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 25
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30
356
PRESBYTERY OF ERIE.
passed with him in traversing the villages of Southern India, on itinerating tours, with Bibles and Tracts, doing what we could in making known the name and claims of Messiah, the Saviour King.
" In Mrs. Crane, was found the faithful wife and mother, the endeared friend, and the useful missionary assistant."
Mr. Crane left a widow and six children, four daugh- ters and two sons.
(85.) WILLIAM MCCULLOUGH.
1852-1858.
DEATII came to this young brother in the very prime of life. He was younger in years, at the time of his departure, than any whose names had preceded his on the roll of the Presbytery of Erie.
William McCullough, the son of Alexander and Mccullough, was born near the town of Mer- cer, on the 15th day of October, 1824. He was prob- ably baptized by Rev. Samuel Tait (3), the pastor of the church of which his parents were members, at the date of his birth. He was a child of the Covenant. And so we find him in early youth seeking the fold of the Good Shepherd, and consecrating himself to the service of the God of his fathers.
After preliminary studies at home, he entered Jeffer- son College, at which institution he graduated in 1849, with a reputation and a record that would be creditable to any young man in the land.
His theological studies were pursued at the Western Theological Seminary, where, at a meeting of the Pres- bytery of Erie, held at Evansburg, Pa., on the 15th day of September, 1852, he was licensed to preach the gos-
1
1
357
BIOGRAPHICAL.
pel. The trial exercises on this occasion were, first, a popular lecture on Heb. xii. 25-28 ; and second, a pop- ular sermon on Phil. ii. 12, 13.
The numerous vacancies within the bounds of Pres- bytery, afforded a fine field of labor for the young licen- tiate during the next year, when, at a meeting of the Presbytery of Erie at Conneautville, Pa., on the 7th day of September, 1853, he was ordained as an evangelist, with the view of laboring as a missionary near the out- let of Lake Superior.
In these services, Mr. Sailor (79) preached the sermon, Mr. Eaton (76) presided, proposed the constitutional questions, and offered the ordaining prayer, and Mr. Reynolds (56) delivered the charge to the evangelist.
On the 15th of October, 1853, Mr. Mccullough reached his contemplated field of labor. This was Saut Ste. Marie, at the outlet of Lake Superior. Here he continued to labor under many and sore difficulties, until a church was organized, and a house of worship erected for its accommodation.
In this remote place his faith and confidence in God kept him from despondency under his many discourage- ments. In one of his reports, he speaks of some of these discouragements : " Besides the general indiffer- ence and Catholicism which prevail here, I meet with various other errors, such as Universalism, Unitarian- ism, Swedenborgianism, etc." As to the "indifference," he mentions that some of the Board of Trustees of his church, had never even been out to hear him preach. But there was a brighter side to the picture. One of the first persons received into the church, on examina- tion, was a man who had been long years before a member of the Presbyterian Church in Scotland. For thirty years he had been in the employ of the Hudson
358
PRESBYTERY OF ERIE.
Bay Fur Company, married to an Indian woman, and had had his home amongst the savages. But all these years, and under all these disadvantages, he had kept religion alive in his own soul, and like Abraham of old, had erected his altar and had bowed at its side wherever he had wandered, and wherever he had so- journed. Feeling the weight of years coming upon him, this strange man who had in youth wandered amid the heather and broom of old Scotia's hills, and in his manhood amid the bleak hills and eternal snows of Northwestern America, gathers together his household, and makes a journey of sixteen hundred miles, with a view of ending his days and leaving his family in the midst of Christian society. So grace reigns, and thus will it ultimately triumph.
But the missionary's health failed under the rigors of this inclement region, and with a sad heart he was forced to leave his little flock in the wilderness, and return to his home. Here he labored for some time with much acceptance in the congregations of Fairview, Sturgeonville, and Girard, although the state of his health precluded the idea of a permanent settlement. Sometimes, under these labors, he was ready to de- spond, and write bitter things against himself, as an unprofitable servant, but on receiving a member to the communion of the church of Fairview, who traced his religious convictions to his ministry, he rejoiced greatly, and said that this amply compensated him for all his labor for Christ.
His last labor upon earth was in collecting funds for the erection of Park Presbyterian Church, Erie, Pa. His disease was consumption, and when forced to retire from all labor by increasing weakness, he returned to his native home, and in the arms of his parents, he
1
1
359
BIOGRAPHICAL.
sweetly fell asleep in Jesus on the 1st day of February, 1858, in the thirty-fourth year of his age and sixth of his ministry.
Throughout his entire preparatory course, as well as during the years of his ministry, this young brother was subject to ill health, which paralyzed his energies, and filled him oftentimes with deep discouragement. In spirit, he was eminently peaceful and quiet ; in per- sonal faith strong, although his heart was often sad, as he looked out upon the fields white for the harvest, without the physical strength to enter upon the work. But the will, and the heart to labor, were accepted by the Master, and so he was called early to the rest and the reward, where the heart is never sad, and where " the inhabitant shall no more say, I am sick."
The subjoined faithful and loving tribute, is from the hand of an intimate friend and ministerial broth- er : 1 _
" It has been my privilege to walk hand in hand with William McCullough through every stage, from the commencement of his Christian journey. In the same social circle, the same preparatory studies, and the same ministerial labors, I have known him, not as companion knows companion, but as heart mingles with familiar heart. And everywhere I have witnessed from him a precious and beautiful lesson, which his life has fur- nished to all his acquaintance, - that of a character moulded by the truths which he professed. A distin- guished Professor has portrayed 'Our Theology in its Developments,' by an intellectual view, which renders our system clearer to every human heart. But it was given to brother MeCullough to illustrate that theology in the conformation of a personal Christian
1 Rev. J. I. Smith.
360
PRESBYTERY OF ERIE.
character, which displayed the symmetry, completeness, and gospel likeness of the same system wrought out into actual life.
" Ilis theological views seemed to be but the accept- ance and transfer of Scriptural statements, without any trace of doctrinal formularies. He knew nothing of the intervention of human questionings between God's ut- terances and his implicit belief. Though familiar with the range of discussions, when he came to apply for wisdom to the Holy Scriptures, he appeared uncon- scious that there were opinions of others recorded. He drew near to listen only to the voice of the Most High. Nothing for a moment found respect with him, unless it was on the inspired pages of the Bible. If he saw it there, he transferred it at once to its appropriate place in his system, or applied it to its proper use upon the heart.
" It was truth prevailed so distinguishingly to form a complete religious character. No veil of distrust hung between God's utterances and his heart. . Consequently his habits of devotion were the responsive feelings of his heart to truths so close and real to him. None could overhear his exercises in private, or join his prayers in public, without being impressed and profited by the freedom and directness of his intercourse with God. It was the language of a fully confiding soul,. speaking to a present God and Father. Many who have heard him, have longed to attain his holy intimacy in prayer ; but it was only the result of his habit of ac- cepting every word at once from God's mouth, cherished by practice and baptized by the Iloly Ghost.
" His entire character seemed to present a beautiful miniature of the gospel. Each truth which he em- braced, seemed to germinate and grow into its corre-
1
361
BIOGRAPHICAL.
sponding trait, so forming the harmonious completeness of the Christian. In his work, he knew but one object and one degree of consecration to it - the measure of his life. He sustained uninterrupted cheerfulness, be- neath the languor and discouragements of a most dis- piriting form of disease. His work was speedily closed. His welcome, his rest, his reward soon reached."
(102.) ROBERT TAYLOR. 1861-1864.
ROBERT TAYLOR was a native of Ireland. He was born in Ballynarig, County Derry, on the 12th day of August, 1830. His parents moved in the humbler walks of life, yet were devotedly pious. In his infancy, his parents emigrated to this country and settled in Phila- delphia. Here Robert enjoyed the careful religious training of a mother who, although often sorely afflicted, yet sedulously endeavored to discharge her whole duty to her household. To this son she was peculiarly at- tached ; and for him her faith was unbounded. As he approached manhood, and at times seemed light and wayward and unpromising, her prophetic saying was, "My boy will live and yet be a minister of the precious One, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
He became a communicant in the Second Associate Reformed Church of Philadelphia, and by that church was enabled to prosecute his studies until he entered the University of Pennsylvania.
In this institution he gave promise of great excellence as a scholar and public speaker. There was a bril- liancy and polish that shone out from his mind that was most attractive. But there was a change that came over him that filled his friends with apprehension
2
362
PRESBYTERY OF ERIE.
and fear. The world became very attractive to him. The voice of pleasure was in his ear. The song of the siren attracted him until it seemed that he must be wrecked upon the rocks and devoured by the sea- monsters. He left the University in his junior year and engaged in business for a time ; married, moved to Cincinnati, Ohio,1 studied law, and was admitted to the bar. After this he removed to Mercer, Pennsylvania, and commenced practice, with eminent qualifications for success. But the voice of the siren still followed him, and although he knew her song was luring him to ruin, he could not break away from her influence. With sur-' passing gifts of reason and eloquence, he yet wasted his noble powers and threw away his influence. Others would undertake causes, engage his services before the jury, where he would appear with most persuasive elo- quence and power, and themselves reap all the substan- tial benefits. Says one 2 who was a fellow member of the bar of Mercer, "I well remember the first time I met him as an antagonist. It was before a justice, and on the trial of a trifling case. Not over a dozen per- sons were present. The case was a plain one, and I was surprised that he spoke at all ; much more so that he spoke as he did. I had never before heard a better argument, nor so much eloquence and beauty of diction in any trial, and before any court. His closing words were, ' Surely I ask nothing wrong when I only ask for justice !'
" He had accidentally left a manuscript in one of my books used at the trial. It contained the substance of his argument and the finest passages of his speech. I returned it to him with the remark, that he had made
1 Wilson's Presbyterian Historical Almanac, 1865.
2 Judge Trunkey.
363
BIOGRAPHICAL.
too good an effort for such an occasion, 'No,' said he, ' when a man speaks, he should always try to speak well.' The preparation for this small case is an index to his character. I never knew him to speak without preparation when he had opportunity to prepare.
" When he closed his brief career at the bar, he stood in this community first for eloquence, among the first for power as an advocate and ability to arrive at correct conclusions on legal questions ; and for beauty and finish of his legal papers and reports he had no peer. He loved study. He loved to write. Ile delighted in the classics and higher order of literature. Before he left the bar, I often thought how much nature and cul- ture had done to fit him for a preacher of the gospel. His style of speaking seemed to me well adapted to the ministry - grave, earnest, and impressive. His mind was well stored with classical learning, and he seldom spoke without drawing therefrom to beautify and adorn his subject. Ilis knowledge of English literature was very great.
" He reasoned much by analogy. No man could better illustrate his subject by appropriate comparisons. His imagination seemed to be boundless. Ilis tempera- ment was such that when composing he would write as though his audience were before him, thereby giving to his written addresses that spirit seldom reached in studied orations. His erudition and learning, always adorning and illustrating his theme, never rendered him pedantic."
But all this time the mercy and grace of God were following him. His waywardness and folly were always obvious to him ; yet he began at last to see his danger, and resolve for better things. He was made, to trace with an overflowing heart, the influence of a mother's
364
PRESBYTERY OF ERIE.
prayers and the rich grace of a covenant-keeping God. The path of duty seemed plain. He sought once more the fold of the Church, and was received as a member of the First Presbyterian church of Mercer. The profes- sion of law was relinquished, and he became a student of the Western Theological Seminary. On the 8th day of May, 1861, he was licensed to preach the gospel by the Presbytery of Erie.
Anxious to labor, as he remarked to a friend, where he could do the most good during his short life, he accepted an invitation to labor in Warren, Pa., and preached his first sermon to that people from the words: " Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men." On the 13th of the following November, he was ordained and installed by the same Presbytery as pastor of the church of Warren. In these services John V. Reynolds, D. D., (56), preached the sermon, John R. Findley (92) delivered the charge to the pastor, and James M. Shields (88) the charge to the people. Here he continued to labor earnestly and with great acceptance, until September 26, 1862, when at his own request the pastoral relation was dissolved, and he dismissed to connect himself with the Second Presbytery of Philadelphia. Ile had re- solved to accept a call to the Second Presbyterian Church of Germantown, Pa. He labored there with fidelity and earnestness. But he was not to continue long in that field. The North Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, sought him for their pastor. The pressure was great. He loved his present charge. But the new field was large, and after earnest inquiry and prayer he determined to accept the new call. Accordingly ar- rangements were made to preach, on the following Sab- bath, his farewell sermon in the one congregation in
365
BIOGRAPHICAL.
the morning and his introductory to the other in the evening.
But man's ways are not God's ways. Before the Sabbath dawned Mr. Taylor was upon a sick couch. From this couch he never rose. He gradually declined, until after a brief illness, in which he manifested emi- nent composure of mind and a calm and loving confi- dence in the Saviour whom he had preached and in whom he gloried as the Lord his righteousness, he gently entered into rest, April 15, 1864, in the thirty- fourth year of his age and third of his ministry. Life closed peacefully and calmly when he passed up to be with God.
Mr. Taylor was an eloquent preacher. People hung upon his lips with breathless attention from the opening sentence of his discourses until the close. Yet there was a humility and a meekness about him that were most beautiful and attractive. The same friend,1 whose language is quoted above, says : " I did not often have the pleasure of hearing him preach. Ilis sermons were all that I expected. I thought he appeared meek and humble, if not embarrassed. Ile could not have been unconscious of his ability and eloquence, but to me his manner betrayed a diffidence far beyond what 1 ex- pected to see."
There is no doubt but that constant application and study wore out Mr. Taylor's life. He would never preach without the most elaborate preparation. ITis discourses must be wrought out with the most scrupu- lous care and attention. In Germantown he com- . meneed lecturing on the Pilgrim's Progress, at his Wednesday evening prayer meetings. At first he took but little pains with the preparation of these lectures,
1 Judge Trunkey.
366
PRESBYTERY OF ERIE.
but their fame soon spread, and people came to hear. Thus encouraged, he began to write out these lectures in full, thus increasing a burden that was already too great for his physical system. The mind and the body were illy mated, and the latter gave way under the nerv- ous pressure of the former. It was the bright Damas- cus blade wearing away and cutting in sunder the scab- bard that was illy adapted to its power.
In person Mr. Taylor was about the medium stature, dark complexion, dark brilliant eye, and generally mani- fested an abstracted air, as though his thoughts were far away. He was most unselfish in his disposition, and in his intercourse with others gentle, magnanimous, and forgiving. This was true even amid the bustle and ex- citement of trials and the confusion of courts. He al- ways maintained the "suaviter in modo."
Early in life he was united in marriage to Miss Christiana, daughter of Thomas Pearson of Mercer, Pa., who survives him. They had no children.
NOTICES OF LIVING MINISTERS.
369
BIOGRAPHICAL.
(30.) JOHN VAN LIEW, D. D.
1820 --.
DR. VAN LIEW is of Holland origin. He is the son of Dennis and Maria (Suidam) Van Liew, and was born in Neshannick, Somerville County, N. J., on the 30th day of September, 1798. Ilis ancestors emigrated to this country with the early settlement of New York. His parents were married in 1789. John Van Liew's education, both classical and theological, was acquired in New Brunswick, N. J. He graduated at Queen's (now Rutger's) College in 1816, and studied theology at the Theological Seminary of the Reformed Prot- estant Dutch Church. He was licensed to preach the gospel by the Classis of New Brunswick, in June, 1820. In the summer of that year, he came to Meadville, and commenced his labors in the Presbyterian Church at that place. Here he was ordained by the Presbytery of Erie on the 22d day of August, 1821. In these ex- ercises, Johnston Eaton (20) preached the sermon, and Amos Chase (25) delivered the charges. This relation continued until June 21, 1824, when, on account of in- paired health, it was dissolved, and the next day Mr. Van Liew was dismissed to the Presbytery of Jersey.
In the spring of the next year, his health having im- proved, he accepted a call to the Presbyterian Church of Mendham, N. J. In the autumn of 1825, his health again failing, he took a tour to the Southern States, going as far as Georgia. After spending six months in the South, he returned, and soon accepted a call to the pastorate of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church, in Readington, N. J. In this church he has labored faithfully and successfully for upwards of forty years.
24
370
PRESBYTERY OF ERIE.
On the 20th of June, 1827, he was united in mar- riage to Miss Ann M. Woodruff, daughter of Dr. II. S. Woodruff, of Mendham, N. J. They have three chil- dren.
Mr. Van Liew is of medium height, light hair and complexion, blue eyes, and rather slender form. His ecclesiastical connection is now with the Classis of Philadelphia, the most southern of any Classis in the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church.
(32.) DAVID MCKINNEY, D. D.
1824 -
DAVID MCKINNEY, the son of Isaac and Jane Mc- Kinney, was born in Mifflin County, Pa., October 22, 1795. In his infancy his parents removed to Center County, Pa., where he grew up to manhood. Ile gradu- ated at Jefferson College in 1821, pursued his theolog- ical studies at Princeton, and was licensed to preach the gospel by the Presbytery of Philadelphia, in April, 1824. Soon after he went to Erie, Pa., where accept- ing calls from the church of that place, he was ordained and installed by the Presbytery of Erie, April 13, 1825. In these exercises, Timothy Alden (27) preached the sermon, and Samuel Tait (3) delivered the charges. This relation continued until April 22, 1829, when, at his own request, it was dissolved, and on the 21st of September, 1830, he was dismissed to the Presbytery of Iluntington. Dr. Mckinney resided eleven years in Center County, Pa. Seven of these years, from 1834 to 1841, he was pastor of the churches of Sinking Creek and Spring Creek. From 1841 to 1852, he was pastor of the church of Hollidaysburg, Pa. In 1852, he re- moved to Philadelphia, and established the " Presbyte-
371
BIOGRAPHICAL.
rian Banner." In 1855, he removed the " Banner " to Pittsburgh, Pa., and conducted it until 1864, when he established the " Family Treasure." He is at the pres- ent time Librarian and Treasurer of the Synodical Board of Colportage.
(36.) ABSALOM MCCREADY.
1825 -.
ABSALOM MCCREADY was born in Washington Coun- ty, Pa., on the 6th day of June, 1796. He graduated at Jefferson College, in 1824. Ilis theological studies were pursued under the direction of Samuel Tait (3). He was licensed to preach the gospel by the Presbytery of Erie, on the 28th day of December, 1825. Having accepted calls from the churches of Middlebrook (for- merly Upper Greenfield), Union, and Beaverdam, in Erie County, Pa., he was ordained by the Presbytery on the 14th day of September, 1826, and installed as pas- tor. In these exercises, David McKinney (32) preached the sermon, Samuel Tait (3) delivered the charge to the pastor, and Giles Doolittle (33) to the people. He was released from Middlebrook in 1833, and from Beaverdam and Union in 1835. In 1837, he was in- stalled pastor of the church of Warren, Pa. This re- lation was dissolved in 1838. In 1839, he was installed pastor of the church of Neshannock. In 1845, he, with his church, was attached to the Presbytery of Beaver. The pastoral relation with the church of Neshannock was dissolved in 1858.
372
PRESBYTERY OF ERIE.
(39.) PETER HASSINGER.
1827 ---
PETER HASSINGER, son of Peter and Jane Ilass- inger, was born near Newark, Delaware, on the 24th day of November, 1801. He is one of twins. ITis early life was spent in agricultural and mechanical pursuits. Always serious and thoughtful on the subject of religion, he made a public profession in his eighteenth year, and some 'months afterward began to consider the matter of the gospel ministry. He commenced his classical studies in his twentieth year at the Newark Academy. Ilis theological studies were pursued at Princeton, after which he was licensed to preach the gospel by the Presbytery of New Castle, in April, 1827. He preached for a few months in the vacancies around Philadelphia, when he received a commission from the Board of missions to labor in Crawford and Erie counties, within the bounds of the Presbytery of Erie. On the first day of October, 1828, he was ordained and installed as pastor of the congregation of Gravel Run. Giles Doo- little (33) preached the sermon, Amos Chase (25) de- livered the charge to the pastor, and David McKinney (32) the charge to the people. He preached in Water- ford one third of the time in connection with Gravel Run. This relation was dissolved in 1832, when he preached for a time to the churches of Evansburg, Har- monsburg, and North Bank in Crawford County, Pa. In September, 1836, he was dismissed from the Presby- tery of Erie to that of Washington, when he settled in Claysville, Pa. He resigned this charge in 1839, and settled in the church of Unity, in Blairsville Presbytery. He was afterwards settled at Me Veytown, Huntingdon
373
BIOGRAPHICAL.
Presbytery. In 1849, he removed to the West. In the West he has been preaching, distributing Bibles and Tracts, and engaged in other enterprises, looking to the welfare of Zion.
About the year 1831, Mr. Hassinger was united in marriage to Miss Anna S. Hyde, daugliter of John and Mary Hyde, of New York city. She died on the 28th of March, 1855, uttering as her last words, " All will fail but Jesus." They had three children.
(40.) JAMES ALEXANDER, D. D. 1828 -.
JAMES ALEXANDER, the son of William and Eliza- beth Alexander, was born in Mercer County, Pa., on the 25th day, of September, 1798. He was the first young man born in Mercer County, who was licensed to preach the gospel iby the Presbytery of Erie. Ile made a profession of religion in his twenty-second year. Soon after, he began to think of the gospel ministry but was deterred by lack of means. Without a knowl- edge of this, a Ladies' Missionary Society in Mercer offered to assist him, when he commenced his studies. Having studied for a time at Mercer Academy, he repaired to Jefferson College, where he graduated in 1826. His theological studies were prosecuted under the direction of Samuel Tait (3), his pastor. He was licensed to preach the gospel by the Presbytery of Erie on the 9th day of April, 1828, and on the 13th of Oeto- ber, in the same year, was ordained and installed pastor of the churches of Greenville, Salem, and Big Bend. Johnston Eaton (20) delivered the charge, and Pierce Chamberlain (38) preached the sermon. This relation was dissolved June 25, 1834, and in the following Janu-
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.