History of Cumberland and Adams counties, Pennsylvania. Containing history of the counties, their townships, towns, villages, schools, churches, industries, etc.; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; biographies; history of Pennsylvania, statistical and miscellaneous matter, etc., etc, Part 59

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USA > Pennsylvania > Adams County > History of Cumberland and Adams counties, Pennsylvania. Containing history of the counties, their townships, towns, villages, schools, churches, industries, etc.; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; biographies; history of Pennsylvania, statistical and miscellaneous matter, etc., etc > Part 59
USA > Pennsylvania > Cumberland County > History of Cumberland and Adams counties, Pennsylvania. Containing history of the counties, their townships, towns, villages, schools, churches, industries, etc.; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; biographies; history of Pennsylvania, statistical and miscellaneous matter, etc., etc > Part 59

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The third tract was owned by Benjamin Junkin, Jr., also a son of the orig- inal patenteo, who is said to have built two other houses-the hotel, and the dwelling which he ocenpied until his death. Part of this tract came into the possession of John King, by whom it was conveyed (1830) to Peter Kissinger, who, in 1541, laid it out into the town lots which now compose the greater part of New Kingston.

The town is conveniently situated on the pike road which leads from Car-

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HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY.

lisle to Harrisburg, amid the cultivated farms of this beautiful portion of the valley, and is not distant from the railroad, which passes to the South. It has a hotel, postoffice, stores, three churches, schools and a population of between 300 and 400 inhabitants.

Silver Spring Lodge, No. 598, I. O. O. F., was organized April 20, 1867, with twenty charter members. Its present membership numbers about fifty, and the officers are now (September 15, 1886): R. E. Anderson, P. G .; J. D. Bishop, N. G .; H. W. Morrison, V. N. G .; W. H. Humer, Sec .; Jacob Ma- thias, Asst. Sec .; J. A. Senseman, Treas.

THE FIRST COVENANTERS' COMMUNION IN AMERICA.

Nearly all of the early Scotch-Irish who came into this valley were Presby- terians, reared in connection with the synod of Ulster, but there were some Covenanters among them, even at the early date. They were not numerous at this time in Ireland, where some secession churches were then being es- tablished.

In this valley there were only a few clusters of families scattered here and there in different in different localities, and at first without any fixed place of worship. Sometimes, without an ordained minister, they met at each other's houses. They could not and did not fraternize with the Presbyterianism around them. At about this time two places of worship were established- one at Paxtang, east of the river, and the other on the Stony Ridge, in Silver Spring Township. When the weather allowed they met in their "tent," as it was termed, and, when it was not propitious, in their cabins. This "tent" was pitched in a shady grove, and consisted simply of an elevated platform for the minister, a board nailed against a black oak tree to support the Bible, a few rude benches for seats, and some boards overhead to protect the speaker from the sun and rain. Thus accommodated they worshiped for hours at a time, and their communion services sometimes lasted nine hours. Rev. John Cuthbert- son, a Scotchman by birth, from Ireland, preached for the first time in the val- ley on Wednesday, August 21, 1751 or 1752, at Walter Buchanan's, near the present New Kingston, midway between Carlisle and the river. His text was, Proverbs VIII, 4: " Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man." He also baptized Joseph Glendenning, John M'Clelland and Jane Swansie, infant children of residents of that neighborhood. August 23, 1752, Mr. Cuth- bertson held his first communion in America. It was at Stony Ridge, or the Walter Buchanan or Junkin "tent," in Cumberland County. The communi- cants came to the table singing the Twenty-fourth Psalm. About 250 persons communed, and this comprised very nearly all the Covenanters in this county, for the place was central, the season pleasant, and they gathered in from their different settlements, the Covenanters also of adjoining counties.

This was the first time that the followers of Cameron and Cargill ever gathered at the communion table in the new world or outside the British isles.

Their next pastor was Rev. Matthew Lind, of the Covenanter congregation at Aghadoe, near Coleraine. He came in December, 1773; locating at Pax- tang, and assumed the pastorate of that church and of the Stony Ridge. Wal- ter Buchanan was the only elder in Stony Ridge when Mr. Lind was installed. About that time Joseph Junkin was ordained. He lived upon the present Kanaga farm; built his present stone house, and had the "tent" upon it dur- ing his life time. Still later it was known as "Widow Junkin's tent." This little church was always a colony, surrounded by a population which had no sympathy with them. Later, when the Germans came in, they literally crowd- ed out the Irish, and in a few years both congregations were completely ex-

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terminated-so completely that there is scarcely u tradition of their existence left among the present inhabitants.

The Bals, and the Swansios, and the Junkins attached themselves to the Big Spring congregation; but in time they, too, passed away, and not a single descendant of the original stock is now known to reside in the neighborhood.

The late Dr. Robert G. Young, of Mechanicsburg, in speaking, in a man- uscript note in our possession, of some account of this Covenanters' "tent," says: "The description of this tent is strictly correct, as handed down to us, but there is inaccuracy in the location. The writer of this note, now in his sixty-seventh year, during his boyhood and youth was familiar with its loca- tion, and his recollection is corroborated by that of an old citizen, formerly a resident of that vicinity. Our statement is that . Widow Junkin's tent' was about 300 yards from the turnpike road, near to the foot of the Stony Ridge, and almost directly opposite to an old stone house, at the time occupied and owned by Mr. Thomas Bell, in which he had for many years kept a hotel for the accommodation of the traveling public. The old citizen' above men- tioned says that this 'tent' was an object of nearly every day observation while he resided in the vicinity of New Kingston, and that it disappeared about the year 1530. The recollection of the writer confirms his statement. My pater- nal grandfather attended divine services when held here, being a descendant of that branch of the Presbyterian Church familiarly called the Covenanters."

THE SILVER SPRING CHURCH AND CEMETERY.

The church at Silvers' Spring, now known as the "Silver Spring Presby terian Church." was probably, in its inception, the first church established in the valley. The earliest mention made of this congregation, in which they are first spoken of as the "people over the Susquehanna," is in October, 1734. Later they are called " East Pennsborough," and finally "Silvers' Spring." The present stone church, which is built only a short distance from the spring, and is surrounded by a handsome grove of trees, was built in 1783. A wood- en one had been erected here, according to Rupp, forty years before. Its in- ception was at a time when no public road had yet been made through the valley, but when the thoroughfares were the bridle-paths of the Indians. It seems that there was a still earlier building, but not upon the site of the pres- ent ones, for Col. A. Loudon Snowden states, in an address at the centennial anniversary, in 1983, that although the present church is now less than "a mile, in a direct line, from the creek, the original log structure in which our ancestors worshiped was much nearer the stream than the present building .* Indeed, the tra litions which my father received from some of the old settlers, and gave me, make the location within a very short distance from the same, a little way above where Sample's bridge now stands."

The pastors of this church have been Revs. Samuel Thompson, 1739-45; Samuel Caven, 1749-50; John Steel, 1764-76; Samuel Waugh, 1782-1807; John Hayes, 1809-14; Henry R. Wilson, 1814-23; James Williamson, 1924-38; George Morris, 1535-60; Wm. H. Dinsmore, 1861-65; W. G. Hill- man. 1866-67; W. B. McKee, 1868-70; R. P. Gibson, 1872-75; T. J. Fer- guson, 1578.

·We have already entered Into a period of fabulous antiquity "The church edifice which preceded lhe present one," says Dr. Nevin, in his history of " The Churches of the Valley " [published in 1852], " and which was the first meeting-house at Silvers' spring, was, we have been Informed by one who learned It from his graoilparents. a sotall Ing hoilding, near the place where the present house stands. No record of the hullding of that house, or of the organiz.ition of a church in It, can be found; and, as the members of the congregation at that time are of course, all dead and gone. It is Impossible to tell with certainty when these things were done It is, however, far more than probable, from the facts which we have already given, and from the epl- taphs which are found in the cemetery, that the old log building, in which the first settiers in what ia Dow the eastern part of Cumberland County, with its beautiful landscapes and thriving villages, assembled for the wor- ship of God, was erected about one hundred and twenty years ago." [Churches of the Valley, p. 75.]

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HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY.

A burial place in the grove is connected with the church, and some of the inscriptions can be read with dates as early as 1747, if not earlier still. Within a few years past a handsome memorial gothic chapel has been erected in the grove by the McCormick family. The circular grove of trees in which these churches stand is one of the most beautiful which can be found in the valley, and we do not wonder that the beauty and the hallowed associations of this spot gave birth to the following poem, from the pen of an unknown author, which was published about thirty-five years ago in the Gazette, a paper published in Mechanicsburg:

SILVER SPRING.

'Twas on a quiet Sahbath, One warm midsummer day, When first, with childish eagerness, I trod its moss-grown way; Yet paused with every footstep, Lest my coming might intrude On the spirit-haunted trysting-place Within its solitude.

For, where the grass grew tallest In a myrtle-covered dell, And softest, deepest shadows From waving branches fell, Lay, in unbroken stillness, Old Scotland's exiled dead, O'er whose mysterious slumbers An hundred years had fled.

No pompous, proud mausoleum Or sculptured marble tomb Threw round this spot a mockery Of dark, funereal gloom; But through the tangled walnut boughs, Half veiled, but not concealed, Like a sentinel on duty, An old church stood revealed.

A heaten, narrow, thread-like path Wound through the thick green wood, And, following where it seemed to lead, I, in a moment, stood Beside a rill so beautiful, Of coloring so rare, I surely thought the sunshine Had been imprisoned there.

A ledge of gray, uneven rocks Rested against the hill; And from their veins the water gushed With such a gleeful trill- Such liquid, silver, soothing sounds- I almost held my breath, Lest e'en a whisper might disturb The harmony beneath.

The quiet dead, the old stone church, And myrtle-covered dell, Each had its tale of thankfulness For living love to tell; What wonder, then, that pleasant Recollections always cling Around the sunny Sabbaths I spent at Silver Spring.

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SOUTHAMPTON TOWNSHIP.

MISCELLANEOUS,

The Cumberland Valley Railroad passes through the southern portion of the township, in a west by northerly direction from Mechanicsburg, till within a short distance of Middlesex Township line, when it takes a sudden south- westerly course.

The postoffices in Silver Spring Township are New Kingstown and Hogestown.

CHIAPTER XXXIV.

SOUTHAMPTON TOWNSHIP .*

SOUTHAMPTON is tho extreme southwestern township of the county, and is bounded on the north by Hopewell, on the east by Newton, and on the south and west by the lines of Adams and Franklin Counties. It was formed, originally, one year before the formation of Franklin County, from portions of Lurgan and Hopewell Townships, in October, 1783. At this session of the court a petition is presented praying the court to erect into one separate town- ship such parts of the said townships of Hopewell and Lurgan as are included in the description given, and that it "be called henceforth by the name of Southampton," which petition was confirmed by the court.

In this petition complaint is made of the great length of the said town- ships-namely, Hopewell and Lurgan-"which at present extend from the North to the South Mountains at a distance of about fifteen miles." The cre- ation of Franklin County, in September, 1784, disturbed the boundary of this township, so that another petition of a number of the inhabitants of South- ampton Township is presented to the court in January, 1791, setting forth that the said township of Southampton was some years laid off from Hopewell and Lurgan Townships into a separate township by the name of Sonthampton; that, soon after that, the "said township of Southampton was cut in two by a line dividing Franklin from Cumberland County," etc., and states that at a meeting of the inhabitants of Hopewell and Southampton Townships it was agreed that "the future boundary between Hopewell and Southampton Town- ships begin at Capt. William Strains' mill-dam; thence along the southeast side of the laid out road leading from said Strains' mill to James Irvin's mill until it intersects the line between Newton and Hopewell," etc., and prays the court to grant relief by confirming the said boundary; which was done, so that " that part of the said township of Hopewell lying southeast of the road lead- ing from Strains' to Irwin's mill shall be henceforth called Southampton."

CHARACTER OF SOIL, ETC.

The character of the soil in Southampton Township is, in the north, undu- lating limestone land, more or less rocky, but productive, and in which, at its settlement, was what was known as "barrens." a sort of prairie land where the Indians had burned the forests, which grew up afterward into brush; this limestone land containing oak, hickory, and several varieties of locust and walnut, while on the gravel land south there were large forests of yellow pine

*For borough of Shippensburg, see page 257.

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HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY.

extending from the base of the mountains three miles into the valley. This description is true of the whole south side of the upper portion of the valley until it reaches almost the center of the county. This land is well watered by numerous streams.

Some superior ore banks have been discovered in this township, and there- fore it was that, long ago, furnaces were established. The first of these, built by John Moore, of Carlisle, in 1824, on the stream near the foot of the South Mountain, was one known as Augusta. Another, on the same stream, in the forest below, was known as Mary Ann. A third, still later, about four miles east of the latter, was called Big Pond. They have all long since ceased to be in operation. Other mills, and for other purposes, have since been built in the neighborhood of Middle Spring. Deposits of superior hematite iron ore are to be found at different places in the township, while fine farms abound on the limestone land.

One matter in connection with the township during the Revolution is of in- terest. Two powder-mills were erected, one near the foot of South Mountain, and the other about a mile northwest of Shippensburg. The former was but a short distance on the run above where the Mary Ann Furnace was subse- quently built, and the other just below where the Zearfoss flouring-mill now stands. Both mills were blown up, at different times, and in both cases re- sulted in the death of the proprietors.

EARLIEST SETTLERS.

The southwestern portion of this township was settled at a very early period. Large tracts of land, lying between the southeastern boundary of the first purchase made by Edward Shippen and the base of the South Mountains, were owned by John Reynolds, Benjamin Blythe, Col. James Dunlap, John Cesna and others. John Reynolds' tract joined that of Mr. Shippens on its southeastern side, while south of the latter lay that of Mr. Blythe. Just southeast of the Blythe tract lies the one which was purchased by Col. Dunlap in 1767. East of this tract is the Cesna farm, upon which Dennis O'Neiden and John Kirkpatrick were killed by the Indians July 18, 1757. This farm was one of the first occupied in the township, and remained in the possession of the descendants of Mr. Cesna until about the year 1827. On the north and northwest of the second purchase of Mr. Shippen, were the Brum- fields, Duncans, Wherrys, McCunes, Caldwells, Culbertsons, Morrows, Fin- leys, Montgomerys and others. These were among the earliest settlers in the valley, and most of them were men of intelligence and enterprise, constituting such a group of these hardy Scotch-Irish as will bear comparison with any which can be collected at the present day .*

VILLAGES.

There are three villages in the township, namely, Leesburg, Cleversburg and Middle Spring.

Leesburg is situated on the Harrisburg & Potomac Railroad, on the Wal- nut Bottom road, four miles east of Shippensburg, and was originally settled by Scotch-Irish families, such as the Maxwells, Highlands, Chestnuts and others, who lived upon the lands upon which it is built, or just adjacent. It contains at present a postoffice, a church, three stores, graded schools, and a population of about 300 inhabitants. The town was called from George Lee, who kept a tavern in a log house which stood on the south side of the Walnut

*The writer has to say that some of the above facts were obtained from the late Hon. John McCurdy who seems to have made a careful study of this portion of the county.

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SOUTHAMPTON TOWNSHIP.

Bottom road. This house, a farm house of Mr. Adam Reese, and a house which stood on the north side of the road below that of Mr. Reese, were the only houses then standing within the present limits of Leesburg. The land to the south and west of Lee's house, we are informed, was then covered with heavy timber, consisting of yellow pine, white and black oak, and hickory, nor was there any cleared land on either side of the Walnut Bottom road from that point nutil within a mile of Shippensburg excepting two farins, the Beltz and Rebrick.

Cleversburg is situated just south of the center of the township, about one mile from the South Mountains, on land which originally belonged to George Croft, but which was purchased afterward by George Clever. The town was begun about 1860. It was called after George Clever, and was laid out upon the lands of George Clever and Wm. Sibbet and others. Up to this time (1860) there were but two houses, and a grist or flour mill which is still stand- ing. Clever owned the Gochenaur, or, originally, Croft, mill. The town contains a postoffice, a furnace, two churches, schools, a grist-mill, and a population of about 350. A branch railroad runs to the ore banks and furna- ces from Cleversburg.

Middle Spring is located about two miles north of Shippensburg. It takes its name from the spring and the old church which stands there. There is here a store, postoffice, blacksmith's shop and a number of dwellings.

MIDDLE SPRING CHURCH AND GRAVE-YARD.

For some reason all the old Presbyterian Churches of the Cumberland Val- ley were erected near a spring or stream of water, and from their location they derived their names. Of these Middle Spring is one. Of the exact date of the origin of this congregation no record has been preserved; neither cau it be as- certained from any other source. A log church, thirty-five feet square, was erected here about 1738, not far from where the present Middle Spring Church now stands. In 1765 a new structure was erected, and enlarged from time to time, which was succeeded in 1781 by the stone structure, which gave place, in 1847, to the new brick church, which has since been remodeled and improved.

Instead of, ourselves, attempting to describe these churches, we prefer to use almost verbatim, the words of one who is more familiar with them. " Those, " says Dr. Nevin, "who are familiar with this locality, remember well the green slope to the right on which the building stands; the grave-yard in the rear; the beautiful wood stretching back, with its refreshing shadows; the old mill- dam to the left; the fonutain of fresh water bubbling up close by : the murmuring stream, which rolls on under thick hanging foliage; and the "Lower Grave yard " a little to the north, along which the stream flows in its course, chanting its sweet requiem for the dead." It was in this grave yard that the first church in this region was built. This was about 1738. It does not now stand. It was demolished, and another log one built upon the spot. This was considerably larger, being about forty-eight feet long and forty-eight wide. In a little while this was extended, by removing three sides of the building then in use, and embracing a little more space on either side, which was covered with a roof, something in the form of a shed. Up the sides of these additions to the main edifice, and over the roofs, were erected wooden steps, by which access was gained to the gallery. This arrangement was made for want of room in the interior of the building for the construction of a stair- way. About the year 1781. the old stone church was erected, whose site, as is well known. was just beside that of the present building. This was still larger than its predecessor, fifty-eight by sixty-eight feet, and at about this same

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HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY.

time the grave yard immediately in its rear was located. This was done, not only because the old one was already filled, but also because its soil was of a gravelly description, and its lower section, by reason of its nearness to the stream, was subject to frequent inundation.

The present brick church at Middle Spring was built, but seemingly, at least, not without poetic protest, in 1747-48, as in the volume from which we have quoted, among others, there appears this verse:

"That old stone church! Hid in these oaks apart, I hoped the newer world would ne'er invade, But only time, with its slow, hallowing art, Would touch it, year by year, with softer shade, And crack its walls no more, but. interlaid, Mend them with moss. Its ancient sombre cast Dearer to me is than all art displayed In modern churches, which, by their contrast, Make this to stand forlorn, held in the solemn past."*

Of the list of persons, to show the warlike mettle of these men, members or adherents of this church, who took part in the Revolution, we may mention Cols. Benjamin Blythe, Isaac Miller, Robt. Peebles, William Scott, Abraham Smith; Maj. James Herron; Capts. William Rippey, Matthew Henderson, Matthew Scott, David McKnight, John McKee, William Strain, Joseph Brady, Robert Quigley, Charles Leeper (killed at Crooked Billet, May, 1778), Charles Maclay, Samuel Blythe, Samuel Walker, James Scott, Samuel McCune, Sam- uel Kearsley and Lieut. Samuel Montgomery (lost a leg at Crooked Billet); John Heap, Esq., Samuel Cox, Esq., Francis Campble; John Reynolds, Esq., Thomas Mcclellan, Joseph McKenney, James McKee, Robert Donavin, Will- iam Turner, Thomas McCombs, William Sterritt, John Woods, Esq., William Anderson, John Maclay, James Dunlap, Esq., James Lowry, Esq., John Mac. lay (mountain), William Barr, Archibald Cambridge, John Herron, David Her- ron, David Duncan, John McKnight, James McCune, David Mahan, John Thompson, Jacob Porter, Isaac Jenkins (one of five brothers who died in camp of contagious disease, all of whom are buried in the Lower Grave-yard), Samuel Dixon, John Grier. A number of the members of this church were present in the meeting held in the Presbyterian Church, in Carlisle, June 12, 1774, to protest against the closing of the port of Boston.

MIDDLE SPRING CHURCH LANDS.

The history of the lands which belonged to the Middle Spring Church is thus given by Rev. S. Wylie, its present pastor: "On the 27th of May, 1767, there was surveyed and sold to Francis Campble, Robert Chambers, William Duncan and John Maclay, the tract of land in Hopewell Township, Cumberland County, called 'Mount Hope,' very much in the form of a wedge, with the head extending along the Middle Spring, beyond the old grave-yard, and the sharp point reaching almost to Mean's Run in the direction of Shippensburg, contain- ing 49 acres and 110 perches, for which they paid the State of Pennsylvania the sum of £0 and 163. This land was patented by these men September 17, 1790, and in November, 1793, they deeded it to the trustees of the Middle Spring Church. On the 3d of December, 1813, there was sold of this land, at public auction, nino acres and nine perches, lying along and including the water-right of Middle Spring. to Samuel Cox, at $150 per acre. On the 10th of May, 1825, of the remainder twenty-four acres and fifty-three perches were sold to Mr. George Diehl for the sum of $486.62. There thus remains some- thing above sixteen acres of these lands, which still belong to the church.

*From poem by Prof. W. M. Nevin : " The Guardian," May, 1852.

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SOUTH MIDDLETON TOWNSHIP.

" The old grave yard belonging to this church was used from its earliest his- tory. The oldest records now legible, however, only date back to 1770. The oldest names appear to be the Wrights and Johnsons. The present stone wall was built before 1805. It had a shingle comb-roof and was painted red. The upper or new yard was inclosed in 1842."

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Author: Publication date: Publisher: W. Taylor Number of Pages: 1280

Author:
Publication date:
Publisher: W. Taylor
Number of Pages: 1280