USA > Pennsylvania > Warren County > History of Warren County, Pennsylvania, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of some of its Prominent Men and Pioneers > Part 44
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101
" In the spring of 1823 two lots in the town plot, near the bank of the Con- ewango, containing two-thirds of an acre, were selected and purchased by the people of Warren for a burial ground. It was then sufficiently rural and re- mote from the actual residences of the few settlers who lived along the river bank. In April of that year a portion of this ground was hurriedly cleared off to make room for the last tenement of its first tenant, Mrs. Patience, widow of John Gilson, who died April 4 of that year, aged seventy years ; the pioneer of the dead to this new settlement, as she had been to the living in the local history of Warren.
" The ground had been purchased by subscription, and a ' bee ' was made to clear it. Among the workers was one Eli Granger, an early settler, and prior to 1807 one of the proprietors of the property afterwards known as Hook's Mill. In a fit of simulated merriment he selected a spot under a hickory in the northwest corner, where he desired to be buried, and especially charged Judge Hackney and Zachariah Eddy with the execution of this request. A few weeks later he was drowned in the Conewango, and was buried in his chosen spot, the second body deposited in the new ground.
"As no record of interments was kept, it is impossible to ascertain after the lapse of so many years the date or order of burials there, except as indicated
369
BOROUGH OF WARREN.
by the few head-stones erected by surviving friends, in spite of the absence of both marble and marble-cutters.
" Guided by these primitive monuments, it is ascertained that the body of Caleb Wallace, shot by Jacob Hook, on the 25th day of March, 1824, was the next one there deposited. A large native stone at the head of his grave has been rehearsing that melancholy occurrence for nearly forty years to all the passers-by, and is yet read by many with unabated interest.
" Next in the order of deceased adults is Margaretta, wife of Archibald Tan- ner, who died January 28, 1825, aged twenty-five years; and next to her in time, Climena, the wife of David Mead, aged twenty-four years. Harvey Jones, who died May 1, 1826, aged forty-three, is the next whose record is preserved ; and after him Sarah D., the wife of Dr. H. S. Newman, who died July 30, 1827. The inscriptions recording these deaths were all cut upon rude stones native to the soil.
" During the same five years two similar memorials of parental affection, with tender and touching inscriptions, were placed over the graves of two in- fants-one of Dr. Newman, close to its loving mother, and the other of Ethan and Matilda Owen. Close beside the latter, whose age was but five weeks, is a marble stone that records the death of John Owen, in 1843, a Revolutionary soldier, aged one hundred and seven years ten months and eight days, thus presenting in strong contrast the extremes of age at which the insatiate archer seeks his prey in the same family.
"In about thirty years this two-thirds of an acre became filled so that it should have been entirely abandoned, when the two lots adjoining on the west were appropriated to burial purposes. About this time (1853) the idea of procuring new ground beyond the borough limits was generally adopted. Hence, for ten years the question was held in suspense ; at one time the town council took the enterprise in hand, but after three years it came to naught-died still- born. In 1860 a company of gentlemen were incorporated by the court of this county, called the 'Warren Cemetery Company.' By this company, as well as by the town council and many private citizens whose zeal and public spirit would give the project no rest, every hill and dale, every mountain top and valley for miles around Warren was traversed, examined, and discussed. Indeed, upon the hill north of Warren considerable work was done, to make it accessible and adapt it to the purpose, by Mr. Tanner.
" In this, as in most other public improvements affecting the interests of Warren, Mr. Tanner was the pioneer. But with his decease, and burial upon his own chosen ground, that enterprise terminated."
At length Warren Lodge No. 339, I. O. O. F., stepped to the front, and as a result "Oakland Cemetery " was dedicated October 12, 1863. It has since been beautified with a display of much good taste, and contains many handsome monuments. Nearly all of the bodies interred in the grounds opened for such purposes in 1823 have since been transferred to " Oakland."
370
HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
The Odd Fellows purchased forty-eight acres from Thomas Struthers, May 14, 1863, for the sum of $2,100; the lands being deeded to John F. Davis, Charles S. Hessel, S. V. Davis, and their successors " in trust." Soon after two or three acres were purchased from the Biddle estate for a necessary front- age. The Odd Fellows began to improve the grounds in July, 1863. After the dedication lots were taken rapidly, and by the Ist of May following $900 had been returned to their treasury. About 1873-74 fifteen acres more were added. Thus this beautiful plot now contains nearly seventy acres. The soil is dry, underlaid by gravel.
The Catholics of this parish also have beautiful and extensive burial grounds here immediately adjoining " Oakland."
RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. - The First Presbyterian Church. - There was no religious worship held statedly in Warren previous to the year 1819. Occa- sionally Methodist itinerant preachers had held services at various places in the town and vicinity ; but there was no religious organization of any kind in the place. In 1819, Abner-afterward Judge-Hazeltine took up his residence in Warren. He had been in the habit of regularly attending worship at his former home in Vermont in the Congregational Church, and finding a number of persons here who had been accustomed to a similar attendance either upon Congregational or Presbyterian service in their old homes, he invited them to attend worship at his house every Sabbath, when he would read them a sermon. His invitation was accepted, and thereafter such services were held regularly until the school-house was built, on the site now occupied by the court-house, when the members of this little band removed their place of worship into the new building.
In 1822 the Rev. Amos Chase, a missionary under the Presbytery of Erie, came, and formed out of this nucleus what was termed the First Presbyterian Church of Warren. It consisted originally of nine members - viz., Abner Hazeltine and Polly his wife, Colonel J. M. Berry and Eunice his wife, Samuel Oldham - who was in the employ of the Pittsburgh Synod as teacher of the Indians at Cornplanter town -John Andrews, Mrs. Rose Eddy, Mrs. Margaret Hackney, and Mrs. Amelia Winter, all of whom except the last-named were received by letter. Only five of these members lived in Warren - John An- drews, Abner Hazeltine and wife, Mrs. Hackney, and Mrs. Eddy. Mrs. Win- ter resided at what is now North Warren, on a part of the farm now occupied by the asylum for the insane; Colonel Berry and wife lived at Irvine's Mills, and Mr. Oldham at Cornplanter, fourteen miles up the river. This organiza- tion was not properly a church, having only one officer, a secretary, Abner Hazeltine, who remained in that position until he removed from Warren in 1823. The society was reported to the Presbytery of Erie, however, and enrolled under its care, and supplied now and then with preaching. In 1824 the organization was completed by the election of two elders, Nathaniel Sill
371
BOROUGH OF WARREN.
and Colonel Berry. The first pastor was the Rev. Nathan Harned, who had been regularly educated for the ministry in the Baptist Church, but upon changing his doctrinal views and uniting with the Presbyterian Church, had been licensed by the Presbytery of Philadelphia. On the 20th of April, 1825, he was ordained and installed as pastor of the churches of Sugar Grove, Bro- kenstraw, and Warren, at a meeting of the Presbytery which was held at War- ren. On this occasion the Rev. Samuel Tait preached the sermon, and the Rev. Amos Chase made the ordaining prayer and gave the charges to both pastor and people. Mr. Harned must have been deemed rather impulsive by Mr. Chase, for in his charge the latter emphatically exclaimed : " Be discreet, you Nathan ! I charge you, be discreet." The extent and laboriousness of this field made it necessary for this relation, harmonious though it was, to be dissolved in the following May. During his brief ministry, however, Mr. Harned had organ- ized a Sabbath-school -a work in which he was greatly assisted by Cyrus Tanner and Colonel Berry. In 1829 what was known as "the accommoda- tion plan " was adopted by the church. The congregation was made up in great part of those who had been Congregationalists, and naturally a desire was entertained for the ecclesiastical government to which they had been accus- tomed; and in deference to their wishes this plan was adopted, in which Con- gregational and Presbyterian forms were combined. The articles were drawn up by Thomas Struthers, esq., at the request of Nathaniel Sill, Colonel Berry, and others. The pulpit was supplied by ministers who were engaged tempo- rarily to fill it, and in their absence by laymen who read sermons. Under this form of government Silas Lacy and John Hackney were made deacons in 1829, and the membership increased until in 1831 it numbered twenty-six per- sons. In that year a Rev. Mr. Coleman, of the Congregational persuasion, officiated for a short time; and it was during his term of service that, at the solicitation of Cyrus Tanner, Rev. Samuel Orton, the then noted evangelist, visited the church in company with the Rev. Mr. Jones, of Mayville, N. Y., and held continuous services for two weeks. The result of this revival was most gratifying. Forty-two members were added to the church, and immedi- ately after, as a further result, the project of building a house of worship was started, and finally carried out. It was a wooden structure, surmounted by a cupola and bell, containing four pews and forty-six slips, besides a gallery on three sides, and a basement. The church was entered through a vestibule running the entire width of the church, reached from the outside by a flight of steps. The seats faced the two entrance doors, between which stood the pul- pit, quite high, after the fashion of that day, and surrounded on three sides by a space inclosed by a low railing. The building occupied the same site cov- ered by the present Presbyterian Church. The credit of pushing along this work is officially ascribed to Archibald Tanner. The frame was erected by George Snapp, and the structure finished by Archibald Skinner, almost without
372
HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
aid. To this fact it is no doubt owing that, although the church was begun in 1831, it was not dedicated until the early winter of 1833. At this time the Rev. John McNair had recently succeeded Mr. Stone, and by him the dedica- tion was performed. The trustees of the property were Robert Miles, Warren L. Adams, and Samuel Graham. The expense of building the house of wor- ship was met by the sale of pews and slips. In 1835 a call was extended to Rev. Absalom McCready, a member of the Presbytery of Erie, to succeed Mr. McNair. Mr. McCready began at once upon the work of the new position, though he did not officially accept the call until 1837, on the 12th of April of which year he was duly installed. In the mean time the church had become dissatisfied with the " accommodation plan," resulting as it did in interminable contentions, and in 1836 it was abandoned and the association was reorganized as a Presbyterian Church, and the reorganization approved by the Presbytery at a meeting held in Meadville on the 11th of May. In this reorganization the elders elect were Silas Lacy and John Hackney, the former of whom lived at Sheffield, fifteen miles away, and who walked that distance to attend divine worship on Sabbath. In October, 1839, the pastoral relation of Mr. McCready with the church having been dissolved, the Rev. E. C. Mckinney was procured as stated supply. The month following, an election for an additional elder was held; but as no candidate received a majority of votes cast, it was post- poned indefinitely. The existing session, thoughi small, was not idle, for at a single meeting five cases for discipline were presented : Two for intemperance, one for dancing, and two for neglect of ordinances. In the early history of the church, both before and after this date, the discipline was more rigidly enforced than now, and that was made matter of discipline which is now toler- ated. In 1841 Mr. Mckinney was succeeded by the Rev. Hiram Eddy, as stated supply for one year, at a salary of $500. Mr. Eddy was connected with the Congregational Association of Connecticut, but upon the request of the church unhesitatingly united with the Presbytery of Erie. On the 18th of January following the church adopted a constitution, under which, upon ap- plication of a committee, consisting of Lansing Wetmore and S. P. Johnson, it was duly incorporated by the Court of Common Pleas for Warren county, on the 23d of March, 1842. The trustees named in this instrument were Lansing Wetmore, T. F. Parker, Archibald Tanner, J. D. Summerton, and Aaron S. Parmlee. On the 16th of July following this board was organized by the elec- tion of Dr. T. F. Parker as president, and A. S. Parmlce as clerk. During the fall of 1842 the church was visited with a fruitful revival, which resulted in the addition to it of fifty-three members, and an increased interest in the work. An election for elders soon after the arrival of Mr. Eddy resulted in the choice of Isaac S. Eddy, Archibald Tanner, and Eben Ewell; and another, immedi- ately after the revival, in that of James Osgood and Lansing Wetmore.
The Rev. John Smith, the successor of Mr. Eddy, was installed on the 28th
373
BOROUGH OF WARREN.
of January, 1846. Within two years, at his own request, the pastoral relation was dissolved, August 11, 1847. At this time the Rev. Miles T. Merwin was pastor of the church at Irvine, and was invited to supply the pulpit of this church in connection with his own, which he did, residing at Warren and preaching every Sabbath morning. While he officiated, the Sabbath-school, which, it has been said, " had died out from lack of wood and superintendents," was revived, the new superintendent being E. Cowan, and its teachers being all women. During Mr. Merwin's ministry the records of the church, session, and trustee books and papers concerning the building of the church and sale of pews, were irrecoverably lost. At a congregational meeting held April 1, 1850, it was resolved "That the Rev. John Sailor be invited to abide with and preach for us a year, in consideration of which the trustees be recommended to assume and promise to pay him $400 a year - provided a sufficient sum shall be raised upon subscription to justify their doing so." Mr. Sailor was thereupon engaged in accordance with this resolution. His ministry of five years was eventful, and was disturbed by a temporary schism -if such a phrase be admissible - concerning the ownership and right of disposition of pews and slips, which seriously affected the growth of the church, and the Christian zeal of the members of the community.
On the 29th of August, 1855, at his own request, Mr. Sailor was dismissed from the pastorate, though he continued to occupy the pulpit for some time. After his departure the pulpit was long supplied by occasional preaching or the reading of a sermon by one of the lay members.
On the 5th of February, 1856, a call was made out to the Rev. C. L. He- quembourg, who had been dismissed from the Ontario (new school) Presby- tery, and had not united with any other. At this time it was said that he intended to unite with the presbytery with which this church was connected, and he began his pastoral duties here when this was the prevalent impression. The bitterness of feeling engendered between the members of the church in former years had not, apparently, abated, and the new pastor was confronted with unpleasant difficulties in the way of harmony. This bitterness was not allayed by his sermons and discourses, if record and tradition may be trusted, for he was accused of preaching and avowing heretical opinions, which elicited explicit and determined protests from members of the church and session. The matter ended in litigation, the circumstances of which are too multifarious to be detailed here. It is stated that the unfortunate division of the church was due far more to the unhappy occurrences of other days than to the undue independence of Mr. Hequembourg, who was a man of high scholarship and warm heart. His successor in the pastorate was Rev. Robert Taylor. His relations with the church were most pleasant and profitable, though they were cut short in about one year, as Mr. Taylor was dismissed upon his own request, to accept another call, on the 26th of September, 1862. His successor, the
374
HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
Rev. Dr. Hamilton, was invited on the 29th of July, 1863, to supply the pulpit for one year, and received a regular call to become the pastor on the 11th of January, 1864, in consequence of which and his acceptance he was installed on the 12th of May, 1864. This promising relation was cut short by the unhappy deposition of Dr. Hamilton from the gospel ministry. For about two years the church was then without a pastor, during which it was supplied by several ministers. The project of building a new church had been pushed for- ward for several years, and in this interim H. A. Jamieson was appointed by the trustees to solicit subscriptions for that purpose. On the 21st of March, 1866, a resolution was passed by the trustees " that a new church edifice be built the present season, and that the plan submitted by S. G. Hoxie be adopted." On the 29th of the following August the corner-stone of the present edifice was laid. A week previous to this resolution a call had been extended to the Rev. W. A. Rankin, which was allowed to lie for a time in his hands for consideration, though in the mean time he was engaged to supply the pulpit and began his labors on the Ist of May, 1866. He subsequently accepted the call and served the church until his successor, the present pastor, Rev. Perry S. Allen, was called. Mr. Allen was installed on the 7th of May, 1883. During the early part of Mr. Rankin's pastorate the church edifice was com- pleted at a cost of $26,000 (dedicated May 23, 1867), and a parsonage pur- chased and a fine pipe organ procured.
At the installation of the Rev. Perry S. Allen the Rev. W. A. Rankin preached the sermon, the Rev. E. I. Davies, of Pittsfield, conducted the instal- lation ceremony, the Rev. Edward Bryan, of Bradford, Pa., delivered the charge to the pastor, and the Rev. L. H. Gilleland, of Tidioute, delivered the charge to the people. During this pastorate, which still continues, the church has grown in numbers and liberality and efficiency. During these four and a half years there have been added to the roll of the church 194 members. There have been contributed by the church $21,777 for payment of debts, repairs, and current expenses, and $14,533 for the boards and benevolent objects. The church stands second in the Presbytery of Erie in its benevo- lence. The present officers are as follows :
Elders, Francis Henry, Elisha Thomas, A. H. McKelvy, H. S. Thomas, Prof. A. B. Miller, Hon. Wilton M. Lindsey, and Judge William D. Brown ; trustees, Judge S. P. Johnson, W. C. Copeland, J. P. Jefferson, Francis Henry, Judge William D. Brown ; superintendent of the Sabbath-school, Hon. Wilton M. Lindsey; assistant superintendent, Dr. J. H. Jenkins ; superintendent of the primary department, Mrs. William D. Brown; secretary of the Sabbath-school, J. P. Jefferson ; assistant secretary, John Danforth; librarian, Hiram Eddy ; assistant librarians, Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Eichenberg; treasurer, Mrs. James Kitchen ; chorister, Dr. Joel Danforth.
Connected with the church are two missionary socicties which reflect great
375
BOROUGH OF WARREN.
credit upon the the spirit of the members-the Women's Home and Foreign Missionary Society, and the Young Ladies' Missionary Society.
The present value of the church property is estimated as follows: Church edifice and lot, $20,000; parsonage, $5,000 ; sexton's house, $1,000.
The First Evangelical Lutheran Church of Warren .- It is difficult to pre- pare a complete history of the Lutheran Church at this place, from the fact that the early records of the congregation have been lost or misplaced ; and, as most of the members who participated in the organization have gone to their eternal rest, only a few dates and facts have been secured. About the year 1830 a number of German Lutherans immigrated into this country from Alsace and Bavaria, Germany. This small number constituted the nucleus of the present large and flourishing organization. Through the influence of these early German settlers many of their friends were induced to come into this country, and to this county. As these Lutherans were unable to secure the services of a Lutheran pastor, a number were led to abandon the faith of their ancestors, and connected themselves with the Evangelical denomination, or German Methodists. Those who remained convened in private houses and school-houses, and worshiped God as they had been taught from childhood in their native land. Among the early German settlers and organizers of the Lutheran Church were Messrs. Messner, Hertzel, Schirk, Knopp, and Schuler. Thus German services were conducted by different individuals in private fam- ilies and in school-houses up to the year 1839, when the first German Lutheran minister, Rev. David Keil, occasionally visited and preached for these people. At first he served only as a supply, but afterwards more regularly until 1842, when he was succeeded by Rev. Brumbacher, who became a regular pastor of this congregation, residing among his people and preaching regularly in school-houses until 1845, when he resigned the pastorate.
The next pastor was Rev. Mr. Wucherer, who assumed the pastoral charge of this congregation in 1846. During his administration the first house of wor- ship was erected and solemnly dedicated to the services of the Triune God, costing about $1,000. It is now occupied by the Swedish Lutheran people. He resigned this field of labor in 1848. In 1849 Rev. Julius Zoller took charge of the congregation and preached regularly about three years, and then was succeeded by Rev. Conrad Kuehn in 1852, who was the first pastor be- longing to some regular synodical body. He served this people about three years. After him came Rev. Mr. Browneck in the year 1855, and after a service of about three years he resigned this pastorate.
In the year 1859 Rev. Henry Weicksel became pastor. Under his min- istry the congregation united with the Pittsburgh Synod. He resigned in 1863.
The Sunday-school was first organized in the year 1860.
The next pastor was Rev. A. L. Benze. He assumed the pastoral charge of the congregation in June, 1864. During his administration the new, com-
376
HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
modious, and handsome brick church was erected and dedicated to the wor- ship of Almighty God. Also a parsonage was erected along-side of the church, on a separate lot. These lots and buildings cost about $20,000. After a faithful and self-sacrificing service of seven years and seven months he left this pastorate. His immediate successor was Rev. G. A. Bruegel, who took charge of the congregation on the ist of July, 1872. Under his pastoral care English services were introduced and an English Sunday-school organ- ized. He resigned this charge May 5, 1875. His immediate successor was Rev. F. C. H. Lampe, who assumed his office here on the 19th of September, 1875, and continued to serve this people until the beginning of 1879. During his ministry an addition was built to the parsonage, involving an expense of $1,000. In the spring of 1879 Rev. G. A. Wenzel became pastor, and left in the spring of 1881, having served two years. On the 3d of September, 1881, Rev. P. Doerr became pastor of this congregation, and has labored in the field to the present time. Services are conducted in the German and English lan- guages. The membership numbers between 400 and 500 communicants. The Sunday-school numbers 200 scholars, twenty one teachers, and seven officers. The instruction in the Sunday-school is almost exclusively English. Two active organizations exist in the congregation-The Ladies' Society and the Young People's Aid Society. Various improvements have been made re- cently. A sawed-stone walk was laid around the church property, a wrought- iron fence built, a pipe-organ placed in the church and the church beautifully frescoed, church and parsonage painted, and other improvements made-all involving an expense of over $2,500. In all the church work the members have shown an untiring zeal, activity, and self-sacrifice. The Lutheran Church, though not the oldest, has still become numerically one of the largest congre- gations of Warren, and our public services are well attended. The officers at present are Rev. P. Doerr, president ex officio ; Jacob Rieg, secretary ; C. Schelhamer, treasurer. The remaining members of the church council are Charles Bartch, J. P. Hanson, Albert Leonhart, Louis Bauer, and William Highhouse.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.