USA > Ohio > Erie County > History of the Presbytery of Erie : embracing in its ancient boundaries the whole of northwestern Pennsylvania and northeastern Ohio : with biographical sketches of all its ministers and historical sketches of its churches > Part 19
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He was ordained by the Presbytery of Erie on the 30th day of June, 1808. The services were held in William Sturgeon's barn, near the present site of the village of Fairview. Mr. Johnston (14) preached on the occasion, and Mr. Stockton (1) delivered the charges. He was installed at the same time pastor of the congre- gations of Fairview and Springfield, a relation he sus- tained to the former during the remainder of his life, a period of forty years. He was released from the charge of Springfield on the 8th of November, 1814. Ile then divided his time between Fairview, Erie, and North East. This arrangement continued until 1818, when North East was dropped, and his time divided between Erie and Fairview, until 1823.
The fragment of an old journal recites something of his early experience : " Preached three months in the congregations of Fairview, Springfield, and Mill Creek (probably near Erie), beginning July, 1806, at ninety dollars per quarter."
In the year 1813, during the war with Great Britain,
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he was employed as a government chaplain, and minis- tered to the troops stationed at Erie. He also preached for a portion of his time at Harbor Creek, Waterford, Washington, and Mckean, in Erie County, Pa. He continued to labor in the congregation of Fairview until the close of his earthly toils. He met with his people for the last time in December, 1846, when feeling that it was the last time, he committed them to God and the word of his grace, when his people separated, not to meet again until they met to mingle their tears over his grave.
His death took place, at what had been his earthly home for nearly forty years, on the 17th day of June, 1847, in the seventy-second year of his age, and the forty-third of his ministry. Ilis disease was paralysis, which not only prostrated his physical powers but greatly obseured his mental faculties. Yet he was not without the comforting presence of God. Ile who has said, " When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee, and through the rivers, they shall not over- flow thee," was with him in the darkest hour of his pain and languishing. At times when the veil seemed lifted, his mind was full of peace and tranquillity. And so he passed away : a meek, quiet, humble, faithful min- ister of Jesus Christ.
On the 30th of September, 1807, Mr. Eaton was united in marriage to Miss Eliza Canon, of Fayette County, Pa., a niece of Colonel John Canon, the founder of Cannonsburg. They had nine children : six sons and three daughters. One of the daughters died in childhood, the other children are living and members of the visible church.
In person, Mr. Eaton was below the ordinary stature, about five feet seven in height, and always light and
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slender. He had a mild blue eye, with a tinge of sad- ness in its cast, nose approaching the aquiline, with thin brown hair, that did not become entirely gray in his old age. There was a nervous sensitiveness about him that rendered him particularly averse to anything like display or outward show of any kind. He had naturally quick sensibilities, that would have led many a man into occasional exhibitions of temper, but he possessed most admirable control over his feelings and could rule his own spirit in every emergency.
He did not write his sermons, but preached from a brief skeleton, which was carefully drawn out and sys- tematized, and generally kept in his pocket-Bible whilst preaching. His sermons were all digested thoroughly before delivery, and presented with freedom and une- tion.
The Record of Presbytery, on occasion of his death, is in part, in these words : " He was uniformly meek, gentle, and forbearing, generous and hospitable. As a preacher, he was clear, logical, instructive, and evan- gelical, and eminently sound in the faith. In his death the Boards of our church, and the cause of benevolent effort for the salvation of a perishing world, have lost a devoted friend."
One of his pupils 1 says of him : " Ile was one of the most conscientious persons I ever knew. He was highly esteemed by all who knew him for his suavity of manners and Christian consistency. He was a careful reader, an able theologian, and a correct thinker, and his mind, to work, must have arrangement. I owe more to him than to all other men for my place in the ministry, and my success toò. The interest he took in me is to me unacountable. When a boy, he sought me out and
1 Rev. G. W. Hampson (43).
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gave me the course. I hope to meet him again. Till then no more. Ile rests from his labors."
Says another correspondent,1 who knew and appreci- ated him :" " In some respects Mr. Eaton and Mr. Doo- little were alike. They were both zealous ministers of Christ, uncompromising where duty was concerned, both determined to know nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified, and both had great dignity of ministerial char- acter. But I think there was a certain genial humor about Mr. Eaton that Mr. Doolittle did not possess. He knew how to unbend without letting himself down, and could be, occasionally, both merry and witty. I think he was a man of great delicacy of feeling, and had a rev- erence almost saered for the personality and conscious- ness of others. He possessed that manly attribute, a strong will, and was sometimes what people call set in his way, but at the same time his great kindness, his generosity and disinterestedness were more than an offset to that. I never knew a more honorable, just, generous, unselfish man. How well his people loved and reverenced him, you must know. I think the Scotch-Irish characteristics were strongly developed in him. He lived at a time when the church was in a transition state, or was becoming Americanized, and held firmly to the fathers."
His mortal remains await the resurrection near the spot on which he was ordained nearly forty years before his death.
(21.) JAMES BOYD.
1807-1813.
JAMES BOYD, son of John and Mary (Fulton) Boyd, was the last of the four brothers to enter the ministry.
1 Miss Jacks.
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Hle was born in Westmoreland County, Pa., in 1774. After studying with his pastor for a time, he went to Cannonsburg, and completed his classical studies at Jefferson College. He then studied theology with Dr. McMillan. He was taken under the care of the Pres- bytery of Erie, as a candidate for the ministry, on the 10th of April, 1806, and assigned as a theme for a Latin exegesis, " An angeli per mortem Christi bene- facti sint ?"
He was licensed to preach the gospel by the same Presbytery on the 22d day of April, 1807. He labored as a supply in various portions of the Presbytery, and in the autumn of 1808, having accepted calls from the churches of Newton and Warren, Ohio, was ordained and installed as their pastor at Warren, Ohio, on the 19th day of October, 1808. In these services William Wick (2) preached the sermon, and Thomas Edgar Hughes (1) delivered the charges. On the next day he was dismissed to become one of the original mem- bers of the Presbytery of Hartford, now Beaver, which had been created that fall by the Synod of Pittsburgh.
The congregations of Newton and Warren were his only charge. His ministry was brief. Ilis labors were short. The purpose of his heart and the work of his hands were accepted, and he was called to a higher sphere of service above. He died at Warren, Ohio, on the 8th day of March, 1813, in the thirty-ninth year of his age, and the sixth of his ministry. His dust shn- bers with that of his people.
Mr. Boyd was united in marriage to Miss Isabella Craig. They had three children, two sons and one daughter.
A lady in Tarentum, Pa., still living, relates that she has seen all four of the Boyd brothers in the pulpit at the same time.
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(22.) JOHN MATTHEWS.
1809-1861.
Tms old patriarch could say with one of old, "I am a stranger and a sojourner with you." Ilis was essen- tially a missionary life. From youth to extreme old age, the lot ordained for him by Providence, was to labor in new settlements, found churches, and travel from place to place. Difficulties never seemed to be in the way, so as to discourage him. Hardships seemed to be his familiar friends, and to urge him on to labor. Yet withal, he lived to a good old age, and has left be- hind him a beautiful record of labor and self-denial, and sacrifice in the Master's service.
John Matthews was the son of James and Prudence (Gordon) Matthews, and was born in Franklin County, Pa., on the 7th day of February, 1778. His parents were of the good old Scotch-Irish blood, and had brought their notions of duty and religion with them across the waters. And from such stock, ideas of faith and duty and practice do not readily change or run out. So we find the subject of this sketch carefully brought up and educated in the principles of our holy religion.
He entered Jefferson College in the year 1805, and graduated in 1807, when he was nearly thirty years of age. After this he entered the only theological sem- inary that was then known west of the Alleghany mountains, namely, the little log-cabin of Rev. John McMillan, D. D. Here he studied patiently and per- severingly, writing out at full length a system of theol- ogy, taken from the Doctor's lectures. This system is still extant, and may be found amongst his papers.
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He was licensed to preach the gospel by the Presby- tery of Ohio, on the 22d day of June, 1809. On the 26th of June, 1810, he presented a certificate of dismis- sion from the Presbytery of Ohio, and was received under the care of the Presbytery of Erie. At the same time calls were presented for his pastoral labors from the congregations of Waterford and Gravel Run. These ealls were accepted, and on the 17th of October following, he was ordained and installed as their pastor. Robert Johnston (14) preached on the occasion, and Samuel T'ait (3) presided and delivered the charges. On the 8th of November, 1814, he was released from his charge at Gravel Run, and employed the portion of his time appropriated there to the congregations of Conneautee and Union. On the 2d of April, 1817, his pastoral relation to Waterford was dissolved, and on the 15th of February following, he was dismissed from the Presbytery of Erie, to seek a connection with the Presbytery of Missouri.1
The missionary spirit abounded in the heart of Mr. Matthews, even at that early day, and he sought the release from his charges in Erie Presbytery, with the view of itinerating in the great West. Many people from Western Pennsylvania were emigrating to the new regions of Illinois and Missouri, and the prospect seemed most inviting to go with them and assist in building up churches, and thus keep abreast with the swelling tide of emigration that was rolling thither.
We quote from Wilson's "Pres. Historical Ahnanac," vol. iv. 102, 103: " Ile started on his journey West, going down the Ohio River on a flat-boat as far as Louisville, Ky., then on horseback through Indiana by way of Vincennes, then through the territory of Illinois
1 Old Minutes.
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to St. Louis, Mo., where he met with Rev. Salmon Gid- dings, who was one of the first Presbyterian ministers who crossed the Mississippi River. From St. Louis he went up the Missouri River to St. Charles, and took charge of the church at Lonisiana, Pike County, Mo., where he continued preaching and itinerating amongst the destitutions of that vicinity, until 1825."
" In the fall of 1825 he settled at Apple Creek Church, in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri. After remaining there about two years, he removed to Kaskaskia, Ran- dolph County, III. At that place he served the church, and itinerated eight or ten years (sometimes teaching and farming, to eke out a mneagre support, as some min- isters have to do yet in the West). He then served the Sugar Creek Church in Madison County, Illinois, about two years, and then returned to Missouri.
" He spent one year in Missouri, and received a call to a church in Ohio, which he served four or five years, but which he was compelled to give up in consequence of the failure of his health. He then spent some time in Greenville, Mercer County, Pa., with his friends, preaching as occasion might offer, and his health per- mit.
" After a few years' sojourn in Pennsylvania, his health having improved to some extent, he again re- turned to Missouri, where he rode and preached until his health again gave way. About ten or eleven years ago, he moved to Georgetown, Randolph County, Ill., where he ended his days. For several years he preached but seldom, in consequence of the infirmities of age, and of a worn-out constitution."
Mr. Matthews was one of the first ministers of the Presbyterian church in Missouri, and is justly regarded as one of the pioneers. At this time there was a noble
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trio of men, Giddings, Matthews, and Flint, who were bending all their energies in order to build up the Re- deemer's kingdom in this new region. Of Matthews, a valued historian 1 says : " He was a workman that needed not to be ashamed, in labors most abundant, and, with all his itinerancy, a thorough student of theology."
The labors of these men were most arduous. For several years after their arrival, there was but a single settled pastor in the territory. Says Gillett, " The bur- den, devolved upon Messrs. Giddings, Matthews, and Flint, was almost crushing. But the calm, resolute energy and self-possession of the first, and the untiring energies of the others did not give way."
Mr. Matthews preached the opening sermon of the first Presbytery formed west of the Mississippi River ; also the opening sermon of Kaskaskia Presbytery in Illinois.
But the Messenger came at last, and summoned him to his rest -" being old and full of days."
A brother in the ministry 2 thus sums up his charac- ter: " Father Matthews, as he was usually called, was a kind and affectionate husband, a warm-hearted and ' cheerful Christian, and was kind and obliging to his neighbors. He enjoyed the company of his brethren and friends very much. He was punctual in the dis- charge of every known duty. He was a man of prayer, labored hard, and went through many hardships, trials, and privations which he endured with patience and Christian fortitude. 'And now his labors are ended. and we trust he is at rest in heaven.'"
Ilis death was the result of the decay of his vital
1 Gillett's History of the Presbyterian Church, ii. 430, 431.
2 Rev. D. A. Wallace, in Pres. Hist. Almanac.
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powers, through old age, and the wearing out of his system by the labors of more than fourscore years. His death occurred at Georgetown, Ill., on the 12th day of May, 1861, in the eighty-fourth year of his age.
Ile was twice married. His first wife was Miss Nancy Bracken, of Cannonsburg, Pa. His second wife was Miss Anna Smith, of Missouri, who survives him. IIe had no children.
(23.) ROBERT McGARRAUGHI.
1803-1839.
ROBERT MOGARRAUGH, the son of Joseph and Jane McGarraugh, was born in Westmoreland County, Pa., on the 9th day of January, 1771. It is not known here how his early life was passed; most probably in the quiet pursuits of agriculture. For a time he studied with Dr. James Dunlap, afterwards President of Jefferson College ; and for a time with Rev. David Smith, in the " forks of Yough." After this he was at the Cannonsburg Academy. Ile pursued his theolog- ical studies with Dr. McMillan, and was licensed to preach the gospel by the Presbytery of Redstone, Oc- tober 19, 1803.
In the same year he visited the region that is now Clarion County, Pennsylvania, and preached for some time to the families that were settled there, and then returned to his family, then in Fayette County, P'a. Being invited to settle in the Clarion region, he gath- ered together his household effects, and with his family set out for the wilderness home, which he reached on the 1st of June, 1804. They were seven or eight days making the journey, which was performed on horseback. The mother and two of the children rode on one horse.
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All the kitchen furniture was packed upon another, "Old Dick," and the oldest son, John, mounted upon the top of this. Thus accoutred, Mr. McGarraugh sought the field of his labor. They were detained one day at Mahoning, and another at Red Bank Creek, as they were obliged to make canoes to get across, in the meanwhile swimming their horses. The first year the family lived in a log-cabin, twelve or sixteen feet square, having a door made of chestnut bark.
Mr. MeGarraugh was the first Presbyterian, minister who preached the gospel east of the Alleghany River, in what is now Clarion County. He was ordained by the Presbytery of Redstone on the 12th of November, 1807, and installed pastor of the churches of New Re- hoboth and Licking.
On the 4th of October, 1811, he was, with his con- gregations, detached from the Presbytery of Redstone, by the Synod of Pittsburgh, and connected with the Presbytery of Erie. On the 3d of April, 1822, his pastoral relation was dissolved with New Rehoboth and Licking. Hle labored after this time at Calensburg, Concord, and some other places to the time of his death. Ile was one of the original members of the Presbytery of Alleghany.
Mr. McGarraugh died in Perry Township, Clarion County (then Armstrong), Pa., on the 17th day of July, 1839, in the sixty-ninth year of his age, and the thirty- sixth of his ministry. Of him his successor 1 in the pastoral work says, " He was an humble, faithful, godly, self-denying, and laborious minister of the gospel ; who labored long and well, and laid deep the foundations of Presbyterianism in this region of country."
He was not a man of remarkable ability, nor was he
1 Rev. James Montgomery.
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blessed with the gift of eloquence. But he had at heart the good of immortal souls, and the glory of the kingdom of Christ. Ile was not afraid of hardships ; he did not love money ; he sought not human applause. And so he was adapted to his field of labor. He pleased the people, and God was with him. Ile was a plain, unassuming man, intent only on this one thing - to stand in his lot and do his duty. And thus he lived, and to-day his memory is fragrant, whilst that of more highly gifted men is a by-word. To-day his record is higher than the stars, for it is written in God's great book of remembrance.
On the 10th of December, 1795, he was united in marriage to Miss Levina Stille. She was born March 30, 1773, and brought up in Washington Coun- ty, Pa. Iler father was from New Jersey. They had seven children, four daughters, and three sons ; some of whom have passed away from earth.
(24.) IRA CONDIT. 1811-1836.
IRA CONDIT was a native of New Jersey. He was born near Morristown, and in the same county with Cyrus Riggs (18) and John Munson (28), on the 6th day of March, 1772. Of his early life little is pre- served. Ile was a modest, unassuming man, and think- ing that there was little of interest in his early life, has left nothing on record. But he is known to have been an earnest, conscientious Christian, as well as a devoted minister of Christ, and we may well suppose that his early life was passed in quietness and peace, standing in his lot as best he could.
Ilis early life was that of a farmer, and even before
1.
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entering upon the preparation for the ministry had had experience of the rough life of the new settlements, and of the hardships of the frontier. In the year 1798 he emigrated to Mercer County, Pa., and settled within a mile of where the Fairfield church now stands, little knowing that there was to be the scene of his future labors in the Lord's spiritual vineyard. He does not seem at that time to have thought of the ministry, for his great work appears to have been to open up a farm and erect for himself a home and a fireside, where he might spend his life comfortably and usefully.
About the year 1800 he went to Washington County, Pa., where he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Miller, whose father was afterwards a member of Amity church. With his wife he returned to his farm on Sandy Creek, settling down to the peaceful life of a farmer, but no doubt oppressed with the destitution and want of spiritual privileges that characterized the country. He made a profession of religion May 10, 1802, and became a member of the church of Fair- field, of which he was afterwards pastor. For three years after his marriage he continued to cultivate his modest acres, when a voice that perhaps for some time had been heard in the deep chambers of his heart, con- strained him to resolve to begin at once preparation for the gospel ministry.
For him to resolve, was to act. So in 1803 he leaves his little farm, moves his family to Cannonsburg, and commences his studies, where he graduated in 1808, After graduation he moved with his family to a farm belonging to his brother, about seven miles from Wash- ington, where he commenced the study of theology under the direction of Dr. McMillan, and his pastor, Rev. George M. Scott, supporting his family in the
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mean time by teaching a school in the neighborhood. His eldest son remembers distinctly a well-beaten path on a knoll near the house, where the divinity student was in the habit of walking back and forth whilst en- gaged in his studies. A church was afterwards built on the same spot.
After completing his studies, he was licensed to preach the gospel by the Presbytery of Ohio, on the 17th day of October, 1811. The first year of lis labor was spent as a missionary, itinerating amongst the vacant churches and destitute settlements of Washing- ton County. An incident that occurred during this missionary work, illustrates the character of the man. When returning home from a tour, he was about cross- ing the Monongahela River in a ferry boat. There was a stranger wishing to cross at the same time, but being without money, the ferryman refused to take him over. Mr. Condit gave him all the money he had in his pos- session, and trusted to Providence for the supply of his wants on his way home. He had not proceeded far on his way before he met a man who owed him some mon- ey, but which he never expected to receive. The man voluntarily paid him the debt.
In 1812, Mr. Condit moved back to Sandy Creek, where he had first erected his home in the wilderness, and after preaching for some time in the vacant churches, accepted calls from the congregations of Fairfield and Big Sugar Creek. His ordination took place at Big Sugar Creek, on the 8th day of November, 1814. Rev. Robert Johnston (14) preached on the occasion, and Rev. Samuel Tait (3) delivered the charges. Fairfield church had been organized near the place where Mr. Condit had originally settled as a farmer, and Sugar Creek was perhaps fifteen miles distant.
A
1
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In April, 1827, he accepted calls to the congregation of Georgetown, or Upper Sandy as it was then called. This call is still in existence, and is a curiosity in its way. It is for one third of the minister's time, and pro- ceeds in the ordinary orthodox way : " And that you may be free from worldly cares and avocations, we hereby promise and oblige ourselves to pay to you the sum of one hundred dollars, in regular half-yearly pay- ments, one third in cash and two thirds in produce, dur- ing the time of your being and continuing the regular pastor of this church."
He was afterwards installed for a portion of his time over the congregation of Amity. This charge was re- linquished April 22, 1829. In June of the same year, he accepted a call to the congregation of Cool Spring, for one third of his time, and was installed June 24, 1829. In this united charge, Fairfield, one of his orig- inal charges, Georgetown, and Cool Spring, he labored until he was released by death.
Mr. Condit was a man of robust health. During his whole ministry of twenty-five years, he lost but two Sabbaths by sickness. In person he was tall and erect, being over six feet in height, of a sanguine tempera- ment, and with a grave and solemn countenance. Ile was always extremely diffident, particularly in the ear- lier years of his ministry. He was not gifted in con- versation, although of a social nature and domestic habits. Still he always had a word for Christ on all proper occasions. He has left behind him a name that is like precious ointment, and his memory is dearly cherished by all who knew him.
As a preacher he was not eloquent. Nor was he gifted in the art of sermonizing. He was, however, very solemn and impressive in his manner, which gave
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great weight to his words. His people loved to hear him preach, for he broke to them the Bread of Life, with all sincerity and solemnity and love. He has left behind him a few manuscripts of sermons, but he did not often, nor perhaps ever, after the first few years of his ministry, write out his discourses. Several hundred skeletons of sermons remain amongst his papers, giving an idea of his taste in sermonizing. IIe always preached from notes, holding a small Bible in his hand, containing the heads of his discourse. He used little action, nor had he much variety in tone of voice, but simply de- livered the message, and trusted to no meretricious adornment of style or manner to enforce the truth.
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