USA > Pennsylvania > Allegheny County > Pittsburgh > Centennial volume of the First Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh, PA., 1784-1884 > Part 4
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March, 1810. and was regarded as a severe affliction to the church. Already, in February, 1804, Messrs. Addison, Steven- son and Clow, had been appointed to memorialize the General Assembly against a decree of the Synod in his case, and Judge Addison's name in the protest and appeal already referred to, is evidence that Mr. Steele must have been both a faithful and a competent pastor. Judge Snowden writes of him as " much beloved by the church," and that " his death caused much sym- pathy." Resolutions of the Board of Trustees [it is a grief every way, that no Sessional records of this period exist] were passed, expressing respect and esteem. The church was ordered to be draped in mourning. The second resolution gave the pew rents to the widow until another pastor should be chosen, and after that au annuity of $200 during her widowhood. This was finally commuted, December 16th, 1817, by the payment of a single sum of $400. It is an almost unparalleled example, and was deserved by this ladylike and talented woman.
The religious life of this whole period may readily be inferred from the facts now recited. The tide was very strong toward much that did not favor high spirituality. Church growth was slow and devotional life feeble. Immigration brought help, but there were few conversions. The total number of communicants in the year of Mr. Steele's death was fifty-eight only. The struggles of the period had eventuated in establishment, as those of the previous period in existence, and in neither case with any great margin. The depression of debt was the more keenly felt, because of the ineffectual (because improper ) method of attempt- ing to remove it. But real progress was being made, neverthe- less. The church now appears in Presbytery, for the first time, with £5 for the Commissioner's fund, entered naively, I think, to " the First Presbyterian Congregation of Pittsburgh-the first collection." (Min. p. 210.) Our church seems to have been late in learning to give to general objects. Even in 1808 it does not appear among the missionary contributors of the Presbytery-nor in 1809, nor in Synod's tables of 1808-1812. The membership numbered 45 in 1808, 58 in 1809, and 65 in 1810, so that the last years of Mr. Steele's ministry were some of the most fruitful. Around us there had been growth. Cross Creek Church num- bered 255 ; Cross Roads and Three Springs, (MeCurdy's charge. ) numbered 237, and many others about 200 members. But the 4
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city and the country were widely dissimilar in moral condition. It is the record of a struggle indeed within these corporation lines. We need far better knowledge of the times and manners and morals and limited resources of the time, to enable us to under- stand the sacrifice and labor and prayer of faithful ones which is represented in the maintenance and advancement of our church during the first decade of this century. Think how differently our well equipped churches start into being nowadays! Let us remember that their patience and endurance instruet ns in our enlarged work, and that even in mistakes they were working out their education and our safety.
So ends Period II-in establishment.
HISTORICAL SERMONS.
PERIOD III.
CONCLUDING SERMON, APRIL 20TH, 1884-SABBATH MORNING.
I Timothy, iii : 14, 15.
" These things write I unto thee that thou mightest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."
That is the moral purpose which all the recitals of this golden week are designed to subserve. Whether celebration of the virtues and graces of the good men and women of other days, or recounting their hair-breadth escapes, or even acknowledging their foibles and faults, whether remembering the days of dark- ness and discouragement or those of favor and progress, all is meant to teach us how to lead our lives in relation to the church of our own day, with all its peculiar difficulties and responsibili- ties or larger means and opportunities.
And to this we ought to be stimulated by remembering what the "house of God " is! Deficient in many things it may be, soiled with this and that spot, marred with such and such excres- cences, and sometimes weak to tottering, yet remember, if you would behave rightly in it, that it is the "church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."
And nothing can prove it better than the history of a single century in a single church. Here, but for the grace of God and the truth of God, there had been found unsanetified human nature enough to have buried the church under its corruptions, or exploded it by contentions, or to have forsaken its work and
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worship for worldliness. The contrary-so richly proven-is due to the great faet of the text. The First Church has been held and led and disciplined as part of the "church of the living God," and it has been the " pillar and ground of the truth," because its own steadiness came from the unfailing power of the God who gave spiritual life to its members.
Let us seek, therefore, in what remains, both directly and indi- reetly, to be learning how we may behave ourselves in and toward and through the " house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."
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LINK BETWEEN PERIODS II AND III.
Few churches have been so favored as this one, in those who have supplied from time to time the periods intervening between pastors -- and in the longer periods of pastoral absence. Dr. S. H. Kellogg, with whom your satisfaction is now so pronounced, was preceded in 1879 by Dr. S. J. Wilson, our admired and lamented Professor, whose reception and honors here, just a year ago, are so fresh in our mind, and yet seem to blend with the mournful pageant of his funeral. He was preceded in 1872 by the beloved and persuasive Dr. Wm. H. Hornblower, whose kindness won universal esteem, as his preaching secured universal approval ; and with his ministrations were joined in the same year, those of the lamented and admired, the many talented Dr. M. W. Jacobus. They were preceded by Dr. Archibald Alexander Hodge, in 1865, whose marvelous facility was only equaled by his depth. Before him was Dr. W. W. Eels, whose bow still abides in strength. And with a long interval, during those years when some kindly offices were necessary to its very existence, the church was ministered to in the period between Mr. Steele's death in March, 1810, and Dr. Herron's arrival in June, 1811, by the Rer. Joseph Stockton. His father Robert was a cousin of Richard, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Robert Stockton removed to Washington, Pa., in 1784, (the year of organization ) and was ordained as one of the four first elders of the church formed there subsequently, (as his father, Thomas Stockton, had been an elder before him). He was one of the early delegates to the Presbytery of Redstone. Joseph Stockton was educated at Canonsburg, and studied theology with John McMillan. In 1801 he became pastor at Meadville, and came
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thenee in 1809 as Principal of the Pittsburgh Academy, which afterwards became the Western University of Pittsburgh. Thus he was brought to the aid of this church in its time of trial, by those scholarly tastes which marked his whole life. He was received by the Presbytery of Redstone, October, 1810, and appointed supply of the " First Congregation of Pittsburgh, as often as convenient." After his service here, which was of the greatest value to the church, he continued teaching until 1819 .* Then removing to Allegheny, he gathered its first handful of worshipers and prepared the way for the later organization of the First Church of Allegheny. In the history of that church the fuller record of his labors has been made. He was one of the most accomplished of the early ministers. His published school books aided education largely, as did his own admirable teaching. He was skilled in Medicine, and his unfinished volume on Theology displays the depth of his acquirements, as other things their variety. His life was a pattern of usefulness and devotion. He was President of the "Pittsburgh Sabbath School Union," and served " with efficiency and power."
His missionary labors in all this region . were given almost without reward and freely, from the Arsenal and Allegheny to Sharpsburg and Pine Creek (the churches at the latter two points being erected under his care). And even his service, so important at the time, to our own church, was probably gratui- tons. A certain sum was declared due by the Board of Trus- tees, but there is no evidence of its payment. He probably refused it, as family tradition says he did, out of consideration to Mr. Steele's family, and out of sympathy with the struggling church. The name of Stockton is precious in many a home within these borders. Snatched away by cholera in October, 1832, and dying away from home, he was sustained with an unfaltering trust. " The battle is nearly fought," said the dying
* It was in 1814 that the Presbytery feared Mr. Stockton's conformity to the views it held, needed to be inquired into : but it was easily satisfied with the absence of evidence, and with his own statement in which "he acknowledged that he had bap- tized a child for Mr. Cromwell, which was apparently at the point of death. but denied that he had dined abroad with any party or parties on the Sabbath, or that he had played at backgammon, or either directly or indirectly advocated balls and dancing, and that he had decidedly spoken against all theatrical exhibitions and the cireus." Thus he completes the list-Addison, Barr, Mahon, Steele and Stockton, which shows how watelful the old Presbytery of Redstone was, and how decided its views were on " questions of conscience."
.
-
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minister. "And will you gain the victory ?" said one beside. " Yes," he replied, " I feel that I shall -- I feel that Christ is with me." He frequently prayed, "Come, Lord Jesus ! Come quickly ! Thy servant waits." His character is well illustrated in the fact that the Pittsburgh Humane Society (the object of which was "to alleviate the distress of the poor, to supply the wants of the hungry, to administer comfort to the widow, the orphan and the sick,") had Mr. Stockton for its President : and by the fact that the ladies decided, early in 1832, to hold the meeting that resulted in the Orphan Asylum (so successful since ) at his house : and that when the public meeting was called in this church, April 17, 1832, by Mrs. Page, Mrs. Robinson, Mrs. Denny, and others, the Rev. Joseph Stockton "led the devotions." Thus one of his latest official acts was to implore the divine blessing upon so fruitful a beginning which was to carry forward the spirit of his own life, and in which, so many years afterwards, descendants of his own should still be efficiently and officially interested.
The record of the church-life of this intercalary year was not one of discouragement, though naturally, not one of great progress. The total number of communicants in April, 1810, was sixty-five. In April, 1811, twenty-one infants had been bap- tized, one member had been dismissed, four had been received on examination, and six by certificate, and the total number of com- municants stood at seventy-four.
Thus was forged the link between Periods II and III.
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PERIOD III.
It was God's time now for the third period-that of success. The Reverend Francis Herron, pastor at Rocky Springs since 1800, came to visit his relative, Dr. Brown, of Washington, Pa., and preached in the First Church by request. Great interest was excited and such a call followed him home. as brought him back again in the spring of 1811. What he found may be in- ferred from what has been said. One who knew, has written : " The church was found to be in an almost hopeless state of pecuniary embarrassment ; but far worse than this, religion, by a large portion of the people, was utterly discarded, and with many of its professors had little more than the semblance of form." Judge Snowden's history states that "the number of persons who then attended upon the preaching of the Word was comparatively small, and the laxity of discipline was equally lamentable." Dr. Herron was heard afterwards " frequently to speak of the prevalence of fashionable follies, the strength of pernicious social habits, the influence of worldliness over the church, and the mournful absence of the spirit and power of vital godliness that characterized that period." [Dr. Paxton's " Memorial," pp. 37, 38.] Several striking traditional utterances of that time fully substantiate these authorities, but they need not be quoted. Evidently the first years were to be those of struggle still. Things more powerful than the "swallows" of 1799 were now to be encountered and dispossessed. Indeed there seemed to be a spiritual chill upon the region. In 1813 there was noted by the Synod, troublous times, " bitter party acerimination" was lamented, which impaired the "peace of society " and threatened its " safety,' and "exerted a baneful in-
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fluence on the harmony and edification of the church of God." (p. 100). Growth was slow in every direction.
Allegheny was then so unimportant that the Clerk of Presby- tery spells it without a capital letter, and the Presbytery itself thought it "out of order to grant the Rev. Joseph Stockton permission to preach there." (Red. Min. p. 263.)
The First Church numbered, in 1814, as total of communi- cants, 65. (Not very rapid thirty years growth.) And in 1816 it numbered only 78. But in 1817 it had risen to 120, and in 1818 it had reached 133. Its first mission contribution recorded is in - 1815, 860, but in 1818 it gave $177.36. Here is noticed the first hint of organized Woman's Work. The " Female Cent Society of Pittsburgh," gave to the Western Missionary Society, $57.
The membership seems to fluctuate, though there was real progress. In 1820, 180 communicants are reported ; in 1821, 174 are enrolled, and in 1822, only 167. Many are dismissed each year, and doubtless the population more rapidly changed than now. The depression was great at the point of the finances. On the 8th of July, one hundred per cent .. was added to the pew rents, to be paid in one, two and three years. The debt amounted to $4,300. The salary paid was hut $600 per annum. And this though the city was in a condition of prosperity.
But difficulties only stirred the noble and evangelical pastor to exertion. Some method of relief must be found, and early in 1814 the sale of a large corner lot from the front on Wood street was finally determined upon, by which to pay all indebt- edness. The $3,000 paid for it by the Bank of Pittsburgh, paid the judgment and costs of the sheriff's sale in 1813, and placed in the Treasury a balance of $181. [Relief it was, but final loss, for when later efforts (1868) were made to regain the prop- erty sold, it had become too valuable. Yet, when resold to the church in 1824 by the Bank (and generously ) for just what had been paid for it, and two lots sold to pay for the one, they brought in a surplus over cost, and that stands yet (I suppose) in the ornamental iron fence in front.]
In 1816 an enlargement was determined upon, and carried out in 1817. What interest there must have been in the community, replacing former indifference, is shown in the fact that the pews sold then for 87,470-a remarkable result in a church number-
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ing seventy-eight communicants. No better proof could be given that the people were beginning to learn the worth, to them, of such a church and pastor. The light in the candlestick of gold was brightening and it was fittingly symbolized in the gift of the famous O'Hara chandelier.
Progress was still to be made, and in 1818 the pulpit was altered and the session room built. There was now a place to pray for the persevering few who had the spirit of prayer, better than the one dimly lighted corner of the main room to which the faithful had resorted. And here, as in every addition to the instrument of His service, God accepted and blessed what His people wrought. How eminently a sacred spot has that session room always been ! How many seasons of spiritual power have been experienced in it ! Some who have been most helpful have seen the light-spiritual there. Every Sabbath morning the Session and others met there for prayer. "There the young men com- menced their prayer meeting," says Dr. Lea, "and laid their plans for the formation of the Third Church. There the Western Theological Seminary first convened. It contained the library and the first class, and there, more than anywhere else, was formed the Western Foreign Missionary Society." [Dr. L.'s paper, read July 4th, 1880, Communion season.]
For help out of all difficulties, the truth as it is in Jesus was first of all relied upon. Faithful and affectionate preaching and earnest pastoral work wrought these changes and others.
The revival of 1822 followed. The backslidden were reclaimed, the hands of the constant strengthened, and the attention of the worldly attracted. Not lotteries this time, but prayer meet- ings and spiritual life were sought unto as the means of escape from difficulty. And they were blessed, as always. The decided stand against the fashionable follies of the time that won for Dr. Herron the then significant title, "Methodist," won also their better judgment, and finally their help. The impetus of the Sabbath School movement had already begun to be felt. Dr. Herron and the pious Joseph Patterson formed the Sabbath School Association of Pittsburgh in 1817, and in the First Church, for itself, in 1825, and thus kept the First Church true to its work when others tired of it. So that in 1832 the maximum interest reached recorded 12 schools and 1,222 scholars. A special building for this purpose, first of its kind in all the region, was
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erected in 1826, (cost 8700.) The blessing of God continued ou the church which cared for its own and other children. (Sabbath School Association endured until '52.) The Third Presbyterian Church was formed in 1833, with full consent and approval of the First, and some of the choicest material of the First entered the enterprise, a few of whom have survived to celebrate its semi-centennial in the midst of prosperity and promise.
But all that had gone before could not so have encouraged the heart of the indomitable and faithful pastor as did the revival of 1827. Some are yet living who passed through its scenes. The church, nay, the town was never the same afterwards. It was the final evidence that the grace of God and His gospel could conquer anywhere. Here is the description of one eye witness, (in addition to which you are referred to.Dr. Paxton's Memorial Sermons, pp. 58 -64, and to Dr. Lea's Communion paper in the Appendix.) Mr. Daniel Bushnell writes: " After the lecture room was built the prayer meetings were better attended, but I did not know much about them until the winter of 1827, when a great revival among God's people was manifest, and many conversions to God re- sulted. I have been informed that the revival was the result of the earnest preaching of Dr. Herron on the importance of more consecration of God's people and the importance of special effort of Christians to benefit the souls of sinners around them. The Dr. called his Session together, told them that he saw signs of encouragement in the congregation, and proposed special meet- ings for prayer. The effort was made and meetings appointed in various parts of the city: God's blessing followed the effort and the result was that all the churches were revived more or less, and great numbers were converted to God. At the communion in February, 1828, about fifty persons, old and young, united with the First Church, and about the same number on the next communion. The result of that revival remains to this day. The tone of piety was greatly elevated; Christians began to realize that they individually had something to do in advancing the cause of Christ, and took hold of the work at once. Sabbath Schools gained a new impulse. Mission work was commenced in destitute parts of the city, and all religious efforts were greatly promoted. Meetings were held in the lecture room every night, and were well attended, though it rained almost incessantly all that winter. The Dr. was well supported by his ministering
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brethren from the surrounding country, and many of them ob- tained such refreshing from the influence of these meetings that they were able to communicate to their own churches, and thus the leaven spread."
After 1827 spiritual success was assured. Then the church learned where its true strength laid. Then it gained the power of despising circumstances and inconveniences in order to do good. " Very dark nights" and "very deep mud" meant nothing as ob- stacles. The "wet winter" was a winter of power. All testimonies bear witness to the vigorous spring forward in all earnest Chris- tian living and working which followed and proved the genuine- ness of this revival.
Among the results came that large piece of work, the desire to accomplish which was born of the missionary spirit, and which was to fill so large a space in the spiritual history of our com- munity and of our country and beyond. Early deliverances of the Synod lamented the distance of young men from Princeton, and earnestly determined were the men of the West to educate their own sons for the ministry on their own soil. Dr. McMillan had been appointed professor of theology at Jefferson College, but something larger was necessary now. Dr. Herron's address and casting vote secured the Seminary, but what a burden came with it for him! Nobly was it borne. In the long train of years noth- ing better illustrates the staunch character of both pastor and people than the finally successful struggle to maintain our beloved. Seminary. Nobly were they assisted by others, as for example by Mr. Graham, of Beulah, who rode over his whole country side collecting funds and gave $50 himself out of a salary of $700; and as by Richard Lea's agency, of which our Michael Allen paid all the expenses ; but Dr. Brownson has well written that there were' long, long years when any faltering on Dr. Herron's part would have been " fatal." The education of " poor but pious youth" was one of the passions of his life, and he knew that a populous centre was the place to bring them to for a proper training in Christian work. And thoroughly has the result vindicated the wisdom of his struggles. What multitudes of souls in our own country and in heathen lands have reason to bless God for the zeal and prudence and persistence which built up this school of the prophets !
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Dr. Herron early realized, with others, the power of the press. Glowing resolutions were passed by the Synod concerning a religious periodical in October, 1821, and Rev. John Anderson was chosen editor. Dr. Herron was one of the committee to "assist Mr. Anderson by purchasing material, and to procure an editor if Mr. Anderson shall decline." The " Recorder," and another " Missionary Journal" were valuable publications, as well as " The Preacher." [Pains should be taken to secure full sets of them for the church archives.]
In 1823 the church numbered. 216
In 1824 the church numbered 194
In 1825 the church numbered 219
In 1826 the church numbered 230
In 1827 the church numbered 262
This last year the contribution to Missions reached $354.
In 1828 the church reported, (revival, 95 added ) ..... 319
In 1829 the church reported. .330
In 1830 the church reported 359
At this time a number of members, Mrs. John Grubbs, Stephen Straight, John Patterson and wife, Mary Anderson, Isabella Stewart, Mr. Irwin and Mr. Semple, were granted letters in a body to form the First Church of Allegheny City. Others went also, among them the useful Elder John Hannen (who was long known as "the beloved disciple " for his gentle manners and devoted life.)
About this time ( 1828) began the settlement of the principles of denominational action in the carrying forward of the evangelizing work of the church. Union had been attempted, but friction resulted, and it was believed that much more could be accom- plished if each branch of the church of Christ were thoroughly organized to do its own work. The first point which came up for decision concerned education. In October, 1828, the Synod's resolution about theologieal education, took ground looking away from the "American Education Society." Better work could be done for the Seminary, as well as through it, if the church would work by its own instrumentalities. A "Society of Education " was formed, auxiliary to the " Board " of Education, (and Dr. Herron, by the way, was a member of the committee which drafted the Constitution of that Board. ) Funds were then con-
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