USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > North East > The centennial commemoration of the founding of the First Presbyterian Church, of North East, Pennsylvania > Part 4
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January ist, 1842, Rev. Miles Doolittle took charge of the church, and remained until August, 1844. Fifteen members were received into the church under his ministry.
December 31st, 1843, Osee Selkregg and Frederick Ensign were set apart to the eldership, as additional members.
November, 1844, Rev. Samuel Montgomery came and ministered to the church. He was a fine writer and good ser- monizer, and was succeeded in 1848 by Rev. Rodney Paine, who is still laboring in the west.
November 25th. 1849, James Whitehill, B. R. Tuttle, and Dyer Loomis were ordained and installed as additional elders. Rev. James Cochran took charge of the church in 1850, and ceased his labors bere Angust roth, 1852. Thirty-six members were received during his ministrations. . He removed his home 10 Minnesota.
Rev. David D. Gregory commenced his labors here Octo- bei 15th, 1852. As he has entered into rest, I may say that he was an able and winning ambassador of Christ of fine presence,
REV. SAMUEL MONTGOMERY, 1844 to 1848.
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and of good delivery. During his ministry a lot was purchased and a parsonage built, chiefly through the efforts of the women.
March 2d, 1856, B. F. Spooner, Joseph McCord, and H. M. Gilman were installed elders, after having been elected and or- clained.
Mr. Gregory closed his labors here March 7th, 1858."
April 23d, 1858, Rev. A. H. Carrier began his ministrations in this church.
February 21st, 1859, a committee was appointed to pur- chase a lot upon which to erect a new church building. March 12th, 1859, it was fully decided to build. To quote from the felicitous and very appropriate sermon preached by Mr. Carrier on the last occasion of worshipping in the frame church, Febru- ary, 1861, which he has kindly placed at my disposal, "The result of that resolution is the beautiful structure which now adorns our village-a result which is exceedingly creditable to the en- terprise of the church, greatly promotive of the comfort of those who will attend the services and through the grace of God, will, as we hope, prove the source of great spiritual prosperity."
With such hopes, which have been abundantly realized, this church entered into its third edifice.
This brings us to III-The Brick Church.
I shall be brief in treating of the history of this church since it had its worshipping home in this building, chiefly because the history is recent and well known.
In the erection of the brick church the following building committee was appointed: A. W. Blaine, James Whitehill, Osee Selkregg, B. R. Tuttle, and John Greer. Chief among the build- ers were B. R. Tuttle, Richard Bran, and D. R. Fairchild.
This church was taken possession of for religious purposes in March, 1861. With Mr. Carrier in charge of its spiritual interests the church entered upon its third chapter of life and development. On account of ill health Mr. Carrier was released from his connection with this church in the latter part of 1863. During his stay sixty-nine members were received into the church, and at the close of his labors here one hundred and ninety members were enrolled. He is now the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Eric.
October 17th, 1863, while this church was without a pastor, it was voted that "the Methodist Church be invited to worship
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in our church until theirs is repaired," and I may here observe that the most fraternal relations have ever subsisted between this, the original church of the township, and the younger sisters of the household of faith. Union Thanksgiving services and union temperance meetings are now parts of the religious fea- tures of every year in our borough.
January 1, 1864, came Rev. T. B. Hudson, who continued pastor until June 16, 1869.
November 8, 1868, William E. Marvin, Zenas Rogers, and Martin L. Selkregg were ordained and installed as additional elders in this church, Rev. S. G. Orton, D. D., assisting.
During the pastorate of Mr. Hudson the excellent manual of the church, containing a summary of the history of this church and a list of previous and present members, was prepared and published. He received one hundred and twelve members into this church, and he left it with a membership of two hundred and forty-one. Mr. Hudson was called from this church to be pastor of the Presbyterian church at Clinton, N. Y., and there he still upholds the Banner of the Cross.
Your present pastor feels that much of the policy and ef- ficiency of this church is due to the wisdom, prayers, and efforts of Bros. Carrier and Hudson. Those familiar with the methods and economy of this church can see at a glance that a new era dates from the entrance into the brick church. As the third pastor of this era. I have often said, there is nothing better than having had good predecessors.
Rev. J. T. Oxtoby entered upon this field April Ist, 1870; installed May 3d, 1870.
At the beginning of this pastorate the re-union of the two Presbyterian families bad become complete, and one of the first notable features after the opening up of the relation of pastor and people, was a contribution of five hundred dollars to the memorial find, in commemoration of that happy re-union, all given to charitable objects outside our own bounds chiefly to the Treedmen and to the Western Theological Seminary.
On the opening of the year 1872 there was a glad time of revival. One hundred and twenty-two presented themselves for prayers, and at the March communion fifty additions were made, which is the largest accession ever made to this church at one time during its history. Some connected themselves
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BRICK CHURCH, BURNED 1884.
1800 to 1384.
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with other churches in this and other places, as some students were among the number of inquirers.
Under the present pastorate, one hundred and forty-six members have been received. Now, December, 1876, there are three hundred and twenty-four members, and there are two hundred and sixty-seven members in the Sabbath school.
. The church contributes to all the Boards of the Presbyterian Church, to the Bible and Tract Societies, and to charitable ob- jects, with a constantly increasing liberality. From the begin- ning until the present there has been a total membership of seven hundred and forty-five.
At present the session is composed of the following persons: B. C. Spooner, Wm. E. Marvin, Jos. McCord, Dyer Loomis, Clerk, Zenas Rogers, Martin L. Selkregg.
Trustees for this church year: James L. Reed, S. T. Moor- head, George Selkregg, N. II. Clark, Wm. E. Marvin.
During this pastorate Rev. S. G. Orton, D. D., was called from earth to that rest that remaineth for the people of God. Any history of this church is incomplete that makes no mention of his eminently wise and good services. For nearly forty years he was the assistant and counsellor of the session and ministers having charge of this congregation. In revival work he was a valuable auxiliary, and in cases of difficulty he rendered im- portant aid in the interests of peace and purity. For years he lived here, while laid aside from intimity, and the records of the church testify to his great value to the congregation. As one who upheld the hands of the pastor, who could tell the exact truth to the people without giving offense, and who helped in every way, financially and spiritually, he will long be remembered as an example worthy of commendation and imitation. The me- morial sermon to his memory is in our hands, his grave is in our midst at his request, but his enduring memory is in our hearts, and in the memories of the ten thousand souls believed to have been converted under his ministry' as an evangelist and pastor.
Now, as we near the close of this historic sketch, let us gather up the fragments.
Two great historic elements of people flowed into the com- position of this church. First came the Scotch-Trish element of Presbyterianism from Lancaster, Franklin, and Cumberland Conties, of Pennsylvania, with the Bible, the Westminster Con
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fession and the Shorter Catechism. Next came the New Eng- landers with the blood of the Puritans in their veins, bringing new zeal for the Master, together with the old Bible, and the spirit of the Independents of Cromwell's time, which will have freedom in Church and State. These two people, in their ming- ling, have formed, in the language of Dr. Eaton, a son of one of the pastors of this church, "the very highest style of the Anglo Saxon race in the world." Of such timber, in the main, has been constructed the first Presbyterian Church of North East.
The only church building in the borough for more than twenty-five years was that in which the Presbyterians worshipped God.
Two wars, those of 1812 and of the Great Rebellion, have found this church on the side of the right and of patriotism, and she has contributed to each of her men and money.
Three ministers have been furnished by this church to the Presbyterian church. First, Rev. Geo. W. Hampson, one of the members of this church on the roll of 1825, who was pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Titusville for several years, and died as pastor of the church at Cambridge, Pa. His remains lie in our cemetery, in the bounds of his native church, and his good works are yet following.
Next, Rev. Cyrus Dickson, D. D., who joined this church on profession in 1831. He is a son of William Dickson, formerly an eller, and has been pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Franklin, Pa., Second Church of Wheeling, W. Va., and of West- minster Church, Baltimore, Md. As one of the secretaries of our Board of Home Missions, as one of the greatest orators of the church, as an organizer and manager of missionary laborers, on his continent, his reputation has become national.
Then comes Per. Thomas Il. Robinson, D. D., who is a son of one of the elders of this church in days gone by. He is how the beloved and efficient pastor of Market Square Presby- terian Church, Harrisburg, Pa., and is one of the prominent and rising men of the whole church.
It has been the sad office of the present pastor to officiate at the fimeral of many of the old citizens of this section. The following are mentioned as funerals of persons all over sixty years of age, many over seventy, some eighty, and one eighty-
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JAMES WHITEHILL, Elder, 1849.
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seven, under the present pastorate: James Whitehill, James Scott, Mrs. Ann Custard, Edmund Orton, Mrs. Betsey Stockton, Bester Town, Mrs. Eleanor Moorhead, John McCord, W. A. Robinson, Booth Caldwell, Mrs. Bester Town, Robert McNeill, Mrs. Sally Ensign, Charles Clark, Mrs. Eliza Moorhead, Mrs. Mary Pratt, Mrs. Rebecca Mills, Mrs. Huldah Bowers, Rufus S. Loomis, Mrs. Therina Hall, Samuel Talcott, Mrs. Bathsheba Clark, Alexander Robinson, Mrs. Booth Caldwell. Mrs. Emiline Caldwell, Harmon Ensign, Jeremiah Badger, Miss Asenath Loomis, Mrs. E. Moorhead, John Milliken, Amos Gould, Mrs. P. P. Barker, Mrs. Mary Dix.
Up to date, the present pastor has attended one hundred and one funerals and sixty-two weddings in this community.
What need I say more, at this time? We have seen a feeble church grow into a strong one-into the largest church of the Presbyterian Church and order in the county-into one of the largest churches in the synod of Erie, in the actual number of its communicants: The small seed, sown in faith, has grown into a mighty tree, and all this neighborhood has been sheltered, re- ligiously, under its blessed shade, and tasted of its hallowed fruitage, in days gone by.
Seventy-five years have rolled away since the fathers or- ganized a Presbyterian Church; became a portion of that ecclesi- astical body which believes it derives its doctrines alone from the Bible, and its form of theology from Paul, through Augus- tine, Calvin, Knox, and Witherspoon; and became a part of that church which regards it as her chief mission to seek the salvation of souls on the plan of exalting the sovereign grace of God, the covenant love of Christ, and the effectual call of the Holy Ghost.
The forest has yielded to the log village, the log village to our beautiful borough; the Indian trail has been superseded by one of the best natural roads in any country; one of the promi- nent railroad lines of the land puts us in ready and easy commmu- nication with all the great cities.
What is the force, of equal potency, in the realm of mind, . ever exerted on this community? There is none. What has done as much in the regions of the moral and the spiritual, in this section, from: State Line to Erie, as this old mother of the churches? Nothing, I answer, unhesitatingly, without fear of
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exaggeration. Amid the passions of evil and the deeds of in- iquity that have thronged human hearts or vented themselves in action, during three-quarters of a century, this old church has stood out as a spiritual lighthouse, illuminating the pathway of the soul, and pointing men to the haven of eternal peace and joy.
This is not the time for a eulogy of this church. In words, none is needed, at this late day. Words are too feeble to meas- ure the influence of a church. That record is inscribed in an influence upon every old family connection in this region. Our services have cheered the weeping penitent and pointed him to the cross, solaced the Christian heart, comforted the mourner, and buried the dead with the sacred, soothing offices of religion.
For nearly one generation in this borough this was the only church. As such, necessarily, her power for good has been wide and extended as no other can be, possibly, in the future.
Our outward history and growth may, in great measure, be related. The inward history of its members is known only to God. As your friends gone before may gaze over the battle- ments of Heaven I suspect they care little for the things which most interest us in our daily lives. The farms they tilled, the positions they filled, the occupations they followed, are now things of naught. That church in which they first had fel- lowship with Christ- in which they were fitted for Heaven- that church is the one bright spot, the one glorious centre, to which they look back with joyful recollections and blissful mem- ories.
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JULY 18, 1901, 2 P. M.
VOLUNTARY.
SCRIPTURE-Rev. William Grassie.
PRAYER-Rev. A. H. Caughey.
O Lord, our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee that in Thy goodness and mercy we have been enabled to come together this afternoon in this house, dedicated to Thy worship, and we beseech Thee our Father, that Thou wilt be present with us by Thy Holy Spirit, that in all these services we may from our hearts indeed recognize God and his Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, and that we may from our hearts worship Thee, the infinite God and Father, the Son, and Holy Ghost. We thank Thee, our Father in Heaven, for the infinite loving kindness and tender mercies unto Thy people here, and that for so many, many years past Thou hast preserved to themselves a church devoted to the ser- vice of God and to the advancement of the Kingdom of God, and the proclaiming of the gospel of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Many people here can look back on these many years, many generations indeed, since the first words of God were spoken in this vicinity. They look back with thankfulness on all that Thou ·hast done for them, and with them, and for them. Churches have been maintained often through difficulty and trials and troubles.
We beseech Thee, O God, that the words of Thy Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, that have just been read to us, may be deep- ly impressed upon our hearts, remembering that we as Christians, abide in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ; that all may be enabled to bring forth much fruit to the advancement of the Kingdom of God. And we beseech Thee, O God, that the same spirit may continually prevail among them and devotion to the cause of the Saviour, our common Saviour, Jesus Christ; that this same spirit may continue to prevail and we ask Thee, O God, that thon wouldst put it into the heart of every one of our children here to continue in Thee, in their own homes, and in their individual lives, in much prayer to God for help and grace and strength, and that many souls may be borne into the Kingdom of God. We thank Thee, our Father in Heaven, that
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especially in this community and in this part of Thy moral vine- yard so many souls have from time to time been borne into the Kingdom of God, and, we trust, made heirs of the inheritance of the Saints.
As thou dost work through men and women in the work that is accomplished in the world for the cause of Christ and the salvation of souls, we beseech Thee to let Thy blessing rest upon every one here to-day who has acknowledged himself or her- self to be for Christ and for the Kingdom of His love, that they may be thus encouraged and led on in their work which Thou hast given them to do.
We thank Thee for the abundant prosperity that has at- tended this church of Christ in the one hundred years that have passed, and for the great good that has thus been accomplished, not only for the people themselves, but in the building up of the church of Christ and the promotion of the cause of education and Christianity among all people here.
Our Father in Heaven, we thank Thee for these Thy many mercies, and pray that Thou wilt still be our Leader.
Our Father in Heaven, we would thus invoke Thy blessing upon this people, and as they enter upon another century of work may they and those who shall succeed them, be prospered in the work that Thou hast given them to do.
We thank Thee for the many pastors who have ministered and those who have proclaimed The truth here, may a blessing be upon all those who have discharged their duty in the fear of God and continually made known the blessed gospel of Christ, that men may come to know themselves, and we beseech Thee, our Father in Heaven, that Thou wouldst bless all the churches of our Presbytery: that Thou wilt guide them, that the blessing of God may come to them, and the spirit of God dwell with them, and that they be brought into the fullness of Thy blessings.
We thank Thee, ( God, for the many souls who have in the various churches been brought into the Kingdom of God. May we be given power to maintain the gospel of Christ and the work that Thou hast given us to do.
All these things we ask in the name of Him who died for U.S. Amen.
SOLO-Mrs. Winnie Eggleston. (Selected.)
BENJAMIN ROYCE TUTTLE, Elder, 1849.
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CENTENNIAL ADDRESS-By Rev. George B. Stewart, D. D., President of Auburn Theological Seminary, Auburn, N. Y.
Permit me to offer my sincere congratulations upon this auspicious occasion. It is an occasion that I know has-awak- ened profound interest in your congregation, and has called forth some of the kindest and best impulses in your hearts.
The honored church in Harrisburg to which Dr. Robinson ministered for thirty years with such conspicuous success and from which he was severed with such profound regret on the part of his beloved people, during my pastorate which immediate- ly succeeded his celebrated its one hundredth anniversary as you celebrate to-day yours. On that occasion we had the pleasure of listening to Dr. Robinson, and I am sure that the pleasure which we had then was reproduced last night in this congrega- tion.
I cannot forget the joy that pastor and people had in pre- paring for, and in participating in our centennial celebration, and to-day, I have been living over something of that experience as I have shared with you the happiness of this occasion.
When I received the highly complimentary invitation to come and speak to you at this time, I was all the more ready to accept it, because of several considerations which might not ap- pear to you, but which with great force appealed to me. I re- called that my honored and revered friend Dr. Robinson had come forth from this congregation and if this church never did any other good thing for the church at large, it did enough to justify its one hundred years of existence when it gave him to serve his generation. That may sound a little like taffy. But some one has said that "an ounce of taffy is worth a ton of epitaphy," and I am sure that whether it be taffy or not, it is perfectly sin- cere.
My friendship for Dr. Robinson aroused the desire many years ago to see the church and the community from which he had come, and now was the opportunity. Then again my friendship for your present pastor led me to accept the invitation. I had learned to love lam, and I wanted to see how much you had learned to love him. I am beginning to see. And then another consideration. I knew that this was in the second generation of Scotch-Irish churches. The Scotch-Irishman be-
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lieves in the doctrine of election, and he is sure that whatever may be the fate of others, he is elected.
A royal aristocrat is this Scotch-Irishman.
Having the good fortune myself to belong to this distin- guished race, I never miss an opportunity to fall in with the- worthy sons of those noble sires, and with them to recount our history; for it is a common heritage which we have. It is true that our sires had faults that were on the same magnificent scale as their virtues, but we say nothing of our faults. We allow others to point to them if they are so disposed. We find our- selves sufficiently and delightfully occupied in speaking of their virtues. And there was another consideration which led me to rejoice in the opportunity to come here. I wanted to see you.
During the fifteen years that I was a member of the Synod of Pennsylvania, it was my good fortune and high privilege to be a member of the Committee on Sustentation. Thus I came to have a rather intimate knowledge of the various churches in the Synod; and for one reason and another, some reasons good, and some not quite so good, came to be very well acquainted with the churches of the Presbytery of Erie.
The committee all rejoiced in the work of faith and labor of love and patience of hope of the church of North East. Thus it was that I desired to see this church of which I have heard with the hearing of the car, and now I am quite prepared to be- lieve that the Queen of Sheba knew what she was talking about when she said "the half had not been told.".
In thinking of what I should speak to you about to-day I was embarrassed by the roving character of my commission. "A Centennial Address" might be anything, and that is just about what I have brought you. In other words, I have de- cided to speak to you upon a theme that ought to be of great interest to you upon any occasion, and what may be regarded upon this occasion as not inappropriate, Certain Elements of Power in the Presbyterian Church.
I assume that this is a happy family gathering in which we may with some propriety speak of our excellencies and if perchance in so doing we seem to have a good opinion of our- selves, surely our neighbors who may happen to overhear us will not think ill of us. They will good naturedly allow us
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once in a hundred years to pat ourselves on the back and talk of our own good points.
In speaking of Presbyterianism, I am speaking of my mother (not my mother-in-law) and so I am not disposed to feel as did the Irishman -- he was not Scotch as well as Irish-who proposed the toast "my mother-in-law! God bless her! However, I will not insist upon it." I say, "To my Mother! God bless her! and I will insist upon it."
May the Lord bless this noble heritage of ours, this splen- did communion of His true disciples, and give to it increased power and influence among men. I speak of the church in which I was born, my father's church, the church of my fathers for many generations.
A friend said to me some little time ago: "You are a Presby- terian for the reason that you were born so, and could not help it, while I am a Presbyterian from choice." True I came into this heritage as a birthright privilege, but it is also true that I continue in it because of my mature choice and deliberate con- viction.
What are some of the elements of power of our Presbyterian Church? The first to which I call your attention this afternoon is in fact that it is a historie communion.
The Presbyterian Church is strong because it is historic. Out of the darkness of the Middle Ages it emerges with the Re- formed churches and takes its place easily in the front rank of those churches. We flatter ourselves that in the New Testament we discover our form of government among the apostolic church- es. Some of our brethren of other denominations lay great em- phasis on the fact that their church is a historic church. We have the same privilege. Our church is as old as any Protestant church. We have a history. Our church strikes its roots deep into the past. We are proud of our history; that is, we are proud of some of it, and some of it we are just as willing to allow to be unnoticed and unmentioned.
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