USA > Pennsylvania > Butler County > History of Butler County, Pennsylvania > Part 42
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On April 9th of the following year a call was presented from Butler and Deer Creek addressed to Rev. Mungo Dick, the young licentiate who had preached for them during the previous summer. It was to the disadvantage of Butler congregation that Mr. Dick had received other calls. For after due con- sideration he decided to accept the call to another charge. Although disappointed in securing a pastor the congregation of Butler did not become discouraged. They continued to ask and to receive " supplies of gospel ordinances." The statistical table of 1>06 has Butler and Deer Creek marked, "ripe for settle- ment."
On March 27, 1811, a call was laid on the table of Presbytery for Rev. James McConnell from the congregations of Butler and Deer Creek ; but for some rea- son the Butler branch of the charge did not prosecute this call, and it was returned to the congregations without being presented. At this meeting a paper was read " from the society of Butler praying for the dissolution of their connection with Deer Creek and the establishment of a connection with Slippery Rock." The Butler congregation with its new partner at once put forth an effort to obtain a pastoral settlement, and on April 10, 1811, a call was presented from Butler and Slippery Rock addressed to Rev. George Buchanan. But again the expectations
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of this persevering society were doomed to dissapointment, for on presenting the call to the candidate, "he would not accept."
Although the Butler society had been referred to from the beginning of its history as a congregation, yet so far the records show it was not a fully organized congregation until March, 1812, when Rev. David Proudfit, by appointment of Presbytery, installed Thomas Dodds, and ordained and installed Hugh MeKee, as ruling elders in Butler congregation.
On June 25, 1815, a call was presented from Butler and White Oak Springs for Rev. Robert Reed, then settled at Erie. At a meeting of Presbytery held on the 27th of the following September, after hearing Messrs. Ilugh McKee and Samuel Findley in support of the call, it was resolved by a unanimous vote that it was inexpedient to translate him from Erie and Waterford toButler and White Oak Spring -. Again this persistent congregation was disappointed and made dependent on supplies.
At length the prayers of this people were answered, and their persistent seeking rewarded. On May 17, 1819, Rev. Isaiah Niblock, a licentiate from the Presbytery of Monaghan, Ireland, presented credentials, on the credit of which he was received as a probationer under the direction of Presbytery. He was at once given appointments in the vacant congregations, and preached at Pigeon Creek, Mifflin, Harmony, Shenango, White Oak Springs, Brush Creek, and other places. No record is given of a Presbyterial appointment to preach in Butler, but it is learned from another source that he arrived in Butler two days before Christmas, and preached in the court-house on the last Sabbath in the year. It was a very boyish looking young man, with a slender form, a large head, and intellectual face. that stood before the Butler congregation. But the sermon made such an impression on the minds of the hearers, that on May 5, 1819, a call from the united congregation- of Butler and White Oak Springs for Rev. Niblock was presented and accepted.
June 16, 1819, at Robinson Run church, Mr. Niblock delivered his trial dis- course for ordination, which was well received. The next meeting of Presbytery was appointed to be held in Butler on the third Wednesday of November, at which time it was agreed that Mr. Niblock should be ordained and installed. It was the 17th of November, 1819, when for the first time the Associate Reformed Presbytery met in Butler. It was a meeting long to be remembered, marking, as it did, an importaut epoch in the history of this congregation. There were present : Revs. Matthew Henderson, John Riddell, Mungo Dick, James McConnell, Joseph Kerr, Moses Kerr, George Buchanan, Allan B. Campbell, A. Craig, ministers, and John Drenman, John Orr, Hugh MeKee and John Findley, ruling elders. Mr. Niblock was solemnly ordained and installed pastor of the Butler and White Oak Springs congregations.
The congregation was small. two elders and nine or ten members, with a few adherents. and Butler was a village of perhaps twenty houses ; the country around was thinly settled and only a small portion cleared for farming purposes. There was no church building. Services were held in the groves, private houses, and the court house.
The first communion service was held in the valley just south of the North
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cemetery. It was the first service of the kind conducted by the young minister, and the first time the congregation of Butler was permitted to receive the sacra- ment at the hands of their own pastor. The occasion was a memorable event.
The young pastor entered at once upon the active work of his ministry. The first couple he united in marriage was Mr. James Phillips and Miss Margaret Allison, whose son, Zachariah Phillips, is still living. His labors, which involved missionary tours, were arduous. Many interesting incidents in bis ministerial career might be related if space permitted. He organized a Sunday school, but the exact date is unknown ; but it was evidently the first held in Butler, for while conducted by the Associate Reformed congregation, members of other denominations were among its officers and teachers. In an old minute book is the record of " a meeting of the congregation of the Reformed Associate church held at the court house on Sabbath, the 11th of May, 1823, for the purpose of appointing officer- and teacher- to superintend the Sabbath school. William Ayres, Esq., was appointed president, and Jacob Mechling recording secretary."
For some years after the advent of Mr. Niblock the congregation labored under the disadvangtage of having no church building. For a time services were held in the court house, but as other denominations met there, appointments often conflicted. Arrangements were then made to hold services in the ravine below the cemetery, where the first communion was held. Hugh McKee obtained per- mission and the congregation hauled logs and put blocks under them, and on these rough hewn pews they sat for hours listening to the word of life.
In 1824, a deed was given by Robert Campbell and Jane his wife to John Potts in trust for the Associate Reformed church of Butler, for lot 13s on which the church now stands. It cost fifty dollars. May 14, 1825, proposals were solic- ited, by advertisement, for " building a brick meeting-house." The contract was secured by the Bryson Brothers ; the brick were made at the old race ground ; the lumber was sawed at Moses Sullivan's mill; and most of the stone for the foundation was quarried by Mr. Warmcastle out of his father's lot. The glass and nails were a donation from friends in Pittsburg, and the pine lumber for sash and pulpit was obtained in the same way from Freeport. Thus was the building erected. While it was wanting in architectural beauty, it was among the best and largest church buildings in its time. It was an oblong square-cornered brick building costing four or five thousand dollars. The ladies of the church came nobly to the help of the pastor and building committee. They spun large quantities of woolen yarn and flax which the pastor carried to Pittsburg and con- verted to cash, with which he purchased necessary hardware and other finishing material.
"The old church," says Rev. Mr. Niblock, "forms a distinct picture in my mind. High up on the wall was the little old-fashioned red box pulpit with its closed doors. The pews were large with door- to cach ; and every seat was occu- pied by one or more families. The gallery ran around the three sides of the church, and was comfortably seated. The church was generally filled with wor- shipers, and on communion Sabbaths, which were always high days, a large audi- ence crowded the building to over-flowing."
In addition to the onerous duties of the pastorate, Mr. Niblock was appointed
J. J. M.Candless
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county treasurer by the commissioners in 1826. At the close of the year we find published a full report of his receipts and expenditures amounting to $5, 75.23.
March 27, 1828, Mr. Niblock was married to Miss Rachel Alexander, and she proved a helpmeet indeed to the young pastor, not only sharing his joys and sorrows, his comforts and privations, but by her wise counsel, and hopeful, joyous spirit opening the way out of many a difficulty, and lightening many a burden. She was his almost constant companion in his pastoral visits, and her memory is affectionately cherished by the older members of the congregation and community.
After eighteen years of arduous service Mr. Niblock was, at his own request, released from White Oak Springs branch of his charge, October 23, 1835. This was due to ill health and inability to perform the duties of so laborious a charge. In 1839 additional seating accommodations were required, and pews were placed in the gallery of the Butler church at a cost of $153. In 1845 an arrangement was entered into between the Butler and Union congregations by which a por- tion of Mr. Niblock's time was given to them. This arrangement continued until 1853, after which this congregation became a separate pastoral charge. In 1849 the charter of the congregation was amended by reducing the number of trustees from nine to three. Some time in 1851 a portion of ground south of the borough, containing one and a half acres or more, was given by John McQuis- tion to the trustees in trust for the congregation, to be used as a burying ground.
In 1858, the degree of doctor of divinity was conferred on Rev. Niblock by Westminster College. That this honor was worthily bestowed is evident from the estimate in which he was held in the community and throughout the church. At the opening of the year 1864. Dr. Niblock, who had never been a very strong man, began to show signs of failing health, being afflicted with a disease of the throat. His last sermon was preached January 31, from 1. Corinthian-, 15:57. On Wednesday afternoon, June 29, 1864. be peacefully entered into heavenly rest.
It is difficult to form a proper estimate of such a ministry, extending over a period of more than forty-five years. During that time there was added to the church at Butler, White Oak Springs and Union-the field of his pastoral labors -about 1,100 members. The fifty-five families and 150 members which consti- tuted the congregation of Butler at the time of his death by no means indicates the ingathering to this congregation alone during his ministry : for many families had gone out to form neighboring congregations, and many more whose influ- ence has been felt extensively in building up flourishing congregations in the great west.
Dr. Isaiah Niblock, who was always noted for great zeal and earnestness in his profession, was born in County Monaghan, Ireland. in 1794; studied theology at Glasgow, was licensed to preach in 1517, and came to the United States the same year. Greatly honored and respected through life, his memory will ever remain green in the hearts of those who knew him.
The congregation remained without a pastor for nearly two years, when Mr. John Gailey, a licentiate under the care of Monongahela Presbytery, was called. He was ordained and installed April 24, 166. Soon after his installation the question of either erecting a new church or enlarging the old one, was agitated. It was finally decided to enlarge the building. and July 25, 1-67, the contract 22
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was given to S. G. and J. L. Purvis for $5,800. The work was completed during the winter following. In 1>71 an addition of twenty feet was made to the east end of the church at a cost of about $3,000.
After a pastorate of nearly six years Rev. Gailey was released at his own request, December 26, 1871, to accept a call to the Fourth United Presbyterian church, Pittsburg. The congregation only remained without a pastor a few months. Mr. George McCormick, of the Allegheny Presbytery, received a call on March 27, 1872, the day of his graduation from the Seminary, and he was ordained and installed October 22nd following. This pastorate was of short dura- tion. He resigned to enter upon missionary work in the far west, and was released April 22. 1878.
A vacancy of one year followed, when the congregation was fortunate in securing the services of Rev. R. G. Ferguson. He commenced his work July Ist and was installed January Is, 1875. On July >, 1584, he was released to accept the presidency of Westminster College. During his pastorate of exactly ten years, the congregation increased in membership from 195 to 281.
The present pastor, Rev. John S. McKee, was called July 29, 1884, just three weeks from the date of Dr. Ferguson's release. He began his work here October 1st, and was installed January 20, ESS5.
As the church increased in strength from year to year, the old house became too small to accommodate the worshippers. As far back as 1875 the project of building a lecture room had been discussed, but owing to depression in business and other causes it had been postponed from time to time. A building fund, however, had been started in the meantime and money collected with the view of future improvement. As time wore on the old church edifice became greatly dilapidated. To repair it would cost heavily and in the end it would be unsatis- factory. Finally, on March &, 1891, the matter was brought before the congre- gation, and on the following Sabbath, after an interchange of views, it was unan- imously voted to build a new church. A committee, composed of C. G. Christie, J. F. Armstrong and J. L. Purvis, was appointed to prepare plans and specifica- tions and look after the matter. A piece of ground fronting fifteen feet on Mckean street and extending one hundred feet back, was purchased tor $1.200, in order to give more room. The plan as finally settled on was for a stone and brick building in the Romanesque style of architecture, comprising an audience room sixty-nine by seventy-six feet, with a lecture room forty-nine by fifty-four feet. On July 9, 1891, contracts were made for the construction of a building to cost a little over $20,000. Sunday, July 12, 1891, the last service was held in the old building, and on the following Monday the pews were removed to Reiber's Hall, and on the 20th the work of demolition was commenced and such progress made that on August 12th the corner-stone was formally laid. December 27. IS91, the lecture room was occupied for the first time, the congregation having worshipped twenty-three Sabbaths in Reiber's Hall. The building was com- pleted Jannary 8, 1891, and on the 22d of February of the same year it was ded- icated. It presents a fine appearance both externally and internally, the acous- ties are good, and the total seating capacity of both rooms is about 1.200. The cost, including fixtures. was $26, 158.28.
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BUTLER BOROUGH (CONTINUED).
The membership of the congregation has increased from 231 on October 1, 1884, to 119 in 1894. During this time 195 persons have been added to the church on profession of faith, and 253 on certificate. In the Sunday school there are twenty-two officers and teachers, and 220 scholars. The Ladies' Missionary Society has thirty-eight members, and the Young Peoples' Christian Union an enrollment of eighty-five.
St. Peter's Catholic Church .- The first Catholic church in Butler was erected by the English-speaking Catholics in 1822. It was the old St. Peter's, was built of stone, and stood upon the hill in the eastern part of the borough, where the old Catholic burial ground is now located. The building committee were John Duffy, Norbert Foltz and William Hagerty, the last mentioned being also the contractor. Prior to the construction of the church, Rev. Charles Ferry came here in IS21, and organized the congregation. The first bishop to visit the church was Francis Patrick Kenrick, of Philadelphia, in 1834, when it was dedi- cated. It was superseded by the present German church, which was erected in 1849, on Franklin street. On the occasion of the laying of the corner-stone, Hon. James Buchanan was among the strangers present. He was on a visit to Butler at the time as the guest of Ilon. William Beatty. The church was dedicated October 14, 1849, by Right Rev. Bishop O'Connor, of Pittsburg. The old stone chapel was taken down in 1853, and the English-speaking Catholics erected St. Paul's church in 1866.
As early as January 15, 1829, Mr -. Sarah Collins deeded to the Right Rev. Henry Conwell, D. D., bishop of Philadelphia, in trust for the members of the old St. Peter's Catholic church, one acre and seven perches, together with right of way from this land to the Butler and Kittanning turnpike. This deed was granted for a valuable consideration and for the encouragement of the congrega- tion in Butler to the trustee named and his successors in trust for St. Peter's Catholic church. It was part of a tract called " Newry," patented by the State, April 22, 1807, to Stephen Lowrey and bequeathed by him, November 29, 1821, to his daughter, Mrs. Sarah Collins. The only reservation in the deed of 1829, was that which preserved to her and to her heirs the right of burying, in the Collin's tomb, deceased relatives by blood or marriage.
The instrument made May 2, 1834 by E. R. Evans, of Butler, and the Right Rev. Francis Patrick Kenrick, of Philadelphia, sets forth the following interest- ing facts relating to this church :
Whereas, Sarah Collins did grant to the members of the Holy Catholic church of St. Peter, of Butler, a lot of ground near the borough of Butler, and whereas, on a sur- vey made, the ground so granted to the members of said church was not large enough and the said Sarah Collins had by deed dated the 2nd day of May, A. D., 1830, con- veyed the whole of the balance of the tract of land, to which said grant belonged, to her daughter, Valeria Evans, and whereas the said Valeria Evans and her husband, E. R. Evans, in order to carry into effect the intentions of said Sarah Collins in making said grant, did on the first day of September, 130, enter into a parol contract with the mem- bers of said church and give to said members a piece of ground adjoining said grant on the south and east on condition that the members would finish the chapel, already built on the said grant of Sarah Collins, and should elear out and fence the whole of said land given by Sarah Collins as well as that given by Valeria and E. R. Evans, and whereas
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such conditions were observed and that Valeria Evans died before a deed was made out for said tract, I. E. R. Evans. on my own right, etc., etc., forever quit claim to Francis Patrick Kenrick, Bishop of Philadelphia, all rights, etc., all title, etc., the whole tract within the fence, adjoining lands of said Valeria Evans on the east and south, lands of Brinker and Bredin on the west, and an alley on the north, containing two acres and 100 perches, and including what was granted by Sarah Collins as well as what was granted by E. R. Evans and his wife, Valeria Evans.
Rev. Charles Ferry was pastor of St. Peters from 1821 to 1825 ; Rev. P. P. ('Neil from 1826 to 1834. Hle was succeeded by Rev. P. Rafferty, who served until 1837; then Revs. Gallagher and Joseph Cody up to 1810. Rev. John Mitchell followed and was pastor until 1846. After him came Rev. Joseph Cree- don, who served as pastor until 1848. For several years after this the Benedictine Fathers had charge of the church and furnished pastors from time to time. They were succeeded by the Carmelite Fathers, who remained in control until the fall of 1880 when Rev. Jacob Rummelfanger became pastor. He has served the con- gregation for the past fourteen years. In 1889 the church was enlarged at a cost of $3,000, and is now ample in size for the needs of the congregation, which numbers about one thousand souls, and embraces a flourishing Sunday school.
St. Paul's Catholic Church .- On January 1, 1866, lot Number 147, in the borough of Butler, was deeded to the Right Rev. Bishop of Pittsburg, by Ellen McKeown, Alice Schoonmaker, Mary Gillespie, Bridget Torbett, Anne Duffy and Peter Dufly, the consideration being $450. This is the same lot which, under legislative act of March 16, 1848, was conveyed by Bishop O'Connor to John Duffy, August 7, 1848, and bequeathed by said John Duffy in his last will, dated February 18, 1862, to the grantees of January 1, 1866.
The erection of the church, which fronts on Mckean street, was begun in April, 1866, and in the month of February, in the following year, it was dedi- cated by Bishop Domenec, of Pittsburg, assisted by a large number of the diocesan clergy.
The original members of this church were among the first Catholic settlers of the county, and before the present church was built worshiped in St. Peter's. which they in no small degree helped to erect. A strong tide of German Cath- olic immigration to this place set in, and in a few years after, the original mem- bers of St. Peter's found themselves largely outnumbered by the German ele- ment. It was not long before a German priest was placed in charge of the church, and ultimately it came about that nearly all the sermons and instructions were given in the German language.
Urged by this condition of things the English-speaking members determined to build a church for themselves. The initiative in this work was taken by Peter Duffy. Ile not only contributed largely to the erection of the church, but gave the building of it his personal supervision. The other members likewise con- tributed according to their means.
The membership of St. Paul's, although at first small, has been gradually increasing. The first priest who assumed pastoral charge of the parish, was the Rev. Stephen M. A. Barrett. He came in February, 1867, when the church was dedicated, and remained about one year. Rev. Daniel Devlin, who succeeded
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him, only remained thirteen months, when he resigned on account of illness, and died soon after. Rev. Joseph Coffey, who followed in October, 1865, left the following December. The next pastor was the Rev. James Nolan, who began his labors in January, 1869, and was transferred in June of the same year to Mc- Keesport. He was succeeded by Rev. Francis J. O'Shea, who took charge of the parish in June, 1869, and continued until March, 1872. His successor was Rev. Francis MeCarthy, who remained only three months. Rev. Columba MeSwee- ney was the next in succession. He became pastor in July, 1872, and remained till November, 1876, when he resigned on account of physical infirmities. Rev. William Ambrose Nolan succeeded him, as missionary rector, and assumed the pastoral charge November 10, 1876, and continued in that relation until his death March 27, 1591. Father Nolan was born in Ireland July 18, 1934. Hle was an active, public-spirited man, very zealous in his church work, and greatly respected by the community. It was largely through his efforts that St. Paul's Catholic Parochial school was established, and the new cemetery incorporated.
Father Nolan was succeeded immediately after his death by Rev. Daniel Walsh, the present pastor. The church, which is neat and attractive, occupies a convenient position on Mckean street, opposite the old graveyard, where repose the ashes of the first settlers of Butler. Its membership embraces about 1,000 souls, and its prosperity evinces harmony and zeal in the cause of religion. Several societies and a prosperous Sunday school are connected with the church. St. Peter's Protestant Episcopal Church .- Some time in 1815 the Rev. Jack- son Kemper (afterwards bishop) visited Butler as agent for the Society for the Advancement of Christianity in Pennsylvania, and held Episcopal services in the parlor of Hon. John Gilmore, after which a number of children were baptized. But it was not until 1524 that the Protestant Episcopal church of Butler was organized. The first officiating minister was the Rev. Robert Ayres, and the membership at that time consisted of but few families. When the first meeting was held to organize and take steps toward the erection of a church building, the members present in the court house were Hon. John Gilmore and wife, Hon. John Bredin, Maurice Bredin, John B. McGlaughlin, James Bredin and wife, Benjamin Wallace, Moses Hanlen, Samuel R. Williams, Campbell E. Purviance, William Dixon, Samuel A. Gilmore, John N. Purviance and wife, Mrs. Ann Anderson, Miss Susan Bredin, Mrs. Hugh McGlanghlin, Mrs. Thomas Collins and others. The Right Reverend John II. Hopkins, then rector of Trinity church, Pittsburg, and afterwards bishop of the diocese of Vermont, presided. The first matter of consideration after divine services was the procuring of a suit- able lot of ground on which to erect a church. Judge Bredin proposed and did donate a lot located on East Jefferson street, on which the building was tinally erected. and there the congregation have worshiped to the present time.
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