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HISTORY Of
OF THE
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
OF
Upper 1 O
Conococheague 2981 - 1981
NOW
MERCERSBURG, FRANKLIN COUNTY, PENN'A.
BY THOMAS CREIGH, PASTOR.
"Remember the days of old, consider the years of many genera- tions: Ask thy father, and he will show thee, thy elders, and they will tell thee."-Deut. xxxii. 7.
CHAMBERSBURG, PA .: REPOSITORY PRINTER. 1877.
2
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Thủ Krebs, Lub Puuburth
32
THESE Historical discourses were read to the Congregation on the first and second Sabbaths of July, 1876, in accord- ance with the recommendation of the General Assembly to its Churches. The roll of its members, the names of the members of the Board of Trustees, and the summary of results extend to the present time, March, 1877.
IN the preparation of this Historical discourse help has been derived from the following sources, viz: "Hodge's History of the Presbyterian Church," Chambers' Tribute to the Principles and Virtues, &c., of the Early Settlers of Cumberland Valley," "Incidents of Border Life," "Day's Pennsylvania Historical Collections," "Smith's Old Redstone Presbytery," "Duffield's Centenary Discourse, First Church, Carlisle," "Nevin's Churches of the Valley," "Men of Mark of Cumberland Valley," "Dr. Brownson's Memorial Dis- course Commemorative of the Life and Character of Dr. Elliott," "Dr. Alfred Creigh's Archives" and "Rupp's His- tory of Dauphin, Cumberland, Perry, Bedford, Adams, and Franklin Counties."
THE SESSION :
THOMAS CREIGH, Moderator,
JOHN MCDOWELL,
JAMES A. MCCUNE,
JOHN L. RHEA,
JAMES AGNEW PATTERSON,
JOHN HUMPHREYS,
JOHN MCCULLOUGH,
OLIVER L. MURRAY, SETH DICKEY,
ARCHIBALD B. McDOWELL, Clerk.
DEACONS:
THOMAS C. GROVE, *
THOMAS A. WADDELL.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES:
R. PARKER MCFARLAND, President.
MARRIOT HAYS,
WM. VANFOSSEN BRADLEY,
WILLIAM STITZEL, JAMES AGNEW,
JOHN REIRICK,
NATHANIEL S. AGNEW,
JOHN WITHERSPOON,
WM. L. MCCULLOUGH,
Secretary.
-* Deceased.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
Page
Introduction-Early Inhabitants of Conococheague Settlement 5
CHAPTER II.
From the Organization of the Church, A. D. 1738, to its Re-or- ganization and Permanently Settled State, A. D. 1767, · 20
CHAPTER III.
From the Settlement of John King, D. D., as Pastor, August 30, A. D. 1769, to the Close of his Pastorate, September, A. D. 1813, 27
CHAPTER IV.
From the Commencement of the Pastorate of David Elliott, D. D., October 7, A. D. 1812, to the Close of it, October 29, A. D. 1829,
· 38
CHAPTER V.
From the Beginning of the Pastorate of Rev. Thomas Creigh, November 17, A. D. 1831, to the present time, July, A. D. 1876, 50
APPENDIX.
Addresses of Dr. King During the War of Independence, Roll of Members, Members of the Board of Trustees, Persons Born within the Bounds of the Church.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION.
Scenery and Locality-The Early Inhabitants-Their Domes- tic and Social Life-Their Agricultural Pursuits-Their Struggles with the Indians-Their Religious Life-Estimate of Character.
One of the most beautiful and picturesque landscapes on which the eye can fall, is, from the summit of Fairview Cemetery, a little distance south of our village. As you look to the north, there stands Mount Parnel in all its im- pressive majesty, and in the rear of which looms up Jor- dan's Knob. Then as your eye sweeps westward and south- ward, it takes in Cove mountain,* back of which lies the Tuscarora chain, And then as you turn eastward you see mountain after mountain, broken and fragmentary and sep- arated from the mother-chain, viz : Cross mountain, Two- tops, Clay-lick mountain, and Casey's Knob, and in the far off south-east, South mountain-thus forming by these moun- tain walls of nature a vast amphitheatre, covering an area of many miles, filled up with valley, hill and dale, forests, running streams, and houses, barns and cultivated fields, and our own little village of Mercersburg located near the centre of it. The God of nature has made for us a lovely home. It is one of his finest gems. The very sight of it lifts the mind to Him who called it into being. The more we have gazed on it, the more we have admired it. We never tire of it. We have had communion with our Father in heaven through it. And in these communings we have
*The original name, "Kittochtinny," i. e. Blue mountain.
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History of Mercersburg
gathered more expanded and more elevated views of His wisdom, power and goodness.
But this lovely home was once the home of the Indian. He had, however, occupied it his allotted time and God was about to transfer its possession to others. From Scotland and from the north of Ireland, mainly, did the new tenants come. The spirit of oppression had there reigned both in church and state. Under this oppression they had groaned for many a long year. To God they had sent up their cries for deliverance, and now IIe comes to their relief. The place had been prepared for them ; and now by means of this disciplinary process through which He was causing them to pass, He was preparing them for it. Hence the thought of emigrating to this country entering into their minds, family after family resolved to leave their native land, to encounter the perils of the deep, and to find a home in America-and to America they came. And as the prov- ince of Pennsylvania under the paternal and christian rule of William Penn held out to them inducements to make it their home; so to it they directed their steps. Nor were their expectations disappointed. And by force of circum- stances in the orderings of Providence they were led to settle in this portion of it, then known as Kittochtinny valley. Philadelphia and its adjacent counties were occu- pied mainly by the Quakers, so that in these parts they had no very strong inducements to settle. Coming farther west- ward the Germans had settled in Berks and Bucks counties, with a few small settlements of Scotch-Irish in Lancaster county, so neither in these parts did they, consider the in- ducements strong enough to detain them .* But pushing their way still farther westward, and crossing the Susque- hanna river, they entered what is now known as Cumber-
*"Rupp" in his Historical Compilation says : "In 1748 the num- ber of taxables in this valley was about 800, of whom there were not fifty Germans, these few were in Conococheague settlement." Page 54.
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Presbyterian Church.
land Valley, and made their way gradually as far as Conoco- cheague* settlement, and there and here, they found a per- manent home. These first immigrations began about A. D., 1730.
They were a plain people. They had none of the super- fluities of life-none of the luxuries of life. Their houses were of the simplest structure. They were but cabins, in dimension from twenty to twenty-five feet, by twenty-eight and thirty feet. They were built of logs, sometimes of poles, the spaces being filled with chips of wood, plastered with mortar made of clay, with clap-board roof, secured by heavy poles extending from one end to the other, and pun- cheon floor. The windows were generally large enough to accommodate three panes of glass and sometimes four; but oiled paper was oftener used than glass. The chimney was built of sticks of wood plastered, and resting on a founda- tion of stone work about three feet high, and at the same time forming a fire-place so wide and so deep that a heavy log from six to eight feet in length could be rolled into it by hand-spikes, which would burn for days before it would be entirely consumed. Their benches were made of logs split into two parts and hewed down to a proper thickness, sup- ported by four legs. Their stools were made in the same way and of the same material ; but oftener with three legs than four. Around the walls were driven in wooden pegs, on which were hung the garments of the inmates. Another set of pegs upheld the rifle, the pouch and the powder-horn. And here too was the little shelf on which rested the little library. And this one apartment of the cabin was used for parlor, family-room, chamber, nursery and kitchen.
Their clothing was of the simplest kind. The material of which it was made were mainly wool and flax, all of which was prepared by their own hands. The men's ordi- nary wear was a loose wamus or hunting-shirt, made of woolen, with trousers of the same material or purely of lin-
*Clear water.
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History of Mercersburg
en, and moccasins made of deer skin. Their finer wear was a coat of homespun and a waistcoat, with breeches often made of buckskin with knee-buckles, long stockings, shoes and shoe-buckles, with cocked hats. The women's ordinary wear was a short gown and petticoat made of linsey-woolsey, a sun-bonnet or hood. Their finer costume was often of silk and of other material equally costly, with a bonnet made of material to correspond, and a kerchief of white around the neck and covering the upper part of the breast. Five or six yards were amply sufficient for a dress.
Their food was equally plain. Hog and hominy and potatoes with mush and milk, were their standing fare. The amount of wheat which they raised was but small, and then when they had it there was great difficulty in getting it ground for family use, there being no flouring mills within the limits of their settlement at this time. And then again it was for them the best medium of exchange by which to procure salt and iron and other articles equally important. As for coffee and tea, if the old folks could afford to have either of them once a week, on the Lord's day, they were satisfied ; while to the younger members of the family they were contraband.
Their sources of knowledge. These too, were very lim- ited. Books were very scarce and high priced, and hence the only ones which they could afford to own were the Bible, the Confession of Faith, the Psalm book, Pilgrims Progress, Fourfold State, Saint's Rest and such like. But these they read, they studied, they made themselves familiar with them, and thus they became theologians and were mighty in the scriptures. They had a great care too, that their children should be instructed, and so whenever a settlement was formed a school was established in which were taught spelling, reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, and in some cases, surveying.
But in thus speaking of their domestic life we must not overlook the family altar. Most of them being pious, and
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Presbyterian Church.
all of them having the highest regard for religion, no fami- ly was complete in its arrangements without the family altar. To this they had been trained in the land of their nativity, and in the land of their adoption they could not neglect it. And some of their most precious seasons were, when as a family they were engaged in this delightful ser- vice. And such a scene as this, described by Burns in his "Cotter's Saturday Night," is just as true of the early set- tlers of these parts as it was true of those in Scotland at the time it was written. We greatly fear that this scripture- enjoined and time-honored duty has sadly fallen into neg- lect among their descendants.
And so of their social life. They were emphatically a social people. They had but few books, as we have stated, no periodicals and scarcely a newspaper, so that they had to depend upon one another for information in regard to men and things. And so too, the very circumstances in which they were placed, being strangers in a strange land, they were naturally often brought together by common sympathies and in order to render to one another that physi- cal aid which they need in a new country. Hence as often as a new cabin was to be erected, all the people of the neighborhood, far and near, were to be assembled. And so also in girdling the trees and in felling them, and in rolling them together to burn them that the land might be cleared. And so too, in the husking of corn and in sheep shearing, and in the breaking and scutching of their flax the same custom was followed. In the rites of hospitality they also abounded. The latch-string of their door was always out. And the stranger and the acquaintance and friend, while he was always received with a cordial welcome, was never sent away without a "God-speed."
They were an agricultural people, and this pursuit occu- pied their main attention. But in carrying it forward they had many difficulties to contend against. The land was to be cleared of its heavy timber, the undergrowth had to be
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History of Mercersburg
removed, their farms had to be enclosed, fences had to be built, houses and barns had to be erected, and the nature of the soil and climate had to be studied, Their implements of husbandry too, were but of a rude kind and chiefly the pro- duct of their own handi-work. And when we take all these things into the account, we wonder how they ever accomplish- ed as much as they did in this direction. What a contrast be- tween them and us in this respect ? We are reaping the fruits of their toil. We have everything prepared to our hand. We have our lands cleared and enclosed and brought into a high state of cultivation. We are familiar with the nature of the soil and of the climate. We have comfort- able and substantial dwelling-houses, and barns for our stock and to store away our grain. We have mills at our doors, and markets near at hand where we can dispose of all our surplus products to the best advantage, and we have turnpikes and railroads, and the magnetic telegraph to con- vey intelligence with lightning speed. And in addition to all this; in regard to our implements of agriculture in con- trast with theirs. Their plough was a wooden mould-board, an iron share and a coulter ; ours almost perfection. Their harrow was all of wood, wooden frame and wooden teeth ; ours made of iron as well as wood. Theirs the sickle with which one man would reap an acre of grain in a day ; ours the cradle with which one man will cut down from three to four acres in the same time, and now the reaper which will cut down three times three acres a day. Theirs the flail by which one man would thresh eight bushels of grain a day, ours the horse which will tramp out twenty-five bushels in the same length of time; and now the Separator which will thresh and prepare for the market in a single day from two to three hundred bushels. Theirs the pulling, the breaking, the scutching and the weaving of the flax; ours abundance of cotton and other fabrics equally good for ten and fifteen cents a yard.
They were a people who had their struggles. They had
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Presbyterian Church.
their struggles in the old country. These struggles did not cease in their new home. They were struggles of a differ- ent kind from the former; but still they were no less se- vere. We have written of their struggles in subduing na- ture and in converting the uncultivated soil into a fruitful field. But now they were to have their struggles with their fellow men. First, with the Indians. The Redmen of the forest were still here. And although by the treaty of William Penn they had agreed to relinquish this territory and remove farther to the setting sun, yet when the white man came to take possession of it, they rued their bargain, they became jealous, their anger was roused, they refused to leave, they determined to avenge themselves on those who should have the temerity to settle on their lands, and they were instigated to it by the French. And so after these early settlers had come and selected this part of the country as their home, "Gordon" the historian, gives the following account of the state of things : "Incessant anxi- ety pervaded every family ; their slumbers were broken by the yell of demons, or by the dread of an attack, scarce less horrid than an actual attack. The ground was ploughed, the seed sown and the harvest gathered, under the fear of the tomahawk and riffe. Scarcely any out-door labor was safely executed unless protected by arms in the hands of the laborers or regular troops. Women visiting their sick neighbors were shot or captured ; children driving home cattle from the field were killed and scalped, whilst the enemy, dastardly, as well as cruel, shrunk from equality of force. Many of the richest neighborhoods were deserted, and property of every kind given up to the foe. Many instances of heroism were displayed by men, women and children in defence of themselves and their homes, and in pursuing and combating the enemy."* In order to pro- tect themselves from the fierce assaults of their foeman, four stockade posts were erected, into which the inhabitants of
*"The History of Pennsylvania," p. 383.
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History of Mercersburg
this and the surrounding country might betake themselves in case of danger. One of these was located near Loudon, another at McDowell's Mill near Bridgeport, a third at Church-hill, in which was the meeting-house or Church building; and the fourth on Judge Maxwell's farm. These stockade forts were thus constructed. "Oak logs about seventeen feet in length were set upright in a ditch dug to the depth of four feet. Each log was about twelve inches in diameter. In the interior were platforms made of clap- boards, and raised four or five feet from the ground. Upon these the men stood and fired through loop holes." In these forts there were also buildings erected for the accom- modation of those who might resort to them. In this con- nection, I may further add, there were very many striking indications of Divine providence in behalf of these early settlers. For example : After the defeat of General Brad- dock, the Indians inspired with fresh courage, had made their way across the mountains from the west with the view of attacking the inhabitants of this neighborhood. The settlers hearing of their coming, had betaken themselves to McDowell's fort. It was a clear and lovely morning when the assault was to be made. But suddenly, about ten o'clock in the morning there was a fall of snow. The In- dians abandoned their purpose, fearing, lest by their tracks in the snow they would be pursued to their lurking place. On another occasion a's Elder William McDowell was going to a distant part of his farm, a sudden gust of wind took his hat from his head three times, and whirled it into the air. He regarded it as a premonition of danger, and im- mediately returned to his home. It was afterwards discov- ered that at the very time this little occurrence took place, there were Indians lying in ambuscade awaiting his coming to murder and scalp him. It is difficult to ascertain the number of persons who fell a prey to these Indian bar- barities among these early settlers in these times of trouble. The Hon. George Chambers, in his work, "Tribute to the
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Presbyterian Church.
Principles, Virtues &c.," says : "The number of white in- habitants in this valley, slain, scalped, or carried into cap- tivity, was great. The whole extended valley was made one of desolation and blood-every neighborhood had its victims. The Indian warriors estimated that in the first year of this war they killed fifty whites to one Indian that was killed ; and in after years, when the white inhabitants better understood their warfare, they still killed ten white men for one of their nation killed by the white inhabitants. This great disproportion arose from the slaughter by the Indians of women and children for whose scalps their French allies rewarded them liberally."* But these struggles with the Indians, in the good providence of God, were to be brought to a close, soon, however, to be succeed- ed by other struggles no less severe, and fraught with world-wide consequences. Struggles with their own country- men-with Great Britain, their mother country.
Although these latter struggles do not fall strictly within the limits of the history of the early settlers of this valley, yet they are so closely related the one to the other, that without a notice of the latter, the former would not be complete.t In A. D., 1775, commenced the war of Inde- pendence which separated the thirteen colonies of North America from the British government and eventuated in establishing a government of our own. When this war was begun, the thought of separation from their mother-country and the establishing a government of their own, never en- tered the minds of the Colonists; and they resisted it to the very last. It was not until every effort to restore friend- ly relations failed that they renounced their allegiance to the English throne and proclaimed themselves a free and independent nation. But in assuming this attitude, and in establishing and maintaining their independence, the great- est sacrifices had to be made; property was destroyed ;
*See pages 67-69.
+The Stamp Act was passed in 1764.
3
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History of Mercersburg
treasure had to be poured out; relationships the closest and dearest had to be sundered; blood was shed ; wives were made widows; children were deprived of parents, and parents of children ; homes were broken up, and all the horrors of war were experienced. But it was for their rights that these sacrifices were made and these trials endured. Liberty or death was the controlling principle by which they were governed. In this contest the inhabitants of these parts took an active and decided interest. The actual num- ber of men who went forth in the service of their country from this neighborhood cannot now be ascertained. It must, however, have contributed its full proportion. A letter from Carlisle, dated May 1, 1775, seventeen days after the battle of Lexington, and preserved in the "American Archives"į says: "Yesterday the County Committee" (and this was a part of Cumberland county at that time)| "met from nineteen townships, on the short notice they had. Above three thousand men have already associated. The army returned amount to about fifteen hundred. The Committee have voted five hundred effective men besides commissioned officers, to be immediately drafted, taken into pay, armed, and disciplined, to march on the first emergency, to be paid and supported as long as necessary, by a tax on all estates real and personal in the county." And on the 16th of August following, it was announced to Congress in a letter from the same place (Carlisle) : "The twelfth company of our militia is marched to-day, which companies contain, in the whole, eight hundred and thirty- three privates with officers, nearly nine hundred men. Six companies more are collecting arms, and are preparing to march."§
In the Church Register, kept by Dr. John King, the num- ber of those who were killed and who died of oppression
įSee vol. 2, p. 516.
|Franklin county was organized September, A. D., 1784. ¿Duffield's Centennary, p. 26.
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Presbyterian Church.
by the enemy, and in consequence of disease contracted in the service, out of this church, amounts to nine-one a Captain, one a Ruling Elder and seven privates. And no man, I may add, embarked more heartily in this cause than did Dr. King. And no man, in all this region of country, did more by his personal efforts and by his addresses and appeals both in the pulpit and out of it, to awaken a spirit of patriotism among the people, and to secure our National Independence. And this precious legacy, bought at so dear a rate by these, our ancestors, and their efforts in estab- lishing the best of human governments, cannot be too highly prized. And should we not be willing to make the same or similar sacrifices and efforts for its preservation ? Let us never disgrace the memory of such a country-loving ancestry ! But leaving these struggles of these early set- tlers, there is still another topic which claims our special attention before our picture is finished, viz :
Their religious life. We do not say that all who settled in these parts in early times were pious, but this we are warranted in saying, from all accessible sources of infor- mation, that religion, true, heartfelt religion, in its various manifestations, was a greatly predominating element among them ; and that if they were not all pious, yet they all had the very highest respect for religion and its institutions. They loved the doctrines of grace and were strenuous advo- cates and supporters of Presbyterianism. They could not endure Armenianism, or Sabbellianism, or Socinianism, and as for Episcopacy and Romanism, while for the former they had no love, for the latter they had still less. In the doctrines and principles of the "Confession of Faith," and of the "Catechisms" they were thoroughly indoctrinated. In the family, every Sabbath afternoon or evening, was de- voted to Catechetical instruction, when the father or head of the family required the members of the household to recite the Shorter Catechism from memory, and to give an account of the sermon or sermons which they may have
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