USA > Pennsylvania > Bucks County > Warwick in Bucks County > History of Neshaminy Presbyterian Church of Warwick, Hartsville, Bucks County, Pa., 1726-1876 > Part 18
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HISTORY OF
Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Pittsburg, Delaware, and Mary- land, and other sections of the country, and through a protracted period the institution enjoyed great prosperity. On several occasions it shared in the blessed effects of revivals of religion, with which Neshaminy Church was favored. The pupils attended worship at the church, where they occupied one side of the gallery, and quite a number of them at different times were hopefully brought into the kingdom of Christ by the power of the Spirit through the preaching of the Word. Not a few of those who prepared for college, or studied for a period, at this institution, have risen to posts of eminence, influence, and usefulness in the world. Among whom may be men- tioned : Hon. H. P. Ross, Presiding Judge of the Courts of Montgomery Co., Pa .; Prof. Macy, of Union College, Schenectady, N. Y .; Rev. S. M. Freeland, Pastor of the Second Congregational Church, Detroit, Michigan; Dr. Ashurst of Philadelphia; Rev. William Hutchinson, formerly Tutor in Yale College; George Ross, Esq., Arthur Chapman, Esq., and William Stuckert, Esq., of Doylestown, Pa., and many others.
In various professions and pursuits, those who were once under the training of Tennent School, and received a considerable share of their early education in it, have been honored and enjoyed high appreciation from their fellow-men.
In 1857, Mr. Long purchased about three-quarters of an acre of ground from James Field, Esq., adjoining the grave-yard, and having obtained permission from the Trustees of the church to remove the stone wall on the north-west side of the burying-ground, he enclosed the.
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new ground with the old by a permanent wall. It was then laid out in lots, each ten feet by twelve, with suit- able walks and alleys between them, and these were sold at $20 or $25 per lot. The sale of the lots more than equalled all the cost of the enterprise and the interest of the money expended. This addition to the grave-yard was very much needed, as the old ground was nearly all occupied, and none could be purchased on any other side of it so appropriate as this. It met the demands of the congregation at the time for burial purposes, and has been improved and beautified with monuments, and now pre- sents a handsome appearance.
In 1869, (Prof. Charles Long, having died some years before) Mr. Mahlon Long gave up the charge of Tennent School, sold the property to M. Denman Wilbur, Esq., of Newark, N. J., and retired to private life. He has since resided in Philadelphia, and Bergen, N. J. About the year 1860 he married Mrs. Catherine Ely, daughter of Rev. R. B. Belville, and widow of Rev. George Ely. He was admitted to the degree of Master of Arts in course at the College of New Jersey, at Princeton, in 1842, and subsequently received the same honorary degree from Yale College, at New Haven, and the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the College of New Jersey.
PROF. CHARLES LONG.
Professor Charles Long was born in Warmister Town- ship, March 11, 1818. He entered the Sophomore Class in Yale College in 1839, and graduated in 1842. He took a high stand in his class in College, and was much re- spected for his mental acumen and ability. Immediately
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HISTORY OF
after receiving his degree of A. B. he engaged in teaching the Academy in Reading, Pa., where he acquired a high reputation as a teacher. Firm and decided in enforcing discipline, he yet sought and gained the affection of his pupils, and succeeded in inducing them to exert their own minds vigorously in the pursuit of knowledge. Having spent two years in Reading, with credit to himself and much benefit to the school of which he was Principal, he was appointed Tutor in Yale College, and served his Alma Mater in this capacity three years. During this time he pursued the study of Theology, and attended the Lectures of the Theological Seminary, given by Rev. N. W. Taylor, D. D., Prof. Gibbs, Prof. E. T. Fitch, and Prof. C. Goodrich ; and he might at any time thereafter have been examined by an ecclesiastical body, and been licensed to preach the Gospel, if he had felt that he was called to the ministry.
When Rev. James P. Wilson, D. D., was elected Presi- dent of Delaware College, he nominated Mr. Charles Long as Professor of Ancient Languages in that Institution, and he was chosen for this chair by the Trustees. Here he remained three years, and discharged the duties of the office with great acceptance to the students and his asso- ciates in the faculty. But interest in education in Dela- ware at that time had not reached a high point, and it was difficult to keep the College on a satisfactory finan- cial basis. Being solicited by his brother, Rev. Mahlon Long, to join him in establishing a boarding-school of a superior order at Neshaminy, Prof. Long resigned his Professorship in 1850, and located himself near the home of his childhood in the important work of giving
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instruction to youth, and preparing them for College, and for the various walks of business. He remarked about this time, that he considered a first-class preparatory school of more value to the cause of education than an inferior college. The character of his instruction was such as to awaken the minds of his pupils to active efforts, and lead them to exert their own powers. While he would point out clearly the way to learning, he wished them to walk in it by their own exertions. They were encouraged to be hard students, earnest and laborious in their pursuit of knowledge. In 1855 he was attacked by that insidious disease, consumption, and after struggling with it about a year, died July 15, 1856, in the blessed hope of the Gospel, aged 38 years; and his remains lie entombed in the Cemetery of Neshaminy Church. He received the degree of A. M., in course from Yale College, in 1845.
In his death the cause of education lost one of its brightest ornaments. He possessed an unusually clear and acute intellect, which had been trained and cultivated by extensive reading and study. All his literary pro- ductions and public addresses indicated that he was en- dowed with talents of a high grade, which were capable of investigating and expressing truth with great power ; and that his premature decease cut short a career, which might have reached marked eminence.
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION.
When the attempt was made by the Confederate States of the South, in 1861, to establish a government distinct
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HISTORY OF
from that of the Union, there was some diversity of opin- ion among the congregation of Neshaminy in regard to the proper methods to be pursued to preserve the integ- rity of the nation. All were anxious that the Union should be maintained; but the views of some differed widely from those of others in respect to the course most adapted to secure that end. Many were warmly in favor of the plans of the administration ; and others had little confidence in the patriotism that inspired them, or their prospective results. The latter class, having been long associated with the political party opposed to the admin- istration, found great difficulty in bringing themselves to sympathize with those who were at the head of the gov- ernment, in carrying on a war which they deemed unnecessary. Still the Pastor constantly remembered the Rulers of the nation and the soldiers in the field at the throne of grace in public, in the social meeting, and in private; and urged his people to support the government by their sympathies and prayers and cordial co-operation, when he addressed them on Thanksgiving and Fast days, and at other times during those years of trial and danger.
Quite a number of the young men of the congregation and vicinity enlisted in the service of their country, and went forth to fight her battles. Some were in the army three or four years ; some one year ; and some nine months or a shorter period. The following are some of those, who left their peaceful homes and tranquil occupations, and exposed themselves to perils, hardships, privations and death for the preservation of the Union.
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NESHAMINY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
SERGEANT HARMAN Y. BEANS.
Born November 26, 1831. He united with Neshaminy Church in 1858 as one of the fruits of a work of grace, with which the church was blessed during the previous winter. When the war between the Union and the Rebellion commenced, he felt strongly impelled to enter the army as a volunteer, and though many things urged him to remain at home and assist his father on the farm, he could not shake off the impression that he ought to engage actively in defence of his country. With this feeling burning in his bosom he consulted his Pastor and other friends more than once, and though none of them felt called upon to advise him to buckle on the armor, but left the matter very much to his own convictions of duty, yet he soon decided to go forth to the tented field, and face the enemy. He entered the 1st Regiment of Cavalry of the State of New Jersey, one of the companies of which was formed mainly from Bucks and Montgomery Coun- ties, Pennsylvania, and was under the command at first of Captain J. Shelmire. After being in hard service in the ranks a considerable time, and being in many battles and skirmishes in Virginia and Maryland, he was as- signed to the Commissary Department as a clerk or assis- tant to the Quartermaster, partly, no doubt, on account of his eminent fidelity to every trust reposed in him. He was much depended on, and greatly useful in this capa- city, and continued in it till toward the close of the war. But it did not fully satisfy him. He thought he ought to be engaged in actual fighting with the enemy; and
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HISTORY OF
when the country seemed to need him in the more dangerous and stirring expeditions to which the regi- ment was often called, he requested to be relieved from duty in connection with procuring supplies for the army, and to be placed among the more perilous scenes to which his comrades were almost constantly ordered. Not long after his request was granted, he was in a battle at Hanovertown, Virginia, and was mortally wounded in the neck, May 28, 1864. It was hoped that he might be brought to a hospital in Philadelphia, and was conveyed North with this purpose in view. But his strength failed so rapidly, that when he reached Baltimore, his friends who were with him, found he must be taken to a hospi- tal in that city, where he died, June 12, 1864, in the 33d year of his age. While in the army he was esteemed by all who came in contact with him as a young man of conscientious integrity, courage and true patriotism, and was promoted from time to time for his fine qualities as a soldier to the rank of Orderly Sergeant. He was not afraid to do his duty, both towards God and men, whatever others might say of him. He prayed in his tent at suitable times, though some of his comrades might be present, not ostentatiously, but because he would not be deprived of the privilege of communing with his Re- deemer ; and his pocket Bible, which he carried with him, is marked all through with the names of places where he was when he read the passages so distinguished. He was universally respected, because all felt that he was sincere in his religious principles, and lived according to his con- victions.
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NESHAMINY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
SERGEANT MAJOR CEPHAS ROSS.
Sergeant Major Cephas Ross, when the call "To arms!" was heard in the land, and an invitation was given for the young men of Neshaminy to gird on the sword in de- fence of the government of the Union, joined Co. A., 1st Regiment New Jersey Cavalry, August 1, 1861. He was mustered into service August 14, and left Trenton, N. J., for Washington, about August 25. He volunteered for three years, and during that time was with his company in the following battles and minor hostile engagements, viz .:
At Woodstock,
Va., June 2,
1862
Harrisonburg,
June 6,
Barnett's Ford,
July 29, 66
Madison Mills,
July 30, 66
Rapidan Station,
August 7, 66
Cedar Mountain,
August 9,
Brandy Station,
August 20, 66
Thoroughfare Gap,
66
August 28, 66
Bull Run,
August 29, 66
Bull Run,
66
August 30, 66
Chantilly,
September 1, 66
Aldie,
October 31,
Fredericksburg,
December 11 and 13, "
Stoneman's Raid,
April 30 to May 9, 1863 June 9,
Brandy Station,
Aldie and Middleburg
June 19 and 20, 66
Gettysburg, Pa.,
July 2 and 3,
Emmetsburg, Md.,
July 5 and 6,
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HISTORY OF
Cavetown, Md.,
July 8,
1863
Harper's Ferry, Va., July 14,
66
Shepherdstown, 66
July 16, 66
Sulphur Springs, 66
October 12, 66
Bristow Station, 66
October 14, 66
Mine Run, 66
November 27,
66
Upperville, 66
February 18, 1864
Custer's Raid, 66
Feb. 28 to March 3, "
Spottsylvania Court House, Va.,
Hawes' Shops, Va.,
66
Malvern Hill,
66
Cold Harbor,
66
Stoney Creek R. R., “
66
During all the three years of his military career, Ser- geant Ross was engaged in hostile movements, or actual fighting with the enemy, and he and his company experi- enced a large amount of the severest toil and danger. Providentially his life was preserved in all these battles and expeditions, and he was but once or twice slightly wounded. At different times he was promoted, till he received his warrant as Sergeant Major, January 1, 1864, and was discharged at his own request, his term of ser- vice having expired, September 16, 1864. Since then he has resided at or near Neshaminy, and is now one of the Elders of the church.
LIEUT. JOHN L. WIDDIFIELD.
Another of the soldiers of the War of the Rebellion was Lieut. John Lewis Widdifield. He was a native of
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Philadelphia, but for many years resided at Hartsville. When the war was fairly in progress, and a call for volun- teers was made by the country upon her patriotic young men, he felt inspired with the sentiment that it was an opportunity for him to do something to preserve the Union from destruction, and he initiated measures in con- nection with others to form a company of volunteers. The Company was organized at Doylestown, Bucks Co., Pa., August 8, 1862, as Company C, 128th Regiment, P. V., and composed of young men from this County. The original Officers were
Capt. Samuel Croasdale. 1st Lieut., Cephas Dyer. 2nd Lieut., John L. Widdifield. Orderly Serg., R. Henderson Darrah.
The officers and men were mustered into United States service August 14, 1862, at Harrisburg. Lieut. Widdi- field went to Washington and other places with the Company, and was present in two bloody and severe bat- tles, that of South Mountain, Maryland, September 14, 1862, and the terrible struggle at Antietam, September 17, 1862. During the latter engagement, while bravely fighting, he was wounded in the knee-joint, and borne bleeding from the field. He hoped that a few months of care and medical attention to his wound in hospital and at home would restore him to health and strength, so that he might again join his Company in the field. But the injury was too severe. He was rendered unfit for further military service, and his constitution seriously impaired for active effort in any peaceful avocation. He was reluctantly obliged to resign his commission and ask
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HISTORY OF
for his discharge, which was granted January 23, 1863. During his term of service he was promoted to be 1st Lieutenant, and if he had not been wounded, would have soon risen to the Captaincy. Since the war he has resided in Philadelphia and at Hartsville.
LIEUT. R. H. DARRAL.
Lieut. R. H. Darrah, though quite a young man when the war with the South commenced, yet partaking of the military spirit of his great-grandfather, who served as Captain of Militia in the revolutionary war with Great Britain, and of his father, who was a soldier in the last war with the same country, joined the 128th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, Co. C., formed in Doyles- town, and was enrolled August 8, 1862, and enlisted into the United States service as Orderly Sergeant, Aug. 14, 1862. After being for a short time at Harrisburg, he went with his company to Washington, D. C., from which city they were soon ordered over the Potomac into Virginia. They were busy for a few weeks perfect- ing themselves in military drill and the use of fire-arms, and in watching the movements of the enemy, when they were sent North with their division to meet the foe on the bloody fields of South Mountain, September 14, and Antietam, September 17. He was promoted from the rank of Orderly Sergeant to that of 2nd Lieutenant August 25, 1862, and to that of 1st Lieutenant February 8, 1863. Though not nominally Captain, yet in conse- quence of changes in the places of several officers, the
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NESHAMINY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
command of his company devolved upon Lieut. Darrah during a considerable part of the winter of 1862-3, and he had the responsibility and the labor of that position resting upon him. He was present with his men at the protracted and severe struggle of Chancellorsville, Va., which continued most of three days from May 1 to May 3, 1863. Serving with honor during the whole period- nine months-for which the regiment was enlisted, he was discharged May 19, 1863, and soon returned home. In June of the same year a call was made for men to go to the region of Carlisle and Chambersburg, Penn., and defend the State against threatened inroads of the forces of the rebellion. Lieut. Darrah responded to the sum- mons, and joined Co. F, of the 31st Regiment of Penn. Militia, under the command of Capt. George Hart, of Doylestown, a member of the Bucks County bar. He went to the vicinity of Gettysburg and did good service for three months, being a second time regularly enlisted into the service of the United States.
The whole time which elapsed during the two periods of his military service was about a year, at the expiration of which he returned to Pennsylvania, and has since been engaged in agricultural pursuits. He is now one of the Elders of Neshaminy Church.
DR. BYRON HART.
Dr. Byron Hart was born at Hartsville, in 1826, and having prepared for Yale College under the instruction of Mr. Charles Stone and Rev. D. K. Turner at a classical
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HISTORY OF
school at Neshaminy, he entered the college at New Haven, Conn., in the fall of 1847, and graduated in 1851. He then pursued the study of medicine in the office and under the direction of Prof. John H. Mitchell, and at- tended lectures at the Jefferson Medical College, receiving the degree of M. D. in 1854. Having married Miss Ella J. Levine, of Philadelphia, he engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery in that city. During the war of the rebellion he received the appointment of Assistant Surgeon in the hospital at Broad and Cherry streets, Philadelphia, and was busily employed more than a year in caring for the sick and wounded soldiers there. By his kindness and the faithful performance of the duties of his position he gained the gratitude and lasting affection of the inmates of the hospital, and as a memento of their appreciation of his services they presented him a very handsome silver pitcher, goblet and tray.
A call was issued by the Government for surgeons to go to the Southern States, when he offered his services, and was ordered to Beaufort, South Carolina, in August, 1863, where he had the whole charge of Hospital No. 12, subject to the orders of the old physician of the regular army, who very seldom visited it, and left it almost en- tirely to his management. Here and at Hilton Head he remained more than a year with great satisfaction to the officers and soldiers under his medical care, and they presented him a handsome American silver watch and gold chain as a token of their regard. The preparation of all the official documents connected with his department devolved upon him. He gave himself with untiring as- siduity to the treatment of his patients, and performed
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more labor than his constitution would bear. Becoming himself unwell, he continued to go through with the wearing round of his duties longer than he ought, con- trary to the advice of a physician whom he consulted. He was at length prostrated with fever and debility, arising from the effects of overwork and an enervating climate, and was obliged to return to the North. It was hoped that his strength might rally while on the voyage homeward, but he gradually became more enfeebled, and died a few hours after he reached New York, at the house of his brother-in-law, Mr. Sawyer, October 7, 1864. His remains were brought to Philadelphia and thence to Neshaminy. The funeral services were attended at the residence of his father, Mr. Joseph Hart, and his body was buried in the cemetery connected with the church. He was a kind, faithful, intelligent and skilful physician, and was much esteemed by the officers and men among whom he associated and discharged the duties of his pro- fession during most of the lamentable civil war.
COLONEL SAMUEL CROASDALE.
Samuel Croasdale was born in Warminster, near Harts- ville, August 22, 1837. His mother, Mrs. Sarah Croas- dale, was a member of Neshaminy Church during many years previous to her death, and he was in the habit of attending worship with her in his childhood and youth, and may be spoken of as one of the young men of Ne- shaminy, though before his decease he had been a resident of Doylestown two or three years. He received most of
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HISTORY OF
his education beyond the primary studies at Tennent School, under the instruction of Messrs. M. and C. Long, but after leaving that institution recited for a time in Greek to Rev. D. K. Turner, in which language, as also in Latin, he was a successful student. He possessed more taste and aptitude, however, for Mathematics, and ex- celled in the study and practice of surveying land and the use of mathematical instruments, a bent of genius which he doubtless inherited from his father, William Croasdale, who was an unusually skilful and ingenious mechanic, and worker in iron, as a blacksmith. This talent for mathematics and mechanics appears to have been in the family several generations, as William Croasdale was a nephew of Samuel Hart, Esq., who was also a superior surveyor. Miss Elizabeth Croasdale, a sister of Colonel Croasdale, is the accomplished Principal of the School of Design for Women in Philadelphia.
After finishing his preliminary education, Samuel Croasdale entered the office of George Hart, Esq., of Doylestown, as a student of law. He turned his attention at the same time to conveyancing and surveying, in the latter of which branches of business he became a thorough proficient and adept, and was often employed in laying off and describing streets, tracts, and lots of land in the measurement of which a large amount of skill was required. He was admitted to the Bar to prac- tice Law in the Courts of Bucks County, and began the exercise of his profession, about the year 1860.
At the commencement of the war with the South he entered a company of soldiers formed in Doylestown, under the command of Capt. W. W. H. Davis, and went
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NESHAMINY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
with the company to Washington for the defence of the Capital, being among the first troops that arrived there after the call of President Lincoln for 75,000 men. At the expiration of his first term of service he still felt an ardent desire to be of use in upholding the Government against an organized rebellion, and when it was proposed to form a regiment in Bucks and adjoining Counties to serve nine months, he engaged in the enterprise with eager patriotism. A company was recruited in the re- gion of Neshaminy by himself and others, and he was chosen Captain. This was Company C of the 128th Regi- ment, Pennsylvania Volunteers. It was organized August 8, 1862, and enrolled into the service of the United States, August 14th, at Harrisburg. But a few days after this the position of Colonel of this Regiment became vacant, and some correspondence ensued between George Lear, Esq., of Doylestown, and Gov. Curtin, in reference to the proper person to fill the vacancy. Capt. Croasdale was favorably mentioned, and soon received the commis- sion, dated August 25, 1862. He was a young man, only three days more than 25 years old, and his nomination unsolicited and unexpected by himself, over other officers older and with more influence of friends in their favor than he could command, shows the good impression his character and previous conduct had made upon the public. He shared with his men the toils and fatigues of the march and the camp in Harrisburg, Washington, and Virginia until the battles took place at South Mountain, September 14th, and Antietam, September 17, 1862. In the latter, according to the orders of the commanding General, he was just bringing his regiment into action on
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HISTORY OF
the field, about 9 o'clock, A. M., when sitting upon his horse he was struck in the head by a ball from a sharp- shooter's rifle and instantly killed. Thus by an untimely death a promising young officer was laid low. His body was brought to the house of his father at Hartsville, where the funeral services were attended by a large con- course of people, Monday, September 22nd. The inter- ment was at Doylestown Cemetery, where a suitable mar- ble slab stands at his grave with the following inscrip- tion :
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