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Mercer County PAGenWeb |
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Bethany Presbyterian Church According to History of Mercer County, 1877 |
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At
the organization of the Associate Reformed Church, in 1782, it had but
three Presbyteries, with fourteen ministers in all; but in the space of
twenty years afterward, it had increased so rapidly, that it comprised
four Synods, with their congregation scattered here and there, from the
Canadas to the Carolinas. In those days, when railroads, with their
swift, rolling trains, were unknown, journeys were made by the zealous
ministers on horse back, through the almost trackless wilderness, where
more often were heard the scream of the panther, and the yell of the
painted savage, than the friendly voice of the white man. The
records of the church show no Christian organizations between
Pittsburgh and Erie, as late as 1794, and, although the region lying
between had been partially explored, it was regarded as unsafe, and
only in the forte at the different points, were there any white
families, and there they staid cautiously inside their strongholds, and
watched, with zealous care, the safety of their little all. But at the
beginning of the present century, or a little later, the most of the
difficulties were cleared away, and settlers came in from the eastern
counties of Pennsylvania, and from Maryland and Virginia, and nearly
all of them were of Scotch-Irish descent. The
Presbyterian and Associate Reformed were among the pioneer churches of
this north-western portion of the State. congregation was formed in
connection with the latter, near Conneautville, Crawford county, as
early as 1803, for we find a notice given that Rev.
Joseph Kerr preached there the fourth and fifth Sabbaths
of May, 1803. In 1809, an Associate Reformed congregation was organized
at Mercer, with Rev. James Galloway,
a young man of only twenty-five years of age, as its first pastor, in
1810. At this latter date, the Monongahela Presbytery extended over the
territory now comprised within the limits of three of the largest
synods of the church— those of Pittsburgh, Ohio, and the first synod of
the West. The members of the Presbytery, at this time, were Rev. Matthew Henderson, settled
at the forks of the Youghiogheny; John
Randell, at Robinson’s Run; David Proudfit, at Laurel Hill; James McConnells, at Puckety; Joseph Kerr, at St. Clair; Mungo Dick, at Mount Pleasant;
James Galloway,
at Mercer; and George Buchanan, at Steubenville, Ohio. Thus it is seen
that when Mr. Galloway became pastor of the Mercer congregation, he was
sixty miles from the nearest settled minister of the same denomination. The
members of this congregation did not originally number over ten or
fifteen. The first ruling elders were John
Findley and Joseph
Junkin. Mr. Galloway and his congregation worshiped in the
grand jury room of the old court house, Mr. Tait and his congregation
(the First Presbyterian) having a prior claim on the court room. On
some occasions Mr. Galloway would be holding forth in one room, and Mr.
Taft in the other, and each congregation used the court house as a
place of worship for several years.
On pleasant summer days the congregations
adjourned to the groves, and held what was known as “tent worship.” Mr. Tait’s congregation
occupied the grove just south of the borough, which overshadowed the
so-called “Tent Spring,” and Mr. Galloway’s people held their grove
meetings in a grove which stood on what was known as the Pierson lot,
near a spring, and to the right as we pass down what is known as Green
Lane. Mr. Galloway preached but half
the time at Mercer, the other half being divided between the stations
of Neshannock and Mahoning. When the pastor was absent on the Sabbath,
the congregation held what was called “society” —usually at the house
of one of the elders, either at Mr.
Junkin’s, at Hope Mills, or at Mr.
Findley’s, a mile or more east of town. To these meetings
the members came on foot and horseback, in the latter case, also
bringing as many children as they could carry. The order of exercises
at these “society” meetings consisted of prayer and conference on some
religious subject or passage of Scripture, with a general recital of
the shorter catechisms, and were the weekly prayer meetings and
Sabbath-schools of those days. A
few years after Mr. Galloway took charge of the congregation, it
purchased the lot on which the residence of Benjamin
Ride now stands [1877], and built upon it a house of
worship. This was a plain, wooden structure, and was occupied by the
congregation as soon as enclosed, with boards and benches for seats. A
short time after this house was occupied, the health of Mr. Galloway
became quite feeble, and he was compelled to relinquish his work and go
abroad. After an absence of several months in the eastern part of the
State and in New England, he returned to Mercer, hut was still unable
to perform full pastoral labor. After a lingering illness, he died, May
10th, 1818, of consumption, in the seventh year of his pastorate and
the thirty-second year of his age. He is buried in the old grave-yard,
and on his tombstone is the inscription: “In memory of Rev. James Galloway, first
Associate Reformed pastor of Mercer. Faithfully and dearly beloved.” The
church was still unfinished, and the congregation in straightened
circumstances, but gradually overcame their difficulties, and, in less
than two years after Mr. Galloway’s death, called, and obtained, Rev. James L. Dinwiddie, as
their pastor. Soon after, their church-building was struck by
lightning, and entirely consumed, and on the heels of this disaster,
some difficulty arose among the members, which somewhat discouraged
them. Under the leadership of Mr.
Dinwiddie, however, affairs brightened, and they soon
purchased the lot on which the present [1877] church, owned by them,
stands, and built their second church. Mr. Dinwiddie divided his time,
the same as Mr. Galloway had done, between the stations of Mercer,
Neshannock, and Mahoning, and, occasionally, held forth at Bethel. He
became pastor of the church, in 1819, and continued until 1834. About
that time, he left, and took charge of a congregation, in another
denomination, in Philadelphia, but soon became weary of that, and,
returning to his former denomination, obtained charge of one of the
Associate Reformed churches, in Pittsburgh, and was afterwards elevated
to a professor’s chair, in the Theological Seminary, at Allegheny. He
died from the effects of a paralytic stroke, in 1850, at the home of
his daughter, in the city of Baltimore, Md. The vacancy left by Mr.
Dinwiddie’s departure from the church, at Mercer, was supplied by
different ministers, until 1838, when Rev.
Andrew Bower became their third regular pastor, who
labored for some time with them, and afterwards became pastor of the
Lombard street Associate Reformed Church, at Philadelphia, where he
preached until his death. From 1834, to 1847, the church was in debt
quite heavily for that day, but, during the latter year, it raised
$250, for half a minister’s time, and a call was made out, and sent to Rev. W. T. McAdam, who
accepted it. His charge consisted of Mercer, and Centerville, and he
continued his pastorate for six years, or until the spring of 1854. The
present [1877] pastor, Rev. Robert
McWatty, came at the above-mentioned date, and, during his
pastorate of over twenty-two years, there have been received into the
church, 493 adults, and 300 children. The membership, at present, is
about 300. During Mr. McWatty’s
pastorate, the present church has been erected, at a cost of nearly
$20,000, and their debts nearly discharged, and the future outlook is
bright and prosperous, in comparison with that of forty years ago. For
our information, regarding this church, we are indebted to Mr. McWatty, who kindly
furnished us with a historical sermon, and other documents, to cull
from. History
of Mercer County,
1877, page 107.
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