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 8
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Mr. Boyd " was a man of faithfulness, prayer, and power," and left an impression on the community at
* Futhey, " Nota C'estriensis ;" May, Com. Discourse; Commu- nication from Colonel T. Bull.
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Newtown which is not yet effaced. During his Pas- torate the congregation was blessed with several re- vivals, and not a year passed without the addition of members to the church, and many of them on a pro- fession of their faith.
ยท Mr. Boyd was twice married. His first wife was Miss Margaret Watson, daughter of Dr. John Wat- son, of Lancaster County. His second wife was Miss Ann Beatty, daughter of Dr. Reading Beatty, of Bucks County .*
REV. JAMES BUCHANAN.
The Rev. Mr. Buchanan was a native of Sads- bury Township, Chester County, Pa., where he was born in 1783. He received his academical training at the Brandywine Academy, and his collegiate at Dick- inson College, where he was graduated September 28, 1803. Having completed his theological course, he was licensed by the Presbytery of Newcastle, Septem- ber 30, 1806.
In April, 1809, he was installed as pastor of the united congregations of Harrisburg and Middle Pax- ton, where he labored about six years with " faithful- ness and success." Failing health having compelled him to resign his charge, he spent some time in trav- elling. His health having been in a measure restored, he accepted a call in 1816 from the Presbyterian Church at Greencastle, Franklin County, Pa. He
* Com. from Rev. J. C. Bush, of Newtown, Pa .; Com. from Rev. Dr. Watson, of Milton, Pa. ; Minutes of Northumberland Presbytery.
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sustained this relation upwards of twenty years, when, owing to ill-health and a belief that a change of place would be beneficial both to himself and the people of his charge, he resigned, and became pastor of a church at Logansport, Indiana. He remained in connection with it until his death, in September, 1843.
Mr. Buchanan was much beloved by the members of the congregations of which he was pastor, and was highly esteemed by his brethren in the ministry.
Dr. Elliott, who knew him well, states in a bio- graphical notice of him that his sermons in their structure were neat, systematic, and short; in their matter solid, evangelical, and practical; and in their manner grave, solemn, and earnest .*
REV. ROBERT WHITE.
Robert White was born in Montgomery County, Pa., in 1783. He pursued his preparatory studies at Norristown, and was licensed to preach by the Pres- bytery of Newcastle, April 4, 1809.
Shortly after his licensure calls were placed in his hands from Upper Octoraro, Fagg's Manor, and the united congregations of White Clay Creek and head of Christiana. He accepted the call from Fagg's Manor, and was ordained and installed December 14, 1809. He continued to be the pastor of that church until his death, in September, 1835.
His sermons were plain and practical, sound in
* Dr. Nevin, " Churches of the Valley ;" Rev. David Elliott, D.D.
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doctrine, and delivered in an earnest, impressive man- ner. Mr. White was well acquainted with history in general, and he frequently drew illustrations of the Providence of God from the records of the past which were both apt and striking.
The only production from the pen of Mr. White. which the writer has seen, is a sermon entitled " Mel- chisedek." delivered August 11. 1814. In it he ad- vances the opinion that Job and Melchisedek were the same person. His views are well sustained, and the whole discourse is, perhaps, as clear an exposition as can be given of a subject from which the veil of mys- terv cannot be removed.
Mr. White married, in 1809. Nancy. eldest daugh- ter of his theological preceptor, the Rev. Nathan Grier. Both of the sons of Mr. White entered the ministry.
The eldest. Nathan Grier White, after finishing his theological course at Princeton. was licensed by the Presbytery of Newcastle. October 2, 1833. He was ordained and installed pastor of the church at Mc- Connelsburg, Bedford. now Fulton, County. Pa., June 11, 1834, a relation which he sustained " until the fall of 1864. when he accepted a call to Williams- burg. Blair County, Pa., where he is now laboring."
The younger, Robert M. White, was graduated at Amherst College in 1834. standing the second in his class. Having completed his theological course in 1837, he was ordained and installed pastor of the church at Fairview, West Virginia. in the autumn of that year.
In September. 1848. he became the pastor of the
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Presbyterian Church of Chartiers, Washington County, Pa. But his ministry there was short. He died on the 14th of December, 1848.
A daughter, now deceased, of Mr. White was mar- ried to the Rev. John Moore. Another passed several years as a missionary in Northern India with her husband, the late Rev. Robert S. Fullerton .*
REV. WILLIAM KENNEDY.
William Kennedy, whose father was many years a Ruling Elder of the congregation worshipping in this place, was born July 4, 1783. Through the influence of his pious parents, aided by the faithful and earnest admonitions of his pastor, Rev. Nathan Grier, he was brought to a knowledge of the saving truths of the Gospel, and finally led to devote himself to the min- istry of Reconciliation. He received his preparatory training at the Brandywine Academy, and having passed the usual time in the study of Theology under the direction of the Rev. Nathan Grier, was licensed April 6, 1809, by the Presbytery of Newcastle. On the 3d of October in the following year he was or- dained and installed pastor of the united congrega- tions of Lewistown and West Kishacoquillas, Pa., by the Presbytery of Huntingdon.
In April, 1822, charges were brought against him of conduct unbecoming a clergyman. These charges
* Futhey, " Nota Cestriensis ;" Rev. W. F. Noble, " Hist. of Pres. Church of Fagg's Manor ;" Rev. J. F. Collier, " Hist. of Chartiers Church."
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the Presbytery considered unsustained, but he was induced as a consequence to resign his pastorate.
"On the first of October, 1822, Mr. Kennedy was dismissed at his own request to the Presbytery of Erie, but finally settled within the bounds of the Presbytery of Clarion."
He supplied the congregation of Mount Tabor, in Jefferson County, and of Mill Creek, in Clarion County, until a short time before his death, which took place November 2, 1850.
Mr. Kennedy married, in 1809, Mary, third daughter of Benjamin McClure, an active member of this Church, and many years the leader of the choir. Four of their children, two sons and two daughters, reside within a short distance of Brookville, Jefferson County.
In regard to the charges which were preferred against Mr. Kennedy, it is no more than just to state that his contemporaries believed him to be a good and godly man, and that his subsequent lengthened min- istry " was without suspicion and without reproach."*
REV. JOHN F. GRIER, D.D.
John Ferguson Grier, only son of the Rev. James Grier, of Deep Run, Bucks County, Pa., was born in 1784. He received his preparatory training at the Academy in this place, entered Dickinson College,
* Gibson, " Hist. of Huntingdon Presbytery ;" Com. from William B. Kennedy ; Minutes of Presbytery of Newcastle.
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Carlisle, in 1799, and was graduated in 1803, at the head of his elass. He subsequently taught in Pequea, was principal nearly five years of the Brandywine Academy, completed his Theological course under the direction of his uncle, the Rev. Nathan Grier, and was licensed to preach the Gospel by the Presbytery of Newcastle, June 26, 1810.
Dr. Grier settled at Reading, Pa., where he was instrumental in gathering together and organizing the First Presbyterian Church in that city, of which he was installed pastor November 23, 1814. In addition to the conscientious discharge of his pastoral duties he conducted a Classical School, which obtained a high reputation and was well patronized. A warm friend of education, he was several years an active Trustee of Dickinson College, and it is altogether likely if his life had been prolonged that the College would have remained under Presbyterian control. The honorary degree of D.D. was conferred on him by the College at Meadville.
Dr. Grier's manner in the pulpit was dignified and solemn, but close attention to his manuscript during the delivery of his sermons, which were models of diction and close thought, made them less attractive and impressive than their excellence merited.
He died suddenly, January 26, 1829, during the progress of a revival which added many to the mem- bership of the church of which he had been the faithful and only pastor .*
* Sprague, " Annals of American Pulpit ;" C. B. Penrose, Esq., Commemorative Discourse.
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REV. ROBERT S. GRIER.
The eldest son of the Rev. Nathan Grier, Robert Smith Grier, was born May 11, 1790. In answer, no doubt, to the prayers of his godly parents, he was hopefully converted at an early age, and led to de- vote himself to the divinely-appointed work of win- ning souls to Christ.
Mr. Grier passed, from 1802 to 1807, in prepara- tory studies at the Brandywine Academy, and in the last-mentioned year entered Dickinson College, where he was graduated September 27, 1809. He studied Theology under the direction of his father, and was licensed by the Presbytery of Newcastle in Septem- ber, 1812.
He preached as a supply to congregations without a pastor until the winter of 1814, when he received a call from the churches of Toms Creek, now Em- mittsburg, and Piney Creek, Md. This call he ac- cepted, and was ordained and installed by the Pres- bytery of Carlisle, November 14, 1814. He remained in the pastoral charge of these congregations until his death, on the 28th of December, 1865, closed his pas- torate of fifty-one years.
The Christian fellowship which subsisted between Mr. Grier and the members of the churches of which he had the spiritual oversight is shown by his long residence among them, and his faithfulness, by the number gathered into the fold at each communion season. In the sanctuary, his manner was earnest
10
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and solemn, his language plain and direct, and his discourses argumentative, practical, and convincing.
It is worthy of remark that both the sons of the Rev. Nathan Grier, and also his sons-in-law, the Rev. Messrs. White and Parke, remained during the en- tire period of their ministry in charge of the congre- gations over which they were first installed. Like the pastor of Goldsmith's "Deserted Village,"
" Remote from towns, cach ran his godly race, And never changed, nor wished to change his place."
Both the sons of Robert S. Grier entered the min- istry, and are laboring with acceptance in West Vir- ginia. The elder, Smith F. Grier, as pastor of the New Cumberland Presbyterian Church, where the twenty- fifth anniversary of his installation has recently been celebrated, and the younger, Lafferty Grier, as pastor of the Elm Grove Presbyterian Church, where he has been stationed the last eighteen years .**
REV. SAMUEL PARKE.
Samuel Parke was born in Sadsbury Township, Chester County, November 25, 1788. His parents being members of the Upper Octoraro Church, he was early brought to a sense of his lost condition, and having experienced a change of heart, resolved to devote himself to the work of the Gospel Ministry.
Rev. W. Simonton, " Hist. of Emmittsburg Pres. Church ;" Min- utes of Presbytery of Carlisle.
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After careful preparation, he entered Dickinson Col- lege, Carlisle, and was graduated in September, 1809. Having completed his theological course, he was licensed by the Presbytery of Newcastle, April 7, 1813.
In August, 1814, Mr. Parke was ordained and in- stalled Pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Slate Ridge, York County, Pa., and also of Centre Church in the same County, giving to the latter one-third of his time. He ministered to both of these congrega- tions about thirty years, when he resigned the Pas- torate of the Centre Church, but continued to occupy the pulpit of the Slate Ridge Church.
In 1857 the infirmities of age led him to obtain a dissolution of the Pastoral relation, and he remained without a charge until his death, December 20, 1869.
Mr. Parke faithfully performed the duties of his sacred office, and was much beloved by the members of his flock. During his ministry of more than forty years there were many tokens of the Divine approval of his labors, and the congregations of which he had the oversight annually increased. His manner in the pulpit was peculiarly solemn and impressive. Prac- tical piety rather than doctrinal controversy formed the chief subject of his discourses.
Mr. Parke married Martha, the second daughter of the Rev. Nathan Grier.
His son, the Rev. Nathan Grier Parke, D.D., was graduated at Jefferson College in 1840, completed his theological course at Princeton in 1844, and is now Pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Pittston, Lu- zerne County, Pa.
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In 1867, Dr. Parke, with others, represented the Old School Presbyterian Church in the Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland, and also in the United Presbyterian Church of the same country."
REV. JOHN H. GRIER.
John Hays Grier, the eldest son of John and Jane (Hays) Grier, was born' about seven miles from Doylestown, Bucks County, Pa., February 7, 1788. When he was quite young, his parents, who were mem- bers of the Deep Run Presbyterian Church, removed from Bucks County and settled on the farm recently owned by their grandson, Elder Baxter B. McClure.
Mr. Grier received his preparatory training at the Brandywine Academy, and completed his collegiate course at Dickinson College, Carlisle, in September, 1809. Among his classmates were James Buchanan, late President of the United States, Robert S. Grier, John W. Grier, and J. N. C. Grier, well-known min- isters of the Gospel.
Mr. Grier studied Theology under the direction of his uncle, the Rev. Nathan Grier, and was licensed to preach the Gospel by the Presbytery of Neweas- tle, April 7, 1813. He was installed pastor of the United Churches of Pine Creek and Great Island, Lycoming County, Pa., in the Fall of 1814. He con- tinued in charge of both these churches until 1827,
* Futhey, " Hist. of Upper Oct. Church ;" Minutes of Presbytery of Carlisle ; Presbyterian Banner.
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when he resigned the pastorate of Great Island, now Lock Haven, and divided the time previously devoted to it between a charge in Nipenose Valley and an- other at New Berry, now included in the town of Williamsport.
In 1840 the members of the Pine Creek Church built a house for public worship in the village of Jersey Shore, and the congregation was afterwards designated by the name of that village, the term Pine Creek being dropped.
Mr. Grier resigned the pastorate of Jersey Shore in 1848, but continued to supply the congregation in Nipenose Valley until 1863, when he withdrew from the active duties of the ministry.
When he commenced his labors in Lycoming County it was sparsely settled, church buildings were few, and the opportunities for hearing the preached Word limited. At the close of his half-century of ministerial work the county was populous, churches were largely multiplied, and a band of devoted men, representing all the orthodox denominations, pro- claimed the words of truth in cities and villages, oc- cupying places where he had declared "the whole counsel of God" in an almost unbroken wilderness.
Unassuming and genial, Mr. Grier was always de- servedly popular with the young people, not only of his charge but also of other denominations. This is evident from the fact that he solemnized a greater number of marriages than any other clergyman within the bounds of the Presbytery, being frequently called a distance of several miles to perform the interesting ceremony.
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After the dissolution of the pastoral relation Mr. Grier resided at Jersey Shore. He was probably the oldest Presbyterian clergyman in this State, and, although his physical and mental powers were some- what impaired, he entered on his ninetieth year in the enjoyment of comparatively good health .*
Mr. Grier died February 3, 1880, within four days of having completed his ninety-second year.
REV. JOHN W. GRIER.
John Walker Grier was born in Bucks County, Pa., in 1789. When he was quite young his parents re- moved from Bucks County and settled within the bounds of this congregation, of which his father, Col- onel Jos. Grier, was upwards of twenty years a Ruling Elder.
Having been hopefully converted during a season of refreshing in the church, Mr. Grier, in obedience to his own sense of duty and the wishes of his pious parents, resolved to devote himself to the work of the Christian ministry. With this object in view, he passed through a preparatory course at the Brandy- wine Academy and entered Dickinson College, where he was graduated in 1809. His theological studies were commenced in the Divinity School of his uncle, the Rev. Nathan Grier, and completed under the direction of Dr. Mason, of New York City, and in the Seminary at Princeton, N. J.
Mr. Grier then turned his attention to teaching,
* Com. from R. H. Grier ; Min. Pres. of Newcastle ; Personal Rem- iniscences.
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reopened the Brandywine Academy, which had been closed since the withdrawal of Dr. J. F. Grier, and continued in charge of it until the Spring of 1822, when he resigned, and became principal of the Ches- ter County Academy. He retained his connection with that Institution until 1826, when he was ap- pointed by John Quincy Adams a Chaplain in the navy of the United States. This office his amiable disposition, gentlemanly manners, and uniformly Christian deportment eminently qualified him to fill, and he discharged its duties to the satisfaction of all.
He held the position until 1857, when the infirmi- ties of nearly threescore and ten caused him to resign, and he passed the remaining seven years of his life in literary leisure and the enjoyment of the society of his numerous friends.
During his connection with the navy, Mr. Grier visited nearly all of the commercial cities and many of the most interesting localities in both hemispheres ; and his stores of information gathered during his voyages and travels made his conversation highly interesting and instructive. He was an excellent Hebraist, a good classical scholar, and a well-read theologian.
Mr. Grier was one of a Committee of eight who, in 1831, signed, in behalf of an association formed for the purpose, the contract for the publication of the first number of that widely-known and influential periodical the Presbyterian. He was also the first superintendent of the Manor Sunday-School.
Mr. Grier was licensed by the Presbytery of New- castle, September 30, 1818, and ordained in 1826 by
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the Presbytery of Philadelphia, when he was about to enter the navy.
His only surviving son, the Rev. Matthew B. Grier, D.D., well known as the senior editor of the Presby -. terian, was licensed by the Presbytery of Newcastle at Wilmington, Del., in 1843, and ordained and in- stalled pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Ellicott's Mills, Md., by the Presbytery of Baltimore, in No- vember, 1847.
The pastoral relation was dissolved at his request in November, 1852, and he accepted a call to the First Presbyterian Church, Wilmington, N. C. Dr. Grier remained at Wilmington, laboring faithfully and ac- ceptably, until the outbreak of the Rebellion, when he was forced, on account of his loyalty to the Union, to withdraw to a Northern city. He has now been for many years the leading editor of the Presbyterian, and is at present supplying the church at Ridley Park, near the city of Philadelphia .*
The following members of his Congregation became Ministers of the Gospel during the Pastorate of Dr. J. N. C. Grier :
Rev. Robert M'Cachran. Rev. Jas. G. Ralston, D.D., LL.D.
" Anderson B. Quay.
66 William Pinkerton.
" Britton E. Collins.
William H. Templeton.
Benjamin M. Nyce. 66 John C. Thompson.
Richard Walker. 66 John Pinkerton.
66 Matthew B. Grier, D.D.
John Liggett.
66 Rees Happersett, D.D.
David W. Moore.
* Minutes of Newcastle Pres .; Minutes of Pres. of Philadelphia ; Cruise of the " Potomac ;" Personal Reminiscences.
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REV. ROBERT M'CACHRAN.
Robert M'Cachran, of Scotch-Irish ancestry, was born and grew to manhood almost within hearing of the weekly services of the sanctuary. Having become hopefully pious, and believing it to be his duty to enter the Christian ministry, he commenced the study of the classics at the Brandywine Academy, then under the direction of the Rev. John W. Grier.
After the retirement of Mr. Grier and the discon- tinuance of the Academy, Mr. M'Cachran finished his preparatory training at the Rev. Dr. M'Graw's Acad- emy, in Cecil County, Md. His collegiate course was completed at Diekinson College, during the presi- dency of Dr. Mason, and his theological in the Semi- nary at Princeton, N. J.
He was licensed to preach the Gospel by the Pres- bytery of Newcastle in 1827, and having spent some time in supplying churches without a pastor, he ac- cepted a call from the congregation of Big Spring, now Newville, Cumberland County, Pa., and was in- stalled in the Spring of 1830. He remained in this connection until October, 1851, when a chronic affec- tion of the chest compelled him to resign his charge.
After his withdrawal from the active duties of the ministry, Mr. M'Cachran resided in Newville, and devoted a portion of his time to the superintendence of a classical school. The congregation at Newville during his pastorate received many tokens of Divine favor. While he had charge nearly five hundred
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members were added to the church, seventy-three of them the fruits of a revival which occurred the second year of his ministry.
Mr. M'Cachran resided at Newville without a charge until his death, February 15, 1885, having been for some years the oldest member of the Presbytery of Carlisle, with which he had been connected upwards of half a century. He was the first member of the congregation who entered the ministry during the pastorate of Dr. Grier .*
REV. ANDERSON B. QUAY.
Anderson B. Quay, a native of Chester County, Pa., was born in 1802. He had married and was engaged in business when a change in his religious views led him to consider it his duty to preach the Gospel. He, therefore, after due preparation in the Academy at Reading, Pa., entered the Seminary at Princeton in 1827, where he remained until September, 1829.
Mr. Quay was licensed by the Presbytery of New- castle, October 7, 1829. On the 6th of April, 1830, he was dismissed to the Presbytery of Carlisle, and passed the next two years as a probationer, supplying the united congregations of Monaghan, now Dillsburg, and Petersburg, both in York County, Pa. In the Spring of 1832 he was installed pastor of those Churches by the Presbytery of Carlisle. His labors among the people of his charge continued with in-
* Dr. Nevin, " Churches of the Valley ;" Com. from James M'Cach- ran ; Minutes of Presbytery of Carlisle; Local Memoranda.
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creasing benefit until the Autumn of 1839, when the pastoral relation was dissolved at his request, and he accepted an Agency from the Presbyterian Board of Education.
In May, 1840, he became pastor of the First Pres- byterian Church at Beaver, Pa., continuing to act a part of the time as Agent of the Board. His pastorate at Beaver lasted until February, 1842, when he re- ceived an appointment from the Board of Foreign Missions and resigned his charge. The members of the congregation parted with much regret from the pastor whose services, owing to their pecuniary cir- cumstances, they were unable properly to recompense.
Mr. Quay held the position of Agent of the Board of Missions about a year, when he accepted a call to Indiana, Pa., where he remained until 1849. In the last-named year, at the request of the Colonization So- ciety of Pennsylvania, he became their Agent, and re- tained the position until his death, which took place at Beaver in 1856.
Mr. Quay united with pleasing manners great firm- ness of purpose and warmth of feeling. He faithfully discharged the duties of pastor to the congregations in- trusted to his oversight, and labored diligently for the promotion of Education, Foreign Missions, and Afri- can Colonization. His eldest son, Matthew Stanley Quay, was recently the able and popular Secretary of the Commonwealth .*
* Min. of Pres. of Newcastle; Min. of Pres. of Carlisle; Rev. J. J. Scatterfield, "Hist. of First Pres. Church of Beaver."
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