USA > Pennsylvania > Cumberland County > Centennial biography : Men of mark of Cumberland Valley, Pa., 1776-1876 > Part 27
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Ilis first public service was that of missionary to the Choctaw Indians, on the Red river, bordering on Texas, under no missionary organization and chiefly at his own expense, and at a time when it tried a man's soul to go out as a missionary.
His health having failed him there, he returned to the States, and was settled as pastor in Venango county, Pa., for nine years, when sore throat compelled him to seek a dissolution of the pastoral relation.
He then determined never again to accept a call to a church, and firmly adhered to this determination, though often urged to settle as pastor, preferring to preach to the masses as God might grant him opportunity.
Since 1846, he has served the church and his country in various
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capacities : as Agent for Lafayette College, Agent of the Board of Colportage at Pittsburgh, Agent of Lincoln University, Professor in Steubenville Female Seminary, and as Chaplain in the Penitentiary of Missouri.
While acting as Professor of Astronomy, at Steubenville, he invented an ingenious set of sectional globes, celestial and terrestrial, combined with an orrery in such a manner that all three in one more clearly and definitely convey to the mind of the student the movements of the heavenly bodies, than has been done by any other invention, and it will be a blessing to any school to be furnished with these appliances for illustrating geography and astronomy. While laid aside from preach- ing by physical infirmities, at Greencastle, Pa., he is completing these inventions.
In all the public positions he has occupied the Rev. John R. Agnew has proven himself to be a man of the very highest principles, faithful, earnest and conscientious in the discharge of his duties, and pre-emi- nently a man of faith and prayer, preferring the poverty and trials of the Gospel ministry to the many more lucrative positions which have offered themselves to him at various periods of his eventful life.
Col. Agnew's oldest son, James Finley, is an officer in the church, in western Pennsylvania. His youngest son, Samuel Agnew, Esq., of Philadelphia, was the real originator of the Presbyterian Historical Society, so far as the original suggestion is concerned. He urged upon the late lamented Dr. Van Rensselaer the importance of such an organization ; and at his urgent request Dr. Van Rensselaer brought the subject before the General Assembly of 1852, and obtained a re- commendation of it, and at every step of its progress he has been the devoted and indefatigable promoter of that society, and most of its success is attributable to his gifts, zeal and labours in its behalf. Mrs. Elizabeth Brown, and Mr. David Agnew, an elder with his father in the McConnellsburg church, are the other living children. William died early. Mrs. Sarah Patterson died a number of years ago, leaving a large family. His daughter Mary, a young lady of remarkable beauty and loveliness of character, died at an early age. His second wife was Mrs. R. Scott, of Gettysburg, Pa.,-Miss Patterson, of Lan- caster county, Pa.
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DR. LEMUEL GUSTINE.
HIS distinguished physician's first residence in Pennsylvania was in the "Wyoming valley," in 1769. After the sad event which is known in history as the " Massacre of Wyoming," Dr. Gustine took up his residence in Carlisle. This was in July, 1778.
The circumstances of the invasion of the Wyoming settlement by the British and Indians ; the battle and massacre ; the conflagration of their dwellings, and the destruction of their property of all kinds, are well known to every reader of history, and need not be repeated here. But the personal action of individuals during such events is interest- ing, and may well be further noticed.
The British and their Indian allies had selected the time for the attack when the two Wyoming companies of Continental troops were absent from the valley, having been ordered to join the commander-in-chief " with all possible expedition." The number of men and boys able to bear arms to resist the enemy, was about four hundred, and these undisciplined troops marched forth to meet the British and Indians, the former consisting of British Provincials and Tories, were in number about four hundred men ; and of Seneca and Mohawk Indians, about six hundred and fifty. The Wyoming men fought well, but were over- powered by the superior forces of the enemy. Dr. Gustine, the subject of this article, was an aid to Colonel Dennison, who, in conjunction with Colonel Zebulon Butler, commanded the Wyoming troops. Dr. Gustine and Colonel Dennison were the last to leave the field, and they were enabled with a few others to regain " Forty Fort," from whence they had marched to meet the enemy. When the fort was invested, Dr. Gustine accompanied Colonel Dennison to arrange the terms of the capitulation ; and he is one of the signers of that docu- ment. Dr. Gustine was a man of great strength and activity, as well as of courage. When the British and Indians took possession of " Forty Fort," the latter commenced to plunder our people. An Indian attempted to take some property or apparel from the Doctor: he resisted, and giving the Indian a trip threw him to the ground. The other Indians were so much pleased at the Doctor's courage and activity that they handed him a rope, and said : " He is a drunken dog : tie him." Soon after the taking of possession by Major John Butler. who commanded the British and Indians, he said to Dr. Gustine, " I can
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protect you, and the others with you to-day, and for this night also, but I cannot promise you safety to-morrow." That night Dr. Gustine was enabled to procure a boat, and the next morning set off in it with his family and a few others down the Susquehanna. Landing for a short time at Fort Augusta, (now Sunbury, Northumberland county,) they pursued their journey down the river, and stopping for a few days at Fort Hunter, a few miles above John Harris' Ferry, (now Harris- burg,) they came to the Ferry; and from thence Dr. Gustine and his family proceeded to Carlisle, where he took up his residence, and remained until his death, which took place in 1807.
One of the terms of capitulation of the Fort at Wyoming, and signed by Dr. Gustine, contained the following : "that the inhabitants that Colonel Dennison now capitulates for, together with himself, do not take up arms during the present contest." Dr. Gustine did not return to the Wyoming valley, nor break his engagement by re-entering the military service. He pursued with great success the practice of his profession ; his practice extending through a large extent of country in Cumberland valley.
Dr. Gustine was first married to a daughter of Dr. William Hooker Smith, a prominent citizen of Wyoming, who, among other official positions, was Surgeon in the Continental army. This lady died a few weeks before the "Massacre of Wyoming," and is buried at " Forty Fort." A daughter by this marriage, Sarah, was three years old at the time of the massacre, and was in the Fort when it was surrendered. This daughter accompanied her father, Dr. Gustine, to Carlisle. She subsequently, namely, in 1792, was married to the Rev. Nathaniel R. Snowden, then a licentiate of the Presbytery of Philadelphia, but who had for several years resided at Carlisle as a student of divinity under the eminent Dr. Charles Nesbit. Mr. Minor, in his History of Wyo- ming, (1845,) referring to the family of Dr. William Hooker Smith, says : "But there was another daughter, who was married to Dr. Gustine, whose name will be found to the capitulation of Forty Fort. Dr. Gustine removed to another part of the state, and an only daughter of theirs, who was in the fort at the time of its surrender, married the Rev. Mr. Snowden, father of James Ross Snowden. The heart leaps more quickly, and the life current flows more kindly at the mention of his name, when we recollect that the late honoured Speaker of the House of Representatives, and present Treasurer of the Common- wealth, is the descendant of one of the Wyoming sufferers."
Dr. Gustine, a few years after his removal to Carlisle, married Miss
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Mary Parker, by whom he had several sons and daughters, most of whom removed to the state of Mississippi, where they became exten- sive and prosperous planters. And now there are none having the family name of Gustine residing in the Cumberland valley, albeit there are many in that region who are connected therewith by the ties of consanguinity and affinity, viz: the Hendersons, Loudons, Uries, Holcombs, Parkers, Snowdens, and others.
JOHN KNOX, D. D.
R. KNOX was born June 17th, 1790, in Adams county, near Gettysburg. His father was Samuel Knox, M. D., a physician of high reputation. His mother was Rebecca Hodge. Dr. Knox received his preparatory instruction in preparation for college from his father and the Rev. Alexander Dobbin, pastor of " the Hill " Associate Reformed Church, of which, in early life. Dr. Knox was a member. In 1809, he entered the Junior Class of Dickinson College, and graduated in 1811.
Leaving college, he entered the Theological Seminary of the Associate Reformed Church in the city of New York. under the super- intendence of the Rev. Dr. John M. Mason. He was licensed to preach the Gospel in 1815, and was ordained to the full work of the ministry, and installed collegiate pastor of the Reformed Dutch Church in the city of New York, on July 16th, 1816. In this charge he continued until his death on January 8th, 1858.
On May 11th, 1818, he was married to Euphemia Provost, cider daughter of the Rev. Dr. Mason. Mrs. Knox died July 6th. 1855.
In his private character Dr Knox was the model of a Christian gentleman. Kind without an air of condescension, truthful without an ostentation of frankness, warm-hearted without credulity, scrupulously honourable, and punctiliously exact in the use of words, and in the performance of his promises, he won the friendship of those who knew him, and kept that friendship until the last.
As a preacher, Dr. Knox lacked what is commonly styled eloquence in delivery, but his manner had the best element of eloquence-which was persuasiveness. The matter of his sermons was always evangeli- cal, and this was the chief secret of his long continuance in one charge, and of his undiminished influence throughout his pastorate.
As a philanthropist, he occupied a high position. He was a Trustee of Columbia College; of Rutgers College, New Jersey; of the Leake and Watt Orphan Asylum; Chairman of the Publishing Committee of the American Tract Society, and a member of several boards of his own church. In all these public relations, he evinced a steady dili- gence, and lent bis influence and his wise counsels to the progress of their welfare.
"Dr. Knox was pre-eminently adapted to fill a large place in his day
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and generation. His noble, majestic form never disappointed the expectations which it could not fail to raise. The earthly house and the immortal tenant were well matched. He was born to exert a commanding influence. He was consecrated to exert a commanding influence for good. His comprehensive mind spurned all narrow, contracted, mean, petty and false views of any subject to which his attention was directed. He saw farther than most men ; and as far as he saw, he saw clearly, and what he saw he spake, 'without partiality and without hypocrisy.' Then, too, his great heart was full of gen- erous sympathies, which forbade him to yield his judgment to the special pleading of any ex parte advocate of selfishness and injustice. For these and similar reasons, his wisdom became the characteristic by which he was best known to the world-the secret of his power in the pulpit, and in pastoral visitation, over the understanding and hearts and consciences of his parishioners, a power which a long ministerial life but served to increase, and which will continue to be feit when all the popular eloquence of the times shall be forgotten ; the secret, too of his election to so many important offices in the benevolent societies and philanthropic and educational institutions of his age, offices which, however arduous and thankless the labours devoted upon him in them, he could not be permitted, for any plea of increasing years, to resign ; and the secret, moreover, of the innumerable applications to him, in person and by letter, for private advice, from kindred and con- nections near and remote ; from members of his own congregation, and from his fellow-citizens generally: from his ministerial brethren ; from strangers and foreigners ; from high life, middle life, and low life, thronging his house, interrupting him at his meals, his devotions and his studies, and burdening him with cares enough to crush any ordinary man, though, truth to say, he seemed to thrive under them.
"For with all the public responsibilities which his sound judgment and discretion brought upon him, he found so much time for the enjoy- ment and duties of social life, that he was best known throughout the large circle of his family and friends for his warm affection, constant and kindly solicitude, and bountiful hospitality. Who that ever witnessed. can forget how his imposing presence was relieved by the beautiful combination in his manners of dignity, courtesy, affability and cordi- ality ? His hearty welcome was sustained by his unwearied attentions to his guests, till his farewell left them more his admirers than ever. Among the multitudes entitled to his regards, or admitted to his con- fidence and favour, not one, in disappointment, perplexity or sorrow, ever applied to him for assistance, counsel or consolation in vain.
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Many a time has he volunteered his thoughtfulness for them, and, when they least expected it, has soothed their griefs, guided them through their difficulties, and opened to them new avenues of useful- ness and prosperity. And ever have they found him most deeply interested in, and most ready to promote, their spiritual and eternal welfare. He watched for their souls. If any man ever had a right to adopt the words of ' the greatest of all the men of the east,' it was Dr. Knox: ' When the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me: because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him. The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me, and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame. I was a father to the poor, and the cause which I knew not I searched out. Unto me men gave car, and waited, and kept silence at my counsel. I chose out their way, and sat chief, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one that comforteth the mourners.'"
ALFRED FOSTER, M. D.
N the old graveyard in the borough of Carlisle there is a monument with this inscription, "Alfred Foster, M. D .; born A. D., 1790; died A. D., 1847." On one side of it is written, "Purity of mind and integrity of purpose graced his great attainments in science and literature; and his character happily blended the guile- lessness of childhood with the wisdom of mature years." On another, this: "His talents were various and brilliant; his learning extensive and accurate ; but diffident of his own powers, he shunned that distinction which his abilities would have secured, had ambition prompted."
There is no place where the excellent qualities of men are more likely to be extravagantly portrayed than that which marks their last resting place. In this class would the above inscriptions be ranked by those who had no knowledge of the life and character of Dr. Foster, but to those acquainted with them, there is no word of extravagance in what is there written. He was a student from boyhood. He gradu- ated at Dickinson College in ISog, was a classmate of Hon. James Buchanan and divided with him the first honours of the class. Here their lives separated. Mr. Buchanan soon became an eminent member of the bar and mingled politics with his profession ; sought and obtained distinction in public life, and attained a name that will ever be remem- bered among men. Dr. Foster, with equal abilities and far greater acquirements, was never known beyond the limits of his own state ; never known intimately but by people of his own town; and his memory now has faded from the recollection of many of the active portion of its population. But with those who had the good fortune to know him, there is an abiding love for his character, faith in his profes- sional knowledge, and reverence for his intellectual attainments, that seldom cluster round the memory of the dead.
There is an atmosphere that always surrounds great minds, which is peculiar to them and noticeable by the observant. This pervaded the character of Dr. Foster more than that of any other citizen of Carlisle during his active career, although many men of distinction resided here at the same time, and they were generally his intimate friends. This exhibited itself in his case in many ways. Among others the following will serve as illustrations. With the members of his profession, when he was called into consultation, his judgment was considered unerring.
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With the sick, and particularly with those whose ailments were as much mental as physical, when Dr. Foster said the danger was over or there was no real cause for alarm, the patient was instantly relieved; but more than all, in that circle composed of the leading men of his own profession, the leading men of the bar, the clergy and the professors of the college, he was ever regarded as the foremost.
There is a superiority which is seen and felt in the refined social circle that is not recognized by the multitude and not exhibited in a crowd or felt in a public assembly. It is the unerring deference which mind pays to mind, and that in the proportion each overshadows the other. Addison, in his Freeholder, tells us that his good genius once conducted him to the Temple of Fame and placed him where he could see all who were there and hear all that was said. He saw, seated at the table, the chief heroes and poets and philosophers of classic an- tiquity, heard their disputations, and noticed, when debate ran high, a nod from Homer settled the matter. In a large, refined and highly cultivated society existing in Carlisle, and embracing among others the members of the various professions, the Faculty of the college, distin- guished officers of the Army and the Chief Justice of the state, the first place was unhesitatingly assigned to the Doctor. And the reason was obvious. There was no subject that engaged the minds of men in science, in philosophy, or in the line of the various professions, with which he was not familiar. Had a new planet been discovered? His mind glanced over the whole range of Astronomy from the Ptolemaic system to the last theory that had been advanced, and he illumined the subject with such stores of knowledge, that one who did not know him, would have felt satisfied he had spent his whole life in studying the courses of the heavenly bodies. Was the subject of pure mathematics introduced by some learned professor ? He would begin with the history of that science and trace it through its three great periods, characterizing cach by the introduction of its new methods, showing how geometry was almost exclusively cultivated during the era of Greek and Roman supremacy; how, after the decline of Rome, the sciences took refuge among the Arabs who translated and preserved the literary treasures of Greece, and introduced the second great period of mathematics by giving to Europe the decimal arithmetic and the algebraic calculus, both of Indian origin ; and thence he would come down to what had in later years been done by Descartes, Newton, Leibnitz, and their successors, Euler, D'Alembert and Laplace.
Was some historic field of battle the subject of conversation ? The inen of military education were astounded at the accuracy of his
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knowledge of the details of that engagement and its influence on the war that was raging, and on the ultimate fate of the nations engaged ; and so on through the whole round of human knowledge. There was no field with which he was not familiar, and no detail with which his mind was not accurately stored. And yet this great man was as modest as a child, as unobtrusive as it is possible to be, and so averse to adulation, that if any one offered to pay homage to his great attain- ments, he was apt to offend him, and if he dared to flatter him, was sure to make him angry. He never married, never strove for or attained wealth, was careless of money beyond his personal wants, and met promptly his pecuniary engagements. No man before him had ever in this place made such high attainments in learning and know- ledge, and none since has ever aspired to them.
His family was, early in this century, prominent here, but he was the last of his name that resided in Carlisle.
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JOHN CLARKE YOUNG, D. D.
OHN C. YOUNG was born in Green Castle, Pa. His father was an excellent elder in the Presbyterian Church of that place. His mother was the sister of the Rev. John X. Clarke, and Hon. Matthew St. Clair Clarke.
His earliest training was received in his native place, from John Boreland, one of the finest scholars and most admirable teachers of the country. He was educated at Dickinson College, under the celebrated Dr. John Mason. His theological course was pursued at Princeton. In the third year he was chosen tutor in the college, along with the lamented A. B. Dod. After finishing his studies, and being licensed, he was first called to the church in Lexington, Kentucky. His preach- ing there made a profound impression, and his ministry was successful in a high degree.
After a few years, Dr. Young was called to the Presidency of Dan- ville College, where his life-work was afterward spent. He was popu- lar with the students, and greatly revered by the friends of the college. His ministry was greatly blessed to the awakening and conversion of the students. He organized a second church in Danville, to which he statedly ministered for many years, and where the students attended. He took an active and decided part in the discussions on slavery and emancipation in Kentucky, and was the author of a report on the subject in the Synod.
Dr. Young was Moderator of the Assembly which met in Philadel- phia, in 1853, and presided over the deliberations of that body with great ability and universal acceptableness. The latter years of his life were marked by disease, which terminated his usefulness in 1857. He was twice married. His first wife was the daughter of Cabel Breckinridge, and sister of John C. Breckinridge. His second wife was the daughter of Hon. J. J. Crittenden, who still survives him. Two of his sons are, or were, in the ministry.
"Dr. Young," says his friend, Rev. D. H. Biddle, D. D., " was an able and sound divine, a faithful and successful teacher, of a logical mind and warm heart. His loss to the church and the cause of learning is deeply deplored, and his memory is fondly cherished by all who knew and loved him." Such men are ornaments to their age, and blessings to their country and the world.
JAMES S. WOODS, D. D.
HE REV. JAMES STERRETT WOODS, son of Samuel and Frances (Sterrett) Woods, was born in Cumberland county, Pa., April 18th, 1793. His parents were Scotch-Irish, and one of the best familjes in the Cumberland valley. They were remarkable for their intelligence, integrity and energy. Their piety was Scriptural and practical, resting on the sound basis of clear and thorough doc- trinal knowledge. The greatest care was taken in the training of their children.
Samuel Woods, the father, was a man of the highest probity, courage and reliability. During the progress of the War of the Revolution he acted as Indian scout-a most perilous undertaking-in the service of the Government, or on behalf of the neighbourhood in which he lived, which was then the red man's undisputed home. The mother, whose maiden name was Sterrett, it is said, was a woman of devoted piety, and pre-eminent for her faith. The character of their children is their best eulogy. They worshiped in the Presbyterian Church, in Carlisle, Pa., under the care of Rev. Dr. Davidson, and subsequently Rev. Dr. H. R. Wilson. Here Mr. Woods first professed religion. James S. Woods received his classical education with Mr. John Cooper, Hope- well Academy, Pa .; graduated at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pa., under the presidency of Rev. John McKnight, D. D. He obtained his theological education at Princeton, N. J., and was licensed by the Pres- bytery of New Brunswick, in 1817. His first settlement was in Mifflin county, Pa., whither he came in 1819. From this time until 1822 he laboured as an evangelist in the valley of the Juniata, from Lewistown to Shade Gap. Through this field, embracing Mel'eytown, Newton- Hamilton and Shirleysburg, he laid the foundations for the present churches. Here he is claimed as the father of Presbyterianism. Often he preached in private houses, school houses and barns. He mingled much with the people, catechising statedly and faithfully, and visiting the sick and dying wherever known. Many still live in the churches of McVeytown and Newton-Hamilton who count him their spiritual father, and hold him in the highest esteem. In the bounds of these places a work of grace was carried on for two years, which he con- sidered one of the most powerful he had ever seen. He resided, at first, in the vicinity of McVeytown, and was called, in 1822, to take
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