History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 179

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 1314

USA > Pennsylvania > Fayette County > History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 179

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After three years of a " sort of missionary pastorate" throughout the settlements, Dr. Power removed his family to Mount Pleasant, in 1779, and became pastor of Mount Pleasant and Sewickly Churches, and for a while Unity and Tyrone shared in his regular labors. Although never regularly installed, he fulfilled with marked fidelity the office of pastor in Sewickly until 1777, and in Mount Pleasant thirty years longer, when age and infirmity compelled him to cease. "Thirteen years more he lingered, profoundly revered by his descendants and the people of his charge, until Aug. 5, 1830, when, in the eighty-fifth year of his age, his released spirit joined the redeemed company of his fellow-laborers, and his body was laid quietly down in a hallowed grave to await the resurrection of the just."

The Rev. James Dunlap, D.D., was born in Chester County, Pa., in 1774. IIe was graduated at Prince- ton, studied theology with Rev. James Finley, was licensed by the Presbytery of Donegal, 1776 to 1781. He was ordained "sine titulo" by the Presbytery of New Castle, and came West with his theological pre-

the first call which passed through the hands of Red- stone Presbytery. This call, which was from the churches of " Delap's Creek" and Laurel Hill, he ac- cepted, but was never installed, this formality being of more recent date. Dr. Dunlap remained pastor of both churches for seven years, and of Laurel Hill for four- teen years more, and near the close of this period was stated supply at Tyrone for some part of his time. From 1803 till 1811 he was president of Jefferson College, and died in Abingdon, Pa., Nov. 11, 1818, in the seventy-fifth year of his age.

He was no doubt the finest scholar in the Presby- tery. It is an interesting fact that the two men who nursed this little church in the wilderness were the first of the pioneer ministers whose talents and schol- arship were recognized by academic honors. In 1807 Mr. Dunlap received from Jefferson College its first honorary degree of "Divinitatis Doctor," and the next year Mr. Power's name was placed second on the list now grown so long.

The Rev. James Guthrie, the first pastor of Tyrone congregation, was born in Westmoreland County, Pa. He was a child of the covenant, and his Scotch-Irish parents carefully instructed him in the duties and doctrines of religion. Their faithfulness was rewarded by the early conversion of their son, whose mind was soou turned to the gospel ministry. With this in view he entered Dickinson College. Upon his grad- nation he commenced the study of theology with one of the pastors of the Presbytery. In October, 1801, he appears in Presbytery, and the following minute was made in the record : " Mr. James Guthrie offered himself to be taken on trial as a candidate for the gospel ministry. Presbytery having received testi- monials of his good moral character, of his being in full communion of the church, and having taken a regular course of literature, proceeded to converse with him on his experimental acquaintance with re- ligion and the motives which induced him to desire the office, and, having received satisfaction, agreed to take him on further trial, and assigned him an exer- cise on the following theme : ' Quomodo miraculæ pro- bant Seripturas Sacras esse Divinas,' and an homily on 1 John iv. 9: ' In this was manifested the love of God towards us, because that God sent his only begot- ten Son into the world that we might live through him.' Both to be delivered at the next meeting of Presbytery."

These duties were satisfactorily performed, as were all others that were assigned, until, " having passed through all the parts of trial required by the book, Mr. Guthrie was, on the 19th of March, 1803, at Lau- rel Hill, licensed in regular form as a probationer for the gospel ministry," and opportunity was given him to make full proof of his ministry in the following list of appointments: "The first Sabbath in May, at Pitt township [Beulah] ; the second, Salem ; third, at Wheatfield ; fourth, Quemahoning; fifth, Somerset.

2 Old Redstone, p. 225.

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TYRONE-UPPER AND LOWER TOWNSIIIPS.

First Sabbath in June, Turkey Foot [Confluence]. First Sabbath in July, Uniontown ; second, Morgan- town, Va .; third, Middletown, Va .; fourth, Clarks- burg, Va. First Sabbath in August, Tygart's Val- ley, Va .; second, Morgantown ; third, Monongahela Glades, Va .; fourth, Sandy Creek, Pa .; fifth, Turkey Foot. First Sabbath in September, Turkey Foot; second, Quemahoning ; third, Wheatfield; fourth, Salem ; and first Sabbath in October, Pitt township."

This formidable list of appointments kept the young licentiate the greater part of the summer in the saddle. For weeks together zigzaging in and out among the mountains, climbing perilous steeps, ford- ing unbridged rivers, often threading his way through dense forests along lonely bridle-paths, we have dis- played some of those elements of character which marked and made successful the long pastorate of Mr. Guthrie. At the "fall meeting" of Presbytery he was appointed to supply as missionary for the space of two months in the southern departments of Presbytery,-in Jannary, 1804, at discretion ; at Laurel Hill the second Sabbath in February, and at Tyrone the third. This was Mr. Guthrie's first Sabbath at Tyrone. These appointments, like the former ones, were all fulfilled, and Presbytery recorded their ap- probation of his fidelity and ability, and judged "his mission very successful."

In April, 1804, a call from the congregations of Laurel Hill and Tyrone was presented to Mr. Guthrie. He requested " permission to hold the call under con- sideration, and leave to itinerate without the bounds of Presbytery for three months." In October, 1804, Mr. Guthrie signified his acceptance of the call, and arrangements were made for his installation the next April. As no more appointments were made for him than for the pastors in the Presbytery, it is probable that Mr. Guthrie at once entered upon his labors here. According to the above arrangement, Presbytery met at Laurel Hill, April 17, 1805; proceeded to ordain Mr. Guthrie, "and did, by prayer and the imposition of hands, solemnly set him apart to the holy office of the gospel ministry, and install him in the united con- gregations of Laurel Hill and Tyrone," and for the first time in its history this church had a pastor. On this interesting occasion the Rev. George Hill, father, or perhaps grandfather, of Rev. George Hill, D.D., preached " the ordination sermon," and the Rev. Jo- seph Henderson presided. There is no record of any charge to pastor or people, and the installation was not repeated here.

This relation continued almost forty-six years, until the death of Mr. Guthrie, Aug. 24, 1850, in the seventy-fourth year of his age. The oldest members Father Stoneroad still lives at Laurel Hill, where, abundant in labors, he has proclaimed the gospel of salvation for twenty-six years, though not now so much a " Boanerges" as a "Barnabas." The oldest to-day, and thanks God for his presence. of this congregation remember and venerate Mr. Guthrie as a father. He baptized them in their in- fancy, catechised them in their youth, received them into the church in maturer years, married them, bap- of her living pastors, Tyrone affectionately greets him tized their children, and buried their parents. He is remembered as a small man of ruddy complexion and

nervous temperament ; kind, genial, benevolent; a devoted pastor and a warm friend. The Rev. Joel Stoneroad, his colleague and successor, says, "The general traits of the Scotch-Irish marked the char- acter of Mr. Guthrie." He was four times married. His first wife was the daughter of Joseph Torrance, Esq., a member of Laurel Hill Session. His second wife was Miss Gallaher, of Dunlap's Creek. His third wife was a Widow Hunter, daughter of William Smith, an elder at Tyrone. His fourth wife was Mrs. Beeson, of Uniontown, who, after the death of Mr. Guthrie, married Mr. Johnston Van Kirk, of Dunlap's Creek. All Mr. Guthrie's wives had the reputation of being truly excellent women, being well suited to their place and station.

" Mr. Guthrie's mental character, though not extra- ordinary, was quite respectable. His talents partook chiefly of the practical rather than the speculative, which made him all the more useful as a preacher and pastor. As to his ministerial character, it was perfectly stainless through his long pastorate of forty- six years. The integrity of his religious character was never questioned, even by his enemies. He was truly a whole-souled man, generous to a fault. Fre- quently when his people had fallen into arrears he would cancel his claim rather than report them in Presbytery as delinquents, and this when his salary from both congregations never exceeded four hundred dollars."

The Rev. Joel Stoneroad, the second pastor of Ty- rone, was born in Mifflin County, Pa., in the year 1806; graduated at Jefferson College in 1827, and at Princeton Theological Seminary in 1830. He labored one year as a domestic missionary at Morgantown, Va., and vicinity ; was pastor of Uniontown Presby- terian Church from 1832 to 1842, then pastor of Cross- Roads Church, Presbytery of Washington, for eight years. In the spring of 1850 he removed to Laurel Hill, and on the 5th of June was installed collegiate pastor with Rev. James Guthrie in the united congre- gations of Laurel Hill and Tyrone. Under the able and energetic labors of the junior pastor, who brought to the field the rich experience of nineteen years in the work of the ministry, the congregation prospered. Two elders were added to the session the first year. Just two years, lacking a day, from the installation of the second pastor the congregation entered their first brick house of worship, and the regular additious to its membership witnessed a healthy spiritual life. In April, 1861, Laurel Ilill asked and obtained the whole of Mr. Stoneroad's time, and Tyrone became vacant for the first time in fifty-seven years.

A vacancy occurs from April, 1861, to 1864, during

796

HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

the greater part of which time the pulpit was irregu- larly supplied. The principal exception was in the summer of 1862, when the talented, consecrated, but now lamented George Paul, then a licentiate, under appointment as a foreign missionary, labored here for some months, and his name is still " as ointment poured forth." In April, 1864, a call for part of the pastoral services of Rev. William Logan Boyd, then pastor of Sewickly Church, promising two hundred dollars a year for one-third of his time, was presented in Presbytery. The call was accepted, and on the first Monday in June following the first installation services ever witnessed in Tyrone were performed. The Rev. Joel Stoneroad preached the sermon, the Rev. W. F. Hamilton, D.D., presided, proposed the consti- tutional questions, and charged the pastor, and Rev. N. H. G. Fife delivered the charge to the people.

other vacancy, extending from 1867 to 1871. For the first eighteen months the pulpit was supplied occa- sionally by different ministers. In November, 1868, Rev. Morehead Edgar was elected " stated supply till the ensuing spring," at which time he was again elected stated supply for two-thirds of his time. Early in the summer, however, he ceased to serve.

Another season of occasional supplies followed until December, 1870, when the Rev. Thomas S. Parke preached as a candidate. He continued to supply most of the time until April 2, 1871, when he was elected pastor. This call, which was presented in | a single sermon, and that on a week-day or evening, Presbytery at its spring meeting, was accepted, and on the 27th of July following he was installed at Tyrone pastor of the united churches of Tyrone and Harmony. The Rev. Joel Stoneroad again preached the sermon. On this occasion he also presided and proposed the " constitutional questions."

Rev. Henry Fulton charged the pastor, and A. Bronson, D.D., the people.

Mr. Parke married, built a house in Dawson, and fixed his residence there. Then, for the first time in ninety-four years, Tyrone congregation had their pastor and his family living among them.

During this pastorate two additional elders were or- dained and installed, the present beautiful house of worship was built and dedicated, and forty-one men- bers were received and thirty-one dismissed to form the church at Dawson. This relation continued with Harmony for two years, and with Tyrone about four, terminating May 28, 1875.

church, dividing the time equally between Tyrone and Sewickly. In October of the following year Tyrone and Scottdale were formed into a pastoral charge and placed under him, and he has remained in charge as pastor to the present time (1881 ).

Of the elders of the old Tyrone Church, the first bench consisted of Barnett Cunningham, born June 29, 1736, and his half-brother, James Torrance, born Feb. 15, 1744. They emigrated from Peach Bottom Valley, on the Susquehanna, the former in the spring of 1770, the latter within two years of that date. They secured for seventeen years, by what was known as a " tomahawk right," and then for eight years more by a surveyor's warrant, and afterwards, in 1795, by patent, lands, part of which have been in possession of their families ever since. The price paid by Mr. Cunningham for three hundred and sixteen acres, This pastorate lasted just three years, and was marked by a healthy growth in the church, although the distance at which Mr. Boyd resided in Sewickly greatly increased his labors, and at the same time di- minished their apparent results, and perhaps largely with "an allowance of one-sixteenth for roads," was twelve pounds six shillings,-nearly seventeen cents per acre. "They left the old settlements for the uew," says one who wrote of it twenty years ago, "in full membership in the Presbyterian Church, but had no influenced him to seek a release. Then occurred an- ' opportunity of hearing the gospel preached or its or- dinances dispensed until Dr. Power visited them in 1774."

The same author, the late Robert A. Sherrard, of Steubenville, Ohio, fixed this as the date of their ordination, but unless Dr. Power, while yet a licen- tiate, exercised all the functions of an ordained min- ister, this could not be. It is probable that on his first visit here after his ordination, say in the fall of 1776, he ordained these noble men to their holy office. Of their efforts to gather a congregation, and secure the services of a minister, though it might be but for in some cabin, or oftener in the woods, of the re- ligious meetings they themselves held, of their trials and discouragements, their self-denial and sacrifices to secure a house of worship, their " faith and pa- tience," the only record is on high. For more than thirty years these noble brothers, to whom perhaps this church owes its existence, carried the responsi- bilities their office involved without any addition to the session, without a pastor, and for the greater part of the time without even a stated supply to assist them. But they both lived to see the old cabin church, with its earthen floor, split-log benches, and unglazed windows, give way to the comparatively comfortable "meeting-house," with floor and glass windows and a pulpit, and at length even the luxury of a fire. Each of them was permitted to see his sons sitting in the seat of the elders, and the flock they had tended so long and so auxiously fed and cared for by a faithful under-shepherd.

Barnett Cunningham departed this life Sept. 13, 1808, in the seventy-third year of his age. Four of his sons and three of his grandsons have been called to the same office, and the session has never been

The old church, weakened by the organization at Dawson, now entered into an alliance with Sewickly, each agreeing to pay half the salary of a minister. On the 17th of the ensuing October the Rev. J. H. Stevenson, by invitation of the session, preached his first sermon here, and afterwards regularly served the , without one or more of his family on their roll.

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TYRONE-UPPER AND LOWER TOWNSHIPS.

James Torrance died May 12, 1826, at the age of eighty-three years, having served this church as an elder fifty years. Three of his sons and three of his grandsons have been ordained to the office, and the husband of a great-granddaughter is now in the session. Of Robert Smith, James Goudy, John Cum- mings, and John Cooly little is known, save that, having served in the office of ruling elder for a longer or shorter period, they all removed out of the church bounds, and that Mr. Smith has also this enviable distinction, that he and William Smith edu- cated each a son for the ministry.

William Huston, eldest son of Margery Cunning- ham, and nephew of the two senior elders, was born east of the mountains, A.D. 1751, and died Sept. 6, 1827, aged seventy-six years. He came to the West before he was sixteen years old, and with his rifle by his side for protection against the Indians, cultivated the hills around what is now known as "Cochran's graveyard." His father, Capt. Joseph Huston, gave the land for it just before starting with Col. Crawford on his disastrous expedition against the Indians. Capt. Huston soon returned to die, and was the first to claim a resting-place within its sacred ground.

Frank Vance was born in Ireland about 1766, and died aged about eighty years.

William Smith (Rev. James Guthrie's third father- in-law) died Feb. 2, 1832, in the seventy-fifth year of his age.

Joseph Huston Cunningham, son of Barnett, was ordained in Tyrone in 1818. He served in Connells- ville for a few years prior to 1851, when he returned to .Tyrone, and was the same day unanimously re- elected and reinstalled. Having borne the office for forty years, on the 18th of April, 1858, "he slept with his fathers," and Barnett, his son, ruled in his stead.

Hugh Torrance, eldest son of James, was born in Cumberland County, Pa., June 29, 1770, and carried over the mountains on horseback while an infant. He was the father of Robert, who was ordained an elder at Connellsville, and of David, who served the church of Altona, Ill., in the same office. Having attained the age of seventy-three years, he died Sept. 7, 1843.

Alexander Johnston came from Ireland about 1807. His first connection with the church was at Cross Creek, Pa., under the ministry of Rev. Thomas Mar- quis. He came to Connellsville about the year 1811, and became a member of Tyrone Church, which then included Connellsville in its bonnds. How long he was an elder here prior to 1831 there is no record to show, but at that time he was " set off"' to the new organization. Of this he was the only elder for one year, and continued a "pillar" in the church until age and infirmity laid him aside. He died Sept. 3, 1864, aged about eighty-three years.

Cunningham Torrance, also son of James, was born June 7, 1789, ordained in Tyrone, 1833, removed to Missouri, 1847, and died soon after.

Nathaniel Hurst was a nephew of Dr. Power's son- in-law, and elder of that name, whose piety, intelli- gence, and practical wisdom adorned the office he so ably filled at Mount Pleasant. Mr. Hurst was or- dained in Tyrone in 1833, and served until Feb. 29, 1860, when, having lived upon earth fifty-nine years, he was transferred from the church militant to the church triumphant.

John Stauffer was "selected" from the original members of Harmony Church by the committee of Presbytery appointed to complete that organization, and on the 27th day of June, 1849, was ordained and installed the only elder in that church. Two years later he removed to Tyrone, where he was elected and installed, and where he continued an elder until he departed this life, May 7, 1857, in the forty-seventh year of his age.

Joseph Gaut was ordained with Cunningham Tor- rance and Nathaniel Hurst, in 1833, by the first pastor of this church. For forty-three years he ruled in Tyrone without reproach, by the purity of his life commanding the respect of all, by the gentleness of his spirit securing the affection of his brethren, and most loved by those who knew him best. He was permitted to see two of his sons ordained and installed elders in this congregation. He died July 17, 1877, aged seventy-five years.

Barnett Cunningham, son of Joseph H., and grand- son of Barnett, was ordained in 1843, and served the church with fidelity and acceptance until a few years since, when, in the providence of God, through bodily and mental affliction, he became unable to fulfill the duties of his office. He died July 3, 1877, in his sev- enty-second year.

Joseph Cunningham, descended by both father and mother from the old pioneer Cunningham-Torrance family, was a nephew of William Huston the elder. He was ordained with his cousin Barnett in 1843, and, like him, served in the church faithfully and long. He died April 8, 1877, in his seventy-seventh year.

William V. Hurst (nephew of Nathaniel) and Rob- ert F. Gaut (son of Joseph) were ordained and in- stalled Dec. 6, 1871. Mr. Gaut soon removed of this congregation without serving in the office.

Henry C. Boyd, Jonathan Merritt, and William Gaut were elected Dec. 4, 1875, and on the 19th of the same month Mr. Boyd and Mr. Gaut were or- dained, and, with Mr. Merritt, who had been ordained in the Dawson Presbyterian Church at its organiza- tion in 1874, were installed ruling elders in Tyrone congregation.

T. Robb Deyarmon was elected elder, and installed in June, 1881. The present (1881) session is com- posed of William V. Hurst, Jonathan Merritt, Wil- liam F. Gaut, and T. Robb Deyarmon.

The original territory of Tyrone congregation was large. Extending to Laurel Hill, Rehoboth, Sewickly,

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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

and Mount Pleasant, it embraced Connellsville and the " regions beyond," and at one time included several families on Indian Creek, fifteen miles away. Its first house of worship was for a long time the only meeting- house of any denomination within its wide bounds, where now stand nineteen Protestant Churches, not counting those in Connellsville or across the Youghio- gheny River. Notwithstanding its wide territory, the membership of the church in its early years was not large. But when we know that the pioneers had no carriages, almost no wagons, and very few horses that the young people of many families, male and female, habitually walked four, five, even six miles, generally barefoot in the summer, carrying their shoes and stockings in their hands till they came near the church, that Jacob's Creek had no bridges, and that pedestrians from the neighborhood of Ragantown were accustomed to come together to the creek and wait for those who rode to " ferry" them over; when we know that some of the families lived so remote that they could attend the few meetings at the church but irregularly, that the Cummings, the MeCunes, and others on Indian Creek often started (as has been related by old Mr. Fleming, who remembers seeing them ) before daylight in order to reach the church in time for the service, and remember that for so many years they had no pastor, and when they had a stated supply it was only for a brief period, and he always resided at a distance, it is a wonder that at the first call of the Presbytery of Redstone for statisties in 1808, Tyrone reported ninety members, and three years later one hundred and eight,-below very few churches in the Presbytery.

From this time no record is found of the member- ship, but the growth seems to have been steady. The pastor preached at Connellsville occasionally nntil the year 1831, when, at the request of the members residing in the village and vicinity, the Presbytery of Redstone authorized the organization of the Connells- ville Church, and Alexander Johnston (elder), Mar- garet and N. C. Johnston, William and Mary Little (or Lytle), Isaac and Mary Taylor, Sarah Turner, Joseph and Elizabeth Rogers, Mary and Louisa Nor- ton, Margaret Francis, Harriet Fuller, Mary Barnett, Samuel and Mary Finley, with Samuel and Elizabeth McCormick, were dismissed for that purpose.

After Mr. Johnson had served alone one year, Isaac Taylor, Joseph Rogers, and William Lytle, formerly members at Tyrone, with Joseph Paull and Samuel Russell, members at Laurel Hill, were added to the session. Thus Tyrone furnished nineteen of the twenty-two original members of the church at Con- nellsville, and four of the six elders who composed its first session. The vigor of this offshot from Tyrone may be inferred from its subsequent history. After only fourteen years, in 1845, Indian Creek Church was organized, embracing some of the original members of the Connellsville Church, who came from Tyrone. Dr. Joseph Rogers was long its principal, perhaps its . lived in Philadelphia, and died there in 1879.

only, elder. Nineteen years later, in 1874, eighty-six members of Connellsville Church were included in a new organization at Dunbar. In its first session we find Tyrone represented by Isaac Taylor's eldest son. Indian Creek reports fifteen members, Dunbar one hundred and fifty, and Connellsville three hundred and sixty-three.

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History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 179

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885 Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts & Co. Number of Pages: 1314

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 1314