CHAPTER IV.

STATEMENTS ABOUT THE REDSTONE PRESBYTERY.

THERE are some general facts and circumstances connected with the history of the old Presbytery of Redstone, and the period to which it belongs, worthy of notice. The following remarks, somewhat miscellaneous, ought not, perhaps, to be overlooked.

1. This presbytery, as the sole undivided presbytery of the West, extended through a period of twelve years, its first meeting being on the 19th of September, 1781, and its last on the 18th of October, 1793. It held forty-one meetings. Nine times it met at Pigeon Creek, six times at Chartier's, five times at Rehoboth, four times at Roundhill, three times at Dunlap's Creek, twice at Mount Pleasant and Bethel, and once at Buffalo, Peters's Creek, Lebanon, Pittsburg, Laurel Hill, Upper Racoon, Short Creek and Three Ridges, James M'Kee's, Fairfield, and Long Run. There was but one "pro re nata" meeting during all that time, which met in Winchester, by order of the Synod of Virginia, at the time. Its object was simply to receive Mr. Barr's application for a dismission to the Presbytery of Carlisle.

It will be seen by the foregoing statement, that the greater number of their meetings were held without the bounds of the present Redstone Presbytery. They met twenty-two times in what are now the bounds of the Ohio and Washington Presbyteries, twice in the bounds of the present Blairsville Presbytery, and seventeen times within the bounds of the present Redstone Presbytery. This old presbytery originally consisted of but four members; three of whom, Mr. Dód, Mr.

M'Millan, and Mr. Smith, were settled out of its present bounds. A very large majority of the churches, also, were beyond the present limits of the Presbytery. But the vacancies to which supplies were furnished in 1782 and 1783, (there were none appointed at their first meeting in 1781,) were all in the bounds of the present Redstone, except one, the Ohio Court-house, a place that stood some miles west of the present town of Washington, and that vanishes and appears no more in the subsequent lists of supplies. But the next year, 1783, ten Sabbaths of supplies were sent without the present bounds, and only four within. In 1784, seventeen Sabbaths were given to vacancies and missionary fields without the present bounds, and only seven within. The disparity becomes greater every year as we advance, and as the amount of supplies increases from year to year. In 1788, there were thirty supplies given to the territory now embraced by Redstone Presbytery, and eighty-eight to churches and regions without. This enormous increase of the supplies granted, was owing to their having now, for the first time, two licentiates, Messrs. Hughes and Brice, who were licensed April 16th, 1788. In the above statement, we have mentioned only those that are expressly named. But this by no means gives the full amount of supplies furnished by the Presbytery. A very large proportion of these supplies were "at discretion." For instance, in 1783, when this part of their work fairly began, there were only fourteen Sabbaths assigned to places expressly named, while there were ten additional Sabbaths at discretion; making in all, for that year, twenty-four Sabbaths of supplies.

2. The next thing to which we would direct attention is the vast amount of labor, of this missionary character, which these fathers performed. They had all, without exception, two pastoral charges, from eight to twelve miles apart. They organized the Presbytery, as we have before stated, with four members, and received into their body, within the first three years, three additional members, Messrs. Clarke, Dunlap, and

Finley. Six years after their organization, Mr. Barr was added to their number. But he remained only three or four years, and seems to have been of no advantage to their cause, rather retarding their progress. For a short time during 1786, two Irishmen, father and son, perhaps, by the name of Morrison, came among them, and labored a while in some of the vacancies; they proved to be no acquisition, but, on the contrary, sources of much vexation and trouble; and the brethren felt, doubtless, that they were well rid of them, when they left. An excellent man, the Rev. Jacob Jennings, M. D., from the Dutch Reformed Church and Synod of New Jersey, joined them in 1791, and was regularly received in 1792; he was a valuable acquisition. But about the same time, a wandering star, by the name of Thomas Cooly, professing to have come from a presbytery of Charleston, S. C., and also with "a dismission and testimonials from a number of dissenting ministers in England," came among them, and was employed for a short time in their vacancies. But they were not satisfied with his credentials, and referred them to the Synod, who in turn referred them to the General Assembly. The Presbytery then declined to give him further employment till the General Assembly would decide about the matter, or Mr. Cooly could more satisfactorily clear up his case. The General Assembly judged his credentials forged, and the Presbytery had much trouble, as in the case of the Morrisons, in neutralizing the mischief done in various vacancies, and setting their people right in respect to these men. They were also much vexed with a Mr. Mahon, who came from the Carlisle Presbytery, towards the close of their history. He wished to be ordained and installed as pastor in Pittsburg; but they were not satisfied, on examining him upon experimental religion and cases of conscience; upon which he applied for a dismission back to the Carlisle Presbytery, which they granted, no doubt very willingly.

But there was one stranger who came among them for a short time, in 1787, the Rev. Wait Cornwell, from an asso

ciation in Connecticut, who seems to have been a very pious, devoted man. He assisted Mr. Smith during a great revival of religion in Cross Creek, in April of that year, and spent a few months in visiting the vacancies and missionary regions of the Presbytery, under their direction, and then returned; and we hear no more of him. There is reason to believe that he rendered important service, at a time when their destitute churches and vacancies had grown on their hands, to a wonderful degree.

A short time before they adjourned to meet no more, Mr. Thomas Moore, from New England, appeared among them, a man of great worth, who, in after years, labored in what are the bounds of the Blairsville and Washington Presbyteries, and eventually removed to Ohio, where he died a few years ago, having joined the New School Presbyterians, however, a short time before he died. He was a Hopkinsian in theology, somewhat ultra in his Calvinism, and in the prominence he gave it in his preaching. He was a very pious and most valuable man, of strong, vigorous intellect, and uncompromising in his denunciations of coming wrath, against sinners and hypocrites in the church. His labors resulted in numerous conversions, both at Salem, in Blairsville Presbytery, and at Upper Ten Mile, in Washington Presbytery, where many of his spiritual children may yet be found. He was, perhaps, the most awful scourge of Arminianism that we ever had among us.

Now with the above exceptions, those beloved men, Clarke, Smith, M'Millan, Power, Dodd, Dunlap and Finley, labored, in season and out of season, in this mighty field, widening and widening every year-the importunate calls from vacancies growing louder and more numerous, at every meeting of Presbytery for seven years, (from 1781 to 1788,) nearly fifty places needing their aid, (their names are all before us,) and yet all this time, there was not a single permanent accession to their number from Presbyteries east of the mountains. With the exception of Mr. Cornwell, who remained but a short

time, all the additional help they received was not only tran sient, but of little value, some of it positively a hindrance. Where were the bowels of compassion among other Presbyteries, and with the young licentiates and ministers east of the mountains?

This view of the matter gives us the means of appreciating still more highly the character of those whom Dr. Hodge, in his Constitutional History, calls "a noble set of men." Now look at the amount of time these men gave to this extra work on their hands-in 1782, 12 sabbaths of supplies; in 1783, 24 sabbaths; in 1784, 27 sabbaths; in 1785, 34 sabbaths; in 1786, 40 sabbaths; in 1787, 30 sabbaths; and in 1788, when they, at length, have two licentiates, their appointments for supplies reach the number of 127 sabbaths!

Truly these men "sowed in tears." We must not forget that, during all this time, they and their people were harassed, more or less, by the savages on their borders making continual inroads, burning and desolating all before them, and sometimes murdering whole families. They came in on their settlements from various points on the Ohio and Allegheny rivers. It could seldom be known when or where they would strike-sometimes over towards the Ohio, sometimes coming in from Venango, along on the Loyalhanna; they (these ministers) would be compelled to flee to forts with their helpless families. In some instances, their meetings were broken up. In many cases, at particular periods, every man went armed to their places of worship, and in some cases stacked their guns at the door, and appointed a sentinel. This state of things did not entirely subside till nearly a year after their last united meeting. For it was not till Wayne's decided victory, in 1794, that all further danger from this quarter ceased.

A very large portion of what then composed the territory of the Presbytery was liable, at no previous period, perhaps, to more danger, than after the disastrous campaigns of Harmar and St. Clair, in 1790 and 1791. The Presbytery, at