miK 
 
 Presbytery of WasMngton City 
 
 ITS CHURCHES. 
 
 PREPARED FOR THE CENTENNIAL OF THE 
 GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 
 
 4888. 
 
tihraxy of t:he Checlcjfcal ^eminarjp 
 
 PRINCETON • NEW JERSEY 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 Miss Emily H, Tupper 
 BX 8958 .W3 P74 1888 
 
 The Presbytery of Washingtor 
 City and the churches under 
 
lire,? 
 
 THE 
 
 Presbytery of Washington 
 
 THE CHURCHES UNDER ITS CARE. 
 
 Prepared for the Centennial of the General Assembly, 
 
 May 17, 18SS, BY ORDER OF the Presbytery, in 
 
 response to the Resolution of 
 
 THE Assembly. 
 
 i, D. D., y 
 
 J. E. NOURSE, 
 
 B. F. BITTINGER, D. D., J>- Committee. 
 
 JOHN CHESTER, D. D., ) 
 
 WASHINGTON : 
 Gibson Bros., Printers and Bookbinders. 
 iJ 
 
PAGE. 
 
 The Centennial of the Assembly 3 
 
 The Churches under Baltimore Presbytery 6 
 
 The Presbytery of the District of Columbia 7 
 
 The Potomac Presbytery 14 
 
 The Presbytery of Washington City 18 
 
 The Churches. 
 
 Bladensburg, now Hyattsville, 1718 26 
 
 First Alexandria, 1772 28 
 
 Bridge Street, now West Street, 1780 30 
 
 First Presbyterian, 1795 35 
 
 F street, 1803, and Second Church, 1820, united in N. Y. Avenue 40 
 
 Fourth Chiarch, 1828 45 
 
 Fifteenth Street, 1841 47 
 
 Assembly's, March 9, 1853 49 
 
 Sixth Church, March 30, 1853 51 
 
 Westminster, June, 1853 52 
 
 Western, 1855 54 
 
 Metropolitan, 1864 56 
 
 North, 1865 59 
 
 Eastern, 1875 61 
 
 Unity, 1882 63 
 
 Church of the Covenant, 1885 64 
 
 Suburban Churches. 
 
 Lewinsville, Falls Church, Vienna, First Prince William, Manassas, and 
 
 Clifton— Virginia 66 
 
 Darnestown, Neelsville, Boyd, and Hermon — Montgomery County, Md... 72 
 
 Frontispiece. 
 Beidge Street Church. Erected 1782; rebuilt 1821; taken down 1872. 
 
The Centennial of the Assembly. 
 
 The 100th meeting of the General Assembly of the Presl)y- 
 terian Church in the United States, to be held in Philadelphia 
 in May, 1888, is looked for with much interest. It will be a 
 grateful remembrance of its organization, and of a century of 
 God's favor to the churches under its care. In accordance with 
 the unvaried custom of the Church, the Assetnbly of the Church 
 North will meet on the third Thursday of May, this year the 17th ; 
 on the 24th, the Assembly of the Church South will unite with 
 it in celebrating the organization of the First Assembly in 1789. 
 
 The memorials of these meetings will record themselves in the 
 enlarged and consecrated contributions of the year for the pro- 
 motion of the Redeemer's kingdom. 
 
 Within the arrangements for this observance, adopted by the 
 Assembly of the Church North, is the presentation by each Synod, 
 Presbytery, and Church, of a history of its founding and growth. 
 
 The Presbytery of Washington City cordially responds to the 
 call of the Assembly. It recognizes tiie founding of Presbyte- 
 rianism in this District, and its vicinity, as effected more than a 
 quarter of a century before its occupancy for the seat of the 
 Government, and the growth of our Churches as emphasized by 
 their influence on the many leading minds gathered from time to 
 time in council at the National Capital. A number of our Presi- 
 dents, members of their Cabinets, very many Senators and Rep- 
 sentatives, members of the Supreme Judiciary, and Officers of 
 the Army and Navy have been and are attendants or members 
 of our Churches, and several of our pastors have been Chaplains 
 to the Congresses. The influence , thus hopefully exerted on 
 minds which guide the nation, is beyond oui- estimate. 
 
 The Records of the large extension * of the whole Church, and 
 
 *"At the first meeting of the General Assembly, held May 21, 1789,- the 
 Church consisted of but 177 Ministers, 431 Churches, and about 18,000 Com- 
 municants. It contributed to the cause of Missions, $852.00. The rolls re- 
 ported to the Assembly of the Church North in 1887 give the number of 
 Ministers, 5,654; of Churches, 6,436; of Communicants, 696,767. The benevo- 
 lent contributions of the year had been about #3,198,458. From 1789 to 1887 
 the aggregate of contributions of the whole Church North and South had been 
 about $67,000,000, of which $48,704,209 have been given since 1870. The total 
 of additions to membership by confession of faith since 1789 have been about 
 
those of its lower (;onrts and Churches are made to the praise 
 only of the grace of God, the Giver ; and while we may not 
 glorify the men who under Him liave planted and sustained the 
 Churches, we rigiitfully commemorate their memories by the 
 record of the work given into their hands. 
 
 The calls of the Asseml)ly and the Presbytery may be met by 
 presenting in brief a Record — 
 
 I. Of the connection of the Churclies first planted here with 
 the earliest organization covering this section of the country. 
 
 II. Of the organization and work of each of the two Fresby- 
 teries now consolidated, the District of Columbia and the 
 Potomac. 
 
 III. Of the work of the existing Presbytery ; and 
 
 IV. Of the founding and growth of each of its Churches. 
 The Cliurches now under the care of the Presbytery, named 
 
 in the order of their respective organizations, are: 
 
 The Bladensburg, now Hyattsville, Maryland, organized in 
 1718 ; First Alexandria, 1772 ; Bridge Street, now West 
 Street, 1780; First Presbyterian, Washington, 1795; F. Street, 
 1803, united with the Second Presbyterian of 1820, in the New 
 York Ave. (1859); Fourth Church, 1828 ; Fifteenth St., 1811 ; 
 Neelsville, Maryland, 1845; Lewinsville, Virginia, 1846; First 
 Prince William, Virginia, 1850 ; Assembly's, Washington, March 
 9, 1853; Sixth, March 30, 1853; Seventh Church, now West- 
 minster, June, 1853; Western, 1855 ; Darnestown, Maryland, 
 1857; Church on Capitol Hill, now Metropolitan, 1864 ; North 
 Church, 1865; Manassas, Virginia, 1867; Clifton, 1870; Falls 
 Church, February, 1873; Vienna, November, 1873; Hermon, 
 Maryland, 1874; Eastern, Washington, 1875; Boyd Station, 
 Maryland, 1877 ; Unity, Washington, 1882 ; Church of the Cov- 
 enant, 1885. 
 
 1,500,000" (Epitome of the History of the Church by Stated Clerk, W. H. 
 Koberts). 
 
 At the organization of the Church South it had 10 Synods, 47 Presbyteries, 
 1,000 Churches, and 75,000 Communicants. To these were added in 1863 the 
 "United Synod of the South" bringing 12,000 Communicants; in 1867, the 
 Presbytery of Patapsco with 575, and in 1867, part of the Synod of Kentucky 
 with 13,540 ; a total of 110,115 Communicants. The rolls reported to the As- 
 sembly South in 1887 numbered 13 Synods, 69 Presbyteries, 2,236 Churches, 
 and 150,398 members. The total membership of the Presbyterian Church in the 
 United States is, therefore, a little more than 846,000. For which to God be 
 all the glory. 
 
To which list are to be added those of the Churches among 
 the Freedmen,in Amelia County, Virginia: Big Oak and Mount 
 Ziojsr, in 1866; Russell Grovk, 1868 ; Albright, 1871 ; Oak 
 Grove, 1881; Mount Hermon", 1882. Of none of these have 
 definite accounts been found avai]al)le for record beyond these 
 dates. 
 
 Of the roll first given separate sketches are offered, those 
 in the same field being taken together, as associate Churches. 
 
 For the basis of tlie papers, acknowledgments are due to Rev. 
 Drs. Sunderland, Bittinger and Chester, for the histories read 
 by them at the Centennial of Baltimore Presbytery, 1886; to 
 Dr. Sunderland, for the loan of the valued, though unfinished, 
 manuscript liistory, written by the late Rev. Mr, McFalls ; to 
 Dr. Bittinger, for his Journal of the Churches, to the year 1879 ; 
 and to the officers of the Sessions, who have revised the sketches 
 presented. 
 
 The hope is entertained that these memorials of God's goodly 
 favor to His people may, in the hands of church officers and 
 private members, further promote Christian activity and fellowship. 
 
 J. E. N. 
 
I. The Churches First Planted in this Region under the 
 Earhest Organization Covering It. 
 
 From Dr. Hodge's " Constitutional History'' it will he learned 
 that the three Presbyterian Ministers, Rev. Isaac Keith, S. B. 
 Balch, and James Hunt, who first lal)ored in this section of the 
 country, were raenihers first of tlie old Presbytery of Donegal, 
 Pennsylvania, whicli covered a widely extended territory. Tiie 
 earliest of onr organizations in this region were under its au- 
 thority. In 1786 these, with Dr. Patrick Alison, Revs. John 
 Slemons and George Luckey ; Elders Captain Joshua Beall, of 
 Bladensburg; Dr. William Lyon, of. Baltimore, and the vacant 
 Churches of the territory, were set off by the Synod of New York 
 and Philadelphia to form the Presbytery of Baltimore. Until 
 the year 1823 the Churches of First Alexandria, Bridge Street, 
 First and Second Presbyterian, Washington ; Bladensburg, 
 Cabin John and Bethesda, in Maryland, were under the care of 
 that Presbytery. 
 
 Even a passing review of this period of 37 years would exhibit 
 some ittipressive facts. The men who founded the earliest of our 
 organizations were called to a full missionary work. This region 
 was, in their day, as purely missionary ground as now is any in 
 the far West — their s, the labor of the pioneer. Balch, journeying 
 from his Church in Georgetown to found that of Frederick and 
 others, and Brackenridge, crossing from Cabin John to Bladens- 
 burg, and the devout Elders who collected funds for the erection 
 of the First Presbyterian of 1795, must have known something of 
 frontier travel. They were men of strong convictions of duty to 
 both church and state, sharing the principles of our Withbrspoon, 
 and receiving the scantiest ministerial support. 
 
 The evidences of the manifestation of that characteristic of 
 our Church — a liberal feelino; towards all other evanojelical denomi- 
 nations — are as clear. Dr. Hodge's history records this in full as 
 shown to our kindred Churches in the mother country. A like 
 manifestation towards the Congregational Church in the United 
 States brought aboutf*^ Plan of Union" of 1801. In 1824 it 
 brought the F Street Church from the Associate Reformed Body 
 into the District of Columbia Presbytery. 
 
II. The Presbytery of the District of Columbia. — 1823-1870. 
 
 At its session of October, 1823, the Synod of Philadelphiti 
 created the new Presbytery of the District of Cohimbia, on the 
 petition of the Baltimore Pi-esbytery for a division — a request aris- 
 ing out of a courteous deference to the wishes, but also to the 
 growing needs, of the Churches of the District. The population 
 of the national capital had steadily increased, the country had 
 become settled from the disquietude of the two wars through 
 which the Churches with it had passed, and the pastoral ministra- 
 tions of the city had been those of increasing promise. In 
 Georgetown, Dr. Balch was gaining on the hearts of the people; 
 in Washington, Drs. Post and Baker were receiving many ac- 
 cessions to their Churches as the fruits of pulpit ministration and 
 frequent pastoral visitations, together with the time-honored 
 custom, then, by necessity, happily in use, of prayer meetings 
 held in the homes of the congregations. It will be noticed that, 
 in the new organization, a missionary spirit remembered the wants 
 of the surrounding country districts. 
 
 The Synod's order was that the Presbytery should consist of 
 the following Ministers and Churches, to be set off from the Pres- 
 bytery of Baltimore, viz : 
 
 Rev. Stephen B. Balch, Pastor of the Bridge-Street Church, 
 Georgetown ; Rev. Reuben Post, oi the First Church, Washing- 
 ton ; Rev. John Breckenridge, stated supply of the Bladensburg 
 Church ; Rev. Elias Harrison, Pastor of the First Church, 
 Alexandria ; Rev. Daniel Baker, of the Second Church, Wash- 
 ington ; Rev. John Mines, Pastor of Cabin John and Bethesda, 
 Maryland; Rev. John N. Campbell, assistant of Dr. Balch; 
 and Rev. William Maffit, Principal of a school in Fairfax county, 
 Virginia. Three licentiates, Messrs. A. Belt, R. R. Guklet, and 
 S. TusTiN, were placed under the care of the Presbytery. 
 
 At the first meeting of the new body held in Alexandria, May 
 11, 1824, the Ministers, except Messrs. Mines and Maffit, were 
 present, with Ruling Elders, J. S. Nevius, Daniel Ricketts, James 
 Moore, and James S. Handy. Rev. J. Breckenridge was elected 
 Moderator. The membership of the Churches represented num- 
 bered 277. 
 
 In the first year of its organization the F Street Church of 
 
8 
 
 "Washington was received froni the Second (Associate) Presby- 
 tery of Philadelphia, and the Second Chukch of Alexandria 
 from the Presbytery of Winchester; in 1829, the Fourth Church, 
 Washington, then organized. Within the fourteen years follow- 
 ing the formation of the Presbytery, were enrolled as memlxTS, 
 Rev. Dr. James Laurie and Pevs. Wells Andrews, I. L. Skinner, 
 W. C. Walton, J. N. Danforth, J. C. Smith, Mason Nobf^e, E, 
 C. Hutchinson, Dr. W. Hill, and P. H. Fowler. Nine Licenti- 
 ates were under its care, the three alread}' named, and Messrs. 
 Joshua Moore, Edward D. Smith, Eliphalet N. Bosworth, 
 James J. Graff, Flavel S. Mines, and William McLain ; of 
 whom seven, and James Nourse, a graduate of Princeton Sem- 
 inary, were ordained. 
 
 Six pastoral relations were constituted : For the Second Alex- 
 andria, two successively ; for the Second Church, Washington, 
 one ; for the Fourth Church, two ; and for the First Church, 
 one. Seven pastoral relations were dissolved. Ten ministers 
 were dismissed to other bodies. 
 
 During the period named, the Presbytery went steadily for- 
 ward in its appointed work, a number of conversions being re- 
 ported from its Churches as the fruits of precious seasons of re- 
 freshing influence from on High. In the general spirit of activity 
 in the Church at large — in the work of Missions, the Bible, Tract, 
 and Temperance causes — it took commendable share ; sound 
 doctrinal preaching, catechetical instruction in the family and the 
 Sabbath-Schools, and earnest pastoral work being largely owned 
 by the Head of the Church. Li its first Narrative, prepared 
 for the General Assembly of 1824, the Presbytery stated with 
 thankfulness the organization of a weekly prayer meeting held 
 from Church to Church, conducted by the ministers in turn and 
 that of two Sabbath-School Unions, one in Georgetown and one 
 in Alexandria. 
 
 The General Assembly of 1836 transferred the Presbytery 
 from the Synod of Philadelphia to that of Virginia. The member- 
 ship of the Churches in that year was 1259. Two ministers had 
 died. Rev. Professor Maffit in 1828 and Rev. Dr. BalchIu 1833. 
 
 The fuller work of the body was now, however, to be, at least 
 partially, interrupted by the well known separation of the Church 
 at large into the Old and the New School Assemblies ; here into 
 the two Presbyteries — the 'Potomac and the District. 
 
For some years before the division of 1837-38 jnst named, 
 the views of many of tlie leading men in tlie whole Church had 
 been steadily diverging on the chief points of doctrine and church 
 polity which characterize Presbyterianism. Special ol>jections 
 were being more and more frequently and urgently raised, also 
 against the further continuance of the old " Plan of Union of 
 1801 " with the Congregational Association of Connecticut, under 
 which it was now claimed evils of magnitude in both doctrine 
 and polity were steadily increasing to the injui-y of the Chui'ch 
 at large. 
 
 Strong Synods, especially in Ohio and New York, had grown 
 up under this plan by which the ministers of either body could 
 serve in Churches of the other, the Churches being represented 
 III Presbytery by either Elders or Committee men, as the case 
 might be ; such representatives of the Presljyteries from Con- 
 gregational Associntions having seats in the General Assembly. 
 When, in the logic of events, the " Old School "' and the " New " 
 extended themselves throughout the whole Church, the Presby- 
 tery of the District was found to embrace its share, though it 
 was but a minority of the body. In 1839, therefore, when a 
 vote was taken on receiving a Mandate from the Synod of Vir- 
 ginia requiring adherence to the acts of the Assembly of 1837-'38, 
 which excinded several of the Northern Synods from the Church, 
 the Presbytery divided, Messrs. Laurie, Harbison, Bosworth, and 
 Bbeckenridge representing their Churches, and Rev. I. L. Skin- 
 ner and Rev. J. McVean (without pastoral charges) withdrew 
 from the body, declining its further jurisdiction. 
 
 The District Presbytery dropped these names from the rolls, 
 but the General Assembly (O. S.) recognized them as the true 
 body, of that name, which they retained until merged in 1841 
 in the Presbytery of Baltimore. In 1858 they were set off from 
 that Presbytery to form the new one of the Presbytery of 
 Potomac. 
 
 For nearly forty years, therefore, the anomalous condition of 
 the churches here, so long previously united, was that of being 
 from 1839 to 1841, some under one and some under the other of 
 two bodies, each claiming the same old name — designated further 
 as O. S. or N. S. — thence from 1841 to 1858, of some being 
 under the Baltimore Presbytery O. S.; others under the District 
 N. S.; and thence to the reunion of the whole church in 1870, 
 
10 
 
 of some being under tlie Presbytery of Potomac O. S., the ma- 
 jority under that of the District N. S. 
 
 From the date of the separation, the spirit of aggression and 
 rivah'y between these two l)odies became apparent, especially, 
 however, in a zeal for planting churches and establishing mis- 
 sionary posis. Continuing the history of the Presbytery of the 
 District, it is found that in common with otlier churches at and 
 near the seat of Government it passed tiirough times of great 
 excitements both in church and state. 
 
 The Mexican war, tlie discovery of gold, followed by the ex- 
 pansion of our territory, and with it the agitation of the slavery 
 question — all exerted a powerful influence, felt more sensibly by 
 the churches on the border line and at the centre of the nation 
 than in other sections. During the long period of the years 
 1838 to the beginning of the war in 1861, despite these and 
 other adverse circumstances, the Presbytery still put forth its 
 vigorous efforts in church extension, and the number of its mem- 
 bership was largely increased. 
 
 The chief characteristics of these years were this marked ac- 
 tivity in church extension, supported by earnest and sound pulpit 
 and pastoral ministrations; the isolation of the body from ecclesi- 
 astical oversight from 1857 to 1862 ; its depression during the 
 war ; and its strong loyalty to the Union throughout that trying 
 time. 
 
 The spirit of church extension was intensified by the meeting 
 of the General Assembly N. S., in 1852, in Washington, when 
 a new impulse in that direction was received from that body. 
 
 Isolation from Synodical oversight was effected as the result 
 of the growing excitement on the slavery question. The Com- 
 missioners to the General Assembly meeting at Cleveland, in 
 1857, on the propositions being there made touching this sul)ject, 
 being under no instructions from their Presbytery, thought best 
 to withdraw, and issued an appeal to the ministers to call a Con- 
 vention looking towards a new organization. This resulted in 
 the formation of the " Knoxville Synod." This action, sustained 
 by the Synod of Virginia, and involving the separation of the 
 District Presbytery from the Northern Church, was, however, 
 " calmly and conscientiously " opposed by the pastors here, no 
 representation from the Presbytery again appearing in the Synod. 
 No church extension was possible during the war. 
 
11 
 
 Between 1838 and 1857, eighteen ministers were received, 
 viz : J, G. Hammer, J. Knox, W. T. Sprole, H. H. Morgan, 
 T. L. Hamner, S. Merrill, E. Ballentyne, J. R. Eckard, S. 
 Washburnb, W. T. Eva, M. Noble, M. Jewell, B. Sunderland, 
 A. D. HoLLisTER, E. J. Newlin, J. S. Bartlett, H. Dunning, 
 W. T. Catto. Twenty-three ministers were installed : J. C. 
 Smith, T. L. Hamner, G. J. Wood, C. Rich, J. N. Danforth, 
 R. W. Clark, T, J. Shepherd, J. Knox, J. F. Cook, W. T. 
 Sprole, F. H. Snow, E. Ballentyne, J. R. Eckard, R. A. 
 Smith, H. Matthews, S. Washburne, W. T. Eva, A. G. Ca- 
 ROTHERS, B. Sunderland, E. J. Newlin, T. N. Haskell, H. 
 Dunning, W. T. Catto. Twenty pastoral relations were dis- 
 solved, and twenty-throe ministers dismissed to otlier bodies. 
 Eleven Licentiates were ordained ; eight candidates for the min- 
 istry had been under the care of the Fresbytery : R. A. Smith, 
 C. H. Nourse, F. H. Snow, H. Matthews, J. F. Cook, T. J. 
 Shepherd, A. G. Carothers, and J, E. Nourse, tlie first seven 
 of whom were ordained ; the one last named, by the Fresl)ytery 
 of Baltimore. 
 
 From the year 1857 to the date of the reunion of the churches 
 the acts of the Fresbytery were necessarily few, the agitations 
 of the whole country continuing to exert their influence so largely 
 in this section. Between 1857 and 1862 three ministers, Revs. 
 T. B. McFalls, J. N. Coombs, and Moses Jewell were received ; 
 between the last-named date and 1868, six. Revs. H. H. Gar- 
 NETT, T. M. McCann, C. F. Glover, W. Hart, S. J. Martin, J. 
 L. French. J. G. Hamner, Jr., W. B. Evans, and B. F. 
 Tanner, three Licentiates, were received and ordained ; between 
 1862 and 1869, four Licentiates, G. H. Smyth, D. H. Frazier, 
 S. D. NoYES, and J. Rogers ; of whom the first three were or- 
 dained. 
 
 In the whole period of 1857 to 1869 eleven pastoral relations 
 were constituted, and the same number dissolved. Nine ministers 
 were dismissed to other bodies. 
 
 Among the resolutions adopted by the Fresbytery in 1865 was 
 the significant one which reads: '■'' liesolved, That we look for- 
 " ward with gratitude to Almighty God to the approach of that 
 " day, apparently not far distant, when the institution of slavery 
 " shall cease to exist in all lands, and to that glorious future when 
 
12 
 
 " all men shall be free in that liberty wherein Clirist makes His 
 " people free." Within the trials throiigli wliich the churches 
 passed in tiie last years preceding the reunion, a rich season of 
 refreshing in spiritual things was graciously experienced. The 
 Narrative of 1868 said with thankfulness : " The minds of men 
 " are now assuming the air of calm thoughtfuhiess; those 
 " hitherto thoughtless are anxious to place themselves under the 
 " shield of Him who hath done so wondrouslj." In the Fourth 
 Church, for five months, a revival had progressed, resulting in 
 the addition of 81. hopeful members to its communion ; in other 
 Churclies, also, like seasons liad l)ecn granted of God. Tiie aggre- 
 gate number of conversions had swelled the membership of the 
 Presl)ytery beyond that of any gathered in a preceding year. 
 
 To the close of the war in 1865, the depressed state of the 
 Churches was such as the troublous times created ; it is described 
 in the paper read by Dr. Sunderland, at the Centennial of Balti- 
 more Presbytery, as a period when its " members were a mere 
 " handful of men and (until the re-union with the Synod of Phila- 
 " delphia, in 1863) without any other ecclesiastical fraternity or 
 " sympathy ; moving, as it were, on a bridge of sighs between 
 " life and death." In their Narrative on the state of religion 
 made to the Synod in 1863, they said " Owing to our geographical 
 " position, we have suffered in our spiritual progress by the war. 
 " The numl)er in our communion is not so large ; we live in a 
 " whirl of commotion. The District is the focus where all the 
 " troubles of the whole country converge ; consequently, our 
 " youtli are led away from serious thought, while the parades, 
 " the tramp of armies, and the news of battles, almost invariably 
 " reaching us on the Sabbath, seriously interfere with the effi- 
 " ciency of preaching." 
 
 Some of the Churches, as is well known, were taken possession 
 of by the Government for Hospitals for the wounded and sick 
 soldiery. The religion of the Churches was, however, called into 
 a new field of activity, by the most active testimonies, not only 
 of their patriotism, but of their charity and good works in the 
 assiduous pliysical and spiritual care of the dying and the sick. 
 
 Such was the doul)tful outlook at the close of the year 1868, 
 when movements were inaugurated for the reunion of the Church 
 at large. For this the vote of the Presbytery, with a single excep- 
 
13 
 
 tioii, was a hearty " Aye." It had fulfilled a mission of widely 
 extended usefulness. To the roll of the six Churches of which 
 it consisted at its organization in 1823 had heen added, as has 
 been shown, the F Street Church in 1824, and by organization, 
 the Fourth Church, Washington, in 1829 ; the Sykesville, 1839 ; 
 the FiFTEEN'ra7Washington, and Fifth and the Sixth, Baltimore, 
 in 1842 ; the Sharon, at Tenallytown, and the Middlebrook and 
 PooLESviLLE, in Maryland, in 1847 ; the Quarries in the same 
 State in 1848 ; the Assembly's and Sixth Church, Washington, 
 and the Green Street, Baltimore, in 1853 ; the Western Church, 
 Washington, in 1855 ; in all, fourteen. Of these the Sixth, Balti- 
 more, and the Sharon died out. The Fifth, Baltimore, and 
 Second, Washington, were dropped from the roll by their leav- 
 ing the Presbytery. Under its caro had been built the Fourth 
 Fifteenth. Assembly's, Sixth, and Western in Washington, and, 
 by its aid, largely those in the adjacent country. 
 
 Of the Ministers who were the first members at its organiza- 
 tion. Rev. Professor Maffit had died in 1828, Dr. Balch in 
 1833, Breckenridge in 1844, Mines in 1849, Baker in 1857, 
 Post in 1858, Harrison in 1863, and Campbell in 1864 ; to 
 whose names must be added in memoriam, also, those of S. 
 Washburne, Moderator, in 1853 ; Rev. Thomas L. Hamner, the 
 successful worker in the Sabbath-School cause, 1854 ; Rev. John 
 F. Cook, teacher and Pastor of the Fifteenth Street Church 
 (colored), 1855 ; Rev. Joshua Danforth, successively Pastor of 
 the Fourth Church, Washington, and of the Second Church, 
 Alexandria, 1862 ; Rev. A. G. Carothers, Pastor of the Assem- 
 bly's Church at its organization, who died in the West Indies in 
 the vain search for renewed health, 1863 ; Rev. Moses Jewell, 
 1864; Rev. A. D. Hollister, 1865 ; Rev. H. Dunning, 1 8^^^ 
 
II. The Presbytery of Potomac. — 1858-1870. 
 
 In 1858 the Old Scliool Churches in Washington and its vicinity 
 were feeling more and more the pressing need of a new organiza- 
 tion to have more immediate and local care of their interests and 
 those of the neighboring counties in Maryland and Virginia, 
 where they desired to extend their efforts. The Synod of Balti- 
 more cordially created the Presbytery of Potomac, thus separat- 
 ing from it the ministers who, with tlieir Churches, had been 
 merged, as has been shown, in that of Baltimore for the previous 
 four years. 
 
 The order of the Synod was that the Ministers composing the 
 new Presbytery and its congregations should be those of the Bal- 
 timore body within tlie territory bounded by a line from the 
 mouth of the Potomac, and with it to the northern boundary of 
 Montgomery county, Maryland ; thence along the northern and 
 Eastern boundaries of that and of Anne Arnndel counties to Elk- 
 ridge landing ; thence to the mouth of the Severn ; and thence 
 along Chesapeake Bay to the point of beginning. The Presby- 
 tery thus constituted consisted of Ministers, J. J. Graff, P. D. 
 
 GUELEY, S. TuSTIN, J. E. NoUESE, D. MoTZEE, J. H. BococK, B. 
 
 F. BiTTiNGEE, and J. E. Walton — with the churches of F Steeet, 
 the Second, and Seventh, Washington ; Beidge Street, George- 
 town ; Annapolis, Neelsville, Daenestown, Bladensburg, and 
 West River in Maryland. A small beginning ; only eight min- 
 isters, several of them without pastoral charge, and only two 
 churches of tinancial or numerical strength. 
 
 The Presbytery was not disheartened. At its first meeting, 
 November 30th of the same year, its two earliest acts were the ap- 
 pointment of a Committee on assessments, and the adoption of 
 a resolution that every minister should spend, in the intervals of 
 the stated meetings, at least one Sabbatli in missionary labor. 
 
 The earliest result of this last named act wastlie revival and con- 
 tinuance of Presbyterian services at Laurel, Maryland. 
 
 The next year, the Synod transferred to the Presbytery that 
 part of the territory of Winchester Presbytery comprising the 
 counties of Alexandria, Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William, Staf- 
 ford, Fauquier, King George, Westmoreland, Richmond, North- 
 
15 
 
 umberland and Lancaster ; thus adding the following ten Minis- 
 ters : T. B. Baloh, E. Harrison, C. B. McKee, R. S. Bell, E. 
 B. Smith, A. M. Hershey, J. W. Pugh, A. D. Pollock, T. S. 
 Witherow and J. B. Davis ; with the Churches of First Alex- 
 andria, First Prince William, Lewinsville, Greenwich, War- 
 RENTON, Yellow Chapel, Rappahannock, Salem, and Lovetts- 
 viLLE, in Yirginia, and Bethesda, in Maryland. In the same 
 year, the union of the F Street and the Second Church, Wash- 
 ington, into the New York Avenue Church, largely increased 
 the influence of Presbyterianism in the national Capital, and by 
 the wealth, activity and missionary spirit of this new organiza- 
 tion extended the efforts of the Presbytery in its missionary 
 work. 
 
 The rapidly growing excitement of the slavery question, how- 
 ever, and its culmination in the approaching contest between the 
 North and the South, for a time arrested all possible further 
 church extension, and brought the loss of the territory trans- 
 ferred by the Synod in 1859. 
 
 The Minutes of the Presbytery of September, 1861, record 
 that at that appointed day for the meeting of the Presbytery two 
 ministers only. Revs. Dr. Gurley and Bittinger, were present 
 to respond to the roll call ; and two Churches only were repre- 
 sented by Elders. It was afterwards learned that the members 
 of the body residing in Yirginia held a meeting on the same day 
 at Greenwich, to which the Presbytery had adjourned from its 
 previous meeting. 
 
 These Ministers claimed that theirs was the true body. The 
 Synod decided that, under the circumstances, the suspension of 
 all intercourse between the District and Yirginia by the begun 
 hostilities, the meeting in Washington was justified, and the true 
 Presbytery had met there ; but all questions as to this were vir- 
 tually settled by the continued separation of the two sections of 
 country and by the war. 
 
 Yery soon after the happy cessation of the civil contest, the 
 loss of the Yirginia territory was repaired. New activities were 
 aroused. In 1864, the present Metropolitan Church effort was 
 begun, even under the war-cloud sliadows, and its organization of 
 a church of rapidly increasing promise, effected first under the 
 name of the Capitol Hill Church, April 11th of that year. 
 
16 
 
 The North Church organization followed in 1865. In Maryland, 
 under Rev, J. S. H. Henderson, the Church at Darnestown was 
 revived. In Fairfax county, Virginia, Rev. H. P. Dechert 
 gathered l)ack the congregation at the historic Church of Lewins- 
 ville, and effected an organization at Falls Church. In Prince 
 William county, under Rev. J. E. Nourse, the First Prince 
 William Church was restord, regular services held, and a new 
 organization and house of worship secured at Manassas. The 
 rolls of the Churches in 1866 showed an increase of membership 
 from 679 in 1859 to 1,272. 
 
 The position of the Presbytery in relation to the national 
 struggle had not been without true and unmistakable deliver- 
 ance. 
 
 In May, 1862, resolutions introduced by Rev. Dr. Tustin were 
 unanimously passed, affirming, in substance, that all wise and 
 good Governments are the product of the power and wisdom of 
 God ; that the Government of the United States is eminently 
 the off-spring of His abounding grace ; that, in the opinion of 
 the Presbytery, the uprising of the people who desired to over- 
 turn it was an act of wrong and fully ; tliat it heartily approved 
 the measures of the President taken to preserve unimpaired the 
 legacy of our fathers ; and that its deepest gratitude was due to 
 the Great Ruler of Nations for His guidance and protection dur- 
 ing the contest, for which the Presbytery would continue ever to 
 pray until the return of peace should bring again a united and 
 happy people. 
 
 During tlie years 1859 to 1870 were added to the eight minis- 
 ters who had formed the Presbytery in 1858 : April 25, 1859, 
 Rev. E. BoswoRTH, from the Presbytery of Baltimore ; 1862, 
 May 8, Rev. F. T. Brown, from that of Western Reserve, and 
 W. Y. Brown, from that of Carlisle; October 12th, J. S. H. 
 Henderson, from the same ; 13th, H. Snyder, from that of Roa- 
 noke ; in 1864, April 11th, Rev. J. Chester, from the Presby- 
 tery of Burlington ; November 4th, W. W. Campbell, from that 
 of West Virginia; in 1865, April 11, J. R. Fisher, from tliat of 
 Buffalo; May 1st, G. H. Hair, from that of White Water; 
 June 16tli, A. A. E. Taylor, from that of Dubuque; October 
 4th, W. B. Evans, from that of the District of Columbia ; De- 
 cember 5th, L. R. Fox, from that of Burlington ; in 1866, April 
 
17 
 
 5th, S. J. Baird and W. T. VanDoren, from tlie Presbytery of 
 West Jersey arid from the Classis of Michigan ; September 13th, 
 G. H. McCampbell, from the Presbytery of New Albany ; in 
 1867 (J. E. NouRSE and B. F. Bittinger, who had been for a time 
 under the Presbytery of Baltimore) ; in 1868, T, G. Murphey, 
 from that of Lewes; in 1869, S. S. Mitchell, from that of Car- 
 lisle; in 1870, February 25th, D. W. Moffat, from the Pres- 
 bytery of Madison. Thirteen Ministers had been dismissed to 
 other bodies. * 
 
 In April, 1870, the total membership of the Churches of the 
 Presbytery was but 1,094. The losses had occurred by removals, 
 deaths, and the revision of the rolls. In the Narrative on the 
 state of religion of that year the report to the Synod said the 
 Presbyter}^ looked with earnest hope that, in the additional 
 strength of the contemplated reunion, it would be permitted to 
 accomplish more for tlie glory of the Redeemer. Its final meeting 
 was held June 9, 1870. For the reunion of the two bodies it had 
 been for some time heartily desirous. In 1863 it had made over- 
 tures for this in the way of uniting with the District Presbytery 
 in missionary work ; in the year following it passed a resolution 
 favoring reunion. Its most influential pastor, Kev. Dr. Gdrley, 
 was one of the Committee conferring on it with that appointed 
 by New School Assembly of 1868. The consolidation into the 
 Washington City Presbytery made June 30th was cordially ac- 
 cepted. The two were made one in Christian fellowship and 
 labor. 
 
III. The Presbytery of Washington City.--i87o-i888. 
 
 The period of about tliirt^'-tliree years daring which the 
 two Pieshjteries had been virtually separated had ]>een one 
 of momentous interest in l)oth church and state. The in- 
 fluence of the excitements of the war at home and of the politi- 
 cal changes abroad marked itself notal)ly on all branches of the 
 Church here ; especially did the wide openings for the spread of 
 tlie gospel and the spirit of union and communion, freshly awak- 
 ened among Christians, betoken a day of promise. These influ- 
 ences received within the Presbyteries a further and grateful im- 
 pulse arising from the salvation of the Government and the re- 
 union of the States. The times were ripe for the consolidation 
 of which mention has been made. 
 
 The organization of the united body as ordered by the Synod 
 of Baltimore under the direction of the United General Assem- 
 bly of May, 1870, was effected in the Bridge Street Church, 
 June 20th of the year, the opening prayer being offered by Dr. S. 
 TusTiN, the oldest ordained Minister present, and the Moderator 
 elected being Dr. J. C. Smith. The flrst Stated Clerk was Rev. 
 T. B. MgFalls. 
 
 The Ministers enrolled in the order of their ordinations were 
 Drs. S. Tdstin, J. C. Smith, T. W. Simpson and W. McLain ; 
 Revs, W. T. VanDoren and J. S. H. Henderson ; Drs. Byron 
 Sunderland and B. F. Bittinger, Revs. T. G. Murphy, J. N. 
 Coombs, J. E. Nourse ; Rev. T. B. McFalls, Dr. J. Chester, D. 
 W. Moffat, J. L. French, W. Hart, L. R. Fox and S. S. 
 Mitchell. 
 
 The following-named Churches were enrolled : Bladensburg 
 (now Hyattsville), Bridge Street (now West Street), New 
 York Avenue, First, Fourth, Fifteenth St., Sixth, Assembly's, 
 Seventh (now Westminster), Western, Metropolitan, and 
 North Churches, Washington ; First Prince • William, Ma- 
 nassas and Clifton and the Cliurches among the Freedmen in 
 Virginia; Neelsville and Darnestown, Montgomery county, 
 Md. 
 
 At the date of this reunion of the Presbyteries, their total 
 membership reported to the General Assembly was 2,893, viz : 
 
19 
 
 of the District body, 1,799; of the Potomac, 1,094, The num- 
 ber of tlie Churches (inchiding those among the freedmen under 
 the District Presbytery) was about equal. These totals may be 
 taken as a standpoint from which the present state of the united 
 body may be considered. 
 
 The meetings during the next five years were frequent, and 
 the roll of the Presbytery much enlarged. Within the decade, 
 to 1880, were received from other Presley teries and by ordina- 
 tions, the ministers whose names here follow : In 1870, from the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, Rev. L. Dobson ; from the Pres- 
 bytery of Cincinnati, Dr. C. B, Boynton ; and from that of Iowa 
 City, Rev. A. Fairley ; in 1871, from the Presbytery of New 
 Brunswick, Rev. C. R. Von Romondt ; from that of Brooklyn, 
 New York, Rev. Mason Noble; from Newcastle Presbytery, 
 Rev. C. Beach ; from the Congregational Association of Dubuque, 
 W, H. Rice ; from the Presbytery of Morris and Orange, W. 
 Bradley ; and by ordination, D. H Riddle and W. McAttee : 
 in 1872, from the Presbytery of Holston, Tennessee, Rev, J. G. 
 Mason; and by ordination, W. H. Logan: in 1873, from the 
 Presbytery of Binghampton, N. Y,, Dr, S, H. Howe ; from that 
 of Sacramento, California, J. Brown ; from that of Whitewater, 
 Indiana, Rev. G. O, Little ; from that of Chester, Pennsylvania, 
 Rev. L. Westcott: in 1874, from the Presbytery of Chesapeake, 
 Rev. C. H. NocRSE ; from that of Utica, Rev. G. Van Deurs ; 
 and by ordination. Rev. J, T. Kelly: in 1875, from the Pres- 
 bytery of Niagara, N. Y,, Rev. J, Odell ; from that of New 
 York, Rev, H, P, Dechert ; from that of Marion, Georgia, Dr, 
 D, Wills; from that of Buffalo, Rev, P, H, Burghardt; and 
 by ordination, J, A, Carmichael, G. B, Patch, and C, B. Rams- 
 dell : in 1876, from the Presbytery of Otsego, N. Y., Rev. 8, 
 MuRDocK : in 1877, from that of Cleveland, Ohio, Rev, N, Cobb ; 
 and from that of Saginaw, Michigan, Rev. A, McSween : in 
 1878, Revs, C, W, Landau, from the Presbytery of Hudson, 
 New York ; T, S, Wynkoop, from that of Allahabad, Indiana ; 
 Rev. J. R, Paxton, from tliat of Carlisle, Pennsylvania ; and by 
 ordination, F. I. Grimke, F, M. Todd, and A. J. Henry, 
 
 Within the years of the present decade have been received 
 from the Presbytery of New York, Rev. J. G. Craighead, in 
 1880 ; in 1881, Rev. C. Noble, from the Congregational As- 
 
20 
 
 sociation of Washington City; E. H. Cdmpston, from the Pres- 
 bytery of Winchester ; A. Poulson, from that of Philadelphia 
 Central ; and C. Herk, L. Miller, and H. Unglaub, by ordina- 
 tion ; in 1882, Revs. IS. S. Wallkn, from the Presbytery of 
 Huntington, Pennsylvania ; Drs. W. A. Bartlett and J. Dud- 
 ley, from tbat of Indian;ipolis ; Dr. C. 11. A. Buckley, from 
 that of Champlain, New York ; in 1883, Dr. T. S. Childs, from 
 the Presbytery of Westchester, N. Y. ; J. M. Noukse, from that 
 of Athens, Ohio ; and by ordination, H. Clarke; in 1884, Dr. 
 T. FuLLERTON, from the Presbytery of Erie, Pennsylvania; W. J. 
 McIlvain, from that of Baltimore ; E. Peck, from that of 
 Otsego, N. Y. ; and by ordination, F. M. Bdrdick ; in 1885, 
 C. H. Raymond, from the Presbytery of Indianapolis, and D. L. 
 Rathbun, from that of Baltimore ; in 1886, Dr. T. S. Hamlin, 
 from that of Cincinnati ; W. H. Edwards, from that of New- 
 castle, and G. P. Van Wyck, from that of Topeka, Kansas ; 
 in 1887, J. R. Riley, from that of Louisville, Kentucky ; 
 R. H. Fleming, from that of Winchester ; M. P. Snell, from 
 the Congregational Association of Washington City ; S. F. He;r- 
 SHEY, from the Presbytery of Dayton ; and by ordination, Mar- 
 tin Holmes. The whole number has been thus 63. 
 
 Since the organization of the Presljytery have been dismissed 
 to other bodies : In 1870, Rev. J. H. Beckwith, W. Hart, and 
 W. Stryker; in 1871, L. R. Fox; in 1872, Dr. D. W. Moffat; 
 in 1873, W. H. Rhoberts and W. B. Waller; in 1874, B. A. 
 Williamson, L. Dobson, and W. H. Logan ; in 1875, W. A. 
 McAttee and Dr. C. B. Boynton ; in 1876, W. H. Rice and 
 W. D. Roberts ; in 1877, J. G. Mason, J. A. Carmichael, and 
 J. Brown ; in 1878, J. R. Henderson, L. R. Johnson, and Dr. 
 S. S. Mitchell ; in 1879, F. Clendenin, W. E. Carr; in 1880, 
 S. M. Bpjach and G. T, Jennings; in 1881, S. Murdock, W, 
 Emery, and C. Noble; in 1882, E. Warren, J. R. Paxton, C. 
 JoELL, H. N. Brown, and A. G. Davis; in 1883, H. Unglaub, 
 C. Herr, C. Dillard, and S. H. Howe ; in 1884, D. Wills, 
 Jr., C. R. Yon Romondt, H. Clarke ; in 1885, S. S. Wallen 
 and F. J. Grimke ; in 1886, R. D. Harlan, S. S. Walle;n, and 
 E. A. Lowe ; in 1887, W. Chester, Dr. D. Wills, R. H. Flem- 
 ing, and J. P. Foster. Of these, 14 only were Pastors or 
 Stated Supplies, the remainder being either Licentiates or can- 
 didates for the Ministry. 
 
21 
 
 The following Churches have been organized : (.lifton, Va., 
 1870, GuRLEY Mission, Washington, 1871 ; Falls Church, 
 Yirginin, February 3, 1873; Vienna, Virginia, November 16, 
 1873; Hermon, Maryland, January 5, 1874; Eastern, Wash- 
 ington City, D. C, May 19, 1875; Boyd's Station, Maryland, 
 May 13, 1877 ; Zion Evangelical, Washington City, D. C; 
 Oak Grove, Virginia, September 25th, 1881 ; Unity, Washing- 
 ton City, D. C, April 15, 1882 ; Mount Hkrmon, Virginia, 
 September 3, 1882; and Church of the Covenant, Washing- 
 ton City, D. C, October 13, 1885. 
 
 Between the dates of June 20, 1870, and the close of the year 
 1887, the following installations were made : In 1870, October 
 6th, Rev. C. B. Boynton over the Assembly's Church, 6th 
 street; in 1871, April 25th, Rev. D. H. Riddle, Falls Church, 
 Virginia ; May 10th, W. A. McAtbe, First Alexandria ; 
 October 30th, C. Beach, Darnestown, Maryland ; in 1872, 
 October 8th, J. G.Mason, North Church; in 1873, June 9th, 
 G. Little, Assembly Church, and J. Brown, Lewinsville, 
 Fairfax county, Virginia; in 1874, May 4th, J. T. Kelly, 
 Fourth Church ; May 10th, G. VanDeurs, 15th St. Church ; 
 in 1875, May 9tli, Dr. D. Wills, Western Church ; June 18th, 
 J. Odell, Lewinsville, Fairfax county, Virginia ; June 20th, 
 J. Brown, 15th Street; November 1st, G. B. Patch, Eastern 
 Church ; December 13th, C. B. Ramsdell, North Church ; in 
 1878, June 11th, G. W. Landau, Zion Evangelical; July 7th, F. 
 J. Grimke, 15th Street Church ; October 23d, T. S. Wynkoop, 
 Western Church ; October 27th, F. M. Todd, Manassas, 
 Prince William county, Virginia ; November 10th, J. R. Paxton, 
 N. Y. Avenue ; in 1879, June 8th, S. H. Howe, West Street, 
 Georgetown ; in 1881, October 17th, H. Unglaub, Zion Evan- 
 gelical ; in 1882, April 10th, S. S. Wallen, Eastern Church; 
 April 19th, G. B. Patch, Unity Church ; October 24th, W. A. 
 Bartlett, N. Y. Avenue ; in 1883, April 24th, H. Clark, 
 Lewinsville and Vienna ; November 14th, J. M. Nourse, 
 Darnestown Church, Montgomery county, Maryland; in 1884, 
 February 13th, E. Peck, Eastern Church; April 23d, F. H. 
 Burdick, 6th Church ; in 1885, October 15th, W. J. McIlyain, 
 Hyattsville Church, Prince George county, Maryland; October 
 28th, D. L. Rathbun, Darnestown, Maryland ; November 4th, 
 
22 
 
 Dr. T. Fdlleeton, West Street, Georgetown ; in 1886, Oc- 
 tober 12th, W, H. Edwards, Lewinsville and Vienna ; No- 
 vember 9th, Dr. T. S. Hamlin, Church of the Covenant ; in 
 1887, January 18th, J. R. Riley, 15th Street; October 18th, 
 S. F. Hershey, 6th Church. 
 
 In all 35 pastoral relations were constituted, of Avhich to the 
 date of December 27, 1 887, twenty have been dissolved ; a large 
 number, but accounted for chiefly by the fluctuating character of 
 the resident population of the city, so many of our Church 
 members being in the employ of the changing Government 
 oflices, and thus preventing the desired permanence of our Con- 
 g regations. 
 
 Since the organization of the Presbytery the following Minis- 
 ters have died : Dr. John C. Smith, January 23, 1878, at the age 
 of 78 ; Dr. Septimus Tustin, October 28, 1871, aged 67 ; R. R. 
 Gurley, July 30, 1872, aged 75; Dr. William McClain, 
 1873, aged 68 ; T. B. McFalls, May 22, 1873, aged 38 ; John 
 N. Coombs, December 27, 1874, aged 58 ; Charles H. Nourse, 
 July 14, 1876, aged 58 ; T. C. Murphy, January 9, 1878, aged 
 61 ; Lorenzo Westcott, June 5, 1878, aged 50 ; Mason Noble, 
 October 24, 1881, aged 72; James S. H. Henderson, August 
 17, 1882, aged 67; E. H. Cumpston, January 1, 1885, aged 71 ; 
 William T. Vandoren, December 20, 1885, aged 66 ; P. H. 
 BuRGHARDT, July 22, 1886, aged 75 ; C. H. Raymond, October 
 30, 1886, aged 68 ; and the following, the dates of whose deaths 
 and ages have not been available for record : Rev. H. P. Dech- 
 ERT, Ward Batchelor, and C. M. Parks. In all 18. 
 
 The goodl}'^ age to which nearly all of tliese were spared for 
 the work of the Kingdom will be observed, and it is their record 
 that all were employed in this to the close of life. The distress- 
 ing circumstances of the mental aberration causing the decease 
 of Rev. J. N. Coombs are well known. 
 
 Durii*ig the eighteen years of the Presbytery, the number of 
 its ministers increased from 19 to 35 ; of Communicants from 
 2,839 to 4,776 ; of Sabbath-School membership from 3,124 to 
 6,153; of contributions to benevolent objects from $6,445 to 
 $12,799 ; of sums reported under the head of " Congregational " 
 from $50,190 to $119,226. The Presbytery now consists of 34 
 Ministers, and has under its care 32 Churches, connected with 
 
28 
 
 which are 4,776 Communicants ; 118 Ruling Elders ; 55 Dea- 
 cons ; 4 Licentiates, and 14 Candidates for the gospel ministry. 
 
 If from the roll of the thirty-two Churches reported to the 
 Synod of 1887, those are excepted which have never settled a 
 pastor, viz., Neelsville and its outgrowth Boyd's Station, and 
 Hermon in Maryland ; and First Prince William and Clifton, 
 Virginia; and if further exception be made of those among the 
 Freedmen in Amelia County, Virginia, of which Churches no 
 definite accounts have been found available, the efficient strength 
 of the Presbytery is more correctly considered as that of twenty- 
 one pastoral relations. Nine Ministers are without charge, 
 though frequently in service. 
 
 During the period of 1870 to 1888 a proper zeal for the Sanct- 
 uary has prompted the erection of ten church edifices, viz.: Met- 
 ropolitan, West Street, Eastern, Unity, and Chdrch of the 
 Covenant, Washington ; and Manassas, Vienna, Clifton, Boyd 
 Station, Hermon, and Falls Church, in the adjacent counties. 
 It has also prompted the enlargement or beautifying of an equal 
 number, viz., those of the New York Avenue, Fourth Church, 
 Westminster, North, Western, Metropolitan, West Street, 
 Washington ; and Lewinsville, Hyattsville and Clifton. 
 
 • A proper account of the benevolent work of the Churches un- 
 der the care of the Presbytery includes the contributions of the 
 Women's Societies to tliis object. By the kindness of Mrs. M. 
 A. Boyd, Treasurer of the Women's Society for Home Missions, 
 the statement is recorded that " The first money received from 
 " the Women of Washington City Presbytery came from the 
 " First Church June 26th, 1879, and the sums for the years fol- 
 " lowing were as follows: In 1879 to 1880, $534; 1880 to 1881, 
 " $620.69 ; 1881 to 1882, $594.95 ; 1882 to 1883, $703.86 ; 1883 
 « to 1884, $1,098.10 ; 1884 to 1885, $1,543.47 ; 1885 to 1886, $2,- 
 " 246,36; 1886 to 1887, $2,362.47; 1887 to January 1st, 1888, 
 " $1,101.94— or in all, to the close of the third quarter of the 
 " year 1887, $10,805.84. 
 
 By the kindness of Mrs. Julia M. Fishburne, Treasurer of the 
 Woman's Foreign Missionary Society, has also been received the 
 following account of the contributions to that object, viz : 
 
 " So far as I can learn the first receipt from Washington was 
 " in 1875, $500.00; in 1876, $400.00 ; in 1877, $500.00. This 
 
24 
 
 " brings it to the organization of the Presbyterian Society, 1878- 
 " 1879. The smns received since that date have been for the 
 "year ending May, 1879, $179.00; 1880, $1,103.26; 1881, 
 "$1,067.56; 1882, $761.22 ; 1883, $1,169.63; 1884, $983.87; 
 " 1885, $1,332.76; 1886, $1,196.99 ; 1887, $1,882.53 ; or in all, 
 " from 1879 to January 1, 1887, $9,876.72. 
 
 In the Minutes of the Synod of Baltimore, of 1887, will be 
 found in the Report of the Synod's Women's Committee on 
 Home Missions, the statement for Home Missions, that " Gifts 
 " from the Washington City Presbytery had amounted to 
 " $2,383.66, and in boxes to $662.30. There are 22 Auxiliaries 
 " and 8 Bands out of the 32 Churches, six of the remaining 
 " churches being among the Freedraen, and under the Freed- 
 " men's Board. There are but four where further organizations 
 " may be looked for. " 
 
 In the same Minutes will also be found the statement as to 
 Women's AVork for Foreign Missions, that the receipts for the 
 year ending March, 1887, were $2,103.63. The Committee of 
 the Synod in their report on tlie state of religion for the same 
 year, speak of " the decided increase in both the numbers and 
 the gifts received by these two societies." 
 
 The Presbytery has, for some years, maintained a deep interest 
 in the instructions received by the young men at the Howard 
 University. Two of our members, Pev. Charles H. A. Buckley, 
 D.D., and Pev. J. G. Craighead, D.D., liold chairs as professors 
 in the University. To its fund§ our Churches also contribute, 
 A number of its graduates are in the ministry of our Churches. 
 
 This imperfect Memorial of the Presbytery may prompt in the 
 minds and hearts of its readers the reflections, among others, that, 
 although an extended and useful work has been carried on, 
 " much lands remain to be possessed." The rapidly advancing 
 population of this great city assuredly calls for greater corre- 
 sponding Church extension by all our Evangelical denomina- 
 tions. The Association recently formed under the auspices of 
 the Presbytery embraces within it much of promise for tiiis end. 
 
 The number of Ministers enrolled in the several Presbyteries 
 herein named reaches closely tlie figures 140. Of these, a large 
 majority have been candidates or Licentiates, who have located 
 beyond our bounds. A large majority have passed to their re- 
 
25 
 
 ward on high. The attention of Pastors and of Christian parents 
 may he invoked for an increase in the number of the baptized 
 children of the Covenant to be consecrated from their youth to 
 the Ministry. The Societies forming in the several Churches 
 among our yourtg people are a happy token of good for this. 
 
 Officers of the Pkesbytery. — Moderator, Tennis S. Ham- 
 lin, D. D.', Stated Clerk, B. F. Bittinger, D. D. 
 
 Home Missions.— T. S. Childs, D. D., Kev. J. E. Nourse, B. 
 F. Bittinger, D. D., John Chester, D. D.; Ruling Elders : Wm. 
 Ballantyne, C. H. Carrington. 
 
 Foreign Missions. — Rev. J. W. Mcllvain, Rev. T. S. Wyn- 
 koop. Rev. J. Dudley ; R. E.: W. H. H. Warman. 
 
 Church Erection. — Rev. George O. Little, Rev. D. Riddle, 
 Rev. I). S. Rathbun ; R. E.: J. H. Meriwether. 
 
 Publication and S. School Work. — Rev. J. M. Nourse, Rev. 
 E. Peck ; R. E.: T. Swazey. 
 
 Education. — Rev. G. B. Patch, Rev. J. M. Nourse ; R. E.: 
 S. L. Crissey. 
 
 Freedmen.— T. S. Hamlin, D. D., W. A. Bartlett, D. D.; R. 
 E.: Commodore J. W. Easby. 
 
 Ministerial Relief. — Rev. J. T. Kelly, Rev. F. M. Todd, 
 Rev. S. F. Hershey, Ph. D.; R. E.: C. B. Church. 
 
 Aid to Colleges and Academies. — J G. Craighead, D. D., 
 B. Sunderland, D. D.; R. E.: W. H. H. Smith. 
 
 Temperance. — Rev. C. B. Ramsdell, Rev. J. W. Mcllvain, T. 
 S. Hamlin, D. D.; R. E.: T. B. Dalrymple. 
 
 Systematic Beneficence. — Rev. T. S. Wynkoop, Rev. J. L. 
 French ; R. E.: Charles Lyman. 
 
 Sabbath Schools. — Rev. J. M. Nourse, Rev. G. P. VanWyck ; 
 R. E.: D. McFarlan. 
 
 Theology.— T. Fullerton, D. D., B. F. Bittinger, D. D. 
 
 Church History. — B. Sunderland, D. D., J. Chester, D. D. 
 
 Church Government and Sacraments. — T. S. Childs, D. D., 
 Rev. N. Cobb, Rev. W. H. Edwards. 
 
 Hebrew. — Rev. J. W. Mcllvain, Rev. T. S. Wynkoop. 
 
 Greek. — J. Chester, D. D., Rev. Alexander Fairley. 
 
Bladensburg Church, Prince George County, Md. 1718 ; 
 now Hyattsville Church. 
 
 This church, six miles distant from the Capital, is the second 
 in the line of succession to the Old Patuxent or Upper Marl- 
 BOROUH Church, which existed before the close of the last century, 
 and was represented in 1704 in the Synod of Philadelphia by Rev. 
 Nathaniel Taylor. The intermediate link was the Old Bla- 
 densburg, organized in 1718, by Rev. Hugh Conn, minister from 
 Scotland. Mr. Conn appears to have remained with the Church 
 until his sudden death in the pulpit in 1752. Of the Marl- 
 borough Church Mr. Ninian Beall was a liberal friend, donating 
 the grounds for the building, and, most probably, also the com- 
 munion service — one of old English plate of the date of 1707, 
 which, at the closing of the Marlborough Church, was sent to 
 Bladensburg. The Hyattsville Communion still holds that 
 portion of it which has been preserved. 
 
 At the formation of the Presbytery of Baltimore in 1786, 
 Bladensburg was represented by Rev. James Hunt, from whose 
 death, in 1793, the Church had either stated supplies or tlie short 
 pastoral relations of Rev. Messrs. Semple, Knox, Maffit, Willey, 
 and Ybitch — until the appointment under the General Assembly 
 in 1809, of Rev. J. Breckenridge to labor here and at Wash- 
 ington City. Mr. Breckenridge remained with the Church three 
 years, and, after the short pastorate of Rev. T. C. Searle, re- 
 turned and again served the Church from 1823 to 1830. The 
 roll of communicants at that date numl)ered 71, and the attend- 
 ance on the pulpit ministrations was full. 
 
 From this time until 1858, with the exception of the short 
 pastorate of Rev. John Decker (1843-'44), the Church again had 
 the service only of stated supplies, chiefly those by Revs. Bos- 
 worth, Nevius, Crawford, Baird, French and Simpson — by the 
 last named from 1851 to 1858. It was then attached to the 
 Presbytery of Potomac. In 1867, it connected itself with the 
 Patapsco Presbytery of the Church South, and was for three years 
 under the care of Rev. John Ross until the organization of the 
 Washington City Presbytery. 
 
Hyattsville Church. 
 
 The village of Bladensburg had been for long years on the 
 decline. The congregation had become vei'j small and the build- 
 ing itself, rel)uilt as far back as 1818, was uninviting. In 1873, 
 by the efforts largely of the late W. P. Shedd and his family, a 
 new enterprise in the adjacent and growing village of Hyatts- 
 ville was begun in prayer and faith. Mr. Shedd, a member of 
 the Fourth Church, Washington, had removed to Bladensburg 
 a few years before, and was earnestly alive to the need of a Pres- 
 byterian Church in the village. With the encouragement of the 
 Washington City Presbytery, seconded by the Pastors of the New 
 York Avenue, First Presbyterian, Westminster, Metropoli- 
 tan, and Sixth Churches, a revival of the old Presbyterian in- 
 terest was secured, and the corner-stone of a new building laid 
 October 24, 1874. The house was dedicated in 1876 ; the new 
 name of the Church having been authorized by tlie act of the 
 Presbytery. The old building of 1818 was disposed of to the 
 Baptist Congregation for the sum of 800 dollars. From this 
 time until the call of the present Pastor, the pulpit was supplied 
 chiefly by Rev. Dr. Simpson, followed by Messrs. Chickering, 
 Burghardt, and Lowe. 
 
 The present Pastor, JRev. J. W. McIlyain > was intalled 
 October 12, 1885. The prospects of this Church are very en- 
 couraging. The surrounding population is on the advance. 
 Pecent improvements made to the building have increased its 
 value to that of $5,000, and a neat Manse of an additional value 
 of $3,000 has been donated by Mr. J. J. Shedd, a brother of 
 the founder, under God, of the New Church. The roll of com- 
 municants numbers 42 ; of the S. School, 84. 
 
 The columns for the agencies of the Church reported to the 
 Assembly are well tilled. The Church this year becomes self- 
 sustaining. 
 
 Officers. — Pastor, Rev. William J. McIlvain " , Elders, F. 
 H. Smith, F. E. Baukhages, S. A. Holton. 
 
The First Presbyterian Church, Alexandria. 1772. 
 
 The earliest records of this Church take us ha(;k to the days 
 of the jeah)us watchf uhiess of all Churches other tliaii the Church 
 of England, as the only true one for the colonies. In 1760, the 
 Tresbyterians of the city received a license from the Governor 
 and Council of Virginia to worship according to their order, said 
 license requiring them to " keep the Church building doors and 
 entrance unlocked," lest something obnoxious to the Eoyal power 
 might be concocted therein. After worshipping for some time 
 under this permit in tlie Town Hall, they built a house from the 
 earnings of a lottery, an act, in its judgment of its rightfulness, 
 not confined to these Christians, but to be found in the records 
 of other sections of the country, as in accordance with the ideas 
 of the times. In the present building is a tablet bearing the 
 inscription, "Organized 1772; Church erected 1774." The 
 ground was deeded " to Rev. William Thom, the first Pastor, 
 and to his successors, who shall be Presbyterian Ministers, elected 
 and appointed to ofiiciate in the Presbyterian Church," the 
 building "to be kept solely for the use of said Church;" a pro- 
 vision restraining its sale, for any removal to a better location, 
 • unless by later and special legislation. 
 
 Mr. Thom was buried alongside of his Church, and was suc- 
 ceeded in 1786 by Rev. Isaac S. Keith ; and he, by Rev. James 
 MuiR, whose pastorate extended from 1789 to 1820. A marble 
 tablet commemorates his faithful labors. 
 
 Dr. Elias Harrison's ministry followed, extending from the 
 death of Dr. Mum, to his death, February 13, 1863. Three 
 years before his election as Pastor, a secession had resulted in 
 the organization of the Second Church ; and in the latter part 
 of his Pastorate (1861) the congregation became divided by the 
 war, the majority remaining loyal to this day, to the Northern 
 Assembly. Dr. Harrison was a faithful and revered Pastor. 
 The temporary supply of the pulpit by Rev. Mr. Axtel and 
 others followed ; two Pastors, Rev. G. M. MoCampbell and W. 
 A. McAtee being next successively in charge until 1874; after 
 which the building was leased until 1880, to about 100 persons, 
 who seceded from the 2d Church and formed the "Union 
 
29 
 
 Church," under Rev. Dr. Bullock ; two of the elders, and nearly 
 all of the niemhers of the 2d Church uniting also with these. 
 From the date of the dissolution of this organization, the pulpit 
 was supplied hy menil)ers of the Washington City Presl)ytery, 
 and very frequently l)y Rev. Mr. E. Whittelsey, of the Congre- 
 gational Church. In May, 1885, Rev. James Nonrse was in- 
 stalled by the Presbytery of Washington City. 
 
 It thus appears from the Church records that its Pastors have 
 been successively in connection with the several Presbyteries of 
 Donegal, Pennsylvania, 1st Philadelphia, Baltimore, the District 
 of Columbia, Potomac, and Washington, In 1808 the General 
 Assembly was invited to hold its sessions in this Church ; the 
 Assembly, however, continued to meet in Philadelphia — 1800 
 to 1835. 
 
 The congregation have frequently labored under peculiar diffi- 
 culties. It is believed that the secession of 1817 would not have 
 occurred had that eminent evangelist. Rev. Sylvester Larned, or 
 the equally zealous Pastor, Daniel Baker, accepted a call to l)e- 
 come co-pastor with the venerable Dr. Muir, in his declining 
 health. The division resulted, liowever, in the formation of a 
 second and prosperous Church. July 20, 1835, the Fikst 
 Church edifice was destroyed by lightning at the hour of ex- 
 pected service, and for the two following years the congregation 
 worsliipped with the Second Church. At a later date the more 
 serious embarrassments which have been referred to have con- 
 tinued to dishearten friends, who, by the memories of the good 
 old times of their fathers and a desire to perpetuate the work to 
 which they have fallen heirs, would gladly see a steady and 
 healthful progress. It is hoped that a new era will dawn. 
 
 The sitting capacity of the house is 600 ; the number of com- 
 municants reported to the Assembly of 1887, is 80 ; an increase 
 of 51 over that of 1879. The columns for contributions to the 
 Board of Assembly are all filled. 
 
 Officers. — Pasior, Rev. James ISTourse ; Elders, J. P. Agnew, 
 N. W. Pierson ; Trustees, J, P. Agnew, Paul Agnew, Lewis 
 McKenzie. 
 
Bridge Street, now West Street, Church, Georgetown, 1780. 
 
 The First Presbyterian Preaching in the Present District 
 of Columbia. 
 
 The first offers of the gospel by our Church in this immediate 
 region date in the year 1780. In March of that year Rev. 
 Stephen Bloomer Balch, a native of Maryland and a licentiate 
 of the old Donegal Presbytery of Pennsylvania, when on his 
 way to make a missionary tour in the Carolinas, preached to a 
 few persons in Georgetown of Scotch and New England descent — 
 some from that true Scotch Presbyterian, Col. Niman Beall, who 
 had, at a still earlier date, liltcrally befriended the Old Makl 
 BOROUGH Church, in Maryland. Mr. Balch was at once invited 
 to gather a congregation among this people. Returning from 
 North Carolina in the same year, he found an unpromising field, 
 the population of that day being largely of the ruder elements ; 
 but he began his labors on the skirts of the neighl)oring woods, 
 and, under his commission as Evangelist, organized a Church. 
 
 His first small congregation, after worsliipping for two years 
 in a rented room on the present site of tlie Presbyterian Mis- 
 sion Chapel, on Market street, built a very humble house of 
 worship, 30 feet square, at the corner of Washington and Bridge 
 streets. His first elder was a Mr. Orme, son of one of the pas- 
 tors of the Marlborough Church ; and, at his first service, sevt^n 
 persons onl}' sat down at the communion tal)le, some of the 
 lookers-on, as tradition reports, staring with amazement, having 
 never heard of our Great Atoning Sacrifice. The return of peace 
 from our revolutionary struggle contril)uted to the growth of the 
 town, which, at the head of the navigation of the day, had a fu- 
 ture of promise. Mr. Balch's congregation grew with it, his 
 eminently catholic spirit attracting members of other denomina- 
 tions until they built their own churches. The location of the 
 first Presbyterian building was fitly chosen to accommodate the 
 people, who then mostly resided below the present Bridge or M 
 street, but also for those living east of Rock creek, within the 
 beginnings of " the Federal City." Among the contributors to 
 its erection were Vice-President Jefferson, then residing in a 
 
31 
 
 dwelling which still stands on " Jefferson street," and Secretary 
 Giillatin. 
 
 After the establishment of the Government here, members of 
 the Episcopal Church built their house of worship in Washing- 
 ton, but the vacancies in Dr. Balch's Church were speedily more 
 than filled, and the Church grew in strength. In 1821, the old 
 building was replaced by one of much larger dimensions. Its 
 dismantling was made the occasion of an impressive discourse, 
 reminding "tlie people of God's signal favor to them tlirough the 
 forty years of the past. It is not an uninteresting fact that Dr. 
 Balch and his successors, down to the times of the late war, 
 provided, with the full co-operation of their people, for Sabbath- 
 School instruction of the colored race. 
 
 Dr. Balch's personal sacrifices during his life were not few. 
 Among them were, in 1831, the destruction of his whole house- 
 hold effects by fire, himself and his wife barely escaping with 
 their lives. The early Sessional Records of the Church were 
 also destroyed, together with a valuable portrait of Makemie. 
 
 His ministerial labors were closed in his eighty-seventh year 
 by the call of the Master, on the morning of September 7, 1833, 
 to the rewards of fifty-three years of duty and godly example. 
 In testimony of his worth, the Aldermen and Common Council 
 attended the funeral in a body and the streets were draped in 
 mourning. His remains, interred at first in front of his beloved 
 Chuich, rested there until the dismantling of the building in 
 1872, when Mrs. Jane Williamson, one of his daughters, caused 
 their removal, and the same kind hands that first buried them 
 (Mr. R. R. Shekell's) transferred them to the Presbyterian Cem- 
 etery and thence to Oak Hill, where Mr. W. W. Corcoran gave 
 them a final resting place and a monumental tablet in the chapel. 
 
 Dr. Balch will yet be long remembered as a preacher of the 
 old style, eccentric in his demeanor and at the same time remark- 
 ably genial in all his work and intercourse. 
 
Pastorates— 1833-1888. 
 
 The congregation has been but for very limited times without 
 a settled pastor. Dr. Balch had as assistant, for a short time 
 from the year 1823, Rev. John Campbell.* -' In his declining 
 health he had, as co-pastor, Hev. John C. Smith. At the Doc- 
 tor's death, Sept. 7, 1833, Mr. Smith was called to the full 
 pastorate, remaining with the Church until his acceptance of 
 a call, April 9, 1839, to the Fourth Church, Washington. 
 Rev. R. T. Berry followed from October 3, 1841, to August 
 28, 181:9; Rev. J. M. P. Atkinson, from March 12, 1850, to 
 February 12, 1856 ; Rev. Dr. J. H. Bocock, February 17, 1857, 
 to May 27, 1861. Dr. B. F. Bittinger then declining a call, 
 Rev. F. T. Brown was the pastor during the troublous times of 
 the war — from second Sabbath, June, 1861, to February 6, 1865. 
 June 21, 1865, Rev. A. A. E. Taylor was installed, and remained 
 until May 3, 1869, succeeded by Rev. D. W. Moffat May 6, 
 1870, to April 10, 1872, and he, in May of that year, by Rev. 
 S. H. Howe until 1883, when the pulpit, becoming again vacant, 
 was supplied by Rev. T. S. Cliilds until the present pastor. Dr. 
 Fuller ton, entered on his charge in September of the same year. 
 
 During the times of the war for some months the church 
 building, with others in Washington, was occupied by the Gov- 
 ernment as a hospital for the sick and wounded soldiery, and the 
 congregation worshipped on alternate Sabbaths with the Metho- 
 dist Protestant Church on Congress street. This was cour- 
 teous reciprocity for a like Christian courtesy extended in years 
 previous to the Methodist brethren when their building had been 
 burned. 
 
 Under each of the pastorates from 1833 to 1872 the Bridge- 
 street Church advanced in strength, notwithstanding the small ad- 
 vance in the population around it and the removal of many of its 
 best members to other sections of the city. In the pastorates of 
 Drs. Bocock, Atkinson, and Howe seasons of revival added a 
 number of the young of the congregation to the membership. 
 In 1871 the question of a removal became a necessary considera- 
 tion, and the present site of the new Church was selected. 
 
 June 8, 1879, the new edifice was dedicated and Rev. Dr. 
 
33 
 
 Howe installed pastor. The sermon was by Dr. D. W. Moffat, 
 one of the former pastors. 
 
 Tlie West-street c(Migrei^'ation have found their present loca- 
 tion prcxliictive of nnich gain to their attendance and growth. 
 The removal was accompanied, as is usual in such cases, with 
 many regrets and tender liistoric remembrances. The old walls 
 had been witnesses to many conferences of the friends of Zion ; 
 muny meetings of Synod, of Presbytery, and of Church sessions ; 
 many of the last Chiistian rites given to sainted ones on high. 
 Patriotic mem.orial services commemorative of the two Presi- 
 dents, Jefferson and Adams, who died on tiie same 4tii of July, 
 had also been attended in this building by a crowded audience. 
 Historic associations, therefore, of every nature were clustered 
 here. But the removal, as has been shown, was an act of neces- 
 sity ; and now, sanctioned as it has been by the blessing of the 
 Master, it is fully acquiesced in by all. 
 
 The population of Georgetown has not as yet advanced in 
 proportion to the increase in the eastern sections of the Capital. 
 Additions to the membership of this churcii, therefore, continue 
 to I)e looked for chiefly from the Sabbath Schools brought under 
 the influence of the pulpit. These additions steadily continue 
 and are still those of a character promising the most in healthful 
 permanence. Full and attentive congregations attest the value 
 of the Pastor's ministrations. The roll of church members re- 
 ported to the Assembly of 1887 numbered 290, to which more 
 than 30 additions have l)een recently made. Liberal contributions 
 to the Boards appear in all the colunms of the Minutes. The 
 Sabbath Schools number 400. A mission school near the loca- 
 tion of the Church of 1821, begun with promise last year under 
 Mr. and Mrs. W. I. Lewis, has been transferred to the Church 
 of the Covenant, the West street mission of Market street being 
 still maintained. All of the Church properties, the building. 
 Chapel, Manse and Mission are free from debt. Their value is 
 estimated at $60,000, The Chapel with its lot and that of the 
 Church, were the gifts of Messrs. Darby and Cissel when resi- 
 dents of Georgetown. 
 
 Chdrch Officers : — Pastor, Rev. Thomas Fcllerton, D. D., 
 3121 P St. (The Manse). Elders :— W. H. Dougal, A. Greenlees 
 J. Leetch, B. R. Mayfleld, F. L. Moore, C. S. Smith, J. A. Wil- 
 
34 
 
 liamson. Deacons : — D. Auld, L. S. Frey, T. S. Gibbs, J. T, 
 Swindells. Trustees : — C. Becker, W. D. Brace, S. T. Brown, 
 W. M. Doug-al, L. S. Frey, P. F. Gilbert, J. T. Hotter, K. S. 
 Tenney, W.' W. Winship. 
 
 The venerable Journal of the Board of Trustees is a model for 
 such records. It opens with a fair transcript of the Charter 
 granted to the Church in 1806 by Congress, signed i)y Nathaniel 
 Macon, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and S. Smith, 
 President /?/'o tempore of the Senate, and approved by Thomas 
 Jefferson, President. Singularly enougli, this cliarter, of wliich 
 the parchment oi-iginal is still preserved, restricts the revenues of 
 the Church to the sura of $3,000. Among its later records is 
 that of the deposits made in 1872, under the corner-stone, of the 
 new Church on West street with those then re-laid from the 
 corner-stone of the old building of 1821. 
 
The First Presbyterian Church, Four and One-half 
 Street. — 1795. 
 
 This church was the first of our organization within tlie limits 
 of the " Federal City." Its earliest history indeed runs back to 
 a date six years before the removal of the seat of Government 
 from Philadelphia. The records of Baltimore Presbytery show 
 that, at a stated meeting of that Presbyter}^, April 29, 1795, a 
 call was presented " from the Churches in Washington for the 
 services of Rev, John Breckusteidge ; " and on the 24th of June 
 following, at a called meeting at Bladensburg, on the report of 
 " a committee respecting tlie Churches in said town and its 
 vicinity," measures were taken for the future installation of this 
 Minister. 
 
 It appears evident, then, that whatever is to be understood by 
 the term " Churches " here used (probably as Rev. Mr. McFalls 
 considers " small bands of believers as yet without formal organi- 
 zation ") a Presbyterian society existed, and a regular pastoral 
 relation was contemplated. As is well known, the so-called 
 " Federal City " of that day was as yet one of a thinlj' scattered 
 population. For ten years before the reuioval of the Govern- 
 ment here, its area embraced scarcely 500 inhabitants. In 1801 
 Pennsylvania avenue was a deep morass covered with alder 
 bushes. For years Senators and Representatives, by necessity, 
 resided in Georgetown. 
 
 The first services for the new^ congregation were held in a car- 
 penter's shop, put up for the use of the workmen employed in 
 building the President's house, and when this was taken down, a 
 frame chapel was erected on a lot on F street, near Saint Pat- 
 rick's (Roman Catholic) Church, the use of the lot I^eing tem- 
 porarily given by Mr. David Burns, one of the original proprie- 
 tors of land in the city. In 1803 the congregation was w^eakened 
 by the gathering of the Ciiurch of the Associate Reformed Body 
 under Rev. James Laurie. Mr. Breckinridge's services were, 
 however, continued under his appointment from the General 
 Assembly to this people and to those at Bladensburg; for a time 
 the Washington services were held in the " Academy East." 
 
Erection of the Church at the foot of Capitol Hill. 
 
 In the year 1810, Mr. George Blagden, Elias B. Caldwell, 
 John Coyle, Daniel Rapine, and ^John McClelland, " formed 
 themselves into a Committee to attempt the building of a house 
 of worship," A snl)Scription was opened and application for aid 
 made to the General Assembly, with a statement of tlie desires 
 of the people, that the Asseml)ly would be pleased to continue 
 tlie Mission while tliey wonl:l go foi'waru with the building. The 
 re(piest was granted, and a new commission for Mr. Breckenridge 
 issued through the Presbytery of Baltimore. Until the comple- 
 tion of this lirst house of worship, Divine Services were held, and 
 the Sacraments administered, in tlie basement of the north wing 
 of the Capitol ; at the communion services the "metallic tokens" 
 of that day were distributed. The Society was small and of 
 moderate ability, but a subscription of 1^350 was made for the 
 Minister. 
 
 June 25, 1812, the " Little White Church " under the Hill 
 was entered, and its dedication sermon preached by Mr. Brecken- 
 ridge, from Luke xix, 9 : " This day is salvation come to this 
 house." It was a plain brick structure on " South Capitol Street." 
 Among the contributors to its erection were. President Madison, 
 Hon. James Monroe, Wm. R. King, John Lambert, and Josiah 
 Quincy. The first cost was but §11,000 ; the building was after- 
 wards enlarged for an additional $3,000. In September, 1812, 
 its Session held its lirst meeting. 
 
 Mr. Breckenridge was installed July 4, 1813, and continued 
 to be the Pastor until tlie relation was dissolved in May, 1818. 
 He died in 1844, at the age of 75, and was buried at the place 
 then known as Harewood, where Mr. W. W. Corcoran, in after 
 years, gave his i-emains a resting place. After his resignation of 
 the Pastorate, the pulpit was supplied by Messrs. John McKnight, 
 Andrew Hunter, and John Clark, until the call in April, 1819, 
 to Rev. Reuben Post, who was ordained and installed June 24th 
 of that year. 
 
 From the first forming of this Church the favor of God rested 
 upon it, prompting in the hearts of the people an active mis- 
 sionary spirit. 
 
Removal to Four-and-a-Half Street. 
 
 The population of the Hill and its vicinity did not, how- 
 ever, gi'ow as the original property-holders had expected. They 
 held their property at such prices in what was then supposed 
 would be the centralization of the future city as to force the bulk 
 of tlie new residences much further westward. Other denomina- 
 tions also began to erect their houses of worship at no great 
 distance from Mr. Post's charge. His pulpit and pastoral labors 
 promised him larrge success if a new location should be secured 
 " west of the Tiber Creek," as then called. The site of the 
 present building on 4^ street, 108 feet front by 113 deep, was 
 therefore purchased for 20 cents per foot, the building contract 
 being for $8,000. The old edifice was sold to the African M. E. 
 Society for $2,500. At the head of the subscribers for the new 
 building was the name of Dr. Post for §500, his salary being 
 but $1,000 per annum. The whole cost exceeded .|12,000. 
 
 April 10, 1827, the corner-stone was laid, and the church dedi- 
 cated December 9 of the same year. Dr. Post's sermon being 
 from the appropriate text, Haggai ii, 9 : " The glory of the lat- 
 ter house shall be greater than that of the former." Pie was 
 filled with the hope which is founded on the unfailing covenant 
 of the Master to be with His people. Dr. Post was a minister 
 of deep piety, who, although not distinguished for great pulpit 
 ability, so faithfully followed up the ministrations of the Sabbath 
 by personal visitations and converse that the Chnrcli received 
 accessions, especially from the young men of the congregation, 
 strengthening it for years after his resignation. The pastoral re- 
 lation was dissolved by the Presbytery of the District, June 2-1, 
 1836, that Dr. Post might accept a call to the Independent Con- 
 gregational Society of Charleston, in which city he died Sep- 
 tember 28, 1858. 
 
 After a brief supply of the pulpit by Rev. Addison Mines, 
 and the declining of a call by Rev. Wm. J. Armstrong, Rev. 
 W. McLain, of tiie New Haven Association, was installed Pas- 
 tor January 11, 1837, and continued with the Church until 
 
38 
 
 failing liealth made his resignation necessary in 1840. He con- 
 tinued in the service of the Presbytery as its Stated Clerk, and 
 also held the office of Secretary of the American Colonization 
 Society until his death, February 13, 1873. 
 
 Mr. McLain's ministry was followed by that of Rev, 
 Charles Rich, of the Hartford Association, wlio was installed 
 November 30, 1840, but who also resigned by reason of ill 
 health in the third year of his service. The pulpit was then sup- 
 plied for a time by Rev. C. H. Noursb and others. In the fall 
 of the' same year Rev. William T. Sprole, of the Presbytery of 
 Harrisburg, was installed, remaining with the Church until his 
 appointment as Chaplain to the United States Military Academy 
 in 1847, after whicii date, at tlieir own request, the congregation 
 were supplied by Presbyterian appointments until the installation 
 of Rev. Elisha Ballejsttyne, of Prince Edward county, Vir- 
 ginia, March 1st, 1848, who also resigned on account of ill liealth 
 in 1851. His people at his departure manifested their regret and 
 their esteem for his services by the outward token of a purse of 
 2,000 dollars presented through Dr. William Gunton, President 
 of the Boai-d of Trustees. He died suddenly at Blooraington, 
 Indiana, in 1886. 
 
 During these pastorates the Church was steadily strengthened; 
 the attendance on the pulpit ministrations was always that of a 
 large and interested audience; several revivals were granted, re- 
 minding the friends of the Church of the older seasons of such 
 blessings. The Sabbath School, with its organized Juvenile Mis- 
 sionary Society, was sustained by an etiicient corps of faithful 
 teachers, and a mission work begun in a distant section of the 
 city. Among the pew-holders were Presidents Polk and Pierce, 
 Senators Benton, Buclianan, Wriglit and others, Hon, E. Whit- 
 telsey, Judge Collamer and General Cass. 
 
 The three elders named as laboring for the founding of the 
 Church lived to see their hopes realized ; several of them through 
 its prosperity of twenty-five years. Among those of long ser- 
 vice are the names of Mr. James Moore, serving till 1853 ; Mr. 
 Andrew Covle, till 1855 ; Mrs. W. H. Campbell, 1840 till 1881 ; 
 Mr.LEONiDAs CoYLE, 1841 till 1866, 
 
 The present Pastor, Rev. Byron Sunderland, D. D., was 
 unanimously elected, and installed April 21, 1853, his ministry 
 
39 
 
 now reaching through a period exceeding thirty- four years. Soon 
 after liis settlement an increased attendance made it necessary 
 that the Church building be reconstructed by adding to its height, 
 extending it to the rear of its grounds, elevating the audience 
 room, and making a new front. Its sitting capacity, with its gal- 
 leries, is now 1,000. 
 
 The re-dedication, December 9, 1860, was by the services of 
 the venerable Dr. Spring in the morning. Rev. C. H. Read in the 
 afternoon, and Rev. J. Jejstkins at night : these three Ministers 
 representing thus the Old School, the New School, and the South- 
 ern Churches of that day. 
 
 The Church property is valued at $75,000, Friends outside 
 and within the congregation presented the residence of the Pastor 
 to him as a token of their esteem for his services. Invited in 
 1864—5 by the American and Foreign Christian Union to take 
 charge of the American Chapel in Paris, Dr. Sunderland was 
 acting pastor of that Church on the Rue de Berri for about sev- 
 enteen months, his people supplying their pulpit. 
 
 Since the year 1860, and until recently, several causes have 
 operated to bring some embarrassment to this Church. The 
 first was one which has a like histoiy in all cities — the removal 
 of a number of members from the immediate neighborhood ; a 
 further witlidrawal occurring in 1866 by disaffection at the deliv- 
 ery by Mr. Frederick Douglass of a lecture in the Church. 
 
 By this the harmony of the congregation was impaired and the 
 Church lost many of her members ; fidelity to truth also compels 
 the record, that many of those who had insisted on the delivery, 
 and promised from it the best results, were among those who 
 afterwards withdrew. The union of the Old School and the 
 New, in 1870, still further added to the former losses by the 
 change of membership on the part of those who now felt them- 
 selves equally at home in other organizations nearer to them. 
 
 Notwithstanding these embarrassments experienced equally by 
 no other of our city Churches, the First Presbyterian of to-day 
 is strong and harmonious in its various activities, and is exerting 
 a commanding influence on prominent men attending its worship. 
 Its roll numbers 300, 43 having been received in 1886; its Sab- 
 bath Schools number 368 ; its contributions to our different Church 
 agencies have exceeded $6,500. 
 
The F Street Church of 1803 and the Second Presbyterian 
 of 1820, united in the New York Avenue. 
 
 The F Street Church, 1803. 
 
 Altliongli tlie orig'iiijil organization here was not under one 
 of our Pi-eshyteiies, it lield to essentially the same doctrines 
 and polity under the Associate liefortned Body. The ear- 
 liest of its sessional records were hnrned with tlie Treasury huild- 
 ing in 1829. Thosi- heginuing in 1819 state that in May, 1821, 
 when a union was effected in Philadelphia between the General 
 Assembly of the Presl)yterian Church and the Associate Re- 
 foi-med Body in the United States, the Presl)ytery of the Asso- 
 ciate Reformed was ordered to be thenceforth designated the 
 Second Presbytery of Piiiladelphia; and, that at a meeting of 
 the Synod of Piiiladelphia in 1S23, the F Street Church was or- 
 dered to be enrolled in the Presbytery of the District of Co- 
 lumbia. 
 
 The Church had been formed in 1803. In March of that year, 
 a numl)er of Christians of the Associate Reformed Body, who 
 had removed to Washington when it became the seat of Govern- 
 ment, invited the Rev. James Laurie, of Edinburgh, then visiting 
 them, on the recommendation of Dr. John Mason, of New York, 
 to assist them in gathering a congregation ; Dr. Laurie was in- 
 stalled Pastor in the year following. The city was, as yet, with 
 scarcely an inhabitant or dwelling. Mr. Laurie was accustomed 
 to relate that, when on his way thither, he had asked his driver 
 how far off it M^as, he received the answer, " Sir, we have been 
 driving t/uong/i it for two honTs^ 
 
 The friends of tlie organization could not report a rapid 
 growth of the Church membership, but at the time of their union 
 with the Presbytery of the Disti-ict, the Session record that 
 " amid many difficulties and discouragements the Church had 
 been kept alive ; " and they express the hope that it " would 
 prosper long after they would be gathered to their fatliers." 
 The present state of their legacy demonstrates anew the un- 
 changing fidelity of God to His covenanting people. 
 
 The support of Mr. Laurie from his congregation l)eing insuf- 
 ficient, he held for a long time a position in the Register's office, 
 Treasury Department. He travelled North and South, collecting 
 
41 
 
 funds for the erection of the Church, having at tlie first occupied 
 for divine service a room in the Treasury building. In 1815 he 
 received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Williams College, 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 His pastorate, like those of his friends, Dr. Balch, and Dr. 
 Harrison of the First Church, Alexandria, extended over a long 
 period; his for fifty-three years. April 10th, 1853, at a Com- 
 munion season, he alluded very feelingly to his approaching 
 decease, saying, " The time cannot be far off," and adding, as he 
 leaned over his pulpit, almost in a whisper, " I feel it." On the 
 Sabbath following he sent word to his choir the request to sing 
 the hymn, '' Jerusalem, my happy home," and in a few hours 
 closed a life of 75 years with the words, " It is well." He was 
 a preacher of the old regime, doctrinal, yet clear and affectionate, 
 his pastoral work also being remarkably tender and faithful to 
 all. The Session of 1853 record their deep sense of the loss of 
 one of the best pastoi's and best of citizens. 
 
 The original elders were Joseph Nourse, John McGowan, and 
 Alexander McDonald. A number of the officers of the Gov- 
 ernment were the early friends and members of this Church. 
 
 During the later years of Dr. Laurie's ministry the following 
 co-Pastors were successively elected to that office : Rev. Septimus 
 Tustin, 1839 to 1845; Rev. Ninian Bannatyne, from 1845 to 
 1848, the year of his lamented death ; Rev. L. H. Christian, 1850 ; 
 and Rev. D. X. Junkin, in the same year, remaining until his 
 resignation and appointment as Chaplain in U. S. Navy in 1853. 
 March 2, 1854, Rev. Phineas D. Gurley was installed Pastor by 
 the Presbytery of Baltimore, under his ministry the union be- 
 tween the F Street and the Second Presbyterian Church was hap- 
 pily effected. The history of this Church therefore finds its next 
 place here. 
 
 The Second Presbyterian Church of 1820. 
 The sessional records of this organization, dated May 9, 1820, 
 state that, under the advisement of the Presbytery of Baltimore, 
 forty-one persons, whose names appear on the record, then formed 
 themselves into a congregation. On the 13tli of October follow- 
 ing Rev. J. T. Russel constituted the Church, its first Elders be- 
 ing Messrs. John Craven and Joseph Brumley. June 6, 1821, 
 Rev. Daniel Baker, of the Presbytery of Winchester, was elected 
 
42 
 
 Pastor. His work, which was one of largely-extended usefulness, 
 was closed by liis resignation to accept a call, 1828, to the Inde- 
 pendent Presl)yteriaii Church of Savannah, when the pulpit was 
 declared vacant by Eev. Dr. Post, March 30, 1828. 
 
 After Rev. Luther Halsey, of Princeton, had declined a subse- 
 quent call by the Church, Dr. .1. N. Campbell, of All)any, served 
 them as Stated Supply until the fall of 1830, from which last- 
 named date to the year 1845 they were under the short pastorates 
 successively of Revs. E. H. Smith, P. H. Fowler, George "Wood, 
 R. W. Clark, W. W. Eels, and J. Knox, after whom the pulpit 
 was filled by temporary supplies only until the call in 1849 to 
 Rev. James R. Eckard. His useful pastorate closed in 1853. 
 A short supply by Rev. J. D. Mattliews followed, the Church hav- 
 ing transferred its relation under Dr. Eckard from the Presbytery 
 of the District to the Presbytery of Baltimore. 
 
 From the date of this transfer the pulpit was supplied by Rev, 
 Dr. James G. Hamner until the union with the F Street Church, 
 
 The Union of July 30, 1859, 
 
 was a most necessary and useful result, not only as effecting the 
 basis of a more successful and permanent church work than 
 could be expected from the past experience or the existing state 
 of either of the two churches, but as terminating, in the case of 
 the Second Church, a long series of struggles to secure entire 
 unity of action among devout and zealous workers. From the 
 good old days of Daniel Baker's lamented resignation of the 
 pastorate this lack of unity was apparent. It grew chiefly out 
 of too rigid an adherence to things in church polity not essen- 
 tial to true prosperity. The details of this need not be quoted 
 here from the church rec^ords. The building originally occupied 
 was one of the most unpretending character ; yet, under the 
 blessing of God, it had been the birth-place of many souls. Dr. 
 Baker's ministry, especially, was one of marked success. His 
 devoted spirit manifested itself through the whole of his pasto- 
 rate — a spirit which afterwards made his name so revered in the 
 Southwest as the winner of souls for his Master. Among his 
 first trustees were President Adams and Secretary Southard. 
 Mr. Adams was a regular attendant, for a long time taking a 
 lively interest in the church. He loaned to it, when under dif- 
 
43 
 
 ficulty, a sum of mouey conditionaliy on receiving no interest. 
 President Jackson was, for a time, a pew-holder. 
 
 At the date of the union with the present N. Y. Avenue 
 Church the Elders were Michael Nourse, Charles Sto^t, John M, 
 McCalla, and William Waller. At a communion service Octo- 
 ber 14, 1859, seventy -four members united, Ity certificate, with 
 the F Street Church. The Presbytery of Potomac then struck 
 from its rolls the separate names of the two former organizations. 
 This action resulted in the selling of the building upon F street 
 and the erection of a fine edifice on New York avenue, on a lot 
 which the Second Church had previously owned. A strong 
 church of wealth, enterprise, and zeal w;is developed, through 
 which Presbyterianism enlarged its borders in the National Cap- 
 ital. From it a colony went out, in 1865, and established the 
 North Pi-esbyterian Church. Next came the establishment of 
 the Gurley Mission, and, later, another mission in the southern 
 part of the city. 
 
 New York Avenue Church. 
 
 Dr. Gurley, who had l)een largely instrumental in securing the 
 Union, now merged his pastorate of the F Street Church into 
 that of the united congregations. His ministry, in Washington, 
 of 14 years, was closed l)y death Septem])er 30, 1868. A man 
 of God, of deep piety and usefulness, his labors had justly placed 
 him at the head of some of the most important committees of the 
 whole churiih of which lie was the guiding officer as Moderator 
 of tbe Assembly of 1867. He had been the confidential friend 
 of more than one of our Presidents ; he was the friend and pas- 
 tor of President Lincoln, enjoyed the love and confidence of that 
 great and good man, whose death-bed he attended, the family and 
 Cabinet of whom he comforted, whose funeral services, in the 
 East Room of the Executive Mansion, he conducted, and whose 
 remains he accompanied to their quiet resting-place in Illinois. 
 He was, also, chaplain, for a number of years, of the House of 
 Representatives: Among his last words at the close of a linger- 
 ing and most painful disease, was a new message of love to his 
 people, and an expression of like spirit to the brethren around 
 his bed : " I love you all." 
 
 In November, 1869, Rev. S. S. Mitchell, of Harrisburg, was 
 
44 
 
 installed pastor, and at his release in 1878, to accept a call to the 
 Reformed Church in Brooklyn, liev. J. K. Faxton was installed, 
 and remained witli the Church until February 19, 1882. 
 
 The present Pastor, Dr. William Alvin Bartlett was installed 
 October 24th of the same year. 
 
 The prosperity of this church which holds so important a posi- 
 *tion at the capital continues to be of a very marked character. 
 Tlie Sessional report for the year ending March 10, 1887, records a 
 larger attendance during the year and a greater number of its 
 members engaged in some branch of its activities than at any 
 previous date of its liistory. The membership had been increased 
 by 73 names ; 68 on profession : the total num!)er 831. Vacan- 
 cies caused hv dismissions during the past two years of the large 
 number who chiefly formed the new "Cburcli of the Covenant" 
 had been almost immediately more than tilled. Totals of contri- 
 butions to the nine Boards of the Assembly footed up nearly 
 $2,000 ; those for other benevolent agencies $5,200 ; and the ag- 
 gregate of receipts by the Trustees, Session, and the different 
 societies of the church work, $27,115. Improvements placed 
 upon the building and on the Manse had cost $12,000. The es- 
 timated value of all the properties held by the Trustee is in 
 excess of $100,000. 
 
 The spiritual prosperity of the Church is received as the answer 
 to the prayers of Pastor and people on the ministrations of the 
 pulpit and on pastoral visitations. The number of societies 
 working in tlie Church itself and in the missions of Bethan}'' 
 Chapel and Gurley Mission attests also tlie good spirit which, 
 under God's blessing, prevails. 
 
 Church Officers. — Pastor, William Alvin Bartlett, D. D., 
 1201 K street. The Manse ; Elders, C. B. Bailey, H. A. Claugh- 
 ton, S. L. Crissey, J. W. Foster, S. F. Phillips, N. A. Robbins, 
 J. Randolph, C. B. Walker, H. H. Wells; Deacotis, F. O. Beckett, 
 C. H. Merwin, L. S. Emery, C. E. Foster, J. R. Imbrie, P. F. 
 Earner, C. S. Bradley, R. P. A. Denham, B. Taylor, W. B. Gurley, 
 J. D, McChesney, J. R. Van Meter; Sitperlntendent of Church 
 Sab hath- School, J. R. VanMeter; Superintendent of Gurley 
 Mission Sahhath- School, N. A. Rol)bins ; Trustees, J. P. Chap- 
 man, L. Clephane, W. Thompson, N. D. Larner, J. W. Thomp- 
 son, J. W. Douglas, W. M. Gait, B. H. Warner. 
 
The Fourth Church, gth Street, 1828. 
 
 The organization of this Church was the result of some dissatis- 
 faction entertained, by tneml)ers of the old " Second Church," 
 with the means alleged to have been eluployed in the election of 
 a successor to the Rev. Daniel Baker, at the time of his resigna- • 
 tion of the pastorate, 1828. The objections, it is believed, wei-e 
 chiefly against the use of 2')roxies. October 29th of that year, 
 twenty-three of these members, meeting at the liouse of Mr. 
 Jacob Gideon, associated themselves in a new organization to l)e 
 known as " the Central Presbj'terian Society," the Rev. Joshua 
 N. Danforth to be their Pastor and Mr. David M. Wilson their 
 Ruling Elder. In January 1829, they were enrolled under the 
 care of the Presbytery of the District as " the Fourth Presby- 
 terian Church," and leave granted them to employ the services 
 of Rev. Mr. Danforth, who was received in April of the year 
 following from tlie Presbytery of Newcastle. Their first churcli 
 building was a very unpretending one, on the east side of the 
 street on which tiie present house stands. It was dedicated 
 March 1st of the preceding year. Rev. John Breckenridge, of 
 Kentucky, officiating. 
 
 The ministry of Mr. Danforth was much blessed, extending to 
 the year 1832, when Rev. Mason Noble was installed, under 
 whose ministry the church was further enlarged in nund)ers, and 
 its influence extended in the city. On the release of Mr. Noble 
 Sept., 11 1889, to accept a call to the Eleventh Church in New 
 York, the pulpit was supplied by Rev. J. L. Bartlett until, 
 in September of the same year, having made a unanimous 
 call to Rev. John C. Smith, of the Bridge -street, George- 
 town, he was installed by the Presbytery of the District. 
 Dr. Smith's ministry extended through the long period of 
 nearly forty years. It was one of fruitful increase to tlie 
 membership and influence of the Church. His previous expe- 
 riences in the service of the " Domestic Missionary Society 
 of Richmond, and his pastoral work in Portsmouth, Virginia, 
 and in Georgetown had been characterized by the same spirit 
 of devout consecration that now showed itself through the 
 whole period of his labors for the Fourth Church. Declining a 
 
46 
 
 call to a pastorate in Philadelphia, Dr. Smith entered on a most 
 active work to promote the spiritual state of his new charge. A 
 series of meetings, protracted through months of solicitude, re- 
 sulted in the addition of nearly fifty new members. 
 
 Tlie increase of the congregation early demanded the erection 
 of a larger liouse of worslnp, the corner-stone of which was laid 
 «June 24, 184:0, and the Church dedicated free from debt on the 
 20th of June, of the year following. On that occasion. Rev. 
 Edward Kirk, of Boston, Rev. John Mines and Rev. William 
 McLain assisted tlie Pastor. Early in Dr. Smith's Ministry he 
 arranged a plan of Pastoral Visitation by wliicli he faitlifully 
 visited every family in the Church three times in the year ; refer- 
 ring to which, in a sermon to his people in 1845, he said : " My 
 " l)ooks will show that I have carefully executed my plan ; I can 
 " tell where I have been and what I have been doing for the last 
 " twenty-five years ; I am going to the judgment seat of Christ 
 " with these records. I renew to-day my consecration." Wiien 
 the late war began and the national troops were arriving in the 
 city, he immediately took liis stand for the Union. 
 
 He made the duties of the hour the subject of a special appeal 
 to his people, and soon entered on the additional labors of visit- 
 ing the sick and wounded in the different hospitals of the city. 
 
 Disabled partially from the active duties of the pulpit daring 
 the years immediately preceding his death, he enlisted the ser- 
 vices of Rev. Joseph T. Kelly, as co-Pastor, who entered on these 
 duties May 5, 187-4, and succeeded to the full pastorate at the 
 death of Dr. Smith, Jan'y 23, 1878. 
 
 Church Record. 
 Organized 24th November, 1828. Pastors and Stated Sup- 
 plies: Rev. J. N. Danforth, S. S., from organization to April, 
 1832; Rev. Mason Noble, Pastor, from June, 1832, to 11th Sep- 
 tember, 1839 ; Rev. John C. Smith, Pastor, 27th September, 1839, 
 to 23d January, 1878 ; Rev. J. T. Kelly, Pastor, 5th May, 1874. 
 Elders — Class of 1889 — Robert S. Jordan, Daniel McFarlan, 
 Thomas McGill; — Class of 1888 — Joseph A. Sterling, John B. 
 Sleman ; — Class of 1887 — Henry J. Hunt. Joseph A.Sterling, 
 Clerk; Robert S. Jordan, Treasurer. Trustees — D. P. Wol- 
 haupter, Frank L. Middleton, John A. Prescott, Robert H. 
 Harkness, John W. Hollyday. 
 
The Fifteenth Street Church. --1841. 
 
 This Church was founded in the labors and prayers of Elder 
 D. M. Wilson, formerly of the Second Presbyterian organiza- 
 tion, and those of Rev. John F. Cook. Mr. Cook was hopefully 
 converted in tiie prayer meetings held through Mr. Wilson's in-- 
 strumentality, and following the example and efforts of Mr. Wil- 
 son, who was among the first to labor for the religious good of 
 the colored people of Washington, began in 1842 to gather his 
 friends in a Sabbath School on H and Fourteenth Street, enlist- 
 ing them in the hope, also, of organization as a Church. This 
 was effected May 14, 1S42, b}' an enrollment on the lists of 
 the Presl)ytery of the District of Columbia, as " the First 
 Colored Presbyterian Church of Washington." 
 
 Forty communicants of this organization worshipped in 
 " Cook's school-house, " at the location just named, until they 
 were enabled by the assistance of the First, Second and Fourth 
 Churches to build a small frame on the site of their present 
 Church. Rev, J. C. Smith was from the first their warm friend 
 and helper by his counsels and contributions. He preached the 
 sermon at the ordination and installation of Mr. Cook, July 14, 
 1843. 
 
 The narratives of the Church, embodied in the report of the 
 Presbytery to the General Assembly in 1849 and 1853, speak 
 most encouragingly of the growth and prospects of the people, 
 the erection of their present edifice on Fifteenth Street having 
 been then begun. 
 
 The congregation under Mr. Cook's labors had very largely 
 increased, but the faithful pastor was worn down by the efforts 
 made for his Church while at the same time eno-aged in the lal)or- 
 ious daily duties of, a teacher. He was called to his reward in 
 the year 1855. 
 
 From this date. Revs. W. Catto, in ,1858, and B. F. Tanner, 
 in 1861, were installed Pastors, and the Church, in 1864, becom- 
 ing vacant, was supplied for several months chiefly l)y Rev. W. 
 B. Evans, until the installation of Mr. H. H. Garnett, whose 
 pastoral relation was dissolved October 3, 1866. After the 
 stated supply by Rev. J. H. Muse, Rev. Sella Martin was Pas- 
 
48 
 
 tor from December 27, 1868, to February 18, 1870, when 
 the Church again becoming vacant was regularly supplied by 
 Dr. S. Tustin until the settlement of Rev. G. VanDeurs in 1874, 
 followed by that of ^ev. J. Brown, 1875, and F. J. Grimke, 
 1878 to 1885. 
 
 After Mr. Grimke's resignation in 1885, the pulpit was filled 
 l>y Rev. C. H. A. Buckley, D. D., one of the Professors of 
 Howard University, by appointment of Presbytery Moderator, 
 also of the Session. January 18, 1887, Rev. J. R. Riley, of 
 Louisville, Kentucky, was installed, Rev. Dr. Bartlett preaching 
 the sermon ; the charges to Pastor and people being delivered by 
 Rev. Dr. Sunderland and Rev. J, E. Nourse. 
 
 The Report of this charge to the General Assembly of 1887 
 gives a roll of 210 meml)ers ; of the Sal)l)ath School an equal 
 number. Total of moneys raised during the year for congrega- 
 tional and benevolent agencies, $1,638. The Church holds an 
 important position as the only one among our colored people in 
 Washington under the influence of the educated Ministry of our 
 Church. Its Pastors have been men of sound theological train- 
 ing. Its influence may be expected to be that of solid principles 
 and warm piety among a large membership and attendance. 
 
 The pastorate was again vacated December 28, '87. 
 
 Elders^ David Fisher, II. F. Grant, James Meriwether, Henry 
 W. Lee. 
 
 Trustees^ F. J. Shadd, F. L. Cardoza, W. D. Montague, Joseph 
 Morrison, Aaron Russell, J. T. Gaskins, J. R. Francis, W. T. 
 Crusor, W. A. Stuart. 
 
 The building on 15th street was erected and furnished largely 
 by the aid of our other Churclies here. It holds a central and 
 commanding position, and is worth over $55,000. 
 
The Assembly Church, March 9, 1853, 5th and I Streets. 
 
 The present name of this Church was" authorized by the Pres- 
 bytery of the District of Columbia, in 1855, in commemoration 
 of the previous meeting of the General Assembly (N. S.), in 
 Washirio-ton. It had been enrolled in 1853 as the Fifth Church. 
 
 For months previous to its organization, prayer meetings had 
 been continuously held l)y Elder D. M. Wilson of the Fourth 
 Church, sustained by the hearty support of his Pastor, Rev. J. 
 C. Smith, and by the labors of Messrs. Stansbury, Bogan, and 
 Clements, members of that Church. Tlie organization embraced 
 but 20 members over whom Rev. Andrew G. Carothers was in- 
 stalled Pastor, and Messrs. John Douglas and John T. Clements 
 Ruling Elders. 
 
 Contributions for the new church were received from 22 States 
 of the Union. 
 
 In November, I860, Mr. Carother s^'health failing him, he was 
 released to seek restoration in a Southern climate, but died in 
 1863, on the Island of Martinique, W. I. 
 
 In May of the year following, Rev. Thaddeus B. McFalls, who 
 had been received by the Presl)ytery from the Methodist Epis- 
 copal body, was installed as Mr. Carothers' successor, but his 
 health also failing he was released December 10, 1867. His 
 strength had been much impaired by his services as Chaplain 
 during the war ; he died in Washington, at the early age of 38, 
 May 22, 1873, having fulfilled most faithfully the services also 
 of Stated Clerk of the Pi-esbytery from its organization of the 
 consolidated body in 1870. 
 
 After the brief pastorate of Rev. Wm. Hart, 1868 to 1870, a 
 union was effected October 5th of that year, under Dr. Cliarles 
 Boynton, then Pastor of " the Central Congregational Church " 
 on Slth street, between the members of that Cliurch (then dis- 
 banded) and those of the Assembly's. 
 
 Dr. Boynton was installed over the united congregation, and 
 remained with it until his release to accept a call to Cincinnati 
 in 1873. 
 
 The present pastor. Rev. George O. Little, was called by the 
 Church June 1 of the last-named year. 
 
50 
 
 The Annual Keport presented in the Church Manual for 1887 
 states that, under God's blessing, long experienced harmony and 
 activity in Cluirch work continues; the financial condition of the 
 Church l)eing also in advance of that of previous years. The 
 membership reported to the Assembly is 337. Contributions to 
 the various Church agencies exceed $1,000; the columns for our 
 Boards in the minutes of the Assembly l)eing all well tilled. The 
 Sabbath-School roll sliows a membership of 357; 57 of the scholars 
 being church members. The attendance of the scholars on tlie 
 pulpit administrations was an average of 58 per cent, of the 
 whole number. The Library of the School, under the care of 
 Mr. James C. S trout, is probably the model for its keeping, and 
 its records show the number of volumes to be 2,361. 
 
 Officers. — Rev. Geo. O. Little, Pastor. Elders: W. J. Red- 
 strake, L. Holtzlander, Chas. Lyman, N. B. Bartlett, Thos. P. 
 Keene, O. B. Brown. Deacons : F. L. Campbell, L. C. Wil- 
 liamson. Trustees: Thomas R. Senior, W. M, Boyd, A. M. 
 McBath, L. C. Williamson, Chas. M. Robinson, Christian Dickey ; 
 Geo. H. Read, Treasurer. 
 
Sixth Church — March 30, 1853. 
 
 The Church organization was the fruit of the abundant labors 
 of JRev. Mason Noble, who held in 1851 a series of prayer-meet- 
 ings in private residences in South Washington, chieHj in those 
 of Messrs. Knight, Hercus, and Thompson. 
 
 Tliese meetings gave such promise as to call for public Sab- 
 l)ath services, which were held first August 28, 1852, in " Island 
 Hall;" a Sabbath-School of 50 members being also opened. Jan- 
 uai-y 23, 1853, at a meeting presided over bj Dr. Noble, 32 
 members were enrolled, electing Mr. John Knight Ruling Elder • 
 and on the second Sabbath of February, at the first Communion 
 service, these were joined in fellowship by members of First, 
 Second, and Fourth Churches. 
 
 Dr. Noble, though unable to accept installation, by reason of 
 his position as Chaplain in the United States Navy, served the 
 Church in the full ministrations of his office from the date named 
 until 1855, and resumed his labors on his return from sea duty, 
 1858 to 1862 ; and again from 1870 to his lamented death, Octo- 
 ber 24, 1881. 
 
 During his first absence the pulpit depended on the Supply by 
 Rev. B. F. Morris. Rev. Geo. H. Smyth was Pastor, 1864 to 
 1869; and Rev. Geo. P. Noble, Stated Supply from 1869 until 
 Dr. Noble's second return from sea duty. Dr. Noble's labors 
 were abundantly blessed, and the Church under his successors, 
 though composed of members in moderate circumstances only, 
 has kept its good standing in the community. His name is 
 much revered. 
 
 Rev. Frank H. Burdick, September 27, 1882, was elected 
 Pastor, and installed 23d April, 1884, resigning in 1887. 
 
 The present Pastor, Rev. Scott F. Hershey, Ph. D., was in- 
 stalled October 5, 1887. 
 
 The roll of Communicants numbers 165 ; Sabbath-School, 150; 
 value of Church, property and manse, $40,000. 
 
 Officers. — Rev. Scott F. Hershey, Ph. D., Pastor. Elders : 
 Ros. A. Fish, Jacob De Pue, Geo. C. Hercus. Trustees ; 
 Charles B. Pearson, Ros. A. Fish, Wra. A. Thompson, Jno. G. 
 Thompson, Clark B. Philips, Jas. C. Lee, Howard S. Reeside, 
 
^Vestminste^ Church, June 14, 1853. 
 
 In his historical discourse, delivered October 3, 1886, by tlie 
 Pastor of this Cliurcli, Rev. Dr. Benjamin F. Bittinger, he 
 speaks tlins of its founding : 
 
 " In the year 1851, certain friends interested in Church exten- 
 sion, and principally connected with the F Street Church, hati 
 their attention directed to the growling population of this section 
 of the city, as an inviting field for the establishment of a Church 
 holding our doctrines and conforming to our form of worship and 
 government. Among these were Bev. James Laurie, D. D., and 
 Rev. David X. Junkin, D. D., Pastors of tlie F Street Church ; 
 Rev. John M. P. Atkinson, D. D., Pastor of the Bridge Street 
 Church, Georgetown, D. C; and Messrs. Charles Stott, F. A. 
 Tschiffely, Edward M. Clarke, and Gilbert Cameron, membei's 
 of the F Street Church. 
 
 " After examination of the field and consultation among these 
 gentlemen, it was decided to bring the matter to the notice of 
 the Presbytery of Baltimore, who gave their sanction and prom- 
 ised co-operation and aid in conducting the enterprise. 
 
 " At first, religious services were held in the Columbia Engine 
 House, near the Capitol, in the morning of the Sabbatli, and in 
 Potomac Hall, corner of Eleventh street and Mar^dand avenue, 
 at night. The congregations gradually grew in numbers, a Sab- 
 bath-School was gathered, and on the 14th of June, 1853, a 
 Church was organized, under the name and title of the Seventh 
 Street Church, of Washington City. The name was suggested 
 by the fact that the site chosen for the erection of a Church 
 edifice was on that street ; the site being generously donated 
 by Mr. Charles Stott. In December, 1873, by a vote of the con- 
 gregation, approved by the Presbytery, this name was changed 
 to Westminster, by which, as an incorporated body, it is now 
 known and called." 
 
 Mr. Isaac H. Wailes and Mr. John K. Woods were elected the 
 first Elders ; Mr. E. Lycett and Mr. E. M. Clark, deacons. Two 
 years afterwards, Mr. Wailes having died, Dr. J. D. Stewart 
 and Messrs. Daniel Davidson and Alexander Garden were elected. 
 
53 
 
 Pastors and Stated Supplies. 
 
 Rev. John M. Henry, installed in 1853, was released bj reason 
 of ill health, in 1855, having by his consecrated zeal and devotion 
 endeared himself to his people. His pastorate was succeeded by 
 the brief service of Rev. E. B. Clegliorn, following whom, 
 Rev. Dr. B. F. Bittinger, then Pastor of the Church at Lewins- 
 ville, Virginia, accepted a call and was installed March 12, 1857. 
 The pulpit becoming again vacant by his removal to Ellicott's 
 Mills, in June, 1863, Rev. William Y. Brown and Rev. W. W. 
 Campbell were successively its Stated Supplies, the latter of 
 whom was installed Pastor in 1865 ; on his release, 1867, Dr. 
 Bittinger was again invited, and was installed January 5, 1868. 
 
 Though not maintained by a wealthy congregation the work 
 of the Church has received a very marked influence through the 
 liberality of its membership and friends, as shown by their out- 
 lays, at different periods, on improvements of tlie building and 
 the purchase of the Manse, 638 F Street S.W. 
 
 The collections of the Mite Society alone have reached the 
 sum of $11,000. The Church properties, valued at $15,000, are 
 entirely free from debt. Regularity of attendance on the min- 
 istrations of the pulpit and the interest shown in the different 
 branches of the work of the Church commend themselves to the 
 people. The whole pastoral relation manifestly has been, and 
 is, productive of permanent growth. In Dr. McFall's MSS., he 
 writes: "Dr. Bittinger has been very successful in his present 
 " charge. He has an intelligent and devoted people who are 
 " ready to assist him in his plans of usefulness." From its first 
 organization the Church has received to its membership 415 per- 
 sons ; 212 by profession. Number reported to the Assembly of 
 1887, 151 ; of Sabbath School scholars, 165. The columns 
 given in the minutes, for contributions to the Boards, are all 
 filled. 
 
 Officers of the Church. — Pastor^ Benjamin F. Bittinger, D, 
 D., 638 F street S.W. (The Manse) ; Ruling Elders, Alexander 
 Garden, Daniel D. Davidson, Charles B. Church, Abraham 
 Depue ; Deacons^ Samuel W. K. Handy, Thomas Taylor ; Trus- 
 tees : Joseph M. Wilson, President ; J. Whitley Herron, Secre- 
 tary ; Abraham Depue, Treasurer ; David E. Holmes, Albert 
 G. Yount, Lawrence H. Hopkins, William A. H. Church, Oliver 
 O. Spicer, George Messer. 
 
The Western Presbyterian Church. — 1855. 
 
 This Church, like the Assembly's and the Fifteenth Street, 
 owes its foundation under God to the devoted labors of Elder 
 David M. Wilson, of the Fourth Church. As early as 1848, 
 witli the experience gained by this servant of the Master in the 
 Sabbath-School, the Tract and the Bible cause, he commenced 
 missionary laljors in the " First Ward," holding prayer-meetings 
 first in private houses near the Old Glass House, and next at a 
 Chapel erected near the corner of 22d and E streets. A Sabbath- 
 School was opened and two weekly services held. The work 
 meeting with the Divine favor, as shown by a number of liopeful 
 conversions, application was early made to the Presbytery for the 
 organization of a Church, and in April, 1854, an invitation was 
 extended to Rev. T. N. Haskell, of the Union Theological Sem- 
 inary, to become the Pastor. He preached his first sermon May 
 14 of the same year. 
 
 In August the corner-stone of a house of worship was laid 
 Rev. Drs. Smith and Sunderland ofiiciating, and pledging with 
 others their hearty support. January 13 a formal organization 
 was made, twenty-four members being enrolled, about one-half 
 by certificate from the Fourth Church, the rest on profession. 
 Rev. Mr. Haskell was elected Pastor and Mr. Wilson Ruling: 
 Elder. Mr. Haskell was ordained and installed in the month of 
 February. 
 
 The first trustees were Messrs. W. F. Steiger, A. W. Denham, 
 T. F. Harkness, and C. H. YanPatten. The new enterprise sus- 
 tained a most serious loss in the death (February 26, 1856) of 
 Elder Wilson, to whose memory is due the record of one of his 
 Pastors in the words, " He was the most heavenly-minded man I 
 ever knew." 
 
 The Church edifice was completed and dedicated June 17, 1857. 
 In the year succeeding, a season of gracious refreshing was en- 
 joyed, adding a number to the Communion of the Church. Rev. 
 T. N. Haskell resigned his pastorate May 11, 1858, and from this 
 date to April of the following year the pulpit was supplied prin- 
 cipally by Prof. Huntington, of Columbian College. 
 
 Rev. J. R. Bartlett, installed August 31, 1859, removed to the 
 
55 
 
 South at the beginning of the late war; in March, 1862, Rev. 
 J. N. Coorabs, who had been a Minister in the Methodist Church, 
 was received from that body and installed. The violent death of 
 Mr. Coombs, by his own hands, during a time of mental aberra- 
 tion, December 27, 1874, was a most lamented and serious 
 blow to the Cliurch. During liis pastorate, as many as 40 names 
 had been added to its mmnbership, and his Ministry and Presby- 
 terian services had been tliose of acknowledged devotion to the 
 work of the Master ; the building liad been remodeled and re- 
 furnished. Mr. Coombs' funeral services were largely attended. 
 By his amiable maimers and devoted zeal he had greatly en- 
 deared himself to the people and the community. 
 
 March 1, 1875, Rev. Dr. David Wills, of the Presbytery of 
 Marion, Georgia, was elected Pastor and installed. May 9th of that 
 year remaining until January 28, 1878. During his Ministry, Dr 
 Wills gave to his people a carefully prepared, and very interesting 
 history of the work of the Church from the time of its organizntion. 
 " Since that time 373 had been in its connection ; 188, received 
 ou profession. All of the first members except four had ' fallen 
 on sleep.' " Dr. Wills entered on the duties of Chaplain in the 
 United States Army ; he is now the Pastor of a Church in Phila. 
 delphia. 
 
 The present Pastor, Rev. T. S. Wynkoop, was installed Octo. 
 23, 1878. His work continues to be that of a Minister emincjntly 
 successful in pulpit Ministrations and Visitation among the peo- 
 ple. The Minutes of the Assembly show a large increase in the 
 power of the Church, which holds an important position as the 
 only one of our faith and order in this part of the city. 
 
 The roll of Communicants numbers 290, and the different or 
 ganizations for Church work prove its spiritual activity. 
 
 Additions during the year 1886, 21 ; the columns given to the 
 Boards of Church in the Minutes are each largely filled. 
 
 Officers. — Pastor^ Rev. T. S. Wynkoop ; Elders^ C. D. Drake, 
 J. W. Easby, W. H. H. Smith, J. T. Sweetman ; Beacons, L. 
 C. Denham, J. C. Allen, R. Armour, H. P. Catell, J. A. Wor- 
 tham, W. II. Pearson ; Trustees, G. H. Mcllhany, M. R. Throop^ 
 R. Armour, A. Webster, J. C. Allen, J. B. Lambie, C. F. Moore, 
 W. C. Bickford, J. J. Gregg. 
 
Metropolitan Presbyterian Church, Fourth and B Streets 
 
 Southeast. 
 
 Originally called the Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church, this 
 organization resulted from the earnest desire of a few active 
 Christians in tliat section of the city for a church based upon the 
 doctrines and form of government of our Westminster standards. 
 The growth of this section liad already begun, yet, since tlie re- 
 moval of the First Presl)yterian Church in 1827 to Four-and-a- 
 half street N.W., no efforts lind l)een nmde for the establishment 
 of a Presbyterian Chui-ch on the Hill until the visits of Rev. Dr. 
 John Chester in 1864. 
 
 Dr. Cliester's lirst services were held February 28, 1864, in a 
 school-building near Dudington Place, the attendants being ^5 
 in number. 
 
 Although started in tlie war times, the indications of Provi- 
 dence were so encouraging that, on the 11th of April, the Pres- 
 bytery of Potomac organized a church of 34 members, and 
 installed Dr. Chester as Pastor, Rev. Dr. Gurley preaching the 
 sermon, Drs. Tustin and Brown delivering the charges to the 
 people and Pastor. Mr. Chas. E. Latlirop and Mr. Robt. Leitch 
 were elected Elders, and Messrs. J. R. Arrison, J. T. Burchard, 
 and James Simpson, Deacons. 
 
 The organization was in a larger school-room, 3d and A streets 
 southeast. During the summer, by invitation of Hon. B. B. 
 Fi'ench, Commissioner of Public Buildings, the congregation 
 worshipped in the Capitol in the Rooms of the Post Office Com- 
 mittee of the House of Representatives. Large audiences at- 
 tended, and the Ordinances of Baptism and the Lord's Supper 
 were here administered. 
 
 February 12, 1865, the first frame Chapel, 30 x 50 feet, was 
 dedicated on the site of the present edifice, entirely free from 
 debt. Its materials had been prepared in Burlington, N. J., Dr. 
 Chester's former pastorate residence. Its cost with that of the 
 lot was $4,000. Meml)ers of the congregation and of other 
 Presl>yterian cluirches in Washington contributed this money. 
 A Sabbath School was begun in it February, 1865, with 210 
 scholars. This number, as well as that of the congregation, 
 
57 
 
 rapidly increasing, it soon became evident that a larger building 
 would be required ; in February, 1869, the corner-stone of the 
 present edifice was laid. 
 
 Tlie very marked success, which the favor of God had thus 
 shown to this work, now prompted the Presbytery of Potomac to 
 overture the General Asseml)ly to incorporate with the Church 
 the proceeds of the property on E Street, N.W., which had been 
 long held in the expectancy of establishing there a Metropolitan 
 Church. The transfer of this, valued at $27,000, was ordered 
 by the General Assembly of 1868. Long delays, however, oc- 
 curred in the course of this transfer and in the building of the 
 present edifice. The name of the Church was then changed to 
 that of the Metropolitan Presbyterian. 
 
 Deceml)er 8, 1872, the Dedication took place, and by the 
 Spring of 1878 the Pastor had the pleasure of announcing in a 
 historical discourse that the property was entirely free from 
 debt. At that date the organization of 1864 with 34 members, 
 had added 521 members, 255 on profession. 
 
 It has been made evident to the visitors to this Church during 
 the ten years which have pnssed since the delivery of this Pastor's 
 "Jubilee" sermon that no other people witliin the bounds of the 
 Presbytery have been more favored with seasons of refreshing 
 from on High. The additions which have been continuously 
 made to the membership have been the results of the regular 
 ministry of the pulpit and of pastoral visitations, which promise 
 more of solidity and permanence than from occasional extra 
 measures for reviving the work of God among His people and 
 among the unconverted. They have been numerous. The popu- 
 lation of the vicinity and its borders has also steadily increased 
 opening up the opportunity for the establishment of a Mission 
 further East, out of which a new enterprise is looked for. 
 
 By the generous donation, chiefly of the late General William 
 McK. Dunn, and under the care of the Presbyterian Alliance of 
 this city, a lot has been purchased for the future erection of a 
 Church ; a Mission Sal>bath-School, which originated under the 
 combined effort of the Metropolitan and Eastern Presbyterian 
 Churches, is now wholly maintained and conducted by the 
 Metropolitan Church. It is sufiicient testimony to the results of 
 the enterprise begun in 1864, that, at this day, under the bless 
 
58 
 
 ing of God, a colony can ])e spared for this new effort without 
 harming the Metropolitan Church. 
 
 The minutes of the General Assembly for 1887 show a roll of 
 members, 505, and of Sabl)ath scholars, 637. Columns of con- 
 tributions to tlie agencies of tho Assembly are all well tilled, the 
 total of moneys for all objects exceeding the sum of 8,500 dollars. 
 
 Officers. — Kev. John Chester, D. D., Pastor. Elders : E,. 
 Leitch, J. E.. Zimmerman, W. H. Barstow, J. Ridout, M. Van 
 Ness, John C. Baxter, Edie Pollock, Theodore Swazey. Deacons : 
 W. H. Clum, H. K. Simpson, J. H. O'Donnell, J. H. Beatty, 
 W. Dubois, F. Aldrich, G. P. Bohrer, W: T. Yan Doren. 
 Trustees : J. Ridout, J. Burrows, G. N. West, C. T. Stewart, 
 W. R. Russell, F. A. Grant, E. C. Fawcett, T. G. Jones, D. F. 
 McGowan. 
 
The North Church, 1865. 
 
 A number of members of the New York Avenue Church, 
 chiefly those residing in the section of the city formerly called 
 the Northern Liberties, having previously to the year 1865 in- 
 terested themselves in the work of a Sabbath-School, there pre- 
 sented to the Presbytery of Potomac the question of organizing 
 a Presbyterian Church. In reply, the Presbytery appointed Rev. 
 Wm. Y. Brown and Gen'l E. C. Carrington a Committee on this 
 subject, recommended that all the Presbyterian families of the 
 neighborhood should identify themselves with the enterprise, and 
 assured them of moral and material aid. 
 
 March 15, of the same year, at a meeting held in the school- 
 house, 10th and M streets, a fall conference of the representa- 
 tives of these families resulted in a request for aid from the Ses- 
 sion of the N. Y. Avenue Church to establish a Mission and 
 erect a building for a Sabbath-School and for prayer-meetings. 
 The chief promoters of the enterprise were Rev. Dr. Gurley and 
 Messrs. Kerr, Ballantyne, Shepherd, Tschiffeley, Winslow, Rams- 
 dell, Roberts, Musser, and Smith. They found a ready hearing 
 from the Session, which authorized the purchase of a lot, and the 
 employment of a Missionary. Under the care of Rev. L. R. Fox, 
 a Church of 23 members was organized Dec. 4th, and Mr. Fox 
 installed Pastor Dec. 31, 1865. A Church edifice, costing with, 
 its lots (N, between 9th and 10th streets N. W.) $8,750, had 
 been dedicated Dec. 3d. 
 
 Under the ministry of six years of Rev. Mr. Fox, 128 mem- 
 bers were added to the Con^munion, 36 on profession. The pas- 
 toral relation was dissolved Dec. 26, 1871. Under the succeed- 
 ing Pastorates of Rev. J. G. Mason, Oct. 24, 1872, to Dec. 28, 
 1874, 47 members were received ; 21 on profession. 
 
 The present Pastor, Rev. Chas. B. Ramsdell, was installed by 
 the Presbytery of Washington City, Dec. 13, 1875 ; since which 
 date 253 members bave been received; 122 by profession. The 
 whole number of the membership has thus resulted in an aggre- 
 gate of 457 ; of whom 182, on profession. In 1878 the original 
 building was much enlarged at the cost of $5,000. The total 
 
60 
 
 value of the property is estimated at $26,500, and is wholly free 
 from debt. 
 
 At present, the Church is sustained by voluntary contributions, 
 finding this system preferable to the former methods of pew rents. 
 S_ystematic benevolence lias been lately reintroduced with good 
 results. The seating capacity of the Church is about 500 ; its 
 lot lai"ge enough to admit the erection of a suitable front for a 
 much needed lecture and Sunday-School room. The roll of 
 communicants numbers 150; of Sabbath-School members, 202. 
 
 Officers of the Church. — Pastor, Rev. Charles B. Ramsdell. 
 Kiders, Samuel Ker, J. P. Jones, John L. Brown, C, H. Car- 
 rington, J. B. Linton. Deacons, George McKimmie, George J. 
 Davis, Samuel J. Armstrong. Trustees, C. B. Rarnsdell, R. 
 Duryee, John G. Townsend, E. H. Chamberlin, Walter M. Pum- 
 phrey, Charles T. Caldwell, R. W. Hobson. 
 
Eastern Presbyterian Church, Eighth Street, 1875. 
 
 The Church owes its founding to the blessing of God upon an 
 awakening in 1871, in Dr. Smith's Church, Ninth Street, of a 
 renewed interest in the cause of Home Missions, which took the 
 direction of inquiries as to a work of evangelization within the 
 city limits. At the urgent request of Mr. F. C. Cute, a member 
 of that Church, a committee appointed for such inquiry selected 
 a location north of East Capitol Street, near where the present 
 building stands. 
 
 June 11th, of the year named, a Sabbath School was opened 
 with an attendance of thirteen scholars, in a private residence, 
 Mr. F. C. Cate being elected Superintendent, with Mr. R. H, T. 
 Liepold as his Assistant, and Mr. B. H. Warner, Librarian and 
 Treasurer. Mr. Moses Kelly, one of the Elders of the Fourth 
 Church, donated live lots on Eighth Street, on which, with aid 
 from other first friends of the enterprise in 1872, a frame Chapel 
 was erected. June 18th, of that year, religious services were 
 begun, the attendance on the Sabbath School liaving rapidly in- 
 creased and tlie private residence being too straitened for either 
 this or for divine services. 
 
 Rev. J. T. Kelly, then completing his studies at tlie Theolog- 
 ical Seminary of Princeton, was engaged to supply tlie pulpit 
 and continued with the congregation until his election as co-Pas- 
 tor with Dr. Smith. Rev. George B. Patch then carried for- 
 ward the preparatory work securing an organization as a Church 
 May 9, 1875. The committee constituting this were Dr. J. 
 C. Smith, Dr. J. Chester and Elder D. M(tFarlan. Mr. Patch 
 was installed November 1, 1875. The number of members was 
 33. Mr. F. C. Cate and L. Chappel were elected Ruling Elders. 
 
 After the resignation in 1881 by Rev. Mr. Patch to enter on 
 his work for the Unity Church, Rev. S. S. Wallen received from 
 the Presbytery of Otsego, New York, was installed April 10 of 
 the year following, and continued with the Church until the au- 
 tumn of 1883. 
 
 The present Pastor, Rev. Eugene Peck, was received from the 
 Presbytery of Otsego, New York, February, 4 1884, and in- 
 stalled over the Church on the 13th of that month. The active 
 
62 
 
 membership numbers 80; the Sabbath-School roll shows an 
 average attendance of 350 ; its teachers and officers number 35, 
 its infant school, under Mrs. S. J. Vanghan, averages 1 00. Three 
 missionary societies are in progress : two under the ladies, and 
 one sustained by the Sabbath- School scholars. A society among 
 the young people holds weekly meetings for worship and for the 
 study of the Scriptures. 
 
 With tliese activities in Churcli work and an increased attend- 
 ance in a still rapidly growing section of the city, the congrega- 
 tion are looking forward in the hopes of a successful eifort to 
 erect a house of worship sufficient to accommodate a needy popu- 
 lation. Their present building is not only too straitened but 
 frail and uncomfoi-table ; their lots are ample and eligibly located. 
 
 Officers. — Pastor^ Eev. Eugene Peck. Elder, F. C. Gate. 
 
Unity Church, 1884. 
 
 In Septeral)ei', 1881, meetings for divine service were held in 
 Clabaugh Hall, 14th Street, between Corcoran and R Streets. 
 These grew out of the need of a Presbyterian Church in this 
 rapidly growing section of the city ; some of the Cliristian breth- 
 ren appreciating this being Dr. W. H. H. Warman, Major J. T. 
 Power, J. H. Thompson, Emerson Hodges, J. P. Tustin, J. Mc- 
 Leod and B. F. Brochett, who, with their families, sustained the 
 meetings unanimously, inviting Rev. G. B. Patch to take up the 
 new enterprise March 15, 1882 ; a church of 50 members was or- 
 ganized. It asked no aid from the Board of Church Erection. 
 
 The present edifice, a Chapel 60 x 43 feet, seating 350, and cost- 
 ing with furnishing about 88,000, was erected in 1884, and dedi- 
 cated November 15 of that year. The size of entire lot is 103 
 feet by 60. The estimated value of the properties of the Church 
 is $25,000. 
 
 The roll of communicants numbers 200 ; of the Sabbath School 
 350. A full congregation occupies the sitting capacity of the 
 Church. From the beginning of the work here a blessing has 
 evidently rested on the labors of those who have had its interests 
 on their hearts. 
 
 The Pastor, until recently, gave his ministry to it while occu- 
 pying a desk in theGovernment service ; within the current year 
 provision has been made by his people for his support while 
 exclusively devoting himself to the Church. . Providential indi* 
 cations point to the day when a larger Church building may be 
 erected on the commodious adjoining lot. 
 
 Officers. — Pastor^ Rev. George B. Patch, 1323 R. Street, 
 north-west. Elders: J. H. Thompson, B. F. Brockett, Emer- 
 son Hodges, W. H. H. Warman, Sam'l Snow. Trustees : A. G. 
 M. Prevost, A. B. Claxton, G. Pike, W. T. Bailey, F. Guy. 
 
Church of the Covenant, Connecticut Avenue and Eight- 
 eenth Street. 
 
 "Within the five years preceding 1885, the northwestern sec- 
 tion of Washington very rapidly advanced in popuhition and in 
 the number and character of tlie new hnildings erected, a major- 
 ity of its residents being of the wealthier class, and among tliese 
 some of our l)est Presl)yterian people. A Church of our faith 
 and polity was demanded some years indeed before successful 
 movements could be perfected for its erection. In the year just 
 named, prominent members of the New York Avenue Church, 
 among them several Elders, impressed with the ability of that 
 Church to maintain its full success while it should encourage the 
 new enterprise, held with others a conference, believing that if an 
 eligible site should be secured and a Chapel built here, a good 
 and permanent work would be accomplished. 
 
 Before seeking an organization, therefore, in the confidence 
 which faith inspires, they erected a Chapel on N Street, on the 
 east side of the edifice of the Church now being built, which first 
 step cost them the sum of $55,000. 
 
 Subscriptions were then opened for the Church, and an organ- 
 ization effected under the Presbytery. October 13, 1885. 
 
 March 3d, of the year following, a unanimous call was ten- 
 dered to Rev. Dr. Tennis S. Hamlin, then Pastor of the Mount 
 Auburn Church, Cincinnati, who accepted it, entering on his 
 duties in May and l)eing installed November 9th. From the 
 commencement of Dr. Hamlin's ministry the presence of the 
 Master has been vouchsafed to His work in answer to the conse- 
 scrated labors and faith of the membership. This increased dur- 
 ing the year from 53 to 154, as reported in March, 188Y, to 
 which number 25 have been since then added. The activities of 
 the Church are in grateful exercise ; among them the Society of 
 Endeavor which includes the benevolent work of the ladies, the 
 Mission on M and Twenty-eighth Streets. The Society of En- 
 deavor, during its first six months, contributed $1,300 to the 
 cause of Missions ; the Mission on Twenty-eighth Street, begun 
 under the care of members of the West Street Church, was 
 
65 
 
 adopted bj the Cliurch in December, 1886 ; an Industrial School 
 is attached to it. 
 
 During the Church year, ending Marcli, 1887, the contril)u- 
 tions of the Churcli to the cause of Missions had reached the 
 sum of $2,686, and the total reported under the head of " Con- 
 gregational " that of $10,462. Among the hitest liberal collect- 
 ions, is tlie sum of $1,350 for Ministerial Relief. 
 
 The main editice, now approaching completion, will have a 
 seating capacity exceeding 1,000 ; it will be ready for occupancy 
 in the autumn of the present year. The building is of Barber 
 stone, a beautiful light-colored material, quarried a few miles 
 above the City, on the Potomac; the trimmings are of Ohio 
 stone, with much carved work. The tower is monumental and 
 will I'ise 155 feet; the lantern, with its corridors on the north 
 and south, is covered with dark-colored tiles. The Church inte- 
 rior is of Oak, and is an elaborate system of arches. The size of 
 the whole lot, on which the property is situated, is 155 feet by 
 80 ; total cost of main building will be about $125,000 ; Church, 
 Chapel and Pastor's Study cover the whole lot. 
 
 Officers. Pastur, Rev. Teunis S. Hamlin, D. D. Elder s^W\\\\2i.va 
 Ballantyne, C. B. Jewell, Admiral E. R. Calhoun, A. R. Quaiffe, 
 Mr. Justice William Strong, Admiral S. P. Carter. Deacons, 
 C, W, Bushnell, H. B, McFarland, M, Brodhead,C. B. Shafer! 
 Trustees, Mr. Justice William Strong, Mr, Justice S. Matthews, 
 J. E. Fitch, R. Fendall, W. Ballantyne, Admiral S. P. Carter, 
 M. W. Gait, J. G. Hubbard, C, B. Jewell, 
 
The Churcheis i7i Virginia, and in Montgoniery County, Md. 
 
 Le\vinsville Church, Virginia, 1846. 
 
 In 1845, a nuiril)er of families, emigrating from tlie Northern 
 and Middle States to the county of Fairfax, Yirginia, were tem- 
 porarily supplied with Presbyterian services by Kev. William 
 Maffit, of the Baltimore Presbytery, then conducting a school 
 near Langley. The year following, Commodore Thos. Ap C. 
 Jones, U. S. N., who, with his family and friends had long de- 
 sired the gathering of a Presbyterian Congregation at Lewins- 
 ville, secured the employment of Rev. L. H. Christian, who suc- 
 cessfully (tarried forward Mr. Maffit's work and that of the occa- 
 sional preaching hy Rev. Drs. Harrison and Tustin. Mr. Christian 
 also collected funds for the erection of a house of worship from 
 friends in the neighboring counties and in the District of Colum- 
 bia. A Church organization was effected October 17, 1846, and 
 a house of worship dedicated Jamiary 3, 1847 ; its lot being the 
 gift of Mrs. C. M. Ball. Mr. Amzi Coe and Mr. B. Gilbert 
 were the first Elders. 
 
 Following Mr. Christian, Mr. J. M. Henry's labors were much 
 blessed by a revival strengthening the Church : he was succeeded in 
 1849 by Rev. B. F. Whaley. In 1854, Rev. B. F. Bittinger was 
 elected Pastor, remaining with the Church from October 27,1851, 
 to January 15, 1857, during which time alargennmberof additions 
 were made to the membership, and a neat Manse built on ground 
 donated by Mrs. C. M. and Miss Lucy Ball. 
 
 The pastorate of Rev. C. B. Makie followed from 1857 to 1859, 
 and the Church enjoyed further prosperity under that of Rev. 
 E. B. Sinith, November 10, 1859, to April 13, 1861, when he was 
 dismissed to the Central Presbytery, Phila. The breaking out 
 of the war arrested all ; the building ana the Manse were occu- 
 pied by the Union troops under Gen'l Hancock. 
 
 From June, 1866, to 1870, Rev. H. P. Dechert regathered the 
 congregation in connection with like services at Falls Church. 
 In 1871, Rev. D. H. Riddle further restored the Church, which, 
 however, was again weakened by the withdrawal, in 1873, of 
 those who were organized into the new Church at "Falls Church" 
 village. On the withdrawal of Mr. Riddle to this last-named 
 organization in 1873, Rev. John Brown was elected Pastor of 
 
67 
 
 the Lewinsville and Vienna Cluirclies, the last named being then 
 organized. Mr. Brown was followed in 1875 by ~Rev. J. Odell. 
 and he, in 1876, by Revs. E. H. Cnmpston and S. Mnrdock as 
 Stated Supplies. In 1882, Rev. H. Clark was installed Pastor. 
 The Church becoming again vacant in 1848 was supplied till 
 August 29, 1886, by Rev. J. E. Nourse, when the present Pas- 
 tor, Rev. W. H. Edwards, entered on his duties, and was installed 
 October 12 of that year. 
 
 The earnest efforts of the congregation and its friends during 
 the last three years have succeeded in restoring the Church build- 
 ings, the Manse, and the grounds of the cemetery ; and at pres- 
 ent the spiritual state of the congregation is one of much 
 promise, the membersliip having recently more than doul)led. 
 
 Officers : Pastor, Rev. W. H. Edwards ; Eldera^ A. J. Head 
 A. Mankin, R. S. Bonham. 
 
 Falls Church, February, 1873. 
 
 As early as 1812 a committee of tlie Baltimore Presbytery re- 
 ported to that body that " three places southwest of the Potomac 
 invited attention," and Professor Maffit, then a member of the 
 Presbytery, was directed to devote as much of his time as possi- 
 ble to these : they were Falls Church, Centre (Centreville), and 
 Difficult. Mr. Maifit had previously supplied the Bladensburg 
 Church, and was afterwards, for some years, engaged in teaching 
 in Fairfax county, Virginia. He died in 1828. 
 
 No other work appears, however, to have been done for these 
 places except the holding of the occasional services by Mr. Maifit, 
 until after the lapse of more than twenty years an emigration 
 from the Northern States made it possible to renew pi-eaching 
 services with the hope of establisliing permanent good. In 1843, 
 such an emigration took place. It came from the States of Con- 
 necticut, New York and Pennsylvania, and was made up of sturdy 
 and industrious families of Presbyterian and Congregational 
 ideas, bringing always, as Bancroft affirms, with them a vigorous 
 element of success. Their first efforts were (as has already been 
 show^n) for the vicinity of Lewinsville. Two years later than 
 the establishing of the Lewinsville Church, 1846, a congregation 
 was gathered in the house of the late Mr. Amzi Coe, near the 
 village of Falls Church — a name given to the settlement from its 
 
68 
 
 vicinity to the Great Falls of the Potomac. Occasional services 
 were held in this residence and in others near by, which took 
 soon the form of re^jular Sabbath worship twice a month in Mr- 
 Coe's, until the building of a school house in the village, when 
 under the Pastor of Lewinsville Church, Dr. B. F. Bittinger, for 
 three years, until 1861, these were increased to regular Sabbath- 
 day worship, and under him who then resided there, were attended 
 by the ingathering of a number of members for the Lewinsville 
 Church. In 1861 the war suspended all. Some of the original fam- 
 ilies, among them those of Mr. Bittinger, Messrs. Coe, Lonnsbury? 
 Osborn and Munson had remained in the county. By their efforts 
 Groot Hall, which had been previously occupied for divine 
 service, was soon purchased and fitted up for more permanent 
 use as a church, the securing of which was effected by the vigor- 
 ous efforts chiefly of the ladies of the congregation, among whom 
 should be named with others, Mrs. R. Bittinger and Miss Lucy 
 Munson (now Mrs. Dr. Taylor, of Wooster, Ohio), who ob- 
 tained sufiicient aid from friends in the Washington churches and 
 in the North to free this hall from debt. It was dedicated 
 November 30, 1866, E.ev. Dr. J. Chester preaching the dedi- 
 cation sermon. 
 
 Rev. H. P. Dec.hert, a licentiate of New York Presbytery, 
 had regathered a congregation and ministered to it in connection 
 with his services to the Lewisville Church. 
 
 In 1870, Mr. Dechert was succeeded by Kev. David Riddle, 
 who was installed as Pastor of Lewinsville, April 25, 1871. In 
 February, 1873, the members of that church who resided in and 
 near Falls Church were organized in a church of that name, 
 when Mr. Riddle withdrew from Lewinsville, devoting his time 
 to the new organization, and soon after to preaching also at 
 Ballston, where a branch of the Falls Church was formed, and a 
 house of worship erected. It was dedicated October 22d, 1876. 
 
 The first Elders elected for Falls Church were Messrs. A. E. 
 Lonnsbury, S. A. Coe, M. C. Munson and A. P. Douglas, who 
 continue to serve as such with Mr. W. J. Allen ; Messrs. Mun- 
 son and Douglas at the Ballston Church. In the year 1865, a 
 handsome gothic stone edifice, 52 feet by 32, with a tower, was 
 completed at Falls Ciiurch. 
 
 The dedicatory services were conducted October 30th by Rev. 
 
69 
 
 Drs. Bartlett and Bittinger, the historical memorial being by the 
 Pastor. The value of this property, of the building first occu- 
 pied and of the Ballston Church, is estimated at $16,000. 
 
 The roll of members reported to the Assembly of 1887 num- 
 bers 110; of Sabbath-School scholars, 144. The columns of 
 contril)utions to the Boards of the Church, are well filled and 
 the activities of the members are largely enlisted in the various 
 objects of church work. 
 
 Officers. — Pastor^ Rev. D. H. Riddle. Elders: M. C. Mun- 
 son, A. E. Lounsbury, S. A. Coe, A. P. Douglas, W. J. Allen. 
 Trustees: For Falls Church — D. O. Munson, G. B. Ives, Seth 
 
 Osborne, G. O. Mankin ; For Ballston — H. O. Whallon, 
 
 Clemens, A. G. Hays. 
 
 Vienna Presbyterian Church, 1873, 
 
 was organized November 16, 1873, by Rev. J. G. Hamner, Syn- 
 odical Missionary, by authority of the Presbytery of Wash- 
 ington city. Its nine first members were those whose names had 
 been first enrolled on the session book of the Lewinsville Church, 
 but who now desired to revive the state of religion in their im- 
 mediate neighborhood, there being no house of worship for the 
 county on a line between Lewinsville and Fairfax Court- House. 
 The war had suspended the occasional services which had been 
 held by the Presbyterian Ministers at this village. Through the 
 efforts of Rev. John Brown, then Pastor of the Church at Lew- 
 insville, supported by the liberal contributions of Messrs. Kenyon, 
 Van Orden, Head, and others in the vicinity, and with aid from 
 the Board of Church Erection, and of friends in Washington, a neat 
 Church edifice was erected in 1873, and Mr. Brown was installed 
 Pastor, remaining with the Church until 1875. He was suc- 
 ceeded by Rev. J. Odell, as stated supply for one year, following 
 whom were Revs. S. Murdock and E. H, Cumpston. In 1882 
 Rev. H. Clark was installed, and continued until August, 1884, 
 when the Church, becoming again vacant, was supplied until Au- 
 gust, 1886, by Rev. J. E. Nourse. Tlie present Pastor, Rev. W. 
 H. Edwards, was installed October 29, 1886. 
 
 The Chnrcli is young in years, and consists of those who are 
 in but moderate circumstances, but whose desires are toward the up- 
 building of the Kingdom. It is under careful oversight, and prom- 
 
TO 
 
 ises permanent good to tlie homes of its people, and a decided 
 influence on the community. Dnrinjr the past three years ground 
 has been purchased for a Manse, and other improvements added. 
 Officers. — Pd.stur, Rev. William H. Edwards ; Elders^ B. W. 
 Head, J. R. Blake, H. 0. Powell, A. B. Shaw. 
 
 First Prince W^illiam Church, Virginia, 1850, Manassas 
 Church, Clifton Church. 
 
 The accounts of these Churches, originally in the same mis- 
 sionary field, are taken chiefly from the journal of Dr. B. F. Bit- 
 tinger. The field in which they were organized — the two first in 
 Prince William county, and the last in Fairfax county — has been 
 for the most part served as one. 
 
 First Prince William Church. 
 
 Before the year 1848 occasional services had been held in pri- 
 vate houses in the vicinity of the present settlement of Nokes- 
 ville by Rev. Dr. Harrison, of the Alexandria Church, and Rev. 
 Mr. Stoddert, of the Winchester Presbytery. In 1848 the fami- 
 lies of Messrs. Hornbaker and Rube, and other Presbyterians, 
 having removed there from New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the 
 Presbytery of Winchester at their request appointed Rev. J. M. 
 Henry to organize a Church, which was effected July 20, 1850. 
 
 Following Mr. Henry the services were further well sustained, 
 chiefly by Rev. Thomas Balch, until the outbrealc of the war, 
 which scattered the Northern people and closed the Church. The 
 building was saved from the flames of war b}^ the intercession of 
 Mrs. Mary Kline, one of its members. 
 
 In the fall of 1866, at the request of the people to have the 
 services renewed by the Presbytery of Potomac, Rev. J. E. 
 Nourse resumed preaching in the dwelling of Mrs. Rube, and in 
 the spring which followed the Ijuilding was repaired. Its grounds 
 and the cemetery lot were the donation of Mr. Thatcher, of New 
 Jersey. In 1875 Rev. Mr. Carmichael became the Stated Supply, 
 and was succeeded in 1878 by Rev. Mr. F. M. Todd, the present 
 pastor of the Manassas Church. No pastorate lias existed. The 
 population of the neighborhood has rather declined than increased, 
 and there is apparently little, if any, of a new element to main- 
 tain Presl)yterian services. Meral)ership, 16. 
 
 Eldera. — John Slaught, W. S. Sivayzee, J. G. Reading. 
 
71 
 
 Manassas Church 
 
 was organized soon after the close of tlie war, from tlie suf- 
 ferings of which it was reviving. It had destroyed nearly 
 every dwelling in the town. Members of the First Prince 
 William Church residing near the old town, and having had 
 their own house of worship near there destroyed by the war, 
 petitioned the Potomac Presbytery for a new organization^ and 
 this was effected by a committee consisting of Revs. John Chester 
 and J. E. Nourse, July 6, 1867. The tirst Elders were Messrs. 
 G. W. Mitchell and Levi H. Newman. An advantageous lot 
 having been purcliased in the centre of the town, by the self-de- 
 nial and assistance of a few members, and by help from friends 
 abroad, a brown freestone house of worship was erected after 
 services in a small frame building for several years. From 1867 
 Kev. J. E. Nourse was the Stated Supply until 1875, when Mr. 
 Carmichael took charge of this and the Prince William congre- 
 gation. In 1878, Rev. Mr. Todd was installed Pastor. 
 
 The roll of church members numbers 61 ; Sabbath-school roll, 
 57. The contributions to the Boards are well maintained. 
 
 Officers: — Pastur, Rev. F. M. Todd ; Elders, C. A. Snowball, 
 C. H, Worthington, Gr. Trimmer, E. Goode, O. Chamberlain. 
 
 Clifton Church, Fairfax County, Virginia. 
 
 In 1868, Mr. Harrison G. Otis, of Geneva, N. Y., and not 
 long afterwards Messrs. J. Sanford Otis and H. C. Kewraan, of 
 Orange, and T. B. Graham, of Montclair, N. J., having removed 
 to this section, began some stated Sabbath services for the people 
 of the neighborhood, and looked for the establishment of a Pres- 
 byterian Church. 
 
 Rev. J. E. Nourse, then supplying the First Prince William 
 and Manassas field, held for them the first regular services in 
 the basement of a then unfinished building owned by Mr. H. 
 G. Otis. 
 
 The ground for a church, with an additional liberal contribu. 
 tion, having been given by Mr. H. G. and Mrs. Mary Otis, and 
 help being secured from the Board of Church Erection and from 
 friends, by Mr. Newman and J. S. Otis, chiefly in Brooklyn, the 
 corner-stone was laid December 31, 1871 ; an organization hav- 
 ing been effected in May previous. Rev. William Bradley, re- 
 
72 
 
 moving to this place from New York, became the Stated Supply 
 until 16T7, when Rev. Mr. Todd, of Manassas, succeeded in con 
 nection with the Manassas Church. 
 
 Since 1881 the pulpit has been supplied by appointments un- 
 der Fresi)ytery, cliietiy l)y Rev. Dr. Dudley and the late Charles 
 H. Raymond. The Church edifice has been recently fully re- 
 paired by the liberal efforts of a small congregation, aided by 
 friends in Maryland. The enterprise properly belongs to the 
 same field with the Manassas and First Prince William Churches, 
 with which it may become self-sustaining. Attendance on the 
 stated services is good and the Sabbath-School work is encourag- 
 ing for the Church and for tiie village. Its roll numbers 61. 
 
 Officers: — /t'l(lers,R. C. Newman, T. B. Graham,W. E. Ford- 
 
 Darnestown Church, Montgomery County, Md. 
 
 Previous to 1850, for several years, Rev. Charles H. Nourse gave 
 much ministerial labor to this region, preaching at Middlebrook, 
 Darnestown, and Poolesville, at which last-named place he gath- 
 ered a congregation and secured the erection of the present 
 church building. 
 
 The Darnestown Church grew out of the labors of Rev. Dan- 
 iel Motzer while laboring as a domestic missionary in Montgom- 
 ery county under the direction of the Presbytery of Baltimore 
 and supported by the Churches — Bridge street, Georgetown, and 
 F street, Washington city — and by Mrs. Fitzgerald, of Yirginia. 
 Mr. Motzer commenced his labors in Neelsville Sept. 1, 1854, de- 
 voting a part of his time to the vicinity of Darnestown. At first 
 he held worship in an old log building at Pleasant Hill, known 
 as the " Union Church." This was in May, 1855. His labors 
 were greatly blqssed, and it was not long before the way was 
 opened for the erection of a Presbyterian Church near the vil- 
 lage of Darnestown. Mrs. John F. Du Fief generously donated 
 three acres of ground for the purpose, and on the 14th of Sep- 
 tember, 1855, the corner-stone of the present building was laid 
 with appropriate religious services by Rev. Mr. Motzer, aided by 
 Rev. Dr. Gurley, of Washington city. April, 1857, Messrs. 
 J. Darl)y and J. C. Dellet were elected Ruling Elders. At the 
 close of the first year the number of communicants had increased 
 to forty-five, the larger immber on profession, and Mr. Motzer's 
 labors continued to receive the Divine blessing till his death, 
 
73 
 
 March 1, 1864. He was succeeded by Hev. J. S. H. Henderson 
 as Stated Supply, 1864-1870. Rev. Chas. Beach serving the 
 Church from Dec. 10, 1870, was installed Oct. 30, 1871, and con- 
 tinned till Sept. 17, 1877, and was succeeded by Rev. H. C. Brown 
 as Stated Supply March 3, 1878. In 1883 Rev. Janies M. Nourse 
 was elected Pastor and installed Nov, 14, remaining with the 
 people until April 27, 1885. He was succeeded by Rev. Davis 
 L. Rathbun, of the Baltimore Presl)ytery ; installed October 28, 
 1885. The roll of members reported to the Assembly numbers 
 eighty. Columns for contributions to the Boards of the Church, 
 all tilled. 
 
 Officers. — Rev. D. L. Rathbun ; Elders^ F. A. Tschiffely, 
 M. B. Montgomery, J. S. Winder, Thomas Kelly, and Geo. R. Rice. 
 
 Neelsville Church, Montgomery County, Maryland. 
 
 This organization was made December 6, 1845, by the Rev, 
 Elias Harrison, D. D,, and Rev, John Miller, a committee of the 
 Presbytery of Baltimore. Its members were formerly connected 
 with the church at Rockville. Mr. Wm. Musser was their first 
 Ruling Elder. For two years the Church was supplied by the 
 Rev. Samuel J. Baird, who was succeeded by Rev. A. M, Her- 
 shey. 
 
 Septem])er 1, 1854, Rev, Daniel Motzer connected his charge 
 of the Darnestown Church with his ministerial labors here, and 
 remained with the people till his death, March 1, 1864. 
 
 Rev. James S. H. Henderson supplied the pulpit from 1864* to 
 1870 in connection with the supply of the Darnestown Church ; 
 from May, 1870, until his death he preached at Neelsville only. 
 From the time of his deatli the pulpit has been supplied by mem- 
 bers of the Washington City Presbytery ; for tliree years by 
 Rev. J. L. French. The Church has never had a pastorate. 
 
 The Moderator of the Session is Rev. T. S. Childs, D. D. The 
 first house of worship, built in 1842, was replaced by a more 
 commodious one in June, 1878. 
 
 Elders, 1887.— J. T. Wartield, J. E. Deets, W. Musser, W. T. 
 Lewis. 
 
 Boyd's Station. 
 
 The Church here was the result of the labors of Rev. J. S. H. 
 Henderson, while laboring also at Neelsville, Its house of wor- 
 
74 
 
 ship was dedicated in June, 1876. No pastorate has been formed. 
 The Moderator of the Session, since the date of supply hy Rev- 
 J. L. Frencli, is Dr. T. S. Childs. 
 
 Elders, 1887.— J. A. Boyd, M. T. Lewis. 
 
 Hermon Church, 1874. 
 
 This Church, nine miles distant from Georgetown, is the 
 inheritor of one of the very earliest of Presbyterian organization 
 in this region, the Cabin John Church, founded by Rev, Hugh 
 Conn, already named as having founded the Old Bladensburg 
 organization of 1718. Cabin John was organized in 1752, the 
 last year of Mr. Conn's Ministry. At the first meeting of Balti- 
 more Presbytery, 1786, Rev. James Hunt represented the 
 Church, and in 1809, Rev. John Breckenridge supplied the pul- 
 pit in connection with his ministry to the first Presbyterian 
 Church of Washington. The remains of Rev. Mr. Hunt were 
 interred near the church building, some of the timbers of which 
 may still be seen. In 1823, Rev. John Mines supplied the 
 Church in connection with his charge of Rockville, and at times 
 Bethesda. This organization, however, became extinct, the 
 property being also lost by its transfer to another people. 
 
 Through the efforts of Mr. J. W. D. Moore, formerly a mem- 
 ber of the West Street Church, Georgetown, a new organization 
 was effected January 5, 1874, under Rev. Dr. S. H. Howe and 
 Rev. J. G. Hamner, Jr. Mr. Hamner had been for some months, 
 holding services in an adjacent school house. In November of 
 the same year, a neat frame building, erected by the residents 
 of the neighborhood, with, aid also from our Board of Church 
 Erection, and firm friendrin West Street Church, was dedicated. 
 Since that date, with the exception of the two years' supply of 
 the pulpit, by Rev. John A. Carmichael, in connection with his 
 services also at Manassas, Virginia, the Church has been almost 
 continuously cared for by Rev. Dr. T. W. Simpson. It is in an 
 isolated location, making it difficult for a small congregation to 
 maintain its services. The report to tlie Assembly of 1887, was 
 that of 29 members, and 30 Sabbath-School Scholars. Elders 
 J. D. W. Moore and R. G. Davidson. 
 
 For aid in carrying forward the typographical execution of this volume, I 
 am indebted to my young friend Mr. C. T. Bell, printer, 1530 29th street N W. 
 
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