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OTHER FAMILIES (o_f) of McDonald PA
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Churches and Worship in McDonald PA
and Surrounding areas
History of McDonald PA First Presbyterian Church
From the
McDonald PA Record-Outlook, Sept. 13, 1935, page unknown:
Brief History of McDonald First Presbyterian Church
The First Presbyterian church of McDonald is one of the larger and more
influential suburban churches in the Presbytery of Pittsburgh. It has a
great and worthy ancestry in the Raccoon Presbyterian church, of the
same presbytery, situated four miles west of McDonald, now over 150
years old, of which the late Dr. Greer M. KERR was pastor for 60 years
and from whose membership came most of those who formed the nucleus for
the new organization in McDonald.
The McDonald church was conceived in faith and born out of a loyal
devotion to the Kingdom of God in general and to the Presbyterian
denomination in particular, the first building having been erected and
occupied by a group of earnest Christians before a formal organization
was affected.
In the spring of 1885 Hon. John N. MCDONALD donated the ground now
occupied by the church and the manse, and by September of that year a
two-story frame church building was erected. This building was destroyed
by fire in October 1896. The building committee for the erection of this
first church consisted of the Hon. John N. MCDONALD, the Hon. Vincent
MILLER, and Mr. J. D. SAUTERS. After having one Sunday’s preaching in
the building, it was decided at a meeting held September 7, 1885, to
send a committee to Presbytery to ask for an organization. The above
named committee met the Presbytery which convened in Oakdale on Sept 8.
The prayer of their petition was granted and a committee of presbytery
was appointed to affect the same. This committee consisted of the Rev.
G. M. KERR of the Raccoon church, the Rev. J.M. MCJUNKIN of the Oakdale
church, the Rev. H. T. MCCLELLAND of the Sixth church, Pittsburgh; Elder
Joseph WALLACE of the Raccoon church, and Elder John MATTHEWS of the
Oakdale church. This committee came to McDonald and organized the First
Presbyterian Church of McDonald on September 22, 1885. There were 61
persons in the group who desired to be so organized, 50 of them having
letters of dismissal from other churches, and 11 joining by a profession
of faith in Christ. Four of these are still members of the church. They
are: Miss Jane C. MCDONALD, Mrs. Margaret PLANCE, Charles A. FULLICK,
and Graham S. CAMPBELL.
Mr. John N. MCDONALD, Mr. Vincent MILLER, Mr. John MCHENRY and Mr. J. D.
SAUTERS were elected as Elders at the organization meeting. At the first
meeting of the Session held September 29, 1885, Mr. MCHENRY was elected
chairman and Mr. SAUTERS, clerk and treasurer. At this meeting it was
decided to proceed with the election of officers for the Sunday school,
the first meeting having been announced for the coming Sunday. Graham S.
CAMPBELL was elected superintendent, Mr. MILLER assistant
superintendent, and Edward MCDONALD, secretary and treasurer.
About a month after the organization of the church the prayer meeting
was established, being conducted by the Session, assisted by some other
faithful members during the times the church was without a pastor. It
was not until 1888 that a pastor was called, the Session believing it
best and deciding to wait until the congregation was able to pay a
minister. The Rev. F. S. CRAWFORD accepted the call in 1888 and served
until 1892, when he resigned to accept a call to the Homewood Avenue
Presbyterian church, Pittsburgh. The next pastor was the Rev. John W.
CATHCART who served but a little over a year. The next pastor was the
Rev. J. P. JORDAN, who served from 1893 to 1919. It was during his long
ministry that the church had its largest growth, the membership being
398 when he came and at the time of his death it was 627. The Rev. B. B.
HARRISON was the next to serve, coming in 1919 and remaining until 1923.
The Rev. B. F. HEANY served from July 1925 to June 1931. The Rev. O. E.
GARDNER, D. D. accepted a call as pastor of the church September 22,
1932, and he is the present incumbent.
In addition to the four original elders the following have served in
that capacity: Joseph BROWN, C. R. POTTER, J. C. HARPER, D. R. MCNARY,
E. B. MCNARY, T. M. DOUGLASS, J. H. CRUMMY, John H. NEVIN, N. G. PARKE,
George F. CAMPBELL, William ANTHONY, Thomas HARTMAN.
The present members of the session are: G. S. CAMPBELL, ordained and
installed November 2, 1889; A. B. MCBETH, January 1, 1905; Howell P.
WILLIAMS, October 19, 1913; Ralph E. ALLISON, May 15, 1927.
The trustees who have served this church are too many to record here.
The present board consists of Edward MCDONALD, president; Thomas
CHALMERS, secretary; L. J. WEIR, Thomas BELL, William J. BAILLIE, and
William LYONS.
The present church building was erected in 1897 and was dedicated to the
worship of Almighty God on Sunday, November 7, 1897. The contractor for
the building was A. B. MCBETH. The building committee consisted of
Richard CROOKS, Samuel STURGEON, Edward MCDONALD, W. E. SNEE, D. L.
WILLIAMS and W. H. YOUNG.
G. S. CAMPBELL and Edward MCDONALD will complete their fiftieth year
September 22, as superintendent and secretary-treasurer of the Sunday
school respectively. Special recognition will be given these men at the
Sunday school service on September 29 at 10 a.m. Eastern Standard Time.
* See Town-Talk
section for a more information on the history of McDonald Pa.*
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