USA > Pennsylvania > Huntingdon County > Huntingdon > History of the Presbytery of Huntingdon > Part 23
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REV. DAVID BARD.
M R. BARD was born in Leesburg, Virginia. He was licensed by the Presbytery of Donegal, probably in the Spring of the year 1777, as he was in the fall of that year reported by the Presbytery to Synod as a licentiate. At the meeting of the Presbytery, held April 17, 1778, he announced his intention of taking a chaplaincy in the army, but in June following declared his change of mind. In October of 1778, he received, through the Presbytery, a call to the Great Cove in Virginia, and was ordained June 16, 1779, with a view to this field, as we suppose. He supplied this congregation for one year, when he received and accepted a call to the united congregations of Kittock- ton and Gum Spring, also in Virginia. The salary promised was to be paid, at least in part, in wheat, rye and corn. In 1782 he applied to be released from this charge. From the Spring of 1782 till the Spring of 1786, it is not known how he was employed, but at the time last mentioned he was called to Bedford, Pa., in which charge he probably continued till 1789, as in that year we find him making application to the Presbytery of Carlisle to be dismissed to the Presbytery of Tran- sylvania, Kentucky. However in June of the next year he returned the certificate of dismission, and at the same time accepted a call to Frankstown congregation, and was stated supply at the same time of Sinking Valley, where he resided at the time of his death, and where he is buried. In 1799, after serving the congregation of Frankstown for ten years, the relation was dissolved at his own request, and with the reluctant consent of the congregation, on account of his age, and other circumstances. The other circumstances referred to by the con- gregation in giving their consent, were, probably, his serving in Con- gress as a representative of the district in which he resided. This re- quired his presence in the Capitol for a part of the year, and of course the congregation was left vacant during that time, or had to be other- wise supplied.
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It is probable his congressional career commenced about the time of his resignation of the pastoral charge of Frankstown congregation. For several years-Dr. LINN, in an obituary notice of him, says-" for many years he was a Representative of the district in which he resided in Congress." He died at Alexandria, Huntingdon county, Pa., on his return home from Congress, March 12, 1815, at the house of his daughter, Mrs. Doctor BUCHANAN. Dr. D. X. JUNKIN says, in an historical sermon of the congregation of Frankstown, that "he was elected to Congress the next year after taking charge of the congrega- tion, and that he was elected continuously for twenty-two years."
Mr. BARD was an anti-federalist, opposed to the administration of the elder Adams; and in this opposed in politics to his Huntingdon ministerial brother, the Rev. JOHN JOHNSTON. The anti-federalists were then called Republicans, and now claim the name of Democrats. How times and parties change ! The only two sons of Mr. JOHNSTON now living in this vicinity are decided Democrats, while his father was nearly ousted from his cangregation by those now claiming the name of democrat, because he was a Federalist. The corollary which we draw from all this is, that clergymen had better not allow themselves to become warm partizan politicians.
No doubt Mr. BARD mingled much in politics, and on the popular side, and was better qualified for the position than many others-per- haps than any other of his party then available. We confess to an enduring prejudice against ministers of the Gospel forsaking their high calling for civil office, except on extraordinary occasions. The result in most cases is, to subordinate the minister to the politician. Mr. BARD was a very respectable gentleman, and a very acceptable minister ; but we agree with the concluding sentence of the Rev. Dr. LINN's obituary memorial-" He embarked with considerable zeal in politics, and it is to be apprehended, that being divided between the Church and the State, preaching the Gospel had not that prominence in his affection which it should have had." One thing appears from the Presbytery's Records, that no member of Presbytery of those times was so frequently absent from the meetings of Church Courts. Indeed, at one time, he and another brother were cited before the Presbytery to answer for frequent and continued absences. He satis- fied Presbytery by the reasons which he gave, and no doubt, among these reasons was the necessity of attending the Sessions of Congress. Mr. BARD was possessed of popular talents both as a preacher and a
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politician, and he did not at any time forsake the pulpit because of his unacceptableness as a preacher. Nor ought it to be insinuated that he had no heart to the ministry, for during the recess of Congress he was constantly engaged in the appropriate work of his ministry. At the time of his death he was the stated supply of Sinking Valley church. He left a family of sons and daughters. Some of them lived to a very great age. Mrs. STEWART, a daughter of Mr. BARD, was living in Ohio in 1869 in the 90th year of her age. And we have of his descendants, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren among us to this day; and all of them who have come to maturity are zeal- ous members of the Presbyterian Church. Mr. BARD was one of the original members of the Presbytery, though not present at the first meeting to organize.
REV. HUGH MORRISON.
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M R. MORRISON was one of the original members of the Presby- tery of Huntingdon. He was received as a licentiate of the Presbytery of Ronte, Ireland, by the Presbytery of Donegal, April 11, 1786. May 15, 1788, he was installed pastor of Buffalo, Sunbury and Northumberland, now within the bound of the Presbytery of Nor- thumberland. During the continuance of his pastorate, in the year 1801, difficulties arose between Mr. MORRISON and a majority of the congregation of Buffalo, which resulted in his pastoral relation being dissolved by the Presbytery November 12, the same year. Of these difficulties a sufficiently particular account has been given elsewhere in this history. Mr. MORRISON was removed by death on the 15th of September, 1804.
Very little is known of his character and the estimation in which he was held as a preacher, even by tradition. The following commu- nication was received from the Rev. Dr. ISAAC GRIER of Mifflinburg :
MIFFLINBURG, March 18, 1872.
DEAR BROTHER :- Yours came to hand a few days ago, and I delayed answering till I could see Mr. CLINGAN, now the oldest member in my church. His father moved up here from Lancaster county in 1800, one year before Mr. MORRISON gave up his charge here. He thinks he was not considered a very good preacher, but he cannot speak very definitely on that subject. He says his father would not present his certificate to unite with the church here till after he gave up the charge. I had not heard of his getting intoxicated except at weddings, when it was difficult for him to keep in bounds. But Mr. CLINGAN says he had a set of old cronies with whom he would meet and drink. He had two daughters who lived in this section for some time after his death; one died here, and the other was weak-minded and unfortunate, and is not.
In a history I wrote of the Buffalo church I find the following : The first regular pastor of Buffalo church was Mr. MORRISON, who came to this coun- try from Ireland in the Fall of 1785, or early in the year 1786, a licentiate
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under the care of the Presbytery of Ronte. The first mention of his name we find on the Records of the Synod of May 18, 1786, where it is stated- " The Presbytery of Donegal reported that they had, since our last meeting, admitted Mr. HUGH MORRISON, a licensed candidate from the Presbytery of Ronte in Ireland, to preach in their bounds, but his testimonials are not here to lay before the Synod." As that was the meeting of the Synod that divided the Presbytery of Donegal into the two Presbyteries of Baltimore and Carlisle, the next year the Presbytery of Carlisle presented to Synod the testimonials of Mr. MORRISON, of which the following is the record : " The testimonials of Mr. HUGH MORRISON, a probationer from the Pres- bytery of Ronte, in the kingdom of Ireland, were presented by Carlisle Presbytery, and were sustained by Synod."
In May, 1787, a call was given to Mr. MORRISON by the Buffalo congre- gation, in connection with the congregations of Northumberland and Sunbury." And in the records of Synod, 1788, May 22, is the following record : " Carlisle Presbytery reported that they had since our last, ordained to the work of the Gospel ministry, Mr. S. WILSON, in the pasto- ral charge of Big Spring ; and Mr. H. MORRISON in the pastoral charge of Sunbury, Northumberland town and Buffalo Valley." The call to Mr. MORRISON is dated May 31, 1787, and signed by 17 from Northumberland, 8 from Sunbury, and 48 from Buffalo. The call does not state the amount of salary except in this language : "Further, we are persuaded that those who serve at the altar should live by the altar, we do promise, in order that you may as much as possible be freed from incumbrances, to provide for your comfortable maintenance in the manner set forth in our subscription papers attending this call." The subscription of Buffalo was £75.
Mr. MORRISON continued the pastor of these three churches upwards of fourteen years. The pastoral relation was dissolved November, 1801. Mr. MORRISON lived nearly three years after this, and died at Sunbury, Septem- ber 15, 1804, where I suppose he was buried. I never heard of any charge against him, but that of drunkenness.
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REV. DAVID WILEY.
D AVID WILEY was a licentiate of the Presbytery of New Castle, so it may be inferred that he was of American birth. He was licensed April 10, 1793, and ordained April 9, 1794, and installed pas- tor of Cedar Creek and Spring Creek at the same time. These con- gregations were in Centre county, the first named about three miles south of the present town of Boalsburg, and the other as far north of the town. The name of Cedar Creek has become extinct, the congre- gation being merged in that of Spring Creek. After the organization of the Presbytery of Huntingdon, he appears on the minutes as the pastor of Sinking Creek in connection with Spring Creek, as the im- mediate successor of Rev. JAMES MARTIN, though there is no record on the minutes of his call to, or installation in that congregation, but there is a record of his asking and obtaining a release from that part of his charge October 4, 1797.
Mr. WILEY continued to be the pastor of Sinking Creek till June 12, 1799, at which time the relation was dissolved, much to the regret of the congregation, as appears from the minutes, though they concur- red in his request, recognizing the necessity, because (as is supposed) of their inability to support him after his separation from the other part of his charge.
Mr. WILEY could only have been the pastor of Sinking Creek for about one year. Mr. WILEY continued a member of the Presbytery, receiving appointments and supplying vacancies till April, 1801, when he requested and obtained a dismission to the Presbytery of Balti- more. He had removed to Georgetown where he engaged in teaching,
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in which employment he continued till the time of his death, so far as is now known, or so long as he was capable of active employment. The time of his death is unknown. He was one of the original mem- bers of the Presbytery, and is believed to have been the first stated clerk of Presbytery. Though all are dead who could have given any information as to his character, acceptability, and success as a minis- ter, yet we infer, from all the references to him in the minutes of Presbytery, that he was a very efficient member of the Presbytery, and a useful and generally acceptable preacher. One thing is certain, that he was a man of unblemished reputation, and much esteemed as a member of the Presbytery.
REV. ISAAC GRIER.
A PPLYING to the Rev. ISAAC GRIER, D. D., of Mifflinburg, for some facts concerning the life of his father, the Rev. ISAAC GRIER, Sr., the following letter was received, containing a sketch of the life of his father. It is dated January 10, 1872:
DEAR FRIEND :- Your letter came to me just about the time I received a letter to go to Wilkesbarre to the funeral of my sister, and being absent from home all last week is my excuse for not answering your letter sooner. Some years since our Presbytery got an obituary book, and I was appointed to write my father's obituary. It was recorded in that book in the posses- sion of Mr. SIMONTON, S. C., and the original sent to the Presbyterian His- torical Society, but I can give you all that you may need.
The Rev. ISAAC GRIER was one of the eleven members that constituted the Presbytery of Huntingdon, April, 1795, and one of the five who consti- tuted the Presbytery of Northumberland at its organization in October, 1811; and was the first member of the Presbytery that departed this life, having died August 23, 1814. His parents' names were Thomas and Mar- tha, Scotch-Irish emigrants. Three brothers had emigrated to this country ; two settled in the Carolinas, and Thomas in Franklin county, Pa. His son Isaac was born in 1763. He passed his preparatory course in the classical school of JAMES Ross, who was then a celebrated teacher in Chambersburg. He was graduated in Dickinson College, Carlisle, in 1788; received under the care of the Presbytery, Carlisle, April 15, 1790, having studied divinity for the greater part of two years previously under the direction of the Rev. Dr. CHARLES NESBIT. He was one of those who formed the Belles-lettres Society in Dickinson College, and one of the first class of theological stu- dents under Dr. NESBIT, which was composed of four members ; the others were Dr. SPEAR, Mr. SNOWDEN and Mr. JOHN BRYSON.
He was licensed December 21, 1791, and appointed a missionary to sup- ply, during the Winter and Spring, the churches of Harrisburg, Paxton, Upper and Middle Tuscarora, Bedford, Great Cove, &c., and was as far west as Pittsburg, preaching several times in that place.
In the Spring of 1792 he was appointed to missionate on the West and
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North East branches of the Susquehanna, and on through the State of New York. He commenced at Sunbury and Northumberland, June, 1772, and passed on to Milton, Warrior Run, Derry, Muncy, Williamsport, Pine Creek, Great Island, and up the Bald Eagle as far as where Jacksonville now stands. Thence he returned to the North Branch, passing along it up to New York State to Cooperstown, and from that to Albany and to Lake Champlain, visiting several places on the lake.
June 19, 1793, a call was put into his hands from the united congrega- tions of Lycoming, Pine Creck, and Great Island, which he held under con- sideration, and on the 2d of October of the same year a call was put into his hands from the united congregations of Pitt Township and Ebenezer ; on the same day he declared his acceptance of the former. He was ordained on the 9th of April, 1794, at Carlisle; Mr. PAXTON preached the sermon, Mr. CRAIGHEAD presided and gave the charge; and at the same time he was installed pastor of the congregations of Lycoming, Pine Creek, and Great Island, commissioners from the congregations being present.
He was married June, 1793, to Elizabeth, second daughter of Rev. Dr. ROBERT COOPER, pastor of Middle Spring, Cumberland county, Pa. He . removed to Lycoming county, near to Jersey Shore, in the Spring of 1794; and in 1802, owing to his small salary, took charge also of a classical school. He received a call to the united churches of Sunbury and Nor- thumberland, and removed to Northumberland in the Spring of 1806, and in addition to his pastoral charge, and supplying Shamokin church once a month, he took charge of the academy, or college as it was then called, in Northumberland. Under the unceasing labors of pastor and teacher, his health in a few years gave way, and he died of dyspepsia, August 23, 1814.
In a brief sketch of his life by Dr. SPRAGUE, he says : " As a teacher of the Latin and Greek languages, he is said to have had no superior in Penn- sylvania." He had seven sons and five daughters; three sons and two daughters are dead.
Your's, in the Gospel,
ISAAC GRIER.
To this sketch we will only add, that the late Hon. ROBERT C. GRIER, one of the Judges of the Supreme Court of the United States, was a son of the Rev. ISAAC GRIER, Sr., and probably the oldest of his sons. Dr. ISAAC GRIER, the writer of the above sketch, is the beloved pastor of the Buffalo church, Union county, Pa. There is another son liv- ing in Danville, Pennsylvania, a lawyer of eminence, and an elder of the Presbyterian church of that place.
REV. JOHN BRYSON.
ITTHE following sketch of the life of the Rev. JOHN BRYSON was received from the Rev. JOHN P. HUDSON, a son-in-law of Mr. BRYSON. There is nothing to be detracted from it, and nothing to be added to it. There need be no allowance made for the relationship of the writer to his subject :
WILLIAMSPORT, January 29, 1872.
DEAR BROTHER GIBSON :- In reply to yours of the 18th instant I shall endeavor to state such facts concerning the life and labors of the Rev. JOHN . BRYSON as have come to my knowledge.
The Rev. JOHN BRYSON was one of the five members that constituted the Presbytery of Northumberland at its organization in October, 1811.
His parents were ROBERT BRYSON from the North of Ireland, and HES- TER QUIGLEY of Cumberland county, Pennsylvania. Their sons were James, John, William and Samuel. His father died when the eldest son, James, was only eight years of age. His mother, a woman of ardent piety and indomitable energy, was thus left in charge of a helpless family, and a rearing a pious family and amply providing for their temporal wants. farm of 500 acres, but partially improved, and was eminently successful in John the second son, the subject of the present sketch, a child of many prayers, was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, in the month of January, 1758. From a pious and widowed mother, under God, he received his earliest religious instructions and impressions, and that mother lived to see her son a devoted minister of the Gospel.
At the age of eighteen years he was draughted as a militia man in the Revolutionary service, under General POTTER. His term of service was about six months. After this he applied himself diligently to a course of study in preparation for the Gospel ministry. From childhood he had been of a thoughtful turn of mind ; but the precise time when he first indulged a hope in Christ, whether just before, or immediately after his tour of mili- tary service, is not known by surviving friends. He informed me that one of the strongest impressions on his mind after his conversion was " Woe is unto me, if I preach not the Gospel." Mr. BRYSON's classical studies were pursued, for the most part, in Orange county, Virginia, under the tuition of Dr. WADDELL, known as the " blind preacher," so highly extolled by Mr.
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WIRT in his British Spy, and who was father-in-law to the late Dr. ARCHBALD ALEXANDER of Princeton Seminary. After finishing the course taught in Dr. WADDELL's school he took charge of the school and taught it successfully for two years, at the expiration of which he entered Dickinson College, Carlisle, then recently organized under the presidency of Dr. NESBIT. He was a member of the first class formed, and graduated in that venerable institution, and was one of the founders of the Belles- lettres Society in that college. His diploma is dated September 26, 1787.
Perhaps the following account of the first commencement in Dickinson College may be interesting to you. I take it from KLINE'S "Carlisle Ga- zette and Western Repository of Knowledge," the first newspaper published in Cumberland county, and the furthest west in the States. The number from which I take the extract is dated October 3, 1787:
" On Wednesday, the 26th ultimo, was held the first commencement for degrees in Dickinson College. The trustees having obtained leave to use the Presbyterian church on this occasion, the exercises with which a crowded assembly of ladies and gentlemen were very agreeably entertained, were exhibited in that large and elegant building. At 10 o'clock in the morning the trustees, professors, and several classes of the students, pro- ceeded in order from the college to the church. When all had taken the places assigned them, the president introduced the business of the day with prayer.
The following orations were then pronounced :
' A salutatory in Latin, on the advantages of learning, particularly by a public education, by Mr. JOHN BRYSON.'
' An oration on the excellency of Moral Science, by Mr. JOHN BOYSE.'
' An oration on the importance and advantages of Concord, especially at the present crisis of the United States of America, by Mr. DAVID McKEEHAN.'
' An oration on Taste, by Mr. ISAIAH BLAIR.'
' An oration on the advantages of an accurate acquaintance with the Latin and Greek classics, by Mr. JONATHAN WALKER.'
After an intermission of two hours the following exercises took place :
'An oration on the nature of Civil Liberty, and the Evil of Slavery and Despotic power, by Mr. STEELE SEMPLE.'
' An oration on the Pleasure and Advantages of the study of History, by Mr. DAVID WATTS."
' An oration on the various and wonderful powers and faculties of the human mind, by Mr. JAMES GETTINGS.'
' Valedictory, by ROBERT DUNCAN.'
The degree of Bachelor of Arts was then conferred, by the principal, on the following young gentlemen, viz : JOHN BRYSON, JOHN BOYSE, DAVID McKEEHAN, ISAIAH BLAIR, JONATHAN WALKER, STEELE SEMPLE, DAVID WATTS, JAMES GETTINGS and ROBERT DUNCAN."
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After giving a synopsis of the Baccalaurate address, by Dr. NESBIT, the newspaper account closes as follows :
" The young gentlemen performed all these exercises with a probity and spirit which did them great honor, reflected much credit on their teachers, and gave ground to hope that the sons of Dickinson College will at least equal in useful learning and shining talents those of any other seminary.
Under whose direction the theological studies of Mr. BRYSON were con- ducted, we are uncertain. My impression is, from conversations with Father BRYSON during his life time, that he pursued his theological course under the direction of Dr. KING, of Mercersburg, Franklin county, and Dr. COOPER, of Middle Spring, Cumberland county. But it is stated in a memoir of the Rev. ISAAC GRIER, written by his son, the Rev. ISAAC GRIER, D. D., that he studied with Dr. NESBIT, in a theological class com- posed of four members, viz: Messrs. JOHN BRYSON, ISAAC GRIER, SNOW- DEN and Dr. SPEAR.
He was licensed to preach the Gospel by the Presbytery of Carlisle in the year 1789, the same year in which our General Assembly was organized. After he had been employed as a missionary by appointment of Presbytery for a few months, during which he labored in Martinsburg, Virginia, and in the region round about, he visited, by invitation, the congregations of Warrior Run and Chillisquaque. From them he received a unanimous call, signed by one hundred heads of families, dated November 3, 1790, and was soon after ordained and installed as their pastor. He was ordained and installed June, 1791.
September 7, 1790, he was married to Miss JANE MONTGOMERY, daughter of Mr. JOHN MONTGOMERY, Sr., of Paradise, Northumberland county, and settled on and improved the farm known as the Long Square, one mile from Warrior Run church. This charge he did not fully resign until the Autumn of 1841, after a ministry of fifty-two years. Soon after his settle- ment, on the application of the Presbyterian population of the town of Danville, and with the approbation of the people of his charge, he preached every third or fourth Sabbath in that town without pecuniary compensation. But his congregations becoming dissatisfied, after a few months, he withdrew and gave the whole of his time to his two churches. The kindness of Mr. BRYSON's congregations in granting the people of Danville, for a time, a part of their pastor's services, was followed with happy results. They were strengthened and prepared for settling a minis- ter, and through the influence and exertions of Mr. BRYSON, the amiable and venerable JOHN B. PATERSON was called by them, and long and suc- cessfully served as pastor of the Mahoning church in Danville.
As the boundaries of the congregations of Warrior Run and Chillisqua- que met or overlapped each other at Milton, Mr. BRYSON as soon or soon after he ceased preaching at Danville, made Milton one of the outposts where he statedly preached on the afternoon or evening, at first of every
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