USA > Pennsylvania > A history of the Juniata Valley and its people, Volume I > Part 34
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In 1774 a sermon was preached at the house of Robert Brotherton, near the present village of Allensville, Mifflin county, but the name of the preacher appears to have been lost. This was the beginning of the West Kishacoquillas church. The next year Rev. Philip V. Fithian, a son-in-law of Rev. Charles Beatty, visited the Kishacoquillas valley
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as a missionary and preached for the congregation at Allensville. A tent was first used as a place of worship, but a log house was built a few years later and used until 1826, when it was replaced by a brick structure. In 1860 a brick building was erected at Belleville at a cost of about $4,000 and the congregation removed to that place. The old church at Allensville was sold soon after this change was made. Rev. James Johnston was pastor from 1784 to 1796, when he was succeeded by Rev. William Kennedy, who remained until 1822. The East Kishacoquillas Presbyterian church was organized at an early date, not exactly known, and was located at Kellyville. Mr. Johnston was also pastor of this church for several years.
The Presbyterian church at Shermansdale first appears in the records of the Presbytery in 1778 as "Sherman's Creek Church," Rev. Hugh Magill, pastor. It was united with the New Bloomfield congregation in 1856. The site is now marked by an old grave-yard, in which it is said the first white man to die in Perry county is buried.
In 1785 Rev. Matthew Stephens settled in Bratton township. Mifflin county, and was the first resident minister in charge of a congregation. He preached at Waynesburg (now McVeytown), Lewistown and other places in the county until about 1796.
On July 6, 1789, the Presbyterians in and around Huntingdon organized a church and issued a call to Rev. James Johnston for half of his services. On October 7, 1789, he agreed to comply with their request and services were held in different buildings until the court-house was finished, when they were held there. Then the Presbyterians, Lutherans and Episcopalians united in the erection of a brick church at the northeast corner of Fourth and Church streets, but the different denominations could not agree, and in 1826 the sheriff sold the interests of the Presbyterians and Episcopalians to Henry Miller. The next year the Presbyterians bought a lot on the west side of Fourth street, between Church and Mifflin, and the corner-stone of a new building was laid on August 13, 1828. This house stood until 1844, when it was replaced by a larger one, which in turn was superseded by the present building in 1876.
Rev. James Johnston held services in the Hartslog valley, in Hunt- ingdon county, soon after he became associated with the church in the Kishacoquillas valley, and about 1786 a log church was built. It was
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without any means of heating until 1795, but the people would wrap themselves up and attend services even on the coldest days, while the minister would deliver his discourse with his overcoat on in order to keep warm.
A Presbyterian church was organized at Lewistown in 1790, though services had been held there for several years prior to that date by Rev. Matthew Stephens, who was succeeded by Rev. James Simpson. About 1820 a lot was purchased on the corner of Third and Brown streets and a stone house was erected there. It was taken down in 1855 and a brick church was built in its stead. The third building on this lot was completed in 1910 at a cost of about $45,000. The church fronts on Brown street and fronting on Third street is a beautiful little build- ing used as a Sunday school chapel.
On "Shaver's Creek Manor," in Huntingdon county, a piece of ground was set apart in 1790 for a Presbyterian church and grave-yard and on February 23, 1805, the "Presbyterian Church of Shaver's Creek Manor" was incorporated. About 1844 a church was established in Jackson township, where most of the members lived, but the old church was kept up for years afterward. Rev. James Crisswell, of the West Kishacoquillas church, was one of the early ministers. This church is not mentioned in the history of the Huntingdon Presbytery.
"The Church at the mouth of the Juniata," as it was first known, had its beginning in 1793, but being too near the Sherman's Creek church the congregation moved their place of worship to "Boyd's," two miles farther west. This church was the predecessor of the Presbyterian church of Duncannon, which was organized about the beginning of the nineteenth century, with Rev. James Brady as the first pastor. Services were held in private residences until about 1804, when a log church was built on an eminence at the mouth of the Juniata. A larger and more modern church took the place of the old log edifice some years later and the congregation is still in a prosperous condition.
Lost Creek church was organized by people who formerly belonged to the Cedar Spring congregation, and who withdrew in 1796 to form the new church. In 1797 a log house of worship was built on ground donated by David Bole and Hugh McAlister. No regular pastor was engaged until the fall of 1801, when Rev. Matthew Brown came to the church, but services had been held in the meantime by such ministers
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as could be induced to minister to the wants of the new church. About the same time that this church was organized a movement was started in Mifflintown for the erection of a Presbyterian church there. In the fall of 1795 subscriptions were secured amounting to about $2,500 and a building was erected soon afterward. Upon the establishment of the Lost Creek and Mifflintown churches, the one at Cedar Spring was abandoned, the glebe lands were sold and the proceeds divided between the new congregations. The present church in Mifflintown, at the north- east corner of the public square, is a handsome brick edifice, erected in 1886.
During the year 1800 Presbyterian congregations were organized at Shirleysburg and in Dublin township, Huntingdon county. At the latter place a log house was built the same year, but the church at Shirleysburg was not built until 1830. Revs. James Johnston, Samuel Woods and John Peebles were some of the early ministers.
The McVeytown church was regularly organized in 1814, when John McVey conveyed to the trustees of the congregation a half an acre of land for the use of the church. A small stone building was erected the next year. Services had been held at this place by Rev. Matthew Stephens, James Simpson and others before that time. In 1833 the old church building was torn down and a more commodious one erected.
Rev. James M. Olmstead came into the Juniata Valley early in 1823 and in April organized the church at Old Buffalo, where services had been irregularly held for a number of years by Rev. John Linn and others. A log house was built that year and used until about 1850, when it was abandoned and a new one erected at Ickesburg.
On June 7, 1825, thirty-two persons, members of the old Centre church, withdrew from that congregation and organized the Landisburg Presbyterian church, with Rev. James M. McClintock as pastor. Ser- vices were held in the school house for about five years, when a church was built.
On the line between Union and Brown townships, Mifflin county, the United Presbyterians and the East Kishacoquillas congregation erected what was known as the "Centre Church" in 1830. The former denomination finally gave up their organization and the East Kishacoquillas church came into control. The same year (1830) a
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Presbyterian church was organized at Alexandria, Huntingdon county. Not long after that a union was effected with the Hartslog congregation and in 1851 a handsome brick church was erected at a cost of over $6,000.
Early in 1831 the Presbyterians living in New Bloomfield and the immediate vicinity organized a church and services were at first held in the court-house by Rev. John Niblock. The same year a lot was purchased at the corner of High and Carlisle streets, and after several vexatious delays the church was dedicated in 1835. It was used until 1870, when it was removed and the present structure was erected at a cost of about $7.500.
In Milroy the Presbyterians departed from the usual custom by first building a house for worship and then organizing a congregation. A neat frame structure was put up in 1833 and on August 13, 1834, the congregation, consisting of 105 members, was regularly organized by a committee from the Huntingdon Presbytery. Rev. James Nourse was the first pastor. In 1858 this congregation erected a brick building for a mission at Siglerville. From May, 1858, to September, 1883, the pastor of the Milroy church was Rev. J. W. White. Toward the latter part of his administration he changed his views regarding certain doctrines of the Presbyterian creed and he withdrew from the church. His former congregation, with many others, united in a request for him to remain and preach the gospel as he interpreted it. Accord- ingly the Milroy church became known as the "Free Church of Milroy and Siglerville," Mr. White remaining as the pastor and increasing the membership from 160 to nearly 400. Rev. J. C. Wilhelm, who withdrew from the Huntingdon Presbytery at the same time, assisted Mr. White in this work. Mr. White died at the Presbyterian Hospital in Philadelphia, April 11, 1901. He continued as pastor up to a few months before his death, and the church is now known as the "White Memorial."
On May 16, 1835, the Birmingham Presbyterian church was organized with Rev. Samuel Hill as pastor. Services were held in the old stone school house until 1837, when a church was built. This house was outgrown in time and a new one was erected in 1869.
A Presbyterian congregation was organized at Newton Hamilton in the spring of 1838 by Revs. John Peebles and J. W. Woods, acting
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under authority of the Huntingdon Presbytery, and Rev. Benjamin Carroll was installed as pastor. A small frame church was erected that year and used until 1838, when it was replaced by a larger house of brick.
In 1845 Rev. B. E. Collins began holding meetings for the Pres- byterians of Mount Union and in 1849 a church was erected. It was a small frame house, but large enough to meet the needs of the small congregation which gathered there. The church was regularly organized in May, 1865, and the present house of worship was built in 1882.
On May 1, 1846, John Wiley and his wife conveyed to the trustees of the Presbyterian congregation in Newport a lot for a church. Meet- ings had been held before that time in private dwellings, vacant store rooms and the school house. The corner stone of the church was laid on May 12, 1846, and the building was dedicated on May 23, 1847. A new edifice was erected in 1885.
In Huntingdon county Presbyterian churches were established at Shade Gap in 1848 by Rev. J. F. McGinnes, and at Shaver's creek bridge, in West township, and Spruce creek in 1850.
At Port Royal the first sermon of any kind was preached by Rev. Charles Beatty in 1766, but the first Presbyterians in this vicinity at- tended the Lower Tuscarora church. Later services were held in the school houses in the Lower Tuscarora valley until a small church was built. By an arrangement with the Lutherans this house was used by the two congregations on alternate Sundays until the Presbyterians became strong enough to build a better house. In 1852 a brick church was erected at a cost of about $6,500. Four years later the roof was badly damaged by a storm, but it was soon repaired. The house was enlarged in 1880 and further additions have been made since that time. Rev. William Y. Brown was the first pastor.
At Petersburg a congregation was formed and a church erected about 1854. The house was first used by what was called the Bethel congregation, organized in 1850 in the church at Shaver's creek bridge. Subsequently the name was changed to the Petersburg Presbyterian church.
A congregation of only six members was organized at Mapleton in the early part of 1861 by Rev. B. E. Collins, and a brick house of worship was erected the same year. During the war the church made
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but little progress, but the six faithful members were like the leaven the woman hid in the meal, for the Mapleton church has been pros- perous ever since the close of the war.
In 1850 what was known as the "Union Church" was built at Spruce Creek and was intended to be free to all denominations. Presbyterian ministers held a revival there in the winter of 1870-71 and on April 9, 1870, fifty-one members met and organized the Lower Spruce Creek church. A neat brick house was erected on ground belonging to E. B. Isett, on the east side of the turnpike.
One of the newest Presbyterian churches in the valley is that of Burnham, which was organized about the beginning of the present century. A neat and substantial house of worship, costing about $9,000, was dedicated in January, 1903.
The United Presbyterians of Standing Stone valley organized about 1801, as an off-shoot of the Associate Presbyterians of Huntingdon. In 1858 a separate charge was established, under Rev. J. M. Adair, and in 1869 a church was built. The United Presbyterian church of Mc- Coysville, Juniata county, was built in 1871, and the one at Mexico in 1877. In 1907 this denomination organized a church at Highland Park, a suburb of Lewistown. Services were held for a time in the hose house, but later a church was built at the corner of Sixth street and Electric avenue.
THE CATHOLICS
were the next denomination to send missionaries into the Juniata Valley. Jesuit priests were in the Black Log valley before 1770, and on August I, 1794, Dr. William Smith, the founder of Huntingdon. deeded to Right Rev. John Carroll, Bishop of Baltimore, a tract of ground at the northeast corner of Church and Second streets for a church. A small log chapel was built soon afterward and was used until 1828, when the brick church was erected at the corner of Sixth and Washing- ton streets. This church (the Holy Trinity) is still standing, though it has been repaired and remodeled to meet the demands of the growing congregation and it is still the only Catholic church in the borough.
About 1800 a Catholic church was established on Shade creek, in Cromwell township, Huntingdon county, and called St. Mary's. While the Pennsylvania canal was under construction a number of Catholics.
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came into the Juniata Valley as workmen upon the canal and services were held at different places along the line. As Lewistown was a central point, Right Rev. Henry Conwell, Bishop of Philadelphia, deemed it advisable to establish there a permanent church. Accordingly, on April 14, 1828, he purchased the lot at the northwest corner of Dorcas and Third streets, on which a chapel and parsonage were soon afterward erected. The little church was under the charge of the Pittsburgh diocese until 1868, when the Harrisburg diocese was formed and Lewis- town came within the new district. Up to that time the church had been supplied from Huntingdon and Bellefonte, but after the establish- ment of the Harrisburg diocese steps were taken to improve the con- ditions at Lewistown. The chapel was supplanted by the present brick building in 1870 and two years later Father T. J. Fleming was placed in charge as resident priest. In 1913 the membership of the church was about three hundred, with Rev. John Melchor in charge. Some years ago a mission was established at Burnham and a chapel there was dedicated in the spring of 1908.
In 1855 Father Hayden, of Stonerstown, Bedford county, visited the few Catholic families living in the vicinity of the present borough of Dudley and held services. A year or so later a small frame chapel was erected, which in time was replaced by a larger and more pretentious edifice. The church was destroyed by fire in 1871, but a new one was soon afterward erected at a cost of about $8,000.
THE METHODISTS
Some time during the year 1795 a Methodist minister came to Shirleysburg and held services in the house of Isaac Sharrer. A class was formed soon after that and about the beginning of the nineteenth century a congregation was organized. The first house of worship was built about 1810 and in 1843 a brick church was erected. It was destroyed by fire after a short time and the present building was put up in 1877.
In the town of Huntingdon, the first Methodist services were held at the house of Rebecca Tanner and the first society was organized in 1797. The first house of worship was built in 1802 at the northwest corner of Fifth and Church streets. It was of logs, like most of the early churches, but with repairs and additions it continued in use until
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1856, when a new house was built. A third building was erected about 1893, but it was burned a few years ago and the present magnificent structure at the corner of Fifth and Mifflin streets was dedicated in 1910. The West Huntingdon chapel, on Fifteenth street between Moore and Mifflin streets, was built in 1875, and is now known as the Second Methodist Episcopal Church of Huntingdon.
A congregation was organized in the Trough creek valley, in the northern part of Tod township, Huntingdon county, in 1798 and a log church was built there before the close of the century. A new church was built in 1861. Another early Methodist church in Tod township is Asbury chapel, which was built about 1801.
About the beginning of the nineteenth century, Rebecca Duncan, who lived on Duncan's island at the mouth of the Juniata, opened her house for the entertainment of Methodist missionaries and services were held there. Later she persuaded the trustees of the school district to add a second story to the school house at her expense, and this room she donated to the church as a house of worship. Regular services were held there until the great flood of February, 1865, when the house was washed away. In the meantime a congregation had been organized in Duncannon in 1809, the first services being held at the residence of Abraham Young. This church was one of four in the same circuit, the others being Liverpool, Shermansdale and Pfoutz Valley. The first house of worship for the Duncannon church was built in 1827, a larger one in 1840, and the present one in 1882.
The first Methodist society in Lewistown was organized in 1815. Charles Hardy, who located there as early as 1791, was a Methodist and through his influence ministers of that faith visited the new town and the first services were held in the old log jail. Before the close of the year 1815 a small brick church was built on Third street, between Brown and Dorcas. In 1830 a larger building was erected on the corner of Third and Dorcas, to which galleries were added in 1844 to accommodate the growing congregation. Further additions were made in 1867, but in time the building became too small and the present im- posing edifice was erected in 1910 at a cost of about $55,000. The church was part of the Aughwick circuit until 1833, when it was made a separate station.
In 1822 the few Methodists living along Laurel run began holding
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meetings in the school house. Their number increased, and in 1825 a small church was built in Milroy. A larger and more commodious house was erected in 1846. The first pastor of the Laurel Run or Milroy church was Rev. Thomas McGee. About a year after the first services were held for this congregation a small society was formed at Yeagertown. The present church there was dedicated in 1903.
The Methodist church of Newton Hamilton was organized in the spring of 1825 and a small frame house was built on the farm of Joshua Morrison. The construction of the canal four years later forced the removal of this building a short distance, where it was used by the congregation until 1840, when a new house was built in the village. The present brick building was erected in 1884.
The Pine Grove church, in Juniata county, was organized about 1820 and services were held in the school house until 1828, when a stone church was built near the old town of Jericho. Among the early preachers here were Henry G. Fearing and Wesley Howe. The old church was entirely remodeled in 1857 and is still used by the con- gregation.
The Perry Forester, of New Bloomfield, published a notice in the issue preceding June 18, 1829, that Rev. Mr. Tarring, a Methodist minister, would preach in the court-house on the evening of the 18th "at early candle-light." Not long after that a society was organized, and in October following a lot was purchased on High street for a church. The building was completed in 1831 and was used until 1866, when it was rebuilt under the charge of Rev. Franklin Gerhart.
Methodist churches were organized in 1830 at Newburg and Frank- linville, Huntingdon county, and at Blain, Perry county. At Newburg a frame house was built soon after the organization was effected. At Franklinville the society was the outgrowth of a class which had been organized some years before by the Matterns, Stonebrakers and other Methodist families living in the vicinity. The Blain church was organized through the efforts of David Moreland and William Sheibley, who had opened their houses to itinerant ministers some years before. The church building was erected in 1855 and was remodeled in 1885, when a cupola and bell were added. The same year that these churches were formed ( 1830) the first Methodist sermon was preached in Mifflin- town by a minister named Kincaid. Five years later a building was
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erected which was used both as a school house and a place of worship until after the great storm of 1879, which did considerable damage to the structure. It was then repaired and remodeled and since then has been used by the congregation as a church.
The McVeytown Methodist church was organized in 1832 and the following year a lot on Queen street was purchased and a brick house of worship erected thereon. In 1874 the building was enlarged and remodeled and is still used by the congregation. The same year that this society was organized the Dry Valley Methodist church, at Kelly- ville, was also established. A building was partially erected in 1835 and furnished with plain board seats. In this condition it was used for a number of years before it was plastered or provided with better furniture. In 1868 the present brick house was erected.
McKendree chapel, in the southern part of Cromwell township, Huntingdon county, and Monroe chapel, two and a half miles north- west of Orbisonia, were both established in 1832. A house of worship was built for the latter congregation in 1838, but the Mckendree chapel was not built until about 1844.
For some years prior to 1833 the Methodists living in the vicinity of Warriors Mark had been attending church at Birmingham, where a church had been organized some years before and was then meeting in the school house. In 1833 a society was formed at Warrior's Mark and a small frame church erected. It was replaced by a new one in 1873 at a cost of $2,500. The first house of worship was built by the Birmingham congregation in 1835 and the present one in 1874.
On October 19, 1836, James Black gave a deed for a lot to the trustees of the Methodist congregation, which had just been organized at Newport. Early in 1869 the church appointed a committee to sell the church erected in 1837, and on April 26 it reported the sale of the property to the Evangelical Association for $1,450, with the right to use the building until the following October. Work on a new house of worship was commenced and the new building was dedicated on January 6, 1871. It is one of the handsomest churches in Newport and cost about $15,000.
Early in the nineteenth century the Crums, Chaneys, Wilsons and other Methodist families living near Manor Hill, Huntingdon county, organized a class and services were held at irregular intervals in a
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small brick house erected for the purpose. In 1837 the society was fully organized and a larger house of worship was built the same year.
A Methodist society was organized at Mount Union in 1838, but no definite information concerning its early history can be gathered. The present house of worship was built in 1873.
At Millerstown the Methodist church was built in 1840, the con- gregation there being at that time a part of the Newport charge. Rev. Peter McEnnally was the first pastor to serve at Millerstown after the new church was erected. The same year that the Millerstown church was built a society was organized at Mill Creek, but no church was built there until 1852.
Services in the town of New Buffalo were first held by the Methodists in a private house and later in a building erected for mercantile purposes. When the school house was built in 1834 the little congregation met there until 1841, when a church was erected by Rev. Joseph Parker. A revival was then held and about forty persons united with the church. The old building was completely remodeled-or rather rebuilt-in 1876. A year after the erection of the first church in New Buffalo a Methodist church was built at Ickesburg.
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