USA > Pennsylvania > Chester County > Brandywine > History of the Presbyterian Church in the Forks of Brandywine, Chester County, Pa. (Brandywine Manor Presbyterian Church), from A.D. 1735 to A.D. 1885 : with biographical sketches of the deceased pastors of the church and of those who prepared for the Christian ministry under the direction of the Rev. Nathan Grier > Part 5
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The Rev. Samuel Davies, afterwards President of the College of New Jersey, writing from Virginia to Dr. Bellamy, of Bethlehem, Connecticut, in 1751, speaks of the death of Mr. Dean in the same affec- tionate terms in which he records the loss of those " eminent men of God," William Robinson and Sam- uel Blair. He also states that the blessed effects of the revival which had followed the labors of Byram and Dean were still manifest.
During his connection with the congregation in this place, Mr. Dean resided in a house which stood a short distance east of the dwelling of Mr. Francis Growe, in West Nantmeal Township. That house, which, like all in the neighborhood, was built of unhewn logs, the members of his church caused to be wainscoted and weather-boarded, thus making it superior, both in comfort and appearance, to the rude and unplastered structures which constituted their own places of abode.
The remains of Dean were interred in the "lower graveyard," where his tomb, which bears the following inscription, may be seen :
" Here lieth the Body of The Reverend William Dean Who departed this Life July 9th 1748. Aged 29 Years.
* See Appendix F.
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In yonder saered House I spent my Breath Now silent, mouldering, here I ly in Death These silent Lips shall wake and yet declare A dread Amen to truths they published there."
It is, perhaps, worthy of remark, that this inscription, with the omission of the word silent in the line pre- ceding the last and the necessary change of name, date, and age, is the same as the record on the tomb of the Rev. Samuel Blair in the burial-ground at Fagg's Manor, also on the gravestone of the Rev. John Campbell in the church-yard at Providence, Mont- gomery County, and with a slight change on the tomb- stone of the Rev. Owen Thomas in Vincent burial- ground. It was probably written by the Rev. Samuel Davies.
Although all that was mortal of Dean has mingled with the earth in this "Country Church-Yard," far from kindred and his native land, yet He who never slumbers watches his dust, and the Church cherishes a grateful remembrance of one who was so quickly spent " laboring to save and to bless."
Dean left a widow, four sons, Joseph, Benjamin, who died when near his majority, William, John, and a daughter, Sarah. After the death of her husband Mrs. Dean resided some years on the farm which they had patented, but probably on account of the education of her children removed to Philadelphia.# There, Joseph became a successful importing merchant and a noted actor in the stirring events of the latter half of the Eighteenth Century. He was one of the signers of the
* Her name is on the list of taxables in West Nantmeal Township for 1753.
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Non-Importation Resolutions adopted October (25th) 1765, and at the beginning of the Revolutionary War loaned the General Government sixty thousand dollars, which were never returned.
He was selected by the Assembly in December, 1776, to serve on the Committee of Safety, and was an active member of the Board of War from its organization, in March, 1777, until it was discontinued, in August of the same year.
In January, 1781, Joseph Dean was appointed one of the auditors to settle and adjust the accounts of the troops of the State of Pennsylvania in the service of the United States, and in the Autumn of the same year a Warden of the Port of Philadelphia.
John held the rank of Major in the Continental Army, and William as Colonel in the same service was actively engaged in all the battles which were fought in New Jersey.
Sarah was married to the Rev. John Slemmons, a native of Chester County and a graduate of the College of New Jersey, who, in 1765, became pastor of Lower Marsh Creek Church in York, now Adams, County, Pennsylvania. Mr. Slemmons was subse- quently pastor of Piney Creek Church, Maryland, where he remained until his death, in 1814. Mrs. Slemmons died in June, 1823, and her ashes rest beside those of her husband in the Piney Creek graveyard.
A grandson of Colonel William Dean, William F. Dean, Esq., a gentleman of wealth and influence, has long resided in Philadelphia .*
Minutes of Synod of New Brunswick ; Archives of State, vol. i. p. 9; Memoranda of Springton Manor; Hist. of Piney Creek Church.
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REV. JOHN CARMICHAEL.
Born 1728.
Died 1785.
Civil war had ceased in England and a stable govern- ment had been established in that portion of Great Britain more than half a century before discord and violence were repressed in Scotland. The attachment of many of the nobles to the " House of Stuart," the hereditary feuds of the clans, and the inroads of heart- less marauders were a continual source of disorder and bloodshed. The oppression and suffering which the inhabitants as a consequence endured led many of them to emigrate to countries where law and order were supreme, and where man could enjoy the fruits of his labor without annoyance from petty chiefs or the followers of royal pretenders.
Among those whom the " troublesome times" caused to leave their native land were David and Elizabeth (Alexander) Carmichael, who came from Argyleshire to America in 1737. They settled first at Hackensack, New Jersey, but after a short residence there removed to Newark in the same State.
Having been exemplary members of the estab- lished church in Scotland, Mr. Carmichael and his wife connected themselves with the Presbyterian Church in Newark, then or shortly afterwards under the pas- toral charge of the Rev. Aaron Burr. The preaching of this able divine, and especially his earnest appeals to the unconverted at the administration of the Lord's Supper, made a deep impression on the mind of their
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eldest son, and induced a serious consideration of his condition as a sinner. The counsels of Christian friends, aided by the prayers and example of his pious mother, led him as an humble penitent to the Throne of Mercy, where he obtained pardon and peace. Anx- ious that others should be brought to a knowledge of the Saviour and share in the comfort and reconcilia- tion which he had found, he determined to devote him- self to the Christian ministry. He became a member of the College of New Jersey in 1755, and received the degree of A.B. in August, 1759. Where he pursued his studies previous to entering the College is not known. But as the institution was then located at Newark, he probably received his preparatory train- ing under the direction of his pastor, the Rev. Aaron Burr, President of the College.
Nine of the eighteen members of his class entered the Gospel ministry. All of them living at the time proved faithful to their country in its hour of trial, and the suffering patriotic efforts and tragic death of one of them, the lamented Caldwell, of Elizabethtown, have become matters of history.
" Immediately after he was graduated Mr. Car- michael commenced the study of theology under the direction of the President of the College, the Rev. Samuel Davies."
He pursued his theological studies with so much diligence and success that at a meeting of the Presby- tery of New Brunswick, held in May, 1760, he was licensed to preach the Gospel.
Mr. Carmichael spent the remainder of that year in supplying vacancies by the direction of the Synod.
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Among them was the unoccupied pulpit of this church. His preaching here was so acceptable that on the 18th of September, 1760, the members of session ad- dressed him a letter entreating him to become their pastor .* This he seems, while continuing to occupy the pulpit, to have held for consideration. The con- gregation, however, determined, if possible, to obtain his services, and on the 13th of April. 1761, presented a call to Presbytery, which was referred to him. Having sought Divine Guidance by fasting and prayer, he accepted it, and on Thursday, the 23d of April, 1761, was ordained and installed pastor of the Church of the Forks of Brandywine by the Presbytery of New Castle.
At that period the country was sparsely settled and the inhabitants for the most part in moderate circum- stances. One of the meeting-houses was no longer in a condition to be used as a place for public worship, and the other, though in a better state of repair, was too small to accommodate all who assembled on the Sab- bath. The efforts, therefore, of Mr. Carmichael, im- mediately after his installation, were directed to obtain the erection of a building suitable for the services of the sanctuary. Infusing his own zeal into every one with whom he came in contact, he suceceded, during the first year of his pastorate, in having the large and commodious meeting-house built which has recently been taken down.
In the pulpit his manner was earnest and impressive. While he dwelt with frequency and power on the ter- rors of the law, he also faithfully reminded those who
* See Appendix G.
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were weighed down by the burden of sin, " that there was balm in Gilead, and a Physician there."
Although strongly attached to the creed and form of church government in his fatherland, he considered them of small importance in comparison with Godli- ness and an interest in the Atoning Sacrifice. His labors among the people of his charge were greatly blessed. Harmony was restored, the wanderers re- turned to the fold, and not a few who had been cavil- ling about points of doctrine were led to make the all- important inquiry, "How shall we be made partakers of the blessings of the Covenant of Grace ?"
He visited the members of his congregation not only statedly but frequently. On these occasions the house- hold was called together for prayer, and the younger members of the family recited the Shorter Cate- chism, and happy were the little ones who could "say their questions" in a manner which received the ap- proving smile and kind words of Mr. Carmichael.
As many of his people resided at a distance of seven or eight miles from the place for public worship, and buildings for school purposes were few, he frequently preached at private houses on the afternoon of the Sab- bath. He also made missionary journeys into parts of this and some of the adjoining States where no church was organized, besides frequently assisting his ministe- rial brethren at the administration of the ordinances, and by occupying their pulpits when sickness or other circumstances caused them to be absent from their charge. But these were not his only labors.
The detail of kingly and ecclesiastical tyranny which Mr. Carmichael had often heard from parental lips
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made him the determined foe of oppression in every form. Before the Revolutionary Conflict he observed the cloud of war which loomed in the horizon, and by a series of articles in the public papers warned his fellow-citizens of their danger. And when the storm did come. he was among the foremost to breast its fury and provide means to repair the devastation which it caused. In the pulpit and at the fireside, among the members of his flock and where he was known only by name, he was equally bold in the denunciation of tyranny and faithful in portraying the blessings of freedom.
When the First Congress# met in Philadelphia he called on the members personally urging them to ac- tion, and after they adjourned he admonished those who remained and others from the pulpit, as is shown by the following extract from the journal of John Adams :
"Sunday, March 26th, 1775, went to hear Mr. Car- michael preach at Mr. Duffield's church on Trust in the Lord, and do good ; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed."+
In June, 1775, he preached a sermon from Luke iii. 14, to the militia of Lancaster, in which he strongly advocated the lawfulness of self-defence. This sermon .was published, had a wide-spread salutary effect, and soon passed to a second edition .¿
The First Congress, composed of delegates from all the Colonies except Georgia, met in Philadelphia, September 5, 1774. It consisted of fifty-two members, and was in session fifty-two days.
+ Psalm xxxvii. 3.
Į It is the only production of his pen, except some articles in the newspapers, that was ever printed.
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Mr. Carmichael delivered a spirited address shortly before their departure to the Volunteers from the upper part of Chester County, who left their homes on the Sth of July, 1776, to join the army near New York. As many of them were members of his church, and a number of them had been led to volunteer by his appeals to their love of country, he seems to have visited them not long after they had reached their des- tination, for he and the Rev. Robert Smith, of Pequea, were present at the battle of Long Island, which took place on the 27th of the next August.
But if his ardor, activity, and influence were so fully required immediately after the Declaration of Inde- pendence, they were still more needed in the following year, when his adopted State became the theatre of warlike operations.
The cannonading at the battle of Brandywine was distinctly heard throughout all this section of the country. During the progress of that engagement wives, daughters, and mothers stood at the doors of their dwellings listening with fearful anxiety, and as the report of each discharge of artillery fell on the ear, were rendered almost frantic by the thought that it had caused the death of a husband, a father, or a son.
The disastrous result of that battle, the appearance of parties of British horsemen in search of forage, and the conveyance of a large number of wounded Ameri- can soldiers along the Paxtang Road to Ephrata for medical treatment, caused general consternation and terror.# Some whose fears were greater than their
* Upwards of One Hundred and Fifty of them died and were buried at Ephrata.
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patriotism passed over to the enemy; others sought safety by flight ; while the loyal few that had remained at home, who were capable of performing military duty, hastened to join their brethren in the field. During this trying period, when there was a vacant chair at almost every fireside, the labor and the trials of the faith- ful pastor and ardent patriot were unceasing. At one time consoling those whose relatives had fallen in the conflict, at another reviving the hopes and dispelling the fears of many who were ready to exclaim, " All is lost." On week-days assisting aged men, women, and children in the out-door employments of the farm; on the Sabbath fervently beseeching the Supreme Dis- poser of events to end the evils of war by the final triumph of the cause of Liberty and of Humanity.
Mr. Carmichael visited the American army when it lay at Valley Forge, and having learned from Gen- eral Washington that the wounded were suffering from a want of linen for bandages, he returned home, called his congregation together, stated the fact, and earnestly besought the female members of his charge to furnish a supply, even if it should require an abbreviation of portions of their clothing. The appeal was successful. A sufficient number of packages of linen were obtained to fill two bags. These he conveyed on horseback to the camp.
A letter is extant in which the Commander-in-chief thanks Mr. Carmichael and his congregation for the supply of clothing and other necessaries which they had furnished for the use of the army.
The war was finally brought to a close, the inde- pendence of our country was acknowledged, and Mr.
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C'armichael thankfully devoted himself to a discharge of the duties of his Saered Office. But his physical system, never strong, had been weakened by his un- ceasing exertions in the cause of religion and of civil liberty. His health declined, and he became aware that the time of his departure was near. He arranged his temporal affairs,# and with increased zeal in his Master's service, preached a course of sermons on Haggai i. 10. "The design of these discourses was to show that there are times when the servants of God should more than ordinarily engage in the promotion of religion."
In the latter part of October, 1785, he assisted the Rev. Dr. Smith, of Pequea, in the communion of that church. His efforts during the service, and the fatigue of the journey, brought on an illness from which he had not recovered when the administration of the ordi- nances to his own people took place. On that occasion his bodily weakness, increased by the exertion which he had then made, led him to express the opinion " that he would no more drink wine with them until he drank it new in his Father's Kingdom." An opinion whose correctness was too soon verified. Exposure to the rain on his return home, together with his previous debility, induced an attack of pleurisy, which caused his death on the 15th of November, 1785, when he had entered less than three weeks on his fifty-eighth year.+
His last words were, "Oh that I had a thousand
* See Appendix H.
+ He was born on the 28th of October, 1728.
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tongues, that I might employ them all in bringing sinners to Christ !"
His remains lie in the Upper Graveyard beside the ashes of his eldest daughter, and those of the two part- ners of his joys and sorrows, "who preceded him to the eternal world."
The labors of Mr. Carmichael as a patriot and a pas- tor, his energy, faithfulness, and success, lead to the belief that, like holy men of old, he was raised up and specially prepared for the work which God had ap- pointed for him to do. He seems to have combined, in a remarkable degree, the glowing zeal and vital piety of Whitefield and the Tennents, with the bold advocacy of civil and religious liberty which dis- tinguished Scotland's great reformer, "the fearless Knox."
Mr. Carmichael was married in May, 1761, to Miss Phoebe Cram, of Newark, New Jersey, a grand- daughter of the Rev. Jonathan Dickinson, first Presi- dent of the College of New Jersey. She died Octo- ber 21, 1772, in her forty-second year, leaving a son and a daughter. Two other children having died in infancy.
The son, John Flavel, studied medicine under Dr. Scott, of New Brunswick, New Jersey, practised for some time in this neighborhood with success, entered the army as a surgeon in 1788, and after holding the office several years settled in the State of Mississippi, where he accumulated considerable property, and died in 1837.
The daughter, Phoebe, for nearly sixty years an humble and upright member of the Presbyterian
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Church at Cedar Grove, Lancaster County, died March 24, 1859, at the advanced age of ninety-two years and nearly two months.
In June, 1773, Mr. Carmichael married Miss Cath- arine Mustard. But this union was of short duration. She died in August, 1774, leaving a daughter fifteen days old, who received the name of her mother. That daughter, on the death of her father, was taken in charge and kindly cared for by Elder William Hunter, a leading member of the congregation. She subsequently resided with the Rev. Dr. Smith, of Pequea, and also in the family of Mr. Buckley until her marriage, in September, 1799, to the Hon. Robert Jenkins, a gentleman of wealth and refinement.
Mrs. Jenkins closed a life noted for kindness to the poor, a liberal support of churches and benevolent associations, and a consistent Christian course, on the 23d of September, 1856, in the eighty-third year of her age. Both of her sons had preceded their mother to the grave. Four of her daughters were married to ministers of the Gospel eminent for learning and ability.
By his marriage, in April, 1775, to a daughter of the Rev. Samuel Blair, of Fagg's Manor, Mr. Car- michael had three children. Elizabeth, who became the wife of the Rev. Samuel Donnell, subsequently a pastor in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. They removed to Tennessee, where her death occurred shortly after their arrival. Washington Gates, born about the time of Burgoyne's surrender, and named in honor of the commander-in-chief and the hero of Saratoga, entered the army, but died soon afterwards
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near the mouth of the Mississippi. Francina, the youngest, was married to a Captain Allan.
Mrs. Carmichael survived her husband nearly a quarter of a century, or until May, 1810; and Mrs. Allan died in the latter part of December, 1870 .*
* Sprague, " Annals of American Pulpit ;" Minutes of Presbytery of Newcastle; of Synod of New Brunswick ; Dr. Leaman, " Me- morial of Mrs. C. M. Jenkins;" Local Memoranda ; Dr. S. Alexander, " Princeton College in the Eighteenth Century."
7
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REV. NATHAN GRIER.
Died 1814.
Born 1760.
Biography often affords manifest and instructive proofs that the Author of All Good watches over, guides, and blesses not only those who serve Him and keep His commandments, but also their children to the third, fourth, and succeeding generations.
Among American statesmen there has been no one who was more upright in public and in private life than John Adams, and of him only can it be stated that the Presidential Chair, in which he was placed as the immediate successor of Washington, was also occupied by his son. Nor is this all. His son and grandson discharged with ability the duties of Min- ister Plenipotentiary to England, where he had ap- peared as his country's first Ambassador.
As might be expected, however, the lives of those who specially devote themselves to the service of the altar present numerous instances of the Providence of God in blessing their descendants, and not unfre- quently in making them "shepherds and bishops of souls."*
A number of pulpits, both in the Presbyterian Church and those of other denominations, are occu-
* Dr. Spring stated in 1849, that not less than seventy ministers in the American Church could traee their lineage to the elder Ed- wards, who was himself the son of a clergyman.
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pied at the present time by the sons and grandsons of men who passed their lives in the same sacred calling.
A notable example, however, of pious ancestors, and of children who trod in the footsteps of their fathers, is afforded by the parentage and descendants of the Rev. Nathan Grier.
John and Matthew Grier came to America from the North of Ireland in 1732. Shortly after his arrival John married Agnes Caldwell, and settled in Bucks County, Pa. Like their Scotch ancestors, they were strongly attached to the doctrines and institutions of the Presbyterian Church, of which they were for many years exemplary members. Their children were trained "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord," and as a reward for their faithful oversight they had the satisfaction of seeing two of them enter the ministry, and all of them become worthy and useful members of society.
Nathan, the younger of those who entered the ministry, was born in September, 1760. Naturally amiable and contemplative, while still quite young his thoughts were turned to the subject of religion, and, like Josiah, he early gave his heart to God.
Having resolved to devote himself to the preaching of the Gospel, he passed through his preparatory training under the direction of his brother James,* who was also his theological preceptor, entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1781, and was gradu- ated in 1783. After leaving the University, he taught a school at Pitt's Grove, N. J., pursuing at the same time his studies in theology.
* See Appendix M.
.
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Mr. Grier was licensed by the Presbytery of Phila- delphia in October, 1786, and passed the remainder of that year and a part of the next in supplying churches without a pastor. Among them was the congregation worshipping in this place. His labors here led to a unanimous call from the members of the church to become their pastor being placed in his hands and accepted.
On Wednesday, the 22d of August, 1787, the Presbytery of New Castle, with which he was then connected, met here, and ordained and installed him pastor of the Presbyterian Church of the Forks of Brandywine. The Rev. Alexander Mitchell, pastor of Doe Run Church, preached the sermon; the other ministers present were Robert Smith, D.D., James Anderson, William R. Smith, Nathaniel W. Sample, John E. Finley, John McCreery, James Monroe, David Jones, and John Burton.
Mr. Grier, at that time in the full vigor of his powers, was well adapted to carry on the work which Mr. Carmichael had so auspiciously begun. Ear- nest, impressive, and practical, his ministrations were greatly blessed. The attendance on the Sabbath rapidly increased, and his influence, aided by his pop- ular manners, soon reached far beyond even the large area contained within the bounds of his charge.
Having carly perceived that the services of the sanctuary are but a part of the duties of a pastor, he frequently called at the residences of the members of his congregation. These visits were not permitted to pass unimproved, but were used as opportunities for pious instruction. Parents were mildly but faithfully
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