USA > Maryland > Somerset County > Princess Anne > History of the Manokin Presbyterian Church, Princess Anne, Maryland > Part 2
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The four congregations to which he had ministered placed a neat white marble slab over his grave in the Manokin church- yard. A rum-crazed man went into the yard one night and broke the slab in many places. In 1905, the stone was replaced by Mrs. R. C. Scudder, of East Lexington, Mass., a daughter of Mr. Blatchford. It bears this inscription :
In memory of the Reverend Henry Blatchford, A. M., the eldest son of the Reverend Samuel Blatchford, D. D., of Lansingburg, N. Y. He died September 7th, 1822, in the thirty-fourth year of his age. As a son, a brother, a husband and a father, his virtues were eminently conspicuous. As a Christian and a minister, he was distinguished for his humility, his piety and his zeal. All who knew him loved him. He was removed in the midst of his labors in this vicinity, from the work of the vineyard to the rewards of the blessed, and as a pledge of tender Christian regard, this tomb is placed over his remains by the congregations of Manokin, Rehoboth, Pitts Creek and Snow Hill.
The above was the original inscription, to which has been added :
The erection of this memorial stone in 1905 is a restoration of the original stone erected soon after Mr. Blatchford's death, which, in the meantime, had become seriously injured and broken.
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History of the Manokin Presbyterian Church.
REV. WILLIAM CAMPBELL KIDD.
The Rev. William Campbell Kidd, Principal of the Wash- ington Academy, supplied the pulpit during the winter of 1822-3. In 1823, he attended the meeting of the General Assembly in Philadelphia. The Handy manuscript relates that, while there, "he was invited by Dr. James P. Wilson to preach in his church. Poor man ! he failed to perform his promise to Dr. Wilson. He remained absent from Princess Anne three or four months, but did come back to get from the Trustees of the Academy the balance of his salary due him."
REV. ROBERT MOMORDIE LAIRD.
The Rev. Robert M. Laird supplied the pulpit between October, 1824, and July, 1825. He declined, however, to accept a call, much to the disappointment of the people, with whom he became very popular.
REV. JOSHUA MOORE.
In the spring of 1826, a call was extended to the Rev. Joshua Moore. He came to Princess Anne in April of that year and was installed Pastor over the church in June. This pastoral relation was dissolved in September, 1828.
In the "Historical Sketch of Wicomico Church," by Rev. Mr Waite, there is the following interesting note. In all proba- bility the same conditions prevailed in the Manokin Church :
"In 1827, it appears that the first stove was set up in the Wicomico meeting-house; and tradition says that the older gen- erations of the church sat during a hundred winters quietly and reverently under the very long prayers and the much longer sermons of those brave old days; and, after eating a cold dinner in the cold, resumed their seats for another two hours' service."
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Pastors and Stated Supplies.
REV. ROBERT MOMORDIE LAIRD.
In November, 1828, the Rev. Robert M. Laird, who had supplied the pulpit in 1824-5, was elected Principal of the Wash- ington Academy, Princess Anne, and in December became the stated supply of the church, although the congregation would gladly have had him become the Pastor. This relation continued until July, 1835, when his dual duties proved more than he could perform, and he was compelled, on account of his impaired health, to remove to a more congenial clime. (See Dr. Heaton's sermon.) Mr. Laird died in 1835.
REV. ENOCH THOMAS.
The Rev. Enoch Thomas was the pulpit supply during the winter of 1835-6. He died shortly afterwards.
REV. JAMES W. STEWART.
The Rev. James W. Stewart served as stated supply for a brief period, but left the field about the first of July, 1837, hav- ing declined a call.
REV. FERDINAND JACOBS.
The Rev. Ferdinand Jacobs became the Principal of the Washington Academy, and occasionally supplied the pulpit. On the 10th of June, 1837, he was called to the pastorate, at a salary of $600.00 per year, the Manokin Church to pay $360.00, and the Wicomico Church to pay $240.00. He accepted the call and was installed December 23d, 1837. He remained in charge of the church until November, 1841, when he went to North Carolina.
In a letter to Robert Patterson, one of the Manokin Elders, Mr. Jacobs thus writes from Georgia in 1847:
"You tell me that Washington Academy is declining. I cannot but regret it, both because of the loss to your community,
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History of the Manokin Presbyterian Church.
which its declension involves, and of personal attachment even to the name itself of Washington Academy, originating in my connection with it in 'auld lang syne.' To what use, if any, is the old building appropriated? Sadness would, indeed, be mingled with the pleasure I would enjoy in a visit to Somerset. I have a great desire to meet the congregation once more and to preach to them at least once again in the 'meeting-house at the head of Manokin.' "
OLD AND NEW SCHOOL.
On the 9th of April, 1839, a joint meeting of the Sessions of Princess Anne and Wicomico churches was held at the former place, and resolutions in relation to the Old and New Schools were adopted, declaring the adherence of the Sessions to the Old School doctrines. These congregations were then detached by the Synod of Philadelphia and were connected with the Baltimore Presbytery, Old School.
DR. CORTLANDT VAN RENSSELAER.
Although not directly connected with the history of the Manokin Church, yet the following description of a visit made to Princess Anne and Rehoboth by Dr. Van Rensselaer in 1841, and which appears on page 222 of The Presbyterian Magazine for May, 1859, will be read with interest :
"It fell to the lot of the Editor of this magazine to reopen the old Rehoboth Church for the worship of God, by direction of the Presbytery of Baltimore.
"The appointment for the reopening of Rehoboth was made for the Sabbath, November 22d, 1841. I reached Princess Anne on Saturday night, to fulfil the appointment, and was hospitably entertained at the mansion of the late General George Handy.
"On the following morning, the dear General accompanied me in his carriage to Rehoboth, about fifteen miles, having as a
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travelling companion one of those intelligent, beautiful, accom- plished and thoroughly Presbyterian young ladies, which no part of our country, more than the South, is privileged to send forth into life to glorify God.
"A large congregation was gathered at Rehoboth. The people had assembled in carriages, on horseback and on foot, far and near, to share in the services of God in the old meeting-house.
"We dined at the house of General Henry (close by the church), a lineal descendant of the Rev. John Henry, who was Makemie's successor at Rehoboth. I was shown a manuscript volume of the Rev. John Henry's writings, which, if still in existence, ought to be in the library of the Presbyterian Histori- cal Society."
On pages 223-5 of the same magazine is a full outline of the sermon preached on that autumn Sabbath morning. It has much historical value.
REV. THEODORE WILLIAM SIMPSON.
At a meeting held on the 29th of September, 1841, the Rev. T. W. Simpson received a unanimous call to the pastorate of the church at "a salary of $600.00 and the use of the manse and the lot adjoining, commencing on the 1st day of December, 1841." The Manokin Church was to pay $360.00, and the Wicomico Church $240.00. He preached his first sermon in the Manokin Church, December 12th, 1841. He was installed on the 12th of June, 1842, and resigned in 1849. He was the last Pastor of the united Manokin and Wicomico churches. The union was dissolved August 3d, 1849. (See "Interesting Events," 1849.)
It is interesting to note that the wife of the present Pastor, Rev. Lewis R. Watson (1910), is the grand-daughter of the Rev. Mr. Simpson.
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History of the Manokin Presbyterian Church.
REV. JAMES L. VALLANDIGHAM, D. D.
Dr. Vallandigham preached his first sermon in the Manokin Church, October 21st, 1849, and was installed Pastor in 1850. In a letter dated "Princess Anne, November 4th, 1853," and addressed to "Messrs. Robert Patterson, W. T. G. Polk, J. G. Polk, I. D. Jones and J. H. Done, Elders of the Church of Manoken," he wrote asking for a dissolution of the pastoral relation, and added, "It is with no ordinary emotion that I con- template a separation from a congregation in which, for four years, I have pleasantly labored; from a people to whom I am warmly attached." He also refers in this letter "to the perfect harmony that has ever pervaded our counsels as a Session and to the friendly personal relations that have always subsisted be- tween us." Dr. Vallandigham resigned this charge to accept a call to the "Head of Christiana and White Clay Creek churches." The resignation was regretfully accepted at a con- gregational meeting held November 14th, 1853.
In a letter to the author of this history, Dr. Vallandigham wrote, under date of November 15th, 1901: "The marriage of your father, Henry A. Ford, to your mother, Elizabeth Pringle Patterson, was the last ministerial act I performed as Pastor of the Manokin Church. The next day, November 30th, 1853, I started for Newark, Delaware, where I have since resided." Dr. Vallandigham died in Newark, April 15th, 1904.
In a letter written to the Hon. William McKinley, in March, 1896, before Mr. Mckinley became President, Dr. Vallandigham said : "I was acquainted with three generations of your ancestors. I went to school with your father when we were boys together in our native town. Your grandfather, James McKinley, I knew well. He was an Elder in my father's church, and many a fer- vent prayer have I heard from his lips. I was well acquainted with your great grandfather, David McKinley, and went to a school which he taught seventy-five years ago. Your grandfather
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Pastors and Stated Supplies.
and grandmother and your great grandfather and great grand- mother, were esteemed members of my father's church, and warm friends of the Pastor and his family. I am pleased to learn that the grace that dwelt in the ancestors dwells also in their descend- ants. I have thought that these brief recollections of your ancestors, in the calm, quiet days gone by, might be interesting to you amid the wild excitements of these stirring times."
In thanking Dr. Vallandigham for his "graciously kind letter," Mr. Mckinley said in part : "I have read it over several times, and each time there has been an increasing flood of tender reminiscences. Your familiar acquaintance with my ancestors inclines my heart to you as to one of my own kith and kin."
The call to Dr. Vallandigham is, for several reasons, an interesting one, and is therefore given here:
"The congregations of Manokin and Rehoboth, being de- sirous that the Word of God may be regularly preached in the ancient churches to which they belong, and being well satisfied with the ministerial qualifications of you, the Rev. James Laird Vallandigham, and hoping from our experience of your labors and ministrations in the Gospel that you will be profitable to our spiritual interests, do earnestly call and desire you to under- take the pastoral office in said congregations.
"We promise you, in the discharge of your duty, all proper support, encouragement and obedience in the Lord; and we, the congregation at Manokin, promise and oblige ourselves to pay to you for your support during the time of your being and con- tinuing the regular Pastor of these churches, annually the sum of three hundred and fifty dollars; and we, the congregation at Rehoboth, promise and oblige ourselves to pay to you for your support, during the same period, annually the sum of one hun- dred dollars, which shall be in addition to the sum allowed you by the Board of Domestic Missions for your labors in the bounds of the Rehoboth congregation. And we, the congregation at Rehoboth, further promise to use our best endeavors to increase
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History of the Manokin Presbyterian Church.
our contributions until our church shall cease to be a tax upon said Board. And we, the congregation at Manokin, further agree that you may occupy the dwelling house and lot belonging to the congregation, without charge.
"In testimony whereof, we, the committee of the church, on behalf of the congregation of Manokin, subscribe our names this 10th day of February, in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and fifty; and we, a special committee of the congrega- tion of Rehoboth, subscribe our names this 17th day of February in the same year .. "
The representatives of Manokin were: Messrs. Samuel Ker, Robert Patterson, W. T. G. Polk, Jos. G. Polk, George Handy, Isaac Dryden, Robert W. Slemons, J. W. Crisfield, Isaac D. Jones and Samuel K. Handy.
The Rehoboth signers were: Messrs. John Dryden, Whit- tington Polk, Isaac Marshall, Isaac H. Dryden, James W. Steven- son, Henry Melbourn, William C. Whittington, John E. Blare, George Harges (this name is poorly written), William Dryden, Isaac T. Beauchamp, James D. Adams, Isaac Tilghman, William Porter and Henry W. Matthews.
Dr. Vallandigham wrote on this call: "Tuesday, April 2d, 1850, the Presbytery of Baltimore, being in session in the Pres- byterian Church of Princess Anne, Somerset County, Maryland, this call was put into my hands and I accepted it. On the next day I was ordained and installed." Rev. Messrs. R. C. Gal- breath, John M. P. Atkinson, C. L. Moore and Rev. Mr. Hunt- ington, took an active part in the service. Dr. Vallandigham closed his endorsement with these words: "The Lord grant me grace and strength to discharge the solemn and responsible duties I have assumed."
REV. AUSTIN C. HEATON, D. D.
Dr. Heaton became Pastor of the Manokin Church in 1855, and labored faithfully in that field until 1880-a quarter of a
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century. He was born in Thetford, Vermont, May 28th, 1815, and was graduated from Dartmouth College in 1840, and later from Princeton Theological Seminary. At the beginning of his pastorate in the Manokin Church, "it was deemed important to have divine service there every Sabbath, and this course was adopted, though it imposed upon him the necessity of riding from Rehoboth Church to Princess Anne during the interval of the morning and evening worship. This course was continued only three or four years, and this chiefly for the advantage of the Rehoboth congregation. It was decided that the permanent good of the Manokin congregation demanded the entire time of the Pastor, and that stated services should be held in the Manokin Church twice upon every Sabbath. Accordingly, the connection with the Rehoboth congregation was severed." (From Dr. Heaton's Twentieth Anniversary Sermon.)
Early in the year 1856, the practice of systematic contribu- tions to the various Boards of the Church commenced, and in proportion to its membership and means, the congregation was liberal in its offerings.
During his pastorate in the Manokin Church, Dr. Heaton preached some four thousand sermons, officiated at three hun- dred and fifty funerals, and solemnized two hundred marriages. He died in Middletown, Delaware, December 14th, 1887, at the age of seventy-two. He was a scholarly man of broad culture, sound doctrine and unusual ability, and was held in the highest esteem. One who knew him well thus writes:
"Dr. Heaton was a man of scholarly parts and a stalwart believer in the doctrines of his beloved Church. He was a strong preacher, a genial friend, and a faithful worker in the Master's cause. He expressed the wish that he might pass away tran- quilly and in serene peace; and a kind Providence permitted him thus to go. He gave as his last message to his brethren in the Presbytery a charge to preach Christ in the power, purity and simplicity of His love.
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History of the Manokin Presbyterian Church.
"Dr. Heaton was a regular attendant at the meetings of the Presbytery, and was greatly beloved by his brethren. His lead- ing presence and forceful addresses will be much missed. He has left in his faithful work a fragrant memory, which will long be cherished by those who survive him."
The very interesting and valuable sermon of Dr. Heaton, which forms a chapter of this history, was kindly furnished by his son and daughter, who now reside in Philadelphia.
REV. HENRY VANDER VEER VOORHEES.
The Rev. Mr. Voorhees was descended from godly Dutch ancestry, and as a child was remarkably gifted and precocious. At the age of eight, he stood at the head of his class of one hundred members, and frequently won prizes for advanced scholarship. At the age of ten, he committed to memory, it is said, the one hundred and nineteenth Psalm in two hours. He became Pastor of the Manokin Church in 1881, and continued in that relation until the 26th of May, 1889, when he tendered his resignation. He was a preacher of earnestness and power, and rendered excellent service in the Manokin field, where he made many warm friends by his tender and sympathetic inter- course with his people. He died in the Roosevelt Hospital, New York City, October 10th, 1897, from an attack of pneumonia, after having undergone a successful operation. As a tribute to his memory, the bell of the Manokin Church was tolled when he was being laid to rest in the distant city. During his pas- torate in Princess Anne, the parsonage was renovated, the chapel enlarged, and the tower fund begun.
REV. W. L. BAILEY.
The Rev. W. L. Bailey became stated supply in September, 1889, and continued in that position for several months.
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Pastors and Stated Supplies.
REV. WILLIAM H. LOGAN.
On the 1st of January, 1891, the Rev. William H. Logan became the Pastor of the church, and ministered very acceptably to the people until his resignation in April, 1900. During the summer of 1891, extensive repairs were made to the church, entirely remodelling it. The recess pulpit was built, the present ceiling put in, the walls frescoed, the floor recarpeted, and new chandelier and pulpit lights were added, the cellar excavated, a furnace installed, and the house painted. The expense was $1,500.00. When Mr. Logan went to the church, the custom was to administer communion at tables placed over the backs of the front pews. This custom ceased when the building was remodelled. Now all are served in the pews. In 1893, the chapel was repaired. It was repainted and papered and a new roof put on. Later, the manse was partly reroofed and painted. During his pastorate, there were approximately one hundred additions to the membership of the church. Mrs. Logan had a Bible class which grew from a membership of one to twenty-five, nearly all men. Many of these men subsequently united with the church.
Mr. Logan writes: "Many of the most prominent members of the church died during my residence there-Judge Irving, William Broughton, Hon. John W. Crisfield, Robert F. Bratton, Esq., Mrs. Mary Handy and her sister, Mrs. Campbell, Mrs. Imogene Polk and her son, Colonel Polk, and Mrs. William P. Rider. The saddest day of all was in 1892, when the four sons of Mr. C. C. Ball, ranging in age from eight to sixteen years, were buried. They were all drowned at the same time. The Sunday school erected a tasteful monument over their graves." When the Presbytery met in the Manokin Church in April, 1892, Mr. Logan was elected a Commissioner to attend the General Assembly, which met the following month in Portland, Oregon.
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History of the Manokin Presbyterian Church.
Mr. Logan officiated at over eighty weddings during his Manokin pastorate, and celebrated his own twenty-fifth wedding anniversary there on the 21st of June, 1896, when above four hundred guests were present during the evening. Mr. and Mrs. Voorhees also celebrated their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary during their stay in Princess Anne.
Of this pastorate, Mr. Logan wrote, shortly before his death in 1910: "We had quiet and peaceful times, and these do not record much history. We remember our life in Princess Anne with great pleasure."
REV. R. A. ROBINSON.
Mr. Robinson acted as stated supply of the Manokin Church during the year 1900-01. He was then Headmaster of Mar- garet Academy, Onancoock, Virginia. He did not see his way clear to accept the first call extended to him by the church, but when it was repeated, he entered upon a short two years' pas- torate, 1901-03. Mr. Robinson kindly characterizes it as "one of the happiest of my life." He adds: "The more intimately I came to know the people and their history, the deeper was my interest in them and in the grand old church. In Manokin was made clear to me a criterion of what Presbyterianism as a system of Christianity can be and can do. The influence of the church had molded a people into a type of strength and beauty such as one rarely sees in a new country like our own. The formation of character of a large and beneficent type, a most beautiful blend of the intellectual and the spiritual, had become the expe- rience of two centuries, and the heritage of people of a like kind to-day. Such loyalty, reverence and culture it were difficult to duplicate.
"When my work began, the people of the church were suf- fering somewhat from discouragement, due, in the main, to serious losses by death ; but the spirit of the people was and is invincible. Very soon the old power manifested itself, and un-
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Pastors and Stated Supplies.
der the blessing of God growth became evident in every depart- ment, and when I was recalled to the Colley Memorial Church, Norfolk, Virginia, where I now am [April 24th, 1908], the pain of the separation was to me more serious than I can express in words."
REV. LEWIS R. WATSON.
On the 2d of May, 1905, Rev. L. R. Watson began his min- istry in the Manokin Church, the installation service taking place October 19th of the same year. Revs. William H. Logan, of Wilmington, Delaware; J. H. Moore, of Pocomoke City, and Dr. Joseph B. North, of Snow Hill, took part in the interesting service. Acetelyne gas has been put in the lecture room, and the young people of the church, after untiring efforts, have added a porch to the manse, at a cost of about $200.00. This adds very much to the appearance of the manse, as well as to the com- fort and pleasure of the Pastor and his family. Forty-nine members have been received within the past five years-thirty- seven on profession of faith, and twelve by certificate of trans- fer from other churches. Mr. Watson has officiated at forty-seven funerals, and has baptized twenty-two infants. Mr. Robert Adams, a former Elder of Rehoboth Church, elected to the Eldership of this church during Mr. Robinson's pastorate, was installed on November 1st, 1908.
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History of the Manokin Presbyterian Church.
THE CHURCH BUILDINGS.
"Where are the priceless Session books of the Makemie churches? gold mines of historical and biographical wealth, if they could be resur- rected. What would I not have given for their precious pages while delving for years in the dust and dark, striving to revive the personality of our founder and his contemporaries, groping in the fogs, picking up a jewel here and there, all his churches bankrupt in records."-DR. L. P. BOWEN, IN "MESSAGE OF THE MONUMENT."
Just when or by whom the original building was erected "at the head of the Manokin" will, in all probability, never be known. Somerset County records show that religious services were held in that county as early as 1672, by the Rev. Robert Maddux. Dr. Alfred Nevin claims, in his "History of Philadelphia and Phila- delphia Central," page 45, that the Presbyterians had a meeting- house at Manokin as early as 1680; and from the report made by Sheriff Whittingham. of Somerset County, Maryland, in 1697, we learn that "there are three dissenting meeting-houses in Som- erset, ...... one at Manokin, about thirty feet long." Dr. Mc- Ilvain quotes this from the "Rolls Office, London, Maryland Documents, III, B. 39." "According to the records of sister churches. Thomas Wilson was the Pastor of the Manokin Church from 1686 to 1698." Many authorities state that the Manokin Church was organized by Francis Makemie in 1683.
"Att a Court" held at Dividing Creek, Somerset County, June 12th, 1706, Messrs. John Hampton and George McNish received permission to preach, among other places, at "the meet- ing-house at the head of the Monocan."
Spence, in his "Early History of the Presbyterian Church," page 190, says : "In my researches, I find among the records of Somerset County, a deed dated in 1723, to the Rev. William Stewart, the Pastor, and others, the Elders, 'and their successors
MANOKIN CHURCH AND PARSONAGE, 1868
The Church Buildings.
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forever, for the use, support, maintenance and continuance of a meeting-house for the worship and service of Almighty God, according to the Presbyterian persuasion, and for no other use whatever,' for 'a part of a tract of land called Nutter's Purchase, lying on the north side of the head of Monokin River, containing one-quarter of an acre.' This is the identical spot whereupon the Presbyterian Church now stands at Princess Anne."
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