regard to the other two to
which reference has already been made, as he wrote in a letter
to a friend, " It was impossible to avoid it. The press teemed,
the pulpit resounded with excommunications of all non-Epis-
copal churches, declaring them to be without a ministry, sac-
raments and ordinances, and their members to have no other
hope of salvation than what was founded upon the uncove-
nanted mercies of God." It was under such circumstances
that he deemed it his duty to take up the matter, almost single-
handed, against several opponents, among whom was Rev. John
Henry Hobart, the assistant rector of Trinity church and sub-
sequently bishop of New York.
He issued a series of essays on Episcopacy in the Christian
Magazine., of which he was the editor, which, as one has said,
" for scholarly research, for keen analysis and logical power,
for fair statement of an adversary's positions and manly argu-
ment in overthrowing them, for clearness, vivacity and vigor
of expression, with witty and humorous flashes constantly
lighting up and giving point to his argument, which is con-
ducted with good temper and taste throughout, have no parallel
in the religious controversial writings of this country." These
essays produced a profound impression at the time and silenced
those arrogant claims for that generation. No abler argument
is anywhere to be found for the validity of Presbyterian or-
dination and in regard to the full scriptural warrant for min-
isterial parity.
A noted incident in the life of Dr. Mason, was the most
solemn and tender interview which he had with that greatest
of American statesmen, Alexander Hamilton, after his duel
with Aaron Burr, when he had returned from the field mortally
wounded. This sad calamity produced a feeling of conster-
nation throughout the country. No one was more deeply
affected by the appalling event than Dr. Mason, who was an
intimate friend and most ardent admirer of Mr. Hamilton.
Shortly after his return to the city Dr. Mason received a note
from Mr. Hamilton, through his physician, expressing a partic-
ular desire to see him. The dignified and tender exchange of
melancholy salutations between those two great men, on his
Rev. John Mitchell Mason, D. D. 307
entering the General's apartment, and the courteous declinature
of Dr. Mason to administer the sacrament to Mr. Hamilton, at his
request, as incompatible with the rules of his church, were most
impressive. " The absence of the sign of the mercies which the
Son of God had purchased," he added, ''did not exclude from
these mercies, of which the holy conmiunion was an exhibi-
tion and pledge, which were accessible to him by faith in their
gracious author." Hamilton replied, "that he was aware of
that, but that it was only as a sign that he wanted it." After
a short pause, Dr. Mason went on to say that " he had nothing
to address to him in his affliction but that same gospel of the
grace of God which it was his office to preach to the most ob-
scure and illiterate ; that in the sight of God all men are on a
level, and that they must apply to Him for pardon and life
as sinners, whose only refuge is in his grace, reigning by right-
eousness, through our Lord Jesus Christ." Hamilton's reply
was, " I perceive it to be so, I am a sinner, I look to his mercy."
Dr. Mason then presented the infinite merits of Christ as our
liedeemer, propitiation for sin, the sole ground of our accep-
tance with God, and cited those familiar passages of the scrip-
tures which go to assure His acceptance of all who come to
Him in penitence and faith ; especially that " He is able to save
to the uttermost," and " that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth
from all sin." "The precious blood of Christ, he said, was as
effectual and necessary to wash away the sin which had in-
volved him in this suffering as any other." Mr. Hamilton as-
sented with strong emotion to these declarations and expressed
his abhorrence of the whole transaction. He added, " that it
was always against his principles. He had used everv expe-
dient to avoid it, and had gone to the field, determined not to
take the life of him who was seeking his." He repeated his
anguish of mind in relation to what had passed, and, clasping
his two hands together and looking u]) toward heaven, he said
with emphasis, " I have a tender reliance on the mercy of the
Almighty through the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ" After
Dr. Mason had repeated other passages of scripture, Mr. Ham-
ilton said to him, "pray for me." The Doctor prayed for him,
and he audibly joined with him, and at the close said, " Amen,
308 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
God grant it.'' The next day at 2 p. m., he died. On the last
day of that month, November 31, 1804, Dr. Mason pronounced
his "Oration Commemorative of the Late General Alexander
Hamilton, before the New York State Society of Cincinnati."
This oration and the one he delivered four years before on the
death of Washington, showed his marked qualifications for
such a service. " For nice and truthful delineation of charac-
ter, for familiarity with our system of government, for lofty
christian patriotism, for direct and earnest inculcation of sound
moral principles, for bold exposure of popular fallacies, for
occasional touches of tenderness and pathos all conveyed in
language chaste and elegant as it is forcible and expressive,
these orations compare favorably with the best that these great
occasions elicited."
In conclusion, upon full survey of Dr. Mason as a man, a
preacher, professor, college officer and controversialist, for com-
bination of commanding talents and natural and expressive
utterance, for boldness of conception and profundity of thought,
for strong and tender emotions, and evangelical richness and
unction, for profound learning and thorough culture, for dig-
nified and refined manners and for strength of character and
humble and persistent piety, he must always rank with the
greatest preachers of modern times.
Dr. Mason transferred his relation from the Associate Re-
formed church to the Presbyterian church, and became a mem-
ber of the Presbytery- of New York in 1822, at the time of the
union between the General Synod of the Associate Reformed
church and the General Assembly of the Presbyterian church.
Dr. Mason was the father of seven children, five sons and
two daughters, all of whom lived to maturity and became
members of the church. Four of his sons received a collegiate
education, one entered the legal profession and became a judge,
two became preachers of the gospel, one, a young man of good
promise, died soon after graduation, and the other one became
a merchant in the city of New York. Both daughters mar-
ried ministers of the gospel. The eldest married the Rev.
John Knox, D. D., father of the Rev. James Hall Mason Knox,
D. D., president of Lafayette College. The younger married
the Rev. Jacob Van Vechten, D. D.
SKETCHES
More Distingdished Laymen of the Past
Within the bounds of
THE PRESBYTERY OF CARLISLE.
Hy Drs. VANCK and NURCROSS.
"A man will turn over half a library to make one
book . ' ' — Samuel yohnson.
"Me write a book!" said he; "I've mair sense.
You'll find that you're sure to hae trampit on some-
body's tender corns." — Bits from Blinkhonny.
" I have but marked the place,
But half the secret told.
That, following this slight trace.
Others may find the gold."
— Longfell(m).
Prefatory Note. 31 i
PREFATORY NOTE.
jOUBTLESS many readers will think that some very
important characters have been overlooked in the
preparation of these sketches, and possibly they
will feel that a few names have been inserted which
have little or no claim to such a distinction. We can only
say that we may have erred in our choice of persons to be thus
honored ; but the nesessity of a selection was inevitable. We
do not conceal the fact that other names have occurred to us,
which we gladly would have placed on our list of Distinguished
Laymen, but the space which was left us would not allow their
mention. It is some comfort to know that if they are truly
distinguished, we have not detracted from their fame, though
we may have been silent respecting it.
In the early settlement of this region every man was a hero.
The peril was so great that only a brave and hardy race of
people would have dared to do picket duty along the ragged
edge of the frontier settlements, under the shadows of the prim-
eval forests and across the war-paths of a savage race, who
began to feel that they would be crowded from the hunting
grounds of their fathers. To print a complete merit-roll of
these early heroes in a single chapter is an impossibility.
Nothing could have been more trying than the position of
our Presbyterian ancestors in this region, during the early In-
dian wars. Living under the constant menace of their mur-
derous enemies, misunderstood and misrepresented by their fel-
low colonists, lectured by the Proprietaries, and left to their
cruel fate by the Colonial Assembly, their position was one of
peculiar exasperation, and even to this day their c/escendants
cannot review the story of those times without an indignant
sense of injustice.
But there came a time when even " the serene obstinacy " of
the Quaker, and the stolid auathv of the Mennonite, the noble
312 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
prejudices of the Moravian, and the tory proclivities of the
Churchman, were all either swept aside by the whirlwind of
popular indignation at British oppression, or kindled into a
glorious flame of patriotism by the conspicuous example of the
fighting Presbyterians, whether found among the sturdy Puri-
tans of New England, or the men of Ulster, who had seUled
the rich valleys of Central Pennsylvania.
As this section of the Centennial Memorial is the only one
that deals even remotely with the secular side of history, we
have thought it proper to introduce some characters who were
not even members of our church, but who were certainly of the
same stock of people, and quite willing to do and dare for those
principles of liberty so dear to the Presbyterian heart. Some
. of them may not have been very devout, but they were willing
to fight while others prayed for the establishment of a free
State and a free Church.
We had hoped to find room to mention more of those heroes
who risked their lives to suppress the great Rebellion. Happily
many of them are still with us, not having as yet joined " the
great majority." May they long be spared to enjoy the herit-
age for which they risked so much.
G. N.
Carlisle, June 2, 1890.
Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial. 313
DISTINGUISHED LAYMEN.
By Drs. Vance and Norcross.
Qren. John Armstrong, Sr.
ENERAL John Armstrong, Sr., was born in Ireland
in 1720. Came to Carlisle in 1748. Was a sur-
veyor, a Justice of the peace and colonel of the
battalion of provincial troops west of the Susque-
hanna. It has been asserted that he laid out the borough of
Carlisle in 1750. This seems to be a mistake, but it is matter
of record that he made a re-survey of the place a few years later.
In August, 1756, he led an expedition against the Indians and
accomplished their defeat at Kittanning. In 1758 he was with
his command in the expedition of General Forbes, in which
Fort Du Quense was taken and the French power west of the
Alleghenies was broken.
March 1, 1776, he was commissioned a brigadier general of
the Continental Army. In 1777, as major general, was in com-
mand of Pennsylvania troops at the battle of Brandywine.
He was a member of Congress from 1778-80 and 1787-89.
As a ruling elder of the church in Carlisle he was frequently
a member of church courts. His tombstone in the old ceme-
tery in Carlisle bears the following inscription : " Eminently
distinguished for patriotism, valor and piety, he departed this
life, March 9th, 1795, aged 75 years."
Hon. James "Wilson.
Hon. James Wilson, a signer of the Declaration of Inde-
pentlence, was born in Scotland in 1742. Educated in Edin-
burgh. Came to this country in 1766. Studied law in Phila-
delphia with John Dickinson, and began the practice in Carlisle.
Was a trustee of the First Presbyterian Church in 1773. Was
a member of the Provincial Convention of 1774. Elected to
Congress in 1775, he earnestly advocated the cause of inde-
314 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
pendence and signed the Declaration in 1776. In the Connec
ticut controversy he defended and secured the interests of
Pennsylvania. Was Advocate General for France in this coun-
try from 1779 to 1783. In 1778 he removed to Philadelphia.
In 1782 he was re-elected to Congress. In 1787 he was a mem-
ber of the Convention which formed the Constitution of the
United States and chairman of the committee which reported
it to the Convention. The historian, John Bach McMaster,
says, " Of the fifty-five delegates he was undoubtedly the best
prepared, by deep and systematic study of the history and
science of government, for the work that lay before him."*
In 1789 President Washington appointed him a Justice of
the Supreme Court of the United States. In 1790 he was the
first professor of law in the college of Philadelphia and deliv-
ered lectures which were published by his son in 1803-1804.
While holding a district court at Edenton, N. C, he was
taken suddenly ill and died there August 28, 1798.
Hon. James Smith.
This signer of the Declaration of Independence was born in
Ireland about 1719. He made it a point of honor never to tell
his exact age. In 1743 he came with his father to this country
and settled on a farm near Shippensburg, Pa. The father se-
lected his son James to be the recipient of a classical education,
which he received at the University of Pennsylvania then under
the supervision of Rev. Dr. Francis Alison. Be studied law
at Lancaster and returned to Shippensburg, then the court-town
of Cumberland county, as a lawyer and surveyor. Soon after-
wards he removed to York, Pa.
He was a member of the first Provincial Convention in 1774.
On his return home he raised one of the first military companies,
and was appointed colonel of the regiment to which it was at-
tached. His essay on the " Constitutional Powers of Great
Britain over the Colonies of America" gave a powerful impulse
to the Revolution. He was a member of the Provincial Con-
vention of January, 1775, and in July, 1776, a member of the
* History People CJnited States, Vol. I, 421.
Hon. James Smith. 815
State Constitutional Convention. A few days after taking his
seat he was chosen a member of Congress and signed the Dechi-
ration of Independence made on July 4th. When Congress
held its sessions in York the Board of War occupied his law
office.
In Alexander Graydon's " Memoirs of His Own Times, etc.,"
there is a very whimsical account of Smith's wit, which he de-
clares was " an original species of drollery," consisting " more
in the manner than the matter," but in effect " irresistibly com-
ical." In the same connection some amusing specimens of his
waggery are reported.* We can only give one illustration :
" With a sufl[iciency of various reading to furnish him with
materials for ridiculous allusions and incongruous combinations,
he never was so successful as when he could find a learned
pedant to play upon, and of all men Judge Stedman, when
mellow, was best calculated for his butt. The Judge was a
Scotchman, a man of reading and erudition, though extremely
magisterial and dogmatical in his cups. This it was which gave
point to the humor of Smith, who, as if desirous of coming in
for his share of the glory, while Stedman was in full display of
his historical knowledge, never failed to set him raving by some
monstrous anachronism, such, for instance, as " don't you re-
member, Mr. Stedman, that terrible bloody battle which Alex-
ander the Great fought with the Russians near the Straits of
Bab-el-Mandel ?" " What, sir," said Stedman, repeating with
most ineffable contempt, •' which Alexander the Great fought
with the Russians? Where, mon, did you get your chro-
nology ?" " I think you will find it recorded, Mr. Stedman, in
Thucydides or Herodotus." The disgust of the Judge can
easily be imagined.
Mr. Smith died in York, Pa., July 11, 1806, at a very ad-
vanced age and his remains lie buried in the graveyard of the
English Presbyterian church of that place.
•Duycklnck'8 Cyclopedia of American Lit. Vol. 1, 355.
316 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
Ool. John Montgomery.
One of the most marked men of Carlisle in the last century
was " John Montgomery, gentleman." His name may be found
on some of the earliest records of the town. He was born July
6, 1722, in the north of Ireland, of Scotch parentage, and he died
September 8, 1808, at Carlisle. He came to America about
1740, and engaged in mercantile pursuits. He is supposed to
have settled at Carlisle about the time it was laid out. He
served as one of the early justices of the county. He was a
captain in Forbes' expedition in 1758, his commission in the
Third Pennsylvania battalion bearing date May 7th of that
year. He was an elder of the First Presbyterian church, Car-
lisle, and he was chairman of the celebrated meeting held in that
church July 12, 1774, to protest against British aggression.
This meeting appointed delegates to a provincial convention
which was to concert measures preparatory to a general Con-
gress. He was chairman of the committee of observation for
Cumberland county in 1774. He was a member of the Com-
mittee of Safety for the Province. This was a committee of
twenty-five men from different parts of the Province which sat
permanently in Philadelphia from July 3, 1775, to July 22,
1776. During that period it had the management of the entire
military affairs of the Province. He was appointed by the Con-
gress one of the commissioners to hold a treaty with the Indians
at Fort Pitt in July, 1776. During this year we find him men-
tioned as colonel of one of the two regiments from Cumberland
county in the Flying Camp, and he was colonel of a battalion
of associators in the Jersey campaign of 1777. In 1781 he was
a member of the Legislature, and he was elected by the Ceneral
Assembly to the Continental Congress in 1782 and 1783. He
was one of the burgesses of Carlisle in 1787, and commissioned
an associate judge of Cumberland county in 1794.
Perhaps no one in the community was more efficient in the
founding of Dickinson College. He was a trustee of the gram-
mar school out of which the college grew and a member of the
first board of trustees of the chartered college. We find this
record in Kline's Carlisle Gazette, " He was one of the first
Col. Joseph Armstrong. 317
founders and zealous supporters of Dickinson College, laid the
first stone of the new building Thursday, June 20, 1799." He
was the father-in-law of Robert Davidson, D. D., for nearly thirty
years the pastor of the First Presbyterian church of Carlisle,
and vice president of Dickinson College.
Col. Joseph Armstrong.
Among the early settlers in Hamilton township, Franklin
county we find honorable mention made of Joseph Armstrong.
In 1755 he organized a company of rangers for the protection
of the frontier against the incursions of the Indians. The roll
of the men who composed this company may be found in Mc-
Cauley's History of Franklin county. They number sixty-eight
men and as the same family name is frequantly repeated it is
probable that all the available men in some families were enlisted
in this company of rangers.
Joseph Armstrong was a member of the Colonial Assembly
in 1756-57-58. He commanded a company of militia at the
destruction of the Indian town of Kittanning, on the 8th of
September, 1756. He was paymaster of the Colony in the build-
ing of the great road from Fort Loudon to Pittsburgh, and when
the struggle of the Revolution came he raised a battalion of
troops in the county of Cumberland and marched, December.
1776, to the defense of Philadelphia. McCauley says, "this
battalion was raised in Hamilton, Letterkenny and Lurgan
townships, and tradition says that they were the flower of the
Yalley, brave, hardy and resolute Presbyterians, nearly all mem-
bers of the old Rocky Spring church."
This hero of many a hard-fought field lived to an advanced
age. His home was in the neighborhood of Fort Loudon and
his remains now rest in the old graveyard at Rocky Spring
under a massive and time-worn tomb, on which is inscribed, with
impressive simplicity, the honored name of Joseph Arm-
strong.
318 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centenrdal
G-en. John Armstrong, Jr.
General John Armstrong, Jr., was a son of the Hero of Kit-
tanning, and was born in Carlisle November 25, 1758. He was
educated at Newburg Academy and Princeton College, and at
the age of eighteen became aid-de-camp to Hugh Mercer, and
was with that gallant officer when he fell mortally wounded at
the battle of Princeton in 1777.
About this time he attracted the favorable regard of General
Gates and on his invitation became a member of his staff with
the rank of major. He was the author of the famous " New-
burg Addresses," which gave expression to the discontent of the
army because of their arrearages of pay.
When the army was disbanded, Armstrong returned to Car-
lisle and was made Secretary of State and soon afterwards Ad-
jutant General of Pennsylvania. In 1789 he married a sister
of Chancellor Livingston, of New York, and removed to that
state, settling on a farm in the old Livingston manor. Here
for some years he devoted himself to agriculture and literary
pursuits, but in 1800 he was elected to the United States Sen-
ate. Before his term had expired President Jefferson appointed
him minister to France. He also served at the same time as
minister to Spain. His mission abroad closed at his own request
in 1810.
In the war of 1812 he was at first a brigadier general in com-
mand of the district of New York, but in 1813 President Mad-
ison appointed him Secretary of War. From the first he dis-
trusted the abilities of the leading generals in command of the
army and seems to have lacked their hearty co-operation.
Finally, when the city of Washington was captured and burned,
he was greatly blamed but probably without justice, as he had
not approved of the appointment of General Winder, who had
the command of that department. His disagreement with Presi-
dent Madison on this subject induced his resignation in Sep-
tember, 1814.
His later years were devoted to literary work. He published
a History of the War of 1812, a Review of General Wilkinson's
Memoirs, and some Treatises On Farming and Gardening. He
Col Ephraim Blaine. 319
is said to have begun a History of the American Eevolution,
which was left incomplete at the time of his death. He died
at Red Hook, N. Y., April 1, 1843. A daughter of his became
the wife of William B. Astor of New York.
Col. Ephraim Blaine.
This ancestor of a distinguished name was born in Carlisle
in 1741. He owned a large estate at Middlesex, Cumberland
county. At the outbreak of the Revolution he was made
colonel of a battalion, and soon afterwards was transferred to
the quartermaster's department of the army. In 1778 he was
promoted to the position of commissary general of the northern
department and served in that capacity through the whole war.
It was oftentimes due to his great energy, and the means which
he had the personal influence to command, that the patriot army
was kept from actual want ; especially was this true during the
dark winter at Valley Forge. In January, 1780, the Supreme
Executive Council of Pennsylvania drew a single warrant in his
favor for one million dollars to reimburse him for advances which
his own exertions and his own means had provided. After the
war he returned to his estate near Carlisle and died, February 16
1804. The Hon. James G. Blaine, of Maine, is his great-grandson.
Major Ebenezer Denny.
The subject of this sketch was the son of Captain William Den-
ny who was killed at the battle of "Crooked Billet" in 1778.
Major Denny was born in Carlisle, March 11, 1761, He was
an ensign of the First Pennsylvania regiment in the army of
the Revolution. On the surrender at Yorktown, Va., in 1781,
he was selected to plant the American flag on the parapet,
though a ranking officer snatched from him the honor.
In 1785 he was adjutant of the First United States Infantry.
In 1788 he was acting adjutant general on the staff of General
Harmar, commander-in-chief of the army on the northwestern
frontier. In 1794 he commanded an expedition to Le Boeuf.
In 1795 he settled on a farm near Pittsburgh, was commissioner
and treasurer of the county, and in 1816 he was made the first
mayor of Pittsburgh.
320 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
He acquired great wealth and was universally respected and
honored. He died July 21, 1822. The wife of the Rev. Dr.
William M. Paxton, professor in the theological seminary of
Princeton, N. J., is his granddaughter.
Gten. "William Irvine.
General William Irvine was born at Fermanagh, Ireland,
November 3, 1741. He graduated at the university of Dublin,
and studied medicine. He served as a surgeon in the Navy
during part of the war between Great Britain and France. In
1763 he came to this country and the next year he settled in
Carlisle. Here, for ten years, he practiced his profession, but
after this his life was spent in the service of his country.
He was a member of the Provincial Convention which met
in Philadelphia, July 15, 1774. In January, 1776, he was
made colonel of the Sixth battalion of Pennsylvania troops and
ordered to Canada to join in the campaign with General Thomp-
ison also of Carlisle. In the battle of Three Rivers, June, 1776,
he was taken prisoner and held till May 6, 1778.
Resuming command of his regiment in July 1778 he was a
member of the court martial which tried General Charles Lee.
In May. 1779, he was made brigadier general and assigned to
the Second Brigade of the Pennsylvania Line. In 1781 he was
ordered to Pittsburgh to defend the northwestern frontier
against British and Indian invasion. Here he displayed great
ability in manipulating the discordant elements among our own
people and holding in check the hostile savages and their cruel
instigators. On the disbanding of the troops in 1783 he left
the army and returned to his home in Carlisle.
From 1787 to 1789 and from 1793 to 1795 he was a member
of Congress. In 1794 he was placed in command of the Penn-
sylvania troops to quell the "Whisky Insurrection" in the
western counties of the State. Here his wise firmness, cool
judgment and great executive ability enabled him to gain a
bloodless victory.
In 1801 he was appointed superintendent of military stores
in Philadelphia and removed to that city where he died July
30, 1804.
Gm. William Thompson. 321
Captain Andrew Irvine, of Wayne's brigade, and Dr. Mat-
thew Irvioe, of Lee's Legion, were his brothers. General Cal-
lender Irvine, Colonel W. N. Irvine, of the Forty -second In-
fantry, and Captain Armstrong Irvine, of the Fourth Rifles
United States Army, were his sons,
Ghen. William Thompson.
The commander of the First regiment of Pennsylvania troops
to enter the war of the Revolution was General William Thomp-
son, a surveyor and a justice of the peace, who lived on a farm
near Carlisle. May 4, 1758, he was commissioned captain of a
troop of light horse cavalry, and in 1759-60 served in the cam-
paigns against the Indians. He was a trustee of Rev. John Steel's
church. He was engaged in settling the western boundary of
Pennsylvania. In 1774 he was delegated by his brother officei-s
to locate the lands given by the king to the officers who served
in the French war. This work was done but he received nothing,
because he would not take the oath of allegiance to the king.
He was commissioned colonel of the First battalion of Pennsyl-
vania Riflemen June 25, 1775. Edward Hand, of Lancaster
county, was lieutenant colonel, and Robert Magaw, of Carlisle,
major. In August, 1775, they reached the seat of war in New
England.
March 1, 1776, he was made a brigadier general. In the
expedition to Canada he was taken prisoner at the battle of
Three Rivers and was held as a prisoner of war until 1780. He
died September 3, 1781, aged forty-five, and is buried in the
old cemetery at Carlisle.
Oren. James Potter.
The subject of this sketch was a son of Captain John Potter,
the first sheriff of Cumberland county, which was organized in
1750. He was born in Ireland in 1729, came with his father
to this country and settled near Shippensburg in 1741. He
was educated at Dr. Francis Alison's school, New London, Pa.,
and became a farmer.
As an ensign he was with his father's company in General
Armstrong's expedition to Kittanning and in the battle was
21*
Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
wounded. In 1763 he was appointed major and afterwards
lieutenant colonel of Provincial troops. He removed to Penn's
Valley, Centre county, in 1772. In 1775 he was commissioned
a colonel, and in 1777 a brigadier general. He served through
the whole war. In 1782 he was made a major general and in
1784 a member of the Board of Censors. He died in 1789,
leaving a large estate. Was buried near Marion, Franklin
county. Ex-Governor A. G. Curtin is his great-grandson.
Col. Benjamin Chambers.
The subject of this sketch was a native of county Antrim,
Ireland. Neither the place nor the exact date of his birth is
known. He was, however, very young when he landed with
his three brothers, James, Robert and Joseph, in Philadelphia,
about the year 1726. Their first settlement was at the mouth
of Fishing Creek in Dauphin county. Subsequently, attracted
by the fine country beyond the Susquehanna, they explored the
Cumberland Valley. James made a settlement at the head of
Green Spring near Newville ; Robert at the head of Middle
Spring, near Shippensburg, and Joseph and Benjamin at the
confluence of Falling Spring and Conococheague Creeks, where
Chambersburg is now situated. This was about the year 1730.*
By an arrangement among the brothers Joseph returned to their
property at the mouth of Fishing Creek, and Benjamin, the
younger brother, then probably about twenty-one years of age,
improved his settlement at the Falling Spring. Here he built
his log cabin, which he covered with lapped shingles fastened
with nails. But this advance upon the ordinary style of hold-
ing the roof down by round logs proved too much for the
cupidity of an unprincipled hunter who, in the absence of Mr.
Chambers, burnt his house to secure the nails, which, at that
day, in this wild region, were esteemed no ordinary prize.
On the 30th of March, 1734, Thomas Blunston, the agent of
the proprietaries, gave Benjamin Chambers a license " to take
and settle and improve four hundred acres of land at the Fall-
ing Spring mouth, and on both sides of the Conococheague
* Kevin's Men of Mark, page 53.
Gen. James Chambers. 323
Creek, for the convenience of a grist mill and plantation."*
Such grants were made in order to fill up the valley as speedily
as possible with those taking title from the Penns to prevent
the encroachment of settlers under Maryland rights who were
creeping to far north to suit the views of the Pennsylvania
authorities.
At first the Indians were friendly, but when they became
hostile he built a stone fort enclosed with a high stockade and
a trench tilled with water from the Falling Spring. On this
fortification he mounted two four-pound iron cannon, and pro-
curing a plentiful supply of rifles and other small arms, he was
allowed to remain with his family in security during all this
dark and bloody period.
In 1764 he laid out the town of Chambersburg. In his ad-
vertisement in the Gazette printed at Philadelphia, he says that
the new town is " situated in a well-timbered part of the coun-
try.," This statement contradicts a traditionary report that when
the first settlements were made in this valley it was a prairie
country, destitute of timber except along the streams.
Colonel Chambers was a Presbyterian of unswerving faith
and principle. That there was a touch of poetry in his com-
position is manifest from the terms on which he presented the
ground for church and cemetery to the Falling Spring congre-
gation.f The deed was made January 1, 1768, and the con-
sideration was " the yearly rent or consideration of one rose if
required."
He died at Chambersburg on the 17th of February, 1788,
aged, as the record on his tombstone in the Falling Spring
cemetery says, "Eighty years and upwards.'' X
Gen. James Chambers.
General James Chambers was the eldest son of Colonel Ben-
jamin Chambers, the founder of Chambersburg. He was born
at Chambersburg, though the exact date of his birth cannot
now be ascertained. In 1775 he raised a company which he
•McCauley, Hist. Franklin Co., p. 9.
tNevin, Churches of the Valley, p. 142.
JMcCauley, Hist. Franklin Co., p. 35,
324 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
commanded as captain, and marched to join the American armj,
then encamped at Boston, Mass. He rose to the rank of col-
onel in the army of the Eevolution. He continued to serve his
country in the patriot army until the end of the war. He was
made a brigadier general of the militia after the war, and when
the Whisky Rebellion broke out in 1794 he commanded one of
the three brigades of Pennsylvania troops in the army which
was sent to suppress that rebellion. Chambers' brigade was
composed of 1,762 men from the counties of Lancaster, York,
Cumberland and Franklin. The troops marched to Pittsburgh,
were in service about one month, marched back again and were
discharged without having tired a shot or lost a man.*
He was a member of the " Society of the Cincinnati," insti-
tuted by the officers of the American army.
He died at Loudon Forge, his place of residence, April 25,
1805, and was buried with military honors in the resting place
consecrated by his father, the cemetery of the Falling Spring
church, at Chambersburg.f
G-eorge Oliainbers, LL. D.
The subject of *this sketch was the eldest son of Captain Ben-
jamin Chambers, who was a son and namesake of the founder
of Chambersburg. George Chambers was born in Chambers-
burg on the 24th day of February, 1786, the very year in which
the Presbytery of Carlisle was organized. At the age of ten he
began the study of Latin and Greek in the classical school of
James Ross. Subsequently he was the pupil of the Rev. David
Denny in the Chambersburg Academy. In October, 1802, he
was able to pass from the academy into the junior class at Prince-
ton College, from which he graduated in 1804 with high honor
in a class of forty -live.
Mr. Chambers chose the law as his profession and entered
upon its study with William M. Brown, Esq., in Chambersburg.
Subsequently he pursued his studies in the office of Judge
Duncan, in Carlisle, then in the zenith of his great fame. After
*McCauley, Hist. Franklin Co., p. 144.
tMcCauley, Hist. Franklin Co., p. 125.
George Chambers, LL. D. 325
the usual course of study he was admitted to the bar in the
year 1807.
In his chosen profession Mr. Chambers was confessedly the
peer of the first lawyers in the State. The late J. McDowell
Sharpe, oneof the most brilliant lawyers of his day, has put upon
record this testimony in regard to him : " His preparation was
laborious and thorough. He trusted nothing to chance, and
had no faith in lucky accidents, which constitute the sheet-anchor
of hope to the sluggard. He identified himself with his client,
and made his cause his own, when it was just. He sought for
truth b}^ the application of the severest tests of logic, and spared
no pains in the vindication of the rights of his clients. He was
always listened to with attention and respect by the court, and
whenever he was overruled it was with a respectful dissent."
Mr. Chambers was twice elected to Congress, taking his seat
the first time December 2, 1838. Though re-elected by a greatly
increased majority, he peremptorily refused to be a candidate
for a third term. In 1836 he was elected a delegate from Frank-
lin county to the convention to revise and amend the Constitu-
tion of Pennsylvania.
On the 12th of April, 1851, Governor Johnston commissioned
Mr. Chambers as a justice of the Supreme Court, to fill the
vacancy caused by the death of Judge Burnside. He sat upon
the bench from this time until the first Monday of the following
December, when, under the amended Constitution, the new
judges received their commissions. He was nominated by the
Whig State Convention in 1851 for this office but was defeated
along with his colleagues on the same ticket.
Mr. Chambers was proud of his native State ; but in common
with many more of his race he resented the almost contemptuous
historical treatment of the claims and deeds of his people. He
did not hesitate to claim for his Presbyterian race the credit of
being foremost in laying the foundations of civil and religious
liberty in this broad land. It was in this spirit that he penned
and published, in 1856, a volume entitled '' A Tribute to the
Principles, Virtues, Habits and Public Usefulness of the Irish
and Scotch Early Settlers of Pennsylvania, by a Descendant"
In much the same spirit, but in a much more extended and
326 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
elaborate form, Mr. Chambers prepared a history of the Cumber-
land Valley and the adjacent regions of Pennsylvania. The
manuscript of this work, which was finished and ready for the
press, on the 30th of July, 1864, went up in the fire and smoke
of that day's awful conflagration, which was kindled by the
rebel torch of McCausland. Like many other treasures destroyed
-at that time, it could not be replaced. The judge was now
an aged man, and in less than two years, March 25, 1866, he
passed to his eternal reward.
On the 6th day of March, 1810, Mr. Chambers married Miss
Alice A. Lyon, daughter of William Lyon, Esq., of Carlisle, Pa.
Two sons and two daughters, the fruit of this marriage, survived
him.
Hon. John Byers.
The subject of this sketch was born in North Ireland. When
he came to this valley he purchased and lived on a farm near
what is now called Alexander's Spring, four miles west of Car-
lisle. He was one of the first justices of Cumberland county,*
and for a time was the presiding judge. He was a captain in
General Forbes' expedition against Fort Du Quesne. In 1778
he was superintendent of purchases of flour and other provis-
ions west of the Susquehanna. In 1781 he took his seat as a
member of the Supreme Executive Council and remained a
very active member during nearly all its sessions for two years.
He was a trustee of Rev. John Steel's church. His family mar-
ried with the Hendersons, Alexanders and Carothers.
Major Wiliiam Alexander.
This Revolutionary worthy was one of the citizens of Carlisle
who served through the whole war. He was commissioned
first lieutenant in Colonel Irvine's Sixth battalion, January 9,
1776, and he was made captain October 25th, the same year.
On the re-enlistment he was made captain in the Seventh Penn-
sylvania regiment. He was promoted, April 16, 1780, to be
major of the Third Pennsylvania regiment. He retired from
the army July 1, 1783. Afterwards he was a surveyor of mil-
itary lands. He resided in Carlisle in 1813.
Col. John Alexander. 327
Col. John Alexander.
He was the brother of Major William Alexander, and, like
hira, served with great credit in the war for American Inde-
pendence. He was born August 14. 1753. He was made
second lieutenant in the Sixth battalion, January 9. 1776, and
first lieutenant March 23, of the same year. When Colonel
Irvine's Sixth battalion re-enlisted March 20, 1777, and was
re-organized as the Seventh Pennsylvania regiment of the Con-
tinental line, he was promoted to be captain. In 1778, at White
Plains, he was paymaster of the regiment. January 17, 1781,
he was transferred to the Fourth regiment. He resigned July
11, 1781. He married Jane Byers on May 8, 1781. He died
at his home near Carlisle, August 4, 1804, aged fifty -one. In
all the latter part of his life he was known as Colonel Alex-
ander. General Samuel Alexander, of Carlisle, was his son.
Gren. Hugh Mercer.
This distinguished soldier was by profession a physician.
He was born at Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1721. educated at the
university of that city and studied medicine. Having served
as a surgeon's assistant in the army of the young pretender at
the battle of Culloden in 1745, he emigrated to America and
settled in the neighborhood of Davis' Fort, south of where the
town of Mercersburg now stands and here he practiced his pro-
fession. Having a taste for military life he was, early in 1756,
appointed a captain in the provincial service in which he con-
tinued for some years, rising to the rank of colonel. On the
13th of July, 1757, he was appointed and commissioned by the
Supreme Executive Council, one of the justices of the peace
for Cumberland county. During the wars with the Indians he
became a comrade and friend of the immortal Washington. He
was severely wounded in one of these expeditions, and being
separated from his command reached the settlements after
weeks of suffering. When the provincial forces were reorgan-
ized in 1758 Mercer was made lieutenant colonel and went with
General Forbes to Fort Duquesne. With two hundred of the
provincials he was left in command of this post for the winter.
328
Presbytery of Carlisle — Centeniu
He afterwards settled at Fredericksburg, Va whore he prac-
ticed Kis profession. On the outbreak of tb Revolutionary
war. like most of his race, he warmly asst r 'its of the
colonies and in 1775 raiseii three regimen: men. In
1776 he was made colonel and organize*! militia-
Congress appointed him brigadier genenti 776. He
led the attack at Trenton. December 25, 17?. and afterwards
su.ggested the night march on Princeton. Coimandingthe ad-
vance he encountered a large body of Britis troops January
3, 1777. and in the ensuing action was lortally wounded.
Nine days later he died at Princeton, New Jrsey. Eis corpse
wiis followed to the grave in Philadol-, ' • 'as 30.000
[>eople. In November. 1840, a mor. . ;.. ry was
dedicated at the Laurel Hill cemetery-. Pr'.»vniv>u was made by
i?ongress for the education of his youngest aa
The town of Mercersburg, which was Ud out in 1780 by
William Smith. Jr.. received its name in r»i
general who had practiced his profession
led the colonists against the savage foe, ui
life-blood in defense of American libertv.
.ftl,
^ p^ipular
. Lx^rhood,
11 V shed his
Capt. W^illiam Trent
Was a native of Peni.>y;vaBia of - :';^iher
was one of the Supreme Judge? in . - .- Chief
Justioe of New Jersey, where, on his lao*.: was fonnded the
dty of Trenton. Captain Trent oommaiMd a Pennsylvania
company engaged on the northern frooer d New York in
1746-7 in warfare against the Fren^ anJiKliaD&. Bemming
boine he received the thanks of the mmtkiv for his soooess.
His resideooe was in Camberiand -j of Oariisle.
His name appears anxmg the taxalti- :on township
in 1751. When the ooonty was forma m 1749, Govcnior
Hamilton aj jxanwd him one of the jnsocs of oommoa jAtm.
He was afterwards an Indian trader ad, excepting Geoige
Croghan, had more influence with the - - — T^-iians than any
other white man. and was often emp Virginia and
Pennsylvania authorities in ne^odatai:^ r:. ;Lie in^^s.
In AogTisL 1753. he " viewed" the rrnind for it fort at the
1
Col. Robert Ma-jau
"Forks."
sioned ca
ruarr he
Croghan
During h
under C'
:ttsburg. In January. 1754. he was commis-
Governor Dinwiddie, of Virginia. In Feb-
is company, met Christopher Gist George
•rs at the " Forks," laid out and built the fort
■ein April a large force of French and Indians,
11 r. attacked the fort and it was surrendered.
Thus began th.H'rench and Indian war which closed with the
surrender of Canda to the British in 1760.
At the treaty f Fort Stanwix in 1768, Trent received from
the six nations ir himself and others an immense tract of land
which they naiod Indiana, comprising about two-thirds of
West Virginia, i compensation for their losses in the Indian
war of 1763. .'committee of Congress, in 1780. reported in
favor of the vali^l v of the grant but Virginia nullified all sales
and grants of laiis by Indians. This loss impoverished Wil-
liam Trent to thtr;loee of his days.
CJol. Robert Magaw.
The subject of iiis sketch was an Irishman by birth. He
was a lawyer of prminence in Carlisle prior to the Revolution.
His brother Samui was provost of the University of Pennsyl-
vania, and anoth. • rother. William, was surgeon of the First
Pennsylvania regunnt In 1774 Robert was made a member
of the Provincial invention which resulted in calling together
the first Congress. He was major of the First raiment of
troops. Colonel Wiiam Thompson's, which left this valley in
June, 1775. for the seneof war in New England. In Januarv,
1776, he was promted to colonel of the Fifth Pennsylvania
battalion. When Gneral Washington evacuated Xew' York,
m 1 < , 6. Colonel Miraw was left in command of a force of two
thousand seven hun-.-ed at Fort Washington near Harlem. His
adjutant deserted ad went over to the enemy, and afterwards
wrote -On the 2d c November, 1776, I sacrificed all I was
worth in the world \ the service of my King and country, and
joined the then Lot Percy, brought in with me the plans of
Fort Washington by\'hich plans that fortress was taken by his
Majesty's troops the 1th inst, together with two thousand seven
%^
328 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
He afterwards settled at Fredericksburg, Va., where he prac-
ticed His profession. On the outbreak of the Revolutionary
war, like most of his race, he warmly asserted the rights of the
colonies and in 1775 raised three regiments of minute men. In
1776 he was made colonel and organized the Virginia militia.
Congress appointed him brigadier general, June 5, 1776. He
led the attack at Trenton, December 25, 1776, and afterwards
suggested the night march on Princeton. Commanding the ad-
vance he encountered a large body of British troops January
3, 1777, and in the ensuing action was mortally wounded.
Nine days later he died at Princeton, New Jersey. His corpse
was followed to the grave in Philadelphia by more than 30,000
people. In November, 1840, a monument to his memory was
dedicated at the Laurel Hill cemetery. Provision was made by
<^ongress for the education of his youngest son.
The town of Mercersburg, which was laid out in 1780 by
William Smith, Jr., received its name in honor of the popular
general who had practiced his profession in the neighborhood,
led the colonists against the savage foe, and finally shed his
life-blood in defense of American liberty.
Oapt. "William Trent
Was a native of Pennsylvania of which Province his father
was one of the Supreme Judges in 1715, and afterwards Chief
Justice of New Jersey, where, on his land, was founded the
city of Trenton. Captain Trent commanded a Pennsylvania
company engaged on the northern frontier of New York in
1746-7 in warfare against the French and Indians. Returning
home he received the thanks of the assembly for his success.
His residence was in Cumberland county south of Carlisle.
His name appears among the taxables of Middleton township
in 1751, When the county was formed, in 1749, Governor
Hamilton appointed him one of the justices of common pleas.
He was afterwards an Indian trader and, excepting George
Croghan, had more influence with the western Indians than any
other white man, and was often employed by the Virginia and
Pennsylvania authorities in negotiating with the tribes.
In August, 1753, he " viewed" the ground for a fort at the
Col Robert Magaw. 329
" Forks," now Pittsburg. In January, 1754, he was commis-
sioned captain by Governor Dinwiddie, of Virginia. In Feb-
ruary he, with his company, met Christopher Gist, George
Croghan and others at the " Forks," laid out and built the fort.
During his absencein April a large force of French and Indians,
under Contrecoeur, attacked the fort and it was surrendered.
Thus began the French and Indian war which closed with the
surrender of Canada to the British in 1760.
At the treaty of Fort Stanwix in 1768, Trent received from
the six nations for himself and others an immense tract of land
which they named Indiana, comprising about two-thirds of
West Virginia, in compensation for their losses in the Indian
war of 1763. A committee of Congress, in 1780, reported in
favor of the validity of the grant, but Virginia nullified all sales
and grants of lands by Indians. This loss impoverished Wil-
liam Trent to the close of his days.
Ool. Robert Magaw.
The subject of this sketch was an Irishman by birth. He
was a lawyer of prominence in Carlisle prior to the Revolution.
His brother Samuel was provost of the University of Pennsyl-
vania, and another brother, William, was surgeon of the First
Pennsylvania regiment. In 1774 Robert was made a member
of the Provincial Convention which resulted in calling together
the first Congress. He was major of the First regiment of
troops. Colonel William Thompson's, which left this valley in
June, 1775, for the scene of war in New England. In January,
1776, he was promoted to colonel of the Fifth Pennsylvania
battalion. When General Washington evacuated New York,
in 1776, Colonel Magaw was left in command of a force of two
thousand seven hundred at Fort Washington near Harlem. His
adjutant deserted and went over to the enemy, and afterwards
wrote " On the 2d of November, 1776, I sacrificed all I was
worth in the world to the service of my King and country, and
joined the then Lord Percy, brought in with me the plans of
Fort Washington by which plans that fortress was taken by his
Majesty's ti'oops the 16th inst., together with two thousand seven
332 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
Capt. Alexander Graydon
Was born in Bristol, Bucks count}^, Pa., April 10, 1752.
He studied law. In January, 1776, he was commissioned cap-
tain in the Third Pennsylvania battalion. He was taken pris-
oner at the capture of Fort Washington in 1776, and ex-
changed in April, 1778. On the organization of Dauphin
county in 1785, he was appointed its first prothonotary. This
position he retained until 1800. In 1811 he published, in Ilar-
risburg, " Memoirs of a Life Chiefly Passed in Pennsylvania
within the Last Sixty Years, with Occasional Remarks upon
the General Occurrences, Character and Spirit of that Eventful
Period." In 1846 this work was republished in an improved
form with notes and index, by John S. Littell, of Philadel-
phia, He entitled it "Graydon's Memoirs of His Own
Times." It was a well written and valuable contribution to
American history. He died in Philadelphia May 2, 1818.
"William Gray don, Esq.,
Of Harrisburg, was a younger brother of Capt. Alexander
Graydon. He was born in Bristol Pa., September 2, 1759,
and died at Harrisburg October 13, 1840. He came to Har-
risburg about the year 1785, and was admitted to the bar in
1786. He was a ruling elder in the First Presbyterian Church
of Harrisburg for more than thirty years. He was "dis-
tinguished for his cheerfulness and urbanity, as well as his
piety. " He was the author of two legal works, entitled " Forms
of Conveyancing," and " The Justice's Assistant." In 1802 he
edited " An Abridgement of the Laws of the United States.''
His only surviving children of a large family are Dr. William
Graydon, of Philadelphia, and H. M. Graydon, Esq., of Har-
risburg.
Ool. James Burd
Was born in Scotland. In 1750 he settled in Shippensburg
as the manager of the affairs of Mr. Shippen. In 1755 he re-
moved to a farm near Middletown, Dauphin county, where he
died and was buried in 1793. In 1755 he was appointed a
Col Timothy Green. 383
commissioner, with George Crogban, Adam Hoopes and Wil-
liam Buchanan to lay out a road from Harris' Ferry to the Ohio.
In 1759 he was a colonel of provincial troops. In 1776 he was
colonel of the Fourth battalion of Lancaster county. He had
been a leader in all military affairs up to this time. Because
of a dispute as to seniorit}' in rank he resigned. He was af-
terwards a judge in Dauphin county.
Ool. Bertram Galbraith
Was born at Derr3^ Pa,, in 1738. He was an officer of the
rangers in the French and Indian war. As a surveyor he ran
most of the early lines in Dauphin, Perry and Juniata counties.
He represented Lancaster county in the Provincial Conference of
1775, in the Provincial Conference of June, 1776, and in the
Constitutional Convention of July, 1776. He was colonel of
a battalion of the Flying Camp in the latter part of 1776, and
afterwards Lieutenant of Lancaster county and Commissioner to
collect clothing for the army. He died in 1804.
Ool. Timothy Green
Was born in Hanover township, in 1733. In the Bouquet
expedition he commanded a company of provincial tz'oops.
For his services he was granted a large tract of land in Buffalo
Valley. He served as a member of the Committee of Safety in
1774. Was an officer of the Flying Camp and became colonel
of a battalion. On the erection of Danphin county he was the
oldest justice of the peace in commission and was made the
presiding justice and continued in that office until the consti-
tution of 1790.
He erected a mill at the mouth of Stony Creek, where he
died in 1812, and was buried at Dauphin. His son James Green
was an associate judge of Dauphin county and a member of the
Twentieth and Twenty-first Congresses.
Ool. William Hay
Was born in Derry Pa. Was a lieutenant in the first com-
pany of troops recruited in that part of Lancaster county, which
is now Dauphin county, after the battle of Lexington in 1775.
334 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
In August, 1776, he was appointed major and afterwards pro-
moted to lieutenant colonel of the first Lancaster county battal-
ion of the Flying Camp and was with that wing of the army
at the battles of Long Island and White Plains. He was con-
nected with the service throughout the war as Lieutenant of
Lancaster county and in the department of supplies. He died
in 1813, and was buried at Derry church.
Ool. Samuel Hay-
Was an iron master in Cumberland county. In January,
1776, he was commissioned captain in the sixth battalion, Colonel
William Irvine, and was in the expedition to Canada. Promoted
to major of the seventh regiment March 12, 1777. Was in the
battles of Brandy wine, Paoli and Germantown. Promoted to
lieutenant colonel of the tenth regiment, February 21, 1778.
Was wounded in the capture of Stony Point, July, 1779. He
retired from the army January 1, 1781. Died December, 1803.
Ool. Matthew Dill.
Colonel Matthew Dill was a son of Captain Matthew Dill,
an officer in the Indian wars, who died and was buried at Dills-
burg, York county, in 1725.
Colonel Dill, with seven of his sons, served in the Eevolu-
tionary army. He died in 1816 and was buried in Fairfield,
Adams county. Of his descendants are Dr. A. B. Dill, of York
Springs, Pa. ; Colonel Daniel J. Dill, of Prescott, Wis., colonel
of the Thirtieth regiment Wisconsin volunteers during the war
of the rebellion ; Hon Andrew H. Dill, of Lewisburg ; the late
Kev. Samuel J. Wilson, D. D., LL. D., of Allegheny Seminary,
and the Rev. John R Paxton, D. D., of New York.
Ool. David Qrier.
Colonel David Grier was born in Adams county in 1742 ;
was admitted to the bar in 1771. He entered Colonel William
Irvine's regiment as a captain, January 9, 1776. In October
of the same year he was promoted to major. He was soon af-
terwards promoted to lieutenant colonel of the Seventh Penn-
sylvania regiment and served until January 1, 1781. He died
in York in 1790.
Dr. William Crawford. 335
Dr. "William Ora-wford.
Dr. William Crawford was born in Scotland in 1760 and was
educated at the Universit}' of Edinburgh. He came to this coun-
try and settled on a farm on Marsh Creek, Adams county. He
was an associate judge of the county. From 1808 to 1817 he
represented his district in Congress.
Hon. Jeremiah Morro-w.
Hon. Jeremiah Morrow, the first representative in Congress
from Ohio, was born in Freedom township, Adams county, in
1771. His parents were Scotch-Irish Covenanters. He went to
Ohio as a surveyor in 1795. Became a member of the Terri-
torial Legislature in 1800. Was elected to Congress in 1803,
when Ohio became a State and served till 1818. Was a mem-
ber of the United States Senate from 1813 to 1819. Governor
of Ohio from 1822 to 1826, again a member of Congress from
1841 to 1843. At the time of his death, in 1852, he was presi-
dent of the Li,ttle Miami Railroad Company. The town of
Morrow, Ohio, bears his name.
Hon. John W. Davis.
Hon. John W. Davis, speaker of the Twenty-ninth Congress,
was born in Cumberland county, studied medicine and removed
to Carlisle, Indiana, served -in the Legislature and was speaker.
Except two terms, he was in Congress from 1835 to 1847. In
1848 he was sent as minister to China and was subsequently
Governor of Oregon Territory.
Col. Hance Hamilton.
Colonel Hance Hamilton was a Scotchman, bom in 1721.
He died in 1772 and was buried at Upper Marsh Creek, Adams
county. He was a born leader of men. He was chosen sheriff
of 7ork county in 1749 and again in 1751. At the end of his
term of oflEice was appointed judge of the court of common
pleas. He served as a captain of provincial troops in the
French and Indian war, and was an officer in General Arm-
strong's expedition to Kittanning. In 1758 he was commis-
sioned lieutenant colonel of the First battalion of the regiment
of provincial troops.
336 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
Gen. William Reed.
General William Reed was born in the Marsh Creek set-
tlement, now in Adams county, and was an officer of the
Third battalion of York county militia during the Revolu
tion. In 1790 was a member of the State Constitutional Con
vention. From 1800 to 1804 was a member of the State Sen
ate. In 1811 he was appointed Adjutant General of the State.
In 1813, while organizing forces for the war with Great Britain
he was taken sick and died June 15th at New Alexandria,
Westmoreland county.
Ool. Robert McPherson.
Colonel Robert McPherson, of Gettysburg, came to Marsh
Creek, Adams county, in 1738. Was educated at New Lon-
don Academy, Chester county. He was an influential man in
the political affairs of York county, of which Adams county
formed a part till 1800.
In 1755, and again in 1767, he was county auditor. In 1756
a commissioner. He was a captain in General Forbes' expedi-
tion against Fort DuQuesne in 1758. In 1762 was sheriff of
the county. He represented the county in the Legislature in
1765 to 1767 and again from 1781 to 1784.
He was a member of the Provincial Conference of Commit-
tees which met in Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia, June 18, 1776,
and was also member of the Constitutional Convention which,
in July, 1776, formed the first Constitution of Pennsylvania.
He served as a colonel in the war of the Revolution and af-
terwards as assistant commissary of supplies.
He was a member of the first board of trustees of Dickinson
College. His son, William, was a lieutenant in Colonel Miles'
Pennsylvania regiment, and was taken prisoner at the battle of
Long Island. The Hons. John B. McPherson, of Lebanon, and
Edward McPherson, of Gettysburg, are descendants of Colonel
Robert McPherson.
James Boss, LL. D, 337
James Ross, LL. D
The subject of this sketch was a native of Delaware, and one
of the most distinguished teachers of his time. Before the or-
ganization of Dickinson College he was a teacher in the classi-
cal school of Carlisle and he was the professor of languages in
the first faculty of that college. In 1792 he resigned his pro-
fessorship, and in the spring of 1793 he opened a grammar
school in Chambersburg which afterwards developed into the
present well-known academy of that place. He removed from
Chambersburg to Lancaster about the year 1800 where he was,
for a time, the professor of languages in Fi'anklin College.
Finally he went to Philadelphia and was in that city in 1812,
for, in. the fourth edition of his Latin Grammar, published in
that year, he styles himself " professor of tlie Latin and Greek
languages. North Fourth street, Philadelphia."
Mr. Ross published, wliile in Chambersburg, the first edition
of his Latin Grammar, a woi-k which was the most popular text
book of its kind at that day, and had a very wide circulation,
being generally admitted a great improvement on former meth-
ods of teaching the elements of that classic tongue. This gram-
mar was very cordially recommended and used by such eminent
scholars as Drs. Henry Muhlenburg, C. L. Becker, James P.
Wilson and Ashbel Green, as well as many others equally dis-
tinguished. Among his pupils in Philadelphia was the eldest
son of Dr. Archibald Alexander, who afterwards became that
eminent divine and scholar, Rev. James W. Alexander, D. D.,
so distinguished as a professor at Princeton and a pastor in
New York city. Dr. Alexander was accustomed to speak in
the most enthusiastic terms of the fine classical attainments of
his early teacher. He was a favorite pupil of Mr. Ross, who
used to call him " Alexander Magnus," in facetious allusion to
his rather diminutive stature.
Mr. Ross also published several other small works for tlie
purpose of aiding the student in acquiring a knowledge of tiie
Latin tongue. He was in the habit, as a pastime, of writing
Latin poetry and epitaphs, and made an admirable translation
of the Westminster Shorter Catechism into that language. Mr.
22*
Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
Ross was a diligent student of the Bible, and always read the
New Testament in the original. His copy of the Greek Tes-
tament gave evidence of frequent and careful study, its margins
being closely covered with acute critical annotations.
Many of the teachers of the present generation of scholars
learned the elements of Latin from the grammar of Ross, and
the writer of this sketch has heard them quote the mnemonic
jingles of this veteran grammarian with a prompt facility which
evinced their confidence in his authority.
Professor Ross seems to have been twice married, though he
lived and died a childless man. His first wife, Rosanna, died
April 13, 1788, and her remains rest under a marble slab in the
old graveyard of Carlisle. His second wife, Catharine Irvine,
survived him many years and died at an advanced age Decem-
ber 1, 1846.
Mr. Ross closed his earthly career in Philadelphia, on the 6th
of July, 1827, aged eighty-four years. He was buried in the
graveyard of the old Ranstead Court church, but when the
property was sold his remains were taken to Carlisle and re-
interred in the Irvine lot in the old graveyard.
Major Alexander Parker
Entered Colonel William Irvine's regiment as a lieutenant
in January, 1776. Was commissioned captain, March 20, 1777.
Transferred to the Second regiment January 1, 1783. After the
war he settled at the mouth of the Little Kanawha, Virginia,
and laid out the town of Parkersburg, West Virginia, which
bears his name.
He died in 1792, and was buried at Meeting House Springs
near Carlisle Pa.
Hon. Hugh Henry Brackenridge.
In the old cemetery in Carlisle is the grave of Judge Brack-
enridge. He was born near Campbelton in Scotland ^in 1748,
brought to this country when five years old, graduated at Prince-
ton, and was master of an academy in Maryland when the war of
the Revol ution came. He was licensed bv the Presbvterv of New-
Henry M. Brackenriihje. 339
castle and became a chaplain in the army. Six of his political ser-
mons were published in a pamphlet and had a wide circulation.
He afterwards "resigned " his license, studied law, and settled in
Pittsburgh in 1781. In 1786 he was sent to the Legislature to
have Allegheny county erected. Was made a judge in 1789.
Was prominently identified with the Whisky Insurrection in
1794. He was the author of several works, satirical, historical
and literary, the best known of which is " Modern Chivalry."'
From 1799 until his death at his home in Carlisle June 25,
1816, he was a justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
"ELenry M. Brackenridge.
Henry M. Brackenridge, the son of the author of Modem
Chivalry, was born in Pittsburgh, May 11, 1786. His father
early discovered his fine natural abilities and resolved to culti-
vate them to the utmost. At the age of seven he was sent to
a French school at St. Genevieve in Upper Louisiana for the
purpose of learning the French language. He was so successful
that in a short time he had forgotten his English entirely.
At about ten years of age he returned to the north and began
his education in earnest in his fathers private study. Later he
studied law and was admitted to practice. In the meantime
his father removed to Carlisle where all the latter part of his
father's life was spent
In the spring of 1810, Mr. Brackenridge visited Louisiana,
and was kindly received by his old friends. Here he practiced
law, wrote essays for the newspapers, and studied the Spanish,
language. Here also he was appointed district judge when only
about twenty-three years of age. He published a volume on
Louisiana in 1812.
In 1817, he was sent by the United States as secretary of a
commission to the South American Republics. On his return,
he published his "Voyage to South America," in two volumes
octavo, a work which was highly complimented by Humboldt.
In May, 1821, he was appointed United States judge for the
western district of Florida, a position which he held for more
than ten years. In 1840, while residing in Pittsburgh, Pa., he
340 Presbykry of Carlisle — Centennial
was elected to Congress. His political writings were numerous
and able. He died at Pittsburgli, January 18, 1871.
The Hoges of Hogestown.
Jonathan and David Hoge of Silver Spring were early settlers
and influential men. Jonathan was one of the early justices
of the county and a member of the Supreme Executive Council
and later of the State Legislature.
David was sheriff of Cumberland county from 1768 to 1770.
In 1770, he bought a tract of one thousand and sixty acres of
land in Washington county, Pa., and in 1780 laid out on said
tract the present town of Washington, naming it Bassett Town,
in honor of a personal friend. Governor Bassett of Delaware.
His son, John Hoge, born at Hogestown, September 12, 1760,
entered the Revolutionary army at sixteen and became a lieu-
tenant. In 1782 he settled at Washington, Pa. In 1789 he
was a delegate to the State Constitutional Convention, and from
1790-94 represented that district in the State Senate. He
served part of a term in Congress to fill the vacancy caused by
the resignation of his brother William.
. William Hoge, the second son of David Hoge, represented
the Washington district in Congress from 1801 lo 1804 when
he resigned. He was re-elected in 1806 and served till 1809.
He also served as associate judge.
Hon. William Maclay.
Dauphin county was set off from Lancaster in March, 1785.
Harrisburg was laid out in the same year. William Maclay,
who was a lawyer and a son-in-law of John Harris, laid out the
town, made the draft of the plan and drew the various con-
veyances from John Harris to the commissioners. With Robert
Morris, William Maclay represented Pennsylvania in the first
Senate of the United States under the Constitution in 1789.
He wrote " Sketches of Debate," one of the few books that
give insight into the character of the Congress of 1789. He
died in 1804.
Col. Robert Clarke. 341
Col. Robert Clarke
Was born at Derry, Pa., in 1740. He served in the French
and Indian war and was in Colonel Bouquet's expedition in
1764. Was a captain in the First Lancaster county battalion
of the Flying Camp in 1776. He was an officer in the service
throughout the war. From 1785 till 1788 be was a member of
the State Legislature. He served as a colonel of State troops.
He was an elder of Derry church.
, Archibald Loudon
Was for many years a publisher of books in Carlisle. His
parents were natives of Scotland, and he was born at sea, in
their coming to America, about the year 1760.
He wrote and published, in 1811, two volumes entitled " Nar-
ratives of the Outrages Committed by the Indians in their
Wars." These volumes have furnished the substance of most
that has since been written on the Indian troubles in the colo-
nies. Mr. Loudon was, for many years, postmaster in Carlisle.
Col. George MoFeely.
Among the most distinguished men from this region who
served in the war of 1812 was Colonel Greorge McFeely. He
was born July 20, 1781, near Carlisle, Pa. We find him in
charge of the recruiting establishment at Carlisle barracks,
March 14, 1812. On the reorganization of the infantry regi-
ments he took rank as lieutenant colonel in the Twenty-second
regiment of the United States infantry, July 6, 1812, with
Hugh Brady as colonel. On the 5th of October, 1812, with
two hundred men of the Twenty-second regiment, he marched
from Carlisle barracks to the Niagara frontier by way of Sun-
bury, Williamsport, Elmira, Batavia and Buflfalo. Here he
was ordered by General Smith to march to Old Fort Niagara,
and relieve Colonel Winder in the command of that station.
He reached there on November 14. Early on the morning
of the 21st the enemy opened their batteries from Fort George
on the opposite side of the river, but they were replied to so
effectually that by sunset the enemy acknowledged that they
Pi-eshytei-y of Carlisle — Centennial.
had the worst of the battle and proposed to sus{)end the conflict.
The severe winter which followed was spent in a faithful drill-
ing of his force. In the spring he was invited bj Lieutenant
Colonel Winfield Scott (to whom he yielded precedence) to lead
the vanguard in his descent upon Canada. He was second in
command and had under him about six hundred and fifty men
exclusive of commissioned officers They embarked about two
miles below Fort Niagara and were met on the opposite shore
by a superior force. After a severe struggle they succeeded in
putting the enemy to flight, and in capturing Fort George.
For a while McFeely was left in command while Scott went off
on some other service, and he led his men to what was called
Forty Mile Creek, where, from exposure, he and many of his
force were taken sick. This prevented him from being in the
bloody fight at Stony Creek, where so many of his men were
either killed or taken prisoners.
About January 1, 1814, he was ordered with his men to the
region of Lake Champlain, where he airived in the depth of
the winter, while the snow was several feet deep and the ther-
mometer far below zero. He remained in that region partici-
pating in all the principal movements and battles until near the
middle of June, 1814, when he was promoted as colonel to take
rank from the previous 1st of April, and ordered to report him-
self to Major General Brown on the Niagara frontier. He
reached his destination in August and joined his new regiment,
the Twenty-fifth, under his old friend Scott He held a num-
ber of responsible commands at Queenston, Fort George and
Black Rock, until the close of the war, when he returned to his
home in Carlisle.
Colonel McFeely married Miss Margaret McKean, March 25,
1819, in Carlisle, Pa., where he died January 19, 1854, leaving
her a widow with a family of seven children, four sons and
three daughters. General Robert Macfeely, Commissary Gen-
eral of the United States Army, is one of his sons.
Oommodore Jesse D. Elliott.
Commodore Jesse D. Elliott was born at Hagerstown, Md.,
July 14, 1782. He was appointed a midshipman April 2, 1804,
Commodore Jesse D. Elliott. 343
by President Jefferson ; A{)ril 10. 1810, he was promoted to a
lieutenancy.
In 1812 be was attached to the command of Commodore
Isaac Chauncey, at Sackett's Harl)or. On the declaration of
war against Great Britain he was sent to the upper lakes to
purchase naval vessels and make other preperatious for the
creation of a naval force on those waters.
In October, 1812, while at Black Rock, he commanded a boat
expedition which, in the night, boarded and captured two British
brigs lying under the guns of Fort Erie. For this he received
the thanks of Congress, $12,000 for himself and his men, and
a sword which was presented to him by the President of the
United States.
In July, 1813, he was promoted and in command of the
Niagara At Perry's victory, September, 1813 he was second
in command and received for his gallantry a gold medal from
Congress. In October, 1813, he succeeded Commodore Perry
in command on Lake Erie. In 1815, was in command of the
Ontario on the Mediterranean squadron.
March 17, 1818, he was promoted to the rank of captain, and
till 1842 was engaged in locating light-houses, dock -yards and
fortifications on the coast
As a commodore he commanded the West India squadron,
the Charlestown navy yard, the Mediterranean squadron and
the navy yard Philadelphia. His home was for many years
in Carlisle, Pa. He died in Philadelphia, December 18, 1845.
The late General Washington L. Elliott, of the United States
Army, was his son.
Hon. William Findlay.
This distinguished son of Pennsylvania was born at Mercers-
burg, June 20, 1763. The greatest glory of his ancestors was
that some of them were engaged in the defense of Derry during
its famous siege in 1689. William was the son of Samuel
Findlay who had settled at Mercersburg some years before the
Revolutionary war. It was the intention of his parents to have
given him a classical education, but pecuniary reverses rendered
this impossible. But the meager advantages afforded him were
344 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
studiously improved and he became distinguishe<I in his native
State as its fourtli Governor under the Constitution of 1790.
Governor Findlay began the battle of life as a farmer. In
1797 he was elected to Legislature. In 1807 he was elected
State Treasurer, and resigned his seat in the House. From that
time until the 2d of December, 1817, when he resigned to assume
the duties of chief magistrate, a period of nearly eleven years,
he was annually re-elected to that office, in several instances
unanimously, and always by a strong majority. In 1817, Mr.
Findlay was nominated by the Republicans as their candidate
for Governor. General Joseph Heister was his opponent. The
result was a triumph for Findlay, who was elected by a majority
of over seven thousand votes. But in 1820, though receiving
the unanimous nomination of his own party, he was defeated
by General Heister, who had again received the nomination of
the Federalists, and was also supported by a faction of. the Re-
publican party styled Old School Men.
But that he had not lost the confidence of the people was
manifested the next year by his election to the United States
Senate for a full term of six years. While he was in the Senate,
two of his brothers, Colonel John Findlay, of Chambersburg,
and General James Findlay, of Cincinnati, Ohio, were members
of the National House of Representatives. After the expiration
of his term in the Senate, President Jackson appointed him
treasurer of the United States Mint in Philadelphia, which office
lie held until 1840, when he resigned. The remainder of his
life was spent in retirement with the family of his son-in-law,
Governor Shunk, at whose residence, in Harrisburg, he died
November 12, 1846, in the seventy-ninth year of his age. Gov-
ernor Findlay was a Christian in faith and practice. He was
always closely identified with the Presbyterian church, in which
he was born and bred.
Joseph Junkin.
The name of Junkin has been long known and honored in
the Presbyterian church. The first of this name to settle in
this region was Joseph Junkin who had married Elizabeth
Wallace. They were emigrants from Ulster, and were married
Joseph Junkin. 345
at Oxford. Pa. A little later they settled in the Cumberland
Valley and " took up " five hundred acres of land including
the site of the present town of New Kingston.
To these parents was born a second Joseph Junkin on tine
22d of January, 1750. He had two sisters older than himself.
Mary, who became Mrs. John Culbertson, and Elizabeth, who
died young ; and one sister and two brothers younger than him-
self, John, who died without issue, and Benjamin, the grand-
father of the Hon. Benjamin Junkin of Perry county.
Joseph Junkin was of the old Covenanter stock, and the
" Junkin Tent " was a well known place of worship for those
who held by the sturdy principles of this type of Presbyterian-
ism. Here Black, and Cuthbertson, and Dobbin and others
ministered in holy things to a congregation cf hardy pioneers
gathered from far and near. It is said that at this " Junkin
Tent " was celebrated the first Covenanter Communion Service
ever held in the New World.
Young Junkin was twenty-five years of age when the clouds
of war began to gather over the infant colonies. He was not
made of the stuff to meekly bear the insolent assumption of
the British Crown. He was one of the first to enlist when the
news reached his quiet home that Independence was declared.
Leaving his intended bride un wedded until the storm of war
should pass, he enlisted and went to the front. In the battle of
Brandy wine, September 11, 1777, he commanded a company.
In the sharp skirmish near White Horse Tavern, on the 16th,
his arm was shattered by a musket ball. He was concealed by
a patriotic Friend, and finally mounted on a horse with a rope
bridle, and a knapsack stuffed with hay for a saddle, he made
his way home, a distance of ninety miles, in three days. He
put himself under the care of Dr. Samuel A. McCoskry of Car-
lisle, and paid all the expenses attendant on his cure ; but he
lost a full year in his recovery.
In May, 1779, he was married by the Rev. Alexander Dob-
bin, D. D., to Eleanor Cochran, by whom he had fourteen chil-
dren, among whom we may mention Rev. George Junkin, D. D.,
LL. D. and Rev. David x! Junkin, D. D.
In the spring of 1806 ho removed with his family to Hope
Mills, Mercer county, P:i., where he died February 21, 1831.
346 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
Gteorge Robinson— 1727-1814.
The subject of this sketch was the son of Philip and grandson
of Thomas Robinson who were among the earliest Scotch-Irish
settlers in Cumberland Valley. They were connected with the
churches of Derry and Hanover. George Robinson, the second
son of Philip, about the year 1753, took up land and settled at
the headwaters of Shearman's Creek, in Perry county, and was
one of the original members of Centi'e church and one of its
ruling elders. Robinson's Fort, mentioned in the early annals
of Indian warfare, stood on his farm and was a refuge for the
settlers in times of danger. He served through several years
as a justice of the peace, holding his commission from George
III. He was a captain in the army of the Revolution, the gun
which he carried being still preserved as an honored relic. He
remained in Shearman's Valley until 1797, when he removed to
Kentucky — near Georgetown, whither several of his children
had preceded him. Here he resided until his death in 1814
at the age of eight3^-seven. For several years prior to his death
he was a ruling elder of the Bethel Presbyterian church, Scott
county, Kentucky. His grandson, Ex-Governor James F. Rob-
inson of Kentucky, remembered him well and thus describes
him : " He was six feet high, perfect in person, remarkably
athletic and strong, fine large head, light hair, beautiful large
blue eyes, large and well-developed forehead with a benevolent
and intellectual countenance. He was remarkable for his love
of reading, especially that of the higher and more difficult kinds,
works on law, on ethics and on mental and moral philosophy.
His library contains such works as Locke on Government,
Blackstone's Commentaries, Stewart's Philosophy, the Specta-
tor, etc. Among his acquaintances he was distinguished for
his safe and sound judgment. He was a general counsellor, a
kind of oracle to all around, a Christian gentleman in truth
whose memory was cherished by all who knew him, and was
handed down as that of one of the worthies of his day."
His tombstone bears these lines —
" Of softest manner, unaffected mind
Lover of peace and friend of human kind,
Go. live ! for Heaven's eternal rest in thine,
Go, and exalt this mortal to divine.''
Col. James Smith. 347
His descendants are widely scattered. One of them a great
grandson, Rev. Thomas H. Robinson, D. D., was pastor of Market
Square Presbyterian church of this Presbytery for thirty years,
from 1854 to 1884 and is now (1890) a member of the faculty
of Western Theological Seminary, Allegheny, Pa.
Ool. James Smith
Was a native of Franklin county. Was a captive among
the Indians in Ohio from 1755-60, when he escaped to Montreal.
He was a captain of rangers, an officer in General Armstrong's
and Colonel Bouquet's expedition. In 1765 he led a band of
settlers who overtook and destroyed the goods of a band of
Indian traders who were taking supplies of ammunition to the
Indians. For this some settlers near Mercersburg were arrested
and imprisoned at Fort Loudon. Smith captured the soldiers
and by exchange had his neighbors released. For a similar
offense a number of settlers were arrested and confined in Fort
Bedford. Smith with his rangers took the fort and released
them. For this he was afterwards arrested, and in the struggle
his companion was killed. He was charged with the shooting
and imprisoned and afterwards taken to Carlisle for safe-keeping.
Six hundred of his old comrades marched to Carlisle to demand
his release. He refused to be released, was tried in 1769 and
acquitted. For three years he was commissioner of Bedford
county. He continued his service as captain of rangers, pro-
tecting the settlers against the Indians.
In 1776 was chosen a member of the Legislature from West-
moreland county and was re-elected as often as he desired to
serve. In 1777, General Washington offered him a major's com-
mission, but not liking the colonel of the regiment he declined.
In 1778 he was commissioned a colonel to serve against the
western Indians. In 1788 he removed to Bourbon county,
Kentucky, where he served in the State Convention and in the
Legislature continuously till 1799. He died about the begin-
ning of the present century.
348 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
Major James McCalmont
Was born in Letterkenny township, near Strasburg, Frank-
lin county, in 1739. Because of his extraordinary fleetness of
foot he was called "Supple McCalmont." He was celebrated
as an Indian scout. When the British occupied Philadelphia
he had command of a company of rangers whose business it
was to prevent the Tories of the interior furnishing supplies to
their friends in the city.
He served as major of the Sixth battalion of Cumberland
county troops, and as major of a rifle battalion under Colonel
James Smith. He was one of the trustees appointed to build
the court house of Franklin county. As a member of the
Legislature from Frankhn county he served from 1784-88.
From 1789 until his death, in 1809, he was an associate judge.
He was buried at Kocky Spring church.
Hon. James McLene
Was born in Antrim, Franklin county. Was a member of
the Provincial Conference of June, 1776, and of the Constitu-
tional Convention of the same year, of the Supreme Executive
Council from Cumberland county, 1778-9. Served in Congress,
1779-80, in the Council of Censors, 1783-4. Was the first mem-
ber of the Executive Council elected from Franklin county in
1784, serving three years. He was also a member of the State
Constitutional Convention of 1789, which formed the State
Constitution of 1790. He represented Franklin county in the
Legislature most of the time from 1787 to 1794. He died at
his home in Antrim township, March 13. 1806, and was buried
at the Brown's Mill graveyard.*
The Johnstons.
James Johnston, Sr., settled near Greencastle in 1735. He
died about 1765 leaving a large estate. His eldest son, James,
was a colonel in the Revolution. Thomas was an adjutant in
General Wayne's troops and afterwards a colonel.
* McCauley's History Franklin Co., p. 176
Ccl. George Gibson. 349
Dr. Robert Johnston was surgeon of Colonel William Irvine's
battalion, and served through the whole war. In 1781 he was
ordered by General Green to Charleston, S. C, to take charge
of the American officers in the hospital there. In 1807 he was
appointed major general of Pennsylvania militia. He died,
near Waynesboro", November 25, 1808.
Ool OreoTge Q-ibson.
The subject of this sketch was a distinguished figure in those
turbulent times which marked the latter half of last century.
He was born in Lancaster county, Pa., and was the son of George
Gibson, Esq. As a young man he M^as engaged in the trade to
the West Indies and afterwards was a trader with the Indians
at Fort Pitt. Returning to the east he bought a farm and settled
at Gibson's Rock, Perry county. During the Revolution he
enlisted at Fort Pitt a company of one hundred daring men-
who were sharpshooters, and known as " Gibson's Lambs " —
with them he was in many of the leading battles of the war.
In 1791 he took command of a regiment under General St. Clair
in his campaign in Ohio against the Indians. In the famous
defeat of St. Clair, near the Miami villages, Colonel Gibson
was killed.
His son John Bannister Gibson was a justice of the Supreme
Court of Pennsylvania from 1816 to 1851. For twenty-four
years of that time he was the Chief Justice, and perhaps the
most distinguished man that has ever held that high position.
Another son, George Gibson, was brigadier general of the
United States army, and for many years chief of tlie commis-
sary department.
Hugh Oibson— 1741-1826.
The Pennsylvania captive. Hugh Gibson, was bom in 1741,
in Lancaster county. Pa. His father, David Gibson, came from
Six -Miles-Cross near Stewartstown in the county of Tyrone,
Nortli Ireland, about the year 1740. His mother's maiden name
was Mary McClelland. When they came to America they
bought a plantation near l^each Bottom Ferry on the Susque-
350 Preshytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
hanna. in Lancaster county, Pa. The father having died while
Hugh was quite young, the widow with her three children, Hugh,
Israel and Mary, removed to Robinson's Fort in Shearman's
Valley to be near her brother, Mr. William McClelland, whose
home was in Tyrone township, and not far from where the old
Centre church now stands.
Here was enacted one of those bloody tragedies so common
in this region at that day. It was in July, 1756. The widow
and her children had taken refuge in the little stockade fort,
whose foundation may still be traced near the old Centre church.
The mother and her eldest son were out in the woods looking
for their cattle when she was shot down and scalped, and her
son was chased and captured. He was carried away to the
Indian town of Kittanning, was adopted into a chiefs family
to take the place of an Indian who had been killed in battle
with the Cherokees. His initiation into the tribe was by
washing him thoroughly in the river, and he was told that this
had washed away all his white blood, and the chief called him
his brother.
At times, when the Indians imagined that he desired to escape
from his captivity, he was treated with great severity, and once
he was set to the task of carrying wood for his own death by
burning. With other captives he had befen compelled to witness
such a death, and had been told that he would be served in the
same way if he attempted to make his escape to the white settle-
ments.
When the Indian town of Kittanning was taken by Arm-
strong and his men from Carlisle, Gibson was kept back in the
woods with the squaws, old men and children ; but he was near
enough to hear the firing of the guns. After the fall of this
Indian stronghold the Delawares retreated to the region of the
Muskingum in what is now the State of Ohio. Here, at the
confluence of the two streams which form the Muskingum, was
a large Delaware town. This was the extreme point to which
a few years later the missionaries Duffield and Beatty extended
their tour.
Gibson had often meditated flight, and once had even started
with another captive named Wright, but the risk seemed too
Col. Abraham Smith. 351
great, and they returned before their design was discovered.
lie was finally led to make the awful venture by the entreaties
of a German girl named Grove who had been carried away from
the Tuscarora Valley when a little child. The Indians wished
her to marry one of their men ; she told Gibson she would
rather be shot, and urged him to help her and another girl to
make their escape. The proposal was confided to another cap-
tive named David Brackenridge, and these four laid their plans
so well that their escape was effected one night in April, 1759.
Traveling by night and hiding by day they took their perilous
course through the forest to Fort Pitt, which they reached after
fifteen days of awful anxiety.
After his return to the white settlements Gibson resided with
his maternal uncle, William McClelland, in Tyrone township,
now Perry county, married, in the town of Lancaster, Miss Mary
White, raised a large family, and, after the Revolutionary war,
removed to Crawford county, Pa., where he died, at an advanced
age, July 30, 1826. His gv\j known descendant in this region
now is his great-grandson, Rev, George Norcross, D. D., of
Carlisle.*
Col. Abraham Smith *
Was a native of Franklin county. Was lieutenant of Cum-
berland county from 1780 to 1782 ; member of the House of
Representatives from 1784 to 1787 ; lieutenant of Franklin
county in 1785 ; served i'l the Supreme Executive Council from
1787 to 1790 ; was a member of the Constitutional Convention
of 1789, and a member of the State Senate from 1790 to 1794.
Hon. John Thompson
Was born in Franklin county in 1777. Was a representative
in Congress from Ohio from 1825 to 1827 and from 1829 to
1837. He died in New Lisbon, Ohio, December 2, 1852. f
♦See Mass. Historical Soc. Records Series III. vol. 6. p. 141 ; also Loudon's Indian
Wars.
tLanman's Dictionary of Conf^ress.
352 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
Hon. Stephen Adanas
Was a native of Franklin county, Pa. Removing to Missis-
sippi he took an active part in public affairs. Was a member
of the State Legislature and a representative m Congress from
1845 to 1847. He was also a circuit judge and a United States
Senator from Mississippi. He died in Memphis in 1857.*
•
Hon. John Rea
Was a native of Franklin county, and for about forty years
closely identified with public life in that region. He represented
the Franklin and Bedford district in Congress from 1803 to
1811, being the Eighth, Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Congresses.
He was also in the Thirteenth Congress in the years 1813 to
1815.t In October, 1784, he was chosen as the first coroner of
Franklin county. He served in the Pennsylvania House of
Representatives almost continiously from 1785 to 1802. In
1823 he was chosen to a seat in the State Senate but resigned
in 1824, and James Dunlop was elected in his place. A man
so constantly trusted by his fellows with such high duties was
evidently no common man.
Hon. Andrew Oregg
Was born in Carlisle, Pa., June 10, 1755. He received a
good classical education, and for several years was a tutor in
the University of Pennsylvania. In 1783 he opened a coun-
try store in Middletown, Dauphin county, whence he removed,
in 1789, to the West branch of the Susquehanna and engaged
in farming.
In 1790 he was elected to Congress and served till 1807 : in
1807 he was chosen United States Senator and served till 1813.
In 1814 he removed to Bellefonte, and in 1820 was appointed
Secretary of the State of Pennsylvania. He was remarkable
for a sound and discriminating mind, agreeable and dignified
manners, and performed his duties with abilit}' and integrity.
He died in Bellefonte, May 20, 1835. Ex-Governor Andrew
(jr. Curtin is his grandson.
* Lanman's Dictionary of Congress,
tibid.
Cadt. Alexander Cidhertson. 353
Capt. Alexander Oulbertson.
The family of the Culbertson's was among the first to settle
in the Cumberland Valley. " Culbertson's Row " has long
been a landmark in the valley. Early in the month of April,
1756, a large party of Indians made a raid into the upper part
of the valley, where they attacked and burnt McCord's Fort,
on the Conococheague, killing and capturing a total of twenty-
seven persons. An alarm was given as far eastward as Ship-
pensburg. A part}'- consisting of three companies immedi-
ately went in pursuit of the Indians. These companies were
commanded, respectively, by Captains Culbertson, • Cham-
bers and Hamilton. The company of Captain Culbertson,
with nineteen men belonging to the commands of Captains
Chambers and Hamilton, numbering in all about fifty men,
overtook the Indians west of Sideling Hill, where an engage-
ment took place, which lasted two hours, and in which the
combatants each lost in killed about twenty men, with about
an equal number wounded. In this battle Captain Culbertson
was killed. He was greatly lamented as " a brave and worthy
man, ever ready to sacrifice his own interests, as well as his own
convenience, to promote the welfare of our people."
Hon. Samuel Maclay
Was born in Lurgan, Franklin county, in 1741. Was a
lieutenant colonel in the Revolution ; a member of the State
Senate from 1797 till 1802, when he was elected to the Senate
of the United States, and as president of the State Senate
signed his own commission. He resigned in 1809. He was
buried in Buffalo Valley.
The Smiths of Lurgan.
The father settled near Grecncastle, in 1735. He died in
1755, leaving a large tract of land to his sons. Three of whom
became colonels of battalions in the War of the Revolution.
One was a surgeon and served in the south during the latter
years of the war, and was at the surrender at Yorktown, in
October, 1781.
28*
354 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
Hon. John Oreigh.
The name Creigh is of German origin. It is believed that
the family left Germany about 1640, because of the religious
persecution then existing against Protestants. The subject of
this sketch emigrated from North Ireland to this country in
1761, and settled in Carlisle, Pa. His father was a ruling elder
in the Presbyterian church at Carmony, Ireland, and his son
was imbued with that ardent love of liberty whicli Presbyteri-
anism has always fostered He was active during the Revolu-
tion, and was one of the nine representatives, who, on June 24,
1776, signed the Declaration for the colony of Pennsylvania.
His descendants still show with pride his commission as an of-
ficer in the Revolutionary army, dated April 29, 1776. He
held various positions of honor and trust, both civil and mili-
tary. He was clerk of the orphans' court, register of wills,
and recorder of deeds, lieutenant colonel of troops and mem-
ber of the Provincial Conference which met in Carpenters'
Hall, June, 1776. In February, 1778, as directed by Congress,
he administered the oath of allegiance to six hundred and forty-
two citizens of Carlisle. He was an elder and trustee of the
Presbyterian church in Carlisle. He died February 17, 1813.
His son John was an eminent physician in Carlisle, and the
father of the late Rev. Thomas Creigh, D. D., of Mercersburg,
Pa.
Captain Samuel Brady.
■' Tl)e Brady, family prior to the middle of the last century,
had settled on the Conodoguinet Creek, in Cumberland county,
in that portion of it which now embraces Hopewell township."
Hugh Brady was the first of the name to settle in that region.
He had come from Enniskillen, Ireland, and his early asso-
ciates were the Hemphills, Quigleys, Sharps, Carnahans, Mc-
Cunes and McClays. The Bradys were Presb3^terians and
members of the Middle Spring church. In 1755, his second
son, John, married Mary Quigley, and removed to Shippens-
burg. They had ten children, six of them sons, five of whom
became eminent citizens, two of them, Captain Samuel and
Captain Samacl Brady. 356
General Hugh Brady, greatly distinguished in the service of
the country.
Samuel Brady, the subject of this sketch was born in Ship-
pensburg, in 1756, after which the family removed to Stand-
ing Stone (now Huntingdon), and in 1769, to the West branch
of the Susquehanna, opposite the 'spot on which Lewisburg
now stands, and thence to Muncy, where they erected a semi-
fortified residence, near which the father was shot from his
liorse and killed by the Indians, on the lith of April, 1779.
Every school boy has read with breathless interest the stories
oi Brad3'"s daring adventures and exploits in the Indian
warfare. Humanity is prone to fasten its most extravagant
ideals to some historical character ; hence the origin of myths
and legends. Captain Samuel Brady was the ideal Indian
fighter of the last century, and his deathless enmity to the race
lias doubtless been exaggerated. Alexander Brady Sharpe,
Esq., of Carlisle, has endeavored to correct this false impres-
sion in the following terms : *'' The notion that most people
have of Captain Samuel Brady is that of one who passed his
days as a wandering modern knight errant, killing Indians
at wdl. This is entirely erroneous. His father and brother
t)oth perished at the hands of the savages. His father was the
most prominent defender of the northwestern frontier until
he fell, and his eldest son was then called to take his place.
He had been cradled among dangers from their inroads, and
knew better than anyone else how to repel them, and whilst
the accounts of his many conflicts and hair-breadth escapes are
all well authenticated, there is no evidence that he ever was a
cruel foe. A cousin of his, a daughter of Hugh Brady the
second, spoke of him as a gentle and taciturn man, of hand-
some, lithe, graceful figure, warmly attached to his friends, never
boastful nor given to harsh expressions in regard to persons or
subjects He was but nineteen years of age when he volun-
teered to go to Boston at the outbreak of the war of the Revo-
lution, and behaved so well there that he had a commission as
fii-st lieutenant under Washington before he left the east.
in 1779 he was brevetted Captain and ordered to join General
• Carlisle Herald, September 27, 1888.
356 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
Broadhead, who had command at Fort Pitt. He remained in
the service until the army was disbanded at the close of the
Revolutionary war, and was distinguished for gallantry."
Captain Brady became a great favorite of General Broadhead,
by whom he was almost constantly emplo3^ed in scouting. Be-
ing well skilled in all the mysteries of woodcraft, he followed
the trail of his savage foe with all the tenacity, fierceness and
silence of a sleuth hound. Most of his exploits took place in
Ohio, northwestern Pennsylvania and western New York.
He was a dread terror to the Indians, and a tower of strength
to the whites. He commanded the advance guard of General
Broadhead's troops in the expedition against the Indians of the
Upper Allegheny, in the year 1780, and he and his rangers
aided greatly in defeating the savages under Bald Eagle and
Corn Planter, at the place now known as Brady's Bend.*
In the fall of 1785 he married Drusilla, a daughter of Captain
Van Swearingen, and settled on the Chartiers Creek, in Wash-
ington county. Pa. Afterwards he removed to Virginia, and
made his final home near West Liberty. Ohio county. West
Virginia, where he died on the 1st day of January, 1796.
G-en. Hugh Brady.
General Hugh Brady was born in 1767, and was among the
younger children of John Brady, and when quite young, after
the death of his father, was apprenticed to a tanner, when in
1788, his older brother. Captain Samuel Brady, visited the fam-
ily. He negotiated with his master, lifted his indentures, and
took him with him to Ohio county, Virginia, where he re-
mained until he received a commission in the army, in 1792,
and joined the command of General Anthony Wayne. After
Wayne's treaty with the Indians he, at the instance of his
friends, resigned his commission and returned, in 1796, to the
home of his brother Samuel, who was dead but a few months.
He remained with his widow a short time, and then went to
visit his friends at Sunbury, Pa., and shortly after received a
commission as captain in the army raised during the adminis-
• McCauley's History of Franklin county, p. 117.
Gen. Hugh Brady. 357
tration of the elder Adams, and remained in service until it
was disbanded, when he returned to Northumberland county
and married Sarah Wallace. In 1808 he was restored to the
army by Mr. Jefferson, and during the war of 1812 attained
great eminence, was distinguished for gallantry at Chippewa
and the other battles on the northern frontier. Of him General
Scott said : " God never made a better man nor a better sol-
dier." He remained in the army until his death in 1851. It
was accidental. He was driving a team of spirited horses
that became entangled in telegraph wires dropped for repairs.
They ran away with him and threw him from the carriage and
fatally injured him. His pastor, Rev. Dr. Geo. Duffield, was
with him in his last moments, and it is said that the following
colloquy took place.
" General, you are very ill ; my friend, very ill !"
The General opened his eyes and pressing Dr. Duffield's
hand, replied :
" Yes, yes, sir ; I know it — I know it !
" But, General, you are badly hurt and very ill !"
" Oh, yes !" he faintly replied, " yes I know it, Mr. Duffield !"
A j)ause — a silence — a few deep sobs — when Dr. Duffield
said, ''but General, you are very ill. lam sorry to tell you,
you are just about to die !"
Instantly raising himself up, straight as in health, his eyes
flashed under his bandaged forehead, and he firmly spoke out:
"Mr. Duffield, let the drum beat; my knapsack is slung; I
am ready to die," and sank away in the arms of death.
This was the parting scene between two distinguished men,
b<jth then far advanced in 3^ears, and both belonging to two of
the oldest families of the Cumberland Yalley, Presbyterian in
all their branches.
The one, the leading divine of the northwestern frontier
of our country, and the other the commander of the " North.
western Military Department of the United States," under
whose hospitable roof Scott, Worth, McComb. Wool and other
heroes of the old army, and prominent men in the other walks
of life — as Bishop Onderdonk, Judge McLean, James Watson
Webb, Millard Fillmore and others often gathered.*
• See Carlisle Herald September 27, 1888.
358 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
Colonel James Agnew.
The subject of this sketch was born in Adams count}', Pa,,
July 31, 1769, and was the son of James Agnew and Mary
Ramsey. While yet a young man he settled at the " Great
Cove" (now McConnellsburg) where he built up a very pros-
perous business, and became one of the wealthiest men in cen-
tral Pennsylvania.
Rev. Dr. E. Erskine speaks of him as follows : •' Colonel James
Agnew was a venerable man of sound and vigorous mind, and
wise and successful in the management of business. He was
a resolute and heroic son of a brave, hardy and godly race of
people, the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians. (Colonel Agnew's parents
were of tlie Reformed Presbyterian or Covenanter branch of
the church, but at the time of the union of most of that body
with the Associate church (the Seceder branch of the church)
forming the Associate Reformed Church of North America,
they joined in the said union, were educated in the doctrines
and trained in the strict morality of that people. Mr. Agnew,
throughout his long life was a man of unswerving integrity,
conforming strictly to the principles in which he had been
reared. He obtained from such schools as the country afforded
in his early life, such elements of a rudimentary education as
fitted him for business, and his remarkably sound judgment and
great self-control and persevering devotion to lawful pursuits
enabled him to improve, to the best advantage, the opportunities
he enjoyed.
He became in early life a decided christian and a ruling
elder in the church. As an officer in the church he was re-
markable for the soundness of his judgment, for punctuality
in attendance upon all his religious duties and appointments,
and for the faithful and wise performance of his official duties.
He was a firm and consistent believer in the doctrine and
order of the Presbyterian church. His home was known as
the Minister's Hotel, by reason of the hospitality, which, for
long years, was shown to all worthy members of this profes-
sion. Family and secret worship with him were never omitted
except in case of providential necessity. For both of these
Samuel Agnew, M. D. 359
duties he had his fixed llOUI•^^, aud when these arrived, neither
company nor business were allowed to interrupt their regular
performance. The Sabbath he consecrated regularly to relig-
ious duties. He was particularly careful in the religious in-
struction of the children on that day, in hearing them recite
portions of Scripture and of the Shorter Catechism committed
to memory. These exercises were followed b}' earnest and
solemn appeals to them in relation to their personal salvation
under which they were often affected to tears. Some of the
family have testified in later years that it was to this faithful
instruction and these earnest appeals they owed their sal-
vation. And by his example he gave constant sanction to
public ordinances and the stated means of grace. His place
in the sanctuary and the social meeting for prayer were never
vacant when he was well and able to be present."
Col. Agnew died September 9, 1856.
Samuel Agne-w, M. D.
Dr. Samuel Agnew was born in Millerstown (now Fairfield)
near Grettysburg, Pa., August 10. 1777, and was the son of
James Agnew and Mary Ramsey. He began his classical
studies under Rev. Alexander Dobbin in his famous academy
at Getty.sburg. (See illustration.) He graduated from Dick-
* For tho plate and information we aro indebted to editor of " Kefomied Preaby-
terian and Covenanter," of Allegheny. Pa.
360 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
inson College in 1798. began the study of medicine under
Dr. John McClelland, a prominent surgeon in Greencastle, Pa.,
and in 1800, he took his degree of doctor of medicine in the
University oi Pennsylvania. During tlie war of 1812 he
served as a surgeon in the army. For a time he practiced his
profession in Gettysburg, but finally made a permanent settle-
ment in Harrisburg, where he rapidly rose to deserved emi-
nence, establishing a large and lucrative practice. He was an
elder of the First Presbyterian church of that place for fifteen
years.
In 1803 Di. Agnew married a Miss Jane Grier. Her mother
was a Holmes, a well-known family of Carlisle. Among their
children we may note Rev. Dr. J. Holmes Agnew, a man dis-
tinguished for his scholarly attainments ; Hon. James C. Agnew-,
of Edina, Missouri, an elder in the Presbyterian church ; and
a daughter, who became the wife of the saintly Rev. John R
Agnew, late of Greencastle.
Rev. T. H. Robinson, D. D., has put upon record this esti-
mate of Dr. Samuel Agnew : " He was a man of notable
qualities. In the eye of the world he was one of the marked
men of society ; and both in social and professional life, as w^ell
as in the church, he was promptly accorded a place as a leader."
Dr. Agnew died November 23, 1849. His death was as
gentle and quiet as a summer evening.
Hon. Alexander Thomson.
The subject of this sketch was a grandson of Alexander
Thomson, who emigrated from Scotland, landing in Boston in
September, 1771. He was a sturdy Covenanter, who evidently
felt ill at ease in the atmosphere of the old countr}-. In a let-
ter of his which is still extant, written August, 1773, from his
new plantation, " Corkerhill," about five miles from Chambers-
burg, he confesses that the greedy, exacting spii^t of the landed
gentr}^ in Scotland had driven hitn to America. He wished
to settle two of his sons on farms, and for five years he looked
aroilnd for such places as would answer his purpose. He says :
" I traveled through the country for twenty miles around the
place where I lived, but, though I found plenty of vacant
Dr. ,K
i JiLtue army.
sburg, but fina'
4. where he rapid!)
„ a large aud lucrativi
:li • i^'u-st Pr-esbyterian church oith
■iicastle, Pa..
:ine in the
>f 1812 he
•'3d his
settle-
In 1803 Dr. AgTiew married a Miss Jane i-
was a Hohnes, a well-known family of Carli.-^,. .
children we may not« Rev Dr. J. Ilolmes Agnr
^'nguished for hisschohi-' - ri 1
Editla, Missouri, ap
m the church, he was promptly
Dr. Agiiew died November 2^>. .
■ntle and quiet as a summer evening.
Hon. Alexander Thoniftic.-'i
abject of
-. who er.
" I trav.
{•lace wiierc
^f-^-^- ^C^5->
->«-iZ-<i?-7X^
General Clement A. Finley. 368
more, passed an examination before the medical faculty of the
University of Maiyland and received a diploma.
Dr. Boggs was truly a christian physician ; his practice was
very large, but for more than twenty years he faithfully dis-
charged the duties of an elder in the Presbyterian church. His
friends loved and trusted him as a spiritual adviser, and, like
the companion of Paul, he was often called " the beloved
physician." He died July 12, 1847, and his life may be fitly
characterized by this line from his monument, "His life was
piety; his death was peace."
General Clement A. Finley.
General Clement A. Finley was born in Newville, Pa., May
11, 1797. Graduated at Washington College, Pa., and at the
Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania.
He entefed tlfb army as surgeon's mate of the First United
States Infantry, August 10, 1818. Was promoted to assistant
surgeon June 1, 1821, and to major and surgeon July 13, 1832.
He was medical director in the field with Generals Jessup,
Scott and Taylor in the Black Hawk, Seminole and Mexi-
can wars. Much of his public life was spent on the frontier
In 1834 he was with General Dodge in his expedition to the
Eocky Mouirtains. On the 5th of May, 1861, just after the
breaking out of the civil war, he was made Surgeon General
of the United States Army. After forty-four years of active
service he was retired, at his own request, April 14, 1862. He
was brevetted brigadier general for long and faithful service in
tiie army. He died September 8, 1879.
Dr. Finley married, in early life, Elizabeth, daughter of Dr.
Samuel Moore, at that time director of the United States Mint,
and formerly a member of Congress from Bucks county. Pa.
General Finley was a christian gentleman, and a consistent
member of the Presbyterian church.
Hon. Robert Cooper G-rier.
Hon. Robert C. Grier, associate justice of the Supreme
Court of the United States, was born in Cumberland county,
March 5, 1794. He was the eldest son of the Rev, Isaac Grier
364 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial
and grandson of the Rev. Robert Cooper, D. D., of Middle
Spring. He graduated at Dickinson College in 1812, and
taught the grammar school of the college for a year after grad-
uation. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1817,
and practiced at Danville, Pa. In 1829 Judge Grier married
Isabella, daughter of John Rose, a native of Scotland. In
1833 Governor Wolf appointed him judge of the courts of Al-
legheny county. On the 4th of August, 1846, President
James K. Polk nominated him to the Senate as a justice of the
Supreme Court of the United States. The nomination was
confirmed, and he served in that capacity till his death. He
died at his home in Philadelphia. September 26, 1870. He
was a ruling elder, and often a member of church courts.
Judge Grier was eminently distinguished for integrity and
worth. He stood very high in the confidence of the public,
and always commanded the respect and esteetn of his profes-
sional brethren.
Hon. James Buchanan
The fifteenth President of the United States, was born near
Mercersburg, Franklin county. Pa., April 23, 1791. He grad-
uated at Dickinson College in 1809, studied law and settled at
Lancaster, Pa. In 1814 he was elected to the Legislature. He
was elected for a second term, and, though young, he was one
of the most prominent members of the body. In 1820 he was
elected to Congress. He was elected again and again until he
declined re-election. His last term of service in the House ex-
pired March 3, 1831.
In the same year in which he ceased to be a member of the
House, he was sent by President Jackson, as Minister Plenipo-
tentiary to the Court of St. Petersburg. Here he negotiated
the first commercial treaty which this government ever had
with that of Russia.
In 1833, having returned from Russia, he was elected to the
United States Senate to fill a vacancy. He was afterward
elected for the full term of six years, but soon after his second
election he resigned to take a place in the Cabinet of President
Polk. His position in the Cabinet was that of Secretary of
State, and he discharged his duties with marked abdity.
Andrew Blair. 365
At the expiration of Mr. Polk's presidential term, Mr. Bu-
chanan retired to his country seat, near Lancaster, Pa., where
he remained until 1853, when President Pierce tendered him
the mission to the Court of St James. He remained in Eng-
land until the spring of 1856. In June of this year he re-
ceived the nomination of the Democratic National Convention,
foi- the Presidency, and in the following November he was
elected to the highest office in the gift of the American people.
It was a period of great sectional excitement and strife. He
did not escape serious blame, though no one doubted his honest
desire to discharge his whole duty. In sincere love of his
country he was second to none ; but it was his misfortune to
fall on evil times, and the great civil war burst upon the country
as he was retiring from office.
In March, 1861, he retired to his country seat, Wheatland,
near Lancaster, where he spent his declining years in the so-
ciety of his neighbors and friends. He had always been a be-
liever in the truth of Christianity ; he now made an open confes-
sion of his faith in Christ and become a communicant member
in the Presbyterian church. He died calmly and peacefully
on Monday, June 1, 1868.
Andrew Blair
Was born in Carlisle, Pa., April 10, 1789, and there, having
served his day and generation, he died most peacefully and
hopefully, July 21, 1861. His grandfather, WiUiam Blair, is
mentioned in 1781, as one of the trustees of Carlisle Academy.
His own father, William Blair, died in early manhood. An-
drew was his second son. He was a man of strong natural
powers, and a leading spirit in his native place. Ordained a
ruling elder in the First Presbyterian church of Carlisle, De-
cember 25, 1825, he was one of the leaders in the movement
which resulted in the organization of the Second church, Jan-
uary 12, 1833, and he became one of its original elders. It was
the testimony of one of his pastors. Rev. Dr. A. T. McGill, that
" Andrew Blair was always a prince among the elders of the
church." The people in his own church had the utmost con-
fidence in him as a man and a christian. Thev trusted him as a
366 Preshytertj of Carlisle — Centennial
leader, loved him as a friend, and revered liiin as an oracle ;
while among the poor outside of the church he was often called
" the pastor of the town." He was always the ardent sup-
]>orter of the free school system, and for the twenty-five years
previous to his death he had been president of the board of
school directors of his native town.
James Hamilton, Esq.,
Was bom in Carlisle, Pa., October 16, 1793, and there he
died, January 23, 1873. He was the only son of Judge Ham-
ilton, and a lineal descendant of Rev. Samuel Thomson, tlie
first pastor of the church at Meeting House Spring (now Car-
lisle), which, with that of Silver Spring, was the first Presby-
terian charge west of the Susquehanna River. In 1812 he
graduated at Dickinson College and in 1816 he became a mem-
ber of the bar in his native place. He never married, but oc-
cupied the old Hamilton mansion in Carlisle until the time of
his death.
The record of his departure on the Second church register
has this significant remark by his pastor, " He was a benefac-
tor of this church." This was in allusion to the fact that he
had contributed $11,000 to the erection of the new church in
which his own funeral was one of the first services, and in
grateful remembrance of the fact that, with his hearty concur-
rence, his sister, Mrs. Susan H. Thorn, had left a legacy of
$5,000, for the purpose of building a manse for the same con-
gregation. This home for the pastor was erected in 1869.
Mr. Hamilton was a gentleman of high and varied culture,
of somewhat eccentric manners, but deep and fervent piety.
Some time after his death the Rev. Dr. A. T. McGill, who had
formerly been his pastor, wrote of him as follows : " James
Hamilton was one of the best men I ever knew in any calling
of life. Rich, and bashful, and eccentric as he was, he went
about doing good. His conscientiousness gave him diligence
antl courage, method and force."
Mr. Hamilton devoted most of his time to some service of
the public. For many years he was a faithful trustee of Dick-
inson College, and of the Second Presbyterian church. lie
Hon. George Metzger. 367
was a most devoted friend of the public schools of Carlisle,
serving as a director from 1836 to the time of his death. He
was twice elected a ruling elder of his church, but modestly
declined the office, though for years he superinteiided the Sab-
bath school and taught a Bible class. His short and fervid
prayers in the social meetings of the church are still remem-
bered gratefully by his pastor. His final departure was in
answer to a sudden call. Like Enoch he had " walked with
God," and his death was almost like a translation : '" He was
not, for God took him.'"
Hon. Gheorge Metzgrer.
George Metzger was born, according to a family register in
his own handwriting, 19th November, 1782, in Hanover. York
county, Pa. He was the son of Paul Metzger and Susanna
Maria Bower, being the youngest in a family of six children.
His parents occupied a good social position, and, while he was
still a lad, sent him to Carlisle that he might receive a liberal
education. He entered Dickinson College about 1797. The
institution was then under the care of the celebrated and ec-
centric Dr. Nisbet, who was officiall}^ designated as the Princi-
pal. Here he obtained the elements of a thorough education,
though he never graduated.
The greater part of Mr. Metzger s life was spent in Carlisle,
but his first known visit to the place was in October. 1794, at
which time his father and himself were the guests oi Dr. Mc-
Coskry, the father of the late bishop of that name. This was
during the celebrated Whisky Insurrection, and Dr. McCoskry
gave a dinner party to General Washington, Governor Mifflin
and other notables. Young Metzger was invited, but, owing
to his extreme modesty, did not appear at the table ; but to the
day of his death he retained a very vivid remembrance of the
excitements of the occasion, and often recounted little incidents
of the time. General Washington's bodyguard was composed
of New Jersey cavalry, handsomely uniformed. Public sen-
timent in this region was distracted, and there was not a little
of turbulent lawlessness manifested among the people. A dif-
ficultv arose between the citizens and the soldiers. Governor
368 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
Mifflin addressed the crowd from the balcony of a hotel, on
South Hanover street, near the public square, and young Metz-
ger stood near the Governor, an interested spectator of the ex-
citing scene. General Washington's headquarters were on the
opposite side of the street, in the building adjoining the resi-
dence of Colonel Ephraim Blaine, whose guest he was. Mrs.
Eobert Blaine, the sister of Mr. Metzger, came in daily from
her home on the banks of the Conodoguinet, took charge of
affairs in the house of her father-in-law, and did the honors of
the occasion during all the stay of Washington in Carlisle.
As General Washington had previously been the guest of his
father, Paul Metzger, at Hanover, it is not wonderful that his
personal appearance, and many of these stirring scenes were
indelibly impressed upon the memory of our now departed
friend.
He began the study of law in the office of Mr. Hopkins, a
distinguished lawyer in Lancaster, Pa., but soon removed to
Carlisle, and entered the office of David Watts, Esq. Here he
pursued his studies with diligence and success. In his later
years he was accustomed to tell, as a curious illustration of
those early times, that it was the habit of his respected precep-
tor to examine his class every Sunday morning as to their legal
studies during the past week.
In 1805 he was admitted to the bar of Cumberland county.
In 1806 he was appointed deputy attorney general for Cum-
berland and Adams counties. After a few years of practice,
he was offered the judgeship for Dauphin district, by the Gov-
enor of the State, but he declined the honor. He was elected
to the Legislature of his native State, for the term of 1813-14,
where he served with cred.it to himself and his friends.
Like many other men, he found that political life seriously
interfered with professional success. He has left on record an
amusing confession of this fact. We find on examining his
private docket, that in the November term of court for 1813,
he had sixty-seven cases. At the end of the January term,
1814, we find the following entry : " Concerned in nine cases
only to this term ! This is the effect of becoming politician and
going to the Legislature." Following the April term we find
Hon. Robert McClelland. 869
again in his own handwriting : " Concerned in thirteen suits
only to this term ! Blessed effects of going to the Legislature !"
Who would be willing to obscure the impression of these ex-
tracts by any moralizing ?
Mr. Metzger was for many years a trustee of Dickinson
College. For about thirty-five years, beginning with its or-
ganization, he was a trustee of the Second Presbyterian church
of Carlisle, where he was a constant attendant on divine ser-
vice. He left quite a large estate, and was the founder of
Metzger Institute, Carlisle, Pa. He never married, and when
about fifty years of age he retired from active life. Though
never robust, he survived to a very advanced age, and died
June 10, 1879, in his 97th year.
Hon. Robert McClelland.
This gentleman, who attained to high position by the force
of native talent, and sterling integrity, was born in Greencastle,
Franklin county, Pa, August 1, 1807. Among his ancestors
were several officers of rank in the war of the Revolution. His
father was an eminent physician and surgeon who studied
his profession under Dr. Benjamin Rush of Philadelphia,
practiced it with great success, and lived to an advanced age.
The subject of this sketch graduated at Dickinson College,
in 1829, among the first in his class. He was admitted to the
bar at Chambersburg, in 1831, removed to Pittsburgh and
practiced his profession for about a year ; but feeling like many
more of our people the attraction of the newer west, he re-
moved again in 1838 to Monroe, in the Territory of Michigan.
Here nis legal studies and efforts were crowned witji abundant
success. In 1835 he was elected a member of the convention
called to frame a constitution for the proposed State of Mich-
igan. In 1838 he was elected a member of the State Legisla-
ture, in which he soon became distinguished. In 1843 he was
elected to Congress where he became so conspicious and pop-
ular that he was twice re-elected.
In 1851 Mr. McClelland was elected Governor of his adopted
State and subsequently re-elected. President Pierce, at the
organization of fiis Cabinent in 1853, invited him to take the
24*
370 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
position of Secretary of the Interior, a trust which he accepted
and discharged for four years with credit to himself and his
friends.
Mr. McClelland was married, in 1837, to Miss Sarah E. Sabine,
of Williamstown, Mass.
James Wallace "Weir,
Son of Samuel and Mary (Wallace) Weir was born at Har-
risburg. Pa., August 9, 1805, and died at Harrisburg, Pa.,
March 14, 1878. Married June 4, 1845, Mrs. Hanna A. (Fahn-
estock) Mahaney, who died February 12, 1872. He publicly
confessed Christ and united with the Presbyterian church at
Harrisburg, July 4, 1830. In 1834 he was elected and or-
dained as a ruling elder in the church, and chosen as the super-
intendent of the Sunday school, and filled both these offices
until his death, a period of forty-four years. He filled the
office of teller in the Harrisburg Bank fi'om November 26,
1833, to October 30, 1844, and from the last date until his
death he was cashier of the same bank, filling these two posi-
tions over forty-four years. Mr. Weir was a life director in
the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions
for nearly twenty years, a delegate to all the higher courts of
the church and to important religious conventions very fre-
quently ; a contributor to the general and religious press, and
to the Theological Review of his own denomination ; the com-
piler of a Sunday school hymn book, and the composer of a
number of hymns ; the author of two volumes of prayers, one
of which has passed through several editions. His life from
early youth was marked by mental energy and large public
activities. His grandparents (Weir and Wallace) fought side
by side as valiant defenders of Derry in the famous siege of
1689-90. His father was one of the original elders of the
Presbyterian church at Harrisburg and a lieutenant in the
Revolutionary army. Inheriting a mind strong in natural
faculties, and a will earnest and positive, trained in a home of
prayer and consecrated piety, his remarkable conversion at the
age of twenty-five years prepared him to fill a very prominent
place for nearly half a century in social, business and religious
*' tt ^
y V V •
limself and his
iv Sabine.
bui-g, Pa..
■\ courte ()
y. ill he-
earnest u
Thomas Duncan, LL. D. 373
mission chapel and the parsonage. In the public cemetery, at
bis own expense, he secured a lot for the graves of those of
the congregation unable to provide for themselves. He died
November 7, 1889, at his home in Chambersburg, Pa.
Thomas Duncan, LL.D.
Few men of his day enjoyed a more enviable reputation than
the subject of this sketch. His father was a native of Scot-
land and an early settler in the Cumberland Valley. The
illustrious son was born in Carlisle, Novembei* 20, 1760, and
educated at Dickinson College. He studied law at Lancaster
under the direction of Hon. Jasper Yeates, then one of the
judges of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. On his ad-
mission to the bar he returned to his native place and opened
a law office. He was rapidly borne by genius, perseverence
and integrity, to tHe pinnacle of his profession, and was ele-
vated to the bench of the Supreme Court of his native state.
This appointment was made by Governor Snyder, March 14,
1817. He was chosen to fill the vacancy caused by the death
of his preceptor. Judge Yeates.
Judge Duncan was a small man, with a large but well-formed
head. He was distinguished for his quickness and alertness of
both mind and body. Judge Brackenridge, who knew him
well, has left this estimate of him on record : " Mr. Duncan
was one of the best lawyers and advocates I have ever seen at
a bar, and he was, perhaps, the best judge that ever sat on the
the supreme bencTi of the state."
Judge Duncan died November 16, 1827. For the last ten
years of his life he had resided in Philadelphia, but his mortal
remains rest in the Duncan lot in the old graveyard at Carlisle,
under a handsome marble monument.
Hon. John Kennedy
Was born in Mifflin township, Cumberland county, in June,
1774. He graduated at Dickinson College, and afterwards
read law with Judge Hamilton at Carlisle, and was admitted
to the bar in 1794. He afterwards removed to Pittsburgh.
In 1830 he was appointed a justice of the Supreme Court of
Pennsvlvania. and remained on the bench until his death, on
374 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
tiie 27th day of August, 1846. He was buried in Laurel Hill
cemetery, Philadelphia.
At a meeting of the members of the bar, in the Supreme
Court room, on the occasion of the death of Judge Kennedy,
Chief Justice Gibson said of him : " A cooler head and warmer
heart never met together in the same person ; and it is barely
just to say that he has not left behind a more learned lawyer
or a more upright man."
James Hutchinson Graham, LL. D.
The subject of this sketch was a son of a ruling elder in the
Big Spring Presbyterian church, Newville, Pa. He was born
September the 10th, 1809 ; was educated at Dickinson College,
graduating in the class of 1827. He studied law in the office
of Andrew Carothers, a prominent member of the Carlisle bar,
and was admitted to practice January, 1830. In 1839, he was
appointed, by Governor Porter, Deputy Attoraey-Genei-al of
the state, a position which he held for six years with great
credit to himself. In 1850 he was elected president judge of
the Ninth judicial district, composed of the counties of Cum-
berland, Perry and Juniata. In 1861 he was re-elected for
another period of ten years, so that when he retired from the
office, in 1871, he had passed a score of years on the bench.
When the writer of this sketch came to Carlisle, in 1869,
Judge Graham was one of the most prominent characters in
the community. He had been for so many years the president
judge of this district that he seemed almost a permanent judi-
cial fixture. Having been born and bred in the county he was
quite "to the manner born," and could say like one of old,
"1 dwell among mine own people." His integrity was never
questioned, his ability was recognized by all, and it was his
special pride that his decisions were seldom reversed by the
Supreme Court. After his retirement he resumed practice at
the bar in Carlisle. In 1862 his Alma Mater conferred upon
him the degree of Doctor of Laws, a well-merited honor. Not-
withstanding all his public duties he was seldom absent from
his place in the sanctuary. He was for many years a consis-
tent member of the Second Church. Judge Graham was twice
married, and was the father of a large family. He died Sep-
tember 26. 1882.
THK INKIvUENCE:
OF THK
PRESBYTERY OF CARLISLE
BEYOND ITS BOUNDS.
By Rev. GEORGE NORCROSS, D. D.
" By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out
into a place which he should after receive for an in-
heritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing
whither he went."— Heb. xi : 8.
PREFATORY NOTE.
jHIS address is left, almost word for word, as it was at
first delivered on the occasion of our Centennial
Anniversary. For a time the purpose was enter-
tained of recasting it entirely and greatly enlarging
its scope and treatment : but many things have interfered with
this personal preference. Much that properly and logically
belonged to the plan of this paper has received, incidentally,
quite a full treatment at the hands of others, and it seems use-
less now to tell the same story over in another form. Then
the general supervision of the whole work which has come
upon the writer, as the chairman of the committee on publica-
tion, has thoroughly occupied all the time at his disposal, while
the laborious correspondence which was necessary to gather the
illustrations for these memorial volumes has rendered it almost
impossible for him to follow out the lines of research which
were indicated in the following address.
Another limitation under which we have all worked has
been the determination to confine our work strictly to the de-
parted, to make it truly a memorial of the past. If any are
tempted to ask why some friend or favorite has not been
noticed in these pages, they v\nll probably find an ample explana-
tion in the fact that the good man is still spared to his friends
and allowed to make history for himself. Many such factors,
living and potential, are at work ; we bless God for their infiu-
ence ; but we can only remind the reader that it is not our
task to record their triumphs. We leave that to the historians
of the next Centennial.
The studies of the last four years have only confirmed the
opinion entertained before, that the American Presbyterian
Church is what it is largely because of the conservative influ-
378 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
eiice which has gone out from this region. The sons of the
Covenanters and the men of Ulster knew wiiat they believed
and why they believed it. While it must be confessed that
our type of Presbyterian ism has been so inflexible, that some-
times we have missed our opportunity, and again, not unfre-
quently, we have sacrificed important interests by unseemly
strife over minor matters ; yet, none the less, the Presbyterian
Churcii of this country owes its existence to that race of
people who had maintained the " Reformed or Calvinistic sys-
tem" for two hundred years before they sought a home in this
western world. These people have a love for the creed and the
polity, the traditions and the spirit of our church, which is sel-
dom found elsewhere. It is a well-known fact that while Pres-
byterianism in old England degenerated into Arianism, and in
New England, into Unitarianism, the church of our fathers
has never wavered in its adherence to the evangelical teachings
of the Westminster Symbols.
While it is certainly true that the original elements of our
church in this region were Scotch and Scotch-Irish, yet it is
thankfully acknowledged that for years we have received a
strong infusion of Grerman blood, which came to us either
through the influence of intermarriage, or from a deliberate
choice of our doctrine and polity.
It is with a melancholy pleasure that this work is retouched
for the last time. The task has been performed under the
pressure of so many other duties that at times it has seemed
very irksome. But now that the end has come, only one sor-
row is felt, and that is the plague of all human effort — the
regret that the performance was not more worthy of the theme.
G. N.
Carlisle, June, 16, 1890.
Presbytery of Carlisle — Gentenniai o79
INFLUENCE OF THE PRESBYTERY OF CARLISLE
BEYOND ITS BOUNDS.
By Rev. George Norcross, D. D.
|T is a proper and comely thing to celebrate the vir-
tues of our ancestry, and to do honor to the mem-
ory of our fathers. Burke has well said : " People
will not look forward to posterity who never look
backward to their ancestors." But, aside from the filial duty so
becoming in itself, we may strengthen our hands and encourage
our hearts by noting the far-reaching influences which spring
from the labors and the deathless example of the pious, for
" The memory of the just is blessed."
The honorable mention which has to-day been made of many
early families, whose lineal descendents are no longer with us,
naturally raises the question, what has become of them ? The
task has been assigned to me of answering, however imper-
fectly, this question.
We cannot say of these as the beloved disciple said of some
in his day : " They went out from us, but they were not of us ;
for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have con-
tinued with us." No, they were " of us," bone of our bone and
flesh of our flesh, noble representatives of all that we hold
sacred and dear, and though a few have returned to join with
us in these anniversary services, the great mass can only be
with us in spirit, as we celebrate to-day a hundred years of
earthly vicissitudes and discipline, of heavenly faithfulness and
blessing. These honorable names have not generally failed
from among the children of men. They are found to-day inter-
woven with the history of Church and State from the Atlantic
to the Pacific, and from the great lakes on the north to the Gulf
of Mexico on the south. For a hundred years this tide of emi-
gration has been sweeping down the great valley of Virginia
380 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
and spreading out over the broad savannahs of the South. It
has been flowing over the mountains and pouring into the
great Mississippi Valley, until it is felt in every corner of the
land.
As Castelar said of the popular leaders of New Italy so we
may say of these Presbyterian fathers, " What Savanarola
could not do by giving himself to God, and Machiavelli could
not do by giving himself to the devil, these men have done" —
they have made a free state ; nay, they have done more, for
they have made a pure church.
It is a curious reflection as we sit here to-day, in the midst
of this sanctuary, enclosed by these sturdy walls and sur-
rounded by all the comforts of peace, that these massive foun-
dations were laid while the memories of savage massacres were
yet fresh in the minds of the actors, when the scalps of their
own wives and children might still be counted and sold to the
emissaries of the French Government on the western frontier,
when the first blow for Independence had not yet been struck,
when the people calculated every little bill in pounds, shillings
and pence, and drank to the health of his royal majesty, King
George III, by the grace of God King of England.
It is hardly less suggestive that when the Presbytery of Car-
lisle was organized the war of Independence was only fairly
closed, the Constitution of the United States was not yet
adopted; there was no general system of national coinage; the
Continental treasury was bankrupt, and its dishonored cur-
rency was the jest of every wit and the disgust of every cred-
itor. Debts were paid in a mongrel currenc}^ — rough colonial
scrip and continental bills, with the hybrid coinage of every
realm, which had been filtered into the country from all civil-
ized nations. There was no President of the Federal Govern-
ment, and it was three years before Washington was inaugu-
rated as the first President of the American Republic.
It is strange reading to find it noted in one of the histories
of these early times that the first post from Philadelphia to
Pittsburgh was established in the fall of 1786, and to know that
there had been no public mail between these points before. It
is a startling statement to us that in the same year Pittsburgh
Influence Beyond Its Bounds. 381
contained but thirtj-six log houses, one stone and one frame
house, and that all its merchandising was conducted in five
small stores ; that one hundred years ago the paper mill at
Chambersburg furnished all the paper for the entire west, in-
cluding Kentucky ; that as late as 1796 pack horses were
loaded in Chambersburg to cross the mountains for the west
with various articles of merchandise, including bar iron and
salt for Pittsburgh.
It is well known that in the first half of last century, and at
least up to the time of the Revolutionary War, the region cov-
ered by the Presbytery of Donegal was the favorite resort of
Scotch-Irish immigration. Perhaps no very definite estimate
can be made as to the exact number of people who had made
this region their home before the organization of the Presby-
tery of Carlisle ; but from the large number of patriot volun-
teers who went from this region to join the American army we
know that the population must have been considerable for a
province so limited in extent and so recently settled.
This was then practically a frontier Presbj^tery, and it cov-
ered all the region beyond with the exception of the little
missionary Presbytery of Redstone. Geographically it looked
toward the southwest, the west and the northwest, and this
early tendency has never been lost. It has indeed sent some
of its ablest sons to New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and
Washington, but the constant tendency has been to push on to
the newer parts of the land, and plant the church in the "re-
gions beyond.'"
Charles Dickens is credited with saying that " the typical
American would hesitate to enter heaven unless assured that
there he could go farther west.'' It must be confessed that this
spirit has possessed and powerfull}' actuated the Scotch-Irish
element of the Presbyterian church. It is to this spirit that
the church owes her rapid progress across this great continent,
and the planting of her deathless principles in so many local-
ities. The progress of this natural movement has been a sad
experience to many an eastern pastor. He has mourned over
the departure of those who had long been his comfort and stay,
little thinking of the divine plan by which the church was to
382 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial
be planted in all the broad empire of the west But these
sturdy pilgrims who have traveled on toward the setting sun
have gone out, like Columbus, to the discovery of new worlds.
They have gone out, like Abraham, seeking a land of promise.
They have gone out, like brave crusaders, to take possession of
a mighty empire in the name of Christ, and they have con-
stantly sent back a ringing cry to their friends in the east to
come on to the front for
"The rudiments of empire here
Are plastic yet and warm ;
The chaos of a mighty world
Is rounding into form. ' '
No one ever blamed a western man with under-estimating the
importance of his section or his age.
But how shall this story of conquest and victory be told in
a half-hour? It is impossible to be definite without the
mention of names, and who does not shrink from this because
of the risk of injustice which such a mention involves? May
I ask your charitable indulgence while I make the perilous at-
tempt? I wish I had the historical gift to recall and you the
time to hear repeated the name and deeds of every hero who
has gone out from our bounds to lend a hand in the conflicts
and triumphs of the last hundred years in Church and State.
It is wonderful how few of these pioneers made shipwreck of
the faith. They were strong because they were trained in a sys-
tem of truth, compact and logical They knew what they be-
lieved and why they believed it ; and very few of them have
every failed in the day of battle. Perhaps only in the last
great day will it be known how much the}^ did to win the land
for Christ. If in this fair land there should ever come a great
Armageddon battle with the cruel hosts of Anti-Christ, it may
be seen how largely by their influence the whole wide land
was "bound by golden chains about the feet of God."
Then in the language of the son of Sirach, " Let us now
praise famous men and our fathers that begat us.
" The Lord hath wrought great glory by them through His
gi'eat power from the beginning."
Influence Beyond Its Bounds. 383
" All these were honored in their generations, and were tlie
glory of their times.'"
*******
" Their bodies are buried in peace : but their name liveth
forevermore.
•' The people will tell of their wisdom, and the congregation
will show forth their praise."
In this celebration it seems proper that some notice should
be given to those elements out of whicli our Presbytery was
developed. One hundred years ago the>e were twenty-two
ministers and a corresponding number of churches on the ter-
ritory which was assigned to the Presbytery of Carlisle. The
church had been developing in this region for about fifty years,
and the congregations which then constituted the Presbytery,
had been sending out their representatives north, south, east
and west The name of Donegal is now only historic, and
perhaps no Presbytery has a better right than ours to cherish
tlie early history of that mother Presbytery. To us as a Pres-
])ytery has been assigned, by the authority of our superior
couns, the custody of all her early records, which we not only
guard with jealous care, but mean to put into the form of per-
manent written history. We, therefore, claim an interest in
the history and influence of this region even before the Presby-
tery of Carlisle had a separate organization.
In 1781, while the Presbytery of Carlisle w^as still an inte-
gral part of the mother Presbytery, a little band of four minis-
ters beyond the mountains had been, at their own request, and
by the action of Synod, formed into the Presbytery of Redstone.
These original members of Redstone were the Rev. Messrs.
Joseph Smith, John McMillan, James Power and Thaddeus
Dodd. Of these men, Joseph Smith, whose name is mentioned
first, seems to have been the eldest, and Dodd, whose name
stands last, was apparently the youngest It is a remarkable
fact that they were all graduates of Princeton College, and ail
except Dodd, were from Eastern Pennsylvania. The memo-
ries of these four pioneers should ever be cherished by our
church as missionaries of the cross and benefactoi-s of the race.
They were men of talents and education. More eligible po-
384 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
sitions were open to them, but they turned their backs upon the
attractions, the comforts and the refinements of the east, and
with their families, and at their own expense, they crossed the
mountains, forded rivers, traversed wildernesses, endured pri-
vations, suffered fatigue, and braved peril to do the Lord's
work and plant the school and the church in those western
wilds.
The bold spirits who had gone out to that region, were with
scarce an exception, from the Presbyterian element of this val-
ley and eastern Pennsylvania. McMillan had been ordained
by the mother Presbytery, Donegal, then on the frontier, at
Chambersburg, June 19, 1776, that he might accept the call
which had been extended to him by two congregations, which
he had already gathered beyond the mountains. Compar-
isons are invidious and often unjust. All of these orig-
inal members did a noble work for the church, but, by com-
mon consent. Dr. McMillan has been regarded as the father of
the Presbvterian church in western Pennsylvania. He was in
every way a man of mark. Not only a child of the covenant,
but dedicated by his parents before his birth to the work of the
ministry, as he grew up it was manifest that the Spirit of the
Lord God was upon him. He was literally " the voice of one
crying in the wilderness."' He came in the spirit and power of
Elijah, and it falls to the lot of but few men to exert such a
personal influence on the men of their time. He was the first
minister who settled as a pastor west of the Allegheny Moun-
tains. He was not only one of the original members of the
Presbytery of Redstone, but he was its first moderator. The
cautious and exact Dr. Elliott says of him : "He has been de-
servedly recognized as 'the Apostle of the west,' and his zeal
and influence in the cause of evangelical religion, and that of
sound literary and theological education, and his eminent suc-
cess in winning souls to Christ, have made his memory pre-
cious to the churches throughout this region." The labors
and example of such a man should be kept in perpetual re-
membrance by the church.
It must be admitted that all liis associates were " able min-
isters of the New Testament, not of the letter, but of the
[nfiuence Beyond Its Bonnds. 385
Spirit," and that they were ready for any work which the
Lord laid to their hand. They seemed as ready to teach as to
preach, and they all assisted young men in their studies, who
were desirous of obtaining a liberal education. Each seems to
have had his own "log college" during the first years of their
labors in the new settlements. But hy common consent they
seem to have combined their efforts at two points, Cannonsburgh
and Washington. The result was academies first and colleges
afterwards. It is inscribed on the tombstone of McMillan at
Chartiers, " He was the leading founder of Jefferson College."
Popular opinion has usually associated with the name of
McMillan that of another, who stands out as a representative
man among the early ministers of Westmoreland, or " the Red-
stone Region," the names by which all southwest Pennsylvania
was then known. This man was Rev. Elisha Macurdy. He
was born October 15, 1768, in our own borough of Carlisle,
where his family then resided. " He was baptized in the old
log meeting house on Pomfret street," by Rev. Geo. Duffield,
the first of that name who ministered in Carlisle. This historic
church stood on the corner opposite to the present Second
Church, west of Hanover and south of Pomfret streets.
We know but little of his early years. He enjoyed such
advantages of education as were common in t;he place at the
time, but he had gone no further than the elements of Latin,
when his studies were interrupted by the breaking out of the
Revolutionary war. His father havmg become embarrassed in
his worldly circumstances, made several changes in his place of
residence, and finally, when Elisha was about twenty-one years
of age, he removed to Ligonier Valley. Westmoreland county.
It would take too long to tell how, by energy, industry and
business tact, young Macurdy restored in some degree the .for-
tunes of his house, and, being converted, was finally able to
pursue a course of liberal study for seven years, under the care
of Dr. John McMillan, and became one of the most useful and
beloved ministers of western Pennsylvania.
It cannot be thought strange if we claim a peculiar interest
in these two men, who went out from us to become such lead-
25*
886 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
ing spirits in founding and building up the church in the west-
ern part of tlie State.
Closely connected with these names stands that of Matthew
Brown, D. D., LL. D. His parents had resided in the vicinity
of Carlisle, but had removed to Northumberland county, Pa.
His father took an active part in the Revolutionary struggle,
and died in the midst of it, leaving Matthew, his youngest son,
then a child but two years of age. He was adopted in his in-
fancy by his uncle, William Brown, a man of influence in
Dauphin county, and residing near to Harrisburg. There he
prepared for college, and in May, 179-1, he graduated from
Dickinson College during the presidency of Dr. Nisbet, for
whom he always entertained ihe highest regard.
Alter his graduation he taught a classical school in North-
umberland county, studied theology, and was licensed to preach
by Carlisle Presbytery, October 3, 1799. For a few years he
labored as a pastor in the bounds of Huntingdon Presbytery,
but receiving an invitation from the church in Washington,
Pa., to become its pastor, and from the academy in the same
place to become its principal, he removed there in the spring
of 1805.
The next 3'ear, largely through his influence, a charter for
Washington College was secured ; and his academy was
merged into that institution. Of the new college Mr. Brown
was elected the first president, still retaining his pastoral rela-
tion with the church. For nearly ten 3^ears he continued to
perform these double duties, taxing ever}- power to the utmost,
but sustained by the consciousness of duty performed and pro-
gress accomplished. In 1816, however, he resigned the presi-
dency of the college, preferring to give his whole time to the
pastoral charge of his church.
This quiet pastoral work continued for about six year ;, and,
though during this time he was offered the presidency of Centre
College, yet he still preferred to remain in the pastorate.
In 1822, however, he accepted the Presidency of Jefferson Col-
lege at Cannonsburgh, and continued to hold the office for
twenty-three years ; and here again he was eminentl}^ success-
ful. Dr. Brown was a man who always commanded respect
Influence Beyond lU Buunds. 387
aud inspired confidence in his ability to [)ert'onn whatever he
undertook. He was a very effective preacher, and this was the
work in which he especially delighted ; but perhaps he was
never more useful than in the presidency of a college, and his
memory will ever be cherished in the united college which he
did so much to establish. It is no common honor to serve in
turn as principal two such institutions as W:ishington and Jeffer-
son, and to be eminently successful in both.
To-day we are proud to claim Dr. Matthew Brown as one of
the sons of Carlisle Presbytery. He was a strong man ; and
it has been well said of him that he "' made a deep and during
mark upon his generation."
And here another honored name is called to mind, and
another distinguished personality comes upon the scene. It
was Dr. Brown who introduced to the church and college at
Washington the Rev. David Elliott, one of the most useful
ministers the American church has ever produced.
Rev. David Elliott, D. D., LL. D., was born in Sherman's
Valley, February 6, 1787. He graduated at Dickinson Col-
lege in 1808, was licensed by the Presbytery of Carlisle, Sep-
tember 26. 1811, and was soon installed pastor of the church
at Mercersburg, Pa., where he remained for seventeen years.
While attending academy at Mifflin, Pa., he had lived in the
family of the pastor, Rev. Matthew Brown, and this was " the
first link in the chain of events which largely shaped his future
life."
In 1828, Dr. Brown, then the president of Jefferson Colleg3,
was invited to return to Washington, the scene of his past
labors, to become again the president of a college which he
had organized, and to take charge of a beloved church of which
he had been the first pastor. Hesitating between the warm im-
pulses of his heart in one direction, and his obligations to Jef-
fei-son College, where he seemed indispensable, he confidenti-
ally addressed his fiiend, then the pastor at Mercersburg, urg-
ing the claims of the church and the college at Washington,
and preparing the way for an invitation to either.
No hasty action was taken, but, after prayerful consideration,
Mr. Elliott finally accepted a call from the church at Wash-
PreshyU'ry of Carlisle — Centermial.
ington, and in a few months he was urged to accept the presi-
dency of the college, which, at the time, was completely pros-
trated. This he at first declined to do, and recommended for
that position another minister in the Presbytery of Carlisle,
Dr. David McConaughy, then the pastor at Gettysburg. But
when he declined, and no one else could be found who would
undertake the task. Dr. Elliott consented to take the position
of " acting president and professor of moral philosophy" until
a permanent president could be secured. In less than two
years he turned over the college, in a greatly revived condition,
to his friend Dr. McConaughy, who was found willing to ac-
cept on a second election, while Dr. Elliott became the presi-
dent of the board of trustees, a position which he held for
thirty-three years, or until the union of the colleges in 1865.
This was also the beginning of Dr. McConaughy's long and
successful presidency. Rev. David McConaughy, D. D., LL.
D., was a solid man of well-balanced powers, an instructive
preacher, a faithful pastor, and a wise counselor, he brought to
the presidency of Washington College, not only eighteen years
of faithful service, but the dower of accurate scholarship, simple
dignity, and paternal solicitude for his pupils. He was born in
Adams county, Pa., September 29, 1775. He graduated in
Dickinson College in 1795, was ordained pastor at Gettysburg
in 1800, a position which he had held for thirty-two years,
when he accepted the presidency of Washington College.
Thus we have seen that the two principal colleges of west-
ern Pennsylvania, were founded and manned by the sons of
our Presbytery. It may be safely affirmed that to Drs. McMil-
lan, Brown, Elliott and McConaughy the colleges at Washing-
ton and Cannonsburgh were more indebted than to all other men
together. The world need not be told to-day what fountains
of influence, both for church and State, these colleges have been.
Founded in faith and prayer about the beginning of this cen-
tury, they have sent forth living streams of influence into every
part of the land and unto the ends of the earth. May not the
Presbytery of Carlisle, on this day of general review, be par-
doned for taking a motherly pride in such sons and in their
noble achievements ? Our churches have not only held their
Influence Beyond Its Bounds. 889
own numerically, but have sent out branches in all directions
that, like the banyan tree, have taken root again and again to
become equal to the parent stock.
The mention of Dr. Elliott always suggests to men of this
generation the Western Theological Seminary of our church,
which is located at Allegheny. With a desire to provide for
the great Valley of the Mississippi, the Greneral Assembly of
1825 resolved that it was expedient to establish a theological
seminary in the west. Five commissioners were appointed to
consider the question of location and report to the directors.
The competition was spirited, but the General Assembly finally
confirmed the choice of the commissioners, and the seminary
was located at Allegheny.
The first classes seem to have been gathered in 1828. Those
were years of great discouragement. The first building, which,
in an unfinished condition, bega» to be used in 1831, was
burned to the ground in 185*1. The present buildings occupy
another site. Those early years were dark days in the history
of the seminary. In 1836, Dr. Elliott was elected by the Gen-
eral Assembly to the chair of theology.
The prospect was not inviting. Some practical mistakes had
shaken the confidence of the churches in the financial manage-
ment of the institution ; the buildings M'ere unfinished ; the
faculty was incomplete in number : the salary offered was rel-
atively less than he had been receiving, and that was to be
gathered by voluntary contributions from the churches ; and,
worst of all, the church was distracted over those questions
which led to open rupture in 1838. To a man of his wisdom
and foresight, in no need of seeking a position, there was little
to recommend the new work but the imperative need of the
church, and the attraction, which difficulties to be surmounted,
always present to a brave and resolute spirit. " His acceptance
at all in these circumstances," says his biographer, " is an im-
perishable record of his character.'
His present successor at Washington, who was his intimate
friend, another son of Carlisle Presbytery, Dr. James I. Brown-
son, says of his faithful labors on behalf of Allegheny Sem-
inary, " To a divine blessing upon his fidelity as much as to all
390 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
other agencies, does the church owe the preservation of this
school of the prophets, through a hard contest of fifteen years
for its very life."
When, after sixty- three years of labor as a minister of Jesus
Christ, he was called home to hid reward, his associate, the
grave and accomplished Dr. Jacobus said, " His great life-work
was his headship of this theological seminary during thirty-
eight years."
Another associate the eloquent and gentle Dr. Wilson,
said in his last tribute of affection, '• So long as yonder sem-
inary stands, he will not be without a monument. It owes its
existence to him. Let this be said over his coffin. Had it
not been for his indomitable energy and tenacity of purpose,
it would not have survived its trials."
My friends, I am happy to be able to bring these flowers
and lay them on the tomb of one who nearly sixty years ago
went out from this Presbytery with the benediction of his
brethren, who filled some of the highest positions in the gift
of the American church, and who died no less beloved than
respected by the church at large.
I hope no one will be tempted to think that we wish to
prove the Presby terj- of Carlisle the center of influence for the
whole Presbyterian church, but it is a curious fact that the
men who trained some of the greatest leaders in the church
were identified with this region, or sprang out of it. For
example : It is often said that Dr. Archibald Alexander and
Dr. Samuel Miller made Princeton Seminary. But where did
these great men secure the training which prepared them so
admirably for their life-work?
Dr. Alexander was the pupil of Rev. Wm. Graham, who was a
native of Dauphin county, a graduate of the College of New
Jersey, and the principal of a classical academy in Virginia, and
it was under his able instruction that Dr. Alexander secured not
only his classical but his theological education. Dr. Alex-
ander always regarded Mr. Graham as a man of superior gifts,
and to no other man did he acknowledge himself so much in-
debted in regard to the direction of his studies and the mold-
ing of his character. Towards this instructor he ever felt an
Influence Beyond Its Bounds. 391
overwhelming debt of gratitude, and in old age be employed
his leisure hours in writing a memoir of his early friend. Mr.
Graham's academy was incorporated in 1782, under the name
of Liberty IlaH, which name it retained until it was endowed
by General Washington, when it assumed his name, and thus
Mr. Graham became practically the founder of Washington
and Lee University, now one of the most popular institutions
of learning in the south. "The extent of the influence," says
Dr. Alexander, " exerted by this one man over the literature
and religion of Virginia, cannot be calculated."
But let us turn now to the training of Dr. Alexander's
courtly associate, the accomplished Dr. Samuel Miller. It is
well known that Dr. Miller finished his very liberal education
in Carlisle under the care and instruction of Dr. Charles Nis-
bet, then the president of Dickinson College. He had grad-
uated from the University of Pennsylvania, and studied theol-
ogy under the direction of his father, who was a Presbyterian
minister in Delaware. But after his father's death he came to
Carlisle and pursued his studies under Dr. Nisbet until he was
invited and finally settled a pastor in New York city.
The very high estimate which Dr. Miller was accustomed to
entertain respecting his distinguished preceptor may be in-
ferred from the fact that in the midst of all his multiplied en-
gagements he found time to write the life of Dr. Nisbet, and
to rescue from oblivion much of the quaint wit and wisdom
of that gifted but somewhat excentric man.
It is no common honor to have furnished the means of kind-
ling and brightening two such stars as those remarkable men,
who will always be recognized as the fathers of Princeton The-
ological Seminary. But a careful examination of the record
shows that the Presbyterian church of this region may claim
that honor.
It seems to me but just to say in this connection that a care-
ful examination of the list of distinguished men, who have gone
out from the bounds of Carlisle Presbytery, will discover the
fact that a very respectable number of them were originally
from the churches popularly known as Covenanters and Se-
ceders. Our branch of the churcli owes much to this sturdy
392 Presbytery of Carlisle — Ceyitennial
element of Presbyterianisin. During the first half centur\^ of
our Presbytery's existence they divided this field with us.
Gradually the questions of division in the old country receded
into the distance and lost their importance, while the pressing
necessity for co-operation to support the means of grace became
yearly more apparent. More and more the minds of Presby-
terians have been turned to the importance of a more conspic-
uous unity and the development of an American Presbyterian
church, sound and conservative as to all essentials in doctrine
and polity, but liberal and broad enough to include all who
naturally belong to our type of Christianity. The result has
been that more and more as the years have passed away, our
brethren have combined with us to assist in realizing this ideal
of liberal Presbyterianism. May we not express the hope that-
the day is not far distant when one American church shall em-
brace every member of the Presbyterian household in this land.
But my time is exhausted, though my theme never seemed
so large as it still looms up before me, "Alps on Alps." I had
hoped to tell of the magnificent character and career of Dr.
Francis Ilerron, a prince of preachers and the courtliest of men ;
of the bright and saintly Dr. William C. Young, and his far
reaching influence as president, for twenty-seven years, of Centre
College; of Dr. Jeremiah Chamberlain, who spent his long life
in the southwest, the president of three different colleges ; of Dr.
James Carnahan, for thirty years the honored president of Prince-
ton College'; of the Monforts, many and mighty, of mingled
Huguenot and Holland blood, who went to the west from
Gettysburg, and have taken charge of large interests for the
church in the Ohio Valley ; of Dr. George Junkin, once a
name to conjure with, who began his illustrious career in the
old famil}^ mansion near to Kingston, and after graduating at
Jefferson College and studying theology under Dr. John M.
Mason, in New York, became in turn the president of Lafayette
College, of Miami University, and of Washington College, Va. ;
of our own Dr. Robei't Davidson, who gave so many years of
early service to the Church in Kentucky, and gathered up so
lovingly the history of our church on " the dark and bloody
ground ;" of Dr. John M. Krebs, who was l)orn, educated and
Influence Beyond Its Bounds. 393
licensed within the bounds of Carlisle Presbytery, and was im-
mediately called to his life-long pastorate in New York city,
where he remained at once an ornament and a pillar to the
whole church for thirty-seven years ; of Dr. George A. Lyon,
for more than forty years the beloved pastor of the First church
of Erie, and the champion and promoter of every good cause
in northwet?tern Pennsylvania ; of Dr. William D. Snodgrass,
who was the son of a pastor in this Presbytery, and licensed to
preach by your authorit}', who was confessedly one of the
ablest men in the American church, and whose long and useful
life has but recently been brought to a close in his ninetieth
year ; of Drs. Hall, and Neil, and McKnight, and Knox, and the
Nevins ; but where shall I end ? " for the time would fail me
to tell of " all the faithful men, who, strong in faith, mighty in
the scriptures and tireless in devotion, have gone forth from
these valleys to do noble service in the armies of the Lord.
I had wished to more than remind you also of the Buchanans,
and the Blaines, and the Griers, and the Hoges, and the Find-
leys, and the Campbells, and the Wilsons, whose names have
been renowned in the service of their country ; and every friend
of foreign missions is expecting to hear of Dr. M. Simpson
Culbertson, Henry R. Wilson, Ashbel Green Simonton, and
Oliver M. Green, and many more whose names have been
conspicuous as heralds of the cross in heathen or in papal
lands; but I forbear. Patient as you are, I will tax your
patience no further, but, thanking you for your very kind atten-
tion, allow me to give place to my very distinguished brother,
Rev. Dr. Paxton, of Princeton Theological Seminary, who is
so much more capable of rewarding your very considerate and
courteous attention.
OUR REPRESENTATIVES
THE FOREIGN FIELD.
By Rev. GEORGE NORCROSS, D. D.
"Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the
nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost: teaching
them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded
you : and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end
of the world." — Mat. xxviii : 19-20. (Revised Ver-
sion.)
PREFATORY NOTE.
|0 the writer of these sketches has been assigned the
very general topic of " The Influence of Our Pres-
bytery Beyond Its Bounds." The breadth of the
subject is so great that only a very general sketch of
raea and things in our own land has seemed possible, but a
larger liberty has been practiced in dealing with the foreign
field. Here, though numbers were respectable, they were not
overwhelming.
In one sense it can truly be said of our fathers, " Their line is
gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of
the world.'" Our ministers and people were among the first in
this land to lay to heart the condition of the heathen world,
and. though the fields at home were wide and inviting, not
a few of our brethren have felt impelled to go " far hence
unto the Gentiles." Our representatives may be found on many
different and widely-separated mission fields. We have long
aspired to be a mission church, and no one will begrudge the
space and attention which our foreign missionaries receive in
this Centennial Memorial.
It is possible that some of the early missionaries from this
region may have been overlooked in preparing these sketches,
though no such slight has been intended. The most careful
inquiry has been made among our ministers, some whom have
recently passed away, but no persons were named as having a
right to honorable mention in this list of consecrated men and
women, other than those whose lives are here sketched.
Our church had no separate Board of Foreign Missions until
about the time of the division of the church in 1837. The
first representatives from this region in the foreign work were
under the care of the American Board. The writer wishes in
this public way to acknowledge the courtesy of the present
officials of that board in giving all the information in their
power respecting these early missionaries.
398 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial
It was at one time intended to have prepared short sketches
of our living representatives on the foreign field, buc the con-
sideration that they are already mentioned in the history of the
Presbytery in the first volume of this work, and the desire to
make this volume of biography strictly a memorial of the past
has controlled in this matter.
They are, however, such a goodly compiany, so respectable
in number, so distinguished for ability, and so faithful in ser-
vice that it is with reluctance the telling of their story is left
to historians of the next centennial.
G. N.
Carlislk, July 5, 1890.
Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial 399
OUR REPRESENTATIVES ON THE FOREIGN FIELD.
By Rev. George Norcboss, D. D.
Rev. James Holmes, D. D.
|HE subject of this sketch was born in Carlisle, Pa.,
August 21, 1801. He was the son of Abraham and
Rebekah (Weakley) Holmes. At the age of three
years he was left fatherless ; but his mother after-
wards married a very worthy christian gentleman, Mr. Andrew
Boden. Mr. Holmes had expressed a desire that his son should
receive a liberal education and had left him a patrimony suffi-
cient to carry out his wishes. Besides the lad was peculiarly
blest in his mother, who was a woman of superior gifts and
devoted piety. Her son might seem wayward and thought-
less, but she had only one aim and expectation for him, he
must be trained up for usefulness and heaven.
His preparation for college was made at Hopewell Academy,
near Newburg, and in the grammar school connected with
Dickinson College. He entered Princeton College in 1820,
and spent aboat a year there, while Dr. Ashbel Green was
president Soon after entering college he was hopefully con-
verted in a revival of religion, and, with several of his compan-
ions, he professed his faith in Christ On September 11, 1820,
he was enrolled as a member of the First Presbyterian church
in Princeton, and the following Sabbath came for the first time
to the Lord's table. Rev. George S. Wood hull was then the
pastor in charge of that venerable church.
After spending one year at Princeton he returned to Carlisle
to pursue his studies in Dickinson College, which about that
time was quickened into new life by the accession of Rev.
John M. Mason, D. D., to its presidency. To the prestige of
Dr. Mason's name, than which there was nothing greater in the
American church of that day, there was added the reputation
of a very strong faculty which he was able to bring with him.
400 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
It was under the presidency of this illustrious man that Mr.
Holmes graduated in the class of 1823.
While in college his spirit of devotion was conspicuous. An
interesting revival of religion commenced in a prayer meet-
ing in his room. About this time we find this entry in his
diary : " December 5, 1822. This day has been appointed by
the Synod of Philadelphia as a day of fasting and prayer that
God would pour out the refreshing influences of His Spirit on
all their churches. Forever blessed be His name for what He
has already done for the college and this borough. Already
about fifteen of the precious students are rejoicing in the hope
of the gospel and as many more are under anxiety of mind.
Anxious meetings are held in my room every Tuesday and
Thursday evening and appear to be remarkably blest."
Among his fellow students and classmates at Carlisle were
Rev. John C. Young. D. D., Rev. Geo. W. Bethune, D. D.,
Rev. Erskine Mason, D. D., Rev. John G. Morris, D. D., Rev.
John Holmes Agnew, D. D., Bishop McCoskry, of Michigan,
and Prof. Alfred Armstrong. Among his associates afterwards
at Princeton Seminary were the Rev. Drs. Edward N. Kirk,
John W. Nevin, Geo. W. Bethune, Job F. Halsey and James
Wood, all of whom became conspicuous in the American
church. Of many of these he delighted to give pleasant rem-
iniscences, and for all his early friends he ever retained an ar-
dent affection.
Soon after graduating Mr. Holmes had a severe attack of
typhus fever, and for weeks no hope of his recovery was enter-
tained. A very interesting account of his spiritual exercises
during these weeks was kept by his pastor. Dr. Duffield. This
record evinces the strong faith and cheerful hope which marked
his early piety. When supposed to be dying he would fre-
quently say, " I can talk but little ; can hardly think ; but do
tell me of the love of Jesus." "All is well." "When some-
what revived he inquired about the state of the congregation.
I told him I was to hold a meeting that day in the country for
inquirers. After expressing his joy, he caught my hand and
said, ' Do not stay with me. Go do your Master's work !' "
After another visit Dr. Dufneld writes, " I saw my dear
Rev. James Holmes., D. D. 401
dying friend. He seemed io be in ecstasy. When speaking
of the blessed meeting of saints in heaven, he called for the
hymn book and turned to the 67oth of Dobell's collection and
requested me to read. ^ Oh how delightful !' said he. ' Soou^
very soon 1 may be there. Christ is all. Heaven without
Christ would not be heaven.' "
Contrary to the expectations of physicians and friends, Mr.
Hohnes recovered from this protracted illness, but with a
shattered constitution. In January, 1824, he entered the Theo-
logical Seminary in Princeton, N. J., but he was in no condi-
tion to do the regular work of his class. The fever had left
him in such a v^^eak state of health that he was advised and in-
duced to abandon his studies before he had completed half the
coui'se. This conclusion was reached with great reluctance,
and only when he was assured by his medical advisers that his
only hope of ultimate recovery was in the complete cessation
from study. Of his distress when the announcement was made
to him, he makes the following note in his diar}^ : " How
short-sighted is man ! He knows not what a day may bring
forth. Little did I think that in a moment the deathblow was
to be given to all my earthly hopes Scarcely for one mo-
ment for four years had I thought of relinquishing my beloved
pursuit. Every feeling had become enlisted, and at the mo-
ment of this sad disclosure my heart sank, and my mental
powers underwent a temporary suspension."
Soon after this his attention was turned to the needs of the
Chickasaw Indians, among whom the Synod of South Carolina
and Georgia liad begun a mission as early as 1821. On the
17th of December, 1827, this mission was transferred to the
American Board. The Chickasaws were then living in north-
ern Mississippi, and there was a call for teachers to carry to
them the very elements of a christain civilization. As he
seemed shut out from engaging in the work of the ministry in
the ordinary way, and yet was still glowing with love for his
Master and a desire to win souls for him, Mr. Holmes accepted
the call to this field, and in August, 1824, went out as an hum-
ble lay missionary to these Indians.
He was now in the twenty-third year of his age, aii<l in his
26*
402 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
diary we have a clear view of his purpose and motives. He
expresses the keenness of his sorrow in leaving his mother
and the loved home of his childhood ; but he had tried to
count the cost, and he was ready to go where the providence of
God seemed to lead the way.
Under date August 19, 1824, he writes in his diary, "Left
Carlisle this morning for Mississippi. Our caravan is composed
of four persons, two licensed preachers, one Chickasaw Indian
and myself. How great has been Grod's goodness to me ! Cer-
tainly I should have sunk under my trials, had not the strength
which he has promised been afforded. Although my friends
are so dear to me, still I would not exchange my purpose of
separating myself, perhaps forever, from all that I hold dear on
earth, for a permanent situation in their very midst."
On his way to Mississippi, Mr. Holmes passed through
Nashville, Tenn. The following extract from his diary gives
a glimpse of at least one pleasant experience quite unlike the
majority of his entries during that tiresome journey.
" October 21. Started this morning, after an early breakfast,
in company with Mr. Campbell, to visit General Jackson. Met
the General three miles this side the Hermitage and had a very
pleasant ride on his return home. Had also the pleasure of
meeting Generals Coffee and Cole.
" General Jackson was very attentive, showing us every curi-
osity about his happy retreat. His house, farm and improve-
ments are all very beautiful. The furniture of the house com-
bines neatness with simplicity. Among the various articles
that have been presented to him as rewards of merit were two
which particularly attracted my attention, one was a spy-glass
which the immortal Washington carried through all the glorious
battles which he fought, and another a case of pistols belong-
ing to the same illustrious hero.
'' The foulest aspersions have been cast upon the character of
our good host and hostess. Both pay the greatest respect to
religion, and give pretty satisfactory evidence of a change of
heart. The general had very little conversation at dinner, but
such as had an intimate connection with the subject of chris-
tian character.
Rev. James Holmes, D. D. 403
" The Hermitage is situated twelve miles southeast of Nash-
ville in a level and fertile countr}'. No expense has been
spared in the improvement both of house and farm. After
spending four liours with the General we returned to Nashville,
making twenty-four miles — a line day."
After a long and tiresome journey on horseback he reached
his destination November 9, 1824, and at once entered upon
his work at Monroe, Mississippi. On the 11th he writes, " I
made my first entrance into the school room alone. Spent
some time in trying to instruct the children and in looking to
God for his presence and blessing. I am deeply interested ; I
desire nothing on earth but to be useful." Through all that
year he suffered much from throat trouble and ill-health, often
thought his end was near, but he never failed to speak to those
around him of the solemn realities of death, judgment and
eternity.
During all these early years of missionary labor his diary
affords ample evidence of a deep and earnest desire not only to
do his whole duty toward his fellowmen, but to gnarS against
spiritual pride, to cultivate holiness and to grow in grace. This
passage from the entry made the night he reached Monroe may
be taken as a fair expression of his spirit : " The burden of my
desires is that every power of my soul may be sanctified."
The introspection and self-examination so constantly recur-
ring in his spiritual exercises were perhaps peculiar to his
times. Fasting was frequently resorted to by him as a means
of grace, and prayer was the constant language of his spiritual
life. Those who only knew him in his later years when his
christian character had ripened into the most cheerful type of
religious experience would hardly believe that he had ever
gone through the deep waters whose marks are left on the pages
of his early diary.
In April, 1825, he was ordained to the office of ruling elder
in the church at Monroe, Miss. In August of the same year
he returned to Pennsylvania on a visit in the interest of the
the mission. This portion of his journal has unfortunately
been lost. The following year, July 18, 1826, he was united
in marriage to Miss Sarah A. VaiiWagenen, of Newark, N. J.,
404 Presh>/tftry of Carlisle — Ceiitennial
an eai-iiest, devoted christian, and a member of the circle of
missionary workers in the Second church. Newark, known as
the Ludlow Society, who were largely instrumental in the sup-
port of the Chickasaw Mission. Accompanied by a faithful
friend, Miss Emeline Richmond, who was to be associated with
them in their mission work, Mr. and Mrs. Holmes set out at
once for their distant field of labor in a heavy barouche or
" carry-all " as it was called.
At the end of six weeks they were met by mivssionaries
already on the ground who had come beyond the borders of
" the Nation "' to welcome them. As the little company
ascended a slight eminence from which they had their first
view of the land lying in wickedness, the}' halted and sang :
"O'er the gloomy hills of darkness.
Look iny soul, be still and gaze."
Of the privations of their mission life, our space will not
admit more tluni an allusion, though Mr. Holmes" journal re-
cords tQuching instances of want and suffering.
Being one hundred miles from the " village " of Memphis.
which was their source of supplies, their post-office, and the
home of their physician, receiving but a meager support from
the missionary society, being surrounded bj^ an unsympathetic,
ignorant and degraded people, the hardships of their lot find
scarcely a parallel in the foreign missionary work of the pres-
ent day. Bui they had counted the cost and they did not
complain. They wrought patiently and prayfully, and they
did not fail of their reward. Their labors were greatl}* blessed,
and they had the joy of seeing many of these " sons of the
forest " rejoicing in the faith of the gospel and going out to
spread the story of the cross among their people.
From a memorandum respecting himself, furnished by Mr.
Holmes in 1835, at the request of the American Board, we
learn that he was licensed by the Presbytery of North Ala-
bama, in Tuscumbia, in 1828. Unfortunately much of his diary
has been destroyed, but in a fragment, July and August, 1829,
which has been spared it is plainly intimated that quite a re-
vival of religion was then in progress under his ministry.
Among the inquirers he mentions whites, Indians and negropt;.
Rev. James Holmt.% D. D. 405
Our space will only allow a short extract, but it is a fair sample
of the rest. It is evidently the work of a Sabbath.
'• August 9. I had scarcely entered my study this morning
when, as usual, a number came to converse, who had come
from five to twenty-five miles. Some evidently came burdend
with a sense of guilt and anxious to know what they must do
to be saved. An unusual number of Indians were present at
preaching, and some that I had not seen before. In the morn-
ing preached from the parable of the sower, and in the evening
from Luke xiv from 16th to the 23d verse inclusive. A gentle-
man from Hamilton, and another from the neighborhood of
Columbus, Mississippi, attended public service to-day. For
several weeks we have scarcely had a Sabbath without stran-
gers in the congregation from Tennessee, Alabama or Mississippi,
and we rejoice that persons from a distance do visit us, that
they may behold what God hath wrought for the poor heathen.
There are persons on every side waiting for an opportunity to
converse with me when disengaged. My interpreter did re-
markably well to-day. I hope in the great day of eternity
it will appear that the word which was spoken resembled the
seed that fell on good ground and which brought forth some
an hundred, some fifty and some thirty fold. One may plant
and another water, but it is God alone who can give the in-
crease."
Shortly after this he brought his wife and children to the
north, but he immediately returned to his work in the south.
This return trip was made by the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, and
there is a letter still in existence, and dated November 16, 1829,
in which he recounts to his beloved wife his well-directed ef-
forts to secure some proper observance of the Sabbath on a
Mississippi steamboat. He had brought with him a quantity
of tracts from Pittsburgh. These he distributed early Sabbath
morning,, and he soon had the satisfaction of seeing most of
the passengers, both on deck and in cabin, perusing these little
leaflets. He goes on to say, '' I am compelled to tliink that
the majority of them read more on. religious subjects yesterday
than they have done in years."
Many interesting facts and incidents might be gathered from
406 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
the diary and letters of Mr. Holmes while a missionary among
the Indians ; but our space forbids. Here is a curious testi-
mony on the subject of temperance. In a letter to the Amer-
ican Board he says, '• I am informed that it is very common
for the full Indians to purchase coffee, sugar and flour, in the
stores on the borders of the nation, and no whisky. This last
article appears, by common consent, to have been banished from
the nation. We have not seen an intoxicated Indian during
the past year."
But it was not long after this before he records a lamentable
change. The reason for this change may be inferred from the
following extract. The letter seems to have been written in
the latter part of 1830. Mr. Holmes says, " It is true, that
since I have known the Chickasaw nation, there has not been
a time which I can recollect, to be compared with the present
for dissipation. Before their own laws were abrogated, and
a christian code given in their place, there was a heavy
penalty for vending a drop of whisky in the nation ; and in
consequence of this salutary law, they were the most temperate
people T have known. We have lived here many months
together without seeing a single individual intoxicated. But
now multitudes of men and women, whenever they get a few
dollars, are off with their kegs and pack-horses to the nearest
village, and return with their poison to retail it at seventy -five
cents and upwards per quart."
We may catch a glimpse of some of his trials from this source
in the following entry in his diaiy : '' August 11, 1829. At
an early hour set out with my interpreter to visit the Indians.
Had an opportunity of publishing the gospel to a considerable
number who never before heard it. Hoped that we should be
able to do much around the Council House, but in this we
were disappointed. A large quantity of whisky had been
brought in. which threatens to do much mischief. A multitude
of the Indians are drunk and fighting like madmen."
The preaching of the word to the heathen for the first time
produces some very singular effects. A striking illustration
of this may be taken from his diary : " While preaching to-day
was interrupted by a tall young stranger, an Indian, who had
l{4iv. James IJohnes, D. D. 407
never attended service before. He listened with evident agi-
tation for a short time when he rose and said, * Stop ! we must
not hear that word. I have heard of it and I feel that since I
have heard of it I will be punished for my bad. But if we do
not know, you must not tell us.' He then hastily took his de-
parture, and has not been heard of since. We must proclaim
the truth whether they hear or forbear."
In 1833, when the Indians were removed beyond the Mis-
sissippi river, Mr. Holmes saw it plainly his duty, on account
of his own health, and especially that of his wife, to give up
the mission work. With Rev. Hugh Wilson, a fellow mis-
sionary, Mr. Holmes and family, including Miss Richmond,
came to Tipton county, Tenn., bringing with them thirty Indian
youths whom they hoped to train for future usefulness. These
were soon recalled by their tribe, and the missionaries, after
spending one year at Portersville, Tenn., settled at " The
Mountain," where Mr. Holmes founded an academy which for
many years was the most noted institution of learning in West
Tennessee. Mt. Oarmel church was organized in his house
in 1834, and in connection with the labors of other good men, an
influence for good has gone, and still goes out from this church
and Mountain Academy, which bears the impress of these
early labors, the extent of which only eternity will reveal. In
1847, the title of D. D. was conferred on him by Centre Col-
lege Danville, Ky. Dr. John C. Young, then president, once
said, " Never was man more worthy and never were honors
more humbly worn."
The deserved honor in which Dr. Holmes was held by
his fellow-citizens may be inferred from the following extract
taken from a recent '' History of Tennessee," by Hon. James
Phelan, member of Congress from that district :
" A Tipton county institution, which exerted a beneficient
influence upon the development of the western part of the
state, was the Mountain Academy, founded by the Rev. James
Holmes, of which it is chronicled that it was long noted as the
best in West Tennessee, and hundreds of youths were in-
structed and trained there who became eminent as teachers and
professional men. The name of James Holmes, D. D., i.- more
408 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
intimately connected with West Tennessee as an educator and
instructor of the young, both male and female, than perhaps
any other man living."
The writer is indebted to one of his former pupils, Rev. R.
R. Evans, for the following illustration of his wisdom and tact
in discipline. He had but few rules, but one of these was a
positive prohibition of all profane language. One day he was
credibly informed that this rule had been broken by a certain
young man. Just before the close of school on a. Friday after-
noon, when all the students were present, he delivered a most
impressive and solemn lecture on the folly and sin of profanity.
He then stated that one of the students had been reported to
him as guilty of this offense, and as he had no doubt of the
truth of the report, he would give that young man until Mon-
day morning to come and confess his fault and promise com-
pliance with the rule in the future. To this he added that un-
less this confession and promise were made by that time he
would then dismiss the offender from the institution. The re-
sult was that by the appointed time four young men had called
on him, confessed their fault and pn^mised to obey the rule in
the future.
At the request of his brethren and the churches, he was or-
dained an evangelist April 7, 1848, by Western District Pres-
bytery, at Somersville,' Tenn. Feeble health and a weak voice
prevented his preaching often, but he was an acceptable preacher,
and always an active, faithful, zealous worker in the Master's
vineyard.
In 1849 he was elected to the presidency of West Tennes-
see College, Jackson, Tenn. Considering this a call to enlarged
usefulness, he accepted the situation, leaving with much regret
his beloved mountain home and carrying with him the love
and respect of the community, who looked upon him more as
father than friend. Soon after entering upon his labors in
Jackson an extensive revival of religion was enjoyed, in which
the college shared, so that at once he could engage in his favorite
work of pointing souls to Christ. The institution prospered
under his charge, and for eight years was the subject of his
unwearied efforts and prayers, but when, in 1857, a call came
Rev James Holmes, D. D. 409
for him to return to Tipton county and take charge of Tipton
Female Seminary, the true heart turned to the home of former
(lays with an earnest desire, and he removed to Covington in
August of the same year. West Tennessee College, in Jack-
son, has since passed into tlie hands of the Baptists, by whom
it is conducted with efficiency and success. The Tipton Fe-
male Seminary opened a new field of labor, but one for which
Dr. Holmes was eminently qualified and fitted. Hundreds of
young ladies were trained in this institution to adorn the va-
rious walks of life, and many were led by his godly life and
influence to seek tlie better part and become in their turn
teachers oi others.
In 1867, increasing infirmities caused him to resign the charge
of the seminary, his oldest son taking his place, which he still re-
tains as principal of this flourishing institution. Dr. Holmes de-
voted his remaining years to visiting the bereaved and distressed,
the prisoners in jail, the sick and afflicted of all classes and of
every denomination, comforting saints and entreating sinners
to repent and believe. This was his daily and delightful work.
It was his habit, every day, to spend a season in his closet in
meditation and prayer. For months before his death he
seemed to realize that his end was near and was, if possible,
more than ever engaged in efforts to do good to those around
him, and in writing letters with regard to the spiritual interests
of absent ones. During his last illness, which was softening of
the brain, his mind often wandered, but even in delirum his
thoughts were of sacred things.
Sometimes he was warning those around him against error —
again he would entreat sinners to come to Jesus. When most
excited the sound of prayer alwa3's soothed him and he would
point to the Bible saying, "Head some sweet words — God's
words." When urged to rry to sleep he would say, "Well!
Good night ! Asleep in Jesus ?" After three weeks of suffering
he did fall asleep in the arms of the Saviour he loved so well ;
and he passed away so gently, his family scarcely knew when
the spirit took its flight.
His death was the first broken link in the happy family circle
where the wedded love of nearly fifty years had never lost its
410 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
lover like freshness, and into which, through all the circum-
stances in which they were placed, death was never allowed to
come. His beloved and faithful wife was reunited to him in
1886, in that home where they shall go out no more forever.
Their seven children survive them. The sons are ruling
elders in the church in different states, and all his family are
members of the family of Christ.
Dr. Holmes was honored and loved by all who knew him.
He was eminently " diligent in business, fervent in spirit, serv-
ing the Lord," at all times and in all places seeking opportu-
nities of doing good. Prompt, punctual and faithful, his mem-
ory and influence will long remain. Surely many in the last
great day will arise and called him blessed, and a starry crown
will he gratefully lay at his Saviour's feet.
Rev. Henry Rowan Wilson, Jr., M. D., D. D.
This able and faithful servant of Christ was the son of
a Presbyterian minister of the same name, well-known in his
day as a man of fine scholarship and wide influence, an inter-
teresting sketch of whose life may be found in another part of
this volume. His mother, Elizabeth (Brown) Wilson, was a
woman of superior worth.
Dr. Wilson, the younger, was born at Bellefonte, Pa., June
10, 1808. When in 1809 his father was elected to a profes-
sorship in Dickinson College, the family removed to Carlisle.
Dr. Wilson used to tell it as a tradition of that early day that
he made the journey from Bellefonte to Carlisle on horse-back,
being carried on a pillow before his father. Within the walls
.of this institution the subject of this sketch spent some of his
earlier years, as it was then the custom for the president and
one of the professors to reside in the college building to pre-
serve order among the students.
Young Wilson commenced his academical course at Dick-
inson College during Dr. John M. Mason's administration, but
the institution being in a declining state he was sent to Jefferson
College, where he entered at the age of sixteen, and grad-
uated in 1828. Not being pious when he left college, he made
choice of the profession of medicine, and prosecuted his studies
c^/^Ci
}~c^\^
L^
Rev. Henry R. Wilson, Jr., M. D., D. D. 411
under the direction of Dr. William Rankin of Shippensburg,
Pa., where his father was pastor at the time. Thus he pursued
his studies in private for about one year, when he enrolled him-
self, October 31, 1829, as a student in the Medical Department
of the University of Pennsylvania, and spent the winter in
Philadelphia. According to the custom of that day, he waa
now prepared to begin the practice of his chosen profession ;
but the Lord had other plans for him and he was destined to
find a wide and varied sphere of usefulness in the sacred office
of the gospel ministry.
In his early youth he had been somewhat inclined to wild
and reckless courses ; but when he returned home in the spring
from the university a great change came over his life. There
is a tradition that his conversion was attributed at that time to
the believing importunate prayers of his father. It is said
that this man of God was often heard in the night watches en-
treating a covenant-keeping God for the soul of his child. The
story is told that it was a time of deep religious interest in the
churches of this region. Dr. DeWitt, of Harrisburg, was as-
sisting his father at a protracted meeting. The anxious father
besought his brother in the ministry to speak to his sou on the
subject of religion. At first the high-spirited and wayward
young man took offense and left the house in displeasure; but
returning late at night, he overheard his father and Dr. De-
Witt engaged in fervent prayer for his conversion. His heart
was touched and deep conviction of sin took hold of him.
Whether this tradition is in strict accord with the facts
or not, at all events, near the close of the first year in the uni-
versity, he experienced a marked quickening in his religious
life, he became hopefully converted, and, on profession of his
faith in Christ, was admitted, May 1, 1830, to the full commu-
nion of the church in Shippensburg. Of him it could be truly
said, " Old things are passed away ; behold, all things are become
new." Life began to have a new meaning. He began to feel
an irresistible desire to tell the story of the cross to others, and
to devote himself in some special way to the service of his
new-found master. So clear was his conviction of duty and
so strong his desire to preach the gospel, that he at once aban-
412 Presbytery of Carlisle — Continued.
(lonecl all idea of practicing medicine, for which he was now
prepared, and devoted himself to the study of theology. It
was not that he disliked his chosen profession. To the end of
his life he retained his respect for that profession and his inter-
est in medical studies. But now to his fervent religious spirit
the claims of eternity began to overshadow everything else ;
and, strongly impressed with the traditional belief of his people,
that the functions of the sacred office can only be properly dis-
charged by one thoroughly equipped for his work, he entered
Princeton Theological Seminary, where he spent something
more than two years in diligent study under the direction of
Drs. Alexander, Miller and Hodge. It was while at Princeton
that his attention was specially turned to the subject of foreign'
missions.
He was licensed by the Presbytery of Carlisle, October 4,
1832, at Gettysburg, and on the 16th of the same month he
was ordained at Shippensburg as an evangelist, with a view to
entering upon the work of foreign missions. The sermon was
preached by Dr. William R. DeWitt, from the suggestive
words: "As we have opportunity let us do good unto all
men." Dr. Amos A. McGinley presided and offered the or-
daining prayer, and Dr. Henry R Wilson, his beloved father,
then pastor of the church in which these interesting services
were held, delivered the charge.
As this was before the regular organization of our foreign
mission work as at present under the auspices of our own
church, he offered himself to the American Board and was
sent to " the Cherokees of the Arkansas," in the double capac-
ity of missionary and physician. It is interesting to note that
when Presbytery made the arrangements for his ordination the
following action was taken: "Resolved that this Presbytery
will pay to the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign
Missions the sum necessary for the support of Mr. Henry R.
Wilson, Jr., as a missionary among the Indians."
It was a time of faction, feud and turbulence among the In-
dians. They had but recently been removed from Georgia
beyond the Mississippi. The region was one vast wilderness.
The field of labor to which the young missionary was sent was
Rev. Uenrij R. Wilson, Jr., M. Z>., D. D. 4i3
two hundred miles distant from the nearest white family, and
the journey thither involved no little hardship and privation.
Having spent one year among the Cherokees he was sent to
the Choctaws, who at this time were removed from the State of
Mississippi to the far west. Here, on the borders of Texas, the
young missionary commenced his labors, single-handed and
alone. There being no houses, no cultivation, no supplies of
provisions to be had, he was obliged to build his own cabin,
clear the ground, plant and cultivate his corn and potatoes on
which to subsist. If the country was new and strange to the
poor Indians, who had but recently explored for the first time
this wild region, how much more so to the young missionary
accustomed to all the refinements of the east.
His labors here were interrupted for one summer by a tour
which he was instructed by the Board to make among the wild
tribes of Indians living in the direction of the Rocky Mount-
ains. This tour of exploration he was enabled to make under
the protection of the United States troops, commanded by
Gen. Leavenworth. On this expedition he was obliged to act
as surgeon, in consequence of the sickness and mortality which
prevailed among the troops.
After Mr. Wilson had spent about two years of laborious
service on the frontier, he returned to the east, and, on Octo-
ber 20, 1834, was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Beatty.
Mr. Wilson had chosen his bride from a family well known in
the annals of the Presbyterian church. She was the daughter
of Dr. Reading Beatty, who was a surgeon in theRevolutinary
army, and an elder in the Newtown church in Bucks county,
Pa. Her grandfather was Rev. Charles Beatty, who, in 1766,
was "sent to the frontiers of the province" with Rev. George
Duffield by the *Synod of New York and Philadelphia to ex-
plore the region, report the condition of the new settlements,
and " preacii for at least two months in those parts, and to do
what else is best for the advancement of religion."
Miss Beatty was a lovely christian character, and she was
quite willing to join her husband in his privations and toils
to carry the gospel to the benighted children of the forest.
*See Appendix A.
414 Presbytery of Carlisle — Continued.
The wedding occurred at her brother's house at Bridge Point,
a little village near Doylestown. Pa., and she was married by
her brother-in-law and former pastor, Rev. Alexander Boyd,
of Newtown, Pa. They started at once for their field of labor
among the Choctaw Indians, where Mr. Wilson had been la-
boring for the last year.
In that day it was a long and tedious journey to the Indian
Territory, but it was undertaken with brave and willing hearts.
With his own hands Mr. Wilson built the house which shel-
tered his little household, having carried the glass for it many
miles on horseback. His mission work was beset with dis-
couragement; but it was not without the seal of the holy
spirit upon it, and to the day of his death Dr. Wilson was ac-
customed to speak of it as a work signally blessed. Here
months of self-denying labor were passed, a checkered scene
of cloud and sunshine. Here finally was enacted one of the
most pitiful chapters in all the history of modern missions,
when the young missionary, after nursing and watching with
his sick wife, was not only compelled to give her up to the fell
destroyer, but to make the coffin, dig the grave, deck his
loved one in her bridal dress, and finally bury her with his
own hands. The pathetic loneliness of this scene is unequaled
in the long chapter of modern missionary sufferings and sacri-
fices.
It was no doubt largely owing to their exposure that Mrs.
Wilson was attacked by the fever of the country. Her sick-
ness was of short duration; but as she had been happy and
contented in her work she was peculiarly serene and tranquil
in her death. She constantly maintained the same sweet,
gentle, patient submissive spirit which she possessed in health.
Her last audible words were
" Jesus can make a dying bed
Feel soft as downy pillows are."
and she finally passed away July 15, 1835, without the struggle
of a limb or the distortion of a feature.
Thus the young evangelist was left once more alone to bear
the trials of missionar}^ life, having to cook his own food, at-
tend to his school and church which he had planted among tin;
Rev. Henry R Wilson, Jr., M. D., D. D. 415
Indians, preaching statedly to the troops at Fort Towson, and
practicing medicine extensively among the Indians.
In this way he became the pioneer preacher of our chunjh
in Texas, preaching the first Presbyterian sermon in many lo-
calities. • While a missionary among the Indians, he one day
rode over into Texas, where a company of horsemen were
gathered. When he apprdiched the camp he was invited to
" light." This done the next command was, " drink." He re-
plied. ■' I never drink." Then came the invitation, "Have a
game of cards." To this he responded, " I do not play cards."
Then, with an oath, they asked what he did do. He modestly
said, "I sometimes preach." Nothing daunted the horsemen
said, "Then preach." Without a moment's hesitation the
young minister mounted a box and preached the first Presby-
terian sermon ever delivered in Texas.
In the summer of 1835. the mission among the Chootaws
was reinforced by the arrival of Messrs. Wood, Byington and
Kingsbury. It was a time of discussion in our church as to
the best methods of conducting missionary operations, Mr.
Wilson sympathized with those who favored a church organi-
zation for mission work in each denomination. This with other
considerations prompted him to resign his connection with
the American Board and oflfer his services to the Western For-
eign Missionary Societ}' of his own church. This society ha(i
been originally organized by the Synod of Pittsburgh in the
month of November, 1831. After much debate, which was
carried on for several years, this society was practically adopted
by the General Assembly in 1837, and merged or changed into
the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church.
Mr. Wilson was in hearty sympathy with this movement,
which finally resulted in our church's taking its foreign mis-
sionary work into its own hands.
In 1836 he returned to the east, and as the funds of the
Western Missionary Society were low Mr. Wilson was pre-
vailed upon to act as agent for one year before embarking for
Hindoostan, to which field he had been assigned. His exper-
ience in missionary life had taught him the importance of
medical knowledge, and so, in October, 1836, he matriculated
416 Preabyltry of Carlisle — Centen/nai.
again in the University of Pennsylvania and attended the lec-
tures of another term in that thorough and jjopular institution.
In view of his two years' regular study in tlie university and his
constant practice of medicine at the mission stations, he re-
ceived the degree of M. D. from the University of Pefnnsylva-
nia, April 4, 1845. and was registered as practicing in India.
It was during this year's work ftiat Mr. Wilson first became
known to the church at large as an eloquent advocate of mis-
sions. The story of his own labors and sacrifices went before
him and prepared all hearts to give him a sympathetic hearing.
The enthusiastic unselfishness of his own consecration to the
work of missions was manifested in his generous offer of $1,000
to the struggling cause when he was under appointment him-
self as a missionary for India. The offer was made in a great
missionary meeting in Philadelphia. He called his proffered
benefaction, " The whole of his worldly estate," and this was
doubtless true. This donation was tendered in perfectly good
faith, but it is believed that he was urged by the members of
the Board to use the money in making his needed out fit for
India.
On August 31, 1837, Mr. Wilson was married a second time.
His wife was Miss Sarah Elizabeth Little, daughter of *Jaraes
and Elizabeth Little, of Winchester, Va.
Her father was for thirty years an honored ruling elder in
the Presbyterian church of that place. She is represented by
one who knew her well to have been an accomplished woman,
who was " not only his wife, but his mate," in all those noble
qualities of mind and spirit which distinguished her gifted
husband. Shortly after their marriage they sailed for India
with three other families. On their arrival in Calcutta, one of
their party, Mrs. Morrison, was suddenly cut down by Asiatic
*Mr. James Little died June 1, 1834. He was the father of seven children, all
daughters, four of whom married Presbyterian ministers, viz : Rev. Henry K.
Wilson, D. D., Rev. Henry Snyder, Prof, in Jefferson College, and afterwards in
Hampden Sydney College, Va., Rev. H. A. Brown, of Charlotte county, Va., and
his brother Rev. Fred. T. Brown, D. D., of Manasquan, New Jersey. Another
daughter married a noble elder in the Presbyterian church of Winchester, Mr.
N. Bent; another married a merchant, Mr. H. P. Ward, of the same place, and the
seventh died in early womanhood.— CMS. letter of Rev. J. R. Graham, D. D., pastor
of Presbyterian church, Winchester. Va.)
Rev. Henry R. Wilsoii, -/r., M. D., D. I). 417
cholera. Others of the party were brought very low by this
frightful epidemic. Mrs. Wilson was among the sufferers.
For a time her life was despaired of. And it may be said, she
never wholly recovered from this attack. As soon as they
were able to move the}' began to make their way far up the
Ganges. It was decided by the mission party that Mr. Wilson
and his wife should establish a new station at Futteghur in the
district of Furrukhabad. Here they, found themselves face to
face with a terrible famine which was devastating the entire
province. A friend writes :
'' Into his hands was given the dispensary and relief work
among the famine-stricken masses. Each morning he preached
to the crowds which assembled at the dispensary, then super-
intended the distribution of food, and, bringing into play his
medical training, gave advice and medicine to the sick, as
many as a thousand persons thus coming under his care at
times in almshouse and hospital."
But this was only part of his labor in that far-away land.
The Rev. Jesse M. Jamieson, D. D.,* who for many years was
a missionary of our church in India has kindly furnished the
following recollections of Dr. Wilson's work in that country :
" He in company with several other missionaries sailed from
Newcastle, Del., on the 14th of October, 1837, and arrived in
Calcutta the following April. It was decided that Brother
Wilson should commence a station at Futteghur in Furruk-
habad. On his way there he learned a pious physician, Dr. Mad-
den, of Futtehpoor, had collected one hundred orphan children
and that he was desirous to transfer them to the care of a mis-
sionaiy, together with property to the value of ^.1000.
Another earnest christian, Captain Wheeler, made the same offer
to transfer twenty orphans he had supported in Futteghur.
These ofifers Brother Wilson gladly accepted. His work was
thus provided for before he reached the station to which he
was appointed. He arrived at Futteghur the 8d of November,
• Dr. Jamieson writes me, in a letter date'd Monmouth. lilinoia, January 16, 1888,
" Newville is my birthplace and my mother is buried there. My grandfather,
Kev. John Jamieson. preached there eight years from 1784 to 1792. He belonged to
the Big Spring Presbytery (Associated Keformed). You might almost count md
one of the missionaries who went out from the Carlisle Presbytery."
97*
418 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
1838, feeling that God had in a wonderful manner prepared
the way for him. For such a charge Brother Wilson was well
adapted. During the seven years he remained in India he
managed his orphan asylum with marked success. He had his
orphans employed in making tents, weaving carpets, manufac-
turing saltpeter and engaged in other manual labor while out
of school, thus making the asylum self-supporting. It was for
both sexes, and, as they came to maturity, they intermarried
and formed christian villages. Many of them became decided
christians and preachers of the gospel. Brother Wilson had
been for some time a missionary to our Indians before going
to India, and was rather past the age for acquiring a foreign
language when he arrived. He was more for action than for
study, and never succeeded well as a preacher in the native
language. He was like Dr. Duff in that respect. Both preached
through interpreters. But in their own tongue both were elo-
quent ministers of the gospel, and both fitted to lead in every
good cause. After seven years spent in India, Brother Wil-
son returned to this country on account of Mrs. Wilson's
health, and never found the way open to return."
This is known to have been a great sorrow to them both.
One of their devoted friends and admirers says, in a letter to
The Presbyterian., after describing the great success of Mr. Wil-
son's work : " But in the midst of these abounding works on
which both christian and native, God and man seemed to smile,
and when there was opening before him a career that might
satisfy the ambition of any man, Mrs. Wilson's health broke
down, compelling a return to this country. I risk nothing in
saying that to both it was like being turned back from the gates
of Paradise, in the bitter sorrow it gave them."
But it can hardly be doubted that God had other plans for
his servant, and that he shut up his way and hedged in his
path with providences which practically compelled him to re-
main in this country and to play an important part in one of
the most eventful periods in the history of the American church.
Mr. Wilson and his invalid wife left India the fall of 1845.
They were advised to take this step by a consiiltation of physi-
cians. They came home by the way of England and did not
reach New ^ork until October 4, 1846.
Rev. Henry R. WiUon, Jr., M. R, D. D. 419
For a year after his return to this country, Mr. Wilson, ex-
pecting to resume his work in India, retained, as is customary,
his connection with the Foreign Board and became well known
to many of the churches as a "returned missionary." Then
for about five years longer we find him acting as agent for the
Board of Foreign Missions, still vainly hoping that he might
be allowed to return with the bread of life to the hungry mil-
lions who throng the banks of the sacred Ganges. During all
this time he visited the church widely and was in great de-
mand as an ardent and interesting advocate of modern mis-
sions. He had a vivid imagination and was a truly eloquent
speaker on this theme, which had laid hold of his inmost soul
and which had now engrossed nearly fifteen years of his life
in all the perils and privations of service at the front, and which
received at least five years more of self-forgetting advocacy at
home.
The year 1852 seems to have been a kind of turning point
in his history. It was now a score of years since he had pub-
licly consecrated himself to the work of missions among the
heathen. He would still have gladly returned to India, but
his way seemed hedged in. He was widely known and re-
spected in the church. His friends were pleased this year when
Washington College Pa., did herself the honor of enrolling
him in the list of her doctors of divinity. This at least re-
minded him that he was no longer young. He felt that life
was too short to be spent in vain regrets. He must set him-
self to do the work which lay ready to his hand. His Presby-
terial connection was still in India, but his name was printed
for the last time in 1852 as a member of the Presbytery of
Furrukhabad. He had helped to organize that Presbytery in
1839, and it is almost pitiful to see how his heart clung to the
scenes and the work where he had proposed to spend his days.
But finally duty to himself seemed to require that his Presby-
terial connection should be where Providence had ordered his
lot, and in 1853 we find him enrolled in he Second Presby-
tery of Philadelphia, and principal of the Presbyterial Aca-
demy of Attleboro', Bucks county. Pa. During this year he
acted as supply of the Bensalem church.
420 l^resbytcry of Carlisle — Centennial.
Perhaps we do not err in surmising that God may have had
another lesson to teach the American cliurcli through his con-
spicuous example. It is sometimes iiard for us to realize tiiat
our most urgent duty is near at hand, and that familiar and un-
romantic labor may yet be the most useful in the end. With
all our patriotic fervor, it is still hard for us to understand that
America is the great strategic point in the conquest of the
world for Christ. No man believed in foreign missions more
thoroughly than did Dr. Wilson, and few men of this genera-
tion have become more thoroughly absorbed in the evangeli-
zation of our own land. The best energies of twenty years of
his life were given to the foreign work, and then, without losing
his interest in that work, he ceased to be numbered in any way
among the representatives of our church on the foreign field,
and he enlisted in the less conspicuous position of a common
toiler in the church at home.
In 1854 we find him enrolled in the Presbytery of West
Jersey, and principal of a ladies' seminary, the Cohansey In-
stitute, at Bridgeton, N. J. Here he also acted as stated supply
of a neighboring church. In 1855 he removed to Sewickly-
ville, Pa., where he had charge of the Edgeworth Female
Seminary, and also served as pastor of the Fairmount church,
Allegheny. These relations continued until about 1860, when
he resigned his charge, gave up the seniinary and removed to
Mansfield, Ohio. Shortly after this, in the summer of 1860,
he purchased an interest in the Springfield Female Seminary
and took possession in July, where he remained until July,
1865, when he sold out and retired from the institution. Dur-
ing the time he spent in Springfield he was in constant demand
as a supply for the neighboring churches. Most of the time
he had the regular charge of the Pleasant Valley church.
It was toward the close of his labors in Springfield that he
was called to mourn the loss of his faithful companion, who
entered into rest August 26, 1865. She had been in feeble
health for a long time, and it was this fact which finally con-
strained him to give up his work in the seminary. Dr. Wil-
son never married again. For more than a score of years
longer he held on his lonely and laborious way until his change
Rhv. Heavy R. Wilson, Jr., M. D., D. D. 421
came; but no one ever took the place of the mother of his
children. Naturally of a tender and sympathetic disposition,
and being fondly attached to his wife, when his help-meet
fainted at his side, he felt himself unable to bear his burdens
longer, and, when he saw that she would be called away, he had
no heart for the accustomed routine of work in a ladies' sem-
inary. It is not strange, therefore, that after her departure our
friend sought to forget his sorrows in a change of work and of
scene.
In the spring of 1866 he accepted the position of District
Secretary of the Board of Domestic Missions, having his head-
quarters at St. Louis, Mo. This position he held for about
four years. It brought him into very close relations with the
Board of Church Extension, which was then located in the
same city. The work of home missions has always been very
closely related to the provident efforts of the mother church to
shelter the houseless flocks which have been gathered in the
wilderness. The Secretary of the Board of Church Extension
was a man of large property and of most excellent spirit ; but
his own business became seriously involved, and it required all
his attention.
In this emergency, Dr. Wilson, who was a member of the
Board of Church Extension, was called to the helm. It is
said that part of his own means had become involved in the
financial embarrassment of his friend, and that with his na-
tural disinteredness he urged that the interests of the Board
should first be cared for, and that if any one must lose he pre-
ferred that the blow should fall on himself rather than on the
church. It is but just to all parties to say that no blame at-
tached to the retiring secretary, who has always enjoyed the
confidence of the church. His brethren have always believed
that his unhappy financial troubles were not so much his fault
as his misfortune. The church did not lose a dollar, but her
faithful servant, the former secretary, lost his all.
On Marcli 8, 1869, Dr. Wilson was chosen secretary jorote/zj.,
and on April 1, of the same year, he was elected " acting secre-
tary " of the Board of Church Extension. After the re-union, at
the first meeting of the re-organii:ed BoMr<l of Church Erectioji,
422 Preshytfry of Carlisle — Centennial.
June 13, 1870, he was ■unanimously elected Corresponding Sec-
retary. His office was now in the city of New York, and his
field was the whole church. It is no exaggeration to say that
Dr. Wilson had now found the work for which he was speci-
ally fitted. From this time to the end of his life he was ab-
sorbed in an enterprise of the church, to which he was pecu-
liarly adapted, and in which he was both happy and useful.
Thus he spent something more than seventeen years of his
matured and consecrated life. Those who have examined most
carefully into his plans and methods of church extension de-
clare that he was eminently judicious and far-seeing in his con-
duct of this part of the " King's business." He confined him-
self very closely to his office, seldom taking any recreation ex-
cept the daily trip from his quiet home in Elizabeth, N. J., to
the mission house in the city. His two surviving children, a
son and a daughter, were his constant companions, the one at
home, and the other in the office. And so this faithful servant
of Jesus Christ toiled on and ripened for glory. A vast and
far-reaching work was done for the church and tlie Master he
loved so much ; and though his work was not carried on with
" an}^ sound of trumpets, yet his monuments dot the whole ter-
ritory of the American church, and his, record is on high.
In view of his long and faithful service of the church the
General Assembly of 1887, voted that as a suitable memorial
of his life and work, " a fund of $50,000 be raised during the
Centennial year to be added to the Manse fund, and to be des-
ignated the Wilson Memorial Fundy
I shall attempt no elaborate estimate of Dr. Wilson's powers.
Those who were most familiar with him felt that he was al-
ways equal to any emergency. He was a ready extempore
speaker, and this is probably the reason that he very seldom
prepared a written report of any of his speeches. It is a re-
gret often expressed now that so few of his vivid and striking
reminiscenses of missionary life were ever committed to the
printed page.
But gifted and ready as he was in public discourse, prompt
and prudent as he was in business enterprise, to those who
knew him best liis most distinguishing characteristic was a
Bev. Henry R Wilson, Jr., M. D., D. D. 423
complete consecration to the service of the Master. He was will-
ing to endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ, and
though a leader of the sacramental host, he was ever ready to
share the labors and risk the dangers of the rank and file.
Into his ears were poured the anxieties of many a struggling
home missionary ready to faint under the burdens of his task,
and such toilers always found him a sympathetic and helping
friend. As the high priest of old, when he appeared before
the Lord, bore on his symbolic breast-plate the name of every
tribe in Israel, so our good brother bore on his heart before the
great King the needs of every tribe in our American Zion
Dr. Gillespie has well said of him :
'' His quick perception, clear judgment, tender sympathy,
accurate business habits and patient industry qualified him in
an unusual degree for the responsible duties of his important
ofl&ce, and gave him an assured position in the confidence and
affection of the church at large."
In him the promise was fulfilled, " With long life will I
satisfy him, and show him my salvation." A few years before
his death he wrote : " Have never been out of employment a
single day since I entered the ministry, and have never had to
seek for a situation, and probably not lost six weeks from sick,
ness in forty-seven years." But the end came at last, and on
the 8th of June, 1886, he left the toiling service of earth and
entered upon the more gladsome service of heaven.
The precious casket in which his deathless spirit had lived
and labored was tenderly borne to Winchester, Va., and laid
beside the remains of two of his children in the "Little lot,"
in the ancient graveyard, and there his sacred dust awaits the
resurrection of the last great day.
*Rev. David Elliott Campbell.
A peculiar interest will always attach to the martyred mis-
sionaries who fell the victims of the Sepoy Rebellion in Indi^
during the year 1857. Among these, one of the most con-
spicuous was the subject of this sketch.
♦The writer of this sketch is largely indebted to "The Martyred Missionaries,"
by Rev. J. .lohnson Walsh, sole survinK member of the Fnttehgiirh Mission of the
Presbyterian church.
424 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
David Elliott Campbell was born of pious parents, near
Mercersburg, Franklin county, Pa., on the 7th of June, 1826.
His father was Mr. Caleb Boyles Campbell, who spent the
later years of his life in the west, where he was an elder in
the Presbyterian church. His mother's maiden name was
Agnes McDowell Davidson, a truly pious woman, but of very
frail and delicate constitution. Both of his parents were mem-
bers of the Presbyterian church at Mercersburg, of which the
Rev. David Elliott, D. D., was then the beloved pastor. Strongly
attached to their minister, his parents gave the name of their
pastor to their child, who was always called by his middle name,
Elliott Campbell.
Shortly aftei- the baptism of their child the parents removed
to Delaware county, Ohio. Here this child of many prayers
met with the irreparable loss of his mother, who departed this
life April 1, 1828, before he was quite three years old. The
loss of his mother at tbis tender age was not without its in-
fluence on all his subsequent life.
But little is now known of his early years, except that he
resided with his father, part of the time in the State of Ohio,
and afterwards in the State of Indiana, until November, 1841,
when he entered the Preparatory Department of Hanover Col-
lege, at South Hanover, Indiana. Here he remained only six
months, when he was sent by his father to McConnellsburg,
Pa., to reside with his uncle, Mr. Elias Davidson, who not only
very kindly offered him a home in his family, but also fur-
nished him the means of prosecuting his studies until he ob-
tained a full collegiate education.
This step brought Mr. Campbell back to the scenes of his
early life and into the midst of a wide circle of his relativea
It was indeed an epoch in his history, and he often spoke of it
as the most delightful period of his existence He found in
his uncle and aunt all the tenderness and love of parental affec-
tion. In a letter written only four months previous to his
tragical death he refers to the scenes and memories of this
happy home as follows :
" I can never forget the happy days I spent under your roof.
I love to think of those days now gone forever, and to dwell
Rev. David EUiotl Campbell. i'i."
upon the memory of my dear, dear aunt now in a far happier
world. No, the sunny memories of m}'' residence in McCon-
nellsburg, will be the last to fade away, and if my God should
spare me to a good old age hoary hairs will still find me in
grateful remembrance of all my good uncle's and dear de-
parted aunt's kindness to me when a boy in their midst."'
From this happy home it was not far to Mercersburg, the
seat of Marshall College, and here it was decided that young
Campbell should pursue his studies. This was his native place
and the home of a large circle of his maternal relatives. Few
men are more delightfully situated during the time of college life
than was he, and the years passed swiftly and profitably. In
1846 Mr. Campbell graduated with distinction taking the vale-
dictory oration.
While at Mercei-sburg the young student was under the pas-
toral care of the amiable and judicious Rev. Thomas Creigh,
D. D. Here it was that he was brought to decision in mattera
of religion. It was on the 25th of February, 1844, that he
publicly made a profession of his faith in Jesus Christ and con-
secrated himself to his service. His name was then enrolled
as a communicant in the Presbyterian church of Mercersburg.
It was near this time that he devoted himself to the work of
the gospel ministry.
On the 24th of August, 1846, he matriculated in the Western
Theological Seminary at Allegheny, Pa., where he remained for
a full course, and graduated May 9, 1849. His seminary, like
his college, course seems to have been a prosperous one. He
enjoyed the confidence and love of all his teachers and asso-
ciates, and no one was surprised when it was announced that
he seriously contemplated the foreign field as the scene of his
life-work.
Mr. Campbell was taken under the care of the Presbytery
of Allegheny, as a candidate for the gospel ministry, October
5, 1847. He was licensed to preach on June 21, 1848, and he
was ordained to the full work of the ministry on June 5, 1850.
Having determined to devote his labors to the foreign field,
he resolved to visit his father and famih' who were then resid-
ing in Iowa. After a pleasant visit with his friends, he set out
426 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
again for the east. His father and step-sister accompanied him
as far as Burlington, lova, on the Mississippi river. Here
within about a mile of this town, on an elevated bluff over-
verlooking the river, and near an old oak tree, the father,
brother, and sister, kneeled down and prayed. Here-, with many
tears they commended each other to the grace of God and
parted never to meet again on earth.
Shortly after his return from this visit to his father in Iowa,
and previous to his ordination, he formed the acquaintance of
Miss Maria J. Bigham, a lovely christian character. She was
at this time a teacher in a school for young ladies at West
Liberty, Va. They were married at Steubenville, Ohio, on
June 29, 1860, by her old friend and teacher, the Rev. Dr. C.
C. Beatty.
We need not dwell on the tender farewells which always mark
the departure of foreign missionaries. The last farewell meet-
ing was held in New York city on the Sabbath evening pre-
vious t^ their departure. The venerable Dr. Arch. Alexander,
of Princeton, was present and took part in these exercises,
which were peculiarly tender and affecting.
They sailed on the 8th of August, from Boston, in the ship
Argo. bound for Calcutta. They had for companions, quite a
band of missionaries, all fired with a common enthusiasm.
Among these were Mr. and Mrs. Fullerton, very dear friends
of Mr. Campbell and his good wife.*
The voyage though very long, was pleasant. Their ship
accommodations were good, their captain was a pious man, and
their companions were agreeable. They were one hundred and
forty-four days on the great deep, as they sailed around the
Cape of Good Hope and made the long trip in a sailing vessel.
They an-ived at Calcutta on the 80th of December, 1850, and
after a short stay there they left for Futtehgurh, which place
they reached in February. Almost immediately Mr. Camp-
bell began the study of the native languages, though he also de-
* Mrs. Martha W. Fullerton was. the daughter of Kev. Robert White, who for
twenty-six years was the pastor of the Faggs Manor Church, Chester county. Pa.
Slie was the sister of Rev. Nathan Grier White, the pastor for many years of the
church at McConnellsburg, Pa., where she was married by her brother July 9, 1850,
to Rev. Roberts. Fullerton, of South Salem, Ohio. During the Sepoy Rebellion
they were shut up in the Fort of Agra for a whole year.
Rev. David Elliott Gamphell. 427
voted part of his time to teaching the boys of the city school
in English. Some of his early impressions of the country
may be gathered from an extract taken from one of his first
letters home. He says :
"I am agreeably disappointed in the appearance of the
country and other things. The schools are far more interest-
ing than I expected. But the degredation of the people sur-
passes expectation. They seem to select that which is vilest
and filthiest for their adoration, and their holiest men, the
faquirs, are the most abominable creatures imaginable — as
proud as Lucifer and as filthy as swine."
The peculiar perils which beset the children of missionaries
have but seldom been so graphically expressed as in the fol-
lowing apt and telling words addressed to his wife's mother and
brother. He is speaking of his little boy who afterwards was
so mercifully preserved during the mutiny in which all the rest
of the family perished : —
" Little Davidson has grown considerably since I introduced
him to you, and all our missionary friends think that he is a
very sweet and interesting child. Our friends at home are anx-
ious about their children. But they know not the anxiety of
the missionary to India about his. Heathenism is not only all
about us, but in our house Our little D is nursed by a
heathen. His native tongue will be Hindustani and in his ten-
der years he will be susceptil:)le to any bad impression which
our servants may studiously endeavour to make upon him, for
we are obliged to leave him with them the most of the day.
Our anxiety, then, about his moral growth will be very great,
to say nothing about his physical man, the native energy of
which may be burnt up before we can get him out of this fur-
nace. We can but pray that God, after we have discharged our
duties toward our child, will preserve him from all deleterious
influences, both of a moral and physical nature."
From almost the beginning of his life in India, Mr. Campbell
suffered greatly from bronchitis, which had a very depressing
influence on his spirits, and caused him much anxiety and dis-
tress to the very end of his life. To this was added other trials,
one of which was the sickness and death of his dearly beloved
428 Presbytery of Carlisle— Centennial.
aunt, Mrs. Cynthia B. Davidson, of McConnellsburg, who, in
his own words, " was a mother " to him. His letters are full of
tender acknowledgments as to his endless obligations to this
dear aunt, of whom he says : — " She was not only kind to me,
but, like a parent, she thought and was concerned about me
wherever I went."
The Kev. Nathan Grier White, for many years the faithful
pastor of the church at McConnellsburg, thus testifies to her
motherly care of this nephew : — " Becoming a member of her
family when about seventeen years of age, and at a period of
life when the inexperience of youth greatly needs, as it then
begins to appreciate, the benefits of wise counsel and whole-
some advice, he found in his Aunt Cynthia one both qualified
and willing to discharge the important duty. During the
whole period of his collegiate and theological course of study,
though only a part, of the time could he be an inmate of her
household, her anxious concern for his progress and welfare
knew no abatement. And from the known interest she felt
in the prosperity of the Eedeemer's kingdom on earth, it is be-
lieved that her heart was filled with no common measure of
joy when she learned that her beloved nephew — the son of her
adoption — had not only given his heart to the Saviour, but had
consecrated the future of his life on earth to the great work of
preaching the gospel to the heathen."
It would be easy to quote many passages from the letters of
Mr. Campbell evincing the strength and tenderness of his at-
tachment for the friends he had left behind him in America.
He deeply sympathized with the widowed mother and the lone
brother of his gentle wife who were peculiarly bereaved by the
departure of Mrs. Campbell for the work of missions in India.
It would be pleasant to dwell on some of the letters of condo-
lence which he sent back to his friends in America when sor-
rows great and strong had overtaken them ; but time and space
forbid.
Let us rather turn for a little to his life-work in India. His
brother missionaries report that he devoted himself to the
study of the languages and became very proficient both in the
Urdu and the Hindu. Had his life been spared, he would
Bev. David Elliott Campbell. 429
probably, on account of bis diseased tbroat, have given him-
self to the work of translation, for which he was well fitted.
As it was he spent most of his time in teaching. He taught
some both in the city and the cantonment schools. He was
also very much interested in the school for the children of the
native christians. He was laborious in teaching, as all his let-
ters evince, and took the deepest interest in the welfare of his
pupils." Owing to his bronchial affection, he was not able to
engage very actively in bazar preaching, but as he had oppor-
tunity he sought to address smaller audiences of the people
wherever they could be gathered. In the cooler season, when
it was safe to travel, he went on preaching tours through the
villages. His work was so early in the history of missions in
that region of India that after one of these tours he writes :
" Hitherto we have been traveling where none had gone before
us. We have mostly had large and attentive audiences, and
have distributed a great many tracts and portions of the word
of God."
In the same letter he says : "As a general thing, we are
heard patiently and attentively, particularly in villages which
have not been previously visited. Sometimes, however, we
are interrupted by clamors and opposition ; but I have al-
ways found a sign, or, at most, a few words addressed to the
offender, sufficient to produce silence. We preach in turn, re-
lieving each other, our instruction varying according to the
number and attention of our hearers. We have several times
been encouraged to continue our labors for three hours at a
time since we have been out, only desisting when we were too
hoarse and too much fatigued to continue."
In the early part of 1856 Mr. Campbell visited the Hill
Country for his health. He returned to Futtehgurgh in No-
vember greatly improved, having left behind little Davidson,
whose health would not permit of his return. This dear child
was confided to the care of Rev. W. J. Jay, one of the chap-
lains of India, and a very warm friend of the mission. To
this seeming chance, but real Providence, the child owed his
life, for when the final tragedy came he was far away in a place
of safety.
430 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial
On his return Mr. Campbell was appointed to take the over-
sight of the native christians to Burpore, and to preach only
in the city of Furrukhabad ; but he had scarcely entered oii
these labors when the mutiny broke out and all the mission
work was arrested.
It was early in the spring of 1857 that the fiendish atroci-
ties began which have burned into the memories of this cen-
tury that reign of terror in India, the Sepoy Rebellion. The
story need not be told here. We have neither space nor heart
to repeat it. Imagine what it must have been to wait and live
in such a state of torturing suspense as that which our mis-
sionaries then experienced. All the air was filled with awful
rumors of murder and outrage, and every day seemed to bring
the peril nearer.
In a letter dated May 20, 1857, Mr. Campbell says : " We
have had a most distressing time of excitement, and appre-
hended danger here. On Saturday last our station was thrown
into a state of the greatest alarm at hearing that the insurgents
of Meerut and Delhi were on their way, and probably not far
from this place." He tells how they spent the Sabbath, "ex-
pecting every moment to hear the guns of the insurgents, and
be murdered in cold blood " with their little ones. And then he
goes on to say, " It was a solemn hour — I never felt so near
death, and a terrible death. My great anxiety was for Maria
and the children, and I prayed God were it his will that our
enemies should prevail over us, that our dear little children and
my precious wife might all be struck down before me, then I
could die in peace. I had such a horror of having anything
fall into the hands of these sensual, devilish creatures that I
would rather see all mine out of the world than left in their
hands."
But the time for action soon came. As the insurgents pressed
nearer the only escape for our missionaries seemed to be to
take a boat and sail down the Ganges. The river would be
full of peril, the heat would be insufferable, they might never
reach a place of safety, but to remain where they were seemed
certain death.
Very early on the morning of the 4th of June, after a night
Rev. David Elliott Campbell. 431
of great anxiety, they entered the boats for their sad journey
down the Ganges. Others as well as the missionaries were
fleeing from the deadly Sepoys, The party in all numbered
one hundred and twenty-six souls, and was composed of almost
every description of character. It is said that one was an
avowed Deist, and others had lived like heathen.
The time to leave has come. They push off from the shore,
and float down with the current, which carries them along at
the rate of four miles an hour. We cannot dwell on the in-
cidents of this anxious, awful trip. Occasionally their boats
were fired into, they were robbed, they were blackmailed ;
finally the boat, on which the missionaries were, ran aground
near an island owing to the low state of the water in the river.
Here they were kept four days, and at last, when fired upon
by the Sepoys, they left the boat, took to the land and tried to
hide themselves in the tall grass.
Five days had been spent on the river. It was now nine
days since they had started on this desperate flight. Escape
seemed impossible. They were only five miles from Cawn-
pore. If they could only reach its English garrison ! They
heard the roar of artillery which announced to them that Sir
Hugh Wheeler was besieged in his own entrenchments. They
made repeated efforts to communicate with him, but met with
disappointment each time. It was a mercy they did not succeed.
As to this providence Dr. Walsh remarks : " Who that has
heard of the massacre of that garrison — the butchery of the
men — the separation of the women from their husbands — their
reservation for a worse fate, and the crowning act of their being
thrown, dead and dying, together into the well at Cawnpore,
will not thank God that our dear friends were preserved from
accomplishing the object they so much desired, and used so
many fruitless efforts to secure."
But the end was not far distant. They were in the imme-
diate neighborhood of that incarnation of brutality and treach-
ery. Nana Sahib. This man had been a student in the English
schools. He was a native of high rank and great wealth. He
pretended to admire the ways of Christian civilization and to
love the English people ; but his career exposed the insincerity
of his professions and the cruelty of his nature.
482 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial
Believing that the end had come the missionaries called the
company together for prayer. These last exercises were faith-
fully reported by the native Christians who were spared by the
Sepoys and sent back to their homes. By them it was reported
how Mr. Freeman opened the meeting by reading and expound-
ing a portion of Scripture. Then a hymn was sung, but which
one the natives could not report. After singing they all knelt
down and Mr. Freeman led in prayer. Then another hymn was
sung, and then all listened to Mr. Campbell, who endeavored
to confirm the courage of all by inducing them to look unto
Jesus, and to remember the crown of glory in store for all who
are faithful unto death. The scene closes with another prayer,
the last public one offered by any of this anxious group.
After the prayer meeting it was agreed to throw into the
river all their weapons of defense. They were now ready to
be offered up, and soon a boat load of Sepoys arrived and the
party were made prisoners. They were taken over to the Cawn-
pore side, where they made known their character and peaceful
occupations. They claimed that being merchants, planters,
teachers aiid missionaries they ought not to be molested.
Some few were disposed to let them go free ; but others said,
'' No— take them to Nana Sahib, and let the unclean foreigners
be rooted out.'" The more cruel sentiment prevailed.
The prisoners were now tied together two by two ; husband
and wife, brother and sister. Mr. Campbell, thus tied to his
wife, carried in his arms his little boy, Willie, and a friend took
his little daughter, Fannie. These were the only children be-
longing to the missionary party, and seem to have been general
favorites.
The weary march is begun. But the want of proper rest,
food and even water had greatly reduced the strength of the
party, and their progress was slow. One of the party made a
last effort to procure the release of the prisoners by the promise
of a ransom of 300,000 rupees or $150,000. The Sepoy has
an inordinate love of money, but the reply revealed a deeper
passion : " It is blood we want and not money."
The last hope of escape was now taken away. They are help-
less and their enemies are strong and cruel. SuiTounded by their
Rtv. David Elliott Gamphell 433
tormentors they stagger on. Finally, exhausted by anxiety and
fasting, some declare they can go no further. A halt is made
and the pai'ty surrounded by their Sepoy guard is permitted to
remain all night
The next morning, it was the 13th of June, they reached the
station. They were all shut up for an hour in a house by them-
selves. What occurred in that liouse and during that hour none
were left to testify. It was still early in the morning, only
seven o'clock, when they were all marched out to the parade
ground and ruthlessly shot. It is said that one hundred and
twenty-six souls were thus butchered in cold blood.
Thus perished the Freeman's, the Campbell's, the Johnson's,
the McMuUin's and dear little Fannie and Willie Campbell.
Others, indeed, fell with them ; but these men and women in a
peculiar sense died as martyrs for the cause of Christ. No
thought of earthly gain had lured them from their western
homes and brought them to this sultry clime. Their mission
had been one of Christian sacrifice, and their record is on high.
Their days of sin and sorrow are ended and God himself has
wiped awa}^ all tears from their eyes, and the sore discipline
and sharp trials of life are only remembered as a troubled dream
when the night has passed away.
But one incident remains to be mentioned. It will no doubt
occur to many a sympathetic heart to ask what became of the
little boy they left in the Hill Country with the good English
chaplain ? In reply we may say, God took care of him. He
was sent back to America in the care of a gentleman, one of our
mLsvSionaries, Rev. Levi Janvier. He was tenderly welcomed
by his widowed grandmother, Mrs. Bigham, of Millersburg,
Ohio. As his mother's family were United Presbyterian he
grew up as such.
Davidson Elliott Campbell was born in Futteghur, India,
February 12, 1852. He lived to the years of maturity and
was married September 2, 1879, in St. Louis, Missouri, to
Miss Margaret Wallace, who, with two children, now re-
sides in Monmouth, 111. He had studied at Westminster
College, New Wilmingt(>n, Pa., from which he graduated in
1871. He then studied theology one year at Allegheny, two
28*
434 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
in Xenia, Ohio, and one in the Free Church Hall in Edinburgh,
Scotland. He was licensed April 21, 1874, spent fifteen months
intinerating under the direction of the Home Board, organized
a mission in Burlington, Iowa, and supplied it until Julj, 1877-
Was ordained by Blooniington Presbytery, December 10, 1877,
and installed pastor of Paxton Church, Ford county. Ill, where
he labored until June 4, 1881. He was pastor in Putnam,
Washington county, N. Y., from September 20, 1881, to October
20, 1884. Having exhibited unusual skill in the sacred languages
and biblical exegesis he was elected professor of Hebrew and
Old Testament literature in the U. P. Theological Seminary at
Allegheny Pa. But his health began to fail, and so rapid was
his decline, with quick consumption, that he was never installed
in his professorship. He died at Monmouth, Illinois, August
15, 1885, * in the full hope of a blessed immortality. And so
the gracious assurance was verified — " When my father and
mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up,"
Rev. M. S. Oulbertson, D. D.
Rev. Michael Simpson Culbertson, D. D., was the son of
Joseph and Frances (Stuart) Culbertson. He was born in
Chambersburg, January 18, 1819. In several sketches of Dr.
Culbertson I find his name printed as Matthew Simpson, but
I have the best of authority for saying that this is a mistake.
He was named after General Michael Simpson, a relative of his
mother.
The future missionary grew up much as other boys of his
native place. He was quick and intelligent, but serious and
moral, and his pious mother, who had dedicated him to God
in his infanc}^ looked forward to his becoming not only a min-
ister of the gospel, but a missionary of the cross. She took
no pains to conceal the fact of this consecration of her eldest
son. All her intimate friends were aware of it. Hence, when
her old friend Judge Chambers, the member of Congress from
that district, without her knowledge or that of any member of
* I am indebted to Rev. James B. ScouUer, D. D., of NewviUe, Pa., the Historian,
of the U. P. Church, for most of the facts and dates in this sketch of the orphan
boy who became Rev. Davidson EUiott CampbeH.
^'=jr
^m
^ M
^^fc^ "
^^^^^^■^^
'^^^
Ul ,<5, J^pLMj-Utif/^ —
SHANCillAI, CHINA.
Rev. M. S. Culhertson. D. D. 435
the family, appointed her son to West Point, he said that he
" was concerned to cross the wishes and pi-ayers of such a de-
voted mother, but he felt that if God had work for him in that
line — foreign missions — he was sure that he would in due time
bring him into it from West Point or elsewhere."
This appointment })rovided for his education. He took the
full course and graduated with high rank in the class of 1839.
Among his classmates were Generals Halleck, Thomas, Rick-
etts, Ord and Canby. He was commissioned second lieutenant
First artillery, and, in 1839—40, served on our northern frontier
during the Canadian troubles of that time. It was during this
first public service of his country that he made a profession of
religion, and soon after he laid down the sword of the State
that he might the better wield the sword of the Spirit.
He entered the theological seminary at Princeton, New Jer-
sey, September, 1841. Here he also took the full course and
gi-aduated in 1844. He w^as licensed by the Presbytery of
Carlisle in the same year, and soon after, May 29, he- was or-
dained in his native town, by the same Presbytery, as a foreign
missionary, with the expectation that he would go to China.
It was a great undertaking to go as a missionary to the other
side of the globe forty years ago, far greater than now. Be-
fore sailing the young soldier of the cross was married to Miss
Mary Dunlap. of Salem, New York, and thus cheered and
encouraged he set out, with the blessing of the church, for the
scene of his li:e work. It was on the 22d of June that Dr.
and Mrs. Culbertson sailed for China. They went with the
first band of missionaries sent out by the Presbyterian church
to that country. They reached the " Flowery Land " on the
22d of October.
He began his work at Ningpo in 1845, and for six years this
continued to be the field of his labor. Here a church was
formed, the first Presbyterian church in China, and he became
its pastor. In 1861 he was transferred to Shanghai, and here
Ik; was stricken down with cholera, and died August 25, 1862.
Thus he had spent seventeen years of faithful labor in this
foreign clime, in the midst of its revolting paganism, that he
might give the gospel to China. Like a brave soldier he fell
436 Preshi/lery of Carlisle — Centennial.
upon the field of action, and forever consecrated China to the
cause of his Master by the presence of his sacred dust, now-
mingled with the soil of the "Celestial Empire."
This is a mere outline of his devoted life, let us go back
and survey it carefully that we may the better un(ierstand the
secret forces which directed its energies, and catch something
of the spirit which inspired it.
The student of heredity would here find an interesting field
of study, and the christian discover another illustration of a
mother's influence and consecrating power. The mother of
Dr. Culbertson was a remarkable woman. In her veins flowed
the blood of the royal Stuarts ; but none set a lighter value
than she on that petty distinction. To those who knew her
best she was, indeed, in a higher sense, the daughter of a king.
She was a devoted christian and quite in advance of her age
in her zeal for missions. She had the honor of standing as a
mother among the fathers of American missions. Her son
had in Ms possession, at the time of his death, a precious mem-
orial of her zeal and devotion. It was a paper, entitled, '" The
Female Missionary Society of Dauphin County." It begins
with the statement, " We, members of the above society, e'n-
joying the gospel ordinances of grace ourselves, feel it our duty
to contribute our mites to aid in the laudable object of propagat-
ing the gospel of the Redeemer among those poor savage tribes
who are perishing for lack of knowledge." At the foot of this
document is the record that it was " drawn up and put in cir-
culation by Miss Frances Stuart, April, 1810. This was the
same year that the American Board was organized, and two
years before the first missionary left America for a foreign
shore.
At that time it was her earnest desire to devote herself to
the work of missions, but when that seemed impossible, she
religiously consecrated her first-born son to the cause, and from
his earliest childhood she kept that object prominently before
his view. No wonder that he was known among his comrades as
a missionary boy. It was a memory of his boyhood, which
he carried with him to the end of his life, that when the story
came of the martyr deaths of Lyman and Munson, in Sumatra
Rev. M. S. Culhertson, D. D. 437
with the added horror that they had been eaten bj- the canni-
bals, his playmates gathered around him on the playground,
with the appeal, half in defiance and half in dissuasion, "Now,
Simpson, you won't be a missionary, will you ?"
But who can estimate the power of a mother's consecra-
tion ? Already had a presentment of his future destiny im-
pressed itself on the mind of the thoughtful lad. But a
power more potent still than even a mother's influence over
the heart of the boy was at work. Like Hannah of old, she
had lent her son to the Lord, and like Samuel he had been ac-
cepted ; and subsequent events showed that no earthly power
could divert that soul from the path marked out for him in the
divine purpose.
Another lesson suggested by the career of Dr. Culbertson,
is the constraining power of the love of Christ. To a worldly-
minded person it would have seemed a very improbable thing,
that the young cadet of West Point would ever become the
missionary of the cross in that stagnant old empire which
vainly attempted to shut itself in behind the Chinese wall.
Let us examine the record of young Culbertson at West
Point, and see what are his prospects of promotion. His as-
sociates are the elite of the Republic, the picked men of the
whole country. They are sent up by the several states to be
trained in the great National military school for army officers.
They are directl}^ in the path of worldly promotion. Among
them are Halleck and Hancock, McDowell and Magruder,
Bragg and Beauregard, with a long list of others who bore a
leading part on both sides, in that great National conflict so
fresh in the memory of the American people. And now, what
position does the future missionar}^ occupy in comparison with
these men of acknowledged genius in military affairs? A fact
or two will give the answer.
In the progress of his course he was appointed drill-master,
with the title of captain, and he also served for a time as pro-
fessor of mathematics, at which time he must have been an in-
structor of the most successful military chieftain of modern
times. General U. S. Grant himself. Fancy the future mis-
sionary instructing the leaders of the two great armies of the
438 Presbytery of Carlisle — Continued.
North and South in the arts of attack and defense, and teach-
ing them how to calculate the force and curves of projectiles.
But there is another fact still more significant. It was de-
termined that two cadets should be chosen to be sent to France,
at the Government expense, to complete their education in the
military school which produced a Bonaparte. There was no
higher honor at West Point than to be selected for this con-
spicuous privilege. Culbertson was the first selected, and ob-
tained the suffrage of all the electors. The ambitious and
worldly-wise would smile at the idea of such a youth as this
becoming a preacher. What now has become of the prayers
of that pious mother? They may seem to be lost, but they
are not forgotten either in heaven or on earth. They are recorded
on high, and they rest, like a mighty spell, on the heart of the
young officer. He declines the honor of being a National del-
egate to the proud military school of France, because he is
meditating service under the banner of the cross.
Dr. Culbertson was never able to tell exactly the time of his
conversion. Serious in childhood, and circumspect in youth,
there was no violent convulsion in his life when he decided to
publicly confess Christ. He was serving as a lieutenant of
artillery at the cantonment of Plattsburg, in northern New
York, when he took up the cross, though it was still a year
before he laid down the sword. From the date of his public
profession he displayed the character of an active christian.
Even in the academy at West Point he had earned the reputa-
tion of a peacemaker, and afterwards when in garrison with
his regiment his meekness was proverbial.
But now the scene shifts to the venerable shades of Prince-
ton. Books on artillery practice are replaced by the Hebrew
Bible and the Greek Testament. The youthful soldier is pre-
paring to unsheath the sword of the spirit in a pagan land.
It was the testimony of Dr. Charles Hodge that Culbertson
was among the foremost men in the seminar}', and when at the
close of his full course, he, with three others of his class, em-
barked for a foreign mission, another of the Professors, Dr. J.
W. Alexander, singled him out and wrote of him in these
terms : " One of the four, Culbertson, was an armv officer, and
Rev. M. kS. GuWertson, D. D. 439
highly honored at West Point. Chosen to go on some mili-
tary mission to France."
Who will venture to assert that in declining that mission and
accepting the embassy of Christ he was descending to a lower
sphere ! Of one thing we are certain, Dr. Culbertson never
regretted the step for himself. Dr. W. A. P. Martin, now
president of the Imperial College at Pekin, tells us : " Only
two days before his decease, when I alluded to the probability
that he might have had a place among the prominent generals
of the day if he had persisted in the profession of arms, he re-
plied : ' There is not one among them with whom I would be
willing to exchange. I tell you there is not a post of influence
in the whole world like that of him who gives the gospel to
China' "
About the same time Mr. Burlingame said to him, " If you
were at home you might be a major-general." "No doubt,"
he replied, "I might. Men I drilled are in that position.
Among these are Generals Sherman, YanVliet, Towar, Thomas,
Newton, Rosecrans ; but," he added earnestly, '" T would not
change places with one of them. I consider that there is no post
of influence on earth equal to that of the man who is per-
mitted to give the word of God to 400,000,000 of his fellow-
men."
And this was the great work of his life. In his funeral ser-
mon, preached by Dr. Martin, I find this testimony : " He la-
bored in connection with Dr. Bridgeman for several years, with
assiduity and perseverance, in preparing a revised translation
of the sacred scriptures in the Chinese language, a labor of
love which he regarded as the great work of his life, and it
was a source of special consolation to him, that just before his
departure, God enabled him to complete it.
This is a monumental work and it will be his earthly memo-
rial for agea Dr. Martin describes him in the last years of his
life as sitting in his study " with a native scribe on either hand
]>usily engaged in tracing from his dictation those lines of
Holy Writ, which the revolving cylinder press shall multiply
by thousands, while wind and steam unite their forces in spread-
ing them to the remotest parts of the empire."
440 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
In the midst of bis labors as a missionary, he was repeatedly
called into the service of the United States that he might act
as interpreter and secretary to the American Legation in China.
He thus served in 1853 under Mr. H. Marshall, in 1854 under
Mr. Ward, and in 1861-62 under Mr. Burlingame.
Missionary life is subject to many strange vicissitudes. His
work as translator required hira to remove from Ningpo to
Shanghai. He was residing in the latter city when it was
threatened by the rebel army. He organized the American
residents for defense, and assumed the place of a military com-
mander. He had to drill citizens and sailors by day and visit
the outposts by night. On his return to his quarters perhaps
he would be called upon to translate the dispatches between
Mr. Burlingame and the rebel general. During these peculiar
experiences he wore the light dress sword which he had used
as a cadet officer at West Point, and which he had kept as a
memorial of his life there. In one sense he never lost his mil-
itarv tastes. He always seemed to think of himself as doing
military service under the great Captain of our salvation. In •
his missionary work he was only storming one of the strong-
holds of the prince of darkness. This soldierly feeling was
one of the reasons why he always took the deepest interest in
his old army friends, and he always retained the warmest love for
his alma mater. He attributed gratefully his perfect physical
development to his training and discipline at West Point.
In a short sketch of his life in the New York TYmes, written
by Rev. Dr. John Forsyth, for a time chaplain at West Point,
I find the following testimony : '' Of no man could it be more
truly said, 'he was abundant in labors.'^ Besides his opus
magnum^ the translation of the Bible into Chinese, Dr. Cul-
bertson published many smaller works in Chinese and English,
which attest his abilities, his culture, and his zeal in the ser-
vice of the Lord."
To what man is it permitted to do a grander work for time
and for eternity ? Since the day when Culbertson was or-
dained and consecrated to the work of missions in China, the
Presbytery of Carlisle has sent many noble men and women
to labor among the teeming millions of the " Celestial King-
i^'^^fe^--
%.j.,
J/?7^-C<^
Rev. John Robinson Agnew. 441
dom," but none who have been more conspicuous for unselfish
devotion, untiring labor, and monumental results.
Rev. John Robinson Agne-w.
This tnily pious and excellent man was the second son of
James and Elizabeth Findley Agnew, and was born at McCon-
nellsburg, Fulton county, Pa., June 8, 1810.
Colonel James Agnew, the father of our subject, was a man
of remarkable personality, and it was no common honor to be
the child of such a father. If the reader will turn to his sketch
in a former chapter, and study the strong outlines of his sterling
character he will be able to appreciate the better the excellent
qualities of his son. He was equally blest in the character of
his mother, who was a woman of rare devotion, and though she
died when he was only a few years old, he knew that she had
consecrated him to God for the work of the gospel ministry,
and the thought was an inspiration to him all his life.
Being of a studious disposition young Agnew was duly pre-
pared for college in the Gettysburg Academy then under the
care of Rev. Dr. McConaughv, the pastor of the church at that
place, and afterwards the President of Washington College.
The young student had the privilege of boarding in the family
of the principal. From the academy he passed to Dickinson
College, in the fall of 1826, and from that venerable institution
he graduated in the class of 1829. He then spent a year and
a half in Union Theological Seminary, Prince Edward county,
Va., and entered Princeton Theological Seminaty in the spring
of 1831 continuing there for a like period.
After leaving the seminary he spent soine time in teaching
near Petersburg, Va. In explanation of this course I find a
memorandum in his own handwriting in which he says, "I
had always a very strong desire to enter the ministry, but feeling
myself utterly unworthy of it, chose school teaching as next
best, in preference to merchandising, medicine, law or anything
else. My father was wealthy and could have helped me in
various ways, had I chosen wealth or worldly position in pref-
erence to the ministry."'
442 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
He was licensed to preach the gospel by the Presbytery of
East Hanover in Virginia, April 24, 1834. His first public
service as a preacher was as a missionary to the Choctaw Indians
on the Red river. This work was on the extreme frontier of
that day, on the borders of Texas. He began his work under
no missionary organization and at his own expense. His cousin.
Rev. Henry R. Wilson had preceded him two years in the
Indian mission work, and it was in company with him and his
estimable wife that Mr. Agnew made the long and tiresome
trip to their mission station. In the summer of 1835 he took
service under the care of the American Board, but was com-
pelled the spring of the next year to quit the field because of
bad health. The exposures of his work were too much for his
delicate frame. To ride through malarial regions in the night
to avoid the burning heat of the day, to ford rivers up to the
neck in the water, to sleep in a hut through which he could see
the stars in the night, and feel the rain and the snow falling on
his bed, to live on the precarious provisions of an Indian's hos-
pitality, though he were a chief, to sicken and burn with the
malarial fever of the region, these were some of the common
experiences of this early missionary of the cross from this region.
It was indeed a very self-denying and hazardous work. " Here,"
in the language of one of his own family, '' he sowed the seeds
of disease which never left him."
During a very serious illness, which was brought on by his
exposures, he was cared for as by a sister in the home of Mrs.
Wright, an aunt of Rev. Dr. Benjamin M. Palmer of New
Orleans. He always spoke of her with the deepest affection
and gratitude, believing that to her assiduous care he owed his
recovery.
His health having failed, he returned to the State of Penn-
sylvania and after preaching for a time as a supply he was called
to become the pastor of the Harris ville and Scrubgrass churches,
Venango county. Pa., and was ordained by the Presbytery of
Allegheny, April 3, 1838, and installed as pastor of this charge,
where he labored for nine years until the autumn of 1845, when
he was compelled to desist from stated pastoral services on ac-
count of an affection of his throat and to seek a dissolution of
his pastoral relation.
Rev. John Hohinson Agneic. 443
He then determined not to accept the pastorate of any other
church and steadfastly adhered to this determination, though
at different times solicited so to do, preferring to preach to vacant
churches, and to the unorganized masses as he might find op-
portunity. To this course he felt impelled from necessity on
account of the diseased condition of his throat. After 1846 he
occupied numerous temporary positions as stated supply and in
various other capacities, such as agent for Lafayette College,
for the Board of Colportage at Pittsburgh, Pa., agent of Lincoln
University, a professorship in Steubenville Female Seminary
and as chaplain to the Penitentiary of Missouri, in all of which
and other positions, he performed a large amount of ministerial
and other forms of useful service.
While acting as professor of astronomy in Steubenville
Seminary, he invented an ingenious set of sectional globes, celes-
tial and terrestrial, combined with an orrery in such a manner
that the three together conveyed more clearly and definitely to
the mind of the student the movements of the heavenly bodies,
than has perhaps been done by any similar arrangement.
The last years of his life, when he was laid aside from further
service by reason of physical infirmities, were spent at Green-
castle, Pa. He died February 3, 1888, in the seventy eighth
year of his age.
Mr. Agnew was always conspicuous for his goodness. His
life was a consecrated one. He was a man of strong unwaver-
ing faith, of simple scriptural piety, and of great earnestness
and importunity in prayer. Tliere was nothing morose in his
principles or manner. He had great love for little children
and they seemed instinctively to be drawn to him. With his
young friends he was full of fun and frolic, and all his young
relatives were devotedly attached to him.
It was pre-eminently true of him that he loved his religion,
and his friends beheve that he never was in the company of
another person for an hour without speaking to that soul on the
subject of personal piety. The zeal of his love for Christ and
for the souls of men was with him a consuming passion. When
supplying churches he did the work of a pastor so well that he
always broke down in health under the strain. He was sys-
444 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
tematic and liberal in his charities, and when remonstrated with
for being too profuse in his gifts his favorite answer was Matt.
V : 42. " Give to him that asketh thee, and from that would
borrow of thee turn not thou away."
He was married June 4, 1839, to Miss Harriet J. Agnew,
daughter of Dr. Samuel Agnew, of Plarrisburg, Pa., who, with
an accomplished daughter, survives him. The late Samuel
Agnew, of Philadelphia, the founder of the Presbyterian His-
torical Society, was his youngest brother.
Rev. Edmund McKinney.
Edmund McKinney was the son of Mordicai and Mary
(Chambers) McKinney, and was born at Middlesex, in Cum-
berland county, Pa., on the 21st of April, 1815.''^ Both his
parents were members of the Presbyterian church. He him-
self united with the First Presbyterian church of Harrisburg
during a revival under the pastorate of Dr. William R De-
Witt, April 22, 1830, when he was just fifteen years of age.
Almost immediately his thoughts were turned towards the gospel
ministry. And a sister soon after marrying the Rev. William
P. Alexander, who became a missionary to the Sandwich Islands,
a permanent impression was made upon his mind leading him
in the direction of the same kind of work. He pursued his
classical studies in the Harrisburg Academy, and graduated
from Washington College in 1835. He studied theology at
Andover and Princeton seminaries. In October, 1837, he was
licensed to preacli by the Presbytery of Carlisle. He was or-
dained by the Presbytery of Erie, November 13, 1839, Up
to 1843 he had labored in Clearfield county, at Warren, Peters-
burg and Monaghan, all in Pennsylvania. And now he be-
came so pressed in spirit to carry out the purpose formed in
boyhood that he offerred himself to the Board of Foreign Mis-
sions, and was appointed to go to China with the lamented
Walter Lowrie. But domestic circumstances prevented the
execution of this plan. But two years later the Board offered
* For the principal facts in this sketch I am indebted to Rev. Joseph G. Symraes,
D. D., of Cranberry, N. J., who prepared the obituary recorded in the archives of
the Presbytery of Monmouth,
Rev. Edmund McKinney. 445
him au appointment among the Seminole Indians. On the
17th of July, 1738, he had married Teresa F.. daughter of
John Dennis, and now, with his wife and two children, he left
a pleasant field of labor for a life among the western Indiana
It was soon found, owing to the disturbed state of the Semi-
noles, impossible to establish a mission among them ; and Mr.
McKinney accepted an invitation to a position in Spencer
Academy, an institution 'of learning in the Choctaw Nation.
But the health of his family soon compelled him to seek a
home further to the north, and he sought out a field among the
Oniahas and Otoes, in Nebraska, where he labored eight years.
A serious bronchial affection drove him from this position,
where his labors in planting a church and in translating parts
of the Holy Scriptures still bear fruits. He then accepted the
superintendency of public schools in Hillsboro', Ohio, which he
resigned to become agent of Oxford Female College. From
this position he went to take charge of White Water Presbyterial
Academy. But restored health permitted his return to his favor-
ite w^ork of preaching, and he accepted a call to Montgomery and
Somerset, near Cincinnati. Here he remained until the war of
the rebellion came when he accepted the chaplaincy of the
Ninth Pennsylvania cavalry. He follow^ed the regiment through
all its services to the close of the war, receiving many tokens
of usefulness in this arduous position. Then he accepted an
appointment under the Freedmen's Committee of the Presby-
terian General Assembly, and was located at Clarksville, Tenn.,
where he remained eight years. Here he labored with accep-
tance among all classes, and with a success that is still grate-
fully acknowledged. He was for a time county superintendent
of white schools. Family interests demanded his removal, and
his next and last place of residence was Keyport, N. J. Here,
in connection with his son, he assumed charge of the Keyport
Weekly., and here, in the midst of his work, death found him.
He died on the 28d of March, 1878, of pneumonia. Through
a long and checkered and changeful career he had ever been
active in promoting every good work, being specially active in
advocating the cause of temperance. Before his fatal disease
had assumed a serious form he expressed himself as not afraid
of death.
446 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
In his last days he had begun greatly to desire a return to his
life-work. And feeling that his strength was sufficient he was-
turning his eyes to labor in the west. But the Master had
higher service for him, and took him to himself. His widow
and three children survive.
Mrs. William P. Alexander.
The maiden name of Mrs. Alexander was Mary Ann Mc
Kinney, and she was the daughter of Mordicai and Mary
(Chambers) McKinney, and the sister of Rev. Edmund Mc-
Kinnej, the missionary to the Indians. She was born at Wil-
mington, Delaware, January 10, 1810, but shortly after her
birth the family removed to the Cumberland Valley and settled
at Middlesex, near to Carlisle, Pa. It is not known to the
writer when the family removed to Harrisburg, but they were
residing there when, in May, 1824, Mary made a public pro-
fession of her faith in Christ, and united with the Presbyterian,
church then under the care of Rev. William R. DeWitt, and
here she was married, October 25, 1831, to Rev. William Pat-
terson Alexander, a native of Paris, Ky., and a student of
Princeton Theological Seminary. On the 26th of November,
1831, she with her husband and seventeen other missionaries
embarked at New Bedford, Mass., on the ship Averick bound
for Honolulu, Sandwich Islands, where they arrived after a
pleasant voyage. May 17, 1832. On these islands they re-
mained as missionaries — going for a few months in 1833-4 to
the Washington Islands to establish a new mission ; but soon
returning to the Sandwich Islands. They visited the United
States in 1859, returning to their mission in March, 1860. In
1884, they visited Oakland, California, where several of their
children, resided, and at this place Mr. Alexander died August
13. 1884. After Mr. Alexander's death she returned to Haiku,
Island of Maui, to be with her son-in-law, Hon. Henry B.
Baldwin, where she died June 29, 1888.
She is spoken of as " a woman of high character, wise, calm,
patient and faithful, steadfast and cheerful under many trials
and burdens Her home is described as a model one, well re-
membered by all who entered it as a delightful place where
christain graces were seen in constant exerci!*e."
^W^-fu^ - A V.-^ ^^^-
burg, ir
u- i<-,r lour V-
motlier w.'if a >
it hint a^s to tb« principles
*'► r.r.^. told that it was
,^ht some day be-
)h parent^
Tie began ins el.>
ter two years {»; .
iersey, where Li'
-'. Hi'? scholnr-
>issippi, m
ver
ito the Presbyterian
WfiS
Bev. A bel Green- Simonton.
447
Rev. Ai bel Qreen Simonton.
Eev. Ashbel Green Sionton was born in Dauphin county,
Pa., January 20, 1883. He was a child of the covenant, being
the youngest son of Dr Yilliam Simonton, of West Hanover,
Dauphin county, and A -tha Snodgrass, who was the second
daughter of Rev. Janie Snodgrass, for fifty-eight years pastor
of the Hanover Presby ,ian church.*
The father was a phycian, and the son of a physician. He
was a ruling elder in th Derry church, and for four years he
represented his district Congress. His mother was a daugh-
ter of the manse, a lad of refinement and unaffected piety.
From both parents, th. 3fore, the subject of this sketch in-
herited a dower of culti e and devotion.
The very name whi< was conferred on tiie future mis-
sionary at his baptism, : a significant hint as to the principles
and predilections of the 'arents, and we are told that it was
given with the express )pe that the child might some day be-
come a "Dr. Green.'"
It was the natural air tion of such parents to give their son
the advantages of a libt 1 education. He began his classical
studies in the Harrisbui Academy. After two years prepar-
atory study, he entered le College of New Jersey, where he
took a full course, and is graduated in 1852. His scholar-
ship and acquirements ^ re much above the ordinary grade of
of his class.
After spending som eighteen months in Mississippi, in
charge of an academy < boys, he returned home to Harris-
burg, in July, 1854, an. entered upon the study of law.
* Rev. James Snodgrass was <
very strict in his regard for the
In this and like matters he had
ally some of the Germans, whc
ance of the Lord's day. The st-
parson by electing him coiistal
therefore have to pay a fine, i
came forward and was qualifie<
at the same time. The next da
to warn his petty tormentors tc
they had been infringing upon
- porch and watched the cner
always been very hard to g
of the remarkable men of his times. He was
bbath, and insisted on its observance by others,
tten the illwill of some of his neighbors, especi-
ere more lax in their notions about the observ-
is told that these last determined to annoy the
believing that he would not serve and would
to their surprise the old gentlemen promptly
1 the ordinary form and had a deputy sworn in
e sent the deputy over the whole neighborhood
ove their fences back ofif the highways, which
years. We are told that the old minister sat on
digging post holes most of that summer. But it
he children of those men into the Presbyterian
hev. Ashbel Green Simonton. 461
language was the starting of a Bible class, Sabbath, Ma}^ 19,
1861. He makes a note of it that it was at 3 o'clock in the
afternoon. He sa3's • '' It was with some tremor that I awaited
the hour. Two were present and seemed interested. I be-
gan with Matthew's gospel. The second Sabbath three were
present; the third more, and on the fourth it was a most glad-
some sight to see the room fill up with men and women wait-
ing to be taught the word of God."
We cannot notice all the details of his early work in the
great capital of Brazil. Suffice it to say that these laboi-s cul-
minated in the organization — January 12, 1862 — of the first
Protestant church in the kingdom, if we except some indepen-
dent work which had been done by a Dr. Kalley, a Scotch
minister, who, with no church, board or society behind him,
had gathered some converts before this in Rio de Janeiro.
In the meantime others had come to his assistance. He no
longer felt the loneliness and isolation of his position as the
only Protestant missionary in the whole empire. His brother-
in-law, Rev. Dr. Blackford and his wife had joined him, and
leaving the mission in his charge he returned to this country.
The feeble health of his mother was one motive for this step.
She was soon called home to glory. On March the 19th, 1863,
he was married to Miss Hellen Murdock, of Baltimore, and soon
after he sailed with his wife for his chosen field of work.
On the first Sabbath after landing they were delighted to
see the room in which the service was held crowded with at-
tentive worshipers. The work continued to prosper and grow.
His journal notes frequent additions to the church. Soon Dr.
Blackford undertook a new mission under the very walls of
the Romish Univei-sity of Sao Paulo, and Brother Simon-
ton girded himself to carry on the whole work in Rio de
Janeiro.
June 19, 1864, he gratefully records the birth of a daughter —
an event speedily followed by an overwhelming sorrow. Nine
days days later his beloved wife passed beyond the sense of
sight and left him stunned and almost broken-hearted. But
let me quote his own words: "Just when my cup of earthly
hap))iness was full, the chief source of my joy is taken from
462 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
me. Every waking moment tells me of mj loss. I feel a void
which nothing can fill save God alone. Thanks to his name
for access to him in prayer, and the assurance that he is my
father and careth for me. '■ * * Thanks to him who died
and rose again for the firm belief that these natural feelings,
so wholly rebellious against what has happened, do not tell the
whole truth — that there is a. balm even for such wounds as
these. Heaven is the home of the believer; it is my home."
His sister, Mrs. Blackford, took charge of his motherless
babe, and he plunged into the manifold work of the mission.
The lesson which he drew from his bereavement was, " The
time is short — what thou doest, do quickly." He threw him-
self the more heartily into the work of winning souls. In
November of that year he took a leading part in the estab-
lishment of the first Protestant newspaper ever printed in
Brazil. It was called The Evangelical Press.
This new enterprise was launched in prayer, and has been
greatly blessed to the good of his native Brazilians. But it
added much to his labors. The greater part of the matter
published in it was from his pen, then he preached three times
a week in Portuguese and generally once in English.
In order to be nearer his work of editing and preaching he
took a house in the heart of the city. The move was regretted
by his friends as exposing him to the malarial influences of a
large and not very clean city. But to their remonstrance he
replied that foreign merchants lived in that part of the city for
the purpose of trade ; and that foreign missionaries ought to
be equally brave and self-denying.
It was in this locality and wholly absorbed in his work that
the last few months of his life were spent. The intensity of his
application no doubt hastened the end. He worked, indeed,
as though it were the afternoon of his little day and he heard
the Master saying, "The night cometh."
Yet strange as it seems to us, he did not feel or see his
danger, and he only stopped his untiring pen when physical
prostration compelled him to desist. Then he started to make
a visit at his brother-in-law's, thinking the little trip by
steamer would work as an alterative and bring him out all
\frs. Alexande-r L. Blackford. 453
right He reached Sao Paulo, far from well, but even his
friends did not apprehend any immediate danger. He had the
attention of an American physician, a man of skill and of emi-
nent piety, but it was all in vain. In a little more than a week
it was all over, and the pioneer missionary of Brazil had fallen
asleep in Jesus.
Mrs. Alexander L. Blackford.
The maiden name of Mrs. Blackford was Elizabeth W. Simon-
ton, and she was born, September 4, 1822, in Dauphin county,
Pa., being the sister of Eev. Ashbel Green Simonton, the mis-
sionaiy to Brazil, a sketch of whose life may be found in this
vol ume.
While a pupil in the female seminary, at Newark, Delaware
she became a subject of renewing grace. Her experience was
remarkably clear and decided, and her hope steadfast and un-
wavering. About the time her brother Ashbel Green was pre-
paring to go to Brazil, she became acquainted with the Rev.
Alexander L. Blackford, of Martin's Ferry, Ohio. Mr. Black-
ford being under appointment as a missionary to the same field,
and anxious to enter it the following year, they were married
in Harrisburg, Pa., March 8, 1860, and sailed soon afterward
from Baltimore, Md., for Rio de Janeiro. They landed at that
city, July 25, after a stormy passage of some nmety days, barely
escaping shipwreck on the voyage. During the terrific violence
of the winds and waves, heavy seas swept over the decks
drenching their wearing apparel and bedding, and subjecting
them not only to great discomfort, but to great peril for several
days. Mr. Simonton knowing the time of their departure from
the United States, and that the vessel was already overdue at
Rio de Janeiro for six weeks or more naturally inferred that they
bad been lost at sea, and wrote to this effect to friends at home.
But fortunately the friends at home knew better, as intelligence
had come from them at the island of Barbadoes, where the ship
stopped for supplies, and for an additional seaman to replace
one of the crew who had lost his life by a fall from the rigging
during the storm.
Mrs, Blackford was u faithful missiouuj-y and a true he!])-
464 Presbytery of Carlisle— Continued.
mate of her husband. Their station was for the most part at
Sao Paulo, in the Province of the same name, though they
spent some time at Rio de Janeiro. Being of a somewhat
nervous temperment, her health suffered from the climate of
Brazil. She was obliged to come home several times to recup.
erate, but her affections were with " her people " in her adopted
country and field of labor.
Her mind was bright, quick and very active and observant.
She loved the cause of Christ and was happy in efforts to pro-
mote it among the Brazilians. She had facility in becoming
acquainted with all classes and used it wisely in endeavors to
win their hearts to the Saviour, During her last few years on
earth, she suffered from nervous disease and was thereby dis-
qualified for active service in the Master's work. Her interest
in the evangelization of Brazil to which she had devoted her
energies for many years knew no abatement, and the rapidity
with which the gospel spread and converts were multiplied
gave her great jov.
For sometime previous to her decease, her strength gradually
declined, and she peacefully passed within the veil on the 28d
of March, 1879, Her remains were laid to rest in the Protest-
ant Cemetery at Sao Paulo, Brazil, by the side of her brother
Rev. Ashbel Grreen Simonton.
While this work was going through the press the Rev. Alex-
ander Lafcimer Blackford, D. D., died May 14, 1890, at Atlanta,
Ga., in the sixty-first year of his age. He was on his way to
the General Assembly at Saratoga, as corresponding delegate
from the Synod of the Presbyterian church of Brazil, of which
body he was the Moderator. He was born in Jefferson county,
Ohio, in 1829 ; graduated at Washington College, Pa., in 1856 ;
at the Western Theological Seminary in 1869 ; and went to
Brazil under the Foreign Board in 1860.
Oliver McOlean Green.
Oliver McClean Green was born at Dickinson, Cumberland
county, Pa., June 22, 1846. He was the youngest son of Mr.
John T. Green, for many years an elder in the Dickinson church,
and after his removal to Carlisle he was elected to the same
'^(^■0^-
D
Oliver Mc Clean Oreeri. 465
office in the Second church, and on his return to Dickinson he
resumed the same functions in his old home.
Ohver entered Princeton College in 1864, and graduated with
the second honors of his class in June, 1867. In October of
the same year he entered Princeton Theological Seminary. He
accomplished his first year in the seminary without much dif-
ficulty, but his health failed about the middle of the second
year and he was compelled to return home. In September,
1869, he was sufficiently recuperated to resume his studies, but
wishing to do thorough work, he fell back one class. In the
spring of 1870 he was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of
Carlisle, after which he spent more than a year in home mis-
sion work in the coal region within the bounds of Lackawanna
Presbytery, and greatly endeared himself to the people.
Hoping to benefit his health by a winter in the south, he
entered tne Theological Seminary at Columbia, South Carolina,
in September, 1871, and graduated there the following May.
He had long been meditating his duty respecting foreign
missions. It is believed that it was during this last year of
theological study he fully decided to offer his services to the
church for the foreign mission field. I was his pastor at the
the time, and I well remember his opening the subject to me
and asking my advice about the matter as we walked back and
forth on the public square one balmy day in the spring of
1872. I very frankly told him my fears, and while I admitted
til at it was a question every man must decide for himself, I
tried to persuade him, as a friend, not to undertake a work for
which I felt sure he had not the physical constitution. I shall
never forget the almost pitiful way in which he looked up and
said pathetically, " Please do not say so, for my heart is set on
it." "Then," said I, "my dear brother, may God help you,
Uy\- 1 have not another word to say."
Tiie argument which 1 used with hiiu was this: No one who
knew him doubted for a moment his natural gifts, and that he
could easly stand in the front ranks of his class in college and
seminary while his health lasted ; but that he had already ex-
perienced the inconvenience of breaking down in his studies.
1 urged him that he had been barely able to finish his course
466 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
owing Xjo a naturally delicate constitution, and that if he should
now undertake work in a foreign field like Japan, he would
at once be confronted with a task as serious as anything he had
attempted in his past course of study ; for he must master the
native language, and be able to use it with facility, or he would
be inefficient as a teacher and preacher, and I told him as ten-
derly as I could that I did not believe that he had the physi-
cal constitution to endure this additional strain after all he had
gone through in securing his equipment for the home field. I
assured him that I had great hopes that he would be able to
discharge the ordinary duties of a pastor in this country, and
that with care and some change of field, he might even im-
prove in health, that for myself I would frankly confess I had
not the physical strength to undertake the foreign work with
any hope of success.
I have already given his reply. I never tried again to dis-
suade him from his chosen task. It was arranged that the
meeting of Presbytery when he should be ordained to the
work of a foreign missionary should be held in Carlisle and
in the church where his father was an elder and himself a
member.
It was before that pulpit he knelt down and received from
the Presbytery the solemn imposition of hands while with
trembling voice Dr. Thomas H. Robinson pronounced over
him the prayer of ordination. At his own request his pastor
gave him the charge to be faithful unto death, and with much
anxiety, but with our best wishes and many prayers, we sent
him forth. This was in October, and the 15th of that month,
having bade farewell to home and friends, he set out for Japan,
where he arrived December 1, 1873.
He at once began the study of the difficult Japanese tongue,
and made such progress that in eleven months he commenced
preaching to the people. He was stated clerk of Presbyteiy,
kept the minutes in both English and Japanese, and acted as
interpreter for both Japanese and Americans nearly all the
time he was in Japan. He made a number of translations of
small commentaries and tracts. Being one of the first mis-
sionaries to the '• Sunrise Kingdom," he took an active part in
Oliver Mc Clean Oreen. 457
the organization of " The Church of Jesus Christ in Japan,"
which is the union organization through which all the different
Presbyterian churches operate in that country. At first he
was stationed at Yokahama, and afterwards at Tokio. His in-
dustry, fidelity, and amiability greatly endeared him to his co-
laborers, the resident foreigners and the natives themselves.
In answer doubtless to his earnest prayers God spared his
precious life until he was enabled to lay the foundations and
to build much of the superstructure of our mission in the
Sunrise Kingdom. But in the end the worst fears of his
friends were realized and he was compelled to relinquish his
work. He left Japan in July, 1880, and came home hoping
to recruit his health, but as the event proved it was to receive
his final and honorable discharge from the earthly warfare.
He found the old homestead sadly changed by the death of
his gentle mother, who had passed away in the closing month
of 1876. He visited among relatives and friends, but was only
able to make a few public addresses. Man}^ of us remember well
the address which he made in the Second church of Carlisle one
evening, and how he illustrated it by calling up a young Ja-
panese then residing at Mt. Holly, and carrying on a conver-
sation with him in the barbarous tongue of that peculiar people.
How frail he seemed that night! And the end was not far off.
All medical assistance proved of no avail, and after a linger-
ing sickness he passed to his reward November 17, 1882. His
friends and brethren laid his remains away tenderly by the side
of his dear mother, and there they await the resurrection morn
in the little churchyard at Dickinson, where his infant feet
first sought the house of God. His memory will ever be dear
to the hearts of his friends, while the record of his earthly
labors is embalmed in the history of christian missions in Japan.
Perhaps I cannot do better in closing this very imperfect
sketch than to give in full a characteristic letter from Mr.
Green to his father. Two things are incidentally revealed in
this letter — his own beautiful christian spirit and the trials to
which our devoted missionaries are exposed. I have no doubt
that the scene described in this letter shortened his lifa The
restive and factious spirit thus early reported has continued to
458 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
a greater or less degree in Japan ; and perhaps it will be a
long tifne before the native church will settle down to the reg-
ular methods of an orderly church life. They are a mobile
and somewhat fickle people, and the readiness with which they
have accepted Christianity will probably be equalled by the
promptness with which they will improve upon it However,
the truth is mighty and will prevail. " The zeal of the Lord
of hosts will perform this :"
ToKio, April 16, 1880.
Dear Father : The mail brought me a few days ago your
letter written at L 's. The news of W 's very serious
illness was startling but I felt confident in your judgment that he
would eventually recover. A letter received from L later
on the same day, told of his improved condition two weeks
after you had written. I am very glad for all that and partic-
ularly for the news in your letter that Mr. Logan is able to
preach again. Besides the cases you mentioned of old friends
who have recently gone, the Sentinel contained notices of two
or three more whom I knew. Death has harvest all the year
round and is a tireless reaper. I wish we could all do as
diligently the task set us, that of sowing the seeds of life, and
wait pataiently for the harvest to come.
We have met with a considerable obstacle in our efforts to
build up a church here. Probably it is only a seeming hind-
rance, and one that God will remove speedily. It is the strong
spirit of insubordination and resistance to right shown by many
of the young ministers and elders. Last week we held the
regular Aprih meeting of Chinkuwai (Presbytery). The ses-
sion lasted from Tuesday morning 9 A. M. till Saturday 2 a. M.
On Tuesday night there was no meeting. Four days and three
nights we had an almost continual struggle by the Japanese
against the rules of order and other more sacred things as
I shall mention further on. The native churches now num-
ber twenty-one, the ordained ministers nine, and we foreign
missionaries about fifteen. You can see where we are when it
comes to a vote. At this meeting we came to the gulf that has
been in view and dreaded for some time, the Japanese taking
rank together on one side and the foreigners on the other.
Oliver Mc Clean Green. 459
What do you imagine the question was ? At the beginning
of our union all agreed to unite on the basis of the Confession
of Faith, the articles of the Synod of Dort and the Catechisms.
The Japanese were fully informed as to the contents of these
symbols, some of them in fact were taken through the Confes-
sion in course of theological study. To our great surprise,
at the last autumn meeting of Presbytery, one young man
got up and gave notice that at this meeting he would move
to amend the Constitution and throw away the two symbols
mentioned above. His motion was of coui*se renewed this
time and then the struggle began. Most of the foreigners
stood manfully up for the truth. The Japanese disclaimed
hostility to the substratum of the creed, (but their honesty
here is a little doubted), and agreed that it was for the
honor of the nation not to take a foreign creed and a foreign
name. This argument expressed precisely the gist of the
difficulty, that is, that they hate foreigners, are glad to get what
is valuable from them, but make no acknowledgment of it
As to making a creed of their own it would be as wise a pro-
ceeding as to put W. L. into the pulpit to preach for his father
next Sunday. After very long and hot debate the question
was postponed till next autumn. So it must come up again.
During the proceedings the Japanese members would not sub-
mit to be governed by the rules of order, but spoke as often
and as vehemently as they pleased. Nor would they keep
quiet when the Gicho (moderator), a Japanese, had given a
decision against them. They made the good man's life miser-
able for four days.
But the last was the worst. There was so much time wasted
ill foolish wrangling that we had not finished our business
at midnight on Friday and were compelled to remain in
scvssion. Very soon the youngest member of the body, a lad
of nineteen or twenty, whom we have fed on milk and meat,
nourishing him for years, said he had important business.' He
then made a charge that the union church is a mere name
not a thing ; that the foreign missionaries had purposely made
confusion in the churches, were fighting against one another
and in fact an evil agent in Japan. He wished to remedy this
460 Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial
trouble. Yow. may imagine how such a blow hurt us, all ex-
hausted as we were with long and distressing labor, and now at
one o'clock Saturday morning, the Japanese, a dozen or more,
shouted "rfo-i," we approve. The foreigners could do nothing
but deny the slander and ask the appointment of a committee
to investigate the charge. This was agreed upon and the com-
mittee named. But some of the Japanese and the boy who
made the accusation soon felt that they had gone too far and
done wrong. Putting their heads together, they concluded to
ask the Chinkuwai to blot out the charge from the minutes
and dissolve the committee. To this the foreigners agreed. We
ended proceedings with a good deal of crying and agitation on
part of the Japanese, and sad hearts on part of the missionaries.
Personally I was too much mixed up with it. I am English
clerk, and besides acted as interpreter. To do these two duties
at once for so great a length of time and amid such scenes was
too much for me, and I ought not to have attempted it. My
nervous strength was pretty well exhausted and I made rather
a long speech or two against certain misrepresentations by the
Japanese. I did nobody any wrong, I believe, saving my
Master who commands peace. The sense of that fault is very
painful, but if it makes me gentler and more Christlike, it is
most welcome. We missionaries met yesterday and decided to
talk privately to the leading Japanese, in the interval, trying to
lead them to clearer light and a more generous policy. Pray
for the church in Japan.
Affectionately your son,
O. M. Green.
APPENDIX A.
RIG-IN OF THE Missionary Tour of Revs. Charles
Beatty and George Duffield to the Dis-
tressed Frontier Inhabitants and the In-
dians.
The origin of the movement seems to have been an action of
*' The Corporation for the Relief of Poor and Distressed Pres-
byterian Ministers." See Minutes of the Synod of New York
and Philadelphia, May 23, 1763. A request from this " Cor-
poration " was brought in and read, which was as follows :
" November 16, 1762. At a meeting of the Corporation in
this city, it was agreed that the Board appoint some of their
members to wait on the Synod at their next meeting, and in
their name request that some missionaries be sent to preach to
the distressed frontier inhabitants, and to report their distresses,
and to let us know where new congregations are a forming, and
what is necessary to be done to promote the spread of the gos-
pel among them, and that they inform us what opportunities
there may be of preaching the gospel to the Indian nations in
their neighborhood.
" And it is agreed that the necessary expenses of these mis-
sionaries be paid by this Board, and that Messrs. John Meas,
Dr. Redman, William Humphreys, George Bryans. Treat,
Ewing, and the secretary, wait on the Synod and earnestly
press them to grant this request "
INDEX
NoTE.-^he characters I and II denote the first and second volumna.
Academies.— Fagg'8 Manor, New Lon-
don, W. Nottinghim, I, 342; Pequea,
Carlisle, 34:5, 345 ; Dobbin's, at Gettys-
burg, 344; Harrisburg, York, 3t6 ;
Chambersburg, Shippensburg,Hager8-
town, Northumberland, Gettysburg,
387; Hopewell. Bedford, 388; Mercers-
burg, Newville, 393 ; Hunterstown,
New Bloomfleld, Dry Run, Welsh Run,
394.
Act and Testimony, I, 130.
Adair, James, I, 190. 430, 431.
Adair, Wm. H., I. 227
Adam. Wm , I, 204, 430, 431.
Adams. John R., 1,251.
Adams, Stephen, II, 352.
Adopting act, I, 61.
Adore, W. J.. I, 264.
Aghadowey, Scotland, 1, 65.
Agnew, James, II. 358. 369.
Agnew, John H., I, 430. 431.
Agnew, John R., I. 219, 243, 430, 431 ; II.
3H0 441-444
Agnew, Samuel, II, 359, 360, 444.
Aid for colleges, I, 180.
Alexander, Archibald, I, 63,113; II. 27.
261, 390.
Alexander, David. I. 61, 64, 422, 423.
Alexander, John B., I, 254, 2.55.
Alexander, John, Col., II, :i27.
Alexander, John, I, 254.
Alexander, Samuel, II, 327.
Alexander, Samuel C, I, 222, 242, 267, 430,
431.
Alexander, Wm., 11,336.
Alexander, Wm, M., I. 322.
Alexander, Wm. P.. II, 444, 446.
Alexandria, Va., I. 100, 304.
Allison's Hill. 1,280.
Allison, Patrick, I, 99.
Allison, Robert C, I. 458, 459.
Amberson's Valley, I, 258.
American Bible Society, I. 127.
American Board of Foreign Missions, I,
127.
American Education Society, 1. 137.
American Home Missionary Society, I,
127.
American Presbyterianism, I, xi, xii, 4,
46.
American Sunday School Union, I, 127.
American Tract Society, I, 127.
Anderson, James, I, .54, 55, 56, 189, 191, 193,
432,423; II. 17-21.
Anderson, Matthew. I. 430, 431.
Anderson, Patrick, 11.278.
Anderson, Wm. B. 1,337.
Anglo, Henrv 15., 1.316.
Armstronsr, John, I, 225 ; 11, 45, 313.
Armstrong. John, .1r.. II. 318.
Armstrong. Joseph, II, 317.
Armstrong. Reuben H.. 1, 264, 430, 4;M.
Arnold, John. I, 4:», 431.
Arthur, RIchnrd. T, 2.53, 371, 274. 430, 4,31.
Asay, Charles U., I, 282.
Associate Presbytery, II, 356, 257, 2.58, 28T,
292.
Associate Reformed Pres. Church, I, 65,
233, 334, 393.
Associate Reformed Synod, I, 301, 287 ;
II, 294.
Associate Theological Seminary, II, 256.
Austin, James C, 1, 272, 273; II, 372, 373.
Austin, Rowland, I, 254.
Baber, James, 1, 296, 297, 430, 431.
Bacon's ideal of historical writing, I,
Bailey, Malachi C, 1, 258. 433, 433.
Bair, David W., I, 332.
Baker, Charles P., I, 277.
Baker, Francis M., I, 357, 433. 433.
Baker, Hiram, I, 264, 432, 433, 460, 461.
Balch, Hezekiah J.. I. 97, 286. 422, 423.
Balch, Stephen B., 1, 99, 422, 423.
Balch. T. Bloomer, I, 148.
Bald Eagle Church, I, 319.
Baltimore, Presbytery of, I, 100. 147.
Baltimore, Synod of, 1, 147.
Bancroft, the historian— John Calvin
and American liberty, 1, 34 ; John Cal-
vin and Free Schools, I. 337.
Barbor, John P., I, 330, 343, 433, 433.
I Barber, Spencer F., I, 193.
Bard, David, I, 100, 106, 107, 338, 391, 395.
331, 332, 433, 423, 430, 431.
Barnes, Albert, I, 139; II, 126.
Barnes, W. Smith, I. 432, 433.
Barr, John C, I, 230, 243, 432, 433.
Barrett, Joseph G., I, 267.
Barton Church, Md., 1, 14.5, 164. 399.
Bauman, Isaac. 1, 265.
Bay, Andrew, I, 86, 216, 217, 286, mi, 422,
423 ; II, 39.
Bayley, Joseph, 1, 313.
Beard, John, 1. 87, 88, 93, 219, 423, 423.
Beatty. Wm. T., I, 303, 344, 433, 433.
Beatty, Charles, II, 413.
Beaver, James A., I, 279, 380, 414.
Bedford Church, I, 100, 108, 143, 145. 389.
391.
Bell, Samuel, I, 430.
Bell, Hamilton, I, 433, 423.
Bellefonte, 1, 165. »
Beneficence, 1, 180, 183.
Bertram, Wm., I, .54, 55, 56, 57, 189. 190.
192.433, 423; 11,31,33.
Berridge. Leeds K., I, 458, 459.
Bermudin, I, 317.
Bethune, George, I, 361, 3*53.364 ; II, 393.
Big Spring Presbytery, 1. 158. 233.
Rig Spring Church, 1, 58, 69, 73,
108, 114, 143, 197-199,207,308; II, 34, 71.
73, 93, 100,
Bigham, Wm., 1,317.
Black. Benjamin, I. 353.
Black, James, I, 430. 431.
Black, Jeremiah S., 1 1. 1563.
Black, John, I, 100. 105. 100, 108, 175, 30e,
213. 313, 29*), 422, 423, 4:50, 431 ; II. 66-60.
Black, Robert, I, 252, 253.
4U
Jh-cabytery of Carlisle — Centenidal
Black. Samuel, 1, 57, 303, 422. 423 ; 1 1, 38, 3T.
DIack's Grave Yard, 1, 212.
Blackford, A. L., II, 451, 454.
Blackford, Mrs. A. L., I, 184 ; II, 452, 453,
454.
Bladensburg, I, 100.
Blake, Charles M., I, 4«0, 461.
BlakiQg. Win., I, 243.
Blain, James, I, 225.
Blaiue, Ephraim, II, 319, 3t?8.
Blaine, James G., II, 31".i
Blair, Andrew, I, 2.ol\
Blair, Andrew, Sr., 1, i'49; II, 277, 365.
Blair. John, I, 67, 73, 74, 198, 208, 209, 210 ;
II, 33-36.
Blair, Samuel, I, 52, 74; It, 33-36.
Blair, Wra., II, 365.
Blair, Wm., I, 250. 260, 365.
Bliss. John C, I, 350, 368, 432, 433.
Bloomfleld Church, I. 110, 143, 350, 351,
306.
Blythe, Robert, I, 217.
Boal, Wm., I, 243.
Board of Education, 1, 128, 130.
Board of Foreign Missiona, I. 128. 130.
Board of Home Missions, 1, 138, 130.
Boggs, John, II, 362, 363.
Boggs, John M., I, 160, 192, 430, 431.
Boggs, O. Perry, I, 25;i.
Bouner, George M.. 1, 264, 432, 433.
Books and Reading, I, 405, 414.
Bosler, James W.. Memorial Hall. 1,391.
Bosserman, Wm. H., 1, 267.
Boyd, Adam, I. 54, 64. 208, 433, 423; II, 39.
Boyd, Alexander, I, 291, 430, 431.
Boyd, John, I, 430, 431.
Bovd, Wm., I, 423, 423.
Boyer, Stephen, 1, 140 ; II, 138.
Brackenridge, Henry, M., II, 339.
Brackenridge, Hugh Henry, II, 338.
Brackenridge, James G., I. 296 430. 431.
Bradbury. Elbridge, I. 291. 430, 431.
Braddock'8 Defeat. II. 40.
Bradley. Matthew P.. I. 433.
Bradley. Wm.. I. 430.
Bradley. W. Van Fossen. I. 307.
Brady. Hugh, II, 356, 357.
Brady, Hugh, II, 341.
Brady, Joseph, I, 236, 237, 239, 355,306.430,
431.
Brady, Samuel, II, 354-356.
Brainard, 1, 104.
Brandon, Wm. B., I, 243.
Brandon, Wm. T., I, 243.
Brazil. II. 449.
Breckinridge. Robt. J., II. 362.
Bridges. Robert. I. 270, 273.
Briggs. Charles A., American Preaby-
terlanism, I, xi, 46.
Brinkerhoof, John G., 1, 215.
Britain— Christianity introduced, 1, 47-49.
Brown. C. M.. 1. 264.
Brown. Enoch. I. 78. 340.
Brown. Matthew. I, 430 ; II. 103. 112. 113.
255, 386, 387, 388.
Brown, R. A., I, 295. 430-431.
Brown. Thomas, 1. 203.
Brown. Wilham. of Paxton. I, 6.5.
Brown, Wm. A., I, 245.
Brown, Wm. G., 1,432,433.
Brownson, James I., I, xiv, 3, 430 ; II, 389.
Bryson, John, 1, 106, 107, 339, 331, 333, 430,
431.
Buchanan. James. 1. 142, 301, 202, 232, 244,
. 355. 430, 431 ; II, 252-255.
Buchanan, James, Prest., IT, 364.
Bucher, David H., I, 258.
Buckle, George, I, 271, 274.
Bucks County, I, 50.
Buck Valley Church, I, 145, 270, 373, 274,
Buttalo Church, I, 110, 143, 246, 347.
Buifalo Cross Roads, I, 331.
Buffalo Valley Church, I, 100, 319.
Burd, James. II, 333.
Burk, J. Clinton, I, 323,
Burns, Charies E., 433.
Burnt Cal)ins Church. I, 145. 258, 359.
Byers, John, II, 326.
Cain, George F., I, 434. 435.
Caldwell. John C. I, 272. 396, 4:^4, 4.35.
Caldwell, Joseph, I, 293, 294, 295, 296, 432.
Caledonia Springs, I, 171.
Calvin, John, I, xi, 7, 49 ; II, 1.5.-Ban-
croft's estimate of, I. 34. 338.
Calvinism, II, 16.
Campbell, Caleb B., II, 424.
Campbell, David E., 1. 183 ; II. 423-434.
Campbell. Davidson E.. II, 427.
Campbell, James, I, 315, 216.
Campbell, Wm. W., I, 213, 434, 435.
Carlisle, I, 74, 76, 77.
Carlisle Academy, I, 344.
Carlisle Barracks, II, 63 (see Indian In.
dustrial School.)
Carlisle church — See Upper or West
Pennsborough Old and New Side
Division. 1. 69.
United in 1785. 1. 70.
First church. I. 1. 3, 14, 138, 139, 164,
195-197 ; II, 43, 153, 156.
Second church, I, 110, 123, 142, 248-250;
II, 159.
Carlisle, Presbytery of.
Erection, I, 99.— Era of national his-
tory, 313.
Ministers and churches then belonjf-
ing, I, 99-101.
First meeting, 1, 102.
Division proposed, 1, 105, 106.
Divided in 1794, I, 106, 107.
Growth, I, 109, 110, 115, 117, 125, 144,
146, 170.
Its frontier churches. I. 313-330.
Its influence, I, I12.-In the West, 37.
Old and New School differences and
division, I, 125-136.
Adheres to the O. S. Gen. Assembly,
1, 135, 136.
Members who withdrew, 1, 136.
Regret expressed by both parties, I.
136. 137.
Reunion. I. 150. 158-164.— Roll, after,
166, 167.
Centennial celebration, 1, 1.— Memo-
rial vol. I, vii, 1.— Each contributor
responsible for his own part. I. xiv.
Tabulated statement, I, 419-461.
Its history to be found in that of
western churches, I, 36, 37.
Influence beyond its bound, II, 375-
Carlis'le, Presbytery of 1765-1766, 1, 86-90.
Carlyle, Thomas— estimate of history, I,
viii.
Carnahan, David T., I, 213, 434, 435.
Carnahan, James, II, 72.
Carnahan, James, II, 392.
Carter, Robert E., I, 282, 283, 284.
Cassatt, David W., I, 434, 435.
Cathcart, Robert, I, 15, 108, 112, 114, 136,
137, 151, 156, 288, 432, 433, 458, 459 ; II, 61,
124-130.
CatteU, Wm. C, 1, 262, 434, 435.
Index.
465
Cavea, Samuel, I. 64, 194, 202, 203, 204, 208,
211, 422, 42,5 ; 11, 2«, 29, 30.
Cedar Creek Church, I, 93, 100.
Cedar Spriujr Church, 1, 100, 317, 319.
Ceutre Church, 1, 73, 100, 108, 143, 224-327,
240, 315.
Chalfant, Geo. W.. I. 149, 265, 434, 435,
Chamberlain, Jeremiah, I, 291, 432, 433 ;
II, ;592.
Chambers, Benjamin, 1, 202, 203, 204, 212 ;
II, 322.
Chambers, Georfre, 1, 75, 78, 84 ; II, 181,
324,325.
Chambers, George S.. I, 263, 376. 277, 280,
4»4, 435.
Chambers, James, II, 323.
Chambers, Talbot W., 1, 10 ; II, 157.
address, 1, 13.
Chambersburg, 1, 112.
Chambersburg Academy, 1, 104,387; II, 73.
Chambersburg Central Church, I, 145.
172,271-273.
Chambersburg laid out, II, 323.
Chambersburg paper-mill, II, 381.
Chanceford Church, 1, 100.
Chaplains iu Revolutionary Army, 1. 94,
95.
Chaplains in the War of the Rebellion,
I, 149.
Charlestown Church, Va., I, 101.
Charter for Presbytery, 1, 178.
Cherokee and Choctaw Indians, II, 413,
445.
Chestnut Level, I, 192,
Chicasaw Indians, II, 401.
Chillisquaque Church, 1, 101, 319, 322.
Church, a living power in the world to-
day. I, 28-31.
Church ediflces, 1, 184-186.
Church erection, 1, 180.
Church extension, I, 144, 145, 146.
Church Hill, 1,205.
Church history, duty of writing, I, xv.
Churches no longer on the roll, I, 385.
" Churches of the Valley," I, xiii.
Cincinnati, Society of, II, 324,
Clark, Albert B. I, 432,
Clark, A. M., I. 209.
Clark, David D, 1, 143, 217, 344, 296, 432, 4*3,
Clark, James, I, 2.50.
Clark, John H., I, 227, 246, 432, 433.
Clark, Joseph. I, 204, 3.53, 432, 433.
Clark, K. A., I, 227.
Clarke, Robert. II, 341.
Clayton, James H., I, 244.
Clear Spring Church, Md., I, 145, 164, 297,
298.
Clendenin, John, 1, 265.
Cobean, J. Harvey, I, 213.
Cochran, Robert, I, 279, 280.
Cochran. Thomas P., I, 242.
Cochran, VVm. P., I, 158, 160, 241, 247, 285,
366, 267. 434. 435.
Cole, J. H.. I. 161, 364, 434, 4a5.
Coleman, Mrs. George Dawson, T, 381, 382.
Coleman, James— Memorial Chapel, I,
282.
Colleges for Young Women.
VI ilson College at Chambersburg, I,
394-35)6.
Metzger Institute at Carlisle. I, 396.
Colleges (see Education).
Collins, Brinton E., I, 341.
Colonization, 1, 134; II. 338.
• 'olumba, 1.48.
Cono<loguinnet, I, 58, 192, 193, 195, 197, 199 ;
II, 23.
30*
Conestoga Manor, I, 51, 78, 80.-Mas.sa-
cre, 79.
Conewago Creek, 1, 50. —Church, 57, H02.
Congregationalism, I, 127, 128, 130.
Conococheague, region of, and Indian
incursions, I, 73, 73.
Cooder, Charles L., I, 383.
Cook. Isaac M., I, 433.
Cool Spring Church, Va., 1, 101.
Coons. Wilson H., I, 233.
Cooper. John, II, 47.
Cooper, John H., I, 227. 246, 247. 434, 435.
Cooper, Robert, I, 89, 91, 93, 94, 97,99, 105.
106. 107. 108, 113, 209, ^, 325, 422, 733, 433.
433; II, 46, 47, 364.
Cox, Wm. A., I, 209.
Craig. Hugh B.. 1, 216.
Craig, John, 1. 64, 303, 423, 433.
Craig, John A., I, 235.
Craig. Wm. B., I. 166, 237, 339. 251, 432, 433.
Craighead, James G., I, 458, 459.
Craighead, John, I, 94, 97, 99, 105, 106, 108,
115, 209, 210, 433, 423. 433; II. 47, 48.
Craighead, Robert, II, 23.
Cramer, John K., I, 316, 295, 298, 433, 4;33.
Crawford, J. A. (Elder), 1. 158.
Crawford, J. Aguew, I, 1, 9, 166, 204, 379,
434, 43o; 11,383.
Crawford, Wm., II, 335.
Creaghead, Alexander, I, 57, 61, 64. 65, 193,
198, 432, 433 ; II, 24.
Creaghead. Thomas, I, 57. 197, 198, 307,
209, 432, 433 ; II. 22-35.
Credentials, I, 108, 143.
Cree, John. II. 371.
Creigh, Alfred, II, 321.
Creigh, Col. John, II, 330, 221, 354.
Creigh, John D., II, 221.
Creigh, John, M. D., II, 331.
Creigh. Thomas. I, 143, 158, 166, 307, 316,
354, 260, 371, 392, 297, 432, 433 ; II, 117, 220-
231, 425.
Croghan, George, 11, 328, 329, 333.
Crooked Billet. II. 319.
Cross, John, I, 2.58, 432, 433.
Culbertson, Alexander, II, 353.
Culbertson, James, 1,233.
Culbertson, James, I, 432, 433.
Culbertson, John, I, 65.
Culbertson, M. Simpson, I, 184, 432, 433 :
II, 393, 434-441 ; His mother, II, 436, 437.
Culdees, I, 48, 49.
Culloden, Battle of, II, 337.
Cumberland Church, Md., I, 110, 143, 164,
291,292.
Cumberland County, formed, II, 338.
Cumberland Valley, Settlement of, I, 51.
—During the Indian Wars, 73, 73.
Cummins, Charles P., I, 143, 344, 345, 432,
433.
(Cunningham, John, I, 317.
Curtin, Andrew G., 11, 333.
I Dauphin Church, 1, 153, 154, 164, 255-257
'see also Middle Paxton).
Dauphin County, erected, II, 340.
Davenport, Isaac W.. I, 364, 436, 437.
Davenport, Silas A., I, 237,246, 436, 437.
Davidson, Ellas, II, 424.
Davidson, J. K., I, 202.
Davidson, Patrick, I, 286, 4.34, 4*5.
Davidson, Robert. I, 70, 100, 106, 108, 113,
196, 230, 348, 349, 3.5.5, 422, 423, 434, 4a5 ; II,
51-5:1.
Davidson, Robert. Jr., I, 434 ; II, 53, 393.
Davie, J. T. Marshall, I, 202, 294, 434, 435.
Davis. J. Gardner, I, 458.
466
Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
Davis, John W., I, 257, 458, 459.
Davis, John W., I, 277.
Davis, John W., Gov., II, 335.
Davis, Thomas K., I. 253, 258, 291, 296, 434,
435.
Declaration of 1736. I, 62.
Deer Creek, (Church \n lie, Md.), I, 86.
Delaware County, 1, 50.
Delaware River, Settlement along, 1, 50.
Demarest, John K., I, 211, 313, 436, 437.
Denny, David, I. 108, 112, 113, 142, 304, 222,
224, 348, 434, 435 ; II, 72. 73.
Denny, Ebenezer. II, 319.
Denny, Harmer. II, 274.
Derry Church, I, 55, 56. 57. 66, 75, 93, 100,
108, 114, 142, 188-190, 230, 231. 361 ; II, 17,
21.
Derry on the Juniata, 1, 100.
Derry, Siege of. I. 13; II, 16.
Devor, Amos, I, 234.
Devor, Wm. M.. I, 436.
DeWitt, John, II, 138.
DeWitt, William K., I, 15, 114, 136, 137, 138,
140, 151, 156, 159, 161, 163, 232, 255, 2.56,262,
263, 434, 435, 4.58, 459 ; II, 131-143.
Dickerson, Jonathan, I. 295. 297. 434, 435.
Dickey, John, I. 143, 246, 247, 251, 306, 4:M,
435 ; II, 203-210.
Dickey, John M.. I. 364.
Dickey, Seth, 1, 207.
Dickinson church, I. 110, 14:5, 244, 24.5.
Dickinson college, 1, 16. 104. 111. 113: 11,
179, 180, 181. 301.
Origin and history, 1. 346-391.
Professors, I, 35:3, 355. 356, 359, 360,361,
365, 384.
Prominent graduates, I. 352, 364, 3?5.
State Senate investigation, I, 362, 367.
Troubles in exercise of discipline, I,
370-373.
Transfer to the M. E. church, I, 16,
377.
Under Methodist control. 1, 390. 391.
State appropriations, I, 379, 380.
Alumni, I, 385 ; II. 316, 317.
Dickinson, Hon. John, I. 346, 347, 359.
Dick's Gap church, I, 73, 88, 101, 235, 235,
236, 237, 305, 306.
Dickson, James, I, 458, 459.
Diener, John F.. I, 245, 436, 437.
Dill. John, I, 219.
Dill, Matthew, II, 334.
Dillsburg, I, 219.
Dinsmore, Wm. H.. I, 194, 434, 435.
Dionysius of Hal.— Definition of hist., I,
xiv.
Diven, James L., I, 346
Diver, Charles F., I. 458, 459.
Division— Old and New Side, in churches,
1,66.
Divorce, I, 175.
Dobbin. Alexander, 1,65,380; Academy,
344, 345.
Dobbin. Thomas. I, 333, 436, 437.
Donaldson, James, I 434, 435.
Donaldson, James H., I, 396, 436, 437.
Donegal church, I, 50, 100; II, 17, 18.
Donegal, Presbjrtery of
Erection and boundary, I, 54, 55.
Divided state after reunion of 17.58, 1,
68-70, 91. 93.
Dissolved in 1765, I, 86.
Restored in 1766, 1, 88, 91.
Discord and division, disastrous, I,
95,96.
Rapid growth from 1768 to 1786, I, 95,
Donegal. Presbytery at— continued.
Divided into Presbyteries of Balti-
more and Carlisle, I, 99.
Tabulated statement of ministers,
etc.. I, 419-427.
Donnelly, Samuel J., I, 269, 274, 397, 434,
435.
Dorrance, John, I, 397.
Dougal, Samuel, I, 100, 331, 322, 224, 422,
423. 434, 435.
Downey, Wm. W., I. 192, 339, 278, 436,
437.
Downing, J. G., I, 166. 343, 367, 436, 437.
Dromgold. T. J., I, 237.
Duffleld, George Jr., I, 14, 114. 118-124, 130,
197, 245, 348, 434. 435.— Biographical
Sketch of, II, 149-163.
Duffleld, George, Jr. i3d), I, xiv. 14.
Duffleld, George, Sr., I, 69, 74, 86, 89, 93,
94, 195, 196, 199, 218, 219, 325, 292, 422, 433 ;
II, 40, 43-45, 149.
Duffleld, Samuel W., 1, 14.
Duncan. D. D. 6.. 1. 199.
Duncan. George S.. I, 345, 436, 437.
Duncan, John Mason, I, 129; 11, 286, 305.
Duncan, Thomas, II, 373.
Duncannon Church, I, 237-239 (see
Mouth of Juniata).
Dunlap, James, I, 433, 433.
Dunlap, Robert W., I, 294. 397. 434. 435.
Dunlap, Samuel, I, 315, 316.
Dunham, Asa. I. 333.
Early Settlers of Pennsylvania not
homogenius, I, ix, 53
East Conococheague Church, I, 58, 92, 93,
100, 108, 200, 203, 385 (see Greencastle.)
Eastern Shore. Presbytery of, I, 147.
Eckles, James, 1, 195.
Eckles, John C, I, 250.
Eckles, Mer^-in J.. 1, 436.
Eckles, Wm., 1,265.
Edgar, John, I, 251, 267, 396, 436, 437.
Edmeston, Wm., I, 70, 432 ; II, .38.
Education, I, 104, 111, 112.
Education in the Presbytery, 1, 337-399.—
Schools and Teachers. 338,— School
houses, 339.— Classical Schools, 343.—
Colleges. 341.
Edwards, Jonathan. II, 19.
Edwards, Tryon, I, 164.395, 436, 437.
Eells, Wm. W.. I, 250, 260, 265, 436, 437.
Elder, James, I, 268.
Elder, John, 1. 62, 64, 66, 69, 75, 81, 83, 84,
85, 87, 91. 92, 94, 100, 189, 190, 192, 229, 330,
419, 422, 423. 436, 437 ; II, 18, 26-29.
Elder, Matthew B., 1, 192.
Elizabeth Farms, I, 383.
Elliott, David, I, 114, 306, 207, 248, 295, 436,
437; II, 110 124, 331, 387, 388, 389, 424.
Elliott, George, I, 229, 254, 255, 436, 437.
Elliott, Jesse D., II, 342, 343.
Elliott, Missionary to the Indians, I, 104.
Elliott, Perry. I, 282.
Emerson, Brown, I. 458, 459.
Emerson, Daniel H., I, 288, 458, 459,
Emerson, Edwin. I. 166. 203. 344. 436, 437.
Emigration, loss to Presbytery by, 1, 110,
115.
Emmittsburg, I, 386 (see Tom's Creek).
Erskine, Ebenezer, 1, 1, 10, 13, 166, 199, 280.
436,437.
Erskine, J. S. E., I, 436.
Evans, Charles Alexander, I, 381, 383,
Evans, John R., I. 283.
Ewing, John, 1, 83.
Examination of Ministers. 1,143.
Index.
467
Vi\g)iS Miiuor Church, I, 74; II, 19.
Fulling Spriug (Church, I, 58, 92, 93, 100,
ll:!. 143, 20'-'-204, 207. 248, 271.
Kalling Watci-s Church, Va., I, 1«1, 108,
2ir3.
Fiiunettsburg, I, 222 (see Lower Path
Valley).
Fayetteville Church, I, 110, 252, 253.
Feeble churches, 1, 172.
Ferguson, Thomas J., I, 194, 43b, 437.
Ferriday. W. Calviu, I, 149, 258, 436, 437.
Ferner, Edsal, 1, 213, 436, 437.
Findlev Clement A., II. 363.
Fincllay.:\Vm., II, 343. 344.
Fine. Liimberl S., I, 204, 436, 437.
Finney, Charles G.. II. 2(>5, 266.
Finney. Henry G., I, 210, 213, 248, 43ti, 437.
Fisher's Church (see Limestone Kidge).
Fithian, Philip Vicars— Tour & Journal,
I, 98. 318.
Fishing Creek Church, 1, 101.
Fitzgerald. James D., I, 164. 292, 4:56, 437
Fitzhelm, John, 1, 238.
Fleming, J. A.. I, 202.
Fleming, Joseph H., I, 216, 436, 437.
Fletcher, C. F., 1,202.
Fletcher, L. H., I, 202.
French. A. E., 1, 207.
Foote, Wm. H., I, 148, 298.
Foreign Missions. I, 128, 130, 180,
Foreign Missions— laborers from this
Presbytery, 1, 183, 184.
Foster, Thomas, I, 458, 459.
Foster, W. K., I, 322.
Foulk. John S., I, 436, 437.
Franklin. Benjamin, I, 80, 84.
Frankstown (HoUidaysburg) Church, I,
101, 290.
Freedmen, I, IfcO.
French and Indian War, 1, 72.
Frostburg Church, Md., I. 145, 164.
Froude. estimate of John Knox and
British liberty. 1, 35 ; II, 16.
Fullerton. J. Quincy Adams. I, 219, 24;!.
FuUertoQ. Mrs. K. S., I, 183; II, 426.
Fullerton, Robert S., I. 183 ; II, 426.
Galbraith, Bertram, II, 333.
Galbreath, J.M., I, 282.
Gallaudet, S. H. S.. I, 225, 438, 4;».
Galloway, John S.. I, 438.
Gantt. Alfred M., I. 267.
Gardner, Charles W., 263, 264, 458, 4.59.
Garver, B. B., I, 254.
Garver, James C, 237, 246, 438, 439.
Gaston, T. B., I, 222.
Geddes. W. Nevin, I, 244, 438, 439.
General Assembly. I, 99.
Genessee. Synod of, 1. 136.
Geneva, .Synod of, I. 136.
V
German I ree Schfxjl in Peun., 1, 337.
German Reformed Church, 1, 116.
Germans. I, 52, 71, 115, 116, 222.
Gettysburg Academy, 1, 104. (see Acade-
mies!.
Gettysburg Church. 1, .'>8, 11.'). 142,211-213;
II. (Hi.
Gef.rgc. Samuel C. I, 210. 248, 4;}8. 4:i9.
Georgetown Church. D. C. I. 100.
Gibson, George. II, 349.
Gibson. Hugh. 11.349-^51.
Gibson, John B.. II.:«I.
riibson. Robert P.. I, 194, 4:j8, 439.
Gibson, \Vm. J., 32.5, 326, 332, :i:i.3.
(Jillan. David. 1.248.
(iillan. J. Rush. I. 24«.
GillauU, Jumcs W.. I. 2:«t, 4;«, mK
Gilgore, Charles, I. 218.
Gillespie, George, II, 22.
Gillett, E. H., fl, 19.
Gist, Cristopher, 11, 329.
Given, Joshua H., I, 438.
Givin, Maj. Samuel, I, 404. 414.
Givin, Miss Amelia S., Free Library. 1,
401-415, Inaugural address by Dr. Nor-
cross, 405-414.
Givin, Robert, I, 404.
Gobin, Charles, I, 270, 271.
Golston, Samuel, I, 424, 425.
Gordon, James A., I, 4;i8, 439.
Gordon, J. Smith, I, 166, 224, 259, 438, 439.
Gordon, the historian, I, 76, 77, 78.
Graham, James, 1, 438.
Graham, James, I, 26.5.
Graham, James H.. 11, 374.
Graham. John, I, 239.
Graham, Mrs. Isabella, II. 293.
Graham, Robert. I, 438.
Graham, William, II, 390. 391.
Graham, Wm. A.. I, 222, 29.5, 438, 439.
Grassman. Cvrus, I, 283.
Gray Friers church, 1, 126.
Graydon. Alexander, II, 315, 332.
Graydon, H. Murray, I, 158, 262, 268 ; II.
332.
Graydon, Wm., II, 332.
Graydon, Wm., M. D.. II, 332.
Great Aughwick, 1, 101.
Great Conewago church, I, 57, .58, 93, 1(K),
108, 115, 142. 211, 212, 213-215, 302.
Great Cove. I, 73, 101, 108, 129, 227. 263, 385
(see McConnellsburg).
Green, Ashbel, I, 382.
Greencastle church, I, 58, 92, 93, 100, 108,
110. 115. 142. 199-202, 243 (see East Couo-
cocheague).
Greencastle church. Associate Re-
formed. I, 110. 201.
Green Hill church, I, 110, 143. 228, 2.53, 254,
308.
Green, John T.. II. 454.
Green, Lewis W., II, 260.
Green. Oliver M., 1, 184, 438, 439 ; II, 39S,
454-460.
Green, Timothy. II, 3*5.
Green. Wm., 1, 199.
Green, Wm. H., II, 259, 260, 261.
Green, Wm. Henry, II, 2.59.
Gregg, Andrew, II, 352.
Grier, David, I, 245, 438, 439.
Grier, David, Col., II, 334.
Grier, Isaac, I, 324, 331, 333, 436, 437 ; TI,
3a3.
Grier, Laverty, I, 438, 439.
Grier, Nathan, II, 2.52.
Grier, Robert Cooper, II, 363, 364.
Grier, Robert S., 1, 142, 286, 4:J8, 439.
Grier, Wm., I, 2.51.
Groff, John H.. I, 2.58, 369, 277, 438, 439.
Gurley, P. D., I, 262.
Hagerstowu Academj, 1,104, isoe Acade-
mies).
Hagerstown Church, 1, 101, 110, 14:5, 1(4,
200, :201. 215, 292-295.
Hall, Baynard R., 1, 143, 291, 4.38, 439.
Hall, Wm., 1,227.
Hall, Wm. McClay, 1, 151, 162, 291, 438, 3:«,
458. 459.
Hiilbert. Wm. H.. I. 44, 441.
Halsey Leroy J., II, 120.
Halsey, Luther. II, 120.
Hamilton, Alexander, 11, :i06, 308.
Ilumiltou, Calvin, I, 213.
468
Preshytenj of Carlisle — Centennial.
Hamilton, Hance, IT, :535.
Hiimillon, James, 11, 'MH.
HiimiJtou, James J., T, 166, :a7. 342, 247,
440. 441 ; II, 2.3ti-244.
Hamilton Wm., II,23fi.
Hammett, Wm., 1, 244.
Hanna, John, I, 287.
Hancock Church, Md„ I, 143, 145,164,269,
296, 297.
Hanover Church, 1, 57, 74, 75, 100, 108, 142,
Hanson," Hezekiah, I, 1, 337, 3.39, 341, 438,
439.
Harned, Nathan, I, 246, 247, 205.
Harper's Ferrj', I, 147.
Harper, James, 1. 166, 234, 235, 268, 438, 439;
II, 210, 211.
Harper, John, 1,239.
Harris, Franklin D., I, 458, 459.
Harris James, I, 320.
Harris James, I, 254.
Harris. John, I, 81, 320 ; II, 340.
Harrisburg, laid out, II, 340.
Harrisburg, Covenant Church (Seventh
Street), I, 145, 268. 269, 285.
Harrisburg, Elder Street Church, I, 154,
157,263-264,285. _ ^ ^
Harrisburg, Market Square Church, I,
103, 108, 114, 138, 140, 151, 156, 158, 164, 172,
239-332, 274, 379, 285.
Harrisburg, Olivet Church, I, 277-280.
Harrisburg, Pine Street Church, I, 14o,
172, 359-362, 274, 279, 385.
Harrisburg, Presbytery of, 1. 151, 157.
Erection, I, 151
First Meeting, I, 151.
Stood by the Confession of Faith, I,
152.
Relation to Voluntary Societies-
change, 153, 154.
Beneficence, 1, 156.
Loyalty to Government, 1, 1.55.
Church Boards, 1, 154, 155.
Final Adjournment. I, 157.
Harrisburg, Westminster Church. I, 170,
374-276. _ , ,
Hart's Log, 1, 100, 290 (see W. Alexan-
dria).
Harvie, John C, I, 232.
Hatfield, Edwin F., 1, 154.
Hav, Samuel. II. 334.
Hay, Wm., II, 333.
Hayes, I. Potter. I, 369, 440, 441.
Haves, John, 1, 194, 219, 438, 439.
Hayes, Robert C, I, 235.
Hays, Edwin R., 1, 199.
Hays, Isaac N., I, 166, 209, 314, 315, 360.
265,272,273,293,440,441.
Hays, James, I, 335.
Heberton, Alexander, I, 291, 438, 439.
Heister, Joseph, II, 344.
Hench, Thomas H., I, 440.
Henderson, J. S. H., 1, 199, 440, 441.
Henderson, John, 1,^7.
Henderson. Joseph, I, 100, 105
110, 215, 434, 425, 438, 439,
Henderson, Robert M., 1, 197.
Hendricks. Francis, I, 458, 459.
Henkell. Wm. E.. I, 440.
Hepburn. Andrew D., 1, 440, 441.
Herron, David, II, 100.
Herron, Francis, I, 115, 210, 438, 439 ; II
100-110, 392.
Hershey, Andrew M., I, 438, 439.
Hertzler, C. D., I, 265.
Hibben, John Grier, I, 304, 440,441 ; 11,4:
Hill. James M., 1,324.
106, 108,
Hill, John AV., I. 440. 441.
Hillis, Wm. H., I, 213. 440, 441.
Hillman, Wm. G., I, 194, 440, 441.
Hindman, John, I, 434, 425.
History, our local, neglected, I, ix. x.
Hodge, Charles, I, xi. 46, 137 ; II, 361, 262.
Hofifer, J. C, I, 197.
Hoge (or Hogg), John, 66, 69, 93, 106, 107,
336, 331, 333, 424, 425, 438, 439.
Hoge, Jonathan and David, II, 340.
Holbert, Wm. H., I, 440, 441.
Hollidaysburg (see Frankstown).
Holmes, Abraham, II. 399.
Holmes, James, 11, 399-410.
Home Missions, I, 104, 110, 111, 153, 154,
180.
Home Missions, Presbyterial, 146. 173. 174.
Hood, Thomas, I, 333.
Hoops, Adam, I, 72, 73 ; II, 333.
Hoover, Robert H., I, 354, 355, 440, 441.
Hopewell Academy, I, 388 ; U. 47, 101, 399.
Hopewell, I, 58, 197, 207, 208, 285.
Hopewell Church (York Co.), I, 108, 114,
140, 143, 288, 289; II, 135. (See also
Hound Hill. I
Howe, Samuel B., I, 16, 113, 358, 375, 376,
1 438, 439.
i Howell, John G., I, 438.
j Hubbard, Albert W.,I. 219.
! Hublersburg Church, I, 153.
Huey, Robert, I, 424, 425.
Hunt, James, I. 93, 100, 424, 425.
Hunter, Andrew, I, 98.
Hunter, James D.. I, 203. 440. 441.
Hunter, R. J., I, 355.
Hunterstown, I, 303.
Huntingdon, I, 101, 339.
Huntingdon, Presbytery of, I, 96. 107. 108,
110. 240. 313. 314, 315, 330.
Hutchins, Charles J., L 388, 458, 459.
Indian Industrial School, Carlisle, I, 396-
398.
Indian Troubles, I. 71-8.5.
Inglis, George S., I, 296, 440, 441.
lona. Island of, and school. I, 48.
Irish and Scotch-Irish.
Conservators of Presbyterianism and
Calvinism, I, xi.
Pioneers in this region I, 46-52, 71,
73, 74.
Immigration, 1734-1750, 1, .50, 51 .
Discriminated against, I, 51, 71.
Love of church, I, .53.
Founders of schools in the Middle
States, 1, 138.
Decrease bv emigration, I, 110, 115,
116.
Irvine, James, I, 247.
Irvine, James F.. I, 307, 440, 441.
Irvine, John. 1. 197.
Irvine, Scotland. 1, 125.
Irvine, Wm., Gen., II, 320.
Ir\ine, Wm., I, 195.
Irwin, Samuel J.. I, 329.
Jackson, Andrew, II, 108.
Jackson, Sheldon, and Alaska, I, 314.
Jacobus. Meiangthon W., II, 360.
Janeway. Joshua B. S., I, 204.
Japan, JI, 456, 457, 458.
Jewett. Merrick A., 1, 128.
John Brown's Raid, 1, 147.
Johns, John, I. 106, 107, 440, 441.
Johnston, James, I, 100, 106, 107, 329, 331,
424, 425, 440, 441.
Index.
469
Johnston. Mervin E., 1, 350, 440, 441 ; II,
344-352.
Johnson. Samuel L., I, 440.
Johnston, Kobcrt. I, 313, 440, 441 ; II, 324-
353.
Johnston, Wm. B., 1, 440. 441.
Johnstons, James and llobert, 11,348,349.
Jones, Daniel, I. 105, lOo, 108, 440, 441.
Jones, Wm., I, 276.
Jones, Wm. J., I, 366.
Jordan, Benjamin, I, 257, 260.
Jordan, Francis, I, 263, 2«0.
Juukin, Benjamin F., II, 345.
Junkin, David X.. II. 345.
Junkin, George, II. 345, 392.
Junkm, Joseph, II, 344, 345.
Kautz, Samuel H., 1,278.
Keefer, Hezekiah, I, 273.
Keith. Isaac, I, 98, Sttt, 319, 424, 425.
Kellar, Isaac. I, 228, 254, 308, 440, 441.
Kelso, Alexander P., 1, 183, 442, 443.
Kendall, Wm. A., I, 229.
Kennedy, E. Davidson, I, 216 ; II, 148.
Kennedy, James F., 1, 166, 245, 253, 270,
271, 443, 443.
Kennedy, John, II, 373, 374.
Kennedy, John H., I, 440, 441.
Kennedy, Robert, I, 67, 115, 136, 137, 143,
151, 156, 200, 201, 202, 210, 216, 229, 254, 292,
308, 440, 441, 458. 459; II, 143, 149.
Kennedy, Samuel, I, 317, 320.
Kerr, Boyd M., I, 265, 442, 443.
Kerr, J. Horner, I, 229, 354, 255, 442, 443.
Kerr, J. J., I, 317.
Kerr, Wm. C, I, 442.
Kieffer. W. T. Linn, I, 207, 443, 443.
King, John. I, 94, 97, 99, 105, 106, 108, 112,
114, 206, 207, 291, 296, 434, 425, 440, 441 ; II,
48-51.
Kipp, Jacob. I, 243.
Kipp, Wm., I, 342.
Kirk of Shotts, 1, 125.
Kishacoquillas church, I, 100.— East and
West, 319, 328.
Kittochtinny mountains, I, 50, 71, 220.
Kittochton church, Va., I, 95, 331.
Knox, James, I, 440 ; II, 393.
Knox, James H. Mason, I, xiv ; II, 308.
Knox, John. 1, 5, 49; II, 15.— And free
schools, I, 338.
Kollock, Henry, II, 174
Krebs, John M., I, 15, 440, 441 ; II, 250,392.
Laird. Francis, 1,413.
Lancaster county, erection of, I, 55.
Lancaster, Presbytery of, I, 86.
Landis, John B., 1, 1, 197.
Landis, John L., I, 282.
Landis, J. Lotshaw, I, 460-461.
Landisburg church. I, 110. 143, 246.
Lane, Cornelius C, I, 442, 443.
Lane, W. C, I, xiv.
Lang, James, I, 91, 92. 93. 97, 99, 108, 200,
203, 304, 424, 435, 443. 443.
Laughlin, J. Hood, 1, 184, 443, 443.
Laughran, Cornelius, I, 442, 443.
Layme I, distinguished, T, 11 ; II, 313-374.
League and Covenant (Solomons, I, 126.
Lebanon, Christ Church, I, 281, 283.
Lebanon, Fourth Street Church, 1, 283,
284.
Lee, General. 1. 149.
Licking Creek, I, 253.
Lig«ett, John A.. II. 286.
Ligfjett, Samuel, I. 247.
Lillie. James, I, 350, 443, 443.
Limestone Ridge Church, I, 73, 100, 108,
246, 250. 304, 30?).
Lind, John, 1. 301,393, 294, 360.
Lind, Matthew, 1, 65, 201.
Lindsey, Edwin J., I, 442, 443.
Linn, James. I. 226, 316, 442 ; II, 59.
Linn, John, I, 73. 97. 100. 106. 108, 236, 304,
316, 434, 435, 443, 443 ; II, 59, 60.
Linn, John Blair, II, 36, 58.
Linn, John Blair, Hon., I, 3, 11, 313.
Linn, Wm , I. 199, 325, 424, 425; II, 36, 56-
59.
Linn. Wm. Adolphus. I, 434, 435.
Little Conewago, I, 303.
Little Brittain Church, I, 93.
Liverpool Church, I, 110, 307.
Lloyd Wm. Penn, I, 365.
Location of Early Churches, 1,59.
Lochiel Furnace, I, 374.
Lock Haven Church, I, 323.
Logan, John N., I, 230.
Logan, Wm. H., I, 173, 174, 342, 267, 278,
442, 443.
Log College, I. 63, 64. 341.
Long, James, I, 424. 435.
Long, John E., I, 460, 461.
Long, , I, 287.
Lonaconing Church, Md., I, 145, 164, 299.
Loomis, Harmon, I, 458, 459.
Lord, James, I, 384.
Loudon, I, 76.-Church, 110, 130, 308, 309.
Loudon, Archibald, II, 341.
Lowther Manor, I, 51 ; II, 330.
Love, Wm., I, 394, 443, 443.
Lowe, Edson A., I, 282, 283, 284.
Lower East Conococheague Church, I,
100, 108.
Lower Marsh Creek Church, I, 68. 93, 100,
108, 113, 143, 314, 316. 317.
Lower Path Valley Church. I, 88, 100. 108,
113, 142,221,222-224,258.
Lower Tuscarora Church (Academia), I,
316.
Lower West Qonococheague Church, I,
67, 68, 100, 108, 200, 301, 305, 315, 316, 385;
II, 33 (see Robert Kennedy Memorial).
Loyalty of Presbytery of Carlisle, 1, 149,
I50.-Of Harrisburg, 155.
Lackey, George, I, 99.
Lutheran Church, 1, 116.
Lycoming Church, I, 101.
Lyon, George A., I, 375, 443, 443 ; II, 393.
Lyon, James, I, 424, 425.
Lyon, John, I, 443.
Lyon, William, I, 22:); II, 326.
McAlarney, M. W., I, 415.
McAfee. Wm. A., I, 269,446, 447.
McCachran, Robert, I, 90, 142, 166, 199, 2.57,
444,445; II, 188-;9K.
McCalla, Wm. L., 1, 353, 391, 296. 444, 445.
McCalmont, James, II, 348.
McCarrell, S. J. M., I, 2;K. 3^0.
McCarrell, Thomas C, 344, 446, 447.
McCarrell, Wm. A., I, 335, 446, 447.
McCandlish, Wm., I, 444.
McCartney, George, I, 458.
McCauley, G. M., I. 332.
McCauley's Hist. Franklin Co.,II, 317, 333.
McClay, ' Jharles B., 1, 239, 444, 445.
McClean, James, 110. 444.
McClean, Oliver O., I, 245, 258, 444, 445.
McClean, Robert F. I., I, 339, 337, 244. 251,
254, 2.55, 257, 446, 447.
McClelland. Alexander, I, 1.5, 16. 34^5, 361,
364, 369, 444, 445 ; II, 1,57, 16.3-167.
McClelland, Robert, I, 369.
470
Prtshukry of Carlisle — Centennial
McClure, Robert, I, 218.
McUlure, Wm. W.. I, 24ti, ;J05.
McComb, P. Hathaway K., 1. 251, -UG, 447.
McConaugbey, David, I, 115, 313, 215, 355,
444. 445 ; II, »7-92, 388.
McConuell, James, I, 97, 424, 425.
McConnell, Thomas. I, 227.
McConnncllsburg, II, 424, 435.
McConnellsburg Church, I, 143, 227-229,
253, 254, 308 (see Great Cove).
McCormick, James, 1, 1, 2G2, 277, 278.
McCormick, Henry, I, 194.
McCoskey. Samuel A., I, 364.
McCrory, Wm., I. 202.
McCuUough, Archibald, I, 78.
McCulIough, James K.. I, 245.
McCuUough, John. l. 207.
McCulIough. John W., I, 444, 445.
McCune, John W., I, 446.
McCune, Uobert L . I, 253, 446, 447.
McCune. Samuel, I, 199.
McCune, Wm.D., I. 209.
McCurdy, Elisha, II, 385.
McCurdy, James, I, 232.
McCurdy, Oliver B., 1.339,446,447.
McDonald, A., I, 299.
McDonald, Samuel H., I, 143, 341, 292, 444.
445.
McDonald, Wm. G., I, 258, 276, 446, 447.
McDowell, Alexander, I, 434, 425.
McDowell, John. II, 48.
McElroy, Frank F., T, 277.
McEiroy, Robert F., I, 277.
McFarlane or McFarland. Alexander, I,
444. 445.
McFarlane, Wm. A., I, 235, 446. 447.
McFarquhar, Colin. I, 97, 100. 290, 424, 425.
McFeely, George. II, 341.
McGill, Alexander T., I, 15, 72, 166, 350,
444, 445 ; II. 255 263.
McGinley, Amos A., I, 115, 120, 129, 142,
221, 223, 234. 2.-.8, 259, 444, 445 ; II, 92-96.
McGinnes, Lemuel E., I, 277.
Mcllhcnny, Hugh, I, 215.
Mcllvaine, John S., I, 204.
Mcllvaine. Wm., I, 139.
Mcllwaine. Isaac, 1,444, 445.
McIntire.Wm.. I. 231.222.
McKee, Joseph. 1, 143, 309, 444. 445.
McKee, Wm. R., I. 194, 446, 447.
McKeehan, Alexander, I, 444, 445.
McKinley, Daniel, I, U\ 201. ;.M'.), 350, 353,
391, 444, 445; II, 198-302.
McKinney, Edmund, I, 219, 243, 444. 445 ;
II 444-446
McKinney, Mordecai. I. 363.
McKnight, John, I. 97. 100, 113, 310, 317,
247, 386, 358, 434, 435, 442, 443 ; II, 53, .56,
McKnight, John, Esii., I. 225.
McKnight, John, Jr., I, 210, 343, 247, 248,
252, 253, 444. 445.
McLanahan, J, C, I, 203, 371.
McLanahan, Samuel, I, 244, 446, 447.
McLaren, John F., I, 294.
McLean. Daniel V., I. 444.
McLene. James. II, 3tS.
McMaster, history, I, 80-85.
McMillan, Albon, I, 227.
McMillan, John, I, 342, 424, 425 ; 11, 51, 170,
;»3, 384, S&j, 388.
McMordie, Robert, I. 69, 87. 91. 94, 100, 105,
lOJ, 108, 211, 213, ;JOA 419, 424, 425, 442,
443;II, 38, 39,
McPherren, Thomas, 1, 67, 97, 99, 104, 105,
106, 108, 200, 202. 315, 316, 393, 39:3, 394,
296, 424, 425, 443, 443.
McT'herson, Edward. II. 3:36.
McPherson, J. R., 381, 284 ; II, 336.
McPherson, John W., Jr., 1, 235.
McPherson, Robert, I, 166, 213, 227, 2/6,
347, 444, 445.
McPherson, Robert, II, 336.
Macaulay, Lord, 1.13, 34 ; II, 16.
Mactte, Daniel, I, 258, 446, 447.
Mackey, Wm. H.. I, 273.
Maclay, Samuel. II. 353.
Maclay. Wm.. II. 340.
Magaw, Samuel, I. 434, 435.
Magaw, Robert, II, 321, 329.
Malcolm Canmore. I, 4f .
Magill, Hugh, I. 99. 106. 107, 235, 236. 305,
316, 317, 331, 426, 427. 442, 443.
Mahon, Alexander. I, 307, 369.
Mahon, James C, 341, 446, 447.
Mahon, Joseph, I, 166, 365, 444, 445.
Mahon, Samuel, I, 444.
Mahoning Church, I, 101, 339.
Mail route— first between Phila. and
Pittsburgh, II, 380.
Makemmie, Francis, I, 5 ; II, l.s.
Manada Creek. 1, 50.
Manses, I, 186, 187,
Mapes, Eugene L., 1, 197, 404, 446, 447,
Murgaret, Queen of Scotland, I, 48.
Marr, Joseph, I, 395, 446, 447.
Marriage License. 1, 174.
Marsh Creek. I, 311, 313.
Marshall College, I, 365.
Martin, James, I, 99, 106, 107, 217, 325, 326
331, 424, 425, 443, 443.
Martin, Samuel A., 383, 2*5.
Martinsburg, W. Va., I, 105, 145, 164.
Maryland. Eastern Shore, I, 50.
Mason, Erskine, 1, 16 ; II, 1.56.
Mason, James Hall— death, revival of
religion, I. 362 ; II, 155, 302.
Mason, John, II, 286.
Mason, John M., I. 113. 120. 201, 360. *>J ;
11, 155, 286-308, 399.
Mateer, Calvin W., I, 184.
Mateer, Robert Mc, 1, 184, 446, 447.
Mather, Cotton, 11, 23.
Mather, Increase, I, 63.
Mathers, Joseph H., I, 229, 254, 446, 447.
" Matthew Lind Church," I, 66.
Matthias, Wm., I. 259.
Ma.vwell. Hugh M., I, 28 4.
Mayer, Lewis, I, 365.
Means, Joseph. I, 265.
Means, Wm. D., I, 209.
Meeker, D. C, I, 157, 164, 166, 257, 446, 447,
460, 461.
Meiiy, Wm. J., 1, W.
Mendenhall, Harlan G., I, 207, 446s 447.
Mercer, Hugh, IL 318, 337.
Mcrcersburg, I, 206 ; II, 328, 424.
Mercersburg Church, I, 58, 94, 114, 130,
142,205-207,248, 306, 424.— Revivals, II.
117, 228.
Mcrcersburg Theological Seminary,I,365.
Mechanicsburg Church, I. 145, 264, 365.
Merill, Benjamin, I, 446, 447.
*' Messiah's Throne." It, 2.)6, 304.
Methodist Church, I, 17, 116.
Methodism, Presbyterian, I, 64.
Metzger, George, II, 367.
Metzger Institute, 1, 396 ; II, 369.
Mickey, Robert, 1, 199.
Middle Paxton (Dauphin), 1,140, 153,355.
Middle Kidge Church, 1, UO, 142, 336, 337,
241.
Middle Spring Church, I, 58, 73, 89, 93, 100,
108, 113, 142, 207-209, 309, 310 ; II, 46.
Index.
471
>Ii<l(ilotown Church, I, 145, 357, 358, 361 ;
11,301.
Miller. Jeremiah, 1, 458. 459.
Miller, J. A., 1,333.
Miller, Lawrence. I, 364. 446, 447.
Miller, O. II., 1, 166.440,447.
Miller, Samuel, I. 135. 167; II, 390, 391.
Miller.T. J., 1,364.
Millerstown Church. 1, 145, 340-343.
Milliyau, Thomas H., I. 367.
Milliken, Thomas, I, 339.
Mills, Samuel J., 1, 155.
Ministerial Kelief, I, 180.
Ministers, origin iiiiil character of early,
1,53,54; 11,11.
Ministry, an educated, 1, 63.
Mission tour of Beatty and Duffield, I,
31.5.
Missionary spirit. I. 104, 110. 111.
Missions, CongTegational, 1, 173.
Missions (see Hume and Foreign).
Mitchell, Andrew D., I, 66, 166, 190. 193,
358, 265, 446, 447.
Mitchell, George, I, 337.
Mitchell, Samuel S., 1, 158, 263, 368, 446, 447.
Monaghan Church, 1, 70. 100, 108, 143, 164.
217-330, 243.
Monforts, the, II, 393.
Montgomery, James, 1, 331.
Montgomery, Col. John. 1. 359 ; II, 42, 316.
Moodey, John, 1, 113, 137, 138, 143, 309,444,
445; II, 184-188.
Moore, Alexander D., I, 357, 460, 461.
Moore, George K., I, 1.53, 3.55, 356, 357, 458.
459.
Moore, James. I, 258.
Moore, Thomas V., 1. 303. 3.50. 444, 445 ; II,
333-3*5.
Moravians, 1, 104.
Morgan, John, I, 383.
Morris, George, 1, 194. 357, 360, 444. 445.
Morrison, Hugh, T. 106, 107, 331, 331, 436,
437, 443, 443.
Morrison, J. M., I, 446, 447.
Morrow, Alexander, I, 335.
Morrow, Jeremiah, II, 335.
Motley— Calvinism and political liberty,
Motzer, Daniel, I, 446, 447.
Motzer, Martin, I, 337.
Mount Joy Church, I. 93, 153.
Mount Pleasant Church. I, 153.
Mouth of Juniata, I, 108, 110, 143, 3;i6. 385
(see Duncannou).
Mowrv, Fhihp A., 1, 199. 446. 447.
Miillin, Charles H., I, 404, 414.
Murray Church, 1. 101.
Murray, John, II, 331.
Murray, Joseph A., I, xiv, 1, 166. 319, 343.
431,444, 445; 11,374-377.
Murray, Lindley, II. 331.
Murray, Oliver L., I, 307.
Mutchmore. Samuel A.. I, 362.
Myers, Benjamin F., I, 446, 447.
Names of churches changed, I. 285.
Nana Sahib, 11.431,433.
Na.s8au Hall, 1,111,113.
Neely, Wm. \V., I, 276.
Neill. William, I, 113, :{64. 374, 44*5. 447 ;
11.167-184,393.
Neilson, Wm. H., I, 251.
Nelson, Alexander K., I, 143, UUi, 310, 337.
348, 448, 449.
Nelson, Joseph, 1, 448, 449.
Ncvln, Alfred. I, xiii, 448, 449.
Nevln, John W., I, ;5(S5. 448, 449; II, 400.
Nevius, the, 11.393.
New Uloomheld, 1. 350.
New Bloorafleld Academy, I, 306, 394.
New Brunswick, Presbytery ot, I, 63, 64,
65.
New Buffalo Church. 1, 110, 307.
Newburg Addresses, II, 318.
Newburg Church. 1, 110, 143, 309, 310; II.
186.
New Castle. Presbytery of, I, 67. 100. 309;
II, 13.
New England Theology not Calvinism.
I. xi.
Newlin, Ellis J., I, 197, 458. 459.
Newport Church, 1, 145, 341, 265-267.
New Theology, I, 19.
Newton, Mrs. F. J., I, 183.
Newville Academy, II, 196, (see Acade-
mies).
New York City, First Church of, II, IS.
New York Missionary Society, II, 294.
Niblock, John, 337,339, 251, 306, 448. 449.
Niccolls, Samuel J., 1,36, 149, 304, 448,449.
Niles, Henry E., 1, 36, 156, 164, 288, 460. 461.
Nisbet, Charles, I, 106, 108, 113, 196, 348,
446, 447 ; II, 52. 60-65.-Lectures in The-
ology, I, 351.— Death. 1, 3-53.
Nixon, Jacob S., I, 204.
Noble, Wm. K., 1, 334.
Norcross, George, I, 3. 10, 11, 13, 166, 3.50.
448, 449; II. 351,379.
Northumberland Church, I, 96. 100. 331.
Northumberland Church. New, School,
I, 153.
Northumberland, Presbytery of, I, 96.
313, 314, 315, 331, 333.
Ogden. Isaac, I, 448.
Old and New School— a term of the pa.st,
I, 167.
Old and New School parties in thechurch
prior to 1837.— Differences, I, 17, 137-134.
Relative strength, 134, 135.— Division
inevitable and occurred, 18, 135-141.
Old and New Side controversy and divi-
sion in 1741, I, 60-63 ; II, 37, 33.
reunion in 1758, 1, 68-70.
Old Guard-house. Carlisle Barracks, I,
350; 11,63,64.
" Old Mortality "—his pious task, I, viii.
Olmstead, James M., 1, 337, 346, 347. 448.
449.
I Opekon, Va., I. 93.
Organization of churches, 1, -57.
1 Orr. John G., 1, 204.
I Orr, Thomas X., 1, 448 ; II, 371.
Orr, William, I, 54, 436, 437.
I (Jsler, J. T., I, 369, 274, 397, 448, 449.
! Pan - Presbyterian Council— Decora-
! tions, 1, 8.
Parker, Alexander, II, 338.
Pastorates, length of, 1. 188.
Path Valley, I, 73 (see Upper and Lower
Path Valley Churches).
Patrick 1 48.
Patterson^ Isaac M., 1, 164. 386, 448, 449.
Patterson, Matthew B., 1, 142, 166, 336. 3;i9.
306, 448, 449.
Patterson, John B., 1, 330, 333.
Patterson, John B., I, 376.
Pattei-son, Wm. D.. 1, 319, 343, 448, 449.
Patterson's Creek Church, Va., 1, 101.
Patton, .John, I, 458, 459.
Paull, John, I, 436, 427.
Paxtang Boys, II, 28.
Paxton Boys. I, 75. 78. 83. K{. 84.
472
Presbytery of Carlisle — Centennial.
Paxton Church, I. 55, 56, 57, 66, 74, 75, 93,
100, 108, 114, 142, 190-1!«, 'iW, 261 ; II, 17, 21.
Paxton, James Wilson, I, 448.
Paxton, James D., I, 27 ; II, 84.
Paxton, John R., I, 262, 450, 451 ; II, 334.
Paxton, William, I, 27, 105, 106, 108, 113,
142. 217, 286, 448, 449 ; II, 82-87.
Paxton, William M., I, U), 202, 448, 449 ; II,
84, 109, 261, 320, 393.-Address at Centen-
nial, I, 25.
Peebles, John, I, 448,
Peebles, Robert, I, 209.
Penn, liberal policy toward immigrants,
I, 50.
Pennsborough Church, Lower or East, I,
58, 100, 108, 192, 193, 195 203, 217, 285 ; II,
30 (see Silver Spring-i.
Pennsborough Church, Upper or West,
I, 58, 192, 193, 195, 197, 203, 285 ; II, 30 (see
Carlisle).
Penn's Valley Church, I, 101, 107, 319. 325-
328.
Pennsylvania— Constitution Adopted, I,
313.
Penns.vlvania— final purchase of its terri-
tory from the Indians, I, 314.
Permanent Committees brst appointed,
1,146.
Peters and the Indian Trouble, I, 75.
Petersburg Church, I, 110, 142, 242, 243.
Peterson, John B., I, 259.
Phelps, Austin, I. xi.
Philadelphia, I. 50.
Philadelphia, Presbytery of, II, 19.
Philadelphia, Presbytery of, 1st, I, 98.
Philadelphia, Presbytery of, 2d, I, 94, 100,
124 ; II, 32.
Philadelphia, Presbytery of, 3d, 1, 139.
Phillips, James W., I, 558, 559.
Piney Creek Church, I, 88, 100, 108, 142,
164, 285. 286.
Pittsburgh, II, 329.
Pittsburgh, 1st Church, II, 102.
" Plan of Union," I, 127, 129, 136, 155 ; II,
270, 271.
Piatt, George P., I, 204.
Plover, F. K., I, 265.
Pofifenberger, A. T., 1, 257.
Pomeroy, John, I, 246, 247.
Pomeroy, John J., 1, 149, 272, 448 449 ; II,
Pomeroy, Stephen W., I, 167, 229, 254, 255,
269, 448, 449.
Pontiac, conspiracy of, I, 71, 77.
Porter, George D., I, 227, 240. 241. 309,
448, 449.
Porter. Matthew, I. 220.
Porter, Samuel, I, 292, 448, 449.
Potter, James, II, 321.
Pratt, Capt. R. H., I, 8, 350, 397.
Prayer Meetings and ' "Prayer Societies, ' '
1,109.
Presbyterianism and English Puritan-
ism, I, x-xii.
Presbjrterianism, a finality, I, xii.
Presbyterianism, a potent factor in civil
liberty and American History, I, x, 4,
34,35.
Presbyterianism of this region, of Irish
and Scotch-Irish origin, I, 45-53; its
type, 34-37, 46, 47 ; II, 381.
Presbyterial Missionary, 1, 173, 174.
Price, Joseph, I, 244.
Prideaux, Wm., I, 296, 448, 449.
Princeton, Battle of, II, 318, 328.
Princeton Theological Seminary. I. 112 ;
n, 114, 177, 193.
Pringle, Francis, Pastor of Seceder
Church, Carlisle, I, 15, 382.
Proctor, John O., I, 219, 243, 295, 297, 448,
449.
Protracted Services, I, 117.
i Pulpit may lose its power— the gospel,
never, I, 32, 33.
Quakers, I, 71.
Quay, Anderson, B., I, 142, 219, 24:5, 249,
' 4r)0, 451 ; II, 277-280.
Quay, Joseph, II, 277,278.
(,>ua3', Matthew Stanley, II, 279, 280.
i Ratfensperger, E. B., I, 450, 451.
Ralston, James M., I, 265.
Ramsey, James S., I, 227, 246, 450, 451.
Randolph, Job D., I, 450.
I Rankin, Alexander T., I, 164, 450, 451.
Rankin. AVm., I, 199.
I Rankin, Wm. A., 450.
Rankin. Wm.. M. D., I, 328.
i Rathbun, D. L., 450, 451.
Rea, George S., 227, 450, 451.
I Rea, John, II. 352,
' Records of Presbyterv of Donegal— lost
vol.. I, 68.
Red Church, Greencastle, I, 200, 201.
I Reed, Hon. John. 1, 369.
! Reed, George E (Pres.), I, 415.
I Reed, Wm., II, 336.
Reed, Wm. B., I, 283.
' Reed. Wm. B., I, 204.
! Reed, Wm. G., I. 204. 292.
Reeside, David, I. 250.
Reeside, James A., I, 272.
Reeves, Henry, I, 450, 451.
Reformed Church (see German Re-
formed).
Reformed Dutch Church, I. 17.
Reformed Presbyterian Church in Amer-
ica, I. 65.
Reformed Presbytery of Scotland, I, 65.
Regeneration, Dufiield on, I, 119-123.
Reid, Wm. A., I, 202.
Reigart, Samuel W., I, 167, 265, 450, 451.
Rench, Joseph, I, 397.
Reunion.— Sentiment in the Presbyte-
ries of Carlisle and Harrisburg, I, 150.
Movement initiated by the Presbytery
of Carlisle, 158. Prompt response by
the Presbytery of Harrisburg, 159.
Action of the General Assemblies, 160.
Action of the two Presbj-teries, 160-163.
Basis, 162. 163. Rearranging of Pres-
byteries, 164.
Revival, the great, of the 18th century,
I, 63 ; II. 19, 27.
Revivals. I, 117, 118, 125, 126, 167-170.
Revolutionary _period, I, 94-98.
Rewalt, J. W., I, 258.
Rex, Henry L., I, 166, 258, 450, 451.
Rhea, Joseph, I, 426, 427.
Rhea, S. McLain, I, 207.
Richards, John T.. I, 273, 274.
Richardson, David K., I, 166, 202, 209, 450.
451.
Riddle, Henry A., I, 204.
Rinker. Henry, I, 245, 450, 451.
Rish, Thomas. I, 273.
Ritner. Peter. 1. 199.
Roan, John, I, 65, 69, 93, 189, 190, 192, 225,
302, 426. 427 ; II, 37, 38, 46.
Robert Kennedy Memorial Church, 1. 67,
68,215, 216 (see Lower West Conooo-
cheague).
Robinson, Edwin P., I. 450.
Index.
473
Robinson. George, 1,239, 450, 451.
Kubiuson, George, 1, 235 ; II, 111, 346, 347.
Robinson, Thomas H., I. xiv, 1, 9, 156, 164,
166, 333, 203, 274. 375, 276, 277, 450, 4ol,'458,
459; II, 111. 137, 141.347.
Robinson's Fort, 11, 346, 350.
Rodgers, James Linn, 1, 4.')0, 451.
Romney Church, V'a., 1. 101.
Rondthaler. J. Albert, I. 381, 282. 283.
Ross, James, I, 342. 348, 353 ; II, 337.
Ross, Thomas, I, 315.
Round Hill Church. 1,314, 303.
Round Hill Church (York Co.), I, 214 ; II,
13,").
Route (or Roote), Presbytery of, II, 125.
Ruxbury Church. 1, 110, 143, 309, 310; 11,186.
Rush, Benjamin, 1,346-349.351,359; II, 51,62.
Russell, Watson, I, 224, 259, 450, 431.
Rutherford, Francis W., 1, 192.
Rutherford. John B., I, 192.
Rutter Liudley C. I, 227, 450, 451.
Sabbath, 1. 174.
Sabbath Schools, 1, 179.
Sailor, John, I, 458,
Sal ust— Ancestral influence. I. 27.
Sample, Robert F., I, 291. 299, 452, 453.
Sauckey. Richard, I, 64. 69, 78, 202. 426,
437 ; II. 25. 36.
Saunders, Hemy, I, 215.
Schall, Philip, I, 365.
Schellsburg Church, I, 143. 145, 296.
Schenck, A. V. C. I, 391, 452, 453.
School Books, I, 390.
SchouUer, Dr., I. xiv, 53, 333.
Schuyler. Wm. H.. I. 4.53.
Scott, Sir Walter. I, xiii. 19.
Scott, Thomas, II, 129. 130.
Scott, Thomas A., I, 309.
Seal of Presbytery. 1. 178.
Second probation, I, 31.
Sectarian bigotry, 1, 116.
Seibert, James B., I, 224.
Seibert, Wm. N., I, 251.
Seller, Galen W., I, 167, 183, 452, 453.
Seller, Jacob F., I, 263.
Sepoy Rebellion, II, 423.
Shaefifer, Samuel, I, 458, 459.
Shaffer, Wm. S.. I, 233, 378, 280.
Sharon, James C, 1, 4o0.
Sharon, James R., I. 120, 142, 190, 192, 255,
4.0O, 451.
Sharpe, J. McDowell. II. 325.
Shaver's Creek Church, 1, 100.
Shearer, Denton O., I, 222.
Shearer. Frederick A., 166. 4.50.
Shearer, George W., I, 222.
Shearer, Wm. C, 1, 222.
Shepherdstown Church, Va., 1, 101.
Sherman's Creek Church, I, 73, 101, 142.
Shermansdale Church, I, 23.5-237 (.see
Sherman's Creek).
Sherman's Valley, I. 224, 225, 226, 315.
Shields, John W.. I, 248.
Shippen Bros., T. 333.
Shippensburg, I, 74, 76, 77. 233.
Shippensburg Academy, 1. 104, 387.
Shippensburg Church, 1, 110, 115, 142, 233-
Shirl'eysburg. I, 329.
Shope. Calvin W., I, 2.57.
Shrewsberry, I, 287.
Shriver. Ephraim, I. 215.
Shuil, S. Linn, I, 239.
Sibbett, Wm. R.. I, 453. 4.53.
Silver Spring Church, I, 58, 143. 159, 192-
195,265; 11,216.
Silvers, James, 1, 193.
Silver's Spring, 1, 193, 194.
Simonton, Ashbel Green, I, 184, 452, .3.53;
n, 71, 393, 447^53.
Simonton. J. W., 1, 360 ; 11, 71.
Simonton, Wm., I, 453 ; II, 71.
Simonton, Wm., II. 447.
Sketches of Churches, I, 188.
Skinner, Stephen M., I, 333.
Slate Ridge Church, I, 93, 100.
Slavery, f, 128, 131-134.
Slemous, John, I, 91, 93, 97, 99, 217, 386.
330.436,437; 11,47.
i Sloan, Alexander, I, 232.
Sloan. John M, 1,339.
I Smith, Abraham, II. 351.
I Smith, Ambrose C, I, 269, 453, 453.
' Smith, George G., 1, 164, 395, 452, 4,5.3.
Smith, James, II, 125, 314, 347.
Smith, Robert. I, 69. 342, 426, 427 ; II, 43,
Smith, Robert, I, 206.
Smith, Samson. I, 69, 87, 91, 92, 219, 426.
427.
Smith, Samuel B., I, 166, 4,52. 453.
Smith. Samuel G., I, 237.
Smiley. Wilson, I. 2=57.
Smith, Wm., Jr., II, 328.
Smiths, of Lurgan, II, 353.
Snodgrass. James, I, 106. 108, 142, 188, 255
300. 301, 303, 4.10, 451 ; II, 70, 71, 447.
Snodgrass, Wm. D.. 1, 363, 450; II, 71, ;i03.
393, 449,
Snowden, A. Louden. 1, 193.
Snowden, Nathaniel R., I, 108, 190, 192.
231,241,255,307,450,451.
Solemn League and Covenant, I, 65.
Speer, Wm., I, 204, 450, 451.
Speer. Wm. A„ I. 254.
Spencer, Joseph, I, 361.
Spicer. J. Henry, 1, 232.
Sponsler. Wm. A., I, 251.
Spring Mills Church, 1, 153.
Sprole, Wm. T., I, 138, 151, 197, 458, 4.59.
St. Clair, General. I, 95.
St. Thomas Church, I. 110, 143, 247, 348.
Standing Stone, I, 101 (see Huntingdon
Church).
State road, II. 333, 333.
Statistical reports, when first made to
General Assembly, I, 109.
Stearns. Jonathan F., I. 154.
Steel, Chtirles C, I, 280.
Steel, John, I, 4, 69, 72, 74, 87, 91, 92, 94,
194. 195, 196, 302, 205, 207, 290, 403, 436, 427 ;
II, 39-43.
Steel, Robert, I, 450.
Steeiton, 1st Church, I, 170. 276, 277.
Stephens, Matthew, 1, 100, 106, 107, 331,
436, 427, 4.50, 451.
Stcrgeon, Henry, I, .303.
Sterling, Principal, II. 19, 20.
Sterling, Wm., 1, 458, 459.
Sterrett, David. I. 4.53, 453.
Stevenson, A. Russell. II, 84.
Stevenson, P. D., I, 271, 274.
Stewart, George B., 1, 232, 277, 280, 452, 453.
Stewart, J. M., 1. 269.
Stewart, James H, I. 202, 4.52, 453.
Stewart, .Joseph A.. I, 3.50.
Stewart, Wm. J., I, 239.
Stcwiirton. I, 125. '
Stilt. David Denny, I, 233.
Stilt, Will. ('., 39.5,4.52,453.
.Stone, Chiirks W., I, 415.
Stone Church. As.sociate, II, 257.
Stough, Thomas, I, 199.
Strain, John, I. 9.3, 426, 427 ; II, 4.i, 46.
474
Preshylery of Carlisle — Centennial.
strain, John B., I, 241, 247,452, 45.'?.
Street, Thomas, I, 388, 458, 459.
Strong, Addison K., 1, 166. 262. 274, 275.
453, 453.
Strong, Salmon, 1, 452, 453.
Strong, Thomas, M., 1, 235.
Sunburv Church, I, 100, 321.
Sustentation, 1, 172, 173, 180.
Swatara, I, 50. 55 (see Derry).
Symmes, John H., 1, 292, 299, 450, 451.
Synod of Baltimore, erected, I, 147.
Synod of Baltimore, our connection
with, 1, 147.
Synod of Harrisburg, 1, 165. 178, 179.
Synod of New York and Philadelphia, I,
99.
Synod of Pennsylvania, 1, 178, 379.
Taborites, 1, 8.
Tabulated Statement, 1, 419-461.
Taney, Roger B.. I, 353.
Tate, Joseph, I, 69, 87, 88, 91, 92, 211, 426,
427 , II, 39.
Taylor, Robert H., I, 452.
Taylor, Wm. W., I, 235, 452, 453.
Temperance, 1, 175-177 ; II, 67, 89, 137, 242.
Tennent, Gilbert, II, 44.
Tennent, Wm., I, 341.
Thalmauv, Wm., I, 303.
Thorn, Wm., I, 304, 426, 427.
Thompson, Alexander S., I, 452.
Thompson, Amos, I, 93. 95, 97, 426.
Thompson, George W., I, 316.
Thompson, John, II, 351.
Thompson, Wm. Gen., II, 221, 329.
Thomson, Alexander, II, 360-362.
Thomson, John, I, 54, 57, 02, 64, 192, 436.
427.
Thomson. Samuel, I, 64, 69, 91, 92, 93, 97,
99, 193, 194, 195. 196, 202, 203, 212, 215, 218,
303, 436, 427, 452, 453 ; II, 26, 30-32.
Thomson, Wm., I, 237, 339, 453, 453.
Thorne, A. S., I, 316.
Thornwell, James T., II, 363.
Three Rivers, battle of, II, 330, 331.
Thucydides— Ideal of history. I, xiv.
Titus, Albert C, I, 267, 452, 453.
Titzell. Ezra P., I, 242.
Toby, Wm. O.. I, 453, 453.
Todd, Nathaniel, I, 219, 452, 453.
Tompkins, F. P., I, 452, 453.
Tom's Creek Church, 1,88, 100, 108, 142.
164. 285. 286 (see Emmittsburg).
Tracy, Wm., I, 151, 153, 458, 459.
Treat, Richard, I, 88.
Trent, Wm.. II, 328.
Trenton, battle of. II, 338.
Tribute to the Scotch-Irish (Chambers),
I. 75 ; II, 335.
Trimble. Joseph, I. 453.
Tryconnel. Earl of, II, 13.
Tuscarora Church, I, 100.
Tuscarora Church, Va.. I, 93, 100, 105, 108.
Tustln, Septimus, I, 294, 452, 453.
Tyrone, Earl of, IT, 12.
Ulster. 1, 49 : 11.11.
University of Pennsylvania, I. 343.
[Jtica. Synod of, 1, 136.
Upper Church, I, 73, 88, 100, 108, 143, 224-
227, 240.
Upper Hopewell, I. 207, 208, 285 (see Mid-
Upper Marsh Creek Church, 1, 58, 100,
die Spring).
JpperMa
313, 285 (see Gettysburg^
Upper Path Valley, I, 88, 100, 108, 143, 220-
232, 258, 274.
Upper Paxton. I, 101.
Upper Tuscarora, 1. 231.
Upper West Conococheague Church, I,
.58, 100. 108, 305, 3»5, 318 ; II, 32 (see Mer-
cersburg).
Vance, Hugh. I, 97. 99, 420, 427, 453, 453.
Vance, Joseph, I, 3, 10, 11, 12, 197, 453, 453.
Vance, Jo8eT>h, I, 4.58, 459.
Van (Jleve, Wm. S., 1. 167, 215, 217, 453, 453.
Van Lear, Matthew, I, 452.
Van Wyck. George P., I, 213. 452, 453.
Vethake, Henry, 1. 360.
Virginia, Eastern Shore, I, 50.
Virginia Home Mission Work in 1742, 1,68.
Visitation of Churches, I, 60, 118, 156.
Visitation of Families, I, 108.
Voluntary Societies, 1, 137, 131, 154, 155.
Waddell's Graveyard, I, 205.
Wagner, .John, 1. 199.
Wagner, Milton N., I, 456.
Walker, Jacob K., I. 280.
Walker, James, I, 235.
Walker, John, I, 273.
Walker, John H , I. 334.
Wall, Bloomfleld, I, 392. 454, 456.
Wallace, Benjamin J., 1, 138, 139, 388, 4.54,
458,4.59; 11,137.
Waller, Maurice, 1,270, 271, 273, 274. 297.
Walnut Bottom, I, 244, 345.
War, influence of, I, 95.
War of the Rebellion, 1, 148-150.
Warfordsburg Church. I, 145. 369-371.
Warrior Buu Church, I, 101, 319, 333.
Warner, John R., I, 315. 217, 454, 455.
Washington and Lee University, II. 391.
Washington College, I, U.5: IL 89, 1 13. 119.
Washmgton, George, I, 71 ; II. 327, 367,
368, 391.
Washington, Pa., I. 114 ; II. 340.
Watson, James C. I. 142, 166, 213, 215, HA,
455; IL 231-233.
Watts, David. I, 351.
Watts, Fre-lerick. 1, 359, 360, 369.
Waugh, Samuel, 1. 100, 106, 108, 194, 219,
426, 437, 452, 453 ; II, 73, 74.
Wayne Church on the Juniata, I, 100
Waynesboro' Church, 1, 110, 142, 301. 243,
244.
Weeklv, H. H.. I, 345.
Weeklv, Wm. L., I. 345.
Weir, J. A., I, 278.
Weir. J. W., L 159, 262, 275; II, 370.
Wells, Robert R., 1, 454. 45.5.
Wells Valley Church, 1, 110, 143, 228, 2.53,
254, 255, 308.
Welsh Run Church, I, 73. 115, 143. 205, 298
(see Robert Kennedy Memorial).
West Alexandria (see Hart's Log).
West, Annie B., I, 184.
West, Francis, II, 331.
West Nottingham Church, I, 93, 197.
West, Robert H.. I, 184.
West, Thomas H.. 1, 244.
West, Wm. A.. I. 1, 10, 12. 166, 192, 222,
271, 274, 276. 293, 4.54, 455.
Western Foreign Missionary Society, 1,
138, 130.
Western Reserve, Synod of, I, 136.
Western Theological Semmary, 1, 114 ;
II, 108, 260.
Westminster Confession of Faith, For-
mula of Subscription to, I, 61.
Westminster, Presbytery of, 1, 164.
Westminster Review, John Calvin and
liberty in Europe, 1. 34.
Index.
476
Wherry. John, 1, 184, 454, 465.
Wherry, Mis. John, I, 184.
Wherry, Samuel, I, atiO.
Whisky Rebellion, II, 53, 330, S^^l, 367.
White Church, Greencastle, I, 301.
White Church, near Mercersburg, I, 305.
White, Job J W., I, 358, 454. 455.
Wnitf. Nathan Grier, I, 143, 160, 238, 239,
aVi. 3)4, 308, 454, 455; II, 428.
Whitetield, II, 19,
Whitehill, Robert, II, 330.
Wickliffe, I. 49.
Wl^htman, James W., 1, 166, 202, 344, 454,
4.>.i.
Wiley. David, I, 454, 455.
Wilhelm, Jacob, I, 234.
Wilhelm, John C, I, 149, 454. 455.
Wit kins, Ross, I, a59.
Williams, Daniel, I, 396, 454, 455.
Williams. James W., I, 282.
Williams, Joshua, I, 114, 120, 142, 190, 192,
199, 245, 454, 455; II, 74-83, 115.
Williams, Lewis W.. I, 334, 337, 346. 359,
454-455.
Williams, R. Elliott, I, 183.
Williamson, Albert B., I, 66, 190, 192, 456,
457.
Williamson, Alexander, I, 454, 455; II,
218.
Williamson, James, I, 120, 123, 194, 249,
45t, 455 ; II, 315-218.
Williamson, McKnight, 1, 123, 241, 243,
345. 454. 455 : II. 218, 319.
Williamson, Moses, I, 4.54, 455 ; II, 319, 320.
Williamsport Church, Md., 1, 108, 110, 143,
398.
Williamsport Church. Pa., 1, 162, 293, 396.
Wills, David, I. 213.
Wiley. David, I, 454, 455.
W ilson College, I, 394-396.
Wilson, David A.. I, 184, 454, 455.
Wilson, Mrs. David A., 1, 184.
Wilson, E. L., I, 371, 374.
Wilson, Henry R., Jr., I, 130, 142, 166. 183,
454.455; 11.393,410-423.
I Wilson, Mrs. Henry R., Jr., 1, 183.
Wilson, Henry R., Sr., 1, 115, 143, 1!H, 234,
235, 243-345, 249, 454, 455 ; II, 96-100, 412.
Wilson, James, II, 313.
Wilson, Lewis F., I, 269.
Wilson, Robert F., I, 291, 456, 457.
Wilson, Samuel, I, 106, 108, 114, 199, 436.
454, 4.55 ; II, 71, 73.
Wilson, Samuel J., II, 334.
Wilson, Thomas, I, 335.
Winchester, Presbytery of, 1,145, 147, 148.
Winebrenner, John, I, 359.
Wing, Conway P., I, xiv, 1, 113, 166, 159,
164, 166. 197. 263. 363, 421, 456,457,458,469
II, 363-274.
Wing family, II, 264, 265.
Wing, John, II, 264.
Wishart, Samuel P., I, 255.
Witherow, B. Howard, I, 454, 455.
Witherspoon, James W., I, 307.
Witheispoon, .lohn. II, 35.
Wolfe, W. M.. I. 369.
Wolflf. John. I. 322.
Woman's Foreign Missionary Society. I.
180, 181,
Woman's Home Missionary Society, I,
181-183.
Woodburn, James S., I, 166, 345, 371, 274.
456, 457.
Woods, Matthew, I, 303, 436, 427.
Woodworth, M. W., I, 399.
Wyeth, Charles A., 1, 167, 369, 375, 454, 455.
Wyeth, Francis, I, 362.
Wylie. Samuel S.. I. 209. 456. 467.
Wylie. Wm. T.. I. 456, 457.
Wyncoop, Richard, I, 394, 464, 456.
York Church, I, 101, 108, 114, 138, 139, 15«.
164, 386-288 ; II, 125, 127.
Yorktown, Va., surrender at, II, 319.
Young, John, 1, 301.
Young, John C, II, 400, 407.
Young, Wm. C, 11,392.
Zeigler, G. Fred, I, 303.
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
0035520000
938.21
C194
V. 2
CALL NUMBER
938.21
C194
VOL. Z
YEAR
COPY
AUTHOR
Presbyterian church in the U. S.
A.
TITLE
The centennial memorial of the
PHOTOCOPV
i
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11