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 18
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This record of those who once lived and labored in the Church on earth, and are now reigning with Christ in heaven, is made with three purposes in view : Ist. To perpetuate their memory ; 2d. To preserve the history of the Church; and 3d. For our own personal benefit. These consecrated and devoted men whom God called not only into the Church, but to places of authority and power in the Church, whom he made rulers in His house, should not and must not be forgotten. Their memory should be cherished as one of the most precious legacies to be sacredly kept, and to be handed down to the latest generations of those who shall succeed us.
And the history of their lives of labor and self-sacrifice, of self denial and prayers is identified with the history of the Church in this Presbytery. In fact they are one ; they cannot be sepa-
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HON. WALTER CRAIG CROSS CREEK.
THOMAS OBR, ESQ. COVE.
CROSS ROADS.
LIAM N'I CLAYSVILLE.
AMES HUGHES, MT. PROSPECT.
SAMUEL OTT, WHEELING END.
Hos. ...
E. REED,
WASHINGTON IST.
WHEELING 1-T.
DAVID KERE;
HOV. JAMES
HOOK . FOR V.
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DECEASED ELDERS.
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rated. Take away these godly men and those associated with them, leave them out of the history of the Church in this region, and there is no Church whose history we may record.
They were not only a part of the Church : but were also the instruments in the hand of God in establishing and strengthen- ing these churches, and making them what they are to-day. And will there not be an inspiration to us in the very names of these godly men as they may be mentioned in the progress of this record, in their devoted spirit and consecrated lives, and especially as we look around us and see what God has wrought through their labors and prayers, in connection with our own, in all these churches. In the hope that these ends may be secured, we make our feeble effort to perform the task assigned us.
PIGEON CREEK.
PATRICK SCOTT was one of the three elders present at the first meeting of Redstone Presbytery in 1781. He is mentioned in McMillan's journal. The young pioneer preacher lodged with him August, 1775, on the occasion of his preaching his first sermon in the bounds of Pigeon Creek. Patrick Scott was born in Ireland in 1734. His parents were William and Margaret Scott of County Tyrone. He was married, in 1763, to Lettice Denny, of County Derry. They came west in 1772, and settled in the bounds of what is now Pigeon Creek Church. One son, William, was an elder in Ohio ; he afterwards joined the Metho- dist Episcopal Church. Another son, James, studied law, and became a Supreme Judge in Indiana. He was an exemplary Christian, and to the end of his life a firm Presbyterian. A daughter, Margaret, was married to David McCombs, an elder in Upper Buffalo Church. Rev. David Scott McCombs of Iowa, lately deceased, and his son, Rev. James M. McCombs, of the Lodiana Mission, India, are descendants. Patrick Scott died February 19, 1820, aged eighty-six.
HUGH SCOTT was born, 1726, near to where Gettysburg now stands, then Chester County. He was married to Janet Agnew. They came west in 1772, and settled in the bounds of Pigcon Creek. Church. He was one of the first bench of elders, and represented it in Presbytery in 1788. In the same year he was
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commissioned Justice of the Peace. He had previously, in 1781, acted with James Edgar and others as commissioners to purchase the site and erect a court-house and jail. He died October II, 1819, aged ninety-three. He was a brother of Josiah Scott, elder in Chartiers Church. His descendants are numerous. Rev. Geo. K. Scott, of Texas, recently deceased, was a great- grandson. (Vide " History of Washington County," p. 883.)
PATRICK MCCULLOUGH was present at the third meeting of Presbytery in 1783. His gravestone in the Pigeon Creek bury- ing-ground fixes the date of his decease January 8, 1811, aged 76. He was the grandfather of the late James McCullough, Esq., ruling elder in the Church of Cannonsburg. Rev. D. H. Barron, D.D., of Hollidaysburg, Pa., and Rev. R. F. Wilson, of Lewistown, Pa., being sons-in-law of the latter, their wives are great-granddaughters of Patrick McCullough.
HUGH COTTON was of Puritan ancestry. He was a bachelor, and lived on a farm two miles east of the town of Washington, now owned by John Vance, elder in the First Church of Wash- ington, and previously owned by his father, Samuel Vance, also an elder in the same church. Mr. Cotton's sister Mary was the mother of Samuel Vance. Mr. Cotton was a good man, and faithful as an elder. He lived to a full age.
WILLIAM FERGUSON came from near Chambersburg, and in 1796 purchased a farm in the bounds of Pigeon Creek Church. Had been married before coming West to Sarah Liggett. Was a man of fine personal appearance and more than average intel- ligence. He died 1833, aged 87. A few years before his death he entrusted his farm to the care of two sons, and removed to Williamsport, now Monongahela City, where the remains of himself and wife lie buried. One son, Matthew, was an elder for nearly half a century in Ohio. Three daughters were mar- ried to Presbyterian ministers. Martha to Rev. Michael Law ; Rachel to Rev. Samuel Ralston, D.D., and Isabella to Rev. John Reed. Many elders and wives of ministers are descendants. One grandson, James Ralston, died just after completing his preparations for the ministry at Allegheny Seminary. Rev. Wm. F. Hamilton, D.D., of Washington, Pa., and his son, Rev. Wm.
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B. Hamilton, missionary in China, are respectively grandson and great-grandson.
JOHN STEVENSON, JR., was a son of John Stevenson, Esq., Sr., who, it is held by those best informed, was one of the first bench of elders, though no written record of the fact has been found. It was in his house, according to tradition, that the first meeting of the Presbytery of Redstone was held. He was a native of England; came to Pigeon Creek about 1780, and at once took a leading position. Was commissioned justice of the peace in 1782, and was representative to the State Legislature, at Philadelphia, 1783-85. On his way home died, of smallpox; at Hagerstown, Md., March, 1785, aged about 50.
One of his sons became a Presbyterian minister, Rev. Joseph Stevenson. (Vide Sketches of Deceased Ministers.)
John Stevenson, Jr., the son, ruling elder at Pigeon Creek, was born in 1771 ; was married about 1792 to Elizabeth Steven- son. They had born to them eleven children, the youngest of whom, Rev. James E. Stevenson, died June 29, 1844, at Talla- hassee, Florida, and having been but two years in the min- istry.
John Stevenson's name first appears on the records of Presby- tery in 1804. He was for nearly or quite half a century an acceptable elder in the Pigeon Creek Session. One who knew him sixty years ago writes : "He is remembered as a plain, but exceedingly intelligent farmer, with a spice of humor in his nature, which made his home a pleasant resort. With his four interesting daughters, two sons, and quiet and sweet-faced wife, the house was a charming Christian home." He died March 1852, aged SI.
JAMES KERR was a cutler, and resided on the Mingo Creek side of the congregation. His name first appears on the roll of Presbytery in 1808. He represented Washington county in the State Legislature ten terms, at various times, from IS01 to 1817. He was one of the original members of the Board of Trustees . of Jefferson College named in its charter, 1802, and served until his death. He died September 7, 1834, aged 75.
Mr: Kerr's wife was a daughter of Rev. James Power, D.D. He had a brother, John Kerr, who was also married to a daugh-
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ter of Dr. Power, and a sister who was the wife of Rev. John Brice. (Vide Old Redstone, p. 344)
The late William Kerr, elder in Pigeon Creek Church, was a son of James Kerr.
AARON KERR was born in Sussex County, N. J., June 4, 1776. He seems to have been a very prominent man both in civil and religious affairs. He was three times elected to the Legislature of his native State. In 1809 he removed to Washington county, Pa., and located on Pigeon Creek, in what is now Somerset township. He was elected to the Legislature of Pennsylvania in 1824, and re-elected in 1825-26-27 and 28. He was chosen a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1836, and again chosen to the Assembly in 1840. He held the office of ruling elder in four different churches within whose bounds he lived. He was first elected and ordained to this office in Hardwick Church, near Hackettstown, N. J., when only twenty-one years of age. During his residence on Pigeon Creek he was elected an elder in that church. Subsequently he resided at Sparta, and was an elder in Upper Ten-Mile Church. In 1831 he removed to Monongahela City, where he was soon after chosen an elder in the church in that place. In April, 1845, he removed to Cross- Creek Village, where he died May 1, 1854, in the 78th year of his age.
His wife was the daughter of Rev. Francis Peppard, pastor of Hardwick Church, N. J. He had two sons who entered the ministry, both of whom still live, viz .: Rev. Joseph Kerr, once a missionary among the Indians and now residing at Fairfield, Iowa, at an advanced age, and Rev. A. H. Kerr, of Rochester, Minnesota. Rev. O. M. Todd, of Evansville, Ind., is a grandson.
WILLIAM SMITH, youngest son of William and Mary (Caldwell) Smith, was born in Nottingham Township, Washington Co., Pa., June 28, 1804. Was ordained an elder in 1856. He discharged with much fidelity the duties of his office until his death, which , occurred September 29, 1882. Andrew Wylie Smith, a member of the present session, is a son. A daughter, Sarah Jane, is the wife of Rev. Andrey N. Haggerty of the United Presbyterian Church, Kansas City, Mo.
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UPPER AND LOWER TEN MILE.
These two churches constituted but one organization up to 1817. Of the elders during this early period we particularize as follows :
DEMAS LINDSLEY was one of the three elders present at the first meeting of the Presbytery of Redstone in 1781. He was a leading man in the colony which in 1773 came from Morris Co., N. J., and located in Washington Co., Pa., on Ten Mile Creek. The fort erected by these first settlers to defend them- selves against the Indians took its name, Fort Lindsley, from him. He had been an elder for many years in New Jersey, and a foremost position of respect and influence was freely accorded to him. His name is of frequent occurrence in the carly civil records of the county. His greatest influence was in the church. But few of the early elders were more frequently in attendance at Presbytery.
As appears from the inscription on his gravestone at Ten Mile, he died January 22, IS18, in the eighty-fifth year of his age and sixtieth year of his eldership.
It is stated in " Blake's Biographical Dictionary," that all the Morris County Lindsleys, or Lindleys-the same name modi- fied by taste or accident-were descendants from Col. Francis Lindsley, who came from England in 1685. It is further stated that the family has been an honored one in America, many ob- taining high civil distinction, and many others becoming minis- ters of the gospel. Among these are enumerated the descend- ants of Demas Lindsley of Ten Mile, along with Rev. Phillip Lindsley, D.D., a former professor in New Albany Theological Seminary, and his son Rev. John Berrian Lindsley, who suc- ceeded his father as Chancellor of Nashville University. Of the sons of Demas Lindsley, one, Joseph, became an elder at Ten Mile while his father was yet living. Another entered the min- istry, Rev. Jacob Lindsley, D.D., who was the father of Rev. David Lindsley, for more than thirty years a missionary among the Zulus in South Africa ( Vide sketch of Rev. Jacob Lindsley in list of carly ministers).
WILLIAM MCFARLAND, EsQ., was the son of Col. Daniel
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McFarland, an officer in the Revolutionary War, and was, it is believed, born in New Jersey in 1756. He and his father both made a profession of their faith in Christ on the third Sabbath of May, 1783, which it is said was the first administration of the Lord's Supper in this region. He died June 2, 1823.
JONAS CONDIT, EsQ., died July 17, 1850, in the eighty-second year of his age, having held the office of elder for forty-five years. His second wife was a daughter of Rev. Thaddeus Dodd. It is said of him that none were more faithful or more highly esteemed. A man of good judgment and equal temperament. In him anxious souls found .a wise counsellor and judicious guide.
Other elders of this period whose memory is revered as men of marked zeal and influence were,-Jacob Cook, Joseph Coe, Daniel Axtell and Abel McFarland. The last named repre- sented the county several times in cach branch of the Legisla- ture. Daniel Axtell was an active man of business, dealing largely in real estate. Two others of the same name, Nathan and Luther, were elders at a subsequent period. The Coes were a prominent family. Three of that name,-Joseph, at Ten Mile, Moses, at Chartiers, and Silas, at Three Ridges, were elders in the last century. The wife of Aaron Williams, elder at Mingo, was a Coe. So also was the mother of Rev. Moses Allen. Jacob Cook was one of the first settlers at Ten Mile. He was to the Lower Settlement what Demas Lindsley was to the Upper.
LOWER TEN MILE.
JAMES MCFARLAND, son of William McFarland, was born in Washington County, Pa. He was chosen to the eldership in the year 1837, and served the church faithfully for twenty-eight years. He was eminently a man of prayer. His grandson who was a member of his family bears this testimony. "He prayed more than any man I ever knew. When a boy in working with him on the farm, and we would reach a secluded spot, he would says, ' this is a good place to pray,' and then we would kneel down and he would offer a short prayer." He died February 26, 1863, in the eighty-third year of his age.
THADDEUS DODD, M. D., was the son of Rev. Cephas Dodd.
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He was elected to the eldership December 9, 1868, and died August 9, 1877. It is said of him by one who knew him : " He was a good physician, a man of few words but of much thought. His religious convictions were based on a very extensive and thorough acquaintance with the word of God and the doctrinal standards of our church." And in the Minutes of Session we have this record, -" We delight to bear testimony to the beauti- ful Christian character of our deceased brother. It is with pleasure we look back upon our intercourse with him in the Session. He was prudent in counsel, fervent in prayer, and ever sought the purity and peace of the Church."
UPPER TEN MILE.
LEWIS DILLE was installed April, 1795, and died April 30, 1885, in the eighty-ninth year of his age. For fifty-four years he was a faithful officer, and until disabled by the infirmities of age was always at his post. The Sabbath-school and the sanctuary were his delight.
JOHN A. BLACK was installed May 2, 1875, and died May 8, 1880. His career was short, but marked by wonderful conse- cration. He was untiring in his labors, both as an officer and member of the church, and many still refer to him as a model of Christian character and life, and mourn his early death.
JOHN MCFARLAND had previously served as an elder in Lower Ten Mile Church, and was installed in this church No- vember 26, 1870. He died February 18, 1878. It is testified of him that he walked humbly and faithfully before God.
CROSS CREEK.
JUDGE JAMES EDGAR was born in York County, Pa., Novem- ber 15, 1744. When but eight years old he began to be con- cerned about his soul, which continued causing great anxiety until his sixteenth year, when he saw the light, and gave his heart to Jesus. He was elected an elder before he was twenty- three years of age, and became an elder in this church in 1779. About 1778 he came from York County, and settled near Cross. Creek, and became one of the first elders in this church, and prosecuted the call for Rev. Joseph Smith before the Pres-
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bytery of New Castle, at Carlisle. In Crumrine's "History of Washington County," it is said of him: "In the numerous lists of distinguished men who have been residents of Wash- ington County there are found none who bore a higher charac- ter, or were more universally beloved and trusted than was Judge James Edgar." Judge Edgar served both the State and the county, as well as the church. He was a member from York County, Pa., of the Provincial Council, which met in Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia, June 18, 1775 ; also a delegate from that county to the convention which framed the constitu- tion of 1776, and a member from that county of the Council of Safety in 1777. In 1788 he was one of the Board of Censors for Washington County, and September 30, 1788, was commis- sioned as associate judge, and held that office until his death. In 1794 he was prominent in the "Whiskey Insurrection," on the side of law and order. He died June 8, 1814.
ROBERT MCCREADY, EsQ., was born in Scotland in 1752. He came to America in 1772, and taught school in York County, Pa .; went out with a company of volunteers from Harford County, Md., and served his country in the War of the Revolution. From the hospital at Trenton, N. J., he returned to York County, and thence to Pittsburgh, and joined a com- pany of friends on Montours Run. He came to Cross Creek about 1777. He and two companions held meetings at their homes, and were soon joined by other neighbors; and this is known as the Irish Ridge Society in the history of the congre- gation. He was elected an elder near the close of the pastor- ate of Rev. Joseph Smith. Mr. McCready was noted for his piety, benevolence and eminent Christian life. He was power- ful in prayer, and is spoken of as " the praying McCready." In the minutes of session we find this record: " He descended to the grave loved, respected and lamented by the whole congre- gation." He died August 10, 1846.
HENRY GRAHAM came from Chester County, Pa., in 1776. Was active in the organization of Cross Creek Church, and do- nated the land on which the church edifice was erected. He was commissioned justice of the peace in 1790. He was the
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grandfather of Rev. Ebenezer Graham, deceased. He died January 31, 1827, aged eighty-seven years.
WILLIAM REA, EsQ., came from Northampton County, Pa., in 1789. He was one of the strong pillars in the church. He was a member of the Synod's Board of Trust, and was a member of the Board of Trustees of Jefferson College - from 1805 to 1827. He represented the presbytery in the General Assembly in 1809, 1817 and 1819, and was commissioned jus- tice of the peace in 1823. He died in 1835, aged seventy-two years.
ROBERT LYLE came from Northampton County, Pa., in 1784. He was an elder, at different periods, in Cross Creek, Upper Buffalo and Mount Prospect Churches. His name first appears on the roll of Ohio Presbytery, in 1793. He was a brother of Hon. Aaron Lyle, who represented the district in Congress from 1808 to 1816. Robert Lyle died November 25, 1843. He was an elder over half a century.
The late Rev. Joseph G. Lyle, of the Third Church of Wheeling, and Rev. David D. Allen, of Rockford, Washington Territory, are great-grandsons. The wife of David A. Newell, of Dalton, O .- nee-Elizabeth Reed, is a granddaughter.
HUGH NEWELL was a native of Connecticut. He settled in Cross Creek not later than 1781. He died in IS10. His farm passed to his son, George Newell, who was made an elder in 1818, and held the office until his death, in 1840.
GEORGE NEWELL was married to a daughter of Rev. Thomas Marquis. Two sons, Thomas M. and George B became minis- ters.
HUGH LEE was the son of Hugh and Mary Lee, who emi- grated from Ireland in 1790. He was born in 1793. His pa- rents located near Cross Creek, on the farm now owned by his great-grandson, W. C. Lee. He was elected an elder in ISIS, and of him Dr. Stockton says : " He was one of the most influ- ential of all the elders God bestowed on that congregation." The minutes of the session say : "He was a brother much be- loved in the session, a father who had much influence in the congregation, and died beloved and lamented by the whole community." He was noted as a peacemaker. He died April
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24, 1837, at the house of William McLain, while attending 3. meeting of the presbytery at Claysville.
WALTER CRAIG Was born in Donegal, Ireland, December 1, 1786. He came to America about 1793, and settled near West Middletown, Washington County, Pa. He received a good English education, and became a surveyor. In early life he was a river trader. In 1815 he was elected commissioner, and re- signed in 1816. He was a member of the Legislature in 1818- 1819, a member of the State Constitutional Convention in 1837 -38 and a member of the State Senate in 1843, '44 and '45. The history of Washington County says that his character for incorruptible integrity was not excelled by any of his com- peers. In 1828 he united with the church, and in 1831 was elected an elder, which office he held until his death. He was 'a firm and faithful reprover of wrong-doing, a wise counselor and remarkably attentive to the ordinances of divine worship; and ever ready to sacrifice his time, labor and money to pro- mote the cause of Christ. He died February 10, 1875, and his dust rests in the cemetery at Cross Creek.
Two of Cross Creek's earliest elders, viz., JOSEPH PATTERSON and THOMAS MARQUIS, became ministers of the gospel. Mar- quis was the second pastor of Cross Creek Church, and was known as "the silver-tongued Marquis." Patterson was for many years the faithful, beloved and successful pastor of Rac- coon Church, Presbytery of Pittsburgh.
UPPER BUFFALO.
WILLIAM SMILEY, SR., who came from York County, Pa., was one of the first elders of this church, and it was he who took the flour to New Orleans, to sell, in order to pay the salary of Rev. Joseph Smith. In "Old Redstone," page seventy-eight, we have this description of him : " He was a Scotchman, of a strong mind, very shrewd and extremely pious. His manners were somewhat blunt; and he had an integrity and honesty about him which would not allow him to connive at anything which he thought wrong. He disliked everything which in any way set aside the claims of religion, and did not give it its proper place in the business of life or the enjoyment of the so-
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cial circle. He was sixty-four years old when the flour was taken to New Orleans. He died November 21, 1813, aged eighty-two years."
WILLIAM HUGHES was a son of Rowland Hughes and a bro- ther of Rev. James Hughes (q.v.), and of Rev. Thomas E. and Smily Hughes. Their father's second wife was Elizabeth Smily, who, after her husband's death, removed with her family to the West, and settled in what is now Washington County, Mount Pleasant Township. William had been a soldier in the war of the Revolution. He was a tanner by trade, as his father had been, and built a tannery on his place, which he carried on for many years. His name first appears on the roll of Presbytery in 1802. He was a member of the Board of Trustees of Jefferson College at its incorporation, in 1802, and served until 1817. Was elected a member of Synod's Board of Trust for Missionary Work in 1808, and annually thereafter for several years. Was recognized as a man of eminent piety and influence. About the year 1825 he joined with others in securing the organization of Mount Prospect Church, and was made one of its first Board of Elders, and continued to serve until his death, April 17, 1831. He had a son (James Hughes) who became an Elder in the same church, and was for a long time a justice of the peace.
JAMES DINSMORE came from Ireland and settled, not later than 1784, on Miller's Run, Allegheny County. About 1795 he removed to Washington County, in the bounds of Upper Buffalo Church. He had, while in Allegheny County, been an Elder in Bethel Church. He served in the same office in Buffalo Church until his death, at an advanced age. He is spoken of as a burn- ing and shining light, a man wonderfully full of the spirit of prayer. A son (John Dinsmore) was an Elder at Buffalo for a long period. Among the grandsons may be named Rev. James D. Mason, Davenport, Iowa; Rev. W. C. Mason, deceased, and Rev. James H. Dinsmore, D.D., who, after a long and faithful ministry in Kentucky, is now spending the evening of his life in Washington, Pa. Rev. J. W. Dinsmore, D.D., of Bloomington, Ill., is a great-grandson.
JOHN MCWILLIAMS came from Ireland, and settled in the bounds of Upper Buffalo Church at an early period, locating
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lands granted him under a Virginia certificate and surveyed in 1785. His name first appears on the roll of Presbytery in 1793. From this until 1817 he was present at eleven meetings. His descendants are very numerous, and to a large extent are thrifty, church-going people. One son (General Wallace McWilliams) was among the foremost men of the county in public affairs, and represented the county several times in the State Legislature.
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