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 3
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STATISTICS.
It would be interesting to note the progress of the carly church by reference to its statistics, if we were able to do so. But this is not possible to any great extent. We here find ourselves in much the position of an investigator in the field of science, who has for his data only here and there a fossil frond, or shell, or disjointed bone. But in the one case, as in the other, even these fragments are not to be undervalued. If there be any exception to this paucity of data in the ecclesiastical field, it is in the one particular of congregational settlements. Here the find is large but not valuable. An ill-shaped specimen marked delinquency is everywhere abundant. It is clearly defined, being notated in L. s. and d.
It is remarkably persistent, too. Scarce any indication of de- cadence appearing until 1802, when Upper Buffalo-perhaps put somewhat upon its mettle by remembering that Francis Herron, four years before, had declined their call, and left them subsist- ing on that thin diet called supplies-now with another man, not quite so young, but equally good, John Anderson, just installed as pastor-reports salary paid in full. Thence- forward, under this lead, there is gradual accession over the whole field, to this new type of church-life, though not with- out frequent recurrence to the old. But let us not be unjust here to the memory of perhaps better men than ourselves. Let us not forget that £150, i. c. $730, or even £120 was in
1 Of the early members of Congress, three, at least,-John Hamilton, Aaron Lyle and Thos. Patterson -- were conspicuously active members of the Presbyterian Church.
-
20
THE PRESBYTERY OF WASHINGTON.
that day a largesum of money. May it not be that the fault of the dear old fathers was, that in the goodness of their hearts they promised too much. To will was present with them, but how to perform they found not. Let us not sit in judgment, then, for we know not in what straitnesses they were. Above all, let not their example be misapplied by their descendants, to whom God has given so much-oh, so much more wealth !
It is gratifying to find, moreover, that the fathers, in all their straitnesses, were not disobedient to the divine law of giving for the good of others. Thus, as early as 1790, a Minute ap- pears in the records of the old mother Presbytery of Red- stone, as follows : "The Presbytery find that the order of Synod for raising contributions for the support of missiona- ries has been, in part, complied with, and that the sum re- ceived is £22. 14s. 3d."
The year following contributions for the same are acknowl- edged, among which are these : "From Mr. Smith's congrega- tions, 617. 75. From Mr. Hughes, 64. 65. 6d. In '92 from Mr. Hughes, 53. In '93 from Pigeon Creek, £4. 35."
In the same line, under the new Presbytery of Ohio, among the sums reported are these : In 1795, from Mr. Hughes' congre- gations, 45. 10s. ; from Mr. Marquis', 64. IOS. In '96, from Mr. Brice's, £3. 95. 21/2d. ; from Mr. Hughes, E7. 6s. 3d. ; from Mr. Marquis', £15. 95. 3d.
A little later contributions were made for Education as well as Missions.
It is worth while, also, to note that in the Minutes of the General Assembly for 1816, acknowledgment is made of contri- butions for the Seminary at Princeton, as follows : Lower Buf- falo, $12.50; Forks of Wheeling, $17.50; West Liberty, $50; Cross Creek $88; Upper Buffalo, $48; Pigeon Creek, $70; Washington, $130; Wheeling, $55.
As to numerical strength, the earliest record that has been found gives this fragment : "Ap., 1794, Pigeon Creek, 130 fam- ilies, 140 communicants ; Short Creek, 47 families, 50 communi- cants; Lower Buffalo, 44 families, 46 communicants.
In 1806 these items appear : West Liberty and Lower Buffalo, 134 communicants, 20 infants baptized; Three Ridges and
21
ANTECEDENT HISTORY.
Wheeling, no report; Cross Creek, no report ; Mill Creek and Flats, J37 communicants, 17 infants baptized; Upper Buffalo, 235 communicants, 35 infants baptized, 2 adults baptized ; Pigeon Creek and Pike Run, no report ; Cross Roads and Three Springs, 214 communicants, 35 infants baptized, 2 adults baptized ; Washington, ---- communicants, 25 infants baptized, 3 adults baptized ; Ten Mile, 192 communicants, 16 infants baptized.
As an exhibit of church growth, and an evidence, also, of in- creased attention to statistics, we here subjoin the Statistical Report of the Presbytery of Ohio for the spring of 1819, being the last before its dimensions were curtailed by the erection of Washington and Steubenville Presbyteries. With the names of the churches added, it is as follows:
MINISTERS' NAMES.
NAMES OF CHURCHES.
Missionary Fund.
Commissioners'
Added last year.
Total in Com-
minion.
Infants baptized.
Adults baptized .. ]
John McMillan, D.D. . Chartiers .
$64 70
$3 50
21
242
24
2
Joseph Patterson .
Without pastoral charge .
Thomas Marquis
Cross Creek .
48 00
5 00
15
246
27
3
Boyd Mercer . .
. Without pastoral charge .
Samuel Ralston. .
. Mingo Creek and Williamsport
99 00
William Woods.
Bethel and Lebanon .
61 31
I 60 20
4 50
38'
246
48
7
Washington
32 00
5 00
13
196
I
10 00
6 25
19
359
22
14
I
Without pastoral charge
10 00
4 00
1.4
250
44 16
2
Moses Allen
Three Ridges
36 75
4 00
17 17
ISO 137 98
21
I
Joseph Stevenson Andrew McDonald
. WhiteOak Flats &Flaherty's Run
11 00
Thomas B. Clark
Without pastoral charge .
Abraham Scott
Without pastoral charge
Michael Law.
Montour's Run .
61 99
2 00
IS
227
14
2
Andrew Wylie
Without pastoral charge
James Hervey
Forks of Wheeling and Wheelingtown
32 00
3 00
7
113
25
I
Thomas Hoge
Stated Supply, East Buffalo. .
5 00
15
39
23
2
Obadiah Jennings. . Steubenville
172 75
8 50
23
90
2
Total .
$1006 57 $60 26 312 31171359 29
1
250
16
2
George Scott . John Anderson Matthew Brown. Joseph Anderson Flisha Macurdy
Upper Buffalo .
124 15
4 00
2.48
22
Richlands .
160
8
James Snodgrass Alexander Cook Cephas Dodd. . John Rea .
Cross Roads and Three Springs Island Creek . Bethany . .
2 41
25
99
Beech Springs
2
Miller's Run
17
SS
31
1 50
S
William McMillan Thomas Hunt, P. E. Lyman Potter
. Two Ridges and Richmond. . Without pastoral charge Raccoon
211 00
Mill Creek and Flats
52 72
Fund.
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THE PRESBYTERY OF WASHINGTON.
Any sketch of the early church, however hurried, would be incomplete without a reference to some particulars showing the spirit of its members and their general build of Christian char- acter.
Here we may mention first of all their
PATRIOTISM AND LOYALTY.
It is related that at a gloomy crisis in the Revolution General Washington, being asked what he would do under certain con- tingencies, replied: "Should it come to the worst, I will fall back into the mountain region of Pennsylvania, and make my stand among the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians." Whether this be authentic or not, it is certain that the Presbyterian forefathers were strong and sturdy patriots. A great company of them evinced this as officers and soldiers in the Revolution. No one point occurs more frequently in the fragmentary biographical reminiscences we have than this: "He was a soldier of the Revolution, and at the close of the war came west." Cases could be cited where more than one of the same family were thus enlisted. One of the present members of this Presbytery 1 is a descendant, on the maternal side, of one of four brothers who were in the Continental army, and, on the paternal side, his grandfather and a grand-uncle, who afterwards became a Pres- byterian minister, fought with the Poes in repelling the incur- sions of the Indians-(and yet our good brother is a very peaceable man despite it all). No doubt one main reason why so many of them made their homes on the new lands of the West was because they had, by military service, earned liberal grants of land, and in the same way acquired a vigor and force of character fitting them well for pioneer life.
THE WESTERN INSURRECTION.
Nor can it be alleged that this spirit of patriotism and loyalty waned, even in that trying crisis which followed shortly after the Revolution, when the method of raising revenue adopted by the Federal Government excited so much of violent opposition
--
1 Rev. J. S. Marquis.
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ANTECEDENT HISTORY.
in the western country. For while, no doubt, the ministers and members of the Presbyterian Church shared with others in their judgment of the revenue law as unjust and oppressive, it is yet clear that taken collectively, not excepting even those who seemed to act to a certain extent with the insurgents, they · were, as a whole, the steadfast and most efficient friends of law and order and the real conservators of the public peace.
That the ministers, at least, were thoroughly loyal is fully proved by the following action adopted in 1795 by both Presby- teries : " Resolved, That if any of those persons who, during the late disturbances, had an active hand in burning property, rob- bing the mail and destroying official papers of the officers of government, shall apply for distinguishing privileges in our church, they shall not be admitted until they give satisfactory evidence of their repentance. The Presbytery also did, and do hereby, declare their hearty disapprobation of all riotous, illegal and unconstitutional combinations against the government, the laws or offices of government, and do, in the most carnest and importunate manner, recommend and enjoin it upon the people under their care to be subject to all magistrates in lawful authority."
THE WAR OF 1812.
That the spirit of patriotism and loyalty continued still active in later years appears from the following adopted by the Pres- bytery of Ohio in October, 1813: "Presbytery, taking into serious consideration the apparent gracious interposition of Divine Providence in favor of our northwestern frontiers, on motion, Resolved, That it be recommended to each member to offer up special praise and thanksgiving to Almighty God, in their respective congregations on the next Lord's day, for the late signal and very remarkable victories, under the Divine aus- pices, gained by our northwestern armies, both on the lake and on land, and, humbly acknowledging our sins and unworthiness, to implore the continuation of the divine favor in behalf of our beloved country." If there was any opposition in Presbytery to this action on the ground that it related to secular affairs and would be damaging to the Church's spirituality, the fact does
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THE PRESBYTERY OF WASHINGTON.
not appear on the records. The good fathers seem to have thought that they were quite free to acknowledge God's favor in Providence as well as in grace.
RIGID ORTHODOXY.
.
And yet it could not be charged against them that they hon- ored any standard of faith and practice other than the written word. Their exaltation of the Scriptures was a distinguishing trait. Hence they were sternly orthodox. Whatever weak- nesses they may have had, latitudinarianism was not one of them. They were sound in doctrine, and, par excellence, were steadfastly so. In this, at least, Scotch blood and Divine grace wrought together. With unswerving tenacity they held fast the form of sound words. Specimen sermons yet extant show clearly what was the style of preaching which prevailed. It was not ornate; it was not moralistic, nor was it "sound and fury signifying nothing." On the other hand it was plain, per- spicuous, direct. It was also largely didactic and doctrinal, and on this basis developed into something tremendously searching and practical. That the ministers of that day were sensitively jealous of their good name in this respect appears from several items. Thus December 25, 1800: " Presbytery being informed that it has been reported in some of our vacancies that the Presbyterian body have wholly rejected the Book of Psalms, together with the five books of Moses, we do hereby declare the above a groundless slander, and that we always have con- sidered these books equally sacred with the other books of the Old and New Testaments."
Another instance is in 1808, when Presbytery initiated a cor- respondence with another ecclesiastical body, continuing for several years, and covering many pages, the ground of which was an alleged statement by a minister of that body to the effect that "some of the Presbyterian ministers were Arminians and Socinians," the objective end of the correspondence being, apparently, to expurgate themselves of this reproach by per- suading or compelling the slanderer to confess and repent of his sin.
Nor was the zeal for sound doctrine evinced by the ministers
25
ANTECEDENT HISTORY.
at all unsavory to the church at large. Catechetical examina- tions, looking to the indoctrination of the people, were so much a matter of course that in the case of vacant congregations ministers were appointed to catechize with the same formality that they were appointed to preach. Thus,-" October, 1794, Rev. Joseph Patterson appointed to catechize the congregation of Bethel on the first Sabbath of March." "October, 1795, Rev. James Hughes appointed to catechize at Mill Creek. Rev. Thomas Marquis appointed to catechize at Kings' Creek."
An inkling of the proficiency to which the people thus at- tained in matters of doctrine may be gathered from a record in 1808, where some of the members of a little church in Ohio preferred charges against their pastor for unscriptural teaching on the subject of the Covenants. From the testimony in the case, which is fully recorded, it would appear that some, at least, of those early elders were thoroughly versed in matters of doctrine, having at their tongue's end the various differentia of the Covenant of Grace and the Covenant of Redemption, and discoursing of them with a fluency that would be quite paraly- zing to the young theologians of the present day, not to say anything of some of the doctors of divinity.
PRACTICAL MORALITY.
Coupled with their attachment to sound doctrine was a cor- responding regard for practical morality. They, by no means, ignored the ethical side of Christianity. They did not leave themselves open to the reproach. which the enemies of truth are ever so forward to hurl against its friends, the reproach of dead orthodoxy. With the church to which they belonged they held that "truth is in order to goodness," and that " the great touchstone of truth is its tendency to promote holiness."
One proof of this was their zeal in the
MAINTENANCE OF CHURCH DISCIPLINE.
This they enforced alike in the case of ministers and others. To show how watchful they were for the purity of the minis- try it may, without noting repeated cases of judicial process rigidly enforced, be stated that on a certain occasion, when one
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THE PRESBYTERY OF WASHINGTON.
of their number received an appointment to the office of Asso- ciate Judge, in the County Court, although he pleaded some- what of physical infirmity as his reason for accepting it, they would not let the matter pass until they had overtured the Gen- eral Assembly as follows : " May a man hold the office of the gospel ministry and the office of an Associate Judge at the same time? or, Is it expedient for Presbytery to continue a person in the office of the Gospel Ministry in such circum- stances?" The extent to which judicial cases in those days occupied the attention of church courts might at first blush, awaken the suspicion that either derelictions were more fre- quent than now, or else the fathers were rather fond than otherwise of wielding the potestas diakritike. But another view, more charitable to them, and less flattering to us, is that the conscience of the church responded to the sense of obligation in respect of discipline more promptly then than it does now. That they, the coctus presbyterorum, as they claimed to be, did not affect judicial process for its own sake is well illustrated in a certain case in 1794, which it is worth while to recite as a model of judicial discreetness and fidelity. Pres- bytery having previously appointed a committee to examine witnesses, etc., adopted the committee's report as follows : "The parties, with the advice and consent of the Committee, consid- ering the darkness and obscurity in which this matter has all along been involved, and the impossibility of any judicatory ever being able to bring it to a certain just issue; and knowing that God can, and will, one day bring these hidden things to light, either in time or at the final judgment, do cordially agree to lay aside all heats, animosities, railings and prosecutions in this case, referring the whole to the omniscient and just Judge of the Universe, at the same time promising from henceforth to cultivate peace and harmony, and to do all in their power to- ward healing the present wounds, and preventing the giving of any others."
In this way reconciliation was effected, and both parties re- stored to church privileges.
Another way in which care for practical morality was exer- cised, was in promptly and explicitly testifying against prevailing evils.
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27
ANTECEDENT HISTORY.
One instance of this, already cited, was the matter of re- sistance to lawful authority.1
HORSE-RACING.
In the same line, the presbytery, in 1806, testified against horse-racing as a prevailing evil, and enacted that "church members offending in this respect should be subject to censure."
SPIRITUOUS LIQUORS.
In 1813 the following action was taken : " Presbytery viewing with anxious concern the pernicious consequences attending the frequent use of spirituous liquors,
Resolved, That every member inform his people that the Presbytery are of opinion that the use of ardent spirits in harvest, and at public meetings, is highly improper and preju-
1 On the subject of negro slavery, nothing is found in the Presbyterial records. The first presbytery in the West was not organized until the year after gradual abolition was enacted. Public sentiment sustained this measure ; and that the Christian conscience was not asleep appears from occasional instances of voluntary manumission. Rev. John Clark, by his will made in 1793, set free a mulatto ser- vant. Judge Edgar, ruling elder at Cross Creek, manumited, in 1796, a slave girl belonging to him. The instrument of writing effecting this, which is in the " Wash- ington County Records," has a specific historic value. It is as follows : " Know all men by these presents that whereas I, James Edgar, of Smith's Township, Washing- ton County, Pa., being on the 26th day of November, A.D., 1782, in the township and county aforesaid, possessed of a negro girl as a slave, and then of the age of five years, did register the said girl, being of the name of Hannah, on the said day, and so described in the office of the Clerk of the Sessions of the said county accord- ing to the Act of Assembly of Pennsylvania for the gradual abolition of slavery, whereby the said Negroe girl, Hannah, remained a slave to the said James Edgar, and whereas I am, under a serious conviction, that involuntary servitude beyond a just compensation for maintenance and education is incompatible with a sense of duty to God and my fellow-creatures; I, the said James Edgar, do hereby release and forever quit claim to the said Hannah, all my right. or claim, or all right and claim which any may derive under me to the time or service of the said Hannah after she shall have arrived at the age of twenty-seven years, and do hereby declare that the said negroe woman, Hannah, as soon as she shall arrive at the age of twenty- seven years, shall be, and thereafter remain, entirely free. In witness whereof I have hereto set my hand and seal, this sixth day of January, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and ninety six. JAMES EDGAR.
" Acknowledged before me 6th January, 1796.
" Recorded 7th January, 1796. Book I., 1. 703."
" ALEX. ADDISON.
a
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2S
THE PRESBYTERY OF WASHINGTON.
dicial, both to the bodies and souls of men, and that they rec- ommend to all under their care to desist from the same, at such times, especially." If to any, the tone of this should seem moderate, it should be remembered that it is, by no means, so short of public sentiment in the present day, as it was in ad- vance of it then.
Three years afterward the Synod testified, even more de- cidedly to the effect that " the habitual use of ardent spirits in families and by laborers, is training up thousands for poverty, disgrace, the prison, the gallows and eternal misery;" and " that ardent spirits ought never to be used except as a medi- cine." (See also action in 1817 and subsequently.)
The same body recorded its testimony against other breaches of public morality.
SABBATH DESECRATION.
In 1810 Synod appointed a committee "to draft a petition to Congress, praying them to revise and alter the law respecting Post-office establishments, so that the Sabbath day may not be violated by the mail being carried, and Postmasters opening their offices on that sacred day." This was followed up by a series of corresponding measures in this direction continued for several years.
NON-CHRISTIAN AMUSEMENTS.
In 1817 Synod testified against " the conduct of church mem- bers given to attendance upon balls, dances, routs, theatrical ex- hibitions and other places of fashionable amusement." And ad- dressing the conscience of such added : "We warn you with earnestness and affection, to conform to your holy callings ; come out from the fashions which defile with sin and seduce · from God. We pray that none of our dear flocks may be found when the Lord cometh, among the enemies of our Say- iour; frustrating by their opinions and practices, the labors of his ministers, weakening their hands and promoting the cause of the god of this world, instead of coming forth to the help of the Lord against the mighty."
But let us turn to note, now, some things most directly relat- ing to the furtherance of the Redeemer's kingdom.
29
ANTECEDENT HISTORY.
ZEAL FOR EDUCATION.
One of these, which has already been hinted at, was their zeal for education. On the part of the ministers, this is only what was to be expected from their own attainments. They were, in this respect, not ordinary men. They did not belong to that type of the pioneer minister, most frequently conceived in the popular mind -- the man of rude and unlettered character, contemning colleges and advanced scholarship. Those who came from the East were all well educated men, nearly all of them graduates of Princeton College. Those trained on the field were, as far as opportunity made it possible, trained ac- cording to the same high standard. With rare exceptions, they were men of fairly good classical and theological attainments, and comparatively cultivated tastes. This is fully established by what they have left behind them in the way of diary, auto- biography, sermons, controversial tracts, books, letters and other writings. And, as all their learning was sanctified by deep spiritual experience, and wielded with apostolic fervor and zeal, it is not to be wondered at that both as educators and as Evangelists, they exerted, through the power of the Holy Ghost, an efficient agency in moulding society.
" From the outset," attests an early writer, " they established little grammar schools at their own houses, or in their immedi- ate neighborhoods." It was not long until these developed into academies at Washington and at Canonsburg, both mainly un- der the control of the ministers and elders of the Presbyterian Church-the latter, moreover, under the special sanction and aid of the Synod of Virginia and the Presbytery of Redstone. The ecclesiastical records of that day abound with proofs of the deep interest felt on the subject of education. The Presbytery of Ohio, at its first meeting, voted to "co-operate with the Presbytery of Redstone in carrying out the purpose of Synod," and members were enjoined to " use their best endeavors to ob- tain contributions, etc." Subsequently, for several years, action is taken repeatedly on the same subject, and progress is re- ported. Record is made also of the presbytery meeting from
30
THE PRESBYTERY OF WASHINGTON.
year to year, to examine the students, and of commissioners from the Presbytery of Redstone being present to assist in the same -- the names of David Smith, John McPherin, James Dun- lop, James Power and Samuel Porter occurring in this connec- tion.
Nor was this watchful interest confined to this one department of education. That it reached to that which was still higher appears not alone from the fact that several of the early minis- ters were competent and painstaking teachers of theology, but also from the further fact that the Presbytery as early as ISIO took action in favor of the establishment of permanent theologi- cal schools, pursuant to overture from General Assembly. And that, on the other hand, this care reached down to primary grades of schools appears from the following adopted October 29, 1794: " Presbytery taking into serious consideration the importance of the education of children, and the danger of con- tracting early habits of vice and immorality, think it their duty to recommend it to their several congregations to be particu- larly careful not to employ masters, of immoral conduct or un- sound principles, but to discourage such; and do their utmost in their different neighborhoods, to encourage masters of good morals and orthodox principles in matters of religion." Possi- bly it might not be amiss to have this minute re-enacted in our own day. However this may be, there can be no question that the zeal of that generation in seeking to secure to themselves and their posterity ample opportunities for intellectual training and culture under safe religious control, furnishes an example to the present generation that should be in the highest degree stimulating. To establish institutions of learning in that day, was a great undertaking. It required of ministers and people alike, both great effort and great self-denial. Foundation stones had to be laid and walls reared from scanty resources laboriously earned. It is to the honor of the fathers that they were not wanting to the exigencies of the occasion. They did what they could. If they could not give pounds, they gave shillings and pence. If they could not do better, they gave their few bushels of rye or wheat, or their few yards of linen. This is not pic- torial representation. It is historic truth. Among the frag-
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