USA > Pennsylvania > Chester County > Historical discourse delivered on the occasion of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the Upper Octorara Presbyterian Church : Chester County, Pennsylvania, September 14, 1870 > Part 8
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adversary that it was not always safe to attack in wordy war.
As an instance of his ready wit, I remember being present in the General Assembly in Philadelphia in 1861, of which he was a member, when some one was making a tedious speech. Mr. Latta called him to order; but being overruled by the Moderator, he re- marked, in an under tone, that "it would be greatly to the consolation of the Assembly to have a few chapters of the book of Job read !"
As a pastor he was faithful, attentive to the young, the sick and afflicted, and very earnest in hunting up wanderers, and persuading people to attend upon the means of grace. He loved good singing, and ex- celled in it himself, and was a warm friend of Sabbath- schools.
This community in which he had his home, bears upon every hand the clear and deep traces of his life and character. None that ever crossed his thresh- hold can forget his cordial welcome, his graceful hos- pitality, or his genuine kindness, and there will long linger pleasant memories of his warm and abiding friendship, and his ministries of sympathy. He was extensively known, and so highly esteemed as a faith- ful Christian minister, that he became the centre of a very extended circle of acquaintanceship.
From my earliest recollection of him until he passed beyond mortal ken, I enjoyed his unbroken friendship, and I am glad to have this opportunity of paying my humble tribute to his memory.
On a most lovely day in the month of June, his
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remains were borne to their resting place in yonder " city of the dead." His funeral was attended by a vast concourse of people from the surrounding country, and by many who gathered from distant parts. A very large number of his brethern in the ministry were also present to testify their high regard for his memory.
The monument in front of the family vault, is situated on the spot occupied by the pulpit of the old church, in which for thirty years he preached the everlasting gospel. He was the fourth pastor of this church, whose sepulchres are with us to this day, and whose united ministries within its walls extended over a period of more than a century.
The house in which Mr. Latta resided, had at the time of his death, been the residence of ministers of the gospel for about one hundred and twenty years.
During his ministerial life of fifty-two years, he performed the marriage ceremony three hundred and twenty-one times-the greatest number in any one year being in 1821, when he united seventeen couples.
The Rev. Francis A. Latta, the eldest brother of Rev. James Latta, was for some years a resident within the bounds of this congregation. He was ordained November 23, 1796, and was pastor suc- cessively of Presbyterian churches in Wilmington, Del., and Lancaster and Chestnut Level, Pa., in which latter place he also maintained a classical school for many years.
In the year 1826, he removed to Sadsbury town-
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ship, Chester county, and established the " Moscow Academy," a classical and literary institution, which flourished for many years. I received my early classical education at this school, and have a very kindly remembrance of my preceptor. Of the teachers, I have gathered the names of Andrew Dinsmore, John McCullough, David McCarter, John M. Bear, John Turbitt, Gaylord L. More, and J. Smith Futhey. There were others, whose names I cannot recall. Of those I have mentioned, Mr. Mccullough, Mr. McCarter, Mr. Bear, and Mr. More became ministers of the gospel. Robert Love, a brother of Rev. Thomas Love, who was a student for some years in this academy, also entered the ministry.
The Rev. Francis A. Latta was a man of remarka- bly well cultivated mind, a poet of no mean order, a very superior classical and Hebrew scholar, and one of the greatest instructors of the day. He was able in debate, clear, discriminating and decided in judg- ment, and a model in the pulpit. In his manners he was social, and in his deportment humble and unos- tentatious. He died April 21, 1834, at the age of sixty-seven, and was interred in the Upper Octorara burial ground.
As an historical item worth preserving in connec- tion with the academy established by Mr. Latta, it may be mentioned, that about the close of the late war with Great Britain, there seems to have been a mania for laying out towns. John Pettit, who was the owner of a valuable tavern house and fifty acres of land in Sadsbury township, Chester county, on the
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Lancaster and Philadelphia turnpike road, known as " The General Wayne," sold it, in the year 1814, to Abraham Brenneman and others, for the sum of six- teen thousand dollars. They laid out thereon a town, to which they gave the name of Moscow, from the city of Moscow, in Russia, then recently reduced by the flame, to prevent its occupation by the invading army of Napoleon Bonaparte. They undertook to dispose of the property by a lottery-the public house being the highest prize. Various lots were disposed of in this way, at prices ranging from two hun- dred and fifty to five hundred dollars, calling for streets bearing such Russian names as Cossacks, Wyburg, Alexander, Charlesburg, and others. One lot was set apart for a church, and another for a seminary. Fifteen lots, including the tavern house, which had been drawn by parties in Lancaster county, and containing altogether about four acres, were subsequently sold to Daniel Hiester and John Duer for eight thousand dollars.
The plot was gotten up in fine style, and presented an attractive appearance, but the town flourished only on paper. The project failed, and the lots, which had been purchased for eight thousand dollars, and on which a prudent money-lender had invested three thousand dollars on mortgage, were sold by the sheriff for thirteen hundred dollars. Cossacks street be- came again the common turnpike road, and the others returned to the bosom of the farm from which they had sprung.
It was on this property the "Moscow Academy"
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was subsequently located, and from which it derived its name. It is now owned by George Lincoln.
In 1830, Rev. James Latta established a boarding school for girls called " The Mantua Female Semi- nary," which was for several years quite successful. At one time it had as many as thirty boarders, besides a number of day scholars. It occupied the building on the Lancaster and Philadelphia turnpike, now the residence of Dr. William S. Latta. Among the teachers were Miss Margaret Mccullough, Miss Mary D. R. McCorkle, now Mrs. Mary D. R. Boyd, Miss Martha Wells and Miss Eliza Martin, now the wife of Rev. Gaylord L. More.
On the 26th of March, 1851, the Rev. James M. Crowell was elected pastor of the church, as the suc- cessor of Mr. Latta, and was ordained and installed by the Presbytery of New Castle on the 3d of June following. On this occasion, the Rev. Alfred Hamil- ton presided, Rev. John M. Dickey preached the ordination sermon, Rev. S. R. Wyncoop delivered the charge to the pastor, and Rev. A. G. Morrison the charge to the people. Mr. Crowell had been licensed by the Presbytery of Philadelphia on the 6th of January, 1851, while a student in the theological seminary at Princeton.
He was pastor until the 14th of April, 1857, when he was released to accept a call from the Seventh Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia, over which he was installed on the 10th of May of that year.
When he came to Octorara, the number of mem- bers was two hundred and forty-six. There were
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added during his pastorate, on profession of faith, ninety-seven, and on certificate forty-seven ; and dur- ing the same period fifty-four infants and thirty-six adults were baptized. On the last occasion, on which he administered the communion, thirty-two were added to the church, as the fruits of a precious season of re- freshing. At the close of his ministry here, the church numbered about three hundred and thirty members.
Mr. Crowell was born in Philadelphia, June 9, 1827. His father, Elisha Crowell, was for about thirty years a druggist and apothecary in that city. His mother, Susan McMullin, was the daughter of Robert McMullin, a ruling elder in the Pine Street or Third Presbyterian Church, during the pastorate of Dr. Archibald Alexander.
Mr. Crowell's preparation for college was made at the West Chester Academy, under the charge of Mr. James Crowell. He entered the sophomore class in the College of New Jersey, and graduated in 1848, about fourth in a class of eighty students. While in college, he was elected by his class-mates editor of the Nassau Literary Magazine, and by the American Whig Society was chosen one of four junior orators to represent the society in competition with four from the Cliosophic Society, at the centennial commence- ment of the college.
After his graduation, he taught the classics and mathematics at the West Chester Academy one year. and during that time pursued his theological studies under the direction of his cousin, Rev. John Crowell, preparatory to entering the seminary.
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The degree of " Doctor of Divinity" was conferred upon him by Princeton College in December, 1864. He is now pastor of St. Peter's Church, Rochester, N. Y.
In a letter which I have recently received from Mr. Crowell, in speaking of his ministry among you, he says, "Never can I forget the clinging love, the tender constancy, the gentle kindness, the indulgent forbearance, the warm, welcoming cordiality, and the universal attachment of the dear people of Octorara Church. I lived among them nearly six years, and . never once had my feelings wounded, nor my wishes crossed; and, when I left them, felt sure they all loved me. God bless them all !"
The Highland Presbyterian Church-an outpost of this congregation-was erected in the years 1851 to 1855, through the exertions of some ladies, who, by personal solicitation, secured the necessary funds, and was dedicated on the 14th day of June, 1855, the services being conducted by Mr. Crowell, assisted by Rev. Henry Steele Clarke, Rev. Robert P. Du Bois and Rev. Joseph E. Nassau.
It is used by the pastor of this church as a place of holding afternoon service, and during the summer by the Highland Sunday-school. A charter of in- corporation was procured in 1851, the first board of trustees, consisting of Samuel Futhey, William Stewart and Israel McClellan. The present trustees are Israel McClellan, R. Agnew Futhey, and Jeffer- son Gibson.
Mr. Crowell was succeeded by Rev. Alexander
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VANINGEN-SNYDER
UPPER OCTORARA MANSE, ERECTED IN 1857.
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Reed, a licentiate of the Presbytery of Washington, who was called on the 27th of June, 1857, and ordained and installed on the 8th of October follow- ing. The services were presided over by the Rev. James Otterson, who also gave the church to the pastor. The sermon was preached by the Rev. John Squier, and the charge to the people given by the Rev. Dr. Spottswood.
On the 10th of March, 1857, the congregation pur- chased from Joseph Stott one acre and a half of ground immediately adjoining the church property on the south, and in the summer of that year erected thereon a commodious and comfortable manse. The present fence around the church lot was constructed in 1859.
In 1862-3, during the war of the rebellion, Mr. Reed was in the service of the United States Chris- tian Commission about six months as "general superintendent," and in that capacity-the duties of which were many and various, and performed with zeal and discretion-rendered very efficient service to the cause. He was also elected chaplain of the Second Pennsylvania Cavalry, but did not accept the position. During his absence, the pulpit was supplied by Mr. Frederick R. Wotring, then a licentiate of the Presbytery of Washington, now pastor of the Mans- field Church, in Allegheny county, Pa.
At a meeting of the Presbytery, held in this church in October, 1864, a call was presented to Mr. Reed from the Central Presbyterian Church of Philadel- phia, which he held under consideration until the
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adjourned meeting of Presbytery during the sessions of Synod, when it was accepted by him, and his rela- tion to this church was dissolved. His attachment to the people here was strong, and he severed the pastoral tie with very great reluctance, and only when advised by physicians that the preservation of his health required he should do so.
While Mr. Reed was pastor of this church, one hundred and eighty-six were added to its roll of membership on profession of faith, of whom eighty- one were added during the communion seasons of October, 1858, and April, 1859, the fruits of a revival of religion with which the church was blessed. Dur- ing the same period, forty-one were added on certi- ficate. The number of baptisms was seventy-six. At the communion season, in October, 1864, just previous to the close of his ministry here, thirty were added to the membership of the church.
Mr. Reed was a son of Dr. Robert R. Reed, and was born near Washington, Pa., September 28, 1832. He graduated at Washington College in 1851, taught in Georgia in 1852 and 1853, graduated at the West- ern Theological Seminary in 1856, and was licensed by the Presbytery of Washington on the 17th of April of the latter year. He subsequently spent a fourth year at the seminary.
The degree of " Doctor of Divinity," was conferred upon him by the College of New Jersey, at Princeton, in 1865. He has been a member of all the boards of the church, except that of Church Extension, and is one of the trustees of the General Assembly.
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On the question of the union of the two branches of the Presbyterian Church, Mr. Reed took decided ground from the first agitation of the subject, and was an ardent advocate of all measures tending to promote that object. He presided at the meeting of ministers and elders which called the great conven- tion of all branches of the Presbyterian family held in Philadelphia in September, 1867, and (with others) called and addressed the first meeting held in the country in favor of the basis adopted by the General Assemblies of the two branches in 1868. This meet- ing was held in the Central Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia.
In March, 1861, thirty-six members of this church, received certificates of dismission to connect them- selves with churches in Harrisburg. This was occa- sioned by the removal of the workshops of the Penn- sylvania Railroad from Parkesburg to Harrisburg.
During the year following Mr. Reed's removal to Philadelphia, the pulpit was vacant. Rev. Alfred H. Kellogg and Rev. Frederick H. Wines had been successively elected as pastor, but had both de- clined.
On the 29th of August, 1865, a call was extended to the Rev. John J. Pomeroy, the present pastor, which was accepted by him, and he was duly in- stalled on the 14th day of November following.
Mr. Pomeroy was born in Roxbury, Franklin county, Pa. He prepared for college at Tuscarora Academy, graduated at Lafayette College in 1857, and at Princeton Theological Seminary in 1861, and
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was licensed by Carlisle Presbytery on the 10th of April of the latter year.
He was ordained by the Presbytery of Lewes on the 28th of November, 1861, and installed as pastor of the church at Dover, Delaware, the pulpit of which church he had supplied from the 1st of June pre- ceding.
He was commissioned as chaplain of the Thirty- second Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers (Third Pennsylvania Reserves) on September 16, 1862, and served until its term of enlistment expired, on June 17, 1864. He then became chaplain of the One Hundred and Ninety-eighth Regiment of Pennsyl- vania Volunteers, a newly organized regiment, con- taining many of the officers and men who had for- merly served in the old Reserve Corps, and filled the position until the regiment was mustered out of the service at the close of the war, June 3, 1865.
During the five years of Mr. Pomeroy's pastorate, seventy-eight have been added to the church on pro- fession of faith, and sixty-two on certificate; sixty- one have been dismissed to unite with other churches, and thirty-two have died. During the same period, forty infants and thirty-five adults have been bap- tized. The present number of communicants is about three hundred and twenty.
The Sunday-schools connected with the congrega- tion are at the present time six in number, held re- spectively at Sadsburyville, Parkesburg, Highland, Pomeroy, Rockdale and at the church, comprising about four hundred scholars, taught by sixty-three teachers.
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The libraries contain about sixteen hundred volumes. During the last four years, one hundred and two scholars have received the reward of a Bible, for hav- ing committed perfectly to memory the Shorter Cate- chism. This "right arm of the church," the Sabbath- school, is very fully appreciated and sustained by the members.
There has also been contributed during the past five years to the boards of the church and to kindred objects, $3,266, and for congregational purposes, $10,266. About $3,000 of this latter sum have been expended for repairs to the meeting-house, manse, and graveyard. There is an increase from year to year in the aggregate contributions. The pastor's salary is now twelve hundred and fifty dollars, besides the manse and the use of the grounds belonging to the congregation.
During the past year, the graveyard attached to this church has, at considerable expense, been thoroughly cleaned and put in excellent condition. The work is highly creditable to the present board of trustees, who certainly deserve many thanks for the intelligent and thorough manner in which they have performed their task. The time is happily passing away in which burial places have been so generally regarded with indifference, and now it is gratifying to every person of good taste and correct feeling, to find, instead of tall grass and leaning grave-stones and sunken graves, cemeteries and en- closures so neatly kept as to make them attractive as places of profitable meditation.
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It is to be regretted that for want of a session- book, the names of those who officiated as ruling elders in the early history of this church cannot be fully ascertained.
We know that Arthur Park was an elder in 1724, when Mr. Boyd became pastor, and therefore one of the first elders. In 1730, Hugh Cowan was an elder and represented the church in Presbytery. Prior to 1799, the following persons were also elders, viz., Thomas Hope, Matthew Shields, William Boggs, John Park, John Fleming, Sr., Thomas Boyd, son of Rev. Adam Boyd, Joseph Cowan, William Clingan, James Glendenning, Gideon Irwin, Arthur Park, (the second elder of that name,) George Boyd, and Henry McClellan. Of these, Thomas Hope, Matthew Shields, and William Boggs were elders in the New Side church.
John Fleming, Sr., was an elder as early as 1762, and William Clingan, Esq., as early as 1770. Arthur Park (second) is first mentioned in 1778, and George Boyd and Henry McClellan in 1790.
In 1799, John Fleming, Jr., (son of John Fleming, Sr.,) Thomas Hope, (second elder of that name,) James Boyd, Adam Cowan and James Cowan were elected and ordained.
When Mr. Latta became pastor in 1810, the bench of elders consisted of John Fleming, Sr., Arthur Park, George Boyd, Henry Mcclellan, John Flem- ing, Jr., and James Cowan.
In 1812, John Smith, Esq., John G. Parke, Thomas McClellan, and John Withrow, became members of
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the Session; in 1821, James B. Stewart, Thomas Scott, and John Hudders; in 1824, Martin Arm- strong and Capt. Thomas Stewart; in 1832, Ben- jamin Davis and John M. Withrow; in 1836, William Whiteside and James G. Long; in 1841, Andrew Gibson, William N. Long, and Samuel W. Scott; in 1855, Samuel Armstrong, George Richmond, and Joseph Wiley; in 1860, Oliver Gayley; and in 1868, James Morgan Rawlins, Thomas R. Hoofman, John Andrew Parke, and Samuel Walker. The four last named, with George Richmond and Oliver Gayley, compose the present bench of elders.
The office of Deacon was for many years filled by William Stewart, Thomas Maitland and Samuel Armstrong. The present deacons are John N. Chal- fant, and Samuel R. Parke; elected and ordained in 1868.
Of those who have been sexton, I have the names of William Kennedy, William Andrews, Archibald Gilfillan, James Hill, - Heyburn, Thomas Ross, Thomas McMullin, Christopher Graham, Benjamin Harley, and George Shoemaker.
An incident has been related to me, as having oc- curred during the incumbency of Thomas McMullin, which those of you, who recollect him, may perhaps, appreciate: On a pleasant summer day,-the church well filled and many strangers present,-Mr. Latta was somewhat annoyed by the noise made by some boys, who had congregated in the vestibule. Turn- ing to Thomas McMullin, the sexton, who was seated near the pulpit, he said to him in a low voice, "Thomas,
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I wish you would see if there are not some boys in the vestibule?" meaning, that he should admonish them to be quiet. Thomas, however, interpreting the request literally, proceeded to the door, looked into the vestibule, turned around and exclaimed, "Yes, Mr. Latta, there are lots of them !"
This church has at different times, had on its roll of members, men who occupied positions of influence in the state. Of these, I will briefly mention the following:
Col. Andrew Boyd-son of Rev. Adam Boyd-was during a part of the Revolutionary war, Lieutanant of the County of Chester; a position of much responsi- bility. .
William Clingan, Esq., was a sterling, patriotic citi- zen of West Caln township. He held a commission as justice of the peace, from 1757 to 1786, and for the last six years of that period, was President of the County Courts. From 1777 to 1779, he was a member of the Continental Congress, during which period the Articles of Confederation were adopted, under which the country was governed from 1778 to 1789, when the present Constitution went into ope- ration. In 1779, he was appointed to receive sub- scriptions to the resolve of Congress, for borrowing twenty millions of dollars. He left no descendants.
John Fleming, Sr., was a member from Chester County, of the convention which framed the State Constitution of 1776, and also of the Assembly of Pennsylvania in 1778.
Dr. Joseph Gardner, was an active man among the revolutionary patriots of Chester county-was a mem-
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ber of Assembly in the years 1776, 1777 and 1778; and was chosen a counsellor in 1779. He was also a member of the Continental Congress in 1784 and 1785. He resided on the property now owned by Richard McPherson, near Sadsburyville, and practiced his profession. His descendants rank among the most respectable citizens of our ancient county.
Joseph Park, Esq., was a member of Assembly in the years 1779, 1780, 1783, 1784, 1802 and 1807.
Stephen Cochran was a member of Assembly in 1777, and of the House of Representatives after the adoption of the new constitution in 1790.
John Gardner, a son of Dr. Joseph Gardner, was sheriff of Chester County, from 1781 to 1783, to which office he was unanimously elected. He was very active in the Revolutionary war.
Methuselah Davis was a member of the House of Representatives of Pennsylvania, in 1802, 1803, 1804 and 1805. Francis Gardiner was a member in 1803.
Samuel Cochran-descended from a family who originally belonged to this church-was a member of the House of Representatives, in 1816 and 1817, and of the Senate of Pennsylvania from 1818 to 1820. He was also Surveyor General under the administra- tion of Governor Mckean, from 1800 to 1809; and under that of Governor Hiester, from 1821 to 1824. He was a prominent man in his day, prepossessing in his appearance, held in high esteem by his neighbors, and his advice was sought by them in their difficul- ties. As evidence of his standing, it may be added,
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that he was forty years a ruling elder in the Faggs Manor Presbyterian Church.
John G. Parke was a member of the Assembly in 1818; Wallace Boyd, in 1818, 1821 and 1822; Rob- ert Futhey, in 1841 and 1842; Robert Parke, in 1843, 1844 and 1845; and David J. Bent, in 1849, 1850 and. 1851.
Robert, Parke was also an Associate Judge of Chester County, by appointment of Governor Pollock, to fill an unexpired term, from May to December 1856 ; and by election, from December, 1858, to December, 1863.
R. Agnew Futhey, was County Superintendent of Common Schools of Chester County, from 1854 to 1857, being the first incumbent in that office.
There are doubtless other names which should be added to this list, but which are not now remembered.
This church has also given many of her sons to the ministry.
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