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Columbia (Hntoettfitp 
 
 intljfCttpofiJettigork 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 
 
 IN THE 
 
 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 
 
 BY THE 
 
 Kev. E. H. GILLETT, D.D., 
 
 AUTHOR OF "THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JOHN HUBS," "THE MORAL SYSTEM, 
 " GOD IN HUMAN THOUGHT," ETC., ETC. 
 
 REVISED EDITION. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA : 
 PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION, 
 
 1334 CHESTNUT STREET. 
 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in 
 
 the year 1864, by (he 
 
 PRESBTTERIAN PUBLICATION COMMITTEE, 
 
 in the Clerk's 
 
 Office of the District Court 
 
 of the United States for 
 
 the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 
 
 A 
 
 °{ 
 
 G><- 
 
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 °) I 
 
PREFACE TO THE REVISED EDITION. 
 
 The reunion of the two branches of the Presbyterian 
 Church in this country, happily effected in 1869 after a 
 division of more than thirty years, has called for the 
 revision of a work prepared during the period of their 
 separation. It has not been thought necessary to add 
 to it the record of the steps which led to the reunion, as 
 these are embodied in the volume entitled " Presby- 
 terian Reunion Memorial," published in 1870 ; but in 
 order to do impartial justice to the position and views 
 of the two parties from the time when they first 
 appeared, certain changes and modifications of statement 
 have been deemed necessary, and these have been 
 embodied in this revised edition. 
 
 So far as most of the statements of facts are con- 
 cerned, very little change has been required, but what 
 before was asserted without qualification as to the rela- 
 tion and action of the two parties has been so modified 
 that the party by whom such assertion was regarded as 
 historically true or just is alone made responsible for it. 
 In other words, the historian has allowed each party to 
 speak for itself, representing its own views, while the 
 reader is left at liberty to draw his own conclusions. 
 
 No other course than this was possible in the circum- 
 stances. The position and sentiments of each branch 
 of the Church have become historical, and to exclude or 
 ignore them would have betrayed at once an unworthy 
 
 3335*6 
 
VI PREFACE TO THE REVISED EDITION. 
 
 timidity and distrust of the solid basis of reunion, and 
 a faithlessness to the claims which demand an impartial 
 statement of all the facts material to a proper historic 
 record. 
 
 Moreover, the history of a denomination, like that of 
 a State, has its lessons; and if lessons of warning against 
 dangers which are liable to recur, they can be gathered 
 only from the study of many things which, if truth 
 would suffer it, we might prefer to leave unrecorded. 
 But if good men, and even wise men, have erred, their 
 errors may prove only less instructive than their virtues ; 
 and while we jealously vindicate their just fame and 
 their conceded merits, we are not at liberty to conceal 
 their failings when these must be known in order to 
 form an impartial judgment of events in which many 
 others besides themselves were equally interested. 
 
 To render the revision as perfect as possible, and to 
 remove whatever could be fairly considered as objection- 
 able, competent aid has been sought from those most 
 familiar with the subject and best qualified to suggest 
 emendations. 1 It is believed that the work in its pres- 
 ent form will prove acceptable to the reunited Church, 
 furnishing it with information concerning its origin and 
 progress that can be found nowhere else in the same 
 compass. 
 
 E. H. GlLLETT. 
 
 1 I feel myself under special obligations to the Rev. S. J. M. 
 Eaton, D. D., whose "History of the Presbytery of Erie" ranks with 
 the very best of our local church histories ; as also to Eev. J. H. 
 Martin, D. D., of Tennessee, Eev. Wm. Aikraan, D. D., of Detroit, 
 and others of whose communications I have availed myself in this 
 revision. 
 
NOTE. 
 
 At the request of Dr. Dulles, on behalf of the Board 
 of Publication, as well as of Dr. Gillctt, the author, I 
 read over carefully the volumes of this History, with a 
 view to suggest alterations which the late reunion has 
 made proper. It is a pleasure to state that both these 
 brethren, the author and the editor, have manifested the 
 utmost readiness to expunge anything like a partisan 
 tinge, and to render the work unexceptionable to the 
 whole Church. 
 
 Of course it could not be re-edited without a sub- 
 stantial identification with the original imprint. We 
 could not consistently wish it to be otherwise and retain 
 the truth of history as it lies in the mind of the author. 
 But I am happy in testifying that candor, amity and 
 a truth-loving heart have conceded everything that 
 " Old School " men could reasonably ask in this revision. 
 
 Alex. T. McGill. 
 
 Princeton, August 20, 1873. 
 
 FROM THE 
 
 PREFACE TO THE ORIGINAL EDITION. 
 
 More than seventy years have elapsed since the 
 attention of the General Assembly of the Presby- 
 terian Church in the United States was called to 
 the subject of preparing a history of the denomi- 
 nation in this country. In 1791, Ilev. Drs. Wither- 
 
Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 spoon, McWhorter, and Green, and Rev. Messrs. 
 William Graham, James Hall, and James Temple- 
 ton, were appointed a committee "to devise measures 
 for the collecting of materials necessary" to carry 
 out the project. In accordance with the suggestions 
 of their report, it was enjoined upon each Presby- 
 tery "strictly to order their members to procure all 
 the materials for forming a history of the Presby- 
 terian Church in this country, in the power of each 
 member, and bring in the same to their Presbytery, 
 and that the Presbyteries forward the said collection 
 of materials to the next General Assembly." 
 
 In 1792, and in successive years till 1795, the sub- 
 ject was considered, and "delinquent Presbyteries ' 
 were called upon for their reports. But no further 
 action was taken till 1804, when Dr. Green and Mr. 
 Ebenezer Hazard were appointed, from the ma- 
 terials gathered, to write the history. Delinquent 
 Presbyteries were again called upon to complete 
 their narratives. 
 
 In 1813, Dr Green and Mr. Hazard stated to the 
 Assembly that they had found it impracticable to 
 go on with the work, and their request that the 
 papers which they possessed might be transferred 
 to Dr. Miller, who should be authorized and re- 
 quested to complete the history, was granted. In 
 1819, Dr. Green was by vote of the Assembly as- 
 sociated with Dr. Miller in the preparation of the 
 work. Their request, in 1825, to be discharged 
 from the duty committed to them, was received 
 with "unfeigned regret;" and although it was 
 granted, the project of the preparation of the History 
 was not abandoned. Measures were adopted "to 
 
PREFACE. IX 
 
 insure the continuation and completion of the work 
 with the least possible delay." A new committee, 
 consisting of Drs. Green, Janeway, and Ely, 1 was 
 appointed for this purpose. 
 
 Here, however, the matter was suffered to rest. 
 It was left to individual enterprise and effort to 
 investigate the history of the Church during dif- 
 ferent periods and in different localities. Works 
 of great value for reference and authority in com- 
 piling a general history of the Church have thus 
 been produced ; and while important materials have 
 been irrevocably lost by the lapse of time and past 
 neglect, the task of preparing a connected history 
 has in some respects been greatly facilitated. 
 
 In these circumstances, the Publication Committee 
 of the Assembly judged, several years since, that the 
 long-deferred project should be undertaken afresh. 
 Nothing could be gained, and much might be lost, 
 by further delay. With each successive year mat- 
 ters of great value were passing to oblivion. Pres- 
 byterians, moreover, ignorant of the history of their 
 own Church, and of its policy as illustrated by that 
 history, might justly claim such information as 
 would serve at once for the vindication of their own 
 ecclesiastical preferences and the position of the 
 denomination with which they were identified. 
 
 It was resolved, therefore, to take steps for the 
 preparation of a work not too voluminous for popu- 
 lar perusal, yet sufficiently minute to combine a 
 measure of local with general interest, — a work 
 
 1 Upon Dr. Ely's resignation in 183G, Dr. Luther Halsey was ap- 
 pointed in his place. 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 which should present an outline of the origin and 
 progress of the Church, the methods and results of 
 its efforts, and the spirit and policy by which those 
 efforts have been directed. 
 
 Selected by the committee for the task of pre- 
 paring such a work, I have endeavored to embody 
 with historic impartiality the most important facts, 
 accessible to diligent and faithful investigation, in 
 the work which is now offered to the Church. The 
 labor has been by no means a light one. Materials 
 have been gathered from most diverse and un- 
 looked-for sources. By correspondence, and by 
 the examination of old records, letters, and nar- 
 ratives,— some of which must have slept unmolested 
 on the files of Presbytery for more than half a 
 century, — I have endeavored to supply the lack of 
 other authorities ; and in this I have been greatly 
 aided by the most ready and efficient co-operation 
 of numerous individuals who have cheerfully ren- 
 dered their assistance. To some of them I have 
 been indebted for valuable information which will 
 be found in the notes, or has been incorporated in 
 the body of the work. 
 
 In the preparation of the work, I have, as far as 
 possible, availed myself of authorities contempo- 
 raneous with the facts narrated. Among these are 
 to be classed the minutes of the Synod of New York 
 and Philadelphia, and those of the General As- 
 sembly; those also of Synods and Presbyteries, so 
 far as accessible ; " The Literary and Theological 
 Magazine," "New York Missionary Magazine," 
 "Connecticut Evangelical Magazine," Annual Re- 
 ports of the Connecticut Missionary Society from 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 1793 to 1820, "Assembly's Magazine," "Panoplist," 
 " Christian Advocate," "Christian Spectator," "Bib- 
 lical Repository," "Presbyterian Quarterly Review," 
 "Princeton Review," "American Quarterly Regis- 
 ter," "New York Observer," "New York Evan- 
 gelist," "Christian Herald" (1816-21), "Presbytery 
 Reporter," "Home Missionary," Reports of the 
 different Domestic Missionary Societies, &c, be- 
 sides files, more or less complete, of the various 
 Presbyterian journals at the South and West. 1 
 
 Next in importance to these have been local his- 
 tories, such as Prime's Lo*g Island, Hotchkin's 
 "Western New York, Nevin's Churches of the Val- 
 ley, Foote's Sketches of Virginia and North Caro- 
 lina, Davidson's Kentucky, "Old Redstone," Bolton's 
 History of Westchester County, Smyth's Second 
 Church of Charleston, Macdonald's History of the 
 Church of Jamaica, Riker's Newtown, Hoyt's Church 
 of Orange, Stearns's Church of Newark, Hall's 
 Church of Trenton, Eager's Orange County, Camp- 
 bell's Tryon County, Munsell's Annals of Albany, 
 Murray's Elizabethtown, Hewatt's History of South 
 Carolina, History of Londonderry, Histories of Pitts- 
 burg, Cincinnati, Detroit, St. Louis, &c, Greenleaf s 
 Churches of Maine, Greenleaf s Churches of New 
 York City, Dwight's Travels, Reed's Christian 
 Traveller, &c. 
 
 In biography, Dr. Sprague's Annals, so far as they 
 have extended, have been invaluable and indispens- 
 able; although in some instances I have been con- 
 
 1 New Orleans " True Witness," "Presbyterian Herald," "South- 
 ern Presbyterian," " North Carolina Presbyterian," " Central Chris- 
 tian Herald," &c. 
 
Xll PREFACE. 
 
 strained to differ from the views which they present. 
 Very important materials also have been derived 
 from such memoirs as those of Drs. Alexander, 
 Green, J. H. Rice, Nesbit, Rodgers, Griffin, Cle- 
 land, Macurdy, Baldwin, Rowland, Baker, Holley, 
 and Rev. Messrs. Badger, Christmas, Porter, Cor- 
 nelius, Earned, Bruen, and others. Wilson's "His- 
 torical Almanac" has furnished information nowhere 
 else accessible, and has proved of material service. 
 
 Among works of a more general historical cha- 
 racter which have been profitably consulted, must 
 be mentioned Prince's History, Felt's Ecclesiastical 
 History of New England, Histories of the United 
 States by Grahame, Hildreth, and Bancroft, His- 
 torical Collections of the different States, made by 
 individuals, Societies, or State authority in the form 
 of "Documentary History," and numerous State his- 
 tories, like Trumbull's Connecticut, Simms's South 
 Carolina, Ramsay's Tennessee, &c, Dr. Green's His- 
 tory of Presbyterian Missions, Humphrey's Revival 
 Sketches, and the well-known works of Hodge and 
 Webster. 
 
 The list of historical and obituary discourses which 
 I have been able to collect, or at least to consult, 
 has exceeded my anticipations. I have had pecu- 
 liarly favorable opportunities in this respect, and 
 have thus been enabled to add not a little to that 
 minuteness of detail which is often necessary to 
 clothe and give life to the statistics, — the skeleton 
 of history. A list of these it is not necessary here 
 to insert, as probably they are not sufficiently ac- 
 cessible in any public collection to enable the reader 
 to make reference to them. 
 
PREFACE. Xlll 
 
 Beside these, historical pamphlets, like that of the 
 tour of Mills and Scherraerhorn to the Southwest, 
 and that narrating the scenes of revival in the Caro- 
 linas of 1802, or controversial pamphlets, like those 
 of Dr. Ely, Messrs. Patterson, McCalla, &c, of Phi- 
 ladelphia, of Drs. Rice, Peters, Wilson, Beecher, 
 and others, have fallen in my way and been sifted 
 for facts. 
 
 Another class of works has not been overlooked, 
 and has been, indeed, indispensable. To this belong 
 Barnes's Trial, Barnes's Defence, Reports of the 
 Presbyterian Church Case before the Civil Courts, 
 Judd's History of the Division of the Presbyterian 
 Church, Crocker's Catastrophe of the Presbyterian 
 Church, Wood's Old and New Theology, with others 
 which it is needless to mention. 
 
 Some reference has been already made to manu- 
 script and oral communications. But the manu- 
 script History of the Secession of the Associated 
 Presbyteries (1799-1818), by Dr. K S. Prime, is 
 worthy of special mention ; and the files of the old 
 Albany Presbytery — unexplored, perhaps, for half a 
 century — afforded not only some of the original his- 
 tories of churches ordered to be prepared by the 
 General Assembly, but much other information of 
 value. In the private library of the Stated Clerk of 
 the General Assembly I obtained access to many 
 works which I have met with nowhere else, and 
 from friends in both branches of the Presbyterian 
 Church I have received assistance and information 
 to which I have been greatly indebted. 
 
 No one can be more sensible than myself of the 
 imperfections of the work. Some of them, indeed, 
 
XIV PREFACE. 
 
 from the lack of materials, were inevitable. There 
 are still gaps here and there, which remain, and in 
 all probability will long remain, to be filled, while 
 the assigned limits of the work 1 have precluded the 
 insertion of much matter that had been already pre- 
 pared. Such an undertaking as this gives us — and, 
 after all corrections and additions, must still give 
 us — only an approximation to a complete history. 
 Yet, by sending the work forth, even in its present 
 form, a great want which our churches have long 
 felt will, I trust, be supplied, and many facts, im- 
 portant in the history of the Church, which might 
 otherwise have soon passed into oblivion, will be pre- 
 served. No one can thoughtfully peruse the story 
 of the perils and hardships, the toils and achieve- 
 ments, of the fathers and pioneers of the Church, or 
 linger over even the controversies and dissensions 
 by which at times it has been rent, or, especially, 
 regard the great work which it has nobly achieved, 
 without deriving therefrom lessons of truth, wisdom, 
 and love. 
 
 E. H. Gillett. 
 
 Haklem, New York City, April 11, 1864. 
 
 1 In repeated instances, instead of giving the full name of the 
 ministers in the text, I have endeavored to save space by using only 
 the surname. By a reference, however, to the Index, the full name 
 may readily be found in nearly every instance. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 FRANCIS MAKEMIE. 
 
 American Presbyterianism — Francis Makemie — Labors in Maryland 
 — Intolerance — Virginia and Dissenters — Act of 1618 — Ministers 
 from Boston — Their Labors — Driven out — Disabilities by Act of 
 1662 — The Church at Jamaica, L.I. — John Hubbard — Injustice of 
 Lord Cornbury — Arrest of Makemie and Hampton — Conference 
 with Cornbury — Illegal Imprisonment — Application to the Chief- 
 Justice — Verdict of Acquittal — Second Prosecution apprehended — 
 Maryland Intolerance — Character of Early Presbyterian His- 
 tory Page 1-18 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE FIRST FRESBYTERY, 1706-1715. 
 
 The First Presbytery — Its Seven Members — Their Location — Andrews 
 at Philadelphia — New England "Emissaries" — Keith and Tal- 
 bot — Episcopacy — "Independents" in New Jersey — Applications 
 for Ministers — Correspondence of Presbytery — London — Dublin 
 — Synod of Glasgow — Response from London — Accessions to the 
 Presbytery — Congregations in New Jersey and Long Island — 
 The Presbytery to be divided — Ten Years' Growth — Liberal Spirit 
 of the Members Page 18-32 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE 8YNOD, 1717-1729. 
 
 Long Island Presbytery — The Churches on the Island — Presbyteries 
 of Philadelphia. Newcastle, and Snow Hill — Necessities of the Field 
 — Difficulties at New York — Vesey and the Episcopal Division — 
 Presbyterian Congregation — Anderson called — Building erected 
 
 xv 
 
XVI CONTENTS. 
 
 — Difficult} with Anderson — Jonathan Edwards — Ebenezer Pern 
 berton — Jonathan Dickinson — The Church at Newark — Increase 
 of Ministers — Their Nativity — Place of Settlement — Alexander 
 Hutchison — William Tennent — Correspondence — Supply of Des- 
 titutions — Fund for Pious Uses — A Commission of Synod appointed 
 — Troubles at New York — Protest of Dickinson, Jones, Pierson, 
 and others — The Difficulty removed — Liberal Spirit — Trouble at 
 Newark Page 32-47 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ADOPTING ACT, 1729. 
 
 Measures leading to the Adopting Act — History of Subscription in 
 Ireland — Reasons for Subscription — The Belfast Society — Error 
 in Scotland — Abernethy's Sermon — The War of Pamphlets — Ac- 
 tion of the Synod — Craighead's Sermon — Permission to subscribe 
 — The Separation — Danger to the American Presbyterian Church 
 better apprehended — Scruples removed — A Full Synod called — 
 The Committee — The Adopting Act — A Constitutional Basis to be 
 changed by no Interpretation Page 47-58 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 i'HE SYNOD FROM THE ADOPTING ACT TO THE DIVISION, 1729-1741. 
 
 ministers from 1729 to 1741 — Gilbert Tennent — His Character — Over- 
 tuie to the Synod — Controversy with Cowell — Zeal of Tennent — 
 Synod on the Examination of Candidates — Robert Cross opposed 
 to Tennent — His Relations to Whitefield — Samuel Blair — Alex- 
 ander Craighead — John Cross — Eleazar Wales — Richard Treat — 
 The Tennents — The Party opposed to them — The Moderate Party 
 — Growth of the Church — Decline of Vital Piety — Danger from 
 Ireland — Samuel Hemphill — Preventive Measures — Committee to 
 examine Candidates — The Log College — Its Success — Intrusion 
 into other Congregations — Objectionable Course of the New Bruns- 
 wick Presbytery — Measures for a Synodical School — Whitefield — 
 Intrusion on a Large Scale — Synod of 1740 — Overture introduced 
 — Preaching — Tennent's and Blair's Papers — Action of the Synod 
 — Harshness of the New Side — Exasperation — Synod of 1741 — 
 Absence of New York Members — The Protest of the Old Side — 
 The Principal Grievances — Reasons of Protest — Conclusion of the 
 Protest — Excitement — The Roll called — The Protestants a Ma- 
 jority — The Division accomplished — The Two Parties. Page 58-82 
 
CONTENTS. XVU 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE TERIOD OF THE DIVISION, 1741-1758. 
 
 Unfavorable Prospects of the New Side — Dickinson's Proposal — The 
 Conference — Insuperable Difficulty — Protest of the New York 
 Members — Reply — A New Overture on the Subject in 1743 — Re- 
 jected — Burr's Proposal to the New Brunswick Party — Reply — ■ 
 Project of a New Synod — Futile Measures of 1745 — Withdrawal 
 of New York Presbytery — Synod of New York formed — Causes of 
 Offence guarded against — Constitutional Basis — Members of the 
 Constituent Presbyteries — Beatty — Growth of New Brunswick 
 Presbytery — Accessions to the Old Side— Gain of the New Side— • 
 Members received — Largely from New England — Scotch Sympathy 
 — The Old Side — Nativity of the New Members — Check of Emi- 
 gration affects the Old Side — Disposition for Reunion — Grounds 
 of Division narrowed — The Paragraph on "Essentials" — Position 
 of the New Side — Presbyteries, how to be arranged — Plan of the 
 Old Side — Commission of the two Synods — Meeting of both Synods 
 in Philadelphia — Strength of each — Retrospect Page 82-106 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 rRESBYTERIANISM IN VIRGINIA. 
 
 Valley of the Shenandoah — Scotch-Irish Immigration — Ministerial 
 Supplies — Congregations gathered — Craig and Miller — Mission- 
 aries sent out — Hardships of the Settlers — Hanover Presbytery- 
 Morris's Reading-House — Occasion of Dissent — Meetings of Dis- 
 senters — Prosecution — The Confession of Faith and Governor Gooch 
 — The Dissenters pronounced Presbyterians — William Robin- 
 son's Visit — Liberal Gift — Educates Samuel Davies — John Blair — 
 John Roan — Prosecution — Whitefield's Visit — The Proclamation — 
 Arrival of Davies — Meeting-Houses licensed — Davies's Early Life — 
 His W r elcome Reception — His Health fails — Resumes his Labors — 
 Argument for Toleration — Success of Davies — Persecution — Re- 
 vivals — Jonathan Edwards — Davies alone — Seeks Help — Daven- 
 port's Visit — Byram — Todd — Davies applies to Synod — Jonathan 
 Edwards invited to Virginia — Efficiency of Davies. .Page 100-124 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE SYNODS AND THEIR SCHOOLS. 
 
 Rainn Hall College — Dickinson President — His Character — Aaron 
 Burr, hi.s Successor — The School a( Newark — Removal to Prince- 
 
XV111 CONTENTS. 
 
 ton — Its Success — Mission of Tennent and Davies to England- 
 Expenses — Difficulty foreseen — Apostasy of English Presbyterians 
 — Jealousy of the Old Side — Obstructions — Tennent's Disavowal 
 of his Sermon — Subscription sneered at — Orthodoxy in 111 Repute 
 — Presbyterian Discipline neglected — Discouragement — Light 
 breaks in—Sympathy for Virginia Dissenters — Partial Success — 
 Scotland — Moderatism — Assembly orders a Collection — Tennent 
 goes to Ireland — Witherspoon's "Characteristics" — Davies 
 preaches — Visit to English Towns — Tennent's Success — Return 
 to America — Burr's Death — Davies chosen President — The Old Side 
 — Alison's School — Aid from German Schools — Dublin Donation 
 of Books — Finley's School — Samuel Blair's School — Andrews — 
 Evans — Davies — Correspondence with President Clap Page 124-138 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 SYNOD OF NEW YORK AND PHILADELPHIA, 1758-1775. 
 
 The Basis of Union— The Protest set aside — The Presbyteries — Re- 
 vival Testimony — Lessons of the Division — Members of the Pres- 
 byteries — Committee of Correspondence — Day of Fasting and 
 Prayer — Trouble in Donegal Presbytery — The Second Presbytery 
 of Philadelphia — Its Members — Vain Attempt to unite it with the 
 First — Members received from other Presbyteries — Duffield and 
 the Third Church of Philadelphia — Virginia Ministers ask for a 
 New Presbytery — Dutchess County Presbytery — Churches west of 
 the Hudson — Letter from the Presbytery of South Carolina — Pres- 
 bytery of Orange — Large Accession of Ministers — The Mission- 
 Field — Frontier Settlements — Professor of Divinity at Princeton — 
 Plan to promote Ministerial Education — Missions to the Indians 
 — John Brainerd — Samson Occum — The French War — Missionary 
 Collections proposed — Germ of Home and Foreign Missions — 
 Foreign Correspondence — Congregational and Presbyterian Con- 
 vention — Its Object — Circulation of Religious Books — Germ of the 
 Publication Cause — Psalmody — New York Troubles — Dr. Latta's 
 Pamphlet — Synod's Commission — African Mission — Drs. Stiles 
 and Hopkins — Synod of 1775 — Members present — Day of Fasting 
 and Prayer— The Pastoral Letter— Its Effect Page 138-173 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE PERIOD FROM 1775 TO 1788. 
 
 Presbyterian Sympathy for Freedom — Patriotic Spirit — Opposition 
 to an Episcopal Establishment — Picture of 1709 — Episcopal 
 
CONTENTS. XIX 
 
 Petition — Newspaper Controversy--Attitude of the Episcopal 
 Churches — Conduct of the Presbyterians — Their Course in the 
 Pulpit — John Craighead — Cooper's Sermons — Chaplains in the 
 Army — Ministers in the Ranks — Sufferings and Hardships of the 
 Clergy — Imprisonment — Commingling of Carnal and Spiritual 
 Weapons — Ministers in Civil Service — Sufferings — Church-Edifices 
 — Effect of the War on Schools and Colleges — Influence of Camp- 
 Life — Prevalent Immorality and Disorder — Meetings of Synod — 
 Return of Peace — Attendance at Synods — Ministerial Support — 
 Examination of Licentiates — Bibles for Distribution — Suffolk 
 Presbytery — Synod's Committee of Conference — Alliance of 
 Church and State repudiated — Action on Slavery — Correspond- 
 ence with other Churches — Change in the Confession — Plan agi- 
 tated for forming a General Assembly — Committee of 1785 — 
 Draught of a Constitution — Changes and Modifications — Lack of 
 Entire Unanimity — Fear of Ecclesiastical Strictness — The Fear 
 ungrounded — First Moderator — Dr. Green and the Correspond- 
 ence with the New England Churches Page 173-207 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 ASSOCIATED PRESBYTERIES. 
 
 Secession of Jacob Green and others — Green's Objections to the Pres- 
 byterian System — Peaceable Withdrawal — Joseph Grover — Amzi 
 Lewis — Ebenezer Bradford — Morris County Associated Presbytery 
 formed — Its Platform — Its Pamphlet — Appendix — Licensing Can- 
 didates — Fund for Education — Growth of the Presbytery — As- 
 sociated Presbytery of Westchester — Its Members, History, and 
 Dissolution — Northern Associated Presbytery — Annual Conven- 
 tion proposed — Confession of Faith — The Fourth Presbytery — 
 Fate of the Secession Page 207-219 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE CAROLINAS — RISE AND PROGRESS OP THE CHURCH. 
 
 Project of Colonization — A Charter secured — Gross Inconsistency— 
 The Early Settlers — Scotch Immigration — James Campbell — First 
 Churches — Hugh McAden — Alexander Craighead — Two Routes 
 of Immigration — Applications to Synod — Henry Patillo — David 
 Caldwell — Missionaries — Orange Presbytery — Thomas Reese — 
 James Hall — S. E. McCorkle — The Williamsburg Church — Francis 
 
XX CONTENTS 
 
 Cummins — Robert Tate — William Richardson and others- 
 James McGready — East Tennessee — Influence of the War — Suf- 
 fering occasioned by it — The Church and Education — South Caro- 
 lina — The First Settlers — Their Liberal Principles — Scotch Exiles 
 and Huguenots — A Puritan Element — Dorchester and Charleston 
 Churches — Episcopal Church established by Law — Remonstrance 
 — Archibald Stobo — Dissenters taxed — A Presbytery formed — Its 
 Sympathies — Successors of Stobo — Hewatt — Buist — Presbytery 
 applies for Union with the Assembly Page 2ID-250 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 " OLD REDSTONE," 1776-1793. 
 
 Emigration to Western Pennsylvania — Indian Troubles — Beatty and 
 Dufifield's Visit — Primitive Condition of Society — Toils and Hard- 
 ships of Ministers — Character of the People — Early Settlements — 
 Presbytery of Redstone erected — James Power — John McMillan 
 — Thaddeus Dod — The Log Academy — Joseph Smith — His Latin 
 School — Accessions to the Presbytery — James Dunlap, James 
 Finley, John Clark — Other Ministers — Character of the Pres- 
 bytery—The Men needed Page 250-268 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 1789-1800. 
 
 The Synod divided — New Synods — Changes in Presbyteries — General 
 Assembly — Representation — The First Assembly — Address to 
 Washington — His Reply — Overture on the Subject of Appeal- 
 Printing the Scriptures — Ostervald's Notes — History of the Mis- 
 sionary Policy of the Church — Steps taken by the Assembly — 
 Synodical Action — Circular Letter — Missionary Fund — Operations 
 of the Synod of Virginia — Pittsburg Synod — Memorials on Slavery 
 — Editions of the Confession — Relations to Other Churches — Cor- 
 respondence with Connecticut General Association — Delegates al- 
 lowed to vote — Psalmody — Measures taken — Dwight's Version — 
 Caution of the Assembly — Reports of Synods in 1791 — New Pres- 
 byteries — Alarming State of the Country — Admonitory Letter of 
 the Assembly — More Cheering Prospects — Dawn of a Revival 
 Period Page 268-299 
 
CONTENTS. XXI 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 IIW JERSEY AND PENNSYLVANIA, 1789-1800. 
 
 New Jersey Churches — Newark — Dr. McWhorter — Princeton and 
 Dr. Witherspoon — Orange — Jedediah Chapman — Other Ministers 
 — Signs of Progress — New Churches and Ministers — Pennsylvania 
 — Presbyteries of the State — Dr. John Ewing — Dr. James Sproat 
 — Dr. George Duffield — John Blair Smith — William M. Tennent 
 — James Grier — Presbytery of Carlisle — Church of Paxton — 
 John Elder — Dr. Charles Nisbet — Dickinson College — Dr. Robert 
 Davidson — Dr. Robert Cooper — John McKnight — John Black — 
 John King — Samuel Waugh — Robert Cathcart — Other Ministers — 
 Vacant Churches — Pastoral Changes — Presbytery of Huntingdon 
 — Its Pastors — Redstone Presbytery — Ohio Presbytery — Original 
 Members — Joseph Patterson — Thomas Marquis — Samuel Ralston 
 — James Hughes — Elisha Macurdy — John Watson — John Ander- 
 son — Thomas Moore — Other Ministers — Candidates... Page 300-333 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 MARYLAND AND VIRGINIA, 1789-1800. 
 
 Obstacles to the Growth of the Church — Western Maryland — Balti- 
 more Presbytery — First Church of Baltimore — Dr. Allison — 
 Church of Alexandria — William Thorn — Isaac S. Keith — First 
 Church of Georgetown — Dr. S. B. Balch — Other Members of the 
 Presbytery — Virginia — Hanover Presbytery— Pastors and Churches 
 — Episcopal Church — Leading Ministers — James Waddel — Lexing- 
 ton Presbytery — John Brown, of New Providence — Primitive Call 
 of a Pastor — Archibald Scott, of Bethel and Brown's Church — 
 William Wilson, of Augusta — Other Ministers — Moses Hoge of 
 Shepherdstown — Other Pastors — Growth of the Church in the Val- 
 ley — Presbytery of Winchester — Education of the Ministers — 
 Hampden-Sidney College — Dr. Samuel S. Smith — William Graham 
 and Liberty Hall- -The Revival in the Colleges — Students converted 
 that enter the Ministry — Results of the Revival Page 333-355 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE CAROLINAS, 1789-1800. 
 
 Synod of the Carolinas — Growth of Orange Presbytery — Ministers 
 and Churches — South Carolina Presby:ery — Its Ministers — ■ 
 Changes of Forty Years-— Measures of the Synod — Missionary 
 
XXII CONTENTS. 
 
 Policy — Now Members of Orange Presbytery — S. 0. Caldwell — 
 James McGready — Lewis F. Wilson — Humphrey Hunter — Robert 
 M. Cunningham — Moses Waddel and others — John Brown — John 
 Robinson — Erection of the Presbytery of Concord — Presbytery of 
 South Carolina divided — Members — Synod of 1796 and Slavery — 
 James Gilliland — New Members — Synod in 1800 — Presbyteries — 
 Missionary Operations Page 355-308 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 NEW YORK, 1789-1800. 
 
 Number of Congregations — Number in the Several Presbyteries — 
 Churches of Suffolk Presbytery — Jamaica — Smithtown and Hamp- 
 stead — Easthampton — Southampton — Southhold — Sagharbor— 
 Smithtown and Islip — Huntington — Newtown — Dr. Samuel Buell — 
 Benjamin Goldsmith — Aaron Woolworth — Effects of the War — 
 Improved Prospects — The Church in New York City after the War 
 — Renewed Prosperity — Third Church — Dr. Rodgers — Dr. Mille- 
 doler — Dr. McKnight — Associated Presbytery of Westchester 
 County — Presbytery of Dutchess County — Members and Churches 
 — Hudson Presbytery — Its Members — Florida Church — Other 
 Churches — Slow Growth — Prominent Ministers — Presbytery of 
 Albany — Dutch Settlers — Cherry Valley — Johnstown — Cambridge 
 — Salem — Ballston — Other Churches — Schenectady — Albany — 
 Ministers and Churches of the Presbytery — Applications to it for 
 Aid — Changes — State of Things in 1800 — Principal Pastors — Union 
 College — John Blair Smith — President Nott — Origin of the Plan 
 of Union — Genesee Valley — Emigration — Spirit of the General 
 Association of Connecticut — Its Committee — Western New York 
 — Early History of its Settlement — Its Missionary Claims — 
 Spread of Infidelity — Dearth of Ministers — Assembly's Mission- 
 aries — More Vigorous Measures — Year of the Great Revival — 
 Jedediah Bushnell — Letter of Seth Williston — Origin and Spread 
 of the Revival — Need of the Stricter System of Presbyterianism 
 for the Churches — The Two Denominations — Early Churches — 
 Foundations laid Page 368-402' 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 KENTUCKY, 1775-1800. 
 
 Population of Kentucky and Tennessee — Constant Immigration — 
 Hardships — Ministers needed — " Father" Rice — His Interest in 
 the Cause of Learning — Adam Rankin and others — Robert Mar- 
 
CONTENTS. XX111 
 
 fihftll and Carey II. Allen — Their Journey and Labors in Kentucky — 
 Allen's Return, accompanied by Calhoon, to Kentucky — Trou- 
 bles respecting Psalmody — Adam Rankin — His Zeal for Rouse's 
 Version — Heleaves the Field — Returns, and leads off a Secession — 
 Vindication of the Presbytery — Scottish Missionaries — James 
 Blythe — Samuel Rannals — John P. Campbell — Joseph P. Howe — 
 John Lyle and Alexander Cameron — Accession of Ministers — 
 Robert Stuart — Robert Wilson — Other Ministers of the Presby- 
 tery — The Field — Its Moral and Spiritual Aspects — Obnoxious 
 Influences — A Critical Period — Better Prospects Page 403-422 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 TENNESSEE, 1775-1800. 
 
 Abingdon Presbytery — Twelve Years' Growth — Churches in the State 
 — Pastors — Date of Churches — Transylvania Presbytery — Early 
 Settlements in the State — Charles Cummings — Hardships — Samuel 
 Doak — A Friend of Learning — Hezekiah Balch — Other Ministers — 
 Robert Henderson — Gideon Blackburn — Samuel Carrick — His Re- 
 ception — Pioneer Life — Sermon of Carrick and Balch — Ramsey — 
 Balch's Hopkinsianism — His Indiscretion Page 422-435 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 1800-1815. 
 
 Era of Missionary Societies — Various Organizations — Missionary 
 Zeal — Co-operative Spirit — Need of United Effort — "Plan of 
 Union" — Critical Period — The Spirit of the Occasion — Synod of 
 Albany and New Presbyteries — Act of Incorporation — Plan for a 
 Mission Fund — Assembly's Magazine — Ministerial Education — 
 Methods to promote it — Missionary Arrangements of 1802 — Synod 
 of Pittsburg and Missions — Other Mission Interests — Doak in 
 Tennessee — Gideon Blackburn and the Cherokees — His Plan en- 
 dorsed by the Assembly — Missionary Appointments — General 
 Progress — Mission Distribution of Books — Revivals — Influence 
 of the War — The Cause of Temperance — Dr. Beecher — Duelling — 
 Action on Slavery — The Kentucky Revival — Troubles that sprang 
 out of it — Cumberland Presbytery — Progress of the Church — 
 Missionary Zeal — Revivals reported in 1810 — Presbyteries formed 
 — Mission of Mills and Schermerhorn — The Mission-Field — Funds 
 — Ministers needed — Dr. Green's Overture — Favorable Reception 
 of the Plan for a Seminary — Princeton Seminary — Prominent Min- 
 isters of the Church in 1815 — Others more obscurc.Page 436-470 
 
XXIV CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 PENNSYLVANIA, 1800-1820 
 
 The Presbyteries — Growth at the West — Relative Increase — Presby- 
 tery of Philadelphia — Uriah Dubois — John B. Linn — Dr. J. P.Wil- 
 son — Dr. Jacob J. Janeway — Dr. Ezra Stiles Ely — G. C. Potts — 
 Thomas H. Skinner— William Neill— The Seventh Church— Other 
 Churches — First African — John Gloucester — George Chandler and 
 Kensington — James Patterson and Northern Liberties — John F. 
 Grier — Other Pastors — Vacant Churches — Carlisle Presbytery — 
 John Linn — Dr. McKnight — William Paxton — Joshua Williams — 
 Dr. McConaughy — Upper Marsh Creek — Robert Kennedy — H. R. 
 Wilson — David Denney, John Moody, and others — Presbytery of 
 Huntingdon — Presbytery of Northumberland — Synod of Pitts- 
 burg — Strength of the Presbyteries — Redstone Presbytery — Dr. 
 Power — Change of Forty Years — Samuel Porter — James Dunlap — 
 John McPherrin — Joseph Stockton — George Hill — Francis Herron 
 — Second Church of Pittsburg — Third Church — Fourth Church — 
 Site of the Seminary — William Wylie — Dr. Andrew Wylie — Pres- 
 bytery of Ohio — Dr. McMillan — Joseph Patterson — James Hughes 
 — John Brice — Thomas Marquis — Cephas Dodd — Samuel Ralston 
 — Other Pastors — John Anderson — President Brown — Elisha 
 Macurdy — Other Pastors — Vacant Churches — Presbytery of Erie — 
 Vacant Churches — Members of Presbytery — Thomas E. Hughes — 
 Presbyteries of Steubenville and Washington — Grand River Pres- 
 bytery — Cause of Collegiate and Theological Education — Mission 
 to the Indians — Operations of the Pittsburg Synod — Wyandotte 
 Indians — Plan of the Mission — Partial Success — Labors of Mr. 
 Badger — James Hughes and his Mission — Sympathies of Pittsburg 
 Synod — Revival of 1802 — Meeting at Three Springs — At Raccoon 
 — At Cross-Roads — "Bodily Exercises" — Badger's Statement — 
 Spread of the Revival — Statement of Mr. Robbins — The "Exer- 
 cises" — Effects of the Revival Page 471-549 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 NEW JERSEY, 1800-1820. 
 
 Churches of the State — Jersey Presbytery — Newton Presbytery — 
 First Church Newark — Dr. Griffin — Dr. Richards — Dr. Hilly er — 
 Amzi Armstrong — Dr. McDowell — Dr. King — Aaron Condict — 
 Other Pastors — New Brunswick Presbytery — Dr. S. S. Smith — 
 Dr. A. Green — Dr. Alexander — Dr. Miller — President Lindsley — 
 Dr. R. Finley — Newton Presbytery — Ministers and Churches — Re- 
 vivals — Great Meeting at Madison — Its Effects Page 550-576 
 
THE HISTORY 
 
 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 
 
 UNITED STATES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 FRANCIS MAKEMIE. 
 
 American Presbyterianism, like American civiliza- 
 tion, has derived its distinctive character from many 
 and diverse influences. As we trace the course of its 
 history we find it receiving tributaries from distant 
 and varied sources, yet all blending in a current that 
 flows in a channel of its own, and marked at every step 
 by features peculiar to itself. Commingled in it, and 
 made more or less homogeneous by it, we find the ele- 
 ments of English " dissent," Irish fervor, Scotch per- 
 sistence, and Huguenot devotion. There is scarce a 
 memorable event in the history of Protestantism in the 
 Old World that does not assist to elucidate the character 
 of its founders. It inherits alike the memories of the 
 noble men who fell victims to the bigotry of Alva or 
 Laud, or endured the brutal cruelty of Lauderdale or 
 Jeffries. In the annals of the Genevan republic, the 
 heroism of the Netherlands, the sufferings of the Hu- 
 
 VOL. I.— 1 1 
 
XXIV CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 PENNSYLVANIA, 1800-1820. 
 
 The Presbyteries — Growth at the West— Relative Increase — Presby- 
 tery of Philadelphia — Uriah Dubois — John B. Linn — Dr. J. P.Wil- 
 son — Dr. Jacob J. Janeway — Dr. Ezra Stiles Ely — G. C. Potts — 
 Thomas H. Skinner— William Neill— The Seventh Church— Other 
 Churches — First African — John Gloucester — George Chandler and 
 Kensington — James Patterson and Northern Liberties — John F. 
 Grier — Other Pastors — Vacant Churches — Carlisle Presbytery — 
 John Linn — Dr. Mc Knight — William Paxton — Joshua Williams — 
 Dr. McConaughy — Upper Marsh Creek — Robert Kennedy — H. R. 
 Wilson — David Denney, John Moody, and others — Presbytery of 
 Huntingdon — Presbytery of Northumberland — Synod of Pitts- 
 burg — Strength of the Presbyteries — Redstone Presbytery — Dr. 
 Power — Change of Forty Years — Samuel Porter — James Dunlap — 
 John McPherrin — Joseph Stockton — George Hill — Francis Herron 
 — Second Church of Pittsburg — Third Church — Fourth Church — 
 Site of the Seminary — William Wylie — Dr. Andrew Wylie — Pres- 
 bytery of Ohio — Dr. McMillan — Joseph Patterson — James Hughes 
 — John Brice — Thomas Marquis — Cephas Dodd — Samuel Ralston 
 — Other Pastors — John Anderson — President Brown — Elisha 
 Macurdy — Other Pastors — Vacant Churches — Presbytery of Erie — 
 Vacant Churches — Members of Presbytery — Thomas E. Hughes — 
 Presbyteries of Steubenville and Washington — Grand River Pres- 
 bytery — Cause of Collegiate and Theological Education — Mission 
 to the Indians — Operations of the Pittsburg Synod — Wyandotte 
 Indians — Plan of the Mission — Partial Success — Labors of Mr. 
 Badger — James Hughes and his Mission — Sympathies of Pittsburg 
 Synod — Revival of 1802 — Meeting at Three Springs — At Raccoon 
 — At Cross-Roads — "Bodily Exercises" — Badger's Statement — 
 Spread of the Revival — Statement of Mr. Robbins — The "Exer- 
 cises" — Effects of the Revival Page 471-549 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 NEW JERSEY, 1800-1820. 
 
 Churches of the State — Jersey Presbytery — Newton Presbytery — 
 First Church Newark — Dr. Griffin — Dr. Richards — Dr. Hilly er — 
 Amzi Armstrong — Dr. McDowell — Dr. King — Aaron Condict — 
 Other Pastors — New Brunswick Presbytery — Dr. S. S. Smith — 
 Dr. A. Green — Dr. Alexander — Dr. Miller — President Lindsley — 
 Dr. R. Finley — Newton Presbytery — Ministers and Churches — Re- 
 vivals — Great Meeting at Madison — Its Effects Page 550-576 
 
THE HISTORY 
 
 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 
 
 UNITED STATES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 FRANCIS MAKEMIE. 
 
 American Presbyterianism, like American civiliza- 
 tion, has derived its distinctive character from many 
 and diverse influences. As we trace the course of its 
 history we find it receiving tributaries from distant 
 and varied sources, yet all blending in a current that 
 flows in a channel of its own, and marked at every step 
 by features peculiar to itself. Commingled in it, and 
 made more or less homogeneous by it, we find the ele- 
 ments of English " dissent," Irish fervor, Scotch per- 
 sistence, and Huguenot devotion. There is scarce a 
 memorable event in the history of Protestantism in the 
 Old World that does not assist to elucidate the character 
 of its founders. It inherits alike the memories of the 
 noble men who fell victims to the bigotry of Alva or 
 Laud, or endured the brutal cruelty of Lauderdale or 
 Jeffries. In the annals of the Genevan republic, the 
 heroism of the Netherlands, the sufferings of the Hu- 
 
 VOL. I.— 1 1 
 
2 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 guenots, — culminating in the bloody St. Bartholomew, — 
 the sterling conscientiousness of the Puritans, and the 
 unswerving loyalty to Christ's crown and covenant 
 evinced by the countrymen of John Knox, may be dis- 
 cerned the elements of that training which shaped the 
 views and character of its founders. 
 
 Thus, without taking any other church on earth as 
 its model, it was built up out of materials drawn from 
 sources the most diverse, and into a structure that con- 
 stitutes its own type. Even here it was modified by 
 local influences, — sometimes constrained in the New 
 "World to renew the struggle which had become too 
 familiar in the Old, and to protest against an intolerance 
 which could not but revive memories of Acts of Con- 
 formity, bigoted proscription, or Claverhouse's dragoons. 
 Yet ere long it was left unmolested, and, in a field broad 
 enough to tax its utmost energies, was called to the 
 task of competing with other denominations in the 
 noble work of evangelizing a young and growing 
 empire. 
 
 Although it was not till after the commencement of 
 the eighteenth century that the Presbyterian Church 
 in this country assumed an organized form, yet many 
 of the elements that were finally assimilated and em- 
 bodied in it had been long acclimated on these "Western 
 shores. The Plymouth Church conformed — almost as 
 far as in its isolated position was possible — to the 
 French Presbyterian type. 1 The early Synods of New 
 England repeatedly and emphatically endorsed the 
 importance of the eldership. The Synods themselves 
 were the concession of public conviction to the neces- 
 sity for a supervision of the churches which a state 
 theocracy strove vainly to supply. Not a few of the 
 leading minds of New England regretted and opposed 
 
 1 Life of Brewster. 
 
FRANCIS MA K KM IE. 6 
 
 the tendencies upon which the churches were for many- 
 years steadily drifting towards a relaxation of church 
 order and discipline, and it is scarcely surprising that 
 the}- should have strongly favored the Presbyterian 
 system, when they felt constrained, like Stone of Hart- 
 ford, to define Congregationalism as "a speaking aris- 
 tocracy in the face of a silent democracy ," or to say of 
 it, with the elder Edwards, "I have long been out of 
 conceit of our unsettled, independent, confused way of 
 church government in this land." 
 
 Nor were there wanting those, even in New England, 
 who had been educated under the Presbyterianism of 
 men like Owen and Baxter and Manton and Jacomb, 
 but who with their liberal sympathies readily adopted 
 the ecclesiastical usages of the land of their adoption. 
 But as they went abroad, — some of them removing to 
 Long Island and some to New York and New Jersey, — 
 they just as liberally and readily acquiesced in the 
 forms and methods of their new religious associations, 
 and, like Burr of Newark and Dickinson of Elizabeth- 
 town, — without violating their convictions or sacrificing 
 an iota of principle, — became the leaders in the ranks 
 of the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 Thus, long before the first Presbytery was formed, 
 quite a number of churches on Long Island and in New 
 Jersey which subsequently" became identified with the 
 Presbyterian Church had been organized by the de- 
 scendants of the Puritans, and mainly by New England 
 men. In only one or two instances is it probable that 
 the church was possessed of a Presbyterian organiza- 
 tion j but their sympathies were one with Protestant 
 Dissenters, whether in the mother country or its colo- 
 nies. The New England Puritan affiliated readily with 
 the " Scotch Independent/' which in the lips of a Church- 
 man was often a Bynonym for Presbyterian, and in tho 
 absence of thai stale supervision of die churches which 
 
4 HISTORY OF TRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 constituted the administration of the " New England 
 Theocracy," he felt the propriety and yielded to the 
 expediency of an organization to which should be com- 
 mitted " the care of the churches." 
 
 By the year 1700 there must have been in the colo- 
 nies of New York and New Jersey from ten to fifteen 
 churches which were of a New England origin and 
 type. It is more than possible that the church at 
 Jamaica was organized as Presbyterian, 1 and if so it 
 is probably the only one of them all entitled to claim 
 this distinction until at least some years after the form- 
 ation of the first Presbytery. Nor did it come into 
 connection with Presbytery until some time subsequent 
 to its organization. 2 
 
 The man to whom the honor belongs of laying the 
 foundations of the Presbyterian Church, as an organized 
 body, in this country, is Francis Makemie. He was 
 an Irishman, — born near Eathmelton, Donegal county, 
 Ireland, — a student at one of the Scotch universities, 
 and a licentiate of the Presbytery of Laggan in 1681. 
 Three years later, after laboring a while in Barbadoes, 3 
 he organized the Presbyterian Church in Snow Hill, 
 Maryland. Here, in the narrow neck of land between 
 the Chesapeake and the ocean, sheltered by the mild 
 
 i See Macdonald's Jamaica. 
 
 2 Macdonald's "History of the Presbyterian Church of Jamaica, 
 L.I." (new and enlarged edition), published since the above was 
 written, labors to show that the Jamaica Church is the oldest exist- 
 ing church of the Presbyterian name in America. He certainly 
 renders this highly probable. And yet the church is spoken of by 
 Vesey and others as one of Scotch Independents, and the fact that 
 it stood in connection with no presbytery until after Macnish com- 
 menced his pastorate, forces us to regard it as Independent Pres- 
 byterian, and not an integral portion of " The Presbyterian Church 
 in the United States" as already organized by the Presbytery at 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 3 Foote's Sketches, First Series, p. 42. 
 
FRANCIS MAKKMIE. 5 
 
 laws of a colony founded by a Roman Catholic noble- 
 man, the Presbyterian Church of America began its 
 existence. 1 
 
 It is probable, indeed, that other Presbyterian con- 
 gregations had been gathered before this in other 
 localities. But their condition must have been far 
 from promising, and rarely could they have enjoyed 
 the ordinances of the sanctuary. The population was 
 sparse, and there were no " towns." Makemie notices 
 it as " an unaccountable humor" 2 that no attempts were 
 made to build them. The people were scattered like 
 sheep in the wilderness, and a large portion of his labor 
 was to search them out. Soon after he had commenced 
 his ministry in Maryland, he found on Elizabeth River 
 in Virginia " a poor desolate people" mourning the loss 
 of their " dissenting ministers from Ireland," who had 
 been removed by death the summer previous. 8 It was 
 not long before quite a number of congregations were 
 gathered in the region which he had selected as his field 
 of labor. An itinerant missionary, and in reality the 
 bishop of a primitive diocese, he journeyed from place 
 to place, sometimes on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, 
 sometimes in Virginia, and sometimes extending his 
 journeys as far as South Carolina. To the extent of 
 his ability he supplied the feeble churches, but he deeply 
 felt the need of others to assist him. To obtain these 
 was an object of paramount importance, and he spared 
 no eifort to attain it. With this end in view, he cor- 
 responded with ministers in London and in Boston. 
 But he was not content with this. He broke away — 
 we may be sure at a great sacrifice — from the pressing 
 
 1 From 1649 to 1692, Maryland enjoyed perfect religious tolera- 
 tion. In the latter year the Episcopal was made the Established 
 Church. The attempt to introduce this innovation was made in 
 1677, but defeated by Lord Baltimore. 
 
 2 Sprague, iii. 2. 3 lb. iii. 6. 
 
6 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 calls around him that he might personally urge his 
 appeals. He crossed the ocean and applied to the 
 Independent and Presbyterian ministers of London for 
 aid. He visited New England and consulted with 
 Mather. Indefatigable in effort, clear-sighted and 
 sagacious in his views, liberal in sentiment, fearless in 
 the discharge of duty, and shrinking from no burden, 
 his name needs no eulogy beyond the simple record of 
 what he accomplished and endured. 
 
 Makemie had been but a few years in Maryland when 
 the English Eevolution took place. For the English 
 Dissenter it secured some of his just rights, but its' 
 benefits were scarcely felt on this side of the ocean 
 Indeed, in Maryland it resulted in the establishment by 
 law of the Episcopal Church. The principles of religious 
 liberty were not to be vindicated here without a strug- 
 gle, and the early history of the American Presbyterian 
 Church rallies around it the sympathies of every friend 
 of civil and religious freedom. The experience of 
 Makemie in a New York prison, or before a royal judge, 
 reminds us of Baxter and the abuse heaped upon him 
 by the infamous Jeffries j while the history of the Vir- 
 ginia Dissenters is not unworthy a place by the side of 
 that of the English Non-conformists of 1662. 
 
 Makemie in 1703-4 visited England and procured as 
 fellow-laborers John Hampton and George Macnish. 1 
 They returned with him to Maryland, — sent out and 
 sustained by the London Union of Presbyterian and 
 Independent ministers. But when they reached Mary- 
 land it was to experience the intolerance that allowed 
 that colony no longer the enviable reputation for reli- 
 gious freedom which it once enjoyed. The Episcopal 
 had now become the Established Church, and no Dis- 
 senter was allowed to preach without a license. For 
 
 1 Usually, but incorrectly, spelled McNish. 
 
FRANCIS MAKEMIE. 7 
 
 many years in New York, Virginia, Maryland, and 
 South Carolina, the growth of the Presbyterian Church 
 was checked by persecution and intolerance. We can- 
 not do justice to the spirit of the first Presbyterian 
 ministers and their noble vindication of religious 
 liberty, without a brief review of the conditions of 
 their fields of labor. 
 
 For a long period Virginia rivalled the mother coun- 
 try it the hardships with which she treated all but 
 Episcopalians. The Established Church was exclusively 
 tolerated and sustained by law, and every form of dis- 
 sent was accounted obnoxious. For three-quarters of 
 a century it was suppressed by the most rigid laws, 
 and for another three-quarters of a century it was at 
 best but barely tolerated, and in some cases altogether 
 interdicted. In the earlier period the laws against those 
 who did not conform were peculiarly rigid. By the 
 Act of 1618, absentees from the parish church were 
 punished by a fine and a night in the stocks, and for 
 the third offence by being made slaves to the colony for 
 a year and a day. In the revisal of 1642 the Act for 
 Conformity was made more severe on ministers. The 
 Governor and Council were directed to send away any 
 who did not comply with this enactment. Nor was the 
 law suffered to remain a dead letter. 
 
 There was already in Virginia a Puritan leaven long 
 before the arrival of Makemie. 1 In 1607, Eev. Henry 
 Jacobs fled with the celebrated John Eobinson to 
 Leyden. He subsequently returned to England and 
 organized the first Congregational Church in that 
 country in 1616. In 1624, he emigrated to Virginia* 
 
 1 Prince's Chronology. 
 
 2 In 1624 Henry Jacob, who had been the pastor of the South- 
 wark Congregational Church, London, left his charge and removed 
 to Virginia, where he died. The scene and duration of his labors 
 are uncertain, but in 1642 (May 24) Richard Bennet, Daniel Gookin, 
 
O HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 with thirty members of his congregation. He was 
 succeeded in his labors in this country by Eev. Mr. 
 
 John Hyll, and others, to the number of seventy-one persons, wrote 
 to the ministers of New England, speaking of themselves as "inha- 
 bitants of the county of the Upper Norfolk in Virginia," and as 
 having prepared an address to the ministers in an appeal for help 
 in the previous year. At the later date they speak of "the present 
 incumbent" being determined to leave them, so that they are forced 
 to provide for themselves. The county, they say, is of large 
 extent, and it had been found necessary to divide it into three parts, 
 each of which wa's willing to support a pastor. Philip Bennet was 
 agent for the applicants, who desired to obtain three ministers, such 
 as should on trial be found "faithful in pureness of doctrine and 
 integrity of life." 
 
 The Virginia letters were read publicly, and a time was ap- 
 pointed to consider them. Phillips of Watertown, Tompson of 
 Braintree, and Miller of Rowley, were designated. The first 
 declined, and his colleague Knowles consented to take his place. 
 Miller's health forbade his compliance. Knowles and Tomp- 
 son set out, and at New Haven were joined by James, formerly of 
 Charlestown. They were eleven weeks in reaching their destination ; 
 but when they reached their field of labor they were greatly en- 
 couraged. 
 
 Their labors were greatly prospered; but the authorities silenced 
 them, and they returned in less than a year. But Thomas Harri- 
 son, the chaplain of the Governor, had been brought under their 
 influence, and had adopted and begun to preach their evangelical 
 views. Virginia renewed its application to Massachusetts for help. 
 William Durand of Upper Norfolk wrote also to New Haven urging 
 John Davenport (Felt, i. 515) to advance the sending of ministers 
 to Virginia. He states that his friends had thought of applying in 
 England for pastors, but had concluded that those of best qualifi 
 cations were to be found in New England. 
 
 Knowles, Tompson, — whose wife died on the mission, — and James, 
 had scarcely left Virginia when the Indians rose and massacred 
 a large number of the settlers. A " mortal sickness" also prevailed, 
 and the Governor likewise ordered those who would not conform to 
 Episcopacy to leave the jurisdiction. Harrison was left alone, — 
 pastor of a church at Nansemond gathered by the missionaries and 
 composing "a large congregation," — but in 1648 he also left for 
 
FRANCIS MAKEMIE. 9 
 
 Lathrop. Congregational ist Dissenters were thus in- 
 troduced into Virginia at an early period. 
 
 In 1641, a gentleman from Virginia by the name of 
 Bennet visited Boston with letters from Virginia resi- 
 dents to New England ministers, "bewailing their sad 
 condition for want of the glorious gospel/' and entreat- 
 ing that they might thence be supplied. The letters 
 were openly read at Boston upon a lecture-day, and the 
 subject was taken up in earnest. Tompson and 
 Knowles, colleague-pastors at Watertown and Brain* 
 tree, were selected for the mission, and on their way 
 were joined by James of New Haven. 
 
 Their voyage was slow and difficult. They began 
 " to suspect whether they had a clear call of God to the 
 undertaking," but their success on their arrival soon 
 dispelled their fears. The magistrates, indeed, gave 
 them little encouragement, but from the people they 
 received a warm welcome. In several parts of the 
 country " there were many people brought home to 
 God." But they were not long left unmolested. The 
 Episcopal clergy were far from exemplary in the dis- 
 charge of their duties. 1 They felt the rebuke of a 
 better example, and at their instance, or at least with 
 their sanction, the laws against dissent were enforced 
 against the New England ministers. They were " dis- 
 charged from public preaching in Virginia," but they 
 continued their labors in private, " and did much good." 
 They were at length, however, forced to leave. 
 
 In 1648, the Virginia Puritans were still numerous. 
 About one hundred and eighteen were associated under 
 
 New England, and his people, to avoid persecution, thought of remov- 
 ing to the Bahamas. Tims "dissent" was rooted out of the colony 
 just so far as intolerance could effect it. — Felt's X< w England, i. 216, 
 471-7, 487, 4r.o\ 515, 5:^-7 : ii. 7. 
 
 1 Bishop Meade's Churches of Virginia. 
 
10 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 the pastoral care of Harrison, who bad been tbe Go- 
 vernor's chaplain, but who, from the moment be showed 
 a leaning to the Puritans, was looked upon with disfavor. 
 He, too, withdrew to New England, and the congrega- 
 tions were scattered. During the time of Cromwell 
 (about 1§56), we still find traces of the Puritans. A cer- 
 tain people congregated into a church, calling them- 
 selves " Independents," was found to be " daily increas- 
 ing," and " several consultations were had how to sup- 
 press and extinguish them." These consultations bore 
 fruit. " The pastor was banished, next their other 
 teachers," while of the people some were imprisoned or 
 disarmed, till " they knew not in those straights how to 
 dispose of themselves." It was estimated that the num- 
 ber of this class of Dissenters amounted at this period 
 to about a thousand. 
 
 In 16G2, the laws were made still more rigid against 
 Non-conformists. The Quakers, as well as Puritans, 
 experienced harsh treatment. It seems probable that, 
 in spite of adverse legislation, quite a number of Pres- 
 byterian or Independent Dissenters still remained in 
 the colony; but they were scattered and disorganized, 
 and subject to many disabilities. It was in these cir- 
 cumstances that Makemie first visited the region. On 
 the borders of Maryland, but within the Virginia 
 line, was the place of his residence; yet it was ten years 
 after the toleration edict of 1689 before he could pro- 
 cure a legal license to preach in Yirginia. And even 
 then he had no light difficulties to encounter. The 
 spirit of the preceding period still survived, and for 
 half a century longer Presbyterians were regarded 
 with great disfavor. 
 
 Meanwhile, efforts were made, in the face of great 
 difficulties and discouragement?, to extend the Presby- 
 terian Church in other directions. 1 The town of Ja- 
 
 1 Ministers were sent from New England to New York, 1685, at 
 
FRANCIS MAKEMIE. 11 
 
 maica on Long Island had been largely settled by 
 Presbyterians. In 1702, they numbered over a hun- 
 dred families, "exemplary tor all Christian knowledge 
 and goodness." They had a church valued at six hun- 
 dred pounds, and a parsonage at more than double thai 
 amount. In 1702, the town chose Presbyterian church- 
 wardens and vestrymen, and settled as their pastor John 
 Hubbard, a native of Ipswich, Mass., and a classmate of 
 Andrews of Philadelphia. But High-Church intolerance 
 was in the ascendency in the colony, and the Presby- 
 terians were ejected to make room for the Episcopalians. 
 Bartow, the church-missionary of West Chester, in 
 Hubbard's absence, took possession of the church and 
 began to read the Liturgy. Hubbard arrived, and, 
 finding what was the state of things, withdrew, and 
 assembled the congregation, w T ho furnished themselves 
 seats and benches from the church, in a neighboring 
 orchard. Bartow meanwhile concluded his services, 
 locked the door of the church, and gave the key to the 
 sheriff. The people demanded it, but were refused. 
 The Governor, Lord Cornbury, thanked Bartow for 
 what he had done, but summoned Hubbard, with the 
 heads of the congregation, before him, and forbade him 
 any more to preach in the church. 1 
 
 Nor was this all. He added meanness to injustice. 
 During the great sickness of 1702, in New York, Corn- 
 bury entreated Hubbard, in a friendly manner, for the 
 use of the parsonage. It was granted ; but Cornbury 
 requited the favor by putting the house, when he 
 
 the desire of Governor Andrews. Pierson and Bishop of Stamford 
 wrote to I. Mather of Boston and Shepard of Charlestown, that they 
 had conversed with the Governor, and that he expressed the wish that 
 several plantations might be supplied with honest and able minis- 
 ters, promising them encouragement. — Felf, X. England, ii. 679. 
 
 1 See N. Y. Doc. Hist, and McDonald's Hist, of the Church of Ja- 
 maica. 
 
12 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 vacated it, into the hands of the Churchmen. Without 
 form or due course of law, he gave the sheriff a war- 
 rant to dispossess Hubbard of the glebe : this was sur- 
 veyed out into lots, and leased for the benefit of the 
 Episcopalians. The aggrieved party were "afraid to 
 petition" for redress. 
 
 The Presbyterians of Bedford, in West Chester county, 
 N.Y., had petitioned for a minister. The petition re- 
 mained unanswered " until an abdicated Scotch Jacobite 
 parson obtruded upon them, that insults intolerably 
 over them, is consulted with." Such was the domineer- 
 ing and tyrannic style in which liberty of conscience 
 was dealt with in the province of New York. " If a 
 people want a minister, they must have a license to 
 call one, whether from New England or Europe; a 
 license to admit ministers to attend any ordination, and 
 limited for number, and tied up from exercising their 
 ministry without license, though in a transient manner; 
 which has drove some out of the government, and de- 
 terred others from coming thereunto; which informs 
 all, what liberty of conscience Dissenters do enjoy." 
 
 In what spirit the authorities of the colony would 
 receive dissenting preachers from abroad may readily 
 be surmised. In January, 1707, Makemie and Hampton, 
 on their way to New England, doubtless to procure sup- 
 plies for newly organized churches in their own neigh- 
 borhood, passed through New York. Makemie proposed 
 to preach in the Dutch church; but Lord Cornbury 
 forbade him. In consequence of this, at the earnest 
 request of a number of individuals, he preached a ser- 
 mon at the house of William Jackson, in Pearl Street. 
 The exercises were as public as possible. The doors 
 were thrown open, and the sermon was printed. This 
 was on Sunday, the 20th of January. The same day 
 Hampton preached at Newtown, on Long Island, in 
 the public meeting-house, offered by the inhabitants. 
 
FRANCIS MAKEMIE. 13 
 
 Here he was joined on Wednesday by Makemie, who by 
 public appointment was to preach that day. But no 
 Booncr had he arrived than he and Hampton were both 
 apprehended by the sheriff Cardale, acting under the 
 authority of a warrant from Lord Cornbury. 
 
 The prisoners were taken before the Governor at 
 Fort Anne, New York. Cornbury demanded of them 
 how they dared preach under his government without a 
 license. Makemie referred him to the Toleration Act 
 of King William in 1689. He told them this did not 
 extend to the American Plantations. Makemie replied 
 that it was not a limited or local act, and adduced his 
 certificates of license from courts of record in Mary- 
 land and Virginia. Worsted in the argument, Cornbury 
 appealed to the act of Parliament directed, as he said, 
 against strolling preachers, and told Makemie and Hamp- 
 ton that they were such. " There is not one word, my 
 lord," said Makemie, "mentioned in any part of the 
 law, against travelling or strolling preachers/' To this 
 the Governor could only reply, " You shall not spread 
 your pernicious doctrines here." Makemie told him 
 that the doctrines he taught were found in " our con- 
 fession of faith," and challenged all the clergy of New 
 York to show any thing false or pernicious in them, 
 adding that he could make it appear that they were 
 agreeable to the established doctrines of the Church of 
 England. " But these Articles," replied the Governor, 
 "you have not signed." "As to the Articles of religion" 
 said Makemie, " I have a copy in my pocket, and am 
 ready at all times to sign, with those exceptions specified 
 in the law." 
 
 Upon this, the Governor charged him with preaching 
 in a private house. Makemie replied that his lordship 
 had denied him permission to preach in the Dutch 
 church, and hence he had been necessitated to do as 
 
 Vol. I.— 2 
 
14 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 he had done; but he had preached "in as public a 
 manner as possible, with open doors." 
 
 Again Cornbury fell back upon his instructions, de- 
 claring none should preach without his license. Make- 
 mie replied that the law, and not his instructions, was the 
 rule for him. He could not be guided by what he had 
 never seen and perhaps never should see. "Promul- 
 gation," said he, "is the life of the law." The Gover- 
 nor then demanded that they should give bonds and 
 security for good behavior and not to preach any 
 more under his government. "For our behavior," 
 said Makemie, " though we endeavor to live always so 
 as to keep a conscience void of offence towards God 
 and man, we are willing to give it; but to give bond 
 and security to preach no more under your Excellency's 
 government, if invited and desired by any people, we 
 neither can nor dare do." " Then you must go to jail," 
 said the Governor. It was in vain that Makemie re- 
 monstrated. Lord Cornbury sat down to write out 
 the necessary papers for their discharge from the cus- 
 tody of Cardale and their commitment in New York. 
 While he was doing so, Hampton demanded of him 
 a license, but it was peremptorily denied. Makemie 
 moved that it was highly necessary that the law should 
 be produced before their commitment, and offered to 
 remunerate the attorney if he would produce the limit- 
 ing clause of the act. But the motion was disregarded. 
 In a contemptuous tone, the Governor asked Makemie if 
 he knew law. " I do not," replied Makemie, " pretend to 
 know law; but I pretend to know this particular law, 
 having had sundry disputes thereon." He had quite a 
 large collection of law-books in his library. 
 
 The copy of their commitment was made out. It 
 was illegal in several respects. It was granted and 
 signed by the Governor, and not by any sworn officers 
 appointed and authorized by law. The queen's name 
 
FRANC IS MAKEMIE. 15 
 
 or authority was nol mentioned in it. No crime was 
 alleged as a ground oi' commitment, and the direction 
 to the sheriff to keep them safely was not, "until they 
 
 are delivered by due course of law" but, "until further 
 orders." 
 
 Thus Makemie and Hampton found themselves im- 
 prisoned with no prospect of immediate release. They 
 petitioned the Governor for a knowledge of their crime, 
 and, as they were strangers on their way to New Eng- 
 land, and four hundred miles from their habitations, 
 for " a speedy trial according to law," which they 
 humbly conceived to be " the undoubted right and 
 privilege of every English subject." To this petition 
 a verbal but unsatisfactory reply was returned through 
 the sheriff. They could not learn " the right way to 
 have a trial." Petitioning to be admitted, in the cus- 
 tody of the sheriff, to make application to the Quarter 
 Sessions in order to offer themselves "for qualification 
 as the law directs," they were again rebuffed, and the 
 messengers who presented the petition were severely 
 threatened. 
 
 They now resolved "to trouble his Excellency with 
 no more petitions," but presented their application to 
 the Quarter Sessions. Their petition was looked at and 
 handed about, but allowed no reading in open court. To 
 the chief-justice, Roger Mompesson, they made applica- 
 tion after an imprisonment of several weeks, and a writ 
 of habeas corpus was granted. But when it was to be 
 served, the sheriff told them he had a new mittimus, 
 wherein their crime was specified, by which it was evi- 
 dent tli at for more than six weeks they had been sub- 
 jected t<» false and illegal imprisonment. To complete 
 the iniquity , the sheriff demanded the payment of twelve 
 dollars for the commitment, and as much more for the 
 return of the writ, — refusing, moreover, receipts for the 
 money when it had been paid. 
 
16 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 The case was now brought before the grand jury, atid 
 a true bill found against Makemie; for though Hampton 
 was equally an offender, he was dropped from the in- 
 dictment. The trial came on upon the 4th of June. 
 The iniquity of the prosecution was abundantly shown, 
 and after his attorneys had concluded their arguments, 
 Makemie arose and spoke in his own defence. With 
 great force of argument he vindicated himself from 
 every charge, and showed himself more than a match 
 for the prosecuting attorney. He showed great fami- 
 liarity with the English laws bearing upon the subject 
 of toleration, and effectually set aside the authority of 
 the Governor's instructions as a rule of law. The jury 
 brought in a verdict of not guilty, and solemnly declared 
 that they believed the defendant innocent of any viola- 
 tion of law. Yet in spite of the verdict, and his own 
 plea for moderate charges, the bill of costs which he 
 was forced to pay amounted to more than eighty-three 
 pounds. 
 
 Even after this, Makemie was not left unmolested. 
 He narrowly escaped a second prosecution, based, if 
 possible, on even weaker grounds than the first. A 
 strange intolerance pursued him as a chief offender, 
 but the object was to obstruct the preaching of all 
 Presbyterian ministers. The Dutch and other Dis- 
 senters neither asked nor would receive a license; yet 
 they were not disturbed. But any attempt of Presby- 
 terian ministers to extend their Church was seriously 
 obstructed. 
 
 Nor was New York the only province in which they 
 had to encounter gross and severe intolerance. The 
 statutes of Virginia, as we have already seen, were so 
 framed as scarcely to recognize even the existence of 
 the Toleration Act of 1689. In Maryland the petitions 
 of Hampton and Macnish for licenses to preach in ac- 
 cordance with the act, were opposed by Episcopal in- 
 
FRANCIS MAKKMIE. 17 
 
 fluence. The vesl ry of the parish of < Jovenl ry appeared, 
 against them, encouraged, as is supposed, by Rev. Robert 
 Keith, of Dividing Creek. The petitions were referred 
 to the Governor and Council, and were finally granted, 
 
 Mr. Hampton settling at Snow Hill. Still the hard- 
 ships imposed upon Dissenters even in this colony, 
 established originally on principles of equal liberty, but 
 where the Episcopal Church was now established, were 
 by no means light. A tax of forty pounds of tobacco 
 was imposed on every "taxable," to meet the expense 
 of building and repairing churches and supporting 
 ministers. The meeting-houses of Dissenters were to 
 be " unbarred, unbolted, and unlocked." The nature 
 of the obstacles thrown in the way of the Presbyterians 
 and other Dissenters may be judged from the character 
 of the Episcopal clergy of that day in Virginia as well 
 as Maryland, — the off-scouring of the English Church, — 
 men, for the most part, according to Bishop Meade, far 
 more worthy to be ejected from society than to lead or 
 instruct the flock. 
 
 In the Carolinas, moreover, Presbyterians were made 
 to feci the edge of intolerant legislation. During the 
 troublous period from the Eestoration to the Eevolution 
 (1660-1688) they had sought a shelter from persecu- 
 tion in a colony in which civil and religious rights were 
 solemnly guaranteed to them. They had increased in 
 numbers, and amounted in South Carolina to several- 
 thousands. But in 1703, by methods that savored of 
 the brutality of Jeffries and the bigotry of James II., 
 the Episcopal was made by law the established Church. 
 Dissenters of all classes were taxed for its support, and 
 those who did not conform were disfranchised. They 
 who had left England for freedom of conscience were 
 pursued by English intolerance across the ocean, and, 
 in spite of their earnest remonstrance and appeal to 
 Parliament, the yoke was fastened to their necks and 
 
 2* 
 
18 HISTORY OF FRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 they were politically and socially degraded by a legisla- 
 tion which, to prop up Episcopacy, violated the solemn 
 pledge in the faith of which they had become exiles 
 from their native land. 
 
 Thus amid scenes of intolerance and persecution the 
 Presbyterian Church in this country commenced its 
 career. But it soon manifested, in the persons of its 
 adherents, a vital energy that was to overbear obnox- 
 ious statutes and tyrannic legislation. The treatment 
 which Makemie, Hubbard, Hampton, Macnish, and 
 others experienced at the hands of royal Governors or 
 servile judges, fitly links the history of American Pres- 
 byterianism with the memories of the English, Irish, 
 and Scotch Dissenters under the reigns of the Stuarts. 
 
 CHAPTEK II. 
 
 THE FIRST PRESBYTERY. 
 
 The first Presbytery formed in this country dates 
 from 1705 or 1706. The loss of the first leaf of the 
 records leaves the precise time uncertain. Our first view 
 of it is obtained from the minutes of a meeting, called 
 probably at Freehold, 1 N.J., for the purpose of ordain- 
 ing Mr. John Boyd. It consisted at this time of seven 
 ministers, Francis Makemie, John Hampton, George 
 Macnish, Samuel Davis, John Wilson, Jedediah An- 
 
 1 The church at Freehold was organized about 1692, and John 
 Boyd, who died in 1708, was the first minister. A charter of in- 
 corporation for this church, including those of Allentown and 
 Shrewsbury, was obtained through the influence of Governor Belcher. 
 (Hodge, i. 56.) The country around Upper Freehold was at that time 
 a wilderness full of savages. — Webster, 323. 
 
THE JIRST PRESBYTERY. 19 
 
 drews, and Nathaniel Taylor. Some of these men had 
 been for many yours laboring in their respective fields. 
 In 1684, Makemie was performing the duties of pastor 
 of the church at Snow Hill, which he had assisted to 
 organize. He had been ordained an Evangelist in 1G81, 1 
 and sent out by Laggan Presbytery, on the applica- 
 tion of Colonel Stevens of Maryland, aa a missionary to 
 this country. For some time he labored in Barbadoes, 
 and afterwards on reaching Maryland, " notwithstand- 
 ing all obstacles, his hearers and congregations multi- 
 plied." It became, consequently, his great anxiety to 
 obtain more laborers for the extensive and inviting 
 field which was opened before him. With this object 
 in view, he corresponded with Increase Mather of Bos- 
 ton, 2 and at length crossed the ocean and applied for 
 aid to the Presbyterian Congregational Union of Lon- 
 don, which Increase Mather had had a hand in forming. 
 
 His application was not in vain. " A respectable 
 body of Dissenters in London 3 sent out, for the purpose 
 of serving as evangelists in the middle and southern 
 colonies of America, two itinerants for the space of two 
 years." 4 These they undertook to support, engaging 
 afterwards to send out others on the same conditions. 
 
 This was in 1704-5. Makemie 'returned in the fall 
 of 1705 with the two ministerial brethren, " his asso- 
 ciates," 5 John Hampton and George Macnish. Accord- 
 ing to law, since the Toleration Act was designed to 
 take effect in the colonies, they were entitled to the 
 unmolested exercise of their ministry. Macnish com- 
 menced preaching at Monokin and Wicomico; Hamp- 
 ton, who had applied with him to Somerset Court to 
 be qualified, meanwhile going north with Makemie to 
 !N"ew York. 
 
 i Foote's Sketches. 2 Webster, 297. 
 
 3 Miller's Life of Rodgers, 90. * Foote, 52. 
 
 & ibid. 53: Webster, 90. 
 
20 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 Of the other members of the Presbytery, Samuel 
 Davis was residing in Delaware as early as 1692, when 
 that Quaker convert to Episcopacy, George Keith, 
 visited him. John Wilson, as early as 1702, preached 
 in the court-house at New Castle, 1 but, becoming dis- 
 satisfied, removed. In a few months, however, " finding 
 it not for the better," he returned. He was doubtless 
 one of those who gave Keith occasion to speak of Cot- 
 ton Mather's " emissaries/' 2 
 
 Of these, Andrews also was accounted one. He was 
 born at Hingham, Mass., in 1674, and graduated at 
 Harvard in 1695. In 1698, at the instance of the "New 
 England Doctors/' if we are to regard the insinuations 
 of Keith, he went to Philadelphia. The Quaker schism 
 had opened the way for the commencement of religious 
 services by Baptists, Presbyterians, and Episcopalians, 
 and, as the latter withdrew from common services, the 
 Baptists proposed to the Presbyterians that Mr. An- 
 drews and his infant congregation should unite with 
 them. The negotiation, however, proved futile, and in 
 1701 Andrews was ordained. His congregation was far 
 from homogeneous. At the outset there were " nine 
 Baptists and a few Independents in the town." There 
 were, moreover, Scotch, Welsh, Swedish, 3 and New Eng- 
 land elements. The prospect for the young congre- 
 gation was far from promising. " The Presbyterians," 
 says the Episcopal missionary Talbot, " have come a 
 great way to lay hands on one another; but, after all, 
 
 1 The Presbyterian church in New Castle is believed to be the con- 
 tinuation of the Dutch church which William Penn found in exist- 
 ence in 1683. Wilson probably commenced his labors here, con- 
 tinuing there till after the formation of the Presbytery. 
 
 2 Prot, Hist, Col., i. 07. 
 
 3 The Wicacoe (Swedish) church, near the navy-yard, was organ- 
 ized in 1675, by order of the general courts, held at New Castle in 
 that year.— Old Records, Vol. B. F. 
 
TIIE FIRST PRESBYTERY. 21 
 
 I think they had as good stay ai borne, for all the good 
 they do. . . In Philadelphia one pretends to be a Presby- 
 terian, and has a congregation to which be preaches." 
 The prospect was but little better in 1703. "They have 
 line." says Keith, " a Presbyterian meeting and minis- 
 ter, one called Andrews; but they are not like to in- 
 crease here." 
 
 They did increase, however. Under the influence and 
 labors of Andrews the heterogeneous mass began to 
 coalesce. In 1705, five adults were baptized; in 170(3, 
 four more. 
 
 We have thus the elements which were to give to 
 American Presbyterianism its earliest distinctive type, 
 brought together in the first Presbytery. Makemio 
 was a correspondent of Increase Mather, and an appli- 
 cant for missionary aid to the Dissenters of London, 
 composed of Presbyterians and Congregationalists. By 
 them, his two " associates," Hampton and Macnish, were 
 supported for several years. 1 Andrews was a Massachu- 
 setts man, and Wilson, originally from Scotland, but an 
 emigrant to Connecticut, was probably an emissary of the 
 " New England Doctors." Taylor was settled on the Pa- 
 tuxent, over a congregation composed to a considerable 
 extent of Independents; although the body consisted 
 originally, according to tradition, of a colony of two 
 hundred from Fifeshire. They arrived, with Taylor as 
 their pastor, it is said, in 1690, and founded the church 
 of Upper Marlborough. Davis can scarcely be taken into 
 account : for fourteen years he had labored in Delaware 
 
 1 Rev. George Macnish was umloubtedlj a Scotchman. His name 
 (which he wrote as above) indicates it; his descendants assert it; 
 and Rev. Mr. Poyer of Jamaica, in a letter of April, 1714, to the 
 society in England, styles him "a Scotch Independent preacher," 
 and in another letter "an Independent North Britain preacher." 
 
 J. R. 
 
22 HISTORY OF PRESBYTER1ANISM. 
 
 before a Presbytery was formed, 1 and never attended 
 its sessions afterwards, except upon a single occasion. 2 
 Nor was the intrusion of the "emissaries" uncalled 
 for. Keith had split the Quakers, and was itinerating 
 over the whole land in behalf of Episcopacy. He 
 preached at Boston, and Increase Mather felt called 
 upon to print a refutation. Keith's answer was pub- 
 lished at New York, and circulated in the Jerseys and 
 in Philadelphia, where he preached with unwearied 
 zeal. He needed, consequently, to be met on his own 
 ground. Those among whom he scattered his pecu- 
 liar doctrines were many of them in sympathy with 
 Mather. According to Keith himself, " the people of East 
 Jersey who are not Quakers are generally Independ- 
 ents, having originally come from New England." He 
 thought that "the young generation might easily be 
 brought off to the Church," if " the Church" was only 
 set up among them. 
 
 There was indeed danger of this. In East and West 
 Jersey, "except in two or three towns, there was no 
 place of public worship of any sort." The people lived 
 "very mean, like Indians." The difficulty was to get 
 ministers of any kind. The Church of England was 
 especially unfortunate in those whom she sent out. 
 "We want a great many good ministers here in Ame- 
 rica," wrote Talbot; 3 " but we had better have none at all 
 than such scandalous beasts as some make themselves, — 
 not only the worst of ministers, but of men." Such 
 as these were not wanted. " Those that we have to deal 
 with," he continues, " are a sharp and inquisitive people : 
 they are not satisfied with one doctor's opinion, but 
 must have something that is authentic, if we hope to 
 prevail with them." 
 
 i Webster, p. 311. 2 Dr. Hill. 
 
 3 Epis. Hist. Col. xxxvii. 
 
THE FIRST PRESBYTERY. 23 
 
 The zeal of Keith and Talbot was groat. They were 
 encouraged by the Society — then recently formed — for 
 the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. All 
 the Episcopal clergy in the provinces north of Virginia 
 were its missionaries. 1 In 1700, there were less than 
 half a dozen of them in this part of the country, and 
 only one in Pennsylvania. Before the first Presby- 
 tery was formed, there were five Episcopal congrega- 
 tions in that State; and in the course of two years the 
 society in England sent out thirteen missionaries. 
 Jealousy of New England stimulated Episcopal zeal. 
 They were especially afraid lest — to use their own lan- 
 guage — "Presbyterian ministers from New England 
 would swarm into these countries and prevent the 
 increase of the Church." The people showed them- 
 selves, as Talbot thought, only too ready to accept these 
 " emissaries. " " They send," he says, " to New Eng- 
 land, and call any sorry young man, purely for want 
 of some good honest clergyman of the Church of 
 England." 
 
 At Woodbridge, N J., in 1703, there was an " Independ- 
 ents' meeting-house," and Keith was glad of the chance 
 to preach in it. This was one of the places named by 
 Cockburn in 1685, in reference to the wants of which 
 he says, writing to Scotland, "there is nothing dis- 
 courages us more than want of ministers here. . . . They 
 have a mind to bring them from Scotland." But along 
 with the Scottish settlers in the troublous period of 
 James II. there came also colonists from New England. 
 Nearly half a century before, New Haven had shown 
 extreme persistence in the resolution to sustain her 
 claims to the territory. At every favorable opportunity, 
 she had sent out loads of emigrants. Once the Dutch 
 Governor at Manhattan had seized their vessel and 
 
 1 Wilborforce, Hist. Epis. Churoh. 
 
24 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 forced them to return. They applied to Cromwell for 
 aid; but the Protector died too soon to help them. Yet 
 they were not discouraged; and as soon as Dutch rule 
 vanished from New Amsterdam, the often-defeated 
 project was revived. That "sharp and inquisitive 
 people" whom the Episcopal missionaries found it hard 
 to deal with, poured in, and before the close of the 
 seventeenth century the laws of the colony attested 
 the presence of those who are called indifferently In- 
 dependents and Presbyterians. 1 Indeed, notwithstand- 
 ing the Scotch element, a very large proportion of the 
 early settlers were from New England, although a con- 
 siderable number of Quakers had here found refuge. 
 Mather and the "New England Doctors" would have 
 acted a part unworthy of themselves if they had 
 lacked active sympathy with Presbyterians in the 
 neighboring colonies. If they could have modelled 
 their own Churches anew, they would have secured 
 them the advantages of Synods and ruling elders. 3 
 
 In Philadelphia, Andrews was greatly encouraged. 
 The Episcopal missionaries were jealous of his pro- 
 gress. " There is," says Talbot (1705), " a new meet- 
 ing-house built for Andrews, and almost finished, . . . 
 which I am afraid will draw away great part of the 
 Church, if there be not the greatest care taken of it." 
 The first Presbytery met in that house. Andrews and 
 Makemie were kindred spirits, and the Presbytery was 
 the result of their co-operative councils. Each was a 
 missionary, and felt the burden of care for the Churches. 
 Makemie traversed the country to Boston, and crossed 
 the ocean, to obtain ministers. Andrews could not so 
 well leave his post, but he was scarcely less active. 
 He went abroad on preaching-tours through the sur- 
 rounding region, in Pennsylvania and the Jerseys 
 
 1 Mulford's Hist, of New Jersey. 2 Pres. Quar. Rev., Jan. 1859. 
 
THE FIRST PRESBYTERY. 25 
 
 Quite a number of congregations were gathered at 
 various points, and ministers were needed to supply 
 them. This was the subject of greatest anxiety to the 
 Presbytery. They were little anxious whence they 
 came, if they were only good men. They wrote to 
 New England, Scotland, Ireland, and the Congregational 
 and Presbyterian Union of London, to procure them. 
 Evidently their ecclesiasticism was of no very rigid 
 type. The argument for the Scotticism of the original 
 Presbytery, drawn from the presumption that, if any 
 considerable New England element was in union with 
 it, it would have manifested itself in a form of govern- 
 ment more or less allied to Congregationalism, is utterly 
 invalid. The early ecclesiasticism of New England was 
 largely Presbyterian. 1 
 
 The correspondence of the Presbytery at this early 
 
 1 The sympathy between the Presbyterian churches and New Eng- 
 land was perfectly natural. Robinson (see "Life of Brewster") was a 
 Presbyterian, and claimed that his church at Leyden was conformed 
 to the rule of the French Presbyterian Church. In 1G06, Brewster 
 was chosen elder in Robinson's congregation, and in 1609 was made 
 Robinson's assistant. He declined, however, — as only an elder, — to 
 administer the ordinances, even when the church at Plymouth had 
 no other teacher. Then the church at Plymouth was in reality a 
 Presbyterian Church, with Brewster for its ruling elder. — Princes 
 Chronology, pp. 114, 120. 
 
 A permanent ruling eldership was accepted as a principle of 
 church order by the eaidy New England settlers. (lb. 177.) Salem 
 and Charlestown had ruling elders (263-311), Watertown and 
 Boston. (358, 365, 409.) The office is distinctly recognized by the 
 Synods of New England, at Cambridge, in 1646 and 1680; and at 
 the latter date the Westminster Confession was adopted. — Mather's 
 Mag. ii. 180, 207. The Synod of Connecticut, in 1708 (Say brook 
 Platform), adopted it. Even Eliot ordained elders at Martha's 
 Vineyard. — Mather, i. 515. 
 
 Synods were held at Cambridge in 1637, 1649, 1667, 1679, 1680, 
 and at Boston in 1662, all of which distinctly name ruling elders as 
 officers in the Chore*.— Mather, ii. 192, 207, 238, 279, 289. This 
 Vol. I.— 3 
 
26 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 period throws light upon the liberal spirit by which it 
 was animated. In 1708, a letter was written to certain 
 ministers in Connecticut. It speaks of the object of the 
 formation of the Presbytery, — "for the furthering and 
 promoting the true interests of religion and godliness." 
 It declares, " It is our universal desire to walk in the 
 nearest union and fellowship with the churches in those 
 parts where you inhabit, not knowing any difference in 
 opinion so weighty as to inhibit such a proposal, nor 
 doubting of your cordial assent thereto." 
 
 In 1709, a letter to Sir Edmund Harrison, an emi- 
 nent Dissenter in London, states, " It is a sore distress 
 and trouble to us, that we are not able to comply with 
 the desires of sundry places crying unto us for minis- 
 ters to deal forth the word of life unto them; therefore 
 we most earnestly beseech you, in the bowels of the 
 Lord, to intercede with the ministers of London and 
 other well-affected gentlemen, to extend their charity 
 
 ■was the distinct, feature of the organization adopted by the Synod 
 in 1680, in accordance with "Heads of Agreement" in England, in 
 the formation of which, in 1690, Dr. Increase Mather bore a distin- 
 guished part. — Mather, ii. 233, 235. 
 
 Thus at the formation of the first Presbytery there was no repre- 
 sentation of such Congregationalism as that which prevails to-day 
 on this continent; and the apparent laxness in the language of the 
 Saybrook Platform is merely a copy of the "Heads of Agreement" 
 of 1690 on this point.— F. 
 
 There was no diversity, therefore, really, between the Irish Pres- 
 byterians and the New England " emissaries " in the matter of 
 ecclesiastical sympathy. The doctrine and discipline of New Eng- 
 land was regarded as identical with that of the Dissenters in Great 
 Britain and the more southern provinces in this country. The 
 founders of the Presbyterian Church were as anxious to procure 
 ministers from New England as Mather was to send them. For 
 them, help from this source was a matter of convenience and neces- 
 sity, and they found those who joined them one with themselves 
 in the matters of church order and discipline. 
 
THE FIRST PRESBYTERY. 27 
 
 and pity to us, to carry on so accessary and glorious a 
 work ; otherwise many people will remain in a perish- 
 ing condition as to spiritual things." There is no trace 
 of Scotch jealousy or rigid ecclesiasticism in this epis- 
 tle. 1 
 
 In 1710, a letter was sent to the Presbytery of Dublin 
 in response to their desire for a correspondence to " be 
 settled and continued from time to time." It narrates 
 briefly the efforts of Makemie with the ministers of 
 London, and expresses the conviction that had they — ■ 
 "our friends at home" — been equally watchful and 
 diligent as the Episcopal society in London, "our in- 
 terest in most foreign plantations might have carried 
 the balance." With saddened feelings, they confess the 
 weakness of their numbers. In Virginia there was but 
 one congregation, on Elizabeth Biver; "in Maryland 
 only four, in Pennsylvania five, and in the Jerseys two, 
 with some places of New York." The Presbytery 
 request their friends in Dublin to raise the sum of sixty 
 pounds to support for a year an itinerant minister 
 whom they were to send out, at the same time inform- 
 ing them that they had exerted their influence to 
 secure a similar favor from the ministers of London, 
 " in the hands of Eev. Mr. Calamy." 1 
 
 In the same year a letter was addressed to the Synod 
 of Glasgow. It was invited by the assurance of a mem- 
 ber of the Synod, of its " willingness to correspond with 
 us in what concerns the advancement of the Mediator's 
 interest in those regions where our lot is fallen." Of 
 the Synod, the Presbytery, in view of the urgent de- 
 mand for ministers, make a request similar to that 
 which they had made to the Presbytery of Dublin. 
 
 1 The London ministers to whom the letters were addressed were 
 the very men who adopted the "Heads of Agreement" nineteen 
 years before. 
 
28 HISTORY OF TRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 From London there came back a cheering response, 
 for which the Presbytery expressed their gratitude in 
 the warmest terms. In 1712, Thomas Reynolds en- 
 gaged, for the ensuing year, to advance thirty pounds 
 for missionary labor within the bounds of the Presby- 
 tery; promising, according to his capacity, to do what 
 he could to serve them in after-years. " I should be 
 glad," he says, "to be an instrument of disappointing 
 any that can encourage no expectation from us." The 
 aid was seasonable; it proved "the relief of some weak 
 congregations," unable to maintain their own ministers. 
 
 Prom the time of its formation, the Presbytery con- 
 tinued steadily to increase in numbers and strength. 
 At its meeting in 1706, John Boyd, a probationer from 
 Scotland, was ordained, and commenced his labors in 
 New Jersey at Freehold and Middletown. In 1708, 
 " trials" were appointed to Mr. Joseph Smith (from New 
 England), whose settlement was desired among them by 
 the people of Cohansey. In 1710, John Henry and James 
 Anderson were received; the first — invited, upon the 
 death of Makemie, by his people, to succeed him — was 
 from the Presbytery of Dublin; the last, settled first at 
 New Castle and afterward in New York, was from Scot- 
 land. At the same meeting, Nathaniel Wade, who had 
 been ordained and settled at Woodbridge, N.J., by the 
 ministers of Fairfield county, previous to 1708, and 
 Joseph Morgan, who, after several years of discourag- 
 ing experience in West Chester county, N.Y., had set- 
 tled in 1709 at Freehold, were received as members of 
 the body. 
 
 Early in 1712, George Gillespie had been licensed by 
 the Glasgow Presbytery. He came shortly after to 
 New England, with letters from Principal Stirling to 
 Cotton Mather. By the latter he was recommended to 
 the divided people of Woodbridge, but finally settled 
 at White Clay Creek, at the same time extending his 
 
THE FIRST PRESBYTERY. 29 
 
 care to the congregations of Red Clay, Lower Brandy- 
 wine, and Elk River, in Delaware. 1 
 
 The people of Patuxent applied the same year to 
 friends in London to procure a pastor, and Daniel 
 McGill was sent over. In the two following years the 
 Presbytery was strengthened by the accession of four 
 new members, Howell Powell, 1 Malachi Jones. Robert 
 Witherspoon, 3 and David Evans, — all but Witherspoon 
 (who was a Scotchman) from Wales. 
 
 In 1715, John Bradncr, Hugh Conn, and Robert Orr 
 were received. The first, from Scotland, was licensed 
 and ordained in this country, and settled over the con- 
 gregation of Cape May :* he afterwards removed to 
 Goshen, N.Y., where he died. 5 Conn was a native of 
 Ireland, but sent over by the "friends in London," and 
 bore with him the cheering letter of Thomas Reynolds 
 to the Presbytery. He was settled in Baltimore county, 
 and became a member of the New Castle Presbytery. 
 Orr was from Ireland or Scotland, and in 1715 accepted 
 a call to Maidenhead and Hopewell. 
 
 Besides these, several others had joined the Presby- 
 tery, but the connection was transient or their position 
 less important. The Presbytery had increased to such 
 an extent that, in the judgment of its members, a divi- 
 sion was demanded. The new Presbyteries would in- 
 
 1 His remains lie buried at the "Head of Christiana," where a 
 marble slab commemorates his virtues. 
 
 2 Ordained at Cohansey, October 15, 1714. 
 
 9 Rev. Robert Witherspoon was ordained at Appoquinimy, now 
 Drawyer's Church (Del.), May 13, 1714, and died in May, 1718. 
 
 * Bradner preached first at Fairfield, N.J., afterwards at Cape 
 May. These churches were colonies from New England. 
 
 Mr. Joseph Smith was probably the first minister at Cohansey, 
 from Deerfield. Mass. ; and the tradition is that that people brought 
 their minister with them. The colony was from Fairfield, Conn. 
 Mr. S. was a member of Presbytery in 1708. 
 
 5 Riker's Newtown. 
 
30 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIAN1SM. 
 
 deed be weak, but already there was assurance of their 
 rapid growth. There were quite a number of ministers 
 and churches whose distance rendered their connection 
 with a single Presbytery, central to Philadelphia, un- 
 advisable. Measures were already taken to establish 
 a Presbyterian congregation in New York. A church 
 had for many years been in existence at Newark, N.J., 
 and in 1709 Jonathan Dickinson had been ordained at 
 Elizabethtown by the ministers of Fairfield county, 
 but had as yet formed no connection with Presbytery. 
 
 On Long Island quite a number of churches, known 
 sometimes as Presbyterian and sometimes as Independ- 
 ent, 1 but formed on the New England model, were 
 ready, through the influence of Macnish, who mean- 
 while had removed to Jamaica, to be organized into a 
 Presbytery by themselves, and to receive under their 
 care the churches and ministers that might be disposed 
 to unite with them. Pumroy of Newtown had already 
 (1715) united with the Presbytery, and in the following 
 year a call from Southampton was presented to Samuel 
 Gelston, accompanied by the assurance that the people 
 were ready to place themselves under its care. 
 
 In these circumstances, Macnish and Pumroy were 
 left to act according to their discretion, with regard to 
 the formation of a Presbytery on Long Island. It was 
 recommended to them " to use their best endeavors 
 with the neighboring brethren that are settled there, 
 which as yet join not with us, to join with them" in the 
 erection of a Presbytery. The other members and 
 churches of the original body were set off to form the 
 three Presbyteries of Philadelphia, New Castle, and 
 Snow Hill. 
 
 Thus, in ten years from the formation of the original 
 
 1 Nearly aU the early churches on Long Island and in New Jersey 
 were colonies from New England. 
 
THE FIRST PRESBYTERY. 31 
 
 Presbytery it had growD to a Synod. The period had 
 been one marked also by general harmony, as well as 
 by rapid growth. The ministers of the body were from 
 Ireland, Scotland, London, Wales, and New England, 
 and, laying aside all differences of minor importance, 
 they had cheerfully and heartily co-operated on a basis 
 broad enough to accommodate them all. As yet there 
 were manifest no doctrinal diversities. All were Calvin- 
 ists, and all cheerfully assented to, if they did not 
 prefer, the Presbyterian form of government. The 
 laborers in the Held stood ready to welcome faith- 
 ful fellow-laborers, from whatever quarter they might 
 come. To the reverend brethren of the Church of Scot- 
 land, whom, said they, "we sincerely honor and affec- 
 tionately esteem as fathers," they represented the deso- 
 late condition of the vacant places that had applied for 
 ministers. To the Presbytery of Dublin, and to the 
 ministers of London, they had likewise sent similar 
 requests, and with the ministers of Boston, New Haven, 
 and New England, generally, they were on the most 
 friendly terms. To Connecticut they had sent ex- 
 pressly for aid, and were disappointed to find that the 
 vacancies in that colony were so numerous as to defeat 
 their expectations. 
 
 The necessity of a specific adoption of standards by 
 the Presbytery does not yet seem to have occurred. 
 The great body of the ministers, while they were yet 
 few in number and drawn together by the urgent neces- 
 sitics of their common field, were evidently united in 
 doctrinal sentiment. The most trying discussions of 
 Presbytery were those which concerned variances be- 
 tween pastor and people, — as the case of Wade at Wood- 
 bridge, — the morals or the discretion of the ministers, 
 as in the case of Van Vleck and Evans. Nor, when 
 we regard the intimacy and mutual confidence of An- 
 drews and Makemie, the last bequeathing his library to 
 
32 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 the former, one from New England and the other sus- 
 tained and encouraged by the London ministers, can 
 we feel that either they or their " associates" were in 
 danger of error on the side of excessive strictness. 
 Their moderation, indeed, was such that they were 
 drawing towards them, as they were recommending the 
 policy that would do it, the Congregationalists of Long 
 Island. 
 
 With Drs. Miller and Hodge, against all the argu- 
 ments of Dr. Green, we must hold to the strong impro- 
 bability that the lost leaf of the records contained any 
 specific standard for the adoption of members. 
 
 CHAPTEE III. 
 
 THE SYNOD, A.D. 1717-1729. 
 
 Upon the division of the original Presbytery and the 
 formation of the Synod, the Long Island Presbytery 
 commenced its existence. It met and was constituted 
 at Southampton, April 17, 1717, and its first work was 
 the examination and ordination of Samuel Gelston, 
 whose call to the Southampton church had been ap- 
 proved by the Presbytery of Philadelphia in the pre- 
 ceding year. The ministers who took part in the ordi- 
 nation undoubtedly composed the entire Presbytery. 1 
 They were George Macnish, who had removed to Ja- 
 maica in 1710, Samuel Pumroy, who was settled al 
 Newtown, and George Phillips, who for twenty years 
 had been laboring at Setauket. The churches under 
 the care of the Presbytery had, most of them, been long 
 in existence. Their membership was largely from New 
 
 1 Frimc's Long Island. 
 
THE SYNOD, A.D. 1717-1720. 33 
 
 England, and their forms of worship and government 
 were Congregational or [ndependent. The chnrch at 
 Southampton was gathered as early a.-> L640, when 
 Abraham Pierson, afterwards the founder of the church 
 
 at Newark, was its pastor. The church at Setauket 
 enjoyed, as early as 1655, the labors of Rev. Nathaniel 
 Brewster, a grandson of Elder Brewster of Mayflower 
 memory. Newtown was settled by English emigrants 
 in 1652, and in 1671 a house of worship was erected. 
 It was not till 1724, seven years after the erection of 
 the Presbytery, that the church was provided with 
 ruling elders and became distinctly Presbyterian. 1 The 
 first settlement of Jamaica was in 1656, and in 1663, by 
 vote of the town, a meeting-house was erected. It was 
 replaced by a stone edifice in 1690; but in 1702 the 
 arbitrary authority of Lord Cornbury r wrested it from 
 the Presbyterians and placed it in the hands of the 
 Episcopal rector. 
 
 But beside these churches under the care of the 
 Presbytery, there was quite a number of others, com- 
 posed largely of New England settlers in other parts 
 of the island. Some of these, at a later period, became 
 Presbyterian. The one at Southold was gathered in 
 1640. Emigrants from Lynn found their way to East 
 Hampton in 1648, and were prompt in securing for 
 themselves the privileges of public worship. Hunting- 
 ton was settled from New England in 1658, and soon 
 after a church-edifice was erected. Hempstead enjoyed 
 the labors of Rev. Richard Denton at the earliest 
 period of its history, in 1644. A church was gathered 
 at Bridgehampton in 1695, and at Mattituck in 1715. 
 
 Thus, at the period of the formation of the Pres- 
 bytery there were at least ten <»r twelve churches, 
 called indifferently Presbyterian or [ndependent, on 
 
 1 Hiker's Annals of Newtown. 
 
d4 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM 
 
 the island. Several of them in the course of a few 
 years became connected with that body, which em- 
 braced at first but the four churches of Jamaica, New- 
 town, Setauket, and Southampton. The church at 
 Mattituck came into connection with the Presbytery 
 in 1719, and some of the others invited at least its 
 counsel and assistance. Only their own records, in the 
 loss of others, can show the precise date at which they 
 became distinctively Presbyterian. 
 
 Of the three other Presbyteries, the first to be noticed 
 is that of Philadelphia. It numbered at its formation 
 six ministers: — Andrews, at Philadelphia; Jones, at 
 Abington; Powell, at Cohansey; Orr, at Maidenhead 
 and Hopewell; Bradner, at Cape May; and Morgan, at 
 Freehold. Of these, Bradner is said to have been from 
 Scotland, and Orr from Ireland. Jones and Powell were 
 Welshmen ; Andrews and Morgan were from New Eng- 
 land. The missionary field of this Presbytery was quite 
 extended, and there were several congregations desti- 
 tute of pastors. 
 
 The Presbytery of New Castle likewise numbered 
 six ministers: — Anderson, at New Castle, Delaware; 
 McGill, at Patuxent; Gillespie, at White Clay Creek; 
 Evans, on the Welsh Tract; Witherspoon,at Appoqui- 
 nimy ; and Conn, in Baltimore county, Maryland. Here, 
 with a single exception, all the members were from 
 Scotland or Ireland. 
 
 The Presbytery of Snow Hill, which became absorbed 
 in that of New Castle, numbered as members only 
 Davis, Hampton, and Henry. The first still remained 
 among the people with whom he had so long been con- 
 nected without pastoral settlement, yet no longer ser- 
 viceable in the pulpit. Hampton was settled at Snow 
 Hill, and Henry was Makemie's successor at Eehoboth. 
 
 Here, at the commencement of the existence of 
 Synod, were the nineteen ministers of whom it was 
 
THE SYNOD, A.D. 1717-1729. 85 
 
 composed, scattered at wide distances along the coasl 
 from Virginia to the eastern pari of Lou-- Island. The 
 demand for new laborers in the field was greater than 
 ever before, and new congregations were in process of 
 formation at various points. In New York and its 
 vicinity, the intolerance of Lord Cornbury and the in- 
 trusion of Episcopacy had discouraged the efforts of 
 those who were now known as Dissenters. The treat- 
 ment of Makemie was a warning to any from abroad 
 who might propose to follow his example. Conse- 
 quently, several years passed before measures were 
 taken to form a Presbyterian congregation. 
 
 Meanwhile, however, discord had begun to spread in 
 the ranks of what its friends were pleased to call, most 
 unwarrantably, the Established Church. In 1G93, the 
 Assembly of the colony, at the instance of the Governor, 
 and by what that devoted friend of Episcopacy, Colonel 
 Lewis Morris, denominated his "artifice," made pro- 
 vision, by an act, for the maintenance of "one good 
 sufficient Protestant minister" within the bounds of 
 each town in the province where the people should 
 desire it. The " one good and sufficient Protestant 
 minister," according to the interpretation of Lord 
 Cornbury and his zealous friends, could be no other 
 than a clergyman of the Church of England. The 
 congregations, however, were still entitled to the choice 
 of vestrymen and churchwardens. The denial of this 
 right would at once have opened the eyes and excited 
 the indignation of the Assembly, who were almost to a 
 man " Dissenters." 
 
 And now the door was opened for Episcopal aggres- 
 sion. It began at Jamaica, and continued there for 
 more than thirty years. Indirectly the whole Epis- 
 copal Chnrch in this country became a party. Poyer, 
 the Jamaica incumbent, after the death of Orquart, 
 who had succeeded Hub bell, was disposed, with the 
 
36 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 encouragement of the Governor, to prosecute his suit 
 against the vestry, who had called Macnish, and put 
 him in possession of the parsonage. But there was 
 apprehension lest the case should go against the prose- 
 cutor. The judges, for the most part, were " dissenters/' 
 and would be disposed to do justice against Episcopal 
 aggression. The decision would furnish a precedent, 
 and every Episcopal incumbent would be left at the 
 mercy of his vestry and churchwardens. Yesey of 
 New York perceived the danger. He was a graduate 
 of Harvard, and had been sent by Increase Mather ' 
 to " confirm the minds of those who had removed for 
 their convenience from New England" to New York. 
 His express mission, according to Episcopal accounts, 
 was to counteract the influence of the chaplain of the 
 forces sent out from England, and till 1697 he was " a 
 dissenting preacher on Long Island." But he was 
 bought over by Governor Fletcher by the offer of the 
 Eectory of New York and a promised increase of stipend. 
 From this time he was a zealous Churchman ; and, in 
 defence of his own views of the interest of the Church, 
 he succeeded in bringing nearly all the Episcopal 
 clergymen in New York and the neighboring provinces 
 to join with him in dissuading Poyer from prosecuting 
 his suit, and in sending to England representations 
 prejudicial to the character and standing of Governor 
 Hunter, who had succeeded Lord Cornbury. 
 
 Hence ensued a breach between the clergy and the 
 Governor. Nor was this all. To promote more effec- 
 tually his designs, Yesey converted his vestry into a 
 close corporation, and adopted measures which divided 
 the congregation into two hostile and embittered 
 parties. He did not hesitate to designate his op- 
 ponents as " schismatics," and by other opprobrious 
 
 i New York Hist. Col. iii. 488. 
 
Till: BYN0D, A.D. \717-1729. 37 
 
 titles. Some of them withdrew, and worshipped in the 
 chapel of I he garrison. 
 
 This was in 1714. The document in which the ag- 
 grieved party tell their story contains several passages 
 which were scored out of the original. Among these 
 is one in which they say, "We have yet no dissenting 
 congregation of English in the town, which, we fear, 
 makes ours (the separated party) larger than it would 
 be if there was one; and how deplorable a folly would 
 it be to raise one out of our own dissensions!" 
 
 But those dissensions were not without their in- 
 fluence. The proceedings of Lord Cornbury — who 
 closed his career as Governor in 1708, and was passed 
 over by his creditors into the sheritfs hands — had 
 created towards him a strong feeling of indignation and 
 disgust. The proceedings of Yesey had rendered him 
 unpopular with large numbers in his own parish. His 
 course in regard to Poyer's suit had lost him the sym- 
 pathy and respect of the Governor who had succeeded 
 Cornbury, and thus, by the discord in the ranks of the 
 "Established Church," the hopes of the Presbyterians 
 were encouraged. 
 
 After Makemie's visit, and especially after the close 
 of Cornbury's administration, they met, as opportunity 
 afforded, in private dwellings. " They kept together, 
 and continued, with few interruptions and with a gra- 
 dual increase of their number, to meet for worship 
 without a minister, until the year 1716, when John 
 Nieoll, Patrick McKnight, Gilbert Livingston, Thomas 
 Smith, and a few others, conceived the plan of forming 
 themselves into a regular Presbyterian church and 
 calling a stated pastor." 1 Measures were immediately 
 taken at this fitting opportunity, when division per- 
 vaded the Episcopal ranks, and the persecuting power 
 
 1 Life of Rodgers 
 Vol.. I.— 4 
 
38 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 of the Church was palsied, to carry out their design. 
 In the summer of that year they extended a call to 
 Anderson at New Castle, in Delaware. The commis- 
 sion of the Synod, to whom the case was referred, de- 
 cided that Anderson ought to accept the call, and ac- 
 cordingly, in October, 1716, he removed to New York. 
 
 Here he was favorably received, and for three years, 
 by the permission of the authorities, the infant congre- 
 gation was allowed to occupy the City Hall for public 
 worship. Meanwhile ground was purchased on Wall 
 Street as a site for a church-edifice, and a building was 
 erected in 1719. The necessary funds were procured 
 in part from friends in the city, and in part from collec- 
 tions in Connecticut and in Scotland. 
 
 In 1720 a charter of incorporation was sought of the 
 Governor and the Council ; but the opposition of the 
 vestry of Trinity Church defeated the application. The 
 result was, that the fee simple of the property was vested 
 in Anderson the pastor, and Nicoll, Liddle, and Ingliss, 
 members of the congregation, and by them, in 1730. 
 conveyed in due form of law to the Moderator and 
 commission of the General Assembly of the Church of 
 Scotland. Until 1766, no further efforts were made to 
 secure a charter. 
 
 Anderson was a man of talents, learning, and piety, 
 a graceful and popular preacher. But he had not long 
 been settled before a portion of his congregation be- 
 came dissatisfied. He was charged with a spirit of 
 ecclesiastical domination and with improper inter- 
 ference in the temporal concerns of the Church. 
 Livingston and Smith complained to Synod of his ser- 
 mons, and, after hearing them read, that body ex- 
 pressed themselves as wishing that " they had been de- 
 livered in softer and milder terms in some passages." 
 In 1721, a division took place, and a distinct society 
 was formed, to which Jonathan Edwards preached for 
 
THE SYNOD, A.D. 1717-1729. 39 
 
 the space of nine months. But the new congregation 
 was boo feeble to support a minister, and the future 
 author of the "Inquiry into the Freedom of the Will" 
 found difficulties in his way which determined him to 
 seek another tield of labor. 
 
 Anderson did not long continue in the pastorate at 
 New York. In 1726 he accepted a call to New Donegal, 
 in Pennsylvania, and was succeeded by Ebenezer Pem- 
 berton, under whose ministry the old divisions were 
 healed. Pemberton w T as a native of Boston, and a gra- 
 duate of Harvard College. His father was a clergy- 
 man, and the son, trained from his early years for the 
 ministry, fulfilled in a diligent, faithful, and useful 
 pastorate at New York the promise of his youth. He 
 was "a man," says Smith, 1 "of polite breeding, pure 
 morals, and warm devotion." His labors were emi- 
 nently successful. He understood the character of the 
 people he had to deal with better than Anderson. 
 They were largely from New England. "As New 
 England," says Colonel Morris, with a sneer w T hich time 
 has changed into eulogy, " was, excepting some fa- 
 milies, the scum of the Old, so the greatest part of the 
 English in this province was the scum of the New." 
 But in Mr. Pemberton they were well united. For 
 thirty years he exercised his ministry, and had the 
 satisfaction to see the old house of worship replaced 
 by a new and much larger edifice, and his congregation 
 increased to twelve hundred or fourteen hundred souls. 2 
 
 In 1717, Jonathan Dickinson united with the Phila- 
 delphia Presbytery. He bad been ordained at Eliza- 
 bethtown, N.J., by the ministers of Fairfield county, in 
 17*'!». and for nine years had labored over the extensive 
 field embracing not only Elizabeth town, but Rahway, 
 Westficld, Connecticut Farms, Springfield, and a part of 
 
 * Hist, of New York, i 250. * Ibid. 260. 
 
40 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 Chatham. He was a native of Massachusetts, and a 
 graduate of Yale College. With uncommon sagacity, 
 calm judgment, and unshrinking firmness, — tempered, 
 however, with the spirit of Christian forbearance and 
 moderation, — he was well qualified to take a prominent 
 part in the public concerns as well as controversies of 
 the Church. For nearly forty years he continued in the 
 exercise of the ministry; and the incidents of his life 
 are interwoven with the history of Presbyterianism 
 throughout the period of his career. His intellectual 
 superiority and commanding influence made him the 
 leader of the old Synod before the separation, and he 
 was the acknowledged leader of the new Synod after 
 the division had taken place. 
 
 The church at Newark, not yet connected with the 
 Presbytery, but under the care of the venerable Prud- 
 den, and soon destined to enjoy the pastoral labors of 
 President Burr, had already been in existence as an 
 independent church for more than half a century. It 
 was established in 1665 by the elder Pierson, who had 
 previously removed from Lynn, Mass., to Southamp- 
 ton on Long Island, and thence to Branford, Conn., 
 where he had formed a church. 1 On the union of the 
 colonies of New Haven and Hartford, his opposition to 
 the growing laxity of sentiment and his zeal for his 
 own peculiar ecclesiastical views led him, with a large 
 portion of his charge, to seek out a new place of settle- 
 ment. His son was the first President of Yale College, 
 and his grandson was for some years pastor at Wood- 
 bridge, N.J. The date of his ordination was almost 
 
 1 Mr. Pierson is said to have been episcopally ordained, but to 
 have been "equally displeased with the tyranny of Charles I. both 
 in Church and State, and with the civil madness and religious 
 enthusiasm which prevailed under Cromwell, and that he annexed 
 himself to the party which were called Moderate Presbyterians " 
 — McWhorter's Hist. Discourses. 1807. 
 
41 
 
 contemporaneous with the organization of the Synod. 
 It took place April 19, 1717. 
 
 Prom this period fche Dumber of ministers and con- 
 gregations rapidly Increased. Moses Dickinson, a 
 brother of Jonathan, succeeded Orr in Hopewell and 
 Maidenhead, in New Jersey, in 1718. Robert Cross, 
 from Ireland, was installed at New Castle in the fol- 
 lowing year. Joseph Lamb, a graduate of Yale College, 
 became pastor of Mattituck in 1717, and in 17 1 '.» bis 
 church united with the Presbytery of Long Island, by 
 which he had been ordained. Samuel Young, from 
 Armagh Presbytery, was appointed by the New Castle 
 Presbytery to supply Drawyers, in Delaware, and 
 shortly before his death, in 1721, took charge of a 
 congregation that had been recently gathered about 
 the branches of the Elk and was composed mainly of 
 emigrants from Ireland. John Clement, who after- 
 wards supplied Gloucester and Pilesgrove, and William 
 Steward, who accepted a call to Monokin and Wico- 
 mico, were received in 1718. 
 
 In the ten years that followed, the membership of 
 the Synod was largely increased. At the close of this 
 period seven ministers had been received from New 
 England, five from Scotland or Ireland, three from 
 England and Wales, and several were licensed by the 
 Presbyteries in this country. From New England 
 came Webb of Newark (1720); the younger Dickinson 
 of Maidenhead and Hopewell; Walton of Crosswieks. 
 whose erratic course was as surprising as his eloquence ; 
 Parris of CobanseyjHubbellof Westfield and Hanover, 
 — including the present congregations of Morristown, 
 Chatham, and Parsippany; Elmer of Fairfield in Co- 
 hansey, andPcniberlon of New York. From England 
 came John Orme, who settled with the congregation 
 of Marlborough on Patuxent, and Robert Lainer, who 
 supplied Brandywine and White Clay. From Wales 
 
42 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 came Thomas Evans, who labored at Pencader; Wil 
 liam McMillan and Adam Boyd — the former sent tc 
 supply the people of Virginia, and the latter settled at 
 Octorara — were both ordained in this country. Boyd 
 was commended by Cotton Mather, and both he and 
 McMillan were connected with the New Castle Pres- 
 bytery. Of the other ministers, Alexander Hutchinson 
 was sent over by the Glasgow Presbytery in answer to 
 the petition of the Synod, and settled at Bohemia 
 Manor and Broad Creek. Thomas Craighead, who 
 finally settled at Pequa, was the son of an Irish 
 minister, but labored for some time in New England 
 before he joined the Synod. Cotton Mather loved and 
 esteemed him. In a letter to a friend he spoke of him 
 as "of an excellent spirit and a great blessing to youi 
 plantation," — " a man of singular piety, meekness, 
 humility, and industry in the work of God." Joseph 
 Houston, who settled at Elk Eiver, was from Ireland, 
 but had supplied the pulpit of Mr. Hillhouse, at New 
 London, Conn., for several months previous to his 
 uniting with the Synod. Archibald McCook and Wil- 
 liam Tennent were likewise from Ireland. 
 
 The first of these came over as a student, and was 
 licensed by the New Castle Presbytery. His field of 
 labor was Kent, in Delaware. It embraced Dover 1 (St. 
 Jones) and Murthur Kill. Ten years previously, the 
 destitution of the region had attracted the attention 
 of Presbytery. Repeatedly they had been furnished 
 with temporary supplies. Gelston, Cross, Hook, T. 
 Evans, Steward, Hutchinson, and Finch had visited 
 them; but McCook became in 1727 their first pastor. 
 
 But in some respects the most important name added 
 to the Synod's list during the ten years from 1719 to 1729 
 
 1 St. Jones is now Dover, on Jones', or anciently, St. Jones' Creek 
 in St. Jones, now Kent county, Del. 
 
THE Bi NOD, A.l>. 1717-1729. 43 
 
 was that of William Tennent. !Iis influence upon the 
 progress and prosperity of the Church entitles bim to 
 a rank second to no other. In Learning, piety, and 
 the wise forethought which he manifested in regard to 
 
 provision for an educated ministry, he is entitled to 
 the highest honor. 
 
 The Synod had increased during its career from 1717 to 
 17-0 from about fifteen to nearly thirty members, and 
 its congregations in a corresponding proportion. Its 
 great anxiety was to make provision for the destitu- 
 tions within its bounds. One of its first measures was 
 the establishment of "a fund for pious uses." Letters 
 were written to London, Lublin, and Glasgow, peti- 
 tioning for aid. The claims of "many smaller places 
 of lesser ability to maintain and support the interest 
 of Christ among them" were urgently pressed, and 
 " not altogether without success." 
 
 The obligation and necessity of effort on its own 
 part were, moreover, clearly recognized. A letter was 
 addressed to the several congregations within the 
 bounds of Synod, earnestly enforcing the duty of mak- 
 ing annual collections in behalf of the proposed funds. 
 The response given was such as might have been ex- 
 pected in the feeble state of the churches. Many were 
 unable to do any thing; but in 1719 the amount secured 
 was more than twenty pounds; and the judicious ex- 
 penditure of succeeding years was the means of accom- 
 plishing great and important results. The congregation 
 at New York received material assistance from a part 
 of the Glasgow collection, and several feeble churches 
 or needy ministers received valuable aid. 
 
 To the Dissenting ministers of London the Synod 
 gave in 1718 a full statement of their condition. They 
 had " begun a small fund," they said ; " but it is yet so 
 small that little or nothing can be done with it." Their 
 ministers numbered twenty-three, all of them settled 
 
44 HISTORY OP PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 or with prospects of settlement; yet there were & till 
 " many vacancies which either cry to us for help/' or 
 give ground of hope that, if they could he provided 
 with an able and faithful ministry, "the happy effects 
 of it would soon appear." A strong desire was ex- 
 pressed for " the honor and comfort of a yearly corre- 
 spondence" with the London brethren, and help was 
 craved " of all well-disposed Christians everywhere, 
 especially, if possibly it can be, of the city of London." 
 The Synod of Glasgow and Ayr, and Principal Stirling, 
 received the hearty thanks of Synod for " their kind- 
 ness to the interest of religion in these wilderness 
 parts." 
 
 Attention was largely drawn at each annual meeting 
 to the claims of destitute places within the Synod's 
 bounds. McGill was sent on successive missions, first 
 to Potomoke, in Virginia, and subsequently to Kent 
 county, Delaware. Morehead was employed at Piles- 
 grove and Gloucester, and Octorara and Hanover were 
 aided from the fund. 
 
 To secure more prompt action, and to settle matters 
 claiming attention during the intervals of Synod^ a 
 commission was appointed in 1720. It was clothed 
 "with the whole authority of the Synod," and the 
 management of the fund was committed to its disposal. 
 It is natural to suppose that for this body the ablest 
 members of the Synod would be appointed j and it con- 
 sisted, in fact, of Jones, Andrews, Macnish, Anderson, 
 Dickinson, and Evans. Three of these were in the 
 vicinity of New York, where their services were most 
 likely to be required. 
 
 The troubles in the Church at New York led to re- 
 peated conferences with the ministers of Connecticut 
 and the trustees of Yale College, by whom Edwards 
 had been sent to supply the congregation which had 
 separated from Anderson's. Each party seemed in 
 
THE SYNOD, A.D 1717-1729. 45 
 
 earnest to restore peace, and the Synod expressed their 
 thanks to the ( Jonnecticut ministers *' for their concern 
 about the interest of religion in New York." They 
 closed their minute (1728), appointing a conference, 
 with a recommendation that, in ease of a successful 
 issue, the committee should "treat with said ministers 
 about a union with us, and empower them to concert 
 and conclude upon any methods that may conduce to 
 that end." 
 
 McGill and Cross were members, with Andrews, Phil- 
 lips, Morgan, and Dickinson, of this committee, and 
 McGill and Conn were appointed to write the letter in 
 reply to the one which had been received from Con- 
 necticut, requesting the conference. Nothing could 
 show more decisively the absence on the part of the 
 Synod of all jealousy of New England influence, than 
 this minute which contains the recommendation of 
 union, and which seems to have been adopted without 
 the utterance of the least dissent. 
 
 Indeed, on the subject of ecclesiastical authority — the 
 only point in reference to which there had been, as yet, 
 any serious division of sentiment — the Synod had har- 
 monized during the previous year. Against the measure 
 of 1721, Dickinson, Jones, Morgan, Pierson, Evans, and 
 "Webb, had entered their protest. The minute to which 
 objection was taken, after stating that Presbyterian 
 government and church discipline had been exercised 
 for many years by the Church in this country, " after 
 the manner of the best Reformed Churches, as far as 
 the nature and constitution of this country will allow," 
 invited any who desired it to offer overtures, to be 
 formed into acts by the Synod, u for the better carrying 
 on in the matter of our governmenl and discipline." 
 But in 1722. evidently apon mature deliberation, the 
 protesting members consented to withdraw theirprotest. 
 They submitted a paper, containing four articles, in 
 
46 HISTORY OF F-RESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 which they grant " the fall executive power of church 
 government in Presbyteries and Synods," using " autho- 
 ritatively in the name of Christ the keys of church dis- 
 cipline ;" admit that the circumstantials of church dis- 
 cipline, " as the time, place, and mode of carrying on in 
 the government of the Church/' belonged to ecclesiastical 
 judicatories to determine conformably to the general 
 rules in the word of God, and that if these were called 
 acts — the term which the protest was directly aimed at 
 — no offence would be taken, provided they were not 
 to be imposed upon those who conscientiously dissented 
 from them. They allow also the right of appeal from 
 inferior to superior judicatories, and the composing of 
 directories by Synods respecting all parts of discipline, 
 provided that subordinate judicatories might decline 
 from them when they thought conscientiously that they 
 had just reason to do so. 
 
 These views, while guarding against a rigid and 
 tyrannic ecclesiasticism, allowed all the freedom which 
 Dickinson and the brethren who joined him in the 
 protest required; and it is to the honor of the Synod 
 that they were " so universally pleased with the above- 
 said composure of their difference," allowing the with- 
 drawal both of the protest and its answer, " that they 
 unanimously joined together in a thanksgiving prayer, 
 and joyful singing the one hundred and thirty-third 
 Psalm." 
 
 Upon the basis thus offered by Dickinson the Synod 
 harmonized. With a clear understanding of his posi- 
 tion and sympathies, the Synod proposed measures 
 which, if successful in their results, would introduce 
 into it large numbers of others whose views were sub- 
 stantially those of the protestants; yet not a word of 
 objection was uttered. The liberal spirit of American 
 Presbyterianism was attested by the unanimity of the 
 Synod. 
 
THE ADOPTING ACT, A.D. 1729. 47 
 
 In 1724, the Synod had so increased, and it had become 
 so difficult to secure a full and regular attendance, that 
 the question was raised in regard bo some measure of 
 relief. It was finally decided in favor of delegation. 
 The Presbyteries of New Castle and Philadelphia were 
 to delegate half their members } 7 early to the Synod, 
 and the Presbytery of Long Island was to send two of 
 their number. Every third year, however, there was 
 to be a full meeting of Synod. At this meeting all the 
 members were to be present. The commission was also 
 authorized to call such a full meeting whenever the 
 emergency might require. Members, whether delegated 
 or not, were left at liberty to attend as formerly " if 
 they see cause." 
 
 In 1726, the attention of the Synod was called to dif- 
 ficulties which had occurred in the church at Newark, 
 of which Webb was pastor. At his own request, a com- 
 mission was appointed with a view to compose them; 
 but the result did not answer his expectation. With 
 Hubbell, Jones, and Evans, he joined in a protest against 
 the measures which had been taken; and it was several 
 years before a full reconciliation took place between 
 the protestants and the Synod. 
 
 CIIAPTEE IV. 
 
 THE ADOPTING ACT, A.D, 1729. 
 
 The year 1729 has been rendered memorable by the 
 celebrated Adopting Act of the Synod. It is difficult 
 at this day to say with whom the measure originated, 
 although the practice which prevailed in the New 
 Castle Presbytery — composed largely of Irish mem- 
 bers — of requiring subscription to the Confession of 
 
48 HISTORY OP PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 Faith from the ministers admitted to their body, renders 
 it not improbable that it was first urged by them. It 
 was a new measure. No sufficient evidence has yet 
 been adduced in proof of subscription, or the adoption 
 of a specific constitution, by the members of the origi- 
 nal Presbytery. Indeed, such a thing was altogether 
 unknown to them. In 1698, Andrews went to Philadel- 
 phia; Makemie had already been in the country for 
 several years; and yet it was not till 1698 that the Irish 
 Synod enacted, in conformity with the law of the 
 Established Church of Scotland, that no young man 
 should be licensed to preach the gospel unless " he sub- 
 scribe the Confession of Faith in all the articles thereof 
 as the confession of his faith." 
 
 Up to this period it had been regarded as important, 
 far less as a security against heretical members than as 
 a testimony to the truthful and scriptural position of a 
 body asking toleration of the civil magistrate. But 
 shortly after this, developments took place which gave 
 it a new importance in the eyes of the Synod. 1 Thomas 
 Emlyn, of Dublin, avowed himself an Arian, and pub- 
 lished a defence of his doctrinal positions. Lax views 
 had begun soon after this to gain ground among the 
 Dissenting ministers of London. To vindicate their 
 own character from the suspicions of government, 
 rather than from any suspicion of the orthodoxy of 
 their own members, the Irish Synod in 1705 re-enacted 
 the law requiring subscription to the Westminster Con- < 
 fession of Faith of all persons licensed or ordained. 
 Anxious to secure the repeal of the obnoxious sacra- 
 mental test, legal protection for their worship and 
 government, and a restoration and increase of the royal 
 bounty, the Irish Church felt it incumbent upon them 
 to vindicate their doctrinal soundness from all possible 
 
 1 Reid's History of the Irish Presbyterian Church. 
 
TIIE ADOPTING ACT, A.D. 1729. 49 
 
 question. But, acknowledging as fchey did the right of 
 the state to ascertain the belief of religious bodies 
 applying for protection, they felt it necessary to declare 
 their views. Their choice lay between the Thirty-Nine 
 Articles of the Church of England as subscribed by 
 their Dissenting brethren across the Channel, and the 
 "Westminster Confession of Faith as adopted by the 
 Church of Scotland. The latter was preferred in 1709, 
 and again in 1714, upon the accession of George I. 
 
 But by 1714 a change had taken place in the views 
 of some of the ministers in and near Dublin. They had 
 been educated among the English Dissenters, and pre- 
 ferred a summary of doctrine more concise than either 
 the Thirty-Nine Articles or the Westminster Confession. 
 But even yet they professed to adhere to the doctrines 
 of the Confession; and in the Synod of 1716 it was 
 decided, with only a single dissenting voice, to adhere 
 to it as declaring the faith of the Church. Only in case 
 of , objection on the part of government was the formula 
 which had been drawn up to be presented as a sub- 
 stitute. 
 
 It was while these discussions were going forward 
 that the seeds of future danger to the Church were 
 sown. In 1703, John Abernethy was settled at Antrim. 
 By his exertions an association of ministers was formed 
 for mutual improvement in theological knowledge. It 
 drew into it some of the most promising and able men 
 of the Church, and was known as the Belfast Society. 
 Discussions arose on the subjects of religious liberty, 
 subscription to confessions, the nature and extent of 
 church power, and opinions were advanced and main- 
 tained which tended to an extreme liberalism, not to 
 say radicalism. 1 
 
 It was not long before other ministers of the Church 
 
 1 Reid'a History of the Presbyterian Church of Ireland. 
 Vol. I.— 5 
 
50 HISTORY OF PliESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 took the alarm. The danger was aggravated in their 
 estimate by reports from abroad. The Presbyterian 
 churches of Switzerland had extensively fallen away 
 from the vital doctrines of the gospel. The writings 
 of Whiston, Clarke, and Hoadly, in England, followed 
 by the debates and publications of the Dissenters at 
 Salter's Hall, showed that in London all was not sound 
 even among those who bore the honored names of a 
 Puritan ancestry. In Scotland, moreover, the seeds of 
 unsound doctrine had been widely sown. In 1714-16, 
 Professor Simpson, who occupied the divinity-chair in the 
 University of Glasgow, and under whom not a few of 
 the Irish as well as Scottish ministers had been trained, 
 had been tried by the General Assembly for teaching 
 Arminian and Pelagian errors ; and the leniency of the 
 sentence declared the extent to which he was shielded 
 by the sympathy of the Assembly's members. Aber- 
 nethy himself, and another prominent member of the 
 Belfast Society, had been Simpson's fellow-students, 
 while others had been his theological pupils. "With the 
 Belfast Society, moreover, the Dublin ministers, who 
 were in all essential points Independents, were in 
 strong sympathy. 
 
 In these circumstances, while there was real danger 
 to the Church, it is not strange that it should have been 
 vastly magnified by the fears and apprehensions of 
 those who had taken the alarm. " There is a perfect 
 Hoadly mania among our young ministers in the 
 North/' wrote Francis — afterward Professor — Hutchi- 
 son from Armagh, in 1718, to a friend in Scotland. He 
 ascribed this antipathy to confessions to " other grounds 
 than a new spirit of charity." ]t was his conviction 
 that Dr. Clarke's book had shaken, if not changed, the 
 views of several. 
 
 It was in 1720 that Aberncthy ventured to publish a 
 sermon on " Religious obedience founded on personal 
 
THE ADOPTING ACT. A. I). 1/29. 51 
 
 persuasion." It was objectionable on several grounds; 
 but its most fatal error was that all doctrines were non- 
 essential on which " human reason and Christian sin- 
 cerity permitted men to differ." This was opening a 
 wide door for error. It set aside at once not only the 
 subscription that had been required, but all checks upon 
 the admission of unconverted men to the Church and 
 ministry. The practice of some of the Presbyteries 
 was correspondingly lax. It was justly feared that the 
 fruits of the seed already sown would be a harvest of 
 errors more objectionable than any thing which had 
 yet appeared. A war of pamphlets followed. It was 
 impossible to guard the purity or peace of the Church 
 if the principles of the Belfast Society were to be gene- 
 rally adopted. The Dissenters of London were many 
 of them already fast verging toward Arianism. The 
 Dublin ministers did not come far behind them, and the 
 principles of Abernethy and his friends were such that 
 they might claim to be left unmolested even if they 
 chose to take the same position. 
 
 In these circumstances, the Synod felt called upon to 
 act. They compromised with the Belfast brethren to 
 preserve unity, but only divided their own councils. It 
 was a great mistake, and they found it so at last. 
 Instead of a simple enforcement through legitimate 
 authority of the discipline of the Church, they sacrificed 
 that discipline to prevent the threatened danger. Peace 
 was not secured. The breach between the subscribers 
 and non-subscribers was only widened. Yet the mode- 
 rate portion of the party who favored subscription did 
 their best to prevent any division. The sermon before 
 the Synod of 1720 by Robert Craighead, the last mode- 
 rator, was entitled "A Plea for Peace, or the nature, 
 causes, mischiefs, and remedy of church divisions." 
 But it failed to secure the object designed. At length 
 the reproach of departing from her own standards was 
 
52 HISTORY OP PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 publicly brought against the Irish Church. It was 
 loudly echoed by the Episcopalians. It was obvious that 
 something must be done. To remove the scandal, and 
 at the same time to obviate the scruples of the non- 
 subscribers, it was resolved that the members of the 
 Synod be permitted to subscribe the Confession. But to 
 this, also, the non-subscribers objected. They were 
 called at length in 1726 to propose their own terms. 
 They were such as it would have been suicidal in the 
 Synod to accept. The subscribers, therefore, who were 
 in the decided majority, introduced an overture declar- 
 ing their rejection of the new terms of peace, and that 
 the adherence of the non-subscribers to their principles 
 " put it out of their power to maintain ministerial com- 
 munion with them in church judicatories as formerly, 
 consistent with the discharge of our ministerial office 
 and the peace of our own consciences." The overture 
 was passed by a great majority, and the separation, 
 w T hich had become inevitable, immediately followed. 
 
 The conflict had been a fierce one, and disastrous to 
 the interests of the Church. But it was rendered 
 necessary by the dangerous and latitudinarian princi- 
 ples as well as errors of the non-subscribers. Yet the 
 party that opposed them had been moderate and for- 
 bearing. They erred rather on the side of leniency 
 than of harshness. 
 
 Of this conflict the American Presbyterian Church 
 could not remain a disinterested spectator. During 
 the whole period of it, the Irish emigration to this 
 country was large, and it was steadily increasing. It 
 was scarcely to be doubted that some of the non-sub- 
 scribers, whose principles were not altogether popular 
 in the Irish Church, would soon be directing their 
 course also to the Western world. They would natu- 
 rally seek a connection with the Presbyterian Church 
 in this country, and such a connection would only 
 
THE ADOPTING ACT, A.D. 1729. 53 
 
 renew among the weak churches scattered through 
 the cronies the agitations that had done such mischiefs 
 in Ireland. 
 
 The character of the Church in this country was, 
 moreover, at stake. It needed the sympathy of the 
 foreign Churches that were yet sound in the faith, and 
 still it would be sure to forfeit that sympathy if it 
 showed an indisposition to exclude error. The Pres- 
 bytery of Now Castle was undoubtedly most deeply 
 sensible of this. Thomas Craighead was one of its 
 leading members, and he would naturally share the 
 views of his brother, the moderator of the Irish Synod. 
 It is not surprising that their sagacity should have led 
 them to take precautions against the threatened evil. 
 These precautions were first used in the Presbytery of 
 New Castle, and afterward commended themselves to 
 the good sense of the Synod. 
 
 Yet the thing was not done in haste. The separa- 
 tion of the Irish Synod took place in 1726. Three 
 years passed before the Adopting Act of the American 
 Synod, and this act was framed in the very spirit of 
 the sermon of Robert Craighead's " Plea for Peace" 
 before the Irish Synod. It showed nothing of the 
 rigor of a fierce orthodoxy, but a sound attachment 
 to acknowledged standards. 
 
 At first, indeed, the proposal of it threatened division. 
 In 1727, the year following the action of the Irish Synod 
 which led to the separation of the Belfast party, an 
 overture looking toward the adoption of such a mea- 
 sure was presented to the Synod by John Thomson, of 
 Lewes, Delaware. It was then opposed, especially by 
 the New England members. Even Andrews objected 
 to it as impolitic and tending to division; while Dickin- 
 son, of Elizabethtown, sound indeed in the doctrines 
 of the Confession, was. Btrangely enough, altogether 
 
54 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 opposed to creeds or confessions of faith drawn up by 
 uninspired men. 
 
 For two years the overture was not acted upon. It 
 was opposed in 1727, and " staved off" by those who 
 hoped " they should have heard no more of it." 1 But 
 as the facts came to be better known, and the object 
 of the overture to be better understood, the measure 
 gained favor among its opponents. Unable to go with 
 the Scotch and Irish " in all their disciplinary and 
 legislative notions," the party composed of those from 
 New England, England, and Wales had at first strong 
 suspicion of the tendency and design of the overture. 
 Almost to a man they regarded it with aversion. The 
 proposal that all ministers or intrants should sign it, 
 or else be disowned as members, was especially ob- 
 noxious. It threatened the introduction of a system 
 of church discipline and church legislation such as in 
 the days of Cromwell had lost England to the Presby- 
 terian Church, and gave occasion for Milton's celebrated 
 saying that " presbyter was only priest writ large." 
 
 In 1728, the subject was again introduced. A dele- 
 gated Synod met this year, and the Irish and Scotch 
 members were in the proportion, to the others, of two 
 to one. They could, if resolutely bent upon carrying 
 their measure at all hazards, have forced it through. 
 But " the Synod, judging this to be a very important 
 affair, unanimously concluded to defer the consideration 
 of it till the next Synod," which it was agreed should 
 be a full one. The adoption of this course showed a 
 conciliatory spirit, and gave Dickinson, Andrews, Pier- 
 son, Pumroy, and Morgan, an opportunity to consult 
 and determine how far it was best to go. 
 
 In 1729, the committee to whom the subject was 
 referred was judiciously chosen. It consisted of An- 
 
 1 Andrews's Letter to Colman. 
 
THE ADOPTING ACT, A.D. 1729. 55 
 
 drews, Dickinson, and Pierson, on one side, and Thom- 
 son, the author of the overture, Craighead, and Ander- 
 son, on the other. Craighead waa unquestionably 
 moderate in his views, and Conn, who was also on the 
 committee, was scarcely to be reckoned on either sido. 
 The result was a compromise, honorable to both parties, 
 and evidently betraying the strong influence of the 
 New England, English, and Welsh members. After 
 long discussion, it was presented, in the following 
 words : — 
 
 "Although the Synod do not claim or pretend to any 
 authority of imposing our faith upon other men's con- 
 sciences, but do profess our just dissatisfaction with, 
 and abhorrence of, such impositions, and do utterly 
 disclaim all legislative power and authority in the 
 Church, being willing to receive one another as Christ 
 has received us to the glory of God, and admit to fel- 
 lowship in sacred ordinances all such as we have ground 
 to believe Christ will at last admit to the Kingdom of 
 Heaven ; yet we are undoubtedly obliged to take care 
 that the faith once delivered to the saints be kept pure 
 and uncorrupt among us and so handed down to our 
 posterity. And do, therefore, agree that all the minis- 
 ters of this Synod, or that shall hereafter be admitted 
 into this Synod, shall declare their agreement in, and 
 approbation of, the Confession of Faith, with the Larger 
 and Shorter Catechisms of the Assembly of Divines at 
 Westminster, as being in all the essential and necessary 
 articles good forms of sound words and systems of 
 Christian doctrine, and do also adopt the said Confes- 
 sion and Catechisms as the Confession of our faith. 
 And we do also agree that all the Presbyteries within 
 our bounds shall always take care not to admit any 
 candidate of the ministry into the exercise of the 
 sacred functions, but what declares his agreement in 
 opinion with all the essential and necessary articles of 
 
56 HISTORY OF TRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 said Confession, either by subscribing the said Confes- 
 sion of Faith and Catechism, or by a verbal declaration 
 of their assent thereto, as such minister or candidate 
 shall think best. And in case any minister of this 
 Synod, or any candidate for the ministry, shall have 
 any scruple with respect to any article or articles of 
 said Confession or Catechisms, he shall, at the time of 
 his making said declaration, declare his sentiments to 
 the Presbytery or Synod, who shall, notwithstanding, 
 admit him to the exercise of the ministry within our 
 bounds, and to ministerial communion, if the Synod or 
 Presbytery shall judge his scruple or mistake to be only 
 about articles not essential and necessary in doctrine, 
 worship, or government. But if the Synod or Presby- 
 tery shall judge such ministers or candidates erroneous 
 in essential and necessary articles of faith, the Synod 
 or Presbytery shall declare them uncapable of commu- 
 nion with them. And the Synod do solemnly agr^e 
 that none of us will traduce or use any opprobrious 
 terms of those that differ from us in these extra-essen- 
 tial and not-necessary points of doctrine, but treat them 
 with the same friendship, kindness, and brotherly love, 
 as if they had not differed from us in such senti- 
 ments. " 
 
 The ministers of the Synod then present, with the 
 exception of Mr. Elmer, who declared himself not pre- 
 pared, after proposing all the scruples that any of them 
 had against any articles and expressions in the Confes- 
 sion and Catechisms, unanimously agreed in the solu- 
 tion of those scruples, and in declaring the Confession 
 and Catechisms to be their confession of faith. The 
 only exception made was to those articles of the Form 
 of Government which related to the duties of the civil 
 magistrate. In view of the unanimity, peace, and unity 
 which appeared in these consultations and deliberations 
 
THE ADOPTING ACT, A.D. 1729. 57 
 
 of the Synod, they " unanimously agreed in giving thanks 
 to God in solemn prayer and praises." 1 
 
 .No change was subsequently made in the language 
 of the Adopting Act. Some of those who were more 
 strict on subjects of ecclesiastical order, and who felt 
 that they had reason to complain of their brethren on 
 account of its violation, insisted upon a more literal and 
 rigid interpretation of the agreement which had been 
 made obligatory. But the history of the period shows 
 that this arose not from any superior attachment to 
 sound doctrine, but mainly from the conviction that the 
 rules of order were not observed with sufficient care 
 and fidelity. 
 
 The attempt was indeed made, in 1736, to put a con- 
 struction upon the Adopting Act which it would not 
 bear. The Irish and Scotch immigration of the period 
 had been unusually large, and in this year the foreign 
 members of the Synod composed the large majority. 
 
 1 There are many facts which put the character of the Adopting 
 Act, as a compromise measure, entirely beyond question. Dr. Green 
 was right in his judgment of it. It does present those features 
 which could afford him occasion to say that it gave and took, bound 
 and loosed, in the same breath. In the mention made in Dr. Alex- 
 ander's Life of a Mr. Hoge, a very aged man who could remember 
 the period of the Adopting Act, we find it very correctly spoken of 
 as the Act "which indulged such persons as were scrupulous in 
 regard to certain articles, to express their exceptions before the 
 Presbytery, who were permitted to license and ordain if they judged 
 the matter not to be of essential importance. When the Act was 
 passed, it gave great dissatisfaction, and some, the number of whom 
 cannot be determined, left the Presbyterian Clmrch and joined the 
 Seceders, who were then beginning to raise their standard. Among 
 these was Mr. Hoge." 
 
 The explanation of the plan of subscription given by Samuel 
 Davies on his visit to England, and to which reference will be made 
 hereafter, sufficiently establishes the understanding of the Synod 
 as to the significance of the Adopting Act. 
 
58 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 Taking occasion from some complaints that bad been 
 uttered in regard to the mode in which the Confes- 
 sion bad been adopted, they proceed to declare, for tbe 
 satisfaction of such complaints, " that the Synod have 
 adopted and do still adhere to the Westminster Confes- 
 sion, Catechisms, and Directory, without the least variation 
 or alteration, and without any regard to said distinctions" — 
 these " distinctions " the scruples expressed at the time 
 of the adoption. This action was taken under the strong 
 pressure of popular prejudice, and when less than half the 
 ministers of the Synod were present. Among those absent 
 were Dickinson, Pierson, Pemberton, AVebb, etc., by whom 
 this "explication" was subsequently set aside, and who for 
 the time may have acquiesced in it as a declaration which 
 made no change in the Adopting Act itself, but simply 
 asserted the manner in which the members of Synod then 
 present chose to define their own position. 
 
 CHAPTEE V. 
 
 THE SYNOD FROM THE ADOPTING ACT TO THE DIVISION. 
 
 From the date of the Adopting Act in 1729 until the 
 division of the Synod in 1741, the number of ministers 
 rapidly increased. Nearly forty names were added to 
 the list of members. Some few of these had been 
 trained up w T ithin the bounds of the Church, but, apart 
 from these, nearly one-half were Irish or Scotch immi- 
 grants. The accession from New England was only" 
 ten. Thus, in the measures of the Synod, the foreign 
 party, had they been united, might have secured a pre- 
 ponderating influence. But they were not united. The 
 division of 1741 originated in their ranks. 
 
 Although originally from Ireland, the Tennents were 
 
ADOPTING ACT TO DIVISION. 59 
 
 not to be numbered on what came to be known at the 
 time of the division as the Old Side. Of these, besides 
 the father, William Tennent. there were his sons, John, 
 Gilbert, William, and Charles, all of them earnest and 
 zealous preachers. Gilbert was by far the most con- 
 spicuous, and in the history of the period under re- 
 view, no other name is more frequently mentioned. 
 With a nature incapable of fear, a burning zeal in de- 
 fence of what he deemed to be truth, a commanding 
 person and powerful delivery, he was destined to exer- 
 eise, wherever he went, a deep and extensive influence. 
 Yet his charity was sometimes overborne by his zeal. 
 His defence of vital truth assumed, unconsciously, a 
 defiant tone. In dealing with his equals he was be- 
 trayed into adopting the tone of a superior, and the 
 model which he seemed to favor was far more that 
 which presented to view x the sternness of one of the old 
 prophets, than the gentleness of the beloved apostle. 
 
 He was independent and decided in his judgments ; 
 tenacious of his convictions, he was not easily to be 
 moved or persuaded by others. Yet, unfortunately, he 
 was by no means always discreet. Soon after his licen- 
 sure, he was called to New Castle. He declared his ac- 
 ceptance, commenced preaching, but soon after abruptly 
 left. The Synod pronounced his conduct hasty and un- 
 advised. A sharp rebuke was administered, which he 
 is said to have taken meekly. 
 
 He soon settled at New Brunswick. A letter of the 
 venerable Frelinghuysen, and a severe fit of sickness, 
 combined with the seeming barrenness of a ministry 
 of eighteen months, humbled him under the sense of 
 his unprofitableness. He rose from his sick bed to 
 preach as he never had before, and the fruits of his 
 labors were soon apparent. 
 
 In 1734, he overt ured the Synod on the subject of a 
 more careful examination of candidates for the minis- 
 
60 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 try, as well as for the Lord's Supper. He insisted that 
 there should be a closer scrutiny as to the evidences of 
 a gracious and genuine religious experience. The over- 
 ture was favorably received, and Tennent himself could 
 scarcely have penned any admonition more solemn or 
 searching than that adopted by the Synod. Indeed, it 
 may have been substantially his own production. 
 
 In 1736, David Cowell was settled at Trenton. 1 He 
 was a native of Massachusetts, and a graduate of Har- 
 vard. His examination and installation were conducted 
 by a committee of the Presbytery of Philadelphia, con- 
 sisting of Andrews, Evans, Wales, and Treat. William 
 Tennent was appointed, but did not meet with them. 
 The examination of the candidate brought out unques- 
 tionably his peculiar views, represented by his oppo- 
 nents as making happiness the chief motive of religion. 
 Gilbert Tennent could not endure this. He corre- 
 sponded with Cowell, but remained still unsatisfied. 
 The discussion was continued for several months, and 
 in 1738 was brought by Tennent to the notice of Synod. 
 A committee was appointed to consider the matter, but 
 their report was deferred from time to time, until in the 
 following year they brought in a report declaring the 
 substantial agreement of the parties, prefacing it with 
 the caustic expression of their conviction that the prin- 
 cipal controversy " flows from their not having clear 
 ideas about the subject they so earnestly debate about, 
 and not from any dangerous errors they entertain. " 
 
 Tennent seemed at the time to acquiesce ; but in the 
 reading of the minutes in the following year, he took 
 occasion to declare his dissatisfaction, and asked that 
 the subject be reconsidered. It was refused by a strong 
 majority. This was somewhat exasperating j and he 
 did not hesitate to allude subsequently, in the harshest 
 
 • * See Hall's "Church of Trenton," p. 80; also Synod's Minutes. 
 
ADOPTING ACT TO DIVISION. 61 
 
 terms, to the heretical standing of many of the Synod 
 on the points of controversy. His zeal was inflamed 
 by other causes also. He 6aw with deep anxiety the 
 coldness and irreligion which prevailed around him. 
 Not a few of the ministers were far from exhibiting 
 that fidelity and devotion which pertained to their 
 solemn office. The report of revivals in New England 
 had kindled his feelings to enthusiasm. The presence 
 and preaching of Whitetield, who had just crossed the 
 ocean, and whose early failing of judging ungraciously 
 the gracious state of his brethren had not yet been 
 checked, encouraged Tennent in his course. 
 
 But previous to this the Synod had taken action 
 which he interpreted as designed to injure his father's 
 school at Neshaminy. Candidates for the ministry 
 were to be examined by the Synod's committee, and of 
 course to this examination the Presbyteries, as well as 
 candidates, must submit. This was a sore grievance, 
 and was one of the disturbing influences that contri- 
 buted to the division of the Synod. 
 
 The leading opponent of Tennent and his fellow- 
 protesters in the Synod was Robert Cross, originally 
 from Ireland. He had succeeded Macnish at Jamaica 
 in 1723, and in 1737 joined the Philadelphia Presby- 
 tery and was settled as a colleague of Andrews. He 
 was highly respected and esteemed both for character 
 and ability. At Jamaica, "his people almost adored 
 him, and impoverished themselves to equal the sum 
 offered him in the city." But on his removal to Phila- 
 delphia he became a leading man in the Synod; and 
 his views of the revival which had begun to prevail in 
 several quarters were very different from those of 
 Tennent. Whitetield was by no means his favorite. 
 When he preached in Philadelphia, he came under 
 Cross's definition of an itinerant ; and for two or three 
 years the Synod had been growing more decided in its 
 
 Vol. I.— 6 
 
62 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 aversion to intrusions not warranted by the permission 
 of Presbytery. Cross was obnoxious to many for his 
 well-known views on the subject. He did not preach 
 — it Avas said — so as to alarm the conscience. He had 
 "preached most of his people away from him," said 
 "Whitefield, in 1740. " He lashed me most bravely the 
 Sunday before I came away." And yet, subsequently, 
 when the snow rendered it impracticable to use the 
 roofless " Great House," he offered his meeting-house to 
 Whitefield ; and it was accepted. Such was the man 
 who was destined to take the leadership of the Old 
 Side in the protest which brought about the division. 
 
 Of those who sympathized most deeply with Tennent, 
 Samuel Blair deserves prominent mention. He was a 
 native of Ireland, but came to this country in his 
 childhood. From his early years his life had been most 
 exemplary. " He grew in stature and in grace." He 
 had studied at the Log College, 1 and became eminent 
 for his attainments. In 1733, he Was licensed by the 
 Philadelphia Presbytery, and, after preaching for some 
 years at Middletown and Shrewsbury, became pastor 
 at Fagg's Manor in 1740. The place had been settled 
 by Irish emigrants ten years previously, and Blair, 
 ^vith the exception of " some hopefully pious people," 
 found religion ready to expire. Under his labors a 
 powerful revival commenced. 
 
 One who assisted him, and whose sympathies like- 
 wise were on the side of Tennent, was Alexander 
 Craighead of Middle Octorara. He was probably a 
 son of Thomas Craighead already mentioned, and 
 commenced his ministry in 1735. None were more 
 zealous in promoting the revival. In company with 
 "Whitefield, Tennent, and Blair, he traversed Chester 
 county, and " they made the woods ring, as they rode, 
 
 1 See Alexander's "Log College." 
 
ADOPTING ACT TO DIVISION. 63 
 
 with their songs of praise." He preached, without re- 
 gard to the wishes of his brethren, and against the 
 
 rule of the Synod, wherever opportunity ottered. lie 
 claimed that ministers should not be confined within 
 the bounds of a single congregation, and in harsh terms 
 he inveighed against the judicial blindness and hard- 
 ness of "Pharisee preachers." His zeal soon carried 
 him away; and, though dividing with Tennent and 
 Blair, he soon disowned them, because they would not 
 come into his views for adopting the Solemn League 
 and ( 'ovenant. 
 
 In John Cross, another friend of "the Revival," 
 Tennent was equally unfortunate. He was a " Scottish 
 worthy," and his place of settlement was "the moun- 
 tains back of Newark." 1 In 1734-35, there was a 
 powerful revival in his congregation. He accompanied 
 Whitefield and Tennent on their preaching-tours, and 
 was remarkably distinguished for his fervor and suc- 
 cess. " He is a dear soul," said Whitefield, " and one 
 that the Lord delights to honor." At a later period, 
 grave charges were substantiated against him. " His 
 dreadful scandals came to light in the midst of the 
 revival." This, however, was not till after the divi- 
 sion. 
 
 Eleazar Wales was from New England, a graduate 
 of Yale, in 1727, and settled at Allentown, N.J., in 
 1730. He afterwards removed to Crosswicks, and 
 finally to Millstone, in 1735, where he became, with 
 Tennent, a member of New Brunswick Presbytery. 
 
 Richard Treat was likewise from New England, and 
 a graduate of Yale. He settled at Abington in 1731, 
 and for several years acted with the majority of the 
 Synod. But in 1739, on hearing Whitefield, he aban- 
 
 1 He was settled at Baskingridge, according to Hoyt's Church 
 of Orange. 
 
64 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 doned his former hope, and from that period preached 
 with new fervor. 
 
 Besides these men, who firmly adhered to Gilbert 
 Tennent at the time of the division, were his father 
 and his two brothers William and Charles. William 
 was a powerful preacher, and his sermons, though un- 
 polished in diction, were remarkably impressive. As 
 a revivalist he was scarce inferior to his brother Gil- 
 bert, while he seems to have been more discreet and 
 far more disposed to peace. Charles was settled at 
 White Clay and Christiana Village in 1737. 
 
 The great majority of the Irish members of the Synod, 
 except Blair and the Tennents, sided with Cross, of 
 Philadelphia, in signing the Protest which caused the 
 division. Andrews, of whom he was the colleague, was 
 evidently swayed by his influence, yet did not join in 
 the Protest. Cathcart, at Brandywine; John Thomson, 
 the originator of the overture which resulted in the 
 Adopting Act; Francis Alison, now at New London, 
 but the most thorough scholar which the Old Side could 
 boast; Eichard Sanckey, of Hanover, a plagiarist, if not 
 worse ; Elder, of Paxton ; Craig, of Tinkling Spring, 
 Ya., where he preached to the oldest congregation in 
 the State; Cavin, of Falling Spring, a man of whom 
 his people complained that he never asked about the 
 state of their souls ; Thomson, of Pennsborough ; Boyd, 
 of Octorara; Martin, of Lewes, Del.; and Jamison, at 
 Zion's Hill, in the same State, joined with Cross in the 
 signing of the Protest. 
 
 Besides these two parties, which from the period of 
 the Adopting Act began to be more distinctly marked, 
 there was a third, occupying an intermediate posi- 
 tion, and who might, if they had acted in time, have 
 prevented the division. These were, principally, Dick- 
 inson, of Elizabethtown ; Pemberton, of New York; 
 Pierson, of Woodbridge; Horton, of Connecticut Farms; 
 
ADOPTING ACT TO DIVISION. 65 
 
 Burr, of Newark \ Pumroy, of Newtown; Hnbbell, of 
 Morristown; and Gillespie and Eutcheson, of New 
 Castle Presbytery. Several of these were as warm 
 friends of the revival as the Tennents, and, had they 
 been present at the critical moment, might easily have 
 turned the scale. 
 
 The seeds of the division, however, had long been 
 sown. From the time of the Adopting Act, in 1729, 
 the discordant elements of which the Synod was com- 
 posed began to betray themselves. The question was 
 not in regard to the Adopting Act itself. In this, all 
 parties seemed readily enough to acquiesce. The mem- 
 bers who were absent when it was passed expressed 
 their approval of it in the following year. The several 
 Presbyteries reported the uniform acceptance of the 
 Confession by those w T hom they licensed and ordained. 
 The only complaint anywhere to be heard on the sub- 
 ject was the laxness rather than the severity of the 
 rule ; and this complaint came only from a few over- 
 anxious, with fears transmitted from the experience of 
 the Irish Synod. 
 
 In spite of the apprehensions expressed by the 
 friends of vital religion at the sad decline which it had 
 experienced,, the Church was still extending its bounds. 
 Help was given from the fund to several needy 
 churches, and new congregations were continually 
 forming and applying for ministers. At Wall Kill, 
 Goshen, Crosswater, Trenton, and in Delaware and 
 Virginia, there were urgent demands for the institutions 
 of the gospel, — demands which the Synod exerted it- 
 self to meet. In 1732, the Donegal Presbytery was 
 erected, of which Anderson, who had removed from 
 New York, Thomson, Boyd, Orr, and Bertram, were the 
 original members. In the following year, the Presbytery 
 of Philadelphia was divided, and a portion of it set 
 
 off to constitute the Presbytery of East Jersey, which 
 
 6* 
 
66 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 in 1738 was in conjunction with the Presbytery of 
 Long Island, thenceforth known as the Presbytery of 
 New York. At nearly the same time, the Presbytery 
 of New Brunswick was erected, the members of which 
 were Gilbert and William Tennent, Samuel Blair, Elea- 
 zar Wales, and John Cross. 
 
 There was, beyond doubt, a sad decline of vital piety 
 among the churches. Some of the ministers whom. 
 Tennent rebuked, and into whose congregations he 
 intruded, were unquestionably ''Pharisee preachers." 
 Among them, too, were bitter opponents of the revival, 
 if not of Evangelical religion. But the majority of the 
 Synod were by no means men of this stamp. Some 
 of their measures were unwise and characterized by 
 party zeal ; but in an impartial judgment they by no 
 means deserve the odium heaped upon them by their 
 opponents. 
 
 The Irish members plausibly contended that there 
 was danger to the Church from intrants from Ireland. 
 The tide of immigration had within a few years rapidly 
 increased. It was not at all improbable that, unless 
 vigilance was exercised, the churches would be cursed 
 by unworthy men. Indeed, the Synod had already been 
 called to deal with one who might serve as a sj)ecimen. 
 Samuel Hemphill, with ample credentials to the Synod 
 from the Presbytery of Strabane, was received as a 
 member on his easy subscription to the Confession of 
 Faith. He preached at New London with much ac- 
 ceptance, and without exciting any suspicion of bis 
 deistical sentiments. Adverse reports from Ireland led 
 to an investigation ; but the ministers of New Castle 
 Presbytery declared themselves satisfied with his 
 teachings. He imposed himself on Andrews, and 
 preached all winter at Philadelphia. Franklin liked 
 his preaching, which soon ran into downright Deism. 
 Andrews was at length forced to bring charges against 
 
ADOPTING ACT TO DIVISION. 67 
 
 him. They were sustained by evidence; and Hemp- 
 bill was suspended. This was in 17:;.~>. Jlis trial was 
 by the Synod's commission; and, when the case came 
 before the body at its next session, Hemphill sent them 
 
 an insulting letter, and closed by saying that lie 
 thought "they would do him a deal of honor if they 
 would entirely excommunicate him." 
 
 If such conduct was felt to be exasperating, the 
 danger which it indicated was seen to be imminent. 
 It led the Synod to take decisive measures for the 
 security of both ministers and churches. "Wolves in 
 sheep's clothing" were "invading the flock of Christ/' 
 "Devouring monsters" were "numerous abroad in the 
 world." "The late bold assault that hath been made 
 upon us" " should put us to our arms, and excite us 
 with care and diligence to put ourselves in a posture 
 of defence against all future attempts." 
 
 The overture, accordingly, adds, " Seeing we are 
 likely to have the most of our supply of ministers, to 
 fill our vacancies, from the North of Ireland," and, in 
 view of the "great danger of being imposed upon by 
 ministers and preachers from thence," it is proposed to 
 the reverend Synod to«erder a more careful inspection 
 of credentials of those who come from abroad, no one 
 to be called till he have preached six months within the 
 Synod's bounds, and no student to be received to enter 
 upon his trials, till he have given most of the ministers 
 of the Presbytery opportunity to take a view of his 
 parts and behavior. 
 
 To these measures, taken by themselves, there could 
 be no reasonable objection. But the attempt was 
 made — which, in fact, if valid, would have destroyed the 
 Adopting Act — to require every minister to receive the 
 Confession and Form of Government, not in the sys- 
 tematic way prescribed in the Adopting Act, but on 
 the ij^ixxiinu. verba principle. This was the beginning 
 
08 nisTORY or presbyterianism. 
 
 of one of the difficulties which led to the division of 
 the Church. And three years later, in 1738, a proposal 
 was made by the Presbytery of Lewes, which was re- 
 garded by the Tennents as espec ally obnoxious. Pre- 
 mising the great importance of a learned ministry, and 
 the lack of any institution for collegiate education 
 within the bounds of the Church, which obviated the 
 "grievous disadvantage," or furnished "a degree," it 
 urged the appointment of a committee of Synod by 
 whom the candidates were to be examined, and whose 
 certificate might serve instead of a diploma. 
 
 The approval of this measure by a great majority 
 was especially obnoxious to the Tennents and to New 
 Brunswick Presbytery. In connection with the acts 
 of the previous year, it was thought to bear especially 
 against them. In 1737, it was ordered that no proba- 
 tioner or minister of one Presbytery be allowed to preach 
 in the bounds of another, without the permission of the 
 latter, and, upon being informed that it would be con- 
 sidered objectionable, he was to desist. If this measure 
 interfered with the itinerating evangelism of John Cross 
 and the Tennents, the other seemed to intimate not the 
 highest esteem of William Tennent's school at Nesha- 
 miny, where quite a number of young men had been 
 educated for the ministry. Most of the ministers of 
 the Synod had enjoyed the advantages of a collegiate 
 course, — the Irish and Scotch members at Glasgow, and 
 the New England members. at Yale or Harvard. It 
 was natural for them to imagine that no private insti- 
 tution could answer the demand for an educated minis- 
 try. But in this matter they scarcely did justice to 
 William Tennent's "Log College." This institution 
 gave to the Church some of her best men, — men eminent 
 alike for piety and learning. The elder Tennent him- 
 self was an honor to the Church of his adoption. In 
 J 718 he abandoned the Episcopal communion, scrupling 
 
ADOPTING ACT TO DIVISION. G9 
 
 at her government, discipline, and the encouragement, 
 or at least toleration, which she extended to Armiman 
 error and unchristian practice. With a wise forecast, 
 he perceived that the demand of the Presbyterian 
 
 Church for more ministers must ultimately be met 
 within herself. He set about the work of supplying 
 the want, and under him the two Blairs, Finley, Row- 
 Land, and his own sons, were educated for the ministry. 
 Not long after his settlement at Neshaminy, in 172<*>, 
 he erected, within a few steps of his own dwelling, the 
 humble edifice which was to acquire such an enviable 
 notoriety. The spirit in w T hich it was established au- 
 gured well for its future. In Ireland and Scotland the 
 signs of prevalent worldliness, foreshadowing a sad 
 apostasy, were already apparent. In this country the 
 primitive zeal of Makemie's compeers w T as already 
 on the decline. "Eevivals of religion were nowhere 
 heard of, and an orthodox creed and a decent external 
 conduct were the only points on which inquiry was 
 made when persons were admitted to the communion 
 of the Church." Vital piety had almost deserted the 
 Church. The substance of preaching was a " dead 
 orthodoxy," in which little emphasis was laid upon 
 regeneration, a change of heart, or the terrors of the 
 law against sin. With such a state of things Tennent 
 had no sympathy. His warm evangelical spirit led him 
 to strive w T ith all his energies to effect a change. The 
 young men who came under his influence, in their 
 course of education, w r ere inspirited to become his effi- 
 cient allies. When Whitefield visited Tennent, in 1739, 
 he found much to admire in what had already been 
 accomplished. " Our ministers," he says, " are glorious 
 without. From this despised place, seven <>r eight worthy 
 ministers of Jesus have lately been sent forth, more 
 are almost ready to be sent, and the foundation is now 
 laying for the instruction of many others. " 
 
70 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 Tennent's relation to the Synod, according to White- 
 field, was much like that of Erskine, of Scotland, to 
 the "judicatories of Edinburgh." He was "secretly 
 despised." A prejudice existed against him and his 
 institution. It was only increased when Tennent in- 
 vited Whitefield to Neshaminy and gave him a cordial 
 encouragement in his work. His own people were not 
 altogether united in him. The difficulty originated in 
 the fact that he had never been formally installed; and 
 when a hearing of the case had been had before the 
 Synod of Philadelphia, it was declared that the disaf- 
 fection was due to ignorance and prejudice. The people 
 were recommended to lay aside their groundless dis- 
 satisfactions and return to their duty, otherwise they 
 w T ould be treated by the Synod as disorderly. The 
 minute stating the result of the Synod's deliberations 
 was unanimously adopted. 
 
 This was in 1737. Two years later, it is doubtful 
 whether the vote would have been so decisive. Ten- 
 nent fraternized with Whitefield, and the students 
 whom he had trained were the ones who intruded their 
 itinerant evangelism upon other congregations, in viola- 
 tion of the rules adopted by Synod. In their view, 
 those rules were tyrannic and unwarranted. They 
 claimed that no " Pharisee preacher" could be author- 
 ized to exclude them from publicly addressing those 
 of other congregations who desired it. 
 
 The act of 1738, in regard to the examination of can- 
 didates by a committee of the Synod, was especially 
 grievous to the friends of the Log College, as that in 
 regard to intrusion into other congregations was to the 
 friends of the revival. The New Brunswick Presby- 
 tery objected to it, and their objections were stated in 
 the Synod of 1739. The subject therefore was recon- 
 sidered, and it was ordered that the candidates should 
 be examined, not by the committee that had been ap- 
 
ADOPTING ACT TO DIVISION. 71 
 
 pointed, but by the whole Synod or its commission. 
 The principle of the previous year was virtually reaf- 
 firmed, and it was scarcely Less objectionable in shape. 
 Gilbert Tennent cried out that it was to prevent his 
 father's school from training gracious men for the 
 ministry. He protested against it, and his father, his 
 two brothers, Samuel Blair, and Eleazar Wales, his co- 
 Presbyters, and several elders, joined with him in the 
 protest. 
 
 The difficulty was aggravated by the fact that the 
 New Brunswick Presbytery had, during the past year, 
 not only licensed John Rowland, without regard to 
 the Synod's rule, but sent him to supply a vacancy 
 within the bounds of Philadelphia Presbytery. The 
 Synod pronounced their action disorderly, and refused 
 to admit Eowland as a preacher till he submitted to the 
 Synod's examination. At this juncture the conclusion 
 arrived at in the case of the controversy between Ten- 
 nent and Cowell gave the former, although he did not 
 object publicly at the time, a new occasion of offence. 
 
 To make matters still worse, the Synod of the same 
 year took steps for erecting a school or seminary of 
 learning, — appointing Pemberton, Dickinson, Anderson, 
 and Cross, of Philadelphia, to prosecute the affair. The 
 first two were from New England, the third from Scot- 
 land, and the last from Ireland; for pecuniary aid was 
 to be sought from all quarters. The step was a wise 
 one; but it altogether ignored Tennent's school, which 
 was entitled to honorable mention. It showed, more- 
 over, that the Synod had no thought of any separation 
 as yet which would exclude Pemberton, Dickinson, or 
 any of the New England men. 
 
 Before the meeting of the Synod in 1740, some im- 
 portant events occurred. Whitefield made his first 
 visit within the bounds of the Presbyterian Church, 
 and the warm and fervent spirit of Gilbert Tennent 
 
72 HISTORY OP PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 drew him to his views and party. A strong popular 
 feeling was enlisted in his favor. The attraction of his 
 fame and eloquence drew crowds to hear him, and his 
 awakening and convincing discourses produced a gene- 
 ral concern. In New York and Philadelphia thousands 
 thronged around him, and large numbers were brought 
 under conviction. Treat, of Abington, who had, to 
 this time, acted with the majority of the Synod, and 
 Campbell, of Tehicken, gave up their hopes and 
 mourned as self-deceivers and soul-murderers. 
 
 In the course of a few months, through Whitefield's 
 influence, a great change was wrought. He preached 
 in New York for Pemberton, at Elizabethtown for 
 Dickinson, at Wilmington twice to five thousand, at 
 New Castle to two thousand five hundred, at Christiana 
 Bridge to three thousand, on Sabbath at White Clay to 
 eight thousand; and his farewell sermon at Philadelphia 
 was attended by ten thousand. 
 
 These numbers may be somewhat exaggerated; but 
 the fact that in Philadelphia there was religious service 
 every day, and three services on the Sabbath, for a yeai 
 after, indicates the powerful hold which he had taken 
 of the popular mind. The members of the Old side 
 for the most part disliked him, and refused him their 
 pulpits. Pemberton and Dickinson, by welcoming him, 
 had become more closely drawn to sympathize with 
 Tennent, with whom Whitefield was in strong sympathy. 
 
 Here, then, on a grand scale, the rules of the Synod 
 in regard to intrusion had been violated, and those 
 implicated with Whitefield were more than the New 
 Brunswick Presbytery, who during the year had ag- 
 gravated their original offence by taking Finley on 
 trial, licensing Robinson and McCrea, and ordaining 
 Rowland. 
 
 Yet, with the great good effected, there were some 
 mischiefs; and these mischiefs were nearly the entiro 
 
ADOPTING ACT TO DIVISION. 73 
 
 result which the prejudices of the Old side permitted 
 them to perceive. Their pence had been disturbed. 
 Some of their congregations had been divided or greatly 
 reduced in uumbers. The people, many of them, did 
 not hesitate, with the sanction of W"hitefield and Ten- 
 nent, to pronounce their ministers unconverted; and 
 in some cases at least they were not far from the truth. 
 
 In these circumstances the Synod of 1740 met. The 
 subjects of the Synod's rule for the trial of candidates, 
 and the preaching of ministers within the bounds of 
 other Presbyteries, were the first introduced for dis- 
 cussion. Tennent wished a revision of the conclusion 
 reached in regard to his controversy with Cowell, but 
 was met b}~ an overwhelming negative. The rule for 
 the trial of candidates was then considered. Any mem- 
 ber of the Synod was allowed to propose any expedient 
 to secure peace. All were agreed that the Synod were 
 proper judges of the qualification of their own mem- 
 bers; but the protesting brethren objected to the inser- 
 tion in the minutes of the agreement of the previous 
 year, as unnecessary. 
 
 There was " an uncomfortable debate" on the subject, 
 but on the final vote it was decided to abide by the 
 agreement for the present, or till some other expedient 
 could be found to answer its design. The majority was 
 not large in its favor, for of fifty-nine members of the 
 Synod, the protestants of the previous year, joined by 
 fifteen others present at the Synod, formed a powerful 
 minority. Dickinson, "VVilmot, Burr, Pierson, Nutman, 
 and llorton must have voted with the majority, or they 
 would have turned the scale in favor of the protesting 
 party. 
 
 In regard to the other rule of the Synod bearing 
 upon the intrusion of ministers and licentiates within 
 the bounds of other Presbyteries, the Synod was forced 
 to retrace its steps. Whitefield had " rode over'' ittrium- 
 
 Vol. I.— 7 
 
74 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 phantly, if not defiantly ; and the New York brethren, 
 as well as the New Brunswick Presbytery, had lent 
 him to some extent their countenance and sanction. 
 Popular feeling, moreover, — and that, too, in the city 
 where the Synod was assembled, — would have resented 
 with indignation any such restriction as would be re- 
 quired by a strict interpretation of the rule of the 
 previous year. It was, therefore, declared that the 
 object of the rule was to prevent " divisions in our 
 congregations," and not to hinder " itinerant preach- 
 ing." And in regard to those who might have been 
 licensed to preach without the Synodical examination 
 required, the Synod declared that they did not deny 
 such to be " truly gospel ministers," but only that they 
 could not be admitted as members of the Synod till 
 they had complied with its rules. 1 
 
 Here at least, from whatever cause, was manifested 
 a disposition to compromise differences. This was 
 equally obvious when Gilbert Tennent asked for an 
 i?iterloquitur, — a secret session for mutual conference. 
 It was late in the closing session, and he was directed 
 to proceed with what he had to otfer. The house was 
 crowded with spectators, nearly all of them in sym- 
 pathy with him. The intervals of Synod had been 
 spent by the New side in preaching. There were two 
 sermons at least, and sometimes more, every day, — 
 sometimes on Society Hill, sometimes at the Baptist 
 church. Dickinson was not sound enough on revivals 
 to be allowed to preach. Eowland and Davenport 
 were more popular, and their course and views were 
 regarded with extensive, if not general, approval. The 
 crowd that had listened to them was now assembled 
 in the house where the Synod was convened. 
 
 1 Such is the substance of the overture introduced. It is doubt- 
 fu» whether it was adopted. 
 
ADOPTING ACT TO DIVISION. 75 
 
 Tennent arose, and read a terrible representation on 
 the state of the ministry. The picture which he drew 
 — Largely from his own fancy and fears — was appalling. 
 
 If his statements were to be accepted, his first duty 
 would have been to table charges against a majority 
 of the Synod, or withdraw at once from all connection 
 with it. No sooner had Tennent finished than Blair 
 arose and read a paper drawn up in the same strain. 
 Both were allowed to proceed without interruption. 
 When they had closed, they were exhorted to spare no 
 man in the Synod, but to point out the guilty, that they 
 might at least be distinguished from the innocent. 
 This they were not prepared to do. They would 
 prove the matters charged against particular mem- 
 bers; but they admitted that they had not spoken 
 with the persons aimed at, or sifted carefully the re- 
 ports whieh they had credited. 
 
 With the calmness of dignity and self-respect, yet 
 with a courteous regard to the statements of Tennent 
 and Blair, the Synod declared, in view of their repre- 
 sentations, that they " do, therefore, solemnly ad- 
 monish all the ministers in our bounds, seriously to 
 consider the weight of their charge, and, as they will 
 answer it at the great day of Christ, to take care to 
 approve themselves to God in the instances complained 
 of. And the Presbyteries are recommended to take 
 care of their members in these particulars." 
 
 Before adjourning, the Synod readily granted the 
 request of Newtown and Tinicum to be placed under 
 the care of New Brunswick Presbytery. This body in 
 many quarters now enjoyed a high degree of popu- 
 larity, while in others its name was a synonym for 
 mischief and enthusiasm. Notwithstanding the rules 
 and the authority of Synod, the obnoxious Presbytery 
 continued in its former course. It licensed Finley 
 without regard to the Synod's rule of examination, 
 
76 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 and sent him to preach at Eising Sun to a party who 
 were erecting a building just across the highway from 
 the old church. Tennent himself went forth to evan- 
 gelize in West Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. 
 
 From this field he directed his steps to New Eng- 
 land. Whitefield had just visited Boston at the re- 
 quest of the ministers, and had preached there, and all 
 along; the road to New Haven, as the meeting-houses 
 were thrown open to him. Tennent was urged to 
 water the seed that had been sown. His labors were 
 manifold, and his popularity was second only to White- 
 field's. 
 
 The Synod of 1741 met; but the division which re- 
 sulted was already foreshadowed in what had taken 
 place within the bounds of the Church. Everywhere 
 there were divisions and alienations. New Castle Pres- 
 bytery was divided with Evans, Cathcart, and Alison 
 on the Old side, and Charles Tennent and Blair on the 
 other, while Gillespie and Hutcheson were dissatisfied 
 with both. In Donegal Presbytery, Craighead at New 
 London, and Alexander at Brandywine Manor, coun- 
 tenanced the itinerations of Finley and sympathized 
 with the Tennents. They complained that candidates 
 were licensed without proper examination in regard to 
 heart-religion. They did not hesitate to make open 
 objections to Black, Elder, Sanckey, Thomson, and 
 Cavin, and, in the case of some of them, only on too 
 solid grounds. 
 
 Yet the language and conduct of the New side were 
 on many occasions utterly inexcusable. In January 
 preceding the meeting of Synod, Finley preached a 
 sermon entitled " Christ reigning and Satan raging." 
 It was extremely harsh, bitter, and denunciatory. In 
 a printed letter he spoke scornfully of " the babbling 
 ignorant priests that would seem such friends to holi- 
 ness." "Are not these," he asks, "the devil's advo- 
 
ADOPTING ACT TO DIVISION. 77 
 
 cates?" Thomson's doctrine in his sermon on Convic- 
 tion and Assurance was condemned us "Moravian, 
 Muggletonian, and detestable." 1 
 
 It was impossible, while such proceedings were 
 sanctioned by the New Brunswick party, and were 
 producing a most exasperated slate of feeling in its 
 opponents, that the Synod should meet in harmony. 
 It did not S" meet. The members on the side of the 
 protestants were too bold and confident; nor can we 
 altogether defend their course as orderly. To add to 
 the difficulty, the entire New. York Presbytery, who 
 might have acted as mediators, were absent. Standing 
 aloof in great measure from the strife, they, with Gil- 
 lespie, Hutcheson, and other moderate men, might at 
 least have deferred the rupture. Disapproving of 
 many things which had been endorsed by Whitefield 
 and Tennent, they were yet the firm friends of sound 
 doctrine, of good order, and of vital religion. 
 
 In their absence, the opposing parties in the Synod 
 came face to face. The first thing was to listen to 
 objections against certain persons sitting in Synod. 
 The individual most obnoxious was A. Craighead, who 
 belonged to the Tennent party and who had been 
 arraigned before the Donegal Presbytery. He had 
 contemned their authority, and had been suspended 
 for contumacy. While his case w r as pending, the 
 members of the Old side brought in their protest 
 against the right of the protestants of the previous 
 year to sit in the Synod. They charged to their 
 ''unwearied, unscriptural, anti-Presbyterial, unchari- 
 table, division practices," for the past year, " the dread- 
 ful distractions and convulsions which all of a sudden 
 have seized this infant Church ; . . . that she is in 
 danger of expiring outright." Against such disorderly 
 
 1 See AVebster's History. 
 7* 
 
78 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 feelings they felt it their " duty to bear testimony/' 
 With such conviction, they protested that it was " the 
 indispensable duty of the Synod to maintain and stand 
 by the principles of doctrine, worship, and govern- 
 ment" summed up in the acknowledged standards of 
 the Church; that no one who had not adopted or sub- 
 scribed these standards " according to our last explica- 
 tion of the Adopting Act," no one holding doctrines 
 opposed to them, or persisting in practices " contrary 
 to any of the known rights of Presbytery" or " orders 
 agreed to by the Synod,." should be allowed to sit and 
 vote till he repented of his wrong; that the protesting 
 brethren of the previous year had forfeited their rights 
 as members, for many reasons afterwards specified; 
 that if, notwithstanding their present protestations, 
 the others should continue, as during the past year, in 
 their anti-Presbyterial practices, they should be looked 
 upon as guilty of schism, and not members of " the 
 true Presbyterian Church in this province." 
 
 It will be observed that " the last explication of" the 
 Adopting Act was that of 1736. The majority of the 
 Synod, therefore, demanded as a condition of member- 
 ship a principle fundamentally different from that of 
 the Adopting Act. They demanded, in short, an ipsis- 
 sima verba subscription. And because of the refusal to 
 yield to this demand, among others, they proceeded to 
 what was a virtual excision, and what they did not 
 hesitate to characterize as such in their subsequent 
 documents. This view is strengthened by the fact that 
 they refer in the protest to the manner in which their 
 Presbyteries adopt the Confession. But it can be 
 shown by existing documents that the Presbyteries of 
 New Castle and Donegal had adopted an ipsissima verba 
 subscription, — one contrary to the principle of the 
 Adopting Act. The systematic in contradistinction from 
 
ADOPTING ACT TO DIVISION. 79 
 
 the ipsissima verba subscription, was re-established at 
 
 the reunion in 1758. 
 
 The members of the Old side then proceeded to give 
 their reasons for their protest. These were found in 
 the conduct of the favorers of the New Brunswick 
 party, which embraced some in each of the Presby- 
 teries of .New Castle and Donegal, denying the author- 
 ity of Presbyteries and Synods to go any further in 
 judging of appeals and references than to give their 
 Inst advice; their protest and action against the 
 Synod's rule for the examination of candidates ; their 
 " irregular irruptions upon congregations to which they 
 have no immediate relation, sowing the seeds of divi- 
 sion among people," and alienating their minds with 
 unjust prejudices against pastors j their "rash judging 
 and condemning all who do not fall in with their 
 measures, as carnal, graceless, and enemies of the work 
 of God, as instanced in Telinent's Nottingham sermon, 
 and his and Blair's papers read before the last Synod; 
 their disorderly itinerations through other congrega- 
 tions, which through them had become shattered and 
 divided; their strange notions as to what constituted a 
 call to the ministry;" their "preaching the terrors of 
 the law in such a manner and dialect as has no prece- 
 dent in the word of God, but rather appears to be bor- 
 rowed from a worse dialect;" their " working on the 
 passions and affections of weak minds, making persons 
 cry out in a hideous manner, or fall in convulsion fits;" 
 their maintaining that all true converts could be abso- 
 lutely certain of their gracious state, and able to nar- 
 rate the time and manner of their conversion, and that 
 the people were under no tie to their own pastors, but 
 might leave them when they pleased, and ought to go 
 where they could get most good. 
 
 For these reasons, they pronounced union with the 
 obnoxious brethren "monstrously absurd," — one party 
 
80 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 owning, and the other disowning, the judicial deter- 
 minations of the whole; one party desiring to join 
 with another party which they condemned "whole- 
 sale," meeting with them once in the year, but work- 
 ing against them at all other times, disregarding the 
 authority of the common standards, yet arrogating 
 authority to palm and obtrude members upon the 
 Synod contrary to its judgment. 
 
 Such were declared to be but a part of the reasons 
 why the Old side protested against those who sustained 
 the action and cause of the New Brunswick Presbytery. 
 They did not maintain that they themselves were guilt- 
 less, but justified the " Divine proceedings against" 
 them, and avowed the duty and necessity of a reforma- 
 tion of the evils whereby God had been provoked. 
 
 The protest was read and laid upon the table. 
 Several, who had not seen it before, signed their names. 
 There was great confusion. Andrews, who was mode- 
 rator, had no previous knowledge of the measure, and 
 left the chair. As the elders signed their names, some 
 cried out that they were subscribing what they had not 
 heard or considered. Others declared that it was a 
 protesting of lies before Almighty God. Each party 
 was too excited to deliberate. The friends of the New 
 Brunswick Presbytery wished to speak in their own 
 defence. Blair and others, too confident of their 
 strength, insisted that the protesters ought to with- 
 draw, for they were not a majority of the body. The 
 sympathy of the spectators was on the side of Blair 
 and Tennent. The galleries rang with cries to cast 
 the protesters out. 
 
 No pacific measures, no offers of compromise, were 
 
 presented. The New Brunswick party were firm in 
 
 the conviction that they were in the majority, and can- 
 
 r assed whether they or their opponents were to be 
 
 regarded as the Synod. The latter maintained that, 
 
ADOPTING ACT TO DIVISION. 81 
 
 on which side soever the majority might be, the New 
 Brunswick party had do righl t<» sit in the Synod. 
 
 The roll was called. Andrews, who had to act on 
 the spur of the occasion, — for he had not been let into 
 1 Ik- secret of the protest, which must have been long 
 contemplated, as it was carefully drawn, — decided at 
 once that he could not join with the New Brunswick 
 brethren. The moderate members were unwilling to 
 act with them, and some who Mould have sustained 
 them had left. Gillespie and McHenry did not appear. 
 Iliitcheson hesitated. Elmer and his elder had gone 
 home. The New Brunswick party were clearly in the 
 minority. They withdrew, followed by a great crowd. 
 
 The division was accomplished. Treat and Wales 
 were the only New England ministers who withdrew 
 with the excluded party. The others grieved, in com- 
 mon with the more moderate members present at the 
 Synod, over what had taken place. There had been a 
 struggle for the ascendency between two rival parties, 
 each aspiring to control the Church, and each com- 
 bining with its conscientious convictions no small 
 measure of human passion. The New Brunswick party 
 were zealous for what they regarded as vital evangelical 
 truth, and believed it to be a part of their mission to 
 unmask the hypocrisy, worldliness, and sin of the 
 Church, and, in the over-earnestness of their purpose, 
 forgot charity and discretion. The others, indignant 
 under the sense of wrong, were forced to appeal to the 
 authority of the common standards and the rules of 
 the Synod, which their brethren had too much dis- 
 regarded. 
 
 Thus one party appealed to the word of Cod. the 
 other to the Confession of Faith. One. zealous for 
 truth, fell the victim of its theories ■ the other, resolute 
 for order, could see only the letter of the constitution. 
 which they yet violated by the operation which they 
 
82 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 gave to a protest which was virtually an exscinding 
 act. Their extraordinary zeal for the Confession was 
 less from any superior attachment to its doctrines, than 
 from the fact that they endeavored to appeal to the 
 standards and authority of the Synod as the means of 
 self-defence. 
 
 CHAPTEK VI. 
 
 THE PERIOD OF THE DIVISION. 
 
 At the time of the division of the Synod, the pros- 
 pect of the New Brunswick party was not the most 
 encouraging. They were not only a minority in num- 
 bers as the Synod was then constituted, but there was 
 danger lest they should become the victims of their 
 divisive principles, since the New York Presbytery, 
 friendly to order, could not approve their course, and 
 still adhered to the Old side. This, however, was not 
 because they endorsed the action of the latter party, 
 or ap p roved the protest by which the New Brunswick 
 members were excluded. In 1742, Dickinson was 
 chosen moderator, and the first business brought before 
 Synod was, on his suggestion, for a conference with the 
 rejected brethren, "in order to accommodate the differ- 
 ence and make up that unhappy breach." 
 
 A committee was appointed to consider what could 
 be done. It consisted of seven ; and Dickinson, Pem- 
 berton, and Pierson were members of it. The ejected 
 ministers were invited to confer with the Synod. They 
 did so; but the conference reached no satisfactory 
 result. The parties could not agree as to who should 
 be judges in the case. The New Brunswick party 
 would submit the business to the consideration of none 
 
THE PERIOD OF THE DIVISION. 83 
 
 who had signed the protest of the previous year. They 
 were met by the Latter with the not very soothing 
 declaration that tiny, the protestants, with the mem- 
 bers that adhered to them alter ejecting the others, 
 
 were the Synod, and had acted as such in the ejection, 
 and in so doing only cast out such members as they 
 deemed unworthy of membership, because they main- 
 tained and practised things subversive of the constitu- 
 tion. They could not, therefore, be called to account 
 by absent members, " or by any judicature on earth." 
 They were willing, however, to give the reasons of 
 their conduct to the absent brethren, and to the public, 
 for their consideration or review. 
 
 The New York members — Dickinson, Pemberton, 
 Pierson, Elmer, 1 and the two Hortons — were not satis- 
 fied with this. They entered their protest against the 
 exclusion of the New Brunswick Presbytery by a pro- 
 test and without giving them a previous trial, as "an 
 illegal and unprecedented procedure, contrary to the 
 rules of the gospel, and subversive of our excellent 
 constitution." They protested also against the refusal 
 of the present Synod to try the legality of the protest 
 of the previous year. They maintained that the mem- 
 bers excluded by the protest were still members, and 
 were to be owned and esteemed such until they were 
 pronounced excluded after a regular and impartial pro- 
 cess against them. As to the seeming condemnation 
 by the protestants of the previous year, of the revival, 
 and the language that had been employed in pamphlets 
 sanctioned, if not issued, by the Old side, they pro* 
 
 1 Elmer, though reckoned with the " New York members," 
 belonged to the Presbytery of Philadelphia (printed minutes of 
 Synod, p. 141); he was from New England, and settled first at West 
 Brookfield (Mass.), then at Cohansey, or Fairfield, N.J. Noyes 
 Parris was probably his predecessor at Cohansey. 
 
84 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 tested against all passages in them which seemed to 
 reflect " upon the work of Divine power and grace, 
 which" had " been carrying on in so wonderful a man- 
 ner in many" of the congregations. At the same time, 
 to clear themselves from all responsibility for the indis- 
 cretions and faults of the New Brunswick party, they 
 said, in conclusion, " We protest and declare against all 
 divisive and irregular methods and practices, by which 
 the peace and good order of our churches have been 
 broken in upon." 
 
 The protest was recorded. The only attempt to 
 reply to it in the minutes of Synod is the statement 
 that the protest on the first point was opposed to the 
 facts of the case, and that the excluded members were 
 excluded by vote of the Synod if they refused to give 
 satisfaction for the points complained of, and that upon 
 this they withdrew. Francis Alison alone insisted on 
 its being inserted in the minutes of Synod, that he 
 judged it an open infringement on the rights of society, 
 and of the members of Synod as Presbyterians, that 
 the body should be called to account and the legality 
 of its acts judged by absent members. 
 
 In the following year (1743), the Presbytery of New 
 York brought up the subject again by overture to the 
 Synod. They proposed that the excluding protest 
 should be withdrawn, and the excluded members re- 
 sume their seats in Synod; that candidates for the 
 ministry should submit to the former agreement of the 
 Synod in regard to examination, or procure a diploma 
 from a New England college ; that the pulpits of min- 
 isters should be open to their brethren when regularly 
 applied for, and, unless the reasons for a refusal should 
 be approved by the Presbytery or Synod, such refusal 
 should be regarded as unbrotherly and tending to divi- 
 sion or separation; that if any minister should imagine 
 he had cause to complain of any of his brethren, he 
 
THE PERIOD OF THE DIVISION. 85 
 
 should first seek a private conference, and, if that failed, 
 cite him on specific charges for trial before the Presby- 
 tery, Former matters of difference and debate in 
 Synod were to be buried in oblivion, and in case this 
 plan of accommodation, or others that might be pro- 
 posed, should fail, the Synod should unitedly agree 
 that another Synod be erected by the name of the 
 Synod of Kew York, and liberty be left to members 
 to unite with either as they saw fit, — the two Synods 
 sending yearly each two correspondents to the other. 
 
 The overture was rejected by the Synod, and Dickin- 
 son, Pemberton, Pierson, and Burr, while complaining 
 " of no unfriendly or unbrotherly treatment" from the 
 Synod with relation to themselves, gave in a paper in 
 which they declared that they regarded the New Bruns- 
 wick Presbytery and its adherents as fully as them- 
 selves entitled to sit as members of the Synod, and in 
 consequence that they could not, while that Presbytery 
 w r as excluded, see their way clear to sit and act as 
 though they, with the members present, were the 
 Synod of Philadelphia. 
 
 Burr sent at the same time to the New Brunswick 
 brethren a proposal of terms for their admission to 
 the Synod, which were read and approved. These 
 terms required subjection to the agreements or cen- 
 sures of Synod, — the desisting from licensure and or- 
 dination of men who had not complied with the 
 Synod's rules of examination, or the alternative pro- 
 posed in the Conference of the previous year, — the 
 refraining from itinerant intrusion, or the setting up 
 new separate societies within the bounds of the Pres- 
 byteries, or fixed pastoral charges. — the renunciation 
 of the obnoxious positions taken by Gilbert Tennent 
 in his Nottingham sermon, which took "all govern- 
 ment out of the hands of a Synod or Presbytery, and 
 gave it to any person of ignorance and impudence 
 
 Vol.. T.— s 
 
86 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 enough to bring God's house into confusion/' — an 
 acknowledgment of their guilt in these respects, and 
 " the dreadful tendency" of their practices to promote 
 division and confusion among the churches. 
 
 If the excluded brethren had any thing to complain 
 of with regard to the members of the Synod, they were 
 to be welcome to table charges against them in a proper 
 judicatory, whether the terms proposed were accept- 
 able or not, and, in case of their acceptance, the ex- 
 cluded members should be heartily received. 
 
 To this the ministers of the conjunct Presbyteries 
 of New Brunswick and New Castle 1 replied, by declaring 
 that there could be no regular steps taken towards a 
 union till the illegal protest was withdrawn, while the 
 paper of proposals contained " sundry misrepresenta- 
 tions and unreasonable demands." 
 
 It was already in contemplation to erect another 
 Synod. Although no action was taken in reference to 
 it by the Synod of Philadelphia, their views were ex- 
 pressed by a paper inserted in their minutes. In this 
 they say that they " cannot approve and confirm schism 
 by Sy nodical authority ;" yet " if our New York brethren 
 see cause, contrary to our judgment and inclination, to 
 divide themselves from us, and to erect themselves into 
 a new separate body, while it is not in our power to 
 hinder them, though we cannot in conscience approve 
 of their so doing, yet we hope by the grace of God we 
 shall sincerely and conscientiously endeavor to cherish 
 and cultivate a truly Christian and charitable disposi- 
 tion towards them." 
 
 No further steps to promote a reunion were taken 
 
 1 The old New Castle Presbytery was divided so as to form two, 
 each bearing the same name, — one the Old side, the other the New. 
 The latter, of course, was the one in sympathy with the New Bruns- 
 wick Presbytery. 
 
THE PERIOD OF THE DIVISION. 87 
 
 till 1745. Of the New York Presbytery. Dickinson, 
 Pemberton, and Pierson were present in Synod. They 
 bore with them a Presby terial commission, desiring the 
 Synod to appoint a committee of conference with them 
 for the removal of grounds of dissatisfaction and dif- 
 ference. The committee was appointed, but the plan 
 which they drew up was one which the New York 
 brethren declared that they would not accept. They 
 could not regard it as a proper basis of union. It for- 
 bade any member to preach in another's congregation 
 without being invited by him or judicially appointed 
 to it ; while it declared that all erections within the 
 bounds of regular congregations, which had been set 
 up by " itinerant preaching and divisive practices," 
 should be deemed contrary to the peace and good order 
 of the Church, and not to be maintained. 
 
 The plan was quite inadmissible, and in the circum- 
 stances of the times was especially obnoxious to the 
 New side. The question on which it took issue was 
 not one which concerned the excluded brethren alone. 
 
 The extended revival of religion at this period — 
 associated in many minds with the names of White- 
 field and Tennent, but connected also with the labors 
 of such men as Edwards and Bellamy — had produced 
 a division in the Church throughout the land. Some 
 favored it and some opposed it, while a large body of 
 the more moderate and discreet, but not less devoted, 
 ministers were free to admit the irregularities which 
 it occasioned, while they stood ready to vindicate the 
 good which it had accomplished. The verdict of im- 
 partial history must pronounce it, with some qualifica- 
 tions, a powerful movement for good. If it sometimes 
 burnt the standing corn, it consumed an immense mass 
 of stubble. Vital religion all over the land was strength- 
 ened by it. Hundreds and even thousands of souls 
 were converted. The pulpit was armed with a new 
 
88 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 power. A dead orthodoxy was quickened to life, ai d 
 a genuine reformation was in many cases the result. 
 
 But neither the movement nor the opposition to it 
 was confined to the limits of the Presbyterian Church. 
 They extended alike to New England. Some of the 
 Boston ministers opposed the revival. They preached 
 and published against it. The Legislature of Connec- 
 ticut, in 1742, at the instigation of certain ministers, 
 enacted that any clergyman who should preach in any 
 parish not under his immediate charge, without invita- 
 tion from the settled minister or a majority of the 
 congregation, should forfeit his salary and be bound to 
 'peaceable and good behavior in the full sum of one hun- 
 dred pounds lawful money until the next court. Non- 
 residents, not licensed by an association, were liable to 
 arrest by any magistrate as common vagrants, to be sent 
 out of the colony. 1 Nor was the law suffered to 
 remain a dead letter. Davenport and Dr. Finley 
 (President of Princeton College at a later date) were 
 banished under this act, and Pomeroy (of Hebron) and 
 others deprived of their salaries. In 1743, all the 
 pulpits of New Haven county were closed against the 
 ministers of New Brunswick Presbytery. To have 
 accepted or endorsed the plan of the Old side, would 
 have been regarded as a guilty acquiescence in the 
 injustice. 
 
 There was therefore now no longer any hope of re- 
 conciling the two parties. It only remained to proceed 
 to the erection of a new Synod. The New York 
 brethren could not remain in a connection from which 
 their New Brunswick brethren were illegally debarred. 
 This was distinctly understood, and, in view of it, the 
 Synod of Philadelphia declared, " it particularly af- 
 fects us, that some of our New York brethren do not 
 
 1 Trumbull's History, ii. 103. 
 
THE PERIOD OF THE DIVISION. 89 
 
 at present see their way clear to continue in Synodical 
 communion with us." Yet, in view of their proposed 
 erectioD of a new Synod, they desired to declare, "in 
 
 the most friendly way possible," that if the project 
 was carried out, they should " endeavor to maintain 
 charitable and Christian affections towards them, and 
 show the same upon all occasions by such correspond- 
 ence and fellowship" as they should " think duty and 
 consistent with a good conscience." Accordingly, in 
 September, 1745, the New Brunswick party and the 
 members of the New York Presbytery met at Eliza- 
 beth town, N.J., and formed themselves into the Synod 
 of New York. For the New York members no other 
 course was left open. They could not approve the ex- 
 clusion of the New Brunswick Presbytery by an illegal 
 protest, yet their continued adherence to the Synod of 
 Philadelphia would seem to endorse it. Nor was it a 
 light matter, in their esteem, that the latter body by its 
 public declarations and in the popular judgment had 
 set itself in opposition to the revival, by opposing its 
 methods and speaking of it in their public acts in a 
 tone of depreciation. However they r might disapprove 
 the course of the New Brunswick party on some points, 
 they were in strong sympathy with them in regard to 
 their estimate of the revival itself as a wonderful ex- 
 hibition of the power and grace of God. 
 
 Yet, in uniting with them to form the Synod, they 
 were careful to guard against those causes of division 
 and offence which had occasioned in great part the 
 division of 1741. The principles upon which they con- 
 sented to unite distinctly condemned insubordination 
 to the rules and agreements of Synod. It* any one felt 
 himself aggrieved by these, and could not in conscience 
 submit to them, he was peaceably to withdraw, with- 
 out raising dispute or contention upon the debated 
 point, or unjust alienation of affection among the 
 
 8* 
 
90 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIAN SM. 
 
 members. Supposed errors in doctrine or in conduct 
 were not to be a subject for scandal, but discipline. 
 " Factious separating practices or principles" were by 
 no means to be encouraged ; yet all who were of com- 
 petent knowledge, orthodox in doctrine, regular in life, 
 and diligent in promoting vital godliness, should be 
 cheerfully admitted to their communion. To avoid 
 divisive methods and to strengthen the discipline of 
 Christ in the churches, a correspondence was to be 
 maintained with the Synod of Philadelphia, by appoint- 
 ing two members who were " to concert with them such 
 measures as may best promote the precious interests 
 of Christ's kingdom in these parts." The basis of the 
 new body was the agreement that the Westminster 
 Confession of Faith, with the Catechisms, "be the pub- 
 lic confession of their faith in such manner as was 
 agreed unto by the Synod of Philadelphia in 1729." 
 The Directory of the "Westminster Assembly was ap- 
 proved as "the general plan of worship and discipline." 
 In the Synod as thus constituted, three Presbyteries 
 — New York, New Brunswick, and New Castle — were 
 represented. From the first, there were Dickinson, 
 Pierson, Pembcrton, Burr, the two Hortons, Timothy 
 Johnes, Eliab Byram, and Eobert Sturgeon. Of New 
 Brunswick, besides Gilbert and William Tennent, there 
 were Eobert Treat, Joseph Lamb, James McCrea, Wil- 
 liam Eobinson, David Youngs, Charles Beatty, and 
 Charles McKnight. Of New Castle, there were the 
 two Blairs, — Samuel and John, — Charles Tennent, and 
 Samuel Finley. Johnes was of Welsh descent, but a 
 native of Southampton, L.I. He was a graduate of 
 Yale, and in 1742 commenced at Mnrristown a ministry 
 of many years, and one which was remarkably blessed. 
 Byram was a Massachusetts man, a warm friend of 
 Brainerd, and was setttled at Mendham in 1743. Stur- 
 geon was probably at Bedford, in West Chester county, 
 
THE TERIOD OF THE DIVISION. 01 
 
 N.Y.. where, although from Scotland, he had gone as a 
 licentiate of a New England council. Lamb, for many 
 years at Mattituck, L.I., had Ik-cm called to Basking- 
 ridge, and joined the New Brunswick Presbytery in 
 1744. McCrea and Robinson had been educated at the 
 Log College, — the first now settled at Lamington, 
 where he had gathered a church, and the latter just in 
 full career as a pioneer missionary of Presbyterianism 
 in Virginia and the Carolinas. 1 Finley, Youngs, and 
 M c Knight were all ordained by the New Brunswick 
 Presbytery in 1742. Finley was at Nottingham (Mary- 
 land), where his school, until he was called to succeed 
 Davies in the presidency at Princeton, was highly cele- 
 brated. Youngs, a native of Southold, and a classmate 
 at Yale of Buell and Brainerd, was settled at Setauket 
 in 1 742. McKnight was settled at Cranberry and Allen- 
 town. 
 
 The name of Beatty is associated with that of the 
 founder of the Log College, whom he succeeded at 
 Ncshaminy. Although a native of Ireland, and yet 
 but a boy when he reached this country, he had re- 
 ceived a classical education; and it is not altogether 
 improbable that during his stay in New England, where 
 lie remained for two years, or at Goshen and Wall Kill, 
 N.Y., to which places the family removed, he may have 
 prosecuted his studies, under pastoral supervision, with 
 renewed diligence. 
 
 As he grew up to manhood, he engaged in trade. As 
 the manner of the day often was, he travelled with his 
 goods. On foot, or with his pack-horse, he w T ent forth 
 to display his " auld-warld gear" to the people in their 
 own homes. 2 In the course of his wanderings, he 
 reached Neshaminy. At the Log College, Tennent and 
 his pupils were surprised b} T a pedlar proffering bin 
 
 1 Afterward settled at St. George's, Del. 2 Sprague's Annals. 
 
92 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 merchandise to them in Latin. Tennent replied; and 
 the conversation was carried on in the Latin tongue, 
 with such evidence of scholarship, religious knowledge, 
 and fervent piety on the part of the pedlar, that Ten- 
 nent commanded him to sell what he had and prepare 
 for the ministry. Beatty was disposed to comply. He 
 studied at Neshaminy, was licensed in 1742, and in less 
 than a year was called to take the place of Tennent 
 himself. 
 
 Thus, within the four years that had intervened from 
 the separation to the formation of the New York 
 Synod, the New Brunswick Presbytery had gathered 
 around it a noble band of young men, animated with 
 the spirit of the revival and eager to go forth to their 
 work. As the Synod was formed, the field to be occu- 
 pied was greatly extended. Applications for ministers 
 and missionaries came from afar, — from Virginia and the 
 Carolinas. Extraordinary efforts were made to meet 
 the demand. A large number of the ministers, espe- 
 cially the younger portion of them, were sent out 
 repeatedly on missionary tours. 
 
 The Old side had also received some accessions. 
 In 1742, John Guild, Samuel Evans, and Alexander 
 McDowell were ordained. The first was a native of 
 Massachusetts, a graduate of Harvard, and was settled 
 at Hopewell; Evans was the son of the Evans of the 
 "Welsh Tract. McDowell, who afterward took charge 
 of the Synod's school, is said to have come from Vir- 
 ginia, and to have settled at Nottingham in 1743-44. l 
 
 Bell, Hindman, and Griffith were ordained in 1743, 
 by the Old side. Neither proved to be of much ser- 
 vice. Bell had been educated at the Log College. He 
 
 1 This is questionable, however. Dr. Finley settled at Not- 
 ingham in 1744, and remained there seven years. See Allen's 
 Biographical Dictionary, 
 
THE PERIOD OF THE DIVISION. 93 
 
 adhered to the Old Bide, but, in little more than a twelve- 
 month after his ordination, renounced all connection 
 with Presbytery. Kindman labored for a short time 
 
 as a missionary in Virginia. Griffith succeeded Thomas 
 Evans at Pencader. 1 He died some time after L751, 
 when he was a missionary in Virginia. 
 
 In the following year. John Steel and James Scongal 
 were the only accessions received. Both were from 
 [reland: the first, from Londonderry Presbytery, set- 
 tled at New London, and the other, from the Presby- 
 tery of Paisley, took charge of the Old-side congrega- 
 tion of Snow Hill. 
 
 Thus, in the four years that had elapsed since the 
 division, the New Brunswick party had gained vastly 
 upon the Old side. Long Island Presbytery, some por- 
 tions of which strongly sympathized with the Tennents, 
 had furnished it several candidates. Davenport, with 
 all his extravagances, had " a zeal for God and the con- 
 version of men that was scarce to be paralleled;" and 
 he and those who were under his influence did much to 
 strengthen the popularity of the New side. The New 
 York Presbytery would have decidedly turned the 
 scales in its favor, if they had been even before. 
 
 In the thirteen years that followed, from the erection 
 of the Synod of New York in 1745 to the reunion of 
 the Synods in 1758, the preponderance was increasingly 
 in favor of the New side. Samuel Davies, the great 
 pulpit orator, and President of Princeton College, who 
 commenced his ministry in 1747, was in himself a host. 
 John Brainerd (1748) was the worthy brother of the 
 great missionary to the Indians ; and his name would 
 have done honor to an} r Church." Samuel Blair, senior, 
 
 1 So stated by Webster, p. 483. 
 
 2 Settled in Deerfield, West Jersey, and missionary to the In- 
 dians. 
 
94 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 at Fagg's Manor, bad commenced his school, and had 
 begun to send out men well qualified for the work of 
 the ministry. John Eodgers, afterward the associate 
 of Davies, and pastor at New York, was one of his 
 pupils. 1 He studied theology with Gilbert Tennent, 
 and in 1749 commenced his labors on the early field of 
 Presbyterian effort in this country, the Eastern Shore 
 of Maryland. 2 Elihu Spencer, one of the ablest men 
 whose names adorn the Presbyterian annals, was mis- 
 sionary to the Oneidas in 1748, and succeeded Dickin- 
 son, at Elizabethtown, in 1750, and Eodgers, at St 
 George's, in 1766. 3 
 
 Samuel Buell, whom the New Haven Association 
 classed with Brainerd among " strolling preachers that 
 were most disorderly," had settled at East Hampton in 
 1746, and in the following year helped to form the Suf- 
 folk Presbytery. He was a man of powerful and pun- 
 gent address, and nearly one hundred were added to 
 his church at a single communion season. In 1751, 
 Naphtali Daggett, afterward President of Yale Col- 
 lege, was settled at Smithtown, L.I. John Todd, who 
 was called to wear the mantle of Davies on his depart- 
 ure for England, and again on his removal to Prince- 
 ton, entered upon his Virginia field and was installed 
 by Hanover Presbytery in 1751. 
 
 In the same year, Eobert Smith, under whom so 
 many of the ministers of the Presbyterian Church sub- 
 sequently received their theological education, was in- 
 stalled at Pequa, and the earlier years of his ministry 
 
 1 Others were Alexander Curamings, President Davies, James 
 Finley, and Hugh Henry. 
 
 2 Life of Rodgers, p. 54. Subsequently he was at St. George's, 
 and Middletown, Del. 
 
 8 Webster, 588. Spencer performed much missionary labor in 
 the Southern States. 
 
THE TERIOD OF THE DIVISION. 95 
 
 were signally blessed. In 1756, George Duffield, who 
 had been educated at Nassau Kail, and had served as 
 tutor there for two years, commenced his ministerial 
 career. Besides these, at the time of the reunion, the 
 Synod of New York had upon its list of members the 
 names of Whitaker; Kettletas, of Jamaica; Thane, of 
 Connecticut Farms; Richards, of Bah way; Smith, 
 of Orange; Lewis, of IIopew T ell and Maidenhead, after- 
 ward of Mendham ; Kennedy, of Baskingridge ; Hait, 
 of Amwell ; Chesnut, of Charlestown and New Provi- 
 dence; Martin, of Newtown and Salisbury; Lawrence, 
 of the Forks of the Delaware, afterward of Cape 
 May; Arthur, w r ho succeeded Tennent at New T Bruns- 
 wick, when the latter removed in 1744 to the Second 
 Church in Philadelphia; Hunter, of Greenwich and 
 Deerfield; Jacob Green, of Hanover, N.J. ; Greenman,of 
 Pilesgrove; Ramsey, of Fairfield; Roan, associated with 
 Robinson and Blair in the missionary work in Virginia, 
 where his zeal seems to have exceeded his discretion 
 and to have drawn reproach upon his party; Tuttle, of 
 Kent county, Del. ; Harris, of Indian River, near Lewis; 
 Prime, long settled at Huntingdon, L.I., but not till 
 1747 a member of Presbytery; Brown, of Bridgehamp- 
 ton; Sylvanus White, of Southampton, and son of 
 the venerable Ebenezer White; Talmadge, of Brook- 
 haven ; Reeve, of Moriches, father of the celebrated 
 Tapping Reeve, at the head of the Law School at 
 Litchfield; Ball, of Bedford ; Smith, of Rye and White 
 Plains; Sackett, of Peekskill, or Cortland Manor; 
 Ayres, of Blooming Grove, a pupil of Bellamy, and first 
 on the roll of the alumni of Nassau Hall ; Graham, of 
 Poughkeepsie ; Moffat, of Wall Kill ; Elmer, of New 
 Providence, 1 N.J. ; Hugh Knox, a pupil probably of 
 President A. Burr, and, singularly enough, the teacher of 
 
 1 Webster, 609. 
 
96 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 Alexander Hamilton j Maltby, for some time tutor at 
 Nassau Hall, and afterward pastor of a church in Ber- 
 muda; Keed, of Bound Brook, the first member of Nas- 
 sau Hall who became a member of Synod ; Worts, of 
 the High-Dutch Congregation of Rockaway; Henry, 
 of Rehoboth, Wicomoco, and Monokin, a graduate of 
 Nassau Hall, and a pupil of Samuel Blair; Campbell, of 
 Tehicken, afterward of South Carolina ; Bay, of Round 
 Hill, and Marsh Creek, Pa.; John Hoge, of Cedar 
 Creek, one of the pioneer laborers in Virginia; Ster- 
 ling, of Upper Octorara; McAden, one of the pioneer 
 laborers in the Carolinas; Robert Henry, of Cub Creek, 
 Prince Edward county, Virginia; and John Martin, of 
 Albemarle, a pupil of Davies, afterward a missionary 
 to the Cherokees, and finally settling in South Caro- 
 lina. 
 
 A mere list of the names and places of settlement of 
 these men shows the rapid extension of the Presby- 
 terian Church, as represented by the New side, both 
 at the North and South. In Orange and Dutchess 
 counties, N.Y., on Long Island, within the very bounds 
 of the Old side in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, in 
 Virginia and the Carolinas, there was a rapid increase 
 of the New-side ministers. Indeed, the Synod of New 
 York had great advantages, in securing supplies, over 
 the Synod of Philadelphia. Nearly, if not full, one- 
 half of the ministers added to it, during the period pre- 
 vious to the reunion, were from New England; and 
 Nassau Hall was already established and sending out 
 graduates, who were justifying the fond anticipations 
 of its founders. 
 
 On the other hand, the Old side had great difficulties 
 to encounter. Their opposition to revivals seems to 
 have wellnigh paralyzed the spiritual vigor both of 
 pastors and churches. Their own candidates for the 
 ministry were few in number, and the tide from Ire- 
 
THE PERIOD OF THE DIVISION. 07 
 
 land had already begun to ebb. The sympathies of the 
 foreign churches were by no means altogether on their 
 side, especially after the mission of Tennent and Davies 
 to England and Scotland in behalf of Nassau Hall. 
 They wrote to Scotland for ministers, but few came. 
 They corresponded with President Clap, of New Haven, 
 and entertained him with their complaints of the New 
 side, and their condemnation of the proceedings which 
 issued in ordaining Brainerd, on his expulsion from 
 Yale, for the mission work among the Indians. To 
 Dickinson and the founders of Nassau Hall, such cor- 
 respondence, uniting the sympathies of the Old side 
 and the opponents of revivals at New Haven, was only 
 a new argument in favor of prosecuting the task of 
 establishing a college at Princeton. 
 
 But the Old side derived little real advantage from 
 it. President Clap might sanction their devotion to the 
 cause of order, but he could not send them the men 
 who could cope in zeal with Brainerd, McKnight, Buell. 
 Spencer, Graham, Daggett, Youngs, Bostwick, Arthur, 
 and Davenport, — all of them graduates of Yale, and 
 carrying with them to the New side the fervor and 
 active zeal of Whitefield and the Tennents, from whoso 
 lips some of them had caught the flame. 
 
 Yet the Old side put forth honorable efforts in the 
 cause of learning and ministerial education. It would 
 have been inconsistent with their professions not to 
 have done so. They commenced a Synodical school 
 under Alison, the best scholar on their side, and con- 
 tinued it for several years. Some of their best men 
 were trained in it. 
 
 But the list of accessions which they received before 
 the reunion was small, compared with that of the New 
 side. In 1745-G, they received on Synodical examination, 
 Thorn, afterward settled at Chesnut Level; John Dick, 
 who took charge of Drawycrs and Appoquinimy ; Ham- 
 
 Vol. I.— 9 
 
98 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 ilton, of Kehoboth and Monokin; and Hector Alison, 
 who succeeded Dick at Drawyers and Appoquinimy, 
 and afterward settled at Williamsburg, South Carolina. 
 From 1748 to 1754, the only new members added to 
 the Synod, who remained for any length of time in its 
 connection, were Joseph Tate, of Silver Spring, Marsh 
 Creek, and Donegal ; Sampson Smith, succeeding 
 Thorn in 1752 at Chesnut Level; JRobert McMordie, of 
 Upper Marsh Creek, and Round Hill; Evander Mor- 
 rison, of Middle Octorara ', and John Miller, of Duck 
 Creek. 1 The only other members who united with the 
 Old side, previous to the reunion, tbat deserve men- 
 tion, were John Kinkead, of Chester and Montgomery 
 counties, Pa.; 2 Alexander Miller, who settled in the 
 Great Valley, Ya., — neither of whom reflects honor 
 upon the party to which both belonged ; — and William 
 McKennan and Matthew Wilson, the first settled at 
 Wilmington and Eed Clay, and the latter at Lewes 
 and Cold Spring, Del. 
 
 Of all the members who united with both Synods, 
 from 1745 to 1758, only twelve are known to have been 
 from Scotland, nine from Ireland, three from England, 
 nine from New York and the Middle States, while 
 nearly thirty were from New England and Long 
 Island. Of the twenty others, of whom passing men- 
 
 1 Dover, St. Jones, and "People of Kent," are all the same 
 congregation, — Dover. This congregation is on the Records in 
 1714, and Mr. Anderson, of New Castle, is ordered to supply them : 
 then Henry Hook, in 1723. The first pastor was Archibald Cook, 
 installed June 7, 1727; died September 7, 1729. Mr. Hook was 
 ordered to supply Kent in 1725 and 1726, and also to preach at 
 Duck Creek (Smyrna, Del.) occasionally in 1726. This is the 
 origin of Duck Creek Church. 
 
 2 In the minutes of Synod for 1753, p. 210, we read, "A mem- 
 ber of the congregation of Norrington applied to the Synod, sup- 
 plicating the ordination of Mr. Kinkead, as fast as the stated rules 
 and methods used in our Presbyteries will permit." 
 
THE PERIOD Off THE DIVISION. 99 
 
 tion is made, some remained but a short time in this 
 country, while the place of the others' nativity is for 
 the most part unknown. 
 
 The increase of membership of the New side from 
 these various sources — mainly from New England and 
 Scotland — was to that of the Old side nearly as eight to 
 one. They secured the sympathy of all the friends of 
 the revival, and manifested great energy in the supply 
 of the destitute and missionary fields within the bounds 
 of the Church. 
 
 The prospects of the Old side were rendered more 
 discouraging from the sudden check given to Irish 
 emigration. With all the sympathy of President Clap, 
 they secured but one or two ministers from New Eng- 
 land, not more than two or three from Scotland, while 
 most of the number added were their own licentiates. 
 
 In these circumstances they became continually less 
 indisposed to a reunion. Especially was this the case 
 after the erection of the Synod of New York; the con- 
 stitution of which embodied some of the most import- 
 ant principles for which the Old side had contended, 
 and to which the New Brunswick party, on mature 
 deliberation, chose to submit. Indeed, in Burr's pro- 
 posal for union, laid before the Synod of Philadelphia 
 in 1745, and which embodies the principles adopted a 
 few months afterward in the constitution of the New 
 York Synod, he said, " We think that a subscription of 
 these Articles (the agreements of the Synod) will be a 
 renouncing disorder and divisive practice, and, when 
 obtained, will lay a foundation for maintaining peace, 
 truth, and good order, which was what was desired in 
 the protest by which the Brunswick brethren stand 
 excluded." 
 
 The grounds of division were thus much narrowed. 
 They were, in fact, reduced to the mode of subscrip- 
 tion and the protest itself. The New York Synod dis- 
 
100 HISTORY OF TRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 tinctly required, that if any member objected to the 
 life or doctrine of another, he should not spread abroad 
 popular rumors to his prejudice, but table charges 
 before the proper judicatory. If one could not con- 
 scientiously submit to the agreements of Synod, he 
 should peaceably withdraw. Factious, separating prin- 
 ciples or practices were to be discouraged, and no one 
 was to intermeddle with parties separating from Pres- 
 byterian or Congregational churches within their 
 bounds. 
 
 In accepting these terms of communion, the New 
 Brunswick brethren virtually renounced all the obnox- 
 ious positions which they had hitherto maintained. 
 The way was thus opened for proposals of union from 
 both parties. They came in the first instance from the 
 Synod of New York. This body wished to secure from 
 the united Synod a declaration in favor of the revival 
 as a " work of God's glorious grace," — one something 
 like that which they had made themselves at their first 
 meeting at Elizabethtown. To this the Synod of Phila- 
 delphia objected, and the Synod of New York did not 
 insist absolutely upon this point. In 1745-49, and 
 nearly every successive year afterward, proposals were 
 made, or communications interchanged. A commis- 
 sion was appointed, composed of members of both 
 Synods, who met at Trenton in 1749. The three points 
 of difference were the protest, the paragraph about 
 essentials, and the constituting of the Presbyteries on 
 the union of the Synods. These points were discussed 
 from year to year- In regard to the protest, the New 
 York Synod insisted that " by some authentic and 
 formal act of the Synod of Philadelphia" it should " be 
 made null and void." This the Synod of Philadelphia 
 refused ; and the matter was finally settled by their 
 declaring that the protest was the act of the individual 
 members who signed it, for which they were alone 
 
THE PERIOD OF THE DIVISION. 101 
 
 responsible : it was not, and should not be considered 
 the act of the Synod. In this view of the subject, tho 
 Synod of New York had nothing further to object. 
 
 The "paragraph about essentials" was one to which 
 the Old side attached much importance. It had doubt- 
 less been much insisted upon by the Presbyteries, who 
 were instructed by the Synod to consider the terms of 
 union, and give in what they thought necessary to the 
 Old-side members of the commission that was to meet 
 at Trenton. The difficulty was not with subscription 
 to the terms of the Adopting Act of 1729, but subscrip- 
 tion " according to our last (1730) explication of the 
 Adopting Act, without the least variation or altera- 
 tion." This point was one adhered to, not so much 
 from tenacity for orthodox doctrine as from zeal for 
 orderly practice. In the protest of 1741, it is the viola- 
 tion of the thirty -first article (on Synods and Councils) 
 of which the protestants complain. It was this which 
 they said the New Brunswick brethren "pretend to 
 adopt." But, in their zeal for order and subjection 
 to the authority of Synod, they went too far. They 
 would have violated the spirit of the Adopting Act by 
 a rigid interpretation of their "last explication." In 
 establishing the principles of authority, they would 
 have made every line and letter of the Confession infal- 
 lible as the Scriptures themselves, instead of the whole 
 the embodiment of the system of Scripture truth. 
 
 This, therefore, was a point on which the Synod of 
 New York could not yield to the Old side. With 
 regard to order and authority they had taken the 
 same ground already with them; but, with a broader 
 view of " the paragraph about essentials," they dis- 
 tinctly said (1753), " Difference in judgment should not 
 oblige a dissenting member to withdraw from our com- 
 munion, unless the matter were judged by the body to 
 be essential in doctrine <>r discipline. And this we 
 
102 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 must own is an important article with us, which we 
 cannot any way dispense with. And it appears to us 
 to be strictly Christian and scriptural, as well as Pres- 
 byterian, otherwise we must make every thing that 
 appears plain duty to us a term of communion, which 
 we apprehend the Scripture prohibits. And it appears 
 plain to us, that there may be many opinions relating 
 to the great truths of religion that are not great them- 
 selves, nor of sufficient importance to be made terms 
 of communion. Nor can these sentiments ' open a 
 door to an unjustifiable latitude in principles and prac- 
 tices,' any more than the apostolic prohibition of receiv- 
 ing those that are weak to doubtful disputations. What 
 is plain sin and plain duty in one's account is not so in 
 another's; and the Synod has still in their power to 
 judge what is essential and what is not. In order to 
 prevent an unjustifiable latitude, we must not make 
 terms of communion which Christ has not made; and 
 we are convinced that he hath not made every truth 
 and every duty a term." 
 
 These were the noble sentiments, fearlessly avowed 
 and eloquently advocated, of the New side. These 
 they could not consent to yield. Union or no union, 
 they could not purchase the desired result by a com- 
 promise which bound them to a rigid interpretation of 
 the last explication of the Adopting Act, and which 
 placed the letter above the spirit of the Confession and 
 on the same level of authority with the letter of the 
 divine word. 
 
 In regard to Presbyteries, the New side insisted that 
 they should remain constituted as they were at present 
 till the way was open for a change for the better, — till 
 " a favorable opportunity of advantageous alteration." 
 The Old side were not disposed to yield this point. 
 They were anxious to have " indemnity for the past" 
 as well as security for the future, either by the disband- 
 
THE TERIOD OF THE DIVISION". 103 
 
 ing of separate congregations, or their union under the 
 pastor of the Old side. 
 
 This was indeed & difficult matter to settle; and it 
 was evident that no Synodieal arrangements would at 
 once secure harmony or remove old differences. These, 
 time and charity alone could heal. Yet the Synod of 
 Philadelphia proposed (1751) that " all names of dis- 
 tinction should be forever abolished, and that Presby- 
 teries be made up everywhere of ministers contiguous 
 to each other/' so that there should be no more " such 
 party names as old and new Presbyteries, old and new 
 congregations." 
 
 This was all well enough in theory; but the Synod 
 of New York justly replied, that it seemed a "jarring 
 discord to force people" into a union "faster than they 
 had clearness to go." The "favorable opportunity" 
 they did not apprehend would occur immediately upon 
 the union of the Synods. 
 
 Thus, on the last point the two parties were not 
 agreed. Instead of sending a reply, the Synod of Phila- 
 delphia (1754), noting " a very pacific temper in the 
 members of both Synods," proposed a conference. This 
 resulted in the approval, by the Synod of Philadelphia, 
 of a plan of union of the two Synods as (now "two 
 distinct judicatures") "two contiguous bodies of Chris- 
 tians, agreed in principle, as though they had never 
 been concerned with one another before, nor had any 
 differences, which is the truth as to great part of both 
 Synods, and should now join the Synods and Presby- 
 teries upon such scriptural and rational terms as may 
 secure peace and good order, tend to heal our broken 
 churches, and advance religion hereafter." 
 
 Thus, in 1755, every thing seemed in a fair way to 
 union. In the following year, although the Synod of 
 New York had not obtained full satisfaction in regard 
 to the protest, they acceded to the request of the Synod 
 
104 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 of Philadelphia to appoint a Committee of Conference. 
 Both the Tennents, — Gilbert and William, — Samuel 
 Finley, Treat, and John Blair, were among the mem- 
 bers appointed. This alone served to show the strong 
 disposition in favor of union ; for some of these had 
 been the chief and original offenders. 
 
 At this conference the subject of the protest was 
 satisfactorily disposed of, and the report given in to 
 each Synod was favorably received. The arrangement 
 was therefore made that the two Synods should have 
 their next meeting at the same time and place, and, if 
 matters should appear ripe for it, the union should be 
 perfected. 
 
 Accordingly, the Synod of New York met in Philadel- 
 phia, May 25, 1758. The Synod of Philadelphia was 
 already in session. The plan of union, as finally 
 matured by the joint commissions of the two Synods 
 who met on the 22d for conference, was laid before 
 both bodies and unanimously approved. This approval 
 was notified by each to the other, and on May 29 
 the two bodies were united as one, under the name of 
 the Synod of New York and Philadelphia. The rela- 
 tive strength of the two bodies, thus united in one, 
 was far different from what it was at the time of the 
 protest. In 1742, the Synod of Philadelphia numbered, 
 exclusive of New York Presbytery, twenty-six minis- 
 ters ; with them, thirty-eight. At the time of the union 
 they were reduced to twenty -two. More had been lost 
 by death and removal than had been gained by addi- 
 tions. 
 
 On the other hand, the Synod of New York had a 
 list of seventy ministers, thus outnumbering the Old 
 side in the proportion of more than three to one. 
 Numbering at first but eight or ten, even with their 
 licentiates included, the New side was nearly doubled 
 
THE PERIOD OF THE DIVISION. 105 
 
 by the accession of New York Presbytery in 1745; and 
 from that period tlu-y had rapidly increased. 
 
 Thus, on the formation of the united Synod it num- 
 bered ninety-four ministers, — of whom forty-two were 
 present and fifty-two absent. There were also four- 
 teen elders who took their seats in the united Synod. 
 It thus composed at its first session an assembly of 
 fifty-six members; and among them were many whose 
 names are worthy of lasting remembrance. Gilbert 
 Tennent, now removed to the pastorate of a church in 
 Philadelphia, was moderator. Bostwick, who had suc- 
 ceeded Pemberton at New York, — Rodgers, who was 
 afterward to be transferred to the same field, — Richards, 
 at Rahway, — the Finleys, Dufneld, and Samuel Davies, 
 were among the members present. Dickinson did 
 not survive to witness the result for which his soul 
 ardently longed. He had been cut off by death in 
 1747, in the very meridian of his years and usefulness. 
 
 A far different scene was now presented in Phila- 
 delphia from that which was witnessed upon the forma- 
 tion of the first Presbytery, a little more than half a 
 century before. The Church w T as then struggling for 
 existence. It was persecuted both in Virginia and New 
 York, and had scarcely a foothold in either province. 
 A few feeble churches on the Eastern Shore of Mary- 
 land, one or two in Delaware, one in Philadelphia, and 
 one or two in New Jersey , composed its entire strength. 
 Now it numbered nearly one hundred ministers, and 
 more than as many churches. The field of its opera- 
 tions had been vastly extended. Virginia, the Caro- 
 lina*, the destitute but rapidly settling portions of 
 Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as the river coun- 
 ties of New York, were calling upon it for aid. It was 
 inviting laborers from abroad, — from New England, 
 Scotland, and Ireland. — and training them up at home. 
 Princeton College had gone into successful operation. 
 
106 HISTORY OF TRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 Alison was at the head of the College of Pennsylvania ; 
 and quite a number of the ministers were engaged at 
 once in pastoral uuty, and in training pious young men 
 to meet the demands of the churches. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 PRESBYTERIANISM IN VIRGINIA. 
 
 Scarcely had Makemie gone to his rest, when 
 another portion of Virginia, far distant from that 
 which had been the scene of his labors, opened an in- 
 viting field for Presbyterian missionary effort. The 
 Virginia government encouraged immigration along 
 its frontier settlements, where the hardy pioneers 
 might serve as a defence against the incursions of the 
 Indian tribes. There was no question now raised in 
 regard to their faith and order. If they could carry a 
 rifle, or plant along the western forest a line of protec- 
 tion against savage inroads, they were sufficiently or- 
 thodox. Their distance, moreover, from the settle- 
 ments on the Eastern Shore, prevented any umbrage 
 being taken at a dissent which did not attract notice 
 or give offence. Thus, in obscurity and neglect, Presby- 
 terianism, in spite of Virginia laws, planted itself un- 
 molested west of the Blue Ridge. Germans, Quakers, 
 and Irish Presbyterians, from Pennsylvania, took pos-^ 
 session of the county of Frederick. A great part of 
 this region was of the most inviting kind. Between 
 the North Mountain and the Shenandoah extended at 
 that time a spacious prairie, barren of timber, but 
 clothed with the richest herbage. It was traversed by 
 
PRESBYTERIANISM IN VIRGINIA. 
 
 107 
 
 herds of buffalo, elk, and deer, and furnished the In- 
 dians a favorite hunting-ground. 
 
 Into this region there poured a mixed population, 
 leavened by a Presbyterian element ;while still beyond 
 it, more to the southwest, the county of Augusta was 
 almost exclusively occupied by a Scotch-Irish popula- 
 tion. Among the names of the early settlers we find 
 not a few which have since become eminent in the his- 
 tory of the Church. It is enough to mention those of 
 McDowell, Alexander, Lyle, Stuart, Matthews, Craw- 
 ford, Campbell, Moore, Brown, Wallace, Patton, Wil- 
 son, Caruthers, Cummins, and McKee. 
 
 These " Presbyterians of the valley" were a bold, 
 hardy, perhaps austere, but religiously disposed popu- 
 lation. More fortunate than their brethren east of the 
 mountains, they were left unmolested in the exercise 
 of their religious freedom. As early as 1719, "the 
 people of Potomoke," near the present town of Martins- 
 burg, were supplied, at their request, with preaching, 
 by the Synod of Philadelphia. Rev. Daniel Magill was 
 appointed to visit them, but, although not settled among 
 them as pastor, he organized a church and labored in 
 the region for several months. In 1732, Joist Hite, with 
 sixteen families from Pennsylvania, fixed his residence 
 at Opeckon, a few miles south of the present site of 
 Winchester. Other families were scattered on Cedar 
 Creek and Crooked Run. In 1734, Michael Woods, 
 from Ireland, with a large family, settled near Wood's 
 Gap in Albemarle, and his descendants were the found- 
 ers of the ^fountain Plain congregation. From this 
 period the tide of immigration flowed in, in a steady 
 stream. Settlements were soon formed, mostly by 
 Presbyterians, in Jefferson county, on Cub Creek in 
 Charlotte, on Buffalo Creek in Prince Edward, at 
 Concord and Hat Creek in Campbell, and at Boekfish 
 in Nelson. Congregations were gathered at Opeckon, 
 
108 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 Timber Eidge, Back Creek in Berkeley, Forks of James 
 in Eockbridge, and Triple Forks of the Shenandoah. 
 
 In 1738, the congregations had become so numerous, 
 and the necessity of ministers so urgent, that applica- 
 tion was made to the Synod of Philadelphia for aid. 
 In response to the appeal, John Craig was sent to labor 
 with the joint congregations of Tinkling Spring and 
 Augusta, and for twenty-five years this pioneer laborer 
 occupied his post. But already he had been preceded 
 by those who had transiently visited this region in the 
 character of missionaries. James Gelston had been 
 sent out in 1737 by the Presbytery of Donegal, and 
 had labored at Opeckon. James Anderson, despatched 
 by the Synod to confer with Governor Gooch on the 
 subject of liberty for Dissenters, had visited several 
 settlements, preaching as he went. This was in 1738. 1 
 In the next year he was followed by Dunlap, a pro- 
 bationer of New York Presbytery, who spent nearly 
 three months in the neighborhood of Staunton. In the 
 same year, John Thompson, of Donegal Presbytery, 
 itinerated through the settlements of the whole region, 
 and by his influence, upon his return, Craig was sent to 
 occupy the post at Augusta and Tinkling Spring. 
 
 1 Anderson's mission was quite successful. In 1739, he reported 
 to Synod that he had waited on the Governor of Virginia with the 
 Synod's address, and received a favorable answer. The substance 
 of this is contained in a letter from the Governor to the moderator 
 of Synod. In this letter he says, "As I have always been inclined 
 to favor the people who have lately removed from other provinces 
 to settle on the western side of our great mountains, so you may 
 be assured that no interruption shall be given to any minister of 
 your profession who shall come among them, so as they conform 
 themselves to the rules prescribed by the Act of Toleration in Eng- 
 land, by taking the oaths enjoined thereby and registering the places 
 of their meeting, and behave themselves peaceably towards the 
 Government. This you may please to communicate to the Synod as 
 an answer of theirs." — Minutes of Synod, 147. 
 
PRESBYTERIANISM IN VIRGINIA. 109 
 
 Scarcely was he settled, when the division of the 
 Synod occurred (1741). He, in common with most of 
 the Presbyterians west of the Blue Ridge, espoused 
 the cause of the Old side. In some respects this was 
 unfortunate for them. The Old side were weak, and 
 unable to occupy the missionary fields which opened 
 before them. They had few ministers or licentiates. 
 For several years the only one whom they could send to 
 Virginia, as a fellow-laborer with Craig, was Alexander 
 Miller, 1 — a man who had already been put on trial for 
 drunkenness, lying, sedition, and " opposing the work of 
 God, then in progress in neighboring congregations." 
 Yet for him — though we must hope that he was a better 
 man after his trial — the congregations of North and 
 South Mountain, in Virginia, made application in 1745 
 
 From this time the visits of Presbyterian clergymen 
 were more frequent. The celebrated John Blair itine- 
 rated among the congregations of the Valley in 1745 
 and 1746. William Eobinson and John Eoan, although 
 their attention was mainly directed to the region east 
 of the Ridge, did not altogether neglect them. But by 
 the middle of the century the population of the Valley 
 had increased so rapidly as to have far outstripped the 
 supply of the means of grace. Their destitution was 
 a subject of anxiety to both the Synods. That of 
 Philadelphia, unable to afford supplies, made applica- 
 tion for aid to the General Assembly of the Church of 
 Scotland. That of New York applied for assistance 
 to the Eastern Association of Fairfield, in Connecticut. 
 The sympathies of the two bodies are manifest in their 
 respective applications. 
 
 Yet they were not themselves idle. The Synod of 
 Philadelphia sent out, among others, to the vacant con- 
 gregations, Francis Alison and John Craig, — the last 
 
 1 Webster, G18; and Foote's Sketches. 
 Vol. I.— 10 
 
110 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 already mentioned as settled as a pastor at Tinkling 
 Spring and Augusta. In 1753, John Brown, of the 
 New side, took charge of the united congregations of 
 New Providence and Timber Eidge. The Presbyterians 
 of the Yalley were thus divided between the two Synods ; 
 but the superior activity and numbers of the New side 
 were giving them a decided advantage when the re- 
 union of the two parties took place in 1758. 
 
 Prom this period, the growth of Presbyterianism in 
 Virginia was more rapid. Hanover Presbytery was 
 formed in 1755, comprising in it all the ministers of 
 Virginia, except John Hoge, of Opeckon, and one or 
 two others, west of the mountains. Amid difficulty 
 and discouragement it prosecuted its work. The in- 
 tolerant laws of the province were a sore grievance. As 
 an Episcopal church was built in each county town, it 
 was but natural that the Presbyterians should locate 
 their houses of worship elsewhere. Till after the com- 
 mencement of the Revolution, there was not in the 
 Valley a single village which had a Presbyterian church- 
 edifice. 1 The oldest congregations were all in the coun- 
 try, amid a sparse population; and near by, in quiet 
 solitude, was the enclosed grave-yard. 
 
 The first houses of worship which were erected were 
 rude wooden structures ; but they were sanctified by 
 hallowed associations, and were endeared to the wor- 
 shippers by attractions beyond those of mere archi- 
 tecture. When, at a later period, they were replaced 
 by more commodious and commanding structures, the 
 new erection was a monument to the pious zeal and 
 self-denial of the builders. The difficulties to be over- 
 come, where the heavy timbers had to be dragged, 
 sometimes without the aid of wheels, for a distance, 
 and the sand for plastering had to be brought in sacks 
 
 1 Captives of Abb's Valley, p. 14. 
 
rilESBYTERIANISM IN VIRGINIA. Ill 
 
 on horseback for several miles, may be better imagined 
 than described. 
 
 But these were not the only hardships which the set- 
 tlors had to meet. On the frontiers of civilization, they 
 stood in constant dread of the savage foe. Warlike 
 tribes, revisiting their old hunting-grounds, exulted to 
 take vengeance upon the white man for his intrusion 
 upon what they still considered their own domain. 
 British agents incited them during the war to assault 
 the feeble settlements. Amid the quiet loveliness 
 of nature, and within the sheltering scenes of the 
 Valley, horrid tragedies of barbarous ferocity were 
 enacted. The solitary settler knew not when the ter- 
 rible blow would fall that was to desolate his dwelling 
 and perhaps doom himself or his household to captivity 
 or death. There was not a little to remind him of the 
 hardships of his ancestry in times when Londonderry 
 and Enniskillen were household words. We cannot 
 doubt that the impending terror and the stern tuition 
 of his frontier life gave a peculiar tinge to his devo- 
 tion, and we know that amid the scenes of the Valley 
 were trained some of the noblest pioneers of Presby- 
 terianism in the new regions of Kentucky and Ten- 
 nessee. 
 
 The rise of Presbyterianism in Hanover is insepa- 
 rably connected with what is known by tradition as 
 Morris's Beading-Mouse. This was the first of several 
 buildings in that region, erected to accommodate those 
 who were dissatisfied with the preaching of the parish 
 incumbents, and anxious to enjoy the privilege of listen- 
 ing on the Sabbath to the reading of instructive and 
 devotional works on religion. The origin of this move- 
 ment was somewhat singular. The people had, for the 
 most part, never heard or seen a Presbyterian minister. 
 But reports had reached them of revivals in Pennsyl- 
 vania, New Jersey, and Now England. A few leaves 
 
112 HISTORY OF TRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 of Boston's Fourfold State, in the possession of a Scotch- 
 woman, fell into the hands of a gentleman, who was so 
 affected by their perusal that he sent to England by 
 the next ship to procure the entire work. The result 
 of its perusal was his conversion. Another obtained 
 possession of Luther on Galatians ; he, in like manner, 
 was deeply affected, and ceased not to read and pray 
 till he found peace in Christ. 
 
 These persons, with two or three others, — all heads of 
 families, — without previous consultation or conference, 
 absented themselves at the same time from the worship 
 of the parish church. They were convinced that the 
 gospel was not preached by the parish minister, and 
 they deemed it inconsistent with their duty to attend 
 upon his ministrations. Four of them were summoned 
 on the same day, and at the same place, to answer to 
 the proper officers for their delinquency. For the first 
 time they here learned their common views. Confirmed 
 in them by this unexpected coincidence, they thence- 
 forth chose to subject themselves to the payment of the 
 fines imposed by law rather than attend church where 
 they felt that they could not be profited. 
 
 They agreed at first to meet every Sabbath alter- 
 nately at each other's houses, to read and pray. Soon 
 their numbers increased. Curiosity attracted some, and 
 religious anxiety others. The Scriptures, and Luther 
 on Galatians, were first read. Afterward a volume of 
 Whitefield's sermons fell into their hands (1743). " My 
 dwelling-house," says Mr. Morris, "was at length too 
 small to contain the people. We determined to build 
 a meeting-house merely for reading." The result was 
 that several were awakened and gave proof of genuine 
 conversion. Mr. Morris was invited to several places, 
 some of them at a considerable distance, to read the 
 sermons which had been so effective in his own neigh- 
 
PRESBYTERIANISM IN VIRGINIA. 113 
 
 borliood. Thus the interest that hud been awakened 
 spread abroad. 
 
 The dignitaries of the Established Church saw the 
 parish churches deserted, and took the alarm. They 
 urged that indulgence encouraged the evil, and hence 
 invoked the strong arm of the law to restrain it. The 
 leaders in the movement were no longer regarded as 
 individual delinquents, but a malignant cabal, and, 
 instead of being arraigned merely before the magis- 
 trates, they w T ere cited to appear before the Governor 
 and Council. 
 
 Startled by the criminal accusation which was now 
 directed against them, and of the nature, extent, and 
 penalties of which they had indistinct conceptions, they 
 had not even the name of a religious denomination 
 under which to shelter their dissent. At length, recol- 
 lecting that Luther, whose work occupied so much 
 space in their public religious readings, was a noted 
 reformer, they declared themselves Lutherans. 
 
 But it so happened that, on the way to Williamsburg 
 to appear before the Governor, one of the company, 
 detained by a violent storm at a house on the road, fell 
 in with an old volume on a dust-covered shelf, which 
 he read to while away the time. Amazed to find in it 
 the expression of his own religious sentiments, so far 
 as they had been definitely formed, he offered to pur- 
 chase the book; but the owner gave it to him. At 
 Williamsburg, he with his friends more carefully exa- 
 mined the work, and all were agreed that it expressed 
 their own views. When they appeared before the 
 Governor, therefore, they presented this old volume as 
 their creed. The Governor, Gooch, himself of Scotch 
 origin and education, looked at the volume, and found 
 it to be the Confession of Faith of the Presbyterian 
 Church of Scotland. He consequently denominated 
 the men arraigned before him Presbyterians, and dis- 
 
 10* 
 
114 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 missed them with the gentle caution not to excite dis- 
 turbance. One of the party firmly believed that this 
 leniency on the part of the Governor and the Council 
 was due, in part, to the impression made by a violent 
 thunder-storm then shaking the house in which they 
 were assembled, and wrapping every thing around them 
 alternately in darkness and in sheeted flame. 
 
 The first Presbyterian minister who visited this 
 region was William Eobinson. In the winter of 1742-3, 
 he was sent as an evangelist, by the Presbytery of New 
 Castle, to visit the Presbyterian settlements in the Val- 
 ley of the Shenandoah, and those on the south side of 
 James Eiver, as well as those on the plain in North 
 Carolina. The Hanover Dissenters heard of him, and 
 sent a deputation to invite him to come and preach. 
 First satisfying themselves of the soundness of his 
 principles, and being informed of the awakening cha- 
 racter of his preaching, they were anxious to hear 
 him. On July 6, 1743, they listened to the first sermon 
 ever preached by a Presbyterian minister in Hanover 
 county, Va. The congregation was large the first day, 
 but it was vastly increased on the three following days. 
 Many were awakened, and some converted, while scarce 
 an individual of the large assembly remained unaf- 
 fected. The four days of Mr. Eobinson's stay were long 
 remembered. The people wished to express their grati- 
 tude to him by presenting him a considerable sum of 
 money. He refused to receive it. They urged it upon 
 him, but he still refused. They then procured the secret 
 conveyance of it into his saddle-bags, the evening before 
 he was to leave. The increased weight of his baggage 
 excited his suspicion. Discovering the benevolent arti- 
 fice, he no longer declined receiving the money, but 
 informed his kind friends that he would appropriate it 
 to the use of a young man of his acquaintance who 
 was studying for the ministry, but embarrassed in his 
 
PRESBYTERIANISM IN VIRGINIA. 11 f 
 
 circumstances. "As soon as be is licensed," lie added 
 " we will send him to visit you : it may be that you 
 may now, by your liberality, be educating a ministei 
 for yourselves. " 
 
 This possibility was soon to become a reality; although 
 Robinson did not live to see his prophecy fulfilled. That 
 young man was Samuel Davies, and four years later 
 (1747) he found his way to Hanover. 
 
 Meanwhile, the people were visited by Rev. John 
 Blair, a younger brother of Rev. Samuel Blair, like 
 him an alumnus of the Log College and a pupil of the 
 elder William Tennent. He was ordained by the Pres- 
 bytery of New Castle, a few months before Mr. Robin- 
 son's visit to Virginia, and from his parish in Cumber- 
 land county, Pa., made two missionary tours to the 
 regions visited by Mr. Robinson. He preached with 
 great power in various places, and organized several 
 new congregations. Among the other regions visited 
 by him in 1746, was the county of Hanover. The 
 most remarkable effects followed his short stay. " His 
 hearers, agitated beyond control, poured forth tears 
 and sighs, and often broke out into loud crying." 
 Ojmosers were roused to devise means to arrest the 
 work. Absences from the parish church were more 
 carefully noted, and the law was invoked to prevent 
 apostasy from the ceremonies of the Church of Eng- 
 land. 
 
 These efforts were put forth with more vigor in con- 
 sequence of the visit of Rev. John Roan to this region. 
 Less discreet than either Robinson or Blair, his bold, 
 earnest, stirring appeals, commingled with rebukes of 
 the clergy of the Established Church for neglect of 
 their official duties, provoked animadversion. The 
 result was the prosecution of Roan, and an order for- 
 bidding any meetings of "Moravians, Muggletonians, 
 Mid New Lights.'' The prosecution, on the flight of 
 
116 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 the principal mover of it, was dropped, and, on the 
 address of the Synods to the Governor, the order was 
 rescinded. Gilbert Tennent and Samuel Finley, deputed 
 by the Presbytery to visit Virginia as missionaries, were 
 kindly received by the Governor, who gave them per- 
 mission to preach in Hanover. Their visit was a season 
 of refreshing. " Several careless sinners were awa- 
 kened," and quite a number " who had trusted in their 
 moral conduct and religious duties" were aroused from 
 their security. 
 
 After the return of Tennent and Finley, the people 
 of Hanover were visited by Whitefield. He came and 
 preached four or five days, and his labors were favor- 
 ably received and largely blessed. But after his depart- 
 ure these Presbyterians were not only destitute of a 
 pastor, but were grievously harassed by the pains and 
 penalties of the law. " Upon a Lord's day," says Mr. 
 Morris, " a proclamation was set up at our meeting- 
 house, strictly requiring all magistrates to suppress 
 and prohibit, as far as they lawfully could, all itinerant 
 preachers." For that day they were constrained " to 
 forbear reading." But before the next Sabbath their 
 fears were relieved. They received the glad intelli- 
 gence that Mr. Davies was coming to preach among 
 them, — that he had qualified himself according to law, 
 and had obtained the licensing of four meeting-houses, 
 — a thing "which had never been done before." 
 
 From this period a brighter prospect opened before 
 them. The name of Hanover county was thenceforth 
 to be ever associated with that of a man whom after- 
 ages will delight to honor. Samuel Davies was born 
 of Welsh ancestry, in New Castle county, Del., in 1723. 
 His mother, in the judgment of filial reverence and 
 affection, was " one of the most eminent saints he ever 
 knew upon earth." His very name — Samuel — was given 
 him in the spirit of Hannah of old. This early dedica- 
 
PSESBYTERIANISM IN VIRGINIA. 117 
 
 tion to God had a powerful effect upon his own mind. 
 In his childish years, habits of secret prayer were 
 formed, and "he was more ardent in his supplications 
 for being introduced into the gospel ministry than for 
 any thing else/' At the age of twelve years, he received 
 impressions of a religious nature, that were abiding. 
 In his fifteenth year he made a public profession of 
 religion, and united with the Church. His classical 
 course was commenced under the tuition of a Welsh 
 minister by the name of Morgan. 1 When Rev. Samuel 
 Blair opened his famous school at Fagg's Manor, young 
 Davies was put under his charge. 2 The standard of 
 classical attainment was high, and the acquisition of the- 
 ological knowledge was sedulously encouraged. From 
 the commencement of the course, Davies applied him- 
 self to his studies with zeal and energy. Aided by the 
 means extended to him through Mr. Eobinson by the 
 people of Hanover, he felt strongly drawn toward 
 them, and, when licensed by New Castle Presbytery, 
 July 30, 1746, his first thoughts were turned in that 
 direction. In little more than six months from the date 
 of his licensure, he was ordained an evangelist for the 
 purpose of visiting the congregations in Virginia, espe- 
 cially those in Hanover county. After some hesitation 
 on the part of the Council, although the Governor 
 favored his application, he received the license of the 
 Government " to officiate in and about Hanover at four 
 meeting-houses." 8 
 
 Davies proceeded to Hanover, and "was received 
 with an outburst of joy." His coming with his license 
 was " like a visit from the angel of mercy." For 
 several months he labored throughout the region with 
 unremitted energy. His weak frame was prostrated 
 
 1 Sprague's Annals, iii. 40; Webster, 374, 549. 
 
 2 Life of Davies: Preface to his sermons. 3 Foote's Sketches. 
 
118 HISTORY OF TRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 under this burden of effort. He was forced at the close 
 of the summer to return to Delaware, with greatly 
 reduced health, and with strong indications that he 
 was the subject of a confirmed consumption. Still, in 
 spite of his weakness, he continued his labors on the 
 Eastern Shore of Maryland — preaching during the day, 
 even while he was so ill at night as to need persons to 
 sit up with him. 
 
 In the spring of 1748, his health was somewhat 
 improved, and there were slight prospects of his 
 recovery. His services were instantly in demand. 
 But the application from Hanover presented to his 
 mind claims superior to any other. Accompanied by 
 his intimate friend Mr. — afterward the celebrated Dr. — 
 John Eodgers, 1 for whom he in vain endeavored to 
 procure, of the Government, a license to preach, he 
 directed his course to Hanover, and recommenced his 
 labors. The field before him was a broad one, embrac- 
 ing not only the region about Hanover, but most of 
 Virginia, and portions of North Carolina. But in many 
 places the civil authorities placed obstacles in the way 
 of Dissenting worship. Davies argued for freedom 
 with characteristic boldness and vigor. He claimed, 
 in controversy with Peyton Eandolph, the king's attor- 
 ney-general, that the English Act of Toleration for 
 the relief of Protestant Dissenters extended to Vir- 
 ginia. On one occasion he appeared in person before 
 the General Court, and replied to Eandolph in a strain 
 of eloquence that is reported to have won the admira 
 tion of the most earnest of his opponents, who said that 
 in him " a good lawyer had been spoiled." He per- 
 severed in his efforts in the cause of toleration, till, 
 crossing the ocean, he had the opportunity to bring the 
 
 1 Rodgers was banished from the colony, and returned and set- 
 tled in St. George's, Del. 
 
PRESBYTERIANISM IN VIRGINIA. 119 
 
 matter before the king in council, and received a 
 declaration, under authority, that the Act of Tolera- 
 tion did extend to the colony of Virginia. 
 
 Davies went to Hanover with the feeling that he was 
 a dying man. He hoped that he " might live to prepare 
 the way for some more useful successor." But, with 
 a hallowed ambition, he desired, before his lips were 
 closed in death, to win some few more, at least, as the 
 seals of his ministry. " He longed to carry with him 
 to the heavens some gems for the eternal crown." 
 Lifted above all earthly considerations, all fear of conse- 
 quences, and standing, as he believed, almost face to face 
 with eternity, he prepared to deliver his solemn message. 
 
 A blessing followed his labors. The desire to hear 
 the young Dissenter whom a large part of the Coun- 
 cil had wished to keep out of Virginia, and whose 
 license they would have revoked but for the influence 
 of the Governor, spread in every direction. People 
 rode from great distances to attend upon his ministry. 
 To avoid collision with the public authorities, resolutely 
 bent on executing the laws in favor of the Established 
 Church, petitions from different neighborhoods for an 
 increased number of authorized houses of worship were 
 laid before the General Court. The petitions were 
 granted, and three new places of preaching were added 
 to the four already occupied by Davies. The seven 
 were located, three in Hanover, one in Henrico, one 
 in Goochland, one in Louisa, and one in Carolina. The 
 nearest were twelve or fifteen miles from each other, 
 and " some of the people have thirty or forty miles to 
 the nearest. " The extreme points of Davies's parish 
 were eighty or ninety miles apart. 
 
 The county court of New Kent gave license, upon 
 the petition of a number of inhabitants, for Davies to 
 preach in St. Peter's parish, but the General Court 
 annulled the proceeding, and the license was revoked 
 
120 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 In spite of opposition, however, the influence and fame 
 of Davies were spreading far and wide. The meeting- 
 house near his own residence (twelve miles from Rich- 
 mond, and near Morris's Reading -House) was quite too 
 small for the multitudes which assembled in pleasant 
 weather. " The thick woods were then resorted to ; 
 and the opposers of the Dissenters were exasperated 
 at the sight of crowds listening to the gospel in the 
 deep shades of the forest." All classes were alike 
 interested. Even the negroes, of whom Mr. Davies 
 baptized forty during the first three years, crowded to 
 listen. " Sometimes," said he, " I see a hundred and 
 more among my hearers." 1 
 
 The report of this state of things went abroad, and 
 gladdened the hearts of Christians of New England. 
 "I heard lately," writes Jonathan Edwards (May 23, 
 1749), " a credible account of a remarkable work of con- 
 viction and conversion among whites and negroes, at 
 Hanover, Va., under the ministry of Mr. Davies, who 
 is lately settled there, and has the character of a very 
 ingenious and pious young man." To many others, the 
 intelligence was not less cheering than to the great 
 preacher of Northampton. Here, then (1750), a little 
 more tnan a hundred years ago, is the picture of Pres- 
 byterianism in Yirginia. Among the Scotch-Irish emi- 
 grants along the frontier counties and in the Valley 
 of the Shenandoah, there were five congregations with- 
 out a settled pastor arid dependent upon such tempo- 
 rary supplies as the Synod could send them. In five 
 counties around and including Hanover, there were 
 seven preaching-stations, supplied by the labors of a 
 single pastor, feeble in health, but zealous, eloquent, 
 and unremitting in his exertions. Even he had to en- 
 counter a strong adverse influence and the intolerant 
 
 Foote's Sketches. 
 
PRESBYTERIANISM IN VIRGINIA. 121 
 
 measures of the Colonial Government. In vain was 
 the earnest appeal addressed to Presbytery and Synod 
 for more laborers. -All that could be done was to send 
 itinerants to labor for a few weeks, or possibly months, 
 among the destitute and frontier settlements. 
 
 Thus Davies was left alone. " In the whole 'Ancient 
 Dominion' he had no fellow-laborer with whom his 
 heart might rejoice. West of the Blue Ridge there 
 were Miller 1 and Craig, and on its eastern base, at the 
 head of Rockfish, Mr. Black ; but these were members 
 of the Synod of Philadelphia, and for some years had 
 no communication with Mr. Davies." The task devolved 
 upon him was overwhelming. He felt the demand to be 
 one which was imperative, and he did his best to meet 
 it. He preached not only on the Sabbath, but on week- 
 days, to " laboring people, of whom the Dissenters were 
 mostly composed." He exerted himself to procure other 
 laborers to enter the field. Rodgers, who had accom- 
 panied him, and in whom he had hoped to find an effi- 
 cient ally and a sympathizing brother, had been denied 
 a license by the Government Council. The needs of 
 the field were repeatedly laid before the Synod. In 
 1749, it met at Maidenhead, and, upon representation 
 of the circumstances of Virginia, " Mr. Davenport is 
 appointed, if he recover a good state of health, to go 
 and supply." The next year the Synod recommended 
 to the Presbytery of New Brunswick " to endeavor to 
 prevail with Mr. John Todd, upon his being licensed, to 
 take a journey thither, as also to the Presbytery of 
 New York to urge the same upon Messrs. Syms and 
 Greenman. Mr. Davenport is appointed to go into 
 Virginia to assist in supplying the numerous vacant 
 and destitute congregations there. The same is also 
 recommended to Mr. B} 7 ram." 
 
 1 Alexander Miller was not installed until August 1, 1757. 
 Vol. I.— 11 
 
122 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 The visit of Davenport was a profitable one. " Blessed 
 be God," writes Davies to Dr. Bellamy, " he did not 
 labor in vain." Todd became (November 12, 1752) the 
 assistant of Davies, and, after his acceptance of the 
 presidency at Princeton, the leading man in the Han- 
 over Presbytery east of the Blue Eidge. Byram, who 
 had accompanied Brainerd in his first journey to the 
 Susquehanna, and who is mentioned by him with much 
 affection as a kindred spirit, visited Yirginia, but did 
 not remain long. The petition of Todd to be qualified 
 to officiate in Hanover county was procured with great 
 difficulty, and the Council absolutely refused to license 
 any more meeting-houses. In spite, however, of all 
 restrictions, the missionary tours of Davies in the sur- 
 rounding counties were frequent and extensive. He 
 preached at the places where he lodged, and "many 
 neighborhoods have traditions of his usefulness. Every 
 visit enlarged his circuit, and increased the number of 
 places that asked for Presbyterian preaching." 
 
 In 1752, Davies met the Synod of New York in its 
 sessions at Newark. He represented before it the des- 
 titution of Virginia, and Mr. Greenman and Mr. Eobert 
 Henry were appointed to go there during the course 
 of the year. Greenman was a young man who had 
 been educated at the charge of David Brainerd; and 
 Henry was a recent graduate of New Jersey College. 
 
 Just at this period a messenger from Yirginia to 
 Jonathan Edwards, at Stockbridge, invited him — with 
 a handsome subscription for his encouragement and 
 support — to settle in Virginia, in the neighborhood of 
 Davies. But he was installed at Stockbridge before the 
 messenger came. This was the main obstacle to his 
 removal. Speaking with reference to a connection 
 with the Presbyterian Church, he said (July 5, 1750), 
 "As to my subscribing to the substance of the West- 
 minster Confession, there would be no difficulty ; and 
 
PRESBYTERIANISM IN VIRGINIA. 123 
 
 as to the Presbyterian government, I have long been 
 perfectly out of conceit of our unsettled, independent, 
 confused way of church government in this land, and 
 the Presbyterian way has ever appeared to me most 
 agreeable to the word of God and the reason and 
 nature of things." 
 
 We will not pause to dwell upon the results that 
 might have followed the transfer of Edwards to Vir- 
 ginia. In conjunction with Davies, his influence would 
 unquestionably have been widely felt. But, failing to 
 secure his services for the people whom he had encou- 
 raged, doubtless, to make the application, Davies set 
 himself to w r ork to supply, as far as he was able, the 
 lack of ministerial service in other ways. He multi- 
 plied his own preaching excursions, extending them to 
 the eastern base of the Blue Ridge ; he sought to enlist 
 the interest of members of Northern Presbyteries in the 
 Virginia field, and, beside all, to raise up preachers of 
 the gospel in Virginia. He promoted classical schools 
 wherever their establishment promised usefulness, and 
 encouraged and assisted pious youths in their prepara- 
 tory course. Among those largely indebted to him, 
 who afterward attained to usefulness and distinction, 
 w r ere John Wright, Patillo, of Carolina memory, John 
 Martin, the first licentiate of Hanover Presbytery, 
 William Richardson, the celebrated James Waddel, 
 and James Hunt. 
 
 Thus devoted, unwearied, sagacious, and energetic in 
 his efforts, Davies multiplied himself into a host. Every- 
 where he proved himself equal to his position, ready 
 for the emergency. " He seems/' as one said of him 
 on seeing him pass through a court-yard, " as an am- 
 bassador of some mighty king." He was at once the 
 champion of freedom, the Mend of learning, the founder 
 of churches, and, next to Whitefield, the most eloquent 
 preacher of his age. 
 
124 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE SYNODS AND THEIR SCHOOLS. 
 
 From the period of the division in 1741, each branch 
 of jhe Church was intent upon making provision to 
 train up young men for the ministry. The importance 
 of prompt and efficient measures for this object was 
 especially felt by the members of the Synod of New 
 York. The destitution around them called aloud for 
 laborers, and after Brainerd's expulsion from Yale 
 College, and the refusal of the corporation to grant 
 him his degree, notwithstanding his humble confession 
 of his error, it was felt that circumstances demanded 
 that another institution should be established, to be 
 located within the bounds of the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 The prominent mover in the enterprise was Jonathan 
 Dickinson, of Elizabethtown, N.J. He settled at this 
 place in 1708, although he did not join the Philadelphia 
 Presbytery until 1717. 1 For many years he had been 
 accustomed to receive young men for instruction in the 
 different branches preparatory to their entering upon 
 the study of some one of the liberal professions. He 
 was, consequently, fully aware of the importance and 
 necessity of a thorough education He had, moreover, 
 before the division, been the acknowledged leader of 
 the old Synod, and he was no less the leader of the 
 Synod of New York after the separation. His com- 
 manding influence, large experience, and intellectual 
 
 1 Sprague's Annals, iii. 14. 
 
THE SYNODS AND THEIR SCHOOLS. 125 
 
 superiority marked him out as the individual fittest to 
 preside in so important an undertaking. Under his 
 counsels a charter was procured for a college from 
 Governor Hamilton, and the infant institution went 
 into operation at Elizabethtown, with Dickinson at its 
 head. Continuing still the discharge of his pastoral 
 duties, he took charge also of the instruction and disci- 
 pline of the students. It was, however, only for a brief 
 twelvemonth that he was permitted to occupy this im- 
 portant post. The charter was given in October, 1746, 
 and his death occurred October 7, 1747. 
 
 This, at the outset, was a great loss. Dickinson was 
 no common man. Those who have read his writings 
 need no other proof of it. Dr. John Erskine, of Edin- 
 burgh, said that the British Isles had produced no such 
 writers on Divinity in the eighteenth century as Dick- 
 inson and Edwards. Bellamy, who knew him well, 
 spoke of him as " the great Mr. Dickinson." 
 
 A successor for him was found, however, in Aaron 
 Burr, pastor at Newark. 1 Burr had been called to 
 New Haven as a colleague of Noyes, but declined the 
 call. For nearly ten years he had been settled in his 
 present charge, and had given proof of his ability and 
 fitness for the vacant post. He had under his chargo 
 already a large Latin school, when Dickinson's students 
 were removed from Elizabethtown and put under his 
 charge. A new charter was procured for the college, 
 and Burr was appointed President under it in Novem- 
 ber, 1748. On the same day he conferred the Bachelor's 
 degree upon a class who were prepared to receive it. 
 The corporation record states that he delivered upon 
 the occasion, as his Inaugural, " a handsome and elegant 
 Latin oration." 
 
 Until the autumn of 1755, the college was located 
 
 Sprague's Annals, iii. 08- Webster, 448. 
 11 
 
126 HISTQRY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 at Newark, 1 and Burr continued to discharge the 
 double duty of pastor of the church and President of 
 the institution. But in the course of the following 
 year, buildings having been erected at Princeton for 
 the accommodation of the students, and Burr having 
 been dismissed from his pastoral charge, the college 
 went into operation under his presidency, in the place 
 where it has since been permanently located. 2 
 
 1 The first entry in the minutes of the College of New Jersey is 
 a copy of the charter granted by Governor Belcher. The next 
 states that " on Thursday, October 13, 1748, convened at New Bruns- 
 wick, James Hude, Andrew Johnston, Thomas Leonard, Esqs., 
 Mr. William P. Smith, and Rev. Messrs. John Pierson, Ebenezer 
 Pemberton, Joseph Lamb, William Tennent, Richard Treat, David 
 Cowell? Aaron Burr, Timothy Johnes, and Thomas Arthur, thirteen 
 of them nominated in the charter to be trustees of the college; who, 
 having accepted the charter, were qualified and incorporated accord- 
 ing to the directions thereof." November 9, Governor Belcher, 
 Messrs. Peter Van Brugh Livingston, Samuel Hazard, and Rev. 
 Messrs. Samuel Blair and Jacob Green, were qualified as additional 
 trustees. Burr was chosen President, and the first commencement 
 was held the same day. There were six graduates. 
 
 For several years the students were scattered in private families 
 in Newark, the public academical exercises being generally per- 
 formed in the county court-house. Governor Belcher at length 
 urged the erection of the college edifice, although the funds were 
 so scanty that but for his advice and aid the enterprise would 
 have been deemed impracticable. At a meeting at Newark, Sep- 
 tember 27, 1752, he advised the trustees to proceed immediately to 
 determine upon a location for the college. The people of New 
 Brunswick not having complied with the terms proposed to them 
 for fixing the college in that place, it was voted that it should be 
 established in Princeton, upon condition that the inhabitants of 
 said place secure to the trustees two hundred acres of woodland, 
 ten acres of cleared land, and £1000 of proclamation money, all 
 which is to be complied with in three months. On January 24, 1753, 
 it was announced that the conditions were fulfilled. — Am. Quar. Reg. 
 Aug. 1834. 
 
 2 The college building was for some years the largest college 
 
THE SYNODS AND TIIKIH SCHOOLS. 127 
 
 But the means for effecting this change of locution, 
 and placing the institution nponasolid kisis, were pro- 
 cured with some difficulty . The Synod, in 1752, 1 ordered 
 collections in the churches on its behalf, and besought 
 Pemberton, of New York, to cross the ocean and advo- 
 cate its claims in Scotland and England, lie declined 
 the mission, and the Synod then selected Gilbert Ten- 
 nent and Samuel Davies in his place. 2 A better choice 
 could scarcely have been made, although Virginia was 
 exceedingly reluctant to relinquish the services of her 
 favorite preacher. The deputation was kindly received 
 abroad. Davies especially was greeted with welcome, 
 and his reputation as a pulpit orator was established 
 as securely in England as in Virginia. Funds were 
 collected from Presbyterian and other Dissenters in 
 England, and from the churches in Scotland, and the 
 college was placed on a secure basis. 3 
 
 But already it began to be known by its fruits. It 
 promised to realize the fond anticipations of its foun- 
 ders. Although hitherto without a fixed location, 
 without permanent funds, library, apparatus, faculty, 
 or building, it had a noble President, and had been 
 sending out graduates. When Davies and Tennent set 
 out for England (1753), it numbered already fifty 
 graduates, tw T enty-six of whom entered the ministry. 
 Of these, five went to Virginia, and one became a 
 pioneer missionary in North Carolina. 
 
 A notice of the mission of Davies and Tennent to 
 England is important as illustrating the mutual rela- 
 tions of the Presbyterian Church in this country and 
 of the churches of Great Britain. They embarked on 
 
 structure in the United States. It was first named Belcher Hall, 
 but the Governor declined the honor, and suggested instead of it 
 Nassau Hall. It accommodated nearly one hundred and fifty 
 students. 
 
 1 Minutes of Synod, 248. 2 Ibid. 'lol. 3 Foote's Sketches. 
 
128 HISTORY OF riiESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 their voyage for England, November 18, 1753, and in 
 just one month anchored in the Downs. 1 Eighty 
 pounds had been handed them by the treasurer of the 
 college to bear their expenses. It is illustrative of the 
 character of Davies, as well as the feeble resources of 
 the American churches, to read in his diary, just 
 before receiving the money, — " Was uneasy to find that 
 the trustees seem to expect that I should furnish 
 myself with clothes in this embassy. With what 
 pleasure would I do it were it in my power ! but, alas ! 
 it is not; and therefore, notwithstanding all the pliable- 
 ness of my nature, I must insist upon their providing 
 for me in this respect, as one condition of my under- 
 taking the voyage." It may be that the sum advanced 
 was raised to eighty pounds to meet this necessity. 
 
 Before Davies embarked, he was surprised at a clause 
 in a letter which was shown him from Dr. Berdt, of 
 London, to Colonel Grant, of Philadelphia, to the effect 
 " that the principles inculcated in the College of New 
 Jersey are generally looked upon as antiquated and 
 unfashionable by the Dissenters in England." It gave 
 him premonition of a kind of difficulty he would have 
 to encounter, which until then he had not anticipated. 
 But upon reaching England, he found the statement of 
 Dr. Berdt only too true. His severest trials were from 
 the degeneracy of the children of the Puritans. 
 
 His first saddening intelligence was from his corre- 
 spondent, Mr. Gibbons, " who informed us of the gene- 
 ral apostasy of the Dissenters from the principles of 
 the Beformation." " The Presbyterians, particularly," 
 says Davies, " being generally Arminians or Socinians, 
 seem shy of us." A more welcome reception awaited 
 the deputation " at the Amsterdam Coffee-House, where 
 
 1 For a full account of the mission, see Foote's Sketches ; also, 
 life of Davies, in the American Quarterly Register, 1837. 
 
7IIE SYNODS AND THEIR SCHOOLS. 129 
 
 the Congregational ist and Baptist ministers met on 
 Tuesdays/ 1 
 
 The difficulties to be encountered were by no means 
 of a trifling nature. Several, upon whom they had 
 depended, told them that they could do nothing for 
 them. Objection was made to the college as " a party 
 design; that though the charter was catholic, yet so 
 many of the trustees were Presbyterians, that they 
 would manage matters with arbitrary partiality; that 
 the trustees in New York City complained that there 
 were not more trustees of other denominations." Mr. 
 Jacksoo was -alraid our college would fall into Episco- 
 pal hands." Tennent, moreover, was confronted with 
 his Nottingham sermon, which "the inveterate malig- 
 nity of the Synod of Philadelphia," as Davies phrases it, 
 had forwarded, with accompanying accusations against 
 its author, to obstruct the success of the undertaking. 
 
 Tennent promptly disavowed the divisive principles 
 of his sermon, and confessed his errors. Davies was 
 perplexed and mortified at these unexpected embar- 
 rassments. But, with prudence and sagacity, he was 
 enabled in great measure to overcome them. 
 
 Still, among those upon whom they had counted as 
 friends of their enterprise, there were not a few who 
 disapproved of all subscriptions or tests of orthodoxy. 
 Among these was one whose name was of great import- 
 ance, — Mr. Chandler. He even objected to the Adopt- 
 ing Act. He was at last won over to give his name 
 and contribution to the cause. Others very reluctantly 
 endorsed it. "Dr. Benson talked in a sneering manner 
 of the account of conversions in Northampton," pub- 
 lished in England by Drs. Watts and Guise. When be 
 subscribed, if was "with tlii- Bneer, thai he was no 
 friend t<> subscriptions." Mr. Bradbury, whom White- 
 field had once reproved for singing a songin a tavern, was 
 "a man of a singular turn, which would be offensive to 
 
130 HISTORY OF TRESBYTERIANISM 
 
 the greatest number of serious people." With Mr 
 Thompson, Jr., who, though educated a strict Calvinist, 
 had imbibed " the modern latitudinarian principles," 
 Davies had an amicable dispute about the lawfulness 
 and expediency of subscribing tests of orthodoxy 
 beside the Scripture. Mr. Bowles told him he had 
 heard that Davies's sermon, preached for Mr. Chan- 
 dler, had been complained of as " too rigidly ortho- 
 dox." The estimate formed by the Calvinistic clergy, 
 of the Salter's Hall divines, may be judged of by the 
 pun of one of them when requested to print his sermon 
 on the text, "Salt is good," etc. He replied that "he 
 believed he would, and dedicate it to the preachers at 
 Salter's Hall, for they wanted seasoning." Mr. Prior 
 told Davies, "with the appearance of great uneasi- 
 ness," that he had heard " we would admit none into 
 the ministry without subscribing the Westminster Con- 
 fession, and that this report would hinder all our suc- 
 cess among the friends of liberty." Davies's reply 
 shows with what propriety the fathers of American 
 Presbyterianism have been represented as ipsissima 
 verba men. " I replied," he says, " that we allowed the 
 candidate to mention his objections against any article 
 in the Confession, and the judicature judged whether 
 the articles objected against were essential to Chris- 
 tianity ; and if they judged they were not, they would 
 admit the candidate, notwithstanding his objections." 
 "Alas," exclaims Davies, " for the laxness that prevails 
 here among the Presbyterians !" 
 
 Indeed, English Presbyterians no longer deserved the. 
 name. The Presbyterian standards had been thrown 
 aside. All tests of orthodoxy were universally rejected. 
 Candidates at ordination were only required to declare 
 their belief of the Scriptures. Presbyterian order and 
 discipline had fallen into total neglect. Calvinistic 
 preachers chose rather to consort with the Independ- 
 
THE SYNODS AND THEIR SCHOOLS. 131 
 
 ents and Baptists at Amsterdam Coffee-Honse, than 
 with their brethren of the same name. Indeed, there 
 was nothing like government exercised jointly by 
 either body of Dissenters. The only associations of 
 the Independents were their meetings at the Coffee- 
 Jlouse, where they assembled " for friendly conversa- 
 tion. The Presbyterians have no other Presbyteries. 
 The English Presbyterians have no elders nor judica- 
 tories of any kind." It may easily be perceived that 
 the title by which they were known was a misnomer. 
 Grave errors had crept in among them; but the pre- 
 sence of these errors was favored, not by Presbyterian 
 discipline, but by its utter absence. 
 
 Eepeatedly the members of the deputation were over- 
 whelmed by discouragement. Tennent's trial, however, 
 was peculiar. His Nottingham sermon preceded and 
 embarrassed him wherever he went. Once and again 
 he wished himself back in Philadelphia. After a month's 
 stay in London, Davies writes, " From the present view 
 of things, I think if we can but clear our expenses we 
 shall be well off." 
 
 But lio-ht had be<mn to break in at last. Davies was 
 
 o o 
 
 cheered by the interest which English Dissenters took 
 in the hardships of their brethren in Virginia, and the 
 prospect of that relief to obtain which had been a main 
 consideration in inducing him to accept the appoint- 
 ment of the trustees. Friends to the college were 
 found, moreover, in unlooked-for quarters. In spite of 
 Mr. Cross's letters, the representations emanating from 
 the hostility of the Philadelphia Synod, and the preju- 
 dice excited by the Nottingham sermon, the friends 
 of the enterprise increased every day. The Presby- 
 terians were not very hearty in the cause, but they 
 generally subscribed. At " the Amsterdam Coffee- 
 House, among the Baptist and Independent ministers," 
 Davies enjoyed most satisfaction. At " Hamlin's, among 
 
132 HISTORY OP PRESBYTERTANISM. 
 
 the Presbyterians," he says, " they are generally very 
 shy and unsociable to me." But his tact, prudence, 
 and perseverance overcame great difficulties. "A larger 
 account of the college" was drawn up and circulated 
 for the satisfaction of contributors. By April 7, 1754, 
 twelve hundred pounds were already secured. This 
 was an unexpected success. Davies, upon his arrival, 
 had felt that " we could not raise our hopes above three 
 hundred pounds." Yet before he and Tennent had set 
 out for Scotland, the amount had risen to seventeen 
 hundred pounds. 
 
 Scotland did not at first appear a very inviting field 
 for effort. There was reason to apprehend the influence 
 of the representations of the Synod of Philadelphia 
 upon the minds of the members of the Assembly. 
 Moderatism, moreover, was triumphant throughout the 
 Church. "Alas!" exclaims Davies, "there appears but 
 little of the spirit of serious Christianity among the 
 young clergy." Yet it was exceedingly important to 
 secure the Assembly's approval of the design of the 
 college. " It will be attended," says Davies, " with 
 many happy consequences ; particularly it will recom- 
 mend our college to the world, and wipe off the odium 
 from the Synod of New York as a parcel of schis- 
 matics." 
 
 Although " there was hardly ever a greater appear- 
 ance of opposition," the measure in favor of the college 
 passed the Assembly unanimously. There was not 
 even the show of objection. The cause was advocated 
 by Lumisden, Divinity professor at Aberdeen. He urged 
 the importance of a learned ministry, the necessity of 
 the College of New Jersey to this end, and the duty of 
 the Assembly to promote such institutions, especially 
 among the Presbyterians of the colonies, " who are," 
 said he, " a part of ourselves, having adopted the same 
 standard of doctrine, worship, and government with 
 
THE SYNODS AND THEIR SCHOOLS. 133 
 
 tliis Church." A national collection was ordered in tho 
 Scottish Church, and Tennent crossed the Channel to 
 present the cause in Ireland at the Genera] Synod. 
 
 Davies now retraced his steps to England, in order 
 to visit the principal towns. Before he set out, how- 
 ever, ho read with admiration a piece, newly published, 
 under the title of "Ecclesiastical Characteristics," ascribed 
 "to one Mr. Weatherspoon, a young minister." He 
 describes it as "a burlesque upon the high-flyers, under 
 the ironical name of moderate men; audi think," says 
 he, "the humor is nothing inferior to Dean Swift." 
 That young minister was to be Davies's worthy suc- 
 cessor in the presidency of the college. 
 
 Borne down by an almost constant depression of 
 spirits, Davies was yet incessantly active. At nearly 
 every place at which he stopped, he was invited to 
 preach, and was listened to by admiring crowds. Yet 
 his own estimate of his efforts is very humble. Many 
 passages which had been most effective among his Vir- 
 ginia congregations, he was compelled to omit. His 
 flagging spirit would not allow him to deliver what 
 rose above the measure of his own present spiritual 
 condition. At Glasgow he preached six times in ten 
 days. Here, as well as at Edinburgh and London, he was 
 urgently solicited to publish a collection of his sermons. 
 
 Beturning to England, Davies again found friends 
 where least expected. The Bishop of Durham gave 
 him five guineas. He was cheered by intelligence from 
 Tennent that the General S}^nod would take up col- 
 lections within their bounds. The observations, how- 
 ever, which he made upon the condition of the Dis- 
 senters saddened him. At Hull he says, " The word 
 orthodox is a subject of ridicule with many here." Tho 
 Presbyterians had "gone off from the good old doc- 
 trines of the Reformation." At Leeds he found that 
 
 the Dissenting ministers had " so generally imbibed 
 Vol. I.— 12 
 
134 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERTANISM. 
 
 Arminian or Socinian sentiments, that it was hard to 
 unite prudence and faithfulness in conversation with 
 them." Admitting their learning, candor, good sense, 
 and morality, their entertaining and instructive com- 
 panionship, as well as friendship " to the liberty of 
 mankind," he adds, " they deny the proper divinity and 
 satisfaction of Jesus Christ, on which my hopes are 
 founded. The greatest part of the Presbyterian minis- 
 ters in England," so far as he had observed, had fallen 
 into this fundamental and fatal error. In consequence, 
 they regarded his cause generally with lukewarmness, 
 if not with coldness. " The new-fangled notions," and 
 apostasy from " the old-fashioned faith," seriously 
 obstructed his success. Sometimes, indeed, the diffi- 
 culty was from another quarter. At Nottingham, 
 " some of the rigid Calvinists," he says, were " not 
 pleased with my sermon, because not explicit on 
 original sin. How impossible," he adds, " to please 
 men !" Yet he collected at Nottingham over sixty 
 pounds. 
 
 By the 5th of October, 1754, Tennent had executed 
 his mission to Ireland, and succeeded in collecting 
 about five hundred pounds. He joined Davies in Lon- 
 don, and on the 13th of November embarked for Phila- 
 delphia. Davies, who wished to go at once to Virginia, 
 waited a few days longer for a vessel, and on the 18th — 
 just twelve months from his embarkation from America 
 — set out on his return voyage. The mission had been 
 eminently successful. The collections must have risen 
 to between four and five thousand pounds. It was far 
 above what either member of the deputation had dared 
 to hope. It placed the College of New Jersey upon a 
 sure basis, and cheered the hearts of all friendly to the 
 interests of ministerial or liberal education and the 
 Presbyterian Church. 
 
 It was not long after Davies' s return from England 
 
THE SYNODS AND THEIR SCHOOLS. 135 
 
 before he was called to make another sacrifice, not 
 inferior to the one which he had already made as 
 member of the deputation to England, and in the same 
 cause. President Burr died suddenly, in the vigor of 
 his years, in 1757, and his father-in-law, the great 
 Jonathan Edwards, was chosen as his successor. The 
 latter was inaugurated February 16, 1758, but died on 
 the 22d of the following March. James Lockwood, pas- 
 tor at Wethersfield, Conn., was chosen to fill the place, 
 but want of unanimity, and other circumstances, pre- 
 vented his acceptance. All eyes were now turned 
 toward Mr. Davies as the man for the vacant post. 
 He submitted the application to Presbytery, and the 
 decision was against his removal from Virginia. The 
 trustees now applied to the Synod, and urged their 
 interference. By them, after solemn deliberation, Mr. 
 Davies was dismissed from his people to assume the 
 presidency of Xassau Hall. 
 
 lie accepted the post with great reluctance. It was 
 hard for him to part from a people with whom it was 
 in his heart to live and die. But duty called, and he 
 could not hesitate. Yet his public career was short. 
 He preached his farewell to his people in Hanover, 
 June 1, 1759, was inaugurated July 26, 1759, and on 
 February 4, 1761, he took his farewell of earth. Yet 
 he lived to see the success of the most important en- 
 terprise in which the Presbyterian Church had yet 
 engaged, fully assured. 
 
 While the Synod of New York was thus engaged in 
 laying the foundations of the College of Nassau Hall, 
 the Synod of Philadelphia was not idle. In 1739, John 
 Thompson, a leading man of the old side, proposed to 
 the Presbytery of Donegal the erection of a school, to 
 be placed under the care of the Synod. The design 
 was approved by the latter body in May of the same 
 year. Pcmberton, Dickinson, Cross, and Anderson 
 
136 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 were nominated to prosecute the design, and secure 
 subscriptions in New England and in Europe. The co- 
 operation of the Boston clergy was assured through 
 Dr. Coleman, but the breaking out of the Spanish war 
 in the following year prevented the prosecution of the 
 design. 
 
 In 1743, two years after the division, the business 
 was resumed. The next year the Synod approved the 
 design and took the school at New London, Pa., under 
 its care. It was to be supported by annual contributions 
 from the congregations, and " all persons who please, 
 may send their children and have them instructed gratis 
 in languages, philosophy, and divinity." Francis Alison, 
 the finest scholar in the two Synods, was appointed mas- 
 ter, and authorized to appoint his own usher. He was 
 to be allowed by the Synod twenty pounds per annum, 
 and his assistant fifteen pounds. Several ministers and 
 gentlemen contributed books to begin a library, — in 
 this respect imitating the example of the founders of 
 Yale. 
 
 In 1749, the plan of the school was modified. Mr. 
 Alison's salary was increased, and tuition was allowed. 
 In 1752, he removed to Philadelphia to take charge of 
 the academy there. The school received a check by 
 his removal, although it continued in operation under 
 the care of Alexander McDowell, to whom, in 1754, 
 Matthew Wilson was added as assistant. The latter 
 was to teach the languages, while McDowell continued, 
 "from a sense of the public good," to teach logic, 
 mathematics, natural and moral philosophy, &c. 
 
 In the following year it was ordered by Synod that 
 application be made to the trustees of the German 
 schools to procure a sum of money to encourage the 
 Synod's school. In consideration of this aid.it was stipu- 
 lated that " some Dutch children" should be taught the 
 English tongue, and three or four, if they offered them- 
 
THE SYNODS AND THEIR SCHOOLS. 137 
 
 selves, Latin and Greek. As soon as this favor could 
 be obtained, Rev. Sampson Smith was to open a school 
 at Chesnut Loved. 
 
 A donation of books had been sent from Dublin ; and 
 these were to be "the foundation of a public library, 
 under the care of the Synod." None of them were to 
 be lent "beyond Potomac River." The application to 
 the trustees of the German schools was favorably enter- 
 tained, and twenty-five pounds were granted for the 
 year to the Synod's school. This was in 1757. 
 
 The union of the Synods in the following year opened 
 Princeton College to the Old as well as the New side. 
 It did not, however, supersede the educational labors 
 of ministers who were members of the Synod. Several 
 of these had — after the manner of William Tennent at 
 Neshaminy — schools of their own. Some of these were 
 continued, and accomplished much good. Samuel Fin- 
 ley's school at Nottingham was highly celebrated. It 
 sent out a large number of eminent men. Among them 
 were Governor Martin, of North Carolina, Dr. Benjamin 
 Eush, Colonel John Bayard, Governor Henry, of Mary- 
 land, Rev. Dr. McWhorter, the celebrated James "Wad- 
 del, and Rev. William M. Tennent, of Abington. Finlcy 
 was an accomplished scholar and a skilful teacher, and 
 to such eminence had he attained, that on the death of 
 Davies he was called to succeed him in the presidency 
 at Princeton. 
 
 At Fagg's Manor, Samuel Blair established a classical 
 
 school, which became scarcely less distinguished. He 
 
 had been educated at the Log College, and must have 
 
 been one of the first pupils of the institution. Among 
 
 those who received from him the substantial parts of 
 
 their education were Samuel Davies, Alexander Cum- 
 
 mings, John Bodgers, James Finley, and Hugh Henry, 
 
 all of them useful and some of them distinguished in 
 
 the ministry. 
 
 12* 
 
138 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 Besides these, it is probable 1 that Andrews had a 
 school in Philadelphia. Dickinson had one at Eliza- 
 bethtown, the germ of Nassau Hall. Thomas Evans 
 had one at Pencader. Davies devoted a part of his 
 time to the training of young men. The Old side 
 endeavored to give their institution at New London, 
 under Alison, a higher rank than those established by 
 individual enterprise. They corresponded with Presi- 
 dent Clap, of Yale College, to secure for their students 
 a diploma on easy terms. In their reply to Clap's 
 inquiries, they speak in no very respectful tone of 
 Tennent's school at Neshaminy. They aimed at some- 
 thing higher, but they failed to secure what they desired. 
 The New side were foremost — in spite of the reproach 
 cast on the Tennents — in the cause of education. 
 
 CHAPTEB IX. 
 
 THE SYNOD OF NEW YORK AND PHILADELPHIA, 1758-1775. 
 
 The basis upon which the Synod of New York and 
 Philadelphia was erected was one upon which the two 
 Synods could consistently unite. 2 The first article of 
 the "plan" was to this effect: — "Both Synods having 
 always approved and received the Westminster Confes- 
 sion of Faith and Larger and Shorter Catechisms as an 
 orthodox and excellent system of Christian doctrine, 
 founded on the word of God, we do still receive the 
 same as the Confession of our Faith, and also adhere 
 to the plan of worship, government, and discipline con- 
 
 1 Webster, 124. The grounds of probability are not stated. 
 
 2 Minutes of Synod, p. 286. 
 
SYNOD OF NEW YORK AND PHILADELPHIA. 139 
 
 tained in the Westminster Directory strictly enjoining 
 it upon all oar members and probationers for the minis- 
 try, that they preach and teach according to the form 
 of sound words in said Confession and Catechisms, and 
 avoid and oppose all errors contrary t hereto." 
 
 In case of a decision l.y the majority of a Presbytery 
 or Synod, the minority were actively to concur, or pas- 
 sively submit, or, if this could not be done, the indi- 
 vidual, after sufficient liberty of remonstrance, was 
 peaceably to withdraw. Protest was allowable and 
 entitled to record, provided always that the protest 
 was not to be against members, or introduce facts and 
 accusations without proof, till fair trial had been 
 refused. The protest of 1741, as a Synodical act, Mas 
 fully disavowed, and declared invalid as an objection 
 to the union. No accusation affecting ministerial 
 standing was to be brought otherwise than by private 
 brotherly admonition, or by regular process. No Pres- 
 bytery might make appointments within the bounds 
 of another without their consent, nor one member offi- 
 ciate in another's congregation without his permission; 
 although when the privilege was asked it was to be 
 accounted unbrotherly to refuse. Candidates for licen- 
 sure or ordination were to give satisfaction as to their 
 learning, Christian experience, and skill in divinity, 
 declaring their acceptance of the Confession of Faith, 
 and promising subjection to the Presbyterian plan of 
 government. The several Presbyteries were to con- 
 tinue in their present form where an alteration did not 
 appear for edification ; and divided congregations, each 
 supplied with a pastor, were to be allowed to continue 
 such if they preferred. Yet, to promote a complete 
 union as soon as possible, the united Synod might 
 model the several Presbyteries as might seem most 
 expedient. 
 
 In regard to the revival, the members of the New 
 
140 HISTORY OF I'llESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 York Synod were left free to declare, and did declare 
 upon the record, their adherence to their former senti- 
 ments in its favor, and that a blessed work of God's 
 Holy Spirit in the conversion of numbers had been 
 carried on ; that, where certain features of conviction 
 and Christian experience were present, exceptionable 
 circumstances did not warrant the rejection of it, or 
 its denial as " a gracious work of God." In regard to 
 particular facts, the judgment of members of the pre- 
 sent Synod might differ; but in their sentiments con- 
 cerning the nature of a work of grace they were 
 agreed. In conclusion, all under the care of the Synod 
 were recommended to beware of a contentious disposi- 
 tion, to study peace and mutual edification, and it was 
 agreed that " all former differences and disputes are 
 laid aside and buried." 
 
 "If much evil had resulted from the division, there 
 were some lessons which it taught of no slight value, 
 and the tide of excited and conflicting feeling at least 
 left behind it, in the basis on which the united Synod 
 was erected, something better than ordinary drift-wood. 
 The principles of the Church were more clearly defined. 
 The liberal and tolerant spirit of compromise which 
 conceded to both parties equal orthodoxy, although 
 one was strenuous for some things accounted by the 
 other non-essential, was especially manifest. The 
 essential features of a work of grace, and of Christian 
 experience, were admitted and acknowledged by both 
 parties ; and they came together with lessons of for- 
 bearance and mutual concession that were of the high- 
 est importance. 
 
 Few changes were made by the Synod in the model- 
 ling of the several Presbyteries. That of New Bruns- 
 wick remained as before, except that Cowell, of Trenton, 
 and Guild, of Hopewell, were added to it. 1 New York 
 
 1 Minutes of Synod, 288. 
 
SYNOD OF NEW YORK AND PHILADELPHIA. 141 
 
 and Suffolk were continued without any change. Tho 
 Presbytery of Philadelphia was to consisl of ( 
 Gilbert Tennent, Alison, Treat, Chesnut, .Martin. Beatty, 
 Greenman, Hunter, Ramsey, Lawrence, and Kinkead, 
 — nearly equally from the Old and New Bides. Lewes 
 Presbytery was to consist of John Miller, Tuttle, Harris, 
 Henry, and Wilson ; while the First and Second Pres- 
 byteries of New Castle and Donegal, each of them 
 divided in 1741 by the protest, were left for the present 
 without change. 
 
 At the same time, also, the Presbytery of Hanover in 
 Virginia was constituted. It embraced Davies, Todd, 
 Henry, Wright, Brown, Martin, and Craighead, of the 
 New side; and Black, Craig, and Alexander Miller, of 
 the Old side, — the last three laboring in the Great Val- 
 ley, and the former, with the exception of Craighead 
 in North Carolina, east of the mountains, in the neigh- 
 borhood of Hanover. 
 
 A committee of correspondence with the churches in 
 Britain and Ireland was appointed, and one of the sub- 
 jects of their correspondence with England w T as to be 
 the aid from trustees in London for the fund raised for 
 German emigrants, with a view to securing aid for 
 educating youths for the ministry. 1 
 
 The Synod closed its session by the appointment of 
 a day of fasting and prayer. It was the day already 
 appointed by the government; and, in view of the 
 calamities of war, the danger from unchristian foes, 
 and the sins of ingratitude, religious decay, vice, and 
 immorality, the Synod was led to recommend its observ- 
 ance with a view to " deprecate the wrath of God, to 
 pray for a blessing on Jlis .Majesty's armaments by 
 land and sea. in order to procure a lasting and honor- 
 able peace/' for '-the overthrow of unchristian errors, 
 
 i Minutes of Synod, 290. 
 
142 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 superstition, and tyranny, and the universal spread of 
 pure and undefiled religion." 
 
 Through the period extending from the union of 
 the Synods to the commencen.ent of the Revolutionary 
 War, the growth of the Church was rapid and almost 
 uninterrupted. The troubles of the division were still 
 felt, however, within the bounds of Donegal, 1 New 
 Castle, and Philadelphia Presbyteries. Donegal peti- 
 tioned (1765), against the remonstrance of a strong 
 minority, for a division into two Presbyteries; 2 or, in 
 case this was refused, that the members added to them 
 when the Presbyteries were remodelled might be 
 ordered to return to their former judicatures. Declin- 
 ing the request, the Synod formed, of the ministers west 
 of the Susquehanna, the new Presbytery of Carlisle, and 
 annexed the others to the Presbytery of New Castle, 
 thenceforth to be known by the name of Lancaster. 
 The old members of Donegal Presbytery felt them- 
 selves greatly aggrieved by this arrangement, and it 
 was brought before Synod again in the following year. 
 Several expedients were proposed for relieving the dif- 
 ficulties which existed, but it was finally resolved to 
 revive and restore the Presbyteries of Donegal and 
 New Castle. This, however, was far from satisfactory. 
 The Old-side members of Donegal, seven in number, 
 refused to unite with that Presbytery. They met by 
 themselves, assuming the old name for the Presbytery 
 which they claimed to constitute, and wrote to the 
 Synod, declaring themselves " laid under the disagree- 
 able necessity of entering a declination from its juris- 
 
 1 In 1759 the First and Second Presbyteries of New Castle were 
 united, and Messrs. Sampson Smith, Robert Smith, John Roan, and 
 John Hogge, were added to Donegal Presbytery. — 3Iinutes, 292. In 
 the course of the six yeai'3 which followed, dissatisfactions arose.— 
 Ibid. 350. 2 Minutes, 348-9. 
 
SYNOD OF NEW YORK AND THILADELFHIA. 143 
 
 diction." 1 Nothing was left for the Synod but to pro- 
 nounce them no longer members of the body. In 1768, 
 they applied to be received and acknowledged, but 
 their request was refused, except on the condition that 
 they should unite with the Presbytery of Donegal pro- 
 perly constituted. If this condition were complied with, 
 the Synod declared itself not indisposed to remodel the 
 Presbyteries in such a manner as to give the best satis- 
 faction which the circumstances of the case allowed. 
 The proposal was then made to allow the dissatisfied 
 members to unite as they were willing with the Presby- 
 teries of Donegal, New Castle, and Philadelphia Second, 
 and this proposal was accepted, — four members of the 
 Presbytery of Donegal, Dufficld, Cooper, Slemmons, 
 and Eoan, entering their dissent. 2 
 
 The Second Presbytery of Philadelphia was thus 
 strengthened by the accession of several of the Old- 
 side members of Donegal, viz. : Steel, Elder, Tate, and 
 McMordie. This Presbytery had been formed mainly 
 of the Old-side members of the Presbytery of Phila- 
 delphia, in 1762. 3 It consisted originally of Robert 
 Cross, Francis Alison, John Ewing, John Simonton, 
 and James Latta. Cross had been the leader, and 
 Alison the scholar, of the Old side. Ewing, pastor of 
 the First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia, — and 
 thus associated w T ith Cross, — and Latta, settled the pre- 
 vious year as pastor at Deep Eun, were both pupils of 
 Alison, and had been for some years tutors of the col- 
 lege over which he presided. The Presbytery was 
 thus formed on the elective affinity principle, and, much 
 to the dissatisfaction of many of the Synod, professed 
 to be conscientiously opposed to the practice of examin- 
 ing candidates for the ministry as to their experimental 
 acquaintance with religion. So strong, indeed, was their 
 
 1 Minutes, 3C6. ■ Ibid. 383, 384. 3 Ibid. 321. 
 
144 HISTORY OP PRESBYTER1ANISM 
 
 feeling, that they declared that, sooner than belong to 
 a Presbytery which adopted the practice, they would 
 break off from all connection with the Synod." 
 
 The attempt was made, but in vain, in 1766. to reunite 
 the First and Second Presbyteries of Philadelphia. The 
 decision of the Synod was in favor of the continued 
 separate existence of a body which, in the judgment 
 of many, only served to perpetuate old party lines, and 
 seemed " to indicate a temper of schismatical tend- 
 ency." 1 It was maintained that the Synod involved 
 itself in a self-contradiction in erecting a Presbytery 
 which refused to examine candidates for the ministry 
 in regard to the subject of personal religious expe- 
 rience. The precedent, moreover, was declared to be a 
 bad one, and injurious in its tendency to perpetuate 
 division. In spite, however, of all objections, the 
 Second Presbytery was still continued ; and, although 
 the attendance of its members at meetings of Synod 
 was quite irregular, it received an accession of mem- 
 bers who strongly sympathized with it. 
 
 Of these, Patrick Allison was the first to join it. A 
 pupil of his namesake, Dr. Alison, at the institution in 
 which the latter was Yice-Provost, he was ordained by 
 the Second Presbytery, and took charge, in 1765, of 
 the first church gathered at Baltimore. In 1768, Elder, 
 Steel, and McMordie were transferred to it from the 
 Presbytery of Donegal. Two years later, Samuel Eakin, 
 who gave the Synod no little trouble by his conduct, 
 was received, and in 1772 Hugh McGill, from Ireland, 
 who proved scarcely less obnoxious. In 1773 they 
 ordained Kobert Davidson. Their licentiates during the 
 period were James Long, Thomas Read, afterward of 
 Delaware, John King, and John McLean, who went to 
 the Carolinas. 
 
 1 Minutes, 355. 
 
SYNOD OF NEW YORK AND PHILADELPHIA. 145 
 
 In 1772, Greorge Duffield was called to the Pine Street 
 Church of Philadelphia; and, although dismissed from 
 and recommended by the Presbytery of Donegal, the 
 Second Presbytery of Philadelphia refused to receive 
 him. 1 On the question of his settlement, the feelings 
 of animosity between the Old and New side were 
 revived, and the attempt was made to exclude him 
 from the church. Both parties applied to the Synod, — 
 Mr. Duffield by complaint of the proceedings of the 
 Presbytery, and the incorporated committee of the 
 Market and Pine Street churches by petition and 
 remonstrance. The Synod pronounced that Mr. Duf- 
 field had just cause of complaint, declared him minis- 
 ter of the Third Presbyterian congregation of Philadel- 
 phia, and ordered that he be put upon the list of the 
 Second Presbytery. 
 
 Except within the bounds of the Presbyteries of 
 Donegal and Philadelphia Second, the disastrous influ- 
 ence of the division soon disappeared. In the Presby- 
 tery of Hanover, the Old-side members of the Valley 
 and the New-side east of the mountains, were not in 
 entire sympathy; and the former — on the ground, how- 
 ever, of their distance from their brethren — asked to be 
 formed into a separate Presbytery. The petition was 
 not approved by the Synod, but assurance was given 
 that, when a sufficient number to warrant the erection 
 of a new Presbytery should be secured, the request 
 should be granted. 2 
 
 Meanwhile (1763), an application was presented to 
 Synod from a Presbytery in New York on the east of 
 the Hudson, desiring to be incorporated with tho 
 Synod and to be strengthened by members set off from 
 the Presbyteries of New York and Suffolk. The appli- 
 cation was favorably received, and John Smith and 
 
 1 Minutes, 433 2 j b- 292. 
 
 Vol. I.— 13 
 
146 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 Chauncey Graham, of New York Presbytery, and 
 Eliphalet Ball and Samuel Sackett, of Suffolk Presby- 
 tery, were united with them to constitute the Dutchess 
 county Presbytery. 1 
 
 In 1766, the Presbytery was represented in Synod, 
 and, besides, the members set off from Suffolk and New 
 York, it consisted (1768) of Wheeler Case, Ichabod 2 
 Lewis, Elisha Kent, Solomon Mead, Joseph Peck, 3 and 
 Samuel Dunlop. The churches which first came under 
 the care of Presbytery had been organized for several 
 years, — some of them by the Fairfield and Litchfield 
 Associations of Connecticut, and others by the Presby- 
 tery of New York. 
 
 It was in October (27th), 1762, that three ministers, 
 Solomon Mead, of South Salem, and Joseph Peck and 
 Elisha Kent, pastors of churches in Philips Precinct, 
 between Eishkill and South Salem, met to consult 
 about forming a Presbytery. 4 Their conclusions were 
 
 1 In 1765 (Minutes, p. 39), we read, "There is no account from 
 Dutchess county Presbytery, whether they have regularly formed 
 themselves according to the order of the Synod." 
 
 2 Thomas Lewis in the Minutes, — which is probably a mistake. 
 
 3 The name is repeatedly written James in the Minutes, — some- 
 times, perhaps, abbreviated for Joseph. Dr. Hodge incorrectly 
 writes it John. 
 
 4 A letter from Dr. Johnston, of Newburgh, on the files of the church 
 of Poughkeepsie, is the authority for the statement in the text. A 
 manuscript letter from Darius Peck, Esq., of Hudson, enables me to 
 trace the Presbyterianism of Dutchess county to a Milford origin. 
 The Presbyterian church at Milford was organized by a secession 
 from the Congregational church in 1741. It was at the very crisis 
 of the agitation between the Old and New side in the Synod. One 
 of the first members of the Milford church was Joseph Peck, a 
 descendant, doubtless, of one of the early settlers of the town who 
 bore the same name. For a time a Rev. Mr. Kent supplied the 
 pulpit. — (Lambert's History of New Haven Colony.) This was un- 
 questionably Elisha Kent who, twelve years before, was graduated 
 at Yale, and f )r several years was pastor of Newtown, Conn. He is 
 
SYNOD OF NEW YOBK AND PHILADELPHIA. 147 
 
 in favor of the measure, and they proceeded, by prayer 
 and the adoption of the Confession and Catechisms, to 
 form themselves into a Presbytery. In the following 
 spring they applied to the Synod to be received. Their 
 request was granted, as has been stated : the two 
 members from New York Presbytery, and the two 
 from Suffolk, were added to their number. In 17G5 
 their number had been increased by the accession of 
 William llanna, settled at Albany, Samuel Dunlop, 
 ] iast or of the Scotch-Irish congregation at Cherry Val- 
 ley, and Wheeler Case, a licentiate of Suffolk Presby- 
 tery, who succeeded Mr. Graham as pastor at Pough- 
 keepsie, in connection with which he ministered to the 
 church in Charlotte Precinct, but better known sub- 
 sequently, and at the present time, as the church of 
 Pleasant Valley. Previous to 1770, the Presbytery 
 ordained Samuel Mills and Ichabod Lewis, who became 
 permanent members of the body, and in 1772 they re- 
 ceived Benjamin Strong from Fairfield Association. 
 
 Of these early members of the Presbytery, Elisha 
 Kent was settled over a church in Philips Precinct, 
 not far from Fishkill, in the place early known as 
 Kent's Parish. He was a graduate of Yale College in 
 1729, and for several years afterward was settled at 
 
 the only minister of the name of Kent discoverable at this period. 
 In 1748, he had been for sometime settled at Philippi, or Phillips- 
 town, below Fishkill. Joseph Peck, associated with him in labors 
 in the same region, — Philips Precinct, — was not a graduate of 
 Yale or Princeton, and must have studied with some minister. In 
 the circumstances, it seems probable that he was a son of the Joseph 
 Peck of Milford, that he studied with Mr. Kent, and that the two 
 removed at nearly the same time to settle upon the Hudson in 
 neighboring churches. Solomon Mead, of the class of 1748 at Yale 
 soon after came into the same region, settling at South Salem 
 The three churches, South Salem, and the two of Philips Precinct, 
 — now probably Kent and Phillipstown, or Cold Spring, — were 
 within a few miles of each other. 
 
148 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 Newtown, Conn. After his removal from this place, he 
 supplied for a time the (New-side) church at Milford, 
 and probably about the year 1742 removed to Putnam 
 county, N.Y., taking charge of the first church gathered 
 in all this region. There is reason to believe that this 
 was largely composed of families who had removed 
 at about the same time from the vicinity of Newtown 
 and Milford, Conn., to whom he was known, and by 
 whom he was invited to become their minister. The 
 first notice we have of him in this new field is as Bel- 
 lamy's correspondent, in 1749. 
 
 " Kent's Parish" embraced undoubtedly a large field, 
 including not only Kent, — the town which commemo- 
 rates the family to which Chancellor Kent belonged, 1 — 
 but the town of South-East, where a settlement had 
 been effected as early as 1730. 2 In 1737, " South-East- 
 town" was formed as a precinct, and by this time quite 
 a large number of families had located within the cir- 
 cuit of a few miles. The pastorate of Mr. Kent con- 
 tinued till some time after the commencement of the 
 war; and Fredericksburg, where Samuel Mills was sub- 
 sequently settled, is probably the same with South-East 
 and "Kent's Parish." The other church within the 
 limits of Philips Precinct was that under the care of 
 Joseph Peck, located in Philipstown, — the Philippi of 
 1789, — where several families had settled as early as 
 1730. 3 His pastorate continued till about 1770 •* and 
 during the Avar, Ichabod Lewis, who had been forced 
 to leave his own field, probably supplied this place. 
 
 1 Chancellor Kent was the grandson of Rev. Elisha Kent. 
 
 2 New York Gazetteer. The statement there made that Mr. Kent 
 began to preach at South-East in 1730 is probably incorrect. He 
 graduated in 1729, and labored for several years at Newtown and 
 Milford. 
 
 3 A Mr. Davenport is said to have built the first house at Cold 
 Spring, in 1715. 4 Probably settled at New Fairfield in 1774. 
 
SYNOD OF NEW YORK AND PHILADELPHIA. 149 
 
 The church of which Solomon Mead was pastor was 
 gathered about the year 1750, or very soon after tho 
 settlement of the town. The first notice of the church 
 occurs May 19, 1752, " when a convention of ministers 
 assembled at Salem, upon the desire of the people," 1 to 
 install Solomon Mead as pastor of the church. A 
 graduate of Yale Collide in 1748, Mr. Mead was proba- 
 bly from the town of Greenwich, where families of that 
 name had early settled; and it is to be presumed that 
 the convention of ministers was an ecclesiastical coun- 
 cil composed of Connecticut pastors settled on the 
 western border of the State. The pastorate of Mr. 
 Mead continued till 1800, although his life was pro- 
 tracted till 1812, and to the ripe age of eighty-six years 
 he continued the patriarch of the Presbytery, venerated 
 far and near for his piety and his worth. 
 
 Chauncey Graham — till his transfer by the Synod, a 
 member of New York Presbytery — was the son of 
 John Graham, for many years pastor of Southbury, 
 Conn. 2 Rumbout, near Fishkill, was organized as a 
 church, July 3, 1748, and Poughkeepsie was "gathered" 
 in July, 1750, by a committee of the Presbytery of New 
 York. Of these two churches, Graham, who had been 
 graduated at Yale College but a little more than two 
 years previous, was ordained pastor, January 29, 1749- 
 50, by an ecclesiastical council, consisting of Messrs. 
 Stoddard, Case, Judson, 3 and their "messengers." Mills 
 and Bellamy were invited, but did not attend. In the 
 following year. Graham, whose father was a native of 
 Scotland, united with the Presbytery of New York, 
 and was present at the meeting of the Synod at Newark 
 
 i Bolton's West. Chester County, i. 2G8. 2 Webster. 
 
 3 Anthony Stoddard, of Woodbury ; Eenajah Case, of New Fair- 
 field; and David Judson, of Newtown. The Mr. Mills invited was 
 Jedediah Mills, of Huntington. 
 
 13* 
 
150 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 in 1751. For several years after the Presbytery was 
 formed in 1763, he was its stated clerk. He left Pough- 
 keepsie in 1752, after which it was dependent on stated 
 supplies till the settlement of Wheeler Case, in 1765, 
 over Pleasant Valley and Poughkeepsie. Mr. Graham 
 was dismissed in 1773, and died in 1784. 
 
 John Smith — settled at Eye and White Plains, having 
 been ordained by the Fairfield Association (probably 
 May 15, 1729) * — was the son of Thomas Smith, of New 
 York, one of the leading men who seceded from Ander- 
 son's congregation and invited Jonathan Edwards to 
 preach to them. He was an intimate friend of Edwards, 
 and yet did not unite with the Presbytery of New York 
 until 1752. His ministry continued till his death in 
 1771, although, at his request, Ichabod Lewis was set- 
 tled as his colleague for several of the closing years of 
 his life. 2 
 
 Samuel Sackett commenced his labors 3 at Crumpond 4 
 and Cortland Manor (now Yorktown and Peekskill) 
 as early as 1742. In 1743, he was installed at Bedford, 
 and directed to visit the Highlands. His labors were 
 extended to Crumpond, Salem, and Cortland Manor, — 
 although only occasionally, except at Crumpond, which 
 he supplied half the time from 1747 to 1749. In 1753, 
 his adoption of the views of Edwards and Bellamy on 
 the subject of baptism led to alienation of feeling on 
 the part of his people, and his resignation of his office. 
 In 1761, after having labored for several years at Han- 
 over, in Cortland Manor, he was installed at Crum- 
 pond. 
 
 Eliphalet Ball succeeded Sackett at Bedford, and, 
 
 i Webster, 652. 
 
 2 Probably in 1766-67, as Mr. Lewis was a graduate of Yale in 
 1765. 3 Webster, 546. 
 
 * Ibid. A congregation was formed at Crumpond in 1738-39. The 
 land for the meeting-house was given January 2, 1739. 
 
SYNOD OF NEW YORK AND PHILADELPHIA. 151 
 
 along with him, was a member of the Suffolk Presby- 
 tery until transferred to the Dutchess county Presby- 
 tery. His pastorate continued, with the exception of 
 four years (1768-1772), till 1784. In 1788, he removed 
 w T ith a part of his Bedford congregation to the place 
 which from him received the name which it still 
 retains, — Ball's-town (Ballston). 
 
 William Ilanna, of Albany, was another of the early 
 members of the Presbytery. He was a native of Litch- 
 field county, and a licentiate of the Litchfield Associa- 
 tion. In spite of Bellamy's dissuasives, he was ordained 
 in 1761, by a council of Connecticut ministers, consist- 
 ing of Graham, of Southbury, Lee, of Salisbury, and 
 Gold and Smith, of Sharon. The church placed itself 
 under the care of the Presbytery, and he was received 
 as a member in 1763. 
 
 Still another of the early members of the body was 
 Samuel Dunlop, of Cherry Yalley. In 1741, he had 
 commenced his labors on this outpost of civilization, 
 among a people whom he had induced to follow him 
 into the wilderness. A native of the north of Ireland, 
 he applied himself with success to his countrymen set- 
 tled in Londonderry, N.H., and quite a number of Pres- 
 byterian families were induced to cast in their lot with 
 his. The result w T as the formation of the church of 
 Cherry Valley, which came under the charge of the 
 Presbytery soon after the latter was erected. 1 
 
 AY heeler Case, a licentiate of Suffolk Presbytery, 
 was the first pastor of Pleasant Valley, w T here he com- 
 menced bis Labors in November, 1765. 2 Poughkeepsie 
 for some years formed a portion of his charge, but 
 during the war it became so enfeebled as to be virtually 
 extinct. 3 Mr. Case continued in the pastorate of Plea- 
 
 1 History of Londonderry. Campbell's Tryon County. 
 
 3 N.Y. Gazetteer. 3 Mr. Ludlow's Historical Sermon. 
 
152 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 sant Yalley for more than twenty years, and was a 
 member of the Presbytery from the date of his settle- 
 ment. 
 
 In 1769, Samuel Mills, a graduate of Yale College in 
 1765, was settled at Bedford, and became a member of 
 the Presbytery. For seventeen years his pastorate 
 continued ; and he was repeatedly appointed a delegate 
 to the convention of Congregational and Presbyterian 
 ministers that met annually previous to the war. 
 
 Ichabod Lewis, a classmate of Mills at Yale College, 
 was called as colleague of John Smith at Eye and 
 White Plains, at about the same time that Mills was 
 settled at Bedford. The burning of the church-edifice 
 and the insecurity of the whole region forced him, in 
 1776, to withdraw northward, where — residing at 
 Salem — he supplied for several years the church at 
 Philippi, his friend Mills also having removed to take 
 charge of the adjoining parish of Fredericksburg. 
 
 In 1770, Benjamin Strong, who for many years had 
 been settled at North Stanwich, on the western border 
 of Connecticut, became a member of the body. He 
 did not, however, remain many years in the connec- 
 tion. 
 
 In 1766, John Close was licensed, and, in 1775, David 
 Close was ordained by the Presbytery. The last labored 
 for a time within its bounds ; the other found a desti- 
 tute and inviting field on the west of the Hudson. 
 
 On the west side of the Hudson, Presbyterian 
 churches were organized at an early period. Smith, in 
 his history of New York, speaks of the large number 
 of Scotch-Irish who settled in Orange and Ulster coun- 
 ties. The very names of these are significant of the 
 nationality of the first immigrants. The church at 
 Goshen was organized previous to 1721, when John 
 Bradner became its first pastor. Here he remained for 
 eleven years, and was succeeded by John Tudor and 
 
SYNOD OF NEW YORK AND PHILADELPHIA. 153 
 
 Silas Leonard, — the last, pastor from 1738 to i7<">4. In 
 L766, Nathan Ker commenced his pastorate of the 
 church, which continued down to L804. 1 
 
 As early as L729, an application to the Synod of 
 Philadelphia for supplies of preaching among them 
 was made by the people of Wall Kill, through their 
 commissioner, John McNeal. In the course of the fol- 
 lowing year, they were supplied in part by Gelston, 
 who had previously been a member of Suffolk Presby- 
 tery, but in 1735 was reported as laboring in the 
 Highlands, where rumors against his character led to 
 his trial and suspension from the ministry. He was 
 followed by Isaae Chalker, whose pastorate closed in 
 1743, and subsequently by John Moffat and John Blair, 
 the last of whom left in 1771. He was followed by 
 Andrew King, whose pastorate extended from 1770 to 
 1815. 
 
 The church at Bethlehem had a house of worship as 
 early as 1730. Isaac Chalker was the first pastor. He 
 was succeeded by Enos Ayers, who took charge of this 
 church conjointly with that of Blooming Grove, where 
 a church-edifice was erected in 1759. At Bethlehem 
 he was succeeded by Francis Peppard, who had charge 
 also of the church organized at New Windsor in 1706, 
 and by Abner Eeeve in the church at Blooming Grove. 
 John Close, recently ordained by Dutchess county Pres- 
 bytery, took charge of the two churches of Bethlehem 
 and New Windsor from 1773 to 1790. In both places 
 he was succeeded by Jonathan Freeman, whose pastor- 
 ate continued until 1*05. 
 
 The church at Blooming Grove was supplied, after 
 Abner Reeve left it. in his zeal for Independency (1764— 
 1770), by Amaziah Lewis, Benoni Bradner (1786-1802), 
 and Luther Ealsey. 
 
 1 Eager' B Orange County. 
 
154 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 Before the close of the century the Scotchtown church 
 was organized (1798), and Methuselah Baldwin became 
 its pastor. Here he remained for nearly forty years. 
 The church at Crawford was of still older date, and 
 Jonathan Freeman Avas pastor of it — in conjunction 
 with New Windsor — for several years. Meanwhile 
 a congregation was gathered at Newburgh ; but no 
 church seems to have been organized till about 1796-98. 
 llelinquishing his labors at Crawford, Jonathan Free- 
 man supplied Newburgh in its stead, in conjunction 
 with New Windsor. This was in accordance with the 
 course of his predecessor at the latter place, John Close, 
 who had divided his time between the church at New 
 Windsor and the congregation at Newburgh for several 
 years (1785-1796). Freeman was succeeded at New- 
 burgh by Eleazer Burnet and John Johnston, — the pas- 
 torate of the latter extending from 1807 to 1857. The 
 church at Albany was formed before 1761. Previous 
 to this, the feeble congregation had been endeavoring 
 to secure the means of erecting a house of worship, 
 and application was afterward repeatedly made to 
 Synod to secure aid. Their case was recommended to 
 the attention and charity of friends of the cause, and, 
 through great embarrassments, the house of worship 
 was at length erected and a pastor secured. The church 
 of Schenectady was organized a few years later, and 
 for some years formed a joint charge with Currie's 
 Bush, now Princetown. 1 
 
 In 1770, a letter was received from the Presbytery 
 of South Carolina, requesting to know the terms on 
 which a union with the Synod might be obtained. 
 This was a bod} r , composed in part of New England 
 and in part of Scotch elements, which had existed in 
 the low country of the Carolinas as far back probably 
 
 1 For fuller accounts of congregations, see chap, xviii. 
 
SYNOD OF NEW YORK AND PHILADELPHIA. 155 
 
 as 1729, and it may have been in existence even some 
 years earlier. It continued ' under the saint- name down 
 to the period of the Revolutionary War, when its meet- 
 ings were interrupted and its members scattered. The 
 
 Presbytery of Charleston, formed after the close of the 
 conflict, claimed to occupy the same ground and to be 
 substantially the same body. The Synod answered 
 their letter, but no reply was received. 
 
 The Presbytery of Hanover had already increased 
 so that, in the view of a number of its members, a 
 division was desirable. In 1770, a petition to this effect 
 was laid before Synod, and the ministers south of 
 Virginia and within the bounds of North Carolina 
 were formed into the Presbytery of Orange. Upon 
 its erection it consisted of six members, Hugh McAden, 
 Henry Patillo, James Cresswell, Joseph Alexander, 
 Hezekiah James Balch, and Hezekiah Balch. Thus 
 at the close of the period under review, the Synod 
 was composed of ten Presbyteries, — Dutchess, Suffolk, 
 New York, New Brunswick, Donegal, Lewistown, New 
 Castle, the First and Second of Philadelphia, Hanover, 
 and Orange. Nearly as many ministers had been 
 received or ordained as were in connection with the 
 
 1 In 1695, a church was formed in Dorchester, Mass., "with a 
 design to remove to Carolina to encourage the settlement of churches 
 and the promotion of religion in the southern plantations." The 
 church embarked, with its pastor, Rev. Joseph Lord, in December. 
 44 On February 2, 1096, the Lord's Supper was administered for 
 the first time in that colony." This colony settled at Dorchester, 
 eighteen miles from Charleston. In 1098, Rev. John Cotton, son 
 of the Boston minister, was dismissed from Plymouth, and gathered 
 a church in Charleston. He died in 1699. In 1705, the "Dissen- 
 ters" had three churches in Charleston and one in the country 
 (Dorchester). In 1754, Mr. Osgood, pastor of Dorchester, with a 
 colony from that church, organized the church in Midway, Ga. 
 (Holmes's Annals, i. 401, 469, 492.) A colony from Midway formed 
 the Presbyterian church in Burke county, Cia. F. 
 
156 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 Synod at the time of its erection in 1758. Most of 
 these had been trained within the bounds of the Pres- 
 byteries, and by these more than seventy had been 
 ordained. Among the accessions from abroad were the 
 celebrated Dr. Witherspoon, from the Presbytery of 
 Paisley in Scotland, Alexander McLean, James Gourly, 
 and perhaps one or two others from North Britain. 
 McGill, Ehea, Huey, and two or three others were all 
 that came from Ireland. James Sproat, Jonathan Mur- 
 dock, and A. Lewis, were from the Congregational 
 Association of New Haven; and Dutchess county Pres- 
 bytery received Benjamin Strong from Fairfield West. 
 Several others were from New England, but they were 
 for the most part educated or ordained within the 
 bounds of the Presbyterian Church. 1 
 
 1 The members received and for the most part ordained by the 
 Presbyteries during this period were as follows. New Brunswick 
 Presbytery ordained Alexander McWhorter, William Kirkpatrick 
 (1760), James Hunt, James Caldwell, John Hanna, John Clark 
 (1761), Samuel Parkhurst, Joseph Treat, William Mills (1762), 
 William Tennent, Jr., Enoch Green (1763), Amos Thompson, Thomas 
 Smith, Jacob Ker, Nathan Ker (1764), James Lyon, John Rox- 
 borough (1765), David Caldwell (1766), Jeremiah Halsey (1768), 
 William Schenk, Jacob Vanarsdalen (1772). New York ordained 
 Azel Roe (1762), Francis Peppard (1765), Jedediah Chapman (1767), 
 James Tuttle (1769), William Woodhull (1770), Alexander Miller, 
 Jonathan Murdoch, Oliver Deming (1771), Amzi Lewis (1772), 
 Matthias Burnet, Joseph Grover (1775). New Castle ordained 
 John Strain, John Carmichael (1761), Samuel Blair (1766), John 
 McCreary, William Foster, Joseph Smith (1769), John Woodhull, 
 Josiah Lewis (1771), Thomas Read, James Wilson, James Anderson 
 (1772), Thomas Smith (1774). Lewes Presbytery ordained Joseph 
 Montgomery (1762), Alexander Huston (1765), Thomas McCraken 
 (1768), John Brown (1769). Hanover Presbytery ordained Henry 
 Patillo (1758), James Waddel (1763), David Rice (1765), Thomas 
 Jackson, Samuel Leak (1769). Suffolk Presbytery ordained Samson 
 Occum, Ezra Reeve (1759), Moses Barrett, Thomas Smith (1760), 
 Benj. Goldsmith (1764), David Rose (1765), Elam Potter, John 
 Close (1766), Joshua Hart (1772), John Davenport (1775). The 
 
SYNOD OF NEW York AND PHILADELPHIA. 157 
 
 The growth of the Church was thus from its own 
 natural increase, and the missionary efforts thai were 
 pu1 forth. These efforts, though unequal to the demand, 
 were strenuous and unremitted. The applications ad- 
 dressed to the Synod, both from the North and South, 
 were urgent and repeated. Virginia and the Carolinas 
 presented inviting fields for missionary effort; but the 
 laborers were few. From the Great Valley west of the 
 mountains, from the region in and around Prince Eld- 
 ward, from the Presbytery of Orange, embracing a 
 large part of North Carolina and extending into South 
 Carolina and Georgia, the applications for aid were 
 
 First Presbytery of Philadelphia ordained John Murray (1766), 
 Alexander Mitchel (1709), James Boyd, James Watt (1770), William 
 Hollingshead (1774), Nathaniel Irwin, Daniel McCalla (1775}. The 
 ministers ordained by the Second Presbytery of Philadelphia were 
 Patrick Allison (1703), Samuel Eakin (1770), Robert Davidson (1774). 
 Donegal ordained John Craighead (1708), Hezekiah J. Balch (1770), 
 Hugh Vance (1772), William Thorn (1773), Thomas McFarren (1775). 
 Dutchess county Presbytery ordained David Close (1773), Black- 
 leach Burritt (1774). The Presbytery of Orange ordained Thomas 
 Reese, John Simpson (1774); and the Presbytery of Lancaster, 
 during its brief existence, ordained Samuel Blair (1706). 
 
 The members received from other bodies by the Presbyteries 
 during this period were few in number. Suffolk received Thomas 
 Payne in 1704; New Brunswick, Jonathan Leavitt, from New Eng- 
 land, in 1705, John Witherspoon, from Scotland, in 1709, and James 
 Gourly, from Scotland, in 1775. The First Presbytery of Philadel- 
 phia received James Sproat, successor of Tennent in Philadelphia, 
 in 1769. Dr. Sproat had been converted under Tennent's preach- 
 ing, and had been settled at Guilford, Conn., for nearly twenty-five 
 years. (Sprague's Annals, iii. 125.) New Castle received Daniel 
 McClealand, in 1709. Donegal, Joseph Rhea, from Ireland, in 1771, 
 Robert Hughes, also from Ireland, in 1773, and Daniel McClure 
 and Levi Frisbie, missionaries from New England, in the same year. 
 The last two, however, were not received by the Synod. In 1775, 
 Colin ISfcFarquhar was also received from Scotland. Orange Pres- 
 bytery received James Campbell and James Edmonds, from South 
 Carolina, in 1774; and Dutchess county, Benjamin Strong, in 1772. 
 
 Vol. I.— 14 
 
158 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 renewed, sometimes with each successive year. The 
 Synod sent among them all whom it could spare. 
 Licentiates, and ministers recently ordained, were 
 directed to labor in these destitute regions from a few 
 weeks to several months. Some of the ablest members 
 of the Synod, as Duffield, ^McWhorter, Spencer, and 
 Treat, were employed from time to time to itinerate 
 through the region and organize churches. 1 By such 
 methods the Synod attained a large acquaintance with 
 the Southern field, and their interest and sympathies 
 were excited in its behalf. 
 
 This was also the case with the frontier settlements 
 of Pennsylvania and the northern settlements of New 
 York. Duffield and Eodgers were active in visiting 
 them and encouraging the feeble churches, or organ- 
 izing them where they were not yet established. 
 
 The incessant demand for ministers led to measures 
 for securing a larger number of candidates and making 
 provision for their education. The project of appoint- 
 ing a Professor of Divinity at Princeton College was 
 agitated as early as 1760, only two years after the 
 union of the two Synods. No adequate provision, 
 however, could be made at the time for his support, 
 and the matter was for the time deferred. Yet the 
 Synod (1761) declared that "the Church suffers greatly 
 for want of an opportunity to instruct students in the 
 knowledge of divinity;" and it was therefore agreed 
 that every student, after taking his first degree in col- 
 lege, should " read carefully and closely on this subject 
 at least one year, under the care of some minister 
 of an approved character for his skill in theology," 
 under his direction discussing "difficult points in di- 
 vinity, forming sermons, lectures, and such other use- 
 ful exercises as he may be directed to, in the course ot 
 
 1 Sec Minutes for successive years of this period. 
 
SYNOD OF NEW FORK AM) PHILADELPHIA. 159 
 
 liis studies." Practice in public speaking was recom- 
 mended, and probationers were "to forbear reading 
 
 their sermons from the pulpit, if they could conve- 
 niently." 1 
 
 But these provisions came far short of meeting the 
 emergency. The college at Princeton, a few years later 
 (1768), secured the services of the celebrated Dr. With- 
 erspoon, of Scotland, who was invited to the presidency 
 of the college on the death of Dr. Finlcy. A new and 
 energetic effort was now made throughout the hounds 
 of the Church to secure a larger endowment for the 
 institution. It was prosecuted with much vigor and a 
 good degree of success. Dr. Witherspoon, in addition 
 to his other duties, gave lectures on divinity, and 
 instructed the students who desired it, in the Hebrew 
 language. This, in the circumstances, was the best 
 provision that could be made. The Synod, encouraged 
 by the prospect, engaged to add fifty pounds a year to 
 his salary. 
 
 The first difficulty, the securing of a Divinity Pro- 
 fessor, w r as thus met. Another remained. The neces- 
 sities of those engaged in a course of preparation for 
 the ministry were often urgent, and for lack of means 
 they were sometimes compelled to abandon their pur- 
 pose. The Synod endeavored (1771) to meet this diffi- 
 culty by "a scheme for supporting young men of piety 
 and parts at learning for the work of the ministry, so 
 that our numerous vacancies may be supplied with 
 preachers of the gospel." By this scheme, it was the 
 aim of the Synod to throw the burden upon those who 
 were most interested in the success of the project. 
 Each vacant congregation asking Presbytery for sup- 
 plies was to pay annually two pounds into a common 
 fund. Every minister a member of the Presbytery 
 
 1 Minutes, 309, 310. 
 
160 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 was to pay one pound, and any who were willing to 
 contribute were to have the opportunity of annual sub- 
 scription. Individuals who applied for aid were to be 
 examined and approved by the Presbytery, and were 
 to preach one year after licensure in the vacancies 
 within its bounds. In case any persons thus educated 
 should withdraw from their purpose of laboring in the 
 ministry, they were to give bonds for the repayment 
 of what they had thus received. 1 
 
 Here, then, was the model of a Presbyterian Educa- 
 tion society. It was probably the first of any kind 
 that had yet been devised in this country. The plan 
 had originated with the Presbytery of New Castle, 
 and was overtured to the Synod, who approved it and 
 earnestly recommended it, or a like scheme, to the 
 several Presbyteries. 
 
 In 1773, the subject was again brought to the notice 
 of Synod. 2 It was found that the Presbyteries of New 
 York and New Brunswick, and the Second Presbytery 
 of Philadelphia, had " complied fully" with the recom- 
 mendations of the Synod, and had succeeded so far in 
 " raising money for poor pious youths" as to have 
 " several young men at education." Some of the other 
 Presbyteries had done something, but had not answered 
 the design of the Synod. They were now ordered " to 
 prosecute this important plan as speedily as possible." 
 But the approaching scenes and troubles of the Eevolu- 
 tionary conflict defeated any successful or general prose- 
 cution of the project. 
 
 The subject of missionary labors among the Indians 
 was not overlooked. David Brainerd had labored with 
 devoted zeal among the tribes along the Delaware, and 
 had made Crossweeksung, Kaunaumeek, and the Porks 
 of the Delaware, classic in the literature of Christian 
 
 i Minutes, 419, 420. 2 u^d. 433. 
 
SYNOD OF NEW YORK AND PHILADELPHIA. 101 
 
 missions. His brother John, not unworthy of such a kin- 
 dred, had Longed to tread in his steps; but tjie French 
 War, and trouble among the tribes, bad deranged his 
 plans. He settled, therefore, as pastor of the congre- 
 gation at Newark, waiting for a more favorable oppor- 
 tunity. In 1700, be laid bis ease before Synod, then in 
 session at Philadelphia. He asked advice, whether he 
 should leave his present comfortable position at Newark 
 and resume his mission to the Indians. The Synod 
 dared not repress bis zeal. Though "tenderly affected 
 with the case of Newark congregation, yet, in consider- 
 ation of the great importance of the Indian mission, 
 they unanimously advise Mr. Brainerd to resume it." 
 The interest of the Indian fund was given him for the 
 year, in order to " his more comfortable subsistence. " 
 It was subsequently renewed, and the congregations 
 throughout the Church were urged to take up collec- 
 tions for his support and in order to sustain an Indian 
 school. 1 
 
 But the attention of the Synod had already been 
 called to the Oneida tribe. 2 At first they could not see 
 their way clear to make any eifort to sustain a mission 
 among them; but when, in 1763, the faithful Occam 
 bad already entered the field, and derived but a scanty 
 support from "the Society in Britain," the Synod gene- 
 rously resolved to place at his disposal for the year 
 the sum of sixty-five pounds; and, in order to secure 
 it, collections were ordered in the several congrega- 
 tions. At this time Sergeant had joined the Indian 
 mission under the care of Brainerd. 
 
 In 1708, " the Synod, taking under consideration the 
 deplorable condition of the Indian tribes, the natives 
 of this land, who sit in heathenish darkness and are 
 perishing for lack of knowledge," appointed a com- 
 
 i Minutes, 211, 31G, 324. 2 Ibid. 321. 
 
1G2 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 mittee " to draw up and concert a general plan to be 
 la\d before the next Synod, to be by them approved 
 in order to prepare the way to propagate the gospel 
 among those benighted people." The committee con- 
 sisted of some of the ablest members of the body. 
 Allison, Read, Treat, E wing, William Tennent, McWhor- 
 ter, Caldwell, Williamson, Thomson, and Blair, com- 
 posed it, and were to meet in October, at Elizabeth- 
 town, to devise the plan. 
 
 But the troubled state of the frontier, — such that 
 Cooper and Brainerd, who had intended to visit the 
 Indians on the Muskingum, were forced to abandon 
 their project, — the intrigues of the French, and the 
 near approach of the war, effectually prevented the 
 success of any enterprise which the Synod might have 
 chosen to prosecute. It was thirty years before the 
 ground which was thus lost could be regained, or 
 the attention and sympathies of the Presbyterian 
 churches be effectually drawn to the religious claims 
 of the aboriginal tribes. Yet it was the full intention 
 of the Synod to prosecute the matter on a well-devised 
 system. A part of this was developed in the overture 
 from the New York Presbytery, on the subject of a 
 missionary collection in all the churches of each Pres- 
 bytery, — a plan which was adopted by the Synod in 
 1767. This was with a view not only to secure mis- 
 sionary labor for the Indians, but to relieve " the un- 
 happy lot of many in various parts of our land who 
 are brought up in ignorance," whose "families were 
 perishing for lack of knowledge," and " who, on account 
 of their poverty and scattered habitations, are unable, 
 without some assistance, to support the gospel minis- 
 try among them." It was publicly acknowledged and 
 declared to be the " duty" of the churches "to send 
 missionaries to the frontier settlements, who may 
 
SYNOD <)F NEW YOEK AND PHILADELPHIA. 1G3 
 
 preach to the dispersed families there, and form ihem 
 into societies for the public worship of God." 
 
 Here wen- the germs both of Some and Foreign 
 Missions, thirty years before the great missionary 
 movement at the beginning of the present century 
 commenced. But for the war, it is possible that Brain- 
 erd might have had the honor reserved for I'mry. and 
 the American Church — like the child teaching the 
 parent to read — have se1 England the lesson that by 
 many years should have antedated the formation of 
 her missionary societies. 
 
 The correspondence of the Synod with other churches 
 was not overlooked. In 1759, Davies, Cross, and Ten- 
 nent were on a large committee to propose to the Pres- 
 byterian churches abroad to settle some plan by T which 
 this object could be secured. In successive y r ears, 
 committees of correspondence w T ere appointed or con- 
 tinued; but they had been unable to meet, and for seven 
 years no digested plan was laid before Synod. In 
 1766, Alison, Blair, Beattv, and P. Y. Livingston were 
 appointed a committee to prepare and bring in a plan 
 "as soon as possible." They reported in favor of a 
 correspondence with the churches of Holland, Geneva, 
 Switzerland, the General Assembly of Scotland, the 
 seceding Synods, the ministers in and about London, 
 the Irish Synod, the ministers of Dublin and of New 
 England, and the churches in South Carolina. For 
 four or five years, the correspondence which was thus 
 recommended was more or less maintained; but the 
 last notice of it appears in 1771. 
 
 The regular correspondence with the consociated 
 eli arches of Connecticut hears date also from 1766 
 Already the -Synod had given evidence of regarding 
 them in a different light from that of "individual minis 
 tcrs, convened as a temporary judicatory for the single 
 purpose of licensing or ordaining a candidate." While 
 
164 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 declaring (1764) that " every Christian society should 
 maintain communion with others as far as they can 
 with a good conscience/' yet "no society was bound to 
 adopt or imitate the irregularities of another/' in order 
 thereto, " contrary to its own established and approved 
 rules of procedure." Hence the candidates of the New- 
 Light party in Ireland, of Congregational Councils in 
 New England, and others, were not to be received by 
 the Presbyteries without examination. 
 
 But in regard to the associated churches of Connec- 
 ticut a different feeling prevailed, and, at the same time 
 that the correspondence with foreign churches was 
 reduced to system, a plan for closer intimacy with 
 those of Connecticut was devised. Arrangements were 
 made, in concert with the General Association of Con- 
 necticut, for a convention of Congregational and Pres- 
 byterian ministers, to be held annually, in order to pro- 
 mote objects of common interest to both denominations. 
 The convention was to meet alternately in Connecticut 
 and within the bounds of the Presbyterian Church, but 
 was to exercise no authority over the ministers or 
 churches. Its general design was "to gain informa- 
 tion of" their "united cause and interest; to collect 
 accounts relating thereto ; to unite their endeavors 
 and counsels for spreading the gospel and preserving 
 the religious liberties of the churches ; to diffuse har- 
 mony and to keep up a correspondence throughout this 
 united body, and with friends abroad," and to vindi- 
 cate the loyalty and reputation of the churches thus 
 represented. 1 
 
 1 This is a very covert and delicate statement, concealing the real 
 object. The phrase "preserving religious liberty''' is very significant. 
 "To vindicate the loyalty and reputation of the churches''' reveals the 
 design. Episcopacy, combined with hyper-Presbyterianism (Scotch) 
 in New England, which desired a Presbyterian Establishment on the 
 basis of the Solemn League and Covenant, remonstrated with the 
 
SYNOD OF NEW YORK AND PHILADELPHIA. IG5 
 
 The convention mel al Elizabeth town, in L766. It 
 drew i!]) a plan of union between the Congregational, 
 Consociated, and Presbyterian Churches, which was 
 reported to the Synod the following year. Jt was 
 amended by them, and finally adopted by both parties. 
 From this period the convent ions were held annually 
 until 1776. The disturbance occasioned by the wai- 
 led to its neglect, and no effort was made to revive it 
 till 1792. 
 
 The object of this convention was simply Christian 
 and patriotic. There were common dangers which 
 threatened alike the Presbyterian churches of the Mid- 
 dle States, and the Congregational churches oi* New 
 England. It was well known that, while civil liberty 
 was threatened by stamp acts, a project for the sacri- 
 fice of religious freedom to Episcopal ascendency in 
 the colonies was cautiously but resolutely cherished in 
 England. It was believed, on what was regarded as 
 good authority, that nothing less w T as contemplated 
 than the extension to these shores of the English 
 Establishment, for which Dissenters here would be 
 taxed as they were in England. 
 
 To present a united front of resistance to such a pro- 
 English Parliament against the holding of Synods in New England. 
 Under the lGth of Richard II., the power to convoke conventions 
 was vested in the Crown, and continued to be exercised even by 
 Cromwell. New York and Virginia had already Episcopal Estab- 
 lishments, and the effort was made to put the entire country under 
 diocesan bishops, as in England. The object of the convention of 
 Presbyterians and Congregationalists was to prevent this; and by 
 their extensive correspondence they aimed to prevent such a result 
 The opponents of the Dissenters were also enemies of the existing 
 colonial governments. Through influence from this source, the Con- 
 gregationalists lost their Synods, and the convention was formed to 
 ilently the attempt to Bubjecl them to Royalty and Episco- 
 pacy. (Holmes's Annals, i. 586. Printed .Minutes of the convention. 
 These last were printed in pamphlet form a few years since.) F. 
 
166 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 ject; to make common cause with all Dissenters sub 
 ject to disabilities in any of the colonies, — as in Mary- 
 land and Carolina ; to diffuse among the people facts 
 and information which should enable them to deter- 
 mine intelligently in regard to the great questions 
 looming up in the distance; to secure careful estimates 
 of the number of Episcopalians and non-Episcopalians 
 in the different colonies, — these were the objects which 
 the convention kept ever in view. It is. evident, from 
 a perusal of its minutes, that the men who composed 
 it were not disturbed by the apprehension of merely 
 imaginary dangers. They perceived the identity of 
 interest between the cause of civil and that of religious 
 liberty; and we cannot doubt that the influence of their 
 deliberations powerfully contributed to the successful 
 issue of the great conflict which some already felt was 
 near at hand. 
 
 Soon after the arrival of Dr. Witherspoon in this 
 country, an effort was made to secure a union of the 
 "seceding" ministers with the Synod. At the request of 
 the ministers themselves, a committee was appointed 
 to converse with them (1769). That committee failed 
 to meet, and another was appointed in the following 
 year. Their conference proved barren of results; and 
 in 1774 the Associate Presbytery in Pennsylvania, 
 " for reasons which appeared to them valid/' declined 
 any further measures with a view to union. 
 
 The necessities of missionary labor had called the 
 attention of members of the Synod to the wisdom of 
 making provision for the circulation, especially in 
 frontier settlements, of religious books. In 1772, the 
 charity of the public was asked for the promotion of 
 this object. The books which were specified as those 
 most desirable for circulation were Bibles, the West- 
 minster Confession, Assembly's and Vincent's Cate* 
 chisms, Doddridge's " Eise and Progress," Alleine's 
 
SYNOD OF NEW YORK AND PHILADELPHIA. 107 
 
 "Alarm," Watts's Songs f< r Children, and "A Compas- 
 Bionate Address to the Christian World." These books 
 were designed to be given to the poor; and, in 177;), 
 committees were appointed in Philadelphia and New 
 
 York to see to their procurement, and each was 
 authorized to draw upon the treasurer of Synod for an 
 amount not exceeding twenty pounds. The germ of 
 the Publication cause, as well as those of Home and 
 Foreign Missions, was thus manifest at a period ante- 
 rior to the Revolutionary conflict. 
 
 The subject of Psalmody was one which occasioned 
 in some quarters no little disquiet. Many were indis- 
 posed to give up the old version of the Psalms, and 
 some of the Scotch w r ere especially tenacious of it. The 
 church at New York had been sorely rent by troubles 
 which had originated from this source. In 1763, the 
 question was introduced into Synod, "As sundry mem- 
 bers and congregations within the bounds of our 
 Synod judge it most for edification to sing Dr. Watts's 
 Imitation of David's Psalms, do the Synod so far approve 
 6aid imitation as to allow such ministers and congrega- 
 tions the liberty of using it ?" The reply was, that, as 
 many of the Synod had not examined the book, they 
 were not prepared to answer, but, inasmuch as it was 
 approved by many members of the bod} 7- , no objection 
 would be made to its use till the subject of Psalmody 
 was further considered. Members were recommended 
 to examine the matter and be prepared to present 
 their views the next year. But in 1764 the matter 
 was postponed, and in 1765 it was referred to Dr Fin- 
 ley and Mr. .McDowell. Upon their report it was 
 decided that the Synod " look upon the inspired Psalms 
 in Scripture to be proper matter to be sung in Divine 
 worship, according to their original design and the 
 practice of the Christian churches, yet will not forhid 
 those to use the Imitation of them whose judgment 
 
168 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM 
 
 and inclination lead them to do so." For a time this 
 decision seems to have been acquiesced in; but in 1773 
 trouble arose in the Second Presbyterian Church of 
 Philadelphia. Of this church, James Sproat — converted 
 while in Yale College under the preaching of his prede- 
 cessor, on his tour through New England — was pastor. 
 \Yatts's version had been introduced among the congre- 
 gation, to the great annoyance of certain members. 
 The Session favored the measure, and the Presbytery 
 confirmed the judgment of the Session. An appeal was 
 had to Synod, and, after discussion, a committee was 
 appointed to confer with the original parties. Upon 
 their report, it was decided to be unwise to affirm or 
 disapprove the several distinct propositions laid down 
 by the Presbytery in their judgment, and, as the Synod 
 had not then time to " consider fully the different ver- 
 sions of the Psalms in question," and it had already 
 been declared that each congregation might determine 
 the matter for themselves, the Synod contented itself 
 with recommending to both parties peace and harmony, 
 forbearing all harsh sentiments and expressions, and 
 especially all intimation that either version was " unfit 
 to be sung in Christian worship." It was more than 
 fifteen years later that Dr. Latta, of the Second Pres- 
 bytery of Philadelphia, issued his pamphlet against 
 Anderson, of the Associate Church, contending that the 
 principal subjects of Psalmody should be taken from 
 the gospel. The pamphlet was widely scattered, and, 
 although great agitation had been produced on the sub- 
 ject, even beyond the mountains in the feeble churches 
 of Kentucky, it went through four editions, and was 
 never answered. Thus a leading member of the Old- 
 side Second Presbytery of Philadelphia became the 
 champion of the dreaded innovation. 
 
 For some time the authority of the Synod's Corn-mis- 
 sion had been called in question. It was argued that 
 
SYNOD OF NEW FORE AND PHILADELPHIA. 1G9 
 
 the Synod had no righl to delegate its full authority to 
 a portion of its members. There were serious doubts, 
 moreover, as to the utility as well as powers of Com- 
 mission, and in 1774 the Synod found it necessary to 
 vindicate its course in the annual appointment which 
 had been made with ondeviating uniformity from the 
 date of its erection. Provision, however, was made to 
 guard against any abuse of its powers from deficient 
 attendance, and its decisions. Like those of the Synod 
 itself, were declared to be without appeal. Its pro- 
 ceedings and judgments, however, might be reviewed, 
 and in this review the Commission might be present 
 and assist. 
 
 It was at this period (1774) that Eev. Dr. Ezra Stiles 
 and Eev. Samuel Hopkins called the attention of the 
 Synod to the claims of the African race. They were 
 agitating the plan of sending two natives of Africa on 
 a mission to propagate Christianity in their native 
 country, and they asked the Synod to approve and 
 countenance the undertaking. The request was favor- 
 ably received. The Synod declared itself "very happy 
 to have an opportunity to express their readiness to 
 concur with and assist in a mission to the African 
 tribes, especially where so many circumstances concur, 
 as in the present case, to intimate that it is the will of 
 God, and to encourage us to hope for success." They 
 gave assurance that they were ready to do all that was 
 proper for them in their station, for the encouragement 
 and assistance of those who had originated the move- 
 ment. _ 
 
 With the cause of civil and religious liberty the 
 American Presbyterian Church has been identified 
 from its earliest period. From the time when Lord 
 Cornbury imprisoned Francis Makemie lor preaching 
 in New York, the voice of the Church which boasts 
 him as its founder has ever been 0:1 the side of free- 
 Vol. I.— 15 
 
170 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 dom and against all intolerance. Throughout her 
 entire history, and in all her records, there is not an 
 act on this great subject which has received her sanc- 
 tion, for which she needs to offer an apology. On the 
 other hand, the cause of civil and religious freedom has 
 never found a more earnest and steadfast champion. 
 This is abundantly illustrated in the history of our 
 Eevolutionary conflict. 
 
 The Synod of 1775 met at Philadelphia, May 17, 
 1775. It was a time of great popular excitement. 
 Just four weeks to a day before they assembled, the 
 first blood shed in the Eevolutionary conflict flowed at 
 Lexington. Just one week before, the General Con- 
 gress had assembled, and was now sitting but a short 
 distance off in the same city. Outside the place where 
 the Synod was convened, in the streets of Philadelphia, 
 and indeed throughout the land, nothing but the scenes 
 and interests of the opening conflict was talked of. 
 Yet this body calmly attended to its own proper busi- 
 ness, and, when the fitting time had arrived, gave 
 appropriate expression to its patriotic sympathies and 
 its religious convictions on the subject of colonial 
 rights. Barely, on any occasion, has there been a par- 
 allel utterance more significant or effective; and it came 
 at the opportune moment, when political zeal needed 
 to be tempered and sustained by religious sanctions. 
 
 The members present in the Synod were less in num- 
 ber than was usual upon similar occasions; but this 
 is easily accounted for. The Presbyteries of Suffolk, 
 Lewes, Philadelphia Second, Hanover, and Orange, 
 were without a single representative; Dutchess county 
 Presbytery had but three, — Wheeler Case, Samuel 
 Mills, and Ichabod Lewis; New Castle and Donegal 
 had each but one, and Philadelphia First but two. In 
 all there were only twenty- four ministers and five 
 elders. But their very presence upon the occasion indi- 
 
BYNOD 01 NEW YORK AND PHILADELPHIA. 171 
 
 cated their character, and the smallness of their num- 
 bers was compensated by the vigor of their spirit. 
 
 Foremost among them was the venerable Dr. Wither- 
 spoon, Scotch in accent and in strength of conviction, 
 hut American in feeling to his heart's core, and des- 
 tined for six years to represent his adopted State in 
 the General Congress, and draw up many of the most 
 important state papers of the day. With a clear intel- 
 lect, a calm judgment, indomitable strength of purpose, 
 and a resolute and unflinching courage, he combined 
 that conscientious integrity and religious feeling which 
 made him among his associates in the Church what 
 Washington was in the field, and secured for him the 
 respect and veneration of all. But, if a host in him- 
 self, there were others present worthy to be his allies. 
 There was Eobert Cooper, for a time chaplain # in the 
 army, and who was near being taken a prisoner at 
 Princeton; Dr. John Eodgers, of New T York, chaplain 
 during the war, first of Heath's brigade, then of the 
 Convention of the State and of the Council of Safety; 
 McWhortcr, who shared the councils of "Washington on 
 the memorable 2Gth of December, 1776, when the Ameri- 
 can troops crossed the Delaware, and who was afterward 
 chaplain of Knox's brigade; James Caldwell, inherit- 
 ing with his Huguenot blood a feeling of opposition to 
 tyranny and tyrants, a member of the Jersey regiment 
 under his parishioner, Colonel Dayton, with a price set 
 upon his head by the enemy, his church burned, his 
 wife shot by a refugee, and himself at length (1781) by 
 a drunken soldier; Jedediah Chapman, the fearless mis- 
 sionary pioneer, and the father of Presbyterianism in 
 Central New York. — and others beside, well worthy to 
 stand in the foremost rank of American and Christian 
 patriots. 
 
 These were the men win. fearlessly committed them- 
 selves on the side of freedom. In the alarming posturo 
 
172 HISTORY OF PRESRYTERIANISM' 
 
 of public affairs they judged it their duty to appoint a 
 day of " solemn fasting, humiliation, and prayer," to be 
 " carefully and religiously observed" by all the congre- 
 gations under their care. Anticipating a similar appoint- 
 ment by "the Continental Congress, now sitting," they 
 directed that if not more than four weeks distant from 
 it, it should supersede their own. 
 
 The measure — then unusual — of a pastoral letter, was 
 adopted. Witherspoon, Rodgers, and Caldwell were 
 the leading members of the committee appointed to 
 draw it up. It bore throughout the stamp of their 
 deep feeling and patriotic as well as religious zeal. It 
 noticed the threatening aspect of public affairs and the 
 apprehended horrors of a civil war, and, in view of 
 these things, recognized the Synod's duty of addressing 
 the numerous congregations under its care " at this 
 important crisis." In a tone that must have sounded 
 in strange contrast with the echoes of war, it pressed 
 home upon the attention of all, the great truths of 
 God's sovereignty and providence, and personal duty 
 in relation to the claims of gospel repentance, faith, 
 and obedience. 
 
 The letter then proceeds to express the views of the 
 Synod, w T hich they declare they " do not wish to con- 
 ceal, as men and citizens." It urges loj^alty to the 
 king, but union on the part of the colonies : mutual 
 charity and esteem among members of different reli- 
 gious denominations : vigilance in regard to social gov- 
 ernment and morals : reformation of manners : religious 
 discipline : the careful securing of the rights of con- 
 science by the magistrates; personal honesty and integ- 
 rity; humanity and mercy, especially among such as 
 should be called to the field. " That man will fight 
 most bravely," they say, "who never lights till it is 
 necessary, and who ceases to fight u& Boon as the neces- 
 sity is over." 
 
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 173 
 
 Such was the spirit ol* this noble Idtcr. Five hun- 
 dred copies of it were to l»e printed and circulated at 
 the Synod's expense. Thus they were scattered abroad 
 throughout all the congregations, contributing in no 
 small measure to kindle and sustain the patriotic zeal 
 of the country. The Presbyterian Church, by the act 
 of its highest judicatory, thus took its stand at Phila- 
 delphia by the side of the American Congress then in 
 session, and its influence was felt in a most decisive 
 manner throughout the bounds of the Church. 
 
 CHAPTEB X. 
 
 THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR AND THE REORGANIZATION 
 OP THE CHURCH. 1775-1788. 
 
 There were some very obvious reasons why the 
 Presbyterian Church in this country should take the 
 noble stand it did, at the critical moment when the 
 people were called to choose between resistance and 
 submission to arbitrary power. The same reasons also 
 were valid when the question of national independence 
 was to be met. 
 
 The history, traditions, and sympathies of the Church, 
 — the principles upon which its very existence w r as based, 
 — the nature of its system, combining liberty with law, 
 — the aims which it stood pledged to cherish, as well as 
 the dangers which it had to fear in case an arbitrary 
 system was to triumph and be established by the power 
 of the sword, — contributed to unite the members and 
 friends of the Church, almost as one man. in the pa- 
 triotic cause. Its constituent elements, it is true, had 
 been drawn from sources widely diverse ; yet each 
 
 la* 
 
174 HISTORY OF PRESBYTEBIANISM. 
 
 brought with it traditionary memories, cherished with 
 sacred fondness, which were singularly harmonious it 
 their nature and bearing. Within its fold were men 
 whose ancestors had resisted the Spanish tyrant, even 
 to the death, on the dikes of Holland, — some who had 
 listened in childhood to the story of what their ances- 
 tors, driven into exile by the revocation of the Edict 
 of Nantes, had suffered less than a century previous. — 
 some whose parents had wandered houseless in Scot- 
 tish glens, or who had indignantly witnessed the des- 
 potic attempt to impose Episcopacy on Scotland, — not 
 a few who must have seen and heard the heroes of 
 Londonderry or Enniskillen, — and hundreds, if not 
 thousands, who might proudly boast that in their veins 
 flowed the blood of the Pilgrim Fathers of New Eng- 
 land. Each had some treasured memory of the past, 
 some ancestral association, which he cherished as a 
 pledge of unswerving fidelity to the cause of civil and 
 religious freedom. 
 
 The date of the foundation of the Church in this 
 country, moreover, was significant. It seemed born 
 just in time to inherit the legacy of the noblest spirits, 
 the persecuted heroes of England, Scotland, Ireland, 
 and the Continent. When Makemie first landed on 
 these shores, a majority, possibly, of the two thousand 
 Non-Conformists of 1662 still survived. Baxter had 
 just been fined nearly two hundred pounds for preach- 
 ing within five miles of a corporation, and was now 
 writing his New Testament Paraphrase, for which the 
 vengeance of Jeffries was soon to sentence him to a 
 two-years imprisonment. Owen, sinking under his 
 gigantic labors, was feeling even yet the bitterness of 
 the intolerance that sought to identify him with the 
 conspirators of the Eye-House Plot. Manton, silenced 
 in the pulpit, was calmly waiting the summons to a 
 higher service. Bates, who might have had "any bish- 
 
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 175 
 
 opric in the kingdom" if he would but conform, was in 
 i n old age, busy with his elegant pen. Calamy. of 
 J, on. ion. — whose father for preaching had been Benl to 
 Newgate, and whose son, now a boy of I welve years, was 
 to be the historian of the heroes of Non-< lonformity, — 
 was Looking eagerly toward the New World, to learn 
 what welcome the exiled for conscience' sake found 
 
 a] its shores; and to him, with his friends in the 
 
 great metropolis, Makemie himself was to turn for 
 sympathy and aid in his arduous task. Indeed, in the 
 early history of the Preshyterian Church, every vessel 
 that passrd from the Old World to the New might have 
 borne with it some story of persecuted faith, some illus- 
 tration of religious intolerance, to make the voluntary 
 exile for conscience' sake pledge himself anew to the 
 cause for which he, as well as his fathers, had suffered. 
 Then came the grievous hardships to which for succes- 
 sive generations "Dissenters" had heen subjected in 
 Virginia, the establishment of the Episcopal Church in 
 the Carolinas, the tines and imprisonment of Makemie 
 in New York, and the bigoted jealousy which up to 
 the very moment of the Declaration of Independence 
 denied the Presbyterians of that city a charter of in- 
 corporation, to confirm, even by the exasperations of 
 wrong, the fidelity of the Church to the principles 
 upon which, by New Testament authority, it had becD 
 established. 
 
 And yet — in spite of temporary grievances, now fast 
 passing away — Presbyterians loved, and had good 
 reason to love, this land of their nativity or adoption. 
 Here w r ere no cumbrous hierarchies, no prescriptive 
 rights of nobility or primogeniture, no courts of Star 
 Chamber ami High Commission, no obtrusive and im- 
 pertinent interferences, save in a few instances, with 
 freedom of worship, or the enjoyment of civil and reli- 
 gious rights. Here were institutions which, if left 
 
176 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIAN1SM. 
 
 undisturbed, came nearer than any others on the globe 
 to realiziug the ideal of a free and liberal government. 
 Here the citizen might hope to enjoy for himself, and 
 transmit to his children, the blessings of equal laws and 
 constitutional freedom. Here was a treasure, therefore, 
 worthy to be esteemed above all price, — a treasure not 
 to be surrendered to the arrogant claims and encroach- 
 ments of the British ministry, or to be yielded to the 
 terror even of invading armies. Nor did it need any 
 remarkable sagacity to perceive that the mischief to 
 be dreaded was involved in the very principle on 
 which encroachment was based. Let that principle 
 be yielded, and no limit could be set to the arrogance 
 that demanded the first concession. One right after 
 another might be wrenched away, and religious liberty 
 would not long survive the loss of civil privilege. 
 
 With the Presbyterian and Congregational Churches 
 of the land, this consideration had great weight. They 
 knew that there were among them many whose work 
 was to spy out their liberties and send back sinister 
 reports across the ocean. They were well aware that 
 upon them were the eyes of men to whom the trap- 
 pings and forms of Episcopacy were as delicious as the 
 leeks and onions of Egypt to the Israelites in the 
 desert. They knew that with thousands on both sides 
 of the ocean it was a favorite project to cement the 
 unity of the empire by the introduction and establish- 
 ment in this country of diocesan bishops. Not that 
 they envied " the Episcopal churches the privileges of 
 a bishop, for the purposes of ordination, confirmation, 
 and inspecting the morals of the clergy;" 1 not that they 
 would deny to others the rights or privileges which 
 
 1 Language employed in reference to the subject, — Minutes of 
 the convention of delegates from the Synod and Connecticut Asso- 
 ciation, p. 13. 
 
THE REVOLUTIONARY' WAR. 177 
 
 they claimed themselves; but they wauled no bishops 
 with powers such as were " annexed to the office by 
 the common Law of England/' " Our forefathers," said 
 they, "and even some of ourselves, have seen and felt 
 the tyranny of bishops' courts. Many of the first 
 inhabitants of these colonies were obliged to Beek an 
 asylum among savages in this wilderness, in order to 
 escape the ecclesiastical tyranny of Archbishop Laud 
 and others of his stamp. Such tyranny, if now^xer- 
 cised in America, would either drive IIS to seek new 
 habitations among the heathen, where England could 
 not claim a jurisdiction, or excite riots, rebellion, and 
 wild disorder. We dread the consequences, as often as 
 we think of this danger." 
 
 Nor was the danger merely imaginary. The Epis- 
 copacy which our fathers dreaded was the Episcopacy 
 which they had know T n in England, commingling the 
 exercise of civil with that of ecclesiastical prerogative. 
 It was the Episcopacy which turned out the Non-Con- 
 formists, and which forced Scotland almost into open 
 revolt. It w r as the Episcopacy which, grafted on the 
 old Virginia intolerance, would exterminate " dissent," 
 impose tithes and church-rates, and set up ecclesias- 
 tical courts sure to encroach on the rights of conscience. 
 Disavowing the desire to introduce it with its more 
 obnoxious features, the clergy of New York and New- 
 Jersey yet petitioned for the Episcopate, pleading that 
 nearly a million of the inhabitants desired it. Ameri- 
 cans in England were openly told that bishops should 
 be "settled in America, in spite of all the Presbyterian 
 opposition." The matter was no secret. 
 
 As early as 1 748, in the times of Archbishop Seeker. 
 — perhaps earlier. — it had been proposed to introduce 
 Episcopacy into New England by elevating some of the 
 most distinguished of the clergy to an episcopal pre- 
 eminence over their brethren. But the bribe held out 
 
178 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 was promptly and nobly spurned. Whitefield, on one 
 of his last visits to this country, had communicated 
 information, 1 which he had derived from an official 
 source, of the project entertained in England of making 
 in this country the Episcopal the Established Church. 
 Enough was known to excite jealousy and suspicion, 
 and unite all non-Episcopal denominations in resist- 
 ance to the project. In the Political Register of 1769 
 is a picture entitled " An attempt to land a bishop in 
 America." The name to be read on the vessel's side is 
 that of Hillsborough, the then Colonial Secretary. The 
 vessel has touched the wharf, but a crowd of earnest 
 people with long poles are pushing her from her moor- 
 ings. One of the multitude has a book entitled "Sid- 
 ney on Government" another has a volume of "Locke's 
 Essays" a third, in Quaker garb, has "Barclay's Apology" 
 open before him, while from the lips of a fourth issues 
 a scroll inscribed, " No lords, spiritual or temporal, in 
 New England." Half-way up the shrouds of the vessel 
 is a bishop in his robes, his mitre falling, and a volume 
 of Calvin's works, hurled by one on shore, is about to 
 strike his head. From the bishop's lips issues a scroll, 
 on which is inscribed the nunc dimittis of aged Simeon, 
 while in the foreground is a paper with the words, 
 " Shall they be obliged to maintain a bishop who can- 
 not maintain themselves 1" At the same time, a mon- 
 key near by is throwing a stone at the bishop. The 
 picture is significant as expressing the popular feeling 
 in opposition to Episcopal projects. 
 
 This feeling found prompt and decided expression in 
 the papers of the day. It was at just this period (1766) 
 that a voluntary Episcopal convention of the clergy 
 of New York and New Jersey was held j and by them 
 the petition for bishops, already referred to, was drawn 
 
 1 Gordon's America, vol. i. 
 
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 179 
 
 ftp to be forwarded to England. Dr. B. Chandler, of 
 Elizabethtown, was requested to write and publish an 
 
 appeal to the public in favor of the project. The 
 
 appeal was published in 1707, but was soon ably an- 
 swered by Dr. Charles Chauneey, of Boston. 
 
 The paper controversy had now commenced: by the 
 close of the following year, articles bad been published 
 sufficient in number and length to be comprised in two 
 volumes, which were published at New York in 1708. 
 The convention of Congregational, Consociated, and 
 Presbyterian Churches, which began its annual meet- 
 ings in 17G6, had its attention called to the subject. 
 Indeed, the convention itself originated in the general 
 apprehension of the common danger. The opposition 
 was not to bishops vested only with spiritual powers, 
 but to the governmental sanction of an episcopate 
 whose temporal ambition would be thereby inflamed, 
 and which would not be disposed to rest till it enjoyed 
 the prestige and emoluments of an Establishment. 
 
 There was, therefore, grave reason for apprehension. 
 The projects of the British ministry were scarcely even 
 disguised. But the Presbyterian Church was not dis- 
 posed to meet them with tame submission. The spirit 
 of Makemie still lived in the hearts of those upon whom 
 his mantle had fallen. The cause of civil was with 
 them also the cause of religious freedom. They wanted 
 no Establishment, no Episcopal arrogance, no lords 
 spiritual, on this side of the Atlantic. The mere know- 
 ledge of the threatened danger tended strongly to unite 
 them almost to a man in opposition. 
 
 Equally significant was the attitude of the Episcopal 
 Church. For the most part it was ultra-loyal. It num. 
 bered only here and there a clergyman who manifested 
 the least sympathy for the cause of liberty. Thev 
 "leaned, with very few exceptions, throughout the 
 colonies, to the side of the crown, and in the Middle 
 
180 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 and Northern provinces their flocks were chiefly of the 
 same way of thinking." 1 This fact was not without 
 its influence. It reacted upon the minds of the Pres- 
 byterians, and made them still more earnest in their 
 efforts and apprehensive in their fears. 
 
 Thus was a religious element mingled in the strife. 
 It was not merely a protest against stamped paper and 
 a tax on tea, but it was the cause of civil rights, of con- 
 science, and of religious freedom. It required no little 
 strength of conviction to sustain the patriotism of 
 the country through a seven-years conflict ; but what 
 was required was found to exist. The Revolution came, 
 and it found no more steadfast friends and adherents 
 than in the ranks of the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 The influence of the war upon the condition and 
 prospects of the Presbyterian Church, throughout the 
 country, was most disastrous. Its members were almost 
 all decided patriots, and its ministers, almost to a man, 
 were accounted arch-rebels. Their well-known views 
 and sympathies made them specially obnoxious to the 
 enemy, and to be known as a Presbyterian was to incur 
 all the odium of a "Whig." It is not strange, there- 
 fore, that they should have been the marked victims 
 of hostility, or that they should have been, in many 
 cases, mercilessly molested in property and person. 
 
 In initiating the Revolution, and in sustaining the 
 patriotic resistance of their countrymen to illegal 
 tyranny, the ministers of the Presbyterian Church 
 bore a conspicuous and even foremost part. Through- 
 out that most trying and disastrous period through 
 which the Church and country had as yet been called 
 to pass, they proved themselves alike faithful to both. 
 Their conduct fully justified the noble utterance of the 
 Synod of 1775, a few weeks after the first blood was 
 
 i Hildreth, iii. 56. 
 
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 181 
 
 sbcil at Lexington. They preached the duty of resist- 
 ing tyrants. They cheered their people in the dreary 
 periods of the conflict by inspiring lofty trust in the 
 
 God of nations. Some of them were engaged person- 
 ally in the army. Some occupied a place in the civil 
 councils. Others were personal sufferers from the ven- 
 geance of an exasperated foe, and others, still, sealed 
 their devotion to their country by their blood. 1 
 
 Among those who advocated the cause of the colo- 
 nies, and who from the pulpit endeavored to strengthen 
 patriotic zeal by Christian principle, it would be almost 
 invidious to name any; for nearly all were alike guilty 
 in this respect. Dr. Witherspoon, Patrick Allison in 
 Baltimore, William Tennent in Charleston, George 
 Dufiield in Philadelphia, John Miller at Dover, James 
 Waddel and John Blair Smith in Virginia, led the way 
 in vindicating from the pulpit the cause of American 
 freedom. 
 
 On the fast-day (May 17, 1776) Dr. Witherspoon 
 preached a sermon, — afterward published and dedi- 
 cated to John Hancock, — in which he entered fully 
 into the great political questions of the day. It mani- 
 fested his loyal zeal in behalf of his adopted country, 
 and his ability to vindicate her cause. Republished, 
 with notes, in Glasgow, it subjected its author to the 
 odium of a rebel and a traitor. A member of the Pro- 
 vincial Congress of New Jersey, he was elected by 
 that body to the Continental Congress, and took part 
 in defending the project of the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence. During the debate on its adoption, he is 
 reported to have said, " That noble instrument on youi 
 table, which secures immortality to its author, should 
 be subscribed this very morning by every pen in this 
 
 1 The facts that follow have been dei'ived from very various 
 sources, although n ost of them are from Sprague's Annals. 
 Vui.. L— 1G 
 
182 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 house. He who will not respond to its accents, and 
 strain every nerve to carry into effect its provisions, is 
 unworthy the name of a freeman. Although these gray 
 hairs must descend into the sepulchre, I would infinitely 
 rather they should descend thither by the hand of the 
 public executioner than desert at this crisis the sacred 
 cause of my country." 
 
 John Carmichael preached, at their request, to the 
 militia of the city of Lancaster. The discourse of 
 Miller, of Dover, who was bold in the expression of his 
 patriotic ardor, was especially remarkable. Several 
 days before the Declaration of Independence, he so far 
 anticipated the spirit of that decisive measure as to 
 address his people from that significant text, indicative 
 enough of his own views, — " We have no part in David, 
 nor any inheritance in the son of Jesse : to your tents, 
 O Israel !" Eobert Davidson, pastor of the First Pres- 
 byterian Church of Philadelphia, at the commencement 
 of the war, preached before several military companies 
 from the text, " For there fell down many slain, because 
 the war was of God." A fortnight after, it was repeated 
 before the troops at Burlington. Sermons of this stamp 
 were by no means infrequent. Many of the soldiers 
 were Presbyterians, and in the camp sought the privi- 
 lege of hearing their own pastors, who sometimes, in 
 their anxiety for their spiritual welfare, followed them 
 to the field. 
 
 Of John Craighead, pastor of Rocky Spring Church, 
 Pa., it is said that " he fought and preached alter- 
 nately." At the commencement of the war he raised 
 a company from the members of his charge, and joined 
 Washington's army in New Jersey. His friend Dr 
 Cooper, of Middle Spring Church, is also said to have 
 been the captain of a company. 1 He preached " before 
 
 1 Mr. Craighead was a humorist, and many good jokes are told 
 of him. One day, it is said, going into battle, a cannon-ball 
 
Tin: aEVOLl TIONABY WAR. 183 
 
 Colonel Montgomery's battalion under arms," near 
 Shippensburgj Pa., Augusl 31, 1775, a sermon entitled 
 " Courage in a Good Cause." 1 Dr. King, of Conoco- 
 oheagae (Mercersburg), was eminent for his patriotic 
 zeal. He not only volunteered his services, and went 
 as chaplain to the battalion which marched from his 
 region, but many were the addresses which he delivered 
 to inspirit the hearts of the people in their devotion to 
 the cause of the country. 
 
 From one of these, something may be gathered of 
 the tone of pulpit utterance in that trying period. 
 "Subjection," he said, "is demanded of us, but it is not 
 the constitutional subjection which we are bound to 
 pay; it is not a legal subjection to the king they would 
 bring us to. That we already acknowledge. But it is a 
 subjection to the British Parliament, or to the people of 
 Great Britain. This we deny, and, I hope, will always 
 deny. They are not our lords and masters; they are 
 no more than our brethren and our fellow-subjects. 
 They call themselves, and it has been usual to call them, 
 the mother-country. But this is only a name, and, if there 
 was any thing in it, one would think that it should lead 
 them to treat us like children, with parental affection. 
 But is it fatherly or motherly to strip us of every 
 thing, to rob us of every right and privilege, and then 
 to whip and dragoon us witb fleets and armies till we 
 are pleased ? No ! as the name does not belong to them, 
 so their conduct shows they have no right to claim it. 
 We are on an equal footing with them in all respects; 
 
 struck a tree near him, a splinter of which nearly knocked him 
 down. "God bless me!" exclaimed Mr. Cooper, "you were nearly 
 knocked to staves." "Oh, yes," was his reply; "and, though you 
 are a cooper, you could not have set me up." — Nevin's Churches of (he 
 Valley, 211. 
 
 1 This sermon is in possession of the Presbyterian Historical 
 Society. 
 
184 HISTORY OF PRESBYTER1ANISM. 
 
 with respect to government and privileges; and, there- 
 fore, their usurpation ought to be opposed. Nay, when 
 the king uses the executive branch of government 
 which is in his hand, to enable one part of his subjects 
 to lord it over and oppress another, it is a sufficient 
 ground of our applying to the laws of nature for our 
 defence. 
 
 " But this is the case with us. We have no other 
 refuge from slavery but those powers which God has 
 given us and allowed us to use in defence of our dearest 
 rights; and I hope he will bless our endeavors and give 
 success to this oppressed people, and that the wicked 
 instruments of all these distractions shall meet their 
 due reward. I earnestly wish that in such troublous 
 times, while we plead for liberty, a proper guard may 
 be kept against any turbulent or mobbish outbreak, 
 and that unanimity may be universal both in counsel 
 and action, and that we may still have an eye to the 
 great God, who has some important reasons for such 
 severe corrections. Let us look to the rod and Him 
 that hath appointed it; let us humble ourselves before 
 him daily for our sins, and depend upon him for suc- 
 cess. If he be against us, in vain do we struggle ; if 
 the Lord be for us, though an host should encamp 
 against us, we need not be afraid. " 
 
 In one of the darkest hours of the strife, — after the 
 repulse in Canada, — he said, in a funeral discourse on 
 the death of Montgomery, " Surely we have still reason 
 for the exercise of faith and confidence in God, that he 
 will not give a people up to the unlimited will and 
 power of others, who have done all they could to avert 
 the calamity, and have so strenuously adhered to the 
 cause of reason and humanity, — a people who have 
 been attacked with unprovoked violence, and driven 
 with the greatest reluctance to take up arms for their 
 defence, — a people whom he himself, by a series of 
 
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 185 
 
 gracious actings, hath gradually led on to this condi- 
 tion. . . . Therefore, when these are our circumstances, 
 we may rationally judge that God is not an uncon- 
 cerned spectator, but that he sees and will reward the 
 persecutors. Man}* things, indeed, seem to be against 
 us; a very great and powerful enemy, who have been 
 long trained to victory; their numerous and savage 
 allies, who, having lost their liberty, would have others 
 in the same condition; our weakness and inexperience 
 in war, internal enemies, the loss of many of our 
 friends, and a beloved and able general. But let not 
 these destroy our hopes or damp our spirits. To put 
 too much confidence in man is the way to provoke God 
 to deprive us of them. This may, perhaps, be the dark- 
 ness which precedes the glorious day. ... It is agree- 
 able to God's method to bring low before he exalteth, 
 to humble before he raises up. Let us trust in him 
 and do our duty, and commit the event to his deter- 
 mination, who can make these things to be for us 
 w T hich, by a judgment of sense, we are ready to say are 
 against us." 
 
 In a similar strain did he exhort the soldiers march- 
 ing to the field, or address the people who remained 
 behind. " Be thou faithful unto death," was the text 
 of one of his discourses. " There is no soldier," he 
 said, " so truly courageous as a pious man. There is 
 no army so formidable as those who are superior to 
 the fear of death. Consequently, no one qualification 
 is more necessary in a soldier than true religion." 
 These words were accompanied by the tender counsels 
 of a pastor whose affections followed his men to the 
 scenes of danger ana death. With the greatest earnest- 
 ness he urged them to watch over their own souls, and 
 not to bring dishonor on the cause to which they were 
 attached. 
 
 While several of the Presbyterian ministers per 
 16* 
 
186 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 formed service and led companies to the field, a large 
 number were engaged as chaplains in the army. Alexan- 
 der MeWhorter — afterward Dr. MeWhorter, of Newark, 
 ■ — was chaplain of Knox's brigade while it lay at White 
 Plains, and often had General Washington among his 
 hearers. James F. Armstrong — afterward of Elizabeth- 
 town — joined a volunteer company before his licensure, 
 and, soon after he was ordained, was appointed by Con- 
 gress " chaplain of the second brigade of the Maryland 
 forces." Adam Boyd was chaplain of the North Caro- 
 lina brigade. Daniel McCalla.was sent to Canada as 
 chaplain with General Thompson's forces at the com- 
 mencement of hostilities. Dr. John Eodgers was chap- 
 lain of Heath's brigade. George Duffield, in connection 
 with Mr. (afterward Bishop) White, was employed as 
 chaplain of the Colonial Congress. 
 
 It was not infrequently that the minister of peace felt 
 called upon to engage in active service in the armies of 
 his country; and not a few of the young men who had 
 won distinction in the use of carnal weapons became 
 afterward still more eminent in the service of the gos- 
 pel. When an unusual number of his people had been 
 drafted to serve in the militia, James Latta, of Chesnut 
 Level, with a view to encourage them, took his blanket, 
 shouldered his knapsack, and accompanied them on 
 their campaign. James Caldwell, chaplain of the Jer- 
 sey brigade, accompanied his own parishioners to the 
 camp, and, with a price set upon his head, it is not sur- 
 prising that when he preached at " the Old Eed Store" 
 he was first seen to disengage himself of his pistols. 
 Samuel Eakin, of Penn's Neck, was a strong Whig, 
 and the idol of the soldiers. Gifted with extraordinary 
 eloquence, and accounted scarcely inferior to White- 
 field, he was ever on the alert to kindle the patriotic 
 zeal of his countrymen. When there were military 
 training**, or the soldiers were ordered to march, he 
 
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 187 
 
 was present to address them and thrill them hy his 
 eloquence. 1 John Blair Smith, teacher, and afterward 
 President, of Hampden -Sidney College, was chosen 
 captain of a company of students, and, after the battle 
 of Cowpens, hurried to join the retreating army, and 
 was only dissuaded by the remonstrances of the com- 
 manding officer, who represented to him that his patri- 
 otic speeches at home would be far more valuable than 
 his Bervices in the camp. James Hall, of North Caro- 
 lina, subsequently the pioneer missionary in the Val- 
 ley of the Mississippi, was selected as leader anc 1 
 accepted the command of a company formed mainly 
 from his own congregation, whom his fervid and 
 pathetic appeals had inspired to arm against Corn- 
 wall is. Such was his reputation that he was offered 
 the commission of brigadier-general. 
 
 When Tarleton and his British dragoons spread con- 
 sternation throughout the surrounding Valley of Vir- 
 ginia. "William Graham, John Brown, and Archibald 
 Scott exhorted the stripling youths of their congrega- 
 1 ions — their elder brethren were already with Washing- 
 ton — to rise, join their neighbors, and dispute the pass- 
 age of the invader and his legion at Roekfish Gap, on 
 the Blue Eidge. Graham was the master-spirit; but he 
 was heartily supported by his co-Presbyters. On one 
 occasion, when there was backwardness to enlist, he 
 had his own name enrolled. The effect was such that 
 the company was immediately filled, and he was unani- 
 mously chosen captain. It is worthy of mention that 
 Dr. Ashbel Green, many years before he aspired to be 
 an ecclesiastical leader, had attained the distinction of 
 orderly sergeant in the militia of the Revolutionary 
 period, and had risked his life in the cause of his coun- 
 try. Dr. Moses Hoge served for a time, previous to 
 
 1 Barber's ttew Jersey, l^u. 
 
188 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 entering the ministry, in the army of the Eevolution. 
 Dr. John Brown, President of Georgia University, had 
 at the early age of sixteen exchanged the groves of 
 the Academy for the noise and bustle of the camp, and 
 fought with intrepid spirit, by the side of Sumter, his 
 country's battles. Dr. Asa Hillyer, of Orange, N.J., 
 while a youth, assisted his father, a surgeon in the 
 Revolutionary army. Joseph Badger was in the battle 
 of Bunker Hill, and served as soldier, baker, nurse, &c, 
 in Arnold's expedition to Canada. James White Ste- 
 phenson, of South Carolina, — teacher of Andrew Jack- 
 son, — served throughout the war, and on one occasion 
 had his gun shivered in his hand by the enemy's shot, 
 which glanced and killed the man who stood by his side. 
 Lewis Feuilleteau Wilson, who studied medicine before 
 his attention was directed to theology, served for seve- 
 ral years as surgeon in the Continental army. Simp- 
 son, of Fishing Creek, S.C., encouraged his people to 
 deeds of heroism or patient endurance, and was him- 
 self found bearing arms, and was in several engage- 
 ments; and Joseph Alexander, of the same State, was 
 often a fugitive from his own home, while he offered 
 his dwelling at all times as a hospital for sick or 
 wounded soldiers. 1 Jonas Coe, one of the early mem- 
 bers of the Albany Presbytery, joined the army, along 
 with his father and four brothers, while yet a youth of 
 sixteen. Robert Marshall, afterward an eloquent min- 
 ister in Kentucky, was in six general engagements, one 
 of which was the hard-fought battle of Monmouth. 
 James Turner, the eloquent Virginian preacher, could 
 boast that at the early age of seventeen he had seen 
 service in the Revolutionary army. 
 
 These are but a few of that large band identified 
 with the interests of the Presbyterian Church, and 
 
 1 Dr. Howe's Historical Discourse. 
 
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAE. L89 
 
 then, or al a later period, Berving a1 her aitar, who 
 freely risked their lives in the Bervice of their country. 
 
 Whether in tin.' bosom of their own congregations, or 
 serving in the camp, they wore animated by the same 
 devotion to the cause of God and their native land. 
 Their message everywhere was welcome. The soldier 
 was inspired to bolder courage by the look and words 
 of his own pastor, or the pulpit exhortations of those 
 who sinned his hardships and his perils. The camp 
 betrayed the presence of a conservative influence which 
 checked the vices which are wont to be indigenous to 
 it, while many who never listened to the gospel before 
 were privileged to hear it at a crisis when at every 
 hour they stood in peril of their lives. 
 
 To the privations, hardships, and cruelties of the war 
 the Presbyterians were pre-eminently exposed. In them 
 the very essence of rebellion was supposed to be con- 
 centrated, and by the wanton plunderings and excesses 
 of the marauding parties they suffered severely. Their 
 Presbyterian ism was prima facie evidence of guilt. A 
 house that had a large Bible and David's Psalms in 
 metre in it was supposed, as a matter of course, to be 
 tenanted by rebels. To sing " Old Bouse" was almost 
 as criminal as to have levelled a loaded musket at a 
 British grenadier. 
 
 To the Presbyterian clergy the enemy felt an espe- 
 cial antipathy. They were accounted the ringleaders 
 of rebellion. For them there was often not so much 
 safety in their own dwellings as in the camp. When 
 their people were scattered, or it was no longer safe to 
 reside among them, the only alternative was to flee or 
 join the army, and this alternative was often presented. 
 Not unfrequently the duty of the chaplain -or the pastor 
 exposed him to dangers as great as those which the 
 common soldier was called to meet. There was risk 
 of person, sometimes capture, and sometimes loss of 
 
190 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 life. Some ministers fled for safety. Dr. Eodgers was 
 forced to absent himself from New York till the close 
 of the war; McKnight, of Shrewsbury, 1ST. J., was car- 
 ried off a captive; Richards, of Railway, N.J., took 
 warning and fled. Dr. Buell, of East Hampton, L.I., who 
 remained at his post, repeatedly ran imminent risks 
 even from the men whom his wit and urbanity finally 
 disarmed. Duftield was saved from capture at Trenton 
 only by the timely warning of a friendly Quaker. At 
 one time, while the enemy were on Staten Island, he 
 preached to the soldiers in an orchard on the opposite 
 side of the bay. The forks of a tree served him for a 
 pulpit; but the noise of the singing attracted the notice 
 of the enemy, and soon the voice of praise was inter- 
 rupted by the whistling of balls. But the preacher, 
 undismayed by the danger, bade his hearers retire 
 behind a hillock, and there finished his sermon. Daniel 
 McCalla was confined for several months in a loathsome 
 prison-ship near Quebec. Nehemiah Greenman, of Pitts- 
 grove, N.J. , fled to the wilderness to escape the indigni- 
 ties so largely dealt out by the enemy to the Presby- 
 terian ministers. Azel Roe, of Woodbridge, N. J., taken 
 prisoner by the enemy, was for some time confined in 
 the Old Sugar-House. He came near having a fall in a 
 small stream which the company had to ford on the 
 way. The commanding officer politely offered to carry 
 Mr. Roe over on his back. The offer was accepted, and 
 the suggestion of Mr. Roe to the officer that he was 
 priest-ridden now, if never before, so convulsed him 
 with laughter that he was like to have dropped his. 
 load. Less merciful was the experience of John Ros- 
 brugh, of Allentown, N.J., first a private soldier and 
 afterward chaplain of a military company formed in 
 his neighborhood, and who was shot down in cold blood 
 by a body of Hessians to whom he had surrendered him- 
 self a prisoner. 
 
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 191 
 
 There was a strange commingling of carnal and 
 spiritual weapons in the experience of the camp'. 
 Joseph Patterson, one of the fathers of the Presbytery 
 of Redstone, bad just knelt to pray under a shed, when 
 a board, in a line with bis bead, was shivered by the 
 disc barge of a rifle. Stephen B. Balch preached a ser- 
 mon on subjection to the higher powers, while General 
 Williams, to the annoyance of royalists who were pre- 
 sent, protected him with loaded pistols in his belt. The 
 ministers on the frontiers, exposed to the attacks of the 
 Indians, were compelled to go constantly armed. Thad- 
 deus Dod, with his people, exchanged his church for the 
 fort that bad been built on the Monongahela. Samuel 
 Doak, of the Holston settlements, paused in his sermon 
 at the alarm of an attack, seized his rifle that stood 
 by his side, and led his male hearers in pursuit of the 
 foe. 
 
 Not a few of the ministers of the Presbyterian 
 Church were called into the civil service of their coun- 
 try. Dr. Witherspoon was for several years a member 
 of the Continental Congress ; his sagacity and discre- 
 tion were highly esteemed, and his pen was in frequent 
 requisition. Many of the most important state papers 
 of the day, in relation to such intricate subjects of 
 political economy as the emission of paper money and 
 the mode of supplying the army by commission, were 
 written by him; and in calls for the observance of days 
 of fasting and prayer, his pen was usually employed. 
 Jacob Green, the father of Dr. Ashbel Green, was a 
 zealous patriot, and was elected, though contrary to 
 his expressed wishes, a member of the Provincial Con- 
 gress of New Jersey. He was chairman of the com- 
 mittee that drafted the Constitution of the State. 
 Henry Patillo was a member of the Provincial Con- 
 gress of North Carolina. J. J. Zubly was a delegate 
 
192 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 from Georgia to the Continental Congress. 1 William 
 Tennent, of the Circular Church, Charleston, was a 
 member of the Provincial Congress of South Carolina, 
 and amid the fearful emergencies of the period, and at 
 different hours of the same day, he was occasionally 
 heard, in his church and in the State-House, addressing 
 different audiences, with equal animation, on their tem- 
 poral and spiritual interests. And, not content with 
 this, in company with William H. Drayton, he made 
 the circuit of the middle and up country of the State, 
 to stimulate the people to resistance. 2 David Caldwell 
 was a member of the convention that formed the State 
 Constitution of North Carolina; Kettletas, of Jamaica, 
 was chosen a delegate to the New York Convention ; 
 and Duffield, Rodgers, McWhorter, and others, were 
 often consulted by civil and military officers in the 
 trying crises of the Revolutionary period, and they 
 were alwaj^s prompt to render their services. Like 
 Thomas Read, of Delaware, roused from his bed at 
 midnight to describe the region which the army was 
 to traverse and in which he might act as a guide, they 
 were never wanting when their country required their 
 counsel or their aid. 
 
 It is not strange that their course was regarded as 
 specially obnoxious by the British troops. Their houses 
 were plundered, their churches often burned, and their 
 books and manuscripts committed to the flames. The 
 church of Midway, in Georgia, — then Congregational, 
 — rendered itself obnoxious to the foe by its patriotic 
 zeal. In November, 1778, a special detachment from 
 Florida attacked the settlement, burned the church- 
 edifice, almost every dwelling-house, the crops of rice, 
 
 1 He did not, however, approve the Declaration of Independence, 
 und was subsequently banished from Georgia. 
 
 2 Dr. Howe's Historical Discourse. 
 
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 193 
 
 then in stack, drove off the negroes and horses, carried 
 away fche plate belonging to the planters, and outraged 
 even the graves of the dead. Some of the members 
 <>f the congregation were seized and imprisoned. Dr. 
 
 McWhorter had removed to Carolina while the enemy, 
 under Cornwallis, threatened the Southern country. 
 Under the apprehension of danger, he fled with his 
 family, and on his return found that his library, furni- 
 ture, and nearly all that he possessed had been sacri- 
 ficed. Not less unfortunate were Elihu Spencer, at 
 Tit 1 1 ton, and David Caldwell and Hugh McAden. of 
 North Carolina. On many occasions the soldiers stu- 
 diously destroyed all that they could not carry away, 
 ami the Presbyterian clergy were generally the special 
 objects of vengeance. 
 
 As might be expected, religion suffered greatly 
 throughout the entire period of the war. The church- 
 edifices were often taken possession of by an insolent 
 soldiery and turned into hospitals or prisons, or per- 
 verted to still baser uses as stables or riding-schools. 
 The church at Newtown had its steeple sawed off, and 
 was used as a prison and guard-house till it was torn 
 down and its siding used for the soldiers' huts. The 
 church at Crumpond was burned to save it from being 
 occupied by the enemy. That of Mount Holly was 
 burned by accident or design. The one at Princeton 
 was taken possession of by the Hessian soldiers, and 
 Stripped of its pews and gallery for fuel. A fireplace 
 was built in it. and a chimney carried up through its 
 roof. Supposing it would be defended against him, 
 Washington planted his cannon a short distance off and 
 commenced firing into it. It was subsequently occu- 
 pied by the American soldiers, and the close of the war 
 
 found it dilapidated and open to the weather, while its 
 interior was quite defaced and desrroyed. The church 
 of Wostfield was injured by the enemy and its bell car- 
 Vol. I. — 17 
 
19-4 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 ried off to New York. The church of Babylon, Long 
 Island, was torn down by the enemy for military pur- 
 poses. That of New Windsor was used as a hospital. 
 This was the case also with the one at Morristown; and 
 repeatedly in the morning the dead were found lying 
 in the pews. The one at Elizabethtown was made a 
 hospital for the sick and disabled soldiers of the Ameri- 
 can army. Its bell sounded the note of alarm at the 
 approach of the foe, while its floor was often the bed 
 of the weary soldier, and the seats of its pews served 
 as the table from which he ate his scanty meal. At 
 length it was fired by the torch of the refugee, in ven- 
 geance for the uses to which it had been devoted. The 
 churches at New York were taken possession of by the 
 enemy. Prisoners were confined in them, or they were 
 used by the British officers for stabling their horses. 
 Ethan Allen describes the filth that had accumulated 
 in the one with which he was acquainted, as altogether 
 intolerable. 1 The loathsome victims of disease, foul 
 with their own excrements, lay stretched upon the 
 floor. And throughout the country the church-edifices, 
 unless some selfish motive prevented, were treated with 
 but little more respect. More than fifty places of wor- 
 ship throughout the land were utterly destroyed by the 
 enemy during the period of the war. 2 The larger num- 
 ber of these were burned, others were levelled to the 
 ground, while others still were so defaced or injured as 
 to be utterly unfit for use. This was the case in several 
 of the principal cities, at Philadelphia and Charleston, 
 as well as New York. 3 
 
 Even where the church-edifice was left unmolested, 
 the congregation was often scattered. At Albany, for 
 
 1 Life of Ethan Allen. 2 Life of Dr. Rodgers. 
 
 3 Other denominations sometimes suffered as well as the Presby- 
 terians. The Quaker-meeting house at Birmingham, Pa., was used 
 as a hospital after the battle of Chadd's Ford. 
 
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 195 
 
 the most part beyond the reach of the enemy, the 
 ordinances of religion almost altogether ceased, and 
 with the returD of peace the church had to be organ- 
 ized anew. This was no infrequent experience. Pas- 
 tors, in many cases, were not allowed to continue their 
 ministry, or like Rodgers, of New York, Richards, of 
 Rahway, Prime, of Huntington, or Duffield, of Phila- 
 delphia, were forced to flee for their lives. 
 
 But all did not escape. Caldwell, of Elizabeth town, 
 Was shot by a sentinel who was said to have been 
 bribed by the British, or the Tories, to whom he was 
 especially obnoxious. Moses Allen, a classmate of 
 President Madison at Princeton, pastor of the Mid- 
 way church, Georgia, and chaplain of a regiment, was 
 drowned near Savannah, February 8,' 1779, in attempt- 
 ing to Bwim ashore from a prison-ship, the barbarous 
 captain of which refused his friends boards for his cof- 
 fin. And not a few others incurred hardships which in 
 all probability shortened their days. It is certainly 
 remarkable, considering their exposure, and the almost 
 venomous hatred with which they were regarded by 
 the enemy, that among the Presbyterian ministers the 
 direct victims of the war were so few. 
 
 There was too much else to engage public attention 
 to allow much regard to be given to the claims of reli- 
 gion. The clash of arms drowned the voice of the 
 preacher, save when it was heard in camp during the 
 intervals of fight. Even there it was sometimes dis- 
 turbed by the cannon's roar and the rolling drum. 
 Academies and colleges were almost entirely deserted. 
 The young men. many of them, hurried away from the 
 scenes of study to aid their country on the field of 
 battle; and sometimes the teacher, like Daggett, at 
 
 New Haven, or Smith, at Eampden- Sidney, headed 
 his pupils in resistance to the invader. At Vale but a 
 small number of student- were left within the college 
 
196 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANI6M. 
 
 walls, and for a time these were removed to other 
 towns of the State. James Latta's school at Chesnut 
 Level was closed, for the usher and the older scholars 
 had joined the army. The operations of the College 
 of New Jersey were suspended, the class of 1778 num- 
 bering but five students. The classical school in Cul- 
 pepper county, Va., where Moses Hoge was pursuing 
 his studies, was altogether broken up. Hampden-Sid- 
 ney had scarcely a name to live. James White Ste- 
 phenson gave up his classical school near the old Wax- 
 haw church, dismissed his pupils, 1 and knew no other 
 life than that of a soldier until the return of peace. 
 
 In these circumstances, it is not surprising that the 
 course of the Presbyterian Church should be retro- 
 grade rather than- on the advance. The camp, with all 
 the safeguards that could be thrown around it, and 
 with all the counteracting influence which the chap- 
 lains could exert, was a school of immorality, pro- 
 fanity, and vice. Many places, especially in Virginia, 
 were sadly cursed by the disbanded soldiery. Civil 
 order was established as yet on very insecure founda- 
 tions. Eeligious institutions were paralyzed in their 
 influence, even where they were still sustained. Sab- 
 bath desecration prevailed to an alarming extent. Infi- 
 delity, in many quarters, soon acquired a foothold. The 
 civil character of the war, especially in the Southern 
 States, gave it a peculiar ferocity, and produced a licen- 
 tiousness of morals of which there is scarce a parallel at 
 the present day. Municipal laws could not be enforced. 
 Civil government was frustrated, and society was well- 
 nigh resolved into its original elements. 
 
 Thus at the close of the war religion was. on every 
 side, in an exceedingly decayed state. The churches 
 presented to view a wide scene of desolation. That 
 
 1 See Sprague, i. 550. 
 
THE REV0L1 TIONARY WAR. 197 
 
 of Newtown numbered but five members al the close 
 of the war; and scores of others were in an equally 
 Lamentable coi dition. The stated ordinances of the 
 gospel had been discontinued, and t lie young men who 
 should have been prepared to enter the ministry had 
 been constrained to abandon their purpose. 
 
 The meetings of the Synod during the period of the 
 Avar were gloomy and disheartening. There was but a 
 small attendance, and the reports which were brought 
 by the few who came, were discouraging in the extreme. 
 Little could l»e undertaken, and less accomplished. At 
 the opening sessions of 177G there were but eighteen 
 ministers and three elders present; in the following 
 year, only twenty-six ministers. In 1778, the enemy 
 had taken possession of Philadelphia, and the Synod 
 was opened at Bedminster with eleven ministers and 
 three elders. In the following year there were twenty 
 ministers and seven elders, and in 1780 only fifteen 
 ministers and four elders, at the opening sessions. 
 Nearly all that could be done was the annual appoint- 
 ment, continued through the war, of a day of humilia- 
 tion, fasting, and prayer. Applications for aid were 
 received, hut it was beyond the power of Synod to 
 supply the demand. They came from the North, the 
 South, and the West, but the most urgent and importu- 
 nate were from Virginia, where the Hanover Presby- 
 tery found the popular sympathy turning strongly in 
 favor of Presbyterianism, and where the opposition to 
 English tyranny created a prejudice with many against 
 the Episcopal Church as lukewarm in a cause in which 
 it must he necessarily divided against itself. 
 
 With the return of peace, tic Presbyterian Church 
 began to revive. The meetings of Synod assumed 
 somewhat of their former aspect. In 17S0. it had com- 
 menced its sessions with only fifteen ministers and four 
 elders present, and in 1781, with only twenty-one min- 
 
 17 
 
198 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 isters and four elders. In 1783, there were forty-three 
 ministers present at the opening session; in 1781, 
 thirty; in 1785, thirty; in 1786, thirty-eight; and in 
 1787, under the urgent call to consider the subject of 
 a new organization of the highest judicature of the 
 Church, there were fifty-two. 
 
 The period of the war had been one of peculiar 
 hardship to the ministers of the Church. Their sala- 
 ries, paid, if at all, in depreciated currency, proved quite 
 insufficient, and in 1782 their condition claimed the 
 attention of Synod. In 1783, on the report of a com- 
 mittee appointed the previous year, a pastoral letter 
 was drawn up and printed, addressed to the congre- 
 gations, on the subject of ministerial support. The 
 interests of religion were pronounced to be "in danger 
 of suffering greatly, at the present, from the many dis- 
 couragements under which the ministers of the gospel 
 labor, from the want of a sufficient support and liberal 
 maintenance from the congregations they serve." 
 
 The restoration of peace brought with it the same 
 difficulty which had been before experienced from the 
 immigration of foreign ministers and candidates. 
 Although no longer so numerous as to form a party in 
 the Church, some of them were regarded with well- 
 grounded suspicion. Applications to Synod to receive 
 or ordain men of this class were becoming frequent, 
 and in 1784 the members of the several Presbyteries 
 were enjoined " to be particularly careful" in view of 
 " imminent danger from ministers and licensed candi- 
 dates of unsound principles coming among us." In the 
 following year the question of relaxing the terms of 
 literary qualification in candidates for the ministry was 
 brought up. By a great majority it was carried in the 
 negative. It was also proposed that the term of stud}-- 
 ing divinity should hereafter be two years instead of 
 one; but action upon it was deferred to the next meet- 
 
TIIK REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 199 
 
 ing, when,in the press of other matters, it was crowded 
 out. 
 
 The subject of procuring Bibles for distribution among 
 the poor, especially on the frontiers, by means of collec- 
 tions in the churches, was brought up in 1783. The 
 Synod recommended that collections should be made; 
 but the recommendation was complied with in only a 
 few instances, and was renewed again in 1785. The 
 neglect was due in part to the exhausted and impove- 
 rished condition of the country at large, and in part to 
 the absence of members and even of whole Presby- 
 teries. To such an extent had this latter evil grown, 
 that a letter was addressed to the Presbyteries of Han- 
 over, Orange, Dutchess, and Suffolk, urging attention 
 to the subject, and kindly remonstrating with them for 
 a neglect which might tend to "the great injury, if not 
 the entire mouldering away, of the body." 
 
 The purport of the letter seems to have been misap- 
 prehended by the Suffolk Presbytery. Several of its 
 ministers were originally Congregationalists, and quite 
 a large proportion of the people were descendants of 
 New England settlers. They seem also to have been 
 disturbed by the proposal, already agitated, for a new 
 form of government and discipline. Not a member of 
 the body appeared in Synod the following year; but in 
 1787 a letter was received from them, addressed to the 
 moderator of the Synod, praying that their union with 
 the body might be dissolved. Dr. McWhorter was di- 
 rected to prepare a reply. It was kindly worded, and 
 was intended to meet their objections of "local situa- 
 tion." non-concurrence " with the draught of the form of 
 government," and non-compliance of the churches within 
 their limits. As to the first of these, it had always been 
 the same. In regard to the second, the "draught was 
 submitted for overture and amendment;" while the 
 indisposition of the churches to comply might be the 
 
200 HISTORY OF PRESBTTERIANISM. 
 
 result of groundless prejudices, hastily imbibed, — pre- 
 judices "which, by taking some pains and by giving a, 
 proper explanation of the matter, might be readily 
 removed." 
 
 To enforce the arguments for a reconsideration of 
 its resolution by the Presbytery, Drs. McWhorter and 
 Eodgers, and Messrs. Eoe, Woodhull, and Davenport, 
 were appointed a committee to meet and converse 
 with them. The result of the conference was that the 
 Presbytery withdrew their petition, and were prepared 
 in the following year to enter with the other Presby- 
 teries as constituent elements of the newly-organized 
 Assembly. 
 
 The spirit of this proceeding is indicative of the 
 tolerant temper of the Church. This temper had not 
 changed. The annual convention of Congregationalists 
 and Presbyterians had been dropped from necessity at 
 the. commencement of the Eevolutionary conflict, but 
 the spirit in which it had originated still survived. 
 
 Nor was the Synod neglectful of its position as the 
 advocate of civil and religious freedom. Scarcely had 
 the war closed, when rumors were afloat in some quar- 
 ters which seemed to intimate the purpose of the Pres- 
 byterian Church to seek an alliance with the state. It 
 occupied, indeed, a highly respectable position. Its 
 ministers had been chaplains in the army. Its leading 
 man, Dr. WithersjDOon, had been a leader in the Gene- 
 ral Congress. It was, in fact, the only denomination 
 which, from position and influence, could be considered 
 in the light of a candidate for the special favors of the 
 state. But any charge of seeking such favor on its 
 part was utterly ungrounded. The Synod scarcely 
 deemed it necessary to make a disavowal of it; but 
 some of its members insisted on the necessity of such 
 a disavowal. In consequence, a minute was adopted 
 by the Synod of 1781, which the next Synod ordered 
 
TUT. REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 201 
 
 to be expunged. Bui in 1783, on the principle that no 
 minute in any instance Bhould be expunged, it was 
 ordered to be restored. It was to the effect that it 
 had been represented to Synod thai the Presbyterian 
 Church Buffers greatly in the opinion of other denomi- 
 nations, from an apprehension that they hold intole- 
 rant principles; and in view of this - l the Synod do 
 solemnly and publicly declare that they ever have, and 
 still do, renounce and abhor the principles of intole- 
 rance, and we do believe thai every peaceable member 
 of civil society ought to be protected in the full and 
 free exercise of their religion." 
 
 Nor did the Synod overlook the subject of civil free- 
 dom, at least in its moral aspect. Upon a review of 
 the Minutes in 1780, it appeared that "an affair respect- 
 ing the enslaving of negroes" had been before the 
 Synod of 1774. Ity succeeding Synods it had, " by 
 some means, been passed over." It was now discussed, 
 but without definite action. In 1787, however, it was 
 declared that " the Synod of New York and Philadel- 
 phia do highly approve of the general principles in 
 favor of universal liberty that prevail in America, and 
 of the interest which many of the States have taken 
 in promoting the abolition of slavery ) yet, inasmuch 
 as men, introduced from a servile state to a partici- 
 pation of all the privileges of civil society, without a 
 proper education, and without previous habits of indus- 
 try, may be, in some respects, dangerous to the com- 
 munity; therefore they earnestly recommend it to all 
 the members belonging to their communion to give 
 those persons, who are at present held in servitude, 
 such good education as may prepare them for the 
 
 better enjoyment of freedom. And they moreover 
 recommend that masters, whenever they find servants 
 disposed to make a proper improvement of the privi- 
 lege, would give them some share of property to begin 
 
202 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 with, or grant them sufficient time and sufficient 
 means of procuring, by industry, their own liberty, at 
 a moderate rate, that they may thereby be brought 
 into society with those habits of industry that may 
 render them useful citizens; and, finally, they recom- 
 mend it to all the people under their care, to use the 
 most prudent measures consistent with the interest 
 and the state of civil society in the parts where they 
 live, to procure eventually the final abolition of slavery 
 in America." 
 
 So important did this utterance afterward appear, 
 that by the Assembly of 1793 it was ordered to be 
 republished in the extracts from the Minutes, thus 
 receiving the authoritative re-endorsement of the Pres- 
 byterian Church. 
 
 The plan of union between the Synod and the Asso- 
 ciate Presbyterian Church had proved a failure. The 
 letter of 1769 put an end to any hopes of it which 
 might before have been entertained. But, in 1784, a 
 plan of correspondence between the Synod and the two 
 Synods of the Eeformed Dutch and Associate Presby- 
 terian Churches was discussed, and measures taken for 
 rendering it effective. The desire was expressed by 
 members of those bodies in favor of " a friendly inter- 
 course between the three Synods, or laying a plan for 
 some kind of union among them, whereby they might 
 be enabled to unite their interests and combine their 
 efforts;'' and by these members some such measure was 
 pronounced to be practicable. A committee, therefore, 
 was appointed to meet with corresponding committees 
 from the other Synods, to consider what plan could be 
 devised. The convention met at New York in 1785, 
 and gave to the subject their deliberate attention. 
 There seemed to be on the part of the committees 
 from the other Synods a jealousy in regard to the 
 soundness and rigid discipline of the Synod of New York 
 
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 203 
 
 and Philadelphia. The question was raised in regard 
 to its standards and the manner in which they were bo 
 be regarded and adopted. Although the convention 
 
 assumed only the powers of counsel and advice, sug- 
 gestions were made and measures adopted to secure 
 mutual harmony between the different bodies In the 
 following year the committee asked of the Synod more 
 definite instructions in regard to some points on which 
 they had been unable to give entire satisfaction. In 
 view of the meditated change in the constitution of 
 the form of government, it was decided that "the 
 mutual assurances mentioned in the Minutes of the last 
 convention may be made with much more propriety 
 after the intended system is finished than at present." 
 The conventions continued to be held annually for 
 several years, and committees were appointed for the 
 purpose at each meeting of Synod. 
 
 The rapid extension of the Presbyterian Church 
 after the paralyzing effect of the Revolutionary con- 
 flict had begun to pass away, directed attention toward 
 measures for perfecting its organization, as well as 
 putting forth a full declaration of its principles. The 
 separation of the colonies from the mother-country 
 required a corresponding change in that part of the 
 Confession which referred to civil government. It 
 wafi evident that the future policy of the Church must 
 now be initiated; and the project was entertained of a 
 division of the Synod and the formation of a General 
 Assembly. Unless some such measure should be 
 speedily adopted.it was feared that the body which 
 hitherto had been the supreme judicature of the 
 Church would become too large and unwieldy to 
 perform its duties with efficiency and vigor, or that 
 "the attendance of members would fall into Qeglect." 
 
 As early as the annual meeting of the Synod in 
 May. 17 s ">. a committee was appointed to prepare the 
 
204 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 form of a Constitution for the Church, to be submitted 
 to the Synod of the following year. Their report was 
 duly made in 1780, and referred to another committee 
 to meet in the autumn of that year, with powers to 
 digest a Constitution for the Presbyterian Church, to 
 print it, and send copies of it, to each of the Presbyte- 
 ries. These again were to report their judgment of 
 the same, in writing, at the Synod of 1787. These 
 reports were made, and the Synod, after reading and 
 considering the draught of the preceding year, and 
 availing itself of the written suggestions of the Pres- 
 byteries, issued another pamphlet, more complete than 
 that of the committee, and ordered a thousand copies 
 to be distributed to the several Presbyteries. The 
 system thus presented formed the basis of the deli- 
 berations of the Synod of 1788, which issued in the 
 formation and publication of the Constitution of the 
 Church. The full title of the volume issued is, " The 
 Constitution of the Presbyterian Church in the United 
 States of America : containing the Confession of Faith, 
 the Catechisms, the Government and Discipline, and 
 the Directory for the Worship of God, ratified and 
 adopted by the Synod of New York and Philadelphia, 
 May the 16th, 1788, and continued by adjournment 
 until the twenty-eighth of the same month. Philadel- 
 phia. Printed by Thomas Bradford, md.cclxxxix." 1 
 
 In the discussions which preceded the final adoption 
 of the Constitution, the question was raised, " Shall 
 the Supreme Judicatory be denominated a General 
 Council or a General Assembly ?" The question was, 
 indeed, one only of name; for in either case the body 
 would be possessed of the same powers. But the very 
 fact that it was agitated, and that Dr. Witherspoon 
 
 1 1 transcribe the title-page of the only copy of the work which I 
 have met, now in my possession. 
 
the revolutionary war. 205 
 
 himself voted in favor of "Council," shows thai the 
 body did qo1 feel themselves bound to any rigid adop- 
 tion of the Scot tisli model. 
 
 In the Confession of Faith no alteration was made, 
 excepl in the pari treating of civil government and the 
 civil magistrate. Instead of giving the Latter, as in 
 Scotland, the power to call and supervise Synods, it 
 declared it the duty of civil magistrates " to protect the 
 Church of our common Lord, without giving pre- 
 ference to one denomination of Christians above the 
 rest, in such a manner that all ecclesiastical persona 
 whatever shall enjoy the full, free, and unquestioned 
 liberty of discharging every part of their sacred func- 
 tions, without violence or danger." 
 
 Some minor changes were made, hut all of a similar 
 import. 
 
 The vote on the adoption of the Catechisms of the 
 Church excited no debate. They do not appear to 
 have been even read over, with a view to adoption 
 seriatim. No alteration had been proposed in relation 
 to them, until, just at the moment when the vote was 
 to be taken, Rev. Jacob Ker, of Delaware, arrested the 
 proceedings by calling attention to a clause of the 
 Larger Catechism in answer to the question, "Which 
 are the sins forbidden in the second commandment?" 
 He stated that the Catechism, as it then stood, speci- 
 fied, among the sins forbidden, "tolerating a false reli- 
 gion ;" and he made a motion that the clause bo 
 stricken out. The motion was carried without debate, 
 ami the Catechisms of the Church were then adopted 
 without further alteration. 
 
 In the adoption of the Directory for Worship, the 
 forms of prayer therein introduced were stricken out, 
 and the subjects were presented in a doctrinal form. 
 WluMi this had been done, the Constitution of the 
 Church stood forth complete. For three years it had 
 
 Vui.. I.— IS 
 
206 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 been under consideration. Eepeated draughts of it 
 had been made, and the widest publicity had been 
 given them. The object was twofold, — to perfect the 
 instrument and to obviate future objection. Even yet 
 entire cordiality of sentiment was not effected. There 
 was at least " a small minority" whose leanings were 
 toward a more liberal and less rigid system. One 
 clergyman, a member of both the committees for pre- 
 paring the draughts, but kept at home by indispo- 
 sition, addressed a letter to the adopting Synod, 
 strongly objecting against a high-toned Presbyterian 
 system : yet the vote on the Adopting Act was nearly, 
 if not quite, unanimous. 
 
 Although the Scottish Confession had been adopted 
 by so strong and decisive a vote, it was not in the 
 spirit of a rigid ecclesiasticism. 1 The highest judica- 
 ture was an "Assembly/' and not a "Council;" but it 
 began its existence by acts which indicated that none 
 of the exclusiveness of the Scotch National Church 
 had been allowed a triumph in the selection of a name. 
 Dr. Witherspoon opened the Assembly of 1790, by 
 appointment, and Dr. John Eodgers — on whose motion 
 a few years later the delegates of the Connecticut 
 and other General Associations were allowed to vote 
 as well as speak in the Assembly — w T as chosen the first 
 moderator. In the very next year, on motion of Dr 
 Ashbel Green, arrangements w T ere made for a plan of 
 
 1 Quite a number of the leading ministers of the Church might 
 be mentioned who had decided leanings toward a liberal construc- 
 tion of Presbyterian formulas. For instance, Henry Patillo, the 
 patriarch of the Church in North Carolina, says, at this very time, 
 "I have often thought that the popular congregational government 
 of the Independents, joined to the Presbyterial judicatures as a 
 final resort, would form the mest perfect model of church govern- 
 ment that the state of things will admit of.'' — Palillo's Sermons, 
 Wilmington, N.C., 1788. 
 
ill I : ASSOCIATED PRESBYTERIES, 1779-1818: 207 
 
 intercourse between the Assembly and tin- New Eng- 
 land churches. " 1 am responsible," says Dr. Green, 
 in his autobiography, •• for the correspondence between 
 them and us." 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE ASSOCIATED PRESBYTERIES, 1779-1818 
 
 Just ten years before the meeting of the first Gene- 
 ral Assembly, a secession took plaee from the Presby- 
 tery of New York, which deserves at least a passing 
 notice in the history of the Church. It was based 
 mainly on the principle of the independency of the 
 local church j although conjoined with this was the 
 assumption that the power of ordination was vested 
 not in the church, but in the Presbytery. 1 
 
 The originator of the movement was Jacob Green. 2 
 from 1740 to 1790 the pastor of the Presbyterian 
 church of Hanover, New Jersey. He was a native of 
 Maiden. Mass., and a graduate of Harvard College in 
 1744. Although he had cherished a Christian hope, he 
 was led to abandon it on listening to the sermons 
 of Whitefield (September, 1740), and especially to a 
 powerful one by Gilbert Tennent in January, 1741. 
 Eis mental exercises were of a most humbling nature. 
 He was bowed to the dust under the deep sense of 
 
 1 This account is largely derived from a manuscript " History of 
 the Secession from the Synod of New York and Philadelphia in 
 1780, which assumed the name of 'The Ass dated Presbytery of 
 Mrniis County.' " By Rev. Dr. N. S. Prime. 
 
 - Father of Rev. Dr. Ashbel Green. 
 
208 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 his imworthiness, and extracts from his diary show 
 how thorough must have been the work of his con- 
 viction. 
 
 After teaching for about a year, subsequent to his 
 leaving college, he met again with Whitefield, who 
 engaged him to go to Georgia to take charge of 
 the Orphan-House. On reaching New Jersey, he 
 learned from him that he had just received informa- 
 tion which rendered it impracticable to assure Mr. 
 Green of permanent employment. He offered, however, 
 to employ him for six months, or refund to him the 
 expense that he had already incurred. By the advice 
 of Dickinson and Burr, he chose the latter alternative, 
 with a view to labor as a minister within the bounds 
 of the Presbytery. In September, 1745, he was licensed 
 by the Presb3 T tery of New York, and almost imme- 
 diately was invited to preach at Hanover, where, in 
 November of the following year, he was regularly 
 ordained and installed pastor. 
 
 After more than thirty years' experience of the Pres- 
 byterian system, he deliberately resolved to withdraw 
 from his connection with it. He did not object to its 
 doctrines. 1 He made no complaint of his brethren in 
 the Presbytery, for -whom generally he expressed his 
 high esteem as " worthy and excellent ministers of 
 the gospel." His exceptions were directed against the 
 
 1 Although this was the case, yet his views of the Abrahamic 
 covenant, baptism, and kindred subjects^were such as, through his 
 published discourses, to bring him into controversy with some of 
 the New England ministers. Shortly after the re-union (1758), he 
 avowed himself, in his published work on Baptism, an Fdwardict)i f — 
 representing Stoddard and Edwards as the leading exponents of 
 conflicting views. It is altogether probable that his strong New- 
 side sympathies led him to regard the union with the Old side as 
 quite objectionable, and strengthened his purpose to withdraw from 
 Synod. He is the first minister in this country — so far as I am 
 aware — who publicly declared himself an "Edwardian." 
 
THE ASSOCIATED PRESBYTERIES, 1779-1818. 209 
 
 exercise of power by the Synod, according to "the 
 Directory of Church Government authorized by the 
 General Assembly of the Church of Scotland." "They 
 assumed," he said. " the authoritative enacting style in 
 
 their Minutes, appointing and requiring, instead of re- 
 commending and desiring." They moreover assumed 
 a " legislative power," "appointed ministers and can- 
 didates to travel to distant parts, .supply vacancies, 
 &c," — had •• ordered — not desired — conl ributions," — had 
 claimed a power to liberate ministers from their peo- 
 ple, again si the will of the latter. — as. for instance, 
 
 several presidents for the college" They had re- 
 quired candidates to study a year after taking their 
 degree, — had ordered licentiates to write their notes at 
 large and show them to some minister, — had enjoined 
 the keeping of registers of births, baptisms, marriages, 
 and burials, — had also enjoined ministers riot to use 
 notes in preaching; and, in the union of the two Sy- 
 nods, the Westminster Confession, " without any liberty 
 for explanation in any article, was enjoined upon all 
 their ministers, who were to teach and preach accord- 
 ingly" 
 
 Some of these orders and injunctions were undoubt- 
 edly regarded by Mr. Cireen in the light of personal 
 grievances. He was licensed without the year of 
 study required after graduation. After the New England 
 manner, he doubtless preferred the use of "notes." 
 Collections in his congregation he would rather have 
 "desired" than "ordered;" and his liberal sympathies 
 revolted at the rigidity of the " Scotch system." But 
 he greatly mistook, either through prejudice or inad- 
 vertence, when he assumed that the k - Scotch system" 
 was in force; and quite a large amount of his repug- 
 nance might have been overcome if he had known or 
 remembered that provision had been made for the 
 "scruples" of the candidate, and that he was to bo 
 
 IS* 
 
210 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM, 
 
 admitted by the Synod or Presbytery, unless bis scru- 
 ple or mistake concerned some " essential and neces- 
 sary" doctrine. In justice to himself, moreover, he 
 should have stated that the injunction not to use notes 
 was materially qualified by the clause which left it to 
 the " convenience" of the minister. 
 
 But he had taken his position, and, in spite of the 
 kind remonstrances of the Presbytery, he was not dis- 
 posed to recede from it. He insisted upon his right 
 quietly and peaceably to withdraw, cherishing the 
 kindest feelings toward his ministerial associates, and 
 uniting with them still in ministerial communion, or 
 sitting, if desired, as a corresponding member of the 
 Presbytery. Of his two congregations, one (Hanover 
 Neck) chose still to remain under the care of the Pres- 
 bytery, retaining him as their pastor; and to this the 
 Presbytery made no objection. 
 
 At the same time (October, 1779) that Mr. Green 
 thus requested the privilege of quietly withdrawing 
 from Presbyterial connection, Joseph Grover, 1 reported 
 in 1774 as a licensed candidate from New England, and 
 who since that time had been settled at Parsippany, 
 sent in to the Presbytery a paper declaratory of his 
 " quiet withdrawal." He had been surprised to find, 
 after his settlement, that he was viewed as a member 
 of Synod, and when " lately admonished by the Synod 
 for not attending Synodical meetings," he appears to 
 have felt that his ecclesiastical freedom was infringed 
 upon, and, consequently, chose to seek release from a 
 body with which he did not suppose himself to have 
 entered into connection. 
 
 At the May meeting of the Presbytery, Amzi Lewis, 
 pastor (from 1772) of the churches of Florida and 
 Warwick, X.Y., " entered a declinature" which, at his 
 
 1 Erroneously said to have been a graduate of Yale College. 
 
THE ASSOCIATED PRESBYTERIES, 1779 1518. 211 
 
 request, was returned to him, when he declared " that 
 he peaceably withdrew from the Presbytery, and chose 
 bo longer to be considered as a member of the same." 
 At the same time, Ebenezer Bradford, a graduate of 
 Princeton in 177o. and from July 14. 1 7 7 -"> . pastor of 
 the church of South Hanover, 1 "gave in a declinature, 
 whereby he withdrew from the Synod and this (New 
 York) Presbytery." Efforts were made to induce the 
 Beceding brethren to retrace their steps, but they 
 proved futile. The churches were regarded still as 
 under the care of the Presbytery, and measures were 
 taken to bring before them the question of their future 
 ecclesiastical connection. Hanover Neck and South 
 Hanover seem alone to have been disposed to remain 
 in their former ecclesiastical relations. 
 
 This was the entire extent of the original secession. 2 
 Of the four ministers who withdrew, all but Mr. Green 
 were young men, with brief experience in the ministry, 
 and all of them, with the single exception of Mr. Brad- 
 ford, were from New England, while Mr. Bradford 
 was the son-in-law of Mr. Green. They withdrew, to 
 the regret of the Presbytery, by whom they were 
 esteemed and respected, and that esteem and respect 
 were largely reciprocated. To the last appeal of the 
 Presbytery, the seceding brethren returned a kind 
 reply, in which they stated that they had formed them- 
 selves into a Presbytery, and had "no inclination to 
 dissolve the voluntary connection into which they had 
 
 1 Subsequently known as Bottle Hill, now Madison. 
 
 2 So it would appeal- from Dr. N. 8. Prime's manuscript " History 
 of the Associated Presbyteries." But several years previous to tbe 
 organization of the Morris County Presbytery, at least in 1709 or 
 177<>, Abner Reeve, of Blooming Grove, N.Y., Moses Tuttle, of New 
 York Presbytery, and Mr. Dorbe, of Parsippany. declared in favor of 
 Independency, and withdrew from Synod and Presbytery. — Webster t 
 GG8-9. 
 
212 HISTORY OF TRESBYTERIAXISM. 
 
 entered, or cease to be a distinct Presbytery." A small 
 body like their own they considered better adapted to 
 transact business " with ease and advantage," and more 
 likely to prove harmonious. Nor was this all. " We 
 think you have," said they, " such notions of Presby- 
 terial power and church government, as are not agree- 
 able to our free sentiments." 
 
 The "distinct Presbytery" whose existence was thus 
 announced was formed at Hanover, May 3, 1780. The 
 four seceding ministers united themselves in "a volun- 
 tary society for promoting the interests of religion," 
 and, as they considered themselves " Presbyterians, in 
 a scriptural sense/' they agreed to call themselves, and 
 to be known by the name of, " The Presbytery of 
 Morris county." To this, at a subsequent date, they 
 saw fit to prefix the term "Associated;" and with this 
 qualification of the title they w r ere subsequently know r n. 
 
 Their platform was Presbyterian in form, but Congre- 
 gational in fact. The ministers were to meet as a 
 Presbytery ordinarily twice a year; each church was 
 authorized to send two elders or lay delegates; all 
 jurisdiction over the churches was disclaimed, except 
 so far as they should apply for advice or assistance; 
 and no "rules" should be made " authoritative," while 
 all agreements should be alterable, as circumstances 
 should require. 
 
 In 1781, the Presbytery published a duodecimo of 
 Beventy pages, presenting "A View of a Christian 
 Church and Church Government." with an appendix, 
 representing the case and circumstances of the Asso- 
 ciated Presbytery. The preface discusses the question, 
 whether Christ has instituted or appointed any par- 
 ticular form or mode of church government. The six 
 sections of the body of the work are devoted to dis- 
 countenancing the idea of a "provincial" Church ; pre- 
 senting a sound definition of the "particular" or local 
 
213 
 
 Church; vindicating ministers and elders, whose offices 
 are regarded as identical, together with deacons and 
 evangelists, as permanenl officers of the Church; claim- 
 ing that admonition and excommunication are the only 
 
 censures of the Church, from which in no case is there 
 to be any appeal j rejecting all ecclesiastical authority 
 of Presbyteries and Synods, and giving the preference 
 to pro re nata councils. Certain questions of casuistry, 
 raised by the discussion of their peculiar principles, 
 are taken up and decided in the closing section. 
 
 In the appendix is found a reply to the proposal of 
 the Presbytery of New York, that the seceding mem- 
 bers should reconsider their declinature and become 
 again members of the Synod. This they are willing to 
 do on three conditions, that they remain a distinct body, 
 which is their choice, — that they meet in Synod as a 
 voluntary society, to consult and promote the interests 
 of religion, — and that they shall have "an unrestrained 
 liberty to license and ordain for the gospel ministry 
 any persons whom they shall think proper." 
 
 The last of these conditions was, for the Associated 
 Presbytery, a vital one. 1 But the liberty it claimed 
 had been exercised more than forty years before, in a 
 manner which no Presbytery or Synod at this juncture 
 would be disposed to endorse. The reply of the se- 
 
 1 Webster states that Mr. Green, previous to his withdrawing from 
 the Presbytery, had grown "dissatisfied with the hindrances in the 
 way of supplying our vacancies: 'first we make them gentlemen, 
 and then ministers.' He proposed to Bellamy to establish two 
 schools, one in New Jersey and one in Connecticut, for educating 
 men up to a certain point in languages and philosophy, and then 
 licensing them. He "wished to imitate the Baptist way, that our 
 growing country might not be left unblessed with sound doctrine 
 and firm discipline." He is said to have disliked the Congregation- 
 alism of New England as much as the Scotch type of Presbyterian* 
 ism.— Web*ter t 628-9. 
 
214 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 ceders was, therefore, equivalent to a final refusal to 
 return. It was soon manifest that, so far from this, 
 they anticipated an increase which would distance 
 competition on the part of those from whom they had 
 withdrawn. They proceeded immediately to the prose- 
 cution of their favorite scheme, introducing into the 
 ministry a number of men of limited qualifications. 
 Yet they were far from denying the importance of 
 proper education, and, in order to secure for their can- 
 didates some special privileges for instruction, insti- 
 tuted a society, and by contributions, bequests, &c, 
 collected a fund, for the management of which they 
 obtained from the New Jersey Legislature, May 30, 
 1787, an act of incorporation. The style of the corpo- 
 ration was, " The Trustees of the Society in Morris 
 county, instituted for the promotion of learning and 
 religion ;" and among the names of the trustees, along 
 with those of laymen and those of the seceding minis- 
 ters, was that of Jedediah Chapman, of Orange, a mem- 
 ber of New York Presbytery, 1 although a native of 
 .Connecticut. 
 
 In the course of ten or twelve years, the new Pres- 
 bytery had become greatly enlarged. Its most con- 
 siderable growth was, as might have been expected, in 
 a region where it was assured of Congregational sym- 
 pathy. The counties of Dutchess and Westchester, 
 N.Y., lying along the New England line, afforded the 
 most inviting field for its efforts. Here were already 
 several churches, which, by local proximity and eccle- 
 siastical sympathy, were predisposed to favor such a 
 system as that of the Associated Presbytery. Here, 
 also, after the close of the war. new and feeble congre- 
 
 1 The fact may be taken either as an indication of the individual 
 Bympathies of Mr. Chapman, or of the mutual kind feeling between 
 New York Presbytery and the Seceders. 
 
THE ASSOCIATE.) PRESBYTERIES, 1779-1818. ^15 
 
 gationa were in the process of being gathered, and the 
 licentiates of the Presbytery would naturally seek- in 
 this field places of Labor. In this quarter, therefore, 
 the new organization received the Largest accessions. 
 Indeed, there is no evidence thai a single church united 
 with them west of the Hudson and north of the New 
 Jersey line. 
 
 At a mooting of the Associated Presbytery in Oc- 
 tober, 1701, itrwas deemed expedient that a now asso- 
 ciation should be formed, to embrace the churches of 
 Westchester county and vicinity. Accordingly, in Janu- 
 ary, 1792, a meeting was held, at which a body was 
 organized under the name of " The Associated Presby- 
 tery of Westchester." The individuals originally com- 
 posing it were Amzi Lewis, — who in 1787 removed from 
 Florida to North Salem, taking charge of the Academy 
 and at the same time acting as pastor of the Presby- 
 terian church, — John Cornwoll, Silas Constant, pastor 
 of Crumpond, John Townley, of Greenburg, — all of 
 whom were from the original Presbytery, — together 
 ■with Abner Benedict, soon after settled at North Salem, 
 Daniel Marsh, of Poughkeepsie, and Medad Rogers. 
 At a subsequent period, among the members of the 
 body were Andrews, of Pound Ridge, Abraham Purdy 
 and Abner Brundige, of Somers, Bradford, Knight, 
 Blair, Osborn, St. John, Jones, Austin, Bouton, Hosea 
 Ball, McKnight, Frey, and others. The churches 
 brought into this connection were those of Sing Sing, 
 Greenburg, Peekskill, Yorktown, Eed Mills, Gilead, 
 Somers, North Salem, Southeast, and Pound Ridge, 
 together with those of North Stamford, Cornwall, and 
 New Fairfield, in the State of Connecticut. The Pres- 
 bytery continued its meetings till about the year l s i'<», 
 when it was formally dissolved, and the members con- 
 nected themselves with other ecclesiastical bodies, some 
 
216 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 with the New York Presbyteries, and others with those 
 of Bedford and North Kiver. 
 
 Meanwhile the numbers had increased in the more 
 northern portion of the region bounded by the Hudson 
 and the New England line. It was, therefore, proposed 
 to form another Presbytery in this region. The pro- 
 ject was unanimously favored by the parent Presby- 
 tery, Westchester Presbytery, and Berkshire Associa- 
 tion, of Massachusetts, who were consulted in reference 
 to it. Accordingly, Messrs. John Camp, John Stevens, 
 Beriah Hotchkin, Robert Campbell, David Porter, and 
 Luther G-leson, ministers in the State of New York, 
 convened at New Canaan, November 12, 1793, and after 
 a mutual interchange of views formed themselves into 
 an Associated Presbytery, based on the same princi- 
 ples with those of Westchester and Morris county, and 
 assumed the name of " The Northern Associated Pres- 
 bytery in the State of New York." 
 
 The distinct organizations having been thus mul- 
 tiplied, some method of intercommunication, which 
 should serve as a bond of sympathy and union, 
 remained to be devised. Committees from the different 
 Presbyteries were appointed to consider the subject. 
 They met at Poughkeepsie, April 10, 1794, and agreed 
 to recommend to the several Presbyteries the appoint- 
 ment of two or more correspondents, whose business 
 it should be to communicate, by letter or otherwise, 
 such information of the doings or prospects of their 
 respective bodies as might be thought useful or neces- 
 sary to co-operative effort. These correspondents, more- 
 over, were to meet annually as a Convention of Corre- 
 spondence, to consider generally the wants of the entire 
 field, and make such recommendations to the several 
 Presbyteries as they should deem adapted to promote 
 the cause of Christ. 
 
 The proposal was approved by the Presbyteries, and 
 
THE ASSOCIATED PRESBYTERIES, 1779-1818. 217 
 
 the annual convention was held. At its meeting in 
 1795, it adopted, and subsequently (1796) published, a 
 small bound volume of one hundred and two pages, 
 entitled "A brief account of the Associated Presby- 
 teries, and a general view of their sentiments concern- 
 ing religion and ecclesiastical order." It contained a 
 history of the several organizations, and their senti- 
 ments on the subjects of Christian doctrine and church 
 order. "We are at present," they say, "united in a 
 general scheme of doctrine, which may be denominated 
 Calvinistie, Edwardian, or Hopkinsian, and we consider 
 those systems which in our day and country are gene- 
 rally distinguished by those terms, as essentially ortho- 
 dox. Yet we call no man Father. Nor do we know of 
 any public system or Confession of Faith, consisting of 
 many particulars, which we can unitedly adopt without 
 exception or explanation, and with this liberty we know 
 of none which we cannot adopt/' 
 
 Their own Confession of Faith consisted of eighteen 
 articles, mainly accordant with the Westminster Con- 
 fession, and their exposition of their ecclesiastical sen- 
 timents was what might be expected from the princi- 
 ples of their organization. 
 
 A Fourth Presbytery, with the consent of the North- 
 ern Associated Presbytery, was organized at Milton, 
 February 3, 1807. It took the name of the Saratoga 
 Associated Presbytery. Its constituent members were 
 Elias Gilbert, Daniel Marsh, Charles McCabe, Elisha 
 Yale, and Lebbeus Armstrong. The churches were 
 Greenfield, Moreau, Bennington, Vt., Kingsborough, 
 Malta, and Milton. The last, if no other, had been 
 taken under the care of the Presbytery of Albany as 
 early as January 10, 1792, and remained in that connec- 
 tion till January 21, 1800, when at a church-meeting, 
 presided over by Mr. Gilbert, ofCreentield.it was voted 
 
 Vol. I.— 19 
 
218 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 to adopt the system of doctrine and order of the Asso- 
 ciated Presbyteries. 
 
 Members who subsequently united with this Presby- 
 tery were Sylvanus Haight, Eeuben Armstrong, Cyrus 
 Comstock, Silas Parsons, and Joseph Farrar. The only 
 church which joined it was one organized by Messrs. 
 Comstock, and Lebbeus and Eeuben Armstrong, in 
 Luzerne and Hadley. After continuing its meetings 
 till September, 1818, the several members of the Pres- 
 bytery requested and obtained letters of dismission to 
 unite with other ecclesiastical bodies, and the " Sara- 
 toga Associated Presbytery" adjourned sine die} 
 
 It was doubtless at about the same time that the West- 
 chester Associated Presbytery disbanded. In 1819, some 
 of its churches had come under the care of Presbyteries 
 connected with the General Assembly; and previous to 
 1825 there were but two or three which were not con- 
 nected Avith the Presbytery of North River or the 
 Presbytery of New York. 
 
 Thus the most rapid growth of this secession was 
 within the first twenty years of its existence. It 
 embraced, at the time of the formation of the Annual 
 Convention, quite a large number of churches, spread 
 over a large extent of country. But with the single 
 exception of the transient organization of the Saratoga 
 Associated Presbytery, numbering at the most but seven 
 or eight churches, it made no further advance. One 
 church after another relinquished connection with it, 
 until at last nearly all were absorbed by the surround- 
 ing organizations, either Congregational or Presby- 
 terian; and in thirty years afterward all the memorials 
 of it that remained were to be found in the fast -van- 
 ishing records of its churches and extinct Presbyteries. 
 
 1 The records of the body were left in the hands of Rev. Elisha 
 Yale, of Kingsborough. 
 
THE CAROLINAS. 219 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE CAROLINAS — RISE AND PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH. 
 
 The final and successful attempt to colonize " Caro- 
 lina" was due to a project formed by certain courtiers 
 of Charles II. for their own profit and aggrandizement. 
 Their selfish scheme was veiled with the pretext of " a 
 generous desire of propagating the blessings of religion 
 and civility in a barbarous land." A project couched 
 in these terms was presented to the king by eight per- 
 sons whose fidelity had cheered his exile, or whose 
 treachery had regained for him his throne. Among 
 them were Clarendon, Monk, and Shaftesbury. They 
 claimed to be "excited by a laudable and pious zeal for 
 the propagation of the gospel," and they " begged a 
 certain country in the parts of America not yet culti- 
 vated and planted, and only inhabited by some barba- 
 rous people, who had no knowledge of God." 
 
 Their request was readily granted. The charter was 
 doubtless drawn by their own hands, and secured them 
 everything "saving the sovereign allegiance due to the 
 crown." They immediately took liberal measures to 
 procure a settlement. A few colonists were already on 
 the ground, and to them, on taking the oath of alle- 
 giance and submitting to the proprietary government, 
 their lands were assured and their rights conceded. 
 Arrangements were made for a popular government, 
 limited only by the laws of England and the veto of 
 the proprietaries. To all, the most perfect freedom of 
 religion was assured. 
 
 A singular spectacle is this, — a body of men whose 
 
220 HISTORY OF PllESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 names were indissolubly associated with the legislation 
 that harassed English Dissenters, and surrendered jus- 
 tice to High-Church bigotry, yet adopting — when left 
 to look simply at their own pecuniary interests — a 
 policy as liberal as the most fanatic of Cromwell's Inde- 
 pendents could have desired. The same hands which 
 framed the intolerant Act of Conformity in England 
 shaped a satire on their own folly in the constitution 
 which they gave to Carolina. While with relentless 
 severity they silenced such men as John Owen, and 
 filled English prisons with men like Baxter, Buiryan, 
 and Alleine, they allowed the colonists the most perfect 
 and entire freedom of opinion. The 'New England 
 settler, the English Dissenter, the Scotch Presbyterian, 
 were alike welcome, and alike invited to a refuge from 
 oppression. It may even excite a doubt, whether per- 
 secution in England was not made more virulent by a 
 policy which demanded exiles to people the colonies. 
 
 The early settlers were from diverse localities, — New 
 England, 1 Virginia, Barbadoes, and at length in increas- 
 ing numbers from Ireland and Scotland. For many 
 years it is doubtful, however, whether the province 
 was visited by a single clergyman. Its growth was for 
 a long period very slow, and among the scattered and 
 far from homogeneous population no effort seems to 
 have been made to establish religious institutions of 
 any kind. More than half a century passed away 
 (1663-1715) before the Presbyterian Church could be 
 said to exist within the northern portion of the colony. 
 
 1 In 1658, a small company of emigrants from Massachusetts, 
 carrying their religious institutions with them, settled around Cape 
 Fear. For many years their condition was one of poverty and hard- 
 ships. In 1607, the Bay Legislature recommended them to their 
 former fellow-colonists as objects worthy of charitable relief. Con- 
 tributions were made for them, and a vessel was sent them laden 
 with supplies. — Felt's New England, ii. 232, 307, 417. 
 
THE CAR0LINA8. 221 
 
 The original Presbyterianism of the Carolinas was 
 
 mainly of the Scotch type. As early as 1729, Scotch 
 emigrants settled on Cape Fear River, Cumberland 
 county, N.C. In 1736, we trace the arrival of others. 
 In the winter of 17^9, Whitefield preached, "not with- 
 out effect," at Newton, on Cape Fear River, where 
 among the congregation were many settlers who had 
 recently arrived from Scotland. 1 The rebellion of 1745 
 sent large numbers of Highlanders over to this region. 
 .Many who had taken up arms for the Pretender pre- 
 ferred exile to death or subjugation in their native land. 
 Ship-load after ship-load landed at Wilmington in 1746 
 and 1747. In the course of a few years more they were 
 joined by large companies of their countrymen, who 
 wished to improve their condition and become owners 
 of the soil upon which they lived and labored. For 
 the most part, they were a moral and religious people, 
 noted for their industry, economy, thrift, and perse- 
 verance. 2 
 
 No minister of religion came out with the first set- 
 tlers. It was nearly ten years after the emigration 
 of 1747 before they secured the services of a Pres- 
 byterian minister. The first one who labored among 
 them was James Campbell, who from 1730 had been 
 settled over a church of Scotch emigrants in Pennsyl- 
 vania. 3 Despondent in regard to his own spiritual con- 
 
 > Webster, p. 531. 
 
 2 The materials for the early history of Presbyterianism in Virginia 
 and Carolina have been largely drawn from Foote's Sketches. 
 
 3 Webster makes Campbell a native of Argyleshire, Scotland, 
 emigrant to this country in 1730, licensed by New Castle Presby- 
 tery in 1735, and "well received'' by Fhiladelphia Presbytery, May 
 22, 1739. After preaching for four years, part of the time at 
 Tehicken, he became convinced that he was still unconverted, and 
 ceased to preach. After conference with Whitefield and Tennent, 
 he resumed his labors. After his ordination in 1712, he divided his 
 
 19* 
 
222 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 dition, he had ceased to preach, but at an interview 
 with Whitefield, whom he met as he traversed the 
 country, his doubts were overcome and. his difficulties 
 removed. lie resumed his ministry, and at length took 
 up his residence on the left bank of Cape Fear Eiver, a 
 few miles above Fayetteville. Here and in the sur- 
 rounding region he labored with untiring zeal for nearly 
 a quarter of a century. His labors had no bounds but 
 his strength. He had three regular congregations, one at 
 "Eoger's Meeting-House," one at "Barbacue Church," 
 and one at McKay's, now known as Long Street. 
 
 Here were the pioneer churches of the region. As 
 emigration continued and population increased, new 
 neighborhoods were formed, and new congregations 
 gathered. One after another the numerous churches in 
 Cumberland, Eobeson, Moore, Eichmond, and Bladen 
 counties were organized, and new laborers were de- 
 manded. In 1770, Eev. John McLeod came from Scot- 
 land, accompanied by a large number of Highland 
 families, to cheer the heart and strengthen the hands 
 of the pioneer missionary. 
 
 More worthy of special mention for his labors in this 
 field is Hugh McAden, a graduate of Nassau Hall and 
 a theological pupil of John Blair. He was licensed in 
 1755 by New Castle Presbytery, and was immediately 
 sent out as a missionary to the Carolinas. On a por- 
 tion of his route he had been preceded by that " burn- 
 ing and shining light," William Eobinson, whose suc- 
 cess in Carolina was far less than in Virginia. By him 
 Duplin and New Hanover, and the scattered settle- 
 ments of that region, were visited. But his journey 
 was attended by much exposure and many hardships. 
 
 time between Greenwich and the Forks of the Delaware. On the 
 division, he adhered to the New side, and was sent to preach to the 
 vacant churches. — Webster, 530. 
 
THE CABOLINAS. 223 
 
 Mi-Aden fared but little better. His journal 1 still 
 exists, and attests his indefatigable zeal and devoted 
 purpose. lLe passed through Virginia, and extended 
 his labors into the northern part of South Carolina. 
 At various places on his route he was warmly wel- 
 comed, and at some was invited to remain. lie found 
 the people greatly scattered, but anxious generally to 
 hear preaching. 
 
 In 17-V.t. lie was dismissed from New Castle to Hano- 
 ver Presbytery, which then included the greater part 
 of Virginia, and. extending indefinitely south, covered 
 his destined field of labor. This embraced the congre- 
 gations of Duplin and New Hanover, the largest at 
 that period within the bounds of the State. Here he 
 remained for ten years. After this he took charge 
 of the churches of Hico, Dan River, and County Line 
 Creek, with which he labored till his death in 1781. 
 
 At the time when he commenced his labors in North 
 Carolina, there were some Presbyterian churches built, 
 and many worshipping assemblies, yet few, if any, 
 organized churches, and no settled minister. McAden 
 himself belonged to the New side. He was in sym- 
 pathy with Hanover Presbytery, and was a man of 
 kindred spirit with Robinson and Davies. 
 
 Among the members set off by the Synod to form the 
 Presbytery of Hanover, in 1755, occurs the name of 
 Alexander Craighead. He w T as licensed by Donegal 
 Presbytery in 1734, became afterward a warm friend 
 of Whitetield, and was an earnest and awakening 
 preacher. His zeal for the "Solemn League and Cove- 
 nant" carried him away, and for some years his name 
 disappears from the Synodical records. He had asso 
 ciated himself with the Cameronians; but in 1749 he 
 
 1 Foote, in his Sketches of North Carolina, gives this journal in 
 full. 
 
224 HISTOKY OF ritESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 had found his way to the western frontiers of Virginia. 
 Here he labored for several years, in a situation much 
 exposed to the hostile inroads of the Indians; and when 
 Eraddock's defeat sent terror through the whole valley 
 and large numbers of the population fled to the South, 
 he followed them to North Carolina. 1 Crossing the 
 Blue Eidge, he found a location among the settlements 
 along the Catawba and its smaller tributaries. In Janu- 
 ary, 1758, he was directed to preach at Eocky River, 
 and visit other vacancies till the spring meeting of the 
 Presbytery. At this meeting a call from Eocky Eiver 
 was presented for his services, and here he was installed 
 during the course of the year. Thus Eocky Eiver was 
 the oldest church in the upper country, and Sugar 
 Creek was within its bounds. 
 
 Here Mr. Craighead passed his closing days. Unmo- 
 lested by Virginia intolerance, which he could ill brook; 
 far removed from interference from his own ecclesias- 
 tical brethren who might be disposed to criticize his 
 revival movements, he poured forth, among a people 
 prepared to receive them, his really noble and manly 
 principles of civil and religious freedom, which bore 
 fruit in the Mecklenburg Convention and the bold 
 stand of his adopted State in favor of national inde- 
 pendence. 
 
 Into this region there had already begun to pour a 
 strong tide of immigration. It was mainly from Ire- 
 land j but it reached this Mesopotamia of North Caro- 
 lina by different routes. Part came by the port of 
 Charleston, and part by Philadelphia and the Delaware. 
 The two streams met and commingled, producing a 
 class of population worthy of the highest honor. They 
 carried their principles with them into the wilderness. 
 They built churches, and earnestly sought ministers or 
 
 i Webster, 437. 
 
THE CAROLINAS. 225 
 
 missionaries from the Synod; and in the Revolutionary 
 conflict the strength of their principles was tested by 
 their devotion to the cause of liberty of person and 
 conscience. 
 
 Almost contemporaneously with the settlement of 
 Mr. Craighead at Rocky River, the congregations of 
 Hopewell, Steel Creek, New Providence, Poplar Tent, 
 Rocky River, Centre, and Thyatira, were gathered. 
 Their applications to Synod for aid in procuring 
 preaching were frequent and earnest. Nor were they 
 altogether unheeded. Year alter year, missionaries were 
 appointed to visit the destitute settlements of Virginia 
 and Carolina. In 1764, McWhorter and Spencer were 
 sent to North Carolina, and by them quite a number of 
 the churches in the neighborhood of .Mecklenburg were 
 organized. 
 
 In 1765, a call was presented to Hanover Presbytery, 
 for Henry Patillo, from the congregations of Hawfields, 
 Eno, and Little River. Patillo had been a student under 
 Davies, and had been licensed by Hanover Presbytery 
 in 1757. As a patriarch of the Presbyterian Church 
 in North Carolina, his name is worthy of more than 
 merely a passing mention. 1 Of large frame and some- 
 what coarse features, but honest and candid to a pro- 
 verb, his genial spirit and freedom from all assumption 
 bound the hearts of others to him, and made them for- 
 get the plainness of his countenance and homeliness of 
 his manner, in the integrity of his heart and the fervent 
 simplicity of his purpose. He was above the influence 
 of all merely earthly considerations. He confessed no 
 attachment to any thing of a perishable nature, except. 
 books. He was always poor, and never envied wealth. 
 He sustained himself in his preparation for the minis- 
 try by teaching the children of his neighbor-,. I lis 
 
 1 Spraguc, iii. 196. 
 
226 HISTORY OF mrSBYTERIANISM. 
 
 dwelling — for he was married at the time — was a " house 
 sixteen feet by twelve and an outside chimney, with an 
 eight-feet shed, a little chimney to it." Yet even thus 
 he was well content. 
 
 But Mr. Davies, who fell in with him upon a preach- 
 ing-excursion to the Roanoke, and encouraged him to 
 study for the ministry, did not need to blush for his 
 pupil. Patillo proved himself " possessed of an origin- 
 ality of genius, and endowed by nature with powers of 
 mind superior to the common lot of men." But, above 
 all, lie was most devoted to his work. He lived for 
 Christ. All the ardor of his nature, all the genial 
 warmth of his friendship, was enlisted in the duties of 
 his sacred calling. Sustained by an unwavering faith, 
 he was always cheerful, always active. It was rarely 
 that his sky was clouded or his spirit disheartened. 
 For thirty-six years — the last twenty-one at Nutbush 
 and Grassy Creek — he was zealous and indefatigable 
 in the service of Christ; and the Church in North 
 Carolina may well be proud to name him among her 
 founders. Of the first Provincial Congress of the State 
 (1775) he was elected a member, and was unanimously 
 elected chairman of the committee of the whole, on 
 the subject of a National Confederation. 
 
 Early in 1765, a call was presented to the New Bruns- 
 wick Presbytery, by the congregations in Buffalo and 
 Alamance settlements, for the services of David Cald- 
 well. 1 He was a native of Lancaster county, Penn- 
 sylvania, the son of a plain farmer, and was twenty -five 
 years of age before he was converted. He at once 
 commenced his preparations for the ministry, under 
 Robert Smith, of Pequa, was graduated at Nassau Hall 
 in 1761, and in 1763 was licensed to preach. 
 
 His first labors were in the region where he was 
 
 1 Sprague. iii. 259. 
 
THE CAROLINAS. 227 
 
 afterward settled. He visited North Carolina as a mis- 
 sionary of the Synod, and Labored there somewhat over 
 
 a year. On his return in 1765, he entered upon his 
 parochial duties. It may give some idea of the feeble 
 
 condition of his united congregations, that both of 
 them gave him in all but a salary of two hundred 
 dollars. It was, therefore, a matter of necessity for 
 him to make other provision for his support. He 
 accordingly purchased a small farm, and at nearly the 
 same time commenced a classical school in his own 
 house. His usefulness as a teacher was scarcely infe- 
 rior to his usefulness in the pulpit. Some of the most 
 eminent men in Church and State were trained under 
 his instructions. His scholars ranged generally in num- 
 ber from fifty to sixty. 
 
 Mr. Caldwell's congregations needed a man of his 
 discretion to preserve their harmony. The church at 
 Buffalo was composed of Old-side members; that at 
 Alamance of New-side, or followers of Whitefield. In 
 him, however, they w T ere united; and they had good 
 reason to be. 
 
 Tradition says that the first sacramental occasion 
 observed by Presbyterians in Granville was in 1763. 
 William Tennent, Jr., 1 recently ordained by New Bruns- 
 wick Presbytery for a Southern mission, officiated. For 
 six months he labored in this region, under the direc- 
 tion of the Presbytery of Hanover. The congrega- 
 tions were regularly organized by James Cresswell, 
 licentiate of Hanover Presbytery, who supplied them 
 for some years. 
 
 The interests of the Presbyterian Church in North 
 Carolina were not neglected by the Synod of New 
 York and Philadelphia. Repeatedly that body sent 
 some of its best men as missionaries into the field, 
 
 Subsequently >>i' Charleston. 
 
228 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 to gather congregations and organize churches. Among 
 the names of those who were thus commissioned, we 
 meet with those of William Tenncnt, Jr., Nathan Ker, 
 George Duffield, William Ramsey, James Latta, Elihu 
 Spencer, and Alexander McWhorter. In 1770, Hezekiah 
 Balch, whose life is identified with the history of the 
 Presbyterian Church in East Tennessee, was ordained 
 as an evangelist by the Presbytery of New Castle, and 
 entered on his labors as a missionary of the Presbytery 
 of Hanover in North Carolina. 
 
 As the number of ministers and churches in this 
 region increased, the need was felt of another Presby- 
 tery, the membership of which should consist of minis- 
 ters south of the Virginia line. At a meeting, there- 
 fore, of Hanover Presbytery (1770), a petition was pre- 
 pared for Synod, asking for a Presbytery for Carolina 
 and the South. The petition was granted, and Hugh 
 McAden, Henry Patillo, David Caldwell, James Criswell, 
 Hezekiah Balch, Hezekiah James Balch, and Joseph 
 Alexander, were constituted a Presbytery, by the name 
 of Orange. From time to time the Presbytery was 
 strengthened by the accession of new members, most 
 of them originally from the North, but at an early age 
 residents of North Carolina. Thomas Reese, a native 
 of Pennsylvania, had removed when quite young, with 
 his father's family, to Mecklenburg county, N.C., where 
 he prosecuted his studies at an academy under charge 
 of Rev. Joseph Alexander, the successor of Alexander 
 Craighead, as pastor of Buffalo and Sugar Creek, in 
 1768. Mr. Alexander was a fine scholar, a graduate of 
 Princeton and a licentiate of the Presbytery of New 
 Castle. In connection with a Mr. Benedict, he taught a 
 classical school of high excellence and usefulness. When 
 the Presbyterians subsequently proposed to secure of 
 the king a charter for a college, he was named as the 
 first professor. 
 
THE CABOLINAS. 229 
 
 Under his care young Reese pursued his preparatory 
 course. In L768, at the age of twenty-six, he was 
 graduated a1 Princefon. Returning to Carolina, he 
 devoted some time to the study of. theology, and was 
 the first minister ordained by the new Presbytery of 
 Orange in 1 7 7 - J . Soon after this he entered upou his 
 labors in the pastorate of Salem Church, Sumter Dis- 
 trict, 8.C. In 1792 or 1793. he removed to Pendleton 
 District, S.C., where he Labored for several years. A 
 distinguished scholar, and eminently devoted to his 
 work, he exerted a wide and healthful influence. 
 Anxious only for the salvation of souls, " his success in 
 his ministerial labors evinced the presence and power 
 of the Holy Spirit." 
 
 In 177<i. the Presbytery of Orange licensed the cele- 
 brated James Hall, — a man with whose life the history 
 of the Presbyterian Church throughout the Southwest 
 is largely interwoven. He was of Scotch-Irish descent, 
 a native of Carlisle, Pa. At an early age he removed 
 with his parents to Iredell count}', N.C., and within 
 the bounds of the congregation of which he afterward 
 became pastor. From early childhood his mind was 
 religiously impressed. At the age of twenty he made 
 a public profession of religion, and at about the same 
 time he resolved to devote himself to the work of the 
 ministry. In 1774, at the ripe age of thirty-one, he 
 was graduated at Princeton, and such were his mathe- 
 matical attainments that President Witherspoon ex- 
 pressed a desire that he should be retained as a teacher 
 in the college. But the consciousness of his sacred 
 purpose to devote himself to the work of the ministry 
 forbade his acceptance of the offered position. 
 
 His theological course was pursued under I>r. Wither- 
 spoon. Upon its completion he returned to North Caro- 
 lina. On every side the broad field of spiritual desti- 
 tution invited Laborers. Various congregations pressed 
 
 Vol. 1.— I'd 
 
230 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 Mr. Hall to become their pastor. These applications 
 he felt it necessary to decline, and finally settled — 
 where his early years were spent — over the united 
 congregations of Fourth Creek, Concord, and Bethany. 
 In 1790, he secured a release from the first two, retain- 
 ing only his connection with Bethany, that he might 
 have more time to devote to the cause of domestic 
 missions. 
 
 In this cause he was a pioneer and veteran laborer. 
 Over a vast region of country his excursions were 
 extended and his influence felt. In his own congrega- 
 tions his labors were eminently blessed. As the fruit 
 of revivals, eighty were received to the communion 
 at one time, and sixty at another. Few men have left 
 behind them a more enviable memory. Devotedly 
 pious, unwearied in his" endeavors, sagacious in his 
 plans, and self-denying in the work which he loved 
 above every thing else, his ministry for forty years 
 " was one glowing scene of untiring activity and ear- 
 nest zeal to win souls to Christ." Precious memorials 
 of him, as a warm and active friend of revivals, still 
 survive among the churches of the region in which he 
 labored. His solemn, pungent appeals in the pulpit, 
 his grave, impressive manner, his long and toilsome 
 missionary tours, and the constancy of a consecration 
 to his work which improved for usefulness every oppor- 
 tunity that offered, have invested his name with pecu- 
 liar interest. 
 
 A worthy compeer and co-Presbyter of Hall was 
 Samuel Eusebius McCorkle, who, like him, a native of 
 Pennsylvania, early removed to North Carolina. In 
 1766, he commenced his preparatory course of study 
 at Dr. Caldwell's school in Giilford county, and in 1772 
 was graduated at Princeton in the same class with Dr. 
 McMillan and Aaron Burr. In 1774, he was licensed 
 by the Presbytery of New York, and by the Synod 
 
THE CAR0LINA8. 231 
 
 was commissioned to go southward and labor for at 
 least a year under the direction of the Presbyteries of 
 Hanover and Orange. After spending two years as a 
 missionary in Virginia, he accepted the call of the 
 church at Thyatira, where his early years had been 
 spent, and where his parents still resided. For thirty- 
 five years his course of usefulness and successful labor 
 was continued in the region where he first settled. 
 For ten or twelve years, he, like many of his brethren 
 in the ministry, took charge of a classical school, which 
 bore the significant name of Zion Parnassus. He was 
 a thorough scholar and a devoted minister, less of a 
 missionary than a student, and so intensely devoted to 
 theological investigations that his temporal interests 
 were sometimes too much neglected. He wrote his dis- 
 courses, but used no manuscript in the pulpit. His tall 
 and manly form, his grave and solemn countenance, 
 and his impressive and thrilling tones, made his dis- 
 courses most effective in riveting the attention and 
 amusing the conscience. In the revivals of 1801 and 
 1802, his influence, like that of Hall, was deeply and 
 widely felt. 
 
 Quite a number of churches had been gathered in 
 the bounds of North Carolina before the Presbytery 
 of Orange numbered any under its care south of the 
 State line. The Presbytery of Charleston stood apart 
 by itself, and occupied but a limited portion of the 
 State." The Williamsburg church was formed as early 
 as 1736, and for many years enjo3~ed great spiritual 
 prosperity. But for some time previous to the Revolu- 
 tion its prosperity had declined, chiefly, it is said, in 
 consequence of receiving Large accessions from the 
 North of Ireland, in which, to Bay the least, spiritual- 
 ity was not the predominant element. Throughout 
 the war of the Revolution the church was vacant, and 
 its difficulties were only aggravated by the subsequent 
 
232 HISTORY OF FRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 settlement of a Mr. Kennedy. By a secession the 
 Bethel Church was formed previous to 1790, over which, 
 in connection with that of Indian town, James White 
 Stephenson was settled from 1790 to 1808. 1 
 
 In 1782, Francis Cummins accepted a call from Bethel 
 Church, in the district of York, S.C., where he was 
 ordained toward the close of that year. Like MeCor- 
 kle, Hall, and Reese, he was a native of Pennsylvania, 
 but had removed with his family, while yet a } T outh, to 
 Mecklenburg county, N.C. Here he enjoyed and im- 
 proved the opportunity atforded him for an education 
 superior to any which had hitherto offered. In the 
 neighboring college, then called " Queen's Museum," 
 under the instruction of Eev. Dr. McWhorter, who had 
 recently removed thither from New Jersey, he pursued 
 his studies, and was graduated in 1776. His theological 
 studies were pursued under the direction of Eev. James 
 Hall, and in 1780 he was licensed to preach by the 
 Presbytery of Orange. 
 
 His fields of labor were numerous and varied. Indeed, 
 his labors were never confined to a single congregation. 
 There were some twenty churches which considered 
 him as, in some sense, their pastor, during the whole 
 course of his ministry. Twenty-four years were spent 
 in South Carolina, and twenty-five in Georgia. Yet, 
 during this long period, his time was almost always 
 laboriously divided between teaching and preaching. 
 The churches in that region were at this period so 
 generally missionary stations, and the ministers so few 
 in number, that their efforts were spread necessarily 
 over a broad field. 
 
 Of this arduous work, Dr. Cummins performed his 
 full share. Indeed, he seemed peculiarly adapted to it. 
 An accurate scholar, an able and well-read theologian, 
 
 1 Sprague, iii. 552. 
 
THE CAROLINAS. 233 
 
 with a physical development in keeping with his Large 
 intellectual gifts, and a high, capacious, and intelled uaJ 
 forehead which proclaimed him no ordinary man. his 
 presence in the pulpit was sure to command attention 
 and awaken interest. His deep-toned voice, somewhat 
 authoritative and dictatorial manner, and perfect self- 
 command, conjoined with his mental and spiritual gifts, 
 rendered him eminent as a preacher. He lived to aripe 
 old age of nearly fourscore, and died in 1831. 
 
 These were among the most eminent of the early 
 ministers of Orange Presbytery. But there were others 
 who labored in the region for a longer or a shorter 
 period. In 1760, Rev. Eobert Tate came from Ireland 
 to Wilmington, and opened a classical school for his 
 support. Many of the young men of New Hanover, 
 who took an active part in the- Revolution, enjoyed his 
 instructions. While residing at Wilmington, where no 
 Presbyterian church was organized until after the war, 
 he was accustomed to make preaching excursions 
 through New Hanover and the adjoining counties, par- 
 ticularly up the Black and South Rivers. During the 
 war. on account of his ardent Whig principles, he found 
 it prudent to leave Wilmington and reside in the Jlaw- 
 fields, in Orange. Without being settled as a pastor, he 
 performed a large amount of missionary labor. His 
 cultured manners, genial conversation, and winning 
 deportment gave him great influence, especially among 
 the young. 
 
 Rev. William Richardson labored for a while at Provi- 
 dence, although his residence was in South Carolina 
 and he was a member of the Charleston Presbytery. 
 He was a licentiate of Hanover Presbytery in 1758. 
 
 Rev. John Debow was the second pastor of the con- 
 gregations of the Eno and the Haw. He commenced 
 his labors as a Licentiate <>r the Presbytery of New 
 Brunswick in 1775, but died eight years afterward. 
 
 20* 
 
234 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 In 1785, Rev. William Bingham commenced his labois 
 at Wilmington and in the surrounding country. He 
 was a native of Ireland, and an excellent scholar. He 
 sustained himself b} r conducting a classical school, in 
 the management of which he was exceedingly popular. 
 At a later period he removed to the upper country, and 
 taught with great success in Chatham and Orange. 
 
 At about this period, James McGready, whose name 
 figures so largely in connection with the revivals in 
 Kentucky at the commencement of the present cen- 
 tury, commenced his labors in North Carolina. His 
 unsparing denunciations of wickedness, and his terrible 
 appeals, which won him the title of " Boanerges," ren- 
 dered him, while popular with some, greatly obnoxious 
 to others. But his labors were* not in vain. Among 
 those who were deeply affected by his influence was 
 the Rev. William Hodge, who is said to have been a 
 native of Hawfields, and who accompanied McGready 
 to Kentucky. While McGready was preaching on 
 Stoney Creek and along the Haw River in 1789, Hodge 
 was one of his constant hearers. In listening to the 
 bold, fearless preacher, he felt his own desire to preach 
 the gospel revived, and, on being licensed by the Pres- 
 bytery of Orange, he went hand and heart with his 
 teacher in the revival work. 
 
 Meanwhile, the Presbytery of Orange was extending 
 toward the West. Eastern Tennessee was included 
 within its bounds. Here were to be found some of its 
 most earnest and devoted members. Among them 
 were Charles Cummings and Hezekiah Balch. These, 
 with Samuel Houston, Samuel Carrick, John Cossan, 
 and James Balch, formed at a subsequent period the 
 Presbytery of Abingdon, in East Tennessee. 
 
 The Presbyterian Church in the Carolinas had passed 
 through a trying period. The influence of the war 
 was disastrous to public morals, while many of the 
 
THE CAROLINAS. 2o5 
 
 churches and congregations were sadly scattered. In 
 some cases the people dared ool assemble. A meeting 
 for religious purposes would have been accounted trea- 
 son, and, while the country was in the hands of the 
 British troops, would but too surely have invited a visit 
 of the dragoons. 
 
 The pastors, moreover, were especially obnoxious. 
 Prom the first they had manifested a warm zeal in the 
 cause of national independence. Some of them had 
 for years before the crisis been inculcating those princi- 
 ples of civil and religious freedom which bore fruit in 
 the results of the Revolutionary conflict. Indeed, they 
 might he said to have given the impulse to the popular 
 mind around them, which resulted in the Declaration 
 of the celebrated .Mecklenburg Convention. In the 
 proceedings of this body, the influence of the Presby- 
 terian (.dement which helped to compose it is plainly 
 seen. Xor were they wanting to themselves or to their 
 country when the crisis came. Patillo was a member 
 of the first Provincial Congress in 1775, and its chair- 
 man when it sat in committee of the whole. Caldwell 
 was a member of the State Convention in 1776. Craig- 
 head had already for more than a score of years been 
 a zealous and uncompromising champion of those prin- 
 ciples of civil and religious liberty of which the Meck- 
 lenburg Declaration was a practical exposition. As 
 members of the convention, sat several elders of the 
 Presbyterian churches in the Mecklenburg district. 
 There were at least seven of these, four of them of the 
 well-known name of Alexander. The Rev. Hezekiah 
 James Baloh was also a member; and among the young 
 men who listened to the doings of the convention were 
 Joseph (afterward General Joseph) Graham, long an 
 elder, and Humphrey Hunter, minister, of the churches 
 of Unity and <b>-hcn. Of this number also was Fran- 
 cis (afterward Rev. Dr.) Cummins, then a student at 
 
236 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 "Queen's Museum," in Charlotte, and like the others, 
 in full sympathy with the proceedings of the conven- 
 tion. 
 
 Among the sufferers by the war, the Presbyterian 
 clergy held a distinguished rank. By the British and 
 Tories they were singled out for vengeance, and upon 
 the head of one was set a price of two hundred pounds. 
 McAden was fast verging to the grave; but he and his 
 congregation suffered severely; and scarcely had his 
 ashes been laid in the grave, before devastation sj)read 
 over the scene of his labors. Two weeks after his death, 
 the British encamped in the yard of Bed-House Church, 
 where he had preached, searched his dwelling, plun- 
 dered and destroyed his papers, and carried desolation 
 through the region. James Tate, a staunch Whig, was 
 forced to flee from Wilmington to escape the grasp of 
 British power. Thomas H. McCaule was a zealous 
 patriot, and his field of labor was in the track of the 
 hostile armies : he was by the side of General Davidson 
 when the latter was shot off from his horse. The congre- 
 gations of Eno, Hawfields, Buffalo, and Alamance, were 
 the scenes of the plundering^ of Cornwallis's army. 
 The sufferings and privations which they endured 
 were fearful. The catalogue of outrage would fill a 
 volume. The house of Dr. Caldwell was broken open, 
 his library and valuable papers destroyed, and his pro- 
 perty stolen, while he, watched as a felon, spent night 
 after night in the solitudes of the forest. Many an 
 effort was made to draw him from his hiding-place. 
 His house was watched ; sudden visits were made to 
 surprise him; but, eluding all the arts of his enemies, 
 he escaped their hands. 
 
 Such a state of things could not but be sorely disas- 
 trous to the churches. Attention was diverted from 
 religion to the discussion of political questions. The 
 community was rent into embittered parties by civil 
 
THE CAROLINAS. 237 
 
 feuds. The ravages as wel] as the license of war pro- 
 duced desperation and excited to reprisals; morality 
 was at a Low ebb j congregations were scattered, and 
 the seed of thai infidelity which at a later period 
 ravaged the land was now. in part, sown. 
 
 With the return of peace the prospecl brightened : 
 the congregations could assemble again, with none to 
 molest or make afraid; the pastors could and did re- 
 sume their duties, and once more regularly occupied 
 their pulpits. But, before religion could fairly regain 
 the ground it had lost, there was to be another con- 
 flict, but one not waged with carnal weapons. Infi- 
 delity was to fall before the bold reproof of a faithful 
 ministry and the wonderful outpouring of the Divine 
 Spirit. 
 
 The Presbyterian Church in the Carolinas showed 
 itself from the first a fast friend of education. The 
 pioneer laborers deeply felt the necessity not only of 
 giving an impulse to the general intelligence, but of 
 training up an educated ministry. They perceived 
 clearly the necessity of providing for the enlarged de- 
 mands of an extensive and still extending missionary 
 field. Hence, wherever a pastor was located, there 
 was in connection with his congregation a classical 
 school. This was the case at Sugar Creek, Poplar 
 Tent, Centre, Bethany, Buffalo, Thyatira, Grove, Wil- 
 mington, and the churches served by Patillo in Orange 
 and Granville. 
 
 The oldest of these was under the care of Joseph 
 Alexander, at Sugar Creek J and here a large number 
 of ministers received their classical education. The 
 prejudices of George 11 1, denied it a charter, for it was 
 in the hands of Presbyterian Whigs. Bui "Queen's 
 Museum" flourished without a charter, and the debates 
 preceding the Mecklenburg Declaration were held in 
 its hall. It was but a fitting tribute to its usefulness 
 
238 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 and promise, when the Legislature of North Carolina, 
 in 1777, chartered the institution, under the name of 
 Liberty Hall Academy. It was entirely under Pres- 
 b} T terian direction, and under the supervision of Orange 
 Presbytery. The Eev. Alexander (afterward Dr.) 
 McWhorter, of Newark, was solicited to take charge 
 of it; but his residence was only temporary, and the 
 pre-eminence of Liberty Hall as supplying the place 
 of a college for the South was transferred to JMount 
 Zion College, Winnsborough, S.C., over which Thomas 
 H. McCaule presided for several years. 
 
 Classical schools of a high order, under Presbyte- 
 rian direction, were more numerous after the Revolu- 
 tionary War. Dr. Caldwell continued his in Guilford 
 till his death. Dr. McCorkle sustained one in Eowan, 
 and afterward in Salisbury. Dr. Robinson sustained 
 the one at Poplar Tent, with some intermissions, 
 till near the close of his life. Dr. Wilson was very 
 successful at Rocky Hill, and Dr. Hall at Bethany. 
 There was also a nourishing one, under William Bing- 
 ham, in Chatham, and one in Burke. Providence, 
 Grove, and Fayetteville, enjoyed a succession of clas- 
 sical teachers. 
 
 With the establishment of the University of the 
 State, at Chapel Hill, in 1789, the preponderance of 
 classical schools ceased to be so entirely on the side of 
 the Presbyterian Church. Yet at a later period the 
 cause was taken up by them again, with revived energy, 
 and with results that nobly justified the effort. 
 
 As we have already seen, the first attempt to colo- 
 nize South as well as North Carolina resembled in its 
 origin an investment of capital by a company of land- 
 jobbers. 1 The proprietaries furnished the emigrants 
 with means to embark, but sent out with them their 
 
 1 Bancroft, ii. 166. 
 
THE CAROLINAS. 239 
 
 own commercial agent, and undertook the manage- 
 ment of all commercial transactions. As mighl have 
 been expected, the coIodj wsub a scene of turbulence, 
 and industry was unproductive, till the old Constitu- 
 tions were abandoned and the colonists learned to rely 
 on their own energy. 
 
 The first band of emigrants to South Carolina set 
 sail in January, 1670. The period, in England, was 
 one of sharp persecution for Dissenters. Eight years 
 before, the terrible Act of Conformity had expelled 
 nearly two thousand ministers from their parishes and 
 pulpits. Cavalier statesmen were unscrupulous enough 
 to take advantage of the fruits of their own bigoted 
 counsels. In the first band, along with the commercial 
 agent, was William Sayle, the proprietary Governor, 
 "probably a Presbyterian," who, more than twenty 
 years before, had attempted to plant an " Eleutheria" 
 in the isles of the Gulf of Florida. 
 
 The emigrants had hardly landed before they insti- 
 tuted a polity on a liberal basis. Eepresentative gov- 
 ernment was established, and continued to be che- 
 rished. It was in vain that Locke theorized or 
 Shaftesbury speculated. The Utopia of their dreams 
 was not to be realized. It was not long before Dutch 
 enterprise offered the colonists the luxury of cargoes 
 of slaves. From the banks of the Hudson, lured by 
 stories of the fertility of the soil, came an unlooked- 
 for accession to the population. In little more than a 
 year after the arrival of the first colonists, two ships 
 with Dutch emigrants from New York arrived, and 
 these w T ere soon followed by others with their country- 
 men from Holland. Even Charles II. provided at his 
 own expense — a munificence the more marked for its 
 isolation, and perhaps designed to manifest his sym- 
 pathy with Carolina rather than Now England — two 
 small vessels, to transport to Carolina a few foreign 
 
240 HISTORY OF PRESBYTEUIANISM. 
 
 Protestants. But the most considerable emigration 
 was from England. The prospect of immunity from 
 the molestation of informers and acts against conven- 
 ticles and Non-Conformity, tempted Dissenters to a 
 colony where their worship would be tolerated and 
 their rights respected. A company of them from 
 Somersetshire were conducted to Charleston by Joseph 
 Drake, brother of the gallant admiral, and the fortune 
 which the latter had acquired was employed to plant 
 South Carolina with a people who dreaded the evils 
 of oppression and the prospect of a Popish successor 
 to the throne. 
 
 The condition of Scotland, likewise, impelled not a 
 few to project a settlement in Carolina. But a com- 
 paratively small number, however, under the lead of 
 Lord Cardross, who soon returned, crossed the Atlan- 
 tic. A colony of Irish under Ferguson received a 
 hearty welcome, and were soon merged among the 
 other colonists. More important, however, for a short 
 period at least, was the accession to the population 
 from the exiled Huguenots. The French king essayed 
 to torment them into conversion, but he only tor- 
 mented them out of the kingdom; and not a few found 
 their way to the shores of South Carolina. Here were 
 fugitives from Languedoc and Saintonge and Bor- 
 deaux, from Northern and Southern France, — Calvinist 
 Protestants seeking the shelter which the worldly 
 policy of High-Church statesmen extended to the ad- 
 herents'of every creed. 
 
 At an early period, also, the population of South 
 Carolina received into its bosom a Puritan element 
 from New England. Although by the Charter of the 
 State the Church of England was the only one legally 
 recognized, yet it contained provisions favorable to 
 other creeds. The Colony, though founded by bigoted 
 Churchmen, was governed by " Dissenters." Blako 
 
THE CAROLINAS. 2-11 
 
 was a Presbyterian, and Axchdale a Quaker.* There 
 were also in the colony " godly Christians, both pre- 
 pared for and longing alter the edifying ordinances 
 of the gospel." 
 
 The first from abroad to respond to their appeal was 
 Joseph Lord, of Charlestown, Mass., who, four years 
 before, had graduated at Harvard, and had since been 
 teaching at Dorchester, and studying theology with 
 the pastor of the church. 2 On the 22d of October, 
 1695, those who offered to go with him were embodied 
 in a church, over which he was ordained pastor. 3 From 
 the churches of Boston, Milton, Newton, Charlestown, 
 and Eoxbury, came pastors and delegates to assist in the 
 services at the gathering of this little flock, and " to 
 encourage the settlement of churches and the promo- 
 tion of religion in the Southern plantations." In little 
 more than a month the company were ready to embark; 
 and their faith and ardor did not abate at the prospect 
 of separation from old associations. The parting scene 
 was solemnized by the holy services of religion. Their 
 former pastor, Mr. Danforth, preached " a most affec- 
 tionate and moving valedictory." On the 5th of De- 
 cember, the colony — a whole church — set sail, and for 
 the first time New England sent forth missionaries 
 beyond her bounds. For a time the voyage was bois- 
 
 1 Graham's History of North America, ii. 167. 
 
 2 Graham (History of North America, ii. 170) says, "At the close 
 of the seventeenth century, there were only three edifices for divine 
 worship erected within the Southern province, containing re- 
 spectively an Episcopal, a Presbyterian, and a Quaker congregation, 
 and all of them situated in the town of Charleston. Throughout 
 all the rest of the province there were neither institutions for public 
 worship, nor schools for education." 
 
 It is evident that he overlooked his own statement (p. 1GG) of tho 
 settlement which, just before the close of the century, had be*>u 
 made at Dorchester by the New England emigrants. 
 
 » Am. Quar. Reg., Aug. 1841. 
 
 Vol. I.— 21 
 
242 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 terous and unpleasant, and it was fifteen days before 
 they landed in Carolina. Following the course of the 
 Ashley Eiver, they found on its northeasterly bank, 
 about twenty miles from Charleston, a rich piece of land, 
 whose virgin soil and whose stately woodlands, with 
 their interlacing vines and evergreen misletoe and dra- 
 pery- of moss, were well adapted to their purposes, and 
 which they immediately selected as their future home, 
 giving to it, in memory of their native place, the name 
 of Dorchester. Here, on February 2, 1696, " they 
 raised their grateful Ebenezer," by celebrating, for the 
 first time in Carolina, the sacrament of the Lord's 
 Supper. 
 
 Mr. Lord remained with this people for more than 
 twenty years. Hugh Fisher was his successor; and, 
 upon his death, John Osgood, a native of the colony 
 (Dorchester), was ordained (1734-5). In 1754, the 
 church mostly removed, with their pastor, to Midway, 
 Georgia. 
 
 At Charleston, also, beside the Huguenot Church, 
 (1686), originating with the expulsion of Protestants 
 from France, by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, 
 there was, as early as 1690, a meeting-house for a 
 congregation (known, till 1730, indiscriminately as 
 Presbyterian, Congregational, and Independent) of 
 which Benjamin Pierpont (1691-1696-7) was pastor, 
 and whose successors were Mr. Adams, 1 and John 
 Cotton, son of the Boston minister. 2 This at first may 
 have embraced alike settlers from Scotland and from 
 
 1 Am. Quar. Reg., Aug. 1841. 
 
 2 Graham (History of North America, ii. 167) says, "In the year 
 1698, he [Blake] had the satisfaction to see John Cotton, a son of 
 tne celebrated minister of Boston, remove from Plymouth, in New 
 England, to Charleston, in South Carolina, where he gathered a 
 church and enjoyed a short, but happy and successful, ministry." 
 This must be a mistake. The statement of the American Quarterly 
 
THE CAUOLINAS. 243 
 
 New England. But the two elements were not alto- 
 gether congen ial, and in 1730 the Scotch demanded 
 an organization of their own. 1 Its germ was found 
 in the secession of twelve families from the old 
 Church. 
 
 Up to the close of the seventeenth century, all de- 
 nominations had enjoyed an equal freedom. The law 
 favored none at the expense of others. But in 1703 a 
 the Governor, Sir Nathaniel Johnson, as if in concert 
 with Lord Corn bury at i^ew York, determined to in- 
 troduce into the colony the system which Dissenters 
 had learned to regard with well-grounded jealousy. 
 By skilful arrangements, and through elections at 
 w r hich it is said that the most despicable classes of the 
 population were allowed to vote, a legislature was 
 secured favorable to the Governor's design. By a close 
 
 Register, taken from a Charleston publication, is doubtless more 
 reliable. See, however, Sprague, i. 29. 
 
 1 Dr. Smythe, in his History of the Second Presbyterian Church of 
 Charleston, says, " As early as 1690, the Presbyterians, in conjunc- 
 tion with the Independents, formed a church in Charleston, which 
 continued in this united form for forty years. During this period, 
 two of their ministers, the Rev. Messrs. Stobo and Livingston, 
 were Presbyterians, and connected with the Charleston Presbytery. 
 After the death of the latter, twelve families seceded, and formed a 
 Presbyterian Church on the model of the Church of Scotland. 
 Their building was -erected in 1731, on the site of the present, which 
 was completed in 1814." 
 
 Dr. Howe, in his Historical Discourse, states — evidently a mistake 
 — that the date of the founding of the First Presbyterian Church 
 of Charleston was 1741. It should have been ten years earlier. 
 That Stobo was the successor of Cotton in charge of the same 
 church, I see no reason to doubt. Cotton died (Sprague, i. 29) 
 Sept. 8, 1699, and Stobo, who brought no colonists or congregation 
 with him, arrived in 1700. What more natural than that under 
 Stobo, himself a Presbyterian, the Independents and Presbyterians 
 should unite? 
 
 2 Hewatt's Sauth Carolina, i. 107, 172. 
 
244 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 vote it was enacted that the Episcopal should be the 
 estaVlished Church, and that it should be supported 
 by a tax on all classes of citizens alike, including Dis- 
 senters, who were likewise deprived of all civil rights. 1 
 The colony was divided into ten parishes, and arrange- 
 ments were made to secure the necessary number of 
 missionaries from England. 
 
 The measure met with strong opposition. The Pres- 
 byterians exclaimed against it, and the Quakers were 
 not silent. John Archdale told the Governor that the 
 Dissenters had not forgotten the hardships to which 
 they had been subjected in England in consequence of 
 acts of conformity. He asserted boldly that, under the 
 Constitution of the colony, freedom of conscience was 
 the birthright of every citizen. Others united with 
 him in his remonstrance. But opposition was vain. 
 Despairing of redress, some of those who complained 
 of what they regarded as a tyrannical measure, and a 
 violation of plighted faith, prepared to leave the colony 
 and remove to Pennsylvania, and a portion of them 
 actually removed; 2 others determined to apply to the 
 proprietaries for redress. The citizens of Colleton 
 county united in a petition, which they sent to England 
 by the hands of one of their number, Joseph Boone. 
 On reaching London, he found the prospect before him 
 far from encouraging. The proprietaries were not 
 disposed to annul the obnoxious measure; but the 
 London merchants united with Boone in urging the 
 petition, and it was carried before the House of Lords. 
 Their action was favorable, and there was a prospect 
 that the prayer of the petitioners for relief would be 
 granted. The queen issued an order declaring the 
 obnoxious laws to be null and void; but her promise to 
 issue a process against the provincial charter was never 
 
 1 Simms's South Carolina, 78. 2 Hewat.t, i. 178. 
 
THE CAROLINAS. 245 
 
 fulfilled. The Episcopal Church was established in the 
 colony. Dissenters were taxed for its support, and at 
 
 the same time, if they wished to enjoy their own form 
 of worship, were forced by their private contributions 
 
 to erect churches and sustain ministers 
 
 One of the leading opponents of the Governor's pro- 
 ject — along with Archdale — was Archibald Stobo, the 
 pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Charleston, — "a 
 survivor of the ministers who accompanied the Scotch 
 emigrants to New Caledonia." He had been a resi- 
 dent of the city since the year 1700, 1 and at the time 
 when the act creating the Establishment was passed, 
 he exerted a powerful and commanding influence. He 
 was possessed of eminent ability, — of " talents which 
 render a minister conspicuous and respected/' 2 To a 
 mind well stored with the treasures of learning, and 
 an excellent capacity, he united an uncommon activity 
 and diligence in the discharge of his appropriate duties. 
 Naturally averse to Episcopal jurisdiction, and with an 
 inveterate Scotch antipathy to that prelatic tyranny 
 which had inflicted such persecution on his native 
 land, he w r as not conciliated by the designs in favor of 
 Episcopal supremacy which he now witnessed in his 
 adopted country. From the first he met the proposed 
 innovation with unqualified opposition; and his in- 
 fluence was powerfully felt. No minister in the colony 
 had engrossed so universally the public favor and 
 esteem, and no one rendered himself more obnoxious 
 to the disfavor of the government. Malignant arts 
 were employed against him, and the Governor resorted 
 to the weapons of slander to break dow T n and to ruin 
 his influence. 
 
 The effect of the measure which he so strenuously 
 opposed was disastrous to the Presbyterian churches. 
 
 Bprague, iii. 251. 2 Hewutt, i. 178. 
 
 21* 
 
246 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 The English Society for the Propagation of the Gospel 
 sent twelve Episcopal missionaries to the colony, and 
 their support was largely secured from the public 
 treasury. Spacious churches were built and paid for 
 by taxes, which fell heavily on Dissenters. The state 
 patronage extended to the Episcopal Church soon 
 secured it ascendency also in numbers and strength. 
 The friends of religious liberty in the Assembly were 
 reduced in numbers, and the energy and art of the 
 Governor bore down all opposition. Large numbers 
 of the children of Dissenters were led to abandon the 
 worship of their fathers and connect themselves with 
 the State Church, against which the prejudices of the 
 community were no longer directed. 1 
 
 But Stobo still maintained his ground. By great 
 diligence and ability, he preserved a number of fol- 
 lowers ; and, in spite of desertions, his congregation 
 was strengthened by the accession of emigrants from 
 Scotland and Ireland. The Presbyterians composed 
 yet " a considerable party in the province," and sus- 
 tained their own forms and ordinances of worship. At 
 length, encouraged by help from Scotland, Stobo united 
 with two other ministers — Fisher and Witherspoon — 
 in efforts to promote the interests of the Presbyterian 
 Church in the colony. They " associated" 2 themselves 
 for this purpose, and probably united in forming a 
 Presbytery. 3 Churches were gathered, 4 and houses of 
 
 1 Hewatt, ii. 51. 2 Hewatt. 
 
 3 The date of this is not given ; but it must have been before 
 1734. 
 
 * Dr. Smythe, in his History of the Second Presbyterian Church 
 of Charleston, states that the churches belonging to the Presby- 
 tery were those of Wiltown, Pon Pon, St. Thomas's, Stoney Creek, 
 Salt-catchers, Black Mingo, the original and first incorporated 
 church of Williamsburg, Charleston, Edisto, and the church of 
 John and Wadmalaw Islands. 
 
THE CAROLIKA& 247 
 
 worship erected, a1 Wiltown and " three of the Mari- 
 time Islands," and subsequently at Jacksonbupg, Indian- 
 town, Pon Pon, or WalterboFeugh, Port Royal, und 
 Williamsburg. 1 
 
 In 1710, a letter from South Carolina, published in 
 London. 2 stated that there were in the colony five 
 churches of British Presbyterians. Some of these 
 may subsequently have become extinct. The church 
 on Edisto Island 3 dates tioni 1717; that of Pon Pon, or 
 Walterliorough, of which Stobo, on leaving Charleston, 
 became pastor, from 1728 ; those on John's and James's 
 Islands from 1734 or 1735; that of Wiltown was many 
 years anterior; while the Independent Presbyterian 
 Church of Stoney Creek dates from 1743. The five 
 early churches must have been those of Charleston, 
 Dorchester, perhaps Wiltown or Edisto, and one or 
 more on the Maritime Islands. 
 
 The pastors were obtained for the most part, if not 
 in every instance, from Scotland. The Presbytery 
 regarded itself as a portion of the Scotch Kirk, and 
 looked to it for a supply for its pulpits. The presence 
 in the colony of " ignorant" and " fanatic" men who 
 assumed the right to preach, but who were regarded 
 by the members of the Presbytery in the light of 
 ranters, made them jealous as to the character of 
 those whom they admitted to their pulpits or to the 
 care of their vacant churches. In full sympathy, as 
 we have reason to believe, with the Moderates of the 
 Church of Scotland, it would not have been strange if 
 
 1 Williamsburg was founded by a colony of Irish in 1734. 
 
 Simms'a South Carolina, 132. 
 
 2 Dr. Howe's Historical Discourse. 
 
 3 In 1705, Henry Brown obtained a grant for three hundred acres 
 of land, which in 1717 he conveyed to certain persons "in trust 
 for the benefit of a Presbyterian clergyman in Edisto Island." 
 • — llmhje, i. 58. 
 
248 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 their antipathy to the revivalists of the New side — who 
 may have penetrated into what the former considered 
 their exclusive domain — should have led them to class 
 the intruders with ignorant fanatics. 
 
 The successors of Stobo and Livingston, 1 Alexander 
 Hewatt (1763-1776) and George Buist (1793-1808), 
 were, like himself, natives of Scotland, and were there 
 educated and ordained. At the request of the Church, 
 addressed to ministers in that country, the last two, 
 at least, were sent out to supply the pulpit. Hewatt 
 was a man of learning, ability, and no little of kindly 
 feeling. To his congregation he ever remained strongly 
 attached. Among them for twelve years he continued 
 his labors, till the near prospect of war with the 
 mother-country led him, as is supposed, to return to 
 Scotland. In 1779, he published in London his History 
 of South Carolina. 
 
 His successor, Buist, was sent out, at the request of 
 the Church, by Principal Eobertson and Dr. Blair, of 
 Scotland. They pronounced him from their own 
 acquaintance to be " a good scholar, an instructive 
 preacher, well bred, and of a good natural temper." 
 The recommendation is characteristic of the mode- 
 ratism of its authors. Nor did he on his arrival in this 
 country belie the assurance given in regard to his 
 
 1 Stobo (Dr. Howe's Historical Discourse) was succeeded at 
 Charleston by Livingston ; or rather Livingston, I suspect, took 
 charge of the Scotch Church when formed in 1730, and Stobo with- 
 drew from Charleston to one of the country churches. The labors 
 of the latter continued until as late at least as 1740, in which year 
 the slave insurrection took place. When the intelligence of it 
 reached Wilt own, he was preaching at the church, whither the men, 
 according to custom, had come armed. To this fact the prompt 
 and successful suppression of the insurrection was due. How 
 much longer Stobo lived, we have not the means to determine. 
 
 Howe and Smyth e both speak of Livingston as Stobo's successor ; 
 but the fact is probably as stated above. 
 
THE CAROLINAS. 249 
 
 qualifications. ITe was a man of original gonitis, an 
 eminent classical scholar, and an impressive preacher. 
 He took charge of the church in 1793, and in 1805 
 was appointed Principal of the Charleston College,-*- 
 a post for which he was eminently fitted. It was 
 during his pastorate (1805), and not improbably at his 
 instance, that the Presbytery with which he was con- 
 nected petitioned to be received by the General Assem- 
 bly. 1 They were not disposed, however, to unite them- 
 selves with the Synod of the Carolinas. Their sym- 
 pathies, if fairly represented by men like lie watt and 
 Buist, whom the moderates of the Church of Scotland 
 could commend, were not very strongly in the direc- 
 tion of the revival in which the churches of the Synod 
 had so recently and so largely shared. The petition 
 was one which the Synod, therefore, for very obvious 
 reasons, opposed. They drew up a remonstrance (Oct. 
 1805) to the Assembly against the reception of a Pres- 
 bytery which declined to unite itself first with the 
 Synod within whose bounds it properly belonged, and 
 pronounced the proposed measure unconstitutional and 
 reflecting upon the Synod. 
 
 Here the matter rested until 1811. In that year the 
 Presbytery renewed its request to be united with the 
 General Assembly. The prayer of the petitioners was 
 
 1 The Presbytery of South Carolina received quite a number of 
 members from New England and the Presbyterian Church long 
 before its connection with the Assembly. William Richardson, in 
 1760, was dismissed from New York Presbytery to South Carolina 
 Presbytery. In 1768, James Latta, from Philadelphia Presbytery, 
 united with the same body. In 1770, John Malt by, of New York 
 Presbytery, also united with it. In 1768, Dr. McWhorter wa9 
 appointed by the Synod to correspond with the South Carolina 
 Presbytery; and in 1770 the latter body proposed to unite with 
 the Synod. The troubles of the Revolution doubtless interfered 
 with the execution of the project. See Synod's Miuutes, 3U7, 378, 
 408-9. 
 
250 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 granted, but on such conditions that the Synod had no 
 longer any reason to object. These conditions were 
 the adoption, by the members of Presbytery, of the 
 Confession of Faith and Constitution of the Presby- 
 terian Church, -and a compromise or union with the 
 Presbytery of Harmony, subject to the review and 
 control of the Synod. 
 
 CHAPTEB XIII. 
 
 " OLD REDSTONE," 1776-1793. 
 
 The treaty of peace between England and France 
 in 1762, opened to colonial enterprise and immigration 
 the vast territory to the west of the Alleghanies, which 
 France had hitherto claimed, and of which Fort Pitt 
 was one of the defences. Almost immediately settlers 
 began to find their way across the mountains, and in 
 the course of a few years a population of thousands 
 had e'xtended the frontiers of civilization to the vicinity 
 of the Ohio. The emigrants came mainly from Eastern 
 Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the North of Ireland. 1 
 A large proportion of them were Presbyterians, bap- 
 tized and brought up in the bosom of the Church, and 
 some of them, before their emigration, members of its 
 communion. For the most part, they were a bold and 
 hardy race. Only strong men, physically and morally, 
 would have braved the hardships they freely encoun- 
 tered, — the hardships not only of the pioneer settler, 
 but those of danger from Indian hostilities. 
 
 Almost at the same time that the preliminaries of 
 
 1 Old Redstone, p. 52. 
 
OLD REDSTONE, 1776-1793. 251 
 
 peace were signed at Fontainebleau, — in fact, only 
 thirteen days afterward, — the " Corporation for poor 
 and distressed Presbyterian ministers" agreed to ap- 
 point some of their members to wait on the Synod at 
 its next meeting, and in their name request "that mis- 
 sionaries might be sent to the distressed frontier in- 
 habitants, report their distresses, learn what new 
 congregations were forming/' what was necessary to 
 promote the spread of the gospel among them, and 
 discover w T hat opportunities there might be of mission- 
 ary work among the Indian tribes. 1 Messrs. Charles 
 Beatty and John Brainerd — brother of the missionary 
 — were accordingly appointed, and provision was made 
 for their absence for several months. But the whole 
 design of the mission w T as frustrated by the breaking 
 out of the Indian War. French hostility, no longer 
 open and avowed, still instigated its former savage 
 allies to the work of vengeance. The whole country 
 west of Shippensburg w T as ravaged. Houses, barns, 
 corn, hay, and every thing combustible, were burned. 
 The w r retched inhabitants, surprised at their labor, at 
 their meals, or in their beds, were massacred with the 
 utmost cruelty and brutality, and those of them who 
 escaped might almost envy the fate of those who had 
 fallen. Overwhelmed by the common calamity, terri- 
 fied by danger, reduced by w T ant and fatigue to a state 
 of exhaustion, famished, shelterless, without the means 
 of transportation, their tardy flight was delayed by 
 " fainting women and weeping children." " On July 
 25, 1763, there were at Shippensburg thirteen hundred 
 and eighty-four poor distressed back inhabitants, many 
 of whom were obliged to lie in barns, stables, cellars, 
 and under old leaky sheds, the dwelling-houses being 
 all crow r ded." 2 
 
 Old Redstone, p. 113. 3 Hist. West. Penn. 
 
252 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 The defeat of the Indians in the succeeding autumn 
 drove them beyond the Ohio, and for a time the settlers 
 were unmolested. In 1766, Mr. Beatty, in conjunction 
 with Mr. Duffield, performed his Western mission. At 
 Fort Pitt (Pittsburg) he was invited by McLagan, 
 chaplain to the 42d Regiment, 1 to preach to the gar- 
 rison, while Mr. Duffield preached to the people, who 
 lived " in some kind of a town without the fort." The 
 missionaries on their return reported 2 " that they 
 found on the frontiers numbers of people earnestly de- 
 sirous of forming themselves into congregations, and de- 
 claring their willingness to exert their utmost in order 
 to have the gospel among them •" but their circum- 
 stances were " exceedingly distressing and necessi- 
 tous," in consequence of the calamities inflicted by the 
 war. The westward limit of their journey was among 
 the Indians on the Muskingum, "one hundred and 
 thirty miles beyond Fort Pitt." The prospect of mis- 
 sions among them was reported as encouraging, and 
 steps were taken to secure the services of two other 
 missionaries for the ensuing year. Although difficul- 
 ties arose to prevent their going, it is significant at 
 once of the poverty of the people and the liberality 
 of the Synod, that the order was made that the mis- 
 sionaries " take no money from the frontier settle- 
 ments for their ministerial labors among them." 
 
 It is impossible to determine how far the measures 
 of the Synod for mission-labor in Western Pennsyl- 
 vania were carried out with each successive year; but 
 they were regularly made at each annual meeting, and 
 in some cases at least were successful. The war of 
 the Revolution, however, interrupted the further prose- 
 cution of the plan ; and yet before its close (1781) Red- 
 stone Presbytery had been organized on the field. 
 
 i History of Pit.sburg. 2 Minutes of Synod, p. 375. 
 
OLD REDSTONE, 1776-1793. 253 
 
 A very primitive state of society was that which 
 greeted the eye and shaped the experience of the first 
 pastors of the Presbytery. The persons that com- 
 posed their congregations were by no means dressed 
 in accordance with the fashions of Eastern cities. In 
 nine cases out of ten, a blanket or a coverlet served as 
 a substitute for a great-coat in winter weather, and the 
 worshipper was not ashamed to wear it. 1 Deer-skin 
 was a substitute for cloth for men and boys. Every 
 thing that was not brought from a distance of more 
 than a hundred miles across the mountains, had to be 
 manufactured by patient industry and primitive agen- 
 cies. The best dwelling of the settler was for many 
 years a log cabin, and its furniture was of the simplest 
 description. Here and there a fort told the story of 
 danger from Indian invasion, and suggested the hazards 
 by day and night to which the inhabitants were ex- 
 posed. 
 
 Until 1790, it is not known that a church edifice or 
 house of worship was erected in the region. Meetings 
 were held in the shady groves, or, for greater security, 
 within the walls of the forts. They were attended 
 sometimes from a distance of twelve to sixteen miles ; 
 and he was fortunate whose residence enabled him. by 
 a walk of not more than five or six, to enjoy the 
 regular ordinances of Sabbath worship. In many 
 cases every man came armed. The guns were stacked, 
 and a sentinel was appointed to sound the signal of 
 alarm in case of danger from Indian attack. The 
 
 i The author of "Old Redstone" relates an anecdote to the effect 
 that when the first court of common pleas was held in Catfish, now 
 Washington, a highly respectable citizen, whose presence was 
 required as a magistrate, could not attend without first borrowing 
 a pair of leather breeches from an equally respectable neighbor, 
 who was summoned on grand jury. The latter lent them, and, 
 having no others, had to stay at home. — Page 44. 
 
 Vol. I.— 22 
 
254 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 perils from this source did not cease till Wayne's vic- 
 tory in 1794. 
 
 The toils and hardships of the ministers were excess- 
 ive. They not only shared the lot of their people in 
 respect to food, clothing, and lodging, but in their ex- 
 tended journeyings from place to place to preach, ad- 
 minister the ordinances, and visit their scattered sheep 
 in the wilderness, were exposed to peculiar hazards. 
 Often did they have to travel a distance of from fifteen 
 to fifty miles in order to discharge their parochial 
 duties, so extended were the fields which they were 
 called to occupy. They were indeed bishops in the 
 primitive sense, and each had his diocese. For days 
 together they were absent from their families. In 
 some places there were no roads, or only those of the 
 worst description. " A blind-path, but seldom used, 
 must be followed, when every neighborhood road to a 
 mill or a smith's shop, being much more distinct, would 
 be almost sure to mislead them." 1 Guide-boards there 
 were none. Bridges had not yet been built, and fording- 
 places were not always easy to be discovered. Yet, 
 braving all perils, exposed to heat and cold, plodding 
 through the mud or facing the storm, they discharged 
 their duty, — brave in a heroism not less noble that it 
 was obscure, not less admirable that it was the fruit of 
 Christian faith and pastoral fidelity. 
 
 The support of the clergyman was by no means 
 ample; yet two and sometimes three congregations 
 were united to secure it. Even then he might be neces-, 
 sitated to eke out his salary by cultivating a farm, or 
 unite thrift with charity in the work of instruction. 
 There was indeed ample wealth around him, — such as 
 it was; but it was the riches of a fertile soil, and the 
 verdure of hill and valley ; it was nature herself with 
 
 1 Old Redstone, p. 133. 
 
OLD REDSTONE, 1776-1793. 255 
 
 her mines and acres waiting for the hand of industry 
 to coin them into shape and imprint upon them the 
 image and superscription of civilization and culture. 
 
 But a richer soil than that of the hills and valleys was 
 that which the laborer in the Lord's vineyard was called 
 to cultivate. His parishioners were by no means the mis- 
 cellaneous drift-wood which emigration usually floats off 
 from older communities to new settlements. Among 
 them were men of culture, and a large proportion of 
 them were characterized by stern religious principle. 
 They were men whose energy and vigor were developed 
 by the circumstances of their lot, and w T ho, in grappling 
 with the forest and repelling or guarding against savage 
 attack, were made more sagacious, fearless, and self-re- 
 liant. Their outward condition was far from enviable; 
 since for many years they underwent severe hardships, 
 which rendered it any thing but Eden-like. The " howl- 
 ing" wilderness, literally so, around them, — the danger 
 of starvation, no remote one at many times, — the scar- 
 city of salt and iron, — with roads that for the most part 
 were mere bridle-paths, — all these things might seem 
 to indicate a degraded lot; but the wilderness did not 
 reduce them to barbarism. Their food might be — often 
 was — "hog and hominy;" potatoes and pumpkins were 
 a substitute for bread. Bear's oil sometimes took the 
 place of butter. The dress, too, might betray a mix- 
 ture of an Indian and a civilized wardrobe. The " lin- 
 sey-woolsey" hunting-shirt, with its large sleeves, rude 
 belt, and bosom w T hich served as a wallet for bread, j irk, 
 or tow for the rifle, — the breeches made of the skins of 
 beasts, or, if unusually fine, of buckskin, — the moccasins 
 stuffed in cold weather with deer's hair or dried leaves, 
 — the rude furniture of the log cabin, little in advance 
 of that of the wigwam, — all might indicate but a slight 
 superiority over the savage, reluctantly yielding to the 
 encroachments of the white man. But beneath this 
 
256 HISTORY OF TRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 coarse exterior beat hearts as true to the cause of free- 
 dom, intelligence, morals, and religion, as any in the 
 world. "A more intelligent, virtuous, and resolute class 
 of men never settled any country than the first settlers 
 of Western Pennsylvania." 1 They had, indeed, their 
 peculiarities. Some brought with them habits and 
 associations which were not always the most com- 
 mendable. Their prejudices were strong. A portion 
 of them were of the strictest sect of Seceders. They 
 could breathe forth railings against Watts's Imitation, 
 and denounce a departure from Rouse as heresy. But, 
 as a powerful leaven of the constantly increasing im- 
 migration, even these were invaluable, and, as a whole, 
 the material of which the churches of Western Penn- 
 sylvania were composed was of just that sort which 
 the times and the emergency demanded, — men stern 
 enough not only to retain their own individuality, but 
 to impress it upon the more yielding mass accumulating 
 around them. 
 
 The land was inviting, and it was cheap. The State 
 of Yirginia, assuming a right to the territory, sold 
 large portions of it at a merely nominal price. 2 " The 
 purchase-money was trifling indeed, — about ten shil- 
 lings the hundred acres, — and even that was not 
 demanded." The fees for warrants were two shillings 
 and sixpence; and, on these terms, Yirginia disposed libe- 
 rally of Pennsylvania territory, — a proceeding which 
 resulted in trouble afterward, when the claims of the 
 respective States came to be settled, but for the time 
 it invited immigration, and Western Pennsylvania by 
 the close of the Ee volution ary War had not far from 
 twenty thousand inhabitants. 
 
 The earliest settlements were of course in the vicinity 
 of Pittsburg, and gradually extended northward toward 
 
 i Old Redstone, p. 43. 2 Ibid. 32. 
 
OLD REDSTONE, 1776-1793. 257 
 
 Luke Erie. "In 1765, Pittsburg was, to a small extent, 
 regularly laid out. In 1765 and 1766, settlements were 
 made at Redstone and Turkey-foot. Several of these 
 were made by heads of Presbyterian families. v ' About 
 1768, what is now Fayette county was occupied by emi- 
 grants from Berkeley county, Ya. At nearly the same 
 time, a considerable number of settlers located on the 
 Youghiogheny, the Monongahela, and its tributaries. 
 In 1770-1, many Scotch-Irish from Bedford and York 
 counties, from the Kittatinny Yallcy, from Virginia, and 
 some directly from the North of Ireland, commenced 
 settlements in Washington county. As the tide of 
 population increased in volume, and extended from the 
 Monongahela to the Ohio, it was swelled by contribu- 
 tions from various sources, yet not sufficient to change 
 its general character. 
 
 Until 1774, the settlers were dependent for gospel- 
 ordinances upon the missionaries sent out by the Synod. 
 This provision was interrupted by the difficulties of 
 distance, Indian hostility, and the excitement that 
 heralded the rupture with the mother-country. It was, 
 moreover, inadequate to the necessities of the field. 
 But one after another of the ministers at the East was 
 induced, by the confusion that the war introduced and 
 the appeals presented by the needy condition of the 
 Western settlements, to remove to that region. At 
 length a sufficient number had entered the field to feel 
 warranted in asking for the erection of a Presbytery. 
 Their distance from the Presbyteries with which they 
 were connected, the utter impracticability of meeting 
 with them, and the necessity of the churches to which 
 they ministered, impelled to the request; and at the 
 meeting of the Synod in May (16), 1781, the Rev. Messrs. 
 Joseph Smith, John McMillan, James Power, and Thad- 
 
 1 Redstone, p. :5U. 
 22* 
 
258 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 dens Dod, were erected, in accordance with their peti- 
 tion, into the Presbytery of Redstone, and their first 
 meeting was appointed to be held at Laurel Hill, 
 on the third Wednesday of September ensuing. The 
 meeting, however, on account of the incursion of the 
 savages, was held, not at Laurel Hill, but at Pigeon 
 Creek. 
 
 Within the bounds of " Old Redstone," extending 
 indefinitely over Western Pennsylvania, the Virginia 
 " Pan-handle," and the borders of the Northwestern 
 Territory, James Power was the first settled pastor. 
 He was born in 1746, at Nottingham, Chester county, 
 Pa. His course previous to entering college was pro- 
 bably pursued under John Blair, at the school of Fagg's 
 Manor. In 1766, he was graduated at Princeton, and 
 in 1772 was licensed by New Castle Presbytery. 
 
 His earliest labors as a missionary were in Virginia. 
 A call from churches in Botetourt county was extended 
 to him, but declined. In the summer of 1774, he crossed 
 the mountains, and spent the summer in missionary 
 labors in Western Pennsylvania. The settlements em- 
 braced in what are now Washington, Alleghany, West- 
 moreland, and Fayette counties, were the field which 
 he traversed. 
 
 Two years were spent at the East before he returned 
 to make this region his permanent home. Toward 
 the close of 1776, he removed with his family to the 
 scene of his future labors. For several years his life 
 was that of an active and energetic itinerant mission- 
 ary. He visited the new settlements, preaching, among 
 other places, at Mount Pleasant, Unity, Laurel Hill, and 
 Dunlap's Creek. In the spring of 1779, he became the 
 regular pastor of Sewickley and Mount Pleasant congre- 
 gations. Quiet in manner, neat in dress, courteous and 
 gentlemanly in his whole deportment, with a memory 
 of persons that was almost fabulous, he was, moreover, 
 
OLD REDSTONE, 177G-I793. 259 
 
 a graceful speaker and a devoted pastor. lie had no 
 enemies. Parents respected him, and the little children 
 loved to see his face. Plain in speech, earnest but not 
 impassioned in address, his sermons were instructive 
 and persuasive rather than vehement or pungent, and 
 his influence was felt throughout the extensive sphere 
 of his labors, exerting a quiet but steady power. 
 
 He had been two years in the Western field when he 
 was joined by another laborer, whose character in 
 several respects was directly the reverse of his own. 
 This was Mr. (afterward Dr.) John McMillan, like him- 
 self a pupil of John Blair, a graduate of Princeton, and 
 a student of theology under Dr. Eobert Smith at Pequa. 
 In 1776, he accepted a call from the united congrega- 
 tions of Chartiers and Pigeon Creek, and entered upon 
 his self-denying and hazardous work. The cabin in 
 which he was to live, he found when he reached the 
 place, had neither roof, chimney, nor floor. The danger 
 was such from the Indians that he dared not take his 
 family with him till 1778. Even then, when he moved 
 into his house, which his people kindly assisted him to 
 prepare, he had neither bedstead, table, chairs, stool, or 
 bucket. Two boxes served for a table, and two kegs 
 for seats. Oftentimes his family had no bread for weeks 
 together; but, content to dispense with luxuries, they 
 felt that it was enough if they had " plenty of pump- 
 kins, potatoes, and all the necessaries of life." 
 
 As he set out upon his journey, McMillan was enjoined 
 by Dr. Smith " to look out some pious young men and 
 educate them for the ministry." He respected the 
 wisdom of the injunction, and, until the academy at 
 Canonsburg was opened, devoted a portion of his time 
 to the training of young men for the ministry. Nearly 
 all of these became useful, and some of them eminent 
 among the ministers of the Presbyterian Church. Kot 
 a few were afterward his efficient co-Presbyters and 
 
260 HISTORY OF TRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 coadjutors. Among these were Patterson, Porter, Mar- 
 quis, and Hughes. 
 
 Of a large frame, commanding presence, a look some- 
 what stern, with decision and resolution traced in every 
 feature, the outward person was no unbefitting type of 
 the inward man. With a perfect scorn for all that was 
 fanciful or nice, an enemy alike to luxury, flattery, 
 studied ornament of speech, or studied grace of man- 
 ner, he was almost a Knox in boldness, energy, and 
 decision. With a voice that no art could have made 
 musical, but of wonderful power; a vehement and 
 intense utterance which carried conviction and forced, 
 rather than won, assent, and with a concise brevity 
 and energy of expression which presented his thoughts 
 in their naked strength, he was the man who could 
 overawe opposition, and with whom any one would 
 beware how he came in conflict. .Repeated revivals 
 occurred under his ministry, and, although by two 
 years preceded in his entrance upon the field by Mr. 
 Power, the superior energy of his nature placed him 
 in the first rank as a pioneer missionary of the Pres- 
 byterian Church west of the mountains. He was a 
 man of the stamp which the times and the rude wilder- 
 ness region around him demanded. His nature was 
 cast in a stern mould, but it enabled him to impress 
 others without yielding himself. His theology was of 
 the type of his instructor, Robert Smith, and his sons, 
 Samuel Stanhope Smith and John Blair Smith, succes- 
 sively presidents of Hampden-Sidney, 1 and, subsequently, 
 the first of Princeton and the second of Union College. 
 His own soul was pervaded by its power, and he could 
 not fail to make others feel something of what he felt 
 
 1 The author of "Old Redstone" says, his "views on the subject 
 of natural and moral ability are much the same with those of Dr. 
 Lyman Beecher." 
 
OLD REDSTONE, 1776-1793. 2G1 
 
 himself. Thus revivals wore not only favored, hut 
 expected and labored for; and some of the most marked 
 demonstrations of the power of divine truth which the 
 history of the Church affords, occurred under his min- 
 istry. 
 
 McMillan had been in the field but little more than a 
 year when another laborer arrived, — a worthy compeer 
 in the great missionary work in Western Pennsylvania. 
 In the fall of 1777, the whole region was alarmed by 
 an incursion of the Indians. Fort Henry, at the mouth 
 of Wheeling Creek, was attacked, and the whole West 
 for weeks and months afterward was alive with appre- 
 hension of savage forays. In this season of anxiety 
 and trembling, a young man of slender form, black 
 hair, keen dark eyes, and sallow complexion, reached 
 Fort Lindley. To some of its occupants he was well 
 known : he had come from the same region with them, 
 and he was now prepared to cast in his lot with theirs. 
 His name was Thaddeus Dod. 
 
 His father was a native of Guilford, Conn., and the 
 son was born at Newark, N.J., March 7, 1740. From 
 early childhood he was the subject of deep religious 
 impressions. Not, however, till after he united with 
 the church at Mendham, at the mature age of twenty- 
 four, did the thought of preparing for the ministry 
 enter his mind. Struggling with his straitened circum- 
 stances, now teaching, and now studying, he succeeded 
 in securing the necessary preparation to enter, on an 
 advanced standing, at Princeton in 1771. He studied 
 theology with Dr. McWhorter, of Newark, and Timo- 
 thy Johnes, of Morristown. The Presbytery of New 
 York licensed him to preach, in 1775. 
 
 After preaching in parts of Virginia and .Maryland, 
 he crossed the mountains to Western Pennsylvania. 
 Here were many who had emigrated years before from 
 his own region of country, — some who had been aflflo- 
 
262 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 iiated with him in the scenes of the revival of 1764, 
 when he united with the Church. They invited him to 
 settle among them, assuring him of a hearty welcome, 
 and a support for himself and family, if he would con- 
 sent to become their pastor. 
 
 It was not an enviable post ; but he did not feel at 
 liberty to decline it. He preached at the fort, at 
 Cook's settlement, and other places. In 1778, he com- 
 menced forming congregations. Lower Ten-Mile and 
 Upper Ten-Mile, each about ten miles from Washing- 
 ton, constituted one church, to which he more espe- 
 cially ministered. 1 Lindley, who gave his name to the 
 fort, was one of the elders r — a descendant of the Puri- 
 tan Francis Lindley, who was associated with Eobin- 
 son in Holland and crossed the ocean in the Mayflower. 
 Of the others, there were those well worthy to rank 
 with him. In them the missionary found friends and 
 supporters. 
 
 It was not long before a revival commenced at the 
 fort. In this most perilous of the frontier posts, 
 while east of the mountains all was dark and discou- 
 raging, the Lord smiled upon Zion. More than forty 
 indulged the Christian hope. It was a blessed season, 
 and the harbinger also of many others that were yet to 
 come in better days. 
 
 In 1781, a log academy, considerably larger than 
 any dwelling-house in the region, was put up by Mr. 
 Dod's neighbors and parishioners. " They consisted, 
 indeed, of many persons considerably in advance of 
 the Scotch-Irish in point of education. They had 
 
 1 A church was organized at Ten-Mile, August 15, 1781, at the 
 house of Jacob Cook, consisting of twenty-five members. The first 
 sacramental season did not take place till the third Sabbath of 
 May, 1783. The ordinance was administered in Daniel Axtell's 
 barn, three miles north of Fort Lindley. — Wines'* Historical Dis- 
 course, pp. 13, 14. 
 
OLD REDSTONE, 1776-1793. 263 
 
 brought their New Jersey and New England tastes 
 with them." 1 Of the academy which they erected. Mr. 
 Dod took charge; and none could have been better 
 fitted -for the post. As a mathematician he was almost 
 unrivalled, and his eminence as a teacher was such 
 that in 1789 he was called to take charge of Washing- 
 ton Academy, just incorporated by the Legislature of 
 the State, and which in 1806 was merged into Washing- 
 ton College. 
 
 Few men have left behind them a more cherished 
 memory amid the scenes in which they labored than 
 Mr. Dod. Modest, humble, devout in spirit, of prepos- 
 sessing manners, and of rare natural and acquired 
 gifts, he was a man to be at once respected, reve- 
 renced, and loved. In his mental structure, mathe- 
 matical talent, classical taste, and poetic imagination 
 were alike combined. His calm decision and cheer- 
 ful self-denial allowed him to shrink from no task or 
 peril to which duty called. For sixteen years he was 
 spared, to lay deep and firm the foundations of the 
 Church in the region which was honored as the scene 
 of his labors. 
 
 He had been but a few months in this Western field, 
 when he was cheered by the accession of one, his 
 senior by several years and his equal in devotion, 
 whose name is worthy to be ranked beside his own 
 Joseph Smith was a graduate of Princeton in 1764, 
 and five years later, at the age of thirty-three, was 
 installed pastor of Lower Brandywine. In this region 
 he labored till 1778. The troubles and confusion of 
 the war led him to think of seeking another field. In 
 1779, he crossed the mountains to Western Pennsyl- 
 vania. His short visit led to his receiving a call from 
 the united congregations of Buffalo and Cross Creek. 
 
 1 Old Redstone, p. 145. 
 
264 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 He accepted it, and for the twelve remaining years 
 of bis life continued pastor of these congregations. 
 
 A revival commenced soon after his settlement, and 
 it may almost be said to have continued to the close 
 of his pastorate. A more devoted pastor was not to 
 be found in the whole band of those that preceded 
 or followed him. He was a man of prayer and faith. 
 In the pulpit, and out of it, his power was wonderful 
 His soul was thrown into his utterance. His voice was 
 " now like the thunder, and now like the music of 
 heaven." His manner " had a strange kind of power 
 about it, totally indescribable." He had the pecu- 
 liarity of Whitefield, a slight look askance of one eye ; 
 and the piercing brilliancy of his glance was remark- 
 ably impressive. " I never heard a man," said the 
 Rev. Samuel Porter, " who could so completely unbar 
 the gates of hell and make me look so far down into 
 the dark, bottomless abyss, or, like him, could so 
 throw open the gates of heaven and let me glance at 
 the insufferable brightness of the great white throne." 
 " He would often rise to an almost supernatural and 
 unearthly grandeur, completely extinguishing in his 
 hearers all consciousness of time and place." 1 No 
 one could appreciate the man merely from his written 
 discourses. His tones, his emphasis, his holy unction, 
 and the holy vitality of his soul made them indescri- 
 bably impressive. His mind had been early disci- 
 plined by classical studies and collegiate drilling. He- 
 was capable, doubtless, of scholarly reasoning, of cau- 
 tious logic ; but in the earnest glow of his eloquence, 
 in the soarings of lofty and hallowed thought, he 
 spurned them as an eagle would a ladder by which 
 to climb. 
 
 Yet he was a man who was regarded with affection 
 
 1 Old Redstone, p. 67. 
 
OLD REDSTONE, 1776-1793. 205 
 
 as well as awe. Always cheerful, eminently social, 
 there was n charm in his tones and manner that won 
 the hearts of all with whom he had intercourse. His 
 soul was attuned to praise. Amid hardships from 
 want and exposure, and perils from savage foes, he 
 was still calmly resolute. In pastoral duty he was 
 faithful and unwearied, and large and blessed were 
 the results of his fidelity. 
 
 Like Dod and McMillan, he did not neglect the 
 cause of ministerial education. Soon after his settle- 
 ment, as early as 1785, he commenced a school for 
 the training of young men. He had no building for 
 the purpose, and, with his wife's consent, his kitchen 
 was devoted to the service of mental instead of bodily 
 aliment. Here the first Latin school of the region 
 was commenced, and McGready, Patterson, and Por- 
 ter began their course. Others soon joined them, and 
 these young men — supported by the ladies of the 
 neighboring congregations, who made up for them 
 their summer and winter clothing (coloring linen for 
 summer wear in a dye made from new-mown hay) — 
 largely composed the future missionaries and minis- 
 ters of Redstone, Ohio, and other Presbyteries. 
 
 Thus, in 1781, the Presbytery of Redstone was con- 
 stituted with these four ministers, Smith, Dod, McMil- 
 lan, and Power, as its first members. In 1782, James 
 Dunlap, a graduate of Princeton, and a theological 
 pupil of James Finley, joined the Presbytery, and was 
 installed over the congregations of Laurel Hill and 
 Dunlap's Creek. He afterward became a member of 
 Ohio Presbytery, and subsequently President of Jeffer- 
 son College at Canonsburg. He was soon followed 
 to Western Pennsylvania by his theological instructor, 
 James Finley, who had accepted a call from the two 
 societies in the Forks of Youghiogheny. He was a 
 brother of President Finley of Princeton, and for 
 Vol. I.— 23 
 
266 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 several years had been settled at East Nottingham. 
 On repeated occasions he had visited this Western 
 region, and when not a few of his neighbors and 
 parishioners, and some of his own children, had car- 
 ried into action their purpose to emigrate, he resolved 
 to follow. He became " informally, and without the 
 consent of the Presbytery," 1 pastor of Rehoboth and 
 Round Hill, and so continued without any further 
 action of the Presbytery, of which for four years 
 he continued a corresponding member before he united 
 with it. As Dr. Hill well remarks, " We were not very 
 strict in observing church rules in those days." 
 
 Meanwhile, a veteran in the Eastern field had crossed 
 the mountains. John Clark, already over sixty years 
 of age, had been settled successively within the bounds 
 of Philadelphia and New Castle Presbyteries. In 
 1781 he became the supply, and afterward pastor, of 
 the united congregations of Bethel and Lebanon, 
 under the care of the Presbytery of Redstone. In 
 1785, Mr. Barr, from New Castle Presbytery, accepted 
 a call from the united congregations of Pittsburg 
 and Pitt township. In 1788, John Brice, James 
 Hughes, James McGready, and Joseph Patterson were 
 licensed by the Presbytery, and entered soon after 
 upon their fields of labor, the first at Three Ridges 
 and Forks of Wheeling, the last far on in the wilder- 
 ness, at Short Creek and Lower Buffalo, and Patterson 
 at Raccoon and Montour's Run. McGready, after- 
 ward so famous in connection with the great revival 
 in Kentucky, was converted under the preaching of 
 Joseph Smith, and was for a while his pupil. He 
 labored but a short time within the bounds of the 
 Presbytery by which he was licensed, returning soon 
 to Carolina, where his parents resided, and where a 
 
 1 Old Redstone, p. 283. 
 
OLD REDSTONE, 1776-1793. 267 
 
 revival quickly commenced under his Labors, among 
 the fruits of which was Dr. Anderson, who succeeded 
 
 Joseph Smith in the pastorate at Upper Buffalo. 
 
 In the course of the following years the Presbytery 
 was strengthened by several others who had been 
 trained up upon the field. John McPherrin, Samuel 
 Porter, Robert Marshall, George Hill, William Swan, 
 and Thomas Marquis, were licensed, and became effi- 
 cient laborers w T ithin the rapidly extending bounds of 
 the Presbytery. Jacob Jennings and Thomas Cooley 
 were received by dismission from other bodies : so that 
 at the period of the formation of the Ohio Presbytery, 
 in 1793, the Redstone Presbytery numbered more than 
 twelve ministers and about three times as many 
 churches. 
 
 Rarely, if ever, in the history of the Presbyterian 
 Church in this country has any of its missionary fields 
 been occupied by a more able and devoted band of 
 pioneer laborers than that which was covered by the 
 Old Redstone Presbytery. In wise and sagacious fore- 
 thought and provision for the prospective wants of the 
 Church, as well as in unwearied and faithful cultiva- 
 tion of their own fields, they have been rarely equalled, 
 and never surpassed. Their self-denial, their energy, 
 and their success alike entitle them to the highest 
 honor. In spirit they w T ere the successors to the 
 Blairs, Finleys, and Smiths of the Revival period who 
 during the division adhered to the New side and the 
 cause of vital piety. Many of them w T ere rarely gifted, 
 and w r ould have done honor to the most exalted sta- 
 tion ; and the influence which they exerted upon the 
 great "Western field then opening with inviting promise 
 to Eastern emigration, cannot, be estimated. Deterred 
 by no hardships, appalled by no terror, whether from 
 the wilderness or the savage, they stood firm at their 
 
268 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 posts, contending to the last with their harness on. 1 
 They had no supernumeraries, and yet, notwithstanding 
 the crying need of missionary labor, declined to license 
 a man whose piety they approved, but with whose 
 qualifications they were dissatisfied. They wanted, 
 and made provision to secure, strong men; and all who 
 joined them seemed to be made partakers of their own 
 spirit. It was of immense importance to the Church 
 that its earliest Western outpost should be held by the 
 hands of these men, whom the providence of God had 
 trained and appointed to the task. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 1789-1800. 
 
 The original motion for the division of the Synod, 
 with a view to the formation of a General Assembly, 
 proposed the constituting of three Synods. This was 
 in 1785; but in the following year the terms of the 
 measure were modified so as to read, "three or more." 
 Accordingly, the Presbyteries were so divided and 
 arranged as to constitute four Synods, — viz. : those of 
 New York and New Jersey, Philadelphia, Virginia, and 
 the Carolinas. The first embraced the Presbyteries of 
 
 1 " In everything our fathers were trained to endure hardness as 
 good soldiers. Their first temples were the shady grove, and their 
 first pulpits a rude tent made of rough slabs ; while the audience 
 sat either upon logs or the green turf. Not even log churches 
 were erected till about the year 1790. Even in winter the meetings 
 were held in the open air. Not one in ten had the luxury of a 
 great-coat. The most were obliged to wear blankets or coverlets 
 instead." — Dr. Wines's Historical Discourse, 1859, p. 10. 
 
GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 1789-1800. 269 
 
 Suffolk, Dutchess county, New York, and New Bruns- 
 wick; the second, those of Philadelphia, Lewes. New- 
 castle, Baltimore, and Carlisle; that of Virginia, the 
 Presbyteries of Redstone, Hanover, Lexington, and 
 Transylvania; that of the Carolinas, the Presbyteries 
 of Abingdon, Orange, and South Carolina. 
 
 In order to carry out this arrangement for a division, 
 several changes were made in relation to the Presbyte- 
 ries. The Presbytery of Abingdon, extending over the 
 borders of Western Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky, 
 was divided, and that of Transylvania, embracing Ken- 
 tucky, was formed out of it. Hanover Presbytery was 
 also divided, and the portion of it northwest of tho 
 Blue Ridge, embracing the Valley of the Shenandoah, 
 was set off to form the Presbytery of Lexington. The 
 Presbytery of Donegal was also divided, and the Pres- 
 bytery of Carlisle erected out of it. A new Presbytery 
 was formed, by the name of the Presbytery of Balti- 
 more, and the Old-side Second of Philadelphia, which 
 had not hitherto altogether harmonized with the Synod, 
 was struck from the list, and its members distributed 
 between the three Presbyteries of Carlisle, Philadelphia 
 First, and Baltimore. 
 
 The four Synods, embracing sixteen Presbyteries, 
 were now to be united in a General Assembly. From 
 the widely extended bounds of the Church, it had 
 become altogether impracticable to secure a full attend- 
 ance of the ministers and elders of the more distant 
 churches. For successive years, several Presbyteries 
 had not been represented in Synod by so much as a 
 single member. The number of churches and minis- 
 ters, moreover, had so multiplied that it was supposed 
 that an Assembly that would embrace them all would 
 be too unwieldy for wise deliberation. It was there- 
 fore resolved to adopt the principle of delegation. 
 Every Presbytery of not more than six ministers might 
 
 23* 
 
270 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 send one minister and one elder to the Assembly. If it 
 consisted of more than six and not more than twelve, 
 it was to send two ministers and two elders, and like- 
 wise in the same proportion for every six ministers. 
 
 The first General Assembly of the Church met in 
 Philadelphia in 1789. 1 By the appointment of the 
 Synod that ratified the constitution of the Church, it 
 was opened with a sermon by Dr. Witherspoon, and Dr. 
 John Eodgers, of New York, was chosen the first mode- 
 rator. The first Congress of the United States under 
 the present Constitution was then in session in New 
 York: so that the Federal Government of the country 
 and the present constitution of the Presbyterian Church 
 were nearly contemporaneous, and went into operation 
 at the same time. 
 
 It is not surprising that, in such circumstances, the 
 Assembly should have felt the appropriateness of the 
 suggestion that a committee should be appointed to 
 draft an address to the President of the United States; 
 and the selection of the committee, of which Dr. Wither- 
 spoon was chairman and Drs. Allison and Samuel Stan- 
 hope Smith were members, shows the importance which 
 was attached to the proceeding. The Assembly, doubt- 
 less, felt it to be a privilege not only to express to 
 "Washington himself the respect they felt for his vir- 
 tues, but to lend the sanction of their approval to his 
 conduct, and encourage him in the discharge of the 
 arduous duties to which he had been called. 
 
 The document, as drawn up and adopted by the 
 
 1 See Rev. Dr. Ashbel Green's Autobiography. With a few excep- 
 tions, Philadelphia was the place where the Assembly convened 
 regularly each year till after the division of 1838. The distance of 
 the Southern and Western portions of the Church led them to ask 
 that it might meet nearer to them. The request was granted a few 
 times, an in 1792 and 1795, when it met at Carlisle, and in 1799 
 when it met. at Winchester, Va. In 1835, it met at Pittsburg. 
 
271 
 
 Assembly, is worthy to stand as a precedent of appro- 
 priate address Prom a Christian Assembly to a Christian 
 
 ruler, whose character Deeded no eulogium beyond bin 
 own acts. It was respectful, dignified, and manly in 
 its tone. After referring to his past career, it proceeds, 
 '• From a retirement more glorious than thrones and 
 sceptres, you have been called to your present elevated 
 station by the advice of a great and a free people, and 
 with an unanimity of suffrage that lias few, if any, 
 examples in history. A man more ambitious of fame, 
 or less devoted to his country, would have refused an 
 office in which his honors could not be augmented, and 
 where he might possibly be subject to a reverse. We are 
 happy that God has inclined your heart to give your- 
 self once more to the public. And w T e derive a favor- 
 able presage of the event from the zeal of all classes 
 of the people, and their confidence in your virtues, as» 
 well as from the knowledge and dignity with which 
 the federal councils are filled. But w 7 e derive a presage 
 even more flattering from the piety of your character. 
 Public virtue is the most certain means of public 
 felicity, and religion is the surest basis of virtue. 
 We therefore esteem it a peculiar happiness to behold 
 in our chief magistrate a steady, uniform, avowed 
 friend of the Christian religion ; who has commenced 
 his administration in rational and exalted sentiments 
 of piety, and w T ho in his private conduct adorns the 
 doctrines of the gospel of Christ, and, on the most 
 public and solemn occasions, devoutly acknowledges 
 the government of Divine Providence. 
 
 " The example of distinguished characters will ever 
 possess a powerful and extensive influence on the public 
 mind; and when we see in such a conspicuous station 
 the amiable example of piety to God, of benevolence 
 to men, and of a pure and virtuous patriotism, we natu- 
 rally hope that it will diffuse its influence, and that, 
 
272 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 eventually, the most happy consequences will result 
 from it. To the force of imitation we will endeavor 
 to add the wholesome instructions of religion. We 
 shall consider ourselves as doing an acceptable service 
 to God, in our profession, when we contribute to render 
 men sober, honest, and industrious citizens and the 
 obedient subjects of a lawful government. In these 
 pious labors we hope to imitate the most worthy of our 
 brethren of other Christian denominations, and to be 
 imitated by them ; assured that if we can, by mutual 
 and generous emulation, promote truth and virtue, we 
 shall render a great and important service to the re- 
 public, shall receive encouragement from every wise 
 and good citizen, and, above all, meet the approbation 
 of our Divine Master. 
 
 " We pray Almighty God to have you always in his 
 >holy keejring. May he prolong your valuable life, an 
 ornament and a blessing to your country, and at last 
 bestow on you the glorious reward of a faithful ser- 
 vant/' 
 
 Such an address testifies to the high estimate enter- 
 tained by the Assembly of the religious character of 
 the first President of the Eepublic, while its endorse- 
 ment of the effort to render men " the obedient subjects 
 of a lawful government" stands as a precedent for 
 later times. 
 
 The reply of Washington was modest, and yet pro- 
 perly characterized by self-respect. He would not be 
 elated by the too favorable opinion of the Assembly; 
 yet, conscious of the disinterestedness of his motives, 
 it was not necessary for him to conceal the satisfaction 
 he felt at general approbation of his conduct. "While 
 I reiterate," he says, " the professions of my depend- 
 ence upon Heaven as the source of all public and 
 private blessings, I will observe, that the general pre- 
 valence of piety, philanthropy, honesty, industry, and 
 
GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 1789-1800. 273 
 
 economy, seems, in the ordinary course of human 
 affairs, particularly necessary for advancing and con- 
 firming the happiness of our country. While all men 
 
 within our territories arc protected in worshipping the 
 Deity according to the dictates of their consciences, it 
 is rationally to be expected from them in return that 
 they will all be emulous of evincing the sincerity of 
 their professions by the innocence of their lives and 
 the benevolence of their actions. For no man who is 
 profligate in his morals, or a bad member of the civil 
 community, can possibly be a true Christian, or a credit 
 to his own religious society." 
 
 He closes by desiring the Assembly to accept his 
 acknowledgments for their laudable endeavors to 
 render men sober, honest, and good citizens, and " the 
 obedient subjects of a lawful government," as well as 
 for their prayers for the country and himself. 
 
 # The correspondence does honor alike to the Assem- 
 bly and "the great man" 1 whom it wished to cheer and 
 encourage in his arduous position. The popular esti- 
 mate of his Christian character was no doubt reflected 
 in the language of the Assembly. His own modesty 
 forbade him to accept the full measure of their praise j 
 but he reiterated his professions of dependence on 
 Providence, and gratefully acknowledged their prayers 
 in his behalf. 
 
 The liberal ecclesiastical spirit of the first General 
 Assembly is sufficiently attested by the reply to an 
 overture bearing directly on the power and authority 
 of Synods and Assemblies. The overture was to this 
 effect : — " Whether the General Assembly, out of their 
 liberality, charity, and candor, will admit to their com- 
 munion, in the ecclesiastical Assemblies, as far as they 
 
 1 This was the term )y which Fisher Ames was wont to speak of 
 Washington. 
 
274 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 can consistently with the scrupulosity of their con- 
 sciences, a Presbytery who are totally averse to the 
 doctrine of receiving, hearing, or judging of any ap- 
 peals from Presbyteries to Synods, and from Synods to 
 General Assemblies, because in their judgment it is 
 inconsistent with Scripture and the practice of the 
 primitive churches ?" In reply, the General Assembly 
 declare " that, although they consider the right of 
 appeal from the decision of an inferior judicature to a 
 superior, an important privilege, which no member of 
 their body ought to be deprived of, yet they at the 
 same time declare that they do not desire any member 
 to be active in any case which may be inconsistent 
 with the dictates of his conscience. " 
 
 As to the source from which this overture originated, 
 we are left to conjecture. It is barely possible that it may 
 have proceeded from the Presbytery of Long Island, 
 which for some years after the organization of the Gene- 
 ral Assembly was, on account of the Congregational 
 sympathies of the churches, scarcely prepared to go the 
 full length of the friends of a more rigid ecclesiasticism j 1 
 but it is more probable that it emanated from the Asso- 
 ciated Presbytery of Morris county, N.J., or that of 
 Westchester county, N.Y. These bodies, from old asso- 
 ciations, chose to retain the Presbyterian name, while 
 they approximated to Congregational usage, but, unable 
 to sustain themselves permanently, became at length 
 
 1 In 1790, the Presbytery of Long Island addressed a circular 
 letter to the churches under their care, in which, among other 
 things, they present an argument in favor of "not only the par- 
 ticular but general government of the churches." The letter is 
 given in the "Presbyterian Magazine," July, 1859, p. 326. In the 
 course of it, the Presbytery state that they "are not insensible 
 that prejudices have been implanted, by ill-designing persons, in 
 the minds of many against Presbyterian government." These they 
 endeavor to remove. 
 
275 
 
 disintegrated, and the constituenl churches were for 
 the most part absorbed in other Presbyteries under the 
 care of the Assembly. It was indicative of the spirit 
 of the Assembly, that at its first sessions it should 
 adopt measures to preserve " faithful and correct im- 
 pressions of the Holy Scriptures." Mr. Collins, of 
 New Jersey, proposed to print an edition of the Bible, 
 and to this end sought the countenance and support of 
 all denominations. The General Assembly warmly 
 favored his project, and a committee of one from each 
 of the sixteen Presbyteries of the Church was appointed 
 to bring the subject before their respective bodies, so 
 that in each congregation an individual should be 
 appointed to secure subscriptions. It was also pro- 
 posed to inquire whether, and on what terms, Oster- 
 vald's 1 notes could be printed with it. 
 
 The recommendation of 1789 was repeated in the 
 following year, and the effort to secure the printing of 
 the notes — which could be done only for those who 
 especially desired it — was promoted by measures for 
 obtaining subscribers for five hundred copies at 3s. 9d. 
 each, or one thousand at 2s. 6d. each. 
 
 In 1795, the interest of the Assembly in the cause of 
 learning was evinced by their recommendation of the 
 agents of " Kentucky Academy." 2 Expressing the 
 earnest wish that the cause of learning and religion 
 might be promoted throughout the world, and espe- 
 cially in this country, they certified to the good stand- 
 
 1 Ostervald, a Protestant minister, born, 1663, at Neufchatel, a 
 friend of Turretin and Werenfels, the three in connection repeat- 
 edly styled "the triumvirate of Swiss theologians." Ostervald 
 bore the reputation of being "learned, pious, anl humane." 
 
 2 Minutes of 1795, p. 105. Transylvania University, founded by 
 Presbyterians, had been wrested from their hands and given over 
 to the influence of infidelity. The effort was now made to secure 
 an institution of which they might have the control. 
 
276 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 ing of Rev. Messrs. Eice and Blythe, recommending 
 them and their cause to all to whom they might apply, 
 and inviting liberal donations "for the promotion of 
 the seminary about to be erected" in the new State of 
 Kentucky. 
 
 From the earliest period the Presbyterian Church in 
 this country assumed the character of a missionary 
 Church. In 1707, only two years after the formation of 
 the first Presbytery, it was recommended to every 
 minister of the body " to supply neighboring desolate 
 places where a minister is wanted, and opportunity of 
 doing good offers." Soon after, we find appeals made 
 to the churches in Ireland, Scotland, and London, for 
 ministers and means to supply the infant churches, 
 which were rapidly organized. 
 
 One of the first acts of the Synod of Philadelphia 
 after its formation was the initiation of a fund " for 
 pious uses." Each minister was to contribute some- 
 thing himself, and use his influence on proper occasions 
 to induce others to contribute. The fund was under 
 the Synod's control, and was devoted to the aid of 
 feeble churches, assistance in building houses of wor- 
 ship, sustaining the ministry, and extending relief 
 to the widows of deceased brethren who had been left 
 in indigent circumstances. Annual collections were 
 enjoined upon the congregations in 1719, and the first 
 recorded disbursement was in behalf of the Presby- 
 terian Church in the city of New York. 
 
 But, while the fund thus inaugurated subsequently 
 assumed a systematic form, the principal mode of its 
 application was in sustaining itinerant ministers who 
 visited the new settlements, gathering the people and 
 organizing churches. 
 
 After the union of the two Synods in 1758, the 
 missionary operations of the Church were carried on 
 with increased energy. In 1759, Messrs. Kirkpatrick, 
 
GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 17S9-1800. 277 
 
 McWhorter, Latta, and Lewis were sent to Virginia 
 to act under the direction of the Presbytery of Hanover, 
 and were succeeded in the following year by Messrs. 
 Duilield and Mills. At the same time provision was 
 made for sustaining John, the brother of David Brain- 
 erd, in his labors among the Indians. Collections were 
 successively ordered to promote this object. 
 
 The annual appointments for itinerant missionary 
 labor still continued to be made ; and in 1773, Mr. 
 Occum, missionary of the British Society, was taken 
 under the care of Synod, and sixty-five pounds were ap- 
 propriated for his support. In the same year the desti- 
 tute condition of the frontier settlements w T as brought 
 to the attention of Synod. Messrs. Beatty and Brainerd 
 were appointed to go to the West and report the result 
 of their researches. Arrangements were also made for 
 devising a more systematic plan of missionary opera- 
 tions. 
 
 In the following year it was ordered that each 
 member of the Synod should take up a collection in 
 his congregation, to raise a fund for missionary pur- 
 poses. The amount realized was only one hundred and 
 twelve pounds j and the Synod, with regret that so little 
 had been accomplished, adopted an overture from the 
 Presbytery of New York, providing for an annual 
 collection in each congregation, and appointing a 
 treasurer for each Presbytery, as well as a general 
 treasurer for the Synod. 
 
 During the war the missionary policy of the Church 
 was paralyzed, but upon the formation of the General 
 Assembly the subject claimed its earliest and most 
 serious attention. The necessity was urgent of making 
 provision for missionary effort in the new and destitute 
 settlements. From the close of the war there had 
 been a large and continuous emigration from the East 
 to the West ; and in the period which had elapsed 
 Vol. I.— 24 
 
278 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 since the plan for a General Assembly was first 
 agitated, the region west of the Alleghanies had risen 
 into new importance. Settlements had been com- 
 menced in Central and even Western New York, and 
 quite extensively in Western Pennsylvania. Even 
 during the war, applications for missionary aid were 
 frequent. They were now more numerous. The Assem- 
 bly felt the importance of the subject, and Dr. Allison 
 and Dr. Samuel S. Smith were appointed a committee 
 to prepare a minute with reference to sending mis- 
 sionaries to the frontier settlements. 1 Each Synod 
 was directed to name those of its number whom it 
 deemed properly qualified to discharge the duties of 
 missionary labor, and who would be disposed to under- 
 take the work at least for a portion of the year. This 
 was in 1789 j but in the following year the duty was 
 more appropriately committed to each Presbytery, 
 which would naturally be better acquainted with the 
 qualifications of its members. The object of this 
 arrangement was to bring before the Assembly the 
 names of those from whom it might select the persons, 
 in its judgment, best fitted to be sent out into the new 
 fields. 
 
 The Assembly moreover (1790) took measures for 
 carrying out the plan which had been devised. Two 
 missionaries, Messrs. Hart and Ker, 2 were appointed 
 to visit the extensive field that was already opened to 
 
 1 The overture, from the Committee on Bills and Overtures, with 
 reference to which the Missionary Committee was appointed, was 
 to the effect "that the state of the frontier settlements should be 
 taken into consideration, and missionaries sent to them to form them 
 into congregations, ordain elders, administer the sacraments, and 
 direct them to the best measures for obtaining the gospel ministry 
 regularly among them." — Minutes of Assembly for 1789, p. 10. 
 
 2 Probably Nathan Ker, of Goshen, N.Y., and Joshua Hart, of 
 Suffolk Presbytery. 
 
GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 1789-1S00. 279 
 
 effort within the bounds of New York and Northern 
 Pennsylvania. 1 The route which they were directed 
 to pursue was then regarded as the extreme west of 
 the New Settlements. They visited Middletown, Still- 
 water, Fort Edward, Fort Miller, New Galloway, 
 Cherry Valley, Fort Schuyler, Whitestown, Coopers- 
 town, Clinton, Chenango, Tioga, Wilkesborough, Hano- 
 ver, and other places on the route, as well as the Indian 
 tribes. They were treated everywhere with great 
 respect, and were requested in the most affectionate 
 manner " to offer the thanks of the people to the 
 General Assembly for their pious attention in sending 
 missionaries among them." The request was urgently 
 and earnestly made that the favor might be repeated. 
 
 To this request the Assembly responded by sending 
 out in the following year, through the same region, 
 James Boyd and Aaron Condict. The latter — a theo- 
 logical pupil of Jedediah Chapman, who was after- 
 ward settled at Geneva — had just been licensed by the 
 Presbytery of New York; and so acceptable did he 
 prove himself in his preaching upon his route, that he 
 was called within a few months to the pastoral charge 
 of the church at Stillwater, twenty miles north of 
 Albany. 
 
 It soon became evident that, in some portions of the 
 broad field covered b}^ the Church, the local knowledge 
 possessed by the Synods best fitted them to direct the 
 laborers that were sent out. The Synods of Virginia 
 and the Carolinas therefore (1791), at their own request, 
 were allowed to manage the missions within their 
 bounds. This was also the case afterward with other 
 Synods with which the Assembly sometimes co-ope- 
 rated, and from which they expected annual reports. 
 
 1 In 1794, the salary of missionaries was iixed by the Assembly 
 at forty dollars per month. 
 
280 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 The Assembly, however, did not give the matter 
 exclusively into the hands of the Synods. There was, 
 indeed, more work to be done than all united could 
 properly perform, and the attention of the Assembly 
 was directed to those regions which came most directly 
 under the notice of its missionary committee as need- 
 ing aid. Appointments were sometimes made with the 
 understanding that the Presbyteries or Synods should 
 unite with the Assembly in the support of mission- 
 aries. The fields which were principally regarded by 
 the Assembly were those in Delaware, Western Penn- 
 sylvania, and Northern and Central New York. The 
 latter region was never overlooked in the list of the 
 Assembly's appointments. 
 
 To give a Avider dissemination to its views on mis- 
 sions, the Assembly of 1791 prepared, and inserted in 
 the printed extracts from its minutes, a circular letter 
 to the churches under its care. It urged in a forcible 
 manner the claims of the cause of Christ upon the 
 members of the Church, and held up before them the 
 animating prospect of the results which by proper 
 exertion might be attained. 
 
 In order, moreover, to provide the necessary means 
 for the support of the missionaries, who ought not to 
 be left to bear alone the whole burden, annual collec- 
 tions were directed to be taken up in all the congre- 
 gations, and to be placed in the hands of the General 
 Assembly. The amount realized from this source was 
 inadequate to any extended operations ; but it amounted 
 in 1795 and 1796 to $1,226.50, and at least enabled the 
 Assembly to carry out in form, however feeble in imme- 
 diate results, a policy which was to bind the Church 
 together in healthful and harmonious co-operation. 
 Securing in 1799 a charter of incorporation from the 
 State of Pennsylvania, the Assembly prosecuted its 
 work with enlarged resources. Donors felt greater 
 
GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 1789-1800. 281 
 
 security in contributing to its funds. Its plan now was 
 to initiate a system that should at once reach the des- 
 titutions of the older and frontier settlements, negroes, 
 including slaves, and the Indian tribes. 
 
 Yet, as has been noted, the missionary operations of 
 the Church were carried on not only through the 
 Assembly, but through the Synods. Those of Vir- 
 ginia and the Carolinas, and, subsequently, of Pittsburg 
 and Kentucky, were all directly employed in the work, 
 although some of them retained connection with, and 
 received aid from, the Assembly. 
 
 But the Synod of Virginia found itself from the first 
 (October, 1789) better prepared than some of the other 
 Synods to prosecute its work. The influence of the 
 remarkable revival which had visited Hampden-Sid- 
 ney College and Prince Edward county had, through 
 the labors of Graham and his younger coadjutors, been 
 extended in several other counties, even to Augusta. 
 In some neighborhoods the work was very powerful. 
 Quite a large number of the students in the two insti- 
 tutions were converted, and immediately turned their 
 attention to the ministry. Among them were some 
 whose names occupy the highest places of distinction 
 in the history of the Church: Legrand, Lacy, Allen, 
 Hill, Alexander, Lyle, Campbell, and Stuart, were of 
 the number. 
 
 The Synod of Virginia, finding at its command such 
 a noble body of young men preparing for or just enter- 
 ing the ministry, some of them of superior gifts, and 
 all panting for active service, did not fail to seize upon 
 and improve the opportunity of enlarging its sj^here 
 of effort. At its first session, October 24, 1789, a Com- 
 mittee of Synod for Missions, consisting of four minis- 
 ters and three elders, was appointed, to whom the 
 general cha?-ge of this important subject was com- 
 mitted. 
 
282 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 The committee met in the following April, and pro- 
 ceeded at once to business. The Synod was divided 
 into four districts, corresponding to the four Presby- 
 teries. The pay of a missionary was to be sixty pounds 
 per annum, and Nash Legrand, a probationer of 
 Hanover Presbytery, was first commissioned. The 
 funds were supplied by the voluntary contributions of 
 the people, and the missionaries were to report in 
 person at each annual meeting of the Synod. 
 
 The plan worked well. The Synod became an effi- 
 cient missionary body. Its meetings were anticipated 
 by the people with the deepest interest. From the 
 most distant places within the bounds of the Synod 
 there was an eager desire to be present. The occasion 
 w T as regarded almost as a solemn festival. Old and 
 young, the patriarchs of the Church and its young 
 missionaries fresh from scenes that kindled their zeal 
 and love, met together. 1 The narrative of what they 
 had seen and felt and experienced, kindled the mis- 
 sionary spirit to new fervor. " The tear of sympathy 
 coursed down many a patriarchal cheek," and with it 
 flowed tears of gratitude for what God had accom- 
 plished. Ardent and glowing were the petitions that 
 went up to heaven, as the Synod supplicated upon its 
 youthful members, committed to a great work, the 
 blessing of Heaven. The spirit of devotion glowed 
 ^rightly. The scene was one of the highest social and 
 religious interest. Heart was bound to heart, and all 
 felt themselves to be laborers together in a common 
 work. 
 
 The benefits of these meetings, and especially of the 
 missionary tours, the account of which added so much 
 to their attraction, were great. A marked change was 
 effected in the moral and religious condition of the 
 
 1 See Foote's Sketches. 
 
GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 17S9-1800. 283 
 
 people. The demoralizing effects of the war, and the 
 pernicious spread of French infidelity, were f.rrestcd. 
 The pulpits that had been vacant, or occupied by super- 
 annuated men, were now supplied by those who aban- 
 doned other pursuits and lucrative prospects to engage 
 in the self-denying work of the ministry. Churches 
 that seemed about to die were resuscitated, and new 
 congregations were gathered. On all sides the Church 
 was roused to new life and vigor. " The salutary 
 effects" of this work " are still apparent. Many of the 
 now nourishing churches in the lower counties owe 
 their origin to this epoch ; while there is scarcely a 
 romantic dell embosomed amid the huge mountain- 
 ranges, however unpromising its religious aspect may 
 formerly have been, whose echoes are not regularly 
 waked by the voice of hallowed praise upon the Sab- 
 bath day." 1 
 
 The band of young men consecrated to the Church 
 as the fruits of the revival was large. It numbered 
 from thirty to forty. But the field that opened before 
 them, inviting them to effort, was correspondingly 
 large and extensive. Virginia itself had broad wastes 
 demanding faithful missionary culture. The Carolinas 
 at the South were calling for laborers. Kentucky and 
 Tennessee had just been opened to civilized enterprise, 
 and population was pouring over the Alleghanies in a 
 ceaseless and swelling tide. 
 
 In 1793, a memorial, signed by Warner Mifflin, a 
 member of the Society of Friends, was handed, under 
 cover, to the moderator, read, and ordered to lie upon 
 the table. It related to the subject of slavery, and 
 the Assembly, in response, ordered that the minute of 
 the Synod of 1787 on the same subject be reprinted in 
 the annual issue of extracts from the Minutes. In 
 
 1 Foote's Sketches, and Life of Alexander. 
 
284 HISTORY OP PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 1795, ar. overture was brought in by the Assembly's 
 committee to the following effect: — "A serious and 
 conscientious person, a member of a Presbyterian con- 
 gregation, who views the slavery of the negroes as a 
 moral evil, highly offensive to God and injurious to the 
 interests of the gospel, lives under the ministry of a 
 person, or amongst a society of people, who concur 
 with him in sentiment on the subject upon general 
 principles, yet for particular reasons hold slaves and 
 tolerate the practice in others. Overtured : Ought the 
 former of these persons, under the impressions and 
 circumstances above described, to hold Christian com- 
 munion with the latter ?" 
 
 To this the Assembly replied, " that, as the same 
 difference of opinion with respect to slavery takes 
 place in sundry other parts of the Presbyterian Church, 
 notwithstanding which they live in charity and peace 
 according to the doctrine and practice of the apostles, 
 it is hereby recommended to all conscientious persons, 
 and especially to those whom it immediately respects, 
 to do the same. At the same time, the General Assem- 
 bly assure all the churches under their care that they 
 view with the deepest concern any vestiges of slavery 
 which may exist in our country, and refer the churches 
 to the records of the General Assembly published at 
 different times, but especially to an overture of the 
 late Synod of New York and Philadelphia, published 
 in 1787, and republished among the extracts from the 
 Minutes of the General Assembly of 1793, on that head, 
 with which they trust every conscientious person will 
 be fully satisfied." 
 
 At the same time, Mr. Rice, of Kentucky, Dr. Muir, 
 of Virginia, and Eobert Patterson, an elder, were ap- 
 pointed a committee to draft a letter to the Presby- 
 tery of Transylvania on the subject of the overture. 
 The report of the committee elicited much discussion. 
 
GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 1789-1800. 285 
 
 The Original draft contained a paragraph which urged 
 the duty of the religious education of slaves. "A 
 neglect of this," it declared, " is inconsistent with the 
 character of a Christian master; but the observance 
 might prevent, in great part, what is really the moral 
 evil attending slavery, — namely, allowing precious souls 
 under the charge of masters to perish for lack of know- 
 ledge. Freedom is desirable, but cannot at all times be 
 enjoyed with advantage. A parent, to set his child loose 
 from all authority, would be doing him the most essen- 
 tial injury. * * * A slave let loose upon society igno- 
 rant, idle, and headstrong, is in a state to injure others 
 and ruin himself. No Christian master can answer for 
 such conduct to his own mind. The slave must first be in 
 a situation to act properly as a member of civil society 
 before he can be advantageously introduced therein/' 
 
 The entire paragraph containing these words was 
 stricken out ; and the Assembly, while urging the duty 
 of peace and forbearance, contented itself with saying, 
 that they " have taken every step which they deem 
 expedient or wise to encourage emancipation, and to 
 render the state of those who are in slavery as mild 
 and tolerable as possible." The Presbytery is informed 
 that it will be furnished with attested copies of the 
 Assembly's decisions upon the subject. 
 
 The original edition of the Confession of Faith and 
 Catechisms, issued by the Synod of New York and 
 New Jersey as " The Constitution of the Presbyterian 
 Church in the United States of America," was published 
 in 1789. In the introduction the Synod lay down " a 
 few of the general principles by which they have 
 hitherto been governed, and which are the ground- 
 work" of their plan. They declare themselves unani- 
 mously of opinion that " God alone is Lord of the 
 conscience." They disclaim any desire "to see any 
 religious constitution aided by the civil power, further 
 
286 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERXANISM. 
 
 than may be necessary for protection and security ;" 
 and in this case they would have the aid " equal and 
 common to all others." In consistency with such prin- 
 ciples, they hold that every Christian Church, or union 
 or association of particular Churches, is entitled to 
 declare the terms of admission to its communion, the 
 qualifications of its ministers and members, and the 
 whole system of its internal government, appointed by 
 Christ for the preaching of the gospel, the administer- 
 ing of the sacraments, the exercise of discipline, and 
 the preservation of truth and duty. Holding, more- 
 over, to " an inseparable connection between faith and 
 practice, truth and duty," they deem it " necessary to 
 make effectual provision that all who are admitted as 
 teachers be sound in the faith," while they profess their 
 belief that there are truths and forms with respect to 
 which good men may differ, and in these " they think 
 it the duty both Of private Christians and societies to 
 exercise mutual forbearance towards each other." 
 
 Each particular society is entitled also to elect its 
 own officers, while Scripture prescribes their character, 
 qualifications, and authority. All Church power, more- 
 over, is ministerial and delegated merely, since no 
 Church judicatory may make laws to bind the con- 
 science, and all its decisions should be founded on 
 God's revealed will. While Synods and Councils may 
 err, yet " there is much greater danger from the 
 usurped claim of making laws than from the right 
 of judging upon laws already made and common to 
 all who profess the gospel." 
 
 Such were the liberal principles which the Synod 
 took care distinctly to enunciate and embody in the 
 first edition of the Confession of Faith. This edition 
 was published without the Scripture proofs usually 
 appended; it was, moreover, soon exhausted; and 
 it had been issued simply by the authority of the 
 
mj-isoo. 287 
 
 Synod. In 1792, therefore, a committee was ap- 
 pointed by the Assembly to revise and prepare for 
 publication an edition of the Confession, Catechisms, 
 and Form of Government and Discipline. The com- 
 mittee consisted of the venerable Dr. Eobert Smith, of 
 Pequa, Eev. Nathan Grrier, of Forks of Brandywine, 
 and Eev. Alexander Mitchell, of Upper Octorara. 
 They were instructed to select and arrange the Scrip- 
 ture texts to be adduced in support of the several arti- 
 cles in the Confession, &c. Dr. Smith undertook to 
 adduce proofs for the Larger and Mr. Grier for the 
 Shorter Catechism j while Mr. Mitchell was to do the 
 same for the Confession of Faith and Form of Govern- 
 ment. The death of Dr. Smith left his task incom- 
 plete ; and in 1793 the moderator, James Latta, was 
 substituted in his place. A partial report was made 
 by Mr. Mitchell, but the subject was recommitted for 
 a report to the Assembly of 1794. In that year Dr. 
 Green and Messrs. John B. Smith, James Boyd, 
 William M. Tennent, Nathaniel Irwin, and Andrew 
 Hunter were appointed to examine the report of the 
 committee, revise the whole, prepare it for the press, 
 and supervise the publication and sale of the work. 
 The change subsequently made in the striking out of 
 certain proofs was in part justified on the ground that 
 the work of the committee had never been submitted 
 to the Presbyteries for their approval, and hence could 
 not be regarded as having the proper sanction of the 
 Church as a part of its Constitution. 
 
 The relations of the Assembly to other kindred 
 ecclesiastical bodies were now to be defined. The 
 annual convention of Presbyterian and Congrega- 
 tional ministers which existed before the Eevolution 
 and was continued down to 1776, had testified the 
 strong sympathy which existed between the two deno- 
 minations which were represented in it. It manifested, 
 
288 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. ' 
 
 moreover, the liberal and co-operative spirit of the 
 churches represented by the Old Synod. It had ac- 
 complished the main object for which it had been insti- 
 tuted; but, in view of other results still to be desired, 
 the question now recurred as to whether it should be 
 revived or some substitute provided. 
 
 The subject was carefully considered. While there 
 were other ecclesiastical bodies — the Eeformed Dutch 
 and Associate Presbyterian, as well as Congregational 
 — to be taken into account, it was felt that some plan 
 was desirable which should bring the Assembly into 
 correspondence with them all. The consideration of 
 this comprehensive plan was not neglected : still, the 
 former relations of the Presbyterian to the Congrega- 
 tional Churches entitled the latter to the first place in 
 the Assembly's regard. In view of this fact, therefore, 
 the following resolution was unanimously agreed to by 
 the Assembly of 1790 : — 
 
 " Whereas there existed before the late Revolution 
 an annual convention of the clergy of the Congrega- 
 tional churches in New England and ministers belonging 
 to the Synod of New York and Philadelphia, which was 
 interrupted by the disorders occasioned by the war; — 
 this Assembly, being peculiarly desirous to renew and 
 strengthen every bond of union between brethren so 
 nearly agreed in doctrine and forms of worship as the 
 members of the Congregational and Presbyterian 
 Churches evidently are, and remembering with much 
 satisfaction the mutual pleasure and advantage pro- 
 duced and received by their former intercourse, did 
 resolve, that the ministers of the Congregational 
 churches in New England be invited to renew their 
 annual convention with the clergy of the Presbyterian 
 Church; and the Assembly did for this purpose ap- 
 point the Rev. Dr. Rodgers, of New York, and the 
 Rev. Dr. McWhorter, of Newark, NJ., to be a com- 
 
GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 1789-1800. 289 
 
 m it tee to take such measure's for the obtaining of the 
 proposed object as they may jndge (o be most effectual, 
 and to report their proceedings to the General Assem- 
 bly at their next meeting." 1 
 
 In 1791, the committee thus appointed made their 
 report. Three modes of correspondence were proposed 
 for consideration : the first, by letter of committees of 
 the Assembly and the Connecticut Association respect- 
 ively ) the second, by reviving a convention similar to 
 that which existed before the war; and the third, by 
 sending delegates reciprocally from each body. 
 
 Action on the several plans offered was deferred till 
 the General Association of Connecticut had been con- 
 sulted. Drs. Withcrspoon, Rodgers, and McWhorter, 
 and Messrs. Chapman, S. S. Smith, Tennent, and Aus- 
 tin, were appointed a committee to confer with that 
 body. 
 
 The result of this conference was the adoption of 
 measures of correspondence, based avowedly on " the 
 importance of union and harmony," and " the duty 
 incumbent on all pastors and members of the Christian 
 Church to " assist each other in promoting, as far as 
 possible, the general interest of the Redeemer's king- 
 dom;" and, in consideration of the fact that " Divine 
 Providence appears to be opening the door for pur- 
 suing these valuable objects with a happy prospect of 
 success," it was deemed best that the two bodies should 
 have, each, a standing committee of correspondence, 
 besides a committee of three members having the right 
 to sit in each other's meetings but not Xo vote. 
 Measures were to be taken to prevent injury to the 
 churches by irregular and unauthorized preachers. 
 The Presbytery or Association was to certify to the 
 
 1 This movement was made, and the above paper drawn up, by 
 Dr. Ashbel Green, who also penned the Plan of Union of 1801. 
 Vol. L— 25 
 
290 HISTORY OF PRESEYTERIANISM. 
 
 character of its members travelling at a distance; anc 1 
 the certificate of a standing committee, to be appointed 
 by the Assembly and General Association respectively, 
 was to secure their reception as authorized preachers 
 of the gospel in the bounds of the body, whether Pres- 
 bytery or Association, within which they might be em- 
 ployed. 
 
 The plan thus proposed by the convention was una- 
 nimously and cordially approved by the Assembly of 
 1792, and the necessary measures were taken for 
 carrying it into effect. It was endorsed by the Asso- 
 ciation of Connecticut, the only tangible ecclesiastical 
 body in New England with which the Assembly could 
 correspond; and in 1793 Timothy Dwight, Jonathan 
 Edwards (afterward President of Union College), and 
 Matthias Burnet, took their seats in the Assembly as 
 delegates of the General Association. 
 
 From this period the intercourse by correspondence 
 between the two bodies was continued without inter- 
 ruption. The delegates of each body were allowed a 
 seat, but not a vote, in the one to which they were 
 sent. There was a change, however, soon made, when 
 full membership was allowed. On motion of Dr. Eod- 
 gers, the plan was so amended in 1794 that the dele- 
 gates from each body respectively were allowed the 
 right not only to sit and deliberate, but also " to vote 
 in all questions which might be determined by either 
 of them." The Association voted a compliance with 
 this proposal of the Assembly, and down to 1827 the 
 delegates of the General Associations of Connecticut, 
 and afterward of Vermont (1809), New Hampshire 
 (1810), and Massachusetts (1811), were allowed full 
 membership in the General Assembly. Massachusetts 
 was not ready to relinquish her claim to the exercise 
 of the right which was thus conceded until 1830, and 
 
GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 1789-1800. 291 
 
 even then only after repeated representations from the 
 Assembly. 1 
 
 The correspondence proposed between the General 
 Assembly and the Associate Reformed and Reformed 
 Dutch Synods was, after a delay of some years, referred 
 to a convention of delegates from the three bodies 
 which met in New York in 1798. Their report was 
 adopted by the General Assembly, but rejected by the 
 other two bodies. No active measures to revive this 
 or a similar plan were taken for nearly twenty years. 
 
 The subject of Psalmody was one which gave no 
 small occasion of anxiety to those who sought the 
 union and harmony of the churches. The Synod of 
 New York and Philadelphia had left the congregations 
 to their own deliberate preferences in regard to the book 
 to be used. Some still adhered to the old version of 
 the Psalms, and some preferred Watts's Imitation. At 
 the first meeting of the Assembly, Adam Rankin asked 
 to be heard on the subject. He had crossed the moun- 
 tains from Kentucky to disburden his mind of the 
 apprehensions which he felt in regard to " the great 
 and pernicious error" into which the Synod had fallen 
 by " disusing Rouse's Versification of David's Psalms 
 in public worship, and adopting, in place of it, Watts's 
 Imitation." He asked the privilege of being heard 
 upon a subject in regard to which — with all the inten- 
 sity of his Scotch nature, aggravated by memories of 
 
 1 In 1796 the Synod of Philadelphia resolved tb submit to the 
 consideration of the next General Assembly the propriety of taking- 
 constitutional measures to effect an alteration in the Form of Gov- 
 ernment, so as to admit Assemblies to meet only once in three 
 years, if they judge it expedient. The reason urged for this was 
 the difficulty of convening even a quorum of the Synod, inasmuch 
 as its meetings seemed almost unnecessary, from the fact that its 
 proper business had been so largely engrossed by the Assembly. — 
 Minutes, 1790-1820, p. 110. 
 
202 HISTORY OF PRESBYTEBIANISM. 
 
 a martyred ancestry — he felt deeply. He was heard 
 " at great length," and the Assembly endeavored to 
 relieve him from the difficulty under which he appeared 
 to labor, but to little purpose. His mind was not open 
 to conviction j and it only remained for the Assembly 
 to exhort him to Christian charity and to guard against 
 disturbing the peace of the churches. 
 
 Eankin identified the permission given by the Synod 
 (1787) to use Barlow's revision of Watts, with an ex- 
 clusive endorsement of it. In this he was mistaken j 
 but the importance of uniformity among the churches 
 in the form and order of public worship had already 
 led man}- to consider the policy of procuring a book 
 which would meet the necessities of the churches under 
 the care of the Assembly. Nothing of importance was 
 done, however, before 1800. Three years previous 
 (1797), President Dwight was requested by the General. 
 Association of Connecticut to revise Watts's Imitation 
 so as to accommodate it to the state of the American 
 churches, and to supply the deficiency of those Psalms 
 which Watts had omitted. This measure was adopted 
 in consequence of the ill odor which Barlow's career 
 in connection with French politics had given to his 
 edition of Watts. Its use in Presbyterian as well as 
 Congregational churches had become obnoxious, and 
 the advocates of Eouse found a very opportune argu- 
 ment against the book which had been the rival of 
 their own favorite. 
 
 In these circumstances, Dwight undertook the task. 
 He possessed the confidence of both the Presbyterian 
 and Congregational Churches, and had sat and voted as 
 a member of the General Assembly. When his task 
 was wellnigh complete, the Assembly were informed 
 of it, and, with a view to procure a work that should 
 answer the demands of its own churches, appointed a 
 committee (1800) to meet a similar committee of tho 
 
GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 1789-1800. 293 
 
 General Association, at Stamford, to examine the result 
 of Dwi<rht's labors. The committee consisted of Drs. 
 John Bodgers, Jonathan Edwards, and Asa Hillyer. 
 They reported their approval of what had been done, 
 and President Dwight, at the recommendation of the 
 joint committee, appended to the Psalms a collection 
 of two hundred and sixty-three hymns. The volume 
 in this revised form, with additions, was " cheerfully 
 allowed" by the Assembly to congregations and 
 churches which might find it for edification. 
 
 Thus cautious and guarded was the Assembly in its 
 utterances upon the subject. Nor was it without reason. 
 The exclusive advocacy of any form of Psalmody would 
 have rent the Church in sunder. In Kentucky espe- 
 cially, and in other parts of the Church where Eouse 
 had been in familiar use, its advocates regarded it with 
 a strange tenacity of affection. It was as sacred in 
 their view as the Confession itself. The Presbytery 
 of Charleston — succeeding to that which was known 
 as the Presbytery of South Carolina before the Eevolu- 
 tion, and which had applied in 1770 to know the terms 
 on which it might be united with the Synod — sent a 
 communication to the Assembly of 1800, desiring to 
 be taken into connection with that body; but they 
 explicitly stipulated, as an indispensable condition on 
 their part, that they must not be disturbed in their 
 edifying enjoyment of Eouse; and it seems not impro- 
 bable that even the moderate measure of the Assembly 
 in regard to Dwight's book may have led to their 
 deferring any further steps toward the union. It is at 
 least certain that it was not consummated till several 
 years later. 
 
 At the Assembly of 1791, several of the Synods sent 
 in reports in regard to their condition and extent. 1 
 
 1 See Assembly's Minutes. 
 25* 
 
294 HISTORY OP PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 The Synod of New York and New Jersey consisted of 
 four Presbyteries, — Suffolk, Dutchess, New York, and 
 New Brunswick. The first consisted of twelve, tho 
 second of six, the third of twenty-seven, and the fourth 
 of fourteen, ministers. Within their bounds were thirty- 
 five vacancies, about one-half of which were able to 
 support a pastor. In the following year the Presby- 
 tery of Albany, with seven ministers and more than 
 twenty congregations, the larger portion of them 
 vacant, was reported in connection with the Synod of 
 New York and New Jersey. The other Presbyteries 
 now numbered fifty-four ministers and sixty-eight con- 
 gregations. 
 
 In the same year (1792), the report of the Synod of 
 Philadelphia showed that it consisted of five Presby- 
 teries, with an aggregate — independent of the Presby- 
 tery of Baltimore, from which there was no report — of 
 sixty ministers and ninety-two congregations. The 
 Synod of Virginia, exclusive of the Presbytery of 
 Transylvania, numbered, in the three Presbyteries of 
 Hanover, Eedstone, and Lexington, thirty-two ordained 
 ministers, with more than ninety congregations. A 
 larsre number of these were in the bounds of Redstone 
 Presbytery, which alone numbered twenty-four. The 
 Synod of the Carolinas — exclusive of the Presbytery 
 of Abingdon, which made no report — contained in the 
 Presbyteries of Orange and South Carolina twenty 
 settled ministers, thirteen unsettled, a portion of them 
 licentiates, with over eighty congregations, twenty-nine 
 of which were vacant in the bounds of South Carolina 
 Presbytery alone. The aggregate in all the Synods 
 was not far from two hundred ministers and about 
 four hundred congregations. 
 
 There had thus, in the three years which had elapsed 
 since the formation of the General Assembly, been a 
 rapid growth and extension of the Church. Nor were 
 
GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 17S9-1S0O. 295 
 
 the labors of the ministry denied signal marks of the 
 Divine favor in powerful revivals in different parts of 
 the land. The rekindled missionary spirit — dating from 
 the formation of the New York Missionary Society in 
 1797 — which was first felt on the Atlantic slope, 
 extended westward beyond the Alleghanies, in Vir- 
 ginia, Pennsylvania. Kentucky, and Tennessee. New 
 churches were gathered on the frontier, and new Pres- 
 byteries were reported at each successive General As- 
 sembly. In 1793, the Presbytery of Ohio, with five 
 members, was set off from the Presbytery of Eedstone, 
 which in ten years had multiplied its numbers more 
 than fourfold. In the following year the Presbytery 
 of Huntingdon, with ten members, was set off from 
 that of Carlisle, erected by the old Synod of New York 
 and Philadelphia at the period just previous to its divi- 
 sion into the four Synods. In the same year the Pres- 
 bytery of Winchester, with five members, was set off 
 from that of Lexington. In 1795, the Presbytery of 
 Hudson, with seven members, was formed of ministers 
 and churches taken from the Presbyteries of Dutchess 
 county a,nd New York. In the same year the Pres- 
 bytery of Orange, in the Carolinas, was divided, and 
 the Presbytery of Concord erected with twelve mem- 
 bers. In the following year the Presbytery of Hope- 
 well, with five members, was set off from the Presby- 
 tery of South Carolina. In 1797, the Presbytery of 
 Abingdon was divided, and that of Union, with five 
 members, was erected out of it in Eastern Tennessee. 
 In 1799, the Presbytery of Transylvania was divided 
 to form the new Presbyteries of West Lexington and 
 Washington, the three subsequently constituting the 
 Synod of Kentucky. In the same year, also, the Pres- 
 bytery of South Carolina was divided to form the First 
 and Second Presbyteries of that name. 
 
 Thus before the close of the last century the number 
 
296 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 of Presbyteries had increased from sixteen, the num- 
 ber at the time of the organization of a General Assem- 
 bly, to twenty-six, and the strength and numbers of 
 the Church had increased in nearly the same propor- 
 tion. 
 
 This increase was certainly greater than in the cir- 
 cumstances could have been expected. The influences 
 of the War of the Eevolution were eminently disastrous 
 to the churches, not only on account of the direct in- 
 juries inflicted, and the diversion of thought and energy 
 into new channels, but on account of the sympathy 
 excited in favor of France and French principles. This 
 sympathy prepared the way for French infidelity, and 
 its emissaries, in the proud assumption of superior 
 intelligence, were bold and unblushing in their attempt 
 to spread their errors and undermine the institutions 
 of Christianity. In these efforts they were only too 
 successful. The cause of religion in many parts of the 
 land seemed to be on the decline, and the prospect grew 
 darker and more discouraging with each succeeding 
 year. Good men despaired of the republic, and Chris- 
 tian men trembled for the Ark of God. The evil seems 
 to have reached its crisis in 1798. In that year the 
 Assembly felt called upon to give expression to its 
 apprehensions, and to sound the note of warning. This 
 it did in an earnest and startling tone. 
 
 " When formidable innovations and convulsions in 
 Europe" — such was the language of the pastoral letter 
 — " threaten destruction to morals and religion; when 
 scenes of devastation and bloodshed, unexampled in the 
 history of modern nations, have convulsed the world ; 
 and when our own country is threatened with similar 
 calamities, insensibility in us would be stupidity, silence 
 would be criminal. . . .We desire to direct your awakened 
 attention toward that bursting storm which threatens 
 to sweep before it the religious principles, institutions, 
 
GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 17S9-1800. 207 
 
 and morals of our people. We arc filled with decjj 
 concern and awful dread, whilst we announce it as our 
 conviction that the eternal God has a controversy with 
 our nation and is about to visit us in his sore displea- 
 sure." 
 
 In this " solemn crisis," the Assembly believe that 
 the causes of the calamities felt or feared are traceable 
 to " a general defection from God, and corruption of 
 the public principles and morals." The evidences of 
 the national guilt were seen in "a general dereliction 
 of religious principles and practice amongst our fellow- 
 citizens; a great departure from the faith and simple 
 purity of manners for which our fathers were remark- 
 able; a visible and prevailing impiety and contempt 
 for the laws and institutions of religion ; and an abound- 
 ing infidelity which in many instances tends to athe- 
 ism itself, which contemptuously rejects God's eternal 
 Son, our Saviour, ridicules the gospel and its most sacred 
 mysteries, denies the providence of God, grieves and 
 insults the Holy Spirit; in a word, which assumes a 
 front of daring impiety, and possesses a mouth filled 
 with blasphemy." 
 
 In this alarming state of things, " a dissolution of 
 religious society" seemed to be threatened by " the 
 supineness and inattention of many ministers and pro- 
 fessors of Christianity." "Formality and deadness, 
 not to say hypocrisy, a contempt for vital godliness 
 and the spirit of fervent piety, a desertion of the 
 ordinances, or a cold and unprofitable attendance upon 
 them," visibly pervaded every part of the Church ; while 
 there were those who denied or attempted to explain 
 away the pure doctrines of the gospel, introducing 
 errors once unnamed, or named with abhorrence, but 
 now "embraced by deluded multitudes." The profana- 
 tion of the Sabbath, the neglect of family religion and 
 instruction, ingratitude to God for his benefits, "profli- 
 
298 HISTORY OF TRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 gacy anjcl corruption of public morals, profaneness, 
 pride, luxury, injustice, intemperance, lewdness, and 
 every species of debauchery and loose indulgence," 
 were sins which greatly abounded. In view of all this, 
 and the provocation it offered to divine justice, there 
 was reason for foreboding. Deep humiliation, sincere 
 repentance for individual as well as national sins, sup- 
 plication for the outpouring of the Spirit and a revival 
 of God's work, — these were the duties most solemnly 
 and earnestly enjoined; and, to give effect to the exhort- 
 ations and admonitions of the letter, the Assembly 
 recommended the last Thursday in the next August as 
 a day of solemn humiliation, fasting, and prayer, in all 
 the congregations subject to its care. 1 The letter itself 
 was to be read on that occasion and its truths to be 
 enforced in appropriate discourses. 
 
 The statements of the Assembly, grave and startling 
 as they were, were by no means exaggerated. The 
 prospect for religious progress or improvement was 
 almost cheerless. By public men in high station, infi- 
 delity was boldly avowed. In some places, society, 
 taking its tone from them, seemed hopelessly surren- 
 dered to the tender mercies of the impious and the 
 blasphemer. 
 
 But, ere the Assembly met again (in 1799), the signs 
 of a great change, which was largely to affect the very 
 character of the nation, were apparent. The great 
 revivals of Kentucky, of Central and Western New 
 York, and of New England, were heralded here and 
 there by scenes that testified to the unabated power of, 
 the gospel when forcibly presented and applied by the 
 
 1 A general fast was appointed by the General Conference of the 
 Methodist Church, for the first Friday of March, 1796, for the same 
 reasons, substantially, as those given by the General Assembly. — 
 Baj.gs's History of dfcthodism, ii. 22. 
 
GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 1789-1S00. 299 
 
 power of the Spirit. The little cloud, "no bigger than 
 a man's hand," had expanded and given promise of 
 showers that were to refresh and clothe with verdure 
 the desert sands. The Assembly of 1799 could say, 
 that, amid much lukewarmness and formality, they had 
 "heard from different parts glad tidings of the out- 
 pouring of the Spirit, and of* times of refreshing from 
 the presence of the Lord." " From the East," they 
 said, "from the West, and from the South, have these 
 glad tidings reached our ears." The report concluded 
 with a stirring appeal to the churches, couched in a 
 style of lofty and sustained eloquence. It was from 
 the pen of the moderator, Samuel Stanhope Smith. 
 
 In the following year (1800) the report was still 
 cheering, especially from the West. The success of 
 missionary labors was " greatly on the increase." God 
 was " shaking the valley of dry bones on the frontiers." 
 " A spiritual resurrection" was taking place there. 
 Hundreds in a short time, and among them some who 
 had been avowed infidels and Universalists, had been 
 received into the communion of the Church. 
 
 Thus, the century which was just closing, and which 
 had threatened to close with dark and dismal prospects, 
 was destined to leave behind it a brighter record. A 
 new era had dawned upon the Church, — an era of re- 
 vivals. A larger measure of missionary zeal was mani- 
 fest. The spiritual lethargy of the nation was shaken 
 by the reports which came from the West and from the 
 new settlements. Infidelity had been attacked in some 
 of its strongholds, and it had fallen before the power 
 of truth. The sad effects of the War of the Revolution 
 upon the churches began to disappear, and. with in- 
 spiring intelligence to cheer them, the pastors of the 
 Church and the missionaries on the frontiers responded 
 with alacrity to the Assembly's appeals. 1 
 
 1 Only an approximate estimate of the strength of the Presby- 
 
300 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM, 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 NEW JERSEY AND PENNSYLVANIA, 1789-1800. 
 
 At the time of the formation of the General Assem- 
 bly, the strength of the Church was to be found prin- 
 cipally in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. These two 
 States embraced more than half the churches and 
 nearly half the ministers under the care of the Assem- 
 bly. Within the State of New Jersey was included 
 the greater portion of the two Presbyteries of New 
 York and New Brunswick, which numbered on this 
 field twenty-six ministers and forty -three churches. 1 
 
 At Newark, after a briefly-interrupted pastorate of 
 nearly thirty years, which had been signalized by three 
 powerful and extensive revivals of religion, was the 
 venerable McWhorter, still in the vigor of his years 
 and the meridian of his usefulness. A classical scholar, 
 a popular preacher, a self-denying and devoted patriot, 
 he commanded the respect of the entire community, 
 while his unquestioned piety and practical wisdom in- 
 spired a more than usual measure of confidence. There 
 was a noble manliness in his countenance, person, and 
 movements, which would have sufficed, without " his 
 clerical robes and large full wig," to produce an abiding 
 and favorable impression on the beholder. Dignified 
 
 terian Church at the close of the period here reviewed (1789-1800) 
 can be made, owing to the imperfection of the reports. The num- 
 ber of ministers, however, could not have been much short of two 
 hundred and fifty, while the churches, which in great numbers 
 were vacant, must have been something over four hundred and 
 fifty. 
 
 1 Exclusive of those in the southern part of the State. 
 
NEW JERSEY AND PENNSYLVANIA, 1789-1800. 301 
 
 in manner, perspicuous in expression, and yet under 
 the prompting of quick, strong sympathies, the plain 
 correctness of his diction sometimes kindled into fervor 
 or was Bubdued to pathos. Faithful alike in the pulpit, 
 in the discharge of pastoral duty, and in attendance 
 upon the judicatories of the Church, he holds a high 
 rank and an unblemished name among the venerable 
 fathers of the Assembly which he helped to organize, 
 and among the pulpit celebrities of his own day. For 
 sixteen years more he was .to be spared to labor at his 
 post, and then bequeath his tailing mantle to one well 
 worthy to wear it, — the gifted, eloquent, and lamented 
 Griffin. 
 
 At Princeton, serving still, as he had done for more 
 than twenty years, as pastor of the church and Presi- 
 dent of the college, was Dr. Witherspoon, already 
 verging upon his "threescore and ten," — the light of 
 one eye already quenched, the vigor of his frame some- 
 what shaken, but with an intellect as unclouded as 
 ever, and with a presence still second only to that of 
 Washington. 1 For five years more he was to be spared, 
 continuing in the discharge of his duties as President 
 and pastor, and surrendering only with his life the post 
 he had so long tilled and adorned. 2 
 
 At Orange, in the full exercise of that vigor of mind 
 and that energy of character which ten years later 
 designated him as the fittest missionary pioneer for 
 Central New York, was Jedediah Chapman, a native 
 of Connecticut, a man of ardent piety, urbane in man- 
 ners, sound in judgment, and, although not an orator, 
 in the full sense of the word, an acceptable and in- 
 
 1 Dr. Asbbel Green, in Sprague's Annals, iii. 297. 
 
 2 Samuel Finley Snowden was installed pastor at Princeton 
 November 25, 1794, dismissed April 29, 1801. — Spra(/uc , s Annals, 
 iii. 341. 
 
 Vol. T.— 2C 
 
302 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 structive speaker. The other principal ministers of 
 the State were Samuel Stanhope Smith, the son-in-law 
 of Dr. Witherspoon, now a professor, and soon to suc- 
 ceed to the Presidency, at Princeton ; John Woodhull, 
 already for ten years pastor at Freehold, where for 
 thirty-five years longer he was to be spared to labor; 
 James F. Armstrong, the successor of the lamented 
 Spencer, at Trenton, where for sixteen years more, 
 under great infirmities of body, he was to discharge 
 his ministerial duties ; Azel Eoe, of Revolutionary and 
 somewhat facetious memory, at Woodbridge; Aaron 
 Richards, at Rahway j Jonathan Elmer, at New Provi- 
 dence j John Joline, at Mendham ; Israel Reed, at 
 Bound Brook; Thomas Smith, at Cranberry; Joseph 
 Roe, at Pennington ; Joseph Clark, at Allentown ; 
 William Boyd, at Lamington ; Peter Wilson, at Inde- 
 pendence and Mansfield ; Ira Condict, at Hardwick ; 
 Newton, at Shapanack ; Dr. Timothy Johnes, at Morris- 
 town; Asa Dunham, at Mount Bethel and Oxford; and 
 Walter Monteith, at New Brunswick. 
 
 During the ten years that followed, the population 
 of the State increased about fourteen per cent. The 
 churches grew in about the same proportion in strength 
 and numbers. In 1794 there was a powerful revival at 
 Newark, but the state of religion generally was far from 
 prosperous. The views of French infidelity had begun 
 to pervade the country. The voice of admonition and 
 alarm uttered by the Assembly in 1798 was called for 
 by the general declension of religion. The following 
 year, however, brought to view more cheering pros- 
 pects. The churches of the State shared to some 
 extent in the revival, and the century closed with such 
 signs of progress as had not been witnessed for many 
 years previous. New churches were reported at Wood- 
 bridge (Second), Hackettstown and Pleasant Grove, 
 Flemington and Hardwick. The changes in the several 
 
NEW JERSEY AND PENNSYLVANIA, 1789-1800. 303 
 
 pastorates had been few. The noble-hearted and <]o- 
 vout Robert Finley had commenced his pastorate at 
 Baskingridge in 1705. The clear-headed and genial 
 Amzi Armstrong 1 had succeeded Joline at Mendham 
 in the following year. Samuel Stanhope Smith had 
 been chosen to the Presidency of Nassau Hall; and in 
 1798, George S. Woodhull, son of Dr. Woodhull, of Free- 
 hold, was settled at Cranberry, where he remained 
 until his transfer to Princeton in 1820. 2 
 
 Besides these, we find several new names, at a date 
 shortly subsequent, 3 on the list of the two Presbyteries 
 of the State. Elias Eiggs had succeeded John Young 
 at Connecticut Farms; Eleazar Burnet had taken the 
 place of Eichards at Eahway; Aaron Condict com- 
 menced in 1796 his thirty-five years' pastorate at Han- 
 over ; Henry Cook had charge of Woodbridge Second 
 Church ; Israel Ward had succeeded Elmer at New 
 Providence; John Cornwall was settled at Allentown 
 and Nottingham ; David Barclay had succeeded Israel 
 Eeed at Bound Brook ; Joseph Clark was settled at 
 New Brunswick in place of Monteith, who died in 
 1799 at Albany; William B. Sloan was at Greenwich, 
 Thomas Grant at Amwell and Flemington, David 
 Comfort at Kingston, and Holloway W. Hunt at Beth- 
 lehem, Kingswood, and Alexandria.* 
 
 Within the limits of the State of Pennsylvania, at 
 the time of the formation of the Assembly, there were, 
 
 i Father of Rev. William J. Armstrong, late Secretary of the A. B. 
 C. F. M. 
 
 2 Gilbert Tennent Snowden was pastor at Cranberry from 1700 to 
 1707. He was the brother of S. F. Snowden, settled at about the 
 same time at Princeton, and of Nathaniel R. Snowden, of Harris- 
 burg, Pennsylvania. 
 
 3 Assembly's Minutes, 1803. 
 
 4 The churches in the southern part of the State were ecclesias- 
 tically connected with Pennsylvania Presbyteries. 
 
304 HISTORY OF TRESm' TERIAtflSM. 
 
 besides a few churches connected with the Presbytery 
 
 of ^ew Castle, three Presbyteries, — Philadelphia, Car- 
 lisle, and Redstone, — embracing an aggregate of forty- 
 seven ministers and more than twice as many churches. 
 In numerous instances, two or more of these were 
 united to constitute a .single pastoral charge, while 
 more than forty, most of them too feeble to support a 
 pastor, were vacant. 
 
 The leading member of Philadelphia Presbytery 
 — already for thirty years the pastor of the first church 
 in that city, ami for ten years at the head of the Uni- 
 versity of Pennsylvania, as provost of the institution — 
 was Dr. John Ewing, now in the fifty-eighth year of 
 his age, and destined for thirteen years more to occupy 
 the same commanding position. In natural science 
 and classical learning he had scarcely a rival on the 
 continent. In every branch of collegiate study he was 
 thoroughly versed. His Hebrew Bible was constantly 
 at his side, and was used from choice for devotional 
 purposes. At an hour's warning he was ready and 
 fully competent to supply the place of any professor 
 who might chance to be absent. In the pulpit he 
 sacrificed nothing to display ; yet with a cultivated 
 audience few preachers were more popular. On his 
 visit to England before the Revolution, he had frequent 
 interviews with Lord Xorth, and, with all the firmness 
 and zeal of an ardent whig, predicted the issue of the 
 approaching contest, warning the prime minister 
 against its prosecution. In conference with Dr. John- 
 son, he tamed the rudeness, if not insolence, of the in- 
 tellectual giant, defending in fearless tone the cause 
 of his country. After liberally applying the terms 
 rebels and scoundrels to the population of the colonies, 
 Johnson turned rudely to Dr. Ewing, demanding, 
 "What do you know in America? You never read; 
 you have no books there." " Pardon me, sir," said Dr. 
 
1789-1800. 305 
 
 Bwing: "we have read the Rambler." The graceful 
 blending of retort and compliment pacified the savage 
 essayist, and till midnight he sat with Dr. Ewing in 
 amiable and genial conversation. 
 
 In charge of the Second Church, after nearly half a 
 century of pastoral labor, was Dr. James Sproat, a 
 native of Massachusetts, and a graduate of Yale College, 
 in a class of which Dr. Buell, of Long Island, Dr. Hop- 
 kins, of Newport, and Governor Livingston, of New 
 Jersej*, were members. Till 1787 he was sole pastor 
 of the church ; but at this time he received for his 
 colleague Ashbel Green, whose protracted period of 
 service has seemed to link together the present cen- 
 tury with the past. 
 
 At the time of the formation of the General Assem- 
 bly, Dr. Sproat, though bending under the burden of 
 years, was a venerable-looking man. With a benevo- 
 lent countenance, gentle and courteous manners, even 
 the wig and the cocked hat which he still retained 
 could scarcely have added to the dignity of his bearing. 
 Asa speaker, he was easy and graceful. He " was such 
 a perfect master of the art of persuasion that he 
 triumphed over the passions of the most crowded audi- 
 tory with all the charms of sacred eloquence." For 
 personal piety he was pre-eminent. Praise was an 
 employment in which he greatly delighted. Unfeigned 
 humility was the habit of his soul. In prayer he was 
 subdued yet fervent, and, while not a finished scholar 
 like Ewing, he was a master in theology. The vital 
 themes of the gospel were those upon which, in his 
 public discourses, he loved to dwell. 
 
 To the yellow fever of 1793 he fell a victim, — follow- 
 ing first one member after another of his own family to 
 the grave. The pathos of his last letter to his son is 
 deeply affecting. But when the pestilence had passed 
 
 26* 
 
306 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 by, none left a vacant place more fit to challenge tear- 
 ful memories than the pastor of the Second Church. 
 
 The pastor of the Third Church was Dr. George 
 Dumeld, a man who seemed formed expressly for the 
 times and lot in which his life was cast. Irish, English, 
 and Huguenot blood was commingled in his veins, and 
 the history of the family was embalmed in the memo- 
 ries of persecutions through which it had been called 
 to pass. At the age of twenty-two he was graduated 
 at Nassau Hall, and, after studying theology and serving 
 as tutor at the college, he was ordained in 1761 pastor 
 of the united churches of Carlisle, Big Spring, and 
 Monaghan. 
 
 His place of settlement was on the frontiers of civil- 
 ization, and, except at Carlisle, his preaching-stations 
 were exposed to the inroads of the Indians. Often did 
 these make hostile demonstrations which required the 
 male members of his church to arm in self-defence. In 
 all these dangers he cheerfully shared, nor was his 
 courage shaken by the dangers of the camp. The 
 church at Monaghan was protected by fortifications 
 thrown up around it, and behind these — while senti- 
 nels were stationed to keep guard — the congregation 
 listened to the expositions and appeals of one who 
 scorned the aid of desk or manuscript. The exposure 
 of the sinner was illustrated by the dangers outside 
 the fort, and the refuge offered in the gospel found its 
 emblem in the defence which this afforded. Through 
 the whole region he was deservedly popular, and his 
 fame secured him repeated calls to more inviting fields. 
 
 "With all the ardor of his nature he threw himself 
 into the cause of his country in her struggle for free- 
 dom. He was the earnest, fearless, and powerful advo- 
 cate of civil and religions liberty. During the sessions 
 of the colonial Congress, after his removal to Philadel- 
 phia (1772), John Adams was one of his hearers and 
 
NEW JERSEY AND PENNSYLVANIA, 1789-1S00. 307 
 
 admirers, and a communicant of his church. On one 
 occasion preceding the war, his Large church, on the 
 corner of Fourth and Pine Streets, — which the First 
 Church claimed to control, in spite of an appointment 
 which had been made for him to preach, — was barred 
 against his entrance. It was opened by the officers of 
 the Third Church to admit the throng assembled to 
 hear him, and his own entrance w r as effected through a 
 window. Complaint was made to the magistrate, and 
 the king's officer was called upon to quell what was 
 termed a riot. Shortly after the exercises commenced, 
 the magistrate passed through the aisle, and, taking 
 his stand before the pulpit, read the riot act, and called 
 upon the people to disperse. He was ordered to desist 
 by an officer of the congregation, but he continued the 
 reading. After a second demand and a second refusal, 
 the officer seized the magistrate, who was a small man, 
 and, bearing him through the crowd to the door of the 
 church, ordered him to begone and no more disturb 
 the worship of God. The exercises were then con- 
 tinued without further interruption ; but the next day 
 Mr. Duffield was arrested and brought before the 
 Mayor's Court, charged w r ith aiding and abetting a riot, 
 and required to give bail. This he promptly refused. 
 He felt assured that he had merely discharged his duty. 
 In vain did the friendly magistrate offer to make the 
 terms easy. In vain did the mayor himself offer to 
 become his security. He would not accept it. He 
 thanked the mayor for his kindness, but was resolved 
 to assert the liberty and rights of a minister of Christ. 
 He was told that lie must then, if now released, appear 
 again in court. But the report of his arrest and 
 threatened imprisonment excited a popular ferment. 
 The "Paxton Boys." by whom he was greatly esteemed 
 and beloved, assembled, and resolved to march in a 
 body one hundred miles to Philadelphia to effect his 
 
808 HISTORY OF TRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 release if he was imprisoned. But he was not again 
 molested. 
 
 The religious views and sympathies of Dr. Duffield 
 ranged him upon the side of the " New Lights." The 
 church of which Dr. Ewing was pastor was in connec- 
 tion with the Old side. Hence the attempt to exclude 
 him from the edifice over which the First Church 
 claimed control. But Dr. Duffield was not a man to 
 be overawed. He fearlessly maintained his ground, 
 and he carried with him to the day of his death the 
 sympathies of his Whig and " New Light" congrega- 
 tion. His death occurred within a few months of the 
 convening of the first General Assembly (Feb. 1790), 
 by which he was appointed stated clerk. In the meri- 
 dian of his strength and usefulness, at the compara- 
 tively early age of fifty-seven, he fell at his post. 
 Whatever may have been his lack of cold, calculating 
 prudence, he was " an eminently devoted Christian 
 and an eminently faithful minister." 
 
 His successor was John Blair Smith, President of 
 Hampden-Sidney College, and, subsequent to his pas- 
 torate in Philadelphia, of Union College. He was the 
 son of Eobert Smith, of Pequa, and brother of Samuel 
 Stanhope Smith, President of Nassau Hall, of which he 
 was a graduate in 1773. No other clergyman within the 
 bounds of Virginia Synod was pronounced as a preacher 
 more worthy to wear the mantle of President Davies. 
 Though president of the college from the year 1780, 
 it was not till six or seven years later that his soul 
 seemed fully roused to the duty and solemnity of the 
 preacher's work. From this time his labors were 
 abundant, and were extended far and near. The 
 powerful revival which ensued, extending through the 
 college and over the surrounding region, was largely 
 due to his instrumentality. 
 
 In 1791, he was appointed a commissioner to attend 
 
NEW JERSEY AM) PENNSYLVANIA, 17*9-1800. 309 
 
 the General Assembly. During its sessions be occu- 
 pied the vacant pulpit of the Third Church. Such was 
 the impression made thai he was unanimously called 
 as the successor of the lamented Dumeld. Accepting 
 the call,- he removed to Philadelphia, where be remained 
 for five years, when he was invited to the presidency 
 of Union College. This post he accepted, and occupied 
 for three years, when he was reinstated over the people 
 of his former charge. He had hardly resumed his 
 Labors, however, before the city was again visited by 
 the yellow lever, and he was one of the first victims of 
 the terrible pestilence. 
 
 In man}' respects he was a model preacher. His 
 heart was in his work, and his whole soul glowed with 
 evangelical fervor and the love of souls. His preach- 
 ing was clear, distinct, pungent, and yet tender, sub- 
 duing opposition or melting it by the pathos of earnest 
 appeal. Immense congregations would hang upon his 
 lips in breathless silence, or a silence interrupted only 
 by the deep-drawn sigh. All tendencies to noisy de- 
 monstration were studiously suppressed. His slender 
 frame and feeble constitution seemed overtasked by his 
 arduous and exhausting efforts; but his buoyant spirit 
 and all-absorbing devotion to his work lent to his flag- 
 ging energies a recuperative power, and repeatedly 
 was he restored to vigor after anxious friends had 
 abandoned hope of his recovery and given him over as a 
 victim of consumption. Few men within the bounds of 
 the Church have labored more zealously or successfully 
 than John Blair Smith, who tell at the earl}' age of forty- 
 three, and who long deserves to be remembered as one 
 of the most gifted and eloquent preachers of his age. 
 
 Another member of the Presbytery, worthy of spe- 
 cial mention, was \)\\ William M. Tennenl . Bel I led since 
 17S1 as the pa8tor of the three congregations of Alding- 
 ton, Norristown, and Providence, lie was a grandson 
 
310 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANI8M. 
 
 of William Tennent, of Neshaminy, and bad been 
 settled for nine years at Greenfield, Conn. In 1785 he 
 was elected a trustee of Nassau Hall, and for more 
 than twenty years discharged the duties of the office. 
 He was known among his brethren not only as a man 
 of devoted piety, but as " a man of great sweetness of 
 temper and politeness of manner," and as " given to 
 hospitality." In 1797 he was moderator of the General 
 Assembly. 
 
 At Deep Run was settled James Grier, brother of 
 Nathan Grier, of Delaware. A native of the town, it 
 was here, with the exception of the period of his pre- 
 paratory studies, that he spent his days and closed his 
 life. From 1776 he had discharged the duties of pastor ; 
 but at the early age of forty-three, by the rupture of a 
 blood-vessel, his death was hastened. Tinicum, which 
 was vacant in 1790, had for some years been supplied by 
 him, in connection with his charge at Deep Run. One 
 of his congregation, who lived to a great age, said of 
 him that " it w T as impossible to hear him preach and 
 refrain from tears/' In person he was of medium 
 height, exceedingly thin, erect, and graceful in his 
 movements. His voice w T as deep and sonorous, and in 
 his later years peculiarly solemn in tone. He used 
 little gesture, but was always earnest, and sometimes 
 deeply impassioned. On a certain communion Sabbath 
 he followed up the sacramental service by a sermon 
 from the text, " The door was shut." After reading it, 
 he closed the Bible with an action somewhat energetic, 
 and, lifting up his hands apparently in deepest agony, 
 exclaimed, "My God! and is the door shut?" The 
 impression upon the whole congregation was perfectly 
 overwhelming, and it is said to have been signally 
 blessed in the awakening of the careless. His suc- 
 cessor in 1798 was Uriah Dubois, who subsequently 
 (1804) gathered the congregation of Doylestown, to 
 
NEW JERSEY AND PENNSYLVANIA, 1789-1800. 311 
 
 which, in connection with Deep Run, ho continued to 
 minister till the close of his life, in 1821. 
 
 The other pastors of the Presbytery were John Sy- 
 monton, 1 at Great Valley, Francis Peppard, at Allen- 
 town, James Boyd, at Newton and Bensalem, James 
 Watt, at Cape May, George Faitoute, at Greenwich, 
 Andrew Hunter, at Woodbury, and Nathaniel Irwin, 
 at Neshaminy. The churches of Fairfield, Deerfield, 
 rittsgrove, Penn's Neck, Timber Creek, and Tinicum 
 were vacant. Previous to 1800, however, John Daven- 
 port was settled at Deerfield, Ethan Osborn at J- air- 
 field, Nathaniel Harris at Penn's Neck and Alloways 
 Creek, Thomas Picton at Timber Creek and Wood- 
 bury, at the last of which he had succeeded Andrew 
 Hunter, and Buckley Carll at Pittsgrove. Cape May 
 and the Third and Fourth (recently-formed) Churches 
 of Philadelphia w T ere vacant, William Clarkson had 
 succeeded Faitoute at Greenwich, and had charge also 
 of Bridgeton ; Robert Russell had commenced his labors 
 at Allentown; William Latta had been settled in place 
 of Symonton at Great Valley, with the charge of 
 Charlestown; while John B. Linn had commenced his 
 brief pastorate of the First Church, and Jacob J. Jane- 
 way his more extended co-pastorate of the Second 
 Church, of Philadelphia. 
 
 The patriarch of the Presbytery of Carlisle (1789), 
 with its twenty-six ministers and fifty-five churches, 
 was John Elder, of Paxton and Derry. Here he had 
 resided in the discharge of pastoral duty for more than 
 half a century. Born in Ireland and educated at 
 Edinburgh, he came to this country in 1736, and the 
 next year commenced his labors as pastor. At this 
 time the region was but sparsely settled. In 1720, 
 John Harris, from Yorkshire, located himself on the 
 
 i He died Oct. 21, 1701. 
 
312 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 Susquehanna, in the vicinity of Harrisburg. to which 
 he bequeathed his name. Two miles east of the city, 
 which at that time was scarcely a settlement, the little 
 church of Paxton was soon built, and in its beautiful 
 graveyard, " the Westminster Abbey of the capital/' 
 " the rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep." The place 
 which they selected for their residence was one of the 
 most beautiful on the continent. 1 About seven miles 
 distant — a sheltering wall from the northern blasts — 
 lies the mountain-range, with its blue summits, which 
 bound the view in that direction. The valley itself, 
 underlaid with blue limestone, and covered originally 
 with the richest and noblest forest growth, includes 
 within it the garden of all the Atlantic slope, extending 
 from Easton on the Delaware, by Beading, Lebanon, 
 and Lancaster, b}^ Harrisburg, York, and Carlisle, by 
 Chambersburg, Hagerstown, and Winchester, until it 
 loses itself in the North Carolina hills. The gem of the 
 whole valley, the point of greatest beauty, is where it 
 is cleft by the Susquehanna. 
 
 Nine miles below the present site of Harrisburg 
 was the church of Deny, a memorial to the early 
 settlers of its Irish namesake, endeared to every Pro- 
 testant heart. The pastor of the two churches was 
 John Elder. The early years of his ministry were 
 years of constant exposure to Indian invasion. The 
 members of his congregation generally were trained as 
 "rangers," and he shared with them the hardships and 
 hazards of a frontier life. Many a family in the course 
 of years mourned for its head, shot down by a hidden 
 foe or carried off to a hopeless captivity. Whether at 
 work in the field, or worshipping God in the sanctuary, 
 the men carried their arms with them; and their pastor 
 himself set them an example. His gun stood by his 
 
 * Presb. Quar.Rev., April, 18G0. 
 
NEW JERSEY AND PENNSYLVANIA, 1789-1800. 813 
 
 side in the pulpit. The congregation was repeatedly 
 threatened with hostile attack, and sometimes the 
 threat was fulfilled. On one occasion two or three 
 were killed. Mr. Elder himself superintended the mili- 
 tary discipline of his people, and was known as the 
 captain of the mounted ;i Paxtony Boys." He subse- 
 quently held a colonel's commission in the colonial ser- 
 vice, and had the command of the block-houses and 
 stockades from the Susquehanna to East on. 
 
 He was indeed a man for the times. With a robust 
 constitution, large stature (he was six feet high), com- 
 manding presence, great courage, and indomitable 
 energy of purpose, " he was one of the true-blue Cove- 
 nanter sort, like his fellow Scotch-Irishman, General 
 Jackson, always willing to take the responsibility." 
 His people, mostly his fellow-countrymen, could appre- 
 ciate his qualities ; and his influence over them was 
 almost unbounded. It did not detract from this, that lie 
 was equally at home with spiritual and temporal wea- 
 pons, and that traditional sympathies commended to 
 him the Covenanter war-cry of " The sword of the Lord 
 and of Gideon !" -In the division he sided with the 
 " Old Lights," and extended little indulgence toward 
 the other party. Jealous of his own rights over his 
 extended parish, he allowed no one, and especially no 
 "New side" preacher, to interfere with him. At a 
 meeting of Presbytery he complained of a Mr. Hogg 
 (Hoge), a "New-Light" minister who had preached on 
 the outskirts of his parish. The complaint was couched 
 in peculiar phraseology: " a hog" he said, '-had been 
 rooting in his fields." It was some time after Harris- 
 burg was incorporated, before he would allow any 
 preaching there. 
 
 The death of Mr. Elder occurred in 1792, when ho 
 had reached the age of eighty-six, and after having 
 been a minister for sixty years. His successor, Dr. 
 Vol. I.— 27 
 
311 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 Joshua Williams, a graduate of Dickinson College, and 
 a licentiate of Carlisle Presbytery, was ordained and 
 installed October 2, 1799. • 
 
 Two of the most memorable members of the Pres- 
 bytery were located at Carlisle, — one, Dr. Charles Nis- 
 bet, President of Dickinson College, and the other, Dr. 
 Robert Davidson, a professor in the institution and the 
 pastor of the church. The project of a collegiate insti- 
 tution in this region had been cherished long previous 
 to the close of the Revolutionary War. Carlisle had 
 even been designated as the fittest location. It was 
 situated on the great western route from Philadelphia 
 to Pittsburg, one hundred and twenty miles west of the 
 former, and only eighteen from Harrisburg. It was 
 embosomed in a valley distinguished through its whole 
 extent for healthfulness, fertility, and the picturesque 
 beauty of the mountain-scenery which formed the 
 frame of this almost Eden-picture. 
 
 The first meeting of the trustees of the proposed 
 institution — among them his excellency John Dickin- 
 son, James Ewing, Dr. Rush, Robert Duncan, Stephen 
 McPherson, and others — was held September 15, 1783. 
 Measures were taken to secure funds, both in Europe 
 and this country. At the second meeting, April 6, 1784, 
 the sum of two thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine 
 pounds was reported to have been collected. Resolving 
 to press with increased energy the matter of subscrip- 
 tions, and apply to the State for an endowment, the 
 trustees unanimously elected Rev. Charles Nisbet, 
 S.T.D., of Montrose, Scotland, principal, and Mr. James 
 Ross, — favorably known among classical scholars as 
 the author of a valuable Latin grammar, — Professor 
 of the Greek and Latin Languages. The grammar- 
 school by Ross was at once commenced in "the school- 
 house of the borough," a small two-story brick build- 
 ing, which still occupies its place in an alley a little* 
 
NEW JERSEY AND PENNSYLVANIA, 1789-1S00. 315 
 
 southeast of what is now (lie publie square. 1 On the 
 30th of September, the students numbered fifteen, and 
 on the 15th of the following June they amounted to 
 thirty-five. 
 
 It was at this time that Dr. Kisbet arrived in this 
 country and took the principal charge of the infant 
 institution. The prospect before him was far from 
 cheering. There was as yet no college edifice. There 
 were no books, apparatus, or adequate funds. The 
 Legislature silently passed over the petition for aid, and 
 the first task devolving upon the principal was to collect 
 the means necessary to carry forward the institution. 
 After having undertaken it with uncertain success, his 
 health failed, and for seven months he felt forced to 
 relinquish his connection with the institution. But 
 upon his recovery, a small grant having been secured 
 from the State, he resumed his post, and the first class 
 of nine was graduated in 1787. In the following year 
 there were eleven graduates, and in 1792 the number 
 reached thirty-three, — a higher number than was again 
 attained. The trustees, however, had been unable to 
 secure a college building previous to 1802, and in some 
 of the intervening years there was no graduating class. 
 
 Dr. Nisbet might well feel some disappointment at 
 learning, .upon his arrival in this country, the real state 
 of the institution over which he was called to preside. 
 But, bating "no jot of heart or hope," he gave himself 
 up without reserve to the duties of his station, and, 
 by a multiform activity and unwearied diligence, en- 
 deavored to supply, as far as possible, every other 
 defect. 
 
 If any man could be pronounced capable of doing 
 this. Dr. Nisbet might well be. He w r as in the full and 
 matured vigor of his years, and, having been born in 
 
 1 American Quarterly Register, November, 1836, p. 119. 
 
316 HISTORY OF PRESBTTERIANISM. 
 
 1736, was, consequently, upon Lis arrival in this country, 
 little short of fifty years of age. The six years that 
 followed his graduation at the University of Edin- 
 burgh had been spent in close study at the Divinity 
 Hall, where he supported himself by his contributions 
 to one of the popular periodicals of the day. After 
 serving as stated supply with the church in the Gor- 
 bals of Glasgow, he was settled at Montrose; and it 
 was here that he was laboring at the time that he was 
 invited to Carlisle. Such was his reputation some 
 years previous, that Dr. "YVitherspoon, who at first 
 declined the call to Nassau Hall, suggested him for 
 the vacant post. 
 
 There were many things which seemed to justify the 
 selection of Dr. Nisbet for the office to which he was 
 called. He belonged to the Orthodox wing of the 
 Scotch Church, and combined evaugelical zeal with 
 soundness in doctrine. His sympathies all through 
 the Eevolutionary struggle were on the side of the 
 Americans. Of the cause of civil and religious liberty 
 he was a fearless and zealous advocate. His intellec- 
 tual endowments were of a rare order. His mind was 
 remarkably sprightly, and at once comprehensive and 
 discriminating. Whatever his position, he was sure to 
 exercise, even in a minority, a commanding influ- 
 ence. His varied talents and acquirements were com- 
 bined with sterling integrity and worth. In the dis- 
 charge of his duties he feared not the face of man. On 
 one occasion during our Eevolutionary struggle, he 
 preached on a public fast-day a discourse which was 
 quite unacceptable to the members of the Town Council 
 of Montrose, and soon after its commencement, when 
 they had satisfied themselves as to the character of 
 what was probably soon to come, they rose in a body 
 and left the church. Stretching forth his hand to the 
 seat which they had just vacated, he said, with em- 
 
17 
 
 phas's, as they withdrew, " The wicked flee when no 
 man jHirsueth." 
 
 In the General Assembly of the Scotch Church, Dr. 
 Nisbel was a powerful debater. His speeches in this 
 body must have told with powerful effect. The very 
 grounds on which they are exposed to criticism — an 
 excess perhaps of wit. <>r withering and crushing sar- 
 casm — must have inspired a healthful respect for his 
 opposition to the laxness and latitudinarianism of mode- 
 rate rule. In social life, his conversational gifts shone 
 with peculiar brilliancy. His wit and humor are said 
 to have been unrivalled. " His memory was not only 
 excellent, but bordered on the prodigious." 1 The libra- 
 ries to which he had been privileged to have access 
 were large and rich; but he himself was proverbially 
 called " the walking library." At one time he was able 
 to repeat the whole JEneid and Young's Night Thoughts. 
 But, w T ith all his attainments and his exuberance of 
 wit, he was none the less a sincere Christian, a true 
 patriot, and a warm friend to the interests of religion 
 and mankind. Such was the man who for nearly 
 twenty years devoted his energies to the establishment 
 and direction of Dickinson College. "With all the diffi- 
 culties which it had to encounter, and with such rival 
 institutions as the University of Pennsylvania and 
 Nassau Hall College, located respectively at Philadel- 
 phia and Princeton, it is scarcely surprising that no 
 more was effected. The comparative failure, however, 
 was due, not to the principal, but to circumstances 
 which all his tact, energy, learning, and application 
 could not control. 
 
 Associated with Dr. Nisbet as a professor in the col- 
 lege, and at the same time settled over the church in 
 Carlisle, was a man who, in the cause of sacred and 
 
 1 Life of Nisbet, p. 28. 
 27* 
 
818 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIA^s'ISM. 
 
 classical learning and of civil and religious freedom, 
 was in full sympathy with him. Robert Davidson 
 was a native of Maryland, and a graduate of the 
 University of Pennsylvania under Dr. Ewing in 1771. 
 Two years later, such was his reputation for learning 
 that he was appointed an instructor in the university, 
 and chosen as an assistant of Dr. Ewing in the First 
 Church. During the war, his political sympathies and 
 his outspoken zeal for his country rendered his residence 
 in Philadelphia unsafe, and he was forced to remove. 
 When Dickinson College was founded, he was invited, 
 through the influence of Dr. Eush, to become one of 
 its officers. "His name," said Dr. Eush, who knew 
 him well, ' ; will be of use to us; for he is a man of learn- 
 ing and of an excellent private character." His sphere 
 in the institution was the Professorship of History and 
 Belles-Lettres. In discharging his duties, collegiate 
 and pastoral, he was indefatigable. By systematic 
 efforts, he steadily enlarged his acquisitions. He made 
 himself master of eight languages, was well versed in 
 theology, and " familiar with the whole circle of science." 
 Astronomy was his favorite pursuit, and he was an 
 amateur and composer of sacred music; but he had self- 
 denial enough to sacrifice his elegant tastes at the 
 shrine of the sterner duties which absorbed his time 
 and energy. 
 
 During the Whiskey Insurrection, he was called to 
 preach to the troops on their march to suppress it. He 
 discharged his duties in a fearless yet prudent manner, 
 avoiding the odium which Dr. Nisbet incurred by his 
 more caustic rebukes. Upon the death of the latter, 
 the charge of the institution devolved upon Dr. David- 
 son; but in 1809 he resigned his post in the college to 
 devote himself more exclusively to his pastoral duties. 
 His death occurred in December, 1812, in the sixty- 
 second year of his age. 
 
NEW JERSEY AND PENNSYLVANIA, 1789-1800. 319 
 
 Robert Cooper, of Middle Spring, was one of tho 
 leading men <>t' the Presbytery by which ho hud been 
 licensed, and of which he had been a member for 
 twenty -four years, still retaining his first charge. He 
 was a native of Ireland, and was horn in 1732. His 
 father's family were in humble circumstances, and he 
 was forced largely to depend upon his own exertions 
 for the means of completing his education. In 1763, he 
 was graduated at Nassau Hall, then under the presi- 
 dency of Dr. Finley, and his theological studies Mere 
 conducted in part under the care of Dr. Duffield, at 
 Carlisle. In 17G5, he was called to Middle Spring (Ship- 
 pensburg) ; and here he remained till disease forced him 
 to seek a dismission, reluctantly granted, in 1797. Low 
 in stature, of a thin, spare habit, with a countenance 
 more indicative of melancholy than mirth, with a 
 delivery that would by no means be considered attract- 
 ive, and with a diction rather solid than elegant, the 
 real worth of the man was recognized beneath its dis- 
 guise, while the integrity of his character commanded 
 respect for his AVhig principles and his stern doctrinal 
 views. As a theologian he was somewhat eminent; and 
 numbered among his pupils were Drs. J. McKnight, 
 Joshua Williams, and F. Herron. For several years 
 after his dismission, and even to the close of his life, he 
 engaged in missionary labor, supplying vacant pulpits 
 or assisting his brethren of the Presbytery. It was 
 several years after his resignation before the church 
 found a successor to him in Dr. John Moody. 
 
 At Lower Marsh Creek and Tom's Creek was John 
 McKnight, a theological pupil of Eobert Cooper. His 
 collegiate course was completed at Princeton in 177.5; 
 in 1776 he was ordained, and until the close of the war 
 he labored with a new congregation gathered by his 
 instrumentality. In 1773 he accepted the call to Lower 
 Marsh Creek, and here, with a farm of one hundred and 
 
320 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 fifty acres, and amid a large and devoted congregation, 
 who strove to anticipate his wants, he spent what ho 
 ever regarded as the happiest years of his life. 
 
 Only a few months elapsed after the meeting of the 
 Assembly, when Dr. McKnight was called to the city 
 of New York as colleague with Dr. Rodgers. For 
 twenty years he was removed from the scenes of his 
 early days, but in his old age returned again to active 
 labor in his native State. His successor at Lower Marsh 
 Creek was William Paxton, whose protracted ministry 
 extended from 1792 to 1841, a period of almost half a 
 century. 
 
 At Lower Marsh Creek was John Black, a native of 
 South Carolina, but a graduate of Nassau Hall in 1771. 
 In 1775, he was installed pastor of this church, but in 
 1794, after a pastorate of nearly twenty years, was 
 released from his charge, at his repeated and urgent 
 request. His last days were spent in the bounds of 
 Bedstone Presbytery. He was possessed of a high 
 order of talent, and was especially fond of philosophical 
 disquisitions. An essay on Psalmody, in reply to Dr. 
 John Anderson of the Associate Church, was from his 
 pen. 1 
 
 At Upper "West Conococheague (Mercersburg), John 
 King had been settled for twenty years. A strict Cal- 
 vinist, an elaborate but not brilliant thinker, with a 
 voice too weak and hoarse for oratorical effect, he never 
 enjoyed an extended popularity j but in close and logical 
 processes of thought, in patience of investigation, and 
 in solid attainments, both in science and theology, he 
 had few superiors. His pastorate closed with his life 
 in 1811. 
 
 At East Pennsborough and Monaghan, Samuel Waugh, 
 a graduate of Nassau Hall in 1773, commenced his pas- 
 
 1 Sprague's Annals, iii. 556. 
 
NEW JERSEY AND PENNSYLVANIA, 17S9-1S00. 321 
 
 torate in 1782. A sound divine. :t very acceptable 
 preacher, and highly esteemed by his people, his labors 
 in i his position ended only with Ids life, in 1807. The- 
 church of West Hanover from L788 to 1845 was under 
 the care of .lames Snodgrass, 1 a man whose modesty 
 did not conceal his sound judgment and eminent de- 
 votedness to his work. 
 
 In 1793, the muted churches of York and Hopewell 
 called as their pastor a young man who had but a few 
 years previous emigrated from Ireland. This was 
 Robert Cathcart. The friend of every good cause, dili- 
 gent and scrupulously conscientious in the discharge 
 of his y duties, with an insatiable thirst for knowledge, 
 and a singularly retentive memory, sternly faithful in 
 the utterance of his convictions, and as immovable in 
 his steadfast devotion to truth as the limestone rocks 
 of York Valley, which he trod for nearly half a cen- 
 tury almost as his " native heath," he was spared to 
 complete an active ministry of forty-six years in connection 
 with the church at York, nor did he cease his labors at 
 Hopewell till two or three years before his death, in 1849. 
 
 Besides these men, the members of Carlisle Presby- 
 tery in 1789 were Hugh McGill, at Tuscarora and 
 Cedar Spring. James Martin, at Piney Creek, Robert 
 McMordie. without charge, James Lang, at Falling 
 Spring and East Conococheague, John Craighead, at 
 Rocky Spring, Hugh Vance, at Tuscarora, Va., and 
 Back Creek, Thomas McFarren, at Lower. Bast, and 
 West Conococheague, Samuel Dougall. at Path Valley, 
 John Linn, at Sherman's Valley, where he was settled 
 in 1777, David Bard, at Bedford, Joseph Henderson, at 
 Great ConewagO, Matthew Stephens, at Deny and 
 Wayne on the Juniata, .lames Johnston, at Kishaeo- 
 quillas, John John st< n.at Bart's Logand Shaver's ( Jreek, 
 
 1 Father of Dv. William D. SnodgrasB, now of Goaaen, N.Y. 
 
322 HISTORY OF PKESBYTBRIANISM. 
 
 Samuel Wilson, at Big Spring, and Hugh Morrison, at 
 Sunbury. Northumberland town, and Buffalo Valley. 
 
 The vacant churches of the Presbytery were York 
 (town), soon supplied by Dr. Cathcart. Hagerstown, 
 Shepherdstown, Charlestown, Falling Waters. Cool 
 Spring. Romney, Patterson Creek, Great Cove. Great 
 Anghwick, Standing Stone. Frankstown, Penn's Valley, 
 Chillisquaque, Warrior's Pain. Muncy, Lycoming, Ma- 
 honing. Fishing Creek. Dick's Gap. Sherman's Creek, 
 and Upper Pax ton. 
 
 Previous to 1800, some of these vacancies had been 
 supplied. The death of Dr. John Elder left Paxton 
 and Derry vacant, and Nathaniel E. Snowden, his suc- 
 cessor in 1793, became the first pastor of the church of 
 Harrisburg. which lay but two miles from Paxton, and 
 thus within the bounds of his parish. To the charge of 
 the old churches, Joshua Williams had succeeded. David 
 Denney was laboring at Path Valley, while Cooper, 
 Lang, King, Linn, Waugh. Snodgrass, Davidson, Ste- 
 phen, John Johnston, and Morrison remained undis- 
 turbed in their pastorates. Frankstown was supplied 
 by David Bard, dismissed from Bedford; but within the 
 old bounds of the Presbytery there were between thirty 
 and forty churches still vacant. The ministers who 
 had been dismissed were Cooper, McPherrin, Craig- 
 head, Jones, James Johnston. Dunham, and Black. Hugh 
 Vance died December 31, 1791, and John Elder, July, 
 1792. 
 
 In 1794, the Presbytery of Carlisle was divided to 
 form the new Presbytery of Huntingdon. Previous to. 
 the division it consisted of twenty-five ministers, four 
 of whom were without pastoral charge, while there 
 were sixteen vacancies, and in repeated instances two 
 or more churches had but a single pastor. The order 
 of the Assembly divided the two Presbyteries ''by a 
 line along the Juniata River, from its mouth up to the 
 
NEW J HUSKY AND PENNSYLVANIA, 1789-1800. 323 
 
 Tuscarora Mountain, to the head of Path Valley, 
 thence westwardly to the eastern boundary of the 
 Presbytery of Redstone, so as to Leave the congrega- 
 tion of Bedford to the south. The ministers south of 
 this line — Snodgrass, Waugh, Linn, Nesbit, Davidson, 
 Wilson, Cooper, Craighead, King, Lang, McPherrin, 
 Paxton, Black, Henderson, McMordie, and Jones — were 
 to constitute the Presbytery of Carlisle; the others, — 
 Bard, .John and James Johnston. Stephens, McGill, Mar- 
 tin. Bryson, Morrison, and Hoge, — the Presbytery of 
 Huntingdon. In 1800, the Presbytery of Carlisle had 
 eighteen ministers, five without pastoral charge, and 
 twelve vacancies. The Presbytery of Huntingdon had 
 twelve ministers, four without pastoral charge, and 
 more than twenty vacancies. 
 
 The region of Western Pennsylvania was covered in 
 1789 by the Redstone Presbytery, numbering at that 
 time eight ministers, and thirty-one churches, seven- 
 teen of which were vacant, and of the fourteen others 
 all but two were unable alone to sustain a pastor. 
 James Finley was at Eehoboth and Bound Hill, John 
 Clark at Lebanon and Bethel, Joseph Smith 1 at Buffalo 
 and Cross Creek, John McMillan at Chartiers and 
 Pigeon Creek, James Power at Mount Pleasant and 
 Sewicklev, James Dunlap at Redstone and Dunlap 
 Creek, while Thaddeus Dod was at Ten -Mile, and 
 Samuel Barr at Pittsburg. 
 
 The vacancies were Fairfield, Donegal, Unity, Salem, 
 Poke Run^ Long Run, Monticr's Creek, Glades of Sandy 
 Creek, Muddy Creek'. Morgan stown, George's Creek, 
 Pike Run, Potato Garden. Mill Creek, King's Creek, 
 Short Creek, and Three Ridges. 
 
 In 1792, the number of ministers was twelve, but the 
 number of vacant churches, through the rapid increase 
 
 1 Died April 14, 1792. 
 
324 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 of settlements, amounted to twenty-four. The new 
 members were Joseph Patterson, James Hughes, John 
 Brice, John McPherrin, and Samuel Porter. 
 
 In 1793, the Presbytery of Eedstone dismissed five 
 of its members, in order to constitute another Presby- 
 tery on its western borders, at that time extending 
 over the scattered settlements on the northwest of the 
 Ohio Eiver. The new Presbytery, though mainly 
 within the limits of the State of Pennsylvania, took 
 the name of Ohio, and the five ministers by whom it 
 was constituted were John Clark, John McMillan, 
 Joseph Patterson, James Hughes, and John Brice. 
 
 Of the Presbytery thus erected, the Monongahela 
 Eiver, in its windings till it joins the Alleghany at 
 Pittsburg, formed the eastern and northern boundary. 
 Thence the line ran northward to Presque Island, and 
 from this in a westerly direction, including the frontier 
 settlements in Ohio. The field occupied was one into 
 which immigration was soon to pour at flood-tide. The 
 country was rapidly filling up, and the increase of the 
 Presbytery in the course of a few years was almost 
 unprecedented. In 1791, two more members were 
 added to its list, and in 1800, seven years after its 
 formation, it had nineteen ministers, one only without 
 charge, while under its care it had five probationers for 
 the ministry. 
 
 Of its original members, some have already been 
 mentioned in connection with Eedstone Presbytery. 
 John Clark, since 1781 settled over the Bethel and 
 Lebanon congregations, was far advanced in years and 
 enfeebled by age when he became a member of the 
 Ohio Presbytery, the erection of which he survived 
 only four years. Grave, sedate, venerable in appear- 
 ance, he was pronounced a solemn and impressive 
 speaker. His successor was William Woods. 
 
 Next on the list stood the name of John McMillan, 
 
NEW JERSEY AND PENNSYLVANIA, 1789-1S00. 325 
 
 and in grateful association with it foll< >wed the names 
 of others who had been his pupils hut were u<>w his 
 Presbyters and coadjutors. Others still were soon 
 to be added to the list. .Most prominent among these 
 were Joseph Patterson, Thomas Marquis, James Hughes, 
 and John Brice. 
 
 Patterson was a native of Ireland. 1 His Gather, when 
 a lad, was present at the siege of Deny. The son 
 shared in the scenes of our own Revolutionary conflict. 
 In 1788, he was licensed to preach, and in the follow- 
 ing year accepted the call of the united churches of 
 Raccoon and Montour's Run, in "Washington county, 
 the former eighteen miles from Pittsburg. Like other 
 ministers of the day, he made frequent missionary 
 tours, and his labors were most abundant. " His jour- 
 nal is replete with interesting and surprising incidents, 
 and strikingly illustrates the deep spirituality and glow- 
 ing zeal of the missionary/' 
 
 Thomas Marquis was another of this noble band of 
 pioneers of which the Presbytery was constituted. His 
 father's death while he was yet a child left him desti- 
 tute, and at twelve or thirteen years of age he went 
 to learn the trade of a weaver. In 1775, he left his 
 home in Virginia, and, now at the age of twenty-tw r o, 
 and already married, took up his residence in Washing- 
 ton county. His cabin was erected, amid all the hazards 
 of frontier warfare, in the woods near the spot where 
 the village of Cross Creek now stands. As dangers 
 thickened, he, with others, took refuge in Vance's Fort 
 There was not a gospel-minister within seventy miles 
 of the place, but within the fort was one pious man 
 This was Joseph Patterson, whom we have just men- 
 tioned. Although not yet licensed he acted the part 
 of a faithful Christian, and, with a piety that remained 
 
 1 Sprague's Annals. Old Redstone. 
 Vol. I.— 28 
 
326 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 firm even amidst the storm and terrors of war, endea- 
 vored to act the part of a faithful monitor to the often 
 reckless and hardened men that had fled with him 
 to the fort. A revival commenced, and Thomas Mar- 
 quis and his young wife were numbered among its sub- 
 jects. 
 
 For several years, though often urged to undertake 
 the work of the ministry, the timidity of Marquis led 
 him to refuse all solicitations. At length his duty 
 became so manifest that he could no longer decline it. 
 He prosecuted his studies, first at Buffalo with Dr. 
 Joseph Smith, and afterward at Canonsburg with Dr. 
 McMillan. It was a period for his family, as well as 
 himself, of great self-denial. His excellent wife was 
 sometimes compelled to labor in the field to keep the 
 children supplied with bread. But the result was that 
 Marquis brought to his Master's work, at the "ripe age 
 of forty, such gifts of energy, humility, and perseve- 
 rance as are rarely combined. In 1793, he was licensed 
 to preach by the Presbytery of Bedstone, and in the 
 following year accepted a call from the congregations 
 of Black Lick and Cross Creek. In the first four years 
 of his pastorate, one hundred and twenty-three were 
 added to the communion of the churches under his 
 care. In 1796, he was appointed a member of the first 
 missionary board west of the mountains. His mis- 
 sionary labors were abundant, and his tours frequent 
 and sometimes quite extended. In 1801, he declined a 
 call from Chillicothe, but soon after made an extensive 
 joun.ey " northwest of the Ohio and Alleghany Eivers, 
 seeking the wandering sheep, and gathering them into 
 little companies, for mutual encouragement and as 
 nuclei ?f other churches." Kind, courteous, frank, but 
 gifted * ith quick intellect and strong emotion, he was 
 genial in social life, and almost " irresistible in the 
 pulpit." Almost to the last, even when bowed under 
 
NEW JERSEY AND PENNSYLVANIA, 17S9-1800. 327 
 
 (she weight of more than threescore and ten years, he 
 continued his labors and gave full proof of his ministry. 
 
 Another honored member of this Presbytery was 
 Rev. (afterward Dr.) Samuel Ralston. He was a native 
 of Ireland, and his early home was " a nursery of gos- 
 pel truth, where religion with its Bible and catechisms, 
 instead of polities with its newspapers, early imbued 
 his vigorous mind/' He was born in 1756, and migrated 
 to this country, after completing his studies at the 
 University of Glasgow, in the spring of 1794. In 1796, 
 he accepted the call of the united congregations of 
 Mingo Creek and Williamsport (now Monongahela 
 City), where for thirty-five years he continued to labor. 
 J Remarkable for mental energy, erudition, and a piety 
 that never wearied in its work, he was gifted with 
 some of the lighter graces of urbanity and wit, and 
 for keenness of satire his " curry-comb" might " well 
 rank with the i characteristics' of Witherspoon." It 
 defended the revivals of the period — 1800-1805 — from 
 the charges brought against them on account of the 
 extravagances with which they were connected. 
 
 Still another of this little band was James Hughes, 
 brother of Thomas Edgar Hughes, born in York county. 
 Pa., about 1765. He was a graduate of New Jersey 
 College, and studied theology under Dr. McMillan. 1 
 From 1790 to 1814, he was pastor of Short Creek and 
 Lower Buffalo Churches. Like his brethren, he per- 
 formed a large amount of missionary labor. None of 
 his excursions were more profitable than the one which 
 he made to Ligonicr, Westmoreland county, in 1792. 
 Among his hearers was one destined to become a most 
 efficient co-laborer in the same field. This was Elisha 
 Macurdy, then a young man of twenty-eight years. 
 The sermon induced him to purchase a Bible, to learn 
 
 1 This is somewhat uncertain. 
 
S28 HISTORY OF PRESRYTERIANISM. 
 
 whether the statements and warnings of the preacher 
 were sustained by it. A great and permanent change 
 was the result. A good old lady expressed her confi- 
 dence in his piety by saying, " If Mr. Macurdy has no 
 religion, God help the world." Yet at this time he 
 was not, in his after-judgment, truly converted. A 
 sermon by John McPherrin brought him to clearer 
 views of the truth, and was blessed in leading him to 
 a genuine Christian experience. 
 
 From this moment his course was decided. He sold 
 his farm to defray the expense of his education, and 
 became a member of the Academy at Canonsburg. 
 Here he completed his theological as well as literary 
 course (1798). In connection with the Presbytery, he 
 abounded in missionary service. He was one of the 
 leading spirits of the Western Missionary Society, and 
 had an important agency in connection with the great 
 revival in Western Pennsylvania in 1801-2. For nearly 
 forty years he continued his career of " most self-deny- 
 ing and unremitting labor, — for thirty-five years at 
 Cross Roads and Three Springs (1800-1835)." 
 
 Among his teachers in 1796, at Canonsburg, was 
 John Watson. At nine years of age the latter was left 
 a friendless orphan. A neighbor of his father took him 
 into his family; and here young Watson found a large 
 collection of books, especially of novels. These he 
 devoured with a strange eagerness, contriving means 
 to procure them even after they had been carefully 
 locked up. At every leisure moment his beloved books 
 occupied his attention. Addison's Spectator fell into 
 his hands, and was read with great delight. But the 
 Latin sentences, prefixed as mottoes to each number, 
 puzzled him. He was mortified at his ignorance, and 
 resolved to learn Latin. By the aid of a copy of 
 Horace, and an old broken dictionary, without even a 
 grammar, he commenced his task. While thus engaged, 
 
NEW JEB8EY AND PENNSYLVANIA, 1789 L800. 329 
 
 Alexander Addison, Presidenl of the Courl of Common 
 Pleas in the Western Distrid of Pennsylvania, lodged 
 at the house where Watson lived. Eere he found the 
 young bar-keeper, after the family had retired to rest, 
 reading Horace by firelight. To hie surprise, he learned 
 tin- remarkable progress that the youth had already 
 made. With expressions of regrel thai he had do 
 better advantages, the jurist promised to bring him, on 
 his return at the nexl session of court, some more 
 suitable books. It was the firsl encouraging word in 
 regard to his studies which the orphan-boy had heard 
 6ince his father's death. In due time the jurist returned 
 with the books. " Never," said Watson, relating the 
 incident, " did I experience a more joyful moment. My 
 heart was so full I could not utter a word." 
 
 Besides classical works, he was furnished with others 
 on History, Belles-Lettres, Philosophy, &c. These were 
 eagerly devoured. The teacher of the village gram- 
 mar-school gave him valuable aid. At the age of nine- 
 teen, his attainments and worth became widely known, 
 and through the influence of Dr. McMillan he was ap- 
 pointed assistant teacher in the Academy of Canons- 
 burg. This was in 17 ( .>2. A iter a service of eighteen 
 months, his venerable patron procured for him a scho- 
 larship at Princeton. Returning thence on the comple- 
 tion of his studies, he was immediately chosen principal 
 of the Academy, and soon after, by an able and power- 
 ful appeal to the Legislature, he obtained the charter 
 of Jefferson College 
 
 In 1798, he was licensed to preach, and for four years 
 had the pastoral charge of a small congregation three 
 miles from Canonsburg. But his career was short. 
 His labors were arduous, and his health, injured seri- 
 ously already by severe application to study, was fast 
 giving way. lie died in 1802; and over him might have 
 been pronounced, with equal appropriateness, the bcau- 
 
 28* 
 
330 HISTORY OP PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 tiful lines in which Byron has commemorated the genius 
 and the untimely fate of Henry Kirke White. Yet his 
 memory and influence were not lost. Several distin- 
 guished ministers were trained in part under his care, 
 and his name occupies an honorable place on the records 
 of that pioneer Presbytery, — the Presbytery of Ohio. 
 
 About the commencement of the present century, 
 another laborer, of kindred spirit and of eminent gifts, 
 had joined the little band. This was Mr. (afterward 
 Dr.) John Anderson, who had received his entire clas- 
 sical and theological education at the Academy of the 
 Rev. David Caldwell, pastor at Buffalo and Alamance 
 in North Carolina. He was remarkable for his ardent 
 and self-denying zeal. In missionary labor he had, even 
 in that age, scarce a rival. He was licensed by the Pres- 
 bytery of Orange, N.C., in 1791, and for two years 
 labored in the vicinity of the borders of this and the 
 adjoining State of South Carolina. From 1793 to 1798, 
 he itinerated through the States of Tennessee and 
 Kentucky, sometimes crossing the Ohio and preaching 
 to the extreme frontier settlements. Unaided by any 
 missionary association, and often subjected to great 
 dangers and privations, he exhibited just those quali- 
 ties which were most necessary in the broad field which 
 spread around him. The Ohio Presbytery found in him 
 a most efficient co-laborer, and desired him to take up 
 a permanent residence among them. For nearly a third 
 of a century he was pastor of the Upper Buffalo Church 
 of Washington county. 
 
 In the autumn of 1793, Thomas Moore was settled 
 as pastor of Ten-Mile, as successor of the pioneer Thad- 
 deus Dod, who had died a few months previous. He 
 was a native of ISIew England, and was received from 
 the Bristol Association of Massachusetts. With a voice 
 clear and sonorous, a delivery warm and animated, a 
 vigorous intellect, high culture, ardent temperament, 
 
NEW JER8EY AM) PENNSYLVANIA, 1789-1S00. 381 
 
 and active eeal, he proved a valuable accession to the 
 Presbytery. 1 His Eastern associations made him the 
 principal channel through which reports of the progress 
 of the gospel and revivals among the churches wera 
 communicated to the journals in the older Stales. His 
 own labors, both at Ten-Mile, and subsequently at 
 Salem, were largely blessed. In his ten years' ministry 
 at the former place, about two hundred persons were 
 received to the Church on profession of their faith. The 
 log meeting-house built in 1785 at Lower Ten-Mile 
 proved too small for the congregation, and during Mr. 
 Moore's ministry another was erected at Upper Ten 
 Mile. 
 
 Mr. Moore is said to have been " a terrible scourge 
 of Arminianism." In theology he was a Ilopkinsian, 
 and his Calvinism was of an ultra type. Tradition 
 reports — although unwarrantably — that he preached 
 the doctrine of infant-damnation. The report origi- 
 nated, no doubt, in the severe exposition which he was 
 wont to give of orthodox doctrine. He dwelt much, in 
 his preaching, on the terrors of the law. lie was bold 
 and uncompromising in his denunciations of sin in all 
 its forms, but especially when it assumed the shape of 
 formalism and hypocrisy in the Church. 
 
 Other laborers in the field at this early period were 
 Messrs. John Brice. William Wood, William Wick, G. 
 Scott, Joseph Anderson, A. Gwinn, John McClean, and 
 J. Snodgrass. By these men an extensive field was 
 occupied, and a remarkable amount of missionary 
 labor performed. Five of the nineteen ministers were 
 settled " over the Ohio River," — one, William Wick, 
 thirty-eight miles west of the river, within eight miles 
 of Youngstown, where he preached a third part of the 
 time as a temporary supply. From the month of 
 
 i Wiucs's Historical Discourse, pp. 1G, 17. 
 
332 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 August, 1799, to November, 1800, the Presbytery or- 
 dained ten ministers of the gospel, of whom nine were 
 installed, and one dismissed to go and itinerate in the 
 State of Tennessee, while one was received from the 
 Presbytery of Brunswick, thus in the space of little 
 more than a year more than doubling the number of 
 the members of the body. 
 
 Meanwhile, three candidates for licensure were on 
 trial, and several more were expecting soon to offer 
 themselves. The churches were chiefly supplied from 
 McMillan's school, " a little academy in Canonsburg, 
 with no resources, supported entirely, till of late, by 
 the Presbyterian clergy and their people." There was 
 an urgent necessity, notwithstanding all that had been 
 done, for more laborers. " In this quarter," writes Rev. 
 Thomas Moore (January, 1801), " the field is wide and 
 extensive, the harvest truly great, but the laborers com- 
 paratively few." A most grateful welcome did the mis- 
 sionaries of the Connecticut Missionary Society receive 
 from the members of the Ohio Presbytery on their way 
 to New Connecticut. Two of them, Joseph Badger 
 and David Bacon, had already made transient visits to 
 that inviting and destitute field, and more were soon to 
 follow in their track, Ezekiel J. Chapman in the follow- 
 ing year. 
 
 Meanwhile, several of the congregations connected 
 with the Presbytery were visited by seasons of refresh- 
 ing. There were revivals, some characterized by great 
 power, in the churches of which McMillan. Patterson, 
 Hughes, Brice, and Moore were pastors. On his way 
 to his field of labor (November, 1800) in New Connec- 
 ticut, Joseph Badger "passed through and near to 
 twenty Presbyterian congregations," where from 1798 
 there had been " a pretty general serious awakening." 1 
 
 i Conn. Ev. Mag., 1801. 
 
17*9-1800. 333 
 
 Many hundred souls were converted. The revival 
 extended nearly eighty miles from cast to west. The 
 nrw settlements aorthwest of the Ohio, to the very 
 bounds of Now Connecticut, were "visited in a special 
 manner/' The work was free from enthusiasm, but 
 characterized by great power. 1 
 
 By the commencement of the present century, "six- 
 teen or seventeen very worthy and pious ministers" 
 had been trained for their work in the -'academic 
 school" of Can onsburg. It was at first thought that 
 it would be difficult to supply them all with fields of 
 labor. But the revival "opened places enough." By 
 September, 1800, there were three ordained ministers 
 connected with the Ohio Presbytery in or near the 
 Western Bescrve. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 MARYLAND AND VIRGINIA, 17S9-1800. 
 
 Although the Presbyterian Church in this country 
 had been first planted on the Eastern Shore of Mary- 
 land, yet there were man}' obstacles to its spread both 
 in Maryland and Virginia, which, until the close of the 
 
 1 From 1781 to 1807, an extensive work of grace was experienced 
 in the churches of Cross Creek, Upper Buffalo, Chartiers, Pigeon 
 Creek, Bethel, Lebanon, Ten-Mile, Cross Roads, and Mill Creek, 
 during which more than one thousand persons were converted. 
 From 1705 to 1700, another series of gracious visitations wns 
 enjoyed by the churches of Western Pennsylvania, extending to 
 the new settlements north of Pittsburg. Dr. McMillan received to 
 his church one hundred ami ten. and Thomas Marquis one hundred 
 ami twenty-three persona. Large additions were made, to others.- 
 llumphrei/ $ " lie civ a I Sketches." 
 
334 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 Revolutionary War. effectually retarded its growth. 
 Maryland was a Roman Catholic colony, and but a 
 small proportion of its inhabitants would have been 
 disposed to welcome Presbyterian missionary labor or 
 Presbyterian institutions ; while Virginia, settled by 
 " Cavaliers," and with the Episcopal for the established 
 Church of the colony, was long reluctant even to tole- 
 rate "Dissenters." The patriotic fervor of the Revo- 
 lution, and the worldly and sometimes disgraceful con- 
 duct and character of the Episcopal clergy, 1 combined 
 to effect a change in popular feeling and sympathy, 
 and at the close of the war the field was open to Pres- 
 byterian effort. 
 
 The laborers, indeed, were few and far between. The 
 eloquence of Davies, even, had been like the voice of 
 one crying in the wilderness. His own heart was 
 deeply burdened that he was left to toil almost alone. 
 During the war, little could be done to supply spiritual 
 destitution, and the single Presbytery of Hanover, 
 feeble in numbers, though enterprising in spirit, was 
 left to occupy and supply a region extending on every 
 side hundreds of miles. 
 
 In Western Maryland the Presbyterian Church can 
 scarcely be said to have had an existence until after the 
 close of the war. Hagerstown and two or three other 
 congregations were under the care of Carlisle Presby- 
 tery, and perhaps as many more feeble congregations 
 existed between the Potomac and the Chesapeake. The 
 Presbytery of Baltimore was formed, by a division of 
 Donegal Presbytery, in 1786. At the meeting of the 
 first General Assembly, it reported six members and 
 twelve churches. Patrick Allison was at Baltimore, 
 Isaac S. Keith at Alexandria. Stephen B. Balch at 
 Georgetown, James Hunt at Bladensburg and Cabin 
 
 1 Meade's Churches of Virginia. 
 
MARYLAND AND VIRGINIA, 1789-1800. 335 
 
 John, John Slenions at Slate Ridge and Chance FQrd, 
 and George Lucky al Bethel and Centre; while Hope- 
 well, Frederick, and Soldier's Delighl were vacant. 
 
 The First Presbyterian Church of Baltimore dates 
 from 17Go. During the preceding year, a few Presby- 
 terians from Pennsylvania had erected a log church 
 edifice within the limits of the future city, which at 
 that time could boast some thirty or forty houses and 
 some three hundred inhabitants. 1 Allison, a graduate 
 of the University of Pennsylvania, and a licentiate of 
 the Second Presbytery of Philadelphia, was at the time 
 connected with the Newark Academy, at which several 
 young men from Baltimore were pursuing their studies, 
 and, doubtless through their influence, he was induced 
 for one or more Sabbaths to supply the pulpit. So 
 acceptable were his services, that the congregation re- 
 quested of the Presbytery that he might be appointed 
 to supply them statedly on a salary of one hundred 
 pounds per 3-ear. Declining a call to a larger church 
 at New Castle, he accepted the appointment, and for 
 thirty-five years continued in the pastorate of the First 
 Church of Baltimore. 
 
 The congregation, small at first, — numbering, it is 
 supposed, but six families,' 2 — rapidly increased; the 
 small edifice was pulled down for the erection of a 
 larger one ; this was subsequently enlarged ; and at 
 length, to accommodate the increased numbers, a large, 
 expensive, and elegant structure was reared, worthy 
 the enterprise of the growing city. 
 
 The personal appearance of Dr. Allison was highly 
 commanding and impressive. Of medium height, but 
 every way well proportioned, his manners combined, to 
 
 1 Sprague, iii. 254. 
 
 2 Baltimore was laid out as a town by Roman Catholics in 1729, 
 and up to 1765 it contained but fifty houses. — Eighty Tears' Pro- 
 gress, i. 183. 
 
336 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 a remarkable degree, grace with dignity. With a 
 proper self-respect, yet without ostentation, his bearing 
 toward others was courteous and respectful. With a 
 character above reproach, with intellectual gifts of a 
 high order, which had been improved and expanded by 
 more than ordinary culture, ever a diligent student, as 
 well as a careful observer of passing events, he exerted 
 a powerful and extensive influence throughout the com- 
 munity. Of exquisite literary taste, a master of history, 
 ancient and modern, wielding a facile and yet a power- 
 ful pen, he stood ever ready to defend the cause of his 
 country and the cause of religious freedom. During 
 the Eevolution, and after the close of the war, his pen 
 was called into service, first to repel the arrogant 
 claims of Episcopacy to state patronage, and after- 
 ward in defence of American Protestantism. His large 
 foresight and liberal public spirit brought him forward 
 on repeated occasions when the cause of education or 
 the public welfare demanded an able champion. With 
 Old-side sympathies strong to the last, he cannot be 
 classed with such men as those who inherited the zeal 
 of the Tennents or sympathized with the revival 
 efforts of Whitefield \ and yet it is possible that in the 
 region where his lot was cast he was better fitted to 
 accomplish the work that needed to be done, than he 
 would have been with less learning and greater zeal. 
 Until his death he was a leading member of the Pres- 
 bytery. Of Baltimore College and Baltimore Library 
 lie was one of the original founders. In the judica- 
 tories of the Church, and in all public bodies in which 
 he was called to take a part, he was especially eminent. 
 His great sagacity, perfect self-control, and admirable 
 command of thought and language marked him out 
 as a leader, and warranted the estimate of him pro- 
 nounced by President Samuel Stanhope Smith : — " Dr. 
 Allison is decidedly the ablest statesman we have in 
 
MARYLAND AND VIRGINIA, 1789-1800. 337 
 
 the General Assembly." What Franklin was to tho 
 State, that, in large measure, he was to the Church ; and 
 a striking parallel might be drawn between the shrewd 
 sagacity, perspicuity of thought and expression, free- 
 dom from impulse, and practical utilitarianism, by 
 which the two men were characterized. 
 
 The church at Alexandria was probably formed 
 shortly before the commencement of the Revolution- 
 ary War. In 1780, William Thorn, who had supplied 
 the congregation for several years, and perhaps been 
 settled as pastor, was dismissed, 1 and Isaac S. Keith re- 
 ceived " an affectionate and unanimous call" — to which 
 "the inhabitants of every denomination echoed uni- 
 versal consent" — as his successor. The church was at 
 the time in a feeble state, with a limited membership, 
 and largely dependent for support on the co-opera- 
 tion of other denominations. Mr. Keith, 2 a native 
 of Newtown, Pa., a graduate of New Jersey College, 
 and a theological pupil of Eobert Smith, of Pequa, was 
 indeed the man for the place. An apt scholar, an 
 elegant writer, fully devoted to the work of the minis- 
 try, unwearied in his endeavors to promote the cause 
 of Christ, he originated, while at Alexandria, a plan for 
 prayer and conference meetings, while as yet they 
 were unknown, and endeavored to harmonize in effect- 
 ive co-operation the various religious elements of the 
 community. For nearly a quarter of a century after 
 his dismissal from Alexandria, he was the respected 
 and beloved pastor of the Circular Church (Independ- 
 ent) of Charleston, S.C. ; and rarely has any career 
 been crowned with more honorable memories of use- 
 
 1 William Thom was a licentiate of Donegal Presbytery in 1771 
 (Synod s Minutes, 1772), and was ordained in the following year. 
 He probably commenced his labors soon after in Alexandria or its 
 vicinity. 
 
 8 Remains of Rev. Isaac S. Keith — Biographical Sketch. 
 
 Vol. I.— 2? 
 
338 HISTORY OP PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 fulness and devotion. An American edition of John 
 Newton, revised and improved, — his letters, enriched 
 with quotations from the " Olney Hymns," repeatedly 
 remind us of the good sense and fervent piety of the 
 friend of Cowper, Wilberforce, and Scott. The son-in- 
 law of Dr. Sproat of Philadelphia, the correspondent 
 of Dr. Green, a fast friend of missions, a principal 
 founder of the Charleston Bible Society in 1810, exten- 
 sively acquainted with the condition and wants of the 
 country and the world, his life was one of uninterrupted 
 and uniform effort in behalf of the cause to which he 
 had devoted himself; and when, in the vigor of his 
 years, he fell (1813) at his post, tears of unaffected 
 grief from hundreds of mourning friends attested their 
 deep sense of the loss which they had experienced. 
 
 His eight years' ministry at Alexandria was a period 
 of peace and prosperity to the Church. Commanding 
 the respect and confidence of the entire community, 
 but especially the regard and attachment of his own 
 flock, his resignation of his office was universally 
 lamented, and the congregation felt it to be their duty 
 earnestly to remonstrate against his removal. (Sept. 
 10, 1788.) 
 
 The successor of Mr. Keith, in the following year, 
 was James Muir, whose ministry extended from 1789 
 to 1820. 
 
 The First Presbyterian Church of Georgetown (D.C.) 
 dates from 1780. * In March of that year, Stephen 
 Bloomer Balch entered upon this — at the time — most 
 unpromising field. He had visited the place some 
 months previous, on his journey with a view to mis- 
 sionary labor in the'Carolinas. The people invited 
 him to remain, promising him to build him a church; 
 but, though encouraging them to hope for a compliance 
 
 1 Spraguej iii. 411. 
 
Maryland and Virginia, i78»-i8oo. 339 
 
 at some future period, he declined to abandon his pre- 
 senl purpose. 
 
 The congregation was small and feeble; but in 1782, 
 a few individuals interested in sustaining divine insti- 
 tutions joined in building a very plain house for public 
 worship. Seven persons, including the pastor, were 
 all who joined in the first celebration of the Lord's 
 Supper. But with the increase of population and the 
 growth of the place the church steadily increased in 
 strength, until it was found necessary first to enlarge 
 the church edifice, and at length (1821) to erect one 
 more spacious and commodious. 
 
 The ministry of Dr. Balch at Georgetown extended 
 over a period of fifty-three years, and was highly suc- 
 cessful. His personal qualities endeared him to the 
 people of his charge. Uniformly cheerful, and some- 
 times almost hilarious in his mirth, — even shaking the 
 composure and ruffling the dignity of such a man as 
 Dr. Ashbel Green, — he was not only a genial compa- 
 nion, and a favorite among his congregation, but an 
 earnest and animated speaker, and of unquestionable 
 personal piety. In the pulpit he never employed notes ; 
 and yet his discourses were evidently the fruit of 
 mature thought. His death occurred September 7, 
 1833, and his successors were John C. Smith and E. T. 
 Berry. 
 
 Among other members of the Presbytery were — John 
 Slemons, a graduate of Princeton, a licentiate of Done- 
 gal Presbytery in 1762, ordained in 1765 by Carlisle 
 Presbytery, and soon after, probably, commencing his 
 labors in Maryland, but resigning his charge previous 
 to 1798 — George Lucky, a graduate of Princeton, or- 
 dained by the New Brunswick Presbytery in 1785, 
 and settled over the churches of Bethel and Centre — 
 and James Hunt (ordained by New Brunswick Pres- 
 
340 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 bytery in 1761), at Bladensburg, where his death 
 occurred in 1793. 
 
 Shortly after the decease of the latter, Caleb Johnson 
 was settled at Deer Creek, and Enoch Matson at Ber- 
 muda. Previous to 1798, Samuel Martin succeeded 
 Slemons at Slate Ridge, while Adam Freeman had 
 under his charge the three feeble congregations of 
 Seneca, Cabin John, and Difficult; and Samuel Knox — 
 received in 1795 from the Belfast Presbytery, in Ire- 
 land — was settled as pastor of the church at Frede- 
 rick, which had been gathered there through the exer- 
 tions of Mr. Balch soon after the settlement of the 
 latter at Georgetown in 1780. 1 In 1799, William 
 Maffit was pastor at Bladensburg, and John Bracken- 
 ridge 2 had charge of a small congregation at Washing- 
 ton : the former, however, soon relinquished his post, 
 and the latter, with little prospect of encouragement 
 in the field, soon withdrew (1800), although destined to 
 return to it at a later period. 
 
 At the time of the constituting of the General Assem- 
 bly, the Presbyterian Church in Virginia was repre- 
 sented by the two Presbyteries of Lexington and 
 Hanover, — the former with ten ministers and twenty- 
 eight churches, seventeen of which were vacant, and 
 the latter with seven ministers and twenty-one churches, 
 of which eight were vacant. 
 
 In Hanover Presbytery, Richard Sanckey was at 
 Buffalo Creek; John Todd 3 at Providence, Bird and 
 Ford of Pamunky; William Irvine at North Garden, 
 Rich Cove, Mountain Plains, and Dee Ess; John Blair 
 Smith at Cumberland and Briery; James Mitchell at 
 
 1 Sprague, iii. 412. 
 
 2 Maffit and Brackenridge were r oth licentiates of the Presbytery. 
 See Annual Reports to Assembly, 1791-1800. 
 
 » Died July 27, 1793. 
 
MARYLAND AND VIRGINIA, 1739-J800. 341 
 
 Peaks of Otter; and John D.Blair at Hanover and 
 Henrico. The churches of Cuh Crook, Rock Fish, 
 Concord, J I at Creek, Fauquier, Blue Stone, Lancaster, 
 and Head of Smith's River were vacant. Within a 
 few years the names of some of the most eminent 
 ministers of the Church were to be found on the roll of 
 this Presbytery, — Archibald Alexander, William Cal- 
 hoon, James Turner, Drury Lacy, and James Ro- 
 binson. 
 
 In a field where the name of Davies was a house- 
 hold word, and through which Whitoficld had passed 
 and repassed on his preaching-tours, there were now to 
 be found men who, almost sinking under their accu- 
 mulated tasks, labored nobly to stay the tide of irre- 
 ligion which was sweeping over the land, and to which 
 Virginia in an especial manner was exposed. The 
 Episcopal Church was, as a body, in a most lamentable 
 condition. She had not yet begun to feel that new 
 impulse which, through the influence of Wilberforce, 
 Newton, Scott, and others in England, and the labors 
 of Bishops Madison and White in this country, was 
 ere long to open before her brighter prospects. 1 The 
 effects of the war, the spread of French politics and spe- 
 culation, and the extensive apostasy of many from the 
 zeal and devotion of the period preceding the war, de- 
 manded special effort on the part of the few Presbyte- 
 rian ministers of Virginia. They were surrounded on 
 every side by a missionary field. The churches were 
 few and feeble, and the lot of the pastors was one of 
 no little self-denial. 
 
 Glancing over the roll of the Presbytery, we find 
 names well worthy of honorable mention : — Sanckey," 
 now an old man, — the patriarch of the Synod of which 
 he was the first moderator, but still discharging his 
 
 1 Meade's Churches of Virginia. 2 Webster, 457. 
 
 29* 
 
342 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 duties to the Buffalo congregation, who nearly thirty 
 years before had fled from savage incursions to their 
 present location, and who still clung to the pastor who 
 had shared their lot; Matthew Lyle, 1 his successor at 
 Buffalo, which he supplied in connection with Briery, — 
 a man of sound judgment and sterling integrity, of uni- 
 form temper and devotion, honest, sincere, faithful, 
 and in the pulpit discarding notes, but clear, forcible, 
 and effective both in thought and utterance; John 
 Durborrow Blair, 2 a son of John Blair of Fagg's Manor, 
 subsequently principal of Washington Hall Academy, 
 and in 1785 a licentiate of Hanover Presbytery, — a 
 man who was esteemed by those who had listened to 
 the eloquence of Davies fit to be his successor, and 
 whose elegance of speech and manners was in keeping 
 with his refined and exquisite taste; John Blair Smith,* 
 who as yet had given but the earnest of that eloquence 
 which was to thrill crowded assemblies, and whose 
 intense earnestness and glowing piety seemed to lend 
 a more than human energy and endurance to his en- 
 feebled frame; and James Mitchel, whose ministry at 
 the Peaks of Otter extended from 1786 to 1841, and 
 whose force, animation, and startling earnestness in 
 the pulpit fixed his words like arrows in the heart 
 and conscience of the hearer. 
 
 Besides these, but at this time without charge, was 
 another member of the Presbytery, whose fame will en- 
 dure while literature cherishes the name of the author 
 of the " British Spy." It may be that William Wirt 
 allowed himself something of a poetic license in his de- 
 scription of the eloquence of the " old blind preacher;" 
 but James Waddel was no ordinary man. Tall, slender, 
 and erect in person, graceful and dignified in de- 
 meanor, with a long face, high forehead, Grecian nose, 
 
 i Sprague, iii. 629. 2 Ibid. iii. 459. 3 Ibid. 397. 
 
1789-1800. 343 
 
 blue eyes, and small month and chin,i his appearance 
 was at once conciliating and commanding. J I is mind, 
 
 richly stored and well disciplined, was at the same 
 time well balanced; and, though he had never enjoyed 
 the advantages of a collegiate education, yet at Dr. 
 Finley's school at Nottingham, first as a pupil, then 
 as an assistant teacher, and at length as an assistant 
 in Eobert Smith's school at Pequa, he diligently 
 amassed those stores of learning which, whether by 
 the fireside in familiar conversation, or in the pulpit, 
 were so perfectly at command. On a journey to 
 Charleston, he met Samuel Davies, then at Hanover, 
 and through his influence was led to devote himself to 
 the ministry. In April, 17(31, he was licensed by the 
 old Presbytery of Hanover; and such was the popu- 
 lar appreciation of his zeal and ability that at the 
 October meeting five calls were put into his hands. He 
 declined them all, however, intending to return to Penn- 
 sylvania. But representations of the spiritual destitu* 
 tion of the county of Lancaster so affected him that 
 he consented to accept an invitation to the pastorate 
 of Lancaster and Northumberland congregations. 
 
 Here he remained (17G2-1776) for fourteen years, 
 removing in 1778 to Augusta county and supplying 
 for seven years the congregation of Tinkling Spring, 
 and for the latter portion of the time that of Staunton. 
 In 1785, he removed to Louisa, where he supplied 
 several neighboring churches and engaged in the em- 
 ployment of teaching, yet without a stated charge. 
 
 It was here — at the little church about two miles 
 from his residence, which he named Hopewell — that 
 Wirt heard him. His sight was gone, and his limbs 
 trembled from the effects of a stroke of palsy. But 
 the cultivated taste of the statesman was captivated 
 
 1 Spraguc, iii. 239. 
 
344 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 by the sublime simplicity and thrilling utterance of 
 the " old man eloquent." As the latter closed his de- 
 scription of the crucifixion by the quotation from Kous- 
 seau, — " Socrates died like a philosopher, but Jesus 
 Christ, like a God I" — it seemed to Wirt the climax 
 of eloquence. " Whatever," he says, " I may have been 
 able to conceive of the sublimity of Massillon, or the 
 force of Bourdaloue, had fallen short of the power 
 which I felt from the delivery of this simple sentence." 
 " I had never seen," he remarks, " in any other orator, 
 such a union of simplicity and majesty. He has not a 
 gesture, an attitude, or an accent to which he does not 
 seem forced by the sentiment he is expressing. His 
 mind is too serious, too earnest, too solicitous, and at 
 the same time too dignified, to stoop to artifice." 
 
 Under the eastern shadows of the Blue Eidge he had 
 lived and died perhaps unknown to fame, but for the 
 chance which brought William Wirt within the sound 
 of his voice. And yet we have abundant testimony to 
 confirm all the impressions that we gather from the 
 report of the " British Spy." " I am satisfied," said 
 William Calhoon, after having heard him on one occa- 
 sion, " that I never witnessed such a torrent of elo- 
 quence before or since." In the course of a trial in 
 Presbytery, an intelligent elder present, who had heard 
 some of Patrick Henry's most successful pleas in crimi- 
 nal cases, but who now had the privilege of listening 
 to Dr. Waddel, declared that this was the most perfect 
 specimen of eloquence which he ever heard. Governor 
 Barbour, of Virginia, — a pupil of Dr. Waddel, — shortly 
 before his death, stated to a friend in Philadelphia that 
 Dr. W. had spoiled him in regard to hearing other 
 preachers. 
 
 Yet the eloquence of Dr. Waddel was not spasmodic, 
 nor the result of any excessive development of any 
 particular intellectual gift. His well-stored mind 
 
MARYLAND AND VIRGINIA, 17S9-1800. 345 
 
 seemed without an effort to pour forth its treasures, 
 and in full and graceful vol nine they flowed along a 
 channel rich with native beauty and adorned with 
 finished culture. And yet more precious than the 
 charm of words was the spell which his own intense 
 yet subdued feeling cast over his audience. He spoke 
 from the depths of conviction. His hearers were not 
 left to criticize his logic, or to admire his elegance of 
 speech. No ostentatious display was allowed to obscure 
 his theme, or present him in his Master's stead. Nor 
 was the piety of the preacher confined to the pulpit. 
 By the fireside, in the social circle, in affliction, on the 
 sick and the dying bed, he was still the same intelli- 
 gent, calm, trustful, hopeful servant of Him to whom 
 he had consecrated his life. Till 1805 he was spared, 
 occasionally to occupy the pulpit, and finally to crown 
 a devoted life with the serene triumphs of a Christian 
 faith. 
 
 The field of Lexington Presbytery, stretching from 
 Northern Virginia near Winchester to the south- 
 western portion of the State, and covering the entire 
 region west of the Blue Eidge, had but six settled pas- 
 tors in 1789. Far to the extreme south, at New Provi- 
 dence, was John Brown, the patriarch of the Presby- 
 tery. Thirty-five years before, Samuel Davies, who 
 preached his ordination sermon (at Fagg's Manor), 
 spoke of him as " a youth of piety, prudence, and zeal;" 
 and now, after a thirty-years pastorate at Newark, Dr. 
 McWhorter could recall the searching discourse which 
 from the lips of the youthful preacher had arrested his 
 attention and led him to the Saviour. Till 1770, }Ir. 
 Brown was settled at Timber Ridge and Providence, 
 retaining the latter till 1707 j 1 and it may afford somo 
 
 1 His successor in 1708 was Samuel Brown, a licentiate of tlio 
 Presbytery. 
 
346 HISTORY OF TllESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 idea of the state of things among thtf seventeen vacant 
 congregations of the Presbytery to know how tne 
 signers of the call, addressed to him more than the life- 
 time of a generation previous, had described their con- 
 dition. 
 
 They spoke of themselves as having been " for many 
 years past in very destitute circumstances for want of 
 the ordinances of the gospel statedly among us, many 
 of us under distressing spiritual languish ments, and 
 multitudes perishing in our sins for want of the bread 
 of life broken among us; our Sabbaths wasted in 
 melancholy silence at home, or sadly broken and pro- 
 faned by the more thoughtless among us j our hearts 
 and hands discouraged and our spirits broken with 
 our mournful condition and repeated disappointments 
 of relief in this particular." 1 
 
 Lower down the Yalley, in Augusta county, at Bethel 
 and Brown's Church (Hebron), was Archibald Scott, a 
 native of Scotland, a pupil of Finley, and a licentiate 
 of Hanover Presbytery in 1777. Poor and friendless, 
 without a relative on this continent, he had tasked his 
 energies to secure an education, and, while he rested 
 from his labors in the field, conned his Latin gram- 
 mar, and familiarized the lesson while he followed the 
 plough. 2 
 
 Such diligence merited patronage, and received it. A 
 worthy physician of Pennsylvania assisted to support 
 him at Dr. Finley's school. While there, he was con- 
 verted, and devoted himself to the work of the minis- 
 try. Eemoving to the Shenandoah Yalley, he supported 
 himself by teaching while he studied theology with 
 Principal Graham, of Liberty Hall Academy. Licensed 
 to preach, he had not far to go to find a settlement. 
 For more than twenty years, and until his death, in 
 
 1 Wetater, 656. 2 Sprague, iii. 387. 
 
17S8 -1800. 347 
 
 IT!' 1 .'. Hebron and Bethel continued to bo his pastoral 
 charge. 
 
 The parish was, in fact, a missionary field. It com- 
 prehended a district of country some twenty miles 
 square. Yet, arduous as were the duties which the pas- 
 toral care of it imposed, the ability of the people did 
 not suffice to support the pastor, and a scant salary 
 was eked out by labors on a farm. Yet, by great energy 
 and tireless devotion and perseverance, Mr. Scott was 
 enabled to discharge his appropriate duties as a minis- 
 ter, without suffering himself to be diverted by secular 
 interests. With the zeal of a patriot and the devotion 
 and self-denial of an intelligent Christian pastor, he 
 exerted himself to assist in laying deep the foundations 
 of the Republic in religious truth, and prepare the 
 rising generation to understand, appreciate, and pre- 
 serve constitutional liberty. 
 
 Augusta Church — the mother-church of Presby- 
 terianism in the Valley — had for its pastor William 
 Wilson, ordained and installed two or three years pre- 
 vious, and destined to retain the pastorate for more 
 than twenty years. At Mossy Creek and Cook's Creek 
 (from 1780 until his death) was Benjamin Erwin, and 
 at Winchester, with congregations at Opeckon and 
 Cedar Creek, was John Montgomery; while John 
 McCue had charge of Companion and Good Hope con- 
 gregations. At Shepherdstown, where the religious 
 state of things seemed quite unpromising, Moses Hoge, 
 commencing his labors in the autumn of 1787, soon 
 gathered around him a large congregation, of which 
 he retained the charge until called to the Presidency 
 of Hampden-Sidney College in 1807. 
 
 Besides these, the Presbytery had three members 
 without pastoral charge, — William Graham, James 
 McConnell. and Edward Crawford. Bui perhaps there 
 was not within its bounds a single individual who was 
 
348 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 accomplishing a more important work than "William 
 Graham. He occupied in Lexington Presbytery a 
 position not unlike that of S. S. Smith in Hanover. 
 
 Previous to 1800, several other names had been added 
 to the roll of the Presbytery, mostly from the list of its 
 own licentiates. Samuel Houston was settled at Fall- 
 ing Water and High Bridge, Benjamin Grigsby at 
 Lewisburg and Concord, and Samuel Brown had suc- 
 ceeded John Brown at New Providence. In 1799, 
 John Glendy, subsequently the pastor of the Second 
 Church of Baltimore, but who at this time had just 
 escaped — a refugee — from his native land, (Ireland) com- 
 menced his brief pastorate as the successor of Archi- 
 bald Scott at Bethel and Brown's Church, including the 
 congregation of Staunton. During the same year, 
 George Addison Baxter succeeded, upon the death of 
 William Graham, to the charge of Liberty Hall, while 
 he ministered also to the congregations of New Mon- 
 mouth and Lexington. Shortly after, Bobert Logan 
 commenced his labors at Sinking Spring and Boanoke. 
 
 Perhaps in no portion of the Church, save on the 
 frontiers west of the Alleghanies, had the progress of 
 the Church been more cheering for the twelve years 
 which followed the establishment of the General As- 
 sembly than in the Valley of Virginia. The number 
 of ministers had nearly doubled, and, instead of eleven, 
 they had charge of twenty-eight congregations, while 
 the vacancies had been reduced in number from seven- 
 teen to fourteen. 1 This growth was largely in excess of 
 the proportionate increase of the population of the 
 State. The latter had advanced at the rate of less than 
 twenty per cent., while that of the churches of the Val- 
 ley had been from sixty to eighty per cent. 
 
 In 1794, the Presbytery of Winchester was erected 
 
 Assembly Minutes, 1802. 
 
MARYLAND AND VIRGINIA, 1789-1800. 349 
 
 by a division of Lexington. It embraced those 
 churches which lay at the northern extremity of the 
 Valley, and in 17 ( .M> had under its care Shepherdstown, 
 under the pastorate (1787) of Moses Kcge; Cedar 
 Creek and Opeckon, the charge (1790) of Nash Le- 
 grand; Charlestown and Hopewell (or Berkeley), under 
 William Hill (1792); South River and Flint Run, under 
 William Williamson; Frankfort, Romney, and Spring- 
 field, for a short time under John Lyle; together with 
 the vacant congregations of Concrete, Middletown, 
 Back Creek, Lancaster, and Winchester, where William 
 Hill in the following year commenced his pastorate of 
 thirty-four years. 
 
 Of the pastors of the Presbyterian Church in Vir- 
 ginia in 1800, a large proportion had been educated at 
 Hampden-Sidney College, and quite a number had 
 been converted in the revivals of 1787-9. It is not too 
 much to say that these revivals wrought an almost 
 entire revolution in the prospects of the Church in this 
 region. The names of Blythe, Hill, Allen, Reed, Cal- 
 hoon, Lyle, Legrand, Alexander, and others are inti- 
 mately associated with aggressive missionary effort, 
 not only in Virginia but in the new fields at the West; 
 and 3'et they belong to the class which at Hampden- 
 Sidney or Liberty Hall were reached and brought 
 into the ministry through. the influence of the revival. 
 
 It is a significant fact that the revival commenced 
 in connection with the institutions which the Synod 
 had established for the education of young men for the 
 ministry. At an early period, this subject had claimed 
 the attention of the friends of Christian learning 
 attached to the Presbyterian Church in Virginia. 
 
 Before the commencement of the Revolution, the 
 
 Presbytery <>f Hanover had felt the importance of 
 
 making suitable provision tor an educated ministry. 
 
 The College of William and Mary, at Williamsburg, 
 
 Vol. I.— 30 
 
350 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 was under Episcopal control, as well as expensive in 
 its charges, and was noted, moreover, for the preva- 
 lence in connection with it of immoral and deistical 
 influences. The University of Virginia — the pet pro- 
 ject of the Sage of Monticello — was not yet in exist- 
 ence, nor, had it been, would it have answered the 
 wants of the Presbyterian Church of Virginia. Prince- 
 ton was too remote to suit the convenience or wants 
 of those whose limited means forbade them to take the 
 distant and expensive journey. The obvious policy of 
 the Presbytery was to have institutions more accessible, 
 and, moreover, under their own care. Two academies 
 were therefore established, — one in the Valley, and the 
 other in Prince Edward county. The last grew into 
 Hampden-Sidney College, and the other was known by 
 the no less significant title of Liberty Hall. 1 
 
 The first President of Hampden-Sidney was Eev. 
 Samuel Stanhope Smith, D.D., who, until his removal 
 to Princeton in 1779, proved himself its able and effi- 
 cient head. A better man could not have been selected 
 for the post. He was the son of Eev. Dr. Eobert Smith, 
 of Pequa, under whom large numbers of young men 
 already in the ministry had pursued their theological 
 course. His mother was the sister of Samuel and John 
 Blair, a woman of sterling piety and rare intellectual 
 gifts. The son proved himself not unworthy of such a 
 parentage. At a very early age his mind was seriously 
 impressed, and at the same time richly stored with 
 acquisitions worthy of more mature years. After com- 
 pleting his course at Princeton with high distinction, 
 he engaged for a time in assisting his father in the con- 
 
 1 For a history of this institution, known successively as Augusta 
 Academy, Liberty Hall, and Washington College, see American 
 Quarterly Register for November, 1837. The circumstances which 
 led to Washington's donation are there stated. 
 
MARYLAND AND VIRGINIA, 1789-1800. 351 
 
 duct of his school, but was soon recalled to Princeton 
 to till the office of a tutor in the college. After remain- 
 ing here for two years, he was licensed to preach (1773) 
 by the Presbytery of New Castle. For the benefit of 
 his health, which had suffered from too severe applica- 
 tion, he declined at first any permanent charge, and 
 went forth as a missionary to the western counties of 
 Virginia. Here he received a hearty welcome, and 
 Boon became a universal favorite. It seemed to many 
 that the mantle of Davis had fallen upon the young 
 preacher, by whose eloquence they were scarcely less 
 entranced. 
 
 At this period the project for the academy or college 
 was started. Smith was designated as the man to take 
 successful charge of the difficult enterprise. The sub- 
 scriptions were rapidly filled up. The anxiety to retain 
 the services of such a man among them led the rich to 
 give of their abundance and the poor of their poverty. 
 The necessary buildings were erected, a charter was 
 secured from the Legislature, and the new institution 
 commenced operations under the most favorable aus- 
 pices. Mr. Smith took upon him for several years the 
 double and difficult task of principal of the seminary 
 and pastor of the church. 
 
 But a single seminary was deemed inadequate to the 
 wants of so vast a region as that which extended on 
 both sides of the Blue Ridge to the south and the south- 
 west. In 1774, another was opened, under the patron- 
 age of Hanover Presbytery, near the present site of 
 Fairfield, in what is now Eockbridge county. It »t^s 
 known at first as Augusta Academy, and was placed, 
 by the recommendation of Dr. Smith, under the care of 
 William Graham, assisted in his duties by John Mont- 
 gomery. 
 
 Graham was the son of a Pennsylvania farmer, and 
 from early years was inured to the hardships of fron- 
 
352 HISTORY OF PltESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 tier life. In his boyhood he had been posted to defend 
 the family with his loaded musket, and had learned to 
 face danger without a fear. Of a vigorous and sprightly 
 turn of mind, he quickly outstripped his associates in 
 study, although he was late in commencing his acade- 
 mical course, and in 1773 was graduated at Princeton. 
 In college he had come under the notice of Smith, and 
 in the following year, at his recommendation, assumed 
 the charge of the new academy. 
 
 He proved himself worthy of the trust reposed in 
 him. Funds were necessary for the new institution, 
 and he did much in collecting them. He travelled to 
 New England to solicit benefactions; but the period 
 proved unfavorable for his efforts. The war intervened 
 with its discouragements, and Mr. Graham was forced 
 to remove the school to his own house. Yet the plan 
 was not abandoned. Even in its then humble condition 
 the institution was doing a good work. The late Dr. 
 Archibald Alexander received his training here; and 
 this fact alone would have made the institution famous 
 if it had not had a subsequent history. At length a 
 frame edifice was erected for its accommodation, and 
 in 1782 it was incorporated by an act of Legislature 
 under the name of Liberty Hall. At a still later period 
 it was endowed by a large benefaction from President 
 Washington, and thenceforward bore his name. The 
 humble school first known as Augusta Academy had 
 grown into the more imposing institution of Washing- 
 ton College. 
 
 At a critical moment, and not, perhaps, in the exer- 
 cise of a wise discretion, Graham resigned his post in 
 connection with the college. But his usefulness was 
 by no means at an end. He turned his attention now 
 to the subject of theological education, and had, for 
 several successive years, a class of from seven to eight 
 under his instruction. Some of those rose to high dis- 
 
MARYLAND AND VIRGINIA, 17S0-1800. 353 
 
 tinction, and hie school was, in factj an •• incipient theo- 
 logical seminary/' 
 
 Between L786 and 1788, both these colleges, which 
 for a time seemed scarcely to give promise of fulfilling 
 the hopes of their founders, were visited by a remark- 
 able revival of religion. At Ilampden-Sidney, then 
 under the charge of Eev. John Blair Smith, who had 
 succeeded his brother as President, religion was at a 
 low ebb. At the time of Dr. Blythe's matriculation 
 there was not another student in the college who made 
 any serious profession. The celebrated Carey II. Allen 
 was commended to him as one of the most sedate of his 
 associates; but scarce had he formed his acquaintance 
 before he was called to witness him in the act of bur- 
 lesquing a Methodist preacher from the counter of a 
 merchant's store. This initiatory specimen of college 
 life augured badly for what was to follow; but, rebuked 
 by the fearless avowal of Christian principle on the 
 part of a classmate (William Hill) under serious im- 
 pressions, he was recalled to the path of duty. And 
 now there gathered round him a little band, nearly 
 every one of them destined to subsequent and distin- 
 guished usefulness in the service of the Church. Among 
 these were Allen himself, and William Calhoon, pioneer 
 missionaries, along with Blythe to Kentucky, Clement 
 Reed and William Hill, whose names will not soon be 
 forgotten even beyond the immediate scene of their 
 labors. 
 
 Great opposition was manifested by the other students 
 to the revival. The praying and singing of the little 
 band produced almost a riot. The evil-disposed gathered 
 with hideous uproar, mingled with oaths and ribaldry, 
 to drowm the voice of prayer. But, in spite of oppo- 
 sition, the seriousness spread. Nearly half of the eighty 
 students were brought under conviction. Prayer-meet- 
 ings were held, marked with deep, silent, solemn feel- 
 
 30* 
 
854 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 ing. President Smith himself seemed to preach with 
 new life. Often the trunk of an old tree, fallen in the 
 woods, served him for a pulpit, from which on repeated 
 occasions he endeavored to deepen the impression that 
 had already been made on the minds of those who at- 
 tended him, or whom he overtook, in his walks. Two 
 hundred and twenty-five persons were added to the 
 churches to which he ministered, in the space of eigh- 
 teen months ; while the revival extended over Prince 
 Edward, Cumberland, Charlotte, and Bedford counties 
 to the Peaks of Otter. 1 
 
 But the revival was fruitful in other than immediate 
 results. Among the converted students, besides those 
 already mentioned, were Nash Legrand, Drury Lacy, 
 and William Williamson. The band of pious youth at 
 this time gathered within the walls of Hampden-Sidney 
 were destined to perform most important service in the 
 cause of Christ. 
 
 The news of what had taken place in the institution 
 under the charge of President Smith reached Graham, 
 at Augusta. He scarcely needed the importunities of 
 his friend as an inducement to hasten to his assistance. 
 He went, accompanied by two of his students, Samuel 
 Wilson and Archibald Alexander, to attend with Dr. 
 Smith a three-days meeting at Briery Church, in Prince 
 Edward county, a hundred miles distant. Their stay 
 was protracted to a fortnight, and when they returned 
 it was to communicate in the region of Augusta and 
 the neighboring counties the spirit that had been al- 
 ready kindled in their own bosoms. Its influence was 
 felt through Eockbridge county. Nash Legrand threw 
 his soul, with all its ardor, into the work. A revival 
 commenced in the Valley, and extended as far as Au- 
 gusta. Several of the young men who had been intend- 
 
 1 Davidson's Kentucky, p. 43 ; Pres. Quar. Review, vol. ii. 42-49. 
 
THE CAROLINAS, 17S9-1800. 355 
 
 ing to Btudy for the bar were converted, and turned 
 their attention to the ministry. Mr. Graham willingly 
 consented to superintend their theological studies. 
 
 The result was that, under the patronage of the 
 Synod of Virginia, a theological department was now 
 added to Liberty Hall. In January, 1794, a building 
 erected for the purpose was opened for the reception 
 of students. It was the first theological school in con- 
 nection with a college in America. But Mr. Graham's 
 resignation, in 1796, gave it a serious, if not fatal, blow. 
 The cause of theological education was reserved for 
 future and more successful efforts. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE CAROLINAS, 1789-1800. 
 
 When, in May, 1788, the Synod of New York and 
 Philadelphia determined to constitute a General As- 
 sembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, 
 it was necessary, as a preliminary step, that some new 
 Synods should first be set off; and of these the Synod 
 of the Carolinas was one. The Presbyteries which 
 united to form the Synod had all grown out of the old 
 Orange Presbytery. They were now known as the 
 Presbyteries of Orange, South Carolina, and Abingdon. 
 
 The Orange Presbytery consisted of ten members, 
 with about three times as many churches. The min- 
 isters were Patillo, Caldwell, McCorkle, Hall, whose 
 names are already familiar to us, and Robert Archibald, 
 James McRee, Jacob Lake, Daniel Thatcher, David 
 Barr, and John Beck. In the Presbytery of South 
 Carolina, besides Joseph Alexander and Thomas Reese, 
 
3o6 HISTORY OP PRESBYTERIANlSM. 
 
 already mentioned, there were James Edmonds, John 
 Harris, John Simpson, Thomas H. McCaule, James 
 Templeton, Francis Cummins, Robert Finley, Robert 
 Hall, and Robert Mechlin. The Abington Presbytery 
 consisted of Charles Cummings, Hezekiah Balch, John 
 Cossan, Samuel Houston, Samuel Carrick, and James 
 Balch. The ministers of the entire Synod numbered 
 twenty-eight. 
 
 These occupied a territory in which, forty years pre- 
 vious, there was to be found but a single Presbyterian 
 minister. Quite a number of them had passed through 
 the scenes of the Revolutionary conflict, and remained, 
 as far as possible, faithful to their parochial duties. 
 Amid civil discord and scenes of strife and battle, they 
 had seen their congregations scattered, and the seeds 
 of military vice and license spring up to a large har- 
 vest. But a better day had now dawned. Peace had 
 returned. The congregations were again gathered, 
 and new churches were rapidly organized. The Pres- 
 bytery had grown to a Synod. The few missionary 
 stations had multiplied to more than a hundred, — some 
 of them flourishing churches. A broad field to the 
 South and West invited to yet more abundant labors, 
 and among the ministers of the Synod there were not 
 a few that were equal, as far as human strength will 
 allow, to the demands of the emergency. 
 
 The newly constituted Synod met at Centre Church, 
 November 5, 1788. In the course of the two following 
 years, the Presbytery of South Carolina had increased 
 its number of members by the reception of Robert 
 McCulloch, William C. Davis, John Springer, and 
 Samuel Houston. The names of David Kerr, from the 
 Presbytery of Templepatrick in Ireland, and of William 
 Moore, from Hanover, were added to the list of members 
 of the Orange Presbytery. One of the first measures 
 of the Synod was action on an overture for the publica- 
 
THE CAUOIJNAS, 1789-1S00. 357 
 
 tiori of Doddridge's "Rise and Progress of Religion* 
 
 and his ten sermons on Regeneration. Its members 
 fell the necessity of enlisting the press as an ally in 
 their work. 
 
 A policy more important in its results was initiated 
 in 1791. At its meeting in October of this year, the 
 Synod took up the subject of Domestic .Missions, and 
 resolved to send out four missionaries to act in the 
 destitute regions each side of the Alleghanies. A com- 
 mission of Synod, to act during its recess, was to give 
 them their directions; and their annual support was 
 fixed at two hundred dollars. The first missionaries 
 appointed for the service were James Templeton and 
 Robert Hall, of South Carolina Presbj'tery, and Robert 
 Archibald and John Bowman, of the Presbytery of 
 Orange. The two first were to labor, each for four 
 months, in the lower parts of South Carolina and in 
 Georgia; the two last for three months each, in the 
 lower parts of North Carolina. The most important 
 rule which was given them was, "not to tarry longer 
 than three weeks at the same time in the bounds of 
 twenty miles, except peculiar circumstances may ap- 
 pear to make it necessary." 
 
 In 1792, the Presbytery of Orange reported three 
 new members added by ordination, William Hodge, 
 James Wallis, and Samuel C. Caldwell. To the first of 
 these, reference has been already made. Wallis was 
 born at Sugar Creek, educated at Liberty Hall, and a 
 student for a time under Dr. Barr, at Winnsborough, 
 S.C. His life was spent in the service of the Provi- 
 dence Church, and in the fierce contest with infidelity 
 which prevailed around him soon alter his ordination 
 he bore a conspicuous part. Clear, strong, ardent, by 
 some more dreaded than loved, he was unfaltering 
 and unwearied in his course, and. while carrying his 
 religious principles into his political creed, he asserted 
 
358 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 the unlimited eontrol of the word of God in all matters 
 pertaining to conscience. Condensing the arguments 
 of Watson, Paley, and Leslie into a small pamphlet, 
 he sent them forth to stay the prevalent tide of error 
 that was desolating the community. 
 
 Samuel C. Caldwell was a native of Guilford, a grand- 
 eon of Rev. Alexander Craighead, already mentioned 
 as a pioneer in this field. At the early age of nine- 
 teen, he was licensed by the Presbytery of Orange 
 to preach the gospel, and in 1792 was ordained pastor 
 of Sugar Creek and Hopewell Churches. A revival 
 followed almost immediately upon his settlement, and 
 more than seventy young converts were united with 
 the Church on a single sacramental occasion. 
 
 Modest, mild, and gentle in his whole demeanor, 
 none could make a greater mistake than to suppose 
 him pliant in principle. Clear in thought and utter- 
 ance, plain and direct in speech, and never losing his 
 self-command, he was a man to be respected as well as 
 loved, and the kindness of his nature made his influence 
 in behalf of the truth more decidedly felt. Not less 
 effectively than Wallis did he act as the champion of 
 revelation at a period when his namesake, Joseph 
 (afterward President) Caldwell (1797), said, "Religion 
 is so little in vogue, and in such a state of depression, 
 that * * * every one believes that the first step he 
 ought to take to rise into respectability is to disavow, 
 as often and as publicly as he can, all regard for the 
 leading doctrines of the Scriptures." 
 
 In 1793, Rev. Humphrey Hunter and Robert M. 
 Cunningham were reported from the Presbytery of 
 South Carolina as new members, and Lewis Feuille- 
 teau Wilson, James McGready, Joseph Kilpatrick, 
 Alexander Caldwell, and Angus McDermiad from the 
 Presbytery of Orange. Some of these men are worthy 
 of special mention. 
 
THE CAROLINAS, 1789-1800. 359 
 
 The most noted among them all, at an after-period, 
 was the Rev. James MLcGready, who already for some 
 years had been laboring within the bounds of Orange 
 Presbytery. In the subsequent revival of 1800, in 
 Kentucky, he was the Leading spirit. He was of Scotch- 
 Irish descent, a native of Pennsylvania. At an early 
 age his father removed with his family to Guilford 
 county, N.C., within the bounds of the Buffalo congre- 
 gation. From his earliest years young McGready was 
 remarkable for sedateness and conscientious regard to 
 his religious duties. An uncle of his conceived the idea 
 of securing him an education for the ministry. There 
 was no doubt, in the mind either of uncle or nephew, 
 of the piety of the latter. The young man, exemplary 
 in all his deportment, at the age of seventeen united 
 with the Church. At a somewhat later period, a 
 remark which he overheard from the lips of another, in 
 which a doubt of his piety was expressed, first exas- 
 perated him, and then led him to serious self-examina- 
 tion. The result was the abandonment of his old hope. 
 He at length, after a self-exposure which taught him 
 to lay open the hiding-places of the hypocrite and the 
 self-deceived, found peace in Christ. 
 
 His literary and theological course was pursued 
 under the direction of Dr. McMillan, and he was licensed 
 by Redstone Presbytery. On his return to Carolina, 
 in 1788, he passed through the scenes of revival which 
 then prevailed in that region, making some stay on his 
 way at Hampden-Sidney College. His own heart was 
 kindled to new zeal, and he resumed his journey pre- 
 pared to speak with a fervor and boldness that had 
 rarely been equalled in that region or period. At the 
 time when he entered upon his labors, the evils which 
 had resulted from the war or had been fostered by ita 
 feuds and license had attained their height. Within 
 the sacred enclosure of the Church a fearful conformity 
 
3G0 niSTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 to the world prevailed. Dancing, horse-racing, intem- 
 perance, and kindred mischief had become fashionable 
 amusements; while they all found sufficient sanction in 
 the popular infidelity which for some years past had 
 been boldly advancing its claims. 
 
 McGready was not a man to regard these things 
 with complacency or in silence. 1 He set himself fear- 
 lessly and promptly to stem the tide. His congrega- 
 tions were those of Haw Eiver and Stone Creek; but 
 his preaching was by no means limited to these. He 
 visited the surrounding region, and left on many minds 
 deep and abiding impressions. Solemn, earnest, direct, 
 overwhelming in his appeals, and pungent in his deal- 
 ing with the conscience, he was a man toward whom 
 none could assume an attitude of indifference. They 
 were either his warm friends or his bitter opponents. 
 Whatever he said or did was with a practical object 
 in view, to alarm the secure or convict the careless. 
 Repeatedly were his visits to the neighboring congre- 
 gations blessed. Revivals commenced in different 
 places, and the tide of overflowing iniquity was ar- 
 rested. 
 
 But the bold and almost defiant tone of McGready 
 made him many enemies, and, after several years, he 
 was constrained to remove to another field. That 
 field proved to be one beyond the mountains, in Logan 
 county, Kentucky. 
 
 Another of the new members of Synod, to whom we 
 have referred as joining it at this period, was Lewis 
 Feuilleteau Wilson. He was born at St. Christopher's, 
 in the West Indies, and was the son of a wealthy 
 planter. He was sent to England to be educated, but at 
 the age of seventeen migrated with his uncle to New 
 Jersey, and soon after his arrival became a member 
 
 1 Davidson's Kentucky, p. 132 ; Foote's North Carolina. 
 
1 HE CAROLINAS, 1789-1800. 36l 
 
 of Princeton College. While in college, a revival oc- 
 curred, of which he was a subject, and his attention 
 was directed to the ministry (1773). He at first pro- 
 posed to take orders in the Established Church of 
 England; but, dissatisfied with its condition, he turned 
 his thoughts to the medical profession. 
 
 For some time he was settled as a practising physi- 
 cian at Princeton, N.J.; but through the influence 
 of James Hall, of North Carolina, with whom he 
 had become intimately acquainted during his college 
 course, and to whom he was ever after strongly at- 
 tached, he was induced to remove to Iredell county, 
 N.C., the scene of Mr. Hall's labors. Here his excellent 
 qualifications for the ministry soon attracted atten- 
 tion, and the good people around him became urgent 
 that he should change his profession. His intimate 
 and influential friend Mr. Hall seconded the sugges- 
 tion. After due deliberation, he concluded to yield to 
 the advice, and was licensed by the Presbytery of 
 Orange in 1791. 
 
 His pulpit-efforts were received with marked appro- 
 bation, and several congregations at the same time 
 sought to secure his services. He ultimately accepted 
 the call of Fourth Creek and Concord Churches, and 
 was installed in 1793. In the remarkable revivals 
 which followed throughout the region, ten years later, 
 he bore a conspicuous part. 
 
 Humphrey Hunter was a native of Ireland, but at 
 an early age emigrated with his widowed mother to 
 Mecklenburg county, N.C. He had scarcely passed 
 his boyl.ood when he listened with patriotic enthu- 
 siasm to the proceedings of the Mecklenburg Conven- 
 tion, and in the years that followed, of Revolutionary 
 strife, he bore an active part in the camp and on the 
 field of battle. Some of the incidents of his career are 
 of thrilling interest. He commenced his classical edu- 
 Vol. I.— 31 
 
3G2 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 cation at " Clio's Nursery," in Bowan county, under 
 the instructions of James Hull. Dr. McWhorter subse- 
 quently became his teacher. In 1785, he entered as a 
 student of Mount Zion College, at Winnsborough, in 
 South Carolina, and in 1789 was licensed to preach by 
 the Presbytery of that name. He first labored in con- 
 nection with the congregations of Hopewell and Am- 
 well, in South Carolina, subsequently at Unity and 
 Goshen, in Lincoln county, and, finally, as pastor of 
 Steel Creek Church. Earnest, though unassuming, 
 and often eloquent, with a talent for refined sarcasm 
 and a mind of much originality, he was loved by the 
 good and feared by the evil, and in devotion to his 
 work was surpassed by few of his contemporaries. 
 
 The name of (Dr.) Eobert M. Cunningham is more 
 familiar to us in connection with the history of the 
 Presbyterian Church of Kentucky, in which the 
 strength of his manhood was spent. He was a native 
 of Pennsylvania, and a graduate of Dickinson College 
 (1789). In 1792, he was licensed by the South Carolina 
 Presbytery, and in the autumn of that year went to 
 Georgia and organized a church in that part of Green 
 county now called Hancock, and ordained elders to a 
 church called Ebenezer. In this neighborhood he set- 
 tled, preaching a portion of the time at the church at 
 Bethany, twenty miles distant. Here he labored faith- 
 fully us one of the missionaries of the Synod. At the 
 same time, James Hall and Samuel C. Caldwell were 
 employed in North Carolina, John Bowman in North 
 Carolina and Tennessee, and Bobert McCulloch in 
 South Carolina. 
 
 In 1794, there appear on the list of the Synod's mem- 
 bers some names worthy of especial notice. Besides 
 those of William Williamson and Bobert Wilson, we 
 find those of Moses Wuddel und John Brown. Moses 
 Wuddel was born on the banks of the South Yadkin, in 
 
TIIK CAROLINAS, 1789-1800. 3G3 
 
 1770. His mind was remarkably precocious. At the 
 
 age of fourteen -he was named by l>r. Hall as the fittest 
 linguist educated at " Clio's Nursery" for a vacant tutor- 
 ship in Camden Academy. For some years he taught 
 in the neighborhood of Bethany, Ga., and afterward 
 in South Carolina. He was graduated at Hampden- 
 Sidney in 1791, and licensed by Hanover Presbytery 
 in the following year. For the greater part of his 
 life he was engaged in teaching: and under his instruc- 
 tions some of the most eminent civilians and clergy- 
 men of the South received their education. Among 
 these may be mentioned John C. Calhoun, William II. 
 Crawford, McDuffie, Legare, Pettigru, Butler, Long- 
 street, Carey, &c. In 1819, 1 he was elevated to the 
 post of President of the University of Georgia, which 
 he continued to occupy for ten years. Few men, 
 through their pupils, have wielded a more extensive in- 
 fluence over the country. Yet, while mainly employed 
 as a teacher, he did not withdraw from the pulpit. 
 Almost to the close of his life there w r as scarcely 
 a Sabbath when he was not engaged in the duties 
 of the ministry. A severe student, a high-minded, 
 honorable Christian man, unremitting in his devotion 
 to the cause of learning and religion, the Presbyterian 
 Church has abundant reason to honor his memory. 
 
 John Brown w r as a native of Ireland, and while yet 
 a child migrated with his father to Chester district, 
 S.C. In the scenes of the Revolutionary conflict he 
 was an active participant, sharing with his countrymen 
 generally their sympathies for his adopted country. 
 
 He studied theology under Dr. McCorkle, near Salis- 
 bury, N.C., and was licensed to preach in 1788. For 
 ten years he labored in the pastorate of the Waxhaw 
 
 1 He was pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Wilmington, S.C, 
 frum which he was called to the Presidency of Georgia University. 
 
364 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM 
 
 church of South Carolina, and, while pojular in the 
 pulpit, rose to high literary distinction. In 1809, he 
 was elected to a professorship in the University of 
 South Carolina, and two years subsequently he was 
 chosen President of the University of Georgia. Many 
 of the citizens of these and of the adjoining States 
 will long remember him with gratitude. 
 
 In 1795, the Synod was still further strengthened by 
 the accession of new members. These were John 
 Robinson, James Bowman, John M. Wilson, and John 
 Carrigan, from the Presbytery of Orange, and Robert 
 B. Walker, William Montgomery, and David Dunlap, 
 from the Presbytery of South Carolina. 
 
 Robinson was the father of the Presbyterian Church 
 in Fayetteville. A native of Mecklenburg county, he 
 pursued his studies at Winnsborough, S.C., and was 
 licensed by the Presbytery of Orange in 1793. Bene- 
 volent, humble, consistently and devotedly pious, he 
 was firm in purpose, and possessed of an intrepidity 
 that would quail before no danger. Striking anecdotes 
 are told of his fearless courage. For more than forty 
 years, as a missionary, as a teacher, and as pastor 
 alternately at Fayetteville and Poplar Tent, his labors 
 were abundant and largely blessed. 
 
 John Makemie Wilson, like Robinson, was a native 
 of Mecklenburg county, and but one year his junior. 
 At the age of twenty-two he was graduated at 
 Hampden-Sidney with the highest honors, and then 
 commenced the study of theology under Dr. James 
 Hall. In 1793, he was licensed by the Presbytery of 
 Orange, and sent out on a missionary tour through the 
 lower counties of the State. For several years he re- 
 sided and labored in Burke county, until, in 1801, he 
 accepted a call from the congregations of Rocky River 
 and Philadelphia Many new churches had been gath- 
 
TIIK CAR0LINA8, 1789-1800. 3G5 
 
 ercd by his efforts, and those which before were weak 
 hud been strengthened. 
 
 His labors as a teacher were popular and successful. 
 In 1812 he opened a classical school, which he con- 
 tinued twelve years. Fifteen young men from Rocky 
 River congregation entered the ministry in about as 
 many years, and twenty-five of his pupils became cler- 
 gymen. 
 
 The Presbytery of Orange had now become bo large 
 and extended that a division of it seemed advisable. 
 Accordingly, in 1795, the Presbytery of Concord was 
 set off from it. Of this new body, McCorkle, Hall, 
 McKee, Barr, S. C. Caldwell, Wallis, Kilpatrick, L. F. 
 "Wilson, A. Caldwell, J. M. Wilson, and Carrigan, were 
 members. In the following year the Presbytery of 
 South Carolina was also divided. The members living 
 west of the Savannah River, John Newton, John 
 Springer, Robert M. Cunningham, Moses Waddel, and 
 William Montgomery, constituted the new Presbytery 
 of Hopewell. The Presbytery of South Carolina re- 
 ported, as new members, John Foster, George G. Mc- 
 Whorter, John B. Kennedy, Samuel W. Yongue, and 
 James Gilliland, the last of strong and decided anti- 
 slavery sentiments, and on this account, a few years 
 later, leaving for a Northern field. His name occurs 
 again in connection with the history of the Presbyte- 
 rian Church in Ohio. 1 
 
 At its meeting in November, 1796, the Synod w r as 
 largely engaged in the consideration of questions per- 
 taining to slavery. While an order was passed enjoin- 
 ing upon heads of families the religious instruction of 
 slaves and teaching them to read the Bible, it was also 
 decided to be inexpedient "to admit baptized slaves as 
 
 1 Settled at Red Oak, Ohio, a few miles from Ripley, and a mem- 
 ber of that Presbytery duriug the last years of his life. 
 
 31* 
 
366 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 witnesses in ecclesiastical judicatories, where others 
 cannot be had." The case of James Gilliland was also 
 brought to the attention of Synod. The Presbytery 
 of South Carolina, of which he was a member, had en- 
 joined upon him to be silent in the pulpit on the sub- 
 ject of the emancipation of slaves. This injunction he 
 declared to be, in his apprehension, contrary to the 
 counsel of God. The Synod took up his memorial for 
 deliberation, and endorsed the action of the Presbytery, 
 advising him to be content with using his utmost efforts 
 in private to open the way for emancipation. It was 
 of opinion that " to preach publicly against slavery, in 
 present circumstances, and to lay it down as the duty 
 of every one to liberate those who are under their care, 
 is that which would lead to disorder and open the way 
 to great confusion." 
 
 During the two following years the Synod was 
 strengthened by the accession of several new mem- 
 bers. George Newton and Samuel Davis had been 
 ordained by the South Carolina Preshytea*y, and the 
 erratic but eloquent William C. Davis had united with 
 that body. The Orange Presbytery had added to its 
 list of members the names of William T. Thompson, 
 William Paisley, John Gillespie, Samuel McAdow, and 
 Robert Tate. 
 
 It was under Paisley, the successor of William Hodge 
 in the pastorate of Hawfields, that the great revival of 
 1802 commenced. For twenty years he was a success- 
 ful laborer in this field. Tate occupied the sphere once 
 filled by McAden, and under his ministry " Rockfish, 
 Keith, and Hopewell sprang up, and opened the doors 
 of the sanctuary to a large region of country." Black 
 River congregation was long a sharer in his ministerial 
 labors. 
 
 The Synod now (1800) embraced seven Presbyteries. 
 In 1797, the Presbytery of Abington, west of the moun- 
 
THE CAROLINAS, 1780-1800. 367 
 
 tains, had been divided, and the new Presbytery of 
 Union formed. The Last consisted of but four mem- 
 bers. That of Orange numbered fourteen, with four 
 licentiates and eight candidates; that of Concord, fif- 
 teen ministers and one candidate. The Presbytery of 
 South Carolina was most numerous, comprising eigh- 
 teen ministers, three licentiates, and two candidates. 
 Tn 17iH>, it was divided by the Synod, and out of it the 
 First and Second Presbyteries of South Carolina were 
 constituted. Broad River was made the dividing line. 
 West of the mountains, in East Tennessee, the new 
 Presbytery of Greenville was erected in 1800. The 
 ministers composing it were George Newton, Samuel 
 Davis, Hezekiah Balch, and John Cossan. Thus the 
 Synod had increased, in the course of fifteen years, 
 from the three original Presbyteries constituted of the 
 members of the Presbytery of Orange, till it numbered 
 seven. From the field occupied a half-century before 
 by a single Presbyterian missionary, the bounds of the 
 Church had been extended till they included the whole 
 or portions of several States. In 1788, the Synod num- 
 bered twenty-eight ministers; in 1800, they had in- 
 creased to nearly seventy, — considerably more than 
 doubling in the course of thirteen years. 
 
 During nearly this whole period the missionary work 
 of the Synod had been prosecuted with a good degree 
 of energy. One of its original Presbyteries was beyond 
 the mountains in East Tennessee, and it had already 
 extended its field of effort till two new Presbyteries 
 were formed out of it. Throughout the destitute por- 
 tions of North and South Carolina, m the northern 
 part of Georgia, and in the Mississippi Valley., mission- 
 aries hearing the Synod's commission were to he found. 
 The leading members of the body did not themselves 
 shrink from the Belf-denying duty of itinerant labor. 
 Their names are repeatedly found on the list of those 
 
308 HISTORY OF ritESBYTERTANISM. 
 
 appointed both to near and to distant fields. From 
 1794 to 1800, we find James Hall, S. C. Caldwell, John 
 and James H. Bowman, Eobert McCulloch, Bobert Cun- 
 ningham, John M. and Kobert Wilson, John Eobinson, 
 and others, engaged in this arduous service. It was 
 thus that the bounds of the Church were extended, and 
 the reports of the missionaries reacted upon the Synod 
 to encourage them to new effort. In some cases these 
 annual reports were so extended as to cover sixteen 
 folio pages. 
 
 CHAPTEE XVIII. 
 
 At the time of the organization of the first General 
 Assembly, the Presbyterian congregations in the State 
 of New York numbered less than forty : of these, 
 eleven were on Long Island, in connection with the 
 Presbytery of Suffolk j nine were under the care of the 
 Presbytery of Dutchess County; and nineteen under 
 the care of the Presbytery of New York. Besides these, 
 Sampson Occum, a member of Suffolk Presbytery, had 
 mission-stations among the Oneida Indians at New 
 Stockbridge and Brotherton. 
 
 Within the bounds of Suffolk Presbytery, the churches 
 of Jamaica, Hempstead, and Smithtown were vacant. 
 The first of these had been without a pastor since the 
 dismission of Matthias Burnet (1785), J whose lack of 
 patriotic zeal during the war had saved his church-edi- 
 fice, but rendered him unacceptable to his parishioners. 
 His successor, in 1789, was George Faitoute, whose min- 
 
 1 Afterward settled at Norwalk, Conn. 
 
NEW FORK, 17-.I ISOO. 369 
 
 istry here covered more than a quarter of a century 
 ( L815). Smithtown and Hempstead had for many years 
 been supplied by Joshua Hart, but after his connection 
 with them ceased they were long vacant,- — Hempstead 
 until the settlement of William P. Kuypers, June 5, 
 1805. * It serves to show the disastrous influence of the 
 war, that when, after its close, measures were taken 
 to re-gather the Sempstead church, ten members only 
 were present at the communion administered by Burnet 
 of Jamaica. 2 
 
 At East Eampton was Dr. Samuel Buell (1746-1798), 
 succeeded by Lyman Beecher in 1709-1810; at Aqua- 
 bogue and Mattituck (Southold), Benjamin Goldsmith 
 (1 7<it-18lO) ;' at Huntington, Nathan Woodhull (1785- 
 1789), succeeded by William Schenk (1793-1817); at 
 Brookhaven (Setauket), Noah Wetmore (1786-1790), 
 succeeded by Zechariah Green ; at South Haven (or 
 Firplace), David Eose (1765-1799); at Southampton, 
 Joshua Williams (1784-1789), succeeded by Herman 
 Daggett (1792-1795) and David S. Bogart; at Bridge- 
 hampton, Aaron Woolworth (1787-1821); and at West- 
 h amp ton. Thomas Russell (1787-1789), succeeded by 
 Herman Daggett (1797-1801). 
 
 Previous to 1800, several other congregations had 
 been taken under the care of the Presbytery. Joseph 
 Hazard was installed at Southold, June 4, 1797 ; Daniel 
 Hall at Sag Harbor, where a feeble church had long ex- 
 isted, September 21, 1797; Luther Gleson, successor of 
 Joshua Hart (1774-1787), at Smithtown and [slip, Sep- 
 temher 21. 17'.»7; Nathan Woodhull. who had been pre- 
 viously settled at Huntington, at Newtown, which was 
 soon after transferred from New York t<» Suffolk Pres- 
 bytery, in 1790. ami who labored here for twenty years. 
 
 1 Prime's Long Island, p. 288. - Ibid. p. 262. 
 
 3 At Mattituck his labors did not begin till 1777. 
 
370 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 Of these men, the most memorable, if not the most 
 able, was Samuel Buell. A native of Coventry, Conn., 
 a graduate of Yale College in 1741, a friend of Brainerd, 
 Whitefield, Bellamy, and the elder Edwards, he held pre- 
 eminent rank among the preaehers and theologians of 
 his day. In 17-13, he was ordained an evangelist, and 
 in 1746 he aecepted a unanimous call to East Hamp- 
 ton, where he remained as pastor for fifty-two years. 
 
 The most striking characteristics of his preaching 
 were solemnity and fervor. He had been some time in 
 the ministry when he made this entry in his diary : — 
 " The first time I ever preached to an assembly where 
 tears of affection under the word were not to be seen." 
 Yet, with the zeal of a revivalist, he had neither the 
 rashness of Tennentnor the fanaticism of Davenport. 
 His sermons were rich with scriptural instruction, 
 and in their delivery his hearers were made to feel 
 that every word he uttered came from his inmost 
 soul. A rich blessing attended his labors. In the 
 revival of 1764, ninety-nine were added to his church 
 on a single occasion. Other marked seasons of re- 
 freshing were enjoyed by his church, especially in 1785 
 and 1791. To extreme old age, with natural force 
 scarcely abated, he devoted himself untiringly to his 
 work, regarding with Christian anxiety not only the 
 spiritual welfare of his own congregation, but that of 
 the neighboring churches. On the day that completed 
 his eightieth year, he rode fourteen miles, preached, 
 and returned home in the evening. His closing hours 
 were marked by the triumphant experience of the. 
 dying saint. 
 
 Of medium stature and somewhat slender frame, he 
 had yet great physical vigor and elasticity. His cheer- 
 fulness, vivacity, inexhaustible fund of anecdote, 
 6prightliness, wit, and gentlemanly manners made him 
 a universal favorite. When the English forces occu- 
 
1789-1800. 371 
 
 pied Long Island in the Revolutionary War, they left 
 him — bhough be Qever concealed his BtrongWhig sym- 
 pathies — unmolested, or even cheerfully granted tin- 
 favors he requested. Yet his wit was combined with 
 
 boldness in the cause of truth. An English officer told 
 him that lie had commanded some of the farmers of 
 his congregation to appear at Southampton, twelve 
 miles distant, on the next day, which was the Sabbath, 
 with their teams. " So I have understood," said the 
 doctor; "but, as commander-in-chief on that day, I 
 have countermanded your orders;" and in consequence 
 the project was relinquished. On one occasion he was 
 invited by the officers to join them on a deer-hunt. 
 He was tardy in making his appearance, and of one of 
 them, evidently impatient, the doctor pleasantly asked, 
 what portion of his majesty's troops he had the honor 
 to command. " A legion of devils direct from hell," 
 w r as the reply of the ill-humored officer. " Then I pre- 
 sume, sir," returned the doctor, assuming an attitude 
 of profound respect, " I have the honor of addressing 
 Beelzebub, the prince of the devils." 1 
 
 His influence over his people w^as almost unlimited. 
 They regarded him with the utmost love, respect, and 
 reverence. A young British officer, recently arrived in 
 the neighborhood, rode to his door, and said, " I wish 
 to see Mr. Buell." The doctor soon appeared. "Are 
 you Mr. Buell ?" was the question. " My name is Buell, 
 sir." "Then," said the officer, bowing with great re- 
 spect, " I have seen the god of East Hampton." For 
 many years Dr. Buell was the patriarch of the Presby- 
 tery. His remarkable self-control, quick perception, 
 clear judgment, unquestioned piety, and devout prayer- 
 fulness gave him great influence. In his large, neat, 
 white wig, with his dignified mien and serene aspect, 
 
 1 Sprague, iii. 109; Prime's Long Island, 179. 
 
372 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 on which the lines of firmness, decision, and fearless, 
 ness were distinctly traced, he looked — as he was — the 
 saintly Puritan. Such was the man of whom President 
 Stiles once remarked, "This man has done more good 
 than any other man that has ever stood on this conti- 
 nent." 
 
 Benjamin (xoldsmith was a fit compeer of Dr. Buell. 
 He was a man of sound mind and solid acquirements, 
 plain and unostentatious in his manners, diffident of 
 his powers, but of unfeigned piety. As a theologian 
 he was well read. Edwards, Bellamy, and Hopkins 
 were his favorite authors, and Henry's Commentary 
 was his daily companion. His sermons were unusually 
 well conceived, plain, scriptural, and instructive. In 
 manner he was solemn and affectionate. His influence 
 was that of a peacemaker, and his labors tended to 
 promote the unity and edification of the body of 
 Christ. 1 
 
 Aaron Woolworth, of Bridgehampton, was a son-in- 
 law of Dr. Buell. A native of Longmeadow, Mass., a 
 graduate of Yale College in 1784, and a licentiate of 
 the Eastern Association of Kew London county, he 
 commenced his labors at Bridgehampton in 1787, while 
 the church, subsequently Presbyterian, was yet Con- 
 gregational. Of small stature, mild but prepossessing 
 countenance, gentlemanly manners, sound judgment, 
 deep and active piety, he was widely known as a 
 " great, good, and useful man." 2 A more genial spirit 
 w r as scarcely to be found. Erudite as a theologian, 
 intellectual, discriminating, and argumentative as a 
 preacher, though earnest in delivery and pungent and 
 powerful in application, he was also eminent as a 
 pastor, and by all classes was regarded with confi- 
 dence, affection, and respect. Ever true to his own 
 
 1 Prime's Long Island, 155. 2 Sprague, iii. 4G9. 
 
NEW YORK, 178«J-1S00. 373 
 
 maxim. — Suaviter in modo, fortiter in re, — lii.s example 
 enforced his precepts; and the epitaph od his grave- 
 Btone, though written by the hand of friendship, and 
 eulogistic in its praise, Is said, by one whom we must 
 pronounce a competent witness. u> contain "not a 
 word of fulsome flattery or empty compliment." 1 
 
 Nathan Woodhull, a native of Setauket, and a gra- 
 duate of Yale College in 1775, commenced his labors at 
 Huntington in 1785, and at Newtown in 1790. Of fine 
 personal appearance, gentlemanly and winning man- 
 ners, and great vivacity in conversation, he easily won 
 and retained a popularity fully justified by his purity 
 of character, fidelity in pastoral duty, and power in the 
 pulpit. To the last he possessed the undivided confi- 
 dence ami affection of his people. 8 
 
 Other members of the Presbytery are entitled to 
 honorable mention. William Schenk, though not emi- 
 nent as a preacher, yet dignified and excellent as a 
 man and successful as a pastor f Herman Daggett, 
 a native of .Massachusetts, a firm Presbyterian, of 
 sterling talent, scholarly attainments, spotless charac- 
 ter, cheerful yet dignified, — a man who was " never 
 known to laugh," and of whom one of his brethren said, 
 " Brother Daggett is just a fit man to preach to minis- 
 ters;" Zechariah Green, a soldier of the Eevolution, 
 and as such engaged in routing a company of British 
 soldiers from the church in which he afterward preached 
 for thirty-four }^ears, 4 — a man of great natural vi- 
 vacity, fearless, enterprising, of strong patriotic feel- 
 ing and great public spirit ; Daniel Hall, of Sag Harbor, 
 converted from Universalism, and ever after a remark- 
 ably affectionate preacher, a son of consolation rather 
 than a Boanerges ; and David Pose, of Southaven, a 
 
 1 Prime, 201. ■ Hiker's Newtown. 238. 
 
 3 Prime, 'loo. * Prime, 2l'">. 
 
 Vol. I.— 32 
 
374 HISTORY OP PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 physician as well as a preacher, and stated clerk of 
 the Presbytery. 
 
 A noble band of men were these ; and their liberal 
 spirit and superiority to prejudice are testified by the 
 circumstance of their adhesion to the Presbyterian 
 Church after it was proposed to frame a Constitution 
 and establish a General Assembly. Surrounded by 
 Congregational churches, several of their own number 
 trained as Congregation alists, with strong New Eng- 
 land attachments, they felt little sympathy for any 
 policy which would introduce upon these shores an 
 ecclesiasticism of a rigid Scotch type; and in conse- 
 quence of this, as well as in view of their compara- 
 tively isolated condition, they respectfully, asked, in 
 1787, of the Synod of New York and Philadelphia, a 
 dissolution of their union with that body. The letter 
 presenting the request was kindly answered, 1 and a 
 committee of the Synod was appointed to meet and 
 confer with the Presbytery. This committee consisted 
 of Drs. Eodgers and McWhorter, and Messrs. Koe, 
 John "Woodhull, and Davenport. The Presbytery were 
 urged to reconsider their resolution and remain in 
 union with the Synod. The subject was discussed 
 " with the greatest freedom, candor, and amity,'' at a 
 meeting of Presbytery held at Brookhaven, April 8, 
 1788 ; and the result was. that, after a full conference 
 and satisfactory explanations on both sides, the Pres- 
 bytery agreed to withdraw their request. 2 
 
 The growth of the churches, though not rapid, was 
 steady and cheering. The war had inflicted upon 
 them serious injury. The membership, exposed to the 
 virulence of Tory feeling allied with the forces of the 
 enemy, were largely driven from their homes; and 
 some of the pastors were forced to flee for their lives 
 
 i Minutes of Synod, 532. 2 Ibid. 544. 
 
NKW YORK, 1789-1800. o75 
 
 or to escape imprisonment. At Newtown, public wor- 
 ship was suspended; a few young Tories, by night, 
 sawed off the steeple of the church, and the edifice, 
 after having been used as a prison and guard-house, 
 was demolished to make huts for the soldiers. 1 At 
 Huntington, not only were the orchards cut down, the 
 fences burned, and the scanty crops seized, but the 
 whole town was given up to depredation. The seats 
 in the church-edifice were torn up and the building 
 converted into a military depot. 2 The bell was taken 
 away, and so injured as to be thenceforth useless. 
 The church-edifice at last was pulled down and the 
 timber used for block-houses; barracks were erected in 
 the grave-yard, where graves were levelled and tomb- 
 stones used for fireplaces and ovens. Long after, 
 there were those who could testify to having seen 
 loaves of bread drawn from these ovens, with the re- 
 versed inscriptions of the tombstones of their friends 
 on the lower crust. 3 At Islip, the church-edifice was 
 torn down by the British soldiery, and its materials 
 were carried away for military purposes. 4 Other con- 
 gregations were less harshly dealt with, but many of 
 them were reduced almost, if not quite, to the verge of 
 extinction by the disastrous influence of the war. In 
 several instances the membership had become so re- 
 duced as almost to necessitate a reorganization. 
 
 But with the return of peace the pastors resumed 
 their labors. The Presbytery exerted itself to supply, 
 or provide for, its feeble and vacant churches. A more 
 hopeful aspect of spiritual prosperity cheered the 
 hearts of laborers in this field. Here and there re- 
 vivals were enjoyed, some of them characterised by 
 great power, as at East Hampton in 17^"), 1791, and 
 
 » Riker's Newtown, 198. a Trime, 250. 
 
 3 Prime, 251. ♦'Ibid. 263. 
 
376 niSTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 1800, at Bridgehampton in 1799, and at Huntington 
 in 1800. The membership of the churches steadily 
 increased. At the close of the war, few of them could 
 number more than thirty members, and several fell 
 short of this. Hempstead had but ten, Bridgehampton 
 had but eleven, male members. Others were almost 
 equally desolate. But before 1800, many of them had 
 wellnigh recovered their former strength, and some of 
 them had enlarged their borders. 
 
 The Presbyterian Church in the city of New York 
 felt with peculiar severity the disasters of the war. 
 Its two pastors and a large portion of its members 
 had been forced to flee for safety. The church-edifices 
 had been put to military uses. The Brick Church had 
 been converted into a prison, and as such had been 
 given up to all kinds of abuse and all manner of filth. 1 
 Of the Wall Street Church, the whole interior had 
 been destroyed during the war, only the walls and 
 roof, or rather the principal timbers of the roof, being 
 left. 
 
 On November 26. 1783, the day after the evacuation 
 by the British troops, Dr. Eodgers returned to the city. 
 The numbers of the church had been greatly reduced 
 by death and by removals, and the pecuniary resources 
 of most had been impaired, and of some exhausted. 
 With a considerable debt which had accumulated, and 
 with both houses of worship in ruins, the prospect of 
 the church was not encouraging. But in their house- 
 less condition, and until their buildings could be re- 
 paired, the vestry of Trinity Church kindly invited 
 them to occupy alternately St. George's and St. Paul's 
 Churches, and the energy of the pastor accomplished 
 the rest. By personal solicitation he raised the means 
 necessary for repairing the church-edifices, and in the 
 
 1 Life of Ethan Allen. 
 
NEW YORK, Its'.) 1 00. 377 
 
 course of six months the Brick 3hurch, which had 
 hoc n hast damaged, was ready for occupancy. But so 
 argent was the demand for pews that it was felt im- 
 perative to expedite the repair of the building in Wall 
 Street. At a cost of some ten thousand dollars, both 
 structures were so far restored as to admit of occu- 
 pancy; and, to secure a supply for both pulpits, James 
 Wilson was called in 1785 — after the dismission of Mr. 
 Treat — as collegiate pastor with Dr. Eodgers. 
 
 In 1789, John .Uc Knight, of .Marsh Creek, Pa., was 
 called to supply the place of Mr. Wilson, whose failing 
 health forced him to seek another climate. In 1796, it 
 became evident that another church was needed to ac- 
 commodate the increased Presbyterian population of the 
 city, and the Rutgers Street Church was established. 
 The new building was completed in May, 1798, and a call 
 was extended to Philip Milledoler, of the Third Presby- 
 terian Church of Philadelphia, which he was induced 
 to accept, to take charge of the congregation. The 
 three churches, however, continued united until 1809. 
 
 Under the harmonious labors of the three collegiate 
 pastors, the churches continued to prosper. The vene- 
 rable character, sound judgment, eminent ability, and 
 devoted piety of Dr. Eodgers commanded the respect 
 not only of the members of his congregation, but of the 
 whole community. Liberal in sentiment, prompt to 
 respond to the calls of humanity and benevolence, emi- 
 nently disinterested, animated and fervent in his pulpit 
 ministrations, indefatigable as a pastor, and judicious 
 in all his measures, his standing was such that in all 
 his relations, whether to his own congregation, to the 
 state, or to the Church at large, he exerted a powerful 
 and beneficent influence. As the second moderator 
 of the Genera] Assembly, the voice of his co-presbyters 
 ranked him next to the venerable Wltherspoonj and a 
 more sagacious and reliable counsellor in the emer- 
 
 32* 
 
378 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 gency of the Church, when called to revise and adopt 
 her permanent Constitution, was not to be found. 
 
 Dr. Milledoler was a faithful preacher and a highly 
 successful pastor. His labors with Rutgers Street 
 closed in 1813. 
 
 Dr. McKnight had been laboring in the ministry, in 
 Virginia and Pennsylvania, for about fourteen years, 
 when he was called to New York. His ministry here 
 continued for twenty years, and was characterized by 
 an earnest and faithful discharge of his duties as 
 preacher and pastor. With much simplicity of charac- 
 ter, he was graceful and dignified in manner, free and 
 affable in social intercourse, and pleasant and instruct- 
 ive in conversation. Although by no means a pulpit 
 orator, he was a lucid and logical writer and a pleasant 
 speaker. 
 
 North of New York City, quite a number of 
 churches, mostly in Westchester county, which had 
 been hitherto connected with the Synod, declined to 
 retain their connection with the Assembly ; and the 
 result was the formation of an Associated Presbytery, 
 which, except that it was based upon the same princi- 
 ples with the Morris County Presbytery and stood in 
 intimate relation with it, occupied an attitude of inde- 
 pendence. More than a quarter of a century elapsed 
 before they returned to their former connection. One 
 principle which seems to have characterized their ec- 
 clesiastical platform was the un scriptural character of 
 appeals in Church courts. 1 
 
 The Presbytery of Dutchess County had, in 1789, 
 six members and nine churches. Solomon Mead was 
 at Lower Salem, where his pastorate commenced in 
 1752 and continued for nearly half a century j Wheeler 
 Case was at Charlotte Precinct, better known as Plea- 
 
 1 Minutes of Assembly, 1789. 
 
NKW YORK, 1789-1300. 
 
 Bant Valley, and served also for some time a* supply 
 for Poughkeepsie ; Ichabod Lewis, for a time col- 
 league, and at length (1.769) successor, of John Smith 
 at •• While Plains and Singeing," 1 was at Philippi; 
 
 Samuel .Mills, who, like Lewis, was a licentiate of the 
 Presbytery, was at Fredericksburg; John Davenport 
 was at Bedford; while Pound Ridge, White Plains, 
 West Fredericksburg, and Providence were vacant, 
 and Blackleach Burritt was without charge. 
 
 In 1795, Hudson Presbytery was erected, and em- 
 braced under its care most of the churches of Dutchess 
 County Presbytery, and those of New York Presbytery 
 lying on the w T est side of the Hudson. From this 
 date the churches of Fredericksburg, West Fredericks- 
 burg, and Providence, previously under the care of 
 Dutchess County Presbytery, disappear from the rolls 
 This Presbytery had never greatly enlarged its original 
 strength or bounds. Albany and Cherry Valley had 
 been transferred to the Presbytery of New York. 
 Samuel Sackett, of Hanover, afterwards of Crumpond, 
 in 17<)8, declined their jurisdiction; and, though he is 
 said to have sought a readmission, his name no longer 
 appears on the list of the Presbytery. William Han- 
 na (of Albany), of whom Bellamy from the first had 
 an unfavorable opinion, and who was one of the early 
 members of the Presbytery, was suspended from the 
 ministry in the same year that Sackett withdrew. 2 
 The vacancies made by deaths or removals were barely 
 made good by their own licentiates. 
 
 The members of New York Presbytery who wero 
 transferred to constitute the new Presbytery of Hud- 
 son w T ere Nathan Ker, pastor at Goshen (1763-1804); 
 John Close, who labored at New Windsor and New- 
 burgh or vicinity (1773-1796); Jonathan Freeman, at 
 
 i Webster, G53. 3 Minutes of Synod, 378. 
 
380 HISTORY OF PRESBirERIANrSM. 
 
 Hopewell (1704-1797), and at Newburgh (1797-1805); 
 Andrew Kin r, at Wallkill (1777-1815) j John Minor, at 
 Union; 1 and Methuselah Baldwin, at Pleasant Valley. 2 
 
 The congregation of Florida, long under the pastoral 
 care of Amzi Lewis, and connected with the Morris 
 County (Independent) Associated Presbytery, came 
 under the care of Hudson Presbytery after his removal 
 to North Salem (1787) f and on June 13, 1797, John 
 Joline was installed its pastor, 4 in connection with 
 Warwick. In the following year, Josiah Henderson 
 succeeded to the vacancy occasioned by the resigna- 
 tion of Davenport at Bedford some time previous. 5 
 Meanwhile, Methuselah Baldwin had been dismissed 
 from Pleasant Yalley, and shortly after commenced 
 his protracted pastorate at Scotchtown. In the re- 
 port to the Assembly for 1799, the churches of Plea- 
 sant Yalley, Franklin, Newburgh, New Windsor, Beth- 
 lehem, Fishkill, and Pound Ridge are mentioned as 
 vacant. 
 
 The growth of the Church on the line of the Hud- 
 son was far from rapid. The attractions of the West 
 drew away the strength of its natural increase to other 
 fields. The labors of the pastors were largely mis- 
 sionary, and their own churches were for the most 
 part feeble. Yet some of the most faithful pastors of 
 the Church, although not specially distinguished as 
 preachers, were to be found in this region : — Ker at 
 Goshen, — a Whig of the Revolution, a volunteer chap- 
 
 1 Somewhat uncertain. 
 
 2 The Presbytery of Dutchess, 'n 1794 reduced to four ministers, 
 report to the Synod the death of a member, April 8, 1793. The 
 name is not given ; but it was probably Mr. Wheeler Case ; and 
 Mr. Baldwin was his successor. Mr. Davenport, of Bedford, how- 
 ever, died at about the same time. 
 
 3 Sprague, ii. 155. * Minutes of Assembly, 1798. 
 5 Bolton, i. 22. 
 
NEW YORK, 17S9-1S00. 381 
 
 lain in the army, a man of well-balanced and culti- 
 vated mind, enlarged and liberal views, earnest piety, 
 and extensive influence ; Freeman at Hopewell and 
 Deer Park, afterward of Bridgeton, N.J., a large con- 
 tributor to several religious periodicals, a respectable 
 scholar, a faithful pastor, and an acceptable preacher, 
 possessed of a good share of mental vigor; King, of 
 Wallkill, not specially learned or eloquent, but known 
 in the Presbytery as " the peacemaker," and eminently 
 successful in the work of the ministry; Mead, of Salem, 
 the patriarch of the body, on whose gravestone might 
 well be written, "Blest is the memory of the just;" 
 and, well worthy to rank with them, the devoted and 
 liberal Lewis and the venerable Davenport. 
 
 Some portions of the field embraced by the original 
 Albany Presbytery had long been settled when the 
 Presbytery was erected. Albany, Schenectady, Johns- 
 town, Cherry Valley, and a few other places, had an 
 ante-Revolutionary history. Albany, as a trading-post 
 for the Dutch, dates from 1623, and was known suc- 
 cessively as Beaverwyk and Wilhelmstadt until 1684, 
 when it received its present name. Schenectady was 
 settled in about 1661, 1 and in 1690, when it was sacked 
 by the French and Indians, had a church and sixty- 
 three houses. 
 
 The Dutch were the first occupants of the region. 
 Even after the colony had passed under English juris- 
 diction, three thousand Palatines are said to have 
 migrated to this country in a body, some of them set- 
 tling in Schoharie county and parts adjacent. 2 Queen 
 Anne (1702) offered lands to those Germans who were 
 willing to settle on the frontiers; and large numbers 
 yielded to the inducements thus held out. But soon 
 afterward emigration began from Scot land. and. though 
 
 1 New York Gazetteer. 3 History of Schoharie County. 
 
382 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 checked by the troubles of the French and Revolu- 
 tionary "Wars, yet the names of many of the settle- 
 ments north of Albany indicate the source from which 
 the predominant part of the population was drawn. 
 Among these we find Galway, New Scotland, and 
 Breadalbane, as well as those which were derived from 
 the names of the leading settlers. 
 
 The patent which included the town of Cherry 
 Yalley was granted in 1738. The name of the place, 
 from the principal patentee and first settler, was 
 Lindesay's Bush. In 1740, Samuel Dunlop accepted 
 an invitation from the proprietor to procure a body 
 of colonists, of whom he was to take the pastoral 
 charge. A large portion of these, through his influ- 
 ence, were induced to emigrate from Londonderry, 
 New Hampshire, whither they had first removed from 
 the north of Ireland and Scotland. 1 Here, on the bor- 
 ders of civilization, and constantly exposed to Indian 
 invasion, the pastor and his flock retained their mutual 
 relations uninterrupted for more than thirty-five years. 
 In 1763, the church was taken under the care of the 
 newly-erected Presbytery of Dutchess County, of which 
 Mr. Dunlop became a member. Its relations were sub- 
 sequently transferred to the Presbytery of New York. 
 
 The quiet history of this little church was at length 
 interrupted by one of the most fearful tragedies of In- 
 dian warfare. On November 11, 1778, the place was 
 attacked by the barbarous foe, thirty or forty persons 
 were murdered, others were retained as hostages or 
 prisoners, and the houses of the settlement were burned. 
 With the close of the war, the scattered inhabitants who 
 survived returned to the scene of desolation. Their 
 aged pastor was no more. The fate of his family in- 
 volved his own. But, true to their early vows, they 
 
 1 History of Londonderry, p. 195. 
 
NEW YORK, 1789-1800. 383 
 
 Again gathered for the ordinances of worship, and in- 
 viti'<l. in their feebleness, the compassion of the mis- 
 sionaries 8cnt out by the Synod. 1 In 1788, they applied 
 for supplies to New York Presbytery. 
 
 Johnstown, deriving its name from Sir William John- 
 son, was included, together wdth Kingsborough, in the 
 original Kingsborough patent, granted June, 1753. In 
 17G1, Sir William removed to the mansion still known 
 as Johnson Hall, yet standing near the village. 2 The 
 tenants upon his lands were numerous, and were 
 strongly attached to him. For their accommodation 
 he erected a church-edifice (1763), in place of which a 
 larger one was built in 1767, in which he allowed min- 
 isters of all denominations to officiate. The Episcopa- 
 lian and the Presbyterian met here upon equal terms, 
 and the policy of the proprietor was simply to gratify 
 the tastes or prejudices of his tenants. The approach 
 of the Revolutionary conflict forced upon Sir William 
 the alternative of loyalty to his native or his adopted 
 country ; but, while he hesitated in trembling anxiety, 
 death relieved him of the stern necessity of a decision 
 in either case critical to his fame and fortune. His 
 heir sided with the mother-country; his estates were 
 confiscated, and at the close of the war the State Legis- 
 lature granted the church-edifice to the Presbyterians, 
 reserving, however, to the Lutherans and Episcopalians 
 their proportionate right to its use in case they applied 
 for it. They were, from an estimate of their numbers, 
 found to be entitled to it but for eight Sabbaths in the 
 year, — four Sabbaths to each denomination : so that the 
 congregation was virtually Presbyterian. 1 
 
 The first minister whose services were secured after 
 
 1 Campbell's Tryon County. a New York Gazetteer. 
 
 3 Dr. Hosack's sketch of the church, on the files of the old Al- 
 bany Presbyery. 
 
384 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 the building was thus placed in their possession was 
 James Thompson, a member of the Presbytery of New 
 York. His course, however, was far from exemplary, 
 and when he left, in 1787, quite a number of charges 
 affecting his character were brought against him. At 
 the request of the church, addressed to the Presbytery 
 of New York, asking for a supply, Simon Hosack was 
 sent them, and, October 8, 1790, he was dismissed from 
 the New York to Albany Presbytery, and was settled 
 at Johnstown, December 28. 
 
 In other places within the bounds of the Presbytery 
 the settlers were from various quarters, quite a large 
 number from New England. In 1761, a patent for 
 thirty-one thousand five hundred acres of land, includ- 
 ing the site of the town of Cambridge, was granted to 
 sixty persons, most of them residents of Hebron, Conn. 
 Of the six owners, one was Jacob Lansing, the founder 
 of Lansingburg. 1 At an early period two congregations 
 were formed, one Presbyterian (Associate, John Dun- 
 lop, pastor) and the other Congregational. 2 A portion 
 of the former coalescing with the latter constituted a 
 Presbyterian church, which placed itself under the care 
 of the Albany Presbytery. In 1793, Gershom Williams, 
 who had performed much missionary service in this 
 region, and had repeatedly supplied them, was called 
 as their pastor. 
 
 Salem was settled in 1761-6, by a mixed population, — 
 some from New England, but a larger portion from the 
 north of Ireland. In 1764, a patent was obtained for 
 twenty-five thousand acres, — one-half owned by a com- 
 pany from New England, mainly from Pelham, Mass., 
 and within the bounds of the Boston Presbytery; the 
 other half, originally owned by two Government officials, 
 was sold by them to a company of Irish and Scotch 
 
 1 New York Gazetteer. 2 Files of Albany Presbytery. 
 
NEW YORK, 1789-1800. 385 
 
 Immigrants, who brought with them their minister, 
 Thomas Clark. 1 The rivalry between the two com- 
 panies led to rapid improvements. One party wished 
 to call the place White Creek, and the other New Perth. 
 The foreign party, w r ho belonged to the Seceders, were 
 too exclusive to suit the tastes of the New England 
 men; 2 and the result was that the latter withdrew, and, 
 in 17G9, organized a church under the care of the Pres- 
 bytery of New York. Three years later they com- 
 menced the erection of a house of worship, which was 
 completed in 1774-5. But during the war (1777-8) it 
 was burned to the ground. In spite of this discourage- 
 ment, another was erected before the close of the Avar, 
 and the congregation anxiously sought to procure a 
 pastor. In May, 1787, John Warford, of New Bruns- 
 wick Presbytery, sent out as a missionary to this re- 
 gion, agreed to supply them, and in July, 1789, he was 
 installed as their pastor. 
 
 Ballston was organized as a town in 1788. It de- 
 rived its name from Eliphalet Ball, who, with a portion 
 of what had long been his pastoral charge at Bedford, 
 "Westchester county, removed in that year to this place. 5 
 Its earliest minister was William Schenk, who had pre- 
 viously been settled at Cape May. Galway was first 
 settled by Scotch emigrants in 1774. Plattsburg was 
 first recognized as a town in 1785, and the first sermon 
 in the place was preached by Benjamin Vaughan in 
 1787. Stillwater was formed in 1788. Waterford was 
 settled by the Dutch at a somewhat earlier date. Ste- 
 phentown was formed in 1784; Troy was constituted 
 a town in 1791. Lansingburg, founded about 1770, had 
 a Beformed Dutch church organized in 1784, and in 
 
 1 New York Gazetteer. 2 Files of Albany Presbytery. 
 
 3 He had been appointed a missionary to this region as early as 
 1771. — Synod's Minutes. This was the case also with Mr. Schenk. 
 Vol. I.— 33. 
 
386 HISTORY OP PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 1792 it was reorganized as Presbyterian, and called 
 Jonas Coe as its pastor. 
 
 In 1771, a Presbyterian congregation bad already 
 been gathered at Schenectady, and they were engaged 
 in the erection of a church-edifice, for the completion 
 of which they applied, through Alexander Miller, to 
 the Synod 1 for assistance. Mr. Miller, a pupil of Eev. 
 James Findley, a graduate of Princeton in 1764, and a 
 student of theology under Dr. Eodgers, of New York, 
 was licensed in 1767, and ordained in 1770, when he 
 took the pastoral charge of the church. His ministry 
 continued for about eleven years, when the perils of 
 the war and the dispersion of his people led him to re- 
 move. 2 For some years the church appears to have 
 been without a pastor or stated supply, and was doubt- 
 less greatly reduced in strength. Down to 1790, it was 
 only able, in connection with Currie's Bush 3 and Rem- 
 sen's Bush, to support a pastor, — John Young, whose 
 stay in the field was a brief one, and who left in 1790-1, 
 and was dismissed to Montreal Presbytery in 1793.* In 
 1796, he was succeeded by Robert Smith, 5 a graduate, 
 probably, of Princeton in 1781 ; but his laborious zeal 
 enfeebled his health, and in 1801 he accepted a call to 
 Savannah. His successors w T ithin a few years were 
 William Clarkson (before 1803, who left before 1809), 
 Alexander Monteith (before 1814, who left before 1819), 
 and Walter Monteith (before 1825). 
 
 In 1760, a very pressing application was made by 
 English Presbyterians of Albany to the Synod for sup- 
 plies, 6 and Hector Alison, recently dismissed from Draw- 
 yers, Del., and Abraham Kettletas, already on the point 
 of resigning his charge at Elizabethtown, were directed 
 to visit and supply them. In 1763, at the conclusion 
 
 1 Minutes, p. 419. 2 Christian Herald, vii. 97. 
 
 3 Now Princetown. 4 Records of Albany Presbytery. 
 
 6 Dwight's Travels, ii, 489. 6 Synod's Minutes. 
 
NEW York, L789-1800. 387 
 
 of the French War, a church was organized, and shortly 
 after, William Ilanna was installed its pastor by the 
 Presbytery of Dutchess County. He was, however, 
 unfit for the position, and occupied it only for two years. 
 After quite an interval, during which they were visited, 
 at the Synod's appointment, by Dr. Rodgers, of New 
 York, Andrew Bay, "a broad Scotchman," but "a 
 highly talented and eloquent preacher," w T as called to 
 the pastorate. For nearly twenty years previous, he 
 had been settled in Maryland, and, at the request of the 
 Synod, in 1768 he spent six Sabbaths in the vicinity of 
 Albany and among the Scotch settlements in Washing- 
 ton and Montgomery counties. So acceptable were his 
 services that he was called by the church at Albany, 
 where he remained for five years, when he removed to 
 Newtown, L.I. 1 
 
 Previous to his settlement, a church-edifice had been 
 erected; but a heavy debt had been incurred in its con- 
 struction, and the congregation was in "a distressed 
 condition." They applied to Synod for assistance 
 (1763); but "sincere pity" was all the aid which the 
 Synod could afford. In 1771, under Mr. Bay's ministry, 
 they repeated their application. From their report of 
 the case, it appeared that the edifice had cost nearly three 
 thousand pounds, for more than two-thirds of w r hich 
 three persons only were responsible, one of whom had 
 already paid out of his own pocket over one thousand 
 pounds. The Synod "cheerfully and cordially" recom- 
 mended them "to the assistance of all well-disposed 
 tmaritable persons within their bounds." The recom- 
 mendation undoubtedly answered its purpose ; for we 
 hear of no further application for aid. 
 
 The effect of the Revolutionary War, however, was to 
 disorganize the church. For several years there was 
 
 J Hiker's Newtown. 
 
388 HISTORY OP PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 no regular religious service or administration of ordi- 
 nances. In 1785, the pastoral labors of John McDonald 
 were secured, and in the following year the church was 
 reorganized. 1 Four elders and two deacons were ap- 
 pointed, and in 1787, when the first season of commu- 
 nion was held, one hundred and sixteen members were 
 admitted to the church. 
 
 In 1796, a new church-edifice was erected. It was 
 opened (Nov. 2) by a sermon from John Blair Smith, 
 then President of Union College. In 1798, Eliphalet 
 Nott was installed pastor. The sermon was by Dr. 
 Smith; and several of the neighboring Dutch ministers 
 joined in the imposition of hands. 
 
 Up to the time of the erection of Albany Presbytery, 
 the Synod made repeated and urgent efforts to extend 
 to this field the benefit of missionary labor, and quite a 
 number of the early pastors were those who had gone 
 forth as missionaries. This was the case, among others, 
 with Schenk of Ballston, "Warford of Salem, Condict of 
 Stillwater, Williams of Cambridge, and Thompson of 
 Hudson, the last of whom, with John Burton, had been 
 received as a licentiate from Scotland, and with whom 
 in 1787 he was sent into this field. 2 
 
 The Presbytery of Albany was erected by the Synod 
 of New York and New Jersey in 1790. Most of its 
 churches were transferred to it from the Presbj^tery 
 of New York. Of this number were Albany, Cherry 
 Yalley, Johnstown, New Scotland, Harpersfield, Balls- 
 ton, East Ballston, Cambridge, Kingsbury, Schenectady, 
 Currie's Bush, and Eemsen's Bush. In 1788, all but 
 three of these were vacant. William Schenk was at 
 Ballston, John Warford at Salem, and John McDonald 
 at Albany. In the course of the following year, Samp- 
 son Occum was received from Suffolk Presbytery, as 
 
 1 Munsell's Albany. a Synod's Minutes for the year 
 
389 
 
 his mission among the Oneida Indians fell more properly 
 within the bounds of Albany Presbytery, John Lindsley 
 commenced his labors — although not installed — at llar- 
 persfield, and John Young entered upon his ministry at 
 Schenectady in conjunction with Currie's Bush. 
 
 At Johnstown, Simon Ilosack commenced his ex- 
 tended pastorate December 8, 1790, At East Ballston, 
 William B. Eipley began to preach in March, 1791, and 
 was installed January 10, 1792, his ministry closing 
 September 12, 1797. At Stillwater, which he had pre- 
 viously visited as a missionary, and where he had or- 
 ganized a church, Aaron Condict was settled, after the 
 delay of a year, January 15, 1793. At Charlton, Samuel 
 Sturges was installed June 26 of the same year. At 
 Cambridge, Gershom Williams, who afterward removed 
 to New Jerse} r , was settled June 25, 1794. At Hudson, 
 where a church had been organized but a few years 
 previous, John Thompson, who had been sent out by 
 the Synod as a missionary, commenced his brief pas- 
 torate July 23, 1794. At New Scotland, Benjamin Judd 
 began his labors in September, 1795. At Plattsburg, 
 the ministry of Frederick Ilalsey dates from February 
 29, 1796. 
 
 The establishment of the Presbytery was hailed with 
 joy by the numerous feeble congregations in the pro- 
 cess of formation within its bounds. It was flooded 
 with applications for assistance. In September, 1791, 
 Granville and Westfield asked for supplies. In Feb- 
 ruary. 1793, the Congregational and Presbyterian con- 
 gregations of Cambridge became united, and joined in 
 a similar request, the result of which was the settlement 
 of Mr. Williams. Stephentown, in a feeble condition 
 likewise, made the same application. From Glen's Pur- 
 chase, Eoyal Grant, and Spruce Creek a petition (Feb. 
 1793) was presented, asking to be taken under the care 
 of Presbytery and to be furnished with supplies. In 
 
 33* 
 
390 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 1795, the Presbyterian congregation of Waterford was 
 received, in spite of the earnest remonstrance of mem- 
 bers of the Dutch Church, and Abraham Barfield, an 
 English Dissenter, was allowed to labor with them as 
 stated supply. In March, 1795, Cooperstown was re- 
 ceived under the care of Presbytery. In the following 
 year Schodack applied for supplies of preaching. Provi- 
 dence likewise presented the same request. 
 
 Meanwiiile (1795), Thompson had been dismissed 
 from Hudson, and the church was served by stated sup- 
 plies for quite a period. McDonald of Albany (1795) 
 had been deposed from the ministry, and Bogart, who 
 had been called in his place, had declined, after a short 
 period of service (1797). Young had left Schenectady 
 (1791), and the church, supplied for a time by John 
 Blair Smith, President of Union College, had called 
 Eobert Smith, of New Castle Presbytery. Judd had 
 been dismissed from New Scotland (Sept. 1796), and 
 Lindsley, who had left Harpersfield for Galway, where 
 he remained till September 13, 1796, had been called to 
 Kingsborough, where he was installed in April, 1797. 
 At the same time, Sturges was dismissed from Charlton, 
 to be succeeded, two or three years later, by Joseph 
 Sweetman. Eliphalet Nott, received (Aug. 1797) as a 
 licentiate from the New London County Association, 
 had declined (Aug. 1798) a call to Cherry Valley, and 
 accepted one from Albany, where he was ordained 
 October 3, 1798. At the same date, Galway and Bread- 
 albane gave a call to William Scott, and on November 
 13, 1798, John Arnold, from Carlisle Presbytery, was 
 settled at New Scotland. In February, 1798, John 
 Blair Smith was dismissed to accept the charge of the 
 Third Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, and Jona- 
 than Edwards, his successor in the Presidency of Union 
 College, was received in August, 1799. In February, 
 1800, Joseph Sweetman was called at the same time to 
 
NEW YORK, 17S9-1800. 391 
 
 Charlton and Balls ton, the former of which lie chose 
 
 to accept (Sept. 17). At the same time Lindsley was 
 dismissed from Kingsborough. In August, Aaron J. 
 Booge was called to Stephentown, and was installed 
 November 11. In November, Eobert Smith left Sche- 
 nectady for his health, and his place was temporarily 
 supplied by President Edwards. 
 
 In 1800, the Presbytery consisted of thirteen mem- 
 bers, ten of whom had charges, besides which they had 
 under their care fourteen vacancies, eight of which were 
 able to support a pastor. The report of the following 
 year showed that four members had been added to the 
 Presbytery, making its number eleven pastors, and six 
 without charge. 
 
 The early members of Albany Presbytery were 
 largely from New York and New Brunswick Presby- 
 teries, although some were from Scotland. To the 
 latter class belonged McDonald, Thompson, and two or 
 three others, none of whom were of any permanent 
 value to the Presbytery. The sad fall of McDonald — 
 deposed in 1795 — did not alienate from him the sympa- 
 thies of many of his countrymen, who long insisted on 
 his restoration, and finally united to form another 
 church, of which he became pastor. Of the other mem- 
 bers of the Presbytery, there are several whose names 
 are worthy of honor : — Coe, of Troy, a Christian gen- 
 tleman, genial, judicious, and faithful as a man and 
 devoted as a pastor; Hosack, whose long and success- 
 ful ministry at Johnstown, where one of the strongest 
 churches of the Presbytery was gathered, testifies to 
 his fidelity and efficiency; Condict, of Stillwater, whose 
 melancholy humors and dark forebodings could not hide 
 his worth or repress his kindness and hospitality, and 
 who was eminent for wisdom and humility; Schenk, 
 of Ballston, not an orator, but a kind and faithful pastor, 
 and who, like AVarford, of Salem, had a heart enlisted 
 
392 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 in the cause of Christian philanthropy and missionary 
 enterprise; Ripley, of East Ballston, a man of cool 
 judgment and good sense, and who deliberately pre- 
 ferred his missionary task to more inviting fields; and 
 to these we need only add the names of John Blair 
 Smith, President Edwards, and Eliphalet Nott, to form 
 a group worthy to hold their place as pioneers at the 
 gateway of the young and growing West. 
 
 Union College, at Schenectady, was established in 
 1795. The plan of such an institution had been agi- 
 tated as early as 1779. The inhabitants of the north- 
 ern counties of the State were dissatisfied with the 
 remote location, if not the management, of Columbia 
 College, and demanded an institution of their own to 
 meet their local wants. In the petition to the Assem- 
 bly of 1779, Schenectady was designated as the site of 
 the institution. 
 
 A favorable report upon the petition was made to the 
 Assembly, and the petitioners were allowed to bring in 
 a bill to answer their design at the next session ; but 
 the emergencies of the war diverted attention from a 
 project which could flourish only in the atmosphere of 
 peace. Several years passed by, and the only progress 
 which had been made in 1791 — when a petition for lib- 
 erty to ask incorporation for a college was laid before 
 the State Legislature — was the establishment of an 
 academy on the site of the future college. The prayer 
 of the petition was not granted, and it was not till four 
 years later that a charter could be obtained. 
 
 The institution derived its name from the union of 
 different religious denominations in its establishment. 
 The Presbyterians and the Reformed Dutch were most 
 active in their co-operation. John Blair Smith, a son 
 of Robert Smith, of Pequa, was chosen its first Presi- 
 dent. For twelve years he had had charge of Hanip- 
 den-Sidncy College, in Virginia, and for four years had 
 
393 
 
 been pastor of the Pine Streel Church in Philadelphia 
 He was a decided Presbyterian, but of a Liberal spirit 
 and well fitted for the post which he was now called to 
 occupy. He presided over the infant institution for 
 three years with great credit and success; and to his 
 influence in this prominent position the future ecclesias- 
 tical type of the new settlements in Western New York 
 was largely due. 
 
 Soon after his inauguration as President, in the sum- 
 mer of 1795, a young clergyman, sent out by the Con- 
 necticut Society on a mission to the " Settlements/' 
 passed through Schenectady, and w T as invited by Presi- 
 dent Smith to spend the night at his house. Inquiring 
 of the young man his views, objects, and proposed 
 theatre of action, he found that he had been trained in 
 the Congregational Church, that his sympathies were 
 with it, and that his opinions w 7 ere in favor of its form 
 of church government. Without discussing at large 
 the question of denominational forms, President Smith 
 directed the attention of his visitor to the fact that the 
 orthodox churches of New England held "substantially 
 the same faith as the Presbyterian/' and, " this being 
 the case," he asked, " is it wise, is it Christian, to divide 
 the sparse population holding the same faith, already 
 scattered, and hereafter to be scattered, over this vast 
 new territory, into two distinct ecclesiastical organiza- 
 tions, and thus prevent each from enjoying those means 
 of grace which both might much sooner enjoy but for 
 such division? Would it not be better for the entire 
 Church that these tw r o divisions should make mutual 
 concessions, and thus effect a common organization on 
 an accommodation plan, with a view to meet the con- 
 dition of communities so Bituated V n 
 
 The arguments used by President Smith were deemed 
 
 1 Sprague's Annals, iii. 4U3. 
 
394 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 conclusive by the young clergyman. They gave a new 
 direction to his efforts, and led, through the influence 
 of other Congregationalists whom he induced to co- 
 operate, to the formation of numerous Presbyterian 
 churches on the accommodation plan, and, finally, to 
 the Plan of Union. 
 
 This originated, therefore, with the ex-President of 
 Hampd en-Sidney College, and was carried into effect 
 largely through the influence of the young clergyman 
 who had passed the night with him on his journey to 
 his missionary field. That clergyman was Eliphalet 
 Nott, who, through the influence of President Smith, 
 was induced to accept the pastorate of the Presbyte- 
 rian church of Albany in 1798, and in 1804 succeeded 1 
 to the post which the latter had occupied as President 
 of Union College. 
 
 Thus, six years before the Connecticut General Asso- 
 ciation endorsed the " Plan of Union," it had been sub- 
 stantially sketched out and adopted by two men, one 
 an unquestioned Presbyterian and the other a decided 
 Congregationalist, each a fair representative of his own 
 denomination ; and, when it was introduced to the at- 
 tention of the General Assembly in 1801, it was on the 
 motion of Dr. Edwards, the then President of Union 
 College, who was chairman of the committee to which 
 the subject was committed. 
 
 And it was indeed time that some method should be 
 devised for meeting an emergency that had never oc- 
 curred before, of harmonizing the action and effort of 
 two denominations differing only in their form of gov- 
 ernment and occupying the same field. The tide of 
 emigration had begun already to set strongly toward 
 the West. By the treaty of 1794 between the United 
 
 1 Dr. Jonathan Edwards was the immediate successor of Dr. 
 Snith, in L799. Edwards died in 1801. 
 
NEW YORK, 1789-1800 895 
 
 States and the Six Nations, the dangei' of depredations 
 to settlers was removed, and a large and fertile region 
 was opened to the surplus population of the Atlantic 
 States. The Genesee Yalley became an El Dorado to 
 the youthful enterprise of the East, and the fame of its 
 wheat-fields was scarcely less exciting than, at a later 
 period, the report of California gold. The want of roads 
 was no sufficient check to this newly awakened energy 
 of purpose, refusing any longer to be pent up within 
 the bounds of the older States. The inhabitants of 
 Albany regarded the tide of emigration which passed 
 through their city — the principal avenue to the West- 
 ern country — in the winter of 1795, as a strange phe- 
 nomenon. The old Dutch citizens were not a little sur- 
 prised and astonished to see the loaded sleighs and ox- 
 sleds go by. Twelve hundred of the former, loaded with 
 men, women, children, and furniture, passed through the 
 city within three days, and on the 28th of February five 
 hundred were counted, on their way, between sunrise 
 and sunset. 1 
 
 At this gateway of the West, the young man who 
 had become a convert to the views of President Smith 
 was stationed at this critical period. The Connecticut 
 pastors on their missionary tours would not pass with- 
 out stopping on their way to consult and advise with 
 their pioneer brother, who had traversed the region 
 before them, and whose large heart and sound judg- 
 ment were ever at their service. With nothing of 
 ecclesiastical bigotry or prejudice to blind their views, 
 with hearts all aglow with sympathy for the desti- 
 tution which they had witnessed, with deep anxiety for 
 the religious welfare of a young empire springing up 
 in the wilderness, it was only natural that they should 
 feel themselves, and endeavor to impress on others, the 
 
 1 Munsell's Annals of Albany. 
 
396 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM 
 
 necessity of united effort to plant gospel institutions 
 all over a broad waste, soon to be alive with men. The 
 General Association of Connecticut, standing already 
 on the semi-Presbyterian Saybrook platform, and with 
 its leading members, like Dwight, Backus, and Strong, 
 decidedly in favor of a nearer approximation to the 
 Presbyterian system, felt that it was no recreancy to 
 principle, and scarcely a compromise of feeling, to cheer 
 on the efforts of Presbyterians in building up churches 
 of their order in the new settlements. Hence, when 
 the idea of a plan of union was once suggested to them, 
 it not only met with no opposition, but was warmly 
 favored. The Association readily accepted, therefore 
 a plan, first suggested by a leading Presbyterian, then 
 seconded by the experience of pastors and missionaries; 
 and it was finally adopted, by both parties, without a 
 dissenting voice. It is a noble monument of the liberal 
 feeling both of the Congregationalists and the Presby- 
 terians of that period; and the Exscinding Assembly 
 of 1837 paid it no unmerited tribute when they ad- 
 mitted that it was "projected and brought into opera- 
 tion by some of the wisest and best men the Presby- 
 terian Church has ever known/' 
 
 In 1801, a committee was appointed by the General 
 Association of Connecticut to confer with a committee 
 to be appointed by the General Assembly on the plan 
 of union to be adopted. The Committee of the Associ- 
 ation consisted of the Eev. Messrs. John Smalley, Levi 
 Hart, and Samuel Blatchford ; that of the Assembly, 
 of the Eev. Drs. Edwards, McKnight, and Woodhull, 
 and Eev. Messrs. Hutton and Blatchford, the last of 
 whom, as delegate from the Association, was also a 
 member of the Assembly. 
 
 The result of their conference was the adoption of 
 the Plan of Union, — a plan which for more than the 
 lifetime of a generation secured the friendly and har- 
 
NEW YORK, 1789-1800. 397 
 
 moniOUS co-operation of two Christian denominations 
 in a work whose magnitude and beneficence future cen- 
 turies will record. 
 
 The rapid settlement and growth of Central and West- 
 ern New York is one of the marvels of the present cen- 
 tury. Before the year 1784, 1 when Hugh White, the 
 father of the New England settlements in that region, 
 removed his family from Middletown and planted him- 
 self in Whitesborough, there was not a single spot cul- 
 tivated by civilized man between the German Flats and 
 Lake Erie, except the solitary Stedman farm, near Ni- 
 agara Falls; yet in 1810 this region contained 280,319 
 inhabitants. 
 
 At the commencement, therefore, of the present cen- 
 tury, it began to attract the sjiecial attention both of the 
 General Association of Connecticut and of the General 
 Assembly. It was an opportune field for the exertions 
 of the missionary societies that had been recently organ- 
 ized in New York and New England, and had no unim- 
 portant influence upon their formation. The Northern 
 Missionary Society of New York, located in the neigh- 
 borhood of Albany and embracing mainly the Dutch 
 and Presbyterian churches in that region, was in the 
 midst of a mission-field where all its energies were re- 
 quired. But still beyond, the destitution was far more 
 extreme and urgent. The Military Tract, embracing 
 the counties of Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Cort- 
 land, with portions of Tompkins, Oswego, and Wayne, 
 was surveyed in 1789, and was now rapidly filling up 
 with immigrants. 
 
 The Indian title to the Phelps and Gorham Purchase 
 (still farther west) was extinguished in 1788. Geneva, 
 Pittsford, and Eichmond were settled before the close 
 of 1790; yet in that year what was then the county of 
 
 1 Dwight's Travels, iii. 530. 
 Vol. I.— 34 
 
HISTORY OF PRESBYTER IANISM. 
 
 Ontario, including the whole Genesee country, con- 
 tained only one thousand and eighty-one inhabitants. 
 From this period, however, the growth of Western New 
 York was uuprecedently rapid : immigrants came pour- 
 ing into it from all quarters. Some were from Penn- 
 sylvania, some from the Old World, but a very large 
 proportion were from New England. By 1800, the popu- 
 lation had increased to nearly sixty thousand, and in 
 ten years more it had multiplied fourfold. 1 
 
 The character of this immigration was one to excite 
 alarm and apprehension. The first settlements were 
 formed at the period when French infidelity had at- 
 tained the largest influence which it ever possessed in 
 this country. Even where pious families were to be 
 found, they were as sheep without a shepherd, and 
 were disheartened and discouraged by the prevalent 
 irreligion around them. Some who had been members 
 of churches in New England seemed to have left their 
 religion behind them. In many places there was no 
 one to be found to take measures for the establishment 
 of public religious worship. "The habits of the people 
 were loose and irreligious. The Sabbath was made a 
 day of business, visiting, or pastime. Drinking and ca- 
 rousing were frequent concomitants." In other places, 
 however, there were those to be found who were still 
 mindful of the professions or the privileges of earlier 
 days, and who longed for the enjoyment of the means 
 of grace. Gathering their neighbors around them, they 
 would endeavor to observe in their little assemblies the 
 forms of public worship, and seek to edify one another 
 in prayer, exhortation, and the reading of the Scrip- 
 tures. 
 
 For some years after the settlement of the country 
 commenced, not a minister of the gospel, Presbyterian 
 
 1 See Hotchkin's Churches of Western New York. 
 
NEW YORK, 1789-1800. 399 
 
 or Congregational, resided within its bounds. There 
 was not even an organized church. Nearly all the mis- 
 sionary labor that had been performed in the region 
 had been performed by ministers appointed for short 
 periods by the General Assembly. Yet, limited as the 
 time of their efforts was — in their absence from their 
 own charges — the reports of their labors and successes 
 were pronounced by the Assembly of 1799 to be "favor- 
 able," and to "afford rational ground to believe that 
 the appropriations of the voluntary contributions of 
 our Christian brethren for the benevolent purpose of 
 extending the means of religious instruction in those 
 parts of our country will prove satisfactory to them, 
 and encourage them to further assistances in that 
 way." 
 
 Of the ministers sent out by the Assembly, Rev. Ira 
 Condict organized a church in Palmyra in 1793; Eev. 
 Benjamin Judd, one at Windsor, at nearly the same time ; 
 and Eev. Daniel Thatcher, in 1795, the three churches 
 of Elmira, Lima, and Geneseo. Almost at the same 
 time, Congregational churches were organized by mis- 
 sionaries from Connecticut, — one by Rev. Mr. Campbell 
 at Sherburne, and another by Rev. Zadoc Hunn at East 
 Bloomfield. Between 1796 and 1800, several other small 
 churches had been organized. Rev. Reuben Parmele 
 was installed at Victor in 1799; Rev. Timothy Field at 
 Canandaigua in 1800; and Rev. Mr. Grover at Bristol 
 in the same year. 
 
 But in 1800 more vigorous measures were taken by the 
 General Assembly for the visitation and suppty of this 
 whole region. In 1798, Rev. Mr. Logan had traversed 
 the country, and preached with so much acceptance 
 that the settlers urgently requested his return. The 
 request was approved by the Assembly, and additional 
 laborers were appointed for different periods in this in- 
 viting field. 
 
400 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 These measures were adopted in accordance with the 
 established mission-policy of the Church, but they were 
 prosecuted with enlarged vigor in consequence of the 
 intelligence from Western New York. A letter of the 
 late Dr. Williston, of Durham, N.Y., then a young mis- 
 sionary in the service of the Connecticut Missionary 
 Society, was published in the New York "Missionary 
 Magazine" early in 1800, and spread before the churches 
 the cheering success of the previous year. That year, 
 for a long period, was destined to be remembered through- 
 out the region as the year of the Great Revival. One 
 of the most prominent of the ministers who were con- 
 nected with it was the late Jedediah Bushnell, of Corn- 
 wall, Yt. Six years before, while engaged in his tan- 
 ning-mill at Saybrook, Conn., a stranger stepped in to 
 inquire of him the way. Having obtained his informa- 
 tion, he lingered long enough to ask his informant 
 whether he was in the " way" of salvation. A few se- 
 rious words were dropped, which led to the conviction 
 and conversion of Mr. Bushnell. He immediately gave 
 up his business, entered Williams College, was gradu- 
 ated in 1797, and in the following year was invited to 
 Canandaigua to supply the pulpit of the infant church 
 in that place. He went; but, not content with supply- 
 ing his own people, he traversed the surrounding region 
 as a missionary. Earnest, affectionate, discreet, and 
 devoted entirely to his work, he won the affection and 
 respect of all. A powerful revival commenced. Mr. 
 Williston, who had completed his commission for the 
 Military Tract, joined his friend Bushnell. On every 
 side the work spread. Places could not be procured 
 large enough to accommodate the crowds who pressed 
 to hear the word. "It seemed as if there was scarcely 
 anybody at home who could possibly get to meeting." 
 
 Intelligence of this state of things was given in Wil- 
 liston's letter. He wrote, moreover, " There is a great 
 
NEW YORK, 1 789-1 SOO. 401 
 
 call for preachers in tin's county and in the other west- 
 ern counties of this State. There are scarcely any 
 settled ministers in all this extensive, flourishing, and 
 
 growing country." Rev. Walter King, who performed 
 a missionary tour in the counties of Chenango and 
 Tioga (1798), wrote, "While I have been a preacher, 
 never did I enjoy a season, in so short a time, of so 
 much Christian satisfaction or so high a probability of 
 being really useful to the souls of men." In the winter 
 of 1798 the work began. Through the spring and sum- 
 mer following it was characterized by a "wonderful 
 display of divine power and grace in the conversion of 
 sinners." Throughout the region "individuals appeared 
 awakened in most places." Several churches were soon 
 organized, although the missionaries said, "We are 
 afraid to establish churches while there are no shep- 
 herds within call to feed and lead them." 
 
 The revival commenced at Palmyra; it soon ex- 
 tended to Bristol, Bloomfield, Canandaigua, Richmond, 
 and Lima, and to other places in a less marked man- 
 ner. Quite a number of churches were formed, and in 
 1800 the Association of Ontario was organized, — at 
 first on strictly Congregational principles, but three 
 years later its Constitution was so revised and altered 
 as to give it jurisdiction over the ministers and churches 
 to such an extent as to exclude them from the connec- 
 tion if found erroneous in doctrine or practice. 
 
 Here was already, almost contemporaneous with the 
 adoption of the Plan of Union, a voluntary approxi- 
 mation by the Congregational body to Presbyterian 
 principles. The circumstances in which ministers and 
 churches in the new settlements found themselves, de- 
 manded a stricter discipline than was necessary in the 
 towns and parishes of New England. There was thus 
 on the part of Congrcgationalists themselves a dispo- 
 sition not to fall back on any favorite form of govern- 
 
402 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 ment, but to select that which was best adapted to the 
 emergencies of the case. 
 
 At the close of the eighteenth century the institutions 
 of the gospel had been extensively planted in Western 
 New York; and it would be difficult to say whether the 
 preponderating influence was on the side of Presby- 
 terians or Congregationalists. It was a question which 
 no one was disposed to raise, and the means of its solu- 
 tion are not readily to be obtained. The strength of 
 the two denominations west of the Hudson seems to 
 have been nearly equal, in case the Presbyterian lean- 
 ings of the bodies Congregational in name be not taken 
 into account. Nearly or quite twenty churches had 
 been organized, although with scarcely an exception 
 they were all in a feeble state. By 1793 the churches 
 of Sherburne, Windsor, and Cazenovia had been gath- 
 ered. In the course of the two or three years that fol- 
 lowed, those of Auburn, East Palmyra, and Elmira were 
 added to the list. Before or by 1800, the number was 
 increased by those of Oxford, Bainbridge, Springport, 
 Scipio First, Milan, Geneva, Ovid, Lisle, Naples, and 
 probably some few others. 
 
 The " History of the Presbyterian Church in the State of 
 Kentucky " by the Rev. Robert Davidson, D. D., with its 
 * preliminary sketch of the churches in the Valley of Vir- 
 ginia," is a work to which I cheerfully acknowledge my 
 great indebtedness for aid in the preparation of the chapter 
 upon Kentucky. It has been carefully prepared from a 
 great variety of sources, many of them original and some 
 of them no longer accessible, and the author has faithfully 
 cited his authorities. His biographical sketches are espe- 
 cially valuable, and his accounts of the Great Revival and 
 the origin of the Cumberland Presbyterians are of perma- 
 nent interest. 
 
KENTUCKY, 1775-lSOO. 403 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 EARLY HISTORY OF THE PRESRYTERTAN CHURCH IN KEN- 
 TUCKY, 1775-1800. 
 
 Some estimate may be formed of the urgent claims 
 of the great mission-field west of the Alleghanies and 
 south of the Ohio, from the fact that the aggregate 
 population of Kentucky and Tennessee had increased 
 from little more than one hundred thousand in 1790 to 
 three hundred and twenty-five thousand in 1800. A 
 constant stream of immigration was pouring into it 
 from the older settlements, at the rate of something 
 like an average of twenty thousand a year. This was 
 during a period when New England had scarcely begun 
 to colonize west of the Hudson, and when Central and 
 Western New York were in process of being surveyed. 
 The pioneers were bold and hardy men, ready to brave 
 the hardships of the wilderness and contend with the 
 beasts of the forest or the scarcely less merciless Indian 
 tribes. Their lives were full of strange vicissitude 
 and romantic incident. Constant hazard and peril 
 seemed to become at length the necessary stimulant to 
 healthful energy. 
 
 Among such a people, the recluse scholar, with his 
 logical, polished discourse read from the manuscript, 
 was not needed. Erudition and refinement were not 
 in demand. The hardy backwoodsman required a new 
 type of preacher, — one who could shoulder axe or musket 
 with his congregation, preach in shirt-sleeves, and take 
 the stump for a pulpit. Men of this stamp could not 
 
404 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 be manufactured to order in colleges. They must of 
 necessity be trained up on the field. 
 
 They were for the most part thus trained, — many of 
 them after their arrival in the region; but it was wise 
 and necessary that they should not despise learning. 
 A happy influence was exerted over them by the pioneer 
 missionary who laid the foundations of the Presby- 
 terian Church in this part of the country. Rev. David 
 Bice, better known as " Father Rice," at the mature 
 age of fifty, crossed the mountains and found a home 
 in Mercer county, Ky., as early as October, 1783. He 
 was a man of education and ability and of most de- 
 voted zeal. He had pursued his classical studies in 
 early life under the direction of the celebrated James 
 Waddel, had been graduated at Princeton College 
 under the Presidency of Samuel Davies, had studied 
 theology with Rev. James Todd, been licensed by the 
 Presbytery of Hanover, had labored as a missionary 
 in South Virginia and North Carolina, and settled as 
 pastor of the church at the Peaks of Otter. During 
 the Revolutionary conflict he occupied a new and fron- 
 tier settlement, and in that mountainous region and 
 among a heterogeneous population acquired that expe- 
 rience which fitted him so well for his future field. 
 Tall and slender in person, quiet in his movements, but 
 with an alertness that continued to extreme age, he 
 entered upon his work beyond the mountains with the 
 energy and composure of one who knew the greatness 
 of the task he had undertaken. Sagacious to discern 
 the signs of the times, and quick to detect the character 
 and dangers of the society around him, he was fully 
 competent to expose the errors which were flooding 
 the land, and lay solid the gospel foundations that 
 should stay the rushing tide. His " Essay on Baptism" 
 did good service in that Western region years before 
 the opening of the presei 4 ; century, and when a print- 
 
KENTUCKY, 1775-1800. 405 
 
 ing-press to publish it could not be found west of the 
 mountains. Of the cause of freedom he was a bold 
 and consistent champion. " Slavery Inconsistent with 
 Justice and Policy" was the title of a pamphlet issued 
 by him in 1792. The views presented in it were forcibly 
 urged by him in the convention that formed the State 
 Constitution. Nor did the cause of education find in 
 him a lukewarm friend. While a resident of Virginia, 
 he had officially labored to promote the cause of liberal 
 learning. He took an active part in the establishment 
 of Hampden-Sidncy College, and had an important 
 agency in procuring its two first Presidents, Samuel 
 Stanhope Smith and Eobert Blair Smith. Kentucky 
 needed such a man ; and when the trustees of Transyl- 
 vania University met, shortly after his arrival in that 
 region, at Crow's Station, he was President of the 
 Board, and was ever its steadfast friend. He felt that 
 the School and the Church had a common interest, and 
 that Kentucky must educate her own sons. To the 
 ripe age of eighty-three he was spared to see new 
 laborers gather around him, and the institutions he 
 had planted rise to the promise of a blessed harvest. 
 
 Nor was he left long alone in this new field. In 
 1784, Eev. Adam Rankin, who settled at Lexington, 
 and Rev. James Crawford, 1 who located at Walnut 
 Hill, came to his support. Two years later, Andrew 
 McClure, who took the first charge of the Salem and 
 Paris congregations, and Thomas B. Craighead, of 
 North Carolina, whose name is associated with that of 
 the Shiloh Church, and of whom the Hon. John Breck- 
 inridge said that his discourses made a more lasting 
 
 i James Crawford was a graduate of Princeton in 1777. Two 
 years later he was licensed by the Presbytery of Hanover, and in 
 1784 removed to Kentucky, settling at Walnut Hill, where he 
 gathered a nourishing church. IS'.e death occurred in 1803. 
 
406 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 impression on him than those of any other man, joined 
 the feeble band. These five ministers, with Rev. Zerah 
 Templin, recently ordained an evangelist, constituted 
 the first Presbytery, October 17, 1786. Twelve congre- 
 gations were already at least partially organized. 
 
 In 1790, the first missionaries sent out by the Synod 
 of Virginia, and in fact by the Presbyterian Church 
 after the formation of the General Assembly, entered 
 this field. These were Robert Marshall and the cele- 
 brated Carey H. Allen. The first was a licentiate of Red- 
 stone Presbytery. He was a native of Ireland, but in 
 his twelfth year (1772) emigrated with his father's 
 family to Western Pennsylvania. He was a wild 
 youth, and at the age of sixteen enlisted as a private 
 in the army, against the remonstrance of his mother. 
 Strangely enough, his course now was more sober and 
 moral than before. He abstained from all the vices of 
 camp-life, and, when not on duty, retired to his tent 
 and devoted himself to the study of arithmetic and 
 mathematics. He was in six general engagements, 
 one of which was the hard-fought battle of Monmouth. 
 Here his locks were grazed by a bullet, and he nar- 
 rowly escaped with his life. After the war he joined 
 the Seceders, but was still a stranger to vital religion. 
 It was under a searching discourse of Dr. McMillan 
 that he was first brought to feel his guilt as a sinner. 
 Now he was humbled in the dust : his self-possession 
 deserted him, and he fell into a state of the deepest 
 anguish. At length hope dawned upon him, and, with 
 new views of duty, he devoted himself to the work of 
 the ministry. 
 
 He pursued his academical studies at Liberty Hall. 
 His theological course was completed under Dr. McMil- 
 lan. For some months he labored as a missionary in 
 Virginia, and at the close of 1790 set out under the 
 commission of the Virginia Synod for Kentucky. 
 
KENTUCKY, 1775-1800. 407 
 
 He was accompanied by Carey II. Allen. Allen was the 
 son of a Virginia planter of Cumberland county. JIo 
 was educated at Hampden-Sidney, and was one of the 
 early converts of the revival of 1787. His disposition 
 was gay and volatile; and such, to a great extent, it 
 remained after his conversion. But his spirit was ever 
 cheerful and his good nature imperturbable. " He 
 was a mirthful, fun-loving, pleasant companion, and a 
 great wit and satirist." Sucb was his humorous de- 
 meanor, and so odd and ludicrous his frequent conver- 
 sation, that the Presbytery for some time hesitated to 
 license him. But his strange sallies and eccentricities 
 were overruled by his controlling devotion of purpose, 
 and made, not unfrequently, the means of arresting the 
 attention or exciting the religious interest of others. 
 
 The journey of the two young men to Kentucky was 
 by no means one that could be considered safe or plea- 
 sant. There were but two routes to the Western settle- 
 ments, and each was beset with great hazard and 
 danger. One was by the Ohio, taking a boat at Bed- 
 stone Old Fort, 1 and the other by a forced passage, 
 with greater risk of Indian assault, through the wil- 
 derness. The last was tolerably safe for large bands 
 of emigrants, but more dangerous for individuals. 
 Marshall and Allen chose the river-route. While wait- 
 ing for the company to be made up, they employed 
 themselves in preaching among the neighboring con- 
 gregations. In spite of the disaffection produced in 
 some quarters by their use of Watts's Psalms and 
 Hymns, a favorable impression was made, and a revival 
 commenced. It was fairly in progress when they em- 
 barked, and continued after their departure. 
 
 The voyage was favorable, and they landed safely 
 in Kentucky. They immediately entered upon their 
 
 1 Brownsville, on the Monongahela. 
 
408 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 missionary work. Marshall collected a congregation 
 who chose him for their pastor, and he was soon 
 settled over Bethel and Blue Spring Churches. Allen 
 itinerated for six months with marked popularity and 
 success. He preached almost daily, and frequently at 
 night. Crowds followed him, many of them attracted 
 by more than a mere idle curiosity. Seed was sown 
 for the harvest of after-years. 
 
 In the spring of 1791, Allen returned to Virginia. A 
 small party accompanied him. Armed with a rifle, and 
 girded with a wampum shot-pouch which had been 
 taken from a hostile Indian and given to him as a pre- 
 sent, he looked more like a backwoods hunter than a 
 clergyman. The journey was safely made, and Allen 
 made his report to the commission of Synod. It was 
 so interesting and encouraging that he was directed 
 to return and continue his labors as an itinerant mis- 
 sionary. 
 
 William Calhoon, recently licensed by Hanover Pres- 
 bytery, accompanied him as an associate. In some 
 respects he was the reverse of Allen, but not less de- 
 voted. Sedate, unaffected, sincere, and conscientious 
 from his very childhood, which had been spent in a 
 pious home, he entered Hampden-Sidney at an early 
 age, and was one of the converts of the revival of 1787. 
 At the request of William Hill, a fellow-student, he 
 brought back from his father's house the book — 
 " Alleine's Alarm"— the perusal of which was the first 
 occasion of serious inquiry among the students. Along 
 with Allen, Blythe, Hill, and Eead, he was associated 
 in the meetings and efforts by which the revival was 
 promoted and extended. On the 12th of May, 1792, 
 he was licensed to preach, and a few months after- 
 ward set out with Allen on his trip to Kentucky. He 
 was at this time only twenty years of age. 
 
 Both entered zealously upon their work. Both 
 
KENTUCKY, 1775-1800. 409 
 
 travelled extensively among the infant and scattered 
 settlements of Kentucky. Their several characters 
 were strongly in contrast in some respects, but each 
 was wellnigh unrivalled in his own sphere. Calhoon 
 was more grave, but equally self-possessed. Calm, 
 resolute, clear in thought and purpose, with a readiness 
 and promptness of utterance that put him always at 
 his ease, he was prepared for any occasion. Pleasing 
 anecdotes are narrated of his perfect self-possession 
 and quickness of retort. He wrote few sermons; but 
 in his extempore efforts his thoughts were carefully 
 meditated and arranged. His work, like that of his 
 friend Allen, was faithfully and energetically accom- 
 plished. Dividing their labors between Kentucky and 
 Virginia, they accomplished, each in his sphere, a vast 
 amount of labor. 
 
 Meanwhile, feeble as were the beginnings of the 
 Presbyterian Church in Kentucky, it was still further 
 weakened by schism and secession. A large number 
 of the Presbyterians who had settled in the region 
 clung with a bigoted affection to the exclusive use of 
 the old version of the Psalms. The Synod of New 
 York and Philadelphia in 1787 allowed " that Dr. 
 Watts's imitation of David's Psalms, as revised by the 
 Eev. Mr. Barlow, be sung in the churches and families 
 under their care ;" while at the same time they dis- 
 claimed all disapproval of Rouse's version, leaving it 
 to each congregation to judge and select for them- 
 selves. 
 
 This was, in the view of many, the toleration and 
 (jruasi-encouragement of a dangerous innovation. But, 
 in spite of opposition, it was rapidly gaining ground. 
 The young preachers especially were decidedly in favor 
 of Watts, and in some cases fanned a flame of prejudice 
 against themselves by advocating the innovation. Old 
 Mr. Finley was so apprehensive of the effects upon his 
 Vol. I.— 35 
 
410 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 own congregation of the use of Watts by Allen and 
 Marshall during their brief stay in the neighborhood 
 of Bedstone fort, that he begged them to desist. 
 "Never fear," said Allen: "God will bring order out 
 of it." And he did. The young people and the great 
 mass of the congregation had no special attachment 
 to Rouse's version, and crowded to hear the young 
 preachers. The powerful revival referred to above 
 soon commenced. 
 
 But the most disastrous results of the change ini- 
 tiated were felt in Kentucky. Quite a large number 
 of the Presbyterian settlers were from Scotland and 
 strongly attached to the Associate Synod. They needed 
 only a champion of Bouse, to give him a warm support. 
 
 This champion soon appeared; but his own character 
 injured the cause he advocated, and gave occasion for 
 sad divisions. Adam Rankin, born in Western Penn- 
 sylvania, was on his mother's side descended from one 
 of the Scottish martyrs. In his childhood he had heard 
 from her lips the terrible story of the massacre in which 
 that ancestor had fallen a victim, and it never lost its 
 impression. From the moment of his birth he was dedi- 
 cated to the ministry. But his nature was a strange 
 compound. He seemed to inherit all the stirring energy 
 with no little of the disputatious spirit of the most im- 
 practical and theorizing of the martyrs of the Covenant. 
 Obstinate and opinionated, nothing could control his 
 headstrong purpose. With something of humorous sar- 
 casm and acute -reasoning on minor points, he was no 
 logician, and made up for his lack in this respect by a 
 Lutheran coarseness of expression. His opponents were 
 " swine," " sacrilegious robbers," " hypocrites," " deists," 
 " blasphemers." In his disposition there was a dash of 
 enthusiasm, bordering on fanaticism. He believed in 
 dreams : a dream led him to leave his native home ; a 
 dream was his warrant for opposing Watts's version of 
 
KENTUCKY, 1775-1800. 411 
 
 the Psalms. He met his death at the outset of his con- 
 templated journey to Jerusalem, — a journey to which 
 he had been impelled by a dream, or his visionary views 
 of the prophecies. 
 
 In 1784 he was laboring in Augusta county, Va., 
 when a call reached him from the Presbyterians of 
 Lexington, who were endeavoring to secure the organ- 
 ization of the Mount Zion church. He repaired to the 
 field to which he had been invited, and immediately 
 found himself surrounded by a large congregation. On 
 sacramental occasions, not less than five hundred com- 
 municants, it is said, sometimes participated. These 
 scenes, somewhat approaching the character of the 
 camp-meetings which were soon to be introduced, were 
 congenial to Rankin's taste. They allowed full scope 
 for his peculiar energies. His own sensibilities were 
 intensely excited, and at length seemed to acquire a 
 morbid character. But the question of psalmody was 
 still paramount to all others. Before Transylvania 
 Presbytery (1786) was constituted — at the Conference 
 of 1785, when "Father" Rice was the only ordained 
 minister present beside himself — Rankin, who had re- 
 sided in Kentucky but a few months, brought the sub- 
 ject to the attention of the body. It was composed, 
 besides two ministers, Rice and Rankin himself, of two 
 probationers, Crawford and Templin, and twenty-three 
 representatives of twelve different congregations. The 
 harmony of the Conference was in great danger of being 
 disturbed. The psalmody question at such a crisis could 
 he regarded only as an apple of discord. But he stood 
 alone in his views; and, while he regarded his minis- 
 terial brethren as latitudinarian, they were constrained 
 to regard him as little less than a bigot. 
 
 The action of the Synod in 1787 greatly dissatisfied 
 him. Instead of regarding the kind counsel of that 
 body upon the subject, he was only irritated by it. 
 
412 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 His Indignation broke out in censorious invectives. 
 The Presbyterian clergy he accounted deists and blas- 
 phemers, rejecters of Eevelation and revilers of the 
 word of God. From the communion of his own church 
 he unceremoniously debarred all Watts's admirers. 
 
 Such was his zeal in the matter that he attended the 
 first General Assembly at Philadelphia, in 1789, and, 
 though he bore no commission, handed in an overture 
 and a request to be heard upon the subject. His object 
 was to obtain a repeal of the resolution of the old 
 Synod, allowing the use of Watts in the churches. He 
 was patiently heard and considerately and kindly ad- 
 vised; but the charity which the Synod recommended 
 him to exercise accorded neither with his character nor 
 his principles. 
 
 More vehement than ever, he shielded himself under 
 the pretence of a divine warrant extended to him in 
 dreams. Parodying the words of Christ, his reply on 
 one occasion to a question addressed him was, " Tell 
 me, was the institution of Watts of heaven or of men, 
 and I will tell you by what authority I did these 
 things." He would displace Watts to restore Eouse, 
 yet gave his own night-visions a place above the autho- 
 rity not only of reason, but of the word of God. 
 
 His unwarrantable proceedings could no longer be 
 passed over in silence by the Presbytery. A com- 
 mittee of prosecution was appointed to examine the 
 allegations against him, and, if necessary, make ar- 
 rangements for a trial. The result of their labors ap- 
 peared in several formal charges and specifications. 
 He was cited for trial, but, from reasons easily to be 
 surmised, refused to appear. Precipitately withdraw- 
 ing from the country, he remained absent two years. 
 Kev. James Blythe was appointed to fill his pulpit, upon 
 the request of his congregation for a supply. 
 
 "Upon his return, the citations w T ere renewed. The 
 
KENTUCKY, 1776-1800. 413 
 
 trial came on, April 2f>, 171)2. After a protracted in- 
 vestigation, he was found guilty of traducing his breth- 
 ren, unwarrantably excluding applicants from the 
 Lord's Supper, and narrating his dreams as revela- 
 tions from heaven. When summoned to hear the 
 opinion of the court, he refused to acknowledge his 
 fault or make any concessions. " I appeal," he cried, 
 "to God, angels, and men. I protest against the pro- 
 ceedings of this Presbytery, and will be no longer a 
 member of the Transylvania Presbytery." Having 
 said this, he withdrew, accompanied by his elder. For 
 this open contempt of jurisdiction the Presb3 7 tery sus- 
 pended him from the exercise of ministerial functions 
 until the next stated session. 
 
 This, however, he was prepared to disregard. He 
 had not taken the step without calculating his strength. 
 No sooner had he pronounced his declinature, than a 
 hundred of the spectators stepped forward and, giving 
 him the right hand of fellowship, pledged themselves 
 to sustain him. A general meeting of his followers was 
 soon held, and measures were matured for a separate 
 organization. Commissioners appeared, representing 
 portions of twelve congregations and five hundred 
 families. A narrative of events and declaration of 
 principles was drawn up by Eankin. The Presbytery 
 were forced to meet it by a counter-statement, and, in 
 consequence of his contumacy, to depose him from the 
 ministry and declare his charge vacant. Artful mis- 
 representations of the matter were spread abroad by 
 Rankin's adherents. He was represented as a martyr 
 to his adherence to House's Version, and was thus com- 
 mended to the sympathies of the Associate Reformed, 
 with whom he united in 1793. 
 
 From this period his cause received no new accession 
 of strength. In 1798, Armstrong and Fulton, mission- 
 aries from the Associate Church of Scotland, visited 
 
 35* 
 
414 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 Kentucky, and Rankin's followers left him to join them. 
 His own church clung to him with devoted attachment, 
 and, when he broke off from the Associate Reformed, 
 became Independent. But his cause continued steadily 
 to decline, till it became almost utterly insignificant. 
 Its only effect had been to rend congregations in sun- 
 der, distract them with dissensions, and convulse them 
 with disputes, disturbing the harmony of the Church 
 and aggravating the difficulties of the field as a sphere 
 for missionary effort. 
 
 These difficulties, and others disconnected with them, 
 were to be met by fresh bands of Presbyterian mission- 
 aries. In 1792, Rev. James Blythe entered the field. 
 He was a native of North Carolina, and of Scottish ex- 
 traction. His education was acquired at Hampden-Sid- 
 ney College, where for a time he was the only member 
 w T ho had made a profession of religion. His serious- 
 ness, however, vanished as he mingled with his thought- 
 less associates; nor was his careless course arrested 
 till almost forcing his way into the room of a fellow- 
 student, the late Dr. Hill, he found him reading the 
 Bible. Attempting to sneer at this oddity in a fellow- 
 student, he was stung by the reproof of the reply, and 
 found no peace till he had retraced his steps and found 
 peace in his neglected Saviour. From this moment he 
 broke loose from the snares that surrounded him, and 
 gave himself up without reserve to the cause of Christ. 
 After his graduation in 1789, he pursued the study 
 of theology under Dr. Hall, of North Carolina. He 
 was licensed by the Orange Presbytery, and visited 
 Kentucky as a missionary in 1791. On July 25, 1793, 
 he was ordained pastor of Pisgah and Clear Creek 
 Churches. Like his brethren of this period in Ten- 
 nessee, he carried his rifle and rode with his holsters, 
 for fear of hostile attack from the Indians. For nearly 
 forty years he labored in this field, mainly in conncc- 
 
KENTUCKY, 1775-1800. 415 
 
 tion with the Pisgah church. For a long period lie 
 was a professor, and for twelve or fifteen years acting 
 President, of Transylvania University. Subsequently 
 he was President of South Hanover College, in In- 
 diana. 
 
 Almost at the same time with Btythe, or shortly 
 afterward, Thomas Cleland, John Poage Campbell, 
 and Samuel Rannells united with Transylvania Pres- 
 bytery. Eannells was a native of Virginia, and a licen- 
 tiate of the Presbytery of Lexington. Early in 1795 
 he visited Kentucky as one of the Synod's missionaries. 
 For twenty-two years he continued pastor of the 
 united churches of Paris and Stonermouth. Zealous 
 and indefatigable, and remarkably gifted in prayer, his 
 moderate abilities were made effective in conjunction 
 with a devoted piety. 
 
 John P. Campbell was unquestionably the most bril- 
 liant, in point of intellect, of the whole pioneer band. 
 At fourteen years of age he removed with his father 
 to Kentucky, and was one of the first of " Father" 
 Bice's pupils in Transylvania Grammar-School. He 
 returned to Virginia to complete his studies, and at 
 the age of nineteen took charge of an academy at 
 Williamsburg, North Carolina. At this time he had, 
 unfortunately, imbibed infidel sentiments; but he was 
 afterward converted by the perusal of " Jenyns on the 
 Internal Evidences of Christianity." From this time 
 his views were directed toward the ministry. In 1790 
 he was graduated at Ilampden-Sidney, and, after study- 
 ing with William Graham and Moses Hoge, was li- 
 censed to preach in May, 1792. After laboring a short 
 time in Virginia, he removed in 1795 to Kentucky, 
 where his first charge was the churches of Smyrna and 
 Flemingsburg, in Fleming county. 
 
 His subsequent labors were in the regions of Dan- 
 ville, Nicholasville, Cherry Spring, Versailles, Lexing- 
 
416 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 ton, and Chill ico the. His life was at times one of 
 severe hardship. His salary was small and insufficient; 
 while his pride kept him from disclosing his neces- 
 sities. 
 
 His eminent gifts forced him into the position of a 
 controversialist in defence of the Church at a critical 
 period of her history. For this post of distinction he 
 was well fitted. He was an accurate and well-read 
 theologian. His mind was acute and discriminating, 
 quick to unravel the fallacies of the sophist and detect 
 the weak points of an adversary. He was a man of 
 fine taste; and his style was elaborate and elegant. 
 No pen was so efficient as his in the subsequent con- 
 flict with the Arminian New Lights, led off by Stone. 
 The Pelagianism of Craighead was soon exposed by 
 his vigorous handling. His works on Baptism, although 
 considered too learned for popular use, were not with- 
 out their influence in settling the views of many. In 
 the pulpit, a graceful and energetic elocution, a delivery 
 not fluent, but animated, combined with solidity of 
 matter and grace of style to give him reputation 
 in his early ministry. His appearance was such as 
 well became the orator. Tall and slender in person, 
 his deep-set, dark-blue eyes, under strong excitement, 
 flashed like lightning from under his jutting forehead. 
 Competent judges pronounced him one of the most 
 talented, popular, and influential ministers in the coun- 
 try. With the shining gifts, he had also the infirmities, 
 of genius. His delicate nervous organization ren- 
 dered him acutely sensitive and easily irritated. Ee- 
 peatedly he changed his field of labor. Restless and 
 aspiring, he bore with some discontent the poverty he 
 was too proud to confess, and could not endure to yield 
 where his honor appeared to be concerned. 
 
 Thomas Cleland was born in Maryland, and at an 
 early age removed to Kentucky. His religious im- 
 
KENTUCKY, 1775-1800. 417 
 
 pressions were deepened under the preaching of Dr. 
 Blythe, with whom he pursued his si iiolies at Pisgah Aca- 
 demy. Although occasionally serving as an exhorter, 
 
 it was not till 1801 that he entered upon the active 
 labors of the ministry. From this period his efforts 
 were largely blessed. Several revivals took place 
 under his ministry, and in connection with the judica- 
 tures of the Church his name occupied a high rank. 1 
 
 In 1795, Joseph P. Howe, from North Carolina, en- 
 tered the field, and was ordained over Little Mountain 
 (Mount Sterling) and Springfield. A devoted man, 
 although of moderate abilities, lie took a conspicuous 
 part in the Great Revival of 1800. In 1796, he was 
 followed by James Welch, a missionary of the Synod 
 of Virginia, afterw r ard ordained pastor of the Lex- 
 ington and Georgetown churches. He was afterward 
 appointed Professor of Ancient Languages in Transyl- 
 vania University. 
 
 In 1797, John Lyle and Archibald Cameron brought 
 a new accession of strength. Lyle was of Irish de- 
 scent, and born in Rockbridge county, Virginia. He 
 labored on the farm with his father, who, on principle, 
 would not own slaves. When twenty years of age, he 
 was converted, and became desirous of devoting him- 
 self to the ministry. Overcoming difficulties that 
 would have discouraged others, he completed his stu- 
 dies at Liberty Hall in 1794, pursued his theological 
 course with William Graham, and was licensed by 
 Lexington Presbytery, April 21, 1796. For some years 
 he labored as a missionary in Kentucky, and in 1800 
 took charge of the churches of Salem and Sugar Ridge, 
 in Clark county. Subsequently he occupied other 
 fields, but was eminently efficient in promoting the 
 cause of education and checking the excesses of the 
 
 See Life of Cleland, by his son. 
 
418 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 Revival, which commenced almost contemporaneously 
 with his removal to Kentucky. 
 
 Cameron was a native of Scotland, but removed 
 with his father's family to Kentucky in 1781. His 
 literary course was pursued at Transylvania Seminary 
 and at Bardstown, and his theological under the charge 
 of "Father" Rice. In 1796 or 1797, he was installed 
 over the churches of Akron and Fox Run, in Shelby 
 county, and Big Spring, in Nelson county. For several 
 years his labors in this region were abundant. Many 
 churches were organized and built up under his effi- 
 cient instrumentality. With " a mind cast in the finest 
 mould," and possessed of a ripe scholarship, he was 
 also gifted with keen powers of satire, and in contend- 
 ing for the truth was remarkably direct and pungent. 
 In his bluntness of manner he was a John Knox. 
 He possessed great shrewdness and independence of 
 thought. His extemporaneous address was charac- 
 terized by method, chasteness, and beauty. In prayer, 
 rich evangelical thought was blended with hallowed 
 tenderness and devout elevation of heart. For nearly 
 forty years he pursued his course of extended and 
 hallowed labor. 
 
 In 1798, the number of laborers was increased by 
 the installation of Robert Stuart, Robert "Wilson, and 
 John Howe. Stuart was a native of Rockbridge 
 county, Ya., and, like his kinsman Campbell, could 
 trace back his lineage to that eminent Scottish divine, 
 Rutherford. He was first awakened under the preach- 
 ing of Dr. Alexander, at New Monmouth Church, 
 studied at Liberty Hall, was licensed by Lexington 
 Presbytery in 1796, and, after performing missionary 
 service in Virginia, directed his course to Kentucky. 
 In December, 1798, he was appointed Professor of Lan- 
 guages in Transylvania University, but resigned his 
 post a few months later, to establish a private gram- 
 
KENTUCKY, 1775-1S00. 419 
 
 mar-school in Woodford county. Quite a number of 
 eminent men received their education under his train- 
 ing. In 1803, he preached to the Salem Church, and 
 in 1804 took charge of the church of Walnut Hill, six 
 miles east of Lexington, in connection with which he 
 labored forty years. Discreet and prudent, and some- 
 times called a " Moses" for his meekness, he was capa- 
 ble, when occasion demanded, of keen antagonism to 
 error; and the first publication which stung the Uni- 
 tarian President of Transylvania University was from 
 his pen. 
 
 Wilson, of Irish descent, was a native of Virginia. 
 Like Stuart, he performed missionary labor in his 
 native State before his removal to Kentucky. For 
 nearly twenty-five years he was settled at Washing- 
 ton, near Maysville; and the neighboring churches 
 were greatly indebted to his exertions. 
 
 John Howe was a native of South Carolina, but 
 completed his studies at Transylvania Seminary. He 
 studied theology with James Crawford, and was li- 
 censed in 1795. For several years he preached alter- 
 nately at Glasgow and Beaver Creek Churches, subse- 
 quently removing to Greensburg, Green county. He 
 was amiable, unostentatious, and useful and popular as 
 a preacher. Fifty-three years of his ministry were 
 spent in Kentucky. He then removed to Missouri, 
 where he died in 1856. 
 
 From the date of this accession, the number of minis- 
 ters multiplied rapidly, although not in proportion to 
 the demand made by the increase of population. Be- 
 fore the formation of the Synod, in 1802, the Pres- 
 bytery numbered on its list the names of Samuel 
 Robinson, Samuel Finley, James Vance, James Kem- 
 per, Samuel B. Robertson, John Bowman. John Thomp- 
 son, Matthew Houston, John Dunlavy, Isaac Tull, 
 William Mahon, John Evans Finley, Peter Wilson, 
 
420 HISTORY OP PRESBYTERIANTSM. 
 
 William Speer, James Balch, John Kan kin, Samuel 
 McAdow, Samuel Donnell, Jeremiah Abeel, together 
 with Eobert G. Craighead, James McGready, and 
 William McGee. The last three, with Bowman and 
 Thompson, were from North Carolina ; Houston, Vance, 
 and Mahon, from Virginia; Tull, Robinson, Dunlavy, 
 and McNemar, from Pennsylvania ; and Finley, from 
 South Carolina. 
 
 The field to be occupied was large and difficult. It 
 extended over the whole region west of the moun- 
 tains, with the exception of Tennessee and the field of 
 Bedstone and Ohio Presbyteries. Northward it ex- 
 tended beyond the Ohio, and to the east and west its 
 respective boundaries were civilization and barbarism. 
 A large population, in sparsely-settled districts, was 
 spread over this vast area. The labor of reaching 
 them was one of exceeding difficulty, and added new 
 discouragements to itinerant missionary labor. 
 
 Nor was the moral aspect of the field at all inviting. 
 The seeds of French infidelity had been sown broadcast 
 over it. Societies affiliated with the Jacobin Club of 
 Philadelphia were'formed (1793) at Lexington, George- 
 town, and Paris. Politically, they were violent and 
 dogmatic; morally, they were corrupting, and in re- 
 spect to religion utterly infidel. The nomenclature 
 of towns and counties still attests the French sym- 
 pathies of the first settlers. It is quite significant of 
 the state of social morals that at this period French 
 agents were able to enlist two thousand recruits within 
 the bounds of the State to attack the Spanish posses- 
 sions on the Mississippi. 
 
 Nor was this all. Years had passed in many settle- 
 ments before they were visited by a single missionary, 
 or were reminded, by his presence and words, of reli- 
 gious ordinances. A backwoods life created an irre- 
 pressible passion for excitement. Lawlessness largely 
 
421 
 
 prevailed. Family education and religion fell into neg- 
 lect. The intense cupidity of the settlers, fed by con- 
 stant speculation, and incited b}* land-jobbing, litiga- 
 tion, and feuds of various kinds, tended to social de- 
 moralization. The variety of religious bodies on the 
 ground, each to some extent at variance within itself, — 
 the Baptists wrangling between Eegulars and Sepa- 
 rates, and the Presbyterians convulsed by the ques- 
 tion of Psalmody, — greatly aggravated the difficulty. 
 Evangelical effort, instead of presenting an unbroken 
 front, was torn with intestine feuds and weakened by 
 division. The enemies of religion were not slow to 
 take advantage of this state of things. Jeffersonian 
 influence was as strong west as east of the mountains. 
 In 1793, the services of a chaplain to the Legislature 
 were dispensed with. The measure was mainly signi- 
 ficant as showing the influences which were ascendant 
 in high places. A revolution was effected at the same 
 time in the Transylvania Seminary by placing at its 
 head a disciple of Priestley, and thus virtually alien- 
 ating with utter contempt the early friends who had 
 toiled and endured so much to lay its foundation on 
 the basis of Christian truth. An apostate Baptist min- 
 ister was chosen Governor of the State. No public 
 remonstrance was raised in consequence of these pro- 
 ceedings. Before the close of the century, a decided 
 majority of the population of the State were reputed 
 to be infidels. As might naturally be expected, vice 
 and dissipation attended this influx of fatal error. 
 
 It was no easy task — and it required no ordinary 
 boldness to venture — to stem the tide. It seemed to 
 roll, with irresistible power over the whole region. 
 The few who should have girded themselves for the 
 work were divided among themselves. The last hope 
 of recovering the ground lost appeared to be fast dying 
 away. Yet it was at this very crisis that a reaction 
 
 Vol. I.— 36 
 
422 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 commenced. The Great Revival, which marks the 
 opening of the present century, with all its extrava- 
 gances and excesses, effectually arrested the universal 
 tide of skepticism and irreligion. It began when reli- 
 gion was at the lowest ebb, and spread over a region 
 that to superficial view was proof against its influence. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 RISE OF PRESBYTERIANISM IN TENNESSEE, 1775-1800. 
 
 Returning now to the fountain-head of Presbyte- 
 rian emigration in Virginia, we take note of another 
 branch of the current, following the line of the Holston. 
 In 1785, Abingdon Presbytery was erected by a divi- 
 sion of the original Hanover Presbytery. It embraced 
 the churches of Southwestern Virginia, and extended 
 so as to include the new settlements on the Holston, 
 in what is now Eastern Tennessee. In 1797, twelve 
 years from its formation, — although Transylvania Pres- 
 bytery was formed from it in 1786, — it numbered thirty- 
 six congregations ; while three others which had been 
 under its care had become almost, if not quite, extinct. 1 
 Of these, eleven were within the State of Virginia, nine- 
 teen were in Tennessee, and seven were in the western 
 part of North Carolina. 2 More than two-thirds of the 
 whole number were at that time vacant, — viz. : New 
 Dublin, Austinville, Graham's Meeting-House, Adam's 
 Meeting-House, Davis's, Upper Holston or Ebbing 
 
 1 Report to General Assembly, 1797. 
 
 8 Nearly all, however, were within the limits of what is now the 
 State of Tennessee. 
 
TENNESSEE, 1775-1800. 423 
 
 Spring, Glade Spring, Rock Spring, Sinking Spring, 
 Green Spring, and Clinch Congregation, in Virginia; 
 Upper Concord, New Providence, New Bethel, Hebron, 
 Providence, Chesnut Ridge, Waggoner's Settlement, 
 Charter's Valley, Gap Creek Congregation, Pent Gap 
 and Oil Creek Congregations, Hopewell, Shunam, 
 Lower Concord, and Fork Congregation, in Tennessee ; 
 and Rimm's Creek Congregation, Mouth of Swananoa, 
 Head of French Broad, Tennessee Congregation, and 
 Grassy Valley, in North Carolina. 
 
 The pastors at that time were John Cossan at Jones- 
 borough, Samuel Doak at Salem, Hezekiah Balch at 
 Mount Bethel, James Balch at Sinking Spring, Robert 
 Henderson at Westminster, Samuel Carrick at Knox- 
 ville, and Gideon Blackburn at Eusebia and New 
 Providence. 
 
 The oldest of the Virginia congregations, that of 
 Upper Holston, or Ebbing Spring, had been in exist- 
 ence for twenty-five years, the others for shorter pe- 
 riods, varying from seven to twenty. In Tennessee, 
 those of Upper Concord, New Providence, Salem, 
 Mount Bethel, and Charter's Valley were organized in 
 1780 j New Bethel, in 1782; Providence, in 1784 ; Hope- 
 well, in 1785; Chesnut Ridge, Sinking Spring, New 
 Providence, Pent Gap, Oil Creek, and Westminster, in 
 1787; Fork Congregation, Shunam, 1 and Hebron, in 
 1790 ; Waggoner's Settlement and Lower Concord, in 
 1791; Gap Creek Congregation, in 1792; Knoxville, in 
 1793 ; and Jonesborough, in 1796. 
 
 Meanwhile, the Presbytery of Transylvania, formed 
 from that of Abingdon in 1786, and consisting of five 
 members only at the time of its erection, had out- 
 grown the parent Presbytery, and was last attaining 
 the dimensions of a Synod. Its field embraced the 
 
 1 Organized by Carrick perhaps a year or two later. 
 
424 HISTORY OF TRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 new settlements in Kentucky, and already extended 
 across the Ohio Eiver. Abingdon Presbytery thus 
 marked the grand route by which the pioneer columns 
 of the great Presbyterian army were moving on to 
 take possession of the new settlements beyond the 
 mountains. 
 
 At the commencement of the French War, about 
 fifty families had located on the Cumberland Eiver; but 
 these were driven off by the Indians. About the same 
 time the Shawnees, who had lived near the Savannah 
 Eiver, emigrated to the banks of the Cumberland and 
 settled near the present site of Nashville ; but they also 
 were driven away by the Cherokees. In 1755, a num- 
 ber of persons removed to the west of the present 
 bounds of North Carolina, and were the first perma- 
 nent colonists of Tennessee. By 1773 the population 
 had considerably increased; but in 1776 the Cherokees 
 were incited by British agents to attack the infant 
 and feeble settlements. Their incursions, however, 
 were repelled, and during the war Tennessee colonists 
 hastened to join their countrymen east of the moun- 
 tains in repelling the attacks of the foe upon the 
 Southern States. 
 
 At the close of the war, although the dangers of 
 Indian warfare were still imminent and the settler 
 stood in constant fear of savage ferocity, the vast ter- 
 ritory sparsely occupied by the Cherokees was too 
 inviting to be overlooked by pioneer enterprise ; and 
 the fair valley of the Holston was specially attractive. 
 A wilderness of two hundred miles intervened between 
 this region and the Kentucky settlements; but the 
 grant of military lands brought into the bounds of 
 what now constitutes the State not a few bold and 
 hardy men, who had been schooled in peril, and to 
 whom the trials of the wilderness were only a new 
 spur to enterprise and strange adventure. 
 
TENNESSEE, 1775-1800. 425 
 
 Those who were already on the ground — and they 
 Were largely composed of Presbyterians from the upper 
 counties of Maryland und from Pennsylvania — were in 
 constant danger from the hostile Indian tribes : yet, even 
 thus, they had not been unmindful of the need of gospel 
 ordinances. At Brown's Meeting-House, June 2, 1773, 
 a call was presented to Hanover Presbytery for the 
 services of Eev. Charles Cummings, by the congrega- 
 tions of Ebbing Spring and Sinking Spring, on the Hol- 
 ston. It was signed by one hundred and thirty heads of 
 families. The call was accepted ; and Mr. Cummings, 
 who had labored for several years in Augusta, removed 
 to his new field, as yet unoccupied by a single Presby- 
 terian minister, beyond the mountains. 
 
 It was amid strange scenes that the early years of 
 his pastorate in this region were passed. The Indians 
 were very troublesome, and during the summer months 
 the families were compelled, for safety, to collect toge- 
 ther in forts. Once (1776) Mr. Cummings himself came 
 near losing his life from a hostile attack. The men 
 never went to church except fully armed and taking 
 their families with them. Mr. Cummings did not fail 
 to set an example of precaution. On Sabbath morning 
 he was wont to "put on his shot-pouch, shoulder his 
 rifle, mount his dun stallion, and ride off to church." 
 There he met a large congregation, every man of whom 
 had his rifle in his hand. Stripping off his military ac- 
 coutrements and laying down .his rifle, the speaker 
 would preach two sermons, with a short interval be- 
 tween them, and the people would disperse. For more 
 than thirty years this pioneer of Presbyterianism in 
 Tennessee was known and revered as an exemplary 
 Christian and a faithful pastor. He was "a John Knox 
 in zeal and energy in support of his own Church." Be- 
 yond the bounds of his more immediate field he per 
 
 36* 
 
426 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 formed a great amount of missionary labor, the fruits 
 of which yet remain. 
 
 With the return of peace the tide of immigration 
 commenced anew. In 1782, Adam Eankin, whose name 
 is more intimately associated with the history of the 
 Church in Kentucky, was licensed to preach, and soon 
 visited the region of Holston. But he had been pre- 
 ceded four years by a man whose name deserves a more 
 permanent record. This was Samuel Doak, conjointly 
 with Cummings the founder of the Presbyterian Church 
 in East Tennessee. Of Scotch-Irish descent, in a hum- 
 ble but honorable condition of life, he early resolved to 
 secure himself an education. With this object in view, 
 he proposed to relinquish to his brothers his share in 
 the patrimonial inheritance and devote himself exclu- 
 sively to study. By great self-denial, he prepared him- 
 self for college, and in 1775 was graduated at Nassau 
 Hall. After studying theology with Dr. Eobert Smith, 
 of Pequa, he accepted the office of tutor in the then 
 new college of Hampden-Sidney. Here he continued 
 his theological studies, and was licensed to preach by 
 the Presbytery of Hanover, October 31, 1777. Almost 
 immediately he directed his steps to the Holston settle- 
 ments. The means of subsistence were very scarce, and 
 he was under the necessity of going thirty miles in the 
 direction of Abingdon for supplies. His family ran 
 great risk of being cut off in the Indian War. Eepeat- 
 edly he left his pulpit or his students to repair to the 
 camp at some hostile alarm. 
 
 Throughout his life, Dr. Doak was the devoted friend 
 of learning and religion. In 1781, he was a member of 
 the convention that framed the Constitution of " the 
 ancient commonwealth of Franklin," and secured in it 
 the provision for a university. At Little Limestone, in 
 Washington county, he purchased a farm, on which he 
 built a log house for the purposes of education, and a 
 
MHWE88M, 1775-1800. 427 
 
 small church -edifice, occupied by the "Salem congrega- 
 tion." This literary institution — the first that was ever 
 established in the Mississippi valley — was incorporated 
 in 1785 as " Martin Academy," and in 1795 it became 
 Washington College. Till 1818, Dr. Doak continued to 
 preside over it. Few men in the history of the Church 
 were better fitted, by wisdom, sagacity, energy, and 
 learning, to lay the foundations of social and religious 
 institutions than Dr. Doak. 
 
 Early in 1785 he was followed by a man of kindred 
 spirit, who was destined to exert a vast influence upon 
 this growing region. This was Hezekiah Balch, a 
 graduate of New Jersey College in the class of 1762. 
 After teaching for some years, he was licensed to preach 
 by the Presbytery of New Castle, and labored for several 
 years as a missionary within the bounds of Hanover 
 Presbytery, his field reaching from the Potomac in- 
 definitely toward the Pacific. After having labored 
 thus in various localities, mainly as an itinerant mis- 
 sionary, he directed his course to East Tennessee. 
 Here for more than twenty years his labors were abun- 
 dant; and Greenville College owes its existence to his 
 exertions. In May, 1785, he joined with Messrs. Cum- 
 mings and Doak in a request to Synod that a Presby- 
 tery might be formed embracing the territories of the 
 present States of Kentucky and Tennessee. The result 
 was that the Abingdon Presbytery was erected, — soon, 
 however, to be divided to compose the new Kentucky 
 Presbytery of Transylvania. Along with Doak, Cum- 
 mings, and Balch, the two new members Cossan and 
 Houston constituted the Presbytery of Abington after 
 the division. The last of these (Houston) had in 1783 
 accepted a call from the Providence congregation in 
 Washington county; but he labored in the field for only 
 about five years. 
 
 A valuable and efficient co-laborer in the pioneer mis- 
 
428 HISTORY OP I'RESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 sionary work of East Tennessee was found in a young 
 man by the name of Robert Henderson. He was one 
 of Doak's pupils soon after Martin Academy, in Wash- 
 ington county, was opened. Here he pursued his course 
 preparatory to entering the ministry. By Abingdon 
 Presbytery he was licensed in or about 1788, and took 
 charge of the two churches of Westminster and Hope- 
 well, the latter the present county-seat of Jefferson 
 county. Here he continued for more than twenty years; 
 and few of his associates .exerted a more extensive or 
 permanent influence. His powers of address were great 
 and varied. When, to use his own language, conscience 
 said, "Robert Henderson, do your duty," it mattered 
 not who composed his audience. !No man was spared; 
 and on one memorable occasion, when profanity was 
 his subject, and most others would have been overawed 
 by seeing some of the most notorious swearers in the 
 State present, his delineations, lashings, and denuncia- 
 tions are said to have been absolutely terrific. When 
 dealing with vice, he used a whip of scorpions. Yet his 
 moods were various, — now overwhelmingly solemn, now 
 witty and humorous, and again most severe and scath- 
 ing. With a matchless power of mimicry, and a perfect 
 command of voice, countenance, attitude, and gesture, 
 his flashes of wit or grotesquely humorous illustrations 
 would break from him in spite of himself, convulsing 
 with laughter an audience just trembling under his 
 bold, passionate, and at times awfully grand appeals. 
 He was aware of his own infirmity, and strove against 
 it; but it gave him a popularity and influence with the 
 masses such as few others have ever possessed. Thou- 
 sands of hearers on a single occasion would be subdued 
 and overwhelmed by his melting pathos. A crowd 
 was sure to gather where it was known that he was to 
 preach ; and his indescribable earnestness, emphatic 
 tones, and bold and striking gestures wcie "perfectly 
 
TENNESSEE, 1775-1800. 429 
 
 Irresistible." His longest sermons — and they were some- 
 times very long — were heard without impatience to 
 their close. His influence was felt less upon a select few 
 than upon the masses; and yet there were some whom 
 he helped to train who occupy a distinguished place in 
 the annals of the Presbyterian churches of the West. 
 Among th.ese was Gideon Blackburn. 
 
 In some respects the pupil surpassed his teacher. 
 With less of the comic element in his nature, and hold- 
 ing it always under perfect control, Blackburn was 
 none the less effective. He might be regarded as the 
 best personification of backwoods eloquence. What he 
 said to his pupils on the subject of rhetoric he seems 
 to have practised himself: — " There is one rule, not laid 
 down in the books, more important than all: — get your 
 head, heart, soul, full of 3^0111* subject, and then let nature 
 have its own way, despising all rule." A better illus- 
 tration of the application of the rule than he himself 
 afforded could not be found. His words, tone, manner, 
 were most solemn and impressive. Few men owed less 
 to education or art. He was first a student under Doak 
 at Martin's Academy, and afterward under the training 
 of Henderson. Like the latter, he declined the use of 
 notes in the pulpit, uniformly preferring the freedom 
 and effect of extemporaneous effort. 
 
 Nurtured amid hardships, and early forced to self- 
 reliance, he was exactly fitted to the sphere of life in 
 which his lot was cast. He could preach in coat-sleeves 
 or with his musket by his side, and with equal readiness 
 in the pulpit or from the stump. Without a dollar in 
 the world, and on the very outskirts of civilization, 
 amid the alarms of savage invasions, forced to accept 
 escorts of armed men from fort to fort, he began his 
 work. But the young preacher was daunted by 
 no fear, disheartened by no obstacle. In 1702, the 
 Presbytery of Abingdon had granted him his license, 
 
430 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 and within a few months he had charge of the two con- 
 gregations of New Providence and Eusebia, and had 
 organized several other neighboring churches. Shortly 
 after this, with Carrick, Kamsey, and Henderson, he 
 was associated in the first Presbytery formed in the 
 part of the country in which he labored. 
 
 Carrick was a pupil of Graham, at Augusta, Ya., and 
 labored for several years in that State. In 1791, he was 
 dismissed to the Abingdon Presbytery, and for several 
 years had the joint charge of the Knoxville and New 
 Lebanon Churches. In 1800, he was chosen by the 
 Legislature President of Blount College. In some re- 
 spects he presented a contrast to his associates. He 
 was of the old Virginia school of ministers, urbane, 
 even courtly, in his manners, and in the pulpit grave, 
 dignified, and solemn. His views of divine truth were 
 clear and definite; and they lost nothing by his mode 
 of exhibiting them. 
 
 The description that is left us 1 of his reception in the 
 field which was thenceforth to be the scene of his 
 active labors for many years, presents a graphic pic- 
 ture of the early settlements. Tradition reports that 
 in the spring of 1789 a party of hunters and land- 
 mongers pitched their tent just where the Lebanon 
 church-edifice now stands. The ancient forest still 
 overhung the spot, in all its primitive beauty, un- 
 disturbed by the echoes of the woodman's axe. The 
 oak, the poplar, and the elm lifted high above them 
 their lofty branches, "while the aroma of the walnut 
 and the hickory diffused around the camp their delight- 
 ful fragrance." Cedars and other evergreens were not 
 wanting to add to the finished beauty of the scene. 
 Grape-vines, springing from the virgin soil, and encir- 
 cling every trunk, spread themselves in lavish luxu- 
 
 ' Presbyterian Herald, Feb. 14, 1861. 
 
TENNESSEE, 1775-1S00. 431 
 
 riance among the tree-tops, or, clustering together in 
 beautiful festoons, formed a canopy and an arbor 
 around the temporary abode of the backwoodsmen. 
 The whole surrounding country was carpeted with 
 verdure, and the woods were adorned with their richest 
 foliage. With the " upland solitudes " and " the pensive 
 beauty of the river-bottoms," " the scene was lovely 
 in the extreme." 
 
 All west of the camp was one unbroken forest, in 
 the midst of which the Father of Waters rolled his 
 turbid tide. The pioneers had advanced beyond the 
 last landmark of civilization, and before them lay 
 the unbroken wilderness. Preparing to lay the found- 
 ation of stable and orderly government, their first 
 step was the appropriation of lands. Schooled in the 
 scenes of Eevolutionary conflict, some of them active 
 participants in the perils of the field, they yet retained 
 on the outskirts of civilization their love of liberty 
 regulated by law. 
 
 Here, then, they awaited the arrival of the surveyor. 
 He lived in the older settlements, on Limestone, in 
 Washington county. On his arrival, he received a 
 cordial greeting and a hearty welcome to the civilities 
 of the camp. He found the party all clad in domestic 
 fabrics, the product of their own industry, each wear- 
 ing the hunting-shirt and each armed with his trusty 
 rifle. The first salutations over, inquiries were imme- 
 diately made for the latest news from the older settle- 
 ments, and, among others, what new settlers had come 
 in. To the last inquiry the surveyor replied by enu- 
 merating the new emigrants, and among others men- 
 tioned the arrival on Limestone of a Presbyterian 
 minister by the name of Samuel Carrick. 
 
 The little party were electrified by this intelligence, 
 and clustered around their informant, manifesting by 
 their demeanor the most exciting interest and intense 
 
432 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 curiosity. Most, perhaps all, of them were the sons 
 of pious parents, — children of the Covenant, — in the 
 older country had known the Sabbath and appreciated 
 its privileges, — had bowed in prayer or swelled with 
 their own voices the notes of praise, — had listened to 
 the preached word and had been impressed by its 
 truth. Yielding to the promptings of a restless spirit 
 of enterprise and adventure, they had forsaken the 
 altar and the fireside, and had thrown themselves 
 amid the rough scenes and rude social elements of the 
 Western frontier. Here, surrounded by heedless, if 
 not vicious, associates, they had become habituated to 
 Sabbath-desecration, if not to scenes of immorality 
 and vice. Most of them were now heads of families, 
 and identified with all the industrial and social inte- 
 rests of the new community of which they formed a 
 part. Their children were growing up around them 
 unbaptized, and in destitution of religious privileges. 
 In these circumstances, the scenes of their own youth 
 were revived with peculiar freshness ; conscience was 
 aroused, and memory recalled the Sabbath, the cate- 
 chism, the school-house, the ministry, and the ordi- 
 nances of other days. 
 
 Thus recalling the past, the enterprise and objects 
 of the present — staff, compass, land-warrant, and entry 
 — were for the moment forgotten, and they deter- 
 mined to appoint a day on which the strange minister 
 should be invited to preach in these new settlements. 
 The day was fixed • the spot was selected, — an Indian 
 mound near the confluence of the two rivers, — the 
 Fork. The surveyor bore back on his return the in- 
 vitation to Mr. Carrick. He accepted it, and, by a 
 strange coincidence, Hezekiah Balch chanced also to be 
 present on the same occasion. To the latter, as the 
 older man, Mr. Carrick courteously yielded the prece- 
 dence, and, after the sermon, remarked that he had 
 
TENNESSEE, 1775 1800. 433 
 
 selected the same subject and the same text, and, as 
 the subject was not and could not be exhausted, be 
 would pursue the theme. Tradition reports that the 
 text was, " We then are ambassadors for Christ," &c. 
 
 Attracted by the importance as well as the novelty 
 of the occasion, an immense crowd attended this first 
 religious meeting held in all the region. Some came 
 from what are now Sevier and Blount counties, armed 
 with guns to defend themselves from the possible attack 
 of the Cherokees. Parents brought their children with 
 them in order that they might be baptized. It was 
 soon after this that Mr. Carrick — universally acceptable 
 as a preacher — commenced his labors as a pastor of the 
 Lebanon Church in conjunction with Knoxville. 1 The 
 former he retained till 1803. 2 
 
 Ramsey was the last of the little band composing 
 the new Presbytery, to reach the Western field. He, 
 too, was a pupil of Graham of Virginia, and soon after 
 his licensure, in 1795, extended his missionary tour to 
 the " Southwestern Territory." 
 
 As he went from house to house in the frontier settle- 
 ments of Knox county, near which a brother of his 
 had resided for several years, he found the people 
 anxious to enjoy the privileges of the gospel. At each 
 cabin a hearty welcome greeted him, and a cordial 
 
 1 The first church in Knoxville was never regularly organized. 
 Carrick, after preaching at the Fork, began to preach a part of his 
 time in Knoxville (1793-1794), and at a later date to administer the 
 ordinances. The elders of the Fork assisted, and subsequently 
 acted a« elders in Knoxville. — Dr. McCampbell, in the Presbyterian 
 Herald, Feb. 1861. 
 
 2 " The first Sabbath I spent in Tennessee," says Dr. John 
 McCampbell, "was in the Fork Church, July, 1803. There was no 
 minister present on that day. The exercises of public worship 
 were as follows: — two sermons were read, one by Col. F. A. Ram- 
 sey, the other by Archibald Rhea. Four prayers were offered, with 
 singing." 
 
 Vol. I.- -37 
 
434 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 wish was expressed that the young man would remain 
 in the country and organize churches in the wilder- 
 ness. He went from fort to fort and station to station, 
 preaching to multitudes who had not for years heard 
 a Presbyterian sermon. Thousands came out to listen 
 to the strange minister. They followed him from place 
 to place, and hung in rapt attention upon his lips. 
 Young Ramsey felt that he was not at liberty to neglect 
 the Macedonian cry that followed him from the Western 
 wilderness back to Virginia. In 1797, he returned to 
 Tennessee, and settled at Mount Ebenezer, eleven miles 
 west of Knoxville. Here he extended his labors over 
 a vast surrounding region, ministering to several con- 
 gregations, and tasking his powers to the utmost, till 
 he sank under his burden. Gentle, winning, concilia- 
 tory, and prudent, he bound his people to himself by 
 the strongest ties, while his whole course, eminently un- 
 selfish and self-denying, commanded universal respect. 
 
 Such were the men who led the way in planting the 
 Presbyterian Church in Tennessee. Of varied gifts, 
 untiring zeal, and entire consecration to their work, 
 they were eminently successful. Under their eyes and 
 by their hands the foundations of the Church were 
 firmly laid in a new region, where it was to be widely 
 extended. 
 
 Yet this early period was not without its peculiar 
 trials. The Presbytery of Abingdon was connected 
 with the Synod of the Carolinas ; and the attention of 
 the latter was repeatedly called to questions gene- 
 rating strife and division that had risen west of the 
 mountains. Hezekiah Balch was a decided Hopkinsian. 
 He had visited New England, and from the lips of the 
 very author of the " New Divinity" had heard his views 
 expounded. These views commended themselves to 
 his own mind, and he was charged with saying that 
 he was " fifty thousand times stronger" in his peculiar 
 
435 
 
 belief " than he was before be went away." His only 
 objection to the charge was that it was not strong 
 enough : the fifty thousand should have been five hun- 
 dred thousand. 
 
 Some of his church, as well as of his ministerial breth- 
 ren, were greatly dissatisfied. They complained of his 
 Hopkinsianism and kindred errors, as they regarded 
 them. All this, however, did not constitute his real 
 crime. There were others who held Hopkinsian views, 
 and some who were far more eminent in the Presby- 
 terian Church than Mr. Balch. But he was indiscreet. 
 His convictions were strong, his feelings ardent, and 
 he acted often from impulse rather than judgment. In 
 his own congregation some unwise measures had been 
 adopted which brought him into variance with his Ses- 
 sion. Suits at law were threatened against him. A 
 new Session was constituted, and Presbytery and Synod 
 had to interfere repeatedly to restore peace. Yet none 
 could question the piety, or Christian spirit generally, 
 of Mr. Balch. His labors were unremitting and efficient 
 in promoting the cause of religion and learning. His 
 journey to New England was more to collect funds for 
 his college than to listen to the apostle of the New 
 Divinity. But he had a strong propensity to overlook 
 consequences; and it was not his nature to consult pru- 
 dence. 
 
43G HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXI. 
 
 GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 1800-1815. 
 
 The commencement of the present century opened a 
 new era in the history of the American Presbyterian 
 Church. A revived missionary spirit gave enlarged 
 scope and increased energy to its operations. Almost 
 simultaneously, in New York, Pennsylvania, and New 
 England, missionary societies were formed to extend to 
 the frontier settlements and among the Indian tribes 
 the knowledge of the gospel. Of these the New York 
 Missionary Society took the lead. It was formed Nov. 
 1, 1796. A few months later, the Northern Missionary 
 Society, embracing the region in Northern New York, 
 was organized. In May, 1797, the Connecticut General 
 Association formed itself into a missionary society 
 The Massachusetts Society was formed in the following 
 year. Almost contemporary was the Berkshire and 
 Columbia Missionary Society ; and in 1802, the Western 
 Missionary Society at Pittsburg commenced operations. 
 But for the alarm occasioned by the presence of the 
 yellow fever in Philadelphia, a kindred society would 
 have been formed there in 1798. x 
 
 The effect of this newly-enkindled missionary zeal, 
 extending to different denominations, was to promote 
 fraternal feeling and hearty co-operation. The New 
 York Society sustained for a period a Baptist mission- 
 ary to the Indians of Central New York, whom the 
 
 1 Dr. Green's letter, in the N. Y. Miss. Mag., i. 110. 
 
GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 1S00-1S15. 437 
 
 churches of his own order were too feeble to support. 
 In the plan for social prayer adopted (Jan. is, I798)by 
 
 the directors of the society, the second Wednesday ©ven- 
 ing of every month was appointed to be observed as a 
 season for concert of prayer, and the meetings were to 
 be held in rotation in the Eeformed Dutch, Presbyterian, 
 and Baj>tist churches. The General Assembly partook 
 largely of this fraternal and co-operative spirit. This 
 is manifest in the "plan for correspondence and inter- 
 course" between the Presbyterian, Eeformed Dutch, 
 and Associate Eeformed Churches, which was adopted 
 by the Assembly of 1799. In this, "the communion of 
 particular Churches, the friendly interchange of minis- 
 terial services, and a correspondence of the several 
 judicatories of the conferring Churches" were recom- 
 mended, and the report favoring it was unanimously 
 adopted by the Assembly. 1 
 
 Nor was this all. The wants of the mission-field al- 
 ready opened to Christian effort in New York and Ohio 
 demanded the united efforts of Presbyterians and Con- 
 gregationalists. The Connecticut Association had re- 
 solved itself into a missionary society, and its mission- 
 aries were already to be found in friendly co-operation 
 with the ministers sent out by the Assembly to itine- 
 rate through Central and Western New York. It was 
 of the highest importance that there should be no de- 
 nominational conflict or collision. The claims of mis- 
 sionary evangelization were felt by both parties to be 
 paramount to all denominational interests. With the 
 best intentions, and " with a view to prevent aliena- 
 tion and promote union and harmony in these new set- 
 tlements, which are composed of inhabitants from these 
 bodies," the General Association of Connecticut pro- 
 posed to the General Assembly of 1801 "a plan op 
 
 1 Rejected, however, by the other bodies. 
 
 37* 
 
438 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 union." This plan strictly enjoined " mutual forbear- 
 ance and accommodation." It allowed a Congrega- 
 tional church to settle a Presbyterian pastor, reserving 
 to him the privilege of appeal to Presbytery or to a 
 mutual council equally composed of Presbyterians and 
 Congregationalists. In case a Presbyterian church set- 
 tled a Congregational pastor, he might (appeal to, or) 
 be tried by his Association, or a mutual council equally 
 constituted of both denominations. In a Congrega- 
 tional church, the body of the male communicants of 
 the church constituted the virtual Session ; yet here 
 the appeal might be to a mutual council or to Presby- 
 tery, in which the delegate of the church should have 
 the right to sit and act as a ruling elder. 
 
 Exception might have been taken to the irregular 
 constitution of inferior judicatories in which these prin- 
 ciples should be adopted and allowed to prevail; but no 
 objection was urged. It was felt that the strictness of 
 ecclesiastical forms should be held subordinate to the 
 higher objects of Christian effort, and that to sacrifico 
 the last to the first would be but to " tithe mint, anise, and 
 cummin," against the " weightier matters of the law." 1 
 
 1 [There was no such diversity of views or ecclesiastical prefer- 
 ences as to justify collision or to excite mutual suspicions between 
 the two bodies ; and every Christian principle demanded just that 
 co-operation which the Plan of Union secured. In proof of this, 
 we quote the following statement of views and polity. 
 
 In 1799, the Hartford North Association of Ministers, composed 
 of such men as Drs. Strong and Flint, of Hartford, and Dr. Perkins, 
 of West Hartford, made the following declaration of their princi- 
 ples : — 
 
 " This Association give information to all whom it may concern, 
 that the constitution of the churches in the State of Connecticut, 
 founded on the common usages, and the Confession of Faith, Heads 
 of Agreement, and articles of Church Discipline, adopted at the 
 earliest period of the settlement of the State, is not Congregational, 
 but contains the essentials of the government of the Church of Scotland, 
 
GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 1800-1818. 439 
 
 Such were the feelings of the time. No one called in 
 question the wisdom of the plan till experience had re- 
 vealed its defects. The next fifteen years were to 
 
 or [the] Presbyterian Church in America; particularly as it gives a 
 decisive power to ecclesiastical councils ; and a Consociation, consist- 
 ing of ministers and messengers, or a lay representation from the 
 churches, is possessed of substantially the same authority as Pres- 
 bytery. The judgments, decisions, and censures in our churches 
 and in the Presbyterian are mutually deemed valid. The churches, 
 therefore, in Connecticut at large, and in our district in particular, are 
 not now, and never were, from the earliest period of our settlement, Con- 
 gregational churches, according to the ideas and forms of church order 
 contained in the Book of Discipline called the Cambridge Plat- 
 form. There are, however, scattered over the State perhaps ten or 
 twelve churches [unconsociated) which are properly called Congre- 
 gational, agreeably to the rules of church discipline in the book 
 above mentioned. Sometimes, indeed, the associated Churches of 
 Connecticut are loosely and vaguely, though improperly, termed 
 Congregational. While our Churches in the State at large are, in 
 the most essential and important respects, the same as the Presby- 
 terian, still in minute and unimportant points of church order and 
 discipline both we and the Presbyterian Church in America acknow- 
 ledge a difference."] F. 
 
 The fact, is also stated (Am. Quar. Reg., Aug. 1839) that in 1790, 
 by the General Association of Connecticut, "a further union with 
 Presbyterians was declared to be expedient," and a committee of 
 correspondence was appointed for the accomplishing of this object. 
 
 For many years after the adoption of the Plan of Union, the dis- 
 position to favor the Presbyterian system continued. The action of 
 the General Association in repeated instances is quite decisive on 
 this point, to say nothing of the avowed sentiments of many of the 
 leading ministers of the State. In 1812, the question of the mutual 
 relation of pastor and people was brought up for discussion in con- 
 nection with the subject of the frequent changes and removal of 
 pastors; and among other conclusions was the following : — " that this 
 scheme of settling a minister places the dissolution of the contract 
 between him and his parishioners chiefly in the power of the con- 
 tracting parties, and to a great extent removes it from under the 
 control of an ecclesiastical council ; that, in consequence of this fact, 
 
440 HISTORY OP PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 decide grave questions in regard to the destiny of the 
 country as well as the prospects of the Presbyterian 
 Church. An unexampled emigration from the settled 
 regions of the East was to pour westward, swelled on 
 its course by heterogeneous elements from other lands. 
 The combined influence and effort of all who loved the 
 cause common to Presbyterians and the churches of 
 New England was necessary to control the current, or 
 direct it in the channels of sobriety and religion. With 
 unprecedented rapidity, new cities and villages were 
 to spring up in the forest and along the lines of traffic, 
 for whose urgent necessities of missionary and pastoral 
 labor both denominations united would be tasked to 
 furnish a supply. The time of conflict had come. The 
 great struggle of the century — to shape the future des- 
 tiny of a growing nation — had commenced. It forbade 
 all minor dissension, and demanded the hearty co-opera- 
 tion, on broad principles, of all who loved the common 
 cause. 
 
 The very spirit of the occasion did much to win the 
 battle. With the adoption of the " Plan of Union," a 
 new vigor seemed to pervade the Church. On all sides 
 there was progress. The very next year after the adop- 
 tion of the Plan (1802), the General Assembly was 
 
 the bands of ecclesiastical discipline will (we think) be gradually 
 loosened, and the solemn business of placing a minister over a con- 
 gregation, and of committing them to his charge, be finally left in 
 the hands of the contracting parties, in direct contradiction, as we 
 apprehend, to the order of Christ's house." 
 
 In the following year it was decided that a member of Associa- 
 tion dismissed from his pastoral relation was still responsible to 
 the Association, and that "no dismissed minister shall be accounted 
 at liberty of himself to lay aside the ministerial office, or to dis- 
 solve his connection with the Association." These are but speci- 
 mens of the tone of ecclesiastical sentiment in Connecticut. — Conn. 
 Ev. Mag., 1812, 1813. 
 
GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 1800-1S15. 441 
 
 called to divide the Presbytery of Albany into the three 
 Presbyteries of Albany, Columbia, and Oneida, which 
 were in 1803 constituted the Synod of Albany. Two 
 years later, the Presbytery of Oneida was divided and 
 the Presbytery of Geneva was erected. 
 
 In 1807, the Synod of Albany expressed their readi- 
 ness — with the approbation of the Assembly — to form 
 as intimate a connection with the Middle Association 
 (Congregational) of the Military Tract as the Consti- 
 tution of the Presbyterian Church would admit, inviting 
 them to become a constituent branch of the Synod, 
 and assuring them of the disposition of the Synod to 
 leave their churches undisturbed in the administration 
 of their own government until they should be better 
 acquainted with the Presbyterian mode and voluntarily 
 adopt it. Delegates from the churches should be re- 
 ceived as ruling elders, and they, as well as ministers, 
 on "adopting our standard of doctrine and govern- 
 ment," might sit and vote as a constituent part of the 
 body. This plan was sanctioned by the Assembly of 
 1808; and the Middle Association, and Presbytery of 
 Geneva, covering in part the same ground, w r ere sub- 
 sequently constituted, with some interchange of mem- 
 bers, the Presbyteries of Geneva and Onondaga. The 
 liberal spirit of the Assembly, accordant with the 
 "Plan of Union," is evinced by their sanction of this 
 kindred measure. 
 
 In obtaining an act of incorporation, which was se- 
 cured in 1799, and which authorized the possession of 
 property yielding not over ten thousand dollars annual 
 income, 1 exclusive of annual collections and voluntary 
 contributions, the Assembty had in view the import- 
 ance of securely holding an amount of property which 
 should suffice as a fund for missionary purposes. This 
 
 i Minutes of 1790-1820, p. 175. 
 
442 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 project was first brought forward in the Assembly of 
 1791. * It was recommended that a permanent fund 
 should be raised, and the several Presbyteries were 
 enjoined to take effectual measures to secure annual 
 collections from their churches for this object. The 
 amount collected for several succeeding years exceeded 
 what was required for the payment of the missionaries 
 annually employed ; and upon the examination of re- 
 ports of agents for soliciting donations, it was found, in 
 1801, that the Assembly held to its credit the sum of 
 twelve thousand three hundred and fifty-nine dollars 
 and ninety-two and a half cents. This was, by the de- 
 cision of the Assembly, to be regarded as capital stock, 
 which should " at no time be broken in upon or dimi- 
 nished," but invested in secure and permanent funds. 
 The interest of these, only, was to be employed for the 
 support of missions. 
 
 In 1805, the Committee of Missions were recom- 
 mended to publish, by subscription, a periodical maga- 
 zine " sacred to religion and morals," and pay the profits 
 into the funds of the Assembly, to be applied to mis- 
 sionary purposes. 2 The work was commenced, and the 
 ministers within the bounds of the Church were re- 
 peatedly urged to contribute to its columns; but the 
 project failed, and the publication of the magazine was 
 suspended in January, 1810. 3 
 
 The success of the Connecticut Missionary Society 
 in carrying out a similar project led the Assembly to 
 overlook the greater difficulties which they would have 
 to encounter. That society, while diffusing religious 
 intelligence by means of its " Evangelical Magazine," 
 had secured annually, as profits of the enterprise, a sum 
 ranging from thirteen hundred dollars to over two 
 thousand dollars, which was devoted to the purposes 
 
 » Minutes, 1790-1820, pp. 38, 40. 2 lb. 317. 3 lb. 450. 
 
GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 1800-1815. 443 
 
 of the society. With such economy and success was 
 the plan managed, that the permanent fund in the 
 course of a few years amounted to more than thirty 
 thousand dollars ; and in some years, when collections 
 were not secured from the churches, the interest of the 
 fund and the profits of the magazine sufficed to provide 
 for the support of the missionaries employed. For 
 several years the Assembly prosecuted a kindred policy; 
 but the rapid extension of the mission-field soon baffled 
 every attempt to supply it by means of the interest of 
 a permanent fund. 
 
 There seemed more feasibility in the plan which the 
 Assembly proposed (1800) in behalf of ministerial edu- 
 cation. This was intended to secure a fund which should 
 suffice to provide candidates for the ministry with the 
 necessary means for a partial or entire support. In 
 each Synod a theological professor might be appointed, 
 to whom students should be at liberty to resort, and 
 who should receive from the fund a moderate com- 
 pensation. 1 But this plan was ere long deranged by 
 the adoption of the Seminary system of instruction, 
 which left only the support of the student in his course 
 of study to be provided for. 
 
 In 1802, a change was made by the Assembly in its 
 method of conducting its missionary operations. Ex- 
 perience had shown that to give to these system and 
 efficiency it was necessary that they should be put in 
 the charge of men who should not only be empowered 
 to act during the intervals of meetings of Assembly, but 
 who should give the subject careful attention and be 
 so situated as to have frequent opportunities of mutual 
 conference. It was therefore resolved that a commit- 
 tee be chosen annually, to be denominated the " Stand- 
 ing Committee of Missions." It was originally to con- 
 
 i Minutes, 1790-1820, p. 196. 
 
444 history or PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 sist of seven members, — four ministers and three laymen 
 but in 1805, on the suggestion of the committee itself, 
 its numbers were increased by the addition of five more 
 members from Philadelphia and its vicinity, and one 
 member from each of the seven Synods constituting 
 the Church. It was made the duty of the committee 
 " to collect, during the recess of the Assembly, all the 
 information in their power relative to the concerns of 
 missions and missionaries j" to digest this information, 
 and report thereon at each meeting of the Assembly ; 
 to maintain such a correspondence on the subject of 
 missions as the cause might require, and make such 
 suggestions or arrangements as should enable the As- 
 sembly to act intelligently in its appointments; and, in 
 fact, to " superintend generally, under the direction of 
 the Assembly, the missionary business." It was not till 
 1816 that the style of the committee was changed to 
 that of the " Board of Missions" and it was authorized 
 to act with a large measure of independence. 
 
 The appointment of the committee (1802) was contem- 
 poraneous with a revived zeal in the cause of missions 
 throughout the bounds of the Church. The Synod of 
 Pittsburg began its existence (1802) as a missionary 
 body, assuming the name of the Western Missionary 
 Society. Its attention was directed largely to the new 
 settlements northwest of the Ohio, and to methods for. 
 christianizing the Wyandotte Indians. The latter por- 
 tion of their project was interrupted bj T the war, and 
 the burning of the mission-premises; but on the con- 
 clusion of peace the plan of an Indian mission was re- 
 sumed, and for some years received aid annually from 
 the funds of the Assembly. Among the new settle- 
 ments tying properly within its own bounds or those 
 of the Synod of Kentucky, its missionaries were dili- 
 gently employed, sometimes, however, receiving their 
 compensation from the Connecticut Missionary Society, 
 
GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 1300-1315. 445 
 
 who could secure funds more readily than men for the 
 distant field. 
 
 The Synod of Virginia, at the same time, prosecuted 
 the mission work within its own limits, but with a 
 marked decline of energy after the erection of the 
 Synod of Pittsburg within its original bounds. For 
 several years it had only from three to five mission- 
 aries in the field, — one of these to .its own black popu- 
 lation. 
 
 In 1802, before the erection of the Synod of Pitts- 
 burg, its report showed that it had sent nine mission- 
 aries to the west of the Alleghanies, three of whom 
 visited the Shawanese and other Indians about Detroit 
 and Sandusky. In 1807, when the Indian Mission had 
 passed under the care of the Pittsburg Synod, and the 
 missionary zeal of the Virginia churches had some- 
 what abated, the Synod wished to resign their mission- 
 ary business into the hands of the Assembly; but the 
 latter declined to accept the trust. 
 
 In 1803, the newly-formed Synod of Kentucky stated 
 to the Assembly that the missionary field on their fron- 
 tier was " so extensive and promising that the Synod 
 find themselves inadequate to the demand." They 
 asked that the Assembly " take the business under their 
 own care and direction." The request was granted, 
 and the destitutions of the Synod thenceforth received 
 the attention of the Assembly in its annual appoint- 
 ments. 
 
 The Synod of the Carolinas, from the time of its 
 erection, had given special attention to the subject of 
 missions. Among its ministers were some who rank 
 among the foremost and most efficient in this field of 
 Christian enterprise. The Synod continued its efforts 
 till the amount of its own immediate destitution forced 
 it (1812) to resign the charge of missions to the care 
 of the Assembly. 
 
 Vol. I.— 33 
 
446 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 Meanwhile, the New York Missionary Society had 
 sent out missionaries among the Indians of that State, 
 and Joseph Bullen was commissioned to labor among 
 the Indian tribes at the Southwest, in Mississippi Ter- 
 ritory. In 1803, Gideon Blackburn — in all probability 
 imbibing his views, or kindled to greater activity by 
 Mr. Bullen's zeal — determined to see what could be ac- 
 complished in behalf of the Cherokees. He had vainly 
 sought (1799) to engage his Presbytery (Union) act- 
 ively in the work, and he now presented the cause to 
 the attention of the Assembly. It received their favor- 
 able notice. Appropriations were made for it for many 
 successive years from the Assembly's funds; and the 
 zeal of Blackburn, sustained by the recommendation 
 of the Assembly, accomplished still more by individual 
 application in the Eastern cities. Such was the found- 
 ation of the Cherokee Mission. 
 
 The Assembly's committee at first had their atten- 
 tion directed especially to the destitutions of Northern, 
 Central, and Western New York. But soon appeals for 
 aid reached them from Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and 
 Tennessee. The deficiencies of the Synods were sup- 
 plemented by the Assembly's appointments, and Pres- 
 byteries applying for aid were repeatedly authorized 
 to employ missionaries at the Assembly's expense. In 
 1803, the number of appointments made by the recom- 
 mendation of the committee, independent of those em- 
 ployed by the Synods, was only five. The next year it 
 rose to twelve. In 1807 it amounted to fifteen, while 
 five hundred dollars were appropriated to the Cherokee 
 Mission. In 1811 the number had risen to forty, and in 
 1814 to over fifty, exclusive of such as the Presbyteries 
 or Synods were authorized to employ at the Assembly's 
 expense, — the Pittsburg Synod also receiving aid, during 
 a portion of the period, for its Indian missions. 
 
 To sustain this extended and still extending plan of 
 
1800-1815. 447 
 
 operations, the Assembly was forced to make repeated 
 appeals to the churches for aid. Presbyteries were 
 urged (1811) to send out " their members, either by 
 pairs or individually, to act as missionaries in the coun- 
 try contiguous to their residence f and, as some of them 
 failed to send in their annual missionary collections, 
 they were directed to take "the most prudent and effec- 
 tual measures" to forward "an annual contribution to 
 the treasurer of the Assembly." 
 
 A great and beneficent work was thus accomplished. 
 In 1810, the Assembly stated, as evidence of progress, 
 that in the space of the preceding eleven years the 
 number of ministers in the western parts of the State 
 of New York had increased from two to nearly fifty. 
 In other regions the growth of the Church had been 
 less rapid; but there had been a steady and healthful 
 advance. Much good had been accomplished, doubtless, 
 by subsidiary agencies. Local societies of various kinds 
 — missionary, tract, and Bible — had heartily co-ope- 
 rated with the Assembly in missionary efforts; and this 
 co-operation was (1811) gratefully recognized. Each 
 Synod (1809) was recommended, in view of the great 
 and increasing good that had accrued to the Church 
 " through the distribution of small, cheap religious 
 tracts," to take measures for " establishing as many 
 religious tract societies, by association of one or more 
 Presbyteries," as might be convenient for the purpose. 
 Books were purchased (1802) by the funds of the 
 Assembly for distribution in the frontier settlements. 
 They were put (1805) into the hands of individuals and 
 Presbyteries to distribute, or missionaries were sup- 
 plied with the means to procure them for the fields in 
 which they labored. In 1806, it was resolved that one 
 hundred dollars should be appropriated annually — if the 
 funds of the Assembly would allow — toward procuring 
 and distributing religious books. Among those which 
 
44S HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 received the commendation of the Assembly were Yin- 
 cent's Exposition of the Shorter Catechism, and Andrew 
 Fuller's " Gospel worthy of all Acceptation/' — the last 
 a work appropriate for circulation in this country, in 
 which Brainerd and Eliot — through the reading of 
 whose lives and labors Fuller was led to adopt the 
 sentiments it presents — had accomplished their noble 
 work. 
 
 But the advance of the Church during the period under 
 review was largely due to the powerful revivals which 
 pervaded almost every portion of the land. The move- 
 ment had commenced in Kentucky in 1797, and for 
 several years it continued to spread and deepen, till 
 society was shaken to its foundations. But the tares 
 sprung up with the wheat, and the simple work of the 
 gospel was marred by ill-regulated and fanatic zeal 
 as well as illustrated by most remarkable conversions. 
 In 1799, the revival commenced in the feeble and sparse 
 settlements of Central and Western New York, and 
 continued to extend during succeeding years. In 1802, 
 the great revival of Western Pennsylvania was almost 
 contemporary with the erection of the Pittsburg Synod, 
 and resulted in supplying it with not a few of its fu- 
 ture missionaries. In North Carolina and a portion of 
 South Carolina, in Western Virginia and in New Jer- 
 sey, the opening years of the present century were 
 characterized by most remarkable outpourings of the 
 Spirit. In repeated instances the face of society was 
 changed. Churches almost extinct were restored to 
 vigorous life. 
 
 The General Assembly made glad and grateful men- 
 tion of " the very extraordinary success" which in 
 many places had attended the ordinances of the gospel. 
 " From the East, from the West, from the North, and 
 the South, the most pleasing intelligence" had (1802) 
 been received. In 1803, there was " scarcely a Presby- 
 
GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 1800-1815. 449 
 
 tcry under the care of the Assembly from which most 
 pleasing intelligence hud not been announced ;" and from 
 some of them communications had been made which 
 displayed illustriously "the triumphs of evangelical 
 truth and the power of sovereign grace." In most of 
 the Northern and Eastern Presbyteries, revivals had 
 prevailed, but free from "bodily agitations or extra- 
 ordinary affections. " At the South and West there had 
 been a more remarkable awakening, but characterized 
 by some features " of the origin and nature of which" 
 the Assembly declined to express its opinion. In 1804, 
 there had been a marked advance in nearly all parts of 
 the Church, the exceptional features of revival which 
 objectors had magnified having been limited to a single 
 portion of the field. The report of 1805 was of a more 
 varied character, and called attention to the excesses of 
 the revival, — remarking that " true religion is a most 
 rational and Scriptural thing." In 1806, while the 
 Assembly felt constrained to bear testimony against 
 Socinian error and reprehensible attempts to counter- 
 feit the work of God, they could yet speak of the plea- 
 sure with which they had heard of the general exten- 
 sion and prosperity of the Church throughout the land. 
 The narrative for 1807 speaks rather the language of ap- 
 prehension and admonition than of gratulation. The 
 reaction of the revivals of preceding years had produced 
 its effects. But in 1808, although the Assembly found 
 abundant "cause of sorrow and humiliation," and felt 
 constrained, in view of the aspect of public affairs, to 
 appoint for the observance of the churches a day of 
 fasting and prayer, there was yet not a little which 
 cheered them in the review of the year. At Newark a 
 most powerful revival of religion had prevailed, under 
 the labors of Dr. Griffin. The Synod of Albany had 
 been also highly favored. 
 
 In 1813, aft )r three or four years of steady growth, 
 
 38* 
 
450 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 but characterized by few extended revivals, the Assem- 
 bly was cheered by the report of " scenes resembling 
 those of Pentecost," in various parts of the Church. 
 Revivals had prevailed in the Presbyteries of Jersey, 
 Hudson, Onondaga, and Albany, and to a considerable 
 extent elsewhere. It was found that in four years the 
 membership of the Church had increased nearly twenty- 
 five per cent., — from about twenty-eight thousand in 
 1809,' to thirty-four thousand six hundred and twenty- 
 four in 1813. 1 
 
 The influence of the war, although deleterious, and 
 bearing severely upon certain portions of the Church, 
 was less disastrous than might have been anticipated. 
 During its continuance, a day of fasting and prayer 
 was annually appointed by the Assembly, and marked 
 outpourings of the Spirit did not wholly cease. The 
 Assemblies of 1814 and 1815, while constrained to speak 
 in warning tones of the spread of intemperance and 
 kindred vices, could recount also special favors enjoyed 
 by the Church in various portions of the land. 
 
 It is more than possible that the mention of intem- 
 perance in this connection was due less to any unpre- 
 cedented development of the evil than to the fact that 
 public attention had recently been called to it in a 
 special manner. For several years individuals in dif- 
 ferent parts of the country had been reflecting anxiously 
 upon the subject; but in 1811, by a concert of action, the 
 General Assembly and the General Associations of Mas- 
 sachusetts and Connecticut were led to appoint a com- 
 mittee from each of their several bodies to co-operate 
 in devising measures for preventing the numerous and 
 
 1 Probably these numbers as reported are much below the actual 
 membership. The additions in 1813 were unusually large, amount- 
 ing to three thousand seven hundred and twenty-one. — Panoplist, 
 ix. 93. 
 
GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 1800-1815. 451 
 
 alarming evils of intemperance. In the same year, one 
 thousand copies of a pamphlet by Dr. Rush, entitled 
 "An Enquiry into the Effects of Ardent Spirits on the 
 Human Body and Mind," were given (or presented) to the 
 Assembly, to be divided among the members and by them 
 distributed among the congregations. In 1812, the 
 committees appointed by the General Association of 
 Connecticut and by the Assembly made their reports. 
 The committee of the former body admitted the alarm- 
 ing evils of intemperance, but confessed that they did 
 not see that any thing could be done. Dr. Beecher, who 
 was present, and who at recent ordinations of minis- 
 ters had witnessed the extent to which the drinking- 
 usages of the times had been sanctioned by ministerial 
 example, 1 rose at once to propose the appointment of a 
 committee who should report at that meeting the ways 
 and means of arresting the tide of intemperance. As 
 chairman of this committee, he penned their report, — 
 " the most important paper," as he declared nearly half 
 a century later, that he ever wrote. It glowed with 
 the earnest eloquence characteristic of its author, and 
 far and near produced a deep effect. 
 
 The report adopted by the General Assembly was 
 less extended, but was alike pertinent and practical. 
 It sounded the note of alarm, which echoed abroad over 
 the land and gave a powerful impulse to the cause of 
 reform. It recommended to ministers " to preach as 
 often as expedient on the sins and mischiefs of intempe- 
 rate drinking, and to warn their hearers, both in public 
 and private, of those habits and indulgences which may 
 have a tendency to produce it." It enjoined special 
 vigilance on the part of Sessions, the dissemination of 
 addresses, sermons, and tracts on the subject, and the 
 
 1 At the ordinations of Mr. Hart, of Plymouth, and Mr. Harvey, in 
 Goshen, Conn. — Autobiojraphy of Dr. L. Beecher. 
 
452 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 adoption of practical measures for reducing the number 
 of places at which liquors were sold. It was in the 
 light of facts which several years of observation had 
 spread before the community, that the Assembly felt 
 warranted to speak as they did of the alarming evils 
 of intemperance. 
 
 Other matters pertaining to the cause of sound morals 
 claimed the attention of the Assembly. The death of 
 Hamilton, who fell in a duel with Aaron Burr in 1804, 
 thrilled the nation with horror. In the Synod of New 
 York and New Jersey, Dr. Beecher — against strong 
 political influences — secured the solemn condemnation 
 of any indulgence or toleration of the " code of honor." 
 The Presbytery of Baltimore instructed its commis- 
 sioners, in 1805, to endeavor to engage the Assembly to 
 recommend to its ministers to refuse to officiate at the 
 funeral of any one who was known to have been con- 
 cerned in a duel or had given or accepted a challenge. 
 The Assembly, in reply, expressed its utter abhorrence 
 of the practice of duelling, pronounced it " a remnant 
 of Gothic barbarism," " a presumptuous and highly 
 criminal appeal to God as the Sovereign Judge," " in- 
 consistent with every just principle of moral conduct," 
 " a violation of the sixth commandment," and a thing to 
 be utterly discountenanced. They complied fully, more- 
 over, with the request of the Presbytery of Baltimore, 
 and recommended that no one who had been concerned 
 in a duel, unless he had given unequivocal proof of re- 
 pentance, should be admitted to the distinguishing pri- 
 vileges of the Church. 1 
 
 In the Assembly of 1815, the slavery question, which 
 
 1 In 1805, several slight amendments — mainly verbal — of the Form 
 of Government, which had been submitted to the Presbyteries by the 
 Assembly of the previous year, were found to have been approved 
 by a majority of the Presbyteries, and were, consequently, adopted. 
 
GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 1800-1315. 453 
 
 had been left undisturbed for twenty years, was again 
 Introduced. It was brought to the notice of the As- 
 sembly by the petitions of certain elders who enter- 
 tained conscientious scruples on the subject of holding 
 slaves, and of the Synod of Ohio, asking a deliverance 
 of the Assembly upon the subject of buying and selling 
 slaves. The report on the subject, after being read and 
 amended, was as follows: — 
 
 " The General Assembly have repeatedly declared 
 their cordial approbation of those principles of civil 
 liberty which appear to be recognized by the Federal 
 and State Governments in these United States. They 
 have expressed their regret that the slavery of the 
 Africans and of their descendants still continues in so 
 many places, and even among those within the pale of 
 the Church, and have urged the Presbyteries under their 
 care to adopt such measures as will secure at least to 
 the rising generation of slaves, within the bounds of 
 the Church, a religious education ; that they maybe pre- 
 pared for the exercise and enjoyment of liberty when 
 God in his providence may open a door for their emanci- 
 pation." The petitioners are then referred to the action 
 of the Synod of 1787, republished by the Assembly of 
 1793, and to the action of the Assembly of 1795. To 
 the first petition this was considered a sufficient answer; 
 but as to the second, from the Synod of Ohio, " the As- 
 sembly observe that, although in some sections of our 
 country, under certain circumstances, the transfer of 
 slaves may be unavoidable, yet they consider the buying 
 and selling of slaves by way of traffic, and all undue 
 severity in the management of them, as inconsistent 
 with the spirit of the gospel. And they recommend it 
 to the Presbyteries and Sessions under their care to 
 make use of all prudent measures to prevent such 
 shameful and unrighteous conduct." 
 
 Oncof the most perplexing matters which during this 
 
454 HISTORY OP PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 period was brought before the Assembly was the policy 
 to be adopted with reference to the Synod of Kentucky. 
 The powerful revival which had prevailed for some time 
 within the bounds of that Synod was without a pre- 
 cedent in the history of the Church. From a state of 
 almost hopeless decline, the churches were aroused to 
 unexampled activity. The power of a hitherto pre- 
 valent infidelity was paralyzed. The spell of worldli- 
 ness was broken. The hardened, the blasphemer, the 
 skeptic, the atheist, were smitten with conviction; and 
 hundreds, if not thousands, were added to the member- 
 ship of the churches. 
 
 But the work was characterized by extraordinary 
 manifestations, of which the more conservative ministers 
 could not approve. The "Bodily Exercises," of various 
 kinds, began to prevail as the work progressed, till in 
 some minds they came to be regarded as its inseparable 
 adjuncts. The enthusiasm of some, and the fanaticism 
 of others, carried them beyond the limits of discretion. 
 Uneducated but zealous men began to exhort, and at 
 length to assume the work of preachers. The demand 
 for their labors — increased by the revival — perplexed 
 the Presbytery. To license them might flood the Church 
 with inexperienced men, who would do mischief. To 
 refuse them license or approbation as catechists or ex- 
 horters might be not only regarded as invidious, but as 
 opposing the progress of the revival. " Father" Bice 
 wrote a letter to the Assembly (1804), asking advice. 
 The reply was cautious and discreet. It pointed out the 
 dangers to be apprehended from introducing unedu- 
 cated men hastily into the ministry, yet allowed the 
 Presbytery to sanction catechists and exhorters, if men 
 of sound judgment, over whom the Presbytery was to 
 keep careful watch and supervision. 
 
 But the mischief apprehended had already taken 
 place. The Presbytery and the Synod were divided into 
 
GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 1800-1815. 455 
 
 two parties in reference to the question; and to such an 
 extent had they been carried in their zeal that friendly 
 co-operation was no longer possible. Messrs. Blythe, 
 Lyle, and Stuart, members of the Synod, applied to the 
 Assembly (1804) for advice as to the course to be pur- 
 sued for healing the breach. In response, Drs. Hall 
 and Green and Kev. Mr. Marquis were appointed a 
 committee to meet and confer with the Synod at their 
 next meeting. The report of this committee in the fol- 
 lowing year showed that the grievances of the seceding 
 brethren consisted in what they regarded as the viola- 
 tion of their own rules by the majority of the Synod, 
 and the fatalism taught in the Confession of Faith. In 
 their own defence the Synod had addressed themselves 
 to their churches in their own vindication, exposing 
 the inconsistency of those who would reject the use of 
 creeds and disregard the authority of the judicatories 
 of the Church. 
 
 The Assembly approved of the course pursued by the 
 Synod, as "firm and temperate ;" but it was felt — whe- 
 ther justly or not — that the evil had already gone too 
 far to be reached by any measure which might be adopted 
 either by the Synod or Assembly. Yet in the follow- 
 ing year (1805), the " Presbytery of Cumberland" ad- 
 dressed the Assembly a letter of complaint, which the 
 latter characterized in their reply as " respectful and 
 interesting," while they disclaimed any intention to 
 cast reproach on the revival or upon those who were 
 connected with it. But the irregularities of the Pres- 
 bytery on several points invited the reprehension of the 
 Synod; and the latter, by extraordinary measures, en- 
 deavored to put a stop to these irregularities. To some 
 of these measures the Assembly took exceptions (1807), 
 and advised the Synod to review them. In reply to 
 the aggrieved members of Cumberland Presbytery, the 
 Assembly could only say that, had their c-tse eome, up 
 
45(5 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 before them properly by way of aj^peal, the desired re 
 lief might perhaps have been afforded. 
 
 But already the hope of reconciling the parties at 
 variance had vanished. The Assembly itself was not 
 unanimous in regard to the policy to be pursued. 
 Some — and among them Dr. Dwight — were strenuous 
 in vindication of the cause of the Synod. Others — 
 like Dr. Wilson, of Philadelphia — felt that a judicious 
 combination of leniency and decision might have 
 healed the breach and prevented the Cumberland se- 
 cession. But as the latter became conscious of their 
 own strength, and were largely sustained by popular 
 sympathy, they became less and less disposed to seek 
 a restoration to the communion of the Presbyterian 
 Church. At length, in 1814, the Assembly, in response 
 to the inquiry how those who had belonged to the late 
 Presbytery of Cumberland, but who upon its dissolution 
 had erected themselves into a new one, should be treated, 
 replied that they should be viewed as " having derived 
 no authority from us for the exercise of discipline, 
 &c," and that " our regular members cannot treat with 
 them as a body, but only as individuals." Such was 
 the origin of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. 
 
 Notwithstanding all the adverse influences exerted 
 by the fanaticism, extravagances, and irregularities of 
 the Kentucky revival, and the effects of the war, with 
 the political passions and party zeal which preceded 
 and accompanied it, the period under review was for 
 the Presbyterian Church in this country one of steady 
 and even rapid progress. It was characterized to a re- 
 markable extent by a spontaneous missionary activity. 
 Local as well as more general societies for the distri- 
 bution of Bibles, tracts, and religious books, or for send- 
 ing out missionaries to the destitute, were organized. 
 New York and Philadelphia had each a city missionary 
 society, the first organized in 1809, and the latter in 
 
GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 1800-1815. 457 
 
 1807-8. The Church Session of Savannah, under the 
 labors of the gifted Kollock, generously made provision 
 (1810) for the support of two missionaries — one the Rev. 
 Mr. Storrs, of Massachusetts, who had just completed 
 his theological course at Andover — in the interior of the 
 State of Georgia. In all parts of the land there was 
 more or less of this disposition to volunteer mission- 
 ary effort. In New Brunswick (1810) a Sabbath-school 
 was established for the gratuitous instruction of poor 
 children in moral and religious truth; and the fact was 
 deemed so important as to be made a subject of grateful 
 mention by the Assembly of 1811. The devoted Pat- 
 terson of Philadelphia heard of it, and introduced the 
 system of Sunday-schools into his own church; and in 
 a few years more it had become general throughout the 
 land. 
 
 The evidence of progress was evinced also by the in- 
 crease in the number of Presbyteries, the organization 
 of new churches, and the constant increase in the ag- 
 gregate membership. In 1801, the four Synods num- 
 bered twenty-eight Presbyteries, with probably not far 
 from two hundred and twenty -five ministers, and four 
 hundred and fifty churches. In 1815, there had been an 
 increase of nearly one hundred per cent. In 1801, Erie 
 Presbytery was erected. In 1802, Columbia, Oneida, 
 and Cumberland ; in 1805, Geneva; in 1808, Hartford 
 and Lancaster; in 1809, Jersey and Harmony; in 1810, 
 Cayuga, Onondaga, West Tennessee, Muhlenberg, and 
 Miami; in 1811, Northumberland; in 1812, Fayetteville; 
 in 1814, Grand River and Champlain ; and in 1815, Louis- 
 ville and Mississippi, were successively erected ; and the 
 summary for the latter year embraced forty-one Pres- 
 byteries, five hundred and twenty ministers, eight hun- 
 dred and fifty-nine churches, and thirty-nine thousand 
 six hundred and eighty-five members. A full report 
 
 Vol. I.— .'!9 
 
458 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 would doubtless have added at least five per cent, to 
 the number of ministers, churches, and members. 
 
 This was certainly a most rapid growth; but it had 
 not overtaken the wants of the mission-field. As the 
 circle of light expanded, it was encompassed by a still 
 more extended circumference of darkness. The ex- 
 plorations of Messrs. Mills and Schermerhorn, who in 
 1812 and 1813, under the patronage of the Massachu- 
 setts and other missionary societies, visited the Western 
 and Southwestern frontier of the field, afford us some 
 feeble idea, at least, of the destitutions which prevailed. 
 They went prepared to examine and to report back to 
 the Eastern churches the necessities of the region they 
 traversed, and the measures to be adopted for its supply. 
 The statistics which they gave constituted the most 
 eloquent appeal for enlarged effort. 
 
 In Pennsylvania west of the Alleghanies there was 
 a population of about two hundred thousand inhabit- 
 ants, and one hundred and one Presbyterian churches. 
 In Ohio, w T ith a population of three hundred and thirty 
 thousand, there were seventy-eight Presbyterian and 
 Congregational churches and forty-nine ministers. In 
 Virginia, with a population little short of a million, 
 there were about seventy Presbyterian churches and 
 forty ministers. Old Virginia, as it w T as called, — the 
 portion of the State lying on the seaboard, — was repre- 
 sented as in a deplorably destitute condition. Three- 
 fourths of the entire State exhibited "an extensive 
 and dreary waste." West of the Alleghanies it had 
 but twelve Presbyterian churches and three ministers. 
 Kentucky, with a population of four hundred thousand, 
 had ninety-one Presbyterian churches and forty minis- 
 ters. Three infidel publications were issued from the 
 press in Lexington. Of the two hundred and ninety- 
 three Baptist societies in the State, quite a large num- 
 ber w r ere Arian or Socinian. Tennessee, with a popu- 
 
GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 1800-1815. 459 
 
 lation of more than two hundred and sixty thousand, 
 had seventy-nine Presbyterian churches and twenty- 
 six ministers. At its two colleges, one at Knoxville and 
 the other in Green county, several students were prepar- 
 ing for the ministry. Here also was organized the only 
 missionary society west of the Alleghanies, except the 
 Synod of Pittsburg. The State of Louisiana, with a 
 population of seventy-seven thousand whites and thirty- 
 five thousand blacks, had not a single organized Pres- 
 byterian church. This was the case also with Mis- 
 souri Territoiy, with a scattered population of twenty- 
 one thousand. At New Orleans, Mr. Schermerhorn 
 preached to a congregation of two hundred persons, 
 and regretted that he could not accept their invitation 
 to remain and labor among them. 
 
 Mississippi Territory, with a population of fifty-eight 
 thousand, had but six Presbyterian churches and four 
 ministers. " The state of society" was " deplorable/' 
 It was believed " that more innocent blood was shed in 
 this Territory and in Louisiana in one year than in all 
 the Middle and Eastern States in ten years V 
 
 Indiana Territory was in no better condition in 
 respect to religious destitution. With twenty-five thou- 
 sand inhabitants, it had but one Presbyterian church 
 and minister. Illinois Territory, with thirteen thou- 
 sand inhabitants, could not lay claim to be represented 
 by a single church or minister of the Presbyterian deno- 
 mination. 
 
 This whole region thus surveyed was, for the most 
 part, one great missionary field. It did not contain 
 two-thirds as many ministers, Presbyterian and Con- 
 gregational, as were to be found in the single State of 
 .Massachusetts. In some portions of it the Baptists and 
 Methodists were quite numerous; but many of their 
 preachers were utterly unqualified for their work, and 
 in some cases their influence was disastrous rather 
 
460 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 than otherwise. Yet it was in these destitute fields 
 that the largest future advance of the Church was 
 already anticipated. In many of the older portions 
 of the country there had been not only no positive in- 
 crease, but in some there had been in fact an actual 
 loss. In Virginia quite a number of the early churches 
 were falling to decay. Too feeble without aid to sup- 
 port a pastor, they sank for years into a gradual de- 
 cline. " I think the state of religion in this country/' 
 says Dr. Eice, in a letter to Dr. Alexander (Jan. 1810), 
 " worse by some degrees than when you left it. Pres- 
 byterian congregations are decreasing every year, and 
 appear as if they would dwindle to nothing." This was 
 also the case, to a considerable extent, on the Eastern 
 Shore of Maryland, and in Delaware. Central Penn- 
 sylvania was depleted by emigration; and some of 
 the oldest churches were reduced to great feebleness. 
 New Jersey was steadily but yet slowly gaining; while 
 in Western Pennsylvania the growth was rapid. In 
 Western New York, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee, 
 the Church received large accessions. 
 
 The funds at the command of the Assembly were 
 scant indeed. The annual expenditure during this 
 period for missions rarely exceeded two thousand five 
 hundred dollars, and sometimes came far short of it. 
 Yet the funds were judiciously applied. The salary of 
 the missionary was sometimes thirty-three dollars per 
 month, at others one dollar per day and his expenses. 
 At length, forty dollars per month was allowed : yet it 
 was not always accepted. It is impossible to peruse 
 the reports of missionaries to the Assembly without a 
 deep impression of the self-denying generosity of men 
 who for the merest pittance were willing to brave all 
 the hardships of the wilderness, and exposure to storm 
 and fatigue, in order to accomplish their missionary 
 work. There is more than is expressed to the eye in 
 
GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 1S00-1S15. 461 
 
 Buch statements as these: — that Mr. Chapman (of Ge- 
 neva) "received forty-five dollars and thirty-two cents, 
 travelled t wo thousand miles, and preached above one 
 hundred sermons;" — that John Lindley, absent for four 
 
 months, "baptized eleven children, preached ninety-six 
 times, and received twelve dollars and fifty cents ;" — 
 that Mr. Coe (of Troy) " served as a missionary for six 
 weeks, and received three dollars and seventy-five and 
 a half cents;" — that James Hall, missionary to the 
 Mississippi Territory, " served on his mission seven 
 months and thirteen days, and received eighty-six 
 dollars." Behind the dry statistical facts of the com- 
 mittee lie hidden whole chapters of welcome hardship, 
 of heroic self-denial, and of results achieved enduring 
 yet, the history of which no human pen can fairly trace, 
 but whose " record is on high." 
 
 There was an urgent demand during this whole 
 period for an increase in the number of ministers. The 
 field was white for the harvest, but the laborers could 
 not be procured. This lack of men fitted for pastoral 
 and missionary work was felt to be a serious and 
 growing evil. In 1805 it was brought before the As- 
 sembly by an overture from the pen of Dr. Ashbcl 
 Green. " Give us ministers, such" — it declared, — " is 
 the cry of the missionary region ; Give us ministers, 
 is the importunate entreaty of our numerous and in- 
 creasing vacancies j Give us ministers, is the demand of 
 many large and important congregations in our most 
 populous cities and towns." Weak and illiterate minis- 
 ters could not supply the want or meet the emergency. 
 Pious but educated men were needed; and a problem 
 of the first importance was, How can they be secured ? 
 
 The first thing proposed was an effort, by means of 
 increased salaries, to remove discouragements of a tem- 
 poral kind, especially the fear of inadequate support, 
 which prevented young men from entering the ministry. 
 
 3JH 
 
462 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 The other was a plan to be adopted by the Assembly 
 for requiring the Presbyteries to do what lay in their 
 power in the way of seeking out and assisting proper 
 candidates. The overture was laid over till another 
 year, and recommended to the attention of the Pres- 
 byteries. In 1806, their replies were received; and the 
 general unanimity which they manifested warranted 
 the Assembly in earnestly recommending, to every 
 Presbytery under their care, increased endeavors on 
 their part to bring forward a larger " number of pro- 
 mising candidates for the holy ministry." They were 
 to urge the subject upon the attention of the congre- 
 gations. Parents of pious youth were to be exhorted 
 to educate them for the Church, and the youth them- 
 selves were to be persuaded " to devote their talents 
 and their lives to this sacred calling." Vigorous exer- 
 tions were to be made to raise funds for their support, 
 and reports of their success were to be annually for- 
 warded to the Assembly. 
 
 A letter from the trustees of the College of New 
 Jersey was also (1806) recommended to the attention 
 of the Presbyteries. It stated that they had "made 
 the most generous provision for the support and in- 
 struction of theological students." They might pursue 
 their studies at Princeton " at the moderate charge of 
 one dollar a week for board, and enjoy the assistance 
 of the President and Professor of Theology, without 
 any fee for instruction." 
 
 The overture of Dr. Green may be perhaps regarded 
 as the germ of the project which issued in the establish- 
 ment of Princeton Theological Seminary. Nothing, 
 however, was publicly spoken with direct reference to 
 such an institution until it was mentioned in the open- 
 ing Assembly of 1808, by Dr. Alexander. Encouiaged 
 by the favor with which the suggestion was received, 
 the Presbytery of Philadelphia, at the instance of Dr. 
 
GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 1800-1816. 403 
 
 Green, brought the Biibject, by overture, to the atten- 
 tion of the Assembly of 1809. It is probable that the 
 success of the institution at Andover, which had been 
 recently established, and which already numbered thirty- 
 six students, was a weighty argument in favor of the 
 project. The Assembly, after mature deliberation, deter- 
 mined to submit to the Presbyteries three plans for the 
 promotion of theological education, and to adopt that 
 which the reports of the following year should desig- 
 nate as preferable. These plans were — first, the establish- 
 ment of "one great school" in some central position; 
 secondly, the establishment of two, one for the North- 
 ern and the other for the Southern portion of the 
 Church j and thirdly, one for each Synod. The reports 
 made to the Assembly of 1810 showed that the first of 
 these plans was preferred; and steps were immediately 
 taken for carrying it out. A committee was appointed 
 to draft the constitution of the proposed seminary ; and 
 upon Dr. Green, as the chairman of the committee, the 
 task of doing it devolved. Adopted, by the Assembly 
 (1811) with slight alterations, vigorous measures were 
 taken to endow the institution. The first meeting of 
 the directors was held June 30, 1812, and the corner- 
 stone was laid September 26, 1815. 1 
 
 1 After adopting this plan of the Seminary, the General Assembly 
 which met in 1811 did little more than take measures for collecting 
 funds for the proposed institution, by appointing a number of agents 
 in all the Synods for that purpose. They also appointed a com- 
 mittee to confer with the trustees of the College of New Jersey, at 
 Princeton, respecting any facilities and privileges which the said 
 trustees might be disposed to give to a theological seminary if 
 located at Princeton. 
 
 At the meeting of the next Assembly (1812) the location of the 
 Seminary was fixed at Princeton, a board of directors was elected, 
 and Dr. Alexander was appointed Professor of Didactic and Polemic 
 Theology. The first meeting of the directors was held at Princeton, 
 en the last Tuesday of June. On August lli, Dr. Alexander was 
 
464 HISTORY OP PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 But the institution had already commenced its ses- 
 sions. Early in 1814, the number of its students 
 amounted to twenty-four : yet its state was pronounced 
 to be " at once promising and critical/' and its friends 
 were exhorted to continue their efforts for its endow- 
 ment. Year after year the attention of the Assembly 
 was directed toward measures for procuring funds, and 
 the ablest and best ministers of the Church were engaged 
 in the task of soliciting contributions. The cause met 
 with general acceptance, and even favor, and from every 
 direction contributions were received. The amount for 
 the year closing May, 1813, was not far from twenty- 
 four thousand dollars. 
 
 A survey of the Church at the close of this period 
 (1815) will bring to view some of the leading minds by 
 which its policy was shaped and its success promoted. 
 In New England were Samuel Taggart, a member of 
 the Londonderry Presbytery, and pastor of Coleraine, 
 Mass., for many years a member of Congress, a man 
 of most remarkable memory and rigid logic ; Dr. 
 Daniel Dana, of Xewburyport, and Morrison, of Lon- 
 donderry, the last a model pastor, strict without 
 austerity, and fervent without enthusiasm, sound in 
 judgment, independent in thought, searching as a 
 preacher, and as impressive in his sermons as in his 
 prayers. In New York were Dr. Samuel Blatchford, of 
 Lansingburg, trained as an English Independent, re- 
 spectable as a scholar, kindred in spirit with Dwight 
 
 inaugurated. At this time, on the opening of the institution, the 
 number of students was three. In May of the following year (1813) 
 it was eight. The Assembly then elected Dr. Miller, of New York, 
 Professor of Ecclesiastical History and Church Government, and he 
 was inaugurated September 29. The seminary was now located 
 permanently at Princeton. In the autumn of 1817, the edifice for 
 the students was first occupied. It was of stone, one hundred and 
 fifty feet long, fifty broad, and four stories high. — Dr. Miller, in 
 Am. Quar. Register, x. 35. 
 
GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 1§00-1815. 4G5 
 
 and Edwards, with whom he was for years associated, 
 of a large Christian heart, the friend of learning, phi- 
 lanthropy, and missions, and instructive and sometimes 
 powerful in the pulpit; Jonas Coe, of Troy, great in 
 character rather than in intellect, wit, or eloquence, pure- 
 minded, judicious, and the model of the Christian gen- 
 tleman; David Porter, of Catskill, eccentric, but kind, 
 tender-hearted, of exquisite sensibility, a man of sharp 
 discrimination, original thought, clear judgment, and a 
 master in theology; President Nott, of Union College^ 
 then in the zenith of his fame and the vigor of his 
 powders, eminent as a scholar, an orator, and a teacher; 
 Aaron Woolworth, of Bridgehampton, L.I., discreet, 
 benevolent, modest, but with heart and lips that amid 
 revival scenes seemed as if touched by " a live coal from 
 off the altar," and with a daily life that in the fra- 
 grance of goodness was " as ointment poured forth ;" 
 and M. L. Perrine, Gardiner Spring, and John B. Eo- 
 meyn, of New York City; the first "the beloved dis- 
 ciple/' "wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove;" the 
 second in the flush of youthful enthusiasm, but faithful 
 to the purpose w T hich diverted him from the bar to the 
 pulpit and has now crowned his age with the memories 
 of a successful pastorate ; the latter, with rich stores of 
 knowledge, a sprightly, active intellect, a ready utter- 
 ance, but with an earnestness of tone, manner, and 
 gesture which dissipated all doubts of his sincerity, and 
 gave to the tide of his discourse the force of a torrent. 
 In New Jersey were Kiehards and Griffin, of Newark, 
 — the former practical, sagacious, discreet, carrying his 
 unfeigned piety with him into every sphere, a safe 
 guide, a trusted counsellor, and devoted pastor, the 
 latter physically and intellectually a giant, just returned 
 from his battle with the Anakims of Boston Unitarian- 
 ism; Ashbel Green, President of New Jersey College, 
 of sound rather than sprightly intellect, sternly con- 
 
466 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 scientious even if wrong-headed, persistent in purpose, 
 with theories that were convictions, and with convic- 
 tions that were acts, — grave, dignified, courteous, leav- 
 ing no man in mistake as to his aims, opinions, or posi- 
 tions, however objectionable, and with a pride of chav- 
 racter and standing that none might call in question ; 
 Archibald Alexander, lovely in mind and person, idol- 
 ized alike as pastor and teacher, in the pulpit fascinat- 
 ing rather than impressive, and destined for more than 
 thirty years yet, as theological professor at Princeton, 
 to shape the views, character, and destiny of hundreds 
 of the pastors of the Church; and Samuel Miller, the 
 Christian gentleman, the model of urbane and dignified 
 deportment, with a consistent piety, a sound judgment, 
 and a balance of character which exempted him alike 
 from the brilliancy and the infirmities of genius, yet 
 fitted him admirably to serve as the compeer of Alex- 
 ander in training up an educated ministry. 
 
 In Pennsylvania were Wilson, Janeway, Skinner, 
 Potts, and Patterson, of Philadelphia; the first liberal 
 in spirit, profound in scholarship, unanswerable in 
 argumentation ; the second, of fair abilities and careful 
 culture, a faithful pastor and discreet preacher; the 
 third, just entering upon a ministry of long-continueci 
 and extended usefulness, and already giving earnest, in 
 his " pungent appeals," of the force of truth pressed 
 home by a clear logic and a glowing heart; the fourth, 
 a practical worker, pastor of a church built up by his 
 own efforts, kindly, judicious, sympathizing, and liberal- 
 minded ; the last, all this and far more, — a man who in 
 dealing with sin and proclaiming the terrors of the law 
 might almost be said to speak thunder and gesticulate 
 lightning, and who seemed to draw his vital breath in the 
 atmosphere of revival ; P. A. Latta, of Chesnut Level, 
 a poet, a classical scholar, and an orator; Wm, Paxton, 
 of Lower Marsh Creek, modest, affectionate, untiring 
 
GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 1800-1815. 4G7 
 
 in pastoral dut}~, his tall, manly frame a fit index to his 
 large heart; Henry E. Wilson, of Carlisle, as pastor or 
 professor, ever active, energetic, enterprising; Samuel 
 Porter, of Redstone Presbytery, the Patrick Henry of 
 the pulpit, a man who had the boldness, tact, and elo- 
 quence that enabled him successfully to confront the 
 Whiskey insurrectionists of 1794 on their own ground, 
 and who with the advantages of early culture might 
 have taken his place among the foremost metaphysicians 
 and scholars of the age; Andrew Wylie, President of 
 Jefferson College; John McMillan, of Chartiers, — the 
 patriarch of the Presbytery, the father of Canonsburg 
 Academy and Jefferson College, impetuous and almost 
 irresistible in his appeals and denunciations; Matthew 
 Brown, successively President of Washington and Jef- 
 ferson Colleges, if impetuous and hasty, yet never 
 shrinking or timid ; Macurdy, of Cross Roads, intensely 
 practical, but intensely devoted to his work, the friend 
 of missions, and a powerful revivalist; Marquis, "the 
 silver-tongued," of Cross Creek, whose voice was music, 
 and whose art of persuasion was wellnigh perfect; and 
 James Hughes, a faithful pastor, a scholar, a philanthro- 
 pist, for years a superintendent of the Indian missions, 
 and finally President of Miami University. 
 
 Returning eastward of the Alleghanies, we find at 
 Wilmington, Del., Thomas Read, none the less vene- 
 rable that he retains the manners, dress, and even wig 
 of the olden time, — an example of hospitality, sym- 
 pathizing with every form of benevolence, a pastor 
 and yet a missionary, retaining still the sympathies of 
 his youth, and as devoted to the Church as he had been 
 to his country; at Baltimore, Inglis and Glendy, the 
 first a most accomplished orator, charming every 
 listener by the elegance — sometimes excessive — of 
 his rhetoric, and the grace of his utterance, but falling 
 shortof that higher standard which Cowpercommeuds; 
 
468 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 the last, an Irish exile, and in every sermon betraying 
 his national relationship to the Irish orators represented 
 by Counsellor Phillips, and in his daily intercourse, 
 and even in the pulpit, venting his Irish wit and humor, 
 yet never forgetful of the character and manners of a 
 Christian gentleman ; at Georgetown, the humorous 
 but sensible, shrewd, and genial Balch j at Alexandria, 
 James Muir, with his staid Scotch gravity and dignity, 
 kind-hearted, studious, Biblical in his preaching, spot- 
 less in reputation, and called, in reference to his stature 
 as well as his meekness, " the little Moses." 
 
 In connection with the Synod of Virginia, we find 
 Moses Hoge, President of Hampden-Sidney and Pro- 
 fessor of Theology, — in the pulpit ungraceful and even 
 uncouth in manner, but with a mind of uncommon 
 vigor, well disciplined and richly stored; James Mit- 
 chel and his youthful colleague James Turner, at the 
 Peaks of Otter, the first animated, fervent, sometimes 
 quaint in the plans of his discourses, but suffering 
 nothing to divert his aim from the heart and conscience; 
 the latter, master of " soul-stirring, tear-drawing elo- 
 quence 5" John H. Eice, at Eichmond, with his varied 
 scholarship, fervent piety, practical talent, and lovely 
 spirit; George A. Baxter, President of Washington 
 College, and pastor of Lexington and New Monmouth, 
 a man as modest as he was great, with an understand- 
 ing comprehensive, profound, clear, and logical, a me- 
 mory wonderfully retentive, a judgment that rarely 
 erred, and a fervent emotion which it needed but the 
 occasion to evoke ; Conrad Speece, of Augusta, with all 
 his wit and drollery, a giant in intellect as well as per- 
 son, and insatiable in his thirst for knowledge; and, 
 besides these, not a few who had caught the spirit of 
 the great revival at Hampden-Sidney, or had been con- 
 verted under its influence. 
 
 Still farther to the South, we meet with the venerablo 
 
GENERAL ASSEMBLE, 1800-1816. 409 
 
 David Caldwell, long a patriarch among the churches 
 of North Carolina, — learned, pious, patriotic, a Revolu- 
 tionary whig, a genial friend and trusty counsellor as 
 well as successful teacher and able preacher ; Robert 
 H. Chapman, President, and Joseph Caldwell, Professor, 
 of the State University, both from New Jersey, and 
 men of sterling worth; James Hall, of Bethany, a man 
 of rare gifts, and, with his magnificent person and his 
 hoary head, — " a crown of glory," — the beau-ideal 
 of nature's nobleman, — untiring in missionaiy zeal, 
 and shrinking from no hardship ; Andrew Flinn, of 
 Charleston, as attractive in the pulpit as unwearied in 
 his pastorate, winning not only by the charm of his elo- 
 quence, but by his grace of manner; Moses Waddel, 
 of Willington, eminent as a teacher, subsequently Pre- 
 sident of Georgia University, a man whose prayerful, 
 beneficent, and useful life well earned him the epithet 
 "blessing and to be blessed;" Francis Cummins, to 
 whom the people for hundreds of miles around looked 
 as their missionary pastor, — a profound theologian, an 
 original thinker, and in the pulpit impressing on every 
 hearer his own deep reverence; and, eminent among 
 many others, John Brown, for several years Professor 
 in Oglethorpe University, and pastor at different 
 periods of several churches, — humble, unassuming, con- 
 fiding, with the law of kindness on his tongue, and 
 called by some of his parishioners " our Apostle John," 
 — opening his lips to pour forth a clear, silvery stream 
 of evangelical instruction, rich with the stores of ample 
 learning and personal experience. 
 
 Beyond the mountains, and in the new States of the 
 West, there were men who had been, or eventually 
 were to be, heard of on the Atlantic slope, — men like 
 Blackburn, Henderson, Coffin, Ramsey, and Anderson, 
 of Tennessee, Rice, Cunningham, Balch, Blythe, Nel- 
 
 Vol. I.— 40 
 
470 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 son, Stuart, and Cleland, of Kentucky, and Hoge, Gillt- 
 land, and the Wilsons, of Ohio. 
 
 Such were the men who held, in the concluding por- 
 tion of the period under review, the foremost place in 
 directing the councils and carrying into effect the 
 policy of the Church. We may indeed regard them as 
 representative men. Not a few of their co-presbyters, 
 in humbler spheres or more remote fields of labor, were 
 full as worthy, full as gifted as themselves; and pos- 
 sibly more self-denying. An obscure parish could en- 
 joy then, with less fear of molestation than now, the 
 gifts and graces of their favorite pastor. Hence, in 
 quiet country neighborhoods, or perhaps supporting 
 themselves in part by labor on the farm or in the work 
 of instruction, many were to be found whose names 
 might have graced a more resplendent record than the 
 Session-book or the list of Presbytery, but whose work 
 has proved not less valuable, enduring, or important, 
 that the only star that hovers over their names is that 
 which college catalogues affix in token of the dead. 
 
 Yet the men who have been enumerated, while some 
 of them, of course, take rank above their less distin- 
 guished brethren in natural gifts, intellectual culture, 
 and the graces of eloquence, were fair representatives 
 of the liberal spirit, enlarged policy, and consecrated 
 aims of the Church. These were the men whose wis- 
 dom framed and whose energy executed the plans 
 which resulted in equipping the Church more fully for 
 her mission, enlarging, or perhaps new-creating, the 
 means of ministerial education, and perfecting measures 
 for aggressive evangelical effort. They were by no 
 means fully accordant on all theological points; but 
 they were kindred in spirit and harmonious in effort. 
 
PENNSYLVANIA, 1800-1820- 471 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 PENNSYLVANIA, 1800-1820. 
 
 At the commencement of the present century, tho 
 Presbyterian Church in Pennsylvania was represented 
 by the six Presbyteries of Philadelphia, Carlisle, Hun- 
 tingdon, Redstone, Erie, and Ohio, — the three last con- 
 nected with the Synod of Virginia. The Presbytery 
 of Philadelphia consisted of eighteen ministers and 
 about twenty churches ; that of Carlisle, of eighteen 
 ministers and twenty-nine churches; that of Hunting- 
 don, of twelve ministers and thirty-seven churches; that 
 of Redstone, of about twelve ministers and thirty 
 churches; that of Erie, of about eight ministers and 
 thirty churches; while that of Ohio numbered 1 eighteen 
 ministers and over thirty churches. The aggregate 
 within the bounds of the State amounted to not far 
 from eighty-two ministers and nearly one hundred and 
 eighty churches. Of these, in repeated instances, two 
 or three were united to form a single pastoral charge; 
 while nearly half the number were vacant. 
 
 For several years the principal growth of the Church 
 was in the western portion of the State. Immigration 
 was multiplying the new settlements, while the eastern 
 and central portions were depleted of their natural in- 
 crease to swell the tide that was drifting toward Ohio 
 and the regions South and West, and furnishing on the 
 frontier "the seeds of new congregations." 2 The popu- 
 lation of the State increased from 1800 to 1810 at the 
 
 » N. Y. Miss. Mag., 1801. 2 Minutes for 1807, p. 382. 
 
472 HISTORY OF PllESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 rate of thirty-three per cent., and from 1810 to 1820 at 
 the rate of twenty-five per cent., amounting at the last 
 date to a little over one million of inhabitants. 
 
 The increase of the Church was not greatly dispro- 
 portioned to that of the population. The ministers 
 had increased from eighty-two to one hundred and 
 thirty-five, and the congregations from nearly one 
 hundred and eighty to two hundred and eighty. The 
 growth had been most rapid in the region around Pitts- 
 burg. Western immigration, spreading along the Ohio 
 valley and the lines of the tributaries of that river, 
 had begun to develop the vast resources of the West; 
 and the southwestern portion of Pennsylvania shared 
 in the impetus thus given to industrial and commercial 
 enterprise. 
 
 In 1820, there were nine Presbyteries, mostly within 
 the bounds of the State. Of these, Philadelphia, Car- 
 lisle, Huntingdon, and Northumberland were connected 
 with the Synod of Philadelphia, while Eedstone, Ohio, 
 Erie, Steubenville, and Washington were connected 
 with the Synod of Pittsburg. To these was added in 
 1820 the Presbytery of Alleghany. 
 
 The Presbytery of Philadelphia, w T hich in 1800 had 
 eighteen ministers and twenty congregations, had now 
 twenty-six ministers and thirty-seven congregations. 1 
 At Fairfield (N.J.) was Ethan Osborn, whose pastorate 
 here was already one of more than twenty years, 2 and 
 was to continue some fifteen years longer. At Bridge- 
 ton and Greenwich (N.J.), Jonathan Freeman, who had 
 been settled at Newburgh (N.Y.) for eight years, com- 
 menced his labors as pastor in 1805. and remained in 
 the pastorate until his death in 1822. 
 
 1 The report for 1819 in the Assembly's minutes is the authority 
 on which I have had mainly to rely for the following year. 
 
 2 Settled previous to 1795. 
 
PENNSYLVANIA, 1800-1820. 473 
 
 His predecessors in the pastorate were George Fai- 
 toute • and William Clarkson. 2 At Allen's Township 
 (Alientown) was Robert Russell, who succeeded Francis 
 Peppard in the pastorate previous to 1800, and who had 
 .been laboring here, therefore, for more than twenty 
 years. At Deep Run 8 and Doylestown was Uriah Du- 
 bois, a descendant of Louis Dubois, a Huguenot refugee 
 who settled at New Paltz in Ulster county, N.Y., in 1660. 
 He was himself a native of New Jersey, a graduate of 
 the University of Pennsylvania in 1790, a theological 
 pupil of Dr. Ashbel Green, and in 1796 a licentiate of 
 the Presbytery of Philadelphia. He was installed, 
 Dec. 16, 1798, as pastor of the churches of Deep Run 
 and Tinicum; but, resigning the latter in 1804, he re- 
 moved from Deep Run to Doj^lestown, where he be- 
 came Principal of a large and flourishing school, and 
 where also he established a Presbyterian congregation, 
 to which, in connection with that of Deep Run, he con- 
 tinued to minister to the close of his life, Sept. 10, 1821. 
 He was a man of great energy and industry, an excel- 
 lent classical scholar, an accomplished instructor, and 
 an earnest and attractive preacher. 4 His successor for 
 a short period was Charles Hyde. 
 
 At Great Valley and Charlestown was William Latta, 
 the successor of John Simonton and John Gemmil. He 
 waB a son of James Latta, and a graduate of Pennsyl- 
 vania University in 1794. In 1799* he w T as installed, 
 and his pastorate continued until February, 1847, when 
 he had nearly completed his fourscore years. 5 He was 
 a fine scholar and a graceful writer. 
 
 In the city of Philadelphia, the pastors of the Pres- 
 
 1 Assembly's Minutes for 1789. 
 
 2 Assembly's Minutes for 1800. 
 
 3 James Latta was pastor here from 17G1 to 1770. 
 
 4 Sprague, iii 200. & Sprague, iii. 205. 
 
474 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 byterian churches in 1820 were Drs. "Wilson, Janewayj 
 Ely, Potts, Skinner, and Neill; while John Gloucester 
 had charge of the African Church. The pastorate of 
 James Patriot Wilson over the Pirst Church extended 
 from May, 1806, to the spring of 1830. Dr. Ewing had, 
 died in 1802, and John Blair Linn, who was settled in 
 1799 as co-pastor with him, closed his ministry with 
 his life, in August, 1804, at the early age of twenty- 
 seven. 
 
 Dr. Linn was a son of Dr. William Linn, one of the 
 pastors of the Reformed Dutch Collegiate Church of 
 New York. After his graduation at Columbia College, 
 in 1795, at the age of eighteen, he commenced the study 
 of law with the celebrated Alexander Hamilton. But 
 this pursuit was far from a congenial one. His taste 
 for poetry and elegant literature revolted from dry 
 legal technicalities, and his mind, under the serious im- 
 pressions made upon it by more mature reflection, 
 was drawn to the Christian ministry. Under Dr. Ro- 
 meyn, of Schenectady, he pursued his theological studies 
 with great ardor, and after his licensure, in 1798, the 
 popularity of his first pulpit efforts gave brilliant pro- 
 mise for his future. But the severe, duties of his pas- 
 torate were too much for a constitution at best feeble, 
 and anxiety, care, and intellectual effort told with 
 speedy effect upon his sanguine temperament, his ex- 
 quisite sensibilities, and his delicate frame. He had the 
 brilliant gifts, but he had also the infirmities, of genius. 
 A fancied slight destroyed his composure; and he 
 dwelt more on the dark than the bright side of the 
 picture of life. His poetic inclinations were perhaps 
 too freely indulged, and he was too ready to draw upon 
 the strength that should have been reserved for the 
 more plain and prosaic duties of life. His published 
 poems, for one so youthful, were quite numerous; and 
 one of them was republished in England. Nor did he 
 
PENNSYLVANIA, 1800-1820. 475 
 
 shrink from the arena of controversy. His reply to 
 Dr. Priestley indicated vigorous intellect and exten- 
 sive research. 1 But, while with years his mind became 
 more equable, he was still haunted by gloomy fancies. 
 He doubted his adequacy to the duties of the minis- 
 try; he scrupled his right to salary for such services 
 as he could render; he looked upon his spiritual state 
 with frequent and deep distrust. In August, 1804, the 
 frail tenement which had been racked by too exquisite 
 sensibilities and imprudent efforts gave way, and the 
 hopes inspired by his early attainments were finally 
 blighted. 
 
 His successor, Dr. Wilson, was, at the time of Dr. 
 Linn's death, pastor of Lewes, in Delaware, his native 
 place, where his father had for many years labored in 
 the ministry. Graduated at the University of Penn- 
 sylvania in 1788, he had fitted himself for the bar, en- 
 tered upon the practice of law, and attained a repu- 
 tation unsurpassed perhaps in his native State. The 
 skepticism of his earlier years was disturbed by a series 
 of distressing afflictions, and he was finally brought, by 
 reflection and examination, not only to a conviction of 
 the truth of Christianity, but to a full and hearty ac- 
 ceptance of it. He at once relinquished the honors and 
 emoluments of his profession, and devoted himself to 
 the ministry. After ten years' labor in Delaware, he 
 entered upon the pastorate of the First Church in Phila- 
 delphia, where he remained for about a quarter of a 
 century. 
 
 Few names in the history of the Church are entitled 
 to more honorable mention than that of Dr. Wilson. 
 His was one of the leading minds of the denomination. 
 Of tall stature, with a countenance grave rather than 
 animated, his features bore the stamp of kindly feeling 
 
 1 Sprague, iv. 212. 
 
476 HISTORY OP PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 and high intelligence. Uniformly urbane and obliging, 
 fastidiously modest, of a truly catholic and liberal 
 spirit, he was the model of a Christian gentleman. His 
 learning was thorough and extensive. Almost a recluse 
 in his habits, he devoted himself to study, and was 
 perhaps the only clergyman in the country of whom it 
 might be said that he not only had read all the Greek 
 and Latin Fathers, but that "he almost literally lived 
 among them/' 1 Yet he was by no means a mere pedant 
 or bookworm. Few men have ever so thoroughly di- 
 gested their laboriously acquired knowledge. His mind 
 was disciplined to its tasks ; and, though he never used 
 a note or read a line in the pulpit, the logic of his ar- 
 gument was clear, concise, consecutive, and conclusive. 
 On a blank leaf of the Tract by Ware on " Extempo- 
 raneous Preaching" he left the following testimony 
 over his own signature: — "I have preached twenty 
 years, and have never written a full sermon in my life, 
 and never read one word of a sermon from the pulpit, 
 nor opened a note, nor committed a sentence, and have 
 rarely wandered five minutes at a time from my mental 
 arrangement previously made." 
 
 His piety was in keeping with his simplicity and 
 humility. His convictions of the truth of what he 
 preached were firmly grounded in his own experience. 1 
 His sermons, if rarely imaginative, were replete with 
 lucid exposition or solid instruction. He sought to 
 bring forth the real meaning and to elucidate the 
 teachings of the Scriptures. Erudite, and usually un- 
 
 1 Sprague, iv. 359. 
 
 2 He once sent to Dr. Green a Hopkinsian work, together with a 
 note expressing his views of it. " The first dissertation," he says, 
 "would require me to change my prayers ; the second would invert 
 the order of my conceptions ; the third, alter my Bible ; the fourth, 
 make me abandon God's justice and frustrate his grace in Jesus 
 Christ." 
 
PENNSYLVANIA, 1800-1820. 177 
 
 impassioned, none would mistake him for a brilliant, 
 but all would adie.it him to be an able, man. 
 
 His eccentricities might many of them excite a 
 smile, but they were never assumed for effect, and they 
 threw Light on his generous, noble, kindly, or modest 
 bearing. He did not like to be put under obligation 
 to any one. He was even proudly independent. For 
 mere forms he had no relish, and for mere authority 
 no reverence. A rigid Presbyterian ism was by no 
 means to his taste. His dislike of all egotism was 
 attested by a sometimes almost ludicrous use of the 
 regal plural, — we. His sensitiveness to any thing inde- 
 corous was extreme. But one who had ever listened 
 to his familiar, instructive, and edifying conversation, 
 or who had ever felt the impress of his warm, loving 
 heart, or who had followed him in his clear and forcible 
 presentation of the sublime truths of revelation, would 
 have felt that all his peculiarities were lost from view, 
 like spots on the disk of the sun. 1 His impetuousness 
 when engaged in debate or controversy — so unlike his 
 ordinary manner — was studiously checked; and when 
 he feared that he could not master it he would absent 
 himself from the place of meeting. 
 
 The pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church — till 
 1812 the colleague of Dr. Green — was Jacob J. Janeway, 
 whose long term of public service has made his name 
 familiar in the annals of the Church. A native of New 
 York City, a graduate of Columbia College in 1794, and 
 a student of theologj^ under Dr. Livingston, of the Ee- 
 
 1 Dr. Ely states that he once heard Dr. Ashbel Green say of him- 
 self and Dr. Wilson that they were both proud men. " But I am 
 proud," said Dr. Green, " and know it ; he is proud, and is ignorant 
 of it." Dr. Green doubtless pronounced him proud, because he 
 had too much independence to be the satellite of any man, even of 
 Dr. Green. One who knew him intimately has pronounced hira 
 remarkable for humility. 
 
478 HISTORY of tresbyterianism. 
 
 formed Dutch Church, he was ordained as colleague 
 pastor of Dr. Green in 1799. Here he remained till 
 called in 1826 to the Theological Professorship in the 
 Western Seminary at Alleghany City. This post he 
 retained but a short time, and from 1830 to 1839 was 
 connected with the Reformed Dutch Church, as pastor 
 in New Brunswick (1830- 32) and Vice-President of 
 Rutgers College (1833-39). His closing years were 
 devoted to the promotion of the various benevolent 
 enterprises of the Church, in connection with its Boards. 
 At the age of eighty-four, after a gradual decline, he 
 died at New Brunswick. 
 
 Neither remarkably profound nor brilliant, he was 
 yet a man to inspire respect and confidence : conserva- 
 tive in council, discreet, yet prompt in action, he was 
 ever ready for every good cause and work. By his 
 influence and example he contributed largely to the 
 prosperity of the Church and her institutions. His 
 liberality was marked, and on principle he gave away 
 in charity one-fifth of his annual income. Kind, affec- 
 tionate, easy of access, he was venerated and loved by 
 all who formed his acquaintance. 
 
 In the Third Church, as successor to Dr. Alexander, 
 was Ezra Stiles Ely, son of Rev. Zebulon Ely, of Lebanon, 
 Conn., where the father was settled and where the son 
 was born. His first settlement was in Westchester 
 parish, in the town of Colchester, Conn. ; and at that 
 time his course was scarcely such as his later years 
 would approve. But a change at length took place, and 
 the rash fancies or ill-regulated humor of youth gave 
 place, at least to a great extent, to a genuine devotion 
 to the work of the ministry. Zealous in behalf of the 
 vital doctrines of the gospel, he believed them to have 
 been assailed by Hopkinsian error; and forthwith he 
 placed himself at the head of its opponents, and through 
 the press and in the ecclesiastical assemblies sought to 
 
1800-1820. 479 
 
 smite it down. His octavo volume in which various 
 heresies are ranged in parallel columns is a literary, or 
 perhaps we should say a theological, curiosity. Time, 
 however, cooled his anti-Hopkinsian zeal, or rather it 
 subsided into a genial and kindly recognition of the 
 Christian character and worth of those whom he found 
 upon acquaintance to be, in spite of every prejudice, his 
 brethren in Christ. 
 
 A man of his active mercurial temperament could 
 not be idle. He was identified with all schemes of 
 benevolence, constantly engaged in works of charity 
 for the poor and suffering, and in all projects of Chris- 
 tian enterprise stood ready, both byword and example, 
 to endorse and commend them. His house was ever 
 open to all who loved his Master, and ministers and 
 students shared his Christian hospitalities, not niggardly 
 bestowed. His literary ability placed him in the front 
 rank of those who exerted influence by the tongue or 
 pen. While preaching to his own charge, and attend- 
 ing to the duties of a pastor as well as a preacher, he 
 was also editor of the "Philadelphian," and proved 
 himsetf ready as a writer as well as skilful in argu- 
 ment. The journal of his experience during his labors 
 in New York, where he was residing when called to 
 Philadelphia, was reprinted in England, under the title 
 of " Visits of Mercy." In 1828, he published his " Col- 
 lateral Bible, or Key to the Holy Scriptures," and sub- 
 sequently a memoir of his father. His labors showed 
 him to be a man of determination and enthusiasm, 
 more than of cold calculation. Quick and clear, rather 
 than profound, his sermons were enriched with frequent 
 illustrations; and, gifted with a voice musical and dis- 
 tinct, and a full enunciation, and possessed of a self- 
 reliance that never gave way, he moulded his audiences 
 at will. 
 
 From 1825 to 183G he was stated clerk of the General 
 
480 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 Assembly, and m 1828 he was chosen its moderator . 
 In 1834, he conceived the plan of establishing a college 
 (Marion) in Missouri, and in connection with it a theo- 
 logical seminary; but the financial crisis of 1837 over- 
 whelmed the project with defeat, and in 1844, after 
 his return to Philadelphia, he resumed his ministerial 
 duties as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, 
 Northern Liberties, where with unabated zeal he 
 labored till struck dow^n by paralysis in 1851. His 
 mind was thenceforth a wreck : yet for ten years longer 
 he lingered, manifesting at intervals the religious sym- 
 pathies of his heart. 
 
 The pastor of the Fourth Church was George C. 
 Potts, 1 an emigrant from Ireland in the stormy times 
 of 1797-98. A native of that country, he had been edu- 
 cated at the University of Glasgow, and licensed to 
 preach by the Presbytery of Monaghan. But the zeal 
 with which he espoused the cause of his country's 
 independence rendered his longer residence in Ireland 
 unsafe, and he directed his course to this country. 
 After preaching for some time to vacant churches in 
 Pennsylvania and Delaware, he removed to Philadel- 
 phia. Here, with the sanction of the Presbytery, he 
 undertook to gather a new congregation in the south- 
 ern part of the city ; and his labors were crowned with 
 success. In June, 1800, he was installed pastor of the 
 church, which from small beginnings became large 
 and flourishing. Popular as a preacher, faithful in the 
 discharge of pastoral duty, distinguished for sound 
 judgment and kindly and liberal spirit, he was spared 
 to complete a pastorate of thirty-six years over the 
 same church. His death occurred September 23, 1838. 
 
 The Fifth Church was under the pastoral care of 
 
 1 Father of Dr. George Potts, pastor of the church in University 
 Place, N.Y. 
 
PENNSYLVANIA, 1800- IS20. 481 
 
 'Thomas II. Skinner, who had commenced his labors in 
 Philadelphia, some years previous, as co-pastor — upon 
 the dismission of Dr. Green — of Dr. Janeway, of the 
 
 Second Church. 1 With this Second Church the First 
 Church of the Northern Liberties was connected, the 
 two constituting a single pastoral charge under Messrs. 
 Janeway and Skinner. But it was thought that the 
 interests of religion would be best promoted by sur- 
 rendering the Church of the Northern Liberties to a 
 single pastor, who should devote to it his whole time 
 and energies. James Patterson, of Bound Brook, N.J., 
 was accordingly called to take charge of it. and was 
 installed January 11, 1814. For one year longer the 
 pastors of the Second Church continued to preach once 
 on each Sabbath at Northern Liberties; but after this 
 the new church was left to the care of the pastor 
 alone. 
 
 -Meanwhile, in hearty co-operation with Mr. Patterson 
 in revival efforts, and through an enlarged acquaintance 
 with the ]\ T ew England divines, the views of Mr. Skin- 
 ner on some theological points had become more de- 
 cidedly Edwardian, and his preaching gave evidence 
 of the fact. He was indeed on this account — although 
 unjustly — charged with holding Hopkinsian tenets, and 
 a portion of the Second Church became disaffected 
 toward him as colleague pastor. Such was the feel- 
 ing of opposition that charges of heresy were brought 
 
 1 Dr. Skinner is said to have been awakened under the preaching 
 of Benjamin H. Rice, while the latter, laboring as a missionary of 
 the General Assembly, was itinerating in North'Carolina. Mr. Kice 
 preached two sermons at Edenton. on a certain Sabbath, and 
 among his hearers (1811-12) was Dr. Skinner, then a student of 
 law. He went to hear, not without strong prejudice both against 
 the preacher and the truth ; but his prejudices were overcome, and 
 the sermons were made instrumental in his conversion. — Obituary 
 Sermon on Dr. Rice, by W. F.. Schenk. 
 
 Vol. I.— 41 
 
482 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 against him, and a request was presented to Presbytery 
 that his pastoral relation to the church might be dis- 
 solved. The injustice of the charge was manifest to the 
 Presbytery • and so long as it was not withdrawn, Mr. 
 Skinner persisted in opposing the request of the disaf- 
 fected portion of the congregation. But upon its with- 
 drawal and the adoption of a compromise which secured 
 his own rights and those of his friends, he felt it ex- 
 pedient and desirable that his pastoral relation to the 
 church should cease. It was accordingly dissolved by 
 Presbytery (Nov. 5, 1815), and, together with the por- 
 tion of the congregation which still adhered to him, 
 he withdrew, accepting a call to the Fifth Church, which 
 occupied a small house in an uninviting locality in 
 Locust Street. 
 
 This church had been gathered in 1810 by James K. 
 Burch, a native of Albemarle county, Va., and a gra- 
 duate of Washington College at Lexington. He was 
 licensed and ordained by Orange Presbytery in 1807, 
 and, after preaching for some time at Newbern and 
 afterward at Washington, was, through the influence of 
 Dr. Alexander, introduced to the pulpit of a Reformed 
 Dutch congregation then worshipping in the Fourth 
 Street Academy, Philadelphia. It was his desire to 
 have them connect themselves with the Presbyterian 
 Church, and, when they declined to do so, he left them, 
 and, with a colony that was organized as the Fifth 
 Presbyterian Church, commenced his pastorate, which, 
 with varied experience, was continued till a short time 
 previous to Mr. Skinner's dismissal. A man of more 
 than ordinary eloquence, but greatly lacking in stabi- 
 lity, he was quite unfitted to secure the confidence in 
 himself or his measures which was necessary to build 
 up a prosperous congregation. 
 
 The church was at the lowest point of depression 
 when Mr. Skinner took charge of it; and for seven 
 
PENNSYLVANIA, 1800-1820. 483 
 
 years, until his call to New Orleans in 1*22, his labors 
 in its behalf were devoted and unremitting. But, 
 
 although not without result, his efforts were not pros- 
 pered as in other circumstances they might have been; 
 and at this juncture it was resolved by his friends, as 
 the only method of retaining him in the city, to seek 
 out a new locality. This was found in Arch Street, 
 near Tenth. Here a large and commodious house of 
 worship was soon erected, and it was not long before 
 crowded assemblies testified to the popularity and suc- 
 cess of the new enterprise. The clear, forcible, logical, 
 earnest presentation of truth 1 from the lips of the 
 youthful pastor produced a deep impression, and ere 
 long the prosperity of the church was fully assured. 
 For many years Dr. Skinner remained in the pastorate 
 of the church, — at a later period filling posts of honor 
 in the Seminaries of Andover and New York, and in 
 the pastorate of the Mercer Street Church, gathered 
 by his labors in the latter city. 
 
 The Sixth Church was organized in 1815-16, 2 and its 
 first pastor was William Neill. A native of Western 
 Pennsylvania (1778), he was exposed in early years to 
 the hardships of frontier life, and, while yet a child, 
 both his parents were killed by the Indians. Thrown 
 thus as an orphan upon the kindness of generous friends, 
 he was placed by them in a store at Canonsburg, where 
 he enjoyed the pastoral oversight of Dr. McMillan. Here 
 he was converted, and immediately resolved to devote 
 himself to the ministry. Completing his preparatory 
 
 1 Dr. J. W. Alexander, in his Letters, vol. i. p. 75, speaks of "the 
 unanswerable arguments of Dr. Wilson, and the pungent appeals 
 of Mr. Skinner." 
 
 2 The Sixth Church grew out of a division of the old Pine Street 
 Church, of which Dr. Alexander was pastor when called to Prince- 
 ton in 1812. On the settlement of Dr. Ely, soon after, the division 
 took place, nnd the Sixth Church was formed. 
 
484 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 studies at the Old Academy, be directed his course to 
 Princeton, where he was graduated in 1803. Engaging 
 subsequently as tutor in the college, and prosecuting 
 at the same time his theological studies, he received in 
 1805 a call to the church at Cooperstown, where he 
 labored till 1809, when he was called to the charge of 
 the First Presbyterian Church of Albany. Here he 
 remained until his removal to Philadelphia. 
 
 In 1824 he was called to the Presidency of Dickinson 
 College, which he retained till 1829, when he became 
 Secretary and General Agent for the Board of Educa- 
 tion. After two years' service, he relinquished the posi- 
 tion, and commenced his labors with the Germantown 
 church, which had maintained for some years a some- 
 what precarious existence, and which he found in a 
 deplorable condition, — broken down, peeled and scat- 
 tered, with few symptoms of spiritual life. In 1842 he 
 left this field, and ceased from the active duties of the 
 pastorate. He survived, however, in the gradual decay 
 of his vital powers, till 1860. 
 
 Active, devoted, and useful, he stood ever ready to 
 meet the calls of duty and supply others' lack of ser- 
 vice by extra diligence of his own. His preaching was 
 lucid and replete with gospel truth, and persuasive and 
 tender in appeal. As a pastor, he was exemplary in 
 looking after the interests of his flock. His successors 
 were John II. Kennedy, and subsequently S. G. Win- 
 chester. 
 
 The Seventh Church was established in 1820-21, occu- 
 pying the building — Eanstead Place — which had beer 
 erected for the use of an Independent church some years 
 previous. The latter church was organized in 1810-11 
 mainly through the exertions of a Mr. Hay, from Lon- 
 don, and in 1812 he was succeeded in the pastorate of 
 the church by the Eev. John Joyce. Upon the failure 
 of the enterprise, the building was purchased by Messrs. 
 
PENNSYLVANIA, 1800-1820. 485 
 
 Ralston and Henry of the Second Church, and devoted 
 to the use of the congregation under Rev. Wm. E 
 Engles, which assumed the name or" the Seventh Church 
 
 The Eighth or Scots' Church had been in existence 
 for some years, but first came into connection with the 
 General Assembly upon the union with it of the As- 
 sociate Reformed body in 1822. In the following year, 
 William L. McCalla was installed pastor, and remained 
 in this connection till 1835, when lie was succeeded by 
 Alexander Macklin. Fiercely orthodox, Mr. McCalla's 
 zeal was sometimes excessive; acute, chivalrous, gene- 
 rous, fearing not the face of man, it was to his praise 
 that he never failed to acknowledge that he feared 
 God. His construction of the constitution of the Church 
 was rigid, and he made no concealment of his senti- 
 ments, however obnoxious. His pulpit talents are said 
 to have placed him in the front rank of the clerical 
 orators of his day, and under his ministrations the 
 church became large and influential. Mr. McCalla 
 was dismissed from his people at his own request, 
 though parting from them with strong regret. After 
 an absence of two or three years, during which he 
 travelled at the South, and is said to have extended 
 his journey to the wilds of Texas, he returned to 
 Philadelphia, and gathered a congregation — composed 
 in part of members of his former charge — which met 
 in a building at the corner of Fifth and Gaskill 
 Streets. 1 
 
 The Ninth Church was organized about the year 
 1823, and in 1825 reported a membership of a little over 
 one hundred, but in 1828 had fallen to forty-three. Sub- 
 sequently Wm. J. Gibson was installed as pastor; and 
 in 1836 the membership had increased to three hundred 
 and sixty-six. 
 
 1 Reported (1837-8) as the Fourth Church. 
 41^ 
 
486 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 In 1828-29, the Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Churches 
 are first named in the minutes of the Assembly. Shortly 
 after, Thomas M'Auley was called to the pastorate of 
 the Tenth, John L. Grant to that of the Eleventh, and 
 Thomas Eustace to that of the Twelfth. Meanwhile (pre- 
 vious to 1836) the churches of Germantown (gathered 
 about 1818 by the labor of a devoted layman, afterward 
 licensed, by the name of Magoffin), Southwark, and the 
 Second of Northern Liberties, had been gathered, of the 
 former of which James Rooker was pastor, and of the 
 second of which Truman Osborn was stated supply, — 
 succeeded soon after by Charles Hoover, — while of the 
 third James Smith w T as pastor. The Second Church 
 of Southwark, first reported in 1827, with a member- 
 ship of twenty-seven, had William Ramsey for some 
 years as stated supply, succeeded in 1830-31 by Samuel 
 Bertron, soon after which the church disappears from 
 the roll of Presbytery. 
 
 Upon the death of Joseph Sanford, who had succeeded 
 Dr. Janeway (1829-31) in the pastorate of the Second 
 Church, the Central Church was organized by a colony, 
 and Dr. McDowell was called from Elizabethtown to the 
 pastorate of it. In 1836, the Western Church, with 
 twenty-six members, and "Arch above Tenth," with 
 ninety-two members, are reported. 
 
 The First African Church, founded in 1807, owed its 
 existence, and for many years its continued support, 
 largely to the "Evangelical Society of Philadelphia," 
 organized upon the recommendation and through the 
 influence of Dr. Alexander. 1 Its first pastor, although 
 never installed, was John Gloucester, a slave of Dr. 
 Blackburn, of Tennessee. He had attracted the atten- 
 tion of the latter, under whose preaching he was con- 
 verted, by his piety and natural gifts, and by him Avas 
 
 1 Semi-centenary Discourse, by Rev. W. T. Catto, pastor. 
 
PENNSYLVANIA, 1800-1820. 487 
 
 purchased, and encouraged to study with a view to the 
 ministry. After having been licensed and ordained by 
 Union Presbytery, be was in 1810 received from that 
 body by the Philadelphia Presbytery, and, under the 
 patronage of the " Evangelical Society," continued in 
 charge of the African Church until his death in 1*22. 
 The house of worship, located on the corner of Shippen 
 and Seventh Streets, was completed in 1811. 
 
 Mr. Gloucester first commenced his missionary efforts 
 by preaching in private houses; but these were soon 
 found insufficient to accommodate his congregations. 
 A school-house was procured near the site of the future 
 edifice; but in clear weather he preached in the open 
 air. Possessed of a strong and musical voice, he would 
 take his stand on the corner of Shippen and Seventh 
 Streets, and while singing a hymn would gather around 
 him many besides his regular hearers, and hold their 
 attention till he was prepared to commence his exer- 
 cises. Possessed of a stout, athletic frame, and charac- 
 terized by prudence, forbearance, and a fervent piety, 
 he labored with unremitting zeal, securing the confi- 
 dence and respect of his brethren of the Presbytery, and 
 building up the congregation which he had gathered. 
 His freedom was granted him by Dr. Blackburn, and 
 by his own application he secured the means in Eng- 
 land and this country to purchase the freedom of his 
 family. He is said to have been a man of strong mind, 
 mighty in prayer, and of such fervor and energy in 
 wrestling supplication that persons sometimes fell under 
 its power, convicted of sin. 
 
 On March 23, 1814, the First Presbyterian Church of 
 Kensington was organized, with only seven members. 
 Its first, and for nearly half a century its only, pastor, 
 was George Chandler, a native of Middletown, Connec- 
 ticut, a graduate of Yale College, and in 1813 a licentiate 
 or' Huntingdon Presbytery. He had preached for a short 
 
488 HISTORY OF TRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 time at Newark, when he was called to take charge of 
 this feeble congregation. Its prospects were far from 
 promising j but he proved to be a devoted minister and 
 a hard worker, attending conscientiously and faithfully 
 to his own duties, and in other respects almost seclud- 
 ing himself from public notice. Not great, but good, 
 soundly orthodox, but liberal toward those who dif- 
 fered from him, a warm friend of revivals, and em- 
 ploying unhesitatingly all lawful means to lead sinners 
 to Christ, his ministerial life for forty-five years was 
 one of quiet usefulness. He received to the com- 
 munion of his church, during his protracted ministry, 
 between thirteen hundred and fourteen hundred mem- 
 bers. Spared to baptize, marry, and bury successive gene- 
 rations, he commanded to the last increasing respect 
 and affection. Kensington Church was the home of 
 his heart. He had no ambition for fame or ecclesias- 
 tical eminence. Lively, fluent, earnest, sincere, and 
 intelligent as a preacher, he sought only success in his 
 Master's work. Every good cause found in him a warm 
 and steadfast friend ; and in the habitual exercise of a 
 meek and quiet spirit he discharged his long, laborious, 
 and successful ministry, leaving behind him a name, 
 example, and memory worthy of lasting honor. He 
 died in 1860, and on his marble monument is the just 
 inscription, " He was the representative of Christianity 
 in its purity." 
 
 At this period the First Church, Northern Liberties, 
 had for its pastor a man who seemed to combine the 
 pungency of a Baxter with the zeal of an apostle 
 His church, which for some years had been a portion 
 of the charge of the two co-pastors of the Second 
 Church of the city, in 1813 unanimously called James 
 Patterson — who, since 1809, had been settled at Bound 
 Brook, N.J. — as their pastor. He was installed Jan. 11, 
 1814, and entered at once upon a difficult and hitherto 
 
PENNSYLVANIA, 1800-1820. 489 
 
 neglected field. It was by no means an Lnvi ring sphere 
 of effort for one who consulted bis ease or thirsted for 
 human dis tin d ion. Anion-- 'us rapidfly increasing popu- 
 lation ignorance and vice abounded. The sanctuary 
 and the institutions of religion wore but lightly re- 
 garded. The feeble organization numbered only fifty- 
 three members, and most Of these were by no means 
 efficient; while the congregation was composed almost 
 exclusively of the poorer classes. 
 
 It was not long until tbere was a marked change. 
 The half-tilled house had become crowded with eager 
 Listeners. It was necessary to enlarge it. The pastor's 
 visits to the lanes and alleys revealed to him scenes of 
 vice and degradation, and his heart was moved by wit- 
 nessing the hundreds of poor and neglected children 
 that swarmed the streets and seemed hopelessly aban- 
 doned to courses of indolence and crime. He had 
 heard of a lady of New Brunswick who had gathered 
 a number of poor children at her house on the Sabbath 
 for instruction; and this sufficed to prompt his own en- 
 terprising philanthropy to a similar experiment on a 
 larger scale. " The Sabbath-School Association of the 
 Northern Liberties" was the result. One hundred 
 children were immediately gathered for instruction, 
 and many more were soon added to the number. The 
 success of the enterprise led to the formation of similar 
 institutions, until at length the churches of the land, 
 generally, availed themselves of their advantages. 
 
 Nor was this all. Prayer-meetings were established, 1 
 
 1 Mr. Patterson's first prayer-meeting was held in a little frame 
 house, with the aid of two apprentice boys, -Lids of sixteen <>x 
 seventeen years of age. His people Boon "laid hold of the thing," 
 and "it went well." Tn the course of a few years be had in his 
 church forty-four meei.nga of this kind every week, and four 
 thousand persons were broughl under religious instruction, besides 
 those in the church. The meetings were held iu the lanes and 
 
490 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 enlisting the co-operation of the members of his church, 
 whose efficiency and usefulness he endeavored to pro- 
 mote. The " lay preaching" — as it was denominated 
 by some — which was thus introduced was viewed by 
 some of his co-presbyters as an unwarranted innova- 
 tion, and for some time was the subject of warm discus- 
 sion in the Presbytery. The general current of sen- 
 timent was against it, and Mr. Patterson was left to 
 stand alone, except as he was countenanced by Drs. 
 Wilson and Skinner, and perhaps one or two others. 
 Some of his measures may have been imprudent; but 
 none could question the philanthropy or piety by 
 which they were dictated. 
 
 His position was peculiar, and called, possibly, for 
 peculiar instrumentalities. He was among a people 
 who had enjoyed nothing worthy the name of religious 
 education, and who in many cases combined the hard- 
 ened features of civilized depravity with the ignorance, 
 waywardness, and undisciplined moral feeling of hea- 
 thenism. To attract their attention, to hold them to- 
 gether, to present the truth to their minds in the most 
 impressive manner, and to train them, when brought 
 to repentance, to habits of intelligent Christian act- 
 ivity, required a rare combination of tact, talent, and 
 devotion. 
 
 Yet this was the task which Mr. Patterson accom- 
 plished. The forcible exposition and stirring appeals of 
 the pulpit were seconded by the fidelity and vigilance 
 of pastoral duty. Revival followed revival, through 
 a ministry of nearly a quarter of a century, with rare 
 frequency and power. Scores upon scores were re- 
 alleys of the city, some of them two, three, or four miles off. At 
 every communion, from fifteen to forty were added to the church. 
 The circulation of printed matter by the prayer-meeting agents — 
 the matter being furnished by Mr. Patterson — led to the establish- 
 ment of the "Philadelphian." — Patterson's Pariphlet, 1830, pp. 8, 9. 
 
PENNSYLVANIA, 1800-1820. 4'Jl 
 
 eeivedj successively, a1 single Beasons of communion. 
 His Influence was felt not only in his immediate neigh- 
 borhood l>ut throughout the city, and even to distant 
 places. His labors in Alexandria, in Washington City, 
 and in other regions, were remarkably blessed. 
 
 And yet Mr. Patterson was not & great man, intellect- 
 ually. He had, indeed, far more than average ability. 
 He had a mind well stored and disciplined. But his 
 devotion to his work supplied the place of genius, or, 
 rather, it was something higher and better than genius. 
 It put to their most effective use the advantages which 
 nature had supplied. It gave, in his utterance of 
 searching truth, a more commanding aspect to his 
 tall, slender, but erect, dignified, and well-proportioned 
 frame. It gave a more penetrating glance to his black 
 and piercing eye. It kindled his intellect to a more 
 untiring activity and a loftier grasp, and it roused to 
 ardor all the emotions and sympathies of his soul. He 
 was ever engaged in his Master's service. He would 
 become " all things to all men, that he might gain some." 
 Affable and kind, he won the love of the children j faith- 
 ful and affectionate, he commanded the respect and con- 
 fidence of all. 
 
 If not studiously original, he was never common- 
 place. He spoke for effect upon the heart and con- 
 science; and an imagination more fertile than chaste 
 supplied him with ready and striking, rather than ele- 
 gant, illustrations. His nervous Saxon words fell like 
 the blows of the stalwart arm upon the anvil, and under 
 their crushing weight the convicted soul was little dis- 
 posed to criticize one who could handle the sledge-ham- 
 mer better than the scalpel. Measured by the ordinary 
 standards of pulpit eloquence, Mr. Patterson came 
 short; and tried by the rules of decorum and ministe- 
 rial propriety, he could scarcely have secured a verdict 
 in his favor. But his ministry, notwithstanding, was 
 
492 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 remarkably successful, and to the last his zeal, devo- 
 tion, and self-denial were unabated. If Horace Wal- 
 pole would have sneered at him, or Chesterfield have 
 called him a ranter, Baxter would have admired him. 1 
 
 The pastorate of James Boyd at Newtown and Ben- 
 salem, which commenced before 1789, continued for 
 more than twenty years; and his successor at Newtown 
 was Alexander Boyd. In 1814, John F. Grier, — a son of 
 James Grier, of Deep Run, — a graduate of Dickinson 
 College in 1803, and a teacher for several years at Pequa 
 and at Brandy wine Academy, commenced his labors as 
 pastor at Beading, where he continued until his death 
 in 1829. Solesbury had Thomas Dunn (in 1814 at 
 Germantown) as pastor previous to 1819. At Pitts- 
 grove, 2 N.J., G. W. Janvier, whose pastorate continued 
 for many years, commenced his labors previous to 1814. 
 Cape May, which had been united with it as a pastoral 
 charge under John Jones (previous to 1803), had pre- 
 vious to 1819 Isaac A. Ogden as its pastor, — although 
 for a short time preceding it seems to have been 
 united with Penn's Xeck, under the pastoral care of 
 David Edwards. In 1811, shortly after the death of 
 Wm. M. Tennent, pastor of Abington, ^orristown, and 
 
 1 In 1837, the Presbyterian churches of Philadelphia were : — the 
 First, Albert Barnes, pastor; Second, Dr. C. C. Cuyler; Third, 
 Thomas Brainerd ; Fourth, Wm. L. McCalla; Fifth, Thomas Water- 
 man; Sixth, S. G. Winchester; Seventh, S. D. Blythe; Eighth, 
 Alexander Macklin; Ninth, Wm. J. Gibson; Tenth, H. A. Board- 
 man; Eleventh, John L. Grant; Twelfth, vacant; Central, John 
 McDowell ; First Kensington, George Chandler ; Second Kensington, 
 vacant; First Southwark, Albert Judson ; Second Southwark, va- 
 cant; First Northern Liberties, James Patterson; Central Northern 
 Liberties, vacant; Germantown, Wm. Neill, stated supply; First 
 African Church, Charles S. Gardner; Second and Third African 
 Churches, vacant. 
 
 2 Several of the churches of New Jersey were under the care of 
 Philadelphia Presbytery. 
 
PENNSYLVANIA, 1800-1820. 493 
 
 Providence, he was succeeded by William Dunlap at 
 Abington. Norristown and Providence wereal a later 
 period under the charge of Joseph Barr, whose min- 
 istry, commencing previous to 1814, extended to a date 
 subsequent to 1819. Prankford, which in 1814 bad 
 John M. Doak, had before 1819 Thomas J. Biggs as 
 pastor; and his ministry continued to a date later than 
 1825. The death of Nathaniel Irwin. March, 1812, left 
 Neshaminy vacant \ but in the following year Robert 
 B Belville commenced, as his successor, his extended 
 pastorate. 
 
 The vacant churches of the Presbytery in 1819 were 
 — Abington, 1 the young and feeble churches of Moya- 
 merising, Springfield, Ash ton, and Middletown, Deer- 
 field, Grermantown, Cohocksing, Bensalem, Tinicum, 
 Alloway's Creek. Durham, and Millville. 
 
 Central Pennsylvania, including the Susquehanna 
 Valley, was in 1800 included within the bounds of Car- 
 lisle and Huntingdon Presbyteries. The aggregate 
 membership of the two Presbyteries was thirty. In 
 1811 the Presbytery of Northumberland was erected; 
 and in 1819 the three jointly numbered thirty-eight 
 ministers and had under their care eighty congre- 
 gations. 
 
 The growth of the Church in this region, during this 
 period, was slow. The ministers had increased in 
 numbers more rapidly than the churches. Emigration 
 overleaped this field for the more inviting regions north 
 and west of the Ohio. The powerful revivals which 
 prevailed among the churches of the Pittsburg Synod 
 soon after its formation in 1802 do not seem to have 
 
 1 John Steel was pastor in 1825 of Abington, John Smith of Ash- 
 ton, James Hooker of Germantown, while John W. Scott was stated 
 Bupply of Bensalem, and Francis G. Ballantine had besn settled at 
 Dcerfield. 
 
 Vol. I.— 42 
 
49-1 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 extended to this field. The churches were depleted 
 by removals, and largely robbed of their natural in- 
 crease. 
 
 In 1819, there were ten vacant churches in the Pres- 
 bytery of Carlisle. These were Harrisburg, — of which 
 W. R. Dewitt was the same year installed pastor, — 
 Greencastle, Waynesburg, Great Cove, Bedford, Cum- 
 berland, JVlonaghan, Petersburg, Lower West Cono- 
 cocheague, and Williamsport. Of these, the four last 
 were unable to sustain a pastor; and of the whole num- 
 ber four only had enjoyed a settled ministry during the 
 period of twenty years. At Paxton and Derry, ~N. R. 
 Snowden (1793-96) was succeeded by Joshua Williams 
 (1791-1801) and James Sharon. 1 At Harrisburg, which 
 had formed part of the charge of Mr. Snowden, James 
 Buchanan — who had charge also of Middle Paxton 
 — was installed in 1809. He was dismissed in 1815, 
 and in 1819 was succeeded by Wm. E. Dewitt, the 
 present pastor. Bedford had Alexander Boyd for its 
 pastor from 1808 till 1815, and Jeremiah Chamberlain 
 from 1819 till 1822. Their successors were Daniel 
 McKinley (1827-31), Baynard R. Hall (1832-38), El- 
 bridge Bradbury (1839-41), and Wm. M. Hall. Mona- 
 ghan and Pennsborough were left vacant by the death 
 of Samuel Waugh in 1807, but had subsequently John 
 Hayes (1809-15), after whose dismission the church 
 was dependent on supplies for many years. 
 
 Of the pastors of the Presbytery in 1800, six only 
 remained in 1820. These were John Linn at Sherman's 
 Valley, Jaines Snodgrass at Hanover, Robert Cathcart 
 at York and Hopewell, William Paxton at Lower 
 Marsh Creek, David Denney at Upper and Lower Path 
 Valley (1793-1800) and at Chambersburg (1800-38), 
 
 1 Died April 18, 1843. — Neviri's Churches of the Valley. He was 
 settled previous to 1809. See Assembly's Minutes. 
 
PENNSYLVANIA, 1800-1820. 495 
 
 and Joshua Williams at Deny and Paxton (1709-1801) 
 and at Big Spring (1802-29). 
 
 The ministry of Mr. Linn closed in 1820. Of manly 
 form, vigorous constitution, and great powers of endu- 
 rance, his disposition was social and cheerful, and his 
 presence in every circle was cordially welcome. His 
 sermons, delivered memoriter, with a voice of remark- 
 able clearness, were uttered with great solemnity and 
 impressiveness ; while his discharge of his pastoral 
 duties was unremitted and exemplary. The pastorate 
 of Mr. Snodgrass at Hanover was protracted till 1845, 
 and that of Dr. Ca^hcart at Hopewell till 1835, and at 
 York till 1837. Mr. Denney was pastor at Chambers- 
 burg till 1838. 
 
 Upon the removal of Dr. McKnight to Xew York, he 
 was succeeded at Lower Marsh Creek and Tom's Creek 
 by a young man who, without a collegiate education, 
 had, by great diligence and application, fitted himself 
 for the work of the ministry. This man was William 
 Paxton, a native of Lancaster county, the son of a 
 farmer; and he had devoted himself, till twenty-four 
 years of age, to agricultural pursuits. But his thirst 
 for knowledge led him to seek the advantages of edu- 
 cation, and his warm piety induced him to prepare him- 
 self for the work of the ministry. In 1792, he was called 
 to succeed Dr. McKnight; and for forty-nine years 
 Lower Marsh Creek enjoyed the labors of a pastor 
 whose diligence, promptitude, and fidelity could not 
 well be surpassed. Of large stature, full six feet in 
 height, — of a manner solemn, dignified, commanding, 
 and graceful. — dispensing in the pulpit with the use of 
 yet never failing to make full and careful pre- 
 paration, — he was as a preacher highly interesting and 
 acceptable, while as a pastor he Avas faithful and affec- 
 tionate. Spared till 1845, he departed in the eighty-sixth 
 year of his age, a patriarch indeed, his memory crowned 
 
496 HISTORY OE MtESBYTEMANISM. 
 
 by his friends and admirers with honors which his own 
 modesty forbade him to seek. 
 
 Joshua Williams was pastor of Big Spring from 1801 
 till 1829. His preceding ministry at Derry and Pax- 
 ton had lasted less than two years. lie had pursued 
 his studies, preparatory to college at Gettysburg, under 
 Eev. Alexander Dobbin, and even then was distin- 
 guished for uncommon skill in debate and great flu- 
 ency in extemporaneous speaking. In 1795, he was 
 graduated at Dickinson College, and pursued his theo- 
 logical studies under Dr. Robert Cooper. 
 
 Dr. Williams was accounted " an able and profound 
 theologian." 1 His intellect was of a high order, and 
 distinguished for acuteness and power of discrimination. 
 As a preacher he was highly instructive and evan- 
 gelical, — although his style was more philosophical than 
 colloquial. In manner he was grave and dignified, 
 earnest but not vehement. Though fond of debate, 
 his nervous temperament unfitted him for the conflicts 
 of ecclesiastical bodies ; yet in private company or the 
 social circle his conversational gifts were of a rare 
 order. His piety was not fitful or spasmodic, but 
 accorded with the character of his mind, — solid, 
 deliberate, and perhaps more than usually inclined to 
 severity. 
 
 A classmate of his at Gettysburg and at Dickinson 
 College, although in age considerably his junior, was 
 David McConaughy, for nearly thirty-two years pastor 
 of the churches of Upper Marsh Creek and Great Cone- 
 wago. His ministry here commenced in October, 1800, 
 and continued till 1832, w T hen he accepted a call to 
 the Presidency of Washington College, which office 
 he sustained until 1849. His death occurred some 
 three years later, when he had reached the seventy- 
 
 1 Sprague, iv. 199. 
 
PENNSYLVANIA, 1800-1820. 497 
 
 seventh year of his age and the fifty-fifth of his 
 ministry. 
 
 The congregation of Upper Marsh Creek removed 
 in 1813 to Gettysburg, the county scat. 1 Their new 
 
 house of worship was not completed and ready for 
 occupancy till 1816. But the congregation after its 
 removal retained not only its name, but its con- 
 nection with Great Conewago. The people of both 
 were devotedly attached to their pastor. Kind, sym- 
 pathizing, faithful, and affectionate, he was an object of 
 universal love, esteem, and confidence. Above all his 
 titles — and he was " doctorated to the highest point" — 
 his distinction was that of "a good man." 2 At college 
 he bore off the highest honors of his class; and in the 
 positions he subsequently occupied he proved himself 
 equal to the emergency. His discourses, both in matter 
 and style, bore marks of careful preparation. Rich in 
 evangelical truth, they were characterized by a classic 
 elegance of style, and delivered in an earnest and per- 
 suasive, if not altogether attractive, manner. 
 
 Of superior natural endowments, careful culture, ex- 
 tensive and accurate scholarship, his unswerving in- 
 tegrity, dignity of deportment, kindness of heart, and 
 anxiety for the welfare and improvement of his pupils, 
 admirably fitted him for the post of President of Wash- 
 ington College, which he filled, with honor to himself 
 and profit to others, for the space of seventeen years. 
 
 1 The Associate Reformed Church in this neighborhood was 
 under the charge of Dr. McLean. Dr. Charles G. McLean was 
 \>orn in Armagh county, Ireland, March 11, 1787. Emigrating to 
 this country, he studied theology under Dr. John M. Mason, having 
 first been graduated at Pennsylvania University. In 1812, he was 
 ordained pastor of the Presbyterian church near Gettysburg, Pa., 
 where he preached for twenty-nine years. He died at Indianapolis 
 in 1860. 
 
 : Sprague, iv. 202. 
 
 42* 
 
498 HISTORY OF PRESBYTEUIANISM. 
 
 The monument of his fidelity and ability is the record 
 of the college itself. 
 
 Eobert Kennedy, a graduate of Dickinson College 
 in 1797, commenced his pastorate at Welsh Kim (or 
 East and West Conococheague) in 1802, 1 resigning his 
 office in 1816, but resuming it, after a nine-years resi- 
 dence in Maryland, in 1825, and continuing to dis- 
 charge the duties until his death in 1843. 
 
 At Silver Spring, which, together with Monaghan, 
 was left vacant by the death of Mr. Waugh in 1807, 
 Henry Eowan Wilson was settled in 1813. He too, 
 like Williams and McConaughy, was a pupil of Mr. 
 Dobbin and a graduate of Dickinson College. In 1802, 
 soon after his licensure, he removed to Bellefonte, Cen- 
 tre county, and commenced preaching. The Presby- 
 terians had as yet no organized church and no house 
 of worship. But, securing the use of the court-house, 
 and devoting himself .to his work, he soon gathered a 
 congregation, and a church was organized. At Lick 
 Bun, twelve miles distant, another was formed through 
 his exertions. Of these congregations he was installed 
 pastor; and, as there was no church-edifice in the re- 
 gion, and no private house sufficiently capacious, the 
 exercises were held in the woods. 
 
 For four years he retained the pastorate, but in 1806 
 was called to the Professorship of Languages in Dick- 
 inson College. Here he remained for seven years, 
 assisting Dr. Davidson in the pulpit on the Sabbath. 
 After this, he commenced his labors at Silver Spring. 
 The church, which since Mr. Waugh's death had been 
 in a languishing state, began ere long to revive, and 
 in the seven years of Mr. Wilson's ministry the mem- 
 bership was more than doubled. His successor, after 
 his dismission in 1823, was James Williamson. 
 
 1 Successor of Thomas McPlierrin. — Assembly's Minutes, i. 101. 
 
499 
 
 Dr. Wilson was a man of remarkable activity and 
 untiring usefulness. i\\> personal appearance was 
 prepossessing. All his movements indicated manly 
 strength and vigor; while his manners were dignified 
 and gentlemanly. Honesl and open-hearted, he could 
 not always disguise hi.s scorn of any thing bordering 
 on duplicity, even when prudence would have dictated 
 reserve. As a preacher, he was aide, energetic, and 
 popular. Rich blessings attended his labors; and he 
 was the instrument of bringing many souls to Christ. 
 
 Upon leaving Silver Spring, he removed to Shippcns- 
 burg, where his devotion to his work would have done 
 honor to the zeal and enterprise of a frontier mission- 
 ary. 1 Jle was accustomed regularly to open the Sab- 
 bath-school in the morning with reading, singing, 
 prayer, and a short address, preach at ten o'clock, 
 and again at twelve, then mount his horse and ride 
 four or live miles into the country, to preach in some 
 school-house or dwelling-house, then return and preach 
 at night in his church. — making four sermons, in addi- 
 tion to the Sabbath-school service, — and riding on horse- 
 back — often under hot suns or in severe storms — from 
 eight to ten miles. He had four preaching-places in 
 the four corners of his congregation, at one of which 
 he preached every Friday. Neither bad roads, unfavor- 
 able weather, nor slight indisposition, prevented him 
 from fulfilling his appointments. His ministry at Ship- 
 pensburg closed in 1838, and from 1842 to 184* he was 
 BeLlville's successor at Neshaminy. His death occurred 
 in 1849. 
 
 At Upper and Lower Path Valley, David Den ney 
 succeeded Samuel Dougall in 1793 ; but, resigning his 
 charge in 1800, he was in 1802 succeeded by Amos A. 
 McGinley, who retained the pastorate till 1851. Within 
 
 Sprague, iv. 301. 
 
500 HISTORY OP PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 about thirty years after Mr. McGinley's settlement, his 
 church had attained a membership of between four and 
 five hundred. 
 
 At Middle Spring, John Moody succeeded Dr. Eobert 
 Cooper, after an interval of several years, during which 
 the church was reported vacant. His pastorate com- 
 menced in 1803; and in 1833 this church, which he still 
 continued to serve, had a membership of nearly three 
 hundred. His pastorate closed in 1853-4. 
 
 At Upper West Conococheague, the successor of the 
 venerable Dr. John King, whose resignation took place 
 shortly before his death in 1811, was David Elliott, 
 subsequently professor in the Alleghany Theological 
 Seminary. At Rocky Spring, Francis Herron com- 
 menced his labors, as successor of John Craighead, in 
 1800; but in 1810 he resigned his charge of the church, 
 and his place was supplied by Dr. McKnight, who had 
 retired from New York to this vicinity, and who, except 
 for the short interval during which he filled the post 
 of President of Dickinson College, continued in charge 
 till his death in 1823. 
 
 Piney's Creek and Tom's Creek, vacant in 1800, had 
 for their pastor, previous to 1803, Patrick Davidson, 
 who remained till subsequent to 1809, and, after a va- 
 cancy of some years, Robert S. Grier, who was still 
 pastor of the church in 1862. 
 
 The church of Carlisle had been left vacant, by the 
 death of Dr. Davidson at the close of 1812; but in 
 1816, George Duffield 1 was called to the pastorate, and 
 remained in charge of the church until his removal to 
 Philadelphia in 1835. 
 
 In 1800, the Presbytery of Huntingdon numbered 
 twelve ministers, of whom four — John Hoge, Asa Dun- 
 ham, Hugh McGill, and James Johnston — were without 
 
 1 Now tli i venerable Dr. Duffield, of Detroit. 
 
PENNSYLVANIA, 1800-1:20. 501 
 
 charge. Of theothers, David Bard was at Franks town, 
 Matthew Stephens at Shaver's ( !re< k, John Johnston at 
 Huntingdon and Han's Log, Eugh Morrison at Buf- 
 falo and Sunbury, John Bryson at Qhillisquaque and 
 Warrior Run, David Wiley at Spring Creek, Isaac 
 Grrier at Pine Creek, Lycoming, and Grreal island, and 
 Samuel Bryson at Spruce Creek and Sinking Valley. 
 More than twenty vacant churches were under the care 
 of the Presbytery. 
 
 Of the pastors in 1800, John Johnston and John 
 Bryson were the only ones who continued to retain the 
 pastoral charge till 1820, the latter remaining at his 
 post till subsequent to 1825. Previous to 1808, James 
 Johnston was settled at Dry Valley and East Kisha- 
 coquillas, and was still pastor in 1820. This was the 
 case also with William Stuart at Sinking Creek and 
 Spring Creek, and with John Coulter at Lower and 
 Middle Tuscarora, both of them continuing in the pas- 
 torate of these churches till about 1834. At Mahoning 
 and Deny John B. Patterson commenced his labors 
 previous to 1803, and his pastorate continued, in con- 
 nection with Derry, for nearly forty years. At Buf- 
 falo and Milton, the pastorate of Thomas Hood, which 
 began previous to 1809, continued till 1834-35. For a 
 portion of his time Washington formed a part of his 
 charge. At Mifflintown and Lost Creek, John Hut- 
 chinson commenced his labors, as the successor of Mat- 
 thew Brown, previous to 1809; and here he labored as 
 pastor till 183-1-35. At Bellefonte and Lick Run, where 
 congregations had been gathered in 1802 byDr. Henry 
 R. Wilson, subsequently at Shippensburg, .lames Linn 
 was settled as his successor (1813), and continued in 
 the pastoral charge for more than twenty year-, the 
 united churches numbering nearly lour hundred mem- 
 bers. After the resignation of Isaac Grrier, who had 
 charge of Northumberland, Sunbury, and Shamokin, in 
 
502 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 1809-14, he was succeeded by Samuel Henderson at 
 Shamokin, with which Bloomsburg and Brier Creek 
 were made a joint charge, and at Northumberland and 
 Sunbury by Eobert F. N. Smith. Isaac Grier had pre- 
 viously been settled, as successor of James Martin, at 
 Piney Creek and Great Island, of which, after a vacancy 
 of some years, JohnH. Grier became pastor, remaining 
 in charge some twenty years. 1 Samuel Henderson re- 
 mained from about 1817 until near 1829 at Bloomsburg, 
 Brier Creek, and Shamokin, and in the last-mentioned 
 year was stated supply at Shamokin, New Columbia, 
 and Holland Eun. Previous to 1819, James Galbraith 
 was settled at Frankstown and Williamsburg, his pas- 
 torate continuing till 1834-35; at nearly the same period, 
 Nathaniel E. Snowden was settled at Millerstown and 
 Liverpool, his pastorate closing previous to 1825. This 
 was likewise the case with William Kennedy at Lewis- 
 town and West Kishacoquillas, William A. Boyd at 
 Spence Creek and Sinking Valley, and James Thomp- 
 son at Shaver's Creek and Alexandria. 
 
 In 1811, the Presbytery of Northumberland was 
 erected, the pastors of it, transferred from the Presby- 
 tery of Huntingdon, being Asa Dunham, John Bryson, 
 Isaac Grier, John B. Patterson, and Thomas Hood. It 
 embraced the churches of Warrior Eun, Chillisquaque, 
 Northumberland, Sunbury, Shamokin, Mahoning, 
 Deny, Buffalo, Washington, Milton, Lycoming, Pine 
 Creek, Brier Creek, Greenwood, and Catawissa. No 
 other churches seem to have been added to the list 
 previous to 1820. 
 
 The Synod of Pittsburg was erected in 1802. It 
 consisted of the Presbyteries of Eedstone, Ohio, and 
 Erie, — all previously connected with the Synod of Yir- 
 
 1 Isaac Grier — but probably another person than the one mentioned 
 above — was subsequently (1816) pastor at Washington. 
 
PENNSYLVANIA, 1800-1820. 503 
 
 ginia The Presbytery of Erie was formed from the 
 two others in 1801, and a portion of its churches were 
 within the bounds of the State of Ohio, — several on 
 or mar the Western Eeserve. At the time when the 
 three Presbyteries were constituted a Synod, Bedstone 
 Presbytery had eleven ministers and thirty-five congre- 
 gations, Ohio Presbytery hud sixteen ministers and 
 thirty-four congregations, while Erie Presbytery had 
 five ministers and forty congregations. The aggregate 
 was thirty-two ministers and one hundred and nine con- 
 gregations, of which not more than ten or twelve were 
 outside the limits of Pennsylvania. 
 
 Of Eedstone Presbytery, the members were James 
 Power (1779-1817) at Mount Pleasant, Joseph W. Hen- 
 derson (1799-1824) at Bethlehem and Ebenezer, Jacob 
 Jennings (1792-1811) at Dunlap's Creek and Little Eed- 
 stone, John McPherrin (1790-1803) at Salem, Samuel 
 Porter (1790-1825 1 ) at Congruity, George Hill (1792- 
 1822 1 ) at Fairfield and Donegal,' 2 William Swan (1793- 
 1818) at Long Run and Sewickley, David Smith (1798- 
 1803 1 ) at Rehoboth and Round Hill, James Adams 
 (1795 F-1814) at George's Creek and Union, James Dun- 
 lap (1782-1803) at Laurel Hill, and Francis Laird 
 (1799-1831) at Poke Eun and Plumb Creek. 
 
 The accessions to the Presbytery in the following 
 3'ears were William Speer at Unity and Greensburg 
 (1803-29 1 ), Eobert Steel at Pittsburg (1803-10 1 ), Thomas 
 Moore at Salem (1803-09), William Wylie at Eehoboth 
 and Bound Hill (1805-17), James Guthrie at Laurel Hill 
 and Tyrone (1805-50), James Graham at Pitts Town- 
 ship (afterward reported as Beulah) (1804-32), N. R. 
 Snowden at Pittsburg, Second Congregation (Oct- 
 Dec. 1805,) James Galbraith at Harmony (1805-12) and 
 
 1 Died in the latter year. 
 
 2 In lator years, Fairfield and Ligonier. 
 
504 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 Gilgal (1805-17), 1 Eobert McGarrongh at New Echo- 
 both and Licking (1807-22), 3 John Boggs at Pittsburg, 
 Second Congregation (Dec. 1807-April, 1808), Thomas 
 Hunt at Pittsburg, Second Church (1809-18), Francis 
 Herron at Pittsburg, First Church (1810-50), Eobert 
 Lee at Salem (1813-19), William Johnston a # t Dunlap's 
 Creek (1813-39) and Brownsville (1813-41), Eobert 
 Johnston at Eehoboth (1817-32) and Eound Hill (1817 
 -31), John Eeed at Indiana and Gilgal (1818-29), 
 John Boss at Somerset (1817-19), Ashbel G. Fairchild 
 at Morgantown and George's Creek, Asa Brooks at 
 French Creek and Buchanan (1819-27), Elisha P. 
 Swift at Pittsburg, Second Church (1819-33), William 
 Swan at Long Bun (1819-22), William Wylie at Union- 
 town (1819-24), Aretus Loomis at Tygart's Valley 
 (1820-23), David Barclay at Jefferson, Lower Plumb 
 Creek, Glade Eun, s. s. (1820-28), and A. O. Patterson 
 at Mt. Pleasant and Sewickley (1821-34). 
 
 In 1802, Bedstone Presbytery had under its care 
 thirty-eight congregations supplied with pastors, and 
 seventeen vacant; in 1808, with sixteen pastors, eleven 
 of its thirty-eight congregations were vacant; in 1815, 
 with eighteen pastors and the same number of congre- 
 gations as in 1808, ten were vacant. In 1820, it num- 
 bered nineteen ministers and thirty-eight congrega- 
 
 1 According to Wilson's " Historical Almanac," James Galbraith 
 was born in Adams county, Pa., in 1780. His academical 
 course was pursued at Jefferson College, and bis theological with 
 Dr. King. In 1807, be was ordained by Redstone Presbytery over 
 Mahoning and Indiana Cburcbes. In 1828. he preached for Franks- 
 town and Williamsburg Churches, in Huntingdon Presbytery. In 
 1841, he supplied Middle Sandy Church, New Lisbon Presbytery, 
 in 1843, Weatbersfield and Rehoboth ; but at length he declined any 
 stated charge, preacbing occasionally as his strength permitted. 
 He was a man of sterling integrity, faithful in the discharge of his 
 iuties. He sank under the infirmities of age, March 28 v 1858. 
 
 2 Transferred to another Presbytery. 
 
PENNSYLVANIA, 1S00-1820. 505 
 
 tions, of which nine were vacant, and six unable to 
 support a pastor. 
 
 The venerable Dr. Power, the patriarch of the Pres- 
 bytery, was spared till 1830, and died in his eighty- 
 fifth year. A strange transformation of the wilderness 
 to the fruitful field, and of the haunts of savages to 
 smiling cities and villages, had been wrought before 
 his eyes. There were scores of churches scattered 
 over the region which, when he first traversed it, was 
 little more than a hunting-ground for barbarous tribes. 
 The place which he selected for his field of labor was 
 far from any of the beaten tracks of civilization. It 
 lay beyond the mountains, one hundred and twenty 
 miles from the settlements of white men. No macadam- 
 ized road, canal, railroad, or navigable stream led to it. 
 The only route to the " backwoods" was a horse-path 
 over rocks, precipices, and marshes, or through the 
 shadows of the deep and tangled forest. Parties of 
 hostile Indians hovered about the more frequented 
 tracks, armed with their tomahawks and scalping- 
 knives. The very nomenclature of the towns along 
 the route — " Burned Cabins," and " Bloody Run" — indi- 
 cated the experience which the traveller had to dread. 
 No hotel, no settler's cabin even, stood convenient to 
 welcome him after the fatigues of the day. And when 
 he had reached the " backwoods," he found himself 
 surrounded with evidences of pioneer hardship and 
 primitive destitution. Iron had to be tediously trans- 
 ported over the mountains. Salt cost five dollars tho 
 bushel. Mills for grinding had not yet been erected, 
 except at remote points; while the terrors of Indian 
 warfare brooded over the scattered and feeble settle 
 ments. 
 
 There was not in the whole region a church-spire to 
 greet the traveller's eye. Except in inclement weather, 
 nature furnished temples in her forests, and "the aisles 
 
 Vol. 1.— 43 
 
506 HISTORY OF PRESBYTEBIANISM. 
 
 of the dim wood" rang with the "hymns of lofty 
 cheer" with which the sturdy emigrant sent up his 
 praise to God. And when the rude log structure was 
 reared for a shelter to the worshipping assembly, there 
 was no saw or plane to shape the rude logs, nor a 
 hammer to strike, nor a nail to drive. 1 The clap-boards 
 of the roof were bound down by logs. The doors, also 
 made of clap-boards, were fastened by wooden pins to 
 cross-bars projecting far enough on one side to form 
 part of the hinge. The windows were small openings 
 in two adjacent logs, and were glazed with oil-paper or 
 linen. The floors, if any were laid, were of cleft logs, 
 smoothed by the axe. Sometimes the church was in 
 shape a parallelogram, — sometimes cruciform; but the 
 twelve sides and the twelve corners were not accounted 
 symbolic. 
 
 Yet in such structures as these, scenes of deepest 
 interest occurred. These rude piles of logs were wit- 
 nesses to pentecostal seasons; and often did the breath- 
 less silence, the deep sigh, the falling tear, or the ago- 
 nizing cry for mercy, attest the thrilling power of the 
 preacher's appeal. Nowhere on the globe was the 
 gospel preached with greater force or with more sim- 
 plicity and purity. Churches were gathered which it 
 tasked the missionary pastors to supply, and a Chris- 
 tian civilization, fast pressing on the track of the 
 pioneer, supplied structures for worship of which the 
 older settled portions of the country need not have 
 been ashamed. It was no longer necessary, — as in 
 early times, — if a stream was swollen so that it could 
 not be forded, that the pastor, unable to cross to 
 parties who wished him to unite them in the marriage 
 relation, should stand on one side, while they stood on 
 the othei, as the ceremony was performed. The Pitts- 
 
 1 Sprague, iii. 320. 
 
PENNSYLVANIA, 1800-1820. 507 
 
 burg region, including the original field of Redstone 
 Presbytery, embraced at the time of Dr. Power's death, 
 in 1830, six Presbyteries, with nearly one hundred 
 ministers and more than one hundred and seventy 
 churches. 
 
 Samuel Porter was another veteran in this field. 
 His ancestry were Covenanters; but after his privilege 
 of listening first to the preaching of Dr. King, of 
 Upper West Conococheague, and afterward to that 
 of Dr. Joseph Smith and Dr. McMillan, he united 
 himself with the Presbyterian Church. By their 
 advice, he was induced to prepare himself for the 
 ministry. Without a regular education, but with a 
 vigorous intellect and a somewhat extended acquaint- 
 ance with theology, derived from reading and reflec- 
 tion, he applied to Eedstone Presbytery for licen- 
 sure in 1789. In the following year he was installed 
 pastor of the congregations of Poke Run and Con- 
 gruity, the former of which he retained only till 1798, 
 remaining with the other, however, till the close of his 
 life, in 1825. 
 
 In several respects his career finds a parallel in that 
 of Patrick Henry. Both were remarkably gifted by 
 nature ; and the statesman was scarcely a more consum- 
 mate orator than the divine. Neither had enjoyed the 
 advantages of academical or extended preparatory 
 education, and each was surprised, as it were, into his 
 profession. Like Patrick Henry, Mr. Porter proved 
 himself equal to every emergency. In the Whiskey In- 
 surrection of 1794, he gave a most striking proof of the 
 power of his eloquence in his successful attempt to 
 restrain the pas-ions, calm the excitement, and expose 
 the prejudices of the insurgents. Strange stories are 
 told of his mastery over the minds of his hearers, of his 
 ready wit. sometimes bordering on levity, his startling 
 imagery, his graphic descriptions, and his overpowering 
 
508 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 appeals. A competent judge who once listened to him • 
 while he addressed the assembly in a beautiful beech- 
 wood grove, speaks of his holding " the large assembly 
 for two hours in breathless attention, while a torrent 
 of sweet celestial eloquence poured from his lips with 
 a rapidity and pathos that dissolved a large portion of 
 the assembly in tears." He speaks of the impression 
 made as one of a moral and intellectual greatness 
 which he had "never before attached to any human 
 being." 
 
 Another veteran pioneer in this region was James 
 Dunlap. He was a native of Chester county, Penn- 
 sylvania, and was a graduate of New Jersey College in 
 1773. From 1775 to 1777 he was a tutor in the institu- 
 tion, pursuing his theological studies at the same time 
 under the care of Dr. Witherspoon. In the autumn of 
 1782 he united with Redstone Presbytery, and became 
 pastor of Dunlap's Creek and Little Redstone. In 1789 
 he accepted a call to Laurel Hill, where he remained 
 until he accepted the invitation to the Presidency and 
 Professorship of Languages at Canonsburg Academy, 
 now (1803) transformed into Jefferson College. 
 
 In 1812, on account of his health, he resigned his 
 office, and removed to New Geneva, about thirty miles 
 distant, where he labored as a teacher. In the follow- 
 ing year he removed to Union town, to take charge of 
 the academy (now Madison College) of that place. In 
 1816, he recrossed the mountains, to spend his remain- 
 ing days with his son William, pastor at Abington; 
 and two years later his death occurred. 
 
 As a preacher he was distinguished for faithfulness 
 and eloquence. Himself a living example of Christian 
 humility, his daily life was a constant sermon. But as 
 
 1 Dr. David Elliott. A. judge quite as competent as Dr. Elliott 
 pronounces the account given above greatly exaggerated. 
 
PENNSYLVANIA, 1800-1820. 509 
 
 a classical scholar, and as an Instructor, he stood pre- 
 eminent. It is praise enough for him to say that ho 
 was accounted above others the fittest man to succeed 
 tho accomplished Watson at Canonsburg. His extreme 
 sensibility no doubt impaired his usefulness. At times 
 he was the victim of melancholy, induced perhaps in 
 part by his enfeebled health, and indisposing him to 
 active effort. His amiable temper, though never yield- 
 ing to an implacable spirit, was in his later years subject 
 to irritability; but a moment's reflection was enough 
 to restore him to himself. His abstracted mood and his 
 tendency to a brooding meditation disqualified him for 
 that measure of social converse which would perhaps 
 have proved as beneficial to himself as to others; but it 
 was not inconsistent with a ready disposition to assist 
 and sympathize with those who claimed his regard. 
 
 Still another of this group of pioneers in Western 
 Pennsylvania was John McPherrin, 1 a native of Adams 
 county, Pa., a pupil of Kobert Smith of Pcqua, and a 
 graduate of Dickinson College in 1788. In September, 
 1790, he was installed pastor of Salem and Unity con- 
 gregations. In 1800 he resigned the latter, and in 
 1803 the former, and removed to Concord and Muddy 
 Creek, in the bounds of Erie Presbytery, in connection 
 with which we shall meet him again. 
 
 The founder of the church in Alleghany was Joseph 
 Stockton, 2 born near Chambersburg, educated at Can- 
 onsburg, and a theological pupil of Dr. McMillan. In 
 1801 he was installed pastor of Meadville and Sugar 
 Creels, where he remained till 1810, when he became 
 Principal of 4 Pittsburg Academy, supplying at the same 
 time the churches of Pine Creek and Alleghany. Re- 
 signing his academical post in 1820, he devoted his whole 
 time to these churches till 1829, when he resigned his 
 
 Spraguc, iv. 1M2 ; also, Old Redstone. 2 Spraguc, Jio. 
 
 43* 
 
510 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 charge at Alleghany, and for the three remaining years 
 of his life had charge of the church at Pine Creek. He 
 was one of the first instructors in the Western Theolo- 
 gical Seminary, and had much influence in securing its 
 location at Alleghany. 
 
 George Hill, another member of the Presbytery, was 
 settled for thirty years (1792-1822) at Fairfield and 
 Donegal, in connection for his first years with Wheat- 
 land, and subsequently with the new church at Ligonier 
 (1798). He was a faithful and laborious pastor, shrink- 
 ing from no personal exposure in the discharge of his 
 duties. 1 In times of high water, he has been known to 
 swim the Conemaugh on horseback, preach in his wet 
 clothes, recross the river, and return to his own house, — 
 a distance of ten miles, — the same day. But such was 
 the vigor of his constitution that he experienced no ill 
 effects. Exceedingly humble and modest, and with 
 great sensibility, he had yet acuteness of intellect and 
 firmness of character, and, when duty called him to the 
 defence of truth, he did not shrink from it. 
 
 Upon the death of Eobert Steel, in 1810, Francis 
 Herron 2 was called to succeed him as pastor of the First 
 Church of Pittsburg. He was at this time thirty-six 
 years of age, and had already made full proof of his 
 ministry. Of Scotch-Irish descent, he was born near 
 Shippensburg, Pa., and was graduated at Dickinson 
 College in 1794. The prayers of his pious parents were 
 answered in his conversion, and after studying theology 
 under his pastor, Dr. Eobert Cooper, he was licensed 
 by Carlisle Presbytery, October 4, 1797. 
 
 He entered at once upon the ministerial work, travel- 
 ling as a missionary to what was then the Western 
 frontier, the town of Chillicothe, — where the first land- 
 office north of the Ohio had been opened but three years 
 
 1 Old Redstone, 415. 2 Wilson's Presbyterian Almanac. 
 
PENNSYLVANIA, 1800-1820. 511 
 
 before, — preaching on his way. His journey led him 
 through Pittsburg, then a small village; and at Six-Mile 
 Pun, near Wilkiusburg, he was prevailed upon by the 
 people to delay till the following Sabbath, when, in the 
 Jack of a house of worship, he preached to them under 
 the shade of an apple-tree. Resuming his journey the 
 next day, he pushed on to his destination, with a frontier 
 settler for his guide, and directed on his way through 
 an almost unbroken wilderness by the " blazes" on the 
 trees. Two nights he encamped among the Indians, 
 then numerous near what is now the town of Marietta, 
 Ohio. 
 
 On his return from Chillicothe, he stopped at Pitts- 
 burg. The tavern-keeper with whom he lodged was an 
 old acquaintance, and, at his request, the young minister 
 consented to preach. Notice was sent around, and a 
 congregation of about eighteen persons assembled in 
 the evening in a rude log structure occupying the site 
 of the present First Presbyterian Church. Such was the 
 primitive style of that day that the swallows, nested 
 in the eaves, flew among the congregation. 
 
 After preaching for Dr. McMillan, and participating 
 in the scenes of the revival then prevalent in the 
 region, he received a call from Buffalo Church; but an 
 invitation awaited him from Rocky Spring, in the 
 vicinity of his home, and this he concluded to accept. 
 Here he was installed, April 8, 1800. 
 
 After a successful pastorate of ten years, he was called 
 to Pittsburgj but here for many months the prevalent 
 coldness and indifference to religious things seemed to 
 impose a barrier to success. He proposed to hold prayer- 
 meetings; but the project was opposed. In concert with 
 Thomas Hunt, of the Second Church, he persisted, and, 
 to avoid objection, the meetings were held in the room 
 occupied by Mr. Hunt as a day-school. The first meet- 
 ing consisted of the two pastors, one layman, and six 
 
512 HISTORY OF FRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 women, and for eighteen months there was no addition 
 to their number. Indifference at length grew into 
 downright hostility, and husbands and fathers prohi- 
 bited their wives and daughters from attending. Dr. 
 Herron was told that the meetings must be stopped. 
 " Gentlemen," said he, " these meetings will not stop : 
 you are at liberty to do as you please, and I also have 
 liberty to worship God according to the dictates of my 
 conscience, none daring to molest or make me afraid." 
 From this time a change was manifest. Several gay 
 and fashionable persons gave evidence of conversion, 
 and a deep and healthful impression was made upon the 
 whole community. 
 
 Combining practical tact with devotion as a preacher 
 and loveliness of character as a pastor, Dr. Herron suc- 
 ceeded in relieving the church from the incubus of 
 debt, and thenceforward its prospects brightened. Tho 
 house was crowded. The congregation and the mem- 
 bership of the church rapidly increased. The church- 
 edifice was enlarged, and from this time his ministry 
 was blessed with successive and powerful revivals. In 
 1850, when he had reached his seventy-sixth year, he 
 pressed his resignation upon a reluctant people; but 
 their gratitude followed and cheered his succeeding 
 years, till he rested from his labors at the ripe age of 
 eighty-six. 
 
 Warm hearted and sincere, his heart was enlisted in 
 every cause which promised good to man or glory to 
 God. His public spirit, his sincerity, and his zeal were 
 acknowledged by all. Missionary enterprise secured 
 from him warm sympathy and efficient co-operation. 
 He was the fast friend of sound learning. Patriotism 
 was a part of his religion, and his heart was alike true 
 to his country and to his God. He- knew the worth of 
 human liberty, and believed that these United States 
 are a peculiar heritage of freedom. 
 
PENNSYLVANIA, 1S00-1S20. 513 
 
 In 1825, when the General Assembly had resolved to 
 found a Western Theological Seminary, Dr. Herron, in 
 
 concert with Dr. Swift, urged the claims of Alleghany 
 City. Successful in securing the location, he entered 
 with his whole heart into the enterprise of sustaining 
 the institution. He seemed to rejoice in superabundance 
 of toil in its behalf; and to no one man does the semi- 
 nary owe more for its present position and success than 
 to Dr. Herron. 
 
 The Second Presbyterian Church of Pittsburg dates 
 from 1803. J It originated with those members of the 
 First Church who could find "no kind of spiritual ad- 
 vantage" from the ministry of the pastor, Eev. Robert 
 Steel. The Synod sanctioned the enterprise, but for 
 many years it gave but feeble promise. Messrs. Snowden 
 (1805) and Boggs (1807) were settled over it, — each 
 dismissed after a few weeks; but in 1810 Thomas Hunt 
 took charge of it, eking out a scanty salary by labor- 
 ing as teacher of a day-school. A church-edifice was 
 erected -, but the debt incurred, reaching at length the 
 sum of ten thousand dollars, bore heavily upon the 
 small and feeble band. At times the prospect seemed 
 absolutely cheerless, and, amid the financial prostration 
 that followed the close of the war, it was felt that the 
 enterprise must be abandoned. 2 Other Presbyterian 
 churches, but in a different connection, had alread}' been 
 gathered in the city, which now numbered from seven 
 to eight thousand inhabitants. 3 But in 1819, Elisha P. 
 
 1 Minutes of Pittsburg Synod. 
 
 2 Dr. Swift's Historical Discourse. 
 
 3 Rev. Dr. Black was ordained in 1800, in the Old Court-House, 
 pastor of the Reformed Presbyterian Church recently organized, 
 and Rev. Dr. Bruce in 1807 was settled over the First Associate 
 Church, where he remained till 184G. The death of Dr. Black 
 occurred three years later. In 1816, Rev. Dr. McElroy, now of New 
 Vurk, gathered the First Associate ilet'unued Church of Pittsburg. 
 
514 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIAN LSM. 
 
 Swift was called to succeed Mr. Hunt in the pastorate; 
 and under his ministry the prospects of the church be- 
 came brighter, until at length it was established on a 
 firm basis. Till 1835, when he resigned his charge to 
 accept a professorship in the Western Theological Semi- 
 nary, he continued successful and abundant in his labors 
 as pastor of the Second Church. 
 
 In 1832, in connection with a revival in the First 
 Church, seventy-three persons were added to its com- 
 munion on profession of faith. As the result, a new 
 congregation was formed, which for some months was 
 supplied by Henry A. Riley. In March (19), 1833, the 
 Third Presbyterian Church was organized, consisting 
 of thirty-six members. Steps were taken for the erec- 
 tion of a church-edifice, which was completed in the 
 following year. Meanwhile (January, 1834), David H. 
 Riddle, called from Winchester, Va., had been installed 
 pastor. This relation he continued to sustain till, at 
 his own request, he was dismissed, in 1857, soon after 
 which he was succeeded by Dr. Henry Kendall. 1 
 
 The Fourth Church — known till after the erection of 
 the Third as the First Church of Northern Liberties — 
 reported in 1832 a membership of fifty, and at that time 
 had succeeded in obtaining as pastor Allan D. Camp- 
 bell. In 1836, the pastors of the four churches were 
 Dr. Herron, Joseph W. Blythe, successor of Dr. Swift, 
 David H. Riddle, and Dr. Campbell. 2 
 
 1 Presbyterian Historical Almanac, 1861. 
 
 2 The Fifth Presbyterian Church of Pittsburg was organized about 
 the year 1840. In 1846, it was vacant, with a membership of one 
 hundred and twelve. In 1849, under the pastorate of Nathaniel 
 West, it withdrew from the Presbytery of Pittsburg and joined that 
 of Ohio. 
 
 The Sixth Church was organized about the year 1851. In 1852, 
 Thomas B. Wilson was installed pastor, and remained in the office 
 till 1855. 
 
PENNSYLVANIA, 1800 I 515 
 
 At the time of Dr. Swift's Bettleinonl a1 Pittsburg, in 
 1819, the observer might have scon, north of the Alle- 
 ghany and Ohio Rivers, a beautiful tract of land, with 
 thirty or forty dwellings interspersed among meadows, 
 fields, and orchards, destined in less than forty years to 
 be the site of a city of nearly fifty thousand inhabitants. 1 
 When it was resolved by the General Assembly to esta- 
 blish a Western Theological Seminary, this was the place 
 selected for its location, and here it commenced opera- 
 tions in 1827. It was not, however, till February, 1830, 
 that the First Presbyterian Church of Alleghany was 
 organized, with fifty-four members. Until the settle- 
 ment of Dr. Swift in the pastorate, in 1835, it enjoyed 
 the ministry of Joseph Stockton, John Joyce, and Job 
 F. Halsey, whose pastorate extended from 1831 to 1835. 
 
 William Wylie, settled successively at Upper and 
 Lower Sandy and Fairfield (1802-05), Eehoboth and 
 Round Hill (1805-16), Uniontown (1819-23), Wheel- 
 ing and West Liberty (1823-32), and at Newark, O. 
 (1832—54), was a native of Washington county, Pa., 
 where he was born July 10, 1776. He studied first with 
 Thaddeus Dod, and afterward at Canonsburg, removing 
 upon the conclusion of his classical course to Ken- 
 tucky, where, after engaging as a teacher for some 
 years, he was licensed by West Lexington Presbytery. 
 His experience* at the West fitted him for the hardships 
 of pioneer life. At Uniontown, Pa., he preached in the 
 court-house and in the orchards and groves in the 
 vicinity, and thus worked zealously and faithfully, 
 until, when he left, there were the elements out of 
 which was shortly gathered a vigorous and growing 
 church, with a house of worship, and a strong Presby- 
 terian influence pervading the whole community. Jlis 
 death occurred in his eighty-second year. 
 
 1 Dr. Swift's Historical Discourse. 
 
616 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 Dr. James Hervey, in 1814 ordained pastor of the 
 Forks of Wheeling and Wheelingtown, and remaining 
 in charge of the former (1814-59) for more than forty 
 years, was a native of Virginia, and in 1810 a graduate 
 of Jefferson College. A humble, consistent Christian 
 man, and a faithful minister, he commanded high re- 
 spect and esteem. 1 
 
 Dr. Andrew Wylie, a younger brother of William 
 Wylie, was elected President of Jefferson College at the 
 early age of twenty-three, and only two years after 
 he had received as a graduate the highest honors of 
 his class. Successively President of Jefferson (1812- 
 16), Washington (1817), and Indiana (1829) Colleges, 
 he still was diligent in the work of the ministry, 
 preaching on the Sabbath, sometimes almost gratui- 
 tously, to feeble congregations. While at Washington he 
 supplied for several years the churches Ten Mile and West 
 Liberty, alternately, and for six or eight years subsequently, 
 till his removal from the State, the church at Pigeon Creek. 
 In his later years he became convinced, as his son states, 
 that some of the doctrines of our Confession of Faith were 
 not fully in accordance with Scripture, and sought for him- 
 self a larger liberty in the Episcopal Church, in which he 
 was ordained priest in 1842. 
 
 Among those who were spared to witness the remarkable 
 expansion of the Presbyterian Church in this region, and 
 place their experience on record, we must give a prominent 
 place to Rev. Dr. E. P. Swift, an indefatigable laborer in 
 w this field. From the hills of Berkshire, in Massachusetts, 
 he brought to his pastorate in Pittsburg and his post in 
 connection with the seminary the careful training of a New 
 England minister and a hearty zeal for the Presbyterian 
 order and faith. For several years before the Western 
 
 1 Dismissed from the congregation of Wheelingtown, April 17, 1827. 
 Wheeling Second Church was organized May, 1826. 
 
PENNSYLVANIA, 1800-1820. 517 
 
 Foreign Missionary Society was adopted by the General 
 Assembly as its Board of Foreign Missions, Dr. Swift 
 labored gratuitously as its Corresponding Secretary and 
 Genera] Agent. Spared to a ripe old age, he could say in 
 1857, when of the eighty-nine members of the Synod at the 
 time he united with it only six survived, " There are now, 
 within a radius of five miles, not less than one hundred 
 churches of all denominations ; whereas there were at the 
 beginning but eleven, and some of these small. There were 
 but two organized Presbyterian churches within that com- 
 pass, having a membership in the first church of one hun- 
 dred and sixty, and in the second church of eighty-eight. 
 From these have grown, besides three in the New School 
 connection, fourteen churches, containing in all ten thousand 
 four hundred and sixty-five members. To say nothing of 
 the others, the First, Second and Third Presbyterian 
 churches have erected edifices which would adorn any city 
 of the globe. The Associate and Associate Reformed 
 Presbyterians, who then had but one each, have now, as the 
 United Presbyterians, nine flourishing churches. The 
 Reformed Presbyterians, who then had but one, have now 
 four churches, each of them probably larger than the one 
 from which they sprung." 
 
 The Presbytery of Ohio at the time of the erection 
 of the Synod of Pittsburg, and after the ministers and 
 churches constituting Erie Presbytery had been set off 
 for that purpose, consisted of sixteen ministers and 
 thirty-four congregations. In 1819, 2 it had increased to 
 twenty-eight ministers and forty-five congregations. 
 
 At Chartiers, the venerable Dr. McMillan continued 
 in the pastorate for over fifty years, and in his eightieth 
 year retained the vigor of a hale and hearty old age. 
 More dependent than formerly on his notes, he could 
 yet, he said, "bawl almost as loud as ever." Revival 
 
 1 Minutes of Pittsburg Synod. 
 
518 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 after revival had crowned his labors, and even yet, 
 after relinquishing his charge, his heart was in the 
 work to which he had devoted his life, and in his visits 
 to the churches and his occasional discourses he still 
 manifested the fervor of a veteran apostle. Self-deny- 
 ing, unostentatious, simple in his tastes and manners, 
 with no object but to glorify his Master in winning 
 souls, he accomplished an amount of labor and exerted 
 an extended influence, the result of which must long 
 endure. His death occurred in 1833. * 
 
 Joseph Patterson's labors at Raccoon closed in 1816, 
 when he was succeeded by Moses Allen (1817-38). 
 Practical, indefatigable, fearless in the discharge of 
 duty, habitually spiritual-minded and serious, yet pos- 
 sessed of an inexhaustible fund of genial humor, he was 
 remarkably successful in his efforts, binding others to 
 himself by his affability, his social affections and sym- 
 pathies, and forcing them to feel the singleness of 
 aim and purpose by which he was animated. The six- 
 teen years during which he was spared, after the 
 failure of his health compelled him to resign his 
 charge, were not idly spent. Removing to Pittsburg, — 
 then a thoroughfare for emigration, — he labored as a 
 colporteur, or city missionary, amid the afflicted and 
 destitute, w T hile he gave cheerful counsel and aid to 
 such as he met on their way to a new home in the 
 West. 
 
 The pastorate of James Hughes over the churches 
 of Short Creek and Lower Buffalo, Va., which com- 
 menced in 1790, extended to 1814, when he took 
 charge of the Indian Mission in and about Lewistown, 
 removing three years later to Oxford, to assume the 
 office of Principal of what is now known as Miami 
 University. After three years of service in this posi- 
 
 1 His successor was Lemuel F. Leake. 
 
PENNSYLVANIA, 1S00-1S20. 519 
 
 tion, his death occurred. May 2, 1821. As an earnest 
 and faithful preacher and a zealous promoter of the 
 cause of missions, his name is entitled to distinguished 
 mention. His successor at Short Creek was Joseph 
 Anderson, and at Lower Buffalo, after an interval of 
 some years, Jacob Cozad, a licentiate of the ^Presbytery 
 in 1818. 
 
 The pastorate of John Brice over the churches of 
 Three Kidges and Forks of Wheeling, which com- 
 menced in 1790, closed in 1807, when, after an interval 
 of two years, he was succeeded by Joseph Stevenson. 
 The latter, however, shortly afterward relinquished his 
 charge at the Forks, and it was united under a single 
 pastoral charge with Wheeling, that had long been 
 vacant, but over which James Hervey was settled in 
 1814. 
 
 The ministry of Thomas Marquis at Cross Creek 
 extended from 1794 till 1826, when the infirmities of 
 age compelled him to resign his post. His labors at 
 Upper Buffalo, which commenced also in 1794, closed 
 in 1798, and he was succeeded here in 1801 by John 
 Anderson, whose pastorate closed in 1833. Few men 
 on the field accomplished so much or left behind 
 them so enviable a reputation as Thomas Marquis, 
 " the silver-tongued." He was at once a pastor and a 
 missionary, a laborer himself and a judicious director 
 of the labors of others. Below the middle stature, but 
 of compact build, and somewhat corpulent, he retained 
 to his last years a remarkable degree of activity and 
 vigor. His features were small, but finely formed, and 
 the lines of thought were traced deeply on his forehead. 
 Mild and frank in common intercourse, courteous yet 
 dignified in his demeanor, he never repelled by aus- 
 terity or offended by levity those with whom he was 
 associated. As he rose in the pulpit, evidently under 
 a deep sense of the solemnity of his office, calm and 
 
520 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 composed, as well as earnest, there was a sweet be- 
 nignity in his tones that charmed every ear and at- 
 tracted every eye. As he warmed with his subject, he 
 bore his audience with him on the tide of his own 
 emotion, and sometimes their intenseness of feeling 
 seemed to outvie his own. As he proceeded in his 
 discourse, it was manifest that — master of his theme — 
 he had full control of his audience. Logical in ar- 
 rangement, perspicuous in expression, "a running 
 brook upon a silvery bed could not show more clearly 
 the pebbles in its path than do his sentences the exact 
 shade of idea in his mind/' 1 With a voice remarkably 
 musical and under perfect control, and a power and 
 delicacy of emotion ever exhibited in the speaking 
 features or tearful eye, he was a master of the arts of 
 persuasion, and his appeals were almost irresistible. On 
 some occasions, hundreds of strong men were to be seen 
 weeping like children, under his preaching. By Dr. 
 Matthew Brown, President of Jefferson College, — who 
 indulged, indeed, at times, in too great latitude of ex- 
 pression, — he was pronounced the most effective orator 
 to whom he had ever listened. To a remarkable 
 extent he combined "solemnity with vivacity, mild- 
 ness with earnestness, affection with authority, and a 
 Christ-like pungency" in the application of truth "with 
 the holy unction which it belongs to the Spirit alone to 
 impart." Many of the Presbyterian congregations in 
 Ohio had their foundations laid by colonies from his 
 church. 2 
 
 The pastoral labors of Thomas Moore at Ten-Mile 
 
 1 Sprague, Annals, iv. 88. 
 
 2 It is said that. Dr. Ashbel Green, after hearing Mr. Marquis 
 in his own pulpit in Philadelphia, was so deeply affected by the 
 matter and manner of his discourse that he resolved to abandon 
 lis own method and adopt that of Marquis. — Old Redstone, p. 434. 
 
PENNSYLVANIA, 1800-1820. 521 
 
 closed in 1803, upon his removal to Salem, and his 
 successor was the son of his gifted predecessor, Thad- 
 deusDod. His dismission, and the installation of Cephas 
 
 Dodd, took place at the same meeting of Presbytery, 
 Dec. 14, 1803. Although it was mid-winter, the services 
 connected wnth the ordination and installation were held 
 in Joseph Kiggs's "sugar-camp, with the open canopy 
 of the heaven for a temple, the snow for a carpet, and 
 the wind whistling through the leafless branches of the 
 
 to to 
 
 trees as an accompaniment to the solemn music, as it 
 pealed forth from a choir consisting of hundreds of 
 voices." 1 
 
 The pastor was the honored son of an honored father. 
 He possessed a clear, strong mind, enriched by manly 
 culture and varied learning. His character, in which 
 practical wisdom, a tranquil and uniform piety, and the 
 sympathies of a loyal and enduring friendship were 
 combined, w T as singularly complete, harmonious, and 
 symmetrical. A good scholar, a sound divine, a pru- 
 dent counsellor, he was also a tender and faithful 
 preacher. In addresses on sacramental and funeral 
 occasions, he greatly excelled. Perhaps his deficiency 
 in doctrinal preaching, of w T hich complaint was made, 
 was due in part to Mr. Moore's excess. About the 
 year 1816, he relinquished the charge of Upper Ten- 
 Mile, where he was succeeded by Thomas Hoge (1817- 
 19), Andrew Wylie (1819-21), Boyd Mercer (1821-22). 
 Ludovicus Bobbins, Cornelius Laughran, Jacob Lind- 
 ley, and subsequently, among others, James M. Smith 
 and Nicholas Murray. At Lower Ten-Mile, or Amity, 
 Mr. Dodd continued in the pastorate until increasing 
 infirmities compelled him to resign his charge (1855), 
 after a ministry of over half a century. His death 
 occurred in 1858. 
 
 1 Wines's Historical Discourse, 18. 
 
 44* 
 
522 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 The pastorate of Samuel Ealston at Mingo Creek 
 and Williamsport — now Monongahela City — continued 
 at the former place for forty and at the latter for 
 thirty-five years (1794-1829). Till fourscore years of 
 age, he would not relinquish his sphere of active service, 
 and for the remaining fifteen years of his life his mind 
 still retained much of the vigor of earlier years. His 
 career closed in 1851, when he had reached his ninety- 
 fifth year. 
 
 At Bethel and Lebanon, William Woods was called 
 to the pastorate on the decease of his venerable pre- 
 decessor, John Clark, in 1797. Of the former he re- 
 tained the pastoral charge for thirty-four years (1797- 
 1831), resigning the other after a period of nearly 
 twenty-five. His successor in the first was George 
 Marshall, and in the last, Thomas D. Baird. Mr. Woods 
 was a native of Lancaster county, and a graduate of 
 Dickinson College. He studied theology in part with 
 Dr. Smith of Pequa, and in part under Dr. Wither- 
 spoon. For some time preceding his acceptance of 
 his call to Lebanon and Bethel he labored as a mis- 
 sionary in the surrounding region. 1 
 
 At Mill Creek and the Flats, George M. Scott was 
 settled about 1801, and his pastorate continued till 
 April, 1826, — from 1819, when Washington Presbytery 
 was erected, as a member of that body. 
 
 At Upper Buffalo, John Anderson commenced his 
 ministry in 1801, and resigned his charge, on account 
 of declining health, in 1833. Plain, candid, sincere, 
 and straightforward in all his intercourse, he had little 
 taste for display; and his quick, keen discrimination 
 of character was almost sure to penetrate any dis- 
 guise. There was in his manner a deep solemnity and 
 earnestness, which was not made less effective by his 
 
 1 Old Redstone, 354. 
 
1800-1820. 523 
 
 slender form, thin visage, cadaverous complexion, and 
 small, dark eye which kindled responsive to his quick 
 emotions. As a preacher he was searching and pun- 
 gent, and his discourses were well digested and Logically 
 arranged. Eminent as a theological teacher, a warm 
 friend of missions, a self-denying and devoted pastor, 
 he holds a high rank among the pioneer pastors of the 
 Church. For several years preceding his settlement 
 within the bounds of the Presbytery, he itinerated in 
 Kentucky and Tennessee, crossing over repeatedly into 
 Ohio and Indiana. 
 
 At Pigeon Creek — for some time a part of Dr. McMil- 
 lan's charge — Andrew Gwin was settled in 1800, and 
 his pastorate, which included also the congregation of 
 Pike Pun, was continued till Oct. 7, 1819. Upon his 
 dismissal, Dr. Andrew Wylie served some years as 
 stated supply. 1 
 
 Miller's Pun, three miles distant from Canonsburg, 
 was supplied by John Watson, who had charge of the 
 institution at the latter place from the time of his licen- 
 sure in 1798 till his death in 1802. Dr. James Dunlap, 
 who succeeded him as President of what had now 
 become Jefferson College, succeeded him also as pastor 
 of the church until his resignation of the Presidency 
 and his removal to Xew Geneva, in 1812. His successor 
 at Miller's Pun, as well as in the Presidency of the 
 
 1 The succeeding pastors -were Dr. W. C. Anderson, 1832-3G; E. S. 
 Graham, 1836-44; and James Sloan. Communicants in 1854, three 
 hundred and seventy. 
 
 Andrew Gwin occasioned no little trouble to the Presbytery; 
 and his case was finally carried up to the Synod and General As- 
 sembly. Dr. McMillan at first took his part, but finally was con- 
 vinced that his judgment had been too favorable. The records of 
 the General Assembly reveal little of the character of the difficulty. 
 The Presbytery suspended him from the ministry; and when the 
 Bynod had reversed the decision, the Assembly sustained the 
 Presbytery. This was in 1819. 
 
524 HISTORY or PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 college was Dr. Andrew Wylie (1812-16), upon whose re- 
 signation as President, William McMillan, a nephew of 
 the venerable Dr. John McMillan, was elected to the 
 vacant post, and succeeded him also at Miller's Run. 
 The resignation of President McMillan took place in 
 1822. The church was subsequently for many years 
 under the care of William Smith, professor in the 
 college, while the newly-organized church at Canons- 
 burg enjoyed the services of Dr. Matthew Brown, the 
 successor of McMillan in the Presidency. 
 
 At Washington, which had been vacant many years, 1 
 President Brown was settled in the spring of 1805. 
 Here he labored in the double capacity of pastor, 
 and Principal of the Washington Academy, char- 
 tered in 1787, but originated largely through the en- 
 terprise of that pioneer of Redstone Presbytery, Thad- 
 deus Dod. In the spring of 1806, a year from the 
 time when Dr. Brow T n took charge of the institution, 
 it was merged into Washington College; and he re- 
 tained the Presidency until difficulties w T hich occurred 
 led to his resignation in 1816. Although urgently 
 invited to other spheres of effort, he retained the 
 pastorate of the church until his acceptance of the 
 Presidency of Jefferson College in 1822. His suc- 
 cessor at Washington in the Presidency was Dr. 
 Andrew Wylie, and in the pastorate of the church 
 Obadiah Jennings, subsequently of Nashville, and son 
 of Jacob Jennings of Dunlap's Creek. 
 
 At Richland, Ohio, Short Creek (West Liberty, Va.), 
 and Cross-Roads, Joseph Anderson, a licentiate of Ohio 
 Presbytery in 1799 or 1800, commenced, shortly after, 
 a pastorate which was continued at Short Creek and 
 St. Clairsville for about thirty years, and in connec- 
 tion with Steubenville Presbytery after its erection 
 
 1 See Assembly's Minutes for 1799 and 1803. 
 
525 
 
 in 1818. His successor al Short Creek was Benjamin 
 Mitchel in 1830, and al Cross-Boads 1 — united with 
 Three Springs under one pastoral charge — Elisha 
 Macurdy in June, 1800. 
 
 Few men have accomplished more for the cause of 
 Christ than Mr. .Macurdy. With no brilliant or 
 striking qualities, he was distinguished by sound 
 practical judgment and strong common sense. Of 
 medium size, sandy hair and complexion, with nothing 
 peculiarly marked in his features, the ordinary ob- 
 server would have discovered nothing in bis appear- 
 ance to attract special attention. But his sagacity in 
 the discernment of character, and the readiness with 
 which be could adapt himself to different types of in- 
 tellect and feeling, conjoined with an uncommon con- 
 stitutional ardor, which was hallowed by an unreserved 
 consecration to his Master's work, made him re- 
 markably effective in the spheres of labor w T hich he 
 was called to occupy. Nothing could daunt his reso- 
 lution. Difficulty fired rather than taxed his energy. 
 As a preacher he was direct, earnest, and bold, never 
 daubing w T ith untempered mortar, or softening down 
 the truth of God to make it palatable to squeamish 
 consciences. With little of literary taste or refine- 
 ment, his uncompromising plainness, his manifest sin- 
 cerity, his deep-toned piety, and the strictly evangelical 
 character of his utterances, supplied every minor 
 defect. In the revivals which occurred during the 
 early period of his ministry in Western Pennsylvania, 
 he took a leading part; and his labors in the cause of 
 missions, both by itinerating among the new settle- 
 ments and in visiting the Synod's missions to the 
 Indians, attest his persevering ardor ; n the great work 
 
 1 It is possible that the Cross-Roads of Anderson's is net the 
 same with that of Macurdy's charge. 
 
526 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 to which he had devoted his life. In the fall of 1823, 
 in consequence of enfeebled health, he was constrained 
 to resign his charge of Three Springs, and in 1835 
 that of Cross-Eoads. At the former, in conjunction 
 with the Flats, he was succeeded by Samuel Reed, and 
 at the latter by L. R. McAboy. His death occurred 
 July, 1845, in his eighty-third year. 
 
 At Steubenville and Island Creek, James Snodgrass, 
 a candidate under the care of the Presbytery in 1799, 
 commenced his labors in 1802. To this field he was 
 sent as a missionary by the Presbytery. 1 In (October) 
 1816 he was dismissed, and at Steubenville was suc- 
 ceeded first by Obadiah Jennings, who subsequently 
 (1822) removed to Washington, and, after his dismission, 
 by Charles Clinton Beatty (1823-37). In 1838-39, the 
 Second Church, gathered by Dr. Beatty's labors, called 
 him as its pastor (1838—47). Crab Apple and Beech 
 Spring congregations appear to have been gathered 
 shortly after 1802; and of these John Rhea had for 
 many years the pastoral charge. At Crab Apple his 
 successors were Thomas Clark (June, 1811-1820),* 
 Solomon Cowles (1822-30), and subsequently Jacob 
 Coon (1831) and Moses Allen; while his pastorate at 
 Beech Spring continued for nearly fifty years. 
 
 Two Ridges and Yellow Creek (Richmond) became 
 the pastoral charge of William McMillan in 1806. In 
 1812 he was dismissed, subsequently accepting the 
 Presidency of Jefferson College. After a vacancy of 
 some years, his successor (1819) was Thomas Hunt, 
 whose pastorate continued till near 1840. 
 
 i Minutes of 1803. From 1819 to 1825 he was pastor of Island 
 Creek. His successor here was John E. Tidball. 
 
 2 Nottingham became a part of Mr. Clark's charge as early as 
 [817. A year or two later, Fairview was joined with it; and in 
 1822, William Wallace became pastor of both. 
 
PENNSYLVANIA, 1S00-1820. 527 
 
 To complete the list of the pastors of the Presbytery 
 from 1800 to 1819, it is only necessary to add that in 
 1812 Michael Law was settled at Montour's Run (as 
 successor of J. McLean, dismissed 1808) and Hopewell; 
 in 1809, Joseph Stevenson at Three Eidges and Wheel- 
 ing, Andrew McDonald in 1810 at White Oak, the 
 F\sl% and Flagerty's Eun (1810-23); and Thomas 
 Hoge (1818, s. s.) at East Buffalo, and three or four 
 years later at Claysville. 1 
 
 The churches vacant and unable to support a pastor 
 were, in 1803, Jefferson, Waynesburg, Chai'lestown, 
 Grave Creek, Yellow Creek, and Long's Eun; in 1819, 
 Concord, Hopewell, Cross-Eoads, and Charlestown. 
 At the latter date, Pigeon Creek, Lower Buffalo, Short 
 Creek, New Providence, and Jefferson were vacant, but 
 able to support a pastor. 
 
 The Presbytery of Erie, erected in 1801, embraced 
 the northwestern portion of the field covered by the 
 two Presbyteries of Redstone and Ohio, out of which 
 it was formed. A portion of Eastern Ohio — and at 
 length the Western Reserve — was embraced within its 
 bounds. Its original membership consisted of five 
 ministers, — Thomas E. Hughes at Salem (till 1808) and 
 Mount Pleasant (till 1839), William Wick at Hopewell 
 and Youngstown (1799-1814), Samuel Tait at Upper 
 Salem (1800-06) and Cool Spring, subsequently at Mer- 
 cer (1807-41) and Salem (1814-20), Joseph Stockton at 
 Meadville and Sugar Creek (1800-10), and Robert Lee 
 (till 1807) at Amity and Big Spring. 
 
 The accessions to the Presbytery at its organization, or 
 soon after, were James Satterfield, 2 settled at Moorfield and 
 
 1 In 1814, James Hervey was settled as pastor of Wheeling Town 
 and Forks of Wheeling. Mr. Stevenson (dismissed from Three 
 Ridges in 1825) was succeeded in 1828 by John MeClusky. 
 
 2 Satterfield and Wylie were original members of Erie Presbytery. 
 
528 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 Upper Neshanock (1802-12), William Wylie at Fairfield 
 and Upper and Lower Sandy (1802-05), John Boyd at 
 Union and Slate Lick (1803-10), and Abraham Boyd at 
 Bull Creek (1803-20), Middlesex (1803-17), and subse- 
 quently (1817-21) Deer Creek. The vacant churches of 
 the Presbytery, including Erie, Oil Creek, Poland, Warren, 
 and several more on the Reserve, numbered twenty-one. 
 
 In 1803, Mr. Badger wrote, " Twelve ministers are 
 now settled north of the Ohio waters in Pennsylvania. 
 These, with Mr. Wick and myself in this county/ form 
 the Erie Presbytery. There are sixteen congregations 
 newly formed within the bounds of this Presbytery, who are 
 seeking for supplies, and several for candidates to settle 
 with them ; but there are not more than two or three 
 licentiates on this side of the mountain. Several con- 
 gregations will be formed in this county within another 
 year." 
 
 During the year (1802) William Wood was settled 
 at Centre (1802-08) and Plain Grove (1802-16) ; Alex- 
 ander Cook at Slippery Spring and New Castle (1803- 
 09), and Robert Patterson at Upper and Lower Green- 
 field (1803-07). In 1804, Robert Johnston was settled 
 at Bear Creek (1804-07) and Scrub Grass (1803-11), 
 Nicholas Pittenger at Westfield (1804-08) and Poland 
 (1804-10), and John McPherrin, whose pastorate at 
 Salem, in connection with Redstone Presbytery, closed 
 in 1803, commenced his labors at Concord and Muddy 
 Creek, — Concord and Harmony (1809-14), and subse- 
 quently Concord and Butler, forming his charge till his 
 death in 1822. 2 
 
 Satterfield died in 1857, — a member at that time of Beaver Presby- 
 tery, — aged ninety years. 
 
 1 Trumbull county, or the Western Keserve. 
 
 2 Over the congregation of Butler, which he is said to have 
 
PENNSYLVANIA 1800-1830. 529 
 
 111 1807, Benjamin Boyd ' was ordained and installed 
 pastor of Beulah, Trumbull, and Pymatuning (1800-09), 
 and Samuel Tait, dismissed from Upper Salem, was settled 
 at Mercer (1-806-41) and Cool Spring, subsequently Salem. 
 In 1808, Cyrus Riggs was settled at Fairfield and Mill 
 Creek (1807-12) ; Reed Bracken at Plane (1808-19) and 
 Nebo (1808-45) ; Johnston Eaton at Springfield and Fair- 
 view (1808-15), taking charge in 1815 of Fairview (1815- 
 47), Erie, and North-East, demitting the charge of North- 
 East after 1817, and of Erie after 1822; and James Boyd 
 at Newtown and Warren (1808-13). 2 
 
 In 1808, the Presbytery of Hartford was formed from 
 that of Erie, by setting off to it eight ministers with their 
 congregations, covering the region of the Western Reserve. 
 In 1810, John Matthews was settled at Gravel Run (1810- 
 14) and Waterford (1810-17). In 1811, Robert Johnston 
 was settled at Meadville, Sugar Creek, and Conneaut Lake 
 (1811-17). In 1814, Cyrus Riggs was settled at Scrub 
 Grass (1814-23) and West Unity (1814-21), and Ira Con- 
 dit at Fairfield and Big Sugar Creek, retaining the former — 
 in connection for a period with Georgetown and Cool 
 Spring — for many years. In 1815, John Redick was 
 settled at Slate Lick and Union (1815-48), and in 1818, 
 John Munson at Plain Grove and Centre, where he re- 
 mained during an extended pastorate. In 1819, Phineas 
 Camp was settled at Westfield — formerly Chetauque Cross- 
 Roads— (1819-21), and Reed Bracken at Middlesex. In 
 1821, John Van Liew commenced his pastorate at Mead- 
 ville. 
 
 The vacant churches of the Presbytery numbered 
 twenty in 1802; and of these twelve were unable to 
 
 gathered, he was installed in 1813. — Records of Synod of Pittsburg, 
 p. 106. 
 
 1 Ordained in 1806. Labored in later years in Kentucky and In- 
 diana. Died at Newport, Ky., in 1859. 
 
 1 His death occurred in 1813. 
 Vol. I.— 45 
 
530 HISTCKY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 support a pastor. In 1808, the nine ordained min- 
 isters of the Presbytery had increased to nineteen, and 
 the congregations had risen from thirty-nine to sixty- 
 five, of which thirty-seven were vacant,— twenty-six 
 being unable to support a pastor. Hartford Presby- 
 tery — known as Beaver after 1833 — numbered in 1815 
 — seven years after its erection — thirteen ministers, 
 and forty-one congregations, of which fifteen were 
 vacant. In 1820 the Presbytery of Alleghany was 
 formed from that of Erie, the latter numbering in 
 the following year seven ministers and twenty-nine 
 congregations. 
 
 Of the members of Erie Presbytery — occupying for 
 several years after its erection one of the most ar- 
 duous posts of frontier missionary service — we should 
 welcome a more extended record than any that has 
 been left us. Nearly all of them were, in fact, primi- 
 tive bishops. Groups of churches have sprung up 
 within what were once the bounds of a single parish. 
 Yet the pastors of the Presbytery often extended 
 their preaching-tours to regions far distant, devoting 
 from one-fourth to one-half of their time to strictly 
 missionary labor, and in many instances absenting 
 themselves from home for months, in order to visit 
 the stations among the Indian tribes. 
 
 Among these men were Thomas E. Hughes, the first 
 minister of the gospel who settled north of the Ohio 
 River, laboring for more than thirty years as the pastor 
 of Mount Pleasant congregation, and rewarded by the 
 fruits of repeated revivals, — a man whose dying testi- 
 mony, " I feel unworthy to use such strong language 
 as I might in truth, in speaking of the rich enjoyment 
 the Lord permits me to experience, " was worthy of his 
 life; William Wick, a native of Long Island, a theo- 
 logical pupil of Dr. McMillan, the first settled minister 
 on the Reserve, and ever the missionary and the friend 
 
PENNSYLVANIA, 1800-1 S20. 531 
 
 of missions; Samuel Tait, whose Bound Beuse and un- 
 swerving integrity wore proverbial, and of whom his 
 pupil and successor remarked, "His spiritual children 
 I find wherever I go throughout the Presbytery ;" 
 Joseph Stockton, already mentioned, eminent as a 
 teacher as well as for usefulness in the pulpit, whose 
 name is ever identified with the Western Theological 
 Seminary ; William Wood, a native of York county, and 
 educated, like so many others, at Canonsburg Academy and 
 Dr. McMillan's Log Cabin, under whose labors nearly one 
 thousand were added to the church ; together with others 
 like Satterfield, Wylie, Cook, Johnston, Pittenger, and the 
 Boyds, the proper monuments of whose labors are to be 
 sought, not in the minutes of Presbyterial reports, but in 
 the foundations of society itself. 1 
 
 1 The vacant churches of the Presbyteries constituting the Synod 
 of Pittsburg were, in 1802, Pittsburg, Greensburg and Unity, 
 Pitt's Township, McKeesport, Morgantown and Middletown, New 
 Providence, Uniontown, Tyrone, Sandy Creek, Crossings, Clarks- 
 burg, Tygart's Valley, Somerset, Turkey Foot, Wheatfield and 
 Stony Creek, in Redstone Presbytery; Washington, Lancaster and 
 Rush Creek, Jefferson, Waynesburg, Charlestown, Grave Creek, 
 Yellow Creek, and Long's Run, in Ohio Presbytery; and Warren, 
 Breakneck, Thorn's Tent, Concord, Franklin, Big Sugar Creek, 
 Oil Creek, Gravel Run, Middle Brook, Power's Mill, Crossings of 
 Cussawaga, Pymatuning, Slippery Rock and Lower Neshanock, West- 
 field and Poland, Upper and Lower Greenfield, and Erie. 
 
 As the Presbyteries extended, new congregations came under 
 their care, not only in Western Pennsylvania, but in Southeastern 
 Ohio and in the region of the Western Reserve. The new congre- 
 gations reported are (1803) Quenmahoning (Redstone Presby- 
 tery) ; Conneaut Lake, Muddy Creek. Springfield. Mount Pleasant, 
 Salt Springs, Beulah, Trumbull, Broken Straw, Franklin, Plain 
 Grove, Centre (Erie Presbytery) ; Moorfields. Upper Neshanock, and 
 Washington (Ohio Presbytery) ; (1805) Monongahela Glades, Co- 
 wanshawanick, Cherry Hill (Redstone Presbytery) ; Pit-Hole, 
 Outlet of Conneaut, Waterford, Congruity, and Mt. Nebo (Erie 
 Presbytery) ; Crab Apple and Beech Spring (Ohio Presbytery) ; 
 
532 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 Meanwhile, the Presbyteries of Steubenville and of 
 Washington had been formed (1819) from that of Ohio, 
 
 (1806) Fairview, Upper and Lower Sugar Creek, Mill Creek, Port- 
 land, Little Sugar Creek, Connewango, Beavertown, Harmony, 
 Mercer (Erie Presbytery); (1807) Plain, Newton, Rocky Spring and 
 Amity, Hartford, Smithfield, Upper Salem, Vienna, Bristol, Pal- 
 myra, Mesopotamia, Miles Settlement (Erie Presbytery) ; White 
 Oak Flats, Hopewell, Will's Creek, Mine Run, Federal Creek, 
 Athens, Leading Creek, Gallipolis, Kanawa, Middle Island, Centre, 
 Salem, Pickaway Plains, New Lisbon, and Long's Run (Ohio Pres- 
 bytery) ; (1808) Beulah, Indiana (Redstone Presbytery) ; Clinton, 
 Frederick, Ebenezer, Springfield, Worthington, Crooked Creek, 
 Federal Creek, Middle Island, Greenville, Clear Creek (Ohio Pres- 
 bytery) ; East Unity, Boardman, Austinburg and Morgan, Indiana 
 (Erie Presbytery) ; Vernon, Brookfield, Hubbard, Richfield, Hud- 
 son, Talmadge, Burton, Canfield, Westfield, Trumbull (Hartford 
 Presbytery); (1809) West Unity (Erie Presbytery) ; (1810) War- 
 ren, McMahon's Creek (Ohio Presbytery) ; Chetauque, Mayville, 
 Beech Woods (Erie Presbytery) ; Newton and Warren, Ellsworth, 
 Euclid, Harpersfield, Upper Salem, Green, Columbiana (Hartford 
 Presbytery); (1811) Red Bank, Glade Run (Redstone Presbytery); 
 Grey's Station (Ohio Presbytery); North-East, Chetauque Cross- 
 Roads, — subsequently Westfield (Erie Presbytery) ; Aurora, Hud- 
 son, Cool Spring (Hartford Presbytery) ; (1812) Williamsport, or 
 Horse-Shoe Bottom, Sardis (Ohio Presbytery) ; Brookfield, Canton, 
 Henderson, Mantua (Hartford Presbytery) ; (1813) Cherry Run 
 (Redstone Presbytery); (1814) Alleghany and Pine Creek, Browns- 
 ville, Highland, Upper Plum Creek (Redstone Presbytery) ; Cherry 
 Tree, Toby's Creek, Sandy Lick, Butler (Erie Presbytery); (1815) 
 West Liberty, Clarksburg, French Creek, Bethany (Ohio Presbytery) ; 
 Deer Creek (Erie Presbytery) ; Kinsman, Rootstown, Hamden, 
 Nelson, Sharon, Talmadge (Grand River Presbytery) ; (1816) 
 Richland (Erie Presbytery) ; Benton, Harpersfield, Painesville, 
 Mantua, Dover, Madison, Green, Johnston (Grand River Presb}'- 
 bytery) ; Boardman, Yellow Creek, Scotch Settlement (Hartford 
 Presbytery) ; (1817) Hopewell (Erie Presbytery) ; Brickville, Wil- 
 liamsfield (or Wayne), Kingsville, Ashtabula, Beuville, Bristol, 
 Bloomfield, Wheatsborough (Grand River Presbytery) ; (1818) 
 Gun's Cross-Roads, Hagerstown, Brushy Fork of Stillwater (Ohio 
 Presbytery) ; Titeaute, Lottsville .Erie Presbytery) ; Stow, Harris- 
 
PENNSYLVANIA, 1800-IS20. 533 
 
 — the first with eight mil isters, Lyman Potter, Joseph 
 Anderson at Richland and Short I Ireek, James Snodgrasa 
 at Island Creek, Jolin Rhea at Beech Spring, Thomas 
 Hunt at Two Ridges and Richmond, Obadiah Jennings 
 a: Steubenville, and Thomas B. Clark; the last with 
 nine ministers, Thomas Marquis at Cross Creek, 
 George M. Scott at Mill Creek and Flats, John An- 
 derson at Upper Buffalo, Elisha Macurdy at Cross- 
 Eoads, Cephas Dodd at Lower Ten-Mile, Joseph Ste- 
 venson at Three Eidges, Andrew Wylie, President of 
 "Washington College, James Hervey at Forks of Wheel- 
 ing and Wheelingtbwn, and Thomas Iioge stated supply 
 at East Buffalo and Claysville. 
 
 The Presbytery of Grand Eiver, formed from that 
 of Hartford in 1814, and the Presbytery of Portage, 
 formed from that of Grand Eiver in 1818, although 
 lying within the bounds of Ohio and covering the region 
 of the Western Reserve, were in connection with the 
 Synod of Pittsburg. In 1820, the Presbj^teries consti- 
 
 ville, Black River, Florence (Grand River Presbytery) ; (1819) Ar- 
 magh, Morgantown and George's Creek, French Creek and Bu- 
 chanan (Redstone Presbytery) ; Wellsburg (Ohio Presbytery) ; 
 Cossawaga, Red Bank (Erie Presbytery) ; Morgan, Huntsburg, 
 Thompson, Andover, Charden, Braceville, Grearsburg, Westfield, 
 Mesopotamia, Salem, Bainbridge, Farmington (Grand River Pres- 
 bytery) ; Deerfield (Hartford Presbytery); Burrell's Settlement, 
 Wadsworth, Sandusky City, Harrisville, Brooklyn, Margaretta, 
 Palmyra, Brownhelm, Fitch ville, Shalersville (Portage Presby- 
 tery); (1820) Bethesda (Hartford Presbytery); Rome, Kirtland, 
 (Grand River Presbytery); Lyme, Strongsville, Norwalk, Granger, 
 Medina, Atwater, Randolph, Palmyra, Franklin, Thorndyke (Por- 
 tage Presbytery). 
 
 Some of the congregations were organized a considerable time 
 before they were reported to the Presbytery. A large part of them 
 were^within the bounds of Ohio; and a glance at the Presbyterial 
 connection of those above named will show the change of locality in 
 the growth of the Synod for the first twenty years of the century. 
 
 45* 
 
534 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 tuting this body were the Presbyteries of Redstone, 
 with twenty-one ministers and forty congregations; 
 Erie, with thirteen ministers and forty-nine congre- 
 gations ; Hartford, with ten ministers and twenty -two 
 congregations ; Grand Kiver, with twelve ministers 
 and twenty-three congregations ; Portage, with nine 
 ministers and thirty-three congregations; Washington, 
 with ten ministers and nineteen congregations ; Steu- 
 benville, with seven ministers and twelve congrega- 
 tions; and Ohio, with not far from twelve ministers 
 and eighteen congregations, — making an aggregate of 
 about ninety-four ministers and two hundred and six- 
 teen congregations, an increase in eighteen years of 
 nearly three hundred per cent, in the ministry and 
 nearly two hundred per cent, in the churches on this 
 field. 
 
 The cause of learning and the cause of missions 
 were not neglected by the Synod of Pittsburg or its 
 constituent Presbyteries. The Canonsburg Academy 
 — changed to Jefferson College in 1802, contempo- 
 raneously with the erection of the Synod — was for 
 some time under Presbyterial supervision, and has 
 ever been dependent on the support and patronage, 
 while it has retained the sympathies, of the Presby- 
 terian Church. The school at Washington — subse- 
 quently developed into Washington College, and in 
 some respects a rival to the one at Canonsburg — was 
 yet under the supervision and control of Presbyterians; 
 while the first President of Alleghany College at 
 Meadville was Timothy Alden, a member of the Pres- 
 bytery and pastor of the church. 
 
 When the project of establishing a theological semi- 
 nary at Princeton was adopted by the Assembly, it 
 was cordially endorsed by the Synod, and measures 
 were taken to secure funds to aid in its endowment. 
 It was not long, however, until the special wants of 
 
PENNSYLVANIA. 1800-1820. 535 
 
 the Western field became obvious. As early as 1819, 
 the plan ©f establishing a seminary within the Synod's 
 bounds was agitated. It was confidently anticipated 
 that a union of Washington and Jefferson Colleges 
 might be effected, and the buildings of the former se- 
 cured for the Seminary. Perhaps in anticipation of 
 this, Dr. McMillan was elected Professor of Theology 
 at Canonsburg, and contributions of books were made 
 with a view to secure a theological library. Upon the 
 failure of the project, it was proposed to unite with the 
 Synods of Ohio and Kentucky in the establishment of 
 an institution; but the discordant views of the local 
 bodies resulted in its defeat, and the Synod of Pitts- 
 burg resolved upon the establishment of the Western 
 Theological Seminary within its own bounds. 
 
 In connection with the organization of the several 
 local missionary societies among the Eastern churches 
 at the close of the last and the commencement of the 
 present century, a warm interest was excited in be- 
 half of the aborigines of this country. Each local 
 society, for the most part, with its other fields in view, 
 directed particular attention to the Indian tribes. 
 The General Assembly, in drawing up, in 1800, its list 
 of objects entitled to special attention, placed at the 
 head of it, and in precedence of plans for ministerial 
 education, "the gospelizing of the Indians on the 
 frontiers of our country." 1 The scheme of missionary 
 effort was to be connected with a plan for their civil- 
 ization, the want of which had occasioned, it w T as be- 
 lieved, the failure of former efforts. 
 
 The Assembly" could not readily command the 
 means for carrying its scheme into execution ; and 
 the Synod of Pittsburg resolved to supply — to some 
 extent, at least — its lack of service, and assume the 
 
 Minutes of Assembly for 1801. 
 
536 HISTORY OP PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 burden itself. With a vast region around it, rapidly 
 filling up with immigrants, and with calls from new 
 communities and feeble churches which might have 
 absorbed all its energies, it still looked to the regions 
 beyond, and determined, carrying out the plan already 
 initiated by the Synod of Virginia, to prosecute at 
 the same time its mission to the white population of 
 the Northwest and its mission to the Indian tribes. 
 
 The measures taken to execute the latter project 
 gave nattering promise of success. 1 The Wyandotte 
 Indians, in the neighborhood of Sandusky, seemed pre- 
 pared to welcome missionaries whose efforts should be 
 directed at the same time toward their religious in- 
 struction and the introduction among them of the arts 
 of civilized life. They were repeatedly visited by 
 members of the Synod, who remained with them for a 
 brief period; but in the summer of 1805 2 the Synod 
 sent out three missionaries, who remained among them 
 " for two months or more," and were well received. 
 The necessity, however, of a permanent mission, de- 
 manded that some one should be located and resident 
 among them; and Joseph Badger was employed by the 
 Synod for this purpose. He arrived at the settlements 
 of the Indians in May, 1806, 3 and met with a hospitable 
 reception. 
 
 1 This statement is not intended to apply to the earliest efforts of 
 the Synod. At the very session during which the society was 
 formed, Joseph Patterson was appointed to visit the Shawanese In- 
 dians and to continue among them for five months; and Alexander 
 Cook, a licentiate of the Presbytery of Ohio, was to visit and labor 
 among them at Sandusky for the same period. Both visited their 
 respective fields; but the reception they met was not what they 
 expected, and both returned in less than two months. The Synod, 
 however, did not abandon their project. Subsequent visits of the 
 missionaries were better appreciated by the Indians. 
 
 2 Minutes of 1806. 
 
 3 Appendix to Minute* of 1807. Elliott's Life of Macurdy. 
 
PENNSYLVANIA, 1800-1820. 537 
 
 The plan proposed was to combine religious in- 
 struction with initiation into the arts of civilized life. 
 Especial attention was to be given to agriculture, to 
 order that the Indians might be induced to adopt a 
 settled mode of life and industrious habits. For this 
 purpose, Mr. Badger was accompanied by three laborers, 
 who were to give practical instruction to the Indians, 
 to aid them in fencing, ploughing, raising corn and 
 other kinds of grain, as well as to assist them in erect- 
 iifg comfortable dwellings. A missionary farm was to 
 be cultivated as a model for native imitation. From 
 the beef, pork, corn, and vegetables that might be 
 produced, the missionary family was to be supplied; 
 while the Indian children were to be fed, lodged, and 
 clothed at the expense of the society. 
 
 The plan was carried out to a considerable extent, 
 although opposed by the Indian traders. A small 
 dwelling-house and a school-house were erected upon 
 the Reserve, opposite the Indian village at the lower 
 rapids of Sandusky. The mission was furnished with 
 a team of two horses, two yoke of oxen, ploughs, 
 chains, &c. The Rev. Joseph McLean, sent by the 
 Board of Trust to assist the mission, procured some 
 live stock on the Scioto — mainly through the liberality 
 of the people of that region — and conve} T ed them to 
 Sandusky. Fields were laid out and fenced and put 
 under cultivation, and several of the Indians began to 
 devote themselves to agricultural pursuits. In the 
 course of one or two years, twenty acres of ground 
 were fenced. Crops of corn, oats, flax, turnips, and 
 potatoes, as well as many garden-Vegetables, were pro- 
 duced. In the fall of 1809 the missionary stock on the 
 farm numbered twenty-six head of cattle. Intoxica- 
 tion was utterly unknown among the Indians who 
 had been brought under missionary influence; many 
 of the natives had been induced to attend regularly 
 
538 HISTORY OF mESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 upon the preaching of the gospel, and several gave 
 good evidence of genuine conversion. 1 
 
 But the mission had many obstacles to encounter. 
 There were no mills to grind the grain, and the Indians 
 had to pound it in a large mortar. . Farming-tools 
 could be procured only with great difficulty. Plough- 
 irons and other kinds of smith-work could not be pro- 
 cured within a distance of one hundred miles. In these 
 circumstances, Mr. Badger determined to see what could 
 be done at the East in aid of the cause. 
 
 In November, 1808, he set out for New England. He 
 told the story of what he had attempted, what he had 
 accomplished, and what he designed to do. At Boston 
 and in the vicinity he raised over one thousand dollars 
 in behalf of his mission. Returning to his field of labor, 
 he devoted himself anew to his work. But domestic 
 afflictions — first the death of a daughter, and then the 
 loss by fire of the dwelling occupied by his family — 
 called him back repeatedly to the Reserve. Discou- 
 ragement thus followed discouragement; and finally, 
 in 1810, he abandoned the mission, and removed with 
 his family to Ashtabula, where he labored for many 
 years as a settled pastor. 
 
 The Synod, however, did not relinquish its purpose to 
 prosecute the mission. Quite a number of its members 
 had repeatedly visited it, and took the deepest interest 
 in its continuance and success. From 1805, the Synod 
 applied for, and received from the Assembly, the sum 
 of from one hundred to five hundred dollars annually, 
 to enable them to sustain it. The mission continued, 
 in a hopeful state, till the War of 1812, when, the build- 
 ings having been burned and the improvements de- 
 stroyed by the enemy, it was suspended. 2 
 
 i Conn. Ev. Mag., April, 1809. 
 
 2 It is said that through Mr. Badger's influence the Indians -were 
 kept from joining the enemy during the war. — Green's Pres. Mis. 
 
PENNSYLVANIA, 1800-1820. 539 
 
 Few missions, even to heathen tribes, have ever been 
 conducted under more discouraging circumstances than 
 
 this mission to the Indians about Sandusky. Th< ir 
 condition in almost every respect was most pitiable 
 and degraded. They were contaminated by the white 
 man's vices, while their own superstitions were b}^ no 
 means weakened by contact with such civilization as 
 they witnessed in the Indian traders. 
 
 Mr. Macurdy, during Mr. Badger's absence in New 
 England, took the sole charge of the mission for 
 several months; and his journal unfolds to view a 
 scene of degradation which would have put to flight 
 in a moment the brilliant fancies of Rousseau. " Their 
 houses," he says, " when they have any, are wretched 
 huts, almost as dirty as they can be, and swarming 
 with fleas and lice; their furniture, a few barks, a tin 
 or brass kettle, a gun, pipe, and tomahawk. Such is 
 their ingratitude that whilst you load them with favors 
 they will reproach you to the face, and construe your 
 benevolent intentions and actions into intentional fraud 
 or real injury. They will lie in the most deliberate 
 manner, and to answer any selfish purpose/' 
 
 Even this picture Mr. Macurdy pronounces far short 
 of the reality. Among such a people must the mission- 
 ary live. The dangers, difficulties, and perplexities of 
 such a life must be his daily experience. Surrounded 
 with them he lies down to sleep, oppressed by them 
 he seeks repose, confronted by them he goes forth to 
 his daily task, without an earthly friend to give him 
 counsel, to share his burden, or to listen to his griefs. 
 Well might he say, "No honor or emolument that 
 this world can confer can compensate a man for the 
 sacrifices he must make and the trials he must endure" 
 in such a lot. 
 
 Yet among these Indians the results attained seemed 
 to encourage a renewal of the mission at the close of 
 
540 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 the war. In 1818, it was determined to resume the 
 work among the Ottawas, on the Maumee Eiver. But 
 difficulties intervened, and the work was not prose- 
 cuted till 1822. A few years later, after a mission 
 had been established, and afforded good hopes of suc- 
 cess, it was transferred to the care of the American 
 Board. 
 
 Meanwhile, a mission had been planned to " the In- 
 dians in and about Lewistown." 1 James Hughes, in 
 1814, resigned his pastoral charge of Short Creek and 
 Lower Buffalo, in order to prosecute it. For three 
 years he continued to labor at Urbana (Ohio) as mis- 
 sionary and stated supply, receiving annually from the 
 Assembly four hundred dollars toward the support of 
 the mission. 
 
 The sympathy of the Synod not only for the cause 
 of missions, but in behalf of ministerial education, 
 tract-distribution, Sunday-schools, colonization, tempe- 
 rance, Sabbath-observance, and the monthly concert, 
 as well as sound doctrine, is sufficiently attested by its 
 records. To promote its objects, a magazine was es- 
 tablished (in 1803), of which Messrs. McMillan, Moore, 
 and Anderson were managing editors, and the profits 
 of which, paid into the treasury of the Synod's Board 
 of Missions in 1807, amounted to over three hundred 
 dollars. Upon the failure of the enterprise, no further 
 effort seems to have been made to sustain a religious 
 periodical till 1821, soon after which the "Pittsburg 
 .Recorder" was established, succeeded, however, a few 
 years later, by the "Spectator" and the "Christian 
 Herald." 
 
 The powerful revival enjoyed by the churches under 
 
 1 The mission at Lewistown seems to have been abandoned on 
 Mr. Hughes's acceptance of an invitation to take charge of Miami 
 University, in 1818. 
 
1808 1820. 5 I 1 
 
 the cure of the Presbytery of Ohio, 1 during this period, 
 commenced under the labors of Rev. Elisha Macurdy, 
 at Three Springs, where lie was settled as pastor. 
 For some months previous the church had not been 
 without signs of the divine favor; but on the last Sal>- 
 bath in September, 1802, in eonnection with a sacra- 
 mental season, the work began in earnest. On Mon- 
 day evening the meeting should have been dismissed; 
 but those who were assembled were unwilling to leave 
 the ground. They remained together all night, and 
 until near noon the next day. Some of the features 
 which had characterized the revivals in Kentucky, 
 Tennessee, and the Carol inas, were witnessed here. 
 H umbers sank down in their distress, and gave evi- 
 dence of great concern and anguish of spirit. Five 
 or six were supposed to have found peace before the 
 close of the meeting. 
 
 Two weeks later, a sacramental season was observed 
 by the church at lvaccoon, under the charge of Mr. 
 Patterson. The occasion was deeply solemn. Bold 
 and hardened sinners were awakened and reduced to 
 deep distress. Such was the state of things that it 
 was determined to appoint the last Sabbath in October 
 for an extra meeting and communion. 
 
 On this occasion a great multitude was on the 
 ground. Families came in wagons, bringing their pro- 
 visions with them. The meeting was at the Cross- 
 Eoads, — another station where Mr. Macurdy labored. 
 Ten ordained ministers and four licentiates were pre- 
 sent. Between seven and eight hundred communed; 
 and the exercises, which commenced on Saturday, con- 
 tinued till Tuesday morning, — by night as well as by 
 
 i Conn. Ev. Mag., Feb. 1803, letter of Rev. James Hughes, West 
 Liberty, Short Creek, Ohio county, Va. Quite an extended account 
 of the revival is given in Elliott's Life of Macurdy. 
 
 Vol. I.— 46 
 
542 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 day. The cries and groans of the distressed were 
 almost incessant. Sometimes, indeed, the speaker was 
 interrupted by them in his discourse. The number 
 under conviction continued steadily to increase. On 
 Monday, sermons were preached at the same time 
 in three different places, sufficiently remote from each 
 other to avoid mutual disturbance, — one of them in the 
 meeting-house. 
 
 But, as the assemblages were preparing to disperse, 
 the joy of those who had been converted found ex- 
 pression in acclamations and songs of praise. Strangely 
 mingling with the groans and cries of distress from 
 others, they added a new feature to the " solemn, awful, 
 and pleasing scene." " Some very young were enabled 
 to speak, recommending Christ, and inviting and warn- 
 ing sinners, in a manner truly astonishing." 1 
 
 Another extra meeting was appointed for the fol- 
 
 1 In a letter to the "New York Missionary Magazine" for 1802, the 
 writer mentions other features of this occasion, not contained in the 
 narrative from which the above statements are derived. He says, 
 "On the Sabbath and Monday after the sacrament, not less than 
 fifty were sometimes lying at once, crying for mercy, complaining of 
 the hardness of their hearts, and pleading for pardon. They met 
 every day or night — and frequently both — all that week. They 
 remained in church all Sabbath night : some suppose sixty, others 
 a hundred, were lying at once : the ministers exhorted and prayed 
 alternately most of the night. Every age and sex are the subjects 
 of this work, Christians and ministers not excepted. Many of them 
 fall instantaneously, without discovering the least symptoms before; 
 some appear affected, and after some time fall ; others lie down and 
 become helpless; some weep, some sigh and groan, others scream 
 out violently; some fall but once, some a number of times; one 
 has fallen five times, and yet received no comfort ; some get ease in 
 an hour, and speak to those around them in an astonishing manner. 
 . . . The ministers say they are ashamed to speak after them. A 
 very wild young man ridiculed the work, went away, shortly re- 
 turned, fell instantaneously, lay there hours, got ease, and spoke 
 about three hours or more icith power and eloquence almost divine." 
 
PENNSYLVANIA, 1800-1820. 543 
 
 lowing Sabbath at Upper Buffalo congregation, of 
 which John Anderson was pastor, — "a very central 
 place," — to accommodate the multitude who were ex- 
 pected to attend. The number present was estimated 
 at "not less than ten thousand." Twelve ministers 
 attended. The exercises were prolonged as before, and 
 from first to last as many as two thousand were " af- 
 fected." " The distressed," of whom there were several 
 hundred at the same time, " appeared to have awful 
 apprehensions of their sins. Their cries, generally, 
 were, Oh ! my sins ! Oh ! my hard heart ! Oh ! what 
 shall I do for Christ ? O Jesus, take away my hard 
 heart." 
 
 On the first of these occasions, before any precedent 
 had been afforded by any churches in this region of 
 country, the " bodily exercises" commenced. There 
 were " such scenes of distress as exceeded any de- 
 scription." There were about fifty persons whose 
 bodily strength was so far overcome that they were 
 unable to stand without support. On the next oc- 
 casion, the exercises of the first day of the meeting 
 continued for "about four hours and a half, without 
 intermission." During the day they were held in the 
 open air, and in the evening a third service was held 
 in the church, which was crowded to its full capacity. 
 Numbers fell, crying out in distress and anguish. 
 
 On this occasion, Joseph Badger, of the Western Ee- 
 serve, who had just returned from the meeting of the 
 Synod of Pittsburg, was present. He noticed those 
 who fell, and states that " they very nearly resembled 
 persons who had just expired from a state of full 
 strength. For a considerable time, pulsation could not 
 be perceived. Their limbs were wholly unstrung, and 
 respiration was scarcely perceptible: yet they retained 
 their reason, and knew what was said within their 
 hearing." Gradually, their strength returned; they 
 
544 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANI6M. 
 
 opened their eyes and looked around them, Lut spoke 
 in a low and feeble voice. When asked the occasion 
 of their distress, they said it was the apprehension they 
 had of the sinfulness of their sins, as committed against 
 a holy God, and their soul-destroying nature. Their 
 views of their own guilt were scriptural, and their sal- 
 vation, they confessed, must be of sovereign grace. 
 Five ministers and five hundred people continued in 
 the meeting-house all night; and yet, except for the 
 interruption produced by sighs and tears, there was 
 nothing in the scenes disorderly or unbecoming. 
 
 The revival extended to other congregations. 1 The 
 ministers who attended on these occasions returned 
 from them to find their own people more anxious to 
 hear the gospel. In the course of a year from the 
 commencement of the work, it had extended over the 
 whole region covered by the Synod of Pittsburg ; and 
 of the eighty or ninety congregations under its care, 
 there were not more than five or six which had not 
 been more or less affected. 2 The Eev. Thomas Bobbins, 
 sent out by the Connecticut Society to the Western 
 
 1 By the close of December the work had spread from Mr. 
 Macurdy's congregation to those of Messrs. McMillan, Patterson, 
 Marquis, Anderson, Ralston, Gavin, and Moore. In November, 
 forty persons were received into Mr. Macurdy's church, the young- 
 est twelve years of age, the oldest over one hundred. — New York 
 Miss. Mag. iv. 113. 
 
 2 Connecticut Ev. Mag., 1804, letter of Mr. Robbins. At Valley 
 Mills, in Luzerne county, a revival commenced soon after the re- 
 markable scenes in Ohio Presbytery had occurred. The writer of a 
 letter to the "New York Missionary Magazine," under date of Febru- 
 ary 23, 1803, says, "The two weeks past I would not exchange for 
 a former seven years." " We find no difficulty now in getting people 
 to meeting: the want is room to contain them. Many stout-hearted 
 sinners are unexpectedly bowed down in tears to the earth. On 
 Thursday evening, at my house, fifteen of this description came 
 forward.". 
 
PENNSYLVANIA, 1800-1820. 545 
 
 Reserve, was arrested on his way by the interest ex- 
 cited by these scenes of revival, so unlike any thing that 
 had been experienced east of the Alleghanies. Yet ho 
 testifies freely to the genuineness of the work. " I 
 conceive it," he says, " in many respects to resemble 
 the revival of religion in New England in 1740-1742. 
 In extent of territory it exceeds that. In its diffusion 
 to almost every town and society it also exceeds that. 
 With respect to the number of subjects in the several 
 societies where the work is, I believe the present 
 hardly equals the former. The opposition, the ridicule 
 and reproach, which the present w T ork receives, is not 
 less than did the work of the same Spirit sixty years 
 ago. The only difference is, opposition is not now con- 
 ducted with the same external violence, it not being 
 the custom of the day. The manner of the minister's 
 preaching is also much as it was then, — Calvinistic in 
 sentiment, serious, earnest, and pathetic. The state of 
 society in these back-countries is in some respects 
 similar to what it then w r as in New England. In the 
 general attention and commotion which is produced 
 among all classes of people, the two cases are quite 
 similar. If there were any excesses among ministers 
 who were great instruments in that work, it was 
 doubtless owing to the violent opposition they expe- 
 rienced. In the present revival I have not known any 
 thing of the kind. But they appear to conduct with 
 great moderation and propriety. People at a distance 
 may say what they will, but, when they come to be 
 eye-witnesses, every reasonable man is effectually re- 
 strained from declaring it to be any thing but the 
 mighty power of God." 1 
 
 1 The report of the revivals in Western Pennsylvania did not 
 meet with a very approving reception from some of the ministers in 
 the region of Philadelphia, especially those who retained the tra- 
 ditions and prejudices of the Old Side. Patterson, of Philadelphia, 
 
546 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 He freely admitted that the work was " in many re- 
 spects mysterious and extraordinary. " Some things 
 about it "could not be understood." "But there are 
 things to be seen which are not to be described. After 
 all that could be told or written, your conceptions 
 would be far short of the reality, or of what they 
 would be if you could be an eye-witness." 
 
 The bodily exercises, as they came under his observa- 
 tion, extended to most of those who were the subjects 
 of the work. From two-thirds to three-quarters fell 
 when under the force of their convictions. But others, 
 of the genuineness of whose conversion none could 
 doubt, were not thus affected. Those who fell usually 
 did so repeatedly. Even after they had attained a 
 Christian hope, they continued to fall. Persons who 
 had long been members of the Church, and even minis- 
 ters in some instances, were similarly affected. Elders 
 of the churches, serious men, the aged and middle-aged, 
 as well as the young, were among the number. 
 
 The falling took place, likewise, on all occasions, — 
 most generally, however, at the public meetings. Yet 
 instances occurred at family prayer, in solitude, and 
 even " in merry company," or during the prosecution 
 of ordinary business. 
 
 The degrees of bodily affection were quite various, 
 although all alike were described as falling. Yet 
 there was every grade of agitation, from the least 
 
 says, "In 1805, Marquis and Macurdy were commissioners from 
 the Ohio Presbytery. I saw them when they returned home, and 
 heard them tell what a time they had in the Assembly about those 
 revivals, and how furiously some of the ministers in this region did 
 oppose them. And they remarked, that if there had not been some 
 little yielding and paring down, so as to unite, as there was toward 
 the last in the Assembly, they never would have seen the ministers 
 west of the Alleghany Mountains in the Assembly again.'* — Pat- 
 tersons Pamphlet, 1836. 
 
PENNSYLVANIA, 1800-1820. 547 
 
 nervous to the most violent, or even " to a deatb-liko 
 weakness and inaction." Some could sit who could 
 not stand. Some could sit when in part supported, 
 who could not otherwise. Some, however, needed to 
 be held " as much as infants," some as much " as 
 persons in high convulsions." "Nervous affections 
 and convulsions" were more frequent than a loss of 
 strength and animal powers. In the latter case the 
 subject was silent; in the former he sighed, or sobbed 
 and groaned, in proportion to the degree in which he 
 was affected. 
 
 The duration of the " exercises" was various, — in 
 some cases only for a few minutes, in others for hours, 
 and sometimes for days. Yet no after-inconvenience 
 was occasioned by it. Though apparently deeply dis- 
 tressed, they experienced no bodily pain. Rarely was 
 any one sensible of any injury received through his 
 fall, either at the time or afterward. 
 
 One feature in the experience of those affected is 
 especially noted. " They never lost their senses." 
 Their minds appeared, indeed, to be then more active 
 than ever, and all their powers "intent upon the 
 things of religion and the interests of eternity." Their 
 perceptions were remarkably clear, and their memories 
 uncommonly retentive. Many would speak "in broken 
 accents and half expressions," begging for mercy, de- 
 precating wrath, groaning under sin, calling upon perish- 
 ing sinners, or giving glory to God. 
 
 When they recovered, the impulse to speak seemed 
 irresistible. Some would speak for quite a time, and 
 "speak to admiration." "It seems," says Mr. Eobbins, 
 "almost — not from the manner, but from the truths 
 they utter — as if they had been to the invisible world." 
 
 Yet the people were carefully instructed that there 
 was no religion in the mere falling, or in the bodily 
 
548 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 exercises. Against this idea they were repeatedly 
 put upon their guard. It received no encouragement 
 from the ministers; and even among those who had 
 ridiculed the phenomena, who had pronounced them 
 delusions or mere excitement, some were affected. 
 That the work was genuine, and that it could not be 
 explained on any known principles, all alike, friends 
 and foes of the revival, were finally agreed. 1 The 
 witness, fully competent, whose testimony has been 
 so freely adduced, closes his observations with the 
 remark, "1 firmly believe this to be a conspicuous and 
 glorious work of divine grace, and that thousands of 
 
 1 One gentleman who attended upon one of the sacramental oc- 
 casions declared to the ministers and others that he could account 
 for all the extraordinary exercises by his medical skill and on phi- 
 losophical principles. He said none but weak women and persons 
 of weak nerves were made to fall; but if some stout, healthy, 
 brawny-built man should fall, he should think it something above 
 human art. It was so ordered that he had the most fair trial. 
 Some time in the meeting, he found himself alarmed from his se- 
 curity, and, instead of philosophizing on others, was constrained to 
 attend to his own soul. His strength was so far gone that he could 
 not rise ; and he asked help to be carried out. But when beyond 
 hearing of the preacher, "Oh, carry me back!" he called out: 
 " God is here : I cannot get away from God. I know now that I am 
 in God's hands : this is God's work." Subsequently, when others 
 came to speak with him, he said, "Oh, I have lived forty-seven years 
 an enemy to God. I have been in some of the hottest battles, and 
 never knew what it was to have my heart palpitate with fear ; but 
 now I am all unstrung. I have cut off limbs with a steady hand; 
 and now I cannot hold this hand still if I might have a world. I 
 know this is not the work of men. I feel that I am in God's hands, 
 and that he will do with me just what he pleases." Mr. Badger 
 met this man a few weeks later, when he said to him that "he 
 thought at some times he could see a little how God could save, 
 through Jesus Christ, such a sinner as he was; but most of the time 
 he was in total darkness." — Conn. Ev. Mag., Sept. 1804. 
 
PENNSYLVANIA, 1800-1820. 549 
 
 immortal souls, the Bubjects <>f it, will adore the riches 
 of divine mercy through eternity." 1 
 
 It was during the first weeks, the opening scenes, of 
 this powerful revival, that the Synod of Pittsburg met 
 at Pittsburg and organized themselves (October, 1802) 
 into the Western Missionary Society. The field which 
 they felt called to occupy was suddenly expanded, and 
 emphatically — beyond all that they could have anti- 
 cipated — was white for the harvest. The laborers 
 already employed were tasked almost beyond measure; 
 and yet they flagged not in their efforts. Others were 
 needed to aid them; and not a few — as the result of 
 this revival and the efforts of the Synod — w T ere brought 
 forward to their aid. The excesses of the revival — if 
 indeed they can be so termed — passed away, and ere 
 long were wellnigh forgotten, overshadowed, at least, 
 by the more remarkable phenomena of the Kentucky 
 revival; but the results that followed have their lasting 
 monuments in the churches scattered over the broad 
 region swept by the revival. 
 
 1 As to the leading features of the work, the testimony of Rev. Mr. 
 Badger (Conn. Ev. Mag., Sept. 1803) is coincident with that of Mr. 
 Robbins. In speaking of the impression made upon his own mind 
 while participating in one of the large gatherings during the 
 revival, Mr. Badger says, "The sweet and lovely frame Christians 
 appeared to be in, the meekness and humbleness of mind, exceeded 
 any thing I ever saw before. It helped me to get some faint ideas 
 of what the saints will enjoy when they come to see the King in 
 his beauty and be present at his table without sin or flesh to in- 
 tercept their sight." 
 
550 IIISTCiiY OF ritESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXIII. 
 
 NEW JERSEY, 1S00-1820. 
 
 In 1800, there were in connection with the Presby- 
 terian Church in New Jersey, and under the care of 
 the two Presbyteries of New York and New Bruns- 
 wick, 1 — which covered the field, — thirty-two ministers, 
 twenty-seven of whom had pastoral charges, while 
 there were also thirteen vacancies. The number of all 
 the Presbyterian churches in the State was, thus, but 
 about forty. 
 
 During the first twenty years of the present century, 
 there was a steady and healthful growth. In 1809, the 
 Presbytery of New York was divided j and from the 
 portion of it lying within the bounds of New Jersey 
 the Jersey Presbytery was erected. In 1817, the Pres- 
 bytery of New Brunswick was likewise divided, in 
 order to form the Presbytery of Newton. In 1820, 
 there were thus within the bounds of the State the 
 three Presbyteries of Jersey, New Brunswick, and 
 Newton. The thirty-two ministers of 1800 had in- 
 creased to fifty-four, the twenty-seven pastors to forty- 
 three; while the churches had advanced from about 
 forty to sixty-seven, or at the rate of about seventy 
 per cent. 
 
 The Presbytery of Jersey embraced the churches in' 
 the northern part of the State. The First Church of 
 Newark, through the influence of the great- revival of 
 1807-08, and under the labors of Dr. Griffin, received 
 
 1 Other churches were connected with Presbyteries of other 
 States. 
 
NEW JERSEY, 1SUO-1820. 551 
 
 large accessions, — ninety-seven on a single occasion, and 
 one hundred and seventy-four in a period of six months. 
 A membership of two hundred and two was in the 
 course of eight years increased to five hundred and 
 twenty-two, and the result was that, shortly after 
 Dr. Griffin's removal to the Park Street Church in Bos- 
 ton, a Second Church was formed. 1 In 1815, this church, 
 then vacant, extended a call to Dr. Griffin, which he 
 felt it his duty to accept, — the First Church, meanwhile 
 having enj'03'ed the pastoral labors of Dr. James Eich- 
 ards. 
 
 Among the distinguished ministers of the age, Dr. 
 Edward Dorr Griffin occupied the foremost rank. Na- 
 ture had been munificent in the gifts which she had 
 lavished upon him. His large and well-proportioned 
 frame and commanding presence impressed the be- 
 holder at a glance; and his intellectual endowments 
 were in keeping with his person. A native of Con- 
 necticut, and a graduate of Yale College in 1790, he 
 pursued his theological studies under the younger 
 Edwards, and for several years after his licensure 
 preached in diiferent places in his native State, until 
 his call to New Hartford in 1795. A revival of consider- 
 able power followed almost immediately upon his settle- 
 ment; and three years later, one still more remarkable 
 attested and crowned his fidelity to his work. 
 
 In 1801, he was called to Newark, as the colleague of 
 Dr. McWhorter. Here he remained for eight years, 
 and for the last two or three his church enjoyed an 
 almost continuous revival. Such was his reputation 
 
 1 The churches of Newark date as follows : — Second, 1810 ; Third, 
 1824; Fourth (of short duration), 1831; African Presbyterian, 
 1831; Free Church (since Congregational), 1837; Central Presby- 
 terian, 1837; Park Presbyterian, Sixth Presbyterian, and High 
 Street Presbyterian, 1848; German Presbyterian, 1852; South 
 Park Presbyterian, 1853. 
 
552 HISTORY OP PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 that he was called first to a professorship in Andover 
 Seminary, and subsequently to the pastoral charge of 
 the Park Street Church in Boston. He had already 
 entered upon the duties of his professorship when the 
 claims of the Park Street Church were pressed upon 
 his attention. But the post of a defender of the faith 
 in a city which had become the stronghold of Uni- 
 tarianism was one which, with all its responsibilities 
 and difficulties, did not long allow him to hesitate. In 
 the capital of New England, where evangelical truth 
 had become unpopular and odious, and where intellect- 
 ual culture and social respectability had attempted to 
 frown it down, he stood forth as its undaunted, uncom- 
 promising, eloquent, and powerful champion. 
 
 In the spring of 1815, he was recalled to Newark, 
 to the pastorate of the Second Church. Here, among 
 faithful friends and among old revival-associations, he 
 devoted himself with exemplary fidelity and character- 
 istic energy to his pastoral duties. The benevolent 
 institutions of the day found in him a warm and trust- 
 worthy friend. He was one of the original founders 
 of the Bible Society. The United Foreign Mission 
 Society was not a little indebted to his agency ; while 
 he zealously promoted the interests of the school esta- 
 blished by the Synod of New York and New Jersey for 
 the education of Africans. In 1817, he published his 
 work on the Extent of the Atonement. In 1821, he 
 was invited to the Presidency of Danville College, but 
 ultimately declined the overture, — accepting, however, 
 a similar invitation soon after extended him from 
 Williams College. 
 
 His course in this matter undoubtedly saved the 
 institution from extinction. Its continued existence 
 was doubted even by its friends. By his exertions it 
 was eventually placed upon a solid basis and its pros- 
 perity was assured. To the close of his active life he 
 
NEW JERSEY, 1800-1820. 553 
 
 continued at its head ; and. when increasing debility 
 debarred him from the privilege of further service, he 
 returned to Newark (1836), to die among his friends. 
 
 The majestic presence of the man, his solemn mien, 
 his manifest sincerity, Ins deliberate and emphatic 
 utterance, the simplicity of his thoughts, and the force 
 and beauty of his language, marked him as the orator. 
 The pulpit was his throne. There he maintained an 
 indisputable pre-eminence. The tones of his powerful 
 voice now rang forth in thrilling appeal and now sub- 
 sided to a melting pathos. His hearers were convinced, 
 overawed, electrified. His reading of the Scriptures 
 seemed to evolve a meaning and richness unthought 
 of before. He threw his soul into his utterance. His 
 manner was simple, natural, and yet dignified; while 
 his gesture was governed by the impulse of thought 
 and feeling. The tide of his own emotions swept along 
 with it the hearts and sympathies of his hearers; and 
 those who had once been permitted to listen to his 
 bursts of luminous, impassioned utterance would be 
 sure never to forget them. 
 
 But the themes and doctrines of the gospel system 
 were those upon which he most delighted to dwell. 
 Tolerant of non-essential differences, he was tenacious 
 of all that was vital and cardinal to the glory of 
 redemption. His sympathies were broad enough to 
 embrace all who loved Christ, but not blind enough to 
 strike hands with those who betra}'ed him with a kiss. 
 
 No one was more anxious to witness the success ot* 
 the gospel, or to promote the interests of religion by 
 all proper methods. His zeal for the conversion and 
 salvation of souls would, in one less magnificently 
 and symmetrically endowed, have amounted to a pas- 
 sion; but with him it was prompted by intelligent 
 conviction, and guided, rather than restrained, by judg- 
 ment. His sermons were — many of them — written in 
 Vol. I.— 47 
 
554 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 the midst of revival scenes, and he aimed so to write 
 them that they might be used in revivals. Indeed, it 
 was only when the minds of others around him were 
 most deeply stirred by the power of eternal things 
 that he found himself in a sphere most congenial to 
 the highest effort. The result of his labors and his 
 prayers was what might have been reasonably ex- 
 pected. " The history of his life," it has been well 
 said, "seems little else than one unbroken revival; and 
 it would perhaps be difficult to name the individual in 
 our country, since the days of Whitefield, who was 
 instrumental of an equal number of hopeful conver- 
 sions. " 
 
 But, with all his ardent emotion, he was never the 
 victim of irregular zeal. The spirit of fanaticism was 
 not allowed to usurp the place of reason, and no erratic 
 or extravagant measures could secure his endorsement. 
 With a keen sense of propriety, with a just discrimina- 
 tion between the proper excitement of truth and the 
 excesses of feeling, but, above all, with clear apprehen- 
 sions of what was requisite to the new life of the soul 
 and what was essential to its healthful life, he would 
 extend his approval to nothing which experience, sound 
 reason, or Scripture had not already endorsed. 
 
 Such was the man who for years stood at the head 
 of the Presbyterian ministry in New Jersey, and, in- 
 deed, throughout the land. He was not, it is true, an 
 extemporaneous speaker, except on less imposing occa- 
 sions. He read his sermons ; but he read them as per- 
 haps no man had ever read before. His look, tone, 
 manner, were independent of the manuscript trammels 
 by which many are bound, and he used his manuscript 
 to make them more free. Perhaps in this he erred; 
 but, if so, the error, with so much to atone for it, was 
 venial ; and he will long be remembered as among the 
 princeliest of pulpit Orators. 
 
NEW JERSEY, L800 L820. 000 
 
 It required no ordinary man to iill the place vacated 
 by Dr. Griffin in the Firsl Church in L809. Almost any 
 one might have hesitated long before consenting to ac- 
 cept the post of one "the splendor of whose gifts and 
 the power of whose eloquence had elevated him to the 
 highest rank of American preachers." But since 1794, 
 for a space of some twelve years, there had been preach- 
 ing at Morristown a young man who, without a col- 
 lege education, had risen to such distinction that when 
 but thirty-seven years of age the General Assembly 
 chose him as its moderator. His early years betrayed 
 an insatiable thirst for knowledge, but the circum- 
 stances of his family forbade him to cherish the hope 
 of a liberal education. At Newtown, Conn., at Stamford, 
 and, it is said, at New York, he labored, as his feeble 
 health would allow, as a cabinet- and chair-maker. In 
 the midst of his gayety, he was struck under conviction. 
 He was converted, and resolved to devote himself to 
 the ministry. But ill health, weak eyes, and the lack 
 of means to prosecute his studies, thwarted his plans. 
 Yet even thus he resolved to persevere. Gathering 
 up what he could earn by teaching school, he studied 
 with one and another of the ministers near his place 
 of residence (New Canaan), among others, securing the 
 aid of Dr. D.wight. His diligence was untiring, and his 
 improvement was worthy of the best advantages. 
 
 Licensed to preach in 1793, he supplied for short 
 periods the churches at Wilton, Ballston, Shelter Island, 
 and Sag Harbor. Here he became acquainted with Drs. 
 Buell and Woolworth, who recommended him to the 
 church at Morristown, vacant by the resignation of Dr. 
 Johnes. This venerable man was made the umpire to 
 judge of the fitness of the youth who had been recom- 
 mended as his successor. 1 Sitting in his own dwelling, 
 
 1 Spraguc, in. 17. 
 
556 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 under the burden of almost fourscore years, he listened 
 to the discourse which was to determine the acceptable- 
 ness of the candidate. The decision of the veteran 
 pastor was, no doubt, favorable, and James Richards 
 entered upon his labors at Morristown. A few weeks 
 passed away, and his predecessor, surviving long enough 
 to know that his place was to be filled by one not un- 
 worthy to wear his mantle, — like aged Simeon, — could 
 utter his nunc dimittis, and lie down to die. 
 
 Dr. Richards was not what a very refined taste would 
 call a finished, or even a graceful, orator. He was by 
 no means the equal, in powerful and impassioned utter- 
 ance, of Dr. Griffin. His genius, his brilliancy, his 
 graces, might all be summed up in a single expression, 
 — 2-ood sense. He never committed a blunder or an 
 indiscretion. He neither said nor did a foolish thing. 
 With sound judgment he combined a most kind and 
 genial spirit, and a rare power in the discernment 
 of character. He read human nature, as it came under 
 his observation, almost by intuition. Yet, in spite of 
 its foibles, he never derided its weakness or repulsed 
 its claims to sympathy. His self-possession and his 
 tact were perfect. His humor was not exuberant, but 
 it was exceedingly good-natured. His smile was be- 
 nignant, and his portrait would answer to Goldsmith's 
 limning of the country parson. 
 
 In the pulpit he was instructive, solid, and impress- 
 ive. He was ever full of his theme; and his earnest- 
 ness, if rarely impassioned, was grave and sincere. 
 Above all, his piety was uniform and ardent. It shone 
 with a constant, steady light. With a noble Christian 
 liberality, he was yet a decided Presbyterian. Christ 
 was the centre of his system; and rarely did he preach 
 a sermon in which the cross was not exhibited. His 
 labors at Newark were signally blessed. Powerful 
 revivals were enjoj ed in 1813 and 1817; and during his 
 
NEW .1 HUSKY, 1800-1820. 557 
 
 fourteen years' pastorate of the church about fivo 
 hundred were added to its communion, two-thirds of 
 the number on profession of faith. In 1823, he accepted 
 a call to the Professorship of Theolog}' in Auburn 
 Theological Seminary, and died, in the discharge of its 
 duties, in 1843. 
 
 A genial associate and close friend of Griffin and 
 Richards was Asa Hillyer, of Orange. His pastorate 
 extended from 1801 to 1833; and even till his death, in 
 1840, he did not fail to devote his waning strength to 
 his Master's service. A graduate of Yale College in 
 1786, and a theological pupil, first of Dr. Buell, of East 
 Hampton, and afterward of Dr. Livingston, of New 
 York, he supplied for a time the church of Madison, 
 and in 1798 performed a missionary tour of nine hun- 
 dred miles in the new settlements. 
 
 With a fine person, a countenance open and genial, 
 and bland and winning manners, Dr. Hillyer was a 
 model of Christian and ministerial dignity, consistency, 
 and loveliness. Kind and considerate, social and urbane, 
 he reminded one of "the disciple whom Jesus loved." 
 Respectable as a preacher, he was devoted as a pastoi\ 
 His sensibilities were keen, and in him his people found, 
 both in their joys and their sorrows, a sympathizing 
 friend. In the house of affliction, by the bedside of 
 the sufferer, and amid the grief of desolate homes, he 
 was a son of consolation. The anxious and inquiring 
 found in him a faithful guide and a tender counsellor. 
 Under his ministry, his church became one of tho 
 largest and most influential in the State. 1 
 
 At Mendham the pastoral services of Amzi Arm- 
 
 1 The church of Wardsesson, or Bloomfield, was organized p.a 
 the Third Presbyterian Church, in the township of Newark, in 3 794. 
 For many years it had no settled pastor. Previous, however, to 
 1814, Cyrus Guildersleeve accepted the charge. He left previous to 
 1819, and in 1820 was succeeded by G. N. Judd. 
 
 47* 
 
558 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 strong extended from 1796 to 1816, a period of twenty 
 years. Though not a college graduate, he was a 
 diligent student, and, before and after the close of 
 his pastorate, was distinguished as a teacher. With 
 an open countenance, eyes bright and piercing, cour- 
 teous and gentlemanly manners, he occupied a high 
 place in the esteem of his brethren and the affections 
 of his people. In his perceptions he was quick, saga- 
 cious, and clear; and his lucid exposition of matters 
 under debate won for him the facetious sobriquet of 
 " the snuffers of the Presbytery." In the pulpit he 
 dispensed with manuscripts, and spoke with great force 
 and self-possession. In social life he was urbane and 
 genial, w T ith a ready flow of wit and a remarkable 
 command of good-natured sarcasm. He was of an 
 uncommonly happy disposition; and the mirthfulness 
 of his spirit enlivened his intercourse, especially with 
 his more intimate friends. Removing at the close of 
 his pastorate to take charge of the school at Bloomfield, 
 he gave place to his more illustrious successor, Samuel 
 Hanson Cox. 1 
 
 At Morristown, after the vacancy occasioned by the 
 resignation of Dr. Richards, a call was extended to Dr. 
 Wm. A. McDowell, who had been settled for a short 
 time (1813-14) at Bound Brook. For nine years his 
 ministry at Morristown was characterized by great 
 acceptableness and usefulness. The failure of his health 
 forced him to remove to the South; and for nine years 
 he was pastor of a church in Charleston, S.C. He was 
 subsequently chosen Secretary of the Board of Do- 
 
 1 After a brief pastorate at Mendham, Dr. Cox was succeeded by 
 Dr. Philip C. Hay. The latter was a native of Newark, a graduate 
 of Nassau Hall, and a licentiate of Jersey Presbytery (1820). He was 
 called soon after to Mendham, where heremained till invited to succeed 
 Dr. Griffin at Newark. He subsequently labored at Geneva, N.Y., 
 and died in lbtiO. He had studied law before entering the ministry- 
 
NEW JERSEY, 1800-1820. 559 
 
 mestic Missions, and continued in the discharge of its 
 duties till L850. 
 
 Of a kindly spirit, an even temper, and unassuming 
 manners, he was a friend to be prized and loved. His 
 sermons were more solid than brilliant, characterized 
 by logical acumen rather than excursive imagination. 
 In prayer he was eminently gifted, and in pastoral duty 
 singularly faithful. The partial failure of his voice 
 interfered with his usefulness and circumscribed his 
 efforts. Never imperious, with a heart glowing with 
 benevolence and characterized by childlike simplicity, 
 he won many and lost no friends. 
 
 At Kockaway, which had been vacant for several 
 years previous, Barnabas King commenced his labors 
 in 1806. In October, 1807, he divided his time between 
 Kockaway and Sparta. His first intention, after his 
 graduation at Williams College in 1804 and his licen- 
 sure by the Berkshire Association in the following year, 
 had been to seek a missionary field in the new settle- 
 ments of Western New York; but in the region around 
 him he found enough of missionary labor to task all 
 his powers. The church at Kockaway was wellnigh 
 extinct, and his labors were truly in a new and hard 
 field. 1 From Powerville to Berkshire, and from Walnut 
 Grove to Stony Brook, could be collected only thirty- 
 five church-members. Of these twelve were widows; 
 and of the whole number only three men were found 
 who prayed in public. But soon after he began his 
 labors a general seriousness was observed to prevail, 
 which ere long deepened into a revival. Before the 
 close of 1808, eighty converts were added to the church 
 as the auspicious beginning of his ministry. On De- 
 cember 27th of that year, he was ordained and in- 
 stalled pastor of the church. 
 
 1 Tuttle's Funeral Sermon v. 9. 
 
560 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 Frail and feeble in appearance, and supposed by- 
 all to be consumptive, he was spared to the discharge 
 of a long and useful pastorate. In labors he was abun- 
 dant. He catechized the young, visited the schools, 
 preached from house to house, and with simplicity and 
 godly sincerity sought the salvation of souls. For 
 forty years there was but one communion-season in 
 which some were not added to the church. In 1818, 
 one hundred and fifty-one professed their faith in 
 Christ. 
 
 But, while faithful to his special charge, he did not 
 neglect the missionary field around him. With the 
 best men of Jersey Presbytery he bore his full share 
 in itinerant evangelization, going from Powles Hook 
 to the Delaware to tell the destitute of Christ. The 
 monuments of his success were scattered around him 
 far and near. One of the most eminent of his con- 
 temporaries remarked that he knew " of no minister 
 whose walk and labor and success had been so ad- 
 mirable as those of Mr. King, of Kockaway;" and 
 another thought it might be said, with truth, that 
 " the grace that was bestowed upon him was not in vain, 
 for he labored more abundantly than they all." 
 
 His great ambition was to win souls. His one book 
 was the Bible. As a preacher he was simple and scrip- 
 tural; and his whole course was characterized by good 
 sense, consummate judgment, earnestness of purpose, 
 and devotion to his work. Usefulness he preferred to 
 eloquence or learning. Yet his utterance was always 
 manly, and at times fervent. One of his most critical 
 hearers remarked that "he never said a foolish thing." 
 
 Amid fragrant memories, and the rich harvests of 
 the usefulness he coveted, he descended to the grave in 
 a ripe and beautiful old age. The wrinkles of more 
 than fourscore years were on his brow, but there was 
 no wrinkle on h's heart. His closing hours were 
 
NEW JERSEY, 1S00-1S20. 5G1 
 
 marked by peace and cheerful bope, and when called 
 to deparl he was ready for the summons. The death 
 of Dr. King >ccurred April LO, L862. 
 
 The labors of Aaron Condict commenced in Hanover 
 in 1796, and extended to Oct. 6, 183.1. Under his min- 
 istry more than seven hundred were admitted to the 
 communion of the Church, and he was permitted to 
 witness nine or ten distinct revivals of religion. His 
 wisdom, humility, benevolence, and hospitality, his 
 interest in whatever pertained to the prosperity of the 
 Redeemer's kingdom, and the fact that four of his sons 
 entered the ministry, some of whom have risen to high 
 usefulness and distinction, entitle his name to honor- 
 able mention. 
 
 At Perth Amboy, where a church had been formed 
 previous to 18U9, Josiah B. Andrews — for a time a mis- 
 sionary of the Connecticut Society — was settled some 
 six or eight years later; and his ministry continued till 
 1825. At Elizabethtown the gifted and eloquent Henry 
 Kollock, in 1800, commenced his ministry, removing, 
 however, after three years, to Princeton, where he 
 labored, as pastor of the church and professor in the 
 college, until his settlement at Savannah in 1806. His 
 successor at Elizabethtown was Dr. John McDowell, 
 whose name is a treasured one in the history of the 
 Church, and during whose ministry a Second Church 
 was formed (1820), which has enjoyed from its origin 
 the pastoral labors of Dr. David Magie. 1 
 
 1 The church was organized, and Dr. Magie commenced his labors, 
 in the fall of 1820. The membership of the church was forty-one, — 
 all, with a siugle exception, from the First Church. — Dr. Magidi 
 Fortieth Anniversary Sermon. 
 
 The Third Church, under the pastoral charge of Robert Aikman 
 since its organization, was formed in 1851, reporting a membership 
 of ninety-one in the following year. In the First Church the suc- 
 cessor of Dr. McDowo 1 was Dr. Nicholas Murray. 
 
562 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 The successor of Dr. Eoe, of Woodbridge, upon his 
 death in 1815, was Henry Mills (ordained and installed 
 July 12, 1816), subsequently professor at Auburn, who 
 in turn was succeeded by William B. Barton. At Eah- 
 way, Buckley Carll (settled in 1804) continued as pas- 
 tor till about 1825, and his death took place in 1842. 
 At Paterson, where a church had been formed pre- 
 vious to 1814, Samuel Fisher commenced his somewhat 
 extended pastorate a few years later. At South Hano- 
 ver (or Chatham), Dr. Perrine, who removed to New 
 York in 1811 to take charge of the Spring Street 
 Church, was succeeded by John G. Bergen. John Ford, 
 for more than forty years pastor at Parsippany, com- 
 menced his labors there about the year 1816. 
 
 The other ministers of Jersey Presbytery in 1820 
 were Henry Cook at Woodbridge Second, where e 
 had been settled for nearly twenty years; Stephen 
 Thompson, who previous to 1809 had succeeded Elias 
 Eiggs, at Connecticut Farms; Mr. Eiggs, who had 
 removed to take charge of New Providence; Jacob 
 Green at Succasunna, and John E. Miller at Eoxbury, 
 where they had succeeded Lemuel Fordham, whose 
 charge had extended to both churches. Besides these, 
 Amzi Armstrong, Noah Crane, Humphrey M. Perrine, 
 and Edward Allen were without charge ; while the 
 churches of Bloomfield, 1 Westfield, Springfield, Har- 
 diston, Jersey, Eamapo, Newfoundland, Stony Brook, 
 and Long Pond were (1819) vacant. 
 
 In the New Brunswick Presbytery, Dr. Woodhull 
 was still at Freehold; his son, George S. Woodhull, had. 
 been many years at Cranberry, where he was succeeded 
 by S. C. Henry, Aug. 8, 1820. Joseph Eue was still 
 (1785-1826) pastor of Penningtrjn and Trenton First; 
 while John Cornell was settled at Allentown and Not- 
 
 1 G. N. Judd was installed at Bloomfield Aug. 2, 1820. 
 
NEW JERSEY, 1S00-1S20. 503 
 
 tingham, where he had succeeded Joseph Clark pre- 
 vious to 1803. At Trenton, S. B. How, successor of 
 J. F. Armstrong (1787—1816), and subsequently settled 
 a1 New Brunswick, was pastor; at Bound Brook, John 
 Boggs (1816-28), who had succeeded David Barclay 
 (1794-1805) r S. S. Woodhull (1805-06), James Patterson 
 (1809-13), and Win. A. McDowell (dismissed 1814); and 
 at Kingston, David Comfort. At Lawrenceville a 
 church had recently been organized, of which I. V. 
 Brown was pastor. New Brunswick, after having suc- 
 cessively Walter Monteith and Joseph Clark (1797- 
 1813), was under the pastoral charge of L. J. F. Hun- 
 tington - 1 and Princeton — which after the dismissal 
 of Kollock in 1806 had called William C. Schenk, 
 who remained for several years — was vacant. Middle- 
 town Point, Shrewsbury, and Shark Eiver were like- 
 wise vacant, but unable to support a pastor. 
 
 At Princeton, where the Theological Seminary had 
 meanwhile been established, were Drs. Green, Smith, 
 Miller, Alexander, and Lindsley, all without pastoral 
 charge, but members of the Presbytery. Dr. Samuel 
 Stanhope Smith, for many years President of the col- 
 lege, had become by disease disabled from active ser- 
 vice. But his life hitherto had been one of incessant 
 activity and extended usefulness. A son of Robert 
 Smith, of Pequa, a graduate of Princeton, a tutor in 
 the college, a missionary in Western Virginia, where 
 he was hailed as a second Davies, then President of 
 Hampden-Sidney College, which was built and endowed 
 that he might be placed at its head, he was invited in 
 1779 to the chair of Moral Philosophy at Nassau Hall, 
 and accepted the appointment. »The state of the col- 
 lege was most unpromising. Given up to the uses of 
 the army during the previous year of the war, the 
 
 1 He died May 1, 1820, and was succeeded by J. P. Jones. 
 
561 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 building was in ruins, the students were dispersed, 
 and, through the necessary absence of Dr. Witherspoon 
 to serve in the councils of the nation, the operations 
 of the institution had ceased. By the vigor, wisdom, 
 and generous self-devotion of Dr. Smith, these were 
 revived; and the subsequent prosperity of the college 
 was largely due to his unceasing vigilance, earnest 
 efforts, and distinguished ability. Upon the death of 
 Dr. "Witherspoon, he was elected to fill his place. 
 Meanwhile, his reputation as a pulpit-orator had spread 
 far and near. Persons were known to come from New 
 York and Philadelphia — a distance of some forty miles 
 — to listen to his Baccalaureate discourses. 
 
 In the spring of 1802, the college-edifice was de 
 stroyed by fire. The libraries, furniture, and fixtures 
 of every description were consumed. The charter, the 
 grounds, and the naked walls of brick and stone, were 
 all that was left. But the trustees, recovering from 
 the stunning blow, resolved to proceed at once to the 
 work of renovation. Dr. Smith went on a begging 
 tour to the Southern States, and returned with one 
 hundred thousand dollars. Liberal collections from 
 other parts of the country added to the sum, and the 
 institution soon attained more than its former pros- 
 perity. This was his crowning achievement. His 
 physical system, repeatedly prostrated before, — for he 
 had been disabled by blindness and haemorrhage, — 
 at length began to feel the weight of years and pro- 
 tracted service, and, in 1812, repeated strokes of palsy 
 warned him to desist from active service. He resigned 
 his post as President, and after seven years, in which 
 he was scarcely capable of mental labor, died, Aug. 21, 
 1819, in the seventieth year of his age. 
 
 In the Middle and Southern States, where he was 
 best known, Dr. Smith was regarded as the most 
 learned and eloquent divine of the age. Men that had 
 
\K\V JERSEY, L800 L820. 5G5 
 
 listened to Davies and fell the power of Patriot Eenry 
 were enthusiastic in his praise. The bighesl expecta- 
 tions of him excited by bis tame were realized. It 
 seemed natural for him "to ]>ut proper words in proper 
 places," and to select the most expressive. He eschewed 
 all affectation, mannerism, and formality. His sincerity 
 and uprightness could not be questioned. Firm, reso- 
 lute, decided, courteous, and dignified in his deport- 
 ment. Ins verv presence commanded respeel and over- 
 awed turbulence and mischief. In the college, in Pres- 
 bytery, Synod, and General Assembly, as well as before 
 a promiscuous audience, he was perfectly at ease and 
 master of himself. His intellectual resources, which 
 were rich and varied, were ever at his command. The 
 purity of his life, his humble faith, his cheerful temper, 
 his habitual meekness, sympathy, and charity, were in 
 keeping with his venerable figure, saintly aspect, and 
 benignant smile. One who knew him well in his later 
 years 1 speaks of his life then as "a bright, blessed, 
 glorious vision, such as we dream of but never realize. 
 It seemed as if all the Christian graces and virtues, 
 freed from every human imperfection, had now clus- 
 tered around him, and blended together, like the colors 
 of the rainbow, into a living form of chastened, hal- 
 lowed, radiant loveliness." 
 
 The man who succeeded to the post made vacant by 
 his resignation was of a quite different stamp. He was 
 as clear-headed, not less practical, quite as energetic, 
 but with little of the peculiar grace of manner and 
 eloquence which invested the name of President Smith 
 with lustre. Ashbel Green was a shrewd and able 
 man. The impression of his presence was that of 
 one born to command. His comprehension of truth 
 was acute, logical, mathematical. In the pulpit he 
 
 1 President Lindsley. 
 Vol. I.— 48 
 
566 HISTORY or presbyteria.nism. 
 
 might convince, but he kindled no man to rapture. 
 .None of his hearers so far forgot themselves as to 
 imagine that they were anywhere else than under the 
 sound of his voice. Dr. Caldwell, of Philadelphia, 1 
 with his keen appreciation of Fisher Ames, could not 
 relish him, — pronounced him dull, and chose to hear 
 some other preacher. And yet he was a man of power. 
 He knew his object, and took the most effectual method 
 to attain it. He never surrendered to a weak sympathy, 
 or compromised with what he accounted error. His 
 blows were direct, premeditated, hearty. If he w T ished 
 to rebuke a sin, he did it, — and did it with a boldness 
 and fearlessness which struck terror into the victim, 
 Yet he was not wanting in kindness and charity. If 
 never surprised into emotion, he was not without warm 
 feelings; and his pulpit-labors testified to his zeal for 
 souls as well as his zeal for truth. In any sphere or 
 calling he would have held a high rank. As a states- 
 man, he would have shaped the policy of his party, if 
 not of the country. As a general, he would have main- 
 tained the power as well as the title of his office, nor 
 would he have lacked sagacity or energy; or, if his 
 lot had fallen u'pon times which made it a duty and 
 necessity, he would, like Samuel, with iron nerve have 
 " hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord." 
 
 Such was the man who was called to succeed to the 
 Presidency of the College of New Jersey. For more 
 than twenty years he had been settled over the Second 
 Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, and had been 
 one of the leading members, and for some time stated 
 clerk, of the General Assembly. Thoroughly identified, 
 in all his views, sympathies, and opinions, with the 
 Presbyterian Church, an able administrator, and a 
 rigid disciplinarian, some would have pronounced 
 
 1 See his Autobiography. 
 
NEW JERSEY, 1800-1820. 507 
 
 him a bigotj but the nature of the man made him un- 
 bending in purpose, and his devotion to the interests 
 of what he deemed truth and righteousness was 
 supreme. Whatever he took- in hand lie did with his 
 might, and, in whate'ver sphere he moved, he Left behind 
 him the impression of his activity and energy. 
 
 Of Dr. Alexander it is enough to say that, when the 
 General Assembly determined to establish a seminary 
 lit Princeton, he was the man selected before all others 
 to occupy the post of Theological Professor. At the 
 age of forty, he was called from his pastorate in Phila- 
 delphia to occupy this position. Artless, frank, un- 
 ass liming, and transparent in simplicity and integrity, 
 he commanded love, as well as confidence and respect. 
 His keen susceptibility and warmly sympathetic nature, 
 his cheerful vivacity, — which never forsook him, even to 
 the last, — his ready utterance and perfect command of 
 all the resources of clear exposition, of appeal and per- 
 suasion, combined to place him in the front rank of 
 pul pit-orators. In the professor's chair he shone with 
 equal distinction, and was never found wanting in any 
 emergency. But his deep and ardent piety crowned 
 his rare intellectual gifts and attainments with peculiar 
 lustre; and the reverence and affection of hundreds of 
 his pupils have long supplied the place of eulogy. In 
 a ripe old age, beautiful as the cloudless sun at its set- 
 ting, he went down to the grave, leaving behind him a 
 memory fragrant with precious and hallowed asso- 
 ciations. 
 
 Dr. Miller was called, in 1813, to the chair of Eccle- 
 siastical Eistory and Church Government in the semi- 
 nary. For twenty years he had labored as an accept- 
 able, influential, and popular pastor in New York 
 With little about him that would be called brilliant, ho 
 was yet an easy, graceful, and dignified speaker. Of 
 a remarkably line person, with bland and attractive 
 
568 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 manners, and, from the first, master of an uncommonly 
 polished style, his pulpit-performances were not only 
 uniformly unexceptionable, but admirable. One familiar 
 with the old Puritans would have been reminded by 
 him of "the silver-tongued Bates." His intellectual 
 and moral character was in keeping with the sym- 
 metry of his person. Never bold or startling, his 
 attitudes in the pulpit were extremely dignified, not to 
 say precise; his voice, though not strong, was pleasant; 
 his utterance was deliberate, and his enunciation dis- 
 tinct. His thoughts, if neither remarkably versatile, 
 original, nor striking, were always appropriate, and 
 never commonplace. He might not thrill, but he rarely 
 failed to convince. If he did not startle, he yet com- 
 manded assent; and in all his intercourse he manifested 
 the traits of the perfect Christian gentleman. Even 
 toward an adversary, and in the warmth of contro- 
 versy, he could not be other than bland and courteous; 
 and the superior moral qualities of bis nature were 
 moulded by grace into an exalted specimen of Christian 
 excellence. A student, but not a recluse, a pleasant 
 companion, but not forgetful of the proprieties of his 
 sacred office, a teacher who could be genial and yet 
 command respect, he filled for a period of nearly 
 thirty years the post of honor and responsibility to 
 which he had been elected by the suffrage of the Church. 
 At the time when Dr. Miller commenced his labors 
 as professor at Princeton, a young man then twenty- 
 seven years of age, who had been — although not con- 
 secutively — for three years a tutor in the college, was 
 appointed to the Professorship of Languages. He was 
 a native of Morristown, successively a pupil of Robert 
 Finle}^, a graduate of Nassau Hall, and a licentiate of 
 the New Brunswick Presbytery. He studied theology 
 under Dr Smith and Dr. Perrine, and, although sub- 
 sequently ordained, sine titulo, devoted himself to 
 
NEW JER8EY, L800 1820.. 569 
 
 academical pursuits. This young man was Philip 
 Lindsley. lie sought do honors; bul honors were 
 heaped upon him. So late as 1855, on being asked it' 
 
 he would serve as commissioner to the General As- 
 sembly, his significanl and characteristic reply was. •• I 
 have uever BOUghl any appointment; and when God 
 has placed upon me a duty. I endeavor to discharge it." 
 In September, 1817, he was elected Vice-President of 
 the College of New Jersey. On the resignation of Dr. 
 Green, in 1822, he was for one year the acting President. 
 Early in 1823, he was chosen President of Cumberland 
 College, Tennessee, and, a few months later, President 
 of the College of New Jersey. Both appointments he 
 declined, as well as a subsecpient overture to accept 
 the Presidency of Ohio University. 
 
 Urgent application led him to reconsider his refusal 
 to accept the Presidency of Cumberland College. He 
 was inaugurated Jan. 12, 182."); and the institution, 
 under the name of the University of Nashville, enjoyed 
 his labors for more than a quarter of a century. At 
 least ten colleges, some of them repeatedly, invited 
 him. during his public career, to become their President. 
 But his ambition grasped at usefulness rather than 
 distinction; and the cause of piety and learning will 
 ever number him among its greatest and most efficient 
 benefactors. 
 
 As an instructor, Dr. Lindsley had few rivals, and 
 perhaps no BuperiOr, in the land. He communicated to 
 his pupils his own enthusiasm. In the lecture-room — 
 where his style was conversational — he is said to have 
 been perfectly fascinating. The rich, treasures of his 
 well-stored mind were poured forth without apparent 
 effort. The force and beauty of his language and the 
 richness of his thoughl borrowed a new charm from 
 his tine personal appearance. • Witli a form perfectly 
 erect and symmetrical, with features chiselled after the 
 
 48* 
 
570 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIiLNISIU. 
 
 finest Grecian mould, a spacious dome-like forehead 
 crowned with full black hair, a dark penetrating eye 
 that flashed with indescribable emotion as he spoke, a 
 peculiar play of expression about the mouth which no 
 painter's art could ever catch, and a voice rich and 
 musical alike in its highest and lowest notes, he pos- 
 sessed, aside from his rare intellectual gifts and attain- 
 ments, every outward attribute to make him attractive 
 in conversation and eloquent as a public speaker." On 
 some occasions he was not merely graceful, elegant, or 
 dignified; he was majestic. The admiration of his 
 pupils was expressed by the classic epithets applied to 
 him of " Hector" and " Achilles." 
 
 Precise, accurate, and thorough as a scholar, pro- 
 found and often original as a thinker, fascinating, 
 powerful, and impressive as a preacher, he devoted 
 himself with untiring energy to the cause of sound 
 and Christian learning; and all his varied excellences 
 were combined to advance and extend the influence of 
 truth and promote the interests of morality, Christian 
 education, and pure religion. 
 
 The name of Robert Finley is one that deserves 
 honorable mention. His father was a personal friend 
 of Dr. Witherspoon, and the son prosecuted his early 
 studies under Ashbel Green while the latter was yet 
 an under-graduate at Princeton. His inquiring and 
 acquisitive mind, as well as his exemplary sobriety and 
 stability of character, even before entering college, 
 gave promise of a future which was not belied by ex- 
 perience. In his sixteenth year he was graduated at 
 New Jersey College, and for eight years — two of which 
 were devoted to his tutorship at Princeton — he was 
 engaged in teaching. In 1795, he took charge of the 
 congregation of Baskingridge, and in 1803 a revival 
 of great power prevailed among his people. His active 
 mind was incessantly employed in devising new and 
 
NKW JERSEY, L800- L820. 571 
 
 increased means of usefulness, and the cause of Chris* 
 tian philanthropy found in him a warm and devoted 
 friend. In 1815, he suggested the idea of communicat- 
 ing religious instruction by means of Bible-classes, and, 
 after putting his theories to the test in his own con- 
 gregation, secured their endorsement and recommenda- 
 tion by the General Assembly. For several years — 
 partly through his residence in Charleston as a teacher 
 — his attention had been called to the condition of the 
 free colored people in this country, and. in the spirit of 
 a broad philanthropy, he conceived the plan of coloniza- 
 tion. Early in December, I8l<>, he visited Washington 
 to excite the interest and secure the co-operation of 
 leading mem hers of Congress in the formation of a 
 society designed to carry out his plan. His efforts 
 were not without success; and within the month a 
 society was organized, of which Bushrod Washington 
 was elected President. The result was not accomplished 
 without encountering a large measure of indifference 
 and prejudice. Meanwhile, he received a call to the 
 Presidency of Georgia University, which he felt it his 
 duty to accept. Undaunted by the difficulties of the 
 situation. — for the institution, he found, was at its " last 
 gasp/ 1 — he Bet himself vigorously to the task before 
 him, perfecting the organization, or begging funds for 
 the institution. A Presbyterian church, moreover, 
 through his exertions, was organized in the place 
 (Athens), and he became its stated Bupply. But the 
 burdens he had assumed, combined with the debilitating 
 influence of the climate, prostrated his Btrength, and 
 the disease which supervened brought his life to a close 
 in October, 1817. Exemplary as a pastor, faithful and 
 earnest as a preacher, a friend of revivals, a man above 
 every thing like duplicity or disingennousness, he was 
 yet more distinguished for his public spirit and his 
 thorough devotion to the cause of Christian philan- 
 
672 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM.' 
 
 thropy. The Church has few brighter names on her list 
 of true and noble men than that of Dr. Eobert Finley. 
 
 Newton Presbytery, erected in 1817, numbered in 
 1819 fourteen members and had under its care twenty- 
 five congregations. Holloway W. Hunt, after a pastor- 
 ate of nearly twenty years, was still at Bethlehem, 
 Kingswood, and Alexandria. William B. Sloan, for 
 several years pastor of Greenwich and Mansfield, 
 retained the former congregation; while Jacob A. Cost- 
 ner was settled over the latter. The late Dr. William 
 C. Brownlee had recently been settled in place of Dr. 
 Finley at Baskingridge. Dr. Joseph Campbell for ten 
 years had been pastor of Hackettstown and Pleasant 
 Grove. Jacob Kirkpatrick had succeeded (June, 1810) 
 Thomas Grant at Amwell First and Second, his pastor- 
 ate continuing for about forty years. Joseph L. Shafer 
 had taken the place of John Boyd at Newton (sub- 
 sequently to 1809), and Horace Galpin had succeeded 
 him at Lamington. John F. Clark was at Flemington, 
 which had remained vacant several years after the 
 close of Thomas Grant's 1 pastorate. David Bishop was 
 settled at Easton, 2 in place of David Barclay, who in 
 1809 had charge of this place together with Mt. Bethel 
 and Oxford. Jehiel Talmage was pastor at Knowlton; 
 while Oxford, Harmony, German Valley, Fox Hill, 
 Upper and Lower Mt. Bethel, Smithfield, Marks- 
 borough, Hardwick, and Amwell First were vacant. 
 Shrewsbury, without an organized church for forty years, 
 had E. S. Burrows as supply in 1816-17. John Boyd and 
 Symmes C. Henry were without charge. 
 
 The career of William C. Brownlee is mainly iden- 
 tified with the history of the Reformed Dutch Church, 
 which he served, in the capacity of one of the pastors 
 of the Collegiate Church, New York, for many years; 
 
 1 Died March, 1811. 2 In Pennsylvania. 
 
NEW JERSEY, Is00-ls20. 573 
 
 but ho was. as pastoral Baskingridge, one of the early 
 members of tbe Newton Presbytery. Joseph Camp- 
 bell, at Eackettstown, was a native of Ireland, but 
 
 emigrated to this country in IT'.'T. at the age of twenty- 
 one years. For a short time lie taught Bchool at Cran- 
 berry, studying himself with Mr. Woodhull, and sub- 
 sequently opened an English and classical school at 
 Princeton, where he studied theology, — probably under 
 President Smith. Having been licensed by Kew 
 Brunswick Presbytery in 1808, he accepted a call in 
 the following year to Hackettstown, where he con- 
 tinued to labor, with great acceptance and success, for 
 nearly thirty years. His congregation, small at first, 
 became under his ministry large and flourishing. With 
 great energy of character, he w T as a faithful pastor and 
 a popular preacher, devoted to the cause of Christian 
 philanthropy, and prompt, judicious, and efficient in 
 the ecclesiastical bodies of the Church. 
 
 John F. Clark was the son of Dr. Joseph Clark, 
 pastor at New Brunswick from 1796 to 1813. In 1807, 
 he was graduated with high honors at the College of 
 JSTew Jersey, where subsequently he w r as engaged as 
 tutor. Soon after this he was settled at Flemington 
 and Am well, where he remained for twenty years. He 
 was afterward settled at Paterson, then at Cold Spring, 
 N.Y.j and finally at Fishkill. His death occurred in 
 1853. 
 
 The new churches reported in connection with the 
 Assembly within the bounds of the State, during the 
 period under review, were Hanover, 1 Wood bridge 
 Second. Middletown Point, Eackettstown, Flemington, 
 and Hardwick, previous to l^". - '.: Koxbury, or Black 
 River, Jersey (City), Pleasant Grove, Easton Pa. .and 
 Harmony, previous to L809; Newark Second, Pater- 
 
 1 See note next page. 
 
574 HISTORY OF PBESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 son, Ramapo, Fox Hill, and Smithfield, previous to 1814; 
 and Parsippany, 1 Newfoundland, Stony Brook, Long 
 Pond, Scott's Mountain, German Valley, Lawrenceville 
 (Maidenhead), and Marksborough, previous to 1819. 
 
 There were numerous revivals during this period 
 among the churches of the State ; but the influence of 
 the great revival in Kentucky was not so perceptible 
 here as in some other places, although it was not with- 
 out effect. At Bloomneld, forty-seven were added to 
 the Church at one time, and before 1802 the number 
 was increased to about one hundred. In several other 
 congregations there were powerful revivals; but none 
 of those " general meetings" which were common in 
 Kentucky and the Carolinas were held in New Jersey 
 until June, 1803. By a concert among the ministers 
 of two adjoining counties, one was held at Bottle Hill 
 (Madison), where Eobert Finley was settled as pastor. 
 Twenty-three ministers were present, and an immense 
 concourse of people was in attendance. The meeting 
 commenced on Tuesday, and closed on Wednesday 
 evening. The venerable Dr. McWhorter, of Newark, 
 presided. The people were formed into two large 
 assemblies, one in the meeting-house and the other in 
 the fields. The exercises were characterized by a deep 
 and solemn interest. The appearance of the assem- 
 blies was described as that of " an army with banners." 
 Among the ministers were McWhorter, Finley, and the 
 gifted and eloquent Kollock, and probably also Griffin. 
 Perrine, King, Hillyer, Armstrong, and Eichards, — men 
 of rare natural gifts, " their hearts glowing with devo- 
 
 1 Parsippany — as was the case with Hanover — was organized a 
 long time previous. It was under the care of Morris County In- 
 dependent Presbytery till 1816, and on the dissolution of that body 
 and the settlement of Mr. Ford its relations were with the churches 
 of the Assembly. Aaron Condict was pastor of Hanover from 1796 
 to 1831. 
 
1800-1820. 575 
 
 tion, their minds with eloquence, and their tongues a-; 
 the pens of ready writers." "They appeared as tongues 
 of flame." "Among the saints there was a peculiar 
 trembling of holy fear, and, at the same time, childlike 
 confidence with respect to the issue." Their hopes 
 were not disappointed. "Many sinners were manifestly 
 touched with the arrows of conviction." 1 
 
 At the close of the day, when the congregation was 
 about to be dismissed, Mr. Finley arose with a heart 
 swelling with emotions too strong to be uttered. After 
 he had labored a short time to express a few broken 
 sentences, his tongue was loosed, and he broke out in 
 a strain of such impassioned eloquence as Mr. Kollock 
 declared he had never heard before. 2 The whole con- 
 gregation was powerfully affected, and, after the bene- 
 diction was pronounced, remained sobbing and over- 
 whelmed. A powerful revival of religion followed in 
 the congregation. At Baskingridge congregation, under 
 the care of Mr. Finley, seventy persons were received 
 on a single occasion to il.e ( In tr -n ; and other neigh- 
 boring congregations were largely blessed. s 
 
 The most reniarkal b 9< •.-... of .v\iv.i!. however, 
 during this period, v;:- m i .u.nei tio:i «\itl, the congre- 
 gation of Eev. Dr. Griffin, at Newark. Early in 1807, 
 
 1 N.Y. Miss. Mag., iv.;4,3£. ; ; , ; 2 f^pp^e, iv. 2674 
 3 An account of the revival at Newark in 1817 is to be found in 
 the "Christian Herald," vol. ii. pp. 320 and 382. 
 
 In 1817-18, there were revivals of considerable power in the con- 
 gregations of Rockaway, Perth Amboy, Jersey City, Newfoundland, 
 North Bardiston, and Second Congregation of Woodbridge. To the 
 latter one hundred and fifteen persons were added during the year; 
 to thai of Rockaway, "ne hundred and twenty-two; to that of 
 Jersey City, numbering previously but ten. twenty-one were added. 
 Newfoundland was organized August, 1818, a< the l'niit id' the re- 
 vival, with thirteen members, to which an addition of twenty more 
 was expected. More than ordinary interest prevailed also at 
 Kingswood, Bethlehem, and Alexandria. — Christum Herald, v. 558. 
 
576 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 
 
 there were marks of unusual seriousness The death 
 of Dr. McWhorter in July "made a great impression 
 on the congregation," and, a few weeks later, Gideon 
 Blackburn, then on his Northern tour to collect funds 
 for the Cherokee Mission, visited Newark. He preached 
 there several times " with great zeal and energy." It 
 was at this period that the work really commenced. 
 All "appeared still around;" but secret anxieties were 
 preying upon many. 
 
 In connection with two neighboring churches, a day 
 (September 4) was set apart for fasting and prayer. It 
 was marked by unusual stillness and solemnity. At 
 the close of the services of the next — the sacramental 
 — Sabbath, there could be no doubt that a revival had 
 indeed begun. The scenes that followed were truly 
 pentecostal. It was sometimes difficult to dismiss the 
 assemblies. Multitudes might be seen weeping and 
 trembling around their minister, while others stood 
 gazing, astonished spectators of the scene. Even the 
 children were deeply infected. On one occasion, after 
 catechetical instruction, "not less than a hundred were 
 in tears at once." * 
 
 "The woik, hi point of power and stillness," wrote 
 Dr. Griffin to Dr. Green, "exceeds all I have ever seen." 
 The number oc conversions was from two hundred to 
 two hundred and fifty The subjects were of all ages, 
 from nine years old to more than threescore and ten. 
 Among them were to be found some who had been 
 most abandoned characters, — drunkards, apostates, in- 
 fidels, and malignant opposers. Even the " poor 
 negroes" were included, " some of them hoary with 
 age." Three students of law were among the number, 
 one of whom, at least, will not soon be forgotten. 
 
 END OF VOL. I. 
 

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