History of Washington County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 129

Author: Crumrine, Boyd, 1838-1916; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Hungerford, Austin N
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia : H.L. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 1216

USA > Pennsylvania > Washington County > History of Washington County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 129

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In 1860 a campaign paper was published at the office, called The Maul and Wedge, which did active duty for Lincoln and Hamlin. During the war three of the proprietors-Col. H. A. Purviance, Col. James Armstrong, and Maj. E. L. Christman-were in the army. Upon the death of Col. Purviance, the paper was published by Moore & Armstrong from Nov. 11, 1863, to Nov. 20, 1867, when Col. James Armstrong .retired, and James McWilliams succeeded to his in- terest and remained till Feb. 11, 1869, when his inter- est was purchased by James W. Kelly. On the 16th

of April, 1873, E. L. Christman returned and took charge with Mr. Moore, the interest of Mr. Kelly being absorbed in the new arrangement. Under this firm The Daily Reporter was established, and issued the first number Aug. 4, 1876, four columns folio, eleven by fifteen inches in size. Upon the retire- ment of Mr. Moore, Oct. 22, 1877, Alexander M. Gow purchased the interest, and the firm-name be- came Gow & Christman, by whom the business is still continued.

From 1852 to 1858 the office of the Reporter was in a building now occupied by Dr. James R. Kelly, op- posite the Fulton House stables. In 1858, after the consolidation with the Commonwealth, the office was moved to the Mounts building, opposite the old Brad- ford stone house, and in 1861 it was removed to the present quarters in Strean's building.

The Western Missionary Magazine, published in Washington, Pa., was commenced in 1802, and con- tinued till 1806. Nothing more is known of it.

The Western Corrector. No copies of this paper are known to be in existence. The first proof of its pub- lication is that in the year 1809, Thomas Thompson was assessed as editor of The Western Corrector. In the year 1811 handbills were printed at the office of The Western Corrector, at Washington, Pa., for David Redick, advertising lands in Beaver County.

The Washingtonian, a weekly newspaper, was estab- lished at Washington, Pa., in 1812, the first number being issued Tuesday, December 15th, in that year, having for its motto, "The minority possess their equal rights which equal laws must protect, and to violate would be oppressive. Jefferson." It was a four-column folio, twelve by seventeen and a half inches in size, and published at two dollars per annum, by James A. Bayard, Jr., editor. The office was in Market Street, nearly opposite the recorder's office. One and a half columns of the first page were devoted to the prospectus, and the remainder was filled with a report of national legislative proceed- ings. It also contains the official report (dated Nov. 24, 1812) of Capt. James Jones, of the sloop-of-war " Wasp," of the capture of his vessel. There is no local news, and but one column is devoted to local advertisements. How long it continued is not known. The only copy known to be in existence is the one men- tioned, and is in possession of Alexander Hart, of the Washington Democrat.

The Mercury was published about 1812. No infor- . mation is obtained of its history, and its existence is only known by mention in contemporary papers.

In the year 1811 an advertisment appeared in the local papers for proposals for publishing by subscrip- tion, at Washington, Pa., a literary periodical work, entitled "The Washington Museum," under the pat- ronage of a society of gentlemen, sixteen pages octavo, weekly, price $3 per annum, under the management of William Baird, editor. No further notice of it is found.

1 William Sample in 1812 was captain of the Washington Light Infan- try, and commanded a company in the war. He married Margaret, daughter of Hugh Workman, by whom he had four son,- David, Work- man, William, and Samuel. David emigrated South and died there. Workman married here and lived for a time, emigrated West, and later settled in Keokuk, Iowa, where he became mayor of the city, and died there. William emigrated to Natchez, Miss., where he lived and died. His wife, Margaret, died in Washington, after which he married Jane, daughter of James Blaine and sister of Ephraim L. Blaine, by whom he had two daughters. After the sale of the Reporter in 1833 he removed to Fort Madison, Iowa, taking with him his youngest son, Samuel, and his daughters, Sarah J. and Margaret. William Workman and Work- man Hughes, of Washington, are his nephews.

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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

The Western Register, a magazine, was published by Robert Fee, from the office of the Reporter, in the winter of 1816-17. A year or two later he removed to Fayette County and commenced the publication of firm remained Grayson & Ecker until Dec. 29, 1859, when Thomas W. Grayson, after twenty-one and a half years' services as editor, sold his interest in the Examiner to John R. Donahoo, by whom it was con- the magazine in Uniontown, where he continued till ! tinued with Mr. Ecker some time, and Donahoo sold after 1823. to D. F. Patterson. On the 4th of October, 1865, the Examiner became consolidated with the Review, under the firm-name of Swan & Ecker, and the paper was published as the Review and Examiner, and is still

The Washington Examiner, John Grayson editor and proprietor, was first issued (ten by eighteen and a quarter inches in size) May 28, 1817. The causes that operated to bring about the establishment of this | continued under that name. paper in Washington are explained by Mr. Grayson, as follows : " My acquaintance in the city of Philadel- phia among young men who espoused the Democratic- Republican cause being pretty extensive, to some of them my desires were freely communicated as to my preference for a country residence. Hence, very early in the spring of 1817 (it was soon after the 4th of March, when William Findlay was nominated as the Democratic candidate for Governor of Pennsyl- vania at the ensuing election by the Democratic convention, which had just adjourned), a friend in that city wrote to me that a Democratic paper was about to be started in Washington, Pa., for the pur- pose of supporting Mr. Findlay's election, and that an editor was wanted to take charge of it. From this information a correspondence commenced between George Baird and myself, which led to the establish- ment of the Examiner ; went immediately from Balti- more to the city of Philadelphia, where I purchased type, presses, and other materials on my own respon- sibility, with the endorsement of the late William Brown, of that city; forwarded them forthwith to Washington, Pa .; came myself by stage-coach, ar- riving on May 10, 1817, and issued the first number of the Examiner on the 28th of that month. One fact may be mentioned, that in issuing the first number of the Examiner my subscription list amounted to 400."

The paper was first printed in an old frame build- ing on Maiden Street, which occupied the site on which the brick Masonic Hall was afterwards erected. Mr. Grayson remained sole proprietor until Nov. 18, 1833, when William Jack became interested with him, and remained until May 14, 1836, when he retired, and the paper was continued by Mr. Grayson until May 18, 1839, when he retired from the active duties, and his son, Thomas W., became associated with him, under the firm-name of Thomas W. Grayson & Co. This continued until June 25, 1842, when John Gray- son sold out his interest to C. W. Kaine, who then owned Our Country, and in September of the same year James B. Ruple purchased the interest of Mr. Kaine. On the 18th November, 1848, Mr. Ruple re- tired, and Mr. Andrew Hopkins became the owner of his interest. Under this management the paper was changed to seven columns, and the size increased to nineteen and a half by twenty-five inches. Mr. Hop- kins sold to George S. Hart, May 2, 1853, and he to Adam Ecker on the 20th of December, 1856. The

Thomas W. Grayson, on the 28th of May, 1857, and the fortieth anniversary of the Examiner, says, "The paper was first printed in an old frame building on Maiden Street, in this place, and which occupied the site on which the first Masonic lodge was afterwards erected [now owned and occupied by Mrs. John Bausman]. The old frame building now stands on a lot belonging to the heirs of John Philips, deceased, near the west end of the same street [now owned by Charles Hays & Co.]." He further says, "For weeks in succession the then editor of the Examiner would collect a small amount, and with it repair to Redstone paper-mill, in Fayette County, purchase the necessary material, return home after making a forced journey during the whole of the night, go to work, and help out with the paper the same week." The paper did not remain long on Maiden Street, as the issue of July 9, 1817, says the office was removed into Main Street, second door below the sign of "The Buck." On the 1st of April, 1818, it was removed to No. 5, over the market-house, second door fronting on Beau Street. Here the office remained till April 28, 1827, when it was removed to the Old Lodge building, a short dis- tance below the "Buck" tavern, on the east side of Main Street, and in the rear of the old Grayson House. For a period of forty-one years the Wash- ington Examiner was published by John Grayson, succeeded by his son, Thomas W. Grayson.

Our Country was established in Washington by Thomas J. Morgan. The first number was issued on the 6th of June, 1835. It was a six-column folio, fifteen and a half by twenty inches in size, Demo- cratic in politics, and hoisted in the first number the name of Martin Van Buren for President and Henry A. Muhlenburg for Governor. Upon the breaking out of the Texan war, and on the 8th of September, 1836, Thomas J. Morgan, in an editorial, announced that during his absence on duty in the field, his brother, William D. Morgan, would have the editorial care of the paper. This arrangement continued for some time. In 1842 the paper was in possession of C. W. Kaine, by whom it was consolidated with the Exam- iner.

On the 23d of May, 1835, T. W. Haynes advertised that he proposed "to publish a monthly in pamphlet form, a literary newspaper, monthly, at one dollar per annum, from the office of the Examiner, styled the Western Pennsylvanian."

The Washington Patriot was established in 1843,

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WASHINGTON BOROUGH.

by Dr. F. Julius Le Moyne, as an advocate of Abo- lition principles, under the editorial management of Russell Errett. It was successful for a few years, and afterwards died out and was discontinued.

The Commonwealth was established by Seth T. Hurd, May, 1848, in the interest of the Whig party. It was continued by him till 1851, when he sold a one-half interest to George C. Stough, of Berks County, and soon after the other half-interest. In November of the next year E. L. Christman, of Chester County, Pa., purchased a half-interest. This partnership continued until the death of Mr. Stough, in December, 1855. His interest was then purchased by Joseph S. Clokey. Under this firm the paper es- poused the cause of the Republican party, and con- tinued till February, 1857, when the interest of Mr. Clokey was sold to the Hon. William S. Moore. The paper was continued by Moore & Christman until April 1, 1858, when it was consolidated with the Washington Reporter, and published by Strean, Moore & Co. as the Washington Reporter. The office of the paper was first in Oak Hall, a tavern stand where Smith's store now stands. After 1857 it was removed to Mount's building, and was there published, both as the Commonwealth and the Reporter, until the removal to the present Reporter office.

The Washington Weekly Review was first published Oct. 9, 1851, by William Swan and - Ritezel. It was an eight-column paper, twenty by twenty-six inches in size, and in the interest of the Democratic party. During the year 1853, while Mr. Swan was on a tour to California, Mr. Ritezel was assisted in the editorial management by Barnet W. Lacy. In June, 1854, Ritezel retired, and Mr. Swan became sole proprietor and editor, and so remained until the consolidation with the Washington Examiner, Oct. 4, 1865, when Mr. Swan became one of the editors of the Review and Examiner, and continued till his death, in October, 1876.

The Tribune was established by John Bausman, in 1856, as an exponent of Republican principles, and afterwards passed to Col. H. A. Purviance and Col. James Armstrong, and by them was continued till the consolidation with the Reporter, March 28, 1860. It was printed first where George Driver now lives, near Templeton's drug-store, and later near the present office of the Reporter.

The Review and Examiner was established by the consolidation of the Washington Review and the Washington Examiner, Oct. 4, 1865, and was pub- lished by William Swan and Adam H. Ecker. The paper retained the size of the Review, eight columns, twenty by twenty-six inches, and so continued till the 30th of September, 1868, when it was enlarged to nine columns and twenty-one by twenty-seven inches. The office was in the southeast corner of the public square, directly opposite the post-office at that time, where Hastings' hardware-store now is. The paper was con- tinued by Swan & Ecker until the death of Mr. Swan,

in October, 1876. It was continued by Mr. Ecker until Jan. 31, 1877, when it was purchased by Andrew Hop- kins, who soon after sold a one-half interest to W. C. Lyne, who remained about a year and sold his interest to Mr. Hopkins, Jan. 31, 1878, and continued sole pro- prietor till his death, March 5, 1880. The management of the estate of Mr. Hopkins devolved upon James H. Hopkins, of Pittsburgh. J. M. Cooper, of Cham- bersburg, assumed the editorial management of the paper for the heirs on the 7th of April, 1880, and con- tinued in charge until the sale of the Review and Ex- aminer, Feb. 1, 1881, to John M. Stockdale, by whom it is still owned and edited. The office is now on Beau Street, east of Main.

The Washington Observer .- In October, 1871, the Advance was started as a monthly by H. C. Durant and M. A. Cooper. On the 1st of January, 1872, it was changed to a weekly. Mr. Cooper soon after re- tired, Erasmus Wilson, of Barnesville, Ohio, purchas- ing his interest, and on the 25th of April, the same year, Mr. Wilson purchased the interest of Durant. It was continued by Mr. Wilson till Sept. 5, 1872, when M. A. Cooper, one of the original proprietors, pur- chased a half-interest. The paper continued in the hands of these parties until about Jan. 1, 1873, when Mr. Wilson retired, and Mr. Cooper continued till the 1st of October, the same year, when B. F. Hasson, of Washington, purchased a half-interest. About the 1st of January following, Mr. Hasson purchased Mr. Cooper's interest and continued the publication under the name of the Advance until March 4, 1874, when the name was changed to the Washington Observer. April 21, 1876, Harry J. Shellman bought a half-in- terest, and on the 29th September, the same year, sold to C. M. Campbell. On the 17th of October, 1879, J. S. Stocking and E. T. Acheson purchased the paper, and have continued its publication till the present.

The paper was first printed in the building owned by John A. Best, on the corner of Main and Walnut Streets, and in 1872 the office was removed to Boyle's building, opposite the court-house. In 1874 it was removed to the Forrest building, on North Main Street, and in 1875 to its present office in Phoenix Row, on North Main Street.

The Washington Democrat .- This journal, as its name suggests, is a Democratic paper. It was es- tablished in the spring of 1878 by A. H. Ecker, Esq., the initial number being dated April 3, 1878. From the first it has been issued weekly (every Wednesday) from the office, on West Beau Street near Main, Wash- ington, Pa. The size of the sheet is twenty-nine by forty-four inches. The Democrat was conducted by its founder until the death of that gentleman on the 28th of February, 1881, and then for the benefit of his family until the 11th of June, 1881, when it was purchased by Alexander Hart and John P. Charlton, associated as Hart & Charlton, who still own and issue the paper. Its present circulation is twenty-one hun- dred copies per week.

510

HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

The First Presbyterian Church.1-Previous to the organization of the Presbyterian Church at Washing- ton, Pa., in 1793, the Presbyterians of the town and vicinity worshiped mainly with the church of Char- tiers, near Canonsburg, which from 1775 until 1830 was under the pastoral care of the Rev. John Mc- Millan, D.D., the first pastor west of the Alleghenies. The first notice of preaching in the town, found in the minutes of the old Presbytery of Redstone,-itself also formed in 1781, and now known as the mother of Western churches and presbyteries,-is the applica- tion, Dec. 20, 1785, for the stated labors of Alexander Addison, then a licentiate of the Presbytery of Aber- low, Scotland, but afterwards a distinguished attor- ney, and the no less distinguished president judge of the district composed of the western counties of Penn- sylvania, under the Constitution of 1790. The Pres- bytery of Ohio, embracing Washington, was organized out of a portion of Redstone in 1793, and in April following, "the congregation of Washington having represented to Presbytery that they had entered into an agreement with Mr. James Welsh, a licentiate under the care of the Presbytery of Transylvania, as stated supply for some time, the Presbytery heartily concurred therewith." Mr. Welsh continued his ser- vices for about a year, after which, as before, only occasional preaching was enjoyed from members of Presbytery and from traveling ministers. The names of the Rev. Messrs. Dodd, Mercer, Anderson, and Potter have come down in this connection, besides that of the Rev. Thomas Leslie Birch, who was the occasion of strife and alienation.

Thus it is plain that there was some sort of organi- zation as early as 1785, yet the joint testimony of sur- viving witnesses and of general tradition is adverse to the supposition that there was a regular church prior to the winter of 1793-94. Then, in connection with. the procurement of Mr. Welsh's services as stated supply, the following four ruling elders were, after election by the people, duly set apart to office under the sanction of the Presbytery, and became the origi- nal session of the church, viz .: Andrew Swearingen, Joseph Wherry, Robert Stockton, and William Mc- Combs. Simultaneous with the formal organization in 1793, and amidst the throes of the great " Western Insurrection," was the erection of the "Stone Acad- emy," under a charter secured seven years before, which still stands as the central structure of the " old college," and a monument of history. For twelve years, besides its chief use for thorough training in classical literature, its hall furnished a comfortable place of worship for the first congregation of the town whereof we now write.

The Rev. Matthew Brown, D.D., so well known afterwards as a distinguished minister and educator, was installed as the first pastor Oct. 16, 1805. He was a son of Dickinson College, and for several years

had been pastor of the church of Mifflin, Pa. He was simultaneously called to be the principal of the Washington Academy. In the following year, 1806, he was a chief agent in procuring, by special charter, the transformation of the academy into Washington College, and thereafter for ten years served with dis- tinguished success as its first president. He contin- ued as pastor of the church six years longer, until Sept. 25, 1822, when he accepted the presidency of Jefferson College at Canonsburg.

One of the first movements of this energetic pastor was the effort to secure a permanent house of worship. The building was begun in the autumn of 1805 upon two lots in the southwestern part of the town, one of which was purchased from William Sherrard for five pounds, and the other from Andrew Swearingen, ex- ecutor of the estate of Van Swearingen, for twenty dollars, the titles being made to Joseph Wherry, John Simonson, Parker Campbell, Hugh Wilson, and Daniel Moore, as trustees. The last two named gen- tlemen were Baptists in their convictions, but acted with the Presbyterian Church until the time came for the establishment of one of their own. The walls of the church at the height of a few feet stood over winter, and were completed and covered the following summer. It was a brick building of seventy by fifty-five feet in dimension, capable of seating five hundred persons. It was used for several years with unplastered walls, and without either pulpit or pews or permanent floor, for the lack of funds to complete it. Its original cost was about three thousand dollars. The first administration of the Lord's Supper in it took place in June, 1807. It was occupied for the last time as a sanctuary on Sabbath, Sept. 7, 1851, when a commemorative discourse was preached by the present pastor from Psalm xlviii. 9: "We have thought of thy loving kindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple." That building, having since been occupied for manufacturing purposes by the enter- prising firm of S. B. & C. Hayes for thirty years, still stands among the most solid structures in the town.

The ministry of Dr. Brown was able, evangelical, and earnest. Through his efforts the congregation was thoroughly organized and greatly enlarged. The average of additions from 1810, when regular reports began to be made to Presbytery, until the end of his pastorate was fifteen per annum. The number of communicants at the time of his resignation, sub- tracting deaths and removals, was two hundred. Sev- eral seasons of special grace crowned his labors. That of the year 1811 was marked with great power, and started hallowed influences whose streams still flow. During his term of service James Brice, Josiah Scott, William Sherrard, Hugh Wylie, Thomas Stock- ton, Thomas Officer, Robert Johnston, Thomas Fer- gus, Obadiah Jennings, James Orr, and Dr. John Wishart were added to the session.

The Rev. Obadiah Jennings, D.D., formerly, as

1 Contributed by the pastor, the Rev. James I. Brownson, D.D.

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WASHINGTON BOROUGH.

just stated, a ruling elder in the church, as well as a distinguished lawyer, and afterwards, by holy conse- cration, a minister of the gospel and pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Steubenville, Ohio, suc- ceeded Dr. Brown in the pastorate in October, 1823, by a unanimous election. After a faithful service of nearly five years, he resigned the charge in 1828, in order to accept a call from Nashville, Tenn., where he died in honor in 1832. He was greatly beloved both as a pastor and a man, and his fragrant memory still abides, to the honor of Christ and the gospel. He was also an accepted leader in the public affairs of the church, and a master in debate. During his incumbency Messrs. Charles Hawkins, Robert Col- mery, Jacob Slagle, Robert Officer, Adam Wier, and Alexander Ramsey were ordained as ruling elders. A spirit of religious inquiry manifested itself in the congregation shortly after Dr. Jennings had an- nounced his purpose to remove, and too late, as he thought, for its recall. It developed into a precious revival, which extended many months after his actual departure, and resulted in a large spiritual increase. ,At the very time of his dismissal thirty-five additions to the church on profession of faith were reported for the year then closed, and the next year added fifty more. Through these happy months the pulpit was supplied by a nephew of the late pastor, the Rev. Samuel C. Jennings, now the venerable Dr. Jen- nings, of the Pittsburgh Presbytery, who lingers be- yond fourscore years, waiting for the crown so sure to follow a devoted and useful life.

In the summer of 1829 a call was tendered to the Rey. David Elliott, D.D., of Mercersburg, Pa., which was accepted. He entered with the zeal and force of his high character upon this charge, in the forty- second year of his age and eighteenth of his ministry. He remained in it with the strongest mutual confi- 'dence and affection until he was called away by elec- tion of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, in 1836, to the chair of theology in the Western Theological Seminary at Allegheny City. Peace, edification, and progress reigned in the con- gregation during his pastorate of seven years. An annual average of twenty members added on profes- sion of faith and of sixteen on certificate is evidence of the seal of blessing put upon his labors. A pow- erful work of grace in 1835 brought fifty-one confes- sors of Christ to the Lord's table at one time. With faculties wonderfully preserved, and in the exercise of a faith that brightened to the last, he departed this life March 18, 1874, in the eighty-eighth year of his age and sixty-third year of his ministry. He left the church at his resignation with three hundred communicants on its roll. Messrs. Hugh Fergus and Samuel Vance were set apart to the eldership by his hands.

like tokens of stability and growth. Four vigorous, faithful, and honored watchmen stood in succession upon the walls of this Zion within this brief space, whilst during the intervals, making an aggregate of nearly one-third of it, the church was without a pas- tor. The lack was, however, well supplied, for the most part, by the able service of the Rev. David Mc- Conaughy, D.D., then president of Washington Col- lege. The pastoral service of the Rev. Daniel Der- nelle extended from November, 1837, to October, 1840; that of the Rev. James Smith, D.D., from December, 1840, to April, 1844; that of the Rev. William C. Anderson, D.D., from the early winter following to Jan. 9, 1846; and that of the Rev. John B. Pinney, LL.D., from January, 1847, to April, 1848. Dif- fering widely in their respective gifts, each of these brethren did important work for Christ in his day, and not one of them was without tokens of a divine blessing upon his labors. Only the last of the four yet lingers on earth, and he is in life's decline. The people whom they served so well in the gospel have | also for the most part passed away. But held in the hands of a covenant-keeping God, the church still lives. It was under the last-named pastor that Messrs. George Baird, Joseph Henderson, James Boon, and Dr. Robert R. Reed were chosen and set apart as rulers in the Lord's house. At the same time Messrs. John Wilson, Isaac Hewitt, John K. Wilson, and John Grayson, Jr., were made deacons.

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History of Washington County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 129

Author: Crumrine, Boyd, 1838-1916; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Hungerford, Austin N Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Philadelphia : H.L. Everts & Co. Number of Pages: 1216

Author: Crumrine, Boyd, 1838-1916; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Hungerford, Austin N
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia : H.L. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 1216