USA > Pennsylvania > Chester County > Faggs Manor > History of the Presbyterian Church of Fagg's Manor, Chester Co., Pa. 1730-1876 : a discourse delivered July 2, 1876 > Part 3
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sylvania, he was also zealous for the cause of education. He founded the first classical school west of the Alleghanies. And this school under his fostering care grew into a college, -Jefferson College at Canonsburg, Pa.,-an institution whose alumni are found almost everywhere throughout the United States, and one which well deserves the name of a nursing mother to the church for the large number of ministers and foreign missionaries who have been her sons.
Dr. McMillan died November 16, 1833, at the advanced age of eighty-one. It is by no means the least of Fagg's Manor's clustering honors that she gave birth to the Apostle of Western Pennsylvania .*
Rev. PATRICK DAVIDSON.
FOURTH PASTOR.
After Mr. Finley's removal occurred a vacancy of five and a-half years. In April, 1798, a call was extended to Mr. Patrick Davidson, a licentiate of the Presbytery of New- castle, but was declined by him on account of the insuffi- ciency of the support promised. It was, however, renewed in October of the same year and accepted. Mr. Davidson graduated at Dickinson College, September 30, 1795, studied theology under Rev. Nathan Grier at the Forks of Brandy- wine, and was licensed by the Presbytery of Newcastle, October 5, 1797. He began his ministry here the first Sab- bath of December, and was installed the following April, (1799). His pastorate was, however, of short duration. Only one year afterward (April, 1800) he applied to Presby- tery for a release on the ground that "although the con- gregation had done all that was reasonable, yet certain
* A very interesting sketch of Dr. McMillan's life and labors may be found in Rev. F. J. Collier's "Chartiers Church and Her Ministers." For full details of his labors and their fruits in the college and church, see the "Centenary Memorial of the Planting and Growth of Presbyterianism in Western Pennsylvania. "
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unpleasant circumstances had occurred which destroyed his comfort and hindered his usefulness." He removed to the bounds of the Presbytery of Carlisle, and was installed at Tom's Creek on the third Tuesday of October, A. D. 1800. His last pastoral charge was at Bladensburg, where he died.
Coming to the boundary between the old century and the new, we have reached also the border-land between past generations of men, and the one now upon the stage of action. There are still a few members of this church who were living when Rev. Patrick Davidson was pastor. But they are very few. Perhaps the names of Mrs. Margaret D. Turner. Mrs. Martha Ross, Mrs. Snead, Capt. Hugh Daniel and Mr. Joseph Ramsay, comprise the whole list. Mrs. Turner remembers Mr. Davidson as well as some of the ministers who supplied the pulpit during the vacancy which succeeded his removal; among them she mentions Rev. David McConoughy, D. D., and Rev. Charles Cummings.
Rev. ROBERT WHITE.
FIFTH PASTOR.
Another long vacancy occurred, this time of more than nine years. On the 9th of September, 1809, calls were extended by three separate pastoral charges, Upper Octorara and Doe Run, White Clay Creek and Head of Christiana, and Fagg's Manor to the same minister, Mr. Robert White, a young licentiate of the Presbytery of Newcastle. Forty- one years before the same three congregations had contended over the person of Rev. William Foster, and Upper Octorara and Doc Run had won the victory. This time Providence favored Fagg's Manor, and she obtained a pastor under whose untiring labors she entered upon a new career of prosperity.
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Robert White was born in 1783, in Montgomery county, Pa., near the village of Trappe. He labored on the farm until eighteen or nineteen years old. Having become about this time a subject of converting grace, he was seized with a strong and irrepressible desire to enter the ministry, and his parents, who at first did not encourage his doing so, at last gave their consent. He entered the Academy at Norristown where he became distinguished for classical and mathema- tical attainments. He never entered college, but he was considered by those who knew him, and especially by his brethren of the Presbytery of Newcastle, as in no respect inferior in scholarship to those who held college diplomas. He studied theology under Rev. Nathan Grier, pastor of the church of Brandywine Manor, who was celebrated in his day for having prepared quite a number of young men for the gospel ministry. He was licensed to preach in the spring of 1809. On the Ist of June in the same year he was married to Miss Nancy Grier, eldest daughter of his pre- ceptor, and on the 14th of December following was ordained and installed at Fagg's Manor.
Mr. White's ministry here was long, laborious and emi- nently successful. His pastorate was the longest in duration in the history of this church, lasting twenty-six years, and ending only with his death. In labors he was abundant. Besides tilling his farm with an industry and skill which commanded the respect of his rural parishoners, he toiled incessantly in his ministerial work, preaching the gospel in the church and from house to house, visiting, catechizing and attending prayer-meetings in all parts of the congrega- tion. In his pastoral visiting he usually walked, as did also most of his people in attending church. Mrs. Martha Ross and Mr. Hugh Daniel, both of whom live on the borders of the congregation, four or five miles from the church, tell us that it was their habit to walk to church in their youth, and that from all parts of the congregation the people came to the house of God on foot. Rev. Thomas Love says that
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more than eighty years ago when he was an infant his mother carried him before her on a horse to the old church to present him to the Lord in baptism. Carriages were almost unknown. The aged or feeble came on horseback, the strong and the young walked, the young people of both sexes not unfrequently carrying their shoes until they came near the church and wearing them only during their stay for the two sermons.
An extract from a letter recently written me by his son, Rev. N. G. White, will illustrate Mr. White's untiring zeal and devotion. He says, "In his preparation for the pulpit my father wrote in a very small hand and in a very small book, then committed to memory, never taking his manu- script out of his pocket in the pulpit. He preached twice every Sabbath, and often at night during the week at points quite remote from his home, always returning after preaching, sometimes as late as one or two o'clock in the morning. He held two communions annually in his church, and always observed four days of service at each time, Friday being observed as a congregational fast day. On the Sabbath he always preached what was then called the 'action sermon' himself, the assistant preaching after the communion services were over and after an interval of thirty minutes. Tables and tokens were used at that time, the tables usually num- bering about five ;- on one occasion I remember there were seven. His labors on a communion Sabbath were very great. Oh, how often have I seen the perspiration from his temples seem to vie with the tears which streamed from his eyes, as he with so much earnestness besought men to be reconciled to God and to love and obey 'the precious Savior.' [This was the title he invariably gave the Divine Redeemer.] He observed the old method of pastoral visitation during the winter months of one year, and the following winter held public examinations on the Shorter Catechism in the different districts of the congregation."
Mr. White might have said with His Master, "the zcal of
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" thine house hath eaten me up." His naturally strong con- stitution broken by toil. and exposure, he died at the age when men are usually in their prime, the early age of fifty- two. He died September 20th, 1835, more than forty years ago. Men are living here yet who were by but little his juniors. His beloved wife survived him thirty-five years. They sleep together now in our cemetery, near the grave of Samuel Blair.
Mr. White seems to have had for a considerable time a premonition of approaching death. In his funeral sermon, preached by Rev. Samuel Martin, D. D., from I Cor. XV : 55, "O death where is thy sting, O grave where is thy victory?" occurs the following passage : "A little more than two years have elapsed since in a full meeting of this congregation the Rev. Robert White, over whose departure from life we now mourn, arose, and with deep solemnity, stated the pre-im- pression which he had, that the time of his removal was not far distant. I shall not soon forget the mingled flood of sorrow and surprise which flowed from every heart on that occasion. After he had assured us of his unwavering confi- dence in the presence and support of his precious Savior. in passing through the valley of death, in the presence of you all he made the request of me that I should preach his funeral sermon from the words on which I have addressed you. In reply to his request I stated that being far his senior, the probability was that it might be his office to preach mine. According, however, to his expectation the events alluded to have taken place. That in view of death his heart did not shudder when these words were suggested to him as the subject of a funeral discourse, we all had evi- dence in. the grave and calm composure with which he uttered them. When death did come to perform his deed of woe, it found him ready. The fell tyrant would indeed have robbed him of soul and body ; but Jesus, who. had long been his life, was nigh at hand 'to save his soul from death, his eyes from tears, and his feet from falling.' " Those
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who were present during his affliction had ample testimony that his affections were set on things that were above, and that while his heart and his flesh were failing, God was the strength of his heart, and was longed after as his portion forever."
Of his preaching, and his earnestness and constancy in prayer, Dr. Martin says, "In preaching the gospel he used great plainness and simplicity of speech as it becomes those who would that all should understand. He wisely mingled doctrinal with practical truths, that while the heart might find a sure foundation whereon to rest its hopes, it might be stimulated to seek acquaintance with the manner of building upon it ; and that strong confidence might prompt to every exertion to obtain the reward set in prospect. With how holy an unction sacred truth fell upon his hearers, from lips that were inspired to speak, by an heart warm with the love of Jesus and anxious for dying souls, ye, the people of his charge can tell. With what ardor his desires rose to heaven from this desk' in your behalf, ye are witnesses. 'The retire- ment in the evening shade, the closet, the family, whether at home or abroad, bear witness how heavy upon his heart his people's dangers lay ; and how unwearied his strivings at the throne of grace were for their deliverance."
A ministry so earnest could not fail to be successful. Mr. White was the first of our pastors to keep any records, and his book is merely a register of baptisms, marriages and deaths, and the reception and dismission of members. [Dr. Hamilton was the first to keep minutes of the meetings of session.] Nevertheless Mr. White's book is valuable as an index of the prosperity and growth of the church under his ministrations. And its record is one of uninterrupted suc- cess. His labors were ushered in by a revival. The first year of his ministry twenty-four persons were added to the church. And all along through the years there were con-
*The pulpit from which Mr. White preached in the old church is still used In the lecture room of the present building.
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stant accessions, some years comparatively few, but in others a great many, rising in the year 1822 to the number of one hundred and four received within the year, again in 1832 to fifty-six, and altogether making four hundred and seventy, or an avernge of twenty admissions per annum for the twenty- three and a-half years which the register covers." Truly God honored his devoted servant and crowned his abundant labors with success.
Mr. White left two sons, both of whom entered the ministry. The younger, Rev. Robert McCrea White, grad- uated at Amherst College and Princeton Theological Semi- nary, and settled in the church of Fairview, which he served with great success for eleven years. He was a man of brilliant talents, and inheriting his father's consuming zeal, he soon exhaused in his Master's service both body and ยท mind. Says Rev. Mr. Collier, "When he took charge of the congregation at Fairview, there were forty members wor- shiping in a dilapidated building. At the close of his pas- torate there were nearly four hundred members, and they had a handsome new edifice in which they held their religious service. Mr. White was a very earnest, instructive and . attractive preacher. His oratory was brilliant and fervid and he was gifted with a voice peculiarly rich and pleasing in the quality of its tones. His zeal in the cause of Christ led him to overtax his physical strength. During the sum- mer months it was his custom to preach three sermons on the Sabbath, besides teaching a large bible class of over eighty members. In consequence of his arduous and unre- mitting labors, his eyes and throat became affected, and he sufferred from derangement of the mind. It was hoped when he resigned his charge at Fairview and accepted the call to Chartiers, that his physical and mental condition would be improved by rest and the change of residence, but in this expectation he and his friends were doomed to disappointment."+ As just intimated, Mr. White accepted a
*The last entry is June 2, 1833, a year and a-half before Mr. W?s. death. tChartier's Church, pp. 34.
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call to Chartier's, the church which Dr. McMillan founded. He was installed there in October and died on the 14th of December, 1848, in his thirty-fourth year.
The elder brother, Rev. Nathan Grier White, graduated at Dickinson College and Princeton Theological Seminary, and settled in the churches of McConnellsburg, Green Hill and Wells Valley, in Fulton county, Pa., which he served with acceptance and success for thirty and a-half years. In the fall of 1864 he accepted a call to Williamsburg, Blair county, Pa., where he is now laboring.
Rev. N. G. White and his sister, Mrs. Martha W. Fuller- ton, are the only surviving members of our former pastor's family. She was the youngest of his children. She married Rev. Robert S. Fullerton, of Ohio, and went with him to Futtegurh, Northern India, in 1850, where they labored as missionaries for fifteen years. They were in that country and shut up in the Fort of Agra during the great Sepoy rebellion. Her husband having fallen a victim to the ex- hausting climate and his arduous labors, Mrs. Fullerton returned to her native land. She now resides in West Philadelphia.
Besides his own sons two other young men went out from Fagg's Manor as ministers of the gospel in the time of Mr. White. They were another pair of brothers, Thomas and Robert Love. Robert settled in the churches of Harmony and Oxford, N. J., and after a ministry of six years died October 9, 1838, at the early age of thirty-one years. Thomas, the elder of the two, is still living and resides at Hockessin, Delaware. He has retired from the active work of the ministry after a long and faithful service as pastor of Red Clay Creek church for nearly forty years. The Love family has been a prominent one in Fagg's Manor church from the beginning. John Love was one of the first elders, and in each generation since one or more of his descendants have been members of the session. His son, grandson, and great grandson, like himself were elders, and his lineal
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descendant of the fifth generation, Mr. J. Hamilton Ross still retains the succession. And here may be the proper place, though in the order of events its time is later, to speak of another member of this family, whose life was laid 'down in the service of the Master. Eliza Ross, daughter of of James and Martha Ross, married Rev. George Simpson, of Honeybrook, in this county, and went with him as a missionary to the Gaboon, on the western coast of Africa. The young missionaries entered upon their work with enthusiasm. But soon the unhealthy climate began its rav- ages upon Mr. Simpson, and he was laid aside from work. They were advised to return home, but they could not bear to abandon a work in which their hearts were so bound up. A voyage on the river was attempted as a means of restor- ing health. The vessel sank and they were both drowned. "Lovely and pleasant in their lives, in their death they were not divided." And was not heaven as near from the far off river of Africa, as from the farm-house among the hills of the Octorara? And will they not hear the resurrection trumpet there as well as in the cemetery at Fagg's Manor ? What is the bottom of the sea, but the "hollow of God's hand?" (Isaiah xi: 12.)
Rev. ALFRED HAMILTON, D. D.
SIXTH PASTOR.
After Mr. White, the next pastor was Rev. Alfred Ham- ilton, D. D. He was born in Wheeling, W. Va., in April 1805, received his classical education at Jefferson College and the University of Pennsylvania at Pittsburg, and his theological at the Western Theological Seminary. He was a member of the first class graduated at this institution. After completing his studies he spent two years as an agent
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of the Tract and Education Society, and in this capacity traveled over a great part of the west on horseback. After this he labored as a domestic missionary in Kentucky, and organized the church of Elizabethtown, with which he remained several years. Coming to Pennsylvania on a visit, he preached at Fagg's Manor, and a call was extended to him November 17, 1835, two months after the death of Mr. White. He commenced his labors here on the 20th of March, and was installed on the 14th of May, 1836. He is the first pastor who has left a record of the proceedings of session, and thus let us see something of the inner workings of the church in its history. The session upon his accession consisted of nine elders, Messrs. Henry Reece, John Turner, Andrew McNeil, Abraham Ross, James Love, John Rankin, James Ross, John Y. McNeil and John A. Love. A tenth, Mr. Robert Cochran, had died about two weeks before Mr. Hamilton was called. With this strong force of elders, not always harmonious it is true, yet men full of zeal for the church of God, Mr. Hamilton carried on the work vigorously, and not without considerable success. We can not trace in detail the events of his ministry, but will glance at some of its characteristics.
One of these was strictness in discipline. That upon his coming the state of morals in the community was not all that could be desired, is evident from the records. The pastor and session seem to have set about reformation at once, and to have pursued the work with zeal and fidelity. Soon after the pastor was installed, a meeting of the session was held whose exercises were prayer and " free conversation in regard to the state of religion in our church, and respecting the conduct of the members generally," and "it was agreed that Mr. Hamilton should prepare a pastoral letter to be read to the congregation." The session met frequently, and many communicants were called before them from time to time to answer for various misdemeanors. Discipline was conducted in a calm, patient and thorough manner, without partiality,
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and with such tenderness and wisdom as to result almost universally in the reclamation of the offender. These efforts. for the purification of the church had the most salutary effect not only upon the persons most nearly concerned, but upon the whole community. As the years went on cases of discipline became fewer and almost ceased, the condition of morals was vastly improved, and the success of the church was greatly enlarged in the work of saving men.
Dr. Hamilton's ministry was also characterized by instruc- tion and effort in the matter of benevolence. Before his time little had been done in any of our Presbyterian churches to develop the liberality of the people, and to impress upon them their duty to a world lying in sin. There was little zeal in the missionary cause, and little self-sacrifice in behalf of the perishing. In his time, the church was just awaking to some sense of duty in the matter, and Dr. Hamilton not only instructed his people faithfully, but set before them an example in his own generosity. Among the papers left by him are a number of subscriptions for Foreign Missions, Home Missions, and other branches of benevolent work; and while it can scarcely be claimed that these show any remarkable success, they certainly indicate systematic, dili- gent and persistent effort on the part of the pastor. A weekly subscription also for benevolent objects ranging in its amounts from one-fourth of a cent to ten cents per week, indicates that Dr. Hamilton understood the principle of regular, systematic beneficence as laid down by the Apostle, (I Cor. xvi: 2) and as applied more recently among us to the support of the church.
Education was another subject upon which Dr. Hamilton was profoundly interested, and in the promotion of which he took an active part. In the spring of 1849 his session, with whom he had no doubt talked frequently on the subject, passed the following resolutions: "Ist, That in the judgment of this session the establishment of parochial schools is a matter of great importance. 2d, That we will countenance
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and encourage the establishment of one in the east room of the basement of the church this spring. 3d, That we will give it our influence, and aid our Moderator in getting up and sustaining such a school at this time."
This was the germ of an academy which Dr. Hamilton, in imitation of his illustrious predecessors, the Blairs, carried on for some years. He built a house for a school-room, which he named Blair Hall, and enlarged his house for the accommodation of boarders; and had the academy been as successful financially as in other respects, it would no doubt have remained to this day, a blessing to the community. We regret to say that it involved its founder in foss and financial embarrassment. But it did a good work in its day, and many in this present congregation have reason to remem- ber it gratefully, as the fount of knowledge from which they drank in early youth.
We have a memorial of Dr. Hamilton's pastorate in the present church edifice. It was commenced in 1845 *. The old church was torn down that its material might be used in the new, and for over a year the congregation was houseless. But the services of the sanctuary were not dis- continued. Dr. Hamilton preached regularly, sometimes in the Beulah Baptist church at Russelville, the use of which was kindly granted for part of the time; and sometimes in the grove beside the rising walls of the new church.
Churches are not often built without herculean labor on the part of the pastor. This one was no exception to the rule. There was, at the outset, some opposition to the undertaking from some to whom the old church was dear by reason of its hallowed associations, and from others who deemed it good enough and a new one unnecessary. And, as is always the case, it was no easy task to raise the needed
*The corner stone was laid on Monday, the 9th of June, with appropriate services. The deposit was a brief history of the chmich, a list of the session, trustees, building committee and master-workmen, a Confession of Faith, Rev. S. Blair's history of the great revival here in 1740, several of the county papers, etc., in a glass jar Inclosed In a tin case .- Sessional Record.
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money. Dr. Hamilton worked laboriously and persistently. He pressed his people to the performance of duty, and led the way by giving largely of his own means for building the house of the Lord. And when the congregation was dis- couraged, he preached them a sermon (Feb., 1846,) from Neh. iv: 6. "For the people had a mind to work."
The church was finished in December, 1846. Worship was held in it for the first time on the 17th of that month, which day had been appointed for the dedication. But a severe snow-storm prevented the gathering of the congre- gation. It was dedicated four days after, on the 21st, "when Rev. R. P. DuBois, of New London, preached the sermon, Rev. James Latta, of Upper Octorara, gave out the hymn, and Rev. J. M. Dickey, of Oxford, made the prayer of dedi- cation."
The church is a very substantial stone building 70x55 feet, two stories high. The audience-room, exclusive of the gallery over the vestibule, is 5412x51 feet, height of ceiling 20 feet, and contains 114 pews. The lecture-room is 51X21 feet, and is divided into two rooms at pleasure by folding doors.
Of those who were active and efficient in the building of this house of God, no name deserves more honorable men- tion than that of Joseph Ramsay, who, at the advanced age of eighty-eight, is still a regular attendant upon its ordinances. Then in his prime, Mr. Ramsay gave both time and means to the promotion of the work, toiling on the building, col- lecting money, and lending a helping hand wherever it was needed. Elected many years ago to the eldership, he de- clined to serve the church in that capacity; but he has, nevertheless, served it long and well in other departments of the Master's work.
Besides this church building, two others stand as monu- ments of Dr. Hamilton's untiring zeal. One of them is at Elizabethtown, Ky., his first field; the other at Mattoon, Ill.,
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his last field. In the latter church the present writer preached for a year of his ministry, and thus has had the honor of twice succeeding to the labors of this devoted servant of God.
At least two revivals were enjoyed during Dr. Hamilton's ministry here, one in the next summer after the completion of the church (1847), as a result of which fifty-one persons were received upon profession of faith at one time; the other in the summer of 1852, when forty-four were received at the . October communion. Of the latter, the sessional record of October 30th says: "During the summer previous to this date a very precious work of grace was enjoyed. The com- munion service in May was connected with much earnest prayerfulness, and a protracted meeting followed, the influ- ence and exercises of which continued with deep interest for nearly three months." It also speaks of the Sabbath, when the fruits of this revival were gathered as "a deeply solemn and interesting day."
Dr. Hamilton continued in the pastorate of the church for twenty-three years, honored and beloved by his people. Besides his scholarly attainments, and his ability as a preacher, he was eminent for his social qualities and his amiable character. He was the friend of all, a welcome guest in every house; beloved by the children, and, like a good shepherd, knowing them all by name; kind to the poor, full of sympathy for the suffering, and looked to for comfort and counsel by all who were in any distress.
In the spring of 1859, he received a call to the church of Aurora, Ill. Discouragements, arising chiefly from his pecuniary embarrassments, had tended to loosen the bond which bound him to this people. He accepted the call; his people, though very loth to give him up, consented to his removal, and the pastoral relation was dissolved in the end of May, 1859. The strain of parting was even more severe than had been anticipated. The congregation felt that they had done wrong in letting him go, and it is said Dr. Hamil-
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ton never ceased to regret the step until his dying day. He settled at Aurora, afterwards at Mattoon, Ill .; from thence he removed to Chicago, where he died in September, 1867. His body rests in Oakwood cemetery.
The following solemn and touching words in his own handwriting stand upon the last page of his session book: "The whole results of my labors for this people for twenty- three years, will be reviewed above. I pray God I and they may be prepared for that review. Grace only can enable me to pass it safely. The souls I have instructed and re- ceived into this church, will they all appear in white before the throne? And those who attended my whole ministry there, and yet were not converted, how shall we meet in the judgment day? The children too of the Sabbath-schools with and for whom I labored, what will become of them? Oh, my Father in heaven, prepare that congregation to meet me, and me to meet them in thy judgment presence. May they be better served than I was able to do. May they render their present and future pastors all that sympathy, attentive kindness, prompt remuneration, and spiritual obe- dience for which I often sighed, and which every pastor needs. May our mutual errors and defects be forgiven, and we accepted for the Beloved's sake. Amen. My record is and will be reviewed on high."
We close the book with a feeling of love to the man who has thus shown us his heart.
Rev. JUSTUS T. UMSTED.
SEVENTH PASTOR.
After a vacancy of a year, the church extended a call to Rev. Justus T. Umsted. He accepted the call, and was
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installed November 7, 1860. He was born in Chester county, Pa., in the congregation of Forks of Brandywine, pursued his classical studies at the University of Pennsyl- vania, and his theological at Princeton, N. J. He spent his first year of ministerial labor at South Bend, Ind .; the next three years at Muscatine, Iowa, the following six at Keokuk in the same State. The incidents of Mr. Umsted's ministry here are still fresh in the minds of the congregation, and their story needs but brief recital. Extending through the troublous times of the late war, his pastorate was not with- out its seasons of anxiety and discouragement. But his ministry was successful, in regard both to the temporal and spiritual prosperity of the church. Under the former head we may class the building of the parsonage, a substantial and commodious brick house; the repair and improvement of the house of worship, which have made it quite attractive and comfortable; and the gradual increase of the pastor's salary from $So5 to $1200 per annum. Both pastor and people merit praise for the zeal and liberality shown in these good works. The spiritual prosperity of the church is indicated by the crowning event of Mr. Umsted's ministry, the great revival of 1865, precious in the memory of many here, in which one hundred and fifty-seven persons at one time joined themselves unto the church of God. The whole number of additions to the church during the eleven and a half years of this pastorate were two hundred and ninety- one, more than one-half of whom, as just stated, were received at one time. The annual average was a little over twenty-five.
In May, 1872, Mr. Umsted received a call to the church of St. George's, Del. This he accepted. His ministry here closed on the 26th of that month, "after"-as he has stated in the session-book-"a ministry of nearly twelve years in harmony and peace."
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Rev. WILLIAM B. NOBLE.
EIGHTH PASTOR.
The present pastor began his labors with the church on the Ist of September, 1872, and was installed on the 15th of October following. Of this pastorate it is ours not to write, but by God's help to make the history, leaving to those who shall come after to recount its story. We pass to
THE PRESENT STATE OF THE CHURCH.
The present officers of the church are as follows :
ELDERS: William Wilson, Jesse Johnson, ordained in 1852; Robert N. Brown, Joseph Smith, ordained in 1859; John A. Morrison, M. D., J. Hamilton Ross, ordained in 1874.
DIRECTORS: J. Armstrong Turner, Robert Russell, J. A. Morrison, M. D., J. Ramsay Hayes, James Ramsay, William Potts.
The whole number of communicants is three hundred and seventy *. One hundred and thirty-seven have been added to the church within the last four years, an annual average of thirty-four.
. Eleven Sabbath-schools are carried on by the church, having an attendance of teachers and pupils amounting to about five hundred.
The financial support of the church is obtained by what is called the "voluntary" or "envelope" plan, under which (as here operated) each contributor pledges a certain sum, and pays this sum monthly in envelopes provided for the purpose. This plan was adopted three years ago, and has been wisely administered by the directors, and heartily sup- ported by the congregation. Previous to its adoption, the income of the church fell short of its necessary expenses. The new method has increased the income about forty-five
*While this discourse is going through the press, the church has enjoyed another precious revival, resulting in the hopeful conversion of about seventy-five souls.
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per cent., and the congregation, enabled thereby, has gen- erously advanced the pastor's salary to $1500 per annum.
We have traced the history of Fagg's Manor church from its organization to the present time. We can go no further, save in hopeful anticipations. On account of the scarcity of records from which to draw information of that part of the past which is beyond the memory of those now living, our work is necessarily imperfect. Even to gather the materials of the present brief narrative has been a work of no little labor. But brief and incomplete as it is, does it not contain enough to stimulate us who are called to carry on the history, to noble endeavor in the work of the Lord? Shall we disgrace our antecedents? Shall we be degenerate sons of noble sires? Shall we esteem it a light thing that in the privileges of this church, highly honored of God in all its history, we have so goodly a heritage?
We have looked to the past; let us now look to the present and the future, to our own work for the perpetuity and progress of our beloved church. And let us remember that in our onward course we are "compassed about with a great cloud of witnesses," who look down upon us from the battlements of heaven, and cheer us on, by their holy example here, and glorious reward there; yea, that above them all stands One who says to each of us, "Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life."
FINIS
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