USA > Pennsylvania > Jefferson County > Brookville > A pioneer history of Jefferson county, Pennsylvania and my first recollections of Brookville, Pennsylvania, 1840-1843, when my feet were bare and my cheeks were brown > Part 26
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The pioneer church was organized in Brookville under Rev. Johnson in 1829. In 1829 and 1830 all services were held in the house of David Butler, on the east side of the North Fork Creek, at the upper end of Litch's dam.
The pioneer and early members (1829) were David Butler and wife, Cyrus Butler and wife, John Long and wife, William McKee, William Steel, and John Dixon, Jr. The last is the only one now living.
The pioneer circuit riders in the north side of the county were : Rev. John Johnson, 1829; Rev. Jonathan Ayers, 1830; Rev. Job Watson, 1831 ; Revs. Abner Jackson and A. C. Barnes, 1832 ; Rev. Abner Jack- son, 1833, who had twenty-nine preaching-places and a circuit of two hundred and fifty miles (it was the Brookville and Ridgeway mission) ; Rev. A. Kellar, 1834; Revs. John Sava and Charles C. Best, 1835 ; Revs. J. A. Hallock and J. R. Locke, 1836 ; Rev. Stephen Heard, 1837 ; Rev. L. Whipple, 1838; Rev. H. S. Hitchcock, 1839 ; Rev. D. Prichard, 1840. In 1841, supplies and Revs. G. F. Reeser and John Graham ; in 1842, Revs. Isaac Scofield and William Monks ; in 1843, Revs. William Monks and D. H. Jack ; in 1844, Revs. S. Churchill and J. K. Coxson ; in 1845, Revs. R. M. Bear and Thomas Benn.
These ministers always travelled on horseback. The horse was usu- ally " bobbed," and you could see that he had a most excellent skeleton. These itinerants all wore leggings, and carried on the saddle a large pair
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
of saddle-bags, which contained a clean shirt, a Bible, and a hymn-book. The sermon was on a cylinder in the head of the preacher, and was ready to be graphophoned at any point or time.
The pioneer presiding elders were : Rev. Wilder P. Mack, 1828-31; Rev. Joseph S. Barris, 1832; Rev. Zerah P. Caston, 1833-34; Rev. Joshua Monroe, 1835 ; Rev. Joseph S. Barris, 1836; Rev. William Car- roll, 1837-40 ; Rev. John Bain, 1841-42 ; Rev. John Robinson, 1843.
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Methodist Episcopal Church, Brookville, Pennsylvania. Erected in ISS6.
Pioneer Presiding Elder, Brookville Mission District : " Rev. William Carroll, presiding elder on the Brookville Mission District, was a stout, energetic man, of medium preaching talents, and was selected for this field of labor because it required bone and muscle, as well as faith and
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zeal, to accomplish its duties. That entire region of country was new, wild, rough, and mountainous, with many rapid bridgeless streams to cross. The settlements were far from each other, and the people poor but generous. Never since the days of Young and Finley did any pre- siding elder encounter such difficulties. Calvinism in its primitive char- acteristics had been planted there, and its advocates contested the ground with great tenacity and zeal. But to this field of toil and sacrifice the new presiding elder and his little band of youthful heroes hastened away and sowed the good seed with tears, and reaped a rich harvest of souls. That sterile soil has since become very fruitful."-Gregg's History of Methodism.
Ridgeway Mission was created in 1834. Pioneer circuit riders : Rev. G. D. Kinnear ; 1835, Rev. Alured Plimpton.
As a rule, these pioneer Methodists were good singers, and when and wherever they held a service in this wilderness they usually made our hills and valleys vocal with the glorious and beautiful hymns of John and Charles Wesley.
The pioneer female to pray in public or in the general prayer-meet- ings in Brookville was " Mother Fogle," Rev. Christopher Fogle's first wife.
The pay of the pioneer Methodist ministers and preachers, and for their wives and children, was as follows :
"1800 .- ' I. The annual salary of the travelling preachers shall be eighty dollars and their travelling expenses.
"' 2. The annual allowance of the wives of travelling preachers shall be eighty dollars.
"'3. Each child of a travelling preacher shall be allowed sixteen dol - lars annually to the age of seven years, and twenty-four dollars annually from the age of seven to fourteen years ; nevertheless, this rule shall not apply to the children of preachers whose families are provided for by other means in their circuits respectively.
"' 4. The salary of the superannuated, worn-out, and supernumerary preachers shall be eighty dollars annually.
"' 5. The annual allowance of the wives of superannuated, worn out, and supernumerary preachers shall be eighty dollars.
"' 6. The annual allowance of the widows of travelling, superannu- ated, worn-out, and supernumerary preachers shall be eighty dollars.
"' 7. The orphans of travelling, superannuated, worn-out, and super- numerary preachers shall be allowed by the Annual Conference, if possi- ble, by such means as they can devise, sixteen dollars annually.'
" 1804 .- The following inserted in clause 3, before 'nevertheless' : ' and those preachers whose wives are dead shall be allowed for each child annually a sum sufficient to pay the board of such child or children during the above term of years.'
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
" The following added at the close of the section :
"' 8. Local preachers shall be allowed a salary in certain cases as mentioned.'
" 1816 .- ' The allowance of all preachers and their wives raised to one hundred dollars.'
" 1824 .- Under clause 2 (allowance to wives) it is added, 'But this provision shall not apply to the wives of those preachers who were single when they were received for trial, and marry under four years, until the expiration of said four years.'
" 1828 .- The seventh clause (relating to orphans) was altered so as to read as follows :
"' 7. The orphans of travelling, supernumerary, superannuated, and worn-out preachers shall be allowed by the Annual Conferences the same sums respectively which are allowed to the children of living preachers. And on the death of a preacher, leaving a child or children without so much of worldly goods as should be necessary to his or her or their sup- port, the Annual Conference of which he was a member shall raise, in such manner as may be deemed best, a yearly sum for the subsistence and education of such orphan child or children, until he, she, or they shall have arrived at fourteen years of age, the amount of which yearly sum shall be fixed by the committee of the Conference at each session in advance.'
" 1832 .- The following new clause was inserted :
"' 8. The more effectually to raise the amount necessary to meet the above-mentioned allowance, let there be made weekly class collections in all our societies where it is practicable ; and also for the support of mis- sions and missionary schools under our care.'
" 1836 .- The regulation respecting those who marry 'under four years' was struck out, and bishops mentioned by name as standing on the same footing as other travelling preachers. Clauses 1, 2, 4, and 5 thrown into two, as follows :
"'I. The annual allowance of the married travelling, supernumerary, and superannuated preachers and the bishops shall be two hundred dol- lars and their travelling expenses.
"' 2. The annual allowance of the unmarried travelling, supernumer- ary, and superannuated preachers and the bishops shall be one hundred dollars and their travelling expenses.'
" The pioneer members were prohibited from wearing 'needless orna- ments, such as rings, earrings, lace, necklace, and ruffles.' "-Strickland's History of Discipline.
PIONEER AND EARLY CAMP-MEETINGS.
The pioneer camp-meeting in the United States was held, between ISoo and ISoI, at Cane Ridge, in Kentucky. It was under the auspices
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
of several different denominational ministers. The meeting was kept up day and night. It was supposed that there were in attendance during the meetings from twelve to twenty thousand people. Stands were erected through the woods, from which one, two, three, and four preachers would be addressing the thousands at the same time. It was at this place and from this time our camp-meetings took their rise.
Evans, the Shaker historian, who is strong in the gift of faith, tells us that " the subjects of this work were greatly exercised in dreams, visions, revelations, and the spirit of the prophecy. In these gifts of the Spirit they saw and testified that the great day of God was at hand, that Christ was about to set up his kingdom on earth, and that this very work would terminate in the full manifestation of the latter day of glory."
From another authority, endowed perhaps with less fervor but with more of common sense, we get a description of these " exercises," which has a familiar ring that seems to bring it very near home. "The people remained on the ground day and night, listening to the most exciting sermons, and engaging in a mode of worship which consisted in alternate crying, laughing, singing, and shouting, accompanied with gesticulations of a most extraordinary character. Often there would be an unusual out- cry, some bursting forth into loud ejaculations of thanksgiving, others exhorting their careless friends to 'turn to the Lord,' some struck with terror and hastening to escape, others trembling, weeping, and swooning away, till every appearance of life was gone and the extremities of the body assumed the coldness of a corpse. At one meeting not less than a thousand persons fell to the ground, apparently without sense or motion. It was common to see them shed tears plentifully about an hour before they fell. They were then seized with a general tremor, and sometimes they uttered one or two piercing shrieks in the moment of falling. This latter phenomenon was common to both sexes, to all ages, and to all sorts of characters.
" After a time these crazy performances in the sacred name of re- ligion became so much a matter of course that they were regularly classi- fied in categories as the rolls, the jerks, the barks, etc. The rolling ex- ercise was effected by doubling themselves up, then rolling from one side to the other like a hoop, or in extending the body horizontally and roll- ing over and over in the filth like so many swine. The jerk consisted in violent spasms and twistings of every part of the body. Sometimes the head was twisted round so that the face was turned to the back, and the countenance so much distorted that not one of its features was to be rec- ognized. When attacked by the jerks they sometimes hopped like frogs, and the face and limbs underwent the most hideous contortions. The bark consisted in throwing themselves on all-fours, growling, showing their teeth, and barking like dogs. Sometimes a number of people crouching down in front of the minister continued to bark as long as he
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
preached. These last were supposed to be more especially endowed with the gifts of prophecy, dreams, rhapsodies, and visions of angels."
Exactly when the pioneer camp-meeting was held in Jefferson County is unknown to me. Darius Carrier advertised one in the Jeffersonian as early as 1836, to be held near Summerville. The first one I remember was near Brookville, on the North Fork, on land now owned by F. Swartzlander. Others were held near Roseville, and in Perry township and kindred points. The rowdy element attended these services, and there was usually a good deal of disturbance from whiskey and fights, which, of course, greatly annoyed the good people. The first " Dutch camp-meeting" was held in what is now Ringgold township. In fact, these German meetings were only abandoned a few years ago. I repro- duce a " Dutch camp-meeting hymn" :
" CAMP-MEETING HYMN.
" Satan and I we can't agree, Halleo, halleolujah ! For I hate him and he hates me, Halleo, halleolujah !
" I do believe without a doubt, Halleo, halleolujah ! The Christian has a right to shout, Halleo, halleolujah !
" We'll whip the devil round the stump, Halleo, halleolujah ! And hit him a kick at every jump, Halleo, hallelujah !"
The mode of conducting our wood meetings was patterned after the original in Kentucky. The manner of worship and conversions were the same, and while a great deal of harsh criticism has been made against this mode of religious worship, there is one thing that must be admitted, -many bad, wicked persons were changed into good religious people. Pitch-pine fagots were burned at night to light the grounds.
BAPTIST CHURCH.
The pioneer Baptist preaching in Pennsylvania was at Cold Spring, Bucks County, in 1684, by Rev. Thomas Dungan. This church died in I702.
In 1818, Rev. Jonathan Nichols settled on Brandy Camp, in the Little Toby Valley. He was a regularly ordained Baptist minister and an edu- cated physician. His labors extended all over this county. He was the pioneer Baptist. His was " the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." Rev. Jona- than Nichols migrated to this region from Connecticut. He died in 1846, aged seventy-one years. His wife Hannah died in 1859, aged
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
eighty-two years. As a physician his labors were extended, and his ministry was well received by the scattered people of all beliefs. For a while he adhered to the close communion, but owing to the different beliefs adhered to by his hearers, he after a few years invited all Christian people who attended his services to the " Lord's table." His daughter told me his heart would not let him do otherwise. One who knew him well wrote of him : " He was a generous, kind-hearted gentleman, genial and urbane in his manners, with a helping hand ready to assist the needy, and had kind words to comfort the sorrowing." Winter's snow never deterred him from pastoral work or visits to the sick. After Nichols came Rev. Samuel Miles, of Clearfield County. The first regular Baptist church was organized in what is now Washington township, in June, 1834, with thirteen members, in Henry Keys' barn, by Rev. Brown. Henry Keys and James McConnell were elected deacons. The members of this pioneer church were James McConnell, Henry Keys and wife, Miss Betty Keys, Mrs. Eliza Haney, Mary Ann McConnell, Mrs. Catha- rine Keys, Margaret McConnell, Mrs. Nancy McGhee, Mrs. McClelland, Miss Hall, and Robert McIntosh and wife. The pioneer church in the county was erected on the Keys farm in 1841-42. It was a frame. James McConnell was the carpenter. The immersions took place in Mill Creek, now Allen's Mills. Before organizing their own church the men and women of the McIntosh, Keys, and McConnell families would start early on Sunday morning and walk to Zion Church, in Clarion County, thirty miles, and return the same day.
BROOKVILLE BAPTIST CHURCH MISSION.
The pioneer minister to do mission labor was Rev. Samuel Miles. He appeared on this field in 1833.
The pioneer Baptist communicant to locate in Brookville was James Craig, in 1834.
The pioneer convert in the borough was Miss Jane Craig. She was "immersed" near the covered bridge by Rev. Samuel Miles in 1838.
The second minister to perform mission work was Rev. Thomas E. Thomas, called Father Thomas. He came here from 1839 to 1843. The third minister to pioneer as a missionary in Brookville was the Rev. Thomas Wilson. He preached in Brookville in 1844. He pioneered in the county as early as 1840.
The early Baptists in this mission were Thomas Humphrey and wife, John Bullers and wife, Michael Troy and wife, William Humphrey and wife, Mrs. John Baum, William Russell and wife, Samuel C. Espy and wife, and others.
The pioneer and early " immersion" points were at the covered bridge at the junction of Sandy Lick and North Fork Creeks,-at or in the tail- race and in the sluice,-the mill-dam of R. P. Barr.
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
The Punxsutawney Church was organized October 30, 1840, by Rev. Thomas E. Thomas and Benoni Allen, with the following members by letter,-viz. :
31
Brookville Baptist Church. Erected in 1883.
Isaac London, Hiram London, Lemuel Carey, Sr., Hannah Carey, John R. Reed, Margaret Reed, James Armstrong, Mary Armstrong,
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
Esther McMillan, Eliza Cochrane, Sarah Gilhausen, and Elizabeth Mc- Cracken. Revs. Thomas and Allen continued to preach, each one- fourth of his time, until April 1, 1841. William Campbell was elected clerk. The pioneer immersions were Stephen London and James Mc- Conaughey,-viz., on November 1, 1840. On the 2d the following were immersed,-viz. : William Davis, William Campbell, Ephraim Bair, Jacob Bair, Samuel Gilhausen, John Hunt, and Prudence Stewart. On the 3d day of this month the following were immersed : James H. Bell, Ann Bell, William Torance, Lemuel Carey, Jr., Mary Davis, Jane Hunt, Eliz- abeth McDermott, and Jane Major. The Rev. Thomas continued with this church until October, 1841, when he was succeeded by the Rev. Thomas Wilson.
THE WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP BAPTIST CHURCH.
THE BEECHWOODS CHURCH.
"The society was organized in 1835, under the direction of Rev. Stoughton. The first members were Henry Keys and wife, Eliza Keys, Joseph Keys, James McConnell and two sisters, Mrs. Osborne, and several others whose names are forgotten. The first elders were Henry Keys and James McConnell. The first stated pastor was Rev. Samuel Miles, of Milesburg, Centre County, Pennsylvania. The first Baptist in the county was Eliza Keys, a sister of Henry and daughter of Joseph Keys. She was a woman of unusual energy, and whose qualities of mind and heart were eminently designed for the duties of a missionary, as she was in deed if not in name. From 1824 to the organization of the church in the county they went to Clarion County, and worshipped in the old 'Zion' Church and in the houses of Messrs. Lewis, Frampton, and Williams, and latterly in a little frame church near Corbett's Mills. The distance trav- elled by the members of the congregation was from twenty eight to forty miles, and many of the good people traversed the country on foot, and nothing but sickness prevented them from a regular attendance on divine services. Rev. Thomas E. Thomas, whose services are mentioned in brief in a sketch of the Punxsutawney Baptist Church, was one of the leading preachers in the Clarion region, and by his efforts built up the cause in Western Pennsylvania. In 1825 the only Baptist churches in Western Pennsylvania were Pittsburg, one ; Huntington, one ; Milesburg, one ; and Freeport, one. In 1826 a Baptist church was erected near Cor- bett's Mills, Clarion County, and thither the people of that faith were accustomed to congregate till the erection of a little church in Beech- woods, the date being 1837. This in time was succeeded by the present edifice."
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.
The pioneer Catholic service in Pennsylvania was in Philadelphia in 1708. The pioneer priest was either Polycarp Wicksted or James Had-
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
dock. The pioneer church erected was St. Joseph's, in Philadelphia, in I730.
The pioneer Catholic to locate in the county was perhaps John
BRAGDON PITTS.
Catholic Church, Brookville, Pennsylvania. Erected in 1875.
Dougherty, of Brookville. He came in 1831. The pioneer priest to visit Brookville was the Rev. John O'Neill, of Freeport, Pennsylvania. He visited here in 1832, and performed the pioneer baptism,-viz., of
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
Miss Kate, the daughter of John Dougherty. There was no resident priest here until 1847. The pioneer Catholics in the county were at- tended by priests from Armstrong and Westmoreland Counties. Pioneer services were held in the houses of John Dougherty, John Gallagher, Jacob Hoffman, and others.
THE MORMON CHURCH IN JEFFERSON COUNTY.
About 1815 there lived in Wayne County, New York, a young man by the name of Joseph Smith. In the twenties he proclaimed himself a prophet from God. In 1827 he published to the world that an angel had placed in his hands some golden plates, with a pair of spectacles, too, through which he alone could decipher the writing on the plates. His revelation from God consisted of a book styled the Book of Mormon. The book is a silly, childish kind of a romance. I possessed a copy for many years and tried at different times to read it through, but never had the grace or gift of continuance. This book pretends to give a history of Nephi, a Hebrew, who, six hundred years before the advent of Christ, was miraculously carried from Palestine in vessels to this American con- tinent. When Nephi landed on this continent there were no inhabitants, and the American Indians are declared by the book to be the descend- ants of Nephi. The Mormons taught that there were many Gods in in heaven, and that each God had many wives and children,-viz. : Smith would be a god ; his superior would be Jesus ; above Jesus would be Adam, above Adam would be Jehovah, and above all would be Elo- him. In 1830, Smith had about thirty believers, and organized his church at Manchester, New York. In 1831, under the lead of an angel, this band moved to Kirtland, Ohio. In 1838 they migrated to Missouri. From here they moved to Illinois, and built the city of Nauvoo. In the early forties Smith received a " revelation" establishing polygamy in the church. This caused internal dissensions, Smith was arrested, placed in jail, and finally shot by a mob. Brigham Young was then elected prophet, and the church migrated in a body beyond the Rocky Mountains to what is now the State of Utah.
PIONEER MORMON MISSIONARY.
" Mormonism ! On Saturday evening last our borough was visited by a youth of apparently not more than twenty-two years of age, a graduate of the disciple Jo Smith, S. Rigdon, and others of the Mormon creed, fresh from the ' Holy Land.' He remained here over Sabbath, during which time he kept himself principally secluded from company till even- ing, when he appeared in the court-house, and attempted to instruct the citizens of this place in the ' sublime mysteries' of Mormonism (?), but his ' new-fangled doctrine' didn't take.
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
" In the prosecution of his mission he labored to prove that events of transcendent importance were about being ushered in; that the millen- nium was dawning on our astonished visions ; that a revelation had been made on plates of gold to the said Jo Smith by the hands of an angel, and last, though not least, that a revelation of the hidden mysteries were important, etc.
" He taxed his most deceptive genius-a science in which he appears to be well versed-to rivet the attention of the congregation, by telling them that he had 'strange things yet to tell them,' and finally brought his exhibition to a close. We have not learned that he discipled any here, but believe that the decision and intelligence of the people of Jef- ferson County is a sure and certain guarantee against such delusions ever gaining their credence. He was permitted to depart in peace."-Brook- ville Republican, Thursday, October 12, 1837.
Our brother, the editor, was not exactly correct in his estimate of the intelligence of the people of Jefferson County, for quite a little congrega- tion of Mormons was formed in the extreme eastern end of Snyder town- ship, this county, and the western portion of Fox township, Clearfield County. The principal members were some of the Cobbs, Heaths, Bundys, Hoyts, and others. Religious meetings were held in each other's houses for some time. A number of these members migrated to the " Holy Land."
LUTHERAN CHURCH.
The pioneer Lutheran congregation in the United States was at New Hanover, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, with Justus Faulkner, pas- tor, in 1703.
The pioneer Lutheran minister to visit this county was the Rev. George Young, of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. Rev. Young or- ganized the pioneer church in the county in 1835, and erected a log building for that purpose, to which was attached a cemetery. The pio- neer services were held in the barn of Abraham Hoch, one mile south of Sprankle's Mill, and now Oliver township. Communion was commem- orated in this barn. The pioneer log church building was erected in 1838, about half a mile from Mr. Hoch's, on the farm now occupied by Boaz D. Blose. This log church was used for ten years, when it was abandoned for school purposes, and a large frame house of worship was then erected on the ridge two miles from Sprankle's Mill. This congre- gation was and is still known as St. John's, General Council.
The second Lutheran church organized was in 1838, and a log build- ing erected. This church was also called St. John's, and belonged to the General Synod branch of the denomination. Joel Spyker and Peter Thrush took an active part in the organization. This church was on what is now Andrew Ohl's farm, and was about three and one-half miles
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
south of Brookville. The pioneer members at this communion were Thomas Holt, Peter Thrush and wife, Samuel Johns and wife, Mattie Chesly, Charles Merriman and wife, Armenia Grove, Hannah Himes, Mary Johnson, Jacob Wolfgang and wife, Mary Spyker, and Joseph Kaylor.
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