USA > Pennsylvania > Franklin County > Chambersburg > History of the Rocky Spring Church : and addresses delivered at the centennial anniversary of the present church edifice, August 23, 1894 > Part 1
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Go 974.802 C35W 1535201
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GENEALOGY COLLECTION
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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02223 8049
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016
https://archive.org/details/historyofrockysp00wyli_0
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EXTERIOR OF ROCKY SPRING PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, BUILT 1794.
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HISTORY
OF THE
Rocky Spring Church AND
ADDRESSES DELIVERED
AT THE
Centennial Anniversary
of the Present Church Edifice,
AUGUST 23, 1894.
COMPILED AND ARRANGED BY
REV. S. S. WYLIE AND A. NEVIN POMEROY.
OTIAMBERSSURO, PA .: TRANKLIN REPOSITORY PRESS:
1805.
Pin
1535201
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INTERIOR OF ROCKY SPRING PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION ROCKY SPRING PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
HELD AT ROCKY SPRING, AUGUST 23, 1894.
In the early summer of 1894, The Franklin Repository, in its editorial page, suggested the propriety of suitably cele- brating the centennial of the erection of the present house of worship of the Rocky Spring Presbyterian Church which was completed in the summer of 1794. The importance of its proper observance was brought to the notice of the Pres- bytery of Carlisle at its June meeting and it was unanimously resolved to appoint a suitable committee to further the above worthy object. Rev. E. Erskine, D. D., pastor of the Pres- byterian Church of Newville, Rev. S. S. Wylie, pastor of the Middle Spring Presbyterian Church, and Rev. H. G. Finney, pastor of the Rocky Spring Church, with A. Nevin Pome- roy, editor of Franklin Repository and Joshua W. Sharpe, Esq., of Chambersburg, were appointed by Presbytery. This committee soon convened, and appointed Rev. E. Erskine, D. D., Chairman, and Rev. S. S. Wylie, Secretary. Com- mittees were appointed to procure speakers and prepare a programme, on finances and on entertainment.
August 23d, the day appointed, opened beautiful and bright and those interested in the Centennial Celebration telt that the heavens above them were smiling upon them. As early as 7 a. m. teams began to arrive at the church and each minute only increased the number of visitors for the day. Many came on foot, some on horseback, many more in buggies, carriages, hacks, and by 10 a. m. the many pub- lic roads, and especially the one from Chambersburg, pre- sented the appearance of a compact funeral procession. At
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I p. m. by count there were seven hundreed conveyances on and near the church grounds and fully three thousand people were massed together in and around this grand old historic spot gathered from far aud near. At 10 o'clock the church was crowded to repletion, while hundreds filled the door steps and open windows.
With Presbyterian punctuality the exercises opened at 10 a. m. with the following programme of exercises which had been previously arranged by the committee in charge:
I. Prayer of Invocation, by the Pastor, Rev. H. G. Finney.
2. Singing the 100 Psalin, each line read by the Rev. E. · Erskine, D. D., and lead by W. G. Reed, of Chambers- burg, standing at the presentor's desk.
3. Prayer by Rev. George Norcross, D. D., Pastor of Second Presbyterian Church, of Carlisle.
: 4. Singing of the 23d Psalm.
5. History of the Rocky Spring Church by Rev. Samuel S. Wylie.
6. Deceased Ministers of the Rocky Spring Church, by Rev. E. Erskine, D. D.
7. Presbyterianism and Civil Liberty, by Hon. John Stew- art, President Judge of Franklin County, Pa.
Recess until 2 p. m.
8. 2 p. m. The Early Scotch-Irish Settlers of the Cum- berland Valley, by Dr. W. H. Egle, State Librarian at Harrisburg, Pa.
9. Early Founders of the Presbyterian Church in America, by Rev. Thomas Murphy, D. D., of Philadelphia, Pa.
10. Impromptu Address-Some Lessons from the History of this Church, by General and ex-Governor James A. Beaver, of Bellefonte.
II. Development of Pennsylvania Presbyterianism, by Rev. R. M. Patterson, D. D., Editor of Presbyterian Journal, Philadelphia, Pa.
12. Old Families of Rocky Spring, by William P. Steven- son, of New York City.
13. Singing-"Blest be the Tie that Binds"
14. Closing Prayer, by Rev. Dr. George Shearer, Secretary of the American Tract Society, New York.
All the above addresses and historic papers were requested for publication. Those which were furnished to the Com- mittee of Publication, consisting of Rev. S. S. Wylie, are given in the after pages of the history and published in the order of their delivery. It is hoped that a generous public will aid in a laudable effort to put in permanent form much historic matter, which has never as yet been printed, and may arouse a new interest in these old churches of our val- ley so rich in history, in noble men and women, and in their influence on future generations. W.
HISTORY OF ROCKY SPRING CHURCH.
READ AUG. 23, 1894.
As we to-day stand in these presence and amid these his- toric surroundings, there is only one voice, which is neither the present or the future but of the omnific past which speaks and says in the words of the Inspired Pensman, "call to remembrance the former days," "I said days should speak and multitude of years should teach wisdom," "remember the days of old the years of many generations." "Ask thy fathers and they will tell thee." "Walk about Zion and go round about her." "Tell the towers thereof." "Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces, that ye may tell it to the generations following. For this God is our God for- ever and ever." Beautiful as well as noble sentiments are these. Those Holy Pensmen were ever pointing that Ancient people to the past, to the deeds, history and achiev- ments of their fathers, from which they draw their noblest sentiments and highest inspirations to a better life. Cer-
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tainly do I wish and hope that the reading of and better knowledge of the history of this church and all the services of the day, would lead us to these reflections. First-How little we have which is due to ourselves, what a rich legacy we have received from the past. Second-That men have lived, fought and died for us. Third-That as every advance makes a new advance easier, we ought to far excel them in material, intellectual and spiritual attainments. Fourth -To a spirit of gratitude and praise to God for the noble record which lies behind us and a desire to commemorate this grand centennial day by raising up some worthy Ebe- nezer. We are acquainted with no spot in this ancient Kittochtinny Valley, around which cluster more hallowed and interesting associations than the venerable Church of Rocky Spring, the history of which I now proceed to give. For the sake of convenience I divide the history into three periods: First-Early Formation Period; Second-Period of Greatest Prosperity; Third-Period of Decay.
The first period extends from the beginning of the church to the pastorate of Rev. Jolin Craighead in 1768. The best date for the organization of Rocky Spring Church is 1738, but as there are no records in existence of such an organiza- tion the exact date never can be named beyond the possibil- ity of a doubt. The date of organization of all these old churches stretching through our valley is involved in much obscurity. The old Donegal records give us no direct infor- mation and the early sessional records, if there ever were any, are not now in existence. Many of these churches never were organized in the modern sense of that terin, they simply grew. The fact that the first church was erected in the autumn of the following year does not mnilitate against the above for we know congregations to-day are organized a considerable time before securing a house and especially was this true at that early date when their private houses and the outspreading forest trees were generally used as temples of praise. The following points as the Presbytery records
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show that there was much di pate and delay in selecting a suitable site for the building, are to be kept in mind in determining the date of organization. As carly as 1730 there were a few isolated settlements in this valley such as at the Falling Spring, Chambersburg, between Middle Spring and Shippensburg at the Big Spring and at other points nearer the Susquehanna. When in 1734 the Samuel Blunston license system of title came into effect and the Proprietary Government encouraged immigration, and the peaceful attitude of the Indians, together with the fertility of the soil, caused a rapid influx, so that in 1736 Roop speaks of settlements extending from the long crooked river to the Potomac. And with the exception of a few Germans at Greencastle and Welsh at Welsh Run they were all Scotch- Irish or their immediate descendants and this was true of the whole valley up to 1750. We are not to overlook the fact that the uniform custom of these early settlers was to avoid the choice limetone lands and the towns and settle along streams such as the Conedogwinet and at springs; to select the highier slate lands such as lie adjacent to this church. And it cannot be disputed that in 1738 there was quite a settlement of people between Rocky Spring and and Strasburg and around the present town of Stras- burg, and between this point and Chambersburg. Among many others the following can be named, viz: James and Samuel Henry, Jolın Hastin, Francis and Samuel Jones, William Baird, Matthew and Robert Patton, and James Culberson." Tliese elevated slate lands being their choice we find, as might be expected, that one of the first arrange- ments of these early settlers was to have the Gospel preached to them. They importuned the Donegal Presbytery for sup- plies, so that in 1734 Rev. Alexander Craighead is ordered over the river for three Sabbaths. He is ordered over a second time. In 1735 Rev. John Tompson was to peram- bulate along the Conedogwinet. In 1736 Rev. Samuel Gelston was ordered to Opekan, Va., Conestoga and Cone-
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dogwinet. In 1736 supplies are sent for the first time to the Conococheague settlement. When you remember that at the meeting of Presbytery at Pequa, October, 1738, a commis- sioner from Hopewell congregation which, I will show included Rocky Spring Church, complained to Presbytery that the people of Falling Spring, organized 1737, are about to encroach upon them in erecting their house of worship and the year following, as the Presbytery records show, the privilege was granted them to erect their log church at the Rocky Spring. Putting all these facts together can any one doubt that the old theory that this congregation, as well as the Middle Spring, was not organized until 1739, or as most all authorities hold until 1740, is not correct, rather in 1738 if not indeed earlier those noble, God-fearing men gathered these gospel-hungry people together and in the quiet of their plain home, and under the shade of the out- spreading trees invoked the divine favor and pointed thein to "the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world." The first pastor of this church in connection with Big Spring and Rocky Spring was the Rev. Thomas Craighead. The earlier historians of this church, such as Nevin, Lane and others, held that Rocky Spring had no settled pastor until 1768, when Rev. John Craighead was appointed over them. This is altogether incorrect. In inore recent years the Rev. John Blair is assigned as the honored first pastor. Now I wish to lead you another step back to the Rev. Thomas Craighead. This I am aware is a much disputed point. The follow- ing reasons would seem to justify such conclusions. The Presbytery record of Donegal held at Derry church, Novem- ber 17, 1737, (mark this record) a call was presented to Presbytery by the people of Hopewell for the services of Mr. T. Creigliead-which was accepted by him, but he was not installed for almost one year, until the second Tuesday of October, 1738. The reasons were two: First-The difficulty in settling boundary between Pennsborough and Hopewell congregation, and Second-Because on Saturday night pre-
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vions to the communion, without consulting his session, he suspended his wife from church privileges because she would not live in peace in the same house with her daughter- in-law. We are to remember that the Presbytery records designate these churches by the name of Hopewell-derived from the township formed in 1735 by a line drawn across the valley at the Great Spring- all cast to be called by the name of Pennesboro and west by the name of Hopewell .- The churches of Silver Spring and Carlisle first took their general name of Pennesboro from the township-one being upper and the other lower and the Conococheague by east and west, lower east and lower west, so Hopewell was dis- tiguished by lower and upper from the flow of water. The reasons for believing that Rocky Spring was then called with the other two Spring churches by the general name of Hopewell and with Middle Spring by the name of Upper Hopewell are these. Ist .- At the time Rev. Thomas Craighead became the settled pastor over the Hopewell Charge or in Oct. 1738, Presbytery at Pequa,-Robert Henry a commissioner from Hopewell complained that the people of Falling Spring are about to encroach upon Hope- well congregation. This was in the matter of erecting a house of worship at Falling Spring-the old Presbytery rule being ten miles apart. Now the boundary of Middle Spring or Upper Hopewell as is declared never extended beyond Herron's branch one mile east of Orrstown and fully eight miles from Falling Spring. Now would it not be perfectly absurd for Robert Henry the most prominent member of Middle Spring Church, as the John Blair ses- sional records show, to go to Pequa and make complaint to Presbytery that Falling Spring is about to encroach upon Hopewell if Hopewell simply meant as men declare Middle and Big Spring. Why Middle Spring is thirteen miles from Falling Spring and the south and south-west boundary of Middle Spring is eight miles from Fal- ing Spring. But if Hopewell included Rocky Spring
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then his conduct is quite char. Falling Spring was encroaching on Rocky Spring less than five miles distant. This man Robert Henry, had a remarkable zeal in this mat- ter-so much so that he became involved in trouble with Presbytery in reference thereto. His zeal I explain for these two reasons. First .- He was remarkably loyal to his minister Rev. Thomas Craighead and was the main instru- ment of his settlement over the Hopewell Charge. And Second-James Henry, who is supposed to be his brother, was a member of the Rocky Spring Session but a short time after this and he would therefore feel a special interest in the rights of that church. Third-Rev. Richard Web- ster whose history as you know covers this period of our churches' history and its minister declares that Rocky Spring was called by the name of Upper Hopewell. Fourth -- On page 189 of Donegal records in recording supplies appointed to Lower Hopewell makes this record on the margin where an abstract of all Presbyterial business is given: "Upper and Lower Hopewell the former Rocky and Middle Spring and latter Big Spring." Fifth-That the name of Rocky Spring does not appear upon the records for many years after this and if it was not designated by Hopewell, how was it known? All the above is important in ascer- taining what is implied by the people of Hopewell that it included the three churches. That Rev. Thomas Craighead preached here is evident further from the fact that the co- temporaneous pastors preached for two, three or four congregations. Rev. Samuel Cavin preached to the four appointments of the Conococheague. Sixth-By the words of the call-"A call was presented to Presbytery by the people of Hopewell for the services of Mr. T. Craighead" (Page 153 of Donegal records.) Seventh-The author of the history of Franklin Co. says the first pastor was Rev. Thomas Craighead. Eighth-Rev. Richard Webster who evidently examined the records of Presbytery with great care and a most reliable historian in speaking of Rev. John Blair
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says "then those churches had been served by the Rev. Thomas Creaghead." . The pastorate of Rev. Thomas Creag- head over the Spring Churches was very brief-about seven months, from October, 1738 until the latter part of April, 1739. At the June meeting of the Donegal Presbytery 1739 he is reported as having died. The theory handed down in ref- erence to his death is that at the close of a communion ser- vice at the Big Spring and at the close of a remarkable ser- mon for which he was noted, he sank down in the pulpit from exhaustion after exclaiming, "Farewell, farewell." Like Moses of old his natural strength was not abated though he was called in Presbytery "Father Creagliead,', and that his grave is unknown to this day. He was a stir-' ring preacher-indeed a revivalist-whose pulpit ministra- tions were greatly blessed of God in all the various fields of labor he occupied. Cotton. Mather, Freetown, Mass., his first pastoral charge in this country speaks of him in these striking words, "That he was a man of an excellent spirit and a great blessing to the plantation. A man of singular. piety, meekness and industry in the work of God All that are acquainted with him have a precious esteem of him and if he should be driven from among you it would be such a damage, yea such a ruin as is not without horror to be thought of." It is a fortunate thing that out of the wreck and ruin of the past that the sessional records of Mr. Blair's ministry at Middle Spring have been preserved, which are perhaps the oldest sessional records of any church in the val- ley. Otherwise his relation to this church would have been enveloped in darkness. I quote in full of sessional records, page 2, Dec. 27th, 1742. "The minister and elders of Big Spring, Middle Spring and Rocky Spring met at Middle Spring in order to settle the division of the minister's labors among the three congregations. It is unanimously agreed that the minister's labors be equally divided in a third part to each place, as being most for the glory of God and the good of the place. Also, upon the motion of the elders of
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Big Spring, it is lett to them, the people and Mr. Blair to converse among themselves in respect to the subscriptions of the Big Spring congregation. Appointed that the session of each place meet every second Monday of their turn of sermon. Agreed that each session send a member to Pres- bytery or Synod in their turn beginning with Middle Spring. Agreed that none be published in order to marriage until they make application to the minister or some of the session. Concluded with prayer." This session book shows that these three sessions quite frequently met afterwards as at this time, for business. Rev. Jolin Blair was never a member of Don- egal Presbytery, but of the New Castle Presbytery. So the Donegal records in no way help us either as to the begin- ning or end of his pastorate over these churches. When he · ended his ministry at this place cannot now be exactly determined. The New Castle Presbytery records which alone could authoritatively answer are not in existence or at least cannot be found. The time of his pastorate according to Webster, Sprague, Nevin, is the latter part of 1748 or on December 28, '48. The reason for their belief is due wholly to the fact that the sessional records referred to above stops with that date. After no little study of this point I place the dissolution of the pastorate at a much later date and for the following reasons: First-In October 5, 1745, he bought a large farin of 212 acres from Thomas and Rich- ard Penn, the patent for which he had recorded in 1753 and sold it to Samuel Rippy, Shippensburg, in 1760. Second- I quote from an old receipt of steepens, now in my posses- sion: "Sept. 11, 1757. Received from John Johnston, two pounds, two pence, which appears to me to be in full of steepens due Rev. John Blair. Signed David Megaw." He was collector and this indicates that he left about that time and they were settling the salary due him. Third-Sprague, Alexander, Webster and others all agree that the reason for his leaving the springs was due to the incursions of Indians, but any one conversant with that period knows that between
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the settlers and Indians there were no outbreaks in 1748. We all know after the disastrous defeat of Braddock, July 9, 1755, and the retreat of Dunbar, the tardy, this valley in every part, and especially this part, was swept by fire and sword, the scalping knife and tomahawk of an exultant savage foe. When thirteen hundred and eighty-four refugees were hud- dled together in Shippensburg, and seven hundred families left this valley for York and Lancaster counties; when men between this spot and Strasburg plowed their fields with their guns strapped to their plows, and reaped their harvests with their rifles set against the nearest tree, Mr. Blair, with his family, would then have to flee in 1755 for their lives. Fourth- No historian of this life gives the least hint of what he did or where he spent his time if he left in 1748 to 1757, the date of his next pastorate. Is it likely that this man in the prime of his manhood and in the full possession of his many talents would have remained in idleness those nine years? From such facts the best conclusion is that he left this valley in the Autumn of 1755 and in those unsettled times the pastoral relation was not dissolved until 1757 when he accepted a call to the Fags Manor Church. After remain- ing there for ten years, occupying the position vacated by his gifted brother, Samuel, he became Professor of Divinity in Princeton College. Rev. Blair lived at Middle Spring in the centre of his large field of labor on a farm near the Mid- dle Spring now owned by W. S. Ziegler. He married a Miss Denborrow, of Philadelphia, and lived in a style alto- gether above his plain parishioners. He was a great untir- ing worker. He was frequently absent from his important work at the Springs and engaged in revival work and preach- ing tours in Virginia. He was a gifted writer and Dr. Alex- ander says of him: "As a theologian lie was not inferior to any man in the Presbyterian church." It is no exaggeration to say that he was one of the most gifted and eloquent men who ever filled the pulpit of the Springs Churches.
Rocky Spring Church no doubt had occasional supplies
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during the period between the pastorates of Rev. John Blair and that of Rev. John Creaghead in 1768. It was a very unsettled period and many were the vacancies throughout the Presbytery during that time. It was during this first formative period that the first house of worship was erected at Rocky Spring Church. The following is the action of Presbytery: "Conococheague, Nov. 16, 1739. A supplica- tion being presented and read requesting the committee's concurrence that the meeting house be erected at the Rocky Spring and hearing a great deal on both sides of the question the committee observing that proper methods were fallen into some time ago to regulate this affair and a report of the good issue being made by Rev. Creaghead and a commission from that people together with several other circumstances too tedious here to insert, do agree and conclude that the house for public worship be erected as near to the Falling Spring as conveniently as may be. Concluded with prayer." While a number of sights are claimed on which this original church was erected, yet the best information I can now com- mand, places it in part on the ground now occupied by the present building with the eastern side running parallel with the graveyard fence and nearer to it than the present build- ing. It was doubtless about thirty-five feet square when originally erected. There was the same relation to points of compass as the present building, with front towards the south. It was constructed of rough logs, one and one-half stories high, with one row of windows on lower floor. Soon proving too small for the congregation an addition was formed by constructing of logs a small square building attached to it on the south and extending one-half the length of the main one, the root of the main building was extended over it and the wall between the two was sawn away. No windows were in this extension. A similar addition was also made and joined to the other south side of the main structure. I do not know what Sir Christopher Wren or some of our modern architects would think of this building.
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I rather suppose they would say that it was certainly a lop- sided affair. It is not likely that any provisions were made for heating this house when first erected which was in accord- ance with the custom of the day. The study house made provision in part for that. Afterwards these stoves, now in use, in the present house, were purchased and heated the old log church. Shortly after the construction of this log church there was erected a small, rough-log house built fif- teen feet square. Some say it joined the church on the north side but the best memories place it some distance to the north-west of it and on the ground occupied by the road which runs north of the church. It had a wide fireplace with large wooden chimney and could with propriety be called either a study house, a session house, a saddle house, or a school house as you please, for it was put to all these uses and stood for nearly a century. The ground floor of this old church will be shown to-day together with the names of the pew holders. Such was the house of worship which echoed to the eloquent and stirring appeals of Creag- head, or the classic diction of Blair. We have no fear of exaggeration when we say there was no lofty spire, no chime of bells, no stained glass windows, no upholstered seats, no pipe organ, no large reception room in the basement for grand soirees and church festivals. Mother earth the floor, benches were the seats, smooth peeled saplins were the raft- ers, clap boards were for the roof with a presentor's desk beneath and a goblet-shaped pulpit, tacked to the ceiling, on which lay a well worn copy of the Scriptures, either Glasgow or Louden edition, and Rouse's version of the Psalms. These completed the furniture. Oh! were it standing to-day what a precious relic of the past it would be. How delightful to visit this sacred spot, join the worship and after services return home with some of its worshipers. To see the men with their home-spun hunting shirts and moccasins, and from necessity practicing
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