A history of old Tioga Point and early Athens, Pennsylvania, Part 76

Author: Murray, Louise Welles, 1854-1931. 4n
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: Athens, Penna. [i.e., Pa.] : [s.n.]
Number of Pages: 726

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He found the Academy crowded, was listened to with profound

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ORGANIZATION OF FIRST CHURCH

attention, and was asked to hold a second service. He preached the fol- lowing Sabbath, and a general revival followed. He urged the people to ask for aid from the missionary agency, but they insisted that he was the needed man, and thus, he says :

"By the laming of my horse I was sent to commence my labors among Uni- versalists and infidels where it might be said with truth 'Satan's seat was.'"

On July 8, 1812, the Congregational Church of Athens, with twen- ty-two members, was organized by Revs. Ard Hoyt, Joseph Wood and Manasseh M. York, a committee from the Luzerne Association, with which the church was at once connected. Dr. Wisner, called "an able theologian and debater," was "chosen standing moderator," at $220 per annum,6 and occupied the pulpit until 1816. Services were held in the Academy until the erection of the first "meeting house." Dr. Wis- ner was greatly beloved and preached at Milltown school house, as well as at Athens. The next pastor was Rev. James Williamson, "mild and amiable," who continued irregularly until 1825. The church was now greatly enlarged, and in 1822 part of the members wished to adopt the Presbyterian form of government, a measure that roused opposition and resulted in compromise. Two ruling elders were elected to have direc- tion of the spiritual affairs, and to be a court for the adjudication of matters pertaining to the spiritual interest of members who should desire a Presbyterian form. The elders were ordained, and the church adopted into the Susquehanna Presbytery. The church records from 1812 are still in existence, and are amusing as well as interesting, especially on account of the discipline exercised over members, young and old, and the humble public confessions of those who desecrated Saturday night by attending singing school.

There are differing records as to the pastors of this period ; there seem to have been several ; but no doubt it was under the pastorate of Isaac W. Platt that the "meeting house" was built ; the first house of worship in Tioga Point. General Henry Welles gave "the lot, two cows which sold for $27. and $30. each." John F. Satterlee, an active mem- ber, also contributed largely or made generous loans, never fully repaid. This meeting house had the high pulpit, box stall pews with doors, and hanging gallery of the period, and in the course of time a bell and pipe organ.

Isaac W. Platt was a profound thinker and had great influence in the councils of the Presbyterian Church. It used to be said of him that "when he took his coat off no man could surpass him as a sermonizer."

The Revs. Samuel Schaffer, Wm. C. Wisner, Jr., and Wm. M. Ad- ams had short pastorates. In 1837 came Charles Chapin Corss, a grad- uate of Amherst and of Princeton Theological Seminary. Dr. Corss was a man of superior education, and was a distinct help to the little commun- ity in every way. Various acts of the General Assembly resulted in a rupture of the church, and the organization of two distinct bodies, the Old School Church and the New School Presbyterians. Having divided themselves, it was impossible to divide the church property, and the two

6 As this was insufficient, aid was afforded by the New Hampshire and Connecticut missionary societies.

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Charles Chapin Gorss June 14.1895

congregations resolved to use the meeting house alternately ; one body worshipping in the morning, and the other in the afternoon, causing, said a devoted member, "much that was painful if not reproachful to the cause of religion." One body claimed the bell, the other the organ ; each entered by separate doors. One body stood up in prayer, and the other knelt. Dr. Corss labored faithfully for the Old School, and strove to heal the schism,7 as doubtless did his successors. In 1841 came the Rev. Curtis Thurston, to preach for the New School. His daily diaries reveal some of the depressing effects of this foolish schism. In 1845 he writes : "Congregation much as usual, all seem dead, myself among them." Most of the pastors preached in Milltown, as well as Athens, the New School being under the care of the Presbytery of Chemung. Both pastors bore heavy burdens, and the separate bodies grew more feeble. Dr. Corss left to minister to a Congregational church in Smithfield, and Rev. Curtis Thurs- ton resigned from active pastoral work, although he spent his life in the valley; having married Julia Ann, daughter of John Spalding, and settled on the old home, where REV. CURTIS THURSTON they lived and died. In 1858,

7 To both the pastors the schism seemed foolish, and when a layman, seeking knowledge, asked Mr. Thurston the difference, he replied that one was tweedle-dum, and one was tweedle-dee.

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CHURCH HISTORY

after much deliberation, the members of the two schools decided to unite as a Reformed Dutch Church. By request a committee from the Geneva Classis came to the village and reorganized the church as pro- posed July 20, 1858. The first pastor under this dispensation was Rev. Augustus F. Todd, the most energetic pastor the church has ever known. The meeting house was burned in 1861, and the pastor raised nearly all the funds necessary to build a much larger brick church in less than two years, which was dedicated in the fall of 1863. Thus passed the quaint old church of early days, with its melodious organ, often supplemented by Mr. McGeorge's bass viol ; its queer pews, and the red silk bags on long sticks for the collection. In the course of time the church became again Presbyterian, and has to-day its third edifice ; the second, like the first, having been destroyed by fire. In the summer of 1868 Dr. Wisner, the original pastor, aged nintey, revisited the church, and refusing to preach, yet stood upon the platform and told the story of his first Sun- day, and of the organization of the church.

While Methodist preaching had been comparatively frequent at Athens, especially that of Seth Williston, brother of Hon. Horace Wil- liston, a class was not formed until 1832, after which the circuit preach- ers had regular appointments at the Academy. The first members were Rhoda, wife of John Saltmarsh, and Cornelius Harsh. In 1834 the class was reinforced by the coming from Sheshequin of Chester Park? and his wife to reside in the village, where they spent the remainder of their lives, faithful and devoted members of their church. In 1838 Mr. Park received the following license :

"This is to authorize Chester Park to Exhort in the Methodist E. Church so long as his doctrine and practice agree with the gospel of Christ, and Discipline of said Church-By order of the Quarterly Conference held at Barton 11 Aug. 1838. H. Agard P. E."

George Shippy was the earliest class leader in the village. The Academy was occupied as a place of worship until it was burned, when the society became incorporated and built a commodious wooden meet- ing house on Chemung Street, which was burned in 1852. The cor- porators were Chester Park, Wm. Norton, Elias Mathewson, C. M. Harsh, and others. The second edifice was of brick, erected in 1853, on the old site. In place of a bell the congregation was called to assemble by a large iron triangle, struck with a rod, a most musical sound. This church was famed for its sweeping revivals never to be forgotten. Ches- ter Park was the most prominent leader throughout his long life, and his godly teachings led his daughter Myra to go as a missionary to foreign lands.

While Moses and Amos Park, brothers, both were licensed to preach the Baptist doctrines, they were not ordained. Yet from their settlement in 1792 they held meetings along the river. When both de-

9 Chester Park, b. 20th Jan., 1802, d. 1881, was the son of Rev. Moses Park, a native of Preston, Ct., ancestry unknown, who early settled at Sheshequin and married Mary, dau. of Simon Spalding, and had eleven children, nearly all of whom lived and died in this vicinity. Chester was reared in Sheshequin and educated in the common schools and the Academy. He m. Lemira, dau. of Jabez Fish (b. in Wilkes-Barré 25th July, 1803), and had Dana F., who lived and died in Athens, a reputable merchant and a highly respected citizen; Harriet, m. Charles E. Johnson; Horace Agard, who lived and died in Patterson; Lemira A., m. Rev. C. C. Tracy; and Mary, m. Charles Greer.

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fected from the faith the spirit was not dead. The first known Christian preachers in the Valley were the chaplains with Sullivan's army, Rogers and Gano, both Baptists, the latter one of the most forceful preachers of his day. The two Smith brothers, Lockwood and Joseph, living in Old Ulster, were ardent Baptists and were promoters of the truth even down to old age. Their homes were very fastnesses of prayer, and both the Smithfield and the "Ulster and Athens" churches were started by these brothers. The latter was organized at Milltown in 1825. The Bap- tist meeting house at Athens was built in 1845 on the present lot, which was presented by Judge Herrick. Levi Morse was the first pastor, an energetic one, and his successor, Elder King, is still remembered by the older residents. Previous to 1845 the Baptists worshipped at Milltown.

The Universalist stronghold was in Sheshequin, and there was no regular organization here until 1851, at which time they erected the pres- ent church edifice. Until recent years this church has not held regular meetings, and at one time the edifice was rented and used by the Epis- copalians.

The few early Roman Catholics in the settlement went to Wilkes- Barré for mass and confession, or were visited by the missionaries, Father Clancy and Father Fitzsimmons. With the building of the canal Irish emigrants poured into the country, and various priests worked among them. The first Catholic Church in Athens was built in 1855 by Father O'Hern, and ministered to by the pastor of the district, having no priest in residence until 1868.

In the early days of the circuit riders the Methodists were very strict, especially about dress, as is intimated in following story :

"When I was a boy I went to Quarterly meeting-the school house (Milan) had two front doors. Mr. Bowman stood at one, and Simon Harvey at the other -the women all wore shawls and long bonnets,-every woman's shawl was pulled open, no jewelry or ribbons were admitted; a ribbon one inch wide for a bonnet string must be removed."

Such discipline might be very wholesome at the present time. The ardent Methodist meetings superseded the Baptists' in Milan, wild young men becoming powerful exhorters. "Aunt Sally Platt was class leader- she was firm as Gibraltar." Some other women were "hosts in prayer," and one man is now remembered as a "perfect cyclone in prayer." These meetings continued until 1855 and gave the road to Milan the name of "Christian Street." Ezekiel Curry was famed as a local preacher.

An interesting religious episode in the forties was the visit of the brother of Mrs. William Parry, Rev. Evans Jones, long a missionary among the Cherokee Indians in Tennessee and Arkansas. He was ac- companied by four Indians : Peg, Lewis, Oganiah and Mr. Downing, so- called. They remained several days and held a service in the Presby- terian meeting house, in which the Indians took an active part. Doubt- less this was the first missionary meeting ever held in Athens.

Protestant Episcopal .- Organization of Trinity Church, as re- corded in the Scribe, August 3, 1842 :

"By the annexed communication it will be seen a chapel is to be erected speedily for the use of a congregation of the Episcopal persuasion. Another

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TRINITY CHURCH ORGANIZED

house where families can obtain scats is needed here, and might be well filled. The site selected is on the bank of the river south side of Chemung St."

"At a meeting held at the Academy on Monday evening Aug. 1 for the pur- pose of organizing a Protestant Episcopal Church to be called 'Trinity Church of Athens Pa.,' the following were elected vestrymen, viz. C. Comstock, W. Ken- dall, C. B. Stuart and E. Wheeler of Athens; and J. G. French, Thos. Yates and E. J. Glover of Factoryville. At the first meeting of the vestry, the Rev. Geo. P. Hopkins was chosen Rector for ensuing year, and C. B. Stuart and E. Wheeler Church Wardens. Until completion of Church edifice public worship will be held in the Academy Rooms, N. corner of Main and Chemung streets every Sunday at 10.30 A. M., and at the district school house in Factoryville at 5 P. M. Persons wishing to rent slips for coming year in the church, are requested to give early notice to one of the Wardens."

The next notice says that worship will be in Miss Paine's school room. The little chapel was completed in November, being built by the instrumentality of C. B. Stuart, and by the generosity of the family of General Welles. For it was said of it: "The church belonged to the Welleses, although they did not belong to it." The annexed notices from the Scribe show the generous spirit of other denominations.8 This edifice was burned in 1852, and the present Stone Church, built in 1861, largely due to the efforts of Rev. J. McAlpin Harding. The early rec- tors, Watson, Marple, Smith and French, were supported by the mis- sionary society of Grace Church, Philadelphia. The most effective work in the early parish was under the Rev. William G. French.

8 "Sacred Concert .- A concert of vocal and instrumental music will be given at the Presbyterian Meeting house, for the purpose of aid in procuring an organ for Trinity Church, which can be recommended as worth attending. A well-sounding organ was lately put in the meeting house, which will be used. * The design of the concert none can object to." * * The sleighing being poor, the concert was not well attended, and a second was advertised for February 19th, in which it was advertised: "The duets will be accompanied with a Piano, Solos with guitar, and full choir with the organ." This program was evidently too frivolous for the Presbyterian elders, and the concert was indefinitely postponed. However, a pipe organ was installed in Trinity Church, Towanda ladies giving an entertainment to raise funds.

CHARTER XXIII

EARLY PROFESSIONAL MEN

Early Lawyers-Early Physicians-Rural Amity Lodge, No. 70 Early Newspapers.

It has already been noted that William Prentice1 was the first lawyer at Tioga Point. He was a native of New London, where he was admitted to the bar ; he followed his father to this country in 1798, and settled at Athens the following year. He was the first postmaster as well as first lawyer of the village. "He was a young man of good talents and fine personal appearance ; he wore his hair braided, hanging on his shoulders," a custom of the time. He died suddenly with the prevalent fever in 1806. He practiced in the Lycoming County courts during his residence at the Point, and was admitted to the bar in Lu- zerne County at the November session of 1799, being then thirty-four years old. Craft says, "he was the first full-fledged attorney in what is now Bradford County."

Alphonso C. Stuart is generally given as the first, but that is be- cause he came first after the organization of the county. The follow- ing letter has never before been published :

"Wilkes-Barre June 1, 1812-Dear Sir-I take the liberty of introducing to your acquaintance Mr. Alphonso C. Stuart, a gentleman who purposes taking up his residence at Athens for the purpose of practising the law in the new counties. Mr. Stuart brings with him excellent recommendations from gentlemen of the first respectability in Reading, as a gentleman of education, talents and character, and from his deportment here I have no hesitation in introducing him as such to you. By introducing him to proper characters and paying attention to him, you will confer a favor on sir, your Democratic fellow citizen, Samuel Maffet-to Henry Welles Esq."

Mr. Stuart came and purchased the Miller lot next north of library, which he occupied for a few years, and married the widow of Johnson Miller ; going West about 1815. Little is known of him further than that he was a bright young man, who came to an untimely death. The next lawyer was C. F. Welles, already mentioned ; the next was Hon. Edward Herrick,2 whose portrait is here presented. In those days the

1 William Prentice was the son of Dr. Amos Prentice, who came from New London, Conn., and settled at Milltown in 1797. Amos m. Annie, the daughter of Rev. Mr. Owen, and they had six children; the three daughters married Dan Elwell, John Spalding and J. F. Satter- lee; one son lived at Sag Harbor, and one was a tanner at Milltown. Dorothy Prentice, sister of the doctor, m. Isaac Shepard in Connt. The pioneer, John Shepard, was their son.

2 Edward Herrick, b. at Amenia, N. Y., Oct. 26, 1787, was the son of Samuel, son of Rufus, son of Edward, son of Stephen, son of Ephraim, son of Henry, the first American progenitor, who was born in. Leicestershire, England, and came to America in 1629, being one of the famous Massachusetts Bay Colony, settling at Salem, whence the family at last mi- grated to New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The family history is of great interest, and may be found in Craft's "History of Bradford County." Edward Herrick studied law at Pough- keepsie, and was admitted to the bar in Ohio, where he not only practised, but was made district attorney for three counties, a member of the Legislature, and Colonel of a militia regiment at the time of the War of 1812. He was an ardent patriot and tried to organize the whole legislative body into a company for the defense of the frontiers. After his settlement in Athens he was made Brigade Inspector for five counties. In 1818 Governor Findlay appointed him Judge of the 13th Judicial District, also five counties, immediately following those eminent jurists, Gibson and Burnside. That he was qualified to be their successor is shown by the fact that he remained on the bench twenty-one years, at which period, 1839, the new constitution

562

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ATHENS LAWYERS

lawyer not only had to be versatile, but as judge was obliged to ride the circuit, holding court in various parts of the district, which compris- ed Tioga, Bradford and Susquehan- na counties, which was done by both Judge Herrick and Judge Williston.

Edward Overton, later of To- wanda, lived and practised at Ath- ens from 1813 to 1816. Horace Wil- liston3 was probably the next resi- dent lawyer, and doubtless heard of Tioga Point from his talented broth- er, Rev. Seth Williston, who fre- quently preached at Athens. Yet he had been some time in this vicinity, as he studied law with Vincent Ma- thews of Elmira, and had practised at Chenango Point ( Binghamton) for several years before coming to Edward Henick Athens. He was a power for good in the community, as he was not only a just and careful lawyer, butan active and earnest Christian. He was unwilling to take a case unless he knew it could be proven as in the right. An old diary records his death, add-

limited the judicial tenure. A tribute from Tioga County may not be amiss here: "Edward Herrick was not quite thirty-one when in 1818 he came to hold court in this part of the district. * * * If immediate public advancement is a trustworthy evidence of capacity, Judge Her- rick was a man of ability as well as of early maturity. He was an example of well-appointed talents, probity and prudence." He was ever alive to the advancement of his town and State; was a delegate to the Canal Convention in 1825, and strongly urged the building of the proposed canals. He accumulated a handsome independence, and invested all in the vicinity of the growing village, where he lived in peaceful retirement until eighty-seven years old. The tall, stately old man, often seen on the streets, and a prominent figure in the church, is still well remem- bered. His character and appearance have been well portrayed by two of his friends and con- temporaries, Gen. Horace Williston and William F. Warner. "In person he was above the ordinary stature, graceful in carriage, and in age as in youth, a model of comeliness and dignity. His bearing bore the traces of that peculiar discipline to mind and manners which comes of a temperate habit, and an intelligent will, animated by earnest principle. *

* Of him, with all his worldly honors, his spotless life, and manly virtues, his talents of head and heart, it may be said as justly as it was ever said of mortal man, 'He bore without abuse the grand old name of gentleman.' "-H. W. "It is not probable that Judge Herrick and King Louis Philippe ever met, therefore it cannot be said that one copied the manners of the other; yet in manners and in general apparance there was a striking resemblance. Dignity of deportment was a marked characteristic of each; and it was not assumed, it reposed upon them like a well fitting garment, but unlike a garment it could not be laid aside."-W. F. W. His retirement from the bench closed his active professional life, from that period he chose to live among his books and his children in the beautiful home close by the Susquehanna. Judge Herrick was thrice married, and had six children, but one of whom is now living, Edmond Per Lee, a namesake of a Huguenot ancestor. His older sons, Hopkins and Curran, married, lived and died in Athens, and some of the descendants still occupy the homestead. Most of his portraits are austere in their dignity, therefore we have chosen to reproduce one showing the genial side, which we well remember.

3 The origin of the Williston family is unknown to the writer. Judge Horace Williston, b. in Suffield, Connt., 31st May, 1783; 8th Jan., 1809, m. Hannah Parsons, b. 13th June, 1779. at Richmond, Mass. They had nine children; Rhoda, George, Horace, Lorenzo, Eliza, Hannah, Clarissa, Lorraine and John; the three latter b. at Athens. All grew to maturity, except Hannah, and all but George, Lorenzo and Clarissa lived and died in Athens, though there is now no descendant there. Judge Williston d. at Athens, Aug. 14th, 1855. No family was ever more admired and regretted than that of Judge Williston. The portrait given was painted from life about 1840. As it was not well executed, the family relegated it to the attic, where it lay unheeded for about fifty years. Being then unearthed, it was found time had mellowed and improved it, and it is now highly treasured. It is reproduced by the courtesy of a grand- daughter, Mary Williston (Stockbridge), daughter of John S. Williston, who was an active cit- izen of Athens most of his life. He and his family were the last Williston residents in the old home.

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Prace Williston -

ing, "the community has lost an honest lawyer." In 1849 he was made Presi- dent Judge of the district, but held the office for only two years on account of the "elective judiciary act." However, he had an ex- tensive business, as evi- denced by the fact that he did not miss a sitting of the Supreme Court for more than twenty years. At his death, in 1855, the Bar of Bradford, in a spe- cial meeting, paid a high tribute to his character as a lawyer and a citizen, as did also several friends in various newspapers. He was thus described by W. F. Warner :

"Judge Horace Williston with his leonine look, flowing brown hair and heavy features was a man of fine intellect, a sound lawyer and an able up- right judge. He bore a striking resemblance to Prof. Willson, the Christopher North of the Edinburg Review."

Many young men studied law with Judge Williston, one of whom, his own son Lorenzo, inherited his father's talents and integrity and was admitted to the bar before he was twenty-two. He was United States

JUDGE WILLISTON'S HOMESTEAD, 1825

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ATHENS' THREE JUDGES

Judge for Dakota, and of him it was said "he was a lawyer by intu- ition, he took a broad, liberal view of the law and seized at once the equities of the case and the legal principles involved." About 1825 Horace Williston built the fine old house, still standing, which was a family home for over eighty years. It was surrounded by ample grounds, which were planted with trees, shrubs and flowers of every sort. The Williston garden until very recent years was the most charming and labyrinthine tangle one could imagine. Many children of the village loved to visit it, and never came away empty handed; for the Judge's daughters, who for long years lived in the home- WILLIAM ELWELL stead, were bountiful in their gifts, and seemed themselves a very part and parcel of the garden's mystery and beauty.

Old Athens can boast of three judges, as it was the birthplace of William Elwell, the son of Dan Elwell3* of Milltown, who married a daughter of Dr. Amos Prentice. He was educated at the Academy, was a teacher for some years ; then studied law with Judge Williston, and practised for thirty years in the northern counties. He was elected President Judge of the 26th Judicial District for three successive terms, served twenty-five years, and resigned at the age of eighty. Edward Elwell, his brother, was also a prominent lawyer and judge in Wisconsin.

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A history of old Tioga Point and early Athens, Pennsylvania, Part 76

Author: Murray, Louise Welles, 1854-1931. 4n Publication date: 1908 Publisher: Athens, Penna. [i.e., Pa.] : [s.n.] Number of Pages: 726

Author: Murray, Louise Welles, 1854-1931. 4n
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: Athens, Penna. [i.e., Pa.] : [s.n.]
Number of Pages: 726