USA > Pennsylvania > Bradford County > History of Bradford County, Pennsylvania, with Illustrations and biographical sketches > Part 38
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The present church officers are: Elders, Levi Taylor, C. D. Ross, L. M. Leonard ; Deacons, O. L. Streator, O. Taylor, S. A. Rockwell; Pastor, S. E. Shephard (since deceased).
LE ROY CHURCH.
Some of the older members of the church at Le Roy relate that the first Disciple who preached in that place was S. E. Shephard. No one can give the date precisely, but it was not far from 1835. They do remember, however, that his sermon was a very long one. Its length is vari-
ously given at from three to five hours. He had gone there on the invitation of prominent citizens to unfold the gospel as he understood it. He could speak but once, and so for several hours held their undivided attention, while he reasoned with them out of the Scriptures. That sermon is bearing fruit yet. There was occasional preaching for some years. Meetings were held at the school-house at the corner, or at the house of Hugh Holcomb, a little above. In November, 1839, the little company of Disciples that had been gathered resolved on forming themselves into a church. They were seventeen in number ; eleven of the seventeen were Holcombs. David Hickock was chosen elder, and Orator Holcomb and Benjamin Hale deacons. Meetings were held in the school-house till 1850. The present house was raised June 14, 1849, and dedicated June 7, 1850. The church at Le Roy has depended more on its home resources for regular instruction than most churches. C. W. Churchill, a man of exemplary character, has for many years ministered to the congregation. For- eign help has been relied upon principally for protracted meetings. Additions by periods have been, 1839 to 1850, 33; 1850 to 1860, 46 ; 1860 to 1870, 112; 1870 to 1876, 70. Present membership, 158; value of church property, $2500 ; members of the Sabbath-school, 110. The present officers of the church are : Elders, C. W. Churchill, Orator Holcomb, L. M. Greeno; Deacons, Hiram Stone, Le Roy Holcomb.
CANTON CHURCH.
After the original church in Canton had transferred its seat to the northern part of the township, and (in 1834) built within the limits of the present borough of Alba a house of worship, meetings continued to be held frequently at the old house below Canton Corners. After that was sold, meetings were held in the school-house, which stood on land near the lower extremity of Canton street. S. E. Shephard, R. R. Rogers, and E. E. Orvis preached regu- larly at different periods. The fruits of this early labor were gathered ioto the church at Alba by this means. As the original church had extended in the direction of Alba till it found there its permanent abode, so now it grew back again towards Canton. In 1847 a mission Sunday-school was formed. This was before Canton village could boast a meet- ing-house, or possibly a church organization. For some time prior to 1850 the propriety of forming a separate church at Canton had been considered. At a meeting held Sunday, Aug. 4, 1850, after preaching by Theobald Miller, those who desired to assist in the formation of a church of Christ were requested to signify it. The number was suffi- cient to justify the appointment of a meeting for that purpose. The meeting, therefore, adjourned to Saturday, September 22. Upon that day a little company, twenty-two in number, met and formed a church " under the name of the Church of Christ, renouncing all human creeds, and taking the word of God, as contained in the Old and New Testaments, as the sole rule of faith and practice."
Roswell R. Rogers and R. D. Hazelton were chosen elders ; Asa Pratt, Jacob Y. Roekwell, deacons. The next year a lot was secured in a commanding position, and in 1852 a house was erected, the first within the limits of the
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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
present borough of Canton, as it is still the most commo- dious.
The church made rapid progress from the beginning, although it has sustained many serious losses by westward emigration. Up to 1870 the church united with the one at Alba, or Granville, in sustaining a minister, and as a rule, during those years, had preaching only once in two weeks.
The following ministers have served as pastors or by stated preaching: T. Miller, 1850-51 ; Charles McDougall, 1852-61 ; John Swart, 1861-62; J. G. Encell, 1862-63 ; T. B. Knowles, 1863-64; S. E. Shephard, 1864-65; N. J. Mitchell, 1868; A. Greenlaw, 1868-70; W. T. C. Sanders, 1871-73; J. L. Phoenix, 1873-75. In addition to the labors of these, meetings have been held by Ira C. Mitchell, Wm. Olin, R. F. Delmot, and B. S. Dean.
B. H. Hayden, the present pastor, entered upon his work there Sunday, May 2, 1875. At the same time he was formally ordained to the ministry, S. E. Shephard and B. S. Dean officiating.
The present officers are : Elders, George Griffen, A. D. Finch, H. B. Parsons; Deacons, Jas. Bothwell, A. P. Coons, A. D. Ayres, Wm. Irvin; Pastor, B. H. Hayden.
Membership of Sunday-school, 130; value of property, $14,500.
GROVER CHURCH.
This church owes its existence to the labors of Brother R. F. Delmot. The community had been very irreligious, and was about given up by ministers of all denominations. Dec. 23, 1867, Brother Delmot went to Grover (then called Lock's Mills) on the invitation of a professed skeptic. Amid great discouragements he began a work which shortly revolutionized the whole community. He continued about seven weeks, with 150 conversions. January 20, a church was organized, and on the 26th a subscription was started for a meeting-house. A very neat and commodious house was erected during the summer, at a cost of $2500, and dedicated in December. Brother Ames, of East Smith- field, preached the opening discourse.
Many of the original members were transient. Some proved transient in their religious convictions. Several have united with the church at Canton, and a few assisted in the formation of the church at Beach Flats. But a really good and permanent work was done, and the little church holds its ground firmly, with good prospects for the future. Meetings have been held by R. F. Delmot, I. R. Spencer, and B. H. Hayden. Brother Delmot has also preached regularly for two seasons.
The present membership is 38. There are 45 scholars in the Sunday-school.
The church officers are-Elders, H. T. Spencer, Lewis Spencer, and George Wetherby ; Deacons, Eli Camp, G. K. Taylor, George Kendrick ; Pastor, B. H. Hayden.
THE CHURCH AT SYLVANIA.
For some years prior to 1869, there had been a few Dis- ciples in the vicinity of Sylvania. December 23, 1869, a meeting was begun by L. P. Streator, I. R. Spencer, and R. F. Delmot, which continued three weeks, with several conversions. January 15, 1870, an organization was effected with thirty-one members. Brother Spencer began
preaching for the congregation once in two weeks, and con- tinued till the close of 1874. At present, the church is without a pastor. The present membership is 37.
THE CHIURCII AT BEECH FLATS.
In the month of March, 1875, B. H. Hayden was en- gaged in a meeting at Grover. At its conclusion, by re- quest of Brother Myron Fellows he went to that neighbor- hood to speak a few evenings. Almost immediately a deep interest was created, and many conversions followed. The final result was the organization of a church, May 28, of thirty-five members. Myron Fellows, Joseph Bonney, and Melvern Bonney were chosen elders. Edward Bufum and Warren Fitzwater, deacons. From the first, the church has been very active, nearly the whole congregation attend- ing the weekly prayer-meetings. The present membership is 35. A union Sunday-school is maintained.
From the foregoing sketches, it will be seen that the five oldest and strongest of our churches in Bradford County were cither founded directly by Brother Shephard, or were offshoots from those he established.
The following is a list of the churches, with their present membership: Alba, 130; Beech Flats, 35; Canton, 209; East Smithfield, 235; Granville, 100; Grover, 38; Le Roy, 163; Sylvania, 37. Total, 947.
LUTHERAN CHURCH.
Along the line dividing the township of Wilmot, in Bradford County, from the township of Colley, in Sullivan county, quite a number of Germans have settled, who were connected with either the Lutheran or German Re- formed churches, and were mostly familiar with the German langnage. They were visited by the Rev. Carl L. Erle, who preached the Word and administered the sacraments alter- nately at the private houses of Mr. George Eberlin, Sr., and George Schock. The number of hearers soon increased, so that a honse of worship was needed. The congregation, being organized, at once proceeded to build a log church, twenty-four by thirty-four feet, which was commenced and finished in 1850. The church was organized with 30 com- municants, with Mr. Erle as pastor, John George Eberlin, Sr., elder, and Thomas Messersmith and Jacob Eberlin, Sr., deacons. The congregation, though purely Intheran in form and doctrine, is called a union church, as either a Lutheran or German Reformed preacher is allowed to occupy the pulpit, to the exclusion of all others, except in case of funerals. All ministerial acts are to be strictly administered according to the Lutheran ritual. It is under the ecclesi- astical jurisdiction of the general council of the Lutheran church of America, and the old Pennsylvania synod.
A Sabbath-school was organized soon after the church was built, which has increased from a mere handful to more than 50 pupils, and the church to about 100 communicants, with about 20 candidates for confirmation in the catecheti- cal class. George Neuber is the present elder, and Jacob Eberlin, Jr., and William Kisner are the deacons.
At the first organization of the church the services were exclusively German, and Mr. Erle preached exclusively in that language until 1874, when he retired from the pastor- ate, and was succeeded by Rev. H. B. Strodach, who
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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
preached in both German and English. Rev. L. Wolferz succeeded him ; but being neither Lutheran nor German Reformed, he was compelled to leave on account of the con- stitution of the church, after having occupied the pulpit three months. Rev. Lewis Smith is the present pastor, and is preaching in both German and English. In 1874 a neat framed church, thirty by fifty feet, superseded the old log edifice, in which the services are now held, while opposite to it is the burying-ground. The church building is in this county, and the members of the congregation reside in both counties.
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH*
Among the early settlers in the county there were but few if any Methodists ; but that church, ever alive to the spiritual necessities of men, and ready to stand on the very outposts of civilization, sent her minister's early into this field to do pioneer work for the church and for the Master. As early as 1792, John Hill stands connected with Tioga. No circuit having distinct bounds had as yet been formed there. Tioga was a mission field of indefinite extent, de- signed to embrace the new settlements from Wyalusing north and west, wherever they might be found nestled in the dense and lofty forests.
In the autumn of 1792, William Colbert was appointed to the field, and commenced his labors on Tioga circuit. I cannot learn that it had any definite bounds. Mr. Colbert arrived at Gideon Baldwin's, in the lower part of Wyalu- sing, Thursday, Dec. 6, where, after a day's fasting and riding over hills and through woods, he found something to eat and a place of rest. Here a class had been formed, but when or by whom, or of how many members it consisted, cannot now be learned. Mr. Colbert mentions that a Mr. Pierce and his wife " have their names on our class-paper down the creek at Baldwin's," but adds they are not very well acquainted with Methodism. On Sunday, Mr. Colbert preached at Guy Wells', who lived on the Wyalusing creek, about three miles from the river. So far as there is any record, this is the first sermon preached by a Methodist minister, at least in the lower part of the county. The next day Mr. Colbert went up the creek, and preached in the neighborhood of Stevensville: on Tuesday, at Mr. Burney's, in Standing Stone; Wednesday, in Wysox ; Thursday, at Sheshequin. He also made an appointment on Seeley's creek, at Mr. Foster's, at the mouth of Sugar creek, and at Brother Rice's, in " Suffield's Flats" ( Asylum). Who this Brother Rice was cannot be known with certainty. Wanton Rice lived afterwards at Ulster and in Athens township. It is very likely that he may have been the Brother Rice here spoken of. The next day, Dec. 21, Mr. Colbert says, " In the evening met the class in Sheffield's Flats ; the first class I have met in the circuit."
Soon after he visited old Mr. Cole's, at Macedonia, he says, " Here I wanted to regulate the society, but found them very refractory." He also preached at Capt. Clark's, in Ulster. His circuit extended into the State of New
York, and we find him at Newtown, at Nichols, and farther up into the State. He recounts trials and perils of various sorts, but they were nothing more than pertained to the wild and unimproved country. He continued on the cir- cuit four months, and received as compensation three dol- lars and fourteen cents. On the 11th of April, Mr. Colbert met at Sheshequin Rev. Thomas Ware, who had come on in the capacity of an elder, attended quarterly meeting, ad- ministered the sacrament, and preached several times when they went down the river together to Wilkes-Barre. Mr. Colbert sums up the work of the year thus : " I have been four months and eight days on Tioga circuit, one of the most disagreeable places for traveling I was ever in, among a refractory sort of people. I lived hard, labored hard, but, I fear, did but little good. I joined but three in society while I was there." The membership of the two or three classes which were in existence is not stated.
In the autumn of this year Mr. Colbert, in company with Thornton Fleming, visited Tioga circuit again, held quarterly meeting in Sheshequin, and then they continued their explorations up into the lake country in the State of New York.
In 1794 a district was formed composed of Tioga and Seneca circuits and Nova Scotia, and Mr. Fleming was appointed presiding elder. Seneca had been taken from Tioga that year. Dr. Peek gives the membership of Tioga circuit in 1796 at 138 souls.
The year 1797 finds three circuits, -Wyoming, Tioga, and Seneca,-with Thomas Ware the presiding elder and James Stokes the preacher.
Burlington church was organized about this time. Among the first settlers on Sugar creek in 1791 were William Dobbins and James MeKean, whose wives were pious, godly women. The very evening after the first com- pany of settlers arrived on the creck, these two women had a prayer-meeting. This meeting they kept up for five or six years with what help they could get, but had as yet been visited by no preacher. One evening a company of young folks assembled for an evening party, when it was proposed to hold a prayer-meeting in jest. They began, sang a hymn, one or two prayed, sang another hymn, and another undertook to pray. By this time conviction took hold of some of the party, and they began to pray in earn- est. Meanwhile word was sent to these pious mothers of what was going on. When they arrived they joined in prayer with the penitents, and before the meeting closed six declared they had found peace in believing. Meeting was held next day, and others professed conversion. Father Cole, as he was familiarly called, was sent for, who, in com- pany with Job Irish, soon appeared on the ground and held a series of meetings. A class of eighteen members was now formed, with Andrew Mckean as leader.
No account of Methodism in Bradford County would be complete without some mention of Rev. Elisha Cole. He was the son of the old Mr. Cole whom Mr. Colbert visited in his first missionary tour on the Tioga circuit. Mr. Cole was an emigrant from Berkshire Co., Mass., to Macedonia before the Revolutionary war; was at Wyoming at the time of the battle and massacre, in which he had one son and one son-in-law slain. At this time Elisha was nine
# Rev. C. E. Taylor, Col. J. A. Codding, Rev. I. T. Walker, Rev. J. B. Sumner, and others, have made contributions to this chapter, and Dr. Peck's " Early Methodism" has been quoted freely without formal acknowledgment.
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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
years old, having been born Aug. 15, 1769. Returning to the Susquehanna after the war, he was converted, identi- fied himself with the Methodists, and May 4, 1794, was licensed to exhort by Valentine Cook, at that time an elder along with Mr. Fleming on the Tioga circuit. May 5, 1798, was licensed to preach by Thomas Ware, the presid- ing elder. He was ordained deacon by Bishop Whatcoat Sept. 19, 1802 ; ordained elder by Bishop Hedding Aug. 21, 1824, and died in 1842. Throughout all this county he is known as the pioneer preacher, and Methodism owes more to him for its establishment and growth in this county than to any other one man.
It will be remembered that during all the time thus far, all of Bradford County is included in the Tioga circuit, with but one preacher, and he for only a part of the year. In fact, for the next two years there appears to be no other preacher on the ground but Father Cole. Burlington church, whose origin we have traced, met first in a log house built for schools and religious purposes. This house burned down in 1798. Soon after, another was built on the same ground, which was called the "block-house." This stood until 1822. Lorenzo Dow, in one of his cir- cuits through the country, once preached in this house. The present Methodist Episcopal church of Burlington was built in 1822, and is the oldest edifice built for re- ligious worship in the county.
In 1799 there was a different arrangement of districts, and the northern part of Pennsylvania is connected with central New York and Albany, William M. Lenahan being the presiding elder. John Leach and David Dunham are the preachers on the Tioga circuit. This year Jacob Gruber was sent to the Lycoming circuit, and it is said he and Rev. Benjamin Bidlack, an old Revolutionary soldier, and afterwards eminent as a mighty preacher of the gospel, did a considerable missionary work on Tioga circuit.
In 1800 it is said R. R. Roberts, afterwards bishop, held a protracted meeting on Sugar creek, but with what success is not known.
In 1801 the districts were named, and the Tioga circuit is embraced in the Albany district, and in 1802 is in the Philadelphia conference, which appoints William Colbert to be the presiding elder of the district. On the last of July he reached the house of his old friend, Elisha Cole. The quarterly meeting was held at " Friend Tabor's," in Towanda. He says, " August 1, Sunday. This morning the Lord favored us with a shower both of rain and of his Spirit. Several were brought on their knees, and cried for mercy, in the love-feast."
In 1803, James Herron and Samuel Budd are the preachers. In March, 1802, the quarterly meeting for the Tioga and Unadilla circuits was held at the " Butternuts ;" but Jan. 1, 1803, finds Mr. Colbert on Sugar creek, holding a quarterly meeting at Stephen Ballard's. "This Sugar creek," he says, " is a gloomy-looking place," but he had a very good quarterly meeting there. The Philadelphia conference held its session this year at Duck Creek, Del., May I. At this session the Genesee district was taken from the old Albany district, and William Colbert was ap- pointed to its charge. Tioga is the only one of its eleven charges in the State of Pennsylvania.
Feb. 24, 1804, Mr. Colbert again visits Tioga cirenit, preaching at Tioga Point that day, and the next he is on Sugar creek, at Stephen Ballard's, for his last quarterly meeting on the district. Elisha Cole preached and John B. Hudson exhorted. "I," says Mr. Colbert, " exhorted after him, and Brother Herron concluded the meeting. Samuel Budd had just married and was not present, having gone off on a visit with his wife." This quarterly meeting concluded, Mr. Colbert parted with his preachers, and each one went his own way. He says, " I have now parted with all my brethren in the district, and am on my way to Balti- more." Thursday, March 1, he says, " I took leave of my friends Elisha Cole and David Downing and their families, and a disagreeable ride I have had through the snow to John Hollenback's (Wyalusing), where I was well enter- tained, and treated with more politeness than at any tavern between the Mohawk and the Genesee rivers.
Joseph Jewell succeeded Mr. Colbert as presiding elder of the Genesee district, but the size of the district is re- duced to eight circuits. Mr. Jewell filled the place until 1808 .* The year 1807 was memorable on account of the visit of Bishop Asbury on the old Tioga circuit. In the months of June and July he made a tour through the country from the Hudson up the Mohawk, on to the lake country, and thence south down the Susquehanna. July
11, the party reached Mr. Light's, east of Athens. Here a camp-meeting was in progress. The bishop says, " I preached on the camp-ground. . . : It may be I spoke to one thousand people." The next day was the Sabbath, and he says, " My congregation may have doubled in numbers to-day, and there were no troublesome drunkards. . . . I ordained five worthy men, local preachers, namely, Daniel Wilcox, John B. Hudson, Samuel Emmitt, John M'Keati, and Nathaniel Lewis. On Tuesday the bishop preached and stayed all night at Judge Gore's, and the next day reached Wyalusing, where, he says, " Major Gaylord lodged us well and freely." Robert Burch and Benedict Burgess were the preachers this year.
In 1808 there is a new arrangement of the districts. Susquehanna district, which is made to include the Tioga circuit, is attached to the Philadelphia conference. John Kimberlain and Mr. Best were the preachers. This year Loring Grant, who afterward became eminent as a preacher, was licensed, and he tells us that with some diffidence he exhorted at the quarterly meeting on Sugar creek in the winter of 1808 and 1809. Mr. Grant and Palmer Roberts continued on the circuit until 1810. Its bounds had been enlarged in this county very materially. From Owego it extended over the mountains to above the forks of the Wyalusing, down the creek to its mouth, up the Wysox, and from the mouth to the head-waters of the Towanda, and on the head-waters of the Lycoming, there being in many places thirty miles between appointments. From this latter place the circuit extended over to Sugar creek, thence to the river again at Sheshequin. From Sheshequin they went to Tioga Point, then up to Waverly, thence to Elmira, and back again to Owego. How many preaching places,
# Anning Owen is said to have been elder part of this time, but I cannot verify the statement.
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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
or how many classes or the number of members at this date (1810), I have no means of knowing. Mr. Grant relates the following incident : " At old Sheshequin, at the house of Captain Clark, I preached, and on one occasion there was a lad of about sixteen, or a little rising, by the name of H. B. Bascom (later Bishop Bascom, of the Methodist Episcopal church south), came to hear me preach, and during the sermon wept much ; in the class-meeting he professed con- version, and joined the church as a prohationer. But it was not until the general conference of 1828 at Pittsburgh that I knew that the green boy that I took into church at Captain Clark's was the man of world-wide popularity."
The Genesee conference was formed July 20, 1810, and embraced the Susquehanna district. In 1811 the preachers on the Tioga circuit, which still includes all of Bradford County, are John Wilson and Samuel Thompson. In 1812 John Harmon is presiding elder of the district, and Mar- maduke Pearce and Abram Dawson are the preachers on the circuit. The Broom circuit was formed this year, which cut off the northeastern part of Tioga.
Along with the increase of population, places for preach- ing were multiplied until in 1814 it was thought to be advisable to divide the old Tioga circuit again. This time it also divides the territory of our county on the line of the Susquehanna and Tioga rivers.
The circumstances which led to the introduction of Methodism in the northeastern part of the county were somewhat peculiar. Ordinarily the preacher introduced himself, sending on his appointments and pioneering his way. Nathaniel Chubbuck emigrated to Orwell in 1812, and as soon as he had erected his log house went to She- shequin, where there was Methodist preaching, and secured an appointment to be made for his house in Orwell. Mr. Chubbuck at this time was not a pious man, but had ac- cepted the offer of a new saddle from his father, on condition that he would have Methodist preaching in his house. Marmaduke Pearce was on the circuit, and preached the first Methodist sermon in this part of the county.
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