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 4
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The ordination of John Boyd was the first act of that kind performed by the Presbytery. There is one fea-
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HISTORY.
ture connected with these early ordinations that is wor- thy of our attention. They were always accompanied by " fasting," as well as prayer, and the imposition of the hands of the Presbytery.
At a pro re nata meeting of Presbytery held at Pittsburgh, September 30, 1802, Robert Patterson, a licentiate of the Presbytery of Ohio, was received under its care, and accepted calls from the churches of Erie, and Upper and Lower Greenfield.
The next meeting was at Plaingrove, November 2, 1802, when William Wood was ordained and installed as pastor of the churches of Plaingrove and Centre, in Mercer County, Pa.
At the meeting held at Rocky Spring, April 12, 1803, Alexander Cook (12), a licentiate of the Pres- bytery of Ohio, was received under the care of Pres- bytery. At the same time it was resolved to solicit from the General Assembly a donation of religious books, to be granted to such inhabitants as may not be able to supply themselves. This appeal was success- ful, and the Assembly granted them the following list of books: twenty Bibles, forty copies Doddridge's " Rise and Progress," thirty Janeway's "Token," eight " Russell's Sermons," eight Boston's " Crook in the Lot," and eight Willison's " Sacramental Meditations."
This grant was followed by the following order : -
" That the 'Treasurer take charge of the books, pay the carriage on them, and distribute as follows : the Bibles given gratis to such poor people as need them, the others to be divided equally amongst the ministers, and by them circulated amongst such people as need them, until they are called for by Presbytery." 1
Here we find cropping out the gernis of many of the
1 Min. of Pres. vol. i. p. 15.
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PRESBYTERY OF ERIE.
Boards that are now the glory and crown of the Church, missions to the Indians, missions at home, education and publication - all are found in the bud and ready to be developed.
On the 13th of April, 1803, Presbytery received the first ordained minister into its bounds. This was Joseph Badger (11), the famous missionary from Connecticut. His life was one of romance, and yet one of sternest reality. Born and reared in poverty, struggling always with adversity and discouragements, he yet performed labor and achieved results, such as few men even of his day were able to accomplish. His famous journey from Connecticut to Ohio, during the depth of winter, with his four-horse team, sometimes on wheels and sometimes on runners, will long be remembered as one of the heroic labors that characterized the early settle- ments of the West. Ilis wonderful versatility of gen- ius, admirably adapted him to the peculiar work in which he was engaged. He was at home equally in his cabin, on horseback swimming the rivers, in the Indian wigwams preaching Christ, and in the depth of the forest, sleeping at the root of a tree, his head pillowed upon a stone like Jacob's, or hiding from beasts of prey in the tree-tops. Ile was a remarkable man, and lived to see fourscore and ten years.
As an instance of the demand for supplies, the fol- lowing minute, made in 1803, is reproduced : " Fair- view, Westfield, Poland, Warren (O.), Trumbull, Beula, Pymatuning, Conneautee, Outlet of Conneaut, Hilands, Saltspring, Concord, Gravel Run, Middlebrook, Beaver- town, Franklin, Titus's, Hugh MeGirl's on Pithole, An- drews' on Brokenstraw, Jackson's on Conewango, Rob- ert Miles', Major Gray's on French Creek, Mount Nebo, Sugar Creek, Smithfield, and Canfield (O.)." Ilere is
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HISTORY.
a region of country extending along Lake Erie for thirty miles, thence south to Beaver one hundred and thirty miles ; and from Warren, Pa., on the east, to Warren and Canfield, Ohio, on the west, and embracing territory and points that are still, after the lapse of sixty- five years, considered as missionary ground. And at this time the whole force of the Presbytery consisted of but twelve ministers.
On the 22d of June, 1803, Alexander Cook was or- dained and installed as pastor of the congregations of Slippery Rock and New Castle, formerly called Lower Neshannock. The former church was in what is now Beaver County, and the latter Lawrence County, Pa. On the same day Robert Johnston (14), a licentiate of the Presbytery of Ohio, was received under the care of Presbytery. On the 31st of August following, Robert Patterson was ordained and installed as pastor of the congregations of Upper and Lower Greenfield. These churches are now known, the former as Middlebrook and the latter North East. They are in Erie County, Pa., and at present in the New School connection.
Mr. Patterson was the first settled minister in Erie County. He took frequent missionary tours, in the region along the shore of Lake Erie. A brief journal, kept during one of these tours, will convey some idea of the character of the work : -
" Saturday, Nov. 5, 1803. Set off from the place of my residence, at the mouth of the Twelve Mile Creek, below Presque Isle. Rode thirty miles to the house of Thomas Miles, on Elk Creek.
" Nov. 6, Sabbath. Rode nine miles to Lexington, on the Great Conneaut. Met this morning, at different places on the road, one man carrying a hoe, shovel, and basket, going into his potato field ; another carrying a
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PRESBYTERY OF ERIE.
log chain ; and a third a cutting knife. Besides these met several others on their return from a Saturday night's lodging in a tavern, after having attended at the office of a justice, whose custom it is to transact law business on Saturdays, and so late that those who are obliged to appear before him are under the necessity, some with and a few against their will, of staying all night in a place where drunkenness, profanity, and obscenity too frequently introduce the Sabbath.
" Preached at the house of -, from John iii. 19, 20, to eighteen hearers, some not very attentive, and no appearance of solemnity. Rode in the evening three miles to the house of C. Woods and Dr. Hast- ings, near the Great Conneaut.
" Nov. 7, Monday. Preached from Joshua xxiv. 15, to eleven persons, attentive and serious. Rode in the evening three or four miles to John Saton's, near Great Conneaut.
" Nov. 8, Tuesday. Rode eight or nine miles to Sam- uel Holliday's on the lake, near the mouth of Crooked Creek. Preached from Matt. iii. 9, to seven persons. " Nov. 9, Wednesday. Rode eleven miles to Widow McCreary's, near Walnut Creek. Preached from Acts iii. 19, to twenty persons. Received $1.37. Rode in the evening two miles to Mr. McCoy's.
" Nov. 10, Thursday. Rode twenty miles home.
" Nov. 12, Saturday. Set out for Waterford, alias Le Bœuf, on French Creek, distant twenty-two miles, the road solitary, swampy, and in some places covered with deep snow. Towards evening, when . within five or six miles of my destination and near Le Bœuf Creek, was led astray by the devious track of two travellers, who had wandered themselves, and were the cause of my wandering. Two or three
1
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IHISTORY.
hours after night, came to a watercourse, seen by snow- light, which was too broad and miry to cross. Pre- pared to pass the night as well as I could. All in a perspiration, my feet wet with walking and wading, for the place did not admit of riding, hungry and fatigued, I lay down on the slushy snow, somewhat afraid of wild beasts, but more of perishing with the chilling cold, though it did not freeze. About midnight the cold in my feet became excessive. Rose and walked for about an hour on a path which I made in the snow for the purpose. My feet were somewhat relieved from the cold. Lay down again and passed the night sometimes awake but mostly asleep.
" Nov. 13, Sabbath. In the morning, after having spent eleven or twelve hours in this dreary place, and after having suffered severer hardships than I ever before endured in travelling, and feeling some sense of my obligation to God for His preserving mercy, took my track backward, and between nine and ten o'clock reached the house of John Bundle. Preached from Acts ii. 38, to ten persons.
"Nov. 14, Monday. Rode eighteen miles home.
" Nov. 16, Wednesday. Rode ten miles to the house of John Culver. Preached to six persons -home in the evening.
" Nov. 19, Saturday. Rode seventeen miles to Adam Reed's, on French Creek.
" Nov. 20, Sabbath. Rode nine miles to Matthew Gray's, and preached from Eph. vi. 4, to eighteen per- sons.
"Nov. 21, Monday. Rode nine miles to Adam Reed's. Lectured to twenty persons on the parable of the sower, Matt. xiii. Received one dollar. In the evening rode seven miles to Thomas MeGahan's.
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PRESBYTERY OF ERIE.
" Nov. 22, Tuesday. Rode ten miles to Wilson Smith's, in Waterford, alias Le Bœuf.
"Nov. 23, Wednesday. Preached in the town at the house of Esquire Vincent, to eleven persons, from Acts xvii. 18. Rode in the evening eight miles to John Philips'.
" Nov. 24, Thursday. Set out about sunrise, having appointed to preach at the house of P. Clooke, distant eleven or twelve miles. The road, however, was so extremely bad with mud, frost, and snow, and the day wet, that at twelve o'clock I found that I could not reach the place until two or three hours after the time appointed ; and not being well since the night I lay in the snow, rode home from John Philips', seventeen or eighteen miles.
" Nov. 26, Saturday. Rode twenty miles to the house of James McMahan, living in a new settlement in the State of New York, situated about Chautauque Creek, that empties into Lake Erie.
" Nov. 27, Sabbath. Preached on 1 Cor. iv. at Wid- ow McHenry's, to fifteen grown persons and a greater number of children. Received one dollar.
"Nov. 28. Monday. Rode twenty miles from James McMahan's house.
This journal gives a mere sample of the every-day labors of these early missionaries. As a general thing the study and preparation were confined to the saddle and the brief tarrying at the log-cabins by the wayside, whilst the preaching was often of daily occurrence - in the forest, in the dwelling-house, or wherever a few people could be assembled.
On the 19th day of October, 1803, Robert Johnston was ordained and installed as pastor of the congrega-
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HISTORY.
tions of Scrubgrass and Bear Creek, in Venango County, Pa.
This was a most interesting field of labor. The first, or at least amongst the first families, that came to set- tle in Scrubgrass, was that of Mrs. Abigail Coulter, a pious woman from Washington County, Pennsylvania. She came out in 1797. The first sermon ever heard in this neighborhood, was delivered by Rev. William Moorhead, a son-in-law of Rev. Dr. McMillan (see " Old Redstone," page 330), in the year 1800, at Mrs. Coulter's house, that was about forty rods from the site of the present church building. This was the first ser- mon ever heard by her son John,1 then sixteen years of age. He had never before even seen a minister, and was, as he expressed it, more afraid of a minister than of an Indian. After this, was an occasional sermon by Rev. A. Boyd, and Mr. Gwynn. The first communion was conducted by Mr. Johnston, assisted by Mr. Cook, in 1803. It was held in a grove. The people assen- bled from a great distance. Thirty persons came from Slate Lick, thirty miles distant. Snow fell on Sabbath night, and at the services on Monday the logs used as seats were thickly covered with snow ; but the people brushed it off; and sat down, and listened gladly and contentedly to the preached Word.
At the meeting in June, 1804, Nicholas Pittinger (15), a licentiate of the Presbytery of Ohio, was re- ceived under the care of Presbytery. At the next meeting, October 24, 1804, he was ordained and in-
1 Afterwards Rev. John Coulter, of the Presbytery of Alleghany. Born June 26th, 1784; licensed by Presbytery of Ohio; ordained by that of Alleghany, April 21st, 1823; died December 6th, 1867. He was pastor of Concord Church forty-one (41) years. He was the father of Rev. J. R. Coulter, now pastor of Serubgrass.
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stalled as pastor of the congregations of Westfield and Poland. The former of these charges was in what is now Lawrence County, Pa., and the latter, Trumbull County, Ohio.
At the same meeting the first licensure took place in the Presbytery. Hitherto the new accessions had been from the licentiates of the mother Presbyteries; now they began the work of licensing candidates for them- selves. The first licentiate was Benjamin Boyd (17), a brother of John and Abraham, who were already mem- bers of Presbytery.
On the 5th of December, 1804, the first pastoral 'relation was dissolved, and the first members dismissed from the Presbytery. This was. the case of William Wylie. Ilis pastoral relation was dissolved for a reason that has since been the prominent one in such changes for a half a century and more - failure to comply with stipulations, and consequent want of support. Mr. Wy- lie was dismissed to the Presbytery of Redstone.
A singular instance of the punctilious observance of forms occurs in the matter of the church of Bull Creek. The calls for the labors of Abraham Boyd, on which he had been installed, were accidentally consumed by fire. Commissioners appear in Presbytery with papers signed by the trustees of the congregation, obliging themselves to pay the pastor the sum promised in the call, together with subscriptions for the amount. These were accepted by the pastor instead of the original call.
In the matter of supplies, it was usual at this time to send two ministers where the Lord's Supper was to be celebrated. The services were usually protracted, and several days occupied on the occasion, so that much labor was imposed.
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HISTORY.
There is another feature in the polity and practice of these early fathers that is interesting. It is the great frequency of occasions on which committees were ap- pointed to visit congregations and even individuals, to reconcile difficulties and remove complaints. Were difficulties reported by pastor or people, a committee of Presbytery was appointed to visit the place, call the people together, preach to them, pray with them, secure mutual concessions, and as a general thing restore har- mony and peace. The influence of the ministry over the people was then very great. The ministers were much like diocesan bishops. Their advice was potent, their word was almost like law.
But the labor connected with these things was oner- ous. The question arises, too, with this large amount of travel in reconciling belligerent churches and indi- viduals, in supplying vacancies, and in assisting breth- ren on communion occasions, where was the time for study and attention to the minister's own field? The complaint must often have been made, " They made me a keeper of vineyards, but mine own vineyard have I not kept."
At this time much attention was paid to the Indian Mission at Sandusky. Mr. Badger was commissioned by the " Board of Trust " of the Synod of Pittsburgh to conduct the mission. He met with many difficul- ties, and was confronted by obstacles. Whiskey then, as now, was in the way of the red man's elevation and prosperity. He arrived among them in May, 1806. The plan proposed was to combine religious instruc- tion with the arts and humanizing influences of civil- ized life. Mr. Badger was accompanied by three labor- ers, with oxen and farming implements, who were to instruct the Indians in agriculture.
4
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Mr. Badger was to have a salary of four hundred and fifty dollars, with any extra expenses that should ap- pear reasonable. The laborers were two white men at twelve dollars per month, and one colored man and his wife, at one hundred dollars per year. He was also furnished a horse at forty-five dollars, and farming utensils, carpenter's tools, and household furniture, to the amount of one hundred and forty-five dollars and eighty-six cents.1
But the discouragements were very great. The missionary life was not all rose-colored. During Mr. Badger's temporary absence, Mr. McCurdy took his place. He writes as follows of the Indians: "Their houses, when they have any, are wretched huts, almost as dirty as they can be, and swarming with fleas and lice ; their furniture, a few barks, a tin or brass kettle, a gun, pipe, and tomahawk. Such is their ingratitude, that whilst you load them with favors they will reproach you to the face, and construe your benevolent intentions and actions into intentional fraud or real injury. They will lie in the most deliberate manner, and to answer any selfish purpose." >
At this juncture, a committee was appointed to prepare a history of the Presbytery. They reported progress the next year, and were directed to send their manuscript to Dr. Ashbel Green. The subsequent fate of this history is unknown.
The Missionary Society of Connecticut at this time had many missionaries in the Western Reserve of Ohio, which was settled mainly by families from Connec- ticut. They occupied in cominon with the Presbytery of Erie a large extent of country. The Presbytery
1 Minutes, Synod of Pittsburgh, 1806.
2 Dr. Elliott's Mc Curdy, p. 120.
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HISTORY.
seemed disposed to cultivate friendly relations with them. A minute was passed advising the ministers to exchange professional services with them, and the people to commune with them in their churches. This grew out of the celebrated " Plan of Union " entered into between the General Assembly and the General Association of Connecticut in 1801 and 1802.
In April, 1805, John McPherrin (16) was received from the Presbytery of Redstone, and soon after be- came pastor of the congregations of Concord, Muddy Creek, and Harmony, in Butler County, Pa.
In October, 1806, Presbytery received Johnston Ea- ton (20), a licentiate of the Presbytery of Ohio, under its care, and on the following month ordained Benjamin Boyd, and installed him as pastor of the congregations of Trumbull, Beula, and Pymatuning. The first two of these congregations were in Ohio.
In April, 1807, Cyrus Riggs (18), a licentiate of the Presbytery of Ohio, was received under the care of Presbytery, and at the same meeting Robert Patterson was released from the charge of Upper and Lower Greenfield in Erie County, Pa. At this meeting also, James Boyd (21), the fourth of the Boyd brothers, was licensed to preach the gospel.
In July, 1807, Robert Lee (5) was dismissed, on the ground of ill health, from the pastoral charge of Rocky Spring and Amity.
About this time the matter of a division of Presby- tery was first agitated. The minute recorded is in these words : " Presbytery agreed to petition the Synod at its next meeting to erect Rev. Jolm McPherrin, Thomas E. Hughes, William Wiek, James Satter- field, Robert Lee, John Boyd, Abraham Boyd, William Wood, Robert Johnston, Alexander Cook, and Nicholas
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Pittinger, into a separate Presbytery, to be known by the name of the Presbytery of Harmony, to hold their first meeting at Concord."
Against this action there was the following
PROTEST.
" We, the undersigned members of Erie Presbytery, do protest against the decision of said Presbytery in favor of the proposed division, inasmuch as we believe it will prove inimical to the interests of religion in many respects. " SAMUEL TAIT,
" JOSEPH STOCKTON,
" BENJAMIN BOYD."
On the 20th day of October, 1807, Reid Bracken (19), a licentiate of the Presbytery of Ohio, was re- ceived under the care of Presbytery, and on the same day Cyrus Riggs was ordained and installed as pastor of the congregations of Fairfield and Mill Creek, the former in Mercer County, and the latter in Venango County, Pa.
A note appended to the minutes, here shows that whilst the weightier matters were attended to, the smaller were not neglected: "Stated Clerk paid for writing for two preceding years, three dollars and twenty-five cents."
In January, 1808, Mr. Hughes reported that he had collected four hundred and forty-four dollars and forty- six cents for Greersburgh Academy. It was resolved, that this money should be appropriated to the use of young men preparing for the gospel ministry, and be under the control of Presbytery ; that it be furnished only to such young men as shall be recommended by Presbytery, to be by them refunded at the rate of
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- HISTORY.
twenty dollars per annum, to commence as soon as they shall have been settled one year, " in any pro- fession or line of business."
Supplies at this time were granted to "Sewickly, Gravel Run, Canfield, Boardman, Upper Salem, West Unity, New Salem, Second Presbyterian Congregation, Pittsburgh,1 Hilands, Indiana, Amity, Upper Green- field, Middlebrook, Waterford, Major Gray's, Oil Creek, Brokenstraw, Conewango, Upper and Lower Sugar Creek, and Erictown."
On the 20th of April, 1808, Reid Bracken was or- dained and installed as pastor of the congregations of Mount Nebo and Plain, in Butler County, Pa. Mr. Wood (10) preached on the occasion, and Mr. Pittin- ger (15) delivered the charges. This pastoral charge continued until Oct. 7, 1819, when he was released from Plain, and in 1844 from Mount Nebo.
On the 30th of June, 1808, Johnston Eaton (20) was ordained, and installed as pastor of the congrega- tions of Fairview and Springfield, in Erie County, Pa. Mr. Johnston (14) preached on the occasion, and Jo- seph Stockton (4) delivered the charges. This ordina- tion took place in a barn belonging to William Stur- geon. The relation continued with the congregation of Fairview until the death of the pastor in 1847.
On the 19th day of October, in the same year, James Boyd (21) was ordained and installed as pastor of the congregations of Newton and Warren, Ohio. Mr. Wick (2) preached on the occasion, and Mr. Hughes (1) delivered the charges. This relation continned until the death of Mr. Boyd in 1813. He was the last of the four brothers that was licensed, and the first called to his rest.
1 Special request, by permission of Presbytery of Ohio.
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PRESBYTERY OF ERIE.
On the day following this ordination, Presbytery li- censed three young men to preach the gospel. They had passed through all their preparatory exercises un- der the direction of Presbytery, and were commissioned together to go into the great field. Their names were, Edward Johnston, Daniel Heydon, and Joshua Beer. Their names will not be found again in this record, as they were transferred the next spring to the roll of the new Presbytery of Hartford. Mr. Johnston was an older brother of Robert Johnston (14). After ac- cepting calls from the congregations of Brookfield and Hubbard, Ohio, he was called away from his earthly' labors, to a higher sphere of service, on the very day that had been set apart for his ordination. His death took place September 20, 1809.
Daniel Heydon was afterwards settled in the bounds of the Presbytery of Miami, and still later in those of the Presbytery of Cincinnati. Joshua Beer was settled first at Springfield, in the Presbytery of Hartford, and subsequently at Middle Sandy and Bethesda.
The little church of Middlebrook was still keeping up its fund for the support of the gospel, and William Dickson, afterwards an elder at North East, was sent to Presbytery to ask for supplies. The Presbytery sent to them one of their licentiates, Edward Johnston, who preached to them on the Sabbath ; and on Sabbath night the stream between him and the man who kept the money arose to such a height that there was no pos- sibility of crossing it. So Mr. Johnston went home with- out his money. To the next meeting of Presbytery Mr. Dickson went with the money, but found that in the mean time Mr. Johnston had been called home to his rest and his reward. The money was placed in the hands of Presbytery, to be disposed of as was fitting and best.
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HISTORY.
The project of a new Presbytery to be erected from a portion of the territory of the old, that had been agi- tated for a year previous, now assumed a definite form. The bounds were large, and the churches multiplying in the region extending into the State of Ohio. The request does not appear to have proceeded from the Presbytery of Erie as such, but from a Convention, called on the minutes of the Synod of Pittsburgh, " The Convention of New Connecticut." The eastern portion of the State of Ohio was known at this time as New Connecticut, and this Convention was probably made up of the ministers and elders residing in that region. The first minute of Synod is to this effect : -
" A petition was handed in by the Committee of Bills and Overtures, from the Convention of New Connecti- cut, praying that such arrangements might be made in the division of Presbyteries, as that they might be em- braced within the bounds of a Presbytery."
On this petition a committee of five, John McMillan, William Wick, Thomas E. Hughes, Clement Valan- dingham, and Johnston Eaton, was appointed, which reported the following minute : -
"The committee to whom was referred the memo- rial from the Ecclesiastical Convention of New Con- necticut, reported, that they were of opinion that the welfare of the church and the interests of religion may be promoted by the erection of a new Presby- tery, bounded by a line beginning at the mouth of Big Beaver Creek, thence up said creek, and up Neshannock, to the mouth of Little Branch ; thence northerly to the mouth of Walnut Creek, on Lake Erie ; thence along the line of the lake to the west line of New Connecticut; thence to the southwest cor- ner of the Connecticut Reserve ; thence east along the
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