History of the Rocky Spring Church and Addresses Delivered at The

CENTENNI AL CELEBR ATION R O CKY SPRING

PRESBYTERIAN CH UR CH .

SPR I N G A UGUST 2 1 8 . HELD AT ROCKY , 3, 94

s 1 8 Tng Frankli n R e ositor In the early ummer of 94, p y, in s its editorial page, sugge ted the propriety of suitably cele brati ng the centennial of the erection of the present house of worship of the Rocky Spring Presbyterian Church which

1 was completed in the summer of 7 94. The importance of its proper observance was brought to the notice of the Pres bytery of Carlisle at its June meeting and it was unanimously resolved to appoint a suitable committee to further the above

. . D . worthy object . Rev E Erskine, D . , pastor of the Pres i n b ter a . . . y Church of Newville, Rev S S Wylie, pastor of the

Middle Spring Presbyterian Church , and Rev . H . G. Finney, pastor of the Rocky Spring Church , with A . Nevin Pome

l i e sito Frank n R o r . roy, editor of p y and Joshua W Sharpe,

s E q , of Chambersburg, were appointed by Presbytery. This

m . com ittee soon convened , and appointed Rev E . Erskine ,

D . . . . D . , Chairman , and Rev S S Wylie , Secretary . Com mi ttees were appointed to procure speakers and prepare a programme , on ﬁnances and on entertainment . d August 2 3 , the day appointed , opened beautiful and bright and those interested in the Centennial Celebration

I el t that the heavens above them were smiling upon them .

As early as 7 a . m . teams began to arrive at the church and each minute only increased the number of visitors for the

day . Many came on foot , some on horseback , many more 1 0 in buggies , carriages , hacks , and by a . m . the many pub l i c roads, and especially the one from Chambersburg, pre

sented the appearance of a compact funeral procession . At 9 I O T H E RO CKY SPRING

' hundreed 1 p . m . by count there were seven conveyances on and near the church grounds and tully three thousand people were massed together in and around this grand old ’ f 1 0 historic spot gathered rom far aud near. At o clock the

e church was crowded to repletion , while hundreds ﬁll d the door steps and open windows . With Presbyterian punctuality the exercises opened at 1 0 a . m . with the following programme of exercises which had been previously arranged by the committee in charge :

1 . . . . Prayer of Invocation , by the Pastor, Rev . H G Finney

he 1 00 t . 2 . Singing Psalm , each line read by the Rev E .

Erskine, D . D and lead by W . G . Reed , of Chambers ’ at resen tor s . burg, standing the p desk

R e D . v . . . s 3 Prayer by George Norcross , D , Pa tor of Second

Presbyterian Church , of Carlisle . f d o . 4. Singing the 23 Psalm

5. History of the Rocky Spring Church by Rev . Samuel

S . Wylie. 6 f . o Deceased Ministers the Rocky Spring Church , by

Rev. E . Erskine , D . D .

7 . Presbyterianism and Civil Liberty, by Hon . John Stew

art, President Judge of Franklin County , Pa . m Recess until 2 p . .

- 8 . . 2 p m . The Early Scotch Irish Settlers of the Cum

berland Valley, by Dr . W . H . Egle , State Librarian at

Harrisburg, Pa .

9. Early Founders of the Presbyterian Church in America

D . by Rev. Thomas Murphy, D . . , of Philadelphia , Pa 1 0 — . Impromptu Address Some Lessons from the History

- of this Church , by General and ex Governor James A .

Beaver, of Bellefonte . 1 1 . Development of Pennsylvania Presbyterianism , by Rev .

D esb teri an ournal . . s . . Pr R M Patter on , D , Editor of y j ,

Philadelphia, Pa . 1 m 2 . P. Old Families of Rocky Spring, by Willia Steven son of , New York City . I I PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH .

n . 1 3. Si ging Blest be the Tie that Binds

1 . . 4. Closing Prayer, by Rev Dr George Shearer, Secretary

of the American Tract Society, New York . All the above addresses and historic papers were requested tor publication . Those which were furnished to the Com

mittee . . . of Publication , consisting of Rev S S Wylie , are given in the after pages of the history and published in the order of their delivery. It is hoped that a generous public will aid in a laudable eff ort to put in permanent form much historic matter, which has never as yet been printed , and may arouse a new interest in these old churches of our val ley so rich in history, in noble men and women , and in their inﬂuence on future generations . W .

HISTORY OF ROCKY SPRING CHURCH .

. 2 1 8 . READ AUG 3, 94

As we to - day stand in these presence and amid these his toric surroundings , there is only one voice , which is neither the present or the future but of the omniﬁc past which “ s Pensman peaks and says in the words of the Inspired , call ” “ to remembrance the former days , I said days should speak ” “ a and multitude of ye rs should teach wisdom , remember “ the days of old the years of many generations . Ask thy f ” “ Z athers and they will tell thee . Walk about ion and go ” “ ” “ f . round about her. Tell the towers thereo Mark ye well her bulwarks , consider her palaces , that ye may tell it to the generations following. For this God is our God for . ” ever and ever. Beautiful as well as noble sentiments are

en men these . Those Holy P s were ever pointing that

achi ev Ancient people to the past, to the deeds , history and ments of their fathers , from which they draw their noblest sentiments and highes t inspirations to a better life . Cer 1 2 T H E R OCKY SPRING tai nly do I wish and hope that the reading of and better knowledge of the history of this church and all the services — of the day , would lead us to these reﬂections . First How little we have which is due to ourselves , what a rich legacy — we have received from the past . Second That men have — lived , fought and died for us . Third That as every advance

e makes a new advance asier, we ought to far excel them in material , intellectual and spiritual attainments . Fourth —To a spirit of gratitude and praise to God for the noble record which lies behind us and a desire to commemorate this grand centennial day by raising up some worthy Ebe nezer. We are acquainted with no spot in this ancient

Ki ttochti nn y Valley , around which cluster more hallowed and interesting associations than the venerable Church of of Rocky Spring, the history which I now proceed to give . For the sake of convenience I divide the history into three — — periods : First Early Formation Period ; Second Period of h — Greatest Prosperity; T ird Period of Decay . The ﬁrst period extends from the beginning of the church

i n 1 68 to the pastorate of Rev . John Craighead 7 . The best

1 8 date for the organization of Rocky Spring Church is 73 , but as there are no records in existence of such an organiza tion the exact date never can be named beyond the possibil f ity o a doubt . The date of organization of all these old churches stretching through our valley is involved in much

i nfor obscurity . The old Donegal records give us no direct mation and the early sessional records , if there ever were

of any , are not now in existence . Many these churches never were organized in the modern sense of that term , they simply grew . The fact that the ﬁrst church was erected in the autumn of the following year does not militate against the above for we know congregations tod ay are organized a considerable time before securing a house and especially was this true at that early date whe n their private houses and the outspreading forest trees were generally used as temples of s praise . The following point as the Presbytery records 1 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH . 3 show that there was m uch dispute and delay in selecting a suitable site for the building , are to be kept in mind in

1 0 determining the date of organization . As early as 73 there were a few isolated settlements in this valley such as w at the Falling Spring, Chambersburg, bet een Middle Spring and Shippensburg at the Big Spring and at other 1 points nearer the Susquehanna . When in 734 the Samuel Bl unston license system of title came into effect and the

Proprietary Government encouraged immigration , and the

ferti li t peaceful attitude of the Indians , together with the v of 1 6 the soil , caused a rapid inﬂux , so that in 73 Roop speaks of settlements extending from the long crooked river to the

Potomac . And with the exception of a few Germans at Greencastle and Welsh at Welsh Run they were all Scotch Irish or their immediate descendants and this was true of the whole valley up to 1 750 . We are not to overlook the fact that the uniform custom of these early settlers was to avoid the choice l i metone lands and the towns and settle along streams such as the Con edogwi net and at springs ; to select the higher slate lands such as lie adjacent to this church . And it cannot be disputed that in 1 738 there was quite a settlement of people between Rocky Spring and and Strasburg and around the present town of Stras burg, and between this point and Chambersburg . Among

be vi z: many others the following can named , James and

Samuel Henry, John Hastin , Francis and Samuel Jones ,

William Baird , Matthew and Robert Patton , and James ” Culberson . These elevated slate lands being their choice we ﬁnd , as might be expected , that one of the ﬁrst arrange ments of these early settlers was to have the Gospel preached to them: They importuned the Donegal Presbytery for sup 1 plies , so that in 734 Rev . Alexander Craighead is ordered over the river for three Sabbaths . He is ordered over a

. 1 eram second time In 735 Rev . John Tompson was to p

on d i n 1 6 bulate along the C e ogw et. In 73 Rev. Samuel k n e a a. Gelston was ordered to Op , V , Conestoga and Cone 1 4 THE ROCKY SPRING

d i ne 1 6 ogw t. In 73 supplies are sent for the ﬁrst time to the

Conococheague settlement . When you remember that at the m Pe ua 1 8 eeting of Presbytery at q , October, 73 , a commis si oner w from Hopewell congregation hich , I will show included Rocky Spring Church , complained to Presbytery z 1 that the people of Falling Spring, organi ed 737 , are about to encroach upon them in erecting their house of worship f and the year ollowing, as the Presbytery records show , the privilege was granted them to erect their log church at h the Rocky Spring . Putting all t ese facts together can any one doubt that the old theory that this congregation , as

n z n 1 well as the Middle Spri g, was not organi ed u til 739, or 1 0 as most all authorities hold until 74 , is not correct,rather

1 8 - in 73 if not indeed earlier those noble, God fearing men gathered these gospel- hungry people together and in the of quiet their plain home, and under the shade of the out spreading trees invoked the divine favor and pointed them to “ h f ” the Lamb of God w ich taketh away the sins o the world . The ﬁrst pastor of this church in connection with Big Spring and Rocky Spring was the Rev . Thomas Craighead . The s of s n earlier historian thi church , such as Nevi , Lane and s others , held that Rocky Spring had no ettled pastor until

1 68 7 , when Rev . John Craighead was appointed over them . i s . This altogether incorrect In more recent years the Rev.

John Blairis assigned as the honored ﬁrst pastor . Now I wish to lead you another step back to the Rev . Thomas Craighead .

This I am aware is a much disputed point. The follow ing reasons would seem to justify such conclusions . The

Presbytery record of Donegal held at Derry church , Novem 1 1 ber 7 , 737 , (mark this record) a call was presented to

Presbytery by the people of Hopewell for the services of Mr.

i head— . Cre w as T g which was accepted by him , but he not for the installed almost one year, until second Tuesday of

1 8 : — fﬁ October , 73 . The reasons were two First The di culty in settling boundary betw—een Pennsborough and Hopewell congregation , and Second Because on Saturday night pre 1 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH . 5

vions to the communion , without consulting his session , he suspended his wife from church privileges because she would not live in peace in the same house with her daughter

- e i n law . VJ are to remember that the Presbytery records designate these churches by the name of Hopewell—derived from the township formed in 1 735 by a line drawn across the valley at the Great Spring all east to be called by the name of Pennesboro and west by the name of Hopewell . The churches of Silver Spring and Carlisle ﬁrst took their — general name of Pennesboro from the township one being upper and the other lower and theConococheague by east dis and west, lower east and lower west , so Hopewell was tigui shed by lower and upper from the ﬂow of water . The reasons for believing that Rocky Spring was then called with the other two Spring churches by the g eneral name of ’ H opewell and with Miadl e Spri ng by the name of Upper —A I st. t . Hopewell are these . the time Rev Thomas Craighead became the settled pastor over the Hopewell

Pe a — O ct. 1 8 u Charge or in 73 , Presbytery at q , Robert Henry a commissioner from Hopewell complained that the people of Falling Spring are about to encroach upon Hope i n well congregation . This was the matter of erecting a house of worship at Falling Spring—the old Presbytery of rule being ten miles apart . Now the boundary Middle Spring or Upper Hopewell as is ‘ declared never extended beyond Herron ’ s branch one mile east of Orrstown and fully eight miles from Falling Spring . Now would it not be perfectly absurd for Robert Henry the most prominent member of Middle Spring Church , as the John Blair ses si onal Pe ua records show, to go to q and make complaint to Presbytery that Falling Spring is about to encroach upon Hopewell if Hopewell simply meant as men declare Middle and Big Spring . Why Middle Spring is thirteen miles from Falling Spring and the south and south -west boundary of Middle Spring i s eight miles from Fal ing Spring . But if Hopewell included Rocky Spring 1 6 THE ROCKY SPRIN G

then his conduct is quite clear. Falling Spring was encroaching on Rocky Spring less than ﬁve miles distant .

This man Robert Henry , had a remarkable zeal in this mat — ter so much so that he became involved in trouble with

Presbytery in reference thereto . His zeal I explain for

t —H e these two reasons . Firs was remarkably loyal to his minister Rev . Thomas Craighead and was the main i nstru

n of o me t his settlement ver the Hopewell Charge . And — Second James Henry, who is supposed to be his brother, was a member of the Rocky Spring Session but a short time after this and he would therefore feel a special interest — in the rights of that church . Third Rev. Richard Web ster whose history as you know covers this period of our churches ’ history and its minister declares that Rocky Spring — n was called by the name of Upper Hopewell . Fourth O page 1 89 of Donegal records in recording supplies appointed to Lower Hopewell makes this record on the margin where “ an abstract of all Presbyterial business is given : Upper and Lower Hopewell the former Rocky and Middle ” — Spring and latter Big Spring . Fifth That the name of Rocky Spring does not appear upon the records for many years after this and if it was not designated by Hopewell , how was it known ? All the above is important in ascer taining what is implied by the people of Hopewell that it included the three churches . That Rev. Thomas Craighead preached here is evident further from the fact that the co f temporaneous pastors preached for two , three or our congregations . Rev . Samuel Cavin preached to the four —B appointments of the Conococheague . Sixth y the words —“ of the call A call was presented to Presbytery by the ” people of Hopewell for the services of Mr . T . Craighead — (Page 1 53 of Donegal records . ) Seventh The author of the

f . history o Franklin Co says the ﬁrst pastor was Rev . — Thomas Craighead . Eighth Rev . Richard Webster who evidently examined the records of Presbytery with great care

' and a most reliable historian in speaking of Rev. John Blair R 1 P ESBYTERIAN CHURCH . 7

“ by says then those churches had been served the Rev . ”

r a head . ThomasC e g . The pastorate of Rev Thomas Creag head over the Spring Churches was very brief—about seven

f 1 8 1 months , rom October, 73 until the latter part of April , 739. At the June meeting of the Donegal Presbytery 1 739 he is reported as having died . The theory handed down in ref erence to his death is that at the close of a communion ser vice at the Big Spring and at the close of a remarkable ser mon for which he was noted , he sank down in the pulpit “ ” from exhaustion after exclaiming, Farewell , farewell . Like Moses of old his natural strength was not abated “ l Crea head ” though he was ca led in Presbytery Father g , and that his grave is unknown to this day . He was a stir ring preacher—indeed a revivalist—whose pulpit ministra tions were greatly blessed of God in all the various ﬁelds of

. s labor he occupied Cotton Mather, Freetown, Mas , his ﬁrst pastoral charge in this country speaks of him in these “ man of striking words , That he was a an excellent spirit and a great blessing to the plantation . A man of singular s piety , meeknes and industry in the work of God All that are acquainted with hi m have a precious esteem of him and if he should be driven from among you it would be such a damage, yea such a ruin as is not without horror to be ” thought of . It is a fortunate thing that out of the wreck ’ and ruin of the past that the sessional records of Mr . Blair s ministry at Middle Spring have been preserved , which are perhaps the oldest sessional records of any church in the val ley . Otherwise his relation to this church would have been enveloped in darkness . I quote in full of sessional records , “ h 1 . . 2 t page 2, Dec 7 , 742 The minister and elders of Big

Spring, Middle Spring and Rocky Spring met at Middle Spring in order to settle the division of the minister’ s labors among the three congregations . It is unanimously agreed that the minister’ s labors be equally divided in a third part to each place , as being most for the glory of God and the m of s good of the place. Also , upon the otion the elder of 1 8 THE ROCKY SPRING

Big Spring, it is left to them , the people and Mr . Blair to converse among themselves in respect to the subscriptions of n r the Big Spring co g egation . Appointed that the session of each place meet every second Monday of their turn of

' r h sermon . Ag eed that eac session send a member to Pres b ter y y or Synod in their turn beginning with Middle Spring . Agreed that none be published in order to marriage until n they make application to the minister or some of the sessio . ” Concluded with prayer . This session book shows that these

afterwrrds three sessions quite frequently met as at this time, for business . Rev . John Blair was never a member of Don egal Presbytery , but of the New Castle Presbytery . So the Donegal records in no way help us either as to the begin n ing or end of his pastorate over these churches . When he

at now ended his ministry this place cannot ; be exactly determined . The New Castle Presbytery records which alone could authoritatively answer are not in existence or at least cannot be found . The time of his pastorate according

1 8 to Webster, Sprague , Nevin , is the latter part of 74 or 8 ’ 8 on December 2 , 4 . The reason for their belief is due wholly to the fact that the sessional records referred to above stops with that date . After no little study of this point I place the dissolution of the pastorate at a much later date

: —I n 1 and for the following reasons First October 5, 745, he bought a large farm of 2 1 2 acres from Thomas and Rich

1 ard Penn , the patent for which he had recorded in 753 and

1 60 . sold it to Samuel Rippy , Shippensburg, in 7 Second I quote from an old receipt of steepens , now in my posses “ : . 1 1 1 . sion Sept , 757 Received from John Johnston , two pounds , two pence, which appears to me to be in full of M ” e aw . steepens due Rev. John Blair . Signed David g He was collector and this indicates that he left about that time — and they were settling the salary due him . Third Sprague , s Alexander, Webster and other all agree that the reason for s his leaving the springs was due to the incursions of Indian , but any one conversant with that period knows that between 1 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH . 9

1 the settlers and Indians there were no outbreaks in 748. We 1 all know after the disastrous defeat of Braddock , July 9, 755, and the retreat of Dunbar, the tardy, this valley in every part, and especially this part, was swept by ﬁre and sword , the scalping knife and tomahawk of an exultant savage foe . When thirteen hundred and eighty-four refugees were hud dled together in Shippensburg, and seven hundred families left this valley for York and Lancaster counties ; when men between this Spot and Strasburg plowed their ﬁelds with their guns strapped to their plows , and reaped their harvests

. h with their riﬂes set against the nearest tree, Mr Blair, wit

1 for his family, would then have to ﬂee in 755 their lives . Fourth No historian of this life gives the least hint of what

I e 1 8 1 r did or where he spent his time if he left in 74 to 757, the date of his next pastorate . Is it likely that this man in the prime of his manhood and in the full possession of his many talents would have remained in idleness those nine years ? From such facts the best conclusio n is that he left this valley in the Autumn of 1 755 and in those unsettled times the pastoral relation was not dissolved until 1 757 when h e accepted a call to the Fags Manor Church . After remain

for ing there ten years , occupying the position vacated by his gifted brother, Samuel, he became Professor of Divinity in Princeton College. Rev . Blair lived at Middle Spring i n the centre of his large ﬁeld of labor on a farm near the Mid Z dle Spring now owned by W . S . iegler. He married a

D enborrow Miss , of Philadelphia , and lived in a style alto

ari shoners gether above his plain p . He was a great unti r ing worker. He was frequently absent from his important work at the Springs and engaged in revival work and preach ing tours in Virginia . He was a gifted writer and Dr. Alex “ ander says of him : As a theologian he was not inferior to ” an y man in the Presbyterian church . It is no exaggeration to say that he was one of the most gifted and eloquent men who ever ﬁlled the pulpit of the Springs Churches. Rocky Spring Church no doubt had occas ional supplies 20 THE ROCKY SPRING

duringthe period between the pastorates of Rev . John Blair

Crea head 1 68 . and that of Rev . John g in 7 It was a very unsettled period and many were the vacancies throughout the Presbytery during that time . It was during this ﬁrst formative period that the ﬁrst house of worship was erected

- f at Rocky Spring Church . The following is the action o “ 6 : . 1 1 . Presbytery Conococheague , Nov , 739 A supplica tion being presented and read requesting the committee’ s concurrence that the meeting house be erected at the Rocky Spring and hearing a great deal on both sides of the question the committee O bserving that proper methods were fallen into some time ago to regulate this aff air and a report O f the

rea head good issue being made by Rev . C g and a commission from that p e ople together with several other circumstances too tedious here to insert , do agree and conclude that the house for public worship be erected as near to the Falling

Spring as conveniently as may be . Concluded with prayer . While a number O f sights are claimed on which this original

can church was erected , yet the best information I now com mand , places it in part on the ground now occupied by the present building with the eastern side running parallel with the graveyard fence and nearer to it than the present build

- ing . It was doubtless about thirty ﬁve feet square when originally erected . There was the same relation to points of compass as the present building, with front towards the

- s . outh It was constructed of rough logs , one and one half

w . stories high , with one row of windows on lo er ﬂoor Soon proving too small for the congregation an addition was formed by constructing of logs a small square building attached to it on the south and extending one -half the length f of the main one, the roo of the main building was extended over it and the wall between the two was sawn away . No s window were in this extension . A similar addition was also made and joined to the other south side of the main structure . I do not know what Sir Christopher Wren or some of our modern architects would think of this building.

22 THE ROCKY SPRING

Content to live on honest fare in peace ,

Sweet to the taste his unbought dainties are,

And his own homespun he delights to wear. far Yes , my friends , when we look back to this distant period of a century and a half, it was these plain , honest,

z - ac hard working men and women with their ealous , self s riﬁci n g pastors , who by faith , by prayer, by honest and manly

diﬂi cul ti es toil and by victory over to which we are strangers , laid the permanent foundations both of church and state . All glory to God and all honor to these fathers “ Other men labored and ye have entered into their labors .

PART II .

m From the com encement of the pastorate of Rev. John

rea head 1 68 1 8 1 C g , 7 to the year 5, at the close of the stated sup i h - McKn t. ply of Dr. John g This period of forty seven years was the most important in the history of this church during

of which time it attained high water mark prosperity . It was the golden age of this church . At this time the dis tracted condition of the churches of the valley over the Old and New Side controversy had practically died out . The

Indian troubles no longer came to the front , peace having n been patched up between the French and the E glish . The people were returning from the Eastern counties to again occupy their homes , and ships were bearing their precious fruitage of immigrants from the Old to the New World . Each of the three Springs congregations now called pastors h ‘ as . D uﬂi eld n of their own . Big Spring Dr , Middle Spri g

1 1 68 a Dr. Cooper, and on April 3, 7 , Rocky Spring has p pointed over it by the installation act of Presbytery Rev . a head 1 00 John Cre g called at a salary of £ , not all of which however is paid in money . He had been called the previous 1 6 t year, in April , 7 7 , accep ed in October, and installed as PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH . 23

above . Rocky Spring was his only pastoral charge and next to Rev . Nelson the longest in the history of the church ,

- . . Crea head a period of thirty one years Mr g was a tall , handsome man , with rather dark hair and possessed a musi cal voice . His sermons were well prepared , forceful and persuasive and without manuscript delivered with a power

f ew and eloquence which men possessed . In his disposition ff he was mild , a able, and peculiarly winning . Every one knew him and he knew everybody in all the region . His powers and ﬁne humor made him the favorite of all with whom he came in contact . I here take occasion to speak of

- - his home which stood one half mile north east of this church , a large farm the main part of which is in the possession of

Mr. Samuel Wingert . It was built of stone the walls of 1 8 which were destroyed in 75. It is thus described . It was f a grand old building with walls two eet thick , bent and curved inward considerably, from the occasion of ﬁre, the interior having been twice entirely burned out during the h rea d. . C ea occupancy of Rev g It had great stone chimneys ,

ﬂues four in the east and a large , open , wide chimney place in the west end with space enough to boil apple butter, bake , boil soap and b utcher. A long porch extended in front . During his day this house was headquarters for the clergy and eldership of all the surrounding congregations . Drs . n King and Cooper, Revs . Dang, Do gal , Steel and Linn were frequent visitors . The social and elegant manners of Rev . Creaghead and wife made this place one of constant resort

O f by the members his congregation . The tea and quilting

- parties . The three cornered parlor was often the scene of a merry, social throng after the husking frolic or apple butter boilings . Besides being a member several times of the General Assembly and sent by the General Assembly to several i m portant missions , he stands out especially conspicuous in the cause of the Revolution . Belonging as he did to a noble did Scotch family , and living as he in those stirring days of 24 THE ROCKY SPRIN G

’ 6 7 , his noble soul burned with indignation against the wrongs perpetrated on the early colonists . By both voice and example he lead his people in that patriotic cause . In thrilling tones he exhorted his members to stand up boldly “ and let their slogan cry , God and liberty forever ring from ” mountain to mountain . All seemed to be overcome but “ Old . Crea head ! one lady who cried out , Stop, Mr g I j ust want to tell ye again if ye have Sich a purty boy as I have in the war ye will na be so keen for fighting, quit talking and gang yourself to the war. Yer always preaching to the boys about it but I dunna think ye’ d be very likely to go ” yourself; first go and try it . But the reverend gentleman did go and acted both as captain and chaplain and acquitted himself bravely on many a fild of battle as we no doubt will hear to . day . He was at times subject to periods varying a from a few days to many months , of great ment l depression , fll bordering at times upon insanity . A like trouble a i cted and his friend colaborer, Dr. Cooper, of Middle Spring.

Then he would rise from these , periods of mental gloom and manifest a fervency in declaring the gospel and a zeal in his ministry among the people which was a surprise to all . But this disease brought this noble patriot and soldier of the 1 Cross to a premature grave . On April 9, 799, the pastoral 0 relation was dissolved and in a few days , April 2 , he passed

- into eternity at the early age of ﬁfty seven . His body rests under that slab , covered by thyme in that quiet enclosure of s e the dead , the only one of all these pastors who l eps among those to whom they ministered . Did space allow many other things crowd upon me for utterance in reference to this servant of God—the grandest man who ever stood in f this sacred desk . His tablet well records he was a aithful and zealous servant of Jesus Christ. He was a broad man , a ﬁnancier, a patriot and a preacher. After a vacancy of two years a call was presented to f Presbytery for the pastoral services o Rev . Frances Her ron , which he accepted and he was ordained and installed PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH . 25

o 1 800. ver Rocky Spring Church , April 9, He was thoroughly consecrated to his work and his preaching was with such unction and power that the impenitent i n all parts O f his large ﬁeld of labor were convicted and and brought to Christ . Bible Catechetical Classes Sprang u p and in a spiritual sense as well as numerically the con gregati on grew . It is probable the congregation attained r i ts greatest strength and prosperity du ing his ministry . It a to was a gre t loss Rocky Spring, but a greater gain to

First Church , Pittsburg, when he, after ten years , accepted ’ the latter s call . Had he remained and given his grand mind and heart to the work as u nreservedly as he did in the great metropolis of Western Pennsylvania , no one here

ff - c an doubt but that things would be di erent to day . Soon after his removal a call was presented by the Rocky

McKn i . h t . . Spring Church to the Rev John g , D D Mr. McKn ight refused to accept the call but acted as supply for fo 1 8 1 h e ur years , until 5, when accepted the Presidency of

Dickinson College . At the time he acted as supply to Rocky Spring and until his death he owned and lived in the property in which Mrs . W . L . Chambers now resides . The

S records how that it was in the township of Guilford , bounded by lands of Joseph and George Chambers and

Mc Kni ht Philip Berlin , containing about ﬁfteen acres . Dr. g was a very superior man , and this congregation was fortunate in having his ministrations among them for four years .

His leaving them was regretted by all , while some became so much discouraged as to say that they would never attempt to call another pastor. A ﬁne portrait of this man hangs in the reception room o f the Presbyterian Historical Society of

Phi labelphi a. In this picture he wears his gown and bands and while his face is by no means handsome, it possesses the beholder as of one possessed with great force of charac

ter and high born manhood . It was during the second period of the history of this s church that this present hou e was erected , the centennial

- of which we celebrate to day . 26 TH E ROC KY SPRIN G

The present church building is located on the brow of a s see o to c mall hill , and can be n , wing its pe uliar situation , for one a the s several miles , as pproaches it by various road

o leading thereto . At the f ot of the hill issuing from out

S m c c i ts rocks is a large pring , fro which the hur h takes As w w the o of P name. is ell kno n in hist ry the early res b teri an oc y churches in Pennsylvania, nearly all were l ated close by large springs . f The present ediﬁce was built by Walter Beatty . It is o

S brick upon a stone foundation , and in ize sixty by forty

c . eight feet , and eighteen feet to eiling It is entered by a door on the south side; although there are tw o doors on the east and one on the north Side at the end of the aisles in the church . The inside corresponds somewhat to the exterior The of the ediﬁce . aisles are paved with bricks , while the

o . ﬂoors of the pews are b arded The pulpit is old fashioned ,

i b - S of a c rcular form , above it eing an oval haped sounding

o . board or can py This is entered by a staircase , towards which a passage on each side with a railing leads . With

x old - f the e ception of the ashioned table , the chancel does not contain either benches or chairs . These probably have been removed or taken away as relics . The pews are high ,

- straight backed , long and narrow , and unpainted . All have pasted upon them the names of former occupants . We

t - found s anding in the church two ten plate stoves , which Seem to be almost as great relics of the past as the church itself . The pipes extending from these O ld time heaters pass up into the ceiling and out through the roof, there being no chimneys on the church ; and it is surprising to us that the ediﬁce has not burned down long ago . At one end of the ceiling near the entrance on the south side , is a square opening which gives admittance to the loft . This is reached of by means a rude ladder, which is left in the church . This “ ladder has afforded an opportunity for the write- your-name ” ou-the~wall idiot, and , consequently, all around the walls of the church are the vulgar eff usions of the modern vandals . B PRES YTERIAN CHURCH . 27

T he indignation which this causes in the minds of the t o a houghtful visit r, destroys , in a gre t measure, the feelings w hich would otherwise occupy the mind while examining i this ancient church. The ce ling is arched in the place n w here the walls a d ceiling me et. There is placed all a a a o to o ther round the room n rrow strip of b ard , which g

o f w with the edges the windo cases, is painted blue, similar

on . to the painting the pulpit This church interior , as your

fa a 1 see o d . thers saw it in the utumn of 794, so you it t ay No painter’ s brush or carpenter’ s hand has been laid on it f ! f or a century . Surprising act Undergone less change than any other church building in this country. Many o a of thers are older in Philadelphia, and other p rts the

- o country , but as it was then , so to day . A s uvenir , a keep sake from your fathers . The only changes wrought by the s hand of man were tho e necessary to its preservation , new s 1 8 2 1 86 wooden step , new roof in 5 , in 3, and the present ut 1 88 slate roof p on in 5, and provided for by Joseph Gil as more . This church it is now, with its almost perfect roof, f r walls and foundation would stand o another century . May ’ the Divine Hand so ord er it . Then may your children s children celebrate a second Centennial . Just prior to the erection of this ediﬁce a warrant was taken out by the trus tees and the land , for the congregation , was then for the ﬁrst

’ “ : time surveyed . The following is the wording Warrant e s for ﬁve acres granted to G orge Matthews , E q , James Mc

s s . Calmont, E q , James Ferguson , E q , James Culberson, Esq i n and Samuel Culberson , Trustees for the congregation , 6 cluding the Rocky Spring Church , Nov. , During the Revolutionary “War of this period I hesitate not to say that this w as one of the most patriotic congregations in the valley . In proof I have gathered from some imperfect lists ,

: viz one general , four colonels , twelve captains , and a like

fﬁ m ~ number of other o cers , and in a list of the embers pre d pare after the war , there were only one or two men who had not been soldiers of the Revolution and for many years 28 THE RO CKY’ SPRING

f a ter. All the members of session had held important posi

tions in the Continental Army . A list of the soldiers fol : u 6th lows Sam el Culbertson , colonel battalion , Cumberland n t s 1 th Cou y As ociators , 77 7 ; lieutenant colonel 4 battalion , Ma 1 0 1 80 M lm . cCa on t th y , 7 James , major of the 5 battal 1 6 6th 1 th ion , July , 7 7 ; major of battalion , 7 7 7 ; major of 4

1 0 1 80. 6 h battalion , May , 7 John Wilson , adjutant t bat

1 m R . v talion , 7 7 7 Willia amsey , pri ate , Captain Arm ’ 1 6 d strong s company , December, 7 7 ; ensign , 3 company ,

6 h 1 R t . battalion , 7 77 obert Peebles , colonel of battalion of

1 6 Associators , July , 7 7 . Robert Miller, on committee of

O 1 2 1 . e th bservation , July , 7 74 Rob rt Culbertson , captain 5 lli n 1 6 batta o . th a , 7 7 James Gibson , captain 4 batt lion , Jan 1 th uary , 7 7 7 . John Rhea , lieutenant 5 battalion , January ,

1 . 2d 7 77 William Huston , captain battalion , September , 1 6 6th t 1 a th 6th 7 7 ; captain bat alion , 7 7 7 ; c ptain 5 company ,

t 1 8 . . ba talion , January , 77 Rev John Craighead , private in

’ ’ Captain Samuel Culbertson s company , Colonel Armstrong s l 1 6 t . bat a ion , December, 7 7 Joseph Culbertson , Robert

n I n Stockto , and James Reed were privates the same com ’ . A o pany Samuel Patton , captain in Col . rmstr ng s battal

1 6 d a 6th 1 ion , July , 7 7 ; captain 3 comp ny of battalion 7 7 7 ;

f h 1 1 2d O t t 0 80 . captain company 4 ba talion , May , 7 George ’ o Matthews , captain C lonel Armstrong s battalion , December, ’ 1 6 McCon nel l 7 7 . John , lieutenant in Captain Matthew s C 1 6 8th a 1 ompany , December, 7 7 ; captain in b ttalion , 7 7 7 ;

th 1 0 1 80 . captain in 4 battalion , May , , 7 William Beard , d William Wad le , William Kirkpatrick , Robert Caldwell , w r John Machan , James Hindman and John Cald ell we e pri ’ 1 6 o vates in Captain Matthew s company , December, 77 . J

se h 8 1 8 . p Stevenson , ﬁrst lieutenant , th battalion , 7 7 Albert

r e t a 8th O f 8th battall i on Tor ance , ﬁrst li u en nt company , ,

1 8th 1 8 . 77 7 , and lieutenant in battalion , March , 7 7 Joseph

I st th 1 0 Caldwell , lieutenant company , 4 battalion , May , 1 80 o I st th 7 . J hn Caldwell , ensign company , 4 battalion , d th 1 0 1 80 . r May , 7 James Culbe tson , captain 3 company , 4

30 THE ROCKY SPRING

f noon , would be occupied . After the sermon and the encing the table by the pastor, and receiving their tokens of good standing at the hands of the trusted elders , table after table would be ﬁlled and vacated by the voice of song, usually the “ ’ ” 1 1 6th t Psalm , I ll of Salvation ake the Cup , each table ff addressed by a di erent minister. It was no uncommon experience for darkness to overtake these faithful worshipers before they would reach their homes . The intermission between the services of the Sabbath was spent in exchanging ’ the salutation of the day under the trees on all sides of God s ff house, so di erent from the nude condition of this rocky hill

- to day . The pastor and session would meet in the study house for consultation . The young people would invariably wind their way down over the rocky declivity to the gush ing waters from the rock .

Blest sight it was to mark that godly ﬂock , n At intermissio , grouped throughout this wood ;

Each log, each bench , each family upping block ,

Some grand dame held amidst her gathered brood . f s Here cakes were shared , and ruit , and counsel good ; ’ Devoutly spoken twas of crops and rain ,

-b - Hard y the church the broad brimmed elders stood , ’ While oe r that slope did ﬂow a constant strain

Of bevys spri ngward bound or coming back again .

W Ah , luckless ight, whom gallantry did press ,

Fast by that spring , to stoop him often low,

u - And serve, with cup p dipped , and bland address ,

The gathering fair, whose multitude did grow Off Her ﬁrst cup hath drunk , and does walk ;

Her then to follow fain he must forego , far With some happier swain he marks her talk ,

While he must stoop , and grin , and water all the ﬂock . PR ESRYTE R I A N CHURCH .

PART III .

Mc 1 8 1 6 r . From the year , or the minist y of Rev John — Knight, until the present time this third period of the Rocky M Spring Church opens with the ministry of Rev . John c Knight it seems remarkable that so little is known and no proper biography of this worthy man of God has ever been preserved . The few facts of his life I have been able to glean

! are given below . The exact time and place of his birth and place of education are now not known to the writer. o 1 8 He was b rn in New York City, likely in the year 7 9, the M ni c K ht . D . son of Rev . John g , D , his predecessor at Rocky

Spring . He was licensed by Carlisle Presbytery September

1 6 1 8 1 1 , , and pastor of Rocky Spring Church from Novem

1 1 8 1 6 0 1 8 6 ber 3, , to January 2 , 3 ; Pastor of St . Thomas 1 82 1 8 6 i 1 8 from 4 to 3 ; organized Fayetteville dur ng 33, and

1 8 0 1 8 6 . stated supply of same for six years , from 3 to 3 He r 1 8 was dismissed to Presbyte y of Lewes , and in 39 united with the New School branch of the Presbyterian church . In 1 8 0 1 8 6 4 stated supply to Rehobeth Church , Maryland . In 4

H ami tol svill e Phil adel pastor of New School church , , near

1 8 phia . He is marked W . C . in New School minutes of 57 , 2 1 8 died July 9, 57 , and burried at Montrose , Susquehanna

P - a. county, , aged sixty eight years . He married the d s aughter of Joseph Chambers , E q; and owned and lived on the farm recently sold by John Schlichter to the Land and

Co . . Improvement , of Chambersburg, Pa The older people and their children have ever spoken of him in the highest terms , except that he became a New School man . That he w as f - a aithful , laborious under shepherd is evident from the length of his ministry of twenty years and the wide extent of his ﬁeld of labor. But many things blocked the way to e a prosp rous ministry . For many years there was much sickness and the Great Enemy thinned the ranks both of great and small . Emigration to the west and removals to

Chambersburg and other places were severe , while his own ’ 32 THE ROCKY SPRING

n ministry lacked concentratio . He preached at Strasburg,

Rocky Spring , St . Thomas and Fayetteville . After a brief interval of four years , during which time the church was

- supplied by the farmer preacher, Rev. Robert Kennedy, of

w as near Welsh Run , whose relationship to the church that of stated supply.

. e Rocky Spring and St Thomas churches call d the Rev .

n 0 1 8 0 Alexander Kilpatrick Nelso and on May 3 , 4 , he was installed pastor of these churches where he remained until

1 0 1 8 - April , 73, after a pastorate of thirty three years and at the ripe age of four score he honorably lays aside the Gospel h Armor. Rev . Nelson has the onor of sustaining the long

of est pastorate any minister in the history of this church .

w as With equal propriety he the most humble, quiet, unas sumi ng and self- denying of all these worthies who stood in this sacred desk . One word could be emphasized all through “ no t his life , brilliancy , but faithfulness ; be thou faithful —a until death and I will give thee a crown of life, ﬁt epi

a h o . t p . An illustration in p int He was always both regu lar and punctual in ﬁlling his appointments no matter what was the weather or the number present . On one bad Sab bath only the sexton appeared , but Father Nelson went through all the services as though a congregation was pres ent . It so happened that the sexton sunk into a deep sleep but the reverend gentleman completed his sermon and the services as though nothing unusual had occurred . That he

— di s osi ti on ‘ i s was of a yielding , self denying p illustrated in 00 and the fact that he was called on a salary of $4 , that dur ing all these long years not a dollar increase was ever asked by him or granted by the congregations . When you take into thought that his pastorate extended over the Civil War when prices of everything were much inﬂated and currencv depreciated Sixty per cent . , the fact that there was an endow 2 0 ment fund which brought in $ 5 , to aid in payment of sal ary , that the congregation was quite numerous , that it was ,

‘ — for its numbers , one of the wealthiest in the valley there B PRES YTERIAN CHURCH . 33 w ere four families worth each—you have an illus trati on here of what the Bible means when it warned the “ ” Jews not to muzzle the ox which treadeth o ut the corn.

o f R Soon after the resignation ev: A. K. Nelson the

Rocky Spring and St. Thomas churches presented a call to

a . the Rev . S muel C George and he entered upon his duties as 2 1 8 pastor on November 5, 7 5, and continued the accept a a o f a ble p stor this charge for ne rly twelve years , until Feb

ruar 1 0 1 88 . t y , 7 The writer has only a few fac s at hand relative to Rev. George. He was reared and educated in a Western Pennsylv nia , graduated from Allegheny Theolog

n s h ical Semi ary , licensed by the Pre bytery of Alleg eny in 1 60 1 86 was 8 . In 2 he sent out by the Bo ard of Foreign

Missions as a missionary to Bangkok, Siam . He returned to his native land in 1 873 o n account of the delicate health o f his wife, who died a few years after. He resigned

1 88 ‘ in 7 , and soon after he became the pastor of the Presbyterian Church o f

Unionport , Ohio , where he remained as pastor un

1 8 til 93, where he now resides . The present pastoral re lation between the Rev .

Henry G . Finney and this charge was formed in 1 888 whose bow still abides in strength amongst this peo u ple . For a n mber of years Rev . H . G . Finney preached as supply to the Presbyterian C h u r c h or

R EV H . G F Fayetteville . This good INNEY brother, with his worthy family , is so well and favorably 34 THE ROCKY SPRI NG known in this community that any special reference to him and his work as pastor of this church would be unnecessary at this time . It was during this third period of the history of Rocky

Spring Church that the St . Thomas Church was organized . No regular organizatio n was formed until the summer of 1 8 24, when the petition of the people of Campbellstown and t s its vicinity petitioned to be organized in o a eparate church ,

nd Mc Kni h . a t which was referred to Messrs Denny , Elliott g who granted the same . However, preaching by stated sup

1 8 1 0 plies had previously been granted by Presbytery from , and for fourteen years they employed the services of the

Kni h . Mc ts . g , father and son St Thomas Church has ever n been , si ce its organization , associated with Rocky Spring in one pastoral charge , and the people , with the exception of Rev . A . K . Nelson , have never enjoyed the advantages of 1 a pastor residing among them . Their pastors since 8 24 until the present have been the same as at Rocky Spring . At the present tim the roll of membership of this church

- a- (Rocky Spring) scarcely numbers half dozen , and the most of these are aged , inﬁrm women living in Strasburg . The n questio may well be asked , whence the causes of this remarkable decay and almost extinction of church member

. T a n ship hese causes are many and of long st nding, runni g back to the commencement of the present century . First

Emigration to the towns . Formerly Presbyterians loved the country but now town and mercantile and professional

. E life are preferred migration to Western Pennsylvania , l Ohio , and further west, have to d heavily on this church , 1 8 0 1 8 0 — especially in the period from 2 to 3 . Second Sick ness and death have played a necessary part in this deca

1 8 0 1 8 dence . Some people relate that from 2 to 24 was a

of period of epidemic , of fever a most fatal kind , so that at times it was difﬁcult to ﬁnd enough well persons to attend to the sick and bury the dead . Many heads of families were

: thus called away , among these at least three elders Captain U PRESBYTERIAN CH RCH. 35

a s. S muel Patton , Charles Cummins and William Cummin

as T he congregation w much weakened thereby . Third

Financial troubles. In the early part of this century prices w ere inﬂated and , as is generally true , many persons went heavily in debt. Afterwards there was great depreciation o f land property on account of the cheaper and richer lands o f Ohio and other states and many of the farmers of the Rocky Spring Church were compelled to sell their farms for

n - o e fourth of what they cost and move elsewhere. Fourth

The character of the immigrants. Generally the German type and o - not naturally congenial to the Sc tch Irish element , and they at once began to establish churches of their own faith. The Rocky Spring farmers would sell out in almost every instance to a man from one O f the eastern counties who were wont to O ften boas t that they would dig out the Scotch

a th— e Irish with their silver sp des . s Ther was a want of adaptability and congeniality between the old Scotch - Irish type of Presbyterian of this church and the peo ple of the surrounding communities . In this community the feeling

s n — between the e two classes was very inte se . Sixth Very many of these older aristocratic families never entered the m arriage relation and hence became extinct . This was especially marked of the Wilsons , Gilmores , and to a certain

Mc l ellandS C . e extent, of the At the same time the w alth and farms of the community became unduly concentrated in f f — O ew . a the hands a Seventh Not one of all these p stors ,

rea head s from the Rev. John C g down to the present time unless we except Dr. Herron , whose place of residence is in doubt—either lived or identiﬁed himself with the immediate community . It was manifestly contrary to the highest interests of this church that all these worthy men should live four miles distant in Chambersburg . It cannot now be doubted that if this people years Since had built a parsonage at the church for their minister, modernized their church , held prayer meetings , and especially a Sabbath School , and f of shown an interest in the spiritual wel are this community, 36 THE RO CKY SPRI NG

a ff n - s things would present di ere t aspect to day . Even at thi late hour if some man O f both wealth and consecration would be inspired of this grand occasion and moved of God to erect a manse and chapel and place in it a man who would live' f with the people, and adapt himsel to the people, and if he had a little of the German blood in his veins all the better .

I say that Ichabod need not be written on this house . Why Should this church die when two summers smee there was a

- ﬁve h Sabbath School of seventy sc olars and teachers , the i ﬁrst and only school in tshistory . I t may be well to correct a false impression which is gen erally held in this community i n reference to the future title ‘ “ i t and disposition of this church property, which is , that should never pass out of the possession of the Presbyterians ” n as long as grass grows and water runs . In a swer to this I quote here the 2 5th Section of the Constitution of this

6 1 6 : o r church adopted May , 79 If in the course procedure of Divine Providence it should hereafter so eventually hap pen that the congregation of Rocky Spring should come to be dissolved from being a society , and should be so considered e by Presbytery and their own mutual agre ment , ﬁnding r themselves divested of all probable hope of ret ieve, then , in

“ S that hopeless ituation , the then existing trustees are hereby empowered to dispose of the Glebe lands with the church and other improvements that now are or may be thereon erected , to any other Society who may be disposed to purchase the r same for a house of worship . But the pu chasers must be bound never to suffer the said church to be converted to any other purpose than a place of worship , and also the grave y ard to be ever continued for that purpose and no other. The following i s a list of the ministers who were born in

i z: . o and raised in Rocky Spring Church , v Rev J hn Boyd , 1 0 whose father was an elder and died in 77 , and is buried at Rocky Spring; Rev . James Patterson , born in latter part of last century, son of Nicholas Patterson , was a pastor in

Philadelphia, and died many years ago ; Rev . Charles Cum

38 THE ROCKY SPRING

McCl elland Robert Gilmore, William , Robert Anderson , John

Mc l elland C . Hunter, John , David Over, Wm Gilmore, Wm . d H . An erson , Joseph Gilmore, William A . Hunter and Thos .

M l ell and . c A C . Those who acted exclusively as collectors of stipends were James Breckenridge , James Boyd , John Mc n Connel , Joh Wilson , Moses Kirkpatrick , Samuel Ligate,

Mc lro George E y, Robert Anderson and Charles Allison . When the congregation was large their administration of m f n the te poral af airs of the congregatio was quite elaborate .

d s o r They divided the congregation into eleven istrict , each m which had what they called a com itteeman and his collector . The following article of agreement between the Trustees and pewholders , an original copy of which will be found to day among the archives , is interesting illustrating the strict business - like methods of these old fathers : “ T H E Seat Numbered which belongs to the Presby t erian Society in their church near Rocky Spring, is now rated at per annum from and after the ﬁrst of N overn ber, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred A N D W and HEREAS , of township , doth now agree with the said Society, by their agents , and giving his note, obliging himself to pay thereon the sum of yearly and every year for the use of of said seat, in two equal i n payments , on the ﬁrst Mondays in May and October, each

f : F year, as in said obligation is duly set orth THERE ORE , the said is hereby vested with a right and title to the f due and orderly use of of said seat, and his part thereo bears the same proportion to the whole of said seat, which the aforesaid yearly payment he stands bound for, bears to the whole annual price of the seat. And said right is hereby

so granted to continue to him , his heirs and assigns , long as he or they standeth bound and doth punctually pay the said yearly sum 01 in time and manner as he the said

hath obligated himself to do . PROVIDED , that he or they do also , in other respects , conform him or themselves to the rules of the said Society . PR BY R rA N E S TE CHURCH . 39

WITNESS the Names and Seals of the Agents of said soci ety . Done at Rocky Spring this day of one thousand hundred and The grave vard hard by was used as a place of burial at a very early age in the history of this church . A feeling of awe pervades our mind as we wander over the resting places

S of those who lived more than a century ago . Here leep the dust of many brave spirits who freely ventured their all to secure that precious freedom we now enjoy . Here rest those who ﬁrst settled on these hills and valleys which now sur

us round on every side , and whose ax woke the stillness of the w primeval forest, who cleared these ﬁelds now waving ith v luxuriant harvests . All around us lie the bra e men who amid the wilds of this almost uninhabited land built here a house for the worship of the Most High and disseminated through our most remote settlements the hallowed principles of the religion of Christianity . Time would fail me to enu

Crea heads Cummi nses merate the g , the Robertsons , the , the

McCon nells Boyds, Burns , , Beards, Culbersons , Wilsons ,

Mc l ell n C a ds. Gilmores , A mighty host of the dead which n w no man can o number, only known on that day when the

O f - S trump the arch angel hall sound , and all who are in their S graves hall hear His voice . The quaint inscriptions on many

: of these stones are quite striking. On that ofJohn Wade

Remember man as you pass by,

As you are now so once was I .

As I am now, so must you be ,

ou Remember man that y must die .

Of all these Old families who formed this church and now d sleep in this city of the ead , I suppose the Wilsons were the most interesting . They were one of the largest families and the greatest land owners , had the largest and ﬁnest

- horses and were the most quaint , old fashioned people in the community . Six of them would invariably ride to church , 40 THE ROCKY SPRING

David in front, followed by Moses , and the others would fall in line, all single ﬁle , Sarah bringing up the rear . They

the would enter church the same way . After services they would speak to their neighbors and friends and after awhile David would get his horse and start home and the rest would u follow single ﬁle, tho gh he was never known to say to any of the rest it was time to leave . This church is fortunate in having some legacies left it both for the support of the gospel and for the proper keep n ing of the graveyard . Funds amou ting to about were left by Matthew Patton to sustain preaching at St .

no w . Thomas , Rocky Spring and Strasburg as they are

This fund i s now in the safe keeping of W . D . Dixon and l ll and Mc e . Thomas A . C What now should the record Of one hundred and ﬁfty-six — d . years make upon us to ay First The ravages of time .

What names , families , g enerations passed into eternity . “ Your fathers , where are they , and the prophets , do they live forever ? ” Second—When we see the follies and mis takes 01 these your fathers what occasion of thoughtfulness

S S m and humility . I said days hould peak and ultitude of ” — years should teach wisdom . Third Under what obliga tion of gratitude to Almighty God are you placed by such a ’ View of the past; such a fruitful old vine of God s right hand planting from which such rich clusters of Eschol grapes have been gathered by individuals , families , churches , this

S community, this valley, and our beloved land hould call for

S the songs of praise and hould cause more than one devout, “ ” - tender heart to day to exclaim , Here I raise my Ebenezer .

Oh , brethren , standing in the light and glory of this clos ing hour of the nineteenth century and encompassed with such a great crowd of witnesses seated in glory , shall we ’ not, ministers , elders , members of Christ s living church “ dedicate ourselves to the great work laid at our feet . Now unto God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost be praise in a world without end . Amen . I PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH . 4

SKETCHES OF DECEASED MINISTERS .

. E. . . BY REV ERSKINE , D D

Assembled as we are this morning within these venerable w alls , once ﬁlled statedly with thronging worshipers , and e choing to the earnest proclamations of Gospel truth by able, d evoted and patriotic ministers of the Word , but now for d many years quite deserted and esolate, the words of the “ prophet naturally suggest themselves to us . The fathers, w here are they ? and the prophets do they live forever ? ” As the goodly proportions of this church ediﬁce erected a century ago , and the long list of pew holders of that period — —O ne - o hundred and seventy nine g to show , large congre

ati ons . g were wont to assemble here As the fathers , gener ation after generation , passed away , and their mortal remains n lie sleeping in yonder co gregation of the dead , one of the most interesting and important inquiries for our considera ’ - tion to day is , where are their children , and their children s children ? whither are they dispersed ? and why is it that their places have not been ﬁlled from the generations that have come after them ?

One fact is gratifying , and that is that while the fathers are no more, and the children have so generally dispersed , that yet the line of the prophets has remained quite ff unbroken . This only a ords another illustration of the tenacity of the life of a Presbyterian Church . While the question as to who was the ﬁrst minister or pastor of this church is involved in some uncertainty, it is not only possible, but I may add , it is even probable, that

. of the Rev Thomas Craighead , the ﬁrst pastor the Big

Spring Church , and the ﬁrst pastor of any church this side of the Susquehanna river, ministered to this people statedly for a time . This inference is based chieﬂy upon the fact f d i n Cono o u et . . that a ter supplying the people of the g , i e of

1 6 Pennsboro and of Hopewell , for six months , in 73 , he 42 THE ROCKY SPRING

f w I O was invited the ollo ing April , (April , to supply C the people of Hopewell . And shortly afterwards a all w as made out by the people o f Hopewell and accepted and hi s

1 1 installation ordered to take place November 7 , 737 , but the “ Presbytery ﬁnding some inconvenience in reference to ” o one o thei r meeti n l wnses t the situation f f g , the ins allation

1 1 8 . was delayed until October 3, 73 As all west of the line t m 1 wa run from the Nor h to the South Mountain 735, by y O f the Big Spring was called Hopewell and all east of it

s Penn boro , the people of Hopewell would include not only

Big Spring and Middle Spring, but also Rocky Spring. And the fact that there w as trouble about the location of

two one of their meeting houses , implies that they had or more such places of worship; and the further fact that Rob ert Henry , a commissioner to Presbytery from Hopewell ,

1 1 8 o f complained October 7 , 73 , that the people Falling

Spring were about to encroach upon Hopewell congregation . This could hardly be said of Big Spring or Middle Spring on account of the distance between them and Falling Spring , and did relate more probabl v to the more contigous place of

ff o f worship , Rocky Spring . Some conﬁrmation is a orded this View from the further fact that two persons of the same

i z: m name, v James and Sa uel Henry, were pew holders here

1 in 794. Further confirmation is had from the statements “ ” of an intelligent writer, signing himself K . H . in the “ Prese teri an 1 1 8 : y of January 5 , 53, to wit The congregation r o beyond the river which first settled a pasto was H pewell , and w called also Upper Lower Hope ell , the meeting house u being first b ilt at the Great Spring, but with services divided ” “ with Middle Spring and Rocky Spring . He also said Rocky Spring barely had its meeting house ready when their good ” minister, Father Craighead , was called away . From all w co n these facts , hich are a matter of record , we naturally cl ude that Thomas Craighead probably was the first stated minister of the people of Rocky Spring . PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH . 43

M R A I H E A D . R EV . THO AS C G

o The Rev. Th mas Craighead , reverently styled in the

Presbytery of Donegal , Father Craighead , belonged to a m family of inisters now extending through six generations .

R ev. His father, Robert Craighead , a native of Scotland and

of d pastor of Donoughmore, in the north Irelan , for thirty years , and afterwards Minister to Londonderry at the time f of the great siege by the papal orces of James II , where he

1 1 1 d continued until his death in 7 , besi es being an earnest evangelical preacher was the author of several publications of a highly evangelical and practical character . His brother ,

r. the Rev . Robert Craighead , J , was a man of equal or greater prominence than his father . Thomas was born and educated as a physician in Scotland . His wife was the ’ d 11 15 aughter of a Scotch laird ; but afterwards , with wife s approbation and in obedience to the dictates of his own co n science . he abandoned the medical profession , read theology and was ordained as a minister of the Gospel . He was a ten pastor for or twelve years in Ireland , and for the most part of that time at Donegal . By reason of the oppressive enactments of the government , and the persecuting spirit of h the Established Church , Mr. Craig ead , with a large number

O f ministers and people , despairing of any permanent relief, emigrated to America . He settled ﬁrst in Freetown , in the 1 1 1 colony of Massachusetts in 7 5. In 7 24 be became a member of the Presbytery of New Castle, and pastor of

White Clay Creek , and preached every third Sabbath at

of of Philadel Brandywine . He was Moderator the Synod 1 26 phia in 7 , and was present at the adoption of the West 1 minster Confession and Catechisms in 7 2 9. He accepted a call to the Church of Pequa and united with the Presby 1 1 tery of Donegal in 733. In 735 h—e was appointed to sup ply the people of the Conodogui net Pennsboro and Hope

— 1 o well and in 737 he was called by the people of H pewell , including what came to be known as Lower and Upper 44 THE ROCKY SPRING

r Hopewell , Big Spring and Middle Spring , and most p ob ably also Rocky Spring , over whom he was installed Octo 1 8 ber, 73 . His pastorate here was of short continuance . was a He a man well advanced in years , yet with his ment l faculties in full vigor and his fervor and impassioned elo

en qu ce unabated . He died at the close of a communion 1 season in April , 739, expiring in the pulpit , and lies , tradi tion says , buried under the present church ediﬁce at Big

c Spring . Mr . Craighead was a man greatly respe ted for his talents and attainments , and much esteemed by his brethren for his piety and genial disposition . His preaching was remarkably earnest and evangelical . He was active as an evangelist and did much in the way of gatherings and build f ing up churches . His theology was strictly O the type of the ’ Westminster Assembly s Confession of Faith , which he held in the highest reverence . He was a man , wrote Cotton

Mather, the distinguished minister of Boston , by reason F “ of his acquaintance with him while in reetown , of an excellent spirit, and a minister of singular piety, ” meekness , humility and industry in the work of God .

of After he was settled over the people Hopewell , though of now advanced age , he still preached with all his usual fervor and impressiveness . Under his ministry the people were often greatly moved and when dismissed were unwil d ling to isperse . At such times he is represented as con tinning his impassioned discourses with his audiences melted

of to tears . It was on one these occasions , at the close of a communion season in the church of Big Spring, when having preached until quite exhausted , and not being able to pronounce the benediction , he waived his hand , and “ ! ” exclaimed , farewell , farewell sank down and expired in the pulpit . Mr. Craighead left four sons and one daughter,

Thomas , a farmer at White Clay Creek , whose daughter

Elizabeth married Rev . Matthew Wilson , the father of the

Rev . Dr. J . P . Wilson , pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia . John , who settled four miles south of Car

46 THE RO CKY SPRING

Churches . He was a younger brother of the Rev. Samuel 1 2 0 r Blair and was born in Ireland in 7 , came to this count y when quite young , and settled with his father near Brandy wine Creek in Chester county , Pa . He and his brother received their classical and theological education as had

Rowland and Campbell , under William Tennant at the Log

Pa. o f College at Neshaminy, Bucks county, , the history which has been recently written by our friend Dr. Murphy ,

- who is with us here to day . He was ordained pastor of the congregations of the Three Springs , Big, Middle and Rocky ,

1 2 . . December 2 7 , 74 Mr Blair continued pastor of these 1 8 u n churches certainly until 74 , and most probably til

1 1 7 55 or 7 . In 7 57 he accepted a call to the church at ’

Pa. Fagg s Manor, Chester county, , made vacant by the death of his distinguished brother, Rev . Samuel Blair. Here he continued for ten years , taking the place of his brother, both as pastor of the church and principal of the classical school which his brother had conducted with eminent suc

e cess and great us fulness . In this position he had charge of the education and religious training O f a number of young men who afterwards attained to great distinction and useful ’ 1 6 f ness . In 7 7 , a ter Dr. Finley s death as president of n t Princeto College , a sum of money having been lef to that D i vi ni tv institution for the support of a Professor of in it ,

Mr . John Blair was chosen to that position . This appoint ment he accepted and removed from Fagg’ s Manor to Prince

o f ton . He was also chosen Vice President the College and was its acting President until Dr. Witherspoon accepted the

1 6 presidency of the same in 7 9, just one hundred years before the acceptance of the same ofﬁ ce by another distinguished M h . cCos . D . . . Scotchman , Rev James , D , LL D On account f of the insu ﬁciency of the funds to support Dr. Blair as Pro fessor of Divinity , apart from the other positions which he

from had ﬁlled and which his support was partly derived , which were now occupied by Dr. Witherspoon , Mr . Blair felt constrained to resign his position and accepted a call to PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH . 47

Y . Wallkill , Orange County , N . , where he died at the early ’ - age of ﬁfty one . Mr . Blair s ministry in the churches of the Three Springs was very acceptable and proﬁtable to the people , and during his pastorate he made visits down into

1 6 Virginia in 74 , and prior to that time , preaching with great power and marked effects in various places and organizing

r w several new cong egations , leaving herever he went abid ing impressions of his learning, piety and eloquence as a preacher. Dr. John Blair, and his brother Samuel Blair , were among the very foremost preachers of their times . Dr .

Archibald Alexander expressed the opinion that Dr. John “ Blair, for sixteen years pastor of the churches of the Three

Springs , as a theologian was not inferior to any man in the ” Presbyterian church in his day . President Davies spoke of his brother , Rev . Samuel Blair, as the incomparable Mr. ” “ Blair, and said that in all his travels in Great Britain he had heard no one equal to him either as to the matter or manner of

Presb teri an his preaching. Dr. John Blair is Spoken of in the y “ Ma azi ne t g of hat time , as a judicious and persuasive preacher and that through his preaching sinners were converted and

ediﬁed the children of God . Fully convinced of the truth of the great doctrines of grace he addressed immortal souls with a warmth and power which left a witness in every ” breast . Though he sometimes wrote his sermons out in full yet his common method of preaching was from short notes . His disposition is said to have been uncommonly patient , placid , benevolent, disinterested and cheerful . He was too mild to indulge in bitterness or severity , and he thought that the truth required little else than to be fairly stated and properly understood to accomplish its saving

. w ho of results Those did not relish the savor his piety , nor accept of the truth as proclaimed by him , were still drawn to him on account of his amiability and moral excel lence , and revered him as a great and good man . He was also an intelligent and sincere believer in that system of doctrine set forth in the Westminster Standards and highly 48 THE ROCKY SPRING

approved of the Presbyterian form of church government, and regarded them as most favorable to the promotion of true religion and for the preservation of the peace and unity

. . o of the church Mr Blair married the daughter of Mr. J hn

D urburrow . R ev . D urburrow , of Philadelphia The John

a. d V . Blair, of Richmond , , was his son His aughter was m . . b married to the Rev Dr Willia Linn , who was orn over here in Lurgan township , near to Roxborough , and became ’ one of Dr. Blair s successors as pastor of Big Spring Church and was for twenty years one of the collegiate pastors of the Reformed Dutch Churches and one of the most eloquent preachers in the city of New York . The Rev . Dr . John Blair o Linn , past r for a short time of the First Presbyterian Church r of Philadelphia, was his grandson , a ve y prodigy of talent, learning and poetic genius . Dr . John Blair Smith , presi

of . dent Princeton College and Dr John Blair Hoge , of Vir

. Gl obe ginia , were descendents of his , Francis P Blair, of the at

Washington , and father of the late Montgomery and General f Frank P . Blair, were of this same amily of Blairs . He was the author of a treatise on Regeneration ; a treatise on the Nature and Use of the Means of Grace and of two or more controversial works on the ecclesiastical questions of his day , the title of one of which is , The Synods of New York and Philadelphia Vindicated . He was very prominent and inﬂuential in the synods of his time .

REV . JOHN CRAIGHEAD .

After an interim of from ten to thirteen years , during which time the church was dependent on supplies , Mr. John

Craighead became the next pastor of Rocky Spring . Mr .

Craighead was the son of Mr. John and Rachael B . Craig head who settled four miles south of Carlisle . His father was a grandson of the Rev. Thomas Craighead . He, Rev .

1 2 . John Craighead , was born in 74 He graduated at

1 6 and - Princeton College in 7 3, was a class mate of Dr. PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH . 49

n . Cooper , of Middle Spri g; studied theology with Dr Robert

Pa. Smith , of Pequea , Lancaster county , , and was ordained and 1 installed pastor of Rocky Spring Church , April 3th , m r 1 768 . Here he continued his inist y with great faithful

1 8 . ness until 7 9, when his health failed He resumed his ’ rest 20 work after a year s and recuperation , and died April ,

1 ﬁft - 799, at the age of y seven , and is buried in the Rocky

Spring graveyard . The people erected a suitable memorial an d and inscribed upon it the date of his installation death , “ nd was f a added, He a faith ul and zealous servant of Jesus ” Christ . Mr. Craighead in addition to being an earnest and f aithful preacher of Christ and His great salvation , was a zealous patriot in the war of independence . He is noted in history for his earnest and patriotic appeals to his people d r u ing the Revolutionary struggle , and for his services as Captai n and Chaplain of a compan v formed out of his own congregation , in response to his patriotic appeals at a sol e mu crisis in the war when the whole male portion of the congregation rose to their feet in token of their readiness to

d s r . emba k in the efen e of their country It is said again , that in the early days of the Revolution he assembled the people of a remote part o f his congregation under the extended branches of a majestic oak tree, in front of the

d . welling of one of his parishioners, a Mr Sharpe, and there in thrilling tones addressed them i n behalf of American Inde

endence a p , beseeching them to st nd up boldly in their coun ’ “ cr try s cause , and to let their slogan y, for God and libert A ring from mountain to mountain . S a proof of the patriotic f “ spirit thus in used , it is stated that the list of the members of Rocky Spring Church at the time of the erection of the present church ediﬁce , a century ago , eleven years after the h close of the war, reveals the historic fact t at nearly every male ” member of that date had served in the War of the Revolution . What a list of names is found in the roll of honor which has

been preserved in the archives of the State , of those who n served in the war of independence from this co gregation . 50 THE ROCKY SPRI NG

‘ Their surviving descendants will have no diﬂi cul ty in assert ing their claim to be enrolled as sons or daughters of the

A merican Revolution . A sermon is preserved in the Pres b terian f Mon o m y Historical Society preached be ore Col . tg ’ er s a 1 1 y batt lion , August 3 , 775, by Mr . Craighead on Cour a e g in a Good Cause, which was well adapted to inspire all to whom it was addressed with courage and resolution in the cause of Independence . There were stirring scenes on these grounds in those days . Here it was , after most e arnest appeals from the pastor, that a full company of men

z assembled and were organi ed , and with their young and

for handsome pastor as their chosen Captain , marched away the scene of conﬂict, at that time in New Jersey . Mr .

Craighead was married to the daughter of the Rev. Adam

Boyd , in Lancaster County, at whose house he stayed over night when on his way with his company to join the army in

New Jersey, at which time he ﬁrst made her acquaintance .

They were married at the close of the campaign . His wife

hi m 1 80 survived and died in Carlisle in 2 , at the age of

- no . . . seventy three, leaving children The Rev Dr Martin of man hanceford Pa. C , York county, , a of good judgment and

are . of r intelligence, said of Mr Craighead, that he was a man a s i n t lent, a ﬁne cholar, an excellent preacher, specially able scripture illustration , and always emerging from his melan s cholly spells , pells of occasional deep gloominess , with increased light and power as a preacher.

F . . REV . RANCIS HERRON , D D

The Rev. Francis Herron , who became a very conspicuous

m his . . inister in later years , succeeded Mr Craighead He was born , educated , licensed , ordained , and installed pastor all within the bounds of the Presbytery of Carlisle . He was the son of John Herron , a ruling elder in the church of

H e 8 1 . Middle Spring. was born June 2 , 774 His parents

e - w re of the Scotch Irish race , and like all that people, were PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH . 5 I noted for their devotion to the Presbyterian faith and wor ship , and ardent friends of civil and religious liberty.

as Francis w early consecrated to God , trained up in a Chris tian household and under the ministry of the Rev . Dr.

Cooper. He entered Dickinson College, pursued a regular classical and scientiﬁc course under the presidency of Dr.

i sbet N , with a view to entering the ministry , and graduated

1 . e May 5, 794 He at once enter d upon the study of theol ogy under the direction of his pastor, Rev. Dr. Cooper at

1 Middle Spring, and was licensed to preach October 4, 797 .

Soon after his licensure, accompanied by the Rev. Matthew

- -i n - Brown , a class mate and subsequently a brother law, Mr.

Herron, set out upon a missionary tour to the west on horse back by way of Pittsburg . Mr. Herron went as far as Chil l i cothe d s , Ohio , traveling for ays through unbroken fore ts, the course to be pursued being indicated at times only by a foot path or by blazes upon the trees . For days he journeyed without ﬁnding any human habitation or shelter, and for two nights he encamped near what is now the town of Mari

ta . . et . Ohio , with the Indians On his return Mr Herron stopped at Pittsburg, then a village of less than two thous and inhabitants , and with but one church building, a rude log structure, which stood upon the lot where the ﬁrst Pres byterian Church now stands . In the keeper of the hotel

. a where Mr Herron lodged, he found an acquaint nce whom he had known east of the mountains , at whose solicitation he preached to a congregation of less than twenty people. ’ This was Mr. Herron s ﬁrst introduction to the people of

P . ittsburg, with whom his after life became so fully identiﬁed This was the period of the great revival which prevailed so extensively among the churches of Western Pennsylvania at the beginning of the pres ent century and which had a great inﬂuence in moulding and giving type to the piety and religious activity of the churches in all that region of the country . Mr. Herron was induced to visit a number of the churches in which a deep religious interest at the time 52 THE ROCKY SPRI NG

existed . He entered into the work most heartily and was greatly blessed and strengthened spiritually himself, while his labors proved eminently acceptable and useful to the m churches visited . A ong the congregations Visited were

Mc Mill an a those of Dr. John , of Ch rtiers , near to Canons

Penns l burg , the patriarch of Presbyterianism in Western y

. M r and . d . cCu vania, Drs Ralston Smith , the Rev Mr y and

of of others , which were all in the midst a protracted season gracious revival . One of the congregations in which he m ff preached at this ti e was that of Bu alo , in Washington a county , the people of which were so much ple sed and edi ﬁed with his preaching that they extended to him a unani mous call to become their pastor . This call he was strongly urged by Dr . Ralston and others to accept , but he concluded

r u e to hold it under conside ation ntil his return home, wher he found a similar call awaiting hi m from the congregation n of Rocky Spring, the one adjoi ing that in which he had he been raised . This latter call accepted and respectfully

was declined the former . He accordingly ordained and r th installed here by the Presbytery of Carlisle , Ap il 9 , in the 1 0 l 8 0 . be year Here , in what was then a arge congregation , f gan the li e work of Dr . Francis Herron . Greatly quickened and renewedly consecrated by the revival scenes in which

and b y he had participated , deeply impressed the ordination

e him services through which he had just pass d , he girded elf for his work and began his mi nistry in such a way as soon told upon the congregation . His preaching was with such unction and power that the impenitent were awakened and professing Christians were quickened into new life and

re 1 l . v ous energy Prayer meetings were instituted , a thing p y

encour unknown in the congregation , and carried on with

for aging success . A Bible Class was formed and meetings catechetical examination were appointed and conducted with persevering energy to the great and lasting advantage of all ’ he . T concerned ﬁrst decade of Dr. Herron s ministry was thus passe d in this congregation in labors such as these . It

54 THE ROCKY SPRING

M’ KN . I GH T . D . REV JOHN , D ,

Another distinguished minister of the Presbyterian Church was stated supply of Rocky Spring Church from 1 8 1 1 to 1 8 1 l 5. He was also a son of the Cumber and Valley .

Mc Kni ht 1 1 John g was born near Carlisle, October , 754. His father who was a Major during the French and Indian

. hi s was War, died during his childhood John , in youth , noted for special amiability and buoyancy of temper and was e a general favorite with his young associates . He graduat d at Princeton College under the presidency of Dr. Wither

i n 1 . spoon 773, studied theology under Dr Cooper at Middle

1 Spring , was licensed by the Presbytery of Donegal in 775, n 1 6 1 ad ordained by the same Presbytery in 77 . In 775 he went to Virginia and preached and organized a church on n Elk branch between Shepherdstown and Charlesto . In 1 8 d 7 3 he accepted calls to Lower Marsh Creek , now in A ams ’ Pa. s . county, , and Tom Creek , Maryland Here he spent what he afterwards regarded as the Si x happiest years of his i x ’ S . MKni h life . At the end of years in Marsh Creek Mr g t

. s was called to be collegiate pastor to Dr John Rodger , pas tor of the Presbyteri an Collegiate Churches in the city of

New York , and Moderator of the Second General Assembly . n After the most careful deliberatio , and with the advice of and his Presbytery , he accepted this call was installed there

D 1 8 . ecember, 7 9 There he continued in the most earnest and laborious discharge of his ministerial duties for twenty years , preaching , for the ﬁrst four years , three sermons each R e v . Sabbath , until the call of the Samuel Miller as a col

i a 1 1 league 793. In 792 he received from Yale College the 1 80 honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity. In 9 the col l e iate g relation , which he never liked , was dissolved , but in

a manner which he disapproved . On this account, and on f account of en eebled health , with the consent of Presbytery, s 1 80 he re igned his charge in April , 9, and returned to Penn sylvania and settled on a small farm with modern improve PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH . 55

f r s o . ment near Chambersburg, which he purchased a home

Soon after this , Rocky Spring Church being vacant, the people

D ecl i ni n a d desired to call him as pastor. g call he consente to serve them as a stated supply as his strength would admit. For five years he performed for them all the duties of a pas tor as well , as preacher with as much fidelity and regularity 1 8 1 as if he had been installed . In 5 he was constrained to a ccept the presidency of Dickinson College, but finding it

e as it s emed to him , hopelessly embarrassed ﬁnancially and w in other ays , he resigned that position at the end of one

. b e year Returning again to his home near Chambersburg, S as O ortu there pent the remainder of his life , preaching pp ni t d y occurred and his health allowed , and on the 23 of 1 8 2 October, 3, in the seventieth year of his age, from the eff s h e ect of a billions epidemic disease, passed away in the full exercise of his mental powers and in the enjoyment of f . 1 McKni a blessed assurance of eternal li e In 7 95 Dr. ght was chosen Moderator of the General Assembly in Carlisle ,

McKn i h . . t D uﬂi eld Pa Dr g was described by Dr. , latterly “ Pa. of Detroit, Michigan , and formerly of Carlisle, , as a man S of lender person , above medium height, and of a considerate and reﬂective countenance indicative of deep and protracted thought. His bearing and address were graceful and digui

ﬁed , without any manifestation of overbearing pride . He

' a was at his ease in all society. As preacher he was calm , dispassionate, with little of variation in tone or gesture, with no prancing about and little gesticulation , yet not monoto nous or unimpressive , but with a manner well adapted to x i his matter, which was generally a lucid and logical e pos

z tion of some important Scripture truth . He was a ealous e of Cal vani sti c xpounder and defender the faith , which he was careful always to enforce with a due citation of Scripture passages . The bearing of Christian doctrine on Christian ” experience he was want clearly to set forth . This is high M Kni h testimony from an intelligent source . Dr. c g t took an active part in the discussion of the question in relation 56 THE RO CKY SPRING to the location of a th el ogi cal seminary in the Assembly of

8 1 1 2 Pa. , earnestly advocating Chambersburg, , as the place for its location rather than Princeton , N . J . He published six discourses on faith , which were highly commended by

Drs . Rodgers and Witherspoon , besides a number of others

o n ff Kni . Mc h preached di erent occasions Dr. g t was married to Susan , daughter of George Brown , of Franklin county ,

Pa. of , by whom he had ten children , two whom entered the r minist y .

M’ . KN I GH T R . REV JOHN , J

The next minister in the Rocky Spring Church was the i h f McKn t r. o . M Kn i . c ht. Rev John g , J , son Dr John g A call was presented and accepted by him at a meeting of Pres h 1 8 1 6 b ter t . was y y April 9 , , as a licentiate He ordained on

D fﬁ eld u Pa. the same day with George at Carlisle , , Septem 2 8 1 6 ber 5, 1 , and was installed pastor of Rocky Spring 1 8 1 6 Church the second Wednesday in November, , Dr. n Joshua Williams of Big Spring, preaching the sermo and

o f the Rev . Mr. Denny Chambersburg, charging the congre

a i n Mc Kni ht g t o . Mr . g is represented as a minister whose labors were abundant and successful during his pastorate n here of twenty years . He i herited many of the amiable and excellent qualities of his distinguished father which rendered him not only an earnest and faithful preacher of

of ff the essential truths the Gospel , but also a most a ection ate and agreeable minister in his pastoral and social inter ’ s course with the people . But while inheriting his father amiable and social qualities he does not seem to have had his ﬁrm and uncompromising adherence to the standards of

S the church . The minutes of Presbytery how that he was

D uﬂi eld a strong sympathizer with Dr. all through his trial on account of the serious errors contained in his book on

Regeneration , and was foremost among the small minority of the Presbytery in protesting against the decisions of the PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH . 57

Moderator and of the large majority of the Presbytery dur

D uﬂi eld i ng the trial . Whether this sympathy with Dr. f was chieﬂy due to personal riendship for him, as was the

s fﬁ c ase with some other , and not from doctrinal a nity with

hi m . , we have not the means of determining At all events when hi s pastoral relation with Rocky Spring was dissolved i n 1 836 he removed to Philadelphia and identiﬁed himself with the New School branch of the church i n which con

1 8 n ecti on he spent the remainder of his ministry . In 39

McKni ht s Mr. g was dismis ed to the Presbytery of Lewes, 1 8 0 Delaware. In 4 he was stated supply of the Rehoboth

1 8 6 Church , Maryland . In 4 he was pastor of the New

m n on ill e H a o t v . School Church , , Pa He is marked in the

1 8 New School Minutes of 57 , as without charge . He died

1 8 y- July 2 9, 57 , at the age of sixt eight years and was buried at Montours , Susquehanna county, Pa . Mr. Mc

Knight was married to the daughter of Joseph Chambers, o f Chambersburg, and owned and lived upon the farm recently sold by Jo hn Schlichter to the Land and Improve ment Company of Chambersburg.

ROBERT KENNEDY.

From 1 836 to 1 840 Rocky Spring Church had as a stated

s . upply the Rev Robert Kennedy , a sketch of whose life is — given in the late history of the Presbytery of Carlisle; and f as r o . s to whom , by re on of the g ateful appreciation Mr Elia

Kennedy, of Philadelphia, a descendant of his , the Robert

Kennedy Memorial Church at Welsh Run , was erected as a tribute to his memory .

A ! REV . LE ANDER K . NELSON .

n The ext regular pastor was the Rev . Alexander K . Nel

i n thi s - son , who was charge of congregation for thirty three

- years , one third of a century . Alexander Kirkpatrick Nel 58 THE ROCKY SPRING

of and n r son , son William Margaretta Tur er Nelson , was bo n

I st 1 as October , 793, in Tyrone county , Ireland , and w brought the next year by his parents to this country. They Pa settled in York county , . , within the bounds of the Chance ford Presbyterian Church , of which the Rev. Samuel Mar

D . tin , D . , was the able and successful pastor. He had the advantages onl y of an academical education prior to his entrance upon the study of divinity . He was a student for n some time of West Notti gham Academy , Md . , under Rev .

D . m . Ja es Magraw , D , and studied Hebrew and theology n under Dr . Samuel Marti . He entered the second or mid dle class of Princeton Theological Seminary with the 1 8 2 f approval of his Presbytery in 3 , and graduated rom the 1 8 same in the Class of 34. He was licensed by the New 8th 1 8 u Castle Presbytery October , 34, and was stated s pply 1 8 —6 of the church at Coleraine 35 , was ordained by Presby ter d 1 8 y of Carlisle May 3 , 37 , and installed pastor of the

n congregations of Center and Upper, Perry county , Pa . O 2 th 1 8 0 May 9 , 4 , he was installed pastor of Rocky Spring and

St . Thomas churches , in which relation he continued until

1 8 May, 73, having reached the eightieth year of his age .

Pa. His residence was in Chambersburg, , where , September

d 1 886 - 3 , , in the ninety third year of his age he died . Mr. 1 1 8 2 . . Nelson was married March 5, 4 , to Mrs Mary H

Mc D owell s Humphreys , daughter of Thomas , E q , of Par ’ . 0th nell s Knob , Franklin county, Pa She died October 2 , M 1 8 . 74 They had two children , the elder, argaretta, died

- 1 8 2 . April , 7 , at about the age of twenty six The other,

Thomas M . Nelson , is three years younger, and with his

- - family , is here with us to day . A pastorate of thirty three years to the same congregation involves an untold amount of labor and self- sacriﬁce for the sake of the Master and the

Spiritual interests of the people to whom one ministers . Mr.

Nelson served this people through all this period , during of s all which time he had to keep a hor e and buggy , support as sal a family and entertain ministers are obliged to do , on a S T PRE BY ERIAN CHURCH . 59

- ary o f $400 a year. This indicates the self denying and unas s umi n h g c aracter of the man , and a lack of liberality among d the people, especially when there was an en owment which

0 rendered an annuity of about $ 2 5 a year. Mr. Nelson made frequent and earnest appeals in behalf of the benevo lent work o f the church and the records of the church show that the contributions for these objects were above the aver a e g , but he was too modest and unassuming to make any corresponding appeals in behalf of his own support . Mrs .

Nelson has been heard to remark , and that not altogether playfully, that she paid more for the support of the Gospel in St . Thomas and Rocky Spring Churches during her hus ’ band s pastorate, year by year, than both congregations f n o . combined . On account deaf ess Mr Nelson mingled but little in society during the last twenty- ﬁve or thirty years of f his li e, not even attending the meetings of Presbytery because o f his inability to engage in ordinary conversation with comfort to himself and others , and to hear and under of stand the business Presbytery . When however, he was thrown among people, and especially in his earlier years , he was sociable and entertaining and greatly enjoyed the society of his friends . His natural disposition was gentle and yield ing, but his convictions on the subjects of religion and poli tics are said to have been very ﬁrm and pronounced . In regard to his religious views he was of the strictly orthodox type believing f ully in the inspiration of the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments and in the Westminster Con ’ fessi on of Faith and Catechism as the Churc h e accepted and authorized interpretation of the same . His deep humility in view of conscious sinfulness and unworthiness in the sight of God , begat in him a fear of death , and he often “ quoted the words of the Apostle , Lest by any means after ” having preached to others , I myself should be a castaway . But , several months before he died , he was graciously relieved of this bondage through fear of death , and his departure at the end was calm and peaceful , like the fading 60 THE ROCKY SPRI NG

’ H i of the twilight at the close of a clear summer s day . s end was peace . His remains lie buried in Chambersburg .

n c r The remaini g two pastors of Ro ky Sp ing Church , Rev .

R e . v . r G. Samuel C George and the Hen y Finney still survive .

PRESBYTERIANISM AND CIVIL LIBERTY .

BY H N O . JOHN STEWART .

The fact that two representative Scotch - Irish divines have already addressed you and there still remains a fragment of

e i the morning for further exercises , is not to be taken as v dence of any decline in the ability or endurance of the Pres byteri an pulpit . Had either of these worthy gentlemen been allowed to choose his own theme and set his own limit to the discussion of it , we would doubtless still be listening to a learned discussion of some one of the ﬁve points of Cal vani sm which would have required the whole morning

for for its unfolding , and a large section of the afternoon its ffi application , leaving to the other brother but su cient time for the orthodox benediction . It was otherwise arranged , not because of any distrust in the ability of these gentlemen to handle these high themes in a manner quite as exhaust i e v , and for that matter quite as exhausting, too , as would have been expected of the preachers of an earlier age; but rather because of distrust in the endurance , submission and resignation of the people who were to do the listening. If the circumstances warrant any inference of decline, let us be dmi ' honest enough to a t that it is in ourselves . We of the laity cannot aff ord to expose our clergy to any unjust suspi cion . On the contrary it is as little as we can do to guard

6 2 THE ROCKY SPRING

fought so nobly for its achievement . The Presbyterian church militant , not in the theological but political sense, during the period of our revolutionary struggle , is what I

s . am expected to peak about Not being a clergyman , it was not thought necessary to impose any restriction as to the

' my time to be occupied in case . The fact that it was to be the last exercise before dinner was thought to be sufﬁcient

retecti on p against one of my profession .

of r The event greatest signiﬁcance in modern histo y was , undoubtedly, the political separation of the American colo n ies from Great Britain , and their federation in one common constitutional government . Though a century has inter vened between that period and this the full importance of the event has not yet been revealed . Those who Shall u r n occ py the higher g ound of a later age tha ours , will be able w ith clearer vision to sweep a larger horizon ; and dis w cover mighty currents , as yet concealed from vie , which take their rise in that historic period . The event gave but

S i ts little outward ign of immense importance, and it is not strange that the contemporaneous world but feebly under d i stoo f t. Men are apt to measure the importance of politi cal events when they occur, by the noise and confusion that attend them . What was the noise made by the rude guns of ’ Lexington s embattled farmers , to the loud reverberations of ’ the great Frederick s artillery at Leuthen and Rossbach , then still echoing throughout the world ? What was the h a o assault of a few t ousand Continent ls at Y rktown , to the bloody engagements which so soon followed on the borders of France and elsewhere in Europe, when the mighty nations of the earth grappled in deadly conﬂict ? And yet issues of vaster moment to humanity, were to be settled in the unequal and apparently insigniﬁcant contest of our revo

i on E l ut , than any of those which converted urope into an armed camp , and drenched a continent in blood . These n latter cha ged the boundaries of empires , crowned and dis crowned kings , but brought no emancipation to the people T 6 PRESBY ERIAN CHURCH . 3

from the tyranny of kingly government . It was of vast consequence to the peace of the world to change the map o f E d N e ol eon i c urope, to overthrow a Bourbon ynasty , then a p one which was to share a like fate in its turn ; but all these f seem of feeble signiﬁcance , a ter the lapse of a century, when contrasted with the immense consequence which has resulted from the independence of the American colonies . The issue which precipitated the American revolution , was the right of the thirteen original colonies to separate and independent l a existence; but in the issue y a germ seed , which was to be fruitful in blessings of civil and religious liberty beyond any i n thing the world had ever known . Directly involved the struggle, was the right of the colonies to govern themselves ; indirectly involved in it, was the supreme authority of the people in all questions of government , and the equal right of every man with his fellow to political power and privilege . To the maintenance and establishment of these principles

m - of civil govern ent, self evident to you as they were to the

r ea ly colonists , but rejected and despised by the rulers and privileged classes of the world , our fathers pledged their lives , their fortunes and their sacred honor; a covenant which cost them six years of devastating war in which a British king and ministry exhausted the resources of a king dom in the mad attempt to conquer them . But through it o all , undaunted , inﬂexible, uncompr mising, enduring po v crt y, hunger, nakedness , and the calamities of war, they bore themselves and their cause right on , until in the end they

deli verence wrought out complete from political thraldom , and were enabled here in this new world , to crown their labors with a government of their own building and by them selves dedicated to civil and religious freedom . I make but passing mention of these things for my pur pose lies not with them , but rather with the men of a certain race and faith who were here in these colonies when these r things occu red , and were witnesses of them . They are the

- men whose memory we assemble here to day to honor, the 64 THE RO CKY SPRING

- Scotch Irish Presbyterians of that early time . It interests and concerns us who are their descendants , or claim kinship with them by descent from a common ancestry , to know how they regarded this revolution , and what their attitude towards it was . When the dread crisis came , and the alter native of servile submission or the horrors of war was pre rented to the colonies , how stood these Presbyterian fore fathers of ours ? There were colonists who wege for submi s sion ; there were yet others who wore a neutral garb . Were they among either of these ? It would be the marvel of history

ill o were it so . Human conduct is often inconsistent , and g ical ; men are sometimes found opposing when you would m expect the to be advocates , and submitting when you would expect resistence; but history records no such ex trav a ant g inconsistency in human conduct as that would be , were we to ﬁnd Scotch - Irish Presbyterians in such a contest as t on his , either advocating submission or standing neutral f ground . Consider the race, its lineage , its aith , the tradi tions and experience of this people , and ask yourselves where they would likely be found in such a controversy, then make

e o u your app al to history, and y will learn to honor their k memory, not only for the noble wor they accomplished , but for the sublime consistency of their lives , and their devotion through many generations to the cause of human freedom .

Belonging to no one nationality , but drawn together from sev t eral into one family , by the at raction of a common faith , they built their ﬁresides and erected their altars in the north of

Ireland , and there mixed the blood of the Saxon with that s of the Celt and Teuton , until in proce s of time , were devel oped traits and characteristics which made them a homo n ge eous and distinct race . We are told that in the settle ment of New England God sifted three kingdoms for the seed of that planting. A sifting process covering a still greater variety than this , was required when he prepared his seed for the Scotch - Irish planting in the American colonies ; for hi s design contemplated their planting not in one lati 6 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH . 5

d f . tu e only , but in several , rom New Hampshire to Georgia The product was to be the same whether the seed w ere

011 l N ew an the val scattered the barren hil s of Engl d , rich leys of Pennsylvania or the savannahs of the South ; where ever planted it was to yield hearts of oak . But the plant ing was not yet. The seed thus gathered was to be sifted

1 n and sown , again and again Ulster , until from these repeated processes there came a distinct and peculiar people . They were to have more than Geneva theology in common ; that and other inﬂuences were to work an assimilation in and thought and speech , in feeling purpose , in habit and customs , and inspire them with noble conceptions of the

true all u m rights of man , and the object of j st govern ent, which were to be realized later on in ano ther land than that in which they then were . It may seem strange , but so it is and all historyattests it, that the soil which best produces a

a e d b u vigorous r ce is that which is best wat re y h man blood . a Ulster soil w s so prepared . This peo ple whose industry had and a reclaimed it , made it the fairest portion of the isl nd , were to be harried and torn and plundered , and many of t hem butchered , because they would submit to all these, rather than surrender their faith at the dictation o f a perﬁd x ious king. Such an e perience wa s required to add to their c a a reed , which lre dy demanded a church without a prelate, a o n d the politic l cor llary , which dema de a government with o ut a a king , and m ke them the chosen instruments to carry

n ew the evangel to the new world . Then came the fullness o f o time when b th seed and soil were ready . The ﬁeld was

. T here in these scattered colonies hither, across an ocean f ar a more treacherous then th n now, came these trained and n disciplined Ulstermen , bri ging with them the faith and d ra tra itions of their fathers , hatred of ty nny and love of free d om an h c u - n , with in eritance of o rage , self relia ce and

od humble trust in the favor of the G they served . They were not many who moored their bark on stem New Eng ’ la as s n nd s rock bound co t ; but the few were cho e , and 66 THE ROCKY SPRING enough to make the Londonderry of New Hampshire which

o f s they founded and where they lived , worthy the illustriou

y . name the gave it More were not needed there , for New England was already settled by a peo ple disciplined and , prepared for the struggle in which they were to play so prominent a part . In far larger numbers they crowded the n shores of the Caroli as , where they were needed to neutralize and overcome the British inﬂuence then at work . Some d e came to Marylan , others to New Jersey , but in the great st m numbers they came to that colony which most needed the , in View of what was so soon to occur. Shipload after ship load in quick succession landed at Philadelphia , and the majority of these at once found their way to the southeastern counties of this province , then the border of our western civilization . 0 m I have said that here they were ost needed . Mark the Divine strategy that‘ directed and controlled the distribution of these Presbyterian forces , which were then pouring into the colonies ; for it was not by chance or accident that they n came in greatest numbers to this , rather tha to some other ’ colony . If in any movement God s hand is visible, it may

w as 011 be seen in this . He the side of the revolution , and these Scotch - Irish immigrants wereto be employed in the w as who accomplishment of His friendly purposes . It He

e empti d Ulster into Pennsylvania , and He did it at the right

time . His purpose now seems plain enough . Without the

o f u active cooperation this province, there co ld have been no

t . revolution , and none would have been a tempted With

Pennsylvania hostile , or even neutral , it would have been idle to talk of separatio n from G reat Britain . Its unfriendly n or eutral territory , separating the northern from the south ern colonies , would have deterred the most rebellious spirits f from o fering resistance , which , in the nature of things , could i f r only have brought greater oppression and d s ess. The government of the province was in the hands of the peace

u ful ! akers who had founded it , and they , with the German 6 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH . 7

M n i l e nonites , whose relig on a so forbade a resort to arms , constituted a large majority of the population . These peo

s ple by their intelligent enterpri e and industry , by the

s d wholesome sy tem of laws they had enacte , and by their f had d generous treatment of riend and foe , ma e the province

era o f famous above all others . But the peace was fast drawing to a close ; the day was not now far off when Patrick

Henry and other heralds of the revolution , were to startle the colonies from repose by their appeal to arms . Against

O f a h n the exigency th t day, w at was so much eeded in Penn s m m ylvania as the inco ing of a people , to who it had been revealed that resistance to tyrants was obedience to God . We are apt to think of it as a happy Circumstance that these Scotch - Irish distributed themselves o ver these colonies i n ’ di d was the way they , forgetting that it God s own ordering, and that He was using the l imited supply of the material on i n hand , the way that would best accomplish His designs .

Into this valley of ours th ese people came as pioneers . The ﬁrst white foot that ever made an imprint here belonged to a - rs and s hi m his Scotch Irish P e byterian , clo e behind were

s brethren with their bibles, their catechisms, their riﬂe , their h a u . xes , and their rude implements of sbandry Here they

m n e s C . built the elves homes , the hurch s , then schools They c i n n ame such numbers , that at the begi ning of the war

a o they constituted third of the p pulation of the province. Knowing this much of the history and antecedents of

ask w this people , where, I now , ould you expect to ﬁnd

e was ad w n s th m , when choice to be m e bet ee submis ion to m the demands of the British ministry , which eant chains and and slavery for themselves their posterity, or the hazard ? of a doubtful war fo r political freedom Surely yo u would expect all this iron that had been mixed in their blood to f count o r something. N o w m ake your appeal to history for

- the facts . You know where these Sco tch Irish were in the c w no t ffi n olonies ; they were every here , but su cie t in any o ne m e colony to give the political control . T hev w er 68 THE ROCKY SPRING

strongest in the Carol inas and Pennsylvania . If you would catch the ﬁrst note sounded in the colonies for the cause of m independence , you ust turn your ear to the south that you may hear what is borne 0 11 the winds from the hills of North

Carolina . There these people were , and plenty of them .

The blood shed at Lexington . had scarcely dried on the

h - of soil it stained , when the Scotc Irish Presbyterians the

Mec kl enber g district , in solemn assembly , declared that e r Americans were free and independ nt people, and p oceeded to annul and vacate all laws and commissions confirmed by or derived from the authority of the king of parliament . This 20 th 1 was on May , 775, and it was the first formulated ex pression for political independence which came from any organized assembl y ofthe people . Responses came quick and hot from the Presbyterians of Philadelphia and Baltimore , but these were only voices in the wilderness calling the people of the colonies to prepare for the approaching contest . A whole y ear was yet to be spent in fruitless expostulation d and entreaty . The i ea of separation from the mother n country was entertai ed by few . The general voice was for resistance to the tyrannous measures of the ministry, but for continued loyalty to the throne . Separation was thought neither necessary nor desirable; it invited disaster to the colonies and vin dictive punishmen t to its abetters . The influence and example of Pennsylvania were on the Side of submission . But persistent and repeated remonstrance

I brought only increased demands , with an ncreased display

to l of power enforce them , upon the colonies , until at ast the conviction was burned into the hearts and minds of the

eo n m o p ple , that their o ly possible escape fro p litical servitude was in a war for ﬁnal separation and independence . But this province of Pennsylvania was yet to be won over to the cause . Her Assembly had instructed the delegates in the

Continental Congress , not to consent to any step which might cause or lead to a separation from Great Britain . How was the attitude of Pennsylvania to be changed ? for changed it

70 THE R OCKY SPRING

f her sister colonies , and gave her vote for reedom and inde

endence 2 d on the ofJuly following , when Congress decided “ n upon separation , and solemnly resolved , that these u ited colonies are and of right ought to be free and independent states ; that they are absolved from allegiance to the British and w an d crown , that all political connection bet een them and the state of Great Britain is , ought to be totally dis ” solved . These were brave words from brave men ; none n n braver were ever uttered , and o e , if they are to be made f a good , of deeper signiﬁcance to the wel are and h ppiness

o f of posterity . The war which hitherto had been one resistance by the courageous and freedom loving people of E New ngland , to the unjust and oppressive measures of a an d n ow headstrong king stupid ministry , was to become a war for political independence , in which thirteen scattered and feeble colonies were to engage the most po werful nation of Europe . Well might the brave men who spoke the

011 2 d the ﬁ nal brave words , pause and hesitate , when , August ,

S step was to be taken , and each was to ign his name to that

r immortal pape , which was to publish to the world their h igh resolve , and commit the colonies to an undertaking so desperate as this seemed and was . But it was only for a moment: It needed but one note of deﬁance to break the ’ ne o f t n solemn still ss tha morning s meeti g, and revive the courage of the men who so bravely resolved two months ‘ i thers o n . vV o before John p , the venerable President of the

n C N e w i ri Presbyteria ollege of Jersey , rises his place , and with a voice trembling with age , not fear, is heard to say , “ Mr . President , that noble instrument on your table , which t insures immor ality to its author , should be subscribed this very morning by every pen in the house . He who will not n respond to its accents , and strain every erve to carry into

ff y . e ect its provisions , is unworth the name of freeman h Although these gray airs must descend into the sepulchre, I would inﬁnitely rather they should descend thi ther by the d i hand of the public executioner, than esert at th s crisis the PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH . 7 I

m ” sacred cause of y country . There was hesitancy no longer ,

fift - fi e and of the y v historic men who that morning, under the n leadership of John Witherspoon , subscribed their ames to the declaration of independence , fifteen were of Scotch and

Irish birth or ancestry . of And now begins the War the Revolution , where the lives and fortunes and sacred honor so solemnly pledged are to be given and redeemed . Where now may we expect to

ﬁnd these men of Presbyterian faith , who were so early and n constant in their dema d for independence at any cost , when ? it was to be accomplished , if at all , by the sword We know where you would expect to ﬁnd them ; but appeal again to history . Turn in the direction where these men were ;

ﬁrst of all to that little colony of them in New Hampshire. For a whole y ear already hundreds of them have been in the thi th trenches at Boston , and now hundreds more are marching erward under the lead of Sullivan and Stark ; both of whom are to become famous as generals in the revolution . Turn to the Carolinas and the South , and view their kindred rally under the chosen leaders , Morgan , and Pickens , and

Campbell , and Howard . Their day of severest trial is yet to

and come , but watch them you will see them ﬁghting ever so M gallantly at oultrie , at Kings Mountain , at Cowpens and at

Yorktown aye , for that matter across New Jersey and at l . ? Brandywine too Turn to Pennsy vania , and what of her For a whole year she too has had her brave sons in the m trenches at Boston , some fro this valley, under the lead of

Chambers and others . But now a larger demand is to be made on her patriotism . With the declaration of inde

endence p comes a call for men to make it good . Six thous and men are required of Pennsylvania in addition to those already in the field , and the exigency admits of no delay . ? The quota is filled , and filled rapidly , but how Let one example stand for all . This county of Cumberland , as it

f from then was , was a rontier settlement , remote the scene of conﬂict and secure from British invasion . Before the 7 2 THE ROCKY SPRIN G

c n leaves had that year fallen from the trees , this single ou ty , ’ sparsely populated then , had given to Washington s army n more than a thousand men , and more tha a sixth of the entire quota of the province . It gave to that army such

ff i e o cers as Armstrong , and M rcer, and Irwin , and Chambers and Magaw, and others of like service and renown . The number of men contributed to the Continental Army by this valley , during the war was equal to the whole number of its taxables ; and the contribution of the Scotch - Irish of the colony exceeded by one- half of the entire quota of the prov i nce . So true and ﬁrm and devoted were the people of this

a a She faith and race , that it can be said of Pennsylv ni , that was one of the two colonies that complied with all the requisitions of the Continental Congress , for money and supplies .

And what they did in Pennsylvania they did in every colony , according to the measure of their strength and numbers . There was no t a battleﬁeld in which they did not take part . It w as for a task too great the occasion , to recall on the names of all the men of Presbyterian faith and lineage who ren

l l u ri o us I n he n i st t . o t dered service war I shall attempt it . It is enough to know that the contribution of this people

contribu~ to the leadership of it, was as conspicuous as their tion to the ranks was liberal and generous ; and that all alike

n s . rendered faithful , honorable and disti gui hed service The men of that race who ﬁrst settled this immediate

' - w here no w locality, had here on this hill top , we stand , w h d ith pious ands and devout hearts , built and de icated to h the service of God t eir humble sanctuary . Here they b 1 6 gathered on a Sab ath day in July 7 7 , to hear from him who had been appointed over them in holy things , what duty God required of them , now that independence had n bee determined on . That man of God and the revolution ,

John Craighead , sleeps over there in that graveyard , and about him lie the men who returned with him from the war . To your tents O Israel ! was the message he brough t PRESBYTE R IAN CHURCH . 73

hi da h to s people that y, and throug the mists of a century

we can co n and a quarter, see the men of Rocky Spring

re ati on a g g w ving a long farewell to homes and families , as they begin their long and toilsome march to Long Island

and head i n . the war, with brave John Crai g the lead Standing amid such associ atfons what emotions Should ? ? stir our hearts today Pride Yes , indulge it , for who can boast a nobler ancestry than those of you who Claim

w . ? kinship ith these heroic dead Gratitude Yes, deep

o o and pr found let it be, fr m all, for the loyal and helpful service the men of Presbyterian faith rendered the cause of

. ? American independence Reverence Yes , in abundant

e measure , for this p ople adorned their heroism with the n and oblest virtues employed it in a sacred cause.

s But better still , let us here enkindle our patrioti m and

s o f a pledge anew our devotion to the cau e hum n freedom , a that we may the better gu rd the heritage bequeathed us . In no other way can we so well honor the memory and perpetuate the fame o f the Presbyterians of the American

Revolution.

THE HISTORIC FAMILIES OF TH E CUMBER LAN D

VALLEY.

BY W L M M IL IA HENRY EGLE, . D.

Am ong these representatives of theological and legal lore a surrounding me , if I h ve not the eloquence of the o ne or the profoundness of the other, I trust that at least I may have your attention and interest in what I have to say in a cursory

“ resume of the fam ily history of this charming valley . W l ithout any further prelude , yo—u wil pardon my abrupt launching forth with my subject The Early Scotch - Irish 74 THE ROCKY SPRING

s of Settler the Cumberland Valley , or, rather, its Historic

Families . n ’ On the easter end of this valley , close to the water s

m - t edge , is a s all one s ory stone structure , known in Provin cial - y - or ante Revolutionary da s as the Kelso ferry house , i n 1 erected 734, of which we have positive knowledge , it yet

O remains , the ldest residence in this valley . From that land

- mark , almost to the Pennsylvania Maryland line , between

1 2 0 1 0 - years 7 and 74 , families of Scotch Irish extraction , the

an cesters v whose , after having been seated in the Pro ince of

' tw o or Ulster, Ireland , for possibly three generations , emigrated to Pennsylvania , and became the pioneers of the

Cumberland Valley , and from thence passing on to the com muni ti es South and West , to which they gave their own distinguishing Characteristics . Many of the later genera

ben eficen t i 1i tion have exerted a marked and influence , dividually and as families , upon the material progress , the educational and religious advancement, and the political action of the several Commonwealths where they settled . — Of much concerning them O i the martial spirit exhibited by them and their descendants upon the battlefields of their — country of the high positions they have held in the Coun f — i t cils of the Nation , in the pulpit and the orum is not

' my province now to speak . The time is too brief to enter

- of fully into the life history the early pioneers of this valley , and of the generations who have become famous in the annals of the States and the Nation . You will bear with me , however, in a rapid glance over the records of some of the early settlers—brave men and bright women—whose descendants have loomed up above others in many sections of our Union .

s It may be interesting to note ju t here , that at a distance of about ten miles apart, were located the churches of the

- Scotch Irish Presbyterian settlements . The ﬁrst west of the f Susquehanna was Silvers Spring Meeting House , ully ten

from miles distant old Paxtang on the east side of the river, N PRESBYTERIA CHURCH . 75

en M th eeting House Spring , (Carlisle) , followed by Big Spring Middle Spring Rocky

Spring and Falling Spring, (Chambersburg) , and Mossy

Spring, (Greencastle) Around these magniﬁcent springs , Scotcln l ri sh — clustered at ﬁrst, the —settlers and here they erected their church es and schools and the allusion is thus

tha we made, t may the better be guided in the reference to the historic families brought to our remembrance . James Silvers and Richard Parker were probably the earliest permanent settlers in the valley , the former locating about 1 7 20 at the Spring which yet bears his name,although

so f S i lver n n . requently named Spri g , i stead of Silvers His w 1 0 descendants ent into the Shenandoah Valley prior to 75 , and in the female line intermarried with the First Families a o f Virgini . Richard Parker located near the glebe of

o nodo ui ne 1 Meeting House Springs on the C g t in 7 2 5. His family became quite noted and inﬂuential in the early hi s ! and tory of the valley , were connected with the Dennys , D u e and w nbars and Creighs , early settl rs , hose descendants have made their mark in Western Pennsylvania and o ther

z lo calities of our Union . Major Ebene er Denny was a soldier of the Revolution , and his son Harmer Denny , who ’ m ~ O H ara arried a daughter of Gen James , was a member o f Congress and of the State Constitutional Convention of — a 1 8 8 . s 37 Other member of this f mily were the late Rev.

i D . R ev Thomas Cre gh , D , , of Mercersburg , and . Joseph

D . a o . h Alexander Murray , D , of C rlisle , b th of w om were — val i ent soldiers o f the Cro ss faithful ministers of the Go spel of Christ . t n two Of the Arms ro gs , there were prominent

o f that of John of Carlisle, and that Joseph of Hamilto n

i n . r township , now Franklin county Of the histo y of Col . “ ” Ki ttani n John Armstrong, the Hero of the g, every Penn s l vani an w y ought to be familiar , as also , ith the services of

i n R e ol u his son , who rose to be a General the War of the v tion . His descendants are more especially represented by 76 THE ROCKY SPR I N G

the Astor family of New York City , although others are scattered in many States , just as prominent even though not n crow ed with such great wealth . The ﬁrst Joseph Arm fﬁ strong was an o cer in the French and Indian War ; and , h strange to say , all the istories of the valley give the son b the honor reaped by the father, the son eing too young for the Indian wars , while the father died prior to the strug gle for independence . The second Joseph Armstrong was a

ff the brave and gallant o icer during War of the Revolution , and his remains lie in yonder graveyard . Most of their d escendants have gone out into the South and West, and , during the late conﬂict for supremacy of the Union laid f down their noble lives in defence thereo .

I At Big Spring , possibly as early as 734, settled Archibald ll i Mc A ster. n His son Richard laid out the tow of Hanover,

the York county, was a member of Provincial Assembly and Colonel of one of the York County Battalions o i Asso c iators in the Revolution . Some of his children went to — Georgia , and became quite prominent there while of their — descendants Matthew Hale McA ll i ster died as a J udge in

California . Others were representatives in Congress , while one was for many years the acknowledged leader of the “ ” McAll i er st . Four Hundred in New York City , Mr . Ward

Mc All i ster One portion of the family went to Virginia , and

h McKn i hts earl wit them the Mitchels and g , also v settlers near the Big Spring . From these came that great distin gui shed soldier of the War of the Rebellion and famous astron

McKni ht dau h omer, General Ormsby g Mitchell , and whose g ter now vies with Miss Proctor as the leading astronomer of today . What family in the entire Colonies became more famous than the Butlers of the Cumberland Valley in the contest of

1 6 ? 7 7 Their fame is not restricted to this locality alone , 1 but is national in its range . About 745, Thomas Butler E ’ and leanor his wife , settled in West Pennsboro township in

ﬁve e n the valley . Their sons b came eminently disti guished

78 THE ROCKY SPRIN G

h ﬁ e H m . v e re oved to Tennessee , where he died All of t ese brothers left numerous descendants , many of whom served

meritoriously in the United States Army and Navy . It need not be here remarked that the Cumberland Valley was a nursery of brave ofﬁcers of the R evol uti onm as Well

f . as o other wars The records prove it, and it is to be as regretted that some one , with the time and inclination ,

and for well as love fascination the work , will not take up

s scaven~ this interesting ubject, that some of the historical todav r w gers who are writing up American histo y, al ays to

di s ara M ent the p g of Pennsylvania and her people, may

strabi mus have their mental removed , and see what even the a First Families of this lovely Valley alone have ccomplished . and a There were Irvines Irwins , not bly prominent among a the early settlers . Of the ﬁrst named , we h ve General m R u man Willia Irvine , a hero of the evol tion , and a around whose name there is a halo of martial glory which i s to be of H honored and revered by every lover his country . e served during the entire war with distinction , and was one

o i of the riginal members of the Soc ety of the Cincinnati .

- - i n law . r His brother , James R Reid , was a Majo in the war, f a and a member o the Continent l Congress . Some of the R u A s I rvine family went to the Southward after the evol tion . w s w to the Ir ins , James Irwin ettled in the lo er part of the val

o a hi ley pri r to the formation of Cumberl nd county . Of s

i a oﬂi cer children , Arch b ld Irwin , was an in the French and

Indian War and served in the Revolutionary struggle . He

McD ow ell married Jean , and they were the ancestors of Ex President Benjamin Harrison and the family of Governor

R . I Francis . Shunk To the family of rwins , which settled in

the Eastern portion of the valley we shall allude further on .

1 6 William Linn settled in Lurgan in 73 . His father “ ” - H is fought on the side of The Orange at Boyne water. descendants became distinguished in every prominent walk

in life . A grand son , Rev . William Linn , was a Chaplain

the ﬁ the in the Pennsylvania Line, and rst Chaplain of PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH . 7 9

1 United States House of Representatives in 789. Of his B rockden children , a daughter married Charles Brown , the novelist ; another, Simeon De Witt , Surveyor General of the United States in 1 796 ; while a son was the Rev John

Blair Linn an eminent Presbyterian divine . In the fourth generation we have William Linn a noted lawyer and author; and the ﬁfth in line of descent , my friend , Hon . John Blair ff Linn , of Bellefonte, the historian of the Bu alo Valley . William McGaw came to Pennsylvania early in the ” Seventeen Thirties . Of his children three became dis i n ui hed t s . g The eldest, Samuel , became a Minister of the n Gospel , was made a Doctor of Divi ity and was Provost of the University of Pennsylvania . Robert Magaw was a soldier in the Revolution and Colonel 01 the Fifth Penn sylvania Battalion of the Line . He married Miss Van

l 1 0 Brunt of Long Is and , died at Carlisle in 79 , and was

- buried in Meeting House Springs graveyard . Dr. William Magaw was Surgeon of Colonel William Thompson ’ s Bat — talion or R iﬂemen i n 1 775 continued as Surgeon of the

First Regiment of the Line , remaining in the service until

1 1 8 . decend January , 7 3 He died at Meadville . All left ants , but none reside in the valley .

Chamberses w - Of the , there ere two distinct families that of Falling Spring and that of Middlesex , both prominent in the history of the valley—both honored by distinguished representatives today . Of the brothers , James , Benjamin ,

Robert and Joseph Chambers , so much has been made familiar through the histories of Cumberland and Franklin counties , that it is necessary for me to only allude to their services in the War of Independence and that the bravest of the family rose from a Captain in Colonel William ’ Thompson s Battalion of R iﬂemen to Colonel of the Tenth

co m Regiment of the Line , subsequently transferred to the

- mand of the First Regiment . H e was wounded at the “ ” Battle of Brandywine . Colonel Chambers , title of General hi m came to afterwards . The name of this family of Cham 80 THE ROCKY SPRIN G hers i s perpetuated in the naming of the beautiful tow n ﬁve

. O f miles distant Of the Middlesex family Chambers , Colonel William Chambers served with the militia in the

i was o f ff Revolut on , a man prominence in public a airs , and is represented in the fourth generation by that distinguished

. . D . D . Y r . divine , Rev Talbot W Chambers , , of New o k City H c s s Tobias endri k settled three miles ea t of Harrisburg ,

1 2 1 0 . H about 7 9 or 73 is grandson William Hendricks , enlisted the ﬁrst company west of the Susquehanna for the n da s f contest for liberty . Withi ten y after the reception o

x as the news of the Battle of Le ington , and as soon orders ’ c were re eived , he was on his march to join Washington s little

H i s or army in front of Boston . was one the two Pennsylvania companies of expert riﬂemen which were ordered upon the i ! uebec extpedi t o n under Arnold . There the gallant Hen dri cks lost his life on the last day of the last month of the

1 a O f H year 775. From this f mily endricks Sprung Vice m H . President Tho as A . endricks of Indiana

all e 1 0 H John Potter settled in the V y prior to 74 . e was h ff of . s the ﬁrst Sheri Cumberland county T eir son , Jame

o o s B Potter, was a her of the Rev lution , ro e to be a rigadier a General , and became Vice President of Pennsylv nia during H r the war. e settled in Centre , then in Northumbe land

son- i n a l aw n county, but died at the residence of his , Captai

James Poe , in the Valley . Speaking of the Poes reminds me of the fact that several of that name were early settlers in Antrim township . From a these came . besides Capt in James , just alluded to , a soldier

Penns l a of the Revolution , the Indian ﬁghters of Western y V d vania and irginia , Adam and An rew Poe , whose thrilling “ f ” r exploits are given in Incidents of Border Li e . Anothe

the member settled beyond the Line in Maryland , became E Poe ancestor of dgar Allen , that erratic genius , whose poetic ﬁre ﬂashed as his young life went out in sudden darkness . Accidental circumstances made him born in

e Boston , but his ancestors lived in this Valley, settled her 8 1 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH .

and and all over a century a half ago , , as with others , claims her children .

Among the early settlers were the Caldwells and Calhouns .

Some of these went into the Virginia Valleys , and thence i nto the Carolinas and Georgia, while Kentucky and Ten n essee honor their descendants today . Of this stock came l n ul iﬁer . John Cald well Calhoun , the of South Carolina During the recent conﬂict for the perpetuity of the

Union , many of these people took an active part in the

Rebellion , especially those South , who became distinguished in the cause of the Confederates . In the West others were arrayed on the Union side of the struggle, some of whom perished in that fratricidal strife ; but, all proved the bravest n of the brave, leaving imperishable renown on the ame .

No doubt you have all heard of the Brady family . Hugh

1 0 Brady settled near Middle Spring, prior to 74 . He had quite a large family of children , the most noted of whom was John Brady , his second son. He was the father of Cap f tain Samuel Brady, the eldest of the amily, and General was d Hugh Brady, who greatly istinguished in the service of his country during the early part of the present century .

Of the gallant exploits of Captain Samuel Brady, it would h take a volume to narrate , and , muc that is said of him belongs to the record of his uncle Samuel Brady , who was an oﬂi cer in the War of the Revolution , wounded at the

Battle of Brandywine, where two of his sons , Samuel , his f eldest, and John , a youth of ﬁ teen years , were in the same ﬂ con ict . With his family are intimately connected the o Sharps , early settlers , as als the ! uigleys . Captain John

Brady perished , as also did his son , by the hand of the red savages of the forest , and the second Samuel Brady was cradled among dangers . Much that has been said of him is entirely erroneous , but accounts of his many conﬂicts and

- hair breadth escapes are all well authenticated . He never

roe o f was a cruel , as has been pictured by some the recent writers of sensational history. The late A . Brady Sharpe , of 82 THE ROCKY SPRING

f Carlisle, was a distinguished descendant of this amily . Many of the family intermarried with the families of Cham bers , Wallace , Hanna , Carnahan , and Irvine .

o f - r d Andrew Gregg, Bally arnat , near Londonde ry , Irelan settled in the Cumberland Valley prior to 1 750 on a farm

- adjoining the glebe of Meeting House Springs , which was

. w in sight of his dwelling His son , Andre , born near

1 1 Carlisle , was one of the most distinguished men from 7 9 ,

e when he entered the public servic , until his death . He y was a Member of the Lower House of Congress sixteen ears , and in 1 80 7 served as United States Senator from Penn f . O sylvania His wife was Martha Potter, daughter General

f . James Potter, just re erred to Among the most distin

ui shed of f g the amily of the same surname , was the late i . v General J Ir n Gregg, who served with distinction in the Mc Murtri e War of the Rebellion , and also David Gregg , the present most excellent Auditor General of Pennsylvania,

. . V who was promoted Brevet Major General U S olunteers , for highly meritorious and distinguished conduct throughout a the campaign , and who participated with his c valry com mand in the most important engagements i n the War for ’ the Union . From the ﬁrst Andrew Gregg s son John , “ descended Andrew Gregg Curtain , properly named the War ” Governor of Pennsylvania .

Charles Maclay, as also his brother John , settled in the f Valley about 1 74 2 . From the ormer were descended

o William and Samuel , b th United States Senators from v Pennsylvania . Of them , and their distinguished ser ices to the State and Nation , time will not allow us more than ’ an allusion . John Maclay s son John was an elder in the

Middle Spring Church . They left a large family , including men and women , who became distinguished in their various h callings . Elizabet , daughter of John Maclay the ﬁrst, “ ” married Colonel Samuel Culbertson , of The Row . Their R Z u ev. descendants incl de James Culbertson , of anesville ,

Ohio ; Mrs . John Rhea , the widow of General Rhea , who 8 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH . 3

f m R e v . was a Member of Congress ro Pennsylvania , and the f Mc une O . . . C S C , Iowa It is doubtful whether any one family in the United States contains as many representa m “ tive men and wo en , as are found among the Maclays of ” Lurgan . McCormi ck m homas , grandson of Ja es , who was at the

— 1 siege of Londonderry, came to Pennsylvania in 735. He located in East Pennsboro township in Cumberland county 8 1 6 1 . 2 about 74 He died about 7 , leaving a family of ﬁve sons and a daughter . From their son James are descended

McCormi cks the of Harrisburg, while from Robert, who married Martha Sanderson , we have the grandson , Cyrus

H . to whom the world is indebted for the famous reaping machine , and which has made the family not only famous but wealthy . About the year 1 730 there came into the lower part of M D ll c o w e . the Cumberland Valley, the family of William ’ He settled at the foot of Parnell s Knob , about ten miles west of Chambersburg, but was driven away by the Indians , subsequent to Braddocks defeat It was during his absence

the from home, that he died at the residence of friends near

Susquehanna , and was buried at the old Donegal Church

a gravey rd . He left a large family and they are the anoes

O f McD owell s tors the , who have not only assisted to make e this valley famous , but became quit prominent in the history of the Carolinas and Kentucky . During the War of the

Revolution , several of them distinguished themselves as oﬂﬁcers the in Pennsylvania Line, and there has recently been published in the Second Series of Pennsylvania

Archives , an interesting journal of Lieutenant William Mc D ow ell of the First Pennsylvania Regiment concerning 1 — f the Southern Campaign of 1 78 8 2 . This amily is con nected Max w el s with the , Pipers , Newells , and Reynolds , as well as the Findleys of the Cumberland Valley . John Williamson settled in the Valley as early at 1 740 ; his wife was Mary Davidson , belonging to that family of the 84 THE ROCKY SPRING

neighborhood . Of their Children the Rev . Hugh William son , was a distinguished divine, as also a soldier of the

Revolution and an author of considerable note , being the historian of South Carolina . Another son , John , was a distinguished lawyer, but after the Revolution he became a

. dau h wealthy merchant of Charleston , South Carolina A g ter, Margaret, married ﬁrst, William Reynolds . Left early a widow with a small family, she married Daniel Nevin .

From them descended the Nevin family, the most distin gui shed of whom was the great theologian of the Reformed

Church , Rev . John Williamson Nevin , D . D . Another

McCli ntock daughter, Mary Williamson , married a , while

i ntermarri e wi th Mon mer Rachel Williamson d the t ys . William Mc Lene settled about 1 745 near what is called ’ l Brown s Mills in Franklin county . He had ocated some time in Chester county , where his son James received the f o . rudiments a good education , at the New London Academy It is a remarkable fact that many of the most prominent o f the historic families of Cumberland county remained with their friends and neighbors who had previously removed from

- Ireland , in the Scotch Irish settlements in Chester and

Lancaster counties , for several years , until the farms were i made tillable and their homes were erected n the Valley .

re re It is more than probable that owing to this fact, the p sentati ve men of this locality prior to the Revo l uti on at , were educated the Classical Academy at e New London , then under the charg of the Rev . Me ne Francis Alison . James Le took an active part

o in the early deliberati ns of the conferences , through a i n and by which , Pennsylvania decl red herself a free and

Mr M en . c e dependent State . L served not only in the

Assembly but in the Supreme Executive Council , as well as in the Continental Congress. He was a remarkable man

1 80 6 i nﬂuen in many respects , and , until his death in , he was f ’ tial in public af airs . He was buried in Brown s Mill grave f o a . yard , four miles northeast Greenc stle

86 THE ROCKY SPRING

o f ert removing to North Carolina , became a distinguished ﬁcer and performed important military service during th e

so n war. Benjamin Patton , the of William and Elizabeth ’ Patton , who settled in Peters township , removed at an early t period to the eastern par of Mecklenburg County . H e

n ido mi tabl e was a man of iro ﬁrmness and courage . De

i nher scended from the proud blood of the covenanters , he i ted their tenacity of purpose, sagacity of action and purity of character .

Zacheus Mc l ure Wilson , James Harris and Matthew C , also signers of that declaration , were emigrants from the

Cumberland Valley into western North Carolina . Thus it will be seen that not only were the descendants of these

- early Scotch Irish settlers remaining in the Valley, true to — their friends , to their country, and their God , but, those who went Southward performed deeds of noble daring and ex empli ﬁed that lofty patriotism which has been the distin

‘ gui shi ng characteristic of the Scotch - Irish settlers of the

Cumberland Valley in their own homes . No other settle ment in the Colonies of similar area ever sent forth so many men of distinguished bravery and zeal in the cause of liberty . m f There are, perchance , ore representative amilies de scended from the early Scotch - Irish settlers in this Valley m than from any other section . From Ma e to California s there are people bearing the same surname , a well through

' i ntermarri age traci ng their ancestry to those sturdy pio

eer ff n s of the forest , and it would a ord me much pleasure to s rehearse their distinguished services , not only to the State

o . wherein they dwell , but to the Nati n at large I can only refer in praise at this time to the deeds of the Blaines , o f Middlesex ; the Allisons of Antrim ; the Duncans of Car: lisle ; the Elliotts of Peters ; the Brown s of Antrim ; the Lyo ns of Milford ; the Maxwells of Peters ; the Culbert “ ” Mc onnells sons of The Row ; the C , Herrons , and Hen

f Mc almonts ns dersons o Letterkenny ; the C and Stevenso , 8 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH . 7

but time on the present occasion will not allow . I intended to refer somewhat to the Campbells , the Findlays , Hoges ,

B Crai heads rec reckenridges and g , but these also , with the

of ord of others , must be left for some future historian the

Valley . r It would g eatly please me to continue this subject further, as there are hundreds of families of more or less promi i nence concerning whom and their descendants I may have f in ormation . The theme is a fruitful one, and there cer tai nl y is a fascination about following the lines of descent from the ﬁrst settler to those of the present generation , scattered as they are to the North , South , East and West .

Some day , there may arise , I hope , some one who will take f this matter up , and , with a love that knows no altering, preserve to you and those who come after you , a faithful “ ” record of the Historic Families of the Cumberland Valley .

AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN M A ERICA .

M M Y R EV . . . B THO AS URPHY , D D

No subject of deeper interest can we study than that of the Providence of God over the aff airs of human history and to us no point of that study could be more absorbing, than that whereby He directed the earliest movements of history to the accomplishment o f His great design in reference to this land in which we live . That He had in View for it some sublime purpose in the future we cannot question . On that account , every movement of His Provi dence in reference to our land , becomes to us a point of intense moment ; and of all other points none are so inter 88 THE RO CKY SPRING

esting as those whereby He prepared a church for our people .

Moreover, of all churches , to be gotten ready for the coun try, none could have the attraction for us that we ﬁnd in

can the Presbyterian . In it we believe we very clearly trace His divine footsteps in preparing a Presbyterian Church in America i n which there are many kindred prin — c ipl es I t was an American Presbyterian Church for — America and the successive stages of its preparation form the subject on which we would dwell . Merely as a subject for study it is most attractive , but as involving the very highest welfare of our country, it must awaken our greatest n u n i terest. The s ccessive stages of preparatio for th e church , run parallel with the progress of the country , and ff a cannot but attract our a ectionate study . We would t ke these stages in succession , that we may see clearly the won d erful i mil ar S ty.

i st of F r . We see the hand God in the gathering of the people out of which the church is to be formed . They were all people from lands where a sound Presbyterian faith had

- long prevailed . Chief among them were the Scotch Irish , from Ulster and the land of John Knox , and German

Cal vi n i tes , from Basil and the home of Calvin , and the f faith ul from the banks of the Rhine , and Welsh Calvin — ites from Travecea and descendants of the Puritans from

E n ot H ue enots ngland and childre the g from France, and many others of a kindred spirit and creed . They were f i n peoples , all of whom had suf ered severely their ancestral homes for their God and their faith . ’ e ond S c . The next stage of God s leading was seen in His providing for these gathered people a sound scriptural creed . T 1 2 he crowning act of this great event was , when in 7 9, they heartily and most solemnly adopted the Westminster

Confession of Faith , with the catechisms , as the standard of their belief, and pledged themselves in the most solemn manner that they would follow its doctrines and practice . ’ ’ The Tﬁ zm stage by which God was preparing His church 8 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH . 9

of for this land , was that providing for her an educated ministry . From the ﬁrst, the Presbyterian Church would have no ministers but those who had been carefully trained for their great work , and at that early day when foundations were to be laid this was especially needed . Our fathers could not rely any longer on a supply of ministers

d . trained in Scotland , Ireland or the colleges of New Englan There must be some method found by which the y oung

. n 1 0 men could be trained at home By a stra ge , almost

es mantic , path of Providence this was provided for in the tabli shmen t of the renowned Log College . The story of the beginning of that blessed institution has never been told in its simple facts . It has only recently been dis i n O f w covered the archives Bucks County , Doylesto n ,

Pennsylvania . Only now has even the name of the foun der been brought to light in connection with the records of the transfer of property in those early days . Marvelous was the way in which Providence prepared the way . The true founder was an hn mbl e girl named Catharine

1 6 8 Kennedy, born about 7 , in County Armagh , Ireland . R ev. . Carefully educated in the manse of her father, Dr Ken m edy , in the earnest faith and love of Christ , her Chief train

- y et ing for her glorious life work began while but a child . At that time merciless persecution for the Presbyterian a Faith of his ancestors , drove her f ther into exile in Hol

o f land , the daughter hope and promise with him . After a time , the bloody persecution abating, the fugitives returned

he n . S ac ui n an to their native la d There , soon made the q t ce f of a young Episcopal clergyman , just graduated rom Trin

i t . y College , Dublin They were married and , after a time , probably through the inﬂuence if her godly example and

s persua ions , he left the Church of England , and entered that of her Presbyterian father . A few years pass , and probably n through her i ﬂuence again , he, the great and good , Rev .

William Tennent, with his wife and four boys who had been born to them , sought a better ﬁeld of usefulness in 90 THE ROCKY SPRING

preaching the Gospel to the Indians in America . By the

of leadings Providence , they were conducted step by step , to thefounding of what became the celebrated Log College; 20 1 8 a very humble structure of by feet , formed of logs cut down by their own hands in the adjoining woods . Its ﬁrst design was the education of the four boys ; but others soon

so- sought its advantages , and it rapidly grew into the called college where most of the ﬁrst ministers of our Church were ’ trained . That was the scene of the noble Catharine s great

- life work . In helping, probably sometimes with her own

of hands even , the erection the building , encouraging her f d husband , o ten espondent , and not strong in body , proving w a mother to all the boys , in their sickness and sorro s , she f le t the impress of her deep piety, fine scholarship and emi nentl n y good sense, upo the character of all the young men trained at that first school of the prophets . It was , through her influence that the ten Log College Evangelists had the foundations laid of their future marvellous power for Christ e and His cause . To no oth r individual is our Church and country so much indebted as to Catharine Kennedy though until a few years ago , even her name was unknown to the world . The Fourtfz stage by which God was getting his Church e a ready for the country He was st blishing, was the endow ing that infant body with the special power of the Holy

Spirit . This was , in one respect at least , the most marvel ! s ous of his doings . The ﬁrst ministers , mo t of whom had come from abroad , were soundly learned men , and possessed of correct theological creed , but their piety was less spiritual ff and earnest . A di erent spirit was needed for a great church of a great country . How was the want to be met

In a way we would little have expected . He sent here that most godly and eloquent man , Rev . George Whitﬁeld , E bringing with him from ngland , the burning spirit of the

Oxford Methodists . He came and preached to thousands upon thousands , imparting his earnest spirit wherever he I PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH . 9

SO went . In no place did he leave deep an impression as upon Log College . Through him the tone of piety there was utterly changed and intensiﬁed . Before , it was eminent for its sound learning and theology now it became as emi

H o nent for its devoted piety . w can we imagine the great ness of the marvel that th e acknowledged great spirituality

S of John Wesley , without a particle of his errors , hould thus be made the reigning Spirit of the Church destined to such a ’ mission . Verily it was God s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes The s t/z stage of preparation was another very great marvel . The sound creed was provided ; the arrangements for an educated ministry were made ; the Baptism of the — Holy Spirit had bee n granted all was ready but the bless ings were conﬁned to a narrow locality . The Log College, C the city of Philadelphia, and large ircle around it were all yet reached ; but the gracious inﬂuences were intended for h n . the whole cou try East , West, Nort and South were all contemplated in the sublime scheme . It was a national the preparation which God of the nations intended . How are the other parts of the land to be reached ? H o w is the whole country to be included in the gracious work ? The

God o inﬁnite wisdom and power has his plan ready . In f ! Lo band o ten evan eli sts the g College, He has a f g prepared , with the same doctrines and the same spirit ; but with dif ferent ff w gifts , and di erent po ers , as soon as his plans are ripe ; to spring forth over the whole land and Spread the system in every quarter, and plant the standard at every point . But little is this glorious movement understood .

The names of these blessed men , all taught in the Log

College , sanctiﬁed by the same spirit, and bring with them i n the same love to Christ and souls , must be had remem brance . They were the four great sons of Tennent, Gilbert ,

William , John and Charles ; the two brothers , Samuel and

John Blair, Samuel Finley, William Robinson , John Row

. W land , and Charles Beatty These were the men hom God 92 T H E ROCKY SPRING prepared and sent abroad to disseminate the cause over the whole land . Not only did he give them all this general commission , but to each of them a special work , and a gen eral qualiﬁcation . Gilbert Tennent , was the pioneer, to

o break down with the blows of a giant, all that might p r press . William Tennent , J . , was the saintly man appointed to illustrate ho w near are the interests and communion of heaven and earth . John Tennent , the type of true piety , w who did his brief, but glorious work , and then ent home .

Charles Tennent, the model pastor, leaving an example for all ministers . Samuel Blair the eminent preacher, drawing

. n thousands to the cross John Blair the theologian , eeded

h e t . u to deﬁne doctrines of the church Sam el Finley, the establisher of institutions for learning and piety . William

Robinson , prominently the evangelist who as a flying angel , d preache the gospel in every quarter ; and who , as asserted by Dr. Archibald Alexander , was the means of more true conversions than any other man by whom the land was ever blessed . John Rowland , the great revivalist , leading the h way in this method of building up t e Cause . And finally y Charles Beatty , the gentleman b instinct and culture , with his mission to recommend the gospel to the cultured , n the refined and the intellectual . Among those who had e trusted to them the work of spreading the cause o ver all the m land , I must name another, a most blessed wo an . Among o m ! those born of w en , how few so highly blessed as she O f the The simple story her relationship to great, and the

S good is all that we can give . She was the ister of the two eminent brothers , Samuel and John Blair. She was the

. Pe ua wife of Rev . Dr Robert Smith , president of q Academy , almost equal in learning to its mother, the Log College . She was mother of Rev . Dr. Stanhope Smith , ﬁrst the president

- of Hampden Sidney College, Virginia and afterwards presi l dent o f Princeton College . She was a so mother of Rev . f Dr . John Blair Smith , who ollowed his brother as president

- of of Hampden Sidney College, and then became president

94 THE RO CKY SPRING

trines were discussed and defined , plans were tried and adopted , or rejected , passions had time to cool , and men were seen in excellencies of character, which they were never before supposed to possess . Thus was the blessed re sult achieved . The annealing process went on for seven teen years when all had become healed in 1 758 and that in the spirit of these blessed words sincere and permanent “ All complaints and diff erences shall be mutually forgiven and buried in perpetual oblivion , and they shall unite in principle as though they had never been concerned with ff n n or . one a other, had any di erences Oh how gloriously perfect in result is God ’ s work — Sevent/z Stag e. All was now ready all prepared for the — New American Church for America all b ut one thing ; — and that would require time veneration for the fathers was — needed sweet associations of the memories of other days to attachments the old church , with which was connected “ remi ni si cences of many blessed , the feeling our good old ” church was wanted there still . Again had the infinite wisdom provided for the want . Time was required in which all that had b een accomplished should be settled defined and fully established . The principles of doctrine

and order were to take root the habits , and character, and

s of an mode of thought, and forms American Presbyterian church were to be matured inﬂuencing traditions were to be formed the great power of early associations was to be created the children were to be put in possession of such peculiar attachment to the Old Church as is hallowed by the

memories of the past . But this would require many years f and even that was providentially provided or. Moreover I n it explains a mystery that seemed very dark . the pro r m 1 8 g ess of the cause we ﬁnd a strange break . Fro 75 , r 1 88 when the g eat Schism was healed , until 7 , all seemed

- . one at a stand still , only one church was organized Not

important movement was witnessed , all seemed dead . Thir

t a wlzol e enerati on i n ti me y years, g , seemed lost to the his PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH . 95

? the tory . What means this Has Divine scheme, as to

? . the Church been abandoned No , no , far from it That long period of apparent inaction , was accomplishing a most

end . important . It was ripening all the previous planting

for . It was establishing the cause the next , and ﬁnal stage

h ta e E ig th S g . That last stage was the organization of the church ; for which God , in his usual manner , was so long, surely , steadily , gloriously preparing . In that ﬁnal stage, of organizing the church , there comes to light, in a f way which cannot possibly be mistaken , the act that this American Presbyterian Church and American nation or government had been prepared for each other by the sub lime working of God ’ s Almighty Providence through all the a preceding years . The w y in which this is made absolutely unmistakable is that the General Assembly of the church

co nsti tutl o n was organized , and the of the government

at the sa me ti me i n the same lace b men o the adopted , , p , y f

same vi ew s . s , and on the same principles The e momentous h m facts are beyond all controversy, and wit a glance at the we close our remarks .

First, as to the Time . The General Assembly was organ d h 1 8 e t . on May 24 , 7 9 The organization of the govern ment was consummated , when Washington was inaugurated

o th 1 8 — as President on April 3 , 7 9 the great events only twenty- four days apart

Second , as to the place . Both events occurred on well nigh the same spot . Not only was it in the same city of Philadelphia ; but the constitution of the government was adopted in a hall a little over two squares from the church where the church was organized . A clear voice might have been heard from one building to the other.

Third , men of the same Views formed both . The men who organized the General Assembly were all , of course , staunch Cal vi nites. On the best of authority we have it that For above one hundred and thi rty years previ ous to the ad o ti on o the constituti on all the hi her i nsti tuti ons 0 p f , g ] 96 THE RO CKY SP RING

h l d e under alvani sti c mana e nt and tea h t e an w re C g me c i ng . But that was the period in which the great statesmen who wrote that instrument had received their education and bias . Such were the institutions which made them what they were . Hence their spirit , the bent of their minds , their opinions and views , and their interpretations of history were the same as those of the framers of the Constitution of the

Church .

Fourth . Formed on the same principles . The principles of the two were precisely alike , as even the most superﬁcial 1 examination will reveal . ( ) A total disconnection of

ackno wl church and state , the one asking no aid , the other edging no obedience . (2) Total separation from the old — world one seeking no ordinations , and the other yielding n no allegiance . (3) Both adopted written constitutio s , as guides to all their laws . (4) Absolute equality in all the members of their respective constituencies— the one tolera ting do prelates of any degree—the other no potentates or privileged claims . (5) The framing of both constitutions o n reci sel —i n C was p y the same plan the one, the hurch , the ' session , the Presbytery , the Synod and the General Assem bly. In the other, the township , the county , the state and 6 the general government . ( ) The principle of representa

i den i tion in all bodies . (7) Courts of review and appeal t cal i n every respect . Now were all these coincidences mere chances ? Did they all merely happen to be so ? Who can imagine that the mere wisdsm of men made this arrangement ? Is it not as manifest as the day that the same mind was at work in

the formation of the purpose that shaped them all , and that the all - wise mind ? Was there not clearly one great plan in both lines of events ? Was not that plan to set up a great nation that would take a leading part in the ﬁnal

v mo ements of the earth , and side by side with it a great

Scriptural Church , that would inﬂuence its character and shape its destiny ? PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH . 97

SO ME LESSONS FROM THE HISTORY OF THIS

CHURCH .

M . S . BY HON . JA E A BEAVER

The church building being u nable to accommodate the n d crowds who were in attendance upon the Cente nial , emand was made that Gen . Beaver should take a place in the doorway where he could be heard by those who were inside as well as outside the church . The double doors at the

and side of the church were opened , standing in the door way , he partly faced the congregation inside and the great f crowd gathered about the doorway, and was in ull view of

SO the churchyard connected with the church , where many of the founders of the church who were instrumental a hun dred years ago in erecting the building in which the services were held , lie buried . w The General spoke without notes and , as he said , ithout i a previous preparat on , the subst nce of his remarks being what follo ws

M Fri ends and Fri ends o the Fri ends o m A ncestors y , f f y

I have joined with you in this service today with very great delight . The invitation to be present was both a sur prise and a pleasure, and ever since its receipt I have counted in anticipation upon what has been more than o f realized in the services today. The journey hither has been in itself a rare enjoyment . A . ride through the Cumberland Valley always brings pleasure with it : but I — , have, in addition being the guest of my friend Pomeroy enjoyed to the full the graphic account of the several occ u pati ons of Chambersburg by those who were opposed to us during the late Civil War, as I heard it from the lips of his

- i n- M l . c e lan mother law, Mrs William L . The drive from Chambersburg here this morning has also been exception ally pleasant, and , as I have mingled with you in social i n terco urse during the day and have heard , from the lips of 98 THE ROCKY SPRING those who were abundantly able to furnish us both i nstruc

ho w tion and enjoyment , for more than a century this region has been cultivated , morally and religiously and how for a round century this building has stood a very beacon

o f light Gospel truth upon this hilltop , I have realized to the full that it is good to be here .

how The thoughts which come to me upon the occasion , e . w ever, are not all joyous As have listened to the story of what this church was a century ago and compare what

no w we learn its condition to be with what it was then , one

the cannot help a feeling of sadness , in View of contrast ; and this feeling is emphasized when we consider that this church stands for very many in like condition throughout this valley and throughout our goodly Commonwealth .

Many churches , once flourishing and sending out streams of wholesome and elevating influences , are practically dead or r u able to maintain life only by help f om o tside themselves . A first and partial V iew of the subject is discouraging and n the we are pro e to think that Church goes backward . As

i s no t . of a matter of fact, this so The general tendency the age is toward city and town life , and , as our people con

re ate wor g g together, they naturally seek conveniences for

i n . ship their own vicinity The result in this case , as in many other cases , is that Churches in towns and villages draw to their support the descendants of those who formerly founded and maintained this church . If you consult the

r names of the original pew holders , as they are giv n in the draft which has been exhibited here today, and interrogate their descendants who have come together to O bserve this centennial , you will ﬁnd that many of them are doing just as good work for their Master and for the church of their choice in cities and towns and villages widely separated , as was done by their ancestors who founded and maintained the f Rocky Spring Church . In looking, there ore , at the ques tion which naturally suggests itself, in view of the condition which confronts us , we must take a broad view of the case PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH . 99

m and determine whether or not , viewed fro the standpoint of the entire Church , we have not made a great advance upon former times . The general statistics of the Church will undoubtedly sustain this View and , instead of being saddened by the decadence of what was once a ﬂourishing

n ow and influential church , reduced to a handful unable to support a pastor of themselves , we must look at the streams of influence which have flowed hence to the uttermost parts f f of the earth , beauti ying and fructi ying in their course the

The t localities which have been reached by them . owns in

and this immediate vicinity , towns and cities more remote, y f t the great metropolis of our countr itsel , send the rep e rentati ves of the families who worshiped here to testify to the wholesome influence which went out from this Church and to the steadfastness and loyalty of their sons to the w s the truth as it a maintained by the Fathers in this place . I recall at this moment a church in the immediate Vicinity of my home, situate something as this is , which was orig i nall y the strong, vigorous and influential organization which enabled our church in Bellefonte , in connection with it, to call a pastor and which for many years led our church m in nu bers , in influence and in all that makes church life vigorous and wholesome and helpful . The tendency n toward town life , of which I have spoke , has brought many of the members of that church into connection with our own . At the organization of a single church in Illi

- nois , thirty eight of its members were found uniting together in establishing a new church of our faith and order. Many other churches in the West testify in like manner to the help which they have received from this strong mother church . These depleting inﬂuences have gone on , until it is now unable to support a pastor and depends upon occa si onal for supplies maintaining the regular means of grace . There is undoubtedly a sad side to the case to which I have alluded and yet that church was founded in large part by w n h those who ere at one time co nected with this churc . I O O T H E ROCKY SPRING

The C umberland Valley and the Rocky Spring Church sen t the McCal mo nts to Nittany Valley and the Lick Run

Church . They for years constituted an important element in maintaining that church . They have all gone from the locality and the Church at Bellefonte, and others in western h states to which I ave alluded , have absorbed the entire m fa ily so that, as I stand here , I can readily recall th e grandchildren of the men who founded this church who are bravely and loyally doing their Share in building up and maintaining churches elsewhere in our own State and i n h Home Mission ﬁelds of the States fart er west . Let us n ot n yield to this feeli g of discouragement , therefore , but gather from the condition which confronts us the claim which this church and others of like character have upon those who have drawn from it the strength of its earlier years an d inﬂuence . As I look from the hilltop across the valley which opens out before me , there comes within the range of my vision the neglected churchyard—God ’ s Acre as it is sometimes called . Its appearance gives rise to another practical thought which I would like to emphasize in this presence . The descendants o f the old families who founded this church and whose remains are buried in this adjoining churchyard t o are widely scat ered . Naturally they bec me interested in what immediately surrounds them ; and , as they become further removed , generation after generation , from the as sociations which Cluster around this locality and from the of more intimate knowledge their ancestors , it is very natural to lose sight of and interest in such a locality as this , but assuredly the devoted men and women whose bodies lie in yonder churchyard deserve better of their des cendants than what has been accorded them . It has been a great pleasure to me to learn , since my coming here, that

who my friend , John Gilmor, lived in one of the villages near by, provided a fund by his will , the interest of which can be used for maintaining the churchyard in proper con

1 0 2 T H E ROCKY SPRING has bee n made by those who have left their lasting impress upon this community and , through their descendants , upon many portions of our country . The occurrences of the day have reminded me somewhat of the regular services of the country church of which I have a distinct recollection and which come to me as a very pleas ’ ant memory from my boyhood s days . We have heard these services described today—the morning service in which we were expected to have a doctrinal sermon of CO 11 siderabl e w h e ad length , it all the usual accompanim nts , the journment for lunch and the social enjoyments which fol — lowed which , by the way , have been admirably carried out on this occasion , and the shorter practical discourse which followed in the afternoon . I owe the committee a debt of gratitude for giving me the opportunity to be here . I have already intimated the feeling of indebtedness under which the speakers of the day have placed me, and it only remains to thank you all , at least such of you as I have been able to a speak to and ssociate with socially, and particularly the gentleman who so kindly presented me with the bag of pears which he says were gathered from a tree growing ’ upo n the very spot upon which my great- great- grandfather s f s o . hou e was built, for the rare enjoyments the day May peace remain and prosperity return to this venerable church and may the people of the next century find it even more useful and flourishing than it was left by those who built this edifice one hundred years ago .

OLD FAMILIES OF ROCKY SPRING .

M BY WILLIA P . STEVENSON .

Some time since Chauncey Depew was invited to make an address at the annual dinner of the Holland Society in

New York City, and he commenced by saying that he had been investigating the origin and derivation of his name , 1 0 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH . 3

and that while it is now Depew , he found it was formerly

D e i e Van hi m p , and before that it was Pie, which gave a place among the Dutchmen . If he were here o n this occasion I have no do ubt but that he would adapt himself to present circumstances and

- prove to us that he is Scotch I rish .

- ﬁt We are all Scotch Irish today , and it therefore seems ting that I Should commence my address with a quotatio n from that ancient Gaelic bard Ossian , “ u There comes a voice that awakes my so l , It is the voice of years that are gone;

They roll before me with all their deeds . i i t It is this same vo ce that I hear today , and yet is in

m . distinct , the ists of a hundred years hang over us I see as through a glass darkly . Would that I could see these

- old time worshipers face to face . d n —i t This is no or i ary occasion , is like the century plant which blooms out only once in a hundred years, ’ As Dr. Erskine expressed it in his letter inviting me to

O ld come , I am the representative of one of the families who worshiped here . ’ My grandfather s great- grandfather settled in this vicinity about the time of the ecclesiastical organization of this old church , more than one hundred and ﬁfty years ago . He and his wife lie buried in that graveyard with no stones to ’ mark their resting places . He and his son and his son s son and their families worshiped in the old log Church which stood here from 1 7 50 until this substantial ediﬁce was erected one hundred years ago . My great-grandfather worshiped in this house from the

i n 1 v w 1 80 time it was built 794 until he mo ed west ard in 3, and my grandfather has told me of his walking from their “ ’ ” n farm called Stevenso s Delight, near Strasburg, to this church each Sunday when he was a child , and when I was here some twenty years ago I fo und the name Stevenson marked on the pew where they used to sit. 1 04 THE ROCKY SPRING

If the walls of this ancient church could speak , or its echoes could syllable the memories of the past, what a tale they would tell ! In the minds of some of us these memories are gathering and forming with more than ghostly distinctness as we try

ha e to reproduce the scenes of other days . I v been living much in the past during the last few years , delving into m u family history, and I often ﬁnd y tho ghts wandering back to this old Church .

I see the old log building , the grove of trees , the grave

i n of yard , the horses standing the shade , the gathering families and friends to ask of each other’ s interests and wel

Old fare , the spring; and then we enter the church and see the venerable forms of our ancestors as they assemble in the f amily pews , the precentor standing within the rail , the minister in the pulpit telling them the same old story that we love so well , the sacramental season , the old pewter n communio service, the venerable men distributing the

th e b symbols of read of life, and the kindly invitation from ’ can the pastor in the Master s name . All this we call up in imagination , but that is all . The ﬁrst emigrants began to come into this valley about

1 0 73 . They were a plain people with the log cabins to live in

- d and rough home made furniture , and the ecorations on the walls were the riﬂe, the pouch and the powder horn . Their clothing was of the Simplest kind and their food was equally plain .

They had few books , because they were scarce and high ff priced , but they could a ord to own some good ones , such as the Bible, the Catechism , the Confession of Faith , the ’ s Psalm book and Pilgrim Progress , and they studied these and made themselves familiar with them and instructed

their Children carefully .

They were probably not all pious , but they all had the

very highest respect for religion and its institutions , and

they loved the doctrine of the Presbyterian church .

1 06 THE ROCKY SPRING

VJ hil e 1 1 all these things were transpiring, on July 9, 757 , a party of Indians swooped down on one of my forefather’ s

few f ﬁelds , only a miles rom this spot, where about twenty men were reaping, and killed n ine, one of whom was

Robert Stevenson , and carried away four as captives .

Margaret Mitchell , whose husband and son were murdered , took the scalp of the one Indian (who was killed) all the way to Philadelphia in order to receive a reward which was offered for the same . I have often heard of Indians carrying the scalps of their victims hanging to their belts , but I do not believe that there is any one in this audience who can produce a female ancestor who went round with an Indian scalp in her pocket . About this time a funeral procession was moving along in this locality , and the Indians rushed out and dispersed or e fﬁ killed the mourn rs , opened the co n , and scalped the young woman who was being carried to her burial .

Living in the safety of our present surroundings , think of what our forefathers endured to secure them to us o Coming d wn to the period of the Revolutionary War, I often think of that stirring appeal which Rev . John Craig head made from the pulpit of the old church , which brought every man i n the audience to his feet as a volunteer to go

- to the assistance of Washington . My great grandfather

Joseph Stevenson , and several of his brothers , were of these r i n volunteers , and he se ved the Sixth Battalion and after a ward in the Eighth Batt lion of Pennsylvania troops , and I am a member of the Society of the Sons of the Revolution

ff ‘ by reason of his services , and a certiﬁcate to this e ect , of which I am very proud , hangs in my library .

As we walk around this hill , let us do so reverently, for n we are treading on sacred grou d , dedicated to God and

the to American liberty . Here lie remains of our ancestors

or1 1nal who were the g settlers of this county, and the sound of whose axes ﬁrst broke the stillness of the forest . Many 1 0 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH . 7 of them ventured their all to purchase the freedom we now

re enjoy . They built this house of God when this was a mote frontier settlement, to disseminate the hallowed prin c i l es and p of the religion of Jesus Christ, all of them are now gathered into that land “ where congregations ne’ er ” break up and Sabbaths have no end . While I stand here as the representative o f the O ld un families who attended this church years ago , there are doubtedly numbers o f the descendants of some of these original settlers who might have been here today , and prob

y o u have ably there are some in this audience, but if any of “ ” reason to feel interested in this occasion , I more, for I cannot think of any one who has more links of historic connection with this celebration than myself . Four gen erati ons of Stevensons worshiped in these sanctuaries , and my father and my little son are here with me today , mak ing seven generations that have been on this sacred spot . As I trace back my ancestry on every side I ﬁnd them all true blue Presbyterians , and that they played a part in the formation , organization and early history as members of or ofﬁcers in many of the old pioneer churches of Pennsyl vania , commencing with Neshaminy, in Bucks County,

O ctorara Donegal and , in Lancaster , Upper and Lower

Conowa o i n Marsh Creek and Great g Adams , Rocky Spring and Big Spring in Franklin and Cumberland , Cross Creek and Chartiers in Washington .

ances Turning to the patriotic side, I ﬁnd that ten of my tors took part in the Revolutionary War , so that I think you will consider my pride pardonable, both as to my Pres b teri ani sm y and my Americanism .

“ From Bucks , Lancaster, York and Cumberland Counties they responded to the call to arms , and as far as I have been fﬁ able to learn , every one who was of su cient age took part in the struggle, privates , lieutenants , captains , majors ,

uarterrnas ers q t and colonels . “ Our Scotch -Irish ancestors hated tyranny with a perfect 1 0 8 THE ROCKY SPRING

” h hatred , and were among the earliest c ampions of freedom . “ The historian Bancroft says , The ﬁrst public voice in America for dissolving all connection with Great Britain

of came not from the Puritans of New England , the Dutch

New York , nor the planters of Virginia, but from the ” - Scotch Irish Presbyterians .

We certainly have a goodly heritage in such an ancestry , and it seems to me as I stand here in the Church of my fathers today that I can almost feel that their hands are stretched across the lapse of years in benediction upon their children .

May the spirit of the past inspire us today , and the memory of our forefathers stimulate us so that we may not forget our covenant with the Lord God of our fathers , but may the promised blessings descend from the fathers to the children . Let us open our hearts to the stimulus of these thoughts as and memories , and we turn away from this old Scotch

Irish landmark and go to our homes , may we feel in our hearts that the God of our Fathers is “ the God of their ” succeeding race .

1 1 0 T H E ROCKY SPRING

1 6 . 6 N O . . No 2 .

James Lockard , John Stewart,

David Jordan , Moses Lamb ,

William Gibson . William Wayne , 1 No . 7 . James Barr.

N O . John Anderson , 2 7 . Mc Cl ure James , Charles Cummins ,

. m Robert Miller Willia Kirkpatrick ,

1 8. No . John Shaw .

O . 8 Alexander Mares , N 2 .

Adjt . John Wilson Stephen Colwell ,

m . Willia Waddle Robert Colwell , 1 No . 9. James Harper, m James Walker, Willia Johns .

David Grimes , No . 29.

M o rd . cC . William Capt Alexander Culbertson , 0 d No . 2 . James Ree ,

m . Samuel Miller, Willia Trotter

0 . James Hise, No . 3

James Ensley . John Ferguson , 1 No . 2 . Hugh Torrence, Mc o nnel l C . Capt. John , Joseph Clark

e . 1 . G orge Wilson , No 3

Lieut . Reuben Gillespy . Samuel Culbertson , (creek),

O . 2 2 . . N Capt Robert Culbertson , Mc o nnell William Davis , Alexander C .

James Davis , No . 32 .

Josiah Ramage . Samuel Nicholson

No . 23. George Davidson ,

Nicholas Patterson , John Boyd .

Andrew Wilson , No . 33.

Isaac Martin , John Beard , (mountain) ,

ndsl ow . James E , Lieut Joseph Stephenson ,

No . 24 . John Beatty .

Eliza Thomson , No . 34.

James Nickel , James Kirkpatrick ,

Thomas Boyd , James Dougherty,

William Archibald . Alexander White,

No . 2 5. Thomas Taylor.

Mc Calmont . . Major James , No 35

Lieut . Albert Torrence, John Thomson ,

Hugh Wilie . William Fullerton , 1 1 1 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH .

Charles Stewart, William Barr, n William Flemi g. Charles Berry,

6 . No . 3 . William Fullerton

John Machan , No . 45.

n r. . John Macha , (j ) Capt George Matthews ,

r . Robert B otherton John Peak ,

No . 37 . Martha Allen . N O 6 John Breckenridge , . 4 .

Samuel Breckenridge , Robert Allison ,

James Breckenridge, David Blair,

John Clayton . Robert Craig,

8 . No . 3 Robert Dixon .

Robert Mahon , No . 47 .

ns . E g John Colwell , Samuel Ligget,

Thomas Crawford , William Ferguson ,

William Sharp . Betsey Thomson ,

No . 39. Capt . William Huston . ll nn 8. Mc Co e . Robert , No 4 ll McCo nne . John , Col Robert Peebles , Mc Con nell James , Moses Barnet, ll Mc onne . Donald C John Kerr.

0 . . . No . 4 No 49

Rev . John Craighead, John Thomson ,

Thomas Stockton , Samuel Rhea,

Robert Cook , Josiah Allen , M li n o k Thomas Kincaid . William cC t c .

1 . . 0 No . 4 No 5 .

Capt . Matthew Ferguson , Oliver Culbertson ,

Margaret Dixon , William Gill ,

John Chestnut . Joseph Sivan .

N O . 1 . No . 42 . 5 m James Eaton , Tho as Hoops , Mc lro Rebecca Eaton , George E y, m Mc l ellan . C Capt Sa uel Patton , John ,

John Wilkison . Charles Kilcrease ,

No . 43. Robert Carrick .

. 2 . John Wilson , No 5

Capt . James Gibson , Henry Duncan , Mc nnell Co . Thomas Mary Kerr ,

No . 44. John Moore ,

James Hindman , Alexander Spear . ns E g. William Ramsey, I I 2 T H E ROCKY SPRING

LIST O F PE W HOLDERS I N T H E BRICK CHURCH of Rocky Spring at commencement of Rev. Francis Her ’

1 800 . ron s ministry,

. 1 1 No . No . 4 .

Mark Gregory, Andrew Wilson ,

William Kirkpatrick . Charles Wilson ,

0 . 2 . N John Machan . 1 James Warden , No . 5.

John Warden . John Stewart,

. . rr ll No 3 David A e . 1 6 Robert Swan , No . . Mc Co n nell B rachenrid e John Samuel g ,

O . . N 4 Andrew Lyttle . l Mc o nne l . C . 1 James No 7 . n A drew Taylor, Mc alla Robert Shields , Clarina C . h . 1 8 Josep Swan No . . d James Brackenri ge, w M K i n c a . Isabella Matthe s , Samuel

. . N O . 1 . W W Lane , 9 m n . w . Capt Benja i Ramsey , Andre Thomson

0 . William Kirkpatrick . No . 2

No . 7 . Joseph Graham

Capt . Samuel Patton , William Archibald ,

Joseph Marshall . Robert Cresswell .

8 . . 1 No No . 2 .

Isaac Eaton , James Boyd ,

. Mc l ro John Gilmor George E y.

No . 9. No . 2 2 .

Nicholas Patterson , Col . Joseph Armstrong . Mc lellan George C . No . 2 3.

1 0 . No . Samuel Wilson , (M . D . )

Jane Craighead (pastors pew) Henry Davis .

Rev . Francis Herron . No . 24 . 1 1 No . . William Bolton ,

Robert Brotherton . John Wylie .

N O . 1 2 . No . 2 5 .

Col . Joseph Culbertson . Matthew Gelvin .

. 1 . 6 No 3 No . 2 . d d John Brackenri ge , Andrew Bear ,

w . Andre Brackenridge Cornelious Harper.

1 1 4 THE RO CKY SPRING

THE GRAVEYARD .

The following is a list of those buried in Rocky Spring graveyard so far as tombstones have been erected , with year of birth and death so far as can be ascertained

1 2 1 8 0 Martha b 1 8 1 8 Allen , Josiah , b 7 7 , d 5 Besore, , 7 9, d 55 Susanah d 1 8 2 E 1 8 (1 Allen , , b , 4 Besore , lizabeth , b 7 7 1 8 0 1 8 1 8 Allen , William , b 2 , d 43 53 1 8 1 2 1 8 B 1 8 1 (1 Allen , Margaret, b , d 45 esore, William , b 5, 1 8 0 Anderson , Robert Herron , b 4 1 80 1 86 2 1 8 1 1 8 5, d Besore, Peter, b 4, d 74 1 8 1 0 1 8 Anderson , Mary, b , d Besore, Amos K . b 35, d 1 890 1 857 1 8 1 Armstrong, Col , Joseph , b Besore , Elizabeth , b 4 d 1 1 8 1 1 1 8 739, d 39 1 8 1 1 d 1 8 1 0 1 88 Allison , Sarah , b , Besore , John , b d 9 1 8 1 1 86 1 9 Bishop , Melanchton , b d 1 8 1 86 1 8 Bard , Martha , b 7 7 , d 5 73 6 . 1 2 1 Bard William , b 7 , d Brackenridge, James , b 742 , 1 8 1 5 d 1 809 1 1 Bard , Margaret , b 77 , d Brackenridge, Elizabeth , b 1 8 1 60 1 8 35 7 , d 35 1 82 Barr, Margaret , Jane , b 7 , Brackenridge, Rebecca , b 1 8 0 1 8 1 0 1 8 d 5 , d 33 1 Beard , William , b 795, d Brackenridge , Culbertson , b 1 82 1 d 1 8 3 7 73, 32 B obert 1 800 1 80 1 0 Beard , , b , d 7 Boyd , John , b d 77 1 6 1 80 Mar 1 8 Beard; Robert, b 7 9, d 4 Boyd , y , b d 77 li zabeth b 1 6 d 1 Beard , E , 7 9, Brotherton , Samuel , b 754, 1 842 d 1 839 1 80 2 1 8 1 2 Beard , George , b , d 73 Brotherton , Robert , b 79 , d h 1 8 1 1 1 8 Beard , Hug , b 57 , d 77 49 1 1 1 80 Beard , Sarah , b 774, d 794 Brotherton , Matilda , b 4 1 1 8 Beard , Martha, b 755, d d 57 1 1 68 1 1 60 795 Burns , John , b , d 7 1 8 1 0 1 1 0 . 2 Beard , Agnes , b 73 , d Craighead , Rev John , b 74 , 1 8 1 1 Besore, Rachel , b 2 , d d 7 99 1 8 8 1 3 Cummins , Charles , b 744, d 1 8 1 8 1 Besore, Balzer, b 7 4, d 2 1 8 d 33 Cummins , Elizabeth , Boy , s 1 1 8 1 8 1 80 2 Be ore, Peter, b 779, d 54 b 74 , d 1 1 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH . 5

b 1 1 0 1 6 1 1 8 2 Cummins , Mary, 7 73, 79 Davis , Sarah , b 7 , d 5 1 80 D e arman Cummins , Elizabeth , b 7 , y , Jane Holmes , b 1 1 1 8 2 d 792 7 57 , d 3 1 8 2 D e arman 1 1 Cummins , William , b 7 , y , Henry , b 75 , d d 1 8 2 1 1 833 1 8 Cummins , Catharine, Patton , Dillon , William , b 24, d b 1 8 1 8 1 8 1 7 3, d 73 9

1 82 H . 1 80 Cummins , Marv, b 7 , d Duncan , Mary , b 7 , d 1 804 1 8 2 8 b D urborrow 1 8 1 0 Culbertson . Mary Finley , , John , b , d 1 8 1 1 8 1 1 8 6 7 , d 4 2 Mar ane 1 8 1 2 1 86 Culbertson , yJ , b , Eckerman , Daniel , b 7 , d d 1 8 1 5 1 855 1 8 1 1 8 Culbertson , Samuel , b 5, Eckerman , Elizabeth , b 7 4, d 1 8 1 6 d 1 82 7

Culbertson , Elizabeth , b Eckerman , Mary Gilvin , b 1 80 2 1 800 1 8 d , d 53 n d Fer uso n 1 60 Culbertso , Joseph , b g , Hugh , b 7 , d 1 8 1 8 1 834 1 6 Culbertson , Margaret , b Ferguson , Elizabeth , b 75 ,

d . 1 838 d 1 826 1 800 1 1 8 1 Culbertson , Sarah , b , d Finley , James , b 739, d 2 1 8 1 1 8 1 75 Finley , Jane , b 745, d 4 1 80 d Gel vi n 1 1 Culbertson , John , b 3, , Mathew , b 7 7 , d 1 86 1 1 847 m l . b Ge vi n 1 Culbertson , Willia E , , Hannah , b 777 , d

‘ 1 8 8 d 1 86 1 8 3 , 5 52 1 8 0 d Gel vi n Z Culbertson , Joseph , b 4 , , Mary immerman , b 1 8 1 1 8 1 6 1 8 7 , d 45 M . 1 8 1 Culbertson , Clara , b 47 , Gibson , Mary , b 7 d 1 86 2 7 1 years 1 8 d Gillan 1 Culbertson , Joseph , b 37 , , William , b 797 , d 1 838 1 867

. b Gillan 1 6 1 868 Culbertson , G Francis , , Sarah , b 7 9 , d 1 8 0 1 8 E 1 8 8 5 , d 54 Gillan , lizabeth , b 2 , d 1 866 Culbertson , M . Simpson , b 1 8 1 8 1 8 6 1 8 54, d 59 Gillan , James , b 3 , d 39 1 8 2 d Gill an 1 8 2 1 82 6 Culbertson , Laura , b 5 , , Jane , b 4, d 1 8 1 60 1 82 59 Gilmor, John ; b 7 , d 3 1 8 6 Culbertson , R . Hays , b 5 , Gilmor, Elizabeth , Patton , b 1 8 1 0 1 8 8 d 59 7 7 , d 3 D avis Willi am 1 6 1 1 82 1 d 1 8 , , b 7 , d 3 Gilmor, Robert , b 793, 43 1 1 6 THE ROCKY SPRING

1 80 1 86 McCal mont Gilmor, Mary , b 5, d 7 , Major James , b m 1 8 1 2 1 8 1 1 80 Gilmor, Ja es , b , d 75 737 , d 9 1 80 d MC E Gilmor, William , b 9, Calmont , Charles , liza 1 8 I sabel la chi ldren 7 5 beth , and , of m 1 80 and Gil or, Joseph , b 7 , d James Jane , b d 1 8 McCabe Eli 1 82 0 1 86 79 , za, b , d 2 1 80 2 1 88 McCl ell an 1 6 1 Gilmor, John , b , d 9 , George , b 7 , d E 1 800 1 8 1 1 82 Gilmor, liza , b , d 9 3 1 6 1 8 McClel lan 1 Grier, Michael , b 7 7 , d 44 , Lydia, b 77 2 , d r E h 1 8 1 8 0 Grie , lizabet , b 7 3, d 4 8 Mc l ellan 1 C . 55 , William , G b 1 80 1 1 8 1 8 1 0 1 86 Grier, Thomas , b , d 79 , d 9 1 80 2 d Mc Clelland 1 80 Grier , Margaret , b , , John , b 5; d 1 8 2 2 1 859 1 d M l elland cC . Harbison , Adam , b 754, , Martha A b 1 8 1 8 1 1 88 24 4, d 3 1 66 Mc Ki n ne 1 6 Harbison , Martha , b 7 , d y, David , b 7 7 , d 1 840 1 835 1 Mc Ki nne E n 1 Harbison , Thomas , b 799 d y, lea or, b 77 2 , 1 86 1 d 1 82 5 Mar b d 1 8 2 McElhare 1 6 Hudson , y, , 7 , Maria , b 79 , d 1 1 866 Huston , William , b 755, d 1 8 2 McCon nell D onnald 1 0 1 3 , , b 7 , 1 6 1 6 Huston , Margaret , b 7 7 , d d 7 7 1 8 McCo nnell 1 0 2 23 , Robert, b 7 , d 1 1 Jamison , Jane Beard , b 775 , 777 1 Mc Co nnell R osannah d 799 , , b 1 6 1 0 Kirkpatrick , Moses , b 7 9, d d 7 7 Mc on nell 1 8 6 C . 4 , Capt John , b 1 6 1 8 1 Kirkpatrick , Alexander, H . b 74 , d 7 1 80 1 8 0 McCo nnell 9, d 5 , Grizelda Stewart, i ndsa ames b 1 88 1 8 2 1 6 1 8 2 L y,J , 7 , d 3 b 79 . d 3 1 88 d McCon nel l m Lindsay , Margaret , b 7 , Rachel Cu mins , 1 8 0 1 80 1 1 8 1 4 b , d 3

. 1 8 2 1 0 1 80 Lightner, Sarah , A b 9, Machan , John , b 73 , d 5 1 8 6 Mar b 1 2 8 1 80 d 5 Machan , y, 7 , d 3 d E 1 0 Lightner, Sarah , b Machan , lizabeth , b 7 5 , d 1 895 1 804 Mc Cal mont 1 68 , James , b 4, d Marshall , Isabella Patton , b 1 80 1 1 86 7 773, d 2 McCal mo nt 1 6 d Mi ll er 1 80 ( 1 , Jane, b 94, , Margaret, b 9, I 794 I S9Z

C O N T E N T S .

Introductory

History of Rocky Spring Church Part I .

t ‘ ( t N H H Par t II .

Part III . Sketches of Deceased Ministers Presbyterianism and Civil Liberty The Historic Families of the Cumberland Valley American Presbyterian Church in America

Some Lesso nS from the History of this Church Old Families of Rocky Spring

1 68—1 List of Pew Holders , 7 794,

1 800 List of Pew Holders , , The Graveyard