USA > Pennsylvania > Washington County > Washington > History of the Presbytery of Washington : including a brief account of the planting of the Presbyterian church in Western Pennsylvania and parts adjacent, with sketches of pioneer ministers and ruling elders ; also sketches of later ministers and ruling elders > Part 16
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Thus far, it is only the honored dead of whom mention has been made. But this record would be plainly defective if no
EDUCATIONAL HISTORY. 177
reference were made to those who are still among the living, particularly those who rendered service as instructors.
From 1824 to 1828* JOHN W. SCOTT served as Professor of
* Although the following letter was not written for publication, the privilege of inserting it has been obtained. It will be read with an interest not a little enhanced by the writer's venerable age and also his relationship to the Chief Magistrate of the Nation .- COM. of PUB.
" WASHINGTON, D. C., Feb. 25, '89.
" REV. HENRY WOODS, D.D. : " Rev. and Dear Bro :
" I have received yours of 2d inst., and I am obliged to answer it very briefly. I was received as a candidate for the gospel ministry by the Washington Presbytery -- I believe it had then the same name-at its meeting in October, 182S, at West Alexander, and had my first two trial exercises assigned me for the next stated meeting. In the mean time I was dismissed to put myself under the care of the Presbytery of Cincinnati, which I did in the spring of IS29. I was licensed the spring of 1830, by the Presbytery of Oxford at its first meeting, after being stricken off from the mother Presbytery of Cincinnati, and ordained, sine titulo, in the fall of the same year. I served as a professor in Washington College, Pa., from the spring of 1824 till the fall of 1828, 472 years; in the Miami University from the fall of 1828 till the spring of IS45, 1612 years; in Farmers, now called Belmont College, which I aided Dr. Bishop and Mr. Cary in founding, from the spring of 1845 till that of 1849, 4 years ; in the Oxford Female College from 1849 till 1859, 10 years; in Han- over College from 1860 till 1868, S years; in the commencement for the establish- ment of a Presbyterial Academy for the old Presbytery of Sangamon, at Springfield, Ill., from 1868 till 1870, 2 years ; in Monongahela College, Pa., from 1874 till 1881, 7 years ;- in all 52 years. I feel that it is due to myself in this compendious review of my educational life, to say, I am perhaps the oldest living educator in the land. I commenced at sixteen years of age, having been prepared under the instruction of iny father so as to be able to enter as a junior in Washington or Jefferson College of that day. I taught, before going to College, two years of common English school ; one of English and classical and scientific school mixed, under the patronage of Father Macurdy at Florence, Washington county, the origin and nucleus of the Flor- ence Academy, which existed and flourished for a number of years after, but is now I believe extinct ; and one year and a half as principal of the old Beaver Academy --- making my whole educational career 561/2 years.
" In regard to my gospel ministry, I never was strictly a pastor of any church. My preaching was in the College Hall, with which I was connected, or in neighboring vacancies; of which latter I did a great deal, and, indeed, in some of them much pastoral duty, especially during college vacations. The School of Camden, in the Old Oxford, now Dayton Presbytery, where I was the first to break ground for and organize a Presbyterian church, I supplied again and again at different times, when they became vacant, sometimes for months at a time, while I was a professor in Miami . University. I did the same for the Church of College Corner, but not so repeatedly or so long terms. The churches of Harmony, Reilly, Somerville, Collinsville and (Rossville, now extinct), I supplied a good deal when vacant during the years I lived at Oxford. While I was at Farmers or Belmont, I supplied regularly for two or three
12
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Mathematics in Washington College. He soon afterward entered the ministry, and has given to the Master some sixty years of active service as preacher and teacher. Dr. Scott is a son of Rev. George M. Scott, first pastor of Mill Creek and the Flats, in the Presbytery of Washington. (Vide, sketch elsewhere in this volume.) Dr. Scott, now full of years and honors, is spend- ing the evening of life in Washington, D. C.
REV. JAMES CLARK, D.D.,
Was President of Washington College for two years, being the successor of Dr. McConaughy ; he resigned in July 1852, and is still living and residing in Philadelphia. Dr. J. I. Brownson, the able and beloved pastor of the First Church of Washington, in addition to his pastorate and at the urgent solicitation of the Trustees of the College, presided over the institution from July 15th, 1852, and carried it most satisfactorily to the annual com- mencement in September, 1853. In like manner he acted as President of Washington and Jefferson for the year ending with the commencement of 1870. As President of the present Board of Trustees of Washington and Jefferson College, and also of the Female Seminary of Washington, and First Vice-President of the Board of Directors of the Western Theological Semi- nary; as author of the educational history of colleges, acade- mies and female seminaries, in Western Pennsylvania and parts adjacent ; and also author of " The History of the Western Theo- logical Seminary," DR. J. I. BROWNSON will stand pre-eminent in our history as a wise and liberal promoter of sound education.
REV. JAMES BLACK was made Professor of Greek in Washing-
years the Church of Cheviot in the Presbytery of Cincinnati. I was called to Hanover College, with the express understanding that I should supply Hanover Church as a quasi pastor, and thereby obtain half my salary-which I did for S years.
" In regard to the middle letter of my name, it was assumed after I became a resi- dent of your good little city, as distinctive, there being three or four other John Scotts who received their mail at the Washington office -- with the approval of my father, who personally knew and greatly admired old Dr. Witherspoon while a student of theology under his son in-law, Dr. Stanhope Smith, at Princeton-assumed in honor of him.
" I have thus answered all your inquiries, in course; though not as briefly as I intended.
I remain, dear Bro., yours, very truly, " J. W. SCOTT."
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ton College in 1859, and in 1865 had added to this the official dignity of Vice-President of Washington and Jefferson College, which position he continued to hold until 1868, when he re- signed it to assume the Presidency of Iowa State University. After two years of service in this position, he accepted the Prin- cipalship of Pennsylvania Female College at Pittsburgh, Pa., which he held until 1875. Since that time he has been Professor of Greek in University of Wooster, and since 1877, Vice-President of the same. He bears the double titular honor of D.D. and LL.D.
REV. WM. I. BRUGH, D.D. was Professor in Washington College from 1863 to 1865. The names of Rev. Edsall Ferrier, D.D., Prof. Edwin H. Twining and Prof. Geo. Vose, occur also at this point.
REV. GEO. P. HAYS, D.D., pastor of the Central Presbyterian Church of Allegheny, Pa., and alumnus of the Jefferson class of 1857, was elected President of the united and re-organized col- leges, and inaugurated September 21, 1870, in the presence of a large assembly, composed of the trustees, faculty, students, citi- zens and strangers. His administration was a successful one, and continued for eleven years ; the classes grew in numbers and strength ; a new college building was erected and dedicated, which in beauty and adaptation, was in striking contrast with the succession of old structures in previous use. Dr. Hays was Moder- ator of the General Assembly in 1884, and a member of the Pres- byterian Alliance which met in Belfast, Ireland, the same summer.
REV. JAMES D. MOFFAT, D.D., the pastor. of the Second Presbyterian Church of Wheeling, West Va., was chosen to succeed Dr. Hays. Since his inauguration in 1882, he has ren- dered most acceptable service as President of the college, and is ably supported in his work by a faculty who are one with him, alike in advanced scholarship and in religious faith.
During the incumbencies of Drs. Hays and Moffat, several persons have filled various positions in the College Faculty, who are not now connected with it. Their names are Col. W. H. Adney, Rev. Geo. Fraser, D.D., Rev. W. F. Hamilton, D.D., Prof. James A. Lyon, Rev. Wm. Eaton, Prof. T. A. Anderson, Prof. Thad. C. Noble, all whom are now either ministers or mem- bers of the Presbyterian Church. The present faculty are as follows, not including subsidiary teachers :
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THE PRESBYTERY OF WASHINGTON. REV. JAMES D. MOFFAT, D.D., PRESIDENT. Professor of Metaphysics, Political Philosophy and Evidences of Christianity. - ALONZO LINN, LL.D., VICE-PRESIDENT. Steubenville Professor of Greek and the Philosophy of Languages."
REV. HENRY WOODS, D.D. Memorial Professor of Latin."
- JAMES S. SIMONTON, A.M. Professor of French Languages and Literature.
DUNLAP J. M'ADAM, A.M. Le Moyne Professor of Applied Mathematics.
EDWIN LINTON, A.M.
Le Moyne Professor of Agriculture and Correlative Branches.
JAMES F. RAY, M.S. Professor of Physics and Chemistry.
WILLIAM C. M'CLELLAND, A.M. Professor of English Language and Literature.
J. ADOLPH SCHMITZ, A.M. Professor of German Language and Literature.
JOHN L. LOWES, A.B. Adjunct Professor of Mathematics.
* Endowed by the late C. C. Beatty, D.D., LL.D.
ISI
EDUCATIONAL HISTORY.
But alongside of the college has grown up like a "fruitful vine," the Female Seminary, presided over gracefully for many years by the late Mrs. Hanna, and now with so much efficiency and fidelity by Miss N. Sherrard. In this institution multitudes of the daughters of the Presbytery and the surrounding regions have been educated, and not a few have gone out into the great mis- sion fields of the world, where they are winning souls for Christ.
We have had within our territory, at different periods, a num- ber of academies chiefly under Presbyterian control, namely,- West Alexander, Cross Creek, Linsley Institute, in Wheeling, and West Liberty Academy. These primary institutions have been the doors by which many of the youth have found their way to the colleges, and ultimately into the various learned pro- fessions. We can never fully estimate what blessings these smaller institutions have been in the great field of education. The men who taught in them did foundation work.
Finally, eternity alone can disclose how far-reaching have been the blessed influences of our Presbyterian teaching. We possess a " goodly heritage." Our fathers laid the foundations in faith and prayer. They brought with them the Word of God, and " The Shorter Catechism." In the school and in the home they taught the children and youth, that " man's chief end was to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever." They ever insisted that no divorce should be wrought between education and religion. They ever claimed that the great and primary principles of re- ligion should be revered and inculcated in some form in every place where the young are being trained for the responsibilities of maturer life. And we rejoice that our college, planted by the care and sacrifice of our Presbyterian fathers, is not like some old universities, a harboring place for doubt, or a citadel of unbelief, but that it is a fountain sending forth pure and healthful streams. Between three and four thousand alumni have gone forth, and by their noble achievements in the service of patriotism, humanity and religion, have blessed the world. Many of these have been in the front ranks of educators, in this and other lands. May we be true to our trust, so that the re- ligion of Christ and a Scriptural education may go hand in hand for the redemption of our race.
V. MISSIONARY HISTORY.
THE RELATION OF THE PRESBYTERY TO MISSIONS, WITH SKETCHES OF MISSIONARIES.
THE work of the church of Christ is twofold-to hold what it already has, and to gain what it does not possess, The early settlers of Pennsylvania realizing this, having planted the home and the church together, at the same time carried the gospel into the regions beyond. At the close of the last, and the be- ginning of the present century, living in the then unsettled State of Ohio, and on the head-waters of the Allegheny River, in Pennsylvania and New York, were several native tribes. speaking their own language and worshipping according to the custom of their ancestors. These untutored Indians had souls to save, and were not beyond the reach of the gospel. Acting on this conviction, the pioneer church went into the wilderness, carrying "the bread of life" to these perishing children of the forest. This Presbytery was not then organized, but ministers living within its present bounds engaged in this missionary work.
The Synod of Pittsburgh covering the ground of this Pres- bytery was organized in 1802. At that meeting the following action was taken in reference to missionary work : "The Synod of Pittsburgh shall be styled the Western Missionary Society. The object of this society is to diffuse the knowledge of the gospel among the inhabitants of the new settlements and the Indian tribes." Their field of labor was among the Wyandotts of Sandusky, the Senecas of New York, the Ottawas of Mau- mee and the Cornplanter Indians in Pennsylvania and New York. They opened schools, taught the arts of agriculture and preached the gospel.
The REV. GEORGE M. SCOTT, pastor of the church of Mill
182
REV. SAMUEL G. M'FARI
STAM.
REV. WI LESTER. ST
LIAM H. CHILI.
REV.
·H
INDIA.
REV. ALEX.
L. BLACK BRAZIL ..
REV. GEORGE S. CHINA-
KAV. ARTHUR V. BRY JAP.IN.
MISSIONARIES, I.
IS3
MISSIONARY HISTORY.
Creek and Fairview, one of the earliest ministers in this region, a man of deep and ardent piety, went out into the wilderness to do this work. He is said to have been a man fearless in danger, patient in hardships and ready for duty. He labored at San- dusky in 1803-04. On his return he made the report of his labors to Synod, which entered on its minutes : "the approval of the diligence, fidelity and prudence of its missionary."
REV. ELISHA MCCURDY, a man of Apostolic spirit, whose praise is yet in the churches, was conspicuous for his interest in and labors among the Indians. Before and after he became the pastor of the church of Cross Roads, he spent a considerable time planning for their welfare and preaching the gospel among them.
Under the Synod, between the years 1805-10, SAMUEL OLD- HAM and his wife, members of the church of Three Ridges (now West Alexander), lived nearly three years among the Corn- planter Indians, imparting religious instruction and teaching them the useful works of home life. Many others, besides their pastoral labors, did similar service among these tribes. The way to their fields lay through the pathless forest. They could have no communication with their homes and friends; it was only toil and self-denial, yet moved by the constraining love of Christ they "counted not their lives dear to them," so they might bring these lost ones into the fold of the Saviour.
Before SAMUEL J. MILLS, GORDON HALL and JAMES RICHARDS, on the banks of the Hoosac, under the hay-stack near Wil- liamstown, Mass., prayed into existence the embryo of Foreign Missions in the East, these consecrated men had already be- gun this work in the West. In 1810 The American Board of Foreign Missions was organized at Boston. In 1802, at Pitts- burgh, the work of converting the world, at home and abroad, took definite shape. The missionary zeal of those fathers may be inferred from the sermons preached at the annual meetings of Synod. In 1805 REV. THOMAS MARQUIS, of the church of Cross Creek, preached from Sol. Song 8 : 5. " What shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for ?" 1806 REV. JAMES HUGHES, of the churches of Lower Buffalo and Short Creek, preached from Isa. 49 : 16. "Behold, I have graven
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thee on the palms of my hands, thy walls are continually before me." 1809 ELISHA MCCURDY, of the churches of Cross Roads and Three Springs, preached from Mark 16: 15. "And He said unto them, go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." The first sermon preached before the Gen- eral Assembly of our church on Foreign Missions was at Pitts- burgh, in 1833, by REV. JOSEPH STEVENSON, of the church of West Alexander.
These sermons, in the interest of missions, breathed the spirit of the last command of our Lord to His disciples "to preach the gospel to every creature." They were the seed-sowing from which has grown the abundant harvest of Christian work- ers in heathen lands.
With the removal or extinction of the Indian tribes the church turned to a wider field. Looking from these hill-tops they saw the far off nations sitting in "darkness and in the shadow of death." They felt increased responsibilities were laid upon them, and a closer union for more united effort was necessary. Hence, in 1831, there sprung from the bosom of the Synod of Pittsburgh the "Western Foreign Missionary So- ciety." The directors of this society from this Presbytery were REV. DAVID ELLIOT, D.D., of the church of Washington and JAMES McFARREN, EsQ., elder of the church of Cross Roads. It was "the day of small things," but the beginning of larger. The principle that animated these fathers was the " constraining love of Christ," the mightiest power ever wrought upon the hu- man heart.
We read from an carly report the platform on which they stood and worked. " We believe the Presbyterian Church owes it as a sacred duty to her glorified Head, to yield a far more ex- emplary obedience to His command, 'go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.'
" We believe it to be among the causes of the frowns of the Master which are now resting on our beloved Zion, in the de- clensions of vital piety, in the divisions that distract us, that we have done so little to send the gospel to the heathen, the Jews and the Mohammedans."
This clear statement insists the church was designed, adap-
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MISSIONARY HISTORY.
ted, and is bound to give "the bread of life " to a spiritually lost race.
After the division in 1837, the energies and benevolence of the church were concentrated, and the "Western Foreign Mission- ary Society in Pittsburgh was reorganized in Baltimore into the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions in the United States," with New York as the seat of its operations, and the Hon. Wal- ter Lowrie its corresponding secretary.
Fifty-one years have passed since the foundation of the For- eign Board. "What hath God wrought ?" Ministers, teachers (male and female), schools, colleges, converts and churches have increased more than "an hundred fold," and God's people are coming into sympathy with her glorified Head. O that this sympathy were a thousandfold greater and stronger than it is !
Only a brief notice can be given of those who have gone from this Presbytery to do the Lord's work. To outline the lives and work of those who have labored under the Home Board, would be a difficult task. A large part, perhaps a majority, of all who have been licensed and ordained by the Presbytery, have, for a time at least, gone to the weak and destitute places in our own land. The self-denial exercised, the hardships endured and labors done have been much the same, whether in the Home or Foreign fields.
Only those, therefore, who have gone to the Foreign work will have a place in this paper. Owing to the difficulty of obtain- ing information concerning them, in some instances only the name can be given.
REV. WILLIAM MCCOMBS was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., in 1803. Graduated at Washington College, Pa., in 1833, and at the Western Theological Seminary in 1836. Licensed by the Pres- bytery of Washington in 1836. Ordained by the same in 1837. Married, in 1837, Miss Mary B. Morgan, a member of the Pres- byterian Church of Washington. His life was spent in pastoral work in this country. Died in 1854.
REV. JOHN MCCLINTOCK was born in Washington, Pa., in I SOS. Graduated at Washington College in 1836, and at the Western Theological Seminary in 1837. Licensed by the Presbytery of Washington in 1838. Ordained in 1840. Married, in 1832,
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Miss Mary Orr. Blessed in his work and beloved by all, he will, if spared, soon complete fifty years of pastoral service in the Presbyterian Church of New Providence, Greene County, Pa.
These brethren and their wives gave themselves to the Foreign work, and were under appointment of the Presbyterian Board to Smyrna. Owing to difficulties on the field, the mission was abandoned and they were not sent out. It was the disappoint- ment of their lives. For more than a year they waited, prepared for their departure at the shortest notice. Providence closed the door to their going abroad, and they gave themselves to the work at home.
REV. JOHN CLOUD* was born in 1801 in Cross Creek, Pa. Graduated at Jefferson College in 1830, and at the Western Theological Seminary in 1833. Ordained by the Presbytery of New York, with a view to the Foreign work. He sailed for Africa in November, 1833. Soon after his arrival at Monrovia, he was prostrated by the African fever. Having partially re- covered, he was taken with the dysentery, and died in April, 1834. He was a man of genial manners and warm affections. The love of Christ and of perishing souls took him to that land, but the Master had need of him, and he was called early to the service above.
MISS JULIA N. McGIFFEN, member of the church of Washing- ton, was married to the Rev. William Hamilton in IS37. They went, under the Foreign Board, to the Indian tribes in the West. She died in 1867. She was honored with thirty years of mis- sionary labor for the Master in the field. Hers was a life of pa- tient, faithful, blessed service, and was crowned with "so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the ever- lasting kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ."
MISS THERESA DENNIS, member of the Presbyterian Church of Washington, Pa., was married to the Rev. Edmund Mckinney. They were missionaries, under the Presbyterian Board, to the Creek, Otoe and Choctaw Indians, from 1844 to 1856, and among the Freedmen from 1865 to 1871.
REV. WILLIAM' CLEMENS was born in Wheeling, West Va., in
* The facts of Mr. Cloud's early life are obscure. His father was a member of Cross Creek Church early in the century. At a later date he belonged at Raccoon.
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1825. Graduated at Washington College, Pa., in 1850, and at Princeton Theological Seminary in 1853. Ordained by the Pres- bytery of Washington, and was missionary, under the Presbyte- rian Board of Foreign Missions, to Africa, from 1853 to 1862. Broken in health, he was on his return to this country, and died on shipboard, June 24, 1862. " He was a man of great devoted- ness and efficiency. His labors were useful to no ordinary degree." A life was concentrated and poured out in those nine years of service for Christ.
Miss FLORA LEE, a daughter of Professor R. H. Lee, and member of the Presbyterian Church of Washington, was sent out by the Foreign Board, in 1855, to the tribes in the Indian Territory, and there labored till 1861, when the breaking out of the war compelled her to give up the work to which she had devoted her life, and for which she was well qualified.
REV. JOHN KELLY, member of the church of Forks of Wheel- ing. Graduate of Washington College in 1851, and Princeton Theological Seminary in 1854. Ordained in June, 1854, by the Presbytery of Washington, under appointment of Foreign Board, to go to Corisco, Africa. Owing to infirm health, he was not sent out. He has been engaged in successful pastoral work in this country.
MISS MARY MCKEAN, a member of the church of Washington, graduate of the Washington Female Seminary, went out under the Presbyterian Board to the Creek Indians. Her labors ex- tended from 1856-60. She died in 1861. She is said to have had remarkable qualifications for her work-a gifted mind, con- secrated spirit and blessed in winning souls to Christ. The tribute paid to her worth by one of the secretaries of the board was: "She was one of the best missionaries in the Presby- terian Church."
ALEXANDER L. BLACKFORD, D.D., was born in Jefferson County, O., in 1829. Graduated at Washington College, Pa., in 1856, and at the Western Theological Seminary in 1859. Li- censed by this presbytery in 1858, and ordained by the same in 1859. He went under the Foreign Board in 1860, to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil ; has continued, and is now in the church's work in the same country. He is a man of good mind and scholar-
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ship, industrious and persevering in labors. He has been greatly blessed, in preaching the word, organizing churches and establishing schools. The foundation of a grand and perma- nent work has been laid in that Roman Catholic country, largely by him. He has helped gather in the first fruits, the promise of an abundant harvest.
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