USA > Pennsylvania > Two centuries of the Church of the Brethren in western Pennsylvania, 1751-1950 > Part 34
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resided there also, remembers services being held there about the turn of the century. When the church was abandoned, some of the members joined the Summit church, now known as Geiger. Others became interested in the new church being organized in Husband.
The courthouse records reveal that the house of worship in Husband was purchased from Husband Church the Evangelical denomination on March 19, 1900. It was about three miles northwest of Somerset and belonged to the Middle Creek congregation. However, being on the border line of the Quemahoning congregation, the Husband church co-operated with it at least to the extent of having some of its members on the board of trustees in the persons of Francis J. Maust, William S. Weller, and William A. Miller. The Husband church was in use for several years, being sold finally in 1919 for the sum of three hundred dollars to be used as a dwelling. By vote of council this money was given for the con- templated church in the town of Somerset. The pulpit from the old church is at present in use in the basement of the Somerset church. This church also fell heir to the pulpit Bible.
The first official move to locate a church within the town of Somerset dates back many years previous to its establishment. The minutes of the council meeting of April 4, 1904, at Middle Creek reveal that permission was granted to solicit funds to build a house of worship in Somerset. Again in 1908 a committee was appointed by the same congregation to look for a suitable location. In 1912 the council once more discussed the question, but deferred action to a later time. The council of May 16, 1912, decided to hold a series of meetings in the assembly room of the courthouse. The minute book of March 29, 1918, reads thus: "A paper presented by Daniel Maust asking the Middle Creek Congregation to give consent to form a new congregation at Somerset, to be called Somerset Congregation, was ... returned."
The interested brethren were not easily discouraged. Be- cause of some of the members of the Brothersvalley congregation living in Somerset, and also because the boundary of the con- gregation itself was not too far removed, there was also an interest evident in their council meetings. The minute book of Brothersvalley records that on April 18, 1919, a motion was passed that a committee be appointed to work with a committee that should be chosen from Middle Creek to plan for the new church. At the following meeting the committee reported that a similar committee had been appointed by Middle Creek, but no work had yet been done,
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The Sunday school, however, had its beginning on March 16, 1919. On this date the Sunday school was organized with W. P. Speicher as superintendent; W. W. Miller, assistant superintendent; Miss Lottie Smith (Stahl), secretary; and J. C. Sellers, treasurer. The following Sunday, March 23, the first regular Sunday school was held in the assembly room of the courthouse, there being sixty-eight members present. The school increased very rapidly in enthusiasm and attendance until at the time of the dedication of the new church the enrollment was two hundred thirty-five members. At this writing the enrollment is more than three hundred, with Milton Bowlby ably directing the work as superintendent.
During the same year a dwelling was purchased on West Union Street with the intention of converting it into a house for worship. But dreams of a new church persisted. A commit- tee was appointed to decide future action. It consisted of the following: A. Beam Sellers, William P. Speicher, E. B. Knepper, H. H. Kimmel, J. W. Meyers, Lewis Miller, and Elmer D. Walker.
In October 1919 J. H. Cassady of Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, began a series of meetings in the assembly room of the courthouse which con- tinued for three weeks. Forty-three new members were added to the church. This gave the church great courage to move toward a new building. A building committee was appointed at the December council meeting in Somerset to work to that end. It was composed of the follow- ing: William P. Speicher, J. H. Fike, Lewis Miller (son of William H.), M. J. Meyers, Homer Critchfield, H. D. Shaffer, and Gillian Cober. The finance board was J. H. Fike, A. Beam Sellers, and William P. Speicher. At the same meeting this motion was passed, "We, the members of Somerset and vicinity, petition Middle Creek Congregation to become a separate congregation."
The seventeenth day of January 1920 was one to test the courage of the strongest of men. Winter had descended upon the county with a vengeance. But it was not sufficient to deter men with a vision concerning the Kingdom in their souls. It was council-meeting day at the Middle Creek church. Four men went from Somerset, taking with them the petition from the late council in Somerset. Setting their faces to the storm, they traveled roads when possible, but snowdrifts compelled them to go through fields and over fences and fallen trees to reach their destination. William P. Speicher, J. H. Fike, M. J. Meyers, and Calvin Sellers returned again over the same treacherous route with deep joy in their hearts, for the new Somerset Church of the Brethren had indeed become a reality, except for one more hurdle.
On the twenty-eighth day of the same month a special business meeting was called, with H. H. Kimmel presiding, to effect the organiza- tion of the new congregation. P. J. Blough was chosen as elder-in-
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charge. Lewis A. Miller was elected clerk and H. F. Maust treasurer. A month later at a similar meeting a petition was presented and passed asking District Meeting of Western Pennsylvania to approve the separa- tion and seat her delegates. This was granted at the next meeting, making final the separation of the Somerset church from the Middle Creek congregation. At this time there were about one hundred fifty members.
The thought of pastoral leadership came next. William P. Speicher, M. J. Meyers, and A. Beam Sellers became the first pastoral committee. P. J. Blough having passed away after serving only a few months, H. S. Replogle was elected in his stead.
Building Committee, Somerset Church
Top row, left to right: Milton Meyers (chairman), H. D. Shaffer (secretary), John H. Fike, G. P. Cober, Mahlon Meyers, Dennis F. Walker Front row: L. H. Miller, William P. Speicher (treasurer). A. B. Sellers was absent.
The property on West Union Street, which had been bought for $4,000.00, proved unsatisfactory and was later sold for $9,000.00. On July 9, 1920, the present site on South Center Ave- nue and East Church Street was purchased at a cost of $8,500.00. After this, things moved rapidly until the present beautiful stone structure was completed.
On January 3, 1921, the council decided to build. The archi- tect, Lewis Keiper, submitted a bid for the construction of the
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building for the sum of $62,000.00, exclusive of glass, seating, rolling doors, and electrical fixtures.
In the presence of a large crowd of people, July 24, 1921, the service for the laying of the cornerstone was held. T. R. Coffman represented the District Mission Board. The town min- isterium was represented by J. C. Crowe. The presiding elder of the church, J. H. Cassady, was the principal speaker. The present structure, one hundred ten feet long and sixty-five feet wide, built of native sandstone, was dedicated to the service of Christ and His Kingdom on May 7, 1922, by the late Governor M. G. Brumbaugh in the presence of a large congregation. With the church never defaulting in her interest and paying the bonds in full, the mortgage was burned on October 26, 1947, at a service at which Rufus D. Bowman of Bethany Biblical Seminary spoke.
The new congregation grew up into a strong and flourishing church. With the present membership more than five hundred, it is recognized as one of the strong congregations in the com- munity as well as in the district. Many conventions are held here. As it grew in numbers there was evidence of committed lives which brought forth fruit both spiritually and materially. On July 29, 1936, a fine Hammond organ was presented to the church by Mrs. Ella B. Yinkey. In June 1949 W. Harvey Meyers and his family presented the beautiful wayside pulpit, an auto- matic electrically illuminated bulletin board built of stone to correspond to the church structure. Many others also gave sacri- ficially to the work.
LEO'S DAY
LISTEN RY FRENO
TODAY WILL NOT RETURN THEN IT MAY BE TOO LATE
You're WELCOME "EQ
The Wayside Pulpit in Winter
The elders who served were: P. J. Blough, H. S. Replogle, J. H. Cassady, C. G. Hesse, T. R. Coff- man, W. F. Berkebile, and Galen R. Blough. On September 10, 1920, Brother and Sister C. G. Hesse became the first pastors of the church. At their departure on Sep- tember 1, 1929, Brother and Sister T. Rodney Coffman took over the pastoral duties, serving until September 1, 1940. Our present pastors, Brother and Sister Galen
R. Blough, began their work with us on January 1, 1941.
Two sisters were licensed to the ministry. Gladys Beeghly
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Klotz served the church in different areas with her husband, Brother Lyle Klotz. Miss Maude Shafer, who was licensed July 9, 1943, finds her field of service helping in the local and surrounding churches.
The following have served as deacons: D. F. Walker (deceased), G. P. Cober (deceased), H. F. Maust, M. J. Meyers, H. W. Shultz, William P. Speicher, C. K. Shober, H. R. Knepper (deceased), M. J. Shank, Elmer D. Walker, Guy Maust, Maurice Brown, Lewis A. Miller, Fay Oester, Norman Maust, and Clyde Bowman.
The aid society had its inception at the very beginning of the church here. Its presidents were: Mrs. Milton Meyers, Mrs. Mahlon Meyers, and Mrs. J. H. Fike. In keeping with the larger program of the district and the Brotherhood, the more inclusive women's work organization came into being about 1933 with Mrs. Ernest Statler, Mrs. Roy S. Walker, Mrs. T. R. Coffman, Mrs. W. P. Speicher, Mrs. H. W. Shultz, Mrs. Galen R. Blough, Mrs. Stella P. Cook, and Mrs. H. B. Speicher serving as presidents through the years. The women have been undergirding the church faithfully and sacrificially, giving of time, talent, and substance that the Lord's work here may grow, not forgetting to weep with them that weep and to rejoice with them that rejoice. This latter was manifest in the beautiful manner in which they helped Pastor and Mrs. Blough to celebrate their silver wedding anniversary and Mr. and Mrs. W. S. Braucher their golden anniversary.
The men have not lagged in their work for the church during the years past. The constant progress attests well to that fact. The men's work organization has sponsored various activities, including serving the fellowship dinners for the fathers and sons and providing the dinners at times for the mothers and daughters. The presidents have been Ernest S. Statler, J. H. Fike, John T. Fike, and W. Harvey Meyers.
Contributions to the work of spreading the gospel have been increasing gradually. Our interest has been in both district and world missions. On February 15, 1948, the church assumed the support of William Kinzie in India. One of our young women, Miss Marjorie Walker, is planning to teach music the next three years in Cairo, Egypt, in a college for girls.
The daily vacation Bible school was first organized in 1923 with E. E. Speicher as its director. C. G. Hesse also served as dean for several years. Since then we have been co-operating with the community school.
-H. D. Shafer and Ruth B. Statler
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CHAPTER 54. THE SUMMIT MILLS CONGREGATION
Church house erected, 1846 Sunday school organized, 1872 Present church membership, 116
Summit Mills, originally known as the Elklick Creek con- gregation, was the religious center of southern Somerset County long before the present towns of Meyersdale and Salisbury were founded. The writer has not learned who the first settler was, but the original "Jacob Maust ... settled in [what is now Elk Lick Township] some period prior to the Revolutionary War."1 He was an ancestor of Magdalena Maust, who was born on December 25, 1775.2 On October 9, 1794, she married Michael Thomas, Sr., of Conemaugh Township, and in 1810 they moved to what is now Markleysburg, Fayette County. The coming of John Burger, Christian Hochstetler, and John Keagy (1783) is told in the history of Meyersdale, which was separated from this mother congregation in 1877.
For the period after the organization of this "branch" of the church in 1783 and John Keagy's being made bishop of the church in Somerset County in 1790, there are no separate records known to be extant, but we have information that George Hein- baugh was one of the ministers here. He preached at Markleys- burg, baptizing Magdalena Maust Thomas in 1811, and by 1814 he had baptized enough members that they were organized into a separate church.3
There is no record as to the number of members in our com- munity in these early days, but it must have been considerable, as the Yearly Meeting (Annual Conference) was held in our midst "in the barn of Bishop John Beachly in 1811."4
In the Christian Family Companion of July 11, 1871, H. R. Holsinger had an editorial about moving his printing office from Tyrone to "Dale City." He said:
Meyer's Mills is a station on the Pittsburg and Connellsville railroad. The town has lately been incorporated, and is now called Dale City. It is situated on the Casselman river, and is in the bounds of the Elk Lick congregation. Two and a half miles north of Town is the Mechanicsburg Meeting-house [Summit Mills], where the lovefeasts are held, and where the Annual Meeting was held in 1841, and 1859, and where it will most likely again be held in 1873, the Lord willing.
1 Welfley's History of Somerset County. Page 527.
2 Blough's History of Western Pennsylvania. Page 546.
8 See Chapter 29, The Markleysburg Congregation.
4 Blough's history. Page 291.
Summit Mills Church, 1950
However, Brother Blough was of the opinion that our church house at Summit Mills was not erected until 1846. He says that this Annual Meeting "was held at the home of Brother William Miller, not far from Meyersdale, on May 28, and 29, 1841." The "deed for land on Elklick Creek" was not made until 1849. Be- cause it involves the history of the other churches in Somerset County, we quote an excerpt from this deed:
This indenture made the 29th day of October, 1849, between Samuel Miller, Summit township, and his wife Mary of one part and Peter Kober and Jacob Moyer of Brothers Valley township, Bishops of the church called the Brethren and their successors in office of the other part. This being the same church or congregation that became located in the county aforesaid at its early settlement by members that moved here from some of the congregations from Eastern Pennsylvania. And that the well known John Keagy (long since deceased) was the first Bishop that presided over said church or congregation in said county, and that after his death Michael Moyer being constituted Bishop in the place of said John Keagy and the said Michael Moyer has since died and leaving a vacancy his place being again filled by two individuals according to the rules of the church to wit: Peter Kober and John Forney, and the said John Forney being called off by death again causing a vacancy in part which again was filled by choosing and ordaining Jacob Moyer in his place. So that the said Peter Kober and Jacob Moyer are the present presiding Bishops of said church or congregation in said county of Somerset and that they are the regular successors to the herein beforementioned John Keagy in his office.5
This same year, 1849, the Annual Meeting which was held in the church near Berlin made plans for dividing the large bishopric into smaller congregations, of which the area in southern Somerset County was called the Elk Lick congrega- tion. Elders John Berkley, Jr., and Jacob Lichty were appointed to preside over the new organization. This year 1849 was noted for the great debate on baptism which took place in the Summit Mills church between Reverend Harry Knepper, of the German Reformed Church, and Elder James Quinter. The moderator was Christian C. Musselman, a deacon in the Brothersvalley congre- gation and later the associate judge of Somerset County.
The Sunday school in our church was organized in 1872, and
5 Somerset County Record of Deeds, Volume 30. Page 414.
Interior, Remodeled Summit
Mills
Church
by 1877 the membership of the entire Elk Lick congregation numbered about six hundred. That year another division took place, resulting in Meyersdale, Elk Lick, and Summit Mills. Jonas Lichty and Joel Gnagey were elders and J. A. Miller was a minister at Summit Mills. In 1881 A. D. Gnagey and D. M. Fike were elected to the ministry, and J. W. Peck, a minister, moved into the congregation. Brother Peck was soon ordained to the eldership and served faithfully until his death, a period of fifty years.
George E. Yoder moved into the congregation in 1908, and was ordained to the eldership in 1912. He served as pastor from 1909 to 1913. S. J. Berkley was elected minister September 22, 1912, and ordained elder July 12, 1917. Brother Berkley preached and served many years as pastor and presiding elder until he moved his membership to Meyersdale about 1938. J. C. Beahm filled the pulpit by substitution from 1938 to 1942, and was elected as the pastor in 1942.
A second church house, called Cross Roads, was built between Summit Mills and Garrett in 1886. The Summit Mills house was remodeled in 1940, providing Cross Roads Church an auditorium and Sunday- school rooms. We also had a very interesting one-hun- dredth anniversary service in 1946, as the building erected by Brother Miller, grandfa- ther of J. E. Miller, long-time editor at Elgin, has been in continuous use and has per-
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formed a real Christian service to this community. Many people have been baptized and received into Christian fellowship, and many have been laid away in the cemetery since the organization of the congregation.
A part of the above data was furnished by the church's his- torical committee.
-Ada Saylor, N. C. Gnagey, J. C. Beahm
CHAPTER 55. THE TEN MILE CONGREGATION
Martin Spohn meetinghouse built about 1775 Present brick church erected, 1832 Present church membership, 48
The exact date of the organization of the Ten Mile church may never be determined, but sufficient research has now been made that the writer is of the opinion that it was prior to the close of the Revolutionary War, and quite possibly could have been several years before the Declaration of Independence was
Ten Mile Church and Part of Cemetery
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signed.1 A number of Brethren families, like the Shidlers, very probably settled here through the invitation of the Ohio Com- pany, while this section was still known as Northwestern Vir- ginia, until the Mason and Dixon Line was completed in 1767.
Crumrine's History of Washington County, published in 1882, page 975, in speaking of the early history of this church, says: "Rev. Mr. Bruist was the first pastor. Rev. Mr. Helft was the second pastor. Grandfather John Spohn was the third pastor. During his ministry the church began to assume definite shape as a church."
Brother John Wise told Brother Blough that "a man by the name of Helft was the first elder." Some writers give "Rev. Mr. Helft, pastor; and Jacob Garber, Sr. (Elder)." No records are available concerning the life and labors of these first ministers. But we are grateful for the genealogy and helpful data on the third pastor, "Grandfather John Spohn."2
Brother John Spohn was born in Maryland, probably about 1775 as he was eighty-one years old in the census of 1856. His father was Michael Spohn, and his mother was Magdalena Let- terman Spohn. His parents were married on March 28, 1773. Evidently he had an older sister, as the story is told in Crum- rine's History of Washington County, page 975: "Rev. Mr. Spohn, when a small child, was brought across the Alleghenies in a sack thrown across the back of a mule, and, together with a stone, balanced the weight of his sister, who occupied the other end of the sack."
This same story is told by the genealogist, Mrs. Byers, whose great-grandfather, Paul McCarty, and his wife, Catherine Spohn McCarty, came over the mountains on horseback with the Spohns, and whose farm in West Bethlehem Township adjoined the farm of Martin Spohn and his wife, Mary (Leatherman) Spohn. Mrs. Byers continues by saying:
Martin and Mary Spohn with two children came to what is now Washington county, Penna. around 1775. . . . The log house built by Martin and Mary Spohn was unlike the usual log house of that time as it was built with a second story [in one room], which was used as a meetinghouse. [This house is still standing.] The old Brethren or Dunkard Church [erected in 1832] grew out of this log
1 Blough's history, pages 44 and 45, under the topic, "Washington County," says: "Elder John Wise told me that the Ten Mile congregation was organized about 1759 or 1760." Brother Wise must have meant to say "settled."
2 Information through two great-great-granddaughters of Martin Spohn, Miss Lola Spohn and Mrs. Opal Spohn Sewell, Maryville, Missouri. This includes data from Mrs. Anna M. Byers, Washington County, Pennsylvania, genealogist; a census record of Marion County, Iowa (1856); Evangelical Lutheran Church (translations), page 377; and Frederick County, Maryland, courthouse record of wills; also a letter from "Aunt Emma Napier," North Bend, Nebraska.
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meetinghouse. The bricks in this [Ten Mile] church were made from clay taken from Martin Spohn's farm. Martin's son, John, became a Dunkard minister.3
That there were "75 members in the Ten Mile church in 1800," as Howard Miller claimed,4 can be accepted as very prob- able, for the erection of Washington County occurred in 1781, and land titles were secured by a great many Brethren families within the next few years, including those named Arnold, Gray- bill, Leatherman, Moore, Shidler, Spohn, Swihart, Thomas, and Wise (1784 to 1787), followed by others in the 1790's.
That these early settlers were deeply religious is evidenced not only by the building of the Martin Spohn meetinghouse, but by the patent title of George Shidler's estates (three hundred ninety-nine acres, one hundred twelve perch, and allowances) being called Bethlehem. And many of the Brethren were located in East Bethlehem Township and West Bethlehem Township, Washington County.
When Grandfather John Spohn was elected to the ministry is not recorded. But the Ten Mile Church Book of Names, at the old brick church, in the list of "members received prior to the year 1838," heads the list with "John Spohn, Sen. (Elder)." Ac- cording to the census records in Iowa (1856), he moved to that state in 1855. But Brother Spohn could go west with the full assurance that the Ten Mile church would be cared for properly, as John Wise, a young minister with eleven years of experience, was ordained to the eldership the year previous, on October 18, 1854.
Brother Wise, at the age of twenty, had united with the church of his parents in 1842, along with over fifty others (forty- four of their names are still preserved, as baptized members) under the preaching of Evangelist James Quinter, pastor of the adjoining church (Georges Creek) on the east side of the river. John Wise served as pastor for over twenty years, before moving to Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, as pastor at Red Bank. He came back at different times for short periods, before finally settling in the Far West.
Crumrine says that Brother Wise was followed by A. J. Ster- ling (four years) and J. M. Tombaugh (1882).
A second church, Pigeon Creek, was built about 1858 or 1860 in the north end of the congregation. The District Meeting was held at Pigeon Creek in 1872. But the high tide of member-
3 See the Spohn family biographies, Part Three of this volume.
4 Howard Miller's Record of the Faithful (1882). Page 15,
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ship began to subside with the loss of Elder John Wise and other leaders, who either moved away or died.
Originally the territory of the Ten Mile congregation in- cluded Washington and Greene counties, Pennsylvania, and Wetzel County and the northern panhandle counties of West Virginia (then Virginia), with several preaching places. In 1842 the membership in Greene County and the West Virginia sec- tion was organized into the Ryerson Station congregation; this action divided the leadership and reduced the total membership.
The Gospel Messenger of March 16, 1886, published a letter from Sister Hannah Smith, of the Ten Mile church, as follows:
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